Chapter Text
Waking up in a cold dark room of steel was not how he thought he’d be spending his afternoon.
He doesn't remember how he got there and he has no clue who this man is sitting in front of him. He is a mutant type for sure, that's obvious based on the cat-like features Deku can see on the other man.
Ok, that's a lie- he does know that he’s in an interrogation room, however as for why he’s here- that's what he hasn’t a clue about.
He tries to search his memory, but there is a static haze buzzing up in his brain the moment he begins to think too hard about it.
Or about anything really.
A bright light suddenly flashes on infront of him and he's started to see that the lone cat man is not actually alone. Two additional officers- dressed in black with sunglasses over their eyes- can be seen hidden in the back by the large steel door. Izuku deduces that this is his only exit point. The only other possible exit being the one way mirror on the opposite side of him. However, he doubts that would act as a very good escape route.
The cat finally speaks up after Izukus raises his hand to shield his eyes from the blaring light, “Izuku Midoriya?”
He says like it's a question, as if there is any doubt that the freckled face and head of unruly curls could belong to someone else.
“Y-yes?” deku asks back, not sure where this is all going.
The cat man lets out a huff before he continues, “That's your name, correct?”
Deku nods.
“ Say it then.”
Hm , Deku thinks, perhaps one of the men in the back has a truth quirk, They are trying to get him to admit something. Is this about One For All?
After meditating on whether he should reply, he decides it's best to cooperate for now. “ My name is Izuku Midoriya”
After he says that a ping from a com inside the Cats ear is heard and the cat makes a distressed face.
Suddenly a voice can be heard over a loudspeaker.
“ That's enough for me.”
Confused, Deku begins to feel unsettled. He has no clue where he is and has no idea who these people are. Are these people involved with some sort of villain agency? Was he captured by the league on his last patrol and drugged so he would forget how he got here?
He motions to stand up and fight when the Men dressed in black approach him but he's unable to actually stand. In the haze of it all he never realized he was cuffed to the table.
This realization causes Izuku to panic and the men in the room start closing in on him.
“Kid-” one of the strangers start.
But in the heat of the moment, flooded with sudden adrenaline, Deku rips the cuffs clean off the table in his rush to stand to defend himself and sends the chair he was sitting on flying behind him. His quirk activated as the three men suddenly rush to grab him, trying to hold him down by his arms. A paw takes hold of his wrist but he breaks free when he’s suddenly jumping back with 30 percent cowling. He has propelled himself off the wall behind them- jumping above the heads of the bodyguards and onto the wall adjacent to the door.
He hears the knob turn just as he’s preparing to leap again, this time with enough strength to send him bulldozing through whoever is foolish enough to come through that door to attack him.
I need to get the hell out of here! He thinks as the door begins to open.
He's blasting with 45 percent now, determined to completely blast his way past whoever was in his way. Moving quick enough to evade being caught by the hands of the men in suits, He feels his feet leave the wall and the air rush past him as he leaps across the room. The light from the hallway tells him the rest of the building is lit well and he is coherent enough now to know that that's a good thing.
He’ll have an easier time finding an escape route once he’s out of the r-
-and suddenly he’s being clothes lined.
With an OMF Izuku is halted mid jump, a strong biceps has proved to be an immovable barrier in his way to freedom. The arm throws off his inertia and he is slammed to the ground. Izuku is lying in a confused daze on the floor. The power he was putting into that should allow him to move much quicker than anyone should be able to see- let alone react and counter.
Its while he’s on his back contemplating life that he thinks further-
The only person whose even come close to reacting to this other than all might is-
He finds himself dizzy again, eyes struggling to focus. He swears he must be seeing things.
I must be.
Because that's the only god damn way he’d be seeing Kacchan above him.
His mind is still reeling from the quick block, and he was already thinking of Bakugou- the only person other than Allmight who can predict his lightning speed movements- that's why this strange man standing in front of him looks just like him.
Strange Adult man. And Kacchan is a teenager like me.
“ Well, nerd- ” Not Kacchan says, looking down at him.
“-Good to see you again”
And then Katsuki does something, and now Deku knows it couldn’t be Kacchan.
Above him where he’s been knocked to the ground and still dazed from the take down- his head spinning from the sudden movement and the light and the confusion- Deku sees Kacchan smile.
~~~~~
Izuku soon realizes that it wasn't fake and this wasn't a dream.
He’s been moved from the dark interrogation room- turns out he was in the Musutafu police department. Held there once him and three other UA students were found by a woman taking a run with her dog through a community park.
“Deku!” The relieved voice of Uraraka rang through the room as he walked onto the investigation floor.
She stood up from her seat next to the other two victims.
“ It's good to see that you are OK, Midoriya!” Iida’s voice is unmistakable.
Deku, not quite sure what to do, just lifts his hand to scratch behind his neck while he walks up to the two, thanking them for being worried.
“Tsk, I wasn't worried about shit! Hell if I care what happens to you.” Katsuki says from his seat over at the other desk. “ Nerd”, he adds- just for the hell of it.
Izuku almost gets whiplash from the contrast in tone between the two Kacchans.
While the other wasn’t jumping for joy- the young Katsuki looked like he wanted to kill him at the moment.
However, when the other Katsuki entered the younger one completely tensed up.
And, Yeah , Izuku gets that.
Seeing someone else with his face would freak him the fuck out too. No wonder Kacchan is so snappy right now.
He sees the other Katsuki talking to the Cat guy who- in the light of day- looks a lot more scrawny and less threatening than under the glaring spotlight that was shown on the both of them.
That's probably the point of the spotlight, he thinks.
The two are talking out of reach so he can't hear them. His two friends beside him are in the process of freaking out, so that is making it even more difficult to focus on the voices across the room.
“Did you see him! That guy looks just like Bakugo!” Uraraka is shouting. She does that when she’s anxious.
“ Calm down, Uraraka! I'm sure there is a simple explanation!” Iida tries to calm her down next to him.
Izuku is going back and forth between his two friends and the Kacchan imposter.
That's what it has to be right? A face stealing quirk? Maybe he works for the police? Were we involved in a villain attack?
The man with the face stealing quirk isn’t in cuffs, so he must be on their side.
But why would he have a Kacchan face? Nothing is making sense.
In fact, Izuku begins to really stop and take in his surroundings- nothing looks right.
The room, the people, the technology- everything is different from how it should be. He’s been on the investigation floor enough times to know what it should look like. This room is definitely not what it is supposed to be.
He ducks his head and whispers to his friends.” …. Guys…. Guys!” he tugs on Uraraka’s shirt to break her from the rant she was having with Iida.
“This place- it's a facsimile of what it should be- somethings wrong.”
“What did they tell you when you woke up?” Izuku asks the two of them in a hushed voice.
“ Nothing at all, and they wouldn't answer any of my questions,” Iida says.
“I woke up in an interrogation room and they asked me my name and some things about my family? That's it. Then they took me out and I saw Iida-kun and Bakugou waiting out here. How about you?”
“Pretty much the same, I tried to escape because I thought they might be villains, but I was caught by him” he points to the face stealer.
All three of them turn to Katsuki, knowing he was listening to their conversation, expecting an answer on his own experience. He just ‘tsk’ again and looks away.
~~~~~
Katsuki woke up suddenly in a dark steel room. Hands cuffed to the table with Quirk suppressing restraints.
What the fuck? He thinks angrily.
He tries to pry them off, pulling and squirming, working up a sweat- but to no avail. Nothing happens.
A loud voice is heard over the speaker hidden in the corner of the room “ Having fun ?”
Katsuki can't help but think the voice is an annoying grate on his ears- be it eerily familiar.
He lets out a puff from his nose and his teeth begin to grate together.
“ When I get out of here- I'm blowing your fucking skull so high- so fucking fast -you’ll still be conscious enough to recognize your being blown into the stratosphere”
There is a brief pause before, in a bored tone, the voice replies “ you’re”
Which makes no fucking sense because this was a verbal conversation.
The whites in his eyes become visible as Katsuki grows more and more infuriated.
He somehow finds the strength to stand and the force - while not enough to pull his cuffs from the table, does leave the cuffs screeching and groaning uncomfortably.
“ ALRIGHT- alright- calm the fuck down. Just sit down and tell me your name.”
“ HUUUHHHHHH???? I AIN'T DOING SHIT FOR NO ONE. Show me your face, anonymous Bastard!”
He’s loud and still straining the cuffs. The Man in black hidden in the corner begins to sweat- of course they leave him in the room with the kid while they get to hide safely behind the two way mirror.
Said man in black- with the face of a cat- talks into his ear piece, attracting the attention of a furious Katsuki.
“Ok- yeah he’s definitely Katsuki Bakugou”
“OF COURSE I AM- AND WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU”
“ No, we need to be absolutely sure.” Says the voice on the other side of the wall.
“God, dammit” growls at the cat.
“ What was the name of your childhood stuffed animal?”
“ HUH!?” Bakugou asks angrily.
“ You know the one. The green Brontosaurus whose scales made it look like a strawberry. ”
The blond seemed to have become so angry that he’s no longer shouting- just a cold seething fury. “ I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
“ OH I remember- it was-”
“ SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH RIGHT NOW!”
“ - ichidoriya.”
~~~~~
The four teens were left without answers for a couple more hours. After being reunited- they were moved to a meeting room on the other side of the building- led by you guessed it - Tsukachi.
The man with the truth telling quirk himself, friends with All Might, and- looking about an hour away from his deathbed.
“ Tsukauchi'' Izuku couldn't help but ask, “what happened to you? You look like hell.”
The man just looks back at the boy, much younger than he ever remembered him being, and sighs.
“You.”
Simple enough.
The four were dropped off in the room without another word to them.
This confused Izuku. They were obviously in the care of the Musatafu police, and he knew he could trust Tsukauchi, but none of them had gotten an explanation on how they had gotten there or What had happened?
In fact-
Not only were they not saying anything to them, they weren’t saying anything , no one was. At least not within ear shot. Not a single person would talk to them. They would look at them- like the words were stuck in their throats- but they wouldn't actually speak.
It was about 5 hours in their confinement when the door opened for the first time and the face stealer walked in.
Katsuki tensed again, but said nothing.
The face stealer looked at them- just like the others- words stuck in his throat, but didn't say anything.
Eventually Izuku couldn’t take it, he had to know.
Deku leaned right over and looked right at the man, almost on top of him at this point.
“ Why do you have Kacchan’s face? Is it your quirk? Why not mine or Uraraka’s? If you want information out of us- you picked the wrong person to emulate.”
The other Katsuki just looked at him surprised, then suddenly burst out laughing.
“Oh god,” he’s curled over at this point.
No one is used to seeing Katsuki's face look like that- laughing. A feeling of deep rooted uncomfortable washes through everyone.
“- for a genius, you sure are dumb!” The other Katsuki can't stop laughing through it.
The laugh was loud and would be infectious in any other situation.The four kids just continue to look at the strange man's faces in confusion and irritation.
Deku took a moment to actually study the other- not sure why it took this long for him to actually get the chance to sit down and look at him. The strange man looked just like Katsuki , but older of course. He was tall, well over 180 centimeters, and muscular. He looked like he works as a hero.
Casual fitness and real fitness don't look the same. There is a very clear difference between some civilian who works out 5 times a week just to look good, and a hero .
It’s not just the muscle, it's the attitude; the way you walk into a room and the way you present yourself- like you know everything.
This man seemed like he knew how to command a room in a way only a pro hero could.
Despite the fact that he is laughing his ass off right now, Izuku still gets the feeling he could react to a change in a situation in an instant. If he were to attack him now it would be just like before: down and out before he has the chance to realize he’s been beat.
Deku also observes what the man is wearing- a lot of tactical gear- like he’s just coming off a shift at the fire station. Baggy pants tucked into boots with sturdy suspenders that are built into his black t-shirt holding his pants up. The suspenders are big, Bright orange, and in the shape of an ‘X’ buckled together in the center across his chest. He isn’t wearing any gauntlets , but there are sleek black bracers on his forearms. There is also a mask with a skull hung around his neck, similar to the one Deku wears, and his hair is pushed back with a bandana.
The older man finally stops laughing and settles into a chair across from them on the long table in the center of the meeting room they are in.
“Dammit Deku-” he says wiping a tear from his eye.
”You always know how to make me laugh” he finishes again with a smile, face red from laughter.
Holy shit this is freaky, Deku thinks.
“ What the hell is with that face!” Bakugou suddenly shouts. Saying what everyone wants to ask.
“Oh, sorry I forgot- I'm not supposed to be able to do this yet” the face stealer says with an attitude, like he’s talking to a pet who can only understand you when you speak in a baby voice.
He’s gesturing to his face, the smile still present but it has faded to a more subtle version- no longer a grin.
“WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN! WHY WONT YOU TELL US SHIT?”
The older man cringes “ Alright- Jesus, calm down. There is no need to shout, I'm right here.”
Bakugou stands and slams his hands down on the table in fury, “I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU WANT , what the fuck is going on shit face!”
The other Bakugou seems to lose his cool just as quickly “ DAMMIT- IF YOU NEED TO KNOW SHIT, YOU’LL KNOW IT! BUT FOR RIGHT NOW YOU’RE SITTING AND WAITING PATIENTLY .”
The older one reaches his hand over and grabs onto the other's head, roughly forcing him to sit down in his chair again. Deku can't help but realize that the two are eerily similar. Shocking, I know.
However, this man doesn't just look like Bakugou- he acts like him too.
Not in the sense that someone with a transformation quirk would be replicating personalities.
And besides- if someone with a replication quirk turned into Bakugou, wouldn’t they look just like him? Why age him at all?
But before he can ask any questions the door opens and Tsukachi and the cat man come in.
The Bakugou who was scolding the other one sees them and moves to sit back in his chair, professional once again. The two men walk up to the head of the table and look toward the older Katsuki, which infuriates the younger. He’s very obviously seething in his chair where he is sat.
“We’ve just had word with number one, he’s on route now- ETA 5 mins”
Older Katsuki looks surprised.
“That quick? What in the hell did you tell him was happening?”
“We weren't sure how much information to disclose over coms- might be risky- so we just said that he needed to return ASAP and that it involved you, Dynamite sir.”
He chuckles again, “ well- that’ll do it.”
Bakugou freezes again when he hears the hero name of the man in front of them.
Deku himself can relate- he’s fed up with being left in the dark. They have been stuck in this building for hours with no food or water and he’s starting to get a bit fucking hangry.
He stands from his seat and coughs to get everyone's attention, “ I agree with Kacchan- I would also like to know what we are doing here- and why you’ve all been so selective with your words. Who are you and what are you keeping from us?”
Big Kacchan just turns to coo at him, “ look at that, always the little diplomat.”
Tsukachi and the cat man look at one another and seem to have come to an agreement. Tsukachi steps forward to say something.
“ I'm sure you have lots of questions, first I’d like to just say- my apologies for locking you up, we had to confirm your identities. Hence the questions earlier,” Tsukachi starts- but once again a loud entrance disrupts the conversation.
Because if your gonna make an entrance- you better make it a fucking ENTRANCE.
A tall figure jumps through one of the windows and into the room. The sound of glass shattering interrupts whatever Tsukachi was going to say next. All eyes are drawn to the back of the room where a lone figure stands with his back to the group. The figure is breathing heavily- like he had run a marathon- but he isn't looking toward the group.
From where he stands everyone can see him- his build is incredibly large- his outfit, undoubtedly a hero costume of some sorts. The costume is mostly black and teal. Blocky lightning-like shapes flow all over the main body of the suit. It stretches from the large support gear around his neck and shoulders, all the way down to the chunky support gear he has over his boots- ones that reach all the way up to his thighs.
Once he’s caught his breath- he slowly moves his arms in a flexing motion- moving them from in front of him to a pose where his fist is reaching up into the sky in a very obvious Allmight fashion.
All the while he is starting to speak.
As he’s shifting he starts “ I-
He moves his feet so his weight is equally distributed beneath him
“ - AM-”
Finally the man turns towards them, fist pounding the air and causing a small breeze to flow in the room.
“-HERE!”
The man shouts.
Over from his seat, An older Bakugo Kasuki reaches onto the table and finds a pen- then he throws it at the man who just rudely entered through the shattered window.
“What the hell, Deku? Ever heard of using a fucking door?”
“Oh!”
The man drops his pose, surprise written on his face “ Kacchan! You're alright!”
The four kids sit completely stunned.
Because what the hell is Izuku Midoriya doing- built as hell and jumping through windows- across the room from them when he is also standing at the table right next to everyone in complete shock.