The Darkest Timeline

by SuccessorDeku

After the defeat of Stain, a Noumu sweeps down from the skies and snatches the promising hero student, Izuku Midoriya. With no one there to rescue him, he will be taken somewhere new. The League's hand is undeniable. Face to face with a formidable enemy, will Midoriya come out on top, or will he lose what's most important to him? (Rating subject to change. Weekly updates.)

Prologue - Taken

Please note that I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. Credit for My Hero Academia and its characters goes to Horikoshi Kohei.

Fighting Stain had been one of the hardest things Izuku had ever done. He has done his share of difficult things, too - his intense training to inherit One for All, his entrance exam for Yueii, any of his quirk training, and especially the events at the Sports Festival. Yet, next to those, the difficulty, though on par, does not account for the difference in tangible stakes. Iida, Todoroki, the pro on the scene, and himself had all been one wrong move at any given time from being defeated. Defeat would have meant death for Iida and that pro at least, so that was not an outcome he could accept. Fortunately, their teamwork had been enough to bring him down. It was a moment of fulfilling victory.

It does dampen the feeling of success when, shortly after the fight's conclusion, the pro heroes in charge of the students show up. The reprimands hurt about as bad as the various cuts and slashes that had been received from the fight. He is sorry to have disappointed Gran Torino - but at the same time, he does not regret doing what he did. Without himself and Todoroki, both Native and Iida would have been killed without a second thought. They had all saved each other. That is something that Izuku cannot bring himself to regret, not even in the slightest fashion. It also does not even account for the sense of pride that they must all be feeling, having defeated the elusive Stain. (Not that Izuku takes more pride in having won than in having saved Native and Iida.)

All happy thoughts, however, are completely dashed within minutes of the pro heroes arriving on the scene. Gran Torino spots it first - the rapidly approaching Noumu, soaring through the air straight toward them. Izuku hears him tell them all to duck, but everything happens so fast. Before he can even react, he feels talons grip him, and he's instantly swept off of his feet. The grip is firm, hard to break - especially given his current injuries, and the fact that they elevate so fast that there is no way that he could be okay falling from their current height.

Once he finally regains himself from his shock, and realizes the reality of what is happening, he tries to shout down to the people on the ground. It's clear that they're frantic, but none of them seem to be able to reach him. With that realization, cold fear pierces his heart. For the first time, he actually feels like he is in legitimate danger. The heroes can't reach him, and he's too weak and too high up to free himself. He had missed his slim window. Right now, his focus has to be on the grip the Noumu has on him, and making sure it doesn't release suddenly, dropping him from such a lethal height.

Minutes pass by, slowly but surely. It seems to become clear, as they leave Hosu behind, that he is not in danger of being dropped. Wherever they are going, it seems as though the Noumu has a specific destination - which means that it is probably acting on someone else's orders. As sick as it is, the Noumus do not think or act for themselves. That's what he heard and came to understand for himself. They only follow the orders of someone else - primarily, Shigaraki.

Did Shigaraki send this Noumu after me...? Why?

It's hard to stay calm in the position that he is in. He is suspended far in the air, above even the tallest buildings, heading for some unknown destination. The only thing standing between him and falling to his death is the Noumu carrying him, which does not instill much confidence. All in all, he is terrified. No one else is around, so he doesn't have to hide it. He could die at any moment and he might be flying right to the League of Villains, where he might die anyway. The uncertainty and high likelihood of death leaves him in great fear.

At some point, what feels like hours later, they suddenly begin to descend. It's rapid - Izuku feels as though he's free falling. For the first thirty seconds or so, it's tolerable, but then it's like the blood rushes to his head and his body enters some sort of panic - which culminates in him losing consciousness for the time being.