Izuku found himself perched on top of a roof. He took a few steps back from the edge, gulping as he looked down. He had been on high places, but finding himself atop one so suddenly had still surprised him.
"You know, in hindsight starting from the fourth floor isn't always a good idea." Izzzuku's voice commented from inside his mind.
"Wait, that matters?!" Izuku asked, confused.
"The only thing we know about this is that you will never land up in the air, always within a meter of the ground. Your guess on whether it matters or it's just a coincidence is up to you."
Izuku nodded, before looking around. He was on the roof of a large building, in what seemed to be a bustling city. After a moment, however, he realized some of the buildings looked familiar. He jumped to a nearby building, using One for All and moving from roof to roof, and suddenly realized why. "We are back in Musutafu."
"I've finished analyzing the atmosphere." A voice suddenly remarked, and Izuku couldn't help but shout before remembering who it was. Looking at his arm, he saw Epsi on the screen of his bracelet, pouting exaggeratedly.
"S-Sorry Epsi, I forgot you were here too."
"Yes, I suppose so." She replied with a slightly sad look before coughing, "A-Anyway. The analysis of the atmosphere is done, and I can confirm it's similar to other samples from the atmosphere of alternate Musutafus, and I could not detect any unknown pathogen either. It appears this world is safe for you, at least when it comes to breathing."
Izuku nodded, feeling slightly relieved. While he knew the pin was active and he was protected, he was happy that at least there was no danger if he got into a fight. His observation, meanwhile, brought him back to familiar routes. Looking down on the streets, he noticed a few things. First of all, and most noticeable for him, there were no heroes. No one looked particularly out of place in the street, which also explained the other reason why he was confused: there were no Mutant-type Quirks in sight. "So, not a Quirked universe?" He tried to guess. He had learned the basics of the Multiverse classification.
"Not necessarily." Epsi corrected him, "It's entirely possible that Mutant Quirks are only activated on command in this universe."
"Uh. That would just make them Transformation Quirks."
"Fair point, but what I mean is that it's still possible this is a Quirked world."
Izuku nodded, "So, should I go down?"
"Yes, you would probably stick out less."
Izuku looked down, moving from roof to roof until he found what he was looking for, one that overlooked an alleyway he could climb down into without being noticed. He did so with a jump and using Blackwhip to slow down, and then left it to join the crowd outside.
"So, how do we do this?" He asked in a mumbled breath, not wanting to be noticed.
"Just walk into the crowd. Epsi won't talk unless she needs to and I'm going to do my thing. You can talk with me by thinking." 'You still haven't told me about your limitations.'
"Right. I will, don't worry, but for now trust me. Ideally, I need to find you, but most people you know at the League would work too."
Izuku nodded, still wondering what he needed as he walked by. Looking at the crowd, he could see nothing special. He figured he probably stood out a bit, with his gloves and his iron shoes, but most people would probably think he was some sort of cosplayer returning from a con, or at least he hoped that. He took a turn in one of Musutafu's main streets, keeping close to the walls and shop windows, looking inside. As he passed by, he stopped in front of an electronic store. Televisions were placed covering the entire shop window, something Izuku had seen in comics but rarely in real life. As he looked, the commercials gave way to what seemed to be some sort of newscast. The man talking looked somewhat familiar, but Izuku couldn't place him.
"And we are back to Wrestling 24, your twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week wrestling channel, and to W24 News, the biggest wrestling news network!" Izuku noticed a few other people stopping to look at the screen like him, but he was just a bit taken aback. Wrestling in his world had fallen a bit on the sidelines after the Quirks appeared. Maybe this wasn't a Quirk universe after all. Meanwhile the anchorman continued. "As we have done this morning, our main story of the day, the surprise announcement of a fusion of the LOW and the MWA, that has taken the wrestling world by storm. We connect live with the press conference."
Izuku stopped and stared at the screen as the image switched to a conference room where Shigaraki Tomura and Rikiya Yotsubashi were sitting behind a table, both dressed elegantly – and seeing Tomura dressed elegantly was quite the shock in and off itself, given the appearance Izuku was used to – and overlooking a series of photographers and reporters that crowded the room.
"What brought up the sudden decision to form a unified Federation?" One of them was asking.
It was Rikiya who answered, with a wide smile. "We had been considering for a long while the idea of fusing our circuits in a single one. As you all know, mister Shimura has been quite the eager administrator since he took over the League of Wrestlers from his predecessor, the departed Shigaraki."
"Speaking of which, mister Tomura. Since you became head of the LOW, you have managed to contract the previously independent Gigantomachia, absorbed the Eight Precepts of Wrestling and now expanded in a fusion with the MWA. Some wonder if you plan to monopolize Japan's wrestling world."
"It's nothing like that." Shigaraki – well, Tenko Shimura in this world – replied with a smile, "I'm merely working for the betterment of the League of Wrestlers, as my predecessor left it to me."
"What do you think will be the reaction of the Pro Wrestlers Organization and the UAW? With your fusion, those are the only two remaining major leagues in the country that you don't control yet."
"You should ask them. We already informed them ahead of time of our agreement, and I'm certain Nedzu and the PWO will be happy to discuss this with you."
Izuku's mouth had fallen a bit more as the discussion went on, and the realization of what was going on settled in. It wasn't easy to concentrate on putting it together with Izzzuku's uproarious laughter resonating in his mind. "Oh my god, this is amazing!" The dream creature shouted as the interview continued for a bit, before the announcement switched to the discussion of an upcoming match between 'number one Heel' Endeavor and the current Ace of PWO, Hawks.
"This is a wrestling universe." Izuku replied, and if possible Izzzuku's laughter grew even louder. Izuku walked away from the shop and looked around once more. Now that he knew what to look for it seemed pretty obvious. A number of shops sold wrestling magazines with familiar faces on the cover, from Endeavor and Rappa facing in opposite directions on the cover of Heels Magazine to Hawks smiling for the picture, his feathers flowing around him, on WrestleMagazine's cover. "Epsi, what's happening?"
"I'm looking for an internet connection." She replied in a whisper, "Please try to find cover so we can talk freely."
Izuku nodded, looking around and noticing another alley, large enough it wouldn't seem too weird for a kid to head in there but small enough it shouldn't have had any important stores other people would head into. Once he did, he stopped for a moment. "What?" He finally asked.
"Uhm, I found an access point to the internet, so let me just…" She paused a moment, before chuckling, "Alright, I have the information we needed mister Izuku."
"You do?"
"Yup. So, what happened in this world is that the emergence of Quirk did indeed disrupt most sports, given the unpredictable nature of said powers. However, wrestling was an exception, with Quirks actually enhancing the spectacle of it all and its popularity exploding for generations, especially when providing them . At this point, it's the biggest sport in this world, surpassing even the Olympics."
"You have to be kidding me." Deku mumbled. They had Quirks and were using them for wrestling? Izuku thought back to the history of the early days of Quirks. How some Vigilante had decided to step up to the role of Heroes, how they had fought tooth and nail to fight off Villains. Did that just not happen here? It just didn't feel right for some reason.
"Well, on the bright side, I have located your counterpart in this world." Epsi replied.
"Please do tell." Izzzuku's voice commented, and in that moment Deku noticed he had left his head and was now floating next to him… wearing some sort of luchador mask over his head, with a sly smile on his face that grew into a wide grin when he saw Izuku had seen it.
"Well, I searched for any result on Izuku Midoriya, and I found a member of United Alliance Wrestling, or UAW for short." She explained, and Izuku groaned, "Nineteen years old Izuku Midoriya is a rising star of the sports world, using the name of The Masked Deku."
Izzzuku burst into another explosion of laughter. "Oh, my One for All, this is priceless. Izuku, thank you man, first world and this trip is already worth it. Oh, I need pictures, Isaac is going to turn so red when he sees himself as a wrestler."
"I can provide pictures." Epsi replied. At Izuku's expression, she raised an eyebrow, "What? We usually take a picture of the Izuku, One for All user and All for One user of this world."
'Oh right.' Izuku realized. He had been so focused on all the revelations on the nature of this world that he had completely forgotten about what they were doing here. "So uhm, Izzzuku, you said you need to find this version of us, right?"
"Correct."
"But why? Aside from taking pictures, why do we need to meet The… The Masked Deku." Izuku asked.
"Because I need to return to this world once this is over, and also as additional safety for you?" He sighed, "Alright, let me explain. My method of traveling the Multiverse is called Dream Path. Well, it was named by Isaac and the League, I just called it "My method of traveling the Multiverse", but the name is fine. Anyway, it doesn't work exactly like Teleport, I can't just imagine being somewhere else and I'm there. I need two beacons."
"Beacons?"
"Well, essentially two people that are the alternate version of each other, like you and Isaac. If I enter in their mind, I'm connected to them, and after that I can use that connection to move from one person to the other, thus traveling the Multiverse."
"Alright, but why do you need more? You already have Isaac."
"Because I can only do that when one of the Beacons is asleep and the other is awake. You might have noticed that the Multiverse has a different day and night cycle for each universe, like how we left the Allforverse at 3 PM, and now we are here at 1 PM. Add to that the fact a lot of you guys have an irregular sleeping schedule, and this makes it very hard to figure out when someone is asleep, so I do the next best thing: turn everyone into a Beacon."
Izuku suddenly realized, "Ah, so you can just try over and over the safe ones until you find someone asleep!"
"Exactly! One more Beacon means one more option to teleport to, and since this place is safe, that's pretty damn important." He grinned, "Of course, that will also make it much easier for the League to return to a certain universe, establish a Sitting Agent and organize a Patrol, but that's all secondary."
"Alright then. I guess we are going to meet this guy. Epsi, how do we do that?"
Epsi closed her eyes for a moment, before nodding and opening them again. As she did, she had a surprising grin on her face. "Alright, I've found him." She passed her hand over her face, and a moment later she was wearing a green mask that Izuku realized was very similar to the one he wore on his Hero costume, although it had brighter red parts around the eyes and was a lot tighter, adhering to her face. "The Masked Deku's gimmick is that he never removes his mask, his will to stop all heels as strong as his faith in the mask itself. You could say there is no Face without the mask. And today, he is going to take part in a meet and greet with his fans, masked like this. Therefore, the plan is obvious: we go to a meet and greet!"
"Uh… Oddly dramatic?" Izuku asked, and she instantly blinked a couple of times before she blushed so much it was evident even from the skin he could see from the mask.
"Ahem, yeah, sorry, sometimes my original programing comes out." She coughed, quickly removing the mask, "B-but the point remains. We go to the meet and greet, mister Izzzuku enters The Masked Deku's mind for a bit, and we leave after that."
Izuku nodded. The question of what exactly she meant by 'original programing' was there, but he decided he had had enough revelations for a universe, so moved to the next best thing: going to meet himself. "So, where is this place?"
"Oh, it's at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall." She replied, and Izuku froze. Epsi blinked, "Something up."
Deku took a deep breath, "You mean Wookiees?"
"Yes, that one. Is there a problem?"
Izuku didn't answer. He decided that he didn't want to know what would come out of his lips.
-x-
Alright dear fans, you all know me! My name is Izuku Midoriya, a young fighter from Musutafu, Japan. When I was a little one, I was found to be Quirkless, but you know what? That didn't stop me! I wanted to be a Wrestler on par with the legendary All Might, a Face that could bring joy to fans all over the world, and Quirk or no Quirk, I was going to do it. At fourteen I joined a gym owned by Toshinori Yagi, the retired Face once known as All Might, the Symbol of Peace. He took me under his wing and at one point I was even supposed to inherit something more from him than his fighting style, but unfortunately that never happened. Or perhaps it was fortunate, since I am who I am thanks also to being Quirkless. A Face is after all always at a disadvantage, and what more of a disadvantage could I have on a ring like this? It was an amazing adventure that took me six long and well, sometimes painful years. But now, I can smile and bring a smile on the face of all those that believe in me when I step in a fight. I'm Izuku Midoriya, the Masked Deku. And there is nothing else I would rather be.
Izuku put on his mask before stepping out of the bus. As an habit, he would keep it on wherever it was possible to catch a glimpse of his real face and figure out who he was. Not that people didn't know of course. Anyone could try to search for a picture of him online, back in his early years when he had used different names and gimmicks on the ring, or in his school. But so few did. After all, who was The Masked Deku without the mask, if not the uninteresting Deku?
He sighed and smiled, waving at his fan. On his side, he took small copies of his mask, hats with his name on them, and t-shirts, to distribute to the fans. Kids of course first, but also adults, both men and women, waited on the sides as he distributed the prizes while walking into the mall following the route prepared for him, to the new UAW official merc store.
Looking to the crowd as he walked by, occasionally taking pictures with fans or signing autographs, he noticed something odd. One of the members of the crowd had a large mop of green hair and freckles, his green eyes following him intently. It wouldn't have seemed that strange, if it wasn't for the fact the kid looked awfully like he did in his younger years.
He turned a moment when a fan asked for an autograph and he happily obliged. When he turned around, the teen was gone. 'Odd.' 'You have no idea.'
'I'm sorry, but I can't talk with you personally like this. You know how it is, I'm here for all my fans, and it would be unfair otherwise. I do hope you can show up to the meet and greet to speak face to face though.' He replied, showing a smile to the crowd in hopes it would pass the message to the telepath.
There was no response, so he figured the telepath fan had understood. Removing the incident from his thoughts, and after looking one last time for the person that looked so similar to him, he walked on.
-x-
"How long will it take?" Izuku asked Epsi, after sneaking to the back of the crowd, "I think he noticed."
Epsi chuckled "Of course he noticed, direct eye contact is needed if Izzzuku wants to pass directly from one mind to another he has never entered without emerging from someone's head, which is something a bit too noticeable. As for how long it will take, I guess he will have to spend a couple minutes in his head."
Izuku nodded, waiting nervously. In his past experiences, Wookiees wasn't a store he wanted to be at. First Shigaraki in his own world, then a Noumu in Itsumi's. The faster they left, the better.
Still, looking around, he figured he had judged a bit harshly this world at first. The idea of people with superpowers using them for sport had been… odd. But he had to admit, they were clearly making people happy. Maybe it was like this in the pre-Quirk era, with sport stars, and in a way it was the same in his age with Heroes. That was what Stain hadn't liked after all, the stardom of it all. 'I guess so long as we make people fill safe and happy, it doesn't really matter what we do.'
"The Multiverse is an interesting place, right?" Epsi asked him.
"I guess so. Are there a lot of universes like this?"
"Of course. After all, the reason Heroes exist is that the original masked vigilantes received government approval and eventually spread. If that never happens…"
"Heroes never become a thing. I never thought about that, I guess. In my mind Heroes existing is just a fact. Do Villains just not appear?"
"I guess the police or the army intervene, depending on the danger." She replied, and Izuku nodded. It made sense he supposed.
"I'm done." A voice suddenly said in his head. Izuku was stunned for a second before remembering who he had in his mind, and sighed.
"All well?"
"Yeah, cool guy, I got used to his mind easily. Normal people are easy enough. It's more complicated with more 'alien' brains, like with immortals or the like."
"Aren't you an immortal too?"
"Which is why I can say we are weird too. Still, we are done here. If you want to leave, feel free to."
Izuku nodded, and walked away further, to a side of the mall where no one was around, thanks to the distraction provided by The Masked Deku, the music accompanying him attracting attention and the large crowd following him meaning no one was visiting that area. He closed his eyes, and prepared to Teleport. A moment before, however, he heard a faint step, a giggle, a ringing in his head, and something slicing through the air.
The knife flew past him, the blade missing Izuku only because he had reacted on instinct, jumping to the side and turning around for a kick, only to hit mere air.
"Oh, you are just the best." A familiar voice replied, as he dodged a second knife from his blind spot, aimed to his armpit in a way that could have easily incapacitated him by having him bleed out. He took a few steps back, putting a wall behind himself and seeing his aggressor. Himiko Toga, a Toga with long, waving hair and blood shot eyes, smiled, her wide, terrible grin growing to disturbing proportions. "You are just like me, aren't you? Oh, I noticed you in the crowd looking like The Masked Deku. It made me so happy! Oh, are you perhaps a fan of his career even before, since you look so young? A true fan, just like me!"
Izuku, taken aback, took a moment to realize what she was saying, but of course it made sense. If Toga had the same tendencies of the one from his world, then she would think Izuku was also a shapeshifter with a crush on The Masked Deku, or something close to that. 'I really hate this mall…' He blinked, and Toga was gone. He had an instant to move out of the knife's way, gasping as it seemed to appear out of nowhere. 'And of course she can use the same technique.'
"You are really good at dodging! Are you a wrestler? I wanted to try but they said I was 'unsuited' for it!" She sliced once more, a second knife appearing in her free hand. Izuku retaliated with a roundhouse kick, but she ducked under it, and he had to use Blackwhip to physically pull himself out of the way before getting stabbed.
"Why aren't you just leaving!" Izzzuku shouted.
"Because if I let her go she might kill someone else after I leave!" He shouted back, blocking a knife with his iron shoe, "Where is everyone?! We are in a mall, not in a back alley!" He strained his hears and in response a sound of faint music resounded in his hears. "Of course…"
"It's pretty loud, isn't it?" She asked with a wide grin, "But oh, I get more curious the more I look at you. What was that black thing? And how do you know my name? I thought only the police did."
Izuku bit his lip. He was talking way too much. "Should I use the web?" Epsi asked, but Deku shook his head. Toga was an hard opponent, but mostly because she was good at dodging his hits. However… He shot forward a Blackwhip tendril and put it around her leg, pulling like he should have done against Isaac Green. Once she lost balance, he rushed forward and kicked.
Toga grinned, blocking the attack, as sparks of blood-red energy covered her body. Izuku stared, his eyes going wide. "What…"
"We even have the same Quirk!" She shouted in delight, as the unmistakable light of One for All shone over her body.
"How do you have that power?" He asked in a strangled breath.
"Oh, it's such a good story! I was a big, biiiiig All Might fan, so I wanted to be like him you know? So, one day I found him outside his gym, waiting for someone, and bit him reeeeally hard. And something happened and I got this awesome strength Quirk. Oh, he was so angry, looked amazing!"
Izuku gulped. Stealing One for All like that should have been impossible, otherwise Stain would have been the One for All wielder in his world by now, but who knew if that was true in this world. All for Deku had taken Mirio's after all, so it made sense there were weaker ones. Especially in a world like this one where All for One never became a villain mastermind. Izuku moved out of the way of another stab of the knife, and decided to use more Blackwhip, but Toga had gotten wiser about it. She vaulted over a first one, ducked under a second, bent her back and legs to dodge two more and then rushed past the first, before opening her mouth wide and biting.
Izuku put his arm in the way, his gloves blocking the bite, and to his horror Toga started chewing on them. He punched, but she blocked with the hilt of a knife and her arm enhanced by One for All. Deku however used that distraction to hit her in the belly with the knee, and for the first time he scored a hit, sending her flying back and impact a wall. She retched as she stood back.
"Izuku, you have to leave!" 'You can't be serious! She has One for All! She is the most dangerous Toga could be.' "And what do you plan to do?! You beat her, maybe, and then what?" "I…"
"Oh, thank you so much! You are almost as charming as the real deal!"
Izuku thought. There was no way no one was hearing this commotion, but who knew if anyone would come and check on them. Izzzuku was right. He couldn't take out Toga effectively. But he couldn't let her roam free either. "Epsi, Toga said she is known to the Police?" He asked in a breath as he hit with a kick, Toga kneeling before she sliced once more, for the first time cutting him, even if only lightly. She shivered in delight and Izuku grimaced, using Blackwhip to pull the knife away from her and wiping the blood away. Toga pouted.
"I- Yes, but why is that important?"
"Relay an alarm about a fight going on in the Kiyashi Mall." He replied, "I will beat Toga and leave her here, then Teleport away. If they know her, hopefully they know how to capture her."
Epsi nodded, not that Izuku could see her, focused on avoiding yet another knife. He numbly asked himself how many she had before she surprised him by punching. It was so unexpected he didn't manage to block it in time, and it hurt. "I don't like doing that, because blood doesn't come out, but you are being a bad boy. Now give me some of your…"
She was interrupted when the image of hundreds of more Blackwhip bursted from Deku's body. The Hero-in-training knew what was going on and unleashed the Quirk's power. The hail of illusory tendrils, courtesy of Izzzuku, confused Toga, who was unable to recognize and dodge the real one as they enveloped her arms and legs.
Izuku pulled with all his might, and as Toga flew towards her he kicked upward. Her chin flew upwards as the kick connected. Without stopping, Izuku followed by bringing down the kick in a Manchester Smash.
"The Police just entered the mall, we need to go now!" Epsi shouted. Izuku nodded, and followed with a third kick, recalling Blackwhip as the girl stumbled to the ground. He was glad Toga, while a good fighter, wasn't really suited to be a One for All user. Izuku stared at the defeated girl, who looked unconscious, and grimaced. Villain or not, beating her up like that left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Sorry. I hope they can help you." He said, activating Teleport just as he heard steps rushing to the corridor, disappearing.
-x-
The other Izuku – the fake, even if Toga wasn't really sure anymore – had thought she was unconscious. But she had been stunned, and unable to move, and bleeding all over, looking beautiful most likely, but she had seen him.
She had seen him disappear.
The guy had the same power of her, but he could do more with it than she could. Shadow whips, looking like The Masked Deku, illusions, and even that last trick.
'Can I do that too?' She wondered, ignoring, in her dazed pain, the police officer that was putting her under arrest, the special handcuffs blocking her hands. She didn't complain, even when they pulled her up to drag her to a special reinforced ambulance.
She grinned as she finally fell unconscious. She had a new crush now. And she had some experimenting to do.
(xx)
Izuku can't go one universe without having to punch someone or something, good start. 10 out of 10
So, the Wrestleverse, our first iteration of "But what if Heroes didn't become the norm?" is quite the... odd start, I will admit that. But it's also one I was pretty excited to add. The Masked Deku serves only a bit of a side role in our story, but the universe itself does bring something. I kinda planned the universe to start silly and then having Toga suddenly show up because... Well it seemed appropriate. After all, she is one of the few characters that wouldn't fit the transition from being Heroes/Villains to being Faces/Heels. Hard to justify your Heel trying to gut her opponent in every match (well, most of the time. Wrestling gets brutal), but with people like Shigaraki shown in the side of normalcy I feel most people just expect the universe to be a one/one swap.
And yes, this One for All is very different. Just another reinforcement of the fact that the Quirks don't remain exactly the same. After all, without the whole role it plays in the main plot, that isn't needed, One for All is just a Quirk like any other.
Staying on the topic, Wrestleverse!Toga is our first One for All villain that appears in the story fully (well, excluding All for Deku, but he is an AfO user first and foremost).
See you soon with more Izuku misadventures. This is gonna be an exciting journey for our friend.