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

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Chapter Five - Vanguard Action Squad

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In the final weeks leading up to the big plans that Tomura had regarding Bakugou Katsuki, the League had collected three more members. Spinner, who was chill albeit awkwardly passionate about Stain. Moonfish, who you avoided like the plague. And Mustard. You'd thrown a fit when you realized how young the kid was, he was wearing a middle school uniform. But Tomura put his foot down. The kid was already a D-Class villain, apparently, so he was put on the mission. Only after Tomura agreed to kick him out of the League immediately after, though. Toga teased you about being threatened for the "baby" position relentlessly.

After all the thorough planning was complete, the time had come for action. The hero classes of UA would be going on a class field trip to the mountains. It was top secret, and Tomura made claims of a Master's secret source and nothing more when you asked how he figured out where the classes were going. How he got the information wasn't what you were worried about.

"Master is good," Tomura mused as he carefully stacked cards, "I tried so hard to find out where those idiots were going, and he figured it out in an instant."

"It was worth having the team ready," Kurogiri agreed. Said team was currently absent from the bar. They were either at their own residences or in their rooms at the base, "Wasn't it? Tomura Shigaraki."

"Hmph, I guess," Tomura leaned back and the tower fell.

The bell chimed at the door, and a puff of smoke announced Giran's arrival, "I heard back from the union today. You can expect your delivery tomorrow. It was thrown together quickly so it might not look like much. But quality is guaranteed."

"I must apologize for making such an unreasonable request."

Humming to show he didn't care much, Giran took another puff from his cigarette, "Tell me, Shigaraki. Do you know why the union accepted this outlandish order of yours? Cause everyone's got high expectations of you. If the League of Villains steps into the light, then the scum hiding on the sidelines will follow suit. And if that happens it means brokers like me win big. Crime pays."

"After our next mission, there's no doubt small-timers will get more courageous," you added, boredly shifting a flicker of energy around your fingers, "They'll go from petty crimes to big ones, and that requires equipment."

"I'm looking forward to that. Anyway, thanks." Giran left.

"The board is set with my pawns and their prey. Finally, time for the real game to begin."

All for One, the king. Tomura, the queen. You, the bishop. Kurogiri, the knight. The rest of the league, and the world for that matter, were pawns. One day, All for One would step down, and the placements would shift. No matter what, you held power.

Slowly gathering up the scattered playing cards on the bar counter in front of you, you glanced at Tomura, then the TV screen to your left.

Tomura, All for One, I refuse to be a pawn. I will not be discarded by your hand. Even if your throne crumbles and the crown about to be passed down is destroyed. Even if the bodies pile up endlessly, above the bottomless pit of what once was... I will be beside you until I hear "checkmate".

~*~

"I'm going to do recon around the camp today," you told Tomura, throwing your cape over your shoulders and securing your mask over your face, "Kurogiri can warp me there."

"In broad daylight? You're an idiot, (Y/n)."

"I'm not an idiot, I'm taking a side quest. We have everything planned out, but this way I can get a feel for how everything is laid out and report back. That way we know where to send people tomorrow night."

"Sidequest, huh?" Tomura pondered for a few seconds, "Fine. If you get caught then you can break yourself out of jail."

"I don't plan on it." Getting arrested would solve a lot of your problems, but it would present way too many new ones to be worth it. Too much work. Besides, getting caught wasn't even your main concern.

The entire mission was riding on Tomura's belief that Bakugou Katsuki was corruptible and that he could be a key member in the League. He was aggressive, determined, and terrifying - but the fact that he channeled it into hero work rubbed you the wrong way. He'd be a damn good villain, but he wasn't.

Shaking your head to focus yourself, you looked to Kurogiri, "Teleport me to the coordinates, please."

"Wait, you're going somewhere?" Toga popped out of nowhere and latched onto your arm, "Can I come with you? I'm bursting with excitement for tomorrow and I can't wait to do something!"

"This is stealth recon, Toga. You wouldn't be very good at it."

"I can blend in," Toga pouted.

"Not without blood. Which you don't have yet. I'll just be gone for the day. No big deal."

Twice also popped out of nowhere. What were the two of them doing in the kitchen? The recruits were supposed to stay in the bar or their bedrooms.

"She'll be fine. She's too young to be trusted!"

"Thanks, Twice. I'll be back later," you told Tomura before stepping through the open warp gate.

You were greeted by an intense amount of nature. It was jarring, going from the bar to the middle of the woods - but you hadn't been this immersed with wildlife in years and you couldn't stop the smile from forming on your lips. Mask or no mask, no one was around to see it.

Sensing a large cluster of energy signatures ahead of you, you started walking down the path. There were no additional security measures around the camp. No cameras in the woods, traps, or counter-attack measures. UA was truly 100% certain that no one would be able to find them in the woods. A fifteen-year-old had infiltrated them with ease.

You slowed down when you got closer to the main area of the training site. You weren't sure how many pro heroes were there. Even though you had recently discovered the "Quirk Core" in the center of a person's energy - courtesy of the Hosu incident - it was too new to know how to discern people that way.

Most of the student's Quirk Cores seemed to be vibrant enough, different tiny colored circles within the general mass of their energy that likely corresponded to their Quirk or the energy they gave out. But there was one that was different. You were so desperate to pursue it that you risked your hiding place to see who it belonged to.

Through the treeline, amidst all the training you could see a group doing mainly physical work rather than Quirk work like the other students. When seeing who the Quirk core belonged to, you were tempted to blow your cover just so you could laugh.

Izuku Midoriya held a Quirk Core that looked like a galaxy. In the middle of his bright energy, was a shifting nebula. It was unexplainable, and it called to you in a way that you didn't understand. But... Quirks were just like another form of energy, right? They were obviously part of a person's life energy - which made a lot of sense, given the nature of Quirks. So maybe you could just reach out and pull it from-

A loud explosion snapped you out of your stupor. The source was Bakugou Katsuki, your target. Backing away from the treeline - careful to avoid any stray sticks and clusters of leaves - you moved around the training area to get a look at your target.

UA's training was... intense, to say the least. Maybe you should take a page out of their book if their students ended up being so successful. Bakugou was consistently dipping his hands in water and throwing them up to the sky and releasing explosions. When you looked at his energy signature, his Quirk was brighter than others as well. It looked like an actual explosion. So maybe Quirk Cores related to the power and nature of someone's Quirk, like something's energy signature.

Despite consistently dipping his hands and inadvertently splashing himself, he was sweating. But that was part of his Quirk, wasn't it? His sweat was Nitroglycerin that he could ignite. That would explain the faint scent of caramel in the air. For just a moment, you watched him dip his hands in the water again. Watched his shoulder blades separate and come back together with the movements of his arms. Felt the heat from the Quirk that he cultivated into something powerful.

Shaking your head to refocus, you decided to take advantage of the empty main campus.

There was a main building that consisted of a lunch hall, classrooms, an indoor gym, and a kitchen. There were cameras in every room, but the recording system was idle. They weren't giving off enough energy to be on. In a side building off the main one was the sleeping quarters. Four sets, two for each gender from each class.

There were several vantage points around the camp because of the terrain. So the Vanguard Action Squad should probably start high then go low once they located where the students were that night.

The last place you were determined to find was the office. There were cameras on in that room all the time. With a flick of your wrist, they were off. Meandering through the papers on the desk, and the open tabs on the computer, you were surprised to find that the students would be up late the next night.

"A test of courage, huh?" You couldn't help but chuckle, "That's convenient."

Feeling like you knew more than enough about the camp layout, you took your leave - actively resisting the urge to go back to the training area just to see Bakugou work again.

~*~

"Sending Muscular off on his own was a bad idea. The idiot can't control himself," you frowned, looking down at the forest below, "Compress, can you make sure that he got to his vantage point? Just check in and go straight to the forest to await further orders."

"On it."

"Yeah, Muscular is a meathead, and look at my mask! It's so not cute!" Toga whined.

"They were engineered for the Black Market, from what I hear. You should be worried that they work, not that they look pretty."

"Ugh, I'm just saying they could be a little more stylish. Is that too much to ask?"

Moving to stand next to Dabi, he sent you a tired glance. He must have known you were giving him the same look from under your mask. You were the one leading the mission, and he'd been named as your second in command since he was such a heavy hitter. That and he was the most logical choice for a myriad of reasons. The others' innate ability to wear you down so quickly being one of them.

"Hi, darlings! Sorry to keep you waiting," Magne approached with Moonfish and Spinner just behind her.

"Get to work. Get to work."

"The League of Villains made a mistake going after those kids with a bunch of thugs at the USJ," Dabi informed you, causing you to scoff. As if you hadn't learned from the failed mission. You all had, "Better to use a small group of elites. The first thing we have to do is take away their sense of peace and show them that their lives rest in our hands."

"Kidnapping a hero student will do plenty for hero society's image," you hummed, pulling out your phone to check the time, "We have thirty minutes until their activity starts. Let's go over the positions one more time," you pressed a finger to your earpiece so Compress and Muscular could hear, "Compress, Muscular, and Moonfish, you need to be looking for Bakugou. Magne and Spinner, you need to be ready at the center checkpoint to hold off the Pussycats. The Nomu should be here in ten minutes. Mustard, you need to stay hidden and release the gas. Toga-"

"Blood!"

"... right. Dabi and Twice, you're the distraction. I'll be running point on the entire operation. Don't kill any kids unless they get in the way. It'll take too much time away from the mission."

"Damn, I guess that means I can't kill you now."

"Dabi... now is not the time," sitting on the edge of the rock face, you dangled your legs over the edge with little fear of someone from the group behind you pushing you off. Not like it would do them any good anyway, you could easily keep yourself from falling with a sturdy blast of energy.

Twenty minutes later, screams rang through the air and up the mountain. Twenty five minutes later, you sent the groups out.

"Dabi, you have secondary control of the Nomu. Don't make me regret it," you told Dabi after you sent the Nomu off with vague instructions to be a distraction to any students it came across.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey crazy, make one of those clones. Send it down to the teachers."

"You got it! You aren't the boss of me!"

"Do one of me too, it'll be weaker but our Quirks should make up for it," you ordered, watching the sporadic man nod once before starting the process.

Dabi and you had been the only two League members actively willing to give up your measurements so Twice could clone you. Toga said something about being the best her she could be, and the others weren't highly considered for the position. So you set aside your awkwardness in favor of letting Twice take all your measurements.

When the two clones were made - it was really disconcerting to see yourself for a number of reasons - they ran through the forest in the direction of the main building. With that taken care of, Dabi slapped his hand against the nearest tree and lit it on fire. Immediately, the sky started to fill with thick smoke.

"You two handle things here. Stay out of the way until we have Bakugou, you'll work well out of sight."

"You got it! Who put you in charge?"

"Whatever."

Those were the best answers you were going to get. Twice was erratic, but was one of the few you were least worried about on this mission. At the top of your "Potentially a Problem" list, was Muscular. So you went to check on him next.

On the way, you passed by a few small groups of students and easily hid in the trees. They either didn't know what was going on or were just figuring it out. Panicked people were always so quick to miss things. As aspiring heroes, they should have been more aware of their surroundings. Funny, that you were lecturing students your own age on the opposite side of the impending war. Different life experiences morphed you into completely different people.

The formation that Muscular was supposed to be perched on was a good vantage point. It had a good view of the main forest trails and the facility. Not only that, but it was still pretty hidden and would serve as a place to have him be useful without killing everyone he came into contact with. So why weren't you surprised when you heard the sounds of a serious fight?

On the rock face was Muscular and... oh. Muscular was fighting Izuku fucking Midoriya, because who else? There was a kid, obviously much smaller, just out of the way of the main damage. How old was that kid? Probably 5 at the most...

"I always hated him, anyway," you sighed, throwing out your hand and drawing it back into your body quickly.

With his energy quickly waning, and his muscles shrinking, Muscular was losing ground. It gave Midoriya the edge he needed to deliver the final blow of the fight. He was on the hit list and instead you assisted him in taking out one of your team members. He shouldn't have tried to kill you when you first met.

Energy itched to be released under your skin. Shaking out your hands, you resisted the urge to release it all in a large blast and instead transferred most of it to your cape for later use.

The next thing you were attracted to was loads of trees being knocked over. As far as you were concerned, there wasn't a person in your group with a Quirk able to do that. Maybe Moonfish, but you saw him flip over the trees in a different area so it couldn't be him. Intrigued, you headed in that direction to see what was going on.

At that point, the trails were mostly empty. Gas was flooding certain areas and was absent in others. You were thankful that when Giran was making the other equipment, you asked him to upgrade your mask to accommodate Mustard's Quirk. It wasn't as resilient for the larger masks, but it would do for simple pass throughs.

Stopping at what you assumed was a safe distance, you eyes widened at the show of power before you. Tokoyami Fumikage had placed third in the UA Sports Festival alongside the Iida kid, but jesus.

So distracted by the nature of the situation and the raw power in front of you, you weren't watching where you were going and managed to trip over a large branch. The shadow covering the student turned to you, and immediately went in to attack.

How was Tokoyami beaten in the Sports Festival? You wracked your brain for the answer as you jumped out of the way of a large hand coming down on you. It must have been one of the parts you missed when you were getting food. But he went against Bakugou. What would have enabled Bakugou to-

"Light!" You yelled, releasing all the energy you had gained from draining Muscular.

With an extremely bird-like screech, the sentient Quirk quickly backed away, and seemed to shrink. So light truly was its weakness. The strongest Quirks had the weirdest downfalls.

Tokoyami's Quirk turned and went to attack someone else. Sneaking forward, you saw another 1A student and Midoriya Izuku. He had never looked worse, and probably should have returned to the main building after fighting Muscular, but he obviously had a hero and martyr complex.

"Oof!"

Distracted by the UA students in front of you, you missed the incoming attack from Tokoyami again. It landed, and shot you through the trees. You were lucky enough to be shot up slightly, so instead of taking the chance of hitting the trunks, you went through the leaves and smaller branches.

Either way, by the time you landed your entire body was stinging with fresh cuts and forming bruises. Groaning loudly, you closed your eyes to get rid of the black spots clouding your vision. Instead, the next time you opened your eyes it seemed even worse.

Pushing yourself up to rest on your knees, you let out a slow breath. Blood stuck your clothes to your skin and all you wanted to do was take a nap. But if your hunch was correct, you had a concussion at the very least and a concussion and a fractured wrist at best.

Pinching the bridge of your nose to alleviate some of the tension around your forehead, you sighed and stumbled to your feet. Light was his weakness, huh? Well being interested in the 1A students was obviously yours.