Chương 105: Reaction and Assault Team
__________ POV Beru__________
"How does a raid usually go?~" My question was promptly ignored by Mirko(with good reason).
I've been asking basic questions like that for a while now. I kinda like seeing her get so worked up.
She is trying her hardest to ignore me, but I have a trait that many don't have. I am unwittingly persistent.
I mean, I already should have some idea of what to do. If only I properly listened to Naomasa's briefing.
Anyway, this raid is structured strangely if you ask me. I mean, I'm pretty sure that the assault team is supposed to be the most eye-catching one. Which would be Endeavor by the way.
But, instead, he's part of the flanking team.
Now that I think about it, I guess my quirk is a lot flashier than his, or at least just as flashy. I mean, I can also spit out flames and roast villains.
Although, I was kindly asked to keep the killings to a minimum. Mirko is still walking in front of me acting all annoyed.
"Oy~ Do you think they'll have any ice cream trucks in their city?~ I wonder how many of them will escape..." I do like slipping genuine concerns among my random and otherwise stupid questions.
I've yet to get a response though. Mirko isn't a fun person.
"BERU!" I heard someone shout from behind me.
"What~" I turned around and looked at the policeman, he was huffing and acting all tired.
Mirko also stopped, she looked a bit confused.
"The both of you might want to see this..." The policeman gestured for them to re-enter the conference room.
Inside were just a few heroes that had yet to leave, as well as the chief of police.
Surprisingly, Mirko also seemed interested, so she walked in and we both sat down.
"What's the deal with all the silence~ Is someone coming out of the closet or something?~" From the confusion in their eyes, I can tell that they aren't really familiar with my terminology.
I should've honestly expected this after all of my interactions in UA, but it seems that my jokes are otherworldly to them (huehuehuehueeh).
"... I think this isn't the time for jokes... Something quite serious just happened." Kenji is the first one to respond to my poorly constructed joke.
"Well, how about you tell me what's going on instead of just staring at each other acting all serious?~" Hah, I'm sure this one got a smirk out of Mirko. She's also curious, so I probably voiced her sentiments perfectly.
Kenji just sighed and fingered his laptop's keyboard a bit, the projector then showed us a video. The quality was quite poor, but it was more than watchable.
"Look at the screen for now. It should explain everything."
On the screen I could see myself in all of my beauty, ripping Stain's arm off. Threw him into the wall of an adjacent building then dragged him back out. He was clearly all broken and bruised.
I guess this doesn't paint me in the best of lights.
"I guess some security cameras did catch that huh?~" The video even had a few changing angles at times. It's like a full action flick!
Well, it's more of a torture snuff film, but hey. Could be worse.
'Hero is just a title~ It always was and always will be~ To some, it's just a job~ To others, it's an honour~ Who cares?' Aaaand it got worse.
I mean, in retrospect, my mouth seems to get me in trouble very often... Maybe I have something to fix in that aspect? Nah, I'm fine as is.
Besides, I doubt this will be that big of a deal(not that I'd care either way) worst-case scenario they retract my hero licence(ooh the horror). But that's highly unlikely since I'm still one of the strongest heroes...
Soo, not my problem. Now that I think about it, I think Stain survived through that. So the backlash won't even be that large.
The only thing that bothered me about that was: How the fuck did that guy live through that? I thought he was deader than my will to live.
I mean, I'm pretty sure that I broke a lot of his bones(besides the ripped off arm and all that) and he was apparently still conscious when the police arrived. Only falling asleep after the paramedics got there.
The story of his survival was transmitted to me through a message of all things. I wasn't even called or anything. I guess Kenji didn't see it as a necessity to call me at the time.
Well, fair enough I guess. He probably only told me out of courtesy anyway.
"Soo~ How public is this video exactly?~" Stupid question, and badly worded. From looking at everyone's expression(besides Mirko), one can guess that the situation is already gone to shit.
"Well... It's currently live on most tv stations. We weren't quick enough to stop all of them." Kenji just sighed as he rubbed his dog nose with frustration.
"I thought you guys wiped the footage~ Didn't think this would be a problem~" I didn't even think this would be a problem. The timing is a bit shitty too.
"Well... We did check the camera footage and got rid of everything from that alleyway. But it seems someone was faster than us." Kenji really seems to not be having a great time(yeah, no shit Beru).
"After an extremely quick investigation, many of the first sources of this video were all media companies funded by the Detnerat Company... Which is, as previously discussed, owned by the Meta Liberation Army..." Oooh...
I guess the grim atmosphere makes sense now.
They had no genuine reason to release this footage now, they were likely keeping it for a special occasion or something, and I doubt that they'd use it randomly after a half failed raid on the research lab...
This can only mean that they know an attack is coming. They realised that the ice guy will snitch and they will be forced to defend themselves. But I can't really see how releasing this would help their case.
Are they trying to do as much damage as possible before going down? Well, this is before the fight even started.
"From your expressions, I think you've all realised the meaning of this event..." At this point, everyone has already gathered back into the meeting room.
"They know we're coming..." Endeavor said while gritting his teeth.
Mirko just seemed to be a bit irritated. "I guess infiltration will be a lot more difficult" But she still acknowledged the rise in difficulty.
Attacking an army of over 15000 villains is already risky enough when you take them by surprise(for them, not me) but now they will be up in arms and ready to meet our offence.
The people in the room don't really seem bothered by the video itself and its contents. It's just the message that it portrays.
'We are expecting you.' Kinda bold of them, didn't expect that big nose guy to have this many guts.
"What are we going to do? We might need more time for preparations..." The ninja guy, Edgeshot(we learning names today Bois), seems to be a bit more concerned. Admittedly, his part of the mission just became a hell of a lot more difficult.
He's supposed to lead the infiltration squad, but that might be easier said than done now that they expect to be attacked.
"The more we wait the more time they have to prepare~ We are already gathered together and somewhat prepared to face their forces~ Although, we might need some adjustments to our plans~" I decided to also have a say in the situation.
Kenji seemed to also agree with my words "Beru is right... Letting them grow further would be dangerous. Infiltration has become too dangerous, we need to scrap that idea."
Edgeshot seemed a bit discouraged, but he still nodded with resolution.
"Now now~ I could infiltrate the compound easily~ I can also take out their leaders before the fight starts~" I could honestly crush this group by myself, but I don't want to sound too cocky.
I don't want to be that dickish character that's always with his head up his own ass.
"That might be an option... Letting you go alone might be risky still... It's not that I don't believe in you... I just don't want things to get too dirty." Wow.
'It's not that I don't believe in you, I just don't believe in you to be able to hold back to capture the leaders and not brutally maim/kill them.' I've really left a bad impression on Kenji with the whole Stain thingy.
"I've thought of a course of action. We must prepare a proper assault. The sabotage teams will proceed as before, the infiltration team will be merged with the Assault team and the flanking team." Kenji started explaining the new plan as everyone in the room stared at him with a serious gaze.
Even Mirko seems to be taking things seriously now, even with all of her hatred for teamwork(or whatever her problem is).
"This raid will be completely reliant on these two teams now. We must successfully break through the enemies defences at first, then the infiltration team will reform and start acting separately, tracking down the leaders."
Well, the plan sounds a bit better. Now, some more involved people in position would be something like 'Hah, I'll do it all myself! I strong, I no need people!' But I really don't see the appeal of fighting that many people by myself.
Not that I see the appeal of fighting them at all. I'm just doing my duty as a hero.
Besides, being so reliant on my own strength isn't a good thing. If I started doing everything myself then I'd become a pillar or a symbol, kinda like Toshi. And I don't want that at all.
Well, the meeting ended with Kenji explaining a few more things about the plan. Namely, the fact that a frontal assault is basically all we can do at this point is somewhat concerning.
But I can handle anything that's thrown at me.
There was no mention of a punishment for my actions, but I guess that's completely reliant on the reaction of the public towards that video. So I guess that's going to be addressed later.
After the meeting, I followed Mirko again, asking her questions and being ignored.
Eventually, we arrived at our destination. Yet another separate room within the police building. Inside are the members of the assault team, this is probably one of the bigger rooms in this building.
Around 300 battle-ready heroes(this is a huge ass room/amphitheatre).
A few familiar faces too. Like Baseball Girl(Mountain Lady), Morning Wood(Kamui Woods)(only seen him on the news), Orca Head(Gang Orca, still cool looking)... And a few more people that I'm really not willing to name.
Well, also Aizawa, Midnight, and Cementoss. The three people I know best in this group. I happily left the side of the grumpy team leader(Mirko) and approached the teachers.
"Hey~ Glad to see you guys are still active heroes after all that teaching stuff~" There were various reactions to my greeting.
Midnight awkwardly smiled(last meeting is still somewhat fresh I guess), Aizawa groaned, and Concrete Man gave me a slanted sideways glare.
"Beru... A delight to see you..." Aizawa is lacking his usual enthusiasm(jk he never had any).
"Yea~ How come Toshi ain't here?~" I dunno man, seems like a pretty big raid to me. Doesn't seem like the type that the Symbol of Peace would lose.
"He will be joining the assault team later... You already know why." I'd ask why he's not a leader, but that guy really isn't a great leader. He'd be an inspiring one, but he wouldn't be able to give cohesive commands at all.
"Understandable~" Everyone in this room should have a rough idea of what's been discussed in the previous meeting. The leader(Mirko) is only gathering them now to prepare for the incoming battle.
I could see that Midnight wanted to say something to me, but I didn't really press her about it. She also ended up not saying anything.
This isn't really the time for romantic drama really. Although... I guess I can make sure nothing happens to her... Just because I'm a good colleague.
The raid starts in 3 hours. I wonder how prepared the Meta Liberation Army will be...
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