The swirling black and purple gate created with the warp gate quirk led them directly into a narrow, garbage-strewn alleyway in what was clearly Hosu City. Right now the atmosphere of Hosu city appeared as any other big city in japan, full of life.
Before Souta could even fully orient himself, Mirko was in his face, her red eyes narrowed. "Alright, Axiom Peak. We jumped through your contingency'" she said the last word while making quotation marks with her hands. "Now, begin to talk. What in the bloody hell is actually going on right now? And why drag these two into it as well?" She jerked a thumb towards a still slightly bewildered Kirishima and a very serious-looking Fat Gum.
Souta didn't respond immediately and rather hesitated for just a moment, choosing his next words carefully. He definitely couldn't tell everything he knew, but something half-baked would also not cut it. "You all must definitely know about the Hero Killer: Stain," he began, his voice low and urgent. "Based on his known movement patterns and typical hunting grounds, there's a high probability he's currently active in Hosu. This city fits his criteria, and from the news I gathered that he still had unfinished business here."
He continued, "Midoriya's message from the night before last... it was vague, but it concerned a friend he believed was about to make a dangerous mistake. After that call, I did a quick cross-reference, just this morning – Iida Tenya's brother was apparently crippled by Stain during the Sport Festival. And since Iida chose an internship here in Hosu, the connection seemed too obvious."
This was the best explanation he had prepared, a carefully constructed half-truth; his "investigation" was more the certainty of his other memories. "And right now," Souta continued, his face morphing into something completely serious, "I have an overwhelming feeling that something critical is about to happen. I can't fully explain it. Call it intuition if you need, but it has never been this strong before."
Fat Gum couldn't help but exchange a skeptical glance with Mirko, but the sheer conviction in Souta's voice, coupled with the desperate action of fully revealing something he clearly had kept secret, lent his words some weight. Mirko clicked her tongue. "Intuition' and some detective work, huh? Thin. Any other Pro would've instantly reprimanded you for such a baseless thing, but not necessarily me. Alright kid, now we're already here, what now?"
"You appear to have the most information about what is happening, young man," Fat Gum added, his usual jovial tone now fully replaced with a professional seriousness. "So, what do you propose?"
Souta nodded thankful that they believed in him – at least partly – his mind was already working on figuring out the best approach, "Stain strikes from the shadows, often targeting heroes he deems unworthy, usually when they're isolated. My primary concern is either, Iida walking into that, or another Hero already being targeted."
He looked at the two Pro Heroes. "The hero network. Can we request all currently active, registered heroes in Hosu to send an immediate, brief 'all clear' signal or a status update? If someone is active but doesn't respond, or their signal is erratic, they could already be in a confrontation with Stain, or Stain himself might be that hero's target."
Souta then added, "It's not a perfect plan, since it is basically only relying on rapid response and clear signals, but it's the fastest way to potentially pinpoint an active engagement or a hero in immediate distress. If we do get a match – a non-responsive hero – I can warp us to their last known location instantly."
Mirko considered it. "Better than running around blind." She tapped her comm unit. "Mirko to Hosu Central Dispatch and all active Pros in sector. Priority one. Requesting immediate 'Code Green' status ping from all active units. Currently tracking a potential high-threat target, possibly engaged with a local hero. Algorithm to flag any non-responsive units immediately with last known coordinates."
It didn't take long for the responses to come in. A flood of brief, affirmative signals began to populate Mirko's internal display, visible on a small holographic projector on her wrist device. Green dots lit up across a map of Hosu. Less than a minute later, a single red blip flashed insistently. "Got one," Mirko stated grimly. "Pro Hero Native. He was last pinged in the Sector Four back alleys. No response."
At that exact moment, a direct communication request pinged on Mirko's comm. "Damn it, what now?" She accepted it. Endeavor's gruff, impatient voice filled the air, audible to all of them through her external speaker. "Mirko! What's all this Code Green nonsense flooding the network about?"
Souta, who was also connected to Mirko's comms for the operation, rolled his eyes internally. As expected, he's here too.
"Endeavor," Mirko replied curtly, "we're working a credible tip on Hero Killer: Stain potentially active and engaging. Got a non-responsive Pro who is most likely already engaged with him. Axiom Peak here has a way to get us on site fast."
Souta remained silent on the side, during the brief exchange, his focus currently entirely focused on Native's last known location, a warp gate already began to be created right where the one that got them here had been just a moment ago.
He turned to Kirishima. "By the way, sorry I only called you here, Kirishima. It would be too dangerous for most of the others right now. Your Quirk, Hardening... you're basically the perfect counter for someone like Stain if it comes to a direct fight. You can protect yourself and others."
Kirishima, who had been listening intently, slammed a hardened fist into his palm, his expression resolute. "Got it, Souta! I'm ready!"
Just as Souta prepared to solidify the warp, another translucent blue screen appeared right before his eyes:
[Urgent Quest Activated: Hosu Incident]
[Objective: Repel the attacking forces and make sure that as little civilians are hurt as possible.]
[Bonus Objective: Catch the true villains behind the attack]
[Rewards: ???]
Souta blinked, pushing the notification to the back of his mind for a second.
The next moment screams and lighter explosions resounded in the vicinity.
'Tsk, does everything have to happen how it was supposed to?' Souta grumbled inwardly before turning to the two pro heroes next to him.
"We have another problem it seems, I, together with Kirishima will head to where Midoriya is right now. His location hasn't changed since half a minute ago, I guess he made contact. Even if not, he should be close to Stain by now. I believe in him."
Mirko nodded, her ears had already turned into the direction of the screams, most likely already gathering information in her way, "Alright, we try to finish here as soon as possible, and then support you students."
She and Fat Gum started to run out of the alley, but eventually stopped one step from the street, the burly Pro then said one last thing, "Be careful, and don't overestimate yourselves. That will only get you killed."
Both students looked at each other for a second, before their faces became determined and eventually responded at the same time, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
The next moment the two stepped through the gate, disappearing from the Pro Heroes sight.
Seeing this, the odd duo also continued on their way.
While running with all she got, Mirko couldn't help but think for just a second about Souta again, 'You got this, kid. I believe in you.'
-----
On the other side of the black mist gate was indeed what the duo of hero course students was looking for.
Right now, Midoriya was engaged in a fight with Stain, but just barely hanging on, if Souta was able to see it right. It was obvious that Midoriya should've held the advantage, as his speed and strength were superior to Stain's own, but the experience of the Hero Killer seemed to be enough to still push the green-haired teenager back.
When Souta shifted his gaze, he saw Iida in his hero costume currently lying on the ground, appearing paralyzed. Next to him, lay another person, presumably the Pro Hero Native, that had not send the signal.
While Souta was still analyzing the situation, Kirishima was already rushing towards the fight between Midoriya and Stain.
Both fighters noticed him immediately, though, their responses varied significantly. Stain didn't hesitate and directly threw multiple knives in his direction. Meanwhile, Midoriya saw his classmate running straight towards Stain and immediately wanted to warn him, "Kirishima, be careful, when he gets your blood, your body will stiffen completely!"
Kirishima had already activated his quirk even before the knives finally reached him. Luckily, his normal hardening was enough to block off the knives, and they just dropped to the ground after a short clink sound.
The moment the knives hit the ground Souta was also finally engaging, he had just taken both injured people further into the alley, away from the fighting for safety.
Since he had already decided to reveal his warp gate quirk now, he used it immediately by opening a portal in front of him that led him directly behind the already busy Stain. The Villain barely reacted by twisting his body slightly to the side, causing the force of the fiery impact to be significantly lessened.
Nevertheless, he was thrown a few meters by the heavy tackle, but still managed to twist in the air to land more or less smooth.
"Ganging up on a single person, attacking from behind… YOU ARE ALL FAKE HEROES!"