Chapter 18: Mission Start
Manami handed me the last things I needed from her, which came in the form of a simplistic piece of paper, which I promptly devoured. As the information filled my mind, I let out a low hum.
Dabi and Manami looked at me silently, Manami's eyes filled with worry while resolve filled Dabi's.
I mulled over a few adapted plans before slowly nodding.
"I think we can still do it, but we've got some good news and bad news," I nodded, receiving a soft sigh from the tensed Manami. "Which one first?"
"Y'know, it's cliché, but just give me the bad news first," Manami sighed, receiving a soft nod from Dabi.
"Alright. Bad news: the Ultraphone has several layers of defense that, while we know about, can't do a whole lot about. Well, that's if we follow the original plan," I informed my allies.
"Okay, so what's the plan you have in mind?" Dabi asked me, leaning towards me.
"That's the good news. There's a control center that is home to several of the securities for the Ultraphone. Manami, Dabi, if you two can get into the control center quiet enough and disable the security that will automatically stop the Ultraphone from being taken beyond the boundaries of the tower, we can start the plan," I nodded.
"You still think you can sneak in, even with a class of students there?" Dabi asked.
I nodded confidently.
"I think I'll be able to do this because a class of students are there. The manager will be busy, so he'll probably trust the 'transfer' to do what he's supposed to. Sucks that the pink-headed transfer has got plans to make his life temporarily suck," I shrugged. "I'll handle getting to the Ultraphone, and if you guys can disable the security, we'll get through this easily."
Dabi clicked his tongue.
"So our main mission is to stay unnoticed. I'm with Manami as back-up for the control center. Are we trying to get in right underneath their noses?" The ex-Todoroki asked.
I shook my head.
"That'll work for the Ultraphone, but we shouldn't risk it for the control center. Just knock them unconscious and call it a day. We don't want to risk them seeing Manami anyways," I told him, shrugging.
He nodded.
"We can't let the Ultraphone be used, because it'll be locked in place, so we'll need to extract it as quickly and quietly as possible. After we get it, we go straight to Manami's place and send the city a message," I told them.
Dabi let out a low grunt.
"It's simplistic, so when things inevitably go wrong, we'll just have to adapt, huh?" He asked, receiving a nod from me.
"We'll be ready to handle it when they go wrong. We'll keep in touch during the mission too, just in case we'll need to pull out mid-mission," I said.
"Okay but… there's been something on my mind. What are we going to do with the Ultraphone after the mission?" Manami asked, rubbing an imaginary beard in thought.
I blinked looking between my two allies.
"Did I… not mention that yet?" I asked, laughing nervously.
"No, no you didn't mention that!" Dabi huffed, rubbing his temples.
"Wait, you already have an idea? What are we going to do with the Ultraphone when we're done?" Manami asked, leaning forward with abrupt curiosity.
"Ah well… we'll return it," I shrugged.
My two friends looked at one another, blinking.
"Why… why would we return it?" Dabi asked, clearly trying to rein in his growing confusion.
"Why wouldn't we return it?" I counter-questioned him before continuing. "Our goal here isn't to take the Ultraphone and plunge the city into―probably momentary at worst―chaos. After sending our message, we'll―and by we, I mean me―secretly return the Ultraphone to the police department. They'll probably accept it. If not, eh, it's their problem at that rate."
"I guess… I guess that makes sense as far as things go. The risk of them tracing it back to me is especially void at that point," Manami added, agreeing with my idea.
"Let's run over the plan from the top."
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I walked up to the Ultraphone Tower, my heart thumping in my chest despite how much I wanted it to stop. I walked with my head held high, meeting the nonchalant gazes of two heroes I absolutely didn't want to fight.
[Giant of Heart and Body]
[Lv. 69]
[Yu Takeyama]
[Chosen Ent of Potential]
[Lv. 74]
[Shinji Nishiya]
"Card?" Shinji―God, it felt really weird to refer to him like that―asked me, not seeming particularly worried.
"Ah, yeah, here it is!" I fished around in my pockets as if I were nervous, just as the two Pro-Heroes had probably seen several dozen times before. I grabbed the card that looked just a bit beaten up and handed it over to Shinji.
"Ah, you're Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods, right? How you both debuted a few months ago was incredible!" I laughed, meeting Yu's suddenly focused gaze. It was as if her eyes shimmered with something between interest and delight.
"Yes, but who you are is more important! I've never seen you around here before," She sounded entirely interested and it took me a long moment to realize that she was flirting―oh my god―with me.
Well, I guess it was more of a result of my current face being attractive….
I didn't know exactly how to respond―certainly because of my total lack of any romantic mastery―but Kamui Woods saved me from embarrassing myself with an answer.
"Mt. Lady, focus. We're not here to flirt," Shinji's tone was serious, but he definitely didn't feel exactly how he was sounded. He handed my card back with a small nod.
"Aww, but look at him, he's adorable! Can't you see the potential storming inside of him?! He's got so much potential he could be the world's worst villain, and no one would know any better!" Yu yelled, pointing her finger accusingly in my face.
I let out a small awkward laugh― a small, truly insignificant part of me worried. A quick glance of her status screen told me that she was just joking, still, better to be safe than sorry.
Shinji sighed, "I'm sorry for her behavior. You can go inside."
"Ah, thank you!" I nodded to him, walking past the two with an entirely fake smile on my face.
I gave Mt. Lady a small wave as the automatic doors closed behind me, hopefully satiating her intense claims for me to come back and get her phone number.
I walked straight through the front door without anyone thinking twice.
-----
[Name: Minoru Mineta]
[Level: 28]
[Class: The Gamer]
[Title: The Dragon]
[HP: 3700/3700 (+20%)]
[MP: 3950/3950 (+25%)]
[Strength: 45 + 9 (20%) = 54]
[Vitality: 45 + 9 (20%) = 54]
[Dexterity: 29 + 5.8 (20%) = 34.8]
[Intelligence: 51 + 10.2 (20%) = 61.2]
[Wisdom: 50 + 10 (20%) = 60]
[Luck: 5]
[Status: Electricity Element Affinity 23, Water Element Affinity 10, Wood Element Affinity 5.]
[Points: 15]
[Yen: 27,000]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone