Chapter 36: Debrief

Summary: The class gets news on all that has happened, and Nighteye makes his first appearance.

Chapter 36: Debrief

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It had taken almost an hour before an exhausted looking Midnight arrived at the Group A Heroics classroom. She wasn't the first member of staff to appear. One of Recovery Girl's assistant nurses had reached them only moments after they'd arrived. With help from Izumi and Momo, the nurse had tended to the various abrasions, minor lacerations, and burns. Two students, Ojiro and Aoyama, had been wounded enough to be sent to the medical department via bot. Asui, who had suffered from frequent proximity with the fires of the nastiest of the villains, had been taken to said department straight from the scene. Though the nurse had been able to assure them reports on UA's network stated she would be alright, before the nurse herself had to leave to help elsewhere.

Then had come the waiting. Which would have been much worse, if they hadn't still been in their hero gear with access to the HSN, as well as a substantial delivery of food from UA's robots. External communications had been cut by UA's own security, but with Izumi and Momo's admin access to the HSN, they had been able to check on Group B and the overall situation. Group B had several of their own injured, but hadn't been as in the thick of it as Group A had been. They'd also had Vlad King with them the entire time. Though without matching powerhouses to Momo and Izumi, five of their own were in the medical wing. At least only one was in serious condition, and Tetsutetsu was expected to pull through once his Quirk recovered. He was only in such a bad way at the moment because his steel had been literally warped and melted by another copy of the flame villain.

The good news, such as it was, unfortunately came with some bad news as well. There had been fatalities. A few non-heroics students, three older heroics students, and at least one of the pro-hero teachers. There were quite a few injured as well, with many having been sent on to various hospitals in the area if they weren't critical or from the Heroics department. Even worse, Izumi and Momo's access had been sufficient to breech the security cordon around UA and reveal that UA hadn't been the only target. Ketsubutsu and Seiai had both suffered similar, albeit much smaller, attacks. News from them was limited even on the HSN, but from what they did know…it didn't look good.

When Midnight finally arrived, several students had to be nudged awake. Most were suffering from Quirk Exhaustion of some sort, though a few had simply cried themselves to sleep as the shock set in. Once they were all up and focused, Midnight sighed, ran a harassed hand through her disheveled hair, and started speaking.

"First off…thank all of you for the amazing job you did. If you hadn't held Building E so effectively, this would have been much worse than it was. The villains completely ignored the training grounds and Heroics buildings, zeroing in on the general student population. As Building E was the closest to the eastern wall, you actually got a much bigger chunk of the attack than anyone else, save those that headed to the wall itself. Reinforcements were slow to reach you because, frankly, you were doing so well that we had little choice but to leave Building E to you while the staff retook the wall and shut the portals down with portable jammers. Those few older students who weren't out on work-studies were set to seek and destroy on the leakers that got deeper into the campus, while Vlad King and Group B protected Building D."

Midnight let that sink in for all of them. It was…a lot to take in. They all felt a stirring of pride that they'd apparently done so well, though that was mixed with fear that the attack had been so large in the first place that UA had needed to prioritize like that. Just as that seemed to be penetrating for a lot of them, Midnight confirmed it.

"Early estimates placed the total number of cloned villains that attacked at over 700. Given how many the turrets took down in the initial wave, and how many All Might took out before being engaged by more Nomu, that estimate is almost certainly low. By as much as half. Worse, as I'm sure Izumi and Momo have made you aware, two of our fellow schools were attacked as well."

That was…that was a really hard number to swallow. Admittedly, between the entire first year heroics department, the staff, and any upper years that had been on campus, there had probably been upward of 100 defenders. Plus the turrets and robots. But still 700…or over a thousand if Midnight was right by how off that estimate was.

"As horrible as it is to say, I should warn you now…UA got off lightly. Seven dead in total, with another 43 wounded seriously enough to need hospitalization at least overnight. Ketsubutsu and Seiai do not have defenses of the same fashion we do, not being old enough to have been around during the Era of Chaos which demanded them. Ketsubutsu has already reported over 30 dead, including five heroes and three heroics students, and that number is expected to rise. Seiai is smaller and easier to defend, with only heroics and support courses. But they still have at least 15 dead, including a hero and two heroics students."

Gasps, sobs, and choked sounds of disbelief were heard throughout the room, with Midnight seeming to age before their eyes as she took in their reactions.

"To be blunt, it looks like the attack on UA was meant to pin down any effort for All Might or UA to respond to the other attacks. Both of which had at least two Nomu…and several real villains as well, instead of just clones. Many of the dead at Ketsubutsu are the result of an escaped serial killer named Moonfish being dropped into the mess via portal. Seiai's hero death was the result of a known A-rank villain named Muscular. Moonfish was killed, but Muscular escaped."

More sounds of distress echoed through the room, seeming to age Midnight even farther. She closed her eyes for a long moment, took a deep breath, and looked at least a little better when they opened again.

"All of you will be staying overnight. Your parents have been contacted and, for those able to, will be here this evening to meet with you. If, after this, you intend to stay in the Heroics Course, you will be strongly encouraged to move into the new on-campus housing. Arrangements are being made to offer whatever protection we can to your families as well, though the details of that are unknown at this time. You are also strongly advised to set another appointment for counseling. This is well beyond what you should have needed to deal with as First Years. All of you did amazingly, but you aren't pros yet, and it would be more disturbing if you didn't have a negative reaction to this than if you did. Please keep that in mind."

There was no new distress, at least, with that last announcement. Several people looked contemplative, a few looked worried, but none looked to be taking the suggestion poorly. Midnight nodded in approval, then spoke to the group as a whole one last time.

"Okay, time to get out of those costumes. Your regular changing rooms are open, so go get cleaned up. When you're done, head to Cafeteria A. More food is available and that's where parents will be directed as they arrive. You're also now free to contact your families, but do not mention any details about the attack. There will be a press conference in a few hours, and we want to keep a lid on exactly what happened until we have a more complete idea of the damages. Understood?"

There were nods and voiced acknowledgements from around the room, even as everyone slowly picked themselves up and began to exit. Midnight, however, had one more thing to say, though not to the class as a whole.

"Yaoyorozu, 2B, and Midoryia, report to the Dean's office once you change. Your early warning beat out UA's own and Nedzu wants to debrief you."

The two of them glanced at each other, then nodded at Midnight. There was almost certainly more to it than that, but they could wait and find out from the dean himself...

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There was, in fact, obviously more to it than that. Something that was made obvious by the fact that a deflated Yagi was in the room, along with an old man Izumi only recognized as Gran Torino from the pictures Momo had shown her from her internship. Perhaps even more telling was the cold, indifferent presence of the very-recognizable Sir Nighteye. Despite their presence, it was still Nedzu's domain, and he was the one to greet them.

"Excellent. You came quickly. First, before any introductions or getting the actual purpose of this meeting, let me say thank you. Both of you went above and beyond, not just in holding off the bulk of the attack on Building E yourselves, but in spending the time and effort to build up the rest of your Group. Without the work you've put into making your classmates far more formidable, many more may have died today. You've done such a good job, in fact, that we are planning to try getting your input on Group B sooner or later. The Hatsume girl has already been set to that task as a preliminary."

Izumi was uncomfortable with the praise, but knew better than to wave it off. Momo simply accepted it, let it wash over her, and then past her. Accepting it without dwelling on it. Neither of them preened, but the sincere thanks from the Dean lifted a tiny bit of pressure from their shoulders. Seeds of self-doubt that maybe they could have done more vanishing at his words. Nedzu wasn't one to pull punches, after all. The chimera seemed to see the lifting weight, nodded silent acknowledgement of it, and smoothly moved on. He waved a paw at first the old man, then Nighteye.

"I'm sure you already know him by sight, Ms. Midoriya. But for politeness sake, this is Gran Torino. You both also undoubtedly recognize Sir Nighteye. Along with Recovery Girl and Detective Tsukauchi, who are currently busy for very obvious reasons, this small group makes up virtually all of those who are aware of One for All. More people know of All for One, but even that number is somewhat restricted. A problem, given his massive change in tactics."

Izumi grimaced, already having realized the same thing that Nedzu was likely driving at.

"Do you mean the swarm tactics, the open and blatant actions, or both?"

Nedzu frowned, even as he waved Momo and Izumi to a pair of chairs that had been turned to face half halfway between his desk and the couch and wall where the others were leaning or resting. He poured both of them tea, blends he knew were their respective favorites, even as he answered.

"Both, of course. Though the open action is honestly the more concerning. Particularly as it does too good a job of hiding old activity in the chaos."

Momo made an inquisitive sound, even as she accepted her tea. Nedzu sighed and explained.

"The press conference in a few hours will reveal several things, but what it won't say is that the attacks on our fellow schools were different in more ways than just size and the presence of some non-cloned and non-Nomu villains. What only the families involved are being informed of is that many students with particularly strong Quirks were kidnaped instead of killed. Analysis?"

Momo and Izumi both paled, minds racing at the implications. Izumi beat Momo to speaking. The benefits of having a supercomputer for a brain.

"Fuel. Wanting more Quirks for himself is always possible, but there's no reason to be so blatant about it if that's what he wanted. Better to make them vanish under unknown circumstances so no one knows what's in his collection. But, if he wants to enhance his own forces, it makes sense. More Quirks for his Nomu, and possibly a few as bribes for useful subordinates…"

Izumi trailed off, but Momo added another point.

"There's also the dual possibilities of recruitment/subversion and the unknown control method of the clones. While the clones showed individuality, if they are subject to orders from the Quirk that made them, simply producing copies of someone with a useful Quirk and ordering them to attack might help bulk up his numbers even farther."

Everyone blinked at that, frowns appearing on every face. It was Sir Nighteye that actually spoke up.

"That…isn't something we had considered, given that we managed to ID the Quirk likely to have made the clones. But it can't be dismissed, since it's always possible that All for One gave Twice a complimentary Quirk. His original Quirk was a known quantity, or so we thought. No one had any idea it was capable of this sort of scale. Which may mean he was given more Quirks…or turned into a Nomu."

His cold demeanor, which had oddly seemed focused mostly on Momo, had thawed just slightly at the observation. It still wasn't exactly warm, but whatever his damage was, now wasn't the time to figure it out. Particularly as Nedzu, who had nodded along with that observation, was speaking again.

"Good points, all. The problem is what we do about any of it. As well as what made him change tactics like this. He's always sought control from the shadows before now. Which was much less…wantonly destructive, if just as vile."

Izumi had an answer for that, or at least a piece of one.

"Shigaraki. I don't think either this or the Nagyoa attack were All for One's direct doing. At the USJ, Shigaraki ranted about bringing down the Era of Heroes to Midnight. If All for One is using him as a figurehead and letting him pursue his own goals, then we might be dealing with some sort of unholy mix of terrorist and anarchist. Someone who just wants the world to burn until whatever he hates most is gone."

Torino leaned forward at that, speaking for the first time.

"He was that unstable? All for One is bad, but someone with All for One's backing and no actual goal, just destruction…"

There were grim faces all around. Unfortunately, it also fit what they were seeing, something that Momo pointed out with another addition.

"Meanwhile, All for One is free to move exactly how he normally does, in the background. Shigaraki is almost perfect for him, a big noisy distraction we have to deal with, while All for One does whatever he wants in the shadows of that distraction."

Nedzu sighed and poured himself more tea.

"That seems entirely too likely. Unfortunately, it will take time and investigation work to find a target to hit. Which is why we brought Nighteye in. He and I were the brains behind rooting out All for One's network the first time. Given your own mental abilities, and especially 2B's, I intend to start teaching the two of you how to do that sort of thing when we can manage to find the time. For now, there are two points to hit before we let you two go rest."

They nodded. As much as they wanted to dive right in, they both knew they needed time to rest and process. Physically, neither of them were particularly tired. Mentally, both of them were wrung out.

"First, as Midnight already should have mentioned, we will be pushing for the dorm system to be used by as many students as possible. UA proved to be able to repel this scale of attack from a cold start, and if there is another, it won't be from a cold start. This attack gives me more than enough leverage to renew and upgrade some of the old active defenses. As much as I'd prefer you both to be included, your previous arguments are, unfortunately, valid. Did you at least get the Midoriya penthouse upgraded?"

They both nodded but didn't expound on what they'd done. Not all of it was strictly legal and Nighteye was an unknown, given how he was still half glaring occasionally at Momo. Thankfully, Nedzu didn't press for details.

"Good. I'd suggest you randomize your arrival and departure routes, as well as which residence you spend your nights at. But, aside from that, it's probably best we keep you out of sight, anyway. The second piece of news, you see, is that Ketsubutsu was badly enough hit that they are shutting down their heroics department for the time being. Due to the mostly friendly rivalry we've had with them, they reached out to us and UA has agreed to fold their remaining students and staff into our curriculum for the time being. This, unfortunately, means there will be people on campus I haven't fully vetted to my satisfaction. The courses will be kept separated, but the possibility of someone compromised slipping in is non-zero. I would like 2B to keep an eye on their digital footprint for the time being, if she is willing."

Izumi cocked her head to the side. 2B had chosen not to be physically out in a Pod or Doll-Form while Izumi's QE recovered, but she'd been paying full attention through Izumi's senses.

"She's agreed. Unofficially, of course."

Nedzu chuckled at that line, since asking 2B to effectively spy on people when Izumi wasn't even licensed was certainly questionable. Thankfully, it also seemed to be something the others had already talked over, with even Nighteye only nodding approval of the idea. Probably because it didn't involve Momo. Seriously, why was he still half-glaring at her? Well, that would have to be a question for later, given that Nedzu quickly wrapped up their portion of the meeting. As they headed home, they couldn't help but stare a bit bleakly at the damage to UA's campus. It could all be fixed, quite easily in fact. But that didn't help them feel better. The fact that the enemy had breeched so far into the main campus at all was a worrying sign…

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A/N 1: I've not a big fan of Nighteye, but I don't intend to bash him. He's just going to be the same asshole he was in canon, only more obviously so.