Powerless - A My Hero Academia/ DC Crossover

Chapter 35: Encounters

Tomura Shigaraki was pissed off. Very pissed off.

If one was to observe Tomura Shigaraki, then one would argue that this was hardly unusual. However, not many people knew Shigaraki like Kurogiri did. And his current disposition was beginning to worry him.

Shigaraki was leaning on the bar, brooding and staring at a photo he held aloft in his hand. Clutched tightly in his other hand, so tightly that it was beginning to bleed, was a black shuriken-like object, carved in the shape of a bat. The photo was of the boy who had taken second place in the UA Sports Festival, the same one who had stabbed him with the very shuriken he was holding. The boy had shown considerable skill and ability during their attack on the USJ. He managed to catch them both by surprise, rupture the armored plating around Kurogiri's neck, and fend off their forces long enough for All Might and the UA teachers to arrive. It was obvious that this boy acted as a ringleader of sorts, and was able to inspire the others into action easily. The Sports Festival had showcased this further, demolishing any doubt about this young upstart's abilities and skills from even the most seasoned of Pro Heros.

But it was the capture of the Hero Killer by the hands of this boy, Izuku Midoirya, that had truly pushed this boy into the interest of the League of Villains. For a young quirkless boy to take down one of the most dangerous criminal assassins the country had faced in years, one who had already killed and crippled dozens of pro heroes without effort, was earth-shattering. Even The Master was impressed by this demonstration. This was a fact most shocking as he was really only interested in powerful quirks. And considering that the boy did not possess a quirk of his own, to garner the Master's respect is a feat not achieved by many.

But Shigaraki did not share his Master's feelings on the matter. The boy had hurt him. Humiliated him. Nobody who paid Shigaraki such disrespect lived for long. But the Hero Killer added a new wrinkle to the equation. Everyone was fawning over how great this Izuku Midoriya was, but many were also admiring the Hero Killer's strength of will and tenacity to fight against a system of false idols. Every day he was garnering more and more popularity, and it was all the government could do stem the inevitable tidal wave of copycats and villainous hopefuls that would befall them. A wave the League of Villains had every intention of riding. But Shigaraki was undeterred in his hatred of the Hero Killer. Stain's words continued to echo in his head: you lack conviction.

That pissed him off.

The young brat Izuku Midoriya, the Hero Killer Stain, and the worst of the lot: All Might. He hated them all. He wanted them dead, and they were so close he could almost feel them with his fingertips, but still annoyingly out of reach. He felt his blood boiling in his veins as he continued to brood over the picture of this brat, this quirkless upstart, and all that he represented.

"Are you curious, Tomura Shigaraki?" Asked Kurogiri suddenly. "About the boy?"

The bell above the door jingled before Shigaraki could answer. Someone had entered the bar. "Shigaraki," came the familiar, drawling voice of Giran. He walked into the bar with an annoying smug look on his face, his speech slightly skewed as he tried to hold the lit cigarette between his lips. Giran was a broker who allied himself with the League years ago, supplying them with resources to fuel the Master's war machine. "You've been the talk of the town for the past few days," He continued. "I hear you're onto something big -"

"Who are they?" Shigaraki interrupted.

Giran's smug look was undeterred, stepping aside as two individuals entered the bar. One was a tall male, between mid to late twenties in age. It was difficult to tell, as most of his exposed body seemed to be a mix of purple patchwork skin sewn onto his natural epidermal layer. He carried himself in a aloof manner, as if he was here against his will. Standing beside him was a young woman, in her late teens to early twenties. She wore a school uniform with a large, ill-fitting sweater. She bounced up and down in an excited, bubbly manner, like a young schoolgirl would, but Shigaraki wasn't fooled. Her lips were curled into a twisted smile, and her eyes suggested a mania that Shigaraki was all too familiar with.