A/N: I give you another ambitious plot. Something that I'd never imagine I'd find myself writing, especially for MHA. But as I watched MHA's fourth movie, plus, the inconvenience of having to write my brother and I's original concept; two ideas clicked and therefore, here I am. writing yet another possible slow-burn fic. I am so sorry. I will write the other fics, I promise, but this idea when rampant, discussing and exchanging ideas with my brother on what ways we could implement our childhood concept into the quirk society we know and and love. Thereby, I give you a more thorough introduction to the Secret Global Intelligence (SGI) and further exploration the Blood Mages of Gildaar and the starcatcher team.

Edited at 26/03/2023

Up upon the edge of a small cliff, she watched the dark horizon; the veiling beauty of the cityscape that resembled stars shining on dark ivory towers. Her skin illuminating against the dark was chilled by the night wind, stealing all of her warmth that evening. Radio silence occupied her right ear as she slipped her bandaged arms through the sleeves of her black uniform. Despite that tranquil night, her heart lingered at the stakes at hand.

A crackling voice buzzed through her earpiece, "Nothing spells like trouble than having to reunite with old friends, am I right? I wanna say 'we're not in Kansas anymore, but I guess we're a century behind to even make a joke like that."

"Pfeh, forget that, we're not even in the right country to make that joke," beamed her other colleague.

"You really gotta stop being petty one of these days."

"For lord and conquest, why can't both of you keep to yourselves on every mission?" her superior huffed. "Of all things, Cel…"

"What strange things these are," mused another agent. "Voices heard through a noise filtering device? Or something else of sorts?"

This time, her teammate Chamomile remarked; "Never seen an earphone before, huh."

"The glories of Northern Realm technologies. And crafted without a single use of an endowment no less. Both a marvel and a pity they couldn't have settled their internal affairs sooner."

"-Oi," Thomas warned. "You know you can be heard by everyone in the operation, right? This is all gonna be on record."

"Ah, right, I have forgotten," the mystic agent couldn't hide the seething fury in his voice. "It's all thankless, is it not? That we are here, cleaning up our people's messes in secret while the rickety-roohas shot one of our own without a hint of inquisition. 'Shoot first, ask questions later,' as the Northerners put it. In all their glorious technologies, advanced civilisations and supposedly high intellect; their foolishness is unmatched to ever realise we are all on the same side."

The silence that followed struck a grimacing mood. All members who heard his words knew exactly what he was referring to.

Reina gave out a long sigh at the glum mood, reminding them; "The rule of compensation demands its price. What is lost cannot be replicated; only compensated. You cannot blame their ignorance if we ourselves hide in the shadows of these realms' societies."

"Their deaths could have been avoided-"

"-Nothing could ever reverse what had been transpired." Reina interjected, strapping her safety gear over her uniform. "The safety commission was doing their job. They did what they believed was necessary. We are the ones who crossed their territory. We're the ones who ought to have expected that kind of result. Goals that align aren't enough; not while everything else is at stake. Even if their ignorance was reprehensible, for this quirk-addled society, to know of our cause is a global death sentence."

I know this, better than anyone else.

To be told of the ways of the world, and to taught all of what was necessary to keep their world stabilized; the rules taught by her mentor became the only corner stone that kept her head levelled.

When one is added; something must be lost. When one is lost; more will be added to fill its gap.

If it means to keep their world a secret, she was willing to accept it.

At this, William gave an amused remark; "...Never thought I'd see the day to hear you say stuff like that."

She paused for a moment, then grasped her bandaged arm beneath her sleeve. "I'm only saying what's logical. Isn't it the same for everyone else?"

An older man's chuckle buzzed in her earpiece. "Heh. Logical in the perspective of Northerner sympathy. Polly taught you well, kid. If she heard that, she'd be over the moon."

"Sir, I'd appreciate it if you could stop interfering our radio channel," her superior sighed.

"Oh, come on Linda, we have an audience with us. Firebird's here to listen in; look sharp folks. Hope you make your squadron proud."

"-because of course he'd be with you like always."

A rare ghost of a smile graced the Berenian's lips before she turned her attention to preparing her gear for the long night. As soon as she slipped her radio device into its designed strap, she straightened her posture; her cold blue eyes looked down upon the city below.

How peaceful. And yet-

"Gear set," she said. "Ready."

"Ready gear."

"Aye."

"Aye as well on my end."

"Starcatcher squad; signal go."

As soon as the order was cast, Reina leapt from the high cliff and began sliding down the steep slope. Her black combatant uniform to shade her luminescent skin; her shaded visor to assist her night-blindness. As soon as she reached the bottom of the slope, her swift legs took her as far as the cemented barricade of the city, one glance was all it took to gage her surroundings.

"Sirius homebound," she spoke in their code name. "Hunt ready."

"Cassiopeia throne," Chamomile cheerily said. "Shackle ready."

"Aqua now on overwatch duty," her superior Tinders announced. "I'm seeing everyone's positions. Pitch ready. Hunter, Shackle proceeed."

Upon that signal, Reina pushed forward as she leapt over the cement wall. Having memorized the street prior to the operation, she began scattering small orange-stone beads to mark the ground. Keeping to the shades of the streetlamps, she sprinted along the marked location's perimeter.

"Marker set," Reina reported.

"Marker set here," Chamomile announce not long after.

"Done on my end." Said William.

"Theseus is in position," Thomas announced. "Labyrinth start."

"Barrier start," said their field communicator. "Pilgrim!"

"On it!"

A loud clang of a staff striking the ground echoed in the night air. The tiny beads of stones she left glowed until it gleamed into a barrier of light before her.

"Barrier status," the field communicator said.

"…Labyrinth secure," Thomas answered.

"Phase 2 start."

Reina crossed the barrier of light in a pouncing speed, beginning their operative's infiltration. As planned, she took the rear entrance of the building while Chamomile would infiltrate the front door. The other agents then surround the building to block their target's escape route with four members on overwatch duty.

With a single clap of her hands, her skin summoned the essence of her star; cutting the darkness like a miniature sun in the palm of her hand. Thanks to the perception barrier, any use of endowments or starcatcher abilities are hidden from any straggler's eyes. Reina clasped her hands again, splitting the star into spears of light before having it float above her head. With her commanding hand, her light blades carved an opening at the building's garage door.

Screams of panic could be heard from the other side; "INTRUDER! INTRUDER!"

So it begins.

A melodious, disconcerting laughter echoed from the other side of the building. "You are surrounded mages! Please proceed accordingly and we'll spare your life~!"

Thomas groaned loudly in the radio just as Reina continued to carve a proper hole for her and the vanguard to enter. In an instant, large objects were throttled through the carved entrance, threatening to pummel and crush her as it obscured her view. With a practiced hand, she grabbed one of her light blades and sliced the objects with precise ease.

'Angle your strikes at its cutting motion,' her memory instructed. 'Speed is your ally in a fight, second to strength for wit is useless if you cannot dodge an incoming attack.'

Her momentum from dodge to attack became second nature to her; concentrating the star's power into its greatest effect. The command of light blasted a hole into her makeshift entrance as more cries of pain echoed from within. Reina rushed head first into the man-sized hole, armed and ready for the next attack.

And then, there, she felt it.

The first sign of bloodlust chilled her skin as glowing scarlet runes were etched upon her opponent's skin.

Magecraft-!

With his clawed hand, the enemy's fingertips crackled with raw static energy. Reina throttled his arm with her knee, channelling his attack from her direction and unto the roof; releasing forks of lightning onto the ceiling. Sparking lines of electricity spread across the room, instantaneously blowing up the circuits of the entire building's powerlines. Darkness shrouded the entire room; her head an hands, the only parts of her that weren't veiled by her uniform luminated against the shadows. Not giving her attacker an opportunity, she grabbed the man's arm to twist behind him, only to be sprung backwards at her miscalculation of his own strength as he pushed her away to keep his distance.

This guy's more muscled that I thought.

"Then what about this!" With fistfuls of orange-stones, she flung them into the man's face; its orange glow shimmering before she whispered the command; "Flash."

The beads bursts into flashes of light, blinding her opponent right before she charged into him again, this time leaping over to make a mid-air, roundhouse kick at his head. He crashed into the ground as the agent took no chances and pressed her knee on the back of his shoulder, squeezing his wrist and held it against his back to contain him. In that moment, another of her fellow agents infiltrated the building, guns in tow alongside others who wielded their archaic weaponry.

"Hold him down!" Reina commanded, to which one of the officers obeyed and took her place. She quickly recovered one of her stray orange beads from the ground, glancing at her victim before she charged forward. Members of the admin gave further instructions through her earpiece, ordering them to split their forces to begin covering all bases of the three-story building.

"More incoming Hunter!" said one of the overwatch officers.

A woman lunged forward, baring her quirk in the form of spindly, spike teeth as she jumped straight towards her fellow agent, Malcom. The agent raised his arm out, exposing himself to the oncoming attack before she sank her teeth deep into his flesh.

"Go! Go!" he ordered Reina. "Clear a path for everyone!"

Reina hastened her steps, charging straight into the human wall of quirk users and mages alike.

"Stop that girl!" screamed one of her opponents.

They activated their abilities, all of which bare the mark of blood runes on their skins. With the star fragment in hand, she summoned her blinding light to obscure their visions. Many screeched as their covered their eyes in agony as others fell to their knees.

NoT GoOD enOUgH, a stray thought whispered in the depths of her mind.

"Tch," she pushed the thought down. "Don't distract me."

jUSt oNCe. LeT LOoSE.

"Shut up," she gritted, grasping the stray bead she picked up and channelled her heat onto it. Within seconds, the stone grew hot and with a word of command, Reina whispered; "bind."

The last of the stone's energies dissipates as the immobilised enemies suddenly grew stiff; their muscles trembling in a poor attempt to move.

"What the hell is this?!" one of them grunted. "Can't… move-!"

She ran ahead, navigating the labyrinth of the building from one hall to another. After her second turn, her sight was immediately obscured by the scarlet runes of yet another mage's arm.

Too slow! I can't do-

Just before she could dodge the attack, a gunshot echoed in the air. The mage who tried to cast magic fell to the ground. As he fell, behind him revealed William, shoulders heaving with bated breath as he held his firearm firmly with his hand. She gave him a curt nod of thanks, with him returning one in toe before they ran down the hall together.

"Seven down," Reina reported.

"Three on my end," William added.

"Status report, Shackle," her superior asked on the radio.

"Hahahahaha! That's right, all eyes on me!" in the radio she could hear the sounds of scuffling and static thunder amidst the radio noise.

"Still occupied, it seems," Thomas sighed.

"Cardinal, straggler status?"

"All are clear, none have crossed our path tonight," said the gruff agent.

"Barrier status?"

"Still intact," Thomas replied. "Pilgrim's with me keeping the perception filter active."

Doors flung open to reveal ten more people, all of which bore runic shapes of Gildaarian magecraft etched onto their person. Strapped to on their backs, they carried with them blood bags that fuelled their magic.

"Blood mages!" she screamed.

"So, the endowed mystic islanders have graced us with their presence," one of the mages sneered. "Take them down! I want them alive!"

"Stay back Will," Reina warned. "This isn't your specialty."

"I know that," her friend retorted, pointing the barrel of his gun at their targets. "I don't want you in the crossfire either."

She pursed her lips in annoyance, wanting to throw his words back at him but knew this was neither the time nor place.

"On my mark," he said.

"Right. Cover me."

Brandishing her star crystal, she began to conjure the proper images in her mind's eye. As she was preoccupied, William fired his rounds at the approaching opponents; effectively staggering one or two of them onto the ground.

Visualize it! She concentrated. Craft your blades, Reina. Sharpen its image and grasp it!

The seconds that passed felt like a minute as the star in her hands split and moulded into her ideal weapons of design. First one was a glass quarterstaff of light to which she immediately grasped with her dominant hand; the second were arrows in crystalized light.

"It's done!" she called out, handing the arrows over to her friend. "I, Reina, grant you authority upon this star!"

William immediately switched his firearm in favour of his crossbow, which had lain hidden beneath his sleeve. Reina's form changed into her attacking stance and charged straight towards her opponents.

"Not so fast!" the quirk mage said, laying a hand onto the floor before the blood runes on his arm activated. Blood dripped from the mage's blood bag as precious red fluid covered his right hand. The runes on his arms burned a sickly red glow; and what followed was a violent quake that shook the very ground they were standing on.

Reina stumbled on her footing, the tremors ruining her balance on the floor as she saw the ceiling beginning to crack. Amidst her struggle to keep herself upright, another quirk mage flew towards her; baring reptilian wings upon his back, brandishing a butterfly knife as he dove straight towards her.

Flight quirk was it?

FOoLiSH MoRTal.

She raised her arm to guard herself, allowing her opponent to splice through her sleeve, unveiling her dark skin addled with scar out in the open. Letting her arm become a feint to his attack, she swung her quarter staff to the side of his head, knocking him down unto the shaking ground. The winged mage retaliated, lunging his weapon towards her with wide careless swings.

Sliding her grip of her staff, she thrusts the end of her staff onto the man's tight grip of his weapon, striking his wrist with the means to break his wrist joint. The impact was blocked by the mage's runic shield, conjured by blood, effectively pushing her back. Two more mages began their assault, another two ready to take on her teammate.

William retaliated their approach, firing rounds of crystal arrows with ease despite the shaking ground. Its pointed blades gashed at one of their arms, another by their knees; but even then, they persisted.

By the words of authority granted by Reina, William yelled; "Gravity shift!"

Suddenly, the arrows that pierced his targets weighed their opponents down, nailing them onto the shaking ground. Howling screams echoed the walls as they struggled in vein, the arrows he fired on them weighed heavily like an paperweight holding them in place. Willian struggled to keep himself upright as the recoil of his word of command demanded that he too would be held in place onto the quaking ground.

Reina barely avoided the other mages whom William had missed, as they sought to overwhelm her with their sheer numbers.

No good!

With their statures sturdier and taller than her, there was only so much she could avoid. She whipped her staff to strike at her foes, only to have one of them catch it with their bare hands. But upon the barest touch, the mage's hand burned; the star's heat slowly eating away at her flesh.

"AAUGH!" the mage shrieked, releasing her hold of Reina's weapon as she staggered. Sliding her grip on her staff, Reina used it as a spring to leap into the air and land her foot onto one of the more muscular opponents in the face. Upon knocking that mage unconscious, she was about to swiftly turn to face her other opponent until a hand grabbed her by the fabric of her hood to pull her back. As she was dragged backwards, her raven-black, flowing hair spilled from the confines of her hood. She knew this was bad, knowing what it could mean if her hair was within their reach. Being yanked backwards by her opponent, she let her instincts take over-

"Tch!" with the radiance of her star, she burned the straps of her guards and zip, releasing herself from her only obstacle.

'Do not give them loose ends' the memory of her guardian reprimanded. 'Your opponent would use anything on your person against you. Cut it from you if you need to.'

"This is why I hate this thing," she muttered.

At the same time, I'm not more vulnerable.

Her padded jacket burned in the hands of her enemy, leaving her nothing to her person apart from her shirt and her padded pants and boots. Her thin arms that were wrapped in bandages trembled as blooms of red blotches stained the stripped cloth that covered her wounds that refused to heal. Taking this as a sign of weakness, yet another mage bared their hands onto her as tips of their fingers began to sharpen into dangerous claws.

Reina stumbled her footing in a poor attempt to duck, falling backwards as the claws just barely slashed strands of her long hair. The cracks on the wall extended onto the floor, as the ground threatened to break from beneath them.

And in that moment, the window pane behind the other mages shattered by a piercing bullet. What followed came at the two agents' relief as the familiar figure of a woman in a bomber jacket, with obsidian eyes and hair tied in a loose tail came crashing down through the broken window. Her own superior, Tinders had come.

The officer rolled on the floor as she landed, and ran straight towards the rumbling mage, throwing a hard kick at the mage's stomach. The impact was enough to cut the mage's concentration, ceasing the rumbling within their vicinity. With the butt of her shotgun, she knocked the mage unconscious; the blood that streamed from the blood bag now spilled onto the floor.

"You bi-!"

With a snapping slide of her shotgun, Tinders shot her opponent dead cold at point blank range.

"NOBODY MOVE!" the officer commanded, raising her free hand as she pointed her gun headfirst at one of the mages. "These aren't ordinary weapons."

Her brandished hand revealed three, thick bullet casings between her fingers; its shells glowing with stardust radiance. One of the mages who failed to understand their position lunged forward to attack Tinders-

-Only for Reina to tackle the mage onto the ground, twisting her arm before speaking the word of command 'bind' to the mage in place.

"Ngh! You-!" the mage spat beneath Reina's grip. "Why do you endowed hunt us so?! All we ever wanted was to be free! FREE FROM THE TYRANNY THAT YOU CAUSED-!"

This fuelled Reina's anger, twisiting the arm of her captive even harder.

"Gah! You and all your cruelty!" the mage persisted. "Flaunting your god-given gifts before the powerless- ngAAUGH!"

"Shut the hell up," Reina squeezed her grip. "Creature of your ilk have no right to act like victims of this world. Not while you sacrificed the endowed lives to feed your own cruel desires."

"Ground level stable but not secure, requesting for more back up," William reported.

Ah, Reina realised. I burned my radio alongside the jacket.

Her earpiece was still working, luckily, but she wouldn't be able to speak without issue.

"Top floor secure, all targets immobilized," replied another agent.

"Middle ground covered," said another.

"This is Aqua leader speaking, I'm here at ground level," Tinders said, her eyes fixed on the mages. "Requesting replacement for overwatch, I've got my hands full right now."

"Understood."

It hadn't taken long for phase two of the operation to end. The next phase involved securing all the members of the mage cult while sweepers start to take their part in the mission. The decisive battle closed without fail, all that was left was for the agents to begin their investigations.

Chamomile always walked with a spring in her step, her rousing curiosity as her greatest motivator into taking part of these dangerous missions. Even after too many close calls in that last fight, she still had enough energy in seeking out any secrets that lies within the cracks of this building. The golden-haired agent kept her eyes and ears peeled as she turned from one corridor to another, bypassing her agent comrades who might've been irritated by her careless steps. From doors to rooms and rooms to doors, she took on every opportunity to turn the knob and glance at each room she passed.

Upon finishing her inspection for that specific hallway, she turned a corner and found her friend, Reina, wrapping a new strip of cloth over her bloodied arms before she stood up.

"Aha! Found the light paladin," she pointed childishly.

Reina nodded in her greeting as Chamomile joined her side.

"So much explore, so much to see and do-" Chamomile chimed. "It's always the reaping that excites me the most."

William, who helped Reina tied up her bandages gave Chamomile a strange look. "Reaping?"

"Combing up the place, y'know?" the sunny girl replied.

"Stave that curiosity of yours, Chamomile," Tinders warned. "Remember the last time you let carelessness get the better of you."

"Boo~"

"So, how did it go on your end?" Chamomile asked her fellow friends. "I heard Reina switched to dark mode again."

"I did not," Reina retorted.

"Oh, you know," William shrugged. "This and that. The same old ways."

"Focus, you lot, we're not done here," Tinders interrupted. "Save it for the next day off."

Chamomile grinned with a short salute; "Aye, aye sir!"

Reina sighed, shaking her head as the three resumed to take part of the clean sweep. Within the passing minutes did the radio buzz for all agents to hear;

"This is Malcom… I… I think I found something."

The field communicator replied; "Special agent, immortal, report which floor you're on. What have you found?"

"…I… I… oh lord its terrible. This is… Spike? Firebird? I think I'm gonna be sick."

The entire mood shifted by the sound of the agent's wavering voice through their earpieces. Another officer on the radio buzzed in; "This is Spike, what have you found there, Malcom?"

"Children," Malcom answered. "Children in beds. All have I.V. drips on them…"

William swore, grimacing at the words just as Reina's shadow grew larger at the revelation.

Then another sweeper agent buzzed in the radio; "This is squad member Lina. There's another room full of kids found in a secret room within the third floor." -a long sigh could be heard before the following words were uttered- "…It's really bad."

"Tch," Tinders cursed. "Those bastards."

At this, the three junior agents ran downstairs where Malcom was in. As soon as they caught up to him, Chamomile's eyes widened upon arrival at the scene. Reina gritted her teeth as her glare darkened into a silent fury. William covered his mouth in horror.

A room full of children; all malnourished and pale, laying in rows of beds; unconscious and withering. Their arms were marred and attached to I.V. drips as Malcom had said. But the worst of it all was the sight of blood, drawn out of their tiny bodies through a tube; filling up the same kind of blood bags that were used to fuel those mages' powers.

Chamomile turned to find her superior behind them, her expression as equally horrified as everyone else.

Placing two fingers over her earpiece, Tinders said to her radio; "Guys. I think we've got ourselves in a situation. This isn't something we can sweep under the rug this time."

"How many kids are we talking?"

"…A lot."