Tokoyami was perched on the top of a tall Black Pine tree, in the dead of night overlooking the camp far below him. As soon as Aria Lin had given them the rough area to look at, Nezu wasted no time in having himself, Mapper, and Hawks scout the area. Mappers quirk, Cartographer, allowed him to recreate a perfect miniature representation of any place he had been to in the past. He had been enormously helpful during the war for plotting out and drawing up battle plans for assaulting well-defended positions. It was like a three-dimensional photo made of light, essentially a hologram that he could manipulate at will. At the moment, he was camped out on the nearby mountain, Waiting for Tokoyami and Hawks to finish preliminary scouting.
Tokoyami had taken the eastern side of the camp, while Hawks had taken the western side. The camp had been relatively difficult to discover, even when they knew the general area to search. It had a massive camo netting draped over the trees above the camp that encompassed the entire ceiling. Looking down at it from above, one would never know there was a secret League of Villains research facility buried into the mountain it was on. Eventually, however, after the onset of night, they had finally spotted some pinpricks of light in the forest. Now Tokoyami was waiting for Hawks to get into position, so they could swoop down to the camp outskirts and scout the camp closer up. Hawks would take charge of the perimeter, while Tokoyami, with his quirk, would infiltrate the camp itself and discover what he could. It was a risky plan, but it was one familiar to them both by now. Tokoyami's quirk was preeminent for infiltration, allowing him to become practically invisible within shadows thanks to his quirk being able to merge with them to a certain extent.
"Tsukuyomi, you in position?" came Hawks voice over the radio in Tokoyami's ear.
"I'm ready," replied Tokoyami
"All right, I'm at the perimeter ready to begin, move into the camp," said Hawks.
"Roger," replied Tokoyami, and he wrapped himself in Dark Shadow and flew down to the perimeter. He took it very slowly, carefully making sure there was no one nearby before he swept into the shadow of a pre-fab building.
"I've passed the sentry line, cutting communications." He whispered into the radio before turning it off.
He peered into the window of the small shipping container-sized building. He saw three people inside huddled around a table. They were Smoking and playing cards, not paying attention in the least to their surroundings.
"I wonder how long they've been stationed here. Probably a while if they're ignoring their duties so blatantly." he thought.
He could imagine how tedious it must be to keep watch for a place that no one was supposed to know existed. He shook his head at the scene and moved away from the window. He crept to the corner of the building and pulled out his small monocular periscope. He lengthened it and using it, he looked around the corner of the building, otherwise, he would have to poke a large amount of his head around the building to see anything. The downsides of having an Avian head, he had discovered.
He looked around the side of the building as best he could, trying to see if there were cameras or people who could see him if he came around the corner. After looking carefully for a minute, he didn't see anything to worry him so he stowed the periscope back into a pocket and poked his head around the corner.
The camp was dimly lit, and there were various prefab structures set up all over the area. Most had poles sticking out of the top of them to help prop up the camouflage netting above the entire camp. As he surveyed the area, he could tell that the laziness of the guards in the building next to him was a fluke. He could sense the tension and alertness in the camp, no one walked alone, being in groups of two or more. after observing for a while Tokoyami saw that patrols were organized and timed, a well-known routine, with the guard posts manned and watching. He was fortunate that at least one of the guard posts seemed to be taking things less seriously.
He also noted opened crates across the camp, but he couldn't tell what was in them from his angle. So he flew up the side of the building and then crawled along the roof quietly until he was looking down on the camp. It wasn't exactly high, but from this higher vantage, he could see into the crates. The crates he could see clearly were filled with ammo or other similar military supplies, and if the newness of the crates was anything to go by, then they were only recently arrived. Tokoyami filed that information away for later and continued surveying the area. Apart from the patrols and crates of supplies, he didn't see much else occurring in the camp.
He wanted to get a closer look though, so he got down from the roof. He took a careful look around and then slipped from the shadow he was hiding into another one close by. He kept going from shadow to shadow. He took note of the locations of things and the patrol routes as he went. He stopped a few times to look into buildings or listen to conversations, but he didn't see or hear anything of note until he was making his way back the way he came in. As he approached the lookout post where the guards had been playing cards, he could hear raised voices. He slipped into the shadow of the building and crept to the window.
"-Expect you thought I was joking when I said there might be an incursion!" shouted a voice from inside the building.
"I don't care what you think or how boring it is here, until the commander gets back and transports the subject back to headquarters your getting double shifts! And if anyone catches any of you slacking off again, I swear I'll have all three of sent into the nightmare or into the labs!" roared the voice before slamming the door on his way out.
Tokoyami took that as his cue to leave. He turned and slipped away from the building towards the trees. As he slipped away though, he caught some movement from the corner of his eye. He froze, and he turned his head slightly to get a better sightline on the area he saw the movement come from. It took him a second but he could see a dark shape slowly moving through the woods on his right and towards the camp. As the shape got closer, he noticed two pinpricks of light moving along with the dark shape. A pair of red glowing eyes, the only thing visible of the dark shape. Tokoyami waited patiently while it went past, then after waiting another minute or two, he continued on.
After Tokoyami had made it back to the tree line, he escorted Mapper as close to the camp as possible and around the entire perimeter. They didn't see The Hunter at any point during the rest of their recon but Tokoyami was sure it had been him.
________________________________
"The Hunter? Are you sure of this?" asked Nezu.
"Positive, I don't know how he knew where to go, but I'm also certain that if he had the power of flight he would have beaten us there. As it stands he must have left the city hours before us to arrive at the camp as I was departing it." Said Tokoyami.
Nezu was silent for a time as he just mulled it all over in his mind. Eventually, he seemed to come to a decision.
"We will have to move the timetable up. We will launch the strike tomorrow night, rather than the day after as I was initially estimating. We don't know when Zeus will arrive to pick up his cargo, and with The Hunter now involved it could prompt heightened security if it has not happened already. There will be a morning meeting, you are exempt as you need rest. Good work, and sleep well." Said Nezu.
"Thank you, have a good night principal." Said Tokoyami and left the office.
There was silence for a few minutes in the office until Nezu stirred and removed his cellphone from his pocket. He dialed in a number and waited as it rang. A few seconds later there a click and a tired voice came over the other end.
"This is Masaaki Takeo." mumbled the voice.
"Masaaki, this is Nezu," replied Nezu.
There was a pause and some shuffling from the other end, then the voice came again, but more awake.
"If you're at this hour calling, I'm guessing it's not good." Said Masaaki substantially more alert now.
"I'm afraid I will need you to open the vault and retrieve some of 1A's old war gear. Plans have changed, and we need it by nightfall tomorrow. I also need to ask you to break open the vault containing the QUEESS. I presume you've been working on refining its make-up?" Asked Nezu.
"The wargear won't be an issue, as for the QUEESS..." Masaaki gave a sigh before continuing. "I have been working on the chemical makeup of it, but we both know what might happen if it's used again." He warned Nezu.
"I am fully aware of the consequences. I only want it to be ready at a moment's notice, should the worst-case scenario come to pass." Replied Nezu calmly.
"Well, all right then, so long as you understand. I'll have the chamber brought back up to standby mode and I'll be sure to have the gear sent up by tomorrow night," said Masaaki sounding tired once more.
"Thank you, Masaaki, and my apologies for waking you. Have a good night's rest," said Nezu.
"You as well Nezu," replied Masaaki.
Nezu put his cellphone down and turned to look out his window. It was storming outside and lightning could be seen occasionally. A grim omen, he thought, for what was soon to come.
________________________________
Ochako had barely rolled out of bed on the heels of a nightmare when her phone was ringing.
She yawned as she set water to boil for tea, and answered the phone as she plopped down on her sofa. The caller ID telling her that Tsu was calling, she yawned and answered the phone.
"Hey Tsu, why you calling so early?" she asked.
"Sorry to bother you this early, but Nezu just let me know that there is to be an emergency meeting at 10," said Tsu.
Ochako checked the time on her phone and saw it was 8:22.
"What happened?" she asked now worried, he thought flashing back to the attack.
"I'm not sure on the details, but apparently it's related to the reconnaissance performed last night, ribbit," said Tsu.
"All right, thanks for letting me know. See you at 10." Said Ochako.
"Later," said Tsu before hanging up.
Ochako gave a long-suffering sigh. "Never a dull moment..." muttered Ochako as she got up to get the rest of her breakfast ready.
So an hour and a half later, she was sitting in one of U.A.'s meeting rooms with everyone else, all in varying states of tiredness. Ochako looked around but didn't see Jirou or Denki in the room. More than likely they were going to sit out on the operation, Jirou wasn't trained for military action and Denki was in no shape to fight.
They talked amongst themselves for a while until Mapper came in the door and took a seat next to Nezu. After Mapper arrived, Nezu called for the meeting to begin.
"Now then, since everyone who is needed is present. Let us begin," said Nezu nodding to Mapper.
Mapper stood up and put a hand out and palm facing the table sent a mote of light from his hand to the tabletop. There, the mote of light expanded until it encompassed the entire table and suddenly a full-on hologram of the camp came into existence.
"This is the map of the entire camp. As you can see, it has barricades set up between all the guard posts which total 8. All the guard posts are reinforced with exterior steel frames, they have a vast supply of ammunition, and who knows what kind of quirks the people have. Just let me know if you want to look at an area more closely and adjust the image as needed." Said Mapper.
For a while they all just discussed details of the camp, the number of people, what kind of weapons, possible breach points, and where the entrance to the base proper would be located. Eventually, they agreed to just focus on securing the surface first, then worry about the base proper after.
"Ok, so how do we want to handle securing the surface? We will want to avoid as many casualties as possible and we want to have plenty of people to question. We want to remind the country that the war is definitely over after all." Said Momo.
"Scorched Earth, wipe it out. I don't give a damn whether those bastards live or die, and it'll serve as a warning to Zeus that we aren't to be taken as lightly as he seems to think." Said Bakugo, sitting in his chair, arms crossed and scowling.
Todoroko looked over at him frowning, "I have to agree with Momo, we can't just charge in and leave the place a crater as we might have done a few years ago. The war IS over, and it's our duty to put the populace's minds at ease and show them that we aren't the monsters we wiped out. Even if it be would dramatically easier."
Bakugo gave a "Tch" of annoyance but didn't argue the point.
"I suggest a head-on frontal assault, we strike them here and just power through. It will serve as just a good example as wiping them out would by proving we are just that much stronger." Said Todoroki pointing to the northernmost guard posts and barricade.
"It's not a bad idea, but I think we should focus more on subtlety and overwhelm as fast as possible by sneaking to the camp. Before they even realize they've been assaulted we secure the entire area. The people are a bit rattled about the news of a villain assault on the mansion true, but the government and the H.A. managed to suppress the details from leaking to the media. We aren't on nearly as tight a line as you might think. So while an appeal to the populace would be good, I don't think we can afford to wait on the issue." Said Shinso suddenly.
Ochako agreed with Shinso personally, but that just caused the room to be split between people vying for a more loud approach versus those opting for a more silent approach. The two sides argued for a while, meanwhile, Kirishima had been pacing around the room examining the hologram in silence. Something about the camp had been nagging him at the back of his mind, he felt like he'd something like it before. Then he snapped his fingers and shouted "I got it!"
The whole room quieted down and turned to him, rather surprised. It wasn't often that Kirishima came up with a battle plan.
"Operation Blackrock!" He said grinning from ear to ear.
Everyone just frowned at him for a few seconds but then Bakugo let out a laugh.
"He's right, Operation Blackrock would work," said Bakugo grinning.
Momo looked back at the hologram then realization dawned on her face she looked up to Kirishima beaming. "That's perfect Kirishima!" She exclaimed, also grinning now.
Ashido got up from the seat Kirishima had vacated earlier and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I guess your not as hardheaded as everyone believed you were," she said told him with a smirk. Kirishima for his part went a bit red at that.
It took them all a few more minutes to hash out the specifics but before long the whole room was in agreement. Operation Blackrock Mk. II would be the method by which they breached the villain's base camp and secured the area.
"Well, we know how we are going to approach the camp itself, but what about breaching and securing the base that is either in the mountain or below it?" Asked Ochako.
This was the hard part, they knew little about the interior save what Aria had told them so they would be operating on a lot of guesswork.
"We'll have to play most of it by ear, Aria told us they had automated defenses of some variety but wasn't sure on the specifics. However, if the layout is anything like the other bases we've had to breach then it's probably deep underground and consists of somewhere between 8-15 levels. The lowest levels will be devoted to research and testing, the mid-levels would be quarters, and the top-level would be storage, defenses, and command structures. If this is one of Zeus's main strongholds then it has to be large." Said Todoroki.
"The entrance would either be in the floor of one of the few prefabs inside the camp proper, or it would be embedded into the mountain itself. Given the position of the camp, it's more than likely the former. Ribbit" said Tsu.
"The door will be locked of course, so how do we want to breach it? My acid or just popping the lid by force?" asked Ashido.
"I vote for your acid, if everything goes according to plan then even the underground base won't know what's happening when we breach it. Your acid will melt any mechanical alarms inside the door itself as well as being relatively silent." Said Todoroki.
"When we do breach I suggest a standard edge formation. Kirishima, Ochako, and I take point with Todoroki taking rearguard. Nothing complicated, the simpler the better, especially if this base turns into a repeat of the Labyrinth." suggested Momo.
Ochako couldn't help but feel some anger and hate at the mention of Labyrinth. That entire multi-level base had been under the effect of a League lieutenant called Maze Master who could transform any space into a literal Labyrinth. Trying to secure the place had been impossible until they had managed to kill Maze Master and turn the entire base back to normal. Apart from having to deal with traps, villains who were also lost, automated defenses, and the general confusing nature of the place, they had lost several good heroes there. Centipider, Lock Rock, and several Class 1-B personnel. It had been one of the war's bloodiest battles in terms of heroes lost, but with the capture of the base, they had taken the last of the Nomu production facilities and effectively caused the beginning of the end for the League. That whole mission had been codenamed Operation Blackrock, the general strategies they had come up for it could be adapted to suit them now. Though hopefully minus the whole Labyrinth part.
"Regardless, we will breach in wedge formation then secure and destroy the elevator. Then we move systematically down via the staircase, securing each floor as we go." Continued Momo. "I take it we will have military support to help secure the surface and the floors behind us as we move down?" she posed the question to Nezu.
"Yes you will, the contingent will not be as large as I like, we are moving ahead of schedule so it would be wise to move slowly and carefully through the facility to ensure you are as thorough as possible. The fewer troops that have to stationed on each floor, the more back-up you will have if you need it. Additionally, due to the short timeframe we are working with, you won't have any other hero support. You will be the only heroes there for the duration of the operation." replied Nezu.
Ochako didn't like them being the only heroes present, but she also wasn't surprised. It would be more difficult sure, but they'd taken on steeper odds and they had all emerged unscathed. This would be a challenge certainly, but they were all highly skilled and had some of the best and strongest heroes in Japan. Todoroki and Bakugo even rated in the upper rankings on a global scale too. They would be all right.