USJ | Part I

Roll out the drums of war, roll up the cover of the killing floor. Roll out the drums of war, and let's speak of things worth fighting for.

Drums of War by Jackson Browne

Florence has to admit that she is rather surprised when Aizawa offers her to join his class for rescue training, apparently believing her experience with strategy could be beneficial. She doesn't turn him down, instead finding herself a bit more thrilled. Despite not wanting to choose favorites, Class 1-A has shown more potential in her classes than her peers; to be able to see them (and interact) in another training session with their head teacher will give her a better idea on how much they've improved and who slacks off outside of her class.

She knew the experienced rescue hero, Thirteen, would also be joining; granted, her interaction with the staff member has been limited at best, so she feels unsure of how to engage with the astronaut. Even during the trip to the training location, there's not much chatter among the teachers, instead the ambient of the students takes up most of the silence.

"I'm surprised you're still not wearing your hero costume," Thirteen absently speaks up, trying to fill the gap between the teachers. "Considering the training we'll be engaging with."

Thirteen's helmet makes it hard to discern where your eyes are, but Florence can feel it. She supposes the outfit she wore isn't particularly ideal nor expected, but it is practical. Her tighter trousers make it easier for her to strap her knives to her thigh and to her hips while the looser, long sleeved linen shirt won't restrict her movements while making her still feel covered.

Florence offers a dry look, "If you saw what my hero costume looked like you'd understand. At the time, I made the mistake of letting Nezu design it. The only thing I had in mind was my support items. But despite what it looks like, most of my casual wear is made of a similar material of my costume due to my quirk."

She taps her thigh where a display of knives are strapped. "-And I always carry my knives. As far as I'm concerned, that's all I need."

"I don't care what any of you wear as long as you can work," Aizawa's only comment on the situation is made as they reach their destination.

She takes a step back as Aizawa explains the exercise to the students, standing properly beside him as she looks at the faces of the students in question. The first time she's seen them in their own hero costumes, she is surprised, and a bit amused, by some of their creativity or practicality or their stupidity. She makes a note to talk to some of the students later about how they need to account for practicality in their costumes to better suit their quirks; and there are much better ways to do that than an open-chested one piece.

But just when she expects them to begin the exercise, an uneasy feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. She immediately gets into a stance, her hand already reaching for her knives as a large darkened void splits open through the empty space nearby. The alarms aren't going off. Florence's gaze hardens. And this entire section is sealed off completely from everyone else. If something goes wrong, it will be a while until help arrives.

Figures step through the portal, lumbering through like half-assed punks and thugs. Not a single one stands out the most to her as they start to file through, except for two. The one most responsible for these portals, a figureless void with eyes gleaming through its shadows, and the one covering his face like a coward with a detachable hand that does not look like a simple prop. Neither are villains that she recognizes immediately, but their stance as well as the way they stay behind as if they're above everyone else, wanting to see how this plays out, immediately marks them as the ones in charge - or at the very least, the ones behind this rally of thugs.

Villains.

Aizawa seems just as ready to fight as she does, standing his ground steadily. She can hear the confusion settle among the students. Disbelief in their voices, tainted with innocence and nativity. Inexperience. As they all question what the exercise really is. Her heart tightens. Children. Children that haven't seen villains before, not like this and definitely not to this extent. Children that never expected to be put to fight. Her fight tightens at her side.

"This is real. Those are villains."

Aizawa's words cut sharply through the students. She can see their fear from the corner of her eyes, their shock as they realize the gravity of the situation. We need to take care of this fast. She glances toward Aizawa as the apparent leaders make a show of looking for All Might; at the very least, now they know why they're there. She can Todoroki speaking in the background, wondering out loud about their situation - and bringing up decent points as he does so. Perhaps the kid is better at strategic thinking than she thought, considering his grades are only average in her class. When this is over, maybe she'll bring him over to her strategy course.

Aizawa adjusts his goggles, eyes fixated on the villains. "I'll take care of it. Thirteen, get the kids to safety. Talbot, you think you can keep up with me?"

Florence draws a knife out from the holster, turning it in her hand evenly, "Without a doubt."

Her eyes don't move from the oncoming onslaught. She may not know Thirteen personally that well, but the other teacher does obviously still want to protect the students just as much. And in this instance, she will have to trust Aizawa's judgement on putting that teacher in care of the class. At the very least, with the kids taken care of, she can focus on getting the villains out of the way.

Midoriya starts on a tangent almost immediately, talking in a hurried, concerned rush, "-your powers not suited for this, it's best for stealth and -"

"-Midoriya." Florence's voice cuts him off sharply, "Don't doubt your teachers. Stay with Thirteen."

Midoriya's mouth closes instantly, eyes still gleaming with worry. Despite his decent analysis, his words still show that he has a long way to go when it comes to analyzing and strategic thinking. Any hero worth their salt is not a one show boat. And after having faced Eraserhead personally, Florence knows that the man can fight well. If Midoriya thought it through correctly, he would have realized that Eraserhead would be one of the best combat fights among the teachers, needing something to make up for the lack of defensive or offensive quirk use.

"Talbot." Aizawa addresses her directly. With a single nod, she understands and with that - the two of them charge at the villains.

She can't quite use her fire ability yet. At least not excessively. She knows this immediately, not wanting to risk combustion before she can reach the apparent leaders of the operation. While Aizawa's use of his scarf is apparent as he wastes no time in taking out the villains closest to him, Florence's approach is much more direct, not having a support item that would add distance between her and the enemy.

She takes advantage of those closest to her first, slashing and breaking bones as she swipes her way through them. She's thankful that she's had this body for a while, having the time to build its strength and agility. The experienced muscles come in handy as she flips over her enemies and slash at weak points to bring them to their knees. It's nasty work, not one that most pros resort to since it's too hands on; but god forbid someone uses a knife as opposed to the damage of a quirk. If it bothers Aizawa when blood is soaked into her clothes, he doesn't show it.

As the enemies finally recognize Eraserhead, her identity still remains largely unknown. A larger enemy charges at her and she rolls out of the way with ease and sends a hard hit to the back of their knee as they do so. She hears the audible crack of a broken bone as they tumble to the ground. She may not be as fast as Aizawa at taking down the enemies, his scarf giving him the edge needed to bring down multiple ones at a time, she still keeps up with him well in a more vicious, tactically feral manner.

When a villain approaches Eraser from behind, she sends a knife through their hand that sends them reeling back with a pained roar.

"Which one of you punks is next," Florence's grin is vicious as she breaks the arm of a villain that reached for her before twisting them and tossing them into a nearby opponent. She sends a flaming fist toward another.

To his credit, Aizawa is clear that he has her back just as much as she does his. Together, they make a decent dent through the crowd of villains, making a beeline for the ones at the top.

"We are the League of Villains."

Florence commits the name to memory, given that they have already proved unafraid to approach the campus in such a manner, she has a feeling that the group will pop up in the future if they don't nip it in the bud now. But there's always one of these guys, she bemoans. No matter the time, no matter the country or city. There will always be an organized group of villains - organized crime has been around before quirks. People who join together for some immoral cause. People who are evil down to their bones will always find a way to reach out to each other to cause more harm.

"Shit." Florence mutters as she spots the void-like villain appearing near the students, blocking them from the entrance. She falters only for a moment, concern in her eyes as she watches the students reel. She feels her heart sputter against her chest. She feels like all it will take is for her to blink before she's forced to see more children die; the year has barely begun and she will yet again hold small corpses in her arms, life stolen away from them too soon.

"Trust the students, Talbot," Aizawa's voice reaches through the chaos as the world spins.

She takes a deep breath, turning to face Eraser and the still growing number of villains. She gives him a firm nod, confirming that she's back in the game and together, they begin to reach where the crusty-pale leader is and beside him, a monstrosity that she knows can't simply be a single person with a quirk.