Here it is, the 108th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released on the right day as promised. The transition arc is over and it is now time to move onto the second work study that will take place, at least the stuff before the time skip, during the Endeavor Agency arc though this will focus on Adrien and Marinette's second work study at the Guardian Agency and what they get up to there during it. This is the first chapter of that arc and sets the tone for what to expect so there isn't much more I need to say about what is to come. Therefore that is all the administrative stuff I have for now and while there are no review questions to answer there are some clarifications and responses from reviews to make which I will do now. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. That is all I have for this pre chapter note so that means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 108th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.
Chapter 108: Second Work Study Starts
"It's no good sir." One of the sidekicks and deckhands abord the Oki Mariner, the ship owned and run by the Sea Rescue Hero: Selkie, said as they came out of the mist the Trigger enhanced villain had created to evade them. "This mist is too thick; we've lost their ship because of it."
"I'm not seeing anything on radar either." Another of the sidekicks who was manning the radar station said as he studied it with his trained eye. "They've slipped past us, and this area isn't open enough to find them with it."
"Damn, they're certainly not amateur smugglers then." Selkie said as he scratched his head his primary sidekick Sirius standing next to him on the ship's bridge. "So, they have the skills to escape from a pro then, this isn't good."
"Considering the path, the ship was taking earlier they might be hiding somewhere in the Verize Islands." Sirius said as she looked at the map before her and thought on how their quarry had escaped them. "That is what I'd do as there are plenty of places to hide there be it from radar, visual, or auditory senses. Clearly they know these waters well and were prepared for any issues with law enforcement or pro heroes."
"That's going to be a pain." Selkie said with a sigh. "That island chain is complex, it's no doubt why they chose to use this area as a smuggling route as there's plenty of cover over a wide area that is hard to patrol. Problem is, if their hopped up on Trigger then we're going to need reinforcements to find them. The area is too vast and complex to search just from the sea alone and we're dealing with at the very least experienced smugglers here so we're going to need eyes in the sky and the experts when it comes to hunting and catching smugglers. Besides, there is a high likelihood that this is international so we're going to have to call that agency in regardless. That means it is time to request a team-up Sirius."
"Who should we contact sir?" Sirius said as she looked to her large, spotted seal looking, boss. "Who's best for this team-up?"
"For the aerial surveillance we're going to need the number 10 on the billboard chart, the Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu." Selkie said simply. "She's the best for that kind of surveillance and she has an old friend of ours as one of her work study students along with two other competent ladies who can assist us."
"Right, she'd be good for that." Sirius said with a nod. "And the expert you had in mind?"
"This is an international case so there's only one who can help us." Selkie said. "We're going to need the Guardian Agency's aid as well and given what we're dealing with I'm going to request that the head assist us personally though I'm not sure if the normal one is back yet. Hopefully he is as Mage would be useful to have around about now, along with at least one of his female sidekicks or work study students."
"Right sir, I'm on it." Sirius said as she left his side to make the requests.
Selkie just stroked his whiskered chin and looked out over the ocean. He had a bad feeling about all this, hopefully the aid he requested could come and help him because whatever was going on he was sure that something bigger than what he had seen so far was afoot.
At the same time as the smugglers were escaping from Selkie but on the other side of Japan, an unassuming ship was entering a sheltered cove that was favored by smugglers and those who wished to enter Japan illegally without detection, with a different kind of cargo to the boat that had evaded Selkie. This boat contained a wanted woman and some of her lackies who had traveled to Asia from South America in their continued movements to evade capture for the woman's many crimes against pro heroes.
She'd overstayed her time in the Americas having fled her native United States in the wake of her crimes that made her such a wanted woman along with some of her allies who sympathized with her grievances against the pro hero system that had spurned her. She'd spent time in her homeland after she was forced by the American version of the HPSC into becoming a villain, she'd been joined by others like her who'd been overlooked or rejected despite their skills, but eventually had to flee and that was when she'd been added to the Guardian Agency's most wanted list.
From the US she'd moved through the Americas slipping past a few of the Guardians as she continued her war on heroes leaving a path of death and destruction in her wake but never staying long enough to get caught. She'd hoped to remain in South America for a while but eventually the Guardian in charge of the whole region, a tough hero called Gust, had tracked her to Uruguay forcing her to flee and leave the continent though her most loyal supporter and right-hand man had been captured in the raid.
She could have headed north again or east to Africa but that would mean going through Argentina which was Gust's home turf so instead she had gone west and crossed the pacific by boat to Australia and east Asia hoping that the Guardians reach didn't extend out that way. They were good but she was better in her mind hence why she'd avoided Australia knowing that as a de facto western nation it likely had strong ties to the Guardians, so she'd headed to Indonesia instead.
It had been there that she'd heard of the Meta Liberation's resurgence in the region for the first time. The movement had been global in the days of Destro, and the US had been one of the biggest war zones at the height of Destro's power and it was a movement that the woman could at least use to further her own agenda to destroy hero society. Add in that the movement's base was Japan where notorious All for One had once been dominant and his final defeat by All Might at the cost of All Might's career had moved the nation to the brink of chaos and she had a destination.
She was going to go to Japan and pledge her service to the Meta Liberation Army, her crimes were well documented, as was her powerful Quirk, and use them to further her war. As far as she knew Japan had limited Guardian interference thanks to All Might making it so safe so she would be useful there.
Unfortunately, her plans had been briefly derailed when she crossed the radar of Umbra, the Guardian of Darkness, in Singapore. It had been a mistake on the part of one of her lackies who'd failed to notice that the city state had an actual Guardian present in it, which given Singapore's history shouldn't have surprised her, and it had almost cost them. Thankfully, she'd escaped, after killing her lacky for his failure, and traveled to mainland China via Malaysia and Vietnam before circumventing Hong Kong to get this boat to southern Japan from just south of Shanghai.
It had taken a little longer than planned and she'd accidentally set off the Guardians to her presence but now that she was in Japan she'd be able to go to ground once she made contact with the Meta Liberation Army, she didn't know it had changed to the Paranormal Liberation Front, and join their cause. She'd be avenged, she knew it, and there was nothing that could stop her.
At least that was what the fugitive thought, she had no idea that one of her lackies had a tracker on them or that her stint in mainland China had allowed a certain Sub-Guardian to find her and track her the entire time from the air as she used the cover of New Year's to make her way to Japan. Fei was in her eagle form high above as she watched the boat sail from China to the western coast of Japan and then into the cove.
Only when she got visual confirmation that the woman was in Japan when she and her lackies leapt off the boat did Fei fly to a nearby clifftop and change back to human to keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, in the time that Fei did this the woman and her lackies had turned on the ship's crew and coldly murdered them before raiding the ship for anything of use or value and then destroying it. Fei couldn't have done anything regardless, but it was still hard to watch the evil that these people had.
Despite this, Fei knew that she had to follow them as she called this in. Mage needed to know that the woman had made landfall in Japan so that a team could be dispatched to finally capture her with Fei's assistance of course. With determination in her eyes, Fei changed into her eagle form again before taking to the sky to follow her prey as they made their way inland and she waited for the moment to call Mage about what had just happened.
"Thank you for being prompt." Mage said as Marinette and Adrien, both in costume, sat down in the chairs facing his desk in the office set aside for the head of the Guardian Agency's Tokyo branch to use. "Though it wasn't really hard to be late."
Mage wasn't wrong, Marinette and Adrien had been in the penthouse the night before as it had been New Year's eve, and they'd been allowed to go home for it. This had been after they'd been invited by Momo to her family's party and had attended that the night before which had been fun before Mage took them back here to retire for the night. Then, in the morning, they grabbed their stuff and headed to the agency below the apartments, via the agency normal entrance, to begin their second work study with the Guardian Agency.
As with before they were going to be working from Friday to Monday during the school semester but during winter break they'd be here full time and as such they'd been given rooms in the accommodation block. They already knew the drill though from their last work study here and had quickly settled in, changed, and then reported to Mage's office unaware of what was going on elsewhere in the country that would affect both of them in time as, well, it wasn't relevant to them at the moment.
Mage had wanted to see them in his office before the day began to go over the plans for the coming work study. It made sense and both of them were ready to learn and grow more as they got ready for what was to come.
"Kinda hard not to be." Adrien admitted. "We were right here after all."
"Convenient for sure though." Marinette added. "And I take it you're cleared to run the agency again."
"I am." Mage said with a nod. "Sanguina gave me all clear to return today before Christmas. She waited until now so that she could wrap up the year running this and then headed back to the States after yesterday's party to resume her duties there. A few months off after getting run through and, at least according to my records, losing a portion of my intestines is to be expected if I was actually human hence why I took that time to recover but now I'm cleared for duty again and right on time for your second work study. You already know how it will be structured as you have the experience from the last one but not what we will focus on this time around."
"You're getting us ready for something big." Marinette said simply. "Something is going down soon, or at least in a few months' time, right?"
"These things are mandatory now." Adrien added. "So, it's obvious that the HPSC is up to something."
"Good to see that nothing escapes you or your experience as heroes." Mage said with a smile. "And while I know exactly what we are preparing for I didn't exactly obtain the information via normal or legitimate channels, kinda what we do here at times though we won't be asking you two to do anything like that, so I don't think I can say exactly what it is. What I can say though is that yes you are being prepared for something to come, trained up as a last line of defense I guess as well as to be support for the fully qualified pros."
"Figured something was coming." Marinette said. "Crime has been up since All Might retired after all."
"Though with Endeavor's emergence it's starting to fade a bit as he's begun to be seen as a new symbol in Japan." Adrien said. "So, I take it something even bigger is on the horizon."
"Potentially yes." Mage said. "But again, I can't say more. However, I will say that some of the training and focus of this work study will be to prepare you for real world hero support ops. We can't do it in the field as this is mainly rescue, first aid, and evacuation training, which as you know is not exactly something that can be controlled, but the simulator here will be programmed for it all and I'll be personally watching over you. In addition, we will be doing a lot of combat training to get you up to scratch on that front as well. As you know I'm teaching your class, and the other hero class as well, Quirkless training this semester, so you'll get plenty of training there as well as here."
"We know how to fight." Marinette pointed out. "We've got that experience from our time in Paris before the incident."
"You know how to fight with your yo-yo because of the magic of the Miraculous." Mage said looking at her. "And Adrien can fight with a staff but that is it. Adrien has had some hand-to-hand training but not as much as he should have had due to the whole Stain fight, and you haven't had any Marinette. I watched the joint training exercise closely, you did fine in close combat but only because of your raw strength and a mix of Shishida's over zealousness when he's in beast mode and Shiozaki's own lack of close quarters fighting abilities. You both need to improve there as if it came to it I doubt either of you could best someone like Ojiro in hand to hand right now even with an enhanced constitution and you will face foes in the field who can fight like that in addition to whatever their Quirks are."
"That is fair." Adrien said as Marinette processed what Mage had said. "It is why I started to learn a little first from Ojiro and then during my internship. I take it you'll be training us as Bolt isn't around."
"Bolt is a primordial Guardian, he's too busy for this but even if he could I don't need him this time around." Mage said shaking his head. "Fei is an accomplished martial artist, one of the best in the clandestine unit in fact as most of that unit prefers weapons when they fight, so she will be my teaching assistant at school and will help out here when needed but she does have the bakery to focus on as that is her main mission here. I will be focused mainly on weapon-based combat as that is what I'm good at, but I am no slouch in hand-to-hand fighting, so I'll be teaching that as well."
"That makes sense." Marinette said as she saw where Mage was coming from. "We're eager to learn to overcome our deficiencies. One thing that being in this new age has shown me is that we aren't like we were in Paris back in the day, we can't cost on magic alone. We need to be stronger and there will be times when I won't have my yo-yo and it would be a waste to use Lucky Charm to create one if it came to it. I just hadn't seen this flaw before because it hasn't been shown to me. The closest was that sparring session I had with Mirko and even then I had my costume, yo-yo and Quirk available to me."
"Our abilities cover it, so we do need to step up there." Adrien said. "Bolt really showed me back during my internship so I'm ready whenever."
"Good that will be the training focus while here but that won't be everything." Mage said. "We have other things to do as well as there are patrols to make and investigations to work on as well. There's been an unfortunate flood into the market of Trigger lately and after a recent incident in a nearby country called Kaflin, one of the many new countries that sprang up in the wake of the Quirk Wars, were a warehouse was burned down before it could be raided as it was believed to have the chemicals needed to make Trigger. Alas nothing was there which isn't good especially with the rise of it in Japan. Sanguina has been investigating it, but we haven't had a big break yet."
"Trigger?" Marinette asked. "What's that?"
"It's the common name for a Quirk boosting drug and applied to various types of it." Mage said. "The current prominent variant sends a Quirk into overdrive though there are side effects. A few years back there was a major issue with a Trigger variant that was being made in Japan as it caused instant villains due to the effects, but the most recent variant doesn't cause that lack of reason that led to instant villains. Rather the current Trigger just boosts the user's Quirk. Some of it showed up during the last work study you had, in fact two of the Hassaikai members took a booster during or before the raid, but back then it was the Quirk destroying drug that was the big issue. Now, though, Trigger is on the rise again, and it's being smuggled everywhere."
"Ah that isn't good." Marinette said as she digested Mage's information. "And are your old foes part of it again? The Vengeful Spirits?"
"Perhaps." Mage said. "Probably in terms of funding they have some hand in the global manufacture of Trigger, they do like that kinda stuff, but no we don't think the massive rise is tied directly to them. We've got some suspicions on who's the big buyer of it and he's not associated with the Vengeful Spirits, but we've not gotten a concrete lead on him as of yet. Once we get that we'll focus more on it, but we are on high alert for Trigger at the moment and currently working hard to stop the smuggling but, well, an island nation is hard to patrol, and our resources are limited. It's why we use many port and naval pros to help out and alert us to the activity of these kinds of smugglers."
"Makes sense." Adrien said. "And as this is international you have jurisdiction over it."
"Correct." Mage said with a nod. "Smuggling, be it drugs, money, weapons, people, or what not, and fugitives who have crossed international borders are the two primary things we do here so you'll be helping with those investigations when you can, but training and field work are the primary focuses of your second work study."
"Of course." Marinette said. "We've got a big challenge ahead of us as you said so we have to be ready for it."
"Though, um, can we help?" Adrien asked. "We are working for you at the Guardian Agency and as you said your jurisdiction is limited."
"It is but you two can help in this kind of stuff without issue." Mage said. "You are recognized as Japanese provisional heroes which gives you the same national jurisdiction as a Japanese pro. You are working for the Guardians at the moment so can assist in our cases but primarily you have jurisdiction here. It's why we often recruit from within a nation as it gives us leeway around the jurisdiction issues at times. Add in that you are enrolled in a Japanese Hero Course, and they can't really prevent you from helping."
"That is good to know." Marinette said. "But you can't help with this operation, can you."
"Unless we can find an international angle like finance I can't assist." Mage confirmed. "I am an exception as I am one of the recognized Guardians, it is all part of how we are able to help while maintaining our vows at the same time. When the time comes I will only be able to watch it from afar, but I'll have Fei there as she's got special status while other like BB and some sidekicks who are needed can get permission from the HPSC though expect to be under the direct authority of whichever pro is running the operation and his or her sidekicks."
"That is understandable." Adrien said glad that it had been cleaned up, but Marinette was thinking on something Mage had said.
"You said Fei had special status." Marinette said. "What does that mean?"
"Right, I should explain that as there is a chance it might be activated during the coming operation." Mage said. "Basically, special status applies to heroes who have Quirks that are subject to certain power restrictions and that status is when they can ignore the restrictions that have been placed on their Quirks. All heroes who have this can be given emergency jurisdiction wherever they are to use that power when a threat presents itself. In fact, Fei had permission to use her restricted power on that intelligent Nomu that attacked Endeavor if he failed but only then. This operation might require it."
"I'm still a little confused." Marinette admitted and Adrien nodded in agreement with his girlfriend's statement. "I recall that Fei does have some restriction and it's one that is power based, right?"
"Correct, her dragon form, Lady Dragon as she calls it, is stronger than her other forms and requires a certain mentality to just be able to use." Mage said. "It's from the Prodigious when I created it and initially Fei couldn't use it because her heart and mind weren't in the right place, but she quickly got over that. When it became her Quirk it stayed the same and thus is her strongest form and one that she can only use in dire situations when nothing else will work. These days she's only allowed to use it when a villain is deemed to be an S-Rank threat or above though the only villain to ever be considered an SS-Rank villain was All for One who's locked up. However, while rare, S-Rank villains do exist."
"Villains have ranks?" Adrien asked confused. "We haven't covered that yet."
"That's because it's not a first-year thing as you're not expected to face one but, well, you're not really normal first years as a class so you should know about the ranks." Mage said. "Yes, villains have ranks starting with the weakest and lowest rank of F and ascending from there up to A rank and then above that is S and SS Rank."
Mage paused there to give Marinette and Adrien a moment to process what he'd said and ask any questions that they might have. They didn't at this moment, so he continued with his explanation of villain ranks.
"For context, most villains that you have faced so far have ranged from A to F rank." Mage continued. "Most of the gutter scum you faced in the USJ were E and F rank villains while the Vanguard Action Squad from the forest training camp was stronger with some like Dabi and that Muscular character that Midoriya brought down being A-Rank villains and none were below C rank. The Hassaikai group was mostly C-Rank though Overhaul himself, along with three others, were B-Rank and the two Vengefuls aren't ranked as they aren't known to the public. That and they are beyond human so can't really be ranked."
"I guess that makes sense." Marinette said thinking on it. "Some villains are stronger and more dangerous than others. I remember the USJ incident, only Shigaraki, Kurogiri and that Nomu were really threats."
"Yes and all three either are or were as two have been captured, notable threats." Mage said with a nod. "Kurogiri is a B-Rank villain, that Nomu along with all other regenerative ones like the one that was killed by Endeavor in Hosu was an A-Rank villain though the intelligent one in Kyushu was an S-Rank villain hence why Fei was allowed to engage with her dragon form. Lastly, Shigaraki is considered an S-Rank villain due to the lethality of his Decay Quirk. Thankfully, there aren't many S-Ranks, to be considered one you have to be a serious threat and as far as I know there are only a few with that Rank though there may be a new one if reports are accurate, but they are who special status Quirks can be used on."
"Wait a villain's rank can change?" Marinette asked.
"It can if a Quirk changes via awakening, which is extremely rare, or combination with another Quirk but that can only happen because of All for One which is thankfully at the moment impossible as far as we know, then it can change a villain's rank." Mage said. "Additionally, a rank can change if there had been some mental block on the full potential of a Quirk that was overcome and the true nature of it revealed thus causing a reclassification."
"And that has happened recently?" Marinette asked.
"Right now, we believe that two members of the League have undergone changes of some sort to increase their ranking." Mage said. "Though I haven't seen confirmation from the HPSC on this, this is solely based on the information that I have received personally. I believe that one of them is now an A-Rank villain while the other is an S-Rank villain, but I can't get into that as it's just speculation and the pros will do everything to ensure that you don't face either of them when the time comes. However, if one of them has become an S-Rank villain then he will be subject to the rules around S-Rank villains which are different."
"How so?" Adrien asked.
"S-Ranks are considered viable threats to life on a scale that could tip the balance in a nation due to their strength or the nature of their Quirks hence why special status is allowed against them." Mage explained. "And the biggest change to the rules of engagement with S-Rank villains is that lethal force is authorized when one of them is on the battlefield."
"Wait so the rules on not killing…" Marinette began.
"Are not in place against them." Mage confirmed. "An S-Rank villain can, and more often than not, is killed in battle by a hero. Nomus aren't actually alive, they are some abomination that I won't get into as I don't really understand the science, so they don't count but S-Rank villains like All for One, well he's above S-Rank, and Shigaraki have lethal force sanctioned against them. Of course, the goal is to take them alive but if not they can, hell at times must, be killed. Fei isn't one for killing so she's often looked to when they're needed alive as Lady Dragon is for the most part strong enough to take them in alive but that is the big difference. It's the whole policy of threat levels."
"I guess that is going to happen." Adrien said. "Some Quirks are likely too strong to be contained otherwise. It's not something we've thought much about but when you really look at it, it makes a lot of sense."
"Alas it is the case at times that a villain must be ended permanently." Mage said deciding not to get into the black ops that the HPSC used in the past with the likes of Lady Nagant as that was classified and the couple before him weren't cleared to know that. "So yeah that's the main thing with villain rankings. Anything else?"
"I don't think so." Marinette said looking to Adrien who shook his head. "I think we're good for now."
"Good then we should head to the simulator for your first training session of the day." Mage said as he pushed back from his desk. "Today you're going to be dealing with evacuation exercises of a city that is at risk due to a large-scale hero operation. You will be doing it with other heroes and students that will part of the program. After that it's patrols with me in the neighborhood and then a sparring session before you are dismissed for the day, if Fei gets back in time from her current assignment that is. So, let's…"
Before Mage could finish the door to his office suddenly shattered as a mass of blonde hair and scantily clad female muscle barreled through it and then into, and again through, the conference table in the room before running into the wall and imbedding there though thankfully the items that she'd already run through slowed her down enough so that she didn't go through the wall as well as they were pretty high into the air not that the fall would be fatal to her. Regardless, Marinette and Adrien were on their feet and ready to fight as the dust cleared but Mage just sighed as he remained sitting and looked to the rubble as it settled down and the woman pulled herself out of the, er Beth shaped mark that she'd left in the wall.
"Beth, how many times to I have to tell you to use the door properly and to stop leaving imprints of yourself in the walls around here, they are getting annoying to clean up." Mage said with a sigh as rubble fell off the uninjured American sidekick. "I get that you don't need to normally use them but unless it's an emergency or on a mission where you are on door busting duty please refrain from running through doors, or walls for that matter."
"Sorry boss man but it is an emergency, or at least an urgent call." Beth said in her thick southern American accented English. "We got a team-up request asking for you personally and you weren't answering your intercom, so I had to come here as I was on phone duty today and could alert you the fastest. It's a priority message as it's one of the naval heroes we know."
"Right, sorry you two, I guess I've got to take this." Mage said as he noticed that the light on his desk phone was on, so he picked it up and pressed a button on the phone. "Mage here…huh, yes I am the current head of the Guardian Agency in Tokyo…no that was Sanguina she was filling in for me while I was recovering from a stabbing and just got cleared to resume my position…yes I am a Guardian, I'm the Guardian of Magic because my Quirk is Magician…I can change matter from one substance into another so like alchemy or transfiguration hence why it's like magic and more so than Majestic's Quirk I might add…yes I am official, look ma'am just put me through to your boss and have him explain the situation to me as he seems to know me…thank you…oh it's you Selkie, what's up…"
Marinette and Adrien just watched all this with confusion as Mage took the call and began to listen intently to it while Beth tried to leave the room behind them though they saw Mage glare at her as he listened to the other person on the line, and she remained where she was. It wasn't what either Marinette or Adrien were expecting but it certainly changed things up on their first day of the second work study.
"I see." Mage continued after a long pause. "That is good to here Selkie, of course you will have my assistance in this, this is why I'm here, and a little mist isn't a problem for me…what?"
There was another pause as Mage seemed to be listening intently to the speaker on the other end, Selkie if they heard correctly. After a moment he finally answered.
"Yes I've got one who can be of assistance there" Mage said nodding his head. "What? Can she swim or fly? Yes she can as her suit is built for both thanks to Technus though only one change the other she can use her Quirk for…yes it is very versatile…what? Check the Sports Festival footage she was one of the medalists for the first years if you want to see for yourself…which one? There was only one girl who medaled so it shouldn't be hard to figure it out…right and who else is involved…ah yes that is a good choice given the topography of that area…yes we'll be there as soon as possible have that charming lady who called forward the coordinates to my agency and we'll get there soon…yes I can travel fast don't worry…alright, bye."
Something was certainly up, and it looked like Marinette would be part of it as Mage put the phone down. However, before he could even look to them to tell them about what was going on the phone range again. Confused as this was a direct call which meant that it was either a fellow Guardian or more likely one of his direct assignments, aka Fei at the moment, Mage quickly answered it.
"Fei?" Mage asked into the receiver. "Thought so, what's up…ah that is what we expected but I had hoped it wouldn't be in my jurisdiction…no I can't help I've got another assignment in the pacific, but I can send Adrien and BB…yes that's the obnoxious American blonde girl, you know she'd be perfect for this as she was in the same class as that fugitive…yes she has a score to settle, and she's got the resistance to withstand that Quirk…huh? Oh, sure I'll send them with Technus's latest tech…it will work, it can cancel out Sonic's Quirk after all…yes it is that good…alright keep a track on the fugitive and send everything to the agency, I'll dispatch the back up as soon as you're certain she's in one place for long enough to catch her."
"Boss man?" Beth asked getting their attention as Mage put the phone down and let out a sigh. "If I heard right, does that mean that…"
"Yes, she's resurfaced in this part of the world." Mage said looking up at them. "I was hoping she'd not come to Japan, but she slipped Umbra's net in Singapore recently and made her way through southeast Asian heading here. I have a feeling I know why though. My personal assistant Fei has been tracking her for the last few days and just confirmed that she made landfall in Japan but is still moving which makes sense as she'd stick out in the sticks. Take Adrien and explain to him the American hero course system and who this person is, you are as well versed in this as anyone. Better yet have Ben do it, he's better at the planning stuff and knows the case well."
"Of course, he's the brains to my brawn and he's begging for this chance as much as I am." Beth said sounding serious for once which caught Adrien and Marinette by surprise. "Come on kitty cat, we've got a lot to explain to you."
"Huh?" Adrien asked confused. "What just happened?"
"I just got two calls that completely changed my plans on day one." Mage said. "One was a team-up request from Selkie, the Sea Rescue Hero who I think your classmate Asui interned with. He's a big player in tracking down smugglers, I've worked with him in the past, and he's got a Trigger smuggler in his sights but needs a lot of help with."
"Is it tied to that recent warehouse fire you mentioned?" Marinette asked.
"Quite possible and that is certainly something we ate going to try and find out when we catch these smugglers." Mage said. "It's a tricky area and as this is our expertise Selkie asked for me personally, along with the assistance of another pro agency that is good with aerial surveillance, along with a female sidekick or work study student, so I'll take Marinette with me for it. Right after that Fei called, she's been tracking a major fugitive from America we've been trying to capture for years and confirmed that she is now in Japan. Ben and Beth know that fugitive personally so will assist with the capture, and you can help them Adrien."
"Oh alright." Adrien said. "So, it's hitting the ground running then."
"Pretty much." Mage said with a grin. "Marinette, go and pack a bag, we leave in an hour and we're staying overnight at least as this is in an island chain in the pacific, right at the edge of Japan's jurisdiction but with me there that won't be an issue if they hit international waters. Also, um, I was told that you will need a bathing suit for some reason."
"Er…" Marinette said confused. "Really?"
"Selkie is a good pro and understands things so humor him." Mage said. "Adrien, go with Beth and wait for Ben to return, he'll explain everything. After that have a bag ready because as soon as Fei gives a location for you to go to you and BB are to head there and follow her lead in apprehending this fugitive with as little damage as possible but as you will learn that's not going to be easy."
"Understood." Adrien said with a nod.
"Beth, you're paying for that destruction." Mage said pointing to the trail of broken wood, furniture, and the full body imprint in the wall that she'd left in her wake as she tried to leave the room. "And fixing things when this is done."
"Yes boss man." Beth said before she hurried out of the room.
"Alright let's get to it." Mage said.
Marinette and Adrien nodded as they left the room and set to their tasks. They didn't like being split up, but this had to happen it seemed, so they went with it as they left the office to head to their assignments. It was time to start their second work study and it was certainly starting with a bang.
Well, there it is, the start of the second work study has happened and we are getting into it nicely with two missions already underway, one with Selkie that will be based off the anime exclusive episode, and another with some original content and an OC villain that will be delved into more in the coming chapters when we focus on those as it will really show what the second work study will be all about. That said, the next one being the team-up with Selkie only with Mage and Marinette's participation thrown in for y'all to enjoy. This is what the focus of the Endeavor Agency arc will be as it was a short arc in the anime and will only be a few chapters here as well before we move into the filler arc which will include some second work study chapters that will be similar to what Adrien is getting up to in terms of what they are getting up to during the second work study as well as other chapters for training, fun, and what not but all in good time. There isn't much else to say here, I'll say whatever else I need to after the coming chapters as it will be more relevant there. As such that is all I have for y'all so I will leave this chapter off here. As always, if you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.
Stringdog