After Mewtwo's team won their first battle, they decided to rest underwater.
Unlike the other groups, they didn't need to take turns keeping watch. They simply slept. Both of them knew—no one else could follow them into the depths. Down there, they were untouchable.
Before resting, they reviewed the Quirks of the other students in Class 1-A and 1-B.
By analyzing their abilities, they could prepare for upcoming encounters.
Even if they couldn't predict every possible team combination, this gave them a chance to imagine scenarios and strategize around potential countermeasures. After some thought, they found only a few combinations that might pose a real threat.
And now, after defeating one of the trickiest pairs in the class, there were even fewer opponents left who could challenge them.
"It's almost time," Mewtwo said telepathically, glancing at the glowing numbers on his watch.
Beside him, Wendigo nodded silently and rose to his feet. Without another word, they both dove into the water beneath the dome they had formed for shelter. The surface rippled as they disappeared beneath it, ready to rise and seek out a new target.
This time, unless the situation demanded otherwise, it would be Wendigo's turn to fight.
Meanwhile, outside the lake, two girls lay in wait—hidden beneath a pile of oversized leaves. But this time, it wasn't Hana or Aoi. One of the girls had long, golden hair and striking heterochromia—one eye a piercing ice-blue, the other a vivid emerald green. Her flawless features gave her an almost doll-like beauty, and her fair skin had a soft pink undertone, smooth and without a single blemish.
Beside her crouched her partner, equally stunning, but with a more youthful and innocent appearance. Her eyes and hair were both an intense, deep blue. Her long locks shimmered slightly in the soft light filtering through the trees. Her face was rounder, framed by her flowing hair, and she wore a visible pout as she stared at the lake's surface.
"It's been soooo long," Nejire whined, clearly impatient.
Both girls had tracked Mewtwo's group to the lake and watched them dive in. But since then, they'd been stuck—neither of them could follow them underwater.
"Yes, but I still want to test their strength," replied Alice, the other girl, her tone calm but eager. "I saw that Raiden guy fight… he's seriously powerful. I want to see what he's like up close, and if he can fare against me."
Alice was the other student who had transferred to U.A. from Uta—and her motivation was clear. She wanted a real fight.
"Yeah, yeah, he's strong—but so is his partner, for what I saw he strong too" Nejire replied cheerfully, her eyes still fixed on the lake.
"If we lose, we'll be in trouble. But honestly, fighting them sounds fun."
Just as the two girls continued their lighthearted conversation, the water below rippled violently.
In the blink of an eye, two figures shot up from beneath the surface, soaring high above them at hight speed. Alice's eyes narrowed sharply—she had been waiting for this. With a quick smirk, she activated her Quirk.
What happened next was sudden and strange.
Mewtwo, who had been flying upward with Wendigo close behind, suddenly felt a jarring shift. Without warning, both he and Wendigo were yanked in the opposite direction—slammed downward at high speed. The ground rushed up at them, and they crashed hard, their bodies skidding through dirt and debris.
Mewtwo groaned as he pulled himself from the crater they had left behind. Pain surged through his left shoulder—it had dislocated on impact.
He hadn't seen it coming at all. With gritted teeth, he activated Life Dew. A soft, glowing mist surrounded him, and his shoulder shifted back into place with a satisfying pop. The pain faded instantly.
Wendigo had reacted quicker. Though he hit the ground just as hard, his landing had been more controlled, and he seemed relatively unharmed. Or at least, less affected.
"It's Alice. Be careful. From now on, everything's upside down, and left will be right" Wendigo's voice echoed in Mewtwo's head, telepathic and urgent.
Mewtwo's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. A second ago, he'd been rising into the sky—and now he was face-first in the dirt. Her Quirk had completely inverted his sense of direction.
He stood up, carefully trying to steady himself.
His body felt off—disoriented. It was like trying to walk with his limbs wired wrong.
From what he remembered, Alice's power had seemed simple during Quirk analysis. Not flashy or destructive. But now? It was one of the most disorienting and frustrating Quirks he had ever encountered, even more than the one of his brother David, or even Mirio.
Every movement betrayed him. When he turned his head to look down, his neck craned up. When he tried to step left, his body went right.
"No wonder she's dangerous," Mewtwo muttered to himself. He had no idea how to fight like this.
And then—he saw it.
A glowing yellow beam came screaming toward him. He recognized it immediately. Nejire's attack. Her energy blast crackled as it intensified, aimed directly at him with growing force. He had no time to think—he had to dodge. But how?
In a split-second decision, Mewtwo forced himself to "fly down"—which, under Alice's influence, meant he shot upward.
His body launched into the sky, narrowly dodging the beam. The sensation of flying in the wrong direction made his stomach churn. He felt nauseous, his instincts battling with his inverted senses.
Wendigo moved at the same time, veering to what should've been the left—but now was right. Even he stumbled slightly, his movements awkward and jagged.
"You alright?" Mewtwo asked mentally, trying to regain control over his balance mid-air.
"No shit I'm not," Wendigo snapped in reply. "I told you she's tough. We need to get out of her range."
Mewtwo remembered Wendigo once telling him that Alice's Quirk had limited range. nine meters. But now, even from this height, about fifteen meters high, he still felt his perception twisting. Up felt like down, left like right—nothing made sense.
Now high in the sky, Mewtwo hurled a Shadow Ball to the side—but instead of going left, it veered sharply to the right. The opposite of what he intended. He clicked his tongue in frustration. Quickly adjusting, he commanded his hand to move backward—only for it to thrust forward instead. This time, when he launched another Shadow Ball, it finally shot in the direction he wanted.
He was starting to figure it out, slowly adapting to the reversed orientation caused by Alice's power.
But just as he began adjusting, a blast of yellow light slammed into his back. The sudden impact sent him hurtling toward the ground like a meteor.
He crashed hard—right in front of Alice.
Without a second's hesitation, she struck. Her first blow wasn't too painful, just a normal powered punch.
But she didn't stop there. A rapid barrage of punches and kicks followed.
Each hit landed with more force than the last.
çEven when Mewtwo managed to block a few with his arms, the damage accumulated fast. Pain exploded in his limbs with every strike until, finally—something gave. He raised his arm to defend, and it snapped under the pressure with a sickening crack.
The force of the impact launched him through the air, sending him flying at least fifteen meters away.
Even from that distance, the disorientation remained—everything still felt upside down, twisted, and wrong.
Meanwhile, Wendigo wasn't faring much better. He was locked in combat with Nejire, but Alice's Quirk affected him too.
Every movement felt reversed, every strike miscalculated.
His attacks kept missing the mark, and Nejire took full advantage, bombarding him with her spiraling beams of energy. Despite activating his Quirk to grow horns and reinforce his body, he was still taking heavy hits. His defenses just weren't holding up.
Back on the ground, Mewtwo pushed himself to his knees, grimacing in pain. He quickly activated Life Dew—twice. A gentle glow surrounded him as his broken arm healed, bones aligning and fusing back together in seconds.
With a sharp breath, he turned his focus back to Alice. Channeling his energy, he formed another Shadow Ball and tried to aim—but even holding his hand in the right direction took effort. It took three seconds of adjustment before he could fire accurately. That hesitation cost him. Alice saw it coming from a mile away and dodged with ease.
Raiden's attacks were powerful and fast—but only if he could aim properly. And right now, that was nearly impossible.
Then, something shifted.
Alice closed the distance, rushing in for another strike. Mewtwo's eyes flashed with light. The moment her foot connected with his side, she felt it—something was off.
Her kick didn't land with the strength it should have. The impact was weak, barely moving him. Confused, she stepped back, frowning. That wasn't right. Her Quirk allowed her to stack her blows, chaining hits together as if they never stopped. She had timed it perfectly.
Then she remembered something Nejire once told her about Disable—a move that could weaken or suppress certain abilities. But she brushed it aside. That shouldn't matter, not now. Not yet.
Alice didn't panic. Mewtwo was still disoriented—he couldn't move properly. But what happened next froze the words in her throat.
Swift.
Mewtwo activated Swift, and in an instant, eight glowing energy stars shot out from his body in every direction. They homed in on Alice with unrelenting precision, exploding on contact the moment they struck her.
The blasts sent her flying across the battlefield, crashing into the dirt in a cloud of dust and force.
The shockwaves from the explosion hit Mewtwo too, knocking him back slightly and leaving minor burns—but he didn't flinch. Without hesitation, he summoned Life Dew once more. The soothing energy washed over him, healing his wounds almost instantly.
He used Swift again—and in that moment, his theory was confirmed. He didn't need to consciously guide the attack.
Swift was a move with perfect accuracy. The only ways to avoid it were by being underground, too far into the sky, or deep underwater. In other words, there had to be something—anything—between the target and the stars. If there wasn't, they would chase their mark like heat-seeking missiles.
With that confirmation, Mewtwo stopped holding back.
He unleashed everything.
Without pause, he fired Swift again and again. In a matter of seconds, the sky lit up with glowing stars. Alice's eyes widened as she saw at least fifty bright, explosive projectiles racing toward her. each one pulsing with power.
"You crazy son of a bitch," she muttered, almost in disbelief.
But before the stars could hit, a wave of golden energy surged between her and Mewtwo. It formed a barrier, and Mewtwo's attack crashed into it, exploding in a chain of violent sparks and smoke against the radiant wall.
Nejire changed targets, shooting forward with stunning speed. Her body became encased in an armor of swirling energy, glowing brightly as she flew directly at Mewtwo.
Seeing her approach, Mewtwo launched another Swift—his only reliable move while his senses remained scrambled.
But Nejire didn't slow down. Instead, she increased the output of her energy, her aura intensifying until she gleamed like a star herself. The glowing projectiles hit her—but she tanked them, letting the explosions erupt across her body without hesitation.
And then, in a blur, she slammed into Mewtwo's chest with the force of a cannon.
The impact sent him flying.
Unfortunately, he wasn't alone.
Alice and Wendigo had moved into the same direction, and before either of the boys could react, the girls closed in. Then came the assault.
They didn't let up.
A relentless storm of strikes rained down on them—punches, kicks, energy waves. There was no pause, no space to breathe.
Mewtwo couldn't focus, and Wendigo couldn't land a single counter. He was like a giant punching bag, thrown around and pounded without rhythm or mercy. With their senses flipped, their movements distorted, fighting back was impossible.
They weren't fighters anymore—they were targets.
And if they wanted even the slightest chance to turn this around, they needed to act—fast.
Mewtwo couldn't keep spamming Life Dew forever. The constant healing drained his energy. And Wendigo's defenses were crumbling. His reinforced body was breaking apart under Alice's unrelenting blows.
All Mewtwo needed was a moment.
Just a brief second to focus, to lock onto the right ability and disable it.
But even that felt impossible. His body wasn't the only thing rebelling against him—his vision was distorted too. His eyes refused to align with his intent. Even looking directly at the enemy was a challenge. Every time he tried to glance at Alice or Nejire, his eyes darted the opposite way.
Still, he had no choice.
He took a deep breath, then let his eyes fall open—which, thanks to the reversed effect, forced them shut.
He stood still and braced himself.
Nejire's attack landed again. Blood splattered from his mouth as pain tore through his side—but he held firm. He endured it.
And then, in that chaos, he reached for something deeper.
He calmed his breath.
Centered his thoughts.
Let go of the noise.
And finally—he found it.
Calm Mind.
End of the chapter.