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CHAPTER START---
---Japan, October 25th, 10 AM…
Standing in a massive warehouse, Horizon is on the third floor, leaning against the railing.
Beside him is President Pantu, and below them is the open floor filled with stacks of reinforced shipping containers.
The large doors opened, revealing the runway outside, and a few planes loaded with containers.
One of the foreign Pro Heroes walks around, checking the containers before loading them and leaving Japan.
A few others from different countries wait to do the same, feeling the immense pressure and trust their nation has placed on their shoulders by assigning them the task of securing this delivery."How much is all of this worth?" Pantu asks.
"Depends. Each container has enough to cure two hundred thousand people. How much is that worth?"
"All things considered, not much," she says.
"That's not the answer you're supposed to say."
"I'm a security director, not a politician. I make these decisions often."
"Is this the part where you ask me to charge for The Panacea?"
"No, I was merely curious about how much the current supply is worth. But as you said, we can't put a price on human life."
"True, but the people can decide that for us. We just control the supply and let them bid."
"And if they break the containers in transit?" Pantu asks, noticing how carefully everyone moves the containers. "Do you replace them?"
"No, every country gets a set amount, depending on the population. They're responsible for transportation and security. They get one shipment annually."
"Eventually, one of these countries may attack another for their supply. What then?"
"Then I make an example of them, and they get nothing for two years," Horizon says. "Examples must be made, and painful lessons are easy to remember."
"Geopolitical instability is the inevitable outcome. This could be disastrous."
Horizon chuckles. "An entire world begging for me to help them. What could be bad about that?"
"I'm not even going to humor that question."
"You're no fun."
"The bunker has enough for two more years after we send out this shipment, but people will want more."
"Not to mention the headache of distribution to the civilians, the politics of who gets to be first in line for treatment, and a million other things."
"Yes, I'm aware." She shakes her head. "Japan has a relatively unlimited supply and we still have problems deciding who takes the highest priority, and everyone is always upset."
"Imagine how that'll be when I leave."
"Is there a version of this where I don't have to?" she asks, looking at him.
He glances over at her momentarily, then focuses on the crates again. "No."
"Bad memories?"
"And half the population of Japan still hates me."
"23%, we take weekly surveys," she says. "You dropped a city on itself. After all, killing half a million people has negative lasting effects."
"Yeah, and all it took was me saving the world and making a miracle cure to get it that low, not to mention dropping the national crime rate below 0.2%...ungrateful fucks."
No one has ever accused the public of being smart; that's why we decide for them.
"Whatever, that's not even the worst thing I've done."
"Really?"
"Don't worry about it. You just deal with the public. That part isn't my job."
"Technically, it isn't my job either. My job is to manage the Pro Heroes of Japan, to manage you."
Horizon shakes his head, as if getting an unpleasant taste out of his mouth.
"It still feels weird when people call me that," he says.
"Because it's a lie?"
"Because it feels like there is some truth to it."
'That's new,' Pantu thinks as she doesn't detect any lies.
"Speaking of going to new places, Ryuko?"
Horizon stiffens for a moment. "Be specific."
"The cat."
"What about her?"
"She's scheduled to return to Japan in a few days, but someone extended her vacation multiple times beforehand."
"Just say what you mean?"
"Do you want to dispatch another security team to guard her?"
"No, my people can handle it. Besides, I'd rather not have your people that close to her."
"I'd never use her against you," Pantu says. "You barely have a heart. I don't want to threaten it. I have no intention of experiencing that side of you."
"Good, because I'm not sure what I'd do if you crossed that line," he says, and she's surprised by the uncertainty in his voice. "But it would be historic."
"We almost had a pleasant conversation, but you just had to ruin it."
"Well, this is the part where I stop pretending to be pleasant," Horizon leans back against the railing, now facing her. "I received the intel from Hawks."
"And?"
"And I found the person it points toward, but he's a judge, in Chile."
"You can't kill a judge. You can't even touch a foreign public official."
"Cellophane and Simon should be kidnapping him right now."
"So you aren't asking for permission, but for forgiveness."
"No, I'm giving you a heads-up, because I'm about to do everything within my power to get the answers out of him, without killing him, so you need to get started on the apology letters."
"For the record, I am ordering you not to kidnap, assault, and torture this man."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll call you before I start any more fires."
"You should contact Hawks when you arrive. He's still spying on them, and if they see your team take this man, Shigaraki could panic and reveal more information."
"I'll call him, now, I need to get out of here. They just got him to the safe house."
Horizon warps away, leaving Pantu along on the walkway to observe the shipments being loaded.
'Hopefully, this reveals more of the cards they're playing so I can properly adjust, or perhaps it will outright end the game,' Pantu thinks as she hopes for the best.
---Elsewhere…
Sitting on a moldy couch with his feet up in an abandoned airplane hangar, Dabi idly scrolls on his phone while Mr. Compress and Twice, the original body, sit at a small table nearby playing cards.
Standing along the opposite wall are three Nomu, one of which has a massive antenna protruding from its back.
And just outside the hangar is a cargo helicopter, fully stocked and ready for flight.
Dabi's phone rings, and he immediately answers, all but leaping out of his seat.
"Yeah, is it time?" He asks.
"It's time," Shigaraki says, and Dabi waves Twice and Mr.Compress over.
"How long do we have?" Dabi asks while walking toward the helicopter.
Twice falls into step beside him while Mr. Compress directs the Nomu to board with them before getting into the pilot's seat.
"My source says Horizon and his team are all in Chile right now. He'll get enough intel to lead him to Canada next."
"And we're sure he won't pop back over to Japan for a little check-up."
"I'm sure, the intel is time-sensitive," Shigaraki says as they all strap in. "You have as long as you can protect that Nomu."
"That will be plenty of time. The range on it should allow us to place it within Musutafu and still jam the signals in UA."
"Good, and remember, I won't be able to contact you until this is over."
"I know, and I'm not concerned about what happens after," Dabi ends the call as the engines start.
"So, what'd he say?" Twice asks.
"Horizon is far away, so once we block the signals, we've got all the time we need to play."
"It's a shame we couldn't bring more Nomu," Twice says. "Him being able to sense everything is such a jerk move. I thought villains were supposed to have the cheat codes."
"Haven't you seen the news lately?" Mr. Compress asks as they ascend into the air. "Horizon is a villain. The only difference is the people cheer for him."
"Doesn't matter, just stick to the plan," Dabi says, looking directly at Twice. "Don't get carried away, got it?"
"Yes sir," Twice salutes him. "All I have to do is use my Quirk on the attack Nomu to create a distraction, then go find Kurogiri in the main building."
"That's our escape route, so let nothing distract you," Mr. Compress says. "I'll be making a name for myself by stealing the most valuable thing in the world. Principal Nezu, come get me as soon as you're done with Kurogiri."
"On the roof, right?" Twice asks, and Mr. Compress nods. "What about you, Dabi?"
"Don't bother coming back for me. Just get out of there. I'm on a different type of mission."
With that, Dabi takes out his phone and sets a timer to automatically upload some documents.
He then leans back and closes his eyes, smiling, thinking about the aftermath of the pain and death he aims for.
END CHAPTER---
Currently using feedback to trim some parts of the story, if anyone has more feedback please let me know. I'm always trying to improve :)