Endeavor was dead.

Endeavor(sighing): So it's confirmed then.

Todoroki: Another death...

According to the news reports, the drugs they had found in his system had short-circuited Endeavor's natural limits and forced him to go so far beyond them that he'd burned almost half of his body into ash, a result that seemed to run in the family, if the tragic end of his oldest son was any indication. Dabi would have found the whole thing deliciously ironic if he didn't feel so numb. His father was dead and he hadn't had anything to do with it. He felt robbed.

Dabi(growling): Stupid villain factory stole my revenge...

Shigaraki: So you've got another reason to hate sensei now?

Spinner: What do you think?

Dabi knew there was more to the story than what the news was reporting, though. Most people seemed to think that Endeavor's downfall was an isolated incident brought about by his own hubris, which Dabi might have been tempted to believe if he hadn't overheard that conversation between Eraserhead and Viridian. It was almost funny how far the media was willing to bend back on itself to prevent the general public from panicking.

The story went that Endeavor, angry about the negative publicity he'd received after the new year's disaster, had sought out quirk enhancing drugs to increase his power and prove that he still deserved the number two spot. He must have gotten a bad batch, however, because the drugs he'd taken had been cut with something that caused psychosis. It was a nice story that placed the blame on Endeavor rather than on the Hero commission or society. Just one more Icarus that flew too close to the sun and burned himself out. It was an easy story for the public to digest, which was probably why the hero commission had done nothing to deny it, assuming they hadn't been the ones to quietly come up with the cover story to begin with.

Hawks: Probably.

Dabi, however, wasn't the general public. He knew that his father was too prideful to have ever willingly sought out trigger, something that his brother had confirmed when Kacchan had talked to him. He would have done that part himself, but there was always the chance his siblings would recognize him, and that was assuming he could even get close to him with how sketchy his scars made him look. No, it would have been too risky, but despite his complicated feelings on the whole thing, it was nice to know his siblings were doing alright and have confirmation that whatever had happened, his father had been the victim, not the perpetrator.

According to what Dabi had been able to scrounge up, the villain factory had been abducting people for years and actually running experiments on them. It turned out that a lot of the more powerful villains that had been popping up randomly only to disappear or immediately get caught over the past five or so years were actually the result of these experiments, so it stood to reason that the villain factory had run experiments on Endeavor as well, though what those experiments were was still a mystery.

Kurogiri: Multiple quirks...

All those years plotting revenge... all for his final victory to be snatched up by some shadow organization that he hadn't even known existed. His only consolation was that his father had definitely suffered, not that it was enough to stop Dabi from obsessing over finding the villain factory. He wouldn't rest until he'd found the people that had finally succeeded in killing Endeavor.

The only question was, when he finally found them, would he destroy them or join them?

Dabi: Oh destroy them definitely.

"No. Absolutely not."

Shouta looked at the kid in front of them, eyes full of determination, but he refused to budge, even when Bakugo looked like he was about to explode, probably literally based on what Amplifier had told him about the kid's quirk.

Aizawa: Really problem child?

"I've been building a lot of connections in the underground." Bakugo argued. "I can take the role of an informant and help you find the people who took Ogawa. He's my friend, and I can help, so just let me help already!"

Mitsuki: Katsuki I know you're worried but...

Bakugo(quietly simmering): Shut it hag.

"You're a kid, Bakugo." Amplifier said kindly. "It's too dangerous."

"I already figured out that it's dangerous." Bakugo grumbled. "Why do you think I'm here instead of going off on my own?"

Sero: At least he didn't pull a Viridian.

Midoriya(sputtering): Hey I'm doing better!

"You already filed a missing person's report." Tsukauchi pointed out. "You're the one that brought his disappearance to our attention, so now you need to leave it to the police and the heroes. We'll find him."

Bakugo glared at him, "Like you found Endeavor?"

(everyone flinched)

They were silent, but Bakugo just scoffed, "Yeah, the two cases are linked, aren't they? Like hell Endeavor would actually shoot up like that when he saw the whole drugs thing as cheating. I already knew Ogawa was an instant villain, so this obviously has something to do with trigger and probably the villain factory too, am I right?"

Shouta froze, "How did you hear that name?"

Twice: Dabi. Nobody.

Bakugo raised his chin defiantly, "Like I said, I have connections. Villains will trust me in a way that they won't trust you, which is something that you need after what happened to Endeavor. I know you're looking for him, so just let me be involved in the case!"

Shouta stood his ground, "We already have one idiot kid that we're trying to kick out of this case because it's too dangerous, we're not about to invite another child to join the investigation, Bakugo, it just wouldn't be logical."

"What?" Bakugo growled, "So you're just gonna do nothing until Ogawa turns up and starts destroying @#$&* like Endeavor did?!"

Tsukauchi(tiredly): We're not doing nothing...

"We're not doing nothing." Tsukauchi put a hand on Bakugo's shoulder. "We're throwing everything we have into finding these villains, even Principal Nezu from UA is getting involved with the investigation, but you're still a kid, Bakugo. It's dangerous and it isn't your responsibility to track down a criminal organization that's been giving full-on pros trouble."

Bakugo obviously wasn't buying it and Shouta rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. First Viridian and now this one. Problem children, every single one of them.

Joke: Don't you hate it when kids won't stop inserting themselves into large scale investigations on shady villain organizations?

Amplifier had been uncharacteristically silent as she thought, "How about we make a deal, kiddo?"

Bakugo looked at her suspiciously, but didn't immediately shoot the idea down, "What do you have in mind?"

Inko: He's listening...

"Well, our main complaint isn't your capability or your determination." Amplifier said. "It's just that an investigation like this is dangerous and should be left to the pros."

"I don't care..." Bakugo tried to interrupt but Amplifier held up a hand to stop him.

"You want to be a hero, right?" She asked. "You're planning on taking the UA entrance exam?"

Iida: And he can't if he's doing vigilante work.

"Of course I am." Bakugo growled. "Why else would I go to your stupid group?"

"Then focus on getting into UA." Amplifier ordered. "If you get in and officially become a pro hero in training, then we'll talk about letting you be involved in the case in a more official capacity, like an internship or something. Admit it, Bakugo, you know that Ogawa wouldn't want you losing sight of your goal this close to the exam. He'd want your first priority to be becoming the hero that you've been working to be."

Bakugo: Yeah... he would wouldn't he?

It was a good deal, logical, and would buy them time to solve the case before another kid elbowed his way into becoming a target like Viridian had. It wasn't the best case scenario, obviously, but it was workable. Shouta expected the kid to keep pushing, but to his surprise, Bakugo actually seemed to consider it.

Setsuna: Character development.

After a long moment, Bakugo's shoulders slumped in defeat, "After I get into UA, you'll let me officially help with the case?"

"We'll consider it." Shouta answered. "But only if you haven't been going off and doing vigilante-type work on your own. Let's close that loophole real quick."

Kendo: Yeah Viridian, the story I mean, is just full of loopholes isn't it?

Bakugo gave an amused scoff and rolled his eyes, "Fine. I won't do any more investigating on my own."

"More?!" Tsukauchi sighed. "Why are teenagers like this?"

(everyone laughed as Tsukauchi groaned and All Might patted him on his back sympathetically)

Bakugo shrugged and turned to leave, then stopped, "You were busy with Endeavor and I didn't know how big the case was. By the way, am I just going crazy, or are bees related to all this somehow?"

Midnight(shuddering): Yup.

There was a heavy silence as Shouta and the other two stared at him in shock. Finding out about the villain factory was one thing, but making the connection with Queen Bee? Just how much investigating had the kid done? Had he already made himself a target?

Compress: Thankfully not... I don't think.

Bakugo stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to leave, "I'm gonna take that as a yes. You might wanna ask the Todoroki kids about 'em. But what would I know? I'm just a kid. I'm not involved in the case. Yet."

(everyone snorted)

Aizawa: Problem child...

Once he was gone, Tsukauchi slumped down in his seat, "What is it about this case that attracts crazy kids? They should be doing normal teenager stuff like getting ice cream and recording stupid videos."

Inko: Neither of them are really... normal.

"In their defense, neither Viridian nor Bakugo are really normal." Amplifier sat on Tsukauchi's desk, ignoring his glare. "Bakugo isn't lying when he says he's made underground connections. Apparently after that run in with Stain, rumors started going around about Kacchan and how he's a future hero to watch out for. It may be at least partially because of a deranged serial killer, but Bakugo's already making a name for himself."

"Which means that the last thing he needs is to attract the attention of the villain factory." Shouta argued. "A kid like him with a powerful quirk? I can't imagine how tempting that would be for the psychopaths running these experiments."

Kurogiri: Very tempting.

"We're not gonna be able to keep him out of the case forever." Tsukauchi said finally. "UA will help keep him safe, right?"

Shouta nodded, "Once he's a hero student, he'll fall under the same laws and protections as an intern, and since Nezu will probably find the whole thing entertaining, we'll both be keeping an eye on him. Same goes for Viridian if we can manage to catch him. We'll protect them even if we can't keep them out of danger."

Shishida: Somehow I don't think they're catching Viridian anytime soon.

Shoda: Or even at all.

"Well, that's better than nothing." Tsukauchi groaned as he stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I apparently need to go ask the Todorokis a few more questions. Good luck with your vigilante."

"Thanks." Shouta's face twisted in displeasure. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need it."

Vlad: Yeah definitely.

Izuku sparred with Denki, letting the familiar motions and the presence of his friend distract him just enough to keep himself from spiraling again. He had thought the villain factory was farther along in their experiments than they apparently were, so he'd been justified in assuming that they had modified his body to at least survive his quirk, but apparently he'd been wrong, even if the heroes had made the same assumption. From what Izuku could figure out, the experiments had messed with Endeavor's limits and prevented him from passing out from quirk exhaustion like he normally would. Instead, Endeavor had simply gotten hotter and hotter until he'd burned himself out. Izuku just had to remind himself that it was the villain's fault that Endeavor was dead, not his, and there would have been a lot more damage and injuries if he hadn't gotten there when he did and been willing to play the bait. He just had to remember that he'd done the best he could.

Hound Dog: Good but...

Nezu: The distraction worked.

At least they weren't going to have to face multiple quirked monsters anytime soon, though. If the experiments weren't even far enough along to keep Endeavor alive with the stronger quirk, there was no way the villain factory was even close to ready to move onto what Izuku thought was the next phase of their plan. It was a small mercy, but one that Izuku was grateful for as Denki managed to throw him off balance. Maybe by the time the villain factory's supersoldiers were ready, Denki would be a hero and able to fight them! Izuku hoped so. If the whole thing with Endeavor had proved anything, it was that All Might had been right.

Hero work was really dangerous.

Mic(thinking of Oboro): Yeah... it definitely is...