[Webby]

In the minutes before the conflagration...

OPERATION BABEL

The National Diet, Tokyo, Japan

11:30 AM ... Legislature in Recess

The doors opened and cameramen were already waiting to take pictures. This was typical, of course, but the showing was bigger than usual. Two persons led the procession down the steps to face the public. On the left was Minister Kato Yoshida, a middle-aged man with evidence of a slight mutation from the sharp ridges on his eyebrows. To his right was the ever-glowing Sonya Chernovna who smiled at him easily as they came to a stop.

"Thank you for coming to speak again," Minister Kato said in a low voice, "The Pro-Hero Party owes you another debt."

Sonya chuckled, "You hardly owe me anything, Minister Hosoda made quite the impassioned speech in opposition," She said with a dismissive shrug. "Lock arms with me."

He grunted in surprise as she took his arm and proceeded down the steps. He was used to a more dignified way of handling the press and had to recover from her more eccentric stylings. He cleared his throat, "Minister Hosada is an idiot, what good will the military do against domestic villains? He wants us to reduce hero authority back to post-metahuman liberation front levels."

"He makes a good point for the willfully complacent, though, it's been years since we've seen the villains do anything serious," Sonya pointed out as they neared the bottom. The cameras were flashing faster now. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek for the camera. "I have a party tonight, I'll smooth things over."

The minister nodded bruskly, "And about my-"

"You make sure the heroes get what they need, and we'll talk about funding for your election," Sonya said in a low voice, reporters were starting to call out to them. She brandished her widest smile, "ASTA Corporation is committed to assisting Hero Society in any way possible, if that means reaching out to our friends in the National Diet, so be it. Minister Kato here has been invaluable in this process! Give him your attention, not me," She said and stepped away to leave poor Yoshida to fend off the press.

A device buzzed in her purse and she pulled the thick-looking phone out, examining it. Her lips spread into a small smile, "I knew I could count on you, Loki dear," She said softly as she began to hammer out a message while security escorted her to her limousine. If it wasn't for Facade, or rather Loki, she couldn't have imagined this much success with the ENKI system. His programming skills were second to none.

A single message that would be the first shot fired in a new conflict.

---

Darlings! I have confirmation that ENKI is ready for the first full test of its systems. Run wild, dearies! Call in whatever you need, goons, weapons, transportation, it's all on us. I want to see fires in the city, banks gutted, mayhem, lets have a party in Tokyo today! While that's happening Loki and I have a pair of very special targets we want to be hit amidst the madness. 

You have twenty-four hours to enjoy yourselves. Noon tomorrow, the free services will end.

Kisses,

Ishtar

---

The message went out across the city in an instant. Villains from every level of society suddenly heard a pleasant chime. They'd see the message on their phones and the glowing buttons on their ENKI applications. Calling in transportation with the app was rather cheap, but free? One thin man with razor-like eyes and his ENKI control-ring pierced through his eyebrow tapped the transport button. No payment screen. A moment later he got an alert that a driver was on their way. His eyes widened.

He tapped the minions button...

[The South Kaneki Street Gang is on its way]

He reached into his backpack and pulled out the simple mask he used as a villain, a wild smile on his face. Even if it was just for twenty-four hours, he was going to live it up.

The same scene began to play out across the city.

A girl beneath a bridge got to her feet, her phone in hand, the white screen glowing.

A man in a cubicle turned away from the drudgery of his work and grasped the opportunity.

A bartender set down his rags and tossed aside his apron.

One by one, Villains, first in disbelief at the opportunity, began to draw on the resources given to them. Alarms began to sound. Shouts and screams. Breaking glass. Fire rose. Smoke. Operation Babel had begun.

Made by Zirnitra of Template HQ

[Rui Matsui]

Rui was driving but she wasn't sure where they were going, or rather, she was threatening a taxi driver with a gun and chilling in the backseat. ''That song isn't funny! Put another one on!'' She ordered as the driver fidgeted with the radio, hastily switching channels. Just then, Rui got a text from the ENKI app. Exciting things were on the horizon, what could it all mean?

''I'm not reading all that.'' She muttered, opting to have her phone read the message out loud to her. ''Hip-hop isn't funny! I want to hear birthday music!'' She shouted at the driver, before the message finally got to the most interesting part. ''Free?! That's my favorite price tag!'' She crawled up over the taxi driver's seat and started grabbing the steering wheel. ''Let me drive! I wanna get a pizza!'' A struggle for the control of the car ensued, eventually ending with the car slamming into a bank wall, sending Rui flying out the front window of the car and splatting onto the wall. It didn't take her quirk long to heal her as she stood back up, noticing that a group of people was already moving in on the bank. That was all well and good, but what about her pizza? The car was completely wrecked and the driver wasn't looking too good either.

''Oops, I think he's dead.'' She gave his shoulder a poke. He was definitely still alive, still conscious enough that she could save him, but she didn't really feel like it. Maybe if he had put on funny birthday music. Fetching her phone from the crash, Rui called up her bomb bestie. ''Retsu! Where are you? There's a party happening all over Tokyo!'' It was time to make plans.

Sonya Chernovna

[Bakiri Retsu]

There existed a great many ways to do harm or even kill. From the humble pointed stick to the almighty nuclear bomb humanity had spent millennia refining their methods to better redistribute the hurt. Of all those methods however Bakiri Retsu was convinced there wasn't a single one as evil as the spreadsheet. 

She scowled. It had been a mistake to take a role with a fancy title like 'Director of Minion Services'. Sure, it came with authority and really didn't sound any different than what she was already doing but she should've known it would come with more responsibilities. Any title that had more than three syllables in it wasn't one that was meant for her.

Perhaps if she'd known what she was doing she'd have been less annoyed but she'd simply received a vague text to 'get everything ready' and a follow up that just said 'everything.' when she was about to send one back. Whatever it was for it'd certainly gotten the message across and Retsu wasn't about to question her bosses, as much as her knee-jerk reaction demanded it. She'd seen what they could do. Risking having that turned her way wasn't exactly in the plans...

...yet. Jury was still out on the whole 'listening to others' thing.

Either way it wasn't even noon yet and she was tired already. It was partially because of her but there were way more 'employees' under her than she thought there were. Enough in fact that she understood the need for elaborate spreadsheets, even if she wanted to burn the entire system to the ground. Seriously, how did this program even work? Probably sensed she didn't have the right degree and actively worked to hinder her. A low growl escaped her throat. This day was absolutely the worst one she'd had in a long time.

Then the clock hit twelve and another message came in.

A deep laugh resounded throughout the workshop. This was the best day she'd had in a long time! Taking to her task with renewed energy she kept one eye on her phone -which did slow down her work as she couldn't type blind- and occasionally tapped it to set things up for her own rapidly forming plans. Luckily it didn't take her all too long to finish the final parts of her set-up. It wasn't that much of a problem anyway if not everyone was prepared, right? 

She had calls to make and as it seemed, at least one call to receive.

------

Tags: Sonya Chernovna Rui Matsui

 

[Taro Yamada]

GAME ON!

HP: ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100/100

What a strange little device Taro ended up getting his hands on. A phone with only one app, that only functioned when he had a ring unique to himself on him. And even then, the majority of its features were locked. Something about the whole thing being in its testing phases still, so its physical distribution was only part of its initial setup. Wack.

But it was fine. He signed up and entered the services he could provide before ignoring it altogether, continuing his life as he did. It wasn't until he smashed his sword into another windshield one day that something in his pocket beeped. He dug into his pocket for his phone.

Expect it wasn't his burner that was chiming. It was ENKI.

With curiosity piqued Taro sat on the hood of the car he was breaking and opened the app. A message that signified free services. Twenty-four hours of mayhem with paid endorsements. Then there was another ping.

Then another. And another.

Several calls for his own aid were made, all waiting for his response. Titles, descriptions, time, rewards. Kinda like a quest system. A scream emanated across the parking lot he resided in as he read through each one with a smile. Choosing to accept a few, he hopped off the car and ran.

Time to get to work.

Bakiri Retsu Rui Matsui Sonya Chernovna

[Demura Kano]

 

- LOCATION -

"It means fearless."

Blip.

A notification went off in his helmet's earpiece, the chime an alert set to Heroes Landing for nearby incidents.

Blip. Blip.

Two more went off by the time Demura had navigated his motorcycle on a route to intercept a robbery in progress.

Blip. Blip. Blip.

Several more now as he slammed his fist into the hood of the getaway vehicle, destroying its engine and stopping the would be criminals in their tracks. He reached through the windows of the car and tore them out, throwing the pair into a third who'd made a break for it with the bags of stolen loot, causing the lot to crumple into a disabled heap.

Blilblipblipblipblipblipblipblipblip.......

The pings started to blur together into a constant tone, but by this point he didn't need it. Screams of distress, the sounds of mayhem brewing, and smoke rising into the sky from different parts of the city gave him all the indications he'd needed. Something was happening. Something terrible. He moved towards one of the thugs on the ground and lifted them up. "What the hell is going on?" The thug simply smiled through his bruised face, a chuckle bubbling up from his throat as Demura realized too late that he had his phone in his hand, and that he'd been messaging someone. He quickly crushed the device, before tossing him back to his associates, and flagging down a pair of officers to handle them.

A call came through on his own device.

"Thing's are getting active on my route." Nightingale said.

"Same here. Get in contact with Spitfire and the dispatch. See if-" His words were cut short as a building down the street suddenly exploded into a fireball, followed the sight of half a dozen masked men streaming into it. "Go where your needed. I'll handle things on my side. We'll rendezvous later. Dauntless out."

In the distance, he could see rubble begin to fall from the building, threatening the disoriented civilians who tried to flee to safety. Whisps of energy would trail behind Demura as he closed the distance in seconds, catching a larger chunk and shoving it off to the side. But as soon as he began to assist the civilians, the group of thugs would begin exiting the building themselves, wielding equipment and weaponry nearly impossible to acquire for low life's like them. One of them aimed what could only be described as a hand cannon, and fired it, the round catching him by surprise at the force behind it, sending his body tumbling backwards into a building.

Demura flicked the crumpled round off his body, though noted the mark it'd left.

"Alright. Game's over. You're done here." It wasn't the time for questions. It was time for hero work.

Taro Yamada, Bakiri Retsu, Rui Matsui, Webby

JUNIER of GS + Adox

[CHIRP ♪♪]

FADE IN:

EXT. TOKYO — NOON

The day’s quiet.

Gabriel spends most of his morning in his small, messy apartment. Cables and wires litter the floor as he connects and disconnects various cameras, reviewing footage for one of his most recent projects. Next to him is a series of interfaced radios primed for police broadcasting. He keeps an ear open for any news as he submits an assignment for his online UAU class. Mornings are usually like this.

GABRIEL
(putting down his camera)
I’m thinking an early lunch…

He joins a chatroom before leaving for the kitchen. He returns with a sandwich and more pings than he’d like to scroll through. Gabriel enters the voice chat.

CHIRP ♪♪
(voice filter, mouthful)
Whahappen?

More pings. A series of criminal activities seemed to have spawned all at once. Mass mobilization. No connection in sight. His radio goes wild and he slams down the volume so as to not alert his neighbors. It’s never this active.

CHIRP ♪♪
(voice filter)
Rendezvous at the square. I’ll monitor section 1. Full reports expected.

He disconnects.

[Farrin]

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I

'm no' so sure 'bout this one, bud. Still thinkin' that other place, Dougie's, was the best so far," Farrin chirped to Zen as they vacated the latest pizza place on their list. The pizza prowl was an ongoing mission for the two New Yorkers, ever searching for the best slice in Japan. Farrin was pretty set on the NY-style joint he had just mentioned. None others had lived up so far. Still, the search continued. 

 The two were a ways out from campus still. The city was dense with traffic. People too. The collective heat shimmered and waved under a beating sun. An array of obstacles that would slow the students on their return trip. Well, that and the fact that Farrin wasn't really supposed to use his quirk off campus unless necessary.

"I'm givin' this place a five outta-" 

The incontestable rating trailed into the wind, cut off just as the two students were along the sidewalk by a car roaring before crashing into the building just beside them. An agonizing shriek bellowed from the vehicle accompanied by a spreading flame and debris that whipped into the air. 

"Ah shite, let's get 'em outta there," Farrin waved Zenkai along and sprinted toward the vehicle. 

Farrin peeled the door on the driver's side away. Within, the driver lay unconscious. The passenger, however, was bloodied and screaming. While Zenkai handled the passenger, Farrin pulled the driver out. 

"C'mon, we gotta get these two ta'-" 

Again Farrin was cut off, this time by the crack of firearms fire. Two thugs smashed the window of a nearby store, jumping inside. Further down the street, one fella with a reptilian quirk was spitting fire every which way. Chaos. Complete and utter chaos. 

"What the bleedin' hell is goin' on?" Farrin muttered. "Let's get these two inside n' see if anyone else needs some help."

[attr="class","FarrinLeft"][attr="class","fa fa-cog"] Symbol of Heroism [attr="class","fa fa-cog"]

[attr="class","FarrinQuote"]Even if it's already been decided. Even if it's set in stone. I'll smash that future!

[attr="class","FarrinBot"][attr="class","fa fa-cog"] Tags: Zenkai Hatake
[attr="class","fa fa-cog"] Notes: Write Notes Here

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[Zenkai Hatake]

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[attr="class","ZenkaiImage]

[attr="class","ZenkaiTitle"]Throughout Heaven And Earth [attr="class","ZenkaiSubtitle"]I Alone Am The Honored One [attr="class","ZenkaiTags"]Farrin [attr="class","ZenkaiNotes"]

[attr="class","ZenkaiExposition"]Zenkai let out a frustrated sigh as he continued to chew on his pizza. They were desperate for a good ol' slice to remind them of their home town but eat stop along the pizza prowl made that hope a little more dim. The last spot they went to was probably the best so far. The current one they were leaving had a lot to be desired. Their crust was weak, their sauce was bland, their cheese to sauce ratio was wack, and he wasn't about to get started on the mouth feel. It was a sham to call it pizza but it would do as sustenance.

"Four out o-" Zenkai was cut off mid reply as the car swerved out of control and crashed into a nearby wall. Of course there had to be something going wrong on their day off. Of course they'd have to play at being hero during the middle of their hunt. At least it was just some people getting hurt and not like a villain rampage or anything.

The golden boi sighed and for the first time in forever, dropped the so-called "Pizza" before running over to handle the screaming passenger. Of course he'd be left to deal with the annoying one. Zenkai smiled politely as he ripped the car door from its frame, tossing it to the side. "Chill out ma'am, we've gotchya"

Zenkai was just in the middle of extracting the massager when he hears the sound of glass shattering. Looking up the monkey king spotted two thugs looting a store, a problem they definitely didn't want to deal with. Acting like heroes on patrol was one thing but doing it without the schools permission was a whole other story, especially when quirks got involved. For now it would be best to get everyone to safety and let actual heroes do the fighting. A lot less work on his behalf too.

"Yeah, let's park these two somewhere safe and evacuate the area. Hopefully their too busy stealing to want to deal with us."

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[Ghouligan]

CUT TO:

EXT. TOKYO — 11:54 AM

Antoine leaves a bank. There are people scattered across the floor. A massacre. His phone rings. It's BERNARD. He presses against his shoulder — bullet wound. Then, he picks up the phone.

BERNARD
How’s my favorite security guard on this lovely Japanese morning?

ANTOINE
(groans)
Boundaries, Bernard. I’ve got seven minutes.

BERNARD
Well, that’s not true.

ANTOINE
Six minutes. Whatever.

BERNARD
Four, but listen. It’s a bad day for business.

ANTOINE
Bad day for business?

BERNARD
There’s a storm comin’. Big storm.

ANTOINE
You said it’s a lovely Japanese morning.

BERNARD
Lovely mornin’. Awful afternoon. So, we’re closin’ early!

ANTOINE
Alright, I guess.

BERNARD
Are you still at the bank?

ANTOINE
Just finished up.

Beat.

ANTOINE
Can I grab a Fat American Burger before I go?

BERNARD
Lunch is almost over. You didn’t eat?

ANTOINE
It’s for Megumi.

BERNARD
I’ll serve it up myself. You have three minutes. Toodles!

Antoine hung up the phone and continued to apply pressure to his shoulder. Bernard wasn’t normally like this. What the hell was going on today?

---

Ghouligan