A Tarnished Hero

Nezu was not having a fine day.

Just a few days prior, Midoriya along with his companions went missing. Of course, the rat was perfectly aware of what had taken them – their discussion the day they were grabbed from their plane of existence quite a foreshadowing thought.

What he didn't expect was for Katsuki Bakugo, a student of his academy, to be within the vicinity when they were sucked into a portal – which by all means wasn't visible to their eyes, nor their high-end equipment – causing the ash blond to tag along with them, albeit unwillingly.

Sighing, Nezu leaned against his chair, the backrest twice his size, making it feel like a giant cushion, plus points for it being made with top-of-the-line materials, ensuring maximum comfort.

"What a conundrum…" Nezu eyes drifted towards the screen of his laptop, an email coming from one Mitsuki Bakugo going over how she was going to castrate him and hang him by his insides, after she was done suing him and the school for endangering her son after promises of security against things like this happening again.

The media also smelled blood the moment word got out Katsuki went missing, and the last time anyone had seen him was after the first day of the U.A. Sports Festival. And if that wasn't enough, they were drawing speculations as to the mystery teacher that he had brought in a few weeks back, only for him to vanish as well at the same time one of his students went missing.

And as much as Nezu wanted to release the footage of how the… teleportation had happened, having the public eye scrutinizing it would make everything worse. After all, Midoriya, as well as his two companions looked as if they were expecting it to happen.

How was he going to explain to the vultures that it was the work of an interdimensional being that was powerful enough that Earth wasn't even worth a single inch of its body? He doubted they would even believe him and write him off as crazy, maybe even revoking his rights as a human and dropping him back into animal status.

Now that would be a day. Not that it would happen, seeing as those who rule the world are much more intelligent than those that couldn't read between the lines.

Then again, the HPSC were making it their job to make Nezu's life, and by extension, the heroes all loyal to him a living nightmare. The amount of red tape that was currently wrapping around them was enough to make him suspend classes for the time being, as well as the continuation of the second and third day of the U.A. Sports Festival. Which didn't go over well for his staff, but needs must when needs must.

A knock came from his door, and with but a word, Nezu allowed entry. In came Aizawa, his dark locks cascading down his face and nearly hiding his eyes.

"So, any news on the media outlets crying for our blood?" Nezu propped his paws together, the black-themed man sighing as he took a seat nearby, his capture scarf a stark white in contrast to his dark attire.

"Same old, same old. At this point, you'd think they were broken records looping in repeat." Aizawa palmed his face as his head leaned against the backrest of the couch. "Still no sign of those four?"

"Unfortunately, no." Nezu closed the laptop and hopped off his seat, his stubby little legs guiding him towards the shelf where boxes of his expensively ordered tea were kept. "We already know that what had resurrected Midoriya, as well as brought him back to Japan for reasons unknown, are supernatural in origin. At least with Quirks, we could reason that it was a biological evolution of the species living on Earth that granted us our somewhat supernatural powers, but when it comes to Midoriya, as well as the being behind his disappearance and reappearance? I doubt any answer would be enough to appease the public."

"Heh, don't I know it." Aizawa exhaled a long breath of air as he stared at the ceiling. "On the off chance they believe it, they'd probably go crazy."

"Hmm… A plausible scenario, highly unlikely, however." Nezu readied himself a cup of tea, the scent of the tantalizing drink quite soothing to the nerves. "But asking for the impossible is not why you're here, is it?"

"... Yes…" Aizawa cracked his neck and looked directly at Nezu's back, his paws stirring his cup of tea. "We've got word that another villain has surfaced. An animal, this time."

"... Excuse me?" Nezu paused, one of his paws setting down the cup for a moment as he regarded Aizawa's sudden news. "First time I've heard of an animal as a villain in my entire life."

"You're not the only one." Aizawa reached for his pocket and withdrew a flashdrive, placing it on the desk right in front of him. "Here's all you need to know to get an in-depth analysis on the villain."

"... Curious…" Nezu approached the flashdrive and reached out to it, his paws playing with the tiny little piece of technology. "I assume they want my input as an animal myself?"

"Yep." Aizawa stood, his legs guiding him to the door. "Once you've done your research, the HPSC has reached out to schedule a meeting."

"Typical of them." Nezu grinned as he waddled himself to his chair, flashdrive in hand. Inserting it into his laptop, he brought up the files that were stored within the drive and opened them to their individual tabs. There were pictures attached to documents explaining the nature of the villains, their crimes, and their motivations.

Not that the latter of the three meant anything, seeing as the villains were literal animals. Chimp-looking things to be precise.

They used clubs and makeshift spears, and for some reason, took over a convenience store while simultaneously mauling the clerk, a part-time college student, to death. The scene was horrifying enough, but the wails of his loved ones crying for justice made it even more harrowing. There was also another casualty after a hero on the scene was blindsided by one of them, and it was probably the most tragic of them all.

They numbered three in total and just popped out of nowhere. Not a single one on the force had managed to figure out where the three had come from. The same could be said for that other villain Kamui Woods had fought days prior as well.

Drawing comparisons with Izuku's sudden appearance, Nezu suddenly had a pit form inside his gut. IF his hypothesis is true, then it meant that Izuku's situation wasn't just a unique case. Izuku's companions were all he needed as evidence.

This was a problem. And not a laughing matter either.

During the USJ, Nezu had seen Izuku go toe to toe with All Might, however brief. Just imagine a being of that same strength somehow winding up here, in their world, and wreaking havoc because it lacked the capability to reason.

If that was the case, then perhaps there was no other choice than to ask for that… person's help… Wanted by the heroes and police force alike, just a single hint of him colluding with said person would no doubt land him in deep water.

But that was for the future. Now, he had to sit back and observe. Perhaps there was a pattern to these sudden appearances…

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"Such a strange specimen…" The beeping of consoles and machines echoed through the room, the darkness kept at bay by only a handful of dim lights that barely lit up the area. "They harbor a similar make-up to humans, but looking deeper, they differ vastly from us by a wide margin."

"Will they make good Nomus, doctor?" A hiss of air escaped a man's respirator, the upper half of his head nothing but scarred tissue. The doctor gulped slightly at the tone, and turned to face his master, All For One.

"They lack the gene that lets us, Quirked Humans, develop a quirk, hence they would do nicely." The doctor, a short, rotund man that was holding a clipboard as he examined the floating chimp-like animal inside a vat full of green liquid with his eyes hidden beneath his glasses, nodded. "Quite surprising, yet predictable, seeing as how most of the high-end Nomus still in production have a Quirkless individual as the base." He laid a hand on the vat, his eyes underneath the glasses glued on the form silently floating within. "However, there may be a risk with development, seeing as how they do not match with most of our DNA."

"Is it significant?" Another hiss, and the doctor shook his head. He let go of the vat and went back to addressing his master with his back slightly hunched.

"Quite low, actually. But the risk is still there." The doctor looked back at the specimen, a crooked smile gracing his lips. "I will have to run some more tests to get a better result for when we start the process, however, we still do not know the final product."

"That is fine. As long as it is ready for deployment during our Tomura's next… game with All Might." All for One's respirator released another gout of air as it hissed. "Continue with your work, good doctor. I shall take my leave, then."

"As you wish, master." The doctor bowed and bade him farewell. "Please look forward to your subordinate's result."

As he left, All For One couldn't help but think to himself that things were changing. The only time a literal animal was able to flip the heads of everybody in this game of theirs was during Nezu's rise to power after his escape from that dreadful experimentation lab.

Now, there were new players on the board, but something told him the new player was going to be far more problematic than even All Might with his brother's quirk. As for how he knew? Quirks are a dime a dozen, and with how long he's lived, he had tailored himself an intelligent man thanks to the various mental enhancing Quirks he had taken from those who had gone against him.

A smile floated up his face, hidden beneath the apparatus he wore to ensure he could still breath normally.

"Oh, I do love a change." His soft chuckles echoed throughout the dark corridor as he formed a portal connecting to his room, fully paid for by the idiots in the HPSC. Oh, how easy it was to sink his claws into that organization, the head of the organization blissfully ignorant of his survival. 

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"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck…!" A fist smashed against the concrete wall of the apartment, cracks spreading from the point of impact. Another hand went to pull at stark, white locks as her tanned skin dripped with blood from the cuts she had endured just a few hours prior.

Rumi Usagiyama, otherwise known as the Rabbit Hero Mirko, gritted her teeth as she hissed. Her forehead smacked against the wall with a meaty thump as she replayed the events that happened earlier in her mind.

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It was just a normal day. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and villains were being villains while meeting the painful end of one of her kicks. All of a sudden, she gets a call from one of the officers saying that there was another crime in progress, this time by a trio of villains that looked vaguely similar to chimps.

Since the villain she had just apprehended was already tied up and ready to be shipped to the nearest police station, Rumi wasted no time in hopping across roofs as she left the villain literally tied to a pole while the nearby civilians took pictures of the villain beaten to an inch of his life.

It didn't take long for her to reach a convenience store where numerous police cars circled the building. The officers were doing the best they could to get the civilians away from the ongoing assault, but to no avail.

It was mind-boggling how much of the public masses' self-preservation instincts left the moment heroes and villains were introduced. Then again, she was one of them when she was little and as a professional hero, she mentally kicked her younger self to the curb for even thinking of being that stupid to begin with.

Once she landed, various cameras pointed her way, and all she could do was flash a ferocious smile. Best way to deal with the masses like that. Plus, her heart was thumping, her legs tensed and ready to go another round against other villains like the ones she had apprehended just a few minutes ago.

The officers gave her the rundown, and with her confidence soaring through the roof, she rushed towards the convenience store and waltzed in like she owned the place.

Big mistake that, because when she did, she was immediately bombarded with one of the foulest stench she had ever come across. Mutant Quirks like hers – much more so for Quirks that had a common connection with animals – sometimes grant the host heightened senses, along with everything that came with the package.

Her nose scrunched up in disgust, and she had to cover it with her hand, and that was another mistake she wouldn't forget anytime soon. Because the sooner she did that, a club nearly conked her in the head from above. Fortunately, thanks to said heightened senses, she was able to notice something coming from above and narrowly dodged the attack by stepping back a few steps.

Her eyes squinted as she got a good look at the villain, and her ferocious grin grew fiercer.

"Sneak attack, huh?" Rumi took a stance and readied herself. Her eyes roamed the vicinity, only catching the single villain that had tried sneak attacking her. "Where're your other buddies? Napping on the job? Or too scared to even fight?"

All her taunts got was the villain screeching like an animal before lunging at her with its club raised high. Rumi dodged to the side and gave the villain a quick shin to the gut. Said villain was launched towards one of the racks and toppled it over, countless of canned goods scattering towards the floor, creating a cacophony of noise echoing throughout the store.

This managed to grab the attention of the other two villains, who were hiding behind one of the other racks with bloodied fingers and mouths… Most surprising part of it? The three all looked the same, save for their get-up and weaponry.

"What the fuck…?" Rumi narrowed her eyes. Were they triplets that shared the same Quirk? Not that it mattered, what mattered was bringing these three to justice and finding the cause as to why those two in particular had blood dripping from their fingers and lips.

Not giving the two any time, she rushed them with her legs pumped full of energy, ready to send them into next week. Surprisingly, one of them was agile and reactive enough to dodge her attack, but the other one wasn't so lucky. His head met her steel-tipped toe, the brutal impact echoing with a nauseating crack. Blood dripped from the open wound, but Rumi wasn't bothered if the villain died then and there. Sure, it may tank her reputation a bit, but something was telling her that these three weren't your average villains.

The last one standing, one that held a makeshift spear, shrieked and made sounds not dissimilar to what monkeys would do, giving Rumi even more questions.

Rushing the villain again, Rumi's eyes promised untold pain. The spear the villain had was dangerous, but if she managed to get in close, then most of it would be next to useless. Anticipating the strike, she ducked down and slid against the floor. In hindsight, the action was next to stupid, seeing as the rack that was toppled over nearby was one that held various glass bottles.

Glass shards cut through her skin and costume, but pain wasn't anything new to Rumi. Instead, it fueled her bloodlust even more as she pounded on the stunned villain, her hand grabbing him by the neck. Lifting the villain up, Rumi wasted no time and brought him down hard, the villain letting out a yelp as it conked out from the impact against the ground.

"Hooo… Fuck…" Rumi grunted, her arms bleeding from all the cuts she had gained from the sharp glass shards. "Now, where the hell is that clerk?"

The officers said that the villain had taken the clerk hostage, and it was her duty as a hero to save them. However, when she approached the spot where the two other villains emerged, her nose tingled in disgust and a pit formed in her gut.

"... Don't tell me…" Steeling her resolve, Rumi peeked over the rack, and had to withhold the bile that nearly rose out of her mouth. "Ugh… shit… Fuck…"

Glaring at the three downed villains, she vowed in her head she was gonna make sure that these three paid the price for the horrendous act they had done to the poor clerk.

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Sliding against the wall, Rumi curled herself up, trying her damnedest to get the memory out of her head. The scent of iron, she was well acquainted with. Dare she say it, they were best buds with how often they met… But what those three did… It went beyond being your run-of-the-mill villains.

The poor man was also young, barely into his second year of college, his life cut short by three monstrous villains. She'd heard about the Kamui Woods horror story about his encounter with a villain and the lives of a family cut short, but she didn't expect it to repeat here…

Fucking hell… She needed a shower… Hopefully, Ryuko was available… After seeing what had happened in that convenience store… she needed a fucking distraction…

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A/N: Been busy grinding in Marvel Rivals. Cobbled together a team to join the tournament.

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