Chapter Text
Izuku Midoriya trudged down the dirt-paved roads of a forest in Mustafa, his head hung low and a blank, empty look on his face. He had no destination in mind, simply making his way down the sidewalk, letting himself stew in his emotions, or lack thereof. As it stood, all he could feel at the moment was pure emptiness, a swirling void of nothing where his heart should be.
Izuku hated feeling like this, but couldn’t bring himself to do anything about it. Today was without a doubt the worst day of his life, from Katsuki’s ‘advice’, to the villain attack, to his dreams getting crushed on the rooftop. Izuku was tired. He wanted to go to his room, fall asleep, and never wake up. But during his long trek back, his mind ended up drifting away from that goal to give attention to the million other thoughts clouding his brain.
Call it wishful thinking, but in his moment of hopelessness, Izuku couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if things were different. If he had been born with a Quirk, would Katsuki have stopped being friends with him? Would he not get singled out by his classmates and teachers? Would All Might have said yes to his question?
‘No, no, that’s stupid…’ he thought to himself, lightly shaking his head. ‘If I had a Quirk, then I wouldn’t have needed to ask All Might in the first place.’
He cut off his train of thought right there before it could go off the rails. His whole life, he wanted things to be different, but his wishful thinking never changed anything. Maybe he just had to accept what everyone at his school had been telling him for years: that he was a useless weakling who would never achieve anything with his life.
He took that realization as well as you’d expect, taking a deep, shuddering breath as tears streamed down his cheeks. He took a seat on a nearby rock and buried his face in his hands, letting out all the emotions he had bottled up throughout the day.
He had no idea how long he spent sitting there, quietly sobbing to himself, but he couldn’t say he felt any better afterwards. After letting all his feelings out, he was left with that same profound emptiness, somehow feeling more tangible than before. He couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.
Looking up from his lap, he sighed as he tried to take in the serene forest setting. Leaves fell all around him as the gentle breeze pushed them around, and the afternoon sun shone a spotlight down on him through a clearing in the trees. It was a breathtaking sight, he wished he wasn’t too stuck in his own head to enjoy it.
But even though the vibes went in one ear and out the other, the place still struck him with an odd sense of familiarity. He’d been here before, but the memory was foggy, like something his mind had tried to throw out in order to preserve space. It was probably a long time ago, back when he was just a kid, maybe even as far back as when he and Katsuki were still friends.
That’s when it hit him. Forcing himself up, he made his way to a wall of leaves and moss. He forced himself through the seemingly dead end, revealing a pair of small hills with a river in the middle and a fallen tree bridging the two sides. It didn’t take long for him to recognize it as the same river he and Katsuki used to explore as kids.
While it may have been a nostalgic scene for some, Izuku just stared blankly at the river, the sound of rushing water growing louder and louder in his mind. This was where it all began. Ever since that day, Katsuki had started to treat him differently. He always had a bit of a violent streak to him, but it wasn’t until a young Izuku offered to help him up that it became prevalent.
Years of taunts, insults, threats, and explosions to the face, all stemming from this one river. But why? What did he do to deserve all that? Was he just not supposed to help his friend up? Was being helpful what led him down this road of torment?
For years since then, Izuku had always mourned his and Katsuki’s lost friendship. But after what happened to him today, he started to see things in a different light.
He started to get mad.
He clenched a trembling fist, nails digging into his palms. He knew life wasn’t fair, but why was it always unfair toward him? Why did he have to be diagnosed Quirkless? Why did he have to have his best friend turn against him? Why did he have to become the entire school’s subject of ridicule?
There was no answer to any of these questions. Life just gave Izuku a bad hand and forced him to deal with it, and after over fourteen years, he finally started to resent it.
“GAAAAAAHHH!” With no outlet for his budding rage, Izuku turned to the nearest stump and drove his foot into it, hoping his kick would somehow be enough to tear it from the ground.
CLANG!
“OW!” He reeled back his foot, clutching his no doubt bruised toes as he hopped around in pain. “Owowowowow! What was that?” He looked back at the stump, which now carried a noticeable dent, making its metal exterior all the more obvious.
“What the…” Putting his prior concerns aside, Izuku let his curiosity take hold as he tapped his knuckles to the surface of the ‘stump’, which made another hollow clanging sound. He felt around the top until his fingers slipped under a panel of some sort. Removing it revealed a ladder, stretching so far down that it eventually faded into the darkness.
“This wasn’t here before,” he told himself, doubtfully shaking his head. If it was here all those years ago, Katsuki definitely would’ve found it and made it his new secret base. It was an anomaly, plain and simple.
Despite that, Izuku couldn’t shake the urge to descend the ladder and see what depths lay on the other side. It was like an otherworldly force was beckoning him down there, or maybe those were his old impulses acting up again. Either way, part of him knew he should be more hesitant to climb into a deep, dark hole, yet here he was.
As he descended deeper, the light above him growing dimmer and dimmer, he couldn’t help but notice just how clean the bars he was climbing down felt. With the whole ‘abandoned underground bunker’ vibe he was getting, he expected everything to be rustier and more decrepit. Maybe this bunker wasn’t as abandoned as he thought.
Worst case scenario: he was trespassing on private property.
He felt his feet touch the ground before those thoughts caused him to turn back. This caught him by surprise, as the light had grown so dim that he couldn’t even see the floor beneath him. He pulled out his phone to turn on the flashlight, only to realize that it was still flooded with slime. ‘Mom’s probably so worried about me by now.’
“HELLO?!” He shouted into the void, his voice echoing across the presumed walls. “IS ANYONE HERE?!” Against his better judgement, he took a few steps forward. “I’M SORRY FOR BREAKING IN, I JUST - WOAH!”
He tripped on an unseen object, which was how he learned the floors were made of metal. With a grunt, he pulled himself up, only to pause as the sound of mechanical whirring filled his ears. “What’s that? Did I just trip on a generator?” Apparently yes, as the light to the bunker switched on a few seconds later, giving Izuku a good look at his surroundings.
It was a rectangular room, plated by a dark gray metal on all sides, with a large red stripe lining each of the longer walls. Izuku‘s eyes instinctively followed the stripes until they led him to the other side of the room, where a giant computer and control pad took up the entire wall. On one side of the computer was a full-body mirror that looked like it’d seen better days. On the other side was a-
“GAH!” Izuku flinched back at the sight of a skeleton wearing a lab coat and sweatpants. For his own sake, he hoped that thing wasn’t real.
He tried not to make eye contact with the pile of bones as he walked up to the computer. Engraved in the front of the control panel were the letters ‘S.H.I.F.T.’ Izuku had no idea what that stood for, and he doubted he ever would.
His eyes darted around the expansive tray of buttons and levers. Some were labeled, most were not. The only part of the control panel he fully recognized was the keyboard and mouse that sat in the middle. Pressing a shaky finger on the space bar, his eyes were not prepared for the flash of blue light that followed.
“Hello user,” greeted a monotone robotic voice. “Please scan your hand to begin.”
“Scan my hand? Begin what?” Izuku asked the nonresponsive computer. Looking around the control panel, his eyes quickly landed on a hand-shaped scanner on the left side. He placed his right hand on the panel, and a loud DING sound soon followed.
“User identified as Izuku Midoriya, Timeline: FJ-93.”
“Wait, timeline?”
“Displaying adjacent timelines…” A large green circle suddenly appeared in the center of the screen, and dozens of smaller circles emerged from it, remaining connected by a series of white threads. Even smaller circles emerged from those circles, and the cycle continued until a spider web of circles was created, with his timeline remaining at the center of it all.
But that still didn’t answer the question of what these timelines were. Figuring he ought to find out, he grabbed the mouse and clicked on the largest green circle, which displayed footage of himself at the computer from a different angle. Izuku was understandably freaked out by this, pausing to double-check for any hidden cameras in the bunker. When his search came up short, he couldn’t help the ensuing wave of anxiety. He almost felt like a lab animal with a group of unseen scientists taking notes on his every move.
But what was perhaps more interesting was the header right above the footage, displaying what seemed to be a description of himself.
Izuku Midoriya: Timeline FJ-93
Age: 14
Blood type: O
Eyes: Green
Hair: Green
Quirk: None
Izuku came to a sudden realization at the description. To see if he was right, he exited the footage and clicked on one of the smaller circles. This time, he was shown footage of himself jogging down the sidewalk in exercise gear, along with another description.
Izuku Midoriya: Timeline CK-11
Age: 13
Blood type: B-
Eyes: Green
Hair: Green
Quirk: Fire Breath
Izuku’s eyes were comically wide as he reread the last line over and over again. Come to think of it, he didn’t remember owning that brand of exercise gear, especially not while he was thirteen. It was almost like he wasn’t looking at himself at all…
That’s when he realized the truth that’d been staring him in the face this whole time: the machine was showing him versions of himself from different timelines, and this one had a Quirk!
Izuku forced a lump down his throat as he clicked on a different circle, hoping this didn't mean what he thought it did. This timeline’s footage showed an older version of himself with a speed Quirk, running down the streets in a hero costume while chasing after a villain.
He switched to another version of himself, this one with a weapon-summoning Quirk, accepting a gold medal from All Might while atop the UA Sports Festival podium.
The next version of him tore through robots at the UA entrance exam with a laser Quirk.
The next one used his perception blocking Quirk to sneak into a villain’s lair and save a little girl.
The next one held up a collapsing building while green lightning emanated off him.
With every timeline Izuku checked, he found a version of himself who wasn’t born Quirkless. Even during times of peril, they wore wide smiles as they performed great feats with their respective Quirks, all of them living out their shared dream of heroism… except him.
After a while, Izuku stopped searching. He let go of the mouse and fell to his knees, staring down at the floor with wide, soulless eyes.
He couldn’t believe it - out of all the possible Quirks he could’ve ended up with, he was given nothing. All the other versions of him got to become heroes while Izuku was mocked and bullied for wanting to do the same.
Without looking up, Izuku slammed his hand down on the mouse to exit the footage. He had always feared it to be true, but now that he saw the bigger picture, he couldn't deny it any longer.
His life was meaningless.
He was a failure.
He was nothing.
Out of all the Izukus out there, he was the worst one.
———————————————
“IZUKU!” The boy didn't even flinch as his mother darted over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. “Izuku, where have you been? School let out hours ago! I called you, I texted you, I called Mitsuki, I checked in on the police station to make sure you-”
“I got attacked by a villain,” he cut her off, his voice no louder than a mutter. “My phone broke.”
This did little to quell his mom’s rising concerns. “You WHAT?! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did you get injured? Did the police bring you in? I should’ve gotten a call about-”
“It’s fine… I’m fine…” he assured her, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“Izuku, you went silent for hours because you were attacked by a villain! I’m sorry if I’m being overbearing, but I was worried about you.”
Through the stinging numbness, Izuku felt a small pang of guilt. He always hated seeing his mom worry about him. He bet his other selves weren’t nearly as much of a burden as he was. “I know, Mom. But it’s fine. It wasn’t even that bad.“ He forced a smile, which he hoped would calm her nerves.
She let go of him, scanning his face with an unsure look. It was almost like she could tell something else was wrong. “Izuku, if you’re not feeling alright, you know you can talk to me. Even if it’s something small, I’ll always be here to lis-”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, but even he knew how fake he sounded at that moment.
What would he even tell her? That alternate timelines exist, and she ended up with the worst version of her son? He couldn’t do that to her, not when she already struggled enough simply being around him.
With a resigned sigh, he walked past her and made his way to his room, failing to catch the concerned look on her face as he did so.
“I was just about to start on dinner. If you want, I can make katsu-”
Her voice cut off when Izuku shut the door.
———————————————
Izuku didn’t know how he mustered up the motivation to pull himself out of bed the next morning, much less drag himself all the way to school. Not that it mattered, everything the teacher said went in one ear and out the other.
He didn’t draw in his notebooks, he didn’t fidget in his seat, he didn’t even mutter; he just laid his chin on his desk while blankly staring out at nothing. What was the point when he already knew the universe had deemed him a failure of cosmic proportions? Where else could he possibly go from here?
More than once, the ‘advice’ Katsuki gave him yesterday popped into his head, but he just… couldn’t imagine himself going through with it. Maybe it was his last bit of stubbornness refusing to die, maybe it was the thought of his mom sobbing at his grave, maybe it was his own indecisiveness. Either way, that didn’t leave him with much else. All he could do was simply go through the motions for the rest of his empty, meaningless life.
Only seventy-three more years to go.
Sometime later, the lunch bell rang, signaling Izuku to pull himself from his desk and make his way to the cafeteria. Though if it was anything like breakfast this morning, he doubted he’d be able to taste much.
Trudging forward, his fog-filled mind failed to register the large back and broad shoulders in front of him until he bumped right into them.
“DEKU!” He hardly registered Katsuki’s yell. “The hell is your deal? You haven’t said a damn word today! You better not be planning something…”
Ah yes, classic Katsuki; doesn’t matter if Izuku’s muttering or not, he’ll find an excuse to get mad regardless. “I’m not planning anything,” he explained simply.
“Oh yeah?” He leaned down to meet Izuku face-to-face, squinting his eyes at him. “Why the hell should I believe you?”
“Because you were right.”
The way Katsuki’s scowl lightened told Izuku he wasn’t expecting that response. “…What?”
“You were right,” he repeated, his tone just as empty and desolate as before, “I can’t be a hero, I’ll never accomplish anything, I’m just a weak, Quirkless, useless Deku.”
Katsuki went silent at that, blinking at Izuku with a conflicted expression. As usual, he quickly hid all those emotions under a mask of apathy, scowling as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked off. “Whatever. Glad you finally learned your place.”
He did. In fact, he was more aware of his place than ever before.
———————————————
Despite everything he went through yesterday, despite all he just learned about his place in the universe, Izuku still found himself going back to the bunker after school that day. This may seem counterintuitive, but Izuku was already painfully aware that there was nothing left for him in this timeline. The best he could do was live vicariously through his alternate counterparts.
Which is exactly what he did. Timeline after timeline, he saw himself using whatever Quirk the universe gave them to perform insane feats of heroism; from beating villains, to saving lives, to inspiring others in ways he could never dream of doing.
“Oh, and look, this one has a girlfriend.” He switched to a timeline where he saw himself sharing a crepe with an auburn-haired girl with rosy cheeks. “She seems nice. Too bad she wouldn’t want anything to do this version of me.” He pointed a thumb at himself, like trash needing to be taken out.
Suddenly finding this timeline a bit too painful to look at, he exited the footage to find another timeline to view. He scrolled his mouse over to the bottom-left side of the screen, about to click on another circle, before a different sight caught his eye.
His one-track mind didn't catch it before, but he suddenly noticed a clickable tab at the bottom of the screen that read ‘Instructional Videos’. Figuring it would be wise to know how to operate a high-tech timeline-viewing machine like this, he clicked on the tab, directing him to a list of videos. He clicked the first one labelled ‘S.H.I.F.T. Basics’, and the video began to play.
“Hello, I am Professor Yujin from Timeline FT-19, and welcome to the instructional video for how to operate the S.H.I.F.T.,” greeted a tall woman with long brown hair, wearing a lab coat and sweatpants while standing in front of the machine in question. Immediately, Izuku’s eyes drifted to the similarly dressed skeleton rotting in the corner of the room. Already, he was beginning to grow weary.
“Thanks to my timeline’s unique advancements in technology, I was able to create the S.H.I.F.T., which stands for Scientific Hazard Initiator via Fracturing Timelines. Before you ask, yes, the name came before the acronym.” The scientist laughed at her own joke. Meanwhile, Izuku wondered what exactly those words meant.
“As you’ve no doubt figured out by now, the S.H.I.F.T. is capable of viewing alternate timelines.” She demonstrated by placing her hand on the machine, and a web of blue circles appeared on the screen. “But that’s only half its purpose. For you see, the S.H.I.F.T. is also capable of shifting probability itself to match your current timeline with any other one of your choosing.”
Izuku slammed his hands on the control panel and leaned toward the screen at the news. “Wait, you mean…”
“For example, if I were to click on this timeline right here,” she moved the mouse over to one of the many circles, “all I would need to do is press the ‘SHIFT’ button, and all unique traits from that timeline will copy over to this one.”
As soon as she pressed the button, the video began glitching out, stopping and stuttering as flashing particles danced across the screen. After a loud VWORP sound, the video recorrected itself, though Yujin’s hair was now blonde instead of brown.
“As you can see, your body will also change physically to match your alternate counterpart’s appearance, but so long as you’ve been exposed to the bunker’s Quirk-enforced walls for long enough, your mind will remember the original timeline, even after stepping outside.”
“But other than that, those are the very basics of operating the S.H.I.F.T. Have fun, and be sure not to overheat the-”
Izuku clicked out of the video, his barely-restrained excitement, once thought to have been long gone, now returning with a fierce vengeance. “This is incredible! To think, I went a whole day without noticing this!” He dumbly palmed the side of his head. All those versions of him were out there living better, more fulfilling lives, and now he could become any one of them! The possibilities were endless.
“Ooh, which should I choose? Which should I choose?” His mouse darted around the web of circles, cycling through timelines faster than he could think. “Well, I guess that depends on what exactly I want out of life…”
He didn’t have to ponder that query for long. “A Quirk, that’s what I want!” With a Quirk, not only could he fulfill his dreams of heroism, but he wouldn’t be such an outcast at school, and maybe Katsuki would actually be his friend.
“Ok, but which Quirk do I want?” At that question, a million possible outcomes zoomed through his mind like a line of cyclists racing the Tour De France. He’d seen so many Quirks while he was viewing all those timelines. How could he ever pick just one?!
“Maybe the fire breath Quirk? Or that speed Quirk? What about the weapon-summoning Quirk? Ooh, and that green lightning looked cool! GAH! I’ll just have to pick randomly.” Shutting his eyes, he jiggled his mouse around and clicked on whichever circle it happened to be hovering over.
Reading the timeline’s description revealed he’d landed on Attraction, the same Quirk as his mom’s. “Perfect! The Quirk I was always meant to have! I couldn’t think of anything better!”
He could almost envision the hero he was about to become, the very thought making him vibrate in place. Not wanting to waste any more time, he selected the timeline and held his hand over the same ‘SHIFT’ button he’d seen in the video.
He might not have been able to accomplish anything in this timeline, but with one press of a button, he could finally live out his dreams, he could finally become someone of note, he could finally stand toe-to-toe with his peers.
He could finally feel good about himself.
His fist slammed on the button, and everything went white as a loud sound filled his ears, one he would soon become very familiar with.
VWORP!