"Hey, great workout today guys!" Kirishima cried out, pumping his fist in the air.
"Why are you yelling?" Sero complained, rubbing his ears.
"Yeah, maybe bring it down a little bit?"
They had all just returned from Gym Gamma after a long training session with Mr. Aizawa and Cementos, most of them slumped in the couches trying to recuperate.
Izuku Midoriya was sitting in one of the chairs going over his notes for the day, muttering to himself. He had progressed faster with his control of blackwhip but was still unable to grasp control of the floating quirk that belonged to All Might's predecessor, Nana Shimura. He couldn't even feel it yet.
"Hey Deku." He blinked and looked up to see Uraraka smiling at him and holding a steaming mug. "Yaoyorozu made everyone tea. Want some."
"Oh, thank you, yes please," he said eagerly, putting his notebook away.
"So, what are you working on?" she asked.
"Oh, um, well, it's kind of complicated," he said, scratching his head as he tried to think of something to say. He couldn't tell her he was looking for how to summon his new ability since that might give something away but he also didn't want to be rude.
He was saved when Ashido let out a loud gasp, drawing everyone's attention as she looked at her phone. "Another hero just went missing."
A collective gasp now joined hers as everyone pulled out their own phones to read the latest report. Deku felt a clench in his gut as he saw the name. Shinji Nishiya aka Kamui Woods, the No. 7 hero.
"That makes 13 heroes that have disappeared."
"And still no clues as to who the perpetrator is," Iida said grimly.
Over the last few weeks, there had been a rush of missing heroes. The first one to go missing had been a minor hero, Native, though Deku remembered him from his encounter with Hero-Killer Stain. While an investigation had begun, it wasn't thought to be too serious until two members of the Wild, Wild Pussycats went missing as well. And then Pro Hero Selkie followed by Rock Lock and more. Every day, someone else disappeared and the tension rose. Deku could tell from the way the teachers were acting. Everyone was worried.
He kept reading, wanting to know more. When Nishiya hadn't shown up for patrol, his coworkers had gone to his apartment only to find it trashed, clear signs of a battle. Except the door had been locked and windows closed. No signs of forced entry. Whoever was behind this had sneaked in, battled Nishiya, and then taken him.
"I hope that bastard goes for me next. I'll blast him to ash!" Bakugo roared.
Everyone ignored him, either still reading the news alert or staring at nothing in particular.
"Y-you don't think they'll actually come here, d-do you?" Mineta stuttered.
"No," Iida said firmly. "U.A. is one of the most secure facilities in all of Japan, especially after the U.S.J. attack. We have guards on constant standby and security monitors everywhere. There's no way anyone will be able to sneak in here. We're safe."
His words did seem to soothe most of the others, but Deku didn't feel better. He had noticed that mostly, the villain had targeted pro Heroes. And in their own homes. Almost like they wanted to prove something. It wasn't like with Stain fighting heroes in back alleys. Whoever this was, they were taking the battle directly to the heroes.
"Do you really believe that?"
Deku started, looking up and realizing that everyone was staring at him. He had been thinking out loud without knowing. "Oh…um…"
"You think they'll attack here?" Hagakure asked, a catch in her voice.
"Oh no, that's not what I was thinking at all!" Deku protested. "I just…"
"Midoriya has a point," Todoroki suddenly interjected, rubbing his chin. "If you look at what happened to all the others, they all were taken in their homes or offices. Places where they might have felt safe. The villain was probably trying to prove them wrong."
"And succeeded," Yaoyorozu added.
"Doesn't matter!" Bakugo growled. "I'd like to see whoever this bastard try to take me in my sleep! I'll blow him to bits!"
"He took out pro heroes though," Kaminari pointed out. "I mean, Kamui is the No. 7 hero and he was taken from his home with no signs of a struggle. If he can't do it, what makes you think yo"
"Shut up!" Bakugo roared, causing Kaminari to yelp. "I'll blast you to ash if you don't watch it!"
"The point is that whoever this villain is has attacked heroes when they were alone and occasionally two at the same time," Iida told them. "There are twenty of us here and all the teachers on standby. We are perfectly safe here. We need not worry."
"About ourselves," Asui said glumly. Deku remembered she had done her internship with the hero Selkie, one of the first to go missing. She hadn't talked much since he had disappeared.
"Gah, I wish we could do something!" Kirishima cried, pounding his fists through the air. "Just sitting around in class or training feels pointless right now."
"We can't neglect our studies," Iida reminded them, his arms coming down sharply. "Remember, now that we have our provisional licenses, we may very well be called out to aid the heroes on the streets. If that happens, we will be grateful for all the training we have received."
"Yeah, I guess."
Deku was surprised they hadn't been called out already. A few of the third years had, including Amajiki and Hado. But apparently they were holding back on the others. Deku had been meaning to talk to All Might about it but his mentor had been unavailable for the last few days. Probably trying to help how he could as well.
Still, crime had risen steadily, especially in the last week. Villains were taking advantage of the chaos to do what they wanted. Heroes all over the country were being stretched thin. It was driving Deku crazy that he couldn't go out there and help.
"Anyone up for a game?" Ojiro suggested. "You know, to take our minds off things?"
"Yeah, that sounds fun."
"Agreed."
Deku, however, didn't join in. He was too busy thinking. Who was behind all this? It didn't really feel like the League of Villains. He didn't know why he thought that, it just didn't seem like their usual tactics. No, this felt like someone else. It could be the Humarizers seeking revenge after Deku and the others had thwarted their plan to eliminate heroes across the world, but again their organization had been almost completely dismantled because of that.
This could be someone who had just been waiting in the shadows for just the moment to strike. Or, this could be someone entirely new, someone they had never encountered before. But then, who were they? And why were they doing this?
"Alright, listen up everyone."
The others all quieted down, looking towards him.
"This mission is a snatch and grab. We find the targets, put them down, and get them here and all without making a noise if possible."
"Sounds fun," the man in the back grinned.
"When I say put them down, I mean unconscious, not dead."
"Oh never mind then."
The leader of the op sighed. He would much rather be doing this himself or with his occasional partner. But with a job this big, he needed a bigger crew. He would have preferred picking out the team himself but evidently his employers decided to do that part themselves so he was stuck with who he had now.
It didn't matter. Even if he didn't like all the people here, they were all professionals. And they would get the job done.
"This is the location," he said, pressing a button on the remote causing the screen next to him to flicker to life. A picture popped up showing an aerial map. "We're striking this building," he pointed to one of the smaller buildings lining the main road. "The plan is simple. Most of us will gather on the roof. You two," he pointed to the two men sitting on the couch, "will sneak in and put each target to sleep with tranquilizers. Then, we'll swoop down, pick them up, and take them back to the roof."
"Most of us?" one of the others asked. "Why not all of us?"
"This facility is a school," the leader told him. "The people we're snatching are students. Trained but not yet at full power. The teachers, on the other hand, are fully trained and dangerous. A few of you will be on standby in case an alarm goes out and will have to hold the teachers back."
"I'm guessing that's why the big guy is here," one man said, jerking his head to the looming figure in the back.
"Yes. He will be on standby in case of emergencies."
"Hmph," the figure in question snorted.
"This is boring," the other figure in the back said, flicking a knife up and down. "I was promised a good fight."
"What you were promised was money and you'll get it if we do the job right," the leader informed him. "We want to avoid a fight if possible. I've been monitoring these individuals over the last week. Students they may be but they are highly trained and skilled. There's no telling what may happen if things escalate to an all-out brawl."
The figure smirked. "Things will get interesting. And fun."
"And that is why you will be with the big guy on standby," the leader informed him. "If the teachers get involved, you have the go ahead to use lethal force on them. We want the kids alive. The teachers, we don't care about."
The man grinned. "Goodie."
"How many kids we talking exactly?" another person asked.
"Twenty."
There were a couple whistles and low mumblings at the number.
"That's a lot."
"The full number is just preferable. That way we get the full amount we're getting paid. But, if need be, we'll take the ones we can. Now, here are our targets."
"We'll be hitting these two rooms first. 3rd floor upper right wing and 4th floor upper left wing. Those two students both have abilities related to sound which means they'll be the first to hear of any disturbances so they'll need to be removed quickly. Then, we'll be hitting these three rooms. 2nd floor upper central left wing, 4th floor lower central left wing, and 5th floor lower central left wing. These individuals are the main threats, the top-powered students who would be major foes if they woke up. After that, we'll hit 3rd floor lower central left wing for the speedster and then move on from there."
"You overlooked something. How exactly are we getting into the facility? If it's some kind of superhero training ground, it must have defenses to prevent us doing this."
"It does. But they're not prepared for us. We'll be using a portal to sneak in. And this part is key. The portal only appears for one full minute. We'll use it to slip in, get the kids to the roof, then use it when it appears twenty minutes later."
"Why twenty minutes? If we can just portal in, why not just portal each kid out once we grab them. Seems easier."
"That would be preferable but unfortunately, the teleportation device needs to power up before making them. Twenty minutes, and that's after one use with predetermined coordinates and other factors that you can ask our employers about. The point is, we have twenty minutes to snatch all these kids before we have to go. Which is why we'd rather not create a ruckus. And if you're not there when the portal appears, you have sixty seconds to get there or you're being left behind. Got it?"
A few of the others nodded while others just stared.
"Good. Here are the briefings on the different individuals. Read up on them, familiarize yourself as much as you can. Then, at midnight tonight, we strike. Get to it."
Hope you liked the latest update, sorry it's short. I'm still writing out the main battle. Once I do, updates will come quicker. Til then, enjoy.