[55: Cognoscenti. Patriot Act.]
(A'N: It's the Fourth of July! You know what that means! 250 years, and hopefully another 250! In the words of Yoru: I LOVE AMERICA!)
"Eleanor, is everything okay?" Aizawa said to Eleanor. It was a new day, and class had ended. Everyone was leaving, but Aizawa held Eleanor back. Something was disturbing her, and he could see it.
"I'm fine, Aizawa, just a lot on my mind. I think I may take a small break. Less than a week," Eleanor said.
"You're going to miss class? Do you need to speak to a counselor about what you're dealing with?" Aizawa asked.
"No, I don't think it's that bad. My mind is running a bit hot and fast; I just need a small break to bring myself together. And missing a few classes won't affect me. My grades are already good, and the class can get by without me as a supplemental instructor. It won't even take a week. I'll be fine when I return," Eleanor said.
"You should let Nezu know," Aizawa said.
"Yeah, I'll send him a message," Eleanor said as she started to leave, but she was stopped one last time.
"Eleanor, just one last thing. Are you sure? I plan to introduce the class to the Big Three of UA to further explain the hero work-study programs. It'd be good to at least be introduced to them, it'd make it a lot easier to find a work-study, if it's something you really want to do, but then again, you'd probably be fine on your own," Aizawa said.
"Uh…I'll pass, Aizawa," Eleanor said.
"Alright, then. Take care of yourself, Eleanor."
Eleanor nodded and then left the class. She went straight back to her dorm room.
/\\//\\//\
Eleanor was lying down on her bed, looking up at the roof as she threw a stress ball into the air repeatedly. She took calm breaths, trying to steady her mind, but it was easier said than done.
'I know I'm not exactly the biggest supporter of the hero system here in Japan, but I still believe it can be changed for the better without going down some radicalized path. It's not perfect, but you can like something while still wanting it to get better, and not everything is perfect anyway. Just analyze the situation at hand as it is; ignore everything else that's irrelevant,' Eleanor thought to herself.
'First, is scouting and reconnaissance. I need to gather as much information as possible about the compound, inside and out. I have to find out how to find it, though. Should be easy. With how many cameras, phones, and all that stuff is all over the place, I can run a surveillance state until I find Overhaul, Eri, or anyone else related to Shie Hassakai. I'll run constant information gathering on the public and use that to find them. Okay, so that's figured out.'
'Second, the plan. This relies entirely on step one. Depending on what I find out, I'll have to adjust this one on the fly. Sure, I may know some things, but I never rely entirely on only one source of knowledge or information. This is something that I can't just come up with on the spot. I'll leave this for later.'
'Third…I'm not sure yet. But…there are some things I can do to prepare. There are quite a few ways to storm or raid a compound. I'll have to prepare basic things before getting more detailed. It's time to visit Momo and have her make some more things for me.'
/\\//\\//\
(A few days later)
"Hey, Momo, can you do something for me? A quick favor, nothing too much," Eleanor approached Momo during the lunch break. She sat down with Momo, set aside her tray of food, and handed her a piece of paper. It was a very detailed model of a molecule. What it was, only she knew. "Can you make this for me? It's a liquid, and I want it in small containers or vials that can be attached to a sort of aerosol spray mechanism. It's nothing dangerous."
Momo saw the model. "Are you sure, Eleanor? Last time I made something for you, I could feel how much it drained from me."
"This is nothing like that. It shouldn't take too much out of you. You'll probably recover it from the food you're eating right now," Eleanor said.
"Okay, but later. I'll have them ready for you."
"Thanks, Momo."
"By the way, Eleanor, you really missed out. Aizawa introduced the Big Three, and they're kind of weird. We even fought one of them, Mirio, but he basically took us all out by himself. And his quirk has quite the side effect."
"I heard. So, are you going to do one of those work-studies?" Eleanor asked.
"About that. One of them was looking for you. Her name was Nejire. She really wanted to see you. If you do a work-study, I think it'd be very easy to get one with how much she seemed to want you."
"Hmm…I'll think about it."
"You sure? I think it'd be very easy for you. You're a supplemental instructor in some of our classes, so you don't necessarily need to be there, and I'm sure any days you miss can be easily excused, since you've finished most of the classes on our level already."
"That's true. I can do a work-study with more ease than other first-years. I just don't know who. Not every…hero agency takes one on," Eleanor said. Hero agency, there it was again. Hearing it again just made her remember the conversations and thoughts she had with herself.
"You okay, Eleanor? You're kind of spacing out a bit," Momo said.
Eleanor shook her head slightly. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about the work-studies and if I should do one."
"You should. It'd help you in the future when you go to America, wouldn't it? Having experience with some of the hero agencies here would look good if you went to some organization in America or if you decided to be an independent hero, or however else it works in America."
"Well….I mean, you're not wrong, and it wouldn't hurt, but…I think I'd be very sought after even if I didn't do it. Besides heroes, the government would also be interested in me. I wouldn't be surprised if the Department of War came knocking on my door one day," Eleanor said.
"What?"
"Come on, other jobs will be just as eager to hire someone with a quirk if it could be used effectively. Who said benign a hero is the only job in the world?"
"Oh…yeah, I guess that's true."
"What about you, Momo? Why be a 'hero' here? Why not be an actualy hero?"
"What are you talking about, Eleanor? And why are you speaking like that?"
"'Hero' is just a job, a licensed profession. Momo, you hold the potential to be a worldwide hero in humanitarian aid. You can bring clean water to places that can't. You can make medical equipment in places that struggle to get it. It's insane what you could do. You can be one of the greatest humanitarian workers in the world. I would think bigger, Momo; you don't have to stay here in Japan. And it would be very good publicity for you and your parents, as rich as they are already. It'd make Japan look very good as well, knowing they produced one of the biggest heroes in the world. Well, assuming it all goes right. Actually doing it is something else. But those are just my thoughts," Eleanor said.
"Huh. I never thought of it like that."
"It's because everyone wants to be a hero nowadays. And I mean on the licensed professional kind of way."
"There it is again, Eleanor. Something feels different about you."
"It's just your imagination, Momo. Anyway, tell me when you make the things I showed you." Eleanor got up from the table after finishing her food, leaving the area.
/\\//\\//\
Now, can I do this alone? Yeah, I could, but having allies is a lot better. But who? I can't have anyone from Class 1-A, since they definitely won't agree with some of the things I'm going to do. They'll go on about following rules and stuff, and quite frankly, they'll just get in my way. I need some allies who'll…bend the rules or not be afraid to break them at all. Which means I'll need to find some unsavory people. But that's for another time. Right now, I just need to do some simple intelligence gathering.
And that's what I was doing. I sent out a stealth drone with electronic warfare and intelligence-gathering capabilities. On my tablet, I was going through various feeds. Street camera, people's phones, and any other piece of technology I could find. I basically hijacked them for my own purposes. Of course, I wasn't doing all of it. I had Theodore and other technology do all the work of going through them until something that could lead me to the Shie Hassakai compound could be used.
Luckily, with access to thousands of devices, invasions of privacy, and a very powerful AI, it didn't take long.
A quick notification on my tablet told me something was found. When I looked, a video of someone wearing a plague doctor mask was on. Perfect. Using the position of the videos, the drone I sent out was able to lock on to their position. I didn't need the public's help anymore.
Some time passed, and this person entered what I assumed was the compound. Well, that's that. I marked the location of the compound. With this, I can take things up a notch.