24If any of y'all thought I was already quitting this story, I apologize for making you think that way. College, job hunting, and taking care of my younger siblings took too much of my time (Almost a real-life Tsuyu Asui situation here except without a mutated Quirk obviously.) I lost motivation for a while, but I was able to feel my Quirk for writing spark a little flame, and I capitalized on it! So, here is a new chapter and a special announcement at the end of the chapter.
It's been a few days since Rei made her move from mental hospital patient to League of Villains member. It was a bit nerve-wracking for Rei because she was living with villains now, something she never once thought would be happening in her life. But on the flip side, Rei was getting used to them as well. So far, it was just them three living in the bar with the exception of whoever the TV personality was.
Shigaraki is somewhat of a brat and a hermit. He rarely comes out of his room unless it is to discuss plans, talk about All Might's demise, or for food or water. Trying to talk to the male child was a hard effort since Rei notice she annoys him easily and has yet to figure out why. Maybe it is her attitude, her lack of being a reliable ally, no connection between the two, or maybe because he just does not like her. Who knows.
Kurogiri, on the other hand, is extremely kind despite making his status. Usually, villains are described as beasts that prey on the weak, that they are not kind people nor show any type of respect. Yet, Kurogiri was the purest example of a villain with class, kindness, and more importantly, human. Villains are seen as inhuman because of their antics, and Rei had to admit she fell for that norm society placed on villains. Kurogiri was human, he did display some humanity despite being an evil man.
Right now, Rei was in a secretive area, provided by the League, trying to make her Quirk more combative. Rei figured that if she was going to take arms against Enji one day, she may as well figure out how to utilize her quirk to the fullest. Kurogiri said he knew people who could provide more clothes for her, and he delivered on that statement. Seeing as she hated her uniform from the institution, Rei had them burned. Rei was wearing a black sweatshirt with grey sweatpants as she was focusing on her ice abilities.
"Mist!" Rei shouted as she fired frost from her body in multiple directions as the room suddenly became foggy with a chilly sensation. Rei then inhaled air and released her breath, some of it becoming frost itself. Rei shook her head slightly from the action, "I forget I can breathe ice if I focus my Quirk into my esophagus." It is a dangerous risk to breath Glacier for a long period of time because Rei can freeze her throat and suffocate to death, but since her body is naturally used to Glacier, only icicles formed in her windpipe and they melted quickly due to the warmth of her body.
"It's great for retreating if I need to leave, but I can tell it won't last long in intense heat," Rei told herself before she felt another presence enter the room. She spun around and saw that it was Kurogiri. Rei smiled lightly at her new partner, "Hello Kurogiri."
"Greetings." Kurogiri then shifted in position, "Was it necessary to make this room freezing again?"
"Sorry. I was just practicing." Rei looked around, "And I can't retract it either as you may know."
"I do." Kurogiri signed, seeing his own breath, "I came to inform you that the plan is moving forward. We should expect to be deployed tomorrow." Kurogiri said.
"Okay. That gives me enough time to practice a little more than." Rei said before forming an ice ball in her hand.
"Have you practiced any new techniques besides the ones you already know?" Kurogiri asked, "It is important for one to expand their number of attacks so they are less predictable, and to improve their combat capabilities overall."
Rei looked at him silently for a moment. "No." Rei said sadly, "I don't know what to do. I'm not a fighter, so I-"
"You can't use that as an excuse anymore." Kurogiri interrupted and caused Rei to jump slightly. "If you can't develop the right mindset that will help you battle your ex-husband, then how do you expect to beat him? You won't win anything by reusing that same alibi." Kurogiri's eyes narrowed, "If you are serious about what your desires are, then start taking it seriously now before you end up in the same hospital as before."
Rei was looking down as she took the advice in. Kurogiri wasn't wrong. She had to get out of the meek habits of hers. Rei really does want to embarrass Enji, more than anything, but she won't be able to do it if she can not even let herself mold into a different person. Rei looked up to Kurogiri and nodded firmly, "You are right. I need to develop myself differently and start to think like a fighter." Rei said as Kurogiri's eyes went back to their normal state.
"Do you even know how to fight?" Kurogiri plainly asked. Rei nervously smiled in response, causing the purple mist to shake his head with his eyes closed, "This is going to be a long road for you, Rei."
"I know it will be." Rei looked down to her hand and created an iceball within it, "But if the satisfaction is as good as I imagine it to be, then it'll be worth it."
Kurogiri chuckled lightly, "Thinking about revenge is sweet, but it pales in comparison to achieving it."
Rei let out a small laugh of her own, "That's good then."
"You know what that iceball and the mist remind me of?" Kurogiri began.
"Hmm?"
"Dry-Ice." Kurogiri pointed out, "Though dry ice may be made out of carbon dioxide only, I would assume you have the possibility of causing ice burns."
Rei thought for a moment at Kurogiri's suggestion, "I may be able too, but I would need some type of test dummy to test it on." Rei said before suddenly adding in, "One that's not particularly able to feel pain though."
"I'll be right back." Kurogiri left through a portal.
"I wonder how he looks under that mist, or...is he just mist itself?" Rei asked herself as Kurogiri returned with some meat on a plate.
"Try it on this." Kurogiri simply said.
Rei approached the meat and froze her hand for a second before placing it on the piece of meat. For a moment nothing was happening until Rei lowered the volume of the temperature continuously before a section of the meat started to turn greyish.
"Freezer burn," Rei said as she pulled her hand away from the meat.
"So you can burn your opponents." Kurogiri then warped the meat away, "You should add that to your arsenal." Kurogiri suggested before teleporting himself away.
Rei stared at the spot where Kurogiri was for a moment before looking at her hand, "Is this really worth it? To team up with villains and be apart of their schemes just to get vengeance on someone? What would my children think?" Rei's hand began to freeze slightly as she pondered these thoughts, "They hate him more, less, or just as much as me, but none of them are capable of villainy, not even Shouto." Rei closed her fist and created an ice block around her fist in frustration, "But I have no way out of here. If I leave, I get caught and there is no chance in hell I am going back there." Rei looked towards the door and walked towards it, "This is my life now. I just hope none of my children see what I will become."
When Rei entered the bar, she noticed the lack of a brat or Kurogiri. "This is the quietest bar I've ever been too," Rei said. She has been to some bars to drown her sorrows out from time to time, and they were always packed. Rei went ahead and got herself some water before flipping the TV in the corner on. It was on the news as it showed the typical news. A villain attack.
"Don't those guys get tired of being evil? What is the point if you are going end up behind bars?" Rei asked herself while taking a sip of water.
"You're right. What is the point?" Rei nearly choked on her water and began to wheeze heavily to cough the water out of her air passage. She looked to see that the TV was online since it said 'Mic On'. "I'm sorry, Rei, I didn't mean to startle you like that."
"I-It's alright," Rei said, still trying to get the remaining water from her lungs, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I got your name from yesterday."
"I do not share my real name with those I do not trust." The TV replied.
"Fair enough," Rei finally got the last of the water out, "What can I call you?"
"Master. Both Kurogiri and Tomura call me 'Master.'" Master said.
"Okay….Master." Rei sat down on a nearby stool, "What did you mean by that I was right? I would assume you would be offended."
"I am not because there are different types of villains. Those who operate in the open, those who act in the shadows, those who plan before attacking, those who strike without a plan, and those who perform all four types." Master explained, "The one you see on the news is your common villain, the one who strikes without a plan. He has no purpose. He only wants to hurt everyone, but do you know why?"
"No, I don't." Rei was curious where this conversation as going.
"From what my eyes tell me, he is angry at corporations. Just look where and what he is attacking." Rei looked at the TV and saw that he was destroying 'Hero Works', one of the leading cooperation in manufacturing hero items. "His anger is directed at manufacturers, and there are plenty of possible reasons why. Maybe he got screwed over and was left in unpayable debt, maybe his own business was shut down, who knows. However, his actions are just out of rage and pointless. Hero Works will simply repair the damages, and that is not even making a dent in their wallet, even if he did act within the shadows without a plan, what could have he done? If he wanted to do real damage, he should have planned his actions and research his target." Rei was fully invested in what Master was saying and completely forgot that the TV was on.
"With planning, you can deal more damage. You could attack a bigger part of the company instead of the front entrance such as the board room or some of their factories. Yet, that is not enough to downsize Hero Works finances. Which is why you would want to decide how you want to destroy your opponent. Do you want to do it inside, or outside? With outside, you are most likely going to be operating in the shadows. You can call these people 'Hackers.' You could hack into the company and place a few bugs in their system that could either destroy the motherboard from the inside or steal their money right under their noses. Though it is a great option, it is prone to fail as Hero Works still has a chance to revive itself despite the setback." Master chuckled lightly, "Then there is operating in the open. This one is the most feared tactic when it is quite simple. Many villains fear to operate in the open because what if they get exposed? That is their own fault as it is not hard. This tactic only requires yourself. Be yourself in this situation and work your way up the ladder. When you get high enough, you can accomplish many evil things. You could even find the doomsday button such as documents that contain illegal actions you will not find online, find all the highest cabinet members and take them out one by one or at once, sneak into forbidden areas and sabotage it, turn everyone on each other and let them rip each other apart, or force their investors to end fundings. The choice is yours, and if you do well enough, the empire will collapse from the inside and crumble to the ground."
Rei took in what Master had told her. He detailed ways of destroying systems correctly. It is true that a blunt attack will get nowhere as anyone is capable of repairing it quickly, but a planned, coordinated calculated attack. That will take time to rebuild and cost extra money that wasn't needed to be spent, maybe even cause unintentional damage that only helps the case. "If I attack Enji point blank, I will lose, I know that. He has years of experience and did not earn the rank of number two for no reason. So I will have to plan my schemes and figure out the best possible solution to defeat him."
"So you see Rei, if you want to get your revenge, you must plan it to perfection. We will help you as promised, but only if you keep your end of the bargain." Master reminded her of the deal they made.
Rei let out a sign of frost, "I know. And I will help."
"Great." Master said, "As you may know, we will be invading U.A. High School tomorrow. We will need you on board for this mission. Allow me to inform you of our situation." Rei straightens herself out, her focus was unwavering. "We will be using Kurogiri's quirk to enter a facility U.A calls 'The USJ' as All Might is supposed to be there and away from any help other than two teachers, pro heroes Eraserhead and 13, and twenty students from the hero course." Rei flinched slightly at the mention of students. She was against hurting children so the fact she may find herself battling some did not sit well. The pro heroes made her nervous, but not afraid. "Our goal is to kill All Might, but since you are not proficient in the art of war, I will have you fight against the students. You do not have to kill them, but incapacitate them is the least you can do." Master explained to her. She felt relieved that killing was not a requirement, but the feelings did not go away completely.
Master continued the plan, "During the few days you were getting settling in, Kurogiri and a partner of ours were recruiting members to help us. They are not League members so do not worry about getting acquainted with them." Rei nodded her head, "Before we enter, we will knock out communications so the backup will not arrive and put an end to our raid. When we do enter, we will teleport the students into different areas of the USJ. We will also teleport some of our forces to keep them occupied. The teachers will be forced to find them and secure them while that leaves All Might by himself with absolutely no support."
"I have a few questions if you don't mind," Rei asked.
"Go ahead."
"How will we defeat All Might? He is the number one pro hero after all, so I am not expecting a walk in the park against him." Rei was concerned about how they will beat the best hero in the world. Battling All Might is one thing, but killing him? That is a whole nother level.
"We have a weapon. I will not say what it is, but you will figure it out once you see it." Master simply said.
"Okay." Rei was slightly disappointed, but at the least found some comfort in knowing they have a plan, not that it made the murder of the number one hero any less easy on her mind and soul, "Is there is a list of who the children are?"
"I'm afraid not. We only managed to intercept a teacher schedule, but not a list of who the students are." U.A was always secretive about who is in their hero courses until the Sports Festival comes around. Why they do this Rei doesn't know.
"Alright. Lastly….why do you want to kill him?" This bothers Rei the most. Many villains had their reasons whether it is because they believed they were overconfident, crazy, stupid, or even just for fun. Of course, some fought him because they hated what he stands for as they feel as though he will never understand the pain they went through. Master, however, seemed different.
The air went cold, almost too cold for Rei to handle. The TV now felt like she was staring into a black abyss of pure darkness and hate. Master did not speak a word, but the atmosphere was convincing enough that something happened to Master for him to want to kill All Might.
"That is confidential information. I hate him for deep, personal reasons. I will give you one motive though." Master's voice lost the caring nature it once held, and was replaced with a tone that would make the devil shake in his boots. Rei slowly nodded her head with all her willpower as she was terrified of Master's voice alone. "All Might nearly killed me with his own hands."
Rei's heart froze for a moment. This can't be right. All Might attempting to murder someone personally? That can not be true. All Might is the ultimate hero, why would he do such a thing?!
"Your eyes are filled with questions." Master says, "Heroes preach about how they will never kill a villain, no matter how evil he may be or the number of deaths and crimes they have committed. Yet, the leader of all the propaganda wanted to kill me. Tell me, Rei. If All Might had killed me, would it still make him better than the average criminal? Would all of his good deeds still outweigh the one death he sought to accomplish?"
Rei had no answer to that. Yes, All Might was the hero the world needed in dark times. All Might is the Symbol of Peace and will forever be decorated with such praise and glory. He does not do it for fame or money, but solely because he wants to help those who can not save themselves from threats that are too powerful for them to overcome. All Might is the hero everyone should strive to be. But...does it all matter if he has blood on his hands? The good he did will never change and Earth will forever be grateful for it, but would everyone forgive him if he killed someone on purpose? What would become of All Might and his image, his legacy? Would the heroic actions really outweigh the one grave he put someone in?
"All Might isn't as pure as he wants everyone to believe." Rei felt as though Master was grinning from the other side, "Think about what I said. Does his hero work justify his need to kill me? Is he a true hero now that you know a dark ambition of his?"
"What….what did you to him?" Rei knew there had to be a reason why All Might was willing to kill Master. Everyone has a reason for their actions, so what would propel the greatest hero of her time to want to end someone's life.
"You will find out in due time if you manage to stay by the league's side long enough." Master said, "Right now we need to put our attention to our raid in tomorrow. Go get some rest Rei. Tomorrow is a big day."
"Yes, Master." Rei couldn't agree more with him. She was barely keeping herself awake right now.
Rei had gotten up the stairs and into her room. It hadn't changed since she moved in aside from the clothing Kurogiri supplied her with. He also gave her a mask for tomorrow. It was just metal that covered up her entire face. Rei picked it up and looked it over, "At least no one will recognize my face." Rei put the mask down on top of the dresser and looked at the paper she took from the hospital, the only item she was able to grab. It was a picture of her and her family, with a piece torn off as it once held Enji in it.
Rei gently took the picture and looked at it. It showed Fuyumi, Toya, Natsuo, and Shouto. All of them were very young and happy in that picture. Rei smiled as she looked at her babies.
"Excuse me, Rei."
Rei put the photo down quickly and looked at her door to see Kurogiri, "Oh. Kurogiri."
"A family photo I see," Kurogiri said.
"Yeah. It's just me with my children." Rei said, "I tore Enji out of it when I was in the hospital. This is the only item I was able to take with me." Rei looked at the photo once more before focusing on her attention to Kurogiri with a deep breath, "Do you need something?"
"Tomorrow is your first battle, and I must be honest, I do not expect you to hold out for a long time," Kurogiri said bluntly.
Rei slightly smiled at that, "Brutal honesty, but I can't deny it either."
"Which is why I will help you when you need me. If you are backed up into a corner, call for me and I will teleport you out. As a member of our group, we will not allow you to be captured. Plus, you have valuable information that you will no doubt spill if you are contained."
"That is also true, as sad as it is." Rei felt her pride being demolished, but she knew that being around villains was not going to be simple.
"You seem fine putting yourself down. You should fix that." Kurogiri said as he walked away leaving Rei with a stunning look.
Rei looked out the door to see Kurogiri walking downstairs, "That man is confusing. If he doesn't care for me, why does he help me?" Rei shook her head and went to bed with pondering thoughts about facing All Might. "Kill All Might, huh? I might have better luck discovering the meaning to life." Rei joked to herself before going to sleep. Little did she know tomorrow would change her whole life forever.
The night rolled over very quickly, and so has the day. The bar was filled, more filled than it has ever been. There were low-level criminals everywhere. Some looked ready while others looked nervous. Rei was on a stool next to some of older criminals as Kurogiri was by the front door, with Shigaraki, telling them of the plan. No one stuck out though, so the weapon Master was talking about was obviously not here yet.
Rei took a sip of water from a cup she had. Hydration was important for her if she wants to create ice as it took much of the water in her body to create it. Rei was wearing pants, a white shirt, and a black jacket as her outfit since she did not have much to use right now. Above her head was the mask she would be using today. Kurogiri had finished his pep talk and was allowing everyone last second preparations before they depart. No doubt he was going to get the weapon. As they were waiting, Rei couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes staring at her.
Rei did her best to ignore the feeling, but it was short-lived as it got on her nerves. She turned to see that one of the goons was looking her up and down, "Yes?" Rei said to him.
"You're looking well miss. Though you have aged, I'd say you did like fine wine." The man flirted with her.
Rei felt an unwanted blush creep on her face as she looked away, "Uh...thanks." Rei did not know how to take the compliment if it even was one.
The man leaned closer to her, "Oh come on, give me a smile." The man then inches his arm closer to her as Rei moved away slightly. Rei wanted to say something, but her nervous nature took over. What if he lashes out and tries to fight her? This whole place could end up exploding and the plan will most fail before it even started.
Rei then felt his arm on her shoulder and instinct was about to take over as she was about to grab his hand and freeze it, but was stopped when Kurogiri suddenly showed up from behind her.
"I recruited you to fight, not to flirt with one of my team members. Either do as we agreed upon or get out." Kurogiri said with a menacingly low voice. The man scoffed and walked away. Kurogiri then turned to Rei, "Next time do something instead of being a helpless child." Kurogiri harshly said as he began to walk away.
Rei watched him go as she was about to call him to him, but when everyone began to back away in fear, Rei looked in their direction saw what they were afraid of. Standing in the back was a giant purple monster with a muscular build. It has no clothes aside from shorts and skull knee pads. The most intimating feature of this beast was its head as it was a beak with lifeless eyes and an open skull that showed the brain of the brute.
"This is the weapon…" Rei thought to herself.
Shigaraki then coughed into his hand, "Okay, now we move out and do not get in my way or abandon the mission." Shigaraki said as Kurogiri opened up a massive portal and everyone began to walk through. Rei watched everyone enter the portal at once. Her chest was pounding in a panic. She was going to U.A and to meet All Might, but not as a fan, but as a possible destroyer. Rei gulped and took a deep breath to calm herself; she then put the mask on and walked through the portal.
When Rei exited the portal, she was amazed by the structure. The USJ looked like an indoor amusement park as it had various locations, even its own waterfall. Rei shook her head as this was not the time to admire the area. Rei moved her head around and found the opponents. There were indeed students and teachers at the front entrance on top a long amount of stairs, but….All Might wasn't there.
"Where is All Might?" Rei asked herself before someone caught her eye. In the midst of the students, she saw one that looked familiar to her. Rei stared at the student for a moment before her blood froze, her heart began to slow, her eyes widened, and the whole world was shut out. In the group of students stood a teenager with half-white half-red hair and a burn on his right side of the face, specifically where the eye is. "No….it can't be…" Rei said as she stepped closer towards the stairs to get a better view of the student. Flashbacks began to cloud her mind as she saw the one person she had not seen for nearly a decade. The source of all her sadness. "S….Shouto?"
Hello everyone! I am posting this message on my three stories, and I am here to say that I will be doing something special. I have had this thought going through my mind since I posted my Iron Maiden fanfic, and I never really knew when, how to do it, nor inspired enough to attempt it. But after watching Endgame, I felt a surge of inspiration to do this. At some point, at some time, I will be posting a new story. One that follows the canon of 'With Great Powers, Comes a Great Alliance', 'Iron Maiden', and 'Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold.' These stories will indeed be colliding at some point with one another, along with three other characters I have yet to reveal. Each of those three will indeed be having stories of their own. All are crossovers with BNHA, but two are not crossovers with Marvel.
With that being said, I do not know exactly the planned date for this event, but I do know when it is drawing near. Keep an eye out for 'Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold' because when it reaches 5 chapters, the event will be triggered.
I urge you all to be caught up on my three stories before I post my crossover if you want for it to make sense and to avoid spoilers. Although they will interfere with the main storyline of each story, so if you do not want to read the crossover event, that is fine.
That is all I have to say. Thank you to everyone who has favorited or followed any of my stories, I really do love doing this, and I can not express how much I appreciate all of you. Without you guys investing your time to read my mediocre stuff, I know I would have not continued these stories. I hope to get a reliable schedule soon and ease the load of stress I have on me so I can pump out chapters more frequently, trust me, I hate to make you guys wait because I know that feeling.
Criticize me if you wish, but please do so respectfully. Once again, thank you to all of you and I really do love you guys and gals.
Sanity out.