Midoriya walked down the street disheartened. After his all for nothing attempt to save his friend, he felt nothing but despair knowing that even his idol said he couldn't make it as a hero. He could feel the cracks in his soul form as he realized that maybe it was time to give up on his hopes. ''Do not surrender to your despair just yet I have seen your drive and your will and I wish to make your dreams come true my son''
Midoriya froze in place and then looked around in shock. That voice was so clear he almost thought it was in his head.
"Who said that?" Midoriya asked aloud to the seemingly empty streets that lead to his home.
It was silent for several seconds, only the sound of the wind picking up could be heard. "Am I going crazy? I know I heard someone talk just now but..." Izuku did another look around just to be sure.
He was about to chalk it up to someone's tv being too loud before the winds picked up even further. "Whoa" he grunted and staggered as he shielded his face.
The wind began to slow down, so Izuku could finally uncover his eyes. It was then he realized it was getting very dark very quickly.
"W-what!? The terrified boy yelped as he looked around and suddenly realized he wasn't walking through the streets of his home town anymore. He was surrounded on all sides by sand dunes.
How did he end up in a desert, at the dead of night no less! Was he hallucinating? Was he being attacked again!?
"Follow the moonlight, my son"
"The voice!" Midoriya yelled as he once again frantically searched for the source. "It said...it said follow the moonlight... but it also called me...son?"
Izuku looked up at the moon, he'd never seen it so big and bright before. Had it not been for the shock he was going through he would have called it one of the most mesmerizing sights he'd ever seen
Follow the moonlight.
The words rang again in izukus head. He couldn't stay here for long so he did as he was told.
He walked in the direction of the moon and in 5 minutes he saw there was a structure just over the next dune Izuku hurried over, hoping to make contact with someone to help him explain this mess.
The structure was very tall, as he got closer he could see writing on the walls he couldn't understand. He neared the doors that were almost as tall as the building itself and realized the writing looked like the Egyptian hieroglyphs he'd seen in text books and movies.
He walked through the doors into the room inside and jumped when the stone structure behind him closed. There wasn't any turning back now. He looked out into the room and scanned it for any form of life. It seemed totally empty, save for the statues that were acting as pillars. As well as one that was at the very end of the room, it was under an opening in the roof so it was bathed in the glowing light of the moon izuku left outside.
"Step forward, Izuku midoriya"
The now familiar voice boomed. Izuku was compelled to do as he asked. He felt his own legs move despite his he stepped forward the statue at the end of the room stood tall over him, he wasn't sure what to do now.
"Do not fear me, Izuku midoriya, I wish to make you an offer"
Izuku's eyes widened. Was this real? Had he really lost his mind? Or was this a dream? YES! THAT MUST BE IT! After everything that happened today, it makes sense that he's just asleep in his room. He was just going to wake up soo-
"Calm your mind, child. I am not here to hurt you, I wish to help you achieve your ambitions. Our interests align, so I believe we can help each other"
Izuku looked up at the statue, it was clear that's where the voice came from.
"Who...who are you?" The boy asked, shaking.
"I am Konshu, I was known as the Egyptian god of the moon, and the protector of the travelers of the night. I have been watching you ever since my return young man. Your drive and desire to become a hero inspire me. Yet I have also watched as your dreams were stripped away from you, by those who have no right to do so. Your dreams are not foolish, those who dared to degrade you deserve to have justice brought down on them. You have suffered so much, for no good reason my son."
Izuku was no longer shaking, now he was completely still. Completely shocked, but still. This being knew his name, knew his dreams, and knew his...pain
Was this really a god like ones he'd read about? Was he here to offer izuku salvation?
"Little one, in you I see great strength. I can make you stronger still! If you become my Avatar, you will have greater power than you can imagine! together, we will get things done! Join me!"
The statue bellowed, almost commanding him.
Izuku was at a loss for words, he was just offered power, and the chance to be a hero. Not even his idol told him that he could be one. Then again, could this entity be trusted? He said his mission was to protect the travelers of the night, it may have been a bit more specific than just 'be a hero' but at the end of the day he was still saving people.
"Izuku midoriya, will you be my Avatar? My fist? My... Moonknight?" This time his words sent chills up the young man's body. His dreams were just crushed moments ago, now suddenly they were closer than they'd ever been.
Maybe it was the sudden feeling of hope, maybe it was promise of a quirk, or maybe it was the the absurdity of it all... "I ACCEPT!" ...that drove him to his final answer.
Midoriya felt a rush of energy course through him. It was overwhelming, exhilarating even. He closed his eyes and focused on this feeling. "My son, you have made the right decision. Together, we will achieve far more than you know"
Izuku felt the power flow in and out of his body, then his eyes opened and...he was in his room.
He sat up and looked around. "So it was a dream...?" He said half disappointed but not surprised. "Yeah of course it was' ' he said, stretching. It was the weekend so at least he had a day off now. He walked out of his room so he could have some breakfast, not noticing the small Egyptian idol that had taken the place of his Allmight figurine on his shelf.
"Good morning sweetie!" His mother called. "Dear, are you feeling okay?"
"Huh? Yeah mom I'm fine. Why do you ask?" The young man asked, sitting down.
"Well last night you came home a bit later than usual. You also, didn't say very much when I asked you where'd you been,"
"Huh?" Izuku blinked. He didn't remember that. Come to think of it, he didn't remember coming home last night at all. "I was acting funny?"
"Yes you were. I figured you had a bad day and just wanted to go to bed"
"Oh..." Izuku felt a tingle down his spine. "Y-yeah mom, I think you're right. I was probably just tired" he wasn't even sure if he was lying when he said that.
"Well, okay dear. Just promise you'll rest today, alright?"
"Sure thing mom, I'll try too" he said smiling as his mom served breakfast. Midorias stayed home and took care of his chores for the first couple of hours after he woke up, however after they were done he told his mom that he'd be going down to the local book store to catch up on some of his favorite comics issues.
He browsed through the sections he was familiar with for several minutes before making his selections and heading for the store's couches to read up on them. His plans for a peaceful day would meet their doom; he realized that already occupying the reading area were there boys he recognized. He recognized them because they'd taken his newly purchased comics on his way back home last weekend. He was about to turn around to try and avoid their gaze, but it was too late.
"Hey, is that Deku?" One with a red shirt and swirl marks on his cheek asked.
"Oh yeah it is, what's he doing in our comic book store?" Another with a pair of small antlers said.
"Looks like he brought us some new material. Just in time, I was getting bored," The last one said standing up. His eyes were completely blacked out, but Izuku could see the intention behind them.
Izuku turned around and hurried to the exit
He heard the 3 bully's scramble from their chairs to follow. He made it to the front door and pushed it open before running out onto the sidewalk. Seconds after, the sounds of the door slamming open told him they weren't far behind.
Izuku needed to get to safety, he was still pretty far from home but if he took a shortcut he remembered he could probably lose them. He was about to make the turn towards his short cut but felt his legs take him in the opposite direction, into a secluded alley.
"Wait noo- why am I running here?!" He turned down this alley! Lets get him
"What's happening!? Why me!?" He cried as he turned to see them approaching.
"We'll be taking our comics now, Deku."
"You made me work up a sweat. Gonna pay for that!"
Izuku turned away as the trio closed in, ready to take a few punches before they took his comics. Just as he closed his eyes, there was a flash and suddenly he was no longer in an alley back home. He found himself in the hallway of a building that looked like it was supposed to be condemned, and the three child bullies were suddenly three very rough looking first one charged at Izuku but was met with a shattering kick to the stomach, causing him to throw up. The second reached a hand out to try and grab Izuku's neck, but an arm wearing a long white sleeve and a glove intercepted it and used the thugs momentum to dislocate the thug's shoulder.
The last one saw what happened to his comrades and hesitated, but it was too late. Izuku saw a leg wearing white dress pants come up for a vicious kick to his ribcage. The last thug went down and izuku stood dumbfounded as he watched them lay incapacitated on the floor. He stared for several seconds before he blinked and when he opened his eyes, he was back in the alley.
Left speechless by the visions, he took in his surroundings and noticed they mirrored the ones he just saw. The three bullies were on the ground, sufficiently neutralized and groaning in the same position the thugs stood motionless for another minute before he heard it again. "This is Justice, my son. Do not shy away from it. It is your new mission. Our mission."
Izuku ran as the voice finished speaking. He recognized it but didn't want to believe he did. He ran home without stopping, so panicked that he didn't notice how quickly he covered the distance to his home and how little it tired him. When he reached his home he noticed his mother wasn't anywhere. Likely left to run some errands. He bolted to his room and locked the door. He still didn't feel alone.
"Do not run from my gifts, my son. They are your key to achieving our goal"
Izuku fell to his knees, knowing he had nowhere left to run. The voice was just behind him now. Was this madness?
"My son, please. Face me." He turned around. Only then did he notice the idol on his desk. It was a smaller version of the one in his dream.
"It..it was real?" The green haired bit asked in a shaky voice
"Yes, my son. Your new beginning was very real. "
"Why are you calling me son...?"
"You accepted me as your father when you agreed to be my Avatar. I shall be your guide, your advisor as you carry out our mission on earth. I will show you how capable you truly are my son. I wish to give you the world itself as any father would."
Izuku wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure this was real. Maybe this was just a delusion, a result of his mind breaking from trauma.
"Was that…you? Earlier when I was getting chased by those bullies?" He asked, partially wondering where he suddenly got the confidence to ask this voice a question.
"Yes, my son. The gift of the chorus. Visions from the MoonKnights that preceded you. In time their skill and power will become yours to wield as well," The voice answered.
"Is that the power you promised?" Another question.
"There is more to be had, my son. It will take time before you are entrusted with the full might of the god of the moon." Came Konshus next answer.
"...so...so what now?"
"Now? Now we begin your training. A father would not send his favorite son into the world unprepared."
10 Years later
Momo yayorozo or Creati as she was known walked away from a group of reporters and fans alike. She didn't mind the fame that came along with her position but it could certainly be suffocating from time to time. Getting into her limo she asked the driver to take her back to her agency. She had a meeting with a few other heros as well as some detectives from Musutafu police department. She, like many others, was growing concerned about the increasing number of people going missing. By this point there were now a total of 10 missing people from Musutafu alone, there were reports from other cities that people had just vanished as well in similar circumstances. .
"It seems no matter how many leads we get we never make any real progress on finding these poor people" she sighed internally. This was getting further and further out of hand. The public were scared to go outside at night, police hadn't found any solid leads or traces of the victims, hero patrols at night had increased but they'd been virtually ineffective.
After 15 minutes she made it to her agency. She could tell based on how busy it was that her guests had arrived. She stepped in and made her way to her boardroom. She smiled, even though the circumstances were dreary it would be nice to see her old school mates. "I'm sorry I'm late everyone, I got held up by the press," she apologized entering the room. Looking around she saw several of her old classmates and fellow heroes. Dynamite, Mirko, Uravity, Miro, and Pinky just to name a few.
"That's alright, Creati, we were just about to get started. Please take a seat" her old friend inegium said. The other heros and officers in the room regarded her with smiles and respectful nods. It would have been a much happier reunion had it not been for the circumstances. She took her seat and prepared for the detective to give the opening statement.
"Hello everyone my name is Detective Kasagawa. I've been investigating these disappearances for as long as they've been going on. I know most of us are caught up on the situation but we're going to debrief just to be safe," The detective said, calling the attention of everyone in the room. He directed them to a large screen at the front, flicking it on images of several people who began going by on screen. These were all the people who had gone missing up until this point. "As you know there has been an alarming number of disappearances occurring in the last few weeks. Even more concerning is the fact that there is never a trace of them left," He continued,
"We've dug as deep as we can, but we found no connections between any of the missing folks. None of them knew each other, none of them belonged to any particular or groups or were related to any high profile celebrities, politicians that would justify an attempt at ransom. Not that we´ve received any ransom notes or communications from the kidnappers at all," He finished his first part of the presentation.
"We've looked into any villain groups or criminal organizations that might be responsible for these disappearances but this doesn't match any of their M.O´s," He continued. We suspect a group of rogue yakuza have been responsible for this but our moles and sources are always either compromised or get no useful information," He said as he took a seat.
"Can we fucking get on with it!? Maybe tell us something useful instead of saying shit we already know?" A spikey haired blonde ordered in his usual harsh tone. He was one of the highest ranking heroes, he certainly deserves the recognition for all his success in defeating villains and saving civilians, but it certainly wouldn´t have affected his image with the public if he was a bit more hospitable.
"That brings me to our next order of business. Given the lack of progress we've been making and the rapid increase in disappearances, the higher ups are soliciting the assistance from an international organization–"
"Oh come on!" Came another yell from the explosion hero. "You can't be telling me that they're already saying we suck at our jobs! We don't need any outsiders coming in here and bossing us around!" He said fuming.
Some of the other heroes in the room agreed with him on some level, feeling as though the quick decision to hire outside help would make them seem incompetent.
"I know that you might be a bit upset at the news but the truth of the matter is that this organization might be able to assist us greatly. They've dealt with cases similar to this one and also have access to heroes and investigators with lots of experience and excellent records." He said, trying to get his point across.
"Sorry to interrupt, detective, but may I ask what kind of organization you're talking about? At first I thought you meant we were going to be inviting heroes from other countries to see if they could assist with the matter but it sounds like you're talking about an organized group of some sort." Asked the turbo hero Ingenium.
"That's all right sir, this organization that we're going to be inviting in is one that has as of late made a name for itself on the international stage. They're known around the world for taking in private investigators, heroes, former police officers,and even reformed criminals and using them to efficiently tackle crime." The officer stood up from his chair and walked back over to the center of the room.
"They've proven to be so good at what they do, Interpol routinely asks for their assistance in matters regarding international villain groups or criminal organizations. Several countries in Europe, Africa and the Americas have started giving them permission to operate within their borders."
"So you're thinking maybe we could be dealing with a foreign gang?" Asked Uraravity.
"It's beginning to appear that way given the lack of activity from known villain groups here in Japan." Answered Kasagawa.
Yayorozo pondered the idea of this organization, it sounded familiar by its description. Where had she heard this before? An organization recognized by interpol and the international community. Held in such high regard that it is allowed to operate internationally, as well as recruit heroes and law enforcement to work across borders.
"Alright," Mirko said, calling the detective's attention. "That's enough reading their resume. What's their name?"
"Of course. This organization is known as the Midnight Mission."
The sun had set in Musutafu, but the streets were still a buzz with lights and activity. People going home, people going on outings, travelers coming to and from the city.
"Mr. Knight! Hello there, how was your flight? Not too long I hope." Asked a woman as she stood outside of the Musutafu international airport. She was wearing a long sleeve blazer and skirt. Her skin was caramel brown, the sclera of her eyes were black and her iris was crimson red. The pupil being as black as the sclera. Her hair was long and bright pink, and thanks to the man in front of her, her smile showed off a pair of milky white fangs.
"It was long but rather enjoyable. It's nice to be here though, it's been too long since I've been home. The sun finished setting a few minutes ago, did you just get here?" came the reply. The man who replied walked up to her, he was about 6"2 inches, wearing an all white 3-piece suit. He was the head of the midnight mission, otherwise known as Mister Knight.
"I did! It was a bit of a close call but I didn't want to miss you arriving boss, it was worth the risk. I'm happy to see you smile sir! I don't see it often enough," She said as she walked him to a limousine that was as white as the suit he wore.
"It happens more often than you think, it's just hard to see when I'm wearing the mask," he said as he sat down in the back of the limo.
"Speaking of which, you gonna want the mask now Mr. Knight?" The pinkette asked as she sat down next to him.
"No thanks, for now I'd like to enjoy the view of my home town at night, as the boy who grew up here," He replied. "Automatic driver, take us to the Midnight Mission's new HQ," he called out. The vehicle's automated system beeped in response, set the directions and began the drive to its destination. "Jada, has all my equipment made it here?" He asked the young women.
"Yes sir, all of it. Although the heavy duty stuff is being kept at your new estate," came her answer.
"That's fine, it's better if their location isn't too obvious for the moment ," he said relaxing on the seat.
"Take a close look at the city my son, this is your flock to shepherd," came the echoing voice of the god of vengeance and the moon.
"Don't expect me to start carrying pamphlets talking about our lord and savoir Konshu," the man said with a sigh. He heard the voice chuckle.
"My son, do I look like the kind of god that uses pamphlets to carry my mission?" The voice laughed.
"Sir? Is Konshu speaking to you again?" Jada asked with a look of bewilderment.
"He is."
"Since you two have the time right now, how about some grandkids?"
"You are so lucky she can't hear you," the man said, squinting his eyes. "Jada, I don't suppose you've gathered any intel on the disappearances while you've been here?" Mr Knight asked.
"I haven't found any of their hideouts but being a vampire means I can sense recent mystic activity. Someone is using magic to lure people into traps, without a doubt. Then covering up their tracks so the police can't properly search" Jada replied.
"If there are mystics here in Japan…" the man trailed off.
"My old enemy is here. You cannot allow him to continue to pose a threat to the travelers of the night. He must be eliminated," the voice of the Egyptian god said in a rumbling tone.
"He will be."
"Sir…I can…feel it," Jada said, putting a hand to her head. "There's mystic activity going on nearby," she said, lowering the window on her side of the vehicle. "Driver! Make a left and stop at the ally 500 feet ahead of us," she ordered. The car followed said orders and changed direction swiftly.
"My mask, please." The tall man accepted the head mask his assistant was already handing him. He got it on just in time for the vehicle to stop. The mask covered his entire head, and fit snuggly enough for the shape of his jawline and neck to be visible. The car came to a halt right next to the ally, the street was dead quiet. "I doubt someone would walk to a secluded place like this of their own free will, my truncheon please,"
Jada tossed her boss his weapon, a one and half foot baton, as he exited the car. Quickly stepping out he bolted with speed to the aly, he noticed a figure at the end of it.
"Excuse me! What's going on over there?" The light of the moon suddenly illuminated the aly. A young woman, looking to be about 25 years old wearing a tracksuit, was walking into a brick wall, however as she stepped forward the wall seemed to swallow her up, like the waters of the nile. Thinking quickly Mr. Knight aimed his truncheon forward, the top of the weapon launched ahead attached to several feet of wire and whipped around her leg thanks to Mr Knight's maneuvering. He pulled on the baton as hard as he could and yanked the woman out, along with someone else who seemed to be the one pulling her in.
"What the fuck?" A groan from the man who tried pulling her in.
"Hello there. You're coming with me." The thug looked up to see who had said that. He barely had time to make out the crescent moon on the top of Mr. Knight's mask before he was met with a shoe to the face.
The young lady groaned as she stirred from the trance she was in. Just as she started getting up, Mr Knight removed his mask to appear less intimidating.
"Are you alright, miss?" He said helping her get up.
"W-what? Um…I think so? What happened? I was out for a night jog and I…was making my way back…" she held her head.
"Easy, you're safe now. Jada?"
"I already requested someone come escort her home! Eta 5 minutes," she replied from the limo.
"Thank you!"
"Excuse me sir, who are you?" The woman asked, looking at the tall man. Now that she could see his face she could make out messy green hair and a freckled face with emerald eyes.
"You can call me Mr Knight, I work for the midnight mission. Please take my card and if something like this happens to you again or if you see something similar occur here, please call me," he said as he handed her a card. It was silver and white with a crescent moon in the center of it.
"Thank you sir," she said, accepting it.
"No problem," he replied as he lifted the would-be assailant up and threw him over his broad shoulders. "I'll take care of this man for you. The escort will be here shortly," he said, turning and lugging the man back to his limo. Once inside, his pink haired assistant was quick to tie the man and place him on the opposite seat in the vehicle.
"He's the kidnapper?" She asked.
"He certainly tried to be. Man, not an hour back home and I'm already making
progress," he said, relaxing yet again into his seat.
"Sir, was it wise to give that woman your info? Especially since she saw your face." She asked with concern.
"Moonknight and Mr. Knights both operate on every level, whether it's a mugging or a supernatural event, we will be there for our people," he replied. "Don't worry about yet recognizing me, the enchantment she was under was still wearing off, tonight will mostly be a blur for her when she wakes up," he finished "Driver, double time to the mission. We'll be hosting a guest."
"I'll get some coffee ready for you while you work, Mr Knight," Jada said sweetly.
"Jada, you are the best."
"Oh stop it, you'll make a vampire blush." She said turning away.
The next day.
Katsuki Bakugou or as the people knew him, Dynamite, was none too pleased about the current situation. Being angry wasn't an uncommon thing for him, but right now, it is reasonably worse. He along with several other heros and police had been told yesterday that they'd be getting help from an organization known as the Midnight Mission, headed by someone called Mr. Knight. "Might as well have told us we suck at our jobs, fucking assholes. I gotta deal with being called a hack, that pisses me off worse now with all the fucking sleep I've been losing. This guy better not waste my time," he said as he now exited his home and made his way to the address he'd been given.
Half an hour later he made it to the location he'd been given. Surely enough he saw other heros were arriving at the same time. " Oi four eyes, pony tail, why the hell are you waiting out here?" He called out to his two former classmates.
"Oh Dynamite, hello, we actually just got here. We were told to just enter when he arrived. Please join us," came the response from Iida.
"Whatever," Bakugo sighed as he walked in with the other two heros. He couldn't help but notice however that yayorozo was hosting a small smile on her face. "Pony tail, what's with the grin? It's creeping me out."
"Oh! Sorry, was I smiling? I didn't realize," she said, turning away.
"Don't tell me you're happy about all this. They basically told us we were dropping the ball so now they're hiring someone else to do the job. Seriously, we've been busting our asses on all these extra patrols haven't we?" He fumed.
"Come on now, Dynamite. I think this is a good opportunity for us to learn something. This organization has worked with heros and even former villains! I did some independent research and found out they have sponsored reform and rehabilitation programs for villains from around the world," Iida said, trying to sound reassuring.
"That is a good reason either but actually I'm a bit chipper because there's a chance I might see someone I haven't seen in a long time today. I met him years ago and he was working for the Midnight mission at the time so I think it would be nice to see him again," Momo confessed.
"Oh hello there! You must be the rest of the heros that came to see Mr Knight today."
The trio looked over to see a woman wearing a black Blazer sitting at a desk. She had long pink hair and her eyes reminded them of their friend Minas eyes. Only hers were red instead of yellow.
"Please enter the room at the end of the hall on the left. Detective Kasagawa and a few other heros just made it in a minute ago." The young woman said with a fanged smile.
"Thank you," Iida said gratefully as they followed her directions.
"It looks like the last of us made it just in time. Please, take a seat. Mr Knight here was just about to start briefing us," said detective Kasagawa as he pointed them to their seats.
"Hello there, I'm glad you could all make it. Let's get this meeting started. As you all know I'm Mr. Knight and I'll be leading the Midnight Missions efforts to offer assistance in Japan," said a man standing at the front of the room. "I've been researching this case and have been looking into any potential leads. I can see why this has been troublesome, most of the kidnappings seem random, as if they're just drawing names from a box–"
"Yeah yeah, we know what it looks like,"' came the usual interruption from Bakugou. The blonde could swear he heard a chuckle come from the man before he continued.
"I'll get straight to the point. We found the pattern to these kidnappings," he said, shocking the rest of the room.
"That's impossible, we've looked into every possible lead that might be used to find the pattern," Kasagawa said in shock.
"You've been looking for specific connections between each abductee that would make sense. You've looked closely at every last person who'd disappeared. Too closely. You didn't catch the clue that was just outside your field of vision," Mr. Knight said, standing up. "Just before the disappearances started a local hospital had its data base on its patients get hacked. This issue was largely viewed as a failed attempt to get into financial information of the hospital. Not so. They got exactly what they needed," Mr. Knight pressed a button and a list of names and images showed up on screen.
The room gasped collectively.
"Those are all the current missing people!" The turbo hero said, watching the names go by.
"Wait, there's at least a hundred people on this list…is this…?" Yayorozo trailed off.
"A list of all current, and future abductees," Mr Knight finished. "The pattern between them all lies in their hospital records. They're all exceptionally healthy adults. All of them had particularly good results when it came to their blood tests."
"They're taking these people because they're healthy? What's the point of that?" Asked Uravity.
"We believe that they're planning on…harvesting from these people," Mr Knight said in an uneasy tone.
"What is it like selling organs?" Asked Kaminari looking sick.
"Something like that, we were able to ID them quickly because this isn't the first time something like this was attempted. Several years ago similar kidnappings occurred in Egypt. I've been chasing them and their leader down like they owed me money ever since. With less success than I'd like to admit," the white masked man said looking down.
"How do we proceed?" Momo asked.
"Well, first and foremost we warn and protect the remaining targets on this list. Second we close in on the possible location of the victims," the masked man said as he pulled an image of the city up. "We believe they're in the south eastern half of the city. I know that's a lot to search but I recommend immediate step up in inspections of any buildings with underground kidnap victims are kept away from densely populated areas so this is an attempt at misdirection "
"I'll go make the request for the searches now. Sorry to leave in such a rush but we strike fast," The detective said as he hurried out the door.
"Go then, let the rest of the authorities know what we found, detective," Mr Knight said as he watched the officer walk out the door. "I assume the rest of you will want to coordinate with the police later in preparation for the searches. Chances are however that you'll need to wait so the kidnappers don't notice the sudden increase in hero activity in their area," Mr Knight said standing up.
"That's a good point. They also need to find any buildings that match Mr. Knight's description," Kirishima said, nodding in agreement.
"Please, feel free to discuss among yourselves what ideas you have to try to further the investigation. Meanwhile, I hope you don't mind if I break the tension a bit, there's someone here I haven't seen in a long time," the man said, reaching for his mask.
"Is this guy for real? Don't think now is that time for that,"Katsuki thought internally "save the reunions for ano-" The normally furious hero lost his train of thought as soon as the mask came off. Was he really seeing who he thought he was? There was no mistaking it. The green hair, the freckles, the eyes just like the ones he remembered, and the ones in his nightmares.
"Not to be unprofessional but I spy someone I haven't seen in a very long time," Izuku said looking to the side of the room Katsuki was in.
Bakugo choked up. The hell was he supposed to say now?
"Izuku! I missed you!"
"NO DON'T SAY THAT! wait…that wasn't me," He realized the voice actually came from next to him. Looking over he saw Creati run over from her place and give the white suited man a hug.
"Momo, it's been too long. Oh! I should probably use your hero name," Izuku said, scolding himself.
"No it's fine, really. Look at you though, Mr Knight," she teased. "Is that the name you go by now?" She asked.
"It's the name I use to run the mission. What? Don't like it?"
"Actually I really like it, it suits you when you're acting as the head of such a prestigious organization," Momo answered, finally letting him go.
"You know this man, Creati?" Asked Iida with an inquisitive look. The other heros in the room also watched curiously as one of their best smiled at the man.
"Yes, I met him years ago when I visited Egypt with my family. It wasn't long after graduation actually. He was already working with the Midnight Mission at the time," she explained. "Now you're leading it, and it's achieved so much!"
"I have a lot of people to thank for that. I also want to apologize for not staying in contact, I've had a lot more to do for a long time," Izuku apologized.
"Oh no, don't worry I completely understand. I haven't had much time myself, and I figured you'd have received some sort of promotion. Looks like I was right," she giggled.
"We should make time to catch up soon. I only broke character right now because I was so excited to see you. Kind of embarrassing now that I think about it," he chuckled.
"We absolutely should catch up. I'll see when we can meet this week. I guess you do as well?"
"Yeah. I'm busier at night so could we meet up for brunch sometime?"
"Definitely," Creati said, smiling.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion Mr Knight," the room turned to see the pink haired secretary walk in through the door. "I've received a phone call, there's an urgent matter you need to attend to," she said, calling the man's attention.
"I see," Izuku said, putting on the mask."I apologize to you all for this, but chances are this is too important to miss. Feel free to stay or leave at your leisure, I'm sure the detective will contact you all in time." He said as he walked to the exit.
Katsuki, who had slowly moved behind some of the other heros, let out a quiet sigh of relief as he watched Mr. Knight leave.
"I'll see you soon Izuku," called Momo as he walked away. She received a wave in response.
"Creati, why not invite him to hangout this weekend? We'd love to hear more about you two," a certain pink heroine said, giving Momo a wink.
"That does sound like a good idea, but please don't embarrass him Mina," Momo said, giving her a scolding look.
"Okay, that's enough messing around," Mirko said as she called the room's attention. "We finally have new information on the victims and the group responsible for the kidnappings. Let's act while we can, Kasagawa is probably out getting permission to start searches right now but we've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's head out and mark any buildings that match the description, also anywhere connected to underground tunnels. If these bastards are blatant enough to hide these people in the middle of the city chances are they'd try to move them underground for transport," she finished.
The room echoed sounds of agreement as they all began to take their leave. The work ahead would undoubtedly be long.
"Taka, will you turn your fucking music down?! It's like a million times louder here because of these goddamn sound proof walls," yelled an irritated yakuza at one of his colleagues.
"Yeah man, and who the fuck still listens to this shit? Hatsune miku? What are you a hundred?" mocked the other.
"Just cause you four don't got taste mean I gotta sit here an die of fuckin bordom. 3 floors in this building except for the basment and they put five of us on each floor. Explain that shit to me," He said fuming. "Why the hell aren't we closer to the goods? You tellin' me that that creep "snake'' is gonna guard all those people on his own?"
"Don't say his name, asshole. I don't want him coming up here. Fucker gives me the creeps, never see him leave the basement," another yakuza chimed in.
"Again, sound proof walls. Can't have people screaming for help, especially smack dab in the middle of the city," The first yakuza said.
"Yeah well, there ain't no people being kept on this floor yet, just the basement. So open the fucking windows before I go def," The last of the 5 yakuza said.
With that the Taka stood up and made his way over to the windows. Opening them quickly he returned to his seat at the table where his colleagues played cards.
"Happy now?"
"Your taste in music is still shit."
"Oi, I forgot to tell you guys, you see Kasagawa today?" one of the yakuza asked
"The mole? What about him?"
"He came running about an hour ago and went to the basement to talk to snakes. He looked like he was sweating bullets," the yakuza described.
"Fuck, you don't think the heros found us out did you?"
"Probably not, otherwise we'd be outta here already. Chances are they're getting close though."
"How much you wanna bet that guy that went missing talked?" One of the yakuza laughed.
"Wait, you mean Issei?" asked another.
"Yeah, him. He just disappeared the other day. Either he fucked up that…bullshit snake taught him or he got caught."
"That motherfucker probably just started dickin around. Wouldn't be surprised if he came running back here today ballin' his eyes out cau-" the yakuza was cut off as something flew in through the open window and crashed through the table they sat on.
"What the fuck!"
"The hell is that thing!?" screamed one the angry gang members as they all frew their weapons.
After a few seconds they calmed down enough to notice that it was a person that had crashed through their table. They all approached slowly, unsure what to do until they noticed the body was breathing.
"Oh shit, it's a guy. He's alive too," One pointed out.
"Yeah…wait. Ain't that….Issei?" another pointed out as he noticed the person's face. He was lying on his stomach with his head turned sideways. Just that moment they saw his eyes open and looked around the room, they went wide and suddenly he started coughing as if he was trying to get words out.
"What is he saying?" asked Taka.
"I don't know, flip over so he's on his back."
The yakuza did as he was told and tried to push Issei over, he struggled however as Issei violently shook his head and coughed.
"Fu-fa-ack! Fla-hack!-flas!" he choked out.
"Oi, quit struggling. I'm trying to help you. What the hell is it?" Taka said as he finally managed to flip the human projectile over. It was then they noticed something strapped to his chest.
"FLASH BAN-"
Everyone in the room was effectively blinded. White consumed their vision and their ears rang loud enough to block the sound of an engine moving past the window, along with the sound boots hitting the floor. None of the yakuza in the room were aware as the figure who just jumped in started neutralizing them one by one. Taka was kicked in the stomach hard enough to send him flying back into the wall, the next gang member felt his teeth go loose as something hard, cold and metallic came crashing into his head. The white left by the flash bang replaced by darkness.
At this point the other three yakuza began to just barely regain their vision enough to see something large and covered in white was barreling towards them. Two of them struggled to get a close look at the assailant while the other ran toward the door to call for help. The meat shield the other two yakuza provided proved to be frail as a pair of hands covered in fingerless gauntlets and spiked knuckles grabbed hold of their heads and with great force, made them collide into one another.
The last yakuza member fumbled the doorknob enough to open the door and cry for help. He managed to alert two others that were taking a break in the staircases between the floors, they were quick to notice his desperation and ran up the staircase towards the door. Again however the attacker had decided to use his enemy as a living missile and with a kick to his back sent him flying directly into one of the two, knocking him down the stairs. The other one managed to move out of the way in time and pulled out an uzi submachine gun, before he could fire off the first shot he felt the shocking pain of his hand getting impaled by something sharp and thin. He looked at his hand to see a crescent shaped and white had cut right through him. The pain was enough of a distraction for him not to notice the white caped figure approach and deliver a blow to his face with the spiked knuckles on his gauntlet.
The man who had been hit by his flying partner was just able to crawl his way from underneath his unconscious man when he looked up and got a good look at his assailant. He was wearing a white hooded cape, white gauntlets and shoulder plates on both his arms and a white chest plate with a crescent moon on the front of it. He also wore a white mask and underneath the armor he had wore a material that was jet black and leather like, though the man assumed it was probably far stronger than it looked. He was about to get to his feet when suddenly there was a very firm grip on his throat, and he was now dangling a foot off the ground.
"That's 7 of you down. How many are left?" asked the armored man in a threatening tone.
"...uh…ack! 10 there's 10! Three more on the next floor and 5 in the one below that. Then it's just two more guys down in the basement!" he said, straining to get a breath.
"Detective Kasagawa and your foreigner friend no doubt. It's a shame that you sound proofed the building. I would have liked it if they could hear the sound of you all getting torn apart." chuckled the white robed man. The sound of the thugs' head hitting the wall echoed in the hallway and soon the door to the next floor was kicked off its hinges. The room's occupants jumped from their seats as they watched someone unfamiliar enter.
"Who the hell are you!?" one of the goons yelled.
"The one you see coming."
The basement
"How long is it going to take for you to get that teleport ready?" Asked a flustered detective Kasagawa.
"Calm yourself, we've plenty of time. They're searching the complete opposite side of the city right? They'll find this room empty by the time they get here if ever" Came a reply from a pale man with black eyes and a pair of fangs "You seem more exceedingly flustered. What happened at that meeting that left you so pants pissingly scared?"
"These guys are here not even a week and they already found our lists! How are we going to get these people if they're being warned?" The traitorous man said.
"These heroes won't be able to warn all of them in time. The police could also never hope to protect them all, they'll slip up eventually. We also still have agents in other cities getting plenty of work done. This detective may be good but there is no way he will manage to catch up to us all. What did you say his name was?" The cocky vamp asked.
"He said his name was Mr. Knight. Guy seemed kinda scary, not sure whe-" Kasagawa was cut off when the black eyed man grabbed him by his shirt.
"What!?"He screamed. "What is this organization's name?" He asked through squinted eyes.
"T-the midnight mission. Why are you suddenly…?" The sound of a phone ringing caught their attention. Looking down, Kasagawa noticed it was his. "Hello?"
The vampire watched as Kasagawas face dropped. Panic, fear and shock were all written in his eyes, it was several moments before he saw Kasagawa lower the phone and put it on speaker.
"Hey! Are you still there! We need help! This guy's crazy! He-arg!" whoever was speaking was cut off when they heard the violent sound of metal tearing through flesh then crashing into bone. They could hear 4 other voices either screaming in agony or fear as an unknown assailant beat them into submission. Gunfire could be heard but it seemed to be doing nothing but adding background music to the horror show that was going on in that room. Soon enough however things went quiet, the gunfire stopped and the only noises were the groaning sounds of barely conscious men.
"Shit! Why are the heroes here!? This is the opposite side of the city!" Yelled Kasagawa.
"That is no hero…" spoke the vampire in a somber tone. "It is the fist of an angry god."
"Will you shut up and get us out of here! I can't let him find me or-"
"Kasagawa, I know you can hear me." came a voice from his phone. "I'm coming for you traitor." The phone call ended there.
"We need to leave. '' The vampire said as he approached a wall that was covered in strange hieroglyphs.
"What about them?" Kasagawa asked as he pointed in the direction of an open door where blind folded and tied up people were being kept.
"Consider them lost goods, the master won't be pleased but at least I'll be bringing something to nibble on while we regroup," Snake said as he glanced toward the detective.
"Wait…why are you looking at me like that?" He said backing away. The wall the two of them stood in front of began to waver and ripple like water.
"You've been outed. There is no point in keeping you around anymore. You aren't in the best of shape so turning you won't do, so consider yourself a junk food detective." Snake reached out to grab the man so he could pull him into the wall, however his hand was severed from his arm just before he could reach. Looking in horror, Snake watched his bloodied hand flop on the ground with a wet thud.
"As much as he deserves it, the good detective has to answer some questions for me," Spoke Moon Knight after having thrown one of his crescent darts into the fanged menace. "So you're the one who's been giving these Yakuza bums access to the mystic arts. How low has he fallen that he's willing to go this far?"
"Silence you mindless zealot!" Screamed Snake as he charged forward as fast as he could. He stretched out a clawed hand intent on tearing the knight's face apart, but the knight moved out of the way and grabbed his arm before bringing him in closer so he could ram his knee into the vampire's stomach. This was quickly followed by a spiked fist to the face, the vampire tried to recover by taking a few steps back but was grabbed by the collar and head butted.
"Knowing the kind of minions your master chooses, you're not as likely to talk like the bums you're teaching the mystic arts too." MoonKnight said as he raised the staggered blood sucker off the ground. "So there's no point in keeping you around."
The vampire screamed as he felt something sharp drive through chest, in his last moments he looked down to see a wooden stake sticking several inches deep into his chest. The vampire looked up one last time to see the glowing white eyes of his killer before turning to dust, leaving not even a drop of blood on the floor.
"Now that he's gone, come detective." MoonKnight said, turning. "The police will be here soon and I intend to give them the help I promised I would," He said as he walked up to the petrified traitor.
"Y-you killed that guy…when they find out…" he trailed off
"He was dead long before I staked him. Besides, there's no trace of a body, and I don't think you'll be able to convince your victims overthere to testify against me. So, you can give me the answers I want, or we can go next door so we can get a good look at the industrial car shredder."
