The two officers faced each other.
"Lieutenant Midoriya."
"Captain Sakaki."
The two stared at each other for a long moment. Both young, yet both two of G-Force's most experienced, it's best and brightest, and it's most insane.
Sakaki got out his notebook and sat down at a picnic table. "Alright, let's get started. You've studied Godzilla's prior attacks in the cities. Are there any surprises we should watch out for in the city?"
Tani stood nearby but made no move to join them. Izuku sat down across from Sakaki and got out his own notebook. "Well, they'll be a lot more rubble than usual, which can clog the streets, making them harder to traverse. It can also rain down on tanks, burying them, so watch for that.
Sakaki nodded. "We'll need to try and avoid getting stuck," he said. "Especially since we use side roads to avoid being seen.
Izuku nodded. "They'll be more cover than usual."
"Cover he can shoot through," Sakaki said glaring at his notes.
"True," Izuku said. "Also, Godzilla can and will knock buildings down to try and crush us."
"Right. When we hit the sims, we should definitely grill the drivers on moving through tight corridors. The buildings will hide him as much as they hide us, so the gunners will need to practice relying on their readouts even more than usual."
Izuku nodded. "And how to predict Godzilla's actions from said readouts."
Sakaki's brow furrowed. "Yeah. Can't let that bastard catch us off guard. What about his cues or tics before he attacks?
Izuku shook his head. "The same out there as it is in the Pacific."
"Alright then. First we'll… "
For the next hour the two discussed strategies, plotting out which areas would be optimal to lead him through, and made plans for training with the limited time they had. They worked in perfect tandem, analyzing and strategizing like they could read the other's thoughts.
"Alright." Izuku put down his notebook. "That should be good."
Sakaki nodded. "Let's find Ishikawa and brief him. He might have some ideas too." He didn't sound too optimistic on that front. Ishikawa was a skilled maser operator and leader, but he'd joined G-Force less than a year ago. Compared to them, he was a novice.
They walked through the camp, Izuku trailing just behind Sakaki. Tani walked with Sakaki, talking with him in a low tone. Izuku tuned them out, flipping through his notebook to review their notes. This went on until Izuku crashed into something.
Sakaki had abruptly stopped and was glaring forward with seething contempt. Izuku followed his gaze. He groaned.
Press.
Reporters rarely appeared during AMF operations, but when they did they were almost always a pain.
Not only that, but this particular network, Subaru Star Network, was especially hated. It was notorious to the public at large for lowbrow content that made tabloids (or even BS Digital Q) look good along with a brazen bias toward Heroes with stronger quirks and against those with weaker ones. Among the AMF, it was especially hated for portraying them as negatively as possible, regardless of their performance.
Even worse, the reporter present was said to be so obnoxious that three different Heroes had punched her. And none of them were Kacchan. Right now, said reporter was interviewing Alien Queen, and to say Alien Queen looked uncomfortable would be an understatement. She had that awkward smile of someone who was trying very hard to be nice while wishing the other person would go away.
Sakaki gestured to the nearest guards. "Get that damn reporter out of here!"
One of them cracked his knuckles. "With pleasure sir."
The two walked over, grabbed the reporter, and dragged her off mid-sentence. Izuku smiled at the sight while Alien Queen looked like she was about to laugh.
"Hey there! Thanks for the assist" Alien Queen said as they walked passed her.
Izuku waved, Tani nodded, and Sakaki, being himself, didn't acknowledge her at all.
"You could at least try being nice Haruo," Tani said.
"That would take time and energy better spent figuring out how to beat that damn lizard," Sakaki said.
"Haruo…"
"Ugh. As you wish Yuko. I'll be nicer next time."
Tani gave a triumphant little smirk.
"I don't get why you hate Godzilla so much," Izuku said. "He's an animal. Hating him is like hating sharks because they sometimes attack people. Or hating a hurricane for the damage it causes."
"I hate those too."
Izuku groaned. "But it makes no sense!"
"Coming from the guy who I heard held a grudge against his Middle School bully for over a decade," Sakaki said.
Izuku glared. "One, Kacchan is a person and people have morals that we expect them to hold to. Animals don't. Two, and more importantly, I'm trying to move past that grudge. Are you?"
Sakaki stopped.
A flash of blue struck the ground. Haruo felt Yuko's grandpa dragging him. Haruo did not look at him. Instead he watched as the wave of fire engulfed the buses, the image searing itself into his young mind forever.
"Mom. Dad."
The beast responsible loomed over the smoke and flames, like a demon observing its work. It let out a ferocious roar.
At that moment, Haruo never felt more small.
"How many of your family did Dynamight kill Midoriya? Can you answer that?" Sakaki said.
Izuku looked down. He couldn't.
Sakaki started moving again. "When an animal is too dangerous to be kept alive, it gets put down. Period."
"We've tried that," said Izuku. "I've participated in trying that! But we don't try to kill Godzilla to keep others safe, not to punish him! You don't want Godzilla dead because he's dangerous, you want him dead because you hate him! I want him stopped too, but I'd rather do that without destroying him. He's one of a kind..."
"You're naïve if you think we can end this fight with him alive," Sakaki said. "We haven't found a way to do that in 200 years."
"We haven't found a way to kill him in 200 years either," Izuku said.
Sakaki growled but Tani put a hand to his shoulder. The rage ebbed from his eyes.
Sakaki looked away. "Let's go"
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
"That's all we found," Sakaki said. "Anything to add?"
As expected, Ishikawa shook his head. With their plans solidified, they could all grab their teams and-
"Excuse me! Kyoko Hoyu, Subaru Star News!"
Sakaki turned around. "You've got to be fu- "
"Ah-ah-ah!" the Kyoko Hoyu said with a smug grin. "You're on camera."
Sakaki grit his teeth, Izuku held up his notebook to hide his face, and Ishikawa did nothing at all.
"We're wondering if you could comment on the Heroes being forbidden from doing their jobs in the recent battle while the AMF hogged the glory!" she said to Sakaki, not knowing or, more likely, not caring that Sakaki looked like he was trying to set her on fire with his mind.
"No. Comment," Sakaki said.
Please don't deck her. Please don't deck her. Please don't deck her. Izuku thought.
"Really? Because we think that this was a grievous miscalculation on your part. Why, such stubbornness could even be what got several innocent civilians and some of your own soldiers killed! We demand an explanation for this reckless decision!"
Sakaki looked to Tani. She nodded. He walked up to the reporter and lifted his hand.
Instead of decking her, Sakaki jabbed his index finger at her. "I've had enough of your disingenuous assertions," he said calmly.
Oh. That was awfully polite of -
Then Sakaki decked her.
While the reporter reeled, Sakaki turned around. "Midoriya, Ishikawa, start training your teams. I'm going to speak with Gondo and make plans with him."
Izuku and Ishikawa saluted. "Yes sir!"
And with that, they went their separate ways. Izuku walked back to his team as the reporter threw insults, whistling a cheerful tune all along the way.
Ochako walked down the empty road.
Night had fallen, and the evacuation work was elsewhere, leaving the street devoid of life. Her shift was long over and now Ochako just wanted to go home, take off her Hero costume, and relax.
As Ochako passed the apartment buildings, with only a few scattered lights indicating people inside, she felt her stomach growl. She suddenly became aware of just how hungry she was, after ignoring the gnawing hunger for far too long.
I should've eaten lunch.
Looking around, Ochako noticed the flickering neon light of a convenience store, the type that usually sells food.
Ochako rubbed her belly and stared at the light. She took a deep breath. She'd have to break one of her cardinal rules. She'd have to…buy takeout!
Ochako walked into the store, the bell ringing as she entered. She glanced at the few people scattered around the place, from the bored looking cashier, to the pair of teenagers chatting by the candy aisle, to the old man slowly making his way to the front.
Running her hand through her hair, which she'd tied into a bun after finishing her shift, Ochako walked the aisles, looking in case she saw something she needed that wasn't food. The bell rang as another person, a guy in a biker jacket, walked in.
Then everything went wrong.
The doors blasted off their hinges and two figures walked through, dressed in extravagant outfits with Support items attached. Villains.
Ochako narrowed her eyes as one of them walked up to the register, grabbed the cashier and said, "Open the register now!" He placed his hand against a wall, causing the drywall to vanish to crumple into a ball, leaving a small crater. The other used a nozzle on his hand to send jets of water at the security cameras, slicing them in two.
Ochako ducked back and grabbed a metal can of food. She held it with all five fingers canceling its gravity. One of them was focused on the cashier and while the other was looking between at the customers. However, he wasn't paying much attention. Ochako slowly crept forward and gripped the can.
First, I'll go for the one with the cashier. If I can get him away from the Villains then everyone else can escape while I fight them. To do that I'll have to-
One of the windows shattered and a figure in a long black coat leapt through. The newcomer rolled onto the floor and swiped at the Villain holding the cashier. At his touch, the Villain fell to his knees, screaming in pain.
The other villain reached out to shoot the figure, likely a Hero, with his water jets, but Ochako beaned him in the head with her can. The newcomer swept out the Villain's leg and grabbed his arm, causing the Villain to fall, also screaming.
"Don't worry," the figure said. "The pain is temporary. Take it as a lesson that crime doesn't pay."
The Villains were both down. The Hero began working at cuffing them both then stood up.
"Well done," a feminine voice said. Ochako turned. Her eyes widened.
"Ryukyu."
"In the flesh," Ryukyu, the Dragoon Hero and former Top 10 Hero said with a warm smile.
The Hero in the dark cloak walked over to her and stood straight.
"Ryukyu," he said. "Both Villains subdued, none of the hostages injured."
"So I see," Ryukyu said. "Nice work."
"Thank you. And you," he turned to Ochako. "Thanks for the help but you shouldn't interfere with-You're a Hero, aren't you?" he said, noticing the costume beneath her jacket.
"Indeed," said Ryukyu with a hint of humor. "The Zero Gravity Heroine Uravity to be precise."
"Oh. Heard of the name but I'm not familiar," he said.
Ochako sized the Hero up. Besides the dark coat, he also had had long black hair and a pair of dark goggles over his eyes. He was either an Underground Hero or an edgelord. Or both. "Who might you be?" she said.
"I am the Pain Hero Agonizer!"
Definitely an edgelord.
"His quirk causes people intense pain," Ryukyu said, "Agonizer is officially a sidekick in my agency but he tends work Underground. I must say, it's nice to finally meet you Uravity."
"You know me?" Ochako said.
"Of course. I'm close with Nejire and she speaks very highly of you."
Ochako put her hands together as her face heated up with embarrassment. Nejire praised her. To Ryukyu. "Thanks," she said. "She's said a lot about you too. It's an honor to finally meet you."
"Likewise," Ryukyu said. "If it's alright with you, we'll handle this. You've had a long day and deserve some rest. We will mention you in the report so you can get credit."
"Thank you," Ochako said. She did not need more paperwork tonight.
"You're welcome. We'll be seeing each other again very soon."
What does she mean by that?
Soon Ochako was walking down the street, dinner in hand. As thanks for her help in stopping the robbery, the store manager even gave it to her for free. Now, Ochako wasn't the sort to use her reputation to get free stuff, but she was the sort to take free stuff when offered! She smiled at the thought of getting back home and sinking her teeth into some nice premade free food!
Up ahead, Ochako saw a line of headlights traveling down the road. Her smile faded.
"What are those?" someone else said.
Ochako didn't bother answering, but she knew.
Traveling up the road was a column of Maser tanks.
The AMF had arrived.
If any of you have played Mass Effect, wasn't that fun? Haruo is totally a Renegade for Life kind of guy. (Agonizer probably is too)
Hope you enjoyed! Reviews bring me happiness!
