Deku - Into the Multiverse

by DarkenRaichu

While testing one of the powers awakened inside One for All, Teleport, Izuku finds himself in an unfamiliar world. It's the beginning of a journey that will make him face the many facets of a Multiverse he never knew existed.

32. Chapter 31: Preparations

Izuku walked into the room Zuzu-9-Delta helpfully led him to. This one was a larger meeting room, with about ten seats. Only three were currently in use though, with Isaac sitting in the one further from the door, on the opposite side of the room, and Mariah and Mel sitting to the two seats on his left.

Izuku looked around awkwardly before picking the closest seat and sitting down. There was a pang of irritation in Melissa's eyes that made him wonder if he had done something wrong, before Isaac coughed and the girl's expression went back to a neutral look. The man sighed and looked up at Deku. "Sorry for taking you to a conference room Izuku, but they both wanted to be here. This is Mariah Midoriya, who you already met," He pointed to the woman with green vines for hair, who nodded to Izuku, "And this is Melissa Yagi."

"Nice to meet you." She replied flatly, with little emotion in her voice.

Isaac shrugged it off, and Izuku, despite his burning question on why Melissa was dismissing him like that, decided to do the same. His American alter ego seemed content with that. "So, you are essentially here so I can explain to you how your training works. Teleport is an interesting Quirk to train."

"An extremely annoying Quirk to train." Melissa commented with a grumble.

"Not entirely incorrect even if a bit rude. You see, Teleport is a bit harder to train than the combination of it and Guide. If the latter was inside your One for All, you would just receive the same training Lissa has, focusing on putting you in a situation that could push that Quirk out. Once it's there, we could just teach you how to combine the two. Teleport alone, on the other hand, is a rather… special Quirk, when it comes to travelling the Multiverse."

"Which is what we need you to be able to do, since we can't send you home if you run the risk of getting lost every time you try to use that Quirk." Mariah added, even though Deku already knew that. He wondered if she also knew the other reason why he needed to train.

"I see. But what is it specifically?"

"Well, we need you to travel through the Multiverse until you can return here on your own." The woman replied. Izuku's jaw fell for a moment.

"Excuse me, what?"

Mel laughed, "Right? You would think it'd be easier to just train a single Quirk, but no, it has to be complicated."

"Well, that's unfortunately how it works. You are supposed to travel the Multiverse and attempt over and over to Teleport back to a fixed location. Until you can't reliably do that on your own, you can't go home." Isaac sighed, "You can see why Melissa, who devised both training regimens, has a rather… negative view of Teleport."

"I don't have a negative view of Teleport, I think Teleport is one of the worst Quirks inside One for All on its own, and that's factual." She turned to Izuku, "Do you know how many people die while training with Guide? Zero, do you know how many do with Teleport?"

"Mel…" Isaac begun, but Melissa stopped him.

"Don't try to say something like 'don't say that', you know that it's the Quirk's fault if all those guys died."

"Wait, wait, died?!" Izuku turned to Isaac, "You never mentioned that."

"Yes, because what Mel keeps forgetting is that we have since found ways to reduce the risks."

"Not to zero." She replied, eyes moving from Isaac to Izuku as she continued, "We still have a success rate of ninety percent, with the remaining ten dying somewhere."

"Considering that before the League, the survival ratio for pure Teleport users was about thirty percent, that's a success."

"Easy to say when you are not the one that trains those kids. I'm the one that has to tell them 'Good luck and goodbye' and never see them alive again."

Izuku tried to process what they were saying. "Is there no other way?" He asked.

"No. We have tried to teach people while keeping them contained within a single universe, or using a Circular Current, but it just doesn't work right. With the former progress takes years, if it happens at all, and the risk of incidents is far too high, since a single misstep sends them in the Multiverse anyway, and with the latter it's impossible to truly measure progress until they try to leave it anyway." Mariah replied first, before Isaac or Melissa could get a word in, "But at least we have a lifeline."

"A lifeline?"

Mariah sighed, leaning back in her chair, "You know him already."

"Who…"

"Hello!" Izzzuku shouted, emerging from the center of the table, startling Deku so much he almost fell from the chair, grabbing the table barely in time. He quickly turned his hand in a lasso, sending it around Izuku, "Your lifeline, happy to oblige."

Izuku moved and for the first time realized what the others meant when they said the illusions were just that. His arms and body passed through it without any trouble, even though the rope looked absolutely real. Izzzuku just reeled it back, and it quickly transformed back into his arm. Isaac coughed. "Yes, Izzzuku is the person we put in charge of making sure you can come back if you are in danger."

"And what a good job he does…" Melissa grumbled once more.

"Oh come on Melly, you know everyone loves me." The dream apparition replied, winking as roses bloomed in the air around him forming a heart.

"I'd rather be friendly with Shield." She hissed, and Izzzuku howled in laughter as the roses burned, disappearing along with the flames.

"You got that right, I suppose. Still, you know I try to save them all."

"You are clearly bad at it."

"Ouch. That hurt. And is not entirely fair. I can't save them if I'm not in their minds, and staying in there for too long has side effects. Either that or you get the one that asks me to stay behind and distract an opponent." He turned to Izuku, "If you even try to tell me that I swear you will have only nightmares for a month." He made sure the threat was clear by surrounding himself in darkness, only his eyes, now with slit pupils, still visible behind it. After a moment he turned around and the darkness dissipated, his eyes back to normal.

"As Izzzuku says, it's never entirely his fault. His Teleport is peculiar, and while he is the safest choice, that's a fact we can hardly ignore." Mariah ignored him, still looking at Izuku. The teenager, still trying to wrap his hand around the fact he was supposed to travel with the dream version of himself, could only stare at them.

"S-so, me and him?" He asked weakly, unsure of what to say.

"And her." Isaac replied, sliding an object on the table towards him. Deku grabbed it, studying the object. It looked like one of those smart watch he had seen some people use. It had a screen and a metal bracelet to put it around one's arm. Izuku was about to ask what Isaac meant, when the screen flicked to life.

"Hello!" An animated drawing of a girl around his age, with short green hair cut in a bob said, waving amicably from inside the screen.

Izuku blinked. Then he blinked again, looking up at the others. "Uh…"

The girl in the screen continued before he could add anything else. "My name is Zuzu-9-Epsilon, and I will be in charge of your training, along with Mister Izzzuku. Please, feel free to call me Zuzu or Epsi." Epsi smiled at that, both thumbs up.

"As she says, this is Zuzu-9-Epsilon. She is a special item capable of analyzing a world's atmosphere and the qualities of water and soil through the various sensors implemented in the bracelet. We will provide you with a special skintight suit to keep your body protected from any pathogen, and you will never take it off until Epsi says it's safe to do so."

"I see." Deku nodded, his mind recalling his conversation with another AI, just the day before, "It's to prevent me from dying from an illness in a world like the one Zuzu-9-Gamma comes from."

"Precisely. As you can see, we don't take the risks you will run into lightly."

Deku nodded. It was hard to imagine that even with this many precautions there were still people that died. 'I wonder if it was some oversight. Then again, it's always possible to just die because of an accident. Heroes do too. Is it possible for example to just appear in a universe and get run over by a car? That would count for the death count. I don't know what Izzzuku's reaction time is, but theoretically he should be similar to a human in that regard, he hasn't shown any superhuman ability beyond his illusions and body structure. Maybe…" He gulped, rising his eyes slowly as a woman chuckled. She looked at Mel, who was doing exactly that, hair bobbing lightly as the laughter grew.

"Oh man, you Izukus are always hilarious when you get excited." She winked at Isaac, who coughed awkwardly in his fist.

"Yes, anyway…" He looked back at Izuku, green eyes meeting green, "that's the protection we can offer you. A way back, and a way to know if you are safe. Epsi also has a database with basic information on every universe we have recorded, so if you end up in one we are aware of, she should be able to tell you which it is."

"How likely is that?" Deku asked.

"That's a difficult question." Isaac admitted, "We don't know the number of universes that currently exist. It might be we already know half of it, or it might be we haven't even explored a tenth of a tenth."

"Which is why, by training you, we also gain an extra explorer." Mariah concluded, "Admittedly that sounds bad, but it's just the truth. I'm telling you now to avoid what usually happens when we don't do and people realize on their own, which leads them to distrust us like we were trying to hide something so obvious. Yes, your ability happens to allow us to know more about the Multiverse."

Isaac nodded, "That's something we have learned to make clear. Epsi travels with you also to reliably record the worlds you will run into. She is there to protect you, and her secondary mission is to collect data for the League."

Izuku thought a moment, before an idea came to his mind, "Can I ask something?" He waited, and Isaac nodded after a second, "If all I need to do is train by teleporting over and over, shouldn't I just try to jump continuously?"

"Ow, but that's boring…" Izzzuku's comment startled him. He had forgotten he was still in the room, since the dream apparition was busy hovering above his head.

Isaac shook his head at the comment before turning to Izuku. "That's up to you. If you decide to approach it like that, just watch out, the continuous blasts of air around your body can start to wear you down. I would suggest waiting at least an hour between a jump and the other, but that's for your safety. Teleport is like a muscle in a way, and pushing it too far will damage you. Then again, each Quirk is slightly different, maybe yours won't."

Izuku nodded. That seemed sensible enough, and more importantly, it proved they weren't just trying to use him. If they were, they wouldn't have told him that was an option. Then again, maybe they would have as a mean to throw him off, knowing he would be more likely to believe them. However… "Ahem." Izuku perked up, suddenly realizing he was completely ignoring them again. 'Wow, twice in the same conversation, that's bad even for least this time I didn't talk out loud, did I?'

"In any case, we don't expect you to leave immediately. We should get you your suit soon, you can wear it under your clothes or Hero Costume. And we will also repair that if it needs to be. Take this time to acquaint yourself with the others, especially with Epsi."

"What, not with me?" Izzzuku asked, pointing at himself.

"Would you stay?"

"Nope. See you soon Deku, it's gonna be fun." He winked and moved through the ceiling, waving until he vanished completely.

-x-

It didn't take long for the rest of them to recuperate from their surprise. Katsuki was staring at them like he hadn't just told them he was fighting an evil All Might. Because that's what he had said, right? Itsumi wasn't even sure.

"I know right? I had the same reaction." The Green Scar replied, "You know, I had never heard of an evil All Might before, and I've been hear for a while."

"How long?" Todoroki managed to ask, even if he never stopped looking at Bakugo.

"Three months next week. My universe is unknown and I wasn't the one that sent me away, so I can't go back on my own. Basically I'm on the same boat as Bakugo, except he has been stuck here only for a month."

"Only my ass." The man replied with a grunt.

"But the League will get you home, right?" Itsumi's question made both shrug.

"If they can, they will." The Green Scar explained, without stopping his hands, that were finishing to cook the lunch he was making for them, "Otherwise, we are stuck here."

"You don't seem particularly worried."

The Green Scar frowned, then just shrugged his shoulder, "Eh. I'm worried, but this is my second round with the whole 'getting stuck in another world', it kinda lost its novelty the first time. Though at least this place has normal washing machines…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Just never think it's safe to clean a giant washing machine. It really isn't, and the knighthood is not worth it." The response was given with an almost unsettling calm tone and a shiver, like he was recalling something terrifying and expected her to understand. She turned to Bakugo.

"Don't look at me, I gave up in making sense of his stories years ago. Bugbite over there has lived the weirdest life I have heard off, and I know a version of me that is a little girl obsessed with explosion magic. Honestly hilarious."

"Didn't she try to blow you up the first time you met because you called her 'Firecracker'?"

"As I said, hilarious." The man replied with a snort, and the Green Scar didn't hold back another short laugh.

Itsumi slowly nodded, exchanging a glance with Ojiro and Todoroki. They all collectively agreed to not go down that rabbit hole for now. For a while, they just kept chatting like that, exchanging information on the respective universes but staying away from any heavy topic. They noticed quickly that the Green Scar never asked them who his other version of himself was, and Bakugo, while he did ask a few questions on Itsumi's mother, quickly let the line of questions go when he noticed she was uncomfortable with it.

In exchange they also learned a few things. The Green Scar was reticent to talk about how he had come to visit another dimension. He was more than happy than talk about a few events, but he never became too detailed.

"So how did you get the scar?" Ojiro asked, once he was finished eating.

It was the wrong question apparently, since Izuku just dropped the plate he was holding, "I don't like to talk about it." He replied, before starting to pick up the pieces, "Sorry about that." He added, before walking away.

Bakugo watched him leave to the kitchen to throw away the broken plate and sighed. "He never told anyone, don't take it personally. I think only Isaac and Mariah know, and only because he had to tell them his life story so the League can search for his world."

"I see." Itsumi sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Eh, it's alright, Bugbite has tough skin and a big heart. It's a difficult combination, but when you get a guy like that, it's always good to keep him around." Bakugo blinked, before coughing, "But if you tell him I said that you are dead, is that clear?"

She chuckled, "That's fair. So, what about you? We know how you came here, but we never heard what your world is like."

"Ah, it's nothing interesting." Bakugo replied, leaning back on his chair, "Pretty average world, from what I see."

She nodded, deciding to let it go. She was getting the feeling a lot of people here in the base were going to be touchy about their world. She really hoped that wasn't going to be the case for all of them, though, otherwise knowing them better was never going to be easy. 'Then again, maybe it was just never going to be.' She thought.

"Hello everyone!" A new voice called, as someone walked into the room. Itsumi turned around to see a blonde girl – Melissa, the one they call Lissa, she remembered – walked in the room.

"Hi Lissa." The Green Scar answered, emerging from the kitchen, "So, how is the new kid doing?"

"He is such a good person." The girl cooed, with a smile on her face, "He is polite and didn't even flinch at Hatsume's appearance. That's really nice of him, don't you think?"

"Is it because he never ran in his version of Himiko Toga?" Bakugo asked, and Itsumi noticed Ojiro open his mouth and close it at the same time, probably about to ask the same question.

"Y-yes, but it's still nice of him." The girl replied, coughing, "Anyway, he just needs a bit of time right now. He is stuck here, you know how it is."

Bakugo grunted, "Considering we are the same, yes, we know how it is."

Itsumi thought about that. In a way, she could have been the same if the League didn't know about their universes "Are there a lot of people that are just stuck?" She asked the question cautiously.

"A few more. But after some time most of them give up and ask the League for an house in this world or another one where a Patroller lives, so you don't see them here." The Green Scar explained, "When I arrived, there were three people stuck here and unable to return home, besides me. One moved to this version of Japan, one went to some magic world, and one found a way home. The League never stops trying to get you home, but the Multiverse is vast. It's honestly luck as much as effort."

"Don't let that throw you down though!" Lissa added quickly, "The League is constantly working to map the Multiverse! Eventually, they will find everyone's worlds!"

"Easy to be so positive when it's not your ass on the line, uh?" Katsuki asked.

"Oh come on Kacchan…" She started, before immediately putting both hands on her mouth as her eyes went wide. Itsumi turned slowly to Bakugo, whose face was apparently turning to stone on the spot.

"Don't you ever fucking call me that again…"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"You better be you…" Katsuki was interrupted by a piece of garbage hitting him in the back of the head. He turned around to stare at the Izuku, whose eyes were eloquently looking at him.

"Calm. Down."

"She fucking called me…"

"I heard what she called you, and you know that doesn't mean anything bad. Now either go cool down in your room, blow some steam in the gym, or get your ass back on that seat before I show you exactly why they had to build giant magic knights to fight me."

Bakugo scowled defiantly, but after a moment he turned around and started walking out of the room. "Fucking Multiverse with its fucking Bakugos that take that fucking insult…" He audibly muttered as he walked up the stairs.

Izuku sighed, before turning to Lissa, "Seriously? Kacchan? Did you want him to test a grenade launcher on you."

"Yeah, not my smartest moment."

"What's with the reaction?" Itsumi asked, still surprised.

"I guess our world isn't the only one where Izuku is a piece of shit." Ojiro commented, before glancing at the Green Scar, "No offense, I'm sure you are cool."

"Yeah, right. But it's not that bad."

"It's not?"

"No. Just a pretty usual story. A guy with a Quirk bullies a guy without that wants to be a Hero, and throws in a stupid childhood pet name to insult him."

"Isn't that Deku's story?" Itsumi asked, thinking back to what Izuku had told her at the castle after their first talk. He had told her how his school years before UA were, and what Katsuki Bakugo had said to him at times. He had assured her it was all in the past, and she believed it, but it was still odd to imagine a relation so different between her… parents, more or less, she supposed.

"Yeah, but apparently it turns around when Bakugo is the one born Quirkless." Izuku replied, "Though to be fair, his world has only a ten percent rate of Quirked people, it's not nearly the same as ours."

-x-

"You know Isaac, you really suck at pitching the whole thing." Izzzuku said leisurely, floating in mid-air. He had been watching Deku ask more questions about the whole situation before walking away, still a bit dizzy but with Epsi in tow. Mariah and Mel had both left soon after, which had finally allowed him to come back to have a heart to heart with his old friend.

"Shut up Izzzuku, this is your fault too. I wanted to take at least some time to acclimatize them to the idea, but no, you had to just tell them everything at once."

"Of course. Honesty is important and watching you all squirm because of it is kind of hilarious. If you all didn't tell lies or deceive in the first place, your worlds would be better places."

Isaac sighed, "You know, there are times where I really wish I could punch some sense in your millenarian jaw."

"Please, you don't mean that." Izzzuku rolled around in midair, a bored motion he did just to not sit completely still. Turning upside down, he moved closer, "Still, Isaac, you really think the kid should go immediately? You usually give him time to know me and Epsi before explaining the actual training, not the opposite." He rolled in midair once more, this time shapeshifting to look like the American Hero he was staring at, before starting to talk in a purposefully bad imitation of his voice, "'It's important that they don't feel pressure to befriend you and especially Epsi, Izzzuku.' Where did all that go?"

"He is in a hurry. He wouldn't even glance at you and Epsi if you didn't offer him something and she didn't have a use. Befriending normally wasn't an option."

"Makes sense, but I still think there is something else. Think Mariah would want him for the Initiative?"

"She knows not to ask until he has a way home." The Hero replied.

"That's not an answer."

"I don't have an answer. But if you want a guess, she will ask him and his friends, yes." Isaac sighed, "The whole idea is wrong."

"I don't know Isaac. Eventually you will have to go on the offensive."

"We shouldn't!" Isaac replied, hitting the table with a fist. It wasn't powered with One for All, of course, so the table just slightly trembled. The man sighed again, before turning to the dream creature, "Take care of him, Izzzuku. He deserves to go back home."

Izzzuku smiled. Stubborn like a mule, that Isaac, but he knew underneath there was always that kindness that had made them connect all those years ago. "Sure, sure. Any idea where he is going to land?"

"You know I don't. This world's orbit is…"

"Yeah yeah, don't give me the whole scientific rundown. Just say no." Izzzuku nodded, "Remember our deal though. We want that death."

"I told you before and I will tell you again, you guys shouldn't try to die." Isaac replied.

"Man, don't start…"

"Fine, fine. I will go to the Swordverse in a few days, I will try to see what made the dream eating monster spit you out."

"I'm too sweet, they couldn't handle he." The dream replied, emphasizing the point by turning his head in a candy, and Isaac snorted.

"Please, you probably taste like lemons."

"Even then, you wish you were half as delicious as me." Izzzuku answered.

"Ehi, I have it in good faith that I taste great."

"Gross. I don't need to know what you do with your wife." He replied, and then cackled as Isaac turned bright red, the ears looking like they were about to start burning. There was even actual smoke coming from them, which made the scene so comical Izzzuku started laughing louder.

Isaac coughed, "That joke was lowbrow even for you."

"You walked right into that one." The dream winked, "Well, see you Isaac. Try to not take on more responsibilities every five minutes, or when I come back your hair will be gray."

"Sure, dad."

Izzzuku turned around, transformed in Hisashi, "And don't you forget it, son."

Isaac chuckled, and the dream left the room. "Well then, babysitting duty. Let's go see what my ward is up to." He decided. And if while he was at it he made some jokes at his expanses, well, who would blame him?

(xx)

Here we are with a new chapter. Took some extra time, but it's done.

Usual shout-outs to the fics some of the Izukus come from, this time to the The Green Scar worldbuilding thread by Quantum 01 and The Green Scar by Pro-Man, Dekiru the Fusion Hero by | OmegaInfinity |.

Kind of a character-establishing chapter honestly, at least for Izzzuku, Izuku the Green Scar, Bakugo and the Melissas. But more importantly, the explanation of what the training of Teleport entails. It's a tricky Quirk to train. I reasoned this would be the way to do it, because in MHA we are told very early on that the best way to train a Quirk is to use it repeatedly. So... that's what Izuku will have to do.

Quirkless Bakugo is a thing I haven't seen that often, and I can't think of a fic where he is naturally Quirkless. I'm curious if there are some (though I think there probably are).

Isaac is a good guy. Just has his own opinion in how the League should be run. I did want to show that him and Izzzuku are actually really friendly to each other, just with Isaac being a bit done with his humor. After all, to Izzzuku, Isaac is the guy that came around to change his world in a way that made it more interesting, he would like the guy as a default, and it helps he is a friendly person.