If I owned either Code Geass or My Hero Academia then why on Earth am I writing fanfiction about it for entertainment purposes only? Why? Just why?
... to the readers fairly familiar with me, the bad habit has struck again. That is all.
Can I be a Hero?
Prologue
Musutafu, Japan
Brawls between a hero and a villain always drew attention. That was an undeniable fact ever since the Dawn of Heroes. It was also an undeniable truth that heroes of greater renown often drew larger crowds to such a fight, all for the hope of even glimpsing this hero in flesh, and perhaps immortalizing them in their hearts and personal shrines by either being spoken to or receiving an autograph amongst other hopeful wishes and dreams.
... that is if they even want them in the first place.
Not all heroes were well liked, much less popular. Examples of such heroes included Great Gust: overall a good hearted hero who had the ability to created powerful gusts of wind with a deep breath of air and exhaled... the chief downside to this though was that his breath was confirmed to have an outright horrid smell to it, though no one could agree if it was due to either poor dental hygiene or a poor diet. As such he was likely to knock out the villains as well as civilians with his rancid breath. Needless to say anyone in the know tried to avoid his fights whenever he was in action, and as such his popularity was rather low as a result.
Lady Whiplash, another unliked hero, was a darker example of this unofficial listing of heroes... Having the ability to extend her arms to twelve meters which would then slacken and thus enable her to use them as her namesake suggests she could attack villains and criminals at range. At first her problem was marginally understandable: should an overzealous sweeping attack or perhaps some sort of unaccounted for obstacle threw off her aim she had a poor tendency to attack civilians by accident, particularly hostages more often than not. To be fair she had attempted to correct this with training and even adjusting her tactics by resorting to more conservative strikes to avoid further cases of civilian endangerment... but sadly they still occurred despite her efforts. As much as she tried to keep up a good image and to mitigate the damage which occurred she ended up tossing aside what sympathy she had from her fan base when it reached a breaking point with one of her harsher critics who, at the time, was both a hostage and a human shield when the incident took place... the villain ended up having to save his life despite ironically taking him captive in the first place. It should also be noted however that it was more due to the villain's quirk literally binding the man to him in the first place rather than any sense of pity or civil duty on the villain's part. At this very moment she was facing a disciplinary hearing that may revoke her hero license... no one needed to be a genius to know the situation looked bleak considering the charge for aggravated assault had yet to be dropped.
Another example even though it isn't 'official' yet, rather as official as an unofficial list went, there was a growing amount of resentment toward Endeavour that simply couldn't be quelled despite the press conferences, PR stunts and settlements geared toward alleviating the debacle. It certainly didn't help that the majority of this movement in particular were the business owners, home owners, insurance companies, really anyone who had a stake in a building that was unfortunately caught in the literal crossfire when he gets involved, not to mention the people who happened to have been inside those buildings at the time... His brusque nature over the entirety of it all certainly won him no favors. That and the occasional lawsuit against certain media companies for 'defamation' and 'slander' no matter how factual they are about it only served to further question his position as the Number Two hero of Japan. The Heroes Mirror was particularly famous because of these two points.
"GO ON! GET HIM! RIP HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!"
"GET HIM! GET HIM!"
"DODGE THAT—DODGE! ABOVE YOU!"
And then there were heroes where the roles were seemingly reverse... As sad as it was there were just some heroes who had bystanders actively rooting for the villains to outright destroy with nothing more than a half hearted glare from a more upstanding citizen/hero as a reprimand. It was these types of heroes that sadly gave Izuku Midoriya the cold comfort in knowing that despite having a great quirk or at least obtaining the prestigious privilege to be called a Hero, there were indeed individuals that shouldn't be called heroes...
"GAH! AHAHAHAH—"
"OH MY GOD! WATER! SOMEONE GET SOME WATER!"
"DOES ANYONE HAVE A QUIRK THAT CAN NEUTRALIZE ACID?!"
... especially when their power not only enabled them to create portals... portals in which they could easily utilize into to avoid an attack... or even redirect an attack to somewhere else it wouldn't hurt someone on purpose...
Vortex was not a man who should have been called a Hero in the first place.
"Oops," the made snidely sneered with an unapologetic grin without so much as glancing at the man who was being desperately doused with water and rubbed with as many rags and clothing that could be spared at the moment to save his life. The villain, a man who could be best described as skin and bones with a dark complexion gaped at Vortex's callousness. "My portals to pop things out at the most random of places. Quite dangerous really..."
"BULLSHIT! IT'S PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT MAKE STAIN'S CRUSADE ALL THE MORE RIGHTEOUS! ESPECIALLY WHEN ASSHOLES LIKE YOU ROB PEOPLE'S HOUSES!"
All around the growing crowd of pedestrians began to chant and cheer in a discombobulated mess... provided of course if one wasn't standing next to some of these voices. "KICK HIS ASS ACID DUDE!"
"MURDER THE FAKE HERO!"
"TO HELL WITH YOU VORTEX!"
As the man now dubbed the Acid Dude, mostly for the lack of a given name, lunged at the freshly scowling Vortex with his cheeks puffed and ready to vomit another stream of acid at the man at a moment's notice more and more roars of encouragement and cries of doom wishing rose up and mingled into a near indecipherable din that Izuku Midoriya ultimately ignored in the end. He only came to get notes for his hero journals, that was all... sadly in this particular case it was his most laborious task to date despite his infatuation with heroes and their quirks. Then again Vortex wasn't truly a hero by anyone's standards... numerous cases of assault, reckless endangerment, use of unnecessary force, conspiracy for theft, shoplifting... No one was quite sure why he wasn't behind bars yet, never mind in seven different countries at this point, much less understand how the hell he not only still has a license or how he keeps getting employed in each country's set of Hero Agencies before he worn out his welcome, but most could agree that at the very least the ability to create portals with an unprecedented range to reach continents from half a world away made someone like him a tough collar to catch if nothing else...
"AGH!"
"AAAGH! AAAGH! AAAGH!"
"DEAR GOD HE DID IT AGAIN!"
SNAP!
He didn't blame anyone nor even himself in failing to realize he destroyed the pencil in his grasp when the people two bodies to his left were splashed with a redirected stream acid. Acid Dude wasn't even aiming at Vortex that time! Just the light pole to the bastard's right! Anyone—no, EVERYONE could see the angle wouldn't have remotely endangered him in the least! Hell, he could've simply teleported away from the light pole when it finally crashed to the ground!
"Honestly! Someone cou~ld get hurt by that! You should be more careful you know."
"WHAT THE HONEST FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! ARE YOU SOME KIND OF SOCIOPATH!?"
Izuku may have imagined it as he dropped his journal and added his jacket to several others in a desperate attempt to wipe the caustic substance off the victims but he could've sworn he saw Vortex's newfound grin twitched in a dark fashion. A second later he practically fell through the ground as if a hole suddenly opened up beneath him. A second later a flat blue circle opened up just above Acid Dude's head who barely leapt out of the way in time to avoid an axe kick to the head. As he stumbled away however he failed to dodge another portal opening up just in front of him. Before he realized he stumbled through it and that he appeared right behind Vortex he was already in mid spin with a punch at the ready. Disorientated as he was by the sudden change Acid Dude wasn't able to dodge a second time. As such the blow not only connected but decked him as well, yet it wasn't one sided as Vortex would've liked. Whether it was reactionary on his part or an attempt to retaliate Acid Dude launched a loogie of acid at the man. Unlike before it was Vortex's turn to be caught off guard as it landed on the 'hero', splattering along his chest and burning away the fabric of his suit before reaching the skin underneath. "GAH! PIECE OF SHIT!"
Already the 'hero' swiped at his chest with both hands to scrap off the acid but the damage was already done—an ugly burn mark was already forming inside the gaping hole in his white and blue body covering costume; in the midst of his attempt to prevent harm something fell out of a previously unseen pocket in his costume and clattered onto the ground where it would be sadly forgotten for now. With a dark glare and a murderous scowl he redirected his gaze toward Acid Dude as he was groggily pushed himself back onto his feet as he sloppily spat out a bloodied tooth. Yet dazed as he was it seemed he had enough of his wits about him to sense Vortex's gaze upon him and as such returned it with a glare of his own. His eyes widened with shock however when Vortex, either on a whim or perhaps as a deliberate act of showmanship on his part, began to raised his arm up at the elbow with his fingers ready to snap at a moment's notice. Worse yet there was an evil smirk on his lips.
SNAP—BOOM!
In the blink of an eye a portal flared to life and almost disappeared just as quickly. Even so the shockwave that emanated from it alone not only sent Acid Due flying to the other end of the encirclement of pedestrians but whatever but knocked the section of the crowd nearest to the opening of space and time to their own backs, Izuku included. Worse yet for Acid Dude whatever it was that hit him seemed to have been carrying shrapnel as well as ragged burnt chunks of metal either pierced his back or ran through him entirely. To add insult to injury however he neither crashed into the pavement or landed in the crowd on the other side. With a deliberately flick of the wrist Vortex conjured another portal in Acid Dude's path that ultimately spat him back to the same spot as before with a disturbingly meaty 'SMACK'. Acid Dude groaned and gagged and even weakly tried to push himself up despite profusely bleeding out, yet it seemed like he was trying with all his might to stay conscious... it was a losing battle. In the meantime Vortex stalked over to him—
Thwack!
—only to kick him in the face with enough force to flip him from his stomach and onto his back as Acid Dude struggled to remain conscious still, Vortex sneering all the while before spitting on his bloodied form.
Satisfied, the man finally turned to the crowd with a self satisfied smirk—
CRASH!
—only to whip around to find what would normally send a mob such as the one surrounding him into a heartfelt frenzy. To be fair some people did indeed shout out the most beloved name in Japan in genuine excitement, or at the very least mutter his name in awe. But given the entire scene before them not even All Might was in the mood to flash his practically patented thousand watt smile. Instead a grim frown adorned his lips as his shadowed eyes bored down on the Vortex.
"Hey buddy!" Vortex replied as he armed himself with a sardonic smile. "Could've used your help earlier! But I guess you had better things to do, didn't you?" He then snapped off a two fingered salute. "Well I got to go back to patrol. One of us has to be useful after all."
He then sharply turned with a self satisfied smirk on his lips. He didn't even get half a step away when a powerful arm clamped itself on his shoulder and pinned him in place without the need to flatten the 'hero'. "I think you done enough today," All Might all but growled as the noise of the world beyond the street they were on washed away in favor of the cries of the burnt and abused being tended to by pedestrians who either applied what first aid measures they could think of, or flailed as they desperately dabbed the victims of Vortex's antics. Soon enough the jeers and hisses of the crowd began to drown out the moans and cries, each and every protester calling for Vortex's capture or else for All Might to pummel him into paste, all of which combined with All Might's grasp on his shoulder only contributed to the dark look on his face. With barely any warning he snapped his fingers and a portal opened up under his feet. To his very visible shock with the crowd delighted in he didn't slip through it as gravity would have intended, All Might's grip was just that strong.
"HEY! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU SELF RIGHTEOUS FUCK?! I WAS MERELY DEFENDING MYSELF FROM A VILLAIN ATTACK!" Vortex snarled as he did he level best to balefully glare at Japan's Number One Hero.
As this was happening Izuku's gaze finally tore away to return to Acid Dude who seemed to have found the strength to roll himself back onto his front and managed to drag himself toward a particular destination by perhaps half a meter. He spared a curious glance in the direction of Acid Dude's travel as he finally broke away from the crowd, stripping himself on his light sweater yet kept descent by an undershirt in the meantime. Before long the glint of gold caught his eye and drew it to a spot not too far away from Vortex as the man continued to rant in the face of All Might's disapproving silence. It was apparently a necklace, one bearing a gold pendant with an azure jewel in the middle attached to a leather string as opposed to a gold chain. Sparing yet another glance toward the hero still holding the 'hero' in place Izuku pursed his lips before venturing a jog toward the necklace much to the confusion of the people that noticed him. Even so and perhaps even headless of such Izuku knelt down and quickly scooped the necklace up in one stroke. Had he bothered to look up as he did or even glanced over his shoulder as he made his way to Acid Dude he would've seen All Might not only canting his head in the teenager's direction but had a brow raised up in silent question as well.
... for all his anger and vehemence, Vortex noticed All Might's lapse of attention and without turly thinking about it snapped his head in the presumed direction of what had caught the Symbol of Peace's attention. Furious eyes quickly scanned the teenager only yo turn bug eyed in sudden realization of what was in Izuku's grasp as he dashed to the injured man on the ground. For added clarification and assurance that he wasn't seeing things he patted the very pocket the necklace slipped out of in the first place.
"T-this was yours, wasn't i-it?"
Acid Dude flashed Izuku a weak, genuine but fading smile as he summoned what little energy he had left to reach out to the offered trinket. "It was... nan'sszz..." he man slurred before his hand dropped as a sudden and violent cough tore itself from his throat, sadly adding to the growing pool of blood that now swam along the front half of Izuku's sneakers. Without thinking Izuku pressed the necklace into the dying man's open palm as he rushed to the gaping set of holes in his side. "Hang on! The ambulances should be here soon!" Unnerved as he was by both the sight of the man's blood and the feeling of which now seeping through the legs of his pants the moment he kneeled down Izuku shunted his disgust for the situation as he attempted to staunch Acid Dude's bloodloss. With luck the man would indeed survive long enough for a professional to take over and rush him to an ambulance...
... but it was not to be.
The register of snapping fingers came much too late for Izuku as a portal opened up beneath the two, swallowing them whole in less than a second.
"HA!"
SMASH—"GERK!"
It was the wrong thing to say in All Might's presence...
"What. Did. You. Do. To. Them."
Vortex vomited a spout of spittle as his mind raced to get him out of his current mess. He quickly snapped his fingers yet for once a portal failed to materialize where it intended it, the opening was supposed to appear right behind him yet it didn't! He snapped them again and again in increasing desperation before he started to whip his head wildly to find the cause of his apparent predicament. Sadly the most he could get was someone dressed in dark clothes who had something shining on his face who was slowly approaching from the edge of the crowd.
"ANSWER ME!"
Vortex snapped his gaze back to All Might who bared his teeth to him like a dog ready to lunge at him. With a shaky smile he gave All Might the first answer he could think of in short notice that would remotely placate him. "I, uh, sent them to the Police Station! Can't let an accessory of criminal behavior go unpunished after all!"
Vortex was not comforted in the very least as All Might effortlessly hauled him up from the ground by the collar so he could drill his glare into the 'hero's' eyes. "Then perhaps we should go and check on them then shouldn't we?"
XVX
Tokyo ghetto
"AAH!"
Needless to say landing on already bent legs meant to stay in one place did not do one favors when they suddenly find themselves in an unexpected fall. As such Izuku spent at least a minute cringing in pain as he sucked air through his teeth before he found himself with enough self control to check on Acid Dude's condition...
... while he wasn't remotely an expert, judging from the man's eerie stillness and lack of breath it seemed the shock of the landing finally finally took what was left of the acid spewer's life.
Izuku in response drew his phone out in a panic and dialed for emergency services in the dim hope of saving this man's life only to be stopped by the automatic tone for being out of service. He quickly ended the attempted call and rapidly redialed the number only to be met with the same result. He then looked to the cell's signal bars to determine if he even had a signal. He didn't. It was finally then that he looked up and was immediately caught off guard by the decrepit and dilapidated state of the buildings around him that it was a sheer miracle they were standing at all. The very road they were on wasn't much better.
Confused, panicked and afraid, Izuku got to his feet and began to look in every direction for a sign, a land marker, anything to help decipher where he was. By luck he found what appeared to have been Tokyo Tower, yet the upper half had been shorn off, though it looked serviceable given the fact that the observation deck was brilliantly light up in the growing dusk left behind by the setting sun which only served to confuse him more; a quick check of his phone's clock did indeed tell him it was just a quarter past noon which only amplified his befuddlement. Another craning of his neck and he soon found an even more peculiar sight: multi-tiered platforms in the distance. Iridescent white due to the glow of the setting sun, Izuku couldn't help but stare as he tried to decipher what it was they were for. Upon squinting to get a better look there appeared to be the tops of sky scrapers emerging past the lip of the tallest level.
Sadly for him all wonder as to what it truly was would have to wait. He had to move now if there was any hope of saving Acid Dude's life. As such he shunted such thoughts to the side as he did his level best to tie his sweater as tightly as he could to the man's ripped up side before bracing him for the arduous task that came with lifting the body of an adult man over his shoulder and carrying him off to search for help...
A/N: ... as I said, my bad habit struck again. Made especially worse after doing a brief check in the current section for Code Geass/MHA to see it more or less dominated by Lelouch coming over to MHA rather than the other way around. So first in this catagory (at least in FFnet (IN YOUR FACES)!
Truth be told this is a bit of dangerous ground for me. Why? Because admittedly I never watched/read any of MHA (beyond the Two Heroes movie), and as a general rule I tend to avoid fanfics of subjects I'm not at least familiar with in an effort to not get confused by subjects I obviously don't know jack about... and yet I read MHA fanfiction nevertheless, which I guess gave me enough pseudo confidence to spark this idea after rewatching Code Geass for the fun of it (admit it, we all love our Byronic hero when he's being dramatic. :P)... I mostly blame (and praise) the fanfics Thieves Can Be Heroes by Mugiwara N0 Luffy and Thank You by MizuToriFFN for this idea. Mostly the former which is a double dose considering I never once touched any of the Persona series. Weird, ain't it?
But alas, that's life.
Looks like I have to get off my ass and start watching some MHA (besides the movie).
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention. No refunds.