Chapter 13

The heroes were quick to round up the villains who attacked the USJ and save those who needed saving but the class was shell shocked at seeing so much destruction and the near death of two of their teachers. This was a villain attack. The type of thing they'd have to get used to if they wanted to continue in their profession. It made Momo nauseous. Not just because of the ferocity of their opponents, but of who one of the Villains ended up being.

She kept quiet about Shoto's identity. She didn't know why. She knew she should of told the police about that she knew the identity of one of the escaped members of this League of Villains like Kirishima had. In the end, out of the 57 known villains who had attacked the USJ, 7 escaped. Two of them were known criminals. One was Himiko Toga, a well known serial Killer however now they had a name to follow up on regarding her rumoured accomplice, Mina Ashido. The second was an anti hero activist known as Dabi who appeared a few years ago. Other than that, there was a warp villain, Kurogiri from what the leader had said, Brainstorm, someone who had a quirk powerful enough to control All Might himself, Shoto Todoroki, with a frightening dual quirk utilising both Ice and Fire, and their leader, Tomura Shigaraki from what the Warp Villain had said, a man who could disintegrate matter at a touch. There was also the matter of how they got in. What was thought to be a Villain with a power jammer quirk was in fact a villain who snuck into the security office and had destroyed the equipment before making their escape, meaning no-one could use the camera footage of the attack for an investigation. It was clear they knew what they were doing.

Momo sat in her seat in class thinking about the whole ordeal. She didn't know what to think. Nowhere felt safe anymore. She expected a Villain to pop out in UA any moment. It didn't feel over. She thought back to everything Shoto had told her. The Hero Commission's corruption and hiding things. Hero lawsuits that her parents dealt with behind the scenes. Endeavours abuse. Everything didn't feel real. " Yaoyorozu?" Momo jumped at the voice. She looked up sharply to see Akitani looking at her with a concerned look. " Are you alright?"

" Oh. Yeah. I'm fine."

" It's fine to say no, you know? I don't think anyone is alright after today." Momo looked down at her desk.

" Yeah. You're right." She glanced back up. " Where were you and Kaminari by the way? You just seemed to show up when the heroes arrived?"

"Oh that." Akitani laughed. " There's an underground series of warehouses and corridors where they have all the equipment and stuff. We got thrown down there. Whoever hacked the security systems activated some of the robots we fought at the Entrance Exam. Between that and the entire place being maze like, it was a miracle we found each other let alone an exit."

" Oh. Right. I see." Momo said.

" You were in Landslide right? I heard from Awase that you got trapped in by a Villain. That must have been scary."

" Yeah. It was." But not for the reason Akitani probably expected. " Can we… not talk about it?"

" Oh. Sorry."

" It's fine. Anyway, I'm going to go home. I'll… see you later."

" Right. See you, Yaoyorozu. Stay safe." She nodded before heading home. Even still, the USJ never left her mind. Neither did Shoto's words. She had three days off to recover from the USJ. She had a lot of time to think about it.

Momo knew she shouldn't be doing this. Her parents never let her into the study. When she was young, she was always amazed by the thought of what wonderful treasures could be hidden away in the walls of bookshelves. Nowadays, she knew that most of them were just records and law books. She'd asked her father about a year ago and that's what he told her. She admittedly never really cared about her parents jobs. Because of their jobs, she met a lot of pro heroes, which got her on her current path.

And yet, here she was at 1AM at night. She couldn't sleep. She left it alone for a day but Shoto's words kept running through her head over and over. She looked into it online too. She found a lot of lawsuits in papers she'd never heard of in years. Endeavour. Mount Lady. Edgeshot. Ryuko.

Midnight. That one hurt. It had been that very hero that had put her up for recommendation in the first place. Said she had spunk. Talent. She could do anything she put her mind too. According to the papers, she had far too many sexual allegations. The amount that would bury a politician or movie star.

All Might having lawsuits was a strange thing to wrap her head around. The man just saved the lives of her, her classmates and two of her teachers yet there he was. Not as many as the likes of Endeavour or Midnight, but there was several for him too, mostly regarding damaged property or near lethal assault on petty thieves.

It wasn't all her parents, of course. Some agencies had their own personal lawyers and their were other agencies who specialised in hero law. However, out of all of them, the Yaoyarozu's were one of if not the most known of these. They'd earned a reputation as an iron stalwart that defended the heroes of justice in the courtroom like those heroes did out in the streets. As a child, she was proud to share the name. It was like a fairy tale to be attributed so this entity that was like a faithful knight or a prince charming or whatever.

That childish sense of wonder hadn't stopped her from creating a key with her quirk and breaking into her parents study. It had given her pause but it hadn't stopped her. She needed to know if what Shoto was saying was true. She quietly shut the door behind her and locked it again before turning her attention to the books and papers in the room, using the dimmed light of her phone to read. Most were harmless enough. Just a bunch of useless law books, as her father had once stated. Some were just data records. Not much information from those. Most were harmless. Most.

She unlocked the draws of her fathers desk with a lock pick set and got to work reading what was inside. One of small diaries in there was a bunch of payment logs. Most of them came from the Hero Commission. Very large sums at that. She initially wrote it off as a general payment for heroes who could afford to pay legal fees. Small time people like Manual and the like. Then she found the other book a few draws down and everything she read online, the payments and even the data log made too much sense.

The money from the Hero Commission was compensation with a little extra. Compensation for bribery, forgery and anything else they needed to have made to make heroes come out of a legal case. Comparing the data log, business history record, payment transaction record and old stories online, she was able to make a pretty comprehensive list of everything her parents had been involved with over the years. Some increasingly shady law suits in certain heroes involving destruction of property and harm to civilians. Momo wasn't surprised to see Endeavour and Mount Lady's names propping up a lot in those cases. The Hero Commission simply couldn't let heroes be seen as having any kind of faults, so these law suits always came up in their favour. Forging of evidence and bribing of judges at best. The hostile takeover and forcible shutting down of news companies and the silencing of reporters at worse. And it could all be sourced back to two groups. The Hero Commission and her parents.

Momo was left feeling cold and sick. She replaced the documents and left the room, wishing she'd never entered. It was 4AM when she returned to her room but she didn't sleep. She tried but her mind was overflowing with the consequences of the knowledge she'd gained. Her parents were criminals. Corrupt lawyers facilitated by the Hero Commission itself. The very Commission she would eventually work for. The heroes she idolized and met? Broken the law more times than she could bare to count. And Shoto… Shoto, the Villain who attacked the USJ. He was right. She remembered his last words to her before he left her in the Landslide Zone. "Seek Venality." Momo's thoughts froze at the reminder. She went for her computer.

Venality. The idea of being willing to be corrupt or immoral for money or other payment. It became quickly apparent to her that Shoto hadn't meant the meaning was about the League of Villains but rather those they opposed. It took her almost all day of following various avenues of reasoning and, admittedly, passing out from exhaustion around 8AM to reach what Shoto actually meant for her to find. It was pretty hard to find, being buried ten or so pages down in the search engine, but she eventually found a small blog called Venality. A blog for those suffering under saviours. It was a bit on the nose, but she empathised with those who had already found solace from the blog. But the names of those on the blog? Toxicity outright called herself Mina, Crucible was obviously Shoto from the story and Brainstorm's quirk matched perfectly with the Villain who brainwashed Kuroiro and tried to do the same to All Might. It was clear what this actually was. Even if all the League wasn't on here, some if not all of them were part of it. This was what Shoto wanted her to find. The second she noticed activity, she made an account and talked.

-Forge has Entered the Chat-

Usagi: Hey. It's been a while since we've had a new member.

Forge: I know who you are.

Usagi: I'm sorry I don't follow.

Forge: The League of Villains.

Forge: I know it's you.

She didn't know what to expect from being so forwards. Frankly, she didn't care. She was sick of being scared and worried. In the last few days, everything she knew seemed to be flipped on its head. She didn't know what she knew anymore. This blog was her last line of inquiry. So she was going all in. She was surprised at Usagi's next message.

Usagi: Momo Yaoyorozu. Not gonna lie. Didn't actually think you'd show up.

Usagi: Didn't seem the type.

Forge: And what do you know about me?

Usagi: More than you think I do, believe me.

Usagi: Even if you don't know it, we've actually met a few times before.

Usagi: I didn't think you'd go along with all of this, but Shoto insisted we try.

Forge: I'm not going along with anything.

Usagi: Sure you're not.

Usagi: So Wanna meet up?

Forge: What?

Usagi: You want answers. I can do you one better.

Usagi: I can introduce you to the entire League.

Forge: You're lying

Usagi: What reason do I have to lie?

Usagi: You came here of your own free will. I'd rather not explain what you want to know on something as easily accessible as the internet.

Usagi: You're choice.

She shouldn't. She really shouldn't. Trespassing in her father's study was one thing but meeting with Villains? Villains who had tried to kill her not three days earlier? She shouldn't. But she wanted to know. Needed to know. She'd risked a lot to get this far. Wasted too much time. Learned too much cursed knowledge. She needed closure. So she agreed.

Shoto met her outside a barber shop in Yokohama City and silently led her to a bar around back. Momo kept her head down. It felt wrong interacting with known Villains. And yet, here she was regardless. The warp gate villain welcomed the two in, now dressed in a bar tenders suit that seemed out of place from what she saw of him a few days prior when he teleported her across the entire length of the USJ. Thinking back, he did have that sort of polite, servile way of speaking she had grown used to in her household. She didn't say anything to his greeting. Shoto simply gave him a kind smile and a nod before leading her around back. He knocked on one of the doors along the corridor behind the bar and let Momo in.

Momo glanced around the room. It was simple. A bed. A desk with a laptop open on it. Wardrobe. A completely loaded bookshelf. A TV attached to the wall. A typical, if somewhat bare room. She expected this to belong to the head of the League. Tomura Shigaraki. The villain who destroyed their teachers elbow with a touch. However, the kid who had his back to her was familiar in another way. He had dark hair, a small frame and was muttering to himself. " Izuku." Shoto said, getting his attention. " Momo's here."

" Hmm? She is?" The boy, Izuku, looked up. " Hmm. Earlier than I thought. Oh well." Momo gasped as the boy spun around on his swivel chair.

" Y-you're… Akitani?!" She exclaimed. Akitani laughed at her surprise.

" Hey, I told you didn't I? We'd met several times? What, you thought we bumped into each other at the mall or something?" He asked slyly.

" I… I never thought-"

" That your classmate would be a mole. No, I understand. Completely reasonable assumption. Though, come on. You had to find it weird that Denki and I just vanished for the entire USJ incident."

" Kaminari too?"

" Not at first." Akitani shrugged. " But enough about that. First, let me introduce myself fully. My name is not Mikumo Akitani, as I'm sure Shoto probably made obvious. The names Izuku."

" You mean... Izuku Midoriya, right?" Momo mused. She remembered the story from almost a year ago. It was a minor story but a child going missing was a problematic affair. She remembered asking some heroes her parents worked with about it, but all just said not to worry about it or that it was out of their jurisdiction. It was a case that everyone forgot but never closed.

" Ah, you remember my case. That saves time." Izuku stretched. " Then let's talk about you. What did you find?" Momo bit her lip. " I won't force you to rush it."

" Shoto was right." Momo said sullenly.

" About the court cases?" Shoto asked.

" Yeah. It took a bit of comparing dates and some online research but…" Momo sighed. " Did you know about all of this? All this time?"

" Not many people want to look into it." Izuku admitted. " But, no piece of data is ever gone for good when we're talking about the internet. I'm sure you found that out, right?" Momo didn't answer. Not that she needed to. Izuku knew.

" B-But it could just be fake right. Like… I don't know…"

" Vengeful families of villains trying to make up a story on a hero that brought in a loved one." Izuku nodded. " Some of them are, don't get me wrong. There are false allegations flung around all the time." He leaned in. " But then why would the Hero Commission silence people?"

" Defamation." Momo said.

" Yeah, that's part of it. But they wouldn't be so scared if it wasn't a little bit true."

" Everything you read about the bastard is completely true." Shoto stated. Momo didn't have to ask who he was referring to. Endeavour was always a contentious figure. But he was a hero and a surprisingly intelligent detective. People over looked his violent streak because of that. " I don't doubt anything from what I've been through."

" OK then. You want concrete proof then?" Izuku hummed. He turned back to his computer, typing a way. Momo watched him rapidly switching through windows of his laptop, barely able to keep up with his high speed research. Momo could tell he was used to doing this just from watching his focused stare and his blistering pace. " I sent a plan in a PM in Venality." He told her. " It's Midnight's patrol route for the last hour she'd working. 9PM-10PM. Tail her. She's well known for trying illicit stuff on night's she's not expected to be working for a few days afterwards." He looked back over to Momo. " Will that do?"

" And if she doesn't?"

" Feel free to do what you want with this information afterwards. But you know heroes aren't pure. They're as much violent thugs as a lot of Villains. At least we accept that fact." Momo didn't know what to think.

" We won't force anything on you." Shoto said.

" He's right." Izuku confirmed. " It's up to you."

" I'll think about it." Momo admitted. " I'm still not sure about all of this. It's… a lot to take in."

" Take your time." Shoto folded his arms.

" Would you like a drink?" Izuku offered. " We still have homework. I'd much rather discuss that than heavy topics."

" Homework?"

" Don't tell me you of all people forgot. Mic set us one about common sayings in English." Momo groaned, covering her eyes with her hand. In all the excitement around Villains and secret plots and uncovering her parents dirty laundry, she completely forgot everything else involving school. Izuku laughed. " Well, there's a first time for everything."

" I suppose." Momo admitted.

" I don't miss homework." Shoto admitted.

" Just cause Dabi and Kurogiri are home schooling you." Izuku pouted. He got out of his computer chair with a stretch. " Welp, no time like the present." The next few horse felt like a friendly time with friends at a café, doing a study session just like she had in middle school. It didn't even dawn on Momo until she got back that she just hung out at a bar owned by a Villain with other villains. Everything felt normal. She liked that feeling.

She'd been doing a lot of things against her better judgement since the USJ. What was one more? Perhaps it wasn't the best reasoning for stalking her former idol, but she found any reason was a reason she could justify that evening. Dressing up in an old big coat and a scarf to cover her face, she watched Midnight from a far. The heroine wandered around, keeping an eye out for trouble and greeting passer-by's in the street. The typical hero routine. Not everyday was nonstop villain attacks after all. Sometime, the best a hero could do is make people feel safe just by being seen.

In the initial hour, Momo assumed that maybe this was a trick after all. Midnight was just being her regular cheerful if somewhat provocative self. She joked around with people out for the weekend for parties and night's out before moving on with her day. Just the ideal hero image. In her thoughts, Momo lost her towards the end of the night. But she was sure it didn't matter. After all, she seemed to be just doing her job.

A call for help distracted her. It was in an alley not far from where she lost Midnight. Perhaps the pro had heard it. The idea of Midnight taking down some robbers was something that excited Momo, so she went to investigate. What she found was not a man being assaulted by robbers.

It was a man being confronted by Midnight.

Momo watched frozen. The memories of the sexual assault allegations entered her mind. Over 50 of them from a number of sources. All squashed by the Hero Commission and dealt with by her parents under the table. She didn't want to believe them. But now, in front of her eyes, it was happening again. Her idol assaulting a man. It was true. And if this was true, what else was true? What else was a legitimate issue just brushed away to make sure a hero could keep a good image?

Something inside her broke. Her actions moved faster than her thoughts could register. She didn't realize what she was doing until she'd already slammed a created metal bat over the pros head, knocking her to the ground. She barely registered the mans thanks and him running away. Momo flipped Midnight over with her bat. The hero looked dazed, not sure what was going on. Anger built up in Momo. This was the woman she'd looked up to all these years. The one who put her on the path to being a hero. Who told her she could do anything. Just a common criminal. A rapist. She'd been lied to. Lied to all her life. She mashed her bat into Midnight's head, knocking her out cold. " How dare you!" Momo growled angrily. Tears pricked her eyes as realisation hit her. She smashed her bat into the pro again. " How dare you lie to me!" She swung again, harder this time. " All this time. You and my parents." Again. " How dare you make me think you were just!" Again. " You're nothing but filth!" Again. " You and all of your type! Trying to hide behind the Commission so you can do anything you want! It makes me sick!" Each of a sentence was punctuated by a hit. She let her anger take over, swinging over and over for minutes on end til she finally stopped due to tiredness.

Midnight wasn't dead. Maybe she should be but Momo wasn't so far gone to become a killer just yet. Leaving her to die in a disease ridden back alley was already more than she deserved. A small laughed escaped Momo's lips as she looked over her handiwork, a noise that suprised her. She felt light headed but other than that, she felt good. Powerful. She'd broken the legs, ribs and right arm of someone who very much deserved it. She dropped her bat, listening to the low clang as it hit the ground, delivered a last swift kick to the heroes side and staggered away.

She couldn't go home after that. She knew, the way she felt, she'd probably end up doing something she might regret. So, instead, she got on the train and headed for Yokohama. Not half an hour after she'd finished, she half collapsed through the doors of the League's bar, breathing heavily. Her eyes were burning, her vision blurred. There was the sound of a scraping chair as Shoto got to her side, kneeling down and putting a careful hand on her shoulder. " Momo? Are you alright?"

" It was true." She sobbed. " it was all true. Midnight… she was no hero. She… I couldn't just…"

" Hey. it's alright. Just breath." Momo grabbed tightly to her old friend, tears falling from her eyes.

" I… I didn't think I just…"

" It's alright." Shoto repeated. " Easy."

" She deserved it."

" I know." Shoto nodded. The two remained in silence for a few minutes before Momo got her composure back enough to let go. A glass of water was placed on the floor beside her. She looked up at the bar tending smoke villain.

" To help calm your nerves." He said simply. She nodded.

" Thanks."

" Not a problem." The man bowed before heading back behind the counter. Momo and Shoto never moved from the floor but they did move to a different part of it, just out of the way of the door. They remained silent, Shoto waiting for Momo to talk. " Sorry." She finally said, sullenly. " After tonight, I just…"

" It made the news, you know?"

" Huh?"

" Midnight's assault? It made the news. She was rushed to hospital. Haven't mentioned if she'll recover."

" I hope she doesn't." Momo said bitterly. " I… I couldn't bring myself to become a murderer. But a part of me wishes I had. Cause when she recovers…"

" She'll likely go right back to her old ways, yeah?" Shoto asked. Momo nodded.

" I'm starting to sound like Stain."

" Ha. Maybe. But the way I see it, that idiot just goes after people he thinks are evil. Bet he thinks that's everyone." Shoto looked over at Momo. " But you have the numbers." Momo smiled lightly.

" Yeah. I do." She said. She had a lot of numbers. It might take a week or three to copy down the correct information, but she could definitely make a list. A big list. A list of people who don't deserve their reputation as a hero. A list of people who needed to be brought down. One way or another. She told herself it was for the good of everything but, thinking back on how she felt when she beat Midnight half to death, a part of her knew there was a bit more to that. " Will you help me?"

" We all will." Shoto nodded. " What about you? Will you help us?" Momo took a deep breath. Three days ago, she'd have laughed at the offer. Three days ago, she'd have called in every hero she knew. Three days ago, nothing would have made her think twice. But nothing was as she thought it was three days ago. It was a darker world than she could have possibly imagined. There was no justice. No hero without it's dark secret. Her world had changed.

" I'm in." So she'd changed with it.