The League of Villains

Izuku scribbled in his notebook as he watched the news. A few new heros had debuted, but that wasn't what caught his attention. What had caught his attention was a group of reporters trying to interrogate a few UA staff members about All Might. It had been a short clip, probably only about 20 seconds, but it was clear that the camera man had been inside the gates. The reporters didn't call any attention to it, but Izuku knew that UA didn't give out press passes, so how did they get in?

He was just considering hacking into the traffic cameras around there to satisfy his curiosity when his phone rang. Giran .

"Mom, I'll be in my room!"

"Ok, sweetie! Don't stay up all night!"

Izuku answered the call right as he closed his door, "So Giran, what have you got for me? Anything interesting?"

On the other end of the line, Giran chuckled, "I'll let you be the judge of that. Have you ever heard of the League of Villains?"

Izuku frowned slightly, "No, but they sound pretentious." He went to sit on the bed, "They must not be a very big group if I haven't heard of them yet. How long have they been around?"

"Not very long." Giran said. "From what I understand, there are only two or three real members, but they're backed by the boogeyman of the underground, so I wouldn't underestimate them. They're planning something big and going through a massive recruitment."

"I'm fine on my own, thanks." Izuku drawled, "Why would I tie myself down to an organization?"

A chuckle came from the other end of the line, "Calm down, kid, you'd just be a consultant." He paused. "So, will you meet with them?"

"I don't know…" Izuku responded, "Have they even done anything yet, or am I supposed to just rely on some boogeyman's reputation?"

Giran paused for a long moment and Izuku could almost see him taking a long drag of his cigarette like he always did when he was thinking, "Well, Shigaraki told me they broke into UA earlier today? I don't know, the news didn't cover a break in."

A slow grin spread across Izuku's face, "Because the media took advantage of them destroying the gate and most likely provided the perfect distraction for whatever the League wanted to do. The media didn't report it as a break in because they'd be the ones blamed for it, so it'll go pretty much under the radar. Brilliant!"

"So I can tell Shigaraki to expect you tonight?"

Izuku couldn't wipe the smile off his face, "If they want me to plan something as bold as breaking into UA? Definitely."

Izuku was surprised when he arrived at the address that Giran had texted him, only to find it was a bar. He shrugged. Guess I get to check 'been to a bar' off my bucket list. He was even more pleasantly surprised when he went inside to find it clean and tastefully decorated, a nice change from the derelict warehouses and docks he was used to meeting clients in. A bartender made of mist polished a glass behind the counter and Izuku's eyes narrowed in on the metal braces he wore around his neck. Interesting, he must have a physical body that needs to be protected. A scraggly-looking young man, probably only a few years older than Izuku was sitting on one of the bar stools, playing with a handheld game console, although Izuku wondered how he saw the screen with a severed hand clutching his face. At least he wouldn't have to deal with these villains discounting his planning skills on account of his age if one of their people was a teenager too.

Izuku sauntered up to the counter, "Which of you is Shigaraki?"

There was no answer for a long moment before the teenager paused his game and set it down on the counter, "Had to reach a save point. I'm Shigaraki, Giran said you'd be interested in joining our party."

Izuku tilted his head, "That remains to be seen. I'm more of a solo player, to tell you the truth, but I understand teaming up to defeat big bosses."

The hand on Shigaraki's face moved slightly and Izuku guessed the man was smiling, "Kurogiri, I like this one! And yes, Mastermind, we're gonna be taking down the biggest boss of them all! All Might!"

Izuku's eyes widened, "That's a pretty lofty quest for a relatively unknown party such as yourselves."

The look in Shigaraki's eyes was deranged, "But we can do it. Sensei! Tell him about the Nomu!"

Izuku turned back to the mist bartender, expecting an explanation, but was met with only silence. Instead, a staticy voice came from the tiny tv set resting in the corner, "As you wish, Shigaraki. And may I simply say that it is a pleasure to see you here, Mastermind. I've heard many things about you."

Izuku eyed the tv suspiciously, "All good, I hope. You must be the 'boogeyman of the underground' that Giran told me about if you won't even show your face at this meeting."

A chuckle cut through the static, "I suppose some have called me that, but you can call me All for One."

Izuku nodded, the name sounded familiar, but he'd have to look it up later, "So, what's this Nomu that Shigaraki mentioned."

"The Nomu is a genetically engineered monster with multiple quirks, including strength, regeneration, and shock absorption. I created it to be on par with All Might's strength."

Izuku hummed and sat down, "Interesting, but the problem with monsters is that they are hard to control."

"The nomu are practically braindead," Shigaraki said gleefully, "And super obedient. This one will only obey orders from me and will do exactly what I tell it to!"

"And you believe it has the power to defeat All Might?"

Shigaraki smiled, "Of course! Sensei made it!"

Izuku frowned. Hero worship, even if it was for a villain, was dangerous. He made a mental note to not trust anything Shigaraki said when it came down to All for One's abilities.

"Even in the event that it cannot kill All Might," Kurogiri spoke up for the first time, "It will most definitely weaken him."

"I suppose that's true…" Izuku said, "So what's the plan? Just throw the nomu at All Might when he's on patrol, or does this have something to do with the break in at UA?"

"Your intelligence stats are off the charts," Shigaraki said, "We broke in to get a class schedule. In a few days, All Might will be teaching a class in a building away from the rest of campus. That's where we'll kill him! Kurogiri will warp us right into the building when they least expect it. The muscle we've recruited will take care of the hero brats and other pros, and Nomu will take care of All Might!"

Izuku nodded. His mind was buzzing. He'd never been obsessed with getting revenge on All Might for crushing his dreams, society had done more to do that than the number one pro, but he'd be lying if he said the idea of revenge didn't appeal to him. But there were too many unknowns in this plan for him to be entirely comfortable with it. What happened if the Nomu failed? How could they make sure All Might was weak when he fought it? What happened if All Might used all his time in the morning and never showed up to class? He began to sort out his thoughts, letting his brain come up with plans for every eventuality. After a few minutes of this, Izuku finally realized the others were staring at him, most likely waiting for his answer.

"All right, sounds like a plan. However, I'd like to make a few changes, if that's alright with you."

Shigaraki looked to Kurogiri, who nodded. Shigaraki gestured for Izuku to continue.

"First, All Might has weaknesses that we can take full advantage of, one of which is that he has a time limit for how long he can be active each day. This is good for us, but could also potentially bite us in the ass if he does too much work in the morning and doesn't show up to class."

"Hmm," All for One said, "What do you suggest?"

"Well," Izuku pulled out his notebook, "Both us us have significant pull in the underground. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can manipulate the city so that All Might has to interfere in about two hours worth of crimes, but no more than that. Last I heard, All Might's limit was around three hours, so if we keep him occupied for two of them, he'll be as weak as we can get him while still ensuring he shows up to class. From there, we'll need to split up the hero students and get them away from the entrance. It's important that none of them escape to get help from other heroes. We'll also need some way to jam communications so no one can call for help."

"That's already taken care of," Kurogiri said calmly, "One of the villains we recruited has an electric type quirk perfect for jamming signals."

Izuku wrote down what they had so far, "Do you know the students quirks? It'll be better if we know what to look for."

Shigaraki shook his head, "They're just brats, they can't do much damage."

Izuku wasn't so sure. If all the students were as strong as Katsuki, they could do a lot of damage indeed. He looked at Shigaraki coldly, "People would probably say the same about you and me. Age isn't a measure of competence." He bit his pencil, "Unfortunately, the staff is probably already on guard after today's break in, and hacking into the records now would tip our hand. It's not ideal, but we'll just have to split them up as soon as we arrive."

The four spent the next few hours debating different plans and making sure that everything would go smoothly. By the time that Izuku went back home, he was almost too excited to sleep. He looked at his bare walls and the still visible outlines of where posters had been and smiled brightly. Watch out, All Might, Mastermind is coming.