Izuku stepped into the testing room, looking over at the window where the others were watching. He gave a small, shy wave, his mom and Kacchan returned it, Lariat giving him a thumbs up and a wide grin, before mouthing something while a nurse wrapped something around his arm, checking her watch… before looking up at him in confusion and whispering something in Dr. Tsubasa's ear.

"Alright, Izuku," the doctor said, "You can… you can start with whatever you've figured out when the drone rises. Ok?"

Izuku nodded, chewing his lip and reaching out. There wasn't as much light here, just a few strands leaking from under the door and the vents. Purple, mostly, with a couple of pale green and none of the deep, sick red. Slowly, the purple light came towards Izuku, sparkling as he pushed it towards the little ball robot floating on a jet. It pushed into the robot… and nothing happened.

Maybe things would have gone better if he had his realmstone?

Wait, what was a realmstone?

"Hmmm…" the doctor said, his lab coat swishing as he tilted his head towards the nurse as she said something in his ear, nodding, "Don't worry, Izuku. We have a spike of energy and some malfunctions on our end. Your Quirk probably just works on living things better than robots. Try again, with as much strength as you can."

Izuku closed his eyes, breathing in and pulling as much of the light towards him. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the swirl of energy build at his arm until it hurt, and then he opened his eyes and sent the light at the robot. It sparked and smoked, before falling over and crashing into the ground as the jet stopped. Izuku's arm fell, hurting. Ow…

"Good job, Izuku," Dr. Tsubasa said, "now, you said you could create fire? I'm gonna send up another drome, try that out."

Izuku nodded, holding out his left hand and pulling the green light towards him. After a minute, he had enough light to cause the green fire to light around his hand. Maybe one day he'd be able to make fire around his entire body like Endeavor…

That'd be cool.

Izuku held out his hand, trying to push the fire towards the drone… and nothing happened. The fire didn't move, it just kept flickering around his hand. Izuku tried again, pushing the green light towards the robot, it moved maybe an inch forward before the fire disappeared and vanished into light again. Aw…

"Don't feel too down, Izuku," Dr. Tsubasa said, "You just got your Quirk today. You'll have years to practice with it. Maybe try punching the robot? Banjo, we're gonna need a blood sample, if you don't mind following my nurse to the phlebotomist.

"Yeah, sure," Banjo nodded, before shooting Izuku a thumbs up, "He's not wrong, kiddo. Sometimes the strongest Quirks are the ones that take a bit of time to build up steam with your ability to use them. We'll get it down, even if it takes a while!"

Izuku nodded, turning, running towards the robot and punching it… and immediately clutching his hand in pain as it clanged against the metal, "Ow!"

"Well, that was unexpected," Tsubasa said, "Come on out for now, Izuku. We'll take what notes we have for now and schedule a follow up in six months. Hopefully you'll have made enough progress we'll be able to tell a bit more. Ok?"

"Ok," Izuku said, lowering his hand.

- X Analysis, Izuku Midorya - Dr. Tsubasa X-

Izuku Midoriya:

Quirk: Light of Death (Name Tentative). Emitter Type.

Causes lights to appear in at least two colors. Purple appears to cause minor amounts of decay to wires of a MK. 2 testing drone, enough to cause loss of control of the propulsion jet. Green causes ignition of a fire of the same color, further information unknown at this time. Two sub-notes, pinned below.

Sub-Note 1: A small ball (size of subject's head) of granular stone. Sample taken and sent for testing, results likely to take 2-6 weeks before results return, file will be updated when they arrive.

Sub-Note 2: Banjo "Lariat" Daigoro:

Quirk: Blackwhip, Emitter Type.

Releases black tendrils from hand.

BPM: 0

Blood Type: N/A.

Appears to be animated by Midoriya's Quirk, registered as dead in 20XX from severe trauma after combat with an unknown villain. Appears to be, for lack of a better term, a "ghost". No heartbeat, blood or true body. Limit of this ability to resurrect the dead is currently unknown, and will require authorization from the QRA to examine further.

-X ? X-

"You're sure it's him?"

"I can't say with absolute certainty, but I strongly suspect it. He matches the images you sent me. If I could have gotten a sample of DNA to test against his Quirk Factor, I could say with certainty, but unfortunately…"

"I see…" flat, white hair was meticulously combed to the side.

"Should I prepare some Low Ends? I can have them ready within-"

"No," the man known as All for One said, "it would be a waste to reveal our trump card for something as simple as a particular irksome corpse. He no longer has my Brother's Quirk, and so it shouldn't be too hard to eliminate him. We have two gangs within distance of the hospital. I will encourage them that a clash that just so happens to catch the boy and Lariat would advance their standing within my graces. Delay their leaving, Doctor."

"Will they do it? Hospitals are generally avoided by low ranked thugs, because the retaliation from the 'Heroes'-

"Oh," All for One said, "They will do it, if I order it."

-X Katsuki X-

Katsuki watched Izuku trudge out of the examination room with a pout on his face, giggling slightly, and wincing as her mom slapped her upside the head. Ow.

What, it was funny? He was moping for not having control of his Quirk day one! Didn't that new guy, Best Pants or whatever, say it took him years to get his Quirk going? But he was already in the top fifty a years outta a sidekick gig! Sure, part of it might have been because the older girls at school liked him, but he had some really cool fights!

Not as cool as All Might or Endeavor, but it was really hard to be when your Quirk let you control string (or, well, 'fiber', which sure looked like string). Izuku at least had a chance to become like Endeavor, if he could ever figure out how to shoot his fire.

Still, she probably shouldn't be laughing until her awesome Quirk unlocked, in case she got something lame. That'd be embarrassing.

They made their way through the hospital and into the parking garage without anything interesting really happening… and then the banging went off below them. Everyone locked up, familiar with the sound. It wasn't as common in Mustafu as it was in some other parts of Japan, but it was still a sound that you got used to.

Gunfire. Someone was shooting a gun in the street below.

Daigoro looked over the edge of the garage, face growing pale and seemed to shrink until it wasn't anything more than a thin layer over his skull, the rest of his skin doing the same.

Holy crap, what the hell was going on!?

"Get the kids inside," Lariat said, slipping on his goggles over his eyes, "I'll deal with this."

Lariat jumped over the edge, wrapping his Quirk around it with one hand as he lowered himself. Katsuki shared a look with Izuku, before he helped her climb up onto the hood of her mom's car, helping Izuku up right after so they could look down and watch the fight, Izuku pulling out a notebook.

"Didn't anyone ever tell ya fightin' near a hospital is kinda frowned at?" Lariat asked, "Good way to get-"

"Shut up!" One villain said, pointing his gun at Lariat, only for Blackwhip to launch forward and rip it from his hand.

"Thanks," Lariat said, disarming the gun and throwing it away, "Make it easier for me. C'mon, let's go! I haven't fought in a while and you seem like a good way to break a sweat!"

"You," the leader of one of the gangs growled, the red and black skin around his arms changing into a pair of massive swords, "The boss wants those guys taken down and we're doing it! Outta the way!"

"That'd be the sane thing to do, huh?" Lariat said, cracking his neck before more tendrils of Blackwhip came out of his arms, "Too bad for you I didn't become a hero to do what was sane! Let's go!"

-X Daigoro X-

Unlike many of his fights, there was little obvious reason for Daigoro to be wearing his goggles at the moment, he knew that. He didn't have a gun, didn't see any flash grenades on either side, they hadn't shown any Quirks to irritate his eyes (assuming they even had a Quirk. What was the ratio of Quirklessness nowadays? One in three? Four?), and they weren't high enough for the wind to sting his eyes.

"Do you think we care about stupid rules the government put in place!?" The leader of the other gang said, four sharp tipped limbs bursting through specifically cut holes in his salary man's suit, two lifting him into the air as he stabbed for Daigoro with another, "Using our Meta Abilities is a human right!"

Meta Ability. That wasn't a term he had ever expected to hear again. Pops had used it when he was really mad at people with Quirks. Meta Freaks. A relic from back when most people didn't have Quirks, and those who did were monsters.

Anti-Quirk lynchings, hate groups and distrust had run rampant. All playing a role in the rise of All for One as the ruler of Japan by shadows. Had started the legacy of the Torchbearers and the clash that continued to this day.

Had there been some sort of pushback while Daigoro was away? People who hated the term Quirk, for some reason?

Questions for later, now it was time to fight. A step and a half turn let him dodge the limb coming down for his chest. Blackwhip launched from his arm, wrapping around the salaryman before reeling back in and destabilizing him, sending him crashing to the ground in front of Daigoro. Combat boot met cartilage and the man skipped away across the street with his nose broken.

"Boss!" one of the others called, before he pointed a fist at Daigoro. It exploded off his arm in a burst of flame, rocketing towards the undead. Blackwhip lashed around it, and he span the missile over his head even as the man regrew a new arm in front of their eyes, bones appearing before a framework of muscle crawled up it before finally a layer of skin finished the job, "You mother-"

"Did you forget about me!?" The boss of the other gang snarled, leaping towards Daigoro with both blade arms bared.

Yeah, kinda, "Nope! Here's a gift!"

And then, using the force of his spin, he slammed the missile arm into the man's stomach, letting go of the missile with Blackwhip and watching him go flying back into his small gang. Daigoro grinned, raising his arms as Blackwhip swung around them, "Who's next!?"

"Don't,'" Blade-Arm said, turning his right arm back to normal and injecting something into his neck. The muscle exploded along his entire body, wrapping around him as he glared at Daigoro, "DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Daigoro taunted, "all I see is an angry kid throwing a tantrum."

"Boss!" One of the goons said, "We shouldn't-"

"Shut up!" Blade snapped, two more blades sprouting from each arm, "I'm killing this guy! It's what the boss would want anyway!"

The boss? There was only one person who would want Daigoro dead if he popped back up…

So how had All For One found out he was back so quickly? Unless he had some tie to the hospital, which was something Daigoro was gonna have to look up when he got his Hero License ba-

Ah, crap. This was Vigilantism, technically, wasn't it? Whatever, he'd deal with that hurdle when he came to it.

"But using our own supply-"

"SHUT! UP!" Blade snarled before the hardened muscle covered his face, leaving only a pair of erratically jumping eyes, and he charged at Daigoro. Drugs that amped up Quirks, eh?

That was new. And new was fun.

- X Inasa X-

Yoarashi Inasa watched the man stare down the villains he was fighting with wide eyes. Black tendrils of energy slid off his arm as the angry villain charged him, blades flashing as he did. The hero wrapped his Quirk around the side of a building, using it to pull himself up and away from the attack. Six blades slashed into the ground where he was standing, before the villain growled, wild black eyes jumping around the street…

And locking in Inasa and his dad, the villain charged towards them, blades aiming for them both. Inasa's brain shut down, watching the blades head towards his neck with wide eyes. Was… was he about to die? "You wanna play run away!? Fine, but the kid is paying the price! Got it!?"

But he had never gotten to meet Endeavor! To go to UA! To be a he-!

Then the hero wrapped his Quirk around the villain, dragging him back even as people on both sides of the villain fight aimed pistols at the villain. They didn't have time to fire, the hero letting go of the building and landing on the ground as his arm lifted, sending the armor villain into the air. With his other hand, he wrapped around Inasa and raised him to the third story of the parking garage and dropping him next to two kids his age, before his free hand wrapped around the villain too, "it was fun and games before now, buddy, but attacking a kid? I don't care how tweaked out you are, that doesn't fly!"

"Shut!" The muffled voice of the man howled, struggling against the bindings, "U-"

"Meteor impact!" the hero yelled, slamming the villain into the ground so hard his armor cracked. Wow…

"That was pretty cool," the girl next to Inasa said, leaning her arms against the edge as she continued to watch the fight, "but he's not done yet."

"I," the armored villain struggled up, baring his arms, "WILL. KILL-"

A spike limb burst through his chest from behind, sending blood flicking across the pavement as the leader of the other gang rose, "Meta Abilities are gifts! To use drugs to change them-"

The bladed villain slashing through the limb, turning towards the other boss.

"They're being dumb," the green haired boy said, "if they worked together, they might be able to beat Lariat, but instead they're fighting each other just as much! Heroes will get here soon…"

Lariat, huh?

"Do you know him?" Inasa asked the two, who nodded, "Do you mind helping me get his autograph after?! He's awesome!"

"Uh… yeah, sure," the green haired one said, "I'm Midoriya Izuku by the way. And this is Kacchan-"

"Don't call me that," Kacchan said to Inasa, "I'm Bakugo Katsuki, got a name, baldy?"

"I'm not bald!" Inasa said, "but… yeah, I'm Yoarashi Inasa! Nice to meet you both!"

"Yeah," Izuku said, "What were you doing at the hospital?"

"Oh! I was coming to get my Quirk tested! I unlocked it yesterday!" Inasa said, "I think it-"

"Focus on the fighting, you can nerd out about Quirks later," Katsuki said.

- X ? X-

"In hindsight," All For One said, "Sending two groups that wanted to fight to the death to work together might not have been the best idea. Still remind me to punish any survivors, Doctor. Lariat was to be their first goal. And while you're at it, begin work on the Combat Modification Agents. Clearly just Trigger isn't enough anymore. If those don't work… you have authentication to begin the Project in earnest, but don't skimp on the Agents. I'll know if you did."

"Of course, but…"

"He hasn't used the Quirk," All For One observed through the hospital cameras, a smirk spreading across his face, "Which is enough information that this wasn't completely for nothing. Those brought back by Midoriya's Quirk don't bear it anymore. Capturing Midoriya is something to do in the long term, as his Quirk would be a wonderful addition to my collection."

- X Daigoro X-

A smirk split Daigoro's face as several of the gang members turned on each other, practically forgetting he existed as the bosses focused on each other. Dumbasses.

Blackwhip launched from both arms, thicker and stronger, and wrapped around the pistols some were holding, ripping them from their hands and towards Daigoro, where they fell around his feet, except for one, which he caught, hand wrapping around a familiar grip as he pressed his index finger against the side of the slide to keep it off the trigger. He'd prefer a revolver, double action preferably, but this would do for now.

There was a reason, nearly two centuries after its introduction, knockoffs of the M1911 were still being produced. Seven in the clio and one chambered. More than enough to drop anyone without a powerful defensive Quirk.

Aiming for the legs of the armored druggie, Daigoro shot one out of the knees, watching him collapse. His muscle… armor… stuff… shattered under the shot, before healing. Another shot hit the same spot second later.

"See, here's the thing," Daigoro drawled, continuing to fire as then regenerate, "Healing like that takes energy, so sooner or later, you're gonna tire ou-"

Before he could finish, a tide of sand wrapped around him and the villains, a middle aged hero dropping down seconds later, a group of police officers aiming weapon at them, "You're all under arrest for illegal Quirk use!"

Great. This was just what he needed in an already hectic day. How was he supposed to explain that his license was so far out of date?

-X AN X-

Before someone jumps down my throat, yes, I know that the Villain Factory stuff canonically takes place after All Might's injury. However, given the fact that the entire thing reeks of AfO, I decided to move much of it to before because that just makes more sense to me.

Also, did you really think I was gonna send them to a hospital still implied to have ties of AfO and not have something come out of it? A bit of a goal for this chapter was touching on what is only briefly mentioned in canon, just how much power AfO had over Japan prior to his fight with All Might.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?