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NEW GOLD MEMEBER:- Tyler Banghart
--XXXX--
The vault was silent, save for the low, rhythmic hum of the cryogenic stabilizers lining the walls.
Dabi — no, Toya Todoroki — hung suspended in the center of the room. The restraints binding him were heavy, cold chromium alloy, biting into his scarred flesh. The temperature in the room was kept just above absolute zero, a cruel countermeasure to his quirk. His breath didn't even mist in the air; the moisture was sucked away instantly by the scrubbers. He was freezing, his body full of pain where his staples pulled at his dead skin.
But the cold outside was nothing compared to the chill that had settled in his gut.
Standing before him, perched on a small, sterile metal stool, was Principal Nezu. The small creature was meticulously grooming his whiskers with a handkerchief, looking for all the world like he was preparing for a tea party rather than interrogating an illegal black site.
"So," Nezu began, folding the handkerchief into a perfect square and tucking it into his vest pocket. "Toya Todoroki. The eldest son. The dead son. The one who burned on Sekoto Peak."
Dabi stared at him, his turquoise eyes burning with fury. "You think knowing my name changes anything, Rat? You think I care?"
"I think you care a great deal," Nezu replied cheerfully. "You care about your narrative. You care about your grand reveal. You've spent ten years suffering, stitching yourself back together, enduring agony that would break men, all for one singular moment. The moment you destroy Enji Todoroki. The moment you burn his legacy to ash and dance on the chaos you created."
Nezu hopped down from the stool and began to pace, his claws clicking softly on the metal floor.
"But here you are. Frozen. Forgotten. A ghost in a box." Nezu stopped and looked up, his black eyes devoid of warmth. "If I keep you here, Toya... you will never get your revenge. Endeavor will live a long, celebrated life. He will retire a hero. He will die peacefully in his bed, surrounded by the family he 'rebuilt,' and you will be nothing but a footnote in a classified file that no one will ever read."
The words hit Dabi like physical blows. It was his worst nightmare articulated with surgical precision.
"What do you want?" Dabi rasped, his voice rough from disuse and the cold.
"I want Shigaraki," Nezu said simply. "I want the League and info about a certain Doctor."
Dabi scoffed. "I don't know where they are. We got separated. That armored freak took me before I could regroup."
"Don't lie to me," Nezu said. The cheer was gone, replaced by a flat, terrifying intelligence. "You were with them in the forest and were communicating. I am sure you have protocols and rallying points. You should know the details, no?"
Nezu walked closer until he was standing directly beneath the suspended villain.
"Here is the deal, Toya. I am a pragmatic creature. I do not care about your petty grievances with your father. That is a domestic dispute, however fiery. My concern is the stability of this country and the safety of my students. Shigaraki Tomura threatens that. You? You are a symptom."
Nezu clasped his paws behind his back.
"Tell me everything. Tell me where Shigaraki is going. Tell me about the Doctor's lab. Tell me about the power All For One left behind. Give me the League."
He paused, letting the silence stretch.
"Do this... and I will let you go."
Dabi's head snapped up. "What?"
"I will release you," Nezu promised, his voice smooth. "I will open these doors, disable the sensors, and let you walk out of here. You can go back to your life. You can go back to plotting your revenge against Endeavor. As long as you promise not to target my students or U.A. again... I will turn a blind eye to your existence. You get your freedom. You get your shot at your father."
Dabi stared at the creature. It sounded insane. A hero — a principal of U.A., no less — offering to release a mass murderer just for intel?
"You're lying," Dabi hissed. "Heroes don't make deals like that."
"I am not a hero, Toya," Nezu smiled, a sharp, toothy expression. "I am an educator. And sometimes, education requires... difficult choices. I am offering you a trade. Your information for your vengeance. Do you really have a choice? It's either this, or you rot here until the end of time, watching Endeavor's approval ratings climb while you freeze to death."
Dabi closed his eyes. He thought of his father's face. He thought of Shoto, living the life he should have had. He thought of the years of pain. He couldn't end here. He couldn't.
He opened his eyes. They were cold, defeated, but burning with a desperate resolve.
"Fine," Dabi spat. "You want the League? You can have them. They're nothing to me anyway. Just stepping stones."
"Excellent!" Nezu pulled a small notepad and a fountain pen from his pocket. "Start from the beginning. After Kamino. Where did you go?"
For the next hour, Dabi spilled everything.
He told Nezu about the Doctor, Kyudai Garaki. He described the smell of the morgues, the vats of Nomus, the way the Doctor talked about All For One like a god. He gave the general coordinates of the labs he had visited, hidden beneath hospitals and orphanages.
He told him about Gigantomachia. The sleeping mountain. The radio. The fact that the beast would only wake for a true successor.
"Shigaraki is weak," Dabi sneered. "He can't control the giant. The Doctor won't give him the High-Ends until he proves he's worthy. He's desperate."
"And where is he now?" Nezu asked, scribbling furiously, his shorthand a blur of ink.
"He should be fighting that monster right now," Dabi said. "He's fighting the giant in the mountains. Trying to wear him down. But he should be getting a call from the Meta Liberation Army."
Nezu stopped writing. "Re-Destro, and how do you know that?"
"That is none of your business, and yeah. The bald guy with the stress issues. He was planning to kidnap our broker, Giran. Then, challenging the League to a fight in Deika City."
"Deika City..." Nezu muttered, his eyes narrowing as he processed the strategic implications. "An entire city liberated... a perfect testing ground."
"Shigaraki would 100% plan to go there," Dabi continued, his voice hoarse. "He would likely use the Army to wear down Gigantomachia. He's going to wake the giant and lead him straight into the city. Let the two enemies kill each other while he picks up the pieces."
"Two days? Wow. I never knew you were working with the Liberation Army and the League at the same time. Quite impressive." Nezu said with a knowing smile, shocking Dabi.
'His quirk is broken.' Dabi thought.
"Is that all?" Nezu asked.
"That's everything," Dabi rasped. "The Doctor, the Giant, the Army, the location, the timeline. You have it all. You can wipe them all out in one strike if you're fast enough."
Dabi pulled against the restraints, looking down at Nezu expectantly.
"Now... the deal. Open these things. Let me go."
Nezu stared at him. He tapped his chin with a clawed finger, looking thoughtful. "You have been very cooperative, Toya. This intelligence is invaluable. It confirms my suspicions about the Hassaikai's supply lines and the Doctor's involvement. Deika City... yes, we can use that. We can trap them all."
"I don't care what you do with them," Dabi growled. "Just let me out. You promised."
Nezu turned around. He began to walk toward the heavy blast door.
"Hey!" Dabi yelled, panic spiking in his chest. "Rat! Where are you going?! The cuffs! Unlock them!"
Nezu reached the door. He placed his paw on the biometric scanner. The heavy locks clanked, preparing to cycle. But not to open. To seal.
"Hey!" Dabi screamed, thrashing violently. "You promised! If I told you everything, you'd let me go! You said I could leave!"
Nezu stopped. He turned his head slowly to look back at the villain. His expression was the picture of innocent confusion.
"Did I?" Nezu asked.
"YES!" Dabi roared. "You said 'Do this, and I will let you go'! I did it! I held up my end! Now let me go!"
Nezu smiled. It wasn't the predatory smile from before. It was a smile of pure, unadulterated mockery.
"Nope."
The single syllable echoed in the vault.
Dabi froze. His brain short-circuited. "W-What?"
"I lied," Nezu said cheerfully.
"You... you can't..." Dabi stammered, his mind reeling. "You're a hero! You're a principal! You can't just lie! It's... it's unethical! It's against the rules! You gave your word!"
"Is this how heroes are supposed to act?!" Dabi screamed, his voice breaking into a hysterical, furious shriek. "Lying to a prisoner?! Manipulating me?! Don't kid with me, you furry freak! Open this door!"
Nezu watched him unravel. He watched the arrogance, the coolness, the carefully constructed persona of Dabi crumble into the tantrum of a betrayed child.
And then, Nezu started to laugh.
"Hahahahaha!"
It started as a chuckle, then grew into a full-blown, maniacal cackle that bounced off the steel walls. Nezu clutched his stomach, wiping a tear from his eye.
"AHAHAHAHA! Oh, oh, this is rich!" Nezu gasped, struggling to breathe. "Oh, Toya. You really are precious."
He straightened up, the laughter vanishing instantly, replaced by a cold, hard gaze that pinned Dabi to the wall.
"It's funny," Nezu said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Coming from a little villain like you. Who the fuck are you to demand justice? Who are you to talk about ethics?"
He took a step forward, his eyes burning with rage.
"You kidnapped my student," Nezu whispered. "You attacked a training camp full of children. You burned forests. You have murdered innocent people. You tried to kill Akaza. You tried to kill Rumi Usagiyama, along with Mina and Momo. You have actively worked to dismantle the peace of this society."
Nezu's eyes glowed red in the dim light.
"You are a mass murderer, Toya. You are a terrorist. You gave up your rights to 'fairness' the moment you decided to burn a child alive. You dare stand there, strapped to a table because of your crimes, and act like the victim because I told a little fib?"
"I..." Dabi gaped, stunned into silence.
"You think you're special because your daddy was mean to you?" Nezu scoffed. "Cry me a river, Toya. Everyone has a sob story. Akaza may not share it with me, but I can see he has been through hell. Do you see him burning down cities? No. He directs his rage at the trash like you."
Nezu turned back to the door. The heavy bolts began to slide home.
"You wanted revenge," Nezu said over his shoulder. "You wanted to ruin Endeavor. You wanted him to look at you and realize what he created."
Dabi stared at him, hatred and fear warring in his eyes.
"Well, don't worry," Nezu said, his voice light and airy again. "I'm a generous educator. I believe in family reunions."
The door began to swing shut.
"I'll get your daddy for you soon, Toya," Nezu said, a cruel, promising smile on his face. "But it will be on my terms. And I promise you... you won't enjoy it."
"WAIT!" Dabi screamed. "WAIT! YOU CAN'T — "
"Goodbye, Dabi," Nezu laughed. "Enjoy the cold."
CLANG.
The heavy blast door slammed shut, sealing the vault with a finality that echoed like a tombstone. The locks engaged.
Inside, Dabi screamed, a sound of pure, impotent rage that no one would ever hear.
Outside, in the pristine white corridor, Principal Nezu adjusted his tie. He hummed a little tune, tapping his notepad.
"Deika City," he mused to himself, his tail twitching happily. "One hundred and ten thousand villains in one place. And the League is heading right for them."
He began to walk down the hall, his footsteps light.
"It seems I need to make a call to Asura. It's time for a field trip."
He laughed again, a high, chilling sound that echoed through the empty facility. The Rat God had the cheese, and the trap was about to snap.
---XXXX---
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