Mirko sprinted through the corridors of the Hashimoto hideout at blinding speeds, disregarding all the Heroes and Cops who passed her. Right now, she was focused on one thing... well, one problem, to be more specific.
Okay, two problems, to be exact.
'Or more... ugh, whatever!'
First, the two individuals she was currently carrying. She had to get them to a hospital as fast as possible in case the hypothetical poison was lethal to their bodies. It was at this point that she began to wonder why there was no medical team in this entire operation.
While she didn't blame Lena or Lemillion for taking on Reaper—she herself had been about to do just that moments ago—the best they could have done would have been to buy time for the arrival of Burnin and her squad.
Although there was also the possibility that they had been trying to buy time, and Reaper simply floored them. But considering what little Nighteye and Burnin told them, she didn't think that was the case.
Second problem: Kojo and Nighteye. She didn't know what had happened, but she had a terrible feeling about it, and her hunches never failed, much to her misfortune.
Kojo had made it clear that there were only two ways for her Quirk to be turned off.
One was for her to turn it off herself, which couldn't be possible unless Kojo was a traitor—which in itself was ridiculous, especially when considering that Nighteye was literally by her side constantly.
And the other way to turn off her Quirk... was when she was asleep or passed out.
'Yup, neither option is good news,' Mirko thought, letting out an annoyed breath as she continued running down the path at full speed, quickly reaching the hideout's exit.
Mirko squinted at the sudden change in light, but quickly adjusted. She turned her gaze to the various Heroes and police officers scattered all over the area.
The latter were moving the unconscious Lot.
Lot was bound by several ultra-strong chains and straps all over his body, which was normal considering how dangerous he was and how powerful his Quirk was. Surely, during his youth, he had been a monster in combat.
"Mirko!" Suddenly, a curvaceous, attractive woman called out to her. It was none other than Mt. Lady, and she didn't look particularly happy, if the expression on her beautiful face was anything to go by. "I can't get through to Kojo-chan or Nighteye. What's going on? I can't lead my Team well if I don't have information on what's happening down there?"
Communication was vital in this type of operation, as it was a key and fundamental piece that kept all the teams united and coordinated, giving them the advantage of responding quickly to unforeseen situations and supporting each other.
Nighteye had only managed to order Mt. Lady to get all the Hashimoto captured on the second floor out of the hideout. Before he could give her next orders, Kojo's Mental Passage was suddenly cut off, leaving her Team adrift and adhering to the first order received.
Mt. Lady's gaze fell on Lena and Lemillion, transforming her annoyed expression into one of worry. "And what happened to those two? Wait, aren't those Nighteye's teammates?"
Mirko shook her head, indicating she didn't have time to talk, before adopting an Olympic runner's stance.
"I don't have time to explain, I need—" Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. She quickly set Lena and Mirio down carefully before looking Mt. Lady straight in the eye. "You! I need you to take these two to the nearest hospital! It's possible they have some kind of poison in their bodies!"
"Huh?! And why—" Mt. Lady was immediately interrupted by Mirko.
"I'll go see what's going on with Nighteye!" Mirko exclaimed, resuming her running position, this time with a fierce look in her eyes that would make one wonder if she was truly a rabbit or a wolf. "You can get there almost as fast as me with your Quirk, so hurry up, take them and go!"
Mt. Lady wanted to refute, but the look on Mirko's face quickly told her that she wasn't going to take 'No' for an answer.
"Okay, but—"
BOOM!
And from one moment to the next, Mirko disappeared, leaving a small crater precisely where she had been just a second ago.
Mt. Lady pouted as she activated her Quirk and picked up Nighteye's companions. "Do this... do that... do that... God, I need a milkshake."
Lena felt her consciousness slowly return, making her open her eyes gradually.
Only to close them immediately when the white light of a bulb momentarily blinded her.
"Oh, fuck..." Lena muttered, raising her arm to block the light.
Or rather, attempting to raise her arm.
"Huh?"
Opening her eyes again, she looked down and saw how thick leather straps were tied around her legs and arms, completely immobilizing her.
"What...?"
She tried desperately to free herself... but nothing. The straps were too strong and tightly bound to her body. They were possibly made of the same material used against Villains, rendering her Super Lesser Strength completely useless.
Laying her head back on the pillow, she let out a tired sigh as she closed her eyes, trying to suppress the panic rising in her throat and looking for options to escape this situation.
'This must be a Nighteye joke... right?' Lena thought resignedly, her mind feeling fuzzy, as if she had been punched directly in the head... or as if she had just watched a really bad show.
Lena herself smiled a little at the idea, though that didn't dispel the fear forming deep in her stomach.
She suddenly tried to use her Quirk... only for nothing to happen beyond an even worse feeling of emptiness and dizziness.
"Oh God... I'm so hungry," Lena moaned in annoyance as the feeling of emptiness in her stomach deeply overwhelmed her.
The entire situation was causing Lena immense stress.
"Calm down... breathe..." Lena told herself, doing exactly that: breathing and inhaling to calm her heart.
Once she managed to calm her heart, she let out a relieved sigh, although the feeling of dizziness and emptiness still lingered.
Suddenly, the sensation of being watched from different angles assaulted her, but there was no one there. Yet she swore—no, she knew something was looking at her as if she were not a person, but an animal that needed to be studied and analyzed in depth.
That made her heart race again.
'Okay! Okay! What do you remember before you woke up here?' Lena asked herself, closing her eyes and trying to recall.
...Nighteye... Raid... Lot... Reaper...
Suddenly, as if a ghost had struck her—no, it was as if she had been shoved into a human shredder, turned on, cut into tiny pieces of flesh, and then set on fire.
Lena screamed in agony as she writhed on the bed, her body began to convulse in pain, her heart began to pound so hard she couldn't hear anything else, her lungs ran out of air, but even then she continued to scream and writhe in unbelievable pain.
As she screamed in pain, she looked around the room in despair.
Wall.
Wall.
Wall.
She was trapped, locked in a small room.
In a capsule.
In her capsule.
Lena's breathing began to falter, tears began to fall from her eyes as a sense of absolute fear enveloped her like a blanket... a big blanket that reminded her of her worst nightmares.
Forgotten memories of being lost between the past and the future as she disappeared from the present flooded her, staining her mind with panic.
She didn't notice how several people in robes rushed into the room and tried to restrain her, causing Lena's panic to rise several notches.
She didn't notice when one of the robed individuals injected her with something.
Nor did she notice when they stopped restraining her.
She simply felt her mind become more and more distant, as a deep drowsiness assaulted her from the inside out. Her body stopped responding to her as exhaustion took over.
The last thing Lena managed to discern was an unusually attractive blue-skinned woman smiling arrogantly at her, a syringe in her hand filled with something... red.
And a middle-aged, red-haired woman who was looking at her with a sick fascination, although her expression was one of total indifference. She stood to one side of the blue-skinned woman.
A sense of danger assaulted her...
...only to disappear as she fell into the realm of unconsciousness.