Suspense suspense suspense...
1:55 a.m.
Darkness enveloped the midnight landscape. Nothing could be heard save for the coos of night owls and the howling of the wind as it breezed by ominously. Even though the Alliance had yet to appear, the atmosphere was just about heavy enough to crush Momo under its weight. Beside her stood the Chief, Gunhead, and Kyouka. All were dressed in their hero costumes, prepared for the worst case scenario. Momo's heart was beating out of fear, and her heart was breaking at the thought of Shouto bleeding out in agony.
"If he loses too much blood, even if he's still alive, he could be crippled for life," Momo muttered.
"Momo, stop that," Kyouka responded, her voice equally as solemn.
"Just stick to the plan," the Chief reminded them.
The two girls nodded in affirmation as Momo reviewed the plan they'd devised at the station.
They were gathered around a map, which Endeavor was marking with a pen.
"Typically, in these types of exchanges, both sides will scope the perimeters to ensure each party has followed the pre-agreed conditions, and if not, they'll pull out immediately," the Chief explained.
"We're not following those conditions," Endeavor stated firmly.
"But they'll kill Shouto!" Momo protested.
"Get a hold of yourself already. Think about it, how can we be sure they'll keep good on their promise?" Endeavor asked.
"We can't," Momo admitted, embarrassed.
Momo glanced at Endeavor, whose teal eyes were boring into her. They looked at her with the same judgmental look he gave everyone, and at the same time, they looked at her in expectance. Even in a time like this, he's still testing me, Momo realized. She took a deep breath and re-examined the information.
"In fact, we should expect them to pull a dirty trick. We know that their original plan was to take Miyuki-san hostage, probably to blackmail Shouto into aiding them. Since we've foiled their plan and figured out their identities, we've got them backed into a corner." Momo continued.
"And the most dangerous thing is an animal backed into a corner," Endeavor finished, seemingly satisfied with Momo's analysis.
"Plus, we must account for the possibility they're in cohorts with the League. Why else would they go after Muscular and Moonfish?" The Chief added.
"We shouldn't assume that they have any intentions of giving Shouto back. I have no intentions of giving Muscular and Moonfish back. We set up an ambush at the villain exchange. Yaoyorozu, can you make anything that can help us with stealth? Perhaps something to hide heat sensing or camouflage." Endeavor proposed.
"I can," Momo affirmed.
"Good, then you will go with the group to receive my son, and don't fail," Endeavor instructed.
Momo nodded. Japan's top hero was placing his faith in her, and with this pressure, she knew there was no room for mistakes. As infuriating as he could be, Momo couldn't help but feel galvanized.
"Endeavor-san, you're not going to go?" Gunhead asked.
"Muscular and Moonfish are top villains, so I believe it's important that be at that site," Endeavor explained.
"Well, if that's where Yaomomo is going, then so am I," Kyouka insisted, flashing Momo a thumbs up.
"Endeavor-san, as principal of U.A., I'm highly concerned by this plan. If they find out, then life and death for Todoroki-kun would be separated by a hair string. As his father, are you okay with this?" Principal Nezdu piped in.
Endeavor frowned. For the first time since divulging his plan, he seemed genuinely frustrated. His answer came with an sharp edge.
"I have no intentions of losing my successor, nor do I have intentions of giving into villains. I'll do whatever it takes to see my end goal."
2:00 a.m.
Momo and Kyouka stared straight into the dark trail, waiting for the Alliance to arrive. Shortly, the first silhouette of a person appeared. The villains that emerged seemed to sense the heroes' uneasiness and smirked in response. Five appeared. Among them, Setsuna, and four other guards who Momo didn't care to know about. Behind them, they dragged a pale, barely conscious Shouto in ropes.
"It's just them," Kyouka informed as she plugged her earphone jacks into the ground.
"It seems that you've kept your end of the bargain as well," Setsuna spoke up.
The Chief held up a cellphone. On speaker was Endeavor. After both ends acknowledged the terms of the agreement, one villain tossed Shouto in front of Momo, who stepped forward to receive him. Underneath his bangs, she could see his face, pale and lined with sweat. Sensing her presence, he lifted his face, and his eyes met those of hers.
Why are they so cold? Momo wondered.
"Momo," Shouto choked out.
Momo shivered.
The way he said her name came without a hint of the tenderness he'd always treated her with. Could he just be acting out of character from fatigue and blood loss? Technically, it was possible, but it wasn't probable. For some reason, Momo knew that even on the brink of death, Shouto would never glare or speak to her with such an edge. This Shouto—no imposter—was not her Shouto. With this realization, Momo quickly collected her thoughts and yelled at the Chief.
"Stop the exchange!"
CLINK!
Momo's bo staff made contact with Himiko's knife.
"Aww, the power of love is too strong!"
In less than a second, "Shouto" had sliced through his ropes, melted into a naked Himiko, and lashed out at Momo. Tch, she's fast, Momo thought as she repelled the blade that was merely a centimeter away from her face. Although she kept her focus on Himiko, from her peripheral vision, Momo could see the other four villains readying to attack. Himiko slashed at Momo over and over, eventually landing a gash on Momo's cheek. So that's how she transforms? Momo realized as she swung her bo into Himiko's ribcage, forcing the girl the back up.
"Get down!"
Momo felt Kyouka ram into her from behind and force her to the ground—just as a bullet grazed Momo's ponytail. In front, Momo saw Setsuna holding up a handgun. His eyes were livid, and he was screaming commands at his subordinates. The attack prompted a counter response from Gunhead, who fired off bullets into the fray. However, Setsuna had chosen his team wisely. The villains were light on their feet and managed to dodge the bullets and fire back with long-range attacks. Meanwhile, the Chief called for backup, a move Setsuna mirrored as he hid behind the shield of a subordinate.
"Endeavor-san was right! Looks like they set us up after all," Kyouka commented as she took a newly created sword from Momo.
She and Kyouka backed up so that they were alongside the Chief and Gunhead, who was battling two of the villains. Momo saw a black hole ripple open in her peripheral vision. No way, they're escaping with—ARGH! Her thoughts were interrupted by the throwing knife that lodged itself in her shoulder. Momo turned her head around to see Himiko grinning deviously before leaping towards the black mist.
"Gunhead, the black mist!" Momo yelled.
Upon command, Gunhead pulled the current villain he was fighting into a headlock and fired bullets at the escaping villains. He missed Himiko and hit Setsuna's calf, but both jumped in the black mist before it disappeared. I should've reacted quicker, Momo admonished herself. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on the past since there were still two leftover villains from the attack. While they continued to fight, they seemed surprised by their leader's sudden departure. Momo and Kyouka took advantage of the villains' flustered state, and after a short skirmish, managed to apprehend them. Once the remaining villains were incapacitated, the girls and Gunhead turned their attention towards the Chief, who was fumbling with his cellphone with one hand and clutching his side with the other. Momo realized that his ribs were broken and immediately created a bandage, while Kyouka dialed for the ambulance. However, the Chief didn't let his condition beat him.
"Don't worry about me. Listen, things have gone badly on Endeavor's end. The villains planned their own ambush, and currently, they're locked in battle. Aside from that, I just received a report from a neighboring police station. A couple of its officers were engaged in a high speed chase when they noticed a truck on the highway completely encased in ice."
Note: apparently first aid for broken ribs is applying ice then securing the area of the fracture with a bandage to stabilize it. Yes, I actually Googled this, lol. Now, y'all know what to do in case of emergency ;)