Rejected Stones

Gussied Up

Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

47. Gussied Up

"That proves you are unusual, and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed."

-Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz

"How certain are you?" Endeavor demanded, his flames flickering in the dim light of the conference room.

Everyone from Class 1A had been called in, even those who had been off duty for the day. They were once more all crowded into the conference room, along with Mei, Hari, Burnin, and Mr. Aizawa. Behind Endeavor, the information from the retrieved phone, along with the new data Shinso had collected and a picture of Feel Good Inc were projected onto the wall.

"As certain as we can be," Shinso answered from where he was standing beside the projector. "We retrieved images from security cameras in the area. The same man shows up again and again."

Shinso pointed to the picture of the dark haired man with the protruding brow and thick lips. "He's frequently seen around the offices of Feel Good Inc, often in the company of the CEO, Tomoyasu Chikazoku. His quirk is known as Anthropromorph, it lets him turn objects into a look alike of a person. This seems to be his base model, he often uses them as helpers. Two were helping Iceman move the drugs into the Laundromat drophouse. It's not a slam dunk, but..."

"But it might be enough to get us a warrant if I use my back channels," Endeavour said with a nod. "But we're only going to have one shot. Feel Good Inc is a large, successful company, and Chikazoku is a wealthy man. He has friends in the government. If this gets too widely known, someone will alert him and by the time we get there, he'll have hidden all evidence. We'll get nothing."

"Which is why we have to move now!" Shinso argued. "We can't delay; every moment we do, the MLA grows stronger, or has time to realize they're compromised!"

"I believe you, and I agree," Endeavor said, standing. "Everyone, get ready to move. I'll have the warrant, one way or another, and without police involvement. We can't risk this leaking."

"Is that going to be legal?" Aizawa demanded. "I refuse to allow you to involve my class in what would amount to a vigilante raid."

"It will be above board, and if anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility," Endeavor declared. "Remember, I'm the loose canon, the man people fear. But this is a chance for your students to truly become the Pillars of Peace, and remove one of the most dangerous criminal and political groups in the nation."

"We have to go after them!" Mei declared. "These are the people who hurt Hari and want to kill Izuku! We can't let them get away!"

Aizawa hesitated for only a fraction of a second, but then nodded. "Very well. I'll be accompanying you this time, however. This could turn bloody. I suggest we call in other agencies."

"No time for it, and besides, we don't know if there are other heroes who might belong to the MLA," Endeavor said with a shake of his head. "We'll have my sidekicks along as well. Or do you think that 50 of us won't be enough to take on this challenge?"

"Ah come on Mr. Aizawa," Kirishima said, grinning widely. "We can handle this! We've fought the MLA a couple of times now. Heck, Izuku and some of the others even fought Iceman and won!"

Aizawa nodded, leaning forward and resting his arm on the table. "True. But if this is to be the headquarters of the MLA, we're going to face heavy resistance. You're all aware of what the price of failure, and even success, can be. What do you all think?"