Chapter Text
The first thing Izuku noticed was the light.
It was too bright.
His head was throbbing, and his entire body felt strangely heavy. He slowly tried to open his eyes, blinking several times as he attempted to adjust to the brightness.
Where was he?
What had happened?
He tried to remember.
The child...
The alley...
Twice...
The League of Villains.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
He remembered everything.
The trap. The attack. The moment Toga had struck him. Dabi carrying him away.
"Shit..."
Izuku immediately tried to sit up, but something stopped him.
He looked down.
His wrists and ankles were secured to a hospital bed with restraints.
His eyes widened.
"What...?"
He pulled against them, trying to free himself.
Nothing.
He tried again, struggling despite the pain in his head.
Where had they taken him?
Was he still with the League?
And what did they want from him?
"It's useless, young man. You won't get anywhere by struggling."
Izuku immediately turned toward the voice.
An unfamiliar man stood beside the bed.
He was short and rather chubby, with strange glasses and an unsettling smile.
Izuku had never seen him before.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And what do you want from me?"
The man chuckled.
"Well, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Garaki."
He adjusted his glasses.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Izuku Midoriya."
Izuku frowned.
Garaki?
He didn't recognize the name.
And the man didn't seem like an ordinary member of the League.
"What are you planning?"
Before Garaki could answer, another familiar voice came from behind him.
"Are you ready to become one of us, Midoriya?"
Izuku's blood ran cold.
Shigaraki.
The members of the League began entering the room.
Toga was the first to approach, looking far too excited.
"I'm so happy you're joining us, Midoriya!"
"Yeah!" Twice added. "It'll be fun! Or maybe it'll be annoying! Who knows?"
"Shut up," Dabi muttered.
Mr. Compress and Spinner stood behind them, watching Izuku with interest.
Izuku looked between them, completely confused.
"Become one of you?"
He shook his head.
"I'll never join the League of Villains. Get that idea out of your heads!"
Garaki began laughing.
"Oh, my dear boy..."
He leaned slightly closer.
"You don't have a choice."
Izuku's expression changed.
He immediately tried to activate One For All.
But before he could do anything, Garaki pressed a cloth against his face.
Izuku struggled, trying to push him away.
He couldn't.
His strength began fading, and the room slowly blurred.
The last thing he heard was Shigaraki's voice.
"Good. We can begin Phase Two."
And then everything went dark.
"Excellent."
Garaki watched as Izuku lay unconscious on the bed.
He began preparing the equipment for the next stage of the experiment.
Wires were carefully attached to the device connected to Izuku's head, a helmet was placed over his hair, and an IV was connected to his arm.
Shigaraki watched from nearby.
"Is everything ready?"
Garaki adjusted his glasses.
"Almost. This is a rather delicate procedure, after all. We need to make sure everything works as intended."
"And what exactly are we going to do?"
Garaki smiled.
"Let's just say we're going to make some changes to our guest."
He turned toward the machine.
"Now, we can begin."
The League members slowly left the room.
The lights were switched off, leaving only the faint glow of the equipment.
The experiment had begun.
Izuku slowly opened his eyes.
But something was wrong.
He wasn't in the laboratory anymore.
He was standing somewhere familiar.
A familiar street.
A familiar school uniform.
And standing in front of him...
"Kacchan?"
Bakugo.
But he wasn't the Bakugo Izuku knew.
He was wearing his middle school uniform.
His expression was cold, and his eyes were filled with contempt.
"If you want a Quirk so badly, why don't you jump off the roof and pray you're reborn with one in your next life?"
Izuku froze.
No.
That couldn't be right.
He had already lived through this.
Why was he seeing it again?
Then another voice interrupted.
"Midoriya."
Izuku turned.
All Might was standing behind him.
But his expression wasn't kind.
"You don't have a Quirk. You can't become a hero."
Izuku shook his head.
"No..."
This wasn't right.
All Might had told him he could become a hero.
He had given him One For All.
He had believed in him.
So why was he saying those things?
The scene suddenly changed.
Izuku found himself somewhere else.
Another memory.
Another painful moment.
"It's your fault Bakugo was kidnapped."
Izuku turned around.
The words continued.
"You're useless. If you hadn't been there, none of this would have happened."
"No..."
His breathing became uneven.
That's not true.
But the memories kept coming.
One after another.
Every failure.
Every mistake.
Every moment when he had believed he wasn't good enough.
The people he hadn't managed to save.
The moments when he had disappointed others.
The voices became louder.
You're not strong enough.
You're useless.
You don't deserve to be a hero.
Izuku covered his ears.
"Stop..."
But the memories didn't disappear.
"Please..."
His eyes filled with tears.
"Make it stop!"
He tried to escape, but every time he turned around, another memory appeared.
He couldn't understand what was happening.
Why was he seeing these things?
Why couldn't he make them stop?
His head began to hurt more and more.
He felt as though something inside his mind was slipping away.
"Please..."
His voice became barely audible.
"Make it stop..."
And then, suddenly, everything went silent.
The memories disappeared.
The voices vanished.
The pain faded.
Izuku collapsed into darkness.
Back in the laboratory, Garaki carefully examined the readings on the machine.
The League watched in silence.
Shigaraki tilted his head.
"Well?"
Garaki looked at the results.
Then a smile slowly spread across his face.
"Good."
He adjusted his glasses.
"It seems the experiment was successful."
Shigaraki approached the bed.
Izuku was awake now.
But something about him was different.
His eyes were open, yet his expression was strangely empty.
He didn't ask where he was.
He didn't struggle against the restraints.
He didn't even seem to recognize the people standing around him.
"Midoriya?" Toga called cheerfully.
No response.
Garaki smiled.
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
He looked at Shigaraki.
"Our little experiment has worked exactly as intended."
Shigaraki stared at Izuku.
"Then he's ready?"
"Almost."
Garaki turned back toward the equipment.
"There's still much to do. But I believe we've taken the first important step."
The League exchanged glances.
Their plan was finally moving forward.
And Izuku Midoriya...
Was no longer the same boy who had been taken from that alley.