Here it is, the 135th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released on time as always. The Paranormal Liberation has begun with the evacuation of Jaku and the raid on the hospital to arrest Dr. Garaki but that is not the only major part of the operation, the other is the assault on the Gunga Mountain Villa and the arrest of the many villains there including the entire senior commanders of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Well, that's beginning now so let's see how the initial attack. That is all the administrative stuff that I have for you, however, and there are no guest reviews to respond to or questions to answer so I will end this note here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. That is all I have for this pre chapter note so that means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 135th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.
Chapter 135: Lightning Rod
"Come on, let's start this already! I want to pound some villains into the ground."
"If you weren't so overtly American to begin with that would confirm it." Fei said in English with a sigh as the busty blonde bombshell known as Beth, the latter B in the Guardian sidekick BB, pounded her fist into her palm in frustration next to Fei as the heroes assigned to the Gunga Mountain Villa Raid Team, Team Edgeshot, walked through the woods as they closed in on their target. "And be quiet, we need the attack to go off without a hitch at the start and even then keep yourself in control because you're not the doorknocker here. Remember that you can only move once Chargebolt has done his thing. Then you can leap up and go to work."
"I know but it's still frustrating." Beth said before Fei noticed her eyes go unfocused. "Shut it Ben, I'm in charge now and I want to go in guns blazing…what?...I know I don't use guns but you know what I mean…shut up, this isn't a tactically delicate situation so just give me aid if needed but let me do my thing…good now stay quiet."
"Are you done?" Fei asked, she'd learned when she got to Japan about the oddity of Beth's Duality Quirk but it was still strange to see her argue with, well, herself and not because she was crazy as she was literally arguing with, well whatever Ben was as Fei was still a little confused. "We've got to focus so get your head in the game and be ready for what is to come."
"You got it partner." Beth said slapping Fei, who was in her full hero costume complete with the brilliant amaranth hair that was caused when the Prodigious was active like it was when Fei was in her costume despite being able to use her powers without it as it was her Quirk, on the back with enough force to stagger a normal person but Fei's enhanced constitution meant she only stutter stepped a bit before glaring at the taller, bustier, woman who grinned her white teeth at her. "So what animal will it be Lady Octo?"
"For this mission I need strength and power given the numbers and the pitch battle that will ensue." Fei said as they walked in the group. "So for the most part I'll be in my bear form but I'm going to start in eagle form and I'll change as needed during the fight."
"Got it, let's do this." Beth said and Fei sighed. "They won't know what hit them."
She knew why she was on this team and she was fine with it though she'd not mentioned as much to Beth as she hoped to not need that form today. Hell she was fine with having Beth as a partner for it because the woman could bulldoze her way through pretty much anything and could shrug off anything up to, and including, a tank shell, she just had a bad feeling about this.
Fei was here for a simple reason which separated her from the rest of the Guardian Agency sidekicks who were all either part of the evacuation team, along with Adrien and Marinette, or brought in from nearby national agencies to help with the general round up of the Meta Liberation Army cells that were spread out across Japan. No, she was here because she was listed as special status so had to be wherever the most dangerous threat was, which in this mission was the mountain villa.
Special status referred to the rules granted to certain heroes or aspects of a hero's Quirk that could only be activated if an S-Rank or higher villain threat was present. It was rare and in all of Japan Fei was the only one she knew with such status though of course any hero was sanctioned to kill an S-Rank threat if it was deemed necessary but a special status hero had to respond to the threat. For Fei, her special status applied solely to her dragon form but still it meant that if there was an S-Rank threat she had to be right where it was and in this mission there were 3 confirmed S-Rank threats.
One was Shigaraki who wasn't conscious and in Jaku, that was being handled by Team Endeavor and didn't need Fei's presence as in the worst case scenario Endeavor was the best hero to deal with him, which meant that it was the other two that required her. The villain known as Twice was being handled by the number 2 hero Hawks who was sanctioned to kill him if Twice couldn't be contained so that just left the monstrosity known as Gigantomachia.
While the intel said that he'd be asleep and remain so providing that Shigaraki was out as he'd only wake up at Shigaraki's command there was always a chance the worst could happen. As such they had to be prepared for it, which meant that Fei had to be here with permission to use her dragon form should he wake and so she was.
That was what had the woman on edge. Fei had been around for over 240 years having been born before the advent of Quirks and seen that incident happen in her homeland of China so she knew the tortured history humanity had been through in the wake of the advent. She'd been through more than anyone else in the team currently going because of her past and the pseudo immortality she had thanks to her pledge to serve the Guardians in their Clandestine Branch, not that anyone in the team knew, so she had experience and all her experience told her that shit was about to hit the fan today.
Fei knew that no plan survived first contact but this felt worse and she didn't know why it did. That feeling wasn't going away so she was on high alert as they moved. Having Beth there was a bit better, the woman could hit with the best, and Fei had personally insisted that she be assigned as well as additional backup for added power. That hadn't been hard as evacuation wasn't exactly Beth's strong suit though as a tall, busty, blonde, American woman in Japan she was really good at getting people to follow her at times, so her presence here was the best place for her.
Still, Fei was nervous and hoped that once the first line of defense that the Paranormal Liberation Army had was neutralized and she could then charge in to take the fight to the villains that things would be sorted quickly. The fight here was, for the most part, straight forward which meant that the big concern was what was going on in Jaku with Shigaraki in a lab that they didn't know the extent of but that was out of her hands so she had to trust that it was handled fine and hope that those in her agency, and of course Adrien and Marinette, were safe in the end. She had her job to focus on and she'd do it.
There was a little more than just her status to why she was here though, not that anyone but Fei and Mage knew why, because Fei had spied on this location in her mantis form before. That intel had been passed to Mage who'd forwarded it to the HPSC via the normal channels thus keeping her role out of it and added to the plan that was about to kick off with a bang as the group reached the starting point and awaited the go order.
It was almost upon them and Fei was ready, she just hoped that she didn't need to use her dragon form today because she'd seen Gigantomachia and even she wasn't sure she could take it down. Hell, she wasn't sure that anything short of All Might himself could take down that beast with physical force.
That was a worry that would be on her mind for a while but as they closed in on the villa Fei pushed it away as she was sure there was some contingency for if Gigantomachia awoke and they couldn't stop him with force. As she got focused Fei glanced over at the other heroes while Beth got more pumped next to her and noticed the worry on Denki Kaminari's face where he stood in the group of heroes.
Kaminari, or to use his hero name Chargebolt, was one of four first year U.A. student with a provisional license who were on the front lines and the reason for that was because he was the first key point of their attack. His Electrification Quirk was the perfect counter to one of the strongest Meta Liberation Army commander's ranged Quirk so with that sorted they could get rid of one of the few area affecting villains right at the start and really bring the fight to them. Problem was that the whole plan hinged on a 16 year old student.
The boy was naturally nervous with the weight of responsibility that was on his shoulders, Fei could tell, but Midnight was doing her best to calm him down as they ran towards the target. She was one of his teachers at U.A. so she should know what to say to reassure him. Besides, he was in the same class as Adrien and Marinette and while Marinette had kinda humiliated him in the Sports Festival he had deserved it for that cheerleader outfit he and that prevent Mineta had tricked the girls into wearing, the French couple trusted their friend and classmate to do his task because he was a hero so Fei could do so as well.
The same applied to the other first years here; they had set roles and would be taken back to the rear guard with Fat Gum when this was over. That was where Creati was who Fei knew was in the know about her true nature, as was Invisible Girl but that was a little newer due to Marinette's hand being forced, so Fei had a point of contact there if need be, she just hoped it wouldn't come to that or that Creati had to use Kaalki. That was too negative to think of though and again Fei shook her head and focused on the task at hand. The go order was coming and she had to be ready, they all did.
That moment came a few minutes later and Edgeshot gave a hand sign as they ran through the trees that indicated they were close and to fall into formation allowing Cementoss to charge ahead and lead the group of heroes as he had to be the first to attack. As they did, Fei leapt into the air using a fallen tree and turned into an eagle to soar high above it all, looking down at the others as she got her literal birds eye view of the situation. This would be how she started and then, when the moment came, she'd dive into the villa and start kicking villain ass.
As they ran Fei heard Kaminari yell that he missed his class, that was a fair response to have to a mission like this where he only had one classmate with him so Fei was pleased to see that Midnight had run to the position next to Kaminari and continued her pep talk about it though it didn't help. Midnight was a good pro but it seemed that she may not be the best at this. That was when one of the other three first years and the one in Kaminari's class, Tokoyami, took over to try and help as well though again it didn't seem to get through to Kaminari.
Fei would have kept an eye on them, they were Marinette and Adrien's friends after all so she should make sure that they were ok as the raid began, but she couldn't as the heroes burst through the trees and into the large, well-manicured, plaza-like area in front of the villa. Cementoss was already several feet in front of the rest of the heroes leading the charge as the plan dictated.
Why he was there was obvious, the plaza was covered in concrete so he was the perfect hero for the job. It was a bad mistake for a serious villain organization to make to leave a substance a pro good enough to teach at U.A. could affect in such abundance outside their main base but Fei chalked it up to supreme arrogance that the Meta Liberation Army had in not being attacked and left it at that.
With a roar, Fei watched Cementoss leap forward and slam his palms onto the concrete where they glowed. The moment he touched the concrete and put his Quirk into it the concrete roiled up like a wave and seconds later slammed into the center of the villa with enough force to shake the building before it began to tear the building apart where it hit to leave a gaping vertical hole from base to roof that cracked the hideout wide open for the heroes to enter through.
It was an impressive display, made more so when Fei realized that it wasn't caused by the concrete wave hitting the building but rather that had been Cementoss extending his power through the concrete in the ground to the building so that he could rip the building open from there as he had control over the concrete he was in contact with. Fei had to hand it the man, he was a strong hero and that Cement Quirk of his was damned useful because in moments it was done, the hole now a large, inverted triangle with a long groove to it leading the heroes right into the now unstable building.
From her position Fei could see that the building wasn't' going to collapse but the interior was falling down and it was a nice, wide open atrium like area at the front of the building with wrap around balconies for each level inside though she already knew the layout. This was going to be a good fight, once the priority villain was taken care off and those in the basement were sealed in for easy capture later that is.
As the dust settled from Cementoss's, in Fei's mind rather polite, door knock the heroes charged as Edgeshot gave a final pep talk to them about what was to come and their job to take down the villains before them so as to prevent the harm they were threatening to do to society. A fair statement and that was the whole point of this preemptive strike so Fei stayed in her position as the villains gathered their own forces and saw just how fucked they were as the heroes charged at the villa.
While they did, Midnight gave her final works of comfort to Kaminari and this time she managed to say the right thing to get through to him by telling him to focus on protecting what was most dear to his heart rather than worrying about the big picture. That was just what he needed as it allowed Kaminari to focus on something small and to him it was his classmates in general and in particular a certain girl he was close to, the only one he wasn't pervy towards because she was special to him.
With Jiro front and center in his mind, and hoping that she was back with the rear guard listening in on the attack which made him feel connected to her, Kaminari had the final push he needed to charge forward and through the heroes to do his job. He'd volunteered for this and while he'd been nervous about it and how he'd felt guilted into it given the situation he now had a clear mind and smiled as he joined the fray to do what he'd come here to do.
Kaminari's determination was just in time as the villain in question, some dude who wasn't a senor commander in the Paranormal Liberation Front like those in the League of Villains or the old inner circle of the Meta Liberation Army minus the one killed by Toga but still a division commander of some sort, charged up his Amplivolt Quirk for a wide ranging electrical attack. The moment the heroes had announced their presence he was ready and would make them pay for daring to attack them and prevent their goals of true liberation.
It was a good move and man was well trained in his Quirk because if it landed it would take down many heroes. It was just a shame for him that as it was released Kaminari reached the entrance of the front plaza thing and stuck his right hand in the air, finger up, and used his own Quirk to draw the electricity in and absorb it rendering that, as he put it 'scary leader' powerless just as he'd been instructed to do. Heroes were always ready to beat villains and they had just the counter for this particular villain.
"Well my, my, my, he really did it." Fei muttered to herself in the air as a few of the heroes praised Kaminari and he gave them the opening they needed to properly take down that particular villain and press on into the villa. "That takes care of that guy's Quirk and once he's down I'm going in so handle that guy, heroes, because it's time to end this before anything bad happens."
Fei didn't have to wait any longer to act as the moment the electric villain realized he was being countered he tried to up the charge to see if the hero who was countering him could handle it but by then it was too late for him. Kaminari had provided the opening that was needed for Edgeshot to act and use his ultimate move, Ninpo: Thousand Sheet Pierce, to put a small hole in the lungs of the electric villain and several others who were behind him in a single, swift move with his Foldabody Quirk. It wasn't a fatal wound, providing they didn't move around too much that is as they'd soon heal from it.
To ensure that they were taken out and didn't do something as stupid as fight on and die from the wound, Midnight leapt into action and as the villains were either on the ground or in the electric guy's case on his knees as he'd been the first hit. She'd already torn her sleeves to shreds and as she leapt she spewed out the pink mist that was her Somnambulism Quirk over the villains that Edgeshot had hit as she passed over them.
To ensure the direction of the pink mist stayed where she wanted it too and covered the villains she used a set of fans to direct her Quirk over those she wanted to put to sleep. Most were men so in short order all the villains, including two females in the number, fell down to the ground sound asleep thus ensuring both that Edgeshot's attack wasn't going to be fatal and that they'd be captured for sure.
The moment that she saw that the electric villain was down from the effects of Midnight's Quirk, Fei turned in the air and dove right for the opening in the building. That villain being taken out was her cue and she ignored the actions of the other heroes who were also charging into the villa or sealing off escape routes or heading to the one designated for that Tokoyami kid or engaging villains outside.
Those were for the other heroes to deal with and not her as everyone had their own roles to play in this mission. That said, Fei did note Beth charging thought several villains and sending them flying to reach the villa and the bulk of the villains that were there though why she felt the need to run through the wall and not use the opening was beyond Fei.
That was something Fei could wonder about later as her part of the mission was to dive in and engage on the balconies and she did just that turning from eagle to bear with a roar in midair and landing on the lowest balcony with enough force to crack the wood beneath her feet and swiping her arms at two villains sending then flying through the railings and down to the floor below to land in unconscious heaps there. The fight had begun and Fei stood on her hind legs and turned to face the next opponent with a roar that would make any actual bear proud.
"What the hell is a red and yellow bear doing here?" A villain yelled as he saw her in her bear form towering over him but he was just some low level grunt so Fei didn't even focus on what he looked like as she attacked. "A hero can turn into one? I don't know any here who…"
"Shut up." Fei said batting him to the side and into, and then through, the wall to knock him out leaving his unconscious body in whatever room she'd just knocked him into. "Surrender villains, you're outmatched. Don't make this harder on yourselves."
"It can talk!" Another villain said stunned as Fei turned to him. "And it's a girl. So it's a lady bear?"
"Well that's rude, I'm still a hero though Lady Bear is actually accurate." Fei said as she punched the villain in the face with a closed paw and sent him flying back through two more, one of whom fell off the balcony to the ground below which likely ruled that villain out for the rest of the fight, and into the wall at the end of the balcony where the corner met where he stuck into it but didn't go through it. "Be polite even if you are villains."
"Shut up, I got this bitch!" Another villain, this time a female villain, said from behind Fei. "She's mine."
"Do you?" Fei said as she changed into her snake form to dodge the move that swiped over her as she slithered around the stunned villain's feet to get behind her as she continued to speak. "Because they don't call me Lady Octo for no reason, that octo means something but there's no point in telling you what that means because it's go to sleep for a while. Don't worry, you'll be in cuffs soon."
As Fei spoke she turned into a bear again and reared up behind the female villain paws over her head to bring them crashing down on the villain's head driving her to her knees before she crashed forward to lie on the ground unconscious while the villains around her backed up a bit. To add to this, as the female villain hit the floor of the balcony a large, mutant class, villain was blasted through the balcony's floor and then the wall behind it on an upward trajectory.
Fei turned to see that it was Beth who was in the middle of a fight with some of the physically stronger villains who'd realized that the slightly insane American woman was a lot tougher than she looked. They were also learning the hard way that it would take a hell of a lot of force to even scratch her so she was currently secure where she was.
"Good, handle that stuff." Fei muttered as she backhanded a villain that had just joined the fight and was trying to approach her from the rear with her paw before she turned to see a group charging at her having used their comrade as a distraction. "We've all got a job to do, time to show these punks why we're heroes."
With that Fei let out a bellow in her bear form as she fell down onto all fours and charged. She was here to beat some villains and she'd be damned sure she'd do so regardless of how her gut felt about the whole thing. Alas for her, her gut would prove to be accurate in the end.
"The attack, it's about to begin." Jiro said her voice a little shaky as her earphone jacks were plugged into the ground in the rear guard where most of the U.A. first years were currently located. "I'm sure Tokoyami's going to be fine so maybe, maybe Kaminari will be as well."
"Have faith in our classmates, this is what we've trained for, what we signed up for when we decided to become heroes." Momo said as she knelt down and put a hand on her friend's shoulder to reassure her while Sero told Mineta to get off his ass and be ready for their role to capture any villains who get past while one of the pros with them reminded them of their duty given how many heroes had been gathered for this as Mineta protested having to stand up. "He'll be fine, I know it. Just listen and you'll see how strong Kaminari is. We all have a role to play in this, his is just more important right now so we must support him."
"Thanks Yao-Momo." Jiro said with a small smile as she looked to her friend her jacks still in the ground and as she did she noticed something that she'd not noticed before mainly because she'd been focused on hearing the raid team and listening for their attack but now that she did notice she had to address it. "Um, why are you wearing your glasses? Usually you only wear them when you lead our study groups."
"Oh these, they're, er, well I just thought a change would be good for this." Momo said unable to come up with a good excuse at all and knowing that Kaalki, who was in one of her belt pouches, was shaking her head at her for that as she raised her free hand to them to adjust them slightly as a more cogent excuse came to mind. "They help when we study so I though they may reassure you lot while we're out here. Plus they add a small protection for my eyes so better to be safe, right?"
"Oh, er, that makes sense I guess." Jiro said not sure how to respond but before she could say anymore she heard the change in the attack that she was looking for. "They're on the move, it's about to begin."
"Good then if there's anything you want to say, say it now." Momo said as she stood up. "They can't hear us but our support is just as vital regardless of where we are."
"Yeah I know." Jiro said as she got serious. "You can do this Chargebolt, I believe in you."
Momo smiled at that as she stood next to Jiro. She knew the pair were close, possibly with some sparks between them that weren't the kind that Kaminari normally produced, so it was good to see that Jiro had faith in their friend. Momo knew that that would be the key to helping Kaminari ensure he got his job done and allowed the heroes their full force attack without an issue.
"Any word?" Mineta asked nervously after a few moments of silence following Jiro's last statement as he looked at Jiro who still with her earphone jacks in the ground. "Have they attacked yet?"
"Cementoss has broken in and they're going forward." Jiro said giving them a commentary of what was going on so that they were fully in the loop. "It seems like they're almost there and the villains are coming out to meet them. Edgeshot's giving some final orders and words of encouragement but I'm not sure…wait what's that?"
"Jiro, what do you hear?" Momo asked. "Is it good or bad?"
"Both I think." Jiro said as she focused on the sound that she knew well by this point. "It's charging electricity, the villain who Kaminari is supposed to be the counter I bet, and he's releasing it to attack the heroes so…wait, he's there! Chargebolt, he's intercepted the electricity and is absorbing it so that the heroes can do their thing. Damn, he pulled it off and he's even giving the heroes some words of encouragement as he makes sure that they're safe from the electricity. I knew you could do it Kaminari."
That got a cheer from all of them in the rear guard but Momo couldn't help but notice the smile on Jiro's lips as she spoke or the relief in her eyes. Kaminari had done his job and secured the path forward after Cementoss, the first of the major villain obstacles was out of the way now.
The next big ones were Twice, who should already be contained by Hawks before Cementoss opened up the villa, and Re-Destro. The latter would be handled by Tokoyami and Dark Shadow as the darkness of the underground bunker was more than enough to let Dark Shadow go wild and have more brute force than Re-Destro could manage with Stress. That was why they were there after all and soon the major combatants of the Paranormal Liberation Army would be dealt with and the rest could be mopped up with ease.
That meant that so far things were going according to plan, they'd created the opening and were charging into the villa ready for what was to come next. Still Momo had to ask to make sure.
"The villain that Kaminari was there for, is he down?" Momo asked quietly as she knelt next to Jiro once again while the others cheered and chatted about the success at the start. "We have make sure that he's been taken care of after all."
"No need to worry there." Jiro said with a grin. "Kaminari created the opening and Edgeshot isn't the number 4 hero for nothing. He took it and used his ultimate move to take the guy down and some others. Sounds like Midnight finished the job to ensure no fatalities as well just as I'd expect from her."
"That's good." Momo said with a smile pleased to hear that two of her teachers, Cementoss and Midnight, were playing such a vital role in this part of the mission and she knew that Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic were doing the same at the hospital so all was going well on that front. "What about the others? Honenuki and Komori, how are they doing? Oh and Tokoyami but I don't think he's up yet."
"He's not, they've just destroyed the other exits to seal them in with only the main one in the villa left and Fat Gum is heading there with Tokoyami and Amajiki now." Jiro said deciding not to mention the roar of a bear that she heard as that was odd. "As for the others, they're doing fine. Sounds like Komori's mushrooms are causing chaos the way only they can and Honenuki is making the ground soft to take care of villains outside. Between them they'll capture many villains that are outside and once all is done Fat Gum will collect the four of them and bring them back."
"Good to hear." Momo said as she rose once more and looked toward the villa. "Our friends are doing their job so we must do ours as well because they're counting on us just as much as we're counting on them."
Jiro nodded at that as she went back to focusing on the battle at the villa and used her expert recon skills to sift through the sounds and get a picture of what was going on there. She was their ears there so she'd give them any major updates though she was also focused on making sure Kaminari was safe there. Momo didn't mind, she had a connection to it via Fei so she too would hear if anything happened and if something specific was needed.
Momo hoped that it wouldn't come to that but she was more than ready to act on that if need be. Marinette had entrusted her with a Miraculous and trusted her judgement so Momo wouldn't let her friend down if it came to as they waited for news of success at both the villa and the hospital.
So far things were going well but Momo wasn't going to relax, none of them were. This was the largest mission in the history of the HPSC with the largest force of heroes ever assembled in Japan so there was a lot of ways that it could go wrong so they had to be ready for any of them.
Unfortunately for them, as Mirko beat through the High End Nomus in Jaku and got nearer the tank with Shigaraki in it, while Crust, Present Mic and others lent their aid in the lab, things were about to take a turn no one saw coming. For now, though, that spark of hope for success was still in the hearts of all those present and be it the ones in Jaku, at the mountain villa, or in the rear guard, all held onto it as the Paranormal Liberation War kicked up a notch with the attack on the Gunga Mountain Villa.
I think that's a good place to end this chapter on, the second half of the mission is also underway now and we've seen both start so now it's time to kick it to the next gear with the war which means a switch back to Jaku and what's going on there. That's how this arc will work going forward, the chapters will alternate between the two missions until they collide with the moment I'm sure y'all know is coming but naturally I'll not give away when that is happening. There really isn't much more to say about this chapter written mainly from Fei's perspective with a look at how the students in the rear were handling it so I'll leave this chapter off here. As always, if you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.
Stringdog
