Bad news: This week, the chapter will be shorter than usual to ensure I can get it out on time. My timetable was messed with last week, with the power being gone for two days, so I couldn't get anything done. But the issue should resolve itself next week, provided nothing comes up.

Chapter 41: Re-assessment.

Across the ocean from I-island, the sun beat down hard on southeastern Nevada's dry desert landscape. The summer temperatures made it a nuisance to be out in the sun, with those who made the trip having good reason. For villains, it was a chance to move without worrying too much about law enforcement as there was a lack of people to suspect and call them out, but that didn't mean they were immune. One such gang learned the hard way.

The small fry had either been defeated by the lone figure against them or surrendered when they recognized her sizeable muscular frame and confident smile, her red, white, and blue costume, or the 8 backward-swept blonde tuffs. Their boss, a villain on there for the last few years, refused to lie down and turned into an ice giant to fight. Still, in the end, she came out victorious. She watched as the restrained villain was escorted into the back of a specialized transport.

"Thanks, Star. We'll take it from here." One of the police thanked her, and America's strongest hero nodded.

"Just be careful with this one; he was tough to take down." She warned them, as he had been a hard fight, the hardest she had fought in the last few months.

"It's not that tough if he's still knocked out." Another cop laughed as they had to carry the man into the van, but even if he woke up, the restraints would suppress his quirk. Star took their word for it and turned to speak with the detective that she had been working with on this new closed case, but then one of her people approached her. The face he was making immediately caught her attention.

"Star, we should be going now." He told her. She didn't question it and agreed, shaking the detective's hand and promising they'd speak later before she turned and left, her large cape flowing behind her as the strongest woman on the planet left the fight scene. Getting into her car, a custom-built armored vehicle that could move and handle like a supercar, she let her brother take the wheel.

Now that they had some privacy, she decided to satiate her curiosity. "What is it?"

"We're heading to Nellis, and we'll be flying out 10 minutes or earlier after that." Her 'brother' replied, the dark-skinned man keeping his eyes on the empty desert road that so clearly sped down at nearly twice the speed limit. A perk of being associated with America's top hero was a lot of leeway in situations like this.

Star frowned, keeping the groan in as she loved her job and the many people she helped. But at times, she envied heroes who stuck to a single city, hell, even those who remained in a single state like many of her old classmates. But as the top hero, she had the honor of being told to fly to every corner of the country or just head there herself when she thought she could help.

"There's always something. Where are we heading this time? Up north? The east coast?" There were some forest fires in Washington state, but the last she heard, they were handling them pretty well. Perhaps it was that assassination plot on the North Carolina governor she's been hearing rumors about, but wouldn't that be more the fed's alley? She never was great at investigative work.

"I-island."

She turned to her drive, 'brother' and dear teammate, confused. "There? What could eggheads and crazy engineers need us for? A crime for them is a pick-pocket." She had wanted to go there for a while and see what the Expo was like as a tourist, but her work often kept her busy. She also knew that the place was one of the most secure on the planet and home to some of the most bleeding-edge developments in several fields.

Despite what some people in government wanted, it was also famously a neutral ground, not aligned to any one country. Instead, it was run by a board of directors of candidates selected by the UN Security Council and then approved by the general assembly. It wasn't just a place she could be 'sent to' like any other part of the world; all heroes needed an invitation. The only exceptions would be in emergencies.

"You know David Shield, right?" Her teammate asked, which only worried her as the possibilities started forming in her head.

Crossing her arms, she looked out the windscreen towards the road as they raced down it, their car's engines a lot softer than one would expect despite how much horsepower it put out. "I know of him, how he was my master's first sidekick, but I've never had the chance to meet up. He couldn't attend the ceremony where he won his noble quirk price."

Her teammate cracked a smile at that. "Yeah, we were busy hunting drug smugglers near the Canadian border, you were pissed about it."

"Does the professor need an escort? Is he making a trip state-side?" She asked, hoping it was just some new event she didn't know about, a surprise announcement, or some family emergency. Granted, that last one wouldn't warrant the top hero escorting him, but she hadn't seen a stranger in her 20-plus years on the job.

"Yes, and yes, though not for the reasons you're thinking." Her teammate frowned, offering her an apologetic look as if he had been the one who had been called about this and he would be the one who broke the news to her.

"The professor was involved in a villain attack on the island; he admitted to aiding them get onto the island. They made a mess of things before making off with some prototype equipment. The guys up top argued for him to be trialed state-side, so we're being sent to ensure he gets there." He stated, with Star sitting up straight that that. Her eyes were wide, but there was no hint of deceit or amusement on her face; she often called him too serious, but there was no hint this was anything but what he told her.

"I see…well, I can't say I believe that." Star replied, not outright refusing it but stating her skepticism about such an accusation. Besides, people admitted to crimes they didn't all the time to lessen the punishment they could face if they went to trial. But that rarely happened to the wealthy and powerful, so what could he have been involved in that admitting to a serious crime like this could be seen as the lesser of two evils?

She wasn't alone in that mindset. "Figured you wouldn't, I still find it questionable. Man was at the top of the game, buddies with damn All Might. Why the hell would he decide to help some villains in a heist?" None of this made sense. People turned to crime because they felt like they had no alternatives, or because of psychology or some emotionally unstable moment.

The professor was a well-respected researcher, the best in his field, and he made plenty of his patents. He didn't seem like the type to give something like a drug or gambling problem he needed to feed, and in terms of his mind-he was one of the most upright people out there, a requirement if you could call All Might a close friend and confidante. Hell, there was even a joke that the two were so close that they secretly married. Mellissa was their daughter through a surrogate, a rumor both found so funny they laughed about it when asked on a talk show.

That only left him emotionally unstable, leading to him making a wrong decision, but what could that be? When he was informed of their new assignment, the secretary did not mention any possible causes. Still, indeed, there had to be one. People just didn't commit serious crimes because they were bored.

He took a breath, releasing his tight grip on the steering wheel. "Either way, he's already admitted to the charges, and a statement from All Might, who was on the island for the Expo, confirms that the professor plans to plead guilty. The best thing we can do is wait to meet him and ensure he lives to see trial."

It went unsaid that if this was deeper than they were told, there could be plenty of people with serious influence who wouldn't want this out, and one way to ensure that was to ensure that their primary suspect vanished at sea.

"I'm going to talk with him and find out what the hell is happening, as something is missing. There's stuff we don't know," Star stated, even if she wasn't supposed to. She was headstrong and did what she pleased, and right now, that meant digging deeper into this than her superiors would probably like. "Any details on the villains that got out?"

"They seem to have been a multi-national fit; the ones captured were all American, but according to All Might and several other witnesses, the two we should be worried about that got away were Japanese. Part of that group that assaulted U.A. and then made a mess of things in Hosu."

Hearing that made the woman frown in anger. She was surprised but happy to learn that her master had taken on a teaching role. She had said that with his guidance, the next generation was secured, as the world always needed more heroes like him; that was why she worked as hard as she did and styled her hero persona in homage to him. However, people liked to think it the other way around since she was American and he Japanese.

She had followed events closely, which meant that even though it had been 8 in the evening, she had been one of the first in the states to learn about the USJ attack, watching the Japanese news broadcast from home. It didn't say much, but one would need to be wilfully ignorant to not notice that there were injuries that worried her greatly. The news reports that All Might was on sight, so how could they injure his students when he should have handled them before then?

The Hosu happened, which made the rounds state-side, as that stupid video of the so-called Thunder's pyromaniac had been all over the web, gaining the mad brat a following on the dark web. Even as the FCC constantly tracked down videos and deleted them, they would always be downloaded by someone and then re-uploaded.

"Who?"

"The pyromancer and the one whose quirk seems to give him weather manipulation, no known real name, goes by Nine." She cursed; it was just her luck that it would be those two. Out of that troubling bunch, it would be the most dangerous.

"Great, a walking fire hazard and a human storm machine were allowed free reign of a floating island. Any injuries…deaths?" She hesitantly asked, but her teammate shook his head.

"A few, but no deaths. The villains treated it like a robbery and were smart, keeping injuries minimal. However, when you rob a place like that, you will have our attention no matter how clean the job." It made sense if one removed the morality of it; criminals that focused more on stealing than harming didn't seem to be a high priority; after all, property could be recovered, repaired, or replaced, but lives couldn't.

That said, I-island was an important place, arguably one of the most important on the planet, proving one capable of getting in and making off with its property would put you onto any nation's most wanted. They were undoubtedly being added to the World Hero Associations, WHA's international most wanted list for that alone.

Her teammate's face creased as something else in the report made no sense. "But there was something else. Pyre was alone with someone, and…it's hard to explain."

"And?" Tensei asked his doctor. The retired pro was seated on a hospital bed a few floors down from where the professor was being treated and restrained. He had changed out of his evening wear and now wore a drab hospital gown. His wheelchair was in the corner of the room, far from where he could easily reach it.

His doctor, one of the best neurosurgeons in the world, was left stumped by the results of the rapid exam they had conducted. But he and the several others he had called in for their opinions couldn't refute the results. "I…I can't believe it, but you have a clean bill of health, and your spine is as good as new-better than new even. Not just that, but it's like you're the walking embodiment of health."

Tensei hummed as he stood, still finding feeling in his legs even though he had only been paralyzed for around 2 months. Hopping from one foot to the other, he felt as good as new. "So, he was honest about that, I kinda figured." He mused as the doctors excused themselves, leaving Tensei alone with his guest.

"You trusted his words?" All Might, who was present for this after being informed of the situation, asked. However, he didn't seem as judgemental as one would expect.

"I've seen his profile; he wouldn't lie about something like this. Besides, I've seen the results of it before." He couldn't get his brother's face out of his mind when he agreed and was bathed in flames. It hurt a lot, and he screamed out in pain as he was burned to what felt like the bone. But just as he was told, a few minutes later, he realized that his clothes were fine while his body was rapidly healing.

He had just regained feeling in his legs when the villains were on the cusp of their retreat. He only managed to wobble back to the elevator and make his way halfway to the ballroom when he was found and told it was over. The other pros were shocked when they saw the man they knew to be in a wheelchair, alive and moving about.

"Well, that means that out of the injuries sustained last night, none can be truly attributed to Pyre or Nine." All Might reached for his nose to ease the headache he was getting, no doubt partly because he hadn't slept in over 24 hours. Frankly, he was so tired that he didn't bother coming in with his muscle form. He just flashed the doctors the correct papers that said he could be there and then explained who he was to the patient once they had privacy.

"That doesn't mean they're innocent, far from it." Tensei frowned as he was grateful to the kid he was. But he was the same person who put his brother into therapy after putting him through a hell that he wouldn't wish on his most hated enemy.

"Correct, it makes them smart. We're still digging through the ruins of the exhibition center, but safe to say, we suspect that they made off with a lot of equipment they can sell on the black market; after that, lord knows where it can end up." All Might agreed as it seemed like Pyre and his unit were evolving; each attack they were part of was greater than the last.

USJ was mainly the League, as they were hired to help, but they were also the most successful villains there. Both hired Thunder members to secure easy victories while other villains were routed. Hosu was where Pyre stole the show, as his debut video, which they were sure he had no part in, hit the criminal underworld like a rock to a calm pond, waves disrupting the status quo, building support, even in the shadows, and rallying more villains to act out, and with his time as All Might coming to an end, he wasn't in a position to re-seal Pandora's box.

But this? This was something else, a move that all thought impossible. It wouldn't matter that they were allowed into the island. All people would see was two capable villains besting I-island's security, grabbing many of their prized research fruits, and getting away. They were keeping things under lock and key, but even what little was being allowed to be released was damning, and say nothing of the fact they couldn't be sure if or when the Thunder revealed the true scope of the operation for their benefit.

Not to mention the fact Pyre healed a known hero; they can't just pretend like Tensei didn't recover, but the idea at present was, for now, to act like he came to I-island for some sort of cutting-edge treatment. However, he doubted it would be picked in the end as such a lie could be questioned as soon as other paraplegics would no doubt also want that treatment, which didn't exist. No, as much as others disliked it, he pushed for them to be honest about it; it was expected of them as heroes and, practically, their best response unless someone had a good cover.

The only silver lining that being only Wolfram and one of his men knew of what the device did and why the professor made such an ill-advised scheme could quickly turn to dirt as how easily could it be spun that he was greedy, that he was a fool? Dave's trial would be affected by public opinion; they could quarantine the jury during it, but not before.

The only means he can think of that could help Dave was to reveal why he did it, that he had good intentions through it all and had no idea they were real criminals, but that would necessitate revealing that he was getting weaker, with his friend had begged him not to do as things were bad enough, his actions throwing wood into the blaze, but if the criminals of the world realized All Might was on a timer…

"You don't think that they'll sell in Japan?" Tensei's words drew his attention out of his worry-filled mind.

"Possible, but moving all that project back to Japan would be risky. But We have no idea where they flew to or what plans they had to escape." All Might replied. 'Especially since he was involved.' They had already sent out patrol boats and helicopters in every direction. They requested additional aid from the US Navy, but what Wolfram told him about All for One stuck with him, especially as the man clearly displayed an additional quirk that he had had just in his words 'to make his life miserable'.

He had tracked down that monster one and thought he had put him down, but it had taken years to do that, as like a rat-he always has a hole or crack he could squeeze through and escape, always a back-up or secret exit. And now he was given another piece of proof that the bastard could even cheat death as he was sure he had landed that blow; his head was cracked, and blood was everywhere. No one should have survived that- but he did.

And when All for One was involved, who knew what means he had to lend young Midoriya and his other villainous allies a means to escape? A submarine, a ship, or maybe the warp villain Kurogiri could open portals across vast distances, and they were already back in Japan.

There are few possibilities and insufficient information to satisfactorily narrow things down.

"What's the plan then?" Tensei asked, seeing just how complicated the situation was.

A few hours later, the day started in Japan, and most people were just waking up or returning home from serving the night shift. The government was the same, as only the most early birds were present. Most were on their way, having breakfast, showering to wake themselves up, or still in bed enjoying the last few minutes of slumber before their dreaded alarms went off.

Today was not that day for the Hero Public Safety Commission president. She liked to think of herself as a serious woman who was dedicated to her job and consistent in her work ethic and actions. But typically, even she would only arrive at 07:30 sharp. Instead, she had been called for an emergency meeting with the National Police Agency, which meant waking up two hours earlier and paying her driver overtime to do the same and get her to the meeting at the frustratingly early time of 6 a.m.

Despite that, she carried herself as she always would, a stern, detached, unyielding figure whose gaze could make others shiver and look away; she didn't even need to use her quirk, a minor one that intimidated those that her gaze; she had long since mastered the art of doing that without it. Entering the meeting hall, she saw that she wasn't alone in her demeanor. Despite the hour, every important figure whose name she bothered to remember matched her; they all understood such a meeting wouldn't have been called unless it was necessary.

And 30 minutes later, she could agree as she tapped her well-manicured fingers on the table. An assault on I-island? Unprecedented, it should have been impossible, but it was done, insider help aside. And to boot, two of the most critical and dangerous villains were Japanese criminals. It made sense why they were being read into this so soon after the fact.

"They still have search teams searching a radius matching the max range that the stolen prototype could have covered since they fled, but as of now, no signs of it or the suspects have been found." The man managing the report concluded.

"No doubt they had help. According to these files, the prototype didn't have the range to reach any large settlements." Someone else pointed out, based on I-island's position during the attack, the closest island that they could have gone southwest towards Tuvalu, which was around 1100km away. Still, such a tiny island couldn't be relayed on to be of much help, and several strangers appearing would have been noticed.

Fiji was another option. While it would have been on the absolute limits of the prototype's range in ideal conditions, which these were not, it would have the means to offer them resupply before they travel to Australia or Southeast Asia via island hopping. Still, I-island had already contacted Fiji, and they hadn't spotted the prototype or anyone that matched the suspects.

"It's clear that this was a well-thought-out plan. I doubt that they knew of the prototype, which means they already had alternative means of getting off the island. Considering the identities of 2 of the villains, it's clear that they would be returning to Japan." The president stated, as villains, like everyone else, longed to return home.

"To that end, we need to triple security protocols at all ports of entry and look into any contacts we have in the underworld to see if they attempt to use other means of smuggling themselves back into the country." She added, though she didn't expect much luck with that, though they had no means to know if the entire group was out of the country, as there haven't been any crimes she could think of as of late that they were involved with, it was also in their methods to attack selectively.

"We've already contacted the MLIT, and they've agreed to allow police to fill in those additional roles. However, that wasn't what you were requested to attend this meeting, madam president." The head of police replied, referring to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. He had spoken with their secretary earlier and would finalize details when the minister was available later in the day.

"You want my opinion on the Thunder." The president stated, tapping her fingers more as she thought about how to respond to this crisis. "It's clear that we were gravely mistaken to treat them as we would any other group. They don't operate like them but use a playbook comparable to what criminals used in the days before All Might cemented himself as our symbol of peace."

Turning her chair a little, she looked at the room of assembled government and law enforcement figures properly, her gaze imparting just how dangerous such a group was and how they couldn't let All Might handle them a second time, not when they all knew his time was running out.

The president kept it to herself that part of why she was worried was the frankly embarrassing standards of heroics that had become the norm, complacency leading to lower standards and weaker-willed and not-as-dedicated pros protecting them. She had argued for them to increase the requirements of passing the exams to get and retain one's license during her time as the commission's vice-president, and she still did, but she has been denied ever since.

She couldn't trust such heroes to handle this, not when well over 100 had fought against the Thunder and had been soundly defeated. "They're organized, they're powerful, and they're growing bolder. So, we need to treat them as the threats they are, so I strongly advise elevating their ranking as a collective from a high C to a mid-range B. The ranks of Nine and Pyre, real name, Midoriya Izuku, would be elevated to high A-rank."

That wasn't a simple request to make, as the commission didn't handle villain rankings. They needed to work with the police, who would study the quirks, current and predicted abilities of their users, a list of their crimes, and their psychological profiles before deciding on a villain rank. Most fell into the lowest tier, that being F, and went down.

One would think that it was simply the danger the villain posed, the greater the level, and that was true-but only till C-rank. From there came politics and societal concerns. After all, it wouldn't look good for the home country and territory of the world's greatest hero to have many high-ranked villains around. For the commission's president, the same party that regularly blocked villains being registered as higher, to make such a suggestion meant that they listened.

But if they thought she was done, they were mistaken, as even if she made that concession, that just meant she was all the more eager to stamp this problem out. "Also, we should form a specialized task force whose duty would be to investigate their crimes, track them down, and apprehend them before they can do any more damage."

"How large should this force be?" Someone asked.

"At least 5 dozen members, several with the quirks and skills to counter each member of the Thunder, but also they'll need pros for back-up and other support staff." They would take full advantage of their numbers to crush, although creating a list of candidates would take a while.

"All in favor?" the police head asked, with most of the hands going up. "All oppose?" The select few who raised their hands already knew that they had been outvoted as the aged walrus of a man nodded his head.

"Then it shall be done. This new task form, now known as Task Force G, will be under the direct control of the hero commission, including any law enforcement they may pull into it." He concluded that a new chapter of their war on crime had started, and this time, they wouldn't be playing defensive.

The next chapter will be out on December 4th.

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