A Wolf Among the Sheep

Internships: Aftermath

Momo watched from the rooftop, next to Paradox, as the other heroes were dragged into the square. With horror, she watched as Hawks, Ingenium, and Tokoyami all fell beneath Apollyon's blade. 

"This is Apollyon's creed." Paradox whispered, ensuring they weren't heard. "Help the strong rule the weak, and cull the weak who fight back."

With nothing to say, "She..." unable to finish that thought, she asked, "Is that why we left?"

"The civilians we could save were, and it was a losing battle. There were too many of them. I feel sorry for them, especially since we could not." What Paradox said next made her blood run cold, as it was clear he knew a lot more. "She is a weapon dedicated to a singular purpose. Be glad that your actions caused her to have already sated her bloodlust."

Whipping her head to see him, Momo's eyes were wide. "How do you...?" Soon, she calmed herself, before asking a different, more relevant question, "why not report me?"

"Underground heroes uses villains as sources of information all the time. There's a reason we don't go after brokers like Giran. Besides, you gave information to cripple an enemy of Japan, and that is perfectly fine."

Now even more confused, she asked, "What enemy?"

Before he could respond to that... Apollyon called for extraction, and the army started to pull out. Looking down and analyzing the situation, he noted, "They aren't here for conquest... they were here as a distraction. And they won." As the last enemy left, he opened a rift. "Let us go down and save who is still alive."

Without a word, Momo followed.

Shoto exited Kurogiri's portal in a suburb far away from Hosu. From the looks of things, it was a quiet, calm neighborhood. Safe. Turning to the young girl, he looked over her condition. Her clothes were singed, but she, fundamentally, was unharmed. "This is where you will go."

Eyes red, but tears long since dried up... she smiled without hope. "T-thanks."

With a nod, he was about to go back through the portal, before the girl called out to him. "Wait!"

Halting, he turned to see her look back. She smiled a bit better, before sharing a word. "Harmony."

Confused, he tilted his head, and let her speak once more. "You asked... you asked for my name. It's Harmony."

With a nod, he turned back to the portal, "Stay safe, Harmony."

She watched her knight enter the portal, and waited until it was closed before exhaustion claimed her,  Harmony falling to the ground as the adrenaline in her system finally wore off.

Apollyon watched as Shoto arrived back into the main meeting room. That totaled everyone in the room, Shoto, Hjordis Ragnarsdottir, Tomura, Giran, her team, several lieutenants, and her select team from the infiltration mission. With everyone important now here, she spoke, her voice naturally making the other discussions fall silent.

"Everyone... well done. Hosu has felt the steel behind our name, and I was successful with my objective." The others gave positive acknowledgements, understanding that Apollyon's praise was hard to obtain, and took everything they could get. 

"What was objective?" Hjordis asked, curious now. 

Glancing to her... Apollyon decided the time was ripe. "Something I had come to discover in my recruitment drives, is the fact that a very old movement never died when it should have. The Meta Liberation Army, followers of the old Destro, have begun to make moves. I intend to set our enemies, heroes, and the Meta Liberation Army, against each other. Error..." She gestured with a gauntleted hand to the individual, "Has copied all of the information in regards to our hidden enemy, and is currently decompiling everything. I may have a weakness towards computers, but she can handle the task."