The early morning light peeked through Lena's dorm window, trying to bring cheer. But for Lena, waking up was no longer a simple thing. The moment her eyes opened, she felt it: a deep, quiet hum that seemed to come from inside her chest, yet echoed through the room. It was the "Hole," the strange, growing power that had taken root within her. It felt like a constant, hungry rumble, pushing outwards, making the world around her just a little bit… off.
She reached for her bedside alarm clock. Its numbers, usually a steady green, flickered. They changed from 7:00 AM to 7:01 AM, then quickly jumped back to 7:00 AM, before settling on 7:01 AM for good. Lena blinked, a shiver running down her spine. Just a glitch in the clock, she told herself, trying to believe it. But she knew better. It was her. Her power, acting up even before her feet touched the floor.
As she got ready, tiny things kept happening. Her toothbrush seemed to skip a second, moving faster than it should have. Her reflection in the mirror blurred for a heartbeat, then sharpened again. Every small detail made her feel less in control, more like a stranger in her own body. A knot tightened in her stomach. She had to hide this. She had to pretend everything was normal, even as her world began to feel more and more broken.
The sun was bright over Training Ground Beta, a practice city made of tall, fake buildings and broken streets. Today's lesson was a rescue drill. Class 1-A was split into teams, tasked with finding "victims" (lifelike mannequins) hidden in the damaged buildings and bringing them to safety quickly. Lena was on a team with Tenya Iida, Ochaco Uraraka, and Hanta Sero.
Tenya Iida, arms chopping the air in his usual strict way, gave out orders. His voice was loud and clear, full of serious energy. "Team Beta, let's keep our focus! Teamwork is key! Lena, your quick movement will be excellent for checking unsafe areas. Uraraka, your anti-gravity Quirk for heavy rubble. Sero, your tape for securing paths. Let's move!" Iida was always about rules and doing things perfectly, and he expected the same from everyone.
Lena nodded, trying hard to focus on Iida's words. But the hum inside her was louder today, a deep throb that matched her heartbeat. The "Hole" felt restless, like a caged animal. She just had to finish this drill, stay calm, and not mess up. She activated her Quirk for a burst of speed, running down a narrow, fake alleyway, searching for the next "victim."
That's when it happened.
As Lena leaped over a pile of fake rubble, the "Hole" within her roared. It wasn't a sound that others could hear, but Lena felt it as a massive wave of power exploding outwards. She felt the very air around her ripple. The world seemed to flicker, like an old movie film jumping in the projector.
First, a strange sound filled the air. A small, metallic clicking noise started repeating, faster and faster, a quick click-click-click-click. Then, things began to twist. The alley in front of Lena froze, then blurred.
Tenya Iida, who had been running ahead, stopped dead. His leg, lifted for a step, began to repeat its movement, moving forward an inch, then snapping back, then forward again, over and over. His face, usually so serious, now showed pure shock and a hint of fear. "My… my leg… it is stuck! I cannot move forward! What in the world is happening?!" His voice was a mix of alarm and disbelief.
Further down the street, Ochaco Uraraka was gently lifting a large piece of concrete with her Quirk to free a mannequin. Suddenly, the concrete started to float up and down by itself, over and over, with the mannequin stuck to it. Uraraka herself looked dizzy and pale. "Whoa… it's spinning… gravity… it feels really weird!" Her voice was shaky, full of confusion.
Hanta Sero, who had just pulled out his elbow to shoot tape, saw his arm stretch out, then snap back, then stretch out again, like a broken spring. His tape came out and went back in at super speed, making a loud, annoying shwip-shwip-shwip sound. "What?! My Quirk is… looping! That's not normal!" He tried to laugh, but it sounded forced, his eyes wide with fright.
The students not directly caught in the loop watched with wide eyes. The sounds from the alley – the crunching of fake debris, the heavy breathing of Quirks in use – echoed, doubled, and twisted. The air vibrated, making everyone's hair stand on end.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, everything stopped.
The alley went back to normal. Iida finally finished his step, Uraraka dropped the concrete with a loud thud, and Sero let his arms fall. Everyone looked lost, breathing hard, trying to understand what just happened.
A heavy silence fell over the training ground. All eyes turned to Lena, who stood frozen amidst the rubble, her face white as a sheet. The hum inside her had turned into a terrifying roar. She knew. They knew.
The reactions came quickly after the silence broke.
Mina Ashido was the first to speak, her voice usually full of energy now edged with pure shock. "Did anyone else see that?! My phone just showed the same second, like, five times! Lena, was that… was that you?!" Her pink eyes were wide with surprise and a touch of fear. She bounced on her feet, unable to stay still, a sign of her extreme nerves.
Momo Yaoyorozu walked closer, her forehead wrinkled in thought, her gaze fixed on Lena. Her voice was calm, as always, but there was a clear note of deep concern. "The sensor data showed a significant temporal fluctuation. Lena, your Quirk appears to be... disrupting the physical laws of this specific area." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "This is far more serious than a simple backlash."
Eijiro Kirishima stepped forward too, his face serious but his eyes gentle. "Hey, Lena. That wasn't very manly what just happened, and I'm not saying it's your fault, but… are you okay? We're really worried." He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but his jaw was tight.
Denki Kaminari and Hanta Sero stood side-by-side, looking a little green. "Oh man, I thought I was gonna throw up! I literally saw my foot in front of my face ten times!" Kaminari said, trying to laugh but failing. "Yeah, like a broken video game!" Sero added, running a hand through his hair, trying to act cool but clearly shaken.
Tsuyu Asui walked slowly closer, her face unreadable, but her large, dark eyes fixed on Lena with deep care. "Ribbit. It's getting worse for you, isn't it, Lena? You should probably talk to the teachers. This is becoming dangerous." Her voice was soft but direct, as always.
Lena couldn't say anything. Words were stuck in her throat. Shame, fear, and especially guilt, choked her. She had messed up. She had hurt her friends, even if it was just for a few seconds. She felt like an out-of-control monster, a danger to everyone she cared about. "I… I'm so sorry," she managed to whisper, her voice broken. She took a step back, then another, wanting to run away, to hide from their worried and fearful looks.
But before she could bolt, a gentle but firm hand landed on her arm. It was Kyoka Jiro. Her face was serious, but her eyes showed complete understanding. "Come on, Lena," Kyoka said softly. "Let's get you somewhere quiet. Away from all this." She gently guided Lena off the training ground, shielding her from the stares. Kyoka's touch was an anchor, a steady rope pulling Lena out of the swirling waters of her fear.
In his high-tech office, Principal Nezu watched the training incident recordings again. His small nose twitched with deep thought. Next to him, Shota Aizawa, his messy hair falling over his face, stood with his arms crossed. His dark eyes weren't just tired; they were sharp and full of deep concern.
"The data is quite clear, Aizawa," Nezu began, his voice calm and slightly sing-songy, as if discussing a complex puzzle. "A localized space-time ripple, centered directly on Young Oxton's location. The power of it… it's unlike anything we've seen from a Quirk her age. This isn't just instability. It's a force trying to fully burst out."
Aizawa slowly nodded, rubbing his chin. "She's completely losing control. It's not her fault, but it's a huge risk to the other students. What if it gets even worse?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "The reports of glitches in UA's systems have also increased since the camp. It's all connected, isn't it? Her Quirk is affecting our school's core."
"Indeed," Nezu replied, his small eyes gleaming with a fierce intelligence. "A unique signature we first noticed after the training camp. It's a force weaving its threads into reality itself, causing disruptions far beyond simple hacking. We can no longer ignore this, Aizawa. We must find a solution. A solution that goes beyond what we can do here at UA. I believe it's time to bring in someone with a more specialized understanding." He looked pointedly at Aizawa, a silent understanding passing between them.
Winston Oxton was hunched over his desk, his face lined with worry and tiredness. A holographic screen showed a new rush of graphs and numbers, urgent data he'd just received from UA. Another image, a calm but very serious face, floated next to it. It was David Shield, the brilliant head of I-Island, appearing as a clear hologram.
"David, have you seen the latest data?!" Winston's voice was sharp, trembling with raw anxiety. "It's spiraling out of control. The incident at UA this morning… a localized temporal loop. Students directly affected. It's gone beyond my worst fears for her."
David remained silent for a moment, his eyes scanning the new numbers that flashed across his screen. His face, usually so kind and gentle, now showed intense focus, almost a grim determination. "Yes, Winston. The energy signatures are undeniable. This is precisely what I've been dreading. Her Quirk's entropic resonance… it's reaching a truly critical point. It's like a star that's collapsing in on itself, but within the very fabric of time." He took a deep, slow breath. "The data I was able to gather the last time from I-Island (before Sombra's regrettable intrusion, which, as you know, put me out of commission for a while) already showed an extreme uniqueness. Lena doesn't just have a 'normal' Quirk that warps time. She is, in a way, a living nexus, a part of time itself that's seeking balance. It's this 'Hole' you describe, isn't it?"
"Exactly," Winston replied, nodding hard. "It's growing. It's completely uncontrollable. I don't know what else to do. She's my daughter, David. I cannot stand by and watch her destroy herself, or accidentally bring harm to the world. We need to act now."
David looked at Winston with deep sympathy. "I understand, old friend. And I believe I have a solution, perhaps the only one. But it's highly experimental, and it would require her to come here, to I-Island. It is the sole place in the world with the specific technology and specialized researchers needed to even attempt such a deep stabilization. No one else can handle a temporal singularity of this magnitude. We must do this, for her safety and for everyone else's."
On a dark, shadowy rooftop overlooking the UA campus, Reaper stood, his dark cloak billowing slightly. His rough voice cut through the air. "The girl's power just exploded. A localized time loop. It's picking up speed. She's becoming exactly what Moira wants."
In her dimly lit lab, Moira O'Deorain smiled faintly, a cold, unfeeling curve of her lips as she watched the new data streams on her screens. "Magnificent," she murmured, a soft purr in her voice. "She's pushing boundaries faster than even my most advanced predictions. This will allow us to accelerate our own timetable." She turned her gaze to a screen displaying Sombra's blinking icon. "Sombra, begin monitoring all high-level communications concerning I-Island. They will undoubtedly try to contain her. We need to know their methods, even if we cannot directly infiltrate. Reaper, maintain your observation. We need to see how she 'stabilizes' this. It could provide us with invaluable insights."
Sombra's voice crackled back, a hint of frustration in her normally playful tone. "I-Island's firewalls are like solid steel, Moira. You know I can't get in directly after last time. But I'll track their response, see who they contact, what their plans are. There are always other ways to get intel, even if the front door is locked." Her words showed her past failure, but also her sharp mind and readiness to adapt.
Lena sat on her bed, knees pulled tight to her chest, in the quiet of her room. Kyoka was still beside her, a comforting presence, not saying much, just being there. The "Hole" inside Lena pulsed, a deep, heavy pressure in her chest. She was terrified, a raw, shaking fear that made her entire body tense. It was truly horrifying to be so powerful and yet have no control at all over it.
But even with that fear, a small, stubborn flame of determination flickered inside her. Kyoka's hand on hers was soft and strong, a physical link to stability. She thought of her friends' faces—their worry, their concern. She couldn't let them live in fear because of her. This power was hers. Even if it felt out of control, she had to find a way. She had to understand it. She had to master it. It wasn't just about her anymore; it was about keeping them safe.
"I… I have to do something," Lena whispered, her voice low but firm, filled with a new, quiet resolve. "I can't keep living like this. Not if I'm a danger to everyone I care about."
Kyoka squeezed her hand. "We'll face this together, Lena. You're not alone. Never."
The fight to control this growing power, and the great danger it brought, had just reached a very important turning point.