Chapter 1: 8 Years Has Passed
Chapter Text
8 years.....
8 years have passed since the war between Shigaraki and All For One had finished. The Paranormal Liberation Front had been defeated, and ever since then, the Heroes have been slowly but surely rebuilding society after what happened during the war.
Not just the heroes, but the civilians are gathered to help with the restoration plan that was implemented to help rebuild what was lost with the support from the other heroes who have voluntered. Crime had also gone down thanks to the presence of heroes from overseas who came, but also because of the effort of the Hero who brought an end to the villains, Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku.
But unfortunately, their threat isn't over just yet, as they were about to face another threat that was coming from a place that no one had ever expected.
The space...
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*BEEP BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP BEEP* *BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Izuku grogily wakes up at the sound of the alarm going off in front of him, and he slaps the alarm off, turning the sound off.
Izuku stared unblinkingly at his alarm clock, counting down the seconds until the alarm would go off, signaling the start of his day. Izuku had always been the type of person who needed to hit the snooze button, often more than once, before he was awake enough to go about his daily routine.
He lightly rubbed his eye and slowly got up from his bed, heading to the sink and splashing his face with water from the sink and staring at himself in the mirror. Izuku has grown taller and more mature than he was eight years ago, with his hair having grown back and returned to its original style, though it is now slightly parted at the right.
He stared at himself, seeing how much he had changed ever since the war happened. If you ask how Izuku's life was in recent years, he would say that it was quite eventful. A lot of things have happened in these 8 years. In these 8 years, he had brushes with death so many times that she lost count.
There were Shigaraki and All For One, who had declared war against the Hero Society. Izuku still holds some regret that he couldn't save Shigaraki from dying, but was assured by All Might that he managed to save Shigaraki's soul by vanquishing his pain, and that he managed to complete the duty of One For All, showing how proud he was to be his mentor.
After being rendered Quirkless again with only the leftover embers of One For All remaining, Izuku tries to put on a brave front, but is visibly distraught over his time as a hero seemingly running out, and missed his chance to say goodbye to the past users, especially Nana and Yoichi, the First User.
Over time, Izuku had gradually lost One For All and left him quirkless once more before he received a gift from All Might and Class A, who happened to be working on a project of mechanized suits for him. While Izuku was hesitant to accept a mechanized suit as a gift from All Might and Class A, the former Symbol of Peace recognized that Izuku still had the heart of a hero and told him that he had earned it fair and square.
A beeping of his phone broke her out of his thought, and he came to pick it up from the nightstand.
He checked over his phone and saw a text message coming from Shinso.
Shinso: Hey, it's me
Shinso: Don't forget that we had an alumni party at Kaminari's friend's bar in Downtown
Shinso: I'll pick you and Sero at night.
Looking at the text messages, he then recalled their meet-up at the bar today. It was a small party filled with many alumni from UA, from class A, class B, Big Three, and Hatsume.
And she would also be there...
He then gets dressed up quickly after looking at the clock on how late he was and heads towards UA before he's late for his job today after catching up with the train.
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Being a teacher at UA is a new experience that he can't exactly draw up even up to now. It's been almost a couple of years since he took the job to become a teacher after Aizawa sensei had offered it to him before.
He had to admit that it has its perks and sometimes can relate to how Aizawa sensei feels when he teaches his class on how to control this many students with their eccentric personalities, from what Aizawa sensei said to him. He had decided to take up Midnight's old job as the History Teacher.
UA itself has changed quite a lot right now after eight years. Principal Nezu had retired about 4 years ago and had taken up an early retirement to focus on his personal research on different matters outside of the heroic world. The other teacher remains to stay in UA and continues to become a teacher, with the exception of All Might, who chooses to become a liaison for HPSC, helping with Hawks.
"Okay, don't forget your homework for today, and I expect you guys to finish it before Wednesday. And we'll be having a test next week for today's subject, so don't forget that." Izuku said while putting his belongings back in his bag, bidding his farewell to his class.
He walked out of the class and made his way to the hallway while students were walking and hanging out after class was over. A few of the students were playing around on their phones and watching the latest news of the Hero World right now.
Upon walking, he spotted a glance from the stairway about the news of Dynamight from the Hero Promotion Association official site, interviewing about his feat of last month, stopping an armed robbery at Musutafu Bank, which earned a lot of praise from the civilians.
He had to admit that Katsuki had changed a lot in the last couple of years and had mellowed his anger after battling with Shigaraki and having his life saved by Best Jeanist and Edgeshot during the war eight years ago.
"Midoriya," someone called his name from behind. He turned around and saw Principal Vernies, the new Principal who took the job after Principal Nezu had resigned.
"Ah, Principal Vernies. What can I do for you?" he asked, wondering why she would want to talk to him.
"I was thinking that we could have a conversation in my office if you please," she replied, giving a soft smile to him, and he returned.
Soon, both of them made their way to his office. He went inside, noticing how the office itself is different compared to the time Principal Nezu was still on the job. The plaques and awards that used to decorate the walls were now replaced with paintings and his picture in front of the UA building on the first day, and there was a tall mirror on the side of the room, but he paid no mind to it.
"So, how's life after the war? I heard about your grand feat of defeating that villain All For One before."
"Well, I tried working for it. I've been focusing on my job as an instructor and working for the new generation this time."
"I see, your presence has been inspiring a lot of young heroes to follow your footsteps. You're an inspiration for us all."
"Thank you, I appreciate it."
Since Principal Nezu had resigned from his position, Principal Vernies and Izuku had a close relationship with one another. He likes to confide in her about more than just work-related stuff, and she likes to talk with him as well, telling him how she too, had passion outside of UA and previously was a professor at the university for extraterrestrial matter.
"I was hoping that I would talk to you about our new global study course for the Heroic Class this year." Principal Vernies offered, mentioning their new school program this year, "Aizawa sensei had work business, and he said that he's planning for his wedding, so I figured that you would want to take the job for the time being."
Upon hearing that, Izuku couldn't help but wince slightly at her words just now. It's been quite a while since he participated in anything related to the heroic world, since he's been cooped up in UA this last couple of months.
Ever since the embers of One For All faded away, Izuku had long accepted becoming Quirkless again, as he went on to become a teacher at UA is content with using his experience to help and encourage others. His class had also given him a mechanized suit as a gift from All Might, and Class A, the former Symbol of Peace, recognized that Izuku still had the heart of a hero and encouraged him to become one again, but he rarely went out in public to even participate in patrols or fighting against villains.
"B-But what about Snipe sensei, I meant he too was the Heroic Teacher for the Second and Third Year, right?" Izuku asked, trying to excuse himself from the job.
"I was thinking about it before, but he was too busy with the roster this year, and I don't think letting him handle the whole students inside the institute alone would be beneficial, let alone outside of Japan. Besides, it's a good opportunity for you, you'll be travelling around the world and see many things." Principal Vernies replied, suggesting he take the offer.
He understands where she's coming from, but he didn't feel confident at all about going out and wearing his mechanical suits like he was ashamed of himself. Sure, the quirkless point of view had decreased over the years, and people were becoming open-minded with the fact right now, but he still can't help but feel ashamed by coming out in public wearing an invention when he once had One For All and became the hero everyone knew.
"I-I'll think about it for now. I had to ask Aizawa sensei before I decided to take the job," he replied.
"Sure, by all means. I let you think about it for a week, because I need to update the new teaching structure and inform the staff as well."
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Izuku bid his farewell and made his way out of the office while pondering the offer just now. He didn't know why, but he couldn't wait to just head to the party tonight and drown himself in booze.
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"Yaoyorozu, I am so happy to see you!" Mina exclaims as she hugs the heiress.
She gives Mina a soft smile and says, "Likewise, Ashido! How is your son doing?"
"He is always cranky but silent when Kiri is around. So it seems like he is in a good mood", Mina said while cradling Riku, their newly born son.
Momo takes Riku from her and starts gushing over him, which causes the baby to laugh, while Shoto heads over to see Kirishima setting the table with snacks and says, "You seem to be excited today".
"Well, they are going to announce the new Billboard Chart this year. So obviously I am excited", Kirishima said, "Of course, you're obviously gonna be in the top 3, huh buddy?"
Shoto sighs and says, "If Bakugou comes to know about this, he will kick your ass for saying that".
"Let him be dear. Even I am excited to see how well you did", Momo says as she sits on the chair. The bartender gives a glass of water to Momo, and Mina asks, "So when is the due date?"
"Almost three months", Kirishima said, and he turned to Shoto and asked, "Are they coming?"
"Should be, Shinso is picking up Midoriya and Sero right now. Hagakure and Tsuyu are driving with Tokoyami. Bakugou is on his way. Jirou said that she had a concert in America, so she said that she couldn't come. And the rest of class B said that they could make it." Shoto sighs and nods in agreement. He had forced each one of them to take a day off today to gather up.
Suddenly, Momo says, "Speaking of rankings, I heard from Itsuka that Pony is in the top 50 American Heroes." Pony went to America to become a hero. Pony left as soon as she finished her graduation.
Suddenly, the bell at the entrance rings, and they hear a gruff voice say, "I hope that we are not late". It was Katsuki, Sato, and Kaminari all coming together.
"Hey, you made it." Kirishima came and slapped both Sato and Kaminari in the back.
"Where are the others?" Shoto asks.
"Izuku is parking his car along with others. Mineta and Shoji said that they will come a bit late", Katsuki said in his gruff voice. Katsuki has changed a lot in these eight years. He started to call everyone by their names, rather than his signature insults; he has become very mellow.
"I am glad you guys came", Mirio says genuinely.
"That was the least we could do", Kaminari said, who had an unexpected haircut.
"Kyoka said that she was busy with the world tour this year, but she sent her regards to all of you.", Kaminari said, who took Jirou's family name after their marriage. While Kaminari was a capable hero, Jirou's work schedule was very tight. After her performance in UA, she not only became a pro-hero but also a singer. Hence, she was very popular among teens.
The door came open, and Izuku, along with Shinso and Sero, walked by, "Hey, guys, sorry if we're late."
"No, you're just in time." Kirishima came to greet Sero and joined with him and Bakugou, while Shinso was being called by Shoto, and he later called Izuku as well.
"So how does being a teacher feel like?" Shoto asked, trying to lead the conversation.
"It has its ups and downs, but I've been managing it," Izuku replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, I heard. Say, it's been a while since I saw you getting back in the game, huh?" Shinso asked, remembering how very often he saw the green-haired participating in patrol.
"Y-Yeah, I've been trying to find the time, but it's pretty hard with the semester and all of that," he excused himself.
"Say, Shoto, how's life treating you in America?" Shinso asked the dual-haired colored person standing near him.
"It was pretty good. All Might had offered to talk with his old friends back there, and I'm gonna be debuting myself about a week."
"So how long are you gonna be there?"
"Probably around 6-8 months. Yaoyorozu is also gonna head the same way, but she went to Singapore instead." Shoto said, remembering how his wife was excited to get an invitation endorsed by Big Red Dot himself at the time.
After what happened during the war, Shoto had decided to make his debut outside of Japan as his way to redeem himself to his father and his whole family's mistake by helping out in a different country that has troubles. Seeing his resolution, All Might had offered to put in a good word with his friends in America and help him start there.
Not just Shoto, but his friends had reached out to other places then Japan. Yaoyorozu went to Singapore, Koda went to Africa, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu went to Mexico, Ibara went to Brazil, Monoma, along with Tsuburaba, chose to go to Europe, and Sero went to Malaysia and Indonesia back to back a couple of times.
Slowly, the bar started to fill. Tsuyu and Tokoyami came in, followed by Hagakure and Ojiro. Both pairs had an engagement ring on their finger after waiting so long for their husband. Then Mirio came with his wife, Nejire, who came to greet them in a cheerful tone as always, much to everyone's surprise, finding that her bubbly attitude remains present up to this day.
Over the course of fifteen minutes, the bar was filled with Class A, Class B, Nejire's best friend Haya Yuyu, and some of Mirio and Tamaki's friends. The people who were not present were Jirou and Aoyama, the latter for obvious reasons.
The bar gets filled over time, filled with alumni from UA, as they were all talking in their own group and catching up with one another. Even Katsuki, who wasn't good at socializing, also joins in and has a conversation with his old squad, the Bakusquad.
Izuku is having a small talk with Iida and Shoto, talking about their current life now that Shoto has taken up his father's mantle as the new Hero for the Todoroki family and Iida for the Idaten Family. He glances at the surroundings before he spots someone walking by the door, and he is immediately mesmerized by her presence.
Uraraka walks in, and he immediately looks at her from afar while blushing. She has become taller, while her face has become more angular, and her eyes slightly narrower. The blush markings on her cheeks are also slowly fading as she gets older. Her figure became noticeably more mature and athletic, with her hair and bangs being slightly longer.
She looked around and looked at the bartender's counter and waved his hand while walking in his direction. Izuku held a smile as she walked up to the bar direction and called.
"Katsuki."
She walked by, passing Izuku's group and towards his rear, where Katsuki and the rest of the Bakusquad gathered. He smiles at her before greeting her and gives a quick peck on the cheek. Izuku didn't turn around, trying to hide the sad smile on his face watching she ran past him like that.
After the war had happened, Izuku had decided to brave himself up and try to ask Uraraka out for a date. He knew that he had a crush on her, after being noted by plenty of his friends, and she felt the same way since the day started. He decided to ask her out and try to confess his feelings towards her, only to find that she had moved on and gone to Katsuki instead.
It was a sting feeling on him, to know that his friend had taken up the girl that he liked, but he knew that it was his fault for being too late like that. He was a shy kid at the time, and he didn't dare to take a leap of faith like that and confess to his feelings.
"It is starting, guys", Mina said from her seat while cradling, now sleeping, Riku. Izuku is seen with a drink and a somber look on his face, as if he were thinking about something.
"GOOD EVENING JAPAN!" the host shouts, and the crowd goes wild. The screen on the stage lit up with an abstract flow of designs as the host continued speaking, "I AM YOUR LOVELY HOST, MIYAZAKI SAKURA, AND TODAY, I WELCOME ALL OF YOU TO THE ANNUAL JP HERO BILLBOARD CHARTS."
The crowd roars in delight, and Kaminari, who winces slightly at the sound, reaches for the remote and, while adjusting the volume, he says, "The crowd sure is going wild."
"TODAY, ALONG WITH YOU, LOVELY CROWD, WE ALSO HAVE THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HPSC PRESIDENT JOINING US ON THIS SPECIAL OCCASION, PLEASE WELCOME OUR CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE HPSC BOARD, HAWKS", and the screen lights up with the images of Hawks walking to the podium and wearing an orange suit jacket with a blue pinstripe dress shirt underneath.
"Hawks sure has changed a lot," Tokoyami commented on his old mentor.
"You talked to him recently?" Ojiro asked.
"Only a couple of times, he's been busy with plenty of paperwork and meetings in there, but we still stayed in contact," he answered.
"AND LASTLY I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW SOME SPOTLIGHT TO OUR TOP 50 HEROES AND TO OUR LOVELY CROWD WHO CAME HERE TO SUPPORT THEM, BECAUSE WITHOUT YOU, HEROES ARE NOTHING", the host said, and the whole crowd cheered. The host gives a very bright smile, literally, and says, "AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S BEGIN THE JP BILLBOARD RANKING CHARTS!"
"At number 50 comes Sweets Hero: Sugarman", the announcer said, to which everyone started clapping for him, to which he responded quite well. The rankings go on, and the results were simple and short.
Sweets Hero: Sugarman (Rikido Sato) -50th
Voice Hero: Present Mic (Hizashi Yamada) -45th
Stun Gun Hero: Chargebolt (Denki Kaminari) -44th
Mechanical Hero: Deku (Izuku Midoriya) -43rd
Punching Hero: Death Arms - 42nd
Flesh Hero: Shishikross (Seiji Shishikura) -41st
Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu (Ryuko Tatsuma) -40th
Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl (Toru Hagakure) -39th
Taping Hero: Cellophane (Sero Hanta) -36th
Rainy Season Heroine: Froppy (Tokoyami Tsuyu) -34th
Comic Hero: Comicman (Fukidashi Manga) -33rd
Martial Arts Hero: Tailman (Mashirao Ojiro ) -32nd
Hearing Heroine: Earphone Jack (Kyoka Jiro) -30th
Ridley Hero: Pinky (Mina Ashido) -28th
Steel Hero: Real Steel (Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu) -26th
Zero Gravity Heroine: Uravity (Uraraka Ochako) -24th
Fighting Heroine: Battle Fist (Itsuka Kendo) 23rd
Splitter Heroine: Lizardy (Setsuna Tokage) -22nd
Aqua Hero: Gang Orca (Kugo Sakamata) -21st
Quake Hero: Grand (Yo Shindo) -20th
Everything Heroine: Creati (Momo Todoroki) -19th
Omnivore Hero: Suneater (Tamaki Amajiki) - 18th
Jet-Black Hero: Tsukuyomi (Tokoyami Fumikage) -17th
Storm Hero: Gale Force (Inasa Yoarashi) -16th
Swamp Hero: Mudman (Honenuki Juzo) -14th
Turbo Hero: Ingenium (Iida Tenya) -13th
Sturdy Hero: Red Riot (Kirishima Eijiro) -12th
BMI Hero: Fat Gum (Taishiro Toyomitsu) -11th
Copycat Hero: Phantom Thief (Neito Monoma) -10th
Tentacle Hero: Tentacole (Mezo Shoji) -9th
Laundry Hero: Wash (Susugu Mitarai) -8th
Wonder Heroine: Nejire Chan (Nejire Hado) -7th
Rabbit Hero: Mirko (Rumi Usagiyama) -6th
Fiber Hero: Best Jeanist (Hakamada Tsunagu) -5th
Explosive Hero: Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight (Katsuki Bakugou) -4th
Peak Hero: Mt Lady (Yu Takeyama) -3rd
Aircon Hero: Shoto (Shoto Todoroki) -2nd
Comedy Hero: Lemillion (Togata Mirio) -1st
Izuku was not expecting that at all. In fact, he still couldn't fathom how he got 44th place, when during last year he still held the 4th position. He knew that he had taken a sabbatical and wasn't participating in patrol or activity related to heroics with his teaching and all, but he didn't expect his ranking to drop drastically like that.
Most of the UA alumni were not in ranks, either it was because they underperformed or heroes like Shinsou and Kuroiro were underground heroes. Heroes like Miruko, who was down to one hand and one ear, Best Jeanist, Kamui Woods, Gang Orca, and Mt. Lady were still in the rankings, and they all were above him.
He kept staring at the screen with a sad smile while the rest of the class were celebrating their accomplishment and ranking. while Izuku just sat at the bar with a sad smile on his face, taking a gulp of his beer in sorrow
Chapter 2: The Red Eyes
Chapter Text
At school, Izuku's mind is wandering off to places that are not supposed to be there. He was sitting at the desk while staring at the white ceiling, illuminating his eyes, trying to wash up the hangover alcohol from last night's party.
He was coming home late at night after the party that happened last night, where they were partying their minds out, chugging all the alcohol from the bar. Kirishima and Kaminari were drinking their alcohol down and being scolded by Mina, who voluntered for Kaminari as well, since Jirou is out and not joining.
His mind wanders off upon seeing the result for yesterday, trying to wash away all the sorrow that he felt over what happened.
Flashback Start
Izuku stares down into his glass, watching the ice cubes in his drink shift around and glisten as the sound of joyous chatter from his friends fills the room.
His childhood friend's words rang through his mind. He initially felt confused by what that meant, but while listening to Todoroki talk about having time to spare in his heart and how being a hero isn't all he's about...
Maybe his friend was onto something.
Shoto worked really hard to become the Number 2 Hero, and he values himself enough to decide he wants more in life besides just being a hero.
And even his old classmates have time to date now...
Izuku ponders for a moment. He was happy, honestly. It's been a long time since he lost One for All. And sure, at the time, it was really painful to go through. It felt like he lost his chance to live his dream for good. But as the years passed, that pain faded. With advice from Aizawa sensei, All Might, and Principal Nezu, he found a career that could reach others more effectively than just being a Pro Hero.
And yet, his friends worked tirelessly for years to raise enough money to give him that chance again. He felt so extremely grateful to receive the armor. It cost billions and many years of research and painful labor to create. It almost felt like a sin to accept a gift this expensive.
But at the same time...how could he not after all of that hard work? He really loved being a pro hero again, even if he's ultimately satisfied with being a teacher. It was amazing to finally be back on the field with his friends.
So, at the end of the day... what else could he even ask for?
He thought about what he told Kacchan and Kirishima in the car once. And suddenly, Shigaraki's words popped into his mind.
"Make sure... You do your damn best."
"Do my best, huh..." he mutters. "Is there... still a 'me' that I haven't discovered yet..?"
What else could he want in his life? He already had a life that ever since he was little, but somehow, it still felt all empty for him.
"I never realized it myself... myself..."
He absentmindedly scans the room for a moment, and then time seems to slow to a crawl when he sees her.
He just stares at her, taking in how ethereally beautiful she is. That smile of hers is so bright and warm. Her laugh is a beautiful melody he never wants to stop listening to. Even in this lively, crowded room, she's all he can see. All he can hear. Everyone else was just a muffled blur.
She glances over at him with that gorgeous smile of hers, and it's like a bolt piercing straight to his heart. A familiar warmth begins to permeate his chest and face. And he can't take his eyes off of her.
But she felt far away from him now because he was too busy with his work that he started to neglect his relationship with her.
And before he realizes, she starts to slip away...
Flashback End
He looked over at the group text message from yesterday, asking everyone for the bar tab of last night's party, and they texted saying thank you for last night and saying that they had to head back to catch a plane, with a few of them not staying in Japan.
Izuku looked back at his computer screen, deciding to focus back to his work, and Present Mic came from behind, "Hey, Little Listener, how was yesterday's party?"
"... It was good." Izuku responds, faking about it, "It's nice to be catching up with the others after so long."
"How are the others? I haven't seen them quite a while, you know." Present Mic chooses to ask.
Izuku looked uncomfortable with answering that question, but Present Mic didn't notice it at all, "They're all fine, I meant Jirou couldn't be there, but that's because of the concert."
"Oh yeah, I heard. She's on a world tour right now, moving from one country to another. Last I heard, she's in England now."
"Yeah, I saw her social media too. She was rocking it."
Present Mic continued to ask questions about Jirou's career and showed videos of her touring concert, but it made Izuku feel a tiny bit jealous knowing that all of his friends are catching up with their lives while he stays stagnant.
"Leave the kid alone, Mic." Aizawa came to the rescue, groaning in exhaustion, much to his thanks for coming. "Anyway, you need to head back to your class. You got a class coming, am I right?"
"It's not for another hour, Shou."
"Go do your job; those kids need some directions."
"Fine." Mic slumped in defeat before walking out of the room.
Izuku shifted his gaze to Aizawa sensei, thanking him for his intervention, "Thanks, Aizawa sensei."
"Don't mention it," he replied, "But can you tell me what's bothering you?"
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Present Mic, along with his students, gathered at the Gamma Gym to have a class session today. Eight years have changed the curriculum of the school. Before, the students were divided into different courses, with each course having its own special class, like the Combat Training class exclusive to the Hero Course only, and some were mandatory classes.
But now, the Combat Training class has been turned into a mandatory class, and everyone can join with no exception, making it the most popular class in school.
"Alright, little listeners, it's time to begin!"
"Aren't you gonna teach us today, Mic Sensei?"
"Sure, but today I got something special in store. I got us a special instructor for today."
"Special instructor?"
"If only that guy could be showing on time." Mic looks around, waiting for him to show.
Then, a footstep sound could be heard from the door as they saw what seemed to be Pro Hero, Death Arms, walking by. He still held the same look on his face from 8 years ago, with all the serious and rough exterior on him.
After 8 years, he remains active as a Pro Hero and resumed after his short sabbatical break during the Final War. Now, he's become a Pro Hero and a teacher's instructor for young students.
"Whoa, it's Death Arms."
"Really, that famous Pro Hero?"
"Hello, kids, nice to see you all gathered here," he replied, giving them a smirk.
"Hey buddy, where have you been? You got lost or something." Present Mic came by and tried to have a small conversation with him, but he paid him no mind, which confused him.
"Alright, kids. Enough small talk, what do you say that we're going into the practical stuff? Let's have ourselves some real Hero Exercise." Death Arms grins, giving them a smirk while joining his hands together.
"Something's off. He usually gets fired up, but not without skipping the introduction, especially." Present Mic thought while watching his students getting ready for their sparring match.
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At the rooftop, both Aizawa and Izuku stood near the railings on the rooftop of UA buildings while looking down at those below, where students were walking by. He tends to come here from time to time, trying to get some alone time after school or just looking back on his life, but right now, he spends his time with Aizawa.
"So, mind telling me what's going on with you recently?"
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"You can lie in front of Mic, but not with me, so what is it?"
Izuku sighed in defeat, knowing that Aizawa sensei would see him right through his lies like that.
"Sorry, I didn't have any intention of hiding it from you, sensei. But it's something that I have to figure out on my own," he replied, while his face looked stressed out for some reason.
"Mind telling me?" Aizawa pressed on.
Izuku sighed before he eventually told him, "It's just... I feel like I'm stuck and just unable to move on with my life now. I'm a teacher at UA and also a Hero, but I feel like I'm biting more than I can chew and I'm gonna lose both of them."
"Midoriya, you've done your work here as an instructor. You're a good instructor."
"Yeah, but that was before I got that suit of armor that the class gave to me to be a hero."
"So you want to quit your job?"
"No, but I never thought that balancing my life between being a hero and an instructor would be this hard," he sighed before continuing to talk, "I feel like everyone is moving faster than I was right now. Shoto and Kacchan were top heroes. Yaoyorozu is moving to the state with Shoto. Others have also moved up in their career. And Uraraka-"
"And Uraraka?" Aizawa asked, noticing the pause in his tone just now.
"And Uraraka... is moving up her career as well. But I just can't help that I'm feeling like I'm the only one who didn't move up with my career."
"Midoriya, you ended the war eight years ago and stopped Shigaraki. I'd say you move up pretty fast."
"But why do I feel that I'm stuck in my career and life?"
Aizawa had no answer to his dilemma, knowing that right now, Izuku's problem isn't with career-wise or talent-wise. It's seeing his other classmate got the better of him that he feels small now.
Aizawa is about to speak up when suddenly he hears a commotion coming from the Gamma Gym. A loud ruckus was coming from it as students were running from it, and the security drone was suddenly gone haywire with it.
"What's going on?" Aizawa looked down from the rooftop.
"I don't know, we'd better check it out," Izuku said, heading downstairs to check the situation. Aizawa follows along with it.
Both of them come down and run towards the Gamma Gym to hear the ruckus of what appears to be a massive fight heading there. But when they get there, the sight that they encounter is proven to be something they refused to believe.
Students were fighting off against one another like in a Battle Royal style, fighting with each other. People were running off scared, trying to avoid the confrontation as the quirk attack started to fly around. Aizawa looks at the students and he recognises them as Mic's students.
"They're Mic's class," Aizawa said, recognising them.
"Just what is going on here? They are all fighting like crazy." Izuku asked, looking around for some kind of explanation.
Despite the warning from both Izuku and Aizawa, none of them seems to have stopped and calmed down, fighting like ratchets. It's like either they weren't hearing them or they didn't care. Their eyes were red, like blood all crazed up.
"They seem not to be in their mind, like they were being mind-controlled." Izuku speculates, and he saw
"This has got to stop right now," Aizawa replied, flashing his quirk and turning off their quirk. He thought that by erasing their quirk, they could also erase whatever effect that's controlling them, but it seems that it wasn't working.
"They are still fighting like crazy," Aizawa said, although they don't have their quirk anymore.
"Then we'll knock them out cold," Izuku suggested. He then makes a run towards one of the students and knocks them in the gut. The blow is enough to knock the student out cold and drop to the ground.
Despite being absent from the Hero World, Izuku continues to maintain his physical build-up, almost reaching an Olympic level. Not to mention, he started learning a few martial arts in his spare time.
"Seems like knocking them does the trick," Aizawa observed, and began doing the same thing he did, landing one gut punch after another.
From an outside perspective, it's like both Izuku and Aizawa are beating the crap out of their students in the open field, throwing one punch after another. It took them a while, but they finally managed to put a stop to the ruckus.
"Alright, that's most of them accounted for."
"Good, but what could have caused-" Aizawa asked before he was interrupted by a heavy reddish sound waves blasting both Izuku and Aizawa to the back.
Both of them rolled down on the ground after being blasted by some unknown attack and looked upfront and saw the person who was responsible for it.
It was Present Mic walking towards their direction with his signature yellow mohawk sprouting out from his hair and his DJ attire with a black jacket with a very tall collar, upturned and complete with studs, and matching black pants and knee-high boots. Behind him is Death Arms, coming behind him with a wolfish smirk unlike his usual self.
"Mic, what's going on with you?" Aizawa asked his best friend, wondering why he had just attacked him.
But Mic didn't reply straight away and gave Shota a smirk, but unlike his usual smirk, this one was much colder and sinister. Like he's being possessed.
"Aizawa sensei, something is off. Not just with Mic sensei but with Death Arms also." Izuku spoke, looking at the two of them.
A dangerous aura bloomed to life around the two of them in a reddish color, glowing around them, surging with power beyond their capabilities. It's flaring to life like a cloak.
"Are you two... strong?" Death Arms asked. His voice sounds dangerous and ominous at the same time.
Upon hearing him, both Aizawa and Izuku took a stance and readied his capture scarf, while Izuku was bearing no equipment in his hand as his armor was in the office right now.
"Can I leave Death Arms in your hand?" Aizawa asked, leaving one of them in his hand.
"Sure." Izuku nods, "But be careful. They seem to have grown stronger than they were before."
Death Arms chuckled at their word before he decided to take the lead and throw a punch over hitting the ground where Izuku just stood right after he retreated back. His punch is strong enough to create a small crater, and he saw that his fist is imbued with a red glowing aura.
"Death Arms never had that level of strength before in the last eight years. What is going on?"
Izuku runs up to him and throws a sidekick over to his head, but it gets deflected by his guard, and his opponent took a swing over his arms, but Izuku kept evading it and ran off to avoid being hit directly.
Meanwhile, Aizawa continues to fight with his friend as he tries to send a full-blast sound wave attack towards him, but it gets erased thanks to Aizawa's quirk. He then throws his capture scarf, trying to trap him, but Mic skillfully evades the scarf from trapping him.
"Do you forget, Shou, I watched you train using that scarf for hours. I know how to beat it." Mic replied while smirking smugly at his attempt.
Aizawa clicked his tongue, knowing that it won't be easy dealing with Mic, especially since he knows full well how he fights and understands his fighting style the most. He tried to keep his quirk on him for as long as he could while trying to capture Mic, but he skillfully evades his scarf while trying to get away from his line of sight.
"Dammit." Aizawa cursed.
Izuku also had his share of problems on hand, dealing with Death Arms landing blow after blow while keeping his distance. In terms of power, Death Arms easily surpassed him because of his quirk. But Izuku tries to compensate for it with his fighting style, but it pales in comparison with Death Arms.
"What is this? I know that I'm fighting against Death Arms, but it's like he's a different person now."
While standing on guard, Death Arms chuckled in a mocking tone, looking at Izuku in disappointment, "You're such a disappointment, Izuku Midoriya." His body flared up by the same aura that he saw before, scaring him for a second.
"I kinda hard to believe that this is what you're capable of after all the rumors. And I thought you were one of the best."
Izuku furrows his brow at his remark
"That's fine. I have no problem beating you on an off day. My mission..." he groaned for a moment before composing himself, "That's what must be done here."
"What's that? Did he say...? Mission?" he whispered upon hearing the words out of his mouth.
Seeing his opponent, Death Arms decides to get serious right now and flares up his power, "Let's go. Izuku Midoriya!!"
An explosion of aura burst right out of him, glowing right out of his body in a dangerous way, and his body glows in a reddish color aura.
Izuku put up his guard, waiting for the attack, and Death Arms rushes in to deliver the blow, but unlike last time, his punch is now packed with an explosive. Real explosive.
*BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!*
Izuku put his hand in guard upon taking the explosion, not expecting it from Death Arms in the first place. Not just Izuku, but Aizawa and a few other people who were watching had no idea how he pulled it off in the first place.
"What the...?! I thought Death Arms' quirk is based on strength type, since when was he able to produce explosions like that?" Izuku said out loud while trying to evade the blast.
"Come on, you brat! Is that all you're capable of?" Death Arms taunts him while throwing off one explosion after another.
Izuku ran off, trying to put up a distance between them while trying to analyze how the way he fights and just what to expect.
"His quirk is similar to Kacchan's, but it's more crude and let loose compared to Kacchan's compressed version."
Izuku kept running until his back reached the wall behind him, and Death Arms saw him and smirked.
"I've got you, you brat!!!" Death Arms throws a powerful explosion at the wall, crushing a few chunks of concrete, but finds that Izuku isn't being hit by it. In fact, he wasn't there to begin with.
He looked around and turned, before he saw Izuku standing behind him, evading that zero-distance explosion punch just now.
"You brat!" Death Arms spats.
"MIDORIYA!!!"
They both looked up and saw Ectoplasm coming out from the window on the third floor, holding what seemed to be a metallic briefcase in his hand, and threw it down in Izuku's direction. Recognizing the briefcase, Izuku quickly grabs it and activates it, revealing it to be his Mecha suit of armor.
He activates it, and the briefcase turns into a new suit of armor, just like the one All Might had, but instead, this one resemblance with his One For All quirk and has the same features and function as his quirk before. The armor wraps his body; it completely covers his body, turning it into a suit of armor.
"So that's your famous armor, huh? It's nothing but scraps of metal if you ask me!" he launched forward, but unlike last time, Izuku was more than ready to fight back.
Thruster comes from his feet, and he hovers above the ground, avoiding Death Arm's reach. He extends his arms forward and fires multiple cables from both arms, surrounding Death Arms and restraining him by connecting the cables to the ground.
"This thing... how is it so strong?!" he grunts, trying to escape from it, but then something unexpected happened, and Izuku zooms in using his thruster on his feet. In one swift motion, he landed a knee kick to Death Arm's face with blinding speed, knocking him out cold.
Izuku landed on his feet after finishing defeating Death Arms in a quick matter, knowing that he had to deal with him quickly before things took the worst turn. He returned his gaze to Aizawa sensei, who seemed to have also captured Mic sensei and was dragging him after being tied up.
Unknown to him, a dark miasma is escaping right out of Death Arms and Mic after they both were defeated, leaving their previous host.
"Midoriya, you've finished?" Aizawa asked.
"Just barely." Izuku responds, "What was that thing? I've never seen it before."
"I don't know. But I'm planning to find out."
Aizawa nudged Mic, shaking his shoulder to wake him up, and the blonde groaned and woke up, seeing his friend in his face, "Shou... where am I?"
"At UA. We're in the courtyard."
"What, hang on, how did I get here?" Present Mic asked, groaning like he just had the worst headache.
"You don't remember? You were fighting with Aizawa sensei just a minute ago." Izuku asked, wondering how he couldn't remember what had happened just now.
"I was? That's so weird," he seems to have no recollection of what happened.
"I remember that we were talking about the meeting, then we had a conversation at the lounge, and then I'm heading there with the students... But after that, I don't remember anything at all. Man, what's going on?
"Maybe we should go get your head checked out. I'll call Principal Vernies and Recovery Girl." Aizawa offered to lend him a shoulder to lean on.
Meanwhile, Izuku stares at Death Arms, who is knocked out cold, who just experienced the same phenomenon as Present Mic.
"With no recollection of what he's done, huh?" he stared at the unconscious figure of Death Arms, trying to understand what that power was coming right out of him.
Just as he was thinking about it, a dark miasma was escaping right out of Death Arms after he was defeated, leaving their previous host. But what shocks him is that the miasma is taking the shape of what seems like a demon of some sort. It was like a paranormal activity coming to life.
"W...What is that?" he asked himself, feeling stunned by what had happened just now.
Like it was a spectre of some sort...
Chapter Text
It's Saturday, and the school has been on vacation since Thursday, following the attack that was carried out by Present Mic and Death Arms.
After what happened during the attack, both of them were being questioned by Detective Tsukauchi, who was asking for the reason why they were doing such a thing in the first place, one being a Pro Hero, and the other being a UA Staff. But upon questioning, none of them seems to have any recollection of what happened.
Tsukauchi thought that they were lying and pretended to know, but when he checked with his quirk, both of them were telling the truth. So the detective launched an investigation into the attack itself, seeing that if there's a new villain in the rising.
Concerned with the situation at hand, Izuku decided to pay a visit to Principal Vernies at her office today, wanting to discuss things with her. Since Principal Nezu is no longer available, he tends to discuss certain things with her now.
"He seemed so different the other day. The way Present Mic changed it makes me feel like something very bad is going to happen." Izuku thought while walking on the sidewalk.
He's heading out to a family-style restaurant first to get something to eat before heading there. He ordered a salad and a cup of coffee since he wasn't hungry just yet. Today, Izuku wears a black buttoned long-sleeve shirt with blue jeans.
"But that kind of power, where did they get it in the first place? It's not like quirk awakening or anything, and Death Arms' quirk didn't even include Explosion like Kacchan did. It's like someone handed him a new quirk, but All For One is gone."
After finishing his lunch, he started to head over to the park before going to UA for his discussion with Principal Vernies. As he was walking towards UA in the park, he saw lots of little kids playing with smiles on their faces. He smiled at himself and thought about watching them.
"I was just like that when I was little, wasn't I? It's a good thing they don't know about the danger ahead of us, if there is any."
Finally arrived at UA, reaching towards the front gate, and he entered after showing his Staff ID to the gate, and the gate opened for him. He kept on going to the building that had the only person who could help to talk about what was happening.
As he walked to the elevator, he turned to the screen that controlled where the elevator went. He pressed the button that would let the people in the building know that someone had arrived.
Just as he was about to get ready, a picture of a drone came onto the screen. "Good Morning, Izuku Midoriya. Principal Vernies is waiting for you."
This really surprised him as he thought. He went into the elevator, and its doors closed. As it went up, he began to feel that weird, familiar, sinister feeling.
"What is this feeling? Whatever it is, I don't like it."
As he came out of the elevator, he made his way to the Principal's office. Lucky for him, the students were out for today, and the staff were also the same, giving him quite the privacy he needed.
"Midoriya, good to see you. What a nice surprise," Principal Vernies said with her usual smile. "So what brings you here today?"
"I saw something that I want to ask you about. It's about what happened the other day."
Principal Vernies sighed in regret, "Yes, I heard from Recover Girl that they were making a full recovery right about now."
"Yes, but what happened afterwards is what I want to ask. I saw a miasma, almost like an aura, coming out of Death Arms. I figured that I was planning to discuss this with you first." Izuku said. He was not expecting Principal Vernies to respond right away.
"Come, Midoriya, I will explain everything, so come with me for a while," Principal Vernies said, turning around and gesturing for Izuku to follow her.
Izuku followed her into Gamma Gym, right where the first incident was said taken place. The place is filled with many small craters from what happened, and the place is covered by police tape. Then, out of nowhere, Principal Vernies started asking.
"What did you say happened that day?"
"I'd never seen it before. I saw it disappear into thin air." Izuku began to explain, "I was there when it happened. That's not all, he lost his memory as well. As I was watching him before the fight, it reminded me of something that I'd seen a long time ago."
"It's that look that Shigaraki had once when he was possessed by All For One, and it's like he's being possessed by something similar. But it's not like quirks or All For One presence, it's like something different... a different being, I assumed, or something. So what can you tell me?"
Principal Vernies held her silence before starting to answer, "You're right about being from another world being the source of this."
"Huh?"
"I've been studying about this before, but I don't think it was possible in the first place. There is a presence known as the Void, a being from outer space. It once tried to take over the Earth long before you were born; rumor has it that it was known as an Ancient Evil. It's once again trying to engulf that world in a dark shadow unlike anything we've ever seen before, the result of which is beginning to affect this universe as well."
"And we've seen the changes before with that last attack on our school grounds. What happened to those two is just the beginning. These new fights I'm gonna call them... Inversed."
"Inversed?" he asked, never before had he heard about it in the first place.
She then continued to explain, "Inverse... is a shift... from being independent to being a puppet of the Void. When someone turned into a different parallel version of themselves and acquired a new level of power that no one has ever felt before."
"And what causes it?" Izuku asked, wanting to know the how part.
"Listen closely, when an Inverse fighter challenges another person to a fight, if they aren't able to properly defend themselves, they too have become an Inverse fighter. It's an endless loop of invasion."
Upon hearing that, Izuku's eyes widened, knowing how serious this is, and he turned back, "Huh, why are you leaving so soon?
"I have to find the others and tell them," he answered, not wanting to waste time.
"I wasn't finished yet. It's rude for you to walk away from me." Izuku stops in his tracks before turning to Principal Vernies face and saw her, "This was a very convenient visit, Midoriya... You saved me the trouble of coming to find you."
Principal Vernies stares at Izuku with a creepy smile on her face, and a red aura is oozing around her, just like what happened that day to Death Arms and Present Mic. Her eyes are also red in a demonic way.
"Huh?!" This surprised him as he did not expect to see Principal Vernies, of all people, falling already. Then he saw the aura oozing from her. He then knew already at that point, she was Inversed.
"We're taking the best, when the strongest have all been Inversed, then the Void, there'll be nothing left on earth to stop it."
Then she shows a screen of pictures in the empty arena, revealing two pictures he recognised.
"Not Shoto Todoroki... Or even Katsuki Bakugou." Principal Vernies told of her two biggest obstacles, "But first, we'll get you. Izuku Midoriya."
"There's a lot more to you than meets the eye," he asked her accusingly, "Who are you? Truthfully."
"I've joined the Void. I work for him now, well, I wouldn't say work, more of an agent... and the Void is searching, searching for someone who can rise above the rest of us. A master Inverse Fighter."
"A master Inverse Fighter?" Izuku asked.
"That could be you, Midoriya. You'd be perfect for the job," she began to explain, "You must try inverting others to understand. It'll take your power to new heights, then you'll live to convert other strong people to our cause."
"I'LL STOP YOU!!" he then began to activate his briefcase, and it quickly covered his body in a suit of armor. In a swift moment, he already wears his suit of armor like he did the other day.
"Nice," she smirks, and the dark aura around her begins to engulf the whole Gamma Gym in darkness, and everything turns into a deep space.
Izuku looked at his surroundings, wondering how the whole place was able to turn into space just like that, but he had no trouble breathing, and his body was moving normally, not sensing the feel of gravity. That means that it's just a projector.
But what worries him the most is the fact that, despite working for so long, Izuku had no idea what Principal Vernies' quirk is all this time. Aside from the fact that he never asked, he somehow had a bad feeling about all of this.
"The ability to transport themself and others to a different space location. I have never seen anything like this before. Is this her quirk ability?"
His body is paralyzed in fear, seeing a sinister aura oozing from her. Her body glows in a dark red flared aura, but it screams danger coming from her. The last time he felt anything like this was when he went to rescue Bakugou at Kamino, sensing the presence of All For One near him.
Principal Vernies chuckled, seeing him standing there not moving or doing anything but observing, "You're cute."
"What's that?" He asked, to which she chuckled.
"The former Hero of the World is acting all cautious like you are right now. Considering all the feats I've heard, I figured you would have gone on the offensive and measure my strength. I'm very disappointed right now."
Izuku grits his teeth, seeing himself not knowing what to deal with. She's not carrying All For One at all, but something about her is just off.
"What is that thing? Your quirk seems off!" Izuku asked loudly.
Principal Vernies laughs at him, "The look on your face, oh, that's good. Do you always lose your cool when you see a new ability? Wow, what a lucky guy you are. You're the first one to see it; no one else knows this power exists yet."
"This ability of mine is gifted by the powerful entity that is the Void's avatar, a messenger that's come to spread the shadow through all life on Earth, traveling across space and time. It signals destruction. It has existed for millions of years to reach this point, and has now evolved into its ultimate form, an entity of unspeakable power, and the name of that entity is Astro Link."
"Astro Link...?" Izuku spoke to himself upon hearing.
"There are terrible planets throughout the universe, places where life could never take root. There are desolate rocks out there that once flourished with life. These planets are the products of Astro Link's destructive tendencies. It extinguishes living things and turns them into nothingness."
"It's only logical that the Void and Astro Link, who bring desolation and emptiness, would seek out places overflowing with life, like your own planet."
Izuku, who heard about it, stared with wide eyes, knowing that this Astro Link isn't like anything he had ever seen before, nor with anyone else for that matter. Before, quirk is something that revolves around the world, but that doesn't mean that people ignored life outside the planet; this is the first time he hears about it directly. His planet is about to be a target of an incursion.
"Astro Link, huh?" Izuku asked after hearing her story so far, "You're trying to make it sound like some kind of unstoppable force."
She smiles, seeing him begin asking questions right now, and Izuku returned with a smile of his own, "Show me, and we'll see how much power it really has. I'll be the judge!"
Izuku made a quick dash over to her direction and used his thruster to push himself forward, throwing a smack over to her, to which she managed to defend herself very easily, much to his surprise. He quickly retreats before throwing a backhand over to her, but just like before, she managed to defend against it, and she smiles while he runs to the back.
He retreated and saw the aura that engulfed her before covering her body, protecting her from his attack just now. That's why he didn't take as much damage as she was supposed to.
Principal Vernies chuckled softly, "You think you're so clever, landing those light attacks towards me, but to me, it's all for nothing. It's like I can pluck the thoughts right out of your head with my fingers."
"This is what you're thinking at this moment. 'Show me just how my quirk works and its characteristics. That way, I can formulate a plan and find a way to counter it.' Am I right?"
Izuku held a hard look over to his face, showing an unreadable expression. Principal Vernies' hand oozes with a dark aura, and she opens her palm and sends a dark stream of attack towards him, and he tanked the attack, blocking the blow with his right arm. It's not that strong, to be honest, but he had a feeling that it wasn't her full strength.
"I will show you then..." she smiles wickedly towards him. "The only problem is that... the power I possess goes beyond what you can imagine."
She raised her hand and pointed a finger at him, "Now, take a look at your right hand..."
Izuku raised his brow in question and looked, but what he saw completely shocked him down to his core.
His right hand, where he just tanked against the attack, is replaced by something that looks like a dark mist floating and hovering around his right arm. His arm is like being cut off from his limb, but he feels no pain at all.
"W-What...?! My hand... It's gone!!!"
She chuckled in humor, seeing his panicked state like this.
"What in the world is happening?!"
He tries to grasp his missing limb, but it's nowhere to be found and just passes through. It's not like his limb is turned invisible, but it's actually gone right out of his reach. He couldn't even feel the pain of having his limb gone or feel his limb at all.
"Confused? You should be, after all, you're the first person who gets to taste this new power of mine," she smirks, watching how his mind goes into disarray.
"That is what I called Vanish. Your body part that's been Vanish can't return until I am defeated. You can't use it, you can't feel it. Everything is sealed away. That's right... everything!"
"My original quirk, Shadow Manipulation, only works to manipulate my own shadows and shift their properties. But thanks to Astro Link, they granted me a new height of ability, one that I had full control of to my wildest dream."
"Astro Link can use this ability to power up your quirk to a new height. Turning it into a new possibility of its will. It can even turn your quirk into an absolute power that no one has ever seen before."
Izuku grits his teeth, seeing just how powerful this Astro Link is capable of. It's not just awakening someone's quirk to a new potential, but it's capable of rewriting it to a different will. That explains how Death Arms and Present Mic's quirk is gone to a whole upgrade during the attack.
If what she said is true, then anyone who falls prey to her will be converted to this Inverse that she talks about before.
"I told you it would exceed what you could imagine. And Astro Link doesn't only affect someone's quirk... Izuku Midoriya," she pointed her finger at him and smiled, "Before the day is through, you will feel yourself changed to a whole new person."
Izuku composed himself while calming his mind and lightly scoffed, "Huh, I admit it's something I've never seen before. But it's not gonna be easy for you to defeat ME!!!"
He switched his left glove and changed a part of it, and flicked his finger, firing off a compressed air bullet towards her, shooting it in her direction.
"Delaware Smash Air Force!!!" he shouts his Ultimate Move name and fires the air bullet towards her, and she uses her shadow to block it. The bullet fires off from his finger while he maintains his distance between himself and her.
"A consecutive air blast using your finger to create an air cannon, what a clever way of fighting," she sounds amazed.
From what he saw just now, her quirk must have an effect through physical contact. She can vanish a target of specific body parts, corresponding to the area of impact where her quirk is flaring up. That's why only his right hand is the one who being swallowed by her ability. It's the same location where he throws his attack and the same part where he tanked against her blast before.
So all he has to do is avoid close-quarter combat. Use a series of long-range shots and keep his distance from it while working his way up to find a weakness.
He kept firing the air bullet without giving her an inch, "Even without having my right hand with me, I will find a way to get through to you!"
"My spirit... It's safe!! You can't vanish it, no matter how many parts of my body you hit with!! Nor will it change!!!"
Principal Vernies' mouth shifted slightly at annoyance, seeing that missing an arm or limb didn't crack his spirit as she expected.
His gauntlet then shifted, changing the shape to a new mode and turning it into a hollow hole, almost like the mouth of a cannon.
"Delaware Smash Air Force, Cannon!!!"
The gust of blast hits her square on, and she doesn't have time to properly defend against it, and it causes her to get blown away by the gust of blast itself. Her body landed on the ground while she chuckled after being hit by that force alone.
"Very impressive, Izuku Midoriya." Principal Vernies chuckled in amusement, trying to get herself up, "Despite having a missing limb and facing a power you've never seen before, you fight past it, determined to show me how strong you are."
"That strong determination of yours... it will make a fine addition to our cause."
.
.
.
.
At the hospital, Katsuki, along with several of his classmates, came to pay a visit to Present Mic, who is being put into the hospital. They have heard about the attack from the news, saying that UA is being attacked from the inside by the students and two Pro Heroes.
Present Mic lies in his bed wearing a hospital gown with Aizawa sensei accompanying him, and sees the visitors, "Oh, you guys came."
"Yeah, we heard what happened on the news. You're okay, Sensei?" Iida came and asked after just coming from his patrol, and came to visit. Behind him is Katsuki, along with Mineta, Uraraka, Reiko, and Kuroiro, who all came to join in.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just a few bruises and a headache, that's all." Present Mic brushed off, knowing that he couldn't exactly remember what happened that day.
"I heard that you're on the scene where it happened." Katsuki moved to the side with Aizawa sensei to discuss privately while Iida and the others checked on with Present Mic.
"Yeah, but nothing much that I can explain. One moment, everything was quiet, and the next thing, the students were on a rampage, attacking each other." Aizawa went on to explain, "Their eyes were red as blood, and both Death Arms and Mic were affected by it."
"Any casualty?"
"No, but if it weren't for Midoriya, we would have been in serious danger for sure."
"Izuku is there?" Uraraka questioned accidentally hearing the conversation.
"Yeah, but he also had no idea what happened, hitting the same wall as me," Aizawa replied.
"Any chance that he'll share his thoughts?" the ashen blond asked. But Aizawa shakes his head.
"Not likely, if I were you, I won't bother the kid too much; he's got his own problem to deal with right now."
Katsuki looked in thought, wondering how this was happening in the first place. From what he heard, there's no new active villain with a quirk to put someone in a rage trance just as described, but whatever it was, he planned to get to the bottom of it.
.
.
.
.
Back in UA, both Izuku and Principal Vernies were still locked in a battle of their own, one that wasn't being known by his friends or anyone in the building. Neither of them gives an inch to one another, as Izuku struggled to keep pace with his missing right arm after being Vanish.
"Astro Link..." Principal Vernies starts to speak, "It doesn't matter who you are. No one can escape its shackles. That includes you... Izuku Midoriya."
Izuku grits his teeth at his current situation now. If he were to be truthful now, he's not in the best situation right now with missing a limb. Principal Vernies pointed her finger towards him and began to speak.
"Now, take another look at your right hand..."
He furrows his brow in question, but he complies and widens his eyes in shock. Before, the mist only engulfed a part of his right hand and a part of his right arm. But now, the mist is slowly spreading over to his right shoulder, creeping its way.
"My right side... It's swallowing me up?!"
The Vanish part of his body had now begun to creep its way. So it's not just hitting against one spot at all, but instead it's working like a virus, slowly creeping till it reaches the core before completely affecting him.
She softly laughs in a sinister tone, "From here on out, I'm going to subject you to all of Astro Link's strength and terror, and bring you to your knees!"
Notes:
AUTHOR NOTE:
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, IZUKU IS CURRENTLY BATTLING AGAINST AN UNKNOWN FORCE KNOWN AS THE ASTRO LINK. LIKE FROM THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, IT IS AFFECTING PEOPLE'S QUIRKS AND TURNING THEM INTO SOMETHING MUCH POWERFUL THAN IT WAS BEFORE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHO I SHOULD CHANGE TO BECOME THE ASTRO LINK PUPPET, LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENT SECTION
DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW ME ON WATTPAD AS ALWAYS AND VOTE ON MY STORY
PRESENT MIC - QUIRK: VOICE (ECHO)
DEATH ARMS - QUIRK: STRENGTH ENHANCEMENT (LANDMINE FIST)
PRINCIPAL VERNIES - QUIRK: SHADOW MANNIPULATION (VANISH)

Jdodkdjei8 on Chapter 1 Fri 21 Nov 2025 05:46PM UTC
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Catathyst on Chapter 1 Sun 23 Nov 2025 06:52AM UTC
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Newone on Chapter 2 Fri 28 Nov 2025 03:45AM UTC
Last Edited Fri 28 Nov 2025 03:45AM UTC
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Catathyst on Chapter 2 Fri 28 Nov 2025 07:19AM UTC
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Catathyst on Chapter 3 Wed 03 Dec 2025 05:02PM UTC
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