As Izuku floated comfortably in the darkness of unconsciousness, he could almost swear he heard his mom's voice calling out to him.
"Wake up...it's time to wake up."
Groggily opening his eyes, Izuku winced as bright sunlight pierced his eyeballs. Totally confused, Izuku sat up and looked around. It seemed the green-haired teen had ended up in some kind of natural field, home to short wiry grass and the occasional prickly bush. Overhead, twin suns shone brightly in a cloudless blue sky. The only other significant landmark was a large stone outcropping that jutted out from the ground nearby.
"What the heck is going on?" Izuku muttered to himself as he slowly got to his feet and dusted himself off.
"You have been transported to the nearest habitable planet." An ethereal voice said matter-of-factly.
Nearly jumping out of his skin, Izuku frantically looked around for the source of the voice.
"Who said that?!" He demanded loudly.
"I did." The voice replied, somehow speaking from inside Izuku's head.
Thoroughly bewildered and scared, Izuku felt himself begin to hyperventilate. "What?! How a-a-are y-you inside m-m-my head?! Who are y-y-you?!"
"Harbinger, I must ask that you try to calm yourself." The voice said worriedly. "Have no fear, I mean you no harm. I am simply your guide for the journey ahead."
Holding his head in his hands, Izuku forced himself to take deep breaths. "You still h-havent said who you are." Izuku said unhappily. "And what do you m-m-mean by journey? I just want to find my mom and go home!"
There was a pause before the voice spoke again. "Apologies, I am still adjusting to this partnership as well. You may call me Artemis. The journey I am referring to is the journey to bring balance to the galaxy. You are very special Harbinger, for only you have the necessary qualities to successfully carry out this task."
Shaking his head in disagreement, Izuku began to slowly walk towards the rock outcropping. "You must have the wrong person. I am not special at all, I am just a worthless kid without a quirk."
"That is where you are wrong." The voice said comfortingly. "You are untainted. Pure. Untouched by the cancerous blight that has taken hold of this galaxy. I have waited millenia for someone like you to arrive, and now that you are here I can finally fulfill my purpose."
Leaning tiredly against the large rock outcropping, Izuku tried to make sense of everything the voice was saying.
"What do you mean by untainted?" He asked somewhat curiously.
"I am referring to the fact that you do not have what is commonly referred to as a quirk." The voice informed Izuku. "Quirks are not natural, they never have been. Your species is simply too young to understand that yet. Humanity was supposed to be our last hope of salvation, but forces beyond your imagination have done their best to ensure that humanity can never truly ascend. What you may think is a weakness, is in fact your greatest strength."
Trying to make sense of what the voice was saying was making Izuku's head hurt. As curious as he was to find out how exactly being quirkless was so great, Izuku had other priorities at the moment.
"Um...Artemis right?" Izuku said slowly. "I get that whatever you are talking about is really important, but right now I need to find my mom and make sure she is okay."
Artemis paused, and when they spoke it was with obvious sadness. "I am sorry Harbinger. I was only able to save you. Everyone else onboard the ship perished."
It felt like Izuku had been punched in the gut, his mouth opening and closing silently as he tried to come to terms with what he had just been told.
"No...nononono…" Izuku whimpered as tears filled his eyes. "What do you mean you could only save me?!" Izuku did not realize his voice was growing louder, his anguished cries filling the air. "WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE MY MOM!? SHE WAS ALL I HAD!"
Artemis' voice got quieter, filled with obvious shame. "I am truly sorry Harbinger. I was only able to transport you due to your lack of a quirk. I know it is not the answer you want, but that is the truth."
At that point all coherent thought had left Izuku's mind, the only feeling remaining being utter despair. Screaming in emotional agony, Izuku slumped against the rock outcropping and sobbed violently.
"Harbinger…" Artemis said softly. "Harbinger please…I am sorry..."
At that point, Izuku knew he was truly alone. Nobody understood his struggle better than his mom did, and now that she was gone it was like all the light and warmth in the sky had disappeared.
Falling to his knees, Izuku wished with all his heart that he could have seen his mom's smiling face one last time.
After what felt like hours of crying and sobbing, Izuku sat down with his back against the large rocks and stared at the sky.
Eventually, Artemis broke the silence.
"Harbinger?" The ghostly voice asked hesitantly. "I know you are still grieving, but we should get moving and find shelter before night falls."
Nodding silently, Izuku stiffly stood up and sighed heavily. "So where do we go? You are supposed to know everything right?"
"Unfortunately that is not the case." Artemis said. "Besides my own limited memories, I only have access to the knowledge you currently have. I apologize for not being more useful."
Izuku nodded sullenly. "Figures, what are you supposed to do anyways besides talk to me?"
Their voice perking up considerably, Artemis began to speak excitedly. "I am to assist you with training your new powers and abilities! My entire purpose for existing is to make sure you are the strongest you can be!"
Secretly thankful that there was something to take his mind off his mom, Izuku looked at his hands in confusion. "What powers? I don't feel any different."
"That is because you have yet to awaken your abilities." Artemis explained. "Your body has been greatly enhanced to the point that there is practically no limit to your growth. The normal human body can only handle so much power, but now that you have received the blessing of the Creators you could become a demi-god if you wanted to."
Scratching his head at the unbelievable claims Artemis was making, Izuku aimlessly walked through the field as he talked. "So...how do I get started then? I am assuming it's not as easy as you are making it sound."
"How very astute of you Harbinger." Artemis said proudly. "You are correct. You will need to train considerably to fully master your powers, but that is part of the plan. You need to prove yourself worthy of the powers bestowed upon you. After all, having control over time, space, and matter is a big responsibility."
Stopping next to a big bush, Izuku shook his head in disbelief. "I must be going crazy or something. First off I am talking to a voice in my head, but now you are telling me I can control practically everything?"
"To an extent." Artemis explained. "While you may not be able to attain total control like the Creators, you will still be powerful enough that normal humans will regard you as practically god-like."
Izuku frowned. As much as he wanted to believe Artemis, nothing was ever as easy as it sounded.
"Okay…" Izuku said slowly. "So...what can I do right now?"
Artemis paused, clearly thinking things over.
"Let us start with matter manipulation." Artemis finally said. "Out of the three aspects of the universe, matter is obviously the most tangible and therefore easiest to understand. Find a small rock please."
Deciding to humor Artemis, Izuku looked around his feet and found a small chunk of rock the size of a grape.
"Okay, now what?" Izuku asked curiously as he picked up the small rock and held it in his hand.
"Oh this is so exciting!" Artemis said joyously. "I have waited so long for this moment! First close your hand around the rock. Then close your eyes and focus all your mental strength. Then, imagine the rock as a smooth sphere."
Arching an eyebrow curiously, Izuku closed his hand around the small rock. "Really? That's it?"
"Yes it is that simple." Artemis affirmed. "However, using your powers will take a toll on your body. If you are not careful and try to use too much, you could seriously injure yourself. So for now, please use your powers in moderation."
Now a little nervous at what the side effects may be, Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Focusing on the rough edges of the rock in his hand, Izuku concentrated and imagined the rock smoothing itself out into a perfect sphere.
At first nothing happened, but right as Izuku was about to give up there was a brief flash of light as warmth spread throughout Izuku's hand. Opening his eyes, Izuku opened his hand and was astounded at what he saw.
The small jagged rock had become a small but smooth sphere.
"Holy crap." Izuku whispered in amazement. "That was ama-"
Before Izuku could finish his sentence, a brief bout of nausea overtook him. Stumbling slightly, Izuku dropped the rock sphere and used the nearby bush to steady himself.
"Ugh...I don't feel so good." Izuku burped.
It seemed Artemis was beyond pleased at the results however.
"Excellent Harbinger!" Artemis exclaimed. "You just took the first step on the path to attaining ultimate power! I am honored to be the one to guide you on this momentous occasion!"
A few seconds later the nausea dissipated, leaving Izuku to look at his hands in awe.
It may not technically be a quirk, but whatever this new power was it certainly seemed to be just as good.
Realizing a happy smile had formed on his face, Izuku awkwardly coughed and tried to compose himself.
"I may be out of line Harbinger." Artemis said carefully. "But I believe your mother would be very proud of you right now. While it is understandable to be saddened by her passing, her memories and love lives on in you. From what I know of her, she would be overjoyed that you finally attained what you have always wanted."
Izuku immediately felt a sharp pang of loneliness and loss in his chest, but nodded in agreement.
"Thanks Artemis." Izuku said softly. "You are right. I want to make my mom proud."
The tender moment was interrupted by the roar of starship thrusters as a large spacecraft appeared from nowhere and came to a stop overhead.
Frozen in shock, Izuku could only stare in amazement as the starship began to descend.
"Be on your guard, Harbinger." Artemis advised warily.
Nodding slightly, but unsure of what exactly he should do, Izuku watched as the large starship landed nearby and lowered a boarding ramp from its cargo bay. Afew seconds later, two individuals emerged from the ship and walked towards Izuku.
The first was a lanky young adult man almost six feet tall. The most noticeable feature right off the bat was the fact that he had patches of gnarled, wrinkled, purple skin that covered much of his lower face and neck, all the way down past his collarbone, below his eyes, around his torso, and on his arms and legs. The patches of burned skin also seemed to be attached to the rest of his healthy skin by multiple, crude surgical staples or hoop piercings. Another noticeable feature was that his arms from the elbows down to his hands were crude but durable cybernetics. The burned man had black hair and turquoise eyes, and wore a simple outfit of boots, fire-proof ash grey pants, a simple white t-shirt, and a rugged-looking jacket.
The burned man's partner could not have been more different.
The burned man's partner was a fairly tall adult woman of slender yet voluptuous frame, while at the same time being well-built. Wearing a collared black bomber jacket, cargo pants, yellow gloves, and combat boots, the woman looked every bit like a seasoned starship captain. She had sharp, intelligent eyes with long eyelashes, fair skin, and her hair was dark and straight. The woman's hair seemed to be kept shoulder-length with the exception of a clump of short bangs hanging above her forehead, and styled in a half-up-half-down bun.
Locking eyes with Izuku, the woman's face split into a victorious grin.
"Looks like you owe me twenty Dabi." The woman said to her partner teasingly as she got closer.
With an unhappy grunt, the burned man stayed silent. His eyes constantly surveying the surroundings like a veteran soldier would scan for enemies.
Coming to a stop just out of arm's reach, the striking woman gave Izuku a confident smile. "Hey kid, you wouldn't happen to know about any weird alien stuff going on around here, would you?"
Gulping nervously, Izuku shook his head. "N-n-no?"
The woman laughed heartily. "You sure? Because the nearest settlement is a couple hundred miles south of here and nobody was reported to be out here. Plus, you look like you just came from school, not surviving in this outback wilderness."
Looking down at his casual clothes, Izuku backed up slowly. "Umm...I d-d-dont know who y-y-you are, and I w-w-was taught not to t-t-trust strangers."
Nodding in agreement, the woman held out her hand for Izuku to shake.
"Alright, well let me introduce myself. I am Captain Shimura, and this ray of sunshine next to me is Dabi. What's your name?"
"Harbinger, I am not detecting any signs of the enemy on them." Artemis whispered. "For now, it seems they mean no harm."
Trusting Artemis, Izuku stopped backing up and quickly shook Captain Shimura's hand.
"Nice t-t-to meet you." The green-haired teen said politely. "I am Izuku. Izuku Midoriya."
Giving Izuku's hand a firm shake, Captain Shimura spoke confidently. "Alright Midoriya, I am going to level with you. I am a leader of a task force investigating a bunch of weird happenings in the galaxy, and our sensors picked up a massive spike of alien energy here a little bit ago. Right now you have two options. First option, you don't say anything and we leave you alone. However, I don't think you will last long out here by yourself. Second option, you tell me just how exactly you got here. Then we can see about getting you back home, because you clearly aren't from these parts."
Steadying his nerves, Izuku decided to trust the enigmatic captain.
"Umm...the last thing I remember was my ship blowing up while we were at lightspeed." Izuku said honestly. "I somehow ended up in some weird place that looked really alien, then I ended up here."
Scratching her chin, Captain Shimura nodded eagerly. "Okay, that definitely is not a normal experience. Where are you from, kid?"
"Musutafu, Aurelia sector." Izuku stated.
Pressing a finger to her ear, Captain Shimura spoke to someone over a comm-link. "Slick, you get all that?"
After a few seconds of silence, Captain Shimura's eyebrows raised in obvious surprise.
"Hey kid, what is today's date?" Captain Shimura asked suddenly.
Collecting his thoughts, Izuku gave an honest answer. "Uhh, it's only been a day at most. So...2808, August 5th?"
Frowning slightly, Captain Shimura sighed heavily. "Kid, I don't know how else to say this so I am just gonna give it to you straight. The passenger starship you were on never arrived after jumping to lightspeed. The authorities chalked it up to a light-drive accident. Also...it's been six months since the ship disappeared. Plus you are currently on the other side of the galaxy."
His jaw dropping in shock, Izuku looked at Captain Shimura incredulously. "How is that p-p-possible?! It just happened a few hours ago! How did I end up halfway across the galaxy?!"
Sighing, Captain Shimura gave Izuku a concerned look. "That is what I want to find out Midoriya. Something doesn't add up, and we are going to need your help to put the pieces together. I swear on my life we aren't going to abduct you or anything. You help us with our problem, and we will get you back home. Deal?"
"I suggest accepting her offer." Artemis said quietly.
Gulping nervously, Izuku nodded. "Okay."
Smiling proudly, Captain Shimura patted Izuku on the back and gestured to her sleek starship. "Welcome aboard then Midoriya. Cmon, let's get you settled in. You must be hungry, a hot meal does wonders for the brain. Then when you are ready we can start figuring things out."
As Captain Shimura walked back to her ship, Izuku realized he was in fact very hungry. The adrenaline wearing off and the shock setting in made a warm meal sound like just the right thing at the moment. Following in Captain Shimura's footsteps, Izuku flinched slightly as the burned man silently fell in step behind him like a bodyguard.
Walking up the ramp, Izuku wondered just where this journey would take him.