Manual, Arrow and myself were accompanied by Yaoyorozu and Detective Hayashi. We were to wait in a police car, observing our brave senseis sacrifice themselves for us - to see Miss Midnight and Gang Orca lose a battle deliberately so that we might have a chance to defeating these monsters.

"Once we see the tracking signal," said Detective Hayashi, "we'll hand it to you two speedsters. Follow the signal to the location ahead of us and do whatever it takes to take out Sloth before she can put anyone out. If the other team has taken her out already, your next target is Gluttony. That dissolving goop is a real problem - then Pride. Remember, she's got the ability to make you lose your equilibrium. Wrath's dangerous too, but we're trusting the sound heroes and Majestic to handle her. Greed's dangerous in battle but is close-range, hand-to-hand. Envy needs at least some proximity to use her quirk and Lust seems to need physical contact, so there's some room to leave thsoe two for lower priority."

Yaoyorozu nodded and raised her hand. "A thought occurs to me, Detective. It isn't something anyone wants to discuss, but..."

"What is it?"

"We have some suspicion of Tigress, do we not? That she may be connected with these people? In that case, was it wise to discuss our plans in front of her?"

I felt a bit indignant on Tigress' behalf. "Yaoyorozu! A pro-hero, surely?"

"I know...I don't like the idea, but it is a suspicion, isn't it?"

Hayashi nodded and sighed. "You're correct. It was a risk. But the pros in charge of the op - people who have known Tigress long enough to vouch for her - decided to cut her in. Her quirk is too valuable, if she isn't Wrath, to defeating her. Your friend with the headphone jacks is our only other sound-based hero in on the op - Present Mic was otherwise employed, and everyone else was too far to call in. And no disrespect, but your friend isn't exactly enough for a quirk like this."

Yaoyorozu looked pensive. "Earphone Jack may surprise you."

Hayashi shrugged. Manual said, "I've worked with Tigress before. I think it's pretty unlikely that she'd betray us or work with villains. There are plenty of people with sound-based quirks."

I nodded. "Indeed! We can count on Miss Tigress in this operation." And I added, "I will make myself useful as well, alongside Miss Arrow, in defeating Sloth. I have worked hard to upgrade my speed since we last fought her."

"I've been strategizing too," said Arrow. "Most likely one of us can pin her down."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Gluttony seems able to absorb anything. We know Ashido's acid can counteract her, so I'll try to create something for her to amplify her quirk and its range."

"You kids today sure are quick to strategize," smiled Manual. I gave a proud smile - my class was impressing the pro heroes!

It was extremely painful to sit there and watch Miss Midnight and Gang Orca fail. I felt Yaoyorozu hold my wrist a little too tightly as we watched, as though the sight of our sensei suffering was rather personal to her. I too felt the sense, almost as though one of our own parents was lying in pain out there. Gang Orca too...And then it got worse, as Greed leaned down and looked as though she were about to break Miss Midnight's neck.

"Midnight sensei-" I started, on reflex prepared to jump in and rescue her. Manual-Sensei had to restrain me; I felt too Yaoyorozu had moved and Arrow's hand was the only thing stopping her from following me out there.

We sat back down. The police sirens wailing seemed to have stopped Greed. She and Sloth seemed to vanish.

"We've got them," Majestic's voice came in over the comm. "We're in pursuit."

We sat there in agony. Midnight Sensei and Gang Orca were removed from the scene in ambulances. I decided not to check the press. We would wipe out any bad press tomorrow.

Then at last, the coordinates appeared.

"GO!" said Manual. I didn't need telling twice. As the car revved up, Arrow and I threw open the doors, each of our eyes glued to our cell phones and the coordinate maps. We each leaped into the air. I didn't turn on my new move just this second - but I was moving fast enough, as fast as I could without going into it.

In what seemed like mere minutes we were looking at a large hole in the ground, in a highway zone. Had Jirou done that? I found time to wonder if they would still be as skeptical of her now before we were down the tunnel adn in pursuit of her group.

Tokage was saying, "Maybe. I don't know how to guarantee that she won't be able to put me to sleep from just a part - but I'll try!"

"No need," I called as we caught up to them, standing behind a wall.

"Got your signal - why'd you guys go in?"

"They're onto us," said Shoji. "Our suspicions of Miss Tigress were correct. She's betrayed us."

"WHAT?!" I cried, too loudly.

"Yes - and shh," said Majestic. "We feared it - but our security precautions were inadequate. Nobody could seriously suspect a career hero of being a traitor..."

It was as though my world was falling away. It was true? A real pro hero - had betrayed us?

"I'm gonna kill her," Jirou muttered.

"Calm down, Earphone Jack," said Shoji quietly. "We must not let our emotions take over in this situation."

I couldn't even look at them.

"A pro hero - someone we all trusted...how can this be?" he murmured. My voice came out very weakly.

"Ingenium," said Arrow. "You say you have a way to beat Sloth?"

Ingenium.

I had mentioned to them only once that Ingenium was the hero name I could only take once I proved myself worthy. Would it be worthy of my brother to fail here and now?

I looked up. I took a deep breath, then spoke as professionally as I could. "I have been testing my mufflers - they go fast enough that I believe I can reach her and knock her out before she can knock me down."

"That's risky."

"I'll try it first," said Tokage. "If she makes me, we'll let you take a whack at her."

"Understood,"I said, feeling my focus return.

"We're too close," said Shoji, extending a hand. We stopped, slowed to a walk. Shoji and Jirou put their ears to the ground.

Majestic tossed us backwards, around a corner. "Lizardy."

Tokage broke off her arm and sent it around the corner, alongside her right eyeball. From a distance, we heard footsteps. Soft, slow footsteps. And then Tokage fell to the ground.

Ok. My turn.

Recipro-Turbo.

It was exhilirating. I'd used it only once before in the training room, but using it in the field was like a spell. Everything else had slowed down.

I glided around the corner, it seemed, a corner full of frozen people. Sloth was there, leaning over to look at the strange fallen arm on the ground, wrapped in green. I had it seemed all the time in the world to leisurely walk on over to her and, with a chop to the neck, knock her out. And then to check and make sure. To take off her mask, revealing the blunt, bored-looking face beneath, the one from the police photos, and tap her head to see if she woke. No need to worry. She was down.

Then tow ave the others, who seemed to walk like molasses behind me as I followed Jirou's - rather annoyingly slow, in these speeds - directions.

We moved forward towards where the voices were saying, "What's taking her so -"

The doors burst open upon a vast garage, which doubled as something like a typical suburban garage - tool benches, gurneys, tools and devices...

And also like a morgue, with bodies on gurneys and bloody towels over the bodies.

Packing up what looked like research notes was a woman in a white shroud, tendrils of black hair hanging over her bound up face and goggles. Surrounding her were the remaining six of the seven deadly sins, all headed towards an escape car.

Lust with her long black hair. Greed in the glittering clothes, Gluttony oozing goop onto the floor, Envy leaning over the others, Pride with her arms folded...and Tigress, aka Wrath.

"Oh dear," sneered Pride. "It seems they found a way past Sloth."

Earphone Jack ahd flung a wall of sound at Wrath before anyone could speak - even from my angle her movement was fast, and her expression was frightening.

But no time for that. Gluttony would absorb me. My next priority was Pride, the woman in the sneering mask with the tendrils of curling hair. A kick to the head and she was down.

"Earphone Jack!" cried Majestic.

"Jirou, wait!" called Shoji. I turned. Jirou had run affter the hole in the wall where she had flung Tigress.

Jirou - you're being reckless -

"So you're fast!" said a voice I'd missed in the confusion. Envy had found me. My vision went blank.