Chapter 1-After the war I went back to-

Tomura looked into the large tank, seeing Dabi's charred body floating within, he almost didn't make it. Would have died on the battlefield if it weren't for his ice, and wasn't that a surprise? Dabi had ice this whole time!

…if only Endeavour hadn’t passed out and been captured, the look on his face would have been priceless.

But there was no point wondering about what-ifs, they had won, All for one was gone from this life (and his head), the heroes had been defeated and made to either swear fealty to him or await trial (or public execution), his party members were all alive. It was more than he could have hoped.

There were still a few kinks to work out, some mouthy politicians who still thought their blood money made them more powerful than God, a few ‘resistance groups’ that were only fighting as a way to exercise their prejudices onto the masses now they were no longer accepted by those in charge. The Creature Rejection Clan was a particularly annoying thorn in his side he couldn’t wait to be done with.

Dabi jerked in his sleep, another bit of charred skin dissolving into the amniotic solution as the regeneration quirk Tomura had given him worked to replace it with living tissue, at this rate it would be a few weeks before Dabi could be safely woken up. 

Which meant a few weeks dealing with an anxious Hawks, ugh.

If you had told him a few months ago that the #2 Hero would have a breakdown and reveal that he was a commission spy, then agree to be a triple agent while revealing the lifetime of horrific abuse and conditioning he suffered, and then fake assassinating one of his league to seal the deal. Tomura would have dusted you on the spot, now though? 

Now Tomura had to endure endless pestering about Dabi’s condition at all hours of the day, even though Hawks was more than welcome to come and see Dabi for himself.

Tomura snorted as he made his way back to his throne room, love, what a ridiculous emotion. He was glad he didn’t have to deal with it.

…he wondered if Spinner would be up for some co-op later.

~~~

Spinner watched the sunlight glinting off the glass walls of UA. From outside, it looked peaceful, but Spinner knew better than that.

One of the upper floors sparked with green energy as something- a desk maybe?- was flung at the windows with blinding speed, it was almost cartoonish the way the glass bowed outwards before snapping back into place, the desk being flung back into the room with an audible crunch.

He sighed and fiddled with the downy red feather fastened to his neck with a leather cord. Spinner wondered if having Hawks come talk to the kids would calm them down or rile them up further. Maybe if he convinced him to bring their classmate back, just for a few hours.

Spinner contemplated the idea, seeing their classmate being treated well by the PLF would help their image, but there was no way Hawks was letting any of his closest flockmates out of his sight while Dabi was still out of commission, it was already a miracle that he was letting Spinner go with just a feather for communication, maybe a video call then?

…hmm, no, even if they went through every security measure there was, the students of 1-A would still suspect it was edited. They needed something more solid, something that let them control the narrative of the situation without making it look like outright manipulation or threats, so what could-

Spinner's thoughts were interrupted as another desk was hurled at the window, followed by several explosions, electricity, acid, and…what appeared to be tape?

He let a sigh tumble out of his chest as he grabbed his phone, one of the fancy new top-of-the-line ones, Shigaraki had insisted that his league have only the best equipment available, and no-one wanted to deny the will of their new Emperor.

He sent a quick text to Kurogiri, letting him know he was ready to leave, and that he needed to be dropped into the throne room when he got back. 

As he waited, he ran through his leaders schedule in his head, as one of his most loyal followers and spokesperson for the league, appointing Spinner as his right-hand-man was one of Shigaraki’s first orders as Emperor. Which meant Spinner was saddled with doing everything their Emperor didn’t want to do, which was most things, like scheduling his meetings.

But Spinner didn’t mind playing secretary, better he do it rather than some random yes-man trying to worm their way into Shigaraki’s good graces, this way he could keep any of the self-serving leeches they called politicians from trying to pollute their new rule with their greedy hands. Not that the Emperor would actually let those slimeballs do anything, obviously, but Spinner preferred that he nipped those problems in the bud before they bothered his friend.

As he walked into  the warp gate that had appeared behind him, he turned to glance at the towering spires of U-A, the glass appearing opaque at this angle. But if he squinted, he swore he could almost see a pair of sharp green eyes staring right back at him as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

~~~

As he watched the villain disappear through the warp gate, Izuku did everything he could to not scream in frustration as he slumped against the window. He presses his palm against its smooth, glossy surface, not a scuff or crack marring it in any way, despite their best attempts.

He still didn’t understand how exactly the PLA had convinced Mei to join their side^[1], but they were clearly using her intellect to the fullest extent, if the indestructible glass with her logo stamped into the corner of the panes was any indication.

Izuku sighed and turned towards the common room, the rest of his classmates were similarly slumped against the furniture and floor, the constant escape attempts finally catching up to them.

He looked over to the doorway where Aizawa-sensei was standing vigil. His hair was unkempt and greasy and his posture was off, like he was still unsure of putting his full weight on his new prosthetic leg, also courtesy of one Hatsume Mei^[2].

Izuku let his head tip back and rested against the wall, it had already been a month since they had lost and he was still reeling, he truly didn’t know what sheer dread felt like until he saw what he thought was Shigaraki dissolve into a puddle of sludge. Leaving he and the other heroes in an empty cage as the symbol of fear wreaked havoc on the ground, then the dread somehow intensified when Hawks, after almost losing his quirk to All For One, turned around and pledged his allegiance to the new Emperor of Japan.

He heard Kacchan let loose a string of curses as he attacked the glass again. They had changed tactics, focusing all their power on breaking one window instead of spreading themselves thin trying multiple different strategies, but so far they were unsuccessful.

As the glass rattled against the force of Bakugo’s explosions, Izuku’s mind wandered to the fate of another schoolmate in the clutches of the villains, none of them had heard from Tokoyami since Hawks had snatched him from the battlefield. They knew he was alive at least, having appeared on the news standing silently next to his mentor, and neither Twice nor Toga would be able to mimic dark shadows mannerisms so perfectly.

Speaking of Toga, he let his gaze trail over to Ochako, who was sitting on a barstool in the kitchen. He didn’t know what happened after he left her to face Toga alone in the crowd, but she was the only one who didn’t put up much of a struggle when they were confined to the main U-A building, and that left him worried but he hadn’t had the time to sit down and talk with her about it. 

Ockako met his eyes from across the room, her expression unreadable but calm, Izuku glanced away, unable to handle the full force of her gaze.

His eyes landed on Shouto and he couldn't hide his wince as he took in the state of one of his closest friends, he was hunched on the couch staring dead eyed at the TV, looking for any news about his brother. The rest of his family had been rounded up and put under PLF surveillance, so he knew they were safe, but no one had seen or heard from Touya since the war ended.

Izuku felt his face sink into a grimace, he was there at the end of the fight, he saw the charred husk that was Touya for a brief moment before a glacier erupted out of his chest.

Shouto had been shocked when he saw his brothers ice, only able to react in the last moment and create his own ice wall to protect them, and after Izuku had to drag him into the transport truck because he wouldn’t stop staring, even as one of the PLF soldiers told them they'd be shot if they didn’t comply.

He didn’t know if Touya survived, or what state he’d be in if he did, he knew that Shigaraki was willing to let Twice be stabbed in order to fake his death, but he didn’t think he would let any of his League die. He wasn’t even sure death mattered to them anymore, since apparently some of Aizawa-sensei’s Underground Hero coworkers had reported seeing the villain Magne at Shigaraki’s mansion, and she was supposed to have been killed by Overhaul. 

Izuku felt himself sag further against the wall, his body finally succumbing to exhaustion, he didn’t even try to fight it as his eyes slipped shut, only hoping that he would have a dreamless sleep instead of the nightmares that plagued him.

The only thing that registered before he fell asleep completely was the feeling of a blanket being tossed over him.

End notes