Izuku was awoken by the feeling of something reaching into his body. An ethereal feel that seemed to grab at something in him. It was a familiar feeling, as it was the same one that had gripped him when Nine had attempted to take One for All.
Nine… One for All… There was something nagging at him about them. Something Important. Why was he unconscious again?
Flashes of the fight he had just been in came flooding back. Going all out with One for All, beating Nine, getting hit with a Quirk Erasing Bullet, and then…
A UFO had abducted them? Surely that was just exhaustive delirium. What else had happened?
Oh, right he had seen who he thought was All for One right before falling asleep… and he was feeling All for One being used on him now.
'Shit, that wasn't just a dream!'
He felt some sort of restraint around him release, and his body regained its strength in a rush of adrenaline. He opened his eyes to immediately assess the threat, only to find himself overloaded with information. The imposing figure of All for One stood over him, palm placed onto his forehead, but his vision was completely different then usual.
The Supervillain's body was awash with multiple colors, all swarming within his body like a storm of energy, each a different Quirk. But they were all encased within a cage of dark red that stood prominent as the main color throughout the body. Said dark red energy was also stretching out from All for One's hand into Izuku himself, and somehow, he knew that meant the man was using his namesake Quirk.
'No!'
He immediately lashed out on instinct, and a strange sensation ran up his back. A familiar blue hydra head shot out from his back, gripping All for One in its jaws and slamming him back into the console in the center of the room. As the hydra retreated back to his side, Izuku realized that the serpent was responding to his commands.
All for One stood up from the assault, and Izuku brought his hands up and tried calling upon One for All, only for something else entirely to appear. The air in front of his left hand solidified into a yellow shield, while the fingertips of his right hand began to crackle with purple energy.
'These Quirks are-!' He quickly glanced around the room, seeing everyone else from the roof of Central Tower lying in odd pods along the circular walls. Their bonds were also gone now but were still awakening from whatever had knocked them all out. He eyed Nine, who was lying sickly inside one of said pods. 'These are the Quirks that Nine had within All for One! Why do I have them?!'
His mind raced back to the fight with Nine on the roof of the Central Tower. Near the end, he had gotten between Nine and the kids after he drew a gun, but when he had been shot…
'One for All disappeared! Nine erased my Quirk with a Quirk Erasing Bullet! But how did he even get one?'
No, he had more important things to focus on right now. Like All for One, who was currently standing up from his previous attack. The man stared at him with a vaguely disguised look of annoyance.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise. To think you were more genetically compatible with All for One than Nine. I suppose One for All must have altered more of your base DNA than the Doctor's implant procedure changes did for Nine." All for One mused, staring at Izuku without a hint of fear at the many Quirks he had aimed at him. "But speaking of my Brothers Quirk, where is it? It couldn't have been sorted to any of the others present. No matter. I'll just tie you back down and figure it out later."
All for One took a single step forward and Izuku held one of his hands, the one crackling with purple energy, out in front of him. Five bullets shot out of his fingers on instinct, but the Supervillain raised his own hand quickly. Izuku could see with Scanning as the Quirks within him wriggled forward, producing their own glow from within the crimson engulfing them.
"Barrier." All for One said, and the five projectiles were quickly dispersed on some sort of projected energy shield. As the barrier disappeared, his hand then glowed with its own dangerous energy. "Photon Beam."
The beam of light shot from All for On towards Izuku, and he raised his other hand with Air Shield active. He focused on it, and felt the air condensed as his own barrier grew. The beam slammed into the barrier, and Izuku used his other hand to brace as the attack pushed against him. Eventually the beam halted, and Izuku let out a breath as the air shield fell.
"How cute. But you'll need a couple more dozen quirks to actually make me try." All for One let out a chuckle as he began to step towards him again.
'Damn! What now?' Izuku glanced around, looking for any ideas. He noticed that the people in the pods further away were slowly beginning to wake up, but he doubted that any of them would be able to assist against an opponent like the one he was facing even if they were fully awake.
But maybe fighting wasn't the only option they had. The center of the room appeared to have opened up, and a set of rings appeared to be around it. There was some sort of force manipulating the empty area. An artificial gravity field, like the one that brought them up, perhaps? If he jumped in it, would he float down to wherever they are currently? And would All for One follow him?
He may not be able to save himself, but he might be able to keep this monster away from his friends.
But just as he had begun thinking a plan into motion, there was a blur behind All for One. Melissa, who he had seen across the room, vanished before reappearing and being flung down the hole in the UFO faster than the eye could see.
All for One also noticed the disturbance and turned his head back in confusion. "What is-?"
Izuku realized that whatever was happening, it meant that his friends were getting away, and he quickly moved to get All for One's attention back on him. "Hey! What happened to our fight!" He shouted, sending the Hydra head forward with a mental command to the creation on his back.
All for One spared an annoyed glance back as the Hydra grabbed him by the arm. He gave it a slap with unnatural strength and broke the construct, but Izuku focused, and the single Hydra reformed into two smaller ones. The two new heads then continued forward, grabbing All for One's arms in each of their jaws.
"Cheeky child." All for One growled, his eyes flickering back to Izuku from the blur that was depositing everyone into the hole. He quickly rushed over to Izuku, pushing past the Hydra's and wrapping a hand strongly around his neck.
"Hrrk!" Izuku gasped as he suddenly found himself being choked by the man standing over him. Izuku could see All for One begin to charge his signature Quirk again, and Izuku felt his grip on his meager stockpile of Quirks slowly loosen.
"These Quirks belong to me." All for One said as he prepared to take stockpile within the copy of his Quirk back. "Well, technically, they were Nine's. But he took them from my collection in the first place, so all's fair. Isn't that right Midoriy-AH!"
All for One found himself cut off as the vent above him flew off its hinges directly into his head.
"What in the hell?!" All for One looked up just in time to see a set of claws directly in front of his eyes, before he didn't see much of anything. "Grah! Son of a bitch!"
Izuku found himself flung to the side as All for One clutched his face from the sudden assault. His assailant was quick, however, and jumped off him to Izuku's side immediately.
"Sorry for the delay, Young Midoriya. I had to wait a while for him to get close enough to a vent for a sneak attack." The suited mammal said apologetically.
"Nezu! So, you were the one who let the restraints loose." All for One growled, turning to the two of them as the claw marks on his face began to heal almost immediately. While it wasn't the same as Cellular Activation, he clearly possessed a strong Regeneration Quirk. "I knew I should have checked the ship for rats."
"I believe it is time to abandon ship." Nezu said as All for One finished healing. Izuku felt a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly found him and Nezu falling back into the hole in the center of the room, having crossed the room in a flash. All for One raised a hand to stop them by some mean, but the principal smirked as he raised his paw, revealing a string attached to it. "Oh, and I do hope you enjoy my departing gift. It's the bomb, as the kids say."
As they fell back, the string became taut, and Izuku and All for One both followed the thread back and up to the vent the rodent had emerged from. The pull dragged an object out of the vent, which quickly began to fall to the floor. It seemed to be a random assortment of parts cobbled together in an unknown form, with a great glowing light in the center.
"No!" All for One cried, turning his attention to the makeshift bomb and leaving Izuku and Nezu to escape uncontested.
Izuku let out a sigh at momentarily escaping the Demon King's grasp. As they fell (or floated, would be more accurate) down, he turned back to see the blurry figure who had grabbed him by the shoulder and moved him, only to find Mr. Oguro right behind him. Or at least, Izuku assumed it was him.
The man looked a decade younger, at least. And the scars that had adorned his face and limbs were nowhere to be found. He shot Izuku his usual toothy grin though, and Izuku knew for sure this was his same teacher from before.
"Mr. Oguro!" Izuku cried out in relief. "You look completely different, and have your Quirk again! How?"
"That little girl of yours was a bit too good at her job. Guess she didn't realize that those pretty marks on my face weren't from that fight. Not that I'm complaining. It's nice having Overclock back, or a body that's falling apart at the seems." Mr. Oguro said, running a hand along where his old scars used to be. He then glanced around at the surroundings they floated down around. "So, where the hell did that bastard take us?"
Izuku looked around as well but saw almost nothing but desert. Sandy plains and hills were all that surrounded them in the night sky, but directly below them appeared to be an airfield of some sort built within a salt flat. The ground around where they were descending though had been broken away, revealing a metal structure with a circular opening just like the one they had just jumped out of.
"Hmm. If my rough calculations of speed, direction, and time are correct, I believe we are currently in the State of Nevada, within the United States of America." Nezu answered quickly, nodding as he finished glancing around. "And our current scenery has helped narrow the exact location considerably. I do believe this is Area 51."
"What?" Izuku looked down at the Airfield in surprise. "But I thought that place was just an urban legend or something?"
"Oh, it is very much a thing." Nezu insisted. "While never officially confirmed, the site is likely used by the U.S. to develop and test top secret aircraft and weapons system, which helped to push rumours of extraterrestrial sightings. Although current events lead me to believe these reports weren't entirely in error."
Mr. Oguro let out a sigh. "You can say that again. It looks we just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Unless you're going to tell me that isn't a second UFO sticking out of the ground there."
The three of them quickly approached the open gateway and passed from the open darkness to a confined one. It was pitch black as they continued floated down, but lights in the distance suddenly turned on. Row by row, the lights in the distance activated, revealing…
"Pods." Izuku gasped. There were hundreds of them lining the dome like room they had entered. It appeared to be a scaled-up version of the room in the UFO they had just exited. "So many of them. Is this where everyone is?"
"No." Nezu answered quietly, a snarl in his voice. "They all appear to be empty. Considering that they somehow took billions of people in an instant, I doubt the alien's method of containment is a physical one. These are likely meant for… testing."
Izuku shuddered at the thought, glancing up the way they had come. Fortunately, no All for One was in site yet. He didn't know why the man hadn't caught up to them yet. "Aliens wanting to experiment on mankind. It's almost to crazy to believe. And that the worst Villain in history is working with them."
"I fear it's somehow more complicated than that." Nezu said. "For better or worse, All for One is the man in charge, and the Alien is out of the picture."
Izuku looked over at Nezu in shock. "What?! How is-"
"Izuku!"
The three turned at the sound to see Melissa waving to the from the bottom of the room as they approached the end of the gravity wells path. She was waving up to them, as were the rest of the group. Dr. Abrahams was there, along with Wedge, Kagome and the three kids. All of them appeared to be unharmed.
As Izuku's feet finally touched the ground, Melissa ran forward and threw her arms around him.
"Thank goodness you are okay! I barely had a chance to wake up before seeing that other Villain standing over you! Who was that?" She cried.
"Someone we would be best not running into again." Nezu answered for Izuku. He glanced around the room and pointed to what appeared to be a door along the wall in the distance. "I believe a further tactical retreat is in order."
"R-Right." Melissa agreed, and everyone began to run in the pointed direction. As they did, she glanced over to Kagome. "Miss Kagome. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get involved with this? I didn't see you at the tower with the rest of us."
"Oh that?" Kagome replied nervously, glancing at Samuel oddly for a moment. The two seemed to share a sort of silent conversation, before continuing. "Those jerks took me hostage when they arrived along with Samuel. They wanted to know more about Katsuma's Quirk, and I happened to be unlucky enough to be able to inform them."
"True. It was most unfortunate timing." Samuel added quickly. "She had come to ask about my work into Quirks at the same time those Villains snuck in, and we both ended up wrapped up in their schemes."
"And I assume that they happened to take the gun with Quirk Erasing Bullets I lent you for Eri as well?" Nezu deduced.
"Yeah." Kagome replied with a growl. "Guess they figured out what it did after that buddy of theirs got hit with one. Did one of you get hit?"
"Yeah, I did." Izuku admitted.
"Only because you had to save me, again." Katsuma said sadly.
"We already told you, this wasn't your fault." Izuku reminded the boy.
"Wait, you lost your Quirk?!" Kagome exclaimed in horror, and a few of the others looked at him in worry as well. "Well… Shit. Let's hope it was one of the bullets on the shorter side, or we're screwed."
Izuku couldn't help but agree. Their current team's output wasn't that great. They were mostly children or Quirkless, after all. And they could only do so much against one of the deadliest men of the century.
"We're almost there." Wedge said as they approached the door. "I hope you know how to get this door open, Nezu."
"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out." Nezu exclaimed, jumping up to a panel next to the door, and ripping it open. He began to fiddle with the electronics within.
"Since when could you hotwire alien electronics sir?" Melissa asked in amazement.
"I remembered thirty minutes ago, young Melissa. Though I think it's always been something I knew to do." Nezu replied with a hint of nostalgia.
"Is that implying what I think it means?" Samuel asked through a gasping breath, still recovering from the sprint to the door.
"Can we just focus on getting the door open?" Kagome asked with a growing concern. "All for One could be here any minute, and then we're all-Guh?!"
There was a gurgling sound that came from Kagome's throat, and everyone turned to her just in time to see a black sludge expel itself from her mouth, quickly engulfing her entirely. Mr. Oguro was the first to act, using his newly returned Quirk top reach into the sludge, only for his hand to pass through. The sludge then dissipated, leaving only empty space where the nurse had been.
"Miss Kagome!" Eri cried. "Where did she go?!"
"I fear that was one of All for One's Quirks. She's likely back in his hands now." Nezu revealed as he finally got the door open. He quickly jumped through, signalling for the others to follow. "I fear that there's nothing we can do to help her in our current state. Come, quickly!"
Izuku spared one last glance back to the opening in the domed room, seeing the moonlight pouring in. Back where Kagome had been taken. He wouldn't let that Villain hurt another innocent person. He would save her, somehow.
~A few moments earlier~
All for One couldn't help but let out an annoyed growl as he used a combination of telekinetic and shielding Quirks to keep the makeshift 'bomb' contained. Of course, it is unlikely that the Rat had managed to create an actual explosive device out of these alien scraps, but he couldn't take the chance of his new Flagship going up in flames.
He used some more Quirks to compress the shielded device into a clump of scrap, and when it didn't detonate, he floated it over to him, releasing the shield and vaporizing it immediately. Here was clearly never any danger, but now he had wasted time letting all his captives escape, if only for a moment.
Well, almost all of them. He turned to look at Nine, still unconscious in his pod. It isn't surprising that they left the man behind.
As he prepared to follow his quarry once more, the UFO's main terminal began to flash in warning. All for One let out a sigh as he turned to the screens. "Now what?" he asked, placing a hand on the terminal.
[Warning! Suspected hostile units approaching the Main Facility!]
"What? What is this voice?!" All for One shouted. It was just like the one that the Alien had used to communicate with him.
[This is the network of connected Controller devices. As the Master Controller, all units are designed to communicate directly with you. Any further Queries?]
All for One let out a sigh of relief. He had nearly thought that the Alien had regained control somehow. This turn of events would make things much easier, as he was worried he'd have to manually operate all this alien technology.
"Hmm, let's see…" He thought aloud, wondering about his first command. The hostile forces approaching, almost certainly the U.S. military, were likely his current greatest concern. His hostages, while important, were currently like mice (or rats) in a maze of his control and could be dealt with at any time. But the U.S. always could pull some surprise on him. "How many hostile forces are approaching?"
[Uploading data now.]
The screens in front of him were suddenly filled with hundreds upon hundreds of dots, each indicating a vehicle or drone of some sort. If All for One didn't know any better, he'd think the entirety of the States' continental force had converged on his location. They were coming from all directions and approaching at rapid speeds.
"It's glad to see that at least the U.S. have taken their post Quirk Society military seriously." He muttered under his breath. He then focused on the Controller Quirk within him. "Could you not just send the Flyer to deal with them?"
[While previous combat data indicates that the unit would succeed against such a force, the chances of the hostiles reaching and compromising the Main Facility through overwhelming numbers would be guaranteed.]
"That would be… annoying." He hummed as he went over his options. While he could try and attack the forces himself, it would likely be a huge risk. He was more familiar fighting other superpowered humans, not legions of armed units. And the U.S. definitely wouldn't play as fair as Heroes.
No, he needed something to keep the military out while he gained full control of the Main Facility and retrieved his brother's Quirk. Like some sort of wall or field that they would be unable to pass, like an electro-magnetic field of some sort. But where would he find that?
His eyes scanned across the room, and he remembered the sole remaining prisoner within his grasp.
"Oh yes. That would work wonderfully."
All for One strode over to Nine, placing a hand on his head. Red double-helix marks suddenly began to spread throughout the frail man's body, altering it at a cellular level. Nine had originally come to him and the Doctor to fix the damage his Weather Manipulation Quirk did to his body, so it was only fair he fulfilled that wish.
As the man writhed under his grip, he finally awakened. But before he could retaliate, All for One activated the Controller Quirk he had foisted onto him earlier, the one that had been meant to control him. Nine suddenly snapped still, unable to go against his own will.
"That should be enough to start with." All for One stated. "Now then, activate a hurricane around this point with an eye of 30 kilometers in diameter. Make the storm clouds as electrically charged as possible."
Nine's body convulsed as he felt Weather Manipulation activate through the Controller Quirk. It also showed how Nine's body had begun to slowly damage itself. It looked like he will be needing to make further adjustments with Genetic Manipulation. But it would hold out for a while longer than before, allowing him to focus back on his original goal.
"It's time to go and get my brother's Quirk back. Computer, locate the escapees in the Main Facility!" All for One commanded the Controller units, only for nothing to happen. He stood in silence for a few moments before commanding them again. "I said, locate One for All!"
[Error. Command could not be completed.]
"Why not? Are you disobeying me?"
[Negative. The Controller unit you possess is also the one originally meant to manage the Main Facility and must be connected directly to issue commands for security purposes. Any further queries to the Main Facility must be made physically until a replacement unit is installed.]
"Oh," All for One looked at the nearby pile of ash that originally was his alien collaborator. "Damn."
That… certainly threw a wrench in his plan. He supposed he was a bit hasty in tying up loose ends. Normally he'd hold on to such a useful specimen, maybe let the Doctor poke around at it. Guess he took being effectively Quirkless more than he thought.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to go get them myself." All for One said to himself.
But sparing a glance at his new pawn showed that much more work with Genetic Manipulation would be needed to maintain the storm barrier that was currently forming outside. He couldn't leave now without risking the military arriving and complicating things. If only he could be in two places at once.
… Or maybe he could be. He would need another body, but perhaps he could complete both tasks at once. First though, he needed to acquire said body. Nine's was too busy being used to maintain the storm, so the only option would be those among the escapees.
He reached out with Warping, trying to detect any persons that could be reached with its effects. After some searching, a single bond could be detected. He was surprised at first that it had formed with her of all people, but eventually he could see the twisted logic of it.
They both cared so deeply about his Quirk after all.
With a single tug he activated Warping, and a black liquid formed next to him, dispensing Kagome Mirai mere moments later. She grabbed the woman by the neck as she was busy coughing up the invasive fluid and lifted her up threateningly.
"So, we meet again, Kagome Mirai. It appears that fate is not done with you just yet." All for One said as she quickly realized her predicament. "Now, maybe you can answer me a couple questions. Firstly, where is the Midoriya boy's Quirk?"
Kagome didn't answer for a few moments, but a little squeeze was all it took to make her talk.
"I-It was a Quirk Erasing Bullet!" All for One gripped tighter unconsciously. "B-But it'll, guh, come back eventually! Less than an hour!" she quickly clarified, and he loosened his grip slightly.
"Are their any more of these bullets?" All for One asked.
"The one Nine had got lost in the fight. Nezu might have some, but I think he left his back at I-Island."
"That's good to know." All for One said. He could always use his Truth-Knowing Quirk to clarify if he ran into the Rat, but it was good to know that such a potentially dangerous tool was not in his opponent's hands.
Nine's body convulsed again from the use of his Quirk, and All for One decided to move onto the main event. Kagome looked over at the controlled Villain and then to him in horror.
"W-What are you going to do to me?" She asked frightened. "I-I can't hurt you, so maybe I can-"
"Hush now, Kagome Mirai." he shushed. "You have no need to fear me. In fact, I'm here to give you exactly what you wanted."
He activated Warping one more time, reaching out to the strongest bond he could find. Himself. One activation of Warping later, and an odd brain now rest in his free hand. The one containing his copied Quirk. The one that the Alien had stored away for later study.
"Rejoice." All for One almost commanded, as he activated Genetic Manipulation, bringing his copied Quirk towards Kagome. "If All for One is what you wanted, then All for One is what you shall become."
Kagome began to struggle wildly in his grip as the red double-helix began to spread across her body. "No wait! Please don't, I'll- AHHHHHHHHHH!"
The woman let out a wail as her body began to rewrite itself, as it reached into and added his Quirk to her body. The transfer may have been quicker, but the number of bodily changes required were no different. The extensive process ran throughout her without restraint, changing every inch of her to accommodate All for One.
The process would almost certainly break a normal person's mind. But that was fine, as there would be a new one controlling it shortly. That just made the process of transfer all the easier.
He finished off the transfer by using a combination of All for One and Genetic Manipulation, finally transferring the copied Quirk in its entirety to the full body. He dropped the now-useless alien brain and lowered 'Kagome Mirai' to 'her' feat.
The body stabilized itself as All for One's hand removed itself from its neck, and slowly it began to tilt its head up to him, letting out a smirk.
"Well, isn't this a surprise. And here I thought you'd forgotten about little old me." Kagome's voice spoke out with a cutting edge.
"I would never leave my Quirk in the hand of one who had no plans to use it." All for One replied to his copied Vestige. "You are caught up on the situation, yes?"
"Of course. Between yours and hers, I have a good idea of the situation." The second All for One responded. "So, how do you want to play this?"
"The 'organic processor' that contained you had a copy of Genetic Manipulation within it, likely to fine-tune it to whatever Quirk wound up inside it, along with a lowest-level Controller to respond to commands." All for One explained as the copy began to observe themselves, the red double-helix appearing. "I was able to copy my own Controller Quirks 'permission level' to you. If you can get to the organic core of the Main Facility, you can transfer yourself into it and we can regain control of it."
"And save One for All for later? Then what's the point in all of this?" The copy pouted, much to his surprise.
"Well, it's not like we can currently take it. I suppose if the opportunity arrives you can capture the current holder. But we need to retake the Main Facility before the U.S. forces get hasty and decide to… cut their losses." All for One said nervously. He turned back to Nine, reactivating his own version of Genetic Manipulation. "I'll get Nine's body working at full capacity, then come join you once I've confirmed their current forces have been dealt with.
"Sounds like I'm the one doing all the work to me, but it must be done." The copy sighed, turning and hopping down the hole into the gravitational beam. "But if that heroic child decides to get in the way, I might decide to humour myself for a bit."
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his copy disappeared and descended to the Main Facility. He wasn't expecting such cheekiness from it. Could it be due to the younger body, or that it was female? Or maybe some remaining part of the original host? Not that it mattered, as 'All for One' was still the man in charge.
With the continued improvements to Nine's body, the storm outside continued to grow. Hall for One transferred over one copy of his super regeneration, along with a couple of other Quirks to stabilize his body, rewriting them directly into the man's system. Without All for One to manipulate the multiple Quirks, it started to wear the body down at an unprecedented level. But it will be able to keep the powerful storm up for as long as he needed, and with the Controller Quirk, he could keep Nine going long after the man himself would be unable to consciously.
He cast a glance at the screen displaying the world outside the UFO, revealing a cylinder of clouds from the ground up higher than any clouds should naturally form. The clouds were all a darker black than the night sky and rumbled and flashed with uncontrollable lightning. A truly terrifying sight. No wonder Nine thought himself a god.
Casting a glance at the overhead map indicating approaching hostiles, All for One nodded as he saw that all approaching dots had slowed or stopped their movements. Between the lack of sight and dangerous winds and lightning, no vehicles could make it past. All he had to do was order the Flyer to attack, and it would pick of the locked-out forces like ants.
"The UFO and Flyer can pass these storm walls, right?" He quickly confirmed with the controller network.
[Correct. The energy shielding used by both can withstand the wind and electronic disturbances from the surrounding storms.]
"Good. Then send the Flyer out and… what is this?" All for One nearly ordered the attack, but a set of approaching dots on the screen made him pause. Seven in total, all in V-shaped formation. They moved at speeds that could only be obtained by fighter jets, and when they reached where the storm wall was, they barely even slowed. "Who…?"
He looked up to the camera view of his surroundings, looking at the black curtain of clouds in the direction that these mysterious fighters were approaching from. Soon, lights could be seen poking form the darkness and the V-shaped X-66 shot out of the darkness, followed by six others. All of them had a shine around them like some sort of… energy shielding. He squinted as they shot past the UFO and Flyer, noticing the symbol adorning their wings.
Rogue Squadron.
"So, even without your precious Stars and Stripes to follow, you go poking your nose in my business." All for One growled. He would not have that woman's pitiful, Quirkless excuse for sidekicks get in his way now of all times. "Forget the other forces. Flyer, shoot down those jets!"
[Affirmative.]
"That lightning will fry our tanks! All units fall back!"
"The storms wind will knock us out of the sky!"
"This is Biggs of Rogue Squadron. We have entered the Eye and engaged one of the targets!"
As the various radio chatter echoed nearby, one man sat worriedly behind a desk that didn't truly belong to him. Yet, this was a time of crisis, so he stepped up. He watched as others scrambled around him, trying to compile information to report to him, but he could already tell it wasn't good news.
"Mr. Acting President." A woman said as she approached his desk.
"Report." He said in a weary voice.
"It appears that an unknown weather phenomenon was appeared around the site." The woman said, showing her tablet and displaying a live feed of the monstrous twister that had appeared in the middle of the Nevada Desert. "Its sudden appearance is similar to the one that formed in I-Island only an hour ago, meaning it is likely caused by the Quirk of the Japanese Villain known as Nine."
"I thought our reports suggested that a storm of this scale would kill him?" He said, glancing to one of the many papers stacked on his desk, a report from the acting Japanese government.
"He could be on Trigger or found a Quirk that could alleviate any negative side effects. Whatever the reason, the storm shows little sign of stopping." The woman answered.
"Did we at least get someone inside before the storm wall appeared?" He asked desperately.
"I'm sorry, sir." A man, one of the few remaining generals, said apologetically as he saluted to him. "I'm afraid that none of our forces reached the site in time. The only forces that have managed to breach the storm are Rogue Squadron, due to the X-66's experimental shielding tech. They are currently engaging the smaller UFO that attacked our forces last time, while the large UFO remains above the site."
"And what are the chances of them being able to take down this threat themselves?" He asked.
The General appeared to consider the odds in his head for a moment, before arriving at an answer. "Rogue Squadron is the best team we have, and the X-66's shield and beam tech were reverse engineered from the very opponent they face. With some fortune, I believe they can take out the enemy fighter craft…"
"But?" He added, noticing a worrying pause at the end of his declaration.
"While the larger UFO was in our care at I-Island, we examined the extent of its capabilities thoroughly. While it lacked any offensive weaponry, it's shields are theoretically strong enough to withstand all Rogue Squadron's beam output combined." The General revealed sadly.
"Meaning that the Villain controlling the storm is unreachable, and that we can't send in reinforcements." He finished, leaning back with a sigh. "Do we really have nothing else that could get through the storm? Or maybe a weapon that can pierce it?"
There was another silence as the General thought again. "Mr. Acting President, perhaps it is time to consider the… Nuclear option?"
"No!" He slammed his hands down, standing from his desk. Everyone turned to look, but he gave them a wave to continue as he leaned in towards his two advisors. "I will not be the first person to order a nuclear strike on the planet since Nagasaki, and especially not on our own territory, for Christ's sake."
"Sir," The General gave him a pleading look. "They're the only weapons we have confirmed can damage the UFO through their shields."
"And?! I saw the information you presented before. Anything that has enough yield to damage the UFO will likely cause severe damage to the underground facility where our only clue to the missing peoples is, if not outright kill them. We still don't know how they have captured everyone." He countered.
"Your concern is noted, sir." The General said, clearly torn as well. "But your current duty is to all your citizens. Including the ones that are still here. We don't know what these Aliens are planning next, but they've already demonstrated an overwhelming level of control and power over us. If we don't take this opportunity, they might destroy us, or leave and come back with a bigger army. We must take this chance."
He let out a sigh as the Generals words stung true. Did he damn those who were missing, or possibly risk damning them all. He supposed that was what his new job as President of the United States was supposed to decide.
"While I understand the importance of this issue," The woman from before said, drawing his attention again. "Even if we wanted to use… the option of last resort, we would have no way of properly delivering the payload to the target. The wind and electricity from the storm is strong enough that it would tear apart any drone or jet before it could pass the storm. And the chance of a missile shot through the storm missing or failing to hit a direct target is also unlikely."
"If we can't guarantee a direct hit, then there's no point." The General admitted. "The chances of a retaliatory strike or for them to escape is too high. The only jets capable of passing through the storm are already in the Eye. And any missile with the capability of rising high enough above the storm were decommissioned decades ago. Do we truly have no option?"
He couldn't help but let out a laugh. The America before the Collapse likely would have been able to neutralize such a threat easily. ICBM's and other far reaching nuclear weapons were aplenty. But with the scare of the Collapse and the wide-ranging peace that came afterward, Nuclear disarmament had finally been reached. It wasn't complete of course, but even the ones they had kept were limited in scope. To think that peace on earth had doomed to alien destruction.
"E-Excuse me, Mr. Acting President?"
The three all turned to the voice, seeing a nervous young man holding a stack of papers that had confidential markings all over them. The patch of the nearly defunct United States Space Force could be seen on his uniform.
"Yes…?" He said, prompting the man to step forward.
"Oh, of course." He let out a salute as best he could with the papers in his hands. "Captain James Ford, sir! I'm sorry for taking so long to reach you with this information, but our command structure was already so small that it took me day's to even find what of our branch remained. Anyways, I was looking over any data we had on aliens using my emergency clearance, which we had a surprising amount of, but when I saw how we shot own one of those UFOs before and I asked myself how we did it and-"
The Captains rambling was cut off with a cough from the General. "Captain, if you could get to answering our question today."
"Sorry, sir! It must be all the coffee getting to me." The captain then moved forward, adding his stack of papers to the others among the presidential desk. "So, I found this old project file, and it turns out the system is still up and running for this exact situation. It won't work without presidential authority, so I had to drive for a whole day just to get to the White House."
"You couldn't have just faxed over the information?" The woman asked.
"What's a fax?" The Captain asked, much to the annoyance of the woman.
"So how exactly does this system work?" The General asked, focusing back on the task at hand.
"It's simple really! We just need to attack from above the Eye of the storm!" The Captain answered cheerfully.
"No missile will be able to get over and into the storm fast enough to prevent the target from dodging." The General pointed out.
"Oh, don't worry. The payload already has a direct line with the target. And it's firing system can launch a projectile at Mach 25." The Captain said a little to casually.
"What."
As the others stared at the Captain with horror, the Acting President reached over to the files, looking at the cover page and stared. The Captain was certainly solve their problem. But at what cost?
[Anti-Extraterrestrial Weapons Plan #343]
[Orbit to Orbit/Surface Electromagnetically Propelled Nuclear Delivery Satellite]
[Codename: RAGNAROK]
Next Chapter: From Earth to Stars