This is it, the last one before the Eighth Battle of Tokyo begins. Enjoy!
Momo glared at the folder in her hand as she rubbed her temple to nurse her growing headache. She had a single day to prepare and all they gave her was this?!
The intel was unforgivably sparse on the actual threat, only telling her its size, general weight, its lack of a quirk, and a few other facts. That wasn't useful! Granted, without a quirk its potential abilities were limited, but that didn't mean it couldn't do anything. Plenty of animals could do weird things before quirks! Even worse, the AMF apparently had extensive intel on the creature, but the HPSC had refused to take it, deciding they were "not credible" as a source!
Momo was absolutely filing a complaint when all this was over.
Most of what the folder did have was information on the Heroes she had at her disposal and their quirks. Useful given the sheer number of Heroes present, but even that was imperfect since the list of Heroes available was in a constant state of flux due to the chaos of the operation.
Momo took a deep breath in, and another out. In, and out. Getting frustrated wouldn't save anyone. She'd just have to do her best whith what she had. At this point, it was all she could do.
Katsuki's leapt out of his dropship above Shibuya, using his quirk to break his fall. He rushed to the other Heroes' location, using his explosions to propel himself like a rocket. This let him test the new costume.
It was similar his winter costume, but thicker. It had a helmet covering his head with a translucent face mask so he'd be protected against radiation, since apparently Godzilla was radioactive because of course it was.
Katsuki was starting to regret not pumping Izuku for more information when they'd parted, but (and he'd never admit this), Izuku's rage completely threw Katsuki off, so the idea never even occured.
Katsuki landed in front of a group of assembled Heroes, who all turned to look at him.
"Dynamight! Glad you could make it!" said Elbows. "Ready to make the dinosaurs extinct again?"
"Yeah!" said some extra. "With you here we'll lick that thing for sure!"
Katsuki nodded at Elbows and ignored the rest, instead walking up to the Half'n'Half bastard. "So, you're here too huh? Don't get in my way."
"I'm not interested in your petty rivalry Bakugo."
"It's not petty you bastard!"
"Whatever." Half'n'Half turned his back on Katsuki and walked away. Katsuki growled. He never liked that asshole. Granted Katsuki wasn't exactly the most charismatic type, but at least he made friends in First Year!
Half'n'Half walked over to his old man and the two started talking.
Endeavor, the former Number one. A man always seeking the top who'd been humbled from when he learned what it was like to be there. That shit with his edgelord oldest son probably didn't help.
He'd semi-retired several years ago, but occasionally came back for important cases. However, Katsuki could see the stress lines marring his face, the reduced musculature, and the gray in his hair. He was passed his prime.
Half'n'half had hated his old man, but apparently they became more amicable after All Might retired. Katsuki wasn't sure why, but then he neither needed nor wanted to know what happened in that shitstorm of a household.
Katsuki reviewed the other top Heroes here. Best Jeanist (Katsuki's sort of mentor), Gang Orca, the Lurkers, Hawks, Mirko, Ponytail, and a lot of others. A solid group. Nejire-chan and Ryukyu were also in reserve, ready to act on a moment's notice.
Katsuki smirked at the assembled group. This group would-
"And you can't defeat Godzilla just by wanting it hard enough."
The smirk faded. What if-
Katsuki crushed said the seed of doubt before it could grow. He could do this. He'd beaten every asshole that tried to kill him before, this oversized lizard would be no different. It may be tough, but wasn't invincible. At the end of the day, Katsuki didn't run, and he didn't lose. That's all there was to it.
As their vans passed through an AMF camp, Mina gazed out the window, observing. A persistent sense of dread hung around the camp, from the soldiers huddled together in groups to the ones preparing their weapons. They seemed so…hopeless.
She recalled the words of Bakugo's former friend. She wanted him to be wrong. But she wasn't sure he was.
The vans left the AMF, continuing toward a camp for Heroes to gather and prepare. It wasn't as miserable as the AMF, but the camp still reeked of stress and exhaustion.
Mina walked with her friends toward a tent labeled "Hatsumei Industries". Mei never could resist putting her name on her stuff, could she?
Just as she was about to walk in, a familiar voice called. "Ashido! Kendo! Kaminari and Jiro! I am glad to see you!"
Mina turned as Tenya Iida walked over to join them.
"Nice to see you too Iida!" Mina said. "What are you doing here?"
"I am here to pick up my specially made costume, much like yourselves!"
Mina frowned. "Didn't you do that already?"
Iida fidgeted with his glasses. "I should have, but I put it off to focus on the evacuation," he said. He looked haggard. His normally neatly combed hair was straggly, with several loose strands falling on his forehead, his eyes had large bags under them, and his smile looked forced. He hadn't even chopped his hands while speaking.
"I understand," Mina said with a reassuring smile. "Let's can get our costumes, save the day and go home for a nice well deserved rest!"
She wished she was actually as confident as she sounded.
Inside the tent, Mei was handing out cases to Heroes lined up to see her, the same manic grin on her face as usual.
Mina waited in line until it was her turn. "Hey Mei. You have one for me? Mina Ashido?"
"Right!" Mei said, "Pelops III?"
"Here you go Mei!" A small blocky robot held up a case, which Mei handed to Mina.
"I built in nozzles so you can spray your acid without exposing your skin to the radiation! It also has a Geiger Counter and miniature alarm for when the radiation gets too high. Oh there's also some Iodine in the belt. All these radiation costumes are equipped with them."
"Thanks Mei, you're the best!"
"I am indeed, valued customer!"
Iida walked up to Mei.
"Glasses! I mean Iida! I've been waiting for you to come!" She picked up a case and handed it to him. "Here it is! Made it so your engines won't be expose to open air without compromising your speed! Gotta keep you from being exposed to possible radioactivity!"
"Thank you Hatsume. I am grateful!"
"Good!" Mei said with a manic grin. Her face became stern as she said. "Don't forget you still owe me dinner!"
Mina perked up. Date?
"Of course! I would never go back on my word! It would be against my honor as a Hero!"
Mina felt a grin coming to her lips, one matching Mei in insanity. She knew just the way to raise Iida's spirits…
"Good! Now go out there and take care of my baby!"
Iida nodded and turned, only to freeze upon seeing Mina's expression.
"You two have a date?" Mina said.
Iida's eyes widened with horror as he realized Mina the Alien Queen was gone, and Mina the Shipping Queen was here. Iida, straight-laced, serious Iida, going out with a chaos gremlin like Mei Hatsume? It was too perfect!"
"I-indeed..," Iida said.
"How?"
"I made a bet with him over a piece of costume regulation! Whoever loses has to buy the other sushi!" Mei said. "I won!" She wiped some grease off her tank top. "Learned that trick from Uncle Yun!"
Mina filed the trick away for later. Unfortunately, the line was growing, so she and Iida had to leave. No matter. She could deal with Mei later. Iida was here now, and he needed a distraction while Mina needed information.
"Sooo…" Mina said walking next to him.
Iida frantically looked for an escape. Kendo rolled her eyes, while Setsuna, Kaminari, Jiro, and Toru eagerly watched the show. There is no escape Iida…
"You and Hatsume huh?" Mina said. "That's a surprise! How long has this secret love been festering in your heart?"
"Ashido this is hardly the time or place! Besides, we are not in a relationship! I am doing this because I gave my word and-"
"So you're saying you don't want to go on a date with her?"
"I'm not saying that!"
Hook, line, and sinker. "So you do want to go on a date with her?"
Iida looked like a hunted animal. "I-I…Oh look! I'm needed for an important task! Goodbye Ashido and the best of luck in your endeavors!" He jetted away. However, as he fled, Mina saw the small smile on his face. Spirits raised.
Now that Iida was gone, Mina's thoughts began to drift back to less happy places, like the coming battle. While many of the Heroes were exhausted, there was a sense all around that they would win. Plans of what to do after, exasperation at all this effort for one animal, and expressing eagerness for it all to be over. Most were resigned, a some nervous, a few even excited. No one seemed to think they could lose.
Mina wasn't sure.
She and her fellow Heroes had defied the odds many times, beating countless opponents stronger than them. Sometimes it felt like they could beat anything.
But that monster…
Mina had watched it carve a swath of destruction across Scaris just by walking. Her strongest acid bounced off like water. Heck that thing ignored its face being set on fire.
Then there was that guy Bakugo knew, the one who wore Ochako's weird hoodie.
While Mina wasn't sure where he got some of his information from, he almost certainly knew a thing or two about Godzilla, and he was certain they'd lose. Maybe it was wounded pride. Maybe it was something else.
Yesterday, Mina, Kendo, and Setsuna received messages from Ochako practically begging them not to join the fighting. She sounded afraid. Ochako was never afraid.
Speaking of which…
Getting out her phone, Mina dialed Ochako's number. She wanted to see if her housemate was ok. And hey, maybe she could cheer her up like she did Iida?
The phone picked up. "Mina? How are you? Are you ok?"
"Yeah Ochako, I'm alright," Mina said.
"That's good. Where are you going to be tonight?"
Mina raised an eyebrow. Getting straight to that topic huh? "Me and the others said we prefer search and rescue like you asked."
Ochako let out a relieved sigh. "Oh Good. I'm so glad…"
"Don't get me wrong, we can still be called to fight. But the way things are now, the fight will be over before that can happen, either from Heroes or military."
"I…I doubt that," Ochako said. There was a tremble in her voice.
"If it comes to that, we'll be careful." Mina said. "My acid's useless against it, so I'm not much use in a fight in a fight unless it's to trip it. Learned that the hard way on Scaris."
"Wait, you got close enough to use your acid?! You got checked by the AMF right? Godzilla's skin is minimally radioactive, but it is radioactive!"
"Don't worry! They checked. My dosage was minimal, so I have nothing to worry about. Luckily this time I've got a protective suit. What about you? What are you doing?"
"I'm strictly search and rescue. They couldn't get me to fight if they dragged me."
"I see." She refused to join this fight period? She never did that.
Mina didn't like her friend's dark tone, her usual cheer replaced by a heavy grimness. Time to change this conversation's trajectory.
"Alright, enough gloom, what's something good from the last couple days? Meet any new friends, maybe more~?"
"I met Nejire's mentor Ryukyu. She was cool. Also," there was a hint of embarrassment in her voice, "Nejire's been complimenting me to her…"
"Ochako, you realize that's a good thing, right?"
"Yeah but it's embarrassing to be complimented like that by them!"
Mina laughed. "Shy are we?"
"Oh shut up! Also met this guy working for Ryukyu, Agonizer."
"Agonizer?"
"Yeah, Underground Hero. A total edgelord, but nice guy. Terrified of bugs. It's hilarious"
"Sooo…is he cute?"
Ochako groaned. "Wasn't paying attention to that. And are you seriously trying to get me a date again?"
"Whaaat? I like romance and you could use some love in your life!"
Mina heard Ochako mutter, "Mina I swear…"
"Alright fine, I'll leave your love life, or lack thereof, alone." For now. "By the way, I saw someone wearing that hoodie line you released. The one with "sweatshirt" written on the front!"
For a moment, the line was silent. "Oh. What was he like?"
Mina raised an eyebrow. "Oh, he was with the AMF. Nice enough guy, mostly. Seemed a big Hero fan."
"And what did he look like?"
Mina frowned. She didn't want to give too many details yet. Not until she knew he wasn't some kind of stalker (and if he wasn't, who the traitor that told him about Mina's, ahem, yet to be paid loans from Ochako was). So she said. "Nothing spectacular. Green hair, a few freckles."
"I see."
Mina heard her other friends calling to her. "I gotta go. See ya later Ochako! Good luck!"
"Good luck to you too Mina. Hope to see you later. It was nice talking to you." Mina could hear a smile in her tone. Mina was glad she'd given two friends some levity right now. She hoped that once this battle was over, they could all sit back and relax together. Then she could pump Bakugo for info on that green guy!
Huh, now that she thought about it, Mina had no reason to hide info about him from Ochako. After all, she was never excited about the guys Mina told her about.
Ochako pumped her fist. "Yes!"
She knew Izuku would like that hoodie! Granted, he told her he liked it when he bought it, but there was a difference between that and hearing about him wearing it casually in public! She was absolutely bringing this up when she saw him!
A squad of jets flew overhead.
That is, if she saw him.
Ochako knew how this fight would go. The Heroes and army would fail. The AMF would fight. Said fight would be hard without G-Force. Barring the occasional G-Force vet, the AMF currently here were inexperienced with Godzilla. Even if they won it would be costly.
Because of that, half of Ochako wanted her friend far away, the other wanted him here, to help mitigate the disaster. Nobody knew Godzilla better than Midori, no one had as much experience as him. Besides, he'd be furious if he had to sit back while others died. If anyone could help the AMF win, it was him.
However, experience wasn't always a guarantee of safety. There were too kinds of people who made basic but fatal mistakes. Rookies who didn't know any better, and pros who were so experienced they thought they could get away with it.
Ochako shook the dark thoughts out of her head. Midori would be fine. He was smart, and didn't take risks needlessly. Especially since if he died, his driver would die too. Midori may seem reckless, but nearly all of those risks were calculated.
A voice came over the comms.
Ochako sucked in a deep breath and clenched her fists. For the first time in three years, she took out an iodine tablet and popped it.
It was time.
In Tokyo bay a small fleet of ships waited, their guns pointed out to sea. Crewmembers sat at their stations, bracing themselves, while on the bridge sailors scanned the ocean for movement. They were Tokyo's last line of defense.
Then, they saw it
Just in front of the setting sun, the water bulged. A small wake appeared as something broke through the surface. It rose, revealing a row of jagged spines. Two more rows appeared to either side. They cut across the water like the fins of an enormous shark, barreling straight for the naval ships.
Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, had arrived.
The king has arrived! Next chapter you'll be seeing the first attempts to fight him!
That scene with Mei was written JUST so I could do that Singular Point reference! So worth it.
Also that joke where Mina avoids describing Izuku, only for Ochako to realize it was him and celebrate him wearing her hoodie was written for several chapters ago, but I couldn't fit it in. I decided it was now or never on that joke.
Hope you enjoyed!
