My Hero Academia: Discovery of Q-Energy
Chapter 10: Ruins and Fallen Numbers
The air around UA was thick with the acrid scent of smoke, dust, and the oppressive weight of imminent destruction. Once a symbol of hope, the once-proud walls of the school had been reduced to nothing more than crumbling ruins, scarred by the relentless assault of the League of Villains and the mechanical monstrosities they had unleashed. Fire crackled in the distance, casting an eerie glow across the shattered remains of classrooms and hallways. The scent of burnt metal and wood mixed with the stench of something far darker—an all-consuming threat that loomed over the entire city.
Aizawa stood in the midst of the chaos, his body battered, yet his eyes sharp as ever. "Midoriya! Bakugo! You're with me—take point!" His voice, harsh and commanding, cut through the din of battle, steady despite the overwhelming odds.
"Right!" Midoriya's voice rang out with unwavering determination. The young hero, his green eyes alight with the ferocity of battle, nodded to his longtime rival, Bakugo.
"Let's blow some shit up!" Bakugo snarled, his usual brashness tempered only by the weight of the situation. The two charged forward, unleashing their quirks with unrelenting force, cutting through the battlefield with speed and precision.
Chiba and Jun, stationed on the far flank, moved with tactical grace, their every step synchronized. Chiba's keen eyes flickered across the battlefield, every motion deliberate as her quirk
kicked in. Her projectile attacks whizzed through the air, each one finding its mark with deadly accuracy, as she kept an unblinking watch over their position.
"Left side!" Chiba barked, taking down a pair of robotic spiders with a swift volley of precision strikes. Her stance was unwavering, the focus in her gaze matched only by her speed. "They're sending in more."
Jun's quirk, was a fearsome thing to behold. With each pulse of energy, the air around him shimmered, distorting as the intensity of his flames scorched the air and everything in its path. The robotic spiders—massive, arachnid machines, each one enhanced by the twisted Q-energy—scuttled across the battlefield, their legs clanging against the broken stone as they honed in on the students.
"They're relentless!" Jun growled, unleashing another concentrated burst of heat that sent a wave of fire crashing into the swarm, melting through the metal and setting the remaining spiders ablaze. Yet even as they fell, new ones emerged from the shadows, their bodies repaired by an unseen force. "This isn't the main attack. They're just buying time."
"Keep them off us!" Aizawa's voice cut through the tension as he and the others regrouped. "Yaoyorozu, get to work on fortifications—Todoroki, cover the perimeter!"
Behind the frontlines, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Iida were already hard at work under Nezu's command. The principal, ever the strategist, had gathered them together in the heart of the ruins, pulling up a holographic map of UA's underground systems on a portable tablet.
"We have a bigger problem than we thought," Nezu said, his small voice edged with urgency and a faint sign of injury. His normally composed demeanor cracked slightly under the stress of the situation. "A Q-Energized Bomb is hidden somewhere beneath the plaza. It's a new design—far more destructive than any bomb we've encountered. The Q-energy signature is off the charts."
Yaoyorozu, always the calm strategist, was already analyzing the data. "If we can locate the bomb's activation device, I can create a way to disarm it. We just need to find it quickly." She glanced at Todoroki, who was already melting the debris around them to clear a path.
"Leave it to me," Todoroki said coldly, his left side enveloped in ice as he created a barrier around the group. The temperature dropped instantly, and the surrounding fires were smothered by his chilling ice. "I'll keep any reinforcements from reaching us."
"I'll move ahead and search for the bomb," Iida said, his voice determined, though his hands trembled slightly from the pressure. "Please… keep the others safe."
Meanwhile, the frontlines were slipping into chaos. Midoriya and Bakugo, each bearing the weight of their responsibility, fought through the wave of robotic spiders, their quirks clashing against the machines in a spectacular display of power. But the robots were learning, adapting to their tactics.
"The hell are these things?!" Bakugo barked, dodging a swipe from one of the robots and retaliating with an explosive blast that sent it skidding across the ground. "I can't even get a clean shot at them!"
"They're adapting to our moves," Midoriya said, his brow furrowing in concern as he observed the spiders' behavior. "It's like they're learning our tactics!"
"We'll just have to hit harder!" Bakugo growled, his palms sparking with explosive energy. He shot forward again, his attacks more ferocious than ever.
But as they fought, a new presence made itself known. A deep, mechanical hum echoed through the air as a new threat descended from the shadows. A massive, humanoid robot, its head shaped like a sleek, angular camera lens, loomed into view. Its crimson eye glowed with a sinister light as it advanced toward the group, its movements smooth and eerily calculating.
"That thing… it's the one," Midoriya said quietly, his throat tight with recognition. "The one that's been linked to the brutal killings."
"This is it," Bakugo muttered, tightening his fists. "Time to end this."
Without warning, the camera robot charged, its long limbs extending with deadly speed. A mechanical whir rang out as its camera lens began to flash, releasing disorienting bursts of light in an attempt to disorient them. The sheer force of its strike sent shockwaves through the air, knocking Bakugo off balance.
"We need to stay together!" Midoriya shouted, grabbing Bakugo's arm to keep him from falling into the path of another strike.
Jun's voice rang out from behind them. "I've got this!" With a forceful shout, he launched a devastating Heatwave, sending a tidal wave of flames surging toward the robot. The intense heat distorted the air around it, but the robot reacted, its mechanical limbs moving to shield its body.
Chiba, standing at a distance, launched a series of projectiles aimed directly at the robot's joints. The darts hit their target with precision, yet the robot barely slowed down. "It's enhanced beyond anything we've faced," she said grimly. "We need a different strategy."
As the battle raged on, the camera robot continued its relentless assault. The students worked together, but the robot adapted to every move, countering them with cold efficiency. Bakugo's explosive blasts barely scratched its surface, and Midoriya's One For All was stymied by the robot's ability to repair itself.
"We have to stop it from adapting!" Midoriya shouted. "It's learning our every move!"
But before anyone could act, the robot unleashed a final, fatal attack, its massive arms slashing through the air. The attack pierced through Chiba's chest, her body crumpling as the camera robot's blade retracted.
"Chiba!" Jun screamed, his voice cracking as he rushed to her side.
"No, no, no…" Tears blurred his vision, his hands trembling as he checked for any sign of life. But it was too late.
Grief surged through him like a tidal wave, and in that moment, something snapped inside him. Jun's hands glowed with an unbearable intensity as he unleashed the full force of his Heatwave. The blast radiated from him in all directions, hotter than anything he had ever summoned, but it wasn't enough to destroy the robot.
In a final act of vengeance, the robot's limbs surged forward, one slicing clean through Jun's torso. His scream echoed across the battlefield, silencing the carnage for a moment.
"No!" Midoriya shouted, his voice raw with agony. He reached out for his fallen friends, but the battlefield was a whirlwind of destruction.
Meanwhile, Grim Mutation and Tanji were preparing to board a sleek, unmarked plane, its engines already revving in anticipation. The real Q-Energized Bomb—the one that would reshape the world in ways no one could anticipate—was loaded into the cargo hold.
"All Might, Midoriya, Bakugo…" Grim Mutation mused, her voice cold as ice, "They think they've won. They don't even understand what's coming. Quick. We're wasting precious time."
The plane's door slammed shut behind her, and Tanji replies. "Why did you kill them?"
Grim Mutation stops in her steps as this question is asked. "They are traitors. Now tell me. What is the purpose of that question?"
"Its just..." Tanji responds in a timid and scared manner, "They were my friends. Even if they did betray the cause... We could have convinced them otherwise—"
"It is pointless." Grim Mutation responds with grandoise indifference.
"What?" Tanji asks in shock.
"Let this be a lesson: Traitorous Turncoats deserve nothing but death." She responds as Grim Mutation's Eyes glow that multicolored hue. "Turncoats do not deserve sympathy, pity, or even reward, but punishment. Every betrayal has their consequences, a price, and they paid it. Granted I'd wish to see Taiko conform to her fate as well..."
"Gh!" Tanji mutters quietly in realization and fear of the true nature of his master.
"...We have a busy agenda. And now that I settled my score with that experiment, I can now conduct the final stages of my plan. Now we will see an empire fall. Now All Might's Legacy will be forever in ruins, and that is... so... so... delicious."
The horror in Tanji's face is a realization of his own crimes. A face of the truth shattering a convoluted lie. The mask comign off to reveal the ugly insides. He had been on the wrong side. And yet he foolishly sided with her. Only now Tanji realized this fact, and though he hid it, he could feel his stomach turning, his eyes burning, his hands trembling. She never cared about them. Only for their usefulness.
"Now." Shigaraki asks. "When will we be commencing the attack?"
"Right now." Grim Mutation responds.
"Which ever one is Tanji, get ready for a fight with the heroes." Dabi responds as he gets confused with the seemingly identical villains of Shigaraki and Dabi.
"Right here." Tanji responds with much hesitance.
"Now. BURN, ALMIGHT... BURN FOREVER..." Grim Mutation's voice dripped with venomous malice and clear sadism.
Tanji remained silent, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. Inside, a tempest of regret and fear churned, threatening to consume him. Each word spoken by Grim Mutation cut deeper into his conscience, a relentless reminder of the horrors he had abetted.
"Traitors deserve death." Her words echoed in his mind like a sinister mantra. What about me? he thought, the weight of his betrayal suffocating him. What do I deserve?
Yet he knew one thing for certain: when the time came, he would have to make a choice. And this time, he vowed, he would not falter. And he already made his choice. All he needed was the right time to strike.
The chaos had not yet subsided when the battle shifted in the most tragic of ways. Jun's fury had ignited a deadly blaze that consumed the battlefield, but the robot remained unyielding, its cold logic overriding any sign of weakness. The students fought valiantly, but each new blow felt like a death sentence. The robots adapted, learned, and struck back harder with each passing moment.
"Chiba..." Midoriya whispered, his voice raw with grief. He could barely comprehend the loss of his friend, the weight of her absence settling in his chest like an unshakable stone. But they had no time to mourn. Jun's scream still echoed in his mind, and the battlefield around them had become a blur of grief and violence. They needed to regroup—they needed to stop this monster.
Bakugo was the first to act. His rage exploded into action, his hands crackling with explosive power. "I don't give a damn about your machines!" he yelled, launching himself toward the camera robot with renewed intensity. His attack collided with the robot's mechanical frame, a burst of force that sent the machine stumbling back.
But the robot's crimson eye flickered, analyzing Bakugo's every move. It countered with brutal efficiency, its long limbs swinging with precise accuracy. The air hummed with the mechanical whir of its movements, a constant reminder of its unrelenting nature. But Bakugo wasn't backing down.
"Midoriya, cover me!" Bakugo shouted, sweat dripping down his face as he launched another barrage of explosions.
Midoriya nodded, his heart heavy but his resolve unwavering. "Right! One For All—FULL FORCE!" The surge of power coursed through him, and with it, Midoriya charged, his fists glowing with a fiery aura. He aimed for the robot's weak points—the joints, the circuits, any spot where its defenses were thinner.
But even as their combined attacks tore through the machine, it adapted once again. The camera robot's limbs twisted and adjusted, almost as though it was mocking their efforts.
"We can't keep this up," Midoriya said, his voice filled with frustration. "We need to find a way to stop it from learning our moves."
"That's it!" Bakugo's eyes widened with realization. "If we can get it to stop analyzing us—we stop it."
A new idea formed in Midoriya's mind. He understood what they had to do.
"We can overload its system! If we disrupt its sensor array, it'll lose its ability to adapt!" Midoriya shouted, looking at Bakugo.
"Good idea, Greenie. Let's do it," Bakugo smirked, his hands igniting with explosive fury once more.
Without another word, they moved in sync, attacking the robot's sensor points with renewed precision. Bakugo's blasts shattered several of its legs, while Midoriya used the force of his punches to cripple its central core.
The camera robot screeched, its lights flickering erratically as its system struggled to compensate. It staggered, its once-sleek form now buckling under the weight of their combined assault. It raised its arms for one final strike, but before it could land the blow, Bakugo launched one last explosive attack that sent the robot flying backward, its massive body crashing into the debris.
The dust of battle still hung in the air as the remnants of UA crumbled around the young heroes. Their hearts were heavy with the loss of Jun and Chiba, and the weight of their fallen comrades' sacrifices pressed down on them like an insurmountable mountain. But the fight was not over—far from it.
"We've got one more chance," Midoriya said, his voice strained, but his resolve unwavering. "We have to stop Grim Mutation and the Q-Energized Bomb. If we don't, it's over for everyone."
Bakugo nodded sharply, his face a mask of determination. "No more playing around. We're going to end this."
The urgency in their words was clear. They knew what was at stake, and they couldn't afford to waste another second. Their bodies ached, their wounds from the earlier battle still fresh, but their minds were clear. They were going to put an end to Grim Mutation's twisted plans.
"Let's move," Midoriya ordered, and they began to run, the flames of their fallen comrades still flickering in their minds.
As they approached the remnants of the UA gates, a sleek, unmarked plane appeared in the distance, rising slowly into the sky, its engines roaring to life. It was the vessel that would carry the Q-Energized Bomb to its destination—the final piece in Grim Mutation's catastrophic plan.
"We can't let it get away," Bakugo growled, his hands crackling with energy. "Get ready to make your move."
"For Jun. For Chiba." Taiko responds. "For everyone she has killed."
"Me, Bakugo, and Taiko will take on Grim Mutation." Izuku responds to the rest of Class 1-A. "The rest of you handle the rest."
"Of course, Izuku!" Uraraka responds.
"Will do." Jirou responds.
"Remember, Bakugo." Shoto responds.
"Yeah, yeah." Bakugo responds. "Remember what you talked about."
"Good." Shoto replies.
"I'll be joining you three too." Almight responds. "I have a sin to atone."
"Ready when you are, Deku!" Bakugo responds.
"GO!" Izuku yells, and the four rush to plane and jumps into the closing door in the back and into the loading dock hidden in the cargo.
At this moment, the mastermind behind this nightmare and her full strength will be unveiled in the final battle for Almight's legacy and yet the four do not know the full intensity and power they will face, for every bit of hair adds to the apocayptic power she has. And there is no going back, for the devil has opened the door to hell and pulled them in.
"Stay strong..." Nezu replies as the plane takes off.
Suddenly the Camera Robot starts moaning as it wakes up like it barely took damage from Bakugo's attack.
"Seriously?!" Kaminari shouts. "Does this thing die?!"
"We're in for it now." Uraraka replies in dread.
"It certainly seems that way." Momo responds with the same dread.
Two battles. One on earth and one in the sky. Determining the fates of many have never been so convoluted before. And thus, begin the beginning of the end.
To Be Continued...