Ch: 6 Casting call

(Shinso's pov - Commission archives)

Midoriya waved at us as we approached huffing after our mad dash to the archives, a sprawling network of computer sections and administrative offices located across the street from the Commission tower. Originally, so rumors go, it used to be a public library but once the tower was put up and heros became its primary patrons it was eventually bought. It became the administrative hub for the Commission, a place where reports and inquiries could be typed up and turned in, propelling the bureaucratic mechanismforwards. Midoriya smiled as we approached. "Thank you for coming, I know it was short notice but I believe that this is where we were most needed. But first." He looked over at Yaoyorozu. "I had a question about the interviews."

Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow in a brief moment of confusion before responding. "I'll gladly answer any questions you have, but I'm not sure what other useful information I can give you."

He nodded simply taking out his phone. "If you recall any of the dates that the fights occurred, that's all I need to complete the theory." We all blinked, but she responded by giving out various dates from the last month. A satisfied smile graced Midoriya's face as if proven correct to a question only he knew as he put the phone away. "Thank you." He then stepped aside from the card reader on the door. "I think it's time we entered and put an end to this performance, hm?"

I walked forward, placing my card against the scanner which opened the door and allowedus to enter. The smell of old paper filled the air around us as I looked around the inside of the lobby. Save for us, the archives looked empty, and I began to wonder if Midoriya got it wrong. I turned to ask him if this was all he wanted to see, but I noticed him staring at a nearby security camera. As I looked as well I noticed that its power light was off. "Is there any security here?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"No, in emergency situations all available heroes and agents have to go and respond."

He nodded before looking around as if scanning the area before going over to the receptionist desk, and looked over the counter before turning back to us. "We have a female body here." The rest of us rushed over with Midoriya going over the counter. The woman (although it would be more accurate to call her a teenager) was a short pudgy thing with stubby wool covered goat legs and a wool covered head, which was currently being held up by Midoriya as he had two fingers on her carotid searching for a pulse. After a moment he sighed in relief. "Alive, just unconscious." He turned his gaze to Yaoyorozu. "Would it be possible for you to make some ammonia, Miss Creati?" With a nod she extended her forearm and a small ammonia canister was made, which he took and cracked under the unconscious woman's nose.

With a start she awoke, her odd goat-like eyes wide with panic and fear as Yaoyorozu knelt down placing a hand on her shoulder. Tsuyu and I kept watch, if only due to our own internal awkwardness at comforting a victim. "It's alright, you're safe now."

"W-a-a-aht ha-a-appened?" Her voice reminded me of the baying of a sheep as she looked around confused and disoriented.

Midoriya stood offering the woman a hand so she could stand. "You were the victim of an attack, I know it might be difficult but if you can recall anything about the moments before the attack it'll help us greatly."

The woman shook her head, her bushy mane of wool bouncing as she did. "I really don't know mu-a-a-ach. The emergency a-a-a-larm went off a-a-and the sidekicks left a-a-as protocol states. I wa-a-as locking up the center when a ma-a-an came in a coat when I told him to le-a-a-ve it suddenly felt like my he-a-a-ad was in a pl-a-astic bag and I couldn't breathe, guess I fa-ainted after that."

Midoriya nodded before blinking. "Did you notice any details about the man?"

The woman scratched at her head for a bit. "He h-a-ad a mustache. It w-a-as white and stuck out from his mask." She then paused before continuing. "He a-apologized….said he had no choice."

Midoriya then gave the three of us a determined look. "It's Gentle Criminal, I'm sure of it. You three go on ahead, I deduce he's heading to the server room. I'll stay behind and contact local authorities."

Tsuyu then spoke. "Kero, how are you so sure it's him?"

Before he could answer Yaoyorozu spoke. "It's his quirk wasn't it? He used it to knock her out." To which Midoriya nodded as she continued. "And he has never been one to just commit violence unless necessary, as well as one of the few villains with a large white mustache."

He nodded once more. "More importantly if he escapes then any chance we have of stopping Compress goes with him, as well as any chance of rescuing Miss Hatsume and La Brava." He looked at us, determination biting in his emerald eyes. "You three can stop him here and now. Go. He's heading to the server room, I'll meet you there soon."

Tsuyu nodded and hopped on ahead as the fastest out of all of us, Yaoyorozu turned to join her before glancing back at the Detective and rushing forward. I was frozen as Midoriya spoke to the victim, calming her down, never taking his eyes off her, searching for any missed signs of injury. "Shinso, they'll need you when they find him." He turned and smiled. "Go be a hero." With that I nodded and rushed to join the others.

The hall leading to the server room was echoing with the sounds of combat further ahead as yells and grunts of pain reverberated off the walls and filled the area. The cramped space seemed tighter as adrenaline filled my body, followed by incensed anger as I watched Tsuyu crash against a wall outside of the server room. I slid to a stop in front of the server room entrance, enraged as Gentle Criminal had Momo's head trapped in an elastic air pocket. "GENTLE!"

He turned surprise in his eyes. "Anoth-" and his eyes dimmed as I felt the familiar sensation of my mind taking over his.

Yaoyorozu breathed in deeply as she was exposed to air once more, coughing for a bit. I went to check on Tsuyu who was already getting up, but still bit wobbly. "You ok Tsu?"

She nodded dusting herself off a bit. "Felt like I got launched off a trampoline into a wall but yeah, I'm OK Kero." She then blinked and looked at me. "You called me Tsu."

I blinked as well before turning a bit red. "Just came out, sorry."

She smiled or what passes as a smile with her. "No, it's ok, Kero." She then turned to Yaoyorozu who was binding up Gentle Criminal. "You ok Momo?" To which she just nodded making a bad joke about being winded. I turned as footsteps came from the hall and I noticed Midoriya approaching.

"I assume you've captured him?" To which I nodded and he smiled. "Good, I believe congratulations are in order then, for the capture of one of Japan's most wanted." He then looked over at Gentle, now fully bound and immobilized regardless of my quirk still affecting him. "I'd like to search and ask him some questions if you don't mind Shinso."

"You sure?" He nodded and I let go of my control.

After a moment the life returned to Gentle's eyes and he looked around at first confused then fully panicked. "No no no, what have you all done!"

"Actually if it's alright, I'd like to know why you were sneaking into the Commission archives." Midoriya said while squatting in front of the captured criminal, bringing the two to eye level with each other. More importantly, he brought up a question that I had been wondering about for a while.

"You don't understand, I have to do what he said."

Midoriya nodded. "So Compress was the one that captured La Brava."

Gentle blinked. "How…how did you-"

"A simple conclusion to make. After all, how else would he get you to come here? To do this impossible task." I watched as Midoriya reached out into Gentle's coat pocket. "Forgive my intrusion but time is of the essence." As Gentle squirmed, attempting to move away, Midoriya pulled out what appeared to be a small pink USB and began to inspect it.

Tsuyu spoke up then. "A USB, Kero? That's it? Why would he do all this just for a USB?"

Midoriya then spoke. "I'm not sure if I should be happy at how useless information seems to the Commission or horrified that you can't see it's dangers." He presented the USB to us. "Earlier when I was sent away by the Commission I had time to ponder the facts and this is the theory I've come to believe as true, Gentle can confirm it once I'm done explaining it." I felt how my lungs seemed to stop working in anticipation of finally having some answers at last, an explanation as to why. "We must of course begin with the victims of all three of them, first La Brava. A master class hacker and software engineer, it was she that managed to hack into UA four years ago so her skills can not be denied. Now why would Compress take her? The answer is two fold and obvious. Firstly he needed her skill to create another hacking program, the most elaborate one to have ever been made, and secondly to ensure the compliance of Gentle Criminal, one of the greatest criminal planners in play now, the one that broke into UA."

Tsuyu spoke up. "Kero but why? Why go through all the effort of doing all this just to enter the archive servers?"

"Because it is the easiest access point to the Commission servers that can be reached. Unlike the tower the archives are instantly abandoned in favor of vital locations during a national emergency, an emergency such as taking a majority of the government hostage--which we currently find occurring now. Imagine it." He then held the USB up. "You have the world's greatest hacking program in a USB and a reachable server access point, and during the commotion the heros and Commission would be too busy to notice the security breach until it was too late. Personnel files, like the secret identities of every registered hero and their families as well as their address, top secret plans for future operations, and also the blueprints of any Commission run prison, all copied into one USB in the hands of the League of Villains. How many would die now that their private homes are known to the League? Assuming the League doesn't sell the information to other crime organizations." He then turned to Gentle Criminal eyes burning. "That's why La Brava was taken, because the both of you would never willingly consent to the deaths of so many people."

Gentle looked at Midoriya, his eyes watering and swallowing back bile. "Compress….he…he contacted us two months ago….said he needed assistants for the greatest performance to ever be performed. But once we…" he looked down. "I told him we refused to be the cause of so many pointless deaths…but…he just kept pushing…and then…they…they took me and beat me and my Brava, my light she….she agreed."

Yaoyorozu then spoke. "So then what about Hatsume? How does this help us find her?"

Midoriya paused briefly before asking, "Gentle, I assume you were to contact Compress once the task was done for the drop off location correct?" To which he nodded. "How would you like to perform one more time, to be the charging knight to rescue the maiden?" We all blinked before we understood. It would be the performance of our lives, the perfect way to get one over the greatest showman.

Notes:

I'd like to thank those that beta read namely Dylan and Conrad, your suggestions and help make all this possible