Chapter 182 - Slaughter 2/2
Inside the computers were dry, but the men and women behind the screens were not.
"Where are my Heroes ?", asked Pantu sternly
She was leaning against a table, palms flat on it, face severe.
Before her, a large monitor showed an aerial view of the city.
Red dots scattered across Tokyo showed the Nomus they had found and whose locations they could more or less accurately pinpoint.
A total of thirteen.
And All Might was on the other side of the country.
"Mirko is now in Shinjuku"
Pantu lifted her head from the main monitor. She looked at the row of computers in front of her and at the man sitting behind one of them.
The official's stiff shoulders loosened, the tension easing from his body.
Even though no one spoke she saw the palpable relief caused by having one of the Top Ten Heroes on the scene.
Pantu herself, though still frowning, loosened her jaw a little.
"How many Nomus ?", she asked.
The man in front of her hurriedly tapped away at his computer.
"Three, according to the Heroes evacuating the area. And they're all together"
The news darkened the faces.
Pantu was unfazed, her mind racing through the options she had.
Outside, on the roof, someone was running, his boots thumping characteristically on puddles.
Pantu turned before he could cross the threshold.
Wind and rain rushed in.
Behind him, the building where Hawks and Dabi had fought was clashing against the stormy sky. It's access had been shut by the Commission's agents.
Pantu and her team had hurried to the roof of the building adjacent to get a better vantage point over the capital.
Panting, the man wasted no time catching his breath:
"We have confirmation that Endeavor and his son have successfully intercepted All for One not far from Shibuya," he said. "It seems that their fight is pushing all three of them towards Minato"
Pantu was already mulling over her pawns, the potential combinations she could make, the inevitable conflicts and the risks they would all face.
Minato was densely populated, but far less so than Shibuya.
She would have to rely on Endeavor and wonder boy to keep All for One in check while the other Heroes got rid of the Nomus.
She hoped she wasn't overestimating the teenager by entrusting him with such arduous task yet, for now, she had no other choice.
The man who had delivered the report rested two fingers on his earpiece, as if listening to someone else speaking in his ear.
The raindrops on his uniform shone like diamonds.
"Eraserhead has been found wounded in Shibuya and-"
The man turned white so fast he looked as if he was going to faint. He stumbled over his next words.
Pantu had no time for his antics.
"Go on"
"His eyes were gouged out"
There was a hush in the control tent ; everyone momentarily stopped typing
The President's shock turned to deadly calm.
Endeavor and his son had intercepted All for One in Shibuya : it was highly likely that All for One had stolen Eraserhead's Quirk.
"Two more Nomus have appeared in the south of the city, near Shinagawa"
"Torrential rains seem to have seeped into the city's underground : subway stations can no longer be used to evacuate civilians"
The more pressure she felt on her shoulders, the clearer Pantu's mind became.
"What about All for One ? Can Endeavor handle him ?"
"It seems so, yes", the computer scientist beside her replied.
Perhaps he hadn't had time to transplant Aizawa's eyes yet.
Either way, Endeavor and his son would have to hold out as long as they could, since the President couldn't spare anybody who could fight at high intensity without being a deadweight.
"Anything else ?", she asked the bearer of bad news.
He shook his head.
"Go back to your station"
She turned back to her staff : they were tasked with monitoring what happened in the city and deploying reinforcements.
Before her there were two rows of three people, their backs to the central monitor so she could see everyone's screens.
Parallel to the central rows, on the left and right, were two rows of three each, everyone there frantically working.
Though they carefully avoided her gaze, they all looked worried to various degrees.
Many of them lived in Tokyo : some of their families were even in the stricken areas.
She could see on their faces how torn they were between their duty and their private responsibilities.
Pantu pursed her lips : she couldn't afford any kind of insubordination from her own men, yet she didn't have time to make long speeches to boost them either.
"I know the situation is difficult", she said. "But our Heroes-"
A phone rang in one of the central row.
A man man answered and Pantu shut up. Bitter lines creased the corners of his mouth.
He wrote down the information quickly then put down the receiver and turned to face the president : all eyes were on him.
"Tokyo's Central Bank is under attack"
Feeling all eyes on her, Pantu was careful not to show any reaction.
She had to pretend that the situation was under control, that everything that was happening was part of some plan she had anticipated.
"Nomus ?"
"No, several groups of villains. Nothing indicates that they are with All for One"
Some had decided to capitalise on the chaos to carry out their plans.
Opportunistic, if not clever. More than she'd give some low-level villains credit for.
"Alright. Does anyone else have anything to share ?"
Pantu looked around the room.
Doubt clouded faces and darkened gazes.
Every second that passed was one less she could afford to give them coaxing and soothing.
Therefore she chose the harsh approach.
"Someone get me Crust : I want him to immediately go and assist Mirko. Tell Best Jeanist and God Sylvester to head to Shinagawa : they'll deal with the new Nomus in that area. I want Ryukyu and Edgeshot in Chiyoda. If even only one member of these groups falls in battle, they are to retreat and report to us immediately : they can only fight in duos, and only with those I've given clearance for"
Everyone typed furiously on their keyboards, carrying out her orders as quickly as possible.
"I hereby forbid solo Heroes from attacking Nomus : they must focus solely on protecting and evacuating civilians. Heroes who are not in the top 10 are expressly prohibited from attacking Nomus unless they are part of a team of at least 5 members : their goal is not to strike them down but rather to slow them down and limit the harm they inflict on civilians. No one will be held responsible for the property damages occuring under these orders"
"A new Nomu has been spotted in Chuo"
"There's another one in Toshima"
Pantu, hands clasped behind her back, didn't bat an eye, already rearranging her plans according to the new information.
"I want Present Mic, Cementos and Midnight in Chuo. Tell them to bring two more Heroes of their choice. I want Ectoplasm and Recovery Girl to set up an emergency care center in Hiroo : have all the support-type Heroes available and ready to take care of the wounded"
The hospital was located at the junction of Minato, Shibuya, and Meguro : placing an emergency center there was both beneficial and dangerous.
They could evacuate and treat the wounded faster yet if the Nomus managed to break through despite the Heroes... no. That wouldn't happen.
"As for the wounded in other districts, evacuate them to the nearest hospitals. Contact as many retired Heroes in Tokyo as possible and have them help in the civilians' evacuation"
Under other circumstances someone might have complained over her overzealousness, yet the fifteen red dots on the map deterred anyone from thinking about disobeying the orders they received.
"Contact the police station immediately : all highways leading to Tokyo are to be closed. No civilians are allowed to use their personal vehicles. All buses are to be requisitioned and used to transport civilians en masse to the outskirts of the city. I want the Tokyo's Bay closed, and I want Gang Orca and his team on standby there. I now render forbidden entry or leave from the harbour"
She overstepped her authority by ordering the Justice Department to do as she saw fit, but this was a critical situation. Nobody said a word.
"I want Heroes from surrounding cities to support police officers by setting up a security perimeter on the roads around Tokyo. Issue an order to the population : do not enter underground places and avoid subway lines"
The heavy rain only added to the difficulties : evacuating the civilians via the subway lines would have been the correct thing to do if, in top of the risk of drowning in the floods, Pantu could have been sure that All for One wouldn't take the opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
"If my orders are not carried out as given, I allow myself the right to revoke the license of any Hero present on the field for insubordination"
Nor was this the sort of thing she could casually order.
"I give you my word that Tokyo will not fall today"
Pantu glanced around the room, her steely gaze meeting everyone's with fierce intensity.
All for One was enacting the disaster scenario the Commission had been anticipating for months : he had managed to hide his pawns in the capital and was bringing them out into the open as if to mock them.
Pantu took this as a personal attack : she would use any means at her disposal to achieve her goals.
*
A/N : Guess who's back !
Still got nice surprises for this arc. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is over.
Also I wanted to thank everyone who commented and voted for the story accross all platforms over the last two weeks. I'll try to respond to as many people as possible but honestly I didn't expect to get as many interactions lmao.
Anyway you know the drill, if you want to read ahead of schedule, go check the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG
And see you wednesday in the next update everyone !