Chapter Text
Every news outlet, whether that be paper or online, was abuzz with talk of a new villain. They called themselves Flipside. There was no talk about what their quirk could actually do which was only driving rumours and spreading panic. Heroes were disappearing after running into them and someone had to get to the bottom of it. Though he hadn’t specifically been assigned to the case, Aizawa took it upon himself to investigate. He had to. Flipside’s targets were getting closer and closer to UA. It was almost like the villain was trying to purposefully bait him into doing something by targeting those close to him.
The problem was it was working.
“Eraser, come on! You can’t seriously be thinking about this, man! What if they take you out too? No one even knows where those heroes actually go once Flipside gets to them. Do you really think it’s worth taking that chance?” Yamada bounced his leg behind his desk, trying to use up that anxious energy as he looked to the underground hero laying on the floor beside him, currently wrapped up in that bright yellow sleeping bag of his.
“We’ve spoken about this. I can handle it. If someone doesn’t do something soon, people around here are going to start disappearing. Someone has to act. I’ve already started looking into a few leads and I think I know where they’re going to strike next.”
“I still don’t know about it. Anything could happen!”
“Would it make you feel any better if you came with me? This isn’t exactly going to be on record so to speak. No other agencies, no one dares try anything to investigate this. It’s just going to lead to more people going missing.”
Hizashi paused to think, weighing up the pros and cons of tagging along and kept coming back to the same conclusion. He had to go. If he didn’t and something happened to Aizawa, he’d never forgive himself. “Alright. Just give me a time and place and I’ll be there.”
The time and place was late that very same night. Aizawa had tracked the villain down to an alley over on the eastern side of the city, completely alone and soon to be outnumbered, if only by one extra man on the heroics side. Something seemed…off though. It seemed too easy. Flipside didn’t have any backup. Even with their rumoured power, surely, they’d have someone else to help fight off the more experienced heroes. Everything was telling Aizawa to back off, the signs were all there and yet, once Mic had joined him, he dove straight into the fight.
It started out like any other. Punches were thrown, quirks were used and Eraser’s capture gear lashed out. The moment everything changed was when Flipside managed to get close enough to finally lay his hands on the underground hero. Just like that, Aizawa felt his whole body freeze. The world around him started to spin and blur before everything went black.
Whatever had happened must’ve been the effects of whatever Flipside was able to do.
He felt like he was going to puke. Aizawa slowly pulled himself to his knees and then to his feet. A confused look soon came to his face as he looked about. Everything looked the same. The alley hadn’t changed. Every discarded piece of trash and dirt was still right where it’d been moments ago. What was missing was Mic. Both Mic and Flipside were no where to be seen. It couldn’t have been a teleportation quirk, could it? That would mean he was somewhere new entirely and he was sure the alley was the same one he’d been fighting in seconds ago. Maybe the villain’s quirk just had him lose consciousness or something for a few minutes. Maybe that was it. That blond loudmouth was probably around some corner somewhere after going for help once he went down. That had to be it. Aizawa shook his head as if it would do away with the nauseous feeling and took a few steps towards the end of the alleyway but then, things only seemed to get stranger. Before he’d even been able to put his foot down, something quickly lashed out and coiled tightly around his body. It even forced him back down to his knees. Aizawa didn’t know how the hell he’d managed to allow someone to sneak up behind him and on top of that, they were using capture gear. People had told him it was an outdated kind of support gear, but it had always worked for him. It did mean he’d never seen anyone else use it which meant whoever had him tied was someone new. Someone he hadn’t met before.
Or at least that was what he assumed until the gear’s holder stepped in front of him.
Aizawa was now only even more confused. On the other side of the capture gear was Yamada but nothing was like the excitable man he was used to. Instead, he stood with an unreadable expression, hair messily tied back in a ponytail. That usual bright personality was nowhere to be seen. Even his outfit was different. It was still black as it always had been, the boots were still there but the leather jacket and speaker were missing. The speaker had been replaced with the gear and jacket abandoned for a black jumper. Those ridiculous orange sunglasses that Aizawa had come to associate with the other man were gone too and in their place were round, red ones. None of it made sense. This wasn’t the Hizashi Yamada that Aizawa knew. He was only brought back to reality and out of his thoughts when the imposter in front of him started to demand answers.
“Didn’t take you for the type for late nights like this Eraser.” Even his voice sounded wrong. It sounded beaten down, like he’d had one too many late nights himself and was just trying to make it through to sunup.
“I…What? Yamada what the hell is going on right now?”
“What do you mean?” There was a confused look for a brief moment before the gear was called back and Aizawa was helped to his feet. “In that getup I thought you were another petty criminal hiding out back here.”
“I could say the same thing about you. Since when do you use capture gear like I do?”
“Have you hit your head or something? Come on. I’m getting you checked out.”
“I’m serious.”
“Sure, you are.”
Aizawa recognised that tone. It was the very same one he used whenever he thought the other was being ridiculous about something. It was the first time he’d heard it used against him. He even took a few seconds to process it and had to be nudged along to start walking. Yamada seemed more reserved than what felt normal for him. It was like all the energy he used to have had been drained away. It was all so strange. Still, without much of a second thought Aizawa followed behind the other man and soon started to notice more and more that was different about the city.
Some things were subtle. A different face representing a different product in a different ad, something he wouldn’t usually pay much attention to, but it was like every detail stuck out, like a damn neon sign inches from his face. Even the updates of the top ten heroes were completely different and full of names he didn’t recognise but some faces he knew. There was no mention of All Might, no Endeavour, not even Hawks. What replaced them instead he saw All For One, Dabi and some stranger going by the name of Steelwing. What only made things stranger was that they too seemed to have changed. Dabi seemed more like a plucky young hero instead of a burned-up villain. All For One looked more charismatic, charming, a face that almost inspired…hope.
“Come on Eraser. It’s this way. What’s wrong with you today? You’re usually so laid back.” Mic (Could he even be called that?) started to speak again as he looked to Aizawa at his side. Laid back? Him?
“I don’t know if you’d believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. I’ve heard a lot in my time, you know that. I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“Well, alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Everything’s changed around here. I can still pick out the faces of people I know but it’s almost like they aren’t themselves right now. Take you for example. When I heard your voice, I expected to see a leather jacket, a ridiculous haircut and a real sense of energy. Instead, I see you, like that.”
“You were right about one thing, I don’t believe you. This is how I’ve been for years. You make it sound like I’m in the spotlight. That’s never been the case after I got kicked to the support class back in school.”
“Now you’re just trying to get a reaction out of me. Is this some stupid prank? You weren’t in the support course. I know that for a fact.”
“Really did hit your head hard huh? Let me remind you. People didn’t see a future where my quirk would allow me to be a hero. It’s like they said, it’s too loud, too destructive. It’s got no applications in heroics. I mean, sure I managed to convince them otherwise that I could do more than just yell eventually and they realised their mistake, but it’s like you never recover from a hit like that. You know? I started preferring things more lowkey. That’s what led me out here to do underground work. Villains never see me coming. They don’t even hear me. They hear something else. It’s easy enough to mimic a sound that draws them out.”
Huh. Now to Aizawa, that sounded exactly like his line of thinking. It was exactly what he would’ve done if he’d ever been in Yamada’s shoes. Things finally started to make sense. “Have you been dealing with a villain calling themselves Flipside?”
“No one’s been able to track them down yet but yes. All we know is that they’ve managed to make plenty of heroes disappear. We don’t know how and we don’t know why.”
“But you wanted to go out and follow leads to see what you could do?”
“Yeah…Why are you asking me? Shouldn’t you know all that already?”
“This is going to sound absolutely insane. I think I understand why nothing seems right and why you think I’m acting oddly.”
“Well start talking. Tell me.”
“It’s all down to Flipside. Somehow their quirk took me out of the world I know and dropped me here. Back home, it’s going to be like I disappeared. It all makes sense now. Their name should’ve been a clue. It should’ve been the key to realising what they can do.”
“…Because you’re now on the flipside of things?”
“Precisely. Everything is flipped from what I know. You’re not supposed to be the underground hero; I’m not supposed to be the laid-back hero. It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
It was a lot to take in to say the least. If Aizawa was right, the only way to change things was to track down the villain again and make them reverse what they’d done but that was far easier said than done.