Vipers Best (4)

"So, I think I know why Yuuko was taken." It was Valkyrie's greeting to Vetochkina, spoken in low Russian so as not to be heard.

"Who are you going to break your spine with this time?"

"Orochi Mairu, if I'm right."

"And you're probably right, I didn't train a sloppy investigator."

"You are very kind, Vetochkina-sensei." The watchman murmured. "Anyway, while I was talking to some of my other sources, a homeless person said he remembered seeing the van used to take Yuuko. He was not a witness to the kidnapping, but he saw him a week ago from your tent. You see, free food and basic medical care are being offered to anyone willing to be nudged by this MICAH organization. "

"Okay, I can start to see where this is going."

"It's all very secretive, but people with the most useful or exclusive skills are invited to spend the night for 'special care' and don't come back for a few days. I read in the newspaper about how the organization's funding was going to be cut due to the lack viable results, as there were many other research labs that were much more advanced than they were. I didn't connect immediately, but when I looked at the emails they sent, I saw that they wanted Yuuko to be part of some big study and that it would take a few days but would be compensated over time. They also attached several forms of resignation that, reading the fine print, I saw making references to invasive surgery, in addition to drawing blood and bone marrow bones. "

"... Isn't it the one that is really painful when they stick a needle in your spine?"

"Yea."

Vetochkina unleashed a series of curses that Valquiria echoed in his mind.

"So what, should Yuuko be the goose that laid the golden eggs? How did they know about her?"

"Her father, Morakawa Kyouya," donated "some samples before he died and was part of this project. He was led by Dr. Orochi Mairu. I read about him, and the guy is a selfish glory hunter and is often seen at parties and high-class brothels, and it's obvious to see where my tax money is going, at best, and a frank at worst, and a narcissistic sociopath. And apparently he doesn't like it when people say no to him. "

"Then what you will do?" Vetochkina asked, after a knock.

"I will wait for Mura-san's confirmation if her birds saw something in the main building, because she may be here, or they may have moved her to another location. When that happens. I will call Luphinus to see if I can tell her as a backup. Either way, save the dragon princess. "

"You know that he technically can't do anything without a warrant. The number one heroes have to set the standard of play according to the rules and everything."

"Eh, he's smart. He'll find a loophole or a way to be conveniently in the area. If not, you taught me how to be more than capable of handling this on your own."

"Yes, I did, but are you sure you don't want me to go along?" Vetochkina asked.

"No, your arm is still broken."

The older woman winced. "I have struggled with much worse before with more than just a stupid broken arm."

"I know, you told me about your Omega-level missions." Apotheosis "," Prometheus "and" Gundsvar ", but ... well, someone has to stay there. Just to make the police feel better." There was more behind it, of course. The cops would find it very suspicious if they both disappeared for a while, and that would only add to their headaches.

"It is irritating how often we have to respond to your feelings."

Valkyrie gave a low laugh. "Yes ..." She took a long, deep breath. "But we are so close, I can feel it." She looked at the Roppongi skyscraper, the MICAH Tower, built on slightly fatter days, was about 40 stories high, and Yuuko could be almost anywhere there. The thought of the girl alone and afraid ate at Momoko's chest. She hated it. She hung up on Vetochkina, still hating, but letting that feeling strengthen her decision. Valkyrie was going to rescue Yuuko, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop her.

There was a flapping of wings. Momoko turned and saw two magpies staring at her.

How was that old and a little scary rhyme? One for sadness, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy? The idea of ​​whether this was Mura-san's work or just paranoia was resolved when a third bird landed, a piece of paper stuck in its beak.

Valkyrie crouched down, extending a gloved hand. The magistrate carefully placed the note in her hand and waited.

The cub was seen confined on the 24th floor, less than a sixth of an hour ago.

Valkyrie felt a wolf's smile spread across her face. "And we have takeoff."

~ XxX ~

Hamura police station

"Yes, I admit that MICAH and the use of Mayama-san's gas were suspect, but they are losing government funding, so maybe they cut some corners with their security system and our kidnappers used it to get the gas out of them . " Detective Aoki said, although Luphinus could tell that she was just presenting a reasonable doubt.

Still, the hero sighs to himself and rubs his eyes. Twelve hours after Morakawa's kidnapping and it looked like they were banging their heads against the wall.

"... Did anyone take samples of Mayama-san's gas?" Luphinus asked. Although he was not a detective, he was used to doing his own personal investigations as a hero.

One of the other officers nodded sleepily. "Yes, the expertise has already matched the waste in the containers."

"And there's nothing about them that can link them to MICAH? It's not a record company or ..."

"No. They were modified from the types of containers used to disperse tear gas, but it is not exactly difficult to replicate."

"I have already reviewed these account statements three times, and at no time does anyone withdraw the amount of yen that Nonaka said he received as an advance payment."

A metaphorical lamp was lit on Yoshio's head. "Wait, how about a cardholder who made withdrawals several times throughout the day?"

"There is?"

"ATMs have withdrawal limits, so whoever was doing this couldn't get the money all at once, and getting that amount of money at once would only attract a few glances. So, look at the report again, checking the cards who withdrew as many accounts as they could and, hopefully, several times throughout the day. "

"Yes sir!" The officer gave a sharp salute and returned to his table.

"How come we don't think about that?" He heard one of the detectives whispering to the others.

"Because it's three-thirty in the morning and he can do anything."

~ XxX ~

Luphinus knew that Valkyrie was not… well, she was not well. There was a certain type of person who became vigilant and usually had some kind of trauma hidden in his past. Someone they cared about was hurt or killed, or there was an injustice that was never corrected. Maybe that was why she was trying so hard to find Morakawa-chan, she saw herself and her own childhood trauma in the girl and wanted to be there for her in a way that no one had been for the watchman.

Hence the low moan of rage when Luphinus tells her that they cannot break down doors and start pulling people based on a raven's word, no matter how clever scientifically documented corvids are. What? He reads. Sometimes. It was frustrating, especially with Yuuko-chan in danger like that, but they had to follow the rule of law.

"Look, with the information we have available, the only thing we could get is a warrant from where Mayama-san's gas samples were kept. It's not much, but at least it puts our foot in the door."

"I'm glad I don't care about warrants."

"Valqu-"

"See you later, Mohawk." She hung up on him.

"-No." Luphinus sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. Strange as it was, but sometimes he honestly forgot that Valkyrie was a watchman, not an underground hero or freelancer. He supposed so, if you expand the definition of 'freelance hero' to include people who don't even have a license to start.

He could respect where she was coming from with this, but the heroes should be the role models. As number one hero, it was vital that he followed all proper procedures when using his powers and being a hero. He knew that better than anyone. But that was no small thing, like incident reports. That was to get a warrant to do a legal search, so that people who did this could be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and not escape the punishment due to technicality.

There was another message alert on his phone and Luphinus raised an eyebrow when he saw it was from Reykjavik's email account. The same one that had been used to contact you yesterday.

Dear Luphinus,

I set this message on a timer, so not deleting it means I'm probably still working undercover. Oh, and by disguise I mean that I allowed my executioners to kidnap me so that I could gather evidence and shut down MICAH once and for all. I didn't tell any of you that because I realized that most heroes seem to think I'm paranoid and strange.

I am probably being detained at the main headquarters of Roppongi, if there are several other possible locations, the relevant addresses and maps are attached as PDF files.

Also, please come and rescue me, my great hero in white armor. S2

-Reykjavik

OK, good to know. Because it's not as if this situation is delicate and complicated enough as it already was.

~ XxX ~

Reykjavik had no idea what time it was. There were no clocks or windows in the detention area, and the lights were still on, so all two captives who needed to be lit were their own biological clocks. And even those were being expelled with drugs and other methods to keep them relatively compatible.

After the last round of 'testing', Reykjavik and Yuuko had a short period of 'nap time' to try to rest. This was also the time likely to be spent preparing the labs for the next round of Orochi's unbalanced idea of ​​'science'. It was maybe two or three hours, but it was enough for the two of them honestly to just take a nap and prepare for the trial ahead of them.

Knowing the schedule for these things very well, Reykjavik planned for them to escape the next time the guards came after Yuuko.

At the right time, the guard used his key card to open the girl's cell and enter her room. The girl threw herself, crying, on the guard's leg. The man was taken by surprise, so much so that he did not even notice that the girl had removed the key card from his belt. When he rudely asked her to stop and start walking, Yuuko stopped for a moment to sniffle, wiping her face with the hospital gown as she hid the key card under him. Still unaware that it had been stolen, the guard grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the holding cell. Yuuko positioned himself to be on the man's left side and, as they walked, she started to cry a little again to divert her attention, dropping the contraband from her hospital gown and sliding it into Reykjavik's cell.

The hero had opened the cell's dining hatch just a moment earlier with his foot. He stepped on the key card, hiding it from view while Yuuko continued his little scene. Seconds later, Yuuko was dragged out the door and Reykjavik knew he wouldn't have much time before his watchers knew something was wrong.

By his calculations, only two minutes and eighteen seconds passed.

Picking up the key card, he used the clip to improvise a tool and quickly unscrewed the back of the shock collar, finding the main battery. He pulled it out, the adrenaline rush allowing him to work with the light shocks. And here Orochi praised him for being tamper-proof. Pathetic human, really.

The cells were too thick for him to use the key card to access his own cell, so instead, the hero planned the door to be opened for him when the guards played to dispute a new shock collar for him. What would be right about ... now.

"Come here, you ..." Reykjavik jumped out of the cage, kicking the first guard's face. Momentarily stunned, the guard stepped back, allowing a window of opportunity for the animal hero to jump over him. Landing on the back guard, he grabbed his face and led the two of them to attack, falling at the last moment. He also grabbed the new shock collar, placed it on the guard's arm and released it from the remote control in quick succession.

Standing quietly in the room, he waited for the one to grab him. He set the remote to maximum and the man fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. "And this is how it looks." He scoffed.

The second guard still needed to be resolved, so Reykjavik smiled and quickly relieved the first guard of the stun gun they kept in his belt. Once again, avoiding attempts to grab him, Reykjavik aimed the stun gun and fired at the second guard's chest, making him squirm to the ground.

Well, now that the displeasure is over, he could move on to rescue Yuuko. He expected Luphinus to receive his email, which would make it a little easier.

~ XxX ~

Valkyrie dropped Luphinus' next call into voicemail. She was crawling through the air ducts of the MICAH office on her hands and knees, and had her phone in silent mode so as not to make a noise at an inopportune time.

Momoko could probably guess what the message implied. If it wasn't an update on Yuuko, unlikely, she would have noticed the cops coming in, or some kind of vital information about MICAH, in which case she could probably handle it as she progressed, it was probably all she could try to tell her not to. do nothing rash. And crawling through the air ducts without support and the outline of a plan probably counted as something hasty.

The watchman could hear the cheese now, saying something like, "Sometimes things are out of our control and we have to work within the limitations imposed on us." Which would be a little strange, considering that he usually said "Go Beyond! Exceed your limits!". Momoko could relate to that, in a way. She had telekinesis of the non-combative type, unlike her great-grandfather, who needed to work and actively think about how to use it in the best possible way in combat, and was limited by how much she was able to lift with her own muscles.

Would it have been much more convenient if her Telekinesis was mega-powerful and allowed her to lift cars with ease? Yes. She wouldn't be as powerful as your great-grandfather's, he could lift tons, shoot rocks like rocket launchers, but it would be just like your grandfather's. But the vigilante worked hard within her limits and, in her own way, found a way to go beyond her limits. Now, she found that she could hold dozens of tiny things at once, as long as they were all within a certain weight. Now, one of her special moves was to break glass and throw the pieces to people with her Telekinesis. Luphinus? All he probably had to do was find a way on how to punch people in the right way so as not to kill them or damage the surrounding area too much.

Momoko stopped, seeing the huge spinning fans that were on her way. You know, the ones that actually circulated the air through the ducts that she was crawling through ... Great.

'You know, that's probably the difference between us.' Momoko thought, looking at the fan. 'You hit a wall and try to hit your head against it until it breaks. I look for a ladder. ' Taking out his reserve staff, the watchman stuck it in the revolving blades, stopping them in his path. She then barely managed to crawl, but she did, and pulled the baton back to her with her Telekinesis, since she was on the other side.

~ XxX ~

"The call went to voicemail… again." Luphinus sighed, putting away her phone. He and Detective Aoki were driving toward MICAH's main headquarters, following unmarked vehicles just behind them.

"We are just a few minutes from the office." The detective spoke. "If Valkyrie is smart, she'll probably come in to try to grab Morakawa-chan and run out of there. And I have no idea if this is going to make things easier or more difficult for us."

"Valkyrie marches to the beat of her own drum." Luphinus rubbed his eyes. "But if there's one thing I've learned in the past four years, it's that she has a tendency to get right in the middle of things and that Bloody Valkyrie always comes out on top."

~ XxX ~

Yuuko gave an enchanted smile when he saw Reykjavik approaching.

"Yuuko-chan!"

The girl's smile became frankly predatory when she turned, hitting that guard in the shins and groin in quick succession. He doubled over and Reykjavik guessed that there was more strength than expected in those tiny fists.

"Very good." Reykjavik praised, taking her hand. "But let's go now."

~ XxX ~

Not long after his journey, Valkyrie noticed a touch of red, white and black under one of the openings.

'Luphinus.' The watchman registered, able to recognize that crown of horns anywhere. She smiled unconsciously, almost without meaning to. She knew that the big guy would find a way to get past her. Currently, he appeared to be with a detective trying to carry out a search warrant in the labs, and the receptionist was taking a walk around them.

Well, that wouldn't do.

Crawling a little farther, Valkyrie soon found a group of three muscular looking men eating potato chips and discussing horse racing. Security guards, it seems. Were they involved in Yuuko's kidnapping? Maybe. Would she still kick her ass? Oh, definitely.

Opening the roof ventilation, the watchman went down and landed right next to the three.

"Hello, boys-" Valkyrie held out the baton. "Mom needs to express a little bit of anger."

~ XxX ~

The receptionist was trying to get them to leave or wait for a supervisor for more than five minutes, when Luphinus heard. Not far away, someone was taking her life beating.

"Did you hear that?" Luphinus asks, looking at Detective Aoki with a shitty smile on his face. "It looks like someone is in danger!"

The receptionist tries again. "Detective, Luphinus, I'm sure everything is-"

There was a definite 'crack' and very high-pitched screams. "AS A HERO I CANNOT IGNORE THIS!"

"Excuse!!"

Luphinus ran through the door like a human wrecking ball, completely ignoring the lock. There, he saw Valkyrie, almost predictably, fighting some people. She hit a person's face on the floor, probably the man who let out the cry for help, and let go of the arm bar.

She threw her bat and hit someone in the head. Then, Valkyrie activated his Telekinesis, and the stick struck the second person in the back of the head before returning to his open hand. Both fell quickly unconscious to the floor.

"Hi." Valkyrie greeted, more showing his teeth than actually smiling.

Before he could say anything else, another man ran to the watchman, apparently with the intention of ending what, Luphinus told of the unconscious bodies, four people before him had not.

Everyone was able to watch while Valkyrie struggled with the security guard on the ground. To the floor and it is small. It was like watching a baby lion take down a wildebeest. She jumped, grabbing him by the shoulders, getting up, then lifting her legs, attaching them to the man's neck before bending down and taking the man with her. He was trapped between her legs, and when she started to strangle him with them, the guy left in less than seven seconds.

She looked at him, laughing, and Luphinus felt a very strange tightness in her chest.

"Twenty-fourth floor, big boy, move it or lose it." She applauded, running for the stairs.

Well, Luphinus couldn't refuse a challenge like that, could he? Smiling, he ran after her.

~ XxX ~

Reykjavik tried to put the key card on the doors at the end of the lab, but it continued to be rejected, the light flashing red.

"Damn, it looks like they predicted our moves and invalidated this card. It looks like we'll have to ambush the next person through this door to move on."

Yuuko opened a nearby cabinet and started looking at the various chemical containers. The eight-year-old girl couldn't understand what she was reading, until she reached a particular bottle

Rat pheromone, highly concentrated.

"Hey, Reykjavik, what is a ... pheromone?"

"Ah, it is a chemical substance produced and released by an animal, it generally affects the behavior or physiology of other people of its species."

Affects behavior ...

"Like, could that make them fight?"

Reykjavik looked briefly while Yuuko took the bottle. "No, I don't believe that, although some may provoke an aggressive response. This one makes them very ... affectionate, if I remember correctly."

Hm. Well, if that makes rats affectionate, and most people don't like rats ... A plan blossomed in the young woman's mind. She turned to face the hero, a smile beginning to grow on her small, innocent face as she outlined his idea. A manic smile spread across Reykjavik's face when he agreed.

Oh, that would be so much fun.

~ XxX ~

Luphinus soon overtook Valkyrie on the stairs, like a well-meaning and physically fit watchman. "Displayed" he heard her mumble as he sped up.

In a matter of moments, Luphinus had jumped from the tenth floor to the twenty-fourth. Valkyrie said they were there, and since she usually had good sources of information, this was as good a place as any to start looking. Arriving at the first door of the laboratories, Luphinus listened carefully. Unable to hear anything, he forced the door open.

At first, he realized that there was nothing in the room but cages on rat cages. Probably testers for the lab. Then he felt the liquid splashing over him, and a bucket popped as it fell to the floor. It smelled ... strange, but the people he rescued earlier had thrown up on him a handful of times that he could handle it. This was probably one of Reykjavik's little traps or something. Nothing much.

Then, Luphinus heard a metal 'pop' when more than twenty cage doors opened as one.

The rats, the rats were everywhere! Crawling all over his body, nibbling on his fucking fantasy, it seemed that for every one Luphinus managed to throw, about a dozen more came to attack him. Oh God, they were everywhere!

Then, he heard the sounds of two beings involved in maniacal laughter.

~ XxX ~

Valkyrie was only about two minutes behind him when she stopped to breathe on the twenty-third floor landing. Damn exhibitionist. She was about to move to follow him when the door opened and a hurried-looking man ran up to her. She stopped the idiot effortlessly.

They blinked at each other for a moment, before recognition was established and Valkyrie's eyes hardened. Doctor Orochi Mairu had just run into her while trying to escape. It was almost as if fate had decided to give her a taste.

"Oh." Valkyrie held out his staff. "I'm going to enjoy this."

The scientist tried to attack her, but it was obvious that he had no idea how to fight. He was tall, she went down, sliding and hitting his shins. The scientist let out a hiss of pain, and that made Valkyrie smile maniacally.

Using her staff, she moved his arms away and placed her right combat boot on his knee. Feeling the kneecap move under her heel, Valkyrie broke free and let the man fall to the floor. She then flanked and placed her right foot over her windpipe.

He pulled out a scalpel, apparently with the intention of stabbing her in the ankle. Valkyrie used her Telekinesis and pulled the blade towards her as if it were nothing.

"Ah ah ah, watch out, didn't your mother tell you not to play with knives?" She put a little pressure on the boot, just for a little more convincing. Before she could say 'where she is', there was a loud, unpleasant laugh coming from the vicinity.

"I'M HERE! With Reykjavik and young Yuuko!" Luphinus came down the stairs with one person ... and Yuuko nestled in each of his arms. Both wore little more than hospital gowns and clung to a professional hero's tree. Yuuko recognized her immediately, the child visibly lighting up. Then she seemed to remember herself and kept her mouth shut.

"I ... gurk!"

"You can not talk." Valkyrie emphasized, pressing again on Orochi's throat. "And Morakawa Yuuko ..." Momoko finally allowed herself to breathe and felt the weight fall from her shoulders. "See you later, okay? I'm sure your mom is just worried about you." Yuuko nodded, and Valkyrie put Orochi on his feet. She had only moved one of his kneecaps so that he could still walk ... technically.

"One moment please." A small figure resembling some type of unknown animal spoke. Oh, right, Reykjavik. She would have to ask him what he was about later. "I would like to say something."

Luphinus nodded, he did a brief moment of silence before addressing Orochi.

"I hope you will think of us when you are in prison. Because we will certainly never think of you again. You and MICAH will become little more than a radar spot, and in the space of a month, no one will remember anyone from you."

Full of dignity, Reykjavik wrinkled his nose at the man.

Yuuko, however, showed his tongue out and spoke words, which was more like a curse, which scared everyone present at the place.

No one would need to know that Momoko internally was radiant with joy and happiness, due to Yuuko's first curse.

~ XxX ~

Some years later…

Reykjavik reread the e-mail again, even though he had the words memorized since the first time.

-You are invited to celebrate Morakawa Yuuko's graduation from the University of Tokyo School of Medicine. A small meeting will take place at the Holiday Restaurant in Hamura, starting at 1:45 pm. Food and alcohol will be provided-

The director smiled to himself and allowed himself to be a little proud. But how could he not? He had seen the girl grow up, blooming from a child who needed to be saved for someone who saved others. As a director, it was his duty to oversee the growth and education of hundreds of children, and he felt no lack of pride in seeing them graduate, grow and succeed in their chosen fields. But that? This was a little more personal.

Despite the general expectation that the graduation gifts would be in cash, Reykjavik had a pair of elegant black tonfas wrapped and hidden in his desk drawer. The girl liked to train and fight with them during the internship, since even a support hero had to know how to defend himself. The weapons were simple, but excellent for attacking and defending at close range. These tonfas in particular have been modified to be foldable to facilitate storage and movement. Would Reykjavik have to thank his people in any way ... maybe by balancing the budget for that new 3D printer that he could say the professor had been looking at passionately for over a month?

He was brought out of his thoughts by the buzz of the intercom, "Director Reykjavik? Lord Kakinomoto is here to see you." Ah, another sign of how things have been changing over the years.

"Thank you, let him in."

His office door opened cautiously and Reykjavik greeted one of his best friends with a smile and a nod as the hero sat on the couch. As the years went by, for all of them. Kakinomoto Yoshio nodded his head in recognition.

"Reykjavik * coughs * good to see you again, old friend."

"You too, Yoshio. Tea?" Reykjavik gestured to the prepared kettle, with a choice of several brands appropriate for someone who lost it was on the verge of death just a few weeks ago.

Yoshio nodded and Reykjavik spoke while making two cups of tea. "Once again, I want to make it clear that I am not trying to force any kind of decision here. I just believe that the Gran Rey Private Academy would be an excellent place for you to pass on your teachings and experiences to future generations. My feelings will not hurt if you say no. "

Yoshio sighed heavily. "No, I thought about your offer a lot and I think it is probably the best course of action I can take at the moment. Gran Rey is the best of the best when it comes to training heroes, although it is likely that I should officially retire in some weeks, there is no way for me to continue my duties as a hero in the same way as before. I can still work in the big cases, where some more muscles are needed, however the small cases and medium cases I will leave with the other professionals. , there is something that worries me. " Yoshio paused. "Well… and that I've never really… really… taught anyone before. If I were a teacher here, I would have to really… you know… be a teacher…" Reykjavik placed a cup of hot tea in front of him, and Yoshio cradled it in your hands.

"Oh, this can be resolved. You will simply have to get a teaching license, these things will be easy to achieve today. I imagine that with the amount of time it will take, you will not be really able to get into the body teacher until the next school year. After all, it's never too late to learn something new. " Yoshio did not seem completely convinced by his words. "For example, take the other new hire next semester: Doctoright." He smiled, thinking of her in her new blue hero uniform with a doctor's coat. "She was a medical student at the university, with absolutely no experience in a heroes course when she decided to start pursuing the idea of ​​becoming a professional."

"Oh, this is good, I-"

"Impressive, in fact, because she did most of her training and earned her provisional license while still attending medical school, and kept her grades in a state that she was consistently among the top 5 best in the class. She only won her full license a month ago, and she just graduated from university last week. With honors, I might add. "

"You look ... quite excited about her, Reykjavik."

Cheered up? Reykjavik had a typewritten job offer waiting in his outbox the minute Yuuko asked him about being a hero. And that was several years ago. She had done things a little more slowly than the other students, but Vetochkina's training in ... shall we say ... trickery activities, as well as Russian martial arts, had established most of the work for years. All he really needed to do was give some tips and watch the girl grow up on her own wings.

"Technically, she still has to do her residency, but we managed to make it so that our head nurse is her assistant doctor. A good year working in the field as a support heroine, and then she will come to work at Gran Rey in the infirmary. With her and you joining the team, I can already say that next year will be very exciting, don't you agree? "

Kakinomoto Yoshio just nodded.

"And that's not all, too, the next Winter Moon Festival will take place right here at the Gran Rey Private Academy. Just that thought makes me excited. A confrontation between the best students of each year from each School of Heroism. These young people will shine and shine. A confrontation of ideals. A confrontation of convictions. A confrontation of reality. A battle for glory. A battle for recognition.

-XxX-