Chapter 83: A Momentary Rearmament
Leaning back in his hospital bed, All was slowly beginning to think coming back to UA was a mistake. When Iida was helping him down the halls toward the infirmary, he could see the shocked and worried looks his student had. Other students who were beginning to get up in the morning, shared Iida's worry. Each one looked at All Might, and couldn't believe their eyes. It hurt him to see how afraid each of them was.
But that wasn't the entire reason he regretted coming back. No, the primary reason, was one short old woman, who was beating him over the head with her cane.
"Idiotic numbskull!" Recovery Girl shouted, still smacking him on the head.
"Ow! Ow! Chiyo! Quit it!" All Might exclaimed, covering his head from the angry nurse. Iida, just stood off to the side dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. Wisely though, he decided to stay out of the way.
"I'll quit when you stop running off!" Recovery Girl replied, "What were you even thinking!? You knew you were out of time, and you ran out there anyway!"
"I wasn't thinking-" All Might tried to argue, though realized it was a poor choice of words.
"You don't say," Recovery Girl sarcastically muttered, before taking a deep breath. She'd stopped hitting him by this point and now tapped her cane on the floor. By this point Iida elected to step outside, not believing any of this was his to hear.
"You have to realize other heroes can pick up the slack," Recovery Girl told him. It was the same thing Nezu had been telling him. He couldn't be All Might forever, and his time was running out quickly. Still, All Might couldn't help but disagree.
"Not in this case," All Might replied, "Even I was struggling with these villains. If I'm having a hard time dealing with them, then…"
He trailed off into thought for a moment, lingering on the battle. Sure, every villain had been easy to defeat, normally taking a single blow to knock out. But there were just so many of them. All the villains just bogged him down, making it impossible to save people. With all his strength, he'd been struggling. And if he was struggling, then how were other heroes fairing? How many heroes had died defending the stadium?
How many had died out in the city? How many were dying now? The questions racked All Might's mind, the hero looking over his hand. He clenched it into a fist weakly, before coughing.
"I had a full three hours of strength yesterday… and… it wasn't enough," All Might muttered tiredly, looking toward Recovery Girl. The old woman sighed while leaning on her cane.
"How much time do you have left?" Recovery Girl asked warily. All Might thought the question over carefully.
"I'm… not sure," All Might replied. It had never been a clear feeling telling him how long he had. There was only a spike of pain telling him time was up. But by guessing from previous experiences, he didn't have long.
"Half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes," All Might told her, causing Recovery Girl to again sigh.
"What am I going to do with you?" Recovery Girl asked rhetorically. It brought on an awkward silence though, both of them knowing the gravity of everything. Her question was rhetorical, yet it rang with some truth. All Might as a symbol, was dead. The hero behind it hadn't yet caught up, and Recovery Girl worried that time was coming soon. All Might would never sit on the sidelines, not if he still had the strength to fight.
So, he had weeks, possibly days until the last of his time ran out. Recovery Girl despised the fact she could do nothing about it. It was maddening as the silence continued on. Eventually, though, All Might remembered something. He looked over at Recovery Girl warily, the man coughing slightly.
"How are… how are the students?" All Might asked reluctantly. Recovery Girl looked back at All Might downtrodden, tapping her cane on the floor.
"...Depends on the class," Recovery Girl hesitantly answered, a few tears in her eyes, "Most… most of Gen Ed's first years… most of those kids didn't make it. The business course is in a similar circumstance. The third and second years faired better than most, but… a lot of them are dead too."
Every word hurt All Might, and it clearly hurt Recovery Girl too.
"We tried to save them… but their injuries were too severe," Recovery Girl muttered tiredly, the nurse moving to sit down in a nearby chair. She seemed tired, now that All Might looked at her more carefully. Didn't seem like she slept at all last night. Which, All Might realized, was probably true. Thousands had been injured in the attack, meaning there was no time to rest.
Of course that brought up a new question, as he remembered the first thing he saw the moment the attack started. That being Bakugo, having his arm blown off next to Todoroki.
"The hero course?" All Might inquired, quietly dreading the answer. He saw some of them when he left UA, but he hadn't heard a thing about Bakugo or Todoroki.
"They're alive, but… well, you saw what happened to them out there," Recovery Girl replied, "Bakugo's had his arm reattached, Todoroki's unconscious, and Mineta is as well."
"And Melissa, what about her?" All Might asked, worriedly.
"She's fine. Traumatized, but alive," Recovery Girl replied, causing All Might to sigh in relief. By this point, Recovery Girl stood up from her chair and started walking toward the door.
"I hope you're ready," Recovery Girl told him, the short woman reaching for the door handle, "Now that the world saw your true form, things won't be the same."
"Not like I can be ready. Don't know what I'm gonna say to the press once this is all over," All Might replied, because how did he explain… any of this? He'd have to reveal to the world his injury, possibly even All for One's existence. The world would be in a panic. Of course, Recovery Girl found it oddly funny, finally managing to open the door.
"Well, it isn't just the press you're going to have to explain this to," Recovery Girl told him, as All Might turned to look at her confused. Before he could ask what she meant, she had his answer. It was most of 1A plus Akatani standing outside the room, looking bashfully. Jiro stood the closest to the door, obviously telling everyone what was happening. Of course, All Might found their predicament rather funny as the students scrambled to look less guilty.
Especially as Kaminari tripped and fell on Asui, Yaoyorozu chucked a half-finished stethoscope at a wall, and Iida, of course, quickly bowed to apologize.
"All Might I apologize for the intrusion! I tried to keep everyone calm but when everyone learned you were here-" the teen tried to say, only for All Might to cut him off laughing. The entire sight lifted his mood somewhat, even if it came at the embarrassment of his students. But it wasn't just that. It was just good to see them alive. That even after all of this, they'd survived. Wiping away a tear from his eye, All Might's laughter slowly died down.
"It's fine Young Iida," All Might told him, shaking his head lightly, "I can see you were all just worried about me."
Much of the class nodded, with some smiling. A few held back tears while Recovery Girl shuffled past them. The class looked at him shocked though, just as Iida had done when he first saw Skele-might. It was one thing to see it on camera, it was another to see it in person. Behind their eyes, All Might knew they had hundreds of questions, all laced with fear and worry. Not like he could blame them. The symbol of peace sat before them, looking like a corpse.
They desperately wanted to know what would happen to him, to them. To the world even. How could any of this have happened, to him of all people? Well, they were owed some answers, All Might thought. Sitting up in his bed, All Might looked at the class with his usual friendly smile.
"Ah, don't just stand there, come on in. All of you," he told them, motioning for them to enter the room. The moment he said the words, they all flooded inside like a tsunami. A flurry of shocked, worried, afraid, but most of all, happy teens swarmed around him. They smiled relieved as they entered the room, happy their hero was alive.
"-FLEA RIDDEN SCUM NO BETTER THAN WORMS!" All for One shouted furiously, tearing away what was left of the TV he'd been destroying. It was the sixteenth one he'd broken, all because the impossible had happened. Those good-for-nothing upstarts had gotten lucky, that was all this was! They were scum! Worth less than the gum stuck on a sidewalk! But to think these skull villains, had almost killed All Might, it was unthinkable to All for One.
That in a mere second, his most hated enemy and his brother's quirk would be taken from him in an instant. He would not have it. The blond buffoon was his to kill, and One for All was his to take! And no band of upstarts was going to take it from him. Yet, All for One took a second to calm himself. Retribution would be swift, and painful, but could only be made with a calm mind. Sure, he decided to stay out of Shigaraki's way, for now.
But that didn't mean he would do nothing.
"Garaki!" All for One yelled out, the doctor scrambling to address him.
"Yes, my lord?" Garaki asked quickly, as All for One clasped his hands.
"What Nomus are at our disposal?" he inquired, the doctor thinking it over momentarily.
"Just the weaker ones, unfortunately, the others are still in testing," Garaki replied, causing All for One to grumble.
"Unfortunate," All for One muttered, thinking it over carefully. It was fine, as much as it annoyed him. All the Nomus needed was a bit more time, and everything would go his way. Would help if he stacked the deck in his favor though.
"Call up Giran in the meantime, see if he can get us info on these Skulls. Once the Nomus are ready, I want these pests eliminated," All for One ordered, the scientist nodding slowly. It did give All for One a question though. What exactly would Giran find? It was clear these skulls were well-armed, but something seemed… off. He would have heard about a rising villain group, especially one as large as the skulls.
The only way they could have remained under his radar is if they've done nothing. No grand plans, just building up strength for years. However, to remain hidden for this long and grow so strong, they would have needed a backer. Someone to fund everything they did, without anyone becoming the wiser. Who it could be, All for One didn't know.
"Hmm…I… I think that fixed it, try it again," Melissa said, before rolling out from under the Battle Gear prototype. The AIs inside the massive behemoth took a second before the vehicle's engine began to sound. After a few seconds, the thing sputtered out, failing to start up. Melissa sighed as she looked over the thing, before turning to face a nearby Dr. Soul, Miller, and Snake. The man grumbled as he turned to face the two.
"I told you this was a bad idea," Soul stated tiredly, rubbing his face exhausted, "It'll be a miracle if these things can even be deployed."
"All that matters is that they're here," Miller replied, which Melissa quietly disagreed with. The Battle Gears, while very impressive pieces of engineering, had one fatal flaw. The engine wasn't strong enough. Sure, it could get up and running for a few minutes, but it would be for only those few minutes. The entire machine was being overworked with all the systems it was handling.
"Them being here doesn't matter, if we can't even use these things, Kaz," Snake muttered, turning to look away from the unmanned walker.
"That's where you're wrong. Think of it as a psychological weapon," Miller countered, causing Snake to grumble.
"Actual weapons work better," Soul retorted, while Miller adjusted his sunglasses.
"Look, it's a big scary tank-looking thing. It doesn't have to fight. All it has to do is keep the enemy intimidated for now," Miller reasoned, while Melissa rolled back under the Battle Gear, to quietly tinker.
"They're a bunch of suicidal bastards, I don't think they're intimidated," Snake replied, only for Miller to turn and point at him.
"They were intimidated- no, scared of you," Miller pointed out, with Snake scoffing.
"They were scared of failure, not me," Snake told him, with Miller shrugging.
"Same thing," Miller told him, "They were scared you'd stop them, and that they'd fail. Now add on these Battle Gears, which could shrug off an RPG."
"Theoretically it could. Because may I remind you we still haven't done testing," Soul pointed out with a sigh, "And that's hoping we get them working somehow."
"Look all I'm saying, big scary tank, make's the enemy think they can't beat it," Miller relented, causing Snake to again grumble. At the same time, Melissa continued to look over the vehicle carefully.
"...Are any of these things combat-ready?" Snake asked, with Soul crossing his arms.
"Just the Hornet, Wasp, and Queen Bee variants, though they barely qualify as ready," Soul answered, with Snake raising his brow confused.
"How come?" Snake inquired, with Soul pulling out his Idroid. The device lit up, displaying the 3D model of each variant. One of which had its center turret taken over by a single large cannon. Another had its side-mounted railgun replaced with a 30mm rotary cannon and a side-mounted missile launcher. The final variant had the usual railgun, however, the back was much bigger, holding a small air force's worth of drones.
"Well none of them can move either, but their designs give them some use. For example, the Hornet is a self-propelled howitzer variant, we can just use it as a basic artillery. The Wasp meanwhile is for air defense, and the Queen Bee is… well a land aircraft carrier," Soul explained, the last bit sticking out to Snake.
"Land aircraft carrier?" Snake inquired, confused.
"It's the best I could think of. But it's loaded to the brim with drones of varying kinds. Loitering munitions, scout drones, small quad-rotor attack drones, you name it," Soul replied, putting his Idroid away, with Snake thinking all of it over.
"So… we've got a self-propelled howitzer that can't move, an anti-air system that can't move, and a drone carrier, that can't move," Snake said, slowly turning to look at Miller. The commander very quickly averted eye contact before Snake sighed. Melissa listened to all of this carefully, pondering what kind of action could be taken. Slowly though, Melissa began to think of something, an idea coming to fruition.
"Well… the problem's the engine right?" Melissa asked as she rolled out from under the Battle Gear. Even though it had been said multiple times, she wanted to be sure.
"Right. The damn thing isn't strong enough to get it moving," Soul answered, nodding slowly.
"Was this the first engine you used?" Melissa asked, standing up to dust herself off.
"No, it's the third. Designed two others for it," Soul replied, "By the way things are going, we'll have to design a fourth."
It made Melissa think for a second. They needed an engine powerful enough to get the Battle Gears moving. Only one engine was coming to mind, though she only saw it in action yesterday.
"What if you used an existing engine then?" Melissa asked, with Soul shaking his head before she could continue.
"Did that. Threw in the same electric diesel engine our M1A3s use," Soul replied, slowly walking toward the Battle Gear, before tapping the vehicle loudly.
"I meant something else," Melissa explained, everyone looking back at her curiously, "There was a student I saw during the Festival, who had engines in his legs."
It made everyone pause for a second, as Melissa saw Miller and Snake hold a look of recognition. Seems they knew who she was talking about. Soul meanwhile pondered the idea quietly.
"You're thinking we copy those engines," Soul realized, "Worth a shot, know where he is?"
"Saw him in the cafeteria earlier, if he's not there, look for the classroom 1A. Just ask for Iida Tenya," Snake told him, before looking down at the watch. At the same time, Soul began walking toward the School building.
"Meetings about to start up," Snake muttered, looking over at Miller. The commander nodded before leading the way.
"Oh, and keep up the good work kid," Snake told Melissa while following behind Miller. Melissa took it somewhat with pride, appreciating the small bit of praise. However as they walked away, it left Melissa alone with her thoughts. Again, yesterday began to play through her mind. She tried to force the thoughts out, but they lingered on. Too many people had died, far too many. Looking back, a lot of heroes died in the attack.
Melissa didn't want to think about it for long, but the thought kept coming back to her. It slowly annoyed her, but soon something struck her as odd. In her memories, the dead heroes were normally far worse for wear, than the soldiers. They had been practically torn to shreds, while the MSF was somewhat better. They were still dead, but they didn't look like they were thrown into a meat grinder.
Melissa wondered why that was, before thinking it over. It was the costumes, she realized. The MSF had ballistic plates for most of their soldiers, the heroes did not. Most heroes didn't have cutting-edge or even basic body armor. Not unless it worked for their brand appeal or quirk. Otherwise, it was made of regular cloths and fabrics that could stretch well. It never seemed like an issue before, because… well… villain attacks were never this bad.
Sure some villain attacks were dangerous, but Melissa couldn't remember the last time something of this scale had occurred. Could… could this happen again, Melissa thought fearfully. If… if it did, then the heroes were worriedly unprepared. Ideas began to run through Melissa's mind, trying to find a solution to this problem. There, a new memory came to mind. I-Island exoskeleton development had been working on a sister project.
It was ludicrously expensive, draining much of the island's budget. But that was because they were throwing practically everything they could onto the project. It could be the size of a briefcase, have the strength of All Might, move at supersonic speeds, and a dozen other things. Quietly Melissa pondered the idea. It… was far from completion. But what if she cut back on all its additions? If there was one thing she learned from the MSF, it was that the best wasn't always good. Not if it bore a hole through someone's wallet.
It didn't need All Might strength, if good enough was easier and cheaper to do.
As Night Owl watched the next test subject walk toward the portal, he couldn't help but grumble with a strained smile. He had taken a step back from the Ninth Circle's attack of Musutafu now and occasionally checked in on their progress. Needless to say, he was… concerned. Everything was supposed to go according to plan, and for a time it was. The city had lost power, its police were either dead or under siege, the hospitals had been or would be ransacked, and thousands were dead.
UA still standing was an unfortunate issue, but one that could be fixed with time. However, All Might was supposed to die. He planned it out perfectly, down to the finest details. The Ninth Circle would overwhelm the hero, wasting what time he had left. All Might, being the goody-two-shoes he was, would then leave UA and try to save more lives. To further ensure this point he brought Snake out to the city, so that the MSF lost its key commander, and would take longer to mobilize.
Forcing All Might, to pick up more of the slack, even if it wasn't much. All so that in the end, All Might would be too tired to fight, and finally die. Except, to Night Owl's annoyance, that didn't happen. It confused him as to how. Everything had been planned out, everything! Night Owl knew a dozen different ways this could have gone down, all of them planned for. And yet All Might lived. Saved, by Snake of all people.
It… was a setback, All Might living meant hero society would last just a tad bit longer, but Night Owl was sure he'd think of something. Some backup plan to cover his losses… hopefully. In the meantime, he decided to cheer himself up with his favorite pastime, illegal human experimentation.
"Put your arm in the portal," he ordered over the comm system, the test subject looking at the portal terrified. He complied nonetheless though, slowly putting his arm through the portal. Now Night Owl no longer needed the old dimensional constant to map the multiverse, so the likelihood of the portal opening into a hell dimension was impossible. That said, he still didn't entirely know where the portal led. An alien planet filled with new diseases and technological wonders, maybe.
Medieval Europe, except with more fantasy elements and magic, perhaps. It could even be a dimension exactly like his own, with the only difference being All Might has brown hair instead of blond. Slowly the aide seemed to grab something, before slowly pulling their arm out of the portal. Once it was fully out of the portal, Night Owl looked at the device curiously… before realizing it was just a smartphone.
"Hmm… toss it with the others, and try again. Find something useful this time," Night Owl tiredly muttered, as he turned to face the large pile of smartphones in the back of the room. Cautiously the aide tried again, putting their arm through the portal, before feeling around momentarily. There they pulled out… a small potted plant. Night Owl's smile soured a bit, as he shut the portal closed. Unfortunate, he thought.
His previous ventures had gotten him something of value. But now he seemed to be coming up empty. Ah well, onto the next dimension then. Quietly Night Owl opened up a new portal, it being an odd greenish blue with mist peeling off it. Worrying, but hey, he wasn't the one in the room. The aide stepped forward, same as before, and stuck their arm into the portal. Again, they searched around feeling for something. However this time something yanked the aide into the portal.
The last thing Night Owl heard from them was screaming, while some animalistic monster on the other side of the portal growled. For a second, Night Owl debated on whether he should leave the portal open. What kind of creature was on the other side he wondered… ah, better not risk it. The last thing he needed was demons or some kind of monster flooding into his lab. So, he closed the portal, and opened up a new one, waiting to see what came next.
"Casualties continue to mount as we enter day two of the Battle of Musutafu. From all reports, pro heroes continue to bravely hold the line against the oncoming villains. However, as of yet, no gains have been made in the city. If we look at the map here, we can see a small assault was launched by the pro hero Fatgum and his agency around-"
"Confirmed reports are coming in, Flight 291 was shot down last night over Musutafu. With the disaster authorities are now calling the city a no-fly zone-"
"Heroes have captured two villains driving a truck out of Musutafu, smuggling over forty children. Whether this is the only vehicle doing so is yet to be discovered but-"
"New Star Energy Station was hit yesterday, leaving an estimated forty percent of Musutafu without power. The New Star station's parent company, Hikari Electric, has stated the situation is under control. However, government officials fear a total grid collapse could occur-"
"JSDF guns continue to be found all across the battlefield, with many officials questioning how villains managed to get their hands on them. When questioned Minister of Defence Kudo Hina did not comment, and ignored reporters when she left the government building yesterday-"
"An anti-ship missile has hit the cruise liner the Twilight Springs, with new reports just now coming in. The crew has confirmed the ship is taking on water, and is now evacuating all hands-"
"No news has been found on All Might or his mysterious saver-"
Tsukauchi slowly turned off the TV, as he tiredly looked around the station. The villains outside had made a few more attempts at breaching the station, but they were thankfully pushed back. It was, at a devastating cost though. Dozens more officers were dead, and Tsukauchi wasn't sure Musutafu would have a police force by the time this was over. Hell, with how things were looking the country might not have a police force. Not with how many cops they were calling in.
For the public, the news was trying to keep things hopeful, mainly to keep up the morale of the citizenry. They kept listing off the number of villains defeated, and from what hero beat them—forty villains, defeated by Fatgum. Thirty-five were defeated by Ryukyu. Sixty were defeated by Mirko. The only thing the media didn't list, was the amount of territory taken back, or how many officers had died defeating those villains. For those forty villains Fatgum had defeated, sixty police officers died somewhere else.
For the thirty-five Ryukyu beat, seventy-five officers died elsewhere. The sixty villains beaten by Mirko? A hundred officers were dead, trying to move into Musutafu's suburbs. This wasn't even counting hero deaths. The hundreds of fresh-faced side kicks or new pros coming right out of graduation. Just how many villains were there, Tsukauchi questioned. Of course, this question was superseded when he heard the Chief yell from his office.
"Absolutely not!" the Chief shouted, as Tsukauchi turned to look at the man. Walking toward the Chief's office, Tsukauchi found his superior was on the phone. He attempted to listen in but was only able to make out bits.
"Chief-" Nezu tried to say only for the Chief to cut him off.
"You're asking me to put my trust, in an army of mercs! Them stepping foot into the city is only going to make things worse!" the Chief yelled, slamming his fist onto his desk.
"You don't exactly have much of a choice," Nezu countered, the Chief looking out his office door and spotting Tsukauchi. Quietly he motioned for Tsukauchi to enter, while still furious.
"Oh!? Mind telling me why?" the Chief demanded,
"The villains have cut off all forms of supply into Musutafu. If I'm right, that includes water," Nezu explained, while Tsukauchi sat across the Chief, "Meaning we've got three days at max before the last of Musutafu's water runs dry. Civilians stuck inside the city won't last much longer once that happens."
"The city is surrounded by the country's best heroes. By the time we get to the three-day mark, the villains will have been dealt with," the Chief reasoned annoyed, looking back at Tsukauchi.
"Have you seen the photos circulating the internet? There are heroes with their heads chopped off being paraded in the street! You can't be sure they'll succeed in time," Nezu pointed out, with the Chief sighing.
"I can't. But I can be sure the second that army of villains with you, steps foot into the city, they'll start dropping bombs onto Musutafu," the Chief countered, "You want to bring up civilian casualties, then how about those mercs leveling an apartment building to kill these villains."
"They have assured me they will take all necessary precautions," Nezu told him, with the Chief shaking his head.
"And I'm not risking it. They so much as step foot out of that school, and I'll drag all of them to Tartarus myself," the Chief warned, before abruptly hanging up. With a grumble he looked back at Tsukauchi, the detective very confused.
"What was that about?" Tsukauchi asked, with the Chief again grumbling.
"UA's principal wanted me to allow the MSF into Musutafu," the Chief answered, causing Tsukauchi's eyes to widen.
"And… we're saying no," Tsukauchi commented. Part of him wanted to agree with the decision, but the casualty figures just flashed through his mind.
"You heard what I told him. The city is surrounded by heroes. These villains won't last another day," the Chief replied, and Tsukauchi didn't doubt that. Given enough time, the heroes would defeat the villains. But by the sound of things, they didn't have time. People were still trapped in the city, cut off from all manner of supplies. By the time the heroes did win, how many people would have died? It was a horrifying thought.
"Sir, we haven't made any gains though," Tsukauchi pointed out, with the Chief nodding slowly.
"True, but that isn't likely to last," the Chief replied, "Once everyone's gathered up, and a plan is drawn, the villains outside won't stand a chance."
"But if they do?" Tsukauchi inquired, causing the Chief to think for a moment.
"If they do, then we've got more pressing things to worry about," the Chief replied.
This was getting ridiculous! For nine hours heroes had been attempting to move into the city. And for nine hours, they had gotten nowhere. It was infuriating to Mirko, the rabbit heroine ducking behind a store's counter for cover. Sure, they made occasional gains, taking back a block or two. But those gains were almost immediately lost, as heroes on other fronts began requesting backup.
There just weren't enough skilled or powerful heroes for the entire frontline. It was a never-ending back-and-forth. Of course, this assault was just the latest attempt in the tug of war, much to Mirko's annoyance. She couldn't tell if they were making progress, but no one had called in a retreat. However, there were more pressing matters for her at the moment.
"You cowardly fucks! Come out and fight me!" Mirko shouted over the counter, sick and tired of the gunfire. Not once had she gotten a proper fight, a true brawl between strong opponents. Instead, all she found were villains she could knock out in one kick. Which would normally be nothing more than an annoyance. In this case though, no. This was the third time she'd been forced into cover, and she hated it!
She should be out there kicking ass, but on every other corner, she found a truck with a heavy machine gun bolted on. Actually, Mirko thought for a second, looking out of cover. Yeah no, that was an anti-air gun. Groaning annoyed, Mirko tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, letting her sense tell her what was around. Hearing gave her nothing, as even with her advanced senses, all she could hear was gunfire.
For smell, there was a lot of gunpowder in the air, almost masking everything else. But not entirely, as Mirko counted down the thugs outside. Fourteen in total, each firing into the store non-stop. With a sigh, Mirko looked at her cover for a second, before a smirk took hold of her face. Moving slightly, she quickly kicked the counter, breaking it off the floor and launching it backward. It caught the thugs off-guard and might have crushed two if Mirko heard right.
A bit too much force, Mirko thought, before rushing forward. The villains still stunned by the display, had little time to react. They turned to start firing into the store again, only for one of them to find Mirko in their face. The villain didn't have time to shoot, as Mirko kicked him in the head. Laughing, Mirko jumped about the area, bouncing off walls, continuing to beat down the villains.
"Ah, come on shrimp! Put up a better fight than this!" Mirko taunted, now more annoyed than ever. Each villain tried to shoot her, but she just moved too fast. By the time their guns were aimed at position, Mirko had already jumped away and was kicking another villain. Even the anti-air gun couldn't keep up, as the villains manning it constantly tried to turn the lumbering thing around.
Deciding to put it out of action, Mirko rushed to the truck the gun sat on, before kicking the vehicle's bed upward. In seconds the entire truck's bed was crumpled and flipped over. The vehicle landed back down, crushing the cab, and the gunner's occupant.
"Seriously, it's sad at this point," Mirko muttered, sprinting off towards the last thugs. On and on she went, thug after thug until there were none left. Mirko carefully looked around the area, waiting for something new. Because there was always something new. Another set of trucks, another pair of helicopters, another dozen villains charging at her. Of course, she couldn't see or smell anything new yet.
But then she heard it, an unmistakable whistling sound.
"Oh for fucks sake!" Mirko yelled out, sprinting down the street in the opposite direction. Seconds later artillery shells slammed into where she just stood. If it wasn't bad enough, the whirring of drones soon followed. Quickly Mirko looked up in the air, spotting the first drone. Mirko groaned when she saw it, continuing to sprint away, while searching for something she could use.
More shells began to follow behind her, the drone keeping watch of her every move. Finally, Mirko spotted a chunk of rubble the size of a baseball. Grabbing it off the ground, she turned and chucked it at the drone. It flew forward, smashing into the drone, and sending it plummeting to the ground. Moments later the artillery seemed to lose Mirko, giving the hero a temporary breather.
Of course, she heard more drones following the first. It made her annoyed, not one of these villains could give her an actual fight. No, they had to hide away on rooftops, in stores, or taking potshots at her from a mile away. Or in this case, saying fuck it, and shelling a city block to kill her. She knew that's just how it was though, because these villains were smart. They knew in a fair fight she'd beat them any day. So they refused to give her one, instead hiding away and continually trying to box her, and other heroes into cramped kill zones.
They hadn't worked on her so far, but they had on other heroes. Speaking of other heroes, Mirko heard her phone ding, a new notification popping up. The rabbit heroine grimaced when she heard it, already knowing what it was. Pulling out her phone, she was proven correct.
"All heroes fall back to the defensive line," Hero Network message read, Mirko groaning annoyed. Another assault, with no gain. Grimmly, she could only wonder how many heroes and cops died this time. She didn't linger on the thought long and instead started returning to friendly lines.
Chapter 84: An Attempted Assault
Quietly, Snake sat in the conference room, watching Nezu talk on the phone. The rodent was thoroughly annoyed throughout the conversation. Eventually, the call hung up, leaving Nezu somewhat shocked. The shock disappeared quickly though, as the rodent turned to face him.
"No?" Snake inquired a lit cigar in his hand.
"No," Nezu replied, a cigarette in his paw. Snake grumbled in response, though he should have expected this. Nezu called Musutafu's police chief, asking permission to let the MSF into the city. He knew it wasn't likely to work, but had some hope desperation would force the chief's hand. With it not being the case, Snake looked away from the rodent and instead at those assembled in the conference room.
Sitting around the room, were Eraserhead, Midnight, Vlad King, Snipe, Miller, the MSF's top officers at UA, and, to Snake's surprise, the number two hero Endeavor. He didn't entirely trust the hero, but some soldiers had apparently vouched for him. Nezu recommended that he be present, as most of UA's staff was busy elsewhere. With a sigh, Snake could see everyone in the room looked unhappy.
"So… we're just sitting here then," Vlad King commented, earning a nod from Nezu.
"That damn fool. There won't be a city left once this is over" Endeavor muttered, the hero rubbing his eyes tiredly, while Miller looked at him confused.
"Thought you would agree with him," Miller inquired, Endeavor quickly scoffing in response.
"I'm no idiot mercenary. As it stands the heroes on campus are outnumbered and outgunned. Going out there without your support would be a suicide mission," Endeavor replied, the teachers nodding with him. It hadn't taken long for any of them to realize the truth. None of them particularly liked it, but what else were they supposed to do?
"Think he'll come to his senses?" Snipe asked, everyone, looking at him quietly.
"Hope he will," Midnight replies.
"And if he doesn't?" Aizawa asked, shifting slightly in his seat, trying to position his arms to a more comfortable position.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Snake told him, drawing all eyes back to him, "For right now, we'll just need to plan. Kaz?"
The commander nodded quickly, before placing his Idroid on the conference room table. Moving it around slightly, Miller turned the device on and displayed a small map of Musutafu. The map itself displayed the ongoing battle with enemy territory being covered in a dark red light. Inside the territory though were splotches of blue, representing small holdouts the Ninth Circle hadn't crushed yet.
The only prominent areas Snake could see were the Musutafu Police Headquarters and the Musutafu Pediatric Hospital. Everything else was just small hero agencies or apartments friendly forces had barricaded themselves into.
"Right. So, with satellite imaging, we've managed to map out the battle lines. As it stands a third of Musutafu is in enemy hands," Miller stated, everyone leaning in to look at the map, "Assuming our intel's up to date, then the enemy has howitzers placed, here, here…"
Miller slowly listed off locations, pointing at spots all over the map. Some howitzers were in the street, surrounded by armed guards and deep behind enemy lines. Others, however, had been hidden inside large buildings, most likely being heavily guarded. Once all the howitzers were listed Miller moved on to the next set of targets. Rocket artillery, missile launchers, AA systems, mortars, and machine gun nests.
"Hmm… the artillery may be our biggest priority. Knock them out and heroes on the ground can move in more easily," Endeavor noted, with Aizawa nodding nearby.
"Agreed," Aizawa commented, believing it the logical move, "However, it'll take some time to get to them on foot."
"Could airstrike them," Miller suggested, while Snake took a puff of his cigar.
"Enemy's got a lot of MANPADS with them though, could be risky," Snake countered.
"Well, we've got F-35s arriving from overseas. Should mitigate that issue. If not them then the…" Miller said before slowly trailing off in thought. He debated telling the heroes present, but… they're gonna see them eventually, he reasoned.
"The B2s and B21s should help too," Miller finished, earning a surprised look from Endeavor and Snipe.
"B2… as in the bomber?" Snipe asked surprised, with Miller nodding in response.
"The very same," Miller told him, before carefully crossing his arms. Everyone took in that information slowly before Endeavor grumbled to himself.
"...Questions for later," Endeavor decided, returning his focus to the map. Looking it over again, Midnight soon pointed at some of the howitzers.
"What about the civilians?" Midnight asked, "I'm not a military genius, but the villains could have ammunition stored up in some of these locations."
It didn't take long for Snake to realize what she meant. One wrong move and a block could be up in cinders.
"Then we'll capture those on foot. Send in Special Forces behind enemy lines to eliminate them and get out," Snake replied, earning another surprised look from Endeavor and Snipe. This time Midnight joined them, to their surprise.
"Special…" Midnight started to say, before quickly stopping herself, "...I'll just add that to our list of questions."
With that they slowly continued to form a plan, discussing the basics of their hopeful assault. Yet throughout it all, Snake couldn't help but grumble. Thousands of the Ninth Circle still littered the city. And of the troops he had on hand, six hundred and twenty were dead. Another thousand were wounded, dwindling what forces they had dramatically. They had eight thousand originally, two thousand from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Force, and six thousand from the 5th Armored.
Now, they were down to six thousand, three hundred and eighty. Hundreds of combat troops, and support staff were dead or crippled. Reinforcements were being called in, yet Snake wasn't sure it'd be enough. They were marking targets all over the map, but they couldn't figure out how many enemies there were. The bastards kept hiding away everywhere, making it impossible for the Intel Team to count them all.
So no matter what, Snake knew they were going to have to call in thousands of more men. Another two divisions at the least, which he didn't like. The warlords had been on the back foot for a while, but it was always a risk that they would try something. And with everything going on here, Snake was worried about what the warlords would do, now that the MSF's attention was being pulled elsewhere.
As Uraraka and her class stood around All Might, everyone seemed happier. Everything sure felt happier to Uraraka, for now at least. With all the chaos and death that occurred yesterday, it was good to have some small victory, knowing that All Might was alive. The hero himself just laughed as the class crowded around him, saying they "didn't have to worry about this old man". Everyone had a million questions, though no one stepped forward to ask them. Of course, All Might didn't mind, instead bringing their thoughts to the forefront.
"It's good to see all of you alive," All Might told them smiling, "I… can tell you all have a lot of questions."
The class quietly nodded, except for Akatani. It confused Uraraka, but Akatani didn't look surprised at All Might's condition. Looking back on it, he didn't look shocked when everyone else saw All Might's true form for the first time. Had he known about this? It seemed to be the logical answer in Uraraka's mind before the word murderer flashed through her mind. She quickly shook that thought away, not wanting to dwell on it. Instead, she focused on All Might, the hero waiting for someone to speak.
"What happened to you?" Asui bluntly asked, voicing everyone's main concern.
"That is a long story. One I'd rather not get into. But, the… simple explanation, is that a few years ago I got into a fight with a villain," All Might hesitantly answered, the hero thinking over the words carefully. His hands tapped the side of his bed before All Might clicked his tongue. Slowly the hero lifted his shirt slightly, and Uraraka's eyes widened. She and several other classmates gagged, others just turning away.
"I won, but… well, I believe my appearance speaks for itself," All Might told them, dropping his shirt back down. It didn't fully matter though, All Might's injury had burned itself into Uraraka's memory. To think someone had managed to hurt the strongest hero in the world. It terrified Uraraka, and her thoughts again tried to plague her mind. Murderer, killer, fraud, weak, useless-
"What… what happened to the villain?" Jiro asked warily, her tone quiet. Though her ears were healed, she was still getting used to hearing normally again.
"Him? Well, he's dead," All Might replied, giving everyone a sigh of relief. Uraraka could have sworn she heard the uncertainty in All Might's tone. Of course, with All Might's calm demeanor, that thought was shot down.
"I… killed him in the fight," All Might added hesitantly, earning a look of shock from the class. Uraraka especially looked at him surprised, her mind now quiet for once. He… but… She couldn't believe the words.
"You… you killed him?" Uraraka questioned, earning a worried look from Akatani. All Might nodded in response, noticing Akatani's concern out of the corner of his eye. He said nothing, but All Might looked between the two curiously. Young Iida did say something about Uraraka, at least, from what small bit of info All Might managed to hear.
"I did," All Might confirmed, Uraraka continuing to look at him in shock.
"But… I… I thought heroes don't kill?" Uraraka asked confused, with All Might shifting in his bed.
"We're not supposed to, but that doesn't me we don't," All Might told her, "It's become a rarity nowadays, before… this happened. And truth be told, this villain was the only one I've ever had to kill."
That… was somewhat comforting to hear, but not by much. A supposed rarity, and yet she'd fallen victim to it. How had she not heard of this though? Growing up it had always been the same, heroes don't kill. Yet now here was the symbol of peace, telling her they have. Of course, as if he sensed her thoughts All Might answered her question.
"It's an aspect of hero work the media doesn't like to focus on. Because sometimes heroes have been forced to kill. It could be the villain was too dangerous to apprehend, or that situation-wise, there was no time for non-lethal options," All Might continued, "Again, heroes are expected not to kill, but sometimes that isn't possible."
Murderer, the voice in Uraraka's head called her, as she tried to ignore it.
"As if anything he's saying is true," A memory of Fudaki mocked, "It's like I've been telling you, you're useless. Unfit to be a hero, and you've done nothing but prove my point, murderer."
"All you and your quirk is good for is floating things. Because of that weakness, you've been forced to kill. We're you stronger, it wouldn't have happened. But instead, you're weak-" Fudaki continued to taunt, only making Uraraka angry as she managed to shove him to the back of her mind. Regaining focus on everything around her, she found the topic had changed. All Might now was figuring out how the class was doing.
He went through all of them one by one, just asking if they were ok. It was nice, their teacher just checking up on them. A bit funny though, they all rushed over worried about him. Slowly though everything died down a bit, as some of the class began filtering out of the infirmary. Uraraka didn't move yet though, because now, All Might had turned to face her.
"So… how are you handling everything?" All Might asked, Uraraka subconsciously bringing up a fake smile, while memory Fudaki tried to force his way forward.
"It… it's a lot, but I'm fine," Uraraka replied, not wanting to burden All Might. However, she realized she could have chosen better words. Almost all of her classmates had said they were fine, and almost all of them were not. All Might sighed in response, having dealt with this answer a dozen times before.
"You're not a murderer you know," he told her, causing Uraraka to go wide-eyed. She quietly looked at All Might for a minute. It was… oddly comforting as All Might gave her his usually friendly smile.
"Y-you know?" Uraraka asked somewhat worried.
"I do. Ran into Young Akatani and Young Iida before I got here, and Iida mentioned something about you muttering murderer. Pieced the rest together when I told you I killed a villain," All Might replied, before coughing into his arm for a second.
"I don't know everything that happened, but I know Akatani killed someone to protect you. Would I be right in assuming that something similar happened to you?" All Might inquired, with Uraraka slowly shaking her head yes. The scene flashed through her mind, as the rubble she threw crushed the villain. The blood seeping onto the ground, the loud crunch as the man's bones broke.
Uraraka couldn't help but breathe faster, trying to ignore the sight. Her breathing slowed back down though as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She never noticed it, but All Might had managed to hobble out of bed.
"Young Uraraka, everything I told you and your classmates, about taking a life, I wasn't lying," All Might told her, "Sometimes it becomes necessary, like with yesterday. You did, what you had to so that you and your friends could survive."
"I… I still killed someone," Uraraka protested feeling a few tears in her eyes.
"And by doing so, you saved a life. We try to beat villains non-lethally, but at the end of the day what is the better outcome? Young Akatani dead, or the villain?" All Might replied, with Uraraka thinking over the question. Akatani, or the villain. It was a no-brainer in her mind. Akatani was her friend, someone who went above and beyond to help her. She never wanted the villain dead, but… if it meant saving Akatani.
There was no joy in taking a life, and Uraraka wanted to avoid ever killing again. But… it was as All Might said, sometimes it was necessary. Quietly Uraraka thanked All Might, before stepping out of the infirmary. Her thoughts still taunted her, but they were quieter now. She wasn't a murderer, Uraraka told herself. It was still hard to accept the more Uraraka told herself. She needed something to do, something to keep her distracted.
Then she began to remember something, she was standing in UA. A school that spent as much on its teaching facilities, as the MSF did on its guns. She hadn't done any training yet, and likely wouldn't for a while with how busy the teachers were. It was decided in Uraraka's mind, the teen now walking off to find Akatani. She was going to be a hero, and she wasn't about to fall behind.
"Come on, everybody move!" Fatgum shouted, lifting bits of rubble from a destroyed apartment. This was both to create some kind of cover for the nearby police officers and to allow the civilians trapped under it to run. They did so quickly, while bullets flew around them. Across the street dozens of villains fired at them, all hiding away in a different apartment. The police fired back, managing to kill some of the villains, but they were just too badly outnumbered.
Once the last of the civilians had gotten free, Fatgum moved forward, running past bits of rubble. Reaching the open street he slammed into the apartment complex's main door and was greeted by a dozen villains hiding inside. One of them had an RPG and fired it at Fatgum. Though, when the grenade blew up, Fatgum appeared fine. The shrapnel tore up parts of his costume, but none had harmed him.
Shielding his eyes from the gunfire Fatgum ran up to the villains inside. The villains tried to whittle down his fat stores but didn't have the firepower needed to succeed. There Fatgum punched the closest villain, knocking the man out in one punch. He did the same to the next villain, before grabbing him and throwing his body at another villain. By now the villains had given up shooting him, and now just threw whatever explosive they had on hand.
Dozens of grenades were thrown at Fatgum, the hero again shielding his eyes. Each grenade detonated quickly, clouding the area in smoke and shrapnel. But again, Fatgum wasn't harmed. Forcing his way forward, Fatgum continued to beat any villain that got in his way. All he could wonder was why there were so many of them. They'd been at this for hours now, and yet the villains seemed endless.
After what felt like an eternity, Fatgum had cleared out the apartment building. Quickly he ran back downstairs, to regroup with the police outside. Reaching them, Fatgum could tell things were bad. Dozens of officers were dead, and at least twenty civilians stood behind them cowering. If that wasn't bad enough, four minor heroes were also dead. It made Fatgum angrier the longer he looked.
"Everybody ok?" Fatgum asked, earning the eye of a few officers.
"Wouldn't say ok, but we'll live," one replied tiredly, rubbing his arm carefully.
"Who's still with us?" Fatgum inquired, looking around the area.
"Uh… Officer Akao, Officer Banno, Officer Furuta, Officer Haruki, and me," the same officer answered, pointing at each cop still standing.
"Not a lot of us left," Banno muttered quietly, his voice shaking as he spoke, "We're… we're not gonna make it out of this."
"Don't say that. Everyone here is getting out of here," Fatgum told him confidently, though even he was finding it difficult to believe, "Any backup heading our way?"
"Last I checked, a couple of squads were coming to regroup with us. But they haven't reported yet," the first officer replied, before grabbing his radio. Not wanting to disturb him, Fatgum stepped away for a moment to check up on the civilians. They were all terrified, looking around the area and waiting for the villains to attack again. Almost all of them had been trapped under bombed-out buildings and were all caked with bits of dust and rubble. Fatgum couldn't believe any of this was even happening.
"Hey everybody! Everything's gonna be ok. Have the officers checked up on everybody?" Fatgum asked quietly, drawing the civilians' attention to him. Each one looked at him, and the general mood seemed to improve instantly. They all nodded in response, most not wanting to say anything.
"Good-" Fatgum was about to say before the officer loudly cut him off.
"Say again!?" the officer demanded into his radio, as Fatgum looked back at him worried.
"Villains are overwhelming our flanks. All units are to fall back to defensive lines," he overheard from the radio, causing Fatgum to go wide-eyed. Again… they were falling back, again.
"Fall back! We've just started making gains!" the officer protested, with Fatgum in agreement.
"The villains are threatening to encircle everyone with you. Again, all units are to fall back to defensive lines," the man on the radio replied tiredly, already having to explain this to a dozen other people. With that, the radio went quiet, and Fatgum quickly got angry. All these dead cops, all these dead heroes, and they again made no progress in the city.
Grizzly, despised this. Resting under a small tree, he looked out at Musutafu, hearing the sounds of gunfire. He'd gotten used to the sounds of war years ago, yet this time felt haunting to him.
"Can't believe this bullshit," Grizzly muttered, turning to face his nearby squad mates, "A war's raging out there and we can't do a damn thing."
"I hear you. The whole thing reminds me of Onishita too much," Eagle replied, the man polishing his Desert Eagle carefully. Ape shook his head next to Eagle, a frown present on his face.
"Nah, Onishita was tamer compared to this. This… I don't know what to compare this to," Ape commented tiredly, "Heard the enemy outside was parading around corpses yesterday."
"They are," Marston confirmed over the Idroid, "One of them was a teen. Son of some bigshot hero apparently."
"Sick fucks," Grizzly spat out angrily. He could see the smoke rising from here, he could hear the gunfire. And yet he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Instead, he and the rest of his squad were forced to sit back and watch. A part of him was beginning to agree with Gecko, about staying in Africa, though for different reasons. At least in Africa, he didn't have to sit by and watch as people were shot in the streets.
But here, he could do nothing but listen. Slowly he began to hear footsteps walking toward him. Shifting slightly to find the source, Grizzly found Yaoyorozu approaching them. Next to the girl were Ashido and Hagakure. All of them seemed nervous, each girl looking up at the sky worriedly, as if expecting artillery to start raining down on them again.
"Sup," he calmly greeted, the rest of his squadmates now noticing the girls. Each provided some small wave, which the girls returned.
"I… hope we're not intruding," Yaoyorozu said politely, with Ape waving her off.
"Nah, we're all just relaxing right now," the Lieutenant replied, earning another grumble from Grizzly.
"For some fucking reason," the soldier muttered, earning a look of confusion from Yaoyorozu.
"How have you girls been?" Eagle inquired, before noticing the nervousness Yaoyorozu had.
"Well…" Yaoyorozu hesitantly began, thinking over the words, before flinching at the sound of gunfire.
"Alive," she eventually decided to say, which Grizzly ruled as a fair answer. Couldn't exactly say she was fine, not after yesterday.
"How uh… how about you guys?" Yaoyorozu asked as Grizzly started to scratch his face.
"Us? Eh, been better," Grizzly replied, though he quickly began to regret his casual tone. The moment he stopped talking Yaoyorozu looked at all of them shocked, and confused.
"Been… better," Yaoyorozu restated, "How… how are you so calm about this?"
"I mean, we're uh… we're kinda used to this," Eagle replied earning another shocked look from Yaoyorozu, the girl not bothering to translate for her friends.
"Used to this!? The world's biggest villain attack happened yesterday, how… how are you used to this!?" Yaoyorozu asked shocked, "So… so many people died, I almost died, we almost died!"
She seemed almost desperate in her words, the teen again flinching at the gunfire going off in the city.
"Well… for us that's just… Tuesday," Grizzly hesitantly replied, with Eagle nodding beside him slowly.
"This is pretty much Venezuela, except with fewer trees and more concrete," Eagle told her, only for Ape to snap his fingers.
"Also more suicidal charges," Ape added.
"That too," Eagle continued. The words lingered with Yaoyorozu for a minute, the teen thinking it over. Behind her Ashido and Hagakure looked at her friend warily, questioning her on what was being said. Gecko seeing this, decided to translate, leaving the other girls to look at the soldiers shocked.
"V-Venezuela… this… this was what it was like in Venezuela," Yaoyorozu muttered, the revelation hitting her like a truck.
"Somewhat. The whole death and destruction was never on this grand scale, but it was close to it in some cases," Grizzly told her, seeing what was happening. Her class had gotten a taste of war. The horror, desperation, and bloodshed behind it. And Yaoyorozu didn't know what to think of it. She never expected to experience anything like this. None of them had. It brought Grizzly back to his first day in the MSF.
The body of that burnt child still seared into his mind. He shook the thought away, before looking at the girls again. Clicking his tongue he looked back at his squadmates, each one looking at each other for a moment.
"Ah, enough of this doom and gloom crap," Grizzly commented, "You got any cards with you?"
"W-what?" Yaoyorozu asked surprised, blinking a few times in shock.
"Playing cards?" Grizzly clarified, with Yaoyorozu looking at him confused.
"…I guess. Why?" Yaoyorozu asked, slowly pulling out a deck of cards from her arm. She passed the deck to Grizzly who opened the box and dumped out the cards.
"Well it's pretty obvious to us, you three are traumatized. And unfortunately, none of us are therapists," Grizzly explained, now shuffling the cards in his hands, "However, if there's one thing we know, nothing helps the pain, like a game."
Yaoyorozu didn't seem to believe him, the girl again flinching at far-off gunfire. Yeah, a game was definitely needed right now. Just something to keep the mind at ease, until they could see a professional.
"Ok… what are we playing?" Yaoyorozu inquired curiously, the girl slowly sitting down.
"Your choice," Grizzly replied with a shrug.
"How about Texas Hold Em," Marston piped up, the AI deciding to make his presence known. The AI's Idroid currently sat on the grass, next to Ape. In seconds the AI's avatar appeared on the device, sitting down with his hat off.
"...Why not," Yaoyorozu replied, Ashido and Hagakure sitting beside her.
"Great, mind if I deal?" Marston asked, causing everyone to pause. Eagle looked down at the AI with his brow raised.
"With what hands?" the staff sergeant asked, before hearing a new set of footsteps walk up behind him. Turning around, Grizzly spotted a humanoid robot standing behind Eagle. Grizzly just stared at the robot for a second, before the machine waved at him.
"The fuck is R up to these days," Eagle muttered rhetorically, while Ape looked ready to pull out his hair.
"Did you steal this thing? Please tell me you didn't," Ape asked, with the AI's avatar, and the robot shaking his head no.
"Of course not, command wanted these things to get some testing. Thought I'd test this one's hands, see if everything works right," Marston replied, his hands doing quotations when he said "test".
"...If I get a court-martial, you're taking the fall," Ape decided, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Works for me," Marston said with a cheeky grin on his face, "Oh wait before I forget."
The second he said the words, the robot's arms reached behind itself, and grabbed a cowboy hat. Quickly the machine then placed it on its odd-looking head. Grizzly stared at it for a second, before chuckling.
"Why is everything cowboy-related with you?" Grizzly asked while passing the robot the cards. Quickly Marston began passing the cards around, as Grizzly looked back at the girls. Both Hagakure and Ashido looked around nervously, but they both quickly warmed up to the idea.
"[A… game couldn't hurt]" Ashido stated, a small smile forming as she grabbed her cards.
"[Yeah… think the rest of the class would want to join?]" Hagakure asked, with Yaoyorozu thinking it over.
"[Can't see why not]" Yaoyorozu replied, before pulling out her phone. At the same time, Ashido started to laugh, the pink teen having her face in her cards.
"[You're fortune is mine Yaomomo!]" Ashido proclaimed, completely unintentionally.
"[Oh, a good hand?]" Yaoyorozu inquired, with Ashido realizing she'd been speaking.
"[N-nope! Heh, just uh, read my cards wrong…]" Ashido replied, with Gecko laughing nearby. Slowly Grizzly grabbed his cards and looked down at his hand. Might as well listen to his own advice.
Ryukyu was tired but pushed herself forward. In her dragon form, she flew up to the first helicopter she could find, before tearing up its tail rotor with her claws. Seconds later the hero cringed in pain, as anti-air guns below her started firing at her. Each one, while not penetrating her thick scales, felt like someone continually punching her in the gut. Her weaker wings though, weren't so lucky, as autocannon rounds ripped through the lighter flesh.
It caused Ryukyu to cry out in pain before the hero dive-bombed toward the ground. This was the sixth time today. Every time she tried to fly up in her dragon form, the villain's anti-air would light up the sky. Missiles would slam into her continually, and while never killing her, had enough force to knock her around. Either that or tear up her wings. And she just got them healed too. The ground coming in close Ryukyu braced herself, as she tried to slow her descent with her hole-ridden wings.
Managing to reach a survivable speed, Ryukyu landed on the ground hard. Her large dragon form skidded forward a bit, before ultimately stopping. It had been a fool's belief to try flying again, but what else was she supposed to do? The heroes on the ground needed air support. They needed aerial surveillance. They needed the villain's helicopters out of the sky. Her staying grounded, just wasn't possible.
Standing up, Ryukyu shook herself off a bit, before slowly shifting to her human form. Everything hurt like hell, but that didn't matter when she heard footsteps coming down a nearby street.
"The nonbeliever's this way! Everyone after her!" one of the villains shouted, causing Ryukyu to groan annoyed. She turned around ready to change back to her dragon form. Seconds later she found the villains charging around the corner, almost forty in total. Some were large mutants wielding larger caliber autocannons, others were riding on pickup trucks with weapon mounts. It mattered little to Ryukyu as she glared down at them.
If any of the villains were afraid, they didn't show it.
"Fire at will!" one of the villains loudly ordered, before every villain started shooting. Quickly Ryukyu began swatting away what villains stood before her, knocking all off their feet instantly. A few trucks drove up behind her trying to flank, though they were dealt with instantly, as Ryukyu's tail crushed them with a few swings.
It was like something out of a monster movie. The villains shot everything they had at the dragon hero, only for none of it to hurt her. Soon Ryukyu noticed something though, as a few new vehicles began driving by them. Both were large shipping trucks and while one stopped to drop off reinforcements, the other didn't. It confused Ryukyu at first before she remembered the reports she'd been given. Her eyes widened in shock as they followed the truck.
They… they were transporting kids. They had to be! The report said they were smuggling them out of the city! That truck… Ryukyu couldn't risk it. Furiously charging forward, she smashed through the villains standing in front of her. After a few seconds, she started to flap her wings, managing to lift herself off the ground somewhat. Good, Ryukyu thought, taking off into the sky again.
Below she could hear the villains cry out in anger as she ran, with some realizing her true goal. They all cried out ordering others to stop her, yet none could reach her. Catching up to the truck, Ryukyu grabbed onto the trailer. Slowly she landed on the ground behind it, digging into the road to slow the vehicle down. Her claws dug into the trailer, opening up gaps for her to hear inside.
Sure enough, she could hear kids screaming and crying, begging for help. Finally, she forced the truck to a stop. Before the driver could get out of the truck, Ryukyu rushed over and caved the cab in. It trapped the villain inside and provided Ryukyu enough time to breathe. Going back to the truck's trailer though, she tore the rear door open, earning more shocked cries from inside.
Cautiously Ryukyu looked into the truck, noticing a few kids shrink back in fear. A few others though looked at her, and their eyes lit up in recognition.
"It's ok, everything's going to be fine," Ryukyu told them while looking around the area. No villains had arrived yet, but she knew they would be coming soon. Looking back into the trailer, she could count around forty kids huddled inside the trailer. All were no older than nine. One of them even held a blood-stained infant, most likely a sibling. It broke her heart seeing it. There was no time to dwell on this fact though, as Ryukyu stepped away from the trailer.
"All of you follow me, we're getting out of here," she ordered, watching as the first kid hopped out of the trailer. One by one the others followed, before Ryukyu changed into her human form. Quietly she led the kids down an alleyway while grabbing her phone. Switching over to the Hero Network.
"This is Ryukyu. Found another truck smuggling kids out. I've got forty of them with me, need backup," she stated to her phone, waiting for the reply. Of course, her eyes widened as someone answered.
"Negative Ryukyu. All units are to fall back to defensive lines," someone on the other end replied, leaving Ryukyu dumbstruck.
"W-what? I've got forty kids with me out here, I need backup now," Ryukyu protested, before ducking back as an enemy truck drove by.
"Everyone is already in retreat. There is no one we can send you," they replied, leaving Ryukyu quiet. She turned back to face the children behind her and mentally swore. Another day, another failed assault, and they again had gotten nowhere. Looking around, Ryukyu began searching for a place to hide out, before leading the kids to an abandoned hotel.
Ocelot looked at the map in his tent tiredly and knew things were bad. They were on day two now, of this "battle", and things were already grim. He'd set up a small FOB in a park neighboring Musutafu with his Ocelots. However, Ocelot was wishing for a more concrete structure as an explosion went off nearby.
"How many heroes this time?" Madam President asked tiredly over the phone. Another assault had been launched to try and take the city, roughly a few hours ago. Thousands of people had been assembled, with a decent chunk of the top ten leading the charge. Many had thought this would finally be the breakthrough needed as units began reporting land gains. But then the enemy began overwhelming their flanks.
All the best heroes had been leading the charge, leaving the more poorly trained heroes to guard the flanks. Needless to say, the assault had to be called off, before the country's best heroes were encircled.
"Over three hundred dead, five hundred wounded," Ocelot replied, before carefully rubbing his eyes, "Cops aren't fairing much better. At least a thousand dead or wounded."
With a thousand dead or wounded cops, Ocelot considered it a nightmare situation. Because this was just day two. On day one when they didn't have everything organized and a solid frontline, the number was three times that. The entire Shizuoka prefecture only had six thousand officers, and two-thirds of them were now dead, or in the hospital.
"Damn it!" Madam President yelled, just as something shattered in the background of the call. As much as Ocelot despised Madam President, he was unfortunately in agreement with her. This wasn't even counting hero casualties, and likely never would. Not because of something covering the information up, but because Ocelot just didn't know. Every assault he was given a new report, with wildly different numbers.
One agency said three hundred dead heroes, another said fifty. Some were underscoring casualties because they didn't want to look bad. On the flipside, others were overscoring casualties, to bring more resources and support to them, rather than somewhere else. It was all a massive headache for Ocelot as he tried to keep everything organized.
"How long until Musutafu is taken?" Madam Presiden asked annoyed, already knowing she wasn't going to like the answer.
"With current estimates? Never," Ocelot replied, as he again looked over the map in front of him.
"Never?" Madam President inquired angrily.
"Ma'am, we've got no long-range support, we've got no air support, we've barely got control of the seas and the villains don't even have a navy," Ocelot explained, "They out-gun us, outrange us, outfly us, and are dug into guerilla's wet dream."
This wasn't even all of it. They had more vehicles than the heroes did, they had more time to plan, and they didn't have to worry about the public hounding them into suicide charges. No flying hero could go into the sky, without the enemy shooting them down with a MANPAD, a SAM, or just an autocannon. The Japanese coast guard, and whatever naval heroes remained, couldn't blockade the sea effectively as the enemy kept launching anti-ship missiles.
Some were shot down by the Coast Guard, but they were few and far between. And for the ground forces? Every time they began to make their way into the city, the enemy would shell them with everything. MLRS systems, howitzers, and mortars outranged anything the heroes had. That alone killed ninety percent of heroes, more than every other weapon. At this point, Ocelot was half expecting the enemy to pull chemical weapons out of nowhere. It was by some miracle that it wasn't the case.
"You've got to be kidding me," Madam President muttered to herself before the woman began pouring some kind of drink.
"I'm sorry to say ma'am, but unless they run out of ammo in the next hour, then we're gonna be here for a long while," Ocelot told her, causing Madam President to grumble.
"The Minister of Defence is already under flak Ocelot. If this goes on any longer you can be damn sure we'll be joining her," Madam President told him, "I don't care what it takes, that city must be put under our control."
With that, she hung up, leaving Ocelot in a momentary silence.
"Well, can't say that went well," a voice piped up behind him, and Ocelot mentally swore.
"Hawks," Ocelot muttered, trying to hide his annoyance, "Thought you were at the front."
Behind him the hero shrugged, walking up next to him with his usual grin.
"A little birdie told me you were in the neighborhood, so I just had to come by and visit," Hawks replied, juggling a feather between his fingers.
"Of course you did," Ocelot grumbled, as he continued to look over the map. Quietly he begged for Hawks to get bored and just leave. Of course, Hawks didn't and instead began looking over the map as well.
"So, how are we doing?" Hawks asked, with Ocelot chuckling dryly.
"Poorly," Ocelot replied.
"I know that. I mean how poorly," Hawks explained, with Ocelot sighing for a minute.
"Well, unless the villains run out of ammo in five minutes, then we'll be stuck here for weeks," Ocelot told him, causing Hawks to grumble. Both men looked over the map quietly, before Hawks looked up at him.
"Could always call up Nezu," Hawks commented, causing Ocelot to look at Hawks suspiciously.
"What? You and he were all buddy-buddy. Don't believe for a second you stopped contacting him," Hawks explained, which Ocelot didn't deny.
"Not sure that'll do much, him and his staff won't be enough to turn the tide," Ocelot told him, with Hawks shrugging.
"Get the mercs involved then," Hawks told him, earning another suspicious glance from Ocelot, "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Ocelot pretended to think it over quietly. Bringing in the MSF was already his primary plan, he wasn't about to let Hawks know that though. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it, as Ocelot didn't have the authority to bring the MSF in. And if he did, well he'd be throwing away all the good rep he'd acquired in the HPSC. Still, Ocelot sighed for a moment before rubbing his eyes.
"I'll see what I can do," Ocelot told him tiredly.