That weekend the call came in from Gang Orca. Me and Shoji were to come in uniform to a location in downtown Tokyo. "BE PRESENTABLE!" he'd shouted. As we left for the bus station, Yaoyorozu and Tokage joined us, followed by Iida, then the trio of Ashido, Aoyama and Hagakure. All eight of us were standing at the bus station.
"Oh hey, morning Jirou!" Ashido greeted me. "Going to your work study? Me to!"
"YEah," I replied. "First time back in after a while, no costume."
"Good morning, all!" Iida saluted, chopping his hand. "It seems to be a busy day for work studies!"
"Indeed," said Yaomomo quietly, and I had a feeling she'd already figured it out.
"I'll walk you guys," Miss Midnight appeared to guide us. "No point taking villain risks!"
"Thanks!" said Hagakure. "Merci, Mademoiselle," added Aoyama.
We bustled to the bus, then the train station. As we arrived, I noticed the others were following us to the downtown station. Obviously it was crowded, so as we all stood in a line, I turned to Yaomomo.
"I thought you were a little further out."
"Yes, I am. But today Mr. Majestic asked that I meet up in downtown Tokyo."
"As did MR. Manual!" said Iida. "Strange coincidence."
"Did Mr. Musha ask you to meet here too?" Yaomomo asked Ashido, Hagakure and Aoyama. Mina nodded. "Yep yep yep! What d you suppose it's all about?"
"Must be a big deal," I muttered.
We sat together in a pretty big group on the train, with a few passengers staring, a couple of "Class 1A" gasps, which made Tokage look a bit uncomfortable, the one 1B kid in our nearly all Class A team. Yaomomo smiled and tried to include her in the conversation, but it was mostly made up of Ashido, Hagakure and Aoyama trying hard not to talk too loudly about our secrets.
We got off and headed through the downtown streets, looking like a bunch of kids on a class field trip. We went around the corner to the big meeting place, and I checked a few times to make absolutely sure me and Shoji were in the right spot. The huge glittering skyscraper was indeed the right address.
One elevator ride took us to the top floor. A big conference room, with a formal table, chairs and everything, even coffee and some donuts and bagels laid out. Just like a real executive meeting, with our pro hero mentors and a few others gathered together, talking and looking very official. Midnight was among them; I suppose she must have taken some superhero transportation we didn't know about. A Midnight Mobile.
I recognized Yaomomo's Majestic. I'd looked him up after she'd told me she was interning with him. Weird looking mustached guy. He was talking to what appeared to be a cop. Iida had gone up to a guy with a fin on his head and a woman in a white and green bodysuit. I assumed the man was his boss Manual, and the woman his sidekick. Yaomomo was saluted by a woman in a slinky dress with snake hair, who I recognized as her former mentor, Uwabami. Yaomomo blushed and looked away.
Ashido, Hagakure and Aoyama went over to a big samurai looking dude, Yorui Musha I assumed. Gang Orca was talking to Midnight. And to my shock -
"Earphone Jack! Long time, no see." It was Death arms.
"Oh - hey, Mr. - sir, I mean."
"No need to be so formal. Heard you kids were coming in. A bit surprising, but given the circumstances..."
"What are the-"
I stopped. Standing with her arms folded in the corner of the room was the pro heroine whose face had been on my mind day and night. Tigress. She caught my eyes and grinned,and I looked away, actually a bit scared.
"Sensei," Yaomomo was saying to Majestic, "Is this it?"
"Yes, Creaty. Sorry for the secrecy, but we're trying to keep this meeting from catching too many eyes."
Around me, I saw my classmates trade looks like they knew what was going on and why we were all here. I glanced at Shoji, and he shrugged.
So many pro heroes. What're they all doing here at once?
"Miss Midnight!" called Yaomomo, joining her and followed by Tokage. "Why are you here?"
"I got the summons from Majestic here," she grinned, flashing a smile the magician's way. Understandably he blushed. "Thought it sounded exciting."
"What exactly is going on? You guys have a clue?" Ashido poked me and asked.
"Some idea," I replied, thinking. "But I figure they'll explain it all."
After a few more minutes of milling and confusion, we all took seats next to our work study mentors around the conference table. Majestic and his cop friend were at the top, and appeared to be leading the presentation.
"We've been gathering information for some time," began the Officer, "on this case. All of your agencies have had run-ins with this group of villains over the last few weeks. There have certainly been more, and a few agencies who did so that could not appear. Police around the country have been sharing intel, however, so between us we should have enough people to successfully explain."
We've probably got enough people to repopulate the planet, I joked in my head, but didn't say aloud.
"Everyone here has had an encounter with a villain in a Noh theater mask, calling themselves after one of the seven deadly sins. They have been appearing frequently at a long series of disconnected crime scenes lately. We attained information from the Ryukyu hero agency that they recently encountered the ones known as 'Lust' and 'Greed', working with a telekinetic villain called Magus to steal a large pile of forbidden goods. They could respectively paralyze and read the mind of victims and demonstrate superhuman strength."
He turned to Iida. "Manual's agency?"
"We encountered a villain known as Sloth," explained Mr. Manual. "She was also facilitating a theft. She could slow down the human body with a wave of her hand."
"Ours," said Musha, "encountered Gluttony and Envy. Gluttony was capable of absorbing and dissolving matter. Envy has possession powers."
Ew.
"And we," said Gang Orca. "encountered Wrath." There was some silence as he - and I - glanced at Tigress. He went on, "Who could paralyze victims with a scream. She was working with a mystery agency known only as NIGHTMARE."
There were a few faces in the room that looked genuinely unnerved when he said that name.
Majestic said, "And our agency encountered Pride, who can cause victims to lose equilibrium. That rounds out the lot. Ours caused some seemingly pointless chaos, just as we were preparing to interview a murder suspect. The two events may be related, or may not be. It is hard to be certain. These villains have also been sighted at a large number of other crime scenes all over Japan. Their identities are unknown for certain, but there are many suspects. What remained to be done was to determine the point of all their recent criminal activity. That is what we were here today to achieve."
