Snake didn't know how long he'd been fighting. It all seemed like a nonstop blur, as he slammed a crate over the head of one thug. It broke apart quickly, sending bits of blood and wood in different directions. The past few minutes had been nothing but action for him, constantly fighting the horde of criminals around him. In the brief time the fight had taken, he managed to take out ten other thugs.

That still left thirty-five to go, but it was clear the fight was taking a toll on the Ninth Circle. After Snake had defeated his previous target, he heard snippets of conversation coming from his enemies.

"This… this can't be possible," one muttered, as Snake spotted a group of three charging at him simultaneously. Two of the three were unarmed, standing at Snake's left and right, while the third stood between them with a katana. They all arrived at the same time, with the two unarmed trying to punch him and the third slashing downward. Quickly Snake held his knife up, intercepting the sword before it could reach him. He couldn't dodge the other hits though, so he sheltered his face with his free arm.

"He's one man! Just kill him already!" a different thug shouted. Before any of his attackers could launch another assault, Snake punched the swordsman in the gut, staggering the man. Falling back to cradle his stomach, he left the other two men open for attack. They tried to punch Snake before he could attack, but he ducked under their strikes. Then before either man could recover, he swept the legs of the man on the left and stabbed the one on the right in the chest.

"Come on! We outnumber him!" another thug exclaimed. The two thugs now off balance from his assault, Snake placed his hands on their faces and shoved them off their feet. They both landed on the ground hard, with the swordsmen now coming to attack again. Snake, hoping to hold him off, ripped the knife out of the other thug's chest and threw it at the swordsmen. His aim was off, but the blade stabbed right into the thug's leg, causing him to cry out in pain.

It gave Snake enough time to finish off the other two thugs, or rather one. The previous one he stabbed had gone into shock, so Snake simply punched the final thug across the face.

"You die here asshole!" a fourth criminal shouted, with Snake hearing them as he and a new group came rushing in to attack behind him. So wasting no time Snake got up and ran, charging at the swordsmen in front of him. The swordsmen defiantly tried to slash him, but Snake sidestepped him. Caught off guard the swordsmen failed to stop Snake from uppercutting him. From there he transitioned to slugging the criminal across the face, taking out one more thug.

Knowing the criminals behind him were closing in, Snake grabbed the swordsman's katana and held it ready, before turning to face his next group of four attackers. One was a towering mutant ogre, rippling with more muscles than Snake thought possible. And of course, the mutant was carrying a steel girder, which the mutant chucked at Snake.

"Reaper's mercy is too good for you!" the ogre shouted, as Snake narrowly ducked under the flying girder. The piece of steel quickly embedded itself into the nearest wall, which Snake could only hope didn't lead outside. He didn't need any heroes getting curious about what was going on. Rapidly the group of four began to approach Snake. The other three villains, while not possessing weapons, displayed some kind of dangerous quirk.

The first was a man who had his fingers laced with gold, the second was a woman who seemed oddly stretchy, and the third man started rolling on the ground. The third one didn't seem all that dangerous at first, until he suddenly shot forward at ludicrous speeds, still rolling along the ground like a ball. Snake narrowly jumped out of the way, only for the stretchy criminal to sock Snake in the jaw. She tried to do it again, but Snake managed to grab her arm with his free hand.

Yanking her over, Snake found the entire woman's body elongated as she flew forward. Almost as if she was going to wrap around him like a tarp. Not wanting that to happen, Snake turned and spotted the previous villain bouncing off the wall and heading his way again. Using the stretchy woman's momentum, Snake turned and used her like a whip. Unable to un-stretch in time, Snake slammed her into her compatriot. Sending the man in a completely other direction.

"What are you, trying to play hero!?" the mutant yelled behind him, getting ready to punch him. Snake, barely avoiding the ogre's attack, let go of the woman's arm and jumped back. The ogre's fist then hit the floor, caving in the concrete Snake once stood on. Of course not wanting the mutant to recover Snake charged him, jumping into a roll as the ogre tripped to swipe at him. Getting back on his feet, Snake continued to run and dodge the ogre's swings.

"Crush him already!" one of the other villains yelled, causing the ogre to groan. Finally, Snake found himself behind the ogre and quickly used the sword to slice the mutant's tendons. He hit the arms, the legs, whatever he could slice. The mutant shouted in pain as it happened, collapsing to the ground. Of course, the sound of footsteps didn't let Snake celebrate his victory. He jumped back as the gold fingered ran up to him with his palms open.

The thug missed Snake and instead touched the collapsed mutant. In seconds the mutant began screaming in pain, as his entire person began turning into gold. The thug shared no compassion for his compatriot and instead laughed.

"Ooh, shiny!" the thug gleefully exclaimed, before trying to touch Snake again. Yet with every swipe, he continued to miss as Snake backed away from him. Eventually, Snake held up his sword and used it to block one of the thug's swings. It turned the blade to gold, while also going straight through the man's hand. The criminal quickly cringed in pain, before Snake forced the blade forward, pushing it further into the man's hand. When the hilt touched the man's palm, the now golden blade had been shoved into the thug's eye, and further into his head killing him.

"S-shit!" a thug exclaimed in fear.

"He- oh fuck his eye!" another said equally terrified.

"N-no! We won't lose here!" a final one said, hoping to bring back a sense of defiance among them. It didn't seem to work at all. At the same time, Snake spotted both the stretchy woman and the rolling man getting back up. Angrily Snake looked to find where his knife had gone and found it still in the deceased swordsman's leg. Quickly he rushed over to grab it, jumping over the rolling villain as he sped past him.

"Surrender!" Snake ordered, hoping the rest of these villains were terrified enough to see reason. And yet they didn't back down. Snake could see the terror each of them held, but not one stepped back.

"Never! We will ensure Reaper's Will!" the stretchy woman yelled, sharing the entire group's opinion. Snake could only grumble as the woman sent a flurry of punches and kicks his way. He dodged them as best he could, before managing to reach his knife. Pulling it out of the swordsman's leg, Snake then grabbed the stretchy woman's leg as she tried to kick him again. Instead of pulling her like last time, Snake holstered his knife and grabbed one of the woman's stretched-out arms.

Pulling it toward her leg, Snake began wrapping the arm around her leg like a pretzel. Once it was tied up, he yanked the woman forward again, before holding out his fist. Momentum did the rest as her face ran right into Snake's fist, knocking her out cold. There, rolling man had bounced around a few more walls and was now heading back toward Snake. Unholstering his knife, Snake quickly threw his knife. It went right into the roller's spin, killing him. There Snake took a deep breath. The crowd had whittled down somewhat, but twenty-eight people remained.

This was bad Victoria decided. What was once three unknown people the heroes let in, was now thirty and growing. Most of the thirty had thankfully displayed their faces to the security cameras, be it by accident, or pure carelessness. And so far most of the people let in were petty criminals. Small-time thieves, muggers, the occasional, which the MSF was handling pretty well if what Victoria could see was anything to go by. One security feed showed a squad escorting a group of individuals to a different part of the campus, where one of UA's staff should be hopefully waiting for them.

"Anyone else?" the intelligence officer asked, while Victoria scoured over security footage. She stopped when she spotted a pair of heroes let in a group of four unknowns. They didn't have their faces covered thankfully, and it was easy to figure out who they were.

"Four new contacts by South Gate four. Two Japanese males, both in white hoodies, and two Japanese females, one in a leather jacket, another in a green t-shirt and jeans. All small-time thugs," Victoria replied, bringing the screen up to show the odd band of criminals.

"Just had to be more of them," the intel officer muttered, "You have eyes on where they're heading?"

Victoria barely thought it over as she pulled up a map of the campus. Following the group of villains, she found them to be heading toward the support course's waiting room. Where Victoria began to have an idea of what they were up to.

"Support course's waiting room," Victoria replied, causing the intel officer to think for a moment.

"Support course… they're after the kid's gear," the intel officer realized with a grumble. She then turned and looked at one of the other officers in the room, before snapping her fingers to get his attention.

"Capybara! Get a squad over there!" she ordered, with Capybara nodding quickly.

"On it mam!" he loudly replied, before focusing on his work. At the same time, Victoria spotted another group of villains being let in.

"Got another one, three contacts this time… two Japanese males, in forty-somethings, both in suits. And one female with brown hair, also in a suit. Some small-time thieves by the looks of it," Victoria told her, causing the officer to rub her eyes, "Heading toward the same location as the previous group."

"Capybara, make that two squads!" she shouted.

"Got it!" Capybara replied. That's how it was for a while, every few minutes a new group would be let in, the MSF would intercept them, and then escort them to some temporary facility on campus. It wasn't a physical jail or brig, probably more a security office with some soldiers inside to keep watch. Of course, there was still one big problem.

"Anything on the original three?" the intel officer asked, as Victoria again scoured through the security cameras' footage.

"Nothing so far," Victoria replied worriedly. Somehow the original three criminals continued to elude her. They avoided all cameras, kept their heads so low they were practically staring at the ground, and no matter how many people they sent to intercept them they always seemed to get away. She couldn't even tell what they were up to, the three individuals just walked around aimlessly. But then she spotted it, the criminal by the gate was slowly being cornered by a squad of soldiers.

He tried to sneak his way through a couple of stalls, but the soldiers kept getting closer.

"Wait, a squad has one of them cornered," Victoria relayed to the officer, who looked at the screen Victoria pulled up intrigued.

"About time," the officer replied, watching as the whole thing went down. The soldiers were closing in on him quickly, cutting off all forms of escape. But to Victoria's shock, the criminal slowly started to disappear. It started with his feet and moved up his entire body as he seemed to fade away.

"What!?" Victoria exclaimed, surprised, while the officer now watched the feed concerned.

"What's he doing down there? This his quirk?" the intel officer asked, confused while turning to look at Victoria's avatar.

"I-I think so!" Victoria replied. But what even was his quirk? Teleportation? Invisibility? Did he become intangible? Was this a kind of camouflage? She still had this question a few minutes later, when she spotted the man slowly appearing again far away from his original position. With every step, he became more and more present in reality.

"I've found him!" Victoria told the officer.

"Where?" the officer asked, while Victoria reviewed the security camera's logs.

"He's still south, heading east…" Victoria replied, before slowly trailing off. Why? Well, for one the heroes at South Gate Four let in another group of villains, numbering five in total. They acted exactly like the first group that entered, keeping their heads down, avoiding cameras, and splitting up quickly.

If that wasn't made enough, the disappearing man's location was close to three different targets. The path leading to the main school building, the stadium's southeast entrance, or a path heading towards the MSF's CRAMs. Any one location could have been a possible target. She tried to decipher which one the man would go after but didn't have enough information to decide.

All she could wonder was what they were up to.

"Hey Sho? You doing alright?" Hizashi suddenly asked, cupping his hand over the microphone in front of him. Aizawa simply looked at him confused for a second.

"I'm fine, why?" he replied, though Hizashi gave him a disbelieving look.

"Well, you seemed a bit out of it when Fudaki's folks were giving their speech," Hizashi pointed out. Ah, that explained it Aizawa reasoned.

"I'm just tired, haven't slept a lot," Aizawa lied, hoping Hizashi would change the topic. Because honestly, the entire speech had bugged him. He knew Fudaki wasn't dead, and yet they had an entire speech ready to decry UA. Whiplash was even brought to tears. It just didn't make sense. Why would they mourn someone who was still alive?

You really have to ask? He's dead, you saw him die. No! Fudaki is still alive! What was it with these damn thoughts in his head!? Damn thoughts!? Be logical! You saw it yourself! You heard his skull break against the pavement! You saw him bleeding on the ground! He is dead- He is not! He did not die! A student did not die on his watch! A child did not die on his watch- Stop denying the truth! Nemuri has pointed it out to you! Hizashi has pointed it out to you!

Ocelot of all people has pointed it out to you! Fudaki is dead, and he died because-

"What, was weeks in the infirmary not enough rest for ya?" Hizashi suddenly asked, dragging Aizawa out of his thoughts.

"When it comes to sleep, there is no such thing as enough," Aizawa replied, earning a small chuckle from his friend. It seemed to have drowned out his thoughts for the moment though, which Aizawa was grateful for. He was not, however, grateful for Hizashi's sudden shouting.

"And what's this?! Bakugo has seemingly caught up to Todoroki! They're practically neck and neck here!" Hizashi yelled, causing Aizawa to quietly grumble, "Can they fight and run at the same time!? Or will one step on a mine!? What do you think Mummyman!"

"I think you're too loud," Aizawa replied, though he made the mistake of speaking into his microphone. As such he heard the audience in the stadium give out a brief chuckle at his remark.

You know, at first Ape assumed guard duty was going to be an easy gig. Boy had he been wrong. The first event hadn't even finished yet, and command had him heading out all over the stadium. Because of course, some dumbass hero had let in a bunch of criminals. Now he and Gecko were being sent to intercept one such criminal who had snuck into the stadium proper.

"All fire teams, this is CP, be on the lookout for a possible intruder last spotted in the stadium's concessions area. Suspect is a Japanese male, wearing an orange sweatshirt and jeans, with pale brown hair. The criminal file suggests a mild paralytic quirk, so we advise caution," CP relayed over the radio, to which Gecko grumbled annoyed. Ape quietly shared the sentiment. This had to be the fourth intruder by now, and there seemed to be no end to them.

"Can always count on a hero to fuck up," Gecko grumbled, with Ape nodding in agreement. Still as annoyed as they were, they started heading over to the concessions area. When they arrived, they found the area full of people, all ordering food, eating, or looking out at the stadium's large screens. However, Ape couldn't spot their suspect in the crowd which was to be expected.

This was most likely a minor crook, not a big-name villain. This was mainly because CP hadn't put the entire stadium into lockdown, guaranteeing it was something minor. So with that confirmation, one would tend to blend in more the less well-known they were.

"At least this guy found somewhere nice to hide," Gecko muttered, as he looked out at the surrounding area. Ape just quietly agreed as he continued to survey the area.

"Think we could get some food?" Gecko asked, with Ape thinking it over.

"Probably not. It'd cut into our patrol schedule," Ape replied, before holding up his arm to check his watch. That, and it would be wrong of them to abandon their post.

"Come on LT, it shouldn't take that long to get food. Like a minute at the longest," Gecko countered, hoping to convince him. Ape was about to say no again before he thought it over. Breakfast had been rather scarce, and lunch wasn't for another few hours. And considering all the walking he was most likely going to have to do, a little grub wouldn't hurt.

"Hmm… make it quick… and bring me some popcorn…" he relented, with Gecko giving him a quick nod before walking off. With him gone Ape began to survey the crowd again. A few people fit their suspect's description, but not entirely. Some had orange sweatshirts but the wrong hair color. Others had the inverse. Or some fit the description to a t, but then Ape spotted someone else who did as well.

So he decided to go with old reliable and use his quirk. Very suddenly the thoughts of the crowd were heard in his mind and he went over them cautiously.

"[Wonder if Kazuma's watching this from the hospital,]" one woman thought, looking out at the stadium. Of course, Ape understood none of that and quietly grumbled to himself as he realized the problem with his plan. Still, it was better than nothing.

"[Damn it! Why's the food so expensive!]" some random man mentally complained, standing in one of the concession stand's lines.

"[Huh, a lot of interesting heroes here,]" another man thought, with his buddy seeming rather nervous. Ape thought it suspicious at first but then read the man's mind.

"[Come on, come on! Bet a lot of money on this… whatever your name is kid! Don't lose this!]" the man internally panicked. It didn't seem hostile to Ape, more so familiar. He had enough bets with Eagle to know what was happening. So far he seemed to find nothing. Ape was about to relay this to command while asking for more information, but then a new set of thoughts struck him.

"[Heh, this is almost too easy,]" someone thought internally chuckling, "[A free show, and a whole stadium of idiots to pickpocket.]"

That sounded oddly suspicious. While he couldn't understand the words, he understood the tone behind them. They held an odd air of arrogance. Cautiously Ape began to look around the area, trying to look inconspicuous as he did so.

"[Let's see… what to do now? Elderly couple? Old moneybags must have a lot of cash on them. Then again, I think the trust fund brats might have more,]" the man thought, as Ape continued to search for the source.

"[Wait… shit what was I supposed to do for the commission again… fuuuuuuucccckkkk… ah! Wait, place a wallet on one of the soldier guys. That was it,]" the man internally added.

"[Should I go after the one standing by his lonesome, or the one in line- oh, a mutie. Well, that makes this much easier,]" the man thought, and Ape's eyes widened. He could hear the malice in the thief's words. Ape instantly had a suspicion as to who it was directed to and mentally swore. Turning to look at Gecko, Ape spotted his ally standing in line, but also spotted their suspect slowly approaching him. It didn't take long for Ape to start going after the man. Yet it was far too crowded to get there fast.

Every few seconds Ape would have to move past another person. By the time he finally got there, he heard "[I saw you taking my wallet freak!]"

There Ape spotted the suspect angrily glaring at Gecko. The more the man yelled, the more he drew attention to himself. Suddenly a few people began checking their pockets, before angrily joining the man.

"[What are you talking about?]" Gecko asked, confused, his eyes meeting Ape's.

"[Don't play dumb with me! You stole my wallet! What else you got hiding under that uniform?]" the man questioned, bringing the rest of the crowd into an uproar as Ape walked over to Gecko cautiously.

"[My rings gone!]" one woman exclaimed before a cacophony of others joined her.

"[So's my wallet!]"

"[Bastard took the watch off my wrist!]"

"[My phone's missing!]"

"[Someone get a hero!]"

More and more people began to angrily shout, while Ape decided it was best to slowly back away.

"[I haven't stolen anything,]" Gecko tried to protest,

"[Says the villain!]" the thief replied, the rest of the crowd angrily agreeing with him. Slowly ape began moving for his radio, already seeing that things were getting out of hand. Quietly he called in back-up, but then someone in the crowd began pointing down the hall.

"[Look! Its Lord Freeze!]" someone loudly exclaimed happily. Somehow everyone became happier, before slowly clearing a path.

"[Yeah! Crush these villains!]" one person said.

"[This will be over in no time!]" another added.

"[Worry not everyone, I've heard everything,]" Lord Freeze told them, before looking over at Gecko, "[You there, villain! Stand down and I'll make this quick.]"

"[Make what quick!? I haven't stolen anything!]" Gecko countered, with Ape seeing his ally slowly reach for his rifle. Gecko then looked at Ape for any kind of confirmation, but Ape shook his head no, and instead kept having them back up. They couldn't just draw guns on Lord Freeze, not with all these civilians present.

"[You can tell it to the judge, villain,]" Lord Freeze replied, now walking over to them.

"[I am telling you, I haven't stolen anything,]" Gecko told him somewhat pleadingly, "[I was just in line for food.]"

"[And you expect me to believe that? All these innocent people are missing valuable objects, and you the only villain here are not responsible?]" Lord Freeze inquired, though it was more an accusation than a question.

"[I'm not a villain,]" again protested, and again looked at Ape for confirmation. Again Ape shook his head no.

"[You're a worthless mercenary who kills people for money. I can't find a more fitting definition than villain. Now stand down, or I will make you surrender,]" Lord Freeze demanded, the air around everyone now slowly getting colder.

"He's got the real thief standing behind him, tell him that," Ape told Gecko, while slowly realizing they were running out of room. A wall behind them was closing in, and the surrounding crowd guaranteed leaving would be difficult. So Gecko translated what he said, and pointed directly at their suspect. Of course, Lord Freeze only scoffed.

"[First you steal from others, now you try to frame an innocent man. Your crimes are racking up. Final warning, stand down,]" Lord Freeze ordered. There was no other way out, Ape realized. Gecko again looked at him for confirmation, and Ape gave it. Before Lord Freeze could take another step forward both Gecko and Ape had their rifles raised and aimed at him. Ape, without taking his eyes off Lord Freeze, slightly turned toward Gecko.

"Translate for me," Ape told Gecko, with his compatriot nodding, before Ape began saying, "The man behind you is a thief who has illegally entered this stadium. And it was you heroes who let him in. Because of your gross incompetence, or general maliciousness, we were ordered to find him and escort him away. So no, we will not stand down, and I will not let you attack an innocent man."

Lord Freeze only glared as Gecko translated the words, and the air got colder as a result. Neither side moved, but Ape knew something could happen at any moment. If Lord Freeze was determined to try and fight, then had a problem. Firing at him ran the risk of a stray round hitting someone in the crowd behind him. Ape's only condolence was when backup finally seemed to arrive. A new squad of soldiers walked into the concession area, before looking at the situation in shock.

"What the hell is going on here!?" one of the soldiers asked, while a few others moved to raise their rifles as well. This brought a panicked cry from the surrounding crowd. Said cry had the problem of drawing in a few more heroes, who quickly ran up to join Lord Freeze.

"Orange sweatshirt over there tried framing one of ours, now this hero won't listen to reason," Ape answered, convincing what few soldiers hadn't raised their weapons to do so. From here, Ape found both groups at an impasse. If the heroes attacked they would be cut down in seconds, but that ran the risk of killing civilians. Something the heroes seemed to realize as well, as they didn't move.

It was tense, far too tense. One wrong move and someone would be set off. But all Ape could do was stand his ground with his rifle ready.

You know, Mt Lady was beginning to like guard duty a lot more as time went on. Both because it was rather simple work, and… well…

"Money shot! Money shot!" the numerous photographers taking photos muttered, Mt Lady simply obliged them, giving a few somewhat suggestive poses. Nothing too bad, there were still kids nearby after all, but she did try to make her breasts seem bigger for the cameras. Aside from the photographers though was the other litany of fans entering and leaving the stadium.

"Oh my gosh, Mt Lady! Can I get your autograph?" one man asked.

"She's even hotter in person," a different person muttered. Kamui Woods and Death Arms could only grumble annoyed as they stood guard. Eventually, the small crowd that accumulated dispersed, leaving the area in a small silence. Nothing was said for a while by anyone, as they just kept watch of the area. After a while things got rather boring. Nothing was happening.

Mt Lady was almost tempted to just enter the stadium to watch the Festival. After all, what could possibly happen while she was gone? A villain would have to be suicidal to attack this place, especially with All Might on campus. That said, Mt Lady was only tempted to leave, as she couldn't bring herself to abandon her post. It just wouldn't be right of her to do so. But that meant more unfortunate boredom.

"When were we supposed to get a break again?" She asked, her eyes wandering to find anything of interest.

"By the second round or so," Death Arms answered, causing Mt Lady to sigh annoyed.

"Stop sighing, you should have expected this when you accepted the job," Death Arms told her, the man turning slightly to look at her, with his eyebrow raised.

"I did expect it! But I never expected it to be so… so boring!" Mt Lady countered quickly, "I mean we're standing here guarding a random entrance, that I'm pretty sure doesn't go anywhere important."

"Its importance doesn't matter. It is our duty as heroes to defend it against those wishing to harm the innocent," Kamui Woods told her. Death Arms simply raised an eyebrow at the other hero's rather eccentric answer, before slowly looking away from Mt Lady.

"...sure, what he said," Death Arms muttered. Mt Lady quietly relented though, and continued keeping an eye on the area. At that moment though, she spotted an armored vehicle driving over to their location. It was a small four-wheeled vehicle with an odd protective cage sitting at the top of the vehicle. When it got closer Mt Lady realized the cage was protecting a soldier manning the vehicle's large machine gun.

Quickly the vehicle came to a stop a bit farther away from them. With the sight Mt Lady began to frown as three men hopped out of the vehicle. One was seemingly of African descent, standing around average height and having dark blue lines tracing his skin like a tattoo. The other seemed Asian and stood at a similar height to his compatriot. However, he also had an odd scar on his hand, stretching from his wrist to his index finger. The final man stayed further back from the three, so Mt Lady couldn't see anything defining about him except for how pale he was. It was almost ghostly as if he were translucent.

"Great, more villains," Mt Lady quietly muttered, with Death Arms grumbling in agreement. As if there weren't enough of these guys crawling around the stadium. The soldiers, for their part, seemed equally annoyed, quietly talking amongst themselves.

"[Why are we even bothering with this LT? Those spandex-dumbasses are probably too incompetent to know,]" the Asian soldier muttered in English while glaring at the people in front of him. It was a glare Mt Lady and her compatriots returned in kind.

"[Yeah well cameras kinda find the fuckers, so unless you have a better idea then say it,]" LT replied with a South African accent, seeming to be the one in charge. Just as the groups were a few feet apart, LT quickly looked at them, before seeming to sigh.

"Excuse me, have any of you spotted a man in a purple and gray hoodie?" LT asked, with Mt Lady looking over the man carefully. Somehow his accent remained even while speaking Japanese.

"No, why?" Death Arms inquired, looking over the group of soldiers suspiciously.

"Security cameras saw him let in without a ticket, and also saw him acting rather suspicious," LT replied, causing Death Arms to slowly rub his brow in annoyance. Which Mt Lady quietly shared. This villain had barely spoken, but already everything he said seemed to be a lie. For one, how was this supposed individual let in? It couldn't have been through the heroes' entrances. So he had to have gotten in through one of the MSF's entrances.

Meaning they most likely let him in or were incompetent enough to let him slip by. Though considering who Mt Lady was dealing with, she was leaning toward the first option.

"Sure you did," Death Arms muttered, "Tell me, did he have anything valuable on him as well? Anything a villain would find worth stealing?"

The remark made LT frown for a moment.

"I'm serious. Command thinks he's a security concern," LT said, trying to convince them of something. It didn't work, and why would it? For all Mt Lady knew these guys were trying to rob an innocent man and make it look like they were taking down a criminal. Not on her watch.

"Uh, huh. You expect me to believe that?" Mt lady inquired, drawing the eye of LT, and the soldier next to him. LT could only sigh, before bringing both hands to his face and slowly pulling them down as they covered his mouth.

"[Oh for the love of all that is holy]," LT muttered, "Yes. Because-"

"No no no, I know how this works. You villains are trying to trick us into targeting an innocent man, while you go do something nefarious," Mt Lady interrupted, "Well news flash for you, it isn't happening."

The response just left LT exacerbated before the man took a deep breath and slowly began walking away.

"[I told you this was a dead end,]" his buddy told him, though LT didn't address him.

"Fine, just keep a lookout then," LT told them, continuing to walk away. There he turned, heading back over to his vehicle. Part of Mt Lady wanted to stop them. They were most definitely up to something, and it had to be bad. But she had no proof, so she did nothing-

"Can always expect the heroes to fuck something up," the Asian soldier muttered under his breath. It drew Mt Lady and her allies' gazes to the man quickly.

"What was that?" Mt Lady demanded, the soldier barely turning to face her.

"You heard what I said," he replied, stopping for a moment. LT immediately got a worried look on his face, and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, pushing him slightly.

"Sergeant-" he tried to say, only for Death Arms to interrupt him.

"Maybe we wouldn't have to fuck something up if you villains learned to leave innocent people alone," Death Arms retorted, deciding to twist the meaning of the man's words, "Why they even let an army of kid killers on campus is beyond me."

"I am no damn kid killer, asshole," the Asian soldier countered, malice thick in his tone.

"Really? Our mistake. Must have confused some other group of villains, paid to slaughter whatever innocent lives get in their way!" Mt Lady retorted angrily, earning a glare from the man.

"Oh fuck you! Get off your high horse!" he shouted back furiously.

"Why!? Because you can't handle the truth of your villainous acts!?" Kamui Woods retorted, quickly switching the man's gaze.

"Because you don't know shit! You call me a villain but go ahead, list any of the crimes I've fucking committed!" the soldier demanded, holding a hand to his ear as if he was waiting to hear an example.

"Sergeant-" LT again tried to protest, this time trying to pull his friend away angrily.

"You're mercenaries! That alone speaks for what you've done! You're paid to kill people-" Death Arms yelled back, only for the soldier to interrupt him.

"I do this because I have a family to take care of! If you think for even a second I've done those things, then you're dead wrong! I wouldn't be able to look my own wife in the eye if I did!" the soldier retorted, with Mt Lady scoffing at the idea. What villain has children? Hell, what kind of villain could ever marry someone? Then again, it could be an abusive relationship, she reasoned.

"As if! And that still doesn't change a damn thing! You willingly kill people for money!" Mt Lady countered loudly, watching as LT again tried to drag his buddy away.

"Sergeant-" he again tried to say, this time angrier than before.

"Yes, we do! Because we're having to deal with the shitholes you heroes are too high and mighty to deal with!" the soldier shouted, pure fury clear in his tone, "While you're here prancing around in front of the cameras and signing autographs, we're out there risking our lives to fight in situations you haven't even heard of! You live in a luxury strutting around in a skin-tight suit, while I and thousands of others or marching through scorching heat starving, just to save some fucking lions!"

The words caught Mt Lady off guard for a second, somehow sapping away what anger she had. Instead, it was replaced with surprise. She tried to reason it away as another of these villain's lies, but it was backed up with so much pure rage and emotion, that it just seemed true. She didn't realize it, but it also caught Kamui and Death Arms off-guard as well, neither hero said anything as the soldier continued.

"I am sick, of you dumbass heroes acting like the fucking morality police! Every time I've ever met a hero you've done nothing but fuck up! You fucked up in South America with the cartels, you fucked up in Africa with the militants, and you fucked up in Russia with the human traffickers! And all the while you act like we're some genocidal monsters!" the soldier yelled. The man just seemed furious at this point, his face now a beat red and his breathing being surprisingly fast. However, this rage was only matched by LT.

"Sergeant, that is enough!" LT angrily shouted, drawing the soldier out of his raged-induced stupor. Both men took a few breaths after that moment, as no one said anything. Mt lady wanted to, but she just couldn't find the words. LT again grabbed his friend's shoulder, and simply pushed him in the direction of their vehicle, while saying, "Let's go before I write you up for insubordination."

The soldier complied, slowly walking away from the group of heroes. But as he did so, he spared them one last glance.

"You act high and mighty now, but when shit hits the fan, can you honestly tell me that any of you heroes will stand and fight? Because for all I know, you and the rest of this industry are full of nothing but a bunch of pompous, greedy, cowards," the man told them, before turning away and reaching his vehicle. The soldiers entered it quietly, soon driving away and leaving the heroes in silence.

"Damn villains," Death Arms muttered, annoyed.

"The nerve of him," Kamui agreed calmly, as did Mt Lady. Then again one could always expect a villain to spew out nonsense and lies. What even was that question? Would heroes stand and fight? It was a nonsense question. They were heroes for crying out loud! Of course, they would stand and fight, it's a part of the job! Still, it was a meaningless thought, that Mt Lady shook away quickly, instead returning her focus to keeping guard.

"Come on, come on!" Uraraka told herself as she landed on the next platform. Already she began to feel nauseous the more she ran, but she couldn't stop. Looking out across the great chasm she could see the other side, leading over to the next section of the race. She was halfway there, so Uraraka took only a second to catch her breath before running again. Bakugo and Todoroki were already so far ahead, so taking first wasn't possible.

But that was fine, she'd make a comeback in the next events. So long as she was still in the running, she could win. With that thought Uraraka again jumped once she reached the ledge of her platform, and used her quirk to float across the chasm. The entire time she felt her stomach churn as she drifted across.

"Don't throw up, don't throw up!" Uraraka mentally yelled, feeling more and more queasy the longer this went on. Eventually, she reached the next platform and immediately turned off her quirk, dropping herself to the ground. There Uraraka lay for a second, trying to regain control of her stomach. Internally she began to panic at how difficult this was quickly becoming. She was tempted to stop using her quirk altogether and just climb across the platform's connecting cables like everyone else.

But that ran the risk of falling behind to others with quirks more suitable for this obstacle. So Uraraka slowly forced herself back onto her feet, before turning to briefly look behind her. At the moment she was decently far ahead of almost everyone. The key word being almost. Asui and Iida were catching up quickly, as were Shoji, that odd pink-haired girl, Sero, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu.

Though for some odd reason, Yaoyorozu was carrying something on her back. At first, Uraraka suspected it to be some kind of tool helping her climb around, but that idea was shot down quickly. As the class rep was instead using a ziplining harness she attached it to one of the platform's cables. So then what exactly was she… oh, that was Mineta, Uraraka realized as Yaoyorozu got closer.

And she was not carrying Mineta, at least not willingly if her disgruntled angry look was anything to go by.

"I'm a genius!" Uraraka heard Mineta yell, followed by an annoyed groan from Yaoyorozu.

"Mineta get off!" Yaoyorozu demanded, now getting close enough for Uraraka to see exactly what was going on. At that moment, Mineta was hanging onto Yaoyorozu's back with his hairballs… there's gotta be a better term for that, Uraraka thought.

"If I do that I'll fall! Besides, can't blame me for my winning strategy!" Mineta countered, his reply only increasing Yaoyorozu's annoyance.

"Oh sure, and it has nothing to do with you touching me!?" Yaoyorozu yelled back, with Mineta now lightly snickering.

"Purely coincidental!" he replied, earning an angry yell from Yaoyorozu before she elbowed him in the face. It was at that point that Uraraka realized she was getting sidetracked. So quickly she looked away, before steeling herself for what was to come. Once that was done she sprinted to the ledge of the platform like the many times she had before and jumped. Just like before she floated over to the next platform, before dropping to the ground and doing it again.

On and on she went, platform after platform. It never seemed to end but Uraraka was getting closer to the end. She fought against the queasiness she felt the entire time, having to stop a few times to regain her breath. Of course, those stops were always short, as her opponents always caught up to her.

"You don't need first place, just make it to the next event," Uraraka tiredly told herself, while forcing her stomach to contain its contents. Eventually, she made it, collapsing at the other side of the chasm, and laying on true solid ground. Mentally Uraraka cheered for just a few seconds, before trying to get up off the ground. She succeeded, and was soon running to the next obstacle, the rest of her classmates, and her other opponents close behind her.

One of them actually managed to pass her, running in front of everyone. At first, it worried Uraraka about how she was going to catch up, but then the student was engulfed in a mass of pink smoke. There Uraraka saw a massive minefield, stretching all the way to the stadium's entrance. It was ludicrously large and possibly held thousands of mines.

The only good news was that the mines weren't hard to miss. The patch of dirt on top of the mines was a shade different from the other ground. Tiredly, Uraraka readied herself to jump over the mines, and hopefully float over everything.

"Come on, it's just… it's just one more time," she thought to herself. All she needed to do was use her quirk one last time. Yet her stomach betrayed her the second she did. Every step she took she felt queasy. Enough so that she stumbled to a stop, almost stepping on a mine. Quirk use it seemed, was not an option. Worriedly, Uraraka looked out at the minefield ahead of her. The old-fashioned way then, Uraraka decided, while carefully taking a step onto the field.

Deep breathing. That was all Snake did for a solid minute, before pulling his knife out of the last thug's throat. He was caked in blood from head to toe, and could barely stand on his feet. Carefully Snake wiped his blade clean, before looking over the bodies of those he killed and knocked out. Fifty in total, and not one had stopped to surrender. Even through all the terror they held the longer the fight went on, they kept going.

No matter how many of them he stabbed, slashed, punched, or kicked, they kept going. And all the while, Night Owl watched from his screen laughing.

"Yes! Ha ha, Yes! That's what I'm talking about! That's the Big Boss I know!" Night Owl exclaimed, "You really know how to put on a show."

Snake could only glare at Night Owl, before checking over his injuries briefly. By the looks of it, there wasn't anything severe, which Snake thought was lucky. He could, however, feel a sting of pain from fresh bruises.

"So, the answers I'm looking for?" Snake inquired, trying to remember what he'd been told before all the bloodshed.

"As I said before, they're waiting for you in the foreman's office," Night Owl replied, still smiling widely. Part of Snake wanted to run up and grab his guns, just to shoot down that damn TV screen. Warily, Snake looked over at the set of stairs leading over to the catwalk above. It seemed too suspicious, too convenient.

"...No traps?" Snake asked, with Night Owl's smile widening. The scientist simply scoffed afterward and waved Snake off.

"Oh, how little you think of me. All I wanted was some entertainment," Night Owl replied. Snake only remained quiet, instead glaring at the TV. It took a few seconds but Night Owl's smile eventually shrunk, the scientist groaning annoyed.

"No, there are no traps-" he began to say, only for someone to interrupt him.

"It's ready," someone off-screen told Night Owl. Snake could only infer who, but it had to be someone a part of the Ninth Circle.

"Oh? Seems the fun can begin," Night Owl said, a little surprised. Quickly though the scientist stood up from his chair and started walking away from the camera.

"Afraid I'll have to leave now, Snake. But don't worry," Night Owl said, giving the camera one last glance, before his smile widened again, "I'll call back soon."

The screen then shut off, leaving Snake in silence. Taking one last deep breath, Snake decided to not waste any more time. Quickly he walked up the stairs leading to the catwalk. Once at the top he went over to his guns and picked them up. Carefully Snake looked them over, just to see if they had been tampered with. When he was satisfied with them, he holstered his pistol, while keeping his MP5 ready.

Moving forward again, he soon arrived at the foreman's office. Slowly Snake opened the door, peeking in for a second to check the room. It was pitch black, unfortunately, but everything seemed to be in the clear. Opening the door fully, Snake began following the wall for a light switch. When his hand finally found one, Snake flipped it on. He could only look on in shock as light illuminated the room.

Hundreds of documents littered the place, covering every bit of furniture in the room. They detailed shipping requests, paper orders from Night Owl or Reaper, blueprints for buildings, locations, weapons, or vehicles, schematics of the railroads, and a large number of deeds to land. So many deeds! Scouring over the documents, Snake found the Ninth Circle owned property all across Musutafu. Dozens of warehouses, apartment buildings, parking lots, office spaces, and whatever else they could get their hands on.

It was shocking how much land they owned, all bought and paid for with shell corporations set up by Night Owl. Carefully Snake began to copy the documents with his Idroid, scanning whatever items he could get his hands on. Five minutes passed and he barely made a dent in his work. At that point, Snake had stopped trying. Any further attempts would need more hands available.

So Snake was about to call for reinforcements, bringing up his codec, only to stop as something new caught his. He hadn't noticed it before, but on the wall next to the office's door, was a map of Musutafu. On it were several purple squares, all with different labels. Quietly counting, Snake found at least a dozen boxes labeled FH-70 resting on random buildings. He could tell it meant something important, some kind of code word perchance.

But he couldn't tell what specifically. Snake kept looking though, going over the boxes. One was sitting on top of the rail lines, labeled T-88. Another few rested in the middle of the road, with the label L-90. Others sat on buildings labeled L-16. Then Snake spotted another pair of boxes labeled… M270… No, Snake thought. That couldn't be what he thought it was, but his mind flashed back to Ocelot's reports.

Hell Snake had seen the guns filling the Ninth Circle's warehouses. But then… that box was referring to the M270 Multi Launch Rocket System. If that was what M270 referred to then… Shit! Snake scoured over the map again, the dots in his mind quickly connecting. FH-70 Howitzers, Type 88 Surface to Ship Missiles, L-90 35mm anti-aircraft guns, L-16 81mm mortars, on and on it went the further Snake looked.

His eye widened as his breathing hiked. This was bad, Snake thought. He needed to call Miller, he needed backup now-

"I'll call back soon," Night Owl said, his words echoing in Snake's mind. What did he mean by that? Call back for what… Snake's quickly turned pale, the man calling Miller on his codec as fast as he could. Silently Snake got up and began heading out of the foreman's office waiting for his second in command to pick up. It felt like an eternity the entire time.

"Boss-" Miller tried to say as he eventually picked up, but Snake interrupted him quickly.

"Kaz, get the students off the field!" Snake shouted into the codec, sprinting down the catwalk. Miller could only become shocked by the order, as voices echoed from the other side of the codec.

"What? Boss, what is going on?" Miller asked quickly, only for Snake to angrily groan. Reaching the floor of the warehouse he slammed into the main exit, breaking the door off its hinges.

"Damn it Kaz there's no time! Get them off the field now!" Snake ordered, only to freeze. He was too late. Around him, he heard that ever-familiar sound of gunfire. Screams erupted in the air, starting as one but turning to dozens, then hundreds. Around the city, dozens of howitzers fired together.

Bakugo ducked under Icyhot's hand, narrowly avoiding the teen's attempt to freeze him. He could only scoff at the action, before attempting to blast Icy Hot at point-blank range. Instead, a wall of ice formed between the two, shielding Icy Hot from the blast. It did launch chunks of ice everywhere though, setting off a few mines and covering the area in thick smoke.

"You expect to stop me with a wall Icy Hot!" Bakugo yelled, looking Icy Hot over in the smoke. Part of his arm was beginning to freeze over. All the while both teens continued to move forward, narrowly stepping over mines as they tried to halt the other. Yet no matter what they did, neither one could effectively stop the other. Bakugo again tried to blast Icy Hot, this time aiming lower to set off a nearby mine.

Only for an explosion to go off, knocking both teens off their feet. Bakugo felt weightless for a moment, before landing on another mine. It launched him into the air again, the teen trying to force himself to regain control of his fall. Yet nothing seemed to work. Eventually, he landed somewhere safe, and mentally swore.

Someone had stepped on a mine, and it sure as hell wasn't him! He was gonna make Icy Hot pay for that little ragdoll session, so Bakugo began forcing himself onto his feet. That was until he fell face-first into the ground. It confused him for a second before he slowly realized something. He couldn't feel his right arm. Slowly Bakugo turned to look at his limb, thinking the mine the landing had messed with his head.

Instead, he turned deathly pale, as Bakugo eyed the bloody, torn-apart stump that was his arm. Bakugo tried to avert his eyes and tried to calm himself, but breathing became difficult. So, so difficult. He rolled over off his stomach and looked down to see his shirt torn apart. Small metal fragments littered his chest, and blood dripped down and pooled around him. Only now did his ears register the screams of everyone around him.