"You ding-dong, that place is obviously abandoned." Freddie had quipped as the three of you started walking down the equally-dirty sidewalk, one hand in her jacket pocket as another chugged down her signature can. "But. . . it was a convenience store, which obviously meant coffee. . !" You had been reasoning since earlier, Dabi long forgetting to rub your back in support the more he realized it was hopeless. "Mhm, keep telling yourself that, girlie. Anywhizzle, why'd you come find me?" The walk through the place didn't look like it would get any better, the deeper you got the more messed up your sense of smell became. "And, more importantly, like how?" She chuckled, although she did sound both impressed and a little taken aback. After all, she was supposed to be hacker, techie genius. . . thing, here, not you nor the fuckface quietly enjoying a cigarette. 

     "It's. . ." You sigh, the thought of having to relive it to retell it not an appreciated option. You opened your mouth to force yourself to explain it anyway, but had to stop as your eyes catch on to the surrounding areas. A woman hanging clothes with a baby on her hip, a sad yet furrowed look on her face as she did so; a man going about his day, but his little glances not getting past you; a group of rowdy teens laughing it up in a corner, but secret looks getting exchanged was glaringly obvious to your panicking mind. "It's. . . let's not talk about it here."

      She obviously doesn't understand what you mean, simply raising a brow before shrugging and continuing to lead the way. "Cool, cool. Still don't understand how you found me though." 

     "Well this was kind of the only place in New York that matched your oddly specific description," You told her, even something as innocent as a child biking past making your eyes follow it in panic of it being some sort of signal to attack you. "And honestly, I didn't really think you'd be here. Which, yeah, why are you here? The living conditions of this place doesn't seem so," You shrug, pointing to the general view of the area of broken cars forever parked on the sides of the streets with rats scurrying about through every box and piece of plastic that were unfortunate enough to get picked up by the wind. "Livable."

     "What can I say, rent's cheap," She shamelessly admits, tossing her previous can into a passing trash bin that looked like it had seen better days. It clattered on the already piling trash, frowning as it bounces off and rolls onto the floor. "So yeah. When was the last time we met anyway? You went to me to like, search for who's trying to kidnap you, right?" You nod. "Well? What happened to it?"

     "They did, and now I got something in my blood that's more or less gonna turn me into like one of these guys," You jab a thumb towards Dabi, who had fallen back from your small group of three as the teenager beside you raises a brow, "What do you mean?" She snorts, taking a moment to understand the implications. "Those guys? Trying to turn you into one of 'em?" You nod once again to answer her question, getting taken aback as she absolutely guffaws. "HAH! Oh my God, you're funny. Real funny. I'd be damned, oh my God." 

     "What?" You almost scoffed, not exactly realizing how she could laugh at that. "Heh, hah. . . ha-and you're not laughing. Uhh," She clears her throat, "Say uh, what happened?"

     "They kidnapped me, and they injected some sort of drug into me that is supposedly gonna turn me into one of the creatures." Her nose scrunches up, finding the possibilities of that ever happening awfully slim as you all arrive at a building. It looked like all the others in the area, grills covering glass as a single door lays open in the middle. Stairs led up, a worn out 'Welcome' mat greeting your shoes as Freddie makes her way up. "Weird."

     "Yeah, and they're working for Taro." You followed, sending a small glance behind you to make sure Dabi was still following before turning back, "Y'know, the dude who we figured out was the man behind the attempted assassination and shit."

     "Even weirder," You almost didn't hear that little comment of hers, the upstairs lobby coming into view as she quickly got to leading you to one of the many small halls. "Here," She mumbles, sending one of the people that were—apparently—here a passing wave before grabbing a key from her pocket. "Okay so, just to be clear, what group do you think Juan is with?" 

     You shrugged, letting her finish opening the door before following her right inside. "I don't. . .  I don't know? They just seem awfully determined to take me," You respond truthfully, earning an exasperated sigh from the blue-haired and jumping onto a small bed in the corner. You were stopped in your tracks, not exactly having anywhere else to go as only a little bit of extra space remained in the room. "Yeah uh duh, that's typically why people kidnap people, Y/N. Whatever, uh, so you remember how I mentioned this CRC group wanting to take. . . people like Dabi, and shit?" You slowly nod, not exactly being given a chance to fully recall the events of your last meeting when she continues. "Yeah uh, basically, my point is, this can't be the same group of people." 

     Now that made you even more confused, your face scrunching up in turn, "What?"

     "It'd be like. . ." She licks her teeth in thought, a finger tapping the cushion beside her before lazily and half-assedly reaching off for a laptop bag left in a corner of her bed, "Like a bunch of homophobes wanting to turn people gay, you get?" 

     . . .

     "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

     "My point is, these guys don't like these creatures so much," She quickly corrects herself, yelping once she got ahold of the bag and trying to push herself up. "My point is, these guys are racists bigots trying to get rid of the creature population. So them wanting to turn you into one would just be counter productive wouldn't you think?" Now that left an even bigger question, Dabi still somewhere in the lobby behind as you idled in front of the still-open door. "But. . . if Juan is one of these guys who hates creatures. . ." It took her a moment to try and remember who Juan was again despite just mentioning it—sleep deprivation and an unhealthy amount of coffee wasn't exactly the ideal lifestyle—recalling the events of her breaking her bat, Dabi getting into a fistfight with said guy, and one fucker stepping on her charger and letting out a quiet 'oh'. "He was the one who hit me with the syringe, though. Dabi said he read Juan's name on the website thing you found of them, so wouldn't that mean he's a part of that group?"

     Now she was left looking confused, the soft light of the laptop blinking slowly on her stomach as the gadget rested on her lap. "What?" She scoffed as if she couldn't believe you, her fingers hovering over a keyboard that didn't have any more letters, "No. . . no that's impossible because. . . well for starter's it's. . ." She lost herself halfway there, leaning back on the wall in defeat. Half of the paint was chipped off, while the other half had horrid wallpaper peeling off in groups. The room—unsurprisingly—smelled like coffee, while mixed with what you could only describe as wet wood. It was a weird combination, but it wasn't enough of a distraction for you to get your attention off the girl who looked like she was about two steps off the edge from falling off. 

     "Maybe. . . maybe it was just the wrong guy, yeah?" You shook your head, finding that leaning back on the wallpaper was a mistake because you heard the undeniable sounds of a squelch upon making contact, "But. . . but that wouldn't make any sense!"

     "Yeah well that's what's happening, I guess." You sigh, finding your back forever hopeless as you go over to sit on her bed, "Well no point dwelling on who's who and who's part of what, don't you think?" The girl still looked bewildered and unable to process, her fingers typing and spamming on the backspace button repeatedly, trying to find something to think about, "Yeah. Yeah sure no, whatever," She blew a fly-away strand of her hair, one hand gripping the edge of a blanket and lifting up the device, before letting the cloth fall over her lap. Almost as if on cue and on a wicked twist of a reminder, cold air entered through her apparently existing window, shivering quietly as you unknowingly went to go. . . and almost shrink, if you could describe it. "So like, what did you want to ask me?"

     "Well, we," You pause, correcting yourself with a quiet scowl to the blank doorway, "I, wanted to know if there were any labs here that might be capable and. . . concealed enough, I guess, to manufacture a drug like this." She chokes on a can that she had managed to pop open and drink in the time you were explaining, coughing as you instinctively reached out a hand to rub on her back, "I'm fine, fine. I," She huffed, getting another wheeze out before fully recovering, "Jesus, you're gonna end up killing me one of these days. That's downright impossible to pinpoint!" 

     You frowned, but kept quiet as she continued. "Because, oh I don't know, there are over dozens of labs in Manhattan alone?! Hell, who even knows if this was made in Manhattan! For all we know it could be made somewhere horrible enough to allow shit like this to be even made! Like fucking," Her hand shook, from either the coffee or  from deep thought trying to find the right example, you weren't sure, "Jersey or something, I don't know!" She sighs, turning to you with an inquisitive look a moment after, "Why'd you need this, anyway?"

     "Well for starter's, it'll help my scientist friend figure some things out and maybe even create an antidote for this. . ." You shrug, pointing to your entirety in reference of the drug inside you still suspiciously laying dormant, "Thing. It's. . . it's important, okay? If you can't find anything, just let me know. I wouldn't expect you to know everything."

     . . .

     Whether or not that was the right choice of words is entirely up to your judgement, but it seems that it was motivation enough for her to start typing. "Pfft, uh, yeah, never said I couldn't, duh," She forces out a laugh, a barely noticeable vein popping on her forehead, "Just. . . just like. . . give me, give me a second. I'm gonna need some time, but I'll find that fucking lab, I swear," You raised a finger to continue talking, but pause as you see the silhouette of Dabi quietly standing by outside, idly messing with his coat as he looked more than uncomfortable just being left there. "Oh. Oh well, okay, I guess. You sure you'll be okay?"

     "Yeah, duh, why wouldn't I be? I mean," She starts laughing humorlessly again, eyes straining as, if the sounds of her aggressively typing on the laptop were anything to go by, she wasn't going to be answering any more of your questions. So with a final sigh, you bid her a small goodbye and head out of her room.

     "Well? What'd the brat say?" You shrug, the door now closed as you and Dabi quietly head for the same way you two had came from. "Oh, not much. She suspected that the Juan dude you've been fighting a lot was part of the group that you said was disbanded," You pause, physically doing so on the steps before shrugging and making your way down, "Either you or Freddie, I can't remember but whatever. Something something, the creature group, right?" He nods. "Well she mentioned that those guys don't exactly appreciates your uh," You cleared your throat, adjusting the strap of the backpack you clung tightly onto, "Kind. And that him injecting the thing into me would be impossible and unlikely because she said it'd be 'counter-productive'. So yeah, now I'm stuck with no answers and she said that she'll be able to maybe find the laboratory responsible for creating this." You let out a sound that was a mix between a sigh and a groan, hitting Dabi's shoulder with your forehead in defeat, "I've got nothing! Even her reassurance in mastery of her craft doesn't serve me any form of comfort." 

     "Well I say that you should probably stop worrying about—" You glared at him that dared him to keep talking, raising both hands in mock surrender as he stops, "Okay, okay fine, not what you wanna hear. Uh, lunch, I guess? You still haven't eaten." You sigh again, although this time a lot less hostile and letting the phoenix know that he was somewhat safe, "Yeah. Yeah, I could go for some food."

● ● ●

     "Well I'm not exactly seeing any results here, Juan," Taro sneered, the crack from the window being just slightly rolled down hardly noticeable save for the man standing right beside it, "Yeah, and I didn't make the drug. I injected it, did what you told me to do. Pretty sure a thank you would be a good enough greeting, yeah?" The young businessman's eye twitches, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself before laughing coldly, "Hah, aha, oh, you are funny. Didn't know that you could talk to me like that now, but here we are, right?" He snickers, the charming smile on his face breaking just the slightest bit as he eyes one of his many guards stationed outside and around the vehicle. 

     With one quiet look a gun was pulled out and held straight onto the man's burnt face, the muffled bullet piercing through his temple and disappearing into the night.  

     "Eugh," He had the gall to look out the heavily tinted window, letting the body drop to his knees as he catches one last glimpse of the eyes rolling towards him. Even in death he held a look of betrayal, scowling as though the blood would somehow get him in his car. "Get him out of here," He announces as the body makes a thudding contact with the ground, "Insufferable, incompetent piece of shit," rolling up the windows in full as, without word, the Yaoyorozu son drives off quietly. 

     Many of the men who had worked alongside Juan stared in horror, quietly murmuring amongst themselves as the guard responsible simply puts back the gun. He had on an expensive suit, not a single sign of dried blood anywhere but on the tips of his shoes, even then getting washed away by the ever steady flow of slow rain. But despite that still he sneered, an eye snapping towards one of the goons as they visibly flinch. "Hey," His raspy—demonic—voice calls out, making direct eye contact with a person who didn't want to make eye contact. "Want to help me out here, bud?" He didn't so much as wait for an answer as he lifts up the now dead Juan by the arms, legs left dragging as he squints his scarred eyes at the man. 

     "Hey, I think I'm talking to you, bud," Said man screams in pain as, what looked to be a black tendril shot straight through his chest, blood slowly pooling as his once dirty yellow jacket just got even dirtier. "Are you gonna help me, or not?" Many of the men quickly volunteered to go, fearing that whatever just happened might happen to them as well. With a heave in a collective group, they tossed the body onto a nearby dumpster with no care whatsoever, the men who had worked so closely with him forced to watch the unconscious corpse tumble into the messy, moldy depths that was typical city trash. "How. . ." One dared whisper, many sucking in sharp breaths as the suited bodyguard pauses.

     Large rough hands held the lid up as he stares down at the wrangled body, completely managing to ignore the smell and now-forming rot as he grins unnaturally at one of the men. He. . . it slowly began to laugh, the once-silent alley getting thrown deep into madness as it's inhuman voice chortles loudly, "Why?" The amalgamation of a voice snickers, "Why, oh why? Do you want to experience it too, bud?" The plastic held under his fingers crushed, wrinkling and breaking into pieces as calloused digits let it drop shut on the smelly container. It closed unnaturally now that he had deformed it, many of the men already gone and have long since run away. The unlucky few were but of the weaker, one still kneeled beside the one it had just quietly killed with no rhyme or reason. Why did it do that? Who knew, maybe it just wanted to.

     "Want to know how I got these," It teases as a single black tendril exits from under it's sleeve, whipping and snapping around like a snake as the man who dared question shook his head. "Want to have some of your own? Want to feel them, hmm?"

     "N. . .no," He shakily lets out, before crying out in pain as one pierced right through his shoulder, hand instinctively grabbing it as the large bodyguard quickly stands over him with a menacing difference in height, "Well too bad, bud. You asked," Many more of the same material emerged from still below it's sleeves, the collective group looking like sentient sharp hair as it moves closer, and closer to the poor goon. "Your—" It and the things freeze at the distant sounds of sirens, no doubt the police getting dragged into this in the high chance of someone hearing the gun go off a few minutes before. 

     "Saved by the bell." It retracts it's weapons, the man crying out loudly as it exits his wound, a small fountain of blood only getting stopped by the thick layers over it, "Just try and do anything, bud." It's demonic voice taunts, disappearing into the shadow as he could've sworn he saw cracked skin falling in it's wake, a vaguely humanoid shape only taking it's place as it slithered away in a formless mass, "They'll never believe you."

note ; i had a freddie sketch for this but wattpad glitched out sooo i aINT TAKING ANY CHANCES IF THIS CHAPTER GETS DELETED IM GONNA BE SO PISSED

UHH YEAH THATS IT STAY SAFE YALL LMFAO WERE SO CLOSE TO 800 READS 200moreandimightaddasmutmuehehehehehe