Welcome To The League

Scan", Izuku said testing out the new voice commands for his second scouter. Nothing happened and he sighed. "Alright version two will have to still rely on buttons".

The move to his new dormitory wouldn't happen for another few months. Mom was a little sad to know that he would move out so soon, but he assured her that this is what he wanted and promised to visit on weekends. She kept asking him if he was okay with giving up his dream to be a hero. Izuku would smile and say that just because he'd given up being a hero didn't mean he was leaving that world forever. He didn't tell her his plan to reform the hero society and create real heroes. She didn't need to know that much.

'I'll work on this later', Izuku hooked the scouter on his head, and got his disguise out of the closet. Putting on his white hooded jacket, grey combat pants and boots he headed towards the door. Lastly he wrapped his black scarf around his mouth to hide his appearance. Mom had long since fallen asleep making it easy for him to slip out unnoticed. Walking down the street Izuku made sure to set his scouter to a radius of twenty feet to make sure nobody snuck up on him before he got to 'that place'. Catching a train he made his across the city.

The place he was headed to was located down town in a rather seedy area. It was basically an abandoned underground parking garage where low level villains met and hung out. This was where Izuku picked up work and joined with groups to plan out their various crimes. This time he wasn't looking for a job, but rather he'd ask around for a location where one could set up a secret lair. One of these lowlifes had to know something useful.

Getting off the train he walked the rest of the way to the garage keeping a calm confident stride that was all for show. Passing by the thugs in the street still made him nervous despite his appearance, any one of these criminals could beat a quirkless boy like him. Izuku knew he couldn't fight any of them, that's why he relied solely on his reputation as a strategist. Some second tier villains and low level crime bosses liked him and gave the boy some manner of protection that extended to certain circles. His strategic mind and intelligence had value after all, and nobody wanted to mess with such an asset.

Reaching the underground garage Izuku went around back to the metal plated door and knocked three times. The eye panel opened for a moment, the thug behind it took one look at him and quickly opened the door for him to step inside. Izuku smiled underneath his scarf, six months and already his reputation proceeded him, such to the point that he didn't needed a password or an escort to get in.

Walking around the garage Izuku spotted a few groups and gangs that he worked with before. He made sure to say hello, keeping a friendly disposition that always lowered everyone's guards, and inquired about any rundown buildings he could purchase. No such luck apparently. Everyone he asked either didn't know of any place or the places they did know didn't suit his needs.

After spending three hours at the garage Izuku decided to try elsewhere. It was outside where he approached with an interesting offer.

"Hey kid!" A voice called in the darkness of the alley outside of the garage.

"Hiding in the shadows? How cliché", Izuku retorted, pulling out his flashlight he shinned at the dark and spotted the source of the voice. A gray haired middle aged man, smoking a cigarette, and a smile on his face that showed he was missing one of his front teeth.

"Okay you found me", the man still smiling put his hands up and walked out so he was more visible.

"Can I help you sir?" Izuku asked keeping things pleasant, his scouter was already locked on to him and would alert him to the activation of a quirk.

"I've been following your work and I must say I'm a big fan…Apotheosis", the man said.

"Hehe. I guess I'm more popular than I thought", Izuku chuckled scratching his cheek through his scarf.

"You're just a beginner villain though, how would you like to go pro?" He questioned. While the idea sounded appealing, it also sounded too good to be true.

"Who are you?" Getting serious Izuku kept a wary eye on him.

"My name is Giran, and I'm here on behalf of the League of Villains" the now named Giran introduced. "They'd like to invite you for a little meet and greet"

"League of Villains?" Izuku was intrigued, he didn't even know there was such a group. He normally dealt with small gangs of villains that were just trying to make a profit and didn't care for notoriety, but this league sounded like they were actively trying to make a name for themselves. "Interesting", his scouter detected someone exactly ten feet behind him. "I take it the guy behind me is here to make sure accept the invitation…whether I like it or not", Izuku said without turning around. Giran was surprised the boy knew.

"I'm merely here to make sure you get to our hideout safely, should you choose to accept", the newcomer said. Izuku turned around to see a man dressed like a butler with sort of metal collar around what he assumed was a neck. The man's entire body was made up of or perhaps covered in a thick black mist.

'A quirk level of forty, not to be trifled with', Izuku thought after reading the info his scouter gave him after it scanned the mist. "I assume you're the leader, no the leader would send an underling am I right?"

"That's right. Will you be coming?" The misty man created what looked like a portal from the very substance that he was composed of.

"Hm! You know what? I think I'll see what this League of Villains is all about", Izuku accidentally said his thoughts aloud. "Oops, sorry I have a habit of speaking my thoughts sometimes", He rubbed his head awkwardly. Walking over Izuku took a cautious step into the portal and disappeared into it. Kurogiri nodded a thank you to Giran for finding the boy and vanished.

THE HIDEOUT

"This is nice", Izuku looked around the bar, or perhaps this was just a cover. He noticed someone dressed in black cloves with light blue messy hair sitting at the bar with a drink held with only four fingers.

"So you're the strategist?" Said an older teen, he turned in his stool revealing a severed pale hand covering his face. "Apotheosis, so what's your real name?"

"Hi!" Not wanting to be rude to his potential employer he held his hand out while also ignoring the question.

"You might not want to do that", Kurogiri appeared behind with that warning.

"Why not?" Izuku wondered.

"Because of this", Shigaraki placed his fifth finger upon the glass he was holding and let it disintegrate into dust.

"Wow!" Izuku pushed a few buttons on his scouter recording everything for analysis later. "That's an amazing quirk!" He gushed excitedly mumbling nonstop about all its potential uses and weaknesses

"I don't like him", Shigaraki hissed.

"We haven't even given him a chance Tomura", Kurogiri said walking around to the other side of the bar. "Apologies I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is Kurogiri and this young man is Tomura Shigaraki".

"I go by Apotheosis, it's a pleasure to meet you", Izuku introduced himself. "I'm also quite flattered to be invited to this League of Villains", best to be as respectful as possible, these guys look dangerous.

"What's your real name?" Shigaraki demanded again.

"I'll tell if I ever decide to trust you with it", Izuku smiled underneath his mask causing the other to growl in annoyance. 'Wow his petulance rivals that of Kacchan'.

"This seems like a good time to conduct an interview" Kurogiri gained their attention. Izuku walked over and sat at the bar, a few stools down safely away from Tomura. "You're a strategist so if you join the league it will be your job to assist Tomura with planning", What Izuku didn't know was that Kurogiri was told the questions to ask Apotheosis by his boss and that said boss was listening in on this whole conversation. "Let's say we wanted to take down the number two hero Endeavor. What do you suggest?" Giving it a moment of thought Izuku responded.

"Well first I would check the weather", he said.

"How the hell is the weather supposed to help", Shigaraki snapped at him.

"I would make sure to pick a day where it will be heavily raining. Endeavor would still be powerful but outside in the rain, he'd be weaker with all that water dousing him", Izuku explained the logic in step one of his plan. "I would also recommend attacking him in a heavily populated area, forcing him to hold back lest he cause catastrophic collateral damage", the two villains listened closely to his plan even Shigaraki was somewhat impressed. "It's very unlikely that other heroes and local law enforcement are just going to stand idle, so I also suggest a distraction, maybe keep them busy with a small expendable group of underlings", Izuku was talking very fast now as he went on, chewing on one of the fingers of his gloves as he continued. "Fighting up close is too dangerous, unless you're fire resistant, so attack him from a distance. Wear him down then go in when he's weak", he paused to take a breath. "Now for the final blow, Tomura would need to wear fire proof clothes, and Kurogiri hear teleports him up close. Endeavor is exhausted from the fight, but not out yet. Tomura suddenly appears in front and grabs ahold of him with his disintegration quirk. Game over"

"That's your plan?" Shigaraki looked very impressed now.

"Unfortunately there's still a bunch of factors to consider", Izuku continued. "There's no knowing which heroes could show up to help him, for example if Allmight were to suddenly show up and there's no chance of victory. Oh! Also according to my research Endeavor is smart enough to know his own weaknesses and doesn't work in the rain unless absolutely necessary"

"And let's say we did want to take down the number one hero. What then?" Kurogiri asked.

"I would need more data and factors before coming with something solid", Izuku said without missing a beat. He honestly didn't care what happened to Allmight anymore. If this league wanted to end him, he'd help them any way that he could. The man was a fraud, how hard could it be to take down a fraud? "I'm sure Allmight could be beaten. He's just a man not a god and he can be broken just like any other man", Izuku said with a rather dark tone.

"He's in!" Shigaraki said quickly moving from his stool over to the couch. "I want him in!" The way that boy talked about Allmight…excited him. There's was something nasty in his tone and he liked it.

"Welcome to the League of Villains then", Kurogiri congratulated him. Seeing the unsure look in the boy's eyes he questioned him. "Is something the matter?"

"Don't get me wrong I would love to join this group, but I kind of have my own goals right now", Izuku rubbed his arm apologetically. "Maybe when I finally get set up I can join, but not till then"

"What is it you need to get set up?" The mist man asked.

"I'm looking for a large secluded location where I can set up a lab", Izuku wouldn't be able to join until he found a place to make into a proper lab so he could get work on the Forge.

"We have such a place you can use", Kurogiri suddenly spoke, he was thinking of an empty building next to the Nomu factory that was originally going to be used as extra storage for more of those creatures, but it should work fine for what the kid needed.

"Really?" Izuku was surprised that they had exactly what he needed.

"Yes. If you agree to join that is, it's all yours", He was certain All for One wouldn't mind giving the boy a work space. Seeing how well this turned out Izuku wondered if he should explain a little more about his situation.

"There's also one more thing", Izuku sighed hoping this wasn't a mistake to reveal too much about himself to what were essentially major villains.

"I'm going to high school soon, so is there a way that we can work out a schedule, perhaps even transportation?"

"You're a villain, what do you need school for?" Shigaraki snarled at him from his position on the couch.

"Technically I'm only a part time villain", the hooded boy explained sheepishly. "I uh…I still need to go to school to accomplish my one true goal, but being a villain also helps with that goal, so you see that's the situation I'm in"

"Okay then, can we call upon you when we make our plans then?" Kurogiri asked. Izuku nodded in agreement and in the misty covered bar tender gave him an untraceable cell phone that they could call him on when he was needed for a meeting. After that a portal was opened for him that would return Izuku to the alley he was picked up in.

"I look forward to working with you Kurogiri-san and Tomura-san", Izuku bowed politely and stepped through the portal.

"Quite an interesting character that Apotheosis, don't you agree Shigaraki" Kurogiri said after the boy was gone.

"I just want that mind of his" Tomura admitted. "What do you think sensei?"

"He should prove most useful" Sensei said appearing on the dark monitor screen in front of him. "Learn from him Tomura" Back in his hidden location All for One smiled to himself. Apotheosis would definitely be a good addition to their organization. Not only that but he was curious about the boy, what exactly did he need a lab for and what was this goal of his?

HOME

Izuku quietly snuck back into the apartment, it was still dark out, and mom wouldn't be wake up for four more hours. He was too excited to go back to sleep so he decided to work on his next invention. Removing the box from his bed, Izuku opened it revealing a mess of wires, circuit boards and mechanical parts. Getting his tools he started working all the while thinking about the league and the two villains he met tonight.

'Tomura Shigaraki, disintegration quirk, seems a bit petulant based off of my first impression', he figured if he could handle Katsuki Bakugou's irritating personality, then he could deal with Tomura fairly easily.

'Kurogiri, a teleportation quirk', pausing in his tinkering Izuku took his scouter and hooked it up to his computer. Entering the passwords he downloaded the information he collected tonight from the villains and placed it in various files to be dissected and analyzed later. Opening another series of files, he entered a few more passwords and copied the information he got so far on Kurogiri's quirk into a folder called 'Space Stone'. Smiling to himself. Another piece of the puzzle for his gauntlet.

"He's mist so does he even have DNA that can be sampled, or does the mist contain traces of his DNA?" Izuku mumbled to himself. Closing the files he went back to his new device.

The stasis field emitter, or more accurately the force field projector. A device that generated an energy barrier. It was strictly a defensive gadget and not a weapon unlike his next project. Izuku needed something to protect himself, he could only get so far with the reputation he had. He knew at a certain point he would be up against a villain or perhaps a hero and would need this force field projector to defend himself. Best to be prepared ahead of time, plus he had a feeling that by joining this League of Villains he might be heading into battle soon.

"Alright test number six", Izuku took the large clunky device and placed it on his bed. The first five times he tried to get it to work it failed, but he stopped believing in failure after he gave up his dream to be a hero. His new belief was that there was no such thing as failure and that when one door closes a new door opens. It's just a matter of finding the right door until you succeed.

"Tossing the tennis ball", he spoke to himself, throwing the ball. To his delight the ball was bounced back at him as if it hit and invisible wall three feet away from the device. The only tell that a barrier was there was the glowing blue ripples from the initial collision that quickly faded. "Yes!" Izuku quickly covered his mouth hoping his cry of success didn't wake his mother.

"I just need to increase the range to cover my body, and make it smaller and light enough to wear", he mumbled listing off ways to improve the force field. Izuku would have taken notes in his many books, but it was too risky to leave any concrete evidence that could be traced back to him. Plus he didn't want anybody getting ahold of his designs and copying his inventions or worse using them against him, so every design goes on the computer where it was protected by layers of firewalls and anti-hacking programs.

'I'm still not tired', he put the device away and sat down at his computer. Typing and clicking away he pulled up designs for his carbon fiber armor, hover drones and power glove. The next three projects he would get to work on once Kurogiri supplied him with the laboratory. The Forge would have to wait until he could find the quirk users with sufficient DNA to make the stones from.