The return of Team JNPR to Beacon was a bizarre mix of celebration and sheer terror.

In Vale, the populace practically threw a party. Team JNPR, once considered a walking hazard, had gone from being nuisances to full-blown heroes. Their flawless takedown of a Grimm horde, which an entire task force of Huntsmen and Huntresses had struggled with, erased any lingering resentment. They were even getting parades in their honor, as if blowing up an entire city was all part of the service.

The Vale government, however, was less enthusiastic. They officially classified Team JNPR as a "Level 5 Menace," a rating they had to invent on the spot because the team had apparently surpassed even the most dangerous Grimm horde of the last decade. After all, if the horde responsible for the destruction of Mountain Glenn was a "Level 4 Menace," the math was pretty clear for Team JNPR, who obliterated both the horde and the mountain. JNPR was scarier than the monsters. They were basically walking natural disasters, except with cheerful smiles and zero consideration for temperance.

Meanwhile, in Atlas, General Ironwood was beside himself with glee. He publicly praised JNPR's "cooperation" with his forces, but behind the closed doors of his office, he was heard giggling like a love-struck schoolgirl. The Atlas military was thrilled—finally, someone who could out-boom even their biggest cannons. Rumor had it the General was already drafting plans for a campaign into Grimm territories, just to see what JNPR could do with a real challenge.

Beacon's students and staff were desperately trying to figure out how to isolate JNPR without alerting them. The casual destruction of Mountain Glenn wasn't even the biggest concern. No, it was what Weiss had exclaimed in horror while watching the live footage: "Oh no... they're fucking contagious, now!?" after seeing Ren, the most no-nonsense student, transform into an explosive maniac and Pyrrha join him in the madness.

Back at Beacon, the mood was... less than jubilant. The students and staff scrambled to find a way to quarantine Team JNPR without tipping them off. And no, it wasn't the whole "destroying Mountain Glenn" thing that was alarming. That was old news. The real issue had become apparent when the school watched the footage of Ren—usually the most level-headed of the bunch—and Pyrrha, the school's golden child, gleefully turning into bomb-happy maniacs. They had fully joined Jaune and Nora. That's when Weiss perfectly summed up the situation with a haunted expression: "Oh no… they're fucking contagious!"

If any Beacon student hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation before, they immediately did when the Ice Queen, also known as Little Miss Perfect, casually dropped an f-bomb in the middle of the cafeteria.

On the morning of JNPR's return, students in the cafeteria bolted in every direction as the sound of a Bullhead landing outside reached their ears.

"They're coming! Everyone, run!"

"I don't want to catch the Jaunite!"

"I'll just wear headphones and pretend they don't exist! Brainwash protection!"

"That won't work! I heard they can just look at you and—POOF! You're an explosion maniac!"

Two shotgun blasts rang out, silencing the chaos. Yang stood on a table, looking exasperated.

"Okay, everyone, chill out! You're being ridiculous. It's not some kind of disease! Sure, Pyrrha joining them is... worrying, but she's been hanging around them for months. She was bound to snap at some point," Yang explained.

There were a few nervous nods of agreement, but Coco wasn't buying it. She dramatically pointed at Ruby.

"Yeah? Then explain your sister!"

All eyes turned to Ruby, who was sitting at a table, staring intently at her scroll, where the footage of the Mountain Glenn explosion played on loop. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was... squirming.

"Oh... yeah, that's the stuff..." she muttered under her breath, practically drooling.

Realizing the eerie silence around her, Ruby looked up to find the entire cafeteria staring in horror.

Ruby blinked, her face turning beet red. "What? It's art."

Yang threw up her hands in defeat.

"Okay, fine, she's a weapon freak, but she was already like that before Jaune, so it doesn't count!"

"Hey !" Ruby tried to retort before shrugging. "Yeah, fair point."

"Look," Yang continued, trying to rally the crowd. "Jaune's not some mastermind. He's just super into Dust. Sure, it's weird and a little intense, but we've all had phases, right? So just... avoid him, and he'll calm down eventually."

There were a few half-hearted nods, but also some skeptical murmurs.

"Newbie?" someone muttered. "I couldn't blow up a mountain on my best day."

"It's been six months, and he's only getting worse," another student whispered nervously.

Weiss stepped in.

"As long as Jaune isn't actively plotting to destroy the school, we can't do much. Just... avoid him. And for the love of Remnant, protect your more vulnerable teammates. We can't let him get his hands on anyone else like Ruby!"

But then the doors to the cafeteria flew open, and in strode Team JNPR. Pyrrha and Nora led the way, casually juggling grenades and Dust cartridges. Jaune and Ren followed, deep in conversation, occasionally tossing random explosives into the mix as they walked past.

"The disintegration radius was decent," Jaune said, completely unaware of the terrified whispers around them. "But I think we can push it even further."

"Well, the materials weren't ideal," Ren replied, as if discussing weekend plans instead of mass destruction. "We had to work with what we scavenged from those lousy bombs. But with a bit of tweaking, I think we can get closer to our theoretical maximum."

"The only issue," Ren added thoughtfully, "is that we're running low on Dust. We'll have to resupply soon, and we're out of money. We might have to get creative."

Any hope the students had left quickly fizzled out. A "creative" Team JNPR was not a good news.

"Don't worry about the money," Pyrrha said with a smile. "I've got plenty saved up from endorsements and tournament prizes. I'm happy to fund the next project."

"Yes, but even if money isn't a problem, Torchwick certainly is. There isn't much Dust left, and it's rationed per buyer. We had barely enough Dust for Mountain Glenn only because General Ironwood gave it to us, and we found more on site," Ren commented.

Jaune stroked his chin like a wise sage.

"What we need... is a new kind of explosive. Something that doesn't rely on Dust. Maybe..."

Team JNPR didn't notice, but the entire cafeteria froze, collective breath held, as Jaune pondered his next move. What he and his team didn't know was that, while Dust robbery had caused shortages, it wasn't at the point of strict rationing. And even if it was, Huntsmen and Huntresses (even those in training) would still have priority access to Dust for missions. No, Beacon and the local Dust market had subtly been cutting off Team JNPR's Dust supply, hoping to curtail their destruction spree. But here they were, already plotting workarounds.

"Maybe we could use Aura?" Nora suggested brightly. "Jaune's Semblance lets him supercharge Dust by feeding it his Aura, right? What if we just... skip the Dust and blow stuff up with Aura directly? Or charge Aura into something able to detonate, like our reusable grenades?"

"That's... genius, Nora!" Jaune's eyes lit up. "Team, we've got a new theory to test. TO THE TRAINING ROOM!"

And with that, Team JNPR sprinted out, Nora snatching a tray of pancakes on her way.

The cafeteria let out a collective groan. At last, one brave student finally spoke up.

"Hey, I know they're frickin' good at explosions, but charging Aura into objects? I mean, you can't expect them to always manage to blow things up with a random theory pulled out of their asses two minutes ago!"

BOOOM !

At that exact moment, a shockwave rattled the school, cracking the windows. A loud slap echoed as the entire cafeteria facepalmed in unison.

"Thanks for jinxing it, moron!"