Outside the Compound - Courtyard
The biological grenade reached the apex of its arc above the gathered police.
And then—
a massive, piercing shriek
The result was a sound ear-piercingly followed by a shockwave that had no business coming from something that size.
The police officers at the front of the gathered force went down simultaneously, hands going to their ears, blood gushing out the sides of their heads. Their vision blurred and the closest officers eyes were blown out of their skulls dangling onto their faces. After a few seconds some began to start to get back up but they staggered into each other completely lost and disoriented. Several couldn't get more than onto their knees; the closest few were likely dead organs ruptured and internally bleeding.
After the initial shock of what just happened, the minor heroes at the front pushed forward instinctively, moving toward the fallen officers or toward the building, with their heroic spirit or a shot at glory to climb the ranking overriding any sound tactical assessment.
A single gunshot rang out from inside the compound.
Aizawa understood immediately.
"Everyone get back through the gate now!" he yelled,
"move. Now!"
The front windows of the compound building exploded outward simultaneously.
Not from a Quirk, but from gunfire, several assault rifles were firing through the broken glass frames into the crowd outside in the courtyard below which was effectively a killing zone now with only two ways out back to the gate or into the gunfire. And at this range, accuracy didnt matter; there were so many easy targets. The large number of those who were hit with the initial explosion as well as the front line of police and minor heroes who were still in the courtyard absorbed the first seconds of it without having enough time to understand what was happening.
Kesagiri Man went down in just a few seconds, his costume shredded and pieces of him spilled across the grass, the cheerful energy he'd brought to the briefing gone in an instant. Police officers around him collapsed without making a sound. A minor hero with an earth manipulation, Quirk managed to raise a partial barrier that absorbed some of the fire while making a retreat before taking three rounds that injured her after Silver ordered concentrated fire on her.
But the retreat was ugly and fast, the seriously wounded being dragged or stumbling on their own, the able-bodied covering the movement as the gunfire continued in rapid bursts from the windows.
The gunfire stopped.
Rock Lock looked at the compound wall, at the gate, at some of the police officers who were checking themselves and each other with the expressions of people who've just survived something they didn't fully understand yet.
"How the hell do they have weapons like that in Japan?" he yelled, to no one specifically.
Nobody had an answer…
This was not what was supposed to happen.
Izuku looked at Sir Nighteye, whose expression had moved beyond the controlled precision it normally maintained into a rare wide eyed mix of anger, shock, and sadness. Nighteye's realized the man he'd touched and used his quirk on during prior surveillance had genuinely not known about this. Whatever this armed group was, it hadn't been in any of the intel they had gathered on Overhaul.
Ryukyu had finally gotten the large villain restrained on the far side of the street, the massive form going still as she released her grip, and she detransformed and straightened to look at the compound building.
"What just happened?" she said.
Aizawa was already explaining, his voice flat and rapid, when the sounds started coming from inside the courtyard.
First it was just groans.
Then there were desperate calls for help.
The sounds of people still alive and badly hurt and not able to get themselves to the gate.
Then, clearer than the others, a voice Izuku recognized from the briefing. Mr. Brave. One of the minor heroes who'd been at the front. His voice was wet and strained but coherent, calling for help, getting closer to the gate as he crawled.
A police officer, one of the ones who'd managed to get back but was pressed against the wall near the gate, leaned forward and looked through the gap.
The shot came instantly.
The officer went straight down a large hole going through his head with brain matter spilling out the back at the feet of others.
The UA students went very still.
Uraraka had gone pale, while Kirishima's Quirk had activated reflexively, his skin hardening.
Mr. Brave's voice was still audible, still moving toward the gate, closer now.
Fat Gum stepped forward. "We can't just stand here. There are people in there, they're still alive, we have to—"
"CEASE FIRE."
The voice carried across the courtyard with a clarity that didn't require volume, the kind of command projection that came from training rather than shouting. English, with an accent clearly not from anywhere in Japan.
Fat Gum was the first to take the risk and looked through the gate.
A young woman stood in the courtyard, between the gate and the compound building. White hair, strange skull-patterned skin, wearing some all black military grade armour. She was holding an assault rifle looking at the gathered heroes and police with an expression of complete satisfaction.
"If you value your lives," she said, in the same carrying voice, "leave" she paused placing the rifle over her shoulder taunting the heroes "If you don't, you're welcome to try your luck but you picked the worst day to try your luck."
Nighteye was already analyzing her before scanning over the broken windows where the gas-masked figures had been and were no longer and realized they must have a limited amount of ammunition.
"That woman was not on any Hassaikai intelligence list," he said quietly. "And neither are those weapons. The level of firepower we just encountered is not consistent with a yakuza organization's available armament." He paused. "We are dealing with something completely unknown right now"
Rock Lock grunted "this is going to be even harder than we thought"
Mr. Brave had almost reached the gate, his crawling was slow, each movement visible through the gate.
"Please help, I'm almost there."
The woman in the courtyard raised her rifle.
She fired six times in rapid succession right into the hero's back and head.
Mr. Brave stopped moving, falling completely still.
The silence that followed lasted approximately two seconds. Then a minor hero from one of the local agencies who had been a hero for only a couple years and whose name Izuku hadn't learned yet ran through the gate into the courtyard, fell to her knees beside Mr. Brave's body, and began shaking him by the shoulder and saying his name.
The woman with the skull-patterned face looked at her smugly smirking. Then a police officer who was still alive on the ground with bloody ears and an eyeball gone raised a weapon toward her while lying on the ground before being casually shot and the woman went back inside.
The door closed behind her.
The gathered force outside the wall was quiet for a moment.
Then they began to move again, cautiously, the courtyard was littered with the fallen and the wounded. The able-bodied among the advancing force moved through them, some stopping to provide immediate aid, the designated support personnel taking over that function as the main group continued.
The windows were empty now. No figures, no gunfire. The compound's upper floors showed no movement.
"They've pulled back," one of the police commanders said. "Must have expended their ammunition."
"Don't assume that," Aizawa said.
Then a large group of low level Yakuza charged out but these were not the same as the masked armed men, these were unarmed men fighting with fists and quirks.
This fight however that followed was brutal and disorganized and ultimately very unsuccessful for the Hassaikai, the heroes and police managing to contain and subdue them despite the confusion.
"Just leave the ones out here to us," Ryukyu said, already moving. "You go inside!"
Nighteye stood in the entrance hall with his small team and stopped when they didnt find any immediate resistance.
"Is it possible that somebody leaked our plans for the raid?" Midoriya said, watching the empty corridors ahead.
"No but I'm more worried about that first group," he said. "They didn't look like any known Hassaikai member or group we know of in Japan." He looked at the broken windows, at the spent casings on the floor, at the damage the initial volley had caused. "Who were they?"
Nobody had an answer.
"Proceed with extreme caution," Nighteye said. "Whatever Hassaikai has involved themselves with, we will have to deal with as we go"
Inside the Compound - Same Time
Silver's phone showed the message from Crane as she moved through the inner corridors with the armed men after showing these Japanese a massacre that for Gotham was small-time.
Move to second objective.
She relayed it with a gesture, the group moving down the tunnels without breaking stride, moving deeper into the compound's layout toward the designated route.
They then came around a corner and stopped.
Before she took her phone out–
Overhaul's Office - Same Time
The security monitors showed the courtyard in multiple angles, the carnage of the first engagement, and the now slower cautious advance of the heroes and police, before Overhaul sent his yakuza pawns charging out to meet them as Crane did not want his men to use all their ammo yet.
Mimic leaned forward watching the screens with unconcealed excitement. "You have to sell us some of those guns man, seriously just name your price!"
"That can be arranged," Suguro said.
Mimic read the tone correctly and stood up. "Awsome, anyways I should go help manage the defense." He headed for the door, already thinking about what was coming next.
Overhaul looked at the screens for a moment, then looked at Suguro. "We should proceed to the next phase."
"Yes," Suguro agreed then began telling him
"Move your people to the tunnel exit and we'll—"
"I'm not your subordinate," Overhaul said. His voice had gone quiet in a way that was more dangerous than raised. "Don't speak to me like one."
From the wall behind the couch, Ivy straightened. She moved two steps forward, positioning herself behind Suguru's chair, and looked at him with the calm predatory attention she brought to things she was considering destroying.
Suguro raised one hand slightly toward her, a small gesture.
She stopped and went back to leaning on the wall behind him.
Overhaul's posture settled marginally.
"I'll collect Eri," he said, and got up to leave the office.
"Not yet" Crane made Overhaul stop as he got more irritated
"You still owe me what I asked for, for helping you out."
Overhaul looked at Kuruno who nodded and tossed a case to Crane before the two left.
"Excellent"
The door closed behind them.
Suguro opened the case and looked at what was inside.
"Are those the cure bullets" Ivy looked over his shoulder now sitting next to him "I thought you said-"
Crane answered her before she could finish.
"These are something Victor might want to take a look at" picturing Victor watching the frpzen Nora in his mind.
He then took out his phone and texted Basil.
Your performance started yet?
He then got a quick answer,
yeah I'm ready but I wish I had more knowledge about how-
Suguru answered,
I thought you said you could do it
Dont worry boss, you know when I was younger they used to call me
"The best child actor in Gotham"
Crane looked pleased then put the phone away and turned back to the monitors.
Inside The Compound - Heroes Side - Same Time
"It looks like a dead end. So, what now?"
"So much for your Foresight, Nighteye!"
Mirio was already moving toward it. "Hold on, let me go take a look."
"Lemillion, if you go through, you'll be naked."
"It's okay," Nighteye said. "Mirio's costume was constructed from a special fiber made from his own hair. It's designed so it becomes permeable when he activates his Quirk."
Mirio phased through.
His voice came back muffled through the concrete, then clearer: "I knew it! The path continues, just like Nighteye said it would. The hallway's just been blocked with this wall. Unfortunately, breaking through it's not gonna be easy."
"I knew this Chisaki guy could tear things apart and put them back together, but damn," Kirishima said, looking at the wall with his hands on his hips.
"It was just a cheap trick," Rock Lock said. "If he did this, it's gotta mean that we're on the right track."
"Yeah, you're right. But he's an idiot if he thinks a dumb wall will stop us."
Midoriya was already pulling One For All through his legs now at - Full Cowling and he kicked the wall with everything his Shoot Style had into it while Kirishima's Hardening activated the same moment, his arm pulling back and driving forward in the Red Gauntlet, the two of them hitting it simultaneously from slightly different angles.
The wall cracked down the middle and collapsed.
"Hey, that didn't suck."
"I'll say! They beat me to the punch."
"We need to keep moving."
Without warning the concrete corridor began twisting around them, the geometry of the space rearranging with the particular wrongness of something that should be static but wasn't. A detective stumbled and yelped. Someone grabbed his arm.
"What's going on?"
"Everything's twisting!"
Nighteye's voice was already explaining it. "This is someone different, maybe Irinaka, Chisaki's Quirk can't do something like this."
"Irinaka's Quirk, Mimic," he continued, "lets him enter objects and control them as he would his own body. He must have gone into the concrete in the halls down here and made this a living maze."
"It shouldn't be possible on this scale," someone said. "He's not supposed to be able to control anything larger than a refrigerator."
"Remember who we're dealing with here. Dollars to doughnuts, he's using a performance-enhancer."
Around them, the passage continued to shift, new walls sliding into place, existing corridors closing off, the whole underground structure reordering itself around the direction they needed to go.
"Eraser Head! Can't you stop him?"
"I can't do anything without seeing his real body," Aizawa said. "With the passageway shifting and changing like this, they can create as many escape routes as they need to. We have to think quickly if we want to catch them."
Tamaki's voice came from further down, quieter than the situation warranted. "No, who are we kidding? They're gonna escape with the girl, and we're all gonna die down here!"
"Tamaki." Mirio's voice was immediate and certain. "No way that's going to happen. Understand? You can do this, Suneater. Besides, this is just a stopgap. They can warp the path forward if they want, but as long as we know the direction of our goal, I can still reach it."
Mirio was already moving, phasing through the shifting walls, "speed is what matters right now. Those guys know it, too, that's why they're stalling for time."
Deep in the concrete somewhere, Mimic watched them scrambling and felt satisfied. Slipping through the walls, huh. Even if he does reach them, what'll he be able to do by himself?
Then then came across 3 men before they started to fight before Tamaki took the lead.
"These guys are just here to slow us down," he said quietly, eyes steady. "Go on ahead, I can handle them myself."
Kirishima started to protest, but Amajiki cut him off. "If we all stay, we're playing into their hands. Save your strength and especially Eraser Head's Quirk, for the real fight ahead. I've got this."
Fat Gum studied him for a long moment, then nodded. He turned and led the others through the next door, Kirishima glancing back with worry.
"Wait, where are you going?" Setsuno called, annoyed.
Before they disappeared, Amajiki caught Fat Gum's arm for a second.
"Before you go… please look after Mirio, you know he's going to push himself too hard. Keep him safe."
Then he turned to face the three villains alone, the corridor suddenly very quiet.
Behind him, the door sealed shut.
The door closed.
"You gonna leave him alone back there?" Kirishima said. "What are you thinking?"
Fat Gum kept moving. "He's from your agency, so I left the decision to him. But are you sure he can handle them? Seems kinda risky."
"I have faith in him," Fat Gum said. "He's stronger than anybody here. His only weakness is self-confidence. The pressure to do things perfectly sometimes leaves him feeling crushed. Breaking his spirit. And yet, he's risen to become one of UA's Big Three under those conditions. So I trust him when he says he can take down those thugs on his own. If he believes in himself, I believe in him."
Overhauls Office - Crane and Ivy - Same Time
"They've started being less careful," Ivy said, watching the screens.
"Well they started facing the locals again," Suguro said watching Overhauls men engage the hero he heard was called Sun Eater.
Then the message from Silver came through.
Second objective complete - we are taking the package to the vans now
He read it twice.
Then Silver's team appeared on the underground level camera feed, visible as they moved through corridor seven, and Suguro could see what they'd found.
And turned his attention back to Overhaul's location on the monitors before sending out another message to everyone, Silvers team and Black Masks
Equip your gas masks if you haven't already
Underground Level - Eri's Room - Overhaul and Kuruno
Overhaul walked to Eri's door with Kurono beside him.
His phone had buzzed as he'd left the office. He'd answered it to find a call from Shigaraki. He'd taken it and he was told that the League of Villains was finally committing to the arrangement and that they were entering the tunnels.
He pocketed the phone and opened Eri's door.
She was in bed, the blanket pulled up, the TV running. She looked at him when the door opened and her expression fell into deep fear and despair.
"It's time to move," Overhaul said.
Kurono stepped into the room to collect her. Overhaul turned back toward the doorway walking out into the corridor checking his phone to see the league wasn't much farther ahead in the tunnels.
Kurono reached for the Eri.
She didn't resist or try to run, she sat up, letting him pick her up.
Overhaul was still looking at his phone and after a few minutes started to talk.
Kurono then looked up from Eri to start listening.
Eri looked down at the floor, hair falling over her face.
And just for a second,
no one saw the slight smile curving the corners of her lips.