(WE DID IT! WE ARE AT CHAPTER 100! WOOO!)
The meeting lasted an hour, a tense, frantic brainstorming session punctuated by recriminations and desperate plans. We hammered out a strategy for damage control in London, coordinating with local authorities and international hero agencies. But the underlying unease lingered, a cold dread that no amount of planning could dispel.
It's been days now and I'm currently in Thailand.
London was just the opening act. This was a global threat, and we were woefully unprepared. The question was, how to fight an enemy we didn't understand?
I called Dabi, my best friend since childhood. He dealt with this stuff before.
"Dabi, I need your expertise. Remember those Nomu you used to deal with?"
"Yeah, what about them?"
"We are dealing with a bigger threat. I need your advice, your insight. Anything you've got on Nomu weaknesses, vulnerabilities, anything that can help me take this thing down."
Dabi was silent for a long moment, his usual sardonic tone gone. "That's not good. Those things are tough enough as it is. What kind of Nomu are we talking about?"
I filled him in, detailing the Mega Nomu's abilities, its origin from kidnapped heroes, and the quirk enhancement drugs. Dabi cursed, a low, guttural sound.
"This is bad, Anos. Real bad. Sounds like they've cracked the code on Nomu creation, found a way to integrate multiple quirks without the usual degradation."
"So, what do I do?" I asked, my voice tight.
"Weakness…they all have a weakness. It might be something physical, a specific organ or point of vulnerability. Or it could be something psychological, a trigger that disrupts their programming. The key is finding it."
His advice wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but it was enough to reignite a spark of hope. I could do this. I had to.
"Thanks, Dabi. I owe you one."
"Just don't get yourself killed, asshole," he said, his voice regaining a touch of its usual bite.
I hung up, feeling a surge of renewed determination. Okay, find the weakness. Easier said than done, but I had to start somewhere.
I'd been tracking the Nomu for days, following its destructive path across the globe. From London, it had moved to Paris, then Berlin, leaving a trail of devastation and terror in its wake. Now, it was here, in the jungles of Thailand.
I'm keeping my distance, observing, analyzing. The Nomu's movements were erratic, seemingly without purpose. It wasn't targeting specific locations, just…destroying. Random acts of violence, like a child smashing toys.
Intriguing, but freaky, but also frustrating.
I circled around it, using my abilities to mask my presence, to become one with the shadows. I watched it tear through the dense foliage, ripping trees from the ground like weeds. I watched it unleash blasts of energy, obliterating everything in its path.
It felt…wrong. This wasn't just mindless destruction. There was a method to the madness, a twisted logic I couldn't quite grasp.
Then it hit me. It wasn't targeting specific locations, but specific types of locations. Areas with high concentrations of natural energy – ancient forests, geothermal springs, places where the earth thrummed with power.
Could it be? Was the Nomu feeding?
I focused my senses, extending my perception beyond the visible spectrum. And then I saw it – a faint, almost imperceptible drain of energy from the surrounding environment. The Nomu was absorbing energy, converting it into raw power.
If that's the case, it would explain why it was so hard to hurt. Every attack was just fuel for the fire. The question now was, how to cut off its supply?
The answer, I suspected, lay in the source of those quirk enhancement drugs, and the mastermind behind this whole nightmare. This wasn't just about stopping the Nomu. It was about taking down a conspiracy that reached across the globe.
I need to find Lex Luther. He knew where it all started. And to do that, I needed more information, more allies. It was time to call in the cavalry.