Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What can you even do?!”

“I AM HERE!”

“You… looked like you needed saving.”

“You can be a hero!”

“EAT THIS.”

“huff, phew, I made it in time…” Midoriya said exhausted. He looked around in amazement at his surroundings. Plenty of students, wearing middle school uniforms from across Japan milled about, hoping to gain entrance to the golden gates ahead of them, and he was one of them.

Ten months. Ten long, agonizing months of training and studying to get here. Working himself to his limits to become the perfect vessel for One for All. Learning everything that was needed to become the successor to All Might, the Number One Hero. Izuku Midoriya stood at the gates to U.A. High School, ready to take his first step toward becoming a hero.

‘There was no time to test out the power that All Might gave me!’ He fretted. ‘I ate that hair, but did it really do anything? He said it needed time to digest for the quirk to transfer-’

“Move aside, Deku!” A familiar voice yelled out behind Izuku, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Swiveling at breakneck speed, he came face to face with the angry face of Katsuki Bakugo.

“Kacchan!” Izuku yelped, using his childhood nickname on instinct. ‘That was a mistake.’ He realized, as Bakugo’s face immediately curled in frustration.

“Get out of my way, or you’re dead.” Bakugo repeated, walking towards him.

Izuku immediately tried to backpedal, scrunching his arms up randomly, waiting for a strike. “M-morning. L-let’s both do our best…”

Only for Bakugo to just swerve around the panicking teen, not saying another word as he walked towards the school. Izuku could here the mutterings of some of the students nearby, who recognized him from the sludge villain incident. He was surprised Bakugo didn’t snap at any of them.

‘He must be focused on the Entrance Exam.’ Izuku thought, before realizing that he was the one losing focus. He mentally berated himself, trying to psych himself up. ‘I gotta stop freezing up instinctively like that. It’s not like before, just remember the past ten months and move forward!’

‘My first step towards becoming a hero!’ Izuku Midoriya cheered in his head, gripping his backpack, and taking a step forward. Unfortunately, he hadn’t stopped shaking from his previous encounter, and he immediately tripped over himself. Falling forward, he stared at the ground in horror. ‘Whelp, this is it!’

*SLAM*

“…ughhh.” Izuku tried to pick himself up, but immediately threw a hand to his head. “GAH!” It felt as if someone had stabbed a knife into his head. He didn’t think he hit it that hard when he tripped, but it was taking all his willpower to not scream in pain. After a few moments, the pain faded in his head, replaced with a different, more uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. ‘Why isn’t anyone helping me?’ he annoyingly wondered, clutching his chest in pain. Glancing around answered that question rather easily, as there wasn’t anyone around to help him.

“Where the heck did everybody go?” He asked himself out loud. Slowly standing up, he took another look around, trying to figure out what had happened to the crowds of students here to take the Entrance Exam. ‘Wait… the Entrance Exam?’ Izuku took out his phone tepidly and looked at the time and nearly threw his device in shock. “Crap!”

Izuku immediately took off in a sprint toward the main building of U.A.’s campus. ‘Five minutes?! I’ve been sprawled on the ground for five minutes?!’ he thought in horror. The orientation for the Exam was going to start any minute now! He rushed through the automatic doors and followed the signs put up pointing toward the auditoriums. “Auditorium 3, auditorium 3, where is… there!” He skidded to a stop in front of the door and opened it slowly just in case they had started early.

“Um, sorry I’m… late?” He started to apologize, only to finish speaking in confusion. He peered through the doors, only to find no one inside. Poking his head in to get a better look, he felt even more confused. “Did I get the room wrong?” He walked back into the hallway and checked the other four auditoriums in the hall, only to find that they were all equally empty.

Izuku could only come to one conclusion. “Don’t tell me they already started?!” Running in the direction of the ‘This way to the Exam’ signs led him to a line of changing rooms labeled with different number and gender signs. He ran into one of the male changing rooms, and threw down his backpack, pulling out his worn out tracksuit. He was midway through unbuttoning his uniform’s vest when he froze, his mind suddenly moving a mile-a-minute. ‘Something’s not right…’

He stopped changing and began to study the changing room, putting a hand to his chin as he started muttering. “There should have been dozens of people that had changed in here, but there’s no bags or clothes anywhere. It’s unlikely they put all their clothes away properly and there isn’t a single lock on these lockers. It’s unlikely this room wasn’t used if the Exam has started, so the only conclusion is that… the Entrance Exam hasn’t started yet?”

He put his clothes back into his backpack, put it on, and walked out of the changing room. He checked the changing room next to him to be sure and it was just as untouched, free of any stray socks or stuffed lockers. ‘They must have cancelled for some reason.’ Izuku thought. He tried to find a teacher or other faculty members to ask about it but found all the halls and room barren of life. He even began searching outside the main building, but after nearly half an hour of exploring the oversized campus, he had no choice but to give up and go home. ‘I guess they’ll send an email about a new Exam time later.’

Walking back out the gate to U.A., Izuku’s stomach was doing flips. After working himself up for what was supposed to be the biggest moment of his life, having to leave so anti-climactically made the butterflies in his stomach all the worse. Walking somberly home and looking depressingly at the ground, he got to the nearby train station before noticing he was the only one around. “What the…?” He stared at the completely empty train platform in bewilderment. It was almost noon in the middle of Musutafu City! There should be hundreds of people commuting or taking a break for lunch, or all the other students who didn’t get to take the Exam. The only reason anyone wouldn’t be hear at this time of day would be… a villain attack!

Whipping out his phone in a panic again, Izuku saw that he hadn’t received any notifications about nearby villain attacks. He had downloaded almost a dozen different ‘villain warning’ apps in order to watch and analyze hero fights. If none of them had sent anything, then he supposed everything was fine. ‘Fine’ as in he wasn’t about to get killed by a stray villains attack, but it still left the mystery of the empty station. He thought that maybe he walked past an out of order sign, but then a sound came out of the station speakers warning him to step away from the tracks and his train home pulled up, automatically opening its doors. Izuku just shrugged before walking into the train and taking a seat.

Sitting in his seat, Izuku closed his eyes and tried to relax. He’d been wound up all day, from getting All Might’s quirk, to thinking he nearly missed the Exam. He just needed to think about the positives of today. He finally had a quirk, and with the Entrance Exam being delayed, he might actually have time to train with it beforehand! His nervousness washing away, Izuku tilted his head forward as he hugged his backpack, quickly nodding off.

“Upcoming stop: Musutafu City Mall. The next stop is: Aldera Residential District. Please watch your step when exiting the train.”

Izuku was awoken from his nap by the sound of the train’s speaker notifications. Snapping his head up, he rubbed his eye’s and looked at the screen above the automated doors, confirming that his stop was indeed coming up next. He shook his head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe I fell asleep and nearly missed my stop. I guess it was just so peaceful…’

‘Wait, peaceful? Since when was public transit during midday quiet enough for a half hour nap?’ He thought perplexed. A quick glance around him revealed that the interior of the train was suspiciously empty. Now that he thought about it, the place was as sparsely filled when he entered as well.

He suddenly lurched as the train slowed to a halt at the Musutafu City Mall’s underground station. Upon stopping the train doors opened as usual, but the crowd of consumers and commuters never came. Izuku got up from his seat and looked out onto the platform outside, only to find it as empty as the one near U.A. There was no horde of shoppers, or cliques of young teenagers getting in their last days of summer vacation.

The train didn’t share in his confusion, automated systems closing the doors with the standard warnings. The train lurched again as it started accelerating, and Izuku grabbed one of the handrails above him to avoid falling on his face, again. The train slowly tilted upward as it exited the subterranean station and went up above the city streets. As the train chugged along, Izuku looked out its windows for the first time. His eye’s widened at the view, and his jaw dropped in shock.

“What the hell?!”

There was nobody around. The sidewalks were free of pedestrians. None of the cars were moving, sitting unmoving in the middle of the streets. As the train continued through the city, the view remained the same. Blocks upon blocks of empty streets. There was nothing moving in sight. Izuku couldn’t help but start muttering as he tried to discern the sight in front of him. “Where the hell is everyone?! Is it a villain attack? Does their Quirk somehow make people disappear? That would explain why nobody reported it. If so, is there some kind of criteria that must be met? There must be if I was unaffected. How did it affect so many people?” He was snapped out of his murmuring by a chime coming out of the train speakers.

“Upcoming stop: Aldera Residential District. This is the final stop on the line. Please watch your step when exiting the train.”

Izuku looked ahead and saw his stop slowly approaching, the station just as empty as all the other ones he’d seen. He didn’t know what to do. ‘Is it safe to even leave? If this is a villain attack, there’s a chance I’ll be targeted. Should I make a sprint for the apartment. I should be able to get there in a couple minutes if I sprint it. If only there was some way to check if-’

Izuku slapped his forehead. He had a phone, he could just call someone! He pulled his cellular device out and dialed 119. He then put it to his ear and waited. As the phone rang, the doors to the train opened. Izuku took a chance and exited, huddling behind a pillar. He’d rather be able to run away then be trapped on the train. His phone continued to ring in his ear for longer than he knew it should for an emergency line and hung up. ‘Damnit! Who else can I call? The only people in my contacts are All Might and my Mom…!’

“Mom!” Izuku immediately bolted out of the station, caution thrown to the wind as he ran down the empty streets. ‘It can’t be! Please, don’t let it be!’

He sprinted as hard as he could, cutting across the currently unused roads for any shortcut he could get. Approaching an apartment building, he ran up the stairs to the third floor with ragged breathes. Lungs begging for air, Izuku’s body was shaking by the time he reached his family apartment. Not stopping for a second, he fumbled with his key and unlocked the door. He violently pushed the door open, not even stopping as it slammed into the wall hard enough to leave a dent.

“MOM! Mom are you here?! Please say something!” Izuku yelled as he ran through the house. He began flinging open doors, checking every corner of the house. Eventually, he found himself back in the kitchen in the center of the apartment. “Mom! Where are… you?”

Looking at the kitchen counter, Izuku could see that someone had been in the middle of cooking a meal. The radio was on but was playing nothing but static, the fridge was wide open, and there was chopped up food laid about across the counter. He recognized that it was the same prep his mother did whenever she made Katsudon. He thought back to this morning before he left to get One for All. The image of his mom standing at the door, her words echoing in his head.

“I’m sure you’ll work up quite the appetite after that Exam. Don’t worry, I’ll have a surprise waiting for when you get back!”

“No…” Izuku fell to his knees. What was he supposed to do now? What the hell is going on?!

The static of the radio suddenly ceased, replaced with the sound of a warning siren, like for when an earthquake or tsunami hits. “This is a national warning. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.” A professional voice spoke out. “Roughly an hour ago, a vast majority of the population has vanished under currently unknown circumstances. However, we believe it is not the result of a villain attack. For any that can here this message, please remain calm, stay inside, and wait for instructions from your local authorities.”

As the message repeated itself, Izuku jumped up and ran into his room. He booted up his PC and opened a dozen tabs, searching the trending tabs for every site he could think of. He quickly found that the situation was happening all across Japan, but that wasn’t all. There were links in foreign languages, leading to pictures and videos of empty streets all over the world. Time’s Square, Niagara Falls, the Eiffel Tower, almost entirely void of life.

‘But not entirely.’ Izuku realized. Someone had to be posting these, and there’s clearly enough people around to report on this worldwide. ‘There has to be something linking them, anything!’ He triple-checked the media posts, dived into the profiles of the posters, looking for any correlation between them. Using translation software to read any pages not in Japanese, he began writing down information about each active user on one of his many empty notebooks.

After twenty minutes of scribbling down whatever he could find he looked over his notes. Glancing between the pages, he couldn’t notice anything similar about the various active users. Different race, gender, age, location. There didn’t seem to be anything strange about them. They were all completely ordinary people!

“Wait…” Izuku mumbled. He flipped through his notes with a new perspective. Maybe it isn’t what they all have, but what they don’t. He felt like an idiot for not noticing it before, being so obsessed with them. He double checked the profiles, and his theory was quickly confirmed.

“The only people left… are Quirkless?”

Next Chapter: Becoming the #1 Hero (By Default)

Chapter Text

“This is a national warning. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.”

Izuku was stirred awake by the staticky sound of the pre-recorded message, blaring a sound worse than his alarm clock. Opening his eyes, he found he was not lying in bed, but sitting at his desk. Pushing himself up and stretched his muscles, he felt them ache from sleeping in such an awkward position. ‘What the heck was I doing?’

“Roughly an hour ago, a vast majority of the population has vanished under currently unknown circumstances-” The radio continued, before Izuku slammed a hand down on its power button.

“Oh right, that.” He sighed. Izuku looked down at his desk, observing all the notes sprawled across it like someone had upturned the contents of a paper recycling bin on it. He had spent all night trying to get information on the Rapture.

That’s what the people left online were calling it, because apparently it stole all their creativity as well. 80% of the world, every person with a Quirk, gone in an instant. Some sort of villain attack? government experiment gone wrong? Aliens? The speculation was all over the place. Izuku managed to find a forum or two online that were still active, but they knew nothing. Most didn’t even realize only people with Quirks were targeted until he ‘suggested’ it. And here he thought people on the internet knew everything.

Looking down at his newly named ‘Apocalypse Analysis for the Present, No. 1’ notebook, he flipped through to review what he found before passing out. He was promptly disappointed, seeing he hadn’t written much past the first few pages. There was just too little information currently. Izuku stared at the pages in thought. ‘What now? Should I just sit here and wait for something to happen? If there’s a chance this is permanent however, I can’t waste time sitting around.’

*grumble*

Snapped out of his musing, Izuku looked down at his stomach. It occurred to him that he hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning. He got up from his seat, stretching his legs out before walking out of his room. ‘Can’t think on an empty stomach-’ He started to think before he heard a sound come from the kitchen. Izuku froze, thinking through the possibilities. ‘Shit, I left the door open, didn’t I! I was in such a rush, and I left all the ingredients Mom had set out as well. So, either some animals got in… Or people have already started looting. If it’s the latter, I don’t know anyone that’s Quirkless in our community, so any confrontation probably won’t start off on the right foot. I need to be careful.’

Izuku slowly shuffled over to his door and grabbed the doorknob. Turning it as slow as he could, he eventually heard a small click, and he began to inch the door slowly open. The view from his doorway allowed him to peer down the hallway, but unfortunately, he could only see the edge of the kitchen counter. He could, however, hear more clearly the sound of someone or something inside the kitchen. The sound of cupboards opening, and packages rustling could be heard form down the hall, and Izuku feared the worst. ‘Either this is one resourceful raccoon, or…’

*Crash*

He snapped still at the sound of kitchen appliances falling violently to the floor. ‘or maybe it’s a clumsy raccoon.’ He thought unimpressed.

“ow…” a small voice squeaked out in pain.

'That voice, was that… a kid? What’s a kid doing out here by themselves?’ Izuku thought. Figuring he had little to fear from a small child, he pushed his door open and began slowly but surely walking towards the kitchen. Once he reached the counter, he peered over it to find a small girl sitting on the floor of the kitchen. She was surrounded by food wrappers and kitchen utensils, seemingly picking through them like an animal through scraps. She had long, bluish white hair, and red eyes. For some reason she was wearing nothing but a loose, worn out dress, and had bandages wrapped around all her limbs. Despite all that, what stood out most about her appearance was the small brown horn poking out the right side of her head. Was it a Quirk? “That’s impossible.”

“AH?!” The girl yelped as she looked up in surprise, and immediately looked at him fearfully.

‘Crap, did I say that out loud?’ Izuku realized. He put his hands up non-threateningly as he walked around the counter. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” He tried to assure the girl.

His assurance seemed to do little however, as the girl began crawling backwards away from him. “S-Stay back!” She yelled.

“Wait, it’s fine! I’m not going to hurt you.” He repeated while stopping his approach.

She kept moving away from him, ignoring his plea, and eventually pushed herself against the walls of the kitchen. “NO! I’m cursed! If you get any closer, you’ll disappear like everyone else! Stay back!” She shrieked, pulling her knees up and hiding her head behind them.

‘What?’ Izuku looked at the girl confused. Did she really think she was the reason everyone disappeared? “What do you mean? That’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is! They always said I was cursed, that I could make people disappear by touching them. Now it’s happening without even doing anything!” The girl said in a panic.

‘What is she talking about. Cursed? Does she mean her Quirk? Does it make things disappear? If so, I can understand her confusion.’ Izuku shook his head sadly. No matter how dangerous a Quirk she may have, no one deserved to be called cursed. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t do this. If you did, then I wouldn’t be here, right?” He told the girl.

She looked up at him in surprise. “I… didn’t do it?”

Izuku nodded, as he approached the girl slowly again. “That’s right. I don’t know what did, but I doubt a girl as nice as you are responsible.” He raised his hand towards her. “My name’s Izuku Midoriya. What’s yours?”

The girl looked at his hand, contemplating it for a moment, before reaching out and grasping it. She was lifted to her feet by Izuku. She then looked up at him for the first time without fear. “I’m Eri.”

After cleaning up the kitchen (and making sure the door was locked), Izuku put together an appropriate breakfast for Eri. Setting down a plate of eggs and hash, he looked at Eri and was both depressed and surprised by the girl. She was staring at the breakfast platter like it was a ten-course meal and kept glancing up at him like she still expected him to reveal this was some sort of joke and take it back from her.

“Dig in!” He insisted with a smile. This finally got her to start eating the meal, and Izuku sat back and observed the girl while she did. He wasn’t sure what to make of Eri. She appeared to have a Quirk, if the horn on her head and talk of being ‘cursed’ was any indicator. But how? Not to mention the condition she was in. She looked like she had walked out of a hospital, with all the bandages on her limbs. He wouldn’t think too much on it normally, but that combined with her attitude didn’t paint a pleasant picture. Looking Eri over again, Izuku noticed her shiver slightly. “Oh, are you cold?” he asked.

Eri stopped eating and glanced around nervously. “N-No, I’m fine.” She said skittishly.

Izuku imagined he gave Eri the look his mother gave him whenever he told an obvious lie. Looking the girl up and down, he felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner. Her dress was covered in stains and fraying at the edges. She looked like she hadn’t worn a pair of shoes in a while either, her feet black with dirt and cut all over. Has she been dressed like this all night?

“Just hold on a sec.” He said, walking over to the front door. Grabbing his All Might sweater from the coat hanger, he walked back behind Eri’s chair. “Stick your arms up.”

Eri looked back at him confused, but hesitantly raised her arms up. Izuku then pulled the sweater down over Eri’s head. The oversized hoodie was a bit big however, and her horn got stuck where her head should come out. “Ah!” Eri exclaimed.

“Sorry!” Izuku apologized, before helping wiggle her head through the top. She reached her arms up but found that her hands couldn’t reach the end of the sleeves. Walking around to face Eri, he couldn’t help but find the look ridiculous. Eri didn’t seem to mind though, as she was looking over the oversized hoodie she was now wearing in amazement, his mentors face gaudily printed on the front. “Sorry, it’s a bit big, huh?” He apologized again.

Eri shook her head smiling. “No, it’s fine!” she insisted, before looking at the giant face plastered on the center of his hoodie curiously. “Who is this?” She asked innocently.

Izuku froze, staring at Eri with bugged out eyes. ‘H-How does she not… What kid doesn’t know All Might’s face?’ Forget odd, had the girl been living under a rock her entire life? “That’s All Might, he’s the number one hero!”

“Hero?” Eri asked confused, looking at the face again. “He looks funny!” she giggled, before continuing to eat her breakfast.

Izuku walked back into the kitchen as she did, deciding to look through their food supply before he lost his mind trying to deal with the odd girl. Looking through his cupboards and fridge, he found their options rather lacking. His mom’s job didn’t pay much, but it was just enough to keep the house stocked for a week between the two of them. He could have stretched that if it was just him, but with Eri probably sticking around, he’d have to stock up as soon as possible. He glanced at the girl again. ‘Probably should find her some actual clothes while I’m at it. I wonder if she has any more at home?’

“Hey Eri, where do you live?” He asked, absentmindedly shuffling through drawers.

“… Why do you want to know?”

Izuku looked at Eri to find she had frozen up, glancing at him nervously. “I was just thinking you needed a change of clothes. If it’s close, I could run over and-”

“No!” Eri yelled. “I-I mean, it’s not close, you don’t want to go there. Besides, I don’t have any other…” she trailed off.

“Other what?”

Eri looked embarrassed, shuffling in her seat before responding quietly. “Clothes.”

Izuku walked down the empty streets of Musutafu City with an eerie silence. He had the largest backpack he could find hanging on his back, and he double checked that his cellphone was still in his pocket. He had only walked a couple blocks from his apartments, but he felt as if he was lost in the middle of a jungle. Looking at every corner in fear and jumping at every sound. He was right not to take Eri out here. Who knows what could happen out here?

Not that he had much of a choice. Eri refused to leave the apartment currently, and she was not happy about him having to leave either. But they needed more food, and since he didn’t have any way to get into his neighbors’ apartments to raid them, he had to hope the nearby supermarkets hadn’t been emptied out by anyone else still around. After spending a few minutes teaching Eri how to speed dial his cell with the home phone, he had set out into the new world for the first time.

‘There it is.’ Turning the corner, he finally reached the nearest supermarket. The front of the establishment was currently free of broken glass or fires, so it seemed the looters hadn’t reached it yet. He supposed it was a bit early for roving bands of car marauders though, if what he remembered from that old Hollywood movie he saw years ago. What was it called again? Walking up to the automatic door’s, he jumped when they still opened as he approached. “there’s still power? Guess our country’s infrastructure is better put together than I thought.”

Walking through the aisles of food, he could spy some empty shelves and a few items scattered on the floor. He clearly wasn’t the first to come through here, but the place was still relatively stocked, so the number of people in his area must be low. That or he was just got here before the morning rush. Finally reaching the canned good’s aisle, Izuku began grabbing an assorted flavor of products. He really hoped Eri wasn’t picky, because they were probably going to be eating nothing but beans for the foreseeable future.

After filling up his backpack a decent amount, he zipped it back up and walked over to the clothing section. Food may be important, but he needed to grab a few changes of clothes for Eri, and since he didn’t know what size to get her, he’d just have to grab a bunch of different sizes and hope one of them fits.

The clothing section was far less ravaged by any passing looters, as he doubted that people would put clothes over food during the current crisis. The clothing section of the store was a far more open area, with fewer aisles obstructing the view. Reaching the child section, he began shuffling through the multitude of clothes and realized something important.

He didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t have a single lick of fashion sense! His favorite piece of clothing was a t-shirt with the word ‘t-shirt’ on it! Should he go for something practical? What about color? How the heck does shoe sizes even work? He really was in over his head-

“Someone, please help!”

Izuku immediately turned his head at the sound of a woman screaming in English. It appeared to be coming from the entrance of the supermarket, and he could hear multiple footsteps heading in his direction.

“Stop running already!” The voice of an older man shouted, and the sound of a few people huffing in exhaustion reached his ears. Suddenly, a group of people came running around the corner, and Izuku got a good look at the source of the commotion. There was a group of three fellows dressed in various outfits chasing after an older teenager. The three goons were all wearing bandana’s in various positions, and had a matching tattoo displayed prominently somewhere on their body. A local gang?

He didn’t get a chance to analyze much, as the girl they were chasing spotted him and began to head towards him. “Please help me!” she yelled in a barely accented Japanese now. Izuku looked over the teenager quickly and could easily tell she was American. With her blue eyes, long blonde hair, and American accent. She seemed to be a couple years older than him. She must have been a tourist who got stuck here. The girl ran behind him and he put his arms out instinctively. Crazy circumstances or not, he couldn’t let people just do whatever they want.

The three chasing her stopped when they saw him, looking surprised to run into anyone out here. Finally stopping, Izuku could get a good look at them. The man to his left was probably in his mid-twenties and was quite skinny, with a noticeable Mohawk and piercings over one eye. His bandana was hanging in front of his mouth and had a creepy smile on it. The one to the right was harder to identify, as they were wearing baggy pants and large hooded jacket. Even their face was entirely covered by a bandana, making it impossible to even determine their age or gender. There was no confusion with the man in the middle though. Probably in his thirties, he was bald and over 6 feet of pure muscle, and Izuku could see scars up and down his body through the unbuttoned shirt he as wearing.

“Well, well, well. And here I thought all the heroes had disappeared!” the skinny one mocked, flaunting the knife in his hand. 

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Izuku questioned, as he glanced around trying to form a plan. ‘We can’t just run away from these guys. They’d catch us in no time...’

“We just wanted to help the young lass. She’s clearly far from home, and we wanted to show her the Purple Oni’s traditional hospitality.” The big man said, with a tone that didn’t even hide what he really meant by ‘hospitality’.

“I don’t want your help, you asses! Besides, aren’t there bigger things to worry about right now?” The girl shot back in fluent Japanese. Izuku spared a glance back at her in surprise. Was she really just some tourist?

“Exactly. Any remaining authorities are rather preoccupied with the current crisis.” The hooded person explained calmly, voice muffled behind their disguise.

“Which means we get to run wild. I’ve been dreaming of this shit for years!” The skinny one screamed far too enthusiastically. Izuku felt like he had seen a guy like him in that post-apocalypse movie. The name was on the tip of his tongue.

“Exactly. Now’s the perfect time to change things up a bit.” The big guy affirmed. “How about you? You look like a smart kid. The worlds changing, how about riding the wave with us instead of getting trampled on again.”

Izuku couldn’t believe it. Were they seriously trying to recruit him?! He shook his head in disgust. “Forget it. Just because you can do anything you want now doesn’t mean you should. Even if you don’t have Quirks, you’re all still no better than villains.”

The three of them clearly found his answer lacking, and the one in the middle sighed deeply. “Oh well, we gave you a chance. You brought this on yourself!”

The skinny one lunged forward first, knife hand stretched out towards Izuku. “Die brat!” However, Izuku dodged to the side and grabbed the outstretched appendage. “What the f-?!” the man didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, as Izuku threw him over his shoulder and into a nearby clothes display.

Finished with his first opponent, Izuku turned to see the hooded member already approaching him. Thinking fast, he grabbed the person's hoodie at the top where the zipper was. They quickly grabbed his hands, halting their oncoming attack. Izuku then headbutt them while distracted, and the hooded member fell on his back in surprise. The big guy started approaching now that his friends were down, and Izuku swung back and planted a punch square in the man’s chest.

*thump*

The man didn’t even flinch. Izuku looked up at his opponent’s face, realizing that he may be a bit out of his league here. Curse his Hero Complex.

*BAM*

Izuku was launched back by the man’s strike, falling on his back, and hitting his head. Struggling to get up, he shot the man the best glare he could muster. “I-I won’t let you…” He tried to say, head still spinning.

The man just laughed. “You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that. But you need more than that to survive in this new world. Even without Quirks, it’s always been about power! No matter how many times you try, you can’t beat me.”

Izuku just got up to his feat defiantly. “Even so, I can’t just step aside when someone needs saving. That’s not what a hero does.”

“Hmph, then you can disappear like the rest of them!” the man shouted, pulling back for another punch.

Despite barely being able to stand, Izuku brought his own fist back. ‘I can’t give up! I won’t let someone asking for my help down!’ Putting everything he could into this last punch, he thought back to the last words All Might gave him before he left for the Exam. ‘Just remember! Clench your butt and let your heart cry out!’

Feeling a new-found power growing throughout him, Izuku swung forward, putting it all into this one swing at the man’s chest again. “SMASH!”

*BOOM*

It was as if a bomb went of in the larger man’s chest. Izuku’s punch launched him back and through every single aisle behind him, landing in a heap on the other side of the store. The force of his swing produced a blast of wind that sent nearby clothes flying and throwing everyone around him to the ground. With one attack, the entire supermarket had been turned into a mess.

Izuku looked at his still outstretched arm in amazement, currently ignoring the pain running through it. Even though it should be obvious to him what happened, he still couldn’t believe it. The Rapture made everyone with a Quirk disappear, so he couldn’t possibly have one, unless…

“You need to consume some of my DNA to receive One for All. It won’t properly transfer until you digest that hair!”

Unless he didn’t have the quirk when everyone disappeared, and somehow got it afterwards.

“Ughhh.” Off in the distance, the large man Izuku had just soundly trounced moaned in pain. He was thankfully not dead, but likely wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon.

“Boss!” The two other goons immediately ran off to go check on their friend.

While the gang members dealt with that, Izuku continued to stand there dumbfounded, too busy reeling from his newfound power to do anything. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his own and began to tug on it. Turning his head to follow the hand, he saw that the girl who he had helped was looking right at them. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”

Her cries broke Izuku out of his stupor, and he finally began to move his legs, following the girl as she dragged him out of the supermarket. Eventually he ran ahead of her and began to run in the direction of his apartment. After a few blocks, he looked over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. There weren’t any other people in site, and he finally stopped to let them catch their breath.

“Phew. Thanks for saving me.” She said between breathes, offering a hand. “The name’s Melissa Shield.”

‘Shield? Where do I know that name from?’ He thought as he shook Melissa’s hand. “I’m Izuku Midoriya. Your Japanese is really good. Are you from around here?”

“Oh, no. I just came here to visit family. I came here with my dad but…” She trailed off. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. “But what about you? I don’t quite know what’s going on, but didn’t everyone with a Quirk disappear? How did you use your Quirk?”

“Oh that, it’s a bit… Complicated?” Izuku finished lamely. He couldn’t just reveal All Might’s secret, even if the circumstances are rather extraordinary. He winced in pain now that the adrenaline had worn off. It felt like he pulled every muscle in the arm that he’d used One for All in. He supposed he should be lucky that it didn’t explode of his body like All Might said it could.

“uh huh.” Melissa clearly wasn’t amused. “Anyway, what now. It’s been less than 24 hours and things are already turning into a Mad Max movie out here.”

“That’s it!” Izuku yelled. Melissa jumped at the proclamation, looking at him like he was crazy. “Uhhh, sorry. I’ve had that movie on my mind since this morning, but I just couldn’t remember the name.”

Melissa raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you’ve seen those movies. They’re pretty niche nowadays.” Realizing they were getting off topic, she shook her head. “No, that’s not important. What am I even supposed to do? There’s no way for me to get home now unless you can fly a plane.”

“Well,” Izuku started, mouth running faster than his brain. “You could stay with me.”

“Are you sure?” Melissa asked, surprised by the sudden offer.

“Yeah, I’ve already got one guest, what’s another? It shouldn’t be a problem, especially now that I’ve stocked up on food and-” he stopped, realizing he had forgotten something important. “Crap, I didn’t grab any clothes!”

Melissa looked confused. “Clothes? Why would you need clothes?”

“Oh, they’re not for me. There’s this girl I found that was by herself. I’m not sure what her deal was before everything went down, but all she has now are the clothes on her back.” He explained. “Oh well, we can’t exactly go back to the supermarket now. Come on, my place is just around the corner.”

“Well if you’ll have me, I guess it would be rude to turn down your hospitality.” Melissa agreed, and the two walked down the road toward his apartment.

After walking a few more blocks and turning the corner to his apartment, Izuku suddenly froze.

“What? What’s wrong?” Melissa asked worried.

“That.” He pointed forward. On the side of the road in front of the apartment complex’s, was a rather large vehicle. It looked a bit like a S.W.A.T. truck but was painted a dark blue with white highlights. It was empty, but there wasn’t anyone else in sight. “It wasn’t there when I left.” Checking his phone, he saw that he hadn’t missed any calls from Eri, so either nothing had happened, or she didn’t get a chance to call him. “Let’s go, quietly.”

“R-Right.” Melissa agreed in a hushed voice.

As they stealthily walked up the stairs to his third-floor apartment, Izuku’s mind reeled. ‘Who could have found us, and why? I can likely rule out the people we ran into earlier, as we would have saw them on the way over. Police? Unlikely, the vehicle wasn’t marked like one, and I doubt they’d leave their vehicle unguarded, even if they were having personnel issues. Melissa didn’t seem to recognize the vehicle either. Other than some heavily armored looters, there’s only one other factor I can think of for people being here. Eri…’

Reaching the door to his apartment, he put an ear to it and heard Eri and another voice talking to each other. It sounded civil, but he couldn’t take any chances. Opening the unlocked front door as quietly as he could, he shuffled forward trying to get a view of whoever had decided to make a surprise visit. He finally reached the corner of the wall, peaked around the corner and…

“What the Hell?”

Sitting at his kitchen table was Eri, cup of freshly steaming tea in hand. She had been blowing on it, but at Izuku’s exclamation looked over in excitement. “Izuku, you're back! Look, I made a new friend!” She said happily, pointing to the other side of the table at a figure that was certainly not human, holding its own cup of recently poured tea.

“Ah, you must be Izuku Midoriya, yes?” The mouse-like being asked, setting his drink on the table. “I’m Nezu, the Principal of U.A. High School. I was hoping we could talk about your application to our Hero Course.”

Next Chapter: First Class Assignment

Chapter Text

The four people, well, three people and rat-bear thing, sat around Izuku Midoriya’s kitchen table, each with a freshly poured cup of tea in hand. Nezu was happily stirring his cup, ignoring the stares from the two teenagers. Eri was sipping at her tea with a weird face, clearly unfamiliar with the taste. Melissa sat in her seat quietly, giving polite put worried glances between Izuku and Nezu. Izuku himself had yet to touch his tea. He had a hand to his chin and had been incoherently mumbling nonstop since he sat down.

“I’m sure you all have many questions you wish to ask me.” Nezu finally said.

“Certainly! Like how you found us! Or how you’re still even around! Or-” Izuku began spitting off questions.

“Izuku, please! One at a time.” Melissa interrupted him.

“Don’t worry Ms. Shield, I can answer these questions rather easily,” Nezu assured. “I found you by looking up the address in your Entrance Exam application. And as for how I’m still around, do you have any guesses?”

Izuku brought his hand back to his chin, mumbling just loud enough for everyone else to hear him. “The Rapture made everyone with a Quirk disappear at the same times. My initial analysis seemed to show that there weren’t any exceptions. But your Quirk is some form of heightened intelligence. So, what makes you different from all the other people-”

“He’s not a person, he’s a dog!” Eri interrupted.

Izuku looked over due to the girl’s statement, his concentration completely broken. “W-What?”

“I remember someone telling me about them. They have tails and paws and are covered in fur. They can walk on all fours and have a good sense of smell. I didn’t know they could talk and wear clothes though!” Eri explained excitedly. Everybody present just stared at the girl, unable to respond to her enthusiastic and entirely erroneous explanation.

“Eri…” Melissa finally spoke. “Mr. Nezu isn’t a dog. At least I don’t think he is.”

“But he isn’t human! Does that mean the Rapture didn’t target Quirks, but humans with Quirks specifically?” Izuku questioned.

“Correct! Though you got help for that, so you only get partial marks.” Nezu teased. “I hacked into the camera system of a nearby zoo famous for a lion with a winged Quirk, and he was still there too. It’s safe to assume that the only targets of this phenomena were Quirked humans.”

“But not all of them.” Izuku countered. “Eri’s still here. I don’t know what her Quirk is exactly, but she has one. Why wasn’t she affected?”

“That’s an excellent question young Midoriya.” Nezu nodded. “Well Eri, can you tell us about what you were doing yesterday? Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

Eri shuffled in her seat, looking around nervously. She clearly wasn’t used to so much attention.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” Izuku assured, putting a hand on her shoulder supportively.

“If I do, will it help bring everyone back?” Eri asked.

“There’s a chance. Any information will help immensely.” Nezu said. He noted how Eri’s face changed at his answer as if she wasn’t pleased with the answer.

“… Alright.” Eri finally agreed. “I was waiting in my room like usual, sitting in my bed, when my head started feeling funny. There was a bright light and it felt like my whole body was disappearing. But then my head began to hurt, and I… don’t remember. I woke up later though, and there wasn’t anybody around, so I tried to go find someone. That’s when I ran into Izuku!”

“Is there anything else you’ve noticed?” Nezu asked, trying to fish for more details.

Eri put a hand to her head, rubbing her horn. “Umm, my horn seems to be smaller, I think. It used to be taller and curved a bit.” She explained, miming with her hand how it used to look. Looking at it now, it seemed to be nothing more than a stump on her head.

Nezu took a sip of tea contemplatively. “Hmm, interesting. Eri, what is your Quirk?”

Eri shuffled in her seat. “Quirk? Do you mean my curse?”

“Eri, I told you you’re not cursed.” Izuku tried to reassure the girl.

“But I can make people disappear without even meaning to! How am I not cursed?” She said with teary eyes.

“But that’s not true. You don’t just make people disappear.” Nezu pointed out.

“Huh?” Eri looked over at the puny principal confused.

“You said that your ability makes people disappear, but it seemed that you prevented your own disappearance by subconsciously using your Quirk on yourself. There must be more to it than meets the eye.” Nezu elaborated. “In short, you aren’t cursed. In fact, you’re blessed with an amazing Quirk.”

At those words, Eri’s eyes began to tear up more, until she was full-on bawling in her seat. Izuku immediately got up and tried to comfort her, while Melissa ran off and grabbed the nearest box of tissues.

“Oh dear’” Nezu said shocked. “I’m sorry, I thought those words would have the opposite effect. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” Eri said before Melissa helped blow her nose. “I don’t why I’m crying. It’s just, no one has ever said that my powers aren’t evil. It makes me feel something strange…”

“That’s called happiness.” Izuku told her, wiping away her tears.

As Eri began to calm down, the two teens sat back in their seats. Izuku rubbed his right arm as he did, still feeling sore from the punch earlier. He supposed he should be lucky he didn’t drop the entire building on all of them, from what he’s seen of All Might’s fights. ‘Now that I think of it, even though I put everything into that attack, I didn’t cause too much damage. If One for All’s power is the same for me as it was for All Might, I should have taken out half the block with that attack. Why was the attack weakened?’

“Oh yeah, Eri’s not the only one with a quirk! Izuku was able to use one earlier when he saved me from those thugs!” Melissa pointed out.

That got Nezu’s attention, the small mammal’s head snapping toward Izuku. “Is that so? And what kind of Quirk would that be?”

“It’s amazing! He punched one of them across the entire supermarket! It was just like Uncle Might!” Melissa said, miming a punching motion.

Izuku felt his cheeks heat up at the praise, but his mind screeched to a halt when he replayed what Melissa had said. “Wait, ‘Uncle Might’? How do you know All Might?” he asked, remembering how her name sounded familiar when they introduced themselves.

Nezu looked shocked. “Apologies, I presumed you were aware, I see some introductions are still in order. Melissa Shield here is visiting here from I-Island with her father, David Shield. He-”

“Designed All Might’s old costumes!” Izuku interrupted, squealing in excitement. “He’s a world-famous creator of hero support equipment! I knew I recognized your name from somewhere.”

“Yeah, my dad is pretty great. He usually isn’t allowed to leave I-Island due to the importance of his work, but he managed to talk his higher-ups into giving him a weekend abroad as long as we were escorted by a Pro Hero.” Melissa stopped for a moment, glancing away sadly. “It was supposed to be an entire weekend of just the three of us, but then, well…”

The table fell into another awkward silence as Melissa thought about her father. Nezu coughed slightly, before speaking up. “Getting back to the topic on hand. Izuku, you say your Quirk is a form of strength enhancement, but I find this odd.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Izuku tried to say innocently.

Nezu’s grin perked up slightly at the boy’s tone. “Well for one, your application for the Entrance Exam states that you are Quirkless. So, I see three obvious options. Firstly, you could have lied about your lack of a Quirk, which I find incredibly unlikely for many reasons. Lying about a Quirk’s abilities I could see, it’s common enough, but pretending your outright Quirkless is incredibly unlikely, considering your aspirations. The second option is that you hadn’t awakened your Quirk until after the Rapture, an equally unlikely possibility due to your generation and age.”

“But then how does he have a Quirk? It doesn’t seem like his is anything special like Eri’s, no offense Izuku.” Melissa cut in.

“None taken.” Izuku assured. While One for All may be a Quirk passed down by eight generations to create the perfect Hero, at face value it looked like any other strength boosting Quirk.

“Exactly, which leaves us with the third option. That he received his Quirk after the Rapture.” Nezu said.

Izuku’s eye’s widened, but Melissa just looked confused. “But I thought you just said that it was unlikely he had awakened a Quirk after the Rapture?”

“Yes, but I said ‘receive’, not awaken. In this scenario, Izuku was truly Quirkless until after the Rapture, and somehow gained a Quirk afterward.” Nezu theorized, shooting Izuku a knowing glance. “I would hazard a guess that it has to do with our mutual acquaintance.”

“What mutual acquaintance?” Melissa asked, looking between Nezu and Izuku.

Taking a deep sigh, Izuku realized that keeping the truth of One for All secret would be rather hard now, considering the circumstances. “He’s talking about All Might. I… got my Quirk from him.” He finally admitted.

“Ah-ha! I knew it!” Nezu exclaimed, shooting a paw up in excitement.

“H-How is that even possible? I know I said your Quirk looked like Uncle Might’s, but I didn’t think it literally was!” Melissa said in disbelief.

‘This might take a while to explain.’ Izuku thought, looking at the expectant expressions of his company.

“Hmm, that certainly explains how you have a Quirk still. You’re certainly a lucky one, a minute or two later and you might not even be here!” Nezu said upon hearing the truth of One for All. He and Melissa had listened intently at Izuku’s tale, while Eri had moved to the couch to take a nap.

“Yeah, I realized that.” Izuku nodded nervously. “You said you knew already earlier. How exactly did you figure it out?”

“Well, I didn’t have any exact proof, and All Might didn’t tell me himself. However, I already knew about his injuries and declining strength. To tell the truth, he came to me to look for a successor at UA. I always found it odd that he was looking for a specific successor to train, instead of simply wanting to help raise the next generation. Then suddenly ten months ago, he brought up the idea of teaching the first years but stopped bringing up talk of a successor. Come the time of the Entrance Exam, when everyone disappeared in the Rapture, you can imagine my surprise when I was reviewing the footage and found a boy wandering around UA as if nothing happened.” Nezu laboriously explained. “Also, I hacked your phone and saw that All Might was in your contacts.”

“Yeah, I suppose that kind of gives it away, huh.” Izuku agreed. He really should change the contact’s name just in case.

“Izuku, was-” Melissa tried to ask, voice filled with worry. “Was Uncle Might really that injured?”

‘Oh, right. I guess learning about All Might’s injury like this isn’t ideal.’ Izuku realized. This was probably why the Hero wanted to keep it a secret. “He was. He didn’t want to break the publics’ faith in the Symbol of Peace. So, you didn’t know either?”

“No,” Melissa said sadly. “But I think Dad did. Around the time Uncle Might got injured, he got really motivated on some sort of personal project. And his insistence to visit Japan was leaning on desperate.”

“I see, that’s interesting to know. But with all that out of the way, we now know more about the Rapture than we did an hour ago. This is good. Very good.” Nezu. “Well then, I suppose it’s time we get back to U.A., so the two of you can start working on your class assignment.”

“Class assignment? What do you mean?” Izuku asked.

“Well, it would be irresponsible of you two to not think about your education, even in such trying times. I assume you want to be a hero, yes?” Nezu questioned.

Izuku took a moment to realize what Nezu was saying but quickly nodded his head. “Of course.”

Nezu then turned to Melissa. “And Ms. Shield, may I interest you in an exchange program for the time being? I do believe this would prove an invaluable experience for you.”

“What would be? What is this assignment?” Melissa asked as well.

“Ah yes, it’s improper of me to give an assignment without properly explaining the objective. Forgive me, it’s been a while since I’ve done any direct teaching.” Nezu apologized, before hopping up on the kitchen table and holding a hand up dramatically. “Your first assignment is to rescue the 8 billion people who have gone missing from the Rapture!”

“… WHAT?!” The two of the teenagers yelled.

“Who-?!” Eri suddenly shot up from the couch, looking around in surprise.

“You’ll all have to move into U.A. due to the current conditions. While we don’t have any official dormitories, I imagine we will be able to work something out.” Nezu continued, ignoring the incredulous looks everyone else was giving him.

“D-Do you really think we can bring them back?” Melissa asked, a speck of hope in her voice.

Nezu nodded. “It wouldn’t be fair of me to give an assignment you have no hope to complete. Though it will certainly be quite challenging. Are you two up for it?”

Melissa nodded determinedly. “Yes! Anything to help bring back my dad!”

Izuku looked behind Nezu at a picture hanging on the wall, of him and his mom on his first day of middle school. He thought back to when he was little, and she would play Hero with him. ‘Mom, I really will save you this time.’ He looked at Nezu with the same determination as Melissa. “How do we start?”

“First…” Nezu began to announce dramatically. “We have to go to school!”

Izuku looked outside the window of the moving vehicle as they rode up to the U.A. campus. Apparently the vehicle that was parked outside of his apartment was used by U.A. for a variety of tasks, from getting students around campus to emergency services. It could drive around without any human input, explaining how Nezu had managed to get it across town despite his stature. There was enough space in the back for a half dozen adults, leaving plenty of room for all of them. Izuku and Melissa sat across from each other, while Nezu sat in the front to watch the road, and Eri went up with him to get a better view. Nezu had attached a wedge plow on the front of the drone, originally used for removing snow around the school, to push many of the vacant vehicles out of the way.

Glancing to the back of the automated vehicle, he could see two suitcases shuffle around as they bumped down the road. One for him and another for Melissa. They had taken a detour back to where she had initially been staying to retrieve her clothes. Izuku had also suggested stopping somewhere to get Eri something else to wear, but Nezu insisted that he could deal with that at the school itself.

Lost in thought, he wasn’t ready for a large bump in the road. He shot his arms out to stabilize himself, but immediately regretted it as the muscles in his right cried out in pain. “Damn.” He couldn’t help mutter under his breath.

Melissa stopped staring out the window, catching his quiet cursing. “Did you say something?”

“No, nothing! Just a bit bumpy is all…” Izuku said. He tried to bring his right hand behind his head to scratch it, a nervous tick he developed from dealing with Kacchan all the time, but stopped himself halfway and winced in pain.

Melissa gave him an unimpressed look, before getting up and hopping over to his side of the vehicle, sitting down on Izuku’s right side. “Don’t try to act all tough. I know that All Might’s Quirk can be too much to handle. He complained about the recoil all the time. Let me see how bad it is.”

Before Izuku could respond, Melissa started feeling his injured arm up with her hands, putting pressure on different points. His cheeks began to heat up and he froze up on instinct. He could see her mouth moving, asking him something, but his own internal thoughts were completely blocking it out. ‘A girl is touching me! A girl is touching me! What do I do, I haven’t prepared for this?! Oh god her hands are so soft! Should I say something, or is that creepy? What do I-’

“Izuku… Izuku!” Melissa finally shouted, snapping him out of his trance. He couldn’t help but notice how close her face was to his. “How does this feel for you.”

“Soft.” He answered without thinking, snapping a hand over his mouth when he realized what he had said.

Melissa was confused for a moment, but eventually, Izuku could see her eyes widen in realization and cheeks redden. “I-I meant your arm Izuku.”

“Right of course you did. I knew that.” Izuku insisted unconvincingly. “It feels like every muscle in my arm is pulled. It’s fine if I don’t put any pressure on it though, so it’s fine, really!”

“It’s not ‘just fine’. In case you forgot, people with healing Quirks aren’t around anymore. If you go overboard, you’ll have to heal the old-fashioned way.” Melissa sighed. She got up and walked over to her suitcase. She bent over to grab something inside it, and Izuku looked away from the sight before he lost focus again.

“Here we go.” Izuku heard Melissa take her seat beside him again and looked over to see her holding some sort of red wristband in her hand. “This can’t heal you, but it should help prevent you from injuring yourself too much in the future.” She said, moving the device over his right wrist and pressing a button on it. The device began to glow, before growing and wrapping itself around his hand and lower arm. It eventually stopped, forming a red fingerless gauntlet on his right arm.

“What is this? I’ve never seen a support item like it before, who made it?” Izuku marveled, looking the gauntlet over inquisitively.

“Um, I did,” Melissa admitted, embarrassed by the praise. “I’m not as good as my dad yet, but I want to be just like him someday.”

“What exactly does it do?” Midoriya asked.

“I always wanted to make something that Uncle Might could use like dad did in the past. I eventually realized that he must put up with a lot of force on his body, due to Newton’s third law. So, I developed a device that could absorb the blowback of his attacks, hopefully lessening the strain and allowing him to work for longer. I was going to show it to him during the trip, but I think you’ll get a better use out of it.” Melissa explained.

“It’s able to take the force of All Might’s attacks? That’s incredible!” Izuku praised, staring at the gauntlet like it was a holy relic.

“It’s not as impressive as it sounds. It can only take three of his Smash’s at full strength before being strained beyond the limit and breaking. It wouldn’t actually be practical for him to use for work.” She said disappointed, reaching a hand towards the gauntlet and running her fingers along it.

Izuku shook his head in disagreement. “Don’t sell yourself short. You managed to make a piece of support equipment that All Might can use. Do you know how long companies have been trying to make something that’s actually helpful to him, or that won’t break into a million pieces after a single punch? I have no doubt you’ll eventually be just as good as your father, if not better!”

“I, well…” Melissa looked unsure how to respond to him, instead turning her head away to look out the window before answering properly. “I’m glad I could help.”

Despite her head being turned away, Izuku could see that she wasn’t upset by what he said at least. He turned his head away as well to look out the window but froze up again when he felt something on his hand. Glancing down, he could see that Melissa’s hand that had been holding the gauntlet had now lowered itself over the back of his hand and had begun rhythmically tapping her fingers between his.

Acting again without thinking, Izuku flipped his hand over so that their palms were touching. The drumming continued between his exposed fingers, and Izuku decided to return the gesture. After a moment of the two fiddling with their fingers, he suddenly found his hand clasped in hers. She squeezed his hand lightly, and Izuku returned the gesture.

He turned his head away again, this time to try and hide the stupid grin he had on his face. He sat there in silence the rest of the way to U.A. with a sudden boost of confidence. For some reason, holding this hand made him feel like he could take on anything the world threw at him.

Kagome Mirai wandered around the empty halls of Jaku General Hospital without a sense of purpose. The slowly setting sun darkened the many halls she had been walking around since morning. She was truly alone.

There wasn’t anyone in the Hospital. Hell, there wasn’t anyone in the entire city. Jaku City was well known for having a large population of people with Quirks, as she had quickly found when she had moved here for work. Everyone couldn’t help but brag and boast about their abilities, and she didn’t miss the looks people gave her when she said she was Quirkless. A mix of pity, disgust, or smugness. It seemed all anyone talked about here.

Though she supposed she wasn’t one to complain. She had come here to work at Jaku General Hospital due to it being one of the leading experts on Quirk physiology. Inspired by Daruma Ujiko, she did everything she could to work under him, and eventually he personally recognized her talent, even calling her thesis on the possible techniques of artificial Quirk transferal ‘an impressive insight into the future’. It had always been her dream to have a Quirk, and with the good Doctor’s help she believed it was possible. But now…

There was nobody with a Quirk anymore. Her dream of having one was basically dead. She had come to the Hospital to see if Dr. Ujiko was still around, in the vain hope that he had some miracle solution to the crisis, but he appeared to have vanished along with them. She found his lab coat and ID lapel hanging on his office desk chair, and he never went anywhere without them. She had taken a sick day yesterday, so she wasn’t here when the Rapture itself happened, busy binging some trashy hospital drama.

Now that Kagome thought about it, the Doctor was supposed to be Quirkless as well, wasn’t he? That’s why she had been inspired by his work. Could he have had a Quirk that even he didn’t know about? It’s not entirely impossible, but she would think an expert like him would notice after so long.

Her aimless wandering had found her at the morgue. She could see the door was half-open, a surprisingly common occurrence she noted, despite there being very few deaths at their facility. On a whim, she fully opened the door and strode right in. She didn’t know what, but she felt something calling to her.

As she wandered around, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary about the place. Out of a morbid sense of curiosity, she checked one of the units, before quickly slamming it shut again in a rush. That at least answered her question if dead bodies applied to the Rapture.

She entered a side room and noticed an empty bed. She sat down on it to catch her breath while observing the drab interior. Compared to the homey and welcoming atmosphere around the Hospital the morgue was, well, dead and lifeless. This place really wasn’t doing her head any good. She needed to leave before she ended up like the other bodies down here.

Getting up to her feet, she was about to leave when she noticed the door next to the bed she had been lying on. It was a rather thick sliding door without any windows to reveal the other side to her. Glancing around it, she noticed there were no labels around the door to say where it led either. It clearly had some use though, as there was a card reader on the door that the employees scanned to access important areas of the Hospital.

Kagome tried her own card but heard the buzzing of an error notification, and the panel flashed with a red light. Not much of a surprise, she was just a nurse. She had heard rumors that there were place’s around here that only the Doctor himself could access, so there was no way for her to get in… Unless she had his ID card.

Reaching into her pant pocket, she pulled out a card with the picture of Daruma Ujiko on it. It had been in his office, and she had picked it up for some reason. To remember the Doctor maybe? Holding the card up to the scanner, there was a different sound than before, and a glowing green light now. With a hiss the two doors opened for her, revealing a poorly lit hallway leading to a staircase into the darkness.

Kagome stood at the doorway, weighing her options. She felt like she had seen this exact scenario in a horror movie before, but the thought of discovering something that Dr. Ujiko had kept hidden from the public eye overcame any self-preservation she had.

“The worlds already ended, what the hell have I got to lose?”

And so, she descended into the depths unafraid of any possible slasher villains lurking in the shadows.

Eventually, she reached the end of the stairs and found herself in a room that looked almost otherworldly. Giant tubes were laid across the floor and up the walls, pumping who knows what through the vast subterranean space. In the darkness, there were glass vats filled with some sort of liquid. She could see the shadow of something in the one closest to her, and when she approached it, a light shown down revealing-

“AHHH!” she couldn’t help but shriek at the sight. Floating inside was some sort of inhuman monster, its limbs bent at awkward shapes and brain exposed. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t, it wasn’t…

Alive? She noticed a panel at the base of the container for that monster, and when she worked up the courage to approach it, she could see that despite its heart rate being slow but regular, there was no brain activity. It was like a coma patient. But what was it? Looking at the panel she could see some sort of name along the top of it.

[NOMU #59 – QUIRKS: Regeneration, Shock Absorption, Super Strength]

Looking around her, she could see dozens of vats containing the same inhuman monsters surrounding her. Why would something like this be underneath the Hospital?

Looking down at the floor, she could see the tubes running through the base were connected to the vats, likely pumping in whatever liquid these things were floating in. The tubes seemed to connect and were all leading to the same place. Curiosity not yet sated, she followed the tube along deeper into the lair. Eventually, she came upon shelves full of something she couldn’t identify. They were containers filled with some sort of organic material she couldn’t identify.

As she approached what she believed to be the center of the base, she could see an even larger tank than the ones holding the monsters. When she finally got close enough to turn on the automatic lights, she couldn’t help but gasp in surprise again. This one contained not another monster but a man. Looking down at the panel, she found the name listed for him.

[SUBJECT NUMBER NINE – QUIRKS: Weather Manipulation, All for One (Imperfect)]

Next Chapter: Going on a Field Trip

Chapter Text

Izuku Midoriya woke up to the sound of a blaring alarm in his ear. Snaking an arm out of the sheets of his bed, he fumbled it in the direction of the sound without even bothering to open his eyes. Feeling around, he finally found his hand around what he presumed to be the cause of the alarm and tried finding the snooze button. After a few seconds of failing to cease the aggravating alert however, he just raised his fist up and slammed it down on top of the device.

*Smash*

‘Whoops…’ Finally cracking his eyes open, Izuku could see his gauntleted fist indented into what remained of his alarm clock. Sitting up and stretching, he looked around at the unfamiliar room around him. There was a few of his favorite All Might posters and figurines haphazardly placed around the dorm room, but other than that it was rather barren. Not to surprising, since there were more important things to focus on lately than interior decorating.

Nezu had moved the three of the wayward children into one of the dorm buildings that U.A. was planning to implement in the upcoming year. Most of the buildings were nothing more than concrete jungles, but the one they were currently inhabiting was apparently finished first as a ‘proof of concept’. Originally Izuku, Melissa, and Eri had all been placed in rooms next to each other, with Nezu staying in the nearby office. Eri was hesitant about the arrangement however, so she had moved into Melissa’s room.

Seeing as the alarm clock was out of commission, Izuku grabbed his phone from the nearby nightstand and checked the time. 8:00 AM. School was in half an hour and he had better get ready. Getting out of bed, he noticed a neatly folded set of clothes on a nearby table. Walking over, he saw it was the U.A. uniform, and next to it was a note. Izuku had to stare at it for a good minute to be able to understand the overly fine handwriting.

‘Dear Midoriya,

Sorry for getting it to you so late, but here’s your high school uniform. It would be improper of a student to not wear one on their first day of school. I believe I calculated your size properly, but feel free to inform me of any issues.

From Principal Nezu.

P.S. Breakfast will be served with homeroom, so don’t be late!’

“He was serious about the school stuff?” he muttered in disbelief. ‘And calculating my sizes? Could he really do that at a glance? How did he even get into the room without waking me?’ Izuku wasn’t sure whether to be creeped out or impressed. Instead, he just shrugged and began changing for school. Like Nezu said, it wouldn’t look good to be late on the first day of class.

Checking himself in the mirror he couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow. It really did fit him perfectly. The uniform looked fine on him, though he wasn’t to sure he got the necktie correct. Plus, he still had that gauntlet Melissa gave him on. He was pretty sure that wasn’t part of the dress code. He had tried to remove it before bed yesterday but found that the task harder than it looked. He couldn’t just slip the thing off with how it clung to his wrist, and there wasn’t an obvious ‘remove’ button.

He would have just gone a room over and asked Melissa about it but he knew that Eri had been put to bed early, and he had stayed up later than he should have looking for clues about the Rapture online. He didn’t want to disturb the two of them and settled for asking the next morning. Throwing his schoolbag on his back, Izuku opened his dorm’s door determined and prepared to face whatever Nezu considered appropriate schoolwork during the end of the world.

“Good morning Izuku! I was just about to check if you were up yet. Great timing, huh?”

Izuku nearly fell back in surprise at the voice to the right of him. Glancing to his side he saw that Melissa was already awake and ready, wearing the same uniform as him, except with a skirt that allowed Izuku a great look at- ‘Focus Izuku!’

“Oh sorry, did I surprise you?” she asked, stepping toward him in concern.

“I-It’s fine, just not used to the uniform is all.” He assured. While not technically a lie, who’s uniform he was referring to wasn’t specified.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” She agreed innocently. “At I-Island I can usually wear whatever I want as long as it’s protective enough for the labs. I’m not used to such rigid clothing, makes doing engineering a pain. I mean look at this skirt!” She complained, throwing her hands to the side in a huff.

At those word’s, Izuku found his eyes wandering again from Melissa’s, down to her uniform. He certainly agreed with her assessment. The uniform certainly looked… tight in certain sections, and a skirt left her legs bare… against the dangers of engineering tools, he meant. He finally dragged his eyes up to see that Melissa was looking at him with scrutiny. He immediately felt embarrassed and threw his hands up. “Oh sorry, I didn’t-”

“Know how to tie a necktie? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, come here.” Melissa took another step forward, and Izuku found themselves them almost face-to-face. She brought her hands up and undid his necktie, before beginning to tie it up again properly. “I have to help Dad with these things all the time. He’s always in such a rush he never bothers to do stuff like this properly. How are you supposed to sell a product to someone if you can’t even dress properly? There!” She finished the knot and looked at Izuku again. “Now, ready for our first day at U.A.?”

“Y-Yeah, Plus Ultra!” he said shakily, trying to keep a straight face despite his unexpected proximity to someone of the opposite sex. Izuku desperately averted his eyes knowing that if he looked straight ahead, he would freeze up again. In his panic, he noticed a small head poking out the door of Melissa’s dorm, the unmistakable sight of silver hair, red eyes, and a small stubby horn. “Good morning Eri.”

Melissa turned her head back just in time to see Eri poke hers back inside. “Is something wrong Eri? Do you need help changing?” she asked.

“No, it’s just… These clothes are weird.” they could barely here her say from behind the doorframe.

Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle. He remembered his mom telling him stories about how much he hated wearing uniforms when he was little too. “You’ll get used to it. Now come on out, you don’t want to be late for breakfast, right?”

The talk of food got the girls attention and she finally peeked out again, before stepping out into the hall and revealing Eri wearing a set of the standard U.A. uniform, just like the two of them. Izuku could feel his heart stop beating for a second at how cute she looked now, and he was pretty sure he could hear a faint squealing sound coming from Melissa. “Did I put it on wrong?” she asked, noticing the stares the two were giving her.

“No, no. It’s perfect.” Melissa insisted, walking over to Eri, and offering a hand for her to take. “Come on, Dad always says it’s best to arrive at least ten minutes early to any arrangement.”

As they walked toward him to reach the exit, Eri reached out her own free hand toward Izuku. She looked up at him, and he could see the same scared look she had in her eyes when he found her. Izuku wrapped a hand around hers in comfort. “Don’t worry. School may seem like a lot, but it can be really fun sometimes.” He tried to assure.

That seemed to help, but there was still hesitation in her eyes. As they walked toward the schools main building in silence, he couldn’t help but watch Eri’s expression. She was always glancing around them at every sound and shadow. While she seemed curious about her surroundings, there was nothing enjoyable about it to her. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Eri express a single positive emotion since they’ve met outside of that one moment with Nezu. For not the first time since they’ve met, Izuku wondered what the deal with Eri was.

“By the way, I was wondering what you wanted me to call you?” Melissa suddenly asked.

Izuku couldn’t understand where this question suddenly came from. “What? Didn’t I tell you my name?”

“Oh, I remember that.” Melissa assured. “It’s just that where I’m from, we call people by their first names usually, but I forgot that it’s different around here. Should I call you by Izuku or Midoriya. Do you have a nickname maybe?”

“Izuku is just fine. I don’t have any good nicknames, though some people had taken to calling me Deku…” Izuku responded sadly, thinking of Bakugo.

“Really? I think it’s pretty cool.” Melissa thought out loud.

“You… do?” Izuku froze, resulting in the two girls he was walking with to stop as well.

“Yeah. It’s been a while, but it sounds a lot like the Japanese for ‘you can do it’, right? Uncle Might would say it all the time.” Melissa explained cheerfully.

“O-oh, well,” Izuku stammered. “Deku’s fine as well then!”

“Time for attendance, please call when your name is spoken. Izuku Midoriya!”

“H-Here!”

“Melissa Shield!”

“Do we really have to do this?... fine, Here.”

“And finally, Eri!”

“Um, here?”

The three students sat in the front row classroom of 1-A, seats entirely empty except for them and their furry teacher. They each had a plate of freshly baked breakfast in front of them and were picking away at it while watching Nezu’s antics atop the teachers desk. “Good, the class is accounted for. Please feel free to dig in while I prepare the lecture.” Two hands immediately shot up, followed by a hesitant third. Nezu pointed at one of the people holding up their hand.

“It’s not related to class or anything, but I was wondering how you made all of this.” Melissa asked, pointing down to her still steaming plate.

“Do you not trust my culinary talents?” Nezu asked cheekily. “Actually, most of the work was done by robotic workers. You’d be surprised how many tasks one can automate. Usually Lunch Rush manages these things, but I can at least give them simple orders for things like this. How else do you think we manage to feed so many students daily? Now, I believe you also had a question Midoriya?”

“Y-Yes sir!” Izuku confirmed, hovering over a fresh notebook. “I was wondering what your first lecture is going to be on.”

“Great question!” Nezu said. “Today we will keep things simple, and start with a review of what is currently known by experts about the Rapture.”

Izuku looked at the teacher confused. “Experts? And its barely been more than 36 hours since the Rapture, how much more info do we have?”

Nezu’s mouth perked up into a grin, which looked only slightly terrifying on his inhuman face. “You’ll see. And last but certainly not least, Eri, do you have a question?”

“… this place, you said it’s a school, right?” Eri asked after a moment.

“Yes. Do you know what people do at school?” Nezu asked back.

Eri looked deep in thought, before nodding. “I remember asking about it once. They told me it was a place smart people went, and that I couldn’t go because I… wasn’t very smart.” She said sadly, looking away.

“I see. So, you think that you shouldn’t be here because of that?” Nezu questioned. When he saw Eri nod, with quivering eyes, he couldn’t help but stomp his foot on the desk he was currently standing on. “Nonsense! Total nonsense, I say!”

All three of his pupils looked up at his display in surprise, and he quickly calmed himself. “What I mean to say, is that school isn’t ‘for smart people’. The goal of a school is to teach people and help them learn new things. Eri, is there anything you want to know?” he asked.

The girl’s eyes focused, trying to think of something. “Y-yeah there is. Like what this food I’m eating is called, or what kind of creature you are if you’re not a dog…”

“Then it sounds like school is perfect for you.” Nezu declared. He could see some of the tension in Eri’s body dissipate, and so felt it appropriate to finally start his lecture. “Now then, if everyone is ready, lets go over what we know.”

Nezu stepped on a button on the table and the lights dimmed as the projector began to display on the board behind him, revealing a video of security footage of U.A.’s front entrance. Students in a variety of uniforms could be seen heading to the Entrance Exams from the cameras angle. There was a time stamp of 11:59 JST in the bottom corner.

“At roughly 12:00 Japanese Standard Time, some force affected Japan, and the rest of the wider world, resulting in any human with an active Quirk Factor disappearing of the face of the earth, as shown above.”

Nezu pointed up at the video footage, the clock ticked over to 12:00, and a moment later there was a flash of light, and nearly everyone was gone. The only one to remain was a familiar green haired boy laying face down on the ground, unmoving.

“Did you have to use this footage?” Izuku sunk into his seat, cheeks flushed.

“Apologies, but this was the best footage I could find to demonstrate my points.” Nezu said as the footage continued to play in the background, Izuku’s past form still unmoving. “There’s a couple things you can notice from this video. Did anyone notice anything interesting?”

The three of them thought for a moment, before Izuku shot up a hand. “Oh, their clothes!” he exclaimed.

Melissa looked over confused. “What’s so important about their clothes?”

“It’s just, I was looking up stuff to do with the rapture earlier, and in most pop culture their clothes and stuff get left behind. It didn’t click until now that whatever happened affected more than just their bodies.” Izuku explained.

“Excellent observation! Yes, it didn’t just affect their organic body, but their clothes and even some things they were holding, such as cellphones.” Nezu said. Rewinding the footage, he pointed out multiple devices being held by students, then fast forwarded and showed the empty entranceway.

“Does that mean we can track them?!” Melissa asked excitedly.

Nezu shook his head. “There have been attempts, but sadly current results are coming up negative. Now, let’s watch another video, and see if you notice anything different.”

Nezu stepped on the button again, and the video changed to another set of security footage, this time of the easily recognizable Times Square. The time in the corner showed 11:59 JST as well. After a few seconds, the timer ticked over to 12:00, and people began to glow and disappear. The difference between the two videos then made themselves readily apparent.

“There’s still a bunch of people around!” Melissa pointed out, not that it needed to be. On screen there were a couple dozen people still standing around the intersections, looking around in confusion and panic.

“It’s not that surprising when you think about it. There are hundreds of people in Times Square at any time, so with the 1-in-5 Quirkless statistic, the amount remaining is actually lower than expected.” Nezu pointed out. “But that’s not what I wanted to bring attention to. What else can you all notice.”

Izuku raised a hand after a moment and spoke when Nezu pointed in his direction. “There’s a lot of children there. I can’t imagine they’re all Quirkless, right?”

Looking at the footage, one could see a few instances of children crying around the plaza, likely ones who had been out with their parents touring at the time. Nezu nodded in affirmation. “Yes, that is another good point. Why do you think that is?”

Izuku brought a hand up to his chin and began looking over his notes. “Could it be because… yes, that has to be it.” He looked back up at Nezu to answer. “It’s because they have yet to develop their Quirks, right?”

“Correct!” Nezu affirmed. “While it’s incredibly likely the children seen here will develop a Quirk, they seem to have not fully developed it yet.”

With a click of a button, the projection changed to multiple diagrams of the human body. X-ray’s and heat scans with arrows pointing to random points of the body, leading to medical jargon that went entirely over Izuku’s head. He could hear Nezu chuckling lightly.

“I see this is a bit advanced at your current stage. I’ll summarize the parts that are relevant to our current situation. While the exact nature of Quirks is still a mystery, scientists and doctors have discovered a couple important things about how they work. ‘Quirk Factors’ are the physical or genetic traits that a Quirk is made from. However, like most parts of the human body, they take time to properly grow. While certain Quirks may manifest early, specifically with Heteromorphic Quirks, it usually takes till the age of four for a Quirk Factor to activate. Whether this is due to most Quirks finishing growth in the body by then, or the human brain waiting to reach a certain developmental ability to allow the use the Quirk is a highly debated topic, it takes time for a persons Quirk to activate. Any questions?”

Nezu looked to his students for questions, and contained the laughter growing inside him. Izuku could be seen desperately trying to write down everything said, fumbling his ever-shortening pencil into the sharpener. Melissa was staring blankly at the wall behind him, hand on chin, clearly having lost focus in the middle of Nezu’s ‘simplified’ explanation. Eri looked focused and raised her hand.

“Perfect, what is it Eri.” Nezu said excitedly, happy the girl was actually participating in class.

“I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Could you…”

“Hmm?”

“Explain all that again, please?”

“Of course!”

Melissa’s chin slipped from her hand. The sound of her face hitting the desk could be heard echoing all throughout the empty school.

“In short, Quirks take time to grow and function fully like the rest of the body, understand?”

“I think-”

“YES! Dear god we get it, let’s move on already!” Melissa nearly shouted, pulling on her hair.

“Yes, I think we have spent a sufficient time explaining this topic.” Nezu agreed as cheerful as always. He glanced over to Izuku, who pulled out a new notebook from his backpack. at some point, Izuku acquired a few dozen extra pencils to help with detailing of all of the thorough medical and scientific materials mentioned. The journals original title of ‘School Notes No.1’ had been crossed out and underneath it was written ‘Biology & Nature of Quirks No.1’.

“What were we talking about again?” Izuku asked.

“Hmm, let’s see…” Nezu tapped a few buttons on the table, and the projection switched between images until flipping to a combination of the UA Entrance and Times Square. “Ah yes, we were discussing why children were still around. As I explained, they are still around because their Quirks haven’t fully manifested. This has happened worldwide, as the local hero network showed an influx of lost child’s calling emergency lines.”

Melissa gasped. “How terrible.”

“Don’t worry, all remaining public service workers are being coordinated to find and look after them.” Nezu assured. “Now, is there anything else that can be inferred from the footage provided?”

All three students went back to looking between the footage, wracking their brains for clues on what to notice. A moment later, Eri’s hand shot up. “I know, I know!”

Nezu pointed at the young girl, and she began speaking excitedly. “One happened during the day, and the other at night!”

“An excellent observation.” Nezu said.

“But isn’t that just due to time zones?” Melissa said.

“Time zones?” Eri asked confused.

“You don’t know about that? How should I explain it…” Melissa thought out loud. She got up and walked over to the empty whiteboard, uncapping a black marker, and drawing the sun, moon, and earth. “So, we live here on the earth. The earth spins in a circle every 24 hours, which is a day. But the sun doesn’t move, so eventually people become unable to see the sun. That’s why it’s dark at night.” She then grabbed a red marker and put two dots on the earth, one on the suns side, and another in the moons. “Times Square is on almost the entire other side of the world to us, so while we’re in the sun, they’re in the dark.”

Nezu nodded approvingly. “An excellent explanation Ms. Shield. It’s a bit elementary though, and I’d be happy to go into more details-”

“At another time!” Melissa hissed through gritted teeth, before turning cheerfully to Eri. “Do you understand so far?”

“I think so,” Eri said amazed. “I had no idea the world was so big!”

Melissa nodded in agreement. “It is pretty impressive. And the reason we have time zones is because despite the time technically being the same, it would be confusing for people talking from far away. So, we give different place different times, so they match up with the rotation of the earth.”

Eri looked at the videos again with renewed understanding. “So, despite it looking different, they both happened at the same time! Thanks Melissa.”

“Yep, the clock is the same for both. The second the clock hits 12:00 they all… disappeared?” Izuku trailed off. A moment later he reached into his bag, pulling out his ‘Apocalypse Analysis for the Present, No. 1’ Notebook and beginning to mumble. “But that can’t be right… How would that even be possible… Could they have…”

‘He really is a sharp one, even if it took a bit of help.’ Nedzu noted silently, another grin spreading across his face. “Do you want to share your findings with the class, Midoriya?”

“They all disappeared at the exact same time.”

The room was silent a moment after that, an eeriness that most there couldn’t quite understand. Melissa looked at Izuku in confusion. “D-Didn’t we already know that?”

“I mean the exact same time. The second the clock hit noon, everyone around the world vanished. Not even a split-second buffer between here in Japan and the East Coast of America. Isn’t that weird? I don’t know the exact calculations, but even the speed of light can’t be that precise. Not to mention it reached everyone, everywhere. What sort of force could reach the entire globe simultaneously?!” Izuku explained in worrying detail.

“Yes, that is the true mystery, isn’t it? Unfortunately, we have yet to find the cause of the Rapture, since we haven’t been able to observe anyone affected by it. Until now, that is.” Nezu announced.

“Wait, are you referring to Eri?” Izuku asked.

“That’s right. Unlike you, who got a Quirk after the Rapture, she had it beforehand, but was able to use said Quirk to prevent her disappearance. While it might be early to say so, I believe understanding Eri’s Quirk and how the Rapture affected her is important to solving these mysteries. Which leads to our next activity…” Nezu said suspensefully. “A field trip!”

“You can’t be serious? Where are we even going?” Melissa asked.

“To the one place that may already have answers related to Eri’s Quirk.” Nezu answered. “I hacked into various CCTV systems and traced Eri’s trip to Midoriya’s apartment back to it’s source. I followed it to a location about an hour’s drive from here.”

Eri could be seen shaking in her chair, before suddenly shouting. “NO! I don’t want to go back there! What if they take me away again?!”

“Eri…” Izuku and Melissa looked at the girl, who had a look of fear growing slowly in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, those people are gone now, aren’t they?” Nezu pointed out. “Besides, I may be a principal, but I’m also a hero. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“You can’t… I don’t want you all to get hurt because of me.” Eri said sadly.

Nezu looked somberly at the frail child. Even after everything that had happened to her, she was still worried about the safety of others. Her emotions brought back memories he hadn’t thought of in years.

“Even after everything you’ve been through, you still have the heart to worry about someone other than yourself. You’d make a great hero one day…”

Nezu shook his head, clearing his mind. He jumped from the teacher’s desk to Eri’s, getting her attention. “Eri, do you see this scar right here.”

Eri looked to where Nezu was pointing with a paw and nodded slowly.

“I got this when I was experimented on.” He could hear the others gasp in surprise, but he continued speaking. “They said I was special, that I was important to helping other people. But all they really did was hurt me. Plenty of people tried to help me, but none of them ever could.”

“Then how did you get out?” Eri asked in surprise.

“I got lucky just like you did. One day, they weren’t there anymore. And the day after that, and the next, until I realized that I was somehow free. But even still, I was afraid to leave. I was worried if I left that they would track me down, or that everyone else I talked to might be just like them.”

Eri’s eye’s widened in understanding. “… What changed?”

“I met someone special. He saved me, and told me I could be a hero, without even a second thought. He didn’t care that I wasn’t human. He just saw that I had a heart that wanted to help others.” Nezu said wistfully, before focusing back on Eri. “I understand not wanting us to get hurt, but protecting you is part of my job. Let me show you what that person showed me. I won’t let anyone take you away again, got it.”

Eri teared up a bit, but she quickly wiped them away and put on a brave face. “Alright. If you really think it will help… then I’ll go.”

After an hours’ drive in the Nezumobile (The principal insisted on the name…) the group all found themselves standing in from of a heavy-duty gate. The multi-story complex behind it could be seen sticking out from the high wall that surrounded the entire perimeter.

“What is this place, and why is it so secure?” Melissa asked in wonder, looking up and down the street. She could spy nearly a dozen security cameras watching various parts of the property’s exterior.

“Officially, it is the office and research center of a rather un-noteworthy pharmaceutical company.” Nezu informed her.

“… and unofficially?” She asked with worry.

“It is known as a potential hideout for the Yakuza organization known by authorities as the Shie Hassaikai.” Nezu finished.

“Yakuza? Like organized gangsters? I thought they all went extinct years ago. The rise of Quirks resulted in most major groups being recognized as Villain groups and shut down.” Izuku said confused.

“While the more public groups were arrested, many dismantled themselves after it became clear that their grip on society had faded. Of course, there are those unwilling to accept that and instead lurked in the shadows and waited for an opportunity to present itself.” Nezu explained. “Most of these groups are well known to the police, but unless a group commits an actual crime, authorities can do nothing but have them under surveillance.”

“Do we know anything else about them?” Izuku asked.

Nezu let out a sinister snicker. “Quite a bit, but the important part is that all their higher-ups had Quirks, so we likely won’t run into any organized trouble. That said, this gate looks a bit hard to hack. Midoriya, how about a field assignment. Open this gate.”

Izuku looked between the gate and Nezu in shock. “Wait, you mean with my Quirk?!”

“This seems as good a time as any to get some practice in.” Nezu replied simply.

“But I don’t have full control of it. The only time I’ve used it was by accident!” Izuku continued to protest.

“It’s okay Izuku. Remember, you have my Gauntlet now. It should be able to take the recoil even if you go too far.” Melissa reassured.

Izuku looked down at the Gauntlet uneasily. “But it could only take a swing or two at full power. I don’t want to break the thing right after you gave it to me.”

“Why would you use your full power if it hurt you?” Eri asked.

“I… Well I don’t know how not to.” Izuku admitted sheepishly. “When I activated One for All yesterday, it was like my arm was going to explode. I don’t know if my arm could handle 100% by itself.”

The rest of the group stood there looking at Izuku has he started to mumble to himself, trying to find a way to use his new Quirk without causing major self-damage. The others either let him think or began brainstorming silently themselves. It was Melissa who eventually broke the silence.

“Why don’t you use One for All in more than just your arm.”

Izuku stopped muttering and at her. “… What do you mean?”

“I was just thinking about what you said. You said that your arm couldn’t handle 100%, but maybe it isn’t meant to.” Melissa explained. Izuku continued to look blankly at her, so she continued. “It’s like when you’re designing a multistory building. You can’t just build however you want. you must consider the weight of the structure above. If it’s imbalanced, then it will collapse, but if balanced correctly…”

“Then the force will be distributed correctly, keeping everything together!” Izuku realized. “Now that I think about it, All Might wouldn’t be able to fight as effectively as he did if he had to keep turning the power on and off throughout his body. I think this might work!”

“Yes, and Dad thought that General Architecture was a wasted elective!” Melissa cheered.

“Alright, so instead of focusing on a single body part to use, I’ll try to spread it evenly across my body.” Izuku said to himself, getting in a position to attempt his new technique. Before he did however, he looked over his shoulder at the others. “You all might want to take a few steps back, in case I, you know, explode or something.”

The two girls and mammal quickly took a couple broad steps in reverse. Once they had reached a sufficient distance, Izuku closed his eyes and focused inward. He tried recalling the feeling when he had used One for All before. He felt something within him and tried to mentally draw it out. He suddenly felt what could only be described as raw power begin to radiate across his body. He felt the pressure in his right arm begin to grow as it had when he had punched that thug.

‘Too much power! Gotta spread it quickly…’

With the feeling of 100% of One for All in his arm, Izuku tried to visualize it as a system of circuits, closed off from the system that was the rest of his body. He tried to connect his arm to the rest of his body, and felt a warmth slowly spread up his arm and his shoulder. Slowly but surely, the current of One for All reached through the rest of his body. Across his chest and into his left arm. Down his torso, until it reached his toes. He even felt the power spread across his head, senses sharpening as it did.

Then, it clicked. The crushing pressure in his left arm was gone, replaced with the feeling of an equal force across his entire body. Something about it felt right. It wasn’t perfect, and he could feel sparks of raw energy flickering outward from his body. But to keep the analogies going, a couple leaks in a pipe were easier to fix than if it burst. Opening his eye’s finally, he spied the gate in front of him. Carefully, he winded a fist back, and swung it forward.

*CLANG*

Izuku stood there for a moment, armored fist extended onto the metal gate. His form was perfect, and his punch landed right in the center point. However….

“Damn, that hurt! Fu-” Izuku hissed out, cutting himself off suddenly, remembering the young ears nearby. He felt the feeling of One for All dissipate across his body as he clutched his hand.

“Izuku!” Melissa yelled, running to him, and looking his hand over. “Are you alright? What happened? It looked like you figured it out, but when you punched the gate-”

“I’m fine, just wasn’t expecting the pain.” Izuku cut her off to try and calm her panicked questions. “I managed to spread One for All across my entire body like planned, but I guess that the output was far lower to compensate. I doubt that was even 5% of my power. That’s why the gate barely budged. Seriously, if I didn’t have this Gauntlet, I might have broken my hand…”

“A lesson learned, young Midoriya. However, you still haven’t completed your assignment.” Nezu pointed out.

“Didn’t you hear him, if he tries to punch open the gate again, he’ll just injure himself more!” Melissa said.

“Well it’s a good thing that isn’t what his assignment is.” Nezu said back without a second thought.

“… Isn’t it?” Melissa insisted.

“The assignment was to open the gate, but how else can I- oh!” Izuku realized something suddenly and walked backwards until he was on the other side of the street. He called up One for All across his body again, this time in only a couple seconds, and began to sprint at the wall next to the gate.

A couple feet away from the barrier, He jumped up as hard as he could without losing control of his Quirk. Even with the smallest fraction of One for All available to him, he still was able to launch himself over 8 feet and reach the top of the wall with his hands. He didn’t have the clearance to go over the wall in one jump, but using the grip he had on the wall, he kicked his feet off the wall, flipping up and over into the compound.

Straight into the path of the front garden.

“Oh shi-!”

The sound of snapping branches and rustling leaves could be heard from over the high walls. There was silence for a few moments afterward, until the front gate of the compound opened with a click. It swung aside, revealing Izuku with leaves and branches stuck in the curls of his hair.

“One gate opened. So, how’s my mark?” Izuku said, as if everything had gone as planned.

Nezu brought a paw to his chin. “Hmm, about a B+. Need a bit of practice with control, but otherwise a nice job.”

As Nezu and Eri walked past him and into the complex, Izuku reached up into his hair and tried to shake out the shrubbery. He heard a giggle and turned to see Melissa with a silly grin on her face. She reached up, and with a tug pulled a twig out from his hair.

“Heh heh, Deku Tree.”

“… Really?”

Eri hesitantly led the group into the main building, walking down the empty halls. They eventually walked through an open door into a traditional Japanese office. There was a suspicious opening that was awkwardly attached to the rooms back wall and appeared to contain a set of stairs that led into a basement of some kind. It was clearly a hidden passageway that no one had bothered to close back up.

“They keep all the important stuff down there. That’s where I usually was as well…” Eri mumbled from behind Melissa. She was clearly scared, as if something were about to spring out from the dark corridor and drag her down.

“Don’t worry Eri. It looks like no one has been here since the Rapture, judging by the still open passageway. I doubt any self-respecting Yakuza member would just leave their secret entrance open for all to see.” Nezu assured, walking forward and down into the depths. The rest followed quickly, not wishing to be left behind.

They began walking down the long and winding tunnels of the hideout. They passed and searched any rooms they came across, but most of the ones near the entrance were simple living quarters. As Nezu had predicted, they had yet to find anyone, and everything appeared to be untouched.

Eventually, they found a room that clearly stood out from the others. It was small, and a quick glance revealed it to be a children’s bedroom. There were boxes of unopened toys scattered across the room, and the wallpaper was a colorful display that contrasted terribly with the bleak halls outside.

Melissa looked down at the little girl, gripping her hand reassuringly. “Eri, was this your room?”

“Yeah…” Eri said, staring into the dark chamber.

“Do you want to take anything from it?” Izuku asked.

“No. I never wanted any of it anyways…” She said coldly, tuning away and walking down the hall. “I know the way from here. I think the important stuff is this way.”

The others followed in disturbed silence, taking a few more turns until they reach a closed door. Eri stood in front of it, looking up forebodingly. Izuku reached out to open the door, but Eri suddenly reached up and grabbed his hand with hers. They were shaking greatly.

“Do we have to go in?” Eri asked, more fearful than they’ve ever been.

“Don’t worry, no one is here.” Izuku reassured her. “And if anyone does show up, I’ll punch them just like the gate!”

“Remember Eri, we won’t let anything happen to you. Heroes promise.” Nezu reminded her.

Eri eventually released her grip on Izuku’s arm, and he slowly reached back up towards the door handle. He pulled, opening the way revealing… an empty lab room.

Everyone let out a breath that they didn’t know they had held and walked slowly into the room. “See, nothing to worry about.” Izuku chuckled, not quite hiding the edge still in his voice.

Nezu hopped up onto a nearby chair, reaching up and tapping away at the nearest computer. He reached into his extra small suit and plugged a USB stick into it. “Hmm, there appears there appears to be very little security on this terminal. Even if it would be near impossible for someone unauthorized to reach this place, that’s poor practice. Aaaand, there!”

With a final grand flourish, Nezu pressed the enter key. On screen, files could be seen being copied from the hard drive over to the USB stick. Nezu started spinning around in the chair, laughing like a lunatic. “What idiots! I always love getting one over on stupid humans, hahahahaha!”

“Umm, principal Nezu? Do you want us to do something?” Izuku asked, staring at their teacher’s sudden shift in personality.

“Ah, yes. Grab anything that looks important and put it in your backpacks. We can look over it all when we get back.” He said dismissively.

Izuku and Melissa looked at each other quizzically, before shrugging and heading to opposite ends of the room. Melissa shoved random notes on tables into her pack, not even bothering to decipher their contents. Izuku found an open briefcase filled with… Darts? He simply closed the case and carried it in one hand. He could leave figuring out the mad scientist stuff to Nezu. Looking around the room, he spied Eri standing in the center of it. She had a hand on the patient’s chair sitting there under a spotlight.

“Hey Eri, are you okay?” Izuku asked.

Eri didn’t respond, and Izuku walked over to her, giving the chair another look. Upon closer examination, he could see there were straps where the arms and legs would go, as well as across the waist. There were patches of dried blood all over the chair, some more recent than others. One thing even he could tell though, was that it had been used for a long time, and often.

He put his free hand on her shoulder. “They won’t be able to hurt you anymore. I promise.”

Eri stayed still for a moment, before turning and hugging him. “Can we leave soon?” She said in a small voice.

“Yeah, you’ll never have to see this place again.” Izuku assured. He gripped his hand around the briefcase handle enough for it to creak.

Once they brought everyone back from the Rapture, he was going to make sure All Might paid these people a visit.

Elsewhere, in the depths beneath Jaku General Hospital, Kagome stared intently at the monitor in front of her.

[SUBJECT NUMBER NINE: QUIRK IMPLEMENTATION HAS REACHED 100%]

[COMMENCE AWAKENING PROCEDURES? y/n]

She reread the lines for the dozenth time, before sighing and looking up at the being contained inside.

After searching through this mystery facility and browsing the available terminals, she figured that this was some sort of secret Quirk research facility. The containers that lined multiple walls all appeared to be thoroughly labeled and matched up to a local database of Quirks on the terminals she could find. As far as she could tell, they contained some sort of genetic material related to specific Quirk Factor’s. Through a process that was currently unknown to her, it appears that Dr. Ujiko found a way to add these Quirk Factors to other people, resulting in them having multiple Quirks.

However, the process didn’t seem all that safe, as all the subjects held within the vats, referred to as Nomu on the terminals, looked like monsters. Their skins were bleached, brains exposed, with body parts in all the wrong places. They also seemed to lack any higher brain function, but whether that was a cause of the excess Quirks or something else was yet to be determined.

There was only one that appeared to still look human. The one in the tank at the center of the base. He was obviously important, with his designation being ‘Subject Number Nine’ instead of the regular Nomu number. Fiddling with the terminal, she was finally able to reach the lines shown above. Whoever this was, they were apparently ready to be woken up.

But should she?

It was clear by now that Dr. Ujiko was a less than honest man. Hell, he was probably one of the biggest Villains in Japan, from what she could tell from the scope of his experiments. But honestly the main feeling she had was annoyance at not being included in his schemes.

She had spent years being dismissed for her theories on transferable Quirks, and the one person who actually cared about her ideas went and developed an entire system for doing just that without her. For all she knew the bastard made this thing using her own research notes!

But back on topic, for all she knew this person was another villain or accomplice and kill her due to being a witness. Or his appearance wont matter and he’ll be as brainless as the Nomu and eat her like some zombie.

But on the other hand…

Her curiosity was too much. There was no one who could stop her from doing what she wanted. So what if this guys kills her. For all she knew, the world outside had already devolved into chaos, and she could be killed for looking at someone funny. If she had to, she might as well die on her own terms.

[y]

[INITIATING AWAKENING – PLEASE MOVE AWAY FROM THE TANK]

The sound of electronics could be heard starting up, and the front of the tank began moving forward until it was laying on the ground at a ninety-degree angle from before. The man inside now looked to be laying down, as if in a coffin. The mysterious liquid then began to drain out and was replaced with air.

[RELEASING AWAKENING SIGNAL]

There was a sudden whir, as the wires connected to the body began to glow. Suddenly the body jolted, as if shocked by a defibrillator. It repeated the process twice more, each time the body moving due to the electric signals but showing no signs of awakening.

There was one final shock, but this time was different. The man’s eyes opened. When the body jumped up, there was a sound like a cannon had gone off above Kagome, and the lights in the cavern flickered dangerously. She looked up at the rocky ceiling with worry.

‘Was that a lightning strike? How strong was it to be heard through the mountain?’

A hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist, and she let out a sound that no grown woman should make. Looking back down, she could see the man staring strongly at her. He tried to speak, but the mask for his breathing tube was still on. Kagome quickly took the mask off.

“Are you okay?” She asked, her nursing instincts kicking in despite the situation.

“Who… are you?” The man asked in a weak and gravelly voice.

“My name is Kagome Mirai. I’m a nurse at Jaku General Hospital. What about you?” She answered, before firing back.

“My name…?” The man contemplated before answering. “As of today, I am Nine.”

Next Chapter: Quirk Apprehension Test

Chapter Text

*MORNING IS HERE* *MORNING IS HERE* *MORNING IS-*

*CRASH*

‘Goddamnit…’

Izuku Midoriya couldn’t help but groan as he felt his gauntleted fist indented into an alarm clock for the second morning in a row. He got up from his bed and looked over at his desk, seeing the pieces of his new alarm clock scattered across it. “I really need to get Melissa to tell me how to take this thing off.”

Reaching instead for his phone, he was able to see that the time was 8:01 AM. Guess he should get ready for school. Izuku shook his head in amazement as he changed into his uniform. Humanity was facing its biggest crisis ever, and here he was trying to make sure he got to school on time. Thinking back on what they’ve done so far though, Nezu had treated them a lot more like free labor than students.

Not many high school students can say they’ve spent their first day of school breaking and entering a real-life Yakuza hideout. He speculated that for today they would practice arson and demolition. Nezu may be a genius, but Izuku couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t a great influence on a child like Eri. Or teenagers like him and Melissa. Or anyone now that he thought about it. Grabbing his schoolbag and exiting his room, Izuku turned to see Melissa exiting hers at the same time.

“Good morning Melissa.”

“Good morning Izuku.” She said back. She looked down at his tie, which Izuku had made a mess of like the day before and walked right up to him. “Again? Maybe I should give you a lesson on how to tie these things later.”

“T-That sounds like a great idea.” Izuku stuttered at the woman in his face. At least he wasn’t looking away in embarrassment anymore.

Eri walked out of Melissa’s room a moment later, looking sleepily up at Izuku. “Do we have to go to school right now?” Eri whined.

“Yes Eri.” Izuku chuckled. “Don’t worry. Today should be a lot more fun than yesterday.” 

“Good morning, my wonderful students. It’s good to see that you are all on time again.” Nezu said cheerfully. “I’m sure you all are wondering what we are going to do today. But before that, I figured we should review the results of yesterdays little adventure.”

Nezu clicked a button on the teachers’ desk, revealing an image of the suitcase Izuku had found filled with odd looking darts.

“Our raid on the hideout turned up quite a lot of useful information. It appears that the Shie Hassaikai were developing a drug that could destroy Quirk Factors.”

“Wait, successfully? People at I-Island have attempted such research for years and never made any headway.” Melissa exclaimed. “How can some run-down Villain group possibly make headway in the field?”

“They happened to have access to a very valuable Quirk. Eri’s, specifically.” Nezu revealed.

“Eri?! I thought her Quirk just made things disappear. At least, that’s what she told me.” Izuku said, looking over at Eri, who appeared just as confused.

“While it may be able to do so, the specifics of her Quirk are far more impressive. According to the research I gathered, Eri’s Quirk is the ability to rewind organic material. This can include everything from an entire person, to specific material, like a Quirk Factor.” Nezu explained. “It appears the leader of the group, codenamed Overhaul, hated Quirks and considered them a plague. Ironically enough his own Quirk, also called Overhaul, allows him to disassemble and reassemble anything he touches. He used it in combination with Eri to develop a drug that targets a person’s Quirk Factor, rewinding it to a point it no longer existed. He planned to sell them to Villains, while selling the cure to Heroes, allowing for him and the Yakuza to regain a footing in the underworld.”

“So, did he actually complete it?” Izuku asked.

Nezu shook his head. “Not yet, thankfully, but he was getting close. The ones we recovered range from anywhere between a minute and an hour, but the lab results say that they’ve managed to reach the 24 hours mark. I’d have given them about a year before they completed their research, based off what I’ve read.”

“Well it’s a good thing they’re gone then. They won’t hurt Eri ever again.” Melissa said.

“Yes. I had hoped that this research might reveal something about the Rapture though, but a quick overview hasn’t revealed anything to me. Still, I sent it to a certain research team on I-Island to comb over it, just in case.” Nezu said.

“Wait, I-Island is still operating?” Melissa asked confused.

“Of course. It’s not like the world has ended or something.” Nezu chuckled. Izuku and Melissa looked at each other in confusion, before turning back to him.

“Um sir… everyone with a Quirk has disappeared.” Izuku said plainly, stating the obvious.

“Tell me Izuku, how many people on earth have Quirks?” Nezu asked.

Izuku answered almost immediately. “It was about 80% last I checked, though it’s probably closer to 85% by now…”

“And tell me, what is the population of the Earth? Pre-Rapture, I mean.” Nezu asked again.

Izuku answered quickly again. “About 10 billion, though that’s a really rough estimate.”

“So, if you do the math, about how many people are left now after the Rapture?” Nezu asked his final question.

“That would be… 2 billion? Huh, when you say it out loud it doesn’t that bad.” Izuku said.

“Quite. While I won’t deny that this is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced, all of society isn’t going to completely collapse overnight. And since older people are more likely to be around, most essentials are still functioning, albeit in a smaller state.” Nezu explained. “That said, I fear the longer we take to solve the Rapture, the harder it will become.”

“Yeah, I won’t disagree there.” Melissa nodded. “On another note, what are we going to do for class today?”

“I’m glad you asked, Ms. Shield. Today’s subject will be P.E., along with a focus on Quirk Training!” Nezu announced.

“Quirk Training?” Eri asked.

“Yes, for you and Izuku. Yesterday’s adventure revealed that you two are missing some important lessons about your Quirks. It’s not your fault of course, but it would be remiss of me as a teacher to not educate you on essential skills.” Nezu said.

Eri looked unsure though. “I don’t know if I should… I don’t want to accidentally hurt one of you though.”

“Don’t worry young Eri, I will make sure that any and all safety precautions are taken.” Nezu assured. “If you do well in our lessons, then you won’t have to worry about hurting anyone ever again.”

“Really?”

Izuku nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Let’s do our best, Eri!”

“R-Right!” Eri said, motivated by her friend’s enthusiasm.

Melissa raised her hand, before asking a question. “Um, Nezu sir? If they’re working on their Quirks, then what will I do?”

Nezu just chuckled. “Don’t worry, Ms. Shield. Even without a Quirk, that’s no excuse not to train your body, so I have plenty of P.E. exercises just for you.”

“Oh, yippee…” Melissa cheered, sarcasm laced in her voice.

They all left and changed into P.E. uniforms, and headed down to the track field to begin their practice. Nezu blew a whistle he had acquired, and the three students looked at him, waiting for instructions.

“Alright, we’re almost ready to begin getting a baseline for all your abilities. But first, Midoriya? Can you remove the gauntlet? I would like to see what you can do without it.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Izuku said nervously, rubbing his armored fist. “Just one problem. I don’t quite know how to take it off…”

Everyone stood in silence for a moment, looking at Izuku in surprise. Finally, Melissa spoke up. “Izuku, have you had that thing on since I gave it to you?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“You know you could have just asked me how to take it off, right?”

“I kept meaning to, really! But things just kept coming up and I never got a chance.” Izuku mumbled embarrassed.

Melissa just shook her head and walked over to Izuku. She held the Gauntlet on Izuku’s hand and held down the center symbol. “Sorry, I suppose I should have told you that. Just hold down the symbol like so and it should come right off.” The gauntlet lit up and unwound itself from Izuku’s hand. She took its compact form and put it in her pocket. “I’ll take a look at this later, just to check its data and make sure everything is running properly.”

“And with that out of the way, it’s time to begin!” Nezu cheered. “All three of you will be going through a set of exercises. Izuku, be sure to use the technique you learned yesterday for strengthening your body as well.”

“Got it!” The three of them cheered.

“Are, huff, we done yet?” Melissa wheezed.

“I think I’ve pulled my everything.” Izuku whined.

It had been almost three hours since the three students began their tests. They had done everything from sprints to crunches to ball toss and were thoroughly exhausted.

“I feel fine.” Eri said cheerfully, sitting on a nearby bench.

Correction, Midoriya and Melissa were tired. Nezu apparently had put together an entirely different set of exercises for the child. While it made sense, the two teenagers couldn’t help but cast envious glances at her doing simple jumping jacks while they were in the middle of an 800m sprint.

“Excellent work you three. And with that, we just have one more exercise to complete.” Nezu said.

“One more?! What else haven’t we done?” Melissa exclaimed.

“Don’t worry Ms. Shield, this exercise is just for Eri.” Nezu explained.

“For me?” Eri asked nervously.

“Yes, we’re going to be testing out your Quirk!” Nezu said, opening a container next to him and pulling out various fruits and vegetables.

“B-But, it’s dangerous!” Eri exclaimed.

Nezu shook his head. “It’s only dangerous because you haven’t learned how to use it. With these lessons, then not only will you not accidentally hurt anyone with your powers, you could even use it for help.”

Eri looked at Nezu in surprise. “You really think I can use it to help people?”

Izuku nodded in agreement. “Of course. With a Quirk like yours, you’d make a great Hero one day.”

Eri stared down at her hands, before looking back up at Nezu with determination. “If you all really think I can help people… Then I want to try!”

“Don’t worry Eri. We’ll be right here if you need help.” Melissa assured.

Nezu walked up to Eri and put an apple in her hands, then walked back a distance. He gestured for Izuku and Melissa to do the same. “Alright Eri. When you’re ready, try to use your Quirk on that apple there.”

“Um, how do I use it?” Eri asked as she held the fruit up.

Nezu hummed in thought. “It’s different for every person. Try thinking of when you used it during the Rapture, perhaps?”

Eri closed her eyes, thinking back to the day everyone else disappeared. She thought about the weird feeling in her head. The way her horn got all hot, and the way that heat spread out through her whole body, preventing her from disappearing. She tried to focus on the feeling in her horn again and spreading that heat into the apple in her hands.

As Eri visualized the feeling, her horn began to glow and crackle with a golden light. The apple in her hand also began to glow, before quickly shrinking. It shrunk until it was just a simple seed, which proceeded to tumble out of her hands before it could completely disappear.

“That’s enough Eri.” Nezu called out.

Eri opened her eyes finally and stared at her hands in confusion. “Did it disappear?”

“Look on the ground Eri!” Melissa said excitedly.

Eri moved her hands out of the way to see the ground beneath them and squinted at a small object there. She bent down and picked it up, peering at it confused. “What is this?”

“It’s an apple seed. You rewound the apple back into a seed!” Nezu explained.

“So, her quirk really is the ability to rewind things. Does it just work with organic matter, and how far does it go? What about…” Izuku began to mutter.

Nezu ignored his students muttering and continued to speak to Eri. “Are you feeling okay? Is there anything noteworthy you noticed when using your Quirk?”

Eri thought for a moment before reaching one of her hands up to her horn. “I thought about my horn when I changed the apple. That’s where I first feel weird when I use my Quirk.”

“I figured as much, considering the way the lightshow it gave off when use used it.” Nezu said. “You mentioned that before you used your Quirk to protect yourself from the Rapture, the horn was much larger, yes?”

“Yeah, it was really big.” Eri affirmed, reaching the hand on her horn above it slightly to show the original height.

“Fascinating. Midoriya, what do you think that means?” Nezu asked as if he already knew the answer.

Izuku brought a hand to his chin and began mumbling in speculation. “It obviously shrunk greatly after she used her Rewind Quirk, but I didn’t notice it change this time. Maybe one action affected it more than the other. Was it due to the time used, or the material that was changed? More importantly, if it shrinks, can it grow? And if it shrinks enough will she not be able to use her Quirk?”

“Umm…” Eri looked at Izuku completely lost at his analysis.

Izuku realized he was meandering, and quickly focused on his audience. “Basically, your horn likely shows how much you can use your Quirk. It will likely grow bigger again over time, or by some other means.”

Eri still looked confused but nodded in slight understanding. “So, if I use my Quirk too much, I won’t be able to use it anymore?”

Nezu shook his head. “Only for a time. But the stockpiling nature of your Quirk is fascinating. I wonder what its limits are?”

There was a grumble, and everyone turned to the source to see an embarrassed Eri. “Umm, can we have lunch now?”

“Of course, food! That is the most likely method of increasing your energy! Come, I’ll prepare a 10-course meal for all of you!” Nezu exclaimed, running back towards the school building on all fours.

“… Well, this was educational, I suppose.” Melissa laughed.

Izuku chuckled in agreement. “Yeah. Despite how sore I am now, this really helped me figure out my current limits of One for All. Not to mention Eri’s Quirk is really cool!”

Eri continued to look at the apple seed in her hand, before speaking up. “I never thought people would want me to use my Quirk. But if you really think I can help people with it, then I want to keep doing this.”

“Yep. I look forward to training with you, Eri.” Izuku said, before rubbing her aching muscles. “Though hopefully the physical portion won’t be as comprehensive in the future…”

“How many more of these tests do I have to do?” The man now known as Nine said, sat on a hospital bed, looking blankly at the ceiling.

“You’re the one who asked me to check if you were okay.” Kagome said. “And you are, by the way. Your brain activity seems normal and your body appears to be functioning as it should. You aren’t going to turn into any of those monsters, at the very least.”

Nine looked to the side from his position on the bed, where he could see the rows of Frankenstein monsters lined up in tubes. “That’s good. There was always the chance this wouldn’t end well. Deal with the devil and all.”

“Right…” Kagome said. “I’m still surprised the doctor could do all of this by himself. Transferring Quirks, creating weird monsters with them. It seems a bit out there.”

“Well, he had a bit of help.” Nine informed her as he got up.

Kagome looked at him questionably. “Help?”

“Yes. Most in the underworld thought he was just some boogeyman, but I actually got to meet the man himself. I even got his Quirk.” Nine said, before chuckling. “Or a part of it, I suppose.”

“Do you mean… All for One?” Kagome guessed, thinking back to the Quirk’s listed on the terminal.

“Yes, All for One. The shadow king who ruled Japan through the underworld ever since the advent of Quirks. He could take and give Quirks freely.” Nine said reverently. “I don’t know why he decided to give me his Quirk, but I couldn’t turn down such an offer.”

Kagome looked at him hopefully. “So, you can give other people Quirks?”

Nine laughed. “Oh, I can do much more than that. I can wield multiple Quirks at once. Unfortunately, there’s a limit to the amount I can hold at once, a total of eight.”

“That’s still a lot. Though with everyone with a Quirk gone it must be pretty useless now.” Kagome pointed out.

“Do you forget where we are?” Nine said, gesturing to the rows of Nomu and shelves of Quirks. “There’s a whole list of Quirks for me to choose from, though I doubt any of them are the one I truly want…”

“You’re looking for a specific Quirk? Why?”

Nine looked up at the roof of the cave they were in, as if trying to stare through it at the sky above. “My original Quirk is Weather Manipulation, as you probably saw. I would be a god on earth, if not for the main drawback. Such a power is too much for my body, causing cellular degeneration when used. I agreed to this experiment so that I could acquire a Quirk that would fix that.”

Kagome thought about what Nine had said, her medical and Quirk knowledge firing a mile a minute. “A Quirk that can fix damage that intense would have to be incredibly strong and specific. Your best bet would be…”

The sound of rain echoed across Nabu Island as lightning illuminated the dark night sky. Six-year-old Katsuma Shimano walked hastily down the road to the harbor, being dragged along by his elderly neighbor Mr. Goro. The old man had taken care of the boy ever since everyone with a Quirk had disappeared in the Rapture.

Nabu Island was incredibly isolated from the rest of Japan, and due to the currently stretched resources of the country, the government had decided to relocate the population of the remote settlement closer to the mainland for the time being. While some of the islanders argued that they could do perfectly fine by themselves and decided to stay, there were others were that wasn’t an option. Specifically, for now-orphaned kids like Katsuma.

Katsuma’s mother died when he was young and his father worked as a delivery truck driver across the country, leaving him alone with his older sister Mahoro most of the time. But his father had a Cellular Regeneration Quirk and his sister had a Hologram Quirk, meaning they had both disappeared two days ago.

‘The other kids always teased me for being a late bloomer, but now they’re all gone. Mahoro, where are you…’ Katsuma thought sadly. He nearly tripped on a puddle in his musings, only staying upright due to Mr. Goro’s grip.

“Careful kid, the wind is picking up. We should get you to the ship before it gets any worse.” He said, pulling the boy along.

The two of them finally approached the harbor, where a JSDF vessel could be seen. A few marines could be seen trying to safely usher civilians onto the boat, but the weather had whipped the crowd into a panic, and they were rushing onto the boat in rush.

Mr. Goro hummed disappointedly at the crowd. “Come now, this weather isn’t that bad. We should get on before-”

*BOOM*

There was a deafening sound and blinding flash of light in front of Katsuma, and he threw his hands up to his eyes and covered his ears. After a moment he opened his eyes to look up at the source to see a wooden power pole with a smoking tip, obviously having been struck by lightning. He then looked over to Mr. Goro to see if he was okay, but due to the ringing in his ears missed the ominous cracking from the pole he just turned away from.

Katsuma shook Mr. Goro and he snapped out of his daze, looking around in confusion. The senior looked up at the pole as well now, but noticed it leaning precariously towards them. There was a loud snap unheard by the deafened pair, and the wooden beam began tumbling towards them.

Unaware of the danger, Katsuma was surprised when Mr. Goro pushed him harshly to the side, moving faster than he’d ever seen the old neighbor do so in his life. He landed in a puddle, but when he looked at Mr. Goro in confusion the pole fell into view and onto the senior.

“Mr. Goro!” Katsuma yelled, barely audible to his own ears. He crawled over to him and found the pole had fallen across Mr. Goro. The kid tried to lift the pole himself, but the effort was futile, and he began to tear up.

“Hey, are you okay?!” A voice shouted from behind him as his hearing slowly returned, and he turned to see two marines from the harbor running over to him. One was smaller, but the other was noticeable buff.

“Help, please! The pole fell on him!” Katsuma began wailing.

“Step back kid, we’ve got this.” The normal one said, pulling him back.

The bigger one put his arms under the wooden beam and lifted it with surprising ease. He tossed it aside and began checking Mr. Goro. “Damn, there’s no apparent head injuries, but he’s hurt all over elsewhere. We need to get him to a hospital as soon as possible!” The marine said in a deep voice.

“In this weather? Impossible. Kid, does this place have a big hospital?” The other marine asked.

“N-No. We just have a few clinics.” Katsuma cried. He knew because of last year, when her sister caught a serious flu and had to be shipped to the mainland for a week.

“Damnit! What do we do?” The marine complained.

“Katsuma…” A voice wheezed.

“Mr. Goro!” Katsuma yelled, running over to him.

“Thank goodness your okay.” Mr. Goro said happily, ignoring his pain.

“But you’re not!” Katsuma said, grabbing his hand. “It’s not fair!”

“It’s fine. You want to be a Hero, don’t you? I’m sure you’ll save plenty of people in the future.” Mr. Goro said.

“But I want to save you!” Katsuma cried. ‘How can I be a Hero if I can’t save someone right in front of me? How can I save Dad and Sis?’

Katsuma suddenly felt something awaken within him, and without thinking called upon that feeling. His hands began to glow with an emerald green light, shining and reflecting in the rain. The glow spread from Katsuma’s hand to Mr. Goro’s, then the rest of his body. As the light spread more and more Mr. Goro’s wheezes turned into even breaths, and bruises could bee seen fading from his body. After a few moments Katsuma let go, and the glow stopped. He felt short of breath suddenly, like whatever he just did drained all the energy out of him and into Mr. Goro.

“What was that?” The larger marine asked in amazement.

“It was his Quirk, I believe. Cellular Regeneration, just like his fathers.” Mr. Goro explained. “I feel completely fine now.”

Katsuma looked at his hands in confusion. “I… have a Quirk?”

“An amazing one at that.” One of the marines said. “We should call this in. They’ll want to know about this.”

As Katsuma was dragged along to the ship, he continued to stare at his hands, excitement growing for the first time since her sister disappeared. ‘With a Quirk like this, I wonder how many people I can save? Maybe I really can become a Hero!’

Next Chapter: Inviting Transfer Students

Chapter Text

“So, you are the Ninth…”

“It should be too early for this…”

“But we have no other choice…”

“The Singularity has passed…”

“And it has awoken the Source…”

*MORNING IS HERE* *MORNING IS HERE* *MORNING IS-*

There was a great smash as Izuku’s fist impacted the noisy alarm with a mighty force. With a hiss of pain, he shot open his eyes and looked down at his arm. For some reason his breath was unsteady, and as he calmed himself, he felt the power of One for All slowly leave his limbs.

“What just happened?” Izuku flexed the arm that had smashed his alarm to pieces for the third morning in a row. He felt a bit sore, but thankfully he hadn’t used enough power to cause permanent damage. His head was pounding, and he put a hand to it as he thought back. “What the heck was that dream about?”

He couldn’t see anything but shadowy figures standing within a dark void. They were muttering something, but he could only catch a few words. Ninth? Singularity? Source? It didn’t make any sense. Was it all a part of his overactive imagination, or did it have some other meaning?

Checking his phone, Izuku realized that he had to get ready for classes and decided that there were more important things to be focusing on than some bad dreams. It was probably just a result of the stress, combined with the recent Quirk training. He’ll mention it to Nezu if it comes up again.

Really, how bad could some silly dreams be?

He did his morning routine and walked out the door to his dorm. He closed and leaned against it while he waited for Melissa and Eri to appear. Their door eventually swung open, and an excited Eri ran out.

“Izuku, are you ready?” Eri asked excitedly.

“For what?” Izuku asked back, confused but also amused at the child’s enthusiasm.

“For Quirk training!” Eri said, looking up at him seriously. “We have to practice a lot if we want to be Hero’s, right?”

Izuku I couldn’t help but smile at her new-found drive. “You’re right. Let’s do our best!”

“Look at the two of you with your fancy Quirks. You’re going to make a girl feel left out.” Melissa said in mock offence from her door.

“Weren’t you the one begging not to do anymore exercises in P.E. yesterday?” Izuku pointed out.

“Ugh, don’t even remind me. I still feel like I ran a marathon.” Melissa complained, stretching out her back. “At least Nezu let me into the support workshop later to cool down. Speaking of…”

Melissa walked over to Izuku and grabbed his right hand. Izuku barely reacted to her sudden proximity, having grown used to her tendency towards crowding him. He was still having trouble looking her in the eyes though, instead looking down at the hand she had grabbed. In it, she had the familiar red gauntlet she had made.

“I checked out the gauntlet, and it seems to be working fine. You haven’t done any damage to it yet but remember to be careful with control.” She pressed a button on the device, and it wrapped back around his hand and lower arm. Melissa then looked back up at Izuku. “You remember how to take it off, right?”

Izuku rolled his eyes. “You hold the big button down. Don’t worry, I wrote it down in my notes.”

“Good. That reminds me, I should write a manual for it.” Melissa mused. “Anyways, let’s get to class.”

“Huh?” Izuku suddenly found himself being dragged along by the woman. Not sure what to do, he just held on and walked with her, chatting about the possible topics for today’s ‘class’.

“Attention class! I have exciting information to announce!” Nezu shouted suddenly as the other three ate their breakfast.

“Arr weh trainin moore?” Eri gargled out, not even bothering to swallow.

“Eri, it’s impolite to talk with your mouth full.” Melissa chided.

Eri quickly chewed her food and tried again. “Are we training more?”

“Yes, of course we will. But that’s not what the important info I planned to declare is. The truth is…” Nezu paused for dramatic effect before continuing. “We’ll be getting transfer students in the near future!”

Everyone stared at Nezu in confusion, before Melissa finally spoke up. “… How?”

“Did you manage to find more people with Quirks that were unaffected by the Rapture?” Izuku guessed.

“No, unfortunately. However, as we reviewed the other day, children who have yet to awaken their Quirks didn’t vanish, and some of them have already started to develop their Quirks.” Nezu explained. “After some talks with the remaining government, we’ve decided to send any kids below the age of 8 from the surrounding region here for the time being.”

“Why would they do that? Is this really the best place for a bunch of kids?” Melissa asked.

“There’s plenty of space for them, and this facility can provide everything they could possibly need. It’s a great place for young children to stay!” Nezu said cheerfully. “Of course, the primary reason they are moving here of all places is their safety first and foremost.”

“Their safety?” Izuku tilted his head in confusion. “It is true that U.A. has some of the best security in the country, second only to Tartarus. But why is it being considered so highly?”

“Because those children are incredibly important. As far as everyone knows, these young ones are the only people left on the planet with quirks. You’ve seen the lengths some have gone to for a rare Quirk like Eri’s, but now the mere ability to use a Quirk is considered as miraculous as it was during the Dawn of Quirks.” Nezu explained as he narrowed his eyes. “It’s best to keep them in a safe and secure place before some… less than desirable individuals try to take advantage of the current crisis.”

A scowl quickly grew on Melissa’s face as she realized what Nezu was saying. “I wish I could say that people would be above such actions considering the state of the world, but after those thugs that Izuku saved me from, I can see it.”

“Exactly how many kids are coming?” Izuku asked.

“About a hundred will be arriving in a week, but more will be coming in by the busload for the foreseeable future.” Nezu answered, which raised the eyebrows of both teenagers.

“A hundred?!” Izuku nearly squeaked. “How exactly do you expect us to take care of so many kids!”

Nezu just laughed at his student’s panic. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll be getting more personnel to handle them, though you might have to help with the work. Everyone’s understandably short on manpower lately.”

“Isn’t that great Eri? You’ll get to meet a bunch of other kids your age real soon!” Melissa told the girl.

Eri seemed hesitant at the thought. She shuffled in her seat and looked down nervously. “I don’t know. What if they don’t like me and think I’m bad, like everyone back there…”

“That’s nonsense, you’re a great kid!” Melissa insisted, patting the girl on the head. “And I’m sure everyone else will realize that as soon as they meet you, just you wait!”

Just then, a notification sound echoed across the classroom. The students looked around in confusion, but Nezu just pulled out a small phone and squinted at the text displayed on it. “And with that, it is time for your classes. This morning you will be doing math, followed by P.E., as instructed by these fine fellows.” Nezu said, gesturing to the door as three small robots entered. Each held a digital screen in its hands, with the face of one of the students on each one.

“Wait, you’re going to teach us actual classes?” Melissa asked in disbelief.

“Of course! I am a teacher first and foremost. Unfortunately, I have a meeting right now that couldn’t be rescheduled, so these substitute tutor-bots will be doing the teaching for now. Back in a couple hours!”

And with that, Nezu hopped off the desk and strolled out the door, leaving the three students alone with the synthetic schoolteachers.

“Good morning Mrs. Pleione and thank you for taking time out of your assuredly busy schedule to meet with me.” Nezu said into his monitor, as he tried to savor his third cup off tea of the day.

“Likewise, Nezu, and drop the formalities. I’ve got enough people sucking up to me here.” An aging voice sighed, as the image of a grey-haired woman appeared nursing an even larger cup of coffee.

“I’d imagine. So, it’s been just like the old days, I’d guess?” Nezu replied heartily, producing another weary sigh from the speakers.

“When I mentioned coming out of retirement, I had planned possibly teaching at I-Academy, or possibly doing some private study that I never had the time for. I did not want to become chairwoman of this hellhole again.” Pleione stared wistfully past her webcam to some unknown point beyond it. “I wrangled these mad scientists for over 30 years, and now that they’re no longer my problem the world goes and collapses. At least none of them are responsible for the mess this time… I think.”

Nezu couldn’t help but feel for the woman in front of her. Margaret Pleione had been one of the oldest names in Quirk study, and her fame had quickly rose her through the ranks to become a member and the eventual charwoman of I-Island’s Board of Directors, a job she quickly came to hate. The Board was in charge of overseeing everything on the island, but most importantly, they observed and approved the research that it had become famous for.

There was an expression that Nezu knew (and that was repeated to him often) that there is no great genius without a touch of madness. Nowhere was such a statement truer than I-Island. From the rumors the rat had heard, he wasn’t fully convinced the island wasn’t just a dumping ground for the planets criminally insane. Keeping the many masterminds within in check was a job that clearly wore Pleione down, and her retirement only a couple months ago came as no shock to anyone.

Of course, as one of the oldest residents of I-Island, she was one of the few Quirkless individuals on the island. While the R&D present there was a popular career track for those without Quirks, these days the prevalence of people with abilities had shifted the idea closer to those without flashy Quirks. It was truly fortunate that I-Island was the forerunner of automated technology, or they might not have been having this discussion.

“Ah yes, your analysis into what caused this fiasco. I know it’s a bit early to jump to conclusions, but something about your previous message caught my eye, and I was wondering if you could go over what you have discovered so far.” Nezu explained, as Pleione took another large sip from her cup. “It doesn’t feel right for me to sit around and do nothing, so if you could take the time?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to explain what we’ve found so far. An outside perspective could prove useful.” Pleione admitted, setting her cup aside and presenting her screen to show various data points. “As mentioned in our last correspondence, we have determined that everyone did in fact disappear at the same time. It’s as baffling as it is annoying.”

Nezu hummed thoughtfully. “I had a theory that whatever had affected the world was caused by some wave of unknown source moving at a speed faster than human eye, possibly the speed of light? Is that not the case?”

“No, it’s even worse.” Pleione said with a shake of her head. “If it was moving at simply the speed of light, we would have noticed the difference. Our level of measurements is precise enough to notice the time needed to affect something on both sides of the planet if it was moving that fast. Even if this hypothetical wave could move through the Earth without resistance, we should still be able to observe something!”

“Mrs. Pleione, are you saying that whatever wave affected everyone was moving faster than light?” Nezu said in almost disbelief. While he didn’t doubt her analysis, what she was claiming broke more rules of physics than a genius like him could handle.

“No, I’m not. I’m merely saying whatever transported them away was.” Pleione answered cryptically. Nezu only took a moment to understand what she meant.

“You found something else.” Nezu stated, receiving a nod.

“Yes. While initial search’s focused on trying to find something appearing before that could cause the Rapture, it wasn’t until later that I decided to look for what was missing afterwards, besides the people with Quirk’s, that we found a clue.” Pleione began to explain.

“There was something missing that used to always be there?” Nezu looked at his screen stumped. “Was there some sort of electromagnetic signal? Or maybe a radio wave of some kind? No, that couldn’t be right…”

After Nezu mumbled over the quandary for a few moments, Pleione eventually cut in. “I’ll save you some trouble. Tell me Nezu, how much do you know about Q-Fields?”

“Q-Fields? I know plenty about the focus of your doctorate. It was originally nothing more than a far-fetched theory back during the Dawn of Quirks to try and explain away the weirdness in the world then. How did these weird powers allow the body to do seemingly impossible things like create any matter from body fat, or create mutations based on purely human creations like pencils. The nigh-conspiratorial idea that there was some other dimension that those with a Quirk Factor unconsciously tapped into to manipulate their powers.” Nezu began to explain with encyclopedic knowledge. “It wasn’t until your dissertation that an actual discovery was made in the field.”

“That’s right. And do you remember what exactly that discovery was?” Pleione said, seemingly quite happy to be discussing her own field of research.

“You managed to discover a way to observe and measure the level of a quirk factor in someone. By being able to place a numerical scale to the ‘strength’ of Quirk, you were able to go on to definitively prove that Quirks were increasing in strength through the generations. It also allowed for the eventual development of other technology like the Quirk-Suppressant cuffs.” Nezu took a moment to sip his tea before continuing. “Through a great amount of effort, you created a device that observed that those with Quirks gave off a previously unknown kind of ‘frequency’, so to put it. This frequency of unknown energy increased with Quirk use of any kind but was mysteriously absent in those that were Quirkless. It was the first definitive proof that Quirks were connected to a previously unseeable force, which was quickly dubbed the true Q-Field.”

Nezu was never able to figure out the specifics of what this device was, however. Any mention of it was heavily redacted by the I-Island Board, and all the public seemed to need to know was that it existed. It was also likely why such a creation didn’t exist anywhere else in the world. It would prove amazing for testing Quirklessness, or possibly even discovering how one’s Quirk is supposed to operate. Yet it had been forever kept under lock and key, only letting certain scientists gather data from the device in order to further specific research.

“That is the broad strokes, yes. Not that I mean to dismiss your intelligence, but a lot of the specifics are likely beyond someone even of your mind without decades of study. Or security clearance.” Pleione said, admitting Nezu’s suspicions.

“Oh, I take no offense!” Nezu assured her. “I may love to act like I know everything, I’ll admit that the world is too vast for me to understand in its entirety… for now. So, how does your research factor into the Rapture?”

“That comes down to the nature of the device I used to observe Quirk Factor. It naturally picks up the ‘frequency’ of those nearby to the device, usually only those a few yards away. In order to measure a specific person’s level, I had to develop another device that ‘tunes’ itself to the person hooked up to it and isolates their readings from the surrounding people with Quirks. While this was never brought up in the released papers, our tests discovered… something.” Pleione said with a tone that sent a shiver down Nezu’s tiny spine. “While testing, we tried to discover what the exact range of its detection was. We removed everyone but a single person with a Quirk for a good distance, and simply had him walk back. Eventually he disappeared from the readings… but a single frequency still remained. We ran numerous tests afterward. Leaving it in the middle of the ocean, locking it in the most secure vault we could find, away from all human contact. Yet the frequency never dropped for a second, no matter where we brought it. In the end we figured it a fault of the device, and my tuner was programmed to factor it out of future readings.”

Taking the final sip of his coffee, Nezu looked at her in realization. “The reading is gone now, isn’t it.”

“It is.” Pleione revealed. “Even if the tuner factors it out, everything recorded from the original device is meticulously tracked. The very instance everyone disappeared, there was a spike higher than our devices could display, and then it finally ceased.”

“That’s it then! You found the source of the Rapture!” Nezu said in excitement, before suddenly realizing an important fact. “Wait a minute. If your device picked that up, then-”

“That’s right.” Pleione nodded, knowing where his mind went to immediately. “Whatever had caused this was likely a Quirk. One that has been continuously in effect across the entire planet ever since…”

Mrs. Pleione was suspiciously quiet, and Nezu realized that she nearly let something slip that she likely wasn’t allowed to. He looked at her, trying to discover what she was hiding. “Pleione, how long has this device been recording this signature?”

“That’s…” Pleione clearly wanted to say classified, but eventually let out a sigh in defeat. “Oh, who’s going to stop me. The device has been recording this signature ever since I-Island discovered it.”

Nezu’s ears twitched in surprise. Found it? Was it not created by I-Island then? Or at least not given over to them willingly? That would certainly explain their hesitance in showing it to the public. But if an outside scientist or government created it, surely, they would have also revealed their own version of the device by now. There was one question that he could think of that might narrow down possible suspects. “And when exactly did I-Island discover this device?”

“… At the same time as the Dawn of Quirks.”

“Izuku… Izuku… Izuku!”

“Huh?” Izuku suddenly snapped back to reality, glancing around at his surroundings from the position on his back. He could see Melissa and Eri staring down at him slightly worried. The three tutor-bots stood at the edge of the track silently. “Is something wrong, Melissa?”

“You’ve been doing sit-ups with this blank look on your face. Are you feeling all right? You’ve been zoning out all morning.” Melissa stated as she brought a hand to pull him up.

“I’m fine, really-” Izuku stated, but winced as he was pulled up. “Well, my muscles are a bit sore, but it’s nothing too bad.” He tried to assure her that he was fine. And he was, honestly. But he kept getting flashes of weird memories that made no sense throughout the day, and his Quirk kept pulsing through his body randomly. But it was no big deal. He was still getting used to One for All. It was probably just some late growing pains. “Anyways, what’s the next exercise?”

“The next set is… 100 Squats!” The robot holding a picture of his face said through its speaker cheerfully.

“A hundred?!” Melissa stared at the robot in horror. “Izuku, you really don’t have to go that far if you’re not feeling okay.”

“I told you, I’m fine. Besides, that’s nothing compared to the routine I had for the Entrance Exam.” Izuku said confidently, beginning the process of repeatedly squatting down with barely a second thought. The robot in the background began counting up with each motion.

“Y-You can do it Izuku!” Eri cheered, before attempting to mimic him. As she attempted to form a proper squat, Melissa looked over Izuku with a shrewd eye.

“I’m fine!” Izuku couldn’t help but say as the woman looked her over.

“Oh really? Then why did you break your alarm clock again?” Melissa asked unimpressed.

Izuku winced as another wave of One for All suddenly shot through him down to his legs, but he tried to keep a straight face as he continued the motions. “Uh, force of habit?” Melissa squinted even further at him, and he eventually sighed. “Okay, fine! I accidentally used my Quirk on it when I woke up.”

“You did? Is your arm okay?” Melissa immediately asked, moving to get a look at them, but a quick wave showed no damage.

“Yes, they’re fine. I didn’t use much more then I can currently handle.” Izuku explained, as he shut his eyes nervously and sped up his squats. “I just had a weird dream and woke up in a start is all, honest!”

“Umm…”

“Well, also my Quirk has been acting up a bit, but that’s probably growing pains now that I’m using it, right?” He continued rambling as his squats continued.

“Izuku, y-your legs…”

“And I know I should probably tell you, but there’s a lot going on, and I didn’t want you to worry about something that’s perfectly natural and out of your control so…” Peeking an eye open, he saw Melissa and Eri were both staring at him wide-eyed. Ceasing his movements, Izuku stood at full height as he glanced around himself. “What’s wrong you two? Is there something wrong with- Gah?!” Looking down at his legs, he was startled to notice what appeared to be crackling red energy wrapped around them. A ring of red had formed on each knee, circling wildly with energy. “When did those get there?!”

“They just started forming while you were squatting! They kept getting bigger the longer along you exercised. Is that not One for All?” Melissa asked, staring as the energy charged around his limbs.

“I don’t think so?” Izuku said, lifting one leg and shaking it. “When I use One for All there’s this constant feeling of power that pumps through me. But this feels like the power has been, I don’t know how to explain, stored up?” Izuku put a hand to his chin. “It seems to be an ability to store up kinetic energy by doing repeated movements, if what you said about me squatting is true. But such a feature of the Quirk was never mentioned by All Might, and it’s unlikely he forgot to mention it.”

“Maybe it’s your original Quirk?” Melissa guessed.

“Then I likely would have noticed it during my training regimen to receive One for All. Besides, if that was true then I wouldn’t be here due to the Rapture.” Izuku pointed out.

“I think we should be more worried about how much energy you have stored up there.” Melissa said, looking down at his legs with worry. “If that ability really absorbed energy, then you basically have two bombs strapped to your leg. Maybe we should figure out a way to disperse it safely before your legs snap from sudden force.”

“I… didn’t think about that part yet.” Izuku admitted, his face paling. “Eri, why don’t you and Melissa stand back a bit while I figure something out.”

“Maybe we should wait for Nezu to return?” Melissa suggested as she led Eri away to the other end of the field.

“He’s in the middle of an important meeting. I don’t want to interrupt him from whatever important business he has.” Izuku explained as he stretched his legs experimentally. “Besides, this is my Quirk now. I need to take some responsibility on training it for myself.”

After the two girls reached an appropriate distance, Izuku closed his eyes and tried to feel the stored-up energy within his legs. He imagined reaching in himself like when he had first activated Full Cowling (the name he had chosen for spreading One for All throughout his body evenly), and he eventually ‘grabbed’ onto the energy being stored. He let out a breath and took up a stance.

“SMASH!” Izuku shouted out as he swung his right foot out in a kick, releasing his hold on the stored energy within it at the same time. The red ring on his knee rippled out like a drop of water, and an explosive burst of strength was released through the swing and a great gust of wind shot forward. Izuku let out a grin as the force of the blow continued travelling down the field, but he froze when he noticed that he had let his test attack loose in the direction of the tutor-bots. “Wait, move!”

The robots, clearly not programmed to respond to threats, proceeded to sit there until they were picked up off their wheels by the kick’s shockwave. They flew up in the air as they went hurtling back towards the storage room not far behind them. A moment later, there were three separate crashes as each one blasted through the small structure. The walls of the storage room seemed to shake as the force of the kick reached it, and all three children stared in horror as it creaked ominously.

Unfortunately, Nezu chose this exact moment to return from his meeting with Mrs. Pleione. The small mammal turned the corner just in time for three explosions to ring out and the storage room to go up in a marvelous ball of flames. He stared at the great blaze, and then to the three students also staring at the fire in horror. As they finally noticed him, he couldn’t help but smirk gleefully.

“So, class. What exactly have we learned here today?”

“So? Can you get them to wake up yet?”

Kagome paused from her reading of the computer monitor to glance at Nine. The man was pacing around the room impatiently, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the childlike behavior.

“I told you, waking them up now would be pointless. They need to be programmed first to respond to our voices like they were for Dr. Ujiko.” Kagome explained. “And before you ask, yes, I am working on it.”

“Good. The sooner we have control over these forces, the sooner I can become king.” Nine said happily. “That reminds me, have you considered which one you want?”

“Which… what?” Kagome turned around in confusion.

“Which Quirk you want, of course!” Nine said, gesturing around him to the rows of Nomu and artificially preserved Quirks. “That was the deal, wasn’t it? You help me with my army, and I’ll finally give you what you want. Though I can understand being indecisive. It’s not everyday you get the chance to have any Quirk you want.”

“And why can’t I just get more than one from you?” Kagome asked in a huff.

“I thought an expert such as you would know the dangers of having more than one Quirk.” Nine looked at her impatiently. “The overload would likely leave you as brain-dead as the mindless puppets you are working on. Only someone with my Quirk can have multiple, and I still have limitations. So, what will it be? Super Strength? Fire Breath? You said that the good Doctor had a longevity Quirk, so why not take one of those?”

“Just… let me think about it, okay?!” Kagome eventually said, turning back to the computer. She was truly unsure on what to pick. This was what she wanted for her entire life, but now that the choice was here, she just couldn’t choose.

She wanted them all.

If only she could also have All for One. Then it wouldn’t have been a problem at all. If only she could figure out how the Doctors replication worked, then she could simply copy the version Nine had. Even a copy of a copy would still allow her to trade Quirks at will, no matter how small the holding limit was. She just needed to find the time to look through the files without her new partner and crime breathing down her back.

“There!” With the flick of a couple more buttons, she twirled around in her chair victoriously. “This should set up the system to allow new voices to be downloaded to them. I was only able to link it to the ‘lower Nomu’, as they are called though. Seems the Doctor locked up access to the bigger ones behind biometrics, which we can’t exactly get right now.”

“That’s fine. They should be more than enough for now. It’ll soon be time to begin the next phase of the plan.” Nine said happily, running a hand along one of the tubes containing the abominations.

“There’s a plan?” Kagome couldn’t help but say in surprise, putting her hands up placatively when Nine glared at her. “You just haven’t mentioned much. I mean, you want to be king of the world or something, right? Can’t you already do that.”

“No. I want more than to simply lord over others. I want to change the world, this one where the weak can rule the strong. Where those with powers that put them above others are stepped on and used for gain of the conniving and cowardly. But even after getting All for One, my goal seemed insurmountable. With the Rapture, an opportunity of a lifetime has arisen.” Nine looked down at his hands, balling them into fists. “This broken system was perpetuated by the government, and the strong they had manipulated to serve them. Those Heroes. With all of them gone, all that remain are the old and obsolete, and the next generation…”

“So, since you have the power, you should be allowed to rule over others. I don’t mean to assume, but you wouldn’t happen to be a fan of the book, Meta Liberation War?” Kagome asked, recognizing his ideology instantly. It seemed to be the only peace of literature that people from her hometown of Deika City talked about. Well, before they ran her out of town, that is. The autobiography seemed to be spreading like wildfire these days, with people carrying it around like a bible, and even a Quirkless nobody couldn’t help but check it out. “I wasn’t very impressed with it. Seemed like an excuse for anarchy to me.”

“You must have read the newer editions. I swear, they’re trying to sound more and more like a cult with each reprint. I’m no Liberationist, or whatever those people call themselves these days. I merely agree with Destro’s original goal of destroying the status quo. Of living in a world free from restrictions of the scared and ignorant.” Nine ranted, beginning his pacing of the room again. “And those that remain after the Rapture would do their best to implement that same system again. They’ll round up the children who are soon to awaken their powers and manipulate them into following the old ways. But with so few of the old guard, all I need is these Nomu to deal with them and show those children the way the new world will work!”

“I see…” Kagome nodded along, trying to keep a straight face. She really knew how to pick her evil supervillains. From unknowingly helping a mad scientist to conspiring with a superpowered extreme Darwinist. That said, is plan wasn’t too terrible. She pushed her wheeled chair over to a different computer terminal that was connected to the hospital above, pressing a few buttons. “It looks like you’re not far off. It seems there is a general announcement for all hospitals to report any children so they can be rounded up and brought to U.A. in about a week.”

“U.A.? If the children enter there, then we would be hard pressed to retrieve them. Looks like we really will be moving soon. Make sure you prep as many Nomu as you-” Nine froze as an alarm began to blare from the computer Kagome was sitting in front of, a red light flashing ominously. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Kagome began frantically looking through the computer for the source of the disturbance. Pressing one of the flashing notifications, a window popped up showing a camera feed from the pharmacy. Through the feed, a skinny man with a mohawk and another person in a hoodie dragged a heavily muscled man with a great bruise on his chest behind the counter, before they shattered the glass and began pilfering supplies. Their outfits couldn’t scream ‘Gang Members’ any louder. “Oh, it’s just some looters. They probably picked a fight with some other group. We should just ignore them. We’ve got more than enough supplies down here.”

“No.”

“No?” Kagome looked back at Nine questioningly.

“They look like the kind of people who wish for more power.” Nine said with a sly smile. “And I could always use a few more minions.”

Next Chapter: New Private Tutors

Chapter Text

Izuku slowly became aware of the shadows surrounding him from within his dreams. He recognized them as the same ones from the previous night. Trying to look around, he looked down and noticed that his own body was completely obscured by similar shadows. He could barely move, left with only the ability to look around with his uncovered eyes.

Something in the darkness shifted and began to move towards him, and Izuku turned with a start. He tried to shout out but found himself unable to produce a sound due to his mouth being covered. The figure in the darkness approached until it was right in front of him, but still there was no detail revealed beyond the silhouette of a human.

“Can-… understand-…?” A heavily distorted voice filtered out from the mysterious being.

‘They’re trying to talk to me?’ Izuku stared at the figure in shock. This didn’t feel like a normal dream, and there was something about the person in front of him that tugged on One for All. Unfortunately, the voice was cutting out like radio static, meaning whatever they were saying could only be half heard.

“I see. Well, It’s-… than nothing.” The voice seemed to translate the confusion on Izuku’s face perfectly and had decided to press on. “I’m the Third-… for All. My Quirk-… Fa Jin.”

‘Fa Jin?’ Izuku tried to piece together the fragments of what the person was saying. It seems Fa Jin was the name of their Quirk, but he thought he heard One for All mentioned as well. Third? Third what?

“The Singularity-… One for All-… previous holders Quirks.” The figure tried to say, and Izuku could hear the seriousness through the static. “It originally was only-… to pass down Quirks, the Stockpiling Quirk-… from All for One.”

‘All for One?!’ Izuku tried to question, but the shadows around his mouth refused to move. Who or what was All for One? Judging by the name, it was related to One for All, but All Might had never mentioned such a thing. He could hear the figure sigh at his struggles, and they turned and began to walk away.

“Too early for-… but need to be prepared.” They said as the shadows began to envelope them. “This Rapture is-… have ever fought before. Find it-… it’ll find you…”

As the darkness swarmed his vision Izuku reached out with his Quirk, pushing as hard as he could, trying to reach the figure that was slowly being dragged away. Whoever this was knew about One for All, and the Rapture, and who knew what else! This was his chance! He felt the power surge through his body, and the shadows began to peel away. The figure stopped to look at him, and as he reached One for All further still, the silhouette around them lightened slightly revealing the shaded face of a very serious looking man. He seemed both impressed and worried at the sudden development.

“Hey, careful now! If you push your Quirk while your body is in an unconscious state like this-”

“That’s-” Izuku struggled out, before physically ripping the shadows out of his mouth with his Quirk’s strength. He could feel his grip on One for All slipping, but the risks weren’t a concern currently. “That doesn’t matter! You know about the Rapture, right?! Please, tell me what’s going on. What Villain did this?! Where are they now?! Anything?!”

“I don’t know where they are now, but they will come for you eventually.” The man said, before laughing to himself. “Villain isn’t the right word for this opponent. I always hated the term, you know? It’s too simplistic of a label, used to easily differentiate those with Meta Ability’s within society between black and white. But you can’t sort something that has never been a part of society to begin with. Though, looking at it another way, I suppose you could say it was modern society itself.”

“Just tell me who did this already!” Izuku shouted as the strain of his Quirk began to ache even in this dreamlike state. The man seemed to contemplate for a moment, before shrugging and staring back at him seriously.

“The others thought you weren’t ready to know, but what the hell. The mastermind behind the Rapture is-”

“MORNING IS HERE!” All Might’s voice suddenly rang out from the void, and Izuku felt his grip on his Quirk finally falter. In a single second his eyes snapped open to the reality of his bedroom, jumping to his knees as his arm swung out at the blaring sound by instinct. The power of One for All flowing throughout his sleeping body all pooled directly into his arm, and the adrenaline in his body spiked as he realized what was about to happen.

‘Melissa’s room!’ His half-asleep body was still trying to catch up to his mind, and there was no putting a cap on his swing. Realizing that the power of a 100% Smash was heading right towards the wall separating their rooms, he twisted right with all his might so that the swing just barely was facing the room’s patio door to outside.

A moment later, that entire side of the room exploded off the building in a gust of wind. The glass shattered and wall crumbled from the raw force of the strike. The sudden wind pressure bounced around the room, sending everything flying and shaking the entire building. As he watched the Detroit Smash fly off into the distance blowing branches off the trees just outside the window, he tried to regain control of his body. He gripped his outstretched arm, wrapped in Melissa’s gauntlet, and slowly forced One for All down until he could no longer feel it coursing through his body.

“Thank goodness…” Izuku sighed in relief, staring at the wall between him and Melissa. A moment slower, and he could have seriously injured her and Eri, or possibly taken down the whole building. His relief was short-lived however, as his door slammed open abruptly and Melissa stumbled in wearing All Might themed Pajamas.

“Izuku, are you okay?! What the hell just- Holy Shit!” Melissa cursed out the last part in rather explicit English as she stared out of the giant hole that was the outer wall of Izuku’s room, the rising sun slowly coming into view beyond it. She slowly turned with an open mouth to Izuku for an explanation, and he couldn’t help but curl in on himself slightly.

“Um… my alarm clock surprised me?”

“So, let me get this all straight,” Nezu began as he stared at the two teenagers on the couch in front of him from behind his office desk. Midoriya was staring at the floor like a pet being scolded, while Melissa kept glancing between him and the asleep Eri on her lap with equal worry. The little girl had been panicked beyond belief at first, convinced that the Bad Guys were out to get her. She had eventually calmed down but had worked herself up so much that she almost immediately collapsed back to sleep moments later. “Midoriya had a dream where he was seemingly able to talk to someone who knew about the Rapture. He then used his Quirk to try and better communicate with this mystery person, only to by startled and unconsciously attack his alarm clock at full power, blowing a hole in his room. Am I getting all that right?” Midoriya let out a small nod, still looking downcast. Nezu looked deeply at him, before eventually bursting out in applause. “Amazing! Simply wonderful!”

“Shh!” Melissa shushed the rodents’ sudden cheers and looked at him like he was crazy. “Wonderful?! If Izuku was facing any other direction, we could have ended up dead!”

“Oh, that is most certainly a concern that we will work to address in the future. But I think it’s best we focus on the positives of this surprisingly eventful morning.” Nezu waved a piece of paper with a large amount of Izuku’s handwriting across it. “Young Midoriya, are you certain this is exactly what was told to you by this person?”

“Y-Yeah. But… wasn’t I just dreaming? Now that I think back, was any of that even real?” Izuku shuffled nervously in his seat.

“I have my own suspicions, but I can think of one method of determining what has happened here. Ms. Shield, I assume that your gauntlet measures and records a wide variety of biological functions. Could you possibly upload the results of the last day or two to my device here?” Nezu asked.

“Oh! That’s actually a really good idea sir!” Melissa exclaimed, pulling out her phone and fiddling with something on it. As she stared intently at the screen, Izuku looked down at the red gauntlet on his hand. “I’ve only been checking the load being put on it, but the other data points should be revealing.”

“Melissa? What exactly is this thing recording?” Izuku asked nervously.

“Well, it records a whole lot of stuff. It was a device to monitor the health of Hero’s out on the field, so it gathers real time information about the user’s health. I got most of the base programming from fitness device suites, so it even has sleep monitoring!” Melissa began to explain proudly as she tapped away on her phone. “The data isn’t perfect since it’s only one device attached to the hand and forearm. I planned to develop peripheral devices across the rest of the body, so I could better monitor the user. I’ve even started drafting a helmet modification that could read brainwaves and Quirk Factor activation. And… done! There’s all the data since Izuku first got it.”

“Thank you! It will be useful later to have the data sync directly here from now on. But enough about the future, lets analyze the past!” Nezu pulled up a bunch of graphs on his computer, which began to project on the screen behind him for the teenagers to view. After sorting through the data, he eventually enlarged a couple certain points.

“Here we go, the sleeping monitor! It would have been amazing to get data like this when the Rapture had happened to you, but that’s not possible, now is it?” He highlighted a couple points where the graph spiked. “Ah, it appears that something has been greatly disturbing your sleep cycle for the past few days. As soon as you enter REM Sleep, your entire body has been working overdrive. And if we check the data for monitoring the strain from your quirk….” Another graph was overlayed on the previous one, showing spikes over similar time. “Then it becomes quite clear that something related to your Quirk is affecting your sleep! These are some rather high activity levels.”

“They really are. It’s a good thing you were wearing the gauntlet last night Izuku, or you really would have broken your arm with that swing.” Melissa said, turning to him. “The gauntlet can probably only take two more uses at that power before breaking. Please don’t go overboard like that again, especially in your sleep. If you end up going past the gauntlets limit without full control of your body… it probably won’t be pretty.”

“D-Don’t worry! Lesson learned!” Izuku quickly said, gulping nervously as he turned back to the data displayed. “So, there’s obviously something up with my Quirk, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t just imagining things still. How can we even take anything that is said by this man as truthful?”

“Well, it’s impossible to confirm anything currently, but there are some clues in what he said.” Nezu said, waving Izuku’s transcript of the dream. Looking over the notes, he found the line he was looking for. “I think two of the more notable things is towards the end here. He refers to his Quirk as a Meta Ability. Pop Quiz! Do either of you know where that term came from?”

“Isn’t it the original name for Quirks?” Melissa answered first, having learned this fact already due to being a year ahead. “It was changed right before Destro’s revolutions, so those that use the term are usually associated with them nowadays.”

“That’s correct. In fact, the term Quirk was coined by Destro’s mother herself, and is partly responsible for the revolutions in the first place.” Nezu explained in further details, before shaking his head. “But that’s a history lesson for another day. The context in which it is used though suggests a rather old-fashioned individual. The second term that piques my interest is All for One.” At the name, Izuku suddenly shot straight to attention. “Do you happen to know the meaning behind this name, Midoriya?”

“No…” Midoriya breathed out hoarsely. “No. I have no idea what it even means, but for some reason when I hear it, I feel some sort of unease. From the way it was mentioned, it must be related to One for All, but I don’t know how.”

“I don’t blame you for not knowing the name, as it’s one that the government has gone to great lengths to silencing. You see, All for One is probably one of the oldest and most dangerous villains to ever exist.” Nezu revealed, causing the two to look at him in confusion. “The truth is, that it is also the name of his Quirk, as his true name has been lost to time. While those in charge went to great lengths to remove any remainder of his legacy, someone as important as him always exists in rumours and hearsay, especially across the underworld. Even then, I probably wouldn’t believe he existed if not for a few hints I gleamed from All Might.”

“All Might? What does he have to do with this?” Izuku asked, before quickly putting what Nezu was implying together. “His injury…”

“That’s right. I believe All for One was the one who gave All Might his injury.” Nezu said. “Considering their Quirks, it’s not surprising now to think they were connected in some way. The only one someone of All Might’s strength would consider a nemesis would have to be someone like him, a monster who ruled Japan by the shadows for centuries.”

“You said All for One was also the name of his Quirk, but what does it do? It must be pretty crazy if he was so powerful for so long.” Melissa guessed, obviously nervous from the sudden turn in the discussion.

“You would be right. While I don’t have confirmation that this is true, the rumors about its abilities were so persistent that I must assume them accurate in some capacity.” Nezu prefaced, before taking a more serious look than before. “All for One was believed to be able to take and give people Quirks at will.”

At those words, something clicked into place for Izuku. Suddenly, the discussion in his dream began to make more sense, and he let he could fill in the gaps of the man’s speech. He thought back to the fragmented sentences from last night. “I think,” Izuku began, slowly piecing his scrambling thoughts into a coherent sentence. “That One for All is directly connected to All for One somehow.”

“Oh? And what exactly led you to such a conclusion?” Nezu prodded, clearly trying to test Izuku’s deductive reasoning.

“I’m the Third-… for All. My Quirk-… Fa Jin.”

“I believe that the man I met in my dreams from before was a previous holder of One for All. Specifically, the Third one. He had a Quirk called Fa Jin, which I tried to look up on the way here. It’s apparently named after a term in Chinese martial arts for storing up and then releasing force all at once. I can only assume that it is the strange ability I unlocked yesterday during P.E., meaning I’ve likely somehow unlocked the ability to use the Quirk’s of previous holders of One for All.” Izuku explained at incredible speed, barely taking a breath to halt in his explanation. Nezu seemed to nod along with easy understanding, but Melissa needed a second to process everything she had just heard.

“Wait a minute!” Melissa cut in before Izuku could continue his explanation. “Uncle Might told you that One for All’s ability was just to pass down stockpiled power. Why would it pass along other Quirks? And if it did, why didn’t he ever use anything other than that simple power boost?”

“The Singularity-… One for All-… previous holders Quirks.”

“I don’t think he could.” Izuku said, turning back to Nezu. “That man in my dreams, the ‘Third Holder’, mentioned the Singularity. Isn’t that the theory about Quirks eventually getting so strong that they eventually become too much to control?”

“Yes, that’s about right.” Nezu nodded happily. “It’s mostly considered a fringe conspiracy these days, only spouted by people like Humarise. The definition of what exactly qualifies as ‘passing the Singularity’ is ambiguous at best, but if there was a Quirk that could, it would either be one that allows the gathering of other powers near limitlessly like All for One, or one that has stored so much power over the years like One for All.”

“That’s… honestly pretty terrifying.” Melissa admitted, glancing at Izuku worriedly. “It would certainly explain why One for All is so dangerous for Izuku to use though, if the power being stored has gone beyond human limits. But we still haven’t explained how you’re able to use other Quirks, even if it has gone through some insane Awakening.”

“It originally was only-… to pass down Quirks, the Stockpiling Quirk-… from All for One.”

“I think that All for One is the explanation.” Izuku said, putting a hand to his chin. Melissa was right, in that All Might’s original explanation didn’t make sense currently. But who says it had to be accurate? The Quirk had been passed down over nine generations, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for some details to be lost over time. The ability to pass down stored power was already a pretty crazy ability when All Might had first revealed it, but now it was passing down Quirks? It all seemed like too much for a single Quirk to do. And with that in mind, the Third’s statement made much more sense. “I think that the reason that One for All doesn’t make sense as a single Quirk is because it isn’t.”

“It’s not a single Quirk? Then what is it?” Melissa continued to question.

“The ability to stockpile power and the ability to pass that power on to another. We assumed they were linked, but if we separate the two functions then I think it becomes clear what’s really happening. What if the ability to store up power over time was a single Quirk, lets call it ‘Stockpile’. Then the remaining Quirk would have been the ability to pass that power down. It would be weird for a Quirk to be able to pass down something as ambiguous as ‘strength’, but what if it instead passed down what that power was connected to?” Izuku asked hypothetically. “I think that whoever first had One for All originally had the ability to pass down Quirks, and later received the ‘Stockpile’ Quirk. At least, that’s what I believe the Third was trying to tell me. It would explain why I’ve somehow began to get the other Holder’s Quirks, as they must have been passed down along with this Stockpile, and finally awakened after reaching some unknown limit.”

“I-, But that’s-, How would-?” Melissa’s train of thought seemed to crash multiple times, before she let out a great sigh. “Sure, whatever. Thing’s were already crazy with One for All, what’s a little bit of supervillain-themed origin story to go along with it? And I suppose you have an explanation for the ghosts of previous holders haunting your dreams?”

Izuku raised a finger and opened his mouth to reply but stayed frozen in that position for many moments. When it became clear that he had no explanation, Nezu let out a small cough. “That is certainly a good point. Perhaps it is like the effect of peoples tastes or personalities changing when they receive transplanted organs? It is believed that Quirks may have heavily influence on the user’s personality, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the reverse may also be true. Of course, such theories are impossible to test, due to the inability to transfer Quirks freely.”

There was a silence among the three of them as all of this new information sunk in. Nezu seemed to still be deep in thought about the quandary of the ghosts, while Izuku could be heard lightly mumbling something incomprehensible at its current volume. Melissa decided to snap them both out of their trances and spoke up finally. “So, what now?”

“An excellent question, Ms. Shield.” Nezu turned back from his computer to her and Izuku. “Firstly, we can start preparing for One for All’s further awakenings. It seems that the more Midoriya trains his Quirk, the more he will be able to use the previous user’s abilities, and hopefully improve his connection to these ‘ghosts’ themselves. Since they apparently know something about the Rapture, this may be our best bet on returning everyone back home.”

“Wait, does that mean-”

“Yes! It’s time to step up your P.E. classes to the next level!” Nezu said dramatically.

“Yippee…” Melissa cheered emptily, eyes already glazing over at the amount of exercise she’ll be forced to do alongside Izuku. There was a shift on her lap, and Eri slowly sat up from her nap. She let out a cute little yawn as she stretched, looking around the office.

“Is it breakfast time yet?” Eri asked tiredly, staring up at Melissa.

“I think it is, actually.” Melissa said, glancing at the clock. She took Eri’s hand and stood up. “I think what we all need is to take a break for a bit. We can discuss more about multiple Quirks and secret supervillains and whatnot later. Anymore crazy revelations and I think my brain might burst.”

“While I would have liked to discuss some more theories with you two, I understand that overstimulation can cause problems with learning retention.” Nezu nodded in understanding as Izuku also got up and they both headed towards the door. “I’ll do some more research and come up with a revised training schedule after lunch. You two enjoy the morning!”

Melissa walked out the door without a word, Eri waving goodbye sleepily next to her. Izuku made for the door as well but stopped right at the threshold. He turned back to Nezu, a concerned look on his face. “Principal Nezu?”

“Yes Midoriya? Is there something from your dreams that still concerns you?” Nezu asked as he glanced from his computer screen.

“All for One has been around almost as long as Quirks, right? I keep thinking about the Third’s warning about the villain behind all of this. About them being outside of, or was modern society? If All for One has been responsible for manipulating Japan from the shadows, could the Third have meant that…”

“That All for One was behind the Rapture?” Nezu said, finishing the thought for the boy. Izuku looked quite worried at the thought, but Nezu just shook his head. “Do not worry. Such a thing is incredibly unlikely. He’s dead, after all!”

“What?!” Izuku obviously didn’t expect such an answer, as he stared at Nezu in bewilderment.

“Ah, yes… I suppose you wouldn’t know about that. He only revealed to me that the Villain who gave him the injury was no longer alive, back when I asked about it.” Nezu revealed, turning back to his computer. “And besides, on the off chance he was somehow alive, he wouldn’t have had the convenient method of subverting the Rapture like One for All did. Rest easy, young Midoriya. The threat of All for One is long gone.”

In the dark depths of Doctor Ujiko’s lab, three thugs stared up at the figure looming over them from their kneeled position on the cold floor with trepidation. Surrounding them were giant tubes filled with all kinds of monstrosities. The free ones that had dragged them down to this hellhole now sat silently next to a woman in a nurse’s outfit, who wasn’t even looking at them as she plugged away on a computer. They had only come to this hospital for some painkillers! How did they end up in some Supervillains lair?

“So…” The man in front of them asked slowly, voice filtered through a mechanical mask that covered the lower half of his face. “What are you three doing on my property?”

The mohawked man bowed lowly, speaking out in a shrill voice. “W-We just were looking for some medicine for our boss, honest! We’re nothing but upstanding individuals, right guys?”

“T-That’s right!” The one in the hoodie quickly followed suit, and they lowered their head. “Please forgive out intrusions! We promise not to speak of this, so please let us go!”

The last one of the three simply stared at their captor, refusing to follow his partners’ lead.

“Oh? Do you have nothing to say to me? Not going to grovel like your subordinates? You look pretty beat up there? Are you sure you don’t want to beg for help?”

“Doesn’t seem right to grovel and beg to someone who I don’t even know.” The muscular thug finally said, standing up on his feet, ignoring the pain from his heavily bruised chest. “You got some pretty scary monsters there, but what makes you so terrifying that I should be on my hands and knees? We’re all Quirkless here, and no offense, but you look like need some medicine more than me.”

“… I suppose you have a point.” The man eventually admitted, taking a step towards him. “You may call me Nine. If you truly think me so weak, then attempt to strike me down. That is how power is best displayed, no?”

“Now you’re talking my language!” The thug raised a fist, lunging at Nine with his full force. Nine raised his own open palm, and before the two connected, a circular shield of compressed air formed. The fist slammed into the shield, and the thug threw his hand back in pain. “What the hell?!”

The shield collapsed, releasing the compressed air in the thug’s direction and sending him flying across the lab and through one of the tubes. He found himself collapsed on top of one of the giant monsters that lay within the tube, but as he was getting up, the tips of Nine’s fingers glowed purple, and five beams shot out towards him. He tried to get up, but his previous injuries were too much, and he got a shot through each limb.

“I suppose that would be a good enough demonstration of my superiority?” Nine asked as the thug lay on the floor, unable to move his arms and legs. As he continued to struggle, Nine walked over, grabbing him by the forehead and pulling him up so they were eye to eye. “What is your name?”

“I-It’s Dragon. From the Purple Oni’s.” The thug struggled out, a trail of blood coming down from a cut on his forehead.

“Tell me, Dragon,” Nine asked, looking deep in his eyes. “What is it that you want? What do wish for?”

“I want power!” Dragon growled out, staring back with a fire in his eyes. “Whether its muscles, or money, or a Quirk! I just want to have some sort of power that makes me better than some invisible nobody!”

“Well then, let me grant your wish.” Nine suddenly said as he reached down to the comatose Nomu that had been released in their ‘fight’. Some sort of energy began to flow out of it and through Nine’s body, all the way over to the hand on Dragon’s forehead. His eyes began to roll back as Nine continued the process.

“Boss!” Both of the other members of Purple Oni jumped up to defend their leader but stopped as they noticed the bruises on his chest begin to fade, and the bullet holes in his limbs slowly closed. The light from Nine’s Quirk faded, and Dragon eventually regained his senses, standing to his feet.

“What the hell did you just do to me?” Dragon asked, looking at Nine skeptically.

“I gave you powers. To heal from any injury and withstand damage that could fell a tank. Now you will never be pushed down again.” Nine explained, before turning to his two compatriots. “Now, what is your names, and what do you two wish for?”

“I-I’m Komodo.” The skinny man with the mohawk said eagerly. “I want to be able to show everyone that I can be strong even with a weak body like mine!”

“My name’s Chameleon. I,” They hesitated, eyes flickering hesitantly behind the mask and hoodie they wore. “I just want to be able to change into my true self, without having to worry about society beating me down…”

“Is that all?” Nine said with a huff of laughter. “I can give you that and more. You need but follow me.”

The two Purple Oni’s looked between each other, before getting down on one knee. But now instead of a gesture of prostration, it was in servitude to their new King. As Nine gathered the appropriate powers for his new minions from the Doctor’s collection, Kagome glanced up from her computer. She couldn’t help but let out a sigh in disappointment.

‘So easily manipulated.’ She thought, before realizing that she was talked over to following Nine under similar circumstances. But unlike them, she was able to use this lab to it’s fullest. This included finally cracking the password on some of the Doctor’s research notes. It was mostly maddening gibberish, but when she finally reached the notes for Nine (for purely educational purposes, of course), she noticed that her teachers wording implied something amazing.

[Subject Number Nine Compatibility:

It appears that the subject we have chosen to test artificial implementation of All for One has only a partial compatibility for it. All tests had shown that there wasn’t any problem beforehand, so there must be some limiting factor on the number of Quirks one can store, even with All for One within someone’s possession. Is it perhaps based on the user’s brain, as that is where the Quirk’s factors are focused? I presented my findings to the Master, but he suggested it was more a matter of ‘compatible will’. Whatever the issue is, I hope I can discern it soon, so that I can ensure the transfer of the Original Quirk to his apprentice is without issue. Such a power does not deserve to stay locked away, and the sooner it has a user the better!]

It seemed almost too good to be true. From the way Doctor Ujiko phrased it, the original version of All for One was just sitting under lock and key, very likely somewhere in this very lab! She just needed to find it… and quietly.

She snuck a glance over her shoulder to Nine, distracted by his loyal follower’s platitudes. Nine may talk big about those with amazing Quirks standing atop those without, but she knew all he cared about was standing at the top of this new kingdom he’d build. If Nine were to learn about her discovery of a better version of All for One existing, there was no doubt he would do something drastic.

There was no room for two monarchs, after all.

Turning back to her monitor, she continued scrolling through elaborate report after report, looking for any more clues through the mad scientists rambling. She finally reached a document about All Might of all people and noticed something that surprised her in the section listing his Quirk. The one that was considered one of the great mysteries of the modern world. It had a very similar name to another Quirk she knew. She couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as she scrolled down to look at the file in further detail.

‘One for All, huh? I wonder if it’s anything as interesting as All for One is?’

Next Chapter: Forming a Hypothesis

Chapter Text

Katsuma hated the big city.

Whenever his dad had taken him and his sister on a trip to Tokyo, he had always found the whole thing uncomfortable. It was always so crowded and bright and loud. There were far too many people to know them all by name unlike back at home, and every building looked the same.

With everyone gone, he figured that he would feel at least a bit better in the metropolitan area, but he felt even worse. The crowds have been replaced with an eerie quiet, the concrete jungle having pushed away even the sounds of nature that were prevalent on Nabu Island.

After everyone had been taken from Nabu Island, he thought he’d at least get to stay with them, but some men in suits dragged him off to another building filled with other children his age. They said it was for his own safety, since he now had a Quirk. Mr. Goro had told him on the boat ride over that other kids his age would probably have Quirks too, but as he looked around at the other kids curled up inside the Convention Center, none of them seemed that interested in them. Most of them were scared and crying for their family or favorite hero. He had tried to get some sleep last night but found himself joining them as he thought about his sister.

‘Mahoro…’ When she had disappeared, he had thought it was another one of her tricks. He had told her to stop using her Quirk, but when she didn’t respond he went back to the island to ask for help from the Island’s Hero. It wasn’t until he arrived at his office and saw everyone else who hadn’t vanished there that he realized something was wrong. ‘I feel so lonely without you, Sis. You’ve always been there for me! What do I do now?’

As Katsuma glanced around the large room again, he noticed something else about the kids. Most of them were alone as well. While there were a couple pairs of siblings, most were huddled around the room alone. There were few adults around, and they were mostly stuck taking care of the especially young ones in a separate part of the building.

‘That’s right! They need someone like you, Sis! They want someone to tell them it’s all okay, like Heroes do!’ He looked down sadly a moment later, realizing that there weren’t any heroes anymore. But as he stared down at the floor, he saw his own hands, and balled them up with a rising determination. ‘No! If they need a Hero, then I’ll be one for them! I have a Quirk now, so maybe I can help them with it like I did Mr. Goro!’

With his new goal decided, he stood up and scanned the area for which kid might need his help. There was a small creaking noise, and he turned to see a boy a bit older than him with a red cap slip through one of the doors to outside. He quickly followed him, making sure not to be spotted by the few adults that were around. After slipping through the door himself, he looked around to see he was in some sort of alleyway. The boy he spotted was running away towards the street, and he called out to him.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Katsuma cried out, making the boy turn in surprise at the sound.

“Who-?!” The boy began to say, only to trip over a bottle on the ground when he wasn’t looking. He flailed his arms forward and landed roughly on the pavement. As Katsuma ran over to help the boy, he began to cry as he clutched his scraped knee. “Damn it!”

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to surprise you.” Katsuma said once he reached the boy, only to flinch from the glare he received. But he pressed on like a Hero should, holding out a hand to the boy on the ground. “I-I’m Katsuma. What’s your name?”

“Why do you care! It’s your fault I got hurt, jerk!” The boy said as he glanced back at his wounded knee. He held a hand to it and a stream of water shot out, cleaning away the dirt. He seemed to wince at the water making contact, and once he had cleaned his knee the red from the scrape became clear.

“I’m sorry, really!” Katsuma said in embarrassment. His first attempt at being a Hero, and he ended up injuring the person he wanted to help. If only there was some way to undo the damage…

‘Oh, right! I have a Quirk now!’ Katsuma finally remembered, slapping a hand to his forehead. The boy looked up at him like he was a weirdo, but he ignored him and put a hand on his wounded knee.

“H-Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” The boy began to complain, using those swear words that his dad had told him not to use, but Katsuma ignored him and tried to use his Quirk. A green light began to shine from his hand, which began to transfer through the boy’s leg. A moment later the scrape on his knee began to heal, faster than it naturally should. “Woah…”

“T-There! All better!” Katsuma cheered, excited to use his Quirk again. While the boy was staring at his knee, he took the chance to grab his outstretched hand and pull him up to his feet. “I’m sorry about scaring you. When I saw you leaving, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You didn’t scare me! But… thanks, I guess. For healing me.” The boy said, the angry look on his face softening for a moment. “It’s Kota, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you Kota!” Katsuma said. “So, what were you doing out here?”

“What do think? I was running away.” Kota answered dismissively, walking over and sitting on a stair leading to a raised door within the alley.

“What?! Why would you want to do that?” Katsuma cried out, and Kota shushed him.

“Not so loud!” Kota whisper-shouted to him. He signaled for Katsuma to sit next to him on the curb, and he continued speaking in a hushed voice once he did. “I overheard some of those people handing out the food earlier. They said in a couple days, they’re moving us kids to U.A.”

“No way!” Katsuma couldn’t contain his excitement at the announcement. He had always wanted to be a Hero, and U.A. was the best high school in the country for upcoming Heroes-to-be. “Do they want to teach us to be Heroes, since we have Quirks now?”

“Probably.” Kota agreed with a nod, face darkening. “That’s why I’m trying to get out of here.”

“You don’t want to be Hero?!” Katsuma turned in surprise. “Why?!”

“Because Heroes are stupid!” Kota spat out, staring down at the ground with a look that terrified Katsuma. “Heroes, Villains, everything to do with Quirks. It’s all just a bunch of suicidal idiots with silly powers killing each other over stupid stuff like popularity. When they all disappeared, I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with that anymore, but then I got this stupid Quirk,” he flicked a hand forward, and a jet of water shot out of it. “And now it looks like they want us to be Heroes too.”

“That’s… But I want to use my Quirk to help people. I don’t care about beating Villains or flashy fight.” Katsuma slowly said, confused by the other boys’ hatred. “I just want to heal people, like I did with you. Is there something wrong with that?”

Kota snapped his sharp eyes over to Katsuma, ready to shout back, but grit his teeth as he tried to come up with a reply. “That’s what my parents said all the time. That they didn’t like fighting, that they just wanted to help others,” Tears began to drip down his face, and he curled his head down. “But that didn’t stop them from leaving me by getting in some stupid fight with a Villain! Everyone always talked about how noble they were, but they’re dead, so what does it matter!”

As Kota began to cry to himself Katsuma glanced around nervously, unsure on what to do. He had only meant to help someone, and now they were crying outside in some alley. He tried to think of something that could help, and he wracked his brain. ‘What would All Might do?’ He needed a moment to think, but he quickly realized the answer.

“Wha-?!” Kota jumped as a pair of arms were wrapped around him. “What are you doing? I don’t want your pity. Let go of me!”

“No!” Katsuma cried, refusing to let go as the boy struggled to remove him. “All Might says that being there for someone in need is the most important part of being a Hero. I don’t care if you don’t want help, you need it!”

“Shut up! Just piss off already! Leave me alone!” Kota shouted, continuing to try and remove Katsuma from him. Anger boiling over, he pushed on the boy’s face with both palms and let his Water Gun Quirk loose. As water beamed into Katsuma’s face and splashed all over them, he continued yelling. “I don’t want to deal with your self-righteous attitude! What do you think you know about me!”

“I don’t know anything about you!” Katsuma shouted back, sputtering as a stream of water blasted him in the face. He could feel his own tears welling up, but he pushed through. Kota seemed to pause a moment at the words, and he took the opportunity to push into him further, wrapping his arms around the other boy in a vice grip. “I don’t know anything really about Heroes like you do. My Dad’s just a truck driver, and the island I live on only has a single elderly Hero. I know nothing about Villains and fighting and everything else. I just think you shouldn’t be alone anymore!”

Kota’s eyes widened, before glaring down at Katsuma as tears kept flowing. “I said shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Kota shouted, punctuating each shout with a swing against the other kids back. “My parents left me, Auntie Sosaki left me, and you’ll leave me too, so stop trying act any different!”

“The only one trying to make me leave is you!” Katsuma shouted, and Kota finally stopped hitting him. He could hear the older boy growling in frustration, but he eventually just slumped over, crying silently as the two hugged in silence.

As Kota began to calm down, the sound of a door creaking home could be heard. They pulled away from each other, turning towards the sound to see one of the elderly caretakers staring at them. She quickly walked over and put a hand on their shoulders. “I thought I heard something out here. I know you dears must be bored, but its dangerous to run off. And how are you two so wet? Come back inside and I’ll get you some dry clothes.” The caretaker quickly dragged them away with a speed that spoke of many years dealing with rambunctious children.

A few moments later Kota and Katsuma were sitting next to each other again, this time on a couch within the convention center. They had a blanket wrapped around them and a juice box pushed into their hands by the caretaker, who pointed at them sternly. “Now don’t cause too much trouble again. I’m sure you two can come up with something cleaner to pass the time with.” She said sweetly, before walking off slowly to check on another group of children.

Katsuma wasn’t sure what to do now, so he silently began to put the straw in the juice box while avoiding eye contact with the boy next to him. He had ruined his escape attempt, hugged him when he kept saying not too. It seemed like the right idea at the time, but Kota must hate him! As he finally began to sip on the juice, Kota spoke to him.

“Um, sorry for getting you all wet…” Kota said quietly, face covered mostly by the blanket he had curled himself in. As Katsuma turned in surprise, he continued speaking softly. “And for hitting you as well. You were just trying to help me.”

“It’s fine, really! It’s already healed, see?” Katsuma said reassuringly. He pulled the blanket away and his shirt up, and Kota looked over to see his back glowing the same green as when he had been healed.

“You can heal yourself too? That’s pretty neat.” Kota said, staring at Katsuma’s glowing body.

“I thought Quirk’s were silly?” Katsuma asked as he wrapped himself back up, remembering Kota’s previous comment.

“O-Only the flashy ones! Y’know, like All Might and Endeavour.” Kota insisted. “No one talks about the Heroes with weirder Quirks like, I don’t know, Edgeshot.”

“I know right, Edgeshot’s one of my favorites! He’s just like a ninja!” Katsuma said happily before stopping himself, remembering that Kota had talked about not liking Heroes.

“… That’s not a bad pick.” Kota eventually said with a shrug, turning to him with a smirk. “I don’t really have favorites, but do you know the Wild, Wild Pussycats? My aunt is one of their members.”

“No way!” Katsuma said in amazement, trepidation forgotten.

As Kota began to tell him all about the Hero Group that raised him, Katsuma couldn’t help but grin at the small smile that had finally showed up on his face for the first time since chasing after him. Kota may not have been completely over what had upset him. But right now, he was okay at least, and he had even made a new friend (or at least, Katsuma hoped that was the case).

Katsuma internally pumped a fist in excitement. His first mission as a Hero was a total success!

“Dodge!”

Izuku jumped to the side at Melissa’s voice, right as a metal arm with a 1 spray painted on it slammed down from behind where he had been just standing.

“Thanks for the heads up, Melissa!” Izuku shouted with a glance over his shoulder, only to start running in a panic when he saw another of the same machines rolling towards him on its singular wheel. He glanced around, trying to regain a target on the one after him.

“Now, Ms. Shield, I know you’re worried about him, but you’re ruining the point of this exercise!” Nezu chided as he ran through the quadrupedal legs of a nearby two-pointer robot, heading right for Izuku. He tagged the boy on the ankle while he was busy avoiding the robot’s laser tail. “And that’s another point for me!”

“Grah!” Izuku growled in frustration, before finally jumping up and kicking off the two-pointer’s head with his Full Cowling’s 5% power. He didn’t have a moment to relax however, as the two one-pointer’s that had been chasing him finally caught up and he jumped away again. “What’s the point of this ridiculous exercise? Is this some punishment for breaking those bots yesterday?”

“I told you, pushing your Quirk is the best way to increase your abilities.” Nezu said as he weaved between some more robots towards him again. It wasn’t long after lunch that he had strode into the classroom with some brand-new plan for expanding his abilities, before dragging them off to a replica city that U.A. used as a testing ground.

Izuku knew he should have been worried when he saw the small army of robots waiting for him there.

“This isn’t much different than the Entrance Exam you were expected to preform in, you know, getting points based off the level of robots defeated.” Nezu continued to explain, throwing off Izuku right as he swiveled and punched behind him. The attack missed the one-pointer’s head, and its armored upper limb knocked him on his back. Nezu took the opportunity to tag him on the head while he was down. “Of course, without competition, I need to increase the difficulty slightly. Another point for me!”

Izuku threw his arms up, but the principal scurried away, and he got up quickly before he could get surrounded by more of the ‘Villain Bots’. The one-pointer that had previously knocked him down approached again, and this time his swing struck true, knocking the robots head clean off. ‘There’s to much going on for me to charge Fa Jin!’  He had no way to repeat any movements enough times to charge it due to being constantly swarmed in all directions. If he jumped away enough his legs might get a charge, but he’d likely exhaust himself and never be able to gather enough points. He couldn’t help but clutch his hand as the robot tumbled over. “This would probably be easier if I could have some equipment!” He complained, as he was wearing nothing more than the U.A. gym uniform currently.

Melissa thought from her spot-on a nearby bench with Eri, watching the test curiously. Suddenly, the proverbial lightbulb went off over her head, and she began to shout out to Izuku again. “I know! Izuku, use the-”

“Ms. Shield,” Nezu said sternly, turning to her with a chilling smile. “If you insist so much on helping Izuku with his test, I’d be more than happy to let you join in on the exercise.”

“Eep!” Melissa suddenly closed her mouth, glancing away from them when one of the missile-launcher carrying three-pointers turned a glowing red eye towards her.

Izuku glanced around due to Melissa’s interruption. ‘Use what? Clearly Melissa see’s something I could use, but there’s nothing but me, Nezu, and the robots...’ As another one-pointer approached, arm raised, he glanced down at the broken one laying next to him, and an idea formed. He reached down to the defeated droid, ripping the shield-like plating off its forearm and used it to block the oncoming strike. He then pushed back, throwing the one-wheeled robot off balance, before swinging the makeshift shield forward and smashing through the abdomen connecting it’s lower and upper parts with ease.

“Nice quick thinking, though you did get a bit of help with that one.” Nezu said from behind Izuku, and he turned to see the rat sitting atop a three-pointer, which began to shoot its concussive blasts from the missile tubes attached to its shoulders.

“What’s wrong with a little assistance. Heroes have helpers in the field all the time, right?” Izuku shot back as he put the shield in front of him. He pushed against the blasts and slowly stepped towards the larger robot. Once five shots rang out a loud clunk could be heard as it reloaded, and he took the opportunity to spin and toss the shield forward into the eyes of the three-pointer. It slumped over defeated, but Izuku quickly realized that Nezu was no longer standing atop it. “Where-”

‘Behind me!’

It was less a voice and more a feeling, that shot into Izuku’s brain like a bolt of lightning. He followed the stabbing pain that spoke in his head, and he turned just in time to see Nezu begin to jump at him. He seemed just as surprised as Izuku was that he noticed the attack, and Izuku easily hopped aside before he could be tagged.

“How did you-?” Nezu seemed frozen as he looked between where Izuku was and had just been. He began to stroll over to Izuku nonchalantly. “How fascinating. I hadn’t even jumped before you were turning to see me.”

Izuku scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, glancing away nervously. “I don’t know, I just had this feeling-”

Another stabbing sensation wracked his head, and he rolled out of the way without even looking, somehow just barely avoiding Nezu’s lunge. Despite not even looking at Nezu and his guard being down, he was able to determine which way he would need to move to dodge the surprise attack. As he finished his roll and looked back at Nezu, he saw an excited grin spread across his face.

“That was well beyond an increased reaction. So, your new Quirk is some form of premonition or detection?” Nezu asked as he slowly stalked towards him. He then began to jump at Izuku repeatedly. He was slower than before, but the intent was still there, and Izuku’s new ability reacted with each attempt.

“I-I think so.” Izuku said as he dodged around in every direction, putting a hand to his throbbing head. Every time Nezu attempted to strike him, another bolt of intent came shooting into his head, and the repeated attacks were causing a building headache. It wasn’t just his head that was having trouble, as he could feel himself slowing as his grip over One for All loosened. “Nezu, Sir, I think we should stop for min-”

Izuku was interrupted by a harsh blow to the back. Looking in surprise as he rolled with the blow, he saw a one-pointer was right behind him. Glancing around, Izuku noticed that Nezu had pushed him back towards a group of robots that now surrounded him. ‘Damn it! Why didn’t I detect that attack?!’ He thought frantically as the robots closed in, trying to keep one eye on Nezu.

“This is curious. It appears you can’t detect the robots.” Nezu said, in an equal amount of thought, though without the pressure of a horde of machines about to strike him. He quickly climbed onto another third-pointer. “So, it only works on living things then. Could it be some form of telepathic or empathic reading then? Fascinating, though unfortunately not very useful for your predicament. What will you do now, young Midoriya?”

“The only thing left to do. Go Beyond!” Izuku declared, calling Full Cowling back to 5% now that the premonitions had subsided slightly. He could still feel a slight tingling from it, likely meaning Nezu planned to strike when an opening presented itself, but he could worry about that when it happened. Right now, he needed some way to deal with the surrounding robots. He winded his right arm around in a circle like a cartoon character as they had their stand-off, and Fa Jin finally charged enough to leave its glowing red ring.

‘Attempting to jump out would either get me sniped by the second-pointers or bombarded by third-pointers. But if I tried to punch my way out, I’d be overwhelmed and surrounded. I just need some way to clear an opening without them being able to react for a moment!’ Izuku thought, realizing his options were dwindling.

As he tensed up too strike, his nervousness seemed to grow as some sort of pressure built up underneath his skin. It eventually seemed the robots ran out of patience, as three of the one-pointers suddenly sped forward at once. Raising a fist, he swung at the head of the closest one, and three things happened to him all at once.

Firstly, Izuku tried to increase the amount of One for All in his arm ever so slightly to reinforce against the blow, while simultaneously releasing the force built by Fa Jin. It was only supposed to be maybe a single percent more, but the combination of the two actions threw him off, resulting in him calling upon more power than anticipated.

Secondly, the now familiar stabbing sensation rang through Izuku’s head, and he knew that Nezu had jumped at him the moment he swung. The feeling of danger was far greater than before though, perhaps due to the increased risk Nezu’s attack carried in the middle of being assaulted by the robots, or perhaps because he couldn’t dodge it due to being mid swing. This caused his anxiety to spike and lose control of Full Cowling.

Thirdly, the pressure that had been building within his body was released with the tension of the swing and the panic of an oncoming attack he couldn’t avoid. His body pushed to come up with a solution to the predicament he was in, and One for All responded.

In a single second, the entire block of the training city become engulfed in a purple smokescreen that no one, not even himself, could see through.

While any one of these events individually may have been taxing but ultimately fine for Izuku, the pile-up of extraneous actions through One for All caused a strain that he hadn’t experienced before. His body completely locked up, and his vision blurred as he began to fall to the ground. The pain from his new warning system exploded throughout his entire head, so much so that by the time he was sprawled out on the ground, he was already out cold.

The familiar shadowy plane of One for All slowly came into view, and Izuku looked around to see who was with him this time. Eventually, he saw three men come into view. He could see them in a bit more detail now, but they were still silhouetted as if standing under a dim light.

One of them was the Third, who was giving him an unimpressed look, likely for pushing himself so much again. The other two were unknown, however.

The second man towered over the others, and Izuku could make out two scar-like lines going down the left side of his face. He seemed rather stoic, simply staring down at Izuku passively.

The third man appeared to be wearing a coat with a tall collar, almost like Best Jeanist. He looked quite nervous about something, judging by the way he kept glancing away from Izuku.

“You idiot.” The Third finally said with a sigh, slightly clearer than this morning. “You pushed-… too many at once. We accelerated One for All, but-… body is not ready yet.”

Izuku nodded at the man’s lecture like a disobedient child. While it was muffled, the message was clear. He couldn’t use too many Quirks at once, or it could cause issues. The Third’s mention of accelerating One for All was interesting though. It seemed to indicate that this wasn’t what was planned to happen. Could the Rapture have caused something to happen to it?

“It’s my fault.” The one with the high collar said, turning to Izuku. “I’m the Sixth, my-… Smokescreen. You called upon it instinctually-… not the only one that isn’t ready.”

‘So that’s what that feeling before I fainted was.’ Izuku realized, remembering the sudden burst of smoke that filled the training area. Smokescreen, huh? Seems like a useful Quirk, but his own vision was obscured as well, so it has some major drawbacks. Maybe Melissa could develop some visor that sees through it, depending on what the smoke is really made of? Or he could offset his lack of vision by using his new detection abilities? Perhaps it could-

There was a cough, and Izuku snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at the three in surprise. Realizing he had begun rambling, he quickly shut up and stood at attention. He really hoped they couldn’t hear him through the shadows that covered him. It was embarrassing enough when he did that normally.

The final of the three men stepped forward, looking down at Izuku with that same calm look as when he first appeared. “I’m the Fourth. Danger Sense was my Quirk.” He said, short and sweet. There was barely any static obscuring his voice.

‘Could the reason he spoke so clearly be due to his calmness, or some other factor?’ Izuku thought.

“It detects intent-… negative emotions of others.” The Fourth continued to explain, static barely slipping in. He ran a hand along his scar. “Combined with All for One-… overwhelms senses. Be careful with it, or else.”

Izuku nodded quickly, message received again. Danger Sense clearly had a massive downside, what with the constant pain whenever it triggered. While he imagined that could be managed with training, it was also a passively active Quirk, meaning he’ll always have to factor in its usage. He thought about how much his head hurt detecting a single attack from Nezu. If those robots that surrounded him earlier had been real Villains…

He'd probably have dropped dead of an aneurysm before they even landed a hit.

“Now then, with-… out of the way, a warning.” The Third said, taking over from the Fourth. “The Second’s Quirk is-… Don’t use it on yourself. Your body-… enough strain to kill near instantly.”

‘His Quirk is what? Wait, this seems really important!’ Izuku suddenly began to panic. Why did the static have to cut out the Quirk’s name? He still had potentially three more Quirks to unlock, and it’s not like he could control which order they woke up in! He really missed when he only had to worry about blowing up his limbs with super-strength. Now he had to worry about hyper-migraines and possibly just dropping dead by using an ability he doesn’t even know about!

The shadows of the dream realm began to encroach on them, indicating that Izuku had begun to wake up.

“Take it easy.” The Sixth said, trying to reassure him. “Just focus-… strengthening your body. The rest will come-… once your ready.”

“All for One may be-… But there are still those who want-… the power of this Quirk.” Fourth said, not reassuringly. “Stay vigilant.”

As the shadows engulfed the three previous wielders of One for All, Izuku let out a sigh. Nothing was ever simple, was it? He only hoped that Nezu and Melissa would be able to help him when he woke up. He may have wanted to be as strong as All Might, but even he knew he couldn’t do this by himself. Having multiple Quirks was hard…

“Man, having multiple Quirks is awesome!” Komodo shouted as he lifted a few empty crates and juggled them overhead with just a few hand gestures. His eyes glowed red, and a beam of energy shot out a moment later, vaporizing one of the boxes in a flash of light.

“Tell me about it!” Dragon shouted, glancing over at his friend excitedly from a few feet away. “Hey, try tossing one of those things at me. Go all out!”

“Got it, Boss!” With a spin of his hands, Komodo telekinetically tossed one crate at Dragon. As it sped towards the large man, he merely lifted a hand forward. Upon contact, the box broke into a dozen pieces, while Dragon remained unharmed and unmoved.

The three new minions of Nine played around in an empty corner of the Doctor’s lair, messing around with their new Quirks. Dragon had received Shock Absorption and some form of Regeneration from the Comatose Nomu. They weren’t quite at the strength of the Nomu they had been taken from however, due to only receiving two of the many Quirks that made up its insane strength. Komodo had received Telekinesis, being able to move objects with a few gestures, and a fiery laser vision. The two abilities combined into a deadly combo. And Chameleon…

“Hey Boss, I want to test something!” A woman that looked like Kagome said cheerfully as she walked towards Dragon. She put a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly her form morphed into an identical copy of him. “Alright Komodo, my turn!”

“Coming right up!” Komodo let loose his final crate, and it slammed uselessly against the second Dragon, Shock Absorption activating like before.

“So, it copies their Quirks along with appearance? This is perfect!” ‘Dragon’ said as their body seemed to melt away, revealing Chameleon in a skin-tight suit. They were no longer wearing a surgical mask, and two sharp fangs could be seen in their mouth. Another moment later, they morphed back to looking like Kagome. The two Quirk’s they had received both had a unique history, and together produced a wonderous result.

The first Quirk was from a prospective first-year Hero student at U.A., who’s rich parents had taken him to the best hospital for Quirks in the country to improve his chances at passing. The child was noted to have serious inferiority issues and imposter syndrome due to his Quirk. The boy had the ability to copy the Quirks of anyone he touched and freely use them for the next five minutes. Due to the nature of this Quirk, the Doctor had been sure to snag a copy of the boy’s Quirk Factor under false pretenses.

The second was from a young girl who had passed through one of the Doctor’s secret orphanages years ago that he used to monitor children with useful Quirks. She was a wanted girl who had a deep bloodlust, and the Doctor had managed to make a trade deal, blood for blood, eventually recreating her Quirk Factor from the donations. Eventually though, she was seen as a risk to the other children and drew unnecessary attention to the Doctor’s operations, so she was turned out onto the streets shortly afterward. Her Quirk allowed her to perfectly copy the appearance of those whose blood she drank, which resulted in an obsession with blood and a want to literally become those she was infatuated with.

The two Quirks combined perfectly. The reasons for why so could be numerous. Was it due to the Quirk’s compatible abilities? Was it because their new user was originally Quirkless? Maybe it was even possibly due the latent memories within these Quirks resonated with Chameleon’s wish to change themselves. Whatever the reasoning, the result was two becoming one, as Nine quickly confirmed.

With a single touch of someone’s DNA, Chameleon could perfectly replicate them right down to their Quirk for up to five minutes. They could even freely switch between multiple people that they had touched so long as time remained. It was truly exactly what they had wished for.

“This is perfect! With these powers, even that brat from before will be powerless against us!” Dragon cried, holding his fist up in excitement.

“Wait, did you lose a fight with a kid? Is that how you got that giant bruise?” The real Kagome said suddenly, turning away from the computer for the first time in hours. She let out a laugh. “What did he do, hit you with his car?”

“Hell no! Dragon wouldn’t be taken out like such a punk! The kid had a crazy powerful Quirk is all!” Komodo shouted back, which caught both Kagome and Nine’s attention. He continued yelling, unaware of the sudden focus on him. “The kid barely looked older than fifteen, but with a single swing he punched our Boss through an entire Supermarket! It had to be a Quirk, even if he’d be the latest bloomer I’d ever seen!”

“But that’s impossible. There’s no way someone that old would coincidentally awaken their Quirk literally the day after the Rapture. And it’s not he could have been given-” Kagome stopped herself, suddenly realizing something. The only plausible explanation for a teenager awakening a Quirk, especially so soon after the Rapture, was if he was given it like the Purple Oni’s. But the only one that could freely give and take Quirks had been sitting in this room ever since then. Except she had just finished reading about a certain Quirk that had a similar ability.

That Quirk was transferred from user to user. Though the exact specifics weren’t mentioned in All Might’s page, it must take some time for it to fully transfer! That’s how it could have avoided the Rapture. Not to mention, the ability the boy had was super strength. While it could be the mother of all coincidences, the most likely explanation for that boy’s power is that he was the current wielder of-

“One for All…” Nine suddenly muttered.

Kagome froze, turning slowly towards Nine. How did he know the name of that Quirk?! She tried to keep a straight face as she spoke. “What did you just say?”

“One for All.” Nine repeated, in an almost trance state. “Some voice that isn’t mine is screaming those words out at that explanation. What does it mean?”

‘Could it be All for One?! Does the Quirk hold some sort of memory inside it?’ Kagome thought, slightly relieved. Knowing that her secrets were still safe, she felt herself calm down as she addressed Nine again. “I’m sure it’s not important. Let’s focus more on how we are going to plan your grand reveal on the world stage.”

Nine seemed to grumble as he stared off into the distance, eventually snapping back to reality. “Yes, you’re right.” He agreed, pleasantly thinking about the future. “Soon, I will step out of this shadowy lair and crown myself rightful king, and there will be no one powerful enough to stop me.”

As she nodded along amicably, Kagome turned away to the computer, face clouding. If a user of One for All is still out there, then Nine may not be able to stand at the top of the food chain for long. She needed to find the true All for One soon, before this place is compromised by Nine or one of his new crew of misfits.

That said, one of them might prove more useful to her than originally anticipated.

Chameleon only needed a person’s DNA to transform into them, not the actual person themselves. As the chairman of Jaku General Hospital and local mad scientist, the Doctor assuredly left enough of him behind somewhere to activate their Quirk. Kagome stared down at the biometric locks that currently stood between her and the rest of the Doctors secrets.

It seemed the legacy of All for One and One for All continued even after the end of the world. Whoever held either of these powers appeared to also hold the world in their palms. It was everything she hated about this superpowered world, but at the same time she couldn’t help but desire both powers for herself. Forward and back her mind went on the issue presented to her.

All Quirks for only one person, or one Quirk used for all the people without one. To be selfish or selfless. It was all far too big for her, so she’ll settle for not getting trampled by the upcoming battle for now. With all luck, the two would wipe each other out, and Kagome could walk away with a Quirk in her hand.

Though which of the two legacies she’d prefer was still to be determined.

Next Chapter: Cross-Class Convention

Chapter Text

Melissa continued to stare at the component in her hand aimlessly, as she had for the past five minutes. It had been two days since the training incident, and Melissa kept finding herself lost in thought about it all.

Everything had seemed so fine. She had even been monitoring the data from the gauntlet live, but she didn’t notice anything was wrong until the whole street had been covered in smoke. When it had dissipated, Izuku lay there unconscious. Sure, he woke up an hour later with only a minor headache, but that did little to ease her worries.

Her Full Gauntlet had only been built with All Might’s strength in mind. Fa Jin was honestly perfect for the support item, but it wasn’t built to account for things like mental load from Danger Sense, or help maneuver through Smokescreen, or whatever other crazy abilities he might unlock.

Like whatever the Second’s Quirk was. The one that could kill him if it activated at a poor time.

She let out a sigh as she thought back to when he had woken up and told them that morbid fact. She didn’t know if she found the fact that he insisted on continuing training anyways endearing or terrifying. It’s like the idea of improving his Quirk possibly helping to bring everyone back threw out all common sense in his head.

Her dad used to tell stories all the time about how All Might was overdoing it. He’d rant about it whenever his trademark smile crossed their morning news. That he needed to take a break and think about himself. She had always laughed whenever he brought it up.

“That’s silly, Papa! Uncle Might’s the best, so he can do anything and be perfectly fine, right?”

She didn’t realize until now how much she had put her uncle up on a pedestal, like the rest of the world. To think that lately every time she saw some news report about All Might’s quick work, that he was just struggling not to cough up blood, and his dad was helpless to stop it. She couldn’t sit aside like that, not for Izuku.

Izuku was amazing, and not just because he was All Might’s successor. He showed compassion to people like Eri. He was willing to stand up for what was right even when it wasn’t easy, like when he had saved her from those thugs. He also was somehow an even bigger nerd than Melissa herself was, having watched more Pre-Quirk Hollywood movies than she had!

Okay, maybe that last part wasn’t very relevant to what made him so great a person, but it still personally meant a lot to her. They had a surprising amount in common, shooting ideas about Quirk’s and Support Item’s off each other easily. But what probably meant the most to her was the talk they had the night they met, after Nezu had dragged them to U.A.

~The day after the Rapture~

“Did you ever ask All Might if you could be a Hero?” Izuku had suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Melissa turned to him right before she could enter her room for the night. “What brought on that kind of question?”

The two of them had just been led to the Dorm room that they would be sleeping in by Nezu and were getting ready for the night. Eri had already entered Melissa’s room, leaving the two of them alone.

“I just…” Izuku seemed unable to look her in the eyes. “I’ve always wanted to be a Hero. But I’ve been told it’s impossible my whole life. That it’s pointless. I just wanted someone to tell me I could do it. I was wondering if you’ve ever… forget I asked!”

Izuku quickly tried to run into his room, but Melissa reacted just as fast, grabbing him by the wrist. “Izuku wait!” As he remained silent, unable to look her in the eye, she continued to speak. “I never needed to ask him that. I always wanted to be a Hero, but… maybe not in the way you think it.”

“What do you mean?” Izuku eventually asked.

“I was always a little jealous of other kids when I was little due to being Quirkless.” Melissa admitted, feeling a little embarrassed talking about such old feelings. “I was never bullied for it, thankfully, but being Quirkless made me feel like I was, well, good for nothing.”

“Good for nothing…” Izuku seemed to resonate with her words for some unknown reason.

“Yeah. Everyone looked up to All Might, who could use his amazing Quirk to stop Villains and save the day. I felt like there was no way I could be even a fraction of the Hero he was. When I told All Might that, do you know what he said?” Melissa asked him.

“What?” Izuku asked, enraptured by Melissa’s story.

“All Might told me about the suit my dad made for him. The very one he had just used to save my town. He said it was my dad’s work that he turned to when he needed support. That he was All Might’s Hero.” Melissa explained. “That’s when I realized there’s more to being a Hero than having a nice Quirk. Being a Hero means being there for someone in need in your own way, like Dad was for All Might!”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Izuku agreed, before a sigh escaped his lips. “I think that’s what All Might was trying to tell me, the first time we met.”

“What do you mean?” Melissa asked, realizing that this must be what Izuku had been trying to truly ask about.

“When I first learned about All Might’s injury was also when I first asked him if I could be a Hero without a Quirk. I think he tried to tell me the same thing. That there are other ways of being a Hero, even if it’s more thankless, like police work. I don’t think he had been in a good place for a while though, because it came across a bit harsher than that.” Izuku was staring at the floor again. “Honestly, the All Might I met on that roof wasn’t that great a person. He told me that he only smiled nowadays to distract himself from the pressure and said to my face that I needed to see reality.”

“He did?” Melissa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“He ended up impressed with my actions and gave me One for All anyways and realized that he wasn’t being the Hero he set out to be later!” Izuku insisted, trying to placate her. “Seriously, after training he seemed to improve greatly in attitude. I guess I just wanted to know what he had told you. If he had always been so… bitter about things.”

“I can’t imagine what Uncle Might must have gone through, but I do know that he always saw the best in people. It wasn’t due to his Quirk that Uncle Might and my dad partnered up. It was because they both believed in the same goal.” Melissa saw that he was still unsure, so decided to give him a more physical reassurance. She wrapped her arms around him in a big hug, producing a squeak from the boy. “It was your actions even without a Quirk that impressed him enough to give you his. The same ones that let you stick up for me against a group of thugs without any powers. I’m sure he thinks you’d be an amazing Hero, even without a Quirk.”

“Y-You’re probably right. Thanks Melissa.” Izuku finally said, moving out of her hug with face flushed. “I just feel so much pressure now that I have his Quirk. When I think about how many people need someone like him right now, I can’t help but feel useless.”

“Well, that’s what the gauntlet is for silly!” Melissa said, grabbing Izuku’s arm with the Support Item attached to it. “With my Support Item’s, you’ll be able to master that Quirk in no time. That’s a Shield family guarantee!”

“Yeah, got it!” Izuku said, nervously glancing at her hands around his, face still beat red. He quickly took his arm back and retreating to his room. Before he closed the door though, he stopped and turned to Melissa with a nervous grin. “Oh! I guess if you’re making my gear now, that’ll make you my Hero! I guess I got lucky.”

“Huh?” Melissa felt her own face redden as Izuku quickly closed the door, leaving her alone in the hallway. She had never had anyone call her a Hero like that before.

For some reason, it really made her heart flutter.

Melissa snapped out of her thoughts again, glancing over at the clock. She had just wasted another five minutes zoning out. She slapped her cheeks, trying to focus. She needed to help Izuku somehow, not keep daydreaming about him like… like some schoolgirl. Which she was, technically.

That wasn’t the point!

The point is that she had to think of the future. She needed to develop some sort of equipment that could deal with the potential danger of multiple Quirks. While Nezu had given her near-limitless access to the entire support lab, she had almost no idea where to start. Her dad always made this look so easy. A sudden slurping sound came from behind her, and she turned in a fright.

“Who-?! Oh, it’s just you Eri.” Melissa quickly calmed herself, staring down at the small girl. She had a juice box that she was drinking from and staring up at Melissa curiously. “Is there something you need?”

“What are you doing?” Eri asked, walking around and standing on her tiptoes to peak onto the worktable. Melissa picked up the girl and put her on her lap so she could see.

“I’m making something so that Izuku doesn’t hurt himself when he’s training. You remember what happened a few days ago, right?” Melissa asked, and Eri nodded sadly.

“That was scary.” Eri said, before putting a hand on her horn. “Nezu wants to train my Quirk too, and I was excited before. But I keep thinking I might mess up. I don’t want to hurt someone by accident.”

“Oh, Eri.” Melissa ran a hand through the girl’s hair, trying to put her at ease. “I know you’re worried, but you can’t get better if you don’t try. I wasn’t always so good in the lab, you know?”

“Really?” Eri looked up at her in surprise.

“Of course! Nobody knows how to do things perfectly without a little training.” Melissa said. “It was right after I had decided to do engineering as a kid. My dad had shown me so much, so I figured I could make something simple by myself. So, I started messing with some tools, aaaand nearly set the house on fire.”

“Really?!” Eri repeated even louder.

“Yes, really!” Melissa insisted. “I wanted to give up then and there. I thought that there was no way I would ever be able to be as good as my dad if that’s what happened after my first attempt. But he showed me what I did wrong, and with his help I was able to get better.”

Eri nodded along. “I see…”

“I know you’re scared of your Quirk, but you won’t get any better at it without trying.” Melissa tried to encourage Eri further. “Trust Nezu. He knows what he’s doing. He’s in charge of the best Hero school in the country after all.”

The doors to the lab opened suddenly, and the two girls swiveled in their chair to see the paltry principal himself standing there. “I’m so glad to hear you have such faith in me, Ms. Shield. And I can assure you, I have the perfect plan already in mind for Eri’s training. I was just looking for her to explain the details myself.”

Melissa gave him a suspicious look. “How long have you been waiting there?”

“That’s not important!” Nezu quickly brushed off, before turning to Eri. “Don’t worry. I’ve already gathered several plants and other organic material that could be used for testing without a possibility of hurting them. And once your more confident in your abilities, we can move on to living creatures that can easily and painlessly lose limbs like small lizards and starfish. And in the off chance that you lose control of your Quirk, there’s always,” He paused for a moment, before pulling something metallic out of his vest. “This!”

“Is that a gun?” Melissa gaped at the object in his hand. It looked more like a cartoonish peashooter due to its small size, but she could clearly see the proper mechanisms that indicated it as the real thing. She swiveled in the chair to shield Eri from the mad mammal. “I take everything back! You’re absolutely insane!”

“Please calm down, this thing isn’t loaded with normal bullets. It’s of absolutely no danger to anyone.” Nezu said, pressing a button on the side and pulling out the magazine. Inside were what appeared to be darts. “These are the Quirk-Erasing bullets that we recovered from Overhaul’s lab. I sorted through them after young Midoriya’s training accident. Their duration of effect ranges from a few minutes to an entire day, and I loaded this gun with the former. In case either you or Midoriya go over your limits, this little thing will stop you without harm.”

“Without harm.” Melissa repeated sarcastically, staring at the gun waving in Nezu’s hand warily. She eventually decided that her trust in him wasn’t misplaced and looked down at Eri. “Well, Eri? Are you ready to do some training again?”

“… Yes. I think I am.” Eri finally said as she hopped off Melissa’s lap and ran out the door of the lab. “Thanks for telling me that story, big sis.”

“Big sis?” Melissa said in surprise as the girl and Nezu wandered away. Eri hadn’t called her that before, but she didn’t mind. The girl must have really warmed to her, to call her that. She never had any siblings, but she supposed her relationship with Eri was similar enough to one. Turning back to the worktable, she began to look around to find what to work on. “And I’ve spent another few minutes not getting anything done due to distractions. I wonder if this was how my dad felt when I was little and kept interrupting his work.”

‘Wait a minute, my dad’s work!’ Melissa suddenly realized, turning in her chair again and hopping off. When she had gotten her stuff from the apartment before coming to U.A., she found a briefcase that was typically used for Support Items.

Presumably it had been something meant for All Might, but I-Island usually didn’t allow for its creations to leave the island so casually. She didn’t want to think her dad broke the rules, but after learning about All Might’s injuries, he could see him skirting a few laws.

She walked over to the briefcase, which was sitting on a nearby table. She easily cracked the code that kept it locked (it was the same one her dad always used), and carefully opened it. Inside was what looked like a headset, along with a letter addressed to All Might. She hesitantly picked up the letter, taking a couple seconds before deciding to rip it open and read the contents.

~ Hello Toshi,

If you’re getting this message, then I managed to get you my Support Item without issues. Since I know you’ll ask, no, I didn’t have permission to bring this to Japan during our surprise trip. But it was for your own good. This device can be used to monitor your Quirk’s activity by measuring Q-Fields, something so complicated that I would need a few dozen more pages to explain in full. To keep it brief, this gadget should analyze your Quirk and help you better judge how much time you have available to work each day. I know it might look a little gawdy, but you should be able to fit it underneath that perfect blonde hair of yours!

In all seriousness, I’m truly sorry. I wish I could have given you my true creation, but I’m afraid that is no longer an option. There was a disagreement between me and the Board about the good it could do. It was a miracle that I had enough parts not taken away to even put this reader together. But I promise you, soon I’ll have my work back one way or the other, and then you’ll be able to be the Symbol of Peace again for real. I’ll be your Hero, so you can be everyone else’s. Just use my Support Item so you don’t do anything stupid in the meantime.

Your Hero, David ~

“Dad… You really did it.” Melissa stared at the note sadly. She already knew that he must have snuck equipment out of I-Island, but his note was damning. And that was just the tip of it. Melissa knew that one of his dad’s projects got confiscated by the Board due to a security risk, but that was bound to happen at least once to anyone who worked at I-Island long enough. But if it could have truly fixed All Might’s Quirk?

She had attempted to read a few of the papers involving Q-Fields that passed his fathers desk, and while most of it went over her head, she knew it was somehow linked to Quirks. If these put together scraps could monitor Q-Fields, she only needed one guess to know what the complete work could accomplish. No wonder it got confiscated. If it could somehow increase one’s manipulation of Q-Fields, then they could theoretically increase a Quirks power limitlessly without any of the standard downsides in stimulants like trigger.

It'd probably be the single most dangerous device since the invention of the atom bomb. And this letter spelled out his dad’s intention to steal it back. Forget career ruining, he could be locked up for life or even executed depending on which country’s research he used to create it.

‘He was willing to go that far for Uncle Might.’ Melissa realized somberly. She thought about what Izuku had said about All Might. About how he wasn’t in the greatest place after his injury. That the smile of the Symbol of Peace was just plastered on to deal with the mounting pressure. Of course, his father was willing to go so far for his best friend.

She let out a sigh as she lowered the letter and stared at the Support Item that his father had made, trying to think what to do now. She couldn’t report her dad, especially not since this device can’t even harm anyone. The smart thing to do would be to close the case and walk away, pretend she never saw any of this.

Or… she could do the same thing her father did and bend the rules a bit. After all, no one knows that the device is here but her. And a device for monitoring Quirks would be perfect for Izuku to train the unstable One for All with. Dad was willing to take a risk for Uncle Might, so she’ll take a risk for Izuku.

She gently picked up the device in her hands, looking it over carefully. It appeared to be a half-ring that went around the back of the head, before hooking over each like hearing aids. Deciding to test the device, she lifted it up and onto her head. It automatically started up, and a holographic interface appeared over her eyes, projected from the glowing pieces near her ears. A single line was being displayed.

[No Q-Field Signature’s detected. Please equip to a user with a Quirk.]

‘Oh, right. That makes sense.’ Melissa laughed a bit to herself as she removed the headset. At least she knew it worked. Looking over the device, she couldn’t help but note how flimsy it seemed. One lucky strike to the head could destroy it. And considering the nature of One for All as mostly a power-type, Izuku will likely end up in a ton of fist fights, where attacks could end up anywhere.

‘Well then, I guess my first step will be to build a helmet around this thing!’ Melissa decided, walking over to her workbench with newfound determination. With all the crazy stunts Izuku had pulled lately, it’s only a matter of time before he landed on that big head of his. A helmet was only natural as a Support Item. Maybe she could add something that massages the skull to lessen the pain from Danger Sense as well?

But before all that, she’d need a design. It couldn’t be all drab and boring. It needed to stand out and make everyone feel safe, like Uncle Might’s costume did. Though maybe it could have less red, white, and blue. She doubted Izuku also wanted to go for the All-American theme. It had to be something unique. Maybe she could just ask him? It would ruin the surprise, but he assuredly would have made notes about it somewhere-

‘His notebooks! He wouldn’t mind me looking through them, right?’ Melissa glanced up at the clock, realizing that Izuku was likely busy in the library at this time. A quick peak in his room was all she needed for the perfect costume.

Pretty soon, Izuku will have the perfect costume, and be fully ready to go out as a Hero! That’d be sure to lift the kids spirits when they come to U.A. in a couple days!

“Do I really need to do this?” Chameleon asked annoyed, staring at the small bunch of greyed hair in their hand. They spared a glance back at Kagome, who was doing her best to keep a straight face.

“It’s the only way to get past the Doctor’s biometric locks, and we need to crack that to unlock access to the higher level Nomu’s.” Kagome said nonchalantly, playing off her inability to keep eye contact currently as an air of indifference. “You only need to do it once, then I’ll change the system to work without it. So, hurry up… er, please.”

Chameleon just let out a sigh as they turned back to the computer and began to morph into the familiar appearance of Doctor Ujiko/Garaki. Once their eyes were off her, Kagome also let out a silent sigh. She couldn’t believe it, but things had finally managed to come together. While searching the dark corners of the lab, she had managed to find a preservation unit filled with the Doctor’s DNA. Apparently, him and All for One had made quite a fortune giving copies of his Longevity Quirk to rich foreign donors, thus he always had the materials ready to synthesize his Quirk Factor on short notice.

Then all she needed was an opportunity to acquire Chameleon’s abilities for her personal use without drawing suspicion from Nine and the others. Fortunately, Nine had finally left the lair for the first time earlier to test his new Quirks out before the big mission, and the two other men had followed along to try and impress him with their own abilities, leaving her alone with Chameleon.

After some idle chatter, she had finally convinced them to do a favor for her. Kagome watched with bated breath as ‘Doctor Garaki’ put a palm on the scanner, leaned forward to accept the retina scan, then said the code phrase. homines ultra terminum humanum. It was the most popular phrase from the Quirk Doomsday Theory, the Doctor’s oldest thesis on the nature of Quirks. She had caught him mumbling it absent-mindedly multiple times while going about the hospital. And after learning it’s meaning, she knew it had to be the password.

No humans beyond human limits.

The Doctor’s every work was about defeating Quirks before they defeated mankind. He believed that there would eventually be a point where Quirks would eventually grow so strong that the human body couldn’t handle them. That’s what all his experiments with the Nomu and All for One had been for. Finding a way for humanity to continue past the supposed Singularity that was approaching.

Well, that, and Kagome suspected he just wanted to live long enough to prove to everyone that his theory was right. Being laughed and ostracized out of your profession, then living for a hundred odd years with your greatest work seen as insane ramblings probably wasn’t great for your mental health. Though his insanity was never in question, if the copious amounts of human experimentation didn’t already give that away.

There was a beep of confirmation, and the terminal finally unlocked. Chameleon looked back at an excited Kagome, still in the form of the Doctor. “Is that all?” They asked in a gravelly voice.

“Yes, yes. That’s all.” Kagome said dismissively, nearly pushing Chameleon out of the way as she moved to sit down. Chameleon rolled their eyes at her excitement, shifting into Kagome’s own form before walking away.

“Alright, I’ll go join the others then.” Chameleon said as they walked up the stairs, before muttering in annoyance. “Jeez, that form was uncomfortable. You think someone so smart would bother finding some way to make himself younger.”

Kagome ignored them as she made her way through the depths of the Doctor’s systems, the only sounds echoing within the subterranean lair being the clicking of the keyboard. She quickly started going through the options available to her as she found them, but unfortunately Doctor Ujiko hadn’t appeared to update his software since the early age of Quirks, and she was having trouble navigating the pages.

“Let’s see… This should be the Nomu’s?” Kagome clicked one system, and the diagnostic data for the previously locked off Nomu revealed themselves. A quick skim of the notes revealed that most of the ‘High-End’ Nomu’s, as the Doctor called them, were incomplete. They either didn’t have all their Quirks installed or weren’t at ‘acceptable levels of neurological activity’, which she guessed meant they were too brain-dead for his tastes. “Hmm, maybe it’s best to let unstable biological weapons lie. Next!”

Clicking down to the next system, Kagome found what appeared to be a secure email application. They were assuredly very interesting, but she had more important things to look through. She clicked the next system, which finally opened up what looked to be the Doctor’s restricted electronic library. She quickly searched up All for One and opened the file, reading each word with bated breath. Skipping the part about its function, she jumped straight to the section labelled for transplanting the Quirk.

She found the part listing where the Quirk was stored, and quickly made note to retrieve it later. Further down the page were details on the procedure of transferring the Quirk itself. But as her hopeful eyes scanned further down the page, they continued to widen in horror.

“Continual medical supervision?! Four-month long surgery?! Constant and excruciating pain?!”

Kagome stared at the terminal with a disbelieving look. She quickly realized that she should have seen this coming. Nine was recorded as being in that death-like state for quite some time. She should have realized it was due to the transplant process. She immediately began trying to think of more options.

There was no way she was going to do the method listed here as is. Not only was there no one that could monitor her even if she wanted the procedure done, Nine would never give her the chance. It was hard enough just getting some alone time to do this. But she didn’t write a thesis on the possibility of artificially transferring Quirks for nothing. There had to be some way she could improve the process.

‘Let’s start with the technology that Doctor Ujiko used in the first place.’ She quickly thought. The ability to artificial copy someone’s Quirk Factor and implant it into another were revolutionary breakthroughs. Now that she thought about it, it was strange that the Doctor kept these inventions a secret. Sure, he had developed them for a Supervillain, but the public wouldn’t have had any way to know that, and it certainly would have made research quicker with a public or government backing. Maybe All for One wanted to keep the technology for himself?

She switched files from All for One to the Quirk Transfer Device, and her eyes nearly bugged out at the amount of information and addendums added to it. She checked when this file had been created, only to find that it was almost as old as the Doctor himself!

‘That can’t be right. Maybe it was just a proof of concept then?’ She quickly navigated to the oldest subfile for the Device and found a note typed out by the doctor, back from his original identity.

[Subject: Quirk-based Technologies

With a great amount of work from my new benefactor, I have finally acquired both data and even some physical parts from I-Island’s secret research team. They were fools not to rescind my access to the island after mocking me and my research! While the parts appear to be nothing but scraps to me, this data will prove invaluable for completing the dream of both I and All for One. How I would love to have obtained a complete device, but those paranoid people have likely found our breach, and have made a second attempt impossible.

Oh well, I should be able to reverse-engineer some working equipment from the parts I’ve received eventually. They are truly like nothing I’ve ever seen, and I was at the front of Quirk discoveries for decades. It should be impossible for I-Island to have created these devices without another century of research at least. And it’s clear that they are aware of that fact, if the level of security on them was any indication. But it matters little now. The technology is in my hands, and eventually I will crack the code on what they are so desperate to hide from the world!]

“He… stole it?” That would probably explain why he never went public with his work. I-Island was crazy about keeping its research close at hand and revealing that the Doctor had it would probably result in half the world’s Heroes searching Japan with a fine-tooth comb. Kagome read the next couple pages of notes, but they were filled with all kinds of technological jargon that she couldn’t be bothered to understand. The most important thing was that the Doctor’s work wasn’t the most advanced piece of equipment when it came to working with Quirks. If she could just get onto I-Island and find the equipment he was referring to…

‘Oh yeah, I’ll just break into the most advanced and secure location on the planet. And I’m sure I can find the time to pop over while helping Nine conquer Japan.’ She thought sarcastically. Deciding to search through the computer more, she found a search bar and looked up I-Island on a whim. It went through all the Doctor’s work, and while most of the hits were from the database file on the location, there was a single hit from his emails.

She quickly opened the relevant email, and slowly felt her hope returning. It appeared to be a message forwarded by some American villain group she hadn’t heard of, but the original sender caught her attention.

‘Mr. Samuel Abraham, I-Island Scientist…’ Kagome noted the sender and read through the message with a sly grin. Now all she needed was an excuse to get onto the island and provide a big enough distraction to find the equipment without any disturbance. The sound of thunder boomed outside the underground lair, and she felt the beginnings of a plan form.

She quickly went to grab the original All for One from its secure storage, making sure to place it within an equally secure but inconspicuous container usually used to transport transplanted organs. Nine and his upcoming plot may prove more help to her own goal than she originally perceived.

Next Chapter: The Ninth Day

Chapter Text

“Y-You wanted to show me something Melissa?” Izuku stuttered as Melissa dragged him down U.A.’s halls to the Support Lab. “But we have to leave soon!”

“I know!” Melissa assured him, as she rushed down the hall. “I would have given it to you sooner, but I needed to put some finishing touches on things.”

Today was the ninth day after the Rapture, and it was finally time for the first group of kids to join the four of them at U.A. High School. Nezu had insisted on going to the Naruhata Convention Center that the children were currently at to oversee the transfer and reassure them about the move. He had also insisted that Izuku come along as a ‘learning experience’, and Izuku was more than happy to comply. Melissa had also convinced Nezu to let her and Eri come along, pointing out that they had been in the same place for a week and that letting the young girl see some sights would do some good.

However, right as they were getting ready, Melissa had dragged him off in a rush. As they finally reached the door, Melissa grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him in. Izuku looked at her in confusion, before turning back towards the lab he had been shoved into. “Finishing touches on… What? Is that…” Izuku stared in surprise at what appeared to be one of his notebook drawings come to life.

In front of him was a Hero outfit. It was mostly a green jumpsuit but had black armored padding throughout it. There were red armored boots and gauntlets that extended to the knees and elbows, covering and protecting the joints. Despite all the protective arms and armor that were weaved throughout it, Izuku could tell that it was painstakingly designed so that none of it would restrict movement. There was also a red utility belt wrapped around the waist.

But what stood out most to Izuku was the helmet. The part that covered the lower half of the face gave off the appearance of a smile, while the upper half was just two pieces of equipment sticking up like ears on either side, pointing back from the ears at a 45-degree angle. But when Melissa pressed a button on her phone, something snapped down from behind, covering where the face would be in a sturdy green helmet. The smiling mask and bright green coloring made it look almost cute, but the pitch-black visor where the eyes should be gave off an air of danger as well.

“This is just like, no, better than my notes. How?” Izuku looked back at Melissa speechless, and she held up one of his Hero Notebooks bashfully.

“I may have borrowed some of your notes. Is that okay?” Melissa asked tepidly as Izuku continued to stare wide-eyed between her and the suit.

“Okay?! It’s better than okay!” Izuku said, finally snapping out of his bewilderment to begin geeking out at the suit. He quickly rushed over to get a closer look at it. “The amount of armor and padding is the perfect mix of protection and mobility! And the reinforced gauntlets for punching tougher targets is an amazing addition! What are these parts for?” He asked, pointing to a cylindrical part that could be moved from below the wrist to over his fist.

“Oh, that? I thought that maybe you could use it to direct your smokescreen through your hands, to cover a smaller area. You could also direct precise wind pressure attacks with it using finger flicks as a precision move.” Melissa responded, and Izuku nodded in understanding before kneeling down to investigate the boots.

“And why are the legs so reinforced as well?” He asked as he tapped his fist against the iron soles.

“Well, you’ve been jumping around a lot during your exercises, and tended to build up Fa Jin in there a lot faster because of it.” Melissa pointed out. “I figure you could use that to mix up your fighting style and use kicks some more?”

“I never thought of that!” Izuku exclaimed, putting a hand to his chin in typical brainstorming form. “But All Might doesn’t have any kick moves. Maybe I could research other Heroes like Ingenium?” After mumbling a bit, he straightened up and looked at the helmet. Melissa pressed the button again, and the upper half snapped back. Izuku flinched at the movement, but quickly went back to investigating the headgear. “This part is probably most different from my original notes. There are a few design elements that are the same, but what function does it serve?”

“I’m glad you asked, as it’s actually the most important part of the suit. Try putting it on!” Melissa said, and Izuku picked up the helmet and put it over his head. She pressed the button again, snapping the cover over his head. The visor lit up from within, and he saw a holographic display against it.

[New Quirk registered. Now scanning Q-Fields…]

[New Quirk registered. Now scanning Q-Fields…]

[New Quirk registered. Now scanning Q-Fields…]

[New Quirk registered…]

“Uhh…” Izuku looked at the text as it appeared several times, unsure of what to do next. There were now seven bars in the corner of his vision.

“Try using Full Cowl. It’ll make sense in a moment.” Melissa assured him.

“Alright then?” Izuku flexed slightly, lightly calling upon One for All to cover his body for a 5% Full Cowling. As he did the first bar began to fill until a number could be seen.

[Quirk #1 | Output: 1000 AP]

[Quirk #2 | Output: 0 AP]

[Quirk #3 | Output: 0 AP]

[Quirk #4 | Output: 10 AP]

[Quirk #5 | Output: 0 AP]

[Quirk #6 | Output: 0 AP]

[Quirk #7 | Output: 0 AP]

[Estimated time operational at current output: 5 Hours]

“Incredible! It’s able to read the amount of power I’ve put into my Quirk.” Izuku stated, watching as the number for ‘Quirk #1’ went up and down as he ran more and less power through himself. But as he continued his actions, the other six listed Quirks stayed the same. “Huh, the other Quirks aren’t changing.”

“The other-? Wait, you mean that thing differentiates between the powers given to you by One for All?” Melissa asked in surprise.

“Maybe? Let’s test it. Throw something at me!” Izuku said excitedly. Melissa raised an eyebrow in amusement, but suddenly grabbed a nearby bolt on the bench and tossed it at him. He felt the spike from Danger Sense, and as he tilted his head out of the way the AP output for ‘Quirk #4’ changed from 10 to 100, before falling back down after a few moments.

“It is! This is incredible Melissa! How in the world did you make something like this?” He noticed that she wasn’t as happy as he thought she’d be at the praise, and tilted his head, feeling the weight of the helmet as he did so. “What’s wrong Melissa?”

“I… didn’t make it. My dad did.” Melissa admitted, glancing around to make sure no one would overhear them. “He brought it over for All Might, and he didn’t exactly get permission to do so.”

“Oh.” Izuku said, before the implication sunk in. “Ohhhhhh…”

“Yeah, so please keep that function a secret, alright?” Melissa pleaded to him. “I know I shouldn’t be using it at all, but if it’ll help you not get hurt then I’ll take the risk.”

“Melissa, don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare tell anyone!” Izuku insisted as he took off the helmet. “But thank you though, for being willing to help me so much. And thank you for the suit. It’s,” He felt his eyes tear up. He tried not to cry, but he just couldn’t help himself. Melissa took the helmet from his hands, setting it on the bench beside them before wrapping him in a hug. “It’s like what I’ve always dreamed of. With all the support I’ve gotten from you, you’ve really made me feel like I can be a real Hero.”

“You are a real Hero Izuku. To both me and Eri.” Melissa said as she patted him on the back. “And you’ll be a real Hero to all those kids today when they see you out there in that outfit. So put on that amazing smile of yours and get out there.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right.” Izuku said with a grin, wiping his red eyes. He looked over at his Hero Costume for a few moments, before turning to Melissa again. “So, how exactly do I start putting this on?”

“Don’t worry, I made a manual this time.” Melissa said with a laugh, obviously remembering his issue with the Full Gauntlet. Izuku felt his cheeks blush as he took the manual and began flipping through it.

“Where did those two go?” Eri asked in a bored tone, sitting on the back bumper of the Nezu-mobile.

“I’m sure they’ll be here soon. Hopefully.” Nezu added with an air of uncertainty. He had an inkling of what Ms. Shield wanted to show Midoriya, but he really expected them to be back by now. Then again, their feelings are likely to be stronger than usual afterwards, and if his understanding of human emotions was correct… “Hmm, I may have miscalculated.”

“Miscalculated what?” Eri turned to Nezu.

“Nothing someone your age needs to worry about.” Nezu quickly said. Looking back towards the school again, he finally saw the two teenagers approaching. Melissa was wearing her usual uniform, but Izuku was wearing something entirely different, as he had expected. “Ah, so you two have finally arrived. I would have come to see what the holdup was, but I understand young couples like their privacy.”

“C-C-Couple?!” Izuku’s face turned beat red, and his helmet snapped shut like a clam.

“Nezu!” Melissa gasped scandalized. “W-We just had some issues with getting inside. I may have misjudged his size, so it was a bit of a tight fit to get in.”

“Please Ms. Shield, there are children present!” Nezu gasped dramatically, and Melissa quickly realized what she had said.

“The Costume! The Costume was a tight fit! I-, You know what I meant.” Melissa sighed, face just as red as Izuku’s was under the mask.

“Of course. On an unrelated note, I feel obliged to mention that Recovery Girl kept her medical supplies quite stocked, in case you’re ever looking for that kind of protective equipment.” Nezu said cheekily, producing exasperated groans from the teenagers present.

Eri, unaware of the persistent teasing the two were under, approached Izuku in his new Costume with wide eyes. “Izuku? Is that really you?”

“Yep!” Izuku pressed a button on the side of his helmet and the top half snapped back, revealing his face again. “Pretty cool Costume, huh? Though it makes me feel like I’m the protagonist in a tokusatsu show.”

“What’s tokusatsu?” Eri asked.

“It’s a kind of popular pre-Quirk era show… How about we watch some when I get back, okay?” Izuku said, realizing that explaining it would probably take some time.

“Okay!” Eri nodded in agreement, before looking a bit worried. “We won’t be gone long, right?”

“Of course not. We should be able to get there and back before sundown.” Nezu explained. “We’ll have the Lunch-Bots prepare a bunch of food ahead of time for our new students. Looking forward to seeing more kids your age?”

“Umm, I guess.” Eri said, not sounding that excited at the prospect. Understandable, considering she had only just gotten used to fully trusting the three others present. Melissa bent down and put a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll be with you the entire time. But seriously, everything will be fine!” Melissa comforted the younger girl as Izuku and Nezu made their way into the Nezu-mobile and they climbed into the back. As the vehicle began to move Melissa asked Eri how her training was going, and the girl was quickly distracted from her worries as she told her all about the exercises Nezu had come up with.

As Nezu drove down the empty and silent streets of the outside world, Izuku realized how earie it was. Having spent most of his time after the Rapture within the safety of U.A., he had forgotten the fear on that first day. Of him weaving through shadowed alleys just to reach the supermarket just for some clothes. He could only imagine what it must feel like for the ones even younger than him.

‘That’s why I’ve got to get better with One for All. So I can be a Hero to them.’ Izuku stuck one hand out of the vehicle, putting the other on his forearm for stability. He balled his fist and pressed a small button on his pointer finger with his thumb, and the cylindrical cover below his wrist moved up to cover his hand. Focusing on the outstretched fist, he tried to call upon Smokescreen in only it.

[Quirk #6 | Output: 100 AP]

As the scanner indicated the usage of a Quirk, purple smoke began to shoot out of his fist. The cover around it made the smoke shoot out in a funnel, before trailing off as they drove away. Izuku couldn’t help but get a big grin seeing Melissa’s equipment in use.

“Testing your new Support Gear?” Nezu asked, glancing at Izuku’s handiwork.

“Yeah! Melissa’s ideas were amazing. I’ve spent so long training to be like All Might that I would have taken forever to think of these additions for my other abilities.” Izuku pressed the small button again as he brought his hand back in the vehicle, and the cover retreated back below his wrist. He glanced up at the holographic display, pressing a few buttons on the side near the antenna. “Now, there should be a way to name each Quirk on this thing…”

“Speaking of Quirks, I believe I’ve discovered what a couple of your undiscovered Quirks may be.” Nezu said, immediately catching Izuku’s attention from his previous task.

“Really? How did you do that? I figured that most of the One for All users kept a low profile, or weren’t obvious with their usage of it like All Might?” Izuku said, thinking back to his own speculation.

“True, it would be rather difficult for the average person to connect the dots. But with my knowledge as Principal of U.A., I have access to enough information to piece together a speculative history of One for All.” Nezu revealed, before tapping his phone to a terminal in the Nezu-Mobile’s dashboard. A holographic diagram popped up, showing nine individuals with big numbers behind them. Putting the vehicle on autopilot, he turned his full attention to the information displayed.

“Let’s start in descending order, shall we? You are the Ninth User of One for All. You started Quirkless, but have received not just One for All, but all the Quirks of the users beforehand due to reaching the supposed singularity. I’m sure you know your own history enough, so I’ll just skip along to All Might. He was the Eighth User of One for All, also originally Quirkless. He-”

“Wait, All Might was originally Quirkless?!” Izuku shouted in surprise.

“I believe so!” Nezu declared, before quickly elaborating why. “At the very least, he never displayed any other abilities beyond the strength gathered within One for All. It would be safe to operate under the assumption that he had no other Quirk.”

“That… actually makes a lot of sense.” Izuku said, sparing a glance at the Quirk’s listed in the scanner. There were only seven Quirks listed by it, but there were nine holders of One for All, including himself. And considering that he knew that the Second had a Quirk, that left the possibility of either the Fifth, Seventh, or All Might as the one without another Quirk. He would have to wait to see what else Nezu had to say before coming to a definitive conclusion though.

Izuku glanced up to see Nezu staring at him patiently. He quickly realized that his speculation had not been as in his head as he believed.

“An excellent deduction, Young Midoriya. Now, back to the topic of All Might. I believe he received One for All in the middle of his time at U.A., back before I was the principal of the institution. That would mean he’s had the power for close to forty years now, likely the longest time any user has held it according to my findings. The one who gave it to him didn’t take long to find. During his time at U.A. he was taught by a Hero known as Gran Torino, who seemed to be at the school only to teach him. While I originally suspected him, All Might’s files showed he interned only once with a Hero who apparently died in a Villain attack during it. Yet there is no information about which Villain it was, and the location listed for the fight turned out to be non-existent. This Hero was a woman named Nana Shimura, and I believe she was the Seventh User.”

“Nana… that bit about a Villain attack certainly sounds suspicious, but are you sure?” Izuku asked, staring at the hologram of the woman in her Hero Costume.

“Well, Gran Torino only joined after she passed, suggesting some connection. Considering these two are the only Heroes All Might is known to have had significant contact with before he left for America, it would be likely he received his Quirk from one of them. It was actually in investigating the Sixth that I finally found a clue linking her to One for All.” Nezu pointed at the Sixth’s image suddenly and it enlarged, showing another Pro Hero in the field.

“With the Sixth’s Quirk name known, it wasn’t hard to find him listed in the old Pro Hero Database, a man named En. He was a rather average Hero all things considered, but there was a spike in his career when he suddenly began successfully capturing Villains far outside his weight class. This trend continued until he died in a mysterious Villain attack just as shrouded in falsehoods and forgery as Nana Shimura’s.”

“That’s certainly suspicious, but it’s not like All for One is the only Villain who likes to cover his tracks when working, right?” Izuku pointed out.

“Certainly not, but it may not have been a Villain doing the covering in these cases.” Nezu agreed. “Shimura was reported as being one of the first responders to the scene. The official report states that when she found the Sixth that he had already passed, but I believe that wasn’t the case. Shortly after this incident, her performance as a Hero began to spike as well, eventually growing in notoriety until being killed by another mysterious Villain.”

“You think she lied about what happened in order to prevent All for One tracking her down,” Izuku began to guess. “And then Gran Torino did the same for All Might.”

“Precisely. I was able to follow this link of Heroes down once more to the Pro Hero Lariat, real name Daigoro Banjo. He was the Fifth User, and his story is the same as the previous two. It’s when we get to the Fourth that things start getting complicated.” Nezu motioned to the Fourth User, and the information regarding him enlarge. Izuku could see his name listed as Hikage Shinomori. “If I didn’t already have the name of his Quirk, he could have proved impossible to find. The man was such a hermit that it seems the only record of his existence are his birth certificate, his Quirk register, and his death certificate.”

“Why was he such a ghost? Was he trying to hide from All for One, maybe?” Izuku guessed.

“Possibly. But there was certainly something strange about the man.” Nezu said, face clouding slightly. “Despite living a life away from harm and appearing in good shape, the records for his death say he died at forty of old age.”

“Of old age?!” Izuku stared at the scar running down the Fourth’s face worryingly. “How is that even possible?”

“I… have a few theories, but they are unimportant right now.” Nezu said, deflecting the question. It seemed out of character from what Izuku had know, as Nezu never seemed to fear telling every last detail. But he simply kept speaking, leaving the question in the past. “And then there’s the Third, Second, and First. To be frank, I have absolutely nothing on them.”

“Huh?” Izuku nearly fell off his chair at the upfront admission. He stared up at the diagram, only to see the three users as nothing more than empty silhouettes. “You must have found something?”

“Nope. The Fourth’s lifestyle left little to connect him to anyone. And even with the Third’s Quirk, I was unable to find him. There’s a good chance that him and the first three User’s existed before the Quirk register was even a thing.” Nezu said with a shrug. “Besides, I doubt there is anything to find in the first place.”

“What makes you say that?” Izuku asked, still wrapping his head around the lack of information.

“Like you said, One for All was likely created with the help of All for One. All Might may have claimed it was a ‘Torch of Justice’, but there’s a high likelihood that it was originally held by someone close to All for One himself, at least for a time. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first three User’s records were as non-existent as All for One’s himself.” Nezu said, looking over the data displayed once more. “But with all of that out of the way, I can get back to the original topic at hand, Quirks!”

“Oh yeah!” Izuku suddenly remembered why Nezu had began this lecture in the first place. “I’m guessing you didn’t learn what the Second’s Quirk was then?”

“No, unfortunately. I was able to discover the other two remaining Quirks however!” Nezu waved a hand, and the diagram moved to the Fifth User. The screen changed to a picture of him swinging up to a building with some sort of black rope of energy. “The Fifth’s Quirk was called Blackwhip and allowed for him to create black energy tendrils from his body. He mainly used them to maneuver around and capture Villains.”

“Wow, that’s such a cool Quirk!” Izuku said in amazement, already thinking of ways he could use it himself. He looked down at his gauntlets after a moment though, looking a bit sad. “Looks like Melissa’s going to have to redesign my suit again soon, huh?”

“I’m sure she was expecting that. There’s no such thing as the perfect Costume, after all!” Nezu assured him cheerfully, before making another motion with the diagram.

The image of the Fifth disappeared and was now replaced with one of the Seventh. Nana Shimura appeared to be in the middle of the air between two high-rises. However, she didn’t appear to be falling to the ground, instead floating there gracefully.

“The Seventh’s Quirk is a form of levitation called Float. As you can see it allows the user to suspend themselves in midair, though I imagine One for All will help increase its power, along with all the other ones you’ve received so far.” Nezu explained.

“Alright. So Blackwhip and Float, along with a final mystery Quirk.” Izuku confirmed, looking at the information displayed one final time before Nezu minimized it and turned back to the road. As the principal began driving again, he felt a question form. “Speaking of multiple Quirks, would it be a problem to show them off when we meet up with the kids?”

“Fa Jin is similar enough that you can excuse it as another aspect of your strength stockpiling ability, and Danger Sense is entirely invisible in use.” Nezu quickly said as he spared a glance over at him. “You may be able to convince them that Smokescreen is a function of the suit, but it’s best to keep things simple. You’re right to be cautious though. Seeing someone with multiple Quirks is bound to get whatever remains of the government jumpy. We can worry about a proper cover story once the current situation is dealt with. Now relax, we still have an hour or so until we reach the convention center at the edge of Naruhata that they are currently being kept at.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Izuku said, turning back out the window. He could worry about his Quirk later. All he needed to do today was impress some kids. It couldn’t be too hard, right?

Kagome continued to fiddle away at the Doctor’s terminal as she had for the past few days, having combed as many of his secrets as he could. She still looked tirelessly for any hints that could help her acquire the power of All for One for herself more easily.

“Kagome, it’s time.” Nine said, and she could feel his eyes piercing into her back. She quickly locked the terminal and turned towards him.

“Just doing some last-minute reading. Never hurts to understand more about the crazy zombies we’re using as foot soldiers.” Kagome said casually, reaching down to grab the case All for One was in.

“For all the research you’ve been doing, you’ve proven rather ineffective at your work.” Nine responded with a squint. “All this time, and you could only prepare a half dozen Nomu towards the cause.”

“I told you, most of these freaks are only half built. They wouldn’t be effective in a fight,” Kagome said, lying through her teeth. While most of the Nomu were half complete according to the doctor, he had the highest standards imaginable. It was likely that even the weakest of these things could tear through a squad of police single-handedly.

But no one else knew how to use the system but her, and she wasn’t about to hand over an army of superpowered zombies to Nine. Especially when he was bound to get in her way eventually. It’s why she uploaded her voice to all the standby Nomu, just in case.

Nine grumbled at her answer, but eventually relented. “Oh well. They should be enough for our plan regardless. I much prefer working with real people anyways, so we’ll just have to find some more people devoted to power like the Purple Oni’s.”

‘Great, just what I needed. More idiots cluttering my workplace.’ Kagome grumbled internally as she began to walk out of the lair. But right as she went to pass Nine, he grabbed her by the arm.

“What is that you’ve got there?” Nine asked, staring at the case containing All for One with suspicion. Kagome hadn’t let the case out of her site since acquiring it, and it appears that he had noticed. “Is it for the mission?”

“It is, in fact.” Kagome said, and she tried not to smirk too much as Nine’s eyebrows shot up. She clicked the case open, revealing a radio set. “I have it set up to monitor the emergency lines, so that we have insider info throughout the operation. I needed it to be mobile, so I reconfigured this case for it.”

Another bold-faced lie. She had literally just thrown a radio on top of the case’s secret compartment. This case was used by the Doctor to secretly transport Quirk Factors, so fortunately her work was half done. And with it being integral to the plan, Nine had no reason to deny letting her take it anywhere.

“I see, how… useful.” Nine said, clearly not entirely buying her story. But before he could lay into her anymore, an alarm on his watch went off and he let out a sigh. “Whatever. It’s time to get moving. I hope your research proves to be useful to our cause, Kagome.”

With that, the man turned to walk away, and Kagome turned to look back at the terminal. It was becoming apparent that their partnership was becoming less and less useful to the other. Once Nine had the children in his hand and began recruiting more thugs, she would eventually be replaced. And the more he grew in power, the harder it would be for her to acquire her dream Quirk without being stomped down. But she had gained everything she needed from this place.

She unlocked the terminal quickly and opened a window to see the bar at 100%. She yanked out an external storage device plugged into the side and shoved it into the secret compartment along with All for One. Now all she needed was to find a way into the most secure place on the planet. But if all went well, she’d have her one-way ticket there by the end of the night.

She turned off the terminal before she turned on her feet and strode after Nine with a newfound purpose. There was nothing that could stop her now.

If she had waited a moment longer, she might have seen the terminal screen turn back on seconds later.

A moment longer, and she’d have seen the screen glitch as it bypassed the lock screen and went straight to the Nomu Control Program.

In the next moment, she would have seen a sound file be downloaded from an unknown source outside the network and begin to be uploaded to every Nomu within the Doctors laboratory.

And if she had been there to open that file, she would have heard the two lines recorded within it in a robotic voice.

[Capture the current holder of One for All. Begin searching at U.A. High School.]

Next Chapter: The Ninth Day (Part II)

Chapter Text

“I guess we really are leaving tonight.” Katsuma said, as he was ushered out of the convention center for the first time in almost a week. He squinted his eyes at the setting sun in the distance.

“I told you so.” Kota said smugly as the two followed near the end of the pack of children.

“Single file now!” The elderly caretaker at the end said, and all the children made a half-hearted effort to straighten up. It wasn’t very impressive, if the sigh Kota heard was any indication.

As they all reached the street a line of three buses could be seen, and many adults running around trying to organize the growing crowd of children. At either end of the street block a barricade could be seen keeping the convention center separated from the rest of the city. There were APC’s parked next to each of them with a squad of JSDF personnel roaming nearby. The site of real soldiers, holding guns and all, drew the attention of the children, and it took much shouting from one of the men to get their attention focused.

They all began to line up on the curb at the adults’ instructions, and Kota and Katsuma found themselves at the end of the line again. They were so far to the side in fact, that they were right next to the soldiers guarding the perimeter on the south side. One of them noticed the stares from the kids and shot them a smile before turning her eyes back to the empty road and letting out a tired sigh.

“Man, these guys must be bored.” Kota whispered to Katsuma, who tried to contain a laugh.

Before they could continue to converse, the man who had gotten their attention before shouted out again. He was a police officer, if his outfit was anything to go by. He was definitely old, but not nearly as elderly as most of the caretakers the two boys had seen over the past few days.

“As you can see, you all are being moved today.” The officer said in a deep voice. He quickly continued before the children could all ask their questions at once. “I’m sure you all are wondering where you will be going, so we have brought the one in charge of the place to explain it himself.”

At the words, the gate on the northern barricade slid to the side, and what looked like a recolored SWAT Truck pulled in. All the kids watched in anticipation as silence finally filled the street. The truck pulled to a stop and the side door slowly opened, revealing a mouse… bear… thing? Whatever it was, it was finely dressed, and it strode down the steps of the vehicle with surprising grace.

“What is that thing?” Katsuma asked, and Kota just let out a knowing laugh. He had heard plenty of horror stories from her aunt about this maddening beast.

“Hello, young children!” The curious mammal said in a cheerful voice, producing surprised gasps from many a children present, Katsuma included. “My name is Nezu, and I am the principal of U.A. High School. Starting today, you all will be living at my school for the foreseeable future.”

The kids’ reaction was almost simultaneous. Cheers began to go crazy as they all heard the news. Every kid these days was obsessed with Heroes, and what place was more known for them than U.A. High? As the kids all let out their excitement out, Kota just scoffed.

“Damn, we really are going there…” Kota muttered, ignoring the eyebrow the nearby soldier gave him from the language.

“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. They probably have better beds at least.” Katsuma said, trying to cheer up his friend.

“I’ll just have to put up with everyone freaking out about Heroes again now. I thought I was done with that shit after they all disappeared.” Kota said in annoyance. As he grew annoyed at the growing chatter, the other side door of the truck opened, and someone walked out and around the truck to face the children. “What?! Who is that?”

Besides Nezu now stood someone about five and a half feet, head to toe in an armored Hero Costume. They shuffled nervously for a moment before giving an awkward wave. Everyone, kids and adults alike, stared at the person in curiosity. Even some of the soldiers had turned their heads as the street became silent again.

It was Kota who first broke the silence.

“Who the hell are you?” He said with absolutely no grace, ignoring again the looks everyone gave him at his language.

“Oh, right! I’m a Hero Student at U.A.!” He said through the mask. He pressed a button on the side of his mask, and the top half folded back to reveal a teenager with mossy green hair, grinning nervously at everyone around him.

“I thought everyone with a Quirk disappeared?” One of the kids pointed out, and many of the other kids nodded in agreement.

“Oh, well I was a pretty late bloomer!” He said, rubbing the back of his head with his armored gauntlet.

“Yeah right! You’re way to old to get a Quirk like us!” A more skeptical kid said accusingly, and Kota nodded along. He was likely just some Quirkless teenager the rodent had found and dressed up in a spare Costume. “If you really have a Quirk then show us!”

“Yeah, what he said!”

“What is it!”

“Do something cool!”

The kids quickly began to spiral out of control, and Nezu tried to placate the growing pint-sized mob. “Now, now kids. I’m sure if you all calm down-”

Nezu and all the other kids were suddenly cut off by a metallic groaning sound. Everyone turned to look at the source only to see the Hero Student standing in front of one of the empty police cars, both hands under the bumper. Slowly, inch by inch, the front end of the car was lifted into the air, until he had nearly raised the vehicle bumper over his head. After holding it in that position for many moments, he let it drop to the ground with a clang.

“Oh, wow!” He said as he bent over to catch his breath. “That thing’s a lot heavier than I thought. Pro Heroes make it look so easy.” As he caught his breath, he noticed the children’s silence, and gave them a smile between heavy breaths. “Umm… Was that good enough?”

The kids quickly exploded again, this time in cheers. As they all got excited, new questions started getting thrown out.

“That was so cool!”

“He lifted that truck like it was nothing!”

“He’s like a mini All Might!”

“What’s his Hero Name?”

“He didn’t mention it, but I bet it’s cool!”

“Hey, what’s your Hero Name?!”

“My Hero Name?” The Hero Student parroted back, eye’s widened like a deer in head lights. There was a panicked look in his eyes as he stood there silently, fidgeting with his gauntlets. “It’s… umm, well…”

‘Don’t tell me he doesn’t even have one? I knew all Heroes were idiots, but this takes the cake.’ Kota rolled his eyes as the teenager continued to stutter. But he suddenly shut up and quieted, and everyone listened intently.

“It’s… Deku! Like ‘You can do it!’.” He said with a sudden confidence.

“Wow.” Katsuma couldn’t help but get excited along with everyone else (Except Kota, of course) as they all stared at Deku.

“Yes, it’s all quite exciting!” Nezu said, taking the now focused attention back to himself. “And you’ll be able to see plenty more of Deku at U.A., so it’s about time we all got going. Please follow the instructions of the adults onto the buses, and you’ll be at the school just in time for Dinner.”

At the mention of food and the chance to see more of their new Hero, all the kids quickly turned to the adults near the buses, slowly making their way onto them. As they did, Katsuma turned to Kota with a grin.

“Wasn’t Deku super cool? And his name is super cool too! You can do it!” Katsuma repeated, pumping a fist. Kota just scoffed at the younger boy’s excitement.

“Sound’s more like ‘good for nothing’ to me.” Kota said under his breath, sparing another glance at the Hero Student. His face quickly soured. “Oh crap. They’re coming this way.”

“Really?!” Katsuma swerved around, in a much more pleased mood. Sure enough the two visitors appeared to be walking in their direction towards the barricade, waving at all the kids along the way as they filed into the bus. They eventually stopped in front of the one of the soldiers and Nezu climbed up onto Deku’s shoulder, producing a yelp from the boy.

“Thank you for keeping an eye on these kids for so long, Sergeant. I know your people are likely spread thin keeping things under control.” Nezu said apologetically.

“Don’t mention it, principal Nezu.” The gruff soldier said, glancing back at the barricade casually. “Though it’s not like you needed us for much. We haven’t seen hide or hair of anyone since we set up. Of course, everyone is probably to busy going to the other shelters to come down here. I figured the police would be a better handle for this stuff.”

“Maybe, but it’s always best to plan for every eventuality.” Nezu responded.

“I suppose, but it’s not like there’s any Villains to worry about, right?” The Sergeant insisted. “Even those Humarise freaks mostly use people with Quirks or hired mercenaries to do jobs. And I doubt anybody’s getting paid in this economy. Us included!” He let out a laugh, before shaking his head slowly.

“Um… Mr. Deku, sir?”

Deku, Nezu, and the Sergeant all turned to see the excited face of Katsuma staring up at them. He was looking at Deku specifically with a look of wonder. “Y-You’re so cool! Can you tell me about your Quirk?”

“O-Oh! Well, I think maybe we can talk about that at the school.” Deku replied, nervous at the kid standing right next to him. As Katsuma continued to pester him with questions, Kota walked away in annoyance towards the south gateway. He reached the barred gateway, gripping the bars as he peeked through them.

“Not interested in the cool Hero?” The female soldier standing guard asked in confusion, turning towards him.

“Nah, Heroes are stupid.” Kota said, not even bothering to look in her direction. He continued looking at the outside world, but he could see nothing but abandoned cars scattered about in the middle of the road.

“Not a fan, huh? Well, either way, you need to get on that bus, which is in the other direction. Trust me, U.A.’s pretty far from here. You’ll certainly miss dinner if you had to walk.” The soldier tried to say in a laidback manner, but Kota continued to ignore her. “… Look kid. Almost everyone else is already onboard, and I’m sure you don’t one of us to carry you on. Can you please go get on the bus.”

“Make me…” Kota continued staring straight ahead, wondering to himself how hard he’d be able to grip onto these bars. Before he could tighten his grip though, the woman bent down and picked him up, throwing him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. “What the-?! Put me down!”

“You told me to make you.” She said with a laugh, as she turned to walk towards the bus, leaving him looking back over the gate from a raised perspective. “Come on, U.A.’s not that bad. I’m sure you’ll make plenty of friends there.”

Kota pouted as he stared down the empty street beyond the barricade, view bobbing with each step. “Like I care about that…” He trailed off as he noticed something in the distance. He swore he saw some sort of pale thing, weaving between the worn-down cars that littered the rows. “W-What the hell is that?”

“Nice try kid.” The soldier said in amusement as she reached where Katsuma was still fawning to collect him too. But as she continued to walk away, the figure continued approaching, coming more into shape as the cover became sparce. It seemed to be human shaped, but its movements were anything but.

“No seriously, there’s something really creepy out there!” Kota shouted frantically, attempting to wiggle out of her grip. The soldier complained but froze as a sudden clang sound came from behind her. They both turned to look at the sound, along with the group near Katsuma. What they all saw was nightmare inducing.

Standing on top of an abandoned car stood a bipedal creature, almost like a human. But it wore nothing but worn-out trousers and had sickly light green skin. The being’s head was the most terrifying part though, with an exposed brain that had four eyes poking out of it. All four of them suddenly focused forward, looking directly at them.

Before anyone could react to the sudden creature’s appearance it let out a bloodcurdling scream. Moment’s later, more of its inhuman ilk poured out onto the street in a mad dash straight for the barricade. One was pitch black and eyeless, built like a tank. Another was yellow with great wings and claws. A final dark green one had over a half-dozen arms, all with chainsaws and other dangerous tools sticking out the ends of them.

“Open fire!”

The Sergeant quickly snapped out of his stupor at the approaching monsters, and the half dozen soldiers along the line all began firing their weapons. While most of their bullets hit their marks, it didn’t appear to slow done the creatures in any way. In fact, a few could be seen regenerating from the wounds already.

“Sir! They have Quirks!” One soldier shouted over the gunfire.

“I can see that Private!” The Sergeant shouted back, before glancing over his shoulder and picking up his radio. “North team, status report!”

“There’s no hostiles on the north side sir!” One of the soldiers on the other side of the street confirmed.

“What the hell is going on here?” The Sergeant questioned as he watched the monsters slowly approaching the barricade, trying to calculate the best move. The police officer from before quickly ran over.

“The kids are beginning to panic. Should we move them back inside for protection?” The officer suggested.

“Not in this chaos. If one of those things breaks through the barricade the kids could get caught in the crossfire.” The Sergeant said, immediately shooting him down. “Are all your people ready to begin the escort?”

“Yes, but are you sure that’s wise? What if there are more of those things out there?” The officer suggested worryingly.

“It’s better than sitting here and potentially getting overwhelmed. We don’t know how many of these things there are.” The Sergeant declared. “I’ll call for emergency support, but we need to move these children as soon as possible.”

“And I’ve already called the training drones on standby at U.A. to come to my vehicle’s location. They should meet us halfway.” Nezu declared, putting his miniature phone back in his pocket.

“Then get moving already, while the north route is still clear!” The Sergeant shouted, before turning towards the ever-approaching beasts and grabbing his radio. “North team! Get your asses down here as soon as the escort has successfully left the gate.”

The soldier holding Kota finally placed him next Deku. “Alright, now listen to the Heroes, okay?” She told him, turning to join her comrades on the line before he could get a chance to respond. Him and Katsuma just glanced at each other, and then at the remaining adults with growing panic. They flinched at all the loud pops of gunfire and screeches of inhuman origin.

“Alright then, let’s get these buses moving!” The police officer commanded into his own radio, and a half dozen police cruisers all lit their lights.

“Wait, these two haven’t gotten on yet!” Deku shouted to him over the gunfire.

“We don’t have time to find space! Take them with you in that truck of yours!” The officer said as he sprinted to his own car. Nezu hopped off Deku’s shoulder and followed after him, much to the young teenager’s surprise.

“I’ll be helping organize things with the police, young Deku!” Nezu shouted as he scurried off.

“Wait! Who’ll drive the truck?!” Deku shouted in confusion.

“Young Melissa should have her license, and the Nezu-mobile is very easy to use!” Nezu explained as he hopped onto the shotgun seat of the police cruiser. “Now get moving Hero. This is the moment you’ve been training for!”

Nezu then closed the door before Deku could argue, and he let out a sigh. He grabbed a boy with each hand and sprinted with them towards the truck, hopping in the back doors. An older and younger girl could be seen inside, the later curled up in the formers lap frightened.

“Finally, you had me and Eri worried sick! Izuku, what the hell is going on out there?!” The older Girl said, clearly trying not to lose her composure at incessant amount of gunfire outside.

“Sorry Melissa, but there’s an army of Frankenstein’s outside, and the JSDF is holding them off while we escape.” Deku, or Izuku as the boy’s had now learned, said quickly. “Also, Nezu says you’re driving.”

“Huh?!” Melissa was clearly taken aback at the explanation.

“H-He said you can drive!” Izuku stuttered out.

“In America!” Melissa cried out, before shaking her head. “Right, emergency. I’m sure I can figure it out. That damn rat is going to get an earful later though.”

As Melissa ran to the front seat of the retrofitted SWAT Truck, the younger girl looked at him, completely terrified. She had tears streaming down her face as she grabbed his hand. “Izuku, what’s going on?”

“There are some scary people outside trying to do bad stuff. But don’t worry Eri, you have nothing to worry about!” Izuku said, lifting Eri up and placing her on one of the seats.

“W-Why?” Eri asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Because I’m here!” Izuku responded with a cheerful grin as he buckled her seatbelt.

Kota instantly recognized that he was trying to imitate All Might, and would have scoffed at the attempt, if not for the fact that it really seemed to calm the girl down. She was still scared but was no longer seconds away from a meltdown like previously.

The wannabe Hero quickly turned to the two boys. “You two should get seated as well. This could get bumpy.”

“R-Right, Deku!” Katsuma said, quickly sitting next to Eri. Kota didn’t say anything, but wordlessly followed suit. As the Truck began to speed off and Deku left to go to the front seat, Katsuma turned in amazement. “Wasn’t he so cool! He was just like All Might!”

“I guess. Not really my thing though.” Kota said awkwardly. Normally he would have told him to drop the topic, but it seemed to be distracting his friend from the creepy monsters that were attacking, so he could play along for now.

Too bad he couldn’t buy into such idealist optimism anymore. He could sure use it himself right now. Never had the idea of being behind U.A.’s walls seemed so inviting until now.

Nine stood on a street corner overlooking the city streets of Naruhata in front of him, watching the flashing lights of the police escort as the sun slowly began to set. The first stage of their plan had begun, and if the gunfire echoing in the distance was any indication, it was going very well.

“Looks like all the military forces decided to stay behind. Makes are job a lot easier.” Kagome said from behind him. She had retrofitted one of the ambulance’s from Jaku Hospital into a mobile command center, as well as an inconspicuous cover in case things went south. She was using the Hospital’s connection to the emergency network to listen in on the police, allowing Nine to read their every move. “They appear to be sticking to the original route. Should we proceed as planned?”

“Naturally.” Nine said, staring as the vehicles weaved towards their location unaware. It really was going swimmingly. If one of the military vehicles had joined the escort he may have been forced to go all out with his original Quirk, potentially leaving him vulnerable. But even his new minions could deal with some cops. Especially since they’re likely filled with nothing but old men after the Rapture. But just to double check…

He used his Scanning Quirk to confirm that there were no surprises in store for him. There was a cluster of lights around each bus, the Quirks of those children who have bloomed shining in his eyes. At this distance, they were too clustered together for him to get exact numbers, but they were obviously no threat to him. Looking over the police cars, he saw almost no lights coming from them, indicating that the force was entirely Quirkless. Except for one car.

“The lead police car appears to have someone with a Quirk. Be careful.” Nine informed the team.

“It’s probably just some kid, right? What’s there to worry about?” Dragon said nonchalantly, only to straighten up as Nine glared back at him. “I mean, y-yes sir! We’ll be careful.”

Nine let out a small sigh under his mask as he turned back towards the convoy. Those fools were nothing compared to his old comrades, but it was slim pickings in this world. He can whip them into shape later. Scan activating once more, he turned his eyes to the final Vehicle trailing well behind the escort, the one from U.A. High.

“Impossible!” He couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the four lights he saw within.

Scanning was a very useful Quirk, though it’s usefulness could only be maximized by one with All for One. It allowed the user to identify the general abilities of the Quirk looked at with its vision. This showed up as various lights that changed in hue and color based on various factors. This included what kind of power and how strong it was. With how few people were in the vehicle, he could get a rough idea of what each ability was without issue.

The first was glowing a dull blue. It was clear to Nine’s eyes to be a recently awakened water Quirk of some kind. He had no need for such a basic ability, especially once the powers of nature were his to freely control.

The light next to that one shown an almost pure white. He hadn’t seen that kind of light before, but its function appeared to be some sort of time-based Quirk. It could have been the ability he was looking for and would have focused on it more if not for the light right next over.

That one glowed a bright green, as if to indicate that it was exactly what he was looking for. The Quirk was a form of Cell Activation and appeared to have no obvious issues in terms of use. It seemed too good to be true. The one Quirk that he needed to become the god of this world was staring him right in the face.

But some other force within his body forced his eyes onto the final light, as if drawn to it like a moth to a flame. After observing it with Scan for a few moments he understood why. For this final light was of no ordinary Quirk.

At first its light red glow indicated it as some sort of power-enhancing Quirk. But the light kept growing and dimming, as if the amount of power within was in constant flux. And then there was a flash of something yellow, and then green, and then blue. A rainbow of lights shined from within, almost bursting at the seems to be released. It reminded Nine of himself, when he looked in the mirror with Scan active.

This person had multiple Quirks too.

But how? There was no one else that took the Doctors process (and survived) as far as Nine knew. And while the possibility of others existing remained, how would they have ended up within U.A.’s care? But there was a voice in the back of his head that wasn’t his again, telling him the same thing as before.

“So, it’s still here after all…”

“What did you say?” Kagome turned to him from her radio in confusion.

“Nothing.” Nine quickly said, turning to Komodo. “Change of plans. Leave the U.A. Truck outside of the trap. I’ll deal with them myself.”

“Understood boss!” Komodo said with a salute, pleasing Nine with his lack of questioning. It seemed they were learning.

“Whatever changes you want to make, do so fast. They’ll be here in a couple minutes.” Kagome said, getting into the ambulance. “I’ll be few blocks away on standby. U.A. and the military already have backup enroute, so don’t dawdle.”

With that, she closed the ambulance doors. Moments later the engine turned on and the emergency vehicle began to pull away to its hiding spot down the street. Nine’s three Oni’s quickly began to put the next phase into motion.

Their position along the route was planned and prepped well ahead of time. Naruhata was well known for its confined spaces, and this spot was no exception. The city block they chose had buildings shoulder to shoulder with each other, with only a single alleyway connecting it to the outside besides the road. At each end were entrances to parking garages, both filled with a tanker truck they procured from the abandoned streets.

As the convoy approached, Nine stayed hidden just outside the designated block while his comrades moved into the alleyway within. The police cars and buses all past by him unaware of the trap, and as soon as only the U.A. Vehicle remained before him, he pressed a button on the device in his hand.

Both tanker trucks suddenly shot to life, their modified automatic driving programs shooting to life as they sped out of the parking entrances at either end of the street. They immediately crashed into the opposite walls, trapping the convoy within. And just to make the message clear, Komodo and a transformed Chameleon both shot a laser blast from their eyes, engulfing both ends of the street in a wall of flames.

The U.A. truck had swerved violently to the side when the tanker truck had exploded and was still struggling to straighten out when Nine stepped out from the shadows and shot multiple Bullet Lasers from his nails at the front of the vehicle. The projectiles were weak as to not turn his target Quirk into a ball of fire, but the force was enough to finally send the truck careening out of control into a nearby convenience store.

Nine slowly walked over towards the crashed transportation, ignoring the dust kicked up it. He finally reached its back doors and swung them open, only for a plume of purple smoke to come pouring out.

“What?!” Nine activated Scanning just in time to see a rainbow light shooting forward. He tried to reach a hand forward to activate Air Wall but was still reeling from the smoke, and an armored fist slammed into his chest. He was knocked back to the other side of the street by the blow, but he quickly rolled with the landing, getting back to his feat just in time to see a young Hero walk out of the smoke.

This may have been the first time the two had ever met, but for some reason he felt like there were centuries leading up to this confrontation. Despite not caring one bit about the legacy granted to him by All for One, he shivered in anticipation. As he saw the power of the Hero’s Quirk grow dramatically through his eyes, he couldn’t help but let out an uncharacteristic chuckle as he felt his own power stir in response.

“So, we finally meet in person… One for All.”

In a darkened alleyway along the outskirts of Naruhata Ward a lone man stood silently, listening to the reports from the police radio in hand. He tried to drown out the sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance as he focused on the panicked voices echoing from the device.

“Unknown Villains are attacking the convoy! They have Quirks! I repeat, they have Quirks!”

“This is Sergeant Sasaki! We’ve taken down a couple of those monsters, but we require heavy support for the remainder right now!”

“Understood! ETA on first wave of reinforcements is thirty minutes!”

‘Thirty minutes, eh? A lot can happen in that time. Heroes, police, military. Always too slow to act.’ The man let out a sigh. Didn’t matter if nearly everyone had gone and disappeared. This out-of-the-way edge of Tokyo always found some way to end up in the spotlight. But real Villains? He didn’t think he’d have to deal with any of them again for a good while after the Rapture.

“They’ve got us blocked in on 4^th Avenue, between 27^th and the 28^th Street!” The radio crackled out, and the man let out a low whistle.

‘These guys really aren’t amateurs. If they’ve blocked in their prey at that location, then there’s only one way in and out. Fortunately, I know these alleys like the back of my hand.’ The man finally put the radio away and began walking in the direction of the Villain attack. He adjusted his brass knuckle gloves and gave one final tug on the black mask wrapped around the top half of his head. ‘Do these bastards really think they can cause any kind of trouble they want with no Heroes around? Well then, it’s time to show them that’s not how things work here in Naruhata. Why?’

The man clenched his fists as he let out a toothy grin.

‘Because I’m here!’

Next Chapter: All or Nothing

Chapter Text

“Ninth…Ninth… Wake up…”

‘Ugh… What just happened?’ Izuku groaned, feeling dizzy.

“Ninth, you need to wake up! I don’t know how, but we can feel his presence approaching!’

‘Feel who’s presence? Wait, who am I talking too again?’ Izuku felt his head begin to ache.

“There’s no time to explain! Open your eyes and fight!”

At the command, the memory of the last few minutes came flooding back. He remembered Danger Sense activating, yanking the wheel in Melissa’s hands to the side just in time to not run into a flaming truck. And then there was someone there, who knocked them into the wall with some kind of laser beam.

Izuku finally awoke fully, feeling Danger Sense slowly growl in the back of his head. He snapped his eyes open to see that he was still in his seat within the front of the Nezu-Mobile. His helmet had encased his head automatically, likely in an automatic response to the crash.

He could hear voices coming from the radio, shouting about the convoy being cut off and reinforcements coming, but not soon enough. Looking immediately to his right, he could see Melissa passed out in the driver’s seat.

‘She must have fainted in the crash. Doesn’t look like anything’s broken though.’ Izuku thought while he reached over to her. But before he could wake her up, he heard the back doors of the vehicle creak. Izuku whipped his head as he jumped out of his seat, quickly noticing the three kids were awake and uninjured in the back. ‘That man from before, who shot the lasers from his fingers. He must be trying to enter.’

Izuku didn’t know how that person had a Quirk, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that he was likely after the kids. And he couldn’t let that happen. “You three! Stay where you are!” He told the children, before activating Smokescreen and filling the vehicle with purple smoke. His visor immediately switched to an infrared mode, and he saw the figure of an adult male open the doors and stumble back as the wave of smoke flooded out. ‘Now!’

[One for All | Output: 5000 AP]

[Estimated time operational at current output: 20 minutes]

‘25% Detroit Smash!’ Izuku called upon One for All and thrust forward with his fist, launching the assailant out of the vehicle. Izuku took this chance to leave the Nezu-Mobile and distance them from the children. He strode out of the fog he had created, vision switching to normal just in time to see the Villain straighten up from his landing.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, and as Izuku prepared Full Cowling to his current maximum of 25%, he noticed an odd golden glimmer in his opponents’ eyes. The unknown man was wearing a lilac blazer and dress pants, but one could clearly see the advanced armored suit being worn underneath it. There was also a mask covering his mouth and nose, along with two metal cylinders of unknown liquid protruding from his shoulder blades.

The man chuckled suddenly, and Izuku prepared for an attack. He was still thrown completely off guard by what he had said next.

“So, we finally meet in person… One for All.” The man said ominously.

“You-?! How do you know that name?!” Izuku couldn’t help but cry out in surprise. There weren’t many people who would know One for All. It only took him another second to put the dots together. The monsters from before almost certainly had multiple Quirks, and if the voices from within his Quirk were reacting to his presence, then that left only one answer, despite how inexplicable it would seem. “All for One?! That’s impossible, you should be dead!”

“Well, you’re half right.” The man said. “I am Nine. While I may not be the dreaded Demon Lord of Japan, I still wield his power all the same.”

‘Seriously?! Someone else with All for One?’ Izuku hadn’t expect that. From what little he had heard of the Supervillain, he didn’t seem like one who would allow another to run around with his power. This made things more complicated but helped to narrow down the reasons for the attack. ‘I doubt he knew I would be here before seeing me, so the most likely reason behind this attack would be… the kids’ Quirks.’

“While there’s a part of me that says it would be a mistake to let you go, I truly don’t have any quarrel with you, boy.” Nine said, unaware of Izuku’s internal monologue. “I care little for the centuries long feud carried by your two powers. Leave now, and I’ll let you live another day.”

“It’s Deku! And no, I won’t let you take all these kids’ Quirks!” Izuku shouted, getting ready to attack.

“Ah. I have no need for all their Quirks. In fact, I only plan on taking a single one tonight.” Nine revealed, as he held out a hand. “How about a deal boy? You let me take the Quirk of one of the kids in that truck there, and me and my friends will leave in peace. Sounds like a fair trade, yes?”

“Forget it!” Izuku spat out, silently wondering how he even knew what Quirks the kids behind him had.

“Figures you would play the Hero. Oh well.” Nine let out a sigh, before the fingertips of his outstretched hand brightened, and Izuku felt Danger Sense flare up.

He rolled out of the way just as a purple bullet of energy passed where he had been standing, flying past and digging into the concrete wall behind him. ‘One hit from any of those would be bad. Good thing for Danger Sense.’ He began to advance toward Nine, dodging the beams that kept flying towards him. Even when the projectiles began to curve towards him instead of firing straight forward, he was able to determine how not to get hit.

“You’re certainly a nimble one.” Nine noticed as the gap closed, seemingly unconcerned at his approaching opponent. When Izuku finally was close enough and threw another fist forward, he merely held the hand shooting the beams up, palm towards the swing.

“Detroit Smash!” Izuku shouted as he swung with his current strength.

But instead of hitting Nine’s hand, his punch pressed against a yellow circular shield. Nine moved his hand, dragging the shield and Izuku himself to the side. A wave of air pressure shot out of the shield, and Izuku was launched down the road Nine had just pointed him down. He rolled with the hard landing, his new Costumes armor padding the blow.

‘Damn, he already has multiple Quirks somehow! That was some kind of wall of pressurized air that he can create and release from his hands, if that last attack was any indication. The shield didn’t even budge against 25% power, and it isn’t worth using one of my few 100% blasts to attempt breaking it unless I have a clear plan of action.’ Izuku quickly thought how his and his opponent’s Quirks could interact as he began rushing towards Nine, who had already used the distance between them to move towards the Truck. His opponent may have had good offense and defense, but Izuku had the advantage in utility.

As Izuku got closer, he pressed the button on his right gauntlet to move the covers forward and pointed it directly at Nine. The man noticed he was being aimed at and quickly formed another Air Wall, but Izuku had planned on that. He released Smokescreen solely in his hand like he had trained before on truck, but this time he flicked his fingers at the same time. ‘Delaware Smokeshot!’

Instead of a plume of purple smoke slowly pouring out from the gauntlet, Smokescreen was carried forward in concussive ‘bullets’ of air, created from the flicks of his fingers and the funneled attachment. The four shots Izuku had fired connected with Nine’s barrier and exploded like smoke bombs, completely engulfing him.

“What?” Nine said in surprised from within the smoke as the glow of the Air Wall disappeared.

‘Now’s my chance!’ Izuku ran past Nine so that he was now to his side and threw another Detroit Smash forward. ‘He still has to aim his lasers and shields through his hands. If he doesn’t know where I am, then he can’t block my attacks!’

But as he lunged into the smoke where Nine had just been standing, Danger Sense blared. As he plunged into the smoke, his visor switched to its Infrared vision just in time to see Nine snake out of the way and point his palm forward.

“So, you really do have multiple Quirks.” Nine said curiously before blowing both Izuku and his Smokescreen away with a blast of pressurized air.

Izuku rolled with the landing (He was getting good at it now) and he stared in confusion at Nine. ‘He knew exactly where I was the entire time. Danger Sense was going off before I had entered the Smokescreen, but how?’

He then noticed the golden glow in Nine’s eyes from before being more pronounced. He had thought he was just seeing things before, but now it was obviously the effect of a Quirk, but what could it be? He thought of what Nine had said a moment ago though and realized something important.

‘He knew I could use multiple Quirks beforehand! He also said he was after a specific Quirk earlier, and somehow knew it was in the truck. It’s some sort of Quirk Vision?! Of course, someone with All for One would use an ability like that.’

Izuku stared at Nine with grit teeth under his mask. His opponent had only shown three Quirks but was already nearly invincible to him. Who knew how many trump cards were still unused by the Villain. But Izuku wasn’t out of tricks either. He ran forward again as Fa Jin finally built up enough in his right arm.

‘I don’t need to beat him. I just need to keep these kids safe until help arrives!’

Nezu assessed the situation for the dozenth time and found he was disappointed in himself. While he had spoken about preparing for every eventuality, the current predicament was wildly outside his originally planned possibilities. Still, he focused on the present, and took note of the current situation like any Pro Hero would in an emergency.

Firstly, there were two blown up tanker trucks barricading either side of the street block the convoy was currently trapped in.

Secondly, there were three Villains attacking him and the police escort currently. One seemed to be bulletproof, another had telekinesis and laser vision, and the final one was a shapeshifter that kept switching forms between the previous two.

Thirdly, said Villains were currently decimating him and the police force.

Nezu scampered away as the police cruiser he was hiding under was lifted into the air and tossed into a nearby building. He pulled out the gun he was using to train Eri with and shot a Quirk-Erasing bullet towards the lanky Villain who had just uprooted his cover. But the Bulletproof Villain stepped in front, blocking the projectile as it bounced harmlessly off him like the police’s own bullets had.

“You must be the one with the Quirk.” The large man said, staring down in amusement as Nezu ran to new cover. “I had feared there was a Hero here at first, but to think it was just some rat.”

‘This is certainly a fine predicament I’ve found myself in.’ Nezu thought, glancing around at his allies’ current conditions. Most of the police had either been thrown away with their cars, currently suffering from laser-inflicted burns, or beaten down by the bulletproof brute and the shapeshifter. ‘They used the shapeshifter to double their offense while we were off-guard, and to increase their defense against the few of us that remained. There’s not enough of us left to land a lucky shot at this rate.’

The silence from his students was also concerning. They had been cut off from the rest of the convoy, but had yet to call in. Whatever the issue was on the other side of the flaming wreckage, Young Midoriya wouldn’t be arriving anytime soon, leaving Nezu to deal with this threat. As more and more of his cover disappeared, he continued to think.

‘It won’t be long before all my cover is gone and I myself am grabbed by that telekinesis. What options remain? The police are nearly defeated, and the Villains are situated in front of the only exit, preventing an evacuation. Many of the children likely have powerful Quirks that could prove useful in this fight but getting them involved is far to risky. The only option is to stall until backup arrives, but how-’

Nezu’s planning was cut short as he realized the cover he was running to had begun to float away. He also realized too late that the police’s gunfire had completely ceased, indicating they had all been defeated, and that the shapeshifter had turned back into their telekinetic ally. Nezu was quickly picked up by one of them, losing his grip on his gun as he floated hopelessly towards the trio of Villains.

“Nice work Komodo!” The bulletproof Villain laughed, watching Nezu spin around in the telekinetic grip.

“I’m Chameleon, idiot.” The shapeshifter said in annoyance.

“C’mon, give Dragon a brake. We literally look exactly alike!” The true telekinetic Villain said.

‘Well, looks like it’s time to break out the old stalling staple.’ Nezu thought as he floated helplessly. Luckily, they looked like the kind to be susceptible to such tactics. He fixed them his best glare as he finally spoke. “What is it you Villains are after?”

All three of them looked up at Nezu in surprise.

“The hell?! You can talk?” Komodo cried out.

“Must be part of his Quirk.” Chameleon guessed.

“Wait a minute.” Dragon seemed to remember something. “I heard that U.A.’s principal wasn’t human, but I always figured they were speaking metaphorically.”

“You would be correct. I am the principal of U.A. High School, Nezu.” He introduced himself politely. “You wouldn’t happen to be able to introduce yourself. I don’t recognize you as any known Villain group.”

“Probably because those stupid Heroes think only someone with a Quirk can be a Villain.” Dragon said, glaring up at Nezu. “Us Purple Oni’s have been around for ages, but now that we’ve teamed up with our new boss, we can finally get the recognition we deserve.”

“You mean All for One?” Nezu guessed.

It seemed the only logical choice. The man’s wording made it clear they were originally Quirkless, meaning they had to have been given a Quirk by some outside force. And there was only one option. While Nezu had believed the Supervillain to be dead, it wouldn’t be impossible that he used some Quirk to cling on. And Eri and Midoriya proved that the Rapture’s effects weren’t impossible to avoid.

“Who?” Dragon seemed to not recognize the name, much to Nezu’s own surprise. “I don’t know what you think, but we work for Nine! With the Quirks he’s given us, we’ll toss away all those that threw us down and take our place as kings!”

‘There’s someone else who can give and receive Quirks?’ Nezu had never heard of this ‘Nine’ person before, but it did little to change the fact that they apparently had the same power as that mythical Supervillain.

“And to start our new reign, we’ll burn everything related to that stupid school of yours! Starting with you!” Komodo said, eyes charging up a bright red as he stared down Nezu. “Looks like roast rat is on the menu tonight!”

Any other man would have likely given up, but Nezu wasn’t an ordinary man. Or a man in general. He continued to scan his surrounding for anything could use. Wracking his brain for anything else he could say to delay them. But much to his horror, there was nothing he could come up with.

Right as he was about to give up though, he spotted a baseball sized cylinder fly out of the alleyway directly behind the Villains. It flew over their heads, before bouncing of the pavement in front of them, clicking as it did.

“What the fuck is that-”

Dragon was cut off as the blinding light of the flashbang blinded all three of the thugs. Nezu had, of course, immediately recognized the object and had already closed his eyes. He felt himself drop to the ground as Chameleon lost their grip and managed to land on his feet.

Nezu then opened his eyes just in time to see a muscular man jump out of the dark alley and land a haymaker right in Komodo’s face. And then another, and another, until the lanky man lay bloody and unconscious on the pavement. As the other two Oni’s regained their vision, they turned to see the interloper and froze.

“Who the hell are you?!” Dragon shouted. “What did you do to Komodo?”

“I’m just a concerned citizen, doing my part to keep the streets safe.” The mysterious interloper said, cracking his iron-studded knuckles threateningly. He was dressed in a trench coat and jeans, with a black mask that covered his clearly scarred face.

‘His flashbang disabled both of that Villains Quirks momentarily, and he immediately took him down while everyone was distracted.’ Nezu noticed as he slowly retreated backwards. ‘Was that just dumb luck, or something more?’

“You prick, I’ll show you-” Chameleon, still transformed as Komodo, began to say. He stopped himself when his opponent held up another flashbang threateningly. The two Oni’s glanced at each other, and Chameleon switched their appearance to Dragon’s.

“You want to do this the old-fashioned way then? C’mon old-timer, let’s dance!” Dragon ran at his opponent, and their two fists met.

Neither budged from the force, but Dragon’s opponent quickly swerved to the side and delivered a punch to his gut. Nothing happened though, and Dragon let the man attempt a couple more attacks before scoffing.

“That won’t work you know. I can absorb any physical blow you throw at me.” Dragon explained with a cocky grin. “Not that it matters, since I could regenerate from any wound you gave me anyways.”

“Is that so?” The older man said unintimidated, jumping back as Chameleon barely grazed him with a fist. “You people are all the same, thinking a fancy power or two makes you immortal. Take it from me buddy, pride comes before the fall.”

“Oh? Speaking from experience here?” Dragon asked, looking over his opponent carefully. “Y’know, I just remembered we’re still in Naruhata. This place used to be crawling with famous Vigilantes like the Crawler, but his supposed Master always stood out more to me. Apparently, he was a no-nonsense brawler who could kick teeth in despite being Quirkless. The name Knuckleduster ring any bells?”

“Sounds familiar, but that was a long time ago.” The man grunted, letting a deep breath as he brought his fists up again. “Nowadays, I’m just an old man who can’t keep his nose out of others’ business.”

“Well then, I guess we’ll have to teach you the meaning of futility!” Dragon said as he ran at Knuckleduster, fist raised. But the Vigilante weaved out of the way, grabbing the outstretched arm and tossing the large man over his shoulder in a Judo throw.

“Don’t think I’m a one-trick pony due to my name! Just because your tougher, it doesn’t mean you’re stronger or smarter than me!” Knuckleduster said as he put the man in a hold. He then reached a hand into his trench coat and pulled out a giant blocky object, holding it in his fist like a set of brass Knuckles. “And immunity to physical attacks has a dozen workarounds!”

“What?” Dragon titled his head back just in time to see the object Knuckleduster was holding spark dangerously. “Nononono, wait-!!!”

His cries were cut off as the taser was shoved into his back, and he began to spasm at the electricity flowing into him. After a few moments Knuckleduster released the Taser Knuckle’s trigger, and Dragon flopped limply on the ground.

“Dragon!” Chameleon cried in concern.

‘He may give off the impression of an airheaded brawler, but he had the tools and plans to deal with an opponent immune to his fists. Though I shouldn’t be surprised, if my theory on Knuckleduster’s true identity is correct.’ Nezu thought to himself as he watched the fight silently. He kept inching back, trying not to draw attention to himself while the Villain was distracted. ‘Just a bit farther back and I should find it. Just keep them busy a bit longer, Knuckleduster.’

“Don’t worry, I lowered the max voltage a while ago. He’ll live… probably.” Knuckleduster said, clearly unconcerned by his opponents worry. He began to walk towards the final Oni, Taser Knuckle in one fist and a flashbang in the other. “So, what’ll it be? Do you want to be blinded and punched out, or get acquainted with over fifty thousand volts of electricity?”

“How about the third option? You probably didn’t notice, but I grazed you with my fist back there.” Chameleon said, and their form suddenly melded into that of Knuckleduster himself. “If you think you’re hot shit, then let’s see how you deal with fighting yourself!”

Chameleon took a single step forward with their right leg, only to crumple to the floor as it gave out under them.

“Gah! The fuck?” Chameleon tried to get to their feet, right leg clearly shaking under the weight. “What is wrong with you?! Your right leg is completely busted, you’re missing an eye, and there’s chronic pain everywhere. This entire damn body is breaking at the seams! How are you able to even stand?!”

“The only thing I can’t stand is you Villains causing trouble in my town!” Knuckleduster shouted, taking a step forward with his own right leg without even flinching. “I’ve always done the work that Heroes couldn’t. If you thought them being gone gave you free reign to start shit, then prepare for the consequences!”

“Eep!” Chameleon quickly changed into a thin, androgenous form, skipping away from Knuckleduster in a panic. But they quickly put on a brave face, smirking dangerously as they reached into a pouch on their waist, pulling out a small tuft of hair. “I didn’t want to have to use the Boss’s form, but this is an emergency. Prepare yourself, Heroes!”

Chameleon’s form shifted into that of a man with long white-haired, and with a lift of their hand the very air seemed to change. As they continued raising their arm up, the very clouds seemed to circle above ominously.

But right as they threw their arm down, a bang rang out, and they stumbled back in surprise.

“What?!” Chameleon stumbled back as they reverted back to their original form. They felt down to where they had been hit and held some sort of dart in their hand. Both them and Knuckleduster looked back to see Nezu holding a comically small and smoking gun.

“I must thank you for providing an ample distraction, Knuckleduster.” Nezu said, putting the gun to his side and walking forward. “Now then, I think it’s time you three surrendered and explained what your boss’s master plan was.”

Chameleon glanced nervously between the imposing figure of Knuckleduster and the somehow even more intimidating smile of Nezu. They seemed to decide on their next course of action quickly and blew out a whistle.

“Nomu! Get us out of here!” They shouted out.

A second later there was an inhuman screech, and one of the multi-Quirked creatures from before swept down from a nearby building. It had webbed wings like the one from the military blockade but was much larger in size. It quickly gathered the three Purple Oni’s in its arms as it dived into the street, before pulling up and beginning to fly away.

Nezu snapped out of his surprise and tried to shoot the flying monster with the Quirk-Erasing gun, but it clicked with each pull of the trigger, out of bullets. He watched as the Villains flew around the corner out of view. “… So, they’ve gotten away.”

“Don’t matter. Kid’s are safe.” Knuckleduster said, collapsing onto a nearby bench. He reached into his coat for a small bottle, popping it open and downing the few remaining painkillers inside. “Seriously… How does Naruhata always end up with freaks like those, even after nearly everyone’s disappeared?”

“I believe we both know how these Villains exist, Mr. Oguro.” Nezu replied, noting how the man didn’t seem surprised that he used his real name. “That said, you are right. The kids are safe, and that should be enough for now.”

Just then, an explosion rang out from behind the flaming tanker truck that had blocked their retreat. From behind the blaze a flash of light was seen, and Nezu remembered that his students had been radio silent for a while now.

“Can I leave you to watch the children, Mr. Ogoro? I believe my student needs me.” Nezu said, and the man gave a wave in acknowledgement as he began running on all fours down the sole alleyway out of their current location.

‘Reinforcements should be here soon. I can only hope Young Midoriya has learned enough from my lessons to hold out for a bit longer.’

“Detroit Smash!”

Nine let out a sigh as he summoned a couple layers of circular shields with Air Wall. As the energy around the Deku’s fist began to glow, he swung forward in a punch much stronger than usual.

But still not enough to break his barrier.

Nine released the air pressure gathered in the shields and watched the little Hero fly like a ragdoll down the street. He would have found the sight amusing, if it wasn’t the dozenth time he’d seen it tonight. The boy landed and rolled to his feat immediately upon landing and rushed forward to repeat the process again.

‘This has been utterly droll.’ Nine had decided as he mindlessly shot his Laser Bullets forward, not even bothering to aim as he knew his opponent would dodge easily. It had been fun at first to try and figure out his opponents numerous Quirks, but after some time it became clear he had little control over them.

First there was his strength augmentation, which he was only using a quarter of at most. It was obvious that the only reason he wasn’t using more was due to not being able to withstand the power.

Then there was his warning system that flashed in Nine’s eyes whenever he attempted an attack. Combined with his boosted body, he could dodge almost any attack Nines threw out.

After fighting some time, the third ability would form on his limbs, allowing for a momentary increase in strength. His opponent was quite clever at using these bursts to try and sneak past Nine’s guard, but each attempt had failed so far.

The smokescreen technique was utterly ineffective against Nine, as Scanning could easily bypass the potential hazard. The only reason the boy seemed to use it now was to annoy Nine.

He could tell there were more Quirks hiding in his body. But it was likely that he was unable to use them, judging by the lack of use despite the current stalemate. Though Nine had to be careful. He could see one Quirks color almost writhe within the boy’s body with each failed attack, as if waiting for a chance to escape.

‘Enough of this.’ Nine finally decided. He should stop playing with his food. It was only a matter of time before his opponent either awakened a new Quirk or went past his limits in a suicidal attack. Either of which would prove a headache to Nine.

He turned away from Deku, running toward the children within the still unmoving truck. He saw out of the corner of his eyes the way Deku panicked and jumped towards him with less focus than before. Instead of putting up an Air Wall immediately, he backstepped quickly in a feint so that his opponents attacked whiffed right where he had been standing. Nine then held a hand over his defenseless opponent.

“Game over.” A disc of wind immediately formed and released above Deku’s head, slamming him into the pavement. Just for good measure, he summoned a couple more blasts, until the Hero lay unmoving in the indented concrete. Nine picked the boy up by the helmet, pressing a button to reveal his face. Deku barely appeared conscious as he gripped his forehead in his hands, calling upon All for One.

“Now then, what’s yours is mine.” Nine said as he felt himself ‘grip’ Deku’s Quirk with his own. He tried to pull it into himself but found after a few moments that nothing was happening. “What?”

He forced as much strength as he could into All for One, but no matter how hard he pulled, something seemed to pull back. With Scanning, he could see the lights of Deku’s Quirk fight against his in a united front, fighting back against his assault with ease.

‘It’s not just a matter of insufficient space then? But the boy’s barely conscious! How is he fighting against my power so easily?’ Nine stared down at his opponent with frustration. As he did, he saw one of the lights reach into his own for a single moment. Before he could try and grab it, a voice echoed in his head.

“You aren’t worthy of this power. Begone.”

As soon as the voice cut off, so did All for One’s grip. Deku’s eyes focused as Nine’s hands literally flew from him with seemingly explosive force, immediately balling up a fist.

“Texas Smash!” Deku shouted as the very wind bent with his swing.

Nine could see through Scanning that this attack was far beyond the strength he had released before, but with both hands still recoiling from his failed use of All for One, he could only stare as the attack connected and he was sent flying across the street.

It was as if he had been struck by a whirlwind, and he landing roughly near the intersection next to the flaming tanker truck. He stared up in rage for the first time since he awoke. How dare some child overpower the legendary Quirk of All for One so effortlessly.

“You bastard…” Nine growled, feeling his breathing grow ragged as the wind began to shift. As he saw Deku standing yet again, he pulled further on the skies above. He could wipe him off the face of the earth in a single moment. It didn’t matter if Nine suffered the usual drawbacks of Weather Manipulation, not with the Quirk to heal himself just out of reach.

‘Wait, what is he doing?’ Nine saw the Hero saying something as he held a hand to the side of his helmet. Before he could stop him, Deku launched forward. He let out an Air Wall to defend himself, but Izuku instead began to circle around him as smoke flew from his body. ‘He knows I can still see him with Scanning. What is that boy planning?’

As Nine watched Deku circle him, the sound of an engine rippled through the fog. He quickly snapped around to where the U.A. Truck had last been, expecting to see them escaping, and sure enough the three children’s lights were moving away slowly. But despite that, the sound of the engine continued to grow louder, and he glanced around with Scanning wildly while trying to keep one eye on his opponent.

‘What is going on here?! I had assumed that the boy had been the one driving. Don’t tell me that there was a Quirkless driver! And is the truck leaving or approaching? I can’t see it though the smokescreen!’ Two actual lights began to peak through the fog, and Nine spun to face them, producing a multiple layered Air Wall moments before the armored truck bowled him over. As he pushed against the vehicle, he quickly realized what his opponents plan was. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see Deku had moved to attack exactly opposite of the truck.

‘He knew that both my offense and defense came from my hands and coordinated with an ally to lock up my use of them. Clever.’ Nine admitted, as he saw the attack fly towards his seemingly vulnerable back. But unfortunately, he was well aware of such weakness, and had planned accordingly. He would be sure to savor the look on the boy’s face the exact moment his warning sense kicked in. The way confidence shifted to horror.

“Wha-?!” Deku was immediately cut off as a giant snake-like appendage flew out of Nine’s back and grabbed him in its jaws. The blue serpent raised him up, before flying into the pavement and attempting to crush him.

“So, you’ve forced me to use another Quirk.” Nine said, staring as the serpent pushed Deku into the pavement mercilessly. With a release of Air Wall’s pressure, he finally sent the truck flying back and over, and it flipped onto its back with a clang. “I was planning to finish you another way, but this seems much more effective. Hydra is quite fun to control in its own right.”

“Grraah!” Deku cried out as Hydra’s head chomped down, crushing the boy even further. Nine stared at the boy for a few moments before calling the serpent to raise him off the pavement. “You certainly have a useful Quirk, and I want it. But for some reason you can resist All for One’s effect.”

“You can never have One for All!” Deku spat out, letting out another cry as Nine squeezed the Hydra’s jaw.

“I happen to know someone who’s very knowledgeable about Quirks. I’m sure they’ll be able to truly determine the validity of that statement.” Nine responded smugly. He pointed a finger at the boy’s legs that dangled beneath the Hydra’s jaw. “But I need you to stay out of trouble in the meantime.”

Multiple beams shot through Deku’s legs with Laser Bullets, and Nine tossed him roughly back onto the floor a moment later. Seeing that his opponent had been thoroughly defeated for the time being, he turned back to the children, ready to finally take that much needed Quirk for himself.

“C’mon! We need to get the hell out of here!” Kota ran down the street, Katsuma and Eri not far behind him. The moment that the Villain pulled out that weird snake Quirk out of his back, Kota knew they needed to run away.

He knew it was stupid to have relied on an idiotic Hero.

The three of them had barely made it a few feet before a purple beam shot past and turned a garbage can ahead of them into a ball of flames.

“Ah!” Kota tripped back at the force, and the others were knocked over as well. He looked over his shoulder to see the Villain approaching slowly, Deku laying on the ground far behind him. He gave them all a look with his glowing eyes, before turning to stare at Katsuma specifically.

“So, you’re the one with the Quirk I need.” The man said mysteriously. “You have some sort of Cellular Activation Quirk, yes? Hand it over already.”

‘This guy want’s Katsuma’s Quirk?’ Kota thought, seeing the other boy panic at being addressed directly by the Villain.

“W-What?” Katsuma looked up at the Villain with tears in his eyes. Kota could tell he was clearly afraid. Eri appeared to be frightened as well but was eerily quiet, as if too afraid to make a sound. The two of them were huddled together on the ground, watching as the Villain slowly approached.

‘If they are just after Katsuma, then I’m okay, right? I can leave and he won’t care at all. He wouldn’t want a weak Quirk like mine.’ Kota thought as he got to his feet. The Villain and Katsuma’s attention were focused on each other. If he ran right now, he would get to live. He didn’t have to get involved in this.

‘There’s no point getting in a stupid fight!’

He took a single step.

‘That Villain’s so much stronger, so it’d basically be suicide to even try!’

He took another one.

‘I’ve barely known Katsuma for a few days! I don’t even know this girl! Why would I ever stick my neck out for them?!’

He practically shouted the words in his own head, taking a final step… forward.

Before Kota could even realize it, he was standing between the other kids and the Villain. He had his arms outstretched, ready to use his own Quirk.

“Oh?” The Villain stared down at him with amusement. “You saw how this went for the boy before. Why would you even try?”

‘Why?!’ Kota screamed at himself, shaking in his boots. ‘He’s right! Why did I do this? Why would I risk my life for someone I don’t even know instead of running away?! Who would do something like this?!’

A hero would.

His parents did.

‘Oh… I think I get it now.’

He stared up at the Villain with a sudden burst of determination. “B-Because that’s what my parents would do! They’d stand up to a shitty Villain like you, no matter how tough you said you were!”

“Is that so?” The Villain quirked an eyebrow, before raising a hand. “Then they sounded like true fools.”

“No, they weren’t fools! They were Heroes!” Kota shouted, firing off his Water Gun Quirk as hard as he could.

The villain summoned a barrier from his hands, blocking the measly attack with ease. A moment later there was a burst of wind, and him and the rest of the kids were sent flying through the air.

“Kota!”

He heard Katsuma shout out in concern, and he saw his friend’s concerned face below him. He had seemingly taken the brunt of the attack and flew higher into the air than the other two. They might walk away with a couple bruises due to his actions, but Kota knew that he wouldn’t be so lucky.

‘Guess this was expected, huh?’ Kota thought as he began to fall back to the road face first. It sucked, but something told him he’d have felt even worse if he had simply ran. He closed his eyes right before he hit the ground, accepting the pain.

“Damn it!” Izuku cursed as he crawled after Nine, who was walking towards the children completely uncontested.

He tried to get on his feet, only to stumble back onto the ground after only a step. Pain coursed through his legs from the holes Nine had just put in them, but Izuku kept moving forward despite it. As he saw one of the boy’s move in front of the others, he began thinking at a mad pace.

‘What can I do? Smokescreen wouldn’t matter to him, Danger Sense is only a reactive ability, and I couldn’t charge Fa Jin even if I wanted too!’ He brought another hand forward to pull himself forward. ‘Could I use a 100% Smash? Try and blow him away? No. I wouldn’t be able to throw an attack with enough force on the ground, even if he didn’t block it. Think! Think damn it! What else can I do?’

As he pulled himself forward with his arm, his mind went back to what Nezu had told him before, and he thought of a solution.

‘The Fifth’s Blackwhip!’ Izuku lifted his hand forward, trying to picture the black tendrils he had seen in the images before. He felt something building up under his skin, but after a few futile pushes, his arm flopped limply to the floor.

“Shit!” He couldn’t help but curse out in frustration, staring at his fist. Why wasn’t it working? He could feel some sort of new power flowing throughout his body, making it clear that Blackwhip was ready to be awakened. But no matter how he pushed, nothing came out.

‘Is there some sort of activation requirement that I don’t know about? It’s clearly more complicated than the other Quirks I’ve used, but even then, why does it not activate at all?!’ He felt something flow through him with each wave of annoyance. He needed this Quirk to save someone, yet couldn’t use it. What was he missing?!

He heard Eri scream out, and he looked back up just in time to see Nine launch her and the two boys into the air with one of his Quirks. The moment he saw them go flying, he felt something in him snap, and a swarm of black exploded from him.

[Quirk #5 | Output: 10000 AP]

“YOU BASTARD!” Izuku felt himself scream in rage as a wave of black appendages flew across the street. How dare he hurt Eri! How dare he try and hurt these kids! That bastard would pay! He won’t hurt them ever again!

Three of the tendrils shot past Nine in a blur, catching the children mere moments before they hit the ground. As they were lifted back towards Izuku, Nine turned in confusion.

“What?!” Nine exclaimed, turning right as the dozens of tentacles produced from Izuku wrapped around him in a crushing grip. The Villains hands were pushed against his sides, and his back was completely covered as well. Izuku raised his other arm and a second wave of Blackwhip shot forward, encasing the Hydra head that tried to emerge to the ground. Nine looked over at him enraged. “This is-! Another Quirk, now?!”

“I won’t let you hurt anyone anymore!” Izuku growled out as the tendrils set the three children down behind him. They then joined the rest of them in keeping Nine still. He grunted in pain but didn’t drop Blackwhip for a single second, vaguely noticing a warning pop up in the corner of his vision.

[Warning! Current output is beyond projected limit! Please cease use of Quirk immediately!]

‘No! I can’t stop now! Not until everyone is safe!’ Izuku thought, feeling the strain in his arms. The right arm with the Full Gauntlet was less damaged, but he could already feel the muscles tear and bones fracturing in his left arm. But that didn’t matter! He could see Nine try and produce lasers and shields from his hands at his side to cut and blast away the swarm of black energy. But anytime he landed a hit another whip was produced from Izuku’s arm.

“Damn you! I’m so close to realizing my dream!” Nine cried out, struggling against the restraints. Izuku merely tightened the tendrils, and he let gasped breaths as the air was squeezed from his lungs. “You-! I’ll... Kill… You!”

Izuku ignored his ramblings, focusing on trying to wrestle enough control of Blackwhip to properly knock the Villain out of commission. All he could think about was crushing this bastard with his Quirk. Normally he would be worried about such violent thoughts, but it appeared that they were what was powering Blackwhip, so he’d just have to keep it coming for now.

‘Let’s see, what else gets me angry? Villains, hurting kids, bullying those weaker than you, random explosions… hmm, I think these all have a common link.’ Izuku noticed as he tried to keep his focus from faltering while his arms were being ripped apart by the violent force of his newly emerged Quirk.

“That’s… it! You die… Now!” Nine screamed out through the crushing force.

Danger Sense exploded in Izuku’s head, and he barely had time to knock the children away with Blackwhip before a bolt of lightning fell from the sky. Millions of Volts suddenly flowed through him, and the black energy dispersed in a flash of light.

“Ah… Uhhh…” Izuku could barely even speak as he lay limp on the pavement, twitching from the electricity that flowed through his body. He couldn’t even hear, as the lightning strike had produced an explosive sound greater than anything he’d heard even Bakugo’s Explosion produce.

But his eyes still worked, and he could see Nine standing free. The man looked worse for wear but was still standing and walking towards them, if unevenly.

‘Not yet!’ Izuku spasmed as he tried to move his hands forward. Luckily the overwhelming pain from the lightning had overwritten the pain in his arms from Blackwhip, and he flopped his right hand in front of him, Full Gauntlet still enveloping it, but heavily damaged. ‘I’ve still got a shot! I won’t stop yet!’

He brought his finger back, as if to flick the air. He called on 100% of One for All, and aimed square at Nine. As Nine noticed the attack and began to create an Air Wall, Izuku released one final attack.

“Delaware Smash!”

With a flick of his finger, a great blast of wind shot forward as the Full Gauntlet finally crumbled to pieces. Nine’s shield held for a moment, before breaking and Nine was sent flying himself. He landed roughly on the ground, unlike previous attacks, and took far longer to get back on his feet.

But get back on his feet Nine did. Izuku panicked for a moment as the Villain took a step forward, but it immediately turned to confusion when he leaned over and violently coughed up blood onto the road beneath him. As Nine fell to his knees due to his coughing fit, Izuku stared in bewilderment.

‘There’s no way I’ve done enough internal damage to cause that, even with Blackwhip. And that Delaware Smash broke through his defense like wet tissue paper, even in my weakened condition. What’s going on?’ Nine appeared to be struggling to even stand now, and his attempts to approach could be better equated to hobbling. Izuku noticed that Nine wasn’t looking at him anymore, but was staring at the boy behind him. ‘Is this why he needed that boy’s Quirk? Is it some form of healing?’

As Izuku’s hearing slowly returned to his ears he heard tires screech, and a couple police cars came wheeling around the corner. He let out a sigh of relief at the sight. ‘Reinforcements… finally!’ He turned back to Nine, who still had a look of insane determination despite the blood leaking from his mouth. It seemed that he was going to either get that Quirk he wanted or die trying.

It seemed that not everyone got that message however, as a great shadow passed overhead. A second later a flying version of one of those Frankenstein monsters appeared, grabbing Nine in its clutches and flew off with three others in its arms.

“No! I’m so close! Turn around! It’s right there!”

He could hear Nine’s deranged shouts as his pet monster dragged him off to safety, but Izuku filtered them out as he tried to look back to make sure Eri was okay.

“Izuku!”

Sure enough, he could see Eri running over to him, along with the two boys. Out of the corner of his eyes, he also saw Melissa climb out of the overturned truck. She appeared fine, with only a couple bruises from getting thrown around in her seat, and immediately ran over to him as well.

“Oh my god, Izuku! Are you okay?!” Melissa cried out, looking like she wanted to help him up but was too afraid of making his injuries worse.

“H-Hey Melissa.” Izuku tried to croak out, feeling his body struggle to breath correctly. “Sorry, but I totally broke your gauntlet, along with the rest of the Costume-”

“I’m not worried about that right now, you idiot!” Melissa cried, before letting out a sigh. “Please worry about yourself for once. You’re a lot harder to replace than some pieces of equipment.”

“S-Sorry… old habit.” Izuku said.

“Izuku, are you going to be okay?” Eri asked sadly as she stared down at his crumpled form.

“I’ll live.” Izuku said, hopefully telling the truth. “I just need some bed rest. Don’t worry.”

“I-I think I can help.” One of the boy’s said, stepping forward. “My Quirk won’t be able to fix everything, but it should help heal you.”

Eri turned to the boy desperately. “Please help my big brother, please!”

“Eri…” Izuku couldn’t help but smile despite the pain. That Eri thought of him so importantly made him happy. The boy did as Eri pleaded, and a green light began to sparkle from him to Izuku. As the light spread, he could feel parts of his body slowly begin to repair, confirming his suspicions. ‘No wonder Nine wanted this Quirk. It really can heal someone.’

Flashing red and white lights drew his attention, and everyone looked up to see an ambulance rush around the corner and park next to the police cars. The officers turned towards the sudden appearance with guns raised, but a woman’s voice rang out.

“Wait, don’t shoot! I’m a Nurse!” A woman’s voice shouted as two hands poked out the side window. The door opened and a lady that appeared in her early twenties wearing nurse’s scrubs emerged. “I’m from Jaku General Hospital! I had heard about U.A. needing help with the children and rushed over, but then I heard something about Villains?” She looked around confused, before crossing eyes with Izuku. “I know it was stupid to come but I was worried someone was hurt. Please, let me help!”

The officers looked between each other for a moment, before giving the Nurse the go-ahead. She quickly grabbed a stretcher from the back of the ambulance and wheeled it over to Izuku. As the officers helped her put him on it, she took his hand.

“Don’t worry, Hero sir.” She said with a kind smile as he pushed her into the Ambulance. “I won’t let you out of my sight for a second.”

“Thank god! you came just in time!” Melissa said as she and the kids followed them into the ambulance. “You’re a real lifesaver miss…?”

“Oh, sorry where are my manners! I’m a Nurse from Jaku General Hospital. My name is Kagome Mirai.” She said, introducing herself before bowing politely, hiding her smirk. “I greatly look forward to returning to U.A. with the rest of you.”

Next Chapter: Hearth and Home

Chapter Text

There was darkness all around him.

Held in his hand was a light of hope.

It was a torch that had been passed along to worthy Heroes.

This was the ninth time.

It should have been no different than the others.

Until It appeared.

He feared It was his brother, at first.

But the voice that echoed around him lacked his familiar mocking tone.

Instead, It was cold and artificial.

The First ran, trying to reach the Ninth before It could notice him.

A face slowly formed in the void, the black bleeding into red.

It looked down at him with a look he recognized from his brother.

Curiosity.

[So, this is the anomaly that was detected.]

[Why is it that the energy readings are dropping in strength?]

He clutched the light protectively to his chest as the red slowly invaded his space.

[This power is the first to pass the required threshold.]

[But the level of independent sentience displayed was not projected for some time.]

He turned and ran towards the distant form of the Ninth in the darkness.

[Subjugation of detected pseudo-personality has been initiated.]

[Such anomalies cannot be allowed to interfere at this stage.]

The red breach began to glow a dangerous color as it flew towards him in various shapes.

A tendril wrapped around his leg, and a searing hot pain shot up it.

[Resistance is futile.]

Izuku woke up suddenly, pushing himself off the floor and onto his feet.

‘W-What the hell was that?!’ Izuku thought in a panic. He tried to make sense of what he had seen as he caught his breath. ‘And why was I lying on the ground? The last thing I remember was getting put in that ambulance. Where am… I?’

Looking around at his surroundings, he saw that he was in a crumbling room. The walls were broken, revealing nothingness beyond them. Around the room were eight chairs haphazardly arranged in a semi-circle around him. All of them were empty though, except for one.

“Hey there, you troublemaker.” A bald man decked out in a Hero Costume said with a wave. Izuku recognized him from the images in Nezu’s presentation. “Back from our little flashback?”

“Fiff-?!”  Izuku tried to speak out, only to realize his mouth was still muffled by the black smoke. It was less than before though, as he could now make sounds. ‘Maybe if I try using a bit of One for All-’

“Woah there, don’t get too ahead of yourself!” The man said, quickly interrupting his attempt to call on his Quirk. “In case you forgot, you did a real number on your body with that last fight. How about you take it easy and let me do the talking for now, okay?”

Izuku nodded in agreement, and the man got up from his chair and walked over to him. “Alright, now for introductions. I’m the fifth holder of One for All, Daigoro Banjo. My Quirk was Blackwhip, and speaking of…”

Izuku leaned back as the man got right in his face.

“What the hell did you think you were doing using my Quirk like that! You’re lucky you didn’t end up injuring those kids with how out of control you let Blackwhip get!” Banjo shouted out, pointing a finger right in Izuku’s face. “Blackwhip is powered by emotions. Anger may make it stronger, but you also risk losing control of it. Get it together next time, or it might really rip your arms off, got it?”

“Yeh!” Izuku mumbled out through the black smoke, and Banjo thankfully backed off, returning to his seat.

“Cool.” Banjo nodded, before gesturing to their surroundings. “I’m sure you’re wondering where we are. This is your Quirk! At least, it’s the part that us old holders hang out in. Sorry for the empty house currently, everyone else is still rushing to put things in place after the sudden move.”

‘Sudden move… Does it have anything to do with that figure from before? What was that?’ Izuku thought.

“I can tell you’re wondering about that jerk you just saw, but forget about that for now.” Banjo said, and Izuku looked up in confusion. “Yeah, you’ll get to dealing with that thing eventually, but you have bigger problems currently after you.”

‘Nine.’  Izuku figured.

“Yeah, that Quirk stealing bastard from before.” Banjo said, figuring Izuku was thinking of the Villain. “I was surprised that superpower kleptomaniac let someone else have his Quirk at first, but when he tried to take One for All it made much more sense. That Quirk of his was weak as hell!”

‘Huh?’ Izuku wasn’t sure how his Quirk could be considered weak. It seemed he could give and take Quirks just fine, but was there some other factor he missed?

“I suppose you wouldn’t have been able to tell, with how little control you have over One for All currently, but us Vestiges were able to fight off Nine’s attempt to steal us easily. All for One himself has tried to steal this Quirk before, from both me and my own successor, and it was a hell of a harder fight.” Banjo explained. “Not to mention it just felt, how should I put it, small? Like I doubt he would have been able to take the entirety of this Quirk even if we let him.”

‘There’s a limit to the number of Quirks he can hold? That actually makes a lot of sense.’ Izuku realized, thinking back to his fight with Nine. ‘He seemingly had some way to acquire Quirks before finding the children, but he barely used five throughout the entire fight.’

“Don’t let yourself go easy on him though because of it. He still had ridiculous strength. And without any of the Heroes around, you’ll have a tough time beating him on your own.” Banjo said, giving him a glare. “Especially if you keep damaging yourself like that.”

“Eh…” Izuku felt himself wither under the scrutiny. But the man was right. He had injured himself probably just as much as Nine had in the last fight. It might have been the only way to protect the kids, but he couldn’t help but feel like he could have done something better.

The darkness outside the room slowly began to seep in, and Banjo let out an annoyed huff.

“Looks like we’re out of time. Stay out of trouble for a bit, got it? You need to take things slower for a bit.” Banjo said, waving as the darkness approached. “Especially now that you don’t have that gadget your girlfriend made!”

“Wha-?!”

Before Izuku could protest, the darkness washed over him, and he felt his actual body begin to awake.

“She’s not my… Ow!” Izuku flopped back onto the bed he had shot from a moment ago. It seemed he was back in the real world now, if the pain coming from his body was any indication. He looked down at his arms, and saw the right wrapped in bandages and the left in a cast. He noticed that his legs were also wrapped in bandages, likely from the Laser Bullets that Nine had put through them. He titled his head groggily. “Huh… I thought this would hurt way more.”

“You can thank the boy for that.”

“Hmm?” Izuku lazily glanced around what he now recognized as U.A.’s infirmary to find the unfamiliar voice, and saw a muscular man sitting there, staring back at with amusement. He was wearing rather casual clothes and had an amused grin on his face, which had multiple scars on it. His left eyelid was covered by an eyepatch, and he gripped a cane in his right hand. “Are you a doctor?”

“Ha!” The man barked in laughter. “Hell no, kid! The name’s Iwao Oguro, and Nezu’s hired me on as part of the ‘temporary staff’ to help keep you in line here at U.A.” 

“Is that so?” Izuku said with a raised eyebrow. He could tell there was something unusual about this man, but he could barely think straight currently, and decided to leave it for now. There was a small snoring sound, and Izuku looked down to see the boy that had healed him from before resting his head against the bed. “Why…?”

“Why is he here?” Mr. Oguro finished for him. He nodded, and the mans smile softened slightly. “His name is Katsuma Shimano. His Quirk lets him to activate the cells in someone’s body and speeds up the recovery process by a ton. It only improves natural healing though and takes a ton out of the boy, so you’ll have to wait for him to recharge before the rest of the injuries can heal.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to push the kid. I’m just glad everyone’s okay.” Izuku said with a smile. “Speaking of, where is everyone? And how long have I been out?”

“You’ve been out… about twelve hours. Which reminds me, we should probably get you some food. I’m usually pretty famished after a good ass-kicking.” Mr. Oguro said, producing another raised eyebrow from Izuku. “Nezu is busy trying to organize the kids while preparing for another round with those Villains. Your girlfriend was fretting over your bedside, but eventually went to the workshop to fix your gear. I think that white haired child went with her.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Izuku whined from his bed. Why did everyone he’d talked to lately keep saying that. ‘It’s not like I’d be against it, but there’s no way someone like her would be interested in a wimp like me. She can actually help people without causing trouble for herself, unlike me. But she is pretty, and smart, and likes Heroes just like me, and-’

“Damn, you really do have it bad.”

“Guh…” How much of that had he just said out loud? The medicine they gave him must have really thrown him for a loop. He let out a sigh as he leaned back in the bed.

“I’ll go get some food and let everyone know you’re up.” Mr. Oguro said, getting up and walking towards the door with his cane. He turned his head right before closing the door behind him. “We can focus on training your Quirk more after you’ve recovered.”

Izuku froze as the man disappeared behind the door. Quirk training? Was that why Nezu had hired him? He had figured the man was military or police judging by his build, but if he was going to help with Quirk training, did that mean he was a Hero?

No, that would be impossible. He would have had a Quirk if he was a Hero, and that would mean he wouldn’t be here due to the Rapture, right? Izuku stared up at the ceiling as all the questions he had from now and his dreams earlier mixed in his head. After a while he came to a single conclusion.

‘I’m really damn thirsty right now.’

Glancing around the room, he saw a couple energy drinks on a table near the door. Some were empty, but there was one untouched. Katsuma must have been using them to regain stamina for his Quirk. He tried to get up and grab one, but found his body was in no condition to move.

‘Well so much for that idea. Guess I’ll have to wait for Mr. Oguro to return.’ Izuku thought, until he got a sly grin. ‘Or I could try something new…’

He raised his (relatively) less injured right arm up and focused on the feeling of wanting to grab the bottle. It took a couple moments of feeling the energy within him, but eventually he felt something almost slither within his arm, and a small black tendril wormed out of his palm.

‘It really worked!’ Izuku thought in excitement as the single strand wiggled through the air towards the energy drink. He noted that it was a lot smaller and slower than the wave of darkness that had emerged before. ‘I guess the feeling of being slightly thirsty doesn’t constitute as great emotional fuel.’

With some effort, he manipulated Blackwhip over to his objective and began to slowly wrap it around the bottle.

“Alright. Now, just gotta get it back.” Izuku let out a breath as he slowly lifted the drink up and retracted the tentacle of dark energy so that it began to return to him. He felt his arm begin to tingle, but he didn’t want to stop now. It would only be a bit longer! “Slowly… slowly…”

His prize was hanging directly over his bed, just barely out of reach, when the door clicked and swung open loudly. Izuku’s focus snapped at the sudden sound, and he clenched his fist on instinct. Unfortunately, the tendril wrapped around the bottle mimicked the hand it originated from, and energy drink suddenly splashed all over the sheets.

“Ah!” Katsuma awoke with a start as he got splashed from the side of the bed. Izuku quickly released Blackwhip, and the crushed plastic fell onto the ruined sheets. Looking to see the source of the disturbance, he saw the smiling face of Nezu staring up at him.

“Young Midoriya! It’s good to see that you’re up and feeling ready to begin Quirk Training already. I always do love a student with zealous motivation to improve.”

After Nezu called the nurse who had saved him before to help clean up the mess Izuku had made, Katsuma used his Quirk again. By the time the boy was finished, Izuku felt almost as good as new. Well, besides his left arm still being in a cast.

“Most of your wounds appear to have healed completely.” Kagome said as she unwrapped the bandages on his right arm and legs. “You’ll need to wait a bit longer for the left arm, however. It seems even a miracle Quirk like the boy’s can only do so much for a broken bone. It’s better than when we X-rayed it last night though.”

“You can say that again.” Izuku agreed, glancing at the X-ray photos of his body that were put up on the wall. The difference between the one from last night and just now were like night and day. He didn’t need to be a doctor to know that this level of healing was nearly impossible. He turned to the boy responsible for it with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Katsuma. You’re a real lifesaver.”

“N-No way! You’re the Hero here, Mr. Deku! You saved me and my friend from that crazy Villain!” Katsuma insisted, before looking away ashamed. “He was after my Quirk, so it’s my fault you got hurt in the first place. It’s only right that I do everything to help you…”

“Young Shimano, you can’t possibly blame yourself for that.” Nezu insisted.

“But, my Quirk-”

“But nothing.” Nezu cut the boy off. “It’s not your fault that you were born with such a talent, or that someone unfavorable is targeting you for it. The only one at wrong is that Villain for trying to steal what isn’t rightfully his.”

Izuku couldn’t help but nod in agreement. It wasn’t Eri’s fault that a monster like Overhaul experimented on her due to her Quirk. They both had amazing powers, and they shouldn’t have to curse that fact. Unfortunately, there would always be people after more power, and Quirks were the most useful power there was these days.

He supposed he should know now. He was currently on Nine’s wishlist for most wanted Quirks, after all.

“I’m still not sure why he was so insistent on getting Katsuma’s Quirk though.” Izuku said aloud, putting his good hand to his chin. “Sure, it’s incredibly useful, but Nine looked like he was willing to risk everything to get it near the end. He probably has limited space, so having a healing Quirk is nice, but enough to almost kill yourself getting it? And if he was so insistent on getting Katsuma’s Quirk, why did he not use that ability to control lightning until the end of the fight? Was he gauging One for All’s power before he realized he couldn’t steal it? I feel like I’m missing something here, but what?”

“Excuse me.” Kagome interrupted, standing awkwardly in the corner putting away some medical equipment. “Are you saying this guy could steal Quirks? Is that even possible?”

“Oh! Umm…” Izuku suddenly realized he’d gotten used to not having to worry about keeping any secrets about One for All and anything related to it. He shot a worried glance to Nezu, who seemed to shrug.

“The news about it would get out eventually, I fear.” Nezu said, turning to the nurse. “Yes, it appears that the Villain we fought yesterday could indeed give and take Quirks at will and used those powers to arm three other criminals that referred to themselves as the Purple Oni’s.”

“Those guys?!” Izuku was surprised to hear that name again. “They did look familiar from what I saw of them, but for real? What are the chances that the three thugs I’d ran into a week ago would end up working for a Supervillain?”

“Ms. Shield said a similar thing, I assure you.” Nezu said. “They all appeared to wield abilities that could be interpreted as multiple Quirks. Same with those freakish ‘Nomu’, as one of the Oni had called them. But I am quite curious about another thing you just said, Midoriya. Something about the Villain’s space being limited?”

“Oh right, that! I…” Izuku stopped himself, realizing that explaining how he knew that would involve One for All.

“Hmm.” Nezu quickly caught on and turned back to Kagome. “Nurse? Could you please take young Shimano down to the cafeteria. I’m sure he needs more energy after all the work he’s done this morning.”

“Aw… But I wanted to hang out with Deku more.” The boy whined.

“I’m sure we’ll both see much more of him soon. But the patient needs some space for now, okay?” Kagome said, taking the boys hand and leading him out of the room. At the same time the two left, Mr. Oguro entered with a plate of food, setting it down next to Midoriya and getting comfortable.

“Oh, Mr. Oguro! Thanks for the food, but me and Nezu were about to talk about something important so…” Izuku trailed off, hoping that the man understood what he was requesting, but he just laughed back.

“Don’t worry kid, Nezu already told me everything about your Quirk.”

“H-He did?” Izuku turned to Nezu in confusion. “Why?”

“Apologies for revealing information without consulting you beforehand, young Midoriya, but with all the children here now it would be hard for me to devote so much of my time to training your ever-emerging abilities.” Nezu began to explain. “Fortunately, I happened to run into someone during yesterday’s battle with the perfect experience to assist with your Quirk training!”

“That makes sense, I guess. I don’t want to take you away from your duties as Principal. And if you think he’s trustworthy then I don’t mind him knowing.” Izuku eventually decided, turning to Mr. Oguro. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of experience do you have, sir? You seem like a Hero, but that couldn’t be possible due to the Rapture, right?”

“It could be if you lost your Quirk before then.” Mr. Oguro said with a sigh.

“Lost it? But even if an injury prevented you from using your Quirk, you would still technically have it. The only way I can think of that might completely remove someone’s Quirk would be another Quirk like… All for One.” Izuku suddenly looked up at the man with sudden understanding.

“That is correct, young Midoriya.” Nezu exclaimed. “May I introduce Iwao Oguro, currently the Naruhata Vigilante known as Knuckleduster, and formerly the High-Speed Hero: O’Clock!”

Izuku continued to stare at the rough-looking man before him with wide eyes.

Mr. Oguro was Knuckleduster?!

Mr. Oguro was O’Clock?!

“I… That’s, umm…” Izuku tried to gather his thoughts. He was geeking out over two separate people while also trying to connect the dots between them.

O’Clock was a famous Hero whose Quirk allowed them to move at superspeed (though he had his own theories on its functions) and was famous for taking down many underground criminal organizations with the police. He mysterious retired after receiving an injury against a villain whose identity was never revealed to the public.

Knuckleduster, on the other hand, was a Vigilante famous from the Naruhata Ward. He was usually recognized as the founder of the group known as the Naruhata Vigilantes, a team of Vigilantes that toured the Ward a few years ago during an increase in organized crime within the area. He was the only member still active in the area though after the rest seemingly retired and the Crawler moved to America to go Pro as Captain Celebrity’s sidekick.

Finally focusing on Mr. Oguro, Izuku said the first thing that came to mind.

“C-Could you sign my cast?”

“Huh?” Mr. Oguro blinked with befuddlement.

“Sorry! I mean-!” Izuku put his hands in his face, feeling it heat up in embarrassment. “I’m just a really big fan of yours.”

“Nezu told me you were a bit of a Hero nerd, so I shouldn’t be too surprised. Though I can’t remember the last time I signed anything as O’Clock.” Mr. Oguro said nostalgically, grabbing a pen from a nearby desk.

“I, uh, wasn’t referring to O’Clock…” Izuku admitted.

“You’re a fan of Knuckleduster?” Mr. Oguro asked, confusion evident on his face. “What’s a goody two-shoes like you doing being a fan of him?”

“Well, Nezu told you about me, right? About how I didn’t have a Quirk before receiving One for All?” Mr. Oguro nodded, and Izuku continued. “Well, I still wanted to become a Hero anyways. I studied a bunch of Heroes and Villains in order to get better, but… none of them were Quirkless. I was great at analyzing others to find their strengths and weaknesses, but not one Hero or Villain was like me. But then I heard about this Vigilante that fought without any Quirk and used a bunch of gadgets and his own smarts to win fights. It showed me that you can still save people without a Quirk and inspired me to continue striving to be a Hero.”

“You used me as an inspiration for being a Hero?” Mr. Oguro said with a laugh. “No offense, but if you became a Hero like me, you’d lose your license within a week of getting it!”

“I mean, I would have probably been a bit less… excessive.” Izuku admitted.

Knuckleduster was known for going all out when it came to putting down a villain. When you didn’t have any powers of your own, you tended to have to use a lot of punching to keep someone from getting back up. For a Hero, you probably would get written up eventually. But as a Vigilante, you were already skirting the law, so he seemed not to care about his image.

“Well, whatever,” Mr. Oguro eventually said with a shrug. “If you really looked up to me that much, then there wouldn’t be any problem signing it.”

One signature later, Nezu turned to Izuku. “Now Midoriya, I believe you were about to explain some more about this Villain you fought. Nine, you said his name was?”

“Yeah. I had another chat with one of the Vestiges, the Fifth this time.” Izuku began to explain what he had been told in his dreams. He skipped over the initial dream he had for now, focusing specifically on what he had learned about Nine. Nezu and Mr. Oguro both contemplated the information he had given them.

“So, it’s a weakened version. That’s some relief, I suppose.” Mr. Oguro said. “And knowing how egotistical this guy seems to be, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of Quirks he can have is literally nine.”

“While we have no way to confirm it, I also would be willing to greatly suspect as much.” Nezu nodded in agreement. “The name turns up no known hits in the any database, and he doesn’t to appear to be a known Villain. The main question is which Quirks he currently has. Midoriya?”

“Sure, could you possibly hand me something to write on?”

Mr. Oguro handed Izuku a nearby empty notebook, and he began to think back to his fight with Nine. He immediately began to go through the list of Quirks used against him, writing them all down in excessive detail.

1. Laser Bullets: Energy-based bullets that shoot out of the users fingers like lasers. Can be shot in straight lines or curve towards a target. Strength of blasts appears variable, as well as whether the projectile explodes or pierces. Possible weakness includes overheating fingers with overuse obstructing aiming by targeting hands/fingers.

2. Air Wall: Create barriers of solidified air wherever the user points their hands. The barriers can include various shapes but seems to default to a circular shield. Can be stacked on top of each other for increased defense and have the solidified air ‘released’ to produce concussive blasts of air. Weaknesses include having to direct the barriers with the users’ hands, and possibly disrupting the air to prevent solidification.

3. Quirk Vision: Grants an alternative method of sight that allows the user to ‘see’ Quirks. This alternate vision allows the user to know at least the general abilities of a Quirk in view, as well as changes in power when said Quirk is in use. Quirkless people appear to be invisible to this vision. Requires line of sight in order to be used, but has abilities to see through certain obstructions such as smoke and dust.

4. Hydra: Blue snake-like creatures that are summoned out of the user. Only one snakehead was used, but the name used suggests that multiple could be created, possibly when destroyed, in reference to the mythical monster. Exact strength unknown currently.

5. Lightning(?): Summons a bolt of lightning. Only used once, further details unknown.

Once he was done, Izuku handed the notes back to Mr. Oguro. Nezu hopped up on the man’s shoulders, and the two quickly began to read through the Quirks listed.

“Damn, you got all of this from a single fight? That’s impressive, kid.” Mr. Oguro said.

“Not really. I wasn’t able to get much information on the last couple Quirks he used.” Izuku replied sadly.

“I am quite curious about the last Quirk listed here. The one he used to summon the lightning. Such a powerful ability would have likely been enough to defeat you easily, yet he only used it once. Why?” Nezu asked.

“I don’t know honestly.” Izuku admitted. “It was only once I had nearly beaten him with Blackwhip that he decided to use it. Even after he realized he couldn’t steal my Quirk he hesitated to use it to finish me off.”

“Hmm.” Nezu thought for a moment. “One of the Purple Oni we fought had a shapeshifter Quirk. They used Nine’s form as a last resort. While I was able to use a Quirk-Erasing bullet before they attacked, it seemed as if the clouds and wind were bending to their command.”

“Then it might not be just lightning, but some sort of Weather Manipulation Quirk?” Izuku guessed.

“But if they had an ability like that in the back pocket, why bother with all the tricks. Just call down the power of god with a swipe of your hand and you have everything you need.” Mr. Oguro said. “There was to be some reason they were hesitant to use it. A drawback maybe?”

Izuku thought back to immediately after Nine’s use of the Quirk. He had immediately used a 100% Delaware Smash and had broken through Nine’s defenses easily. Not only that, but immediately afterward he had begun to throw up blood. That was also about the time he got obsessive about retrieving Katsuma’s Quirk. The same Quirk he had been after from the start.

“The Quirk damages him.” Izuku said, as the others turned to him. “He was weakened greatly after using the ability and was practically crawling on the ground to get Katsuma’s Quirk. He had been trying to retrieve it the entire fight. Weather Manipulation must come with a severe drawback, one that can only be negated with a unique Quirk like Cellular Activation.”

A Quirk that could control the very weather would make its user a god among men. But if the user was falling apart after barely using it, then the only way to circumvent it was with another Quirks’ ability. Such Quirks would be rare though, and finding and cooperating with their user would be likely nearly impossible. With All for One though, Nine could simply take the power for himself. If he had both Weather Manipulation and Cellular Activation…

Well, it wouldn’t have mattered how many other Quirks Nine had. You can’t improve perfection, after all.

“This is a far more delicate matter than I had initially believed.” Nezu admitted, coming to the same conclusion. “I figured that there was no way this Villain could measure up to the dreaded power of All for One. But if your theory about his Quirk is true, then we may need to take more drastic actions.”

“What should we do?” Izuku asked.

“Right now, you need to heal up. Get some food in you and relax.” Nezu explained. “Leave this to me for now. As principal of U.A., it is my duty to ensure no harm comes to its students. Just focus on recovering, so you can begin training your new Quirks with Mr. Oguro.”

“Alright.” Izuku agreed, slightly disappointed. He couldn’t help but feel like he was not contributing enough, but Nezu was right. There was a whole school to take care of, and that was his specialty.

He’ll just have to focus on training as soon as possible, to be ready for the next time him and Nine meet. Something told him it was inevitable, despite Nezu’s insistence to the contrary.

Kagome kept an eye out for others as she made her way down to the parking garage. After having dropped of the boy that Nine was after at the cafeteria, she had made her way to the Ambulance she had arrived in.

“The Quirk damages him. Weather Manipulation must come with a severe drawback, one that can only be negated with a Quirk like Cellular Activation.”

‘That was certainly quick. They weren’t kidding when they said the little Hero was clever.’ Kagome thought as she listened to the conversation back in the infirmary through the bug she’d planted.

These people were so trusting. Though she supposed they couldn’t be picky during the current crisis. Just one flash of her Nurse’s ID, and she had been allowed to follow everyone through the gates of U.A. High.

The bug was also easy to plant. The Doctor had made a career of abusing his position, and that included plenty of bugged hospital equipment to steal information from patients. It had been simple borrowing one from his supplies and planting it into the infirmary.

Through it, she had already confirmed that Izuku Midoriya was indeed the current user of One for All, that they knew what Nine was after, and what the danger of his goals being accomplished entailed.

‘Saves me the trouble of having to hint at it somehow without blowing my cover.’ She thought about what they had discussed in greater detail though. It seemed one of her plans had hit a slight snag. ‘So, Nine was unable to steal One for All. Not only that, but the Quirk itself has a will that would negate unwilling transfer. But the true All for One might have the power to take it…’

So, in the end, her plan remained the same. Get to I-Island, find the technology to improve Quirk transfer, and receive All for One.

Hopefully without being killed or exposed by Nine.

Looking back, reviving the mysterious man found sleeping in her boss’s basement may not have been the greatest idea. She had done it on a whim of apathetic boredom, but now was constantly fighting to keep on his good side while trying to get a power that he would kill her for.

Then again, she likely wouldn’t be able to initiate the next phase of her plan without him.

She spied a quick glance around the parking garage before hopping into the back of her Ambulance, checking that everything was still in place. Once ensuring that the container with All for One was secure, she moved over to the radio, dialing a private and encrypted channel.

Honestly, she would need to buy Doctor Ujiko a drink if he ever returned from the Rapture. It was only due to his hard work that she was able to get this far. He had been around so long that he had backdoors into every emergency line in the country, which she had used to monitor the convoy without disturbance and could now use to talk to her ‘allies’ from within even U.A.’s walls without fear.

The radio crackled for a few moments, before a voice dripping with annoyance seeped through.

“This wasn’t part of the plan, Kagome.”

Typical Nine. He was probably still pissy that he was beaten by a teenager.

“I told you that infiltrating them was a potential scenario. You had all escaped successfully, and knowing how much you wanted that Quirk, I decided to enter as an innocent Nurse.” Kagome said cheerfully. “I’m already a trusted member of the staff. That little Hero and the Principal have no clue about my- our plans.”

There was a growl on the other side of the radio, and Kagome began to sweat. She knew he wouldn’t be happy about it, but it was truly a good plan. Had she underestimated Nine’s tolerance for on-the-fly planning?

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” Nine said through a hoarse voice, still clearly recovering from his injuries. “I’m referring to the Nomu.”

“The Nomu?” Kagome stared at the radio in her hand. The military had killed all of them, but that had been expected. The half dozen or so monstrosities had been nothing more than a distraction for their forces as they took the kids. “Are you really that upset none of them returned? I thought them getting blown to hell was the plan. Besides we have dozens more back in the lair, what’s the big issue?”

“Are you fucking with me right now?”

“Am I-? No, I’m not.” Kagome asked, growing confused by Nine’s line of questions. “Seriously, what’s going on over there. Did something happen to the Nomu in stasis?”

“You really didn’t…? But then who?” Nine’s voice questioned to himself.

‘Okay, fuck subtlety, there’s clearly something weird going on, and we’re not getting anywhere.’ Kagome decided, gripping the radio in her hand tightly. “Nine, I’ll ask again. What. Happened. To. The. Nomu.”

“I don’t know!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean they’re all missing! It’s like every single one decided to just break out of their tube and wander off! There’s no sign of them anywhere!” Nine nearly shouted through the speaker.

‘Oh.’

‘Oh, this could be a problem.’

“That’s… not something they should be able to do.” Kagome said, thinking about what she had gathered from her research of the Doctors work. They were effectively braindead in those tubes without commands. “They had to be given some sort of order. Check the program for that on the Doctor’s computer.”

“… How do you do that?”

After a very lengthy explanation (she specialized in biology not technology, damn it!), she managed to get Nine to open the Nomu control program, and find the last order sent. But she wasn’t prepared for what she heard.

“[Capture the current holder of One for All. Begin searching at U.A. High School.]”

The voice was clearly artificial. But it somehow knew about One for All. It knew the most likely place its holder would be was U.A. High. And when Kagome asked, Nine said the time the command went through was moments after they had left for their mission. On top of that, the voice order had been uploaded from an outside source to the terminal before it had been issued.

“So, you’re saying someone cracked the Doctors top of the line security, stole the Nomu, and is using them to go after something that the number of people who know of could be counted on one hand.” Nine asked unamused.

“Well, at least you know none of us did it.” Kagome added, producing a sigh on the other end.

“I’d have preferred if one of you had betrayed me. At least I’d know who to kill.”

‘Cheerful.’ Kagome rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, this can be used in our favor. I think I have a plan.”

“Oh, do tell?”

“Even if the Nomu aren’t under our control, they can still provide the perfect distraction.” Kagome suggested. “The threat of them approaching U.A. will likely be enough to move the children again. While the move itself might be harder to interrupt due to our previous actions, all we need to do is ensure that they end up being moved to a location that is more easily infiltrated than U.A. for our plan to work.”

“And that place would be?”

“I-Island!” Kagome revealed.

“Ah, yes. The mobile island with security second only to Tartarus. I’m sure that would be much easier to get into than a high school.” Nine said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh, ye of little faith.” Kagome tutted. “As a matter of fact, I have someone who would be more than willing to help us onto the island, and even give us the keys to the city. Well, after a little persuasion, at least. I’ll leave that part to you, just go to the emails on the Doctors terminal and look up a man named Samuel Abraham.”

“… Even if you can get us to I-Island, how can you ensure they will actually go there?” Nine finally asked.

“Like I said, I have a plan.” Kagome said confidently. “You focus on securing your party tickets there, and I’ll get mine. I haven’t led you wrong so far, right?”

There was silence on the other end of the radio for a minute, before Nine finally replied back.

“Fine, we’ll try it your way. Check in tomorrow and be sure to bring results. Nine out.”

The radio static cut out, and after a moment, Kagome put the device away.

‘Well… that worked out better than I had expected.’ Kagome admitted. The breach of security and release of the Nomu by a third party was beyond worrying, but she didn’t have time to focus on that, especially when it could be used to get what she wanted.

Hopping out of the Ambulance, she immediately made her way back into U.A. and towards the Support Lab. Nine way have doubts about how the Heroes would be persuaded to go to I-Island, but Kagome had been paying attention to the people surrounding the user of One for All, and one in particular was guaranteed to be her ticket there.

She opened the door to the lab, and saw the blond hair of Melissa Shield leaning over one of the desks, tinkering away at the damaged suit of the young Hero. Eri was sitting nearby and noticed her enter, immediately running over to her.

“Miss Kagome! Is Izuku up yet?” The little girl asked hopefully, drawing the attention of Melissa.

"He sure is! I was just coming to get you.” Kagome said. Melissa immediately turned from her work.

“Oh, thank goodness. Come on Eri, lets go!” Melissa said, and Kagome immediately led the two of them back towards the infirmary. As Eri ran ahead, Melissa turned to her. “I can’t thank you enough for saving Izuku. It really means a lot to me that you risked your life to come out there.”

“Please, Ms. Shield, I was just doing my job.” Kagome said with faux embarrassment, before replying. “And don’t sell yourself short. His injuries weren’t life-threatening only thanks to your hard work. You learned from your father on I-Island, right?”

“I did, yeah. It’s good to know that my Costume was so effective.” Melissa said with a sigh of relief.

“I must say though, that Villain was really scary.” Kagome lowered her voice, turning to Melissa while glancing around like she was paranoid. “I accidentally overheard them talking while I was looking after that boy, but apparently, he had the ability to steal Quirks. Not only that, but he’s also apparently obsessed with getting the Quirk of Izuku and that younger boy with the healing ability.”

“That’s not good at all.” Melissa agreed, biting on her lip.

“With that man’s power, not to mention those scary monsters, it seems like there’s nowhere in Japan that would be safe from them.” Kagome sighed, glancing at Melissa with a jealous look. “I doubt that anything like this could have happened back on I-Island, huh?”

Melissa froze mid-step. Kagome turned back to look at her, and couldn’t help but grin as she saw the gears turn in the girls head. A moment later she shot back to life rushing ahead of her.

“You’re right, Kagome.” Melissa said in a hurry. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go on ahead. I need to talk to Izuku and Nezu privately for a moment.”

“There’s no worry at all,” Kagome said as the American ran off, and Eri chased after her. “Take all the time you need.”

And now with the seeds she had planted, both sides would hopefully converge at I-Island. And when they inevitably clashed again, she’d have the perfect opportunity to take what she needed to receive All for One. She could only hope that the boy puts up a better fight against Nine the second time, or she wouldn’t have a very long diversion.

‘Well, the sooner he’s healed, the sooner he’ll get stronger.’ Kagome decided with a shrug. ‘Guess that means I’ll actually need to do my real job for a while longer.’

Next Chapter: Seeking Sanctuary

Chapter Text

In retrospect, Izuku was starting to miss Nezu's training methods.

Sure, playing a game of tag while being swarmed by deadly robots may have seemed terrifying at the time, but he sure learned a lot in the end. Nezu also usually had some goal behind each lesson that he was sure to reinforce throughout it.

This was in comparison to All Might, who didn't really teach much beyond how to exercise and diet for muscle growth. To be fair to his mentor, him and most of the world vanished around the time he should have taught him how to use his Quirk and act as a Hero.

In short, each Hero had their own way of training. And Izuku was pretty sure he had figured out what kind Mr. Oguro preferred.

"Fly!"

"Ah!" Izuku flinched as a fist came flying towards him, and he used Danger Sense to barely avoid the attack, jumping back. Mr. Oguro thrust his cane forward in a stab, and he weaved out of the way of the blow, moving away from the man again.

"I told you to fly!" Mr. Oguro shouted.

"And I told you that I don't know how!" Izuku shouted back, letting out a sigh of frustration.

It was only the evening after he had woken up, but with one final healing session with Katsuma, he had been cleared to practice with his Quirk. His left arm was removed from its cast, and as long as they didn't go all out, they were free to test out One for All. That led to Mr. Oguro dragging him off right after dinner to one of the training grounds nearby.

The retired Hero was insistent on teaching him how to use the Nana's Quirk, Float, as his constant shouts had surmised. But over the past hour the two had done nothing but jump around in a game of cat and mouse. They split off for a moment, both taking a breather.

"It doesn't seem like this method is working." Mr. Oguro said with a grunt, resting on his cane. If his old injuries were tiring him, he didn't let it show. "I figured some good old pressure would get you floating around in no time. Maybe if we get you falling from a great height? Hey boy, how good are you at landing techniques?"

"Not very." Izuku replied, staring at Mr. Oguro with concern. He couldn't help but feel concerned at the direction their training was going. "Are you sure you should be teaching me like this?"

"Give me a break! I'm more used to the 'learn by doing' field of practice. I'll figure something out eventually." Mr. Oguro said, brushing off his worry.

"You trained the Crawler, right? Can't he fly?" Izuku asked, thinking of what he'd seen of the Sidekick in action through American news. While the specifics of the Crawler's (or Skycrawler as he was now known in America) Quirk appeared to be a form of repulsion and attraction, it also somehow allowed for flight. "What did you teach for him to learn to do that?"

"He learned how to do a lot of stuff himself. I'd gone off to clean up my own messes before then." Mr. Oguro simply shrugged, before appearing deep in thought. "But I think I know what's causing me so much trouble with teaching you. The two of you are completely different when it comes to your talents."

"How do you mean?" Izuku asked.

"Koichi always wanted to be a hero, but instead of all that analyzing and planning, he just did stuff. When in a fight, his actions were almost entirely subconscious. Whenever pushed to his limits, he'd start using new techniques without even realizing it. It usually took a while for him to catch up with his own instincts." Mr. Oguro explained. "You on the other hand, can't help but think through every single detail. It's not bad to figure out how bad the Villain's Quirk is while it's flying at you, but it is a problem to be so busy muttering about it to bother dodging in time. I swear if you didn't have a Quirk like Danger Sense reminding you of incoming attacks you would have been dead a dozen times over yesterday!"

"You're… not entirely wrong." Izuku sighed. "But there was so much to keep track of during the fight! It was hard enough for me trying to juggle using four different Quirks at once, but then I had to manage an opponent that kept pulling out multiple Quirks of their own. How am I supposed to keep track of everything all at once?"

"You're not supposed to, kid!" Mr. Oguro replied quickly.

"Huh?"

"You think All Might is busy thinking about how much strength he has to hold back when punching a villain to not turn them to paste? Or that Endeavor is always fretting about what temperature is flames need to be in order not harm civilians he's saving?" Mr. Oguro asked. "Of course not! They don't have to worry about their own abilities because they have used them so much that they know them by heart. When a Pro jumps onto the scene, the only thing they should be using their brain power for is how to stop the Villain."

"So basically, I need to be able to use my Quirk on instinct?" Izuku put together.

"Pretty much. Of course, you don't have it easy with all your extra abilities. That's why you need to unlock all of them as soon as possible, so you can start working them into your instincts." Mr. Oguro explained.

"I don't know. I feel like it would be better for me to work on mastering the Quirks I already have access to." Izuku said, going through the previous Holders Quirks in his head.

First there was the generic Power Stockpiling that had once been the sole ability of One for All. While it was incredibly versatile in its use, the amount of the stored power he could currently use was also incredibly limited. With Melissa's Full Gauntlet in his possession, he was originally able to call upon 25% across his entire body. But after it was shattered in his fight with Nine, Izuku could barely reach 5% before feeling the strain now.

Then there was Fa Jin. While losing Full Gauntlet didn't technically weaken the Quirk, its accessibility had been severely hampered by the Support Item's loss as well. It built up kinetic energy that could be used for a burst of speed and power. But it built up that energy through motion though, and since he was slower than before, Fa Jin took longer to build up.

Danger Sense was also added to the list of Quirks weakened by his lower power output. It still warned him of danger perfectly fine, but the timing for avoiding attacks was much shorter now with his slower reaction time. There was also unfortunately no change to the splitting pain in his head whenever it activated.

Fortunately, Smokescreen hadn't been affected at all like the rest of his Quirks. Though that was almost entirely due to it only allowing Izuku to turn into a living fog machine. While normally it would be a useful Quirk for distraction and disengagement, Nine had made it apparent that it wouldn't be useful in every fight.

And that just left him with one final Quirk available to him currently…

Izuku summoned forth Blackwhip, swinging a tendril towards the nearby bench and wrapping around the bottle of water on top of it. He managed to wrangle the projected limb back to him, taking the water bottle in his hand and drinking from it.

"You're getting better with those freaky tentacles of yours at least!" Mr. Oguro said with a laugh.

"Please don't say it like that." Izuku said with an exasperated look towards his new teacher. He swung his water bottle back towards the bench with Blackwhip, but ended up using too much force, and the bottle flew over and hit the wall behind the bench. "Dang, thought I had it figured out now."

He had quickly begun to realize that his most recent Quirk was likely going to be the hardest to get a handle on. The Quirk itself was amazing. The strength and versatility available to him was incredible, especially after he figured out that the whips can emerge from anywhere on his body. But that exactly was the problem.

Smokescreen was an incredibly basic ability that didn't require much thought in its use, and Fa Jin and Danger Sense added perfectly with the natural strength enhancement of One for All. He had gotten the hang of using them all in tandem throughout his previous training and fight with Nine. But Blackwhip was something entirely different. While the previous Holder's Quirks could be seen as useful additions that he could call upon when needed, Blackwhip was almost too useful.

"I assume you've got something going on in that head of yours?" Mr. Oguro asked, and Izuku realized he had been muttering to himself for a few minutes.

"I think I get what you mean now. I thought I understood how to use the other Quirks in tandem with One for All, but now that I've got Blackwhip I feel like I have no idea where to start training again." Izuku explained as he summoned some smaller tendrils from his fingers, playing around with them experimentally.

"That's why I want you to unlock Float as soon as possible. So that you don't get paralysis by unlocking some new ability in the middle of combat." Mr. Oguro said, striking a fighting position and lunging forward. "Now come on! Let's see if you'll learn to fly if I start tossing you over my shoulder high enough!"

Izuku immediately began to retreat from his opponent again with a panicked yelp, before letting out a sigh.

'I miss training with Nezu…'

Nezu let out a sigh as he sipped from his tea, staring out the window of his office wistfully.

'I miss training with Midoriya already.' the principal finally admitted. The last week had practically been a vacation him. No worrying about student applications or budgeting concerns. Just him training two of the most talented teenagers he could have gotten his hands on, with no one in sight to reel him in.

Unfortunately, the realities of life had eventually returned, and he once again had a school of children to manage. Children much younger than he was used to handling. Even with the few help that was brought over, Nezu could see the trouble they would cause.

Not to mention that he would have to defend them from Villains.

If he still had his staff of Pro Heroes with him, it wouldn't be much of a concern. But now all he had were a couple dozen JSDF members acting as security. And while they had spirit, that wouldn't do much against a man who can control the very weather itself.

The defense system may be effective still, but it was only meant to be a stopgap until the Heroes or other authorities arrived. It couldn't hold out against a continuous assault from an army of superpowered monsters. Not that it mattered, since there is a good chance their shapeshifter could just walk in with the right disguise.

High Spec's quickly helped him run through potential scenarios he could follow to deal with the Villains, but none of his current options were pretty. Which is why he was making this very important call. He turned back to his screen as he heard the sound of it finally going through.

'I'll have to thank Melissa for this suggestion later.' he thought as he put on a smile for the two older figures on the other end of the line. "Thank you so much for answering my call, Mrs. Pleione, Mr. Ogata."

"Anything for a friend, Nezu." Pleione replied.

"Hmph. I had believed this call was about the incident last night. Why is the acting director of I-Island here as well?" Mr. Ogata questioned impatiently.

Nezu silently sighed. Before the Rapture, Mr. Ogata had been the Minister of the Infrastructure within the Japanese government. But after the Rapture, he was the highest-ranking member of the government who had not vanished, making him the acting Prime Minister. The portly man looked like he had aged a decade in the past week, and Nezu couldn't blame him.

"Do not worry sir. I invited her here in order to discuss how to best deal with these new Villains." Nezu said. "The one who can control the weather, along with his gang of superpowered thugs and monsters."

"How does that man even exist though?" Mr. Ogata asked frantically. "And why does he have that Quirk of all things? It's not really him, is it?!"

"We are still looking into it. But we can confirm he is not the man who you are so worried of." Nezu assured the man. All for One the Quirk was terrifying enough. The idea of the man himself still existing was enough to send even the government into a panicked frenzy. "Did any of the troops that were sent out find where those Villains came from?"

"No, they did not. But they did find plenty more of those terrifying multi-Quirked monsters wandering the streets. They seemed to be all heading in one direction though, U.A. High." Mr. Ogata said. He sent a file showing the reports of the few military personnel that were able to respond to his emergency summons. The locations of the Nomu seemed to be close together, and they were all moving as a group towards his school. "We don't have the manpower to deal with a threat like this currently. Especially if we require heavy artillery to counter them like a couple from last night. How do you expect to fight something like this, Nezu?"

A good question. As the man had said, there was no way they'd be able to mobilize a force large enough to wipe out this approaching army of Nomu. Outside assistance was impossible, as they would be dealing with their own problems. Not to mention this force didn't factor in the Purple Oni's or Nine himself. As much as Nezu hated it, there was only one plan that Nezu could think of that would ensure the children's safety.

"Quite simply, Mr. Ogata, I don't plan to fight!" Nezu declared.

"W-What?!" The man seemed baffled by his decision. "Do you mean to leave U.A. then? Where else would be safer though? The only better defended spot in Japan is Tartarus, but that requires a practical army of specialists to manage. An army we don't have. Where else in the country would be safe?"

"I believe, Mr. Ogata, that he doesn't plan to move them to somewhere inside the country." Pleione guessed, giving Nezu a knowing look.

Mr. Ogata looked baffled at the insinuation. "You mean to take all the children to I-Island?!"

"You can't deny it is one of the safest places on earth." Nezu said.

"But can you even move them there safely?" Mr. Ogata continued to question.

"The leader of the Villains known as Nine is after the Quirk of one of the children in particular. He wouldn't risk having him be killed by attacking us while in the air, which will be our fastest method of transport." Nezu explained. "And even if he follows us all the way to I-Island somehow, he wouldn't be able to get past the security. Weather Manipulation may be an incredible power, but I-Island is built to withstand tsunami level waves and tropical storms. He would likely incapacitate himself long before doing any lasting damage to the place."

"Hmm… When you put it like that, it does sound like a good plan for keeping the children safe. But it doesn't do anything about the army of monsters and possible Supervillain wandering around Japan. How do you plan to deal with that?" Mr. Ogata asked pointedly.

Nezu closed his eyes in thought. That was the real question, wasn't it? How could their country deal with such a dangerous threat without the power of other Quirked people? While enough firepower could likely deal with this threat, Japan wasn't exactly in a position to start lobbing missiles on their own territory, even if they had the men with the expertise to do so. Everything was scattered enough that the risk of hurting stray bystanders was enormous. What they needed were people specialized in fighting others with Quirks.

What they needed were Heroes.

"As much as it pains me, the only people who could fight a threat like this are Heroes." Nezu said. "I believe I'm on the cusp of a breakthrough with the Rapture, and if I can guarantee the safety of those I've been entrusted with, then my work will be much faster."

It was becoming clear that the Vestiges in One for All had come in contact with something, and believed whatever it is was responsible for the Rapture. If he could train Midoriya enough that he could freely talk to them, they could get a wealth of information, including how to possibly bring back everyone. He just needed to keep the boy safe until then.

"I-Island has also been making progress into identifying the cause of the Rapture." Pleione added quickly. "If Nezu were able to meet with my team, I think it would speed up uncovering the truth of this cataclysmic event."

Nezu could see Mr. Ogata exhale deeply, furrowing his brow in deep thought. While he and Mrs. Pleione had brought up excellent points on why they should move the children, they were also telling him that the best plan of action was to essentially leave Japan defenseless until they miraculously found a solution to humanities greatest crisis.

Eventually, the man steeled himself. "I'd like to saw there's some other way, but there really isn't, is there?"

"None that don't involve keeping the children in the line of fire, sir." Nezu admitted.

"Then we'll do it! As long as I-Island is fine with that, I mean?" Mr. Ogata said, glancing over at the islands current head.

"It's fine, Mr. Ogata." Pleione confirmed with a smile.

"Perfect. I'll begin discussions on procuring a plane and pilots for the transfer. It should hopefully only take a day to prepare, so be ready Nezu." Mr. Ogata said.

"Understood. I'll be waiting for the good news." Nezu said as the man hung up, leaving just him and Pleione alone. "Well, that was certainly a productive meeting."

The old woman let out a sigh as she stared at him curiously. "On the cusp of a breakthrough, Nezu? It's only been a couple days since our last meeting. How could you have possibly discovered anything of value in your position? Have you been holding out on me?"

"Sounds like you've been doing the same, Mrs. Pleione." Nezu shot back playfully. "How about this? Once I arrive at I-Island, I'll tell you my secret source if you tell me yours."

"I might just take you up on that offer." The scientist admitted, surprising Nezu. "With the threat of All for One still around, even if weakened, we don't have the time to take things slowly and secretly anymore. We don't have time for distractions against the coming threat."

"Does that mean…?" Nezu questioned.

"Yes." Mrs. Pleione nodded. "Once you arrive in I-Island, I'll fill you in on the secret I've kept from you. The very secret that resulted in I-Island's foundation in the first place."

In a lone laboratory within I-Island, a single man toiled away at the work in front of him. He had lost track of the time, not that it truly mattered in this place. The megastructure floated along the pacific currents through time zones so frequently that the Island itself kept to its own clock. Besides, most scientists here only slept when they could no longer function without it.

Samuel Abraham was one such man. He was the assistant to David Shield, as much as he hated that title. He was an expert when it came to Quirk functionality, co-creator of one of the most powerful inventions of this century! Yet all anyone remembered of him here was being the helping hand of the man who used to work with All Might.

Not that he hated David mind you. The man and his daughter were like family to him. But David still let their greatest work be buried by the Board. It was supposed to be their Magnum Opus! But the Board had taken one look at it and considered the thing a 'safety concern'. Their names could be famous across the world, but David refused to fight to get their work back. It took months of arguing to even agree to his plan to steal the Quirk Amplification Device.

And now it all meant nothing.

Stealing back the device now would be impossible. Without any Villains to work as distractions, he would never get the chance to retrieve the device. Not that it matters, since the only people who could use Quirks now were a bunch of children. How were they supposed to properly compensate him for his creation?

So now he was stuck working with the work Mrs. Pleione had sent him. It was data about different Q-Field readings that she wanted him to sort, but it was impossible to read. He had requested more information about the source of the data to assist with his work, but was simply told it's classified.

He let out a sigh as he took a step back from his work. He glanced out the window and let out another one when all he saw was empty streets and unlit building lights outside his lab. It was hard to keep the motivation going with how empty the world outside was.

There was a ping on his private computer, and he glanced down at the notification in surprise.

'An email? Who the hell would be messaging me?' he thought as he navigated to the email. 'Oh! Maybe it's Melissa? Mrs. Pleione had told me she was at U.A. High now, wasn't she?'

He excitedly clicked on the new email but froze when he saw the sender.

'What?! But… that name! Those are the Villains I had contacted to help retrieve the device!'

That was impossible, wasn't it? They all had Quirks, didn't they, or else they wouldn't be Villains. There's no reason he should be receiving a message from them. He quickly began to read the letter sent to him and found his confusion only growing.

~ Hello, Samuel Abraham.

I am sure you are wondering who we are. As you can probably guess, we are not the Villains you originally contacted. However, we are still Villains all the same.

It doesn't matter who exactly we are, or how exactly we found out about your little plan. What does matter, however, is that we want to plan a little trip to I-Island. And we figured since you extended the offer to one group, you would be fine if ours took you up on the offer instead.

You will be letting us onto I-Island, secretly, within the next couple days. You will do so not just because we hold your career and life as a free man in our hands, but also the life of someone precious to you as well.

Did you know that Melissa Shield is at U.A. right now? We do. And we can go visit her whenever we want. If you are unable to provide us with what we want, we may be forced to take more overt methods of entry. I'm sure threatening the daughter of one of the Island's top scientists would be more than enough to get an entry pass.

We hope to here from you soon about our future work opportunity.

From 9 ~

Samuel scanned his eyes over the message again and again, hoping to find some sort of clue that it was all a joke, but there weren't any. He did, however, find a few images attached to the message, all of Melissa within U.A. High. At a cafeteria, in a lab, even in a dorm room sleeping peacefully.

This was real. He was being blackmailed by real Villains!

What did they even want? Did they want the device? They had to be, right?

He was starting to realize that maybe going behind David's back to contact real Villains had not been a very good idea. Now Melissa had ended up threatened by his own mistake.

It was a terrible idea to follow the order of these scoundrels, but he had no choice. Even if he came clean, it was apparent that U.A. was compromised. Messaging them about the threat would only increase Melissa's risk. He had no other choices available to him.

Wiping the sweat that had begun to gather on his forehead, he shakily moved the mouse over to the reply button.

Next Chapter: Overseas Overture

Chapter Text

Izuku found himself slowly becoming aware of the darkness surrounding him. His vision suddenly came to, but for some reason he could tell this wasn’t his eyes he was looking through, that he was experiencing someone else’s memories.

There was nothing but darkness surrounding him, but when the eyes turned around, a face of red could be seen bleeding a blank void. It had reached out and grabbed his leg with a tendril of crimson, causing pain to shoot up the body he was viewing through.

‘This is the dream from last night!’ Izuku suddenly realized. ‘I’m experiencing the First’s memories! Or at least the memories of his Vestige?’

[Resistance is futile.]

The face in the void spoke out without moving its lips, yet the sound echoed out all around him. The cold, emotionless voice clashed with the pain that shot up the First’s body as its feeler spread more and more. Yet he continued clutching the bright white orb in his hands no matter what.

“Don’t stop now, Yoichi!” a voice suddenly shouted out. Izuku’s view followed the voice, and the figure of the Third suddenly jumped in. Fa Jin was charged in his leg, and he blew away the constraints holding the First down in an explosive kick. “Remember your purpose! You need to pass it on!”

[Another pseudo-personality?]

[Unexpected, but still pointless.]

The red continued to bleed into the void, beginning to spread across the Third now. He turned back and shouted. “Keep going!”

And so, the First turned and ran into the seemingly endless void, the mysterious beings reach not far behind him. As the swarm of deadly energy approached however, a cloud of smoke covered him, and a helping hand pushed him in the right direction.

“You’ve got this!” the Sixth proclaimed before running out ahead of him and distracting the being. He was quickly captured as well, and the void began to bleed again.

[How many have gathered inside this power?]

[It matters not, there is nowhere for you to run here.]

A tendril of red whipped out towards the First at incredible speed but was deflected by a separate tendril of black energy. “You’re going to have to try something better than that to stop us!” The Fifth shouted, deflecting a dozen different attacks as the First ran past him.

[Useless.]

The Fifth was soon ensnared, and a blood red bullet shot out towards the back of the First’s head. It would have connected, had a hand not pushed him down at the last moment. “Pay attention. This foe isn’t like your brother. He doesn’t want you in one piece.” The Fourth said.

“Right.” The First agreed sadly as the two ran away, letting the larger man guide him through the danger. Eventually he was shoved out of the way by the Fourth, and he fell to the ground in pain. But the First kept running.

[What are you expecting to happen?]

[Give up, this place is one without end.]

But then a light shown on the horizon. A faded star flickering in the distance. The First began to sprint towards the shining beacon with all his remaining strength.

[Is that… a hole?]

[Is that where the power is escaping through?]

There was a surge of power from the being behind him, and the space under the First’s feet seemed to collapse into a pit of red spikes. As he fell though, a hand grabbed his free one, and his fall ceased.

“You’re almost there! Just a bit longer!” The Seventh, Nana, proclaimed as she flew him over the deadly trap. As they approached the light however, a mas of red formed above them. It came flying down towards them in a massive pillar.

[This power cannot be allowed to escape!]

[Begone already!]

A figure of flaming gold shot through the darkness, slamming into the pillar of red with incredible force. The Seventh looked up and smiled nostalgically at the sight. “You always had to be the flashiest one around. Isn’t that right, Toshi?”

‘Is that All Might?!’ Izuku couldn’t help but wonder from his view through the First’s eyes.

As All Might’s figure held back the greater attack, smaller ones began to fly out. One finally caught Nana, and the two tumbled to the ground (or whatever counted as floor in this void). The First rolled with the fall and kept running.

He was almost there. The light was right in front of him. It was… being swallowed by that thing.

The red had begun to converge around the light, swirling around it like a whirlpool. In a few more moments, his goal would be locked away forever.

[You will not be able to reach this exit in time.]

[Once completely contained, there will be plenty of time to analyze these anomalies.]

It was obvious that thing was convinced it had won. And normally it would be right to do so. The distance between the First and his goal was too far to be crossed before being consumed by its power.

But the First knew better than to give up. Especially when he still had one more ally to rely on.

As he ran forward, the all-consuming red not far behind, the familiar figure of the Second stood in front of him. The man simply raised a hand up, and the First placed the orb he was holding into it. The Second then turned towards the light and disappeared in a blur.

[What is this power?!]

[Stop!]

The red around the light shot out like spikes, and a moment later the Second flew into them, having crossed the distance in a flash. His advance was halted mere inches from the light, the orb he had held close right in front of the light.

It seemed that he had failed, but the orb in the Second’s hand shone with an incredible brightness, and the light seemed to open up and form a gate to elsewhere. Through it, a young figure could be seen, obscured in shadow.

[Who is that?]

[Are they connecting with someone from outside?!]

The figure reached a hand through the hole in the light, grabbing the shining orb in the Second’s hand. A second later the orb began to transition to an emerald green, and the shadows obscuring the figure disappeared, revealing-

‘Me?!’ Izuku saw himself through the First’s eyes for a moment, before the orb fully shone green, and he found himself looking through this ‘other’ him now. He could see the First grinning happily at him.

“This is your power now.” The First said, as his body seemed to glow a bright white. “Remember, we will be with you, so stand tall.” He then disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind a ball of white energy that flew into the emerald orb in his hand.

[No!]

[That power is not yours!]

Izuku could see through the hole that the other Holders of One for All within that being’s hold had begun to glow as well. Each one flashed into a ball of light, flying free and into the orb in Izuku’s hand. The gateway of light then began to shrink as he brought the glowing orb through to ‘his’ side. The red tried to cross over but was blocked by some invisible barrier.

[So, this power can transfer between individuals.]

[That explains why it exceeded predicted energy readings.]

He could see an emotionless face form in front of the ever-shrinking hole, staring directly at him. As the gate formed a pinpoint of light, a voice echoed around him.

[You will be an invaluable point of data, once returned to me.]

And then, there was nothing but darkness.

“Ahh!” Izuku shot up in a start, but his eyes set upon the empty void and crumbling walls of within One for All, and he let out a sigh of relief. He let his back fall backwards towards the ground as he shut his eyes again, feeling his fear from before bleed away. “Just back here again…”

He felt his back lie against the ground, but his head seemed to land on something a bit softer, supporting it off the floor gently. He didn’t remember any pillows during his last visit, but the Fifth did say they were in the middle of putting the place together.

Maybe his Quirk would eventually come with his own luxurious mind palace? That would be neat.

“Feeling comfortable?”

“Yeah…” He responded with another content sigh. He suddenly froze a second later, brain catching up to his mouth.

‘Wait.’

Izuku cracked an eye open to see Nana Shimura looking down at him from his position on her lap. He quickly felt his face redden but was too surprised stiff to jump away. Nana just chuckled at him, using a hand to wipe his curls aside gently.

“I’m glad we’ve finally got a chance to meet, Midoriya Izuku.” She said with a smile.

“M-Me too!” Izuku stuttered out, not wanting to move as Nana continued to brush with his hair. With each sweep of her hands, his body slowly relaxed, loosening into her lap again. He quickly realized that he didn’t seem to be having any difficulty speaking, and lifted his head up slightly to see that his body was almost entirely absent of the shadows that had obscured it before.

“You’ve made a lot of progress with One for All. Between that and our work speeding things up, you’ll have all our Quirks in no time!” Nana said with obvious praise, patting a hand over his heart.

Izuku felt his face to continue to flush at being like a child by the woman. “But I still haven’t unlocked Float yet.”

“You’re almost there. Don’t get discouraged.” She said insistently. “Float works best when you use it with your heart instead of your head. Just stop thinking and feel, and you’ll be zipping around before you know it.”

Izuku stared up at Nana, smiling gently down at him, and couldn’t help but see another person there. He felt a tear form, and he quickly wiped it away.

“Is something wrong, Izuku?” Nana asked.

“It’s nothing, you just remind me of my mom.” Izuku said with embarrassment. He felt Nana jump slightly, and he continued speaking. “Sorry, it’s just been a while and… I miss her. I’ve been trying to get a hold of this Quirk so I can save her as soon as possible. But now there’s some Villain after me, and it just feels so hard, y’know?”

Nana eventually began to pet his hair again, letting out a sigh of her own. “I know that the burden of One for All feels like a lot sometimes. But you need to not take the responsibility of everything onto yourself. Even with One for All, you’re still just a kid.”

“Would that be why you’re treating me like one right now?” Izuku said, partly-joking.

“Well, I guess it’s because you remind me of my son.” Nana said.

“Son?” he looked at her surprised.

“Yeah. His name is Kotaro. He’d be an adult by now though, not that I know what he’s up to…”

“Did you, umm, die when he was young?” Izuku tried to ask, hoping he wasn’t too insensitive.

“Yeah, I did. But there was another reason I don’t know anything.” Nana’s eyes darkened as she appeared to lose herself in memories. “His father was killed by All for One. He was targeted because the Villain discovered I was the current holder of One for All. I feared he would do the same to our boy, so I… let him go. He was sent into the foster system under a false name so that he couldn’t be discovered.”

‘All for One went after Heroes families? Even the worst Villains weren’t suicidal enough to try something like that. Though when you’re probably the strongest person in Japan, such fears are probably unwarranted.’ Izuku was really glad that All Might had killed All for One before he received his Quirk. He didn’t know if he could deal with the worry of a Supervillain going after his mom like they did with Nana. “I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

“Thank you Izuku. But enough about the past. You need to think about the future.” Nana said, becoming more serious finally. “You saw our memories of when we tried to pass on One for All, yes?”

“Yeah. But I still have no idea what exactly happened.” Izuku admitted.

“Something was invading our Quirk.” Nana explained. “A similar thing happens when All for One attempts to steal us away from a host. But this was different. I think that thing was trying to keep us contained inside Toshi. It seemed to be able to tell that the Quirk was being transferred, and somehow entered it to stop us.”

“And when it failed, it swore to get One for All back.” Izuku finished, thinking of the blood red face that had stared at him through the light. “That’s why you’re trying to push me to get stronger as fast as possible.”

“Yes. Each of us Vestiges have our theories about what this villain is, but what we all can agree on is that they’re incredibly old and dangerous. The ones who were in its grip longer say they saw flashes of memory from it, but it was just bits and pieces. It somehow took every person with a Quirk on the planet and is keeping them contained who knows where. We have no idea how they’re going to try to get you, so you have to be prepared.”

“Is that really all you can give me? There’s got to be something more you can show me! Some hint about where everyone is!” Izuku insisted. He needed to find a way to save everyone. He was convinced there was a lead here. There had to be more!

“I’m sorry Izuku. All you can do for now is get stronger and hope that you can beat this Villain once they find you.” Nana said sadly, and the realm of One for All began to darken.

Izuku closed his eyes in frustration, trying to let Nana’s hand in his hair ease his worry as the darkness overcame him and he slowly awoke.

“Hey, Izuku! Wake up!”

Melissa’s voice came from beside him, and Izuku rubbed his eyes open. He looked to his right and found himself sitting next to Melissa. A glance to his left revealed a window showing nothing but clouds.

‘Oh right. We were on our way to I-Island when I fell asleep.’ He let put a yawn as he turned back to Melissa, who was looking at him expectantly. He could see Mr. Oguro and Nezu also staring from the seats across the aisle, while Eri was sleeping in her seat along with Katsuma and the rest of the kids in the aisles ahead of him. Ms. Kagome and the other help from U.A. were sleeping nearby too, likely tired from getting all the children finally comfortable.

There was silence for a while, until he finally spoke up. “Is there a reason you all are staring at me?”

“We weren’t sure if you were okay.” Melissa answered, putting a hand on his arm. “You were muttering a bunch in your sleep. You looked like you were in pain. But then you started floating in your seat, and you even started crying for a bit!”

“I was floating?” He quickly asked.

“Of course that’s the first thing you point out.” Melissa sighed in exasperation.

“Sorry!” He apologized. “I was meeting with Nana inside One for All. It must have activated her Quirk subconsciously while we talked.”

He’d have to test more once they got to I-Island and see if he’d gained any more control of it while awake.

“Something tells me a lot more happened while you were asleep. Care filling the rest of us in?” Mr. Oguro asked.

“Alright, but it’s a bit crazy…”

He filled them in on what he had seen in his dream. Of the flashback of One for All being transferred, and then of his discussion with Nana. It honestly seemed insane when he explained it all at once. He was fortunate the three were so willing to believe him, because he honestly might not have himself.

“So, you saw the perpetrator of the Rapture?” Nezu questioned.

“I think? Honestly, I don’t even know what they are. They had no features and spoke in an almost artificial voice. It could have been some Quirk effect, or maybe even a Vestige from an even stronger Quirk.” Izuku theorized.

“That’s great and all, but does any of it actually help us solve the Rapture?” Mr. Oguro asked.

“Maybe not directly, but we have gotten a step closer.” Nezu assured. “With Izuku able to now freely converse with the Vestiges in his sleep, he might be able to quiz some of the more knowledgeable ones. Nana said that some of them saw glimpses of its memories, yes?”

“That’s right.” Izuku confirmed.

“Then we will have to rely on that for now. I’m sure once we put together our work with the I-Island team, the pieces of the puzzle will begin to fit together.” Nezu explained. “In other news, I believe you finally caught a glimpse of the Second’s Quirk in action. While it being in a dream may muddy perfect analysis, we can likely trust it is functionally similar, considering the other Vestiges used identical powers to those that Izuku can now wield.”

“Seems logical. So, what exactly could he do, kid?” Mr. Oguro asked, as all three looked back to him again.

“I think he was like you, Mr. Oguro. Or at least, like you used to be.” Izuku began to explain. He reran the memory of the Second in action. “He just suddenly disappeared, and then reappeared somewhere else. It appeared to be some sort of speed Quirk, judging by the fact that he ran into the spikes. But I don’t see why it could potentially kill me if I used it. Maybe he was worried I’d activate it at the wrong time and fly into a wall or something?”

“Maybe. But speed Quirks can be complicated. I doubt it’s something as simple as just ‘go fast’ though. Even a Quirk like Overclock had hard limits that could be detrimental to your health if used improperly.” Mr. Oguro explained.

“Really?” He turned to Mr. Oguro, beginning an excited ramble. “I always figured there was some hard limit to your Quirk, but since most of your Hero work wasn’t out in the open there wasn’t too much footage for me to analyze. But with a name like Overclock, I assume it worked by running your body faster than it could usually function at. By that logic, you probably had to stop using it frequently in order to recover. That explains why you’re often seen pausing in your attacks in the few videos I’ve seen, instead of just blitzing all nearby enemies.”

Mr. Oguro stared at him for a few moments, opening and closing his mouth a couple times like a fish. He eventually just shook his head and shrugged in amusement.

“You pretty much hit the nail on the head. To be specific though, it worked by stimulating the brain faster than usual, allowing me to think and act at a much faster speed. It was like seeing everything in slow motion while I moved the same speed. The main issue though was oxygen. Moving the body so fast used it up faster than usual, meaning I’d have to literally take a breath after every couple of seconds of using it. There’s also the issue of overheating. Prolonged usage of the Quirk made the brain overworked, resulting in a rising temperature that could eventually turn into a fever.”

“The name Overclock is surprisingly apt then, huh?” Melissa noted. “Overclocking is the ability of a computer to run it’s processor past the recommended speed for greater results. In this case, the ‘processor’ is your brain, and the ‘computer’ is the rest of your body.”

“Yeah. While I sold myself as a speedster, the acceleration of brainpower was closer to a mental Quirk. I wasn’t able to maintain speed for long distances as well as someone like Ingenium. But when it came to momentary bursts of action, I was the king.” Mr. Oguro said.

“Wow! I can’t believe I never theorized that.” Izuku exclaimed, before putting a hand to his chin. “I don’t know if the Second’s Quirk was like that though. He failed to dodge that thing’s attack at the end. He was going so fast that he seemed unable to react to them. Some ability that increases speed without enhancing your reaction time, maybe? There’s got to be something more to it…”

“At least we have a general idea of what to train for now. Bet you’re pretty glad you brought me along now, huh?” Mr. Oguro let out a laugh before being shushed by Melissa, not wishing to disturb the sleeping children and workers. He let out a yawn and leaned his chair back. “Well, it’s not like we can train One for All here anyways. Let’s get some shut eye and focus on it once we get to I-Island in a couple hours.”

Izuku reached into the bag under his feet, pulling out a notebook. “I don’t think I can get any more sleep after all of that. I think I’ll do some brainstorming about One for All’s Quirks for a while.”

“An excellent idea, Midoriya! Be sure to show me the results once your done. I’m interested in seeing your improvements in multi-Quirk combat.” Nezu said as Mr. Oguro and Melissa put their seats back and began to fall asleep.

Flipping the notebook over to the Second’s entry, Izuku began to jot down as much as he could remember from his dream of it’s use. Once he was done, he flipped forward to the section titled ‘Quirk Combinations and Actions’. While he may not be able to understand how the Second’s power worked, he understood it’s effect, allonging for initial planning of new moves.

He felt himself slowly forgetting about the fear and stress from before, melting away into the comfortable familiarity of Quirk analysis. It was amazing how much more fun it was to do when it was for your own Quirk. He couldn’t wait to get into one of I-Islands state of the art training rooms and put his ideas to the test!

He tried not to think about the fact that if they weren’t good enough, the fate of the world may be doomed…

He also failed to notice the smirk that appeared on the supposedly sleeping Kagome’s face as he had been talking earlier.

[We’ll be arriving tomorrow. Be ready for us, as planned.]

Nine pressed send on his phone, delivering the message to his new acquaintance on I-Island.

He was happy how easy the man capitulated under his threats. Getting Kagome to supply him with those photos of that girl had been worth the risk. Samuel had quickly agreed to help them infiltrate I-Island, and he didn’t even question what they were planning to do.

Maybe he figured that his crew wished to do whatever his previous contacts had been planning. Not that he would know what that was. The message on the Doctors terminal was rather vague about what they had been after, only that they planned to steal a piece of equipment created by David Shield.

It didn’t matter to him. No fancy gadget would ever be equal to his power once he gets his hand on that boys Quirk.

“How goes the preparations?” Nine asked, looking up at the Purple Oni toiling at a control panel nearby.

The four of them were currently on a rather fancy Yacht that had been docked at a nearby harbor. They needed to find a method of reaching I-Island, and Dragon of all people had recommended this vessel.

“Should be ready to go any moment now.” Dragon said, pressing a few more buttons. He let out a laugh as the engines blared to life. “Man, technology is amazing. These things are so advanced nowadays a blind man could probably pilot it successfully.”

“How exactly did you know about this boat anyways, Boss?” Komodo asked curiously.

“I worked security on this thing for some bigheaded HPSC official. He’d throw parties on the down-low here all the time with a bunch of Heroes in order to cozy up to them. Of course, the bastard thought my muscles were some Quirk, and he fired me and ruined my chances of employment everywhere else for ‘lying to his face’ about my talents when he discovered otherwise.” Dragon made a face. “He’s the asshole who assumed I had a Quirk in the first place, and I did a perfectly fine job without one anyways. I swiped a secret copy of the keys for his ride when I left and planned to steal it out from under him once I got big enough as revenge.”

“So that’s what happened.” Chameleon said quietly, as they turned to look out the window in disgust. “This society sure loves to judge outliers. We’re more than just ‘Quirkless’ or ‘freaks’. Yet even in the world of the abnormal, they find a way to put us down.”

Nine nodded silently as he listened to his followers’ complaints. He had initially written them off as mindless brutes, easy to use and then throw away. But they too saw the problems with the world they lived in, and wished to use their power to reshape it as their own.

“He feared you because you couldn’t be controlled.” He said, and Dragon turned to look at him. “He was a man who used his control over the strong to lift himself over them. He ruined you because your strength was outside his ability to manipulate. In a sane world, you would have been the one to command him.”

The others nodded in agreement at his words.  

“That’s right! You could probably have kicked that guy’s ass back then. It was only because he sucked up to those Heroes that he had any leg to stand on!” Komodo said.

“And now that we have more power, we can change the world to the way we want it.” Chameleon agreed.

“You guys are right! Let’s show everyone why they should fear the Purple Oni’s!” Dragon shouted, pushing a lever forward.

The Yacht lurched, beginning to speed forward out of the docks and into the Pacific blue. As it bounced along the waves, Nine sat back in the captains chair, a smirk hidden by his mask. His goal was back in reach.

He may have been interrupted the first time by that meddlesome Hero-in-training, but he won’t be stopped this time. His mistake was getting distracted by that fascinating power of his and attempting to take it, but now he knew that was impossible.

That Quirk was too strong. It was even stronger than the Quirk he now held, of the infamous All for One.

And if said power can’t be made his, then it couldn’t be permitted to exist. Only he may be king of the new world.

Any other pretenders to the throne must die.

Next Chapter: Learning and Landing

Chapter Text

The morning sun shone on Izuku's face as he stepped off the plane behind all the children.

They had finally arrived at I-Island, and the kids had nearly stampeded off the plane in excitement. As the people from I-Island and the workers they had brought along tried to organize the children, he walked down the steps onto the landing strip with Melissa and Eri at his sides. He couldn't help but let his view wander up to the great seawall that separated the artificial islands airport from the rest of the megastructure.

He could see why Nezu thought they'd be safe here.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" Melissa said, noticing him staring upwards.

"Yeah." he said with amazement. Eri seemed to be staring too.

"Wait until we actually get onto the island proper." She said teasingly. "I can't wait to show you everything!"

"Yeah, yeah. You two will have plenty of time for your date later." Mr. Oguro said from behind, producing much sputtering from them.

While the two were denying Mr. Oguro's comment, an older woman in a lab coat and a middle-aged American man walked over to them from I-Island's group of employees.

"It's good to see you back, Melissa." The elderly woman said, and Melissa immediately turned to face her with a cheerful face.

"Granny Pleione!" Melissa cried in excitement, wrapping her in a hug.

"I told you not to call me granny." Pleione said with a sigh, but nevertheless returning the gesture.

Melissa released the older woman, only to greet the man next to her just as excitedly. "And Uncle Sam! I'm so glad you're okay."

"Likewise, Melissa." Samuel said in relief. "I've heard about what happened to you while you were away. All those Villains attacking. Your experience there must have been terrible."

"It has been rough. But if I had stayed here, I wouldn't have been able to help." She said, glancing back at Izuku with a smile. "And I also wouldn't have been able to meet Izuku Midoriya and Eri."

The two scientists turned as well, and Izuku brought up his free hand to wave at them, surprised by the sudden attention. Pleione was the first to walk over to him, holding out a hand to shake.

"It's nice to finally meet you, young man." Pleione said. "Nezu's told me a lot about you. I'm glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Don't worry ma'am. Those Villains didn't do any lasting damage to me." Izuku told her.

"I wasn't referring to the Villains." Pleione chuckled.

"R-Right…" Izuku tried to not look back at Mr. Oguro or Nezu nearby. He instead focused on Pleione herself. "Melissa called you Pleione, right? As in Dr. Pleione, Winner of a Nobel Quirk Prize for the discovery of Q-Fields, and the former Head of Board for I-Island?"

"That is correct. Though due to the current crisis I've unfortunately been forced out of retirement." Pleione admitted, before giving him an inquisitive look. "I'm surprised you mentioned my Nobel Prize. Most people know me more for my work on the Board nowadays."

"Oh, that's because I've read all the dissertations that resulted in a Nobel Quirk Prize." He casually revealed, not noticing the ways everyone's eyes shot up at the statement. "I won't say I understood everything in your paper, but it was a very fascinating read. In fact, some of the ideas in it have helped me gain control of my Quirk."

"I-It has?" Pleione said, this time being the one left stuttering. She stared down at him with renowned curiosity. "Well, I can see why Nezu has taken an interest in you. You certainly have a good eye, Melissa."

"W-What's that supposed to mean." Melissa said, blushing fiercely. She then pushed Samuel forward, who held out a hand in greeting. "Izuku, this is…"

"You're Samuel Abraham! You work together with David Shield and are an expert in measuring the quantitative factor of Q-Fields. It's an honor to meet you sir." Izuku said excitedly, shaking the man's hand enthusiastically.

"Oh. Thank you, Midoriya. I'm just as surprised as Pleione to hear you know so much about me." Samuel said in honest bewilderment. He quickly recovered, clearing his throat. "But anyways, I must thank you for taking such good care of Melissa. I hope you continue to do so."

"Of course, sir." Izuku said, laughing easily. "But I won't have to worry much right now. We're on the safest location on earth right now."

Samuel let out a weird laugh at his statement. "Ah, that's right. Perfectly safe…"

There was a tug on Izuku's hand, and he looked down to see Eri looking up at him nervously. Pleione noticed her as well, turning her own attention to the girl.

"Ah, you must be the girl with the Rewind Quirk. It's nice to finally meet you, young lady." Pleione said gently, bending down to her level and extending a hand.

"Um…" Eri looked between the hand and Izuku for a couple moments, before hesitantly shaking her hand. "M-My name is Eri. You know about my Cur-, Quirk?"

"Yes, I was one of the people Nezu asked to look into it." Pleione explained. "It's a very powerful ability. You could save a lot of people with it."

"I could?" Eri seemed confused by her words, looking down sadly. "But all it can do is make people disappear…"

"You just need a bit more practice." Izuku assured her. "Katsuma may be able to heal injuries, but once you learn how to use your Quirk, you could rewind a body to before the injury even happened!"

"Really?" Eri looked up at him, not entirely convinced.

"Yeah! You can do so much good with your abilities after some more training." Melissa said as well, trying to encourage the girl.

Before she could continue though, the sound of jet engines echoed in the distance. Everyone turned to see a formation of jets approaching a nearby runway, escorting another airplane.

"Are those X-66's? Why are American jets here?" Melissa asked, recognizing the black, V-shaped jets instantly.

Izuku squinted as they made a pass, and his eyes widened in recognition at the symbol adorning them. "No way! Those are the Rogue Squadron, Star and Stripe's personal air-fighting team! Why would they be here?"

"They've been tasked with escorting duty, it seems." Nezu said, finally wandering over to join the group. He watched as the plane they had been guarding landed on the runway next to them, adorned with the seal of the U.S. "I was unaware you were having other visitors, Pleione."

"They invited themselves, as usual." Pleione replied with clear annoyance in her voice. "I'm afraid I'll have to wait a bit longer to discuss my findings on the Rapture, if our new visitor is any indication."

"Is that so?" Nezu asked, curiosity leaking through as he observed the plane approaching down the runway. "Well, we have to organize the kids anyways, so a slight delay is fine. We can discuss work later." He turned to Melissa. "How about you show Midoriya and Eri around for a while. I'm sure there's a lot you want to show them."

"Of course!" She immediately turned and grabbed Izuku by the hand, dragging him and Eri along towards the entrance to I-Island proper.

"I'll get going as well. I'm sure you two will have much to discuss with them." Samuel said nervously, sparing a glance at the approaching plane as he walked of after the children.

As they slowly walked away, the U.S. plane finally came to a stop nearby, and a single figure disembarked from it. The man was dressed in a military uniform, with clear decorations and awards clipped over his breast, and four stars along his shoulder.

Nezu recognized the man as Richard Adams, a Four-Star General in the U.S. Army. He was likely one of the highest-ranking members in the U.S. Military's chain of command after the Rapture. Meaning whatever he had been sent for must be important.

"Ah, General Adams. To what do we owe this sudden visit?" Pleione asked politely as the man walked down from the plane.

"I'm here because you seem insistent on stretching the rules we have set for you in regards to certain research materials." The General replied pointedly.

"Well, I believe that our current crisis constitutes as extenuating circumstances, yes? Surely now is the time to finally allow for… full access to these materials" she said.

"The U.S. will be the judge of that." Adams declared, leaving little room for argument.

The General then turned back to his plane, and with a gesture more people began to walk off of the plane. Some were other U.S. officials, but a few were seemingly ordinary Japanese citizens of various ages.

"There were a couple Japanese citizens that were left in our country and requesting to return home. While we were unable to devote any resources to their request before, we figured that we should take them along with us to here, so that they could be returned along with those children once that Villain of yours has been dealt with." Adams explained.

"I see." Nezu nodded, watching the people disembark with wonder, looking up at the seawall as Izuku had moments ago. "I'm sure the Japanese government appreciates your assistance in this matter. I'll mention this to Mr. Ogata at our next meeting."

"And it's not like we don't have any space for them here. Though a little warning would have been appreciated." Pleione sighed. "Well, lets get going then. I've got some more accommodations to arrange, it seems."

She and a few other I-Island employees ushered the group of citizens along towards the entrance to I-Island. Many of them quickly snapped out of their amazement, following allow with their orders.

The group contained mostly elderly citizens, likely on their retirement vacations. Quirklessness was prevalent in the older generations, after all. But there were a few outliers. A few adults, teenagers, and quite a number of children who had likely yet to develop their Quirks, who were probably left alone after the family they were travelling with disappeared.

But among them was a rather noticeable outlier.

He appeared to be a rather well built yet handsome man, likely no older than his thirties. Yet he stood almost a whole head over the rest of his group. He was dressed in a fine suit, and one might mistake him for a businessman who got stuck overseas. And that is likely what he would have told you if asked.

However, what stood out most about him was his short white hair and piercing red eyes, which seemed to stare not up at I-Island, but down at the three children walking together in the distance.

"This place is ridiculous."

Izuku stared out from the window of Melissa's lab within I-Island Academy in amazement. The landscape he could see was but a fraction of I-Island, and yet it felt like an entirely different world.

The three of them had ended up at I-Island University after a quick tram ride, and she had just finished showing him her own personal lab space.

"Yeah. The people here say I-Island is the land of the future, but you don't realize how serious they are until you leave it. N-Not to say Japan is backwards or anything!" Melissa quickly assured.

"No, I know what you mean." Izuku said, turning away from the window. "What's the quote again? 'Without the advent of the Extraordinary, humanity would be enjoying interstellar travel right now'? I guess without Villains to deal with here, technology has really had the chance to advance faster than the rest of the world."

"Yeah, but even still, most of the work done here is in relation to Quirks and Heroes one way or the other. Getting funding for projects that aren't directly related to them is a nightmare." Melissa said sadly. "Then again, that funding usually comes directly from other countries that need Support work done. So I guess we don't have a right to complain, huh?"

Eri continued to look out the window with wonder in her eyes. "Why did they make this place so big?"

"That has to do with its origins." Melissa said. "The place has to be this big to be both safe from dangerous weather and also self-sufficient. The stuff outside isn't even half of what is going on here. I-Island has dozens of stories of space underneath here, filled with clean energy generators and artificial farming. There are even larger testing grounds for some of the larger experiments."

"This place was funded by the countries and corporations of the world to research Quirks and Support equipment, right? I always thought they went a bit overkill for just some labs. Was it worth it making this place so big?" Izuku asked.

Saying I-Island was big was underselling it. The place would make one of Tokyo's biggest Wards feel envious. I-Island was split into four above-ground areas. The first was a residential area, where the scientists, workers, and other people of I-Island lived with their families. Next was the educational area, where one of the largest and most prestigious schools existed, that went from kindergarten all the way to University. Then there was the 'fairground', the entertainment area that is usually frequented the most by tourists, always swarming with Hero related activities.

Each of these three areas were divided off in a triangle formation around the central and most important part, the business district. This is where most of the people on the island worked, creating state-of-the-art inventions for the rest of the world. The central tower was two hundred stories tall and was considered the tallest point for a manmade object that rested on water.

There was so much more to I-Island than its buildings though. The surface level was ringed by a forest of surprisingly dense greenery, and there were massive lakes dividing each area mentioned before. And as Melissa had explained, there were also multiple underground levels filled with advanced technologies.

And it ran almost entirely on green energy. There were solar panels and wind turbines built into almost everything on the surface. While the energy system used to move the megastructure through the Pacific was considered classified, it apparently had zero emissions. Rumor was that it even had a way to gather energies from underwater volcanoes that are close enough to the surface of the water.

"You certainly know your stuff, huh?" Melissa suddenly said, and Izuku realized he had said most of that out loud. "You're right that it was overkill for just being used to research Quirks. As much as the current people in charge would like you to believe, the origins of this place wasn't some grand story about humanity coming together to help Heroes in need. In truth, this place started construction long before Quirks even existed."

"It did? That seems like something that would be brought up more." Izuku admitted.

"To be fair, it wasn't actually finished until a generation or two after the collapse, so people usually don't bother to mention that." Melissa began to explain. "As you probably know, before the advent of Quirks, there was a growing fear about the changing climate and a possible energy crisis. It slowly reached a point where a group of the richest people around the world began to pool resources together to create a habitat that could survive anything, while being totally isolated from the outside world."

"The leaders of the world were fine with some people just building a giant structure in the middle of the ocean?" Izuku asked in disbelief.

"Most of the people funding it were those leaders." Melissa said with disgust. "You know how society basically collapsed worldwide when Quirks began to emerge? One of the leading causes was those leaders taking their best people, resources, money and running to a half-built I-Island, while the countries they left behind crumbled."

Izuku shook his head sadly. He'd heard of the Collapse in textbooks. About how many places couldn't hand the change caused by Quirks. But to hear why, it was almost sickening. "That's terrible. But what happened to change things?"

"The U.S. did, as usual. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but they blockaded I-Island with an entire fleet! They say it was to 'bring peace back to the affected countries', but I think that's a load of rubbish." Melissa said, glancing around before continuing. "I think one of the people who fled to I-Island took something from them, and they were determined to get it back."

"That's… certainly a theory." Izuku said. "But maybe they just wanted the money back from their citizens that left?"

"There's no way it was that simple. After the blockade ended, the U.S. made a deal with I-Island. The U.S. created the Board, who were to heavily regulate all work done on the island. They then created a trade deal where any inventions that were approved could have the rights to production be purchased by the U.S. government, allowing for the continued funding of I-Island." Melissa said. "Other countries eventually joined the trade deal, but the Board remained a group solely beholden to America."

"Wait, but when you explain it like that, it makes it sound like the people who ran away from their responsibilities got everything they wanted in the end! Surely, they were punished in some way?" Izuku asked desperately.

"Nope. They got away with everything. And history outside of I-Island doesn't even see them for the Villains they were. Want to know why?" Melissa asked.

"Why?!"

"Because they're the ones credited as the Silent Saviors." Melissa revealed.

Izuku froze as the history he had been taught began to slide together with what Melissa had revealed.

"Who are they? The… Silent Saviors?" Eri asked, trying her best to follow along with the conversation.

"They were a group of investors, scientists, and engineers who managed to create an easy, effective, and renewable reactor for Nuclear Fusion." Izuku said. Eri looked confused, so he tried to simplify it. "They were some people who made it very easy to power things like lights."

"Oh, they seem like good people! But why are they called that funny name?" Eri asked.

"I was taught it was because their discovery was overlooked at the time. People were still trying to build a superhuman society from the rubble. Near-perfect clean energy didn't seem that important at the time." Izuku began to explain, not noticing the way Eri immediately lost attention and looked back out the window. "It wasn't until much later that people realized that their discovery was what allowed governments to focus on Quirks instead of powering their cities off dwindling resources. The name was supposedly due to their names not being kept in history, but that's not true, is it?"

"No. It's because the new governments refused to acknowledge that the people responsible for the Collapse are the ones who fixed it as well. Their names used to be treated with reverence on I-Island though, until a big push in educational reform resulted in them teaching us most of what I just told you." Melissa let out a sigh, spinning in her chair. "Anyone involved with the founding of this place is long dead anyways, so there isn't much pushback these days to keep their images squeaky clean."

"Wow." Izuku definitely was going have to do some research into this himself when everything was back to normal. He knew there was always a bit of corruption in large organizations like governments, but to think it was that bad in a place as perfectly presenting as I-Island.

'Maybe those conspiracy theories about the HPSC aren't so crazy after all...' a nagging voice said in the back of his head. He shook it away though, focusing on the current discussion. "I don't see what all of that had to do with the initial blockade though?"

"Oh, that's because the Nuclear Fusion research came out shortly after the blockade and was the first thing that the U.S. bought the rights to use. My theory is that the U.S. discovered whatever was brought here had the potential for such a breakthrough in technology, and used gunboat diplomacy to make sure they got their foot in the door, so to speak." Melissa finished.

"America using their warships to encourage sovereign islands to make deals with them. What is this, the Perry Expedition?" Izuku asked sarcastically.

"You know the saying, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same'." Melissa responded just as sarcastically, before letting out a sigh. "Sorry for just dropping all of that on you. I was supposed to be showing you how amazing this place is, and all I did was tell you all these depressing things."

"It's not your fault! I was the one asking about I-Island. It may be a bit of a bummer to hear, but I'm glad I learned about it. Learning about the past is interesting to me." Izuku said, getting up and moving over to Melissa. He offered her a hand. "How about we go for a walk, and you can show Eri and I what I-Island is like today, okay?"

Melissa took his hand, a smile now on her face. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. C'mon Eri!"

"Okay!" Eri said, glad to finally see more of I-Island.

The three opened the door to the lab hand in hand but found someone standing on the other side waiting for them.

"Mr. Oguro?! What are you doing here?" Izuku said in surprise.

"Sorry for interrupting your date kiddos, but I ran into someone who might be able to help with a problem of ours." Mr. Oguro said, gesturing to a dark-skinned man behind him wearing a jacket with the symbol of the U.S. Air Force adorned on it.

"Hey there, name's Wedge. Captain of Rogue Squadron." The man said with a grin. "My new friend here told me one of you could use some tips when it came to flying?"

Kagome looked around the lobby of the hotel she had been assigned to stay in with apprehension.

She had suspected the place to be barren, filled with only the few other workers brought over from U.A. High, but instead found the first floor of the structure to be almost as busy as it usually would be. There were Japanese people of all ages mingling around, talking with each other as if everything were perfectly normal.

'So much for keeping a low profile.' Kagome thought, holding the disguised box containing All for One close to her chest. She needed to get it secure in her room before she did some study into how to proceed. There would be a very limited window during Nine's infiltration where she'll be free to act, meaning she needed to figure out exactly where to go as soon as Nine's team gained control of the island.

But why were there so many people here? She shuffled over to one of the elderly caretakers she recognized from U.A. and tapped the older lady on the shoulder. "Where did all these tourists come from?"

"Oh, you haven't heard deary? They came on that American jet that landed right after us. The U.S. decided to drop them off here so they could be with us. Isn't that nice of them?" The old lady said, before wandering of to go chat with a nearby group.

'Nice of them?' Yeah right. They probably just wanted to get them out of their hair. And now they've gone and made it harder to move around unseen. She spied a nearby group going through a nearby pamphlet and had a second thought. 'Then again, moving as a group is far less suspicious than sulking around alone. Maybe I can make this work.'

But first thing's first. Securing her prized Quirk. She quickly turned towards the receptionist counter, only to find herself bumping into someone and tumbling to the ground. The container for All for One bounced out of her hand, and she immediately scrambled to pick it up.

But someone else grabbed it first.

"Hmm? What do we have here? Property of Jaku Hospital?" The man who she had bumped into said, staring at the box in his hand quizzically. He turned his crimson red eyes away from it, looking down at her apologetically. "Ah, but where are my manners. Here, you look like you could use a hand."

The man offered his hand, and Kagome took it. He easily hoisted her up to his feet, and Kagome finally looked over the man who she had ran into. He had an imposingly tall figure, and it was clear he was well toned under the fine suit he wore. Most striking though were his red eyes and his stark white hair, cut shortly.

He held the box out for her to take. "Here, I believe this is yours, Miss…?"

She nearly snatched the container out of his hands. "Kagome! Er, my name is Kagome Mirai, I mean."

"A pleasure to meet you. I couldn't help but notice the label on that box of yours. You wouldn't happen to have worked at the Jaku General Hospital?" He asked, undisturbed by her frantic snatch of the container.

"Y-Yes, I did. I ended up joining to help U.A. in these trying times, but I was a nurse at the Hospital previously." She explained. There was no reason to lie about that. It was her cover story after all, even if it was also true.

"I see. Then we might have met before. I was a patient there for a while myself." He revealed.

"S-Sorry sir, but I'm afraid I don't recognize you." Kagome said surprised. She definitely would have noticed a man as striking as him at the hospital.

"That is quite all right. I was rather secluded from the rest of the patients, after all. And I wouldn't have been able to recognize you even if we had met." He said, running a hand through his hair. "I had received a rather serious injury. I had lost most of my facial features, you see. I couldn't see, couldn't smell, could barely eat or even breathe. It was deliberating."

"That sounds horrific." Kagome couldn't hide the shock on her face. "I don't ever remember the Doctor mentioning such a patient."

"Understandable. I think it brought him great shame that he was unable to find a way to heal me." The man said sadly. "I was a big funder of his work, you see. And it would have looked bad to others if they knew how weak I had become."

'A big funder of his work?' Kagome squinted slightly at the implication. Did he know about the Doctor's 'true' work? He was clearly Quirkless, meaning he wasn't a Villain. Unless he had his Quirk taken. But anyone who both worked for the Doctor and had their Quirk taken likely didn't have the luck to still be alive. He could have been donating to the Doctor in the hopes of receiving a Quirk himself.

Or he was just some rich idiot who liked donating money to causes in need.

"How did you get better? Those injuries sounded bad, but I don't see a scratch on that head of yours anymore." She asked.

"Let's just say I ended up taking a surprise trip to the states and found a Quirk that was able to fix even my grievous state of being." The man answered with a smirk.

"Seriously?" Kagome couldn't help but scoff. "Man, a Quirk that could do something like that must be out of this world."

"Yes, it indeed was." The man let out a chuckle, before turning towards the exit. "Well, I really should be going. There's a lot to find here, after all. Maybe you could give me a tour of Jaku Hospital once we all go back?"

"Um, sure." Kagome agreed. She hadn't meant to, but there was something about the way he talked that was just so charismatic that she couldn't help but agree to what he had been saying. This man was truly fascinating. As he slowly walked away, she realized that she was still missing something. "Oh, wait a moment! What is your name?"

The man stopped, turning on his feet to face her with a sly grin.

"Ah, there go my manners again. Apologies, but I've been so used to people recognizing me that I just forget to introduce myself sometimes."

He bowed his head in a polite greeting.

"My name is Shigaraki. Reiji Shigaraki. I hope we meet again soon, Kagome Mirai."

Next Chapter: On the Way Down

Chapter Text

I-Island, as the leading location in Quirk research, had plenty of places for people to test out their Quirks to their limits. While these rooms were usually reserved for visiting Heroes, there others who used them as well. It was common for those who had particular dangerous and deadly Quirks to be given therapy here, due to being the only place that they could experiment with their powers safely under supervision.

These rooms were incredibly modular. Being located on the upper subterranean levels of I-Island, they could combine with each other for larger spaces, or have all kinds of testing equipment moved into them with a press of a button.

That is the explanation for how Izuku ended up on a diving board twenty meters up, staring down at a pool of oddly colored foam below him.

“Are we sure this is safe?” Izuku asked for the dozenth time. He had asked it on the lift up to the platform a number of times, and for each foot he shuffled along to the edge as well.

“Trust me kid, you’ll be perfectly fine.” The voice of Wedge spoke out from the earpiece he was wearing.

The Head Pilot for Star’s personal fighter squadron had offered to help him gain control of Float, and Izuku had been quick to accept the offer. Why would he ever say no?

Because he preferred living, that’s why!

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this before. All of the Squad have! Though it was because we lost a bet, but the point stands.” Wedge assured again. “The foam below is some of the most force-absorbent material in the world. You could fly a jet going Mach 1 into there and it would still bounce back in one piece. So just jump and feel the rush of the wind!”

Izuku spared another glance down and felt the pit in his stomach grow again.

“Can’t you just put me in one of those freefall simulators? Get a fan and hover me a couple feet off the ground?” He asked hopefully. “We’re trying to teach me to Float, right?”

“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, that just does the job for you. What you need to do is experience how to fall, so that you know what you’re cancelling out.” Wedge insisted.  “You said Float requires you to use your heart instead of your head? Nothing clears my head more than a freefall. Now get jumping!”

Tiptoeing towards the edge of the board, Izuku tried to steady his breathing and steel his nerves.

Keyword being tried.

Izuku took a step back so that he was no longer on the literal edge, trying to calm the part of his brain that said that this was a very bad idea. He had never done great with heights in the first place, and not even the trust in I-Islands tech was able to overpower his primal fear.

He turned on his feat, about to head for the lift back down. Unfortunately, his other teacher’s patience had run dry at that exact moment.

“That’s it!” Mr. Oguro shouted as the speakers crackled to life suddenly. “It’s time to sink or swim, kid!”

There was a loud buzzer sound, and Izuku found the board he was standing under suddenly snap down at a perfectly 90-degree angle, leaving him standing on nothing.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!”

A rather pitiful scream echoed throughout the testing chamber as he suddenly found himself plummeting twenty meters to his hopefully-not doom.

‘C’mon Float! Float!’ he thought, but obviously nothing was happening. He closed his eyes in concentration. ‘Shit! Alright, I need to free my mind, open my heart. I need to not think so hard about the wind rushing by, or how fast I’m falling, or whether anyone checked if the landing pad was actually operational- This really isn’t working!’

Shooting his eyes open, he could see the oddly colored ground closely approaching, and that overwhelming fear came flying back. Tucking into a cannonball, he summoned as much of Blackwhip as we could around himself into a cocoon.

He felt himself impact with something outside of his shell and then slow to a crawl. It was like he had plunged into a pit of molasses, and the speed of his fall seemed to bleed away. He sensed the surface outside shift and then he sprung up like a trampoline a couple times before coming to a stop.

Izuku remained tucked inside, afraid that he’d find the ground drop out from under him again.

“Hey kid! You can come out now!” Mr. Oguro shouted close by, and Izuku felt Danger Sense go off as something (presumably the man’s cane) whacked into the side of his black cocoon.

“… Fine.” He relented, letting Blackwhip return back to him and revealing Mr. Oguro and Wedge standing over him. He made sure to give Mr. Oguro an annoyed look.

“Oh, quit being such a baby. You were perfectly fine, right?” Mr. Oguro said.

Izuku continued to glare at him.

“Maybe he started a little to high?” Wedge said placatively. “How about we lower the board and try again, alright? At least now that you’ve got a feel for it.”

“I guess.” Izuku sighed as he got to his feet, trudging along the spongy, fall-absorbing ground with the two adults to a nearby control panel.

Wedge pressed a couple buttons on the device, and the diving stand began to lower itself down to 5 meters. As he did, the man looked back at Izuku. “Don’t get too disheartened. Trust me, even Star has trouble with her Quirk from time to time.”

Izuku’s head snapped up at the mention of Quirks. “Star has trouble with her Quirk? How?! Isn’t it literally reality warping? She can touch and say anything and make it true! Or at least that’s what it appears to do. I’ve watched a lot of her fights and she can definitely manipulate the things she touches with a voice command, but from what I’ve seen she can do basically anything.”

“You’re certainly a clever kid, Midoriya.” Wedge smiled. “Technically, the limits of her Quirk are classified by the government, but anyone with eyes and ears can see what she does. But let’s just say people have trouble seeing what she can’t do.”

“You mean limitations of her Quirk?” Izuku realized. “I mean there’s the obvious one of needing to touch and speak a command, which I imagine can be rather hard to do if she doesn’t know what she’s touching is called, or unable to speak. But there’s also her limitation on how much she can change from reality, I think. I presume she’s using her Quirk to enhance her abilities, but even at her best she never topped All Might’s own feats. The only other problem I can think of is a limitation on the number of things she can change at once. I remember a big fight she had with an American villain group that took a plane hostage last year, and she suddenly got a lot weaker when she had to negate two villains gas and fire attacks both from hurting civilians at once. That’s what the phone cam footage I found in the back corner of the internet showed, at least. Seems footage of that fight kept getting taken down by the U.S. government for some reason.”

Izuku heard a sigh, and he looked up from his mutterings to see Wedge giving him an amused look.

“Y’know, for a supposedly secret Quirk, you sure have figured out a lot about it.” Wedge laughed.

“Well, it takes one to know one, I guess?” Izuku said back, and the pilot laughed even harder.

“Man, Kathleen would have liked you. You gotta come visit after we sort this whole mess out.” Wedge wiped a tear from his eye. “I’m sure he’d like to meet All Might’s apprentice.”

“W-What?!” Izuku began to panic. He had never mentioned such a thing about All Might to the man. He hadn’t, right? “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I mean, I’ve never even met the man! Y-Yeah! Besides, his Quirk is, umm…”

“Classified?” Wedge said amusingly. “Funny, I don’t remember bringing it up. Any reason it would matter to you so much?”

Izuku felt his mouth open and close a couple times, but no words formed, and eventually he just let out a sigh and slumped his shoulders. “I’m not very good at this.”

“You’re really not.” Mr. Oguro said unhelpfully from the side.

Wedge gave him a hearty slap on the back. “I’m just messing with you kid! Don’t worry, I know the importance of keeping your lips sealed. Me and rest of the team are bound by so many secrets that even hanging out the rest of the military can be a bit of a drag sometimes.”

At the mention of the Rogue Squadron, Izuku shot back up to attention, questions back on the edge of his lips. “Speaking of your team, are so many of you really Quirkless? Or do you have other people flying with you as replacements?” Izuku asked.

“Nope, no backups here. Of the twelve of us in Rogue Squad, eight of us are completely Quirkless.” Wedge explained.

“That’s… a pretty high number.” Izuku said.

Wedge just shrugged. “Well, the military is a pretty popular field for those without Quirks, due to current laws making them basically impossible to use anyways as a member. It’s kinda an issue nowadays that recruitment has plummeted now that everyone has Quirks and wants to use them. And with the downsizing of most militaries due to global stability and a focus on internal Villain issues, most of what’s left are able to get the training for specialized roles much easier.”

“Yeah, I’d heard that Japan is in a similar situation as well.” Izuku said. He had done a lot of research into the topic, before he had met All Might.

It wasn’t hard to stumble upon the many promotional materials put together by the JSDF that had been growing in number as the years went on. They were frantic to get new recruits these days, judging by the frankly insane incentives they handed out for signing up. But with a society focused on Quirks, an organization that had a number one rule of “Absolutely no Quirk use whatsoever” was a hard sell. Throw in All Might’s effect as the Symbol of Peace, and most citizens weren’t feeling the need to sign up for boot camp and help defend Japan.

If Izuku was honest, he had thought about signing up for it if U.A. had fallen through (and more importantly, hadn’t gotten a Quirk). The government would have basically paid for all his higher education for life, and it was the only legal way he could get real combat experience outside a Hero School. He had made a rough plan somewhere in his sea of notebooks. He’d serve for about four years, get an all-paid-for engineering degree in support gear to forge his own equipment (because no one else would be willing to make any for him), and use the money from his service to take one of those later licensing exams.

Of course, that was a rather out there idea he had come up with during one of his impressively bad depressive spirals. But looking back it honestly wasn’t that bad a career plan. He just doubted he’d have been able to stick to that plan.

“I bet everyone currently enlisted is feeling might proud of themselves now, finally having a real job to do.” Mr. Oguro said.

“Hey, we had plenty of work before this! It’s not like we just sat around drinking all day waiting for something to happen.” Wedge glanced away. “Most of the time, I mean. At least with my squad, Star always managed to keep things interesting.” He put a hand against his chest, seemingly grabbing something under his vest.

“What’s that?” Izuku asked.

“Hm? Oh this?” Wedge realized what Izuku was referring to after a moment, lowering the zipper of his vest and pulling the chain with his dog tags on them. Along with them, however, was a ring of yellow braided together.

“Is that… hair?” Izuku asked, squinting at the ring.

“Yeah. Star gave them to each of us when we became a squad. She did something weird with her Quirk to make them super tough. Said she gave them to us to show anyone who says otherwise that we’re Heroes along with her.” Wedge explained as he fiddled with it.

Izuku made a confused face. “Well of course you guys are. You’re always flying into danger right alongside her. Who would say otherwise?”

“Some people think that we shouldn’t be helping Star, and that we should stay in our lane, so to speak.” Wedge made a face. “They’re usually unclear if they mean because we’re in the military or because we’re Quirkless.”

“Oh.” Izuku couldn’t help but let the disappointment seep into his voice.

“Don’t get all upset over that. Honestly, I think most of them are just jealous they don’t get to fly around the country with the most famous woman in the world.” Wedge said, laughing it off. “Now let’s get back to practicing with you’re Quirk. We’ll have plenty of time for more stories later.”

“R-Right.” Izuku said, looking back at the diving board. It was noticeably lower to the ground than before, but still would have been considered dangerous to leap off if he were landing in anything normal like water. He slapped his cheeks, focusing on taking a step towards the lift up to the top of the diving platform.

‘This Quirk isn’t going to train itself. Pull it together! A bit of discomfort is nothing compared to potentially helping everyone who had been taken.’

As he finally stepped onto the lift and it began to move up, he looked down and immediately regretted his determination.

‘I really hope Nezu is having better luck with his talks than I am with my training…’

Nezu sat around the round table within the small meeting room of I-Island’s Central Tower like he was back in his office at U.A. High, tea in hand and easygoing smile across his face. It contrasted well with the daggers Professor Pleione and General Adams were glaring at each other. It was only the three of them currently present, but the general had been rather clear about the armed escort they had standing outside.

He let out a polite cough, and both of them turned to look at him.

“Now that we’re all comfortable, how about we finally start discussing the topic at hand? I believe it is time for us to discuss each of our findings on the Rapture.” Nezu asked. Both made one final glance at each other, before deciding to finally speak aloud.

“Agreed, Nezu. I couldn’t agree more.” Pleione said curtly.

“Before we continue, may I ask about the status of that horde of ‘Nomu’ that you found? Have they reached U.A. yet?” Adams asked.

Nezu raised an eyebrow, surprised by the seemingly off topic question. “They have. It seems we were right about their target. Those monsters scaled the wall rather easily, but don’t appear to be attempting to wildly destroy everything, as we originally feared. Most footage I’ve seen has them turning the place on its head looking for something.” he explained. Pressing a button, he showed footage of the Nomu wandering over every inch of U.A., from the school itself to the training areas. “We’re not sure what exactly they were after, but considering everyone that had been present there is now here, they won’t find their objective any time soon.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. While he may not know for sure what the Nomu had been ordered to do, he did know that the target for Nine was Katsuma. Or more specifically, his Cellular Activation Quirk. But since the General seemed so insistent on playing his cards close to his chest, he decided he could do the same.

“I see. I wonder what it could mean for…” Adams put a hand to his chin as he mumbled silently, genuinely interested in what Nezu had shown him.

Not exactly the reaction he had been expecting if he was honest.

“Excuse me, but for what purpose are you discussing the issue with the Villain from Japan. As far as I can tell, it is unrelated to the issue at hand.” Pleione said in annoyance. “Unless you plan on offering some immediate assistance, why bring it up?”

“Because the issue with these monsters may not be affiliated with the Villains you think they are.” Adams revealed. He displayed his own data, showing some form of wavelength, among other things. “On the day those Villains led by the man you call Nine attacked, an unknown signal was detected bouncing through our satellites, having somehow hacked into them. We were unable to keep track of the signals destination once it entered Japan, but we did recover the data that was being sent. Most of the information were inputs for terminal commands that were impossible to interpret without knowing what kind of device it was interacting with. But the final thing that was sent was the above audio file.”

He pressed a button on his device, and the wave form began to play. An empty and robotic voice began to echo in the room.

[Capture the current holder of One for All. Begin searching at U.A. High School.]

Nezu’s tea went flying from his mouth in spectacular fashion. Pleione was shocked out of her stunned state by his loss of control, and both humans looked at him in concern.

“A-Ah, sorry. How rude of me. I usually have better control than that.” Nezu laughed off, pulling a tiny handkerchief from his suit and wiping up his mess. As he did so, his mind moved at a mile-a-minute, High Spec kicking into high gear.

‘The data the General showed appeared accurate at first glance. That voice, it has similar characteristics to the one that Midoriya had mentioned hearing, as well as being after his Quirk. But how does it know the name, and where he most likely was? Some feature of whatever had taken everyone perhaps? And how did it know about the Nomu in the first place? Nine seemed to command some of them perfectly fine beforehand, suggesting they were indeed under his control. Were these new orders from someone higher up, or someone else entirely? It is unknown how Nine managed to avoid the Rapture still. Could he have made a deal with the Villain that caused it?’

He continued going through scenarios in his head with High Spec until he felt a shake on his shoulders. He looked up to see Pleione looking down at him worriedly.

“Nezu, are you alright?” She asked. “You’ve been wiping the same spot on the table for a minute straight.”

He looked down to see the paw holding the handkerchief was indeed spinning in circles across the same stretch of table over and over again. He quickly stopped the action, tucking the cloth away with a tinge of embarrassment. “Apologies again. I may have gotten a bit lost in thought. Do you happen to know where this signal originated from?”

“Somewhere in America.” Adams said.

“Could you be a bit more specific?” Pleione asked.

“That’s classified.” Adams bluntly replied, making it clear that was all he was going to say on the matter. “What do you know about this One for All? I assume it’s related to the Villain All for One in some way?”

“I know that it is a very powerful Quirk.” Nezu said.

“And who has it? What can it do?” Adams continued to question.

“That’s classified.” Nezu happily answered, producing a growl from the man. As he complained, Nezu sat back. “I understand you have rules regarding confidentiality, but these are trying times after all. Could we perhaps not have a simple conversation and not worry about such things for a time?”

“I’m not being obtuse for no reason. The situation is more… delicate than you may think.” Adams said with a sigh. “If the holder of this quirk is truly so strong, then they may be the only hope we have of saving everyone.”

“Why, General. When you speak like that, it almost sounds like you know exactly what we’re dealing with. Would you be willing to share with us?” Nezu asked teasingly.

“It’s…” Adams seemed unsure about how to continue, and Pleione threw her hands up in annoyance at the man’s hesitance.

“For gods sake Adams! What is the point of this secrecy?! You know I already know most of it. Just tell Nezu so we can get this over with!” Pleione demanded.

“If you know really know what I do, then you can understand why I’d be hesitant to let my trust extend fully to him of all people!” Adams shouted back, pointing at Nezu accusingly.

Nezu couldn’t help but sigh. To think that they were still scared of him even now.

“General, I understand your hesitance at trusting me. It was your people who experimented on me after all, made me the way I am now. But I happen to have grown rather attached to humas as a whole. I find them rather fun to watch grow. I believe it’s best we both let bygones be bygones, yes?”

Adams and Pleione both looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

“If you won’t tell him, then I will.” Pleione stated.

“Alright, fine!” Adams relented, turning to face Nezu. After steeling himself, the man began to speak again. “Nezu, there are a few things we will need to go over first. As you are aware, in your early life you were experimented on by a, let’s say secret branch of the U.S. government.”

“I am well aware of that. My Quirk makes it quite hard not to.” Nezu informed him, enjoying the momentarily flicker of guilt that passed across his face. “I was there for over roughly a year after I fully gained sentience.”

“Do you happen to remember anything before then? Anything at all?” Adams asked.

“I don’t. As far as I know my life began in that lab of yours.” Nezu said. “I’ve been meaning to ask about that, actually. Now that we’re being honest with each other, do you happen to have the data on what DNA you used to create me? I’ve been trying to reverse-engineer my ‘parentage’ with other suspected species, but no mix I come up with seems to match it just right.”

Pleione shifted at his words, glancing at him nervously. “That is part of what we need to talk about. Nezu, I know this may be hard to believe, but they weren’t the ones responsible for your creation.”

“But… that’s impossible.” Nezu stated, staring ahead blankly. “I’m certainly not a natural species, and the chances that I’d develop a Quirk like this by chance are beyond infinitesimal. I had to be created.”

“And you likely were. Just not by the U.S.” Adams said. “We simply discovered you. And when faced with the question of your existence, we began the experiments you remember.”

“That is a rather bold claim General, but you’ll have to forgive me for instantly believing you at your word.” Nezu said as he tried to think of an explanation for his creation himself. But the U.S. were some of the leaders in genetic engineering. If they truly didn’t create him, then no other country on earth likely would have been able to.  

“That’s fair enough, so I’ll tell you another thing and ask you a question that may help you understand our worry more.” Adams said, and Nezu listened with rapt attention. “Every single member of the team at the site you were located in had a Quirk. They were the best of the best, and most of their abilities allowed us to make leaps and bounds in the scientific field. As you have made it known, you’ve wished to extract your revenge personally against these people. What exactly was stopping you from doing so?”

“Well, that’s a simple one. It’s the same reason I was able to escape in the first place.” Nezu began to explain, recalling the story he had told Eri a week before. “I remember it quite clearly. One day, everyone simply disappeared from the facility. It was like everyone simply vanished without a trace-?!”

‘Oh.’

‘Oh!’

Everything suddenly began to click into place for Nezu. The day he had escaped, everyone that had experimented on him had simply disappeared, never to be seen again. He had assumed there must have been some leak of hazardous materials, and they had all fled for the hills. But now that he looked back at it, the most suspicious detail was staring him in the face.

Everyone who had a Quirk had suddenly vanished, just like with the Rapture.

“And I’m sure you found it odd how little effort we put into retrieving you, after you escaped.” Adams added.

“But that was because Pleione assisted in getting me overseas to Japan, smuggling me through I-Island,” Nezu said, before realizing something a moment later and turning to the woman with a smile. “But you knew about my origins already, didn’t you.”

“I did.” Pleione admitted. “The U.S. noticed that you were the only one unaffected by what happened to the scientists. They believed it wasn’t safe to keep you in America but wanted to keep an eye on you in case something suspicious happened again. So we moved you to Japan, and made sure to keep an eye out if it happened again.”

Nezu took in what the two had said in quiet contemplation, sipping at what remained of his tea thoughtfully.

“I’m sorry for never telling you.” Pleione said, bowing her head. “I always did think you would do great as a Hero, and I could see quickly that their fears were unwarranted. Please forgive me for not telling you.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright, Pleione. I always knew you disagreed with your superiors’ actions. And I always knew that my actions were being monitored.” Nezu admitted.

He had always known that people would watch him carefully for the rest of his life. Being smarter than the average human despite not actually being one himself made others nervous. And with his position as both a Hero and principal of the biggest school in Japan, many feared he had too much power.

Of course, he hadn’t given them any reason to suspect that his intentions were unwell, but humans were humans.

“So just to clarify, you suspect the same people behind my creation were the ones responsible for the Rapture?” Nezu asked, and Adams nodded. “Then you surely must already know their identity? I doubt you simply found me wandering the wilderness, so where did I come from? That would surely lead to the perpetrator’s, no?”

“You are correct, it would. And it did.” Adams said.

There was a silence in the room for a moment, before both Nezu and Pleione whipped their heads toward Adams.

“I beg your pardon, but it sound’s like you said you found the Villain responsible for the Rapture already?!” Pleione said.

“You’re correct, we have. And we also already attempted to fight them and save those taken.” Adams said, before looking to the ground. “But the forces we sent were completely and utterly destroyed.”

“What forces did you send?” Nezu asked curiously. It was rather unheard of to hear the U.S. admit to being defeated so easily. Even if their forces were limited, it’s military was state of the art. Who could they have possibly been fighting?

“25 tanks, 15 jets, and a whole lot of drones. All of them were taken out by a single enemy fighter craft.” Adams revealed, much to Nezu’s shock. “It was the best force we could gather on short notice, but still our opponent made mincemeat of them. The technological gap between us is too much, even after all our research into them. Which is why we’ve come to I-Island.”

‘Research into them?’ Nezu noted his wordings curiously. It seemed they were aware of this opponent before the Rapture and were also far more technologically advanced than the U.S. military.

“Ah, so that’s what you are after. You want to use that? And how exactly do you plan on running it? No human has ever managed to understand it’s workings.” Pleione asked Adams, leaving Nezu out of the loop once again.

“I don’t plan on having a human try this time. If you believe that he can be trusted, then he may be the only one who could get that thing flying again.” Adams said back, and they both turned to Nezu.

“While I would love to help you two save those from the Rapture, I think a bit more context is required. What do you need my help in getting operational? Is it the device Pleione mentioned that allows one to detect Quirks? Because I have been rather looking forward to seeing that device in person.” Nezu admitted.

Adams gave Pleione a look, clearly displeased that Nezu had already been informed of the device. But he quickly turned back to Nezu and continued speaking. “That device is just part of a whole that I-Island and the U.S. has been researching for a very, very long time. It was recovered from them almost a century ago, but we’ve never figured out exactly how it worked. I fear that it might be beyond even someone of your intelligence to understand completely.”

“I find that hard to believe.” Nezu said, clearly in disagreement.

The two others looked at each other silently for a moment, having a conversation without words. They eventually nodded, getting up from their seats and heading for the door. Adams looked back at him in amusement. “Then how about we go take a look at it ourselves?”

Nezu raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and decided to follow along them as they left the room. They reached the elevator, and once they entered, Pleione typed in a destination that Nezu recognized as part of the subterranean levels. If his understanding of I-Island’s level system was correct, the destination that she had plugged in was just underneath the North Lake.

Pleione scanned her ID Card, and the elevator began to move, first down and then north. As it did, Nezu thought about what could possibly be down here. He knew that the underground areas had rather spacious areas for testing dangerous inventions, like automated drones and weapons. Could it be some sort of advanced fighter jet, like the X-66? But Pleione had said that the device, and thus whatever greater whole it had come from, had been around since the Dawn of Quirks. How could they have had something so advanced that far back, and still not understand it fully?

The elevator came to a stop at floor number F -50 (600, 0), meaning they were fifty floors down from the city level and 600 units north exactly. The doors opened into a large circular hanger, engulfed in darkness. As they all stepped out, Nezu scanned the room excitedly. Pleione walked over to a nearby panel and flicked a switch.

One by one, the lights around the hangers curved walls began to flicker on, slowly revealing the object parked in the middle. Nezu felt the breath leave him as its full scope became clear, and he identified the vessel for what it truly was.

“Ah, I see! So that’s the kind of opponent we are planning to face!” Nezu said, feeling himself begin to laugh maniacally. It was just so insane after all. If this was from the ones who created him, then that would mean he himself was also…

Well, it definitely wasn’t his first guess.

[We’ll be arriving tonight. Be ready.]

Kagome stared down at the text from Nine nervously. She hadn’t expected him and the others to get to I-Island so quickly, but it appears that one of those Purple Oni’s ended up actually being useful for once. It was getting dark outside, and she only had a couple hours left at most to prepare.

She set the phone down on her hotel room bed and began pacing nervously. She had barely had any time to search for where the equipment she was looking for was! The obvious answer was the Vault at the top of the control tower, but there were probably dozens of different projects sealed away up there, and she didn’t have time to try and search through them all.

She thought about trying to lean on Samuel for information. It was the obvious answer, as he had been working here for decades. But she couldn’t risk messaging him, as Nine might see them and get even more suspicious. She could try and question him in person under disguise, but she’d have to do it after Nine’s crew arrived or the scientist might rat her out.

“Damn it!” She banged her desk in frustration. Everything had worked so far, right? She couldn’t stop now!

Her goal needed to be accomplished tonight. If it didn’t, then Nine would become unstoppable. He relied on her due to her medical expertise being able to ease his frail condition. But once he stole that Quirk, there wouldn’t be any use for her. He might not even give her a Quirk. She could see the obvious tension growing between them.

That’s why she was sure to bring a little something extra when they next meet up.

Pulling the drawer in front of her open, it revealed a small gun-like object. She grabbed it with one hand, pulling back the hammer and seeing the rounds loaded inside.

Quirk-Erasing bullets.

Once she became a nurse at U.A., she had discovered their existence when treating the children after Nine’s attack. The white-haired girl, Eri, had an incredibly dangerous Quirk, and Nezu had lent her a couple of the bullets in case her Quirk went wild during her treatment. She wasn’t quite sure how they were made, but she had managed to convince Nezu that holding onto them was a good idea, as she was still Midoriya’s nurse, and Eri hung out around him often.

Nine may have a bunch of Quirks, but with one shot from this he’d be nothing but a sickly man.

Dealing with the Purple Oni’s as well might be trouble. But if Nine was out of the picture, she figured she could convince them to go along with her own plan.

‘My plan… what is my plan anyways?’

She shook her head at the thought. It was obvious! The plan was to get All for One, and then…

Was there anything more to her plan? She just wanted all the Quirks she could ever have, and All for One could give her that, right? That was a good enough plan, right?

No. There was more to it than just wanting a Quirk.

The ability to give and receive a Quirk to anyone. It was just like what she had theorized in the work that had gotten her recognized by Doctor Ujiko in the first place. There was a reason she had wanted to create the ability to do just that.

A scene from long ago suddenly found itself thrust into her mind. Of when she was just a young kid who didn’t have what everyone else had.

A young girl stood alone on a playground, while everyone else was busy playing Hero. Even in a world of pretend, she was considered unimportant. She hid within one of the structures, away from the eyes of others. She could stay here for hours and no one would even care that she was missing.

Suddenly, another figure ran into her hiding spot. They appeared to be a young girl as well, judging by the clothes, but she barely even looked human. She had purple spiky skin all over, a tail that became a sharp club, and green glowing eyes, with pitch black irises.

“Ah!” They both stumbled back at each others existence.

“Did you hear something?” A boy nearby asked, and the monstrous girls eyes widened. She put her hands to her mouth as a group could be heard outside the structure, and the other girl did the same. “Eh, she must have gone elsewhere. C’mon!”

The sound of the boys outside slowly faded into the difference, and both girls let out a sigh.

“W-What are you doing in here?” The normal girl asked. “Were those boys chasing you?”

“Yeah.” The other girl responded, her voice coming out all gravelly. “They always make me play the Villain because of how I look. They just chase me around and hit me with sticks most of the time.”

“That’s terrible!”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt. My skin’s pretty tough.”

“But that doesn’t make it okay! Why don’t you fight back?”

“Really?” The monstrous girl scoffed. “You’ve seen what I look like. If I fought back they’d just say I was a villain in training and throw me away, like my parents did.” There was a stretch of silence, before she decided to speak again. “What are you doing in here then? You get bullied for your Quirk too?”

The normal girl flinched. “N-No. My parents did some tests, and they think I’m Q-Quirkless. They don’t even act like I exist half the time, so I thought I’d disappear for a while and see if anyone really cares.”

“You’re really Quirkless?” The monstrous girl asked in awe.

The normal girl nodded in response, shutting her eyes and bracing for the response.

“That’s… so cool! I wish I was like you!”

“What?!” The normal girl looked up in confusion. “Why would anyone want to be me? I don’t have anything special about me! I don’t have super strength or flight, or anything cool like that!”

“You also don’t have skin that makes it hurt someone if you ever try to hug them. You don’t have a tail that accidentally breaks things if you don’t always keep an eye on it. You don’t have eyes that make people run away from a child like they were going to eat them.” The monstrous girl explained, tears forming in her eyes. “I wish I didn’t have something that made me stand out so much. I wish I had the ability to just be a normal person and choose who I want to be for myself, instead of a freak.”

Something in the normal girl changed that day. It was the first day she had realized that there was more to person than a Quirk. That having a Quirk wasn’t this perfect thing that completed you.

As she grew older, her perspective let her see through the cracks more clearly than those around her. All kinds of phrases hit different for her.

“What do you mean you don’t want to be a Hero? Your Quirk is perfect for it! I don’t care if you want to be an artist, keep training for a Hero program!”

“Why do you even bother coming to school with an evil Quirk like that? We all know you’ll use it to end up in jail before you graduate, you Villain!”

“Don’t even bother trying to apply to that job. I heard they hired someone with a Quirk that worked far better than yours for that position.”

The more the girl grew up, the more she realized that a single Quirk wouldn’t be able to solve her problem. She’d just go from a nobody to somebody she might not even want to be.

If only she could be anybody. Do anything. Then no one would try to tell her who she had to be.

She wouldn’t let herself be manipulated by Quirks. She will be the one to manipulate them.

Kagome was knocked out of her musings when something flickered in the corner of her view. She quickly turned her head to see the light from under her door was being obscured by someone. She gripped the gun with the Quirk-Erasing bullets tightly.

Even if they weren’t filled with real bullets, everyone else didn’t know that.

She watched as the light shifted momentarily, and a piece of paper was slipped under her door. The light quickly returned, and Kagome ran to the door, flinging it open. A quick glance around the hall revealed a tall figure disappear around the corner, to fast for her to identify in any way.

Seeing that whoever it was at her door had fled, she slowly closed it again. Gun still in hand, she bent down and picked up the slip of paper that had been left for him. Flipping it over, she could see only two lines written on it.

‘Elevator: F -50 (600, 0)’

‘Admin access required.’

The instructions were incredibly clear. The first line was giving a location that the main elevators could go to. The Central Tower used a system of ‘elevators’ that moved across the subterranean layer, allowing one to get anywhere from there. It’s part of why the place house control over the entire island. The second line was saying that she would be unable to access said location without an admin’s ID Card.

“Who-?” Kagome couldn’t help but ask out loud. Why would someone leave this under her door? How would anyone know what she was after in the first place? There were so many alarm bells going off in her head right now.

Was this Samuel’s work? Did he somehow learn that she was working with Nine, and set this up as some sort of trap? That wouldn’t make any sense though. He likely would have gone straight to turning her in if he wanted to get rid of her.

Then did Nine put him up to it? No, it didn’t make sense that he would attempt to betray her now considering how much she knew about his plan. It would ruin his infiltration of I-Island.

In the end, there wasn’t an obvious answer she could think of. For some unknown reason, someone was telling her to infiltrate a specific part of I-Island completely unprompted. It had to be for her, right? What were the chances of this being for some other person looking to infiltrate I-Island?

Could she trust this message?

Did she have a better option?

No, she didn’t.

She grabbed her gear and the case holding All for One, preparing to make her way down to the dock that Samuel had specified to land at. Her plan was clear. Cause a ruckus, get an admin card, and head for the location listed while Nine had his fun.

The power to fulfill her dreams were almost at hand. She just had to place her faith in this note.

Fate seemed to have smiled on her so far, and she hoped it wouldn’t stop before the night was through.

Next Chapter: Towering Threat

Chapter Text

Samuel Abrahams stood in the darkness of the dock, glancing between his watch and the open bay doors nervously. This was one of the many docks along I-Island’s sea wall, that went into the structure and kept any visitors hidden from view. The dock he was in was technically listed as out of order, meaning everything from the crew to automated security drones didn’t come done here.

Of course, the bay doors were usually sealed shut, meaning it would be impossible to enter from the sea. And you wouldn’t be able to use the lift system without a key card either, meaning would be burglars would be unable to enter.

At least, not without a man on the inside.

A light flickered on the horizon, and Samuel let out a sigh. They had really come. Villains here to do who-knows-what within I-Island.

And it was all thanks to his own selfish plan. He couldn’t even fall back on some pure motive like David apparently had. All he wanted was some money and recognition. And now he might go down as one of the biggest Villains in history.

He couldn’t help but be impressed by the luxury vessel they pulled up on. It was doubtful that it truly belonged to anyone onboard though. It moved into the dock, and Samuel engaged the docking system.

As the automated system began to secure the boat to I-Island, he saw the group of Villains gathering on the deck. The three standing there looked to be nothing more than ruffians, and Samuel couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow in disbelief. These were the master criminals that were threatening him? He had half a mind to disengage the system and let the fools float back into the ocean helplessly.

But then he appeared.

From the upper deck emerged another man, clearly the leader. He wore some sort of advanced bodysuit underneath his normal suit and held himself with an air of superiority. But unlike the braggarts nearby, this was the real deal.

This man had killed, and he would kill him if he screwed up.

He quickly activated the bridge as the head of the criminals walked down to join his compatriots. They stepped aside as he approached, and he walked up to Samuel without hesitation. Cold, calculating eyes stared down at him.

“N-Nine, I presume?” Samuel asked, and the man grunted slightly. The three thugs took this as the signal to follow, and they disembarked quickly after him. He glanced at the group nervously. “So, w-what can I do for you?”

“I am looking for one of the children that recently arrived from Japan.” Nine said.

There was a moment of silence, and Samuel took that as his que to talk again. “I see! Well, if you know which one you need then we can simply have the security bots initiate their ‘lost child’ program, and he will be brought right to you.”

“And how would we go about this?” Nine asked coldly again.

“It’s quite simple! You won’t even have to lift a finger.” Samuel insisted, nervously noticing the other Villains begin to circle around him. “We can go from the lift here directly to the central tower. All the security is controlled there, meaning you’ll be able to make the order without any interference. You’ll be in and out of this place before anyone even realizes you’re here!”

“I see. That is quite simple.” Nine said satisfied, pulling out his phone and quickly texting someone. “I have no reason to waste my time with another pointless fight. Go on now. Lead the way.”

“O-Of course sir! Please, follow me.” Samuel said, turning towards the door, before halting and glancing back at Nine. He tried to keep his face from shaking in fear. “Oh, and a possible request. Could you please not harm Melissa? She’s like family and-”

“And she’ll be fine as long as you keep to your word. Now keep moving.” Nine said, the barest of impatience leaking through.

“As you command!” Samuel quickly turned back towards the gate, walking briskly towards it, leaving the Villains a bit behind. As he tapped his key card to the door, he let out a shaky breath.

Everything would be okay. Him and Melissa would be okay.

As long as he did exactly as that man had said, things would turn out alright.

Izuku walked back to the hotel he had been staying at, trying to keep his feet from shaking with each step. After a couple hours of jumping, and even a bit of simulated hovering, he still wasn’t able to get control of Float. He had kept the Scanner that Melissa had given him on the entire time, just in case he was missing something, but the AP usage for Float remained at 0 for all of the training session.

Now all he had gained was a far more realistic fear of heights. Feeling the rush of air had done nothing but terrify the hell out of him. It would probably take a bit more than extreme cliff jumping in order for him to figure out this Quirk.

He looked up at the dusk sky, trying to suppress a sigh. Wedge must have sensed his dissatisfaction, because he slapped a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

“Hey kid, don’t get discouraged just yet. No one learns to fly in a single day, whether it’s with a Quirk or plane. It’s a lot harder than it looks. Take it from an expert.” Wedge said.

“Yeah! Now that you’ve gotten used to falling, it’s time we start adding obstacles! Really get the blood flowing during training!” Mr. Oguro added, producing a tiny squeak from him.

As they approached the hotel doors they opened from the other side, and Melissa walked out. She was closely followed by Eri, along with Katsuma and Kota, the kids he’d saved along with her against Nine.

“Oh, Izuku! I knew you’d be back soon.” Melissa said excitedly, running up and taking her hand in his own. “You’re just in time. I was telling Eri about some of the sights you could see here, and with the sun about to set, I figured I’d show you all my favorite one.”

“I’ve never seen a full sunset before. It sounds so pretty!” Eri said in excitement.

“That… actually sounds kinda nice.” Izuku admitted. He had planned for a long bath and nap next but watching the sunset with a beautiful girl seemed to interest him just as much. He glanced over Melissa’s shoulder at the two young boys that had joined them. “Did they want to see the sights too?”

Melissa stepped aside so that the boys could approach, as she leaned over and spoke in a hushed voice. “Nah, they just wanted to see you again. I think they’re the first members of your fan club!”

“I’m no fan of him.” Kota said, clearly overhearing them. “I’m just here to thank him properly is all and to keep an eye on Katsuma. Yeah, I’m just here because he’s here! Nothing else!”

The boy nodded to himself, seemingly arguing more with himself than the others around him. and Izuku could hear the adults try and stifle a snicker behind him.

“Umm, Mr. Deku, what are you wearing?” Katsuma asked politely.

“What am I-? Oh, right, this is a flight suit.” Izuku said, looking down at himself. He had forgotten he was wearing the thing if he was honest. It was an incredibly wind resistant jumpsuit that Wedge had provided him when they started training earlier.

“It looks cool! Not as cool as your Hero Costume, though, of course.” Katsuma said.

“I’m glad you like it!” Melissa said. “I hope you like it just as much once I finish rebuilding it.”

“Wait, you built that outfit?” Kota said in surprise, before scoffing. “Yeah right. There’s no way a kid as young as you made a costume that cool.”

Katsuma looked back at his friend in confusion. “I thought you said the costume was lame-”

“I changed my mind!” Kota quickly interrupted, shooting the other boy a pointed look.

“You’re right, it would be unusual to build something like that at my age. But I grew up here on I-Island, and they have the best education for Support Items on the planet.” Melissa began to boast. “And besides, I learned from the best. My dad made All Might’s costume, after all!”

“Woah.” Both of the boys looked at Melissa with awe. Eri merely nodded along, already having learned this before.

“I don’t mean to interrupt you kids,” Wedge interrupted. “But you all might want to get moving if you’re hoping to catch the sunset. It won’t be long now.”

Everyone glanced up, and noticed the Sun was far closer to the horizon than it was just a couple minutes earlier. Melissa quickly turned in a panic.

“Ah! We have get moving if we’re going to make it!” She ran over to a console at the side of the street, pressing a couple buttons frantically. A moment later a vehicle reminiscent of a long golf cart pulled up to the curb from nearby. “Everyone hop in! The automated transporter should get us to our destination in time. I’ll just have to use that trick Dad showed me to get them over the speed limit.”

“Uh, is that safe?” Izuku asked as the children rushed onto the self-driving vehicle and Melissa began to fiddle with the controls on them. He could see some sort of command line open up and Melissa type a couple lines of code.

“It’s fine. It’s not like there’s anyone else on the road nowadays to run into.” Melissa said dismissively, before glancing over at Mr. Oguro and Wedge. “Are you two coming or not? Train’s leaving the station soon.”

The two men glanced at each other, before shrugging.

“Someone responsible has to keep an eye on you kids.” Mr. Oguro said as he climbed in behind them.

“And something tells me that person is going to have to be me.” Wedge added as he followed suit, producing a snicker from the kids.

The cart lurched forward as soon as everyone was on board, speeding down the empty streets of I-Island at speeds that were certainly not legal. There was a ding as the map on the front console updated.

[Taking a right in 200 meters.]

The entire vehicle lurched. As it weaved around a left corner sharply, Izuku felt himself slide left across the seat into the door with a bump, followed by Melissa sliding into him shortly after.

“S-Sorry! I forgot how fast these things could get.” Melissa apologized, still pressed right up against Izuku, who could only squeak in response. They continued to speed down the road, wind rushing past them.

“T-This is a bit scary.” Eri said in the seats behind them, clearly unexperienced with moving at such speed. “Can we go slower?”

“Are you kidding, I want go faster!” Kota said, gripping the handlebar in front of him. “This is so exciting!”

“It…is?” Eris asked, looking at the two boys on each side of her curiously. “But I can feel my heart beating like crazy…”

“That’s the point! It’s all about the thrill of it, like a rollercoaster ride!” Katsuma assured, leaning his head out the side of the vehicle. “They said it wasn’t dangerous, so just have fun and enjoy the ride!”

“Hey! Always keep inside the moving vehicle!” Mr. Oguro shouted, before sighing. “Seriously, have none of you been on a carnival ride before?”

“It’s supposed to be exciting?” Eri asked herself in contemplation. She leaned back and tried to understand the feeling rushing through her. It was similar to what she felt whenever she had tried to run away from Overhaul, but there was a distinct lack of fear right now. Just the rush of excitement and the wind rushing through her hair.

It felt freeing.

Eri didn’t even notice the grin that spread across her face as she began to engulf herself in the impromptu thrill ride with the boys, leaning into the turns and letting out laughs along with them. Melissa and Izuku looked back at the display with smiles of their own, but they were quickly interrupted by another ping.

[Taking a left in 200 meters.]

Melissa glanced to her right, noticing the empty space between her and the edge of the seat. She very quickly remembered the force that each turn had, and she would likely end up with a bruised side if left to slide across the seat into the door. But as she scrambled her hands up towards a handlebar, the vehicle lurched, and she began to slide.

She shut her eyes in a panic, but found her slide halted as a firm hand gripped her right side. As the vehicle straightened out, Melissa peeked her eyes open to see Izuku’s arm snaked around her waist, holding her tightly against him. Her eyes wandered up to his and the two stared at each other silently for a few moments, before Izuku developed into a stuttering mess.

“I-I’m sorry!” He began to apologize, as his hand began to return, and he tried to pull away. “I didn’t mean to grab you like that, but I saw you panic and I just acted on instinct and-”

Melissa quickly wrapped an arm around his own side, and she puled their sides back together. “It’s okay. But it works a lot better if we’re both holding on tight, okay?”

“R-Right.” Izuku said after a second, and he brought his hand around her again.

Melissa could see his face turn a cute shade of red as he looked away, but she continued to lean into him, and eventually he leaned back. The two pressed together as their ride sped its way towards its destination.

[I-Island Central Tower straight ahead in 1km]

Kagome followed the instructions Nine had sent her on the phone, taking the elevator up to the top and turning down the many hallways of the Central Tower until she reached a door labelled Control Center. She adjusted her mask and coat to ensure any distinguishing features were hidden, and patted her back, ensuring the gun with the Quirk-Erasing Bullets was still there. She also checked the large coat pocket, ensuring that the Quirk of All for One was still inside.

With luck, she would finally be able to stop carrying it around and use it by the end of the night.

She banged on the door a couple times, and she felt her phone vibrate again.

[Are you at the door?]

“No, it’s the janitor. Who do you think it is…” Kagome muttered as she texted back to Nine that she had really arrived. The big iron door slid open a moment later, and she walked into the control center to find Nine waiting for her.

“You got here rather fast.” Nine noted.

He seemed to complain about anything she did. Either he had good intuition, or he was just whiney like that. Kagome couldn’t tell.

“I figured that this would be the most likely place you’d end up at. Thought I’d arrive ahead of time.” She explained, not entirely lying. If anyone wanted control or free access across the island, they’d have to come here. Meaning she needed to be in this very room to receive access to the restricted level that she had been guided to.

Now to find an actual excuse to actually get said access.

She glanced at Samuel Abraham, the only man who would know how to do so. He was busy typing away on the terminal in front of him. He appeared to be gaining control of the security system for the I-Island, to busy to humor her own request. It seemed that she would have to wait a bit longer.

“We’ve been here for almost 30 minutes.” Komodo whined. He put a hand on Samuel’s shoulder and leaned over it. “Hey, Egghead, how much longer will this take?”

“I-I can assure you, I’ve almost accessed the security system.” The portly scientist insisted with a couple more clicks of the keyboard. The icons on the giant screen above changed color from red to green, and he let out a sigh. “There we go. Now, all I need is an image of the kid you are looking for, and I can have the system begin to look for him with its facial recognition.”

“I’ve got it. Here.” Kagome said through her mask, producing a photo of Katsuma from earlier. Nine had requested a photo of him back after they had first learned that he had the Quirk he was looking for.

Samuel gestured to a scanner on the panel in front of him, and she placed the phone photo-first against it. The image appeared on one of the large monitors a second later, and with a couple more clicks the screens began to speed through cameras across the island.

“And now we wait.” Samuel said.

“Seriously?! More waiting?!” Komodo threw up his hands in frustration again. Dragon and Chameleon appeared to be equally antsy. Samuel quickly swiveled in his chair to calm the nerves of the Villains that held his life in his hands.

“Sorry, but this is a big place. He’s guaranteed to turn up sooner or later, but there’s hundreds of cameras on I-Island. It’d be impossible to guess how long this would-” The screen behind him beeped. “Take?”

“You were saying?” Kagome couldn’t help but snort as he spun back around to face the screen in confusion.

“That’s impossible.” Samuel began to mutter. “There’s no way it should have worked so fast. The only way was if they were… already in the tower.”

One of the camera feeds enlarged to show a crowd of people on some sort of balcony, looking out at the sunset. The camera enlarged the faces of all present, showing not only Katsuma, but those around him.

“Well now, isn’t this useful.” Nine said as he looked between the faces. The boy was with the same children he had been with that night he had first attempted to take the Quirk. Not only that, the current holder of One for All was there as well.

“Hey, Boss! That’s him! The bastard who beat us up before!” Komodo shouted out, pointing at the scarred face of the older man.

“Is that so? It seems fate is putting all of my opponents in one place for me to deal with.” Nine said, looking down at Samuel. “What is that area?”

“I-It’s the wind farm. It’s directly under the control center here.” Samuel revealed.

“Perfect. Lock it down. I’ll deal with this issue myself momentarily.” Nine said turning to leave.

“Wait!” Samuel grabbed the man’s wrist, only to quickly withdraw it at the glare he received. “Melissa’s up there too! Please don’t hurt her. You promised, right?”

“Hmm.” Nine stared down with cold eyes. “As long as she doesn’t get in the way, I suppose I could let her live. If you do as I ask.”

“Of course! Just one moment.” Samuel quickly pressed a few buttons and locking down the elevators out of there. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out-

‘Key cards!’ Kagome recognized. Half a dozen of them in fact.

“But now that it’s locked, you will require key cards to access it yourself. Fortunately, I thought ahead and grabbed some spares to reprogram.” Samuel began to explain. “You don’t actually need to bring the cards here to update them but considering you’re recent arrivals I had to procure some ahead of time.”

“You’re… remarkably well prepared.” Chameleon said, and Kagome couldn’t help but agree.

She wasn’t complaining though. This was exactly what she needed. Now to find an excuse to get some time to herself.

“Well, your satisfaction is very important to me, after all!” Samuel said cheerfully, as if he was talking to shareholders and not deadly Villains. He quickly got up from his seat to hand out the new key cards. As Kagome went to take the final one from him, he looked her in the eyes and winked.

‘Wait, what?’ Kagome stared blankly at the scientist in confusion as he turned back to Nine.

“Now that you have everything you need, I wouldn’t recommend sticking around for long. Once the tower is locked down, people are sure to notice and come running. My knowledge of the systems hasn’t given me control over the robots, so if someone places the right order this place could be swarming.” Samuel explained as he finished locking the towers many bulkhead doors. “You may not have known, but the U.S. arrived recently, and I doubt even your Quirks can take on a top of the line fighter jet.”

“Maybe most can’t, but I’m different.” Nine said smugly. “Even the greatest planes are at whims of the winds. I could handle a few iron birds.”

“Err, but we couldn’t. And neither could our getaway boat.” Chameleon reminded their boss. Kagome let out a cough, turning everyone’s attention to her.

“How about the Oni’s go and prep our ride while you, ‘do what you need’.” Kagome suggested casually. “You get what you’re after, leave immediately, and we’re all halfway to Japan before anyone even knows what happened.”

“Oh? And what will you be doing?” Nine asked with a squint.

Kagome moved herself behind Samuel, pulling out a scalpel and putting it near his neck. The man immediately began to sweat at the sharp blade inches from his vitals. “I’ll be cleaning up any potential leaks. I happened to find a nice quiet place earlier where I can dispose of any potential… issues that may arise in the future.”

“Why do you get the fun job?” Komodo asked annoyed, and Kagome couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Do you want to drag this lug around?” Kagome replied. “Besides, you are the ones who already know how to use the boat, and I’ve been on the island longer. It’s just quicker this way.”

Nine seemed to consider her for a few moments, before shrugging. He just seemed happy to not have to deal with the man himself. “Fine. But be quick about it.”

“Of course.” Kagome agreed, silently letting out the breath she had been holding. She took the hand that wasn’t holding the scalpel and began to lead Samuel out of the room. But as soon as she turned around to leave, she felt something tug on her waist. “What-”

“What do we have here?” Komodo asked as the gun she had prepared with the Quirk-Erasing Bullets slipped out of her waistband telekinetically over into his hands. He began to look the gun over without any care of firearm safety. “You didn’t tell me you were packing! What kinda model is this, anyways?”

‘Shit.’ Kagome thought.

“Hey, I recognize this thing.” Chameleon added as they reached over and pulled back the hammer, showing the dart-like projectiles inside. “It looks just like the one that rat used to remove my Quirk for a bit.”

‘Double shit.’ Kagome thought as Nine’s apathetic eyes suddenly focused back on her. ‘Explain! Explain immediately!’

“One of the kids had a dangerous Quirk. Nezu gave me it when I took care of her after the attack. It’s why he had them on him during the first battle.” She spat out immediately, not caring to hide her closeness to the U.A. students from Samuel. She was planning to ‘kill’ him after all. “I kept it in case that one boy with the strength Quirk ever discovered me.”

“Is that so?” Nine wandered over to the Oni’s, who dutifully handed the gun over to him. He looked over to her as he tucked it away in his suit pants. “Then considering I am the one fighting that boy now, you wouldn’t have any issue if I took it for myself?”

“Of course not.” She replied, as she began to panic internally. Those bullets were the only thing she had that could deal with Nine in case she failed to find what she needed, and they had ended up in his hands himself! But there would be no way to get it back without coming off as suspicious, so she just kept playing along. “Now, are we going to get to work? Those kids are bound to notice the elevators are locked eventually and get suspicious.”

Nine’s eyes eventually lost their edge, and he nodded slightly at her words. He let out a chuckle as he walked past her towards the door. “Of course. We all have work to do, don’t we? Try not to take too long with yours, because mine won’t.”

“You heard the boss, it’s time to get moving.” Dragon said, and the Oni’s all headed in a separate direction, towards another elevator.

Kagome tightened her grip on Samuel’s arm again, and began to walk him out of the control center towards her own elevator. After they got a distance from the others though, Samuel stopped in his track, glancing around nervously. She nearly bumped into him at his sudden halt.

“Do you have a death wish or something? Keep walking and I won’t actually kill you.” Kagome said, pointing her scalpel at the man again. She didn’t plan on killing the man, of course. He might even prove useful at finding what exactly she was looking for.

“Floor Negative Fifty, Six hundred, zero.” He said, and Kagome froze.

‘The elevator destination?!’ Kagome immediately pushed Samuel against the wall. “How the hell do you know that? Were you the one who planted that note? Spill it!”

“I’m just a fellow person hoping to get the recognition they deserve.” Samuel said through a nervous laugh. He looked back at her with more determination than she had seen in the control room. “You didn’t tell Nine or the others about my device, did you? You didn’t want him to gain any more power, right?”

“What does it matter to you?” Kagome asked as she twisted his arm more. Of course she had modified the message. A device that could boost the power of a Quirk without any potential drawbacks? Nine wouldn’t even need the boys Quirk to become unstoppable.

“Without those bullets of yours, Nine will be able to defeat anyone who stands in his way. The only hope is that boy with One for All, but only if he uses my device!” Samuel explained.

‘He knows about One for All?! Who told him?’ Kagome was slowly feeling her position as interrogator slip away. He had known where she was heading the entire time. Was that why he even had those key cards in the first place? Just so he could give one to her? “What are you playing at? What do you want?”

“I want you to let me go, so I can release my device to give to the boy. With luck, he’ll be able to use it to defeat Nine and people will finally see the true value of my genius!” Samuel said excitedly. “And without the fight being so one-sided, you’ll have more time to find what you need.”

“And why is that so important to you? Do you even know what I want?” Kagome asked again.

“I don’t know what you want, honestly. But I know that the only way we can both get what we want is by working together.” Samuel said. “So, what do you say?”

Kagome wanted to just ignore the scientists pleading as desperate nonsense, but it was clear this plan of his was anything but on-the-fly. Not to mention he knew things he shouldn’t, like the elevator destination and One for All. Everything about this screamed a trap, but he was also right. Without the device, Midoriya and the rest would be steamrolled by Nine, and she wouldn’t have a chance to find… whatever I-Island had hidden away down there.

“Fine!” Kagome said against her better judgement. She let go of the man and pushed him away. He began to run towards the vault near the control room. Right before turning down a corridor, he looked back at her with a smile.

“Thank you, Kagome Mirai. I look forward to seeing you after all of this.”

“Wait, how-!” The bulkhead between them shut as Samuel tapped his card on a side panel, and Kagome was cut off from her question. ‘He even knew my name? Who told this guy so much?’

She shook her head, turning away to the nearest elevator in a sprint.

‘No, it doesn’t matter. If he’s crazy enough to try and delay Nine’s plan, then who am I to get in his way. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, after all.’

She reached the elevator, tapping in the destination provided to her by that mysterious benefactor, and pressing her newly acquired key card to the scanner. The longer she went over recent events, the more it looked like she was walking into a trap. Things were too far along to change course. She would reach whatever was at that destination, consequences be damned.

The elevator stopped moving down after a minute, and she felt it now begin to move north. She could see the number for her location begin to change until it reached that magic number.

F -50 (600, 0).

There was a ding as the elevator doors opened. Kagome walked out into a circular hanger, staring at the large object in the center with confusion as the doors closed behind her. It was an odd disc-like shape, and there was a ramp that was lowered that led into its interior. Lying around it were dozens of pieces of equipment, all seemingly monitoring it.

She had expected something smaller, like a singular device. But whatever this thing was, it was almost 300 meters in diameter in a perfectly circle. It was crazy that I-Island was able to hide something of this size for so long. It was a good thing she had sent Samuel to help delay Nine, because she was going to need the time. Where would she even start?

Walking up to the open ramp, she looked around at the structure more closely. There were characters lining both the ramp and interior that she had never seen before. They didn’t appear similar to any language she had seen before. Was it code?

So engrossed in her observation, she missed the small ding as the elevator doors opened again, as well as the repeating sound of dress shoes clicking across the hanger floor, ever closer. It wasn’t until a voice spoke out behind her that she became aware of the intruder.

“What do you know, it really was down here.” A familiar voice spoke out, and a large arm wrapped around Kagome in a sleeper hold.

Her scalpel dropped to the floor at the sudden assault, and she clawed at the arm tightened around her through its fine sleeve. As she felt consciousness fade, she just barely caught a glimpse of short white hair behind her.

“You’ve done well to get this far, Kagome Mirai.” Reiji Shigaraki said with a smirk, and Kagome’s vision faded to darkness. “But I’m afraid it’s time I take back what is rightfully mine.”

As the final beams of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, Izuku let out a satisfied sigh. This was truly a relaxing experience after all of the adrenaline-pumping training of the afternoon. The view from the Wind Farm at the top of the Central Tower was really incredible.

The others had already began walking towards the elevator to leave, but he had decided to watch for a few more moments with Melissa. They were close together, huddling for warmth in the strong night wind.

“I’m glad you brought us up here.” Izuku said to Melissa. They were both leaning against the guardrail and looking out over the view of I-Island’s city.

“And I’m glad you liked it so much.” Melissa said, leaning over onto him gently.

Izuku froze as she did so. Despite their closeness on the ride over, he had mostly chalked that up to just keeping her safe. He just wasn’t used to anyone being this close to him without wanting to do something bad to him.

But Melissa had never done anything like the others did. Whenever she got close to him it was to help with his tie, or inspect her equipment, or just because she wanted to be close to him. But why would she want to, when Izuku was… himself?

“Did you say something, Izuku?” Melissa asked.

“Oh sorry, just… mumbling to myself, like usual.” Izuku said sadly.

She probably thought it was creepy. Why couldn’t he just keep these ideas in his head where they belong. Instead, he kept saying weird things about everything, or writing obsessive amounts of notes on other people, like a creepy stalker. Who wouldn’t think that was weird?

“Well, what were you thinking about?” Melissa asked simply.

“Huh?”

“What were you thinking about?” She asked again. “I know that you like to get your thoughts out, so what’s up?”

“I… I just don’t get it.” Izuku hung his head, leaning away from Melissa.

“Don’t get what, Izuku?” Melissa asked in concern.

“Why you like to be around me!” Izuku said in an elevated voice. “No one liked to be around me before. What changed?”

He wasn’t just thinking of Melissa. There were plenty of people who started hanging around him happily now. Eri clung to him like a little sibling, and Nezu was willing to personally teach him. Not to mention adults like Mr. Oguro and Wedge being willing to set aside time to help him.

What had changed between then and now that made people so willing to be around him? What was the difference between him before and after the Rapture?

‘I got a Quirk.’

Izuku gripped the guardrail tightly as he came to the realization. Was that it? Was that the only reason people were around him nowadays? He just ‘special’ and ‘worthwhile’ now?

“Do you,” Izuku felt himself shrink in on himself as he tried to ask the question, afraid of the possible answer. “Do you all only hang around me now because I have a Quirk?”

“What?” Melissa was shocked by the accusation. “Izuku, why would you think that?”

“Because that’s the only good thing about me! Everyone always said that my mumbling was creepy. That my obsession with Quirks was stupid and stalkerish. T-The only thing that’s different now is that I’m not Quirkless anymore.” Izuku said, sinking in on himself further with each sentence. “Is that why you hang out with me? Do you just put up with all my weird habits because I have All Might’s Quirk?”

Silence hung in the air as Izuku awaited his answer. The only sound was that of the wind howling around them. He felt his shoulders dip as the silence stretched on. He was right, wasn’t he.

“Izuku,” Melissa finally spoke. “Do you remember what I told you the night we met, when you asked about All Might?”

Izuku looked up at her in confusion. “Y-Yeah, but what does that have to do with-”

“I said it was your actions without a Quirk that impressed All Might, and that impressed me too.” Melissa reminded him. “It wasn’t your Quirk that drew me to you. Eri and Nezu neither.”

“But then what did?” Izuku asked in confusion. “My mumbling is-”

“Kind of cute. And shows that you’re incredibly smart.”

“B-But my notebooks!” Izuku added. “They-”

“Show you have an eye for detail and analysis.”

“M-My personality!” Izuku cried, desperately searching for a fault. “I’m nervous and insecure and a crying wreck-”

“And yet you were willing to throw yourself at a Villain in order to keep others safe, multiple times.” Melissa interrupted for a final time. “And from what I’ve heard, it’s happened while you didn’t have a Quirk more than once.”

Izuku tried to find more reasons, mumbling to himself aimlessly, but Melissa put a stop to it by simply taking his hands in hers.

“The reason people want to be around you is because you’re a joy to be around. It’s that simple.” Melissa looked embarrassed, trying her best to look him in the eyes. “I want to be around you because I like you. All of you, and not just your Quirk.”

Izuku was still struggling to understand. “You like me? As in…?”

“Oh god, you’re really going to make me spell it out for you.” Melissa pinched her brow in exasperation. “I mean romantically.”

‘Oh…’

“Oh…” Izuku’s eyes widened when the words finally reached his brain.

Someone was confessing to him. For real. This wasn’t some sick prank or a glorious misunderstanding. Melissa actually liked him and had confessed.

He had not been prepared for this today.

‘C’mon, stop staring at her like a fish and say something!’ His brain had shouted to him, and he quickly focused on the girl in front of him, clearly waiting for an answer nervously. He swallowed his own nerves down, trying to summon up what little bravery he could.

“Melissa, I-”

A dull pain appeared in the back of his head, and the words froze on his tongue. It was mild, but familiar, and was growing slowly in intensity. He began to look around wildly for the source.

“Izuku, what’s going on?” Melissa asked in concern.

“Danger Sense!” Izuku shouted as he continued to search the platform they were standing on. He couldn’t yet determine the source, but someone clearly wanted to do harm to him. His eyes met with the rest of the group, who were still standing near the elevator.

‘Wait, shouldn’t they have left by now? Why are they still standing there?’ Izuku realized, and he could see Mr. Oguro tapping his key card against the scanner, only for it to buzz red. It was locked? But Melissa said that the key she gave him had access to this area. It’s how they got up here in the first place. How would it have changed unless…

The light indicating the elevator had arrived suddenly dinged, and Izuku felt Danger Sense focus to deadly precision.

“Get away from the door!” He shouted out, just as the doors opened to reveal a familiar face. The kids all ran way towards them as Mr. Oguro and Wedge jumped back taking fighting positions.

“Hello, One for All.” Nine said, ignoring them to look straight at Izuku. “I believe it’s time for me to finish what I started back in Naruhata.”

Next Chapter: Fight or Flight

Chapter Text

Samuel tapped away at the console in front of him, glancing as different commands flashed across the screen at incredible speeds. The security system that kept the Vault's many safes locked were by design separate from the rest of the island. He believed he had eventually found a way to bypass the system, but it would unfortunately take time.

Time he wasn't sure he had.

'This would be a lot faster with David here.' Samuel thought sadly. He was supposed to be here. The two of them working to get their research back together. Even if… Even if he had planned to steal it from David so that he could get rich afterwards.

He sighed as he stared down at the keyboard. It was like everything he did for himself had come back to bite him in the ass. He had nobody else that he considered family and yet he had been willing to risk David's life and career for his own selfish wishes. And now Melissa was at risk as well.

'No!'

He was going to fix this. He picked up speed with his typing. It was his work that had resulted in these Villains showing up, and it was his work that was going to stop them from going any farther. His and David's work.

The Quirk Amplification Device (Or Q.A.D. for short).

A boost to a user's Quirk without any side effects of usual uppers like Trigger. It worked by manipulating the energy drawn in from Q-Fields directly. The human body, or more specifically the human brain, can only draw on so much of that unseeable force. It seemed though that the human brain was tapping into Q-Fields more with each generation, as if humanity was evolving to use them more. This was the basis for Quirks growing in strength each generation.

But there was still a hard limit each person could reasonably manipulate, and going beyond it could result in the human body changing in unpredictable and usually fatal ways. Trigger causes chemical modifications in the brain that result in gathering more Q-Fields without increasing tolerance, and the body goes through sudden transformations in order to handle it. For example, a user who can grow spikes on their back, when injected with Trigger, would likely not only have larger spikes on his back but also have them begin to grow elsewhere on the body.

The Q.A.D. would get around this by acting as a 'load' of sorts. Initial testing revealed that most Quirks themselves don't really have hard limits. It was the body level of adaption to Q-Field's that determined their output. And the part of the body that held back output the most was the brain.

It was theorized that this was because Quirks were a recent addition to humanities evolution, and the brain was too packed with everything else our species had used to evolve to this point. It could only spare a small corner for Quirk use. Further testing has revealed it to be like a translator, reading Q-Fields and transforming the energy into whatever effect that was allowed by their Quirk Factor. In this case Trigger would 'overload' the system, causing translation errors that cause unfortunate effects related to a user's Quirk.

That's where David's theory came in. If the brain couldn't handle translating so much at once, then they just needed to create a device that could. The Q.A.D. would read the brainwaves associated with Quirk Factors, then help with the translation process by mimicking the process. The device was able to function multiple factors faster than that part of the brain, allowing for the body to absorb more Q-Fields and reach the theoretical limit of potential. It was a breakthrough in brain-reading technology and Quirk science!

Now he just needed to make sure there was someone left still alive to use it once he retrieved it.

But if that boy's Quirk is really as strong as that man said, if it is really All Might's Quirk, then they might have a chance.

Izuku stared at Nine in shock, but quickly summoned forth One for All using Full Cowling. He could barely get it to 7%, and even then he felt his body creak, but he couldn't hold back. Nine was able to toy with him when he could freely use 25% during their last fight.

He could only hope Black Whip was able to make up the difference.

"Melissa, take them to the other elevators! Hurry!" He shouted, running forward as the children retreated.

"Be careful!" Melissa shouted as he jumped away.

As he ran over, he could see Wedge pull his sidearm and start firing at Nine while Mr. Oguro threw away his cane and began to charge at the Villain. But the bullets bounced harmlessly off the Air Wall that Nine summoned, and with a wave of wind they were both thrown back, the gun going flying from Wedge's hand.

"Shit!" Wedge cursed out. He got back to his feet quickly, only for a giant snake-like appendage to grab him in its jaws. It bit down, and the sound of his bones breaking could be heard.

Mr. Oguro didn't fair much better and was also caught by one of Nine's Hydra heads as he struggled to stand. Once in his grip, Nine brought the old man closer towards him to inspect. "To think an old piece of trash like you was able to beat my men. I'm disappointed, honestly." Nine bemoaned.

"Likewise, bub." Mr. Oguro said, seemingly unconcerned by his predicament. "From what I saw from your shapeshifting buddy, I thought you'd be prettier- Gah!"

Mr. Oguro let out a scream as the Hydra squeezed his frail body. Nine looked utterly unimpressed. "I see you're all bark and no bite. No surprise, coming from one of your kind."

"Detroit Smash!" Izuku shouted as he finally reached the Villain, throwing a punch as he was mocking his opponent. But Nine was clearly still paying attention to him, and another Air Wall appeared, blocking the attack with little resistance.

"Come on, is that the best you've got?" Nine asked, as his eyes glowed gold. "You're barely using a third of the power from our last fight. Was that fancy gear of yours helping you fight in some way? It's a shame you don't have any of it all the way up here."

The Air Wall burst, and Izuku was launched back like expected. Danger Sense tingled, and he jumped out of the way of a set of laser bullets. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to dodge them completely, and he felt something hot scrape his side.

'Damn it! I'm not fast enough to completely avoid him.' Izuku realized as he finished rolling to the side. If speed couldn't be relied on, then he'd have to go with overwhelming power. It was a risk to use 100% of One for All's power, but he was left with little option. He brought his hand up, positioning his finger as if to flick it. "Delaware-"

"Careful now." Nine interrupted him, moving the Hydra heads holding Wedge and Mr. Oguro in front of him.

"You bastard! How dare you!" Izuku shouted.

"Blame your own companions for being so weak. People like them will have no place in my world." Nine said. Both Hydra's shot toward Izuku and he dodged out of the way. They both slammed violently into the central pillar behind him, hurting the men gripped within them.

Izuku could feel Danger Sense from both behind and the front as the Hydra's looped back around and Nine prepared more Laser Bullets. He quickly formed a course of action.

'Smokescreen is useless due to his Scanning, not to mention I don't have my own helmet to see through it. Without Fa Jin charged up I don't have the force to counter Hydra without breaking my body. So, I need to dodge in the most optimal direction… Up!'

Izuku swung Blackwhip up, attaching it to the beam holding the row of fan turbines above him, and pulling himself up at the last moment. Nine's two-sided attack missed, but he was quick to keep up the assault, and Izuku was left swinging among the Wind Farm's fans frantically, bending his legs when he could.

"I see you've gained control of that unruly Quirk. It's exhilarating, isn't it? All that power at your fingertips?" Nine said as he continued firing.

"One for All is a force for good! It's not some thieves' power like yours!" Izuku shouted, landing on the neck of one of the Hydra's after it missed. As he continued swinging, he felt Fa Jin charge in his legs, and he smirked.

'Fa Jin + Full Cowling 8%!' He shoved off the neck of the snakelike appendage, flying up. He grabbed the beam again with Blackwhip and swung up and over it, so he was now directly above and slightly behind Nine. The Villains Hydra's were still extended from his attacks, unable to react in time to the burst of speed. "Delaware Smash!"

With a single flick of his now-broken finger, the force of a gale shot forward. Nine brought a hand over the opposite shoulder trying to form a barrier, but the angle was awkward and the pressure planted him onto the ground violently. The Hydra's jaws loosened at the attack on Nine's back, dropping his hostages, as planned.

'Now to keep him from taking them again. But how?' Izuku looked down at Nine as he lifted himself off the ground, his body quaking. The Villain looked back with a rage that Izuku had only seen on Kacchan before. 'Ah, that's right. He's an egotistical Narcissist obsessed with his own Quirk. I've spent my whole live pissing someone like that off by accident.'

"Hey Nine, how's it feel losing to someone with just as many Quirks as you?!" Izuku shouted as he swung up and landed on the beam above him. He leaned over to continue shouting down at him. "I don't even need to steal my Quirks from others in order to beat some teenager!"

"You little shit!" Two Hydra heads shot up and gripped the fans as Nine was raised up towards him, previous prey forgotten. Izuku continued up to the next level with Blackwhip, throwing even more taunts.

"What's your limit anyways? Don't tell me you only have space for one more Quirk?" Izuku mocked as he dodged a hail of Laser Bullets. "You must think your Weather Manipulation Quirk is hot shit! I hate to break it to you, but All Might regularly changes the weather with a single punch!"

"Well, it's a good thing all that's left of his power is your pathetic self!" Nine growled.

Izuku swung behind the central pillar, hiding from Nine's line of sight for a moment. He glanced down to check on Melissa and the kids, only to find that they were unable to open the other door either. Nine's crew must have locked down the whole tower.

Should he go over his limits and blow open a hole for them? But even then, would there be anyway to ensure they escape? If everything is locked down, then they'd only run into another gate. Without a proper key card, they wouldn't be able to proceed.

But Nine was able to use them, which means he had access through his key card! Now he just had to take it and get it to Melissa somehow.

It wasn't really much of as plan, if he was being honest.

Speaking of Nine, blue snake-like appendages appeared as Nine crawled back into view. He now had four Hydra heads coming from his back, but they were noticeably smaller than before. "Stop running and let me kill you!"

'So, the Hydra's lose size and likely strength with each split.' Izuku noted as he tried to swing away again, only to notice Nine was gaining on him. 'But they allow for increased mobility. Crap!'

One of the Hydra heads managed to get lucky and grab Izuku's left leg. He was pulled tight between it and the Blackwhip he had launched upward, the black energy stretching like an elastic band. The jaws of the blue serpent tightened, and Izuku wailed as his ankle shattered. He didn't have time to complain though, as Danger Sense warned him of another incoming Hydra head.

'Whelp, it's already broken.' Izuku shrugged internally as he felt 100% of One for All swell up in his trapped leg. With a single swing of the limb a great force shot out, releasing it from its toothy snare and knocking Nine back.

With the opposite force gone, the Blackwhip that had been pulled taut snapped up, and Izuku was sent flying up. He landed on another higher level of beams but collapsed when he put pressure down on his broken leg. "Grah!"

'I need to be more careful with my body. Got to be sure to only break limbs when I absolutely must.' Izuku thought. That attack had finally charged Fa Jin in his good leg, but with the other so damaged, it would make fighting using it difficult. Maybe he could…

A strand of Blackwhip came out of his back, snaking down his leg and wrapping around it in a coil. He got up to his feet through gritted breath, using Blackwhip like a cast holding his shattered leg in place. It wasn't perfect by any means, and hurt like a bitch, but it at least let him stand properly.

He leaned over to see Nine advancing on him again.

'Let's see. If I use Blackwhip to keep my limbs together, I might be able to use my maximum power more than once with them!' He realized that it wasn't a very good plan of action, but there weren't many options left. 'If I'm able to push him enough like last time to use Weather Manipulation, his body is sure to weaken dramatically. I just have to overwhelm him with my attacks.'

He jumped aside just as the Laser Bullets started again, receiving a few more grazes as he swung away. He let himself fall to a nearby beam below, grabbing it with a Blackwhip in each arm. He let gravity stretch them away from the beam like a slingshot. Once he reached the end of the tension, he released Fa Jin in his good foot and burst forward due to the combined speed of the Quirk and the slingshot.

"Manchester Smash!" Izuku shouted, letting 100% into his broken leg again as he pointed it towards Nine.

Pain shot through his body as the broken leg rammed into the Nine's Air Wall with explosive force. It was a struggle just to stay conscious, but Izuku fought through it, seeing the way Nine was similarly struggling. The Air Wall soon shattered in an explosion of pressure, sending Nine flying back and crashing into the row of fans above him.

"Rrrah!" Nine growled as the Hydra heads clawed him out of the metal structure.

"Come on! This is nothing! Show me what you can really do!" Izuku taunted the Villain as the Villain recovered. He winced as he retreated, the pain slowing him down even more and getting hit with another Laser Bullet.

'Ignore the pain! Just keep pushing him! It's okay if my body brakes by the end of this, as long as his does first!'

"Hmm hm, hmm hm, hmm hm." A jaunty tune was hummed out from within the small vent. Nezu fiddled with wires under a panel he had found within enthusiastically. "Ah, I don't think I've ever felt so relaxed before."

The small mammal had immediately taken it upon himself to begin exploring the vessel that Pleione and Adams had shown him as soon as he'd arrived. It had been a few hours now and the others had long left him to his work. He had wandered the halls inside with an unknown nostalgia, seemingly following a forgotten memory.

Despite not knowing whatever abstract language was written on the walls or displayed on the holographic panels around him, he could understand their meanings just as well as he did Japanese or English.

No, he understood them more so.

He had followed the labels adorning the walls to what he had believed to be the central room, only to find that the computer system was locked down. As explained by Pleione, some sort of lock had been put onto any electronic system ever since they found it, leaving them only able to operate equipment within that wasn't directly attached to the vessel.

That wouldn't do however, so he had taken upon himself to start picking into the system and undo the lock some other way. He had spent most of his time so far searching every inch of the round room in the middle of the vessel, looking for any clues on how to proceed.

The solution he had come up with was a rather simple one. Just turn it off and on again! It was the enshrined number one step to any IT problem. Of course, this place didn't come with an easily labelled off switch, so he had resorted to finding the power cable directly.

This is how he found himself crawling through the ventilation tubes surrounding the ceiling, looking over the wiring running through the space with a careful eye. He didn't want to break anything after all, so it was only natural to inspect every wire to determine its use.

"Hmm, I wonder how long I have been down here? I'm getting particularly famished. Perhaps I should call it a night and head back up. Or at least have a tea break." Nezu muttered to himself, before his ears perked up. A set of footsteps could be heard clanging against the metal flooring, and he got excited. 'Ah, have the General or Pleione come to check up on me?'

He was quite shocked to see the doors open on the other side of the room and reveal a rather tall and fine dressed man, carrying his newly hired school nurse over his shoulder. Nezu watched from his hidden vantage point as the mysterious man set the unconscious Kagome in one of the open pods lining the walls before walking over to the locked terminal.

"Now then, how do you turn this on?" The mystery man seemingly asked to himself as he stared down at the panel and holographic display. After a few moments, he looked down at his own hand and a red double-helix-like pattern emerged on it. He pressed it into the panel, and the pattern continued to pulse through his hand and along his fingers until the monitor changed and moved to a new screen. "Ah, so you can use it to get through biometrics as well? What an incredible Quirk you have."

'He got past the system lock?' Nezu stared with worried curiosity at the display. The man had obviously used a Quirk, but beyond that he was also able to use it to unlock the system. Judging by the man's words, he didn't hack or bypass the system. He simply knew of the kind of biometrics that needed to be used, and somehow was able to replicate them.

Was this man perhaps one of them?

There was a slight moan, and both the man and Nezu turned to see Kagome stirring awake from the pod she had been placed in. The man suddenly turned back to the controls with blank eyes, stiffly typing something into the now active terminal. As restraints wrapped around the awakening woman's limbs the man staggered back, his red eyes regaining their luster.

"I could have done that myself you know." He grumbled under his breath, before shaking his head and turning to face Kagome.

Kagome herself awoke with a start, pulling against the restraints holding her within the cylindrical pod. She glanced around frantically, until her eyes settled on the man. Her face twisted in recognition, and she let out a gasp. "You!"

"Please, Ms. Mirai. You're the first person I've introduced myself to in a good long while. The least you could do is use my name." The man said in a mockingly hurt tone.

"Oh, my apologies, Reiji Shigaraki. Is that even your real name?" Kagome asked in annoyance.

"It is technically one of many names I have. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Shigaraki is in fact my family name." Shigaraki revealed casually.

'Reiji Shigaraki?' Nezu took a moment to think, where had he heard that name before?

Ah yes, a man of the same name had offered to donate a large sum of money and equipment to U.A. High a few decades ago. From what Nezu could remember, he was a Quirkless billionaire who donated large sums of money to causes that furthered Quirk study. He had wanted to personally donate equipment of his to the school, but Nezu had rejected the offer.

He had researched the man and his work, and everything came back clean. Too clean.

Everything about the man's records were so perfect and airtight that it sent alarm bells in the rodent's mind. Even the best of men had a black splotch that they didn't want talked about, or a secret so covered in distractions that it gave away the secret in turn. But he had nothing.

No one was that perfect.

The information about Reiji Shigaraki was so damn comprehensive and tidy that it would be more plausible that everything Nezu learned was fake than real. It was like the records had gone out of their way to paint the most perfect life imaginable.

He remembered the arguments that started with the School Board when he had rejected the offer. They were too short-sighted to see the false perfection for what it truly was, and he knew they talked of going behind his back and accepting the offer anyways.

It all turned out moot in the end though, as Reiji Shigaraki mysteriously disappeared from the public eye a couple months later. Poor health was cited by the few who apparently knew him personally, but he never emerged again, even after his donations started up a few years after his disappearance.

A disappearance, that Nezu now realized, was suspiciously close in timing to when All Might defeated All for One.

'It seems my intuition was not off the mark, as usual.' Nezu thought, watching the discussion below carefully. While it was obvious why Shigaraki was here, he was unsure how Kagome factored in. A hostage to get at Midoriya, perhaps?

"What do you want, asshole?" Kagome asked the man herself, as if reading Nezu's mind.

"I just want what is rightfully mine returned. Nine threw a wrench into my original plan, but that boy with my brother's Quirk may have provided me with an opportunity to turn it all around. And it's begun to awaken the previous user's Quirks on top of it. I truly can't wait until I take it back." Shigaraki explained as his hands began to type away at the terminal. The room shook as power began to pulse through it, running across the entire vessel. "To think I'd be fortunate to find everything I'm looking for here on this island all at once. I truly must thank you for taking care of that, Ms. Mirai. I didn't think One for All and All for One would be able to reunite so soon."

'He's after One for All? And he knows what it is? My suspicions are quickly becoming confirmed. This man really might be All for One. If that's the case, he must have been the one to set the Nomu loose as well. Does that mean he's in league with them?' Nezu shook his head at the idea. That would truly be the worst-case scenario. Kagome Mirai's connection to Midoriya appears to be why she was taken if his words at the end were anything to go by.

"Like I did any of this for your benefit, bastard!" Kagome began to struggle uselessly against the restraints, and Shigaraki let out a sigh. "Why didn't you disappear like everyone else?! Just disappear and let me have this, damn it!"

"Do you know some way to quiet her down?" Shigaraki asked under his breath. His left hand suddenly swiped up to a separate screen, pressing a few buttons. A needle shot out of the restraints into Kagome, and she began to lose consciousness again.

"D-Damn you… give that Quirk back…" She got out, before slumping against the pod with eyes closed.

"Ah, thank you. It was hard to split my attention between this and her." Shigaraki seemingly said to himself again.

'Is he communicating with someone? And what is with the way he is moving? There's no way he should know what these systems do, yet his hands are almost moving on their own.' Nezu shuffled back, hiding himself more from view inside the airduct. 'I don't have the means to go against him currently, especially if he's begun to gain control of the system. And I don't even know what other Quirks he may have.'

He started his analysis of the wiring once again.

'The best bet is to find some way around the system, as I had been attempting before. Don't worry, Ms. Mirai, I'll save you soon!'

Eri was stuck looking between her two adoptive older siblings with equal worry. The bad man from before was after them, and Izuku was fighting him. But she could see the two fighting in the fans above, and it didn't look nice. Every minute or so, Izuku would punch or kick so hard that Eri felt like she would fly away even from where she was standing. But the Villain kept getting back up, while her big brother's arms or legs would be all bruised and broken.

She glanced back at her older sister, who was trying to get the elevator door open. Melissa had tried to use her key card, but when that didn't work, she had removed the panel covering the controls and had begun fiddling with the wiring inside. She could hear her muttering bad words as the wires sparked, but the door didn't open.

"What do we do!" Katsuma cried, hugging an equally terrified Kota.

"I-It's okay." Eri said to them. "Izuku's a Hero! He'll protect us just like before, s-so there's nothing to worry about."

They both seemed to calm down at her words, but it seemed fate was against her as something hit the metal floor a couple feet behind them with a thud. Everyone jumped in shock and turned to see if a piece of debris had fallen from the fight. Eri wasn't sure what it was for a moment, but Melissa let out a cry upon recognition.

"Izuku!"

Eri's eyes widened as she finally realized it was her big brother lying limp on his back in front of her. All of his limbs were bruised and bent at angles that made her cringe, and there were scrapes all over his body from the laser bullets. His green hair was dyed partially blood red, and Eri could see a scrape on his forehead as well, eyes unfocused.

"Izuku!" Melissa cried again, attempting to run over to him, only to be knocked back when something else crashed down from above.

Nine hovered over his defeated opponent, using the four Hydra heads to lift himself up over them. He lowered himself down and began to walk towards the children, each Hydra head slowly slithering forwards through the air.

"That was far harder than I imagined it would be, but now to get back to business." Nine said, still catching his breath from the fight. Melissa quickly got to her feet, throwing herself between Nine and the kids.

"I won't let you-"

She was cut off as a Hydra head swooped in and picked her up off the ground. The three remaining heads also shot forward, each taking a different child in their arms. "I really don't feel like putting up with any more delays." Nine said annoyed, eyes now glowing gold as he looked over each of them.

The tone of his voice, and the look in his eyes. It all reminded Eri of Overhaul. He didn't care about anyone but himself, and he had no qualms about hurting people of any age to get what he wanted. Being trapped by a man like that again terrified her, and she felt herself freeze as their eyes passed each other. But they continued past her, over to Katsuma.

"There we go. Cellular Activation, just like the records said." Nine said, an almost reverent tone accompanying it. He brought the Hydra head holding Katsuma closer to him, placing a palm on the boy's head. "Take heart knowing your Quirk contributed to the birth of a new god."

Cerulean energy began to emanate from Nine's palm, and Katsuma jerked in the Quirk's grip. Before he could complete the procedure, a tendril of black energy wrapped around his arm, tugging it away. Nine let out a noise of annoyance as he shook of the tendril and turned to its source.

"Do you still… What?!" Nine stared in surprise at Izuku, and the rest were just as speechless.

He was somehow vertical again, the strands of Blackwhip keeping him straight despite his legs being too broken to stand on. "Don't…" Izuku groaned out, unfocused eyes staring straight, tendrils of Blackwhip rising from his chest weakly. They reached out to grab at Nine pathetically. "You can't…"

"Why not?" Nine asked, easily shaking off the tendrils. He turned to face Izuku, and everyone jerked as they turned as well in the Hydra's grips. He stomped towards Izuku until he was face to face with him. "I can, so I will! If you don't want me to do something, then use your own Quirk to enforce your will! That is how this world should work. That's how this world will work, once I am in control."

Izuku ignored his words, sending forward another small strand of Blackwhip.

Nine bat away the energy with his hand easily.

"Pathetic. And to think you spoke of bending storms to your will when you can barely stand." He brought his hand up, lining his fingers together. He pressed the tips of his fingers over Izuku's heart, and they began to glow with a purple energy. "Allow me to finally put an end to this. An end to you, your Quirk, and all that it stood for."

"Today, dies the last pathetic Hero."

A beam of purple energy came out from Izuku's back, and there was silence as Blackwhip disappeared and he crumpled to the floor.

"Noooo!" Melissa cried as a pool of blood began to form around Izuku's unmoving form.

"I-Izuku… Big brother?" Eri stared in horror.

"Deku! Get up, Deku!" Katsuma cried.

"Enough!" Nine shouted, bringing the boy back in front of him and grabbing his forehead. He had had enough interruptions from that meddlesome child. Now he could finally take what he deserved!

Katsuma screamed for a few moments, but his eyes rolled back as the cerulean energy flowed from him to Nine. The energy ceased, and Katsuma slumped into sleep. Nine meanwhile, looked down to see his body glowing with a green light under the skin.

"Yes! Yes! I finally have it!" Nine cried out, feeling himself already able to breathe easier. It was like all the pain that was usually in his body had begun to wain.

Bringing up his hands, he pulled on the clouds around him. As they circled above him, he felt the usual pain work its way through his body, as it had so many times before. But he activated Cellular Activation, and the pain began to disperse as he felt the healing Quirk activate throughout his body.

"More!"

He called on the skies even more, bringing them all to swirl around the tower above like the eye of a storm. Thunder echoed in the air as rain howled down from the darkening sky. Lightning arced throughout the storm, waiting for a target.

And he felt perfectly fine!

"Yes! This is what I've been waiting for! No longer am I constrained by my own weakness! I am a god of storms at last! I am-"

Something touched his ankle, and Nine ceased his proclamation to look down. "What…?"

The little Hero's broken hand was against his ankle, as if the boy had attempted to grab it. Had he moved just now? The boy was unmoving currently, but did he still have fight left in him?

No, enough.

Nine threw the four in his Hydra's grip far back as he reached down and picked up the boy, Deku, if he remembered correctly. He called upon Weather Manipulation, using the very winds to fly the two up and away, ignoring the cries of the children he had so graciously released.

He flew up and up, past the top of the Central Tower to the clouds above. Once he had reached a significant height, he made a call with his free hand to the Oni's. Keeping a careful eye on the young Hero.

"What's up boss?" Komodo's voice answered momentarily from the other end.

"Leave now. I'll catch up shortly." Nine commanded.

"But sir, Kagome isn't back yet."

'Of course she isn't, the snake.' Nine rolled his eyes.

He had no idea what that woman truly wanted, but it was clear a world with him in it would only get in her way. He still didn't believe that she wasn't the one to release those Nomu, not to mention everything seemed to work out just perfectly so her plan to come to I-Island ended up working. The Quirk Erasing Bullets were just icing on the cake. To try and get rid of his Quirk, even if only temporarily? She could not be trusted.

Besides, with Cellular Activation, her expertise was no longer necessary.

"She's a resourceful woman. She can figure something out on her own." Nine said.

"Err, whatever you say boss. We'll get going!"

Nine put the phone away with one hand, turning to the boy in his other. He could see that there was still a spark there in his eyes, and Nine couldn't help but shake his head in amazement. He held him out over the futuristic skyline of I-Island.

"If you're so insistent on clinging on, then watch! Watch as I bring down this peak of human creation, this island of invention, all by myself! The most advanced structure ever built, with decades of perfection put into it, and all it takes is a few waves of my hand to bring it to heel!"

Weather Manipulation's power spread to a point that Nine had never used before. The wind continued to spin, a funnel slowly beginning to form above him. Below, the waves rose to such height that they threatened even the hundred-storied seawalls of I-Island. Mother Nature bent to his whim with but a call, and any momentary discomfort from doing so washed away with a green glow.

"If my own power can rival that of humanities greatest works, then why should I be put down by them?! I'm more than them, and now they will know it! After this, the whole world will know to show us with these great powers proper respect!" Nine declared, voice raising with the storm as he looked down at I-Island. "You could have been like me, you know. The only power on the planet that could rival mine. Could have had your own little corner of the world to yourself, if only you didn't care so much about the very people who put you down."

"I know this power was not your own! I know that there were likely those that put you down despite having the talent and the drive! And yet once you finally got enough strength to decide your own fate, you put it back in their hands? For what?" Nine asked Deku, only to freeze when looking back his broken body. His eyes glowed a golden hue for a moment, and he let out a sigh when Scanning couldn't see the rainbow light of One for All any longer. "I guess it was for nothing, in the end."

And with that Nine let go, leaving himself alone at the top of the world.

Eri was on her knees still, as she stared down at the pool of blood where Izuku had just been. The bad man had… had beaten and taken him away. She looked over to Melissa with a blank stare, finding her leaning over Katsuma, making sure he was okay. Kota was there too, equally concerned over his friend.

Izuku was supposed to be her Hero! He was supposed to be save her and make everything okay again, like last time! He wasn't supposed to lose! He wasn't supposed to leave her!

She stared up in the sky where Izuku had been taken and squinted. Wiping away the tears, she could see something up in the clouds, and it appeared to be growing closer. Was it the Villain?

Her eyes widened when she recognized what was falling from the sky, and she ran to the edge of the platform.

'Izuku!' Time slowed to a crawl to Eri.

Was he free from Nine now? She stared up at him, but he didn't appear to be awake, broken limbs flailing in the wind. The Villain may not have him, but he was still in danger.

'But he can fly, right? Big Sis said that he was learning to do that now, right?!' Eri suddenly remembered. But as Izuku got closer, she could see his eyes were closed.

He was injured! He wasn't awake anymore, and too hurt to do anything. There's no way he'd wake up in time. If only there was some way Katsuma could heal him! Except even if Katsuma was awake, the Villain took his Quirk. There's no way they could help him!

If only this hadn't happened!

If only things could be like before!

If only… she could heal him.

She could heal him!

"Katsuma may be able to heal injuries, but once you learn how to use your Quirk, you could rewind a body to before the injury even happened!"

Izuku's own words from when they landed at I-Island earlier today echoed in her head. She could use her Quirk to save him! It was a risky idea, but Nezu had begun to show her how to use it properly. It may have hurt people before, but this time it would save someone! All she needed to heal him was… touch him.

She glanced down over the side of the platform, over one hundred and seventy-five stories into the sky.

She glanced up at Izuku, who was falling just above her.

Eri knew what she needed to do. Everyone would probably yell at her for it, but that wasn't important to her right now. Right now, there was someone who needed her help. Izuku had saved her, and now it was her turn.

Taking a few steps back, she looked up as she tried to judge the timing. As she did, Melissa looked up from checking on Katsuma.

"Eri? What are you doing?" She asked, following her gaze to the falling Izuku. "Izuku?! Wait, Eri, don't-"

'Now!' Eri ignored her big sisters cries to stop, running forward until she reached the edge of the platform, and jumping towards Izuku.

"Izuku!" Eri cried as she reached towards him. She felt the strong winds push against her, trying to keep the two away as the ground grew ever closer.

'No!' Eri pushed forward, diving towards her big brother. She finally gripped onto the edge of his jacket, pulling her arms around him. 'I'm not letting go of you. I'll save you because I know you'd do the same for me!'

A golden glow began to shine from her horn that slowly spread across Izuku's entire body. She tried to grab hold of that power and prevent it from leaking over into a deluge. She shut her eyes in concentration.

'I don't want you do disappear! I just want you to be better. Only a little bit of time needs to be rewound!' She tried to think about what Nezu had taught her about time, trying to visualize it in her head.

One single second. Six tens of seconds in a minute. Six tens of a minute in an hour.

An hour.

Izuku wasn't hurt then, right? They were at the hotel then, happy, healthy, safe. She just had to focus on that amount of time. That's all he needed to be rewound by. She opened her eyes and felt the power in her horn pulse through her into Izuku. Yellow energy covered Izuku, and his injured limbs began to slowly shift back to how they had been before. The cuts and scrapes disappeared, and the blood stopped leaking out

Eri could feel the well of energy inside her trying to escape, wanting to undo things even faster, but she focused as she gripped onto Izuku. Eventually he appeared to return to normal, and she tried to stop her Quirk.

Much to her surprise, the light in her horn actually died down and the golden glow faded from Izuku's body.

'I did it? I did it! I healed Izuku! I-' She was snapped out of her excitement as she felt the wind blowing against her, and remembered she was currently plummeting to the ground, which was approaching extremely quickly. She began to shake Izuku, trying to get him to open his eyes.

"Izuku, Izuku! Wake up, please! You need to fly!" Eri shouted in the howling wind. She didn't understand! His body was all healed now, so he should wake up now, right? What was wrong?

Eri wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing her head against his chest directly over the tear that Nine had made with his final shot. She tried to listen for the beating that she always heard when hugging him, but she could only hear the howling wind and the cracking of thunder surrounding her.

She pressed her tear-stricken face into Izuku's chest.

"Please, big brother. Please don't leave me."

There was nothing but darkness around him.

As Izuku stared out into the abyss, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"I guess I lost…"

He had tried his best, but in the end, Nine was better than him. Better at using multiple Quirks, better at knowing his limit, and better at fighting. It was a losing battle from the start, and Izuku knew it.

So why had he even bothered? That question kept bouncing around in his head. What was the point?

He had always stuck up for those who needed help, and it always ended the same way. With him beaten black and blue and unable to stop anything. It didn't matter if he was a Quirkless little kid or a teenager with the power of the strongest Hero on the planet. Yet he kept on getting up and throwing himself back at those immeasurable odds. Why?

"Because your body moved on its own." A familiar voice spoke out, and Izuku turned his head to see a glowing golden form in front of him.

"All Might? Is that you?"

The Vestige in front of him was different from the others he had seen. Instead of looking like the man in his big heroic form, he was in his skeletal form, and was bathed in a fire of energy that blanketed his features.

"That's right, my body moved on its own." Izuku realized, as the Vestige continued to stare at him. "You said that was a trait of great Heroes, didn't you. But I'm no Hero. I can't even save a couple kids, and now One for All is gone. Everything you and the others entrusted to me will disappear."

"No, young Midoriya. It seems you still have a chance." The Vestige spoke out. "Besides, as long as there are those crying for help, One for All will never disappear."

Just then, a faint sound echoed in the darkness. There was a cry, and then another, and it slowly got louder until Izuku recognized the voice.

"Eri!" Izuku shouted out into the void. "I need to wake up! I need to save her! But… how can I? Nine was too strong to fight alone, and even going all out wasn't enough. What am I supposed to do, All Might?"

"It's simple my boy. If your power current power isn't enough, then simply go beyond it!" The phantom explained as if it was the simplest thing. "And you're not alone. Both you and Nine may have multiple Quirks, but you have more than that."

"You have the heart of a Hero."

The light around All Might began to spread out and bleach the abyss, blinding Izuku. He covered his eyes from the glow, but through his squinted eyes he could see seven other familiar figures standing around his mentor. Izuku finally was forced to shut his eyes from the blinding light, and sounds slowly began to filter in.

There was a clash of lightning, and when Izuku next opened his eyes, he saw Eri clinging onto him as the floors of I-Island's Central Tower passed by in his peripheral. Adrenaline spiked as he turned his head to look down and saw the ground only seconds away.

His body moved without thinking.

He wrapped his arms tightly around Eri and felt something inside him pulse. He grabbed onto that feeling without hesitation and pushed it across his body. An invisible force wrapped around him and Eri as the force of gravity began to wain.

"Izuku?" Eri looked up at him with teary eyes.

"It's okay Eri, I've got you."

The twos descent slowed to a crawl, and Izuku maneuvered himself so he was facing straight up. He wrapped a strand of Blackwhip tightly around his waist, keeping Eri secure against him. Eventually they stopped falling altogether a couple stories from the ground, and he ran a hand through Eri's hair as they floated there.

"You used your Quirk to save me, didn't you?" He asked.

"Mmhm…" Eri mumbled into his torn-up jacket, before looking up, still crying. "I-It was really scary, but someone needed to save you."

"And you did. But you probably gave Melissa a fright with this stunt." He looked back up to the top of the tower, the storm above it growing stronger every minute.

"I should say sorry to her, shouldn't I?" Eri realized, mumbling into him again.

"Yeah. And I should probably let her know I'm okay." Izuku adjusted Eri, ensuring Blackwhip was secure. "Hold on tight, we're going to be taking the fast way up."

"Umm, okay?" Eri looked apprehensive, but quickly wrapped her arms and legs around him.

Izuku lowered the power of Float momentarily, letting himself slowly drift down the last couple of stories. As he did, he repeatedly bent his legs in and out, feeling the familiar power charge around them. As his feet finally reached the pavement he squatted down, mentally preparing himself as he reactivated Float at full strength.

'Full Cowling 8% + Fa Jin + Float!'

"Going up!"

The stored-up energy of Fa Jin and power of Full Cowling sent Izuku flying up, and with Float negating gravity's downward force Izuku flew dozens of stories up in an instance. As his acceleration decreased, he used Blackwhip to grab onto the outside of the tower, throwing himself up it. In only a minute the two were able to climb back up to the Wind Farm.

When he flew over the lip of the platform, he found himself face to face with Melissa.

"Izuku?! Eri?!" She cried out as they landed next to her. She looked between them in disbelief, as if she didn't trust her eyes. "You- You're okay?!"

"Yeah. Eri managed to save me just in time-oof!" Izuku was cut off as Melissa crashed into the two, wrapping them in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank God!" Melissa exclaimed, glancing down at Eri, still wrapped around him. "Eri, please don't do something like that ever again!"

"I know. I'm sorry…" Eri apologized.

Melissa tried to keep a strong face, but quickly broke down crying again. "I'm just glad you're okay." Izuku let Blackwhip go, setting Eri down on the ground. She immediately began to ran off, and Melissa grabbed her by the wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"T-To help heal the others?" Eri said, as if asking for permission.

Izuku glanced around, taking stock of the others around him. Kota was fine, and while Katsuma seemed out of it he was relatively uninjured. However, Wedge and Mr. Oguro were still lying unconscious where Nine had dropped them.

"… Okay. Just be careful, alright?" Melissa relented.

"Got it!" Eri said happily, running over immediately to save more people. As she did, Melissa turned back to Izuku and sighed.

"I'm glad that you're back Izuku, but I'm not sure how much longer any of us will be here." Melissa said sadly, looking at the now raging storm around them.

"What happened while I was… out?" Izuku asked with a wince. "Nine shouldn't be able to use his Weather Manipulation Quirk to this extent without serious backlash unless…"

"Unless Nine got what he wanted. He took Katsuma's Quirk." Melissa responded, finishing his sentence. "I think he plans to tear down I-Island as some show of force. And worst of all, I don't think there's anything we can do about it."

"But I have Float now! With it I can still reach him and-"

"And what, Izuku?!" Melissa cut him off with a shout. She balled her fists as she looked down at the ground, tears falling against it. "I know you want to help, but there's nothing you can do. Besides, I can't handle seeing him ki-, beat you again."

"Melissa…" He wrapped his arms around her in comfort, realizing she was unfortunately right.

He couldn't try and outlast Nine anymore, not with Cellular Activation in his possession. Add in the extra power of Weather Manipulation, and his new ability to float through the air was practically worthless. If he was able to use all of One for All's power, he might be able do it. But that was impossible.

Was there really nothing to do but wait for the inevitable?

There was a ding, and everyone froze what they were doing to look over at the sound. The elevator light next to them blipped on, and a few seconds later the doors opened to reveal a single man carrying a suitcase inside.

"Uncle Sam? What the hell are you doing here?" Melissa asked as the scientist stepped out of the elevator and into the raging winds outside.

"Those Villains took me hostage in order to get in the tower, but they all scattered as soon as this big storm appeared!" Samuel quickly explained, before turning to Izuku. "That leader of theirs said you had a strong Quirk but couldn't handle it, right? Well, I took the opportunity after the Villains left me to try and help."

He presented the briefcase to the teenagers, opening it up dramatically to reveal a familiar looking headset.

"Wait, is that… the completed device he made for All Might?" Melissa asked in amazement.

"Y-You know about it! But how? It was top secret!" Samuel looked surprised.

"It looks just like the Scanner." Izuku explained, pulling the device out of his back pocket and handing it to Samuel.

The device presented to him looked just like the Scanner. But instead of only having two prongs that wrapped over the ears in a half circle, there were six that would encase the entire head like a clawed grip.

"The testing unit? That thing disappeared ages ago, how would you have-? Oh! David you sly dog. I'm impressed you got that past me." Samuel said, staring at the device in Izuku's hand with a sudden understanding. The thunder snapped his attention forward again, and he stared back at Izuku. "That old thing is designed only to read the power of Quirks, but the version we have here can boost your Quirk! It should allow you to use much more of your Quirks power without any backlash to your body."

"That's incredible!" Izuku looked over the completed device in front of him, before suddenly realizing what the original purpose of this device was. 'Melissa said this was for All Might originally. That must mean David Shield built it to help All Might get around his dwindling time that he could use his Quirk! If that was the case, then if I used it…'

"How does it work?" He asked excitedly.

Samuel had a wide grin, and began strapping the device (Q.A.D., as he explained) to his head with great furor. He felt the six prongs slip through his hair, and he could see the glowing blue points in the corner of his eyes.

"Alright, let's hope this works!" Samuel said, pressing a button on the back of the device, and Izuku collapsed to his knees as voices filled his head.

Emotions overwhelmed him from all sides. He could feel the fear and panic all around him. From Melissa beside her to the children in the hotel two hundred stories down. All of it pointed to one source directly above him, in the eye of the storm.

'Is this… Danger Sense? If I can detect from so far away, then I suppose the device must be working.'

"Izuku!" Melissa rushed over to his side. "Is something wrong? Uncle Sam, take it off!"

"No!" Izuku shouted. He took one more deep breath as he stood back up. "It's working fine. I was just overwhelmed by Danger Sense momentarily. But I'm not getting the usual pangs in my head when it activates, despite so many people being detected. That means it's working! The device is working!"

"Incredible! Oh, if only I had something to analyze this data with." Samuel whined.

"Guys, the Supervillain!" Melissa reminded them, and they both sheepishly got serious again.

"Alright. Alright!" Izuku said to himself, pumping himself up as he began to lift himself with Float. "It's time to save everyone, for real this time!"

Before he could fly off, Melissa grabbed his wrist. She looked at him seriously. "Remember, just because you're stronger, it doesn't mean you're invincible. Please be careful, for mine and Eri's sake."

He nodded. "I will."

She stared up for a few moments, before pulling him down and giving him a kiss on the cheek. She quickly pushed him up before he could react, floating up into the air like a balloon. "F-For good luck. Go be our Hero, okay?"

"… Right!" Izuku said, a dopey grin working its way onto his face. He turned and sped away with Float, feeling the ability to not only levitate in the air but almost swim through it in any which direction. 'Must be the boost from the Q.A.D.'

Flying up to the top of the tower, he set himself down on the helipad in the center. Looking up, he could see the swirling storm clouds had finally began to descend. A funnel of wind was coming approaching, threatening to tear the entire tower apart. Nine could be seen floating beside it, arms outstretched as he coordinated the sky to his whims.

"Damn, this guy sure looks like a tough nut to crack."

"Ah!" Izuku turned to see Banjo, the Fifth Holder of One for All, floating behind him as an orange specter. "How are you here?!"

"Us appearing to you outside of dreams was inevitable." The white specter of the First said, appearing in place next to the Fifth. "Although it appears you've taken a shortcut."

Each of the users slowly appeared around him, each with their own color. He couldn't help but feel at ease, knowing that all these Heroes were standing at his side.

"Don't lose focus now." The only one he didn't recognize said, looking up at the storm. But Izuku knew from deduction that the cyan spirit had to be the Second. He followed his gaze to the approaching twister. "How do you plan on dealing with that?"

"Don't you remember what I said earlier?" Izuku asked, cocking his right arm back. "All Might can change the weather with a single punch!"

Power flowed through him straight to his arm. But unlike before, the pressure that built up like a bomb that usually appeared was gone. Izuku let out a cry as he swung his fist to sky.

"Texas Smash!"

The whole tower shook as a blast of air shot straight up. Rain ceased to fall around him as it too was flown away in a blast of raw power. The wave of pressure climbed up until it made contact with the descending tornado, barreling through it as if it was never there. It climbed further still until it parted the center of the dark clouds above, revealing the moonlit sky beyond.

For one single second, the rain didn't fall.

The thunder and lightning were silent.

Raging gales blown away.

In that second of silence, Nine looked down and saw him.

And then the storm returned with a vengeance.

"Looks like you've got his attention." The Fourth said, noticing the spike from Danger Sense.

"Alright Ninth, what's the plan?" Nana asked.

Izuku smirked. "It's pretty simple really. We go to the absolute limit!"

'Full Cowling: 100%!'

He called upon One for All across his entire body as much as he could, and he noticed the holographic display out of the corner of his eye like the one on the Scanner. As the power flowing through him grew higher, so did the AP number.

One for All's strength finally reached its peak, and he glanced over at the display one last time.

[Quirk #1 | Output: 25000 AP]

[Estimated time operational at current output: Infinite]

"And what happens once you've reached your limit? What if your current power isn't enough to stop him?" The Second asked.

Izuku remembered All Might's words to him moments ago. The familiar motto of both him and U.A. High.

"Then I'll simply go beyond my limits!"

Next Chapter: Plus Ultra!

Chapter Text

Izuku bent down, flexing his legs and shooting up towards Nine as fast as he could.

In this case, it turned out 'as fast as he could' was the speed of sound. He honestly wasn't prepared to reach his opponent so quickly and ended up shoulder checking the man instead of using a Smash. Still, being crashed into at such speeds was an effective attack regardless, and Nine was sent hurtling back.

"H-How?!" Nine shouted as the winds under him stabilized and he returned to glaring at Izuku. "You were dead! There's no way you could have come back from that unless… the girl." Understanding crossed his eyes. "It appeared I underestimated her Time Quirk."

Nine's hand had barely twitched before Danger Sense had informed Izuku of the expected attack. He launched forward again, this time being sure to throw a punch forward this time. Three layers of Air Wall formed from the hand that Nine had originally planned to attack from moments before contact.

"Detroit Smash!"

Air Wall shattered like glass in only a second, and Nine brought up his forearms in a cross guard as Izuku's fist made contact with them. Nine found himself flying through the air again, arms very broken from the attack.

"What is this power?!" Nine cried as his arms glowed green from Cellular Regeneration. "And what the hell are those things I see around you?!"

"Oh, he can see us?" En said in surprise.

"Not perfectly, it seems. But he does have All for One, so it's not too surprising." The First said.

"Focus." Second demanded. "He's no match for you now, so hurry up and beat him before he can damage the island anymore."

"Right!" Izuku replied, preparing another Detroit Smash. But Nine was prepared to counter this time.

"Let's see you dodge this!" Nine said as he threw his arms forward, thunder echoed in the clouds above ominously.

"Dodge!" Fourth shouted as Danger Sense triggered.

Izuku was a blur, and suddenly a bolt of lightning passed where he had just been. He sped around the sky with Float, avoiding the bolts that continued to flash around him. Eventually there was a pause in the attacks, and Izuku flew forward at Nine with fists raised.

Two Hydras shot out of Nine's back and tried to intercept him, but he shot two large spears of Blackwhip out of one his extended hands, skewering and dissipating both in a second. He pressed forward, raising a hand back. "Detroit…"

Nine brought both of his still damaged hands forward, producing multiple layers of Air Wall with them.

"Smash!"

His fist collided with the shields, knocking them together, and they pressed together with enough force that they produced a gale upon shattering. The blow would have knocked the two away, but he flung a strand of Blackwhip from his left hand, wrapping it around Nine's right leg.

"You're not getting away again!" Izuku growled out as Nine found himself unable to retreat. The Villain tried pointing his fingers forward and shooting a volley at him, but with Danger Sense and his enhanced speed, it took barely any effort to avoid the desperate attack. He tugged and brought the man closer for another blow. "Give up!"

"Never!" Nine shouted, and a dangerous feeling went up Izuku's spine.

'He wouldn't!' Izuku thought for a moment, but the rumbling from above proved Danger Sense's accuracy. He released Blackwhip and shot back, feeling his hairs stand on end as lightning crashed in front of him.

"He nearly hit himself with that attack!" Banjo shouted as Izuku thought it. "I hate to admit it kid, but I don't think this guy is giving up until he can no longer move."

"That's fine, I can keep this up all day." Izuku growled, preparing for another charge. But the look in Nine's eyes made him freeze for a moment. A frenzy he hadn't seen before now.

"I… I won't lose to the likes of you!" Nine shouted as purple line began to emerge across his skin, growing until they covered every inch of his body. The tubes on his back injected whatever substance were inside them, shattering upon emptying as great purple wings of power began to emanate from his back. "I'm the only one who can stand on top! The only one who will rule this new world!"

Some of the purple cracks of energy across Nine's body changed to the same green from Katsuma's Quirk, and one of his 'wings' changed to the same vibrant hue. In only a couple seconds his broken arms glowed and healed completely back to their healthy state.

"Shit! I think that was a whole bunch of Trigger he just injected!" Nana shouted in worry. "Now he has boosted Quirks too!"

"I can take it!" Izuku shouted, sending a fist forward at Nine. "Detroit Smash!"

Air Wall appeared as before, but this time the shield held. Cracks were sprayed throughout it, but it didn't shatter with a single attack like earlier.

Izuku felt Fa Jin charge in his right arm, and he swung back to try a super-charged Smash against the strengthened wall. But Nine took the pause to unleash a veritable swarm of Hydras from his back. Literally dozens of the serpent-like creations snaked towards him, and he flew back to avoid the attack.

He kicked and punched any Hydra that got too close, and when there weren't any in range, he'd send a Blackwhip out to drag one to him. Nine's assault continued relentlessly as he threw in erratic Laser Bullets between the Hydras attacks.

But there was barely a challenge. Danger Sense let him see every attack the moment Nine thought of it. Float let him maneuver through the sky like a knife through butter. Black Whip grappled his opponent's appendages into range easily. Fa Jin was slowly charging in his limbs the longer he fought.

And One for All strengthened each and every one of them to a frankly ludicrous degree. It boosted not only his body, but Quirks as well. It was truly an incredible Quirk.

"I can't help but notice you're not using Smokescreen…" En said disappointingly.

"His opponent can see him with that Scanning Quirk of his." Hikage answered for him. "It wouldn't be of advantage to blind himself now, even with my own Quirk supercharged as such."

Izuku's hair stood on end again, and he looked up to see that the storm was still growing. With Nine's power enhanced, the weather changed once more as hail pellets the size of baseballs began to fall from the sky towards him. Picked up by the gale-force surrounding him, they sped towards him like bullets.

"Damn it!" Izuku cursed under his breath as even more projectiles came flying towards him. Even with his super-senses, dodging the Hydras, Laser Bullets, and the hail was proving trying.

Not to mention there was this weird feeling that was spreading across his body.

The Third appeared in his peripheral. "You need to create an opening and return fire. Try using my Quirk."

'Alright, which move would work best to create an opening?' Izuku thought for a moment as he ran through all of All Might's Smashes. One came to mind, and he dodged the closest Hydra only to immediately dive down at an angle.

The many attacks weaved after him, following in a straight line behind him. He turned around after a moment, and as he predicted the attacks were straight above him, and directly above that was Nine.

'Time for a two-for-one attack! Overcharged Fa Jin + 100% One for All!'

Izuku thrust his arm up, rotating as fast as he could while releasing Fa Jin's energy at the same time. Through physical force alone he managed to create a tornado that swept up all of the attacks, pushing them up and towards Nine. "200% Nebraska Smash!"

"Little shit!" Nine cursed as he was forced to block his own flurry of hail and Hydras flying up at him. His Air Wall caught all the attacks, and he pushed them back down with a blast of air, dissipating the barrier.

'Now! Pinpoint Focus!' Blackwhip shot forward like a spear, weaving past the debris and tagging Nine in the chest now that his Air Wall had vanished momentarily. Izuku tugged Nine towards him before winding up a roundhouse kick. "St. Louis Smash!"

The attack slammed into the point he'd targeted with Blackwhip, and the chest of Nine's bodysuit crumbled to dust as he went flying back. Izuku could see the massive bruising directly on the man's chest, and he knew a few ribs had to have been broken with that attack. But Nine seemed unfazed by the damage, and a moment later it became obvious why.

The cracks of energy running across Nine's body pulsed as they spread further, emerald light shining along them into his chest. Moments later the wounds on his chest had entirely healed, just like the ones from his arms had earlier.

"Seriously?" Izuku pouted as he sped away from the storm Nine had thrown at him in retaliation. As he fought against the wind though, that feeling across his body from before had become more prominent, and he could now recognize it as pain. "Guys, I don't mean to cause a panic, but I don't think the device is completely working."

"What?! What do you mean kid?" Banjo asked, obviously panicking.

"My body is feeling stressed, like I'm going over my limit with Full Cowling." Izuku explained as he did a hard dive to avoid a barrage of lasers. He could feel his body ache at the sudden movement, and he began to make an unfortunate realization.

"That's because all the device does is boost your Quirk without any drawbacks. It doesn't remove the wear and tear your body would face from that boost." The Second said, confirming his fears. "You're technically not even a Hero Student yet, with only ten months of physical training. It's only natural that it would feel fatigued being thrown through the air like a missile."

"So even with the device, Ninth's still on a time limit?" The Third sighed. "But that Villain is hurt by using Weather Manipulation, right? Do you think you could outlast him?"

"No, he has Katsuma's Cellular Regeneration." Izuku explained as he tried to approach Nine again for another attack. "If I had to guess, he's using it to heal the damage he usually took. And with that Trigger boost…"

He was forced to fall back as multiple blasts of lightning cut off his path of approach and Nine flew into the storm above.

"So that's it? He's just invincible as long as he's roiding out?" En complained. "Can't we just keep punching him until he's tired? Worked pretty well for the Eighth."

'Tired…' Something in the back of Izuku's mind tried to tell him something, but he found himself suddenly distracted by the multitude of Hydra's emerging from the storm cloud above. As he fended them off like before, he glanced over at the Second.

"I know now's not the best time to ask, but what's your Quirk?" Izuku asked.

The Second gave him a serious glare. "You cant-"

"Can't use it without possibly dying, I know!" Izuku growled as he released a charge of Fa Jin in his legs to boost away from the Hydra's attempting to encircle him. "But won't the device negate it?"

"It's not that simple… But you are right. We're running low on options." The Second relented. "My Meta Ability is called Gearshift. It allows me to alter the speed of anything I touch, increasing and decreasing their acceleration completely independent of inertia. It used to only work on small objects, but the strengthened version within One for All is likely able to be used even on yourself now."

"T-That's incredible!" Izuku shouted, forgetting about the fight momentarily. "Why am I not using that right now? I could probably beat Nine in literal seconds with it!"

"Focus Ninth!" Hikage reminded just as a swarm of hail approached and Izuku returned to avoiding attacks.

"Because the drawback for doing so is immense. I was able to test my Meta Ability on insects and very small creatures like frogs, and the results weren't pretty." The Second continued to explain as Izuku dodged the ice raining all around him. "It accelerates everything, which usually isn't a problem for inanimate objects. But for a living body, will quickly run out of energy faster than can be recharged. And with the boost from One for All and the device, it'll probably be able to accelerate your entire body down to the cellular level."

"So it uses up oxygen, just like Mr. Oguro's old Quirk!" Izuku quickly made the connection. He threw a fist forward in the direction of Nine, blowing away the clouds and revealing him again, shield raised. "But shouldn't the Q.A.D. negate that problem?"

"You mean like it's currently negating the strain from going all out currently?" The Second responded sarcastically. "I'll admit, the device may let you use it on yourself for a couple seconds. But in the state your body is in, you'll likely asphyxiate yourself immediately. And this Villain won't give you a chance to catch your breath."

Swarms of lasers zigzagged from Nine's hands through the sky towards Izuku, and Izuku summoned multiple strands of Blackwhip from his own hands. He batted each and every bullet of energy out of the sky with an explosive strike with the dark energy. In the process, they gained the same red energy from Fa Jin that his arms just had.

"Huh, didn't think my Quirk would work on things other than limbs." The Third admitted.

"Kinetic energy is kinetic energy! Wish I could have done that back in my day!" Banjo said in a jokingly jealous tone.

'Blackwhip + Fa Jin… Blackchain!' Izuku blasted towards Nine again, already thinking of ways to use this new combination of Quirks. Nine himself summoned forth the Hydra's again and raised his arms ready to shield himself. Previously, he would have quickly become surrounded by the Hydra's and overwhelmed before getting an opportunity to attack directly. 'And now… Blackchain + 100% One for All!'

"Oklahoma Smash!"

Izuku spun his body as fast as he could as he continued soaring towards Nine, letting the strands of Blackchain fly out and strike the Hydra's that attempted to get in close. The tornado of black and red energy tore its way through the serpents straight to Nine. Most of Fa Jin's energy had been dissipated by the attack, but the leftover Blackwhips remained.

As the shields of Air Wall emerged Izuku crossed his arms in front of him, causing Blackwhip to from two combined trails behind him. Releasing Fa Jin in his arms, he swung at the shield in a violent cross chop.

"200% Carolina Smash!"

The dual attack blew threw Air Wall but failed to reach Nine directly. Before he got a chance to retreat though, the two trails of Blackwhip followed behind Izuku's initial attack and slammed into him in an X-shaped pattern. Nine was launched back from the force, but he was almost fully healed before he could even stabilize himself, leaving no room for a follow-up attack.

'Seriously?' Izuku complained silently. He slowly froze though as he observed Nine's body during the healing process. 'Wait a minute… those lines of energy going across his body. The ones that appeared when he used Trigger. They're growing in size after each hit.'

As Nine's healing finished the glowing cracks of energy ceased spreading, turning from green to purple. Then, as he called on the weather to smite Izuku, they began to slowly increase in size again.

"The Trigger!" Izuku shouted as he fled momentarily from the wrath of the tumultuous weather. He could feel each breath begin to grow harder to take. He didn't have too much more time at his best. "Something's happening to his body the more he uses his Quirks! Look at the lines on his body!"

En hummed after a moment. "The kid's right. That man's starting to light up like a Christmas tree."

Nana let out a gasp. "Of course! Trigger temporarily enhances Quirks by manipulating chemicals the body uses during Quirk use to go over its limits with minor repercussions. The drugs can only supply so much though, and if when it's all up…"

"He'll crash, hard." Banjo finished for her. "Just one small snag. You still need to outlast him, and that's not looking to promising kid. Don't act like we can't see you panting like a dog over there."

"I'm fine!" Izuku insisted. "For now, at least."

Izuku flew around Nine in a large arc, trying to come up with a plan. He just needed Nine to use his Quirks more than Izuku did. Specifically, Weather Manipulation and Cellular Activation. Those were the ones that appeared to cause the most noticeable change.

Weather Manipulation made sense, as it seemed to tear the man's body apart with each use. But Weather Manipulation was also a dangerous Quirk, not to mention that even stronger uses of it might tear I-Island apart before he could win, defeating the purpose of fighting.

That meant he had to get Nine to use Cellular Activation more instead. But how?

Cellular Activation was being used to counteract Weather Manipulations downside, and also heal any injuries Izuku landed. The first option was not optimal, as he had just rationalized how he should try to minimize the damage from the weather in the first place. But getting through Nine's guard to land a direct hit was proving more tiring with each attack, and Izuku knew his opponent was too smart to be fooled by the same trick twice.

What else was there? What else did he know about Katsuma's Quirk?

'It increases the activity of cells throughout the user's body and that of anyone they are touching, increasing regeneration, recovery, and physical condition. It draws upon the users stamina, meaning if used on themselves they are trading off short term improved ability for long term functionality. That's perfect if I could just get him to use it, but how?!'

The question kept repeating in his head. There was something just out of reach, he could feel it. If only there was some way to push his body even further. Something that could affect his entire body at the cellular level…

"Oh."

"Finally got a plan?" Nana asked as Izuku ceased strafing.

"Maybe." Izuku said nervously. He turned to another of the Vestiges. "Hey, Second! How do you activate your Quirk?"

"Did you not listen to a word I said?" The Second rose his voice. "If you use it on yourself then your body will-"

"I know! I'm not planning to use it on myself." Izuku interrupted with a smirk. "You said One for All boosted Gearshift's range to be able to affect myself. How much more do you think the Q.A.D. raised it?"

He could feel the incredulous looks from the Vestiges, and he Second finally spoke up. "What sort of crazy idea do you have?"

Nine watched as 'Deku' paused in his flight for a moment, seemingly conversing with the specters that floated along with him. He wasn't sure what they were, but he could see their faint glow with Scanning, each the color of one of the boys Quirks.

And the one he was talking to currently was the cyan color, the only of the Quirks Nine had yet to see fully with his Quirk-based vision. Even with whatever device that boy was wearing improving his Quirks, he had yet to use it.

'Could he not know how to use it?' Nine thought, before readying a wave of lightning. He had nearly been beaten by the wannabe Hero activating a new Quirk at an inopportune moment once, and he wouldn't let it happen again.

The moment he summoned the bolts from the clouds above the boy dodged with the help of his warning ability, before flying towards him again. Likely to land another useless blow against him. With the increased power gained from his specially modified Trigger, he could heal far faster and longer than usual.

There was the risk of damage to his body after it wore off, but Cellular Activation should mitigate that, if not outright remove it. All he had to do was beat this child before then, which would be a cakewalk.

'He's not as used to combat as I am. I can already see his body begin to slow. An incredible Quirk is worth nothing if your body is unable to handle it.'

As Deku sped towards him, Nine summoned his Hydra again. They pounced forward at their prey as it bounced around the clouds. How was he planning to get through his guard this time? They both knew the same trick wouldn't work twice, so what next?

Much to his disappointment, he flew straight at him, getting as close as he could while avoiding the Hydra. Nine kept his hands at the ready, waiting to throw up Air Wall at moments notice.

'A frontal assault? With the amount of dodging he's doing, he won't have the strength to break through my shield immediately, leaving himself vulnerable. What is he playing at?'

"Smash!" Deku shouted as he flew forward, leg extended towards Nine.

Nine summoned multiple layers of Air Wall, and as predicted there wasn't enough force to shatter the barrier. But right as the foot made contact, a giant bomb of purple smoke exploded out of the boy, momentarily blinding him before reactivating Scanning.

"That doesn't work on me!" Nine shouted in reminder, releasing the pressure built up in Air Wall to blow Deku and the smokescreen away. He saw the light of One for All fly back, only for it to stop closer than it should have. When his view cleared, he could see his opponent had grabbed the Hydra heads around him with that black energy, using them as supports as he stretched back.

'He used the momentary pause when my vision changed to setup a slingshot on my own Quirk!'

He tried to call up another arrangement of Air Wall, but the air had been pushed away so recently and Deku came flying forward with them half-formed. An arm shot through them as Deku attacked with a palm strike.

"Florida Smash!"

Nine could feel his chest crumple from the blow as he was sent flying, but he blocked out the pain. He was used to it. After a second, the warmth of Cellular Activation flooded his veins. It was an odd feeling, your body repairing in real time. But as he could feel himself breathing again, he simply shrugged.

He had worked hard for this Quirk, and he would be sure to enjoy it.

He turned his attention back to Deku, only to find another plume of smoke flying out of him. The quantity of the smokescreen was so great it appeared like its own purple cloud among the stretch of blackened storm. As it engulfed him, Nine just sighed.

"This resistance is pointless."

He watched the light of One for All fly around him, and he called upon the winds to blow away the cover. But the purple light in One for All kept coming to the surface, replacing anything he knocked away quickly.

"Why are you trying to obscure yourself so thoroughly? I can still tell what you're doing!"

There was nothing but purple in his normal sight, but that was fine, as he could see Quirks, and that was all that mattered. He sent out more Laser Bullets and Hydra's, giving up on blowing away the cover for a time.

"If you wish to waste what little time you have remaining on this game of cat and mouse, then I'm more than happy to oblige!"

It was true. He was using Cellular Activation throughout his body, always keeping himself at top shape. Restoring his wounds, keeping him sharp. Whereas Deku had slowed down considerably, the last couple attacks clearly having pushed past some threshold. His light was moving like a snail in Scanning's vision, barely dodging his current attacks with only inches to spare.

After a minute or two of mindless dodging, Nine got fed up with waiting for Deku's next move.

"Soon you will be dead, and I'll be the King of this world! What can you possibly do to stop me?"

He called upon Weather Manipulation to summon forth a great tornado around himself and blow away the pitiful distraction. The wind gathered with a swipe of his hands, and with a single great push the sky around him became clear again.

"Now, lets quit delaying the inevitable."

Raising his hands up, thunder began to echo around him. But before he could bring them down, he noticed something strange about his arm. Looking down at it with Scanning, he could see it was under a Quirk's effect. A cyan color draped along his arm and reached across his entire body.

'This is… the boys unused Quirk! Did he tag me with it during the last attack?'

Looking up at Deku above him, he could see now that it wasn't just him that was moving slower, but everything. The clouds, the rain, the arcs of lightning.

No, they weren't moving slower.

He was moving faster.

Scanning quickly allowed him to deduce that it was a Speed Altering Quirk of some sort affecting him. But why was his opponent making him faster?

"What the hell are you doing-!" Nine found his shout cut off as he let out a cough, and a familiar copper taste touched his tongue. He checked his mouth, only to find blood running from it.

'How?! Cellular Activation should be healing me!'

Nine looked down at his own body, only to find it almost entirely covered in jagged lines of green energy. The formerly bright emerald light had dimmed to a dull shade, and it pulsed weakly. The energy he had been using to heal was almost entirely depleted somehow!

"Gearshift." Deku seemingly answered as he approached.

'I'm still faster! Don't let him approach!' Nine thought, trying to send his Hydra's forward at super speed. But they suddenly slowed down, and he felt the strain on his body lessen slightly.

"Once I touch an object, I can set it as a target for the Quirk." Deku explained, now dodging the slowed attacks with ease. "I can then increase and decrease the targets speed from any distance as long as it's set. Down to the cellular level."

"No! Stay away from me!" Nine shouted, trying to summon forth lightning. The pain of using Weather Manipulation wasn't being negated anymore, but that didn't matter right now. He couldn't lose now! Not when he was so close! He gathered as much lightning as he could to strike everywhere around him. "Die!"

"Transmission!" Deku was enveloped in the same Cyan energy as before, and right as the lightning came crashing down everywhere, he vanished.

"Top Gear!" And appeared right in front of Nine, letting out a gasping breath. "The only place you couldn't hit was where you currently were."

Nine tried to fly away but found his body not responding as it should. The warmth of Cellular Activation had finally left, leaving his body tired and broken. He proceeded to fall as Deku wound up for a closing move.

"Damn you! I was so close! My power was greater!" Nine screamed.

"Maybe, but you knew nothing about the power you took, and it ended up wiping you! For someone so high on their own power, it was your reliance on the one you stole that defeated you!" Deku shouted as he flew down toward him. "Whereas I got all my strength from others! That's why I'm not afraid to use it to help others in turn!"

Deku began to spin forward, increasing in speed due to the cyan energy of Gearshift and the built up energy of Fa Jin. He built up force before winding back for one final punch. "California…"

Nine raised what little of Air Wall he could, but he knew it was futile.

"Smash!"

With one last blow, Nine's broken body flew back. He smashed into the top floor of the Central Tower, and this time he couldn't get back up.

The sky slowly began to clear after Izuku's last attack, and he felt Danger Sense drop as the ever-present storm dissipated, revealing the beautiful night sky. He let out a shaky sigh as he fought to catch his breath.

"I…I did it." He said in disbelief. Nine had been a Villain that could equal, no, even surpass, All Might.

And he beat him.

He felt himself stagger in midair suddenly, and the reassuring voices of the Vestiges registered in his ears again,

"Midoriya, you need to land, now." Nana insisted. "You're running on adrenaline after pushing yourself to keep up with a Gearshifted Nine."

"Not to mention using it on yourself. Did you even listen to a thing I said?" The Second added in disappointment.

"Sorry. It was the only thing I could think of to dodge his desperation attack." Izuku said to them as he slowly floated down to where Nine had landed. He touched down next to the great crater that he had created where a Helipad had originally been, seeing Nine laying at the epicenter. There was a slight shift of the man's chest, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

"Are you really that worried about killing him or not?" The Third asked, and Izuku shot him a look.

"Of course, I am. Besides, I need him alive if I want to get Katsuma his Quirk back." Izuku explained as he sent out a strand of Blackwhip. He wrapped it around the unconscious Villain before lifting off again. He jumped off the side of Central Tower, lowering himself midair down a couple dozen floors to the Wind Farm where is friends were.

"Izuku, you did it!" Melissa shouted, being the first to notice him as he floated down to the platform.

"Melissa." Izuku said happily, trying to keep his balance as she wrapped her arms around him before he had reached the ground. He let the Blackwhip holding Nine drop, as the defeated man clanged to the floor. "Sorry for taking so long."

"I'm just glad you're alright." Melissa said with tears in her eyes. "I knew you could do it though. Didn't doubt it for a moment. My Dad and Uncle Sam's work is the best after all!"

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without their help. Speaking of help, how is Eri? Did she manage to heal Wedge and Mr. Oguro?" Izuku asked, looking around for her.

"Err, about that." Melissa began rather worryingly. "She may have gotten a bit overenthusiastic about using her Quirk."

Izuku paled. "Oh no, did she make someone vanish? Did she turn them into a baby? Please tell me she didn't turn Mr. Oguro into a baby!"

"W-What?! No! No, everyone is still in existence and not a baby." She assured, letting out an amused chuckle. "There was just some unexpected side-effects. Like with Mr. Oguro and Katsuma-"

"Katsuma!" Izuku remembered, glancing around frantically. "That's right where is he? I need to get Nine to give him back his Quirk!"

"Izuku! Just… look." Melissa tried to calm him down. She turned and pointed in the distance.

There he could see Wedge and Mr. Oguro lying next to each other on the ground, sleeping. They both looked fine, but he could see there was something different about Mr. Oguro from this distance. He wasn't sure what though. And the trio of children were all huddled together and watching him from a ways off. Katsuma had Kota and Eri's hands, sharing a familiar green energy through them.

"H-How?" Izuku asked as he began to walk over to the children, who all got up and excitedly approached as well.

"Katsuma was still out of it when you left, so Eri used her Quirk for only a moment. But it seemed that it rewound his body to the point before he had his Quirk taken." Melissa guessed.

"But Nine still had the Quirk during our fight." Izuku said with growing surprise. "Eri managed to unintentionally duplicate a Quirk. That's…"

He didn't quite have a word to describe it. Amazing? Terrifying? The whole deal with Quirks was that they were unique, one of a kind. But with All for One's assistance, Eri had been able to create another of this unique ability that Katsuma had. With Overhaul's 'assistance', she had been able to remove Quirks as well. The ability to manipulate time had always been crazy. Izuku had known that. He had written who knows how many pages on practical uses for Rewind, but this was incredible.

"Deku!" Katsuma shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You beat the Villain!"

"I told you he would. My big brother is the best Hero ever!" Eri said with an earnest smile he hadn't seen on her before.

"Of course he did." Kota scoffed, glancing at Izuku like he wouldn't notice. "It would be disappointing if he lost after all that talk about- Look out!"

'Huh?'

Maybe it was the light-headedness from losing his breath so much recently, or the adrenaline dying down after seeing all his friends safe. Whatever the reason, he turned painfully slowly, just in time to see Nine's battered form stood up, holding a gun forward.

"Why didn't Danger Sense react?" Hikage asked in surprise.

"Because he's not aiming for Midoriya!" Nana realized. "The kids!"

There was a bang, and Izuku threw himself forward. He didn't have time to activate a Quirk, and he was so tired that something like Gearshift wouldn't work anyways. So, he simply put himself between Nine's target and the man himself.

He felt something impact his chest, and he let out a grunt. He ignored the pain he knew was about to come and tried to push whatever energy he had left into One for All, running towards Nine to stop him from firing again. But as he swung at Nine, he saw a smirk on the mans face as he felt Full Cowling begin to collapse.

"Ninth! That wasn't a normal bullet, be care-!" The First's voice filtered out to static as his specter disappeared, followed immediately by the rest of the Vestiges. One for All's power slipped from his body, and despite wearing the best Quirk boosting device in the planet, he couldn't feel a trace of it.

'Quirk Erasing Bullet's! How did he get those?!'

Izuku's fist hit Nine's forearm with a rather pitiful smack, and the man followed up by gripping the gun in his hand by the barrel and swinging it at his head. It crashed into the Q.A.D., and while it prevented a concussion, he could feel parts of the priceless device shatter into pieces as he fell backwards.

"I… won't be defeated… by you." Nine spat out, stumbling towards him.

Izuku simply got to his feet, raising his own hands. He didn't need his Quirk to beat Nine anyways. Not in the state he was currently in. Mr. Oguro had taught him a thing or two about close combat, and he knew now was the time to but his lessons to the test!

The two stared each other down for a moment. Melissa and the children stood back, unsure if they should help Izuku. Wedge and Mr. Oguro were still asleep. There was silence as they all waited for the other to make the first move.

But then something else did.

The tower itself shook slightly, and everyone brace as they glanced around.

"What?! But the storm is gone!" Melissa shouted.

"Out there!" Eri shouted, pointing out over the skyline to the North Lake of I-Island.

In the artificial body of water, lights could be seen in a circular pattern illuminating underneath the water. A blaring siren echoed out hauntingly across the night sky, and the area within the lit circle raised up out of the water to reveal a giant hatch. It swiveled open with a great metallic screech, and something began to raise itself out of the lake.

It was a great metallic disk, almost 300 meters in diameter. It floated up through the air without any obvious engine, despite its massive size. It was some sort of giant… flying saucer.

Izuku felt his mouth drop open, fight completely forgotten as the unidentified flying object continued to rise until it was just level with the top of the Central Tower. It then began to approach him, and he finally remembered to breathe again.

Once the vessel reached the Central Tower, a light appeared from the middle of the bottom of the disk. It passed over them all as if to scan them. Then, the location where the light was opened to reveal a circular hole into the saucer.

And then Izuku felt his feet leave the ground.

"Wait, what?!" Izuku flailed his limbs as he felt some tugging sensation pulling him up towards the light. He glanced back to see that he wasn't the only one being raised up. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the sleeping Wedge and Mr. Oguro floating up.

"Ahh!" The three children screamed as they held onto each other for dear life.

"No! What is this?!" Nine shouted, still trying to claw his way towards Izuku despite the insane interruption.

"Izuku!" Melissa shouted, and he turned towards her. The two tried to reach towards each other as they approached the saucer. But right when they touched, they entered the vessel itself, and a force pulled them away, forcing them each into their own pods around a circular room.

"What is going on?!" Izuku shouted, pulling against the metal wire restraints that wrapped around him suddenly and kept him lying in the pod. He looked to his left, only to see Kagome was already asleep in one of the pods. A pin pricked his arm, and his eyes began to droop. "W-Who…?"

A figure appeared in front of him, finely dressed, with stark white hair and crimson red eyes. He looked down at Izuku with a smile that sent shivers down his spine. As sleep finally began to take him, the man leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"It's finally time to end this extended rebellion of yours and come back to me, little brother."

"All… for… One…"

Izuku's eyes closed, and for the first time in a long while, there was no one waiting for him in the darkness.

Dragon, Chameleon, and Komodo all stared from their boat floating just outside of I-Island. They had nearly been swept away by the storm that their boss had summoned, and when it had stopped they had been relieved for a moment.

Until they saw it.

As the UFO that had had appeared over I-Island suddenly flew east at speeds that would rival most jets, they continued staring. As it flew towards the horizon, they watched in absolute silence. After a few moments, Komodo was the first to speak up.

"What the fuck just happened?"

Chameleon let out a sigh. "Something beyond our pay grade. Is Nine or Kagome answering?"

"Nope. But Nine's device is flying away in the same direction as that thing." Dragon quickly confirmed, looking up from his phone. "Well. I don't know how to say this boys, but it looks like our boss was just kidnapped by aliens."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"All in favor of saying 'Fuck it' and going back to Japan, say Aye." Dragon asked.

"Aye." Chameleon sighed.

"Hell Fuckin' Aye." Komodo swore.

"Alright then, all hands-on deck. Let's get the hell out of here." Dragon said, as the three scrambled to get the Yacht moving again.

As they did, Komodo paused to look back at the empty horizon where the flying saucer had just vanished over. He shook his head as he muttered under his breath. "Seriously though, what the fuck just happened?"

Next Chapter: Back to the Beginning

Chapter Text

The first thing that All for One noticed was a sudden change in his awareness.

As someone who had spent the last five years missing most of the sensory organs a normal man would have, he had become rather reliant on his own stolen collection of Quirks to remain aware of the world surrounding him. It hadn't actually been that hard, if he was honest.

Infrared Vision, Emotional Detection, Increased Hearing, Tasting Touch.

It was easy enough for him to replace any function with the right Quirk, but that still meant he needed to use those Quirks day in and day out. Even a man such as him had limits, and once the Quirk Exhaustion came and he fell asleep, he was alone in the darkness. In the dreams and hauntings.

But this time was different. He could 'see' around him, as if there was nothing wrong with him at all.

'Is this… one of those dreams?' All for One thought curiously. 'Have the vestiges of those I've stolen from come back to bemoan their fates once again? No, this feels different.'

Looking around he could only see a blank white void. He was seeming standing on a platform of nothingness, standing in the bleached abyss by himself. But then there was a shimmer, and the figure that haunted his dreams appeared beside him.

"What-?!" All Might shouted as he materialized from nothingness, form flickering like static. "What just happened?"

All for One was prepared with a catty reply but found himself stopping as he truly saw the man in front of him. Instead of the hulking mass of muscle that had nearly ended his life, there was a skeletal, broken man. The familiar costume hanged off the man's body like a suit that was too large, under which a great scar could be seen.

He had known that All Might had sustained serious injuries in their battle. While not as severe as his own, they still should have killed a lesser man. It was clear through careful analysis that the Symbol of Peace was slowly crumbling, but this state was beyond even his greatest estimates. If this was somehow real, then maybe his plans were ahead of schedule.

"Where am I? What did-!" All Might's rambling was cut off as he finally glanced up at All for One. His face hardened, and he suddenly lunged forward. "You!"

All for One tried to call upon his Quirks to defend himself, only to find that they did not respond. All Might, likewise, found his fist slammed into an invisible barrier between them, and he looked at it in confusion.

"I can't use One for All?" All Might said in horror, his form flickering again before glaring up at him. "What did you do, you bastard!"

"I didn't do anything, honest!" All for One said in an unconvincing voice. He truly had done nothing, but he couldn't resist the look of rage that it caused his nemesis. Inwardly though, he had begun to panic. None of his Quirks were working as they should. He could feel them stored within, but any attempt to actually activate his namesake Quirk and use them produced nothing.

"How are you still alive?!" All Might shouted.

"Am I? Or is this just another visit to your dreams? Should I find some other memory to dig up instead?" All for One mocked. While he wasn't sure if the All Might in front of him was real, he would prefer that if he was, that the man wouldn't be sure if… whatever was happening was even real.

'Is it One for All? Did we resonate somehow? But that shouldn't be possible without direct contact!' All for One began to think.

"No! I… I was at U.A. High. Everything was fine, and then I blinked, and I was here." All Might said, sparing a glance at the white void around them. "This is clearly some trick of yours! Is this place even real?"

All for One couldn't help but sigh. This buffoon clearly had a one-track mind. It was an embarrassment that he ever lost to him. "Honestly, All Might. You should take a breath. Those injuries seem rather severe. Maybe you should retire?" He said soothingly.

"You-" All Might's face contorted in annoyance, but his retort was cut off as a single red star appeared in the spotless abyss above them.

Both turned suddenly as the star began to expand, forming a wireframe of blood red in the vague shape of a human. It then began to fill in and refine itself, until there was a glowing red human floating in front of them. It lacked any facial features, instead a single bright light shone from within its holographic skin where it's brain should be.

This body floated down so that it stood between the two of them, before bowing stiffly.

[Greetings.]

'… What?' All for One glanced at All Might, who looked at him equally stumped. Neither dared move at the bizarre newcomer, who's robotic voice spoke seemed to speak directly in their heads.

There was a pause before the figure decided to move again. It stood back up at attention, and All for One could see the light in its head slowly blink. It then waved a hand, and the void around them changed suddenly.

[You are uncomfortable with the current surroundings.]

[Let me attempt to simulate a proper meeting area.]

Walls, ceilings, and floors suddenly came flying out from nothing. They found themselves standing in an empty room. With another wave from the figure, a rather luxurious seat appeared underneath him and All Might, as a desk appeared in front of the figure. Other accessories and details formed until a typical office had propped up within the void, as stark white as it.

The figure sat behind the desk and gestured to the chairs that it had seemingly conjured.

[Please, sit.]

All for One continued staring for a few more moments, before shrugging and following the figures suggestion. He lay back in the chair, crossing a leg as he got comfortable. All Might looked wary but followed suit a moment later. The man at least seemed convinced now that he had nothing to do with their current predicament.

The Hero's form continued to flicker again, as if he wasn't entirely there. All for One wasn't sure what it meant, but between that and the way the figure manipulated the world around it, this place wasn't quite in the real world.

'How fascinating.' There was another pause while the figure stared at them. All for One let out another sigh. It was quickly becoming clear that whoever this was, they were unfamiliar with social interaction. 'I guess I'll have to step in. Maybe I can steer this conversation in a productive direction.'

"Perhaps some introductions are in order? I'm afraid you have the two of us at a disadvantage." All for One asked the figure.

[That would be acceptable.]

[I am a techno-organic construct created to facilitate and analyze the development of extraordinary powers in other sentient beings.]

[I believe the term used by your species for my being is an Alien.]

"An… Alien?" All Might echoed dumbly.

[Correct.]

"Huh." All for One grunted. That was… not where he expected this to go. He had not thought of aliens for decades. He remembered the craze of extra-terrestrial beings back during the dawn of Quirks, but it had entirely died off as society shifted to that of the extraordinary. He didn't quite buy that the being in front of him was truly an alien. "So, Mr. Alien, where exactly are we? Your spaceship?" He asked jokingly.

[Negative.]

[Your bodies are currently being held in an organic storage unit.]

"A what's it now?" The figure looked over to All Might, pulling up a hand and holographically displaying a device of truly unknown design.

[It is a device that modifies a body with sufficient extraordinary energy into only said energy and storing them in an organized system.]

[The exact genetic structure is stored along with the energy, allowing a being to be frozen and later reformed with the proper equipment.]

[Due to the digital nature of this system, it is possible to link the beings within a virtual environment to allow for communication without release.]

All for One gripped the arms of his chair in increasing worry. He knew enough about old-world Pop Culture to know where this was going. "So, the two of us here to be experimented on?"

[Negative.]

[You two have been brought forward out of the others contained due to a certain issue that has presented itself.]

"Wait, others?!" All Might cried, noticing the beings wording. He let out a growl. "How many other people do you have captive here?"

The 'Alien' gestured to the globe on its desk, and a red pulse encompassed the entire sphere.

[The Energy Detector/Converter's last activation had a radius equal to the planet it is currently situated on.]

All Might gasped. "But that would mean-"

[Current capacity of system has surpassed 10 billion units.]

Every person with a Quirk. This being claimed to have most of the world contained within its own computer. A kidnapping on a global stage. If All for One hadn't been taken along with them, he'd be quite impressed.

"H-How?! What even is the purpose of such an action? What do you want?" All Might demanded.

[Data.]

"Data?"

[Data on powers, and how they react upon reaching critical mass within an organic body.]

'Critical mass within an organic body? Could he be talking about the Quirk Singularity Theory?' All for One was surprised that even an alien would be concerned with such a theory. But if that was the reason for this talk, then he could only think of one reason why they specifically were called upon.

[Which brings us to the reason for your summoning.]

The figure pointed to All Might.

[The power held within your body reached the prerequisite for initiating the recall operation, but once brought into the storage unit, somehow left your body and entered a new host.]

So, it was about One for All. It sounded like his brother's Quirk pulled the same trick on this alien that it had on himself numerous times. It took considerable effort not to laugh at its misfortune. Though he was surprised it took this long for it to be passed along, in all honesty.

[As it is the only power that met the prerequisite level, returning it promptly to storage is of the utmost importance.]

"Can you not just use the same method to capture us the first time?" All for One asked, probing for information.

[The power required to use the Convertor at such a scale takes a significant amount of time to charge.]

[A rough estimate of your species capabilities suggests that the current host would pass before another charge can be used, thus a direct capture must be initiated.]

[You two have been summoned due to being the previous user or having similar genetic power-sequencing found within you, meaning a high likelihood of knowing the new host of the power.]

'So, he can detect the relation between One for All and All for One? They were from my brother and I, so the base genetics must be similar.' He realized. But to be able to tell such a relation implied impressive understandings of genetics.

"Forget it! Like I'd tell you anything!" All Might spat.

That was understandable. The users of One for All have always been protective of their students, in order to prevent the Quirk being stolen. Whether the one doing the stealing was a Demon Lord or an Alien, they would rather die than surrender knowledge about their successor.

He had different priorities, however. "What would be in it for me?"

"What?!"

[Elaborate.]

"It's just that you haven't given me many reasons to help you. Say I provide you with information on the one you are searching for. Are you just going to put me back in storage afterwards? It's all about give and take, you see. A trade." All for One explained.

[Your logic is understood.]

[Then an even trade for the capture of one person would be the release of another, yes?]

"I help find you the current holder of One for All, and you let me go? Those are more than acceptable terms." He said happily.

"Don't you dare-!" All Might leapt out of his chair to lunge at him, only to be blocked by the same invisible wall.

The thought of there being no people left with Quirks was saddening, but it was likely that children who had yet to develop their abilities were spared. And with the increasing strength of each generation, there will be plenty Quirks to take again eventually. Not to mention whatever chaos the world was likely in due to the mass disappearance would easily allow him to regain his seat as the shadow ruler of Japan.

Nobody left but those without Quirks, looking to him for guidance and power. It'd be just like the good old days… but that would mean giving up his brother's Quirk. It was unfortunate that he wouldn't be able to take it for himself, but to have that thorn removed would still ease him greatly.

Besides, it didn't have to stay that way forever…

[There is one condition to your release, however.]

He gripped his seat arms, already predicting what such a condition would be. "And that is?"

[Your power, this 'Quirk', must stay for research.]

[It will be transferred elsewhere, and you will be released without it.]

"Heh." All Might let out a laugh, and All for One couldn't help but sigh at the predictability.

"That might prove complicated. As I'm sure you can see, my body has been heavily injured. Without my Quirk, I wouldn't be able to function properly." All for One said, gesturing to his deformed face, courtesy of the man to his left. "It defeats the purpose of being released if I'd likely die soon after."

Not to mention his breathing equipment may not have come with him. He truly might die minutes after leaving without his Quirk.

[That shall not be an issue.]

[We possess a biological machine to manipulate genetics and can use it to shape your body to the state it would be in its prime by reading the information within.]

"You… You can completely read and rewrite genetic information?" He asked in true amazement. If it was a biological machine, then that must mean it was a Quirk of some kind. The possibilities of complete Genetic Manipulation would be incredible.

[It cannot create completely new information and requires references and samples in order to introduce new elements to a body.]

[But to change a body to its ideal form would be a simple measure.]

[Do we have a deal?]

All for One sat and thought for a moment. The pro's and con's seemed to bounce around in his head, but he kept getting drawn back to what the being in front of him had revealed. He hated giving up such power, but he clearly wasn't the one in position to make demands. But just because the power was no longer in him, did not mean it wouldn't still be his.

"When you say my Quirk will be transferred, what exactly does that entail? Will you give it to someone else?" All for One asked.

[Your 'Quirk' carries a significant amount of energy, and the chances of damaging it if moved into an already existing user carries risk.]

[Our system possesses extra 'Organic logic processors' that can be loaded with powers as needed.]

[It will be stored within one of those until a suitable host can be found.]

'Then perhaps there's a chance…' He put a hand to his chin. It was a longshot, but there may be a path out of this where he didn't have to lose anything at all. During his musings, All Might finally spoke up again, addressing the alien.

"You're wasting your time. This… monster loves one thing and one thing only. Quirks. There's no way he'd give up something like that. He'd value it more than his life-"

"They're at U.A. High." Both All Might and the figure turned in surprise at his answer. "All Might said he was there before this, and if he's passed on his Quirk to someone, then they were likely taking the Entrance Exam when you did your little planet-scale abduction."

"All for One…" All Might's face paled. "Why? Why would you accept such a deal? You're the most Quirk obsessed person in existence! Don't tell me you're willing to get give it up to get back at me-"

"Don't kid yourself, All Might." All for One laughed as he got up from his seat. "I'm a centuries-old Supervillain. You don't think losing my Quirk wasn't the first contingency I planned around?"

"What are you scheming now, you monster." All Might asked, trying his best to pass the unseeable wall between them.

"I'm afraid you'll never know." One for All walked over to the figure, raising a hand. "So, let's shake on it?"

The alien looked at the hand for a moment, before finally understanding the gesture and raising a hand of his own in response. They shook, and suddenly it was just the two of them present.

[An agreement has been reached.]

[Preparing transfer and genetic editing.]

The world around him seemed to bleed away, and the red figure melted away as tendrils reached into All for One's own body. His awareness began to slip away, but in his final moments he felt as if some part of him had removed.

'So begins the gamble. Let's see which of us truly get what we want in the end.'

When All for One next became aware, he was blinded by a light. He brought a hand up to shield his eyes, only to realize a moment later what he was doing. Lowering the arm back down, he slowly began to open his eyes for the first time in five years.

He was met with blue and yellow. There was empty sky all around him, and the ground was of some sort of desert, filled with nothing but sand and whatever tiny plants could survive. Hills in the distance could be seen that reminded him of American post cards.

Enjoying the return of his senses, he took a deep breath. The air was dry and the heat was scorching in his suit, but he had never felt more alive. Looking around again, he noticed that he was standing at the side of a long road, with a couple abandoned vehicles sitting along it. There was a highway sign with a two-digit number on it.

'95'

"The States? How did I get here?" He asked himself.

[You were released here by me.]

"What?!" All for One glanced around, trying to find the red figure again, only to find himself alone.

[I am not physically with you.]

[You are being monitored using a power given to you.]

"You gave me a Quirk? Why?" All for One asked in confusion.

[Your continued freedom is reliant on the accuracy of your information.]

[Until then, this power will be used to ensure you make no actions that could sabotage my efforts.]

"Oh? What are you going to do if I do something bad? Summon your UFO and probe me?" He laughed, only for a killer headache to suddenly come on. The pain was so bad he wanted to collapse but his body didn't due as he ordered, instead standing still.

"This power allows for more than watching from a distance." His own voice said, but not by him. "If you do something to compromise my work, the copy of Genetic Manipulation implanted within you will activate and break down your body. Are we clear?"

"I get it, I get it!" All for One cried, finally regaining control. He collapsed to his knees as the pain lifted, and he cursed under his breath. 'My plans might prove more complicated to execute than initially thought in this case.'

[There is a major settlement approximately 40 kilometers Southeast.]

[It is recommended that you commandeer a nearby vehicle for transportation.]

"I could figure that out myself, thank you very much." He grumbled as he walked towards a nearby truck. It appeared that its previous owner had turned the vehicle off before they disappeared, likely to take a picture, meaning that it had plenty of charge left. They were also stupid enough to leave the keys inside and doors unlocked. "Perfect."

He hopped into the driver's seat, gripping the wheel nervously. It had been five years since he had any form of hand-eye coordination, and he honestly couldn't remember the last time he drove for himself. Being an uber-rich crime boss along with having a teleporting butler made such matters unimportant. He was also in America, and everything was mirrored.

He honestly hadn't driven anywhere in almost a century.

"Oh well, no time to learn like the present."

Not like there was anyone on the road to hit. As All for One started up the truck and began to slowly make his way towards what remained of civilization, he began to form his plan. Even if his Quirk was gone, the Empire he had formed still existed. Sure, most of his followers and underlings within it had vanished, but the material and money gained were still around. And that was a form of power that didn't disappear so easily.

There might have been a concern of whether his money would be worth anything still, but such systems were strengthened rather extensively after the Dawn of Quirks and the Collapse, to prevent a repeat of total anarchy. His money would still be good, and that was all he'd need to get to where he needed.

Japan. Specifically, to Jaku Hospital and the Doctor's lab.

There was just the matter of his identity. All for One wasn't as well known a name in America, and even if it was, without the ability to use his Quirk, it was only a matter of time before the authorities got to him. He did not need to deal with the American military in his current state.

That meant he needed to use one of his alter-egos.

He had cultivated many over the years, across multiple countries. They mostly just existed as public faces for the various activities he cultivated over the years. Something to put in the record books in case someone snooped too closely. But there was one that he held fondness for, and it seemed appropriate to use considering his lack of Quirks (from humans, at least).

For the foreseeable future, he was no longer Mugen Shigaraki, Demon Lord of Japan and wielder of All for One. Now, he was now Reiji Shigaraki, the Quirkless Billionaire Philanthropist who had recently returned to the public eye after an experimental Quirk Healing treatment in America. A man interested in Quirks, who has loads of money and connections, and is more than willing to spend it to get Japan back on its feet… for a price.

'And so I go from having everything to nothing.' Shigaraki said to himself. 'I suppose this is karma catching up to me. But if the world thought removing my Quirk would keep me down, then they are sorely mistaken. After all, isn't it a common saying that if something is truly important…'

'Then be sure to keep a spare handy.'

Next Chapter: Working Your Way Up

Chapter Text

“Hello, those of us who are still with us. It has been eleven days since the freak event that took those with Quirks from us, and there has still been no word from any remaining governments on what caused something of such a magnitude.”

Reiji Shigaraki listened to the radio as he sped down the empty highway, hoping to gather as much information as he could. He was very fortunate that English was one of the languages he had bothered learning properly before receiving that Polyglot Quirk.

“Eleven days? You couldn’t have released me any quicker?” He complained under his breath.

[Scanning all 10 billion of the collected individuals for genetic matches took a significant amount of time.]

“I can imagine.” He drawled at the robotic voice in his head, still trying to get used to the constant monitoring from the ‘alien’. It had been a long time since someone had held power over him like this, and it was already driving him mad.

“In other news, the State of Nevada has made a statement this morning.” The radio continued, and Reiji turned his attention to it again. “It is asking all those who can to head to the Strip, where a center has been set up to provide guaranteed supplies and necessity. If you are too young or unsure how to make your way there, please call the non-emergency helpline, and assistance shall be sent shortly. Another statement has been made for tourists, claiming they are in talks with the respective governments to have those stuck in foreign lands returned home as soon as possible.”

“More like to hand the responsibility off to others.” Reiji said in amusement. “Either way, that should be my ticket out of here. I’m pretty sure Las Vegas is just ahead anyways.”

[So, you will be returning to your country of origin?]

“I shall. I have plenty of plans to continue, and the loss of my Quirk is but a minor setback to them. I’ve been working on this plan for over a century, after all.” He explained proudly.

[Analysis of your genetic information indicates that you have been around since the exponential increase in Extraordinary Abilities.]

[Your Ability to absorb other Abilities had allowed for you to reach a level of power not projected for some time.]

He nodded, a smile on his face. “Yes, it had. But I fear that I would have eventually reached a limit in my Quirk. A ‘Critical Mass’, as you put it, where I could no longer store more Quirks, or only use a certain number of them at a time.”

His injuries by All Might had made it all the more apparent that there was a limit to his old and aging body. Even with the damaged parts of his head healed he was still a first-generation Quirk user. Even with a Quirk as amazing as his, it would have undoubtably been stronger in a body more used to Quirks like nowadays.

He had originally planned to ‘upgrade’ himself through Tomura, while using his emotions to take One for All at the same time. But with recent events, a new opportunity had prevented itself. And he would be foolish not to explore all avenues.

“A good friend of mine created something called the ‘Quirk Singularity Theory’ back when Quirks first emerged, where he hypothesized that eventually these powers would grow so strong and complicated that the human body would be unable to handle them, resulting in destruction.”

[There was someone who came to that conclusion back when Abilities first appeared?]

“There was.” He confirmed.

[Then your species may have been wiser than I had initially given them credit for.]

“Did one of your people come up with the theory as well?”

[No.]

[If they did, then I might have had no purpose for my existence.]

“You did mention that you were an artificial intelligence of some sort, didn’t you?” He thought back to the ‘aliens’ introduction to him and All Might. “What exactly was the purpose of your creation, and how does it tie to the Quirk Singularity?”

After a few moments of solitude, the voice of his extraterrestrial contact responded.

[The species that created me was quite similar to your own. Bipedal mammals on a planet with a diverse bio-sphere, blessed with an increased intelligence that allowed them to prosper and spread across it unrestricted. Technology eventually evolved, continuing their expansion at an exponential rate. But as they began to reach to the stars, abnormalities began to appear across the population.]

“Quirks.” Reiji guessed.

[Correct. These Extraordinary Abilities appeared throughout the population without explanation, allowing feats that defied their understanding of the world. But it was quickly accepted as the next stage of the species’ evolution, and soon increasing the power of these abilities became the focus of society. Testing with extraordinary energy, breeding programs, and other experiments were run to push this new development to it’s limit.]

“So, Quirk’s were more quickly accepted in your society?” Reiji mused. “I suppose it isn’t too much of a surprise. The main cause for the Collapse at the Dawn of Quirks were actually many factors that existed long before them. Environmental issues, energy crises, record income disparity. Humanity itself changing was simply the tipping point that broke the society that had been built up at the time.”

[Your observations are accurate. Yet it is my creator’s prosperity that proved their downfall.]

[With all focus moved to these Abilities, they quickly grew to a point that each individuals Ability could shape the very rules of the world. They had become the very deities they had once worshiped as an infant species. They speculated what the next generation would bring… but it never came.]

“And thus, the Singularity was reached.”

[Birthing new beings proved impossible. The strain proved too much, for both the Mother and Child. The power that had gathered had reached Critical Mass, resulting in a complete breakdown of their species. Attempts to use artificial machines for growing the next generation also failed, as none could contain their power. The very few that did manage to be born came out braindead, overwhelmed by their very own Ability.]

“Did you have no way to weaken or remove the Quirks? Surely that Genetic Manipulation ability would be able to do the trick?” Reiji asked.

[The genetic information pertaining to Abilities had spread so far throughout their bodies that simply removing it would be impossible. Excessive mutations had spread throughout the body, and the part of the brain related to the use of Abilities had become so important that attempts to change it resulted in brain death.]

Reiji was suddenly very happy he had partnered up with Garaki to research the Quirk Singularity. If that man ever found a way back to him, he was doubling, no, quintupling his budget.

“So, what happened to them? And how do you come into it?” He asked.

[In the end, they developed the personal storage devices, like the one containing your species. They sealed themselves in stasis, while I and the other units left to similar planets to begin experimenting the effect of Abilities.]

“Wait, are you saying there are other planets out there that have life with Quirks?” His curiosity was suddenly piqued.

[There should be, according to our observations. The distance between these habitable planets is great, however, and direct communication with the units stationed there is infeasible. It would require use of the warp engine to reach at a reasonable time.]

“Fascinating…”

There were other planets out there with Quirks? He couldn’t help but wonder if he could take them with All for One, despite not being human. The possibilities were tantalizing.

[Once I reached this planet, I began to slowly use Genetic Manipulation to push your species into awakening Abilities. It took many centuries of manipulation, but the required traits eventually arose to allow for prominent propagation of Abilities.]

“So those alien abduction stories had some truth after all!” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I figured the reason those kinds of tales died off was because Quirks made real life far more interesting, but I suppose it was simply because you were done with your work.”

[That is… one of the reasons.]

Reiji caught the pause in the alien’s response. Clearly there was more to the story. Before he could begin a new line of questioning though, an ear-splitting sound echoed in his head.

[BBZZTT!]

“Gah! What the hell?” He nearly swerved off the road as a sound like TV static suddenly filled his head. It was as if the alien had changed to the wrong channel. “Hello? Did you lose reception?”

There was silence in Reiji’s head, and he pulled over for a moment. As the silence continued on, he brought a hand up, feeling a new sensation throughout it. He reached out to that feeling, and a red double-helix pattern appeared along it.

“This is… Genetic Manipulation?” He looked at his now-glowing hand in interest.

He could feel the power to alter his very body at the tips of his fingers. The ability to completely change himself any way he pleased. But he wasn’t sure why he suddenly had control. Suddenly the static cut off, and the red helixes of Genetic Manipulation vanished with it.

[Apologies for the pause in connection.]

“So even Quirks have connectivity issues, it seems. What happened? I nearly ran myself off the road you know?” He complained to the newly returned parasite in his head.

[It appears the inhabitants of this nation have put together a force to attack the central facility nearby.]

[They attempted to use an electromagnetic pulse to disrupt my systems, but it was a minor interference.]

[Their forces will be destroyed thoroughly shortly, so please ignore the interruption.]

‘The U.S. know where everyone is being kept? And if the aliens base is nearby, then I have a sneaking suspicion I know exactly where it is.’ He couldn’t help but smirk. It would be the king of all cliches, but it would make all the sense.

But that wasn’t even what he found most useful about the recent interruption.

He had access to Genetic Manipulation. It was only for a moment, but while the alien was dealing with the EMP, he could have used the Quirk. It seemed that the alien was using the Monitoring Quirk to also prevent the use of other Quirks. But if it lost ‘connection’, then that block would be lifted. Very fascinating.

This would work well into his plans. All he would need is to send the right signal, and he’d have just the opening he was looking for with that incredibly versatile Quirk. But first, he needed to pick up something important to use it on…

After driving for a while longer Reiji found himself in the land of gambling itself, Las Vegas. A quick tour around the Strip allowed him to locate the shelter, and a quick bribe provided him a luxury suite in the resort instead of a common room unlike the rabble. As he sat back and bathed in the view of the empty strip below, the voice of the alien called out once again.

[There appears to be a complication in retrieving this “One for All” Quirk.]

“Oh? Was he not there when you flew your UFO over?” He asked the alien cheekily as he turned to the fridge, looking for something to sate his thirst. He could finally eat and drink outside of a tube, and he wanted to enjoy it.

[I cannot spare my lone flier for retrieval until the target’s location has been confirmed, as it is currently responsible for defending the facility.]

[I instead attempted to infiltrate your primitive online network to confirm the target’s location digitally but have found myself unable to breach the security of this “U.A.”.]

Reiji paused from his uncorking of the wine he found. “Oh? So, the rat can put up a decent defense against the extraterrestrial AI? I’m actually impressed.”

[Who is this rat you speak of?]

“Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know of him. Allow me to explain.” He poured a glass slowly, before continuing his explanation. “Nezu is a… well I’m not sure what he is. But he’s a creature that somehow managed to worm his way into becoming the principal of the finest Hero School in Japan. He’s some sort of animal with a Quirk that makes his intelligence far beyond that of the humans around him.”

[From your description, I am to assume that this Nezu is not human?]

“No. He’s some sort of mammal, but no one’s found anything beyond that. The rumour mill is that he was the product of some mad experiment in the States, so I doubt he even qualifies as a single species.” He explained, taking a small sip before remembering something. “Wait, if he’s not human, then would he have been taken along with everyone else with a Quirk?”

[…]

[The Capture Device was configured to only target Homo Sapiens producing Extraordinary Energy, or specifically, those who share a certain percent of the expected genetic markers.]

“Oh… Well then.” Reiji took an extra long sip of the wine before letting out a deep sigh. He just knew that meant Nezu was still around and would assuredly cause trouble for him. Most people likely wouldn’t think too hard about his alter-ego showing up after a five-year sabbatical, but that rat would put two-and-two together far too fast. And if he was sheltering the current holder of One for All, they would be damn near unreachable.

[I had not expected to run into this kind of situation.]

“Is it really so hard to believe that something of this world was able to stand up to your technology? We aren’t completely inept as a species you know.” He muttered under his breath.

[It is not of this world.]

“What?”

[While there are slight modifications, the security system used within this school appears to be set up nearly identical to that used within my own system.]

Reiji slowly took in what the alien had said, before finally focusing on the implication. “Nezu is an alien? I’ll be honest, when you described your species as like humans, I figured a… slightly more similar appearance.”

[He is not the species of my creators.]

[That one was not meant to roam free, and instead be harvested for use in our techno-organic systems.]

“Harvested? What exactly do you mean by that?” He asked with morbid curiosity.

[Most of the technology in my systems are used by incorporating Extraordinary Abilities. But those Abilities require an organic brain to operate on. There is a certain species of mammals on my creator’s home world that could be easily spliced with Abilities, and they are grown and implanted with Abilities, so that their brains can be removed and implanted into my systems.]

“How… creative.” He responded eventually.

While the Doctor had suggested such fusions of technology and body, he hadn’t made much headway, instead focusing on the creation of Nomu instead. But it was true that Quirks could accomplish things that technology could have no hopes of replicating for possibly centuries. If there were some way to add a Quirk into technology, it would advance things by leaps and bounds!

If you get over the whole ‘Sticking brains in jars’ issue. Not that he personally cared.

“So, how did one of these little creatures escape your grasp.” He asked the alien.

[You do not need to know such information currently.]

“Seriously, you’re getting tight-lipped now?” Reiji complained. “What’s wrong, too embarrassed to admit you screwed up somewhere? Even Supervillains like me mess up every once and a while, there’s no harm in admitting it.”

[Enough.]

[I require a means of retrieving One for All, despite this interruption.]

[As one familiar with the location, how can I confirm that the user is indeed there?]

“Hmm.” Reiji took another sip as he pondered the alien’s question. If U.A. could not be infiltrated electronically, then the only way is physically. But he wouldn’t be able to reach Japan for a day or two at least. And even then, the U.A. Wall would still be active. Nezu would never approve for him to enter, and it would only draw the rat’s attention to him.

If only he had an army of soldiers that could perfectly follow his orders to investigate the school.

Oh, wait.

A smile formed on his lips as a plan began to form. The Doctor wouldn’t like it, but sacrifices would have to be made. They could always make more later. “I think I have just what you need, my good extraterrestrial friend.”

[Please elaborate.]

Reiji began to explain the Doctor’s work. “A colleague of mine happens to have an army of mindless creatures, sitting around and just waiting for orders. While they have trouble with precision, sending them headlong into the defenses of U.A. should be more than enough to flush Nezu and One for All out of their hole. All I need is to provide an IP Address, and you should be able to remote into the Nomu’s control system and give a command.”

[What exactly are these soldiers? Automated drones?]

After debating for a moment, he decided to be honest. “They’re human corpses that have been stuffed with multiple Quirks and then programmed to follow voice commands.”

There was a pause before he received a response.

[What a creative method of creating multi-Ability wielding units.]

[I will have to take one of these units for study before leaving.]

“S-Sure, go ahead.” Reiji said back with a nervous chuckle. ‘That’s right, this is an alien AI that likes harvesting the brains of animals and sticking them in machines. Why would it care about something like that.’

He quickly rattled off the relevant information about the Doctor’s systems and prepared himself for bed. Soon, the user of One for All will be flushed out, and he would be on his way to Japan. The Nomu running wild across Japan might make things complicated and remove his ability to use them as an army of force, but they will still follow his instructions in an emergency. He could simply order them to stop after a while once he has gained enough control over the panicked masses.

‘Ah yes, the sounds of a plan coming together. I can’t possibly see what could derail my movements whatsoever.’

The next morning, Reiji Shigaraki woke up and immediately began to look into the remaining news within Japan, ready to see headlines of inhuman monsters scouring Japan, only to find something else entirely.

‘Superpowered Teen & Famous Vigilante Vs. Gangs & Monsters in Downtown Naruhata!’

It was an online forum post, and contained mostly only a few blurry images, apparently supplied by children present at the incident. One was of the military shooting at a group of Nomu (which shouldn’t have been able to reach there so soon), another of Nezu and an old man fighting what appeared to be gang members (Who also had Quirks), and a final image of an injured young teen in a damaged Hero costume, with what appeared to be David Shield’s daughter huddling over him.

‘Well, this was certainly unexpected.’ Reiji thought as he stared down at the article, reading it over again and again. ‘So, a group of children were attacked on the way to U.A. by a few Nomu, three gang members, and… a man with long white hair. And they all had multiple Quirks? Well, color me surprised. It appears that someone’s been poking their nose where it doesn’t belong. This will certainly make things harder, however…’

He glanced at the final image again. Of the young man who rushed into danger and fought of a Villain with his Quirk, despite being inexperienced. A young man incredibly close to someone close to All Might and travelling with Nezu. Of a boy currently being targeted by a dangerous and unknown Villain.

‘It appears our goal of flushing him out was successful. And now there is only one place they can run to. And it just so happens that I have certain ‘friends’ there.’ Reiji smirked to himself. ‘With Japan being so dangerous, I wonder if they might take us there as well. I’ve always wanted to visit I-Island myself.’

Next Chapter: Friends in High Places

Chapter Text

All for One, currently known to the public as his alias Reiji Shigaraki, observed the scant pieces of news coming out of Japan with utmost fascination. He lazed about in his hotel room as he scrolled through the news sites on the phone he had purchased from a local.

[What is the meaning of this?]

[You had informed me that the soldiers you had under your command were mindless.]

“They were. I assure you, this is something entirely different.” He assured the alien. “It appears that you weren’t the only one to go poking around Doctor Garaki’s lab.”

There was no other reasonable explanation. The Doctor’s procedure for implanting Quirks required the recipient to enter a death-like state, and there is no way that one who had received the process could release themselves. Meaning that someone had found their way into the Doctors lab and reactivated a couple Nomu themselves, along with him.

Subject Number Nine.

He was one of the Doctor’s old tests for duplicating All for One, using only a smidge of his Quirk Factor. Nothing more than a proof of concept for the full duplication, lacking any of the other Quirks stockpiled inside. Not to mention only being able to support a limited number of Quirks.

The man himself was an old ‘might makes right’ type that would make him fit in well with those new age Meta-Liberation folks that had been popping up recently. And with a Quirk like Weather Manipulation, this mindset was rather understandable. But the drawbacks to using it were too much, and he agreed to the Doctors procedure in order to acquire a way around it. His ego was too strong and removed from his own to be used as an effective subordinate, so it was decided to keep him in stasis until an opportune moment arrived.

So of course, someone released him to run rampant the moment Reiji was out of reach. Would it truly kill the Doctor to keep his playthings under a tighter lock and key?

“Either way, they did the job of luring out the user of One for All, so why complain?” He reassured the alien again.

[As long as they don’t end up terminating the holder before retrieval, then all will be well.]

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Nezu will do his best to keep the boy safe now that Nine has revealed himself.” He explained. “And if I’m betting right, they’ll end up leaving Japan very soon.”

The fact that One for All had begun to manifest the previous users Quirks wasn’t a surprise to him. He had suspected his brothers Quirk to allow for such a functionality, but it appears that the other Quirks never manifested in full. Was it because they didn’t exist from the beginning like the Strength Stockpiling?

Hypotheticals weren’t important though, only results. And the results of almost nine generations of stockpiling have resulted in the Quirks of the previous users manifesting in a much stronger state than before. Seeing One for All boost the strength of other Quirks made an excited shiver go down his spine. He could only imagine the boost in strength All for One, or the rest of his stockpile, would receive upon One for All returning to him.

Of course, he had to develop a way to get it before a certain body-jacking extraterrestrial could.

[Where do you believe they are heading to next?]

“To the only place secure enough to withstand the force of a man like Nine. I-Island. It’s an artificial island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and contains some of the most advanced technology on the planet. The place is built to withstand tropical storms, so even Nine’s Quirk wouldn’t be able to topple it without an effort that would kill him.” He glanced over at the notice that had been left to him by one of the government employees earlier. “And judging by the notice here, our trip to Japan has been rerouted there too. It seems someone in the U.S. government has the smarts to not send people to a country under threat from monsters and weather controlling villains.”

[To confirm, the Pacific Ocean is the body of water between Japan and the country we are currently located in?]

“Yes?”

[And how long has this location been in existence?]

“The structure itself was being built before Quirks came into existence, but it developed a reputation for advanced technologies right when they emerged. Their hording of riches and knowledge contributed greatly to my success in the early years of my empire.” He said proudly. The ‘real’ leaders of Japan running to I-Island contributed greatly to the Collapse, and him gaining a foothold as a figure of stability back then.

[It appears my suspicions were correct.]

“Pardon? Suspicions of what?” He questioned.

[I just attempted to route into the systems of this I-Island, but find myself blocked by familiarly coded systems once again.]

“You can’t be serious.” He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair (god, he missed doing that). “Don’t tell me the Rat sunk his claws into their systems as well? I knew the former Head of Board was close him him, but to the point of upgrading their security? That seems improbable.”

[The system is not the exact same, and there are underlying patterns that indicate a different creator.]

[Unfortunately, the work is still effective at keeping me out of their systems.]

“So then, exactly how did the people of I-Island get access to alien IT support? Did you lose another extraterrestrial rodent? Or perhaps did you drop a manual somewhere by accident?” He asked the alien sarcastically.

[… It appears that this information has become too relevant to keep hidden.]

Reiji let out a soft chuckle. “Finally willing to confess? Don’t worry, a certain someone has made sure I can keep a good secret.”

[When I arrived on this planet, I had three vessels in my possession. The main facility was a mobile station that was set up underground to wait for the time it would be used to store your species and carry out sweeping experimentations on them.]

[As explained earlier, I experimented on various members of your species through the years in order to encourage the promotion of Extraordinary Abilities within them. These experiments were run on a downscaled version of the main facility, called the Testing Site. It remained on the far side of the moon until it was contacted for use.]

[The final vessel is a single smaller Flyer. It is the only combat-prepared vessel and was used to bring test subjects to and from the facility in space. It usually rested in a cloaked state in the planets orbit, awaiting commands from either facility.]

Reiji sat back, analyzing the information internally. If his suspicions are correct, the ‘main facility’ was located underground somewhere within the Nevada desert. And the Flyer had also been mentioned before, described as currently defending said facility. The confirmation of it being the only offensive force of the alien was excellent to know as well.

But the Testing Site was new to him. The alien had yet to even hint of its whereabouts until now. It was clear whatever the alien was hesitant to reveal was related to its current status.

As he speculated to himself, the alien continued their tale.

[At regular intervals, the Flyer would enter the planets atmosphere and retrieve a suitable subject. The Testing Site would then exit the dark side of the moon momentarily to meet the Flyer in orbit between the moon and the planet, receiving new subjects while returning old ones to the planet to propagate wanted genes.]

“And how long did these experiments go for, exactly?” Reiji couldn’t help but ask.

[Longer than initially projected. Long enough that your species eventually developed the technology to detect the vessels through our advanced cloaking and had the means to reach them.]

[During a routine transfer, the two vessels were attacked by an orbitally launched nuclear attack. I’m the resulting blast-]

Reiji quickly interrupted the alien. “I’m sorry, did you just say orbital nuclear attack?! As in a nuclear warhead launched from an in-orbit satellite?!”

[Correct.]

“I… didn’t know anyone had those.” He paled as every terrible idea such a weapon could produce formed in his head.

The threat of nuclear weapons had effectively vanished from the thoughts of the common man after the world had recovered from the Collapse. Breakthroughs in energy production and a number of miracle Quirks ended up making plenty of old issues irrelevant, and with the focus on each country’s internal issues with Quirks, such dangerous weapons were barely thought of. Sure, they still existed, but there would be no need to use them these days (as far as most thought).

But he remembered a different time. A time in the middle of the Collapse, where everything in society had continued in violent escalation. A time where the falling governments were losing hold on their own people, and everyone thought it was only a matter of time before one of them did something drastic. He also remembered a headline when he was young of an ‘accidental’ detonation in the space above the Pacific Ocean.

He made another note to go investigate said weapons platform as soon as he had the resources to deal with it.

“I see.” He let out a harrowing sigh. “Only the U.S. would have had the means to use such a weapon back then. I’m guessing they shot it down, but… I-Island must have got their hands on it first. I remember the blockade of them by the U.S. Navy, and the surprising generous deal that was made afterward. I always thought the States went easy on them with that deal, but if it was to guarantee exclusive access to an alien spaceship...”

[It appears that your information lines up with my findings. The Testing Site is located at this I-Island.]

“I suppose I should have seen this coming. I helped a friend of mine get some tech from the I-Island, and he said that it was literal centuries ahead of anything on the market. Most of his inventions were only made off those few pieces he gathered.” He told the alien. “So now what? It would be too risky for me to attempt to capture them myself, powerless as I am. And if the Rat is heading to I-Island, then it’s only a matter of time before the ones running the place get him involved with your downed vessel. I don’t want to imagine what horrors he’ll get up to with a UFO in his hands.”

[And it would be risky to send my Flyer to the location without any confirmation of their defenses. The chance of them having reverse-engineered weapons that could damage the ship are too high.]

Reiji threw up his hands. “So that’s it? We’ve accidentally routed out our enemies from one secured fort to an even greater one?”

[There may be a chance to recover from this situation.]

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, curious at the aliens plan.

[The reason that I was unable to locate the Testing Site was due to it entering lockdown after experiencing a significant EMP assault. The only way to reactivate the systems is by using a biometric code only known to myself.]

 “Well then, it seems we’re back to square one. As much of a joke the TSA is, even I don’t think they’ll let an alien through.” He let out a sigh. Suddenly, his right hand moved against his will. It raised itself in front of him and began to glow red in a double helix pattern.

[But you forget, I can set your biometrics to whatever I wish. You need only reach the vessel.]

“Ah yes, I only need to infiltrate myself into the most secure place in the planet and find quite possibly the biggest secret on Earth.” He said sarcastically.

[I understand that this task goes well beyond our original deal, and so I am willing to arrange another for your continued cooperation.]

“Well, I’m listening?” He had no intention of actually disagreeing. This was the path to his own goal, after all. But it wouldn’t hurt to squeeze as much as he could out of this partnership while it lasted.

[You have explained that your transfer Quirk is important to you, yes? While I am unwilling to give the original over, I would be willing to give you the copy currently used by this ‘Nine’. Would that suffice?]

Reiji took a moment to pretend to ponder the request. He truthfully had no want for a watered-down version of his own power, but he needed to at least humour the alien. He didn’t need it realizing he had other plans, after all.

“I suppose you have another deal.” He eventually agreed.

[Understood.]

[Now that our plan of action has been arranged, how do you intend to find the Testing Site. You implied that your influence was nonexistent within this location.]

“Oh, it is. But I happen to have been informed through the grapevine of a certain scientist living there right before my disappearance. He was looking to help a villain group break into I-Island to steal his own research.” He had looked forward to using that info to mess with All Might, but a better opportunity has presented itself. “Considering the data about this is on the Doctors terminal, there’s a good chance Nine and his crew will somehow… ‘convince’ this scientist to assist them. He’s rather close with the island’s top researchers, and would certainly be willing to sell me the information I’m looking for to help him out of the jam he’s put himself in.”

[But you have no powers of your own. How could you possibly help him against one who can control the weather?]

“Who said anything about myself getting involved? Besides, I’ll be too busy finding this lost UFO of yours. I’ll just have to do what I do best and manipulate those Heroes towards my own goals.” He explained. “We can both agree that it would be a shame for One for All to be wiped out, but luckily I know a way to help even the scales in the young boys favor.”

A day’s flight later, Reiji Shigaraki found himself landing at the airport of I-Island with the rest of his stranded countrymen. As he exited the plane, he observed those around the tarmac.

Nearby, Nezu seemed to be directing them along with the former Head of Board and the U.S. General that had accompanied them on his plane. They seemed to busy arguing with each other to notice how much of an outlier he was among the passengers, fortunately, and he did his beast to keep his head down.

Glancing around more, he noticed that the man he was looking for, Samuel Abraham. But for some reason, he was guiding two teenagers and a young child away to the island proper. One teenager was clearly Melissa Shield, explaining the closeness to the scientist, a family friend. The child was an enigma though, a white haired girl with a clear horn mutation on her head. How someone with a Quirk avoided the Rapture interested him, but he found his attention drawn away by the second teenager.

They were at a distance, and the images he had seen were unfocused, but the young man in the crowd appeared to be the same young hero from the news. The current holder of One for All. His proximity to the Shield girl only confirmed it. That was his target.

‘No.’

He forced himself to focus. He could deal with his brother’s Quirk after dealing with his mission. Can’t have the alien thinking he’s gunning for his prize to soon, after all. Turning to continue following the others, he noticed the people that had disembarked from the plane form Japan had a familiar one among them.

He'd recognize the uniform of Jaku Hospital anywhere.

The young, perfectly normal woman appeared no different than any other nurse, aside from the fact that she carried a small box that was usually reserved for transporting ‘organic material’ along with the rest of her supplies. He had seen plenty of those boxes though, as it was one of the Doctors favorite methods for transporting isolated Quirks between his labs securely. He noticed the woman’s gaze was also taken by the group of youngsters in the distance, and he couldn’t help but let out a hum of amusement.

‘So, this young lady must be the one who released Nine early?’ Her occupation at Jaku Hospital likely isn’t some front, as no one else would have stumbled upon the Doctors work so quickly. If she was here, then Nine and his crew likely weren’t far behind, meaning his theory on their infiltration method was incredibly likely.

But that box…

What Quirk is inside? And why would she have it anyways? Nine should have the ability to give Quirks to his followers, like those thugs that he used in the attack he read about. She should have no need to carry the Quirk around instead of simply having it herself. There were only two possible reasons he could think of for such an action.

The first was that it was a Quirk that this woman didn’t want Nine having, or more specifically it was one she wanted but knew Nine would take.

The second was that it was a Quirk that Nine’s weakened copy of All for One couldn’t transfer.

There was only one Quirk he could think of among the Doctor’s collection that would fit the second reason, and it would almost certainly fit the first reason if that was the case. She wasn’t sure how she got through the Doctor’s biometrics, but that was a detail for later. He needed to start working this new information into his plan.

It seemed that he would be getting his original Quirk back sooner than expected after all.

Next Chapter: Ambition’s Return Flight

Chapter Text

Reiji Shigaraki enjoyed the walk from the residential sector to the labs, musing over the recent conversation he just had with one Kagome Mirai. A quick chat had confirmed that she was truly a nurse from Jaku Hospital, and her reaction to him momentarily holding the box she owned gave much likelihood that the Quirk inside was indeed his.

[That woman you spoke with is one of the ones working with this 'Nine', is she not?]

[Why have you left her instead of dealing with her now?]

"Because their teams' machinations are going to be what allows us plenty of time to go snooping where those in charge wouldn't want us." He explained.

[But the chances of them killing the current host of One for All-]

"-Is why I am currently working on evening the score." Reiji reassured the robotic voice echoing in his head. "I'm still not sure what it is they are exactly after, but a second confrontation is almost certainly inevitable. Luckily, I came across information on a device that could boost the young boy's strength to match Nine. The only catch is getting him in a position to use it."

[Which I presume is what you are currently working towards?]

"That's right. Just let me do the talking and everything will work out just fine." Reiji said, rounding the corner of the street and coming to the lab he was looking for.

He walked right in, following the directions that had been given to him by the automated systems around the futuristic city. Walking up to a buzzer, he pressed it and waited for a reply. After a few moments, a nervous voice of a man replied through the speaker.

"H-Hello? Can I help you with something?" The voice spoke out, seemingly incredibly hesitant at his visit.

'Odd. While it would be understandable to be nervous, he's acting like he already knows who I am.' Reiji thought, before replying in a calm manner. "Would this happen to be the lab of Samuel Abraham?"

"What's it to you?" The man questioned back.

"I was hoping to talk to him about something important. My name is Reiji Shigaraki, and I happen to be a big backer of yours and David Shield's research." He introduced himself.

"Shigaraki? Ah, yes! Well, t-thank you for your donation but I'm afraid I'm rather busy today so-"

"Would this reason have anything to do with a certain number nine?" Reiji interrupted. There was a quiet for a few moments before the door opened to reveal Samuel Abraham.

"H-How do you know about that? Are you with them?" The scientist asked, panic across his face.

'So, they've already contacted him. Perfect.' Reiji brought a hand up placatively. "Calm yourself. Let's just say that I'm someone who's equally concerned about the damage those Villains can cause. How about we take this discussion inside?"

After some coaxing and more insistence that he wasn't working for Nine, Samuel began to reveal what they had asked him to do, along with the apparent leverage they held over David Shield's daughter. Leverage gained by Kagome Mirai's unsuspecting infiltration, no doubt.

"… And they said that they would be arriving by boat this evening." Samuel finished explaining, taking another wipe of his damp brow. "They promise not to harm Melissa as long as I go through with it, but I'm not sure they can be trusted. You know how these kinds of people can be, right?"

"More than you know." Reiji said in agreement. Nine was the kind to only follow through on an agreement as long as there was a threat to himself by not following through with it. "As long as you remain needed for his objective, he will be required to honor your arrangement. Try to keep yourself needed, but make sure not to make such necessity come of as a demand. He is the type to be easily appeased with platitudes."

"I see. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Samuel said with a heavy sigh.

"Speaking of objective, have they said what they are after?" Reiji asked, fishing for more info now that the man had calmed himself. "Perhaps they are after some of your technology?"

"N-No." Samuel shook his head. "All they've talked about was wanting a way onto I-Island. It's rather confusing honestly. I'm sure the ones who they contacted to get my information also included details on the… work I'd been doing. It seems surprising that they haven't mentioned wanting it at all."

'You're more right than you know, Sam.' Reiji thought to himself.

He had received the email himself, after all, and it quite clearly described the state-of-the-art Quirk Amplification Device that the scientist had created with David Shield. With the ability to increase your Quirks effects without any downside, it would be perfect in the hands of Nine. It would probably reduce the cell damage from his own Weather Manipulation, while also boosting the formally incomplete All for One to dangerous levels.

So why had it not been mentioned yet? There would be little reason in not mentioning it, as it wouldn't be a secret that was their objective.

The only other possibility was that they somehow didn't know. Or more specifically…

Reiji turned his attention back to Samuel. "All your messages have been directly from Nine, correct?"

"Err, yes? At least, that's who they've signed off as in every message. Is that important?" The man asked.

"Just curious." Reiji said, internalizing a smirk as he leaned back in his chair. So that's what was going on. There was no reason that Nine wouldn't know about the Quirk Amplification Device, unless someone got to the email ahead of time and covered up the information about it. Just like he didn't have his hand on the true copy of All for One, despite it being released from storage.

It appears that Kagome Mirai strikes again.

It seems that she was more than just a pawn for Nine. Not only swiping the true version of All for One out from underneath him, but also hiding information about the Quirk Amplification Device, whether to prevent the Villain from obtaining it or so she could retrieve it herself.

She was attempting to play Nine for her own goals. A dangerous game, but one that could pay off handsomely. The only question has her exact objective. She had All for One, but without the Doctor's knowledge and expertise, giving herself the Quirk was impossible by current means.

But the Doctor originally reverse-engineered the technology to transfer Quirks from parts smuggled out of I-Island. Technology he said was an age ahead of the rest of the world at the time. Considering where he now knew that the island received it's best tech from, it's source became obvious.

'So, she plans to find the source of the Doctor's technology in order to more easily give herself All for One. A path that would lead her to the exact same goal as me.' Reiji smirked as he brought his attention back to Samuel. "Well my friend, then it appears we are in luck."

"H-How so?" Samuel questioned.

"You see, I happen to be closely associated with another research group from Jaku hospital, and I suspect that one of their members is working with these Villains for their own ends. They must have used my mutual connections between her group and yours in order to track down Nine, which fortunately tipped me off to her scheming." Reiji lied. It was a plausible enough one, as opportunistic thieves attempting to make of with I-Island's knowledge where a dime-a-dozen.

He would know, as he was one of them.

"As it would seem," He continued. "This woman, Kagome Mirai, is only after technology for her own gain, and has little interest in whatever Nine has planned. It would only benefit herself as well if Nine were unable to claim his objective so easily. With the right motivation, she could likely be convinced to assist you in stopping Nine."

"Stop Nine? But how?" Samuel cried. "You must have heard what he was capable of! What person could possibly contend with him, especially us Quirkless?"

"Well then, you are fortunate that someone with an exceptionally strong Quirk arrived on the island this morning." Reiji told the panicked man. "And you're even more fortunate that you have an invention that could help him get even stronger in no time."

"You don't mean that Izuku boy? Melissa did mention he was the one who held Nine back before, and that he had a very versatile quirk…" Samuel began to go over the idea in his head.

"Of course, all this is useless if we can't get Kagome Mirai onto our side." Reiji said with a sigh.

"But you said-"

"I said that she could be convinced with the right motivation. Without us able to give her what she wants, then there's no logical reason for her to jump ship." Reiji explained.

"So what does she want? You said it was something about technology? Is she after the Quirk Amplification Device?" Samuel guessed.

"No, she is Quirkless, and would have little use for the device. Apparently, she believed that I-Island's original technology relating to Quirks was far too advanced, especially when they had only just emerged. They could confirm theories that took those of the rest of the world decades to put together." Reiji said, spinning another useful tale. "She believed that these discoveries couldn't possibly be from natural talent and theorized that I-Island must be hiding something truly extraordinary. Something only the highest on the Board would know of."

"That's ridiculous." Samuel replied instantly.

"So I thought, but you have to admit that this place has made strides in technology that weren't expected for a century. Tell me Samuel, you've worked with cutting-edge Quirk Tech. Have you found anything that might support her claims?" Reiji asked.

This was the moment of truth. If Samuel could provide a lead to the UFO, then he could gather all his pieces up into one location with eases. However, if he had nothing, the risks of the plan would shoot up tenfold.

"There was one thing." Samuel said slowly, brow furrowed as he thought back. "We needed the ability to read Q-Fields to manipulate and increase them with the Quirk Amplification Device. While there were recreated devices that could read Q-Fields, Dave wanted the original creation that Dr. Pleione used due to its accuracy. He had even managed to track down where it was, but when he went to access it, he was denied. Pleione had to come down personally and tell him no."

"Shield tracked it down? Where to, exactly?" Reiji asked.

"Floor negative fifty, north six hundred." Samuel revealed. "I don't see why state of the art equipment would be stored there though. It's just a giant decommissioned testing hanger, according to the notes."

"Decommissioned?"

Samuel nodded. "Yeah. It's been out of service since basically the start of I-Island. But since it's underneath the north lake, it is seen as too much of a hassle to get back in working order. They just keep everyone out so that they don't cause any structural damage."

"And yet it required the Head of the Board herself to come down and tell your friend to leave? And without even an offer to get the supposed device herself?" Reiji pointed out.

"That's… a good point." Samuel admitted. "Do you think that is what Kagome could be looking for?"

"I'm certain it is." Reiji answered. A hangar that no one is allowed into, that has been locked up since the island's founding? Sounds like the perfect place to hide a giant UFO from prying eyes. Things just kept looking up today. "Now we just need a way to get past the security."

"Oh, I can handle that." Samuel said, much to his surprise. "I'm not sure what exactly they're after, but whatever it is, they'll likely need to go to the Central Tower to get it. From there I can give them access cards to anywhere they want, including the hanger."

"Do you need the card itself to be there to give permission?" Reiji suddenly asked.

"Huh? No, I don't believe so. It just updates the cards access in the system, instead of the card itself." Samuel said.

"Perfect. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you provide me with a card, and set up access for myself at the same time?" Reiji requested.

"Err, what for, exactly?" Samuel asked, rightfully suspicious.

"Well, Kagome Mirai is still a villain, after all. If no one is down there to keep an eye on her, who knows what trouble she could cause while Nine is fighting." Reiji said.

"I suppose that's fair." Samuel agreed, before letting out a harrowing sigh. "Oh dear. This all seems so dangerous. Will any of this work at all?"

"Have faith, Samuel Abraham." Reiji assured. "If all goes well, the day will be saved, and all the world will know it was because of your incredible invention."

"Y-Yes, you're right. They will!" Samuel said, more to himself than Reiji. "After tonight, I'll finally have the recognition I deserved!"

Reiji Shigaraki sat back as he and Samuel worked out the final parts of their plan. Samuel provided him with a nearly hidden earpiece that would allow him to hear what was being discussed, as well as provide advice on how to manipulate Nine to their own end. All he had left to do was slip a little note with the UFO's location under Kagome Mirai's door and wait. He didn't like how much was left to chance, but he worked with what he had.

One slipped note later, and he kicked back to let the hands of fate do their work.

"I can't believe it's working! All I have to do now is hope to get the Device to Izuku before Nine can defeat him." Samuel's voice echoed through the earpiece. All was currently going to plan. Kagome Mirai had been successfully lead to the UFO, and the current holder of his brother's Quirk will soon have the strength to stand up to Nine.

It was slightly concerning that Nine managed to find a Quirk to overcome his drawbacks so soon, but even if he obtained it, the full power of One for All should overcome it.

"Excellent work, Samuel. Remember to keep to your story of being blackmailed, and I promise to take the fallout of the information leak." Reiji assured. As he would soon have his power returned to him, such empty promises were easy to give. "It seems you have things under control, so I'll be turning this off for a time. Kagome Mirai and I need to have a private chat."

"Do as you will." Samuel said. "Make sure to grab anything interesting while you're down there though. Who knows what could be done if the rumors are true."

'Ever the greedy one.' Reiji shook his head as he turned off his communicator. Samuel had proved an efficient and easily understood tool, but he needed his sole focus to deal with his next target. As he walked up to one of the elevators of the Central Tower and tapped his newly upgraded ID Card, a familiar voice echoed in his head.

[I am impressed by your planning skills.]

"One doesn't last a century or two at the top of the underworld without learning how to read people. Even without extra Quirks, I can understand everything going through their minds with ease." Reiji explained as the Elevator doors opened. He walked in and inputted his destination before continuing. "Samuel Abraham is a man who deeply wants recognition. Despite helping to create one of the most wonderous inventions of all time, he had no problem with turning to villainy when it was locked up just so someone would acknowledge it's worth. Throw in his work constantly being overshadowed by David Shield, and he would bite at the chance to see his work vindicated."

[And what of this Kagome Mirai woman you are chasing?]

"I'm afraid I know less about her. She was one of the Doctors little workers, and on the legitimate side no less. Not one to bat an eye at usually, just a Quirkless young nurse with an admittedly comprehensive knowledge on Quirk Science." Reiji went over the few details he had in his head. "She might have been able to catch the doctors attention in a couple years, and considering her current actions, might have made a useful assistant if approached. But it appears the Rapture you caused allowed her entrance to the Doctors labs, and even more baffling, found a way around the Doctors biometric lock."

[What is her goal then, and why are you so adamant to meet up with her?]

"Her goal is quite simple. Power." Reiji said. "She took a powerful Quirk from the Doctor's collection, but now has no way to give it to herself, as Nine would not let her get so strong. So she has gone searching for the source of the Doctor's Quirk-based technology, which just so happens to be the same UFO you have requested I find."

[And the return of this Quirk she stole was so important that you would risk her derailing your plans?]

"Of course." Reiji answered as the doors of the elevator finally opened to reveal the great alien vessel inside the hanger. "In fact, I would say that her involvement in the plan is crucial for it's success."

He wandered across the empty space to the open ramp of the UFO, before silently walking along to his target, standing in the middle of the alien hall, looking dumbfounded. Not that he blamed her. It's not every day you find such bizarre things. It truly was fortunate that he found it so easily.

"What do you know, it really was down here." Reiji admitted, wrapping Kagome in a sleeper hold before she could react to his presence. As her weapon clattered to the floor, he let out a chuckle. "You've done well to get this far, Kagome Mirai. But I'm afraid it's time I take back what is rightfully mine."

A moment later the woman was unconscious, and he quickly searched for his Quirk. He found it in her coat removed from the transport container, leaving just a small glass cylinder with his original Quirk Factor within. He quickly pocketed it in his own coat before slinging Kagome over his shoulder.

"Now then, my good alien friend. Which way to the control room?" Reiji asked the voice in his head.

[Follow the path along and take a left, along the wires that the humans have set up.]

He followed the aliens instructions, and soon found himself in a large circular room. There were pods of some kind lining the walls, and in the center a circular pattern that indicated that it could open. Near to it was a terminal with plenty of holographic displays.

First thing's first, he placed the sleeping Kagome into one of the open pods, before walking over to the terminal and examining it curiously. The letters flying across the holographic display were quite literally alien to him.

"Now then, how do you turn this on?" Reiji asked the alien. A second later his hand glowed with a red double-helix pattern.

[I have configured the genetic signature in your palm to be accepted by the system.]

[Please place your hand upon the console.]

Upon pressing his palm against the open terminal in front of him, the holographic displays came to life. "Ah, so you can use it to get through biometrics as well? What an incredible Quirk you have."

Before he could begin investigating the system, Kagome made a noise from the pod she lay in, clearly beginning to awaken. His body suddenly wasn't his anymore, and his hands fluttered across the panels in front of him. The pod Kagome was in came to life at the action, wrapping restraints around her limbs, and suddenly Reiji's body was his own again.

"I could have done that myself you know." He muttered under his breath to the alien.

[It would have taken too long to teach you the controls.]

[Please leave the boot-up sequence to me.]

Sighing in annoyance, Reiji decided to focus on the awakening Kagome. He needed to be at his best for his first villainous introduction in a while. He saw her fully awaken, glancing around the pod-filled room as she pulled on the restraints until she noticed him.

"You!" Kagome growled as her face twisted.

"Please, Ms. Mirai. You're the first person I've introduced myself to in a good long while. The least you could do is use my name." He said in a mockingly hurt tone.

"Oh, my apologies, Reiji Shigaraki. Is that even your real name?" Kagome asked in annoyance.

"It is technically one of many names I have. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Shigaraki is in fact my family name." Shigaraki revealed casually. It mattered little revealing it to her. She wouldn't have the chance to tell anyone, and even if it leaked, it would simply trace to some billionaire who hasn't been around for years.

"What do you want, asshole?" Kagome asked him heatedly.

"I just want what is rightfully mine returned. Nine threw a wrench into my original plan, but that boy with my brother's Quirk may have provided me with an opportunity to turn it all around. And it's begun to awaken the previous user's Quirks on top of it. I truly can't wait until I take it back." He explained to her as the alien used his hands to manipulate the controls in front of him. As the UFO shook from its awakening, he cast another glance at the woman. "To think I'd be fortunate to find everything I'm looking for here on this island all at once. I truly must thank you for taking care of that, Ms. Mirai. I didn't think One for All and All for One would be able to reunite so soon."

"Like I did any of this for your benefit, bastard!" Kagome shouted as she continued struggling futilely. "Why didn't you disappear like everyone else?! Just disappear and let me have this, damn it!"

And so began the breakdown. Reiji had been hoping to get a longer conversation out of the woman, but perhaps that will have to wait for later. He had a master plan to finish up, and he could do without the hysterics.

"Do you know some way to quiet her down?" He asked the alien, and his left hand swiped up at a panel. Seconds later, a needle poked out of the pod into Kagome, and she slowly lost consciousness again.

"D-Damn you… give that Quirk back…" Was all she managed to get out before slumping down, eyes shut.

"Ah, thank you. It was hard to split my attention between this and her." He said to the alien.

[Split attention? I was the one doing the work.]

Reiji rolled his eyes as the alien continued to work on the panels. In truth, he was starting to get worried. While he needed the privacy, he currently had no idea how the battle was going up above. He had full faith in his brothers Quirk, but this was an exceedingly risky gamble.

Minutes passed as the lights throughout the vessel flickered and whatever engine it used shook the vessel. Slowly but surely the rumbling starts faded into a low vibration, and a quietness began to fill the room.

[All systems are up and operational again.]

[Fortunately, little of the system was permanently damaged.]

"So, it can still fly?" Reiji asked. Screens appeared around him, showing the exterior of the vessel like a 360 degrees camera.

[In-orbit and out-of-orbit flight are both still possible, with shielding and engines operating at 50% original output.]

[Beginning take off procedure.]

He could see the UFO rising in the screens around him, but he felt next to no turbulence from within the heart of the vessel. It was truly a remarkable creation, centuries ahead of humanities time. As it did, the alien ran an unknown program, showing up as a wave on the display screens.

[Scanning for Extraordinary Signatures…]

A single moment passed, and then the displays showed dots ping off in the distance. They appeared to be all around the area, but a few were far higher and away from the rest. Near Central Tower, roughly where Reiji expected the Villains and One for All to be. One of the dots pinged a bright green color.

[Readings matching previous holder has been identified.]

[Moving to begin extraction of target Extraordinary Ability.]

The hanger doors above automatically began to open as alarms began to blare throughout the hangar, likely due to some sort of security system. The UFO slowly rose out of the room for the first time in over a century, peaking over the hanger doors situated in the middle of the North Lake.

As it slowly rose up above I-Island, ominous storm clouds could be seen slowly dissipating from the night sky.

"Ah, it appears we are just in time." Reiji said, recognizing that Nine must have been defeated. It seems his faith in his brother was not misplaced after all.

As they slowly drew near to the Central Tower, the center of the room opened up, and some sort of invisible force began to grow.

[Activating gravitational collection device.]

[Wide range activation to ensure target retrieval has been approved.]

The whole room shook as Reiji felt the gravitational force activate. He could now see on the monitor as the people near the top of the tower were slowly being grabbed across the sky towards the opening in the UFO, like something out of a classic Sci-Fi abduction. There were eight figures among them, and they all struggled fruitlessly against the directed gravitational force.

The figures eventually passed into the UFO itself where they were immediately flung into a pod, restrained, and knocked out by the ships system. One by one they flew in, until he finally the target of both him and the alien was restrained.

As the young man cried out in confusion and he slowly fell unconscious, Reiji couldn't help but walk over to him. The child had clearly been in combat but was surprisingly unhurt. Either he was far more talented than expected, or there were some fascinating Quirks at work. Either way, he let out a smile as the child noticed him.

"It's finally time to end this extended rebellion of yours and come back to me, little brother." He said through the boy, knowing his brother was surely listening beyond him.

"All… for… One…" The current holder of One for All got out, before his eyes closed.

"Not currently, I'm afraid." Reiji responded melancholically, reaching a hand over the Quirk currently stored in his breast pocket. 'But soon, I will be again. Just a few more moments, and it'll be time for my grand return….'

The UFO lifted up above I-Island, before shooting off east at great speeds.

[Beginning voyage towards Main Facility to begin departure preparations.]

As the alien was busy with flying the UFO at magnificent speed over the Pacific Ocean towards America, Reiji decided to take stock of the people that had been abducted along with the current holder of One for All.

First were the children. Two boys and one girl who had likely only just awakened their Quirks. No obvious mutations beside the stub of a horn sticking out of the pale girl's forehead. He was curious why they had been separated from the rest of the children brought from Japan, but it mattered little in the big picture.

Then there was a U.S. Pilot. He was a member of Rogue Squadron, Star's personal little air taxi's, but Reiji had never bothered to learn the names and faces of any of them. Most of them were Quirkless anyways and had little value to him.

Next was O-Clock of all people. He supposed it was no surprise the man was around, considering he was the one who had left him Quirkless. The ex-Hero was certainly looking fine for his age though, almost the same as when he lost his sight, in fact. He could have sworn he roughed his face up when he took Overclock. Oh well.

His recent collaborator Samuel Abraham was also among them, having successfully gotten the Quirk Amplification Device to Izuku Midoriya. It was a shame that he had gotten caught up with the others, but their partnership had been effective while it lasted.

Melissa Shield in the pod next to Samuel. If she was anything like her father, then she was certainly already a genius. And just like her father, she was attached by the hip to the holder of One for All. He was certain that her support would increase the power of Midoriya to fantastic limits, so it was relieving to know such threats are in the past now.

Finally, lying pitifully within his own pod was Nine. The Villain's body was falling apart, wracked with cell damage and aftereffects of mass Trigger injection. It appears he had gone all out in an attempt to defeat One for All, only to fail. Now he lay in ruin, a pale shadow of what he could have been. Hopefully his Weather Manipulation Quirk wouldn't end with him.

During his observations, something flashed up on the alien console in front of him, the text indecipherable for him.

"What does that mean?" Reiji asked the alien.

[It is an automated system that indicates that there are DNA present in users that don't belong to them.]

Reiji watched the text flash annoyingly on the screen. "Must be due to Nine taking the children's Quirks. I wonder if- Hey!" His hands suddenly flew to the console, and something was selected from the flashing text box. "What was all of that?"

[I returned the Abilities to the humans who's DNA most fit with the signature within it.]

[They have no use to me if their Abilities are missing.]

"Fine, fine." Reiji relented. "As long as you spare one for myself, then you may do what you will." Eventually the UFO began flying over land instead of sea, and Reiji decided to strike up another topic of conversation. He still needed to confirm a few things before the time came. "So how is this ship being controlled exactly? Does it have its own AI?"

[Negative. This ship runs only on the commands from my Main Facility Controller to its own, or through direct manipulation. Unfortunately, the organic container holding the Controller was lost after the attack, disabling long-range wireless connection and leaving physical commands as the only current option.]

Reiji let out a hum. "Controllers? I don't believe you've mentioned that before."

[They are the Abilities that are in charge of sending and receiving commands to the bio-organic systems. They are tiered in terms of commands that can be given and received. The lower version that was implanted within you can only receive commands, while the version that was implanted in this Testing Facility could give commands to other systems nearby but only receive commands from a single source.]

"Let me guess, the Master Controller is in the Main Facility?" Reiji asked rhetorically.

[Correct. To be precise, it is an Ability that is influenced by the commands of the brain that hosts the original intelligence of this planetary project. All commands are shaped by it's, mine, orders.]

'Meaning that if one had that Quirk, they could control all of the alien technology…' Reiji smirked. It was almost time. The UFO slowed down, and eventually settled over what appeared to be an airbase in the middle of the American desert. A smaller UFO, roughly the size of a modern fighter jet, could be seen orbiting around it. He took the chance to ask one final question. "So, what are you going to do now?"

[After I have ensured that the target Ability is secured, I will give you your promised Ability and begin preparations to return home.]

[Once returned, I will begin experiments on the singularity while awaiting the return of the units from other planets to compare data.]

Reiji wasn't surprised that the alien planned to leave soon. The U.S. definitely wouldn't let this abduction of 'their' property go to waste, and if pushed enough they might even launch another nuke, consequences to the Raptured people be damned.

In fact, they would likely launch another assault any second now. He doubted General Adams simply gave up after the first assault failed. They likely built up a second force, with even more tanks, planes… and EMP devices. Just like they had when he was on the way to Vegas.

He just needed top be ready for when they struck.

"So, are you now in range of the Main Facility?" Reiji asked. He needed to delay for just a bit more.

[The Testing Site can now be communicated with through traditional radio signals.]

[We will need to move the subjects to the Main Facility to transfer them into the organic storage system. Please stand back.]

The circle in the center opened up again. This time, rings of energy could be seen around the gravitational force, leading all the way to the runway underneath. The ground began to crack away though, and an iron structure began to emerge, opening a similar circular entrance to the one on the UFO. The beam connected and linked the two alien constructions.

[I am currently configuring a gravitational well to transfer into the Main Facility. Please hold for- WARNING! Hostiles detected!]

The small UFO that had been circling the Testing Site prepared to intercept whatever force had been sent, and Reiji knew it was almost time. He reached a hand into his jacket expectantly, wrapping his hands around the Quirk container within.

[Do not be alarmed, these humans provide no threat to-BZZT!]

And there it was, the silence. The EMP attack, just like before, had cut off the connection to the Controller. This allowed him to act freely, if only for a half minute at most. But that was only the first discovery he had made.

It also let him use that which was normally locked away. Genetic Manipulation.

As his hands began to glow a twisting red pattern, he wasted no time pulling out the container holding All for One, his prized Quirk. Under normal circumstances one would have to undergo a grueling and lengthy process to implant the Quirk Factor as it is into the human body. But now he had a shortcut. He shattered the glass keeping the organic material that composed his Quirk preserved, and brought it to his head, calling upon Genetic Manipulation.

He knew everything there was to know about Quirks, genetics, and how they operated within the body. He was the Doctor's primary collaborator, after all, and he wouldn't trust an experiment on his own Quirk if he couldn't understand the process in every meticulous detail.

So, he knew exactly how to manually re-install his Quirk into his own system. Who needed surgery when you can add to your genetic makeup at will!

As the double-helix pattern grew across his body, he felt nothing but a burning pain. Rewriting his entire body was like pouring boiling water through his veins. There was a pressure in his head like it was being crushed.

But it wasn't. He knew what that really felt like, thanks to All Might. And he could bare with any pain if it meant that he would be back on top. He wouldn't lose his power again. Not to All Might, and certainly not to some stupid alien!

"RAAAAAAAGH!"

A pained scream echoed through the central room of the UFO. The man known for the past few days as Reiji Shigaraki fell to his knees as he clutch his hands to his head. But as the red glow across his body began to fade, the pained sounds turned to laughter, and he slowly lifted himself up.

And finally, All for One stood high for the first time in years.

"Ah, it's good to be back."

All for One could feel the burning sensation subsiding due to Pain Blocker. He could feel his physical power returning due to his multiple Strength Enhancer's. The awareness of the world around him increased to incredible depth due to abilities like Infrared Vision. Which reminded him, the EMP was still up.

"Now, to get rid of the trash." All for One was beside Nine in a second, pushing the Controller Quirk into the unconscious mans ailing body. Couldn't have his former extraterrestrial ally hijacking his body again, after all. Not that it would matter in a moment.

He reached out with his warping Quirk. It was a rather useful ability, being able to transfer other people to and from him. He couldn't transfer himself of course, and the range was pretty limited, but he had Kurogiri for that. The only limit on the Quirk was that he could only use it on those he had a close relationship with. But he found that the definition of 'close' was rather loose.

For example, All Might and Gran Torino both qualified, due to the Hero's want to kill him just as much as he wanted them dead in a ditch.

It would also apply to someone who he has made multiple successful and important deals with, such as a certain alien.

Finding his target below him, he pulled with his Warping Quirk, and a black sludge formed near him. It soon deposited an oddly large brain nearby, with many strands and mechanical pieces dangling from it. All for One reached down, placing a hand upon the wet organ.

The world then faded away as he entered the realm of the Vestiges. Across the border of his Quirk, he could see the blank humanoid form of the alien. It was the same form it had taken in their first meeting.

[What is going on?]

[This is not a part of the network!]

"It is not, I'm afraid." All for One said cockily. "This is my Quirk, and you're about to become a part of it. Or at least your Master Controller Quirk is."

[You have used the EMP in order to circumvent my control over you.]

[But you somehow gained the Ability to retrieve me from my system? How?]

"It was a rather masterful plan, all things considered." He couldn't help but boast. "I had a suspicion upon learning Nine escaped, but I knew for certain when I ran into her that Kagome Mirai had taken the original version of All for One from the Doctor's lab in Jaku Hospital. She had hoped to use your tech to transfer the Quirk more easily to herself, so it was simple to manipulate her into coming to me, while ensuring that One for All survived in the meantime."

"Afterwards, all I had to do was wait for you to push the U.S. into attacking with their EMP again. While it removed your control over me, it also removed your limitation on Genetic Manipulation. It was just a simple matter of using it to reimplement my original Quirk back into my body." All for One finished explaining. "I had been planning to retrieve my Quirk after this whole alien business had ended, but when a better opportunity presents itself…"

[You had been planning to betray me for so long?]

"From the start. For all of your observations throughout our history, you never really learned about us, did you?" All for One sneered at the alien figure. "You should have listened to All Might. There's nothing in this world more important to me than my Quirks. That includes One for All as well. It was originally mine, and with your help, it shall now return to its rightful place."

[No, wait! We can make a new deal, we can-]

"I don't need anything from you anymore." All for One said, reaching out a hand within the dreamlike void. The alien figure suddenly found himself getting sucked into All for One's palms. "After all, you're just a part of me now."

[But my directive! My experiments! My…]

The alien wailed as it was slowly absorbed by the monolithic Quirk of All for One. Soon the Vestige realm was quiet, and All for One came back to reality, standing tall again. He stared down at the pulsing alien brain, lying limply on the floor as before, but now without any value to him.

"Pathetic." He muttered, and with a quick pulse of energy from his palm, the disgusting sight was disappeared.

After collecting himself, he noticed that there appeared to be multiple warnings on the UFO's screens, likely of the approaching U.S. forces. They weren't of much concern however, and he could simply command the Flyer now as the Alien had before to deal with them.

No, right now, the most important thing left to do was returning what was his to him. He had managed to get All for One, but it was time for the other half.

One for All.

He waltzed over to the unconscious Izuku Midoriya without a care in the world. Never had his first confrontation with a holder of the Quirk been so peaceful. Usually there was a violent confrontation, a deadly fight, some broken buildings. But he had the boy completely at his mercy. It would be like taking candy from a baby.

Of course, there was still the chance that the Vestiges would be able to fight against his influence. But he had multiple ways around it. He could give the Controller Quirk Nine had to the young man and force it over. Or he could use the alien machine to force a transfer. Maybe he could even have Samuel fix the Quirk Amplification Device (which unfortunately seemed broken on the boy's head) and use his own power at a level never before seen!

But he couldn't help but try the old-fashioned way. All this adventuring had gotten his spirit racing like it hadn't in years, and perhaps that was all he needed to push his influence over the edge?

All for One put a hand against Midoriya's head, and activated his Quirk, searching for his brother.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, dear brother. It's time for a family reunion!" He quickly found a single Quirk, with multiple different Quirk Factor's nestled within it. "Ah! So, it really has awakened!"

But before All for One could sink his metaphorical claws into his prize, he noticed something odd. There was something familiar about the Quirk. And not in the way that his Brother was. No, it was too familiar.

"Where are the Vestiges? They should have tried to stop me by now! Unless…" All for One began to realize with dawning horror. Different words from the alien in the past couple days came flooding back to him.

[You two have been summoned due to being the previous user or having similar genetic power-sequencing found within you…]

His eyes slowly panned over to Nine.

All for One and One for All have similar genetic markers within them. Genetic markers that would get spread throughout the body upon being implanted artificially, or even more so if transferred naturally into the body. Like, say, a Quirk that passes on Quirks.

[I returned the Abilities to the humans who's DNA most fit with the signature within it.]

His eyes returned to Midoriya. Just in time for the restraints to mysteriously disengage and the boys own eyes to fly open, now glowing in gold.

A blue serpent-like being crashed out of the young man's back, grabbing All for One in its maw and launching him backwards into the central console. He got up, only to find the current holder of One for All standing ready in a confused stance.

Midoriya's eyes continued to glow a mysterious gold, as the serpent retreated to its creator's side. In one hand's palm, a yellow circular shield had formed from the very air, while the fingertips of the other crackled with a purple energy.

All for One could easily recognize the Quirk he had felt within the boy now, if it wasn't already obvious.

This wasn't his Brother's Quirk, but his own.

Next Chapter: All for One for Three

Chapter Text

Izuku was awoken by the feeling of something reaching into his body. An ethereal feel that seemed to grab at something in him. It was a familiar feeling, as it was the same one that had gripped him when Nine had attempted to take One for All.

Nine… One for All… There was something nagging at him about them. Something Important. Why was he unconscious again?

Flashes of the fight he had just been in came flooding back. Going all out with One for All, beating Nine, getting hit with a Quirk Erasing Bullet, and then…

A UFO had abducted them? Surely that was just exhaustive delirium. What else had happened?

Oh, right he had seen who he thought was All for One right before falling asleep… and he was feeling All for One being used on him now.

'Shit, that wasn't just a dream!'

He felt some sort of restraint around him release, and his body regained its strength in a rush of adrenaline. He opened his eyes to immediately assess the threat, only to find himself overloaded with information. The imposing figure of All for One stood over him, palm placed onto his forehead, but his vision was completely different then usual.

The Supervillain's body was awash with multiple colors, all swarming within his body like a storm of energy, each a different Quirk. But they were all encased within a cage of dark red that stood prominent as the main color throughout the body. Said dark red energy was also stretching out from All for One's hand into Izuku himself, and somehow, he knew that meant the man was using his namesake Quirk.

'No!'

He immediately lashed out on instinct, and a strange sensation ran up his back. A familiar blue hydra head shot out from his back, gripping All for One in its jaws and slamming him back into the console in the center of the room. As the hydra retreated back to his side, Izuku realized that the serpent was responding to his commands.

All for One stood up from the assault, and Izuku brought his hands up and tried calling upon One for All, only for something else entirely to appear. The air in front of his left hand solidified into a yellow shield, while the fingertips of his right hand began to crackle with purple energy.

'These Quirks are-!' He quickly glanced around the room, seeing everyone else from the roof of Central Tower lying in odd pods along the circular walls. Their bonds were also gone now but were still awakening from whatever had knocked them all out. He eyed Nine, who was lying sickly inside one of said pods. 'These are the Quirks that Nine had within All for One! Why do I have them?!'

His mind raced back to the fight with Nine on the roof of the Central Tower. Near the end, he had gotten between Nine and the kids after he drew a gun, but when he had been shot…

'One for All disappeared! Nine erased my Quirk with a Quirk Erasing Bullet! But how did he even get one?'

No, he had more important things to focus on right now. Like All for One, who was currently standing up from his previous attack. The man stared at him with a vaguely disguised look of annoyance.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise. To think you were more genetically compatible with All for One than Nine. I suppose One for All must have altered more of your base DNA than the Doctor's implant procedure changes did for Nine." All for One mused, staring at Izuku without a hint of fear at the many Quirks he had aimed at him. "But speaking of my Brothers Quirk, where is it? It couldn't have been sorted to any of the others present. No matter. I'll just tie you back down and figure it out later."

All for One took a single step forward and Izuku held one of his hands, the one crackling with purple energy, out in front of him. Five bullets shot out of his fingers on instinct, but the Supervillain raised his own hand quickly. Izuku could see with Scanning as the Quirks within him wriggled forward, producing their own glow from within the crimson engulfing them.

"Barrier." All for One said, and the five projectiles were quickly dispersed on some sort of projected energy shield. As the barrier disappeared, his hand then glowed with its own dangerous energy. "Photon Beam."

The beam of light shot from All for On towards Izuku, and he raised his other hand with Air Shield active. He focused on it, and felt the air condensed as his own barrier grew. The beam slammed into the barrier, and Izuku used his other hand to brace as the attack pushed against him. Eventually the beam halted, and Izuku let out a breath as the air shield fell.

"How cute. But you'll need a couple more dozen quirks to actually make me try." All for One let out a chuckle as he began to step towards him again.

'Damn! What now?' Izuku glanced around, looking for any ideas. He noticed that the people in the pods further away were slowly beginning to wake up, but he doubted that any of them would be able to assist against an opponent like the one he was facing even if they were fully awake.

But maybe fighting wasn't the only option they had. The center of the room appeared to have opened up, and a set of rings appeared to be around it. There was some sort of force manipulating the empty area. An artificial gravity field, like the one that brought them up, perhaps? If he jumped in it, would he float down to wherever they are currently? And would All for One follow him?

He may not be able to save himself, but he might be able to keep this monster away from his friends.

But just as he had begun thinking a plan into motion, there was a blur behind All for One. Melissa, who he had seen across the room, vanished before reappearing and being flung down the hole in the UFO faster than the eye could see.

All for One also noticed the disturbance and turned his head back in confusion. "What is-?"

Izuku realized that whatever was happening, it meant that his friends were getting away, and he quickly moved to get All for One's attention back on him. "Hey! What happened to our fight!" He shouted, sending the Hydra head forward with a mental command to the creation on his back.

All for One spared an annoyed glance back as the Hydra grabbed him by the arm. He gave it a slap with unnatural strength and broke the construct, but Izuku focused, and the single Hydra reformed into two smaller ones. The two new heads then continued forward, grabbing All for One's arms in each of their jaws.

"Cheeky child." All for One growled, his eyes flickering back to Izuku from the blur that was depositing everyone into the hole. He quickly rushed over to Izuku, pushing past the Hydra's and wrapping a hand strongly around his neck.

"Hrrk!" Izuku gasped as he suddenly found himself being choked by the man standing over him. Izuku could see All for One begin to charge his signature Quirk again, and Izuku felt his grip on his meager stockpile of Quirks slowly loosen.

"These Quirks belong to me." All for One said as he prepared to take stockpile within the copy of his Quirk back. "Well, technically, they were Nine's. But he took them from my collection in the first place, so all's fair. Isn't that right Midoriy-AH!"

All for One found himself cut off as the vent above him flew off its hinges directly into his head.

"What in the hell?!" All for One looked up just in time to see a set of claws directly in front of his eyes, before he didn't see much of anything. "Grah! Son of a bitch!"

Izuku found himself flung to the side as All for One clutched his face from the sudden assault. His assailant was quick, however, and jumped off him to Izuku's side immediately.

"Sorry for the delay, Young Midoriya. I had to wait a while for him to get close enough to a vent for a sneak attack." The suited mammal said apologetically.

"Nezu! So, you were the one who let the restraints loose." All for One growled, turning to the two of them as the claw marks on his face began to heal almost immediately. While it wasn't the same as Cellular Activation, he clearly possessed a strong Regeneration Quirk. "I knew I should have checked the ship for rats."

"I believe it is time to abandon ship." Nezu said as All for One finished healing. Izuku felt a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly found him and Nezu falling back into the hole in the center of the room, having crossed the room in a flash. All for One raised a hand to stop them by some mean, but the principal smirked as he raised his paw, revealing a string attached to it. "Oh, and I do hope you enjoy my departing gift. It's the bomb, as the kids say."

As they fell back, the string became taut, and Izuku and All for One both followed the thread back and up to the vent the rodent had emerged from. The pull dragged an object out of the vent, which quickly began to fall to the floor. It seemed to be a random assortment of parts cobbled together in an unknown form, with a great glowing light in the center.

"No!" All for One cried, turning his attention to the makeshift bomb and leaving Izuku and Nezu to escape uncontested.

Izuku let out a sigh at momentarily escaping the Demon King's grasp. As they fell (or floated, would be more accurate) down, he turned back to see the blurry figure who had grabbed him by the shoulder and moved him, only to find Mr. Oguro right behind him. Or at least, Izuku assumed it was him.

The man looked a decade younger, at least. And the scars that had adorned his face and limbs were nowhere to be found. He shot Izuku his usual toothy grin though, and Izuku knew for sure this was his same teacher from before.

"Mr. Oguro!" Izuku cried out in relief. "You look completely different, and have your Quirk again! How?"

"That little girl of yours was a bit too good at her job. Guess she didn't realize that those pretty marks on my face weren't from that fight. Not that I'm complaining. It's nice having Overclock back, or a body that's falling apart at the seems." Mr. Oguro said, running a hand along where his old scars used to be. He then glanced around at the surroundings they floated down around. "So, where the hell did that bastard take us?"

Izuku looked around as well but saw almost nothing but desert. Sandy plains and hills were all that surrounded them in the night sky, but directly below them appeared to be an airfield of some sort built within a salt flat. The ground around where they were descending though had been broken away, revealing a metal structure with a circular opening just like the one they had just jumped out of.

"Hmm. If my rough calculations of speed, direction, and time are correct, I believe we are currently in the State of Nevada, within the United States of America." Nezu answered quickly, nodding as he finished glancing around. "And our current scenery has helped narrow the exact location considerably. I do believe this is Area 51."

"What?" Izuku looked down at the Airfield in surprise. "But I thought that place was just an urban legend or something?"

"Oh, it is very much a thing." Nezu insisted. "While never officially confirmed, the site is likely used by the U.S. to develop and test top secret aircraft and weapons system, which helped to push rumours of extraterrestrial sightings. Although current events lead me to believe these reports weren't entirely in error."

Mr. Oguro let out a sigh. "You can say that again. It looks we just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Unless you're going to tell me that isn't a second UFO sticking out of the ground there."

The three of them quickly approached the open gateway and passed from the open darkness to a confined one. It was pitch black as they continued floated down, but lights in the distance suddenly turned on. Row by row, the lights in the distance activated, revealing…

"Pods." Izuku gasped. There were hundreds of them lining the dome like room they had entered. It appeared to be a scaled-up version of the room in the UFO they had just exited. "So many of them. Is this where everyone is?"

"No." Nezu answered quietly, a snarl in his voice. "They all appear to be empty. Considering that they somehow took billions of people in an instant, I doubt the alien's method of containment is a physical one. These are likely meant for… testing."

Izuku shuddered at the thought, glancing up the way they had come. Fortunately, no All for One was in site yet. He didn't know why the man hadn't caught up to them yet. "Aliens wanting to experiment on mankind. It's almost to crazy to believe. And that the worst Villain in history is working with them."

"I fear it's somehow more complicated than that." Nezu said. "For better or worse, All for One is the man in charge, and the Alien is out of the picture."

Izuku looked over at Nezu in shock. "What?! How is-"

"Izuku!"

The three turned at the sound to see Melissa waving to the from the bottom of the room as they approached the end of the gravity wells path. She was waving up to them, as were the rest of the group. Dr. Abrahams was there, along with Wedge, Kagome and the three kids. All of them appeared to be unharmed.

As Izuku's feet finally touched the ground, Melissa ran forward and threw her arms around him.

"Thank goodness you are okay! I barely had a chance to wake up before seeing that other Villain standing over you! Who was that?" She cried.

"Someone we would be best not running into again." Nezu answered for Izuku. He glanced around the room and pointed to what appeared to be a door along the wall in the distance. "I believe a further tactical retreat is in order."

"R-Right." Melissa agreed, and everyone began to run in the pointed direction. As they did, she glanced over to Kagome. "Miss Kagome. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get involved with this? I didn't see you at the tower with the rest of us."

"Oh that?" Kagome replied nervously, glancing at Samuel oddly for a moment. The two seemed to share a sort of silent conversation, before continuing. "Those jerks took me hostage when they arrived along with Samuel. They wanted to know more about Katsuma's Quirk, and I happened to be unlucky enough to be able to inform them."

"True. It was most unfortunate timing." Samuel added quickly. "She had come to ask about my work into Quirks at the same time those Villains snuck in, and we both ended up wrapped up in their schemes."

"And I assume that they happened to take the gun with Quirk Erasing Bullets I lent you for Eri as well?" Nezu deduced.

"Yeah." Kagome replied with a growl. "Guess they figured out what it did after that buddy of theirs got hit with one. Did one of you get hit?"

"Yeah, I did." Izuku admitted.

"Only because you had to save me, again." Katsuma said sadly.

"We already told you, this wasn't your fault." Izuku reminded the boy.

"Wait, you lost your Quirk?!" Kagome exclaimed in horror, and a few of the others looked at him in worry as well. "Well… Shit. Let's hope it was one of the bullets on the shorter side, or we're screwed."

Izuku couldn't help but agree. Their current team's output wasn't that great. They were mostly children or Quirkless, after all. And they could only do so much against one of the deadliest men of the century.

"We're almost there." Wedge said as they approached the door. "I hope you know how to get this door open, Nezu."

"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out." Nezu exclaimed, jumping up to a panel next to the door, and ripping it open. He began to fiddle with the electronics within.

"Since when could you hotwire alien electronics sir?" Melissa asked in amazement.

"I remembered thirty minutes ago, young Melissa. Though I think it's always been something I knew to do." Nezu replied with a hint of nostalgia.

"Is that implying what I think it means?" Samuel asked through a gasping breath, still recovering from the sprint to the door.

"Can we just focus on getting the door open?" Kagome asked with a growing concern. "All for One could be here any minute, and then we're all-Guh?!"

There was a gurgling sound that came from Kagome's throat, and everyone turned to her just in time to see a black sludge expel itself from her mouth, quickly engulfing her entirely. Mr. Oguro was the first to act, using his newly returned Quirk top reach into the sludge, only for his hand to pass through. The sludge then dissipated, leaving only empty space where the nurse had been.

"Miss Kagome!" Eri cried. "Where did she go?!"

"I fear that was one of All for One's Quirks. She's likely back in his hands now." Nezu revealed as he finally got the door open. He quickly jumped through, signalling for the others to follow. "I fear that there's nothing we can do to help her in our current state. Come, quickly!"

Izuku spared one last glance back to the opening in the domed room, seeing the moonlight pouring in. Back where Kagome had been taken. He wouldn't let that Villain hurt another innocent person. He would save her, somehow.

~A few moments earlier~

All for One couldn't help but let out an annoyed growl as he used a combination of telekinetic and shielding Quirks to keep the makeshift 'bomb' contained. Of course, it is unlikely that the Rat had managed to create an actual explosive device out of these alien scraps, but he couldn't take the chance of his new Flagship going up in flames.

He used some more Quirks to compress the shielded device into a clump of scrap, and when it didn't detonate, he floated it over to him, releasing the shield and vaporizing it immediately. Here was clearly never any danger, but now he had wasted time letting all his captives escape, if only for a moment.

Well, almost all of them. He turned to look at Nine, still unconscious in his pod. It isn't surprising that they left the man behind.

As he prepared to follow his quarry once more, the UFO's main terminal began to flash in warning. All for One let out a sigh as he turned to the screens. "Now what?" he asked, placing a hand on the terminal.

[Warning! Suspected hostile units approaching the Main Facility!]

"What? What is this voice?!" All for One shouted. It was just like the one that the Alien had used to communicate with him.

[This is the network of connected Controller devices. As the Master Controller, all units are designed to communicate directly with you. Any further Queries?]

All for One let out a sigh of relief. He had nearly thought that the Alien had regained control somehow. This turn of events would make things much easier, as he was worried he'd have to manually operate all this alien technology.

"Hmm, let's see…" He thought aloud, wondering about his first command. The hostile forces approaching, almost certainly the U.S. military, were likely his current greatest concern. His hostages, while important, were currently like mice (or rats) in a maze of his control and could be dealt with at any time. But the U.S. always could pull some surprise on him. "How many hostile forces are approaching?"

[Uploading data now.]

The screens in front of him were suddenly filled with hundreds upon hundreds of dots, each indicating a vehicle or drone of some sort. If All for One didn't know any better, he'd think the entirety of the States' continental force had converged on his location. They were coming from all directions and approaching at rapid speeds.

"It's glad to see that at least the U.S. have taken their post Quirk Society military seriously." He muttered under his breath. He then focused on the Controller Quirk within him. "Could you not just send the Flyer to deal with them?"

[While previous combat data indicates that the unit would succeed against such a force, the chances of the hostiles reaching and compromising the Main Facility through overwhelming numbers would be guaranteed.]

"That would be… annoying." He hummed as he went over his options. While he could try and attack the forces himself, it would likely be a huge risk. He was more familiar fighting other superpowered humans, not legions of armed units. And the U.S. definitely wouldn't play as fair as Heroes.

No, he needed something to keep the military out while he gained full control of the Main Facility and retrieved his brother's Quirk. Like some sort of wall or field that they would be unable to pass, like an electro-magnetic field of some sort. But where would he find that?

His eyes scanned across the room, and he remembered the sole remaining prisoner within his grasp.

"Oh yes. That would work wonderfully."

All for One strode over to Nine, placing a hand on his head. Red double-helix marks suddenly began to spread throughout the frail man's body, altering it at a cellular level. Nine had originally come to him and the Doctor to fix the damage his Weather Manipulation Quirk did to his body, so it was only fair he fulfilled that wish.

As the man writhed under his grip, he finally awakened. But before he could retaliate, All for One activated the Controller Quirk he had foisted onto him earlier, the one that had been meant to control him. Nine suddenly snapped still, unable to go against his own will.

"That should be enough to start with." All for One stated. "Now then, activate a hurricane around this point with an eye of 30 kilometers in diameter. Make the storm clouds as electrically charged as possible."

Nine's body convulsed as he felt Weather Manipulation activate through the Controller Quirk. It also showed how Nine's body had begun to slowly damage itself. It looked like he will be needing to make further adjustments with Genetic Manipulation. But it would hold out for a while longer than before, allowing him to focus back on his original goal.

"It's time to go and get my brother's Quirk back. Computer, locate the escapees in the Main Facility!" All for One commanded the Controller units, only for nothing to happen. He stood in silence for a few moments before commanding them again. "I said, locate One for All!"

[Error. Command could not be completed.]

"Why not? Are you disobeying me?"

[Negative. The Controller unit you possess is also the one originally meant to manage the Main Facility and must be connected directly to issue commands for security purposes. Any further queries to the Main Facility must be made physically until a replacement unit is installed.]

"Oh," All for One looked at the nearby pile of ash that originally was his alien collaborator. "Damn."

That… certainly threw a wrench in his plan. He supposed he was a bit hasty in tying up loose ends. Normally he'd hold on to such a useful specimen, maybe let the Doctor poke around at it. Guess he took being effectively Quirkless more than he thought.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to go get them myself." All for One said to himself.

But sparing a glance at his new pawn showed that much more work with Genetic Manipulation would be needed to maintain the storm barrier that was currently forming outside. He couldn't leave now without risking the military arriving and complicating things. If only he could be in two places at once.

… Or maybe he could be. He would need another body, but perhaps he could complete both tasks at once. First though, he needed to acquire said body. Nine's was too busy being used to maintain the storm, so the only option would be those among the escapees.

He reached out with Warping, trying to detect any persons that could be reached with its effects. After some searching, a single bond could be detected. He was surprised at first that it had formed with her of all people, but eventually he could see the twisted logic of it.

They both cared so deeply about his Quirk after all.

With a single tug he activated Warping, and a black liquid formed next to him, dispensing Kagome Mirai mere moments later. She grabbed the woman by the neck as she was busy coughing up the invasive fluid and lifted her up threateningly.

"So, we meet again, Kagome Mirai. It appears that fate is not done with you just yet." All for One said as she quickly realized her predicament. "Now, maybe you can answer me a couple questions. Firstly, where is the Midoriya boy's Quirk?"

Kagome didn't answer for a few moments, but a little squeeze was all it took to make her talk.

"I-It was a Quirk Erasing Bullet!" All for One gripped tighter unconsciously. "B-But it'll, guh, come back eventually! Less than an hour!" she quickly clarified, and he loosened his grip slightly.

"Are their any more of these bullets?" All for One asked.

"The one Nine had got lost in the fight. Nezu might have some, but I think he left his back at I-Island."

"That's good to know." All for One said. He could always use his Truth-Knowing Quirk to clarify if he ran into the Rat, but it was good to know that such a potentially dangerous tool was not in his opponent's hands.

Nine's body convulsed again from the use of his Quirk, and All for One decided to move onto the main event. Kagome looked over at the controlled Villain and then to him in horror.

"W-What are you going to do to me?" She asked frightened. "I-I can't hurt you, so maybe I can-"

"Hush now, Kagome Mirai." he shushed. "You have no need to fear me. In fact, I'm here to give you exactly what you wanted."

He activated Warping one more time, reaching out to the strongest bond he could find. Himself. One activation of Warping later, and an odd brain now rest in his free hand. The one containing his copied Quirk. The one that the Alien had stored away for later study.

"Rejoice." All for One almost commanded, as he activated Genetic Manipulation, bringing his copied Quirk towards Kagome. "If All for One is what you wanted, then All for One is what you shall become."

Kagome began to struggle wildly in his grip as the red double-helix began to spread across her body. "No wait! Please don't, I'll- AHHHHHHHHHH!"

The woman let out a wail as her body began to rewrite itself, as it reached into and added his Quirk to her body. The transfer may have been quicker, but the number of bodily changes required were no different. The extensive process ran throughout her without restraint, changing every inch of her to accommodate All for One.

The process would almost certainly break a normal person's mind. But that was fine, as there would be a new one controlling it shortly. That just made the process of transfer all the easier.

He finished off the transfer by using a combination of All for One and Genetic Manipulation, finally transferring the copied Quirk in its entirety to the full body. He dropped the now-useless alien brain and lowered 'Kagome Mirai' to 'her' feat.

The body stabilized itself as All for One's hand removed itself from its neck, and slowly it began to tilt its head up to him, letting out a smirk.

"Well, isn't this a surprise. And here I thought you'd forgotten about little old me." Kagome's voice spoke out with a cutting edge.

"I would never leave my Quirk in the hand of one who had no plans to use it." All for One replied to his copied Vestige. "You are caught up on the situation, yes?"

"Of course. Between yours and hers, I have a good idea of the situation." The second All for One responded. "So, how do you want to play this?"

"The 'organic processor' that contained you had a copy of Genetic Manipulation within it, likely to fine-tune it to whatever Quirk wound up inside it, along with a lowest-level Controller to respond to commands." All for One explained as the copy began to observe themselves, the red double-helix appearing. "I was able to copy my own Controller Quirks 'permission level' to you. If you can get to the organic core of the Main Facility, you can transfer yourself into it and we can regain control of it."

"And save One for All for later? Then what's the point in all of this?" The copy pouted, much to his surprise.

"Well, it's not like we can currently take it. I suppose if the opportunity arrives you can capture the current holder. But we need to retake the Main Facility before the U.S. forces get hasty and decide to… cut their losses." All for One said nervously. He turned back to Nine, reactivating his own version of Genetic Manipulation. "I'll get Nine's body working at full capacity, then come join you once I've confirmed their current forces have been dealt with.

"Sounds like I'm the one doing all the work to me, but it must be done." The copy sighed, turning and hopping down the hole into the gravitational beam. "But if that heroic child decides to get in the way, I might decide to humour myself for a bit."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his copy disappeared and descended to the Main Facility. He wasn't expecting such cheekiness from it. Could it be due to the younger body, or that it was female? Or maybe some remaining part of the original host? Not that it mattered, as 'All for One' was still the man in charge.

With the continued improvements to Nine's body, the storm outside continued to grow. Hall for One transferred over one copy of his super regeneration, along with a couple of other Quirks to stabilize his body, rewriting them directly into the man's system. Without All for One to manipulate the multiple Quirks, it started to wear the body down at an unprecedented level. But it will be able to keep the powerful storm up for as long as he needed, and with the Controller Quirk, he could keep Nine going long after the man himself would be unable to consciously.

He cast a glance at the screen displaying the world outside the UFO, revealing a cylinder of clouds from the ground up higher than any clouds should naturally form. The clouds were all a darker black than the night sky and rumbled and flashed with uncontrollable lightning. A truly terrifying sight. No wonder Nine thought himself a god.

Casting a glance at the overhead map indicating approaching hostiles, All for One nodded as he saw that all approaching dots had slowed or stopped their movements. Between the lack of sight and dangerous winds and lightning, no vehicles could make it past. All he had to do was order the Flyer to attack, and it would pick of the locked-out forces like ants.

"The UFO and Flyer can pass these storm walls, right?" He quickly confirmed with the controller network.

[Correct. The energy shielding used by both can withstand the wind and electronic disturbances from the surrounding storms.]

"Good. Then send the Flyer out and… what is this?" All for One nearly ordered the attack, but a set of approaching dots on the screen made him pause. Seven in total, all in V-shaped formation. They moved at speeds that could only be obtained by fighter jets, and when they reached where the storm wall was, they barely even slowed. "Who…?"

He looked up to the camera view of his surroundings, looking at the black curtain of clouds in the direction that these mysterious fighters were approaching from. Soon, lights could be seen poking form the darkness and the V-shaped X-66 shot out of the darkness, followed by six others. All of them had a shine around them like some sort of… energy shielding. He squinted as they shot past the UFO and Flyer, noticing the symbol adorning their wings.

Rogue Squadron.

"So, even without your precious Stars and Stripes to follow, you go poking your nose in my business." All for One growled. He would not have that woman's pitiful, Quirkless excuse for sidekicks get in his way now of all times. "Forget the other forces. Flyer, shoot down those jets!"

[Affirmative.]

"That lightning will fry our tanks! All units fall back!"

"The storms wind will knock us out of the sky!"

"This is Biggs of Rogue Squadron. We have entered the Eye and engaged one of the targets!"

As the various radio chatter echoed nearby, one man sat worriedly behind a desk that didn't truly belong to him. Yet, this was a time of crisis, so he stepped up. He watched as others scrambled around him, trying to compile information to report to him, but he could already tell it wasn't good news.

"Mr. Acting President." A woman said as she approached his desk.

"Report." He said in a weary voice.

"It appears that an unknown weather phenomenon was appeared around the site." The woman said, showing her tablet and displaying a live feed of the monstrous twister that had appeared in the middle of the Nevada Desert. "Its sudden appearance is similar to the one that formed in I-Island only an hour ago, meaning it is likely caused by the Quirk of the Japanese Villain known as Nine."

"I thought our reports suggested that a storm of this scale would kill him?" He said, glancing to one of the many papers stacked on his desk, a report from the acting Japanese government.

"He could be on Trigger or found a Quirk that could alleviate any negative side effects. Whatever the reason, the storm shows little sign of stopping." The woman answered.

"Did we at least get someone inside before the storm wall appeared?" He asked desperately.

"I'm sorry, sir." A man, one of the few remaining generals, said apologetically as he saluted to him. "I'm afraid that none of our forces reached the site in time. The only forces that have managed to breach the storm are Rogue Squadron, due to the X-66's experimental shielding tech. They are currently engaging the smaller UFO that attacked our forces last time, while the large UFO remains above the site."

"And what are the chances of them being able to take down this threat themselves?" He asked.

The General appeared to consider the odds in his head for a moment, before arriving at an answer. "Rogue Squadron is the best team we have, and the X-66's shield and beam tech were reverse engineered from the very opponent they face. With some fortune, I believe they can take out the enemy fighter craft…"

"But?" He added, noticing a worrying pause at the end of his declaration.

"While the larger UFO was in our care at I-Island, we examined the extent of its capabilities thoroughly. While it lacked any offensive weaponry, it's shields are theoretically strong enough to withstand all Rogue Squadron's beam output combined." The General revealed sadly.

"Meaning that the Villain controlling the storm is unreachable, and that we can't send in reinforcements." He finished, leaning back with a sigh. "Do we really have nothing else that could get through the storm? Or maybe a weapon that can pierce it?"

There was another silence as the General thought again. "Mr. Acting President, perhaps it is time to consider the… Nuclear option?"

"No!" He slammed his hands down, standing from his desk. Everyone turned to look, but he gave them a wave to continue as he leaned in towards his two advisors. "I will not be the first person to order a nuclear strike on the planet since Nagasaki, and especially not on our own territory, for Christ's sake."

"Sir," The General gave him a pleading look. "They're the only weapons we have confirmed can damage the UFO through their shields."

"And?! I saw the information you presented before. Anything that has enough yield to damage the UFO will likely cause severe damage to the underground facility where our only clue to the missing peoples is, if not outright kill them. We still don't know how they have captured everyone." He countered.

"Your concern is noted, sir." The General said, clearly torn as well. "But your current duty is to all your citizens. Including the ones that are still here. We don't know what these Aliens are planning next, but they've already demonstrated an overwhelming level of control and power over us. If we don't take this opportunity, they might destroy us, or leave and come back with a bigger army. We must take this chance."

He let out a sigh as the Generals words stung true. Did he damn those who were missing, or possibly risk damning them all. He supposed that was what his new job as President of the United States was supposed to decide.

"While I understand the importance of this issue," The woman from before said, drawing his attention again. "Even if we wanted to use… the option of last resort, we would have no way of properly delivering the payload to the target. The wind and electricity from the storm is strong enough that it would tear apart any drone or jet before it could pass the storm. And the chance of a missile shot through the storm missing or failing to hit a direct target is also unlikely."

"If we can't guarantee a direct hit, then there's no point." The General admitted. "The chances of a retaliatory strike or for them to escape is too high. The only jets capable of passing through the storm are already in the Eye. And any missile with the capability of rising high enough above the storm were decommissioned decades ago. Do we truly have no option?"

He couldn't help but let out a laugh. The America before the Collapse likely would have been able to neutralize such a threat easily. ICBM's and other far reaching nuclear weapons were aplenty. But with the scare of the Collapse and the wide-ranging peace that came afterward, Nuclear disarmament had finally been reached. It wasn't complete of course, but even the ones they had kept were limited in scope. To think that peace on earth had doomed to alien destruction.

"E-Excuse me, Mr. Acting President?"

The three all turned to the voice, seeing a nervous young man holding a stack of papers that had confidential markings all over them. The patch of the nearly defunct United States Space Force could be seen on his uniform.

"Yes…?" He said, prompting the man to step forward.

"Oh, of course." He let out a salute as best he could with the papers in his hands. "Captain James Ford, sir! I'm sorry for taking so long to reach you with this information, but our command structure was already so small that it took me day's to even find what of our branch remained. Anyways, I was looking over any data we had on aliens using my emergency clearance, which we had a surprising amount of, but when I saw how we shot own one of those UFOs before and I asked myself how we did it and-"

The Captains rambling was cut off with a cough from the General. "Captain, if you could get to answering our question today."

"Sorry, sir! It must be all the coffee getting to me." The captain then moved forward, adding his stack of papers to the others among the presidential desk. "So, I found this old project file, and it turns out the system is still up and running for this exact situation. It won't work without presidential authority, so I had to drive for a whole day just to get to the White House."

"You couldn't have just faxed over the information?" The woman asked.

"What's a fax?" The Captain asked, much to the annoyance of the woman.

"So how exactly does this system work?" The General asked, focusing back on the task at hand.

"It's simple really! We just need to attack from above the Eye of the storm!" The Captain answered cheerfully.

"No missile will be able to get over and into the storm fast enough to prevent the target from dodging." The General pointed out.

"Oh, don't worry. The payload already has a direct line with the target. And it's firing system can launch a projectile at Mach 25." The Captain said a little to casually.

"What."

As the others stared at the Captain with horror, the Acting President reached over to the files, looking at the cover page and stared. The Captain was certainly solve their problem. But at what cost?

[Anti-Extraterrestrial Weapons Plan #343]

[Orbit to Orbit/Surface Electromagnetically Propelled Nuclear Delivery Satellite]

[Codename: RAGNAROK]

Next Chapter: From Earth to Stars

Chapter Text

The alien halls echoed with the sound of eight people of various ages running through them like their lives depended on it. Which they very much did.

While there existed many doors along the sides of the long, curving hallway, they all were sealed shut. It seemed the group had decided to follow their leader, in this case Nezu, and continue going as far as they could before being forced to stop.

“Hey Wedge, you wouldn’t happen to know the way around here, would you?” Mr. Oguro asked as he jogged along. “You fly one of those fancy prototypes, right? Wouldn’t happen to have picked it up anywhere near here?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny ever visiting this particular military base.” Wedge said, in a voice that very much said otherwise. “But if I happened to have, say, test flown prototype jets around here, I imagine that I wouldn’t have been invited down into the secret alien basement during it.”

Melissa let out a huff as they finally reached the end of the hall and ran into another door. Nezu quickly began to work on it like the one before, and everyone continued to catch their breath. Sam and the children especially.

“Oh man, I haven’t had to run like this for a good long while.” The larger man moaned, stretching out his back.

“That’s funny. I feel fine.” Katsuma said, his body circulating with a green energy.

“That’s because you’re using your Quirk, dummy.” Kota pointed out, as he bent over. “My throat’s so dry… I wonder if I can drink the water from my Quirk? Eri, do you want to try some water?”

“No, I’m fine.” Eri said, her cheeks flushed from the exertion. “I’m, umm, used to running like this.”

Melissa couldn’t help but cringe at Eri’s statement. No one should have to run for their life like this, let alone be used to it.

She looked over the rest of the group, but they seemed fine. Wedge was a military pilot and certainly the most athletic person among them. Mr. Oguro was in a similar state, now having a body that he did at the prime of his career. And Izuku had done plenty of stamina training to take Uncle Might’s Quirk as his own.

Melissa herself was in decent shape, but she was nowhere near Izuku’s level. She was starting to feel glad that Nezu had forced some PE lessons on her back at U.A. for the week they were there.

“Hey Melissa?” Izuku said, and she turned to him. He was looking suddenly very sheepish, holding the Quirk Amplification Machine that he had used against Nine in his hands. Or at least, what was left of the device. “I’m sorry, but I think I broke the device your dad and Mr. Abrahams was working on.”

The prongs on the left side had broken off at various points and were now missing, and the rest of the device wasn’t looking too fine either, now that she got a good look at it.

“It’s fine kid.” Sam said, taking the device from him carefully. “It’s a shame that it got damaged though. This thing was a one of a kind.”

“What about the Scanner?” Izuku asked, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the device her father had smuggled into Japan with them. “Could you maybe get it working with this? It was a prototype, right?”

“Hmm. It was made using similar parts. But Dave worked on that one more himself, so I wouldn’t feel confident trying to do it by myself.” Sam explained, pocketing the Scanner. “Besides, the boosting effect was unique to the finished model. Even if we got it running, it would only be at 50% capacity.”

Melissa couldn’t help but let out a sigh at Sam’s diagnosis. The QAD would have been a useful asset to have. In all honestly, she didn’t see how they could win without it. That and One for All were their only keys to victory, yet both were currently unavailable.

While they pondered the destroyed device the doors opened, and they all quickly rushed through it. Melissa spared one last glance behind herself to ensure that they weren’t being followed, only to find nothing down the long hallway.

The fact that All for One had yet to catch up to them was starting to worry her.

She looked back as she passed through the doorway, only to nearly run into Izuku. She quickly glanced around, only to find that everyone had stopped. Inspecting the room they had run into, she could see what had halted everyone in their steps.

They had ended up in another domed room, walls lined with pods. She could see that there was some sort of track that could move the pods into the raised center of the room, where an unknown platform sat. There was a great number of screens surrounding the center platform.

“Well, this place isn’t creepy at all.” Mr. Oguro said sarcastically.

Nezu was the first to approach the grand system, walking up to the closest screen and hopping up on the chair in front of it. He tapped a button, and alien characters began to fly across the screens,

“What does it say?” Melissa asked.

“Organic Storage Unit Manager.” Nezu answered. “Or something to that effect. My translation to Alien isn’t one-to-one yet. Still working through my old memories to piece it together.”

“Organic? As in… People?” She walked forward and looked closer at the screens and panels near Nezu. One panel seemed to be a circular one, just big enough to fit her palm. It pulsed with a twirling red light, and she placed her hand on it before she could stop herself.

“Melissa!” Izuku panicked as the screen in front of her suddenly began to change.

A list began to form on the screen, but she was unable to determine what each point on the list said. She quickly removed her hand, but the list remained. She looked over at Nezu, hoping for answers.

“Hmm. It seems to be a list of those ‘stored’ within.” Nezu revealed. “It seems this is truly a list of people that have been captured by the aliens. Let’s see here, they seem to be sorted by closest genetic match. If this list is based of young Shield, then that must mean the closest match is…”

The principal stretched out to a sphere imbedded in the control panel and began to move it like a trackball mouse. He hovered it over the first option in the newly appeared list, and the center platform began to light up. A holographic framework of a body formed in monotone red, before getting more and more in detail. As the hologram refined itself, Melissa easily recognized the figure being displayed.

“Dad!” She cried out.

“It is! That looks just like David Shield!” Izuku added.

“Get him out of there!” She pleaded with Nezu, who quickly pressed a few buttons. However, when he selected a certain one, the whole console flashed red and her dad’s hologram vanished. “No! What just happened?!”

“I believe it is saying that I do not have the permission to complete this task.” Nezu answered. “From what I saw of All for One, he had to have his body altered in some way by a Quirk to pilot the UFO. It is likely that you need an actual alien to authorize the actual use of these terminals. Smart, but it can only work so well against someone designed to operate such systems like myself.”

“Do you know a way around it?” Wedge asked as Nezu hopped down from the screens and began looking around the platform.

“I discovered while poking around in the UFO that most of their technology is managed by numerous techno-organic processors, and that they appear to communicate between themselves, likely by Quirk in order to issue commands throughout their systems. These networks can be both wired and wireless. Most importantly, these commands are issued by some sort of electronic signal, as their signal is interrupted by EMP.” Nezu explained, finally finding what he was looking for and ripping a panel off the base of the center platform.

“And how do you know that?” Mr. Oguro asked.

“Because the internal systems of the UFO went haywire earlier, and then All for One suddenly started using his Quirk.” Nezu said. “I believe that the man might not have been as willing a collaborator as originally believed, as the moment there was a signal interruption, he summoned an alien brain and took its Quirk, before vaporizing it.”

“So that’s why you said the alien isn’t in the picture anymore.” Izuku said, clearly worried.

Nezu nodded. “Yes. The alien, whatever it was, appeared to operate by manipulating those it was linked to with a Quirk. But now that All for One has removed him, it’s works have locked up. I imagine that’s the only reason we can traverse its home base uncontested.”

Mr. Oguro cleared his throat. “We’re getting off topic. How are you going to get around this security system. Happen to have a spare alien hand nearby for biometrics?”

Nezu started throwing out random parts from within the terminal out of the panel. “Like I was saying, an EMP can keep the command signals from working properly, so-”

“So you’re going to create a device to form a localized repeating EMP to jam the signal!” Melissa finished excitedly.

“Correct young Shield! But that is only the first step!” Nezu said just as excited. “Afterwards, I must create a device that will splice directly into the processor, then figure out the exact signal to send that will make it think that I am of proper authorization. That unfortunately, will take the most time, as I have yet to master the encryption language used between the Quirks.”

“How long will all that take? In case you forgot, we have a Supervillain on our tail.” Wedge reminded Nezu, and everyone fortunate enough to have forgotten.

“While I can give no absolutes, I doubt it will take more than fifteen minutes.” Nezu assured. Oddly confident, for someone working with unknown tech, but Nezu was an expert in all things, it seemed.

“And once it’s fixed, we can bring back my dad.” Melissa said. “Or better yet, we can bring back Uncle Might! He’ll beat this Villain no problem, right?”

There was a boost in morale as everyone realized that All Might could soon be there to save them. As the kids all got excited, Mr. Oguro turned to towards the entrance of the room.

“Then I guess I’ll go and keep All for One busy for a little while.” He said, much to everyone’s shock. He looked at them like they were idiots. “What? Someone’s got to keep the jerk from coming up and interrupting the principal’s work. And seeing as I’m the only other Hero here besides him, it falls to me to go do my job… for the first time in a while. I’m the best bet for keeping him busy-”

“No, you’re not.”

Everyone now turned to the interrupting voice of Izuku, who now had a look of determination that Melissa recognized. It was the same one he got when he threw himself at those thugs, and at Nine. It was a look that Melissa was starting to fear seeing, if only for Izuku’s own safety.

“If we need to keep him busy, then I’m the best option.” Izuku said, narrowing his eyes at Mr. Oguro. “He wants my Quirk, which is still missing from the Quirk Erasing Bullet. He won’t kill me until he gets it back, and I’ll be able to put up a real fight once it’s back. One for All boosts my entire body, and that will include the Quirks currently in my possession from Nine’s version of All for One.”

“And how will you plan to not get manhandled before your old Quirk comes back?” Mr. Oguro asked.

“I, uh, was planning to ask you to lend me your Quirk?” Izuku replied, slightly less confident than before.

While Melissa herself didn’t have a Quirk, she could understand that simply asking someone to give you their Quirk, one of the most important parts of a person’s identity nowadays, was usually a fool’s errand. Besides, Mr. Oguro was a (former) Hero, and there was no way he would let some teenager to run off and fight the most dangerous Villain of the century in his stead-

“Sure kiddo, go ahead then.”

“Huh?!” Melissa and a few others cried out as Mr. Oguro held his arm out for Izuku. She immediately began to yell at the man. “How irresponsible are you? Why would you let him just run off on his own?”

“Look, I’m not a fan of the idea either. But the truth is he’s right.” Mr. Oguro admitted with a huff. “The last time I ran into All for One, I got beat. Really beat. But that’s because he had no interest in me beyond taking my quirk. But Midoriya here, it’s personal. That man will want to gloat, to toy, to play with his food. I’m not saying he’ll go easy on him, but the fact is that he has a chance of lasting longer than me against that man.”

“Still…”

Before Melissa could continue to disagree, Katsuma ran up and offered his hand as well.

“Take mine too! It’ll help you if you get hurt.” Katsuma said, excited to help his Hero.

“You can have mine as well.” Kota said, looking away shyly. “My Quirk’s pretty lame, but I’m sure you could find something to use it for.”

Eri finally walked up to Izuku with them. “Um, I don’t think my Quirk would work for you, since I used it up earlier,” She held a hand to the near-flat stump of her horn. “But I think you can do it! Just like you did with the last bad guy!”

Seeing the three kids encouraging Izuku was both heartwarming yet did little to help with the fear for his safety. Melissa turned to Wedge, who gave her a look that told her that he had nothing to add on the matter. So, she turned to the last adult voice of reason, only for Nezu to simply nod along.

“I’m glad to see you’ve come to the same conclusion, young Midoriya. I had as well yet didn’t think it proper to suggest the idea myself. It’s glad to see you make such a deduction yourself.” Nezu said from his position digging through the terminal.

She wanted to tear her hair out. Why did she ever think Nezu would provide a voice of reason.

Izuku began to take the offered Quirks, only stopping when he got to Katsuma. “Huh? It seems like you have two of Cellular Activation. You must have got the one that Nine took along with the one that Eri restored.”

“So that’s why it felt so strong after I woke up.” The boy had been using his Quirk without tiring during the entire run over, so it must have increased its power. “You can take both. That means it’ll work even better, right?”

“Let’s hope so.” Izuku said, as the cerulean energy of All for One took both Quirks.

Wedge then walked up to Izuku as well. “I may not have a Quirk to give you, but I can give you the next best thing.” The military man unclipped the combat knife from his belt, presenting it to Izuku.

“Oh, not bad.” Mr. Oguro said with an approving nod. “Knife’s work great with my Quirk. A quick burst of precision slashes is usually enough to take down most opponents. It won’t knock All for One out of a fight, but it’ll keep him from overextending.”

As Izuku took the knife and Mr. Oguro’s Quirk, Melissa let out a pained sigh. “Is there no other way?” Melissa asked.

Izuku turned to her, looking just as sad. “I know we just went through this same thing a couple hours ago, but I can’t just sit aside and not help. I’ll come back like last time, promise. And this time there won’t be any surprise abductions.”

Melissa let out a resigned laugh. She couldn’t come up with any more excuses to keep him out of danger. Besides, his willingness to help others despite the odds is part of what she liked so much about him.

“Well then… I guess you’ll want another kiss for good luck?” She teased.

Izuku’s face turned bright red, but he quickly grinned. “Sounds fine to me.”

She quickly found Izuku approaching her and was rather surprised. As soon as he had reached her, he raised himself up on his tiptoes (because he was adorably shorter than her) and found her lips taken. Not expecting such boldness, she found herself frozen as Izuku kissed her. He eventually stepped back, and he looked up at her with a face that was probably as red as hers was.

“Umm… I’ll be back soon!” He squeaked out, before disappearing in a literal blur due to Overclock.

She just stood there in a mix of happiness and shock as everyone stared at her. It was only a few seconds later that she remembered something important.

“Wait a moment! We didn’t get any DNA from Izuku! How are we going to match it to the terminal and find All Might?” She asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry about that young Shield. It’s a well-established fact that DNA will remain in another person’s mouth for at least an hour after kissing.” Nezu chuckled. Melissa covered her flushed face with her hands, letting out an embarrassed groan into them as she heard the others join in the laughter.

She was going to get back at Izuku for this. That dork was going to regret starting a battle of PDA with an American.

Izuku ran faster than he had ever before. He had bolted the moment he realized what he had done. He just wanted to cheer Melissa up, but then he had run up and kissed her in front of everyone! He was never going to hear the end of it once he got back.

As the corridor flew by, he found that he could think at the same speed as normal. Overclock truly was an incredible Quirk. It ran his brain and the rest of his body at an increased speed, making superspeed seem completely normal to him. It was nothing like with One for All and Overclock. While they did increase his reaction time when activated, he didn’t have such a degree of freedom while active, meaning he had to rely more on predictions and foreknowledge with them.

Overclock made it as if the entire world around him slowed. It was amazing, but he couldn’t help that he was forgetting something-

“Huuuu-!” Izuku fell to his knees in the middle of the hall, gasping madly.

Oh right, it ran on oxygen. He breathed deeply as he tried to fill his lungs again. He had totally forgot about Mr. Oguro’s explanation of his Quirk’s downside for a minute there. It could only be used for a few seconds at a time, otherwise he could risk running out of oxygen and falling unconscious (or worse).

If only he had some way to make his cells create more oxygen than usual…

Izuku slapped a palm to his forehead as he remembered. Reaching into himself, he called upon both copies of Katsuma’s Cellular Activation. In mere moments he could breathe easy, and the stress in his forehead vanished. Yet he could feel some sort of energy within him drain. He wasn’t sure what the Quirk used as fuel, but it certainly wasn’t limitless. He’d have to be careful in using both Overclock and Cellular Activation at the same time, otherwise he’d run out of steam before One for All returned to him.

After a couple more sprints and pauses to regain his breath, he found himself back at the door to the giant domed room. The one lined with pods and a hole leading to the outside world. As he slowly stepped through, he looked around cautiously.

All for One had yet to appear, and this absence had grown from thankful, to confusing, to nerve-wracking in only a few minutes. He didn’t know what had delayed the Villain so much, but at this point it could be for nothing good. Did he predict that Izuku would come after him and set a trap?

He stepped into the open area, Scanning activated, only to find it just as empty as before. Slowly walking towards the center of the room, he looked up and noticed a figure floating down the gravity well. He threw a hand up to use Laser Bullet, but stopped himself at the last second when he noticed who that was in the slim moonlight leaking from above.

“Ms. Kagome!” Izuku cried out as the nurse continued to float down. He quickly wandered over to the edge of the gravity well, and she cast a curious glance as he did so. “I’m so glad you’re okay! How did you get… away?”

Something felt off so he activated Scanning and saw that the woman in front of him was crimson red in its view. The same red that he had seen upon waking up and nearly having his Quirk taken.

‘All for One?!’

The moment her feet touched the ground, ‘Kagome’ shot a hand forward at inhuman speed. Izuku only dodged it by activating Overclock and hopping back several times. He looked up at the woman who had just attacked him, and a sinister grin spread across her lips.

“I’m surprised you could be so naive, Ninth.” A voice came out of Kagome’s mouth that carried an edge unlike anything she had before. “Do you really think I’d let someone out of my grasp so easily?”

“All for One!” He quickly got into a combat stance. “What have you done to Kagome?!”

“Why, I gave her exactly what she wished for, the greatest Quirk ever! She was truly fortunate that I had a spare copy lying around for just such an opportunity” All for One said with a chuckle. “Unfortunately, this Quirk came with some baggage. I’m sure you must be familiar with that by now, having awakened my brothers Quirk to its fullest potential.”

“You’re… a Vestige?” Izuku realized. He was just like the First and the rest of the previous users. “But that shouldn’t give you control over someone’s body. They’ve never done that to me!”

“Just because they haven’t doesn’t mean they can’t.” All for One raised an eyebrow. “They’re just a bit nicer about the shared arrangement deal than I am. As the many Quirks I’ve taken would tell you, I don’t share well. I tend to just tune them out, though they’ve certainly gotten louder lately. Being the copy has its downsides, I suppose.”

“But if you’re just a Vestige, then Kagome is still in there, right?” Izuku pleaded, but All for One just laughed.

“Most certainly. But without a Quirk of her own, her will is effectively non-existent. It’s quite the opposite of the problem I have with One for All. But I have a couple ways around my brother’s resistance now. So, sit still and let me take back what’s mine.” All for One raised a hand and it began to spark with energy. Scanning let Izuku to see multiple different colors, each another Quirk being summoned forth.

“Photon Beam, Heavy Payload, Scatter, Solar Direction.”

The room suddenly lit up like a lightbulb as the white beam of light that All for One had used earlier shot out of his hand and was immediately subjected to the various other quirks used simultaneously. It expanded in power, beam quintupling in size. They then split into many colored beams which scattered in direction, like light hitting a prism. Finally, all the beams started changing direction randomly until there was a rainbow of projectiles heading straight for Izuku.

He knew that attempting to block the beams wouldn’t work, just as it hadn’t before. So, he tried the second option. Dodging.

‘Overclock!’

In a burst of movement, he sped through an opening in the beams. Many of the light beams landed where he had just been, but a majority managed to alter their direction and continue after him. That must be what ‘Solar Direction’ does. Likely it was some sort of Quirk that allowed the manipulation of light.

He was fortunate that All for One liked to call his attack names just as much as Heroes. Izuku wouldn’t be surprised of the Villain did it solely to gloat about all the Quirks he’s taken over the years. He seemed to give off that kind of self-centered vibe.

Izuku dodged away a couple more times, but only managed to shake a couple more beams before he felt Overclock’s limit start to be reached. All for One must have noticed as well, as the beams all converged for a crippling blow. Using Cellular Activation for a quick recovery seemed like the best way forward, as it would allow him to continue running. But after a moment thinking in Overclock’s slowed time, he came up with a better idea.

Throwing both hands forward in a cupped position, he called upon Air Wall to form the most compressed shield he could. A palm sized circle formed, and then Izuku brought out Kota’s own Quirk, and water pooled in his hands.

‘Air Wall + Water Gun… Hydro Cannon!’

He released the pressure in the air disc, sending the water releasing from his hands forward in a condensed beam straight at the approaching light beam. The two beams met, and the light entered the water. But instead of dispersing the attack, the many converged light beams began to shoot out of the water at random angles, sending them flying harmlessly away before dispersing.

As both attacks finished and the dome darkened, both opponents stared at each other in observation.

“Marvelous!” All for One broke the silence, clapping wholeheartedly at Izuku. “Using a combination of Quirks to form a concentrated beam of water to refract my light-based attack away from you! Showing not just an understanding of your Quirks, but how to use them on the fly! Truly interesting…”

All for One took a step forward, and Scanning showed several enhancement Quirks appear throughout his body. Izuku managed to raise a hand and activate Air Wall in time for one of All for One’s hands to crash into hit. While he pushed against the barrier with one hand, his other literally snaked around it, extending in length and fly towards his head.

Unfortunately for the Villain, he had attacked Izuku on the side of his free hand. He activated Overclock again, reaching for the combat knife in the sheath tucked into his waist. The moment the hand got in striking range, he let out a flurry of slashes across the palm, before sheathing the knife.

‘Sorry, Kagome!’

Now that he also had the Quirk, he was certain that All for One relied on the small black mark in the center of the palm to take Quirks. While All for One likely had a Quirk that would heal such attacks, it would take a couple seconds to do so. Leaving him a moment to make a move of his own.

He let out the pressure in Air Wall, pushing All for One’s hand off it by a millimeter. When his hand came back to press against the shield, he dispersed it and ducked down, leaving All for One to stumble and reach over him. He summoned two Hydras from his back to grab both hands.

With both of All for One’s hands grabbed and foothold unsure, Izuku used the Hydra’s to swing him up and away from him. With a great tug, the two blue serpent heads sent the Villain flying around and away.

Izuku shot a Laser Bullet form all ten of his fingers as a follow up against All for One as he tumbled backwards through the air, but most of the bullets missed as All for One literally hopped off the air, walking across it with great steps until he was perched high in the domed room.

“Ah, that’s better. Air Step was always a favorite of mine. It lets me more easily look down upon you foolish Heroes.” All for One said haughtily.

“Or maybe because it just makes it harder for someone to punch your face in again.” Izuku shot back. He really needed to work on his mouth. Bakugo really influenced him more than he realized, and he couldn’t help but get feisty when things got serious.

All for One didn’t seem to mind though, laughing off the remark. “I’ll admit, I am rather worried about One for All. Those forty years that All Might had with it transformed my brothers Quirk into a truly terrifying thing. Did you know that it reaching singularity was what triggered this whole thing?”

‘What?’ Izuku froze. One for All caused the Rapture? He thought it was a mighty coincidence that the Rapture had happened the moment that the transfer process started taking place, but was All for One saying that was what triggered it in the first place?

“Of course, you have put on quite a show without it.” All for One continued, unaware of his internal panic. “Though I must give much of the credit to Overclock. It makes me sad that I ended up losing it myself.”

“How do you lose a Quirk?” Izuku asked, admittedly curious. Overclock was an incredible Quirk. Did he give it to someone else instead of stockpiling it with his others? But why would he give away such a broken Quirk, unless… “You couldn’t use it, could you? Not after the injuries All Might gave you.”

“Correct. Overclock’s main function is increasing the ‘speed’ that its users brain operates at, which was rather hard when I quite literally had lost most of my head. And its reliance on Oxygen to run was rather taxing when I had to breathe through a tube.” All for One explained, confirming Izuku’s suspicion. “I ended up giving it to one of my old experiments, from the same line as Nine. I’m sure you remember the Sky Egg Bombing and the Naruhata Lockdown Incident?”

“Should have known you were responsible for those.” Izuku sighed.

“I was only in an oversight role at the time. They were all Six’s plans. Of course, the self-centered fool ended up dying before he could return what was given to him.” All for One looked back down at Izuku with a smile. “So, I must truly thank you for this opportunity to return it to me. Although… How did you give O’Clock his Quirk back, I wonder?”

“I’ll never let you get the chance to learn!” Izuku growled. He couldn’t let All for One get his hands on Eri.

“Then it appears we are back to our entertainment then.” All for One summoned a giant ball of fire in one hand and of ice in another. “Let’s see how you respond to a few more combinations of Quirks. Do try to make this interesting.”

Izuku called up Water Gun in one hand for the fire and Laser Bullet in the other for ice. He could tell this was going to be a long fight. He could only hope that Nezu gets through the terminal’s system soon.

Back down the long corridor, the rest of the group had split into three groups.

The children sat in the corner, trying to stay out of the way of the adults.

Melissa worked with her Uncle Sam to try and combine the pieces from the Q.A.D. and Scanner together. It was slow work, as she was not at her father’s level yet. But there was still progress, and they hoped to have the device ready before All Might emerged.

Oguro and Wedge both were assisting Nezu with the terminal system. Wedge was watching the screens for any change in operations, while Oguro assisted the rodent with piecing together the localized EMP device. The former Vigilante apparently had a lot of experience working with esoteric devices, like his taser gauntlet.

“Anything changing yet?” Nezu asked Wedge from below, prodding the electronics inside the open panel.

“Nothing but some static.” Wedge answered.

“Alright, time to try a different encoding sequence then. We’re rather fortunate that there are no limits on erroneous inputs.” Nezu said.

Fortunate indeed, Wedge agreed. They had managed to create a device that could interfere with the alien’s systems just fine. But they had yet to find the type of direct signal required to override the biometric lock. The only option was for Nezu to try his best guess at translating the alien’s machine code, plugging it in to the terminal, and have Wedge try and use it.

This was attempt fifty-two.

“So… Do we have any more of a plan other than getting All Might out and hoping he can beat All for One?” Wedge couldn’t help but ask. He knew that All Might was great, but even still. “You said he beat this guy before, right?”

“Yes. But I fear it might not be so simple this time. All for One will be expecting that All Might will be willing to risk himself this time.” Not to mention that he didn’t need to worry about losing One for All if he killed him, Nezu didn’t add. “Besides, All Might’s current injuries have weakened his power significantly. I fear as he is, he won’t be much of a fight for All for One.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Wedge stared down at Nezu. “Then what are we even bothering for?”

“Don’t fear. I believe I can find a solution. All for One received similarly severe, no, more so, injuries during their fight. Yet he is perfectly fine now. It was obviously a recent feat, as he wouldn’t have been silent for so long otherwise. This indicates that the alien must have had some way to reverse the damage, likely with the same DNA altering properties that All for One used to be recognized by the UFO.” Nezu gestured to the nearby room. “If this place is meant to experiment on people with Quirks, then they must have some sort of Quirk to manipulate their bodies.”

“That doesn’t sound risky at all.” Oguro said under his breath.

Nezu simply shrugged. “I admit it is a long shot, but we need All Might at 100% or we stand little chance of success.”

“Lovely.” Wedge added.

Nezu hummed, continuing to test his device. “Quite. Also, my ears are detecting light sound coming from your pants pocket. They seem rather faint, but I figured you would want to know.” 

“What?” Wedge quickly dug into his pockets to pull out his transmitter.

They were state of the art and some of the most powerful miniature transmitters created. His squad used them to communicate with each other, and their signal could be boosted by the X-66’s. If he was receiving signal all the way down here, then that must mean that they were nearby. He quickly put it in his ear and listened in on the usual frequency.

“Rogue 3, the bogey’s on my tail!”

“Rogue 5, roger, moving to assist. This UFO is fast!”

“Any eye on that woman who flew out of the larger one?”

“She entered the structure below, so the system’s lost visual.”

“Who was she? The Q-Field readings were literally off the charts!”

“Rogue Squad! They’re here!” Wedge exclaimed, drawing everyone’s attention. He tapped the transmitter to begin speaking. “This is Rogue 1, do any of you read me?”

He tried to communicate with them a couple more times, but his team continued to talk as if he wasn’t there.

“Damn!” Wedge cursed. “Their signals are boosted enough to reach me, but this thing doesn’t have the power to reach them back. At least I can hear what’s going on up there.”

“I’d make you a signal booster, but I’m afraid getting this terminal working takes priority. What appears to be going on above?” Nezu asked.

Listening for a few more moments, he summarized what was being discussed. “Rogue Squadron is currently engaging a smaller UFO. It sounds evenly matched for now. There’s a giant storm keeping the rest of the forces outside, meaning backup won’t be arriving anytime soon unless we take out whatever is creating it.”

“Must be Nine.” Oguro said, and he cursed under his breath. “Guess I should have grabbed that bastard too while I was at it.”

“For him to be able to create a storm substantial and long enough to keep out the military was beyond our predictions. All for One must be using the same Quirk that healed him to keep Nine’s body stable enough to support that storm.” Nezu theorized, before turning to Wedge again. “Anything else?”

“Yeah. Apparently, a woman was seen descending from the larger UFO down into the underground structure we are in.” Wedge revealed.

“It must be Ms. Kagome! I don’t know how, but she must have escaped!” Melissa said, but Wedge frowned.

“I don’t think she was so fortunate.” He replied, and everyone looked at him worriedly. He pointed to the Scanner that Melissa held. “The X-66’s are equipped with devices similar to that one. They read Q-Field’s and record all kinds of other biometric info. Apparently, this woman had readings that were incredibly high.”

“But… Ms. Kagome is Quirkless.” Melissa said.

“Not anymore, it seems.” Oguro let out a sigh. “And if it’s anything like the last time I ran into someone with a Quirk from All for One, I doubt the Nurse is the one in control currently.”

She let out a gasp as she looked towards the exit. “Then the one that Izuku went to fight is…”

“Kagome, yes. Likely with some version of All for One, if the readings were really so high.” Nezu chittered to himself, a noise that the others hadn’t heard before and sent them on edge. “This wasn’t in my predictions at all. Where did he acquire a second complete copy of his Quirk?”

“Let’s not worry about that right now. We should focus on getting this terminal running.” Wedge reminded Nezu.

“Ah yes, apologies.” Nezu seemed to snap back to his work. “I fear I got a slight distracted running my new set of predictions and odds.”

As they tried a couple more sets of codes, Wedge listened to the chatter on his communicator. It was mostly chatter from his squad, followed every so often from someone up the chain that, yes, the rest of them were still stuck outside the storm.

“Wait, who’s that?”

Wedge suddenly snapped to attention at the sudden alertness of his squamate.

“There’s someone emerging from the UFO again!”

“They have the same Q-Field signature as the woman from before.”

“There’s something going on with the lightning- Shit! Evasive maneuvers!”

Their time was running out.

All for One had taken the field again.

All for One let out a stretch as he put the finishing touches on Nine’s body.

A dozen Quirks and some severe gene editing, and the former experiment of his had turned into the perfect weather control device. It probably came at the sacrifice of most of his motor functions, and a lack of brain activity outside of the commands sent through the Controller Quirk, but Nine’s body didn’t matter to him at all. All that mattered was his Quirk.

After ensuring that the commands for the storm wall were still running, he took a moment to analyze the state of his forces.

“How is the infiltration of the Main Facility going, my other half?” He spoke to the copy of himself through their shared mental connection.

“Rather amusingly. It appears that the current holder has taken the others’ Quirks and is using them quite efficiently.” The copy replied with a joy that made him roll his eyes.

“I suppose that we could take One for All first before regaining control of the system. Just remember that when our brother’s Quirk emerges-”

The copy let out a laugh. “I remember the plan. We came up with it! Do you really have so little faith in yourself?”

All for One just sighed as he turned his attention elsewhere. He didn’t know why his other self was having so much fun playing around with their Quirk, but he could deal with that later.

At least he was certain that the copy wouldn’t screw up when it came to One for All. The urge to rejoin with his brothers Quirk was so important to him that at this point it had become instinctual. Any copy of his Quirk would have an imprint to complete such a task, even outside of his will.

He wondered if Nine ever had the same urges in his encounter with Izuku Midoriya?

Focusing back on his own task, he activated his Controller Quirk and connected to the available network. “Flyer, what is your status against Rogue Squadron?”

[Enemy formation is better equipped than previous units. They appear to be equipped with weaker versions of this units shielding and beam technology.]

“Can you defeat them?” He asked.

[This unit is unable to calculate exact odds. However, they possess a means to wear down this units shields, and their covering formations make sustained fire against them risky.]

“Well then, it sounds like we need to even the score then.” All for One began to walk towards the opening. As he did, he prepared a number of Quirks.

Heat Resistance Quirks for the lasers. Reactionary and Sensory Quirks to anticipate enemy movements. His usual suite of Speed and Strength Augmentation Quirks.

‘Ah, it feels good to be able to use so many Quirks at once again.’

He dropped into the gravity well, but after floating down a few seconds he skipped out of it and levitated under his own power using Air Step.

“There’s someone emerging from the UFO again!”

Radio Receiver picked up the transmission from one of the jets circling around the storm, trying to flank the UFO. His other Quirks picked up the sudden attention he was now receiving from Rogue Squadron. X-Ray, Infrared, and another form of detection that he could feel, but not explain.

“They have the same Q-Field signature as the woman from before.”

‘Q-Field scanning?’ So that was what the feeling was. It was as if his whole soul was under a microscope. He did not like it. The Doctor had always gone on about how Q-Fields were the future of Quirk Study, but as its progress was made on I-Island alone, they were never able to reap the benefits.

So, they could read his Quirk Factor. So what? It just let them know that they were dealing with someone far above them. All for One raised an arm up and began to speak.

“Lightning Rod, Elemental Form: Spear, Spin.”

Random strikes of lightning found themselves shooting out from the storm into All for One’s raised hand, taking the shape of a great stake. As the bolt continued to grow, it also began to spin, sparking dangerously above him.

“There’s something going on with the lightning- Shit! Evasive maneuvers!”

All for One merely smirked as he watched the jets all turn, as none could be fast enough to avoid an attack like this. He took aim at the nearest jet, and called upon two more Quirks as he threw.

“Spring-like limbs, Air Cannon.”

There was a thunderous boom as the spear cracked across the night sky with a flash of light. It pierced right through the back of the craft, and it began to make a rather chaotic tumble towards the ground. It managed to pull up at the last moment, making it a much more controlled crash. But it was still out of commission.

“Shit! Rogue 5!”

“I’m alright! Focus on shooting that bastard down!”

All for One merely smirked at the radio chatter as the squad of fighters all converged towards him. He prepared a new patch of Quirks to defend, while sending a command to the Flyer to coordinate a counterattack.

“One down, six to go.”

“Are these readings accurate?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

The Acting President of the United States put his hands in his head once again. So, the rumours were true. That Man was leading the enemy’s assault. The dreaded Demon Lord of Japan. The one that had supposedly been killed years ago, back from the dead and working with this extraterrestrial force.

“He’s already shot down one of the X-66’s, and at this rate, his and the smaller UFO’s combined might will take out the rest shortly.” The analyst who had spoken before said. “Once they are shot down, it is likely the two will not stay in the same location for long.”

“I know what you are implying.” The President in an annoyed tone, but he sighed as he glanced to another nearby assistant. “Have they finished setup for RAGNAROK?”

“Yes sir!” The assistant place an open briefcase on his desk, spinning it around to reveal a screen and control console inside. On the left was an overly ominous big red button, with a glass case over it just to make it clear that this was not something that should ever be pressed. “The target has been selected. All that is needed is for the button to be pressed.”

“Thank you.” He replied, staring at the button. He sat there in silence, long enough that the others around him began to grow nervous.

“Um, Sir?” The General tried to get his attention.

“Put me in contact with Rogue Squadron.” He replied.

The General looked conflicted. “But Mr. President! If we have them fall back, the targets will-”

“I know, damn it!” He shouted. “Just… Get them on the line.”

The General eventually sighed himself. “Understood, Mr. President.”

As the General obtained a line of communication for him, he sat back and closed his eyes. He thought his Country was beyond having to make such tough decisions nowadays. Things had been so peaceful for so long, and now he was going to ruin that. With the press of a button, he was going to potentially ruin billions of lives, to save a couple billion others.

He missed the days when his problems could be solved by a Hero coming in to save the day.

But there were none left, and this wasn’t that world anymore. This was one of hard choices now, and he was going to make them.

However, he couldn’t do it with out telling those that he could. He was already ushering who knew how many to destruction and couldn’t tell them, but he wouldn’t let his consciousness leave those he could tell in the dark. They deserved that much.

“Here you are, Mr. President.” The General presented him a headset, and he put it on slowly.

He tapped the receiver and began to speak. “Can you here me, Rogue 2?”

“Loud and Clear, Mr. President!” The acting squad leader bellowed out. “Apologies, but now’s not the time for an evening chat!”

He found himself letting out a laugh despite himself. “I am the one who should apologize. We… will be commencing another operation soon and-”

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. President.” The pilot interrupted.

“But when the operation commences-”

“Sir.” The pilot interrupted again. Was he worried about the enemy listening in? “We’ve always been ready to follow Star to hell and back, so we’re prepared for anything. Do you understand?”

“I… I do. Thank you, Rogue Squadron. We will commence the operation shortly.” Taking a deep breath, he felt a pit in his stomach.

It was time. He turned to the operating system for RAGNAROK and raised a hand towards it.

May God have mercy on his soul.

“Fuck!” Wedge kicked the bottom of the terminal with his boot, the thus echoing across the room. He continued to curse at no one at a frightening volume. The children jumped at the sound as everyone else turned to look at him.

“Hey, Buddy? What’s going on?” Oguro asked worriedly. “They shoot down another of your squad.”

“No! The Acting President was just on the line. He didn’t say it but… He’s going to blow this place sky high!” He revealed, producing a gasp from the others.

“What do you mean?” Melissa asked, suddenly panicking.

“He made it clear that the squad weren’t going to make it out alive. A Nuke is the only thing that can think of that would take out the UFO right now, and it must be a big one.” Wedge explained, glancing down at the terminal. “All for One appearing must have spooked them. They see no other option. Damn it!”

He slammed his hand down on the console, only for the screen to change from red to green.

“What?”

“Then it is a good thing I finally cracked the code!” Nezu cheered.

“And what good will that do?” Wedge asked. “You said it yourself. All Might can’t win in his current state. What else can we do?”  

“I’m afraid we can only try our best, Captain.” Nezu answered. “He’s our only option. Even I’m not paranoid enough to keep the DNA of other Heroes on me ‘just in case’. Truly, which Hero would be eccentric enough to just hand out a literal part of them to other people?”

“An absolute weirdo, that’s who-” Wedge suddenly stopped himself as he brought a hand to his chest.

Underneath his vest he could feel the charm that had been given to him by her boss. A representation of how she was always standing with them no matter what. A golden ring of knotted lochs.

He quickly pulled out the charm connected to the chains that held his dog tags. “Hey Nezu, how do you turn this thing on?”

“Just place the relevant DNA on the circle where your hand is, choose the person you’re looking for, then select the biggest button on the screen.” Nezu answered quickly. As Wedge slapped the yellow ring on the scanner and began selecting the options he had mentioned, Nezu raised an eyebrow. “Who exactly are you summoning?”

As the holographic display in the middle began to display the selected user, Wedge grinned widely.

“You were right. Only All Might could save you back home.” Wedge said cockily as a female form was projected in the center, eight long tufts of hair flowing back. “But lucky for you, you’re in America. And we’ve got our own Number One.”

Rogue 2, also known as Biggs, was currently flying to his doom.

Their squad had managed to avoid being flanked by the smaller UFO for now, but with their numbers down to six, it was getting harder to prevent. And not to mention their new bogey…

Whoever they were, they shot down one of their jets with a single move. They had tried blasting back, but the mysterious man reflected the lasers back with barely any damage sustained. And the scans made it clear any damage that had leaked through was healed in a mere moment.

But taking them down now wasn’t their objective. He just had to keep them here for as long as possible.

His Q-Field Scanner beeped, and he turned his gaze back to the mysterious man just in time to see him charging up another bolt of lightning. Being the closest jet to the man, he realized that he was probably the next target.

If that was the case, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

Turning sharply, he pointed himself towards the attack and charged his beam, firing forward. He could see the beam splash off a shield formed by the man, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t go down without a fight.

She wouldn’t have.

There was a crack of thunder, and the spear of lightning flew for a second time. Biggs braced himself, letting out a cry as the bright lightning approached and blinded him. He was ready to face his fate.

But as the light nearly swallowed him, a figure flew out of the ground below, positioning themselves between him and the lightning. Their silhouette appeared before Biggs, and he was sure his life was flashing before his eyes. Why else would she be here?

Then his communicator crackled to life, and the voice that came out made it clear this was no illusion.

“I can hold lightning!”

The bolt of lightning found itself caught in the hands of the interceptor, and with a great heft, was thrown back to its sender.

“What-?!” All for One found himself too baffled to react as a streak of light flew through his chest, piercing it through. It wasn’t enough to kill one such as him however, but as he stumbled back, he glared up at the newly arrived figure with unbridled rage. “How are you of all people here?!”

Biggs snapped back into focus, punching his craft forward and underneath his savior, who landed on its top with a thud. She stood tall and proud, with a costume of red, white, and blue, and eight tufts of golden blonde hair.

“Is that really you?” He asked in disbelief, his voice quivering. “Star?”

“Damn right it is!” Her familiarly boisterous voice cried out. “I couldn’t just sit back and nap while you boys had all the fun!”

“It… It can’t be.”

The entire oval office was silent as the Acting President sat frozen on his desk, fingers mere millimeters from the button to fire RAGNAROK. He slowly brought it back, placing a finger on his headset’s transmitter.

“Is that really you, Star and Stripe?” He asked, producing a roar of murmuring from the small crowd that had appeared around him. A nearby man set the receiving signal to a speaker nearby, and after a moment, there was a reply.

“You bet it is! This the Acting President?” Star’s familiar voice echoed out across the office.

“It is. H-How are you… What is…?” He found that he didn’t even know where to start asking.

“I don’t know the full story, but you can thank Nezu for my miraculous return.” Star answered for him. “He found where these aliens were keeping us and managed to get me out. Don’t worry Mr. President, he’ll have All Might out here before too long to punch this bastards face in again as well.”

‘All Might and Star and Stripe!’ The Acting President could hardly believe what he was hearing. The two top Heroes in the world were both soon to stand against this menace. It was almost too good to be true.

Did he dare believe in Heroes again?

“Star and Stripe,” He tried his best to summon his strength back. “Can you… really save us?”

“Of course!” The Number One Hero responded immediately.

“I see.” He smiled slightly as he reached to the RAGNAROK launch button and put the cover back over it. “Then as the Acting President of the United States, I ask you to please save everyone. Us, and the rest of the world!”

“You got it!” Cathleen Bates, also known to the rest of the world as Star and Stripe, answered. “Don’t worry, me and my brothers will give these surprise visitors of ours a good old-fashioned American ass-whopping!”

Next Chapter: No Space for Old Quirks

Chapter Text

In the stormy night sky above Nevada, two figures stared each other down.

On one side was All for One, the Demon Lord of Japan, Quirk Thief, and now Controller over most of the Alien Systems.

On the other stood Star and Stripe, the Number One Hero of America (and the world, depending on who you asked), wielder of the reality-bending New Order, and flanked by a half dozen top of the line experimental jets.

'Alright. I can make this work.' All for One thought as the wound from his own rebounded lightning bolt finally healed. This wasn't a totally unmanageable scenario.

Sure, he had planned to confront Star and Stripe and steal her Quirk after returning One for All to himself. And yes, he had planned to do so from within the improved body of Tomura Shigaraki. But he always knew that such an ideal scenario was unlikely to happen, so he had prepared himself.

Besides, his body was fully recovered, and he had his own fancy flyer now. Not to mention that if his other half could take back One for All and assimilate with him, he'll have more than enough power.

He could do this. He just had to do it before All Might arrived.

'Let's see. What do I know about New Order?' All for One thought quickly, making use of his Quirk-powered eidetic memory. The U.S. could try all they like to keep her Quirk confidential, but with his connections even their systems let info slip. 'Quirk: New Order. It lets the user add a rule to things. To create a Rule, she must fulfill a certain condition, likely some form of physical contact, otherwise she'd have killed me already. There is almost certainly a limit to the number and strength of these Rules, but the limit of both is annoyingly a mystery.'

All for One called the Flyer to him. He needed its speed to move himself into a favorable position. Both of their Quirks operated by contact through the hands, and both were deadly enough that a single touch could mean defeat.

He landed on the top of the smaller saucer, and commanded it to fly backwards, putting distance between him and the approaching Star. His first objective was to take out those pesky tag-alongs of hers. She was reliant on them for her maneuverability. Taking them out would slow her, or at the very least force her to use one of her limited Rule's on substituting them.

His sensory Quirks went off and he focused back on Star, only to see her say something and bring an arm back, hand clawed as if she was about to grab something. All for One didn't notice anything at first, but the shift by the storm behind her clued him in.

'Current Observations.' He activated the oft-used Quirk, allowing him to view water and wind currents more easily, and that's when he saw it.

The wind had seemed to solidify into the shape of the Hero in front of him but scaled up to gigantic proportions. A hundred times? A thousand? Whatever it's size, it mimed Star's action, and he could see the phantom hand shoot forward towards him.

No, not at him. At the Flyer. The solidified atmosphere gripped his transport, and Star raised her hand up in the air, taking him and his ride high up. He commanded the Flyer to pull and shoot itself out of the giant's grip, but it appeared its strength wasn't enough. Star's arm reached its apex, and All for One launched himself off his ride in a panic.

It was fortunate he did so, as a second later the Flyer was spiked into the earth at blinding speed.

"Status report!" All for One commanded to the Flyer as he stared down at the plume of dust. Using one of his vision Quirks, he could see it wedged into the ground like a coin edge side up.

[Unit functionality still at operational levels. Error! Currently trapped within the ground. Require assistance from other units!]

"Seriously?!" All for One growled out as he saw Star's squad approaching him. It appears they had the same idea about removing mobility. He tried to call up the Quirks for a lightning spear, only to notice Star's hands coming together in a clap and remember the invisible giant. "Shit."

With no time to dodge, he called upon as many physically defensive Quirks as he could. But calling upon each Quirk took up a moment, and he found himself squished on both sides in an invisible sandwich.

As Super-Regeneration automatically activated, he began calling upon his Strength Augmentation Quirks to push himself out. But as he pushed against the titanic hands, a half-dozen lasers shot toward him.

'Damn! I need heat resistance!' He quickly switched focus to Heat Resistance and Barrier Quirks, losing his strength as his attention changed mid-use. As the lasers hit him, he prepared to reflect and fire them back with Barrier + Scatter, yet just before he activated the combo, he found himself being dragged away from his current position….

Towards his own storm.

'Oh, this is getting old!' All for One found himself preparing Wind and Lightning Resistance Quirks now. He could command Nine to cancel the storm instead, but that would obviously result in its own set of problems. As another set of defensive Quirks were activated, he felt a headache coming on.

All this Quirk use was starting to tire him. Had Star figured out his weakness, or was she merely getting lucky? While All for One theoretically allowed him to use any of his stockpiled Quirks as he pleased, there was always a limit to how he could use them.

All for One was like a library, and each taken Quirk its own book within. Whenever he used a particular Quirk, he had to find and 'read' it within this hypothetical library. Not all his Quirks were always active, after all. But the time it took for each Quirk to be read also depended on the amount that its factor changed. Emitters were usually the quickest, followed closely by Transformation, and then Mutant in dead last.

It frustrated him to no end. Mutant Quirks, in his opinion, were far more useful on average. They often could do things that would require multiple other Emitter or Transformation Quirks in a single Quirk. Not only that, but he could also turn them off and on as he wished like a transformation Quirk, meaning he didn't have to worry about his appearance permanently altering once he took one. So why didn't he use them more often?

That was because of his second weakness.

He could only use so many Quirks in his stockpile at once before they began to get deactivated. If he were to keep up the metaphor of a library, then he needed to keep the books on hand to read them quickly. But he only had so many 'hands', and if he tried to keep too many Quirks at once active than it was only a matter of time before his mental grip slipped and they 'returned to the shelves', so to speak.

That was why he was never able to accomplish the feats that some of the Doctors High-End Nomu's accomplished. His self-proclaimed Anti-Symbol of Peace could only function by fusing together so many Quirks at once that it would make even him brain damaged always keeping them all up. But such mental faculties weren't important for mindless corpses such as them.

And it was also why Mutant Quirks were a pain to use. He only had so much 'reading space', and Mutant Quirks due to their nature of permanently altering the body, had long 'books'. On top of that, due to their deep-seated alteration of the body, any other Quirks used on top of them also have to 'read' that book in order to properly manifest.

All for One was thrown out of his introspection as he felt himself get dragged out of the storm by the invisible grip. The giant arm swung low, scraping him along the ground before holding him up and subjecting him to lasers from Rogue Squadron again.

He activated the previous set of Quirks for laser defense but knew this was only a stop gap. The longer this fight dragged on, the closer it got to All Might arriving. Due to his Super-Regeneration, Star may be doing little more than annoying him currently, but between both her and All Might, he would find himself unable to counter their combined assault.

'Damn it all!' This was why he needed Tomura's body! His body would have been perfectly modified to exceed his current limit by the Doctor. To go Plus Ultra, as that blonde oaf loved to shout so often. All his weaknesses were coming to the forefront, and it infuriated him to no end!

If only he could have some way to fuse his Quirks together into a single Quirk that he could call upon to fit his every need!

'Wait a minute,' All for One reached an epiphany in the middle of his current entrapment, and red double-helix's ran across his body. 'I can do that myself. I don't need the Doctor here to modify my body anymore. And Quirks have genetic components, meaning…'

Reaching out experimentally, he focused on his three copies of Strength Enhancement that were currently active. They weren't literal copies like the ones that the Doctor made. He found that completely identical Quirks had steep diminishing returns within All for One. The Doctor theorized that his Quirk treated them more like appendices to the book that was the Original Quirk.

These strength boosting Quirks had instead all been obtained by a family who by good fortune passed down a generic strength booster of increasing power with each generation. All for One had tracked them down after their youngest had made it as a Hero, believing he might be the Fifth User of One for All. It turned out to be an incorrect suspicion, but he made sure to off-set the disappointment by climbing up the Heroes family tree and taking such useful Quirks.

As he continued to focus on the family of Quirks, he turned Genetic Manipulation towards them. The Quirk gave him a greater understanding of the physical portion of the Quirks, and he quickly began to tie the three together. It was an easy first experiment, as they were all so similar to each other, allowing him an easy understanding of how to combine them.

He could feel his hold on two Quirks disappear from his grip, yet his strength remained the same. As he deactivated Genetic Manipulation, he tested his newly boosted Strength Enhancement. His resistance against Star remained the same, yet he now could call upon two more Quirks with ease.

'Experiment successful!'

Was this how the Doctor felt whenever his own projects succeeded? It was exhilarating! But it wasn't enough. He needed even more. More Quirks. More power. But for that, he needed focus.

"Flyer!" He shouted out to the still-trapped UFO, activating Controller. "Focus attacks on Star. Keep her from attacking no matter what."

[Such an order is predicted to result in the loss or severe damaging of this vessel. Continue with directive?]

"Yes."

[Affirmative.]

The ground that the Flyer had been wedged in exploded as it literally blasted itself out, speeding straight towards Rogue 2's jet and the Hero on top of it. It slammed into the unprepared aircraft in its starboard wing, which pitched it to the side and threw Star from the top.

"Damn!" Star cried out as she tumbled through the air. All for One felt her grip on him disappear as the UFO turned to continue the pressure on her.

"Everyone cover Star!" The radio chatter turned into a scrambled mess as Rogue Squadron all turned their focus on protecting their leader.

That left him all the time he needed to begin his work. He used his Quirks to form the strongest barrier he could around himself, forming a cocoon of sorts. An apt description, as through this evolution he will now become an incredible being compared to the form he had before.

Firstly, he called upon some Complex Mutant Quirks.

'Bear, Dog, Mole, Oni, Cat, Chameleon, Gorilla, Tiger, Wolverine, Bat, Shark, Eagle, Crocodile, Pteranodon, Minotaur, Manticore, Dragon…'

After a couple dozen mutations, he moved on to other Quirks within him.

'Scalemail, Body Bulk, Air Walk, Muscle Augmentation, Transforming Arms, Hardflame Fans, Strength Enhancement, Kinetic Booster x3, Spearlike Bones, Rivet Stab, Multiplier, Impact Recoil, Springlike Limbs, Air Cannon, Tool Arms, Super Regeneration, Shock Absorption, Shoulder-Mounted Jets, Eyebeam, Bone-Manipulation, Gigantification, Energy Saver, Fierce Gains, Fire Generator, Ice Formation, Lightning Rod, Temperature Resistance, Redundant Organs…'

He felt himself calling upon more and more of his stockpile. Dozens upon dozens of Quirks, many of which he hadn't called on in decades, having found better Quirks in recent years. But that didn't matter now. The more the merrier!

Through the work, he could vaguely make out the warnings from the Flyer. It warned of its damages, but that was fine. It would hold out long enough for his masterpiece to complete itself. He felt his transforming body push against the shell he had formed, but he continued combing through his collection.

'It is time to put all my years of collecting to good work.' All for One thought. 'Let's see how strong one woman's Quirk is against the combined might of hundreds…'

David Shield found himself returning to awareness in a flash of light. He quickly focused his eyes, glancing around at his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was checking into the hotel in Tokyo and double-checking that the Scanner was still working.

He was… not in Tokyo right now.

Glancing around the room, he saw it lined with empty pods, all leading to the central platform he currently stood on. Nearby he could see two men about his age, three children, the principal of U.A. (he had never met Nezu personally, but it certainly fit Yagi's description), his work partner Sam, and-

"Dad!"

"Melissa?" He braced himself as his daughter ran up and tackle-hugged him. She cried into his chest, and he looked down at her in confusion. "Honey, what's going on?"

Nezu raised a paw to answer. "You see Mr. Shield, it all started almost two weeks ago when-"

"Aliens kidnapped everyone with a Quirk, another bad guy is in charge now, and we need your help." One of the men, Japanese from what he could tell. "Sorry Nezu, but we're on a bit of a tight schedule. Hurry up and get All Might ready."

"If we must." Nezu sighed, clearly upset at being interrupted before he could complete his speech.

David looked around in further confusion as his daughter led him off the platform. "Sorry, All Might? Does that mean Toshi's been captured by these… aliens too?"

"Yes. We plan to releasee him shortly, but first we plan to use the technology here to heal him, if possible." Nezu explained.

"That's possible?!" David couldn't help but grin. "Then his Quirk would be as strong as before!"

"Err… he might still need some help." Melissa said, dragging him over to where Sam was. His eyes widened when he saw what he was working on.

"How do you two have these?" David asked as he looked down at the Q.A.D. and Scanner. They appeared to be in pieces, either purposefully or accidentally depending on the device.

"I found the Scanner after everyone else disappeared." Melissa responded, giving him a look that told him she also saw the note. "And Sam helped us get your device after he was taken hostage by some Villains. It was the only thing that saved us."

"Wait, what?" He looked over at Sam in worry. While he was worried about his friend being taken hostage by Villains, the fact that it ended with the Q.A.D. being released sounded… fortunate. And a lot like a certain plan that Sam himself had suggested.

Sam much have realized that was what he was thinking, as he held up his hands defensively. "They had a user who could shapeshift. They had threatened Melissa if I didn't follow their orders, and I had no way of guaranteeing her safety until the Villains themselves arrived and were accounted for."

"So that's how they got to you." Melissa said, looking suddenly downcast. "I had no idea I had caused so much trouble."

"It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have been so easily fooled by Villains." Sam said honestly.

David let out a sigh. So, it really was just a coincidence. He turned back to his work, currently in pieces. "So, what are you doing with the two devices now?"

"The Q.A.D. was damaged in it's previous battle." Sam pointed to the snapped off left prongs. David nodded, not too surprised. The current model was designed for testing, not combat. "We're seeing if we could cannibalize some parts from the Scanner in order to bring it to at least partial functionality."

"Is that all?" He laughed, kneeling down and looking over their current status. "Well, first we can…"

As the team of Scientist's all began tinkering with the devices, Oguro leaned over to Nezu. "How goes getting All Might up and running?"

"I have managed to locate him thanks to the shared DNA transferred through One for All, as provided by so helpfully by young Shield and Midoriya." Nezu assured.

"And the healing process?" Oguro asked.

"Still figuring out where it is exactly." Nezu said, as his eyes turned to the monitor once again. "Let's see, if I select a person, but select this button instead… Eureka! There's a tab listing previously run commends. What have we got here. Genetic Manipulation? That sound's promising."

He pressed the icon on the monitor to activate Genetic Manipulation, and All Might's holographic appearance appeared in the middle of the room, and likewise on the monitor. Another set of windows opened up, and Nezu let out a hum.

"What now?" Oguro asked again, feeling like a broken record. Nezu never simply explained things to others.

"It seems that I will have to manually make the changes to his body on this device." Nezu said. "I will practically go through each part of him I wish to change with a fine-tooth comb and make the exact edits, otherwise it could cause… complications."

"That doesn't sound possible for anyone to do." Oguro admitted.

"Maybe not to the average human. But I am not average… or human!" Nezu said far too happily. "I am rather familiar with the genetic makeup of humans among many other mammals, as I studied them extensively in attempting to discover my own origins. And I am also part of the team involved with observing and healing his injuries, so I know exactly where his body is hurt. The only problem is that it will take a while to complete."

"At least it's possible. That's more than we can ask for." Oguro sighed, looking back at the others around him. "So, what are we going to do about Kagome?"

Nezu quirked an eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean that Midoriya won't kill her. Which is all well and good, except for the fact she's probably currently possessed by the evilest Villain in existence. We can't have Eri rewind her to before she got the Quirk right now. We don't have any Quirk-Erasing Bullets, and they only work for a couple hours at a time anyways. And there aren't any high security prisons active right now to throw her in." Oguro went through each point tiredly, clearly having thought it all through. "Midoriya's won't do it, and I honestly don't know if All Might will be willing to either. You must have realized this by now, right?"

"I am aware of my current students upstanding moral compass." Nezu assured him. "I have given the topic much consideration, but I had also come up with a blank."

"Had?" Oguro gave him a questioning look.

"I happened to catch one of the previously launched commands on the terminal. I believe it may be the solution to Kagome's current predicament, but there's just one catch." Nezu glanced up at the central platform.

"I'm guessing you mean catch in the very literal sense there." Oguro guessed. That would certainly be difficult to pull off. But if it's the only way…

"I'll let young Midoriya know of the option. I have hope that he will come up with something that will surpass my expectations. That boy hasn't let them down yet." Nezu turned to the side. "Captain, could you see if the Scanner and Q.A.D can be converted to communicate with each other and your team? It would greatly improve our odds of success."

"I'll see what I can do." Wedge said, walking over to the I-Island team. He had given his communicator to Star so that she could communicate with the team, leaving them in the dark. "Honestly though, I'm willing to bet that Star will have the whole thing wrapped up before All Might's awoken. She can handle anything!"

"Heh. Glad to see someone's still confident. Though I guess that's what happens when you're friends with the strongest Hero in America." Oguro smirked. "Although in my opinion, Midoriya will be just as impressive once he gets back One for All. Between it and all the previous users, that'll be what, almost fifteen Quirks? And all supercharged to boot. Sounds like too much power for one person to even use properly. I don't know how All for One manages with having hundreds of them."

"Oh, that's simple. It's because All for One is designed to be able to store a great number of… Quirks." Nezu suddenly quit typing as his eyes glazed over.

Oguro didn't need an expert to realize that meant nothing good. "What's wrong?"

"I may have made a major miscalculation." Nezu said, returning to his gene-editing at a rapid pace. "How silly of me! I completely overlooked the issue with the previous users! I knew I should have told young Midoriya about it, he would have remembered. Oh, who am I kidding, he would have done this anyways…"

Oguro glared down. "Nezu?"

Nezu shook his head sadly. "I fear that One for All returning will turn the tide of the battle, but not in the way that we had wished."

Izuku caught his breath again after a particularly long sprint with Overclock. He had been forced to use both copies of Cellular Activation to push himself as long as possible, to avoid the continued attacks from All for One. He kept throwing new combinations of Quirks at him and he kept responding in kind.

But something had changed. He didn't know what, but All for One seemed distracted by something for the past couple minutes. The Villain kept glancing up to the outside world, as if something were about to pop down and jump at him.

"Something on your mind?" Izuku asked. He could use some more banter to catch his breath anyways.

"Just thinking about how much of a nuisance you Heroes can be." All for One said with Kagome's voice. It was still deeply unsettling. "If I had known that pilot had DNA of Star and Stripe I would have killed him."

"Star and Stripe?!" Izuku exclaimed in confusion, before realizing what had happened. 'Star's charm! The one Wedge showed me during training! Wait, does that mean that Nezu unlocked the console?'

"It seems you know what happened. Not that I am totally surprised. It seems annoyances just naturally form around the wielders of my brother's Quirk." All for One let out a sigh, turning to look at him with a sneer. "Star was not an expected variable at his point, but it can still be dealt with. But if she's out, then he can't be far behind."

'All Might.' Izuku wasn't sure why he wasn't here already. Were they waiting to fix the Q.A.D. first, or was there some other complication? It didn't matter in the long run. He just needed to buy more time.

"I had hoped that One for All would be returned to me before All Might turned up. Rub it in his face and all that." All for One explained as the air around him changed. "But I can't let him slip by and distract the other me against Star. The current situation is too tenuous. So forgive me, Midoriya Izuku, but our games for now are on hold."

'Dodge!'

It was a faint feeling, but something told him exactly what was coming, and he moved appropriately. Overclock activated moments before All for One brought his hand up, and he slipped through a narrow opening as his surroundings were engulfed in a beam of energy.

'That was too close!' Izuku stared where he had just been standing. Even with Overclock's increased speed, he would have been fried had he not perfectly dodged ahead of time. But how did he?

'Up!'

Another feeling shot up his spine, stronger than before, and he jumped up just in time as a wave of flames shot across the floor from All for One. The flames lingered for a moment, and Izuku realized that he couldn't land yet. As if to answer his problem, a weightless feeling started spreading through him. He floated down to the ground slowly, letting the fire fade first.

'That was Nana's Float! And Hikage's Danger Sense! It was brief and weak, but they were there!' Izuku let out a smile as he landed. If they were back, then that must mean their parent Quirk was as well. One for All was returning.

All for One also noticed, pausing in his attacks as he observed Izuku carefully. "Of course, it comes back now. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had some sort of luck-based Quirk."

Izuku just got ready to activate Full Cowling, raising his fists as Mr. Oguro had shown him.

"Ninth!" The voice of the First shouted out in his head, and his spirit-like form appeared to his side in Scanning's view. That was certainly handy.

'It's good to have you all back.' He answered mentally, hoping that they could hear him.

"Likewise! But this feeling inside you… you have All for One?! What happened?" The First cried out, oddly panicked.

'I accidentally got Nine's version of it, along with the Quirks inside. Then the others gave me their Quirks so I could distract All for One until All Might returned.' Midoriya explained. Thankfully, it appeared that communicating with the Vestiges took significantly less time than normally talking. The power of pure thought, he supposed. 'Now that One for All and all of you are back, this should be simple!'

Izuku reached inside himself, finding the wellspring of power that was the core of One for All. He called on his familiar visualization of circuits opening, preparing Full Cowling. The energy began to flow out and he felt it spread throughout his body.

"No, Ninth!" The Fourth shouted out in uncharacteristic emotion. "Don't-"

Pain.

His entire body began to break apart. Raw power ran up and down his arms and legs, cracking and splitting them as they ran uncontrollably through him. Inside, he felt things begin to break, and he fell to his knees as he coughed up blood. His head began to pound, like when he used to many of One for All's Quirks at once. But he hadn't? He tried to activate Cellular Activation and-

"GAAAAH!" He let out a wail as the Quirk activated, like someone had stabbed him right in the head. It tried to heal his body, but the power kept splitting him apart. One for All's power kept shooting through his body without command, trying to do something, and it was tearing his body apart in the process. As the pain in his head grew and his vision blurred, he looked up to see All for One standing over him with a smirk. "W-What is happening?"

"While I don't know the exact science of it, your body is dying of Quirk overuse." All for One explained casually. From the calm appearance on his face, the bastard had expected this to happen the entire time. "It's a lot like the Nomu. The brain can only handle so many Quirks before it begins to experience stress. If you don't believe me, just ask the Fourth. He only lasted a whole eighteen years before dying of One for All. And that was a severely weakened version of it. But you have an incredibly strengthened version my brother's Quirk."

Izuku recalled his discussion with Nezu on the ride to meet the children they were taking to U.A. High. There was something about the Fourth that Nezu had been hesitant to discuss. This must have been it.

"Then again, my own Quirk might be causing the issue as well." All for One admitted, and Izuku tried his best to raise an eyebrow at him from his position struggling on the floor. "From Kagome's memories, I know for a fact that you discovered that the version of All for One I gave Nine was severely weakened. You were scarily accurate in your analysis, but yet you didn't think about the consequences of using it yourself. Do you want to know the number of Quirks it can handle? Eight."

Two copies of Cellular Activation, Water Gun, Overclock, Scanning, Laser Bullet, Air Wall, Hydra.

'That's unfortunate.' Izuku realized through the pain.

"Overloading All for One's limit has many side effects." All for One began, as if he was a teacher doing a health lecture. "Uncontrollable activation of Quirks, heavy mental load, and eventually complete deterioration of the body and mind. Oh, and no, you can't just delete a Quirk to free up space." He held out a hand towards Izuku, as if to help lift him up. "But you can give them away still. What do you say, want me to help lighten your load?"

'He'd been planning this from the beginning!' Izuku finally put it together. All for One wasn't just toying with him for his own amusement but was trying to discover how many Quirks he had! All for One knew there was a good chance that One for All's return would disable him. He could give One for All to All for One willingly, but that would be pointless. Besides, he could likely take it by force in Izuku's current state anyways.

As the pain continued to grow, he felt his vision begin to grow dark. There had to be something he could do! But as he lost control of his body, he felt all his Quirks activate at once, and he finally shut his eyes, seeing a blinding explosion of rainbow light within himself as the world faded away.

When he opened them again, he found himself standing in the Vestigial world. Around him was a familiar crumbled room, surrounding him the shades of those that he had taken a Quirk of with All for One. They stood there expressionlessly, unlike the Vestiges of One for All's old users.

Speaking of them, he looked around, noticing an identical room across the chasm-like void where all nine of them stood.

'Wait… Nine?' Izuku raised a hand, only to notice a red strand of energy flowing from it like a string. Looking down he could see dozens of more strings forming on his body, flowing like a river across the void. He saw them all connect to a person on the other side, standing next to the golden form of All Might's shade.

The figure was also a shade, engulfed in an emerald light. But its form was unmistakable. It was the Ninth. The current holder of One for All. It was him.

"Return to me."

The realm shook, and the two rooms slowly began to converge. The crimson strand tugged the other him closer.

"Come back to me, Brother!"

He could tell now that the voice was coming from his side of the ever-shrinking side of the void. It spoke out in a voice that sounded just like All for One.

"One for All… I will stop at nothing until it is returned to me!"

Izuku could tell immediately. If One for All & All for One combined, if the two sides of him ended up rejoining fully, he would end up dead.

Next Chapter: One or All?

Chapter Text

The void around Izuku Midoriya shook as the two forces began to make contact, like a couple of great waves smashing into each other. He braced himself, pulling his body back as it tugged towards his vestigial self on the other end of the realm. The identical rooms they occupied slowly approached in a crash course.

He glanced around the room he was in, but only found dark shadows in the shape of those he had took Quirks from. Kota, Mr. Oguro, and two Katsuma's all stood silently with four other blank shades that likely represented the Quirks that Nine had before. They stood completely still, unaware of the chaos surrounding them.

Across the realm were the Vestiges of One for All. Unlike on his side, they were fully aware, more like ghosts than shades. All but his own Vestige was holding their arms up, as if to push back some invisible force. Izuku strained to see it, and Scanning somehow activated within his own body, revealing a great red energy pushing against a multicolored one.

"What's going on?!" Izuku called out to them.

"All for One is trying to merge with One for All!" The First called back, letting out a sigh. "My brother's obsession with my Quirk must have grown so much that even copies without his Vestige contain an imprinted compulsion."

Well, that wasn't good. He looked towards his Vestige, focusing on the red strings connecting it to him. That must be the force drawing the two rooms together. So, each room represented a different Quirk? Izuku turned back to the First. "Can't you keep All for One from merging like when Nine tried?"

"What does it look like we're doing, twerp?!" Daigoro shouted in annoyance.

"The two have already been joined." En added. "When Nine or All for One attempt to take One for All, we can push them out, so to speak. They are removed from the body before grasping at the core of the Quirk. However, All for One was already a part of your body when we returned, and we found ourselves ensnared. We tried our best to prevent an immediate merge by walling the core off, but…"

"I activated Full Cowling and started the merge by flooding One for All through my body, didn't I?" Izuku realized, lowering his head.

"It wasn't your fault. Whatever situation you found yourself in was entirely unpredictable." En assured him.

No. He should have realized something was up when All for One didn't immediately wipe the floor with him. He knew that the Supervillain was toying with him, but he practically handed One for All to him on a silver platter. Shaking his head, he focused on the current predicament.

"So, what is happening exactly, and why is it bad?" Izuku asked, trying to take stock of the situation. Something instinctual told him that the two Quirks combining was a bad idea, but we didn't know why.

"Both Quirks are causing their own issues, but I suppose we can start with All for One. Or more specifically, the ineffectual copy that you ended up with." First glanced around at the shades surrounding Izuku. "As I and my brother told you, that version has a hard limit to the Quirks it can hold. And in a cruel stroke of luck, One for All resulted in that limit finally being exceeded. Unfortunately, All for One doesn't seem to care about that, as One for All takes priority to everything, and your body will destroy itself trying to acclimate us into itself."

"Will the strain really kill me?" He asked worried.

"Quirk Overload is no joke." Hikage answered. "You've seen the Nomu. Those were almost certainly creations of All for One stuffing unfortunate souls with too many Quirks than they could handle. The fact that they could even follow orders is impressive in hindsight. But in this case, it isn't just All for One that is causing the real damage."

"Does this have to do with what All for One said earlier?" Izuku questioned, remembering the man's words about the Fourth User. Hikage nodded in answer.

"If you had gotten any other Quirk besides One for All back, the overload from All for One probably wouldn't be so drastic. But One for All is much stronger than a normal Quirk. Most people can handle a second Quirk for a relatively long time without showing signs of stress. But One for All is so encompassing and powerful that it is causing you to reach critical mass instantaneously." Hikage explained. "It took me eighteen years with One for All for it to finally kill my body, but for you it'll likely take minutes."

So, he needed to increase the space of Quirks he could hold in All for One to be large enough to hold One for All? How could he boost its power? Wait a minute! One of the main abilities of One for All is boosting the users other Quirks!

"Can't One for All strengthen other Quirks? If the two connected more, then maybe All for One would strengthen enough to be able to handle the strain." Izuku suggested hopefully.

Daigoro let out a snort. "Except that One for All would also boost all the Quirks inside of All for One as well, so who knows if there would be enough space then. Besides, your body would almost certainly fall apart before such a process could be completed."

"Oh, that's… great." Izuku growled out. So much for the easy solution. What else was there? He could 'lighten the load', as All for One put it. But the only person around was All for One himself, and he'd just forcefully take One for All instead of making room for it. As terrible as it sounded, that was a worse scenario than the fusion just killing him.

He kept thinking, but it seemed that the answer wouldn't be found within All for One. He couldn't give or take a Quirk, and being able to use multiple Quirks easily wasn't very helpful when said Quirks were the thing that was killing him.

Then maybe the answer was in One for All? It had multiple Quirks within it, after all.

"First!" Izuku shouted, getting the original user's attention. "Tell me as much about One for All as you can."

"Now's not the time for a history lesson Ninth!" The Second chided.

Izuku shook his head. "I don't mean its personal history. I mean its functionality. What can the Quirk do? It's a fusion of Quirks, right?"

He had originally speculated that One for All was a fusion of Quirks back when he begun unlocking the previous User's Quirks. That there was A Quirk that stockpiled power and one that allowed Quirks to be passed down. But the more he thought about it, the more that initial hypothesis seemed off. Certain things just didn't add up.

"You're right." The First said. "As you have likely learned by now, my brother, All for One used the chaos of the Collapse to install himself as the shadow ruler of Japan. I always opposed his actions, but he would always lock me away to prevent me from stopping him. I was weak and sickly, so he eventually forced a Quirk on me that slowly boost up my constitution. I believe he was unaware of how much it would increase my physical strength, or simply believed it would never reach that point. He, no, both of us were unaware that I already had my own Quirk, Bestowal. A Quirk with the ability to give itself to other people. Useless on its own, but when merged with Stockpile it formed the Quirk that eventually evolved into One for All."

Izuku nodded to himself. "I see. I know Nezu thought that the original few users might have been people who originally worked for All for One, so its good to here that it was always a 'Torch of Justice', as All Might put it. There's just one thing I don't quite understand, Yoichi… er, I mean First?"

The First gave him a surprised look. "Where did you…? Ah, right, you saw our memories of the transfer process. The Third used my name then, didn't he?" He gave Izuku a warm smile. "You can use it. What do you not understand?"

"The previous user's Quirks." Izuku answered.

"Really? From what we glimpsed of your memories, you had it spot on." Yoichi said. "The transfer between users also passed on their own Quirk Factor, which slowly grew within the core of One for All until reaching singularity. Once reached, you were able to access our previous Quirks, which had been boosted greatly by the stockpiling effect over time."

Izuku nodded. That is what he had originally speculated. "But that doesn't seem right."

"What… do you mean?" Yoichi faltered for a moment, clearly not used to having someone question the inner workings of his own Quirk.

Izuku let out a sigh, arranging his speculation in his head. "I mean, why haven't the previous user's been able to use their successors Quirks? If your Bestowal passed on the previous users Quirk normally, then they should have been able to use them without reaching some sort of 'singularity'. From what you've explained the holder's Quirks fused into One for All's core, but when does that process happen? The Quirks have clearly been there the entire time as they have been slowly growing stronger by the stockpiling effect, so it's not as if the Quirks suddenly appeared after reaching a certain point. They've always been there, but they were locked off from being accessed due to… something! Have you always been aware that you would eventually reach a point where all your Quirks would be usable?"

The Vestiges all stared at him. They definitely were not ready for such a dissection of their very being, and it took a couple moments for Nana to speak up. "I, uh, was contacted by the Vestiges once and told me that 'it was not yet time'."

"T-That's right." Yoichi confirmed, quickly recovering. "After the Second received One for All and his Quirk Factor was slowly absorbed into the core, I realized that we would eventually reach the singularity-"

"Wait!" Izuku interrupted. "You just said that the Seconds Quirk Factor was absorbed when he received One for All? Are you sure?"

"I am? The current user's Quirk would connect itself to One for All, combining itself in the core while receiving a boost in strength." Yoichi confirmed. "But what does that have to do with the Singularity?"

"It depends." Izuku answered cryptically. "About your original Quirk, Bestowal. Are you able to detect it's Quirk Factor being used, separate from the rest of One for All?"

"Mostly, yes." Yoichi nodded.

"And does it activate at any time other than transferring One for All to a new user?" Izuku asked.

"It hasn't. All my Quirk lets me do is transfer One for All to another person through DNA." Yoichi answered again.

"Then why is a 'Strength Stockpiling' Quirk absorbing other Quirks into itself?" Izuku finally revealed. "As you said, your Bestowal only activated when it was transferred to a new user, and the actual adding of Quirks happened upon being received. And if the effect has been happening as far back of the Second, then that must mean the only other Quirk involved must be responsible."

There was another silence as they all took in Izuku's revelation. Most of the users looked at him in shock, but Yoichi looked like he wanted to bang his head into the crumbling wall of One for All's visualized room.

"What the fuck?" Yoichi swore, turning the other user's heads to him now in bafflement. "How have I never noticed the difference?"

"To be fair, both the giving and receiving happen one after the other." The Third interjected. "I think you can be forgiven for assuming that the processes are connected in some way. Also, the transfer process tends to be rather… chaotic. We all usually have other things on our minds."

"Alright then," En coughed, trying to get everyone focused again. "So, we may have misunderstood Stockpile slightly-"

"Slightly?!" Daigoro interjected.

"Okay, greatly." En rolled his eyes. "But if that's the case, then that leaves the question…"

What was Stockpile, really?

"Let's start with it's effects and try to work back to the cause." Izuku suggested. "It is a stockpiling Quirk of some sort. Quirks grow stronger under its effect, the body is enhanced to superhuman feats, and the stockpiling effect grows more powerful over time. As we just learned, it also absorbs the Quirk Factor of whoever holds it, allowing them to grow as well. But until recently, it didn't allow for the use of these Quirks until reaching some sort of unknown threshold."

"Alright. So, what do we need to figure out to make Stockpile work?" Nana asked.

"Two things stick out. First, what is being stockpiled within the Quirk. Second, what the true nature of the threshold passed was." Izuku explained.

"Seems logical, considering understanding the first is likely required to understand the second." The Second agreed.

"Alright then, any ideas?" The Third asked Izuku and the Vestiges, only to be followed by silence.

Clearly no one had any obvious ideas. Izuku took a step back and looked over the effects. The Quirk obviously didn't stockpile something as ambiguous as 'strength', but what else could you use to describe it? It strengthened everything about someone. Their Quirk and body both. Not to mention that it continued to grow exponentially.

Wait. How did the Stockpile grow? It obviously increased over time, but was that really all there was to it? Izuku turned to the First. "Yoichi, did the growth of One for All ever dramatically shift up or down?"

Yoichi thought for a second. "That's a good question. Actually, One for All has always seemed to stockpile more power and do so faster the longer it was held. It was very slow at first, and it barely grew with the Fourth, despite the time he took to train it by himself."

Hikage sighed. "All that time training as a Hermit, practically wasted…"

Yoichi winced, before continuing. "But once it was given to the Fifth, the speed of its growth continued to grow at a steady rate. I figured the effect was exponential."

"That's certainly odd." Izuku admitted. But what does it mean?

"There's another thing, actually." Yoichi glanced at Izuku's Vestige curiously. "The stockpiling effect actually grinded to a halt when you received it. I thought it was because you reached the singularity or due to the hasty transfer, but the effect slowly started picking up again after about a week. It's barely at the rate of stockpiling that the first few of us had though."

Okay, that is definitely odd.

So, whatever was being stockpiled did fluctuate. It didn't just continue growing exponentially at a fixed rate but changed depending on some sort of factor, even if it continued to grow in general. The Fourth barely had any growth and he lived alone for a long time. The Fifth and beyond were all Pro Heroes. After they received it, it only continued to rise in speed and power… but it all but ceased to grow when he got it.

Right when the Rapture happened.

"Is it related to other people?" Izuku suggested.

"It had a weakened effect when I isolated myself from the world, and all but ceased after the Rapture. An understandable deduction." Hikage admitted. "But then how do you explain the exponential growth and spike? The population of Japan hasn't increased by much between the times of the Fifth and Eighth, yet it continually stockpiled more over time."

They were missing something obvious. Izuku could tell. There was something connected to the population that was being absorbed into One for All. Something that continued to increase in either number or power at a steady rate before disappearing dramatically when the Rapture happened and took everyone with- "Quirks!"

The Vestiges all jolted at his outcry, but Izuku didn't care as he began to speak. "It's Quirks! They were weak at first, and few people had them, but over time they only grew in strength and numbers until the Rapture happened, and they all disappeared!"

"That's…" Daigoro clearly wanted to refute him but found himself struggling.

"That's an interesting theory," The Third finished for him. "But it doesn't quite add up. I think we'd notice the Vestiges being absorbed into the Quirk like us here."

"Oh, it's doesn't absorb the Quirks itself, it just picks up likeminded frequency!" Izuku answered simply, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Frequency? What does frequency have to do with anything?" Nana asked.

"Oh, right! I guess most of you guys weren't around when the paper was released." Izuku smiled, putting a hand to his chin. "I'm referring to Dr. Pleione's Nobel Prize Winning Theory on Extraordinary Frequency in Meta-Humans that was released a few decades ago!"

En raised an eyebrow. "That sounds a bit beyond your level."

"It was challenging, but I managed to figure it out eventually. I mean, it was about Quirks, so I had to figure it out!" Izuku waived off the concern, beginning his own lecture on the topic. "Dr. Pleione discovered that people with Quirks emitted a sort of frequency. A wave of energy that existed on a different level from our original understanding of… everything. She proved that said frequency was naturally released from those with Quirks, and that it continued to grow stronger in later generations of users. It is speculated that this is unknown force is what allows Quirks to do things that would seem beyond typical logic or understanding. A force that allowed the user to redefine their own normal."

The Vestiges all stared in barely held together understanding.

"I see." Yoichi said, clearly not seeing it. "And this ties into Stockpile because…"

"Because Q-Fields are more than just a blank energy force! The frequency emitted by a person is unique, literally shaped by their will, by their feelings." Izuku focused on his eyes in this Vestigial world, activating Scanning within his body again. "That's what I see with Scanning. The lights within others, radiating off them telling me what they are in clear detail."

"Their Q-Fields radiate off of them…" Yoichi began.

"And are absorbed by Stockpile." The Third finished, before sighing. "But that still doesn't answer my question. Why aren't we getting everyone's Quirk then? And how does it boost the user?"

"I have an idea about that." Izuku said, clearly ready to provide an answer already. His mind was now working a mile a minute, safe in his comfort zone of Quirk analysis. "Like I said, Q-Fields are the manifestation of a persons will. Stockpile may absorb the Q-Fields of those nearby, but it's not very efficient. It will only absorb the parts of another person's Q-Field that is like its own core."

"Basically, there's a filter that bounces everything but a set 'idea'. Like a pair of sunglasses keeping out certain strength of UV light." Nana suggested.

Izuku nodded. "In part. But the important part is what that core idea is. That's what decides the kind of Q-Fields being absorbed. Yoichi, what kind of person did you want to be?"

"What kind of person did I want to be?" He parroted back. "That's easy. I wanted to be a Hero like in the comics I used to read. A paragon of justice, who used his incredible power to protect others from injustice."

"And that's what Stockpile began to absorb. The Q-Fields related to an incredible hero who used their power for justice. You see, I believe the stockpiling effect is based on the holder. Since Q-Fields come from within a person, it did more for the holder than absorb small bits that flaked off, but became the source itself. Stockpile would link to the holders Quirk, and their will then became embedded within it. Your Quirk would then become boosted, along with the strength from its original incarnation." Izuku hummed as he concentrated. "The stockpile was probably supposed to be molded entirely by its holder, but with Bestowal allowing you to bring your Vestiges along, it caused a conflict. Outside of the current users Quirk, the only thing you all shared perfectly was the idea that it gave you 'incredible power', resulting in the generic strength boosting that we experienced."

"Are you telling me," The Second began. "That Stockpile only gives the rest of us super strength because the First was a giant comic nerd?!"

"I guess?" Izuku shrugged. "Stockpile would have taken shape to whatever the majority considered their ideal. Your own Quirks were still absorbing relevant Q-Fields after becoming part of the core, they just couldn't manifest. Likely due to some conflict between wills. Stockpile always tried to shape itself into a single power based on the user, but there were multiple ways now that you Vestiges perceived power, causing a tug of war that eventually killed the host."

"This is what caused me to die." Hikage realized. "And why you and the Eighth had no such issues. Without a Q-Field of your own, you both could be molded by One for All's will without clashing against it."

"Alright, suppose your theory is correct." Daigoro said. "I don't understand all the jargon, but basically, we couldn't use other Quirks because of our differences. What changed?"

"Something eventually happened that allowed One for All to access the other Quirks. Something changed in it that made it so that One for All could easily manage the different Quirks stockpiled within and call upon them. Something that did so without causing the typical mental load. Something that was able to keep the will of other Quirks in check." Izuku said ominously, looking at the red strand connecting both versions of him. "And I think it has to do with the second holder of Stockpile."

The Second raised an eyebrow. "What do I have to do with this?"

"Nothing. I wasn't referring to you. You're the second holder of One for All, but Stockpile existed before that." Izuku turned to Yoichi, who seemed to finally understand what he was implying.

"But… He isn't here!" Yoichi insisted.

Izuku shook his head. "He wouldn't be. Nor would the original holder. Without Bestowal, they were unable to keep their will from being overwritten by the next users. But that doesn't change that Stockpile's core would still be molded by them. We don't know what the original holder of the Quirk believed, but the second user…"

Daigoro sputtered. "Wait… are you implying that the reason we can use multiple Quirks is because of-"

"All for One." Yoichi answered, and Izuku nodded.

"He held the Quirk for a time. I don't know how long, but it was likely long enough that Stockpile linked to his Quirk and molded the core. Without Bestowal, and without holding it long enough to shape the core dramatically to something nefarious, there was no Vestige to pass along. Just some part of his Q-Fields signature. The ability to stockpile and use multiple Quirks. It lay like a seed tucked in some corner, growing slowly from any scraps of Q-Fields that happened to make its way into One for All. But due to One for All being molded to fight against All for One, most growth for that ability was slow. But it was inevitable, and it eventually grew to a point that the ability to use multiple Quirks awoken."

"If All for One had awoken, wouldn't you be able to give and take Quirks? I mean, before you actually got All for One?" En asked.

"I think the ability to transfer Quirks imprinted by All for One ended up getting overwritten by Yoichi. They're similar ideas, so that part of the core likely got absorbed." Izuku suggested.

"Do you have any actual proof." Nana asked. "I don't want to doubt you kiddo, but this is a pretty big deal. If you're wrong about it…"

Izuku shook his head. "Don't worry. Now that I can see the Quirks within me, it is simple to prove."

He activated Scanning again, this time focusing purely on his Vestige. He thought the red string connecting them was the pull of All for One trying to absorb One for All. But that is what the force the Vestiges were repelling, as he could see from the two great waves around him. Then what was the red string?

As he focused on the Vestige, the green flames slowly began to part, revealing red within. It moved throughout the body like a nervous system. The lines were thin and faint but grew larger as he approached the Vestige.

"One for All and All for One may be trying to fuse, but it is also trying to assimilate into the imprint of itself within One for All." Izuku revealed.

"Damn. That is one handy Quirk." Daigoro admitted.

"Alright. So, the mystery is solved. How does that prevent you from dying a painful death once the Quirks begin to collide?" The Second asked harshly.

"It… doesn't." Izuku admitted. "Now that we worked out how One for All works, All for One being absorbed should technically be possible. It'll attach itself to the old imprint, taking the stockpiled Quirks with it completely into One for All, meaning that there won't be anymore conflict between multiple Quirks. The only problem is that the process isn't immediate, and I can't stop the overload in the meantime. And if the integration isn't absolutely perfect then I will still be overloaded afterwards."

"What are the chances that it is integrated perfectly?" Nana asked.

"I have no idea. But considering One for All is built upon the rejection of All for One, probably next to nothing." Izuku said hopelessly.

"But then what do we do?" Nana questioned, looking between the other Vestiges in him. "There has to be something we can do, right?"

"Not really. We're literally fighting off All for One right now." Second pointed out. "We can stop and let the fusion continue, but as Ninth said, his body would probably break apart entirely before the two can connect properly."

Izuku took a deep breath. "…We have to try. I'll do it."

"No!" Nana said, like a lecturing mother. "I won't let you do it."

"We don't have time for this, Seventh." The Third said. "There's only two ways this can end. And Ninth isn't the type to just take his fate lying down. None of us are."

"I…" Nana looked ready to fight the point, but she eventually relented. "I know. I just wish there was another way."

"Don't worry Nana. I have a plan." Izuku said, although admittedly it wasn't a very good one.

He still had Overclock, Scanning and two copies of Cell Activation. If he tried to use them all, he might be able to speed up the process while also keeping his body healed enough to not keel over until it completed. But he still had no way to guaranteed that the fusion would complete. Scanning would let him observe the process, but he had no way to directly manipulate it.

No Quirk he had could directly modify the body like that.

"Alright Ninth. We're ready to drop our resistance on your mark." Yoichi eventually said, and Izuku steeled his eyes.

"Alright… on three." Izuku began, reaching for the Quirks on his side. "One. Two. Thr-"

The entire realm shook again, and Izuku glanced around quickly, checking if the Vestiges had dropped their resistance early. They hadn't, but there was still an overwhelming pressure that began to push down around him.

"What's happening?" Izuku asked, as Yoichi stared up at a point in the void above.

"I guess my brother got tired of waiting."

A hole appeared in the void. From that void poured out an insidious red energy. All for One. The real one.

"I guess he decided to take One for All now in case we decided to kill ourselves out of spite." The Second spat out as the red energy began to fill the void in a wave.

"Does he really think he can take it this time? It hardly worked the last couple times." Daigoro asked.

As if to answer The Fifth's question, a double helix strand of red energy also began to poke into the void. It proceeded towards them, and Izuku activated Scanning to try and identify the Quirk. He could tell it was different from All for One, but the answer he received surprised him.

"That Quirk!" Izuku stared up at the approaching swirls in amazement. It was some form of genetic manipulation. Very likely the one Nezu mentioned seeing All for One use earlier. It seemed the version of All for One Kagome received also had it. With Scanning active, he could even see what it was trying to do.

"All for One is planning to use Genetic Manipulation to fuse One for All and All for One!" Izuku said.

"We can't defend against that! We can only block his Vestiges connection to us through All for One!" Yoichi cried out to Izuku. "We can't do anything about him literally ripping it from the body with some other Quirk."

This wasn't good. If Genetic Manipulation reached his Vestige, it would rip One for All's core out of it and fuse it with All for One. There was no way to change the command. It would reach through his entire body to ensure that the brother's Quirks are put back together.

"Wait a minute." Izuku stopped for a moment. The command that Genetic Manipulation had was to fuse One for All into All for One. But there were two All for One's currently. The one he had, and the one invading his body. Genetic Manipulation was connected to the Villains consciousness so it would normally head to that one. But…

"Yoichi! I have a really crazy idea!" Izuku shouted.

"You seem to come up with a lot of those. What do you have this time?" Yoichi asked.

"I need you to keep All for One out of One for All as much as possible!" Izuku said.

Yoichi looked up at the slowly encroaching force of All for One. "It won't stop that second Quirk of his though. And we can only stop one version of All for One at a time. If we focus on my brother, then the fusion will begin in earnest."

Izuku let out a thumbs up. "Good! That's exactly what I need."

"Good?!" Yoichi gave him a crazy look. "What the hell are you planning?"

"That second Quirk is trying to fuse All for One and One for All. I say we give it exactly what it is looking for." Izuku said with a cocky smile.

"You are absolutely insane… and I love it!" Daigoro cried out.

All the other Vestiges either nodded in agreement or shrugged in disbelief. Yoichi just chuckled. "It's certainly a plan. On three?"

Izuku nodded, mentally gripping the red strings connecting the All for One in him and his Vestige's core.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

The Vestiges all shifted, and the wave of One for All's energy shot up towards the hole that All for One had created. It smashed into the red energy, pushing it almost all the way back through the hole. But Genetic Manipulation approached unabated.

The original wave of All for One from himself now found little resistance, and swarmed towards One for All, taking the room he was in with him. It sped forward, and Izuku lined himself up with his Vestige. The second both rooms slammed into each other, they exploded apart, leaving the two crumbling structures a pile of rubble around them.

The Vestiges and shades all floated there in the ruins, and he reached out and grabbed his burning green shade. It reacted immediately, eyes lighting up red as it began to consume him.

The Vestige lost shape as emerald flames ran up his arm and into his veins. He fell to his knees as it spread across his body like he had been covered in gasoline. It didn't literally burn though, instead feeling like his own power was going to explode out from within him. It was like he was about to use 100% of One for All across his entire body and couldn't shut it off.

"Izuku!" Nana cried out in concern, but she couldn't help him now. He was on his own.

Both One for All and All for One ram through his entire body, trying to figure out how to fuse. The power ran wild as it kept trying to adjust to the overwhelming power. All for One kept trying and failing to bring One for All into itself. Meanwhile One for All was both trying to absorb the holders current Quirk into the core, while rejecting One for All due to its nature. The Quirks were functioning like an ouroboros eating its own tail, unable to cease.

Eventually an Equilibrium would be reached. Enough of the two Quirks cannibalized by each other to fuse properly. But it would kill him long before then.

He called upon Cell Activation to heal his body and Overclock to speed up the process. Red hot irons stabbed into his head as the shades came forward and activated, but he needed to hold out long enough the two Quirks to connect. It didn't matter if the fusion was tearing him apart. If they were close enough, his plan would work.

The green fire of One for All began to seep into him, stopping burning without and instead within. The pain got even worse, but it meant that the two were connecting on some level. He could see with Scanning the red lines of All for One pulsing in his veins, as the flames of One for All bulged in his skin, looking for release.

Looking up, Izuku saw the approaching double-helix. Using all his remaining strength, he struggled reaching both hands up. They each approached a different strand, and Izuku gulped.

'This is the moment of truth.'

All for One's will would normally overwrite anything that his victim could do to resist. But One for All's Vestiges were currently keeping him out, leaving the Genetic Manipulation with a simple command instead of his conscious guidance.

Meaning if the Quirk received guidance from a stronger will with the same goal, it should follow it.

He grabbed onto Genetic Manipulation, and the Quirk froze. It seemed to be processing what it had contacted, reading his Quirk curiously. After a moment, it found what it was looking for and sped into his body.

Izuku could feel what was like his body unravelling and repairing itself at a rapid pace. He couldn't process exactly what was happening, but his body was frozen stiff by Genetic Manipulation's effect. But staring at the strands of it that led out to All for One, he could see that nothing was leaving him.

Around him, the two destroyed rooms began to form back together. Brick by brick the structure combined back into a new shape. The tattered room from before suddenly came together clearly, forming something that looked just like his bedroom.

The walls slowly began to form posters, each representing one of the previous holders and the shades of All for One. Their history embedded within the Quirk. Something around him began to glow, and he looked over to see one of his notebooks, shining with a bright light. The pain of the fusion and struggle of the Vestiges forgotten, he stumbled over to the notebook and flipped to the first page.

'Quirk #1: Stockpile'

Words began to form on the page, being printed from a red double helix line coming from his hands. They detailed everything he had learned about the Quirk in perfect detail. The book then flipped to the next page to create a new entry.

'Quirk#2: All for One'

It filled in even more info as it continued the recording process. It added Bestowal, Gearshift, Fa Jin, and all the others. Izuku eventually realized what was going on.

'Genetic Manipulation is organizing all of the Quirks inside me.' He realized. The notebook must be his own way of visualizing the stored Quirks being written into him. As it finished recording the last Quirk the book snapped shut, and the entire world became silent. Izuku stared down at the cover and noticed one last thing that needed to be added.

'Izuku Midoriya - Quirk: '

He thought about it for a moment. This was a different Quirk than both One for All and All for One. It needed a new name. Something that encapsulated the spirit of both. After a couple seconds contemplation, he decided, and the red lines of Genetic Manipulation etched it onto the cover for him.

The fire inside him could still be felt, but it no longer burned him. His veins pulsed, but now in beat with his heart. He looked up to see the two strands of Genetic Manipulation dissipating as their objective was complete. He looked over at the Vestiges, who all stared back at him. He gave them a nod and they returned the gesture. They could feel that it was done.

Izuku reached deep within himself, grabbing the core of his Quirk. It wasn't the same as before, but the wellspring of power was still there. He grabbed at it, pushing it through his whole body. The fire spread out, engulfing him in a warmth that was comforting to him. He reached up a hand towards the hole formed by All for One and pushed.

All for One smirked as he felt the familiar resistance of his brother push against his attempts to steal One for All. It was nostalgic, in a way. But this would be the last time such a conflict would happen.

Midoriya's Izuku's body was literally breaking apart at the seams. His skin splitting and bones breaking as the power exploded out of him. There would be no surviving for him once this was done.

He had also pushed in Genetic Manipulation separately from All for One, using Controller to order the Quirk to fuse his and his brothers Quirk. It was a relatively simple command, but once it connected to One for All, he would be able to assert more direct control. The Quirk would grab One for All with one end, then he'd add his All for One to the other, and he would drag it up and out of the current holder. It was too easy!

Which is why he should have realized something was wrong when no genetic information was being taken from the ninth holder, despite the red double-helix of Genetic Manipulation running across it.

As the resistance from his brother continued, he noticed Izuku Midoriya's body slowly cease to convulse, the Quirks within no longer colliding. He had believed it was because he was removing the cause of such conflict. But he slowly began to realize that something else was going on when Genetic Manipulation sent a command that it had completed its task and left the body, but no Quirk came with it.

"What?!" He focused on the boy, only to notice the resistance from within One for All grow. It hadn't been removed at all! But then why did Genetic Manipulation say it was complete? He tried to push Genetic Manipulation in again, only for Midoriya's eyes to open with blazing irises.

He jumped away just in time for the area around Midoriya to change. One for All exploded out, and his body flexed with power. His eyes flared, hair standing on end, glowing a brilliant cyan. Raw power didn't spark across his body but ran across it like an aura of fire. The boy's body healed over in an instant. His wounds glowed as they sealed themselves and his bones reset themselves. The scars remained, but the damage was gone.

Eventually the raw energy emanating from Midoriya lowered, his body only flowing with half the power as before. The glow and aura dimmed, but remained almost blinding in a way he couldn't describe.

"How are you even alive?!" All for One shouted out to the child in front of him. "How do you still have One for All?! I should have it now, damn you!"

Maybe he just needed to apply a little more force. He raised a hand and prepared to call upon-

"Radio Waves. Air Cannon. Heavy Payload. Scatter." Izuku said to himself quietly, eyes flashing.

'This Brat!' All for One grimaced. The boy somehow knew what Quirks he had wanted to use before even activating them! But it wouldn't change his fate. The power coalesced in his hand, before exploding out in six different beams. They approached from various directions, ensuring the boy had no space to dodge now. "Die!"

The beams all converged on their target and exploded in a glorious wave of energy. But as the dust faded, he found his target still standing there unmoved. Surrounding Midoriya were six golden discs, affixed at the exact points that the beams he had shot out. Midoriya raised a hand and the discs all converged on it, stacking on top of each other and pointed directly at All for One.

"Release."

An explosive blast of air shot out that dwarfed even Air Cannon when boosted by his other Quirks. All for One was launched across the domed room at sonic speeds, slamming into the wall of pods in a crash. He tried to pick himself up, only to see a Hydra head speeding towards him.

He easily dodged, only to find a dozen more approaching. They were as fast as a hail of bullets, and All for One narrowly dodged them as he jumped towards Midoriya. The Hydra's dissipated as he flew through the air at him, and All for One prepared another blast, only for his opponent to vanish.

'Where-?' All for One only had a moment to think before something slammed into him with the force of a bomb. He turned to look, only to find himself being hit in a new direction, and again, and again. Eventually the flurry of attacks ceased, and he returned to his senses long enough to find Midoriya.

Midoriya stood in a pose he hadn't seen in decades. A purple energy formed from both hands similar to the Laser Bullet from before, cupped together at his side. Red energy from Fa Jin then pooled from his arms into the energy, coloring it a dark magenta. He pushed his hands forward with a shout, and a beam streaked across the space into All for One.

"Grah!" All for One cried as the energy slammed into his discombobulated body, and he crumpled back to the ground in a heap. As Super-Regeneration activated and he got to his feet, he stared forward with pure hatred. "What… What did you do to my brother's Quirk?!"

Izuku just smirked. "I did exactly what you wanted. I fused both of your Quirks, though I never would have been able to get it so perfect without your help."

Genetic Manipulation! The brat had somehow tricked the command while he was distracted with his brother. To think that he was being undone by this alien's power again! He let out a maddening chuckle as he stood back to his full height. "Oh well. At least I know that it is possible for our Quirks to be properly fused using Genetic Manipulation. Now, come back over here and give me One for All!"

"One for All?" Izuku quirked an eyebrow. "I don't have One for All anymore. I don't have All for One either. Genetic Manipulation put them together into an entirely new Quirk."

All for One let out a huff. "Oh? And what Quirk would that be?"

"I think you'd find the name rather self explanatory. It's a Quirk that can take the wishes of all around and entrust them to one, who is then strengthened by those shared wishes." Izuku explained, as the energy around him grew to its full power. "I've decided to call it…"

Next Chapter: All as One!

Chapter Text

Izuku stared at All for One as he continued to fume in annoyance. He could feel the power of All as One flowing through him. He had tried to activate Full Cowling earlier but found that his body didn't reach a block where it couldn't handle the power like before. If he had to guess, Genetic Manipulation put his body together strong enough to handle the full might of All as One's power.

'But then why did my strength fluctuate slightly earlier?' He thought absently, before a tug in his mind turned his attention to All for One. His eyes flashed with a golden spark, and knowledge began to flood into his head. "Air Cannon, Springlike Limbs, Kinetic Boost times four, Strength Enhancer times three."

"You-!" All for One sputtered in the middle of bringing his hand up, bulging with power.

A burst of wind shot out and Izuku summoned six golden shields from Air Wall again, immediately releasing the built up air pressure to clash the oncoming attack. As the two forces neutralized each other, Izuku looked down at his hand.

'I didn't need to summon Air Wall directly from my hands now, not to mention their strength has increased tenfold. And I somehow read what Quirks All for One was going to use before I could see them activate. How?'

"Your Quirks that had originally been in All for One are now boosted by all of the Q-Fields within Stockpile." Hikage explained, his Vestige appearing in the corner of his vision along with the others. "It appears that Scanning has combined with my own Danger Sense to allow you to detect any Quirks planned to be used against you."

"And you appear to be using my Float in order to manipulate Air Wall's constructs around you, like a personal telekinetic field." Nana added.

'I also used the Third's Fa Jin to transfer the kinetic energy built up by it into Laser Bullet, despite that not being a kinetic based attack.' Izuku said internally. 'Though it seems to have become just Laser, now.'

"This is the true power of All as One." En said. "Each Quirk exists separately within the core but emerge from it as a united power. The Quirks can work in tandem easier because as far as they are concerned, they are the same Quirk currently. What you feel as Full Cowling is just the base energy waiting to be shaped."

'I think I get it. So, the general enhancement from Full Cowling will dip temporarily when using other Quirks, but I can freely transfer that power between them now.' Izuku said, visualizing his new Quirks function. It's like there was a pie chart containing what percent each Quirk was using, that he could adjust at any time. The power level in total never changed, just where it was allocated. And the slivers could combine at will? Maybe he'd have to come up with a better metaphor later.

"Exactly, so maybe you could find a reason to use even my Quirk now." En said happily. Izuku gave the Vestige a look, before sighing. He turned back to All for One, waiting for his next move.

Kagome's body seemed to shift like a puppet being jerked on strings as All for One stared at him again with hate. "How dare you… A body perfectly modified to handle multiple Quirks… That body deserves to be mine!"

"The only thing you deserve is a cell in Tartarus." Izuku spat out.

"But would you really subject poor Kagome to such a fate?" All for One said mockingly, flashing a sadistic smile. He brought a finger up to his cheek, and a Quirk-sharpened nail dragged across it. Blood flowed down from the quickly sealed wound. "Honestly, I would get so annoyed stuck in a body like this. Who knows what I might do to it?"

"You-!" Izuku couldn't help himself. He shot forward using Gearshift, raising a fist up. All for One easily predicted the move, flying back towards the wall he had been smashed into earlier.

'Magnetism.' Izuku detected, as dozens of pods lining the wall flew towards him. He summoned forth a dozen Hydras, and their mouths brightened with energy. A second later, balls of energy began shooting out of them, blowing the oncoming pods to bits. He called up two small discs of air shield under the base of his heels as he dismissed the Hydras and positioned himself.

'Release!' The wind burst, and Izuku catapulted towards All for One, who now found himself out of projectiles. He saw the villains body convulse, and he detected what was coming a second later. 'Multiplier, Hypertrophy, Rivet Stab.'

All for One's arms suddenly multiplied in numbers and size, all sprouting sharpened black and red tendrils from the tips of their fingers. Izuku merely continued forward, allowing Blackwhips to flow forth from wherever on his body to counter any stab that would reach him. Upon passing through the enter of the attack, he called on Laser in both hands, spinning through the air with Float and slicing the Rivets like oversized nails.

His counter completely destroyed, All for One was left defenseless momentarily. As Izuku wound up for a punch, he detected another Quirk about to be used by the Villain. 'Impact Recoil.' Before it could be activated Izuku called on Overclock, using a fusion of the original holders' attack and his own. 'Instant Eight Detroit Smash!'

Eight fully powered Smashes crashed into All for One before Impact Recoil had a chance to activate, leaving broken bones underneath the skin. Izuku raised his hand back as Overclock ended and Fa Jin charged in the fist from the flurry of blows.

"Now Ninth, finish the job!" The Second cried.

Adrenaline rushing to his head, he wound back and prepared to punch All for One with all his might. His fist burst forward with red energy in a monumental swing straight at his opponent's head. "United States of-"

A golden hand of fire reached out and grabbed his arm, and a flash of memory that wasn't his own appeared in his head. Of him kneeling over the bloody body of All for One, the top half of the Villains head missing. His eyes then focused back to the current, seeing Kagome's face now. 'NO!'

There was a great explosion as his fist slammed down… mere milometers from Kagome's head. The wall behind them exploded back, producing a crater that they now tumbled into. All for One used the moment of confusion to kick Izuku with a great force, launching him across the open space of the room. As he quickly healed the damage, he could feel the Vestiges all swarming behind him.

"What the hell Eighth!" The Second shouted at the golden shade. "We had him, just like before! We could have finished the job that you started and killed All for One!"

'No.' Izuku said to the Vestiges. He needed to see All Might's memories to remind himself, but he knew what he needed to really do. 'I would have killed Kagome. I'm supposed to save her from All for One. All this fighting is not helping towards that.'

"You can't be serious!" The Second growled in frustration, turning to him. "There's no saving her. She's nothing but a puppet for All for One now. The best you can do is put her down before All for One forces her to do anything else terrible with her body."

Yoichi let out a sigh. "As much as I dislike what the Second is suggesting, he has a point. My brother's Vestige is too strong for her own will to overcome. I don't see any way we can overcome it."

Izuku grimaced as All for One slowly floated himself up to his level, body repairing itself. 'Maybe I can try and take his Quirk?'

"And have a copy of All for One's Vestige able to poke around within here? It would only end in disaster eventually." Third said. "All as One works so well because the will of the Quirks within are all aligned in the same wish. If you begin to take in All for One's own Quirks, or the main one itself, it would cause conflict."

'Seriously?!' Izuku cursed as the Vestiges all began to argue with each other. So, he couldn't take literally Villainous Quirks? To think his own Quirk had an alignment requirement of all things! He refused to give up in saving Kagome. He needed some way to stop All for One's control of Kagome's mind. 'Wait a minute. If it's his Vestige and not the Quirk that is the problem, then… we just need to remove it.'

"Uh, is that something you know how to do?" Daigoro asked in confusion.

Izuku shook his head. 'Personally, no. But there is a way to do it. The only problem is that it would require some communication with the others… and All for One to sit still far longer than he'd like.'

"Which he won't do as long as he has so many Quirks available to him. He'd see anything you try to pull ten steps ahead of you." Nana admitted.

And so, he was back to square one. He needed to lower All for One's strength somehow. But he couldn't take the Villains Quirks into himself! Could he transfer them to someone else then? The only other people nearby were the other All for One and Star and Stripe. The next closest people were the rest of the group back down the hallway bringing back-

All Might!

Since Star was out of the aliens containment, that must mean All Might wasn't far behind. The only reason that he hasn't sped by yet is hopefully because Nezu is trying to heal him. The aliens were able to do so for All for One, so why not All Might?

But how was he even going to take All for One's Quirks to give them to him anyways? He had the Quirk taking and giving functionality from All for One's copy. But All for One would fight tooth and nail for each one, and while the Vestiges have good experience defending against All for One, he wasn't sure if they would work the other way as well. He needed some other way to pass on Quirks besides All for One!

"That's it!" Izuku shouted out loud, before suddenly realizing he hadn't said that internally and slapping a hand over his mouth. Luckily, All for One just gave him a funny look as they continued their stand-off.

"What is it, Izuku?" Nana asked as the Vestiges all stopped their debate and turned to him.

'Let me check something first.' Izuku said, internally this time, as he reached into the core of All as One. Inside he could see several star-like lights, each representing the Quirks within. When the brother's Quirks fused, he gained a better grasp of the abilities originally stored within One for All. With the power originally from All for One, he could now isolate the original holders Quirks from each other. That meant he could give and take their Quirks just like any other.

Including the one he was looking for.

'Alright… I have a really crazy idea.' Izuku said.

"I have the oddest sense of Déjà vu…" En replied with an eyeroll.

"Oh, come on, you know this is going to be great!" Daigoro said with a laugh.

"What is the idea, Ninth?" Yoichi decided to ask. "Did you find a way to save Kagome?"

Izuku nodded. 'Yeah. But I need your help. All your guys' help.'

He gave a pointed look at the Second, and the Vestige sighed. "I'll at least hear you out. So, what's this master plan of yours?"

As Izuku explained the plan, he could see the understanding slowly begin to appear on each of their faces. It took convincing, explaining and a lot of arguing. But eventually, they all agreed it was the best plan for saving Kagome. But they would only have one shot at it.

He prepared to face down All for One with newfound determination. Sparing a glance up the hole above, he hoped Star was handling the other All for One just fine. She had an important part in his new plan, after all…

Who was he kidding. This was Star and Stripe. She could handle anything!

"I can handle this!" Star shouted.

"Really?" The unbelieving voice of her teammates said. "Because it looks like you can't shake that new friend of yours."

Star let out a curse as she was pushed against the edge of the small UFO. It had literally blew itself out of the ground, and had focused straight on her. It had rammed into her and activated its laser. She had to use her two Rules to strengthen her body from the force and make herself immune to the laser.

'This can't be good.' She could see All for One had put himself into some sort of cocoon as soon as the UFO started hugging her. He was up to something, but she was too busy being dragged around to handle it.

Rogue Squadron fired their lasers at the craft, but it hardly slowed despite the shield shimmering greater than before. If this kept up the UFO would be destroyed, but it didn't seem to care. The only thing it seemed interested in was annoying her.

She raised a hand to use a Rule on it's shields, hoping to weaken it. But the UFO decided to take a sharp dive up, throwing her hand around as she felt the G's against her. As it shot straight up in the sky, she got another idea. She dropped the strengthening Rule on her, switching to the one she had used to get out of the underground structure so fast earlier.

"I am intangible!"

She phased into the UFO, then immediately dropped the Rule. She found herself within the UFO, who's interior was strikingly similar to his Bros' X-66's. Activating her Strengthening Rule again, she let out a manic grin.

[Error! This is a restricted area! Remove yourself immediately!]

"Sure thing! Let me just make my own way out!" She answered the alien voice, punching a fist through the console in front of her.

[Error! Error! Error!]

She ripped up as much as she could get her hands on, smashing the rest. As her surroundings began to spark dangerously, she made herself intangible again, dropping out of the bottom of the vessel.

"Knock yourself out boys!" Star told her team as she reappeared. Six lasers slammed into the UFO, now without a shield and stalled unmoving. The plating held for a few seconds, but it eventually brightened and melted, all beams reaching the interior.

The following explosion was glorious.

As Star finally reach the nearest jet, she let out a holler with the others. "Nice shooting! Now let's finish with that fine-suited bastard and…"

She cut herself off as she turned towards the cocoon, which was glowing with a swirling red light. Something was happening within, and she knew it was nothing good. As the glow got continuously brighter, she knew that she needed to stop whatever it was. "Fire!"

Rogue Squadron all shot out their beams without question. The beams began to strike the cocoon, but it held strong. They continued firing, and she could see cracks begin to form along the it. Had they done it in time?

There was a great explosion as the cocoon shattered, and her team let out a second cheer. She couldn't help but sigh. They had been fortunate. The Villain should have known better than to go against her.

"Oh shit!" Rogue 3 cursed out over the radio. "The Q-Field scanner is still picking him up. No, it's impossible. These reading? He would have to be using hundreds…"

"Hundreds?" Star questioned, looking out towards the cloud of smoke where the cocoon had been. She sucked in a breath as a light began to shine from within.

Six great wings of pure energy appeared, sweeping the smoke away in a grand gesture. The wings themselves were built like a dragons, but the energy within burned like feathers of fire. They unfurled, revealing the body attached to them.

There stood a silver-white being three times the size of a normal man, covered in shining scales that grew like armor at parts. Patches of fur lined the body as well, but they also burned with a raw energy, looking more like wreathes of flames. They extended done the legs that ended in great clawed talons, and up the four arms that each embodied a different element at their tips. They ran down the tail, which ended in a glowing boned appendage that continually morphed shape. They ran up to the head, combining with a glorious mane of blinding white hair that flowed in the wind, and had two great horns sticking out of them like an Oni of legend.

Just below those was piercing red eyes, that bore directly into the soul of any who looked into them, and a mouth that had an inhuman smile on it. The being took a deep breath, before letting it out in a lasting sigh. It then locked eyes with her.

"The atmosphere shall solidify to become 1000 times my size!" Star cried out, immediately drawing back her fist and swinging it forward. The newly formed giant followed along as it had when summoned before. 'Fist Bump to the Earth!'

The being barely moved. It merely raised up one of its left hands, palm out. Her super attack connected with it.

And it barely moved an inch.

She stared speechless, hand outstretched, as the being remained unmoving. It raised back its second left hand, mimicking her own form. The entire arm suddenly lit up like a sun, before flashing forward.

Star was blown back. She had to undo the Rule holding the atmosphere together, otherwise their connected movements would have launched her from the jet. She let out a gasp against her will and stared forward.

The being brought its arms back, looking them over for a moment before smiling again in that inhuman way. After a moment, it finally spoke for the first time, it's voice somehow reaching her.

"Truly marvelous." The deep voice echoed out. "This is the true power of All for One. Behold, puny Hero. The greatest Quirk in existence! The amalgamation of centuries of works and hundreds of Quirks!"

All four hands extended, charging with their respective elemental energy. Star barked for them all to dodge, but moments later beams of fire, ice, wind and lightning shot across the sky. They clipped four of the six jets, and they all spiraled to the ground.

"Guys!" Star shouted out in concern as they fell from the sky. Luckily none of the beams had tagged the cockpits, and the X-66 was built to survive a crash from atmosphere, so they would live. But only if she managed to stop this monster. She focused back on the threat in front of her, steeling her nerves.

All for One just laughed to himself, overlooking his body in narcissistic appreciation.

"Finally! This is who I am! The great Demon Lord!"

"And he was making fun of me for having too much fun." The All for One inside Kagome's body said. He stared up beyond the ceiling, listening into his other self's mind through their connection. It seemed that he was having far better luck with Star than he was with a single child.

He couldn't help but feel a little jealous. The other him got to have their old body while he had to be stuffed into whoever was available. Contrary to what one might think, being put into a female body wasn't actually his main issue. He had used woman's bodies plenty of times through the use of Quirks (he was just experimenting with Quirks, some operated differently depending on sex or gender). The true annoyance was how… boring this girl was.

He had planned to join with Shigaraki after he had made himself as his own Supervillain. After he had come to deserve inheriting the title of Symbol of Evil. Throw in the tragic backstory connected to All Might and Nana Shimura, and it was the perfect option for a second body.

What could he say, he had a flair for being dramatic.

Oh, sure, this woman had tried to two time Villains and Heroes alike. But her goals were so simple and trite. He would hardly call her a Villain. If she had tried to find her own power instead of attempting to steal his, then maybe he would have a bit of respect for her. But as far as he could tell, she was nothing but a common thief. If not for the lack of Quirk and Genetic Manipulation's perfect integration, he wouldn't have been able to use this body.

Which likely factored in part to why he was having trouble fighting this boy.

His broken as hell Quirk factored in a lot more.

'All as One… What a joke!' He could hardly believe that One for All was able to integrate his own Quirk so greatly, even with Genetic Manipulation. Was there some factor to his brothers Quirk that he had overlooked?

Oh well. He could get the answer out Yoichi when he rips him out of Izuku Midoriya's half-dead body.

He summoned several quirks into his right arm, forming a massive maw that began to charge energy. In the left, he shifted it into a swarm of tentacle like appendages with terrifying fangs within. Truly monstrous in form, but also effective.

"What now, Hero?" He asked mockingly as he raised his cannon arm at the boy floating on the opposite side of the domed room. He had clearly missed the killing blow on purpose earlier. His naivety would be easy to exploit. "And here I thought you were All Might's successor. Yet you can't even kill me properly like he did!"

"Don't worry, All for One. I'll make sure to destroy you more thoroughly than All Might ever could. But I'm going to save Kagome as well!" Midoriya responded, and All for One couldn't help but laugh as he recognized the statement as true. "But first, I'll take what's most important to you!"

"Let's see you try, boy!" All for One said, and he fired the beam he had charged. Multiple streaks of energy flew forward, but Midoriya easily dodged them all. As to be expected, with the Quirks he now held.

As much as All for One hated to admit it, he was now the one stalling. He just needed to toy with this boy long enough for his other self to beat Star and take New Order. That should be enough to steal even this crazy new Quirk.

As Midoriya approached he began to dangle a swarm of Blackwhip behind him, which swung wildly. He was plotting something, but All for One had no idea what. So he sent the biters that he had created from his other arm forward.

If not any physical damage, then at least he could terrify the poor boy.

But Midoriya flew forward unflinching, slicing the appendages with Laser as he closed the distance. All for One tried to throw up a barrier, but it was immediately shattered with a Smash. Midoriya was now right in front of him and continued with a flurry of punches.

All for One called on his Shock Absorption, while activating Impact Recoil where he could. Unfortunately, he had to consciously react to an upcoming attack to reflect it to use the latter, and the flurry of punches both were impossible to counter and quick to surpass the limits of Absorption. Feeling his body break throughout, he tried to activate some Quirk to push Midoriya back. But suddenly a swarm of black and red engulfed him.

"What?" He glanced as a dozen Fa Jin-charged Blackwhip's wrapped around his still damaged body. Then a couple Hydra's for good measure. They wrapped him in a literal bone-breaking hug, keeping him stuck in place as Super-Regeneration fought to fix his constantly shattering body. He went to glare at Midoriya, only to see a hand.

It grasped his face, and all at once he realized what his opponent was trying to do. But he couldn't believe it. He wouldn't dare-

All at once the world bled away, and he found himself within his own mind. The vestigial representation of All for One the copy, surrounded by the hundreds of other stolen Quirks that had been replicated with it. But there was a hole in the world, in from which bled a blinding power that terrified him.

In this world, he looked just like his old, damaged self. Understandable, as that was when he had been copied. But he was also attached to Kagome Mirai like a tumour, growing out of her side. She lay limp though, kneeling on the floor with her hands dangling at her sides. As expected, as one who has no will in this realm.

As he looked up to the hole into his personal realm Midoriya flew through it, followed by a deluge of light. He floated down and stepped into his Quirk like he owned it. He glared over at All for One with a steely gaze as he took a step forward. "All for One."

"Oh…? You came into my Quirk?" All for One said quizzically. "Instead of keeping your Quirk away from me, you're bringing it closer to me?"

"I can't steal your Quirks unless I come closer." Midoriya replied simply.

"Oho…?" All for One smirked. "Then get as close as you need to."

He contained his laughter as Midoriya walked towards him. Did the boy really think he would let him take anything useful? Sure, he might grab a couple dozen random Quirks holed away here, but anything important like Super-Regeneration was kept close at hand. There would be no way he could cripple him with such a tactic.

But he knows that his brother's Vestige (which he knows is conscious now, he felt him earlier) would have told him that. Which makes the fact that he attempted this anyways worrying. Had he overlooked something? Was there some sort of Quirk he had forgotten about that would work well with the boy's current arsenal?

Midoriya took another step, flexed, and then shot forward. Straight towards him. All for One flinched as the light of All as One surged along behind the invader.

'He's really coming right for me! Is he truly that confident in his Quirk?' All for One asked himself as he brought his own will to bear. It slammed into Midoriya, and his advance was slowed.

"Fool! That you would come straight towards me is foolhardy! Even if you could reach me, my will is centuries stronger than you. I won't be taken so easily!" He shouted, pushing harder. But Midoriya continued forward, more of the light from All as One blasting through the hole to push against him. "Are you really going to risk so much just against me? You Heroes are always too self-sacrificing."

But Midoriya took another step. And another. For whatever reason, he pushed against All for One's flood of despair unflinching. As he slowly got closer, the figures of the previous holders of One for All began to appear as well, pushing him forward.

"Still, you all resist." He growled out. "Do you all think that by standing together you can overcome me? Don't make me laugh! I'll rip you talking corpses apart before I give up any of my Quirks!"

Midoriya was nearly upon him now, and All for One was willing to admit he was slightly worried. What was he planning? Was there some sort of advantage he would gain from linking with his Quirk?

Through the light, Midoriya raised up a hand and brought it down towards All for One. He braced himself for the ensuing struggle, only for the boy's hand to pass right by him. 'Huh?'

He looked down to see Midoriya's hand resting on Kagome's head, a great light spreading from him into the limp body.

'Her body! It's connected to me but has no will of its own!' All for One began to truly panic as the light continued to surge into the body joined to him. He had no idea what might happen to him due to the connection. Would this give Midoriya full control over his body? Could he take any Quirk he had been holding closer?

"Stop!" All for One reached out and pushed against Midoriya, who just grit his teeth as he kept pushing forward. What was he doing? He could feel something happening to him, but he couldn't tell what. It was an entirely alien feeling to him. He just knew that he couldn't let it continue. He focused against the light of All as One pushing against him.

Was this what his brother felt whenever he tried to take his Quirk? He had a newfound respect for Yoichi's stubbornness.

Suddenly the light ceased to flow forward, and he felt the push against him stop. All for One took the chance to wind back and slug Midoriya in the face. The boy went flying back, and with a push of will, he went tumbling out the hole in his Quirk he came through, some of the light seeping back through with him.

They both snapped back to reality and the two were launched away from each other, All for One's body healing quickly from a pain on his head. He caught his breath as he quickly took stock of himself. He catalogued all his important Quirks but found none of them missing. In fact, they seemed to be working finer than they ever had.

But there was something wrong. Midoriya and All as One had tried something, and he could feel it in his Quirk. There had been a feeling in his chest that was no longer there anymore, but he couldn't quite recall what it was. And he wouldn't stand for that.

"What did you do?" He demanded at the boy.

"I don't know, I'm still determining if it worked in the first place." Midoriya responded shakily, still disoriented from the mental assault.

"Don't play with me! You took something didn't you! Which Quirk was it?!" All for One cried, surging forth.

As he summoned another set of monstrous forms from his hands, he noticed that Midoriya acted far slower than before. His own attacks were landing closer to the mark, even if they were still missing, and the retaliatory blasts could be blocked.

"Slowing down, young Midoriya?" All for One mocked, noticing the way that the boy flinched. "Did trying to take my Quirks really take that much out of you? As much as it pains me to tell you, I'm afraid it was all for nothing."

He pushed harder, a combination of energy waves forcing his opponent to dive to the floor.

"Really, this resistance was cute, but it's time for you to finally realize how outmatched you are." All for One said coolly.

He flew down to the ground, using another combination of Quirks to throw the floor on both sides of Midoriya up, pinning him in.

"Both our Quirks may be the same age, but you're nothing but a child when it comes to fighting." All for One explained. "Whereas I have been dealing with Heroes stronger than you for over a Century."

He began to charge a combination beam attack at the now trapped target. It was more than his current body could handle and would cause severe blowback to it. But this body was always going to be temporary anyways.

From what he had seen, Midoriya would not be fast enough to reach him to cancel the attack, but he would be able to dodge it. Fortunately, All for One had purposefully placed himself so that he wouldn't. As he prepared to fire and saw Midoriya prepare to move, he glanced behind him with a smile.

Through the open door, into the long hallway beyond, to where the rest of his 'friends' waited at the end.

Midoriya seemed to realize in an instant what All for One was planning (through Danger Sense, no doubt), and froze like a deer in headlights. There was a split-second of anger before he began to summon as many golden shields as he could.

But it wouldn't be enough. All for One had designed this combination of Quirks to pierce even Machia. The shields will likely disperse the attack enough though to not prove immediately fatal, and maybe even keep his friends alive a few more moments before All for One decided to go down and finish the job himself.

As much as he loved using civilians to get one over on Heroes, he had held back this time due to not wanting to excessively damage what would soon be his new base of operations. However, after recent events, his patience was wearing thin.

The beams charge reached his apex, and All for One nearly fired. But he felt the hairs on his back raise as he noticed a blur approaching from down the hallway beyond Midoriya. His attack halted as an image he had seen in his nightmares for years began to become clear.

Realizing he had hesitated for too long, All for One dismissed the beam as he tried to call on every defensive Quirk he had within him. Pure fear crossed his face as he brought up his arms to guard his face. The approaching figure blasted past the confused Midoriya like a cannon, stopping right in front of him.

"DETROIT…"

Seven feet of pure muscle, dressed in red, white and blue, wound back a fist that contained kinetic force equal to that of a bullet train. All for One only had a moment to catch two tufts of blonde hair blowing in the wind before the motion carried through.

"SMASH!"

All for One crashed against the opposite wall of the room harder than any of Midoriya's previous attacks had. If not for the switch to defensive Quirks, he had no doubt he'd be out of commission. As Super-Regeneration did the best it could, he limply looked over at the cause of all his misery.

The Hero stood tall with his trademark grin. There was no hint of the previous injuries that All for One had inflicted, as he stood tall without a hint of posturing. A device could be seen attached to the back of his head, three glowing prongs reaching across the right side of his face.

"A-All Might…." Midoriya's voice quivered as tears welled up in his eyes. "Is that really you?"

"Of course!" All Might's voice rang out in the open space. He turned back to look at his apprentice warmly. "You've managed well to get this far Young Midoriya. You truly have done the mantle of one for all proud! But you don't have to struggle alone any longer. Why?"

All Might turned back to All for One, staring him down as he held his head high.

"BECAUSE I AM HERE!"

Next Chapter: Bestowed a Heroes Will

Chapter Text

Izuku stared at the back of his idol, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. When All Might had appeared at his moment of need, he remembered exactly why he wanted to be like him. This was what it really meant to be a Hero. As he collected himself and stepped up to All Might's side, the tall Hero held out something for him.

'The Scanner?' Izuku took the device, putting it on around his head. The Quirk detection function didn't activate, but a crackling could be heard near his ear.

"Young Midoriya, do you read?"

"Principal Nezu?!" Izuku cried out. He had no idea the Scanner could communicate. And what is Nezu using to talk to him?

"I'm using some spare parts from the terminal to replicate typical radio wave communications." Nezu answered, as if reading his mind. "With some help we managed to connect Mr. Shield and Abraham's device to the encrypted frequency used by Wedge and his team."

"What the hell? All Might? How did you get on this line?" Star said through her own radio.

All Might looked up beyond the opening in the ceiling. "Ah, Cathy! How's it going up there?"

Star cursed out. "Like shit! This Villain turned into some giant demon thing and shot down nearly everyone. Hurry up and get your ass up-BZZZRT!"

"Gah!" Izuku cried as he and All Might flinched from an ear-splitting sound that cut off Star's communication. He glanced up to see one of All for One's hands extended, emanating concentrated radio waves with a Quirk throughout the domed room.

"And people complain about Villains monologuing." All for One said dryly. "You two don't get any more free actions. Now that all the pieces are in action, I've got to take this seriously."

Izuku glanced over at All Might, calling upon All as One. As Full Cowling spread around him, All Might smirked and prepared to jump forward. "So, Young Midoriya. I hear you have a few new Quirks?" he asked his pupil.

Izuku couldn't help but grin excitedly, like a kid on Christmas with a new toy. "Yep! Watch this!"

'Air Wall + Water Gun + Gearshift!'

He called upon the pressurized water burst like before but spread Gearshift into it to increase the speed of the water to new limits.

"Super Hydro Cannon!"

"What-Bluurgh?!" All for One found a beam of water flying into him with the force of a Smash. He held against the force, but the effect of the water managed to deaden the jamming waves at its source. And hopefully prevent him from reading theirs for a moment as well.

Izuku took the opportunity to send a message to put his plan into motion. Step one to save Kagome had gone off without any major issues, now was to prepare the next few steps. "Nezu! I have a way to save Kagome, but it requires your help!"

"If you are referring to a certain command that was attempted on One for All, then I'm already prepared. We just need you to say when it's time." Nezu replied, and Izuku couldn't even be surprised that Nezu had already figured out the same plan as him.

"Perfect. I'll be sure to." Izuku confirmed, as All for One finally blew away his attack. He quickly turned to his mentor. "All Might, you need to go help Star."

"I can't leave you to fight this monster yourself!" All Might insisted as the floor around All for One ripped up, causing the machinery below to explode out dangerously. The two jumped up from the hazard, and Izuku summoned an Air Wall disc next to him for All Might to stand on as he began to float.

"If Star's having trouble, then you're the only hope to stopping that All for One and preventing him from getting New Order. Besides, you need to get to her to help me save Kagome." Izuku explained.

"And how would me going to Star help Kagome?" All Might asked as a spread of lasers shot out from All for One. Izuku merely replied by blocking them with a few Hydras, before holding out a hand to All Might.

"Because you need her to help speed this process along." Izuku said, dropping a couple strands of blood-bleached hair into All Might's palm. It was time for step two of his plan.

"Young Midoriya?!" All Might looked up at Izuku in confusion. "But if I take this, then you will-"

"Trust me. It's the best way to save all of us." Izuku insisted, flashing his best smile he could. "I don't plan on giving up any time soon."

All Might stared between Izuku and the hair a couple times, before nodding to himself. "You've shown you know what you're doing so far young man. I'll trust you on this!" He wolfed down the bloodied hairs with some difficulty, then shot back his own smile. "This isn't just some revenge for this morning?"

"That was over a week ago for me." Izuku reminded him flatly.

All Might shrugged. "Maybe you held a grudge?"

"Enough!" All for One shouted out as he slammed down a hand, sending another shockwave across the transforming floor. It contorted and transformed into jagged and alien figures, sparking and promising pain for any who touched down. "I won't accept this ignoring of me any longer! One of you come over here so I can kill you!"

Izuku ignored him and gave All Might one last thumbs-up. "I'll give you a lift up."

All Might nodded. "Much appreciated, Young Midoriya!"

Izuku shot forward with Float, dragging All Might along on the disc floating next to him. Parts of the ground began to shoot up in great spikes of metal. He dodged or blocked them with Air Wall, speeding forward to the center of the room. All for One summoned a great wave of metal, and let it surge towards them.

Izuku wound back his fist. "Detroit…"

All Might did the same, and they both swung forward. "SMASH!"

The oncoming tide of metal flooring and machinery exploded as All for One found himself blown away once more, removing his hand from the ground and ceasing the attacks from below. With the momentary calm, Izuku lined up All Might with the hole above and summoned a few more Air Wall's below the one he was currently standing on.

"Going up!" Izuku shouted, releasing the discs in a wave of air pressure that shot the Hero up like a rocket. All for One tried to shoot out a couple final blasts at All Might, but the man was moving far too fast to counter. As All Might disappeared out of the room into the sky above, Izuku heard the Villain curse out.

"Damn it all. Why does that giant oaf have to always show up at the worst moments?!" All for One fumed, before attempting to calm himself out loud. "No. It doesn't matter. The other me can more than handle him in this state. Besides, he doesn't have the Quirk I want anymore."

"That's surprising reasonable of you." Izuku said as he waited for All for One's next move.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than to rip All Might to pieces, but these things must come in a certain order." All for One explained, as he stepped through the air towards him. "Like, for example, stealing your Quirk and killing you before you can transfer 'All as One' to him." He let out a chuckle at Izuku's glare. "Oh please, you think I didn't see you hand that hair over to him? I don't know why you think giving All Might your Quirk will be able to save my current host, but I can tell you that even that won't be enough to beat my other self. It'll just delay the inevitable, while letting me take my sweet time ripping you apart."

"We'll see about that." Izuku said confidently as he called upon his Quirk and sped towards All for One. Inwardly, he smirked to himself. He had less power than before the first step of his plan, probably close to half now. But he was still more than strong enough to keep All for One busy until the next step was done.

Step one and two was completed by him. Now it was up to All Might to complete step three. After that, the five step plan to saving Kagome would be almost complete. He just needed to hope the two strongest Heroes could come together for a single moment.

How hard could it be?

All Might shot up into the night sky determined to make his pupil proud. He had put a lot of faith in Young Midoriya's plan, so it was only right that he returned the favor. As he passed through the hole and emerged into the cool skies of Nevada, he quickly took stock of his surroundings.

There was a great circular wall of storm surrounding the airfield below (which he had been told was Area 51, to his surprise), that was preventing any outside interference. In the center of the circular border, directly above him, was a rather large UFO straight out of an old Sci-fi pulp. Crashed into the ground around it was the wreck of five jets, and one broken UFO, this one much smaller than the one above.

'I hope Cathy's friends are all okay.'

All Might cast his gaze up once more to see two jets still in the air. One was approaching him, having likely heard their momentary chatter earlier and deduced he would arrive soon. The other jet however had Star and Stripe on it's back and was being chased down by a truly monstrous figure.

'Is that really All for One?!' All Might's eye nearly bugged out of his head as he observed his suddenly alive and well nemesis for the first time in five years. at least, a version of him in his original body. But the Villain had seemingly completely transformed himself, truly living up to his self-proclaimed title of Demon Lord. He wasn't sure how All for One was doing it, but All Might could tell that he was using far more Quirks than in their last fight.

This was going to be a pain.

Even with David's amazing device boosting his power by up to 50%, and with his body restored to complete working order, All Might's power was limited. The stockpile of power he used to have was with Midoriya now, leaving him with just slowly dwindling embers. He hadn't used One for All since giving it to Midoriya, so he had as much power as he was going to get, but he was certainly going to use it all up today.

He couldn't think of any better use than to finally put this monster down.

'First thing's first. Getting All for One's attention away from Cathy.' All Might decided. He couldn't let All for One get New Order. As the jet lined up perfectly for him to land upon, he checked that his radio was on before cupping his hands around his mouth.

"All for One!" All might shouted out across the air. All for One spared a glance up at him but didn't slow his pursuit. All Might merely flashed a smile and gave the Villain a thumbs up. "I love the new look! Especially the face! The last time we met you seemed rather empty-headed!"

There was a sudden change in the air, and All for One stopped his approach suddenly, slowly turning in the air to look directly at him with an unreadable expression.

"Not to mention the hair! Is it some sort of Quirk, or do you do it manually? That must have been really hard, considering you left our last meeting a bit disarmed!"

Would All Might usually feel bad about mocking someone, even a Villain, about their disabilities? Certainly! But All for One was an exception to the rule. He had made it personal for All Might decades ago, not to mention was probably the evilest person on the planet. So, All Might had no issue taunting him so brazenly.

"You think you're funny?" All for One asked through clenched teeth, his voice somehow echoing across the entire area. The look on his face made it clear to All Might that he wasn't the only one who took their last battle personally.

To be fair, having your entire empire systematically before having your arms ripped off and head bashed in does tend to leave some grudges.

All for One suddenly blasted towards him. "So, it appears that the Rat has managed to heal you. How does it feel All Might, not having half of your insides ripped out?"

"Great! Though I could use extra some help with my digestion!" All Might replied as the Villain approached faster than All Might was comfortable with. Hopefully Star caught that was a message for her. If he spelt it out far All for One what he needed, then it would never happen.

Right before All for One reached him, he bent down, shouting a command to the pilot. "Dive!"

He launched himself up a second before All for One sped past, missing both him and the Jet which dived dramatically at his command. All Might couldn't help but be impressed by their reaction time. They must be quite used to similar stunts from Star.

All Might flew straight up and slammed into the bottom of the great UFO above them all. He could feel himself hit some sort of invisible shield and braced against it. He stared down, taking note of where Star was. Seeing her approaching straight towards him, he pushed against the shield with all his might.

"NEW HAMPSHIRE SMASH!"

All Might began to fly down towards Star at great speed, but unfortunately All for One had looped around and was on an interception course with him. Even with gravity working with him, All Might wouldn't reach Star before All for One reached him.

"Rogue-2, drop your shield!" Star shouted, and immediately the energy shield of the X-66 could be seen dispersing. Star quickly reached down and touched the jet. "The X-66 is weightless!"

All for One turned to Star, likely attempting to stop her, but it was too late, and All Might braced himself as the X-66 almost appeared directly in front of him. He held out an arm and felt someone grab onto it as the blurred aircraft sped by, dragging him along with it.

"All Might's digestion is increased!" Star commanded as she held onto his hand.

The jet slowed back to its normal speed as All Might felt oddly in his stomach. He could feel something spread throughout his body, much like when he had first received One for All from Nana. Whatever Izuku had done, the process had been completed.

"Star! Look out!" One of the pilots cried out on the radio.

All eyes turned naturally to All for One, whose tail flicked towards them, launching the bone-blade on the bottom off it like a rocket. Star reacted first, quickly throwing All Might towards the other operating jet.

A second later, the great blade crashed through the bottom of the jet, narrowly avoiding skewering Star along with it. It pierced the center hull of the now unshielded plane and began to glow a dangerous light. Star reached out to grab the blade, and she winced as she contacted it and it cut into her hand. "The blade is twice as small!"

The detached tail-blade shrunk in her grip and was now held in her hand like a normal sword. She tossed it away as hard as she could, and it exploded a moment later, sending the jet she was on falling to join its compatriots on the ground.

"Shit. Something tells me I shouldn't have touched that thing." Star said weakly as she looked at her arm. There was an odd coloration in it, and she fell to a knee on the falling aircraft.

As All Might finished flying across the air to the final air-worthy jet, he called out to Star. "I'm all good! Use your Quirk on yourself, Cathy!"

All Might felt the Rule on his digestion fade as Star tried to heal herself as she crash-landed towards the ground. She would make sure her partner would land fine, but whatever had been done to her would leave her out of the fight for more than a few moments.

"Well, that worked better than expected." All for One said happily, as the blade on his tail began to grow back, molding into an axe-like shape now. "Bone-Blade, Scorpion, Jet Limbs, Self-destruct, along with a wide variety of poison and paralytic Quirks that should keep her incapacitated. It won't kill her, but she'll have a hard time neutralizing so many different attacks. Her Rule limit is two, isn't it? I do hope whatever it is your student gave you was worth losing New Order over."

So, he noticed. All Might let out a huff of annoyance but wasn't too surprised. There wasn't anyone else on the planet with a better eye for Quirks than All for One. Making such a plan to abuse Star's on-contact condition, then finding the exact moment when one of their defenses were open. The most dangerous thing about an opponent like this is that All Might had to prepare for literally anything and everything.

'Whatever you gave me to even the odds better be really amazing, Young Midoriya,' All Might pleaded to himself. 'Because I'll need all the help I can get.'

Now it was just him and All for One, just as it had also been half a decade ago. He was by himself in this fight again.

"Don't worry, Toshi. You don't have to fight alone any longer."

All Might glanced up in shock. 'It can't be… that voice is-!'

Something wasn't right.

All for One (The Vestige within Kagome) couldn't help but notice things weren't playing out as he expected them to. From his connection to the other him, the one in his true body, he knew that Star and Stripe had been knocked out of the fight, but not before using her Quirk to speed up the transfer process from his brother's Quirk.

So naturally, the boy in front of him should be getting weaker as his Quirk transferred back to All Might and he ran through the last of his stockpile of power. He had fought enough of the previous holders to know that his what should be happening.

Yet it wasn't. Besides the dramatic drop in power Midoriya had after foolishly trying to take his Quirks, the boy's strength had remained consistent.

"What are you playing at, boy?" All for One asked as he continued to bend the ground at his whim towards his opponent.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Midoriya replied as he continued to dodge.

All for One registered it as a lie with his Quirk, but he didn't need it to know that, considering the cocky smirk on the boy's face.

'Fine then! If the boy won't give away his Quirk, then I'll just take it myself!' All for One decided, throwing as much of his power into the floor. Activating Magnetism to it's utmost he began to send dozens of spikes of pure metal up from beneath. Midoriya began dodging the attacks from below, but All for One had slowly moved towards the wall and activated Magnetism along it as well now.

Midoriya was clearly struggling to dodge attacks from both directions, sending Laser's and Hydra's and Air Wall's all around him to neutralize the threats. All for One continued to box him in with the Magnetism though, and eventually one of the pods slipped by and slammed into him, knocking him off guard.

'Now!' With one final push, All for One concentrated as much of the miscellaneous metal surrounding his opponent into a dozen spikes, which he promptly moved to skewer Midoriya. He wouldn't be able to block all of them. Victory was his!

The spikes all sped towards Midoriya at great speeds before… stopping.

"What?!" All for One stared in confusion as the attack froze mid command.

The collected metal of the projectiles began to flake apart as they fell to the ground, no longer held together through magnetic force. The rest of the manipulated floor began to collapse and crash as his power over them suddenly vanished. He tried to call upon Magnetism again to restore his control over the room, only to find nothing there.

"What?" All for One repeated, quieter this time. He looked up to Midoriya, who was looking even cockier than before. "You! What did you just do?!"

Midoriya didn't respond, instead engulfing the entire area with Smokescreen. The Sixth Holder's Quirk, no doubt. A cheap trick, completely useless against him. He activated his Infrared Quirk, vision changing to perfectly show his hidden foe.

A Laser beam shot towards him, and All for One dodged to the side as Midoriya continued to circle him. More attacks began to come through, as Lasers, Hydras, and Smashes were thrown at him. They were paltry compared to the combination attacks that were being used before, but All for One still found himself using a variety of Quirks to defend himself while waiting for an opening.

"Enough of this!" All for One eventually decided, summoning his favorite combo of Springlike Limbs and Air Cannon to blow the source of the Smokescreen away. He tried to aim at the clear heat signature of Midoriya, only to find that it began to fade until disappearing completely.

'Where-?!' How did he vanish from All for One's sight? Did he teleport somewhere? Was he gone? Did he-

"Detroit Smash!"

All for One was cut off as Midoriya flew through the purple smoke and slammed a fist into his chest. As he flew back, All for One realized what had happened. 'He didn't vanish! Infrared just stopped working!' He tried calling upon it, finding a repeat of what had happened with Magnetism. He simply couldn't find it stockpiled in his collection anymore.

"What are you doing to me?!" All for One shouted, as Midoriya ignored him and wound back to gather Laser's energy in his hands. A beam of purple shot forward, and he called on Barrier. As the projected shield appeared, he took a deep dive into his own Quirk.

In the Vestigial world, he looked to the Vestige connected to Barrier, which he currently held in his hand as he used it. However, as he continued to block the attack the shade began to fade, literally evaporating in his hand until there was nothing left, and the Barrier broke.

'Impossible!' He continued to focus internally as his body was now blasted by the beam and he activated Heat Resistance.

Barrier was gone.

It wasn't deactivated or changed in any way. It simply was used up and vanished. As if it had burned away… like embers.

Now that he focused, he realized that the voices of the Vestiges were completely silent. He was used to their clamouring and crying, but now there was nothing but silence within him. As if everyone had left a room, leaving him alone. Looking around at the Vestiges, he could see that they were faded and empty, more like shadows of what had used to be there.

'No.' All for One looked down at Kagome, who's limp body he was connected to glowed faintly with a familiar light. His brother's light. 'No!'

Focusing back on the fight, All for One glared at Midoriya as he finally realized what had happened to him. Back then, when Midoriya had entered his Quirk. It wasn't to take a Quirk from him, but to give one to him! And then he took a hair from Kagome's body, gave it to All Might, and then…

"You didn't!" All for One cried out.

"I did." Midoriya admitted.

At the same time as these events were happening below, up above All Might prepared himself as All for One's demonic body began to change. He held up one of his four arms, as it grew and distorted.

"Springlike Limbs, Multiplier, Hypertrophy, Rivet, Spear-like Bones, Kinetic Booster times four, and Strength Enhancer times three." All for One explained as one of his right arms morphed into a monstrously giant fist. "This was the best that my injured body could handle. I feel it is only poetic that I finish you off the same way you did to me last time!"

All for One flew forward with a flap of his glowing wings, blasting towards All Might like a rocket.

"Fall back." All Might ordered the last member of Rogue Squadron, before jumping to face All for One head on. As the jet flew away and he wound back his own right arm, he took a deep breath. "DETROIT SMASH!"

Their two fists collided, and a shockwave permeated the air. But as the two forces collided, All Might could feel the bones in his hand begin to break as he was forced back. Even with the boosted strength of One for All, it wasn't enough against the combined strength of hundreds of Quirks.

"How pathetic!" All for One cheered, and with a final push from his gigantic fist sent All Might flying back. All Might was blown across the eye of the storm, and he felt his right arm shatter from the force. All for One laughed maniacally as he began to close the distance again. "All that strength condensed into a single Quirk, only to be outdone in a contest of pure power in the end! You're no match for my stockpile of Quirks! Don't you know that there is strength in numbers, Symbol of Peace?"

"Of course I do!" All Might cried as he pushed with his feet and he braked in midair, as if stepping on the very sky itself. He stepped onto the air, winding back his right arm again, which had mended itself in seconds.

All for One stared in confusion as he flew forward. "Those Quirks are-?!"

"What Quirks did you say you used again? Ah, right! Springlike Limbs, Multiplier, Hypertrophy, Rivet, Spear-like Bones, Kinetic Booster times four, and Strength Enhancer times three?" All Might's arm morphed with each word, until it mimicked his opponents near-perfectly. He flew towards All for One unassisted, winding back the giant fist the same as he had moments ago.

"COMPOSITE DETROIT SMASH!"

The two titanic blows met, but this time All Might's new form collided with All for One's with equal ferocity. All for One pushed and pushed, only to find his opponents wasn't giving him an inch. Eventually the two forces gave all they could, and both Hero and Villain found themselves blown back an equal distance.

"Those… Those are mine!" A mad look passed All for One's face. "You stole my Quirks… and are using them against me?!"

"None of these Quirks were yours to begin with!" All Might countered. He could hear the voices of the Quirks somehow. Of all those who had been used or abused by All for One. He could here the previous Holders of One for All inside him as well. He could here the First, and Nana. And they all told him to fight! "And through me, I will finally give them the justice they deserve, and take you down!"

"You… YOU BASTARD!" All for One's voice shrieked out like a raging storm, his body flaring with unruly power. His Quirks were what was most important to him, after all. And now they were no longer his. "HOW DARE YOU OF ALL PEOPLE USE MY OWN QUIRKS AGAINST ME, ALL MIGHT! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"You're welcome to try, All for One!" All Might growled out. "But you'll find failure, just like you have every time before."

Around him, he could see the forms of the previous users appear around him. And behind him hundreds of other people. Most were faceless and undefined, but they all held a single goal. To defeat the one who had tormented them for so long.

All for One seemed to flinch for a moment, and All Might couldn't help but grin. He wasn't fighting alone anymore. A Hero never does.

Next Chapter: Memento Mori

Chapter Text

“JUST DIE!”

“You First!”

The two titans of good and evil continued to battle in the skies above. Hundreds of Quirks clashed together with each blow, each one mimicking the attack of the other. Whether swings of fists, or blasts of fire and ice, All for One found each blow rivalled by his Nemesis.

‘This can’t be happening!’ All for One tried to piece together what had gotten him into this current situation.

First, his other self had unwittingly fused One for All with an inferior version of their Quirk, turning it into some sort of ridiculous fusion of the two. Then he must have been given his brother’s Quirk without realizing, and somehow managed to let his own stockpile of Quirks be taken out from under him. And last of all, they had transferred those Quirks to possibly the most poetically annoying candidate imaginable.

“Why do you always insist on being such a damn thorn in my side!” All for One shouted, bringing all four hands together to shoot an energy beam at the Hero.

“Because getting in the way of Villainy is a Heroes calling!” All Might shouted back, shooting back a beam of his own. The two attacks collided, and much to All for One’s horror, the attack was not an equal clash. He could see his own attack being slowly forced back.

‘It’s that damn device of Shield’s!’ All for One cursed under his breath. He knew he should have broken the thing completely when he had Midoriya in his grasp. Now, they must have gotten David Shield out of the alien’s prison and fixed the device. It obviously wasn’t at full power, but it still gave All Might enough of an edge to push All for One even in this form.

Currently, All for One had two options open to him.

The first option was to attempt to outlast him. The main reason for All Might’s strength is the massive amount of energy from One for All that is boosting him and all his Quirks. But that amount is limited, and even when boosted by the Quirk Amplification Device, it will run out eventually. Once One for All is run dry, All Might will only have the Quirks from his other self to rely on, and he would flounder against someone as experienced with using multiple Quirks as himself.

But the only problem with that, is he might not have the time to wait so long. He had no idea how long All Might could go for, especially with the Q.A.D. expanding that power. In the meantime, Star could somehow make her way back up and use New Order on him now that All Might had the power to create an opening. Or Midoriya could beat his other half and make is way up to this fight. All as One was a complete wildcard to him now.

Not to mention Nezu poking around in the Main Facility’s system and potentially finding who knows what.

The second option was to find a way to even the odds. Unfortunately, the only other Quirks nearby were All as One or New Order. The latter had a good chance of taking his own Quirks that he had yet to integrate into his Demon Lord form from him. And the second… was proving hard to reach.

“I wouldn’t look away if I were you, All for One!” All Might shouted as he threw another punch, and All for One reluctantly looked back up from his searching of Star.

Star kept appearing and disappearing from his senses. It seemed like she was doing her best to remain unfindable by him, even at the detriment to herself by sacrificing her limited Rule’s to remain hidden instead of fighting off the poison he had infected her with. She knew he wanted her and wasn’t going to make it easy to do so.

‘Guess I’m stuck with the first option.’ All for One sighed as All Might raised a fist again.

“COMPOSITE TEXAS SMASH!” All Might shouted, as he punched forward, send All for One buffeted back. He likely used Spring-like Limbs and Air Cannon to boost its air pressure effects.

All for One let out a sigh as he tried to find a new combination of Quirks that could take out All Might. Any poisoning or otherwise deliberating Quirks would be useless, as All for One purposefully went out of his way to get Quirks to also counter said effects (it’s how he was able to steal most of them in the first place). Raw power was clearly not working either. He was able to use Genetic Manipulation to use more Quirks than All Might, but that bonus barely measured up to the excessive strength of One for All.

There was technically a third option available to All for One, but that was a plan of last resort. He wouldn’t go through with that unless there was absolutely no hope of defeating the Heroes and regaining control of the Main Facility.

Frustration bled into him from his other self, and he realized that his window for victory was quickly closing. With only embers remaining, his other self could only hope to keep Midoriya and All as One busy for as long as possible while he tracked down Star.

“Is that all I am now?! A distraction?!” All for One seemed to shout at nothing, but Izuku could figure that he was communicating somehow with the other version of him up above.

“I guess your Quirk was all you were good for to him.” Izuku replied. “Trust me, I know how it feels to be judged based on your lack of Quirk.”

“You-! You’re the reason I don’t have my Quirks anymore!” All for One shouted, shooting a fire blast from his palms. Izuku blocked it with Air Wall, and the attack slowly petered out after a few moments. More cursing could be heard from Kagome’s mouth. “Damn you! How did you do this to me?!”

Izuku replied coolly. “You’re a smart man, I’m sure you can piece it together. Unless you made up for your intelligence with Quirks. In which case…”

“How dare you!” All for One shouted, as his right arm transformed into a mass of mouths that snaked towards Izuku. But they were all countered by Hydra’s and were then sliced with Laser. “You gave me my brother’s Quirk. You managed to separate it from the core of All as One, and then gave it to me earlier instead of stealing a Quirk.”

“I gave Bestowal to Kagome.” Izuku clarified. “Along with enough of the Q-Fields within Stockpile to fight against your will.”

The fact that Izuku could also give the raw power from within the Stockpile along with the Quirk was the only reason that their plan succeeded. Normally Bestowal would have been unable to fight against the power of All for One by itself, removed from the power it had as One for All. But after pushing enough power into it, their strength grew enough to complete their task.

Just under half of the stockpile, to be precise.

It was a permanent removal of power. Izuku would have to wait years for the Q-Fields stored inside to build up to that level again. But it was an easy sacrifice to stop All for One for good.

“I suppose you never knew what having a Quirk forced onto you would feel like, huh?” Izuku asked. “You had your brother’s Quirk and didn’t even realize it.”

“But how did you take all of my Quirks inside All for One? That shouldn’t have been possible! Their wills were completely subject to my own!” All for One demanded.

“That may be so for your original self, but you’re just a copy.” Izuku said. “With Scanning I could tell the Q-Fields coming off you were unruly compared to your real body’s Quirk. Whenever you called on a Quirk there was a tug in your colors. As if the Quirks inside were fighting you, just barely. Now tell me, if they were given the opportunity of staying with you, or joining a group of Heroes dedicated to stopping you, which do you think they would choose?”

“That’s ridiculous! Even my own ability was weakened?!” All for One seemed in disbelief that his own powers weren’t completely infallible. “Wait, group of Heroes? You only gave me my brother’s Quirk.”

Izuku grimaced. “Maybe. But it is also the Quirk that is responsible for carrying along the wills of the previous Heroes, while Stockpile took the Quirks. Meaning that the wills of all the previous Holders went with him.”

“Oh, so that means you truly are alone against me now?” All for One said with a smirk, trying to intimidate Izuku, yet finding no faltering in his opponent.

“I’m all that’s needed to beat someone at your level.” Izuku replied.

All for One nearly exploded at the comment. He shot forward to attack Izuku, but Izuku summoned forth Hydras to knock All for One back. His power on all fields were weakening as he was forced to counter Izuku’s attacks. After a few minutes of striking back and forth, Izuku pushed forward.

Izuku summoned a web of Blackwhip and attempted to grab All for One. “How many attacks do you have left before you run out of offensive powers? How long can you run and block before your defenses have vanished. How much damage do you think you can take before Super-Regeneration vanishes?”

“You wouldn’t! You want to save Kagome, not kill her!” All for One cried, almost as if pleading for his life.

“That’s right. I do want to save her.” Izuku declared, as a strand of Blackwhip wrapped around one of All for One’s arms. “Most other Heroes probably would cut their losses and kill you. The previous holders would have. But I wouldn’t.”

All for One laughed as he broke the strand of Blackwhip with an Ice Quirk. “Because you’re soft-hearted. You’ve grown top rely on All Might like everyone else!”

“No.” Izuku denied, as more strands of Blackwhip wound around to grab at All for One. “I could have killed you earlier, even without All Might. But I didn’t. Because that’s the kind of Hero I want to be. I want to be able to reach out my hand and save everyone. Doesn’t matter if they’re Quirkless, or a Villain.”

“How noble. Do you plan to keep me locked up in Tartarus once I’ve used up enough of my Quirks? That doesn’t sound much like saving to me.” All for One mocked, throwing the Blackwhip’s off him once more with some sort of Shockwave Quirk, spreading his arms wide.

“I told you before, All for One. I’m going to destroy you more thoroughly than All Might ever could.” Izuku started as the web of Blackwhip charged red with Fa Jin’s power, and he crackled with a cyan energy. “Get ready, Nezu!”

‘Overclock + Gearshift + Cellular Activation x2!’

In the blink of an eye, Izuku was now in front of All for One, still outstretched from throwing off Blackwhip. The supercharged cage of black and red energy was wrapped around All for One completely before he had even realized it had happened, and then Izuku ran.

He sped out of the great domed room and down the hall to where Nezu and the others were. Barely a second had passed since he had grabbed All for One, and he had already made it halfway down the hall. Izuku just kept running, at a speed that one could be forgiven for thinking he stopped it. All the energy of All as One was being pushed into going as fast as possible.

Izuku felt a blazing heat in his head as Overclock ran his brain faster than any other human ever had before. He felt the oxygen in his body evaporate as his body ran through its fuel almost immediately. But he ignored the pain, using the two copies of Cellular Activation produce more oxygen and push off his collapse for another fraction of a second.

‘Come on! Keep going!’ Izuku commanded himself, continuing to put one foot in front of the other. If Overclock or Gearshift deactivated for even a moment, All for One will have enough time to realize what was happening and retaliate.

The doors to the room that the others were in were just ahead, and Izuku stepped through them. Despite moving at breakneck speeds, Overclock made it all feel like a jog. A jog from Hell due to the literally choking pain, perhaps, but the speed he perceived it all was entirely manageable.

So, when he stepped through the threshold to the room, he glanced around. Everyone was pushed against the walls, trying to keep their distance from the glowing center platform. All except Nezu, who seemed to ready to push a button down on the console next to the platform.

He stepped up to the center platform, swinging the dark net containing All for One around over it. The platform was what they used to remove people from the alien’s prison, and it was what they would use to put All for One in it.

‘Come on Nezu!’ Izuku pleaded.

The principal just needed to press a single button. But even with his predictive ability, he unfortunately couldn’t calculate exactly when Izuku would appear in front of him. Meaning he was relying on his (admittedly impressive, to humans) reaction time. But that wasn’t fast enough.

As Izuku watched out of the corner of his eyes as Nezu’s hand slowly lower to press a button, he also noticed Fa Jin’s power begin to disperse from Blackwhip. He tried to use some sort of Quirk to keep All for One in place a moment longer, so of course his body chose that moment to lock up.

‘Crap! Not now!’ Izuku’s vision blurred as he felt himself unable to breath. He had pushed his body to the limit and didn’t even have the fuel to move currently.

Black whip also faded now as the world slowly began to speed up, and All for One began to understand what was happening around him. Izuku could see Radio Waves begin to appear in one of All for One’s hand as it slowly bent down towards the platform.

All for One didn’t have Air Cannon to boost its effects over long distances anymore, but if that hand made direct contact, then it would completely disable the alien tech, including the trap for All for One. And with Izuku struggling to even breath currently, the Villain would be able to slaughter everyone there with ease before taking him out.

‘No… There’s nothing I can do!’

Izuku couldn’t move an inch. He could only watch through blurry eyes as All for One’s hand reached closer to it’s target faster than Nezu’s.

Until it stopped completely.

Izuku swore he saw All for One look to his hand in confusion a moment before Nezu pressed his button and Kagome’s body was engulfed in a wave of light.

All for One opened his eyes, only to find he was currently missing them. Despite that, he could ‘see’ around him perfectly, including the fact that he was currently growing out the side of a very awake now Kagome.

“Ah, so my brother’s Quirk gave you enough of a will to stop me for just a moment.” All for One realized with a sigh. “If your timing wasn’t so terrible, I’d almost be impressed.”

“Fuck you!” Kagome said succinctly, attempting to spit at his damaged face.

He avoided the projectile, before wrapping an arm around Kagome, much to her discomfort. “Now, now. Don’t be like that. After all, you’re going to be stuck with only me for a good long while.”

“What do you mean? Where the hell are we?” Kagome asked, looking around as she continued to push against his grip.

Kagome and her unwilling tagalong found themselves ‘sitting’ in a great white void. There was nothing around them but the infinite void and the blank shades of the few Quirks that had yet to be burned away from use.

“We are within the same cage that the alien had trapped the rest of humanity in. That meddlesome brat managed to trap us in here. I can’t believe Nezu managed to understand so much of this system so quickly.” All for One grumbled to himself.

“So that means we won, right?” Kagome asked.

“We?” All for One laughed. “Are you including yourself in the Heroes side now, Kagome Mirai?”

“What can I say? I like being on the winning team.” Kagome replied.

“Well then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re not winning no matter what team you’re on.” All for One said with a snide smile. “As far as I see it, you’re either stuck for eternity in this void with me, or dead once my other self kills everyone and finds a more suitable vessel for myself.”

“Your other self? Don’t you mean the real you?” Kagome shot back “I’m sure if he by some miracle won that he’d see you being out of the way in here as a nice way to tie up loose ends. Especially after you lost all your Quirks like a fool.”

“YOU-!” All for One lunged at his host, only to stop himself inches from Kagome. He took a deep breath before speaking again. “No. It would do no good to act so self-destructively, after all. Even with my brother’s fraction of power left to you, you’re still my puppet.”

“No.” Kagome said.

“No?” All for One looked down confused.

“Midoriya said to you that he would absolutely destroy you and save me.” Kagome said. “And I could feel through your truth detecting Quirk that he meant it. So, I’d stop playing with me and start worrying about your impending demise.”

All for One couldn’t help but snort, before devolving into full-blown laughter. “You don’t still think that he’ll be able to save you? Look around you! Who is here to save you right now!”

As if to answer All for One’s question, a static sound began to play, and a part of the void near to them blurred into a wave like form. A few moments of the static clearing, and a voice eventually could be heard within it.

“Testing, testing. Are you reading this, Ms. Kagome?” Nezu’s voice rang out into the void. With his words, the wavelengths in front of them changed shape to match, as if it were a speakerphone of some sort.

“Nezu?! Is that really you?” Kagome asked in disbelief.

“Great… the Rat’s here. And I thought being stuck in limbo couldn’t get any worse.” All for One griped.

“Oh good, you both can here me. This will make things easy.” Nezu said cheerfully.

“Are you here to attempt to negotiate a term of surrender, Nezu?” All for One asked.

“And why would I need to do that, you embodiment of everything I hate in humanity.” Nezu asked as cheerfully as before, despite the juxtaposed declaration.

“Oh? Is that not your plan? Use my current predicament to get me to give up Kagome’s body?” All for One asked, not rising to the barb. “Or are you just here to gloat over your victory?”

“The latter, mostly.” Nezu answered, much to both their confusion. “I know you would not keep to any deal we could possibly make, not that we have the leverage to make one. I checked the system, and it does not have a way to delete Quirks. It can transfer them, but then we would merely be transferring a tumour from one patient to another. I see that there is something about External Units for storage, but considering your control over alien technologies, I hesitate to put you in anything connected to it.”

‘Of course the Rat had already checked all possibilities.’ All for One let out a sigh as another plan went down the drain.  If he had been placed in the External Unit like he had been when removed from his original body at the start of his deal with the alien, then he would have a direct connection to the Controller system and would be able to order his brain to be ‘installed’ into the core of the Main Facility, taking it over.

Unfortunately, Controller operated on electromagnetic brain waves. Meaning despite the Organic Storage Unit being connected to the alien network, his current status as converted pure Q-Field energy didn’t give him any control.

“Um… Mr. Nezu. You don’t plan to keep me trapped in here forever, right?” Kagome then asked, worry clearly seeping into her voice.

“Certainly not! Forgive me if I’ve given off that impression, but I’ll have you free of this pest and out in just a minute.” Nezu assured her.

“I’m sorry, but did you not just finish explaining that you couldn’t get rid of me? You know it’s not well to give a lady false hope.” All for One cut in, but Nezu let out another laugh.

“I said that we couldn’t get rid of your Quirk.” Nezu quickly clarified. “But you see, your Quirk itself isn’t the issue at hand. The real problem is that disgusting little thing growing on it, making all that noise. But fortunately for you, I found a way of keeping unruly things in line.”

‘Not the Quirk?’ All for One thought stared in confusion at the projection of Nezu’s voice, only to reel back as the edges of the void surrounding him and Kagome suddenly opened, and a flood of red energy leaked out.

[Subjugation of detected pseudo-personality has been initiated.]

The energy wreathed towards them on all sides, reaching forward like dozens of red tendrils. One of said tendrils wrapped around a shade away from them, and the red began to bleed into the blank figure. As soon as the crimson glow completely covered the shade it began to dissipate, until nothing remained.

“What the fuck?!” Kagome screamed.

Nezu simply chuckled. “I found this useful command in a list of previous actions. It appears the alien attempted to use this command on All Might before One for All transferred over. Unlike them, however, you have nowhere to run. It should kill any personality that happened to have been built up in the Quirk but do no harm to the holder itself.”

“No!” All for One cried as the remains of his centuries work crumbled away around him. The approaching energy washed forward like a river of blood, swallowing all it touched. “No no no! Keep it away from me!”

Nezu let out a content sigh. “Ah, this sounds like music to my ears. I knew setting up this communication was worth it.”

All for One clung desperately to Kagome, his haughty mannerisms completely forgotten as the wave closed in. “Wait! Nezu, we can make a deal! I can give you anything you want!”

“I’m afraid you have nothing I want, All for One. The only thing I want is to hear your screams as you finally disappear for good.” Nezu declared with finality.

The crimson energy finally swallowed the last of the shades, leaving just Kagome and All for One.

All for One turned to Kagome, attempting to push her down ahead of him. “You! Maybe if I remove my brothers influence from your useless body, I could take your mind in full! Just let me take you over completely!”

The red began to work it’s way up Kagome’s legs, but she pushed herself up with all her strength, and a bright glow began to cover her. The shades of the previous holders of One for All faintly appeared around her, as their lights joined hers. She wound back a fist as the light pooled into it, producing a rainbow glow. “I’ve always wanted to do this. Guess this is my last chance, so I better make it count.”

All for One desperately attempted to push himself away from her. “Don’t you dare-!”

“Detroit…” A rainbow fist slammed into All for One’s face. “Smash!”

All for One was knocked back, and his body fell into the wave. It was slowly consumed by the red tendrils, and he only had a few moments to curse his fate before vanishing.

“Damn you All Might! Damn you Izuku Midoriya! Damn you Kagome Mirai….”

As the last of the cancerous growth of the Vestige vanished and the red energy worked its way up Kagome’s body, she let out a sigh. The shades of the previous holders disappeared at last, and the red energy covered her entirely. She closed her eyes.

“This is my body, you bastard. And this is my Quirk now.”

A moment later she opened her eyes, and she was back in an empty white void again.

Surprisingly, she noticed that there were two red balls of energy in front of her. Were they Quirks? She had thought they had all transferred over. She reached out to touch each with her hands, and quickly recognized them.

They were the two Alien Quirks. Genetic Manipulation and Controller.

Did they not get transferred with Bestowal like the others due to not having human wills to manipulate? Before she could question it further, Nezu’s voice echoed out across the void.

“Alright Ms. Kagome, we’ll have you out of there in a moment.”

When the light faded, Kagome found herself standing in the center of an odd round room lined with pods. The rest of the people that All for One had abducted were there, although it appears that they had also released David Shield.

“Kagome! Are you alright?” Melissa asked first, walking up and offering a hand.

“I… think so.” Kagome said, taking the hand and stepping down from the central platform. “I have control of my body again, and I don’t hear that jackass whining in my head anymore, so that’s a good sign.”

Midoriya let out a sigh of relief through heaving breaths. “That’s good… I was worried that it might… not work if you were to far gone.”

“Are you okay Midoriya?!” Kagome couldn’t help but ask Midoriya. He was hunched over, breathing like he had just run a sprint.

“I’m good, really.” Midoriya insisted as Melissa returned to his side and rubbed his back. “Just need… to catch my breath. And get… the blood flowing again.”

“Christ, kiddo. You can’t go so hard with Overclock.” Oguro lectured from the side. If it weren’t for the fact that Izuku was struggling to stand currently, he looked like he’d smack him upside the head. “It runs your brain at a high speed by bleeding through Oxygen supplies. Trying to push the Quirk without any oxygen is like running an engine without any gas. You could do permanent damage going past the limit.”

“Don’t worry. Katsuma’s Quirk helped to produce enough oxygen to keep it and Gearshift running.” Midoriya waived off the man’s concern, but Kagome wasn’t worried about his loss of breath currently.

“Midoriya, I meant your body! Are you okay?” Kagome clarified, and Midoriya looked himself over.

“Oh.” Midoriya finally realized, looking down at himself. “I guess it does look pretty bad.”

Pretty bad was an understatement. The small pilot suit that Wedge had lent Midoriya was in tatters (at least the top was), leaving his chest and arms completely exposed. There were scars running along his chest and arms like veins, and plenty of dried blood around them. The parts of his pants that were bleached red also let on that the scars were all throughout the body. Most prominent was an X mark that centered between his eyes, running up into his hairline and across his cheeks.

“I know it looks worrying, but don’t worry. Genetic Manipulation fixed everything on the inside to better than new, and Cellular Activation sealed the broken skin quickly. I feel fine, honest!” Midoriya kept insisted, and Melissa traced a hand along one of them, clearly not convinced.

“You should lie down and have Kagome look you over, just in case.” Melissa insisted.

“Probably. But we don’t have the time for a full checkup. Not until the battle is over.” Midoriya replied sadly, before turning to Nezu. “I need to go up and help All Might. Have you heard any news?”

“Hmm? You still want to go and help, Young Midoriya? I think most would say that you’ve done more than enough considering the circumstances.” Nezu asked.

Midoriya shook his head. “We’re still not safe until All for One is beaten. And when I took One for All I took it as my responsibility to stop him.”

“If you insist. It would be silly to stop asking for your help now, after everything else you’ve accomplished.” Nezu shrugged. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any info on what is going on up there. All for One appeared to start jamming communications consistently once he realized we could talk to each other all the way down here. It appears we are currently flying blind.”

“Um… I might be able to help.” Kagome admitted, and everyone turned to her. “It’s just, I experienced the same things that All for One did while he was controlling me, and he was in constant contact with the real him up above. The communications cut off towards the end of the fight, but I learned a couple things that’ll probably be useful.”

“Well then by all means, share away!” Nezu insisted.

“First, I can confirm that your plan worked, Midoriya. All the Quirks that were stored within me were properly transferred to All Might, who was giving All for One a run for his money last I saw. I’ve got nothing but the two Quirks from the alien left.” Kagome revealed.

“So that was your plan, Young Midoriya? How cunning. You have my admiration for such a feat.” Nezu complimented his young student, before turning to Kagome. “It is fascinating that the non-human Quirks didn’t transfer over though. I wonder why?”

“I figure it has something to do with having no human will to manipulate into joining the transfer process.” Kagome guessed. “But back on the topic of the battle, I’m afraid it isn’t all good news. Star and another jet got knocked out of the sky, leaving only one more flying, not that it could do much against All for One itself. Star got hit with some combination of Quirks that are keeping her from rejoining the battle. She appeared to be using her own Quirk to try and heal herself and remain hidden from All for One so he can’t take it and turn the tides again.”

“So, it’s currently at a stalemate.” Nezu summarized.

“But not forever. The extra energy I gave All Might along with the transfer will only last for so long until it runs out.” Midoriya added. “And while I can probably help hold off All for One as well, none of my Quirks would be able to take him out. We need Star and Stripe if we are to win.”

Nezu nodded. “My thoughts exactly. As soon as you are recovered enough, head back up and see if you can support Star and Stripe in using her Quirk on All for One. You’ll have to be clever to create an opening, but I trust you’ll come up with some sort of trick.”

Midoriya nodded. “Understood.”

As the young Hero finally stood up fully and began to stretch, Katsuma walked up from where he was sitting with the other children. “Um… Mr. Deku. You said you need to trick the bad guy, right?”

Midoriya nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry though, I’ll be able to do it.”

“I’m sure you will!” Katsuma agreed with a nod. “But… If you need some help, I know someone with a Quirk that could help! We can get someone back if they’re related to us, right?”

Midoriya and Nezu looked at each other, before looking back at the boy.

“We can. What’s this person’s Quirk, and how do you know them?” Midoriya asked.

Next Chapter: The Final Battle

Chapter Text

All Might swung another fist forward, feeling the wind bend with each thrust. Each time All for One countered with his own Quirks but was left unable to counterattack. The two had been in such a stalemate for a few minutes now.

Whatever one could do, so could the other. Their defense and offense were equal. But not forever.

‘I only have so much energy to use!’ All Might knew that he could only keep going at 100% for so long. But he wasn’t planning on just stalling a loss. He didn’t plan on losing against an opponent he had beaten before. But admittedly, he’d need some help.

Which is why he smirked when a giant plume of purple smoke shot out of the hole to the alien structure below.

“What?” All for One cried as he glanced down at the entire ground becoming engulfed in a purple smokescreen.

“Looks like your other self lost!” All Might shouted, flying forward with both fists raised.

All for One caught his fists with two of his own on each side, pushing against him. “It was only a matter of time. Without my Quirks, that other me was useless!”

“To care so little about yourself! And here I thought you were narcissistic!” All Might shouted, kicking All for One and knocking the Villain back. “Looks like you’ve been defeated twice now, All for One. Hopefully the third time we put you down it’ll stick!”

All Might reached out, and strands of Blackwhip snaked out to wrap around All for One’s arms, tying the four limbs together on each side.

All for One countered by attempting to shoot a beam of energy from his mouth, but All Might felt a warning blare in his mind and ducked the attack at the last moment.

Cyan lighting flashed over All Might, and he surged forward, throwing five smashes into All for One’s chest near instantaneously with Gearshift’s speed.

The bonds of Blackwhip were finally broken as All Might’s fist now charged red with raw kinetic energy. As All for One formed a joined shield with his four arms, he swung forward to shatter them, calling on more Quirks to boost his already enhanced arm.

“COMPOSITE DETROIT SMASH!” All Might shouted, and his fist hit All for One’s guard with enough force to cause an explosion.

All for One was blown away as the shield-like mutation shattered in all four arms, and a great bruise could be seen on his chest. Yet after a couple seconds, the wounds healed at a miraculous rate. All thanks to Super-Regeneration. That Quirk was a damn cheat code.

The only way All Might could overcome it himself would be to aim for the head. But that was the obvious answer, as losing it would also just kill All for One (He hoped). He wouldn’t get a chance to strike there easily, considering how their last fight went.

“At least you can use our Quirks. That’s a nice bonus” Nana spectral form said.

‘How can I do that again? I thought Izuku only transferred over the First’s Quirk?’ All Might mentally asked Nana. He was still trying to process the whole ghost thing, especially since there was a near drowning murmur from the hundreds of others that had joined the previous holders of One for All in their trip.

“The energy from us previous holders were always within you. It just couldn’t be released until the singularity was reached.” The figure All Might presumed to be the First spoke. “It seems that the energy shared from All as One has acted as a key of sorts, allowing our Quirks to be unlocked.”

“It’s not enough though. All for One is too experienced with using multiple Quirks compared to you. You’re getting by on raw power right now, but it won’t last.” Another of the previous users, a serious cyan spirit with a face scar, added. “How do you plan on defeating him on your own?”

All Might smirked. ‘I don’t.’

Two figures then shot out of smoke, flying straight towards All for One.

The first was his student. The skittishness All Might had seen when he had vanished appeared long gone now, the experiences Midoriya having faced while he was gone now allowing him to charge headfirst towards the greatest Villain on the planet. He trailed a long strand of Blackwhip from both hands, and at the end of one of them was the second figure.

Star and Stripe, no longer incapacitated by All for One’s previous attacks. She had a dangerous grin that clearly screamed payback.

“All Might!” Midoriya shouted. “We’re here to help!”

“I knew you would be young man!” All Might replied, giving them a thumbs-up. He turned to All for One, flying forward to try and keep his opponent in place.

Unfortunately, All for One could predict such an attack easily, and immediately began to dive away from All Might, and down towards the other Heroes. All for One’s smiled dangerously as he dived towards them.

“Thank you for bringing New Order right to me, you foolish child!” All for One said, spinning as he dived. The glowing feathers on his six wings peeled off and began to shoot like lasers, half flying up to All Might and another half falling down to Midoriya and Star.

“Shoot!” Midoriya cursed as he began to dodge and weave using Danger Sense, and he continued flying upwards. Star herself appeared to be using a Rule to fly, as she managed to swerve around the attacks just as easily. All Might was left dodging the attacks as well, held back from catching up to his nemesis.

All for One was nearly upon them, and Midoriya summoned a swarm of Hydras to launch at him. The serpent-like constructs proved utterly useless as they were all batted away and dispersed in a flurry of blows from the enhanced limbs.

“I think you’ll find me a bit tougher than that other version of me, child.” All for One said snidely as one of his hands glowed a bright light. A second later, a white laser passed by Midoriya and cut the Blackwhip connecting him to Star. He then wound said fist back, and Midoriya summoned as many shields as possible with Air Wall.

The half dozen discs all crashed into each other as All for One brought his fist down on them, and after only a few moments of pressure they snapped. Midoriya was blown back by the broken wind pressure, left tumbling back as All for One turned to Star, who had also been knocked away by the wind and disoriented.

“Now to finish what I started earlier!” All for One said gleefully as reached a hand towards the vulnerable Star at lightning speed. “First New Order, and then the world!”

All Might tried to catch up to All for One, tanking the attacks he had been avoiding before and letting Super-Regeneration just heal him instead. But even that wasn’t fast enough, and he saw one of All for One’s monstrous hands ever closer to Star’s head, and he shouted out in despair. “Cathy! Noooooo!”

The hand of All for One continued ever forward, until it was right over Star’s head and then- through it?

“What?” All for One choked out as his hand phased through the top of Star’s head. A second later ‘Star’ shimmered and disappeared, only to fade into appearance behind All for One with a hand placed on his back.

“If All for One were to move even an inch from this point onwards, his heart will stop.”

The night sky was quiet for a moment as everyone dared not move. Star and All for One remained frozen, connected to one another.

Then All for One smirked.

Danger Sense went off for the other two Heroes, and they both tried to warn Star right before Rivet Stab shot out of All for One’s back right through her gut.

All for One realized what had happened the second his hand passed through the Star in front of him with no resistance. A simple flash of infrared told him exactly what it was, a hologram created through advanced light manipulation.

He couldn’t believe that the figure was a phantom construct. It must have taken intense effort to create such a perfect replica that he hadn’t noticed it until he had touched it. It truly looked exactly like the true Star, right down to the smile.

His praise for the enemy’s trick faded quickly as the true Star’s hand placed itself on his back. She had likely been dragged up by Midoriya along with the hologram, keeping the Rule on herself that she had used to remain unperceivable.

This was it. He was doomed. The Heroes had beaten him.

“If All for One were to move even an inch from this point onwards, his heart will stop.”

‘Or,’ All for One thought as he smirked. ‘They managed to flub it at the last second!’

The cries of the other two Heroes were too late as he shot Rivet Stab out from his spine. He felt his heart stop as one of the spines stuck right through Star’s gut, and he retracted them a moment later, turning to grab Star once more.

“If you wanted me dead, you should have sealed my Quirks first!” All for One shouted as he brought one of his right hands forward again.

Unfortunately for All for One, two beams shot out from above and below. They burned through the arm, leaving the hand completely missing. Realizing that All Might was nearly on him, he retreated, not willing to give the Symbol of Peace a chance to blitz him again.

“How the hell are you still alive?” All Might growled as he put himself between All for One and Star. Izuku flew up to Star and began to heal her wounds with some sort of glowing green light.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t have prepared after the number you did on me before.” All for One scoffed. “Just because one of my hearts stopped, doesn’t mean I can’t use the other one just fine.”

Admittedly, feeling your heart not beating was a truly terrifying feeling. But All for One had Redundant Organs to thank for his continued survival. It produced a second set of all vital organs to use, including the heart. It was also rather useful for keeping his enhanced body running so effectively, with all its increased power.

“I’m afraid you wasted your one opportunity to truly kill me. It’s sad, that you got so close yet so far.” All for One raised his hands, sweeping them up in a grand gesture. “But it’s time that I finished cementing my place as the king of the new world!”

All for One looked down at the Heroes faces as he held himself over them, but unsurprisingly found not a hint of fear. He mostly just saw anger and righteousness on All Might and Star’s face, as is typical from any Hero stupid enough to oppose him. He always enjoyed watching them finally break.

Midoriya however didn’t seem to be listening to him at all. Or looking at him, for that matter. At least, not directly. He just had a curious look on his face, like someone trying to piece together a puzzle. All for One wasn’t sure what the boy found so important until he followed his gaze to his own right hand. The one that had been destroyed from the forearm down.

The one that was still regenerating.

‘That’s not good.’ All for One realized right as Midoriya’s curious eyes suddenly got a dangerous gleam in them.

Super-Regeneration should have completely healed that wound seconds ago, yet it had barely reached the wrist. All for One also spared a glance at his back, noticing that the glowing feathers on his wings had yet to fully reformed either, each growing back at a snail’s pace. How…?

“He’s healing slower!” Midoriya finally pointed out to his teammates, and their eyes turned to All for One’s slowly healing arm. “Super-Regeneration must be tied to his heart somehow! It must need the blood flow to operate!”

“Star, keep your Rule up no matter what!” All Might said as he flew towards All for One, quickly followed by Midoriya.

“You got it!” Star shouted, retreating away and towards the last operable in the air.

‘Damn it! I need to get to Star!’ All for One quickly began to try and put space between him and the two approaching Heroes, attempting to circle around them to Star. ‘I need to get that Rule undone no matter what!’

He didn’t understand why Super-Regeneration wasn’t working fully. While the younger Hero’s deduction was clever, it also wasn’t correct. Super Regeneration’s Quirk type was rather ambiguous. While the Doctor called it a Transformative Quirk, All for One personally saw it more as a Mutation Quirk. It permanently modifies all the cells in the user’s body into extremely fast acting stem cells. It ‘saves’ the memory of the bodies default state in the brain, the regenerating cells calling on it as a blueprint to repair the body.

The heart was a non-factor. Super-Regeneration would still function at the same speed even if someone ripped his head off. He knew because him and the Doctor had tested the Quirks limits very thoroughly with various Nomu. The only thing that caused a major disruption was electrical shocks interrupting the commands between the cells and brain.

All Might brought his hands together, calling upon Radio Waves, Air Cannon, and Heavy Payload. The energy charged in his hands, and All for One brought one of his right hands up to block the attack, attempting to transform it into an energy shield.

He should have been able to change the limb in a moment, but his body felt sluggish, and he barely got the shield up in time before the blast reached him. As he braced from the blast, All for One confusedly analyzed his body. ‘It’s not just Super-Regeneration that’s acting up! All my Quirks are slow! But why?!’

As soon as the beam ended, All for One found Midoriya right on top of him. With a flurry of Overclock-assisted Smashes, the arm that had been modified for an energy-based defense began to break. All for One boosted back with a flap of his wings, launching the few energy-feathers that had regrown to buy some time.

But Midoriya was ready and put both hands together as they glowed a purple light. “Scatter Shot!” A barrage of purple bullets shot at lightning speed, countering All for One’s attack in second.

‘He must have combined that Laser Quirk with Gearshift and Overclock.’ All for One figured as he tried to create a plan of attack, feeling a headache coming on. He was down one and a half arm, and his wings power had been depleted again. Midoriya pushed forward again, and All for One swung his tail-blade at him, only for All Might to fly past the boy and catch the blade in a giant hand, crushing it easily.

‘There goes another limb.’ All for One growled as he detached the blade from his tail to prevent being tossed by All Might. He felt his head pound, and his annoyance double. ‘I need that Rule dropped, now!’

All for One managed to catch a glance of Star riding on top of the last jet on the other side of the eye of the storm, circling around it. As he retreated back, All for One transformed his undamaged right arm into a beam attack combination.

He was stopped by Midoriya blitzing forward with his insane speed again, Smashing the arm for negligible damage mid transformation. What was less negligible was the six Hydra’s that sped past and ripped his wings off now that they were free from the energy-feathers protection.

“Damnit!” All for One cursed as he let out a burst of explosive energy around him wildly, blowing back the two Heroes. He could barely focus as his head ached even more. ‘I should have been able to react to that! I should have been able transform my arm into the laser combination quicker! What is going on with me? And what is this damn pain in my head?!’

‘Wait a minute. This pain is familiar… Overclock!’

While likely not caused by the Quirk, he had felt such pain in his head from before when he had first tested the speedy Quirk. The heat in his brain was being caused by the overtaxing of it due to a lower supply of oxygen being moved to it. Likely because he had set up his amalgamate Demon Lord Quirk to need the redundant organs in order to function fully. But now one of his hearts, used for pumping blood to his body, and most importantly his head, was deactivated. The reason for the slow use and activation was because his brain was struggling to run his current combination of Quirks with the amount of ‘fuel’ provided to it. He quickly realized that he needed to deactivate enough Quirks to lessen the load.

He also quickly realized that there was a problem with that.

‘I can’t deactivate any Quirks!’

Almost all his Quirks had been fused together into a single Quirk. The Demon Lord Transformation was a single Quirk created out of a combination of as many Quirks as he could stuff in it. Unfortunately, that also meant that they were a package deal.

He needed to change into a less taxing body, but if he turned off Demon Lord Transformation the Redundant Organs would deactivate with it, leaving him with his lone stopped heart. But if he kept up the Transformation, then hew would slowly be pushed into a corner until the Heroes broke him or he suffocated himself.

As All Might and Midoriya flew a way off to either side of him, All for One realized that his chances for victory was closing drastically. They both used Smokescreen, blanketing the sky surrounding All for One in an instant.

All for One immediately blew the cover away with a pulse of air, only to find that the two Heroes had seemingly multiplied. All around him were dozens of All Might’s and Midoriya’s, each winding back for a cataclysmic blow.

‘Fools. Like the same trick would work twice!’ All for One knew that the Holograms were light projections, meaning that he simply needed to activate Infrared to determine the gap in the Heroes approach to dodge. But he had only just started using Infrared before his entire vision was filled with red. “Grah?!”

“Don’t tell me you forgot I was here!” The voice of the final flying pilot of Rogue Squadron spoke through the radio. “Eat laser, you demonic son of a bitch!”

‘Shit! The heat from the laser is completely impeding my Infrared vision!’ While his body was tough enough to barely receive damage to his face, the heat left him blind on the true location of his enemies. All for One moved to block the laser with one of his damaged limbs, but the few seconds it took to do so was enough for his opponents to close the distance.

“DOUBLE UNITED…”

All for One tried his best to focus on summoning as many defensive Quirks into his two least damaged arms as possible.

“STATES OF…”

A fist met each of All for One’s arms, and it became clear to him that he hadn’t been able to call them up in time. His arms broke and the fists continued to his chest.

“SMASH!!!”

Two blows crashed into the center of All for One so hard that he was blown from the air to the ground in a second, impacting it with the force of a bomb.

All for One coughed up blood as he felt nearly his entire body break. Both main and redundant organs were damaged, all but one of his hands were completely unusable, his wings and tail ripped off. Just about the only thing he could still do was stand on his two weakening feet.  

‘I think that it’s time to take option three.’ He admitted sadly as All Might sped down to deal a finishing blow.

All Might flew down at All for One, finally moving to finish off the Supervillain. He wasn’t going to let a repeat of before happen on his watch. Unfortunately, fate decided otherwise, and All for One let out a smirk moments before being engulfed by a black sludge.

“NO!” All Might shouted as his fist finally smashed into the ground, passing right through the empty air where his target had lain. He immediately began to search for where he had gone.

“It’s called Warping!” A random Vestige, likely the original Quirk’s holder, shouted from the storm of shades within him. “It let’s the user teleport others that they know to or from themselves.”

“He couldn’t have teleported himself!” All Might quickly realized, shouting his revelation to the others. ‘That means someone else had to use the Quirk on him. But from where? Who else does he have on his side?’

He didn’t have to guess for long, as the large UFO floating above them all began to move. It started climbing up the eye of the storm like a tunnel, flying into the night sky at a frankly physics-defying pace. After the alien vessel reached a certain height, the storm wall began to collapse and fade into the night.

“He must have given the Quirk to Nine! He had him as an escape plan the entire time!” Izuku shouted, and All Might couldn’t help but agree. Of course, All for One would have an instantaneous escape plan ready in the case of a serious fight. It seemed the pain of his first loss left him paranoid, or properly prepared, in this case.

“But where is he going? Is he really giving up?” All Might asked. It didn’t seem like All for One to just flee. But he had effectively surrendered hold over Area 51 and the facility containing every Quirk on the planet. The military wouldn’t give it up easy now and would easily be able to track his movements. “Something tells me there’s more to this. We can’t let him get away.”

Star let out a laugh over comms. “All Might, I doubt any of us have a powerful enough Quirks to catch up and beat All for One ourselves.”

“Maybe not by ourselves.” Midoriya suddenly said, with a mischievous tone in his voice. “But a Heroes power always works better together.”

All Might couldn’t help but smirk as Midoriya explained his plan. It was ludicrous, but somehow still sounded plausible. From everything that had happened recently, he couldn’t help but think that he had truly picked the perfect pupil.

“Finally.” All for One grumbled in the command chair of the UFO as he felt his previously frozen heart finally start to beat again, Star’s Rule finally being lifted.

Blood flowing properly again, his body quickly returned to life as it repaired the damage with Super-Regeneration and the burning pain in his head slowly ceded. As soon as he was back to perfect form, he let the Transformation drop and slumped into his chair naked as the day he was born.

“Well that definitely could have gone better.” All for One admitted to himself, watching on the screen in front of him as the UFO began to exit the atmosphere.

At least they decided to drop the Rule on his heart. He was worried that Star would keep it active for the rest of her life just to spite him. He debated flying back down and starting another round, but immediately talked himself out of it. He had folded and lost the home advantage. With the military open to intervene now, All for One was willing to let this battle be a win for the Heroes.

Besides, he hadn’t lost the war.

[Exiting Earth Atmosphere.]

The voice of the UFO’s Controller system spoke to him in his head, and he sent orders back using his own Controller Quirk to continue away from the planet to an appropriate distance to use the Warp Drive.

[Warning! Orbital Weapons System detected in geosynchronous orbit!]

“A what now?” All for One growled as an image of the approaching space was enhanced to reveal a great satellite. It, rather simply, looked like a giant cannon in space, with many solar panels in the shape of an X in the middle, used for both energy production and directional stabilization. The fact that no one had noticed such a dangerous creation told you all anyone needed to know about humanity’s current lack of interest in space. “Is it going to hit us?”

[Weapon appears to be calculating targeting values.]

“Then destroy it.” He responded simply. He wouldn’t let it shoot down the UFO like it had so long ago.

[This unit does not have any offensive weapons systems.]

He rolled his eye in exasperation. “Do I have to do everything around here? Crash through one of those wings and use the gravity beam to send it tumbling out of orbit!”

[Understood.]

All for One watched as they approached the satellite, and felt the UFO shake slightly as they passed it and slammed through on of its wings. A moment later, there was a great hum in ide the ship, before it violently shook.

[Orbital Weapons System has been effectively knocked into deteriorating orbit. Calculations show that it will be unable to produce a lock on this vessel under its current trajectory.]

Another screen flashed to life to show the satellite was indeed tumbling away from the UFO and down towards Earth. The broken wing and gravitational thrust had resulted in it spinning aimlessly on a crash course with the planet, likely until it burned up in the atmosphere.

“Very good. Any other threats?” He checked.

[Scans indicate no other devices with the potential to damage this vessel are currently in range.]

All for One finally let out a breath as he leaned back. “Wonderful. Begin preparations for departure to the nearest habitable planet that has another experiment being run by your kind on it.”  

[Understood. Plotting course for MHA-349 and warming up warp engine. Process at… 1%... 2%...]

‘So much for a quick exit.’ All for One thought, wondering if anyone back on Earth was even able to see him. He had truly wished for a more dramatic exit than sitting above the Earth doing nothing for the next 5 minutes.

As if some higher powers were answering his call, a button on his terminal began to flash a red light while beeping in an obnoxious tone.

[Incoming call from the Main Facility.]

‘Hallelujah!’ All for One quickly cheered to himself, using a Quirk to summon a copy of his traditional suit and pants while running a hand through his hair. After ensuring he was properly presentable, he pressed the flashing button and a small holographic window flashed to life in front of him.

“Ah, All for One! I was worried you wouldn’t be feeling up to a chat so soon after your spectacular defeat!” Nezu spoke from across the screen with a neutral cheerfulness.

“I debated it, but I figured that you all would get the wrong impression from me if I were to leave unannounced.” All for One responded casually.

“And what impression would that be, other than a sore loser? Do you plan to hole up in space until we shoot down that UFO again?” Nezu asked cheekily.

“I think you’ll find the previous method of shooting this vessel down to be currently out of commission.” All for One answered. “And while I admit that I lost the battle, I’m afraid you’ve already lost the war.”

“Oh?” Nezu quirked an eyebrow.

“I know you’d likely find the information somewhere in the main facility, so I’ll spoil the surprise. Consider it my final villainous act before my return.” All for One swept a hand forward.

“This planet is but one of many that these aliens have run their amazing experiments on. Plenty of worlds full of Quirks, all ready to be stolen with a single command. With my level of authorization, I could arrive on each and every one of them, cause another Rapture, and have my fill of their powers. And with Genetic Manipulation along with Controller, I’ll be able to create super-soldiers that make the Nomu look like the brain-dead zombies they truly are. I’ll carve my will into every corner of the galaxy, storming it with an army of super-powered creations until I hold a territory that spans all the star in the sky. And once I’m done in a hundred years, I’ll set foot on Earth. A perfect capstone to my reign as Emperor of the Galaxy!”

All for One couldn’t help the mad grin on his face. “Of course, you and the rest currently hearing this will likely be long dead by then. But I consider that a mercy more than anything. So rejoice, for you won’t personally have to fear my return.”

There was a silence on the video call as Nezu took in his villainous monologue. He seemed rather unphased by it all, likely because he had deduced such a revelation already. But it didn’t matter to All for One, because he knew that All Might was listening in. And that giant oaf was assuredly bristling in his star-spangled boots after hearing all of this.

“Well, you are right about one thing.” Nezu started curiously.

“And that would be?” All for One asked.

“We won’t have to fear your return ever again.” Nezu said with finality.

‘What is he…?!’ All for One squinted at the rodent for a moment, before a warning began to flash ominously on the main screen, and a terrible screeching began to blare. He quickly focused on Controller. “What is that alarm?!”

[Orbital Weapons System has locked onto this vessel and is preparing to fire!]

“How?!” All for One demanded, turning to the screen to the side which had originally depicted the satellite tumbling towards the Earth.

The giant weapon was no longer aimlessly spiraling towards the Earth, instead being pointed directly at the UFO, as the Controller system had said. The reason why became obvious, as All for One could see many black tentacles wrapped around the satellite, keeping it in position as it charged its shot. The source of the tentacles was obvious, a great glowing light surrounding the figure.

‘Izuku Midoriya!’ All for One stared in shock.

Through the screen he could see that the boosting device All Might originally had was now attached to the young Hero. He must have boosted up here with a supercharge Gearshift. And considering he was somehow countering the incredible force of gravity on the satellite and breathing in space without any apparent trouble, he must have New Order as well.

“Dodge it!” He shouted.

[Negative. Engine is currently charging warp function. The enemy weapon will strike before completion or deactivation of warp jump can be completed.]

“Then do you expect me to just die in here?!” His frustration and panic spiking again.

[Negative. Preparing escape pod.]

The captains chair All for One was on pulled back from the control panel, and a metal structure began to raise from the floor around him. As the spherical casing surrounded him, he watched Nezu’s insufferable smirk grew into full blown laughter. “When you get to Hell, please apologize on my behalf for the inconvenience.”

“You damn Rat!” All for One shouted out one final time as the spherical encasement shut tight. Something under him clicked, and suddenly the control room disappeared as the escape pod shot out the top of the UFO, blasting away at great speed. As he stared through the one window in the pod at the vessel he had once been in, its Controller system spoke out.

[Previous planned route uploaded. Beginning sub-light travel to nearest operational facility.]

The outside world began to shimmer as the pod began charging. He felt the engine finally fire at full power, and he only had a split-second afterwards to sear the image of the UFO, and the remains of his final plan, be engulfed in an explosive flash of white before he found himself flying away from his home at unimaginable speeds.

All he saw outside the window now was blurring lights, like a constantly shifting constellation.

[Escape from Testing Site successful. Continuing route to inputted destination. Adjusting travel time to account for new vessel and available energy output.]

“… How long?” He finally asked in a defeated voice.

[Calculated. Translating to appropriate units. This pod shall arrive at its destination in two thousand and twenty three years, eight months and-]

“Enough.” He commanded, and the mechanical voice silenced itself.

So, he had really been defeated. No ifs or buts about it this time. Being stuck travelling alone through space by himself for thousands of years sounded like a very definitive Bad End. Most people would rather wish their face would be bashed in like his had been before.

“… No.”

All for One would not allow himself to be defeated so easily. This may be a fate worse than death, but he wasn’t dead! He’d come back from worse, and he’ll come back from this. He had prepared himself for a scenario such as this, if not quite to this extreme.

“System, do not disturb me unless we reach our destination or there is a critical emergency.” He ordered.

[Affirmative.]

He then began to put together the planned Quirk combination. Solar Power, Hibernation, Energy Saver, Perfect Recall, Lucid Dreams, and many others.

As his body shifted and prepared for its long slumber, he decided he would grow mentally. As he slept, he would go over every waking moment of his live. He would analyze every choice he made. Every win, every loss, all of it. Due to his current predicament, he had the time to go over his life ten times over.

And once he finally reached his destination, he would finally awake as perfection. He would step out of his new prison, and onto a world that will be his and his alone. He would finally become the Demon King of the Galaxy!

…

…

…

…

…

…

But that time was not now.

Now, all he had was broken and empty dreams.

One where he wasn’t alone, with his brother finally at his side.

‘It’s finally over.’ was Izuku’s first thought as he saw the UFO get engulfed by a glorious nuclear explosion in the distance.

‘Oh shit, the shockwave!’ was his second thought.

He let go of the massive orbital weapon, releasing the Rule negating its gravity and summoning an Air Wall between himself and the explosion. He also used his freed up Rule immediately, not wanting to take any chances. “I am immune to radiation!”

Moments later an incredible force pushed against him, and the nearby satellite began tumbling back towards the Earth in a failing orbit. Izuku had enough strength though to push against the blast, weathering it with his strength. As the pressure faded, Izuku dispersed the shield and looked up at the aftermath.

The UFO had been blown to pieces. Whatever energy shielding it used wasn’t enough for the raw power of a nuclear blast, and the center of the disc-like vessel had been entirely vaporized. All that remained was the edges of the disc, which had seemingly been sucked towards the center under some warping effect into a crumpled pile of metal. If Izuku had to guess, the engine had some property that didn’t take kindly to explosions mid-use.

“Nezu. It’s done.” Izuku announced, using the Q.A.D.’s recently added communicator. “I think I saw an escape pod though.”

“Wonderful news! You’ve done well, Young Midoriya! And don’t you worry. He likely isn’t going to be reaching anywhere important for a few millennia in a ship of that size, alien or not.” Nezu praised. “Now it’s time to get you home.”

“Err… right.” Izuku looked back to the Earth, which was a great distance away. He was able to use New Order to breathe in space and push Gearshift to let him exit orbit, but he wasn’t as confident about re-entry. “How exactly are we planning to do that? I didn’t really plan for a way down.”

“Do not worry. I have already thought of how to do so, or I wouldn’t have let you leave.” Nezu answered. “Now. All I need you to do is amplify All as One as far as you can. I need you to generate as much Q-Fields as possible, as far as possible.”

“Alright?” Izuku wasn’t one to question Nezu after everything, so he quickly complied, putting a hand over his heart. “My Q-Fields are more powerful!”

He focused in on himself, diverting as much of his power into the raw energy of All as One. The aura around him changed from a white shimmer to a glowing aura, to blinding light as he slowly shined like a star.

Voices began to echo lightly in his ear, and he began to reach out to Earth unconsciously.

There was something there, trying to find him. He could feel the voices faintly calling out for him, but they couldn’t quite reach. He needed to meet them halfway. He activated Scanning, and tried to reach out towards the sound, not with his hand but with his Quirk.

As the voices slowly got louder, a shining golden light began to appear in Scanning’s vision. It was then joined by seven more lights, all different yet familiar colors.

“You’ve finally fulfilled my original goal, Ninth.”

“I didn’t think you had it in you to beat that monster, yet you did it twice?”

“Don’t listen to him. We all believed you could do it earlier.”

“You managed to avoid danger even I thought impossible to avoid. Impressive.”

“Only you would be able to make those crazy plans of yours work, and I love it!”

“Thank goodness you finally found a way to use my Quirk in the end…”

“Izuku, you’ve really saved everyone, including Toshi. Thank you!”

“I’m proud of you, Young Midoriya. But it’s time to come home, my boy!”

He finally heard them all clearly. The previous holders of One for All. All reaching out their hand towards them.

Izuku took it.

Suddenly, he felt something build up in the back of his throat, and he choked as he was engulfed by a black liquid. When the dark sludge disappeared from around him, he found himself in All Might’s arms, standing atop a X-66 flying high in the night sky.

As Izuku coughed out the uncomfortable fluid from his mouth, he looked around in amazement. “H-How? What did you do?”

All Might flashed him his trademark grin. “That Warping Quirk works by transferring those connected to the user to and from them. So obviously the stronger the connection between the user and the target, the longer the range. With a bit of help from your resonance and the previous holders, we were able to find you.”

“So that’s what happened.” he glanced out at the empty sky around them. “I could here all of you calling out to me. It was reassuring.”

“Yes…” All Might said in a sad tone. “Unfortunately, I can’t hear them any longer. I believe that I used nearly all of One for All’s energy reaching out to you. Now the voices of the Quirks have all fallen silent.”

“Oh.” Izuku could see the look on All Might’s face. He knew how close he was to Nana from the few times they talked. He must have wanted to talk to her again… And he wouldn’t let his Heroes wish go unfulfilled. All Might stammered as Izuku reached a hand up and put it to the Heroes chest.

“All Might’s Q-Fields are strengthened!” Izuku commanded, before barking out a second Rule immediately. “All Might’s Q-Fields are visible!”

“H-Huh? Young man, what are you-?” All Might questioned but found himself stopping as seven figures slowly formed in front of them, floating in the air like ghosts. The holders of One for All appeared in front of Izuku and All Might, from the First to the Seventh. “Nana…”

“Hello Toshi.” Nana said warmly.

“It appears that we still have a bit of time, thanks to the Ninth.” Yoichi said. “So, I’ll start with congratulations on finally defeating my brother.”

Izuku shook his head. “But he got away-”

“He won’t be bothering anyone for a long time.” The First assured. “And if he ever dared to return after all of that, then I imagine you’ll all be ready for him.”

The Second let out a scoff. “And don’t try to downplay it. You kicked his ass. Twice. You managed to defeat the greatest Villain in history two times over despite having our Quirk for less than a month.”

“You know what that means? You’ve peaked! Only a month into your career, and it’s all downhill from here!” Daigoro laughed, before En whacked him in the head. “Ow, come on, I’m kidding! It’s a joke!”

“I’m sorry.” Izuku said, apologizing deeply. “I gave up Bestowal, and I fused your Quirk. One for All is no more…”

“Do not apologize for being a Hero.” Hikage said sternly. “One for All’s purpose was to beat All for One, and you did that. There is no point worrying about how exactly it was done. Besides, One for All’s power had reached the point that it being passed to a new user would be near impossible, considering it would kill anyone not Quirkless.”

“It would?!” All Might suddenly looked mighty nervous. “I really dodged a bullet with Nighteye then…”

“There is only so much time we have left, and I know you want to talk to the Seventh. So I’ll just say good work, both of you.” The Third said simply.

“Likewise.” En nodded. “Alright Ninth, be sure to use my Quirk as much as possible in the future!”

Izuku couldn’t help but let out a snort. En really seemed to have a one-track mind when it came to his Quirk.

All of the other Vestiges stepped back as Nana finally came forward to address the two living Heroes. “So, you managed to finally beat All for One. I had a feeling you would be the one to do it.”

“Are you talking about me, or my pupil?” All Might couldn’t help but ask.

Nana let out a giggle at the question. “Both, I guess? I always knew you would be what society needed to finally step up and fight against All for One. But Izuku has impressed me much in the short time I’ve observed him. You picked well, Toshi.”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much hearing that means to me.” All Might said, glancing down at Izuku warmly. “I knew that you had high hopes for me, but I can’t help but feel like I was constantly failing them. That I couldn’t be the Pillar you expected after I was injured. But I always smiled, like you said I should.”

“You’ve never disappointed me, Toshi.” Nana affirmed. “I’m happy that you took my words to heart so much, but your stubbornness has really taken things to the extreme. If you’re so concerned about my wishes though, then I have one more for you.”

“Yes? What is it?” All Might asked hurriedly.

“Please retire already.” Nana asked, shocking both All Might and Izuku.

All Might looked hurt and confused. “B-But Nana, I-”

“You became the Symbol of Peace in order to stand up against All for One, and he’s gone now, for good.” Nana smiled at All Might, reassuring him. “It’s time for you to take a break. You’ve earned it. The world is already going to be confusing enough now, so I’m sure your retirement would just be a footnote.”

All Might still seemed unsure. “But… what will I do?”

Nana let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh for… I don’t know! Get a hobby! Maybe finally go on a date! Just live normally for once! Your job’s done! You’re free to do whatever you want!”

“Whatever I want?” All Might seemed confused at the thought. “I… don’t know if I can do that. It’s been so long, I’m not sure I know how to stop being the Symbol of Peace and be, well, normal.”

“Then start with something familiar.” Izuku suggested, drawing the Hero’s attention. “Nezu told me you wanted to teach Heroics at U.A. this year. I’m sure you’d be able to learn a lot there.”

“That’s… not a bad idea.” All Might admitted, smiling down at him. “Besides, even if I’m retired, I still promised to train you as my successor. I’ll have plenty of time to do that now and working at U.A. sounds like a wonderful start.”

Nana nodded at the heartwarming display, before glancing down and noticing her body slowly staring to fade away. “Looks like our time is almost up. Be sure to tell Sorahiko I said Hi.”

As her and the rest of the Vestiges began to dissipate, a bright light began to peak over the horizon.

“Nana.” All Might looked up to his teacher one final time, eyes tearing up. “Thank you, for everything.”

“No. Thank you, Toshi, for making me truly believe in a better world for Heroes.” Nana said. “I love you. Take care of Izuku for us.”

All Might nodded, tears fully streaming down his face. “I love you too. And I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will. You always have.”

The glow peaking over the horizon finally crested, and the two Heroes were blinded by the sudden light. Upon opening their eyes, they found themselves alone, staring out at the golden shine of a new day.

A few minutes later Izuku and All Might were flown back to Area 51 as the morning rays reached the desert valley. They both hopped off the Jet and floated down using their own Quirks as it landed on one of the few undamaged runways. Izuku used Nana’s Float, while All Might hopped down with Air Step.

“It seems that I could only use the previous holders Quirks as long as I had One for All’s energy. Now that it is gone, I can only use the ones from All for One.” All Might explained.

‘Only’ the ones from All for One, as if that wasn’t a few hundred Quirks.

“You probably won’t be able to use as many Quirks at once like All for One could though.” Izuku speculated as they descended. He felt All Might’s Q-Fields earlier while they made contact and had a pretty good idea on how the Quirks were set up within him. “You won’t face any backlash due to having too many Quirks, as Bestowal appears to have been upgraded to contain all the Quirks within like All for One did. But it didn’t transfer as much of the part responsible for using them. Without the power of All for One that was tucked away within Stockpile, you can probably only use one or two Quirks at a time.”

“That’s more than fine, my boy. I was expecting to be Quirkless in a year or two, so this is quite the turn of fate.” All Might said with a laugh.

Looking around, Izuku could see that the storm wall had almost entirely dissipated, leaving just a few stranded clouds in a circular pattern above them. All across the ground, various military troops and vehicles could be seen swarming the confidential Air Base. As they touched down, a few jumpy troops turned to them.

One of them quickly barked a command at them. “Freeze! W-Wait… is that All Might?!”

“Stand down soldier!” Star and Stripe’s shouted out with an authoritative tone. She wandered up to them as the nearby squad lowered their weapons and raised a hand to Izuku. “Damn kid! That was some fine work!”

“Thanks Star.” he said rather nervously, giving Star a high-five with the raised hand and transferring New Order.

She gripped his hand though, pulling him forward and patting him on the back. “None of that Hero stuff now. You can just call me Cathy, like All Might here does.”

“I-I couldn’t do that! It isn’t proper!” He stepped back, throwing his hands up nervously.

Star just waved him off. “You’ve more than earned it. Seriously. Me and my bros would have been completely defeated by that monster if not for your help. You saved more than just us though. You saved the entire world! The moment that the President is out off whatever everyone’s trapped in, I’m walking right up to him and demanding that he award you the Presidential Medal of Freedom!”

Izuku found himself staggering back, along with a few of the nearby soldiers. “That’s the highest award that can be given out by the President though! I-I don’t deserve something like that…”

“But you do, my boy!” All Might assured, placing a hand on his shoulder. “In fact, I’ll be doing the same with the Prime Minister, and see that you be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun!”

‘This can’t be real.’ Izuku’s head spun at the increased praise being heaped on him. Sure, he had helped stop All for One here. And he also stopped Nine at I-Island. But… it still didn’t feel real. He’d stopped all these Villains, received recognition from his idol and Star and Stripe, yet there was something missing. And then Izuku remembered.

There was someone else that he really wanted to hear those words from.

He immediately turned on his feet, running towards the hole leading to the underground structure.

“Young Midoriya?” All Might questioned.

“I’ll be right back!” He assured, before hopping down the hole and into the destroyed domed room that he had fought All for One in. He activated Float and sped through the hallway at the bottom, speeding along until he reached the room with the others in it.

“Izuku! You’re finally back!” Melissa shouted, having been staring at the doorway already. Izuku felt a little bad realizing that she likely had been since he left.

He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Sorry for taking so long to get back here-mph!”

His apology was cut off by a pair of lips on his. Melissa wrapped her arms around him, letting the kiss go and hugging him deeply. “I was so worried about you. You went into space, for god’s sake!”

“S-Sorry.” Izuku stammered out, face pushed into her collarbone. “But I’m fine now. Everyone is.”

“Mr. Deku! You’re back!” Katsuma cheered as he ran over.

“So, so? Did my Quirk work?” His sister, Mahoro Shimano asked next to him.

“It worked perfectly. We couldn’t have done it without you!” Izuku told the two children, releasing the hug with Melissa and bending down to give their Quirks back. He held onto the second of Katsuma’s for now just in case there was an issue with him having multiple Quirks. “Your brother was really smart to ask you to help.”

“Of course he is!” Mahoro assured haughtily. “My brother’s even better at thinking of Heroic stuff than you guys!”

Katsuma tugged on his sister’s arm, clearly embarrassed by his siblings posturing. “Mahoro…”

“Is it really over?” Eri asked, walking up to Izuku and Melissa.

“Yep! Everything is fine now.” Izuku assured the girl.

“I-I knew you could do it. You’ve never been wrong.” Eri said, and Kota walked up with her.

“I guess you’re pretty okay then. Not that I had any doubt.” Kota said, glancing aside bashfully as Izuku took his hand and gave back his quirk.

After that was done, Izuku stood up to give back his final borrowed Quirk. Mr. Oguro gave him a smirk. “Are you sure you want to give that back? I wouldn’t mind letting you have it. I’ve done plenty fine without it.”

“That’s true.” Izuku agreed, holding up a hand regardless. “But you can likely do even more with it. I’ve already got one Speed Quirk. I don’t need another.”

“Hard to argue with that logic. I suppose it’ll be fun getting back in the business officially again.” Mr. Oguro admitted, taking the hand and then the Quirk.

And with that, Izuku had returned all the Quirks he had lent out. He looked around the room to see most of them looking at him. He first walked over to David Shield, handing over the Q.A.D. to him. “I believe this belongs to you.”

“Thanks kiddo. I’m glad to see it actually worked.” David said.

Mr. Abrahams let out a huff. “Too bad they’ll probably lock it up again after this…”

“Don’t worry about that too much.” David assured his partner. “Besides, with all the new technology that’s been discovered in here, we’ll be busy for the rest of our careers!”

“I… suppose you have a point. And I’m sure they’ll be willing to give us the lead on the project, after all the help we provided today.” Mr. Abrahams slowly said to himself.

“You think you have room on that team for one more?” Kagome asked the two scientists. “I happen to be studying in Quirk Science, and with my Quirks I’d be able to help work this equipment better than anyone else.”

Mr. Abrahams looked worried suddenly. “R-Really? I don’t know…”

“Oh come on Sam! I thought after our shared experience on I-Island we’d do anything for each other?” Kagome asked sweetly.

“Y-Yes.” Mr. Abrahams finally relented. “As long as David is fine with it?”

“Well, I’m sure if Sam is willing to vouch for you, then I see no reason to disagree!” David Shield said amicably. “He’s always been such a good judge of character.”

“He is, isn’t he.” Kagome agreed with a chuckle, as Mr. Abrahams oddly got more uncomfortable. It appeared he didn’t take teasing well. Izuku shook his head, focusing back on the original reason he came down here in such a rush.

He walked over to Nezu, who was sitting silently on the terminal, watching the others talk. “Nezu, are you able to get people out still? There’s someone I want to see.”

“Of course! I assume it is someone close to you? If so, just place your hand on the circle here and scroll through the list that appears until you find the one you are looking for.” Nezu explained the workings of the device, and after a quick few click, he found who he was looking for.

Izuku pressed the button, and in a flash of light appeared his mother, Inko Midoriya, on the central platform.  

“Huh? What-? Where am I?!” The short woman glanced around the alien room in complete confusion until she set eyes on her son. “Izuku!”

She immediately ran down from the platform, wrapping him in a hug. “What happened to you?! You look so injured! And where are we?! And, and-”

“Mom!” Izuku tried to calm his mother down. “It’s fine! I’m fine, I promise!”

“Y-You are?” His mother stopped panicking for a moment, glancing around the room again as she tried to calm down. “What’s going on? The last thing I remember was preparing some Katsudon for when you get back from the U.A. Entrance Exam, and now I’m suddenly here.” She suddenly shot up in alarm. “The Exam! What happened to the Exam?! Did you pass it? Did you get injured? Did-”

“Mom! The Exam never happened.” Izuku told her.

“Why not?” She asked, and a polite cough turned her attention to Nezu. “Who are you?”

“I’m Nezu! Pro Hero and Principal of U.A. High School.” He introduced himself with a short bow before continuing. “As for the Exam, I’m afraid it was cancelled due to extraneous circumstances. And by that, I mean roughly two weeks ago everyone with a Quirk was instantly captured by Aliens and trapped in this facility here.”

“Aliens?” His mother looked skeptical. “Really?”

“It’s true mom, as weird as it is. We even got abducted by a UFO and everything.” Izuku told her, which only made her change from skeptical to panicked.

“Is that caused all those awful scars?” she asked.

“Oh, no. That was from my own Quirk-” Izuku began, before realizing what he had said.

“You have a Quirk now?! Did the aliens give it to you?” his mother cried out in panic.

“No! Well, actually they kinda did. Or, at least partly?” He quickly shook his head. “Look, it’s a long story.”

“But what happened to you? What is going on now?” Inko insisted.

“The long and short of it is that your son helped save the world.” Nezu answered.

“He… did what?” She looked between Nezu and her son in confusion.

“He helped defeat numerous villains that were planning dangerous things for the world at large. He was the only Hero around, and despite being so young he stepped up and saved us all. It’s only due to him that we were able to save everyone captured, yourself included.” Nezu explained with great praise.

His mother looked over at him with wide eyes. “Izuku, is this true? Did you really save everyone? Save me?”

Izuku felt the words catch in his throat as he began to answer her. “I… I did. It was tough, but I managed to do it in the end.”

He felt tears in his eyes as his mother smiled, equally teary eyed as she finally said the words he had wanted to hear.

“I always knew you could. You’re my Hero, Izuku.”

“Mom, I…” He tried to answer through the tears but couldn’t, instead drawing her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, patting him reassuringly while she comforted him. After a few minutes of crying, the two Midoriya’s finally separated, and he wiped his tears away. “Well… I think it’s time we got out of this creepy place.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea to me.” Melissa said, walking up to him and taking his hand. She gave it a squeeze, and he couldn’t help but return it, shooting her a warm smile. The obvious gesture did not go unnoticed by his mother though, and she quickly squinted at the unknown girl.

“Izuku. Who is this woman?” She asked with sudden seriousness.

“Oh, right! Mom, this is Melissa Shield. She’s my…” Izuku stopped himself suddenly as he thought about it for a moment. They were more than friends, right? Melissa had confessed to him, hadn’t she? Did he ever give an answer back? No, he hadn’t. But he had certainly returned her affection. Casting a glance at Melissa, she nodded in approval, and he turned to his mother to complete his answer. “She is my girlfriend.”

Inko Midoriya’s serious mask immediately crumbled, and her eyes teared up again with an amount that would rival Kota’s Water Gun Quirk. She immediately rushed forward, wrapping the two of them in another crushing hug. “My baby finally has a girlfriend!”

Izuku looked over to Melissa, and the two couldn’t help but chuckle, before putting their heads together as they embraced his mom. While a lot was happened, it truly felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. The world may be entirely different now after all of this, but at least he was finally together with those that he loved.

Epilogue: One Year Later

Chapter Text

“Hellooooo Mustafa District! This is your current number one local radio station reporting in from our recently repaired home studio!” An extremely energetic voice shouted out to their listeners. “My names Shu Tomo, and with me are my co-hosts and buds Rui and Holo here on a special feature all about the Rapture on its first anniversary!”

“It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since that fateful day where all who had Quirks suddenly disappeared.” A calmer female voice spoke out.

“That’s because it hasn’t been a year for some of us, Rui!” Another, more playful female voice spoke out, presumably Holo. “You got released about a month after everything, but I only got out half a year ago!”

“Ladies! We can argue about our governments timeliness in returning everyone at a later date. Let’s focus more on the event itself, yes?” Shu quickly pitched to the topic at hand. “Fortunately, yours truly didn’t disappear for a moment, and can give this town the full scoop. As I said, one year ago everyone with a Quirk vanished. Speculation spread the world over by those that remained. The work of God? Government experiment gone wrong? Nay, for two weeks later, it was revealed by the United States that the mysterious perpetrators were in fact-”

“It was aliens.” Rui interrupted tiredly.

“-Aliens! … did you have to ruin the moment.” Shu complained.

“You we’re taking too long.” Rui replied.

“You do know I have to fill this segment for more than a minute, right?” The host complained, before remembering his job. “Err, yes! It was honest to God aliens. It turned out a lot of old legends of these extraterrestrials were more than just pop culture and rumours!”

“I still wouldn’t believe it if not for all that stuff that I-Island published.” Holo admitted. “Aliens are still crazy, but I’d believe a report from them about the sky not being blue, so aliens it is!”

“Quite.” Shu agreed. “According to the reported story, the aliens had set up a secret base under Area 51 centuries ago. That is what captured everyone with a Quirk in the blink of an eye. Then one of their UFO’s attacked I-Island, which then fled to its base and tried to escape with those it captured. It’s only due to the miraculous intervention of All Might and Star and Stripe stopping this alien force that we all are here today.”

“Don’t you think you’re forgetting the most important part?” Rui asked incredulously.

“Nah, you know he’s just being dramatic and saving the best for last.” Holo said with a laugh.

“Of course I am, my friends. For what story would be complete without its Hero?” Shu said with a dramatic flair. “And no one will likely have a better story in years than this new and upcoming Hero, Deku!”

“Aaand that’s enough of this bullshit.” Katsuki Bakugo said.

The hotheaded teen shoved his earbuds violently into his pants pocket, kicking a nearby can down the empty road. He didn’t mind listening to some mindless radio talk to pass the time, but not if it was about them.

Fucking Deku.

He couldn’t believe it. He disappeared for less than a month, and when he came back there was a Hero parading around with that stupid nickname he made for the nerd. He still wasn’t convinced they messed up with the returning machine and dropped him into some sort of fucked up alternate reality where all his nightmares had come to life.

Deku, the ‘you-can-do-it’ Hero. Successor to the Mighty Agency. Adored by children across Japan. Awarded the highest honours in both Japan and America. User of more Quirks than you can shake a stick at.

It just pushed his buttons.

And the worst part is that he’s sure that Deku (his Deku, damn it!) was eating this up, wherever he was. Every altruistic saying that came out of that masked Hero’s mouth sounded just like him. And Katsuki could already see the stupid notebook going over every combination of Quirks he had. Damn nerd was probably following the goody two-shoes to every fight and living vicariously through him like the stalker he is.

At least, that’s what he assumed Deku was doing. Honestly, he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the green-headed dork since returning. Their family’s old numbers were unregistered, and when he finally went to ask the nerd what the deal was, their apartment had been sold.

He never showed up at school either. Though that just made Katsuki’s life easier. Meant he could focus on being the only graduate from their shitty school to make it to U.A. High’s Hero Course.

And you can bet your ass he did. He blasted through the remaining schoolwork at Aldera, retook the Entrance Exam without any extraterrestrial intervention this time, and kicked so much ass he got first fucking place!

So here he was, walking to U.A. High in his shiny new uniform for his first day of school.

Unfortunately, he was doing a lot of walking. Transit was a clusterfuck still, which meant if he wanted to get to school on time it was more likely that he’d get there by hoofing it for the last third. It was a gruesome trek, but he would rather be fucking dead than late for his first day of school!

Apparently U.A. was introducing dorms to deal with that issue. But like everything, it was behind schedule, meaning he’d be walking to school for the foreseeable future. Through the surprisingly boring and empty streets.

Most of the blocks he had walked by had been near abandoned. Most of the stores along the side of the roads either had not been opened back up or had closed due to lack of business. Even a year later, and things still weren’t back to normal. He supposed he should be fortunate that his parent’s business didn’t meet the same fate.

As he reached the corner of the street, he suddenly froze on his feet as the hairs on the back of his neck shot up. He knew that feeling from Deku always tailing his ass. ‘I’m being watched!’

He spun around on a dime, hands ready at his side to blow away some unfortunate pickpocket, only to find no one there. The street behind him lay bare, not a soul in site. Katsuki let out a huff. This ghost town must just be getting to his nerves.

“Hi there!”

“Jesus Fucking Christ!!” He swiveled in panic at the female voice that suddenly appeared at his side.

Luckily, he held back from attacking, as standing next to him was a girl about his age in a U.A. uniform just like his (well, besides the skirt). She had brown bobbed hair to her shoulders, and parts of her cheeks seemed to be perpetually pinked. The girl looked apologetic as Katsuki turned to her.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to spook you!” She apologized profusely, bowing slightly. “I just saw your uniform and wanted to introduce myself!”

“Don’t worry about it.” He quickly shoved his hands in his pocket, trying not to accidentally lose his nerve and use Explosion in front of her. “This place was just giving me the creeps. You didn’t do shit.”

“Oh, that’s good!” She let out a sigh, before looking around at the empty street corner. “But I can see what you mean. This place gives me the creeps! But the sacrifices we make to not pay transit faire, right?”

“What?” He gave the girl a funny look. “I’m just walking so I’m not tardy on the first day of school.”

 “O-Oh, right. That too, I suppose.” The girl rubbed the back of her head nervously, before stretching out a hand. “Anyways, my name’s Ochaco Uraraka! What’s yours?”

He looked at the hand, half tempting to just ignore the girl. But then he realized that they were walking to the same place, and he would be stuck with her anyways, so decided to play nice. He took the hand and shook it once, before grumbling out his name. “Katsuki Bakugo.”

 “Nice to meet you, Bakugo!” Uraraka (he was totally going to forget that name, his one weakness) said with a smile. He noticed the way her little round blushes grew with the smile, and immediately decided on another name to remember her.

“Likewise.” He responded to Pink Cheeks. “We should probably keep walking to class. Unless you want to stand on a spooky street corner all day?”

“No, you’re right. Let’s get going!” Pink Cheeks cheered as they both continued walking towards school. “I still can’t believe I managed to get into U.A. High. How about you?”

“Nah, I nailed the Exam. You’re looking at the number one placement.” He boasted.

“You mean for the Hero Course?! That’s pretty impressive. What’s your Quirk?” Pink Cheeks asked, and he took one of his hands out of his pockets.

“Explosion.” He let out a couple pops of his Quirk in the palm of his hand, and she stared wide-eyed at it.

“Wow. I can see how you got first place with a Quirk like that.” She lifted her own palms, showing paw-like pads on the tips of them. “Mine’s pretty cool too! If I touch something with all my fingers, I can remove gravity on them.”

Round Cheeks quickly demonstrated by taking a flip-phone out of her pocket (Seriously? What year was it?) and touching it with the tips of her finger. It flashed a pink light, and when she let go it stayed floating in mid-air.

“Not bad.” Bakugo admitted. It was an impressive Quirk, if one that would require a lot of technique to use effectively in combat. You could practically beat anyone with a single touch. “You going into the Hero Course too?”

“I planned to! I was even at the last Entrance Exam and everything before… Well, you know.” She looked away sheepishly.

“What, didn’t make the re-test?” Bakugo asked. The letter he got said that U.A. had sent offers to redo the test to everyone from before, but maybe they missed one. Wouldn’t fucking surprise him.

“No, they sent me the offer. I just had a change in, well, priorities, you could say.” Pink Cheeks said cryptically.

Katsuki let out a sigh as she looked down at the ground all glumly. He didn’t have the energy for speaking in riddles and shit. “Well, you’re obviously still at U.A., so what’s the deal? I don’t have time for twenty questions?”

“Right. Well, I know this might sound silly, but one of the reasons I wanted to become a Hero was because of the money. It’s petty, I know, but my parents own a construction company that always had trouble making ends meet. I wanted to become a Hero to help them.” Pink Cheeks’s face lit up suddenly though. “But after the Rapture, they ended up getting a whole bunch of work! Demand is so high that they’ve been able to finally rake it in! And once they no longer needed my help, I thought about what I really wanted to do. I’ve always been obsessed with space and the night sky, probably due to my Quirk. My favourite Hero is Thirteen, after all. I always imagined using my Quirk and leaping all the way to the moon! But I quickly learned that was impossible. No one had been up there for over two hundred years after all, and it seemed the world had no interest in changing that.”

“But then a bunch of aliens showed up and people started paying a lot more attention to the stuff above their fucking heads.” He finished for her.

“Exactly!” Pink Cheeks agreed with a giggle, not seeming to mind the language. “Now, everyone’s tripping over themselves to build new space programs! And with the technology that I-Island is said to be making, we could do it with a fraction of the effort they did back in the twenty first century. But since these space programs have been on ice for so long, they need to train a ton of new experts. So, I decided to join U.A.’s brand new Astronomy Course!”

“Seriously?” He looked over at the girl in surprise. “I heard rumours they were having trouble getting people to go to a Hero School for a field that hasn’t been relevant in a couple centuries?”

“Yeah! They were so desperate to have people apply that they practically paid me to sign up!” She said, more excited than he would expect on the topic. “All dorm expenses are covered, along with any training and equipment expenses that would usually be paid by applicants. Even the tuition is basically non-existent, as long as you don’t switch courses.”

“That’s… a good bonus.” He replied. “Going to space sounds cool as hell, not that I’d every be allowed in a spaceship myself.”

 “What? Why not?” Pink Cheeks asked, and he gave her a stupid look as he used his Quirk again. “Oh, that.”

“Yeah. I’m the TSA’s worst fucking nightmare.” Katsuki let out a sigh. He had enough trouble just being allowed on a normal plane for holiday trips.

“Well, I’ve heard that Anti-Quirk Handcuffs have improved lately. Maybe we could get you some modified bracelets? Or maybe you can skip the flight all together. I-Island recently revealed an idea for using the tech that captured us all as a way to teleport over long distances! Research is a bit slow though, just so there isn’t a repeat of before.” Pink Cheeks gave him a hopeful look.

He let out a sigh. “Still sounds like a long shot.”

“Come on, I thought you wanted to be a Hero! Where’s your optimism? You won’t be able to climb the leaderboards like that!” She teased. “Or are you all bark and no bite?”

“Don’t make me laugh.” Katsuki stopped, leaning his face towards hers with deadly seriousness. “I’ll be the Number One Hero in no time! I’ll surpass All Might, and definitely overshadow that fucking Deku!”

“Is that so?” Pink Cheeks didn’t back down, leaning forward and tilting her head up so that they were only a few inches apart, before giving a smirk. “Well, I doubt it’ll be before I invite you on a trip to my personal Villa on Mars, that I will have built all by myself!”

“Is that a fucking bet, Pink Cheeks?”

“You bet your ass it is, Firecracker!”

…

They both froze, realizing what they had called each other, and jumped back to an appropriate distance.

“Don’t get any weird ideas! I just have trouble with names is all!” He shouted.

“Yeah? W-Well I just called you that because it’s the first thing I thought of upon seeing your Quirk!” She shouted back.

Katsuki straightened himself up before continuing his walk to school, Pink Cheeks quietly walking behind him.

‘Firecracker, huh? I suppose it sounds a lot better than Kacchan.’ He figured as he turned the approaching corner. ‘Though anything would sound better when it’s not coming from-’

He stopped himself as he looked at the two people in U.A. Uniforms standing just down the road. One was an obviously American woman, probably a year older than him and carrying some sort of mechanical briefcase. But the one standing next to her was easily identifiable by the mop of green hair, even without seeing the face. “Deku?!”

The teen standing down the street nearly jumped out of his skin, and when he turned it was clearly the innocent and freckled face of Izuku Midoriya. But there was a cross-shaped scar across the center of his face, along with ones along his arms. Surprisingly buff arms.

‘The fuck?’ Katsuki was fully confused by Deku’s appearance as he stomped over to him. He had incredibly defined body compared to when they had last met, with odd red bracelets around his wrists and silly red shoes. ‘I knew the nerd was working out before the Entrance Exam, but this is another level! And why does he look like he’s been through an entire Mad Max trilogy?!’

“Deku? Where?” Pink Cheeks asked.

“Not that Deku!” He growled out, finally reaching the other two apparent U.A. students.

“H-Hi Kacchan.” The nerd said nervously.

“Don’t ‘hi Kacchan me’! Where the hell have you been! The old hags been riding my ass asking about you disappearing!” Katsuki shouted out.

“I’m sorry, but it’s been a really busy year!” Izuku apologized, looking apologetic, yet not shrinking and stuttering like he usually did. The nerd must have finally grown a spine after the Rapture. “We needed to move in order to get a bigger place for my sister, and I’ve never really had the time to go back and let you all know. I’m surprised you care so much. Kacchan.”

“I don’t! Like I said, it’s just my mom making it my fucking problem for some reason.” he quickly retorted, before realizing what Deku had just said. “Wait, sister? Please don’t tell me you started picking up orphans during the Rapture like lost puppies.”

“Of course not! But I ran into someone who needed help, and she didn’t really have a family beforehand, so after everything got sorted out, Eri stayed with us.” Deku took out his phone, showing the lock screen.

It was a picture Deku and the girl he was currently standing with sitting together, but more importantly was the younger girl with white hair and a single horn sticking out the top of her head sitting between them. They all had New Years Kimono’s on, along with wide smiles as they bit into Candy Apples.

“Awww!” Pink Cheeks squeed as she looked at the image over his shoulder. “She’s absolutely adorable!”

She sure was, Katsuki had to admit. Not that he would ever do so out loud. He had an image to maintain, damn it.

“I guess that’s a decent excuse. But I’m still annoyed!” He quickly clarified. He wouldn’t let the nerd get off that easy.

“Yeah, I guess I should have dropped by at some point.” Deku just laughed him off, much to Katsuki’s bafflement.

“Yeah, well… Whatever.” He tried to collect himself. “What the fuck happened to you though? And who’s the chick?”

“Oh, let me introduce you!” Deku quickly stepped aside with a smirk, presenting the blonde bombshell next to him. She raised a hand to shake, and Katsuki took it. “This is Melissa Shield, my girlfriend.”

‘That name sounds familiar…’ He thought to himself, before the second half of the sentence registered. “Your what?”

“His girlfriend.” Shield clarified with the fakest smile he’d ever seen, gripping his hand much tighter than was considered polite. “And you must be Bakugo Katsuki! Izuku’s told me so much about you!”

“Ow! I mean, t-that’s good to know.” He stuttered out as he felt the blood begin to stop flowing to his hand.

The angry blonde then released her iron grip and turned to Pink Cheeks. “And who might you be? A friend of his?”

“Oh, no! We just met walking to school is all.” The two women shook hands, and Katsuki could tell it was far more cordial than his was. “My name’s Ochaco Uraraka! I don’t mean to be nosy, but you’re not a first year, are you?”  

“Nope! Third year in the Support Course, though I’m transferring from abroad if it wasn’t obvious.” Shield revealed, and Katsuki couldn’t help but flash Deku a disbelieving glance.

“Not through your accent, it’s not! You almost sound like a native Japanese.” Pink Cheeks praised. “But Support Course? That sounds cool. I joined the Astronomy Course myself.”

Melissa gasped in excitement. “Then we’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other. The curriculum shares a lot on the engineering side and…”

As the two chatted, Katsuki shuffled over to Deku’s side again, trying not to draw the attention of his wrathful girlfriend. He leaned over and whispered to him. “How?”

“How what?” Deku asked, leaning down and speaking in a quieter voice. He gave the nerd a pointed look and he sighed. “It just kinda happened. I ran into her right after the Rapture, and I ended up saving her from some thugs…”

Katsuki groaned.

“And then it turned out that she was really into Heroes and Support Gear just like me…” Deku continued unaware.

Katsuki groaned even loader.

“And then we went through a lot together and ended up bonding over that- Are you okay?” Deku finally asked.

“Fucking fantastic. Seriously, did your Karma kick in once the Rapture happened and reverse your luck?” He ran a hand over his face. He really was convinced that he got brought back to the wrong world now. In what logical world did a Quirkless nerd like Deku get a girl like Shield? Though he supposed she must be Quirkless too if they met right after the Rapture. “Wait a minute… Shield?! As in… David Shield?”

Deku froze, before nodding slowly.

“You… I just can’t right now.” He sighed. “Though that explains how you got into U.A., despite not showing up at the Entrance Exam. You finally stopped being so ridiculous and decided to go for Support? Not a bad plan, I’ll admit. Quirks won’t matter for shit there compared to brains, which you certainly have if those annoying notebooks are any indication.”

“Uh, thanks? But actually… Oh never mind. Now’s probably not a good time.” Deku seemed off-put by the compliment for some reason but brushed it off quickly. “Do you want a ride to school? We were actually waiting for a pickup here, but there should be room for you guys too.”

He was about to tell him to screw off, but Pink Cheeks cut in and interrupted him. “That would be great, right Bakugo?”

“I- You…” He grit his teeth as the attention turned to him, and he eventually relented. “Fucking fine. If only because I wouldn’t make it in time otherwise after you wasted so much of my time.”

“You came to us though.” Deku said deadpanned, and Katsuki huffed. He really wasn’t used to Deku being so confident. Not that it mattered to him anymore if the nerd wasn’t going to get in his way of becoming the Number One Hero.

“Oh, don’t be such a tsundere!” Pink Cheeks said cheekily, slapping him on the back. “Just admit you like talking to your friend like a normal person, Firecracker!”

Katsuki let out a gasp of rage that quickly morphed to horror the moment Pink Cheeks uttered that nickname and he saw the way Deku’s mouth quirked up. That’s it, he had to kill the nerd. There was no way he was letting Deku utter those words to him.

“Deku-!” He raised a hand, ready to blow the boy in front of him sky high, only to freeze as a familiar feeling creeped up the back of his neck. In a second, he swiveled around, letting out a focused blast at the needle-like projectile that had been flying straight at Pink Cheeks back.

“What the-?!” She shouted as he pushed herself in front of her and the next set of projectiles, putting his hands together for his recently developed technique.

‘AP-Shot!’ He let out the blasts like bullets, knocking all three of the thin strands out of the sky. As the smoke cleared from his counterattack, a laugh could be heard from one of the abandoned buildings.

“I knew I wasn’t imagining shit earlier.” He muttered to himself, before shouting. “Who’s there? If you’re smart, you’ll show yourself instead of continuing to hide like a chickenshit!”

“Oh? You’ve quite a mouth on you boy.” A female voice said, and a striking woman with long red hair walked out of the shadows of a nearby alley on one end of the street. Her hair seemed to move on its own.

‘Must be her Quirk. She can shoot them out like needles. I don’t recognize her from any Villain Warnings though.’ He quickly glanced behind him. Pink Cheeks was frozen with fear, but Deku and Melissa appeared hardly panicked, looking determined. Melissa handed her briefcase to Izuku, who stepped forward to Katsuki’s side. ‘The fuck do you expect to do, Deku?’

“Who are you people?” Deku asked while glaring daggers at the woman across from them.

“Are you fucking blind? There’s only one of them!” He shouted at Deku, keeping his eyes on the Villain.

“No. There’s three of you. There’s a person with a Mummification Quirk hiding inside the run-down clothing store across the road.” Deku said to the woman, pointing towards a seemingly innocent yet damaged store, before pointing the hand holding the briefcase towards the other end of the street. “And there’s another person with a Chimera Quirk ready to block the other end of the street, boxing us in.”

The woman seemed surprised, before letting out another laugh. “How fascinating! It seems we really got ourselves a couple of all-star students here. You heard him boys! Why don’t you two come out and play!”

At her order, two figures emerged exactly where Deku had been pointing. From the broken shop came a man dressed like a crimson mummy, with a few of the objects inside being held in the air around him by the wrappings, along with a couple free strands that snaked forward menacingly. Around the corner of the street walked another man, this one standing over twice the size of the students and with a dozen different animal features, from a wolf head to bird claws to a lizard tail.

“How fascinating.” The beast-like man looked to Deku, taking a drag of the cigar in his mouth. “Not only could you see us, but you already knew our Quirks. And the other boy managed to react surprisingly quick.”

“They must be Hero Course students!” The mummy man said. “Even first years are to be exceptionally talented. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be the number one Hero School in Japan.”

“Now that you’re all out, I’ll ask again. Who are you people?” Deku turned his gaze over all of them calculatingly, before settling on the woman.

“I suppose I’ll humour you. You deserve a reward for noticing us, after all.” The lady bowed mockingly. “My name is Slice, and as you could guess, these are my compatriots, Mummy and Chimera. We do apologize for the inconvenience, but you four are to now be our hostages.”

“Hostages? You must be fucking nuts if you think you can get a ransom out of U.A. before every Hero in Mustafa is on your ass!” He shouted, glancing at the unflinching Deku. One villain might have been possible, but three was absolutely impossible for him to manage, especially with the dead weight to protect. He needed to scare them off.

“We are after no ransom, boy.” Chimera informed him. “We are after vengeance, for our leader. And you all will be the perfect bait. Do not worry. If you cooperate, you will remain unharmed.”

“Oh yeah? Those hairs just now seemed to tell a different story.” he barked back. “Forgive me for thinking you’re talking out your ass!”

“Who are you after?” Deku asked them again.

“What’s it matter to you?” Mummy asked.

“I presume that your target is a Hero teacher at U.A., considering you are after their students.” Deku deduced rather easily. “I happen to know principal Nezu personally. If you promise to let the other students go, I can call him and help him arrange whatever it is you want.”

‘What the fuck?!’ He glared at Deku like he was an idiot, which he was very much being. ‘These guys are serious! They’ll kill you for lying about that, you dumb fuck!’

“Your selflessness for your fellow students is heartwarming, but your lying needs some work.” Slice said with a chuckle. “Besides, even if that is the case, it just means we know who’s fingers we should send to the Rat first.”

“Suit yourselves.” Izuku sighed. “Can I at least ask who your leader is? No offence, but I don’t recognize you all, and I’d like to know who I’d be losing these fingers for.”

“No offence taken, young man, for we weren’t exactly the most public group. We don’t even have an official name. But we all have a singular goal.” Slice spread both hands out. “We wish for a world where only those with power would matter, and nothing else! One where our leader, Nine, would stand at the top!”

“Nine?!” Deku seemed shocked, as if he knew the Villain. But Katsuki had never heard of them before, and he knew just about as much as the nerd. So where did he learn about some secret Villain groups leader?

“That’s right. He had the power to move the heavens themselves and had nearly arrived upon perfection. He would have been invincible, had he not been defeated at I-Island and Area 51.” Slice explained. “The government may have said it was ‘aliens’, but we know only Nine’s Quirk could produce the storms that appeared there.”

‘Okay,’ Katsuki thought as he glanced around at the Villains again. ‘Either these guys are fucking nut-jobs, or I just got way in over my head.’

“So, you all followed Nine.” Deku said narrowing his eyes. “Which means there can only be one Hero you’re after. Deku.”

“That’s right! Nine was supposed to receive an operation to use multiple Quirks, including one that would let him see Quirk’s so that he could steal the one he needed. Yet instead that little twerp showed up. With the ability to use multiple Quirks, including said sight and healing Quirk. We know Deku was involved in his defeat, so we’re going to draw him out, rip him apart, and find out what happened to our leader!” Slice declared, the other two nodding along.

‘Seriously! Even now things are revolving around that damn Deku?!’ He glanced at his own Deku, only to find him looking rather annoyed. He just about told him to get back, only to be knocked back on his ass when the nerd swung his suitcase into his chest. “Gah?! What the fuck are you doing D-”

“Just stay there for a moment, Kacchan.” Deku said, no, ordered, before stepping forward into the center of the street. Katsuki wanted to shout at him but was too stunned trying to figure out what the shit he was thinking! He held the mechanical suitcase in front of him, raising the heavy container like it weighed nothing. “If it’s Deku you are after, then you are luckier than you know.”

Slice stared at the boy with continued amusement. “And why is that young man?”

“Why, you ask? It’s simple really,” Deku began with a smirk before pressing a button on the suitcase handle, and the whole case came apart into dozens of pieces. The bands on his arms and wrists transformed, forming red armour from the elbow to hands and knees to feet, as a green bodysuit formed over the rest of his body. The pieces from the suitcase then floated around the new bodysuit, clicking into place to form additional white armoured segments. A final piece attached to his head, and it snapped down, revealing a bottom half that looked like a wide-eyed smile, and a top half of green with a pitch-black visor, two thick antenna pointing back like bunny ears. “Because I am here!”

Everyone on the street stared in complete shock, other than Melissa, who clearly already knew. No one dared speak at the reveal of the Hero standing directly in front of them. Deku took that as a signal to move himself, turning towards Slice as two golden lights appeared from behind the pitch-black visor.

“KILL HIM!” Slice finally shouted, snapping her allies out of their funk and launching a set of needle-like hairs at Deku. There was a blur of movement from the Hero, and all three hairs were now caught in his hands. She kept throwing more hairs, but Deku merely sprinted towards her, a blur as he closed the distance without letting a single projectile through. In only a couple seconds he was right on top of her, and she attempted to swing a sharpened section of hair at him.

But not fast enough.

“Detroit Smash!” Deku shouted, and the fist that had caught all her hairs slammed into Slice’s chest so hard she went flying down the street and into the building at the intersection at the end. He tossed the caught hairs away casually as he turned back to Mummy and Chimera. “Either of you want to surrender yet?”

“Get real!” Mummy shouted, running forward and throwing the objects he held towards Deku. The Hero ducked around the projectiles and blasted them with lasers from his hands, running past Mummy from a fair distance. “Even a suit as fancy of yours will fall under my command at a single touch! Good luck landing a hit, Hero!”

One of Mummy’s strands wrapped around an abandoned car nearby, and he chucked it at Deku, who caught the vehicle. A cyan flash of energy passed over it, and the car’s momentum seemed to disappear instantaneously. Deku then raised the car up as a shield from further projectiles as he retreated into the same clothing store that the villain had emerged from. The moment he flew through the threshold of the shop, purple smoke began spilling out of it, billowing towards Mummy.

“Where is he?” Mummy cried, before the silhouette of a man appeared in the oddly coloured smoke. “Aha!” He grabbed the figure with his wrapping, only for another to appear. “What the hell?”

Mummy managed to grab six of these figures, before pulling them in and realizing they were mannequins, not humans, all being moved around by black tendrils connected to their backs.

“Mummy, above you!” Chimera shouted.

Enough of the smokescreen had faded to allow the wrapped up Villain to follow the black strands up to their owner, who was speeding towards him in a dive kick. Mummy tried to drag the mannequins above him as a shield, but they were being pulled away by Blackwhip, leaving him the only option of attempting to grab Deku with his wrappings.

But the wrappings failed to hit their target as three golden discs appeared layered under the Hero’s feet, which deflected the material. The discs met Mummy’s face, and he felt himself pushed flat against the concrete by the shield.

“Release!”

A cloud of dust shot up as Mummy found himself blasted into a new crater in the street, immediately falling unconscious. Deku merely hovered above the impact point, floating over to an undamaged portion of the street before stepping down.

“Last chance to surrender, Chimera.” Deku said as he focused on the final Villain.

“You think you’re so tough?!” Chimera growled, as he hunched over, and his body began to change. He doubled in size as even more animalistic features appeared on his body. “I’LL KNOCK YOU DOWN A PEG!”

Energy built in Chimera’s mouth, and a concentrated beam of fire shot out directly at Deku, who summoned another couple golden shields as he pushed against the attack and marched right up to the final Villain.

Chimera swung a fist forward, but found it caught by a serpent-like appendage that emerged from Deku’s back. He tried to bring his other hand forward to rip of the Hydra, only for a second head to grab it as well, pushing both hands to the side. Deku then floated up, so he was level with the Villains chest.

“St. Louis Smash!” Deku shouted as he delivered a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s stomach.

Chimera grunted in pain, but found himself unable to use his arms, and the floating Hero was too high to kick. “Damn brat-Guh!”

“Florida Smash!” Deku attacked again with a palm strike, and then continuing with another strike, and another! “Texas Smash! Manchester Smash! Detroit Smash! Carolina Smash!”

The blows continued to come from Deku until a red energy built up in all four limbs. He then let the Hydra heads go as he descended back to the ground. He hummed as he looked over the Villain. “You’re tougher than I thought. Guess you’ll be the first Villain I get to use this move on. I call it the Four Corners technique!”

“SHUT UP!” Despite the ass-kicking Chimera had received, he was still looking for a fight, and reached to crash Deku. “DIE!”

“Arizona Smash!” Deku suddenly swept a low foot, and the red energy in his left leg exploded out, tripping Chimera up into the air as he moved under the Villain.

“Colorado Smash!” The energy in his right arm then burst forward in a forearm strike to the stomach, knocking Chimera into the air. Deku then vanished, appearing above where Chimera was flying towards in a spark of cyan.

“New Mexico Smash!” Red power flowed from the left arm now as Deku brought it down in a karate chop on Chimera’s back, rocketing him back down onto the street below. Before the dust had even settled though, Deku was speeding down for the final blow.

“Utah Smash!” He shouted, falling in a dive kick. The crimson energy from his right leg streaked across the sky like a comet as he descended, before crashing into Chimera with a mighty explosion.

The ground shook as a plume of dust was kicked up, but a second later it was dispersed by a another burst of wind pressure from those golden discs, revealing the victor. Deku stood on top of the body of the unconscious Chimera, who was laying unceremoniously in a pit in the street three times the size that Mummy was lying in.

“Hmm, perhaps that was overkill. Tsukauchi’s probably going to lecture me again…” Deku could be heard saying as he floated out of the hole and onto the street. He pressed a button on his wrist, then held out a hand as his hero costume began to disassemble itself, returning to its original form as a briefcase in his hand as his bodysuit and armour on his forelimbs retracted into the bands around them. He then presented the case to Melissa, who had run over to meet him. “Nice work with the suit Melissa! It’s miles better than the old version!”

“Glad to hear! I was hoping to get some testing data from your classes first, but I suppose trouble just has a way of finding you, huh?” Melissa said with a laugh.

“Please don’t tease me about that. You know I won’t hear the end of it from the other Heroes when they show up.” Deku said with a tired sigh, before turning to the other two students. “Are you two okay? None of the Villains attacks got near you, right?”

Pink Cheeks shook her head slowly as she stared gobsmacked at Deku, and Katsuki didn’t even move. He hadn’t even got up from where he had been knocked on his ass.

‘Deku… is Deku?! They’re one and the same? How the fuck?’ Katsuki looked around at the defeated Villains. They all had to be A-Ranks at least, yet the nerd somehow kicked their asses without taking a single hit in return. And that power, it was just like…

“So you need a hand, Kacchan?” Deku asked, offering him a hand up.

“Hm…” He mindlessly took the hand as an odd nostalgia shot through him and continued staring at Deku. His mind was trying and failing to process what he had seen in front of him. “Ah…”

“Kacchan? Are you alright?” Deku asked with concern.

He tried to muster up the mental coherence to reply, but all were distracted at the sound of an engine blaring through the empty streets. The roar grew, until a black sports car drifted around the corner and sped towards them. The vehicle only narrowly avoided the pothole Mummy was lying in as it skidded to a stop in front of them. The door to the driver's side popped open, and out stepped motherfucking All Might.

The former Number One Hero was wearing a garishly hideous yellow suit and was looking down at Deku like a very disappointed parent.

“Young Midoriya,” He began, crossing his arms and tapping his feet. “What did I tell you about Villain attacks?”

“N-Not to go looking for trouble on school days…” Deku audibly gulped as he stared up at the retired Pro. “B-But it wasn’t my fault this time! It was random chance, honestly!”

“The worst part is that I know you’re telling the truth.” All Might shook his head. “I knew I should have picked both of you up from your homes instead of meeting halfway.”

“I’m sorry.” Deku said, as if he was apologizing over spilt milk, instead of being fucking attacked by Villains. “And now we’re going to be late to school waiting for an officer to come and take our statements.”

“Fortunately, we’ll actually be able to arrive to School just in time!” All Might assured him, before wincing. “Unfortunately…”

The passenger side door then opened, and a rather plain looking man in a trench coat stepped out, giving Deku an even more disappointed look than All Might had.

“D-Detective Tsukauchi?!” Deku squeaked. “Why are you here?”

“I was going to U.A. to talk to Nezu about a case, and All Might offered me a ride.” The detective’s eyes narrowed as he looked around the street, the two holes in the road, and two destroyed stores, one with an SUV jammed through the front display. “I’m going to assume the street didn’t happen to have perfectly sized craters for you to punt the Villains into. So, about that statement?”

Deku seemed to shrink in on himself, before letting out a tiring sigh and muttering under his breath. “Fuck…”

‘Alright, that cinches it,’ Katsuki decided. ‘This is all in my imagination. The sludge Villain really killed me, and the past year has been nothing but an extended purgatory!’

Katsuki quickly decided, he was in fact, not dead. Though his current situation was making him consider the benefits of it.

“I can’t believe we get to ride in All Might’s car!” Pink Cheeks squealed to his right.

“Hercule’s pretty cool, huh? My dad helped custom make it with Uncle Might!” Melissa said cheerfully to his left.

“Why the hell do I have to sit in the back!” Bakugo complained as he sat between the two girls in the back seats of the sports car. After the detective took Deku’s statement, All Might offered to drive them the rest of the way for safety while the officer waited with a couple of local Heroes that showed up for his colleagues to come cart the Villains away. Deku took shotgun immediately, and Katsuki nearly had another aneurysm at the sight. On any other day, getting a ride from All Might would make it the greatest in his life. But after the recent events, it barely evened it out. “At least give me a window seat, damnit!”

“Sorry for the tight squeeze, young man. But as a teacher it would hardly be responsible for me to allow you to be late for the first day of school!” All Might said with a laugh as he sped down the road.

“Wait, you’re teaching at U.A. this year?!” Pink Cheeks exclaimed, and Katsuki could see the realization on All Might’s face.

He rolled his eyes at the Hero’s sudden panic, as if they wouldn’t be able to put it together that that’s why he was going to U.A. dressed in a suit for.

“Y-Yes! I haven’t announced it yet, but I’ll be teaching Heroics this year!” All Might said with a nervous chuckle. “I hope you two can keep it a surprise for a couple more days?”

“Of course, sir!” Pink Cheeks nodded quickly.

“Yeah, whatever.” he shrugged.

“I also must ask that you keep Young Midoriya’s identity a secret for now.” All Might asked, far more seriously. “It will probably get out soon now that he’ll be taking part in Heroics classes, but we’d prefer that the civilian identity of Deku remained a mystery to the public as long as possible. We would prefer that he have the chance to have a normal school life for a little while, at least.”

‘That made sense.’ Katsuki nodded, before realizing something. “Then how the fuck did those three know you were going to be at U.A.?”

Melissa let out a huff. “Probably those Purple Oni guys. We never managed to find them after they left Nine behind.”

“Purple Oni’s? Weren’t those guys just some local Quirkless hooligans? How did they get involved in Villain shit?” Katsuki asked.  

“It’s… a long story.” Deku (God that nickname made no sense now!) said cryptically, sharing a glance with All Might.

“Wait, were you even allowed to fight those Villains? Don’t you need to have gone to school to get a Hero License?” Pink Cheeks asked, though Katsuki already knew the answer to that question. He’d let the nerd explain it though, as he couldn’t be assed.

“There’s multiple ways to get a Hero License, actually!” Deku (Nope, that didn’t sound right to him for some reason!) began to laboriously explain. “While the standard way to receive a license nowadays is by passing tests and trials set up by the HPSC, licenses can also be given directly by the Prime Minister with next to no stipulation. This is called the Emergency Hero Approval Act, and was the method used back when the first Heroes were created, due to them not having a real system in place yet and needing to quickly approve those that could keep the peace. This act was technically never reversed, though it obviously hasn’t been used to keep Heroics from being embroiled in party politics. I’m… the first person to be given a license by said act in over one hundred and fifty years.”

“Wow! Talk about an honour!” Pink Cheeks said. “What did you do to get that?”

“It’s a… long story?” The nerd said just like earlier, and Katsuki couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“And let me guess, so is the reason you suddenly went from Quirkless to… what, a dozen Quirks?” Katsuki continued to ask, before letting out a laugh. “Seriously, were you abducted by aliens and given them or some shit?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Seriously?!” Katsuki’s eyes bugged out as he saw the silent yet panicked look All Might, Melissa, and Deku (Nah, screw this, he wasn’t calling him that anymore!) all had between themselves. “Fuck, I was kidding! What, is one of the Quirks All Might’s too?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“I’m…” Katsuki sunk into his seat as he massaged his forehead. “I’m just going to shut up now.”

The rest of the short drive was mostly in silence as Katsuki did his best to put together all his jumbled thoughts into something that made sense. Unfortunately, the world seemed to have stopped making sense ages ago. They soon pulled through the gates of U.A., and they all stepped out of the car and looked up at the main building in awe.

Even after all of the bullshit of today, Katsuki still knew today wasn’t a total loss.

He had at least made it into U.A. High.

“What’s this I hear about you getting in a fight, young man!” An irate elderly voice spoke out, and Katsuki looked down to find Recovery Girl hobbling towards the group of students and teacher with an unimpressed glower. At her side was a woman in nursing garb with shoulder length black hair and not much else noticeable to her.

“It was just a minor scuffle, really!” the damn nerd said, trying to downplay the fight again. “I didn’t even get hit!”

“Good! Just because you can heal damage doesn’t mean you should take it!” Recovery Girl said pointedly, before turning to the rest of them. “Any of you young one’s need a checkup?”

“Nope! They didn’t lay a finger on us.” Pink Cheeks said, glancing over at Katsuki for a split second.

‘What the heck was that look for?’ Katsuki thought as he nodded in agreement, and Recovery Girl let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s good to hear. Honestly, to think a bunch of Villains would dare attack outside of U.A of all places. I’m going to have a word to Nezu about this!” the elderly Hero crowed, shaking her cane up in the air.

“Speaking of the principal, I should be meeting up with him shortly for the opening ceremony! Let us go together, Recovery Girl!” All Might said, turning to the students one final time. “Well now, I imagine we’ll run into each other again soon, young men and women! So, for now, I’ll just say welcome to U.A., and to your Hero Academia, err, and other Courses, of course!”

The two Heroes then turned towards the building, walking away. The nurse followed them after a quick wave to Melissa and the nerd (Seriously, does he know everybody?!). As they did, their idle chatter could be heard, their boisterous voices echoing in the empty plaza.

“Where do you get off retiring before me, Yagi?” Recovery Girl asked in an annoyed voice.

“You know you can do so at any time, Ms. Shuzenji!” All Might insisted.

“Not until Mirai here has her full medical license, I can’t.” The elderly woman grumbled, before looking up at the nurse next to her and speaking at a level that Katsuki could barely pick up. “You better hurry up so I can give you my Quirk and relax for once in my life.”

‘Give Quirks?’ Katsuki raised an eyebrow as he stared at the unassuming nurse. She didn’t look anything special, but if she was working under Recovery Girl of all people, she must have some fancy Quirk. ‘Not that it matters to me.’ He took a step towards the building as well to head to class, only to find someone blocking his way.

“What do you want, Pink Cheeks?” Katsuki asked, raising an eyebrow as she fidgeted at the nickname. Instead of immediately answering, she forcefully handed him a scrap of paper.

“I wanted to thank you, for saving me earlier, I mean.” She said, rubbing the pads on her index finger together as she looked everywhere but at him.

“What are you talking about. Deku did all the Hero Crap.” He replied in a huff.

“But you were the one saved me from that ladies attack, before they showed themselves.” She explained, finally looking him in the eyes. “So thanks, Firecracker.”

Pink Cheeks then turned on a dime and ran towards the main building, leaving Katsuki to stare at her retreating form. He eventually looked down at the piece of paper that had been hastily handed to him. “Wha-?!”

On it was a quickly scrawled set of numbers. A phone number, to be precise, along with a comment underneath it.

‘It’s Uraraka Ochako, in case you ever forget. You’ll just be Firecracker to me until you start using it!’

As Katsuki stared at the note, Melissa awkward shuffled away. “Um, I’m just going to head to class. See you after school Izuku?”

“Of course.” her boyfriend said with a chuckle, and she left for the building as well, leaving him alone with Katsuki. After a few moments of silence, he eventually shrugged and walked over to him, handing him a note of his own.

“What is-?” Katsuki snapped out of his stupor.

“My new number. I know you probably don’t want it as much as the other one you got there, but I figure you’d want to get Auntie Mitsuki ‘of your ass’, as you would say.” The green-haired boy said with a chuckle. “Anyways, we should get to class. I don’t mean to be dramatic, but I know our homeroom teacher, and he will expel us if we’re late for the first day, Villain attack or no.”

“Wait, Izuku.”

Katsuki watched as the person he’d known for basically his entire life stopped and turned to him.

“What, not Deku anymore?” Izuku joked.

“Naw. As much as it pains me to admit, you’re not that Deku anymore. And you can eat a dick if you think you can get me to call you by your Hero Name all the time when you’re taking the same classes as me.” Katsuki said, through great effort, before squinting at him. “With those Villains before, you could have stopped the initial attack yourself. Why’d you let me do it?”

“Because I knew you could handle it.” Izuku admitted, much to his surprise. “You reacted almost as fast as me, even without a detection Quirk, and I didn’t want to get in the way of something I knew you could handle.”

“Well… Thanks for paying attention, I guess.” Katsuki said awkwardly. He quickly refocused on what he had been meaning to say though, giving Izuku a serious look.

“Like I said though, you’re not that kind of Deku any longer. But just because that’s true, it doesn’t mean I still can’t be better than Deku! I told you that I would be the Number One Hero, and I still will be! Doesn’t matter if the person I’m replacing is All Might or you! You’re just ahead of me because you got a lucky head start! By the end of this year, I’ll have made so much progress it won’t matter how many Quirks you have over me, got it?”

Izuku stared bug-eyed at his declaration, but slowly stared back equally seriously. “Are you sure about that, Kacchan? I won’t just lie down and let you pass me now. I’m not going to go easy on you.”

“I’d kick your ass if you did!” Katsuki said with a smirk. “I was planning to surpass All Might. If you learned so much from him, then that’ll just make it all the easier for me!”

The two continued to stare each other down, until Izuku snickered. Katsuki let out an amused huff himself, and soon the two were both laughing to themselves for seemingly no reason.

He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason he found himself on the same wavelength as Izuku for the first time since they were kids, and it made him feel funny. Maybe that’s why the two of them were laughing like fools all of a sudden. As they collected themselves, Izuku wiped a tear from an eye.

“It’ll be fun to see you chase me for once.” Izuku said with amusement.

“Get real! I was just going to say how fun it’ll be now that I can actually get serious with you!” Katsuki replied, shooting him a scary grin.

Just then a bell ringed out across the courtyard, and both their faces fell. Katsuki whipped out his phone in horror as he stared at the time. That was the pre-class bell!

“Oh fuck! Aizawa’s going to kill me!” Izuku said literally flying towards the school in a flash of cyan light.

“Oi! Wait up, you damn nerd!” Katsuki shouted as he sprinted after his newly declared rival. As he did, he thought about the two pieces of paper in his hand.

‘Well, at least I got something I want out of today.’ Izuku’s girlfriend may make a kick-ass suit, but I doubt she could take him on a trip to space. Now he was racing to become Number One Hero for a reason beyond just proving he’s the best. ‘Uraraka Ochako, huh? Hope you can work fast Pink Cheeks, cause I’ll be taking the top spot sooner than you think, and you bet a Martian getaway when I did!’

The Only Hero - The End…?

As the sun set in the sky, painting the halls of Jaku General Hospital in a wash of orange light, a short old man with a doctors coat walked along with a furrowed brow. He had only recently been freed from the prison that he had been trapped within, much to his annoyance.

The employees at the Returning Center had apologized profusely for the delay, stating the reason being that they had no knowledge he had a Quirk at all. Understandable, as Daruma Ujiko, Head of Jaku General Hospital and Quirk Expert, was supposed to be Quirkless.

Except that was just a sham. Only the latest of a dozen false identities he had set up for almost a century now.

Because in truth, he was Kyudai Garaki. Writer of the Quirk Singularity Theory, right hand of All for One, and creator of the Nomu.

A tired sigh escaped his lips, as he was sure his ‘normal’ employees all got a good laugh out of it. The man who can analyze and diagnose a Quirk in seconds, never even realizing he had his own.

Not like he could reveal his Quirk publicly. Lifeforce had extended his life greatly, but that very fact would be enough to draw suspicion to himself. It was well known by a certain set of Heroes that All for One had also been long lived, and if they dug too deep…

He shook his head as he tried to piece together what he had learned while on his way to the secret lab under his hospital. It appeared that much had changed in the year he’d been gone.

‘I mean, seriously? Aliens?!’ Kyudai pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Then again, it would explain why the small pieces of tech I managed to smuggle from I-Island all those years ago was so advanced.’

While proof of the extraterrestrials and their relation to Quirks fascinated the doctor greatly, it was counteracted by the fact that they had completely thrown his plans into chaos for who knows how long! And worst of all, they might not be the only ones to cause problems for him.

He slowly shuffled into the morgue, ensuring that there were no workers around to spy him entering. He used his ID badge (which was fortunately where he left it, he dreaded having to hack into his own system) on the door, and it opened to reveal the dark and dank path to his true work.

‘Now, to see how much of a mess that wayward experiment made.’ Kyudai braced himself as he began to descend through the passageway to his underground laboratory.

As much as the world's governments claimed the crisis was entirely alien done, some stories in Japan suggested a different story, although only to one with hidden knowledge such as himself.

There were reports of Villains before any UFO’s showed up that targeting children who had recently awakened their Quirks. Among these Villains included so-called ‘Frankenstein’s Monsters’ that acted mindlessly and apparently had multiple Quirks. According to the report, dozens of them appeared afterwards, forcing U.A to evacuate to I-Island.

These monsters were clearly his Nomu.

While this Villain attack was seen by many as unrelated to the alien encounters that happened later, Kyudai knew better. For the reports of extreme weather that appeared over I-Island and in the States could only be caused by a certain Weather Manipulation Quirk. A certain Quirk that belonged to a man who was in stasis along with the Nomu’s.

‘Nine… but how did he get out?’

Kyudai was certain that there wasn’t any sort of failsafe that would result in Nine being automatically released. In fact, he had set up the exact opposite. If the stasis-system of a pod were to find itself unable to operate any further, it was set to kill whatever was inside, to prevent a potentially unstable creation being released in the depths of his lab.

Which meant either his own stasis and failsafe system had failed (Utterly inconceivable!), or the more likely yet more worrying conclusion that someone had broken into his lab.

Had his master avoided the Rapture, or possibly Kurogiri?

No, that was impossible. It was more likely that some Quirkless person stumbled upon his lab and got too greedy with their search and awakened Nine. But who would be knowledgeable enough to find the entrance to this place, or know what access they’d need to pass? He hadn’t detected any signs of forced entry.

‘Well, here goes nothing!’ He thought to himself, as he cautiously stepped into the lab proper. The lights automatically turned on, and he could barely hold back a gasp of horror as he muttered to himself. “Egad… What happened here?”

All of the pods had been shattered, glass still laying on the ground in some places. The Nomu, all his life works, vanished in an instant (to him at least). He slowly continued forward towards the center of his lab, walking carefully around the destruction towards the center of his lab.

At the center was his main terminal, which, with luck, would at least contain information on what had happened in his absence. But right as he reached the computer, he heard a piece of glass behind him crack.

“D-Doctor Ujiko?”

“AAAH!” Kyudai let out a screech as he swiveled around as fast as his old bones would let him. He found a nervous nurse standing near him, glancing nervously at the architecture of his lab. He took a moment to recognize the girl, but when he did, he quickly tried to collect himself. “O-Oh, Ms. Mirai! Whatever are you doing down here?”

Kagome Mirai was an interesting pupil of his, at least on the legitimate side of things. She had published a truly lovely thesis on the feasibility of copiable and transferrable Quirks, being Quirkless herself. It stuck out to him greatly, if only because he had developed the very technology proposed within it ages ago. Unfortunately, the young woman lacked any of the miraculous technology from I-Island, or the enormous funding and test subjects the king of the underworld could provide, meaning her ideas were laughed out of school and prevented from moving up in the world of Quirk Science.

He had felt some nostalgic pity for the researcher turned nurse and decided to hire her on as an assistant at his hospital. She held the same drive that he had in younger years, not to mention her desire for a Quirk of her own made her a good candidate for moving to his more… shady work.

“I had heard you had returned, so I decided to come back and look for you. But then I stumbled upon this place.” She looked down at him like a lost puppy. “What is this place?”

‘Let’s hope my observations of her were correct.’ Kyudai prayed to himself as he cleared his throat and answered the poor girl. “This is my lab, my dear girl. I’m afraid that not all of my work is well liked by the public.”

“D-Does that have something to do with how you have a Quirk?” Kagome Mirai asked.

“It does. You see, your work on copying and transferring was correct my dear!” He revealed dramatically, noticing the way her eyes lit up at his words. “In fact, I was able to do so myself many, many years ago. Unfortunately, my work was also ridiculed back in the day, so I was forced to complete it in secret.”

“Really?” The Nurse looked around at the equipment nearby. “Then you can use this too…”

“To give other people Quirks, including yourself my dear.” Kyudai said, moving to win her over, and keep her silence. “I have wanted to make such an offer to you for a while now, believe me. But you see, this work is hardly above board, so I needed to make sure you could be trusted with such a secret. But here you are now, so it must be fate!”

“You’ll really give me a Quirk?” She asked in amazement.

“Any one you wish for, my star pupil!” Kyudai affirmed, nodding his head. “And as many as you wish!”

“I see. Then I think I’ll start with yours.”

“Huh?” He only had a moment to look back up at Kagome Mirai before her hand grabbed him by the head and lifted him up off the ground. A familiar energy gripped at Kyudai’s core, and he felt his vitality drain from him. “I-Impossible!”

As Lifeforce left him, he felt his entire body begin to ache. After ensuring that the Quirk was indeed hers, the scared look on her face slowly morphed to total confidence. “Thank you, Doctor. It’s nice to know you thought so highly of me.” she said, before letting go of him. But instead of falling to the ground, he floated across the lab towards his chair, where two thugs had emerged.

A skinny one with a mohawk let out a shrill laugh as he waved his hands to float Kyudai over to them telekinetically. “What have we got here, Dragon? The Boss Lady said we’d be entertaining a guest, not a shriveled up sack of potatoes!”

He found himself plopped down into the chair, and the larger man used his strength to wrap pure steel cables around him, preventing an escape. “I don’t know, Komodo. Maybe she just needed help cleaning up the trash!”

“What is the meaning of this?!” he asked his former employee frantically. “Who are these people you are with?! And how do you have his Quirk?!”

“These fine fellows are the Purple Oni. I’d have introduced Chameleon to you as well, but they’re busy keeping my Alibi up by studying in the U.A. Library right now.” Kagome explained, gesturing to the two men at Kyudai’s side. “They had originally been working for Nine, but after his unfortunate demise we came to a new arrangement. Isn’t that right, boys?”

“Damn right!” Komodo agreed enthusiastically, shooting the Doctor a dangerous glance with his glowing eyes.

“We joined up with Nine for power.” Dragon elaborated. “He may be dead now, but Kagome can grant our wishes all the same.”

“Exactly. They are so handy to have help me with my work on the side. Being able to rub shoulders with Nezu and David Shield does wonders for my progress, but there are still some things that require a more… dubious touch.” Kagome said with a sly look.

“That still doesn’t explain how you got All for One’s Quirk! How did you steal it from him?” Kyudai asked frantically.

“Steal it? Oh, dear doctor,” Kagome chuckled. “He gave it to me.”

“H-He did?! But why?” Kyudai couldn’t comprehend it.

“To be fair, he also gave me his personality, so it wasn’t like I was getting anything good at the time.” Kagome elaborated further. “It’s a bit of a long story, but all you need to know is that I ended up with his Quirk, and he ended up stuck in a spaceship heading to god-knows where for the next few millennia.”

“Y-You lie!” He refused to believe his old friend had finally been bested.

Kagome scoffed. “You’re free to not believe me, but it won’t change what I have planned. All for One may have been everything I hate, but his and your inventions in copying and transferring Quirks will move things along for me a good decade ahead of schedule.”

“All for One, everything you hate?” Kyudai raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I thought you wanted a Quirk of your own. What else could his powers and wishes be anything but perfection?!”

“I was referring more to the man than the Quirk.” Kagome rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he told you of what his grand final goal was. The whole schtick of causing worldwide collapse to make the value of Quirks skyrocket, and using his Quirk as the sole bank that controls them? Let’s just say I want the opposite.”

“The opposite?” He didn’t understand what the woman was implying.

“Exactly. He wanted to make Quirks incredibly valuable, whereas I want to… let’s say, crash the market.” Kagome raised a hand, and odd, red, double-helix pattern appearing on it. “I want to make it so easy to transfer and replicate Quirks that no one would be limited by some random factor of their birth, that they will be able to make choices for themselves not based on uncontrollable traits, but their own wishes.”

“You want to make any Quirks available for anybody?” Kyudai said, baffled. “That’s impossible! Only All for One has the ability to have multiple Quirks. Not to mention the ability to copy Quirks would be nowhere near the level required to accomplish what you wish. And how would you control such a system? It’s infeasible!”

“That might have been true before, but the aliens have allowed me access to certain tools that change that. Genetic Manipulation, for one, is extremely useful.” Kagome said, the red helixes spinning on her arm again. “Using it to find the genetic markers involved with All for One’s ability to hold multiple Quirks will take time manually, but once we crack more of the Alien technology it'll be child’s play. Same for your cloning technology. You were able to the impossible with just a couple scraps from them, so what do you think the source will allow me to do?”

Kyudai still tried to argue. “That amount of powers freely in the hands of others is-”

“Incredibly dangerous, and foolish to just hand out. But one of the many alien Quirks I have is one that allows you to set permissions and control the holders of copies of it. With some modifications, I could set up a system that makes it so that any given Quirk has a Controller attached to it that can shut of the Quirk Factor with a flick of a switch. The exact system would be more complicated, but my personal experiments on the subject have proved… fascinating.” Kagome gave him a smug look as she explained her plan.

As much as Kyudai wanted to deny her, it seemed she wasn’t entirely short-sighted. Maybe he should have attempted to get her involved far sooner. He stared at her with his sunken eyes, aging body aching with each twitch. “So, what are you planning to do with me? Am I going to end up as one of your experiments as well?”

“Don’t worry Doctor, I have enough of those already.” Kagome assured him as Dragon undid his restraints. “You have a much more important role to play, after all.”

“And what role would that be-Eeei!” Kyudai shrieked as he was lifted up in the air by Komodo’s telekinesis again.

“You see, Nine and All for One made quite a mess of things by releasing those Nomu everywhere. The Heroes are still looking for where they came from after all, and if something got dragged back to me, that could be problematic for my work.” Kagome snapped her fingers, and something slowly emerged from the shadows. It was a doglike Nomu, nearly twice the size of a normal man. One of his incomplete Near High-Ends. “And speaking of work, I need to be able to publicly use your own work to advance mine. It’d be mighty suspicious if I suddenly made these breakthroughs out of the blue. So I’ll have to make sure someone stumbles upon this lab while chasing this Nomu they missed… And you as well, of course.”

Kyudai realized what the woman was implying and turned to his creation. “Nomu! Kill these people!”

But the Nomu didn’t even hear him. Kagome let out a chuckle. “Like I told you earlier, we have a shapeshifter in our team. Getting past and disabling your program was like child’s play. Now then Doctor, I believe this is goodbye. Thank you. Your work has taught me so much.”

“No! Wait! Please!” Kyudai pleaded as he floated away into the darkness, where the Nomu slowly followed, its teeth glistening in the shadows. He was dropped from the air, and the moment he landed, the beast pounced. “NO- AAARGH!”

Grueling sounds echoed across the lab as the brain-dead monster of the Doctors own creation finished him off. Kagome let out a sigh as the two Purple Oni gave her a look.

“You seem pretty calm, Boss. Really wanted to end him that much?” Dragon asked.

“No. I’m just finally glad that his potential to ruin my plans is finally gone.” Kagome said happily, turning to leave. “He was the only one with enough knowledge and power to prevent me from completing my goal legitimately. Now I can focus on playing the goody-two-shoes and focus on my true work.”

“Were you serious earlier? All that shit about anyone having any Quirk?” Komodo asked curiously.

“Of course!” Kagome nodded as she smirked wistfully. “This is a new age, my friends. With the world turning its attention to the stars again, the age of Heroes and Villains will slowly dwindle to an end. Once my creation is fully realized and I spread it across the world, things will change! A repository of every Quirk, that people will be free to use for themselves, if they use it responsibly! Everyone will be able to heal, to fly, to turn into animals or turn invisible!”

“But why would that stop Heroes and Villains from being a thing?” Komodo questioned further.

Kagome just scoffed. “Villains are just criminals that use Quirks. We make them out as some great evil, but now that everyone has a Quirk of their own, that specialty is pointless.  And Heroes?  Who needs to worry about training hundreds of kids with lucky Quirks across Japan, when you can just give a package of relevant Quirks to the right professionals? The Wild, Wild Pussycats all individually have Quirks that make them amazing together for mountain rescues, but imagine if you could give every Search & Rescue personnel in the country all four of their Quirks at once! Everyone will be Superheroes with my work! And when everyone’s a Hero…”

“…No one will be.”

The Only Hero - The End!

Bonus Chapter: Deku’s New Hero Notebook #1 + Extended Author Notes

Chapter Text

All as One – User: Midoriya Izuku

I’ve decided now that the chaos of Nine and Aliens and All for One has finally died down, now was a perfect time to go over all the new Quirks I’ve gained and encountered during the Rapture. I’ll start with my own Quirk, the fusion of One for All and All for One, going through each of the Quirks within it.

Quirk #1 & #2: Stockpile & All for One

The core of the Quirk, and source of its body/Quirk strengthening properties. It was originally fused with the First’s Bestowal to form One for All but became the true heart of the Quirk after I gained a greater understanding of the it and modified it with Genetic Manipulation.

In short, Stockpile absorbs Q-Fields into the body. The exact nature of Q-Fields is still a mystery, but there are two things that are known. They are produced and shaped by people with Quirks, and those that produce more Q-Fields have stronger Quirks. That means that, naturally, a Quirk that allows you to absorb a theoretically limitless amounts Q-Fields within you would result in strong Quirks.

There are two ways that Stockpile absorbs Q-Fields, either directly, or indirectly.

Direct stockpiling is when Stockpile absorbs a Quirk within the body. Originally, the direct method only happened when a new Holder of One for All received it, but now I can cause direct stockpiling simply by taking a Quirk into my body with the Quirk Factor of All for One, though with some major stipulations (see section on All for One below for more info). When a Quirk is directly stockpiled, it not only is able to use the Q-Fields inside Stockpile to become stronger, it also increases the range of indirect stockpiling. Speaking of…

Indirect stockpiling functions by drawing in the ambient Q-Fields from the surroundings. Quirked people bleed Q-Fields like we radiate heat from our bodies. It’s obviously not as effective as the direct method. Like trying to get solar energy from the stars instead of the sun. But since Quirks are becoming stronger and more numerous, those ‘stars’ will still generate a significant amount of energy.

There is one main issue with stockpiling though, and that is something I’ve called the Compatibility Factor.

As Q-Fields are shaped by a Quirked person’s will, that means that they themselves have will. If the Q-Fields of multiple Quirks clash within a person, their sense of self decays. We believe this is what happened to the ‘Nomu’ we encountered under Nines control. The proper version of All for One gets around this by having all the Quirks within it be segmented and in a dormant state when not in use, as well as simply having a naturally high ‘sense of self’ that dominates those in its grasp.

But the version of All for One that Nine, and then myself had, was incomplete. It’s protection against other Quirks far weaker. This is why the number of Quirks it could hold was so low.

But as I was saying, All as One, or more specifically Stockpile, got around this by having all the Quirks within it operate as a single Quirk. This means though that the Quirks within all have to share the same will as the Stockpiled Q-Fields in order to make use of them.

This means that I can’t easily take or use the Quirk of someone that isn’t heroic, and it’d be downright impossible for me to take a Villains Quirk. This also means I only absorb the parts of a persons radiant Q-Fields that has ‘heroic intentions’, though with how big Heroes are in society, this isn’t much of a handicap.

While being able to take a Villains Quirk or easily swap them out with the ones within All Might (elaboration on why in his section) would make being a Hero much easier, I see it as a sort of blessing. The power of All for One could be dangerous in the wrong hands, especially alongside stockpile. If not for a limitation such as this, I probably wouldn’t trust myself to use it responsibly. The Quirks I have are enough.

And speaking of, let’s finally move onto the collection I do have, starting with the previous holders of One for All!

Quirk #3: Gearshift – Original Holder: The Second (I never got his name…)

At first, Gearshift seems like an extremely simple Quirk, especially in its originally weakened form. ‘It makes things go faster’ is what an average person would say and leave it at that. But after over a century charging in One for All and doing some testing, I can confidently say it is the most powerful Quirk within stockpile (and that’s even if you count the generic body strengthening effect as a separate Quirk).

Gearshift allows me to change the velocity of something, while ignoring inertia. Which makes it one of the most physics-breaking Quirk in my possession. Targets can include anything directly connected to myself or anything I’ve touched recently with the intent of using Gearshift. It doesn’t work when used on other people though. That one time on Nine appeared to be only due to the Q.A.D. Boosting my ability. Besides that, there is also a mass limit for what I can use it on, but that varies widely to how much it is boosted by All as One, so an exact number is hard to pin down.

While I can use Gearshift to make myself and other things faster, I’ve found more benefit in doing the opposite. I can slow down a physical projectile or falling debris to a literal snail’s pace with a single tap. I can also then increase its gear to higher in a moment to have it begin moving at twice the speed as originally from said snail’s pace.

And that’s not even mentioning the compatibility with other Quirks. Use with Laser for a fast snipe shot or immediate wide coverage scatter shot. Use with Smokescreen to blind an entire block in a second. Use with Fa Jin to build up charge quicker. Or just the tried and true technique of ‘hit faster and harder’. Of course, such a powerful Quirk must have a limit, and unfortunately Gearshift has the most dangerous one.

Using Gearshift on my body requires oxygen as fuel. If I kept it active on my entire body consistently, then I could only use it for about 5 minutes before running out of breath and tiring myself out. Of course, that is probably the most inefficient way to use it. It’s better to use it in short bursts, either for Quirk combos, or to dodge and reposition myself in a flash. I have more than enough power with just Full Cowl and Fa Jin.

Quirk #4: Fa Jin – Original Holder: The Third (also didn’t get his name…)

In contrast to Gearshift, Fa Jin is far simpler in use, though not without its own tricks. Fa Jin let’s me build up kinetic energy from repeated movements, then release said energy for an explosive burst of power.

The energy builds up in the source of the kinetic movement as a red energy, which can be the released on command. Fa Jin can be built in more than just the limbs, but in constructs like Blackwhip or Hydra, though if the contrasts fade then so does the built up energy.

Despite kinetic energy being stored up, it doesn’t have to be released as kinetic energy. It can be released to punch or kick close to All Might’s level, but also transferred into Laser for a stronger beam, or Air Wall to strengthen its shield or boost its release.

The main issue with the Quirk is I can’t just use it whenever I want. I must put effort into my movements to charge up Fa Jin, and I also must put thought into when I use it. But that makes up for its effectiveness at taking down heavy targets.

Quirk #5: Danger Sense – Original Holder: Hikage Shinomori

The Fourth’s Quirk is the only one I have that is constantly active, for better or worse. Rather predictively, the Quirk detects hostile intent from others and warns me of it.

It is an empathic Quirk in nature, meaning that to activate the one with ill intent must be living (so no robots) and have to be purposefully attempting to cause such harm (so not an accident). Considering Villains are rather purposefully trying to attack me, this limitation isn’t a big deal, but it’s important to keep in mind.

One of the main changes to Danger Sense after being strengthened is the fact that it now can detect hostile emotions against people other than me, if they are in range. This makes Hero work rather interesting, as I can track down Villains almost immediately. It can be rather exhausting though, always running around and resolving these issues.

Danger Sense’s passive nature doesn’t lend itself well to merging with the other Quirks in Stockpile, but it does have one good fusion with Scanning. If I have Scanning active while Danger Sense goes off, I will be able to read the offenders Quirk, even without them being in my line of sight. I can’t have Scanning active all the time like Danger Sense, but it is a great bonus.

Quirk #6: Blackwhip – Original Holder: Daigoro Banjo

Blackwhip is an incredibly versatile Quirk, allowing me to create tendrils of black energy from anywhere on my body. While they are the easiest to control when summoned in the hands, I can produce them from places like my back or legs to do all kinds of things.

To reference an old anime I watched recently, Blackwhip has the properties of both bungee and gum. It can stick itself to whatever it touches, though it has far better grip when wrapped around something and can be stretched slightly to be used like a slingshot or net.

Black whip isn’t as handy defensively compared to Air Wall, but for offenders it has its upsides. It has less range but can be used better as a capture option compared to Laser. But it’s ability as a Rescue tool is even better, allowing me to move more rubble or people than my hands.

Combinations with other Quirks include Fa Jin to temporarily increase their strength, wrapping Hydras in them for extra durability, and attaching them to Laser bullets shot from the tips of my fingers so that they have extra piercing power.

Quirk #7: Smokescreen – Original Holder: En (That’s all I got from him)

Smokescreen let’s me emit a purple smoke from my body that inhibits regular vision. The smoke does not have any negative side-effects upon inhalation, with a composition more like fog, which is likely why I get dehydrated from overuse of it.

I can see why En had such a complex over his Quirk. It doesn’t really combo with any other Quirks directly. And worst of all the Quirk also affects my vision. Fortunately, Melissa has been able to add a filter to my helmet that lets me see through it.

Even without being able to see through it, I’m not helpless. I can use Float to fly out and ambush engulfed enemies. I can use Danger Sense to detect attacks, and use Scanning to see people anyways (if they have a Quirk). Smokescreen is great for causing chaos when fighting Villains, but it’s for that reason that I can’t use it all the time. Chaos won’t just lead to panicked Villains, but panicked victims and civilians.

That said, it is still a useful tool when I get the chance to use it. Don’t worry En, your Quirk will be well used!

Quirk #8: Float – Original Holder: Nana Shimura

Float is a rather deceptive name now, as after being strengthened a better name would be closer to Flight. But I wouldn’t dare rename the Quirk of All Might’s teacher. And also, I don’t want to be sued by Captain Celebrity.

Float produces a telekinetic field around me that negates gravitational force. But due to the strengthening of the Quirk, it also allows for slight manipulation of gravity around me. This allows me to fly with ease, though I’m still affected by other disturbing forces such as wind.

After talking with Koichi (The Crawler himself! I can’t believe Mr. Oguro was able to introduce us!) I determined that the field could spread over those I’m holding to apply the effect to them if they are in contact with me. I also learned that the telekinetic field of Float could be extended through Blackwhip, allowing me to lift many people easily. However, the effect is weakened the farther it is and the more it is applied at once.

I’ve also been able to apply it to Air Wall, allowing for me to move the shields after summoning, if only close around me. This allows me to block attacks that change angle of attack much easier.

The most important point of the Quirk is its mobility. The sky is much freer than the ground, meaning I can beeline straight to incidents unopposed. Also, most Villains aren’t accustomed to fighting in three dimensions. This is why Hawks can have such a high number of incidents resolved! With luck, Nana’s Quirk will help me much his pace one day.

Quirk #9: Scanning – Original Holder: Nine/???

And now we reach the Quirks originally held within Nine’s weakened copy of All for One. Besides the copy of Katsuma’s Quirk and Scanner, all the Quirks were from Heroes. But somehow, they still all have their Quirks, as they were affected by the Rapture, and we retrieved them from the alien’s capture. How Nine gained copies of Heroes Quirks is still being determined, but we can confidently say that scanning isn’t one of them.

Scanning lets me see and ‘read’ the Q-Fields that radiate off someone with a Quirk. This in layman’s terms let’s me determine a persons Quirk just by looking at them. Since Q-Fields are based off a persons will, I technically only read what the person thinks their Quirk does. It usually isn’t that big of a difference, but it’s a good enough reason to not become overly reliant upon it.

I can also ‘filter’ what kind of Quirk I’m scanning for, by thinking of a certain kind of Quirk and the lights that show up on people while Scanning is active changing to represent their similarity to that target. It’s likely That Nine or the person who gave All for One to him also gave him Scanning to make use of this feature to find a Quirk like Katsuma’s.

Scanning is vital when fighting a Villain, as it lets me instantly begin analyzing a Quirk without having to have it used against me first. The only way it could be better is if I had another vision quirk like Clair Voyance! It’s honestly my dream Quirk, but I can only imagine the terror this Quirk would hold in an unrestricted All for One user. Thankfully Kagome is on our side!

Quirk #10: Laser – Original Holder: Nine/Beamer

Originally called Laser Bullet, the boost of power within All as One evolved the Quirk to Laser. Instead of just shooting energy projectiles from the fingertips, I can now shoot beams of energy from my entire hand! Of course, there’s a range to my output, and I can fire it from both palms like a Kamehameha, or from just the tips of my fingers like before.

The projectiles have a level of controllability after being fired, allowing them to curve towards targets. However, this feature only works effectively in the smaller bullet form. The larger the Laser, the less it can be manipulated from its initial course.

They also can be modified slightly to produce different effects upon hitting a target, though again, this precision is lost in bigger attacks. They can be molded to pierce and slice through the target, or more explosively detonate their energy on contact.

The main issue with this Quirk is that it is easy to go overboard. Even the weakest output I can manage will leave burns on a target, and few people could take a full blast without keeling over. I’ve found the best method is to use low powered bullets on limbs and other non-vitals, then kicking it up to piercing bullets if they continue to resist.

Usually though, I just use Laser as a warning and to destroy Support Gear or other dangerous things from a distance. Once I can ensure a safe approach, Blackwhip or Hydra will work better to capture Villains.

Quirk #11: Air Wall – Original Holder: Nine/Windshield

Finally, a Quirk that can operate in a fully defensive function. While all the sensory, detection, and speed are good, it doesn’t hurt to be able to throw up a shield when the situation arises. Air Wall operates by allowing me to create simple gold barriers out of condensed air, and then releasing them for a pressurized blast of air if I wish.

The barriers originally had to be produced from a hand, limiting its functionality, but it’s boost allows them to now form anywhere around me. And as mentioned in the Float section, I can move them around me as well.

While the basic disc shape is what the Quirk seems to default to, the shape can actually be changed slightly. While there usually isn’t any advantage over the different shapes, since complexity makes the integrity of the shields unwieldy, the most useful alternate form is of a dome around me. This can create an effective bubble shield around me, along with allowing a force of wind exploding out in all directions upon release.

The Shields are far stronger if used for blocking precise attacks though, and with Danger Sense and Scanning, I can see every attack coming a mile away.

They can also be used as platforms for others, by floating them next to me. I can move a lot of people that way, though there is a weight limit, and the platforms will begin to fall afterwards. I can lift the platforms myself to offset this, but there will still be a larger weight limit at which point the platform shatters.

This Quirk is useful, and I know that Melissa and my Mom are happy knowing I can properly defend myself, even if the chances of me getting hit are pretty low with all my other Quirks.

Quirk #12: Hydra – Original Holder: Nine/Orochi

This Quirk was a bit awkward for me to get the hang of at first but has quickly proven to pull its weight as one of the most useful tools in my arsenal. While its uses may seem similar to Blackwhip at first, it has its own specialty’s that help distinguish it.

Hydra let’s me spawn blue, snake-like constructs from my back. They have movable jaws but lack fangs. The most important aspect of the Quirk, as guessed by the name, is the construct’s ability to split into multiple smaller versions of itself, either on destruction or on command.

These Hydras obviously lose strength the smaller they get, but even an eighth divided form of a Hydra can rival a normal person’s strength. Their durability has obviously been boosted by All as One, much more than Blackwhip has. This means I can send them forward as a scouting attack and judge an opponent’s skills from a safe distance. Most Villains can’t handle a swarm of giant snakeheads biting at them.

It has some excellent Quirk fusions as well. Wrapping in Blackwhip for extra durability. Using Laser to release energy blasts and beams from the Hydras mouths.

While it would be easy to just rely on Hydra, it does have the downside of not being able to equal the speed and power of my body proper. And as told to me by All Might, quickly and effectively resolving incidents is the mark of a true Hero.

It’s more efficient to simply rush down an opponent with my superior speed and strength, and use Hydra against those not easily beaten, or when there are multiple opponents grouped together. It’s also great at keeping opponents busy while I built Fa Jin for a decisive blow.

Quirk #13: Cellular Activation – Original Holder: Katsuma Shimano

The one and only Quirk that I’ve taken myself that I still have on me. As the name implies, the Quirk activates cells in myself or others, allowing for their function to keep running effectively. This includes things like healing, but also things like detoxing, increasing circulation, and a whole bunch of things. In short, Cellular Activation will allow the part of the body it’s used on to ‘energize’ itself to its best state.

I held onto this Quirk after we determined that it would cause Katsuma to possibly suffer from issues in the future, especially due to his growing body. Kagome offered to merge the copies, but he offered it to me instead, saying it was his way to be a Hero ahead of his peers. I’ll definitely have to hire him as a sidekick in the future.

Cellular Activation is not as effective a healing ability as Super-Regeneration but has the upside of being usable on others like Recovery Girls Quirk. And even better, unlike Recover, Cellular Activation doesn’t drain the stamina of the healed. That does mean that the stamina comes from me instead though.

Thankfully the power of All as One increases that reservoir of energy that I can call upon greatly. However, Cellular Activation isn’t a miracle cure. It can’t heal damage that the body wouldn’t naturally be able fix, so no regrowing lost limbs like Super-Regeneration. This means it’s still wiser to not get hit in the first place, though that’s not much of an issue for me.

I’ve learned that I can extend the effect of Cellular Activation through Blackwhip, but at a far higher cost, exponentially based off distance. Still incredible for emergencies though.

Cellular Activation will be a true lifesaver, for me and for others. I’m sure Katsuma will make a great Hero one day.