Mirko and Medea and Silk were getting settled into their hotel suite. Medea and Mirko were sharing one half, Silk had a side room.

"Is funny," Silk said. "We can't stand each other," she meant Mirko, "but we voluntarily are sticking close."

"Maybe we just all feel like it's a bad idea to be isolated at the moment," Mirko said flatly.

"Pravda [True]," Silk said.

"Verdad," Mirko replied. [Also means true.]

"Why do you dislike me so much?" Silk stirred her hot chocolate. They even had a fire going. It was an upscale hotel. Ren was a whiz kid.

"To be honest, you remind me of my mother," Mirko said, "and you're bossy and stuck up."

Silk raised an eyebrow. "Not the betrayal thing."

"I guess I never had high enough expectations of your honesty for that," Mirko said.

"Interesting," Silk said. "You know why I dislike you? I never thought I'd admit it, but somehow, seeing your demeanor today, I don't feel as bad... I was jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?" Mirko was incredulous.

"You're not used to women being jealous of you?" Silk said.

"Of my success, but that's not the reason," Mirko said, ears cocked.

"No, is not... For all your uncouth ways, you're bold and truthful," Silk said. "Unapologetic about it. Flexible enough to put up with League. Basically, you're braver than I am. I was not willing to do right thing at personal risk. Not until it smacked me in the face. I think I hated that about you."

"You've been a little less hostile," Mirko said. "Is that because you finally did the right thing, got your self respect back?"

"That is...strangely insightful from you," Silk said.

"I guess it's catching," Mirko said.

Silk raised her cup. "Well, perhaps is time to bury hatchet. I don't know if I'll ever like you a whole lot, but I figure your life is hard enough. I'm not one to beat another woman while she's down."

It took this position to make her say that--things really were fricked up.

"Fine." Mirko had no energy to fight with Silk. "Truce, for now anyway."

Medea came in, hair in a towel. "I'm almost out of dye," she said.

"So?" Mirko said.

"So how would you feel without your signature tools?" Medea said. "I hope this self quarantine doesn't last long... Do you think AFO found them yet?"

"It's been one day," Silk said. "I have no idea if he--"

Suddenly black goo appeared in the air--but just around Mirko.

"What's that?" Mirko tried to jump away from it, but it swallowed her up.

They hadn't noticed before how much it looked like swallowing, too.

"Mirko!" Medea cried, grabbing after her, but she was gone.

"I take it back," Silk said, looking at the floor where she'd just dropped her cocoa. "It looks like he found him fast."

* * *

Shine was watching Eri and helping the kids do English homework.

 Wally was helping Kirishima and Sero figure out how to punch people without using their quirks and not get hurt. "It's all in the wrist and how you hold your fingers," he said.

"But if I was stone, I wouldn't have to worry," Kirishima said.

"And if you run out of quirk juice, what then?" Wally said.

"So...you're saying that in English the word 'literally' can mean 'figuratively'?" Jiro said.

"That doesn't make any sense," Ochaco complained.

"I didn't say it was smart," Shine said. "I said that in the paper you're translating right now, the person meant it the opposite way. What book is this anyway? I don't recognize it."

"I think it's just some teen novel," Mina said.

"Present Mic reads those?" Shine said.

Pause.

"Maybe?" Ochaco wasn't sure.

[I feel like he would.]

Shine looked up and smiled at Wally. "Don't hit them too hard, Babe."

"Oh, please, I'll be as careful as--" Wally stopped.

Shine looked up. Black ooze was appearing in the air.

"What?" she said. "Why is he--? Ah!" The goo swallowed her now.

The kids all yelped. Eri looked around, she hadn't seen what happened, but she saw Shine was gone.

"Miss Likstar?" she said.

Wally dropped his light tone. "I don't know what he's doing, but it can't be good... She'll be blocked now. I'm going to go find her. She's probably at that house. Stay put. No one go out. Get Aizawa, one of you--on the phone, I mean." He dashed out of the room before they could blink.

Mina and Jiro rushed to dial Aizawa.

The boys ran to tell everyone else not to leave the dorm--and maybe alert 1-B next door.

* * *

Shine and Mirko both appeared at almost the same second, coughing. But they were not at the house. It was the same dark room as Compress had been in.

Shine didn't see anything at first, but the overwhelming aura of darkness just pressed in on her like a smothering blanket.

Mirko spat the black stuff out. "What in the h--- just happened?" She looked around.

"Shigaraki?" she said finally. She could hear him breathing.

But she heard someone else too. Even Shine could hear the strained breathing of AFO, and she guessed who it was quite suddenly.

To her, who'd been wondering if and when she'd ever meet this person, it felt less like a shock and more a fulfillment of expectations. So she reacted that way.

Before Mirko even realized who it was, Shine had grabbed her arm and pulled her a little behind her.

As a Hero, Mirko found that a little weird, but then she began to make out AFO, and she understood...and she almost screamed, but she kept her professional face on.

"This is the famed Miss Likstar?" AFO spoke, his voice as slippery as an eel. "I somehow expected her to be more imposing...but the Hero is how I thought. After All Might, every other Top Pro just seems so miniscule. Welcome, ladies. You should feel honored. I don't often allow private audiences with minor players."

Mirko had no words.

Shine swallowed, but her voice was calm enough. "I know who you are, and you clearly know who I am. But what I don't know is why you just kidnapped me. I hope there is a good explanation for this."

AFO's tone sounded amused when he answered. "Why Miss Likstar, no need to be so stiff. All in good time. The truth is, Tomura Shigaraki insisted that we meet, and I always like to support my protégé."

Mirko almost choked.

But Shine straightened. "I highly doubt that's how it happened."

She looked over at Shigaraki. "Hello, Tomura. I hope you're well."

He blinked at her. "Uh...no different," he said blankly.

"You look different," Shine said. "Then again, in this lighting... Well, I can only think of one reason for us to be here. I suppose Master here wants to assess us, is that about right?"

"Assess? No, I just wanted to meet you and set young Tomura Shigaraki's mind at ease," AFO said.

"Is that so?" Shine looked amazed now. "So this is how this is going to go. Well, I admit, out of the many scenarios I had in mind, this wasn't my favorite, but now that it's happened, I guess there is nothing to fear. Ask away."

"Shine," Mirko finally hissed, "I don't know what you're on about, but this looks like a trap to me."

"It is," Shine hissed back, "but if you do something crazy right now, it's all over. Let me do the talking if you don't think you can hold it together. I've dealt with men like this before."

"Right." Mirko had never in her life imagined she'd agree to let someone else do something for her, but she was way too freaked out right now to think of trying to navigate this situation. She was still reeling from the fact that they were even here.

"You don't like to waste time," AFO noted. "Very well, I will oblige. Tomura Shigaraki and I were just conversing about you, and your gracious help to the League in its darkest time. But I was curious--why do people with no personal stake in all this care so much for the League? And then I thought, well, we know another Hero who did something very similar. So I brought you here to ask, if in the end, you don't intend to try to...let's say, 'take me down'. That's how Heroes talk."

"Well, beats talking to people about their entrails spilling out," Shine said. All Might had told her more details about AFO than perhaps strictly necessary.

AFO took a moment to remember when he'd said that, and his tone grew just a hair cooler. "I had heard you were close with my old nemesis. I suppose you've already decided to believe him."

"I never decide to believe any side of an argument without evidence," Shine said, "but no research of mine led me to think he was lying. Let's not waste time talking about All Might. I think you've done enough talking about him, haven't you?"

AFO...wasn't actually sure what she meant by that, but he decided it was probably referring to his revenge plot.

"I doubt a newcomer like you fully understands the amount of wrongdoing I have to blame All Might for. But let's not avoid the question. Since he has told you so much about me, I suspect you wish to stop me, do you not? Just answer yes or no."

"I can't answer yes or no to such a complicated question." Shine would have made a great lawyer.

Mirko was breaking out in a cold sweat... Whatever AFO wanted Shine to say, it had to be a trick... Could Shigaraki tell this was a set up? She cast him a questioning look, but he was unreadable.

"What's complicated about it?" AFO said. "Yes or no, do you want to stop me?"

"I could only answer that if I knew what you were planning," Shine said, "and no one knows that, not even your protégé over there, from what I hear. How can I know if I would stop you or not?"

This was a good answer, Mirko thought. If it made AFO have to backtrack.

AFO hesitated. He didn't normally have this much trouble making someone talk about what they wanted to do to him. In fact, it would normally take 2 seconds for him to get that.

Sensing no anger in Shine to play off of, he had to try a different approach.

"Well, leaving aside the greater goal here, I understand you've had some very definite opinions on things within the League. Like the use of nomu for example. And that you warned everyone, for some reason, to stay away from me. Which is just a little hurtful, Miss Likstar, as I've done nothing but help the League achieve their goals. I can't understand the reason for your mistrust."

His tone was so...queasily sticky sweet. Mirko's stomach turned. But it was hard to argue with it... All she could think of was the usual Hero response of saying she'd take him down...but if she said that...it's what he'd want...so what else was there to say?

Shine always surprised her. She never reacted to things the way you expected. 

Instead of answering AFO, she turned to Mirko and said quite casually, "This here is a great real life example of a phenomenon known as 'gaslighting', where someone pretends not to know all the reasons you have to resent or mistrust them. People's memories are always short when it comes to their own sins and long when it comes to yours. Watch, another minute and he'll list all the things we did to cause him to distrust us, and most of it will be exaggerated."

No one, ever in their lives, had ever had the gall to stand in front of AFO and talk about him like he was not there.

Mirko saw him clench one hand ever so subtly, though his expression didn't change. Since he was missing half his face, it would be hard to know if it did.

"Don't you find ignoring someone when they are speaking to you a bit of a childish response, Miss Likstar?" he said in the same tone.

Shigaraki looked at Shine a little askance, but whether it was fear for her or anger at her method, it was hard to tell.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shine said. "I just saw a great teaching moment there. I was going to answer, but I have to think about what you asked me. You brought up nomu, for one thing, and then you said there's no reason for my mistrust of you. I've never actually said I don't trust you. That's an interesting thing to just throw out there. Are you insecure about people not trusting you?"

Mirko actually choked on a laugh at that. AFO was the last person you could picture as insecure.

Indeed, that seemed to strike a nerve, because it took him a full 3 seconds to answer.

"Is that...a real question, or are you stalling, Miss Likstar?"

"Could be both. I'd like to hear your answer," Shine said.

"Miss Likstar," Shigaraki suddenly spoke up, "stop avoiding the answer. Just say one way or the other what you're trying to do."

"Of course, Tomura," Shine said, very congenially. Her sass was unimaginable. "I'll answer that. I've always been trying to do one thing, and that is helping you. However I can."

Mirko, now that she'd begun to find humor in this a little, felt a bit clearer headed. She saw Shine's goal. She was trying to sound like Shigaraki's friend in this and not give AFO any of what he was asking for...and of course that was best. AFO would surely use whatever she said against her... But how long could she keep up this game? Even Shine would have to make a mistake at some point.

Shigaraki might have taken Shine's answer at face value, but AFO didn't allow it.

"Help him? Are you sure that just doesn't mean trying to control him, make him do as you please? I've heard of your deal, threatening the League with being found out if they didn't comply with your wishes. Is that helping?"

That b-----d! That was not how it happened.

"Well, to that I can only say that if they agreed to it so easily, it couldn't have been that big of a problem," Shine said. "And I wouldn't call it a threat. It was mutually beneficial. I didn't say I'd turn them in, but hey, you weren't there, AFO, so I'm sure you aren't fully aware of the circumstances. I hope you at least fact-checked before you accused me of trying to control Tomura here, because it's a real shame if you just let hearsay determine how you view someone."

Oh, she was pushing it.

AFO didn't understand how Shine was parrying all his attempts to put her on the defensive, and it was getting on his nerves. But he never let on.

"Then why don't you explain exactly why you did that? It wasn't to stop the League from doing as they wished, was it? To stand in their way? Or to try to get to me, even through them. I'm sure All Might would have encouraged that. The Heroes know what you're doing, don't they? I find it a little too convenient."

Shine paused. Finally she seemed to be having to think about how to get out of this.

Mirko fidgeted nervously.

Then Shine laughed lightly. "I'm sure I didn't stop the League from doing anything they truly wished to do. Tomura isn't that much of a pushover. Right, Tomura?"

Shigaraki looked like he'd snapped out of a trance, briefly. "I...don't remember any specific time...other than not letting us kill those kids."

"But in return, look at how I stopped all the Heroes from attacking you, while we were dealing with the other threats," Shine countered, easily. "All I wanted was for you not to give them an excuse to harm you. And it worked, didn't it? We saved the League more than once."

"Yeah," Mirko finally ventured a remark. "Duh, that's how it happened. We were all there."

"It was a fair trade, wasn't it?" Shine went on calmly. "You don't kill my followers, and we don't hurt yours. Simple, to the point, and outside of that, did I ever stop the League from doing anything?"

"No..." Shigaraki said. 

Mirko began to hope he'd see through this.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," AFO spoke again. "While you were watching so closely, you could have alerted the Heroes at any time. I'd say you stopped them pretty effectively. You're a clever woman, Miss Likstar. Clever enough even to slip a spy into their ranks without them ever realizing it...or is not true that your rabbit friend there fills you in on their activities while you're not around?"

Mirko's hopes were dashed...and her pulse picked up.

Shine tilted her head. "Rumi and I are friends. We do talk. But that's nothing the League didn't know. If they had no problem with it, and they were there, then why should you? You were in prison."

"But did she or did she not provide you with insider information?" AFO said.

And...there it was, the trap.

Shine stared at him, eyes narrowed. Then she shrugged. "Well, I suppose you could call it that. We didn't--"

"There it is." AFO didn't let her finish. "Finally, the truth comes out."

"Likstar!?" Shigaraki said in an angry tone. "I thought you were trustworthy."

"Hold on," Shine said. "What just happened?"

Mirko's ears went back.

"What happened is you confessed," AFO said. "And here is where it gets interesting. Since you have admitted to spying on the League, one has to ask why. And for what purpose? I can only assume, given how long you waited, and that you left as soon as you heard I was out, that you intended to bring me down in some way. I wonder how you intend to do that? Turning the whole League against me? You seem to have mostly succeeded. Only Tomura Shigaraki was willing to give me any benefit of the doubt after your baseless accusations."

Mirko felt like she was suffocating. It was like he was closing them in a trap. She wanted to kick AFO's teeth in... Shine had her hand on her arm though, warning her not to do anything.

AFO finally stopped speaking. Apparently he thought they would try to do something.

Instead, Shine said, "Are you done?"

Though, again, he didn't change expression, Mirko could almost feel the cold fury from AFO's corner of the room.

"How do you answer?" he said.

"To which of you hyperbolic assumptions do you want me to answer first?" Shine replied. "There was a lot of conjecture in what you just said, starting from where you assumed we were talking about the League in order to take anyone down. I'm sure talking about living arrangements is normal between women. As for the rest of it, you do give yourself a good deal of credit there. Taking you down has never been my objective--or Mirko's. Ask her."

"Uh, yeah," Mirko said shakily. "Not ever really what I had on my to-do list...taking down a guy who was already in prison."

The last was just obvious to her, but the way Shine smirked, she thought it must have sounded like a good, sassy retort.

It did make the whole thing seem ridiculous.

"But you always thought I would get out, and how did you know that, if you weren't spying?" AFO said.

"You're predictable," Shine said. "But if you don't believe us, then we're at an impasse. You can't prove we were trying to do this thing you say, and we can't prove we weren't, unless our actions themselves are proof enough. You brought us here, after all. If anything, it looks as though you wanted to get to us. But if we can't settle this matter, then I have better things to talk of with you. Do you really want to know what I spent my time learning about?"

Shigaraki stiffened.

"Do tell," AFO said slyly.

Shine smiled. "I want to talk about you, Mr. Shigaraki."

* * *

A pause.

"Tomura is what we've been talking about," AFO said.

"Oh, I know, but Shigaraki is your last name, isn't it?" Shine said slowly. "It's not his real name, it's yours."

AFO paused again.

"I didn't think All Might knew that much," he said.

"All Might didn't," Shine said pointedly.

Silence.

"Tomura Shigaraki, did you tell her things about me?" AFO said, slightly wounded sounding.

"I--" Shigaraki sputtered. "It was-- She--" He didn't know how to answer.

"Actually a little research goes a long way," Shine answered. "Once I found out who Tenko Shimura was--"

Here Shigaraki flinched.

"--it was easy to infer the rest. And get it confirmed. Mr. Shigaraki," Shine tilted her head, "I have questions for you. For example, is there a reason you never told your student over there that you killed his grandmother?"

Shocked silence.

AFO seemed to look toward Shigaraki, though of course, he had no eyes, but whatever he used for vision, he directed his way, to see if he was reacting at all.

The fact that he didn't react told AFO that he'd already been told this.

And that...well, probably angered him. He didn't show it.

"You make interesting statements," AFO said.

"That was a question, not a statement," Shine said.

"The statement is implied. How do you know I did that? Did All Might tell you?"

"Do you deny it?" Shine didn't let herself be deterred.

"I...would like to know who is saying such things about me."

"And I'd like to know why you can't answer such a simple question. It's either yes or no." Shine turned it on him like a boss.

Mirko smirked.

Now that the shoe was on his foot, AFO didn't care for it.

"I have killed the users of that accursed OFA, whoever they were, for many years. I didn't ask who they were related to," he said. "It may be true."

"Funny, because you told All Might to his face that you knew it was." Shine had her trap ready. "Or do you deny you said that? Because there are multiple witnesses."

"Well, I knew it afterward," AFO said. "But that woman abandoned her own son and his family, who I took in, so perhaps one might say she deserved her fate. It's cruel to abandon your own child."

"Indeed," Shine said, "I won't argue that. I might compare it to getting yourself arrested and leaving them to fend for themselves against an army of Heroes, but let's not get off subject."

Ouch.

"More on point," Shine went on, "I find it so very interesting that you blame Nana for doing that, but part of the reason she was afraid for her son was because of you. Perhaps, had you left her alone, she would have kept him."

"An useless hypothesis," AFO said. "You can't blame me for the mistakes of Heroes."

"Actually I can," Shine said, "because you are the reason Nana Shimura existed at all." She had it now. "Or do you not remember that it was your own doing that OFA was forced upon the first bearer, who passed on his mantle to another and another and another, until it came down to Nana, and after her to All Might? Did you ever hear the Aesop's fable about the eagle shot with the arrow made from his own feathers? It's bitter irony. But so often people like you lay the trap for themselves."

AFO finally became visibly annoyed. He shifted in his seat. "This is not a matter for you to know about," he said coldly.

"Isn't it?" Shine said. "My favorite part is that the first holder was none other than your own younger brother, who's name is also Shigaraki. Which I find quite interesting. But he didn't want a quirk, did he? You shoved it on him. I guess old habits die hard. You've been doing the same to nomu ever since."

AFO sat up a little in his chair. "You speak of things you know nothing about."

"Do I?" Shine said tightly. "Your brother's spirit still strives against yours, even after all these years. And you know it as well as I do."

Her eyes glowed gold suddenly.

"In the end, it never stops till one side finally is wiped out, unless they can make peace. But did you learn from your error, Mr. Shigaraki? The clear lesson of your past is not to force things on people that they do not want, but you still do. It didn't work then. It will not work now. Do you have to destroy yourself and the world in order to believe that? Or can you just stop now, while you still have a chance? That's your choice."

"Stop," AFO said. "I will not let you get off the subject. The past is dead. My brother, such as he was, is dead also, and it matters not at all to me anymore."

Shine laughed before he even finished. A scoffing laugh. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

She pointed at Shigaraki.

"There's the proof that you've never forgotten him. Couldn't get him to submit to your will, so you made a new one, a perfect one, didn't you? Love is the one thing you can't force on people by using power, so you got a bit more devious about it. But the evidence is there for anyone with eyes to see it. I'm sorry for you, Mr. Shigaraki. You must be so lonely and bitter and angry at the world for not loving you no matter how much you try. I think my friend was right about you. But, instead of learning from that, you keep doubling down. You'll be cut down suddenly one of these days, but for now, it's just sad, sad and pathetic."

No one had ever called AFO sad or pathetic either.

He reached the end of his limit with that.

"Hold your impertinent tongue!" he said loudly, and some kind of energy blast went out from one of his hands.

Now, as he didn't wish to set Shigaraki off, he didn't make it big enough to destroy them, but it would no doubt have been damaging, but Mirko yanked Shine out of the way by jumping out of range.

The blast made a sizable dent in the wall behind them, and smoke went up from it.

AFO seemed to compose himself in that split second.

"You truly have no respect for the dead," he said finally. "And I see you are just stalling. That was just a warning shot. Don't insult us again."

Shine and Mirko straightened.

"What is the truth, then?" Shine asked.

"We're done here," AFO said. "I've heard all I need to from you. This is confirmation that you have indeed been spying in an effort to learn my secrets. I hope you are satisfied, Tomura Shigaraki."

How did he manage to sound like the victim in his tone there?

"You slimy SOB!" Mirko lost her cool. "After all that you're still trying to blame us?! You just tried to kill us!"

"That was just a warning. If I were the two of you, I would surrender now," AFO said, power crackling in his hand. "Struggling would be unfortunate."

Mirko looked at Shine. Shine bit her lip. "Rumi," she said in a low voice, "we can't fight him, not in here. The air is so thick... I don't like it, and you have no room to move around. I can't portal right now either, not out of here, but if you get far enough away, I might be able to portal to you. There is only one way to play this. You have to get out of this room as far as you can, and then I will try to catch up."

"And if you can't?" Mirko said.

"If I can't, we'd die anyway staying in here, so it's better to have a 50% chance than 0%," Shine said. "I'll create an opening for you, just go."

"But...what about Shigaraki?" Mirko asked. "You just leave him here?"

"If we let AFO hurt us, he has no chance," Shine said. "There may be one if we escape. Now hurry, he will suspect us to be plotting."

"What are you whispering about over there?" AFO said.

"What, super hearing doesn't come with your blindness?" Mirko said meanly.

AFO didn't care for that remark.

"I guess you're as insolent as I've heard. So disappointing, really. I hoped to find you more original. Are you going to surrender?"

Shine slowly drew her sword along the ground, creating a line barrier.

"In my religion, we don't surrender to evil," she said. "Take your best shot if you want."

AFO curled his lip. "If you insist."

"Master--" Shigaraki began.

AFO fired another blast at them.

Even this shot might not have killed them if they dodged, but Shine held Mirko in place.

The power hit her barrier...and just exploded against it like it was a wall.

Shine then let go of Mirko and shoved her.

The room had dust and smoke in it for a moment, and Mirko was able to leap to the door and open it and get outside.

She didn't like leaving Shine there, but if she wanted to help her, she had to get as far away as possible. Give them a good head start. So she darted blindly down the hallway she was in.

Shine prepared to hold her ground.

[Hmm...]

https://youtu.be/H80R8AI6MsY