Justice Across Space and Time

Chapter 51

Nothing much to say here. You'll see what's going on for yourselves soon enough. So on with the show.

(No POV)

While sitting on the plane to Sapporo, Melissa was playing with an integral piece of equipment. Her armor's power cells. "Uh, Melissa? Is there a reason you're fiddling with that now?" Izuku questioned while sitting next to her.

"Well sort of. I can't get enough power to sustain flight across long distances. The battle the other day with the cruise ship pushed the cells pretty hard. So I'm trying to adjust to more effectively or efficiently release energy over long distances." Melissa explained while gesturing with the screwdriver in her hand.

Izuku wasn't sure if this was what he was like with his old mumble sprees, but he assumed it was close. Thus, he gently grabbed the hand holding the screwdriver to stop her rambling. "I didn't mean why are you working on that. It's a good reason. It was more of a question of… why are you doing it while we're on a plane?"

Melissa thought about it for a few seconds before realizing Izuku was correct. And since she had no words to explain herself, she just blushed while Izuku removed the screwdriver from her hand. And she set the power cell down.

"Uh…. Sorry about that. Just started thinking about it while we were flying and I couldn't come up with an excuse on why I can't use my suit to fly from Mustafa to Sapporo myself." Melissa said with a blush and her eyes hidden behind her glasses.

Izuku shrugged and did see what she was getting at. "I mean, its not like I can fly all the way there myself. Nor could All Might or Jotaro. I mean we could, but we'd be leaping and flying at high speeds for a decent amount of time."

"And thus maybe miss the objective or be exhausted by the time you get there right Kibou?" Mirio asked with his usual smile from the seat across from Izuku. Nighteye agreed and said that it would be pointless for the operation there were to be a part of anyway. "Given we are to work in a semi-inconspicuous manner, it would be best that we try not to draw too much attention to ourselves."

The older hero gives the pair a look to say they should avoid doing anything too flashy when they arrive at Sapporo. Which just makes both look down and away. As if to say they have no idea what he means.

Though they realize more of what he was concerned about when they land at the New Chitose Airport. And the two are swarmed a bit by civilians after they get off the plane. Given many saw the rescue of the cruise ship and Izuku's placing in the Sports Festival. So they have to run to try and hide from the public.

"See what I was talking about." Nighteye says flatly over the phone with Izuku. The two were currently hiding in a janitor's closet after dodging the crowd. Though it had been awkward for Melissa as when Izuku's phone went off in his pocket while the girl was leaning against him. And her crotch was sitting on the vibrating device.

Both blush as Izuku eventually gets his phone out (but not without accidentally grabbing the wrong spot) and he talks with Nighteye. "Yeah. We get it….. Wait did you see this coming with your quirk?!"

"No. I just expected it given my experience working with All Might. I think I know where you are. Mirio and I will cover you and get you some disguises." Nighteye says before activating a tracker on his phone. And finding the pair in the closet.

Mirio gives the pair a smile and is about ready to make a joke about coming out of the closet. "Not now Mirio. Here you two. These should disguise you well enough." Nighteye says while passing a short red wig to Izuku, and a black wig to Melissa.

This helps, as do both wearing sunglasses. Though Melissa couldn't wear her glasses under the sunglasses. She can barely make out her teammates as she is walking. Or a pillar. But before she walks into it, Izuku grabs her arm and pulls her close.

He gives her a smile before saying, "careful. Don't want to get hurt before the mission. Here." Izuku takes her hand and walks out at her side. To both teens' slight embarrassment. Especially when a few other civilians' comment on how cute the young couple appear to be.

Mirio just gives his underclassman and thumbs up and smile as they are walking to the taxi parking. Nighteye acts like he's annoyed, but he has a barely concealed smile. Once they catch a vacant taxi, they head out for top local hero of Sapporo. The Frigid Kamui Hero: Oki.

The hero in this case was a wolf looking hero with the power to unleash blasts of ice and cold from his mouth. Aside from that, he had enhanced senses and other physical capabilities due to the wolf like ancestry. Making him a pseudo hybrid.

He was currently sitting just inside the top 20 of the heroes. But he was less well known due to the region and his refusal to do any kind of endorsement deal. Let alone a personality similar to that of Endeavor. Though rather cold and distant compared to the hot-headed current number 1. Let alone his pride of his Ainu ancestry, alienating those outside of the Hokkaido region.

"Nighteye right? Good to meet you." Oki said in the main floor of his agency. The man was at equal height to Nighteye, with black fur across his body and his red hair poking out under the bear mask on his head.

His hero uniform seemed similar to what Edgeshot would wear, right down to the sword on his back. But Melissa's appraising eye notes that it is lined with items to compensate for the cold winds he could unleash. As well as other items to keep a villain from running.

Nighteye shook the hero's hand and then asked if there was somewhere they could discuss matters. "This way. Flyby! Where's Coldsnap?" Oki asks a sidekick with a jetpack on her back. The short, levitating, pink haired sidekick comes over and tells her boss that sidekick he's looking for is up in the workout room.

"Good. Come with me." Oki says before catching another of his sidekicks. This being Bake, who's power lets her raise a wall in front of her. Though she can only make a few out of a substance before she has to wait or switch to a different element.

They then catch the blue haired top sidekick for the agency. He has an annoyed look on his face as was finishing up his reps. His uniform is a simple black and white garb that looks similar to a Shinto priest's attire. "Hey boss. So, these are the ones looking to root out and expose the smugglers?"

Oki nods before telling the man to meet in his office. It is a bit small compared to what Izuku expected but he is none the less interested in what these heroes can do. Nighteye open the meeting with a clap of his hands.

"Alright. Oki, I know I sent you an email but I feel it would be best to cover why we are here. A few days ago, Ryukyu and her people interrupted a deal down in Okinawa. However, they had reason to believe that a few special materials had been sent or slipped away from them that night. They managed to decrypt a file noting a few locations regarding the drop-off or delivery points. One of which being here in Sapporo."

The Ainu hero nodded before admitting to catching some smugglers prior. "But that was years ago and we've been keeping an eye on the warehouses and other places they could store to do deals from. So where are they coming in now?"

His sidekicks agree while Izuku has been pondering after Oki mentioning the warehouses being watched. "Maybe….. This area does have some volcanic activity…. And if they've got a capable enough group using quirks. Or even true metas then….. yeah…."

"Midoriya? Do you have something to add?" Nighteye asks after listening to the other green head in the room muttering. Before Izuku might have blushed or been embarrassed. But he's come to accept that this will happen.

So he clears his throat before bringing up his points. "Well this is just a general thought but what if they are using powers to make some kind of underground base. Or something like that. They'd even have a fair amount of places to work from if you think about it."

Melissa considers this as well and brings up a holomap of the region. Noting a myriad of volcano tubes that had been mapped. And some connected to the sea. Oki looks at this with a bit of surprise before saying, "huh….. Okay I'll be honest: we never considered that. I just assumed they'd want to be inside the cities to make money."

Nighteye nods before noting his own mentality was much the same. "But thanks to true metas and the incident involving the Shie Hissaki, I've come to see that we miss greater details that may be in plain sight."

The top hero of Hokkaido nods before asking on how they could find said person or people. Melissa then brings up that they could use a national park as a place to sneak in a person. Noting an issue in some regions of the US where this happens.

"Hmmm… If that's the case. They've probably been using Lake Kuttara or Shikotsu. Or maybe the Akaigawa caldera. Those might be the best bets to wager on." Coldsnap says before pointing out each on the map.

He reasons that the lakes would have closer access to the sea as well as being within the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park. While the caldera is an extinct volcano that would be close to the city of Sapporo itself.

"We shouldn't rule out that they have made a way to connect the two as well. But we also need a convenient way to investigate these areas." Mirio comments while each of the heroes looks on at the map and possible connections.

Flyby then breaks up the thinking by shouting her head hurts. "I need some food! Anybody else want something?" she asks before jetting out the window. Nighteye is befuddled by this and give Oki a look. Who just shrugs and says, "don't know what to tell you. Her quirk makes her light as air and she's about that flighty as well."

But the break does give each of the heroes more moments to think and come up with some ideas. "Wait, don't you usually do a retreat or something like that Oki?" Bake questions after getting a sandwich from Flyby.

The hero shrugs and says he does it to destress and connect back with his heritage. And he connects the dots on what the wall maker has in mind. "I see. I say I'm taking a few of my best out on a retreat to connect with Kamui, there would be attention on me."

"But less on some random heroes who were maybe passing through or were just checking passing some info!" Mirio concludes while liking the idea of sneaking in. "Fitting since your whole thing is sneak attacking from underground." Melissa quips with a smirk. Getting a smile from Nighteye, a laugh from Mirio, and a chuckle from Izuku and the other heroes.

With the disguise set and a few other ideas put in motion, the heroes work to make their way toward each of the lakes. Nighteye's group going to Kuttara, and while Oki and his top sidekicks would investigate Shikotsu. Meanwhile, Oki sent word to a different hero to Akaigawa to investigate the area.

"You sure that was wise and sensible? They could betray us and stab us in the back." Coldsnap questions as hey were checking in at the area around Shikotsu. Gives his sidekick a slight glare before telling him the ones he called wouldn't do that. "These lands mean too much to her."

Though he still wants to question the Frigid hero, he also doesn't want to get another cold glare. So Coldsnap clams up and hefts his bag with camping supplies on his shoulder. Flyby teases him a bit by saying he got scolded, but her comeuppance comes from not being able to float along and ahead of the rest. Given the heavy gear she was carrying.

Nighteye and his group though found themselves a quiet area to observe and analyze the volcanic tubes under their feet. Courtesy of both Melissa and Mirio. The former had been modifying a handful of sensing devices and calibrated them to scan underground for anything moving through the areas. While the latter could quietly dive down and map some of the regions as well.

"I gotta wonder though. If they are using the parks to smuggle in what are they doing with the materials later? Any thoughts Melissa?" Izuku questions from the large tent the girl had set up. It housed a decent amount of condensium screens and devices to help the mechanically minded girl monitor the situation underground.

Though she herself wasn't sure on the likely applications. "The alloys listed in what Ryukyu sent us are ones I've never heard of. Without a sample I can't surmise the applications. Some of those items could be used to make better armor, or maybe conduits for channeling a quirk through. They could even use it to house a weapon or power source….. it's hard to say."

Nighteye agrees with the girl as he walks in. "And that's all the more reason we need to disrupt this route and get those materials. If we can then we'll be able to discern what or maybe even who we are dealing with."

With her sensors set and Mirio's mapping of some of the lava tubes, the Nighteye teams settles in for a stakeout. Which leads to a decent amount of boredom. Though Izuku takes the time to practice a bit with both of the more experienced heroes on his combat skills. And eventually dragging Melissa into a sparring session as well.

When night started to fall, Nighteye got out some of the food they brought to cook dinner. While Melissa was lying on her back and nursing a couple of bruises. "Hey. How you doing down there?" Izuku said with a smile.

"How do you think?" Melissa said while giving her boyfriend a slight stink eye. Izuku held out his hand to help her up, and suggested they go somewhere else. After standing, Melissa questioned what he had in mind. "You'll see."

They walked for a few minutes before Izuku stopped at a clearing and told her to look up. Melissa was a bit confused but understood once she did what he asked. The night sky was lite up with stars all across the milky way. Unobstructed by the lights from the city or the trees around them. And the quiet around them was just as peaceful and relaxing.

Melissa laid down again, this time to appreciate the sight of the stars and the quiet sounds of the forest and mountain. Izuku laid next to her and said, "I thought you might like this. It's nice once and a while to just take time to look up at the stars. I think we forget about that in the day to day."

"That we do Kibou. That we do." Melissa says while slightly scooting over to him. Resting her head on his outstretched arm. Izuku is slightly surprised by this but he also likes it. Gently placing his hand on her shoulder while taking in the sights above.

However, they lost track of time and Mirio had to be sent out to find them. And when he did, he couldn't resist a bit of teasing. "Well now. You two seem to really be enjoying nature. Don't take it too far though~! I think there'd be some who have a problem with it~!"

This snaps the pair out of their relaxed daze and they quickly move away from each other. And can barely look each other in the eye as they head back to camp. After enjoying a simple quick curry meal Nighteye cooked up, they each take turns monitoring the stations Melissa had set up.

But nothing happens for a few hours. Until Nighteye notices something odd. "Miss Shield. Could you come here for a second? I think one of your transmitters is….. no. Maybe a few of them are not working."

Melissa hurries in the tent and asks what the hero means. "The sound in a few of the sections….. they keep cutting out. I'm not sure how or why. Any thoughts?" Melissa looks at the data trying to come up with an excuse or reason. But it is Mirio who realizes what is likely going on.

"Hold up…. Here. Here. And here. These are all on the same tube system! Or at least they all link up. Maybe…." Izuku finishes his thought and surmises how they might have been missed. "They've got someone with a sound masking quirk or similar. It may not be a permanent or full sound mask, but it is enough to where some could discuss plans in public. Not to mention be able to move possibly massive amounts of materials with few noticing."

Melissa agrees and wonders how they could get to them given the main tube they were using was fairly deep underground. "Head off in that direction for about 200 meters. Near the mountainside there's an open tube that will lead you down. Meanwhile." Mirio says before going to his pack and getting out his hero costume.

"I'll head down first and monitor the situation. If I need to, I'll engage the villains." Nighteye nods and congratulates his top work study for the good quick plan. He then floats down using Permeation to keep an eye on the villains and get an idea on what they could be moving.

The other three change as quickly as they can and head for the open tube. With Melissa linking her suit up to the monitoring devices. "Okay. Take these. They should allow us to communicate even deep underground." Kibou and Nighteye nod while taking the high-quality earbuds.

They wandered down until they reached a split in the tube. Each taking one of the paths. Given each tube led to the main one they wanted to get to. "Hey Kibou. Be careful." Melissa said after Nighteye had walked down his chosen path. And then pull Izuku into a kiss.

Izuku was slightly surprised but bounced back quickly and reciprocated the kiss. "You be careful too Melissa." Izuku says before jogging down his path.

Melissa meanwhile dampens the sound and creaking of her armor by retracting some of the pieces. Namely by making only gauntlets, a purely visor like head portion, a sports bra shaped chest piece, a briefs like piece around her waist, and metal shin guards. While wearing shoes that wouldn't make a lot of noise as she walked.

While they were walking to intercept the villains, Mirio had found the quarry they were chasing. A group of ten villains walking through the tube. One man at the center of the group was signing to the rest. Rather than talking. Telling Mirio that they were the person who was likely making the silence field.

However, there was one other who made the hero studies student uneasy. At the front of the group was a young man with snow white hair and neon crimson eyes. He seemed to be keeping a close eye on the surroundings. Even turning back to look at where Mirio was hiding.

The young man quickly permeating and diving down to through the rock. He waited a few seconds before phasing back up into the lava tube. He checked and saw that the convoy had moved ahead. He hummed while sneaking forward, questioning in his mind who that person was.

He snuck forward as fast as possible to catch up with the villains. Mirio suspected that the sound dampener's power would give him a chance to tag or sneak up on the villains. 'Just a bit closer. The three big guys in the group seem to be the muscle given they're carrying the biggest crates. But there are a few smaller porters too. Hold on. Where's that white haired guy?'

"So there was someone just outside of Null's sound bubble. Well, you won't be stopping us." Mirio hears behind himself. And is face to fist with the white-haired villain's knuckle. Mirio couldn't permeate in time and gets a black eye from the attacker.

Mirio shakes his head before seeing the villain signing something to the rest of the convoy. The thugs noticed and take off as fast as they can, while the white haired villain puts himself between Mirio and the convoy.

He cracks his knuckles before charging at Mirio. This time Mirio is ready and the villain's fist passes through Mirio's head. "Try this! Blinder eyeball touch!" Mirio shouts while aiming to poke the villain's eye.

Said villain flinches, and Mirio takes this moment to punch the villain in the stomach. Only to be surprised and worried. His fist passes completely through the body of the villain. And he wasn't permeating his punching arm.

"Surprised? You're not the only person who can phase!" the villain says before punching Mirio in the stomach and then kneeing him in the face. Mirio falls back before shaking his head and phasing through the wall of the tube.

He attacks the villain again but he phases through again. "All right then! Phantom Menace!" Mirio shouts before quickly phasing through all the sides of the lava tube. Certain to get a hit with all the attacks he's unleashing.

But he is distraught to realize that the villain was constantly phasing right as he was attacking. After fifty failed attacks Mirio is out of breath and exhausted. And he can't regain his breath when the villain attacks him again.

"How? How are you *huff, puff* able to evade…. Everything I throw at you?" Mirio says while trying to block the attacks. Only to be more unsettled and a bit afraid when the villain walks toward him. And the fades out of sight.

"I'm not some one note quirk user dumbass. I'm far stronger than that. This Revenant will see you on the other side!" the now named Revenant said before punching and kicking Mirio again and again.

With Null and the rest of the convoy, they hurried on as quickly as they could to get to the exit point of the tube. Only for the first few porters being stopped by something electrocuting them. And some from out of the back were knocked out by something hitting their heads.

Then out of an upper tube, Izuku rushed in with a Manchester Smash to the top of one of the bigger porter's head. Melissa meanwhile flew in to blast a few shots from her gauntlets and fully armoring up. Nighteye slid in and helped to take out a few other thugs and a toss some more of his heavy seals.

Mirio meanwhile is at a stalemate. He was taking some hits, but not as bad as earlier. He focused on permeating his torso and head when he was certain Revenant would attack. Even avoiding an attack that made him extra nervous. Red beams of energy fired from some point of Revenant's body.

"Hmm…. I have to admit. A hero like you is impressive. But you won't last." Revenant says with a sinister tone. Mirio coughs after shaking off a hit to his head and chest that he didn't permeate fast enough through. His visor was cracked and his hair had been burned slightly from the beam shots.

Mirio just gives the villain a shaky smirk before saying, "I don't *cough* *hack!* have to last. I just need to keep you here." Revenant is wide eyed at that and becomes visible again. Giving Mirio a chance to punch the villain in the face. Only complication came when the villain fell back and then through the floor of the lava tube. "Wait….. Oh no! I need to hurry!"

Mirio stands to try and get to the villains. Only to collapse a bit from the injuries Revenant had inflicted. Back with the convoy, Izuku and the rest had taken care of all of the villains. Even the strongest members were easily toppled by Izuku and Melissa.

Only to be surprised by Revenant to fly out of the ground and blast away around him. Izuku, Melissa and Nighteye jump back, but a few of the villains are less lucky. Revenant grumbles before flying toward Null and one of the bigger villains.

His arm seems to extend and wrap around the other villains. And he grabs three of the smaller packages and one of the big crates. Passing the smaller items to the villains, while he grabs the big crate. And then flying upward with all the items intact through the stone.

"What the Hell?" Izuku says while staring up at the ceiling. His musings however are interrupted by a beeping sound. "Shit! Bombs! Grab a villain and run!" Nighteye shouts before picking up some of the smaller villains.

Izuku picks up the last large living villain, while Melissa grabs a pair of smaller villains. But before they can run too far, Melissa stops. "Izuku! Take these two! I've gotta get something!" Melissa says before jetting back to the crates.

"Melissa! No!" Izuku shouts before Nighteye tells him to keep going. Izuku wants to help her. But knows he needs to get the injured villains out or further away from the explosion. But he tears up as he hear the bombs go off and can feel some of the ambient heat from the explosion.

He sets down the villains when he's sure they'll probably be safe, and rushes back to save Melissa. Using a tracking feature with the earbuds she gave them. What he's met with are a pile of rocks standing from the collapsed lava tube. He charges up his highest strength level and punches through as many rocks as possible. Or throwing them to the side.

He keeps digging and digging to get to her as fast as possible. But even at his highest current charge, he can't shatter the biggest boulder blocking the tube. He considers using his full strength, even if it breaks his arm. He could just heal anyway.

Only he's stopped by a memory from training. "Just because you can heal from an injury, doesn't mean you should always be breaking yourself. Sooner or later, you may go too far. And break something you can't easily heal from" All Might said. Izuku tightens his fist while trying to think of a way to save Melissa.

And he comes up with a way to do it. He retracts his gloves before taking a few deep breaths and focusing his kinetic energy in his hands. He then transfers the kinetic energy to the boulder. It takes a minute, but he starts to melt through the boulder. And he keeps melting through until he's near where Melissa's signal is coming from.

He melts and tosses a few more rocks away and then finds his girlfriend buried. But not crushed. At the last second, she pulled a full armor mode and was properly sealed up in her armor. Izuku pulls her out of the rock and stone.

Once out of rubble, Izuku keeps patting her armored head to see if she was responsive. And he found a retraction button that removed her helmet. He gently put his fingers on her throat and started to cry as he felt her pulse.

Nighteye is equally relieved but for a different reason. He had been worried about Mirio after the explosion. He tried to call the boy a few times to get no answer. Only for the boy himself to arrive. Battered, bruised, and slightly burned, but he was alive.

With the heroes reassembled, Nighteye calls in the rangers and a medivac crew. When they arrive the rangers restrain most of the villains, while the med team patches up Mirio, Melissa and the villains. Before the latter are sent off.

Nighteye calls Oki and the other hero to check in on what had happened with their teams. Oki had found nothing, but the other hero had found something. "It's not much…. But we did find the remnants of a base…. Or a manufacturing site. They maybe were using the site to make some illegal items with the materials. Not sure what they were making though."

Nighteye nods before thanking the hero. Melissa meanwhile was waking up from her premature burial. Izuku checks her over as well before she tells him she was fine. "And I got some of what I was after." Melissa said before pulling out two pieces of her armor.

They opened up and revealed ingots of metal inside. Melissa explained that she had gone back for the metal so she could analyze the sample. "If I can find out what these metals could be used for, then we might have a way to anticipate future plans."

Nighteye nodded and congratulated her on her forward thinking. "You'll be quite the hero in the future. Tech Might." Nighteye says with a smile and a slight flashback to his times as All Might's sidekick. Mirio agrees and says she did much better than he did. Before recounting his encounter with Revenant.

"More true metas willing to aid villains. This is troubling." Izuku says with a sigh. The heroes agree while questioning what or who could be organizing these villains to be working together. "This isn't quite like what AFO would do. Whoever this is seems to prefer leaving or trusting things to others." Nighteye comments while drinking some coffee.

Oki then wonders why Revenant didn't just fly off himself to deliver all of the materials. "It seems like a lot of work to be an escort for those villains." Mirio agreed as Revenant seemed more interested in beating him down at first. "And with his powers he could probably do the whole job solo."

"Doesn't mean it's quite that easy. Just because our powers are a bit stronger or have more applications, doesn't mean we don't get tired out. Even my whole thing of melting the boulders was exhausting. Making himself invisible or intangible is probably easy, and while he doesn't have a difficulty phasing or making others invisible, it might still be taxing." Izuku says before starting a mumble spree.

Melissa agrees before snapping Izuku out of his ramblings. She then asks Oki if he had a space to analyze the metal she acquired. Flyby offers to show the girl to a clean room where she could meddle with the metal.

In a different part of Sapporo, Revenant had stopped and dropped the villains and a few of materials to their buyer. And he was out of breath. "Damnit. That was hard to last that long." Null came over and offered the spectral ally some water. He thanked the silent villain while the bulky woman he grabbed was resting as well.

"What now?" she asked while drinking some water of her own. "We ease up on our smuggling and thieving operation. We need to wait for the heat to come off. I'll contact our buyers and explain the situation." Revenant says while snacking on a protein bar.

I know it seems odd to put in an OC top hero, but I wanted someone a bit different to backup the NIghteye agency. Besides, you could just assume that he's one of the many heroes who got killed during the war. We don't know for sure how far they were pulled from.

Also thanks to Light Hearth again for working with me on some ideas for this chapter. The concepts worked together when I was thinking of the ideas for this part of the story and a paritial lead in for the next half of the arc. And LaughingMan. I know this is a long story, but I hope you like this one too. Please review!