Chapter 26

I lasted for the rest of the time before Edgeshot decided to finish it with a blow to my liver that he had managed to sneak into my guard. The pain was almost unbearable.

"You're better than most. Good, you'll be a nice addition to the team."

I panted and rubbed the area over my liver as I listened to him.

"Come on, let's get patched up and show you where you'll be staying for the duration of your internship."

I was assigned one of the many rooms in Edgeshot's base of operations. The room had a queen sized bed, a dressing room, a tv, a bath and washroom and a sitting area. It was a suite!

Looking at the bandaged man, I asked, "At what time should I report tomorrow?"

Edgeshot replied, "5 am, sharp. Come with the mindset of a soldier. Being a professional isn't a job for hero wannabies with delusions of grandeur. It's only for those with enough will to do what's right. Our job is to save lives and prevent evil from affecting the civilians. This mission is a crucial one. A lot is at stake. Be fully aware of it."

I was a little taken aback at the serious deminour of him.

'Alright, chill a little dude! I'm playing ball!'

I sighed when he left and decided to take a bath. There were several bruises on my body, but, there was little pain, so, I thought I'd be fine. 'He held back.. I have a lot of room for improvement in unarmed combat.'

(APIBNHA)

Next morning.

I woke up at 4 am sharp, did some light workout and took a bath. Then, I made some bacon and eggs and ate them with toast. I was ready at the time Edgeshot had told me and was in the surveillance room at 5 am.

Edgeshot was already there. He nodded at me when he saw me walk through the door and said, "Good, you're here on time. We can now begin."

He pointed at the screen and said, "These are the docks of Odawara. It's a port famous for the fish that is caught by the fishermen. While missing boats are rare, it isn't worth our attention. Until this."

He pointed to the screen and I saw a few men climbing off the deck of a fishing boat.

"That boat disappeared two days ago. There are many factors that can cause the crew to get lost in the sea. Most of the times, the coast guard is able to locate them. It was the case here as well."

As the men were walking away from the boat, he stopped the video and pointed at the last four men who were carrying duffle bags with them.

"Those four are not part of the crew of that fishing boat. They are of different stature as well and they walk differently from your regular fisherman. Similar disappearances and reappearances have been recorded in the last month. Today, we will be investigating the docks. Phantasm, meet my sidekicks."

He pointed to the two standing behind him and said, "Spectrum, he has an occular quirk that allows him to see objects at different wavelengths of radiation. Incredibly useful at nights and to look for injuries inside a person. He can also see hidden weapons. The greatest part of his quirk is that you can never guess when he's going to use his quirk, unlike Eraserhead. He's gifted in close as well as ranged combat, so, you can trust him to have your back."

Pointing towards the female standing next to Spectrum, he said, "Tempest. Anger is her weapon, so, she's always calm. Whenever she gets angry, the emotion is turned into stored power. You may have read about a villain with an emotion based quirk as well. Unlike, Tempest, he used stress as his power. She is incredible at close combat. She can easily overpower ten 'Death Arms'. Any questions?"

Of course, I had only one question in my mind.

"You want me to tell you everything about my powers, right?"

Edgeshot nodded and replied, "Perceptive. Yes, now, tell us."

"I'm a human frog. Like a poison dart frog, I produce a poison. I can regulate the strength of that poison, from simple stunning to... death within minutes. I can even make my skin poisonous to touch. I can also adapt to rough conditions. That's how I developed fire and ice abilities. I have natural stingers in my knuckles made of cellulose, bone and muscle tissue. I also have vines that I can produce from my lateral muscles. I have superior strength and speed along with heightened senses. My voice box can produce sounds strong enough to break steel."

"... So, if you get electrocuted, you will develop electric abilities?"

I blinked at the question and took a tiny step back. "You're not... You're not going to electrocute me, are you?"

Edgeshot paused before replying, "... No."

"Hey! What was that pause for?!"

"Anyway..."

"Oi!"

"About the mission today..."

(APIBNHA)

I was paired with Tempest while Edgeshot took Spectrum with him and we split up.

"So.. From which university did you graduate, senpai?"

"Ketsubutsu."

"Not U.A. or Seijin?"

"It was closer to home. Spectrum went to Seijin."

I nodded and we silently sneaked around the docks, away from the eyes of the fishermen and the workers.

"Senpai, cover your ears as tightly as possible."

She complied without any questions and I used 'Supersonic' a few times to get a layout of the docks and the number of people that were present. Then, I whispered into the communication devices, "There are thirty civilians here. The northern side is relatively empty. Lots of workers in the warehouses on the south."

*BZZT*

"Alright. Spectrum and I will search the warehouses up north. Tempest and you will search the boats. Do no engage anyone. This is just a search mission."

"Got it."

As Edgeshot ordered, Tempest and I snuck to the boats and one by one, searched them for any contraband stuff. I would keep an eye out while Tempest thoroughly looked around the boats.

We could only keep it up for an hour before more people began coming to the docks.

"Edgeshot, we couldn't find anything suspicious on the boats. More people are coming so we have to abort."

*BZZT*

"Come to warehouse number 09. Make sure no one sees the two of you."

We did as told and it took usaround fifteen minutes to reach the warehouse. When we entered, we saw Edgeshot and Spectrum standing in front of numerous duffle bags.

"It's drugs. Check the bags and see if you can identify anything that may tell us about the origin of them."

We checked through the bags and I could see the tag of the manufacturing company. I called the three over and said, "The bags are from 'Use Daily'. It's an Australian brand. Could be that the drugs are from there, or, they left the brand name on to confuse anyone snooping around."

Edgeshot nodded and said, "You're right. We need to collect a small sample of the drug to know what it is exactly."

We had found the reason for the recent activity and we took a small sample in an air tight bag to be processed at a laboratory. There wasn't much we could do except wait for the results.

"Phantasm, tonight, Spectrum and you will be at the docks. Your mission is to capture the one bringing those drugs. Don't make too much noise. We don't know who is behind them."

I spent the rest of the day in preparation.

As the sun went down, Spectrum and I donned our gear and went to the docks again for the mission.

As we were at the outskirts of the docks, Spectrum said to me, "Phantasm, be swift, be silent. We cannot afford to alert anyone of our presence, understand?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

From the top of warehouse 09, we waited for the strangers to come with the duffle bags. No one came until one o'clock. And then, they arrived.

"Let's grab some beers after we're done here."

"We're working here, you cunt!"

"Who're you calling a cunt, you fucking lump of lard!"

"Hey! I'll off you cunts if you don't shut your fuckin' holes! Be quick!"

As I listened to them talk, all that came to my mind was, 'Yup, they're Australians alright.'

"Hey, I've got to take a piss!"

"Fuck! How much beer did you drink on the boat?!"

"... I wasn't payin' att'nfshn mate."

"This cunt is hammered! I told you not to drink while we're on the job!"

"Oh pish! Go back to the boat. I'll fffind it me own!"

The leader rubbed his head and said the the sober one, "Go with him."

As the two walked away, I looked at Spectrum and he nodded, signalling that it time to engage.

'Aerial ace.'

I was right in front of him within a second. Before he could even register, I used 'Stun spore' and the man went down like an empty bottle of beer. Then, I went to the other two and immediately knocked them out.

We brought the three back to Edgeshot's base and after some interrogation, we learned exactly who they were.

The 'Torres Taipans' or T-09. A branch of the most notorious Australian gang at that time. They specialized in narcotics and they had decided to expand to Japan.