A New Mission

Midoriya wiped his brow as he set down the final coil of electrical cables, handing the end to Hatsume who then connected them to an ad-hoc breaker box in one of the many concrete structures dotting the top of the UA Campus. “And that should be it!” She said proudly as she made the final connection, closing the box. “The school should now be finally fully connected to Spartan’s reactor, with redundant wiring setting up with shielding to flip on if another one of those blasts hit!”

Midoriya let out a sigh of relief, “I never knew how much work actually went into wiring up all of this stuff, I guess when you don’t have to see it you know don’t really think about it.”

“If you think all that wiring was complicated, you should have a look inside one of my babies!” She stretched, “Speaking of, I’m going to get back to work on them. Can’t afford to let some downtime go to waste.”

“Not so fast,” Power Loader grabbed her, “All this infrastructure we’ve set up was done in a hurry to get everything on as quickly as possible, more likely than not we’re going to see a number of failures. And when those failures happen, we need to be ready to fix them.”

“But I want to go work on my babies!”

“Your babies can wait!” Power Loader dragged her off in another direction, going wherever it was that they could watch the status of all the electronics.

“I think it’s amazing that even when we’re in times like these, Hatsume can still think about all her own personal work.”

Midoriya turned, “All Might!”

“I am here… To ask how you’re holding up.” All Might’s eyes looked sunken, more so than they did before. He probably wasn’t getting very much, volunteering so much around the campus and trying to help wherever he could. In the early days he’d tried to cheer up the injured by visiting them, most commonly the young children who’d been gravely injured. But since the EMP had knocked out the life support equipment… Well, Midoriya didn’t like to think about it.

“I guess I’m just tired with everything that’s been going on.” Midoriya sat down on a nearby empty box, “It’s a lot to take in, going from attending school where you feel like you have all the time in the world and into… This.”

“I can understand feeling that way, it’s been difficult for everyone in their own way. Some have had it harder than others, like young Bakugo. To still be growing and lose both of your parents in a matter of moments in circumstances totally out of your control… It’s one of the worst possible things to be inflicted upon someone.”

“Yeah, that’s why we’re trying to help him in any way we can. But he’s turned down almost all of our help. The only person he’s really opened up to is Kirishima, and because Kirishima wants to respect Kacchan’s willingness to open up at all he hasn’t said anything that was told to him.”

“That’s good that he’s getting his thoughts out. Midnight was considering talking to him about it, but we told her that it may not be the right time.”

“That was probably the right choice. I don’t think Kacchan would open up to anyone he doesn’t see as an equal to him, or at least close to an equal. And Kirishima is the only one that fits that criteria.”

“Hopefully, young Bakugo will be able to push through and continue on his path of becoming the strong Hero that he always said he would be,” All Might looked towards him, “But again, what about you Midoriya? Just before this war began, you were rather suddenly made to confront the fact that your father was long dead. Hasn’t that been bothering you?”

Midoriya looked down, “It has, and I haven’t really still haven’t come to terms with it. Part of that is because I’ve been distracted by everything around me so much, everyone else is doing their best to help out and I want to do the same. But the other part of it is that I don’t want to confront it. Because if I do…” He shook his head, “I still haven’t told my mom about what happened to dad, I don’t think she could take it. I remember how much it took her just to send me off to UA when she knew that I was getting injured and that the school was being attacked by Villains. If I told her that dad was dead, it would mean that I’m the only family she has left. She would want me to stop trying to become a Hero. As selfish as it sounds, I want to still be a Hero. At least for a little while longer.”

“I don’t think you’re being selfish at all. In the end, it’s your life to live even if you feel that you own your mother a certain way.” After that, they remained in silence for a moment. “Midoriya, can you come with me to visit Melissa? I haven’t had a chance to speak with her since you brought her here.”

“Ah, sure.” Midoriya stood up, “There’s something I wanted to ask her help with anyways.”

“There is?” The two of them began to walk.

“Yeah. There’s a message that Mr. Aurdel wanted decoded, but none of the soldiers that are on the campus have been able to figure out what it says completely. The only thing that anyone has been able to figure out is that there’s a word in middle, ‘Scalar.’”

“Do you really think that Melissa could figure it out?”

“I don’t know, but Mr. Aurdel said it might help lead to the end of the war. And if that’s true even in the slightest, then it’s worth trying.”

“Bring an end to the war…” All Might murmured. For the rest of the seven minute walk they remained quiet, simply taking the time to absorb the somewhat melancholic atmosphere that surrounded the school.

Eventually, they made it to Melissa. “Deku..? Uncle All Might?” She sat up in bed, nearly jumping up.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t see you sooner Melissa. With everything that’s happened to you, I feel terrible.”

“You don’t need to apologize, it’s not your fault that the world has gone crazy.” She lowered back into the bed, “I wish I could have helped you all with restoring power, I’ve been confined to this bed.”

“It’s not like it’s for no reason!” Midoriya said, exasperated, “Your arm was broken and your leg was fractured. If you had tried doing anything with your injuries, you would have made them much worse.”

“But Recovery Girl told me that she’d fixed your broken bones and fractures all the time.”

“She did?!”

“I suppose she’s got you there,” All Might chuckled. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better now that my injuries have been healing. Though, it’s made me very tired.”

“Yeah, that’s how it usually is,” Midoriya scratched the back of his head. “Melissa, would you happen to know how to decode messages?”

“You mean cryptography?”

“Yeah… Cryptography.”

“I have some basic knowledge of it, I never really practiced it too hard. Why?”

He pulled out the piece of paper, “There’s a message that I’ve been trying to get decoded for Mr. A- …Spartan. He told me to try and get it decoded no matter what.”

“Let me see.” Midoriya handed her the paper, “Has any of it been decoded already?”

“Just one word,” he pointed to the middle cluster of characters on the paper, “The first thing anyone managed to decode were these characters, converted from morse code, into numbers and then into letters. After that the other people who tried said they shifted each letter by three and got the word ‘Scalar.’”

“But nothing else?”

“Nothing that they were able to find.”

Melissa picked up a tray, a pen and a notebook that he had at the side of her bed. Then, with one hand, she began writing in the notebook. “Maybe the word in the middle was a means of partially throwing off whoever could have intercepted it, making people think it was all one long string of words when it was actually a bunch of numbers.” She paused for a moment, “But maybe it’s not an entire lie, maybe you’re supposed to keep the shift of three.” She quickly erased something, before writing something else. “I think this is it.” She presented her notebook, there were two long sets of numbers.

“What does it mean?”

“I’m not sure. I think they’re…” She looked back at the page, a pensive thought on her face for a moment. Then it cleared. “I think I know what they are, they’re coordinates!”

“Coordinates?”

“Do you have a map of the world?”

“The dorm building that the military and local emergency services are using as an office should have plenty of maps,” All Might answered.

“Then take me there,” Melissa hopped out of the bed, using her one good arm to grab a crutch.

“Melissa, you should be resting!”

“I want to help, and I can’t help if I’m stuck in bed.”

All Might was quiet for a moment, thinking over his options. But he relented. “Alright, follow us.”

The three of them quickly made their way across campus, arriving at the old 1-A dorm building. They found Tsukauchi standing over a table. “All Might, what are you doing here?”

“Tsukauchi, do you have a world map we could borrow? One with lines for latitude and longitude.”

Confused at first, he eventually shrugged and gave them the kind of map that he was looking for. “What are you trying to do?”

Melissa braced herself against the table, tracing the lines with a pencil. “If we put the lines here and here, we’ll find that they intersect… Here!” She drew a dot on the map.

“A spot in the middle of the western China?”

All Might quickly pulled out a physical map of the world, layering the two. “It also looks like it’s in the mountains.”

Tsukauchi waved his hands, “You all still haven’t told me what’s going on.”

Midoriya was the one to fill him in. “Melissa thinks that she figured out the message. They weren’t letters, they were numbers. Those numbers are coordinates and this is where they lead,”

“But what could possibly be out in the middle of a bunch of Chinese mountains?”

“I’m not sure, but I still think we should tell Mr. Aurdel.”

Tsukauchi shook his head, but relented. “I don’t know if you’re correct, but I sure hope you are.” He walked over, picking up the radio transceiver. “This is Tsuakuchi to Spartan. Spartan, are you there?”

There was a few seconds of silence, “This is Spartan, what is it Tsuakuchi? I was just about to contact you myself to give the news that the rules of engagement for Heroes have changed.”

“They’ve changed?”

“The Chinese have deployed Heroes, I’ve already killed one. Since they’ve broken the accords it means we have absolutely no reason to follow them either.”

“I’ll make sure to pass along the message. But Spartan, we have some people here who’re saying that they decoded the message. That it was a set of coordinates to some position in a group of western Chinese mountains.”

There was another moment of silence. “... That position wouldn’t happen to be around the highest peaks of the Kunlun mountain chain, would it?”

MIdoriya looked at the map. “It is. Is there something at that spot?” He heard Mr. Aurdel curse over the radio, “Spartan?”

“It all makes sense now, that’s where they’re keeping David Shield.”

“You know where my father is being kept?!” Melissa burst over towards the radio.

“Just a few hours ago the Chinese Hero that I killed was wearing a device, one that could amplify his quirk. And now that I’m being told that a message being broadcast from a Chinese aircraft was specifically spelling out the location of a Chinese base, one that, in the history of my Earth, had become infamous for its OKB style programs and its use of mass imprisoned labor. If he’s being held anywhere in China, it’s there.”

“You have to rescue my father!” Melissa grabbed the radio from Tsukauchi, “If there’s any chance that he’s alive, then you must save him!”

“More likely than not he helped them with that Scalar weapon they’ve been using, and by retrieving him we could learn how to fight it. But I can’t rescue him.” There was a wave of static over the radio, a nearby explosion. “The frontlines here are too volatile, and if I leave it could mean a total collapse of our offensive and defensive capabilities. I’m sorry.”

Midoriya tightened his hand into a fist, hearing that answer wasn’t good enough. “I’ll do it.”

“No, Midoriya, you won’t. I can’t have you-“ Mr. Aurdel began to protest.

“If they’re using Heroes on the battlefield, then it means sending a group of soldiers won’t be enough to save Dr. Shield from his prison.”

“You’re still in training, you can’t-“

“But you taught us to be strong, stronger than a lot of pro-Heroes are. And I want to make use of that training. Please, let me go and save Dr. Shield in your place. I don’t want to make you worry, but I also don’t want to not help someone who needs saving.”

There was a cracking over the radio, before the sound of an exasperated sigh. “Damn it, sometimes I wish I hadn’t taught you all to be so stubborn headed. Fine, I’m giving you permission to go on a rescue mission to break David Shield out of prison. Contact Mirko and Edgeshot, they’re going to be going with you. And pick out four of your classmates to go with you too, you all work better together as a team.”

“Right!”

“And one last thing, break open the floorboards underneath the bed in my room. I’ve got a cache of gear for you and your classmates there. Most of it is upgraded costumes that I wanted to hand out to all of you sooner rather than later, but things went sideways rather quickly. You’ll want to use them on your mission. Meanwhile, I’ll try to get everything in order behind the scenes.”

“We won’t disappoint you Mr. Aurdel!”

“Yeah, I know.”

“”…If you’re hearing this message, then it means that you’ve either been told about this cache of gear, or you’ve broken into my room and found it. If it’s the latter, put everything back and get out. If it’s the former, then take what you need and listen to this for details on what exactly was in here.” Midoriya took the set with his name scrolled on top, opening it and separating the pieces. “Midoriya, because of the power involved with your quirk I needed to be flexible in the way I made your equipment. Your ‘costume’ is made up of several different parts, starting with a full body polymer undersuit capable of deflecting small arms fire, a plate carrier with titanium plates and thick enough ballistic weave to stop a few rounds from a fifth cal machine gun, an upgraded version of your Air Force gauntlets combined with something called mid-gauntlets, a helmet stylized after your hood with an eyepiece for navigation using a built in satellite uplink, titanium reinforced boots capable of surviving your quirk and a chest rig for holding other bits of gear like a trauma kit.”

Midoriya slid into the gear, “All this equipment… It’s impressive, but it’s worrying how much you thought ahead for worst case scenarios.”

“It’s a habit ingrained into my psyche at this point.” The real Mr. Aurdel answered, then the pre-recorded message continued.

“Bakugo, your costume was more difficult to work with than Midoriya’s. The undersuit you have is equipped with a manually controllable thermostat, meaning that you’re able to crank up the heat as much as you want to increase the amount of sweat you produce. It also has intravenous salination capabilities, meaning that you can fight for a longer amount of time with overall higher levels of power before becoming dehydrated. But because of the fragility of this setup I wasn’t able to make the suit completely impervious to small arms fire, it can still take a few hits but it won’t last when put up against concentrated fire. However more likely than not it won’t ever come to that, as I’ve given you further tools for your offensive capability. Your grenadier bracers have been modified and reinforced for better blast concentration, better retention of sweat for your stored up attack and much better cushioning to reduce the stress of your quirk on your hands and the recoil of the explosions. I’ve also given you a set of shaped charges and a standoff bomblet dispenser. The shaped charges can store enough of your sweat to punch through half a meter of regular steel, and the bomblet dispenser can throw enough bomblets in one pass to cover an area about one tenth of a square kilometer. Alternatively it can also be used as a traditional glide bomb with a flip of the switch. Just know that the shaped charges are a one time use each and the standoff bomblet dispenser has only enough bomblets for two passes, or one use if you use it in its glide bomb form.”

Bakugo put on his gear, “I’d rather get up close and personal with them.”

“Tokoyami, your undersuit is also capable of deflecting small arms fire. Though you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t exactly fit you perfectly. That’s because the suit is designed to have a gap between it and your body, just large enough for Dark Shadow to squeeze in and keep itself shielded from the majority of natural light. But since I didn’t want you solely relying on that, the backpack with your suit contains a smoke dispenser, an oxygen mask and tank, a pair of goggles with night vision, infrared and thermal settings and a number of flares. The smoke created from that dispenser is dense enough to nearly block out all light in a well sized room, which is why the goggles are necessary in order to see in such a low visibility setting. However prolonged inhalation can lead to lung damage, hence the oxygen tank and mask. As for the flares… I’m sure you can guess why they were included.”

Tokoyami looked at his gear, “An intricate set of tools, though I don’t know if I can properly use them…”

“At least they fit in with your style of combat, mine is just… Ridiculous!” Jiro said, looking at her gear.

“Jiro, I know how this looks. But it’s vital that you realize my intentions were in increasing the level of protection and offensive capabilities each of you had, and for you this was simply the most efficient way. Now, that thing that looks like a gun is, in fact, a gun. However it is one that utilizes your quirk. Rather than attacking targets through the traditional means of lobbing bullets over great distances, this is what you would call a ‘Hard Sound Rifle.’ It compresses and amplifies sound waves to such a degree that they can be projected out of the barrel of the rifle and used to attack targets at a distance, in the majority of cases totally negating armor and cover. Because I had to reduce its size and adapt it to your quirk it only has a range of about four hundred meters. However because of the intricacies of your quirk I was able to implement a way to adjust the concentration of the soundwaves via a dial on the side. I’ve also given you a set of decoys and muffle charges. The decoys are able to take the sound you output, store it and then output it upon activation. The muffle charges meanwhile find the frequencies and amplitudes of nearby sound sources and reproduce them in order to cancel them out, leaving everyone in the affected area totally unable to hear. Just know that before you use those muffle charges you should plug your ears, otherwise you’ll be hearing ringing in them for the rest of the day. As for your physical costume, the bodysuit is the same as Midoriya’s and you’ve been given a chest rig for holding speakers and additional equipment.”

“Speak for yourself, this goes completely against everything about me!” Hagakure said, having already put on her costume. For once she was partially visible, though it was more so an outline of her body rather than her actual appearance.”

“Shouldn’t you be grateful for it though? For once you won’t be freezing your butt off, especially since it’s going to be much colder where we’re going. “

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t weird!”

“Hagakure, your costume was probably the most… problematic. Because of the nature of your quirk the less there is usually the better, but because of how little protection that actually provides I had to come up with a compromise. Your bodysuit is made from a malleable polymer similar to plastic, one that is relatively flexible and will provide some basic protection from minor injuries and the elements. It’s also transparent for the most part, though if someone is in close proximity and actively searching for you then they’re likely going to see you. As such I’ve given you two tools to try and supplement this downfall. First, your gloves and boots are covered in a series of advanced reflective panels. Under normal conditions they’re capable of rendering them entirely invisible to the eye, and under the right conditions they can completely refract incoming light and make you completely disappear even while still in this new costume. Additionally, I’ve integrated the hologram tech I use into your gloves. With your light refraction, it means that you’ll be able to make completely unique holograms on the fly. A tool that is incredibly powerful.”

The prerecorded message cut out. “What, no gifts for me?” Mirko said, folding her arms.

The real Mr. Aurdel spoke. “Sorry, but the birthday gifts I was planning to give weren’t exactly ballistic weave jackets and pants. Besides, I still don’t have your actual size. Drunk rabbits tend not to stand still and serve as good physical models.”

“Ah, can you blame me? Had a lot on my mind.”

“Oh, I know there was at least one thing on your mind.” The radio crackled, “Anyways, I’ve managed to get everything set up. The American attaché is loaning us one of his C-35s transport planes for this mission, and it’ll be coming to UA to pick you up in about an hour. I suggest that before then you finish any unfinished business. Even if things all go according to the very vague plan we have, it’ll be a while before you make it back. Not to mention there’s no complete guarantee of safety.”

“Just how long will they be gone?” All Might asked.

“I can’t really tell you how long, not even a precise estimate. Travel time alone is a big issue, as even though we’ve called ahead to all the countries the plane will be passing over, that doesn’t guarantee things will go as we hope. If we’re lucky, and all the air corridors are kept open, then the transit from here to India should take at least nine hours. If not, then the delays could range anywhere from a few hours to over a day. Not all of that will be with fighter escort either.” They could hear the sound of distant explosions over the radio. “As for trekking over mountains, breaking into a heavily guarded prison, busting out a VIP prisoner and escaping with them? Well, that’s hard to judge. The most generous guess I can give them is three days, though that’s with almost non-stop walking and going in without being spotted.”

“Is there any way for you to increase their chances of coming out safely?”

There was a sigh. “Look, I’ve already voiced my displeasure with even sending anyone out on this mission. If I were to have things my way, I’d put myself at risk instead of them while they were safely sitting here. But this war has become so complicated. I’ve done the best I can to try and increase their chances of succeeding, contacting local forces to try and get them help as well as giving them this gear. But other than that, there’s nothing else I can do. Their lives will be entirely in their own hands.” There was a moment of silence, “I don’t want to waste any more of your time, you should all be getting prepared. Come back alive.”

“You all go do that,” Mirko said, “There’s something that the two of us need to discuss. In private.”

“Of course, we’ll give you two the space.”

space.” All Might led them out of the building, and back onto the main campus. “You all should do as he said, talk to anyone you need to before you leave.” And with that they temporarily split up, off to do their own things.

“So, you’re really going on that mission?” After the others had cleared out, Uraraka had approached him.

“I am, I was the one who suggested it. But even if I was offered it instead I wouldn’t have turned it down.” Midoriya sighed, “If everything we think we know is true, then the Chinese government kidnapped Melissa’s father and has been holding him hostage for months. And if they’re deploying Heroes using his quirk amplification device, then it means he’s vital to their war effort and whatever other plans they have. If we can do something to stop their plans then it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“You’re not doing it for some other reason too?”

“Huh?” He was caught off guard by the question at first, it wasn’t the response he’d been expecting. “I mean… Maybe? Davis Shield has been a close friend of All Might for a long time, and now that All Might isn’t able to rescue him I feel like I have some responsibility to help do what he can’t. Regardless of circumstances, we’re Heroes and Heroes are supposed to save people. No matter what. That’s reason enough for me to try and save him.”

“Oh, then I guess I was just overthinking things,” she looked down, “I thought maybe you were doing this for Melissa.”

“I guess in a way I am, she’s his family and-“

“That’s not what I meant. I…” She sounded frustrated, and tired. “When I got out of the hospital, I realized that under any other set of circumstances I probably would have been killed. But I wasn’t. I was given another chance. And when I saw just how bad things had gotten while I was in the hospital, I realized that I might not ever get the chance to say what I need to say if I don’t say it now.”

“Say what?”

She squeezed her hand, then looked him in the face. It looked like she was almost on the verge of tears, trying her hardest to muster up the courage. “Ever since we met at the entrance exam, and you saved me from that giant robot, I’ve looked up to you. There have been so many times where I was put into a difficult position and I thought to myself, what would you do? For the longest time I didn’t know why I did that, but I know now. Deku, I have feelings for you.”

“You have feelings… F-For me?!” His face instantly went red. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

“W-Well I do!” Uraraka grabbed his hand, “Even if it’s our job as Heroes to help others as people, we also need to look out for each other. No matter what happens. That’s why I wanted to go on this mission with you.”

“Uraraka…”

“But if I can’t go with you, then I wanted to at least tell you how I felt. That way you would have a reason to come back safely, no matter what might happen.”

“Well, I…” He gave a smile, “It looks like I don’t have much of a choice except to come back safe.”

Uraraka smiled back, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Good, because-“

“Look, look! Uraraka finally did it!” Ashido shouted, the others having been spying on them. “You get ‘im girl!”

“A-ah…” Uraraka’s face quickly turned red, and she covered it with her hands out of embarrassment.

“Why can’t I have a moment like this?!” Mineta shouted, despairing.

“You’d have to find someone who can stand you before they like you,” Sero commented.

“That’s cruel! Just because of that, I’m going to make sure that when I get a girlfriend she’s going to be the sexiest and bustiest-“ He was cut off before he could finish, Sero taping his mouth shut.

“Man, can’t you read the mood for once and let people have a moment?”

Operation: Tip of the Spear

“Alright, let’s get this out of the way. You know that I would much rather be fighting those bastards over here, so why are you having me babysit this mission?”

“Do I need a specific reason?”

“No not really, but when you give an answer like that it means that you have one. And I want to hear it.”

Aurdel stared out across the city, watching the fire raging off in the distance. By now the battle for Nagano was coming to a close, and the counter-offensive was soon going to begin. “There’s not a lot of other people that I can turn to.”

“That isn’t a full answer.”

He approximated a sigh, “Of all the people on the planet, there are only two that I can completely and utterly trust. Those people are you and Midoriya. And while I have faith in Midoriya’s skills and strength, I don’t imagine things will go as planned while he’s over in China. That’s why I want you to make sure they all stay safe. Though most importantly, him.”

“That’s it then? I’m the only qualified babysitter?”

He shook his head, “In a weird way, it’s also to protect you.”

“Protect me?”

“It might seem backwards, but it’d be more dangerous to stay here than it is to go to China. Now that they’re getting more desperate.” He leaned on the table, “With them on the backfoot here they’re going to pull all the stops to keep us from pushing them back, that includes things like saturation bombings. And I know how devastating those can be.”

“Don’t you have a way to fight it?”

“Not unless I grow a pair of wings, fly thousands of feet into the air and somehow personally destroy them all. No, I don’t. Even if I did have a way to fight it, I can’t be everywhere all at once.”

She let out a sigh, “You’re a piece of work.”

“I’m a piece of work? Who’s the one that was trying to pull off my leg while I was trying to fly us back to Earth?”

“Oh come on, you should have expected me to do that. After all you said that one of the only times you would take off your cybernetic leg was if you were in bed with someone.”

Wha- “We were in the cockpit hurtling into Earth’s atmosphere at terminal velocity.”

“Ah, you’re getting hung up on the little details.”

“I haven’t even brought up the fact that you were twisting it the wrong way, and you almost pulled off the rest of my leg with it.”

He could hear her shrug, “Well it’s not like you gave me any instructions.”

“Well it’s not like I intended for you to start pulling my leg off right then and there!” He shook his head, she giggled on the other side of the radio. “Rumi, can I count on you to make sure they all get out safely?”

“Yeah, you can count on me. But when we get back, I want you to show me how I’m supposed to take off that leg.”

“For the purpose of this deployment, the flight from Japan to the target will consist of two distinct stretches of travel. The first stretch consists of the flight from here in Japan to the Straits of Malacca near Singapore. For the duration of that flight you will be escorted by Japanese fighters, with a US carrier force that was originally on its way towards the Philippines acting as a refueling point. That should allow you to make the first stretch safely. However once you actually cross the straits the escorts will be forced to turn back and your aircraft will be flying on its own until. You won’t receive another escort until you’re three hundred miles within the Indian coast.” Before leaving, Mr. Aurdel had given them one final briefing on the mission's details over the radio.

“Won’t that put us in a great deal of risk?” Edgeshot had commented, pointing out the very real chance they could be attacked while not being escorted.

“Of course, but that’s just an inherent risk you’ll have to accept. Most of the countries you’re flying over are at war in one way or another, and in some cases you’ll be flying directly over the frontlines. Now, once you make it to India you’re going to refuel above New Delhi. And if there’s anywhere they’re most likely to attack you it will be here, since in order to refuel the transport will need to descend several thousand feet and slow its speed to meet up with the stratotanker. If that happens, you should use any means possible to survive. Engage your attackers yourself if you need to.”

That last sentence had stuck with him ever since they’d left. The implication that they themselves would need to fight off fighter jets… Was that something any of them could really do? He couldn’t help but wonder as they waited, having made it to the refueling point.

He looked over, Bakugo was sitting straight up in his seat. “Kacchan, why aren’t you getting any rest?”

“Shut it.” On the long flight to their target destination, everyone had elected to get some rest before they’d arrived. Everyone except for Bakugo. When they’d floated the idea around he’d stubbornly and unequivocally refused, saying that he would be fine without it.

“I know why you volunteered for this mission when I was picking people to go, I understand how you feel.”

“Could you really?” Bakugo looked over, staring him dead in the eyes. “Because I don’t think you can. What I really think you’re trying to do is prove that you’re better than me, and because of that you’re trying to make yourself think that you know what I’m going through. That way you can think you have the right to tell me what I should do or how I should feel. Well guess what, you-!”

“Bakugo!” Midoriya raised his voice, using Bakugo’s actual name. The difference was enough to get Bakugo to pause what he was saying. “You can’t see the irony in your own words. You were always better than me, I will admit that. But you acted like you were even better than that, and because of that you looked down on others. You did exactly what you’re accusing me of doing now.” Bakugo’s mouth closed, he didn’t have a response to give. “Maybe I don’t know exactly what it is you’re feeling or what you’re going through, but at the very least I can try and empathize since I’ve had my own losses to deal with. The only way any of us are going to get through these tough times are if we help each other out.”

Bakugo looked down, “I-“

Alarms began to blare inside the transport plane. “Enemy missile lock! Unable to perform evasive maneuvers, dumping countermeasures!” There was a thumping sound as chaff and flares deployed, followed by the sound of flying objects screaming over the top of the plane. By now everyone else had woken up.

“This is Rigel One, hostiles have been spotted. Rigel Squadron peeling off to intercept!”

“Copy Rigel One, keep those guys off our backs!” Midoriya unbuckled, rushing over to one of the reinforced windows to see what was going on. He watched the escort fighters peel away and chase after their attackers, completely leaving them unprotected.

“This is crazy…” Jiro said, clutching the arm rests. “What are we supposed to do if more of them come to attack us while the others are distracted?” Use any means possible to survive…

“Shit! Airfloat One, we have hostels on radar. Approaching straight from the east! Disconnect your probe so we can evade those fighters!”

“Negative Hydra, fuel pressure on the probe is too high. If we disconnect it now we’ll lose our entire load and spray it all over your craft, we’d be killed in the mid-air detonation. The earliest we can disconnect is in two minutes, just hold on tight.”

“Copy…” Their pilot sounded dejected at the news, likely not thrilled with their chances at survival.

Midoriya and Bakugo looked at each other, they knew what to do. Midoriya ran over to the cabinet, pulling out two sets of oxygen masks and tanks. “Hey, what the hell do you two think you’re doing?!” Mirko unbuckled, walking over.

“If we sit inside this metal death trap and do nothing, there’ll be no one left to complete this stupid mission.”

“My Blackwhip is strong enough to keep us tied to the surface of the plane, we’re going to try what we can to stop them from shooting us down.”

Mirko looked at the two of them, some conflict on her face. Then she let out a sigh, “Now I know exactly why he told me to look after you, you’re as crazy as your teacher. Fine, go. But don’t get yourself killed.” Midoriya and Bakugo finished putting on the gear, then quickly cycled through the airlock that was used to separate the pressurized cabin from the cargo bay. The two then climbed up a ladder and accessed a maintenance hatch at the top of the bay, Midoriya using Blackwhip to pull them up too and then hold them onto the surface of the plane.

“I see the fighters, they’re over to our left!” Midoriya pointed in their direction, speaking through a communication link they had integrated with their costumes.

“I’ve got it!” Bakugo raised his hands, “HE Shot: Flak!” He then fired off bursts of slow to trigger explosions, ones that would only fully combust after a short period of time had passed. Once they did detonate they left a blanket of fiery explosions in the sky. The pilots attempting to attack their transport abandoned their pass.”

“Duck!” They ducked down close to the plane as two other jets from earlier went screaming overhead again, nearly deafening them and blowing them off with the jet wash.

“Can’t those morons see we’re up here?!”

“They’re too busy fighting to notice that we’re on top.” Midoriya watched as one of the escort fighters fired a missile, shooting down an enemy plane. The pilot ejected. The escort plane came back around to rake the parachute with gunfire.

“Stop looking at that crap and focus on the guys trying to kill us!”

“R-right!” He turned his attention back around, there were six jets coming in at different angles and heights to attack the transport. They just needed to hold out for two minutes…

“They should just give up!” Bakugo continued spraying the air around the enemy jets, covering them with explosive fire. Five of them would peel off, but one would keep coming. Then it fired. “Missile!”

“I’ll deal with it!” Using Blackwhip with his left hand, Midoriya raised his right. Then, with his new gloves, he fired. “Delaware Smash: Air Force!” Four simultaneous concussive blasts fired from his globes, rapidly approaching the missile. Three of them missed their mark, but the fourth… “I got it!” The four blast contacted the missile, triggering the fuse with enough pressure and causing it to pre-maturely explode. Shrapnel rained through the air around them. “Bakugo, the flak isn’t enough to scare him off. We need to try something else!”

“I’m working on it!” He changed his positioning, “AP Machine Gun!” Bakugo switched over to his more concentrated and efficient blasts, aiming for the jet as it circled around them. But ever single blast seemed to miss its mark. “Damnit!”

It turned back around, coming in on another dove. “It’s not firing its missiles!”

“Don’t you think I can see that?!” Midoriya used Blackwhip to change Bakugo’s position, narrowly having enough time to move him before a hail of gunfire struck the top of the transport. Bullets ripped through the cargo bay, but none had actually reached the pressurized cabin.

“Can you shoot him down?”

“He’d have to come in closer!” Bakugo shouted back as they watched the jet make a sharp turn. Then, suddenly, the ground beneath their legs shook. Two minutes had gone by, and the tanker in front of the transport had disconnected and the two aircraft had begun to put distance between each other. “There, he’s going to come in with his missiles! Knock them down and I should be able to take him out

“Got it!” Midoriya and Bakugo backed up against each other, facing opposite directions his hands raised. Both of them were ready.

The pilot dove towards them. “Here it comes.”

Two missiles fired. “Smash!” Concussive blasts of flair fired off and struck the pair of missiles, throwing them off their course and causing them to detonate.

“GO TO HELL AND DIE!” Bakugo shouted as he released his stored up attack, pulling the pin on his grenadier bracers. Moments later the jet flew over their heads, the release timed with its approach. The result was devastating.

“Yeah!” The engines on the jet were blown to bits, sending the craft into a death spin as it totally lost control and began hurtling towards the ground. At the last moment the pilot ejected, avoiding death as the jet nearly immediately after completed exploded. They two watched him fall with his parachute.

“Go back to your country and tell all of your friends about me! You’re only the first ass that I’m going to kick!”

Nine sat in the Meta Liberation Army’s command center, his hands folded. He watched as the many underlings of Re-Destro gave their reports, the progress that was being made on the frontlines and the current state of the Army’s partisans that were fighting against the Chinese. The sight… It wasn’t one he was pleased with.

For years he had prided himself on his strength, his ability to surpass others with his quirk. That’s why he had strived towards creating a society where he would be on top, that because of his strength he would be in charge.

But it had all come too easy.

“...One For All…” Spartan had come in and had completely overturned everything, overthrowing the government and taking control of the military. Frankly he had hoped that there would be a civil war, that way he could demonstrate and earn his infamy. But now he was just respected and in power because of matters far out of his control. “...One For All…”

He clutched his head, these damned migraines he was getting now certainly weren’t helping. Not even the kid’s quirk he’d taken to keep his body from falling apart was able to prevent the side effects of his power totally. “Nine?”

“Yeah?”

“You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”

Everyone stepped through the airlock and into the cargo bay of the transport planes, grabbing the parachutes off of their mounts on the walls. The pilot spoke over the intercom on the wall, “We’ll be over the target in five minutes, familiarize yourself with the instructions on those parachutes. Once we pop open the hatch there won’t be any time for us to loiter in the air above these mountains.”

Midoriya carefully read the instructions on the parachute and the backup parachute, then put it onto his back. The others followed suit. “Everyone, we’re all so far away from our homes. But we’re here for a reason. In these mountains the Chinese army is holding Dr David Shield hostage, making him use his expertise to produce weapons and keep the war that’s hurting our friends going.” Even with two top ten Heroes here in the plane, Midoriya was the one that was leading this mission. It was he who had first suggested that this mission take place, and it was up to him to make sure that it succeeded. The others weren’t going to relinquish him of that responsibility. “Once we land on the ground we’re going to hike our way to that mountain base that Mr. Aurdel told us about, then we’re going to break in and free Dr Shield. And no matter what happens we’re going to accomplish that mission. Even if that means fighting against planes, tanks or even an entire army by ourselves.”

“Three minutes to the drop off point, perform final checks and prepare to jump.”

They looked over their gear one last time, making sure they had everything properly set up. “If we don’t break him out of that prison, they’re going to keep using him to make more weapons. They're going to keep doing it until they manage to win the war, and we’ve seen what just one of them has been able to do to everyone around us. If we fail, and they keep going, there won’t be any home to go back to.”

“One minute to the drop off point!”

“Everyone is counting on us to succeed, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do!”

“Thirty seconds, popping open the hatch!” There was a rush of air as the hatch dropped open, they could see the snow covered tops of mountains all below them. “Fifteen seconds, line up at the hatch!”

They all lined up at the edge of the hatch, ready. “We can do this!”

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two…

“The light is green! All Heroes, remember to open your chutes at two thousand feet above the ground to avoid detection! Begin HALO jump!” As soon as the pilots signaled, the others began leaping out of the back of the plane. Soon enough he was the last one, standing there. He took one deep breath, then jumped out into the sky.