I don't own anything except any original characters (including the Reader's concept) and/or any original plot

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Chapter Four - Ragtag Team

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When Giran said he had some new recruits, you weren't expecting what he brought in. One of them was tall, dark, and mysterious. The other was comparatively smaller, lively, and young. Older than you still, but young. An interesting pair, and not what Tomura was looking for.

He'd been raging over the news ever since the Stain incident. You were frustrated too, but not ready to kill anyone over it. Despite the obvious connection the Hosu attack had to the League of Villains because of the Nomu, it was Stain that was getting all of the media attention because he'd been caught. Not just by the police, but he'd been caught on video as well, thanks to you. His final and only message to the world was being consistently taken down and re-uploaded on the dark web - just what you were hoping for. Though you could do without him getting all the mainstream media attention. You tore up a city block and ran into the heroes!

"Kurogiri, get rid of these two," Tomura ordered on sight. It was the same reaction he had to Stain, "I can already tell they're the same type of trash that I hate."

"Tomura," you hissed in warning.

"A brat and a guy with no manners," Tomura continued.

"Now, now, Tomura Shigaraki. They came all this way, the least we can do is hear them out. Give them a chance," Kurogiri appeased, ever the voice of calm reason. The two of you would likely be dead without him. You may have been second in command, but Kurogiri was the wisdomatic one.

Leaning down to Tomura, you whispered, "Giran is highly respected in the underworld. Insulting who he found would be insulting him. It'd be smart to stay in his good graces."

"How'd you know about him?" Tomura growled back.

"He made my mask and cape. I'm willing to drop my pride in favor of making connections. You should do the same."

"Like 'em or not, your fees have already been paid. Been gettin' a lot more traffic since you sent me that video," Giran mused, giving you a wink that to anyone else would come off as a flirting attempt. You knew Giran didn't go for young ones. It was a show of respect, "I suppose I could introduce the two of 'em before I go. This one looks like an adorable high school girl, right? She's actually the suspect in a series of murders where the victims bled out. So far her name and face have been kept out of the media."

"Toga, here. Himiko Toga! Life is too hard! I just want to make it easier to live in this dumb world. I wanna be Mr. Stainy! I wanna kill Mr. Stainy! C'mon handy-man, please let me join your League of Villains!"

Blinking slowly, you took in what the girl said. Her whole demeanor came off as exactly what she sounded like, but that didn't mean you were prepared for it. To see so much crazy in someone so young and so small... well, you couldn't judge without being hypocritical.

"You gotta be kidding me. Is she crazy?"

"Well, she can hold a conversation," Giran chuckled, the girl unfazed by what was supposed to be an insult, "For the most part at least. C'mon, she could be useful. And this guy. He hasn't committed any flashy crime but he's taken Stain's ideology to heart."

"I don't like this," the guy drawled, carrying on his 'don't give a shit' attitude, "Is your group really dedicated to the Hero Killer's mission? I can't imagine you are if you let this little psycho join you."

"Grow up. She may be a psycho but at least she knows how to introduce herself to people. Don't just stare. What's your name?"

"Right now I'm goin' by Dabi."

"No, I need to know your real name."

"That's hypocritical," you said quietly, not actually upset about it.

To the public you were to be known simply as Energy. And as such, it would be the only thing people could refer to you on missions. In private you were (Y/n), just (Y/n). If the League expanded, there'd be a select few that would have intimate knowledge of your life if they didn't figure it out on their own.

"I'll tell you when you need to know it. In any case, my new purpose is to carry out the Hero Killer's will."

"That wasn't what I asked you, patchwork. Geez, why is everyone so hung up on Stain?" Tomura slowly stood, "He's all I ever hear about."

"No, don't do it."

"Tomura!"

"Every damn day. It's really pissing me off. You two are done!"

"Kurogiri, damage control!" You yelled.

In mere milliseconds, portals opened up throughout the bar. Each one was a redirect of someone else's hand. Toga was wielding knives, and Dabi's were smoking. That'd explain the scarring, or were they skin grafts? In any case, his Quirk was harmful to his body. Yet he didn't seem to give a shit. Toga's was most likely related to blood, if her crime record was correct.

"Please calm yourself, Tomura Shigaraki. If your desire is to be realized, then we must increase our numbers."

Stepping up behind Tomura, you placed a hand on his back, subtly draining just enough energy from him to calm him down, make him fatigued enough to relax. He'd always threatened to kill you if you used your Quirk on him, but there were times when it needed to be done.

"I'll handle them. You don't need to concern yourself with this anymore," you spoke quietly, but didn't try to hide your words from the pair in front of you. You'd chosen your words carefully. It'd make Tomura feel like he was still in charge, but it was still a show of power to the villain hopefuls that Giran brought in. You could handle them on your own without the boss because he was too busy to handle nobodys.

Kurogiri floated toward Tomura to whisper, "You must use them, and the ideology Stain has left behind."

"Fifteen minutes and I'm gone," Tomura told you, before pulling his hands out of the portals and walking through the staff door behind the bar.

"I make it a point to not complain about clients, but he's young. And far too immature."

"I really thought he was gonna kill us for a sec!" Toga chirped, unbothered.

"That guy makes me wanna vomit."

"Age has nothing to do with maturity," with a sigh, you pulled your mask off. There'd be no hiding your face once the final verdict came out, so you didn't have to wear it anymore, "With All Might and the Hero Killer both happening recently, he's stressed."

"He will come back with an answer at a later da-"

"No need. You two are in," you cut Kurogiri off, "We aren't stupid enough to pass up power when we see it."

"(Y/n)," Kurogiri was like the devil - or angel - on your shoulder, "It isn't wise to make this decision without Tomura's consent. He's our leader."

"And I'm second-in-command. We both know he'd let these two in anyway," you murmured, before turning back to the two as if nothing happened, "Quirks?"

"Transform! When I consume someone's blood I can turn into them. The more blood, the longer I stay that way," a blush covered Toga's face at the mention of blood.

"Cremation," Dabi offered, with nothing following. Not that there was any need.

"Good job, Giran," you complimented the broker, knowing flattery went a long way with men like him, "Would you and Kurogiri like to discuss further payment options? I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other in the future."

"Anything for one of my favorites," Giran gave a grin, taking a seat at the bar and speaking in a hushed tone to Kurogiri.

"You two have places to stay?" You crossed your arms. Dabi was already looking at you like you were too young and inexperienced, but you'd be quick to prove him wrong.

"Nope!"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Toga, you'll be staying here with us here. Kurogiri, I need a pen and paper," Kurogiri was quick to warp one to you. You tossed it to Dabi, "Give us your number. Your main number. No redirected burners or anything. I can feel them in your coat, I know which one's battery is most used."

"Oh, you're so cool!" Toga sidled up to you, "Is it true that you were the one to take that video of Stainy? What was he like in person? Did you get to see how he got all those cuts? I wish I was there!"

"Here," Dabi handed the notepad back, "You've got that wimp by the balls. You sure he's not just a front to hide the true leader?"

Holding back a laugh, you channeled it into a smirk instead, "He's the leader and I'll never second guess that," you left out the part about who Tomura's leader was, "You'll see why soon enough. Besides, you think anyone would take a fifteen year old seriously?"

"They will if you drain them!" Toga chimed in.

Rolling your eyes, you couldn't hold the disbelieving chuckle back. This was going to be your future group. Ragtag misfits was already the vibe everyone was giving off. Everyone's loyalties lied in something, and it wasn't each other yet. Either that'd change over time, or you'd have to find a way to keep their focus on the League.

"We'll contact you soon. It remains unsaid that what you saw and where we are isn't going to be told to anyone else."

"Yeah, yeah," with a wave of his hand, Dabi was off.

Motioning for Toga to follow you, you passed by Kurogiri and Giran to lead her to the back of the bar where the rooms were. You picked the first one that was available and mostly furnished. You'd have to find more blankets, but it was her best option.

"You'll be staying here for now. Come and go as you please as long as no attention is brought back to us. There's a small kitchen down the hall and to the right. I normally stay on top of getting groceries, help yourself. Stay away from the chips though, those are Tomura's-"

"You really run everything here, don't you?" Toga hummed, sitting down on her bed and swinging her legs, "You said that you follow Shigaraki, but I think you could take over!"

You couldn't suppress the shudder when you thought of what All for One would do to you if you dethroned his heir. You truly thought Tomura would make a good leader when he gained more experience and matured, so either way you wouldn't want to. Your deal with All for One couldn't be put on the line. You wanted to show the world the instabilities of a Quirk based society, what better way than to join the group determined to take it down?

"That wouldn't be smart. I'd recommend you don't do it either. Kurogiri runs things in here, I do things outside since the world hasn't seen my face-"

"Why is that? What have you got to hide?"

"I like being able to walk around without getting arrested," you deadpanned, determined to finish your conversation with Toga so you could go out with Tomura. A new video game was released the day before, you had a sneaking suspicion that he wanted to get it, "Bathrooms are down the hall. Mine is on the right, you can use it too. I'll stop by the store to get you some essentials later today."

With that, you left the girl to her own devices. It still felt weird to think that she was only a couple years older than you. The two of you could be leading normal lives in high school, and instead you were villains. Weird.

Stopping in your room to put on some clothes that would match your age, you knocked twice on Tomura's door. He opened it seconds later, donned in a dark hoodie. Giran was already gone when you passed by, and Kurogiri didn't speak up when you moved past so there must have been no problems.

"Where are we going exactly?" You questioned.

"Kiyashi Ward."

"That's really populated."

"No one will care about the League when Stain is still on the news," Tomura replied bitterly.

Nudging his arm, you didn't bother hiding your smirk, "I got mentioned by that one news source. 'Villain with energy based Quirk shut off our in-action cameras!'"

"Don't remind me."

The two of you took the train to Kiyashi Ward, where the mall was within walking distance.

"I need to get a few things. You can go get your game. Let's meet back here in an hour, okay?"

"Whatever."

The first store you stopped in was a technology store near the entrance. You picked up a burner for Toga. From there, you went to a clothing store. Guessing Toga's size on most things, you picked out a few outfits for her that would last until each laundry rotation. Then there was the toiletries. Along the way you picked up a random thing here or there that you needed yourself. A new pair of jeans and a long sleeve to go under your cape, more first aid supplies, and a pack of batteries for the lamp in your room.

An hour later, you were on your way to meet Tomura back in the center of the mall so you could head back to the base. What you didn't expect, or want, was for him to have Izuku Midoriya in a chokehold. Tomura had held a certain disdain for Midoriya ever since the USJ incident. You didn't blame him, the kid was a definite thorn in your side, but Tomura didn't need to kill him in public.

"Deku?"

Acting quickly, you swiftly came up behind Tomura at the same time Ochako Uraraka approached, "I finished getting- oh, you're UA students! That's so cool!"

Both of the students seemed terrified in their own right. You'd lecture Tomura the entire way home. At that moment though, all you cared about was getting out of the mall without being arrested.

"Oh, you're here with a friend! I'm sorry, I didn't realize!" Tomura smiled, letting go of Midoriya's throat like he wasn't just choking the life out of him, "If you follow, I'll get angry. Energy?"

"Their phones are dead," you stated quietly, sucking the energy out of the pair's devices with a wave of your hand, "Have a nice day!"

Standing together, Tomura wrapped a hand around your wrist and pulled you along.

"Hold on, Shigaraki, Energy!"

"Shigaraki? Energy?"

"I have a question too. What is All for One after?"

How the hell did the kid know about All for One?

"Who knows, really."

"A piece of advice," you didn't want to turn around. You'd had the good sense to put a medical mask on before leaving the bar, but you didn't want to give them another chance to memorize your face for sketch artists, "Be careful, and stay out of this. The next time we see you, you'll be dead."

With that, you two hurried away. You didn't stop your fast walk until you were out of the mall. After that, you ran. It wasn't until the two of you were on the train that you were able to relax.

"What the hell were you thinking?" You hissed, running a hand over your face, "We were supposed to avoid drawing attention to ourselves!"

"He made me angry."

"Angry? Angry? Tomura! You- we could have been- oh god I'm gonna throw up." Your stomach was in knots, too many stressful situations in too little time piling on top of each other.

"Don't." Tomura leaned back in his seat, seemingly unbothered by the entire situation, "I figured out why that kid and Stain piss me off so much. It's because of All Might. Both of them are just like him, and I want them to die for it. But more than anything, All Might needs to go first."

You remained silent, pulling out your phone to check the news. The 'attack' had happened minutes before, but the UA students would have easily been able to borrow a bystanders phone to call the police. By that point you'd be back at the bar and would be safe.

"I want a world without All Might," Tomura announced when you two were walking down an alley that was a shortcut to the bar, "And to show everyone how fragile society's sense of safety really is. Do you agree with my ideals like you did Stain's?"

"Don't make it sound like I was in love with the maniac. Not like Dabi and Toga are," you frowned, "And don't be so insecure about my ideals. You know what I want, and you know what I'm willing to for it."

Humming in response, Tomura seemed strangely... happy. It scared you a bit.

~*~

There was a short period of time when All Might wasn't in Japan. He went to a place called I-Island for an annual expo there, and it was then that Tomura announced that you'd be moving on with the next stage of the plan you didn't know he had. So you summoned Dabi and Giran and waited to see what was going to happen.

"Broker, who else have you gathered for us?" Tomura started off the meeting.

"I have several people I think you'd find very interesting. Three of which came to me directly, the last two of whom will need to be brought in."

"Good. We need them."

"What's going on in that crazy head of yours?" Dabi asked, leaning against the wall.

"UA will be going on a field trip," Tomura announced, a feral grin spreading on his face, "Since the attack on the USJ they've gotten more secretive, but we have... ways of gathering information. During the summer break they'll be going to a summer camp, and we'll strike there."

"Our target?"

"Bakugou Katsuki."

Your heart stopped at that one. The aggressive kid from the Sports Festival? The one that Tomura really liked and that piqued your interest? If Tomura wanted to recruit him then that meant he saw potential in him as a villain. Lots of potential. You didn't bother trying to argue. You'd do what you were told and nothing more.

"Kurogiri, Dabi, bring in the three that Giran has. What's the status of the last two?" Tomura was honestly impressing you with the action he was taking. You guessed that finding conviction was the first step towards taking his rightful place as the leader of the League. You let out a silent sigh of relief. That meant less work for you.

Giran chuckled, "One is wanted for the murder of two heroes and is currently on the run. I gave him a new eye... and a tracker. I have his location."

"(Y/n)."

"Ah shit," you sighed. You knew it was coming but that didn't make you any more eager, "Fine. Giran, can you text me his current location? I'll go recruit him. Give me an hour."

"Just don't die. That'd be annoying," Tomura dismissed you from the meeting as if he didn't care, but the fact that he gave you a warning in the first place was endearing, "We'll get the other one later."

"I've sent his coordinates to both you and Kurogiri."

"Can I come? If someone dies then I wanna see it!" Toga drooled at the thought, "I could stab him if he doesn't want to join! Please, please!"

"This is one fight you'll want to sit out of," Giran advised Toga, who pouted and sat back down, "His Quirk enhances his muscles drastically. He'll be a worthy opponent if he doesn't comply. He goes by Muscular."

"He can't fight me if he's unconscious. Kurogiri?"

With a sigh that showed his disapproval for the situation, Kurogiri opened the portal. Securing your mask over your face and draping your cape over your shoulders, you prepared to step through.

"I'll keep it open while we finish our discussion."

Ducking through the open warp, you grimaced at your surroundings. It was a decrepit apartment complex that seemed to be abandoned - and on the verge of collapse. You were thankful that your mask had night vision built in, or you would have had a hard time seeing in the dark.

"Muscular?"

Sensing a sudden burst of energy just behind you, you quickly jumped out of the way of a blow that would have immediately knocked you unconscious. You were faced with a behemoth of a man, whose muscles were popping out of his skin.

"Woah, calm down big guy!" You jumped away from another punch, "I'm with the League of Villains, you heard of them?"

That gave the man pause. If only for a split second before he struck again. Holding out your hand, you sucked out a substantial amount of energy from his body to slow down the blow. It still struck, and it hurt like a bitch.

Hitting the wall across the room, you moaned in pain. Drywall dusted your shoulders. You didn't bother brushing it off.

"Huh, should have killed you. Feeling kinda drowsy," the man mused, looking down at his fist, "I'm missing some muscle there."

Pushing yourself to your feet, you growled, "You wanna kill the person who can get you out of this shitshow? Idiot!"

"I've been craving a good fight. And you aren't dead yet," Muscular dismissed, coming at you again, "You win and I'll join, you die and I'm happy."

A lunatic murderer. Probably a psychopath. That's who Tomura wanted you to recruit. Of course, Tomura was the same way but at least he knew when and where to dispel his urges. This man didn't give a shit and it was pissing you off.

"Fine, we'll fight the dirty way," channeling the energy you'd stolen from him into a hefty blast, you shot it at his chest. He actually broke through the wall and landed in the next room, "We just want you to join! Channel those tendencies into something else! We're attacking heroes in training!"

You didn't like using hurting students your age as incentive, but he was a murderer, and you say the way he perked up. Even so, he still didn't back down. Was he really that desperate for a good fight?

"You're a student, aren't ya? You'll do just fine!"

Sucking even more energy back, you noticed that he slowed, and his muscles grew slightly smaller, but he'd beat you to death with bare fists if he had to. So, you bent your knees and waited.

Three... two... one...

It felt like your arm exploded. You punched him square in the jaw just as he went for your stomach again. The hit threw him back into the other room, right in front of the warp. Shouting in shock and pain, you held your arm tenderly. It was red, looking like all of your blood vessels broke beneath the skin. It felt like you tore every muscle in your arm.

"Fuck," you hissed. A punch shouldn't hurt that bad, not unless you managed to break your hand, and your hand felt ten times better than the rest of your arm.

Pushing down the pain, you stepped through the giant hole in the wall in front of you and stood in front of an unconscious Muscular. Grabbing hold of his ankles, you grunted as you hauled his body through the portal. It was slow going, and painful, but you managed to haul his giant ass through.

Pulling off your mask to wipe off a blade of sweat from your brow, you turned to the bar to get something to drink - preferably something alcoholic - when you noticed the new group staring at you.

"Oh. Are you the other recruits?" You asked, as if you hadn't just dragged a wanted murderer through a warp.

"What an entrance," one of the men gave a small round of applause, "Sako Atsuhiro, aka Mr. Compress at your service."

You liked him immediately. He came off as a performer. There'd never be a dull moment with him.

"Hikiishi Kenji, Magne," a woman sporting sunglasses waved, "You're so pretty, what kind of face wash do you use?"

"I don't know I'd have to check," you answered distractedly, focused on the last figure. They were talking to Toga, their motions sporadic and contradictory.

"Jin-chan, it's your turn."

"Right! I'm Bubaigawara Jin - no you're not! Call me Twice. Nice to meet you. She's terrifying!"

"Right... um, I'm going to go do... well, something. I need wine, Kurogiri?" The man, sensing how tired you were, was quick to pour a glass.

"We need the last-"

"Get him yourself," you held up a hand to silence Tomura, "I may have sprained my arm, it feels like my ribs cracked, and I'm tired. Get. Him. Yourself. Oh, and Muscular might try to attack when he wakes up. Have fun with that."

Taking a slow sip of your wine, you offered the new members a wave. Compress was wearing a mask so you couldn't see his facial expression, but the other two were obviously shocked. Toga was much more used to yours and Tomura's relationship, and Dabi had an amused smirk on his face.

"Update me on the plan later."

As you stepped through the door to the back, you heard Dabi's low snicker, "She has you by the balls."

"Shut the hell up, or you'll lose that nasty ass skin of yours."

Your comparison to a ragtag team of misfits was correct.