After Shine's visit, nothing really happened in the LOV for a few days. 

Shigaraki was moodier than ever, and the others left him alone with it.

Other than going out to get food, they all laid low. They were in even more fear and dread now that they knew the truth about Kurogiri's nature.

Medea snuck out to go to UA, but that was about it.

Even Mirko was acting pretty down for her...and she looked tired, like she wasn't sleeping right. (The truth was, she was barely sleeping at all, but she wouldn't have told anyone that.)

She couldn't get what Shine had revealed out of her head.

Neither could Shigaraki, though he told himself it wasn't really bothering him. So what, even if it were true? What did it change?

Deep down, even he knew Shine was not a liar, and that she was not a traitor. He had enough proof of that. Though he wasn't one to care about facts and evidence, in this case, it was irrefutable.

And since he couldn't make that compute with his knowledge of AFO, he could only decide it wasn't worth thinking about, or perhaps there was just some mistake in the whole thing.

One early morning, about 3 days after the visit, he was just sitting in the downstairs room, as he did, and staring into space, not thinking about it all.

Mirko came into the room and looked displeased to see anyone else there. "Oh...thought no one was up."

No answer. Maybe she'd go away if he ignored her. (Thus far Shigaraki had gotten in the vain hope people have with annoyances).

Mirko, not getting a response, took that as an invitation to continue with what she'd been doing.

No kitchen at this lair, but they'd set up some kind of travel stove that Compress carried around in his collection of tools and used it to heat up instant food or coffee.

After making some espresso, Mirko peered back into the main area. Shigaraki was still sitting there.

Was this a good time to ask about it all? She wasn't likely to get any answer though. Err, how did Shine get people to talk?

Maybe she should try backing into it from somewhere else.

Not being really good at starting a normal conversation, Mirko did the first thing that came into her head.

"Want any?" She held up the espresso.

At least that got a response-- a weirded out look. "Why would I want that?"

"Uh...I don't know-- long night?" Mirko said, then defensively, "There's too much in here for one person. Why waste it? You know how expensive this stuff is?"

"Well, I don't drink coffee, so throw it out." Rudely.

Okay, now she was pissed off.

She poured it anyway and set it down very loudly in front of him. "Try it."

"No."

"Your attitude really pisses me off," Mirko frowned, "Negative all the time."

"And you're obnoxious, loud, and intrusive!"

"You forgot stubborn." Mirko didn't even bother arguing the point. "Come on, you look half dead all the time anyway. Maybe a little caffeine would do the trick."

"Master says coffee causes cancer," Shigaraki said.

Mirko rolled her eyes. "One espresso wouldn't hurt."

"I don't trust you."

"Oh, for the love of..." Mirko sat down several feet away. "Impossible..." She muttered some not too nice terms.

Well, that didn't work too well...

"Why don't you go away?" Shigaraki said.

"I'm not going anywhere till you try it," she said airily. But of course, she really didn't care. She just needed an excuse not to leave...because danged if she was going to just take orders like that.

She sipped her own coffee. Ah, that was better...though sleeping really would be preferable...if anyone could sleep in these creepy lairs... She eyed some furniture warily. It was too easy to picture something standing behind all this stuff, just waiting to attack... She missed having a house with a lock. Funny how she hardly lived there at all, but it was still some sense of security... Maybe she should go back and see if anyone had tampered with her stuff...or that neighbor kid had broken in...

Her phone buzzed. She pulled it out. Another message from her mother. She probably was going to have to call sooner or later...but, then again...calling could be risky...and they shouldn't be contacting her. The last thing she needed was for the Originals to think tracking down her family would be a worthwhile idea.

But if she went to visit directly, she could be spotted too. She was not at all sure her movements were not being monitored...

It was such a mess...

Shigaraki took a very reluctant try of the espresso. "Go away."

Mirko had forgotten he was there. "Eh? Oh. I was just kidding."

"What?"

"I just didn't want to leave." She took another sip. "I hate this lair. This part is the only one that doesn't have too much stuff in my way. I could just go on patrol, but it's pretty early. Most crime doesn't start till later in the day. People are at work-- that type of thing."

Not that he asked...

"So," she changed the subject about as tactfully as a bullet train, "that news about Kurogiri was pretty concerning, huh?"

Frown.

"At this rate, it's almost impossible to decide which problem is worse," Mirko went on, without much of a plan, "The Originals, the Metas, or the fact that people keep turning on the League."

"Do you have a point?" he finally spoke, "Or are you just trying to gloat?"

"Gloat? I'm not gloating." Mirko frowned. "I'm just commenting on it. If I was gloating, I'd be smirking."

He was not amused.

"Well, you know, at least I'm trying to think of a way to work with this," she said saltily, "not sulking about it. When did the LOV become such pushovers?"

"Don't talk about what you know nothing about."

"I won't know any more if I don't talk about it." Mirko made actually a good point. "This affects me too. Doesn't it bother you at all, being backed into a corner like this?"

Pause.

"It's not the first time," Shigaraki said.

Mirko didn't know how to take that. "So?"

"So there's always a solution sooner or later. Rushing into it would be stupid."

"So is waiting."

"Your track record with not waiting isn't good enough to make anyone listen to you."

Mirko felt herself getting angry. Er, he was so annoying!

But she was going to have to stop letting herself get provoked into an argument and taken off track.

She choked down her anger.

"Yeah, you know, that's not going to keep working. I'm onto this game."

"Game?"

"Yeah, the whole piss people off so you don't have to explain yourself game. It's not gonna work on me anymore."

"It's not a game. You're just very easy to provoke."

"Sure, sure, yeah. I'm not the only one you do it with," Mirko shot back smugly, "Likstar too, trying to piss her off so she'll stop talking. I'm on to it. It won't work on her, though. The angrier she gets, the more determined she is to push for something. I would know."

"What does Likstar have to do with anything?"

"Oh, come on, that whole thing?" Mirko thought this might finally be getting somewhere. "Like that Silk lady says, she's like the guardian angel around here. You said it yourself-- she's practically one of you. Maybe she had the solution after all."

"If she had one, she'd have mentioned it by now," Shigaraki said tightly.

"Or you're just not giving her the chance." Mirko really was a fine one to talk about that.

And Shigaraki knew it. "Like you're in any position to talk."

"I...don't like relying on people," Mirko admitted very begrudgingly, "true...but I'm not the one with the problem here, so it doesn't really matter what I do."

"Her answers won't solve the problem."

"Maybe they would."

"Do you even know what you're talking about?" Snippily.

Mirko couldn't exactly admit how much she'd overheard now. "I know enough. Just gonna keep ignoring the facts?"

"It really is none of your business what we do. The only reason you're here is you couldn't handle it yourself, so I don't need your advice."

Shigaraki finally succeeded in saying something provocative enough to make her lose her temper.

"Jackass!" She got up. "I can't handle myself? Really? What are you gonna do without your babysitter, huh? And all those zombie tools. I don't think those freaky hands are going to motivate you out of this situation, dumba--."

Of course, that was saying one thing too many.

But luckily, Shigaraki didn't really notice that she shouldn't have known about that.

It just pissed him off.

"Why don't you shut up?"

"You know what? Fine!" Mirko shot back, "Screw me for even attempting to make this work! I really should know better by now."

She stomped out of the area.

"What was that all about?" Compress sleepily walked in from a different section.

"Nothing." Shigaraki took another drink of the coffee without noticing he was doing it.

"Oh, is that espresso?" Compress saw it. "D---, I need some of that. It's so drafty in this lair, I can't sleep a wink, it seems like." He went in search of the coffee.

The rest of the LOV was up soon and discussing what to do.

Mirko reappeared some time later, in costume and about to head out. She didn't make eye contact with anyone.

"What's wrong?" Silk asked her, aside.

Mirko sniffed. "Just a little reminder why I can't stand villains, that's all. Even if you try to work out something, they don't care."

Silk tilted her head. "Is your way of trying to be insulting and aggressive?"

Mirko didn't want to hear this. "Look, this is how I am. I don't have a problem with it. I like myself. I'm not going to change my whole style just to make someone feel comfortable."

"Yes, that is probably why you fail." Silk was cutting as usual.

Mirko glared at her. "Excuse me?"

"Because Pro heroes never put on a nice face for public," Silk said, "Is just how they are, right? Or is it that you could control yourself, if you just cared at all about people around you. You know, making people comfortable is not crime."

"Uh...coming from you?" Mirko said.

"I never see point in being bully just because I villain," Silk said, very haughty, "and I certainly not see point in hero being a bully."

"I am not a bully-- Why does everyone keep saying that?" Mirko said.

"If everyone say it, maybe true. Maybe hero just prefer not to hear truth." Silk was probably on a roll now because of her past, but Mirko didn't know this.

"Truth is, heroes make things difficult for just about everyone around them, whether civilian or villain. All that glory seeking, showboating, means heroes are not actually good to people around them. They're nice enough, on camera, when someone is watching, in front of a crowd. To look good to fans. But they don't care about anything beyond that."

Mirko frowned. "You don't know that about me."

"No? When was the last time you did something for someone that didn't benefit you in some way? The clout, the fame, the ranking points?" Silk challenged her.

Mirko tilted her head. "Wouldn't you know better than I?"

"Darling, I appreciate the save, but we both know the Ninja scare you as much as the rest of us. You need this," Silk said, with a none too pleasant smug smile, "so I not count that. I mean independently. That is your thing, right?"

Mirko was at a loss. "Well, you know, when you're fighting crime all day, you can't exactly work for a charity, so I don't know."

"Even if you gave to charity, it would be for the clout," Silk said, "And you wonder why you get no respect in LOV... We're not good or kind or nice either. But we not claim to be good people. We are what we are, and posing as what you are not is never get you respect around here. You want our respect? Stop faking it."

"I don't see how I am faking anything," Mirko said stiffly, "And why would I care about getting the respect of criminals?"

Silk nodded. "That is exactly why I not think you never really get what you want from us. But perhaps even a dumb bunny like you can grasp concept: If you want someone to 'work out stuff' with you, perhaps treating them like they worth something would be requirement."

Mirko was...silent.

"You use us," Silk went on, "and we use each other, yes. Law of equivalent exchange, as Compress put it. But we also willing to make compromise. Whatever else is wrong with us, we trust each other to have back. That is what I learn about League since I join. And we not put down other person's contribution."

"Well, you know, I've been insulted plenty of times since hanging around here," Mirko said crossly.

"Poor you." Silk was mocking. "Tough. Pro Hero walk around villain lair safely without attack by anyone because boss man said not to try anything, and she wants to complain about a few petty insults. Some people just never grateful. I can't stand people like you. Rest of us would never get such fair treatment if we work with Pro-- have to sleep with knife under pillow. Or probably sleep in handcuffs, more like. This is what they call 'entitled.'"

"Heroes do a lot of things." Mirko was not quite as confident now. "Is it so wrong that we get respect?"

"Perhaps what is hero to you is not hero to someone else," Silk said, "I don't know much about all that. But for all you here on our charity in way, you sure act like you deserve more. You not earn it."

"You know, I have tried to keep it in check," Mirko said, "I've not gone back on my word, have I? Do you know what kind of firestorm I'd be under if I'm discovered here? I've got ninja breathing down my neck too, no thanks to people like you. Did I ask for this?"

"Is what heroes do, no? Is it our fault that you got in this?" Silk said, "Why should we have to pay for it? Eh? You see what I mean. You're so full of it."

She shook her head. "At least leave Boss alone, eh? Boss is under enough pressure as it is. Not need you winding him up. Is bad for us all." She walked away in huff.

[Dang, Silk, that was brutal.]

https://youtu.be/aasECsxrSzQ

"You're so nice. You're not good You're not bad. You're just nice.   

I'm not good. I'm not nice. I'm just right. I'm the witch.

 You're the world. I'm a hitch. I'm what no one believes. I'm the witch .

You're all liars and thieves. Like his father. Like his son will be, too.

 Oh, why bother? You'll just do what you do..."

[Sister kept quoting this song to me about the pro heroes in this story, so I just decided to include it finally--also Meryl Streep is the best part of the movie. Only time a witch has ever been my favorite character.]

"Even her," Mirko muttered, "Why does everyone in the LOV think so highly of the man-child?"

"If I may, Madame," Compress startled her by appearing from behind an old bedframe propped upon its end, "perhaps we're all a little tired of your attitude."

"Did I ask you?" Mirko turned her back on him.

"Not smart, Pro." Compress put a hand on her shoulder. "All I need to do is use my quirk, and I just need to get close for that."

Mirko froze, legs tensed to kick him off.

Compress let go. "But orders are orders. I'll tell you something, though. You know why we all are loyal to Shigaraki? It's not that he's really that competent...though he's not as stupid as one might expect from all that gaming talk--it's that he looks out for our interests. All of us. Equally. And none of us ever had that before. You know why Dabi joined Likstar, but not the heroes? She considers heroes and villains as equals. He would have never joined the pros. He'll join her, and we may not get it, and I'd still like to skin him alive, but I do see why it was her and not anyone else. Shigaraki protects all of us, and we return the favor. Hey, we pay our dues. That's why you're still alive. You recall what happened before that?"

Mirko tensed further. "Get away from me."

"Yes." Compress was unnerving. "We almost killed you that time. I still wonder if it wouldn't have been better in the long run, if the boss hadn't stopped us...but it is what it is. He ever toss that up to you?"

"No, it's never come up." Mirko was not happy to hear it now.

"Strange, isn't it?" Compress said, "Well, you know, if you're going to sneak around, eavesdropping on things and gathering intel that the rest of us know to stay the h--- away from, you might just want to consider that."

Mirko's mouth dropped open.

"Honestly he might be too soft," Compress mused, "All this accommodating people is going to get us killed one of these days, but maybe this Kurogiri business will cure him of that. One can hope. Lovely chatting with you." He tipped his hat saucily and walked away.

Mirko was left more jarred than before. Compress really freaked her out...must be the mask. You couldn't read the guy.

* * *

After a long day of heroing, Mirko went back to the lair. She'd thought over what was said to her... Maybe they had a slight point...

When she went inside, though, she didn't hear anyone there.

Her hair stood on end...

She looked around. Had they just moved without her? Maybe all that before was some kind of warning test.

But then she found Medea's ipod and headphones in her section-- and Spinner's comics... No, they hadn't left, then.

There was no sign of a scuffle...

Had they all just gone out?

She didn't like it. It didn't make sense.

Maybe it was the Originals... Had they come?

Could have been heroes too, but no, that would have made the news.

She rifled through her own things. No sign of them being searched.

While she just stood there, suddenly black goo appeared out of her mouth --this stuff never tasted any better. She started choking.

Then she was warped.

* * *

Mirko coughed... She sometimes thought the coughing might be part of activating this stupid quirk-- it was almost impossible not to choke on it.

Then she blinked. Where was she? Some dark room...

"Oh...crap..." she heard someone say. It sounded like Medea.

Her eyes started to adjust.

The rest of the LOV were standing around, not tied up, just looking nervous.

Silk eyed her with a frightened look. If Silk was openly frightened, that could not be a good sign.

Mirko zeroed in on what was in front of her.

An old guy with goggles was sitting in a chair, holding some kind of small...nomu?

Her brain clicked. The doctor.

"Ah, there, now we have all the players," he was saying, "and I see you were lying to me after all, Tomura Shigaraki. How strange. Normally you're so truthful."

Shigaraki was a little in front of the other LOV members, and he was looking kind of...placid, for him. 

Mirko wasn't sure what the doctor was talking about, until he went on. "'Not the number 5 hero', huh? Well, you've started hoarding your toys, I see. What did I ever do to earn this dishonesty?"

"It was just better if we didn't share information, due to the Originals being on our trail," Shigaraki spoke in rather a subdued tone, "That's all."

"Ah, clever. Maybe you're learning after all." The doctor smiled very unpleasantly. "But it's really imperative I know who's around if I'm going to help. Why else do you think I planned this little impromptu visit? Like the new lab? It's shoddy compared to the one that was wrecked, but it'll do for now."

"I don't really see much of a lab," Shigaraki said.

There wasn't much of one-- just some test tubes in another room that had the door open.

"Well, work in progress." The doctor petted the little nomu in his hand. "This quirk is still far more handy. What a golden find. So, why is the pro here? Don't tell me we've started recruiting heroes now."

Mirko debated running for it. She had no idea where she was.

She saw Silk shaking her head and mouthing, "Don't move."

What had they all seen before she got here?

"It's a necessity. The Originals are a real problem. We needed an agent in the field who could avoid suspicion while looking into them." Shigaraki was kind of lying and kind of not. Surprising...

"That's a good plan...kind of like our friend Hawks, who unfortunately, is now pretty much useless since the Metas want nothing more to do with us. Smart to get a replacement."

Mirko knew it was not the time to deny this. She was just hoping this bluff worked.

"But she's useless now," the doctor went on very unpleasantly, "After the city nomu incident, they'll know about her. She's a liability. I thought I'd talk to you about that, actually. I have a proposal." He got up.

Mirko tensed.

Something appeared behind her. The small nomu had opened its mouth... Black goo... It all happened so fast, she didn't know what was happening, but a much larger nomu grabbed her from behind by the ears and held her in place.

The other LOV members didn't move. They all looked terrified, save for Compress, since he had a mask on, but his posture suggested it. Even Toga and Twice were cringing.

The doctor scared the crap out of all of them, clearly.

Mirko started trying to pry herself free, but her quirk was not having any effect...or was it not working? She felt kind of heavy...

"I'm testing out this new thing-- selective quirk blocking." The doctor spoke as if all this was normal. "I got the idea from your ninja friends, actually. I'm not sure how they're doing it, but I messed around with a few quirks and devices I had still, and I managed to replicate it pretty well, and it even works on physical types. Pretty nifty, huh?"

"Fascinating," Shigaraki said, "but why are you demonstrating it now?"

"Why, that's the proposal I was making." The doctor went up to Mirko, who leaned away from him, still struggling, but nothing was happening. "Nothing to say, Pro? Pity, I heard you were quite the live wire."

Mirko spat at him.

Silk gasped.

Medea choked on a half laugh, half scream.

The doctor just stared at Mirko, then he laughed. "I guess the rumors were true... Wow, such a fighting spirit... I do love a challenge." He grinned evilly. "So much more fun to break."

Mirko felt kind of sick. How did she end up here? In the span of 10 minutes?

"She'd be a fine specimen though-- powerful quirk." The doctor was now talking to the League. "Why not just let me use this one? It's no good anymore, you using her. She's too recognizable."

He reached out to touch Mirko, as if he was appraising her. "There're so many different things I could do."

She was going to throw up, she knew it.

The members were staring at her, not without some amount of sympathy. Silk looked ready to faint.

Medea's hair was sizzling at the ends, but she wasn't moving. No one was. They all seemed petrified.

Then Shigaraki reached out...and pulled the doctor's arm away.

They were all stunned. 

"Now's not the time, Doctor," he said, "The Pro is more useful right now for cover. We have to maximize our resources. Put her down."

"Are you giving me an order?" the doctor said oddly.

Silence.

You could have heard a pin drop.

The doctor chuckled. "Well, I suppose it's your risk."

He made some kind of signal. The nomu dropped her.

Mirko felt kind of numb even so.

Silk and Medea rushed over once the beast had retreated and helped her get up, then they dragged her over to the rest of the League.

"Are you all right?" Silk hissed. She didn't sound all right herself.

Mirko shook her head. "I think I'm going to..."

"Eww, point it away from us." Medea backed up.

"Want a towel?" Compress said.

They all looked at him. 

"You carry towels?" Spinner hissed.

"Uh...is that weird?" Compress said.

[Not at all...🤭🤨]

Mirko did throw up, despite her best effort to get a hold of herself, but the doctor wasn't really paying attention.

"If they have our dear friend Kurogiri, we must get him back," he said, "I can't imagine he's working for them willingly."

"Is Kurogiri a nomu?" Shigaraki asked.

There was a strange pause. That question came out of nowhere.

"What do you mean?" The egghead adjusted his goggles.

"It wasn't a hard question." Shigaraki was probably the closest he'd ever been to sassing anyone. [I'm so proud of him.]

The doctor tightened his grip on the small nomu just a little.

"Kurogiri...is your dear guardian."

Even the LOV could spot that BS.

"And he's not a nomu?" Shigaraki said very slowly, "Bred that way?"

"Bred that way? What a crass way to put what I do." The doctor seemed offended. "Prepared! Molded! Shaped! Bred-- how disgusting."

But his mad scientist rant had given it away. Even Shigaraki wasn't that naive.

Silence prevailed.

The egghead seemed to realize what he'd done. "Oh...uh, look, Shigaraki, it's not bad. Kurogiri was a very fine specimen. In fact, it was really an honor, when you consider how much better we made him. And what better purpose could he have had? Why, you yourself ought to know that."

"So he chose it?" Shigaraki said.

"Chose it?" The doctor looked confused. "What does that have to do with it?"

Mirko felt sick all over again. She wasn't the only one. Medea looked ready to puke also.

"Nothing, I suppose," Shigaraki said.

"Tomura Shigaraki...who have you been talking to?" The doctor suddenly leaned forward. "Was it a pro?"

"Of course not," Shigaraki said, "It's nothing. I was just wondering for the sake of wondering."

He sounded unconcerned enough. The Doctor seemed to relax. "Well, don't let this distract you from the family. This is not a time to let your guard down."

"I'm aware..." Shigaraki said, "Are we done?"

"Why not? Just keep a watch. Better wait for me to contact you, just in case we're being spied on," the doctor said, "I'll know where to find you, never fear."

The small nomu opened its mouth, and before anyone was really ready it spat out more goo that sent them all hurtling away.

* * *

They reappeared in the lair.

Medea coughed and then shuddered. "Oh, that was so awful! Gag. Ew, ew, ew..."

"Are you all right?" Silk asked Mirko, wiping her mouth off.

Mirko didn't look all right. "Ah, sure, yeah, I'm fine."

"I think you're shaking."

"Oh, it's just the residue of the quirk blocking," Mirko said.

That might have been it, actually. She still wasn't moving normally. In fact, she fell over once she tried to take a step the usual way she would.

"That blocker wasn't normal." Silk helped her up. "I could feel it... It's like it was current in my body keeping me from using quirk. Did it affect all of you?"

"I felt fine," Compress said.

Everyone in turn answered. It turned out only Medea had felt it too, but it hadn't stopped her entirely.

"It's because my quirk isn't all muscle and stuff, it's chemical," she said, "I guess it didn't work perfectly on that."

"No doubt he'll polish it up," Spinner muttered, "But with that, he could defeat most people."

"It couldn't be very far reaching," Compress argued, "not working like that... I wonder where he got the idea. I didn't think quirk blocking was his thing."

The unpleasant possibility seemed to be the Originals had inspired him to switch tactics.

Mirko recovered in a few minutes, enough to use her quirk again.

Silk was surprisingly nice to her. She made her some tea.

"That was so scary." Medea was blunt. "When that thing grabbed you, I thought we were dead."

Mirko was more surprised they cared at all.

"I'm sorry we didn't try to help," Silk said, "I couldn't. I just... It was...I don't know, paralyzing. I'm not usually coward, but...this sort of thing, how you say, freaks me out."

"Yeah, only the boss kept his head," Medea said, "That was kind of cool, not gonna lie. I thought he was kind of an idiot, but still... Yeah, that doctor guy freaks me the flip out. I mean...where...? Why...?"

"What...what happened before I was there?" Mirko managed to ask in almost a normal voice.

"It was more of same-- asking question," Silk said. 

"Why did you look so terrified, then?"

Silk frowned. "Before you showed up, Doctor say we would make nice specimen too. Didn't go so far as to actually touch or capture us, or maybe you not only one who would have had little episode there...but he looked at me like I was piece of meat. I not like. Though it felt oddly familiar...."

"Yeah, well, you'd get that a lot of you were someone like me," Medea said, "but I didn't like it either. He was just so casz about it. I felt like a bug in a spiderweb."

Silk frowned. "Da..."

"Yeah, duh, exactly," Medea said.

"No, da. It mean yes," Silk said.

"Why does it sound like duh, then?"

"Because is Russian..." Silk said helplessly.

"Well, then what's no? 'Nah, fahm'?"

"Nyet."

"What?"

"Is nyet."

"Oh..."

Mirko stopped listening after this point.

[Well, that was creepy.

For real, even I'm creeped out by that doctor, and I'm the writer. Horikoshi can sure make a freaky villain.

Wonder what he's planning...]