The ten launched forward to meet their attackers head-on.
Mt. Lady recoiled as Naoko appeared in front of her in an instant. She quickly morphed to her towering height and grabbed at the girl who swiftly twisted away from her hand. Naoko dodged the enormous foot that came down at her before launching up from the ground, using the shattered chunks of concrete that erupted from the impact to propel herself upwards. She dodged another large hand as it swiped at her, swiftly pulling to the side and rising to eye level with Mt. Lady, a broken slab of road beneath her feet and her back turned to her.
The girl glanced over her shoulder, and their eyes locked.
Mt. Lady gasped as an enormous pressure smashed down onto her shoulders. The ground beneath split instantly underneath her weight and a sharp pain shot through her body. A cry escaped her and she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, inadvertently defaulting back to human-size as an invisible force slammed her down onto the shattered concrete. Her eyes shot open as her back collided sharply with the cold ground, her jaw dropping open in a silent gasp.
The pressure disappeared as quickly as it came, and the alarming weight was instantly gone. Mt. Lady grit her teeth as her hands pressed against the shattered road, trying to push herself up, but a stabbing pain in her knees instantly sent her toppling over, an agonizing hiss falling from her lips.
Naoko's attention had long abandoned the pro-hero's struggling form, already halfway across the battlefield by the time a small gleam appeared in the corner of her eye. Her hand shot up, catching the pair of glossy blue marbles from midair. She didn't spare them a second glance before tossing them to Mr. Compress as he passed by her, the little orbs falling easily into his gloved palm. He gracefully tipped his hat to her before turning on his heels and heading straight into a swarm of police officers.
"Hey!" a shout reached her ears, just loud enough to be distinct from the calamitous noise.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Bakugo ducking past the falling debris and raging chaos as he ran straight towards her. Wordlessly, she turned around, her eyes flicking over a broken steel beam near her feet as she stepped onto it. The deformed slab of metal quickly rose from the ground, stabilizing as it lifted her high into the air.
The slight gust whistled past her ear as she wove evenly over the battlefield, his shouts growing distant behind her.
Naoko suddenly took notice of the loud whining of sirens as she saw a dozen or so policemen raise their weapons and take aim at something. She turned to see their muzzles were pointed at a group of Twices, who were currently preoccupied clashing back and forth with Best Jeanist. The hero had managed to restrain four of them back-to-back before jumping away in pursuit of the others who had run off, scattering in all different directions.
"Move in!" one of the officers shouted, signaling for his men to capture the copied villains.
The officers quickly approached in formation, fingers hovering taut over the triggers, a few of them reaching for their handcuffs as they neared the squirming Twices.
Suddenly, their weapons slammed to the ground as if an unseen hand had torn them from their grasp. Alarmed, they quickly scrambled for the fallen items, but before anyone could reach, another invisible force smashed down onto them, instantly twisting the weapons as the black metal deformed like clay. They snatched their hands away in shock, receding into a defensive stance as their heads frantically swiveled left and right.
Naoko landed next to the captured Twices as they looked up at her in relief.
"Nice one!" one of the copies grinned.
She didn't respond as she brushed her fingers against the thread binding them. The fibers snapped under her light touch and fell limp as the copies jumped to their feet, thanking her with a salute before rushing off.
She leapt to the side as an enormous fist smashed into the ground where she stood, chunks of concrete exploding from the impact. She looked up to see Mt. Lady, half-laying where she had left her, one arm supporting herself as her lower half remained limp. Gritting her teeth, the hero lifted her giant fist and grabbed at her again. Her movements were notably slower than before, not even close to reaching Naoko before the girl cleanly jumped out of the way. A loud boom sounded from the impact below as she landed on a piece of flying debris, her eyes brushing over it as it glided to a halt midair. Mt. Lady strained to reach for the girl again when a sudden pressure slammed down on her back. She cried painfully as her arm gave out beneath her, unable to brace her fall before she smashed into the ground with a deafening crack.
A blast of fire shot past her head as Naoko twisted to the side just in time, narrowly dodging the raging heat as a few strands of her hair singed away.
Her eyes turned to meet the blazing form of Endeavor as he shouted something at her, though his exact words were too indistinct for her to understand. He frowned dangerously as he raised his hands and unleashed another blast of fire, the heat bursting at her almost instantly. Naoko shifted the stone beneath her and ducked away from the flames, only to be met by a blazing fist only inches from her face. She quickly frowned, eyes flicking down as Endeavor suddenly felt an immense force slam into his stomach, sending him flying back and crashing into a nearby building.
He grunted as pain blossomed in the back of his head, but he paid it no mind as he blasted right back towards the girl, both palms outstretched as he unleashed a barrage of red-hot bursts one after another. She swiftly maneuvered around each fireball, the heat closing in on her as they tore past, their red glow obscuring more and more of her vision. She pulled sharply to the side in an effort to escape the assault, but they kept barreling towards her regardless of how she dodged.
Suddenly, the flames stopped, the last one dying out and leaving the empty air uncomfortably hot. It only took a split second for her to notice Endeavor had disappeared.
Her eyes instantly narrowed, the stone beneath her feet pivoting defensively as her eyes swept the area.
A faint glow abruptly peeked into the corner of her vision as a rush of heat enveloped her skin.
"Behind you!" a voice somewhere shouted.
She jerked forward, her head swiveling behind her as the red glow rapidly grew brighter, reflecting like a beacon in her eyes as fire filled her vision.
_______________________________________________
Todoroki stood frozen to the ground as he watched the raging battle above him.
"What the hell is she doing?!" Kirishima asked frantically as his wild gaze followed Naoko's darting movements.
"Why is she- why is she siding with the villains? What's going on?" Yaoyorozu frowned, bewildered.
Midoriya grit his teeth as he helplessly watched his friend clash fiercely with the number two hero. What in the world was she thinking? Why would she be fighting against the heroes? Why was she standing with all those villains earlier? And since when could she fight like that? A chill crept up his spine as he caught a glimpse of her face through the action: a cold, hard expression that dumbfounded him.
Those were not the eyes of the Naoko he knew.
"Behind you!" Todoroki suddenly shouted. His breath caught as he saw Naoko turn a second too late as his father appeared behind her, his fist pulled back and blazing fatally.
He was too close-
She didn't have time to dodge-
He tried to tear his eyes away but his body wouldn't listen to him.
Suddenly, the flames around Endeavor's hand vanished, as did the fire across the rest of his body. His movements slowed unnaturally before he was violently torn from the air by something unseen.
He smashed to the ground with a deafening boom, a thick cloud of dust thrown up as all four pairs of eyes widened.
"Ouch," Spinner muttered as he stared at the crater from afar.
Light footsteps sounded nearby, catching his attention as he turned to see a tattered- but still grinning- girl running towards him.
"Come on!" Toga waved excitedly as she gestured for him to follow, "Tomura wants everyone together! We're going home!"
Spinner grunted in annoyance, watching as she dashed off as quickly as she came. He flinched at the dull pain in his stomach where Gang Orca had landed a hit earlier. "I'm not even through with these scum yet..." he muttered distastefully.
"There's no need to rush."
He turned to see the Manager standing behind him with a slight smile: rather out of place considering the notable injuries all over his body.
"What are you talking about, newbie?"
"It's better to chip away at the trust people have in them, don't you think? To take away the sense of safety that comes with the 'hero' title." The Manager gazed out over the battlefield at the crumbling defenses, his calm smile never wavering. "We have to keep them alive to really hurt them, right, Spinner?"
The said villain followed his eyes, looking out onto the crumbling city around them.
The ground was a mess of shattered concrete and broken glass, thick columns of smoke billowed up to the sky from every direction, and the few heroes left standing were struggling to protect their fallen comrades while they themselves were already half-battered. Though the police were still plenty in number, and though their own side had their fair share of injuries, the final outcome was already clear.
The heroes had lost today.
"Maybe you have a point, newbie," Spinner grunted, a pleased, malicious gleam in his eyes.
"Of course!" the dark-haired man laughed heartily as he patted him on the back. "We should probably catch up with the others now. That Shigaraki doesn't seem like the patient type," he smiled jovially.
Spinner nodded with a scoff and the two dashed towards where the League had begun regathering.
They reached the assembled group at the same time as Unknown and Toga, the chunk of concrete beneath them lowering to the ground and tipping over with a thud as the two girls leapt off.
"We're out of time for now. We're leaving," Shigaraki breathed gruffly as the last of the ten caught up with the group.
"A satisfactory act!" Compress grinned, fluttering his arms dramatically, "And a timely exit is always the final step to a fantastic performance!"
"I got a lot of blood!" Toga raised her hand gleefully.
"Can we hurry up and get going?" Spinner sneered, clutching at his injured side. "Most of you aren't doing too hot either, and reinforcements are probably on their way. Let's leave with our victory still intact."
"Yes, let's," Shigaraki nodded lazily, gesturing to Kurogiri.
The gaseous man quickly opened a swirling portal next to each of them. Just as they were about to step through the gates, however, a hail of bullets barreled towards them, slicing through the air where they stood, a split second after they swiftly leapt out of the way.
Unknown landed softly a few feet to the side. She glanced over to see a large group of policemen surrounding them, weapons trained on each of their figures, raised and ready to shoot if any of them made even the slightest movement towards the portals. The men shouted at them to put their hands up and surrender, their overlapping voices quickly becoming rather irritating as their demands flooded the air.
Her eyes scanned their ranks: there were no less than three dozen of them, which wouldn't be a cause for concern were it not for their weapons. At this distance, some of the slower within the League wouldn't be able to dodge.
A predicament indeed.
She glanced to Shigaraki, who stood a few meters away, and noticed he was already looking at her. Only one of his eyes peeked through the hand latched to his face, and it gleamed with attentive eagerness. He raised his hand to her, making a patting motion.
Her lips curled downwards at the signal, and she glanced over to the Manager who simply nodded.
Unknown sighed as she turned her stare back to the barricade of police officers. She took a step forward before launching at them, drawing shouts of alarm as they quickly took aim at her and fired. The others took the moment of distraction and charged the officers as well. Bizarrely, the bullets seemed to lose their speed as they neared her, and she dodged the deadly spray with ease, rapidly closing in on the wall of policemen.
The moment she reached point-blank range, she jumped, flipping herself over their heads in one smooth motion. As she passed over the barricade, she stretched out her hand, grazing the helmet of the man directly beneath her.
In an instant, he folded with a horrifying crunch as his body crushed to the ground, blood and gore splattering out from where he once stood.
Chaos ensued as the remaining officers fled in terror, bloodcurdling screams filling the air as the League mowed them down a dozen at a time. Soon, the ground ran red with blood and viscera, bodies dropping like flies to the warm concrete. Horrified, the remaining heroes stumbled over themselves to intervene, but their injuries and lack of numbers proved insufficient to save the men.
Unable to do anything to stop it, they could only watch as the ten stepped through the dark portals and disappeared into the warm summer night.
_______________________________________________
"This is NTV News with today's breaking story. 41 police officers were killed, and dozens more were injured, earlier this evening during a covert rescue mission in Kamino Ward. In addition, nine pro-heroes sustained severe injuries, with seven currently being hospitalized, including top figures like All Might, Endeavor, and Gang Orca. This mission was in response to the shocking capture of two UA students from a training camp in a secluded part of the mountains. A team of pro-heroes performed top-secret raids on the suspected hideouts of the group responsible: the League of Villains, as they call themselves, who had kidnapped two first-year students with the suspected goal of recruiting them. However, this rescue mission quickly turned into the shock of the century when one of the students was successfully coaxed to their side. In this on-the-scene helicopter footage from Kamino Ward, the student, Ito Naoko, can be seen fighting against one of the League's members when an unknown man steps in to intervene; we then see a sudden change of behavior when she switches to fight alongside the villains instead. Though reportedly possessing a wind quirk, the girl displayed highly unusual abilities as she boldly took on the police, Mt. Lady, and even Endeavor. Theories already abound regarding what they could have done to seduce the student to their side, however one in particular seems to stand above all the others, and it has to do with the secretive villain group: Sacrosanct. Many of our viewers may recognize that name from the popular urban legend; Sacrosanct was the name given to a mysterious group of criminals who have been suspected in dozens of homicide cases all across the country. These cases all remain unsolved, however the similarities between them bring many to believe they can all be linked back to the same group.
"The main reason behind the popularity of the Sacrosanct theory with today's events is due to striking similarities between injuries from past cases and injuries caused by the defective student. We can't show you the crime scene photos because of their graphic nature, but the ones many are referring to are of fatal, crushing-type injuries. This shockingly horrific method of attack caused extreme controversy back when it first appeared nearly 10 years ago in an unsolved murder case. Many since cases attributed to Sacrosanct have included deceased victims attacked in similar ways, and one of the fallen police officers from earlier now adds to their numbers.
"If this theory is true, it would mean this student could be the villain the public has nicknamed 'Unknown,' and she has infiltrated UA for an as-of-yet unclear reason. The man seen here, who appeared just before the student's sudden change of behavior, is believed to be the leader of Sacrosanct. He was seen alongside three other unidentified teenagers earlier that day as well, as shown in this security footage, and they are also believed to be involved with the group. If you see any of these five individuals, or any of the League of Villains, please contact the authorities immediately. They are considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstance. Tune in tonight at 11 PM for an in-depth analysis on the history of Sacrosanct and their possible connection to the incident earlier today.
"Now onto the next piece of breaking news: during the same conflict in Kamino ward, All Might revealed his true form when fighting against the legendary criminal known as 'All for-'"
The TV went black.
"Hey! I was watching that!" a girl with cropped blonde hair frowned as she turned to look at the perpetrator.
"It's annoying," Unknown stated, eyes closed and leaning back in her seat.
"You're all over the news, you know- that's cool as hell! All we got was some grainy security video, and you can't even see our faces!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms and sinking into the plush couch. "That's crazy unfair, right guys?" she glanced over to the pair of redheads across from her.
"I don't mind," the darker-haired girl shrugged softly.
"It's not a good thing, Amnestica. It'll just make it easier for them to track her down," the other redhead, a taller boy, sneered at Unknown. "It's just like you to make things harder on us. We won't be able to move as freely anymore now, thanks to you."
"Now, now, Horus, don't be so mean to your sister," the Manager chided as he stepped into the room. The steady thumping of his shoes grew closer before they came to a rest behind where the redheaded duo was sitting. "Now that we're working with the League of Villains, all our faces are bound to become public sooner or later; Unknown was only first because they specifically asked for her. Besides, it's not a bad thing, really. It won't interfere much with what we have in mind."
"Speaking of the League, why didn't I hear about this earlier?" Unknown questioned, turning a set of pointed eyes to Horus.
"Oh, don't blame him. I asked him not to," the Manager smiled disarmingly as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I just thought it would be better to keep your cover for as long as possible. Until I came to get you, of course."
"I almost killed one of their members. I doubt that would have been good for your deal."
"You're probably right!" the Manager laughed, scratching his head, "I didn't think you'd go that far, really- but everything worked out well in the end! There's no hard feelings, so we have nothing to worry about."
"Hey, I heard you were pretty convincing in-character, by the way!" Amnestica grinned, flashing two thumbs up in her direction. "So what was it like being a hero?"
"Fine, I suppose," she shrugged.
"You got pretty into it from what I saw," Horus hummed mockingly, his ever-present glare landing on her relaxed form. "You were all over that guy back at the bar."
"What?! What guy?" Amnestica demanded, jolting up from the couch with sparkles flashing in her eyes.
"The blonde one with anger issues, from the sports festival."
"Oh," she said, plopping back down into her seat dejectedly, "and for a second I thought you had something interesting..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that guy was her roommate, Horus. It was for the mission and that's no fun!"
"Settle down now, all of you," the Manager coaxed with a soft smile, "There's no reason to argue, so let's not go looking for trouble. It's getting late; you all should go and get some rest. We have to introduce you three to our new friends tomorrow, so make sure to be on your best behavior."
Amnestica and Horus nodded, voicing their agreement while the remaining girl stayed silent.
"Good, good. I'm sure we'll all get along just fine," he nodded pleasantly. A slow yawn escaped him before he ruffled the redheads' hair and turned back towards the door, "I think I'm going to head up now. Try not to stay up too late, kids! Goodnight!"
A scattering of "goodnight"s resounded as the Manager stepped out of the room.