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Chapter Text

It was another sunny and pleasant day within Musutafu. The birds were singing, citizens gaily went about their daily lives business, and a fleeing band of supervillains were laughing while carrying comically oversized bags of cash with yen symbols on them.

Turning back to the heroes hot on their heels, Mastermind, leader of the League of Super Villains, yelled back, “Just remember this as the day you almost captured—”

“Mirko detected heading to this position,” announced Notou, his suit AI. “Mastermind Full Cowling engaged.” 

In emphasis, his armour lit up to prepare him to fight one of the Top Ten Heroes.

“She’s not supposed to be here!” screeched Golden Grin. His terror being a perfectly natural reaction to the rabbit-themed hero in general, and even more so after their near escape from her ambush after UA’s final exams. Especially since the experience had led their leader to fine-tune his tracking algorithm for her, and she was supposed to be several cities over.

The blood-knight hero was learning. Adapting.

Clearly the only reasonable solution is to build and launch a satellite specifically tasked towards finding her. Multiple satellites. 

As much as Mastermind wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, he quickly reassessed the situation.

The Mastermobile was two blocks ahead, holographically disguised as a specific delivery truck which was usually parked there, with Stitch waiting behind the wheel. It had been a gamble to park it so far away, but this approach had let them pull off this heist under the noses of heroes and the local security. The place was supposedly an expensive furniture store, while really an illegal gambling den, and part-time luxury hotel for the filthy rich. Come in at any time, play and drink, enjoy a comfortable bed, and wake up for some more 24/7 games, secure in the knowledge the presence of the nearby UA would scare away Villains, and their wealth would protect them from any and all repercussions.

Fools!

They had failed to consider Supervillains!

Now their names and faces were plastered all over social media, their various rich adornments being donated to the poor (i.e. the League of Supervillains), their cash, the vault of more cash, and whatever had looked nice which was not bolted down. There was going to be some fancy new furniture with excellent back support at their base now. Why, they had even helped them to the ultra-expensive suits of a bunch of the men, to put in some charity bins! The wealth in question was stored in Mr. Warp’s marbles, while they were really running with bags full of helium balloons and Monopoly money.

Unfortunately, their own gamble with the Mastermobile was currently backfiring.

“Gentle,” Mastermind crisply ordered. “The air above us.”

With a flick of his wrist, Gentle Criminal made the air above them elastic to prevent an ambush from above.

“Lady de Winter—”

Instead the situation just became vastly more complicated and awkward.

There were two intersections between them and their getaway vehicle.

Around the closest one came Sir Nighteye, his work study student Lemillion, and his former intern Shieldmaiden, all in their hero attire.

At the further intersection arrived Hatsume Industria, travelling rapidly on three mechanical arms. Within the fourth she was holding a dangling fellow Class 1-A hero student, Shouto.

Now, you see, the truly awkward part here was how Mastermind was otherwise known to folks as one Midoriya Izuku. Romantic partner of both Melissa Shield (Shieldmaiden) and Hatsume Mei (Hatsume Industria). He loved them both dearly, but Mei also hated Mastermind, and Melissa was shaping up to be a worthy successor to her uncle All Might. Neither would let him pass without a bloody fight. Preferably his blood, which Hatsume Industria might very well bathe in.

Meanwhile, Todoroki Shouto, or the unimaginative ‘Shouto’ as was his hero name, was the younger brother of Todoroki Fuyumi, a.k.a. Lady de Winter.

So yeah. Awkward.

But with so much wondrous potential!

“Well, well, young heroes!” cackled Mastermind at the opportunity to further push their growth to new levels. “Are you here to stop us?”

The pavement shuddered behind them with an impact.

“They can have what’s left over!” crowed an eager woman’s voice behind them.

Oh. Right. Mirko. Hmm . . .

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” screamed the League of Super Villains, aiming to press through the oncoming heroes before Mirko (metaphorically) (probably) killed them.

“I’ll hold them off—” said Mastermind, dropping his ‘loot’ as he turned to brace himself.

A blinding flash of light, and then the world swirled and turned grey.

He stumbled, suit sensors going wild as they tried to process everything, and then a shake like an earthquake he found himself back on firm ground. Flailing a bit while resisting the urge to vomit, he jolted further in shock at the sudden change. All of the pristine buildings had become wrecked and vandalised, and a heavy overcast blocked out the sun.

Instinct snapped up his palms to block Mirko’s kick, knocking her back with her own kinetic energy. Unlike their previous fights however, he was so distracted she easily rolled with his counter to come right back under his guard to knock him off his feet.

A stomp pressed him into the ground, yet her attention was not on him as she wildly swiveled her head and ears around. “What did you do!?” she demanded.

“This wasn’t me!” he protested. “Time out! Please, let me up so we can figure this out! Time out!” Maybe repeating himself would make her hear him?

“Mirko,” said one of the pursuing heroes from earlier, none other than Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher, Eraserhead. Risking it, Mastermind shot him a glance to see the underground hero on edge as he tried to take in everything at once. “We can’t trust him.”

“We also don’t know what happened,” said Mount Lady, her towering figure visible above the skyline before she shrank herself down to normal. Wise, as otherwise she was a glaring target in an unfamiliar setting. “And if he really was capable of this, he’d be gloating already.”

Visibly reluctant, Mirko retracted her foot, her attention settling more on their surroundings. “There!” she pointed, bounding over towards a pile of trash.

Scampering up, Mastermind was by her side in an instant thanks to his armour.

Lying there practically cocooned within the trash was a visibly ill man. Pale, signs of sudden weight-loss given the way his skin hung over him, needle tracks up both arms, bloodshot eyes staring upwards, and overdosed on Trigger given the state of his tongue hanging from his mouth. Various empty injectors lay around him. “Does he still have a heartbeat?” Mastermind tersely said.

“Yes,” she confirmed with a twitch of her ears, already doing a further physical assessment.

Spinning around, Mastermind appeared at Mr. Warp’s side. The rest of the League of Super Villains had frozen at this development, while the hero students were (very reluctantly in Hatsume Industria’s case) following Sir Nighteye’s direction for a ceasefire. “Medical emergency,” he told Mr. Warp, and the man immediately dropped his bag. Plucking the magician up in a princess carry, Mastermind had him beside the dying civilian a few seconds later.

Slightly dizzy or not, Mr. Warp slammed his hand down towards the man, fog emanating from it, when Mirko grabbed his wrist. Menacingly, she asked, “What’re you doing?” 

“Are you familiar with Star Trek?” asked Mastermind, having prepared this alibi.

“No.” Raising her suspicious eyebrow, she said, “What does this have to do with his warp Quirk?”

“It’s a famous pre-Quirk franchise which survives to today,” said Mastermind. Thanks in good part to obsessive fans preserving their DVDs and books in underground bunkers in place of food. As a major hero fanboy himself, Mastermind appreciated their priorities.

Taking up the tale, and pretending not to be afraid of Mirko, Mr. Warp said, “When teleporting someone, they would ‘beam them up’ into a buffer before actually making them appear, and in some cases could be stored in there. My Warp will work the same, essentially freezing them in time so long as I don’t complete the Warp.” In reality he would be turning the man into a marble, which would have the same effect of putting him in stasis while hiding the truth of his power.

“Fine,” gritted Mirko, and Mr. Warp did so.

Glad that was over with, Mastermind plucked up the note which had been beside the poor man. “It says—” He stopped and jabbed a finger at Sir Nighteye. “League! He’s getting too close! Make some distance.”

Immediately the League shuffled away from the Hero who had indeed been subtly siding up to them.

Dressed more like a regular businessman, Sir Nighteye shot Mastermind with a piercing look. “And why are you so concerned?”

“Mwa ha ha ha! Do you really imagine me so ignorant!?” cried out Mastermind with a grand sweep of his arms. “It’s because your touch-activated Quirk would let you see their futures! Including private moments!”

“So he’s a pervert then,” deadpanned the cat-like, heteromorphy Inkblot.

“Eh, it’s not like I’ve got any secrets,” said Twice whimsically. “We’ve got all the secrets!” snapped his other half.

“Oh!” said Kouro a tad nervously. “So he might see what we look like taking our gear off!” As he was covered head-to-toe in armour and a coat, that was a legitimate concern for him.

“. . . You’re surprisingly knowledgeable,” said Sir Nighteye smoothly. Smoothly as a knife that is, and clearly unhappy. “That’s hardly a common fact.”

The compliment made Mastermind preen at the recognition. For obvious reasons the man’s Quirk, much less the parameters of it, were hardly advertised. It had taken extensive, obsessive, and somewhat illegal research with some planted cameras, and setting up a café owner to find that out. The guy deserved it though, for selling drugs to teenagers.

“Why thank you. But I’d hardly be worthy of being All Might’s archnemesis if I didn’t research stuff like his sidekick, especially if you might rejoin him in the future! So, I did a little digging. Besides, I’m a big fan of you as an example of a true Superhero. A major player in your field without any flashy abilities, someone who trained himself to physical perfection on his own, and passed his licensing exams without attending a hero school!”

“Man, that’s pretty awesome when you put it that way!” cheered Lemillion. “I didn’t know that about you and the exams!”

Despite his bright words, Mastermind did not miss how Lemillion was only acting relaxed and natural. If he was not friends with Mirio and had seen him actually relaxed, he might have missed how he kept himself poised to strike. The third-year student’s Quirk was another danger here, as he could literally punch straight through Mastermind’s armour, and he had seen how big those muscles were when flexed. No thanks!

“Have you been stalkerish about all of us?” asked Mount Lady distastefully, which was weird, but then Death Arms elbowed her. “I mean, how many of our own deepest secrets has your vile villainy pried loose.” Not her usual enthusiasm, but he would cut her some slack given the situation.

“I’ve been scanning the internet since we arrived,” said Mastermind. “Except I’ve mostly been getting nonsense or contradictory stuff, and it’s like the digital cloud has huge holes in it.”

The stuff about All Might being retired was dismissed as obvious nonsense and fabrication.

Cracking his knuckles ominously, Death Arms, the last Hero to come with them, “Answer the question,” he coughed, “foul villain!”

Not wanting to embarrass himself over how much he had dug into the lives of these heroes, Mastermind ignored them. “But we’re definitely in what is supposed to be Musutafu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and—wait.”

Notou pointed out a discrepancy. Their internet and public satellite connections were able to verify their location, yet the date . . .

“. . . May!? We’re several months in the future!? Check your phones.” 

The rest of the League of Super Villains obeyed, and after a few moments of hesitation, the Heroes followed suit. In the case of Lemillion and Mount Lady, they pulled them out of hidden compartments in their supposedly skin-tight uniforms. For the phones connecting to the internet, the dates had indeed changed like they would if changing time zones, while the rest remained the date they had left.

“Hmm.” Mastermind stroked the jaw of his helmet in thought.

Mirko tapped her foot impatiently, a silent threat that he had better provide answers quickly, or she would go back to beating him.

“Quite the conundrum,” said Gentle Criminal, letting La Brava down. His girlfriend had been riding on his back for the heist, as they had needed her help hacking into the casino’s bank accounts on-site.

Slumping over, Kouro said, “We’re gonna miss lunch at this rate.”

“Mmhmm,” agreed a mournful Golden Grin.

“I’m hungry too. We’re stuffed full!”

“Maybe in future we should bring ration bars?” suggested Lady de Winter.

Death Arms took advantage of the situation to sweep up the bags of ‘cash’ they had grabbed. Only to growl as he discovered what was really inside.

“Speaking of which,” said Eraserhead, stalking forward and glowering at his students. “What were you thinking, getting involved?”

“We’re on break before summer camp,” said Hatsume Industria brightly. Her gaze and the barrel of her plasma cannon had never wavered from Mastermind’s torso. Even when checking the date, her wrist computer had verbally informed her.

“I arranged a meeting with Lemillion and Shieldmaiden regarding some matters left over from their internship,” said Sir Nighteye. “I had other business in the area already, and so arranged for us to meet up. They had permission to wear their uniforms for the sake of publicity. When we got the alert about Mastermind, we moved to intercept, and I gave further permission to use their Quirks.”

“While my totally legal alert system about anything Mastermind, told me where to find him!” said Hatsume Industria. While her outfit as a hero was not much different from her civilian wear for doing heavy lab work, the gear she was wearing on top was definitely the real deal. “So, I ran to help stop him with my support gear, and saw this guy on the way, and knew he’d want to come too.”

“I was supposed to meet Shinso,” said Shouto flatly, in civilian wear. “Also, I don’t have a license to use my Quirk.”

“A Hero would’ve given you permission,” assured the mad scientist.

“But that support gear’s legal?” said Inkblot, eying the weaponry on Hatsume Industria’s frame. And the cannon. Especially the cannon. She had seen the Sports Festival footage of what it was capable of, and knew that it had likely been improved since.

There had also been the horror stories from La Brava of what had been done to the engine kid . . .

“Yes!” said Hatsume Industria in a way which reassured nobody.

“By certain technicalities of law, it is legal,” said Shieldmaiden sweetly. “As the Shield family lawyers will prove if necessary.”

“Hmf,” huffed Eraserhead. “The Rat would get first dibs.” His eyes flashed red as his temper returned, “But you shouldn’t have run in like that in the first place! Or did you learn nothing from your exams where they were holding back against you? Or what you saw them do against dozens of Pro-Heroes ambushing them even after they were exhausted and with counters for their abilities!?”

“Now, now,” said Mastermind, offended on their behalf. “There’s no need to dampen their youthful passion and initiative. There’s no way they could’ve known.”

“And if they’d ended up stuck here without any adults?” the teacher snapped back.

“They’d be fine,” he said flatly, stiffening at the insult towards his partners and Shouto. Done with this line of thought, he remembered the note he had been holding from the comatose man, and looked it over again.

Objectively speaking, he suspected the writer had already been high when he did this. Nevertheless, he got the gist of the rambling message. “It seems his Quirk allowed to summon things he needed, but it was very limited in what it could do.” He broke off the impulse to give a Midoriya-like rant about how useful such an ability could be. “But then Japan fell recently into anarchy. Something about Villains and Shigaraki? He felt there was no hope left, so he decided to overdose himself on Trigger, planning to summon people to save everybody.”

A pregnant pause as they digested this.

Patience finally snapping, Mastermind exclaimed, “So why’d he summon us Supervillains!? Why’d we get mixed up in this!?”

“But how’d everything collapse!?” exclaimed Mount Lady. “Where’s All Might!?”

Beneath his helmet, Mastermind noted how Sir Nighteye, Lemillion, and Shieldmaiden all stiffened at that, doubtless concerned for the #1 Hero. Strangely, so did Eraserhead. Huh. Were those two closer than he thought?

“I don’t know,” admitted Mastermind. “None of this makes sense. The state of this city—the death toll . . . It must be astronomical!”

“No food or water as it seems like society collapsed,” agreed Mount Lady with a grimace.

“Tch, and people are likely turning on one another,” growled Mirko. “Look at all the damages here.” She jabbed at several places in particular. “Those are sloppy messes from support gear used by amateurs. You can see the bloodstains even. There’s been fighting, and not just by Heroes or the police. And disorganised Villains drugged out of their minds generally rampage differently than this.”

Mastermind double-checked he was recording this, so he could geek over Mirko casually proving she was not the #5 hero just because she was objectively terrifying. There was a whole wealth of experience and insight she had to offer, and he planned to later dissect it all to figure out how she had done it.

“If this isn’t settled by winter, exposure will kill hundreds of thousands,” said Mastermind before wincing. “Possibly hundreds of thousands more.”

There was no way this sort of apocalyptic future had occurred without a massive set of fatalities. As things spiralled downwards, the number of deaths would have inversely skyrocketed.

What had happened to mom!?

If there was a single hair out of place on her head, he was killing whomever was possible, and then burning down Japan.

It was the only rational response.

“But then where’s the international support?” argued Shieldmaiden. “This makes no sense! Other nations would’ve done something—”  

Mirko raised a hand and everyone obediently shut up while she glared towards an intersection. “Someone’s coming. Six people.”

Everyone prepared themselves. In a generous concession, Hatsume Industria moved her gun so it was now pointed halfway between the new arrivals and Mastermind.

Around the corner raced a bunch of heroes. Even from this distance they were visibly exhausted and grimy in a way which made Eraserhead seem sharp and pristine in comparison.

They were also very, very surprised.

<*>

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< = = Deku POV = = >

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<*>

Glancing at his phone, Endeavour, Japan’s #1 Hero, grunted, “We’re nearly there.”

“Right,” nodded Deku, the hero student Midoriya Izuku, and Ninth bearer of One For All, feeling a little antsy. They had just been about to put their plan into motion to take down All for One, and his Paranormal Liberation Front (PLF), when they had gotten a highly cryptic call from some pro heroes patrolling around UA High School. So instead of announcing that Class 1-A would be relocating from the school as part of baiting their trap, he found himself in an armoured van being driven to rendezvous with the patrol.

“No further word?” asked Hawks good-naturedly. The #2 Hero was leaning back as if without a care in the world, and not like he had been rushed into the vehicle too.

“No,” said Endeavour. “They won’t elaborate on what happened, citing security concerns. Though they have reaffirmed their identities, so only possibly a trap.”

Deku’s shoulders tightened at the knowledge this might be AFO pulling something over them first, but reminded himself that Shigaraki’s body should still be recovering. The evil mastermind would undoubtedly value being fully prepared over taking them by surprise, and he should not know they knew about the real deadline for Shigaraki.

“My feathers outside aren’t picking up anything concerning,” said Hawks, and that was a fascinating surprise. It made sense he would keep some of them keeping up with the ride. Plus, of course, there was Deku’s Danger Sense Quirk.

They came to a stop, and Endeavour stepped out first, with Hawks right behind him, hovering a few metres off the ground. “Oh my,” he said quietly, and the surprise immediately made the other two tense even if there was no hint of danger there.

The heroes on patrol were there, standing awkwardly by two groups of people, and—

“I told you about the Hearts and Minds party! They really were working with Detnerat and Feel Good, and the proof was right there!”

“Shouto?” blinked Deku.

“Shouto!?” gasped Endeavour.

Except he should be back at school!

One of the groups shifted around to see Deku and the others, and sure enough there was Shouto. The outfit was wrong however, and he was beside—

OnE fOR aLl.

Like a magnet he latched onto the sight of Melissa Shield.

In that moment she was everything. An impossibility. Because she should not be here and should not have One For All, but she did!

That’s—This—It can’t be, whispered the equally shocked First within Deku’s mind. The other Vestigess were also roaring up a storm in the background, and Melissa grabbed her head at the same time as Deku as if in pain.

Closing his eyes for a moment to take a breath, he took a mental step back as best he could, and then had another look.

She was clean. Fresh. In a way most people were not these days even when they had access to UA. Wearing a yellow jumpsuit with red armour, and gauntlets identical to the single one she had given him on I-Island before wrecking it. A hero outfit.

Also, well, she was a lot more muscular than he remembered her being. Granted, in retrospect she was able to keep up with Hero students while climbing dozens of stairs, but the young woman before him seemed as built as Sato.

A shift of movement, and he found himself looking at Hatsume too. Her carrying all that obvious weaponry was . . . less surprising. Only what was she doing here out of the lab, and looking like she knew how to fight as well. Maybe younger looking than when he saw her a few days ago. 

. . .

. . . What was going on?

“You’re not Shouto,” growled Endeavour as he took a fighting stance. The rising heat of his flames made a drop of sweat appear on Deku’s head, yet he made no other signs of aggression as they all tried to make sense of this all.

“I’m not your Shouto,” the scarred teen corrected. He also looked younger, and with none of the sense of self-comfort Deku so appreciated seeing in his friend. A hand came down on Shouto’s shoulder, and Deku followed the arm up to—

“Aizawa-sensei!?” he blurted out at the sight of the man with both eyes and no scar on his face. A quick glance confirmed both feet intact too. The absolutely ‘done with the world’ expression was totally him though. If anything, it might be worse than usual; the last he could recall it being that bad involved Mineta, Yaoyorozu’s bear traps, a half-naked Kirishima yelling about how hard he was, and someone giving Iida triple-expresso chocolates as a prank. All with Miss Midnight laughing in the background so hard she was crying.

“It seems,” gritted out not-Aizawa-sensei, “that we’re in another dimension. These other heroes have been filling us in.”

Glancing at Endeavour, Deku could see the man considering it, before he reluctantly admitted, “That would explain the differences from the Shouto I saw this morning.”

Once more Deku’s gaze was drawn back to Melissa, who was also staring at him. Although she seemed more . . . bewildered? Proud? Put-off? He had no idea what she was feeling.

She’s trying to figure out how you’re different. Different from the Izuku she knows, said Nana in his ear. Which made sense. But you’re staring at the girl too much—

Oh wow did he flush up right there and averted his eyes.

—and missing out who else is here.

Blinking, Deku just stared at Sir Nighteye. Alive and piercing expression shifting back and forth between him and Melissa.

“S—S—Sir!” Deku managed, tears already blurring your vision. “Y—you’re here!?”

“In a sense,” said Sir Nighteye softly, which was so surreal it robbed him of breath. “And yes, I’ve already been told my counterpart died in this world.”

“I’m so sorry!” wailed Deku, only for a raised palm to cut him off.

“Unless you were the one to deliver the blow,” Sir Nighteye firmly yet not unkindly said, “you’re not responsible. And it’s probably best to think of me as an entirely different person.”

“And we’re planning to keep him alive!” said Lemillion cheerfully —their Lemillion he bet— with a thumb’s up.

“Much appreciated,” said Sir Nighteye with a small smile.

“Yah, yah, yah!” snapped a Mirko with all four limbs still attached. “Save the snappiness for later. We’ve got villains to worry about first, and it sounds like you,” she jabbed a finger at Nighteye, “have been keeping quiet about the worst of all of ‘em.”

Despite her words, it was immediately obvious to a long-time hero fan like Deku that she was distracted. For all her aggression there, it fell short of her usual fire and energy. Understandable given how she resumed rubbing her arm, doubtless absorbing what had happened to her counterpart.

Even for someone who lived in the moment like her, the prospect of such crippling wounds would make anyone hesitate.

“You wouldn’t have been able to help,” said Sir Nighteye coolly. “Besides, back in our universe Nedzu and I are working on a plan.”

“Well, good for you, but these people will never know, will they!?” she snarled back, pupils dilated in what was nearly rage. “Clearly, they weren’t able to do the job, so there’s no way I’m sitting idly when we get back! Now!” The weight of her attention made Deku flinch, even if logically he knew he probably could beat her with One For All. “You guys believe who we are, or what?”

“I admit, this would be a rather poor ruse using such bad imitations. Plus seeing dead people does make this more convincing,” said Hawks, drifting over. His smile was warm as ever, only there was still something about him which triggered something down Deku’s spine. “But . . . what about that lot?”

Following the finger, Deku was drawn to the second group, and immediately and furiously assumed a fighting stance.

He had been so fixated upon Melissa and then the other heroes, that he had missed the villains in their midst.

Only . . .

Only they were just standing there?

But they had members of the League of Villains! Twice! Mr. Compress!

And Gentle? La Brava?

That made him pause, as those two had never struck him as the type to get involved with a bunch of killers.

There was also a cat heteromorph lady, a regular sized guy in an orange coat and blue helmet/gas mask, a smaller man in full armour giving a jaunty wave, someone with a gold mask, and a lady in a black dress coat with a glowing snowflake design and fur trim.

Danger Sense isn’t pinging, said Fourth with a frown. As it had been his own Quirk, he would know best. That’d help explain why you didn’t notice.

That doesn’t excuse pathetic situational awareness, said Second harshly. He can’t become dependent upon your Quirk!

Wincing, Deku knew Second had a point there. A proper Pro Hero would never have been so distracted.

Sensing another One For All was distracting for everyone, said First diplomatically.

Leader’s not wrong about Danger Sense though, said Third flatly. It can’t become a crutch.

Save it for later, said Sixth. Right now we’re being the distraction.

Blissfully they stopped, and Deku took in the villains in more detail. Thankfully, they had spent the whole time just standing there staring back.

The shorter one in armour, if still taller than La Brava, was standing in the front, and the one the rest grouped around. Their leader.

He was . . . clearly meant to be flashy with that visor, full-body armour, hood, and cape. Bright red and green colours predominantly used. A bow-tie of all things, and a fake, manic smile with all teeth was stretched across his mask—although the grin was eerily familiar. The man was also probably right about Deku’s height. All while excluding an air of quiet competence and menace despite his apparent oddities.

“This,” said Mount Lady, who lacked the facial scar of the version he was used to, “is the League of Supervillains. Not associated with the League of Villains.”

“I should say not,” snapped Mr. Compress, practically shaking now with frustration, an angry mask on his face. “It’s an insult to be lumped in with those degenerates!”

“Yeah!” yelled Twice. “What he said.”

“Excuse me?” said Hawks, floating a little closer, and sounding a little surprised there.

Eyes of his mask narrowing, Twice said, “You heard me. I’ll gut yah.”

“Hawks?” said Endeavour.

“That’s . . . more coherent than I’d have expected,” Hawks elaborated.

“They haven’t committed any crimes we know of on that scale,” said Death Arms, still in his hero uniform like he should be. “Of course, knowing what Mr. Warp can really do,” he hissed that out bitterly, while shaking a bag which clacked with the sound of marbles, “has been a big relief.”

“Party poopers,” spoke up the shorter man in armour for the first time, while crossing his arms.

A proper fire surged back into Mirko’s eyes. “You want a beating, Mastermind?” she growled, clenching a fist in one palm while cracking her neck.

Most of the League of Supervillains flinched at this. Most. “We worked hard and square to steal all that money,” pouted the man evidently known as Mastermind.

“It’s robbery which is the problem,” said Mount Lady. “You dastardly supervillain. Who we’ve,” she grimaced like she was sucking a lemon, “brought Supercool Justice to.”

The look in her eyes carried as heavy a burden as Deku’s own, war-weary Mount Lady. As if she had done and seen things she could never forget, no matter how hard she tried.

“Plus, you probably,” Death Arms sighed, “digitally hacked their accounts to steal more anyways. Right?”

Deku blinked at that.

“MWA-HAHAHA! Well, we shall then just take satisfaction in how long we fooled you about Mr. Warp’s capabilities! Speaking of which?” He turned his head to the masked man with a silent question. “You want to use your original alias now that the trick’s been revealed?”

Somehow at some point the mask had been switched for one with a sullen expression upon it, as the thief said, “I’d prefer to continue being called Mr. Warp. ‘Mr. Compress’ has been sullied for me.”

“Fair enough,” nodded Mastermind, turning back to the heroes. While the others, even Gentle Criminal, seemed nervous overall, their leader appeared utterly unphased at being surrounded and outnumbered.

The fact that nobody —Mirko included— had tried to arrest them yet before Endeavour and Hawks arrived said a lot in itself.

“You’re familiar with us?” asked Gentle Criminal, snatching Deku’s attention. “You reacted to seeing us more than the others have.”

“Uh, yes. I was there when you were arrested for breaking into UA.”

“Hmm. How bold of my counterpart,” murmured Gentle Criminal just loud enough to be heard. More clearly, “But I can assure you, we’ve nothing to do with Shigaraki or this copy-catting League. While it’s good to know they eventually changed the name here, the insult still stands.”

“Mastermind and the League of Supervillains debuted first with true acts of supervillainy,” Mount Lady dutifully and dully affirmed.

“MWA-HAHAHA!” laughed Mastermind.

. . . Did we just get another lunatic manchild? asked Second, devoid of emotion.

While it was not something Deku would voice himself, he had a sinking feeling this might be the case.

“. . . Mirko, is there a reason you haven’t knocked him senseless already?” asked Endeavour bluntly.

“He’s a genius at science,” she scowled with clear reluctance. “So, I’m not risking brain damage until I know if he can get us home or not. Originally though, that was under the assumption he had a warping Quirk on his team which I figured could help out. Since then, we’ve been more interested in learning what Shigaraki and the Quirk Boogeyman are planning to be up to.”

“But if Mastermind,” and now Sir Nighteye was glacial as he glared at the League of Supervillains, “makes any further inquiries about my counterpart’s collection again, priorities will change.”

“He’s not—” protested Mastermind before Gentle Criminal, the cat-lady, and snow-lady all smacked him upside the head. “Alright,” he drooped forward. “I’ll stop asking about who got his legendary merch collection.”

. . . What did happen to it? Deku now wondered. Because those had been some incredibly precious pieces of All Might’s glory . . .

“Show some basic tact and decency!” snapped Death Arms.

“Supervillain!”

“That’s no excuse, sir,” reprimanded Gentle Criminal as if to an errant pupil.

“Very well. Mastermind—” KRAKATHOOM

Deku startled at the sudden crack of thunder before realising it came from the supervillain.

“—will let it go,” said Mastermind as he sullenly crossed his arms.

“. . . He’s got an artificial thunder machine for whenever he says his own name?” deadpanned Hawks.

“Yes,” said Mount Lady, a glint in her eyes daring them to mock the heroes associated with the definite manchild.

“MWA-HAHAHA!”

Instead of being further embarrassed by their leader’s behaviour, the League of Supervillains actually seemed encouraged.

Frowning slightly, Deku’s attention shifted to Gentle Criminal. The man was clearly at ease with Mastermind, including being unafraid to scold him. Yet still apparently subordinate to him, which did not fit with the proud and daring man Deku had fought on UA’s grounds. Still, what mattered most remained that he did not see Gentle, his Gentle at least, siding with the sort of killer Shigaraki was. Or any killer really, given how he had recaptured that whole prison.

Of course, for someone capable of beating an entire prison’s worth of villains to accept Mastermind as his boss, carried heavy implications. Either Mastermind was the brains of the bunch beyond just science, which . . . seemed unlikely . . . Or Mastermind was just that formidable a fighter.

“But where are our manners?” went on Mastermind. “Clearly you now know who I, La Brava, and Gentle are, as well as Twice and Mr. Warp, so let me present: Inkblot!”

The cat-lady waved with a wide, dangerous grin. Deku had a mild double-take as her arm bent with far more flexibility than a normal limb, like there were no bones in it. 

“Lady de Winter!”

“It’s ice to meet you,” grinned the snow lady.

“Oh no, a pun one,” muttered Endeavour so quietly Deku barely caught it.

“Kouro!”

A burst of blue flame came from the hands of the man wearing what was now apparently an orange fire helmet.

“And Golden Grin!”

The final one posed with his fists on his hips.

“And you are?” Mastermind jabbed a finger straight at the young student. 

“Huh? Me?” he blinked, pointing at himself. “I’m the hero, Deku!”

“That’s a terrible name.”

The sheer bluntness made Deku freeze, before shooting a pained and offended look at Hatsume who remained very unimpressed.

Sighing, Melissa said, “Mei, I love you, but your original name was worse. You of all people don’t get to judge.”

“And it was Izuku who made me change it!”

“Uhm . . .” Deku tried before stuttering off at the realization they knew another version of himself. No, wait! Hatsume knew his name! And remembered it! And called him by his first name!?

Truly an alien world.

“And what about you?” said his saviour, Hawks, with all his charm. “You two hero students?”

“You bet!” grinned Hatsume, slightly shifting her oversized rifle. That simple movement pinged Danger Sense slightly. “I’m the Inventing Hero, Hatsume Industria!”

“The Defending Hero, Shieldmaiden,” said the blonde with a proud grin.

“Shouto,” deadpanned Shouto.

“But seriously,” protested Hatsume Industria. “‘Deku’? That mean name from the explodey-guy?” She tilted her head in a way which raised red flags even if strangely Danger Sense did nothing. “That’s a terrible choice. Right, Melissa?”

Hatsume uses her first name too? No, wait! She remembered her name!?

“It’s definitely a strange one,” Shieldmaiden answered neutrally. “But . . . you’re a hero student?”

“Yes!” he said proudly.

There was a look on her face like she wanted to ask him something, only she was unsure of how. Instead, it was Shouto who spoke up. “What’s your Quirk?”

“Shouto!” protested Shieldmaiden. “You can’t just ask that!”

Deku froze.

Honestly, it was partially the novelty of people asking about his Quirk when the whole world seemed to know about it now. But also, the sudden fear that his counterpart had also been Quirkless. Did he risk these people from another world, who were not Melissa, learning about One For All?

Oh no!

Villains and people who were not Melissa might learn about One For All!

“Uhhh . . .” he managed, feeling agony at how he was messing this up.

“‘Course he does!” chirped Hawks cheerfully, patting Deku on the shoulder. “Superpower’s a pretty strong and versatile one at that, and he’s trained it really well. Public speaking’s next year though.”

“Yes! That’s right!” Deku nodded quickly.

“Enough,” declared Endeavour, and while his words were without heat, that single word shut everyone up. “Mirko. Nighteye. Eraserhead, what do we do with them?” His aggressive gesture towards the League of Supervillains had them tensing up for a fight.

Instead of leaping at the opportunity, the Rabbit Hero scoffed, and scowled off into the distance with her arms crossed.

For his part, the Underground hero and teacher had his eyes screwed tight as if in pain, and the others did not look much better.

Coming to a decision, Eraserhead turned to Mount Lady and Death Arms, but they were looking at the dark clouds overhead, ignoring the growing glare burning into the side of their heads. Sir Nighteye was more focused on Deku, and he probably had a good suspicion who bore One For All in this universe.

Hawks drifted just ahead of Endeavour, only before either hero could say something, Eraserhead released an explosive breath. “You. Owe me. Big time.”

Death Arms and Mount Lady made noncommittal grunts, while the other two adult heroes ignored him.

“What?” said Hatsume Industria, her gun still pointedly near the League of Supervillains. Wincing, Shieldmaiden reached over and pushed the gun barrel down. “What!?”

“Mastermind, every fibre of my being wants to puke at once when I say this,” gritted out Eraserhead as if in physical pain. “But we need your heeeh . . . We need your heeeheeeeeh . . .”

Tilting his helmet, Mastermind said in surprise, “You need our help?”

“That, yes,” said Eraserhead flatly.

“WHHAAAAT!?!?” screeched Hatsume Industria, fighting to bring her now ominously humming weapon up. Thankfully she settled down when a grim-faced Shieldmaiden rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, the blonde student focused on their teacher.

“Alrighty then! Glad to hear it!” said Hawks with a cheerful clap.

“Hawks,” said Endeavour, a whole conversation seemingly packed into one syllable.

“Look, I’m just thinking that even having only a friendly Twice on our side doubles our manpower, and for that I’m willing to work with the multiverse’s most dastardly Supervillains! Who surely cannot tolerate some second-rate hacks ripping off their brand, other dimension or no!”

. . .

It honestly took a moment for all that to process through Deku’s brain before he turned to look at the #2 Hero in absolute shock. Was he suffering from a concussion or something!? Only then did he connect it to how Mount Lady and Death Arms had been hammily acting, and sure enough he just caught what might be discrete nods from them to Hawks.

Oh, he’s playing Mastermind’s ego. Still, that can’t be all it takes…

Except after hearing that,  Mastermind was practically hopping in place with excitement at the heavy-handed praise.

And doubling their manpower was—

“Oh please!” spat one of the heroes who had found these newcomers. “You’re just feeling guilty over murdering the other—”

“Enough,” hissed Endeavour, and this time he said it carried the full presence of the man who had been one of Japan’s greatest heroes for decades. His flames remained the same as ever but that molten gaze made the hero who had spoken up and the others cower away. “Go monitor the perimeter. Now.”

They scampered away without another word.

An awkward silence fell, with the League of Supervillains staring at a fidgeting alive Twice while he stared at the ground.

“I—” started Hawks, and the sheer emotions packed into that single word made Deku instinctively wince right before Twice snapped a palm up.

Sucking in a few more breaths while everyone waited, he raised his head to meet Hawks’ gaze head-on. Neither flinched.

“You were right.”

That got a twitch out of Hawks, and the words spilled out of Twice. “Maybe not the murder, don’t do that! But if this other me joined people whose debut was attempted child murder, then maybe he deserved that murder and he was probably going to murder other people and he had to stop and oh I’ve got murder on my mind and—”

He whirled around and Inkblot drew him into a hug, while the rest of the League of Supervillains rested a hand on his shuddering body.

Prompted by something, Deku turned his head to see the other heroes passing out of earshot now, shoulders hunched.

“Why!? Why!?” sobbed Twice. “Why would he join people like Shigaraki!?”

“Because it appears that All For One approached the desperate and alone,” said Sir Nighteye calmly, heedless of the glares the Supervillains shot him. “Tapping into a reserve of resentment and disenfranchisement we’ve overlooked for too long.” A mournful look passed over his features. “A warning to us all for when we get back home.”

“You’re alright with this, Sir Nighteye?” said Endeavour bluntly. “You seem separate from the others in this.”

“I’m not part of the taskforce for catching Mastermind. However, I do know we need all the help we can get. Especially a wild card AFO will never see coming. Which begs the question:” the look he shot Mastermind was piercing if not precisely confrontational, “what’s in it for you?”

Giving Twice one more pat, Mastermind stepped forward and with a showman’s flourish of his cape—which was fluttering in a non-existent wind?— cackled, “Oh Sir Nighteye! We’d be more than happy to help with more than just copies of yourselves! We’ve already gained a lot of potentially invaluable information if it remains true in our universe. And yes, I hate Shigaraki. Except this version of him seems even worse, as he has clearly sunk the entire hero merch industry into the ground, so he must suffer for that.” He paused, tapping his chin as if remembering something, and with a snap of his fingers added, “Oh, and what he’s done to Japan.”

Deku . . . could only stare. He could vaguely tell Hawks and Endeavour were doing the same and he bet the Wing Hero was now having second thoughts.

Death Arms and Mount Lady buried their heads in their hands with an embarrassed whine escaping her. Meanwhile the older hero was audibly telling himself, “He’s your best way home. He’s your best way home. He’s a genius. He’s your best way home—”

Eraserhead was trying to disappear into his scarf, and Sir Nighteye closed his eyes as if in pain. Lemillion laughed like it was a joke, only it did not reach his eyes. Shieldmaiden was giving Mastermind a frosty look while wrestling again with the large gun before an increasingly irate Hatsume Industria tried shooting someone. Shouto meanwhile regarded the League of Supervillains with an unreadable expression.

“As for you Hawks,” continued Mastermind much more seriously. “I do hope you learn from this experience with Twice so it doesn’t happen again. It’s a credit to your potential to still be a Superhero from how upset you are about it. Granted, given your arrest record, I can only assume that you were in a position where you only had your feathers available, and couldn’t do anything sneaky.”

“Sneaky?” repeated Hawks, and he sounded a bit bemused at that. “I’d infiltrated the PLF and had direct access to Twice. How much sneakier could I get?”

“Capture support gear, including just a taser. Drugging his food or drink,” waved off Mastermind as if it were obvious. “Telling him you’d booked some ladies, or guys, of negotiable favour on the other side of town.”

“Well,” said Hawks with a little laugh. “I can see why you’d . . .”

Concerned, Deku saw that while Hawks seemed alright, his pupils dilated as he stood there frozen. A blur, and his hand met his forehead loud enough to ring across the block. “Uhm. Okay. You’re right,” admitted Hawks, and there was something jagged to his voice. “Yeah, I had all those cameras on me, but if I could pull off my infiltration, pass on information and coordinate the raid, I should’ve done more than just rely on my Quirk for that. I could’ve given him a drugged beer or something right before it all went down. Or taking him to see some hookers. But I figure the other heroes would frown on that last one.”

Everything felt awkward again. While Deku had not actually seen that video footage himself, he had heard enough of those sorts of accusations towards Hawks to wonder exactly how serious the man was.

“Ahem,” Gentle coughed into his throat. “We do indeed have a lot to offer you though. Mastermind?”

“Ah? Oh, of course! Truthfully, this shouldn’t even be too hard. I mean, clearly Shigaraki and his sugar daddy—”

The noble and heroic vestiges of One For All choked and laughed at that.

“—are too foolish to really use what’s at their disposal. I mean, what’s even the point of overthrowing the government if you’re not using it to get all the hero merch you can get?” He hesitated again, body language taking on something pensive, and it struck the heroes he was visualising such an outcome. “All the merch . . .” he crooned. “A hundred metre tall All Might statue . . .”

Nine. No, scolded Nana firmly, making Deku wince in guilt.

“Boss, no,” deadpanned Inkblot.

“Yeeeah, please no,” pleaded Kouro.

“That’s a little much,” Golden Grin earnestly chimed in.

“Hmmmm . . .” hummed Lady de Winter who seemed to be considering it.

“Mastermind,” sighed Gentle Criminal. “You’d be absolutely miserable running the government. If you ever stepped foot in a bank, you wouldn’t be able to rob it, as they’d just hand you the money, as it would be your money because you’d be managing the economy if you’d want to keep the merch running.”

Mastermind levitated a few centimetres with a full-body jolt of horror.

Now Deku was pretty sure that was not how the money worked, but he was also pretty sure he did not want to correct that. 

“Uh huh,” said La Brava, giving Mastermind a pat on the hip. “You’d be more of a white-collar criminal.” 

Her boss practically shook in revulsion. 

“While that statue does sound tempting,” said Sir Nighteye neutrally, “let’s focus more on the here and now.”

“I’m still waiting for a reason why I’m wasting my time listening to this madman ramble on,” said Endeavour, flames flaring briefly as he demonstrated his frustration. “Why should we risk working with someone so unstable beyond just Twice’s help? We’ve already got a solid plan to take down AFO.”

The League of Supervillains quailed under that threat, except if anything their leader only got more upbeat. “Oh, do you?” said Mastermind. “Then there’s just one thing I want to confirm from something those other heroes said: you’ve already arrested Kurogiri?”

Something in Deku’s gut twitched.

“. . . Yes,” confirmed Endeavour after a long pause as he visibly debated answering or not.

“Well then, is Monoma Neito still alright?”

“Yes,” repeatedly Endeavour curtly, not giving anything away.

"In that case, I'd make it look like your numbers are spread out, lure in Sugar Daddy and Shigaraki, have Phantom Thief practice with Kurogiri's quirk in advance and then bring all of your forces together at once while also separating any of the PLF present elsewhere."

It was all released in a rush and Deku’s blood froze as the hairs on his neck stiffened.

“H—how!?” gasped Endeavour in shock and a trace of fear.

Because if Mastermind could put all of that together so effortlessly, then what if AFO figured out their secret plan too!?

“Wow! You just put that all together like that?” said Lemillion jovially.

“Monoma has an excellent Quirk,” said Mastermind with a theatrical shrug. “He has a lot of potential. Honestly, he’d have done better fighting against us if he hadn’t been so distracted by ranting about proving his class’ superiority over 1-A. I do hope Vlad King lectured him about how it’s the Supervillains who do the ranting, not the villains or heroes. Regardless, there’s so many roles he could fill with a little work.”

“Mastermind was, under the protest of myself and the other teachers, brought in to test 1-A and 1-B for their final exams,” elaborated Eraserhead heavily, yet Deku knew his teacher well enough to know the man was also reevaluating his assessment of Mastermind. He and the other heroes responsible for catching him were also looking far less embarrassed and much more vindicated now.

“Exactly,” said Mastermind, giving a ‘there you have it’ gesture towards the teacher. “And I’d been thinking before of how many different ways Monoma could team-up with other heroes or, frankly, hire civilians with useful Quirks as support to provide him a boost.”

“Boss, focus,” said Inkblot not unkindly, aborting the man’s impending rant.

“Wait,” said Endeavour, trying to dissect Mastermind with his gaze alone. “What’s your Quirk? A mind-reading one?”

That would make more sense than someone just figuring out their trump card so easily . . .

Dully, Eraserhead seemed to process that for a few heartbeats, before staring at Mastermind with a blank expression for a long, drawn out moment. 

“Oh my!” gasped Mastermind, slapping his hands to his cheeks. “So scandalous! Thinking such dirty thoughts about what you want to do with Ms. Joke!”

Mirko and Sir Nighteye ignored this byplay, but the heroine’s jaw was twitching. The other two adult heroes were glaring their thoughts at Mastermind though, who made a sort of high-pitched giggles. “You flirts!” he said, swatting his hands at them like he was a teenage girl in a romcom. “And here’s me without any death traps to strap you to!”

That made them go green. “Wait!” gagged Mount Lady. “When you captured Ingenium, was that—you—nooo.”

“What do death traps have to do with flirting?” asked Shouto, who had gone ignored along with his two classmates.

“Ask your teacher Midnight later,” said Lady de Winter cheerfully. “I’m sure she’d be totally chill to help!”

“No!” snapped Eraserhead, Quirk flaring.

Instead of cowering, she cheekily said, “So you’re volunteering? Or would you rather we did it?”

Heart clenching at that, Deku managed not to say anything at the reminder of his fallen teacher.

“To get things back on topic,” said Eraserhead, sounding deader inside than Deku’s sensei usually was, “rationally speaking, Mastermind doesn’t have a mind reading Quirk. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had such trouble in certain circumstances.”

“You’re changing the subject~,” sang Lady de Winter mockingly, only to wince as Inkblot elbowed her. “Fine, fine,” she pouted.

Mastermind still glanced at her to see if she was really done.

. . . He never said what his Quirk was, did he?

“That’s all well and good,” said Hawks, clasping his hands before him. “But how would an evil genius like you lure, heh, Sugar Daddy and Shigaraki out?”

Yes. There was no way that—

“Why I’d use the fact that Aoyama Yuga is their mole within UA!”

“What,” Endeavour deadpanned. It was not a question but a flat demand.

Hawks’ eyes went cold and Deku felt his stomach drop out once again even as he itched with sudden sweat. How!?

“How dare you!?” spat Shieldmaiden, releasing Hatsume Industria’s gun and stomping forward, vibrating with repressed violence. “There’s no way Aoyama would do something like that! He—” Whatever she was about to say broke off as something flashed through her mind and she just stood there reliving memories.

Instead of making his own denials, Eraserhead regarded Deku, Endeavour and Hawks carefully to observe their reactions. Whatever he read on their faces made his own turn stormy.

“Ah!” cried Melissa as she grabbed her forehead and, for the first time, Hatsume Industria dropped her ire for Mastermind and came to comfort her. “Mel?” she softly asked. 

That must be her own Vestiges reacting to the news, said First. I don’t think they’re as fully formed as we are.

Given Shouto’s uniform, and Aizawa’s state, they must be at least a few months earlier than us, suggested Nana.

Yeah, and in an uproar over realising who was right beside her the whole time, observed Fifth with his own bad temper.

The Vestiges . . . had been rather silent about their opinions regarding Aoyama.

“How?” hissed Eraserhead venomously.

“Only just now,” confessed Mastermind. “More specifically, I was previously curious as to how unsuited his Quirk was for his body, but mostly I was just happy he was still persevering to be a hero. Even if he should’ve been using more support gear. Some other, minor, things seemed off as time went by, but it wasn’t until we learnt that there’s someone who can steal and give Quirks, and apparently able to keep orchestrating attacks against your counterpart’s students, that it all came together.”

Things were clearly all connecting for Eraserhead too now. “That’s what Golden Grin was talking to him about during the exam,” he bit out. “Why you silenced the audio; you were trying to question him.”

The golden-masked Supervillain flinched at that, yet Mastermind spread his hands. “The League of Supervillains trying to discretely approach one of Nedzu’s students would ironically have been more dangerous than doing so openly in the midst of the exam. Certainly, we’d be much more likely to be shot at with a railgun.”

Eraserhead twitched at that. Tutting, Mastermind chided him like one would a small child. “Oh? Was I not supposed to know I was being followed by Snipe when I was testing the students?”

The teacher just stared for half a minute, eyebrow twitching, before turning back to Endeavour. “So, as you can see, not making use of him to some degree would be irrational. Despite the totally justified temptation to simply lock him away.”

“So I can see,” said Endeavour contemplatively. “Fine. I’ll vouch for him.”

“So will I,” chipped in Hawks.

“Have you actually fought Shigaraki and the League of Villains before?” checked Endeavour. From that tone, Deku knew the man was mostly trying to put together more information on what exactly they were dealing with. A grudge did not guarantee actual fighting. 

“Why of course!” bragged Mastermind grandly. “I fought his Nomu at the USJ on even terms until All Might showed up, and assisted him in his victory! Kicked Shigaraki in the balls!”

Hawks flipped him a thumb’s up at that one.

“Killed dozens of Nomu—”

“What!?” gasped Deku.

With both hands Mastermind gestured at the heroes from his own world, who grimly nodded in confirmation.

Although not as grimly as they should be!

They should be repulsed!

“Heroes are meant to save people,” Deku firmly said, drawing a line here and now on the matter. “And Nomu are people.”

“Well put!” said Mastermind, spreading his arms wide joyfully. Exactly the sort of heroic attitude I’d expect from not only a hero student, one interning with either Endeavour or Hawks no less! But!” 

Deku bit his tongue to keep from correcting the Supervillain. 

Mastermind raised a finger. “First, Supervillain, not Hero. And second,” another finger raised, “those Nomu had self-detonation Quirks. Shigaraki had already ordered other attacks with similar Nomu. I merely activated their powers prematurely. ” 

Deku glared at him, mentally filing that tidbit of Mastermind’s capabilities away. “And you couldn’t have neutralised or captured them?” 

Mastermind lost his comical edge with his third finger. “And third point, they were people. The changes to them are beyond our science right now. Or have you found a way to bring life back to dead brain matter? And if so, separate the mixed consciousnesses?” The other heroes shot him surprised looks at his knowledge but he waved them off. “It was easy enough to extrapolate from data taken at the USJ.”

“No. We’ve had no luck in a cure,” said Endeavour before Deku could answer. “We’ve only had partial success with Kurogiri, and he’s been stuck in a coma since.”

“Hm,” Mastermind stroked his chin. “That would help explain where such an absurdly powerful Warping Quirk came from, if it was a far weaker one enhanced by other Quirks.”

Instead of responding to that, Endeavour laid a surprisingly gentle hand on Deku’s shoulders. “I’ve killed Nomu before, Deku. It’s not right what’s been done to them, but sometimes we don’t have a choice. We really don’t have a way to save them, and the doctors have been trying non-stop.”

“Or put another way, it’s a compromise we’re willing to make,” said Hawks. “But have you killed those who aren’t Nomu?”

“No,” said Eraserhead decisively. “The League of Supervillains has no . . . human deaths. Nor has anyone been seriously hurt beyond broken bones.”

“Well,” said Mount Lady with malicious cheer. “Muscular doesn’t count.”

“No. No he doesn’t,” agreed Eraserhead.

“Hm,” grunted Endeavour, but he did not press the matter. Meanwhile Deku gave Mastermind a wide-eyed look, too aware of what an accomplishment that was. For their part, the League of Supervillains radiated a grim vindictiveness.

It still felt wrong to Deku. Except he knew he had no allies for it right now, so he resolved to revisit it later. Heroes were to save everyone.

“Alright then,” said Hawks. “Your point’s made; you’re useful to have working with us. Now, again, what do you want in return?”

Cracking her knuckles, Mirko broke her silence, and said, “He’ll do it or else.”

The brief reprieve had been all she needed—that or the prospect of proper violence at last—as now she was radiating a familiar sense of energy and danger. Something Mastermind definitely picked up as this time he flinched as much as the rest of his League. 

Still, he quickly rallied with a “MWA-HAHAHA! Sorry, hero! That’s not going to make me too motivated when you’re on a deadline, now is it? I can’t use my genius if I’m lying beaten on the ground, and you don’t want to lock a vindictive mad scientist up with a lot of fancy toys either. Now then, what do we want . . .?” 

He made a production out of pondering that, stroking his chin all the way. Although Deku had to wonder if the man was genuinely trying to figure out what to demand.

Releasing an explosive breath, Mirko gritted out. “Tell you what. You help us fix this and there's the slightest chance, after I beat you to the ground, that I'll let you lick my abs.”

The high-pitched screech which erupted from the wildly flailing Mastermind covered Deku’s own shock at such a daring offer.

“PASS!” yelled Inkblot over the inhuman noise, trying to grab onto her boss.

“No thank you!” called over a seriously wincing Gentle Criminal, while the rest of the supervillains appeared embarrassed by association.

“Right,” said Hawks, whose smile was looking a little forced. “Well, how about we start with what we want? You, Mastermind, cut off whatever internet searches you’re doing. Only info we provide you. You also are to help us come up with an alternative plan to stop your woeful inferiors.”

“Ah!” Snapping back to attention, Mastermind slumped into a pout. “That seems fair, if cruel, to deny me the internet, but agreed.” He held up his hands to Shieldmaiden, who immediately threw something at them which wrapped its way around them. The strange, metallic material still let him move freely, yet the buttons on his gauntlets were covered.

“There,” she said. “Internet blocked.”

Deku blinked at the seamless way they addressed that. Clearly Mastermind had a lot of well-justified respect for her.

“I’ll be checking to be sure that’s all it does,” he warned back.

“Of course,” she said with a reassuring sunny smile which for some reason Deku did not trust.

It might be the malicious smile of Hatsume’s own beside her.

“Honestly, the information we’ve already learnt should be sufficient payment for us,” Mastermind finally said. His comrades gave him startled looks but he returned a reassuring wave. “They aren’t going to agree to any material compensation. So, we’ll take what we’ve already gotten. Just knowing about the MLA, Detnerat, and similar details is priceless information. And the freedom to part ways when we get home.”

“Five minutes headstart,” countered Eraserhead.

“Fifteen, and we’re going to have a long conversation about what exactly that entails. Including making sure everyone back home agrees to it. We haven’t forgotten how our last ‘headstart’ went.”

Mirko snickered and the League of Supervillains looked like they were on the verge of a traumatic flashback.

“Alright,” said Mirko, rolling her shoulders and enjoying the scent of her enemies’ fear. “That sounds about fair. Makes it more interesting even. Anything else?”

With a shudder, Mastermind pulled himself together. Wagging his finger, he said, “No trying to find out our secret identities.”

“No promises on those whom we already know,” said Hawks with a wink. “We won’t dig further though.”
“Good enough,” said Mastermind with a tone that said he knew not to pick that battle.

“And speaking of enough,” said Endeavour in a voice which knew with absolute belief it would be obeyed, “we should get to UA. We can hash out any further details there.”

Sketching a mocking bow, Mastermind said, “Fine by me.”

Deku noted the supervillain never took his eyes off the heroes though.

Jerking his thumb at the armoured van, Endeavour ordered. “Move.”

Dropping the cheeky act, Mastermind did so, with the League of Supervillains following. After a beat, so did heroes from another world.

Satisfied, Endeavour stomped over to the local heroes, who had found these visitors to have words with them. Hopefully they were just of the ‘keep silent about this’ variety.

While the adults figured out the seating arrangements, Shouto said to Hawks, “The other heroes mentioned that Star and Stripe is dead.”

“Yes,” confirmed Hawks, letting the sorrow the man usually hid behind a smile slip through.

“Do you have any idea how long until the CIA can deploy a new clone of her?”

What.