Chapter 24
POV Enji Todoroki, Endeavor (2nd Person POV)
They were here…they were all here. Standing in front of the GrandLine (Japanese) Main Branch building, He already knew something was about to go down. He had already gathered most of the heroes in Japan and from abroad for this very day…no, this would most likely scale to a full World War if things didn’t go exactly as planned.
*buzz* “Are you in position Endeavor?” In his ear, the message buzzed with Nighteye’s voice.
Their headquarters was located in Northern America where the greatest mind quirk holders, Nighteye and Principal Nezu, were strategizing their war against the largest industry along with the greatest minds the international alliance had to offer.
A total of 60 strategists, each with their unique quirks, were rallied under the flag as they searched the future for every possibility and advantage they could lay their hands on…which led to this.
Over three quarters of the alliance’s heroes rallied to a single large building in Japan. The Japanese Main Branch of the GrandLine. Just looking around, he saw many friends, comrades, and fellow heroes; Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Mirko, Kamui Woods, Wash, Ryuku, Gang Orca, Shishido, Mt Lady, Fat Gum, Manual, all the Wild Wild Pussycats, Tiger, Air Jet, Back Draft, Cementoss, Centipeder, Crimson Riot, Death Arms, Ectoplasm, Fourth Kind, Gran Torino…and so much more. The remaining heroes and their allies gathered around the numerous smaller institutions and key areas of the GrandLine.
The strategists (or generals) from HQ devised a plan to end all this in one strike…to kick them out of Japan and weaken them to the point they will be able to push directly into their main HQ, Switzerland, and claim a fast victory.
Blitzkrieg
We, the heroes, outnumbered the GrandLine and thus had overwhelming numbers and superior firepower. Through the nigh infinite resources of the council like the aircraft carriers, bomber planes, and relics of the 21st century warfare, they had the means of rapid transportation.
He was going to end this war…fast.
To his right was his most trusted companion and possibly the key to the entire operation; Eraser head. To his left was the heroine who could break through any obstacle they faced; Thirteen, the blackhole (rescue) hero.
Looking at the grand marvel of architecture in front of them, he knew this was not going to be easy…right? He might have been careful not to leak any information but an organization of the likes of GrandLine would not have missed this…right?
So why did this all feel so wrong? Why did storming a building of non-threatening feel like a trap?
His guts had to be wrong, just this once…right? After all, this crucial information came from reliable sources. Agents planted within GrandLine since the very beginning, camera footage tracing villain corpses and missing heroes…it all led to here. This had to be the main GrandLine base of operations in Japan.
We take here, we take Japan.
“HEROES!” He roared out “The day we have feared has come! When something, someone, whom we trusted have betrayed our trust!”
The few guards outside the building buzzed with activity as they noticed his presence along with the countless other heroes who had joined him on this raid. What were they planning? Defending? Giving up? Were they just normal guards who were hired or were they agents who were ordered to denied the place to their last breath?
“We are up not just against a former friend…but a strong one. Some of us may very well not be alive at the end of this day!” Nervous mumbling sounded behind him but he ignored them as he continued his speech. “But who else will do this if we do not? WHO ELSE WILL FIGHT IF WE DO NOT?”
His speech seemed to work as the sound of cheering grew louder and louder. Their spirits rising as they readied themselves for what they prepared their entire lives for.
“We fight not because we want to, but because we must! We fight not to cause injustice, but to keep peace! SO FIGHT, HEROES! STAND UP AND WITNESS AS A NEW ERA OF HEROISM RISE!”
Behind him, the heroes were roaring with approval, cheering him on. He was no All-Might, but he was still the number 1 Hero. So this was his duty more than anyone.
“CHARGE!!!”
Hundreds of steps shook the ground as the greatest power in the world threw themselves at a seemingly undefended building. The guards, who desperately tried to stop the charge with their bodies, were trampled underfoot within moments as the hero force broke through the main gate and into the building.
From inside, chaos broke out as those within began to scream in shock and chaos. Customers who came looking for a fruit, staff who were just doing their jobs and even patients who were transported to HQ to cure something a branch facility could not solve…everything fell apart as the Heroes barged in.
‘Please evacuate the building immediately! We have reason to believe this place will become a battlefield’
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‘THIS WAY!’ ‘STOP RUNNING VILLAINS!’ ‘ARREST THEM! ARREST THEM ALL!’
Obvious bystanders were tossed outside as the heroes wrecked havoc on the inside. Walls were torn apart, staffs were arrested on unexplained charges…all until silence took place.
Why were there no resistance…why was there…nothing?
“Search the offices! Search for documents!” He barked orders left and right as doors were broken into, boxes were brought into the light as specific quirk holders began reading them at light speed.
Other heroes continued to search until…
“Wait! Endeavor-sir! There’s an underground facility, it’s right under us!” X-Vision spoke over the sound of breaking tables.
“How do you get down there?!” He barked back.
“I can’t see a way down there!”
“Fine!” Heat gathered in his fist as the fire seemed to solidify. “We’ll just do this the old way” Without giving a moment’s pause, he brought his fist down onto the marble floor.
His fist melted through the first few layers of stone and marble before the concrete under began to crack…shake…and
*crumple* *crumple!*
“HEROES! WITH ME!” He said as he jumped down the dark hole he had created. Whatever was down there…it was sure to bring light of the darkness that GrandLine had hidden for so long.
Would there be hidden enemies here? Villains?
*shuffle* *shuffle*
“WHO’S THERE?! SHOW YOURSELVES!” He roared, his fire flaming out into the darkness…revealing…
“Khrrrr….” A disgusting black entity stood. It’s brain on the outside of its head and its teeth seemingly locked outside, drooling. It’s eyes, much like fish, was there unblinking…staring directly at him.
Nomu, GrandLine’s artificial soldiers.
“Khrrrr….!!!” “Khrrrr….!!!” “Khrrrr….!!!” “Khrrrr….!!!” “Khrrrr….!!!” The sound echoed throughout the darkness as more pairs of the same unblinking eyes were brought into light.
“How many of those damn fuckers are here!?”
The first one jumped for his throat as he dodged and struck him down with a flaming fist directly to its brain. *Splat!* The burnt brain matter splattered all over him as the nomu in question slumped to the ground lifeless.
*twitch* *twitch*
Seeing one of their own being slain so easily, the rest were shaking…not of fear but of recognizing an enemy. Shaking as they prepared to fight until their deaths.
“HEROES! THE NOMUS ARE HERE!!” The hole above opened wide revealing Cementoss as dozens of heroes jumped down and, without question, engaged the nomus in combat. Chaos took over as the sound of ripping, shouting, flesh on flesh forced itself into everyone’s ears.
Horrific sounds were made as the heroes began ripping, beating, and slaughtering their way into the seemingly endless nomus…they were hiding something. They were hiding something deep within the place. Unfortunately, he had a good guess of what it was.
‘Endeavor, 8 Pro Heroes have gone missing in the last week alone’ Nighteye had told him
‘So?’
‘We fear that GrandLine is taking extreme action…you know villain activity has reached its all time low’ Nighteye explained ‘And we know from Hawks’ message that creating those apples takes bodies’
‘No…they wouldn’t! Even they wouldn’t do that…right?’ His hate from GrandLine growing…did they really take one of their own??
‘I’m afraid of what we might find in there Endeavor. But you must not lose your focus. Even with my gift, I cannot see what lies beyond the darkness’
“FlashFire Fist!” Another nomu was crushed under his fist as he lead the charge forward. Bringing light to the darkness…yes, that was his duty. That was what he had to do as a hero.
Several more of those abominations replaced the one he had just killed as they crawled out from the walls. These ones seemingly more intelligent as they tried to scurry around him and the heroes following behind him.
“I got this, hahahaha!” Mirko, the rabbit hero, jumped into combat as she began to exchange fists with the new arrivals.
“krrr…” “krr….!”
“Just how many of these damn things did GrandLine make??!!” Gang Orca said from behind him as he duplicated himself once again. He would need all the manpower he could get his hands on.
“Hmmph! I’ll end this in one go and we’ll charge in! IGNITED ARROW!” He pulled his right arm back as he charged his flame to its highest before he released the infernal right into the narrow corridor.
“GO TO HELL!!” The fire momentarily burned green from the temperature as the endless horde of nomus hiding within were reduced to ashes. “Huff…huff” He could feel the uncomfortable heat building up within himself as his quirk overcharged.
“Go Go GO!!” He roared at the heroes as they rushed past him and into the darkness. There was something there…there had to be!
‘Miss Charlotte, what exactly is Operation Fog & Sun?’ Kyudai asked
He collected his breath as he tried, fruitlessly, to cool himself as he took another step forward. Plus Ultra…go beyond. He was not the only one that was suffering…as the Top Hero, it was his responsibility to lead…lead by example.
“Goo! Find out what they’re hiding! Bring them all to light!” Dozens more rushed past him as he struggled to follow.
‘Well Kyudai, It is only the first of the operations which will lead us to victory. Fog & Sun…we will leave false information for the Heroes to sniff. Spread the rumors ourselves, encourage the hate they have for us. It’ll leave them blind even in the lights.
A room filled with light emerged at the end of the long hallway as they were greeted by a large open area. High ceilings and smooth marble-like walls. Medical supplies and machinery thrown all over the place…but the only thing that entered his eyes, or anyone with him, was the patient tied to the bed.
‘We are outnumbered Kyudai. Through manpower and firepower. We can’t shave them off bit by bit otherwise the war would be over by then. They need to reach…over extend, over invest, put their trust in something.’
He knew who was tied to the bed. A Hero…A HERO??!!! HOW DARE THEY…HOWDARE THEY!!
“ROCKLOCK!” He roared as he ran over to the side of the bed before trying to bust off the straps that held the pro-hero to the bed. RockLock, on the other hand, looked terrified as he resisted with everything he had.
‘So we’ll leak that we took one of theirs. Hand over a couple of sources and they’ll rush into it like sharks smelling blood…not realizing that it’s their own’
As the straps refused to budge, he tried to burn it away. Little by little, the strap began to burn away. As it weakened, one of the other heroes removed the mouthpiece as RockLock gasped, breathless.
His first words?
“RUN!!! IT’S A TRAP!”
‘Let’s booby trap the bodies, shall we? What should we add on you…’ Kyudai pondered, standing over the bound hero.
‘Ah yes…two explosion quirks, a self destruct to power, and a mea amplification to make sure’
It was too late. Just as he burned away the bindings, RockLock glowed a strange shade of red, bloating like a balloon, as his skin stretched unnaturally until even he could feel the heat radiating off of the hero.
“RUN!!!” His instincts warned him that this…this was not something that was supposed to happen.
Too late.
*BOOOOOOOOM*
An explosion much like the atomic bombs in the 21st century shook Japan (again. AN: Sorry) as the entire building was torn apart in moments, followed by the entire neighborhood and town.
Everything the light touched, it burned away. Hundreds of heroes…gone in a flash. Thousands of lives…extinguished in an instant. Any signs of life was one with the ashes…except for the very few…very few who held onto their very lives, having been fortunate or unfortunate enough to have been blessed with heat based quirks…having to endure the pain as the radiation burned away everything they knew.
Himself, Endeavor, being one of the few that managed to survive, was on his knees…barely alive. His entire body was black from the burns as the fire that once raged on his body was reduced to mere flickers.
He looked around him as the friends, his comrades, the heroes, that were with him were reduced to nothing but shadows. Shadows of panic, shadows of pain, shadows of what they used to be just moments before.
Perhaps the one upside in this madness was that he was not the only one alive…other heroes, less than 10, had held onto their lives by a thread. Enduring not through their strengths but their mutations.
Strangest and eeriest of all was that RockLocks’ corpse was still there…burnt and unmoving but still very much alive. The man, using all he had left, turned his head to face him as he whispered his last words.
It was not Sorry or Thank You.
‘Let’s add one more shall we?’ Kyudai told the broken hero. ‘Ahh, yes. This one will make a wonderful finisher. Repeat’
“Run…” The hero rasped out as his body began to glow red and bloat once again.
The following explosion wiped out any remaining life in the perimeter as high members of the GrandLine watched in satisfaction. The war had barely started and the tides had turned.
“Inform Miss Charlotte that her planned was perfectly executed. We will now be entering the second phase, begin operation Shock and Awe”