—Ground Beta—
Renji and Yaoyorozu walked into the building to set up. They were the villain team so their goals were defending the bomb until the time limit ends or capturing the heroes.
Yaoyorozu snuck a glance at Renji. He didn't seem out of the ordinary, he had a focused look on his face and threw out a smile every now and then when he noticed her looking.
There was no indication of anger or anything that could explain why he had hurt Mina earlier.
She scanned the floor that they would be keeping the bomb.
"So, do you have any plans?" Yaoyorozu asked, placing a hand on the makeshift bomb.
Renji tapped one of his jacket pockets and a small flat canister popped out sharply into his hand.
"Yeah," he finally said, his voice even. "Kaminari's their power supply. Jiro's the scout. If we can control how they use their Quirks, they'll run out of options."
Yaoyorozu tilted her head. "Meaning?"
Renji tapped the side of his canister with a grin. "Electricity makes heat. And heat is my bread and butter. If Kaminari gets reckless, he'll just be fueling me. But we can't let him know that right away. First, we need to make him think his Quirk's a threat."
"As for Jiro," He began, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket. "She's a non threat. Considering her current capabilties, the most she can do is scout us out or burst our eardrums."
Renji turned to look at Yaoyorozu and pointed to her ears. "Make some earmuffs for yourself, maybe some metal rods you can stick around here too."
"What about for you?" She asked, turning around to use her quirk. "Isn't it too dangerous without any protection?"
"Don't worry about me." Renji replied confidently, "My body won't break unless I tell it to."
—
From outside the building, Jirō pressed an earjack against the wall. Vibrations spread through the concrete, and she nodded toward Kaminari.
"They're on the top floor, near the center. Barricades, and… I can hear Yaoyorozu's metal shifting around."
Kaminari exhaled, trying to keep the sparks in his palms under control. "So they're already set up. Figures."
Jiro smirked. "We don't rush them head-on. If Renji's as crafty as he seems, he wants you to blast first. I'll pinpoint their positions while you keep the pressure up."
Kaminari gave a thumbs-up. "Got it. Controlled bursts. You do the ears, I'll do the lightning."
They crept inside, moving carefully through the stairwell. Jiro tapped her jacks against the walls at each landing, feeding Kaminari quiet updates: "Two floors up. Still stationary. They know we're coming."
Finally, outside the bomb room, Jiro crouched low and whispered, "Yaoyorozu's behind the barricade. Renji's near the center, it looks like he's just waiting."
Kaminari frowned. "Creepy. Fine. I'll test the waters."
He pressed his palm against the doorframe. Electricity leaked out in a weak pulse, skittering across the metal hinges and bleeding into the floor. The air buzzed faintly as the current spread like ripples in water.
Inside the bomb room, the steel rods Yaoyorozu had placed vibrated and sparked faintly. Heat shimmered off the surfaces as Renji's canister gave a sharp click and began to glow faintly red, sucking in the warmth left behind.
Yaoyorozu's eyes widened. "He's testing us."
Renji's lips curled into a grin. "Perfect."
He tapped the side button on the canister. A ripple of superheated air exploded outward, racing down the hallway like a flaming shockwave.
Outside, Jiro yanked Kaminari back just in time as the flame wall roared past, scorching the stairwell walls black.
"Damn it, what even is that?!" Jirō hissed.
Kaminari's eyes went wide, sparks jumping nervously along his arms. "No way, is he trying to burn us to a crisp?"
Renji frowned at the output from his device. Guess I'm not really going to get much from that little burst of electricity. Maybe I should've charged up beforehand.
In all honesty, it didn't matter much. Renji could get up close and personal and deal with both of the fledgling heroes before they could do anything, but he'd prefer to see what they would do against an unbeatable opponent.
Every probe of Kaminari's electricity was met with a bellowing shockwave of heat that blasted toward the heroes.
If they kept it up, their time would run out and the villains would win.
Going for a risky play, Jiro slid her earjacks into the ports on her boots, her expression hardening. The metal plating around the soles vibrated, building up a focused hum.
"Let's see you handle this!" she snapped.
A pulse of raw sound burst out, a concentrated heartbeat thundering through the hallway.
The shockwave warped the air, rattling the barricade, and sent cracks spiderwebbing through the floor tiles. The sound was sharp enough to make the glass panes along the corridor tremble.
Yaoyorozu winced but stood firm, the heavy-duty earmuffs she'd created muffling the attack.
Renji? He didn't even blink. The nanobots coursing through his system hardened his eardrums and dampened the force before it could rattle his equilibrium.
The soundstorm faded. Smoke drifted across the hall.
Renji stepped forward through the haze, completely unharmed. His grin widened. "Cute toy."
He snapped the canister back into his pocket and then surged forward like a train leaving the station. The nanobots supercharged his muscles, every step cracking the ground under his boots.
Jiro barely had time to widen her eyes before he was on her.
One arm swept her off her feet, slamming her back into the wall. The speakers on her boots sputtered and went dark.
Kaminari shouted, sparks flaring across his hands. But Renji closed the gap in a blink, shoulder-checking him hard enough to rattle his teeth.
He hit the floor, the charge in his palms fizzling as Renji crushed his wrist in a vice grip.
"Game over." Renji muttered, voice cold and steady.
Both heroes were pinned and subdued in seconds. Their offense smothered before it could even start.
—
The sound of All Might's voice boomed from the loudspeakers, carrying both authority and finality: "VILLAIN TEAM WINS!"
Renji let Kaminari's wrist slip from his grip, the boy groaning as he cradled his hand.
Yaoyorozu rushed from behind the barricade, her earmuffs still around her neck, eyes flicking between her teammates and their defeated opponents. She pressed her lips together, suppressing the urge to scold Renji for being so… merciless.
Renji only dusted off his jacket, his expression calm as if none of it mattered.
"All wrapped up," he muttered, not even sparing a glance at the two heroes he'd floored.
—Surveillance Room—
The feed cut back to the classroom screen, showing the aftermath. The silence was heavy.
Kirishima's arms crossed, his jaw tight. "That wasn't just winning. He really didn't hold back."
Bakugo, leaning against the wall, scoffed, but even his usual arrogance had a bite of unease. "Tch. He's acting like he's already a pro. Doesn't give a damn about playing fair."
Iida adjusted his glasses sharply. "The efficiency of his tactics is impressive, yes, but training exercises are meant for growth."
Todoroki's eyes lingered on the screen, expression unreadable. "…He fights like he's been doing this for years."
—Ground Beta—
The reinforced door swung open, All Might stepping inside. His cape trailed behind him, but his signature smile was dim, strained.
His eyes moved from Jiro clutching her ribs, to Kaminari wincing on the floor, then to Renji, who stood perfectly composed, almost proud.
"Young Renji, Young Yaoyorozu, well done on your victory," All Might began, his voice booming. "But remember… this was a training exercise."
Yaoyorozu straightened immediately, bowing her head. "Y-yes, All Might."
Renji tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "Understood."
The word came easily enough, but the way he said it carried no remorse.
All Might's gaze lingered on him a moment longer than necessary. Something in that cold steadiness bothered him, though he didn't let it show.
"Now then," All Might boomed again, regaining his smile, "let's return to the observation room. We'll review what we learned from this match!"
—
—Unknown Facility—
The low hum of machinery filled the underground lab, a sterile space of steel and glass.
Purple light radiated from containment pods lining the walls, each one holding malformed silhouettes that twitched or pulsed faintly against the reinforced glass.
Dr. Kyudai Garaki sat hunched at a workstation cluttered with notes, wires, and half-finished apparatuses. His thick glasses gleamed as he adjusted a microscope, jotting down findings with a hurried, almost frantic energy.
His face was lined with exhaustion, but the manic gleam in his eyes betrayed his obsession.
The shrill ring of a secure line broke the steady drone of the machines. Garaki paused only a moment before answering.
The distorted, commanding voice on the other end was unmistakable.
"Doctor. Report. Have you disposed of the weak link?"
Garaki adjusted his glasses, his tone deferential but steady. "If you're referring to the one called Rupture, that has already been… resolved. But not by our hand. Someone else eliminated him before we could properly clean up."
A weighted silence followed, the faint rasp of controlled breathing echoing faintly through the line.
Then came the reply, slow and deliberate.
"…Interesting. That makes it more dangerous. Someone else moving in our shadows, striking before we do. I want to know who."
Garaki bowed his head instinctively, even though the man couldn't see him. "Understood, my lord. I will continue my research here and investigate the matter. When I uncover the culprit, I will report back immediately."
The voice hardened, final. "Do not fail me, Doctor. Whoever interferes in my plans must be found… and erased."
The line clicked dead.
Garaki's gaze drifted to one of the pods as a malformed Nomu pressed its face against the glass, its single eye bulging grotesquely in the purple glow.
A grin spread across his face as he whispered to himself, "So… a new player has entered the game. How troublesome… and exciting."
The machines continued to hum, the pods glowing brighter as if pulsing with anticipation.