][ Previously: It's the assembling of the female avengers: Elyse, Mirko, and Mei, who definitely won't be important later. They get ready to break into a villain base to rescue Zeya and other captured people. ][

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     A hundred blades bit through her skin. Blood splattered everywhere as the the roaring saw tore open her chest.

     Elyse dropped to the ground, a terrible ache splitting her head in two. Her eyes dulled as her own blood filled her clothes, dirtying the metal floor.

     A ring grew in her ears, her vision blurred; she could barely see.

     And it was in this moment, when she had a million other things to worry about, that she reconsidered her life choices up to this point.

     Why was she here..? Why did she keep on fighting..?

     The f*** did she become a hero for?

<<<<<<<<<<<<

     "Step aside, grandma, I'm going in." Mirko marched ahead, easily hopping over the fence.

     Elyse sped herself up so that she climbed over it just as quickly, again at the #5 hero's side. "Didn't you JUST say you were only a year younger than me?!"

     Mirko pounced through the door, ready to rumble. Elyse slipped in far more casually, scanning every corner of the room she entered. There wasn't much at ground level. Just some crates of supplies in a poorly lit space. In the center of the floor, however, was a staircase opening up to a lit passageway below ground.

     "Hahah! Who are we gunna kill first?! Fire face or magic man?!"

     "Probably would be better if we simply apprehended them..for Twice's sake."

     "Ehh! We don't have to tell him!" Mirko raced through the brightly lit hall, zooming ahead of the other. Elyse was a lot more careful about preserving her stamina. Instead, she activated her detective mind, sharp eyes looking for any useful clues.

     ' 'It appears this base is multilayered. You and Mirko have infiltrated the second layer. There are four in total according to Strike Team Four. All teams are currently within the fortress.' ' Mei updated the girls. As Elyse entered the computer room, Mirko was already soaring outta there.

     "Hey!! Might be a good idea to stick together by covering my flank!" Elyse griped. This rabbit was no team player, was she.

     "Not a chance! I'll help you out by taking down all the bad guys! How about that?!" The rabbit hero hopped down another flight of stairs even further into the base. The older woman sighed, cursing under her breath. Oh well... She was plenty capable on her own.

     'Looks like it's just me and you, Mei..'

     ' 'You're in the computer room, correct?' '

     'Right, but I can't find a monitor to access any of this information.' The computer room was darkly lit, though thousands of little LED lights illuminated the tall, metal boxes the pathways were just barely lit with LEDs stringing through the floor. Each one of Elyse's steps could be heard above the humming of the machines.

     The hero paced around a bit in search of some kind of monitor, however looking around only revealed this room to be far bigger than she thought, with catwalk-type floors revealing layers upon layers of computers underneath. The woman breathed. How was she supposed to store all of this information into ONE USB!?

     A ladder led Elyse down another layer, where she landed with a thump. It was a little cooler down here, despite the computers producing so much heat.

     The walls and ground shook around her. Elyse wavered uneasily. A pretty big fight must have broken out elsewhere... Hopefully the other heroes were safe.

Clink... Clink...

     A strange sound synchronized with her following footsteps. The woman froze still. As did the sound behind her. Elyse spun around, spotting nothing but darkness and the shapes of the large computer boxes. She continued.

Clink... Clink.. clink...

     She whirled around again, this time just barely making out a massive figure in the darkness, shaped somewhat like a man, but not enough to be considered one.

     "AAA!" The hero shrieked. She wasted no time, bolting for the computers and diving between two rows. The creature stomped after her, its long, thin nose swaying with its head.

     Elyse crawled out, stifling her intense breathing as the monster sniffed her out. Thanks to the monstrosity's larger size, it had a much harder time navigating around the computer room, which made it easier for Elyse to slip away.

     She slid down to the fourth and final level, at last coming upon a large monitor surrounded by a few others. Only the large one was unlit. The rest focused on a large variety of other things, including but not limited to a map of Japan with a few blinking dots on it, a leaderboard of some kind, and oddly enough a heart monitor, with the captions above it saying something like "Second Coming."

     All of this was very interesting, but Elyse had to put priorities first. She approached the keyboard and pressed one of the keyes, awakening the main monitor. Such sudden, bright light stunned the woman momentarily. She quickly rubbed at her eyes and set to opening the files to search for something.

Search: prisoners

     Nothing showed. Of course it wouldn't. That's too on the nose. Elyse huffed through her nose rubbing the bottom half of her face.

Search: captives

     No.

Search: captured quirk users

     Nope.

Search: Nomu experiments

     Nada.

     "Ugh!" Elyse slammed her fist against the desk. Now now.. it wasn't the time to lose her cool, especially over something as silly as this. Taking in a long, deep breath, Elyse allowed for a long grocery list of words to enter her mind that could be of use.

Search: shopping list

     Something finally did pop up. And boy was it good. Not only of future purchase plans, but also of past ones as well. ... Whoever the mastermind behind this was sure had an in-depth agenda. Couldn't possibly have been AFO himself, though! The seat was too low.

     This list was intensively detailed, down to the exact amount of bolts and pins required for next month's experiments. And BOY was it long.

     "This might be worth snagging.." Elyse smirked. Inserting the USB into a handy little port, she copied the info of the shopping list onto the thing. Unfortunately for her, whoever programmed this computer used a very handy yet simple little trick for security purposes. Elyse had to search for something very specific in order to gain access. She couldn't just empty all of the files into one chip in one go. This would be a very long and tedious process if she wanted everything this computer had to offer.

     ' 'Try searching for records of everyone in the underground fighting rings.' '

     "Woa!" Gasping. "Startled me there.."

     ' 'Apologies. Things are going smoothly up here. Just be quick before reinforcements arrive. Team 2 is almost to the holding cell, so you don't need to look for where Z was taken.' '

     A sigh of relief. 'Thanks...'

     ' 'As my job entails, I do what I can to help.' '

     'Right..' The hero returned to thinking about searchable key words.

Search: quirk trafficking records

     Something pulled up right away. A HUGE file at that. The right bottom monitor flickered for a second when that file was opened, so Elyse's eyes naturally glanced at that as well. It was the leaderboard... Were the two connected? Leaning closer to the smaller monitor, Elyse started to read off the names. It was a ranking of all the top fighters in the ring! What impressed her were the numbers to the left of each of the names, which showed a win-to-loss ratio, naturally increasing the value of the fighter and their quirk.

     "D###, All For One, no wonder you got so many of good quirks. These people are insane--!"

     Her eyes kept skimming over the first names until she decided to take her time on the person in first place.

     " 'Ryo Shimazaki' " With a 100% percent victory rate.

     "Wait... That can't be right.." Elyse squinted again, but indeed it was. However, he sat like a ghose record on the board, since he was labeled as a past competitor, merely a record holder for others to try to surpass. "Hol' up." If this was the same Shimazaki as the guy causing havoc on Japan right now, then Elyse had just hit the JACKPOT!

     Within the already opened file, Elyse searched the guy's name to see if there was any record on him, including more detailed information. There was. Elyse started to download this very useful file including ALL of the victims trafficked while she looked into this Shimazaki guy.

     " 'Age entered: 8. Height: 133 cm. Weight: 22.5 kgm. (Price: 2,000,000 yen)
         Age sold: 18. Height: 182 cm. Weight: 66.3 kgm. (Price: 29,922,200,000 yen)' "

     On top of that, there was also a mug shot featuring the boy in question both before and after his ten years in the ring. The picture of him as a child was especially distressing... Poor boy was so thin and frail looking. But, yep. For both of them, his eyes were closed and his hair generally the same short black, albeit lacking his now signature smile. But, it was their Shimazaki alright.

     Elyse rubbed her jaw, an alarmed look in her eyes.

     ' 'Who was Shimazaki sold to?' '

     'I'll check.' However, after some browsing, Elyse came up empty handed. 'S###... I heard something about him previously working for an organization known as Claw. Perhaps their leader was his buyer...'

     ' 'That is highly likely... You downloaded the file, correct?' '

     "Yep!" Elyse accidentally chimed aloud. 'What about your brother?'

     ' 'I'll comb through those files on my own time. Thanks, by the way. This should help us out a lot.' '

     Elyse smiled. 'As per my job description, I do what I can to help.'

----------

    "Alright, that should be just about everything regarding the Nomu." Elyse mumbled, an agitated aura about her. She was beginning to hear a lot more alarming noises, which were only getting closer. Mei couldn't pick up on any nearby brain activity, so maybe it was just noise from the battles getting louder.

     Suddenly, the distant hammering and thudding ceased.

     ...

     'Mei, why's it so quiet?' Elyse hurried in the meantime to search for any extra info.

Search: priority list

     Something popped up, which she quickly began to copy into the USB and scroll through.

     ' 'Elyse, you need to find a way out of there, fast!' ' The woman's heart rate picked up its already intense rattling pace. Her face froze when her eyes scanned over a certain familiar name.

     ' 'I can't tell why yet, but heroes are starting to fight each other above you now! Don't know if it's a quirk or not! Maybe some traitors have been revealed?? The League of Villains have already fled, so whatever is causing this is completely new. You need to get out..NOW!' '

     Traitors among their ranks??? Elyse had too much on her mind, especially with this new find. Before her on the big screen was a list of prioritized Nomu, both up-in-coming and already being made.

     Didn't he...die?

     ' 'Please tell me you read that name wrong.' '

     Elyse shook her head very slowly, reading it a third time just to be sure.

     Apparently, whoever this doctor was liked to organize his Nomu into categories... At the very top was a class simply labeled "Upper High-end Nomu."

     And at the top of that list was the fallen Kai Chisaki.

     '...I don't even want to imagine what the chances of winning against that are like...or if there'd be any at all.'

     ' 'Download it, quickly!!' '

     'Already did.'

     ' 'Good, now get out!' '

D'vvvv....

     The low rumble of a small engine, followed by a drilling sound grabbed Elyse's attention.

DVVVVVVVV!

     She spun around, spotting none other than the top of a chainsaw poking through the ceiling. Elyse pounced for the USB, sliding it into the same zip-pocket as the backup. She crawled that pant pocket up real tight.

     Sparks flew from the site where steel cut through steel. A rigid hole was cut, Elyse already heading toward the ladder to give this pursuer no time to catch her!

Clank! ... THUD

     The Nomu from before landed on the ground, following that familiar scent. Only now, both of his arms sprouted large chainsaw blades. Its skin was dark, armor plated, its head resembling a chainsaw with only a bottom jaw for facial features. And the chainsaw-like head acted as a helmet for the usually exposed Nomu brain. The moment the Nomu landed, however, Elyse was already halfway up the ladder.

     The beast roared, sprinting towards her. Elyse used her quirk to scale the ladder at two times the speed, narrowly escaping. Though that suddenness caught up with her quirky in the form of a sharp headache.

BANG!

     One of the Nomu's saw blades jabbed through the catwalk right next to Elyse. The woman rolled over, making out just enough of an image of the Nomu to predict it's next strike.

BANG!

     Its other blade followed. They both started to spin, the monster tearing apart the floor. Elyse used her quirk to race ahead, just in time to escape the monster's savagery, it tearing out the entire floor.

     By the time Elyse reached the next ladder, the Nomu leapt through the massive hole. The moment it spotted her, its blades retracted into its forearms, front arms put to quick use instead via sprinting on all fours.

     This time Elyse wasn't fast enough. The Nomu's arm saws sprouted again and sawed the ladder above her in half, literally cutting her off. Thinking just as quickly as she could move, Elyse jumped toward the Nomu and grabbed him tightly around the waist. There was no point in trying to make him fall over, but, its blades being mid range weapons, had to retract one of its saws in order to grab her. This gave Elyse just enough time to draw her knife and stab him between the ribs.

     The Nomu barely flinched, though the act did appear to anger it more. Elyse tore her blade from the creature's side and rolled away before it could grab her. This Nomu was insanely fast. ..But Elyse knew how to go faster.

     As the monster's wound healed before her very eyes, Elyse lent time to charge up her quirk.

     Now... As the Nomu charged her.. it was suuuuuper sllooooooowwww. 

     Elyse charged, slipped under its swiping blade, punched it in the jaw, stabbed it in the knee, and fled toward the ladder. She remained at that speed for the duration of her stay in the computer room, despite the strain it put on her body. When she was out of the warehouse, Elyse began to slow herself down just enough so her thoughts would be understandable to Mei.

     'Has Z been evacuated?'

     ' 'Nnnnoooottt yyyeeeeett.' '

     "Hhh.." Turning around, Elyse eased back into her times-two speed as she entered the building again, now on a new mission to find Zeya.

     Following the path other teams had cleared for her, a path full of blood and Nomu corpses, Elyse reached a yet to be unlocked door. A key was required to unlock it. She slowed her quirk down again. 'Anyone crack the code?'

     ' '2282235' '

     Elyse immediately dialed the number and the door unlocked. However, thanks to someone having been thrown against it, the door only cracked open. Elyse grabbed a random pipe that had fallen and stabbed it through, prying the door open in a hurry. Determination shot through her like a savage beast. She was not leaving this girl behind!

     She tore the door open just enough to squeeze through, entering into another long, dark hallway. The lights flickered on after she entered. There were...so many doors. Branching off the walls like it was the hallway to a jailhouse, a long series of metal doors with glass windows in them lined each wall. Several strangers on the inside pressed their hands and faces against the glass, a possibility that had of course been considered but not planned.

     There was no time to do a background check on everyone. Elyse began to open the doors aggressively, shooing everyone down the right end of the hallway.

     "Stay by the fence and wait for a hero to find you!" She repeated with every other person she freed. The escapees ranged from young teenagers to old folk, though a majority of them were young men, probably from the underground fighting ring.

     In all of this, however, she never saw a girl with silver hair, which began to worry her. When all had fled, Elyse double checked each room, even the ones she previously thought were empty.

     She stuck her head into a cell she once thought to be empty, finding a body huddled in the far right corner.

     "Hey! You're free! Are you alright? Are ya sick?!"

     "No..." Came an agitated growl. The girl with short silvery hair clutched her head, exhaling a long, slow breath through her teeth.

     "Well come on then!" Running up to the teen, Elyse tugged on the girl's arm. "We don't have much time left--"

     "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" The girl screamed at her. Elyse stumbled back, nearly falling over. The teen pushed herself to her feet using the corner, a wretched grimace etched into her face. "I will drain your guts and hang your brain stem on a tree!. I don't care who the #### you are or what the #### you are!! I'm NOT going with you!!" Seeing as she had successfully scared the lady off, Zeya plopped back onto her corner, arms folding over each other on her knees, a much more distant..sad look about her. "Because I don't deserve to be rescued.." She mumbled, hiding the lower half of her face behind her arms.

     Elyse's arms dropped, a little disappointed I'll be honest. "Khh.. Come on, kid. No need to be like that."

     "You don't know everything I've done;" Zeya glared with such raw hatred up at the woman, her bright red eyes blazing; you'd think Elyse just killed her whole family! "you don't know who I am, or what I'm even like!.. and if you do... You know exactly why I deserve to stay here..." Shifting her feet back closer to herself, forming an even tighter ball, "I'm not leaving no matter what you try..."

     Elyse stood around awkwardly, swaying her arms a little while she looked around this poorly lit cell. 'Mei, don't tell anyone I'm lying about this.'

     The woman pressed the button on her ear piece, speaking with urgency. "Everyone, head out as quickly as possible! I, the target, and all the necessary information are already clear; the rest of you, RUN!" Zeya stared up at the women with dumbfoundness. 

     "Wh??? Wh-why would you-?"

     "If you're not going...then I'm staying with you, no matter what you try." The Hero displayed a tired smirk. Deciding to relax a little while she was at it, Elyse walked up to Zeya to sit beside her.

     "I.... You're the most idiotic person I've met." Keeping her eyes on the older lady, the teen allowed her to sit about a foot away, a distasteful look on her face the whole time.

     "Hah! I don't get that very often nowadays. Feels nice."

     "Do you even know where 'here' is?"

     "Do you?"

     "Yea-h, actually.. This is All For One's own personal jailhouse... I got caught up in a.. a really shady business that's been going on down here in the underground for decades now..."

     "Quirk trafficking?"

     "Kinda, yeah." Shrugging. "The old AFO's not the only one involved, but he's the biggest buyer of 'desirable' quirk users. Guess I-... Guess it was my mistake; trying to shoot for the top with the position I was in. Now...I'm in the same s####y mess as the rest of 'em..." Tearing up, Zeya leaned against the other wall, away from Elyse. "You're a hero, right? So I bet you're judging the heck out of me right now. After all, the only reason I got IN this mess is cuz I was tryna sell--..."

     Elyse stared at the girl's wreck of a mood for a little bit, but not an ounce of disgust shown through. "....I'll admit.." clearing her throat, "while your past does sound pretty shady...I'm willing to hear you out."

     Zeya was quick to thrust out her arm and shove the woman away. "#### off; heroes don't talk like that!"

     "Well I do."

     Zeya stared up at opposing wall with wet eyes. "...I can't even begin to describe to you all the things that I've done. Theft, attempted kidnapping, second degree murder, heh, and smuggling s###... I dunno, jus' felt like I had no other choice I guess..." Leaning chin on her arms. "My mom was a gentle woman.. Loved her with all my heart. I, um, tried to save her, though... I tri-ied to.. But, mm, after rewinding time and experiencing the same car crash n' death for the hundredth time in a row," voice cracking, "I jus... gave up." She broke into a short, tearful laugh. "I gave up on the ONE thing I loved. N' I... essentially killed her. ..Hm.. Scared I'd be arrested for such a crime, I fled the crash site and hid in the junk yard for a while. I was helped here and there by the occasional criminal until I became one myself!... It's hard to explain how the #### I went from that to this, but, as I began to stabilize myself needs-wise, things like power and acceptance took their spot priority-wise. I wanted to make my own League of Villains. But, heh... That was a big flop. ... I only got involved with quirk trafficking just recently. Before that, I thought I had the morals, but.. guess I was rotten at the core... I only teamed up with those b#####s in a last ditch attempt to get an edge on The League with a few quirk erasing bullets of my own. But then I failed, killed all my friends, and I ended up here, and yadda-yadda I'm talkin' to some old hero chic about my ####ed up past! ... Kinda glad I'm here, though... Because I don't want to find out what kind of monster I would'a become had I gotten what I wanted..." Tearing up again. "...My rein of tyranny ends here, looks like... S-so, go on! I've blabbered long enough. What's your sob story?" Resting her chin on her knee, Zeya stared at Elyse with watery but intent eyes.

     Zeya lifted a brow to see the 'hero chic' staring at her with such compassion, a collection of tears in her eyes as well. "...Well.. I... Mine isn't nearly as bad as yours, but.. Khm!.. I- I grew up poor. My parents both died when I was eleven, and...well, my big sister left us too... Twelve years ago, about five years after she left, she died in a car crash." Zeya visibly flinched." Her...um. Her daughter, whom we knew nothing about until then, vanished without a trace... I moved to this country two years later and tried my hardest to find her, working as a detective, but our case came short every time. After a while...I settled into hero work. Maybe I would one day catch whoever had stolen her.. or, maybe I would find her while out on patrol? I could only hope.

     "Wow..." Speaking softly for once, "That's kind of funny.. What-what did she look like?"

     "My niece...or your mom?" Elyse dug into one of her many pant pockets, pulling out the picture that used to be tacked up on her board. "I'm sorry. I tried to keep as much of the stuff from the apartment as I could, but only this and a few other things made it this long..."

     The moment Zeya had the image between her fingers, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. Her whole body shook, eyes pooling with tears.

     "No ####ing way..." She inhaled a quiet gasp. The tears started to flow down her cheeks like a raging waterfall. "Ho-how did you get this?? I- I can't believe it! Wait, what's my FULL name then?" Pivoting her head, Zeya's eyes were full with wonder.

     Elyse smiled, her own eyes watering too. "...Zeyale Deandra Taylor..?"

Zeya literally fell into the woman sitting beside her, an emotional wreck. "I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming!" ... "This is too good to be true..."

     Her whole body was shaking so badly, Elyse couldn't tell if it was of excitement or terror. "...I'm sorry I killed your sister..." The teen cried, her fingers clawing, gripping Elyse's hero outfit tightly. 

     "You didn't kill her..." Elyse loosely wrapped her arms around the teen. "You were just a kid, who didn't know how to save her!.. No one would even think to blame you for that." Elyse thought to soothe her niece by rubbing her back in slow circles... This was surreal. After so long.. She was genuinely surprised her little niece was even alive.

     The teen clasped her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. "...Then why do I always want to ####ing kill myself..?" She whispered.

     Elyse was in shock, pained to hear such a thing from the girl she spent almost half of her life searching for. All she could think to do was rub her back, not knowing how to respond. Man...what a mess she found her niece in.

     ...At least she was found...

     And she was safe.

----------

     ' 'Everyone's cleared out. You coming?' ' Elyse's head rose. She hadn't even noticed herself nearly falling asleep. Zeya still lay against her, not exactly asleep but not awake either. The poor girl was so skinny. She really needed to eat more!

     "Psst? Zeya?"

     "Hm? What's your name again?"

     "Elyse. You have an uncle too: uncle Davie. My brother. And two younger cousins as well."

     "I do??.. Ugh.. I hate kids." Sprawling her back over Elyse's lap, the teen stretched her whole body to wake.

     Elyse scoffed. "Well you're gunna love these kids!"

     "If you say so..." Zeya rolled back over her shoulder, standing to her feet in an instant. Elyse couldn't help but watch in awe. Her little niece was so acrobatic! Stretching her arms and back, "We going or not? This bed gives me more cramps than the garbage lids, J####!" Elyse heard a rather loud pop in the girl's back. "That's better."

     "So how does your quirk work exactly?"

     "Heh, wouldn't you like to know?" Walking toward the door, Zeya braced her hand against the smooth, cool surface, peering out into the hallway. "There's a chainsaw Nomu down that hallway and a tall b#### down that one." Pointing generally in certain directions. Elyse watched with amusement. "The Nomu guy almost killed me twice but tall b#### just wanted to talk about life or something, so I guess her route would be the safer one."

     "And you know all this stuff hhooowww??"

     "I'm a Psychic, so I know pretty much everything. I'm also a Pathological Liar, so don't trust a thing I say." Zeya turned to smirk cheekily at Elyse, dipping her head, body following it to slip through the door.

     'Can't tell if Reigen's gunna love or hate this girl yet.' Elyse jogged out after her niece. The hero followed Zeya down the straight path and hopefully easiest path. They were a bit messy from the previous battle, but far better lit than the computer room.

     ' 'Careful, Elyse... You're nearing the place where all the heroes turned on each other..' '

     'Are they all alright, by the way?'

     ' 'A few have been hospitalized, but no casualties so far... Which I'd like to keep that way. ... And I don't know about that girl you're with. Ever since she made contact with me she's talking an awful lot like we're old friends, even bringing up information on me I didn't tell her.' '

     Elyse shot Zeya a look. "What??" The silver haired child shrugged.

     'I just think that's her quirk. I don't know how it works, but I believe it has something to do with rewinding time.'

     ' 'Got it.' ' Right after that, Zeya's shoulders dropped and she frowned.

     "Ugh... Don't gotta be such a b#### about it.."

     "What did she tell you?"

     "That she's not going to talk to me any more. What a jerk." Crossing her arms. Elyse had a hard time believing this was the same Zeya as the one crying less than half an hour prior. Elyse sighed. She'd have to discuss the girl's foul language and attitude later.

     Zeya suddenly stopped at the entrance to a new room. It was a circular domb, brightly lit and filled with screens, most of which had been shattered and displaced. Many other divots, dents, and cracks decorated the floor and walls. In the very center of the room, where all the black lines on the floor connected, was simply a woman standing calmly. "It's the tall b####..." Zeya whispered into her aunt's ear. The woman promptly blinked a couple times. This woman was a complete stranger, never before recorded as a villain or hero.

     "Are you fine young ladies here for an interview?" The business casually dressed young woman smiled only a tad. Her hair was a pale auburn color, which sported a long braid behind her and cute bangs at the front. For clothes she wore simple black dress pants, a button-up dress shirt, and a long black tie. She had a very innocent, simple appeal to her, despite her somewhat menacing presence...just standing there. Waiting.

     "She's like an NPC. Say yes and she'll start blabbering about useless things." Zeya whispered I to her ear.

     "What is the interview for?" Elyse boldly stepped forward, down a step, right hand inconspicuously hovering over where she kept her knife sheathed.

     "To place as one of The Three. We still have a big slot open, after all. Though her hands were innocently folded behind her back, there was something intimidating about that gaze of hers; how it stared right through you. As if looking at something else.

     "The Three..?" Elyse chuckled nervously, foot carefully planting itself on the final step of the short staircase, making her level with the ginger now. Indeed, the woman was pretty tall.. "You mean those three ladies in charge of buying quirk users for All For One, right?"

     "Precisely." She said flatly, still staring the hero down with the same level of intensity as before. "Would you be interested in filling that roll? You see.. I need a new subordinate who is good at spotting weaknesses in others to fill out the team. Do you have any skills in that area~?"

     "And what makes you so sure I'll join you if I do?" Tensing her shoulders, Elyse began to slowly circle around the room and the woman in the center of it. "Wai-wai-- subordinate?? You mean you're their boss?!" That was the lead Elyse needed. She drew her dagger and pointed it at the woman.

     The woman's little smile dropped. Her simple, subtle side glare was enough to startle the hero. "You intruders have extended this night long enough. I ask that you make a decision before I am forced to use my quirk."

     "What kind of threat is that?? Of course I won't join you, b####!!" Elyse charged at the woman, her blade thrusting toward her side.

     But then a certain teenager jumped in the way.

     Nnno! Elyse wasn't going to accidentally stab her niece!! Activating her quirk, Elyse slowed her body down so she wouldn't stab the teen. Zeya took advantage of this and shoved Elyse aside. The hero rolled away from the two, gripping her stinging, aching head. "Agh!"

     "S-s-sorry, Elyse!" Zeya blurted, then spun around to face the tall woman. When the two made eye contact, Zeya's eyes filled with tears. She dropped her knees, grabbed the ginger's hand, and pressed it to her forehead while breaking into a sob, crying bitterly before her. Elyse blinked in frustration at the woman... Don't tell me these two knew each other!

     For some odd reason, Elyse felt a little differently emotionally as well. Wasn't much. She just grew a deep distaste for this woman she'd just met. The kind one only gains after years of mistreatment and abandonment from that person. Felt like they had a long and painful history together despite only just meeting one another!

     "I'm sorry! I'm so-so sorry! Please forgive me!!" Zeya balled, her tears dripping from the villain's fingertips.

     "Sorry for WHAT, Zeya!?!" Elyse barked on the floor. Had this whole thing been a set up the entire time?!

     "I DON'T KNOWWW!" Was the teen's response. That certainly shocked the woman. So if there was no history between these two, then..?

     This must be the woman's quirk! Wait, why wasn't she being affected by it then?!

     Zeya grabbed higher, desperately clinging onto the woman's arm. "I'll do anything to make it up to you; anything!! Even if it means killing myself, I'll do it! I love you and I'm so sorry!!"

     "Anything?... Really?" The ginger raised a brow.

     "Zeya, don't!! This must be her quirk messing with your head! You need to fight it!!"

     "Aww.. you must be a pretty poor little thing to go unaffected by my quirk..." The lady looked down upon Elyse with pity. Elyse stood up again and sheathed her knife, now seeing what this woman's real game here was. "..Or are you just hiding it..? Search your soul... Don't you at least have somewhat of a respect for me..hm?" The woman side eyed her again, this time with a pitiful look as she touched a finger to her lip. Elyse refused to do as she said. She felt the tug, though. Those deep seeded feelings, hidden under a pile of past mourning and time. Somehow, a faint longing did exist. Longing that the woman could have done better to her in the past. 

     Wait a minute... She recognized these feelings! They didn't just pop up out of nowhere! These were the same feelings she felt toward her own MOTHER! Dejectedness! 

     Wait-

     Elyse snarled at the woman. "I know how your quirk works now..." Elyse crouched into a lower stance. "And it ain't gunna work on me, because I never cared much for my mom. So I'll just beat you to a pulp now and cry about it later if I must! The mission comes first!!"

     The woman frowned. So she figured it out.

|||Makima Yao
|||Villain name: Mother of All
|||Quirk: "mother" While active, those within a certain perimeter feel for her the same way they feel for their own mother. This includes all emotions, not just the good.

     "Zeya, listen to me!! Think rationally!!" Elyse shouted at her niece, who tried to ignore the screaming woman, still clinging to the gimger's hand. "This lady has done NOTHING for you!!"

     "Well neither have you!!" The teen protested. "Last I checked, you only used me as an excuse to take your anger out on the world! You don't actually care about being a hero!!.. You love me, though, right?" Zeya turned her tearful eyes again to the ginger, leaving Elyse with an emotional dagger in her chest. 

     "Of course I do, Zeya..." Speaking softly to the girl. Her other hand reached out and gently caressed her chin. "Apprehend the hero for me..and I will forgive you for whatever you may have done in the past... Sound good..?

     Zeya sniffed, wiping her own tears away now with one hand. She finally let go of the villain's hand. "...Sounds good... What's your name?" She asked as she stood.

     "Makima... But you can just call me Mother."

     "It's a.. fitting name." Zeya tearfully chuckled, still overwhelmed with emotions.

     "Why thank you.." The villain smiled.

     Zeya turned to Elyse, wiped the tears from her eyes, and set on her face a stone cold look of determination. Elyse backed up a step, raising her hands up a little.

     "...I really don't want to do this, Zeya."

     "That makes two of us." Stretching her arms briefly, the girl prepared for the inevitable fight.

     Both inhaled slowly...then exhaled.

     "Yah!" Both women charged, ready to use their fists alone as weapons. Elyse was really fast with her quirk, but Zeya could essentially predict her every move.

     Elyse started with a low, sweeping kick, which Zeya jumped over, aiming to kick her aunt's head mid air. Elyse barely dodged, twirling away on her arms. Zeya struck with a simple tackle, tucking her arms in mid fall to aim her falling body in the direction Elyse moved to dodge. That hit landed. The hero couldn't undo that!  But what she could undo was her niece's choke hold, since in comparison the teen had hardly any muscle! Though she tried to catch her niece instead, the girl skillfully slipped away, restarting the wrestling match all over again.

     Makima watched with great interest, hands again clasped behind her back. As the fight raged, both equally determined to apprehend the other, she tactfully thought over who to keep and who to get rid of.

     Sighing, guess that decision had already been made for her. Her boss was in the market for quirks of the highest value, and Zeya's was of the highest quality in the market at the moment. Watching the fight, however, she took interest in the hero's as well... Hmmm. Perhaps he'd be happy with both. ... Once he was out of prison, that is..

     Well, this fight was going on for long enough. Maybe that was enough to tire the two out. The woman unclasped her hands and waved the one at the entrance in.

     "What..makes...you--think.. I don't..wanna be a...hero, kid?!" Elyse was still salty about Zeya's comment. The hero pinned her niece to the ground via the face and two arms held together on her stomach. The teen kicked at her aunt, not ready to give up just yet. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

     "ELYSE, LOOK OUT!!!"

     "Huh?"

BVVVVVVVV!

     The small engine sounds inside the Nomu behind her buzzed to life, blades a blur on both its arms and head. The woman scrambled onto her feet, drawing her knife in an instant, standing protectively over her niece. Zeya was just as quick to jump upright, stuck between defending her aunt and her "mother."

     The Nomu made a move, striking for Elyse. The hero activated her quirk, stabbing pain cutting her skull, worth it in the end all thanks to her quick maneuver, easily dodging. When her eyes glanced back, however, Zeya was right there, jumping in the way without realizing Elyse had already moved. Elyse was used to watching the world in slow motion, but now every second was precious. Elyse jumped in again, shoving her niece out of the way just in time.

     A hundred blades bit through her skin. Blood splattered everywhere as the the roaring saw tore open her chest.

     Elyse dropped to the ground, a terrible ache splitting her head in two. Her eyes dulled as her own blood filled her clothes, dirtying the metal floor.

     A ring grew in her ears, her vision blurred; she could barely see.

     And it was in this moment, when she had a million other things to worry about, that she reconsidered her life choices up to this point.

     Why was she here..? Why did she keep on fighting..?

     The f*** did she become a hero for?