The Truth

Overhaul kept his head down as he walked, with a mask on his face and a hood over his head no one paid him any attention. They were all too preoccupied with their early holiday shopping to see the Yakuza boss whose face was on national TV in front of them. But that was fine. He himself never preferred the spotlight, and that wasn’t something that would change now. Especially not now. “Boss, do you really think that this guy is going to still be around?” A voice spoke out of a small object placed in his hood, “We’ve been out of contact with him for some time, and it would make sense for him to try and cut ties.”

“He won’t,” Overhaul stated plainly, “Not unlike you, I appointed him to this position for his loyalty. He knew that it was his job to hold onto the packageI’d given him, no matter what. Especially if something were to happen to me.”

“But if he still isn’t there?”

“If he isn’t there, then we’ll search wherever he can to look for it. But it won’t come to that.” Overhaul reassured Mimic, he knew that the man he put in charge of guarding the package would be there.

The building that they eventually arrived at was a small cafe, one that by any measure looked like any other cafe you might find across Japan. A few randoms sat inside at the tables, silently sipping their hot drinks and hiding from the cold weather. A quiet nook like this was the perfect place to hide something. Even if it had arisen suspicion, not many Heroes or police forces would be willing to put in the effort to stake out a simple cafe. “Welcome, feel free to take a moment to look at the menu before making an order.” The cashier was a man that Overhaul didn’t recognize, possibly a random hire that was done to make the establishment look more legit.

“I’m not here to order anything,” he kept his face covered with the mask, “I’d like to speak with your boss, we have some business that needs to be discussed.”

“Are you another one of those fake Yakuza clan stooges trying to shake us down for cash? Because if you are, I’ve told your kind before that we’re not going to be paying your protection fees.” The man had his hand clearly positioned under the counter, most likely resting it on a handgun or knife.

“I didn’t come here looking for a fight, but if you insist on provoking me…” Overhaul rested a finger on his left glove, gesturing that he was ready to attack. Yes, ready to attack with a quirk he no longer had. It was a bluff.

“I’m not…” the young man winced with fear, and his arm trembled a little

“What the hell is going on up here?” A man walked in from the back, parting the curtains that separated the two areas, “Who is-?” The man stopped, then realized who he was. He motioned toward the cashier, “Easy kid, you don’t want to take this fight. I’ll talk with him in the back.” The cashier listened, backing down. “This way boss.”

“I see you’ve been bringing up people from outside the clan, Daitaian. I thought you knew better.” The two walked into the back, entering a small and enclosed room.

“I didn’t have much of a choice, boss. When it came out on the news that the police had hit most of our locations across the country, and that you’d been captured in the main compound, a lot of the guys who did the boots on the ground stuff cut their ties to make sure they weren’t next.” Daitaian walked over to a small stove and picked up a kettle, pouring the hot water into a cup that was already prepared. “I had our loyal members hunt down the ones that fled, but our overall manpower is low. Because of that our influence in the prefecture is dwindling, and smaller clans are picking up our former rings. The only way I could think to keep up is hiring people like Shirahan.”

“I understand, holding up the clan's name in a time like this is vital. That’s why I need to know if you still have that package.”

“The package…?” The man took a moment to think, then remembered. “Of course, I’ll bring it to you in a moment.” He stepped out of the room, walking into another part of the building.

“Do you really think that it’s going to work? To restore your quirk?”

“There isn’t a precise answer that I can give you, Mimic. All the research that I did was on subjects that had their quirks removed by the bullets, damaging their genetic material. Whatever that ‘Hero’ Spartan did was different. Nothing says the antidote will work under these circumstances, but neither is there anything that says it won’t. And if there’s a chance to restore my quirk this way it would be a fool's errand to not at least try.”

“But if it doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll work from there.” He drank from the cup

Daitaian walked back into the room, holding a vacuum sealed case wrapped in newspaper, “I kept it vacuum sealed in a freezer like you asked. It was perfectly preserved”

“Good.” Overhaul unwrapped the paper, then took a second to prepare himself as he opened the case itself. There were the bullets. The syringes were blue, an indicator of them being the antidotes that they were supposed to sell to Heroes to restore their quirks once his quirk destroying bullets were on the market. Such a lucrative idea… all gone to waste. He pulled out one of the bullets, carefully examining it. They were supposed to be fired out of a gun, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t inject himself manually. .

“So, what do you plan to do boss?”

“First, this.” Overhaul pulled up the sleeve of his sweater. Then, after getting a clean view of the veins on his arms, he stabbed himself with the bullet and injected the solution. It was more painful than he anticipated it would have been and he curled over, sliding off of the chair and falling onto the ground. Daitaian quickly rushed over to offer him a hand, but Overhaul rebuffed him. He held onto his right arm, grappling with the immense pain that was surging through his body. He would remember this pain. It was the consequences of his actions, of a failure that he did not anticipate. Three minutes went by and eventually the pain stopped, Overhaul stood back up. As a test he put his right hand on the cup of tea that he was given, destroying it and rebuilding it in a near instant without a single drop spilled. His quirk was back. “I want you to put out a call and bring back everyone who stayed into one place, we need a headcount on our current numbers. Once we have that we’ll move onto eradicating the traitors who left us.”

“And our end goal?”

“The same as before. We’ll play both sides in this corrupted world ruled by Heroes, and in the end the Yakuza will come back out on top once again.” He looked to Daitaian, “So, are you ready?”

There was a look of grim stoicism on the young man’s face, bags under his eyes. “I’m ready. Boss.”

“Good, then let us begin.”

“Hey, where’s Bakugo and Todoroki?”

“They’re performing their last day of supplementary work right now. By the end of the day they’re going to have their Hero licenses.”

“Ah man, getting my license was the only thing I got ahead of them on,” Kaminari bemoaned, “But I suppose it was only a matter of time before it happened.”

“As two of the top performers in the class, they were never going to not get them. But what it also means is that all of Class 1-A will finally have Hero licenses. Something that’s very important to have right now,” he stepped away from the front desk, “Because by the end of winter break, you will all have begun your work studies.” The class erupted in noise after he said that.

“Why the hell are we all doing work studies?!” Mineta shouted, “The last time that people from this class did work studies, half of them were almost killed trying to take down a group of gangsters!”

“Mr. Aurdel, Mineta for once brings up a valid point,” Ida stood up from his desk.

“What do you mean for once?! I bring up lots of good points!”

“The last set of work studies were incredibly dangerous, and the great deal of harm and danger that they faced was why the program was officially temporarily halted. I myself can understand the benefits to allowing students a chance to operate in earnest, but is it really wise to begin them again with all students?”

“Believe me, I understand and agree with your reasoning. In fact, given the current circumstances, and what’s likely to happen in the future, it’s far from our smartest or safest option. But it’s the best choice we could make given the very convoluted situation we’re in,” he put one hand on the desk, “Besides, I’ve looked at what the other teachers intended for you to be learning this late into the year. Suffice to say when it comes to being a Hero you’re improving faster than they can churn out lesson plans. The best way for you to keep improving now is to get some real field experience. See how it is on the streets.”

Midoriya spoke up, “Mr. Aurdel, how will the agencies for the work studies be decided? Last time they were based on the agencies that approached us.”

“That’s a good question, and it’s one that I already have an answer for.” Aurdel pulled out a stack of papers, “For the past few days the school has gone about making a comprehensive list of agencies for you to choose from. Each one needed to have a high case resolution rate, Heroes capable of multiple operations like Villain capture and civilian rescue, a relative proximity to the school and a number of sidekicks. They also needed to be willing to take on work study students in the first place.”

“Are there any big names on the list?” Sero asked, “It would be pretty cool if we could work with top Heroes.”

“There are, actually. Quite a few in fact. But it’s up to you guys to decide who you want to work with. I suggest that you take the time to research the agencies on the list provided, look for one that can provide you with the experience you need to improve in areas you need to work on. Once you’ve decided you just need to fill out the application stapled to the back and then give it back to us, from there we’ll mail it to the respective agencies.” He looked around the room, “Are there any other questions?”

Uraraka raised her hand, “Mr. Aurdel, where is Mr. Aizawa? I thought he was supposed to be running homeroom this time around.” She quickly adjusted what she said, “N-not to say that there’s anything wrong with you doing homeroom! I was just curious.”

The class waited patiently as Aurdel stood silently for a moment, picking his words carefully as he came up with an answer, “He’s… Going to be out for today, same with Present Mic. The police found a lead on the League of Villains and figured that they would need their expertise on connecting some of the dots, so they were called out together.”

“Do you know anything more specific about it?”

“No, but if I did it wouldn’t be something for you to pry into. Now, everyone take a packet and get going to your first class. I don’t want the other teachers to crucify me over making you late.”

“Okay. Class 1-A, line up in an orderly fashion to grab one of the packets!”

“Ida, chill out. It’s just a packet. We don’t need to form a line,” Kirishima brushed him off. Eventually everyone in the class had grabbed a packet and left the room. Or rather, all except for one person.

“Midoriya, was there something else that you wanted to ask?”

Midoriya stood silently for a moment, then looked up. “Mr. Aurdel… I don’t want to sound accusatory, but it seems like there’s a lot that you’re hiding from us.”

Aurdel didn’t have a reply at first, then he sighed. Midoriya… He was too smart for his own good. It didn’t help that he was connected to everything concerning the League of Villains and All For One either. “Midoriya, do you know what the meaning of the word ‘Infohazard’ is?”

“I’m afraid I don’t.”

“An infohazard is a theoretical set of knowledge or ideas that exist, ones that are so terrible, distressing or life changing that simply knowing them is capable of causing harm to the person that knows them. That’s why I’m going to ask you, is this something that you’re really willing to put yourself through?”

“If it means that I can take the burden off of your shoulder, or anyone else’s, then I’m willing to take the risk.” That heart of gold was why Aurdel tried to protect him so much, from things like this.

He closed the door to the room, sat Midoriya down and then began his explanation. Initially he told him about the prison attack, about the actual number of casualties that were incurred and the Villains that had escaped. Those facts alone were enough to worry Midoriya, and Aurdel could see that he was already visibly shaken up. “I’m going to give you one last chance, what I’ve told you is tough enough to hear. You don’t have to hear the rest of what I’m about to tell you.”

“I’m ready.” Midoriya regained a stoic composure, he thought he was ready for what came next.

“Okay then. What do you know about Nomus?”

“Nomus…? Not a lot. Just that they’re incredibly tough, have multiple quirks, and that the League of Villains used them often.”

“That’s the most basic description of them, yes. And most people would stop there. But I don’t think you bothered to ever ask where they came from.”

“It was never really a question that I thought to ask myself.”

Aurdel stood up, and paced slightly. “Despite how monstrous it may act or look, each and every single one of them had to have a human being as its base.” He stopped, “The police looked into it before, I decided to take my own look into it. Each and every case. Do you remember that winged gray Nomu that you encountered in Hosu city?”

“I… Yes, I do. It suddenly showed up after Stain was defeated, it grabbed me and tried to fly away. But Stain broke out of his restraints and killed it.”

“I want you to think, was there anyone you knew that had a similar quirk with wings?”

“There was… One of Bakugo’s friends, a boy named Tsubasa. But he disappeared with his dad, so why…?” Aurdel didn’t answer right away, instead he let the wheels turn in Midoriya’s head. He watched as his expression went from confusion, to terror. “No… That’s…”

“The DNA was hybridized, but eventually doctors were able to separate it and fill in the gaps. After that the DNA was tested I had it cross checked with every DNA database in the country, eventually I found a match in the pediatric system. I confirmed it with his mother’s DNA.”

“But… Why?”

“If a person goes missing or dies in an accident, it makes it much easier for something like a kidnapping to go unnoticed. All For One used that to his advantage when he was taking people to make Nomus. It’s a cruel cosmic joke, and it’s the real reason Eraserhead and Present Mic aren’t here. It was done to an old friend of theirs.” Midoriya’s face was pale, and Aurdel couldn’t really blame him for what he probably felt. “Only a few others know about this, for a very good reason.”

“The fact that something so cruel… I can’t believe it happened. But I want to know… How?” Midoriya looked up at him, bracing himself against the school desk. “How can someone go about their daily life, knowing that something so horrible like that can happen to them? Not just to them, but to their family and friends too.”

Aurdel stopped, trying to think of the right words to say. It was a question that Aurdel had looked for an answer to in the past, and one that he thought he had answered. But he wasn’t sure if it was the right answer. “Ultimately, it all comes down to hope. I hope for a better future, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get that future. In the face of all the adversity and loss that I’ve experienced over the years I’ve held onto that hope, and I have no intention of letting go.”

“I guess you’re right,” Midoriya said, a little better. “If you focus on the bad things happening now too much, you won’t be able to look towards the future.”

“That’s right, now I have a question for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Since when did your quirk allow you to float? Because you’re hovering off of the ground.”

“Huh?!”

A Stain on your Record

“Well you plankton, today is the day.” Gang Orca stood in front of the group, giving a speech. “For the last few weeks I have put all of you through the ringer. I’ve taught you the skills that you will need as Heroes, then I reinforced them. The growth that each of you have undergone during that time is tremendous, but that alone does not earn you the right to be a Hero. It has earned you this second chance, and what you do with it is what will determine your future.” He turned, “This final exam will take all of the skills that you have learned and put them to the test. Succeed in that, and you will earn the right to be Heroes. Fail, and you will spend a year waiting for another chance. The choice is yours. Now get into your positions!”

“Yes sir!” Bakugo and the others followed his orders, proceeding to the assigned position in the training area.

“Bakugo, we can’t fail this time.”

“Shut up! I already know that, I don’t need you to remind me. I’ve already fallen behind that damn nerd. If I screw up here then I’m never going to catch up and get past him.” Bakugo, Todoroki, Yoarashi and Camie each got into a position. Each one of them had known that this day would eventually come, and as such they’d actually worked together to develop a plan to win.

“You know guys, even after all the time we spent on that plan I’m not totes sure that it’s gonna work.”

“You have no reason to worry, we poured our heart and soul into this plan! If anyone should be worried it’s Gang Orca!” Yoarashi shouted.

“Would you just shut it! So goddamn loud…” Bakugo grit his teeth as they waited.

The whistle went off, “Exercise, begin!”

Gang Orca and a number of his sidekicks positioned in a vantage point in the center of the arena. From here, they were able to see almost any movement that those students make towards their objectives. On top of that, he had numerous men spread throughout the arena to make sure that no blindspot went unchecked. All they needed to do was watch out for the first move… “Sir, they’re-!” One of his men shouted, before going silent over the radio.

“What are they doing? Tell me!” He shouted back, but there was no response. The receiver was then filled with the sound of extremely turbulent wind as someone turned the other radio back on, nearly blowing out the ears of the others from the sheer intensity of the noise. He himself recoiled a moment before being forced to take off his ear piece. “If they think that they can take down our communications and get rid of our coordination, they’re sorely mistaken! You!” He pointed at one of his men, “Inform teams C and D to reinforce the hostage centers, if those students get anywhere near them this will be a failure for us!”

“Yes sir!” The man quickly bounded down the building, sprinting towards the next area.

Moments later, a torrential level of wind began to blow in. They weren’t going for the hostages first? What were those kids thinking?!

“Brace yourselves!” Gang Orca drove his hand into the roof of the building to avoid being blown away, and several of his men grabbed onto railing and other bits of construction to do the same. But the wind was just too strong. His men were ripped straight off of the roof with the objects that they were holding onto and he himself was barely able to stay on the roof. This level of strength was insane. Yoarashi hadn’t even shown it during the exam or training!

“Hey fish face, I’ve got a present for you!” That blonde, Bakugo, blasted straight towards him.

“I taught you better than to attack head on in a fight while alone!” Gang Orcs let out a sonic blast, one that would hit the boy in front of him for sure.

“Who the hell said I was working alone?!” The illusion in front of him disappeared and Bakugo attacked from the rear. “Explode-A-Pult!” Without a second to even react, he was blown up into the air

“Sir!” More of his men quickly burst up onto the roof from the lower levels, opening fire with their cement guns toward Bakugo. None of them could land a hit

“And I’ll take all of you extras on too! AP Shot: Auto Cannon!” Gang Orca landed on his feet some distance away, watching as his men struggled to keep up with the boy. Any time that they tried to line up a shot they were hit with another blast, practically being cut down by the second.

“You always said to focus on what was in front of us, so we’re doing what you asked!” Yoarashi was next, increasing the speed and intensity of his wind to form what could by all means be called a tornado in the middle of the arena.

“You’re strong, but in the world of Heroes that isn’t enough!” With debris freely flying through the air, Gang Orca leapt up and began to jump from chunk to chunk, just barely avoiding direct impacts against any other structures in the arena as he did. “You need to have a greater perspective, look at a battle from more than one angle!”

“Yeah, we did.” Todoroki now?! A wall of ice suddenly appeared, slamming through the walls of the tornado and coming towards him. His only option was to let out a sonic blast, shattering the ice into hundreds of much smaller pieces now going the same speed as everything else being carried by the tornado. Then the wind suddenly stopped and the tornado dissipated, the two boys disappearing along with it. Gang Orca braced himself as he landed back on the ground, performing a landing fall. Upon standing back up he found himself slightly disoriented, with the heavy dizziness coming from being spun in circles at high speeds causing his legs to wobble. His eyes darted around, quickly trying to scan the area before he was attacked. But it was practically impossible. Too much dust and dirt has been kicked up into the air by all of the wind.

“You can’t hide!” Gang Orca let out a high pitched screech, using it as a form of echolocation to determine his surroundings. But he found out more than that, he’d also found where those kids were hiding. There were a number of chunks of debris that were thrown down from the tornado, and each of those kids were hiding behind a different piece. Gang Orca quickly let out another sonic blast as he charged in, ready for close quarters combat. “Decoys?!” After blasting through he realized that he’d been tricked. Todoroki had set up several ice pillars up around the arena, large enough in scale and similar enough in shape to them in order to trick his echolocation. They were trying to take away all of his senses one by one!

“If you think that we’re hiding, then you totes haven’t been paying attention to what we were learning.” The girl appeared in front of her, some distance away

“Another illusion,” he ground his teeth, “You can’t use the same tricks over and over in a single battle.”

“No one said that we were!” Bakugo was back, this time coming clearly from where he could see him. This had to be another illusion, just like before when he’d attacked him from behind. Gang Orca quickly turned around, seeing another Bakugo. That had to be the real one! He let out a sonic blast, instantaneously realizing his mistake “Reverse Psychology works like a charm!” The one that he thought was fake had actually been the real one! “Stun Grenade: Solar Flare!” At point blank range Bakugo let out an incredible explosion. For what it lacked in power, it made up for with an immense brightness. Gang Orca was left temporarily blinded, unable to see. “Alright you morons, give him the finishing blow!”

“You got it! Collaborative Super Move: Burning Jet Stream!” With his senses thrown out of whack, he was unable to put up much of a fight as they began their finishing move. With a number of consecutive blasts from Bakugo, Gang Orca was thrown up into the center of the arena. As the wind began to rise and as the room began to heat up, he could tell what was going on even without needing to see. Unlike in the early exam, Yoarashi and Todoroki were working together. With two walls of wind focusing and fueling the flames, Todoroki was able to channel it into two concentrated jets of fire. The two jets struck him from either side, singing his costumes and rapidly dehydrating his skin. Unable to do anything to repel the attack he simply took the brunt of it, lasting for a number of seconds against the inferno being brought against him. Then it stopped. After a few seconds of falling towards the ground something caught him. Or, rather, encased him. Todoroki had surrounded him with ice.

“You… All performed incredibly well,” Gang Orca coughed out, still reeling from the fight. “I assume you saved all the hostages?”

“Rescuing them was easy!” Yoarashi said, “I was able to throw your guards out of the building in a matter of seconds. After that, it was just splitting up the load of bringing the hostages back!”

Gang Orca wore a proud smile. “Well, I think it’s safe to say it now. You passed your exam. Heroes.”

“You both did amazing!” All Might said, walking back from the exam with Todoroki and Bakugo. “The power and teamwork that you displayed with the others rivals that of pro-Heroes when they team up.”

“I know how we performed, I don’t need the patronizing comments,” Bakugo said.

“Of course, but the way that you were able to demonstrate it was incredible.”

“Maybe, but I still don’t think that I’m at my father’s level just yet,” Todoroki stared down at his left arm.

“You know, you shouldn’t keep comparing yourself to Endeavor. You need to recognize your own successes. If you keep trying to compare yourself to someone that seems out of reach to you, then you’re more likely to despair and fall short of your true goals.”

“You’re not wrong…”

“But now that you both have your Hero licenses, it means that the real work begins now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bakugo asked sharply.

“Everyone else was told about it during their classes, but I decided to keep it as a surprise until after the end of the exams. The second phase of Work Studies is about to start. And now that you have your licenses, you’ll be able to participate.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell us beforehand?!” He shouted, “What were we supposed to do if we failed the exam?!”

“Now calm down young Bakugo. I never had any doubt that the two of you would pass your final day of supplementary lessons.”

“That may be true, but-“ The conversation was cut short as a massive wave of water passed through the street in front of the, traveling at high speeds. “What the hell was that?!”

“Most likely a VIllain.” Bakugo and Todoroki both opened up their cases filled with equipment, preparing to fight.

“H-hold on! You’ve only had your licenses for about thirty minutes!”

“When do we start being Heroes if not now?” Bakugo rebuffed his worry. “You can’t fight, but we sure can.”

“Hold on!” The two young boys immediately then started off, getting way ahead of him as they chased after the wave of water. In only a matter of moments they were able to get out of his sight. All Might chased after them, hyperventilating from the sudden exercise. But once he caught up he was able to get a better grasp on the situation. And it was awful. “My God.”

“I remember you, you’re that boy from the fight in the alley.” Stain stood upon a wall of ice, the wave of water that had rolled through been frozen over. In his hands was a sword covered with fresh blood. And next to his feet laid the corpses of seven Villains, the ones who’d actually been responsible for the ruckus. Slain to the last man. “And you, you’re the rabid one from the UA school festival.”

“Don’t mock me by comparing me to back then,” Bakugo spoke with his teeth clenched, trying to maintain his edge. But it was plain to see that in the face of someone like this, he was slipping.

“Yes, I’ve managed to hear of your exploits… My fight is with neither of you, only the false Heroes and weak minded imitations that this society propagates.” Stain looked as if he was about to walk away

“You’re nothing more than a murderer!”

“...But if you insist on getting in my way, then I have no choice.” Stain stepped down from the ice wall, walking over the bodies of the Villains. “I will test your resolve. And if you fail, you will die.”

“Bakugo, Todoroki!” All Might shouted, “Don’t take this fight!”

“No way!” Bakugo shouted, his resolve slightly stronger now. “If this freak thinks that he can run around killing people and lecture others on what makes a Hero, then he needs to be knocked down a peg!”

“Don’t!”

“How banal.”

Bakugo and Todoroki ignored his plea, and the two boys charged in. Todoroki attacked first, creating pillars and walls of ice to try and initially keep Stain at a distance while they attacked. But Stain had surprises up his sleeves. With a sword that looked different from the one that had been publicized he slashed straight through the ice, shattered it into hundreds of pieces. He continued to charge forward. Every time another obstacle seemed to come his way he would just slash again and again, not taking a single scratch as he powered through.

“AP Shot: Auto Cannon!” Bakugo, seeing that the strategy wasn’t working, shot off a flurry of low power projectiles. Each one alone would be strong enough to impede Stain but not enough to cause damage to the surrounding area. But not a single one of his attacks. Stain managed to weave through every single blast like it was nothing, moving like a man possessed. Even for All Might it was almost hard to follow.

“Bakugo!” Todoroki shouted to Bakugo as Stain closed the distance between them, Bakugo quickly began to backpedal with his explosions to try and get away. But Stain swung hard and fast, slamming his sword into Bakugo’s left gauntlet and shattering it into a number of pieces. Bakugo quickly blasted around to try and move behind Stain to land an attack, but he saw through it. Stain quickly spun around with his sword and slashed at Bakugo, cutting his right

All Might couldn’t stand to watch this. They were his students, and even if he no longer had One For All to fight with he would still protect them. “I won’t let you bring any harm to them!” All Might charged in with his suitcase.

Stain was caught off guard. “Who-?!” All Might brought up the suitcase and cracked it against the side of Stain’s head, forcing him to take a few steps back. It was enough to give Bakugo and Todoroki a chance to get back. “No, it doesn’t matter who you are. I won’t allow anyone to get in my way!” Stain focused his attention squarely on him, raising his sword and charging at him. All Might quickly raised his suitcase in an attempt to defend himself.”

“For someone that promotes the idea of a ‘true Hero,’ you don’t seem to practice what you preach.”

A green suit of armor dropped onto the road in front of All Might, stopping the blade with its arm. “Spartan!”

“We need to talk, but that’ll be once you three get back to the school. I’ll deal with this.”

“Are you sure?”

Spartan forced Stain back around ten feet, there was true determination in the Hero Killer’s eyes now. “I’m sure. There are a few things that I need to clear up with him either way.”

Aurdel stared down Stain, giving All Might, Bakugo and Todoroki the chance to get away from the area. Now that it was just the two of him, he would say it outright. “Despite what you may think, I’m not like you. I may kill, but I do it for a different reason.”

Stain pulled out his second sword, “And what would that be?”

“Methods and intentions.” Aurdel charged in without another moment's hesitation, Stain did the same. As Stain brought down his sword Aurdel raised his arms, using the armored gauntlets to deflect the blow. Nothing Stain had would be able to get past his shields, let alone the titanium plating of his armor. Aurdel grabbed Stain by the wrists, using them to pull the Hero killer in and drive a knee into his gut. Stain stumbled backwards, dazed and without his primary weapons.

“I killed the people that I did because they failed to be the Hero they claimed to be. They didn’t deserve to live for what they perpetuated.”

“And that’s the problem, flawed methodology.” Aurdel swung his right leg, kicking Stain across his left side and sending him flying into a wall. He’d likely shattered every rib on that side of his body.

“How can you say that when you do the same thing?!” Blood dripped from the back of his skull and from his mouth, he stood back up. Stain retrieved a dagger from the inside of his costume. “You kill… You’ve killed more than me!”

“You don’t have a bigger picture.” Stain thrust at him with the dagger, Aurdel tore it out of his hand and chucked it into a nearby wall. “You saw the corrupt system that was in place, I’ll give you that. But you thought that the Heroes were the problem. In reality they’re only a symptom of the problem.” Aurdel backhanded Stain, sending him stumbling back with a few teeth less and an imprint on his cheek. “You’re supposed to pull a tree out by its roots, that’s why I’ve been going after the people that created, furthered and manipulated the current corrupt system. Meanwhile you blindly cut down Heroes and Villains out of adherence to an ideology, one that you don’t even know the full ramifications of.” The moment that Stain looked like he was about to regain his balance Aurdel backhanded him again. “Do you even know what you’re fighting for at this point? Do you know what happened to the ‘noble intentioned’ cause that you championed and turned against the world for?”

“Everything that I’ve done… And everything that I will do… Has been for the sake of a better world!” Stain tried to rush him down in one last hurrah, only to be easily slapped down. Face to the pavement

“It's about time that you face reality, no matter how much you may want to avoid it.” He crouched down and looked Stain in the face, “After you were arrested in Hosu, a recording of you leaked online. Your ideas spread like wildfire. Do you know what that did? It gave the League of Villains a PR boost. Ever since then they’ve only grown in strength and caused untold amounts of death and destruction, and are likely to commit more. You met them when you escaped.” He stood back up, turning away. “You hated that Heroes focused on earning money, so you killed the Heroes that took brand deals instead of the companies that contracted them. You hated the Heroes that were out there for fame, so you killed the Heroes that had a large public presence instead of the media conglomerates that afforded it to them. You hated the Heroes that were out for power, so you killed the Heroes with that influence instead of the people that handed them the keys. You wanted to better the world by forcing Heroes to fit into a mold they systematically could not fit. And in doing so, you have caused mountains of unjust suffering.” He turned back around to face him, “So no, we are not the same.”

Stain lay on the ground in silence, unmoving. Each word had its time to set in. “Kill me…”

“I won’t kill you,” Aurdel said. “You realized what you’ve done, what you started. For that death would be the easy way out. But once you’re back in prison you’ll have all the time in the world to think over the implications of your actions, and the kind of pain that will inflict on your soul is more than any physical punishment I can dole out.”

“Kill me… Kill me!” Stain weakly tried to get back up to lunge at Aurdel, to force him to strike him down. But all he did was fall back down. Aurdel meanwhile retrieved Stain’s weapons, not wanting to let them fall into the hands of someone who idolized Stain. “KILL ME!” Eventually the police would arrive, binding Stain with handcuffs and placing him inside of the iron maiden. From there he would be taken back to Tartarus, where he was likely to spend the rest of his days trying to justify his actions and the twisted path his ideology has taken.

As Aurdel stood in the street, watching the police depart, he suddenly got a phone call. He picked up. “Gentle, what is it?”

“Do you remember how you asked me to look into the matter of who the Hero commission was afraid of?”

“Did you find any information?”

“I have.”

“Good work, where are you right now?”

“Stuck inside the commission building, being shot at by the woman they were afraid of.”