Chapter Text
Mastermind only had one thought in his head as Mirko and the new ambushing Heroes closed in on them.
I was not expecting this! Well, to be fair I was expecting an ambush, Nedzu's a master of exact wording. I narrowly escaped our previous discussion when he was outside of U.A, no way he would allow us into his fortress without having several contingencies.
Nedzu was, after all, a terrifying mammal whose exact species was a mystery to everybody who was not Mastermind. Mastermind had only accepted because Nedzu had made it a deal too good to pass up.
The ambush is not what I'm concerned about. What's concerning is having to fight Mirko so SOON, that's all! Mastermind thought furiously as Mirko, grinning, attempted to Luna Arc him. Already his arms had snapped up to absorb the attack, his armour lighting up in its Fully Cowled state. The ground cratered beneath him and the rabbit heroine, the other Heroes around them blown away from the force of impact. Sirens blared as the police rushed to cordon off the road, available officers pointing guns at the rest of the League.
"Rude," he chastised. In his helmet, Notou was already compiling available data on the Heroes ambushing them, displaying their relative strengths, weaknesses and Quirks even as he bantered. "You didn't even let MASTERMIND" KRAKATHOOM "turn on his fight music!"
Obligingly, his Fight Music-Inator activated. The surrounding Heroes and police let out a litany of confused noises and sighs as You Will Know Our Names started to play. Being closer to his ideal of Superheroes through his particular brand of help, the Mastermind Taskforce barely reacted, instead readying themselves for what came next. Mastermind couldn't help but be proud of his invention - for too long his fights had been lacking in appropriate dramatic soundtracks!
Mirko cackled at that, a Jack o'lantern grin stretching across her face. "Oh, it's been a while since I've had a soundtrack to kick ass to! Let's get this dance started!"
Mastermind let out a sinister chuckle even as her next kick rattled his suit, static briefly encroaching the edges of his vision. "Yes, let's." Then, as Mirko went for another kick, his Stasis Grab surrounded her in green light, freezing her in place. "But maybe another time! For now, Mastermind and the League of Supervillains must away!"
He swore he could see her pouting as she was flung away into the distance, but he had no desire to fight Mirko in his exhausted state. He knew she had fought gangsters with both arms broken and with a bullet in her stomach, which was a level of brutality he didn't want to match! Best to avoid head-on confrontations with the Rabbit Heroine until he had some way of knocking her out immediately.
With that, the moment of panic the League was experiencing vanished. Groaning, Inkblot smacked away a bruiser Hero charging towards them, while Lady de Winter unleashed a weak blast by her standards, which still blocked off a good third of the attacking forces. Kouro, who was mostly rested since he had taken over for Twice in the last exam, unleashed a small wave of blue fire that bought a bit more breathing space. Twice, still recovering from Tokoyami's gambit, was only able to avoid attacks.
Mirko out of his face for the moment, he grinned behind his helmet. Said grin faded as Mount Lady took the chance to grow to her full size, grabbing the Mastermobile and carrying it further into school grounds. "Were you planning to drive without a license? I'm afraid we have to impound your vehicle, nefarious Villain!" She called over her shoulder.
"But of course! Driving without a license is extremely evil!" Mastermind shouted. Technically, Golden Grin and he had been breaking the law regarding underage driving for a while, but there was no sense telling the Heroes that.
With the Heroes closing in, the League of Supervillains backed up, backs figuratively against the wall, exhaustion clear in their every move. "So, the car's gone, we're too far from the entrance for Lovers' Mode to get us out and we're surrounded by Pros. What's the plan now?" Inkblot asked.
With a moment to collect his thoughts, Mastermind focused.
Alright Mastermind, time to form a plan! Laying out the situation, the Heroes are all well rested, have probably been watching us through U.A's cameras and thus are aware of most of our surprises and are in a strong ambush position, while we are exhausted from fighting the first years, are out in the open and I can see a few Heroes our informant didn't tell us about.
Our main advantages right now are the Support Items I've made that we didn't need to demonstrate against the students. Kouro in particular has some serious upgrades he had no need to use before, not to mention being more rested than us since he only fought in the 1-B exam. If Twice can fully recover, we have a second, mostly rested teammate to help fight the Heroes. Hopes of that... Mastermind spared a glance over at Twice, who was still twitching.
...Are low, but not impossible.
Though I'm surprised that there aren't any U.A graduates among these ambushers, he mused as Notou ran through the attackers, listing schools and programs they were involved with. A deliberate ploy by Nedzu to catch us off guard? Then again, our informant did mention that the HPSC was going to stop at nothing to curtail our escape. If they and the Principal are collaborating on this ambush...
His mind spun quickly. A brilliant plan presented itself. "Don't get captured!" A separate display in his visor popped up as Notou finished transferring to the Mastermobile, cutting to the onboard cameras. Distressingly, it came with the reveal of Team Idaten and the police at that second site, who were in the process of impounding his beautiful car while cordoning off the area to block any of the League from reaching their escape vehicle.
How rude of Ingenium! I mean, we saved his life from Stain, gave him the opportunity to join and stamped his Frequent Kidnapping Card, and he wants to repay us by trying to catch us?! Mastermind thought about it, and then beamed.
Aw, he does appreciate what we've done for him!
Notou activating the Mastermobile with the deep thrilll of the engine, causing the surrounding Heroes and police to panic and try in vain to lock it down was good for a maniacal laugh. The Containment Foam grenades that followed, locking the majority of Team Idaten and police in place was a welcome bonus. Unfortunately, Ingenium was fast enough to dodge that attack and was tearing off after Notou and the Mastermobile, the others free of the foam starting to chip their comrades free.
"Great plan, love it!" Golden Grin managed. The rest of the League nodded their assent, and the fight for their continued freedom began.
Gentle Criminal's Quirk flexed on the ground beneath them, rocketing them forwards. Heroes tried to respond, only for Golden Grin to fire a weak, sputtering beam that still forced them to dodge. La Brava guided most of the remaining robots to harass the other Heroes. Mastermind pushed on forward and Inkblot slammed her mallet into a rather burly hero who was trying to take him down.
Mirko chose then to come crashing back into Mastermind, forcing him to dodge her waist height drop kick. Bouncing back from the extremely springy ground they had used for their initial boost, Mirko was upon him with another devastating axe kick which he had to hastily block.
Definitely not an ideal situation to be in, he reflected over the grinding of his armour servos.
Mastermind may have been confident in his skills versus regular Heroes but he was no fool. The Fully Cowled Mode certainly made him fast and strong enough to clash about evenly with Mirko, but she had the edge in fighting skill and raw experience. The only good thing about fighting Mirko was that, with his anti Top Ten measures activated, the other Heroes were giving them a wide berth, unwilling to get hit with his full force. Even so, a grin split his face as he narrowly avoided a kick to the head that probably would have rattled his head even through his impact absorption.
This was so exciting!
"Four minutes left before U.A starts attacking!" Notou's anxious voice piped through their earbuds.
That announcement shook Mastermind from his usual fantasies of Hero/Villain fights. From the corner of his eye, he saw the rest of the League square up, desperation and determination crossing their faces. Right, if the U.A faculty gets involved, it's practically over! So far, they're not giving us any openings, so I'll have to deploy our first surprise to make one!
And it will be fabulous!
+++
Concurrently...
Eraserhead felt his blood pressure rise as the League of Supervillains tried to defend themselves against a surprise ambush of roughly thirty Heroes. The second most dangerous Villain group in Japan was trying to escape U.A, and Nedzu had ordered them to not even attempt to help on an apparent whim. Even with that secret Principal-arranged ambush, the frustration and helplessness of the situation grated on him and the rest of his colleagues.
What made it worse was that the Principal hadn't even hinted that there was an ambush in U.A waiting to be unleashed. If anything, he had expected the Principal to have had one right outside the gates. Eraserhead knew that Nedzu wasn't obliged to tell him or the other teachers every detail, but knowing that Nedzu actually wasn't treating this like a game would have made him feel so much better about these maniacs coming onto campus and play-fighting their students.
"So, this ambush..." He started as Mastermind and his League started fighting the assembled Heroes. "You didn't tell us about it, why?"
"I had a few reasons not to." Nedzu said as one of U.A's robots rolled up, a laptop held in its hands.
"Those being?"
"First, so that your reactions to there apparently being no further plan beyond the head start were genuine. Mastermind definitely suspected an ambush was coming, so having you be ignorant of my intentions planted a tiny seed of doubt that I predicted would throw him off ever so slightly."
Eraserhead could understand that.
"Secondly, because it amused me."
He sighed. Again, understandable from the Principal, even if he wished it wasn't.
"Third, it was because I was not involved with this ambush at all." Nedzu's smirk widened at the teachers' disbelieving faces. "It's the truth! I merely gave the heroes involved access to our cameras and a rough plan of action, most of which has been followed."
Eraserhead blinked. "Then who-"
At that point, the laptop switched on to a digital conference with the HPSC President sitting at her desk, face set like stone. Hawks stood next to her, face set in a professional mask. She fixed Nedzu and the rest of them with a piercing stare. "How is the attack going, Nedzu?"
The Principal's eyes gleamed dangerously as he inclined his head maybe a millimetre. "Ah, Madame President Ishigaki! I thought I smelled sulphur. Must have been my computer picking up your delightful presence!" The Principal's tone was light but his eyes promised murder.
Eraserhead dearly wished he could strangle the Principal at that point. He knew Nedzu had problems with authority and the government, problems he definitely shared after his own experience trying to investigate Endeavour post Sports Festival, but an active Villain attack was not the time to be antagonising the Commission.
Hawks' eyes narrowed slightly but his face was otherwise a professional mask. President Ishigaki let out a tired sigh. "Enough, Nedzu. We don't have time for your petty antics. Not when my superiors have all but demanded the Commission suffer the fallout of your little whim."
Eraserhead blinked, trading a stunned glance with Present Mic and Midnight. He knew that there would be repercussions for Nedzu inviting actual wanted criminals to U.A. for the exams, even ones as seemingly harmless as the League of Supervillains. To think that the Commission was, somehow, going to face the consequences of this venture and ensure U.A got out in one piece stretched belief.
How had Nedzu even arranged that?
Uncaring of his staff's sudden recalculation of current events, Nedzu's smile took on a simpering quality. "Oh, I am sorry they're forcing you to do that! I consider you far better at this than your predecessor, that's for certain. Now, let us focus on capturing Mastermind!"
"Yes. I am in no mood for games, Nedzu. So, starting with the most obvious question the Press will ask once we have ended this farce: Where is All Might?" Ishigaki's voice was tight and cold as frozen wire.
"It's his day off today." Nedzu replied cheerfully.
Her eyes widened at that statement. Even Hawks had a look of stunned disbelief on his face as he leant forwards to query. Eraserhead couldn't blame the man, even if he was very much the HPSC's chosen Hero. "All Might took the day off. Really."
"Truly! I was as surprised as you are! Even so, I wouldn't dare tell All Might to come in when he wants time off. Would you?" Nedzu asked, voice syrupy sweet.
Eraserhead kept his face carefully blank as did the rest of his colleagues. Nedzu had updated the schedule at the last second, claiming that All Might had asked for it, as if the man had ever taken a break that wasn't medically enforced in his life. Only All Might's own hurried call to the teachers saying that there was a Nedzu given reason he had taken the day off had prevented Eraserhead from hogtying the Number One and dragging him onto campus himself.
While the HPSC President and Hawks tried to find a tactful way to respond to that, the communicators crackled. "Team Idaten calling in! The League of Supervillains' vehicle is driving itself and has broken containment! It seems to be heading for the main gates!" Ingenium reported over the sound of his racing feet and the Mastermobile's distinctive engine.
Once again Eraserhead was caught by surprise. It made sense that Team Idaten was here to assist in capture, they had had a good record against the League of Supervillains before. More things that the Principal hadn't considered necessary for him or the staff to know.
The HPSC President was the first to recover. "Received. Team Idaten, pursue the Mastermobile and attempt to disable the vehicle by any means necessary. Once completed, if the A-Team is not finished with capturing the League, you are to assist in capturing the League of Supervillains."
As Ingenium acknowledged and continued to pursue the escaping Mastermobile, her steely glare focused on Nedzu. "Despite this recent development and the lack of All Might, who would have ensured Mastermind was captured barring actual divine intervention, it doesn't matter. Mastermind and his gang of Villains are as good as captured. And no matter how you spin this farce or how the Commission will take the fall for it, we shall be investigating just how U.A can afford such flights of fancy. Perhaps a change of leadership will be in order."
The staff stood around, unsure of how to respond. For his part, Nedzu seemed supremely unbothered by her statements despite Eraserhead's years of exposure to his unique facial expressions. "Perhaps. Still, such talk should be saved for when you have actually captured him, no?"
The HPSC President went to respond when Mastermind suddenly stopped in place, a suspicious remote in hand. Eraserhead's sense for danger, honed so fine it was practically a Quirk, screamed that something was about to go wrong. Then again, with Mastermind something going wrong varied from 'technically illegal' to 'S-rank chaos.'
+++
"Okay, what can he be planning?" Melissa wondered aloud. On screen, Mastermind was trading blows with Mirko, before managing to knock the Rabbit Heroine away. As Mirko picked herself back up, Mastermind pulled a remote out of his utility belt and posed.
Meanwhile, Iida was focused on the other display showing Team Idaten, his eyes focused on his brother as his team coordinated to try and cut the Mastermobile off. "Keep going brother!" He cheered as Ingenium ran alongside the speeding vehicle, trying to catch it. He then let out an outraged gasp when the Mastermobile skidded, firing a bolas at Ingenue's legs that sent him skidding down the road.
Mei shrugged. "Probably another stolen Baby that he'll abuse to defeat the Heroes," she grumbled, glaring so hard at Mastermind that, if her Quirk had involved shooting lasers from her eyes, she might have hit him from where she sat. "No idea what it could be, though."
Monoma's head whipped towards them so quickly she was surprised his neck hadn't snapped. "Oh, what's this? 1-A's very own inventor duo can't figure out what they're doing?! My, 1-A's standards are falling so rapidly, maybe they should-"
Kendo cut Monoma off with a karate chop to the base of the neck. "Come on, Monoma. Nobody except Mastermind has any idea what the League of Supervillains are going to do next. The best we can do is watch them fight to try and anticipate what he'll do next time."
Melissa nodded grimly. She could see that logic, especially since the teachers had sent 1-A and B to a lecture hall combined with a bunker set squarely in the middle of U.A, far away from the LOSV and their potential exits. The space was equipped with screens displaying different shots of Mastermind and his League, the red and green cloaked figure commanding the screen's presence.
"Oh, Mastermind definitely has a plan up his sleeves if he's showboating like that," Gran Torino snorted from where he stood by the door. Any trace of senility on his face was long gone, replaced with a steely eyed look. When he said that they were not to leave the room, even Monoma hadn't objected.
Ojiro and Kendo had been too focused on Mastermind's escape attempt to say 'I told you so,' but Melissa knew it was coming once the League was captured.
"Whatever surprise they have in store, there's nothing they can do with so many Heroes coming after them!" Monoma managed to spring back up. "Especially since we of 1-B softened them up more than you fools at 1-A did."
"Shut up, Copycat. Me and De- Midoriya's girlfriends messed up Mastermind way more than you guys." Bakugou said flatly, eyes locked on the action. Monoma opened his mouth in outrage only to be quieted by Kendo raising her hand with narrowed eyes.
Speaking of which, Mastermind now stood with his foot on a conveniently placed rock. Beneath his green hood, the red visor with its embossed 'M' and toothy grin actually seemed menacing, far beyond his goofy nature. "As much fun as this has been, Heroes, the League of Supervillains-" KRAKATHOOM "-and I have places to be right now!"
Mirko went in for a charge, only for Mastermind to lock her in place with his annoying Stasis Grab move. It was at least something of a relief that despite his nonchalance his arm seemed to be shaking, whether from being exhausted or Mirko's attempts to break free was anybody's guess. "So, it's time for our exit strategy!"
"Oh no you don't!" Mount Lady roared, raising her foot to stomp on them. Mastermind seemed quite panicked by her going to attack them, nearly dropping his remote. "Tarantino Titan!"
Mei pouted at the scene. "Oh, come on! Fight harder you bastard!"
Everybody in the room stopped and turned to the pink haired inventor, eyes wide. "Wait, I thought you'd be happy he was beaten at all?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Well, sure I want him beaten, but not before I prove that I'm the better inventor! Mastermind being beaten because he can't use that Stasis Grab while hiding a remote is no victory at all!" Mei pointed at Masterminds' seeming panic with an irate expression. "I want to rub it in his stupid smug face that I made something better than he could ever dream of making!"
Still, despite her venom, it seemed as if Mastermind was going to go the way of several unfortunate Villains and more than a few (extremely weird) fans of Mount Lady, being crushed beneath her boot. Then Inkblot leapt in the way of the attack, the VIllainess' face contorted in a grimace. Everybody stared, confused, as the Villainess opened her mouth and started to rapidly inhale air.
"The hell is she-" Bakugou was cut off when Inkblot, impossibly, kept inhaling, air rushing into her body. The consequences of inhaling all that air made themselves clear as her body rapidly expanded to the tune of rapidly stretching rubber and a hundred vacuums turned on at once.
Todoroki turned to Mineta with his customary deadpan stare as Inkblot expanded further. "Remember your training, Mineta. If she turns blue, you have to start singing."
The short boy twitched at that comment. "For the eighth time, Todoroki, I AM NOT AN OOMPA-LOOMPA!"
Todoroki did not look convinced. The students stood around in stunned silence as Inkblot finished her growth in a split second. Kaminari's eyes were locked on Inkblot's... rather expanded chest area in this new form. Yaoyorozu's eyes widened. "I... have to admit that's an effective, if rather unorthodox defence."
"Ink... Balloon..." Inkblot managed to grit out from puffed up cheeks as Mount Lady's foot sank into her bloated form. If Melissa hadn't seen it happen in front of her, she would have wondered how a Thanksgiving parade float had suddenly conveniently appeared in front of the League of Supervillains.
Mount Lady's foot bounced away, the heroine's arms pinwheeling to try and keep her balance as she fell backwards. As the Heroes dived away from getting crushed, Death Arms desperately charged at the Villains. Whether she saw it or just had to release the air somehow, Inkblot exhaled, the resulting stream of wind knocking him down.
Mastermind took the opportunity to press the big red button on his remote. Thunder boomed once more as he threw his head back and cackled. "MWAHAHAHA! NICE TRY, HEROES! BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Mirko, you said it best - it's time to dance, so let's dance!"
Melissa and the rest of the class tensed, watching as part of the Fight Music-Inator lifted up, revealing a new light. Immediately Mount Lady and Kamui Woods tried to charge the machine, only to be blocked by fresh waves of fire and ice. Despite being far away from the action, Melissa couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen. A sound based attack that used the machine's unique sound bouncing properties? She leaned forwards with Mei, eager to find out what he was planning-
"So let's change the music to suit the occasion! Fight Music-Inator Dark Super Move: Form Switch, Dance Music-Inator!"
-Only to fall over as the machine started playing The Macarena. "Seriously? Was that just a bluff?" Mei huffed.
"Maybe?" Melissa tried, only for the Heroes on screen to start being effected by the latest nefarious device Mastermind had planned. Her eyes widened as she reconsidered her initial assessment of why he had been so proud of that little machine. "Or perhaps not."
+++
Truthfully, the situation we were in was bad. Heroes all around us and completely fresh, while we were exhausted. If this had happened before the USJ, I am confident that we would have been defeated. Nobody in the underworld would have particularly cared.
After the USJ, well, things were different. Suddenly, we were a rising star, a possible alternative to the detestable League of Villains. With our dramatic exit from the USJ, the League of Supervillains had a huge boost to reputation... Which meant we had more opportunities to study and mimic unique and powerful Quirks with Support Gear.
Well, less 'powerful' Quirks, and more 'interesting' and 'cool.' Still, in the right hands (like mine), any Quirk can be a danger!
+++
Eraserhead couldn't help staring. One moment, there was a coordinated presence of Heroes and police surrounding the League of Supervillains. The next, Mastermind's stupid background music machine had shot out a new tech piece. Within moments of it being revealed...
"I'm going to kick your head off for this you bastard!" Mirko yelled over the music. It didn't stop her or the other Heroes and the police from going through the motions of the Macarena. Most of them weren't doing it well.
...That had happened. Suddenly Eraserhead was glad Nedzu had insisted that the staff stayed back. He wouldn't have been able to recover his image if his students had seen him doing such ridiculous dance moves.
"Shota!" Eraserhead turned to look at Present Mic, only to stare in confusion and mounting worry as his best friend also did the Macarena, a panicked expression on his face. "Help me! My mind says no but my body says DANCE!"
Midnight's face was torn between concern and wanting to laugh at Mic as he involuntarily danced. Nedzu barely seemed concerned. "How very interesting!" he chirped.
The HPSC President gave the Principal a glare, already switching to a different screen. "Strike Team Beta, Team Alpha has been incapacitated by a Mastermind device. The League of Supervillains will likely steal a vehicle to try and escape. Attempt their capture at all costs."
Eraserhead's head snapped around from Present Mic to focus on the Principal. "There are more Heroes and police on campus."
It wasn't a question.
Nedzu grinned. "Well, of course there are more! This was just the initial team." He laughed at Eraserhead's race. "If this had worked, well, that would have been good. Never play a full house if three of a kind will do, after all."
While Eraserhead blinked at the Principal, the shorter mammal's smile took on a sadistic edge. "Once the League of Supervillains is out of earshot I'll gladly inform you of the rest of the plan."
He paused. "Oh, and get poor Present Mic some noise cancelling earplugs. Poor man is looking rather distracted."
Eraserhead heaved a sigh as he went to dig in Present Mic's trousers for his combination earbuds and microphone. Reassuring as it was to hear that this wasn't the end of the Principal's plans for the League, helping Mic took priority.
At least his idiot friend was the only other person affected from outside the normal operating range of Mastermind's strange device.
+++
Meanwhile, Hitoshi and the other students stared at his girlfriend and a few others as they were, bizarrely, affected by Mastermind's nonsense. "Why am I dancing?" Kaminari yelped in fear as his body went through the Macarena in time with the Heroes on screen. Jirou was too embarrassed to mock him, the punk rocker girl desperately avoiding eye contact as he body went through the motions stiffly.
"N-no idea," Melissa muttered, rubbing her forehead. "I - is it an auditory effect? That would make sense given the music, yet it's only affecting some people from a distance? Except for Present Mic the rest of our teachers are fine despite being much closer. than us." Then she remembered herself. "Uh - Yaoyorozu, we're going to need earplugs."
"Already on it," Yaoyorozu replied, arms already sparking with creative energy.
"Thanks! I mean, I like dancing, but on my terms, you know?" Mina pouted as her body continued to do the Macarena flawlessly.
As Yaoyorozu started handing earplugs out to the affected, Hitoshi watched the Villains on screen take a breather. He wasn't sure if he should be amused or horrified that Mastermind's dance machine had some other nonsense requirement for people to fall under its spell beyond mere proximity. Of everybody here only Kaminari, Mina, Jirou and the mushroom girl from 1-B were affected, doing the Macarena with various levels of skill.
There was some logic here to why it affected them. He just couldn't see it.
+++
With a dramatic BANG, Mastermind flung the office door open. "Greetings, Muriyari-san! Mastermind wishes to talk to you!" Ignoring everything else, Mastermind pulled out a collapsable chair he had had the foresight to bring with him.
The tall, skinny man with an afro like a disco ball stuck in his head swallowed nervously. "L-l-listen here, I-I don't want any trouble-"
"You won't get any from me, Muriyari-san." Mastermind interrupted, leaning forwards over his desk. "That is, if you do what we say."
"T-this is ridiculous, I'm-I'm calling the Heroes!" Muriyari lunged for his phone, fingers shaking as he tried to dial.
"Your funeral." Mastermind leaned back in his commandeered chair casually.
The dance club owner stopped. "...What?"
"Because if you do, then we'll have no choice but to reveal your own Villainous activity." Mastermind tilted his head, red visor glinting menacingly. "So go ahead, call for the Heroes. I'll escape like I always do, but before I leave I'll prove that you were also committing acts of Villainy!"
His face went white. "...What- I don't know what you're-"
Mastermind slid a photo over, displaying Muriyari's hands glowing with a rainbow light while patrons below hit the dance floor. "You've been using your Quirk on people in your club to assist in the atmosphere." He tutted. "Very naughty of you. If you do call them here and they catch us, well... I'm sure you'll enjoy explaining this."
"I - you-" The dance club owner gaped at Mastermind. For his part, Mastermind tilted his head, bright red visor and grinning mouthguard practically leering back.
Eventually Muriyari slumped in his chair. "...It's not much. It just compels people to dance when they listen to music."
"Technically it's a mind control ability that applies over twenty square metres, Muriyari-san." Mastermind pointed out cheerfully. What a wonderfully subtle Quirk for its area of effect.
"It's only body control." Muriyari mumbled. "T-though sometimes people who are musically inclined or more easily influenced can be affected from further away."
"How very interesting!"
"...What do you want?" Muriyari finally asked. "A-are you going to force me to work for you?"
"No, nothing of the sort, don't be gauche." Mastermind slid what looked like a rather ostentatious watch over. "Just a simple task. I want you to wear this while you're using your Quirk for as long as I say you should! Do that, and my knowledge of your misdeeds will disappear into the aether! Also, as a bonus, it'll be a better watch than that piece you're wearing."
Muriyari turned it over in his hands. "Why?"
Mastermind tutted, shaking his finger. "That's for me to know only. And naturally, you won't tell anybody about this, will you?"
"...No," Muriyari managed, face beaten.
Mastermind sighed, the day's previous fights catching up to him once more. At least the Dance Music-Inator was a resounding success. It had taken a while to get the exact energy frequency that Muriyari's Quirk used, and then to make a machine that could emit it with his chosen music track. With the counter frequency broadcasting to the League's earpieces at the same time, they now had another way of disabling fighting that happened to be stylish. "Right, that should give us some breathing room."
He cast a concerned eye over the teachers that were still standing to attention, having a slight double take at Present Mic doing the Macarena. Huh. Should have figured that he was more vulnerable to the Dance Music-Inator's effects.
His visor briefly flickered and he tapped it. It was most likely from damage incurred from Mirko or the students, but either way he could fix it later. Satisfied, he turned to his League dramatically. "We can't wait for the Mastermobile to return here, so we need to get going before they can witness any more tricks. Mr. Warp, acquire us a car!"
"On it!" Mr. Warp saluted, running towards the nearest police van, snatching the keys off a hapless police officer. "Thank you for your donation, sir!" The police officer grit his teeth and glared at them even as he continued dancing.
"Mastermobile heading towards our optimised escape location," Notou cheerfully told the League. An alert pinged in the corner of his visor, showing the Mastermobile navigating to the main gate. "Team Idaten is still in pursuit, though much reduced in numbers."
Inkblot lay on the ground from where she had blocked Mount Lady, eyes turned into spirals and groaning. Lady de Winter helped her onto her feet. "You, uh-"
"Not really," Inkblot managed. "Ugh, I hate doing that. Always get a phantom bloated feeling afterwards, not that they ever care about that..."
Behind her mask, Lady de Winter's brows furrowed. "So, how many times-"
"Nope, not answering that question!" Inkblot's eyes, freshly normal, darted in panic. "In fact, let's never speak of this again."
Lady de Winter contemplated asking for further details, then thought better of it. "Well, we've got some breathing room at least." She managed to smile at Inkblot, who shrugged it off.
"Thank you, Inkblot!" Mastermind praised, turning to make a dramatic exit, cape billowing behind him in simulated wind. "I wasn't able to respond to that attack."
"No prob, bossman." Inkblot gave a thumbs up.
"Come on, you can't punk out on fighting me like this!" Mirko yelled as she danced. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't beat the power of his latest copied Quirk, and was stuck performing the Macarena until he left.
Mastermind laughed with more bravado than he actually felt as he jumped into the freshly stolen police van, scooping the Dance/Fight Music-Inator into his arms and stroking it like a cat. "Supervillain, remember?"
With one last look at her furious expression, Mastermind turned to the others. "Well, Heroes, I suppose it's time for me to leave this Dance Floor! Remember this as the day that you almost caught MASTERMIND-" KRAKATHOOM "-AND THE LEAGUE OF SUPERVILLAINS!"
Mr. Warp hit the gas as soon as the doors were closed, tearing away. Once safely driving the rest of the League slumped where they sat, taking what rest they could manage in their frantic escape. Mastermind couldn't help but grin as, one by one, the Heroes recovered once out of range of the Dance-Inator. Even from this distance he could see the Mastermind Taskforce hurry around to their companions, presumably passing out earplugs to block the effects of the Fight/Dance Music-Inator.
He'd raised those Heroes so well!
The police radio squawked. Mastermind took it off its hook to listen. "All units, Mastermind and the League of Supervillains have deployed a mind control effect based on music and have commandeered a police vehicle! Additionally, Mastermind's Mastermobile has also demonstrated self driving capabilities with new weapons being deployed! Multiple Heroes and police units are in hot pursuit of both, but give top priority to the League of Supervillains!"
Mastermind heaved a sigh. It seemed as if they were going to be continually challenged.
The police radio continued. "All units, block the roads on their projected escape route and focus on disabling the... Dance Machine? ...Hate that this is a legitimate concern, could be dealing with proper criminals who don't do this kind of nonsense..."
Then the dispatch officer collected himself. "Whatever the case, do not engage with the League unless you have earplugs or other ear protection and back the Heroes up in their attack! The League of Supervillains is not leaving U.A unless it's in an Iron Maiden bound for trial and prison!"
Even though the police and Heroes were subverting his beautiful Dance Music-Inator, Mastermind couldn't help but grin. The heroes were really ramping up now! "In light of that... I think it's time for some chase music!"
Despite their exhaustion, the rest of the League cheered their leader on. They remained unaware of the various cameras displaying their escape attempt as their van tore away.
Hitoshi watched Masterminds' escape closely as they piled into the cruiser and tore off. When he saw the farthest Heroes from where the effect originated start to regain control of their bodies, he let out a sigh of relief. It was nice to know that Masterminds' weird body control machine had some limits beyond 'just making them dance.'
"Thanks for the earmuffs Yaomomo," Jirou managed, adjusting her freshly created ear protection with a tomato red face from sheer embarrassment. Freshly protected, the punk girl slunk off to a corner and curled in on herself. Yaoyorozu followed, laying a comforting arm over the shorter girl.
The other students who had been dancing earlier wore similar relieved expressions even if they weren't quite so embarrassed as Jirou. Even Monoma wasn't crass enough to make rude comments to the 1-A members affected, though that was probably because Kendo was in karate chop range.
In their stolen van, the League of Supervillains were speeding ahead. Still, the police and Heroes were trying to catch up with the escaping criminals even as an upbeat jazz tune started playing for dramatic effect. Mirko in particular was racing ahead, battle hungry expression firmly locked in place along with her earplugs.
Unfortunately the League was not going down easy. The backdoor of the League's van thrown open, leaving Gentle Criminal and Lady de Winter free to use their Quirks. Several other police cars were having to haphazardly swerve around the patches of ice Lady de Winter threw up, or were caught in invisible, stretchy barriers that snapped back in place to send them skidding into other vehicles.
"...He's got good taste in music, at least. Cowboy Bebop music still slaps," Hitoshi snarked. Mina shoved him lightly, a teasing grin on her face.
"You think it's a hint as to his identity?" Sero wondered. "I mean, guy's got a lot of old people music in his playlists."
Todoroki's face only appeared conflicted to dedicated Todoroki watchers like himself and a couple of the boy's other friends. "That contradicts my favourite theory about who he is... But on the other hand, it would make sense if he is a centuries old supervillain who has come out from the woodwork to menace Japan and deal with All Might for destroying his initial criminal empire."
Melissa twitched at that for some reason. Hitoshi just hoped that she wasn't buying into some of his friend's crazy theories.
"Or he just likes the classics," one of the 1-B students - Tsuburaba or something like that - countered.
Oblivious to them questioning Masterminds' musical choices, the Heroes kept chasing, police cars chasing after the solitary van. In particular, Mount Lady had scooped up her teammates and was running after them in earth shaking strides.
Kaminari, freshly paused in his dancing, grinned cockily as Mount Lady closed in on the escaping van. "Oh heck yeah, the Heroes have got them now!"
Hitoshi traded a side glance with Melissa and Hatsume. Mere seconds after Kaminari said that, Mastermind leaned out of the window of the stolen cruiser, weird ray gun in hand. A familiar red beam of energy shot out to bathe her in its light, and suddenly Mount Lady went from giant sized to normal height, forcing Kamui Woods to catch himself and Death Arms with his Quirk as they fell.
"Oh, right. I forgot he had that Eraser Ray in handheld form." Kaminari slumped. Jirou gave him a condescending thumbs up in response. The rest of the students watched, still holding onto the faint possibility that the Heroes would win today.
"Can't believe I forgot he had a hand held version of his Erasing Ray!" Mount Lady groaned, quickly hailing down a police van so they could continue the chase. She'd feel a lot more secure in using her Quirk once they had his Quirk Erasing/Activating/Whatever Ray safely in police custody, the same with that damn Dance Machine or whatever it was called.
"To be fair, he has so many gadgets it's understandable we forgot about it," Kamui Woods replied. The police gave them a grim nod, already wearing noise cancelling headphones. As they sped up, he added, "We just have to be careful about how we engage them, that's all."
"And we have a reason to use the noise cancelling function on our earpieces," Death Arms noted. "By the way, Mount Lady, good idea for taking them with us."
Despite the dire situation they were currently experiencing, Mount Lady preened. "Serves the other guys right, calling us paranoid." The other Heroes had just dismissed their concerns about the Dance Machine, instead focusing on trying to counter Mastermind's more obviously worrying Stasis Grab gauntlets.
Look at who was having to use spare police headphones or regular earplugs without comms functions now, jerks! Still, Mount Lady would be magnanimous enough to save the 'I told you so's' for after Mastermind and the rest of the League were imprisoned in Tartarus.
She just had to hope that the League hadn't already broadcast her being forced to dance the Macarena to the Internet. There were enough 'Mount Lady VS LOSV FAIL' compilations out there for her liking. No need for their last act to be humiliating her.
Even as they started to catch up to the escape van, they could tell that capturing the League would be an uphill battle. Despite the League's clear exhaustion affecting their Quirks, Mastermind's gadgets were still getting deployed. A couple of robot spiders came from Mr. Warp's distinctive cloud of purple smoke, causing the police cars in front of them to swerve. Mirko jumped to intercept the robots, kicking them through walls.
Mount Lady grit her teeth as she rechecked the map. "I know the Commission and Nedzu's planned this whole ambush plan, but I think this is cutting it really fine!"
Thanks to police cordons and Team Idaten they had redirected the League's frantic escape for the most part. Still, this was the last model city before the League had a straight road to U.A's main gates. If this capture attempt failed or they got to their flying car, then the League could drive or fly away as they chose.
"Team Idaten reporting! Ingenium has currently been freed from Mastermind's device! We are still having serious difficulties containing the Mastermobile-" The Hero on the radio was interrupted by the sound of screeching tires as the aforementioned vehicle presumably dodged a capture attempt.
Death Arms groaned. "Any good news?"
"It's been more than five minutes." Nedzu's cheery voice sounded over their radio.
"That's great and all but what-" Death Arms replied, only to freeze as the implications hit. "You mean-?"
Suddenly, a van emblazoned with U.A's logo burst from a side street, slamming into the escape van. Mirko took advantage of their distraction to bounce ahead and deliver a kick to the front of the League's van.
Kamui Woods barked a laugh as the vehicle was cratered by the ferocious rabbit-themed Heroine. "That's Newton's first law of motion in action! Seems that there's some laws the League of Supervillains can't break after all!"
Mount Lady sighed at his cheesy comment as they exited the police van. "That one's a bit forced, Kamui."
"They can't all be winners." He shot back. Mount Lady gave him a fond smile, before turning back to where the League was currently holed up.
With a dramatic crunch of metal, Mastermind tore a hole through the now useless van and strode forth with a cocky stride, cape fluttering dramatically. The rest of the League of Supervillains assembled around him, worry clear on the ones whose faces were relatively visible.
Mount Lady felt hope bloom in her chest as the U.A Heroes came closer. Finally, things were looking up for them!
Mastermind stood framed in the torn out hole of their wrecked escape vehicle. He could espy the assembled Mastermind Taskforce glaring him down with other Heroes, and the U.A van that had hit them certainly had rattled him.
"So! U.A finally makes its move!" He announced with more bravado than he was actually feeling. Internally his mind spun, trying to figure out Nedzu's game. A sense of wrongness pervaded this situation. Nedzu had a trick up his sleeves, definitely.
His eyebrows raised when he saw only Eraserhead and Vlad King exiting the vehicle. Eraserhead glared him down. Vlad King cracked his knuckles, ready to unleash his blood Quirk. "Mastermind and the League of Supervillains. Take the logical choice and surrender, and it will appear favourable in your trial."
Mastermind tutted. "Logical? Please, we've never been logical in our lives!" While he posed, he carefully switched to a private channel. "Notou, how close are you?" He hissed, inaudible to anybody save the League.
"Power Loader's wrecked the road, and the rest of Team Idaten is coming." Notou replied grimly. "Cementoss keeps trying to lock me down, and Present Mic-" A loud screech made every member of the League wince.
Eraserhead and Vlad King stared them down. Mastermind made a grandiose gesture, pacing back and forth. "Ah, dividing and conquering to try and take down my self driving Mastermobile? Almost expected from you Heroes, but you should have gotten every Hero in U.A to focus on me and the League solely. Even if they would all be defeated, it would at least be better than your previous attempts!"
Thunder boomed at that statement.
Listening to a megalomaniac like Mastermind as he monologued was frustrating but Melissa knew it had to be done. Even if apparently his voice was giving her a headache.
(In the depths of Melissa's subconscious, Yoichi turned to the Second Bearer as they watched the League of Supervillains. "Okay, Leader, Nedzu is definitely planning something. Any idea what?"
Kudo hummed. "You know as well as anybody else here that Nedzu's plans don't make sense unless you're working directly with him. And sometimes not even then."
The other Vestiges, having experienced Nedzu plans through Nana and All Might, nodded.
"Well, Toshi's Vestige looks like it's up to something as well. My boy's involved with it, and not just having a much needed rest day." Nana said proudly., patting the misty figure of All Might on the shoulder.
"Number Eight could have definitely used more breaks. Like fighting this guy! Dude would probably have loved to have an excuse to boogie." Banjo grinned.
Yoichi gave him a look. "You're only saying that because you were the only one who got affected by the Dance-Inator."
Shinomori nodded sagely. "It's rather concerning that that device can apparently ignore our defences and bypass Danger Sense. At least you were the only one affected."
"Hey, it was catchy!" )
Melissa winced. At first she'd thought she was going to start dancing back when the Dance Machine had activated, only for that feeling to quickly go away, presumably due to One for All. She might have taken the dancing if only to avoid the new headache.
Seeing her wince, Mei gave her a concerned look. "You alright Mel?"
"Yeah, just got a headache." Melissa gave her girlfriend a small smile. "Listening to Mastermind, you get it."
Mei grinned. "Say less."
"I dunno, I like the music and posing they do!" Ashido said brightly. Her smile dimmed slightly. "I just wish more Villains were like these guys and not like Shigaraki and his lesser League."
"Y-yeah, Mastermind's not that bad." Uraraka piped up. That prompted a Monoma rant about Mastermind sympathisers in 1-A, which was subsequently karate-chopped into silence by Kendo.
Uncaring of the peanut gallery critiquing him, Mastermind continued. "In fact, I have a counteroffer - you get out of our way and we don't beat you up! This is a magnanimous offer by the great MASTERMIND-" KRAKATHOOM-
"And the League of Supervillains!" The other Villains yelled as they flanked their boss, posing dramatically.
Vlad King turned to the Mastermind Taskforce. "...You have to deal with a lot when you fight them, don't you."
"We do," Mount Lady groaned. Then she seemed to remember herself. "But justice will prevail today!"
Uncaring, Eraserhead's Capture Weapon floated around him. Mirko and the other close range Heroes entered combat stances, the rabbit heroine licking her lips in anticipation. "I guess we're doing this the hard way then."
"But of course!" Mastermind grinned, armour lighting up with its Fully Cowled mode. Every Hero that wasn't named Mirko took a step back. "With only two U.A Heroes to beat along with the Taskforce and accompanying Heroes, this shall be easy!"
Melissa winced, and Mei glared at the screen with impotent fury. Well, it had been good while it lasted, seeing the Heroes gathered to fight Mastermind and the rest of the League. It seemed as if the League was going to get away with their crimes yet again.
Then, to Mastermind and the students' shock, his armour suddenly lost its light. It came back, but there was a definite flicker to the dangerous green light. Even Mastermind's cape lost its dramatic fluttering, the effect stopping and starting in fits. "What?!" The Villain cried.
That was a sentiment many others watching shared.
"What the hell just happened?" Bakugou demanded.
"Not sure," Melissa muttered. "Mei, do you think-"
Mei shook her head. "That's not a normal malfunction. Mastermind, unfortunately, takes good care of his stolen Babies. This is too big to be anything less than-"
"-A Quirk affecting his gear," Melissa finished. Was this the plan Nedzu had had in mind the whole time? One last Hero who could take out Mastermind and neuter the threat the leader of the League of Supervillains posed?
"Who dares affect the great Mastermind-" KRAKAbeuuuuwh... "-okay, that was uncalled for! Leave my Thunder Machine out of this!" Mastermind spun around wildly, nervousness clear as the Heroes started to get closer.
"Not a chance." Out of a nearby alleyway, a Hero wearing a black leather duster and robe, the latter embroidered with strips of green binary code, strode forwards. Hands with USB-shaped fingertips glowed with a green light, faint lines of green binary shimmering as they connected to Mastermind's armour.
"Gasp!" Mastermind cried out. "Technomancer!"
+++
Eraserhead felt much better seeing Technomancer lock down Mastermind. A fellow underground Hero whose focus was on cybercrime, his Quirk let him take control of computers and to a lesser extent technology in general, though it needed an impractically long time the more complex the machine was and reset if his focus broke for any reason. If not for constant observation and throwing his Quirk at Mastermind through the cameras, Technomancer wouldn't have been able to do anything to Mastermind's armour.
The plan of attack on Mastermind was deceptively simple sounding. Beyond the students tiring him out, the HPSC had focused on staggering the Hero teams before a final push. Either Mastermind got taken out before he hit the final team or they would keep the League tired enough that victory was assured.
"Even if he can only temporarily stun Mastermind's armour, that is more than enough opening for the other Heroes involved in this final ambush!" Nedzu had explained. "Taking Mastermind out first, therefore, is top priority in the HPSC's eyes."
Likely guessing that part of the plan, Mastermind tried to bring up his gauntlet to use his Stasis Grab on Technomancer. Seeing that, Eraserhead wrapped his Capture Weapon around Masterminds' gauntlet, cutting off the green light before it could lock onto the other Hero. "Not going to happen." Eraserhead grit out.
Mastermind hastily deflected Vlad King's attempt to lock down his other arm by blasting his flamethrower in the man's general direction. Technomancer, eyes wide behind his sunglasses, made a gesture with his other hand that made it shut back down.
"Keep him held down! He's got an A.I in his suit and the car, it's fighting back!" Technomancer yelled, sweat beading on his brow.
Hearing Mastermind had an A.I was less surprising for hearing he had one but more for how he had managed to keep that tidbit hidden for so long. Eraserhead's grip tightened on his Capture Weapon as Mastermind tried to break free.
"Mastermind!" Twice yelled, charging at Eraserhead with a fist reared back. Not that Eraserhead was worried - after all,
"Well, it isn't enough to take out Mastermind - not if the rest of the League is free to try and break him out. No, we must take the League out as well. I have discussed this with the HPSC, and we have come up with a fairly comprehensive team dedicated specifically to taking out the other members of the League."
The Villain was stoped as Mirror Image, a skinny Hero clad in a generic white bodysuit, leaped into his path. "Can't let you do that, Villain," he said, voice already shifting cadence as his Quirk of the same name took effect. "Maybe you should reflect on the choices you made up to this point!"
Despite the man being a Villain, Eraserhead felt a measure of pity at how cruel this particular weakness was. Taking advantage of a man's weak mental health didn't exactly feel right no matter how logical it was.
Twice's face contorted in horror as Mirror Image's form shifted into an exact duplicate of Twice. "Oh no, not again - yes again! Let's split, Twice!"
Mastermind yanked even harder after that, but Eraserhead had expected him to. Bracing against the ground, he pulled back, trying to drag the shorter Villain off balance. Technomancer barely dodged Mastermind's other Stasis Grab, Vlad King managing to hit Mastermind in the chest with his blood, using it to throw him to the ground.
"Mastermind!" Gentle Criminal tried to assist his leader, only to be surrounded by a glasslike cube made by Cubist. Clad in a suit of repeating 3D cubes, Cubist created a larger cube around the Villain to stop Gentle from simply bouncing his way away,
"Gentle!" Mastermind called, only for Vlad to finally lock his other arm with his Quirk. "Unhand me, Heroes!"
Fur fluffed up, Inkblot swung her mallet at Eraserhead, only for said weapon to get blocked by 3D Prince. Her eyes went wide as her weapon suddenly compressed into a piece of paper with a drawing of a mallet on it. "What-"
Grinning, 3D Prince adjusted his small crown and pulled out another piece of paper with scribbles on it, folding it into an airplane. "Seems we have pretty similar Quirks, Villain! Mine just so happens to have authority over other Quirk created items!" He threw the paper airplane, and Inkblot had to dodge as, halfway through its flight, it transformed into a net. Inkblot glared as 3D Prince pulled out a new weapon.
Desperately La Brava shouted, trying to use her Quirk, only for no sound to come out of her mouth. The Muting Hero Muffler waved a finger at her, the air visibly distorting around her and the earmuff wearing Heroine. Lady de Winter tried to fight yet Salt Shaker, wearing a crisp white chef's uniform, threw a huge wave of salt at her ice, making it easier for the various fire themed Heroes approaching her to melt it.
Golden Grin tried to blast them, only for his beam to be sucked down like a noodle by an obese Hero with pitch black skin. Mr. Warp's smoke was blasted away by Air Jet, the Villain scrambling away as his Warping Quirk was forcibly dispersed. And Kouro, the member who seemingly hadn't been given any new tricks or training, was forced backwards by a water Quirk wielding Heroine.
Mastermind tried to pull himself free, Eraserhead and Vlad King grunting with the effort of holding him down. Vlad's blood wrap started to come apart, the other man doing his best to maintain cohesion. Then Mirko suddenly kicked the side of Mastermind's leg as hard as she could, forcing him to a crouch. Vlad managed to reinforce the blood grip keeping Mastermind's other gadgets down, sweat beading his brow from the effort.
The short Villain struggled as the metal manipulating Hero Steeler came closer, but he couldn't break free of his bindings. His armour started to shake as Chrome reached out. "Guy knows his stuff," Steeler chuffed, eyes gleaming through his knight helm. "Gold titanium alloy's a bitch to work with, but not impossible."
Eraserhead allowed himself to breathe in relief as he got to work. Finally, it was over.
TO BE CONTINUED...