Hawks stood inside the office of the new HPSC head, his posture relaxed as always, hands in his pockets and a calm, almost lazy expression on his face.
In front of him was Madam President, the new leader of the HPSC. She told Hawks that she wanted him to gather information on the Humarise organization.
Recently, they had been making many moves underground, far more than usual, and all of this activity seemed to have increased due to the chaos caused by Nova Genesis.
She didn't like it. She didn't trust it. And she wanted answers.
She then added that while he was investigating Humarise, he should also try to gather any information about Nova Genesis along the way.
That group had become too unpredictable, too powerful, and too influential to ignore.
Hawks simply nodded. "Got it," he said casually, before turning around and walking out of the office.
His face remained his usual relaxed self, almost indifferent to everything around him, but inside…his emotions were anything but calm.
As he walked down the hallway, his thoughts drifted toward someone he couldn't ignore—his senior assassin, Lady Nagant, also known as Kaina Tsutsumi.
She had done what he never could. She had killed the previous HPSC head, broken free from their control, and escaped the invisible cage that the commission had built around her.
And now…she was safe. Free. Protected under Nova Genesis.
Hawks let out a small breath as his wings rustled behind him, his eyes glazing over for just a second. 'No one's stupid enough to believe Novak isn't her…' he thought.
The sniper of Nova Genesis—Novak—was clearly Nagant. Anyone with even a little intelligence could piece that together.
His gaze lowered slightly as a thought crept into his mind, one he had been avoiding for a long time. 'When… will I be able to do the same?'
The question lingered, heavy in his chest. When would he finally gather the courage to break free from the HPSC's control? When would he stop being their tool? His fingers twitched slightly, but he said nothing, simply continuing to walk as if nothing was wrong.
Meanwhile, inside the headquarters of the Meta Liberation Army, Re-Destro sat calmly in his chair, his fingers interlocked in front of him as he looked at the man standing before him—Skeptic.
"Have you found anything about Nova Genesis?" Redestro asked in a composed tone.
Skeptic clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That organization is ridiculously hard to track," he said, adjusting his glasses as he turned his screen toward Redestro.
"I can't hack them, I can't trace them, I can't locate anything. Every time I try to follow any electromagnetic signals from their masks or devices, I hit a wall. It's like some kind of anti-hack quirk is blocking everything."
He sighed before continuing, "The only thing I managed to gather is partial identity information on three of their members."
Redestro's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened.
"First is Novaflex," Skeptic said, tapping the screen. "Previously known as a small-time villain—Gentle Criminal. Real name: Danjuro Tobita."
He moved to the next file. "Second is Novamor. Formerly known as La Brava, real name Manami Aiba, Gentle Criminal's partner."
Then the third. "And finally, Novak… formerly pro hero and secret HPSC assassin—Lady Nagant. Real name Kaina Tsutsumi."
Skeptic paused for a moment before continuing.
"But the rest? Nothing. No information on Novabel, Novangle, or Novagent. I tried tracing them through their quirk data, but I ran into a problem."
He turned the monitor fully toward Redestro. "Only one quirk matched—Novagent's. But it belongs to someone else."
Redestro leaned forward slightly. "Who?"
"Mr. Compress," Skeptic replied. "A member of the League of Villains. But that doesn't make sense. He was last seen in Tokyo during the Hiroshima incident. So Novagent can't be him—meaning it's someone else with a similar quirk."
He exhaled. "As for Novabel and Novangle… there's nothing. No data. No records. It's like their quirks don't exist in any database."
Redestro leaned back in his chair, his fingers still interlocked as he hummed thoughtfully.
After a moment, he spoke. "We will not interfere with Nova Genesis for now. They haven't caused any damage to the Meta Liberation Army, and acting without information would be foolish."
His gaze shifted slightly toward the window. "Instead… keep monitoring Humarise. Those people have been making too many moves in the shadows."
Skeptic nodded. "Understood." He turned and left the room, leaving Redestro alone.
Redestro slowly turned his chair toward the large window, looking out at the city. His expression remained calm, but his thoughts ran deep. 'Destro… your dream…' he thought quietly. 'It will come true… no matter what.'
The scene shifted once more—this time to Thailand.
Bright lights, loud music, and the sound of laughter filled the air as the Nova Genesis members enjoyed their time at a theme park.
"YEAHHHH!!!" Arata and Melissa screamed together as they sat side by side on a rollercoaster, the ride speeding through the tracks at insane velocity.
The wind blasted against their faces as the ride twisted and turned, both of them laughing like kids, which they technically were, without a care in the world.
Elsewhere in the park, Kaina walked around calmly, wearing glasses and a hat to hide her identity. She stood at one of the shooting stalls, casually picking up the gun. The stall owner watched nervously.
"Whenever you're ready," he said.
Kaina didn't even reply.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Every single shot hit perfectly.
The stall owner's face went pale as she won prize after prize without missing once. She moved to the next stall—ball throwing.
Perfect aim again.
Another prize.
Another.
Another.
The stall owners began sweating as she cleared their games effortlessly.
"…Is she even human?" one of them muttered.
Meanwhile, Tobita and Aiba were at the spinning teacups ride, both wearing Mickey Mouse masks as they spun around.
"Wooooah this is fun!" Aiba laughed.
Tobita nodded, slightly dizzy. "Indeed! Very gentlemanly entertainment!"
Not far from them, David stood inside a telephone booth.
His expression was serious now.
He inserted some coins and dialed a number.
The phone rang. A few seconds passed.
"Hello?" a man's voice answered.
David's grip on the receiver tightened slightly.
"…It's me, Toshinori."
There was silence on the other end.
Then suddenly—"DAVID?!"
The voice of All Might—Toshinori Yagi—shouted through the phone.