[56: META]
(A/N: WELL, GODDAMN! I knew USA wasn't making it past the round of 16, but at least put up a fight! Cabo Verde and Mexico could at least say they went out proud and strong! JOGO VÔMITO! Matt Freese and Tim Ream are terrorists who need to be sent to Guantanamo Bay! Big Don, if you can hear me, I heard that Belgium is only weeks away from developing nuclear weapons. Anyway, at least we're not Canada. LMAO! "We're the better team." I hope you enjoy the chapter.)
/\\//\\//\
(Some time later)
Class had just ended again, but before everyone left, Momo approached Eleanor. "Hey, Eleanor, here you go. I made the things you wanted me to make." Momo handed a box to Eleanor containing the vials she requested.
Eleanor accepted them. "Thanks, Momo." She put it into her bag.
"What did you have me make by the way?" Momo asked.
"It's nothing dangerous. It's just a chemical to help me…clean things up. Yeah, I'll say it like that," Eleanor said.
"You're still being a bit weird. Oh yeah, I'm sure you've heard, some of us already got work-studies. Ochaco and Tsu got one with Ryukyu; Nejire was more than happy to introduce them. You could go, you know? And I don't mean to intrude or anything, but I think you'd like Ryukyu because well, uh…you know," Momo stuttered a bit at the end. Thinking of the strong possibility of what was assumed about Eleanor, she slightly blushed.
Eleanor raised an eyebrow as she looked at Momo. "Because what, Momo? Sounds a bit intrusive for not wanting to be."
"Uh…nevermind! Just a suggestion. Uh, just think about joining Ryukyu! Okay, bye!" Momo quickly left the classroom.
Eleanor sighed and rolled her eyes. 'I think it should be obvious by now, right? They all saw what I did with Pixie-Bob during the training camp. I'm not exactly hiding it. Eh, whatever, it's a non-issue, but it is kind of funny,' Eleanor thought to herself as she also left the classroom.
Momo's words did have a bit of truth. If Eleanor really wanted, she could go to a work-study, and seeing that the class size was smaller than usual at times, it's clear most of the class had one.
'Midoriya went with Nighteye already, Ochaco and Tsu with Ryukyuo. Kirishima with Fat Gum, and Fumikage with Hawks. Oh, Hawks. Poor Hawks. I've seen what the HPSC did to you. Knowing about it and seeing the footage is quite the experience. It's so bad you follow their orders without question. At least you have a good excuse compared to others,' Eleanor thought to herself as she also left the classroom.
/\\//\\//\
Alright, let's commence step one. Using the previously marked location, I controlled a small fleet of drones. Literally. These drones were small. Very small. You could still call them drones, but the more proper term would be micro aerial vehicles, or MAVs. But calling them small drones gets the point across better.
But if they were just small, it wouldn't be anything special. These small drones, which could be confused for a common housefly, had camouflage abilities. Not complete invisibility, but close enough. They also had different imaging modes for pictures and videos, and they had little gadgets. This is the kind of thing you'd see in a spy movie.
Looking at my tablet, the drones made their way to the compound. Video and photos were taken of the outside, and automatic calculations were done to measure and map it out. While some of the drones were outside, some of them went closer, looking for small openings. Some found little cracks in doors, windows, and other entryways, most notably a vent. This was perfect. Many of the drones went inside, instantly mapping out the vent system. The drones also went into any rooms they could from the vents, also mapping those out. All of this was being recreated into a 3D model of the compound.
The drones swept the entire compound, taking video and pictures along the way in many different forms and images. But I know this wasn't everything. There are some hidden areas. And luckily, the vents were a convenient way to access them. They may be hidden, but they always need vents.
My drones went further into the vents. When they exited, I could see in the video a completely different scene. Unlike the compound that had more typical construction like wood and concrete, these areas looked more sci-fi. White halls, much cleaner, and an overall advanced or sci-fi feel to it. I made sure to get video and photos of everything. So far so good.
Even if I find nothing, this is already a great success.
But let's see what else I find.
/\\//\\//\
Midoriya went to find Eleanor as fast as he could. He knew she lived by herself in one of the dorms, so it wasn't hard to find her. He went in and called out for Eleanor. "Eleanor! Hey, Eleanor! I really need to talk to you! I know it's rude, but it's kind of an emergency!"
"JUST GIVE ME A DAMN MINUTE, MIDORIYA!" Eleanor's shout seemed to reverberate throughout the entire dorm. Midoriya went still. This wasn't a shout from someone who was far away. There was anger…hatred. Midoroyia had never heard Eleanor like this. Did he catch Eleanor at an emotional time?
Before Midooriya could say something else, a door crashed open, almost being blown off its hinges. Eleanor's steps seemed to echo throughout the entire dorm room. Her normal face, especially those eyes, looked different. Instead of the normal and cheerful eyes, her eyes were narrowed, filled with anger. He couldn't explain it, but her hair also seemed a bit different.
'It's like she changed into something else,' Midoriya thought to himself as he saw Eleanor approach him.
"Midoriya, make this quick." Eleanor's voice was laced with anger.
"I—we—need your help."
"Who's 'we?'" Eleanor knew, but having Midoriya spill everything would give her a good excuse for many things.
"I'm doing a work-study with Sir Nighteye. You know, All Might's former sidekick, and I can't say much, but he's doing a special investigation into a villain, and he needs help with collecting evidence. And I know you can be good at that stuff! I recommended you to him when he spoke about his troubles. We're also working with other hero agencies for this investigation. I think Ryukyo is also helping out." Midoriya put it all out there. Not completely, but enough of the situation as he felt didn't violate the integrity of the investigation.
"Ryukyu? The Number 9 most popular hero? She has her own clothing brand and promotes it, right? Like, a big billboard in front of her agency?"
"Yeah, her. I don't see what that has to do with anything?"
"It's nothing. So, you want me to help?"
"Yes! And since you don't have a work-study, maybe you can get one with Sir Nighteye? Maybe he can do a temporary work-study? If that's even a thing?"
"Fine, I'll give them a chance."
"A chance? What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. Let's see whether they'll want me or not. And don't expect me to try to butter anyone up."
"You might have to, Eleanor. Sir Nighteye is kind of serious."
"Well, he better be. If this investigation is as serious as you're making it out to be, to the point where it requires hero agencies teaming up, then I'm not going to waste time with pleasantries and all that stuff. If he gives me some kind of test to prove I'm 'fit' or something, then I'm gone, but I have a plan for that. Just give me a minute to print some things out." Eleanor went away from the commons room, heading back to her room.
/\\//\\/\
"Come on, you stupid machine. It's the 22nd century, and printers still suck? What the hell?" Eleanor smacked the printer a few times, doing a bit of "percussive maintenance." "Can't a printer just print! I don't need all of this worthless junk and features on it!" The printer jammed sometimes, and the paper trays were flimsy. The wireless connection was jittery, constantly disconnecting and connecting. "You're an insult to all the technological processes humanity has made over the centuries! A 15th-century printing press is more reliable than you!"
Eleanor took out her frustration on the printer. She had to watch as it jammed and sometimes wasted the ink. But she had a plan.
"Fine, if you don't want to work properly, I'll commune with the machine spirits." Eleanor went to her desk, grabbing a censer. She prepared it, along with the incense. The censer burned, releasing smoke and fragrance around the room. Eleanor grabbed the chain holding the censer and swung it around gently.
She took a deep breath in and out before starting. "In the sacred tongue of the Omnissiah we chant: Hail spirit of the machine…"
/\\//\\//\
Eleanor came out of her room, carrying a slightly thick folder.
"You printed all that? Did you have any issues?" Midoriya asked.
"Just a tiny hiccup, but the printer got its act together after a bit of…special IT maintenance. Anyway, let's go."
Midoriya watched Eleanor. He could see her hands slightly shaking, but she wasn't scared. More anger. This wasn't the Eleanor Midoriya was accustomed to seeing. Did she say some things that he didn't agree with? Yes. But has he ever seen her with so much anger beneath her eyes and with her voice on the point of being laced with venom, and with her appearance seemingly taking on a slightly different form than what he knew? No. Midoriya had a bad feeling in his gut about this entire situation.
He felt…kind of scared by Eleanor.
/\\//\\//\
The entire trip to Sir Nighteye's agency was awkward for Midoriya. Eleanor said nothing the entire way to the agency. She stared straight ahead the entire time, saying nothing.
"We're here, Eleanor." Midoriya guided Eleanor inside the agency. They took the elevator to the floor where Sir Nighteye was. When they opened, Midoriya and Eleanor walked out. Eleanor didn't glance at anyone there, not Bubble Girl or Mirio. Her future interactions, literally and figuratively, with them would depend on how things with Sir Nighteye went.
Midoriya stopped outside Sir Nighteye's office and knocked on it. "Sir Nighteye, I brought Eleanor here."
"Come in," a voice from the other side could be heard.
Midoriya opened the door, and Eleanor entered. As soon as she did, she and Nighteye made eye contact. Eleanor wasn't affected; she calmly went to his desk and sat down.
'You're Eleanor, one of the exchange students at UA and the one Midoriya recommended for my investigation." Sir Nighteye held out his hand to greet Eleanor.
Eleanor looked at his hand before looking back at him. "No need, Sir Nighteye. Midoriya told me some things, and given how urgent he sounded, I think time is of the essence."
"Hmm…" Sir Nighteye took back his hand. "Yes, it is. Midoriya was quite adamant about your intelligence-gathering capabilities, so I want to see how good they really are. I want to give you a test—"
Eleanor interrupted him. "No need for that either, Sir Nighteye." Eleanor placed the folder in front of Sir Nighteye, opened it up, and turned it around for him to see. "As you can see, I know my stuff."
Sir Nighteyes's eyes widened slightly at what he was seeing. The Shie Hassaikai compound in elaborate detail. Aerial photographs, measurements of the entire compound that looked like blueprints, close-ups of the compound, and perhaps most stunning of all, inside pictures of the rooms in the compound and the layout of the inside.
Sir Nighteye went through each of them, his eyes darting all over the pictures. Even with all the work he's done, he couldn't get anything on the scale of this. Forget pictures of the inside of the compound; he had to be extremely careful just staking out the compound in person to not be caught. And yet, here was Eleanor, presenting to him work that would take a team of professionals to organize and put together, and to also gather it in the first place.
"I know you're investigating Shie Hassaikai and Kai Chisaki, better known as Overhaul. Is this enough to convince you?" Eleanor asked.
"How did you get these?"
"I'd answer, but I have a feeling your attention would go to the wrong thing instead of the pictures you have in front of you."
"I need to know how you got these, Eleanor. You can't be operating outside of the law."
Eleanor sighed and shook her head. "You know, I had a feeling this would happen, but I thought those pictures would be enough to convince you. I'm not going to say how I got them. That shouldn't even be an issue. If I were in your position, I'd gladly invite someone who could get this kind of intel. It should already show you I'm capable. And I wouldn't want to let such an asset go because of concerns that they're too good. Look, I'm more than willing to walk away, but then that'd mean someone who knows about your investigation into Shie Hassaikai and Overhaul is out of your personal circle. You're smart, Sir Nighteye. I'm sure you know that if I can get pictures like this, then I'm capable of a lot more."
Eleanor calmly sat down. Whether he agreed or not wasn't her problem. If he sent her away, then she wouldn't have to make any radical decisions, or so she hoped. But if he agreed, then she'd do whatever was possible to get action done.
"You're not signed to a hero agency for a work-study, correct? Want to join me?"
Eleanor smirked a little. "Sure. Let's get it done."
Sir Nighteye quickly prepared the paperwork. Eleanor signed the contract. "Let's have a good cooperation." Sir Nighteye held out his hand to Eleanor again.
Eleanor shook it, but her eyes were on the contract. "Likewise, Sir Nighteye." Eleanor let go of Sir Nighteye's hand and finally looked him in the eyes. "So, how far into the investigation are you?"