This chapter gets a little angsty so, uhhh. A warning to those who may be sensitive to that.
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][ Previously: Reigen, Serizawa, and the local hero: Elyse, break into a facility they believe Mob was taken to. Meanwhile Mob is witnessing the mental destruction of Kai Chisaki as he's forced to remake that quirk removing drug while he's in such great pain -- Mob is the test subject. It turns out Reigen and the gang had broken into the wrong facility. ][

     Mob's one saving grace was being turned back into a child before all this went down.

     "It's been three days! How is the drug not ready yet?!" Shigaraki.

     "It's not my fault that this thing is time sensitive! Keep in mind that before it took me MONTHS to make this!" Kai.

     "Ugh, it better not take that long! And if I find out you're only doing this to prolong your own life, you're going to wish you were dead."

     "Believe me, I already passed that point days ago with all the agony I am in."

     "Well stop complaining then and get back to work."

     "Fine then!"

     As the two "discussed," other members of the league including Toga, Twice, and Mr. Compress either sat or crouched around the young Mob petting his soft hair.

     "Come on, guys." Shigaraki angrily spun around, calling for his companions to follow.

     "Aww, but can we take the little Mobbie on a tour with us, pleease?" Toga wrapped her arms around the little one and held him tightly. Mob had learned to just ignore her, since she did this a lot and would threaten him if he ever tried to pull away.

     "Yeah, please! Just a little tour!" Twice joined in. The third stood and walked toward the door, not quite as interested.

     "Are you two kidding me??" Tomura spun around. "Remember that he's just a teenager in a child's body! It's not like he's just forgotten why he's here or anything! He'll just use his powers to escape if we let him out of the circle for too long anyways-"

     "No.. Please." Kai spoke. "Use some of the stuff from the old batch. It isn't permanent, but it'll give me a break at least. That brat's been bugging me for days."

     "I've just been sitting here, tho-"

     "Your breathing... It ###### me off." Kai scowled at the child, shutting him up. Really felt like this guy was venting all his anger onto the one guy he knew wouldn't fight back...

     When Tomura relented and a small batch of the old quirk removing drug was brought into the room, the boy could only sit idly and close his eyes as a needle injected dark red liquid into his bloodstream.

     "There. That dosage should last him about three hours." Kai informed them all, though he was not the one who instigated the drug. That honor went to Hari.

     After the wound was rubbed, Shigaraki unlocked the chains with a key he himself held closely and the metal cuffs around Mob's wrists were at last released.

     Twice carried Mob on his hip with Toga close behind, both excited to have someone new to show their sweet new base off to!

     Shigaraki led the three out of the room, hands in his pockets, the furthest thing from interested in the whole child thing. "Now where the h###'s that glitchy a## b######?" His tired eyes scanned around as they entered the halls.

     The floors were carpeted, it's walls concrete. A few pieces of furniture were sparsely placed around for purely decorative purposes. You could tell they tried to go early 1800s European-style classy with the decoration choices, but didn't quite have the budget to go all out with their vision. Mob was so bored by this point though that even a fly buzzing around would be plenty entertainment. So this simple tour was a treat for him.

     "Awwh," Toga grabbed one of Mob's sore wrists as she inspected it. "Your little wrists are so swollen..." A moment of blank staring later and the girl -- gently somehow I guess -- slipped her teeth through his wrist, drawing blood.

     "Ow!" The boy pulled his wrist away. Whatever sense of security that had been slowly building up here was instantly shattered. He started to tear up and wiggle out of Twice's hold.

     "Woah, woah, there buddy!.. Heh-heh, sorry. Toga likes to bite things she thinks are cute. I hope you can forgive her." Oh the struggle it was for Twice to keep the squirming little boy in his arms. "Toga, can you please say sorry or something? I don't think he really liked it."

     The girl pouted. "You guys and your endless social rules really tick me off sometimes!.. Hhh, but I guess if it will make him calm down...I'm sorry little one. I promise I'll try not to do it again, alright??" Since Mob was having no luck escaping this situation, he calmed down and pretended to forgive her for now. Wasn't like the injury was too bad... Just a couple puncture points.

     "Ooo! Twice, let's show him the kitchen first! .. Do you want anything to eat??" She stared into Mob's eyes with a half crazed smile.

     Shigeo nodded slowly. "Maybe a little milk if you have some.."

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     "Three days and still missing. That's...not a good sign." Reigen's soul appeared to have left his body. He stood over his desk, hands on the wood to brace him. Under his stare were print outs of all the little bits of evidence he could find.

     "Face it, buddy, if the entirety of the government and all their pro heroes haven't found him, then what makes you think we, with our limited information, will find him any better?" Elyse patted the man's shoulder mournfully.

     "Pl-ease... Not while his little brother is here." Reigen frowned. Staring out the window, aloof, was Ritsu. He listened to their conversation but made no comment. Instead, his hand gripped a few blinder-pannels just a smidge tighter. Even other kids like Hanazawa and Sho were here, all of whom feeling completely useless. Nothing new had come out about the case. They only knew where Mob wasn't at this point. And they didn't have the time to scan over the entirety of Japan.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

     "Ugh, didn't they see the sign?" Elyse huffed.

     "I'll get it..." Reigen ambled across the room from his desk. "Just something else to think about... I'll be back in a minute." He left his office and walked slowly through the un-noteworthy hallway before reaching the front entrance. Through the glass door he could see a gathering of teenagers. He sighed, rubbed at the bags under his sore eyes and opened the door. "No, I'm not doing haunted house tours right now-"

     "Oh, we're really sorry, sir. I know your place is closed, but we just wanted to talk to you about something.." A kid with bushy green hair stood stiffly in front of the door. Reigen sighed. But then he noticed something... Their uniforms matched Mob's... He scrunched his brows and squinted at the teens.

     "Waaait, you kids don't happen to know Mob, do you?"

     "That's right! We do! We're his classmates!" The greenette bounced. The others lightened up a little too. There were four others. One brown haired girl. One tall boy with navy blue hair, another boy with red and white hair, and another boy standing in the back with lighter blond, spiky hair. Uhuhh... Definitely young heroes in training.

     "Wait..." Reigen rubbed his eyes again with one hand, leaning in the doorway. "How did you guys even find out about this place? He never exactly introduced any of you to me before.."

     "I happened upon your website!" (She was searching for local job opportunities.) The girl piped up. "And I saw a picture of you and Mob on it, so I thought you might know him!"

     "Um, yeah, well he is my student and part time employee. Well, more like was. Since he joined UA he's been a lot more distant lately... Anywho, you five just going to stand out there and catch a cold, or do you want to come on inside?" Reigen offered. He held the door open for each of them to enter. On the students' end, they were a bit weary by this stranger.

     Before coming all the way out here to check the place out, a theory had been formed that this guy may just be the reason Mob vanished in the first place. Was there a reason for thinking this? No. But they had run out of options and were starting to pick at straws here.

     So all of them were a little on edge when this scruffy, deadbeat lookin' con man was so open to their visit. A couple of the less positive types even presumed it might be a trap.

     When Reigen opened the door to his office, however, the students were a little surprised yet relieved to find a handful of other kids around Mob's age just lounging around. A couple adults were there, including the local hero of this district. That settled their nerves at least a little bit.

     "You guys came at a pretty good time. The boy by the window over there is Mob's younger brother. The other two are his friends. All of them are Espers like him. And then you probably recognize Queller, maybe, idk. And then that guy is my assistant, also an Esper." Reigen casually introduced everyone. All the kids, especially Deku, were a little amazed at the sight of so many Espers all in one place. It was a rarity to find one per city!

     "Hi-hi! I'm Izuku Midoriya! I-I-I'm one of Mob's classmates! All of us here are, actually." The greenette referred to the others behind him. Everyone else threw in their names as well.

     "Ochako Uraraka!"
     "Tenya Iida."
     "Shoto Todoroki.."
       "...Bakugo."

     "Hmf, who are these guys? In case you're wondering, we've been looking for Ritsu's bro too." Sho approached the older teens with a confidence unmatched; hands in his pockets, two lazy eyes that wordlessly challenged all who met them head-on. Bakugo ended up meeting his eyes, instantly triggering him like some time bomb.

     "Well I hate this brat already!" He spouted. Sho just laughed.

     Shoto placed a hand on Bakugo's shoulder. "Chill." He said while coating it in a layer of frost. That somehow worked...mostly. Spiky hair just glared daggers at his classmate instead.

     "So why are you here?" A new voice entered the chat. For the first time in hours, Ritsu spoke. He turned from the window, clearly tired with dark circles under his eyes, accompanied by a stern glare. "Are you here just to waste our time, or do you actually have anything important to share?" He was so straight-forward with his question that it took Deku a moment to form a proper response.

     "Y-yes! We are here to help!" He asserted himself by stepping further into the room. Looking around, he noticed just how tired everyone else here was. Clearly, these guys were true friends. They sure had put in a lot more effort than the kids at UA had... "We know the league of villains, and we've helped hunt them down before, so-so we have a pretty good idea of what to look for!" Teru sat up on the couch. Everyone else also shifted some, interested.

     "Yeahh, this isn't exactly our first rodeo.." Uraraka added. Bakugo glared at everyone he knew, making sure none of them mentioned his screw-up.

     "We don't know everything, but maybe we can at least help." Shoto added.

     Everyone else in the room, tired as they were, smiled. Maybe they really did have a chance...

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     Mob followed the two villains at his own pace, a cup of milk in one hand.

     "Ooh! Do you want a tour of everyone's rooms?!" Toga offered.

     "No thanks.."

     "How about the weapons room?!"

     "Sounds dangerous."
 
     In the end, the three of them settled on visiting the courtyard. As the door was opened, Mob was instantly met with cool, crisp air. A chill followed down his spine and he shivered. But the boy was excited for once. Though the grass was a little dull and dying, it was such a beautiful thing to be outside again. The sky above was a pale blue, not a single cloud above. The courtyard itself wasn't terribly big, but there were plenty of bushes, trees, and other plants growing inside.

     "Wow, this is way better than inside." Mob smiled.

     "Better keep that filthy little kid away from me." A raspy voice sounded from above. Turning his head up to the tree canopy above, Mob found the owner of said voice. Dabi lay perched on the branches of the tree, bright red leaves resting over his relaxing body.

     "Dabi?! How long have you been up there?!"

     "None of your business. Now if you're going to parade the kid around, at least make sure he's quiet."

     "Oh that won't be a problem! Mobbie over here has hardly spoken since he arrived!" Toga.

     "Is that so?~ Tff, smart kid. I'd keep my mouth shut too, especially around that Chisaki guy."

     All this paying attention to what everyone was saying was getting boring fast. Mob slipped the glass of milk in his hand and wandered off toward the bushes. He figured he may as well look for bugs since there was nothing better to do. It was a while since he could just "be a kid," so quite literally this was like a second chance for him to reminisce on simpler times. A kid's mindset was better for this situation anyways. Not so stressful when he just took on the role of an ignorant child and pretended like he didn't know any better.

     Little Mob scrounged around for a while in the bushes, putting all the bugs he caught into his now empty cup to count later. Toga and Twice started to see the fun in it and joined in. Not long later, all three of them were bug hunting.

     "Tch. Guess I better leave before I turn into a child too." Dabi chuckled and hopped down from the tree. He left without saying another word.

     Mob's tour guides were...alright. A few screws loose, but they had a soul at least... Twice did at least. He still didn't quite know about Toga yet. She seemed to just follow whatever entertained her at the time.

     After the three hours was up, Mob pleaded for another three, even if that meant another shot was necessary. He was actually allowed it..surprisingly. And when it was finally time to return, Toga and Twice brought with them some pillows and blankets to make a little nest on the floor for the kid just because they felt a little bad for him having to lay on the ground.

     Once the boy was returned, Chisaki left to get meds and didn't return for another hour. He was in an even worse state of being when he did. Kai entered with a terrible limp and his breathing was ragged and hard to listen to. Mob had wondered if the villain'd caught pneumonia or something a day or two ago, but he was just scared to ask. Overhaul was getting the bare minimum medical treatment and it showed.

     Kai ignored the little one's silent stare as he neared. He stumbled and caught himself at his working station. As if he'd never left, Kai returned to his work. His coughs kept getting worse and worse however. He had to keep stopping in the middle of what he was doing to have a terrible coughing fit. And then..

     In the middle of one of his never ending coughing fits, the villain fell to his knees and yanked the black mask off of his face. He vomited what little food was in his stomach and groaned in pain. His entire body shook from painful sobs. This man had had enough...

     "What are you LOOKING AT?!" His sorrow was converted to rage when the child behind him came to mind. He threw whatever was still in his hand at him, which just so happened to be a scalpel. It sliced Mob across the cheek and slid out of the boy's reach. Mob panicked and covered himself with blankets as the blood trickled down his cheek. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE ECLYPSE!!! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING THE AGE OF QUIRKS TO AN END!!" Kai was trembling so bad that it was hard for him to stand. He turned around and with his one hand wrecked havoc on the very project he had been working so tirelessly on. "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!" He fell down again and vomited on the floor. Mob trembled under the little protection he had, wishing he could just disappear.

     Not long later, Kai simply fainted. The little boy still didn't get any sleep that night.

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~ Two Days Later ~

Reigen: "Okay, the plan may sound a little stupid...but hear me out."

     "Our best hunch is that the league have set up shop riiight... here."

(No need to look at the image too closely)

     "Now, some already suspicious rich guy was the one who had it constructed. Except, for him, he didn't keep it as his own, instead gifting it to some fellow called 'Oreo Cookie.' Now if that isn't suspicious, I don't know what is... Even more sus though is that Serizawa said that our primary suspect, Ryo Shimazaki's favorite snack just so happens to be Oreos." Reigen was really stretching, but by golly at the same time he might actually be onto something.

     "So, Elyse here was so kind to virtually investigate their household a little bit. Now, their Amazon shipping is something of great interest to us. Since the purchased items are so random and so bizarre...it's almost like the house is owned by a dozen or so insane psychos who want to conquer the world. Call me a conspiracy theorist...but that might just be the case."

     "One of these bizarre shipments yet to be delivered is a collection of twelve or so life sized stuffed animals... Now, hear me out, but if we get a bunch of onesies-

     "-and fill them with stuffing--"

     "H### NO, I'M NOT WEARING A D### ONESIE!!!"

     "..Eh... You still don't have your provisional license yet, so you'd be more of a useless tagalong anyway."

     "WHAT THE #### DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!"

     "A-anyways! Any suggestions from the rest?" Reigen stood beside his computer, which he used for slideshow purposes, and turned the conversation over to the rest. The team of ten, not including Reigen, stood in one group facing the TV, all with thoughtful looks as they considered the plan.

     "It's...wacky." Elyse worded. "But, in a way that I'm not sure anyone would predict at least."

     "So we're essentially going to be a modern Trojan Horse..." Shoto.

     "I like the sound of it." Sho.

     "Wai-wait... How are we going to leave??" Izuku.

     Reigen scratched his chin for a whole 1.5 seconds. "...I dunno, maybe just blast a hole in the wall and run I guess? I didn't really think it that far through."

     "Hhh, it's a start at least, but yeah, this is hardly a detailed enough plan to work with." Elyse.

     "Lady Queller is exactly right, sir! We need more details!" Iida.

     Waving his hands nonchalantly in front of himself. "Alright, alriiight, no need to sweat over it. I'll just let you guys do all that if you really need it..." That's when the con man took his leave. While those who really cared about the smaller details argued over who would be doing what and how the whole thing would be going down, Reigen got himself some tea. Ritsu sat across from him on the other couch. He looked worse than ever before. "Hey, um, Ritsu.. I know it isn't exactly my place, but if you really want to be there for your brother when it matters, I suggest you get some sleep."

     "Tried already..." The boy mumbled.

     Reigen thought for a moment, then gave the young teen his cup of tea. "Want me to put some honey in it?"

     "...Sure..." So the man left and came back with some honey to add to the tea. And while everyone continued to argue over what exactly was going to happen, Ritsu sipped the warm tea until his eyes were too heavy to keep open. Mob's little bro laid down on the couch, his head on the small couch pillow, and drifted to sleep. Reigen smiled faintly and unbuttoned his jacket, laying it overtop the kid as a makeshift blanket.

     "Softie." Elyse smirked at the guy. His cheeks pinkened the moment he realized she was watching him. He stood up straighter and cleared his throat.

     "Are you guys done with the tedious stuff yet?"

     "Just about." Elyse. "So do you want to be team distraction or team grab Mob?"

     "Well team grab Mob, obviously! Who would I be working with?"

     Elyse split the three teams up in the room so it was easier to visualize. Shoto, Iida, Serizawa, Elyse and Shou were on team distraction. Not only were they distracting, though. They would be making sure no new villains entered the fight the other team would be facing. They didn't know who all was involved, so they expected to encounter plenty of baddies they hadn't accounted for there to defend their captive. Team distraction would be just as crucial by making sure the other team wasn't overwhelmed.

     Though it was a risky move, Reigen was put on the grab Mob team. His teammates would be Hanazawa, Izuku, Ritsu, and Ochako.

     Bakugo was the only member on the third team, made specially for him so he wouldn't have to wear a onesie. His job was simple: reconnaissance. He'd watch the site from a distance and alert the team leaders -- Reigan and Elyse -- via walkey-talkey if any backup was on its way.

For my lovely readers:

Team distraction:
Elyse - team leader
Shoto (who was instructed to not engage in combat but instead to just block doors with his ice)
Serizawa
Iida
Shou

Team grab Mob:
Reigan - team leader
Izuku (he's still healing but he insisted)
Ochako
Hanazawa
Ritsu

Team watch out:
Bakugo (he both hated and was okay with this position)

     At last Reigen could let out a sigh of relief... Finally, they were making progress.

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     "Finally... It's complete..."

     Kai dragged his cheap prosthetic leg over the ground, leaving one long scrape behind him. The man looked more dead than alive. More mass than murderer.

     After his mess had been all cleaned up, thankfully nothing important found broken, the villain had drudged on as always. Now he inched toward the one lit place in the entire room.

     His voice was so weak, scratchy, and accompanied by an obviously sickly undertone. "And to think I'd see the day when fates turned... Chances are I'll die at this rate, even if left alive... Well..." Kai again used his teeth, face no longer masked, to expell the air bubbles from his syringe. "...At least I'll get to see your fate irreparably turned..."

.

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The internet gaslit me into misspelling Sho's name! XD "Shou" means 'hand' in Chinese lol.
Update on the Shou revelation, it was the stupid Britts who confused me... Shoulda known it was those red coat b********.
Just kidding. Love you guys. <3