Chapter Fifty-Six: MVA I—Olympus

She had long-since grown used to the brutal cold of this place. Mugetsu's steel willpower kept her from shivering despite the bone-chilling temperatures, even though she was certainly dressed to handle them.

A con of working for Baba Yaga, but it was a small sacrifice to make. It was slightly more tolerable thanks to Hellscaper being in the same space, but the vents on his shoulders and back only emitted so much heat. It wasn't like the hulking man was allowed to spout lava inside their base.

She was seated at the white conference table in the huge, red meeting room. Sitting further down, in his rightful seat directly beside the head of the table, Ras was scrolling through a data-pad in silence. He was undoubtedly checking on some other reports before they met with their leader, especially now that his body was fully regenerated.

They didn't have long to wait.

The thick doors slid open and Baba Yaga strode inside with one of her commanders at her back. Mugetsu picked out the soldier's identity—a strange individual with a crown of antlers atop their head and a hood covering their face. Too-long arms and nimble fingers exposed black skin, which looked as though it was badly frostbitten, while the rest of an odd, lanky body was concealed by a bone-white cloak.

The Wraith, Mugetsu thought somewhat distastefully. If they had a true name, she wasn't aware of it, which was vaguely impressive considering her skill at gathering intelligence. They were almost always at Baba Yaga's side, though why she did not know for certain.

Her attention returned from that momentary lapse to their leader.

Baba Yaga was a tall woman, as tall as anyone else in that room. Her skin and hair were the color of fallen snow, and her eyes glowed a fierce, freezing whitish-blue. Her suit was a deep burgundy, designed to be practical. Despite the power and resources she possessed, the Dread Mother had never been one to get too comfortable—even in her own base of command.

She looked young—perhaps in her thirties, but Mugetsu knew better. This was a villain that was almost as old as All for One himself. She didn't understand exactly how Baba Yaga's Quirk worked, but she knew that, somehow, she had a method of keeping her appearance youthful.

Mugetsu and Ras stood from their seats and waited for their leader to take her seat. The Wraith hovered just over the Dread Mother's shoulder, a silent guardian with soulless, silver eyes staring at them from the darkness of that hood.

Baba Yaga waved them down and they returned to their seats. Her gaze rested on Ras. "I heard the operation was a success. Forgive my lateness; playing a holy war on both sides of the conflict is a rather busy game."

Ras' lips curved up into a smirk. "Of course, my lady. The operation was indeed a success. We've retrieved plenty of Trigger, including the data Chisaki possessed on the development process. Our scientists are analyzing it as we speak."

"Good. I'm curious to know exactly which cells it targets in Quirks," she mused, lifting a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "What of Chisaki?"

"Dead. Well, we expect him to be dead," Ras reported. "He was killed initially by Izuku Midoriya, but Tomura Shigaraki seems to have commanded Himiko Toga to revitalize him. She borrowed Chisaki's Quirk to Overhaul him shortly after his death. Last we saw of him, he was taken prisoner."

Baba Yaga's eyebrow rose a fraction. "The boy killed someone out in the open?"

"He was behaving…unnaturally," Mugetsu told her, arms crossed close to her chest. The Dread Mother's eyes flickered to her and she felt the full weight of that frozen gaze. "I suspect, somehow, that he may have been dosed with Trigger at some point in the fight. Unless suicide was his wish, he did not die whilst killing Chisaki intentionally."

Now both eyebrows rose up, but Baba Yaga's gaze returned to Ras. "I assume Himiko Toga revived him?"

"Yes."

"Good. This is intriguing, but it also makes me wonder what could have caused such behavior. If we assume it was Trigger-induced, I want our scientists to be extra-cautious in the labs. See to it."

"I informed them of the possible dangers already, but I shall endeavor to ensure the message is firmly imprinted upon them."

Baba Yaga leaned back in her chair and looked at Mugetsu again. "Your impressions on the young ones after the fight?"

"Dangerous," she said bluntly. "They've still got a long way to go, but their progress is impressive. If the boy ever naturally reaches the scale of power he displayed in that fight, he'll be Chimera level in a matter of years. Perhaps sooner. That will depend on his growth rate from this point on."

"Ras?"

"He's a different kind of threat than his father," Ras added. "More unique tools at his disposal, but his sheer power is worthy of note. As Mugetsu says, it will depend on his growth, but I would like to suggest we begin making plans regarding his future as soon as possible."

"I see. And Himiko?"

"We didn't have long to observe her, but she's certainly more lucid than she was some months ago," Mugetsu picked up again. "I suspect my report on her activity during the League's thievery of the Eight Precepts will shed more light on her potential."

Baba Yaga hummed. "Very well. Ras, retrieve any footage we can get of the incident. Compile it and apply the data to our files on the children. Now, Hellscaper? I understand you encountered Heat Viper in combat?"

"Not much combat," the man answered with a thick, Russian accent. "I was on the defensive. He wasn't going all-out—probably to keep collateral damage to his allies at a minimum. Still gave me a shock. I haven't had anyone try to pull me out of my lava shell."

"You did well surviving him. In that case, should we find the need to face him again, we'll attempt to exploit that weakness. For now, do not engage him. Unprepared, I suspect only I would be capable of fighting him on equal footing."

"Yes, ma'am," Hellscaper dipped his head.

"I'll read your reports in detail later," she told them. "Consider this mission completed. We've won a short battle. Now, it's time to end a rather long war."

Even Wraith's unnaturally still head cocked slightly at the words. Ras regarded their leader with no small amount of surprise. "My lady?"

"The holy wars in Jerusalem have served their purpose," she told them matter-of-factly. "We've overseen those battles for well over a century to strengthen our soldiers and test our weapons. They are little more than a liability now—a conflict of blind fools clawing for nonexistent glories. I would see them ended. Permanently."

Hellscaper's lips curved up into a dangerous smile. "Shall I gather the rest of the commanders for a war counsel?"

"That won't be necessary," Baba Yaga told him, amused. "There is one last test I wish to instigate upon that wretched land. Your orders are to pull out whatever loyal soldiers and agents we possess effective immediately. We wouldn't want to accidentally disintegrate our own troops."

The Dread Mother's gaze turned to Ras. "Contact our people at Chernobyl."

Everything felt—disconnected.

It was like those dreams where you felt like you were…flying? Falling? It was hard to explain. It was as though he was and wasn't in his body, all at once. A spectator experiencing the most realistic simulation of his life.

There was a hollow ringing in his ears, and his vision was a blurry mess of shadows and bubbles and real things that were not real at all. He fixated on a simple shape—below him? Above? His perspective felt skewed.

Was it saying something? Was it even a person? The hollow ringing was now accented with low, muffled sounds, as though he were hearing someone talk underwater.

The shape moved. Did something, maybe. And then the void sucked him away.

Izuku woke up.

It felt as though he'd been thrown into the waking world from a hundred feet high. His eyes flew wide open, lips parting in a strangled gasp, and suddenly he felt whole again. He sat up in a blur of motion, wild and manic and—

"Slow your roll, greenhorn."

Izuku's gaze flicked to the source of the voice—Mirio, he realized—and locked onto him. The blonde teenager was sitting at his bedside, setting a bag of dried fruit on a small table as he stood up and walked to the door, poking his head out into the hallway. "Nurse! He's up."

Mirio pulled back into the room and studied the younger man. "How are you feeling?"

"I…" Izuku swallowed, wincing at the dryness of his throat. "I don't know. What—!"

It all rushed back to him in an instant and the blood all drained from his face. "Eri! Where's—"

"Slow your roll," Mirio set a hand on his shoulder, squeezing firmly until Izuku quieted. A nurse bustled into the room and started checking his elevated heart rate and blood pressure. "Everyone's ok. Eri's safe. We won, alright? Crisis averted."

The tension drained out of him as though Mirio had pulled a plug on it. He was vaguely aware of the nurse walking around to his other side and gently taking hold of his wrist, feeling his pulse point as she lifted her other hand to his forehead. She pushed his head back enough to see his eyes and studied them carefully. "Deep breaths, Mr. Midoriya."

Izuku did as he was told. Gods, he was too used to this. It didn't take long for his heart rate and breathing to settle, after which he looked at Mirio as steadily as he could manage. "Tell me what happened?"

"In a bit," Mirio agreed. "How about I let the nurse here check you over and I'll call in Sir or All Might in the meantime? They'll want to fill you in."

"Is everyone okay, at least?"

"Everyone's alive."

"Mirio, that's not the same thing—"

"Deep. Breaths."

Izuku offered him a weary glare in retaliation, but Mirio's face was serious. He sucked in another long, deep breath and waited as his fellow intern gathered his thoughts. "Let me call someone in. I know your mom and Eri want to see you. I was just here to keep an eye on you in case you woke up while they were gone. They went to go grab food."

"Alright."

So Izuku sat back and was good while Mirio shot a short text on his phone, then stepped out of the room to make a call or two. It didn't take long for his mother to arrive with Eri, moving as quickly as could be allowed through the halls of a hospital.

Izuku was soon enveloped in a hug by Inko, while Eri crawled into his lap, hugged him tightly around the neck, and refused to let go.

"I'm ok," he mumbled into the top of Eri's head. "I'm ok."

"You're going to turn all my hairs gray before the year is up," Inko breathed.

"Sorry," he squeezed his mother back firmly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I know."

"Eri?" Izuku lifted a hand to stroke her hair gently. "Are you alright?"

"Mmhm," she nodded into his neck. "I was scared, too."

"I know. I'm so sorry, love bug."

He heard a knock on the door and looked up to see Nighteye standing in the entrance to the room. His mentor was studying him carefully, but there was a weariness there Izuku hadn't seen before. The man must've been exhausted, if the dark bags under his eyes were anything to go by.

Inko pulled back, still holding her son's hand while Eri refused to move from her spot in Izuku's lap. The nurse bustled out of the room as he stared at Nighteye, who closed the door behind him after Mirio slipped inside.

"You're awake," he stated simply, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes. His glasses were lifted slightly by the massaging motions of his fingers. "And seemingly with no physical complications. I'm grateful it was as simple as sleeping it off for you."

Izuku frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Honey," Inko murmured, squeezing his hand. "Just remember that everyone is safe, ok?"

That was not reassuring in the slightest, even if reassurance had been the intent.

Nighteye took a seat and followed up with a long breath. "Right. What's the last thing you remember?"

Izuku frowned, wracking his brain for several moments. He'd been fighting Chisaki with Himiko…they'd taken away the syringe he was going to inject himself with—

He shivered involuntarily as the memory of Trigger rushing through his body became clear. The sensation of his Quirks exploding with power that was beyond his control…

He swallowed. "Trigger. Fire."

Nighteye grimaced. "Well, I suppose it's good you don't remember anything directly after that."

"Why?" Izuku demanded.

Nezu was an optimistic creature most of the time. Given what he'd seen and experienced throughout his life, this was sometimes hard for even him to believe, but he always managed to see the positives in any situation, no matter how dire.

That being said, at his core, he was a practical individual. Not quite cynical, but he didn't pretend things were better or worse than they were. A situation simply was what it was.

The meeting room was full of teachers with himself at the head. In addition, he'd summoned representatives from Tartarus, Olympus, and the Hero Association HQ for this conversation. Although the representatives from Tartarus and Olympus were only tuning in via video call, the Hero Association had sent someone in to represent them personally.

Hawks looked decidedly bored, leaning against one of the walls and fighting off a yawn, but the Principal knew better. The hero was one of the Associations most trusted agents and he was anything but careless. If he looked bored, it was because he wanted everyone in the room to think he was bored.

Nezu personally felt as though the newly-christened number two hero was an unusual choice to send for this particular meeting, but he kept those thoughts unvoiced and simply made do with keeping tabs on the young man. Without Hawks noticing, of course. One of his round ears facing that particular direction covered a lot of ground, anyways—no spying necessary.

Yet.

Once everyone was settled, he regarded all of them and set his paws neatly on the table. "You all know why we're here. Twenty-four hours ago, an unknown individual managed to invade U.A with an unrecognized teleportation Quirk and kidnapped a child under our protection from one of the dorms. She was retrieved unharmed, but the kidnapper escaped amidst the chaos of the raid on the Eight Precepts of Death."

He looked at Power Loader, who stood up and began to access data on the computers for everyone to see. "The intrusion was executed by a single individual with a line-of-sight warping Quirk and blur-tech, which I suspect was kept somewhere on the inside of that exaggerated collar. Although we have confirmation on the intruder's gender, we have no facial identification beyond what the witnesses saw. With how quickly she was moving, we've not been able to get much in terms of figuring out who she is. Our current best guess is she's a foreigner that worked with the unknown lava Quirk user."

Hawks blinked at them slowly. "Any word on where they've gone?"

"There hasn't been a reported sighting since the raid on the Eight Precepts concluded," Power Loader replied. "Obviously, we're keeping an eye out, but at this point, we suspect they've already retreated across international borders. The more pressing concern at the current moment is finding a way to counter this unknown warper's Quirk."

The Tartarus representative grumbled on his end of the video call. "It would seem we have another Oji Harima on our hands, then. An escape artist who leaves behind cold trails for us to follow into inconvenient dead ends."

"At least this one hasn't led us into a bomb," Hawks pointed out.

"Yet."

"Yet," the Pro conceded.

"Our issues trying to track down 'the Peerless Thief' aside," Nezu said, getting them back on track. "I would like to cooperate with Olympus and Tartarus on finding a reliable solution to counteract this new warper. Our three facilities are amongst the most secure in the world, and yet she managed to break in anyways. Until a solution is found, we all have a security threat."

"I concur," the representative from Olympus stated. "I find it unlikely that this individual would find their way to our facility, but we have recovering people here who are vulnerable. Better safe than sorry."

"I agree as well," said the Tartarus representative. "We would very much so like to maintain the villains we're keeping here. Now more than ever, we have some of the most dangerous villains ever known secured. If even one of them were to get loose…"

"Let's not debate what would happen if All for One escaped," Midnight muttered. "I know we have contingencies and such in case the worst should happen, but even those are rather…grim when we look at the statistics."

"We'll forward the data and current theories we have on our mystery warper to your facilities immediately," Nezu told them.

"Great," Hawks said dryly, making a show of inspecting his fingernails. "Now, who would like to inform me about this supposed 'spy' inside the League of Villains?"

"Yes, I'd also like to be informed about this," the Tartarus representative requested.

Nezu pressed his paws together. "Nighteye's report should be issued to all of you soon enough, but I can give you a few details now. The individual in question is Himiko Toga, who agreed to work with Izuku Midoriya during his time as a hostage with the League of Villains. After the Kamino Ward incident, they started meeting under the supervision of Nighteye, All Might, and Detective Tsukauchi. So far, everything seems to be going smoothly enough. She's provided us with valuable intel and is the sole reason Izuku and Ochako Uraraka walked out of the Eight Precepts raid alive at all. Obviously, we're still keeping an eye on the situation to ensure her intentions remain honest."

"That's still more than I've seen from other would-be underground agents," Hawks remarked. "I don't trust her, but that's a start, I suppose."

"While we're on the subject of Himiko Toga," Nezu picked up. "There's another topic I'd like to bring up…"

Himiko was exceedingly tired when Toshinori and Tsukauchi showed up at her door. The aftermath of the battle with the Eight Precepts had left her exhausted in every way possible—and for that matter, the rest of the League, too.

Hisashi had been in a mood since the fight had ended, and even Dabi was giving the man some space. Where he was and what he was doing, none of them knew for sure. Maybe that was for the best.

Twice and the others were recovering from their injuries, but they'd been minor apart from the stab wound through Tomura's hand. Himiko only had to use Overhaul (the blood for which was provided by Tomura) to repair the damage done to their leader, and she'd repaired Compress' destroyed arm, as well. She'd never seen the magician-esque villain so pleased.

Giran hadn't even been upset that the reason he'd had to seek out an artificial arm was gone now. Apparently, the equipment had been proving difficult to procure, so he dismissed that particular apology and was pleased to know Compress had recovered well enough.

Tomura, meanwhile, had never been cheerier. He was definitely smug about their victory against the Eight Precepts and whatever torture he was inflicting upon Chisaki. He'd told the League to take some time to recover before they made another move. He seemed to have something already in mind, but hadn't told any of them exactly what it was yet.

They'd find out soon enough, she supposed.

"How's Izuku?" Himiko asked as she leaned against the counter across from the detective and retired hero.

"Healing," Toshinori replied. "He woke up earlier today. There haven't been any physical repercussions for him that we're aware of. Overhaul worked properly on him."

The way he said that had her frowning. "What do you mean, it worked properly on him?"

Toshinori and Tsukauchi exchanged a glance. "Ochako woke up after you healed her and shortly after you left, expressed that she couldn't feel her legs. She hasn't regained any sensation in them since."

Himiko's blood froze. "But I—it should have worked, why didn't it...?"

"We don't know," Tsukauchi shook his head. "The doctors say her body is fine, but it's as if her brain has forgotten how to regain locomotion in her legs. We're hoping it's just a temporary issue."

"Me too," she admitted quietly. "So, what do the two of you want?"

Toshinori looked at her steadily. "We're going to send Izuku and Ochako to a special facility for Quirk-related injuries to recover. We wanted to extend an invitation to you to join them."

Both of her eyebrows rose high. "Me."

The silence between them was uncomfortable before she broke it. "Why?"

"We believe it would be a good place to begin your own recovery," Tsukauchi began cautiously. "You'd be admitted to the facility as an official underground agent and spend your time undergoing therapy primarily with Izuku until you have to return to your current occupation."

Himiko scowl was only kept from erupting with indignation at the mention of Izuku undergoing the same treatment. "Why is Izuku doing it?"

"Himiko, you both died."

She stilled as Toshinori pressed on, eyes pleading and serious. "He told us enough of what happened to get the picture. Overhaul might heal you, but you were killing yourselves over and over trying to fight Chisaki. You both sustained highly traumatic injuries in the process, as well. Healed or not, you don't just forget something like that."

Her mouth closed and she reached for her right wrist, squeezing it with her left hand to remind herself it was still there. That her borrowed Overhaul had replaced the hand Soramitsu had bitten off.

Ok, so maybe they had a point.

"I'm surprised you aren't forcing me to deal with…with my other issue," she muttered.

"We aren't forcing you to do anything," Tsukauchi told her. "I want to make this clear: we're recommending you do this. If you choose not to, we can continue as we are once Izuku is discharged from the facility, but I really feel it will help you heal. And they might be able to find an alternative that doesn't involve…"

"Teeth?" She suggested mildly.

"For lack of a better word, yes."

Himiko pressed her lips together. "How do I know this isn't an extravagant attempt to capture me? I'm still wanted, aren't I?"

"If you accept this invitation, you'll be officially classified as an underground agent. You'll essentially still be publicly wanted until your record is cleared, but you'll have our support and won't be subject to arrest behind the scenes. Your association with us will be kept quiet until you feel ready to move on with your life."

"You mean leave the League," she corrected dryly. "Are you going to demand information from me?"

"No," Toshinori shook his head. "Of course there are things we want to know, but we aren't going to demand answers. You tell us what you're ready to tell us. If that's nothing, then so be it. You aren't the first villain going there on the road to a better life, and you won't be the last. They've done this many a time before."

"…That's awfully generous."

"That's part of the deal with the facility you'll be visiting," he explained. "It's a recovery site, not an interrogation zone. It operates under its own jurisdiction, outside of national law. No arrest, no extradition. As long as you have permission from the facility administrators—which you do—they cannot touch you."

Himiko's eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is that because the location itself is a secret, you'll have to trust us to get you there. You'll have to be blindfolded and restrained during the trip, and all electronic equipment—phones, trackers, all of it—will have to remain behind."

"This is a painfully obvious trap," she said bluntly.

"It's protocol," Tsukauchi told her, shrugging. "Izuku and Ochako will be in the same boat for the most part. They'll be blindfolded during the trip and won't be allowed their phones until they reach the facility. You'll be traveling with them."

"You're asking me to give up any and all control of my situation here."

"We're asking you to trust us."

Himiko looked away from them both for a long moment. "I want to talk to Izuku first. Then I'll decide."

"Will a phone call suffice?"

"…Sure."

Toshinori took his phone out. "I'll message him that you're going to call. Are you ready now?"

"Yes. I'll be in my room."

She pushed off the counter and walked down the hall, closing the bedroom door behind her as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Himiko sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the black screen for a minute, processing everything that she'd just been told.

It was a huge leap of faith, a fool's leap. She had some trust invested in Toshinori and Tsukauchi, but not enough for this.

To say she was wary was an understatement. Even if Izuku asked her to go with him, that he was on-board with the idea, she wasn't sure if she could do that. Give up control like this.

She was going to think long and hard about this. But first—she had a phone call to make. Switching the screen on, her fingers tapped the call feature and dialed in the only number she'd willingly memorized.

It only rang for a second before it picked up. He undoubtedly had the device in his hands already.

"Himiko?"

Gods, it felt good to hear his voice again after the raid. She'd left him unconscious and the last she'd heard was the scream he made when he finished off Chisaki, bleeding and burning and dying—

She sucked in a deep breath before she got lost further down that spiral.

"Himiko?" Izuku tried again, concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah, I'm here," she rasped. "Sorry. It's—I'm glad to hear you're ok."

"Same here. That you're ok, I mean. Sir told me he sent you away after the raid and I wasn't sure if you were hurt or not."

"It wasn't as bad as what happened to you," she pointed out.

Stupid self-sacrificing hero. He would be worried about her after destroying himself.

"Yeah. I heard," Izuku murmured. "I don't remember much, but I heard."

They both fell silent for a moment. She heard him take a breath. "So."

"So," she agreed. "This whole recovery thing. The secret base or whatever."

"Yeah. I've heard of places like it, but they're always kept pretty secret. Since there are people healing there, they'd make convenient targets for villains to hit. I guess that's why they go to all this trouble."

"Guess so. What are they taking you there for?"

"Sir called it mind-healing," he told her. "I'm not exactly sure what that means—I guess therapy? Maybe someone there has a Quirk that can help psychological recovery, or maybe it's just a term for the specific type of recovery they practice for their patients, but whatever the case, the obvious end goal is to help people heal from psychological trauma…"

She snorted, feeling a little lighter inside. "It's been a while since I've heard you mumble like that."

"Ah!" He cut himself off and she could practically feel him blushing though the phone. "S-sorry!"

"Don't be," she pulled her legs up onto the bed and wrapped an arm around her knees. "It's…maybe endearing isn't the right word, but something like that. It's a you thing."

There was another silence, a bit more awkward than before, and she couldn't guess what he was thinking, so she moved things along. "I don't know if I should go."

"I can see why," he admitted. "All Might texted me everything you'd have to go through."

"Do you think I should?"

"…I'm not sure. I mean, this place might be great and I do trust All Might, Sir, and Detective Tsukauchi to help, but are you ready for something like this? We're making progress already, even if it's slow, and it's not like this is the only option we have available to help you figure things out. I think it really comes down to whether you think you're ready for something like this. If it doesn't work out for you—"

"You'll still be there."

"Of course."

"What if they're lying? What if this is just a ruse to capture me? To find out more about the League?"

"I…I feel like they would've tried already."

"I've seen this sort of tactic before, Izuku," she told him. "Soften up a target by building trust and then move when they aren't expecting it. You tried it when you were a captive with the League."

"I know. But I came back to you."

"Yes. You did. What if they don't?"

"This isn't our only option, Himiko," he reminded her gently. "Think. We've got other possibilities. Yeah, they might take longer, but I don't want you to go somewhere to recover if you feel like you're being backed into a corner. That'll make things worse, won't it?"

"Maybe," she admitted. Himiko took a deep breath. Flipped the proverbial coin. "What if I go?"

"Then maybe it helps. Even if it's just a little. Maybe it helps a lot. We won't know until we're there. If it doesn't help at all, I'm sure we can get you out of there. All Might said that leaving the facility depended on the patient's discretion. Best-case scenario, maybe we find a way to help you recover from your condition."

"That's a pretty big plus."

"If it works. Everyone heals differently, I think," he fell silent for a second. "This is a lot."

"It really is."

"I'm scared."

"Me too. Why are you scared?"

"I trust All Might and the rest to have honest intentions to help you, but I'm afraid whoever is waiting will just shut you in a cell or something."

"Yeah, that would suck…What if they can't help me? What if—what if they decide I can't be helped? That it's hopeless and I'm too dangerous and—"

"You're not broken. You're not."

His voice was firm. Vehement. It sent a shiver down her spine and she closed her eyes. Took a breath.

"I want to try," she told him softly. "Or I want to want to try. I can't decide which."

"If you go, I'll be there. If you don't, I'll be back before you know it."

"I know."

Himiko looked down over the edge of her bed and somehow, that short distance looked like an abyss from the top of a skyscraper.

A leap of faith.

"I'm going."

Tomura hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. Himiko had just called him and explained her decision to spend some time at a recovery facility with Izuku. It hadn't been an easy decision, but he trusted her.

If the heroes betrayed her, he'd destroy everything to retrieve her. She was one of his own. Her wellbeing came first.

Even if this was what it came to.

He strode further into the dark lab to find the doctor and amidst the many High-End Noumu being held in tanks, he spotted the latest addition to their ranks, causing him to smirk. Chisaki's body was still very much so still a work in progress, but it was being kept in suspended animation while it was reinforced. The process would take time, but Tomura and the doctor were patient.

The former Yakuza boss would be a useful tool once he was completed.

"Doctor," Tomura called as he walked up behind the old man, who was busy studying a recent batch of data on the progression of the Noumu.

"Yes?"

"You know where Machia is, don't you?"

Ujiko was still for a moment and looked over his shoulder at the younger man. "Why?"

"I want to recruit him."

The doctor snorted and spun in his chair to fully face Tomura, giving him a look-over. "You think you're ready to lead Gigantomachia? Oh, you've made some decent achievements lately and I admit your latest delivery will make for an exceedingly useful tool, but Machia is not your average would-be villain king. He was All for One's personal bodyguard once. A Chimera. He won't submit to your will because you ask him."

Tomura met his gaze steadily. "I am prepared."

"No, you're not," the doctor replied immediately. "You might think you are, but you are not. Gigantomachia is a calamity. A force of nature whose sole purpose for existing is to follow his master's will."

"If I can't take him, I won't be able to destroy the society heroes made," Tomura argued insistently. "I know what he is. I never met him, but I've seen Hisashi in action. I know he's one of the more destructive Chimeras. He's not like Mugetsu or Hijack, but Nine is going to be annoying to deal with and the Rank One is still undercover, isn't she?"

"If you fail, he will kill you."

"If I die, then I wasn't good enough."

Silence filled the stale air between them. Ujiko peered at Tomura through his thick glasses and tapped his finger against the arm rest of his chair, thinking.

"…Very well. But on one condition," he held a finger up. "You go alone. No League of Villains. Kurogiri may ferry to you food and supplies, but you will receive no combat assistance. You will conquer Machia on your own power or not at all. He will respect nothing less."

"Good. I don't want his loyalty to be for anyone but me, anyways," Tomura agreed.

Ujiko shook his head, spinning back around. "I'll give Kurogiri the coordinates. He'll take you to Machia's current location tomorrow. Prepare yourself."

The young Heir to Darkness turned away, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the silent halls. "When I return, I'll be King."

"If you return," Ujiko corrected. "I shall have a gift for you."

Tomura said nothing in response. He kept walking until he left the lab.

Ujiko lifted a hand to to stroke his chin, muttering to himself. "If you return, then All for One was right about you. Don't disappoint him, boy."

A/N: Sorry for the delay! I started a new job and wanted to give MHA a bit of a break so I didn't burn myself out! The new job is really tough, but I think I've juuust about gotten into the swing of things. Mad thanks to you guys in discord and especially Akiyamasamalamadingdong for keeping up with me and my nonsense XD

This chapter marks the start of a totally original arc. I'm not going to be writing the cultural festival arc, at least not in year one. Maybe year two. We'll see!

In addition, alongside this chapter comes a new Opening for Viridescent, so if you're curious or want a few teasers for the upcoming arc, you might check it out!

Last but not least, Viridescent has gotten some new fan art and should be getting more before long. All the links for said art can be found on Viridescent's TV Tropes page. Go check it out! There are some great artists who deserve a lot of love!

Wow, I think that's everything! Now, onto the review responses for chapter 55!

Dalek Pr1me: This chapter was awesome, but bittersweet. I can't imagine Izuku's life getting any worse, and I wonder what Recovery Girl wants with Himiko. Also, a NOUMU Overhaul?! That sounds absolutely terrifying.

-My dude, this is just year one. I have just started scratching the surface for how much I can make the poor broccoli child suffer 3 Recovery Girl is basically telling the other adults to get their shit together and offer Himiko a place to start recovery therapy.

I thought about killing Chisaki for a long time. Then I thought about how much more fun it would be to torture him some more. You can see what I decided on XD

thirdegree101: Something I noticed that I find kind of funny. You said anyone can die in this story (except Eri), but the only person you killed that's still alive in canon is Muscular, and you kept Nighteye alive. That, along with all the OC's you've introduced, you technically have a negative body count when compared to canon.

-An excellent point! Anyone can die, however I believe that a character's death should carry weight to it. How does one do that? Well, let me get you all invested in the characters throughout the story so when they die later, you all get punched in the feels :)

Wrandral: Great chapter man. I have a few questions though: I believe we can all see how useful Overhaul is as a Quirk but considering its power, is Tomura planning on using it to restore All For One to a better physical state? Or has it been too long and Overhaul can't turn back the clock given how long it has been since All Might wrecked him?
Still on Overhaul, could Chisaki have been a great rescue hero in another timeline? You know intervene on disaster/murder sites to heal people. Man it sounds strange but it'd be interesting.

-Tomura would probably use it to heal All for One, but it's not a priority for him right now. He knows his Sensei is safe, even if he's imprisoned, and he can't reach him right now, so he's going to make use of Overhaul as best he can in the meantime.

I think Chisaki could have made a great hero in another timeline. For that matter, a lot of bad people could have made great heroes had they chosen to use their power as such.

Garbouw Deark: This was...I don't if satisfying is the right word, but I want to say I liked everything in this chapter. I guessed right what would happen with Ochako for the most part, and the loss of feeling in her legs matches something I'm doing in a headcanon involving resurrections and their consequences, so it's nice to see someone doing something similar. And, of course, it was great to see Toga getting some spoken recognition from Nighteye and some unsaid recognition from the rest of Ochako's team. You've definitely made Toga into one of my favorite tragic heroes, so I can't wait to see her character arc continue. My only concern right now is the next arc. Are we going into original content territory, or is it going to be manga stuff? I don't want to have to take a break from this fic.

-I'm glad you liked it! This arc was really a lot about building up the characters, bringing up dark sides and trauma that they have to struggle through in the future. There's a lot of writing I have left to do before I'm satisfied with their current arcs, though.

We are going into original content territory, yes. Well, sort of. It's a bit of a mix between original and canon, but I'm keeping the story moving, so look forward to more! I won't be taking a hiatus to wait for the next anime season lol.

I think that's all! As ever, please review and thanks for reading!