U.A. High's underground conference room was silent — unnervingly so. The walls still hummed faintly from the emergency alarms that had only just stopped.
Around the round steel table sat the top heroes of Japan — Endeavor, Hawks, Lemillion, Edgeshot's empty seat, and a few exhausted teachers from U.A. Even All Might stood in the corner, grim-faced and quiet.
The large holographic screen flickered to life, replaying the footage gathered from the chaotic battle: a cloaked figure, metallic wires spreading in every direction, movements impossibly precise. His voice echoed through distorted speakers:
> "Catch me if you can."
The recording ended with the final words:
> "VEGA has arrived. Remember the name."
The silence stretched.
Finally, Endeavor slammed his fist on the table, flames flaring briefly.
> "He played us. Every step, every move — he predicted everything!"
Hawks folded his wings, frowning deeply.
> "And he's not just some villain. That was coordination. Timing. Strategy. Whoever this 'Mastermind' is, he's thinking ten steps ahead of everyone."
Lemillion leaned forward, serious.
> "We don't even know what he looks like. That mask — those wires — his quirk's unlike anything we've seen. 25% power, and he handled half the battlefield alone."
Eraserhead crossed his arms.
> "Not just that. He had Kurogiri's cooperation — and control over Dabi, Toga, Hero Killer, even Riptide. That's not just a team. That's a system."
All Might's voice cut through the tension, deep and measured.
> "Whoever he is, he's not driven by destruction. His moves were too… deliberate. Every attack was to disable, not to kill.*"
A murmur spread through the room.
Hawks leaned back, uneasy.
> "That makes him worse. If he's not driven by chaos or hate, then he's driven by purpose. That means he believes in what he's doing."
On the hologram, the final image lingered — the masked figure standing beneath the moon, his team behind him, frozen in that moment of power.
Lemillion exhaled.
> "He said his name was 'Mastermind'. But what's his real goal?"
Nezu, who had been silent until now, finally spoke — voice calm, but eyes sharp.
> "Peace. He said he'd bring the true meaning of peace."
The room fell into uneasy silence again.
> "A villain who believes he's saving the world…" Nezu continued softly. "That's the most dangerous kind there is."
Aizawa's scarf twitched slightly.
> "Then we'll find him. No matter what mask he wears."
Endeavor stood, fire reflecting in his eyes.
> "We'll track him down. We'll end VEGA before it begins."
The screen flickered once more — static forming for a brief second into a distorted image: red lenses and a faint smirk.
> "Try to stop me," the voice whispered faintly through the interference.
Everyone froze.
The recording was live.
The screen went dark.
And the meeting room fell into heavy silence — every hero realizing that Mastermind was listening the entire time.
The old hideout was half destroyed — walls cracked, smoke still curling through the air. The once-lively bar was now silent, its neon lights flickering weakly.
The League of Villains gathered in the wreckage, battered and furious.
Shigaraki stood at the center, his breathing ragged, hands trembling as his decay quirk flared uncontrolled across the broken floorboards.
> "Dabi… Toga… Kurogiri…" he hissed, voice low and venomous.
"They betrayed me."
The wood beneath his hand turned to ash instantly.
Spinner shifted nervously nearby, tail twitching.
> "We all saw it… They followed that guy. The one who called himself Mastermind."
Mr. Compress adjusted his mask, trying to sound calm.
> "If we're being honest, he planned everything perfectly. That freeze — the escape — even the chaos between us and the heroes."
Shigaraki's red eyes glowed in the dim light, teeth grinding.
> "He used us. Used my League as pawns!"
The silence thickened.
Twice muttered softly, voice trembling.
> "He… he made Dabi leave. Dabi wouldn't leave unless he believed that guy's stronger… or smarter."
The room went quiet again.
For the first time, they realized what truly frightened them — not Mastermind's power, but his control.
Spinner finally spoke again, voice cautious.
> "He doesn't act like a villain. He's… organized. Calculated. Even the way he moved — it wasn't random. It's like he already knew what we'd do before we did it."
Shigaraki's nails dug into his palm, drawing blood.
> "He thinks he can replace me?"
> "No," came a raspy voice from the back. It was Doctor Garaki, standing under the doorway. "He's not trying to replace you, Shigaraki… he's trying to redefine everything. Heroes, villains — even All for One's legacy."
Shigaraki's head snapped up.
> "You think I'll let that happen?"
Garaki adjusted his glasses.
> "Then stop him. But remember… you're not fighting a brute. You're fighting someone who's already predicted your next move."
For a moment, even Shigaraki hesitated.
Across the darkened room, the faint sound of static filled the air. The League froze. A nearby monitor flickered to life — red static forming a single familiar mask: black, with red lenses glowing faintly.
> "Shigaraki…" the distorted voice said softly.
Shigaraki's teeth bared instantly.
> "You—!"
Ren's voice chuckled lightly, calm and maddeningly composed.
> "You call yourself a leader, but your League fell apart with one whisper. You think chaos brings freedom, but chaos only obeys those who understand it."
> "Shut up!" Shigaraki roared, hand reaching toward the screen.
> "Oh, I don't expect you to understand," Ren continued. "But remember this—"
The red lenses glowed brighter.
> "I don't destroy for fun. I destroy to rebuild. You'll see soon enough."
The screen flickered, then went black.
Shigaraki's scream echoed through the ruined hideout, a mix of rage and humiliation.
> "MASTERMINNNND!!"
Spinner whispered under his breath,
> "He's not fighting the League… he's replacing it."
A dim light flickered inside the abandoned observatory on the city's edge. Dust floated through the air, illuminated by the faint glow of the moon through the cracked dome above.
A long table stood in the center — newly built, clean, deliberate.
And at the head of it sat Ren, mask still on, cloak draped loosely across his shoulders.
Around him stood the six figures who had followed him through chaos:
Dabi, leaning lazily against the wall, blue flames idly licking at his fingertips.
Toga, spinning a knife between her fingers with a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Edgeshot, silent, analytical, still dressed in his hero uniform.
Hero Killer, arms crossed, gaze sharp and cold.
Riptide, calm, silent, standing straight like a soldier.
And Kurogiri, his mist swirling quietly behind Ren's chair.
For a long moment, none spoke. The only sound was the faint hum of old electronics and the wind outside.
Ren finally stood, placing both hands on the table.
> "Tonight," he began, voice deep and even through the mask, "the world saw something it wasn't ready for."
His gaze moved across each of them.
> "Heroes… villains… both lost control. Both revealed how broken this system is. They fight, kill, and justify it as peace."
He stepped forward slowly.
> "But peace built on imbalance — on control through fear — isn't peace. It's stagnation. And stagnation… breeds corruption."
Toga tilted her head.
> "So what do we do about it, boss?"
Ren paused, then spread his hand, wires lightly sparking from his fingertips.
> "We break it."
Dabi's grin widened, fire flickering higher.
> "Now that's my kind of plan."
Edgeshot's voice was calm but wary.
> "You said we weren't villains."
Ren turned to him, eyes gl
inting behind the mask.
> "We're not. We're the *reset
And in the darkness, the words hu
ng heavy — a prophecy that even the villains could feel crawling down their spines.
> VEGA was coming for them too.
Ren let the silence stretch, letting each of them hang on his words. Then, his tone dropped, colder — deliberate.
> "You all want to know what my real goal is?"
He turned toward the shattered window. The moon's reflection glimmered across his mask.
> "I plan to erase it all."
Toga blinked, confused. "Erase what?"
Ren slowly looked back at them.
> "The existence of quirks."
The air in the room froze.
Dabi laughed under his breath — not out of amusement, but disbelief.
> "You're kidding, right? You want to kill off quirks? That's like… ending the world."
Ren walked closer, his boots echoing against the floor.
> "The world ended the day quirks appeared. Look around you. Heroes worshiped like gods. Villains born because society decided who was worth saving and who wasn't. Every war, every death — all because people were given power they never learned to control."
He stopped right in front of Dabi.
> "Tell me, Dabi — did quirks save you? Or destroy you?"
Dabi's smirk faltered. He looked away.
Ren turned next to Edgeshot.
> "You've seen corruption from the inside. Hero commissions using children as pawns. You called it justice."
Edgeshot clenched his jaw but said nothing.
Ren then faced the entire table again.
> "I won't create a new world of quirks. I'll reset this one — bring humanity back to where peace actually meant something."
Riptide finally spoke, voice steady.
> "And how do you plan to erase something written into every person's DNA?"
Ren reached into his coat and threw a small data chip on the table.
It slid across and stopped in front of Kurogiri.
> "I've been working on a formula. A counter-sequence hidden deep in the Nomu's quirk core structure — engineered from the same genetic code that All For One used to steal abilities."
He raised a finger, the faint hum of energy pulsing around him.
> "If it can take quirks… it can end them."
The group exchanged glances — a mix of awe, confusion, and dread.
Then Ren smiled — just faintly, under the mask.
> "We're not villains or heroes. We're evolution. And whe
n the time comes…"
"The world will thank us for saving it from itself."
The silence after his words was almost unbearable — the kind that pressed on your chest and made the air feel heavy.
The small blue light from the chip blinked on the table. Everyone stared at it like it could explode at any second.
Ren stood tall, his coat brushing against the floor as the wind from the cracked window fluttered through the room. His mask glowed faintly — twin red lenses reflecting the trembling flame from Dabi's fingertips.
> "This is just the beginning," he said quietly, his voice calm… but the weight behind it made even Dabi's fire flicker out.
Toga tilted her head, eyes glinting with uncertainty. "You mean… we're starting a war?"
Ren turned toward her slowly.
> "No, Toga. The war already started the moment people began choosing sides. Heroes. Villains. All pretending they're different when they're the same."
Riptide crossed his arms, staring at the floor. "And we'll stand in the middle of it…"
> "No," Ren interrupted. "We'll stand above it."
Edgeshot exhaled — a long, tired breath. His instincts screamed that this path would destroy everything, but something in Ren's conviction… felt inevitable.
Kurogiri's voice echoed through the room, calm but curious.
> "And what happens when the heroes learn of your plan?"
Ren's masked face turned toward the swirling mist.
> "They'll come for me," he said simply.
"And when they do — the world will finally see that peace built on lies was never peace at all."
Lightning flashed through the cracked sky outside. The sound of rain followed, tapping against the glass.
Ren walked toward the door, cloak fluttering behind him. Before stepping out into the night, he turned his head just enough for them to hear—
> "Prepare yourselves, VEGA."
"From today… the age of quirks begins to end."
The door shut.
Only the faint hum of the chip remained — blinking, steady, like a countdown that had just begun ticking.
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