A man in a trench coat wearing a scarf, fedora, and sunglasses walks into a convenience store to the sound of a welcoming beep. A lone cashier in the store, looking at his phone, gives the man a weird look but returns to his device. The man starts walking through the store. He looks through some of the food on the shelves.

Man: Hmm...

Another welcome beep goes off. The man looks at the door to see a dirty-looking little girl standing in the doorway.

Man: (Hm…)

The cashier puts his phone down and stares at the girl. Upon further inspection, she isn’t wearing any shoes. The girl locks eyes with the cashier then starts staring at a bag of chips.

Cashier: Don’t even think about it.

The girl beelines it for the chips. The cashier grabs a metal bat from underneath the counter and slides over the counter.

Cashier: Why, you little!

The girl grabs the chips and tries to run back to the door, but the cashier grabs her arm.

Cashier: Didn’t anyone ever teach you that stealing is a bad thing!

The girl gets scared. She closes her eyes and points her hand at the cashier.

Girl: Push!

Suddenly, the cashier is sent flying into the store wall, indenting it in his figure. The force of the attack sends a gust of wind throughout the store, knocking over shelves and breaking the windows. It also knocks off the trench-coated man’s hat, revealing a familiar-looking haircut...

Cashier: *groans* What… the fuck…

The girl opens her eyes to see the destruction she’s caused, she sees that the cashier has been incapacitated and runs for the door, but she’s stopped by the man. The girl points her hand at the man in fear.

Man: No, stop! I don’t want to hurt you!

The girl is surprised by these words.

Girl: You… don’t?

Man: No, I do not.

The man takes a knee and removes his sunglasses.

Iota: I want to be your friend.

Girl: My… friend? Don’t lie… nobody wants to be my friend…

Iota picks up the bag of chips the girl dropped during the chaos.

Iota: Well, then I guess I’m nobody.

The girl looks at Iota then at the bag of chips. She grabs them, opens them, and starts devouring them.

Iota: Wow, you must not eat a lot. Are your parents around?

The girl freezes and starts shaking.

Iota: Oh! My apologies, you don’t have to say anything about them.

Iota takes off his trench coat and puts it on the girl. She looks at him with a shocked look on her face.

Iota: What? It’s cold outside; you’re going to need that.

The girl hesitates.

Girl: Th- th- thank you… Mister.

Iota: Call me, Iota.

Girl: Iota? Okay.

Iota: And what might your name be?

Girl: My name is Ivy.

Iota: Ivy, eh? That’s a pretty name… it’s nice to meet you, Ivy.

Ivy (Narrating): And that was the day I met my Master, and for the last six-plus years, I have been his most loyal and deadly soldier. He saved me from living on the streets, stealing food to stay alive. He gave me clothes, a home, food, and most important of all… a reason to be alive.

Cut to the present, Ivy is lying in her bed.

Ivy: (I haven’t been the same since we failed our mission… since I failed Master. I feel weird… I feel unsure… I don’t understand why… nothing has changed, I just… I feel different.)

“ Hayze: Your Master… does he care about you? “ - Chapter 36

Ivy grabs her head and shakes it in confusion.

Ivy: (I know why! It’s because of him! He said all those lies about Master, he was trying to get into my head… and I let him!)

“ Hayze: What’s he willing to do to protect you? “ - Chapter 36

Ivy gets frustrated; she gets up and starts walking towards a door.

Ivy: (I need to...)

Ivy grabs her mask and puts it on; she exits her room and enters a hallway. She walks through the halls, passing other kids of varying ages from 10-19. Everyone she passes looks scared or nervous.

“ Ivy: Why aren’t you afraid of me! “

“ Hayze: Blair doesn’t deserve to be taken away because I was too afraid to save her. You’re powerful, but my will to be a hero is more powerful. “ - Chapter 36

Ivy: (I can’t get him out of my head… he’s only the second person in my life that looked at me without fear in his eyes, but what he said… it makes me question everything… and I don’t want to question anything…)

Ivy enters a room filled with shelves of equipment. She walks over to the shelf marked “001” and grabs her sword and sheath.

“ Hayze: If my words are nothing to you, then why are you walking away from me! I thought you were supposed to be capturing me! “ - Chapter 36

Ivy: (I had never failed a mission before… yet he made me willingly abandon it… what is wrong with me?)

Elsewhere one of Zaire’s warp gates opens. Zaire steps out, followed by an injured Yusuf and Jagger. The warp gate closes as they fall to the floor and try to catch their breaths. Yusuf is holding his broken hand/wrist.

Zaire: You failed again, Jagger.

Jagger: I can see that, Zaire!

Yusuf: It was partially my fault, Zaire… I should-

Zaire: Just like that night in the forest, Jagger was in charge. Therefore the failure falls on him alone.

Jagger: God, you’re annoying…

Zaire: At Least I can do my job correctly. Should I even ask about Adonis?

Jagger trembles.

Yusuf: J- Jagger? What happened to Adonis?

Jagger flashes back to Khaos, stabbing Adonis directly in the heart.

Jagger: He’s dead…

Yusuf looks shocked; Zaire has no reaction.

Yusuf: W- what?

Zaire: That’s unfortunate. Go change your pants and see Master immediately. I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to your mission report. Yusuf, head to the infirmary.

Yusuf: Yes, Zaire.

Zaire leaves.

Yusuf: I’ll see you around, Jagger. I can’t believe he’s gone now too…

Yusuf gets up to head to the infirmary. Jagger is in deep thought.

Jagger: Yusuf.

Yusuf stops and looks at Jagger.

Yusuf: Yes, Jagger?

Jagger: Do… do you think… Do you think Master sent us on that mission knowing we would probably die?

Yusuf: What? What are you talking about?

Jagger: The more I think about it, the more I realize it didn’t make any sense to send only the three of us up there. Almost like he didn’t want us to come back…

Yusuf: Jagger, Master has faith in us… he wouldn’t send us out there to die.

Jagger is quiet for a few moments.

Jagger: Yeah… you’re right… sorry, Yusuf, I think I’m just delusional.

Yusuf: It’s okay, Jagger, we had a rough day…

Yusuf leaves, Jagger thinks in silence.

Jagger: (Master… why?)

Zaire walks into Iota’s control room.

Zaire: They failed.

Iota smiles.

Iota: Oh, I know, who made it back?

Zaire: Jagger and Yusuf.

Iota: So Adonis is dead, that’s fine.

Zaire: Are you sure, Master? Adonis was an idiot, but he was powerful.

Iota: Now that the heroes know I’m alive, we need to be more stealth than ever. They know the identity of six members of the movement, so any mission involving Jagger, Mara, Yusuf, Julio, Ivy, and Adonis could be connected to me. Adonis has become expendable.

Zaire raises an eyebrow.

Zaire: But I’m confused. Wasn’t your plan’s goal to not only bolster your strength but to keep your life a secret?

Iota: Zaire, by now, you should know what my goal is.

Zaire: Chaos.

Iota: And does hiding the shadows and amassing rings in secrecy accomplish that?

Zaire: No…

Iota: You see, the attack on the U.A. students gave their society a new threat… something to fear. If that threat goes without a name or face, then people won’t believe it… this way, it all becomes real. So I’m fine with my identity being known. Obviously, I would have preferred to stay hidden a little longer, but it isn’t a terrible scenario.

Zaire: Okay… but why wouldn’t you want the ring?

Iota: That’s simple, it’s in the same spot it's always been, and I can go get it whenever I want.

Zaire: You think Adrian still has the ring? Isn’t that against the code of the guardians?

Iota: Yes, but I know the code of the guardians, so instead of following protocol...

Zaire: They’re going to break it, thinking you’d never expect it…

Iota: Exactly. Sending Adonis, Jagger, and Yusuf to attack Adrian and Hayze accomplished two things, One: it gives them a false sense of security when it comes to the Theta Ring. And Two: hopefully, either they would kill Hayze, and my identity would be kept a secret, or they would bring out the beast inside…

Zaire: What do you mean by “beast?”

Iota: Stick around for Jagger’s report and find out.

Zaire: So now that they know your identity, what’s to stop them from devoting all their resources to finding and killing you?

Iota: Well, Zaire… that’s the next step.

Ivy enters a training room and starts smashing and slashing through robot training dummies.

“ Hayze: We all deserve to have someone who loves and cares about us; no matter what bad things we’ve done in our lives, we all deserve that person. You shouldn’t want to be used! You should want to be cared for! “ - Chapter 36

Ivy starts slashing through the dummies harder and faster.

Ivy: (Why am I questioning Master? He’s given me so much, and all he asks of me is my unconditional loyalty… that isn’t much...)

“ Hayze: But does he care about you? “ - Chapter 36

Ivy lets out a scream in frustration. Anyone nearby steers clear of the area.

Ivy: (I DON’T KNOW! But I don’t need him to care about me! I don’t need to be loved! I don’t deserve it!)

Ivy stabs her sword into the concrete wall, breathing heavily.

Ivy: (That bastard put all of these thoughts in my head… I hate him… I hate him… I HATE HIM!)

Ivy rips her sword out of the wall.

Ivy: (I need to fulfill my purpose.)

Iota watches Ivy from a surveillance camera.

Zaire: There’s definitely something wrong with her.

Iota: I know; I’ll deal with it later.

Jagger enters the room.

Jagger: Greetings, Master.

Iota spins around to look at Jagger.

Iota: Ah, Jagger, it’s good to see you made it back alright.

Jagger: Yeah…

Iota: Zaire has already informed me that the mission went poorly. Please explain what happened.

Jagger: We arrived at The Copycat’s house on the mountain. He walked out and exchanged a few words with us; I thought everything would be okay because he didn’t have a quirk at his disposal… but then his eyes lit up.

Iota: Just like Hayze’s?

Jagger stares at Iota.

Jagger: Yeah… he came prepared. After a long-fought battle in which he had us on the ropes, Adonis was able to capture Hayze, and I leveraged that into getting The Copycat to surrender, Yusuf locked away his quirk, and everything looked perfect. Adonis was about to kill Hayze… then… something happened…

Iota: And what might that have been?

Jagger: Hayze… his eyes… turned black.

Iota’s eyes light up.

Iota: Oh really…

Jagger: He was like a lunatic, at first I wasn’t afraid… but then he sliced Adonis’ arm off with one swift slash of his blade… That’s when I realized Adonis would die. I thought Yusuf and I would be next.

Iota: So how did you escape then?

Jagger: After Hayze killed Adonis, he turned his attention to me. He got a hit off against me but then passed out… After that, The Copycat threatened us with the ring… he let us leave.

Iota: (Adrian always was the merciful type…) That’s unfortunate about Adonis.

Jagger: I’ve- I’ve never seen someone so deadly… Adonis was so afraid he stopped talking in the third person.

Iota: Hm…

Jagger: I’m sorry for failing you again, Master, I-

Iota: Jagger, while I’m not happy with the results, you ran into a circumstance that was out of your control, and I cannot fault you for that. Recover from your wounds and be ready for your next mission.

Jagger stares at Iota in shock.

Jagger: Y- yes, Master, thank you.

Jagger leaves.

Zaire: You sent him on a suicide mission… and he leaves the room thanking you.

Iota: Jagger did what I needed him to, and I need to maintain his confidence. He’s expendable, but I have to keep him useful until he dies.

Zaire: I see.

Iota: Gather everyone together. It’s time to welcome the new recruit.

Zaire: What about Ivy?

Iota: She can wait.

Ivy walks down the halls. She passes by classrooms of younger Iota soldiers being taught principles of combat, strategy, and other academics by Mara, Julio, and Wyatt.

Ivy: (I know what he was trying to do… he was trying to make me question myself and question Master by extension, and it worked! I feel like a fool. I let myself get tricked by some idiot; I should have just captured him like I was supposed to… why didn’t I!)

“ Hayze: I can tell you’re holding back; there’s no point in us continuing this fight. “

“ Hayze: Why did you run for so long before stopping, and why are you tiptoeing around defeating me? “ - Chapter 36

Ivy pauses.

Ivy: (I let him follow me for so long because he intrigued me… nobody had ever been brave enough to follow me, especially not someone that had seen what I am capable of.)

“ Hayze: Wasn’t it just a couple of minutes ago that you were telling me I didn’t stand a chance against you? So now the prospect of me giving up makes you mad? “ - Chapter 36

Ivy: (Our fight made me even more confused… despite the gap in our strength being massive, he was still coming at me… he wasn’t afraid. I didn’t defeat him because… because he was different.)

Ivy looks down at her sword.

Ivy: (He looked at me in a different way than anyone else ever has, not even Master… his eyes didn’t have fear or compassion in them, they were concerned. Nobody has ever been shown that towards me… I couldn’t bring myself to attack him because… because I didn’t know how to feel about meeting someone else who wasn’t afraid. I was okay with the idea of only ever finding one person that looked at me with anything other than fear, and I didn’t know what to do when I found another. I just wanted to leave, I just wanted to get away, and I don’t understand why.)

Ivy notices the hallways are crowded with kids heading in a single direction.

Ivy: (What’s going on?)

All of the kids are streaming into an auditorium and taking their seats. In total, nearly 300 kids take seats in the hall. Mara, Julio, Jagger, and Wyatt are seated. On stage, Zaire stands alone as X walks out.

X: (What the fuck is this? He said he has many followers, I didn’t think he’d have this many…)

Whispers can be heard throughout the crowd; Ivy enters and in the darkest part of the back of the room.

Ivy: (Another recruit?)

Zaire clears his throat, the room goes silent.

Ivy: (At least watching this will keep my mind off of things…)

Zaire: Welcome, everyone. I’m glad you’re all in attendance to see another deserving person join our cause.

X: (This is so strange…)

Zaire: You all have training and classes to be a part of, so I’ll cut right to the ceremony.

X: *under his breath* Ceremony?

Iota walks on stage to a standing ovation. He waves to the crowd of students; Ivy is clapping as well.

Iota: It’s good to see all of you. I hope your training is going well. I’m sorry I haven’t been doing my rounds checking in on everyone. I’ve been busy planning the movement’s next phase. The world knows of our existence now, so every move counts. I hope you can all trust me with the critical decisions we need to make.

The crowd starts cheering. X looks out at them; everyone is watching Iota talk with amazement in their eyes.

X: (This guy… they all look at him like he’s a god…)

Iota: I’m going to take that as a yes, so thank you all, and furthermore, thank you again for being a part of The Iota Movement!

The crowd starts cheering.

X: The Iota movement, eh?

Iota: This is X; he’s just like all of us. Society threw away a misunderstood person because he’s different from everyone else.

X: A little harsh… but true.

Iota: Here at the Iota Movement, we see the flaws in the society that runs our country, that runs our world. We know an impurity in this world: societal constructs cause some to be accepted and looked at… as heroes. Others like us, on the other hand, society deemed us as worthless, as trash, as people that could be thrown away because we were considered useless. Humanity is flawed, and we, The Iota Movement, will tear down that poor monstrosity and create a new one where we will be the ones on top! No longer will the misunderstood be deemed trash, society has become complacent, society has become a breeding ground of unfairness and cruelty. We can’t fix society… but we can make it better. Better for us!

The crowd cheers loudly.

Iota: Society thinks they can walk all over us because they don’t fear us, and why don’t they fear us? Because they have a symbol that marks that they’re on top… a symbol of peace... They have Colossus.

The crowd starts booing.

Iota: That’s the spirit… we want to make them feel the way we all once did, scared, alone, and worst of all: hopeless. Colossus gives society a sense of security, a feeling of hope, but who has he never given that to?

Crowd: Us!

Iota: Exactly, that’s why Colossus is no hero to us. He’s merely a coward. We will expose him, and we will usurp him. Society's symbol of peace will be replaced with a mark of chaos. We’ll give them something to be afraid of, we’ll take away their sense of security, their hope, and best of all: We’ll get our revenge.

The crowd cheers. Iota clears his throat.

Iota: Sorry for going off on a tangent there, X. This is about you after all. I just like to remind everyone what we’re fighting for every now and then.

X: Right…

Iota lifts his hand, and the Iota ring begins glowing.

Iota: X, you’ve heard what we’re all about here at The Iota Movement. Our goals should at least partially align with your own. Would you like to join us?

X: *gulps* Everyone here… they follow you by choice, right?

The crowd starts booing. Iota motions for them to quiet down.

Iota: Calm down, it’s a fair question, X just wants to make sure he’s going to be the same person he’s always been, and that’s a reasonable thing to want. Yes, X, nobody here is brainwashed. Everyone has gone through the process of being marked. I promise to you that I will never invade your mind without your permission. This mark will simply show that you are one of us and allow me to share my power with you.

X: So all it does is just… make me stronger? What’s the catch?

Iota: I only ask one thing of you: loyalty.

X: And I don’t have to call you Master? That’s just something they all do by choice?

Iota: Why, of course, I’d never ask someone to do something like that.

X: Okay… Is there anything else?

Iota: Once you join the movement, you will follow my orders, which fall under loyalty. Also, you will accept one important term.

X: And what’s that?

Iota: If you are captured by the heroes or the police, I will have to purge your mind to protect the movement.

X: What does that mean? Purge?

Iota: I will eradicate your brain cells until you have the bare minimum required to be alive, purging all information about the movement from your mind. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I can’t take chances; I need to protect everyone.

X: I guess that’s fine… if I’m gonna get captured, I’ll just blow everything up anyway.

Iota: So is that a yes to joining us?

X: Your spiel, I won’t lie, it makes a lot of sense… society did give up on me, they put me in a cell and threw away the key, now all I want to do is make them pay, and if you can give me the power I need to do that… then hell yeah, I’ll join you.

Iota smiles, X receives a standing ovation.

X: (I’ve always been alone… and even though I’d much rather take orders from myself… the idea of being a part of something… sounds nice.)

Iota closes his fist and points the Iota Ring at X’s head.

Iota: To officially welcome you to the movement, I will place the Iota Ring against your forehead, then I will mark you.

X: Okay.

Iota places the ring against X’s forehead.

“ Iota: Say you were to detonate at full power, how much of this city would be caught in the blast?

X: Maybe a couple of blocks at best?

Iota: With my help, you could take out nearly a fourth. “ - Chapter 42

X: (I want to be powerful… and I want to make people pay for my suffering, I want… I want my revenge!)

The Iota ring starts glowing.

Iota: This will only hurt a little.

X starts screaming in pain, his eyes turn white; this lasts about 10 seconds. Iota rips his hand back, X falls to his knees, breathing heavily.

Iota: Well, X, how do you feel?

A pink Iota symbol forms on the back of X’s neck.

X: I… I feel great... Master.

The crowd claps for X.

Iota: Please make X feel at home here, everyone!

Ivy leaves the auditorium. Zaire notices this.

Ivy: (I remember getting my mark… it felt so good… to be wanted…)

A warp gate opens in front of Ivy, Zaire steps out.

Ivy: Yes, Zaire?

Zaire: Master would like to speak to you.

Zaire steps back through his warp gate, it closes.

Ivy: (Even an emotionless guy like Zaire is afraid… but not him...)

Ivy enters Iota’s control room; Iota sits in his chair, waiting for her.

Iota: Hello, Ivy.

Ivy: Hello, Master.

Iota: Please remove your mask. I want to see your face while we talk.

Ivy takes off her mask.

Iota: I can tell that something has been troubling you.

Ivy looks uncomfortable.

Ivy: I… I- I’m fine.

Iota: I saw your conditioning test scores. Please don’t lie to me.

Ivy: I’m sorry…

Iota: What’s been distracting you?

Ivy is silent.

Iota: Please tell me-

Ivy: Master… May I ask you a question?

Iota: Sure.

Ivy: Do… Do you care about me?

Iota hesitates.

Iota: Ivy, why do you ask that?

Ivy: Please… just answer.

Iota’s eyes narrow.

Iota: (So that’s what he said to her…) Ivy, you’re more valuable to me than anyone else.

Ivy’s eyes light up.

Ivy: Really?

Iota: Of course, you’ll always be.

Ivy: (I knew that guy was just trying to make me question Master, it was my fault for ever believing anything he said!)

Iota: Is that really all that was bothering you? Why is this coming up now? I’ve taken care of you since you were a child.

Ivy: Back when you sent us out to capture those students from U.A., there was one that was… different…

Iota: How so?

Ivy: He wasn’t afraid of me… so I selfishly started talking to him, and he began asking questions about you…

Iota: Hm? What kind of questions?

Ivy: He was asking me about whether you cared about me, and what you would do to protect me… it made me-

Iota: So you started questioning me? After all, I’ve done for you?

Ivy: N- n- no! I- I- I just-

Iota: What do you mean no? You just asked me whether I cared about you; you clearly had doubts.

Tears start to roll down Ivy’s face.

Ivy: I- I’m sorry, Master, I knew I was wrong and that I was stupid to ever doubt you, that’s why I’ve been so distracted because I’ve been angry with myself, and I just-

Iota hugs Ivy.

Iota: It’s okay, I forgive you.

Ivy: Th- thank you, Master.

Iota: That boy took advantage of your emotions and vulnerability, and I haven’t trained you for that, so it’s partially my fault.

Ivy: N- no, it isn’t-

Iota: It’s okay that you had your doubts. I can tell that you clearly felt bad for having them, and that’s all I need to know that you’re still loyal to me. I understand why you tried talking to him. You probably wanted to have him join the movement.

Ivy hesitates.

Ivy: Y- yes, Master.

Iota: That boy... I can’t believe he would do that to you. Did he know that his lack of fear was special?

Ivy: Yes…

Iota: Wow, and he tried to manipulate you? You see, Ivy, he’s one of them. He looked at you like trash and tried to take away your trust in me; he tried to take away everything you have. What a selfish bastard.

Ivy's eyes narrow with anger.

Ivy: Yeah… he did!

Iota: But now you know more than ever before that you can trust me, correct?

Ivy: Of course.

Iota: I can see it in your eyes; you hate him.

Ivy: Yes… I do.

Iota: Then do what you think is best; I’m glad we had this talk, you’re dismissed.

Ivy: Yes, Master.

Ivy grabs her mask and puts it back on; she leaves Iota’s control room.

Iota: (Sorry Hayze, but Ivy is mine, and you’ll have to try a lot harder than that to turn her against me… although I don’t think your next encounter with her will be civil.)

Ivy walks through the hallway and unsheathes her sword.

Ivy: (Do what I think is best? I think it’s best that I exterminate the boy who tried to turn me against my master, and I will bring Master his head to show him my loyalty is undying. Hayze… I’m going to kill you.)