You couldn't get the image out of your head.

Not even as you walked the streets - captive yet in public - in your new villain costume. Your hands trembled so you kept them close to your chest.

Just before leaving the villain's hideout wasn't your fondest memory...

***

"What is that..." you dropped the picture but it remained face-up, "Those aren't... they aren't real are t-they?"

"I used to enjoy Valentini's theatrics," Shigaraki said, "Now, it's just obnoxious."

"She's gonna faint," Dabi said with mild concern.

Your eyes fluttered slightly as your brain processed the imagine over and over. Hands. Human hands were piled on a chair, organized as if they were props - not out of the ordinary. Fresh blood flowed from their wrists. One hand stood above the rest, holding a bouquet of roses.

That didn't include the carnage that lay just beneath the chair.

⚠️😅⚠️

Kurogiri appeared behind you and supported your back. Apparently you were swaying like a drunk on a cruise ship.

"Don't get cold feet on me now," Shigaraki said, "I would've started you on something easier but this is the gig."

"I don't understand," you shut your eyes and pinched your brows together, "What am I looking at?"

You felt two hands steadying your shoulders. "The man is a self-proclaimed artist," Kurogiri said, "Photographer to be specific. He dabbles in a, shall we say, distasteful medium."

"Human bodies?" You cried, "Distasteful is an understatement don't you think!"

"What's wrong, cupcake," Dabi hummed, "Aren't you used to seeing a bunch of dead hands by now?"

You looked up at Shigaraki and suddenly felt embarrassed, "Oh... sorry."

Wait. What the hell did you have to be sorry for?!

"But what does he want with Shinso?" you dared to ask, "He's not going to... his hands aren't in there right?!"

Dabi chuckled darkly. He pushed away from the bar, making his chair scratch the floor. "Aww. Is the Butcher's daughter scared?"

He took a few lazy steps towards you and Kurogiri.

"How disappointing," he said, "And here I thought you were actually dangerous. Turns out you're just a tease."

"A tease? Where do you get off!"

"Guys," Shigaraki scolded, "Let's not get sidetracked."

"This, along with the flower," Kurogiri began, "were delivered recently. Considering the context of this photo, I believe this was a warning to Shigaraki, specifically. This isn't the first 'gift' we've received."

"I got them too," you said, remembering now the creepy photo of you and Shinso from your birthday, "Not ones this disturbing. Honestly, I thought it was Shigaraki being a creep again."

"Ouch," Shigaraki clutched his heart, "But you thought I was sending you flowers, huh? ... Would you like me better if I did?"

"No."

Dabi snorted, "Desperation is an ugly color on you, Crusty."

"You're getting on my last nerves, . What kind of stupid name is that, anyway," Shigaraki began scratching his neck again. You felt yours beginning to hurt just from watching him.

Kurogiri let you stand on your own now and returned to his post, "If what she says is true, it seems he planned to betray you from the beginning, Tomura."

"What does he want with me?" You asked, "That's why he has Shinso, right?"

"That is the question," Kurogiri said, "Originally, he was part of a plan to get you to us. But he took our plan and made it his own."

"I don't even know this guy..." you shook your head, "What's his deal? Some sadistic photographer wants to cut me up? Why?"

"He's a psychopath," Dabi said, "That's probably it. Nothing else to it."

Kurogiri nodded, "And he seems to prefer female victims."

"He seems to have to choose from!" You pointed down at the the photograph, "What good will my stupid hands contribute?"

Shigaraki paused, "I suppose he could have become obsessed with you. We did task him with following you - more or less."

"You suppose?" You glared, "I don't even have the words... okay, let's get on with the 'fixing this shit' part."

Dabi bent down and picked up the photo. Unfortunately, he held it low enough for you to see as well.

"Damn," he said, "this is much nastier up close."

The acid in your stomach churned.

"I'm gonna be sick..." you looked up at Kurogiri pleadingly.

"... there is a sink in the back," he said.

You nodded, then pushed past the villain and vomited your guts out in their, surprisingly clean, kitchen sink.

***

Not your BEST moment.

It was more than just the gore and brutal nature of his murders captured on film. It was also the fear that Shinso was trapped with this man.

"Hey."

Dabi was ahead of you but stopped, causing you to smash your face into his back. The villain train, as you called it, consisted of Dabi, you in the middle, and Twice taking up the rear. Tomura said he trusted you to not run away, but clearly no one else did.

"Ow... what," you grunted.

"Crusty was too excited seeing you in your outfit to give you this," he turned around and motioned you to him with a curl of his finger.

"What is it," you said in suspicion.

He rolled his eyes and cupped the back of your head, pulling you towards him. Your hands shot up defensively, unsure with where he was going with this, but relaxed when he placed black material around your eyes.

"We were going to give you a full mask, but obviously that would interfere with you working properly," he smirked, and quickly brushed your lips with his thumb.

You smacked his hand away, feeling yourself going red, "If you think I'm going to kiss the psycho-killer you're an idiot."

He shrugged, "I am curious to see how far you'll go for your friend."

"You're gross."

Twice groaned in the background, "Come on - quit flirting. I'm cold, let's get going. "

Dabi released you and continued walking, "I wasn't trying to keep that a secret."

"You're not innocent either..."

Shigaraki split up the entire League, including you, and sent you to different locations. You figured he and Dabi knew about your quirk's defect, so Dabi was to be your permanent babysitter if Shigaraki wasn't around.

In fact, Twice wasn't the easiest to sap energy from either with his full-body suit. You sighed, wishing you were stuck with more stupid villains.

"Where are we going exactly," you asked.

Because of the nature of your "cooperation," some things were kept secret still, like specific names of streets or contacts. You were even blindfolded before leaving the hideout earlier.

"It's an underground club," Dabi said, "The broker would only meet there."

"Why didn't we just ask that Giran guy for information?"

"He refuses to sell information about any of his clients," Twice said, "Makes him a safe ally for us but secures money for him. "

"Makes sense?" The villain world is weird, you thought.

"Stay close," Dabi said, "No running off now. This stupid mission is for you - I'll gladly drag you home empty handed and move on with my life. Keep that in mind."

"Yes sir, Mr. Sunshine, sir," you scoffed.

"

"Shut up."

From the outside, the club looked totally normal. Something you would see in your part of town - no obvious sketchy signs. However, when Dabi took a sharp turn down a dark alley just next to the club your heart sank.

At the end of the alley was a set of stairs, cold, damp, and covered in cigarette butts. A giant red, metal door awaited you at the bottom, lit only by a flickering overhead light.

You took a deep breath and tried to calm your nerves, "Nice place..."

Dabi rapped his knuckles on the door. Before anyone could answer, he turned and gave Twice a nod.

"Yup," suddenly, Twice had both hands pressed against your ears.

"Pardon?!" You squeaked.

Dabi was speaking to someone on the other side, but of course, you heard nothing.

Ah... a secret code - like in the movies!

Why am I excited?

Twice's hands dropped and he shoved them back into his coat pockets. It was funny seeing a man in a skin-tight villain suit wearing an evening jacket, but it worked for him.

The guard behind the door allowed you three to enter. You expected some big scary guy with gold teeth and to smell like a dirty pirate, but it was just some scrawny dude in a skater hoodie.

"Don't wander," Dabi reminded, "You're not used to this scene. Don't trust anyone."

"You got it..." you muttered.

It was a narrow, almost pitch black hallway that lead you to a set of red curtains. The closer you got the louder the music became.

You've been to a couple parties before but never really had time for crazy night-life activities. So, when the curtains were opened it was sensory overload.

It was still dark - too dark to see faces farther away. It was also crowded, but not how you imagined. You thought you would be pushing through a mosh pit of dancing freaks covered in neon paint, but there was plenty of room to get around without having to touch people.

The main lighting was red and purple, and even that was subtle. The room seemed split down the middle between a chic restaurant obsessed with velvet cushions and an open area where people were dancing or mingling next to a more casual bar.

Overall, it seemed nicer than you previously assumed, but you also wondered if you would feel the same if all the lights came on.

The music worked with a light show in both vibrating the floor and blinding you. If you wanted to talk to anyone you would likely have to shout. The air was thick with the sticky, sweet scent of alcohol and sweat. You hadn't had alcohol before but it felt possible to drink in second-hand right now.

People really enjoy this?

Suddenly, a burly man bumped into you, clearly drunk, "Hellooooo, what've we here?"

His unfriendly, gruff voice was slightly easier to make out from the chaos in your ears, "You look a lil' lost, girlie. Why don't I shhhow you 'round?"

"No thank you," you squeaked.

"Don' be like that, I'ma nice guy!"

He roughly grabbed you by the hips, and in a panic, your quirk snatched some energy from his big meaty hands. With it, you kneed him swiftly in the crotch.

Even you winced at the awful popping sound.

The man roared in pain, "You... little... bitch!"

Twice took the opportunity to shove him into a nearby table. His drunk ass rolled across and he came crashing down like a sad sack of potatoes.

"Step aside, big guy. "

You walked away as quickly as you could without looking terrified. It surprised you that nobody batted an eye! Like it was totally normal to throw people around. You had to look like a villain and blend in. Be confident! Confident and scary.

Scary... sure.

But you felt like a little mouse in a den of lions.

"We've only been here two seconds and you're causing trouble," Dabi said.

You gapped at him, "That was not my fault!"

"You sure?"

At first, you thought he was making a lame sexist comment. Then, you remembered he was - sort of - smart and knew a lot about your quirk. Had you been letting your pheromones run amok?

It wouldn't shock you. You had been under a lot of stress, for obvious reasons.

"Better tone it down, or I'm gonna give you some trouble," he said in a low voice but somehow you still heard him.

The way he so casually made comments like that made you squirm, "Cut it out."

"What, do I make you uncomfortable."

"Yes!"

"Good."

You huffed, but decided to give up on that battle. He seemed to be taking you to the dining area, but he paused to address Twice, "Think you can babysit for a second. Just gonna make sure nothing funny's going on."

Twice nodded and waved Dabi away, "Yeah, yeah. "

You stood as closely as you dared to Twice while Dabi approached a table in the back, occupied by a lone guy. For some reason, the situation made you nervous.

For who... Dabi? You didn't need to care! If he died it was one less captor to worry about.

"Relax," Twice threw his arm around your shoulders, "Dabi knows what he's doing. Comes off pretty aloof but he can get a job done. "

"So what do we do?" You asked.

"Back him up, in case things get weird. "

"I'm good," you said. Kurogiri was probably the only one you would take a drink from. And even that was sketch.

""

You had to follow Twice to the bar, but you kept peeking back at Dabi and, who you supposed was, the info-broker. Dabi appeared bored, and otherwise nothing seemed amiss.

Thats when you're eyes wandered to other tables, and you stopped dead in your tracks.

You had to blink a few times, but there was no denying it. There, at a low, round table with individual square cushions, sitting in tight black pants and a ruffled blouse, was none other than your godfather. No one else could rock those leather boots.

"Monarch..." you felt butterflies in your chest (ha!) He didn't have his usual confident air about him and seemed drained, but still looked like a star. You almost forgot he had a new hairstyle now, thanks to the fire at his agency.

But he didn't end up going to prison? Good! He's out of the hospital? Yay! He still looked rough around the edges, but he rocked his battle scars like he did his fierce eyeliner.

Why was he here, though? And he's at the table with...

Hang on. I've seen this guy before...

Monarch was chatting away with a young man wearing a plague doctor mask. The beak was colorful, red and gold, and the matching golden eyes that rested just above it were piercing and merciless.

That night... Didn't you run into a few guys with bird masks just before the sports festival? It had to be him! His get-up was pretty damn rememberable.

You shook your head - who cares?!! It's Monarch! You wanted to cry and run into his arms and tell him everything that happened. That you were okay! Bakugo was okay - ish! You wanted to tell him about Shinso and Valentini and follow Monarch to the pro heroes and make this nightmare end.

Just look this way, Monarch. See me. Notice me! Look beyond my mask and just know that it's your goddaughter - please!

Come on!

"Woah."

You nearly leapt out of your skin hearing another voice near you. For a moment, you completely forgot where you were and why. Twice wasn't next to you, but he wasn't far either. You could make a beeline to Monarch right now and maybe get away with it...

Except.

A blur of ash blond came into view. At first you were annoyed he cut off your sight on Monarch, but when you saw his brilliant red wings just behind him your brain exploded and you were pretty sure you stopped breathing.

He played with a toothpick in his mouth and was holding an empty drink glass. His warm eyes studied you with peculiar interest, "I haven't seen you here before," the number three hero, Hawks, said, "And I would definitely remember you."

😘😘😘😘😘😛