The news of the fall of Tartarus reaches Kyuudai as soon as it happens. He watches with rapt attention as the prison falls and the heroes struggle to put out the raging fires.
He pours over the footage, looking for any sign of his master.
He pushes down his hurt at not being included. He tells himself that it must have been a test of some sort. He tries to convince himself that the league seems to have handled themselves well even without his children.
Kyuudai just thought that All for One would have told him the plan, wouldn’t have kept something that important from him. Is Kyuudai not trustworthy? Was this a last minute change?
He tries not to think about how much it hurts that his master didn’t tell him. Kyuudai wouldn’t have interfered if All for One had asked him not to! He understands that Tomura probably needed a push, Kyuudai would have been the first to advocate for it.
Tomura isn’t strong enough, isn’t good enough, even now. He’ll never be good enough to replace his master.
Kyuudai waits for his master’s call, for an explanation, for anything. He considers calling him himself but he must have done something to upset him, he’ll need to apologize. Perhaps he’ll create a new masterpiece? Something more glorious than anything before, able to eliminate any hero in minutes.
That would get him back in All for One’s good graces! A perfect masterpiece, this one better than all the rest!
He gets to work and throws himself into his creations, perfecting them further.
A few days later he’s still heard nothing from anyone.
The heroes aren’t even panicking about the escaped monster of Kamino, the news coverage of the Tartarus breakout carefully avoiding even considering the possibility. It’s as if All for One didn’t escape at all! It's all a careful act of control of course, the heroes can't have the masses panicking after all. He tries to tell himself it will only make the revelation of his escape all the more damaging when he makes his triumphant return.
This is ridiculous!
All for One would never do this to him! Not his wonderful patron, the only person who really understood his passions and love of science!
He calls the League.
They don’t answer.
He calls again.
The phone is disconnected.
How dare they!
Calm, Kyuudai, calm, he tells himself. They’re probably still in hiding, they’re just being cautious. After all, breaking out someone as important as All for One necessitates a certain level of care. He should appreciate how seriously they're obviously taking this.
He itches to see his master, to check on his health. Those Tartarus fools couldn’t have possibly done his care justice! Not to mention the new injuries Kyuudai didn’t have time to assist with after Kamino!
He pours over the footage again.
He’s beginning to think All for One may be unable to communicate with him. His injuries may be too great to overcome, especially without Kyuudai’s help. He could be in a coma, or worse, on the brink of death! He certainly can’t trust the League with any kind of competent medical care.
He calls again.
Finally, someone answers.
“Hello! What can we do for ya? Nothing, hang up and don’t call back!”
“Twice! You’re not supposed to answer the weird phone!”
“Really? My bad, I’ll stop. There’s nothing I like more than answering mysterious phone calls!”
They hang up.
Kyuudai is…
Kyuudai is not going to put up with this insolence any longer. Perhaps this was all a test, yes, that must be it, to see whether Kyuudai would allow such disrespect to continue.
He can’t contact Kurogiri, the easiest way of handling this. The League won't answer his calls. He would really rather avoid using Johnny for his plans, he doesn’t want his child getting tonsillitis again, but they’ve forced his hand.
He orders Johnny to bring the League to him, he’ll get his answers yet.
-
Tomura is not ashamed to admit to panicking at the horrid feeling of his least favorite warp quirk.
What’s happening? Who’s doing this? Where are they going?
He looks around desperately and his panic only increases at noticing that even Eri is choking on the awful stuff, then all he knows is darkness.
-
The warp quirk brings him everyone within a certain distance of Tomura. He can’t risk All for One’s wrath by daring to try to summon him directly, especially with the potential medical equipment involved. Kyuudai is surprised to see some new additions to the League, Hawks is quite a shock. He’d thought Tomura’s hatred of heroes a little too intense to allow for double agents. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons All for One hasn’t been communicating with him, Kyuudai thinks too little of his pawns.
There’s no sign of All for One, but Kyuudai doesn’t allow himself to panic just yet. Tomura spent plenty of time away from him over the years, this doesn’t mean anything. Besides, it may even be a good sign, if All for One didn't come through there's no risk to his continued health.
His eyes sweep over the wary League members again, none of them are missing and he thinks, yes, he shifts forward in his seat to get a better look, ignoring the way Dabi shifts back defensively and tucks her behind his leg. They still have the little girl with them.
Kyuudai had heard Tomura had picked up a stray but hadn’t bothered to dwell on it. He has his own children to worry about after all. He wonders if she has a powerful quirk, maybe that’s why Tomura still keeps her around.
-
Tomura is focusing very hard on taking deep breaths, the leader needs to be calm. Even in the face of a noumu lab and his former Sensei’s freaky doctor.
“Hello Tomura.”
“Doctor.”
“I heard you broke into Tartarus.”
Fuck.
Fuck.
Of course he heard about that, everyone heard about that. They set a prison on fire! He personally caved in the roof of the most secure prison in the country and dropped it on the number 1 hero!
“What about it?” He spits, he needs some semblance of control.
“Where is All for One? I haven’t heard from him.” He keeps petting his freaky monster, Tomura doesn’t like how many teeth it has. He used to appreciate the Doctor’s creations for their power, if not their appearance, not anymore.
“He’s busy!” Himiko pipes up before Tomura can formulate a response. “He’s got all sorts of stuff going on! He said he was behind on his child support payments, can you believe it!? What a villain!”
“I don’t want to hear your-”
“Honestly, aren’t you a little obsessed? Can’t a supervillain live his life in peace? You know, even I’ve never kidnapped a bunch of my crush's associates just to ask why he hasn’t called, it’s sooooo not cute. What was your name again?”
“Daruma, but-”
She interrupts before he can get another word in and rocks back and forth on her heels. “Daruma, I think you really need to think about this. Is this coming from a good place? I’ve gotta respect it but I mean, can you imagine how embarrassing this is gonna be in a week when he does get around to calling you? Like, I would die of embarrassment if I were you. A real lover confronts the object of their affections directly, without all this middleman stuff. It's a little pathetic if you know what I mean.”
“But I-” Tomura didn’t know he could make that expression.
“You know, when I met the love of my life, I told them exactly how I felt. None of this coworker nonsense. Take it from a teenager, I know it’s hard, I have a really hard time talking to my crushes. I get all flustered and fidgety, it's so embarrassing! But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and-”
“SHUT UP! I don’t care about your delusions!” The doctor finally explodes.
“Well, that’s kinda rude, I’m just trying to help.” Himiko pouts but Tomura can see the proud gleam in her eye. "Honestly, you're one to talk..." She mumbles under her breath, the Doctor doesn't seem to catch it, refocusing his attention on Tomura.
“Where is he? I can’t believe he wouldn’t contact me! You must have done something.” He points at Tomura, who bristles at the implication for all that it’s true.
“Listen.” He grits out, summoning all the venom he can find. “I don’t know why he’s not calling you. Maybe he needed a break from obsessive freaks.”
The Doctor lets out an outraged screech, Tomura can’t take satisfaction in it, can’t risk antagonizing him too far. Eri’s here and he doesn’t want to risk any of his people getting hurt.
He throws up his hands in faked exasperation before the Doctor can find his words again. “I’ll talk to him, god! I can’t believe you used that disgusting goo just for a phone call! I’ll tell him to talk to you! He really is fucking busy though, he came up with some big plans in Tartarus and he doesn’t have time to talk to every single minion, he barely talks to me.”
The Doctor glares at him, Tomura glares back, he knows there’s not a hint of deception in his eyes.
“Fine. I never should have wasted my time with you fools. If you just picked up a phone for once in your life this wouldn’t have happened.”
Tomura flips him off, he has never been happier to feel that awful quirk coming up his throat.
-
Kyudai can’t believe the audacity of these… children. Implying that his relationship with his master is nothing more than a lovesick child with a crush. He ought to teach them a lesson they won’t forget.
He takes a breath, maybe a few days with Gigantomachia would change their tune, or a few of his masterpieces. He allows the fantasy for a moment before letting it go.
His master will be in touch soon and all will be well.
“Holy Shit!”
“Who the hell was that!?”
“I can’t believe we forgot about the fucking Doctor.”
“Is he mean?”
Tomura lets the cacophony wash over him. Take a moment to breathe, don’t scream, you can do that later.
He wanders over to the ratty couch and collapses, lying flat on his back and staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Tomura? Tomura? Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” he lets out a shaky breath. “Himiko,” he waves a hand vaguely in her direction. “You did great.”
“Aw, thanks Shiggy!”
The league gathers around the couch, Eri walks up to him and pats him on the head.
“That guy was scary, you did good too Shiggy.”
He drops an arm over his eyes for a moment. “Thanks kid.”
Tomura sighs, this is great, just great. If the Doctor finds out All for One is dead he’s definitely going to kill them and unlike the heroes, he has access. He can teleport them to his location and Tomura has no fucking idea where that is.
“I don’t suppose anyone has some All for One blood lying around?”
“Nope, ‘fraid not.”
“Great. Anyone know where the freak’s hiding?”
He glances around to a sea of shaking heads. Maybe they could find some kind of voice changer or something?
“Um…” He shifts his attention to Hawks, who’s been quiet up till now. “I might know where he is? I left one of my feathers underneath one of the creepy vats. It would take a while but I could trace it.”
“Holy shit, Kei, that’s great!”
Tomura grimaces at the duo, could Dabi have worse taste? A hero of all things, disgusting.
-
“Sooo…”
Tomura sighs, of course it would be a fucking hospital.
“Yes Himiko?”
“How’re we getting in?”
Hawks perks up, hopefully to suggest something reasonable and intelligent.
Too bad, Himiko’s got that stupid gleam in her eye that just screams terrible plan.
“I should have stayed home with Spinner.”
-
He was fucking right.
“This is stupid.”
“It is not, it’s great!”
“I can’t believe this.”
“It’ll be fine.”
He glances over at the rest of the League, hoping one of them will offer up something better.
No such luck.
-
Kasumi isn’t quite sure what to make of the little group that stumbles and shoves their way up to her desk.
They certainly look… interesting…
There’s a vaguely familiar-looking teenage girl leading the way. A slouching black-haired man in a medical mask stumbles behind her leaning heavily on someone she can’t quite see. He looks kind of awful, like he’s wearing too much concealer that doesn’t match his skin tone.
He must be the patient.
Holding him up is a man she’s about 90% sure is Hawks.
He’s wearing a fedora, as if most of Japan wouldn’t recognize him in a hat, and a trenchcoat.
If he’s trying to be subtle he should really ditch the coat, or at least pick a different color.
It’s very distinctive.
She isn’t quite sure what to make of all this.
“Miss! Miss! You gotta help us! He’s dying!”
The teenager makes a very convincing show of panicking.
Kasumi has worked in this hospital for years, there isn’t much that can phase her anymore, but a panicking teenager is always a little distressing.
“Alright dear, just give me a moment. What’s wrong?”
“He’s dying!!!”
Her voice hits a particularly upsetting pitch, the man who may or may not be Hawks flinches.
The teen shakes the unhealthily pale man hard in her distress.
“Look at him! Can’t you see he’s in the throes of distress!?”
She gives him a pointed shake and Kasumi swears he rolls his eyes before collapsing bonelessly into her arms, falling off his companion’s supportive shoulder completely.
“HE’S DYING!!!” She wails.
The man who may or may not be Hawks looks very out of his depth.
“I can see that he needs help, I’m very sorry, I have people on the way but we need to know what’s wrong.”
Kasumi hopes the team she called gets here quick.
The girl ignores her and turns to her companion, the man who is looking less like he may Hawks by the moment.
“Why aren’t you more upset?” The teen cries.
He startles at being addressed.
“What?”
“Don’t you have a heart? I thought you loved him?” She bursts into distraught tears.
The man who couldn’t possibly be Hawks splutters.
“Of-of course I’m upset! I’m in shock!” He defends, puffing up instinctively.
Kasumi does not want to deal with whatever soap opera nonsense this is, she doesn’t even like soap operas, she especially doesn’t like soap operas playing out right in front of her desk.
“You- you- you Liar! You’re just in it for the money aren’t you!”
“N-no! I’m not!”
“I knew father was right not to trust you!”
“Your father was an asshole and you know it!”
Oh no, they’re both getting into it now.
“How dare you! You ungrateful little-”
“I’m ungrateful? What about you and your-”
Kasumi tunes them out, she’s definitely not getting answers at this rate. She moves around the edge of her desk and kneels next to the actual patient, searching for a pulse.
His skin is concerningly cold, but that could always be quirk related.
She finds one, strong and steady, just as the team she called for bursts in and takes over the scene.
The voices of the teenager and the man who kind of looks like but definitely isn’t Hawks continue to loudly bicker until they finally move out of earshot.
There’s pale residue on her fingers, from where she took the man’s pulse, it almost feels like concealer.
Perhaps it’s something to do with his quirk.
-
“You know, I knew there were a couple issues with this plan.” Tomura complains as he dodges a rushing nurse coming around a corner and drags his companions into a closet to hide. “I think sending Hawks as part of the distraction might have been the dumbest.”
“Now, now, what makes you say that?”
He glares over at the smug mask of Mr. Compress.
“I don’t know Compress, maybe the fact that he’s the only one who knows where the fuck we’re going?” He hisses, quietly of course, he’s not an idiot.
Compress lifts his mask slightly so Tomura can see his grin and simply lays a hand on the floor, activating his quirk and creating a hole just big enough for each of their party to fit.
“Haven’t you been paying attention to your RPG games? Where else do you think an evil lab filled with monstrosities would be? To the basement!”
Tomura bites back his instinctive bristling comment and follows.
-
“Ma’am, sir, I don’t know what to tell you…”
“But he’s dying!”
Keigo is beginning to wonder if this plan is as good as it gets with the League, and if that’s the case, he’s beginning to wonder how the hell they haven’t gotten themselves arrested yet.
“His vitals are all stable! Aside from being strangely cold we can’t find anything wrong with him!”
Himiko starts wailing again, she’s… really good at that.
Keigo starts desperately searching for excuses as to why Dabi is obviously fine, not an ailment or measurable symptom to be found, and also simultaneously on the brink of death.
“Maybe… There was this strange man… He bumped into us on one of our hikes… Seemed very annoyed about it… Perhaps it’s quirk related?”
The doctor perks up at that, grateful to have a possible explanation for her patient's condition to look into.
“It is true that quirk effects are often difficult to measure… and it would explain the cold as the only symptom… You say he isn’t normally this cold?”
“Nope. That man has the most normal body temperature you’ve ever seen in your life.”
“Alright… Unfortunately our best expert in quirk effects is on vacation right now but…” She visibly considers her options and suddenly whips around to address a young looking assistant. “Didn’t you say you saw the director earlier?”
“Y-yeah, he looked really annoyed though. I don’t know if we should…” They respond hesitantly.
“All the better then, you know how much he loves quirks. It might cheer him up!”
“If you’re sure…”
“He doesn’t have to, just… it might be nice to get his mind off whatever’s bothering him, consult a little. I’m not passing the case off, just a little input might be nice.”
“Alright...”
The assistant leaves and Keigo, hoping desperately to distract from his totally fine for the most part, excluding all the scar tissue boyfriend, turns back to the Doctor.
“So, who’s this Director?”
“Will he save him!?” Himiko wails, clutching at Dabi’s arm dramatically.
Keigo's just impressed he's put up with everything this long.
“Oh! I’m sorry! Ujiko Daruma’s the director of this hospital! He loves quirks-”
Keigo tunes the rest of the explanation out. Daruma. Where has he heard that name before…
Fuck.
He spins around to make panicked eye contact with Himiko.
“Hey, Himiko-” He says, completely forgetting the fake names they’d agreed on beforehand, “you wouldn’t happen to be remembering what I am would you?”
“What?” She tilts her head slightly but it’s Dabi who springs up from his best impression of a coma, startling the poor Doctor terribly.
“Fucking Daruma.”
“Um, could we? Not have the director? Come in?” Keigo hedges hesitantly.
“Why?” She looks baffled.
“Um…” He glances around hoping for backup.
“I fucking hate him.”
That works, thanks Dabi.
“Why…?”
“Hit me with a car.”
“A car…?”
“Yeah. Fucker.”
“Did you… report him?”
“Listen lady, I was going through a lot at the time. You’re really gonna criticize me for this? I feel like shit, I’m in a hospital, my sister’s in hysterics, my boyfriend’s in shock, I don’t wanna fucking see some asshole who hit me with a car eight years ago. Is that too much to ask?”
“I… suppose not.” Keigo is starting to feel a little bad for this poor woman.
“Listen, Doctor, could you just… give us a minute?” He gives his most reassuring attempt at a smile.
She nods a little blankly and shuts the door quietly behind her.
Keigo sighs and puts his head in his hands.
-
Tomura grimaces at the lab.
It smells terrible.
Like rotting flesh and preservatives.
He glances at Twice, just to make sure he’s doing alright, aside from some more intense than normal arguing, he seems fine.
Mr. Compress has already wandered off somewhere Tomura can’t see.
He takes a deep breath, grimacing at the stench.
He asked Kurogiri what should be done before they came.
He figured he's the one who should probably have a say.
He lifts his hands and wills his quirk to work quickly.
The heroes would lock them up, hide them away in tortured loneliness.
The government would no doubt seek to learn, to understand how it was done.
They can’t allow that to happen.
They deserve to rest as they should have years ago.
Their graves will never be filled but at least they will rest.
He opens his eyes and finds nothing but Twice, an empty room and a layer of ash.
As it should be.
-
Atsuhiro has never particularly liked the Doctor.
He’s a performer at heart.
He can certainly appreciate the dramatic flair of unleashing destructive monsters on an unsuspecting populace.
It’s not quite his style, but he can respect it.
He can't respect the sniveling pathetic man who created them, nor can he respect the creations.
He knows that Tomura won’t think of it so he snaps up the papers and notebooks on the desks and anything that might have something useful in it. Into a marble each one goes, carefully tucked into a hidden pocket. At the very least, they should be remembered.
Next, he wanders the secret passage into the lab. It just wouldn’t do to miss something like a second lab.
He doesn’t find a second lab.
He does find the exit.
Hmmm, he wonders where that might lead.
-
Rin hovers outside her patient’s room, listening to muffled arguing and wondering when a good moment would be to go back in and suggest a few tests.
It probably isn’t urgent.
The patient, who she still doesn’t have a name for, doesn’t seem to be actively dying, but quirk effects are weird and she really should try and get some sort of theory ready. She already sent word to cancel the director’s visit but he’s technically retired and fickle about his interests anyway, he probably didn’t even get the first message.
She realizes she’s zoning out and shakes her head in an attempt to clear her mind. She pushes off the wall and stretches a little, opening her eyes she nods respectfully to the director as he passes by.
Wait.
The director?
Oh dear.
“Sir-”
There is a moment Rin thinks she will remember for the rest of her life.
She watches in slight horror as the director slides the door open, one hand still clasped pleasantly behind his back.
“FUCK!” The boyfriend exclaims.
The director stands in shock for a moment, looking like he’s aged a hundred years in a moment.
“YOU.” The director accuses with more fury than Rin had ever thought possible from such a harmless old man.
The sister vaults over the bed and has him stumbling back. It takes a long second for Rin’s mind to catch up and see the knife barely missing his face.
The girl giggles maniacally and Rin takes a few steps back.
“That’s right! It’s us! Hiya Doctor!” The girl bounces on her toes and gives a friendly wave.
“What are you doing here?”
Rin distantly notes that the anger is quickly receding in favor of panic in his voice.
“Well, you see, we realized that your weird crush is kind of a problem for us!” She grins, there’s no blood in between her teeth, it feels like there should be. “Soooo, we’re shuttin’ down your little operation!”
“What?” He shrieks.
“Yeah! You see, the whole League’s kinda under permanent new management, and All for One? Well… he’s kinda old news.” She fiddles with the knife as she talks.
All for One? Who's that!? Why would the director have anything to do with him!?
Rin stumbles back further as the patient, who could only be Dabi saunters up to stand next to her.
“‘S nothing personal, Shigaraki just doesn’t want the competition.” He shrugs, blue flames dancing casually in between his fingers.
Rin stumbles back further, bumping into someone in her haste to get away.
“I’m sorry!” She apologizes reflexively.
“Not at all my dear.”
She looks up to see a geometric mask.
Her breath hitches.
Mr. Compress tips his hat to her and turns to the confrontation.
The director backs into the wall, shrieks so loudly she has to cover her ears.
Unfortunately, boxed in as he is he runs right towards Rin.
And Mr. Compress.
Who is still next to her.
She falls to the ground in her stumbling attempt to avoid the coming violence.
She keeps her hands over her ears and squeezes her eyes tight and finally the shrieking stops. She hardly dares to open her eyes.
There standing next to her Mr. Compress holds a single marble between his fingers.
She barely registers anything else, just that eventually a dark mist fills the space and they all step through, leaving her blessedly alone.
-
Kasumi makes it home late.
Far later than she’d imagined possible.
Hours of interviews and questions.
A security guard with a plant quirk.
A local cop with a minor strength quirk.
An angry top hero with a fire quirk.
An officer with a shield quirk.
A detective with a lie detecting quirk.
Hours and hours and all she could think about was her son.
Her son who may have been moments from losing his mother.
Her boy who shouldn’t be alone for so long.
She finds him on the couch, tv remote in hand, fast asleep.
She runs a gentle hand through his hair.
“Mom?”
“Hey darling.”
“You’re home.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry it took so long. Did you eat?”
“Mhm, found some ramen packets.”
She takes a moment to hug him close.
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
She guides him to bed and returns to the kitchen to make herself some tea.
She lets the warmth seep into her skin.
The television screen flashes with a list of dozens of names, she wonders if she looks if she’ll find any she recognizes. She doesn’t want to know.
The anchors loudly debate whether this is all a simple intimidation tactic by the League or something even more sinister.
Kasumi walks over and grabs the remote. She hits the power button and drops the remote next to her.
She sits back and sips at her tea, trying very hard to think of nothing at all.