Ren sat on his bed, deck of cards in hand, staring at the empty dorm room. He had finally decided he needed to practice his new quirk, but control? That was a whole other disaster waiting to happen.
"Okay," he muttered to himself, shuffling the cards nervously. "If I just focus… I can land right in front of Kirishima. Maybe Denki. Someone I can actually talk to."
He held the deck in both hands, closed his eyes, and pictured his friend. "Think about him. Don't think about anywhere else."
FWOOOSH.
The air bent and shimmered, twisting unnaturally. Ren felt that familiar tug in his stomach, the world folding around him… and then he landed hard on the floor.
He opened his eyes.
"…Uh."
The ceiling was low. Broken furniture surrounded him. The smell of old dust and… something else. His stomach flipped.
He looked around slowly, heart starting to race.
"Oh no."
A tall, creaky couch sat in the middle of the room. Across from it, three figures lounged casually: Tomura Shigaraki, Dabi, and the ever-mysterious Kurogiri.
Ren swallowed. He had definitely not planned for this.
And then… he heard footsteps.
A blur of cream-blonde hair zipped through the room.
"Rennnyyy-Pennnnyyyy!"
It was Himiko Toga, bounding around, giggling maniacally, waving a pair of scissors like they were a prop in a game.
Ren froze mid-step, deck of cards in hand. His mind raced.
"…Uh…"
Toga spotted him and skidded to a stop, crouching low, eyes gleaming.
"YOU'RE HERE! I KNEW YOU'D COME BACK!" she shrieked, spinning in excitement.
Ren looked at the three villains and then back at Toga. His fingers fumbled the cards.
"…Uh… wanna play… garbage?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Toga blinked. Then giggled. The other three stared, expressionless.
"…What?" Dabi asked, voice flat but slightly amused.
"Yeah," Ren said, shoving the cards forward. "You know… garbage. Classic card game. Whoever loses… well… nothing, I guess. Just play."
Toga's grin widened until it was almost terrifying.
"Ohhhhhh… I LIKE YOU!" she squealed. "You're fun!" She snatched the deck and threw a few cards into the air.
Ren took a cautious step back. Kurogiri's mist swirled around him like a warning. Shigaraki's fingers twitched, and Dabi just raised an eyebrow.
"Uh… okay, maybe this wasn't the best idea," Ren muttered under his breath.
Toga was already hopping around, laying down cards on the dusty floor. Her laughter echoed through the base, bouncing off the walls.
Ren sighed. He was officially stuck in the League of Villains' base with a girl who thought he was the most fun thing ever… and three terrifyingly powerful men watching silently.
"Well," Ren said aloud, gripping the deck tighter, "at least I brought snacks… if anyone wants some."
Toga squealed again. "SNACKS?!"
The air shimmered faintly as Kurogiri's mist drifted toward Ren.
Ren gulped. "…This is going to be a long… very long day."
And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he'd have to figure out how to teleport back before anyone noticed he had completely vanished from UA.
But for now… he just played along.
"Garbage it is."
The cards flew. The giggling rang. And somewhere, far off in the shadows, the other villains exchanged a look that said: This kid is going to be a problem… and we kind of love it.