Author's Note: There are so few animes that make me binge pretty much every season in such a short amount of time. It would have to be a pretty incredible piece of anime with wonderful characters, beautiful animation and intense action. And My Hero Academia did nothing short of deliver on all spectrums. It is an absolutely amazing show and I have no doubt believing it's one of the most popular anime's out right now. And with all the dynamics set in such believable and great ways, I found myself wondering something: What would happen if a group of people with knowledge of the shows and characters found themselves transported to the World of Heroes, a world that can adapt just as quickly to them as they can to it? I've noticed a distinct lack of these types of stories in the My Hero Academia section, which saddens me because personally, those kinds of stories are my favorite kind. Just the sheer idea of people from the regular world dealing in dimensions that they both know and don't know. The changes that occur. It's always a fascinating idea.
And I figured I'd throw my hat into the mix as well.
I don't own anything except the group of four about to be introduced. All characters and world ideas belong to Kohei Horikoshi and the My Hero Academia show and manga. If you enjoy and want me to continue, please Follow, Favorite and Review! And I do hope you enjoy!
Prologue: A Rapid Change in Scenery
From a very young age, we were always told one thing: Nothing was better then being a hero.
We saw it in the comics and on TV all the time; the praise and respect a hero gets and the overwhelming positivity they would receive from the public they cared about. And for the longest time, we were always told the most important lesson for all: you don't need powers to become a hero.
And that fit well with the world we lived in. Nobody had any special powers or world-changing abilities. We were just human. Plain and simple. And to be honest, we never expected to be anything more than that.
But fate had another plan for us. A plan weaved around us and the fate of an entirely different yet familier universe.
This is our story of how we became heroes.
Maxwell
"No no no," Chase presisted from the right backseat of the car, his hands running through his dirty blonde hair in frustration. "You're all wrong on so many levels!" As everyone continued to chuckle around him, he pointed an accusatory finger at the shotgun seat of the car. "First of all, you left probably the most important story of all: World War Hulk! He almost destroyed a freaking continent with a single step when he was at his angriest! If that's not strength, I don't know what the hell is."
"I didn't forget it." Micaela quickly replied, turning in the shotgun seat to face Chase and whipping her long chocolate colored hair nearly in the eyes of Maxwell. "I just didn't mention it because of the obvious fact that that strength was because of outrageous amounts of anger. He just lost his wife, child and his whole planet and had pretty much reached the peak of absolute anger. That doesn't mean he's like that all the time, which means he doesn't have that strength all the time, which means he's the exact same strength as Solomon Grundy, except missing the undead quality. The way I see it, that makes it clear who exactly will win. Not the Hulk."
As Chase fumed in the back and began thinking of any kind of comeback to his disproven evidence, Maxwell made eye contact with Alice through the rear-view mirror and dramatically rolled his eyes. She smiled and appropiately responded with a mimed gun in her mouth, which got Maxwell to almost laugh out loud.
They both learned long ago that when Chase and Micaela got into debates, there wasn't anything that could be said to stop them. Heck, you could could tell them that you'd rig the lottery for them if they stopped and it wouldn't have done anything but start another argument about who should end the argument.
But that's how they had always been and actually how they all met in the first place.
Max Barnnel remembered how he started the fifth grade with a very scarce amount of friends (most would say none at all). Not very many people wanted to make friends with a quiet, nervous and nerdy ADHD student who frequently wore his older brothers larger hand-me-downs and didn't partake in loving the goriest movies known to mankind. And for a long time, he thought he knew why.
He was an outcast, outside the realm of normal that the boys in his grade had grown to fond of. They were into horror movies, cars, football. He was into cartoons, comic books, regular books and board games. He definitely didn't meld with any of them in any sense of the word. And he had honestly given up trying to find anyone to relate to within the school itself.
Then, in the sixth grade, like fate itself set to intervene, he tripped just outside the school library and stumbled right into the blonde nusicance and top track runner known to all as Chase Villa. That knock set them on bad terms at first, with Chase being outset and angry that he had knocked over all of his binders and Max being too quiet and shy to argue back, instead settling for vowing to never come in contact with him again.
But it was about near the end of the argument that Max had taken notice of the large amounts of Dragon Ball Z and Naruto drawings that had fluttered to the ground from Chase's binder.
Max started talking a mile a minute upon seeing that, spouting about how good the drawings were and how good the shows were and everything that was suddenly in his mind.
Chase, a little surprised at first with how fast the conversation turned, quickly recovered and started to go into more of how he drew and the animes that he enjoyed. And with that, the rest was history.
Max and Chase grew to be fast friends after that. They stuck by each other all the way through High School, where they quickly crossed paths with both Alice and Micaela, who were also hardcore geeks at heart. They started hanging out together through Marvel movies, Fullmetal Alchemist, Game of Thrones and My Hero Academia. And you could say their friendship was a set and surfire thing from there.
Speaking of animes...
"Alright," Max said, holding up one of his hands from the steering wheel. "I see both your points and have come to the unanimous decision that..." Both Chase and Micaela looked to him, there eyes telling him in all kinds of ways that he had better side with one of them. "...none of this matters, All Might from My Hero would kick both of their asses in a heartbeat."
"Max, you bastard!" Chase yelled out. "All these years and all this friendship repritore... and not only do you turn away when I need you most... you drop All Might into this." He mimed a dagger piercing his heart.
"If this was your plan to get us to stop arguing," Miceala said with a smirk. "I'm not seeing how it's working. By the way, Solomon Grundy would totally kick All Might's ass."
"Same with the Hulk!" Chase said. "Kicking All Might around, I mean."
"Are you sure about that?" Alice asked with a smile.
"Of course!" Chase argued. "The Hulk stood up to Thanos, the biggest and baddest of the Marvel Universe, and traded blows with him!"
"Solomon Grundy matched up with Green Lantern and Superman, two of the most powerful heroes in the DCU, and threw them around like they were ragdolls!" Miceala added.
"And All Might matched, fought through and actually beat All for One, the biggest boss in the show and probably the most powerful villain power wise." Alice retorted. "Honestly, I think Max is right in that All Might would kick some serious ass."
Thank you, Alice, Max thought to himself as the arguements intensified behind him. Turn their attention on my argument and give them a common enemy. He expected nothing less. Alice had always matched him when it came to planning. It was almost they were on the exact same spectrum of thinking at times, which was the solid catalyst into them becoming fast friends.
They were all seventeen years old and on their last year of High School, which they were all more than ready for. They all agreed that High School was serious hell, with every ounce of drama being seemingly being expanded into the largest thing in the world and every class pretty much enveloping them with stress and work.
They had finally survived long enough to hit Christmas break and properly celebrate the fact that they only had about four or five more months to go until their freedom. And they had all planned to celebrate in style.
Salinas Valley Comic-Con was in swing up near Central California and all four agreed that there was no better way to celebrate then with about a thousand other geeks just like them. With Max being the only one with access to a car, they had elected him to drive (which was fine with him as long as they chipped in for gas) and they were off.
It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. They were only about an hour out from Salinas Valley and him and his friends were currently in full geeky swing. It seemed perfect... except for the fact that for the last couple of minutes, traffic had been less then ideal.
There was no slowing traffic, but there was a school bus that was always at his side and never seemed to keep in it's lane. It swerved every so often and just seemed to drive awkward. More awkward then any other driver Max had seen. But, as long as they didn't hit him, Max didn't see it at his problem.
He keyed back in on the car conversation, which had pulled greatly into the All Might fight.
"Grundy can be torn apart limb by limb and still manage to come back," Miceala stressed. "And one would need to actually beat him strength and constitution. And I seriously doubt that regular human All Might can compete with a zombie in those regards."
"BUT just because he's big doesn't mean he's crazy strong," Chase said with his impish smile. "I dare even say that All Might is WAY STRONGER then Solomon Grundy with all we've seem him do." He raised a finger. "Now, his strength versus the Hulk..."
"All Might literally socked a genetically engineered super-beast into space and beyond after landing three-hundred hits in less then a minute, Chase," Alice said. "I think he would be able to match Hulk easily."
"Sure, speed-wise. But outlasting him?" Chase leaned in towards Alice. "I'm pretty sure the Hulk has taken far worse then just three-hundred punches and one good sock. Heck, the guy has gone against probably the strongest of the Marvel Universe and has been thrown through god knows how many things in the past, yet he STILL finds a way to win. I think it's obvious Hulk could pretty much take and deal a lot of damage back."
"Good points, Chase," Max pipes up. "But still no. Hulk can take a lot, sure. But I doubt even he could take a Plus Ultra point-blank smash that pretty much rips through the body. Or a near full power smash that could level a section of the city. Or a United States of Smash blow that would, for all intensive purposes, atomize him."
"Underestimate him, you do." Chase replied in a flastsetto Yoda voice.
"Oh, does he?" Miceala asks, resting her head in her hands in a mocking manner. "Do tell."
"Oh, where to start?" He holds up a finger. "First of all, All Might has never had to deal with Gamma Radiation, which Hulk just exhumes if he ever-"
That's all Chase managed to get out before an explosion of sound rattled the windows of the car. Time seemed to slow down as Max instinctually turned to his right and towards the sound and the flash that followed in the corner of his vision. Horrid realization settled across him as he fully took in the sight in front of his eyes.
One of the bus's front wheels had violently blown in a mix of sparks and smoke, veering the large vehicle to it's left and towards Max's car and the middle of the highway itself. The bus driver was trying to seize control of the veering vehicle, but it was far too late for that.
Adrenaline coursed through every ounce of his body as he painfully clutched the steering wheel and turned with all of his strength, the screams and yells of his friends echoing in his ears alongside the skids of cars and cracking of glass. His side slammed into the middle port of the car as the vehicle skidded to the side, grating against the cement of the highway and clipping two cars who were also trying to halt themselves.
His car finally came to a screeching halt right in front of the veering bus, which topped to it's side with a massive crash and crunch of glass and metal as they collided against the highway. Black smoke poured from the front of the bus as flames began to lick the underside of the vehicle itself, shading the vehicles closest to the inferno in a red haze.
In a matter of seconds, the highway had become the closest thing to hell on Earth that Max could imagine.
But he couldn't dwell on that for long. He quickly turned to the passenger seat, his hand clutching on Miceala's shoulder. "Miceala? Miceala?! Are you alright?!"
A few silent and horrifying seconds passed before a cough from Miceala steadied Max's breathing.
"I'm okay," Miceala replied, her hand clutched upon a gushing scar across her forehead. "I'm okay."
Max let out a sigh of relief before turning to the backseat. "Chase! Alice!"
"Alive!" Chase replied. "We're alive!" He was leaning over towards Alice, checking over the brunette for any kind of injuries.
Chase's left arm had visible bleeding scars and Alice had bruises visible on her knees and arms, but otherwise both were okay, which lifted probably the biggest weight off of Max's chest. All of his friends were still alive. And he still had a chance to get them out safely.
"Can you all move?" Max asked. When they all nodded, Max wasted no time opening his door and jumping out. "Then we need to leave! Now!" He quickly made his way to the drivers side backseat, prying it open and cautiously pulling out Chase, who slightly groaned in response.
Miceala quickly followed suit, jumping to the passengers side backseat and extracting Alice, steadying her to her feet.
As Max prepared to tell his friends to start moving, he heard another flare of flames from behind him. He turned just in time to see the front of the bus become enveloped in fire, kicking more black smoke into the air and hazing the air in an ominous small of burning rubber and a thick red ozone.
Many kids were not hopping out of the upturned bus's windows, coughing and covered with cuts and bruises, but still alive. Many, but not all. People all around were trying their best to help (including the dazed bus driver), but the flames and smoke were too intense and the ever present threat of explosion was driving people away from the trapped kids. The situation was spiraling too fast to wait on any fire department. The kids needed help now.
Max felt his fists clench. Everything in his mind was telling him no. The fire was too intense. It had been too long. The bus was close to explosion by now. The whole situation was beyond him. But... was it? What was it that Chase had said to him all those years ago?
Your mind will always tell you no. Any kind of situation, it will always tell you you can't. But if you want to get over your shyness, let me give you some advice. If you want to accomplish, ignore that voice. And do everything in your power to get to your goal. You don't need your mind.
You just need your drive and instinct.
"Max!" Chase yelled to him, snapping him back to reality. He held a look and expression that said he knew exactly what Max was thinking. "I want to help them too! I do! But we can't do anything! We need to get out of here!"
"We have to go, Max!" Alice pleaded.
"It's too dangerous!" Miceala added.
A moment of indecision flicked through his mind. They're right, Max thought to himself. I can't do anything. The way everything is, the best thing we can afford to do is wait for help. He turned to begin guiding Chase and his friends as far away from the blaze as they could afford to go. The best thing I can do is keep them safe and hope that the fire department arrives in-
Then, it seemed everything in the world was silenced. Every sound or noise seemed to mute in the presence of a singular scream for help, a child's scream, within the bus itself.
And that was the point that Max's body seemed to move on it's own.
He managed a quick mutter of "Miceala" as he shifted Chase from his shoulder to hers before taking off at a dead sprint towards the disaster, his shoes slamming into the cement and adrenaline coursing through every vein in his body.
His friends shouts to him were in the furthest part of his mind as he quickly arrived to the overturned underside of the bus and, with a leap, slammed into the topside of the burning bus.
His skin stung and blistered against the heated metal, but he didn't even fully register it as he took in a suck of air before leaping through the broken window of the vehicle and into the interior.
Max's eyes watered and burned through the heat, embers and smoke, but he continued to push. He shifted through the bus seats in determination, coursing towards the source of the cries. He wasn't immune to the situation around him, with pangs of fear and worry coursing through his ever active mind. But, even with the fear, he knew that he couldn't leave now. Not with kids in danger like this.
Afraid, but unwilling to relent when someone is in danger.
It felt like he had been in the bus for hours already. Sweat dripped across his forehead and nose. Every ounce of open skin seemed to be screaming in utter pain. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. Not until...
He came to a stop in front of three screaming kids, one girl and two boys. They were all peppered with bruises and cuts, their clothes very visibly torn. And they were terrified. They couldn't see anything. They couldn't breathe. They couldn't see a way out.
And Max couldn't leave them alone.
He quickly shot his arms forward and grabbed the girl and one of the boys. "Hey!" He called out to the final boy, who looked to him. "I'm here to help, but I can't guide you!" He rasped and coughed. "What's your name?"
The boy coughed and hiccuped through the smoke. "Alex."
"Okay, Alex! I know the way to the exit! I can get you out of here before the fire gets to us! All I need you to do is follow close behind me! That's all you need to do!" He coughed and wretched. "Can you do that, Alex?"
Alex, through the tears and coughs, nodded and quickly fell in line behind him, the kid's small shoes cracking against the broken glass and metal.
"Okay, we're going to move fast, so keep up!" Max quickly turned and rapidly made his way down the bus, Alex and the others in tow.
By this time, smoke had begun to rapidly course through the confines of the bus and restrict every space of the vehicle, clouding every ounce of free air. Max felt his breathing continuing to heavy and strain, alongside the kids. His lungs were screaming at him to stop, but he refused. If he stopped now, he knew he would never see the light of day again.
He continued to fight through the embers and smoke, pushing through the burns outside his body and inside. His body was his only drive through the ordeal, pushing him further and further through the scream of his mind. He had been held captive by his mind before. He wouldn't allow it again. Especially now.
After what seemed like an enternity of navigating through the smoke and heat of the bus, Max finally found relief as his gaze set on the broken window he had come in through. He had made it.
And just in time, He thought to himself, looking back towards the encroaching flames. "Alright, I'm going to boost you guys up and out of here! Alex, you first!"
"What do I do when I get out?!" Alex asked as Max started to boost him.
"Jump off the bus and get as far away as you can!"
"It's too far!" Alex argued. "I'll hurt myself if I jump that far!"
Max felt his lips purse. Alex wasn't wrong. The jump from the bus to the ground would have probably injured the kids. But, with the flames approaching and smoke thickening, he didn't see he had much of a choice. Just has he began to relay that to Alex, a voice spoke out from the bus.
"No, you won't!" Chase exclaimed, lowering his hand down to Max and the kids. "Not if I lower you down!"
He sat at the top of the bus, crouched over, arm extended and ready to haul the kids up. Blood was still visible on his arm, but the would itself was shrouded by Alice's blue sweater, which had been tied around the gash itself. Chase held no smile, but there was still that spark of calm in his eyes that brought a fresh breath of relief to Max's ragged and freaked out mind. Still, that didn't silence the worry.
"Chase, what are you doing here?! You're injured! Are you sure you can-?!"
"I'm in pain, yeah," Chase replied with a smile. "But that never stopped me through my track practices and I'll be damned if it stops me now!" He extended his arm as far as he could go. "If you can muster up the courage through all this to save these kids, then so can I, dammit! You're not going to upstage me, Max! Now let's get you all the hell out of here!"
Courageous and uplifting to all, even in the darkest of scenarios.
Max hesitated for a moment before firmly nodding. He boosted Alex up to Chase, who grabbed him and brought him up to the bus, all while keeping the attention of Alex fixed firmly on him with jokes and questions. Chase visibly winced and struggled through the process, but manged to power through it as he took Alex out of view for a moment.
As Max prepped the girl for his boost up, Chase came back into view.
"Whoa, I didn't know we had a princess on the bus," Chase started with a smile, earning a smile back from the girl before turning with a worried expression to his friend. "You're doing great, but we need to speed this up."
Max didn't need to ask for clarification from Chase. The bus had been burning for a while and steadily moving. By now, it was probably at the edge of the gas tank.
"I know!" Max quickly replied. "Here, take her and get back here as fast as you can!"
Chase nodded as he took the girl up. "Fast as I can!" He moved out of vision, but Max can still make out his shouting. "Miceala! Take her! Quick!"
Miceala is here too?! Max thought to himself. Oh my God. If Miceala is here, then that means Alice is probably close as well. He didn't know how to feel at that moment. On one hand, his friends were here and helping him, which gave him the biggest boost of all. On the other, his friends this close to the bus? He didn't like it. And he needed to get this done. Fast.
As he boosted the last child up to Chase, his longtime friend quickly moved him to the side and stretched out his hamd again.
"What are you doing, Chase?" Max asked. "Get him out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you down here any longer!" Chase replied. "We're all getting out of here now!"
Max processed that for a moment, looked to the fire massed in the front of the bus before nodding firmly. He agreed completely. He took a few steps back and leapt up, his hand slamming into Chase's. He let out a cry of pain with the strain on his arm, but he muscled through the agony and, with a roar, was able to pull Max to the top.
"And here I was thinking you were the lightest person of our group like a dumbass," Chase groaned before helping Max up and pushing both him and the kid forward. "Move!"
The heat had only intensified since Max had first went into the bus. Black smoke now fumed above them, blocking out any visibility of the Sun above. All around them, cars lay abandoned as people desperately tried to get out of range of any kind of explosion. The screams of sirens sounded through the chaos, but they still sounded a ways away. And quiet compared to the whistles of metal contorting to the heat. They didn't have any more time. They needed to leave.
The boy reached the edge of the bus first and stayed frozen there for a moment before Chase arrived.
"Alright, I'm going to throw you down to Miceala down there and she's going to help get you out of here! Are you ready?"
The boy nodded through his tears and Chase quickly picked him up. "Alright, one... two... three!"
With a mighty throw and wince, Chase threw the boy below, where the distant form of Miceala was waiting with outstretched arms.
She stumbled a bit as the kid made contact but she quickly recovered and placed him down on the ground.
"Okay, you're going to move forward and find and find a black-haired girl." Miceala explained, motioning forward. "She's going to take you to your friends and far away from here, so stick to her as soon as you see her, okay?"
The boy nodded in understanding and she moved him forward, where Alice was just returning from the distance.
"Come with me! It's going to be okay!" She urged as she took his hand and lead him away from the burning bus.
As they disappeared from sight, Miceala turned to Chase and Max. "Okay, we need to get out of here, now! If those are all the kids, then we need to get as far away as possible and wait for the proper authorities. Get down a little further so you don't get burned anymore then you already are, hop down from there and let's get going."
Tactical and caring, even through fear
"You go first, Chase," Max stressed to his friend as they made their way down the burning bus. "With your injuries, you need to get the hell out of here now."
"Like Hell I am," Chase replied. "You just spent ten minutes inside a burning bus. You're getting out of here first."
They had reached the end and Max turned to Chase. "No! You need to get out of here! If you don't get that arm checked out, it's going..."
That's when Max was cut off by the screeching crunch of metal and a boom that seemingly shot across the world. The bus violently shifted all at once, throwing both Max and Chase backwards and away from their escape.
Max felt his back slam into the twisted metal and there was an explosion of absolute pain as he slid across the bus and stopped near a jutting window piece. Fresh heat burned through his exposed back as gulped down air in an attempt to keep down his nausea, his hands grinding against the broken glass.
He wasn't able to see Chase at all, but he heard his groans of pain through the crackle of flames and the whistle of metal. Through the tears of pain and ache of his back, he felt himself begin to grind his teeth.
It can't let it end like this, Max thought to himself as he dragged himself up. I need to get them out. I need to-
He stopped as he heard the rhythmic click against the metal in the distance before coming to an abrupt stop.
"MAX! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
... Alice?
Max felt his body pry itself from the mix of glass and metal with an eruption of pain. Everything told him to stop and rest. Everything would heal and the pain would cease if he would just stop and rest.
Not now, Max thought to himself. Not ever again! "ALICE!"
The footsteps started again almost instantly. And they headed straight towards him. He felt hands grab onto his arms and pull him to his feet. His vision cleared and he saw the worried face of Alice, her skin smeared in a mix of soot and bruises from the initial crash.
"Thank God!" She pulled him close and began to run the length of the bus towards their escape. "Miceala is going after Chase! We're meeting them near the edge of the bus and we're all getting out of here!"
"Alice," Max muttered, half-delerious from pain. "We've taken up too much time already. You should have..."
"I'm not leaving any of you," Alice aggressively retorted, looking back at him. "Ethier we all leave together or we don't leave at all. And that's final."
Unwilling to leave friends and allies, no matter the cost.
Time seemed to speed by as Alice dragged him along. One moment, Max could register being nowhere except near fire. The next, he was at the edge of the bus, Miceala near them and Chase on her shoulder.
Chase looked worse then ever before. Blood now caked his hair and a scar had been torn across the underside of his right eye. He looked to be on the edge of counciousness and sanity itself.
"Alice!" Miceala shouted. "We jump now!"
Brave, all of them. The traits of heroes strong in all of them.
Alice and Miceala's shoes cracked against the cement as they leapt, cries showing just how painful the landing had been. The jostle was enough to flare the pain on Max's back. But, through all of this, both Miceala and Alice kept pushing, shoving through the heat and thickness of the smoke.
They all deserved life for braving a disaster on this scale.
But, even as Alice and Miceala began to put distance between them and the bus, a high pitches boiling whistle rang through Max's ears. One that greatly increased as the seconds ticked on.
They did not deserve this.
No, Max thought to himself, tears of both pain and realization taking form in his eyes. It's too late.
They did not deserve pain.
The whistle faltered as the flames engrossed the last of the bus's gas tank, igniting it in a titanic explosion that engulfed the entire area.
They did not deserve death.
Nobody had any time to react. The fire washed over them in an instant, cutting through cloth and flesh.
Pain and sadness were among the last feelings that Max among many others. But regret? Regret was not one of them. They had saved the kids from a painful death. And if he had to bear it instead...
So be it. He thought as darkness faded over his eyes and he felt the last of his breath leave his body, his soul lifting from his burned body.
And Death doesent deserve them. And it will not have them. Not here. And not now.
Max felt himself floating, air pushing against his back and chest. His back was no longer rigid with absolute pain. It was almost as if his back injury had never happened. In fact, it seemed like every injury he had obtained throughout the course of the disaster had dissapeared. He felt no pain.
And as he floated, he registered flashes of visions around him. Scenes that were both familier yet... unfamilier. In the visions, he recognized the towering buildings of Japan, proud and unique. The spanning streets that were filled with cars, stoplights and signs as they stood to guide thousands through the city on a daily basis.
But there was no hope in these visions. In these visions, Japan burned. Large snaking smoke stacks shadowed behind the buildings, the only thing visible through the red haze and embers prevelent in the air. Cars lay smashed and ruined across every inch of street, some dipping into the massive craters that had been punched through the concrete.
Scorched skeletal remains decorated the length of the sidewalks, all we beyond recognition. The store fronts had windows shattered and doors punched in. Some buildings had callapsed in on themselves, while others had been blown away in their entirety.
It was like the apocalypse had come to the city itself. And Max had a front seat view to it.
Before he could question any further, he found himself on top of a crumbling building, surrounded by fire. There, a group had amassed in a circle, comprising of many strange-looking menaces, including a man with an eye instead of a head, a woman laced in what looked like barbed wire, a reptillian like creature with thousands of limbs jutting from it's back, a black wisp of smoke in a well tailored suit that...
Max stopped. A wisp of smoke? A well tailored suit? His mind raced as his eyes scanned the individual, locking onto the merciless yellow eyes and the constant warp he seemed to be in.
No... it can't be... Kurogiri?! From My Hero Academia?! But... he's not real. He's not a real person!
Yet there he stood, as flesh and blood as an actual living breathing person.
If he's real... then...
"Well fought, hero."
A single sinister voice seemed to cut through the lines of the villains, parting them enough to reveal a mask that Max had seen and discussed countless times before... but never once thought he would see in front of him. The mountain of a man also wore a well-tailored suit, but it wore no visible wear and tear as Kurogiri's had.
This man didn't have a scratch on him. And he carried himself in such a way that spoke volumes about who was truly in charge of the group. His hands world on the arms of the suit as he walked, showing a precision need to present himself in front of his goons. He showed no expression. Even if he did, it wouldn't have been seen as his face was protected by a black life-support helmet that hid the malice that no doubt glowed within his eyes.
Even being seemingly unseen and unheard by the villains themselves, Max still felt an ice cold grip on his heart, pulling at it with such intensity, he siezed up in fear. The most powerful of them all, discussed thousands of times by Max and his friends in the past without fear. Now... he regretted every joke he had at the villain not being intimidating. He knew nothing of fear then. He knew it now that he had seen him.
All-for-One.
"You've managed to defeat a great many of my top men and continue your fight to the point of cracking through a fair amount of our strike teams." All-for-One coldly chuckled as he approached the center of the circle. "It's impressive, your willpower. You've lost every single thing and person that you cared about in this world. Watched countless heroes mightier then you go against us and fail... and yet you still fight."
Max could only watch as the man swept aside his goons and bored down on a struggling form, clad in a green uniform that matched and gleamed against his green hair and eyes. He looked exhausted and bloodied, his clothes torn and shredded to reveal deep bleeding scars etched into his skin.
Tears glistened down his bloody cheeks, dripping onto the crack ground and landing near his scorched boots. He looked ready to drop at a moment's notice.
Yet, he still stood, green lightning crackling around his body, his fist clenched and glowing, and his teeth gritted in what almost looked like what used to be a smile warped into a look of fury.
Max recognized and knew him in less then a second. And it was like everything he thought he knew had vanished. It was him. One of the most recognized anime heroes now next to the likes of Goku and Naruto. In the flesh and on the breaking point.
"You've impressed me on every sense and aspect," All-for-One continued. "And that is not a compliment I give easily, Izuku Midoriya."
"... All Might never gave up," Izuku replied through his gritted teeth and pure emotion. "Even when everything was against him, when all hope was lost, he never gave up." He clenched his fists tighter. "That's what made him the Number One Hero: He would never quit, even when he was outnumbered forty-to-one. He trusted me with One-For-All! He gave it to me to make me his successor!"
There was an explosion of green electricity and energy from Izuku, causing all the villains except All-For-One to flinch.
"And how can I call myself a successor to All Might if I give up and let you walk away!" He looked up to the villain, his eyes shining bright green with power. "For all the innocent people you killed... for all my friends! For IDA! For URARAKA! For my MOM! FOR ALL MIGHT! I WON'T STOP FIGHTING TILL YOUR STOPPED, ALL-FOR-ONE!"
All-For-One remained silent for a moment. "Courageous indeed." He looked to his goons. "Don't let up until he's down." He raised his arm, his suit swelling and protruding, preparing for his next attack. "We stop these so-called heroes here and now, once and for all. With the death of All Might's apprentice."
At that, all the villains swelled forward at once, their powers and weapons powering up to full as they flanked Izuku with full intent to kill.
As Max watched on in horror, as the vision began to fade, as the villains closed in, Midoriya funneled all of his energy to his right fist and jumped forward, his expression warping into a smile.
"I'm want to save people with a smile on my face, just like you!"
"DELEWARE! SMASH!"
As a mighty explosion enveloped the entirety of the building, the vision fully faded.
Darkness overtook Max for a moment before white came into view. He took in that he was in an infinitely white location, glowing brighter then anything he had experienced before. There was nothing around him, nothing in front of him. He was floating in an empty void.
His hands instinctually shot to his back and chest, looking for any signs of scars or scabs. To his absolute shock, there was nothing. No scars. No burns. Not even a bump. His clothes looked good as new, not a single scorch mark or smear. It was like absolutely nothing had happened to him.
"Is this heaven?" He asked aloud. "Am I dead?"
Yes. And no.
Max jumped at a resounding voice echoed throughout his head. He turned and found himself staring at a shining figure. No facial features, no clothes, no body features, nothing. It was like pure light embodied a human form.
"Who are you?!"
I have never had need for a name in this place, nor in any aspect of life. But if you're looking for identification for me, simply call me Foresight. I am a simple observer, a watcher of events that transpire on one of many worlds.
"What happened to me?!"
I have secured you from the grasp of death and taken you outside of it's boundaries for the time being. You still very much exist, but you are no longer physically anchored to your birth universe or it's laws. Foresight motioned to him floating. Including gravity.
Physically attached to the universe? Max wondered, his mind in absolute shock. He ripped me away from the laws of physics? How? Why? He looked below himself, his legs dangling wildly with nothing physical to land on, but with no signs of him beginning to fall. He just floated. Where the hell am I?
"If I'm not dead, where am I? Limbo?" He asked with a little fear.
No. This place bears a physical resemblance to what your mind knows as Limbo, but it is not. Foresight outstretched his arms in a presenting form. You are nowhere, Maxwell Barnnel. And everywhere.
"Enough! Please just give me a solid answer before I freak out!"
Very well. You are currently in the space between universes, the veil that separates each universe from one another. It is both the largest and smallest area within dimensions, dependent on your point of view
A myriad of emotions coursed throughout Max's body as he processed what he had just been told. He was... outside of the universe? HIS universe?
He suddenly felt very isolated as he took in the sight. He was far and away from everything familier, everything he had known.
This has to be a dream. A really really REALLY messed up dream. Wake up wake up WAKE UP.
Max slapped his hand against his cheek in an attempt to wake himself up. But, to his horror, he wasn't waking up. And he felt no pain.
"Why can't I feel anything?"
You have no pain receptors, Maxwell. The body that you have now is one I constructed to house your soul within. It was built with the purpose of mentally stabilizing you enough for calm discussion, not replacement of your previous body. You feel nothing, excrete nothing, need nothing. Your vision is, however dulled. As well as your hearing.
"Oh, a second body? Is that all you did? Well... that's..." That was all Max could bear. He felt himself heave, trying to vomit something, ANYTHING out of his body to rid himself of the white ball of emotion that sat at the bottom of his fake stomach of disbelief, shock and overwhelming sadness.
You excrete nothing. Foresight repeated as he heaved again.
"I heard you the first time!" Max yelled. "Just give me a minute! I need some time!" Max remained silent for a moment, taking in everything he could before coming to a stand. "Why... Am... I...Here? Why... Me?"
Foresight stepped near him. You are here to correct a fate that has been greatly distorted and corrupted. We chose you out of millions as, after examining you for quite a while, we believe you are one of the prime candidates to fix the wrongs that have been commited and remain unswayed by any other factors.
"Correct a fate?" Max asked incrediously. "What fate? What's been distorted enough that-" Max stopped mid-word. His mind flashed back to the visions he had recieved. Of Japan on fire. Of All-For-One. Of Midoriya's last stand. "Midoriya's fate..."
He is a well known individual in your universe. Foresight said quietly. Every accomplishment he makes, every battle that was forged, every person he helped save. All well known by millions in your world. You've seen the pinnacle of a hero with the true intent of saving lives because he wished. It is unfortunate that you had to be shown his end in such a way.
His end? Max thought. No. That can't be how it all ends. "You said there was distortion of fate. That something got corrupted and changed it all. So that means that's not Izuku's true end!"
It is the true end fate has destined for him now.
"How?! How did it all change?!"
Interlopers. Pieces that had not been there before have shifted into place and have altered the course of fate. We are unsure how.
"You can't fix this?! Halt them?! Save all these people?!"
If we had that power, we would. But there have been many laws put in place to prevent us from interfering with the physical world. With all of our power, there comes a cost. I was tasked with watching their world, not warping it. The only reason I was able to extract YOU as I did is because I am not restricted to certain rules in your universe as opposed to my own. Even then, it took most of my power to do so.
You are an exception. A piece from another game with other rules that can be played to mine. You can be dropped into this world. You know the map of this history. The people that effect it all. You can right these wrongs. You can put fate back on course. You can halt the interlopers.
All you have to do is accept.
Max took a deep breath and tried to process it all once more. It was all too much. So much to take in. He was tasked with entering a world he thought was fictional, with powers beyond his wildest dreams, in order to help them stop total destruction and massacre.
Pressure and panic built up inside of him, exploding across his senses. He didn't know what to think. His parents were-
Oh My God!
"My family! My friends!" Max shouted to Foresight suddenly. "Do they know what's happening?! Where I'm going?"
Foresight looked away for a moment, then back at him.
You were found among the wreckage of the bus, alongside your friends. Your body has already been laid to rest. Your family will grieve and mourn, but slowly adapt. They will come out of this stronger then ever before.
Grief slammed into Max's body like a train slamming into his chest. His eyes begin to well in tears, his thoughts instinctually tearing through every memory he had with them.
His Mom.
His Dad.
His Sister.
Chase.
Miceala.
Alice.
All gone.
Know that if I had the power to save you and prevent your death, Maxwell Barnnel, I would not have hesitated. You did not deserve it for what you did. And you deserved to live your full life.
Max felt his fists clench painfully as red hot tears coursed down his cheeks. Everything and everyone he knew was gone. There was nothing left. "I'm alone."
Not entirely, Maxwell Barnnel.
Max looked to Foresight, grief still in his expression. "What do you mean?"
You were not the only one I extracted from your universe. The three that were with you also had tremendous potential in helping achieve our goal. Therefore, I also siezed them from the jaws of death and brought them.
Max instantly felt like his heart jumpstarted in it's entirety. He wasn't alone! His friends had travelled with him. They were here! They were safe!
"Are they awake? Where are they? Can you bring them here?"
Do not worry. They are all three safe, awake, and doing well. Unfortunately, due to the power I exerted, I haven't been able to communicate the situation as well with them as I have you.
They all exist in different points in the viel and are purposely kept separate. To bring you all together now would invite a lot of energy in a place that is supposed to have none.
They've come to the realization of their situation and they are all taking time to deal with it the best that they can. However, they are unaware of the full extent of the situation and only one other has seen the vision of the hero's last stand. I leave it in the hands of the two of you who know to spread on your knowledge to the others. If you accept the mission handed to you.
Max, through the relief of knowing his friends were with him, felt his mind fix on the burning facts and the question: He had been torn away from everything he knew to save a world and everything they knew. He was due to die in his world, apparently, but he was being given a second chance in the world of My Hero Academia, alongside his friends. They were tasked with saving Midoriya and all of Class 1-A from an event or disturbance that changed everything. And they were the only ones that would know or could act on it.
It was a big task. Some would say an impossible one if intervening in fate was as hard as every tv show involving time travel had shown. He felt like an ant that had been asked to move a house.
Do not feel intimidated, Maxwell Barnnel. Foresight said, making Max jump. You and your friends were not chosen on statistic merit alone. Your actions were the factor that we had looked for.
During that disaster, you did not hesitate to charge forward and help save those children from a burning death. In that moment, you cared not for your own safety or health. You cared only for the safety of the kids. And you did not stop until they were safe.
When Chase Villa ran forward to assist you, he kept morale up, a sense of safety present and humor about him. He helped calm the situation and keep all from panicking.
With Miceala Morgan, she was able to solidify a plan through the circumstances and guide all of you to a simple plan that simplified the matter while remaining tactical and aware of strength and weaknesses.
With Alice Amor, she remained strong on the point of not leaving a friend or an ally behind. She stuck and never left the bus until every one of her friends was safe and secure. She's loyal beyond the meaning of the word.
All of you have shown the traits of true heroes. And with your personalities, drive and courage, we have little doubt that you will flourish in our world and save many people from death.
Max took a moment, letting the words for Foresight settle over him fully before standing up.
"I'll do it." He clenched his fists and looked straight towards the being. "If you're giving me the chance to save all these people from what I saw in these visions, to stop what can only be called pure evil... I'm sure as Hell not saying no. Not anymore."
Foresight nodded to him. Your friends also shared the same thoughts. Honor and courage is present in all of you. He outstretched his hand. This is why death did not deserve any of you. Life deserves you more. This world needs you all.
"... How do I go about joining your world?" Max asked. "You said my body was gone. This one I have is a fake. What's the plan?"
To give you a life that was lost to a family. Before Max could ask for elaboration, Foresight gave it to him with a raise of his hand and a flash of energy, creating a screen that showed four individuals sitting on a train: two boys and two girls, each keeping themselves busy through their phones and devices, not making eye contact. These four had high hopes in life. They had applied to UA, ready to learn and aspire from it. But, due to personal circumstances, each of them decided to leave on this train, forgoing their chance at greatness in order to leave.
Unfortunately, they would never get the chance again. While waiting at a subway station, one of the vehicles cracked off it's tracks and clipped an entire group of people, injuring many and killing the four of them. They're aspirations and chances died with them, robbing UA of potential heroes. And their families and friends were left to deal with what could have been as opposed to what should have been.
Foresight looked to Max. But you will renew their aspirations and continue their legacy. You will each be casted into the bodies seconds after their deaths and take your place within the world. And you will upkeep their potential and spread their names into the history books as the heroes they and you were meant to be.
Max nodded. "Spare their parents the grief and give their image the respect it deserves. All while stopping the bad guys from winning." He nodded again. "Their quirks?"
I am unsure. Quirks are still new aspects to us who watch. And it is still challenging to lock onto which person has what power. You will have to find that out of your own power.
Okay. That's something I'll need to keep in mind. Max let an outtake of breath before looking at Foresight. "Alright. Tell me all you can about their histories."
From that point, Max spent what felt like hours talking to Foresight in regards to each of the four heroes. Their family, their intentions, their reasons for wanting to become a hero, everything. If him and his friends were being thrown into this world as these people, he had to make sure he had every piece of information down pat.
It was like a 60 Days In scenario to Max, trying to memorize everything the best that he could so that it all didn't fall apart upon questioning. Finally, after repeating attributes of his hero back and forth within his head so much he was pretty certain he could write a song, he steeled his nerves and turned to Foresight.
"I'm ready."
As are your friends.
Foresight raised his hand towards Max. A string of pure energy rushed forward from the entity's hand and slammed into Max, knocking the wind out him as well as sending mini-shockwaves through his body.
Once I send you to my world, Maxwell Barnnel, Foresight reminded. I can not assist you any longer, as you will have been anchored to it and subject to the laws that bar my kind. You will only get one shot. I will not be able to save you from death again.
"I understand!" Max replied through the warbles of energy.
Keep your true name and intentions a secret from any ally. The fate of those who would decree something as maniacal as this sounds is not pleasent in any regard.
"Got it! Thank you, Foresight! For everything!"
If a light entity could smile, Max felt Foresight was doing just that.
Good luck, Maxwell Barnnel and friends, in saving this world from an undeserved fate.
With that, the energy calloused around Max's body and, with a speed he never could have imagined, rocketed him forward. The white room and Foresight vanished in a blast of speed as the light of the energy grew brighter and brighter, absorbing Max's full vision and mind.
"Oh my God!"
"What happened?!"
"It just bursted into flames!"
"Destroyed everything!"
"Put out the fires! Now!"
"Check on those kids!"
"Kid! KID! Are you awake?!"
Max was suddenly aware of the fact that a pair of strong hands was shaking him violently, trying to stir him awake. His eyes fluttered open and instantly winced at the bright light shining in his face. His entire side burned and throbbed in pain, as well as his back. He felt his hands grasp at his clothes, noting the tears within the cloth itself.
It seemed like he was back where the bus had caught fire. He had the same injuries, same amount of damage and people around him working to stop the flames.
Was it all a dream? Max thought as he sat up, ignoring the throb in his back and the shocked questions of the man crouching beside him. Did I really manage to survive that explosion? Is everything back to normal?
But, just before he opened his mouth to reply, the question that the man asked next stopped him in his tracks.
"Man kid, I don't know what your quirk is, but even with it, you're damn lucky to be alive."
Quirk?!
Max's eyes shot open, seemingly adjusting to the light in an instant. He was suddenly very aware that the man presiding over him had a pair of antenna jutting out of his forehead. As he slightly stumbled back from shock, his eyes landed on his clothes. They were torn, just as they had been before. But his shirt was now completely different, shaded in a dark design with a shadow design of All Might against it.
His hands were scarred and calloused, showing years of combat expertise that he knew for sure he had never gotten before. And he now wore a backpack, stacked to the brim with books and notebooks.
As everything slowly began to return to him, he reached into his pocket and made contact with a solid plastic card. He pulled it out and raised to the light, recognizing the golden gleam of the UA sigil to the side and the familier face of Hideo Endo, the fourteen year old boy with brown curly hair and tall height that Foresight had spent so much time explaining every detail of his life to Max.
He now held his ID... as well as his face. He was now Hideo Endo. And he was in the world of My Hero Academia.
Next Chapter: Now present in the world of heroes, Max and his friends must now adjust. With the UA Acceptance Exams looming, they must get used to their quirks and new lives quickly. But, with new laws, powers present and people once thought to be only fiction, getting used to their new home will be easier said then done.