We were left on standby by our mentors, for a time. We weren't the only ones waiting around, though; the four of our classmates who had made a huge splash - Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui and Kirishima - were actually moving in class maneuvers faster than us.

"The work study group is moving really well," I heard Jirou saying as she watched them during our regular wall-climbing exercises. Meanwhile, Bakugou screamed at Kirishima, "YOU'RE HIDING SOME SECRET YOU LEARNED OUT THERE! BETTER SPILL THE BEANS!"

"Sorry, no can do," he called back.

We weren't allowed to talk, and they weren't allowed to talk about what was going on, about our villains. According to Midnight Sensei, after the pros had left,

"We have lots of pro heroes involved in this mission. While of course you may accompany us, the expectation is that you will have fairly minor roles when we finally smoke out the Mercenaries and confront them. What are your thoughts on taking this chance?"

"Of course we'll be there!" said Ashido.

"Absolutely!" Hagakure was probably nodding.

"Naturaillement."

"Mmm."

"Of course, I consider it my duty!" I added.

"We are here as true heroes, and these villains must be stopped."

"I'm ready to make em pay!"

After a moment's pause, Jirou said, "Seems like a plan."

Midnight sensei nodded. "It's good to see such youthful enthusiasm. But remember, these are very talented professional villains. While you have had some contact with the League of Villains in the past, these mercenaries are not that type of antagonist. That is to say, they are not a known quantity. The League's goals are at least vaguely understood, but we are working in the dark here. Bear that in mind."

So we waited, and waited. I tried to keep the uneasy feelings from my side. And our four friends seemed to be dealing with a true frustration, something even worse, whatever it was, Midoriya in particular.

One day at lunch, when he seemed particularly down, Todoroki spoke up.

"Not eating?"

"I-I was just about to!"

"Is everything okay?" I asked him.

"You've been looking a little depressed e ver since your work study started," said Todoroki.

"Really? Have I?" he asked, unconvincingly.

I was reminded, horribly, of a similar phrase of my own.

"If it ever gets to be too much and you need to talk, just say something. I'm your friend." I told him. "That's what you told me back when I was acting like a fool! Before our internships..."

And to my shock, he was crying.

"Huh?! Hey!"

"Sorry! I'm fine. It's nothing..." he murmured. "Heroes don't cry," he said forcing the stiff upper lip.

"Nah," said Todoroki. Even heroes cry when they have to. I think...You want half my noodles?"

"You can have my beef stew, too," I added.

"Th-thanks," said Midoriya.

"Want scallions with that?"

"Sure, thanks."

Helping Midoriya couldn't help but make me feel a little better.

At last the call came in. We got the texts. The seven of us met up outside Heights Alliance, ready to suit up for action, take the train into town, and meet the other pros.

"We've got information. In cooperation with the police, we've investigated and discovered the Mercenaries' modus operandi. They respond to payments and villain requests. We've been on the lookout for signs of activity, and we've found Greed and Sloth on the move. We plan to follow them when they escape after a seemingly triumphant fight with the heroes."

"I'll be playing the dummy hero," explained Midnight, "teamed up with Gang Orca's agency. We will create the illusion that our plan was to use counter-sound and my somnambulist to knock them out, but convincingly lose to Sloth's body manipulation powers. The stealth heroes among us - "

She pointed to Jirou, Hagakure, Tokage and Shoji, alongside Majestic.

"Will be in pursuit of the villains to their base. You will each use a tracker and be teamed up in groups of two, with Mr. Musha accompanying his teammate Hagakure and Ms. Tokage, Jirou and Shoji with Majestic. You will each be assigned to one, Greed and Sloth. You will move in stealth mode and track them, with our group following at a reasonable distance. You will provide their location and we will hunt them down, take them out, and arrest them fr their crimes."

Hayashi waved some papers. "We've got the arrest warrants right here. Since almost all of them have been identified, and pinpointed at the crime scenes, they can be legally taken into custody for breaking the law. All we have to do is defeat them."

"We know their quirks," said gang Orca. "We know their tactics and their names. Once we're there we will assign targets, hopefully based on who is best suited to take who down."

"Teamwork!" Ashido grinned at Hagakure and Aoyama.

"Yes, indeed. We will be exhibiting cooperation in the hightest order. Prepare, young heroes. We will make sure that the people are safe from these villains!"