Suri is in big trouble. The raid on King Saber begins.

You know those times when you lie to your parents and they just seem to know you're lying your ass off? Like the story could've been absolutely perfect and you would've gotten away with it but for some reason their pesky intuition gets in the way?

Yeah. That happened.

Dad knew.

He didn't say anything at first so Suri thought she was in the clear. She and Yumei turned in Enishi, Suri filed a small report that had omitted any names, and then they'd gone back to the dorms. Oh and they'd found Izuku waiting for them. Of course the girls were way too tired to do anything, but waking up wrapped up - literally - with Yumei and Izuku was just as great and made for a really nice, comfy morning. Actually it was half past noon when they woke up.

In fact, they had that Saturday all to themselves, which was great because Suri got to spend time with her polycule. It was a day filled with relaxing conversation, cuddling, good food, and of course a ridiculous amount of making out. Another night in together made it so Suri was completely revitalized by Sunday morning and she was ready to make it another great lazy day.

And that's when it happened.

A call first thing on a Sunday morning was not the indicator that Suri had been found out though. No, that was when she'd showed up and they started on patrol. In fact, almost everyone was on patrol. Then, half way through patrol, Alpha pulled Suri and Rook up to an observation deck overlooking the city and dropped the bomb.

"So, when were you going to tell me you ran into Himiko Toga and Jin Bubaiwarga Friday night?" he asked point blank. The slight flinch in Suri and hearing Yumei's breath hitch on their comm devices was even more proof. "You wanna give me a good fuckin reason?"

"Sorry, sir, we-"

"We ran into them on the way home," Suri sighed, cutting off Yumei. She'd take the brunt of the blame cause she didn't want the snake girl blaming herself for anything. "Enishi had attacked them and I thought they were just a random couple at first. I recognized Bubaiwarga after I took Enishi down and saw that he was hurt pretty badly and having a panic attack. I didn't think about him being a villain, I just saw a guy who was going through a really bad mental crisis. And actually helping talk him down was working."

"So when did Toga attack?" Alpha asked bluntly.

"When they realized I knew who they were. I was in the middle of bandaging Bubaiwarga up when Toga got desperate," Suri sighed as she explained herself. "We fought and wrestled around in the street but then Twice started - well he started to become Twice so I ignored her and started calming him down again. Once I got him down… I let them go."

"You, girl, are a giant dumbass," Alpha glared at Suri.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Suri looked away, grumbling to herself.

"And you'd be in deep shit right now but you're not."

"Wait, what?"

"But, if either of you lie to me again, you're both fired. You'll have your license revoked and I'll send you back to the states, Vipress, your recommendations will be pulled. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" both Suri Yumei gulped.

"Now, let's talk about why you're not getting expelled, shall we? Because I don't even know where to begin on this one. First," he crossed his arms over his chest but left one free enough to jab a finger at Suri's chest. "The whole report thing stunk to high heaven. You're smarter than that, I know that for damn sure. You lied about the incident and you lied about who attacked you because Enishi's Quirk should have led us straight back to you, right?"

Shit.

"Yes… it should have," Suri shifted nervously.

"Instead it led us straight to Bubaiwarga. After interrogating Enishi we started piecing things together. The fact that you lied has me pissed," Alpha growled, bearing down on Suri. "The fact that your little gamble saved us a week's worth of work… Fuck, I don't know where to begin on what I'm feeling."

That made Suri freeze, reconsider his words, and then look up at her dad with a confused expression strewn across it. He was morally torn about the situation.

"You lied to us. Betrayed all of our trust. But… you also led us right to the bastard."

"I did?"

"Enishi's Quirk," Alpha sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. "Instead of leading us back to you and UA, like it should have, it led us to an office building downtown. We hadn't thought anything of it at first because it's owned by the Detnerat Company. But now? Now we believe he commandeered the place and has been using it for months."

"It helped explain why a team was able to mobilize and attack us during the raid on the waterfront compound," Rook added. "And why Gemini had the compound in the first place."

"So they've been basically next door this entire time?" Suri asked, shaking her head.

"Seems that way," Alpha sighed and moved to stare down the office building in question a couple blocks away from them. The view was gorgeous from up here as night began to fall onto the city. Suri's attention was taken away from the view of the city skyline to an elevator dinging behind them, the doors opening to reveal DreamWeaver arriving with Taiga. "Anyway, there's a reason you're still here and not shelved for insubordination."

"We're running an agency-wide protocol that we need all hands on deck for," DreamWeaver stated as she came to join the group. Taiga joined the group as well, hugging Suri tightly as she joined her friend and came to stand next to her. "But since you still need to be punished, you won't be seeing real action tonight."

"But," Suri tried protesting but was met by her dad holding up a hand to cut her off and DreamWeaver doing the same. Both of them gave her stern, cold looks that made her shut up in an instant. She grumbled under her breath before finally letting out that breath in a sigh and nodding in response. "Okay, okay. Yes, sir, yes, ma'am."

"Rook, you'll be on me and DreamWeaver's lead, understood?" Alpha spoke sternly, still eyeing Suri's expression. He was making sure the lesson was getting across.

"And what of me?" Taiga asked curiously, quirking an eyebrow.

"You and Wild Eyes will be observing from here. We know that you're the next one on King Saber's list of those he wishes to attack. She will be your guard detail," DreamWeaver grinned, watching both girls' faces sour with the response. Neither of them would be going anywhere. Before Taiga could say anything, Jomo held up a hand to her as well. "No, Miss Mutekabe. While I appreciate the intel and valuable information you have provided us, I cannot, in good faith, allow you to come."

Taiga grumbled indignantly. It showed that she really wanted to be there when the heroes took her father down. Not that anyone in the room blamed her.

"In that case, I must insist you take these with you," she said as she stepped forward and removed three beaded bracelets from her wrist. She handed one to each of the veteran pro heroes and took a step back to put her posture into something more professional. She straightened her back, puffed out her chest and cleared her throat as if she was giving a boardroom presentation, which is exactly what she did next.

"These support items are ones I specifically created for this mission's task. While these may look like pearl jewelry, I assure you, they are far more capable than what their looks might suggest. Firstly, the gold beads," she lifted her arm, showing three more bracelets still on her wrist. The dozen or so beads around the bracelet were all a bright gold color, save for two black beads next to each other which Taiga had on the bottom of her wrist. "Each is a compact smoke grenade that has a small payload of gas meant for subduing enemy combatants. Specifically lycanthropes."

That made Alpha flinch ever so slightly and stop touching and messing with the device.

"To activate one of the beads, you simply press and hold the sides for two seconds, this will release them from the band and will set the trigger. Once the bead is released there is a five second timer before the trigger releases the payload. And yes, I will answer what that payload is, Alpha, sir," Taiga nodded towards the big man, noting his slight impatience. "The gas is released from the combustion of a small amount of nitrous oxide that will help it spread over a two meter radius. The gas itself is the combination of Aconitum Ranunculaceae and Conium Maculatum Apiaceae, in minute amounts of course."

"Wait, I know those names," Suri said as she realized through the scientific jargon and mambo jumbo what those names were.

"Wolfsbane and Hemlock," Alpha said, stunned as his hands moved away from the bracelet. Everyone else did the same. "Good fuck, kid. I dunno if I take this thing with me."

"I assure you, one bead will be sufficient enough to take down a powerful wereanimal such as my father but will not have any long term effects," Taiga reassured.

"Yes, one will, but what about the rest," DreamWeaver asked with concern in her voice.

"After the payload is expelled, a secondary timer of thirty seconds is activated in which the second half of the bead will be used. The chamber is a split core with one being the toxin to subdue your opponent and the second being the antitoxin which will suppress and heal the minute momentary damage your opponent should take."

"And what of the black pearls," Rook asked as he continued to inspect the support item.

"Just touching it in the same manner as the gold beads will release the clip," she explained, demonstrating with one of the remaining bracelets. When the black bead clicked, the bracelet came undone and extended, revealing a thin cord underneath that was about a meter in length. "The secondary function, once the toxins have subdued your target, is that it is also a capture weapon, also designed for lycanthrope villains. The retractable cord does more than look pretty, it's made with a thin fiber thread imbued with silk, as to not hurt human assailants which you capture, and silver nitrate, to make sure your lycanthrope opponents do not have the strength to break free."

"In this compact of a structure," DreamWeaver blinked as she looked back and forth between the bracelet and Taiga. "My, young lady, you are something else."

"It is what is expected of me," Taiga replied simply. "My grandfather was the one who started Byakko International, he was the noble king of our ambush. My father tarnished everything he had built. It's my noble duty to right the wrongs of my predecessor and restore the values instilled by our founder."

"And you did all of this in twenty four hours?" Alpha asked curiously.

"Creating the prototypes which you have now, yes," Taiga answered. "In truth however, I have been planning these, just in case, for several years now. This is why I enrolled in UA."

"Then we'll make sure to put these into good use," DreamWeaver nodded and turned to look out the window of the observatory. She took a deep breath then, held it in and then released it slowly. Her eyes had closed when she breathed in but when they opened again, the gentle astonishment was gone, replaced by a look of steady determination as she reached up and tapped the communication device against her ear. "DreamWeaver to all operators, it's time. Alpha, Beta, Echo, begin wave one. Charlie, Delta, Omega, wave two will commence in t-minus five minutes. Foxtrot, Gamma, Tango, wave three in t-minus ten. Oscar, Mike, November, Whiskey, set the perimeter. No one in or out without Alpha team's call. Rook you're with Alpha. Vipress you're with Sasayaki and Alexandria as our switchboard. Wild Eyes you have possession of the VIP."

"Ma'am."

A chorus of voices rang out in unison through everyone's device, enough so that it was a little startling. Suri had never heard a strict adherence in unison. One simple word and everyone was off. It made Suri shiver from just how much of a presence DreamWeaver had when it came to when she was on the job out in the field. The last raid had her at home base and she'd been a force to be reckoned with pulling double duty of holding the base together guiding the team operators and protecting the base. Now, she was a general. The amount of domineering aura she had around her now was a far cry from the gentle and humble woman she was on a normal day to day basis. This side of her showed that you really didn't want to be on the spider woman's bad side.

"Right this way, lady and gentlemen," Hellfire spoke, appearing in a flash of emerald green and black smoke. His eyes glowed with green fire as his hands sparked with the same emerald energy and fire before a whirling vortex opened beside him. Inside the vortex Suri could see what looked to be the roof of the tall building across from them. The view was looking down directly onto a wide circular concrete pad with a large red H on it. "Fifteen seconds before any sorcerers they might have over there sense this here doorway. Best on hurry."

Alpha, DreamWeaver, and Rook marched forward, straight for Hellfire's doorway. Before entering, Alpha turned and gave Suri a hard, direct glare. It wasn't one that you get from your boss but from your dad. Because in that split second that's what Suri needed to be reminded of. He wasn't just her boss on this mission, this was her dad she was talking to.

"Stay here. Don't move unless you hear the word, am I clear?"

"Yes, sir."

And with that, Alpha gave Suri a soft smile and a wink before he disappeared into the vortex. Another flash of green fire and smoke saw the doorway disappear as suddenly as it came and from their vantage point, Suri and Taiga could now see the result. Hellfire had opened a portal directly above the building, letting himself, Alpha, DreamWeaver, and Rook drop onto the helipad and hit the roof access doors running. Team Alpha was going in through the top while Beta and Echo came in through the ground floor in a two pronged attack.

It was a smart plan.

And all Suri could do was sit back and grumble as she watched from here with her friend. She enjoyed the company, she truly did. But with all of the flashes and explosions she could see and hear from here were enough to make the itch worse. She needed to be over there. She needed to be in the fight and see this through. What was the point of this round of work studies if she wasn't able to?

"One of your gambles finally caught up with you, I suppose?" Taiga asked, offering a soft bit of sarcasm as she nudged Suri with her elbow.

"Ugh. Yeah. Yeah it did," Suri sighed and let out a humorless chuckle. "It made me do some thinking though. Like how Friday night and the other night were so different in my reactions, ya know what I mean?"

"I don't know all of the details of Friday night, my queen. Just that you had broken protocol from what your father said," Taiga shrugged.

"Ah, well… Let's just say I ran into two pretty notorious members of the League of Villains and I may have perhaps let them go," Suri chuckled softly, scratching the back of her head. Taiga simply gave her an incredulous look. "With you… I was angry because I felt like the trust we had wasn't as strong as I thought it was. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized you keeping your family's secret… well… secret… wasn't any different from me and my class. Hell I know some of them still resent having a murderer in their midst."

"Suri…"

"It's fine, really," Suri shook her head and held up her hand with a smile. It made Taiga pause and give the girl beside her a weak smile in return. "Like I said, I can't say I blame them or you for any of those feelings. It's not my right," Suri shrugged and then sighed and continued her reasonings. "Anyway, the other night I ran into Twice and Toga. There's a part of me that says I should have nabbed the both of them and Enishi. That's the guy that was mugging them. The part of me that night though, I didn't see villains. Enishi and Toga both have blood Quirks so, growing up, they should have had counseling from the vampires to get a handle on their Quirks and the stigma surrounding blood types. Instead of having a support network, the vamps in this country just don't care."

Suri let out a frustrated grunt and ruffled her fingers through her hair. The more she went over her mind how negligent the vampires in Japan had been and then seeing one of their kings in action… It made Suri more and more frustrated with them. It wasn't just that she disliked vampires now it was seeing how blatantly ignorant and apathetic they were.

"I can say I agree," Taiga sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I haven't had the most wonderful experience with them either."

"For Toga and Enishi, I see them and then I think of the vampires and I just… If they had had the support network and had been in homes that gave a shit about them… I have a really hard time believing they would have turned out like they did. And Twice? Shit, that night, I didn't see a villain at all. He was having a massive ass mental breakdown and… fuck, I just saw a guy that needed help," Suri choked out a humorless laugh, shrugging her shoulders again.

The two girls shared a small chuckle between them before their eyes slowly focused back on the building across from them. Suri watched, the anticipation was high. She could see all of the action going on through flashes, explosions, and one of the holes that had been blown into the side of the building. From here, it looked like everything was going well. When Suri took the time to focus on the voices in her ear coming from the comm device she was wearing, it sounded like everything was going to plan.

The second wave was already underway. Dozens upon dozens of small-time criminals and rent-a-thugs had been taken down already. They were ones that weren't too different from the ones she'd encountered on the night that they'd raided Gemini's waterfront compound. Remembering that night made Suri shiver because of how badly it had gone. Tonight they had some hope and everything was going perfect. The fight between Alpha and King Saber was at a peak, hearing that DreamWeaver, Rook, and teams Beta and Echo were being great support for him gave her more hope.

Suri was smiling and nodding as she was listening to the broadcast. Everything was going perfect! The idea that everything was going according to plan however made her freeze and the expression on her face dropped.

"My queen?" Taiga asked softly, instantly noticing the change.

Something was wrong. This all felt off.

"We've been a step or two behind King Saber this entire time," Suri breathed, flexing her fists.

"Suri?"

Taiga watched Suri turn to her and it felt like time slowed down to a snail's pace. She was watching her friend, her queen turn with absolute malicious intent in her eyes. In fact, they were burning. Green gold flames poured from her eyes and she had a flashback to the time she'd seen eyes with that much danger and rage in them. It wasn't the night Suri had beaten her to a pulp. No, it was a memory from a not so distant past, the night she watched her family be mutilated by her father. All she could do was flinch in fear. She wasn't the strong weretiger and heiress to a billion dollar company. She was just a scared little girl about to be gutted by one of her closest and dearest friends.

The weretiger felt the air escape her lungs as she was hit. She expected a cold, agonizing death to come next but she was left waiting. Instead of cold, and the air and life leaving her body, she felt warm. A comforting heat that promised her sanctuary. That's when she realized the weight and pressure being placed against her body. The cold against her calves and lower thighs was the floor beneath her, the firm pressure was enough to gauge that. But the warmth at her front that was both soft and firm, the way her head was cradled, made her realize she was being held in a protective embrace. When her eyes opened she was staring directly into Suri's chest, when they rolled upwards they saw her rage filled face staring up at someone above them.

When Suri's gut feeling had sprung to life, she turned in time to see the glinting of claws and a blur of energy coming their way. It was a flashback to the first time Gemini had made an attack but instead of Izuku and Kota this time, it was an unsuspecting Taiga. There hadn't been a flare of energy, a scent, anything that would have clued her in to the attack other than some simple cynicism. It had reminded her so much of the two previous times that her and Gemini had fought, so much so that she expected to see the crazed werehyena there. Instead her eyes went wide with a mixture of shock and rage as she clutched Taiga to her.

She'd done it!

She'd finally achieved selective transformation!

Her left arm and hand were full on beast form, a coat of her dark fur covering the large muscular arm and clawed hand. It was something she'd been trying to achieve for years now! She'd done it, with zero pop of lycanthropic energy to boot. It had been seamless, perfect, and wonderful and she should have been ecstatic.

Should have.

Instead, the anger boiled.

Not only had the excitement of accomplishing a task that some wereanimals never achieved ripped away from her. Because of course she'd achieve something like this in a desperate fight or flight response instead of the countless hours of training she'd gone through. But the excitement of seeing something else was taken from her. Months ago she would have loved staring up into those crimson eyes that studied her like she was the most fascinating person in the world. Would have loved hearing his ever so slight southern accent.

"Huh. Funny finding you here."

Suri choked out a humorless laugh. There was no joy behind her eyes, no smile on her face. Not even a trace of light heartfelt sarcasm or a sly smirk. Her eyes were cold, even as a rage filled fire began to pour from them and her lip twisted into a tight look of disgust.

"Yeah. Good to see you too… JJ."