"We'll be safe here right?" asked Mrs. Kato, after she and her family had been escorted to a safe house.
"Yes, Zeus won't find you here. This same system kept people safe during the war. Despite attempts to track those people down, they never got close. Until Zeus is apprehended, you won't be able to go out though. We'll have people drop off food and supplies regularly, and if you need anything, feel free to give them a list." Said Hawks, standing by the door as the family explored the safe house.
"Thank you again for rescuing us." Said Mr. Kato, walking up to Hawks and giving him a deep bow.
"It's all part of the job, we're just happy to know that all of you are safe." Said Hawks, smiling and bowing back.
"I'll leave you to get settled, but there should be another visitor in the next few minutes. And don't forget to give that number a ring if you need anything or have any questions." Hawks said, opening the door and heading out.
As Hawks stepped out of the apartment, he made his down the hallway, passing by a dozen cameras by the time he got to the guard's station. The twin guards looked over at him as he approached.
"How'd it go?" said the first guard.
"Bout as well as one could expect. They're still a bit shaken up but hopefully, after a few days, they'll be able to relax some. Anything I should know before I head out?" he asked, signing his name in the logbook.
"Nothing new. Gochō Ahmya should be here any minute, the psychiatrist should show up sometime this evening, and the supplies later tonight." said the second.
"In that case, I'll be leaving. Later." He said, walking towards the door that would take him to the exit tunnel.
It took him a couple of minutes to traverse the length of the tunnel but eventually, he got to the exit. He blinked when he opened the door as the sun shone directly into his face, but quickly put on his goggles. He flew up into the sky and looked back.
The abandoned prison turned into an apartment/safe house for civilians needing protection and looked absolutely decrepit on the outside. Vines grew on the outside and signs saying CONDEMNED in big letters were hanging on every door. The exit tunnel lead away from the prison underground and led to a nearby power plant. This way, they could disguise any travel to it as inspections or normal supply deliveries. Given Zeus had once tried to blow up a power plant during the war, the government had mandated an increase in inspections nationwide. They also allocated funds to renovate and retrofit the nation's power plants to be more resistant to tampering by people with quirks. As Hawks flew away from the power plant, he saw a normal delivery truck pulling into the plant.
"Probably that QSU operative Ahmya." he thought to himself as he continued his path back towards New Tartarus. He'd need to be present for the meeting between Nezu and Fenrir now that they'd secured his family's safety.
It was fortunate he could fly, otherwise, he'd have gotten held up in traffic. As he looked down at the road below him he could see a crash had caused a substantial pileup. He shook his head as he started his descent. It took another ten minutes but he eventually landed next to the vehicle that Nezu and a few others were waiting next to by the shoreline.
"Ah, you've arrived. I trust Mrs. Kato and her family arrived without incident?" Asked Nezu.
"No problem at all, her sister should have arrived by now as well and should be helping out."
"Excellent. Now then, I believe we can go." Said Nezu, hopping down from the hood of the car and hopping inside.
The others followed suit and then they just had to wait while Nezu gave the proper access codes to the prison. After that, they waited a minute while the codes were verified. Then two poles extended up out of the ground, red lights flashing.
They watched as massive pieces of machinery buried in the earth moved, the vibrations shaking the car as a tunnel came into view, rising out of the water. The entrance rose higher and higher until it was 15 meters high, water pouring off of it as the massive magnetically sealed doors disengaged and revealed the tunnel that lead through the coastline into New Tartarus which had no land vehicle access point outside of this tunnel. There was a helipad, but that was submerged as well.
After the first Tartarus had been destroyed by Shigaraki and the League, even more, strict security protocols had been enacted. With only a single way in or out, the entire complex was buried deep underground beneath the ocean. The tunnel was raised periodically, to allow supplies of course, but they also practiced random staff replacements. No staff member was allowed to work at the prison for more than five years, but would often be replaced at a random point during that time. Staff members were routinely examined for the presence of quirk-based manipulation or any physical changes that may have occurred. They used quirk suppression cuffs to limit the prisoner's abilities but until the complex-wide quirk suppression system was completed the cuffs had to be changed out regularly, and chances could not be taken. The complex-wide system would likely not be completed for another three years on top of the previous three. The prison held the most dangerous criminals in Japan, but the major difference following the war was that the death penalty was viewed in a much more acceptable light. When a single individual has the power to wipe out an entire city in a matter of seconds, the idea of imprisonment becomes laughable. Many of the prisoners were slated for execution, but as was a long-standing tradition in Japan, the criminals would not be informed of their pending execution until a week prior.
Some prisoners, however, were unable to be executed because their quirks made it almost impossible. Gigantomachia was a past example of a prisoner that could not be reliably executed by any means available to them. People like him would instead be kept in the lowest level of the prison for the rest of their lives. They had yet to imprison someone who was functionally immortal. Fortunately, Gigantomachia had been killed during the war, so that was a headache they hadn't had to face again. Part of the reason why the tunnel was so big, was precisely because they had been expecting to transport Gigantomachia into the new prison.
The guards were also specially trained operatives, as adept with their quirks as any hero, and as skilled with their weapons as any member of the SFG was. They were the only members of the prison who were never rotated out as the process of training the guards was long and laborious. They could request that they be allowed to leave, of course, there was a bit of process to transfer them out though. They either had to be sworn to secrecy via a quirk to ensure their silence of the place or else consent to have their memory erased. The latter was time-consuming as a specialist from out of the country had to be flown in, as there were less than six people in the world with the power to directly manipulate memories. All these specialists were carefully watched by the governments of the country in which they resided, and only two could be contracted for use of their quirk. One was a psychiatrist in Russia, the other a member of American special forces. Contracting the use of a psychiatrist was far easier, not to mention cheaper. Needless to say, memory erasure was a very rare choice, but sometimes people wanted to forget.
The drive into the underground complex took a couple of minutes, but eventually, they arrived. After signing in, they were escorted down six floors, the first layer meant for administration work and the like. Each section of the prison was divided up into layers, with three floors to each layer, for a total of five layers. Fenrir, despite how dangerous he was, was put into the second layer, where dangerous but not exceedingly so criminals were kept. They were unlikely to break out and so had a bit more freedom than the prisoners in lower layers did. Fenrir was made an exception at the request of Nezu and Naomasa, the latter assuring the prison of Fenrir's sincerity in having no interest in escape.
When they arrived at his cell, he was sitting on a chair reading a book. Both his legs were propped up on a small table. His left leg was shackled, a red glowing cable connecting the metallic shackle to the floor that glowed with a faint red light along with it. The shackle was a quirk suppressing one, and so long as it was connected to the power system of the prison, would prevent the Quirk Factor in the individual from expressing itself. It wasn't perfect of course, the stronger a person's quirk, the less effective it was. To hold someone like Shigaraki or AFO, they theorized that a coffin-sized restraint would have been necessary if they were still alive, and even then they couldn't be sure. For someone like Fenrir, who had an evolved mutation quirk, they probably should have used full feet encompassing restraints, but the second layer wasn't designed for someone like him. Still, it would buy time if he did try to escape.
Fenrir looked up as the door silently opened, closing his book as his visitors filed in.
"If you've come back, I assume you have news for me, good or bad." He said, keeping a neutral expression.
"Fortunately for both of us, it's good news. We have secured your granddaughter and her family and are currently being kept in hiding." Said Nezu smiling.
Fenrir looked relieved. "Thank you, I don't suppose you have a photo or anything?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Better than that, you'll be allowed a video call with them." Said Hawks, also smiling. He walked over to the glass that separated them and extended a small tablet. A small device embedded into glass opened a slot and accepted the tablet. Then a moment later it was extended to Fenrir who took it.
"They'll be calling the tablet, should be any second now," said Hawks looking at his watch.
Right on time, the tablet lit up and started to vibrate as a call came in.
Fenrir answered the call and it displayed not just his granddaughter Kōri, but his other granddaughter Ahmya.
"Kōri! Ahmya!" He said, smiling at seeing the two sisters together and unhurt.
"Grandpa!" said Kōri smiling. Ahmya meanwhile didn't say anything, just looked from over her sister's shoulder.
"Are you all right? They didn't hurt you did they?" he asked.
"We're fine and no they didn't. The worst they did was push us around and keep us confined, it was terrifying of course but they never hurt us and ensured we had what we needed." Said Kōri.
"Little Yukiharu is fine as well. I hope to bring him to visit after all this is over." She said, leaning out of the frame of the call for a moment before coming back and holding up her son.
The baby was looking up at the ceiling, but after some gentle prodding by his mother, he looked down and saw the screen with Fenrir displayed on it. He reached out and slapped the phone, then slapped it again. His little mouth opened as he tried to work out why he couldn't touch the person.
Fenrir burst out laughing, he remembered his son doing something similar when he first saw a television. Though his son had definitely displayed more confusion than little Yukiharu had. Kōri put her baby on her lap as she looked back at the camera.
"He's learning bit by bit, and he can be a bit more adventurous now that we're safe. What about you though?" she asked
"Ah... well... I've been better. Had a bit of a scare when I tripped in the kitchen while holding a knife. But I'm fine now, no major problems. I'll need to work on my garden some, getting to be about that time of year."
"Be careful all right? I want Yukiharu to know who his great-grandfather is." She said, frowning at him.
Fenrir just smiled, "Don't worry, I'll stick around long enough, I don't plan on kicking the bucket quite yet." he said laughing.
"Sorry to cut in, but our time is almost up. We only have so much time allowed to use to make calls to people, and we better cut it here so we have time for everyone else." Said Ahmya suddenly.
Kōri's frown turned sad, "All right... Well, it was nice talking seeing you again Grandpa." she said.
"I'm just happy to know you're all right, just let me see Natsu for a moment," he said.
Kōri passed the phone to her husband, who looked back awkwardly at Fenrir's suddenly stern expression.
"All right listen up lad, you gotta step it up. If this sort of thing happens again you got to be ready. Especially now that you have a kid, you got to be able to stand on your own two feet, and face anything that comes at you and your family. I swear I'll haunt you to your dying day if you fail them, got it?!" he barked.
He hadn't interacted with his granddaughter's husband much, but he was a good man. When Fenrir finished, Natsu squared his shoulders. "Don't worry, I won't," he said.
Fenrir nodded at him, "Pass the phone to Ahmya please." he asked.
Natsu passed the phone to Ahmya who looked at her grandfather. The sadness and anger on her face were equally clear. Fenrir sighed, "I'm sorry Ahm." was all he could think to say.
Ahmya's expression flickered, then allowed her face to droop somewhat. "Yeah... so am I. Bye grandpa," she said, before ending the call.
Fenrir sat staring at the blank screen for a moment before he let out a long sigh. Then he got up and handed the tablet back over to Hawks before sitting down again.
"All right, you held up your end of the agreement. I'll tell you where Zeus is at." He said.
Later that night, Nezu was seated at the table, patiently waiting for everyone to arrive. Hawks and Naomasa were already present, both having gone over the room looking for any spy equipment before the meeting. These unique meetings were infrequent, but when Nezu called for one, everyone involved would drop almost anything to ensure they were present.
"I wasn't expecting you to call for one of these meetings." Said a voice from the door.
Everyone looked over to see Dr. Okimi walk into the room, a frown on her face. She was followed by Ryu Sasakura, who had an expression of interest on his face.
"We had a talk with Fenrir, and his information was important enough to justify such a meeting." Said Nezu.
Dr. Okimi just raised an eyebrow but took a seat as she pulled out a book and started to read while they kept waiting. Sasakura took a seat next to Nezu.
"Before the last one arrives, I wanted to ask you how your tutoring was going," Nezu asked Sasakura.
"Well, you certainly know how to make me work. Those three are quite the problem children aren't they?" Sasakura asked, massaging a temple at the memory of dealing with the students.
"Indeed, they have amazing quirks but have struggled in learning. They were on track to fail out of the school entirely. I hope that isn't so much of a worry anymore?" Nezu asked.
"Well... I don't think they'll fail anymore. I think they've gotten far enough where if left alone they won't fail their studies. Their quirks on the other hand... that's going to take more work. Ekō has almost killed himself twice with his quirk since I started tutoring him, his quirk is definitely one of the hardest to master I have ever seen. He's kind of like me when I was a student, except there is a serious risk of injury in his case. He'll manage though, I'm confident in that." He said.
"I knew you would take well to teaching." Said Nezu smiling.
"Yes, yes, you're so smart." Said Sasakura sarcastically.
It was around then that the last member of the meeting arrived. Professor Masaaki Takeo, who had perpetual bags under his eyes and a slightly stained lab coat, walked in.
"I hope you haven't been waiting too long?" he asked, sitting down as well.
"Not long at all. Now that everyone is present, let us begin. Hawks?" Said Nezu.
"Now then. I will cut to the chase. We have the location of Zeus, but apart from his location we also have an idea as to what he plans. He has recruited someone, someone of great power to aid in his campaign against us. Fenrir did not have a name, but he was serious when he told us that the individual was likely equal to Zeus in power." He said.
"To get someone like that on his side would require some serious leverage and there aren't a lot of people on his level in the country. Hell, there aren't a lot of people on his level outside of the country either." Said Okimi.
"I agree, but in the event that this information is correct, we cannot sit idly by." Said Nezu.
"The QUEESS?" asked Takeo.
"Yes, you have to move it out of standby and into the chamber. Okimi, we will need you for it as well." Said Nezu.
"It's progressed that far? I wasn't aware you'd managed to get it into the final stage. she said, impressed.
"I managed it only three days ago. It's still untested, but even so, it should be enough." Takeo said.
"More than that, when we launch our assault, I want you overcharged," Nezu said looking at Okimi.
Okimi grimaced and rubbed her eyes, "All right, but I'm going to need that medication so I'll be able to work through the pain and near-total vision loss." she said.
"I'll make sure some is prepared for you and send it over to the hospital." Said Takeo
"Ryu, I'll want you at the school, and bring your sword." he continued.
"I figured. I'll need to get back in shape then." He said.
"Naomasa, can you ensure our vigilante friend is taken care of?"
"I can, I'll get the relevant information together," he said.
"Hawks, I've changed my mind about you, I'll want you going on the assault. Keep an eye on him and make sure things go smoothly for him. I feel he will be an important piece in all of this."
"You got it, boss," he said, nodding as if he had been expecting such an order.
"Finally..." Said Nezu, trailing off as a look of doubt came over him.
"It's about Ochako Uraraka isn't it?" Sasakura guessed.
"Yes... I think it might be best if we tell her the truth." Nezu said.
"Really? Do you think that's wise? I thought the plan was for her to come to the knowledge naturally after the conflict with Zeus was over." Said Okimi, a frown on her face.
"I think it's necessary. I fear for her well-being. Should the worst come to pass and she is forced to use the QUEESS, I think she must know. It will be worse if she discovers the truth during the assault. Ryu, I'm afraid I must ask you to use your quirk on her when we call her here. Should the pressure become too great, should one of her friends die while she is in the QUEESS, she might very well undergo another break. Your quirk will be the only thing that could prevent that before it happens." Said Nezu grimly.
Everyone's thoughts flashed to the Maizuru Tragedy. The second bloodiest battle in the war, where both sides lost a lot of capable people. All due to Ochako Uraraka undergoing a psychotic break.
Psychotic breaks among people with strong quirks could be dangerous. The body lost complete control over the quirk factor and the quirk would go berserk. It wasn't uncommon for the person who underwent the break to die as a result, nor was it uncommon for others to die in the process. Fortunately, psychotic breaks of such a level were exceedingly rare, and less than six had ever happened in Japan's history. Ochako however, was at the top of the list as having undergone the most violent and destructive break in the history of the world.
Ochako had failed to arrive in time to save Present Mic, Mt. Lady, and several others of 1B. With such a massive emotional and psychological blow dealt to her, a small Nomu that had mind-affecting powers had latched itself onto Ochako and used her weakened mental state to force her to undergo a psychotic break. Her mind could be best described as snapping under the pressure and her Quirk had gone haywire as a result. Empowered by the QUEESS, the random and extremely powerful gravitational warping had killed several dozen people, heroes, villains, and civilians alike, including what remained of Class-1B. If Bakugo hadn't managed to kill the Nomu and knock her unconscious, then it was likely she would have killed herself and maybe all of the remaining members of 1A in the process.
In the aftermath every witness had been sworn to secrecy, Nezu even going so far as to have someone come in and use their quirk to ensure that they couldn't speak of it. Ochako had been one of the six Angels, and they couldn't risk the political and social fallout it would cause if it leaked that one of the saviors of the nation had gone crazy and killed several dozen people. Even if the cause had been due to a villain, the public wouldn't have cared and Ochako would have been fired from heroics and likely confined to a mental care facility as Yo Shindo had been. To make matters worse, Ochako didn't even remember the event. Yet she still suffered from the guilt that accompanied something she couldn't even remember.
Nezu had explained to 1A that the event and subsequent memory loss were due to the formation of an Alter that had somehow formed in Ochako's psyche. No one really knew how that had happened, but it existed and it had explained a lot of her behavior during the war. The running theory was that the QUEESS was responsible for the mental deterioration, though no one really knew how. Nezu had never actually explained to 1A what the QUEESS actually was, but assured them that it had been put into deep storage. No amount of demanding or raging had worked, so the class had little choice but to take him at his word.
Sasakura let out a shaky breath but nodded. "I understand," he said.
"I'm sorry Ryu, but it's the only preventative measure we can take regarding it." Said Nezu, apologetically.
"You're right, of course, it is our only option. We got lucky with Bakugo managing to subdue her the first time. A repeat could very well result in Zeus winning the conflict outright." Sasakura said, his guilt hardening into a resolve to do what needed to be done.
"With that out of the way, then it would be best for us to move on to lesser topics." Said Nezu.
