The problems started for the teachers when the QICDs started their attack.
Marinette and Adrien were checking one of the monitoring rooms in the basement of one of the buildings when an explosion occurred. The two hurried to the surface and were met with a frightening sight.
Amajiki and Nejire were all locked in a battle against several QICD units. Nejire was flying through the air and continuously blasted her energy waves at the ground, slamming a few while missing some more units as she went. Amajiki had clams for hands and he was swinging at two units that were closing in. Adrien noticed some giant tentacles littering the ground as he fought.
"Well, that was quick," Marinette commented before grabbing her yo-yo and joining the fight.
With Adrien behind her, the spotted heroine launched her weapon at one of the QICD units that was dodging Nejire's attacks and swung it at her. The blue-haired hero cheered and blasted the mech at close range, sending it flying through the air and into a nearby building. Marinette then lassoed at a nearby building and launched herself into the air and lassoed another mech on the ground. Reeling it in, she swung the unit back towards the concrete street with as much strength as she could.
Nejire watched, fascinated at her work. She flew in close to the spot where Marinette delivered the mech and blasted it with a close-range energy wave, inflicting the most amount of damage she could do against the unit.
The mech, still in one piece, quickly shot back to its feet and blasted past Nejire. Landing nearby, the unit re-adjusted its tilted head and its dislocated arm. Scanning units...Threat identified! Nejire Hado, Quirk: Wave Motion. Energy-based Quirk powered by user's vitality. Recommended counter-measure: long-range evasion.
The unit turned to Marinette as she landed nearby. Scanning...Threat identified. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Quirk: Ladybug. Unknown creation factor powered by user's life energy. Recommended counter-measure: Disarm and capture.
"Damn, my one weakness," Marinette said. "Right up there with fresh buttery croissants and biscuits..."
"Don't forget my modeling photos!" Adrien bellowed out.
Nejire felt her cheeks puff up and her face turn red as she held back a laugh. Her eyes darted between her and Adrien with a wide smile on her face. Marinette saw her reaction and sighed heavily.
Speaking of Adrien, he was using his taser bo staff to repeatedly strike against two other units. While he couldn't access the kill switches located underneath their helmets, his rapid strikes were able to send the appropriate amount of energy throughout their bodies. He targeted one of the units as its arm was extended, delivering a shock that locked the arm in place.
Meanwhile, Amajiki used his squid arms to ensnare two units and slam them into the side of a building. Thanks to the alleyway he chose to fight in, he managed to continuously smash the mechs into the walls, causing significant damage to his targets.
In a desperate move, one of the mechs activated its arm-mounted saber and sliced outward, causing Amajiki to exclaim in pain and let them both go flying down the alleyway. Their flight was short-lived as a section of the building crumbled and crushed the two units. "DAMMIT! Those things are armed!" He called out.
"Whatever happened to the First Law?" Marinette wondered as she dodged a thrust of one of the mech's saber.
"Sounds like this Winters chick doesn't care about it!" Nejire wondered aloud.
Retracting his tentacles, Amajiki checked for any lasting damage. At that moment, a QICD neared him with its saber extended. Acting on instinct, Amajiki quickly wrapped his uninjured tentacles around the mech, regardless of its obviously erect saber. Scanning unit...threat identified! Tamaki Amajiki. Quirk: Manifest. Animal characteristics detected. Popular selections for food. Conclusion: Quirk ability allows target to copy characteristics of eaten objects.
Amajiki's eyes widened. Whoa, talk about perceptive.
Suggested counter-measure: Wow Amajiki, you're so cool when you use your Quirk like that. All of Japan will love you in no time!
Amajiki and Adrien both gasped at the unit's actions. The pro hero continued to tighten his grasp on the unit, though now he used his free hand to pull his hood down a little more, covering the growing red blush forming across his cheeks. "S-Stop..."
Man, Suneater is a really cool hero name! I can't wait to have a little action figure of you someday!
Amajiki started to shake a little bit. GO SUNEATER! THE HOTTEST HERO AROUND!
Amajiki shook his head. "STOP IT!" He began to squeeze harder, determined to crush the mech.
The QICD narrowed its field of vision at him. Initiating counter-measures!
The mech suddenly pushed outward with all of its might. The act caught Amajiki off-guard as the mech then launched into the air and landed nearby. The mech then retracted its saber, activated two small jets on its legs and dashed toward the pro hero.
"AMAJIKI!" Nejire called out, but it was too late. The QICD slipped into Amajiki's personal space and delivered an uppercut straight into his stomach. The air was knocked out of him as he was lifted off of the ground before dropping onto his back.
Nejire growled as she flew in with her Quirk charged. "Stupid machines!"
Incorrect. I am designed with a high-grade AI developed by the Paranormal Liberation Front, the unit said as it focused on her.
"Stupid machine from a stupid group!" Nejire called out as she fired an energy wave at the mech.
The QICD was quick to react by using the armor from its chest and shoulders to create an outstretched shield, blocking the wave. Nejire quickly fired another wave at it, this time as she dove past it and aimed behind its defenses. The energy wave blasted the mech forward, crashing into the sidewalk.
Moving quick, Nejire closed in. "This should do the trick! 5% Gringe Wave! Point-Blank!"
Before she could fire her attack, the QICD retracted its shields and aimed one of its fists at her. Executing counter-measure!
The mech fired its fist, which was attached to a large wire, directly at Nejire's face. The attack forced her to fire her attack up into the air as she flew backward and landed nearby. The mech then turned to the Miraculous duo. Interesting...your Quirks disappeared, it stated.
Marinette gripped her yo-yo tightly. "We don't technically have Quirks..."
And yet you do. Preliminary readings indicate you possess a Creation-type Quirk and you...the mech gestured to Adrien. You have a Disintegration-type Quirk. Polar opposites, yet your team dynamic is flawless.
Adrien smiled. "I trust my bugaboo with my life, as she trusts me with hers. Plus, we've been doing this for a few years," he said.
The QICD tilted its head. Intriguing...
"Oh don't be so surprised, unit #186! I designed you to see past that!" A woman's voice broke through their conversation.
Marinette and Adrien's attention shifted to the building opposite of them. High above them and relaxing on a balcony was the young woman they were looking for. Her mischievous smile was accompanied with a large wrench in her hand. "Well then...I'd say this was a long-overdo meeting, eh? You're the new kids on the block, aren't you?"
Adrien sighed. "Abigail Winters, I presume?"
Uraraka cursed to whatever god there was that dealt with luck when the QICD holding Midoriya started flying. She and a few others were close enough to the mech to see him beginning to wake up when it sprouted wings and flew off. Though, it only became a minor inconvenience for one of them.
Bakugo, one of the few friends that gave chase after the QICD and Midoriya, started to laugh as it took off. "Damn things got another upgrade then?!" He bellowed out.
"Seems that way!" Yaoyorozu said as she handed him his Grenadier Bracer. "Here you go. Uraraka, your grapple hook working well?"
Uraraka gave a thumbs up. "Thanks again for the idea of keeping our equipment specs on hand at all times! You got Deku's gloves?"
Yaoyorozu nodded and tossed the gloves to her as they appeared from her stomach. "Bakugo, that thing is getting away! It looks faster than you too," she said.
Bakugo smiled. "Shut up Ponytail. You could just say it's getting away," he said.
"Wasn't sure if you'd respond to that one," the Everything Hero commented.
Bakugo rolled his eyes. "I'll get your nerdy boyfriend, Cheeks. Just try and keep up!" He slipped his bracer on and blasted the ground, propelling him through the air and toward the QICD.
Uraraka canceled her gravity as well as Yaoyorozu's. "Ready!"
Yaoyorozu nodded and created two comically large springs. Jumping on them, she propelled into the air after the explosive hero-to-be, leaving Uraraka to fire her grapple hook at the Class Rep. The Everything Hero used it to pull Uraraka high into the air, bringing her classmate with her.
While Bakugo was busy firing small explosions at the mech's head, Yaoyorozu and Uraraka made their way onto the QICD. "RELEASE!" Uraraka called out, returning their gravity and crashing onto the mech. "SURPRISE!" Uraraka called out.
Immediately, the mech began to fall. EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! WEIGHT LIMIT REACHED! The mech called out.
As the mech fell, Bakugo started to steer it to Ground Beta by grabbing its head and pulling it wherever he wanted it to go. "WAKE UP YOU DAMN NERD!" He yelled.
"DEKU! WAKE UP!" Uraraka called out.
"MIDORIYA! HAGAKURE IS IN YOUR ROOM AGAIN!" Yaoyorozu bellowed.
"Ughh...what? Is she?!" Midoriya groggily spoke up.
Uraraka eyed Yaoyorozu. "Ya know, the fact that me calling out to him didn't wake him up says some things," she admitted.
Yaoyorozu shrugged. "She has a habit of sneaking off though," she said.
As they continued to fall, the scene on the ground continued.
Abigail rolled her eyes at the use of her name. "I'm glad you've done your research, but it doesn't matter in this case. I just want what I'm owed!" She bellowed.
"No can do!" Marinette responded. "You're not taking Midoriya! He's not owed to you!"
Abigail smiled. "He is. See, he's destroyed a good chunk of my robots and demonstrated a power that even I wasn't expecting. It's no wonder the Paranormal Liberation Front wants him so bad..."
Adrien raised his staff. "You're working with villains? Why?"
"Yeah. Aren't they fighting to allow Quirks to be used by everyone at anytime or something?" Marinette argued.
"Perhaps, but that works well for me. More Quirk users openly destroying the world means more data for my QICDs. Honestly, I'm just protecting the normal people of the world by striking back against the false gods that society worships!" Abigail bellowed.
Marinette gripped her yo-yo. "You sound like an akuma..."
Adrien nodded. "So somebody must've gotten to her. Usually leverage, but she comes from a Quirk family," he wondered.
Marinette nodded. "So you're willing to hurt innocent people to further a goal?"
"Innocent? There are NO INNOCENT people when you consider the last 200 years! Even now, 80% of the world has a Quirk, leaving the rest of us as powerless weaklings that are considered sub-human! We're under the boots of the false gods of this world, and they're pressing down on us every year when more Quirked children are born! I will not stand for that!"
"But attacking people who've done nothing wrong? Can you honestly sleep well at night knowing that you're planning on subjugating nearly the whole world?" Marinette bellowed.
"Not the whole world! I will admit that I don't have the resources to expand beyond Japan...but that doesn't mean what happens here won't affect the world. People will look at Japan and realize what I've believed for a while now: Quirks are highly overrated!"
While they were talking, Mr. Aizawa noticed the two downed heroes and rushed over to them. "Oh no, just go on ahead and check on them. It's not like we were talking, Aizawa!" Abigail called out to him.
He said nothing while he stayed with them. Abigail sighed as she leaned over the balcony where she stood. "Well anyway, it shouldn't be a problem much longer. My QICDs have just finished a surprise raid on the 2-A dorms, so I should have Izuku Midoriya all wrapped up like a neat little present soon enough. Honestly, I hope the delivery is better than when I ordered that tea set online. Having a cracked saucer plate and two chipped cups ruined it for me," she mumbled.
"You WHAT?!" Aizawa, Marinette and Adrien all exclaimed.
Abigail smiled. "What? Just because you destroyed most of my Type 1 mechs doesn't mean I didn't have more made. The few weeks before term started was basically a workshop period where I've been making more and more mechs. I just kept a few Type 3 Fairy QICDs nearby the dorm just in case."
Her smile widened as she cupped her ear. "Hark, I think I can hear it now. I can just hear its-"
"DIE!"
Marinette, Adrien and Mr. Aizawa all looked to the sky to see the Fairy QICD plummet to the ground with Bakugo, Yaoyorozu and Uraraka on its back. Midoriya landed right next to it on his back with his gloves on. Bakugo started to laugh as he pressed both of his hands onto the back of the mech's head and let off a powerful explosion, making him jump up slightly while cackling.
Uraraka leapt off of the QICD and rushed over to Midoriya. Yaoyorozu created a bo staff and a First Aid Kit. "They look hurt, Mr. Aizawa."
The Erasure Hero chuckled. "Your powers of perception are well noted. They're just a little sore right now but they're alright," he said. "I have them."
"Yesss...and here I thought I had the upper hand here," Abigail said.
Uraraka helped Midoriya to his feet as they both peered up to her. "But now I can see that no matter how hard I try, your Quirks are the problem I cannot solve with some sneaky maneuver. Even a civil discussion didn't work with you all. I guess Quirks have made you all so used to the idea that you're untouchable," she continued.
With a snap of her fingers, the QICD underneath Bakugo suddenly rose up, knocking him back. The mech flew into the air as Abigail raised her hands up, allowing it to take hold of her. It flew high into the air. "I guess now you all have to see what I've been cooking up for a while! Project OP is finally ready! Activate command sequence: Kronos!"
Underneath the training ground, the massive Executor robot activated and smashed its way through the faux road, sending debris all over the place. Grasping onto buildings, it pulled itself up and out of its hole before towering over the heroes on the ground. The robot grabbed the attention of the remaining pros inside the training ground, forcing them to converge on their position.
The QICD and Abigail flew all the way to the head of the robot and settled on top of it. Tapping on its head, Abigail took a small elevator down into the inside of the head where a command center was built. With three heavily armored and armed QICDs standing ready, Abigail smiled. "Activate command sequence: Hoard!"
The large structure in-between the treads opened up, revealing a large assortment of silver canisters arranged into rows of 20. One by one, each row deposited its selection of canisters, which then opened up to reveal a QICD unit. More and more rows began to appear and more and more units armed themselves.
As the heroes all readied for battle, a small explosion erupted behind them and Iida came barreling in with his hero suit on, minus the helmet. He also had four suitcases tucked under his arms and strapped to his back. "Hello everyone! Who ordered hero costumes?"
Uraraka looked behind him to see Mina, Tsu, Kirishima, Ojiro, the floating gloves of Hagakure, Sato, and a few others from their dorm all geared up and ready. "You got them all?"
"Well, some elected to stick around and help clean up. Turns out there were a few QICDs hanging around the 2-B dorm too," Iida said. He tossed them their suitcases. "Though finding somewhere to get changed will be difficult."
Yaoyorozu smiled. "I'll just grab my belt and the books..."
"And my gloves and REAL bracers..."
"My bo staff and spare grappler should be enough for now..." Uraraka said.
Midoriya tested the feel of his gloves by flexing them. "These are perfect, though I'm thankful you brought my shoes and iron soles. Thank you Iida for bringing them," he said.
"Got it!"
"So...what's the game plan?"
Marinette turned to Adrien. "You're her target, Midoriya. As for that robot..."
"Probably a bigger version of a QICD. Probably scanned all of us already for our Quirks too," Midoriya wondered.
"So...play it careful?" Uraraka wondered.
Midoriya responded by powering up. One for All...Full Cowling...!
The last row of QICDs were fully assembled. Inside the massive robot, Abigail gave the command. "Activate combat parameters! Neutralize all Quirks! Bring me Izuku Midoriya!"
On the ground, the robots responded. Parameters recognized...accepted. Primary target identified...Izuku Midoriya. Primary objective identified...capture primary target. Neutralize resistance. The bots then all charged forward toward the heroes.
Midoriya smiled. ...25%!
"LET'S GO!"
"PLUS ULTRA!"
The class, as well as Marinette and Adrien all rushed to meet the mechanical menace. Midoriya shot forward and fired a single punch at an advancing QICD. The shockwave shook the training ground, beginning their battle.
I'll do an A/N in the next chapter. It'll be pretty long but it has been a while so I want to get some things out there before continuing. I'll be keeping that A/N up though, even when I update.
