“Ew, this stinks! Stop doing that, I hate it!”

Felix ignored the whining Toga as his psychic senses pricked up. Other than the nomus that surrounded him, there was another human-like being sitting not too far away from them. Not like he needed to use his telekinetic senses to confirm who it was though; he definitely recognised his voice.

“Doctor Ujiko, how long has it been since we talked? Five, six months?” Felix called out in the doctor’s direction.

“Nomus? They look a little different from the ones I’ve seen before.” Dabi turned around in a slow circle, observing the motionless creatures suspended in huge vials of liquid.

“I’m impressed you can tell the difference, Dabi. I knew you had a keen pair of eyes,” Ujiko said proudly. “These little ones are different, nothing like the mid or low-level Nomus that you’re used to. These are High-End Nomus, my finest work thus far. Masterpieces, if I may say so.”

“Good timing, doctor. I’ve been looking for you.” Shigaraki began walking towards the source of the voice. “There’s something I want you to duplicate.”

“Stop right there. I’m a very private person, so don’t get any closer.”

A small creature hopped into view. It looked like some sort of nomu, except that it was about the size of a bunny. Felix resisted the urge to bend down and pet it; he didn’t want to risk having his fingers chewed off.

“I prefer to keep my location a secret, which is why I summoned you all here by transmission. You can thank Johnny here for the complimentary teleport services.”

So this thing has a name, huh? Cute.

“Besides Shigaraki and Pagonis, your faces are all new to me. I’m Daruma Ujiko. I came up with that name myself, you like it?” Ujiko said proudly again, as if anyone else in the room actually cared. “Much like Gigantomachia, I’m also a close aide of All For One. My life, my tech, my expertise… They are all dedicated to the great All For One.”

“So why have you brought us here?”

“Excellent question. I myself am wondering the same thing. Frankly speaking, I’m not impressed, Shigaraki. Not. Impressed. At all.” The doctor dropped his voice. “A twenty two year-old reject, hanging around with the dregs of society. I only brought you here today because of an agreement I made out of my deference to our former boss, but I need to make quite sure that you’re worthy of receiving the fruits of my labour.”

“You want me to change your mind?”

Ujiko remained silent. Felix shot a glance at his boss. Although the mask was still covering Shigaraki’s face, a faraway look harboured itself in his eyes. Coldness was etched in his expression as usual, but a small hint of confusion and regret was also mixed within.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much about my life before I met you and Master.” Shigaraki touched his mask tenderly. “And yet, when I put these on my body, there’s an uncontrollable rage that spills over. Ever since that day, I’ve been thinking about what happened.”

“Yes, I’m already well aware of that.”

“I ran and ran, looking for someone to help, but not a single soul stopped to help me. ‘A hero will come. Sooner or later, a hero will help him’. That’s what they all said. But they were just making excuses for themselves. Nobody came.”

The villain looked back up.

“Nobody… Except for Master,” he continued. “He told me that a rare, variant quirk manifested in me– a mutation no one’s seen before, and I murdered my loved ones simply by putting my hands on them.”

Shigaraki shook his head.

“To be honest, I have no memory of my life before my master found me that day. I was just an empty shell. I was utterly hollow. But when he said that, everything came rushing back to me in fragments with a frustration so intense, I felt sick to my stomach.”

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Felix creased his eyebrows. It was apparent that Shigaraki’s body remembered whatever terrible act he committed back then, but his mind had chosen to block it out. But with something so traumatic moulding his actions, the psychic wasn’t sure if it would even be safe for him to telepathically retrieve those memories for Shigaraki.

“Though it still makes me feel sick to my stomach, wearing these hands washes calmness over me. Strange, isn’t it?” Shigaraki chuckled softly. “My mind is empty, beyond those flashes and fragments. And yet, there’s a heaviness in my heart. It’s like a lump of lead. Never moving, always fueling the rage that propels me, but it also never brings relief.”

The man clenched his fists.

“Even if we bring down hero society- Even if I rule the ruins from the shadows, that weight will be with me all my life. That’s why I despise everything. All that lives and breathes presses onto the weight in my soul.”

There was a crazed look in his eyes now.

“So why shouldn’t I destroy all of it? Why must I suffer any longer? When this world falls, we’ll see the glorious new horizon that awaits. So why not lend me a hand? I’ll show you the halls of heaven and the depths of hell.”

A hearty laugh broke the tension in the air, accompanied by a slow clap.

“You sound like a kid playing a bad guy! I’m amazed you even got through that monologue with a straight face!” Ujiko said. “But I have underestimated how serious you are about your dream. Consider me impressed. I’ll help you achieve your vision, but only if you can back up that speech with action. A villain’s philosophy is worthless if he can’t bring his dreams to life!”

“Tomura, you sound a little deranged.” Toga pulled on her leader’s sleeve. “Are you going to destroy everything I love?”

“There’s always room for my comrades’ wishes. Live how you want to,” Shigaraki replied, and the girl broke into a wide smile.

“There is just one thing I need you to do before I bestow you with more power,” the doctor said. “If you can make Gigantomachia submit to you, then everything I have will be yours to use as you see fit. Unlike me, he hasn’t accepted you as his own. That big guy may be dense, but he’s valuable to us both. If you want what I offer, you’ll have to seize it for yourself.”

“No problem-”

“Just so you know, I’m not helping.” Dabi shrugged nonchalantly, turning away from his leader.

“Oh, don’t be a brat just because your flames didn’t work on him.” Toga pouted.

“That’s not it, you maniac. I have a good potential ally in mind, so I’m going to focus my energies there. Do you object?”

“No. I look forward to meeting them,” Shigaraki replied without taking his eyes off the laboratory seat turned away from him.

“In that case, Dabi, I’d very much appreciate your help testing out a High-End Nomu,” Ujiko said. “I have just the one that will pair elegantly with your aesthetic.”

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Did you even hear what I said? I want to meet-”

“Send us back now, so we can get started. I feel like I could take on the world.” Shigaraki punched his palm enthusiastically. “I’m counting on you, Felix. But try not to kill him, got it?”

“Not so fast. Pagonis, I believe all of Japan knows how powerful you are, and I am obviously no exception. Keep in mind that it is Shigaraki who needs to bring Gigantomachia to heel, not you.”

“Heard that, Tomura? It’s all on you.” Felix grinned, releasing a big yawn as he stretched. “I’ll just stay behind and keep you from dying. Go get him, leader.”

“Whatever, more action for me then.”

“From this point forward, contact me using this device exclusively.” A pale, wrinkled hand bid them farewell from behind the lab chair. “Time to work, Johnny!”

Felix found himself back in the mountains after several seconds of coughing and sputtering. He clutched his throat painfully; Kurogiri’s portals were so much more comfortable to travel in.

A soft cooing caught his attention. Gigantomachia was hugging the portable radio while a recording of All For One’s voice played back through its speakers. The boy smirked slightly. So this guy really was a big baby after all.

“Hello there. Are you ready to submit to your future king?”

Gigantomachia looked up just as the wave of crumbling rocks hit him. He growled in annoyance, before flipping a tennis-court-sized chunk of dirt from the ground. Shigaraki flipped back, leaping off the clumps of rock in the air.

“You’re weak!” The villain grunted as a huge fist collided with his entire body.

“Looks like the future king is in trouble!” Toga yelled from the sidelines as though she was the biassed umpire in a wrestling match.

Pink wrapped around Shigaraki’s waist, pulling him to safety right before he was crushed between two boulders of rock.

“Well, that’s nothing new.” Spinner kept his arms folded, stepping to the side as clumps of small rocks flew in his direction.

“My thanks, Pagonis.” Shigaraki brushed the dirt off his clothes, before rushing into battle again.

Felix took to a higher spot to oversee the fight. It was going to be a long one.