Chapter 57: An Intruder
"You know, I was hoping you chuckle fucks would let me sleep," Ape muttered, annoyed. Well, I say annoyed, but the lieutenant was trying his best to hide a small smile.
"Now why would we do that?" Eagle asked as he sat back in the chair next to Ape's hospital bed. Grizzly meanwhile leaned against a nearby wall scrolling through his phone.
"Anything new on the front?" Ape asked, curiously. The doctors had said he'd been unconscious for a few days, and while they wouldn't let him near the front for another week, he was still curious as to what happened. Eagle shook his head in response though, before digging around in his pocket.
"Not really. We took the town a day after you were evacuated here. Aside from that, the lines have been quiet," Eagle explained, now rapidly searching his pocket for something.
"Not a big surprise, I mean you saw what they had to fight back with," Grizzly commented, with Eagle giving him a light chuckle.
"I'll say, managed to grab this bad boy off one of them," Eagle said to them, as his other hand moved to his holster. He then unholstered and held out a Luger pistol for them to see. Ape simply gave him a quiet whistle, as he moved to sit up from his hospital bed. He did notice, however, that Eagle's other hand was still searching his pockets.
"Geez, I knew they were getting desperate, but this?" Grizzly said. It made Eagle chuckle again, still searching for something on his person.
"It gets better. I've also got a couple of SKSs, Mosin Nagants, a pair of Lee-Enfields, and an MAS-36," Eagle added, his searching slowly becoming more frantic. It was amusing to watch, but only made Ape and Grizzly more confused.
"Missing something sarge?" Grizzly asked, with Eagle slowly looking over at him.
"By the looks of it, yes-no!" Eagle suddenly exclaimed, his hand now finding something in his back pocket
"Oh thank fuck," the staff sergeant muttered, pulling out an Idroid from his pocket. It was a bit different from the standard Idroid, this one being a bit smaller.
"What's that?" Ape asked. He knew it was an Idroid, but the amount of importance Eagle had for the device made him think there was something else about it. And he would be right.
"Got orders from the top to give this to you. Meet the first of two new members to the platoon." Eagle explained holding the Idroid out and passing it to Ape. The second he handed it off an AI appeared dressed as a cattle hand from the 1800s.
"Lieutenant Telepathic Ape?" the AI asked, its avatar facing the man. Ape replied with a quiet nod, still a bit surprised he was meeting an AI. With how big the MSF had become, seeing a sentient AI was a rarity.
"Name's Marston, Combat AI 012." the AI greeted, dipping his hat forward like an old-timey cowboy, "I'm here to join your platoon."
"Well, great to have you. But, I feel as if command made a mistake somehow," Ape replied. In all fairness, he was possibly right. He hadn't heard of any units getting combat AIs, mainly due to the needed equipment, or the lack thereof. The MSF had stolen the blueprints for capable drones years ago, but the R&D team wanted to add some modifications to improve the designs.
Seeing as they were still up against poorly armed militants, at least in the beginning, it was given the green light.
"Ain't no error, sir. The guys up top picked y'all for the first batch of new guns they're handin' out." Marston explained, and wasn't that a bigger shock?
"About damn time!" Grizzly happily exclaimed.
"It's more than just guns right?" Eagle inquired hopefully, with Marston nodding in response.
"That's right. They're givin' out some of them new THeMIS drones to help haulin' stuff around. Not to mention the ones packin' fifty cals." Marston added, "With the new gear, I'll watch over y'all from up high and lend a helping hand on the ground."
"Seems you'll fit right in," Ape commented. He then looked away from the AI and over to Eagle, placing the Idroid on a nearby table at the same time.
"Now, you said one of two new additions," Ape noted, with Eagle quickly snapping his fingers.
"Right," Eagle said messing with the Idroid Ape set down. Whether it affected Marston inside, Ape didn't know. The AI didn't say anything however so he assumed he was fine. The hologram lit up though displaying the file of a man with a lizard mutation, and purple hair.
"Meet our new recruit. Fresh out of basic and assigned the codename Fervent Gecko-"
"Woah, woah, woah. Fervent Gecko? They couldn't come up with anything better?" Ape very suddenly interjected, with Eagle giving him a look that said he somewhat agreed.
"I thought the same. From what I've been able to gather the way they decide codenames is with a random name generator," Eagle explained with Ape giving him an incredulous look.
"And that is what it came up with?" he asked, not believing what was said.
"Yep. I chalk it up to bad luck mostly,"
"Better than being called a psychic monkey," Ape muttered to himself, "A billion-dollar military organization and we turn to a random name generator for codenames."
"To be fair, would you want to waste billions deciding how to name things?" Grizzly commented, with Ape deciding that no, he did not. As dumb as it seemed, it was free. Although that did make him wonder, were they using a random name machine back at the MSF's founding? Or did they have some other way of determining names? He leaned towards the second option, as back then there were only three hundred permanent members, and not three million.
"Regardless, he's a brand new addition to the platoon. Other than that is his quirk, which you can already see for yourself." Eagle continued.
"Seems we've got a new rookie then," Grizzly commented before Eagle gave him a mischievous look.
"Nope that's still you, Rookie," Eagle stated.
"Oh fuck you," Grizzly muttered, bringing a hand to his face while also muttering, "Five damn years for this shit,"
"Does his quirk have any other defining traits?" Ape inquired. It wasn't out of malice, but more curiosity. Most mutants he'd met had some kind of physical advantage, at least those with animal mutations. Others just gave them a change of skin tone or slightly stranger faces.
"Nope," Eagle replied bluntly.
"Nothing? No strength enhancement? Any venom? How about being able to stick to walls?" Ape asked, with Eagle scrolling through the Idroid.
"No-wait never mind, he can stick to walls actually. Other than that the file just says his quirk makes him look like a lizard," Eagle answered, with Ape quietly clicking his tongue.
"Well… that's disappointing. Still, I'll take whoever we can get, and the wall-climbing schtick should be good for stealth ops and urban combat. He'll be in your squad for the time being." Ape decided with Eagle quietly nodding, "Now, that everything?"
"Yep…" Eagle answered before a small awkward silence permeated throughout the room. The three men just looked at each other for a few seconds, before Grizzly opened his mouth.
"...You know the new Holotables coming out,"
"Really? Thought they released a new one this year."
"Nah, you're thinking of JAM's Holotable. I'm talking about Hermes' new table."
"Still don't get what the hype is," Ape muttered with Grizzly giving him an incredulous look.
"It's the newest advancement in gaming! You can watch an RTS unfold and be able to see everything," Grizzly quickly reasoned, with Ape giving him an unsure look.
"I'd still rather use a controller, Rookie," Ape told him.
"It can be hooked up to controllers," Grizzly countered, before hearing Eagle mutter an "eh".
"It doesn't always work. That one you got me for Christmas, still won't connect to my keyboard or controller." Eagle quickly countered.
"You play everything with a PS2 controller, and a 1980s keyboard, of course, it doesn't work." Grizzly then retorted with Eagle pausing for a second.
"Touche," he eventually replied, now leaning back in his chair.
"In all honesty though, how did you get a PS2 controller?" Grizzly asked, "They stopped making those things two hundred years ago and you've got thirty of them."
"I know a guy," was all Eagle said.
"You mind introducing us? Cause I've been looking for an old 3Ds for years now." Grizzly told him, with Ape looking as if he agreed.
"Sure," Eagle replied.
Bouba couldn't remember the last time he had something to eat. Had it been days? Weeks? It didn't matter to him at this point. He was a deadman no matter what. The warlord in charge of his town had dragged him out of his home weeks ago, tossed an AK into his hands, and forced him to guard the perimeter. And if the rumors were true, then the enemy he was going to be fighting against was rapidly approaching, and winning.
That scared him. He had a family just a block away from his foxhole. Bouba despised the warlords for everything, but they provided security. They provided some semblance of food and a small modicum of order. That was better than nothing in Bouba's mind, and it seemed that would all be taken away.
"Above us!" someone soon yelled, with Bouba quickly looking up at the sky. Miles away but rapidly approaching, was a massive plane.
"Get the AA up!" Bouba yelled, with a crew of men running over to some flatbed trucks. The warlord hadn't provided them with much in terms of equipment, so the best they had were a couple of pickups with anti-aircraft guns bolted on. The guns aimed up at the sky quickly, and their gunners pulled the trigger. Only for nothing to happen, the massive aircraft getting closer. It was a bomber, it had to be. Nothing that large would fly out here if it wasn't to bomb something.
"What are you waiting for!? Fire!" Bouba ordered, only to see the panicked look of the men as they inspected the AA gun.
"We can't! The barrels rusted over!" one of them yelled before a different man broke into an all-out sprint. Others did the same quickly running to somewhere. Bouba didn't. Where would he run to? The town that was most likely about to be bombed? The fields out in the open? This was it he decided. Looking up at the plane, he waited for the inevitable as its rear opened. But then, instead of a bomb or a missile, a large crate was pushed out.
That caught Bouba off guard, who watched as its parachute opened up. Dozens more followed it before the plane seemed to run out. Once it did the plane began to turn and go back to where it came from. The entire thing was odd to Bouba, as he saw the first crate land nearby. Hesitantly he approached the crate, his AK-47 raised. Bouba didn't know what to expect, maybe someone would jump out of the box and attack. No that would be stupid.
The crate was in front of him now, and cautiously Bouba put his hand on it. Nothing seemed bad about it, but that's what worried him. He slung his AK then and drew his knife. With the knife, Bouba began cutting away the parachute on the crate. Once it was off, he began to force it open. A loud crack signified he succeeded. As he did so, a few other militants had stopped running and were now walking back over.
Bouba meanwhile, looked on in confusion as he examined the crate's contents. It was littered with jugs of water and nonperishable food. Carefully Bouba reached in and grabbed a can from the crate. He couldn't read the label, but the picture on the can displayed a fruit. Curious, and worried Bouba took his knife and cut the can open.
Sure enough, fruit was inside. It was real. The sight made Bouba slowly begin to laugh. It wasn't crazed or sad, but joyful.
"What is it?" one of the men walking back loudly asked.
"It's food!" he yelled back, now hearing the loud rumbles of his stomach. If it was poisoned Bouba didn't care. He stabbed the first piece of fruit he could and ate it quickly. Every bite was delicious before he found the can empty. The other men had already reached them, a few cheering and laughing at the sight in front of them. The townspeople heard the commotion and hesitantly stepped outside their homes.
The hesitancy ended when a few militants ran off to bring food to their families.
"Come on, open the rest of them!" Bouba happily ordered, with the men around him complying. The cracks of crates being opened echoed around them as more goods were found. Toys for kids, medicine, and clothing. Each new crate brought up a new and louder cheer. Then they reached the final one. Quickly Bouba and a few others forced it open. Inside it, however, were several boxes of chocolate. On top of the boxes, was a note. Well, more of a stack of notes.
Bouba picked up the stack and looked over the first page. Whatever was written on the first page he couldn't read. But he then flipped a few pages and found the writing to be in a language he could read.
"What's it say?" one guy asked, while Bouba looked it over. And Bouba's face slowly turned to shock as he kept reading.
"It says these crates were a gift from Big Boss," Bouba told them. The crowd that had gathered around them went quiet, with only the gasps at the name Big Boss being heard.
"He's promising more food if we agree to stand down and that none of us will be harmed," Bouba continued. The idea was shocking to all of them, but they wanted it. They were tired of the warlords starving them out, and so they did. The commander of the town quickly found himself at gunpoint as Bouba and the others charged into his office. In a matter of hours, the men loyal to the warlords had been rounded up. And days later, a column of tanks drove through the town. With the column's occupants being met with loud boisterous cheers.
If there was one thing Ocelot hated, it was reporters. And his work spying on the HPSC tended to bring him straight to the news. Now they still had no idea who he was luckily, but there were always a few times someone would force him into an interview. Be it because they mistake him for a hero, or want to know something about the HPSC. Today, however, neither of those reasons were the cause.
No, it was instead All Might's fault, as he stood outside the front gate attempting to get past the massive crowd of reporters. All of which were shouting out questions at both him and the students attempting to get through.
"Excuse me, sir! What do you think of All Might teaching at UA?" One loudly asked shoving a microphone up to him. Ocelot simply said nothing and continued to walk forward. But the density of the crowd got worse the farther he went.
"What's the symbol of peace like in person?" another asked, bringing another microphone up to him.
"Can you get All Might for us? All we want is an interview?" a third asked, it now becoming impossible to walk past them. It was annoying, but Ocelot did have other ways to get past the crowd. He snapped his fingers and gave a few gestures to the Ocelot Unit, who nodded and moved to the front. The reporters were somewhat confused but kept asking questions.
"How much is UA paying All Might?"
"Don't you think All Might's services might be better at Shiketsu-"
"Out of the damn way lady," one of the Ocelot Unit muttered, before shoving past the reporter. It brought out a sputter shock from her, with other reporters looking on surprised.
"Wha- hey! You can't just treat us like that!"
"Don't care," the man muttered again this time with Ocelot chuckling. It was somewhat easy to get to the front gate now, as the Ocelot Unit mainly just forced their way through with a bit of shoving and some forceful glares. It was also with the annoyed and angry cries of the reporters, usually yelling something about freedom of the press. But Ocelot didn't really care, I mean what were they going to do, write an article about the maskless men no one knows about, and legally do not exist as per the HPSC's guidelines?
Even if they did, so what? Ocelot didn't care, and none of the unit cared either. But soon enough they were at the gate, yet the reporters didn't seem to let up. With one reporter grabbing Ocelot's arm. That would have been a grim mistake were this any other time, as Ocelot would have quickly flipped them over, and put a round in their skull. However, Ocelot was an HPSC representative. One that didn't care about his reputation in the media, as it didn't exist, but still meant he couldn't just kill a civilian.
Plus Snake would be upset. So very slowly he turned his head to face the reporter, finding a look of grim determination in her eyes.
"Sir, all I'm asking for is an interview!" she exclaimed, with Ocelot yanking his arm away and very easily freeing himself from the reporter's grasp.
"Not going to happen," was all he said, before turning around and walking through the gate. Well, that's what he was originally going to do, yet as he turned back, he noticed something. Far away from the reporters across the street, was a man standing and watching. Ocelot couldn't see the man's face clearly as he was too far away, but he could make out the long unkept light blue hair. Not to mention the bright red shoes and pale skin, which stuck out as strong contrasts to the all-black outfit he wore.
But just as soon as he saw the man, a bus drove by obscuring his view. When the bus was gone, so was the man. Every fiber of Ocelot's being told him something was off. All the training and years of combat experience told him something was off. Basic common sense told him something was off. He shrugged it off though, as there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. So he finished turning back around and walked through the gate, chuckling to himself as he heard the afraid screams of reporters when the barrier shot up behind him.
"He blamed me!" Uraraka quietly exclaimed taking small bites out of her lunch. It was nothing extravagant, just a cheap bento box she managed to score. But it provided her with some amount of comfort during lunch.
"Fudaki charges in leaving me behind and Mr. Aizawa blames me!"
"Well…" Iida started rubbing the back of his neck. Uraraka and Asui both looked at him incredulously before he continued.
"Wait wait, hear me out. It was incredibly reckless for Fudaki to charge in, yet heroes are not supposed to leave their compatriots behind." Iida quickly reasoned, which Uraraka could consider fair, but Asui then brought up a different point.
"I think there's a difference between leaving someone behind, and not following someone in a suicide charge, kero," Asui countered. And Iida nodded his head slowly in agreement.
"That is very true. But heroes back each other up, even if it's trying to clean up an ally's mistake," Iida pointed out. Yet Uraraka gave him an unsure look, as she picked away at what remained of her food. She looked out at the cafeteria, her eyes falling on the lunch table the masked men usually sat at. For an unknown reason, they never sat in the teacher's lounge Uraraka had seen them actively avoid it.
So instead they sat at a table at the far back of the cafeteria, where Uraraka occasionally heard snippets of their conversation. At the moment only two sat at the table, with her not knowing where the other two were. Uraraka wondered what they thought about them, about her class. They were present for the exercise, but never said a word. There was so much about them she still didn't know, and that was part of the reason she was curious about their thoughts.
They didn't act like heroes, yet seemed to have… well not good relations if Aizawa's glares at Ocelot were anything to go by. But they seemed to tolerate the other at least, if only barely. If they were in her spot, how would they have done it differently? The curious part of her made her believe they had powerful quirks, if only because of the mysteriousness behind the men.
They probably wouldn't have failed like her. But Uraraka shook that thought away, as she looked back at her friends. Who had seemingly changed the topic while Uraraka was looking away.
"Don't get me wrong, it is an honor to be elected vice-rep, but I can't say I'm not disappointed," Iida said, with Asui bringing a finger to her chin.
"Did you not vote for yourself?" Asui asked.
"I did not, after all, I had to uphold the system I recommended. Otherwise, what would the point have been? That may have been my folly, but I don't regret the decision," Iida replied confidently his arms now moving in a chopping motion. It reminded Uraraka of a robot, which caused her to chuckle a little.
"You know, we should hang out after this," Uraraka said, drawing a small look of confusion from Iida, and a smile from Asui.
"We… should?" Iida said, more of a question than an actual statement. Now it was Uraraka's turn to look at him confused.
"That is what friends would do- wait we are friends, right?" Iida asked, with an unnoticeable nervous tone.
"Well, yeah! Did you think we weren't?" Uraraka asked, a little worried. She knew he didn't have the best social skills and was sometimes rigid as a board. And those signs never painted the best picture.
"I hoped we were, it's just… I've never done what one would classify as friend activities,"
"I don't think anyone says friend activities, kero," Asui bluntly pointed out, "But you've never hung out with anyone?"
"I mean I've done things with friends before, but those were more group study sessions or extracurricular events," Iida explained, with Uraraka slamming her hands onto the table. Mentally she regretted the action as a few other students turned to look at her surprised, but she ignored it.
"Then it's settled!" Uraraka loudly proclaimed, "You, me, and Tsu will all do something after school. You guys good with that?"
"Sure, kero," Asui said, a small smile on her face, "I heard there was a beach nearby, maybe we could go there."
"An excellent idea! I've been meaning to improve my swimming technique. After all a hero must be prepared for all kinds of circumstances," Iida went on. Uraraka was already excited by the idea, even though no plan had been thought of yet. Still, it sounded fun. They could go get some ice cream, build a few sand castles, go swimming… Uraraka paused on that thought, as a different one hit her.
All her swimwear was back home. Not at her apartment in Mustafu, but at her home in Mie. That… no that was fine. She had some money saved up, and a swimsuit wasn't all that expensive… But at the same time, her food options were quickly running out. Uraraka could only go for so long on leftovers and cheap bentos. Yet that meant going to the beach in the only casual clothes she owned.
She did not want to get sandy, both out of discomfort and again money. Even something as small as washing her clothes would add expenses to the water bill. The more Uraraka thought about it, the more anxious she became. This… it was fine. She might not have money now, but she'd become a hero, and her parents would never have to worry again; then again-
"Warning! Level three security breach!"
An alarm blared overhead as Uraraka was dragged from her thoughts. She looked up and around, confused before everyone in the cafeteria began to book it to the halls. Worried Uraraka quickly followed after them, only to get trapped in a massive crowd of students. Minutes passed as she tried to resist the tide of people shoving against her, but then to her shock, she heard something new. Gunshots were echoing down the hall.
"What are we getting again?" Ocelot asked as he looked down at the walking stoat next to him.
"The first lead we've had in five years," Nezu vaguely replied. But Ocelot already knew what he meant. It would have been hard not to know.
"You managed to find something?" Ocelot inquired with Nezu calmly nodding.
"Possibly," Nezu answered, "I found a series of financial transfers from several JSDF warehouses across the country. Who was transferring the money I couldn't figure out, but considering the total amount of money was forty million dollars, I figured it had to be his doing."
"All this time he's been quiet, and only now does he make a big move. If I'm right, we're nearing his end game." Ocelot said. This was a conclusion he held for a while now. For years Night Owl had spent billions doing whatever he wanted around the globe, only to go quiet. He had been planning for something, but no one could figure out what. And while Ocelot was Madam President's right-hand man, he barely ran into the scientist.
It worried him, as it did Nezu.
"We very well might be. The question remains on what that is, however," Nezu stated. They kept walking quietly for a few minutes, constantly checking the area around them. Now Nezu trusted his staff, but with the secrets he knew, he'd rather keep them in the dark. Same with the students, so they kept looking to make sure no one was around. But then the alarms started ringing around them.
"Level three?" Ocelot asked drawing his guns in an instant, surveying the hallway.
"It means someone's broken in," Nezu answered a hint of shock in his voice.
"Seems that intel will have to wait then," Ocelot muttered, now walking off in a different direction. Where he didn't have a clue as Nezu would loudly point out, but that didn't matter. There was an intruder, and until someone said otherwise that meant searching the area. So at a brisk pace, he moved through the halls, inspecting every inch as he passed by. After the fourth hallway of nothing, Ocelot was about to search somewhere else, when he found an office's door wide open.
From the office, he heard something rummaging about inside. That immediately struck Ocelot as odd. If it was a student, then they should have been evacuating. If it was a teacher, then they should have been securing the area. Which meant one thing. With revolvers in hand, Ocelot quietly snuck up to the doorway and peeked through it. And there in the center of the office rummaging through papers, was the man he saw earlier in the morning.
"Come on, come on, where is it," the man muttered to himself in a horribly raspy voice. Whatever it was he was searching for Ocelot didn't like. He very quickly stepped through the doorway, both guns aiming directly at the man.
"Hands where I can see them," Ocelot ordered, making his presence known with the loud click of his spurs. The man paused for a second, with Ocelot seeing a piece of paper in his hands. He had the diligent care to only hold it with four fingers, which Ocelot again marked as odd. That was unless it had something to do with his quirk, Ocelot quickly reasoned.
"Caught by a low-level NPC," the man again muttered to himself.
"Look pal, I'm not gonna say it a third time. Put your hands where I can see them," Ocelot ordered, yet the man didn't seem to care at his demand. The man erratically dove to the side, with Ocelot quickly firing. The rounds hit the man in the arm and chest, with blood splattering on the ground. The man groaned in pain but didn't stop moving. He flung one hand at Ocelot, who jumped back.
"Like it or not hero, I'm clearing this level," the man said angrily now booking it through the door.
Ocelot mentally berated himself for letting the man slip by, before chasing after him. But his beratement ended when he remembered he did not know the man's quirk. It had something to do with hands, so a simple touch could have done something harmful. That was in the past now, as Ocelot ran after the fleeing man. Taking a right down a corridor he turned on his codec.
"I've got an intruder fleeing down H Hall!" he exclaimed into the codec.
"Got it, sir, on our way!" one of the ocelots replied.
"I'm in E Hall, should be able to cut him off soon!" another stated, only to be covered up by the annoyed grumbles of someone else.
"We're down at the cafeteria, the entire hallway's clogged. We're going to try and find a different route but we might not make it in time,"
Two out of four would have to do Ocelot determined. He brought his revolvers back up then and aimed at the fleeing man. Just as Ocelot was about to fire, the man darted around a corner. Ocelot quickly followed after him but found the winding maze of UA to be difficult to run through. His years spent working with the school meant he knew it like the back of his hand. But all the winding corners and turns slowed anyone down.
He managed to fire a few more times during the chase though, both shots hitting the intruder in the chest. Yet the man seemed to be running on an adrenaline high, ignoring the pain as he ran.
"Damn it! Seems you're a higher-level enemy," the man commented, before taking a left down another hall. Ocelot did the same and found one of the ocelot unit at the other end running up. The intruder seeing this took a right while ducking slightly as both his pursuers began to fire. It seemed like they almost had him, but the man soon darted into a nearby classroom.
This one was empty, its class having gone to lunch, which Ocelot found lucky. What he did not find lucky, was the intruder's next actions. He held out his hand and placed it on the class's window. In mere seconds the glass had cracked before turning to dust, with the man jumped out. The problem was they were on the third floor. Undeterred Ocelot jumped out after the man, breaking out into a roll as he hit the ground.
It still hurt like hell, with Ocelot feeling as if he messed up the landing, but pressed on regardless. Very clearly the man was running toward the outer wall, and Ocelot raised his gun to stop him. Only to swear as it clicked empty.
"You're lucky I'm forced to speed run this!" the intruder taunted, while Ocelot angrily swore still in pursuit. Yet he was too far ahead to catch up. The man soon reached the wall, where Ocelot found a large hole present. The man dived through it, right as a purple void of clouds appeared in front of him. And in seconds, the man was gone.
To say the news was having a field day, would be an understatement. With a tired look at his computer, Nezu watched as the news anchors continued to bicker over the one thing on everyone's minds. Nearby a tired Ocelot stepped into his office with a plastic bag and a few vials of blood. Yesterday had been a pure nightmare for them both. Ocelot was forced to report to Madam President, while Nezu attempted to keep order in the school. Ocelot then sat down in a nearby chair as he looked at the rodent.
"It bad?" he asked, with Nezu calmly nodding. He turned the monitor of his computer to face Ocelot, and the cowboy grimaced as he heard its audio.
"What this is, is irresponsible! They're the best hero school in the country and they let some random punk break in!"
"It truly is. And it's why I keep telling people UA needs to be under government control. That rodent has let things get out of hand during his tenure as principal. I mean a normal school has to listen to a school board or a super independent, but Principal Nezu gets to do whatever he wants."
"Like turn a hero school into a charity,"
"Exactly! Like, turn a hero school into a charity! What's next!? For all we know the irresponsible madman could-"
Nezu elected to cut off the news then, with Ocelot letting out a low whistle.
"Suprised they're not more angry at the punk who broke in," Ocelot muttered before clicking his tongue, "Then again, he managed to break in thanks to their reporters."
"Has the HPSC attempted anything?" Nezu asked, picking up a nearby tea kettle.
"Not yet luckily. But I've heard talks that Madam President is up to something," Ocelot answered. It was only now that Nezu gave the vials of blood a curious glance.
"And those are for?" Nezu asked pointing at one of the vials.
"I was going to take them back to Mother Base for testing, see if they could find anything," Ocelot answered, setting the plastic bags on the desk.
"There is no need for that," Nezu told him, quickly confusing Ocelot.
"How so?" Ocelot inquired.
"For one, this isn't Night Owl's doing," Nezu answered. Which Ocelot, didn't believe. The day Nezu tells him he found something on Night Owl, is the same day the school is broken into. Call it coincidence or paranoia, but Ocelot found that suspicious.
"What makes you say that?" Ocelot asked.
"For one, those financial transfers I told you about yesterday," Nezu told him, before rummaging through his desk. In a few minutes, he pulled out a set of files, which Ocelot inferred was the intel Nezu had found.
"All of these transfers have been sent to one organization, a villain group calling themselves the Ninth Circle," Nezu explained.
"I think I've heard of them before," Ocelot commented, bringing a hand to his chin in thought.
"That still doesn't mean he isn't involved. For all we know this man could be one of theirs." Ocelot quickly pointed out, with Nezu slowly nodding.
"That could be the case, however, I managed to find one more piece of evidence. It took some digging, but rumors about something big were spreading around the underworld. Yet none of those rumors involved the Ninth Circle." Nezu continued, before taking a sip of tea. Ocelot meanwhile, gave the rodent a confused look, before pulling out one of his revolvers.
"We're going off of rumors now?"
"It's the best we have at the moment," Nezu stated, "The point still stands that if this was the Ninth Circle's doing, then someone in the criminal underworld would have heard about it. Especially with-"
"The amount of arms at Night Owl's disposal," Ocelot finished, the dots slowly connecting. The sheer quantity of ordinance in Night Owl's possession meant someone was bound to notice something. It's possible to hide that many guns, but it becomes more difficult when moving them all. And if this break-in was linked to Night Owl, then rumors of someone transferring crate loads of guns would be noticed. With a sigh, he brought a hand to his face, while his other one spun his revolver.
"So it's not Night Owl then. So who is he?"
"I'm not sure. This could have been one man's actions or it could have been an organization" Nezu answered, causing Ocelot to grumble.
"Do we at least know what he stole? I caught him rummaging through files before running out with a paper in hand," Ocelot told him.
"At the moment no." Nezu answered, "That office was practically torn apart. To find out what was stolen, we're having to go through what we still have."
"I'm going to assume that'll take hours," Ocelot commented, with Nezu quietly nodding. It was worrying. The MSF had spent years chasing after one guy, and while they had run-ins with other organizations like the Brothers' Cartel, the Tyrant's Domain, or the Showstoppers, none acted like normal criminals. They controlled territory with a concrete frontline. They amassed thousands of dollars worth of equipment, to the point they acted as a mere peer enemy. So to add someone new to this equation, someone who didn't act like previous enemies, it was worrying.
Chapter 58: An Uraraka's Misfortune
To think someone had broken into UA, shocked Uraraka. But that shock had largely dissipated the day after. Sure it was frightening that someone had broken in, and Uraraka took special care to make sure her door was locked just in case. But she was confident it wouldn't be long until the heroes captured the villain. If the news was right, it was one guy who used the press as a distraction.
It would be easy for the heroes to take him down. A mere cakewalk. They'd find him, capture him, and the entire thing would be a footnote in history. I mean the guy broke into the world's best hero school, run by dozens of pro heroes, and now with All Might as a staff member. The moment All Might was involved, was more so overkill. But it's why she stepped out of her apartment confidently.
If she was right, then the beach Asui told her about would be close by. So when she reached the ground floor, Uraraka looked around at the city street, before heading out. Her preparations for the beach weren't much. Just a small bag for sunscreen, her wallet with some cash, and a towel. Clothing-wise she wore a cheap t-shirt and shorts on top of her swimsuit. In the end, she ultimately decided to borrow a swimsuit from Asui.
It wasn't her color and was a tad bit snug, but it worked. That's all that mattered. Now as Uraraka walked, the scale of everything began to make itself known. Sure she'd been back home everything was so tall and packed. It brought an odd sense of homesickness as Uraraka compared the two places. Then someone bumped into her, causing her to realize she wasn't paying attention.
"Ah, sorry kid," the man who bumped into her said, slowly waking off.
"Oh, no it's my fault, sorry," Uraraka told the man still going forward. Looking around now, she found herself at the spot where she was supposed to meet up with Asui. It was close to the beach, but not close enough that Uraraka could see it. She could, however, hear the waves crashing against the sand, and smell the salt water in the air. The street corner was not particularly unique, resembling what one would expect.
It did however have a small takoyaki stand with a small crowd. The smell from it hit Uraraka like a truck, and she almost started walking to it. But self-control got the better of her. Getting back on track, she found Asui walking nearby. Quickly Uraraka waved her over, and the frog girl soon reached her. Uraraka then noticed two other people walking with her. They were both short, one being a boy and the other being a girl. They also closely resembled Asui, with dark green hair and very similar faces.
"Hey Tsu! " Uraraka excitedly greeted, with Asui giving her a wide smile in response.
"Who's this?" she asked her eyes falling onto the shorter "Tsus".
"Oh, this is my brother Samidare and this is my sister Satsuki," Asui explained pointing at both her siblings. Her siblings in turn gave Uraraka a small wave, which she returned.
"My parents are still at work, so I have to watch them. I hope bringing them wasn't a big deal, kero." Asui added, with Uraraka waving her off.
"Oh, no it's fine. I get it," Uraraka replied. While she didn't have siblings, she did understand parents working long hours and not arriving home till late. Those were never fun nights.
"Is Iida here yet?" Asui then asked, looking around the somewhat crowded street corner.
"I don't think so," Uraraka answered, "I got here a few minutes ago, but I haven't seen him yet."
"He's normally the early one," Asui noted before she stopped and turned to Uraraka. It took only seconds for Uraraka to see what her friend was thinking.
"Unless he's already here," Uraraka commented, with the small group now walking over to the beach. There, sure enough, they found Iida waiting for them, along with… trashbags.
"When did you get here?" Uraraka asked, getting Iida's attention. The boy gave them a small wave before running up to them.
"I've been here for the past hour," Iida quickly answered with a look of shock crossing Uraraka's face.
"An hour!?" she exclaimed, before regretting the action as a few people walking by turned to stare at her loud response. They walked off rather quickly after a few seconds.
"Yes, a hero must be on time," Iida said, his arms chopping the air. The trashbags in his hands flew around in the air as he did so, with one having metal clang around.
"An hour early is extreme though," Asui pointed out, with Iida conceding.
"It may be, but it has been beneficial in this case," Iida replied. The response had both girls raise their brows confused. Then Uraraka thought back to the trashbags in Iida's hands. It struck her odd at first, but Iida seemed to be a strict rules follower. Maybe he was cleaning some litter up.
"How come?" Uraraka asked, with Iida now giving her a confused look.
"You don't know?" Iida asked in return.
"Know what? Kero," Asui inquired.
"... It may be best for you to see it yourselves," Iida decided, before quietly leading them to the beach. It still struck them both as odd though. Especially as her eyes again fell on the trash bags he was carrying.
"Iida, is the beach covered in trash?" Uraraka asked.
"Yes, but I don't think covered accurately describes it," Iida answers, which only leaves her more confused. That is until the beach came into view. Her mouth hung open as she looked at the mass walls of abandoned garbage. Small building-sized piles of broken appliances. Several tons of plastics, fabrics, and metals. Not to mention the dozen or so cars she could see rusting away on the sand. And it all stretched out for miles.
Uraraka was at a loss for words, simply staring out at the large trash mountains.
"How did it get this bad?" Asui commented while trying her best to keep her siblings under control. They didn't seem to care about the trash and more so wanted to start swimming.
"I'm not sure exactly, but it's clear no one has done anything about this," Iida told her, with Uraraka slowly coming out of her stupor.
"Well, couldn't heroes do something?"
"Well, it would be very admirable, but that isn't the job of a hero," Iida said, "It's still reprehensible that someone let it get this bad, but we can't waste the heroes' time cleaning up messes. Not when there are still dangerous villains about."
"I'm surprised this hasn't made it to the news though, kero," Asui pointed out, which Iida thought was a fair point.
"What now then?" Uraraka asked. She did think they could spend the entire day cleaning up the beach, but what were three random teens going to do against this? They'd maybe get five percent of it done, possibly less. That and Iida definitely did not bring enough trash bags. Not to mention Tsu had to bring her siblings, which would make cleaning even more of a hassle.
"There was that takoyaki stand," Asui pointed out, much to her immediate regret. The second the work takoyaki left her mouth, her siblings stopped trying to go to the beach. Instead, they tried to run back to the stand, once they heard the prospect of food.
"I don't think I have money for it," Uraraka said.
"I can pay for it if it's no big deal," Iida told her.
"No, it's fine. I'm not hungry anyways," Uraraka quickly told him, though the swiftness of her response left Iida a little surprised.
"You sure?" he asked, somewhat confused by her reaction. But Uraraka quickly shook her head yes, while plastering the most genuine-looking fake smile on her face. If Iida paid for it, then she'd just be a burden. It would be a friendship of expenses. With her always viewed as poor and in need of someone else to foot the bill. Uraraka didn't want that to be the case. That, and she was ashamed to say she was a little angry at Iida's offer. He didn't know the extent of her situation, only thinking she didn't bring money with her.
But it was the look of pity Uraraka was waiting for. The one that treated her as if she was something less than. Like she couldn't take care of herself.
"Yeah," Uraraka said her hand going for her beach bag, that was until she felt something missing. Slowly Uraraka's hand searched through the bag before she slowly began to panic. She didn't show this on her face though, instead keeping up her smile as both her friends turned to walk to the takoyaki stand. It was as they walked away, and with a bated breath, that Uraraka realized someone had stolen her wallet.
Bison was bored, which was a tad bit ironic given the circumstances. His tank company was acting as a guard force on Outer Heaven's eastern border, looking out over a river in nearby Cameroon. The problem was everything was all quiet. Intel found the warlords had started fighting each other again, and wouldn't focus on the MSF again for another month.
Mainly due to the HPSC trying to force talks between the warring factions. The MSF couldn't launch an assault over the river without bridge layers and engineers. Those were a day or two away by Bison's best guess. So he was stuck sitting on his tank's turret, resting on a small hill under a large tree. His crew meanwhile, entertained themselves with their newest curiosity.
"So you can control all the drones around us?" Lion inquired, looking at the Idroid placed on the tank. There an AI dressed as a cowboy was standing tall. Not far away one of the drones, an M5 Ripsaw if Bison was correct, drove over to them.
"Yep," Texas replied, making the drone's turret begin to spin. At the same time, one of their quad-rotor surveillance drones flew around in a figure-eight pattern.
"Damn, seems we'll be out of a job pretty soon," Zebra commented.
"Please, pretty sure spurs here can be stopped with a glass of water," Rhino joked, bringing small chuckles from the crew.
"At least I won't die thirsty," Texas replied a small smirk on his face.
"Makes me wonder what the hell the R&D team is up to," Lion said, "I mean first they give us that new beauty of tank, now you."
Bison quietly agreed the new M1A3 was an amazing advancement in military tech. Even though it was built on the structure of a centuries-old tank. Then again, considering technology hasn't gone anywhere practical in the last century, it would be more like a forty-year-old tank.
"Think Bison will mind if we fire off a few rounds?" Zebra quietly asked the others, which was rather stupid, since one, Bison was close enough to hear him, and two the gun firing would have told him anyway.
"Sure, but it's coming out of your pay," Bison stated, instantly changing Zebra's tune. Slowly Bison sat up from the tank, looking down on the surrounding crew.
"Texas, any word from command?"
"Not a word," the AI replied, causing Bison to groan annoyed. All this fancy new gear and they were stuck doing nothing. The artillery guys got to test out their new howitzers, the same with the Air Force's new multirole fighter drones. What made it worse was how few M1A3s there were, with barely fifty having left the assembly line since its adoption.
"Alright, if you could vacation anywhere, without any worry of price, where would you go?" Bison tiredly asked, turning to look at his tank crew. Zebra gave him a small question look.
"This, is what we're doing right now?" Zebra inquired.
"You have any better ideas?" Bison replied. The tank gunner clicked his tongue in thought.
"Touche… I'd have to say Switzerland," Zebra said, before pulling himself up onto the tank's chassis.
"How come?" Lion asked as Zebra turned to face him.
"Well, they got the Alps, and I like to ski. That and it's right next to Italy and France, so if I want to go somewhere else it's just a short drive away," Zebra explained with Lion nodding along.
"Oh, that's a good one. I was gonna say the Bahamas," Lion commented.
"Eh, Bahamas is a bit too pricy for me," Rhino said.
"He did if we didn't have to worry about price," Zebra retorted.
"Also just don't like sand, it made those ops up north a nightmare." Rhino replied, "That said, I wouldn't mind Japan."
"Japan? As in the HPSC's backyard in Japan? As in hero capital of the world Japan?" Bison inquired.
"What I like anime," Rhino said, to his immediate regret. His compatriots all gave him rather mischievous looks.
"Oh, so you're a weeb then," Zebra said, much to Rhino's annoyance.
"You do know there are no subtitles right?" Lion commented cheekily, now leaning against the tank next to Zebra.
"Oh hardy har har fuck face," Rhino retorted, a small smile on his face, "Better a weeb than a sandy ass."
"He's got you there," Zebra said while carefully elbowing Lion.
"Great, there's more of them," Aizawa sarcastically remarked as he walked in to find Ocelot and his unit scouring through the torn-apart office. Where before there were originally only four, now stood a dozen men in balaclavas and red berets, each searching through documents and thrown about cabinets.
"Better to be prepared," Ocelot replied, looking through a file in his hand.
"I would think Nezu would want the HPSC to stay out of his business," Aizawa commented, watching as a few of the masked men looked up and glared at him. Only to then look down and get back to work. It still puzzled him as to who any of them were, and the new additions seemed to dislike him just as much as the old ones.
"Well, it's not the HPSC who's having me do this," Ocelot retorted, only to grumble and put away another file. At the moment it was basic records for the school's grades. It didn't seem like much but it could have brought some small clue, even though Aizawa was sure it wouldn't. Still, it was logical to cover every base.
"What have you got so far?" the tired hero asked. In response, Ocelot drew one of his revolvers and spun it on one finger. He then walked over to Aizawa and avoided the bits of broken desks and filing cabinets as he did so.
"At the moment, nothing much," Ocelot answered, "We've scoured a lot of documents, but whoever broke in was smart."
The cowboy snapped his fingers, and one of his men brought over a plastic bag. Inside was a vial of dust, or what Aizawa assumed was dust.
"Found this littering several filing cabinets. My best guess is it used to be several papers." Ocelot explained, slowly painting Aizawa a picture.
"He's covering his tracks," Aizawa realized. If the dust had indeed destroyed documents, then they would have no physical way of learning what was taken. After all dozens of documents could be destroyed and any of them could be the one that was stolen.
"Precisely. At the same, the only camera in the room was also dusted,"
"What about fingerprints?" Aizawa asked looking back across the room. The sheer number of things thrown around the room meant something had to have fingerprints. It would at least go a long way in identifying the people responsible.
"Found them on basically everything in this room," Ocelot answered, "So I shipped a few samples to the cops hoping they could find something."
"I'm going to assume they didn't,"
"You'd be right. We did the same thing with blood samples, and all we got was a dead five-year-old. One Tenko Shimura," Ocelot said much to Aizawa's shock. He then set the bag in his hand aside and brought out a small rectangular device. It lit up in seconds creating a small hologram displaying the family record of the boy in question. However this boy and his entire family were dead, their home nothing more than a crater. The cause of said crater was unknown, however. So considering this five-year-old has been dead for fifteen years, Aizawa thought something was off.
That, and the boy didn't have a quirk registered, so it could logically be anything.
"I thought our guy's quirk was turning things to dust," Aizawa noted recalling all the previous evidence, "Not something with blood."
The only explanation he could think of for the blood test was maybe a blood quirk. But that wouldn't explain everything being turned to dust.
"It could be something else, maybe someone made an error doing the test," Ocelot commented, with Aizawa quietly agreeing. Mistakes were always possible, but Aizawa still held a small shrivel of doubt.
"Could also be a mole in the police," Aizawa replied. To which Ocelot mentally chuckled, finding humor in the irony. Ocelot put the device away then and picked the plastic bag up again.
"As fun as this is, I've got to drop this off to Nezu, and then another sample to the cops," Ocelot stated, now walking past Aizawa. The tired man simply nodded and went back to examining the room. He found a few of the men inside glaring at him again, with Aizawa still unsure what their beef with him was. But he didn't care. If he cared about every person who had a grudge against him, he'd never get anything done. And that wasn't logical.
"That's it for the day, class dismissed!" All Might loudly proclaimed, before jumping away from the field. It had been another training exercise today, this time basic sparring. Now Uraraka wasn't sure if her luck was just terrible or if it was by coincidence, but she was paired with Fudaki again. That had made an eventful day, as Uraraka looked at the scorch marks on her costume.
They stung horribly, with Uraraka sure some of her flesh was melted. The fights weren't one-sided luckily, but it seemed like it to Uraraka. Funnily enough, she didn't know what his quirk was until today. The basics of it involved his hair, which was made of electricity. He could pluck a long strand out and mold the electricity into some kind of weapon. Like a sword a staff, a pair of nunchucks. Hell, he ended up chucking a few of them at her like he was Zeus.
And boy did they burn, everyone that hit shocked her into near unconscious with the heat giving her only second-degree burns. Which Uraraka was grateful for, considering they could have been third-degree. She did manage to beat Fudaki a few times, mostly by floating him up into the sky. It was at the cost of her hands though, as he would normally counter by shocking them. Still, it was over and all Uraraka wanted now was to go home.
Well after a visit to Recovery Girl. Which is what she was doing now, walking down the hall to where she hoped the nurse's office was. A few days into the school year this place was still a massive maze. Once she arrived though all it took was a kiss on the cheek, and she was good to go. So as quickly as it happened she weaved her way through the labyrinth of halls, passing a few teachers. She packed her school bag, got back in her uniform, and walked out the front gate.
Quietly she walked down the street, annoyed by the sweet smells surrounding her as she passed a small candy store. It reminded her of the money she lost, and that it meant a possible week without food. She should have left it at her apartment, but she didn't. It was fine though. Uraraka would study hard, and become a good hero, and her parents would never have to worry about money problems ever again.
Yep, that's what would happen, Uraraka thought as she walked down the street. She could do this, she would do… this… Could she do this? The thought echoed around Uraraka's mind as she kept walking, carefully stepping out of the way as people walked past her. Could she do this? She could barely afford food and a hero needed to stay healthy. If she couldn't eat, then how could she become a hero?
No, no negative thoughts. She would think of something. Maybe if she cut off the power and water to her apartment she could save some money. What did she need power for anyway? To watch the TV she didn't own? To charge the heater she wasn't using? No, it would be fine. As she thought this, something grabbed the back of her uniform. It caught her off guard before Uraraka found herself being thrown into a nearby alleyway.
She stumbled a little, but quickly turned to find her assailant. She expected some villain covered in rags or a man covered in scars. What she did not expect was Fudaki, staring at her with an annoyed glance.
"F-Fudaki? What are you doing?" she asked nervous and surprised. The boy walked up to her, an annoyed scowl still on his face.
"Doing what everyone else should have done, telling you the truth," Fudaki replied, leaving Uraraka confused as she took a small step back.
"The truth?" Uraraka asked.
"Yes, the truth. That you don't belong in the hero course," Fudaki told her, plucking out a strand of his hair. He pointed it at her, the electricity dancing around in the air slightly.
"Why you even bother to stay is idiotic. You don't belong."
"Don't belong!? I worked hard to get that spot!" Uraraka exclaimed angrily. Only for Fudaki to hold the electricity up to her face. It wasn't close enough to do anything, but she could feel its heat. She backed up further but found herself running into a wall.
"And it's wasted on you. You're a worthless poverty stricken nobody, trying to become something you can't be." Fudaki continued, "You can't seem to learn your place in the world."
"W-what?" Uraraka stammered out, her eye becoming irritated by the heat near her face.
"Your quirk is practically useless against real villains," Fudaki stated, with Uraraka opening her mouth to retort.
"I-I could make a good rescue hero-"
"A rescue hero isn't a hero," Fudaki interrupted stepping closer to her, "They're a glorified fireman or paramedic. They're nothing, which is fitting since that's what you want to be."
He moved the hair to slowly trace the rest of Uraraka's face, the heat turning it a soft red but not burning anything. It still hurt, with Uraraka trying to stop herself from letting out a pained cry.
"Why are you doing this?" she cautiously asked, with Fudaki still glaring at her.
"Why? Because you shouldn't be here. You're a nobody, I'm the son of a hero. And you dare to try and rise to the top when your place is at the bottom. Dare to try and stand at my level. You are worthless." Fudaki explained, before again tracing her face with the bolt of electricity. It stung even more as he brought it closer to her face.
"You could get arrested for this," Uraraka pointed out, hoping it would deter the boy.
"Did you not hear what I said? I'm the son of a hero, who is going to arrest me? And even then, I don't see any cameras or anything that can provide evidence to your case. Even the world around us knows you're not worth anything." Fudaki countered. Very quickly though he let go of the hair in his hand and it dissipated away, as if it was never there.
"I'm only going to say this once, leave the hero course," Fudaki then said, turning to walk away, "You don't belong. If you don't, then my family will remind yours of its place."
The boy was now walking out of the alleyway, with Uraraka letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. It took only seconds for her to start blaming herself. She was training to become a hero and she could only stand there. No, she backed away without doing anything. She could have punched him, kicked him, or just done something. Fudaki was wrong, she knew he was, right? No! He was wrong. He was just a pompous ass, upset some commoner wanted to challenge him.
She was not worthless, her quirk was not… No, it was a good quirk a very useful quirk! Uraraka didn't work through all of this just to quit now! She had worth, her quirk was good! It could… it could float villains, yeah! She always knew it could and it could lift the rubble off of trapped civilians! Great for a rescue hero… Throughout her thoughts, Uraraka slowly looked down at her hands.
She… she wasn't worthless. She was poor, yes, but that would change. She… she could do this. She… could she?
This was beautiful Grizzly decided. Right now he and the rest of his platoon were getting the new equipment issued out. They stood out in a FOB's gun range, testing the gear. And he was loving every second. He had very quickly traded out his M4 for the new M7A1. The original XM7 had been modified heavily to fit the MSF's needs. It was rechambered to 5.56, with the 6.8 variants serving a battle rifle function. It was also simplified and built with lighter-weight materials, bringing forward the M7A1.
To Grizzly's surprise however the new gun also came with a new optic, the M-157. To say the thing was a miracle of engineering would be downplaying it. It had a built-in range finder and ballistic calculator that would immediately adjust the optic's targeting reticle for what it was hitting. It calculated everything that might affect the bullet trajectory and factored it into the reticle's position.
And every single soldier with him was also getting one. It just kept getting better the longer the day went too. He was then fitted for a new exoskeleton the R&D team had finally managed to complete, with the first fifteen coming off the assembly line. Also, a new helmet attachment called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System. It was all mind-bogglingly beautiful to him as he looked around with the new helmet attachment.
"It's like a video game," he muttered to himself in amazement, much to Eagle's laughter.
"Don't get sucked into the matrix Rookie. Lord knows I'm not going in to save your ass." Eagle commented, even though he too was now looking through the IVAS.
"That's a lie and you know it," Grizzly replied, turning to look down range. The IVAS on his helmet adjusted accordingly, and boy was that cool. It had some many features it genuinely felt like a video game. It had night vision and infrared, could link with the M-157 to assist aiming or the camera of a drone, and had something called a soliton radar. With the new gear, Grizzly picked up his new M7 and aimed it down range.
Just as he hoped the scope adjusted in milliseconds, and Grizzly fired. A dozen rounds flew forward and the shots all hit dead center. Grizzly then focusing on the head fired again. Another dozen rounds flew by, each one heating the target.
"Feels almost unfair now," Eagle said, "Almost."
"Sergeant Eagle?" someone asked. Both he and Eagle turned around to find the new recruit to the platoon. He stood there somewhat nervously, looking between them both with a hint of suspicion.
"That'd be me private," Eagle stated, holding out his hand for a shake.
"Private Fervent Gecko, reporting to duty," Iguchi said, quickly grabbing and shaking the sergeant's hand. Though Grizzly noticed an odd bit of hesitancy in his actions. Odd but not unexpected, he was somewhat similar on the first day.
"Good to have you, this here is Corporal Grizzly. We're not doing anything at the moment, but we're being sent out in an hour. So, get in line, get your gear, and be ready." Eagle told him, with Iguchi quickly turning pale.
"Wait already?" Iguichi asked shocked. He didn't think he'd be seeing combat so soon. A month from now, sure. Two weeks, probably. Day one? He didn't think it possible.
"Heh, war waits for no one, private," Grizzly commented, "But trust me, you stick with us and it'll all go well."
Grizzly didn't notice it, but Iguchi had given him a disbelieving look. They were just going to use him, he was sure of it. All of this was some big practical joke, that would get him killed. And they were all pretending it wasn't. But he couldn't afford to leave. Iguchi had already signed the contract and he desperately needed the money.
Still, he did as told and got in line, leaving Eagle and Grizzly to keep talking about their new stuff.
"How strong do you think this is?" Eagle cautiously asked, looking at the new exoskeleton he'd been given. It was a surprisingly slim design, based on Dr. Emmerich's old legs. They didn't bore into his bones thankfully, but the design function was somewhat similar. It also covered his arms, parts of his back and spine, and also his hands slightly. Though it used a lot more artificial muscles for better movement and weight.
"Hmm, I did see a large rock nearby, wonder if you could pick it up?" Grizzly wondered aloud, drawing over Eagle's curiosity. The both of them ignored the gunfire from the range though, too curious about the idea.
"How big of a rock are we talking?" Eagle asked, intrigued by the prospect.
"About yay high," Grizzly stated, holding his hand up at around four feet.
"I was expecting bigger," Eagle commented, with Grizzly quietly snickering.
"That's what she said," Grizzly joked, causing Eagle to groan.
"Oh fuck off," he muttered, only to regret his choice of words seconds later.
"That's also what she said," Grizzly again joked.
"You've got the humor of a fourteen-year-old," Eagle told him, with Grizzly replying with a wide smirk.
"Perhaps, still we going to go lift that rock?" Grizzly asked, bringing them both back on topic. He began walking off in the direction of the rock with Eagle quickly following
"Oh absolutely. If we can lift it, I know of a large hill with a tree at the bottom. Know what I'm thinking?" Eagle inquired, bringing forth a cheeky grin.
"Oh hell yeah," Grizzly replied, returning an equally cheeky grin.
"We still have nothing?" Nezu inquired surprised. Over a week of searching and no one could find out what was stolen. It was worrying both to him and Ocelot. At the moment Nezu was sitting at his desk, while Ocelot stood walking around the room with his men at attention.
"Nothing of use. The closest answer I've got is either the student records, financial info, or one of the class schedules. Which class schedule he took, I still don't know. Any of these possibilities could be the case, and all are worrying," Ocelot answered.
"The perpetrator escaped through a portal correct?" Nezu asked, with Ocelot nodding yes.
"Let's cover our bases then," Nezu decided, "If it's the class schedule, then they're planning an attack."
"The question is when where and how," Ocelot added, spinning one of his revolvers before tossing it into the air.
"We don't know how their teleporter works, so I'd assume anywhere," Nezu deduced, tapping carefully onto his desk. What he would do for a cup of tea right now, but more pressing matters were at hand.
"What about most likely locations then?" Ocelot asked, having a few in mind. He placed his Idroid onto the rodent's desk bringing up a holographic map of the campus. It showed every minute detail from the interiors of Ground Beta to the smallest tree of Ground Omega. Every pathway was displayed from the main building to the USJ.
"That depends on their motive," Nezu muttered, "If they're trying to steal something I'd assume they would go after the Support Course. Several promising students were building rather dangerous support gear and any villain would want a crack at it."
"Or they could have a score to settle with the school. Either that or All Might," Ocelot noted, with Nezu silently agreeing.
"If it's All Might they're after then they'd go after the Hero Course. However that seems highly unlikely," Nezu said, causing Ocelot to give him a confused look.
"How so?" Ocelot inquired, swapping the Idroid over to the USJ. If there was an attack, and it was today, then that's where the villains would be.
"For one no villain is capable of killing him," Nezu answered, causing Ocelot to give him a disbelieving look.
"I can name more than a few ways to kill him," Ocelot countered. Most involved war crimes, but a lot of others didn't. Of course, Nezu raised his hands conceding to his point, before explaining.
"Oh I know he can be killed, but it's All Might's reputation that keeps villains from trying." Nezu explained, "He's seen as this unstoppable force of nature. There are ways to kill him, but no one considers them in the heat of the moment. And why would you? The several hundred-pound wall of muscle is loudly laughing before throwing a punch strong enough to tear apart a building."
Ocelot could see the point in his logic. No one stopped to think about the practicality of such power when the wind pressure from his punches alone can rip people in half.
"I'm not saying to write it off though," Nezu quickly told him, "I know that there are some factors one can never account for."
"Agreed," Ocelot stated. Slowly the two went over the possibilities for what could occur. There could be an attack in weeks, there could be an attack in days. There could be an attack today, but they didn't know. Even then it might not be an attack. Someone might hack into UA's servers and forge some data, making it look like the school is committing fraud. Or they could go after the student's families. Any number of things could happen.
"So, what do we do?" Ocelot asked, sitting down and leaning back in one of Nezu's office chairs.
"Not much we can do," Nezu answered, "You have any suggestions?"
"A few, for one those villain bots of yours, are not going to cut it for security," Ocelot stated, switching the Idroid's feed yet again. Nezu silently agreed though. If they could be destroyed by first-year students with little training, then they could be stopped by a more experienced villain. Not to mention the designs valued intimidation and an iconic design over practicality.
"Call it paranoia if you will, but we may need some hidden weapon caches around campus," Ocelot stated. He finally found what he was looking for on the Idroid. It was a long list of guns, most of which were JSDF equipment.
"There's an army depot not too far from here. I'm going to head out and flash the old HPSC ID, to try and get my hands on some better stuff." Ocelot explained with Nezu now scrolling through the list. It was rather long but it made sense. Ocelot did say he wanted to hide caches all over campus. Still, he only had a dozen men at his disposal.
"Can't Snake give you this?" Nezu inquired because most of the list had gun types the MSF had thousands of. For example, Ocelot was looking to get Howa Type 20s, even though the MSF still had thousands of M4s and hundreds of new M7s being cranked out.
"He could but that risks our cover being blown." Ocelot replied, "We're posing as a Japanese group under the HPSC's jurisdiction. So if Madam President starts wondering where the new guns come from, I can say I got them from a Japanese army depot."
"That makes sense. Where do you intend on setting up the first cache?" Nezu asked. Ocelot for his part paused for a second. His hand went back to the Idroid and switched it back to the map of the campus. No course was going near either Ground Gamma, Omega, or Beta this week, so those were eliminated. The main building was filled with heroes, so that's a no-go. Only one place came to Ocelot's mind, the USJ.
"USJ seems like a good place to start." Ocelot decided while standing up and picking up his Idroid, "I should be back in a couple of hours. If something happens give me a call."
He filed out of the room with the dozen other men following after him. It left Nezu alone with his thoughts as he turned to face his computer. It displayed All Might in his pinstrip yellow suit stopping a large pink mutant. He should be here, as school was just starting, but he wasn't. It seems he'd need to talk with him.
When Uraraka had gone to class, there were several things she was expecting. Number one, was Fudaki to be glaring at the door to see if she quit. His glare only worsened when he saw her arrive. Number two though, was Ocelot sitting lazily at the front, heckling Aizawa throughout homeroom. Instead, the seat he normally sat at was empty. It remained empty throughout the day.
Uraraka also noticed that his Unit was nowhere to be seen. The table a few of them sat at in the cafeteria was empty and taken up by some students. It was odd, and a bit worrying. They had become an always present factor at the school, to see them gone felt like something was wrong. The more logical part of her said they weren't teachers so they had other things to do around the country.
But it didn't get rid of the feeling that something was off. Then came the class she was waiting for, heroics. Surprisingly enough All Might didn't barge through the door this time. Instead, Aizawa quietly walked in and stood in front of the class. The moment they all saw him though everyone went silent.
"Three seconds, seems you're learning," Aizawa muttered before looking at the class.
"Today's training will be a little different," Aizawa began ignoring the nervous looks he was getting from the class. Uraraka's immediate thought was another threat of expulsion, one she now knew Aizawa would follow through on. She was luckily mistaken with what he meant.
"You'll have three instructors. Me, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you." Aizawa explained. Instantly a boy with tape dispensers for arms, who Uraraka remembered as Sero held his hand up.
"Sir! What kinda training is this?" Sero loudly asked, with Aizawa moving to grab a card. He then held it out to the class with Uraraka seeing the big bold blue letters saying the one thing she wanted to hear.
"Rescue."
It was what she was waiting for a large determined smile crossing Uraraka's face. It was perfect for her useless- for her quirk. This was a class she knew she could pass. Yet she ignored the thoughts circulating her mind because Rescue heroes are heroes. Are they? Of course, they are!
"You'll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that." Aizawa continued, now pocketing the card again. The class murmured excitedly, with Uraraka hearing Tsu comment, "Finally, I'll get to show off how good I am in the water, kero."
Aizawa however interrupted their thoughts.
"I'm not finished yet."
It quickly reminded Uraraka how close to expulsion all of them were. It also reminded the class very quickly, who all quieted down again.
"What you wear in this exercise is up to you. I know you're excited about costumes, but keep in mind that you haven't gotten used to them yet and they might limit your abilities."
Aizawa raised a remote in his hand and pressed a button. The moment he did the walls holding their costumes extended outwards.
"This special training's at an off-campus facility, so we'll be taking a bus to get there." Aizawa told them, before beginning to walk off, "That's all. Start getting ready,"
Before Uraraka realized it, she had gotten her costume on and was riding the bus to their location. It boggled her mind how big UA was now that she thought about it. They needed to take a bus just to go to a different facility still on school grounds. Then again most of the school was made up of empty space, or incredibly large training grounds. Yet as Uraraka thought on this, someone else spoke up.
"You know, everyone barely knows each other," a girl with pink skin and horns said, with Uraraka remembering her as Ashido.
"Yeah," a boy with red hair agreed, his name Kirishima if Uraraka was right.
"We know each other's names but no one actually knows anyone that well," Kirishima stated. It brought a few murmurs of agreement from most people, the only few who didn't seem to agree being Todoroki, Bakugo, and of course, Fudaki.
"You know what, how about we all get to know each other," Iida commented, "It would come a long way in helping us become heroes,"
"Speak for yourselves. All of you are just extras," Bakugo muttered disinterestedly.
"Well, that tells us what you're like," a boy with blond hair with a black lightning streak commented. Uraraka wasn't entirely sure, but she thought his name was Kaminari.
"Yeah? And what would that be Pikachu?" Bakugo demanded, a bit of hostility in his tone.
"That you have the personality of flaming garbage," Kaminari replied, his comment making Bakugo increasingly angry.
"Flaming garbage huh!? I'll show you flaming garbage after I send your ass to hell!" Bakugo angrily shouted, the only thing keeping him from fulfilling his threat being the currently moving bus. Uraraka said only one thing because Aizawa was dozing off in a sleeping back at the front. Yet Uraraka felt as if things would be fine, as everyone in class began to share who they were. Today would be a good day, yes it would.