Chapter 83: You Have Got to Be Shitting Me Part 1
"So your plan is to use… mischief?"
"Yes and yes," Hawks nods with each word, as if that's all the explanation needed. Nighteye's face practically screams for him to continue in polite contempt. All Might's former sidekick can say what he wants, but Keigo thinks they work well together, and not just because the whole fabric of humanity stands to crumble if they don't.
"Look, I'll break it down." Hawks redirects their lamp down at the table of scattered papers before them. "It's provisional license exam day at the commission. That means most of their personnel are going to be busy at one of the three exam sites all day."
Keigo lays down a map indicating the location of all three sites. He then drops a few lists of heroes next to it. "And not just them, but security too. Commission agents, cops, and heroes alike. Buuuuut wait, I'm still not done."
He dangles a memo in front of Nighteye's face, until the other man has enough and snatches it away, shooting Hawks one last glare for good measure. He scans the document. "Even more security than usual?"
"That's right." Keigo swipes away at a few of the papers until he finds what he's looking for, pulling it up so Keigo can see. "The public's been pretty upset with all the villain attacks just this year, especially since they keep involving kids. So the HPSC is under a lot of pressure to make sure the exams go off without a hitch."
The winged hero grins. "Don't you see?" He taps the papers repeatedly. "With that kid Mischief and his class, with all the other kids, distracting the HPSC, if there's any day for us to sneak in, it's today!" He spreads his arms out as a sort of end to his proposal, a few of his feathers flying around the room for extra flair.
And to constantly monitor the surrounding area to make sure they're alone but flair. Also flair.
Unfortunately, Nighteye isn't as excited as him at the proposal. He glances up, placing the document in his hands down. "I agree. Today would afford us a rare opportunity. But just one question." He looks out across the table and sea of papers, which can only be described as barely a step above a conspiracy board. "Why?"
Nighteye plucks his own map up. "The HPSC has numerous buildings in this city alone. Each with their own purpose and despite your assurances, each with their own security detail. What would we be looking for? Why risk discovery so quickly? As you said, they don't leave a paper trail."
Hawks stared at him flatly. "Didn't you work with All Might for a while? I thought you'd be a lot more optimistic than this."
"I'll be optimistic when you give me a reason to be."
"Well then, get ready to fill that cup with water buddy." Keigo takes a folded piece of paper out of his jacket. "With those Skrulls replacing people to spy on everyone, I thought that toucan play at that game."
He holds but Nighteye doesn't crack. Not even a little. "Really? Nothing? It was a bird pun! Toucan like two can- that Lemillion kid said you like jokes-"
"Get on with it, Hawks."
"Anyway," Keigo continues dramatically. "I've been feather-tapping more rooms than usual lately, and I got this nifty piece of info."
He hands over the transcription to Nighteye, who reads it carefully, his eyebrows slowly rising with every passing second. "And you're sure about this?"
"Absolutely." Hawks snatched it back. "This is it! The lead we've been looking for." He points to the transcript. "Right from the president's mouth herself."
He looks down, quoting her. "When we have access to All for One's abilities once more, we should convince our partner to shift more focus to Japan's underground. The more villains under our network, the less likely one of our heroes is to die in the field, risking exposure. That is, afterall, what doomed our first occupation of this planet."
Hawks throws the paper away wildly. "Their first occupation?!" he repeats. "That means they've tried this before! Which also means-"
"They've been stopped before…" Nighteye looks up, new life in his voice. "The heroes of old found a way. And if they could be thwarted once, it can be done so again."
"Exactly! Now originally, I thought about just asking one of the heroes who was there about it. Doctor Strange, Wolverine, maybe Vision. But-"
"If the hero you contact happens to be a Skrull in disguise, or the topic of your conversation reaches a Skrull, we'll be the ones who are exposed," Nighteye finishes for him.
Hawks shoots him finger guns. "Got it in one." He holds up the map of the city Nighteye had fished out. "The commission archives." One of his feathers stabs into the building he's talking about. "The computer network in there connects with servers from the United Nations, the WHA, everyone. If we're gonna find any info about their first invasion, it'd be there."
He lowers the map. "Thing is, while I can get us in, there's no way I could break into the terminal. Buuuuut," he scoots close to the other hero, "I figure maybe somebody whose agency specializes in information gathering might have a way to smash past a computer's security." He elbows Nighteye in the arm. "Eh?"
Nighteye narrows his eyes at him, before looking away and pushing up his glasses. And that's when Keigo hears it. It's small. Barely there. But unmistakable.
He hears Nighteye blow just the tiniest bit of air out of nose.
"YES!" Hawks cheers. "The puns do work!" He slaps the other man on the shoulder. "There's that optimism!"
"Yes, well, prepare for some realism." Nighteye fixes his suit. "Even with all of the extra precautions today, we would still benefit from thinning out the commission's forces even more. Did you have any ideas-" Hawks raises a finger- "beyond staging a villain attack?"
Keigo deflates. "Well the Commission's usual tactic on something like that is to typically bomb a crowded area, but since I am not a particular fan of that…" he thinks for a moment. "I got it!" Hawks snaps his fingers. "We just have to give the Skrulls someone they really want. Someone they can't resist."
"I take it you have an idea."
"I do!" Hawks pulls out his phone and texts someone. "It's someone I've heard them talking about for a while. Someone they can't replace, which makes him a priority to get off the board." His phone dings and Keigo smiles. "Trust me, we get this guy out there and we'll have all the time we need."
Nighteye rolls his eyes. "Enough with the theatrics. Who?"
"Ah!"
"Tensei! I need you to do me a favor, but you can't ask any questions! Just know I'll owe you one. What do you say?" Hawks asks.
"Uh…" Tensei takes a breath, recovering from the shock at seeing the number two hero. "Yeah okay… are you sure I can't ask anything?"
"Not a single question!"
"Not even what you're doing in my closet?"
He stares at Hawks, who casually sits under all of his hanging shirts. "I fail to see how that's relevant," he responds, deadpan.
Nighteye finishes placing the relevant documents and maps together, staring down at the cobbled mess with his chin cupped in his hand. "Using the Skrulls' desire for the Rider is risky. Even assuming there is any worthwhile intel to gain, it would be a monumental blow to our forces to lose the older Iida."
"So we just wait until they figure out a way to get rid of him themselves?"
"No," Nighteye shakes his head. "But handing him over on a silver platter isn't very enticing either."
"C'mon," Keigo encourages him. "You saw him during Kamino! And I know you read the Hosu reports. He can handle himself just fine long enough for us to slip in and out unnoticed."
Nighteye hums, still studying their notes. "It feels too easy…"
"Maybe, but we'll be out after an hour tops." Keigo crosses his arms.. "Besides…"
"Our intel confirms it. Both the Silvers and the Hand are on the move today." Kurono walks quickly with several yakuza beside him.
Overhaul leads his men out to their vehicles. "Then so are we."
"We have transferred the first half of your payment as requested," Skeptic confirms over the phone. "As with your other contracts, you will receive full payment once the job is complete."
"Don't forget, you're covering the cost of any expenses I incur."
"Yes yes, we have it all here. Now did you receive your payment?"
Taskmaster taps his phone. "Received. You'll hear from me again when I'm done." He hangs up.
"I got us a… volunteer to drive us to the warehouse," Dictator snickers.
Wolfram slips Magneto's helmet over his head. "Then let's not waste time."
There's a long drag of a cigarette. "Did you find it?"
"Please. As if they all don't smell the same." Daken holds his own cigarette in his mouth and tosses the CRC mask at Dabi's feet. "Your lead panned out. I know exactly where they are."
Dabi lifts up his mask, blowing smoke over it. "Finally. Let's introduce ourselves."
Hirona watches the sun get higher and higher into the sky, her cape blowing in the wind. Standing beside her on the roof of the building is Kraven, Stain, and Nagant, the latter tapping the comms in her ear.
"Everyone's in position," the sniper informs her. "We're ready to begin."
Acknowledging her with a nod, Hirona glances over at Stain. "That's your cue." Without a word, the Hero Killer draws his sword, and jumps.
Hawks leans back, grinning away Nighteye's worries with their plan. "What could go wrong?"
The license exam had gone so wrong so fast.
Saiko Intelli had given up on cups and was drinking tea straight from the pot. Usually, she'd never allow herself to be seen with such decorum, but the situation definitely called for it! UA's class 1-A had easily defended themselves from all of the other schools before retaliating.
She shivers at the thought of all of the tornados that Kaminari kid had created.
Saiko was lucky to survive. Or maybe it would've been better to be eliminated at the beginning. Because UA wasn't satisfied with just destroying those they did at the start of the exam. Now the cretins had moved on to hunting her class and the rest of the survivors for sport.
And she isn't being dramatic. She heard them talking after. Those were the exact words Bakugo used. The hell class has drones flying around the arena to keep track of their 'kill' counts!
But it's fiiiine. No reason to panic. She, in her infinite wisdom, has a plan for all contingencies! Now, to an outside observer, it may seem as if she and her classmates are hiding in terror in this dark office building, but it's just the opposite! They are actually… setting up a trap! Yes! A trap!
All it would take is one UA student to bolster their forces. No, not for elimination. But as a hostage. A bargaining chip to allow them to safely pass. The only question now becomes who. Which one of them would be easy to trick.
Thinking back to the Sports Festival, she has her answer. Yaoyorozu! Yes! The girl had been so easily tricked and defeated by the brainwashing boy! The class would surely give them whatever they wanted for the safe return of their vice president-
From the ceiling, a pair of blades easily cut a circle, and in falls Momo Yaoyorozu.
In a moment of delusion, Saiko thinks the universe is rewarding her for her intellect and wit again. The poor girl has just literally fallen right into their trap! It is all coming together! At least, it is until she gets a good look at her.
You have got to be shitting her.
The once dejected Yaoyorozu is nowhere to be seen, now replaced by a confident young woman in her red-textured bodysuit, a high-collared red cape on her back.
But the attire isn't what's worrying Saiko. It's the laser gun on her shoulder and the twin blue and purple energy blades in her hands. But none of that compares to her most striking feature. A proud smirk on her face that promises chaos to anyone who crosses her.
Yaoyorozu later would never, ever, admit that a certain demigod in her class may be influencing her.
Saiko tries to take control of the situation. "Ah-" she clears her throat after her voice squeaks. "Ah Yaoyorozu, what an unexpected surprise… and by that I mean completely expected!!" Saiko's classmates emerge from the shadows, surrounding Yaoyorozu. "You've fallen right into our trap. Now let me tell you what's going to happen-"
"What's going to happen," Yaoyorozu cuts in, "is you are going to surrender and tell me where the rest of your class is hiding, so I may add your eliminations to my total count. But please." She flicks her blades, acting their whip function. "If you wish to run first, be my guest. I could always use the practice."
Saiko is incensed. "You- how dare you make demands! In case you failed to count, we have you outnumbered five to one-!"
The laser gun on Yaoyorozu's shoulder suddenly springs to life, aiming at one of Saiko's classmates and firing a large beanbag right into the girl's face, knocking her out.
"I- it is still four to one-!"
The gun fires again.
"Three to one is more than enough-"
Yet again, the gun fires.
"Stop that!" Saiko cries. "Very well…you've left me no choice." She downs the rest of her tea, straightens her clothes, holds her head up high, and stares Yaoyorozu right in the eyes… right before pushing her classmate ahead of her and running away.
"Practice it is."
Shoto and Jiro stop what they're doing, sensing Yaomomo just did something awesome. They smile.
"We're in position," Hawks whispers into his comms. He and Nighteye watch the HPSC building they intend to break into from a nondescript truck that just has the letters-
"What does… EFC mean?" Nighteye asks slowly now that they have a minute, gesturing to the red letter painted on the side.
"Endeavor Fried Chicken," Hawks answers happily. "It's a fried chicken place with an Endeavor theme. Got the idea from that Midoriya kid during their final exams." Nighteye's eye twitches more and more as Hawks speaks. "I figured I should have a fleet of distribution trucks ready before even approaching Endeavor."
"You're investing when you don't even have the naming rights-! No no." Nighteye punches the bridge of his nose. "I'm not getting sucked into another conversation like this. How's our distraction coming?"
"He should be deploying right about… now!" Hawks chops his hand forward.
"Uh, Hawks." They can hear Tensei's voice getting strained as he loses control over the radio. "We have a problem."
"How can we have a problem?! The plan just started-!" He's forced to rip the comm out when a wave of static blasts his ear.
Back where Tensei is, the air is thick with tension. From the top of one building, Ghost Rider hatefully stares at another man, who just landed on top of the building across from him.
Stain clicks his tongue. "You have got to be shitting me."
"How could the plan have gone wrong so quickly?! We just started!" Hirona groans, burying her face in her hands while Nagant pats her on the back. "Ugh." She slides her hands off. "Well, maybe Stain can-"
There's the sound of a large crash beneath them, and Nagant laughs. "Ha, he already lost." Sure enough, Hirona looks down to see Stain in chains, being yanked back to the Rider. "Looks like there's nothing we can do-"
"Nagaaaant. We said we'd give him a chance."
It's the sniper's turn to groan. "Fine." She taps her ear. "Kurogiri."
"The plan has gone wrong already." It isn't a question.
"Yeah. Looks like I owe you that drink tonight-"
"You two were betting on when the plan would fail?!" Hirona squeaks indignantly.
"It's Stain," Nagant continues unperturbed. "We need you to keep him alive."
"It will be done."
Fujimoto Ken of Seijin Hero Academy watches in horror as his group's target, Fumikage Tokoyami, tears through them. Their plan had been fool-proof! Easily eliminate the boy with no fighting experience in the open industrial area of the exam where there are no shadows to benefit him!
But no, with the twin escrima sticks in his hands and dark silky armor around his body, Tokoyami blurs through his classmates with ease.
Doesn't matter. Not when he has his quirk. He takes a few random bolts and screws from his pockets and screams, "move!!" He enlarges them and whisks them at Tokoyami, but his opponent retaliates by throwing his own crescent moon darts at the projectiles, knocking them off course.
Fujimoto tsks, but that's when a boy in a yellow ninja outfit runs at Tokoyami, enlarging his muscles. The bird boy easily dodges his punch. He attempts to retaliate, smacking his escrima stick hard against his opponent's head, but nothing happens.
The ninja laughs, but before he can backhand Tokoyami in return, the new Moon Knight launches a grappling hook out of one of his escrimas and pulls himself away, dodging it. "Dark Shadow!"
Fujimoto isn't worried. His quirk isn't very strong in direct sunlight- his thoughts cease when Dark Shadow emerges from Tokoyami's body, not as a mass of shadows, but as a teen girl wearing a dark suit with a mask on.
"Hello!" Dark Shadow greets them, leaping up at the hulking ninja first. "The name's Ms. Knight!" With a punch several times harder than anything Tokoyami had done, she launches the yellow ninja in the air. "Have a good night!"
Fujimoto, in his distraction, doesn't notice Tokoyami sneaking up on him before it's too late. With one fluid motion, he wraps the flying ninja's leg with a grappling hook from one escrima and Fujimoto's neck with the other.
The teen gasps in pain at the brutal tactic. "Shit-!" Tokoyami slams his escrima sticks together and slaps a button in the middle, reeling both grappling hooks in at the same time. Fujimoto doesn't even have time to scream before he's sent hurtling into his classmate.
Fumikage retracts his grappling hooks into his escrimas, attaching them back to his belt. "We did it!" Dark Shadow cheers, pulling her partner into a hug.
Allowing himself a moment to smile, he hugs her back, proud of all the progress his quirk has made. "Yes, we did… that doesn't mean I'm allowing you a weapon anytime soon."
"Awwww but Fumi!"
"Yes, you have both come a long way."
The sweet moment is instantly broken as Fumikage and Dark Shadow spin around at the sound of the new voice, lowering into fighting stances.
Khonshu watches them calmly, his hands resting on his cane. "I can feel your newfound confidence emanating brightly from you. Like the moon shining on an undisturbed ocean surface. It is a mesmerizing sight."
"It'll look even better when we use your own powers to kick your ass!" Dark Shadow yells back.
"I do not doubt it."
"Come, Dark Shadow," Fumikage commands, grappling the top of a nearby building. "Let us not waste words on false prophets."
"I am proud of you, Fumikage," Khonshu says before he can leave. "I underestimated you and now, you exceed even my expectations. You will do well when the time comes."
Fumikage doesn't look back at him. "I am not doing this for you."
He grapples away before the god can respond, watching his avatar soar through the air. "Fly high, my fist. Fly high."
"Hands above your head! Now!!"
"It's my head that's screwed up, not my ears you know!" Twice yells back, dropping to his knees in the middle of the street as several police officers slowly approach with their guns raised. "Or maybe it is my ears? What most people say goes in one and comes out the other- ack!"
Twice is slammed down onto the street. "Ow! I'm surrendering!" All of the officers keep their hands on him as one of them secures him in handcuffs. "Did I accidentally use my quirk again? Why does it take six of you to arrest one of me?!"
Tsukauchi watches in silence from beside his vehicle as Twice argues with his officers, having to be practically dragged to a police car. "Sir." A young officer hands him a tablet, and Tsukauchi nods in thanks before looking down at Twice's file. He raises an eyebrow at the details of the man's quirk.
"It's a good thing he's crazy, or that guy's quirk would make him extremely dangerous," the young officer comments.
"Indeed," Tsukauchi responds, motioning over to Twice. "Tell them not to drive off until I give them the go-ahead." When he's alone, Tsukauchi peers around, making sure there's no one within earshot, before raising his cell phone to his ear. "It's the detective; transfer me to the president. I have a quirk she might be interested in."
Nagant watches the convoy with Twice drive through the town with her scope. "Next part of the plan worked," she reports over comms. "Twice is in police custody, but something's wrong. They're not headed toward the prison."
"Do you know where they're headed?"
"They're coming here," Nighteye states, alarmed. He lowers the police radio from his ear. "If they are bringing Twice to a more secluded area after arrest, that can only mean one thing."
Hawks hits the truck's steering wheel. "Dammit, the Skrulls are planning on taking him. They probably plan on keeping him here until they can get him to where they keep the rest of their victims. We should-"
"Wait." Nighteye holds up his hand, listening back in on the radio. "Something's happening."
"If that's the best you got, you might not even be worth killing!!"
Seiji Shishikura of Shiketsu growls in annoyance at Katsuki Bakugo, who literally flies circles around him, dodging any and all mounds of flesh. If he can just touch the guy, even barely, this fight would be over.
Bakugo suddenly changes trajectory, launching right at him. "So don't be stubborn about it and just die!!" Seiji is barely able to cover himself with his flesh in time to avoid too much damage.
He gasps when exploding bullets suddenly penetrate his shield, courtesy of two flintlock revolvers in Bakugo's hands. No matter, he's already expended all dozen shots, and he'll never have the time to reload before he can reform his shield-
To Seiji's shock, Bakugo merely breathes into the chambers of his revolvers before both guns are able to unload six more shots each, destroying the rest of his fleshy protection.
"How?!" The Shiketsu student cries. In a last ditch effort, Seiji has the last of his flesh form into tendrils to attack Bakugo's hands. He hopes to force him to use his explosions to defend himself while Seiji gets away.
He should've hoped harder.
"You think you're so smart, figure it out!!" Bakugo barrel rolls through the tendrils right at Seiji again, before planting both of his boots in Seiji's face and blasting him away from explosions with his feet.
Seiji hits the ground, and intends to get back up fighting… only to find himself surrounded by grenades filled with Bakugo's hair and spit.
"I told you already," Bakugo says, almost eerily calm. The grenades around Seiji start to light up. "You're so pathetic, you're not even worth killing myself." Seiji closes his eyes as the grenades explode.
"What do you mean we can't get Twice to the archive building?!" Tsukauchi yells over the phone. "Why not?!" There's a pause. "You have got to be shitting me. The roads are blocked by a what?!"
"A gang war!!" The police officer shrieks, ducking behind her car as bullets fly. On one side of the street, people covered in heavy silver body armor from head to toe pelt their enemies in a tirade of machine gun fire.
"As we predicted, the Silver Clan are making their play!" Kurono screams over the noise to the other Yakuza that had managed to get behind the cover of their vehicles. He looks to his boss, who kneels calmly beside him. "As you ordered, the other precepts are engaging the Silvers at our other properties. How do we proceed here?"
"We do nothing," Overhaul replies, still calm as ever, even as bullets slowly whittle down the car behind him. "Nothing at all."
"My lord," Kurono says in surprise. "We must act! The Silvers are at an advantage. Either they seize our properties, robbing us of resources, or we lose equipment and people we cannot afford to replace fending them off, diminishing the little we have already!"
Overhaul's only reaction is barely contained rage. "Are you questioning me?"
"I- no! Never! It-"
"Good." The Yakuza boss places his hand on the ground. "Or you will join the piggies as they do what they're best at." He overhauls the ground beneath them, causing the street below the police officers to rise and fling the cops right into the middle of the gunfire. "Being slaughtered."
The Silver Clan soldiers don't blink as officers are tossed at them, having no issue with tearing apart their bodies with their large caliber guns.
"That should do it." Overhaul takes a wipe out of his pocket and cleans his hand.
"My lord?"
"The Silvers are using light machine guns," Overhaul informs his men. "They are large and cumbersome weapons with a rapid fire rate and large bullet magazines. Unfortunately, most of those qualities come with a steep price." The gunfire around them begins to slow down. "They are slow to reload."
As soon as the guns stop, the Yakuza retaliate, charging the Silvers with quirks and weapons raised, littering the streets with even more bodies.
"Brilliant," Kurono breathes.
"I am aware." Overhaul bends down and begins overhauling fallen Yakuza, healing their injuries and sending them back into the fight. "Tell the men to take whatever weapons and armor they can find. I'll fix our vehicles as well as theirs to haul whatever we need. Search the police too. You never know when their uniforms might help us."
"Right away."
"Oh, and Kurono."
"Yes, my lord?"
Kurono barely has any time to register his boss' hand on his face before he is overhauled out of existence. In an instant, Kurono feels the excruciating pain of having one's entire body ripped apart from the inside and put back together again. His body is as good as new after, but his mind plays the instant over and over, making him relive the horrifying moment endlessly as his brain tries to process such an unnatural occurrence.
He falls to his knees, throwing up and unable to stop shaking. Overhaul barely spares him a look as he walks away. "Don't question me again."
The plan had been so simple for Yo Shindo today. Wake up. Crush UA. Probably do some other stuff. Then profit. The first step had gone well for the most part. He's still working on step two. And by that, he means he's trying to survive.
Slamming his palms on the ground, Yo vibrates the ground beneath him ruthlessly. "Maximum force! Tremoring Earth!!"
This should ward off whoever in 1-A was chasing him. He breathes a sigh of relief. What was he so worried about again? He's Yo! He's gonna be fine, like he always is! That's right! Because when it comes to coming out on top, no one's better than-
Jiro suddenly stops his shockwave in its tracks.
Maybe this is karmic justice for all the Internet trolling he does? Like he'd seriously like to ask what are the odds he'd run into the one UA kid who could nullify his attack?! Yo feels like he'd have better odds getting attacked by a shark out here than running into her!
Or it's the universe's way of telling him that Tatami was right… this little jacket thing on his hero suit is pointless and stupid.
Jiro stands, the red and blue quake gauntlets around her arms and ankles shining brightly, before she runs forward.
No, he will defend the honor of his tiny pointless jacket to the death! Yo screams, sending another shockwave at Jiro. He will admit, her smirk worries him some.
"Thanks for letting me store your attack!" Jiro jumps and the gauntlets around her ankles explode with a powerful shockwave, rocketing her into the air. No, that's not all that's happening, Yo realizes. She's not falling back down! The ankle gauntlets are using his shockwaves to allow her to stay afloat in the air!
Are you shitting him?!
"So I could use it against you!" Jiro thrusts both of her arms forward. Yo only has time to register two things before everything goes black. First, how much more powerful her attack is than his own. And second, Tatami was right. His jacket is stupid.
Momo and Todoroki watch the attack from their respective sides of the arena like it's a thing of beauty. At least, they tell themselves it's the attack that's beautiful.
"Fuck," Tsukauchi curses in frustration at the gang war blocking his transfer of Twice. "What about heroes?" he asks his contact over the phone. "They could escort us through-"
"Impossible. The President has already dispatched many heroes to two higher-priority targets."
"Who?!"
Stain jumps back, throwing several knives at the approaching Ghost Rider. But the cursed spirit doesn't even feel them. A portal opens up behind the serial killer, and he falls through, teleported above the rider.
The Hero Killer tries to stab the flaming skeleton through the head, but his knife breaks on contact. Ghost Rider spews Hellfire in retaliation, but another portal saves Stain just in time.
Tsukauchi's eye twitches.
"See?" Hirona brags over comms to Nagant. "Looks like Stain is helping us afterall." The sniper growls in annoyance.
"See?" Hawks bumps Nighteye. "I told you bringing in Tensei was a good idea. And you were worried." Nighteye growls in annoyance.
"I thought you said this guy could only use his quirk for a few seconds at a time before hurting himself!" A student from Ketsubutsu yells at his friend as they both cower behind some rocks.
"That's because that was all he could do!" The other student shouts back. "What about you?! You said he could only shoot it from his belly button, not his hands!"
"That's because he couldn't-!"
"Bonjour!"
Both students freeze when they look up, finding Yuga Aoyama floating in the air, a light blue aura surrounding him. Gone is the boy's clunky armor, replaced by a slimmer silver armor with gold accents on his shoulders, arms, and legs with three golden circles on the front.
On his head, Aoyama wears a black helmet with a red star across the top. The only part of Aoyama's face visible, his mouth, smiles brightly. "I'm shining more brightly than ever, I hope."
"…He flies now?" The first student asks, his voice filled with both regret and acceptance of their fate.
"He flies now," the second student confirms, before Aoyama hits them both with light beams.
Twice grunts as Tsukauchi shoves him into an uncomfortable metal chair, while his officers shackle him to a table. "Wait here," the detective orders, already having experienced more than enough trouble for the day.
Unfortunately for him, trouble isn't nearly as done with him. As soon as he leaves, Mr. Compress uses his Ghost Tech to walk through the wall, making himself visible. "I say, we lucked out nicely with them not taking you to a secondary location. It would've made my waiting here pointless."
"They would've never got me to any secondary location!"
"Yes, because you were in a position to fight back." He compresses Twice and slips the marble into his pocket. "Though I suppose, if worse came to worst, we could've had Kurogiri warp you out." He hears a commotion outside. Ah, they must've noticed the cameras. "And now to complete the act, I vanish!" And with a flourish, he's gone.
Mustard barely keeps his footing as the prison guard pushes him into the elevator, alarms going off around them. The large man, who hasn't left his side since dragging him out of his talk with Midoriya yesterday, steps inside, swiping his card and punching the button to their next floor.
But before they can get there, the doors ding and the teen is surprised to see another guard escorting Spinner into the elevator. "Did you hear?" the new cop asks, positioning Spinner in front of himself and next to Mustard as the elevator gets moving again. His own guard shakes his head.
"Apparently some crazy members of the League, or whatever they're calling themselves these days, broke in." Mustard perks up. "It's why they're having us move these two." He motions to the prisoners before doing a double take to the level they're traveling to. "Hey wait, that's the wrong-"
Spinner and Mustard jump when the officer guarding the latter suddenly smacks the other cop in the head with his gun, knocking him out. He swallows when the gun is turned on them. "Move."
The elevator dings open once again, and both prisoners comply, keeping their hands up. "Hey man," Spinner says cautiously. "Whatever this is-"
"There you are!" They both spin around just in time for Twice to envelop them in a hug. "I thought I'd never see you again! I wished I hadn't!"
Mustard's confusion evaporates as Compress frees them from their cuffs. "Yes, as wonderful as it is to see you both in good health, I'm afraid pleasantries will have to wait."
Mustard's head is on a swivel. "But who-"
He does a double take as the prison guard who had been escorting him begins to melt on one side, exposing half of Toga's face. "Hey boys! Miss us?"
"Superb job, Himiko." Compress tosses her a marble that expands into extra clothes. "Now Twice, if you could-"
"You came back for us?" Mustard exclaims, stunned.
"But of course," the magician fixes his coat. "I'm sure you've heard the saying honor among thieves? It includes not leaving anyone behind."
Twice shrugs. "I have so few friends I can't afford to lose any of you! I'm afraid I'll push you all away if I tell you how much I care!"
"I just like how much you freak out when I do this." Toga snickers as she picks up Mustard from behind, the younger boy freaking out.
"And me?" Spinner asks.
Compress places a hand on his shoulder. "None of us could in good conscience let you miss the opportunity of working with your hero."
"Wait, are you saying that Stain joined the-" Spinner is compressed before he can finish.
"Like I said, we are limited on time so we must be going. Apologies." He compresses the rest of the group, with the exception of Twice, who creates two clones of the magician. "Excellent. These decoys will keep most of the police busy." He turns Twice into a marble and pockets everyone, before all three Compress run out of the hall in different directions.
Nagamasa Mora of Shiketsu is in a hairy situation. And no, that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that a thick mound of hair his quirk lets him control covers his body!
No, it comes more from the fact that Mezo Shoji has used his extra eyes and ears to locate him. Something that usually isn't too bad, as Shoji seems more the support brawler type, and Nagamasa can easily attack him from range with his hair.
That is, until from Shoji's four armored-covered arms, electrified whips emerged from his wrists. Nagmasa attempts to end the fight quickly by lashing a tendril of thick hair at him, but Shoji sidesteps it, slicing the hair off of him as if it's nothing.
Most blades couldn't accomplish that.
Before he can come up with another strategy, the Shiketsu student finds another one of Shoji's whips wrapped around him, trapping him.
In a bit of dramatic irony, Nagamasa feels himself get whiplash with how fast Shoji reels him back, before two fists collide with his head.
There's a click, and the last security door to the HPSC's data storage room opens. "That seemed… easier than expected." Nighteye remains cautious.
"And you're complaining?" Hawks pulls a chair to one of the computer terminals so Nighteye can sit down, plugging in his program and getting to work. The winged hero spreads his feathers across the room, looking for people, when his breath stifles.
Nighteye side-eyes him. "What's wrong?"
"We're not alone in here."
Sure enough, two HPSC agents in suits round the corner, barely sparing the hero a glance before continuing to the row of terminals behind them.
"No agents were supposed to know we are here," Nighteye grits his teeth, continuing to work with his program.
"Then I guess we're still golden," Hawks laughs. The bespectacled man gives him a look, clearly asking him why he's speaking at a normal volume. "Nah, it's okay. Because no agents know we're here." He jabs his thumb behind him. "Those guys don't work for the commission," he says loud and proud.
The agent at the terminal looks up in surprise, but his partner chuckles. "What gave us away?"
"My feathers can tell a lot about you when you walk by them." Hawks leans against the wall. "Like hearing all of the extra weapons you're carrying jingle under your suit."
The man laughs, straightening as his partner gets to his feet. "Oh, the beast will enjoy feasting on your soul." In a flash, Hawks is blocking both men's swords with his own. His feathers attempt to rescue him, but some sort of light aura around his attackers divert them.
"You've got to be shitting me; I should've known." Hawks shoves them off and puts his hand up when Nighteye moves to help him. "Stay at the computer. The faster you finish, the faster we can get out of here!"
Nighteye narrows his eyes. "I recognize the engravings on those swords." The two men shed their suits to reveal red and black ninja armor underneath. The security door is destroyed as more people in the same armor flood inside. "Damn, it's the Hand."
Nighteye kicks a chair to trip one of the ninjas as they charge Hawks again. "I've always known their origins were tied to the history of the ninja but didn't realize they still wore the attire!"
"That's a cult for you!" Hawks flies up in the air to dodge a sword slash and kicks one of the Hand members in the head. "Don't even get me started on the chi!" Nighteye sighs, flinging his high-density seals at the ninjas every spare moment he has. "Hopefully, there's not too many other villain groups out right now!"
Two swat members look down in alarm as the pins in their grenades are suddenly pulled out. Both men only have time to scream before they explode, damaging the heavy metal doors to the warehouse behind them.
Not that it matters as with a wave of his hand, Wolfram tosses them away. He steps inside, contempt radiating off him at the sight of all of the Sentinel parts stored there. "Begin planting the charges!"
Dictator nods, commanding those under the control of his quirk to move quickly. Wolfram lifts a giant Sentinel head off the ground, bringing it close to him so he can stare into its murderous lenses. His partner quietly walks up beside him. "Would it not be better if we kept some of this for ourselves? We could use it against the heroes, even give it to our allies. Or sell it for a huge profit if we ever needed-"
"No." With one word, Wolfram states his finality on the matter. He will not be persuaded. "For all quirked-people to be equal, no one may place themselves above them all, even if it is for the overall good. And that includes ourselves."
He rotates the robot head. "I understand the temptation. But this technology cannot be allowed to exist. How long until the HPSC makes weapons from them? How long until the rich use them as another means to suppress the poor? Never if I have my say." He clenches his fist, crumpling the Sentinel head.
The pair drive away as the warehouse explodes behind them.
Camie has like, totally got this.
She watches from behind debris as her illusion of Midoriya rides an ice wave over to Uraraka. "Hey Uraraka! I found-"
The brown-haired girl cuts it off by blowing the decoy away with a concussive blast from her rings. She looks around, furious. "Did you really think you could trick an illusionist's girlfriend?!"
…Nevermind chat, she's totally cooked!
Uraraka launches her rings to search the area around her. Camie blows a little more pink smoke to try to hide herself- which turns out to be totally delulu of her because as soon as she does, one of the rings finds her and shoves her out of her hiding spot.
Uraraka is immediately locked in on her, recalling her rings back to her forearms, now much simpler due to her wearing slimmer pink gauntlets and black fingerless gloves. In fact, her entire hero suit is now mostly black, with two glowing pink stripes running down the front of her slightly baggier suit, before they split at her pink belt and each travel down one of her legs to her sleek pink and black ankle boots. To complete the look, she wears a black hood over her head with three pink stripes on each side, and green-tinted goggles hang off her neck.
Camie's eyes light up, completely forgetting about the danger she's in. "Love the drip, girl! I can see why Midoriya rizzed you up!"
"Rizzed me-"
"Do you like the looser clothes?" Camie asks. "I'm usually vibing with my skin-tight suit, but some of those older heroes can be such drakes around me, you know what I mean-"
"Wait!" Uraraka stops her, looking the other girl up and down to make sure. "I remember you now! You're the girl who hit on Deku on the train after the Sports Festival!"
"Can you blame me?!" Camie exclaims. "Midoriya's clout totes skyrocketed during the festival! So many people were talking about it! Like the way he tricked everyone into chasing his decoy in the first event had me like gyat damn! And then how he went sickomode on that sigma Bakugo, who if you ask me was high-key simping, was so poggers no cap!"
She shivers as the tick mark on Uraraka's forehead slowly increases. Camie continues, "I don't mean to keep glazing him but then those illusions he pulled during the finals where he changed the whole arena? They were hot AF and I just needed to know how he did it!"
Uraraka's aggression weakens slightly. "So that's all you wanted? To learn how he did his illusions?"
"Well…" Camie twirls some hair in her finger. "It helped he's such a snack… so if he'd still be up for showing me some of his moves…" she winks at the UA girl. "I could show him some of mine in return…"
Camie yelps and has to dive out of the way as Uraraka wipes away her own gravity and fires an energy blast behind her to launch herself at the Shiketsu student. "Okay sis, say less! I get it-"
Uraraka uses her rings as a whip and entangles Camie in them, both stopping the gravity girl's momentum and reeling herself in too fast for the blonde to react. Camie loses all of the air in her lungs as Uraraka drives her leg into her stomach, sending her tumbling across the ground.
"Deku is my trickster! Got it?!"
"Okay!" Camie coughs, getting up on all fours. "You're the biggest Midoriya-stan, I get it." She wipes her mouth. "Although…" she grins up at Uraraka. "He could bring any moves I show him back to you-"
Camie gasps when an extremely red in the face Uraraka yanks her up. "Because I'm nice I'll let you choose. Either I toss you into the sun or," she activates the rings on her free arm, "I pummel you into the dirt."
Uraraka's eyes widen a little when Camie's sly smirk just gets bigger. "You'll pummel me? Well okay, I guess I can show you some moves to take back to Midoriya-"
Uraraka doesn't even let her finish, shoving her back down with a squeak as Camie laughs. "Okay…" The brown-haired girl takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Then another. "Okay. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot-"
"You were the one doing the most-"
"Even though you deserved it!!" Uraraka cuts in, before sighing and pinching her nose. "Melissa, Toga, and now you. What is it with my boyfriend and blondes," she mumbles, annoyed. She glances back at Camie, and an idea seems to dawn on her.
Panic begins to settle into the Shiketsu girl when Uraraka grins just like Midoriya had at the Sports Fest. But she can't get away before one of the other girl's rings attaches itself to Camie's arm, much to her confusion.
"H-hey, what are you-"
"You know…" Uraraka says through a humorless smile. "You kept going on and on about showing us your moves." Uraraka activates the rings again, but instead of their usual blue, now they're glowing pink. Camie gasps when her gravity is nullified again, but this time, without the other girl actually touching her. "So I figure you'd want to see mine."
Camie screams as she's telepathically tossed into the air.
"Change of plans; their helicopter isn't here. We are stealing one of their armored trucks instead."
"Shit!" Hirona swears, running with Kraven through the Silver Clan armory they had just broken into. She taps her ear. "Compress? You guys are going to have to hold out longer than we thought. Kurogiri is busy keeping the heroes busy, and we have to drive to you. We'll be there as soon as we can!"
Kraven breaks into the nearest armored truck they find, a heavily modified security vehicle that had once been used to transfer money between banks. Complete with minigun on top.
Hirona doesn't have time to wonder how they get all of their weapons into the country before Kraven announces he's in and begins to hotwire the truck to start. There are shouts from the entrance of the armory. "Kraven, I think they know we're here…" She creates a shield as bullets start to fly in.
"One more moment…" the truck roars to life. "Huzzah! Come, we are leaving!"
Hirona jumps in and closes the door behind her to protect them from gunfire. Kraven finishes loading the minigun on top of the vehicle. "Okay, take the wheel!"
"Wait, what?!"
Kraven motions her to the driver's seat. "Drive us out of here! Do not worry, I will cover us!" He rubs the minigun with maybe a little bit too much anticipation.
"You were supposed to fly us out of here! Why can't you drive?!"
"That was when we were stealing a helicopter. Now, the plan has changed."
"Okay, then why can't I shoot?!" Hirona argues.
"Because reloading minigun is a delicate process that can damage it if not done properly!" He looks out over the roof. "They are coming! Go!" Hirona mumbles something. "What? Speak louder, they are almost upon us!"
"I don't know how to drive!!"
There's a full three second pause before Kraven pokes his head back inside. "You what?! How can you not drive?!"
Hirona throws her hands in the air. "Well, I'm sorry the evil mastermind who raised me didn't put it on his curriculum! Especially when he had a servant who could just portal me everywhere!"
More bullets spray their truck, and Kraven ducks. "Very well! We will never make it to the prison without this gun, so today shall be your crash course on the topic! Get in the driver's seat!" He fires at the approaching Silvers. "Hands at ten and two-"
"Ten and two of what?!"
"Picture the steering wheel like the face of a clock and put your hands there!" Kraven spins around, shooting at more Silvers.
"Who uses non-digital clocks anymore?!"
"That is not the point!!" Kraven screams, stressed. "The right pedal is for gas and to go. The pedal to the left is for breaking-"
"I use my right foot to go and my left foot to-"
"No!" Kraven bangs his head against the minigun. "You use one foot to drive! Your right foot! Now press the break and use the gear shift to put us into drive and go! I'll tell you when to turn!"
"Where's the gear shift?!"
"To your side!"
"I don't- wait! Is it this thing that says prindl?"
"Yes!" Kraven sighs in relief, reloading. "Now use the gear shift to put us into drive-"
"Stop saying gear shift, that's confusing! Why don't people just call it a prindl! That's what it says!"
Kraven seriously hopes that with all the times Spider-Man defeated him, that the teen at least knew how to drive. "Fine!! Use the prindl to put us in drive and just go!!" Kraven is thrown back as the truck speeds off.
"And you're sure okay?" Izuku asks breathlessly, having rushed over with Yaomomo. Jiro stands nearby as well with an unconscious Yo at her feet. Apparently, she had blasted him much farther than intended. He checks over Ochako one more time. "You're not hurt?"
"Midoriya I must confess," Yaomomo speaks up behind him. "I brought you here less for Uraraka's concern and more for her opponent."
"W-what?" Ochako laughs nervously, scratching the back of her head. "She's fine!" She taps Camie, who is currently wrapped in the fetal position on the ground, with her foot. "See? Tell them." She groans. "What'd I tell you? Fine."
Yaomomo raises an eyebrow. "Clearly. And her current state has absolutely nothing to do with the comments she made about Midoriya?"
He whips back around. "What comments?"
Jiro grins, grabbing Ochako from behind. "This I gotta hear."
"It's nothing!"
"Perhaps it's not my place," Yaomomo starts carefully, trying to give them a smile to show she means well. "But I believe there are some things you two should discuss sooner rather than later. For example, Midoriya." Why does he feel like he just got called up in court? "At our summer camp, what did you tell Kendo you would do if another man commented on Uraraka's blush marks?"
Speaking of Ochako's blush marks, they go red as she looks to her boyfriend, very curious about what he has to say. Jiro can barely contain her giggles.
"W-well," Izuku shifts uncomfortably. "I may have kinda sorta said I'd stab them in the left kidney… which is ridiculous by the way!"
"Well I'm happy to hear you are at least acknowledging-"
"I'm left-handed so I'm much more likely to hit their right kidney!" Yaomomo faceplams. Jiro breaks, bursting into laughter.
Ochako grabs his hand, snuggling against his arm. "That's very sweet of you to say," she says, smiling fondly up at him. Izuku beams, pulling her closer to him so he could kiss her on the forehead. They both go a little red at the display of public affection and separate.
"No, it isn't." Yaomomo stresses. "That is the point. You should-"
She's interrupted by Shindo stirring, groaning in pain as he wakes up. "What…" he rubs his head. "What happened?" He looks around to see the 1-A students staring down at him. "Whoa." He leans his head to the side, staring at Uraraka. "Hey, total shot in the dark, but before she knocks me out again," he thumps Jiro, "can I get your number?"
Izuku sighs. "Welp." He conjures a dagger, striding over to the other boy. "I guess it's time for a live demonstration-"
"Midoriya, no!" Yaomomo grabs him. "This is exactly what I was talking about!"
"But-"
"No."
"Yeah, but he-"
"No."
Izuku sighs again, annoyed. "Fiiiiine, I won't hurt him." Yaomomo narrows her eyes at him. "I swear!" He vanishes his blade as a show of good faith. She's clearly still suspicious of him, but Yaomomo slowly lets go of him anyway.
And as she does, Izuku slowly raises his hand. Yaomomo watches him. "Midoriya… what are you-"
With a flick of his hand, Izuku conjures his Land Shark, Jeff, from his pocket dimension. "Sick him, boy!" Izuku lobs his over pet at Shindo, who shouts in fright while Jeff makes a noise of excitement.
Izuku smiles innocently at Yaomomo's incensed look. "What? I promised I wouldn't be the one to do anything!"
"Get this thing off of me!" Shindo screams.
"Just…" Yaomomo rubs her temples. Izuku snickers at how similar hers and Aizawa's 'done' looks are. "Just promise me you both will at least attempt to talk about this issue at some point?"
Deciding to give his friend a break, Izuku glances at Ochako, who nods and they both agree. Yaomomo was about to congratulate them until Camie coughs, getting all of their attention. She looks around. "So I get it's a no for Midoriya, but what about your class hottie, Todoroki? You think he'd-"
The blonde shrieks in surprise when a headphone jack zaps her in the side and a sleeping dart hits her in the shoulder, knocking her out.
Izuku and Ochako give knowing looks to Yaomomo and Jiro, who both suddenly seem to be having trouble looking at their friends. Yaomomo clears her throat, blushing. She hides her tranquilizer gun behind her back. "To borrow your logic for a moment Midoriya, never did I say that I couldn't use the same lesson."
"Hey!!" Shindo, with bite marks all over him, desperately tries to push Jeff off him. "Is no one gonna help me?!"
"Hirona said she'd be here soon, right? We're gonna diiiiiie!" Twice moans, putting pressure on his bloody shoulder.
A well-placed emp grenade had shut off the system of Compress' suit, stalling the prison-escape group in the prison's parking lot as police opened fire on them. Twice created a clone of Hirona to protect them with her quirk, but she wouldn't last forever, and his gunshot wound is making him weaker by the second.
"They're ganking us from every side!" Spinner points as more cops flank them. Toga hisses, trying to use throwing knives to slow them down.
The Hirona clone drops to her knees, running out of stamina and causing her barrier to start to blink from existence.
"She's about to fade!" Compress warns. "Prepare to run!"
Just then, an armored vehicle punches through the fence of the lot, hurtling toward the group. The police are forced to retreat as Kraven pelts them with gunfire. "I told you those cops at the gate would jump out of the way! Now we're almost there! Start braking!… Yes now or you'll overshoot them!"
The truck screeches to a halt in front of Compress' group, shielding them from the cops. Hirona opens the back door. "Hey guys! Look, I drove!"
"Awww, no fair!" Toga whines, carrying Twice inside. "Can I try next?!" Kraven pales.
"Yes, that was… very impressive," Compress compliments Hirona, patting her head. He shares a look with Kraven. "But why don't I take over for now?"
He and Hirona pull Spinner and Mustard into the truck and slam the doors shut behind them. All of the villains take a second to catch their breath. "Hey," Hirona looks up when Mustard calls out to her. "Thank you."
She snorts, shrugging him off. "Don't mention it." Their leader gets back up. "None of these guys watched enough movies for my liking." Mustard gives her a small smile. She returns it, nodding back. "Okay!" She heads over to Kraven. "But if Compress is driving, I get to shoot the gun this time!"
"You think I'll just let you touch Natasha?!"
"You named the minigun?!"
"I challenge you to find a man who wouldn't!"
The microphone over the arena comes to life. Some students wince a bit at the feedback. "Alright," Mera starts tiredly. There's a shifting of papers. "Congrats to all those students who passed the first part of the exam. You're a credit to your schooling institutions and the heroes that came before you etcetera etcetera." It sounds like the papers are thrown down.
Mera's voice continues on as down on the ground, Inasa glares at Todoroki, the latter keeping his hands close to his red and purple guns.
"All participants, prepare yourselves…"
"Are you sure?" Hirona questions.
Compress nods solemnly. "I'm afraid that if we want to escape, we are going to have to drive through the Yakuza and Silver's turf war due to roadblocks. Neither will be pleased to see us."
Wolfram leans out of the window, raising his arms as he and Dictator prepare to go through the ongoing gang war. "Keep this car moving, Dictator, and do not stop for any reason."
Daken and Dabi watch the carnage of the rival villain groups from a nearby office building. "What do you think?" Daken asks.
Dabi rubs his chin. "I think…" Behind them, a dozen CRC members lie dead across the conference room. "We're just getting started today."
Hawks spins around, raising his swords at the sound of a silenced gunshot. The Hand ninjas couldn't care less about the hero anymore when one of their own drops dead, shot in the head.
"What do we have here?" Taskmaster rounds the corner, activating his energy sword. "It seems I'm going to have to charge my client extra."
"For Phase Two."
As soon as Compress hits the gas, a roar from above the war forces the former league and everyone else to look up. Ryukyu in her dragon form announces the arrival of the heroes.
Hirona sighs deeply. "You have got to be shitting me."