At Any Cost (Part 3)

Dabi was silent as he looked down at the medical table in front of him. Jason was being kept unconscious with sedatives. Just for good measure, he was also strapped down to the table with heavy duty leather straps. Spinner walked into the room, the two new recruits following him. The one with white hair, Vortex, looked down at Jason. "We should just kill him and get it over with." Spinner glared at him. "What did I tell you before? We follow Shigaraki's orders." Vortex spun around. "If he is as dangerous as you all claim, killing him now would be in everyone's best interest." Dabi sighed and sat down. "Shigaraki has plans for him. It's not our job to question him. It's just our job to do as he says and kill any hero we come across." He looked down at his phone. The other recruit glared at Dabi. Dabi looked back up at him. "You have something to say?" "I sacrificed my brother and his quirk for the League of Villains damn near a year ago and you guys lost the damn Nomu on its first mission." Spinner looked at Dabi. "I'm inclined to agree with Wake. We expected one of the Nomus to be destroyed. Not all six." Dabi stood back up, putting his phone in his jacket pocket. "That is something we all agree on. Shigaraki had All for One steal quirks specifically to create Nomus to defeat their strongest opponents. It would seem to me that the Nomus are nothing but expendable muscle." He smirked as he held up his hand, creating a small ball of fire. "I personally can't wait to get a shot at those wannabes again." Vortex glanced over at the black and white tv nearby. "It looks like you'll be getting your chance, Dabi." Everyone else turned to the tv. It was connected to a cheap security camera showing the warehouse above them. Endeavor and Shoto had just burst through a wall. Dabi swore and shouted. "Twice! Get in here!" A door opened up and Twice poked his head out, his costume covered in grease stains. Dabi pointed at him. "Clone me! Now! And you!" He pointed to Spinner. "Get the failsafe ready!"

Endeavor and Shoto activated their flames, since there didn't seem to be working lights in the warehouse. The young woman looked around. "This place looks abandoned." Endeavor nodded, inclined to agree with initial observation. Shoto turned to look at her father, but quickly put up an ice wall to protect herself from Dabi's blue hot flames. Endeavor spun around and blasted Dabi. The villain was barely able to use his own flames to protect himself. Once the fire stopped flying, the hero and the villain glared at each other, being face to face for the first time. Endeavor glared. "...Touya…" Shoto tensed up. "...wait… Touya…?" She slowly looked at Dabi. "...as in Touya Todoroki…?" Dabi sighed and smiled. "Long time no see, father."

Chris was incredibly impatient, despite Tamaki driving at over 100mph. He felt like he could get to the building faster on foot, but Fatgum insisted on the entire team going together Strength in numbers. In fact, Chris seemed to be the only person who wasn't panicking at Tamaki's driving. Kirishima and Mina were clinging to each other for dear life. Momo clung onto the front seat, where Chris was sitting. She shouted over the traffic and over the roaring of the engine. "Why are you going so fast?!" Tamaki expertly turned, avoiding a collision. "So we can get to your friend sooner!" Kirishima opened his eyes for the first time in the last five minutes. "How have we not crashed yet?!" Tamaki didn't answer. Fatgum smiled and yelled to everyone else in the truck. "Tamaki was top of his class at the UA Advanced Pursuit Driving Course for third year students! He's better at car pursuits than most pro heroes!" Chris took a deep breath, not paying attention to the yelling. He just wanted to save his best friend.

Dabi raised his arms to fire an attack at Endeavor, but an ice wall stopped him. He turned to see his younger sister activating her own flames. Dabi smirked again, preparing to fire a massive attack. Then Endeavor shattered through the ice wall, which was in reality a very thin layer of ice. Dabi was surprised, opening himself up to Shoto's attack. Dabi got hit in the side by a ball of fire before Endeavor, with flame covered fists, punched Dabi across the room. Dabi slowly rose to his feet, but Endeavor grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the wall. Dabi raised a hand up to Endeavor's face, but Shoto grabbed him with her right hand, freezing his body in a prison of ice. Dabi, with only his face not frozen, let out a defeated sigh. "I will hand it to you two; you make a good team." Shoto put her left hand up to his face, activating his flames. "Where is Jason?" "Come on, you're really going to torch your own brother?" Endeavor activated his own flames. "We're not in the mood, Touya!" Dabi gave the pro hero a defiant smirk, remaining silent.

Wake chuckled. "Dabi got his ass kicked." The real Dabi shrugged. "It's just a clone. Clones are never as strong as the original." He turned to Vortex. "What is the status of the van?" The 17 year old villain in training peaked his head into the garage. "Twice! Dabi wants an update!" A loud clunk was heard, followed by smoke emanating from the engine. "...I'll let him know." Vortex looked at Dabi. "It will be a little while." Dabi swore. "Then we're out of options. Vortex, get the prisoner ready for transport. Wake, destroy everything we can't take with us." As the two teenagers jumped to their tasks, Dabi turned to Spinner. "Is it ready?" Spinner finished pressing a few of the keys on the laptop. "...done." Dabi smirked. "Good. Let's see how the Number One Hero handles the first of the High End Nomus."

The building lightly shook, followed by a muffled roar coming from directly beneath the floor. Shoto and Endeavor both looked down. "...what on Earth was that…?" Endeavor shook his head. "...I don't know…" Dabi smiled. "Well, my job is done. Have fun." The Dabi Clone turned into dust.

The floor nearby exploded into bits, sending both Shoto and Endeavor flying into the nearby brick wall. They were quick to their feet, however. They froze when they saw the 9ft tall black mass rise from the dust cloud. It walked on all fours, but had long forearms like a humanoid. When the dust settled, they could see its head was concealed by black skin. It was definitely a Nomu, but it was bigger than even the one designed to fight All Might. It also appeared physically stronger than any other Nomu on record. Then, the Nomu did something that sent chills through the two heroes; it spoke. "...heroes… die…"

The High End Nomu lunged forward, roaring an ear shattering battlecry.