The rest of the time with the police passed like a dream to all of the Heroes. No one remembered it clearly later.

Wally found Mirko kicking up rubble and told her to rejoin the group.

"Go to h---," was her response.

"I can't. I'm saved," Wally said.

She cast him a weird look.

"Jesus did though," Wally offered humorously.

Mirko looked more puzzled than before.

"I know you're mad--" Wally refrained from making the obvious "hopping" pun. "--but it's dangerous around here. We aren't gonna abandon each other now. Come on."

Mirko sighed but didn't even have the energy to argue that much.

The police were horrified to hear All Might was...deceased.

Some minor Heroes did a sweep of the area, looking for Edgeshot, and Hawks helped them. But what came of it was nothing good. No Villains were discovered.

But one Hero did finally find Edgeshot...or what was left of him.

He was all bent out of shape when they found him, the wrong way...

The police didn't know what to make of it, but he was dead.

Though they said, with his quirk, the bending was probably not the cause of death, but they weren't sure what was.

It was hearing this that first made Shine suspicious.

She motioned to Camie.

"Camie, Kali's quirk--couldn't it do things like that?"

Camie looked up. "Oh...yeah, it could," she said, sounding depressed. "But why the heck would she be around here?"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Shine frowned. "She was the missing piece... Now may not be the time, but I'm concerned we've not heard the last of this."

The news that a third Hero had perished did nothing for Mirko--or Hawks, for that matter. They both just went silent.

Maybe they would have gone into shock, if they'd been able to, but the police had too many questions.

Mirko answered them all robotically. Hawks just sounded defeated.

The kids didn't take it well either.

On top of all this, there was Nezu... Could they even go back to UA?

But that question was answered for them by Midnight and Present Mic calling Aizawa to tell him Nezu had disappeared from the school...along with his private computer.

Apparently he hadn't wished to risk them all coming back.

For the time being it seemed just going back to UA would be necessary.

"I think we lost," Shine said slowly. "People died."

"No, we didn't lose," Wally said. "Shigaraki still held off. Most of the Villains didn't do much damage. It was all AFO. Deku is still here. It's a draw. Both sides suffered damages. Nezu probably just left because he didn't want to do round two."

"Or this is round two," Shine said.

She said this when they'd already arrived back at the school. Deku hadn't been talking at all the whole ride back, and neither were Bakugo or Todoroki.

Camie and Momo only talked in hushed whispers to each other.

Jiro sat alone in the back.

Shine got off the bus, looking mad.

Aizawa was already telling Midnight and Present Mic the news about Nezu...and All Might.

They...couldn't believe it.

"But I guess that would explain the sign he left in his office," Present Mic said.

The sign was a smiling Nezu poster that said "goodbye" on it.

That was really just too much for Aizawa.

"After we worked for years for him, this is how he repays us?" He was livid. "And he... How did we not know?"

"So...you're sure Nezu was really behind it all," Midnight said.

"He always did like to mess with humans..." Mic said slowly.

"Oh, gosh." Midnight suddenly covered her mouth. "Not really... I mean, I knew that but..."

"That's just it," Aizawa said. "We all knew that. All of us. And we just acted like it was normal. Like how it was normal to train the kids like we were preparing them for war and normal to mess with their heads... I mean...I thought it was normal. I thought I was helping them."

"That is how Nezu taught us back in the day," Mic said, "which...is kind of starting to make sense now..."

Midnight shook her head. "Well...I feel foolish."

"Who doesn't?" Mic said. "But at least we're all foolish together. I mean...yeah...it would have been better if we caught on..."

"I've suspected Nezu for some time," Aizawa said.

"Really? Why didn't you tell us?" Midnight demanded.

"I didn't want to if I wasn't sure." 

"And you didn't think maybe we could help you verify it?" Mic was mad.

"Well...also if I told you my source was the DJs, would you have listened?"

"Oh, you're kidding me. For real? They're the ones who said it?" Midnight said.

"In hindsight, wasn't it obvious?" Aizawa said.

[I don't care what the manga did. Nezu made infinitely more sense as the traitor, suck it! My story, my rules.]

"So now what do we do?" Mic said.

"Whatever they say," Aizawa said. "They've been right so far. Maybe they were sent here just for this reason."

Midnight bit her lip.

"You're...not going to argue?" Aizawa said.

"At this point, I'd just be happy to hear any kind of plan," Midnight said.

Shine and Wally were talking off to the side while this was going on, and Cece and Recovery Girl and Hound-dog were standing around, with 13 off to the side, all talking. Vlad was probably off punching a bag.

"Hey, yo, DJs," Mic called, "you got to tell us what to do next."

"What?" Shine looked up, startled.

"Yes," 13 agreed. "You're the only people with ideas."

"You predicted this, so you must have something," Aizawa said.

Wally blinked. "Uh...we warn you, sure, but we're not world leaders, here. It's your guys's school."

"Oh, come on, you said you're here to help." Midnight crossed her arms. "We're finally asking for it, and now you bail? The press will be all over here tomorrow once the news about All Might hits the stands, and if they realize Nezu is not here, we'll all be dead!"

"We'll be closed down," Hound-dog growled.

"And the kids will be sent home," Recovery Girl said.

Shine and Wally exchanged a look.

"I doubt you can stop that," Wally said.

Shine tapped her chin. "Okay...here's what you should do," she said slowly. "Don't give the media a chance to get here. Announce yourselves that Nezu did this and say you're going to voluntarily close UA for a month in order to sort things out. Make sure there's no more serious breaches, and give a public statement that you didn't know it was him, but you discovered it and managed to trap him, but he got away. Announce that you intend to find him and turn him over to police custody in order to make up for your negligence."

"Uh...okay, but how will we make good on that?" Snipe asked. No one had noticed him come in.

Shine smirked. "Well, you could ask us to help you there."

The teachers nodded slowly.

"After you do that," Shine said, "make the dorms optional for the students, in respect for how afraid their parents are going to be from this. Apologize to each set of parents personally for what happened and offer to refund their tuition, if they paid it."

"We'll be closing UA if we do that," Aizawa said.

Shine crossed her arms. "Disarm all the robots the school has," she went on relentlessly. "Shut down the most dangerous training equipment, and close the training grounds for renovations. Only keep the gym and courts open. Close the sports arena too."

"Why?" Mic asked.

"You asked us what to do," Wally said. "Think about it-- Nezu set all that up. If he's got eyes everywhere, it'll be in those places, and they have dangerous weapons in them. Don't give him the chance to use it again, or for the villains to."

"That does make sense," Aizawa admitted. "Anything we can do to actually keep the school open... I mean, the kids will have their careers put on hold if we stop training."

"You'll all be audited by the police," Shine said, "as you should have been ages ago, but Nezu probably prevented it. You'll have to close the school at least partially while that is going on. You almost lost your jobs after the camp thing, right...? Well, assuming you get to keep UA open at all, the law is going to figure out how you can do it." She shook her head. "If you do your best to curb the damage now, there's a better chance they'll let you. UA going down completely will not suit them, but UA will be damaged, no matter what, and it kind of deserves it. I would encourage the students to think about transfer options now, if they have to. And they may want to... I'm sorry." She sighed. "I wish it was simpler. I'm not anxious to leave here myself, but we are not here to magically make consequences go away."

It wasn't what everyone wanted to hear, but they knew it was true.

"I guess we'll do as you say," Aizawa said.

"One more thing," Wally said, "about apologizing--people will eat you alive if you're too apologetic. The parents will too. Don't overdo it. Be sure to say you tried to protect the students to your utmost ability also."

Shine agreed.

Then she sighed again. "The kids are going to be upset enough...poor things. This, on top of the other things that happened today... Maybe we should hold off on telling them right away."

"I don't think we can," Wally said. "They'll all know as soon as it makes the news."

"Yeah, a lot of them are already in the hallway..." Cece pointed. "Looks like they might have heard something already."

"Oh no..." The staff put their heads in their hands.

* * *

Mirko didn't know when she was finally allowed to go, but when she did, she just sort of walked off...

She sat down on some bus stop bench and leaned on her knees.

Ren has texted her a few times saying he'd found Kayla in an emotional state and decided to take her home, but was everything okay?

She hadn't answered him yet.

Her pity well was bottomed out. She didn't really feel like she could focus on Kayla.

She put her head in her hands.

"Hey." Medea startled her.

Mirko looked up.

Medea smiled wanly. "I guess I was too late, huh? I got lost in that maze in there... By the time I got out, it all...well, it was over so quickly."

It was true. The actual fight had take less than 30 minutes. But so much damage...

"You missed all of it," Mirko said bitterly. "Lucky you."

Medea sat down next to her. "I heard, though... I guess saying I'm sorry won't help anything, but I am sorry."

Mirko didn't care to hear this. "Whatever."

"The League got away too," Medea remarked. "Talk about the suck, all around...but I'm glad you're okay, if that matters at all."

"I'm not okay," Mirko said, "not with this. 3...3 heroes... Even one would be a crisis, but 3...it's... We'll be dealing with it for months, and that's not even the part that really matters. But...how did they pull it off? So easily..."

"It was a trap," Medea said. "But if the goal was to get all 5 of you, and they didn't get 3l2 of you top heroes, then it's not... a full win for them. You can still fight this. They can still go down." She made a fist. "You can't give up now, Mirko. I was never going to tell you this to your face, but now it doesn't matter if it's sappy or not, because it's just where we are: The League needs you."

"The League does, huh?" Mirko said sarcastically. "Right."

"The heroes do too," Medea said. "I'm serious. The DJs showed us all how to work together. I got that from hanging with their students, hearing what they taught, and it made sense to me. I went along with it, but you are the only hero who gave us a fair chance before it even seemed like it would be worthwhile to do that. You've seen both sides now." She lit her hand up. "We're all so stuck on either side, a go-between never seemed possible. But someone who can earn the trust of both villains and heroes alike, of course AFO wants to get rid of you. You disprove the assumption we all live under." She shook her head. "That the gap between us is irreparable, and destroying each other is our only option." 

[Image by Onerose, original template by original artist]

She looked up angrily. "But who wins, then? Heroes? Villains? Neither. Only AFO wins. That's the truth. Don't you think I see it? I've gone between both sides now too, but I couldn't have done that if you didn't first. And I think neither side is as different as we think. I mean, the news paints is as good versus evil, heroes versus villains, but the villains aren't really all pure evil, and the heroes aren't pure good. We're all confused. And the heroes are willing to do more and more shady things to stop villains, and the villains have been doing less bad stuff...so we're blurring together. But we all need to be on the side of good, or the people like AFO will eat us all alive. I see it so clearly." She looked back at Mirko. "You can't give up. No one else can do what you do here."

"But I can't do it," Mirko said slowly. "I can't play both sides, Medea. I've been an idiot to think I could. People died today because I did that."

"People died because AFO killed them-- or his goons," Medea said. "If you were just a hero, you'd probably have died anyway. Or been just as useless. You fought on the heroes' side today-- that's why you played into AFO's plan... You have to stop talking like you don't know better." She folded her arms. "You know us now. You know we're not evil-- not all of us. I mean, the League has done some dumb s--- and some bad stuff...but they also changed. They started to see why it wasn't a good idea to win that way. Boss Man especially... Who taught him that? It wasn't us."

Mirko frowned. "It wasn't me either, if that's what you're saying."

"Well, you helped. It was a team effort maybe," Medea said. "The point is, they're on the brink of changing sides here, but AFO won't let them, and that's not fair. And here you are, acting like a hero... It's...not fair. You can hide behind that title, but what can we do? You're free, and they aren't."

"I'm not free," Mirko said. "If the law knew about this, I'd lose my license."

"For protecting people," Medea said. "Then maybe you should lose it. Maybe it's not worth having if it's for doing stupid things. I dunno." She shrugged. "I think you've gotta pick, sooner or later, what you want to stand for. I know for me, I chose the heroes so that I could make myself a better person, use my quirk for something good, instead of bad. But I'm not sold on all their ideas, by a long shot. Maybe I'll branch out, like you, do my own thing...but I can accept that. Can you accept where you are now?"

Mirko shook her head. "I don't... It's not that easy."

"Who said it was easy? If it was easy, everyone would do it," Medea said. "It's like therapy: It only works if you make it work for you. It won't fix anything if you're passive about it. I learned that. So...you know...get over yourself." She shook her head. "It sucks about the Pros...I admit it. But if you let this beat you, then...well, I'm disappointed. You seemed more stubborn than that. I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset, livid, even...just promise me you won't just take it. You'll make sure AFO doesn't get what he wants: breaking us."

Mirko drew a deep breath.

"Maybe you've got a point, kid," she said slowly. "It is what he wants... Things are going to go to hell in a hand basket. A lot of Heroes are going to give up...but you're right. I have seen both sides. If that was enough to get me through this, I mean, to get the upper hand again, I'd be okay...I mean, pissed off, but okay, eventually. But if that's not enough...if it all disappears because of that b------d, then the last half a year was a waste of time."

"Never say that," Medea said fiercely. "That made all the difference for me! Don't call me a waste of time! Please." She wiped at her eyes.

"I didn't mean you," Mirko said. She shook her head. "Yeah, we still trained you up, huh? You better stick it out too. Don't let this change your mind about being a Hero... Being a Hero sucks if you're a prick like some of those posers out there, but a kid like you is not going to do things the normal way, so you'd better show those idiots that."

"I'm down for that." Medea made a thumbs up. "Let's make a deal: You don't give up on beating those freaks and avenging those Pros, and I won't give up on shaking up the Hero scene when I get out there."

Mirko finally smiled a little weakly. "Deal...I guess..."

Medea nodded. "We should probably get away... I mean, I should get back to UA... Where are you going?"

"I guess to Ren's," Mirko said. "At least he won't ask me annoying questions about it." She hoped.

"Okay---" Medea kind of hugged her, to her surprise. "Be careful." 

She walked toward the actual bus stop.

Mirko watched her get on it to be sure, then leapt away.

* * *

The kids were devastated as much as expected to hear about Nezu.

But they knew UA would suffer too.

And it all did blow up on the news channel the next day.

Only slightly abated by the staff coming out with it first. People were still crowding around UA like vultures to a carcass.

Most of the kids' parents wanted to come pick them up immediately. 

The kids didn't like to be separated at such a time--they all felt so uncertain--but there wasn't much they could do about it. The school couldn't stop it.

More than one set of parents called in angrily to Aizawa and the other staff.

Worst of all for Shoto was that Momo's wanted her to come home right off.

It wasn't so bad for the inner group as everyone else though. Shine and Wally told them they'd still meet up-- it would just be a little harder to coordinate than before, but at least a lot of them lived close to the school.

Endeavor told Shoto to come home also. He had the option of either going to his mom's new house or his dad's, though Endeavor fully expected he'd pick Rei's.

But Shoto actually felt like he'd upset his mom way too much if he was over there, so as much as he would have wanted her comfort, he didn't think it was best. He actually picked Endeavor's.

It was weird being there without his siblings being around.

Shine and Wally had to leave the campus to avoid being questioned by the police. Aizawa tried to get rid of any records of them. He was afraid Nezu's files on them would prove dangerous if they fell into the police's hands, and it might be what he intended, as a last blow to them.

Miss Joke let them stay at her house. In fact she insisted, though Endeavor actually offered his too.

Shine and Wally took Miss Joke up on it, but then after a day or two realized it was crowded and they began to feel like they should be closer to their kids now, so they moved to Endeavor's.

Miss Joke understood. She'd have probably felt the same way.

Plus, Endeavor's was a better meeting spot for all of them.

Shoto actually appreciated them coming. He was so depressed...Momo and him called each other every day, but Deku wouldn't reply to any of his messages, and Bakugo's only response was to tell him to frick off.

Fuyumi brought over some home-cooked meals for him and Endeavor...who, to be honest, wasn't doing a whole lot better than Shoto was, though he took it out by setting his training room on fire, not by talking about it.

"I still can't believe he's gone, that UA is closed, and that we lost two other Top Pros," Shoto said. "People are saying it's the death knoll of Hero Society."

"People will say things like that to get attention," Shine said.

"But is it true? You always said it would happen," Shoto said.

Shine and Wally sighed.

"We don't know," Wally said. "We can't really know, but I don't think single-handedly it would be. It depends on if it gets worse from here. My league has had major setbacks and recovered. We even blasted a crater in the ground by accident... I mean, someone did take over our watchtower and...nevermind."

"But, Shoto," Shine said, "empires rise and fall. That's the way of history. Humans aren't bound to a regime or a society. It changes all the time. Fools call it the end of everything good when it does, but it's just the death tolls and the birth pangs of the next phase of history. It will hurt you all because you were tied to the main focus, but many people will only feel distant effects of it. It may even make their lives better. Try not to get tunnel vision."

Shoto shook his head. "But for everyone I care about, it's the worst."

"It is now," Shine said, "but in a few years, you may be glad it happened--not about All Might's...well, death. But the crumbling...it could end up making you stronger. It's how you deal with it now that will decide that. But it's all right to be sad. Plenty to be sad about. Just don't let that consume you." She put an arm around him. "We have our friends and family, at least. That's the more important thing."

Shoto sighed. "I guess...but right now we're all separated. I mean, except for us."

"If we're really friends, then a little time isn't going to change that," Wally said. "Trust me, separations happen, but real friends always come back. At least it wasn't over a stupid fight. That's the worst kind."

Endeavor passed by, casting them a sort of sideways glance. Maybe he wished he knew how to be comforting.

"He's not doing well," Wally said. 

"Yeah, but I'm more worried about Bakugo," Shine said. "I'm going to his house today. He won't answer messages. Even Camie is worried. He does this when he's upset. Shuts everyone out."

"And Midoriya?" Shoto said.

"We're not really close to him," Wally said, "but I thought I might try to talk to him. I do know kind of what it feels like to lose someone you looked up to. If he'd talk to me, that is."

"Who's going to talk to us though?" Shine said. "I'm still reeling myself. But then, I can never process this stuff if I don't help other people do it too."

"True..." Wally said.

After they left, Shoto sat for a while longer, until Endeavor wandered back in. "They're trying to help," he noted.

"Yeah..." Shoto said. "They're kind...but nothing really helps." He sighed. "I looked up to All Might, even if it wasn't as much as Midoriya and Bakugo do--still, he inspired me."

Shoto forgot he was talking to the person who was All Might's rival for years.

Endeavor took it with more grace that one might expect... Perhaps he felt it was warranted. 

"He inspired a lot of Heroes," he admitted.

"And him losing his power was one thing, but he was still out there, so I kind of thought, maybe it would be fine. I mean, I never talked to him much, but he was nice to me..." Shoto said. "Maybe I should have been more grateful at the time. I guess I just didn't know what we were-- just student and teacher, or friends. I guess Midoriya had an easier time figuring it out." He shook his head. "Whether it was for the best or not, I'll never know that now."

Endeavor...slowly sat down across the room from him.

"I spent years hating All Might," he said slowly, "and then I took his spot, in a way I didn't like...and it was like the hatred just...vanished. It seemed foolish, looking back on it, like All Might didn't really care about it. And I never gave him any opportunity to be friends, even if he'd have tried... He used to act like we were, but I acted cold to him."

Shoto glanced up, face unreadable. He knew that, but he wasn't one to interrupt.

"He didn't hold a grudge," Endeavor continued thoughtfully. "I guess that's why he was always better than me. He didn't really care about being the best, just about saving people. By the time I understood that, it was too late to really get off on the right foot, but the last year was the best terms we were ever on. I thought he'd have more time to at least teach the next generation, the one thing he never really got to do...too busy being a Hero, I guess. I can't even do that properly...so...in way I sort of understand where you are with this. Uh, not that we're the same..." He was bad at this. "...but that both of us may have regrets here."

Shoto nodded. "Yeah, I guess," he admitted.

Wow...admitting that they were similar...that was a first.

"Still, All Might at least lived and died as a Hero," Endeavor said, "and we should be glad he got to choose his fate at the end. If I were him, I'd probably consider myself lucky for getting to go out that way. I think most Heroes would choose that. All Might's legacy can still be carried on by those of us who did know him. He left his successor, also."

Shoto smiled kind of wryly. "Midoriya...yeah. I guess he deserves it."

"You know, if I've learned one thing about this all," Endeavor mused, "it's that it's not actually based on what you deserve. We're thrown into these positions when we're not ready for it, and in ways we don't expect, and we have to make the best of it. Midoriya has potential, but I don't think he's ready. I don't think anyone is ready, but we'll have to try anyway. It's just as true as when All Might retired. The loss of the other 2 Heroes will mean changes for us also. But we have to find a way to keep saving people."

Shoto looked up a little more. "Shine and Wally said it might be for the best...the part where things change...but it's hard to imagine it being better. The loss of Heroes, how could society get better from that?"

"That I don't know." Endeavor didn't like the sound of it himself. "But they tend to see things we don't...from my few encounters with them, so who knows if they may be right? I'd keep a close eye on what they do, if I were you...I mean, if I had to guess... Because they're trying to show you what to do."

Shoto slowly tilted his head. "Yeah, uh...Dad, maybe there's something I should tell you now that you mention them."

"Uh...what?" Endeavor was still not used to being called "dad" again.

"I...kind of...maybe went out of the world..." Shoto said slowly.

Endeavor's jaw dropped. "WHATT!!???"

Birds probably flew away outside.

"You don't have to make such a fuss about it," Shoto said curtly.

Endeavor barely got himself under control. "When did this happen?"

"Technically, a few weeks ago, but it was longer there...different timelines," Shoto said. "I just...I learned a lot, and this has got me thinking of it. There was a kid there who lost his mentor too. We had a funeral and stuff."

Endeavor was having a hard time with this. "And you just left...and no one noticed?"

"We came back a few times to hide that we were gone," Shoto said. "But the point is...uh...well, I'm not as sure as I used to be about the way things are done here. Even if I become a Hero--I mean assuming UA gets back on track and society doesn't crumble and stuff--"

Only Shoto would say that in such a serious but casual voice.

"--then I still think I'd want there to be some changes," Shoto finished.

Endeavor tried to wrap his head around this... Other world, changes...people dying...it was a lot to take in.

"Well..." he said slowly, "I suppose if that's what you think is best. But what...kind of thing would you learn there that would...affect here?"

He might well ask that.

This promised to be a long conversation.

"Well," Shoto said, "it kind of started with one guy going missing..."

[Hmm...father son bonding?

I know some people hate Endeavor still, and always will, but whatever. I think he's trying, and I like seeing things finally pay off.

Have I made you all cry yet? My siblings were choking up in the last part.]