Trigger, a drug used to boost Quirks and amplify their effects with great costs on the human body. This drug was first proposed to the hero society as a way of triggering dormant Quirks and those not easily identified. But seeing the toll it takes on the body and mind, it was soon prohibited. However, people are still dealing with this dangerous drug and spreading it around, especially to villains.
Reading all of that on her phone, Sora felt her stomach lurch at the thought of sacrificing one's body and mind for strength. I think that's the kind of society we live in as of now. Superpower comes first. And to think someone is using it now to commit mass murder... She flinched recalling the video they had been sent at the agency. It was a blatant description of mercilessness and cruelty.
" Girls, it's almost time." A voice called out for them and Sora looked up at the blond woman walking over to them while holding four tickets in her hand. It was probably the first time she got to see her mentor out of her hero costume, and with all honesty, Sora found Ryukyu gorgeous in her casual outfit consisting of a simple black jacket, white t-shirt, jeans, and black boots. Her blond bang was covering her right eye where her metallic claw was used to hang. The only thing she had retained from her hero costume was her green scally headband.
" Is it time to get on the plane already?" Hado, Sora's senior, shot up from her sleep with one hand rubbing her eye. She had been leaning on her for the whole nap while Uraraka took the other shoulder. Asui had kept to her chair.
" Come on now, get yourselves together. You can have a shut-eye once on the plane," the Dragon hero said handing each of them her ticket. " But we must board now."
Heavy with sleep as they were and yawning loudly, the girls dragged their suitcases behind them, wobbling right behind the older woman. " They're really tired," Sora whispered softly at the three girls sleepwalking behind them.
" It's kind of expected," Ryukyu muttered. " It's 3 in the morning already. Unfortunately, this is the closest flight I was able to book." The blond then looked down at her. " I'm however surprised that you're fine, Shirogane."
Sora rubbed her head sheepishly. " Actually... this is my first time traveling outside Japan, so, I'm quite thrilled and mortified all the same to even fall asleep."
" I get it. I was the same too for my first mission abroad," said Ryukyu as they queued before the luggage check only for Uraraka to bump into Sora.
" Are we there yet..." She mumbled.
" Just a moment. Bear with it, Ochaco-chan." Sora chuckled as she put her bag and her costume suitcase to be checked before disposing of her phone and wallet and passing through the body scanner. By the time she bent to retrieve her phone again, it beeped, signaling a notification.
Good luck and take care.
A message from Yuu. The girl smiled softly at that. Her friend would be staying in Japan for the coming Mission, so she didn't know if they could keep in touch. You too. I will contact you once I reach there. She typed.
" Shirogane, hurry up. And you better put your phone on flight mode." Ryukyu told her as she passed her.
" Right." With that, the girl switched her phone to airplane mode and stewed it in her pocket before running after her mentor.
A mission abroad... In France... I'm excited!!
Not before long, the airplane took off through the cloudless sky of the early morning.
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While Ryukyu's team was called to action the moment their plane landed, Yuu and the rest of Fat Gum's team were on their way to Tokyo on special vans, being briefed on their mission.
Meanly, the attack issued using the trigger drug the other day was conducted by a group of terrorists, proclaiming they were opting for the salvation of the human race.
" Still I don't understand what mass murdering has to do with salvation?" Kirishima asked.
" It's the Quirk Doomsday Theory," Fat stated calmly.
" Huh?" Kirishima and Tetsutetsu blinked simultaneously.
" Quirks are growing stronger and more complicated for anyone to control and so, would lead to destruction and chaos," Yuu, who was sitting on the other side of Amajiki, answered.
" In short, Humarise considers Quirks as some kind of disease which would bring about the demise of the human race, so they opt to eradicate them," Amajiki elaborated.
" And that's by wiping every person who has a Quirk, right?" Tetsutetsu asked.
" Those guys are lunatics. I tell you." Whisper folded his arms with a deep scowl. " They even created this crazy weapon." He becked towards the screen as the Trigger bomb appeared on it, explaining its mechanism.
" That's why our job is to make sure no more people are harmed by searchin' Humarise's branches 'round the world and puttin' an end to their unforgivable deeds," said Fat Gum punching into his open palm and all of them nodded.
" We expect the members at their facilities to resist. There is also the danger that they will use the Trigger Bomb, so we must refrain from asking for help from local law enforcement. I would like you to carry out this mission promptly and with care."
The voice then switched to All Might as he addressed not only them but the heroes all over the world, joining for this mission. " Heroes, the success or failure of this mission rests on your shoulders. Let's get back the smiles of those who live in fear of terrorism!"
At that, Yuu stood up along with the rest and pulled his hood over his head. " Feeling scared?" Whisper snorted at his act.
" Not really..." The boy gave a rather shaky smile. " I'm rather excited for this mission." The doors of the vans swung open and the heroes jumped out. Yuu was immediately upon Kyubi's back as they made a wild dash toward the doors of the large mansion.
" Stay back!" Two guards shouted, brandishing their weapons at the heroes.
" Sorry, but we need to get in!" With a swing of his tentacles, Amajiki sent them flying away while the rest of them bolted through the door.
" That was cool! You're getting the hang of it, Tamaki!" Fat Gum cheered.
" Stop it!" The boy shouted as he covered his face with his large white hood.
" We won't let you get through!" A group of Humarise's soldiers was waiting inside, holding metallic crossbows and unleashing their darts on them.
" No blood would be shed behind my back!" Kirishima shouted as he rushed to the very front along with Tetsutetsu, using their hardening and steel Quirks to shield the rest.
" This isn't even ticklish!" Smirked Tetsutetsu.
" Whisper." The ghost nodded his head at the boy before he drifted away, phasing right through the wall. " Amajiki-senpai! Let's take care of things here!" A small blue spark flared on the left side of Yuu's bang as he summoned blue fire whips in his fists.
" Just restrain them, they don't have Quirks." Amajiki reminded as he allowed his fingers to morph into tentacles. And together, they jumped over Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, launching at the soldiers.
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It was a beautiful mansion by the lake, quite scenic to say the truth. But Sora didn't have time to admire it, the moment their lift stopped, they made for the mansion. While most of the heroes went for the front door, she, Ryukyu, and Hado decided to drop themselves from the sky along with Uraraka and Asui.
The moment they infiltrated the quad before the others managed to break the door, the soldiers' focus was split. " This is our chance!" She said throwing her hardened sharp feathers at some of them, pinning them to the wall.
" Tsuyu-chan!"
" Right on it!" Asui answered the brunette as she used her tongue to launch the debris from Ryukyu's rough landing at the soldiers. It was their favorite move, Meteor Favorikies.
" Full charge, output level 30. Spiraling Surge, Nejire Wave!" Hado used her energy to knock them into the wall and conk them out.
" They're here!"
" How dare you soil our pure grounds!" Ryukyu glared back at the soldiers running down the staircase and, with a single fling of her large wing, they were halted.
" You girls head with the other heroes and find out the whereabouts of the Trigger Bomb!"
" Roger!" All three girls chorused as they followed after Ryukyu's sidekicks.
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It came as a shock when no single team in the whole world managed to find the Trigger Bomb. Whisper returned shaking his head while Sora and the rest were still frantically searching every crack and crevice to no avail. Not even the members they captured knew of its existence in the first place. And so, the heroes were let down and had to restart their search for the Trigger Bombs.
" How annoying! I thought we had it for sure!" Whisper was fuming as he watched the police taking away the bound members of Humarise.
" They must have known of our ambush and hid the bomb beforehand," Amajiki stated
" Now what?" Asked an irritated Kirishima. " Are we gonna stand still and wait till this secret base of theirs is found?"
" Another attack may occur while we're still at that!" Tetsutetsu agreed.
" As of now, nothin' else can be done, boys," Fat told them, no less annoyed than they were. " We'll do our best to try 'n locate it. But until then, we mustn't lose our cool."
What worries me though, is how they were able to know of the ambush. Yuu placed his hand on his chin as he mulled over it. All the heroes of the All-Star team are vouched for and highly trusted it's quite impossible to imagine the information was leaked from them.
" Why the sullen face?" Whisper asked, curious about Yuu's serious expression.
The boy then shook his head as though attempted to get a fly away from him. " Nothing. Nothing at all." There was no use in doubting each other, not with the mission in hand now.
All we can do now is try to locate Flect Turn and his main base.
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" To think we're in Paris but quite unable to do any sightseeing..." Sora heaved a sigh as she pulled the bags of groceries closer to her.
" Don't look down like that, Sora-chan." Asui comforted her with a pat on her back. " We're able to walk around and see a lot of the city."
" But where's the fun in just walking through the neighborhood." Sora puffed her cheeks. " I mean, it's Paris guys. So many people dream of coming here. Yet, we're here and we can't even go visit the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower."
" It can't be helped, we're here on a mission," Hado stated and Sora held her grocery bags high.
" Doing grocery?"
" It's because we're interners after all," Uraraka piped in. " We're in the lowest rank among all other heroes and we aren't granted much freedom with hero work."
" So this is the only way we could help." Finished Asui.
" But don't worry, I'm sure we will get to visit all of those places once everything is over and dealt with. So be patient, okay." Hado gave her radiant smile at the trio. " And for that, we must give this mission our all."
" Understood!"
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" Midoriya-san... wanted list... huh?!" Yuu gaped his mouth at the mail they had gotten that night. Whisper's jaw was already on the ground by that time. Everyone else on their team was the same, especially for his friends from UA. No way Midoriya could do that. They all thought.
" How could that happen!?" Questioned Shoji frantically. It felt like a horrible insult to their friend.
Jiro, who was the one who got the mail, explained that he was suspected of murdering 12 civilians in Otheon.
" Now that's taking it too far!" Whisper snapped, putting his jaw back where it belonged and flailing his arms in the air. " That soldier could not hurt a fly! And they want us to believe he killed 12 people!"
" Whisper is right! That's ridiculous!" Kirishima agreed, slapping his hand on the table.
" You guys don't really believe that, right?" Tetsutetsu looked back at the heroes around the room.
" But it's a mail from the HQ." Gang Orca scratched at his forehead as though pondering on what to believe.
" He wouldn't do that," Amajiki affirmed. " That kid doesn't have the heart to hurt someone even during training, let alone in real life."
" I know him, right," Ai added. " He's quite shy, mutters a lot, and even a hardcore fanboy, but he's no murderer."
" That's a lot of details to give, Dobutsu." Shoji's dupli-mouth interjected.
Yuu kept his head low, thinking. " Yuu, you don't believe that too, right?" Whisper turned to him and the boy narrowed his eyes as theory clicked together in his mind.
Maybe...
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" Deku-kun would never do such a thing!" Uraraka defended vehemently. She wouldn't accept what she had just seen in the news.
" Calm down, Ochaco-chan," Sora assured her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. " We know that. We're his classmates. We know Midoriya the best."
" Ribbit. I'm sure there's something behind this."
" Yeah, yeah." Asui and Hado were in the same boat.
" Don't worry, Endeavor and the others are also acting," Ryukyu assured them. " Midoriya will be in safe hands."
The girls looked up at her and nodded their heads. Midoriya, no matter what... just don't get caught in there. This seems like some big deal. Her eyes flicked to the sullen look on Uraraka's face. Don't make those who care for you any more worried.
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" I see, so they refused to share any information on the case, huh," Yuu mumbled as he scrolled through Todoroki's messages.
" Just what are you thinking of, Yuu?" Whisper demanded but the boy ignored him and turned back to his mentor.
" Fat Gum-san." The man turned back to him, all ears to hear what he had. " The assault mission on Humarise's branches, its date was kept secret, right?"
" Ah. We weren't informed about it until the last minute."
" One more thing. For those who are operating abroad, was there some kind of paperwork filled for them to be able to execute their hero authorities in other countries?"
" Now that ya mentioned it, yeah. It's a must-do for all heroes if they don't want to get into trouble." Fat Gum looked down at the boy, sensing something off about him. " What are ya thinkin' of?"
" There is no way Humarise could have hidden all their bombs unless they were tipped on the assault."
" What do you mean, Seijin?" Tetsutetsu frowned as he tried to make sense of his words.
" Means the information must have been leaked somehow. We figured the only way it could be is through the only ones who knew that a number of heroes were gettin' permission to do hero work around the world." Fat Gum summed. " The police."
" Someone high enough in rank should be an accomplice of theirs," Amajiki added.
" And now hearing about the situation from Todoroki-san, I'm pretty much convinced it's someone from Otheon's police." Yuu's grasp on his phone tightened. " Midoriya-san must have realized something, that's why..."
Fat Gum took in the look of frustration on his face before he proceeded to pat his shoulder. " We sadly do not have enough proof to help Midoriya, but we can warn Endeavor's team in there. They would make sure to protect Midoriya from them no matter what."
" Fat Gum-san..."
" Listen, you don't need to worry about that soldier, Yuu." Whisper offered him a smile. " You know exactly how capable he's. He must have figured it too. That soldier will take good care of himself. And who knows, maybe he could uncover something for us."
Yuu gave a nod. That's true. Midoriya-san is such a cool person. He will be able to push through just like he always does. I need to trust in him too.