Trump Card (Part 12)

Void laughed as Dr. Nomuru bandaged up Toga's burns. "You seriously tried to fight Mina one on one in close quarters?!" Toga shouted at Void. "She was just one girl!" "Yea! A girl who can create and shoot literal acid! Why did you only bring a knife?!" "Enough!" Shigaraki's voice silenced them both. The villain leader stood up. "We lost again. However, there is some good news. Although the dart missed its intended target, we still scored a major victory." The villains all looked towards Shigaraki as he continued. "Jason has lost his quirk." Morale for the League of Villains immediately rose as they smiled. Dabi cleared his throat. "So what's the plan now?" Shigaraki sighed. "...that's up to Void." Wake crossed his arms. "We lost Spinner, and now we're going to start taking orders from this guy?" Vortex nodded. "He used to be friends with those assholes. How do we know he's truly on our side?" Void smirked. "I know them better than they know themselves. I know their goals, I know their quirks, I know their strategies, I know their strengths, and, most importantly, I know their weaknesses. They managed to beat me today, but that won't happen again." Void stood up straight. "I'll inform you all on the plan by the end of the month, once I am sure that everything will work out as I need it to." He turned towards the door. "Just one more thing: keep your hands off Chris. He's mine to defeat."

Jason silently lay in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. None of his friends tried saying anything to cheer him up. They all knew it would be in vain. The sun had already set when the door swung open and Chris's mother rushed in. "Chris! Jason!" She first hugged Chris, then moved her way over to Jason. She tensed up when Jason didn't move. She let go and saw Jason still staring up at the ceiling. She turned to Chris. "...is he…?" He shook his head. "No mom, he's not in suicidal mode. He won't ever be like that again." Shoto looked up at Ms. Harper. "Jason was struck by a dart that erased his quirk. He's permanently quirkless." The mother was heartbroken as she held the traumatized Jason. Chris stepped out of the room, trying not to slam the door on his way out. Momo glanced around the room before following him.

Chris stood on the roof of the school, leaning against the fence that kept students from falling off. Momo came up behind him, standing next to him. "...are you ok…?" Chris didn't answer. His girlfriend sighed. "Sorry. Stupid question." She wrapped her arms around him. Chris wrapped an arm around her, still looking out at the partially destroyed forest. Momo looked up at him. "What are you thinking about?" "Void." She sighed. "I know it's really stupid to say this, especially after today's events, but you need to stop thinking about him." Chris sighed as he let go of her. "He's not Jason. I always told myself that he's still Jason, but just confused and alone. Today changed that. He was actually trying to kill us. He tried to kill Kirishima, the guy who looks up to Jason as the golden example for heroism. He tried to kill Shoto, the woman who would do anything for him. He even tried to kill me, the person who's been at his side the longest." Chris glared out at the last bit of fire that the fire department was putting out. "Next time I see Void, I will make sure to put him down like the villain he chose to become."