A Hero's Resolve (Part 13)

Itsuka opened the door and let Denki escort Mr. Compress into the lobby. Wake, who was conscious now and on his knees facing the wall, turned his head and looked up at him. "What's going on?" Mr. Compress just shook his head as he was put on his knees on the other side of the lobby, facing that wall. The cop guarding Wake made him face the wall again and spoke with a forceful tone. "Don't look around." Denki approached Fatgum. "Hey boss. What's the situation?" Fatgum smiled. "Well, for starters, I got word from Shoto that Endgame and Endeavor crashed the party." "Wait, what?!" Itsuka walked up. "Oh yea, we got the signal, but we had no idea how accurate it was." Fatgum nodded. "Endgame apparently came through a side entrance and linked up with Team One. Then he fought Twice while Team One continued their mission to stop Shigaraki. Then Endeavor crashed through the window and killed Twice. Because Twice died, Void died too." Itsuka slowly nodded. However, Denki was more invested in this information. He had been there when Jason and Void found each other. He looked up at Fatgum. "Wait, Void died because Twice died?! Void turned into dust like a clone would?!" Fatgum nodded. "Void was the clone."

Shinso was now in handcuffs created by Momo, sitting against the wall. Chris, Jason, Shoto, and Kirishima were sworn to silence at all times due to the risk of one of them coming under control of Shinso, whereas the others could be stopped easily: Momo and Mina would likely not be able to withstand a hit from the others and Endeavor was still in a weakened state, so Shoto or Chris would be able to stop him. That is why those three were the ones talking to Shinso. Momo knelt down in front of Shinso. "Why did you join the League of Villains?" Shinso looked away, not saying anything. Momo sighed. "We aren't cops. We're not reading your rights. A team is already on the way conducting room searches. I just want to understand why a UA student would do this." Shinso glared up at Chris. "Because of you."

Chris looked confused. He pointed to himself, non verbally asking for clarification. Shinzo raised his voice. "Yes you! You and every other hero course student!" Nobody else spoke. Kirishima was about to, but Jason raised his hand. Not only because of the threat of mind control, but also because Jason knew letting Shinso rant will provide more information. "I tried! I tried to be a hero! I applied to every single hero training program in high school! I studied my ass off to get high marks on the UA exam! My whole life I wanted to be a hero!" Shinso hung his head, crying. "...A villain's quirk… that was what everyone told me… my entire damn life…" Shinso cried for a few more moments before the sobbing stopped. "...I can't be a hero…" Chris thought back to the first day he met All Might. He remembered when, after his whole life, All Might was the first person outside of Jason who truly believed he could become a hero. Police entered the floor through the stairwell with tactical vests and rifles. "SCPD!" The heroes all raised their hands, but the assault team leader lowered his rifle. "You're good! Wait, Endeavor?!" The Number One Hero nodded to them. The rest of the officers started searching the many rooms on the floor. The officer leader slung his rifle over his shoulder. "Alright, what's this guy's story?" He pointed at the handcuffed Shinso. Shinso closed his eyes and waited for what was coming.

"He was captured by the League of Villains and used as a hostage. We were able to rescue him before he could be used as leverage. He's currently handcuffed for his own safety while you all were searching the tower." Everyone around him just stared at Chris. Shinso slowly looked up, his eyes red from crying. The officer didn't question it. "Alright. Do you need medical attention, sir?" Shinso blinked a few times. "...No sir…" "Alright. We need to finish searching the Tower. Can you all escort him to the lobby?" Jason nodded. "We got it." The police reassembled and went to the next level.

Shinso looked at Chris as Momo uncuffed him. "Why did you do that? I'm a villain now." "No. No you're not." Chris reached his hand down, offering his hand to help Shinso up. Shinso took it and Chris helped him to his feet. "You're someone who wanted something your entire life and worked hard to get to that point. However, because you don't have anyone in your life popular enough to recommend you. The entrance exam focuses on flashy quirks that can destroy robots, so your quirk was useless. Because of your high grades, you were moved to General Studies instead of the Hero Course." Shinso looked away. Then Chris spoke again. "That doesn't make you a villain. I think your quirk is amazing." Shinso tensed up. Jason spoke up this time. "Learn from this. Consider it your second chance, and do better in the future." Momo smiled. "Everyone deserves a chance to be a hero." Shinso just stared at them. "...But… why…? After everything I did…" Kirishima looked away. Endeavor answered for the group. "Being a hero is never about beating the bad guy. Being a hero means saving lives, and it looks like these young heroes are choosing to save yours." Tokoyami closed his eyes. "To be a light in one's personal darkness is what any good hero should strive to be." Jason smirked at Tokoyami. "Uh oh. Emo Tokoyami has returned." "Shut up, Jason." Shinso looked down at the ground, trying to wipe away his tears with his sleeve. "...I don't know what to say…" Momo finally put the handcuffs in one of her pockets on her belt. "The most popularized hero courses are the courses for students fresh out of high school. However, there are hero courses for older students, which you can apply to. I can even put in a good word to the school for you." Shinso looked up at her. "...Thank you…"

Shigaraki entered the designated room. Police were on their way. He could hear them on the floor below. Vortex put his phone away. "The new recruit was defeated. He managed to turn Kirishima on his friends, but then Chris arrived and managed to snap him out of it. With Twice, Mr. Compress, and Wake all gone, I'm not sure what else is left for us." Toga locked the door behind her as she entered. "We also lost contact with Dabi. Not to mention we lost Spinner when we raided UA last." Vortex nodded. "Our numbers are cut in half. We're down to us and Kurogiri, and I hope Dabi is still alive." Toga got in Shigaraki's face. "And they've gotten better at fighting our Nomus!" Shigaraki pushed her out of the way. "Enough!" Vortex and Toga fell silent. Shigaraki took a deep breath. "...All of our problems can be solved in one day. However, before we can do that, we need to withdraw." As if on cue, a purple portal opened up. The three villains quickly walked through Kurogiri's portal, and it closed just as the police barged into the room.