The City Of Musutafu.
After School Hours.
Underneath A Random Bridge.
Izuku's antenna twitched ever so slightly as dark green sludge started to emerge from underneath the manhole cover that the Chimera Ant had recently passed. The massive tower of sludge condensed and reformed into the Sludge villain who grinned evilly at the sight of his prey standing a mere few feet in front of him. Two disproportionately large hands emerged from the sludge and, without warning, raced towards Izuku, intending to restrain the Chimera Ant so he could start the process of turning her body into a meat suit.
The sludge arms closed the distance within seconds and were about to grab onto the Chimera Ant's school backpack. However, Izuku had known that something was behind her thanks to her antenna, which sensed the unusual vibrations the wannabe body snatcher had caused while leaving the sewer system. Reacting on instinct, Izuku exploded into the air dodging the villain's sludgy hands by a hair's breathe. A curse escaped the villain's sludgy lips while Izuku twisted in the air so that she was facing her attacker.
"A real villain," the sole daughter of the Midoriya family realised as the sludge quirk user retracted his arms back into his sludgy form. "And given his sludge-based biology, he must've come up from the sewer systems that run across the entire city." Izuku's wings unfolded as she took a combat stance. The antenna on top of her head told the Chimera Ant that there were no nearby heroes, so until one showed up, she'd be forced to defend herself against the Sludge villain.
Baneful red eyes emerged from the sludgy substance, which radiated amusement at the sight of Izuku Midoriya. "So ya knew I was here the entire time, huh, kid?" The Sludge villain was impressed as not many people could've sensed his presence, let alone dodge the speed at which his hands moved. "Your reflexes aren't too bad either. It's a shame really that I've got to kill such a promising mutant type quirk user." As a fellow mutant type, the Sludge villain would've usually left Izuku Midoriya alone and gone off to find a more suitable host. Yet, with All Might nearby, such generosity wasn't an option anymore.
Izuku didn't respond to the Sludge villain's praise/threat; instead, she subtle coated her claws with the paralysing poison that was naturally generated from her body. The Chimera Ant's analytical mind went through various ideas on how to defeat the villain. His form comprised an unknown sludge substance, so physical attacks weren't likely to harm him. However, Izuku noticed at the Sludge villain's eyes and humongous mouth were actually solid, which would make them the optimal locations to inject her venom into his system or whatever functioned as his internal biology.
"Not gonna talk back, kid?" The sludge hands reemerged from the villain's constantly shifting mass. "that's fine; I'll be doing enough talking for the both of us in a few minutes anyway!" The sludge hands blitzkrieg towards Izuku with the intent of ensnaring their master's prey. The Chimera Ant, in response, jumped up onto the underside of the bridge. At the bottom of Izuku's feet, the claws dug themselves into the concrete, allowing her to race towards the Sludge villain whilst hanging upside down. The villain spat out several curses at once, again failing to capture Izuku Midoriya.
"Stop dodging ya little brat!" The Sludge villain roared in frustration as his arms twisted around and surged towards the incoming Chimera Ant. Izuku calmly glanced back at the approaching sludge hands for a moment before turning back to face her opponent. Once the distance between them was closed, Izuku detached from the bridge's underside and fell towards the villain's primary mass. The sludge quirk user laughed darkly at the falling Chimera Ant as he believed that there was nothing she could do to harm him.
However, the villain was wrong Izuku twisted her hips and threw a kick at the Sludge monster face. Before the foot made contact with the Sludge villain, she uncurls her clawed toes releasing pieces of concrete that she had subtly broken off from the bridge's underside. The bits of concrete collided with the villain's eyes, causing a cry of pain to break free from his sludgy lips.
"Damn bitch!" The Sludge villain furiously roared whilst trying to remove the concrete from his eyes. "You're gonna pay for throwing concrete into my eyes!" The sludge arms returned to their master, completely ignoring Izuku, who had raised her poisonous claws in preparation to strike the villain's only visible weak spot. She slashed at his bright red eyes the moment he managed to remove the concrete that was obstructing his vision. The Sludge villain's eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the pale white claws as they cut across his red orbs and returned him to temporary blindness.
Izuku soared backwards to a safe distance via the use of her wings and watched as the villain cursed up a storm while waiting for his eyes to regenerate. The sludge quirk user was also throwing random punches at anything near him, which was fine with the Chimera Ant as flailing around like that was only going to allow her poison to spread throughout his body at a much faster rate. Within 30 seconds after the poison was injured through the eyes, the Sludge villain groaned in pain, falling to the ground whilst breaking down into a sizeable sludgy puddle.
Izuku sighed with relief at having stopped the Sludge villain. However, she would immediately contact the police since there was a slight chance that the poison might not last for six hours as the sludge user was the first mutant type to ever experience her paralysing venom. The Chimera Ant removed and reached into her backpack to retrieve her cellphone. However, before she could call the proper authorities, the manhole cover where the villain had emerged suddenly exploded into the sky, and a tall, muscular shadow soared out of the sewers and landed next to the now coverless manhole.
"There's nothing to fear now, citizens," a booming voice filled with confidence and heroism loudly echoed throughout the area whilst a shockwave burst from where the shadow landed. "Because I am here!" All Might, in all his muscular and blonde-haired glory, exclaimed proudly while striking a heroic pose. Izuku stared with wonder at the sight of her idol, unaware that a tiny piece of the Sludge villain had flown into her mouth thanks to the shockwave All Might caused. Nor did she realise that during the excitement, she'd accidentally swallowed the piece of the villain that now laid paralysed on the ground.
"All Might!" Izuku released a girly squeal, and without giving the Sludge villain a second thought, she rushed over to her idol. "I can't believe it's you; I'm a huge fan!" Her tone raised to above slightly normal levels, such was the effect that meeting her idol and the world's symbol of peace had on the Chimera Ant.
"Oh, a fan, are we?" All Might's smile widened as it was always nice to meet someone that loved heroes and enjoyed the peace they brought to the world. "Well, it's always nice to meet such a loyal follower of peace and justice!" He laughed heartedly, causing Izuku to smile widely, revealing the rows of razor-sharp teeth. The symbol of peace wasn't affected by the teeth nor the girl's moth-like appearance as he's seen plenty of heroes and villains throughout his career with inhuman appearances. Though sadly, the former was more common than the latter.
However, as much as All Might wanted to stay and chat with a fan, a dangerous Sludge villain was running around somewhere. His job as a hero was to capture the criminal before anyone else got injured or, worse, killed by the dastardly fiend. As he smiled at the giddy Izuku, who was hopping up and down on the spot, the no.1 suddenly had the idea of asking if she saw the villain he was chasing. Bits of the fiend had been found stuck to the walls of the sewers that he'd passed on the way here, so it was likely that she saw something related to the criminal.
"Excuse me, young lady," All Might raised a hand to pause whatever questions Izuku might have to ask him. The Chimera Ant stopped hopping on the spot and patiently waited for her idol to speak whilst pale green orbs sparkled like miniature stars. "I was chasing a fiendish villain made entirely out of sludge, and I've sadly lost him during the chase in the sewers." It was a bit embarrassing to admit that to a fan, yet if he wanted to find the villain, the no.1 hero needed to be clear in what he wanted to know. "Perhaps you've seen this bastardly fiend running about the area?"
Izuku's anntena perked up at the question. "Yes," she softly admitted to her inspiration to becoming a hero while pointing towards the shadows of the bridge. "The villain tried to attack me. I managed to paralyse him with the poison that I can secrete from my claws." She went into detail into what happened from the start of the fight to when she clawed at the villain's eyes to inject the poison into his internal biological system. All Might patently listen to Izuku's retelling of events that transpired a few moments ago and was mentally reprimanding himself for not catching up to the villain sooner.
"I see." All Might frowned while walking towards the bridge, with Izuku dutifully following behind the world's no.1 hero. "While normally I'd reprimand you for fighting a dangerous villain without thinking of the consequences," All might saw the sludgy puddle of the Sludge villain, which was located precisely where Izuku told him. "However, with no other heroes around, you had no chose but to defend yourself, and more impressively, you managed to defeat the fiend whilst sustaining zero injuries." He knew that the other heroes would've yelled at him for not reprimanding the Chimera Ant, yet the situation wasn't a typical one, and it was mostly his fault that the villain found Izuku in the first place.
"Hum, thank you, sir." Izuku softly replied while watching All Might scoop up the villain into a pair of large drink bottles. "Uh, would you mind answering a question, All Might?" She asked as the Sludge villain, who was still conscious yet unable to move thanks to the poison, glared hatefully at the no.1 hero. All Might ignored the enraged villain's death glare and turned towards the Chimera Ant after finishing with the Sludge villain's containment.
"Why, of course," All Might placed the two bottles next to his shopping bag. "I always have time to answer a fan." Besides, he owed the girl that much, at least for putting her endanger. "Speaking of which, it would seem that I've yet to learn your name, young Miss." it was always important for a hero to know the names of the citizens as it showed that they cared for their safety. It gave most heroes a subtle reminder of what they're risking their lives to protect from the forces of evil and general villainy.
"I'm Izuku Midoriya." The Chimera Ant introduced herself with a polite bow. "And I was wondering," she shyly looked away from her idol who's smile softened at the girl's behaviour as he had an idea where this line of questioning was heading. "Could someone with a monstrous quirk like mine be a hero?" She dreamed of being a hero for years, and it would be nice to have someone else besides her mother say that despite her monstrous appearance that she too could become a hero.
All Might gently place a hand on the Chimera Ant's shoulder. "I…" pain exploded from the no.1 hero's side, warning that his time limit was unfortunately up. Izuku gazed at All Might with confusion only to gasp a moment later when smoke enveloped his form. Once the smoke was gone, the true form of All Might was revealed in all his horrifyingly skeletal glory, complete with fresh blood dripping down his lips. She stared at her idol with wide, horrified eyes while All Might sighed at having his true form revealed to an innocent civilian.
"Crap, I've reached my limit for the day." He gently removed the blood coming out from his mouth using the back of his hand. After the blood was gone, he addressed Izuku, who appeared to be completely confused with the event that just happened, not that he'd blame the young girl for her confusion. "Hi, don't freak out. I'm still All Might," the no.1 hero gestured towards his skeletal appearance. "This is just my true form." His old sensei would've scolded him for telling a stranger the truth, yet it wasn't like he could hide it now that she's seen him transform.
Izuku swallowed nervously while pointing a finger at All Might. "But, how'd you get from extremely tall and muscular to that skeletal and clearly unhealthy form?" It was strange how All Might could transform like that; maybe it had something to do with his quirk.
The symbol of peace sighed, knowing that he'd have to explain. "Yeah, know how guys keep sucking in their gut at the pool to appear more buff to other people?" When Izuku nodded, she saw guys like that whenever her mother decided to take her to a public pool. "Well, I'm just like them." The explanation caused Izuku to deadpan as it was doubtful that All Might was able to buff himself up into his muscular form in that manner. When she said that, he laughed as it was indeed how he transformed into the form everyone related to the no.1 hero.
"It's still kind of hard to believe," Izuku admitted as the sounds of the cars above and the river next to them echoed through the air. "I mean, you're the no.1 that always saves people with a fearless smile." All Might seemed to age a few years at the mention of his smile and, with great reluctance, pulled up his shirt revealing the horrible mass of surgical scars that surrounded where his stomach should be. The Chimera Ant gazed at the scar tissue with barely hidden horror as it was a miracle that the man lived with wounds like those.
"The truth is there's plenty of fear behind that smile." All Might gestured towards the wound with a sad smile. "I got this in a major fight five years ago, my respiratory system was basically shredded, and I've lost the entirety of my stomach," he had to eat liquified foods now. Thanks to the damage, blood would randomly come flying out of his mouth. "The surgeries have helped, yet there's no fixing what's happened to my body." All Might continued to explain that he could only hold his muscular form for three hours; after that, he was forced to stay in skeletal form until his power recharged.
"Five years ago," Izuku whispered as she tried to recall any significant villain attacks that happened during that time which also involved All Might. "Wait, were those wounds caused by the villain Toxic Chainsaw?" That particular villain was the only one powerful enough to have caused those injuries, and he'd fought All Might five years ago, so that fit the story. The no.1 hero was impressed with Izuku's knowledge and even complimented her on it yet negatively nodded his head at the idea of Toxic Chainsaw being the one to wound him in battle.
"The guy got a few good hits during our fight," All Might remember the fight well enough and was kind of saddened that such a talented individual had turned to a life of crime. "But no, these wounds were caused by someone else, and I've done my best to hide that battle from the world." It was for the best as none could learn about All For One's existence as it might cause chaos to erupt across Japan since the idea that a person could steal your quirk was the stuff of nightmares even though the guy in question was dead.
"I'm the symbol of peace," he sounded so tired at the mention of his status. "The fearless and invincible hero that saves everyone with a smile, but the truth is I smile to hide the fear inside when the pressure is high since this job isn't exactly easy." Izuku stared sadly at All Might as she could sense how tired and sad the life of a hero has made him, yet behind those two emotions, she could see the burning flame of heroism that refused to be snuffed out by the weight of the world's evils.
"Pro heroes are always risking their lives to help others in need." He let go of the shirt, allowing it to cover the wound once more. "And as for your question, It won't be easy to become a hero as many outside a hero school will try to prevent you from reaching your goals." It wasn't as bad for mutant type quirks in this day and age as it had been a few years ago since everyone back in those days were highly vocal against them becoming heroes. "However, if you persevere and train hard, then I believe that you too can become a hero." She already showed talent by taking out the Sludge villain so it wouldn't be too hard for Izuku to get into a hero school.
Tears of joy threatened to spill out of her eyes as Izuku heard the words she desperately wanted to hear from another person since she turned five. "Thank you." It was a simple thanks, yet the raw emotion behind it carried more weight than mere words could never have. All Might smiled, having felt a weight leave his shoulders upon helping someone in need. The no.1 hero reached down and picked up the shopping bag and the bottles containing the Sludge villain.
"You're welcome young Midoriya," he reached outwards to ruffle her dark green hair. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a villain to turn into the police." After ruffling her hair for a couple of moments, All Might started to head towards the nearest police station. However, before no.1 got too far, Izuku realised that she had forgotten to ask him for an autograph. Since this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, she grabbed her hero notebook from her backpack and raced after the symbol of peace.
"Wait, All Might!" Izuku desperately called after her idol. "I've forgotten to ask for an…" without warning, Izuku Midoriya paused in her running as the piece of the Sludge villain she accidentally ate was finally done being digested in her stomach. Now, normally eating something wouldn't have much effect on Izuku. Yet when she digested the piece of sludge, biological functions centred around reproduction, which had until now laid dormant, roared to life as new genetic material was stored and ready to begin the process of phagogenesis.
The instincts that Izuku had tried to suppress ever since turning fourteen went into overdrive. Pale green pupils dilated into tiny pinpricks whilst the primordial hunger screamed within Izuku's head to be satisfied. A beat of the wings was all it took to send the ravenous and currently instinct controlled Chimera Ant soaring towards All Might, who managed to turn just in time to stare wide-eyed at the fast-approaching Izuku Midoriya. The no.1 hero saw the savage look within Izuku's gaze and swiftly realised what had happened to the wannabe heroine.
"The instincts granted by her quirk have taken over!" It wasn't an unheard-of phenomenon; a good example was the hero Hound Dog, whose manner of speaking and human behaviour would degrade the more excited or enraged the dog quirk hero became. "Shit, this is the last thing any of us need, especially when my time limit is up." All Might brace himself for the impact he believed was coming towards him. However, instead of crashing into the no.1 hero, Izuku flew past and grabbed the bottles containing the Sludge villain. A startled gasp escaped All Might while the Chimera Ant soared up into the air and out of the symbol of peace's reach.
"No! stop, young Midoriya!" All Might shouted to the hovering Chimera Ant, who ignored the famous hero and proceeded to untwist the cap off the bottle. The Sludge villain's eyes widened in fear as the brat he intended to control moved the bottle to her lips. A muffled scream could be faintly heard from the bottle as Izuku literal drank the villain as if he was some kind of meat smoothie. Once the first bottle was empty, she immediately started on the second one whilst uncaringly throwing the first bottle into the river.
"I've got to do something." All Might grimaced at the expression of pure ecstasy that was etched upon Izuku's face as she continued to devour the Sludge villain. "But how? My time limit has already been spent, and she's too high up for me to attempt a grab." The no.1 hero watched helplessly as the last of the Sludge villain was devoured, and the second bottle joined its predecessor in the river. The Chimera Ant sighed in contentment whilst licking her lips, revealing her teeth which shined like polished pearls in the light.
"More," All Might could faintly hear what Izuku was saying from his position on the ground. "I need more prey, more meat to start building the hive." Her breathing was ragged and needy as she started to fly away from the area. All Might cursed heavily as he gave chase to the Chimera Ant. Judging by her direction, All Might figured that Izuku was trying to reach the Musutafu Nature Park, a location just outside the city limits where a former mayor had a massive forest built to contain a vast diversity of animals and plant life.
It was, unfortunately, the perfect place for the Chimera Ant to hunt for prey, and it would be a challenge for All Might to find her again if she managed to entire forest whilst he couldn't enter his buff form. The no.1 hero grimaced at the idea of searching that forest whilst the innocent girl was enslaved to her baser instincts and devouring any poor animal that was unlucky enough to cross her path. Speaking of Midoriya, she flapped her wings and started to pick up speed which caused All Might to run faster to keep up with the flying Chimera Ant.
"Don't worry, young Midoriya, I'll save you!" He yelled towards Izuku, who continued to ignore her idol as reaching the forest and feeding her hunger was the only thing that mattered to the Chimera Ant at this point. The two raced through the city miraculously, avoiding other heroes and other obstacles that might try to prevent them from reaching the forest. Upon seeing the outer edge of the nature park, All Might prayed that no innocent people were walking around inside as they'd be caught unawares of the danger that was entering the forest to hunt.
All Might desperately hoped that the situation could be resolved before anyone got hurt.
Author Notice.
Hello everyone, this notice is to clarify some things about some changes I'll be making to the chimera ants and another topic so you'll not be confused when they appear in the story.
1. I'll be expanding and refining the chimera ants hierarchy to better suit the story.
2. I've never liked the fact that the chimera queen never had a royal guard of her own as that was, in my eyes, a significant weakness in their defences, so Izuku will be getting her own royal guards.
3. Izuku can give birth to both kings and queens.
4. I've given this some significant thought, and I've decided to not include Nen since chimera ants with both Nen and quirks would be far too overpowered. Giving humans of my hero academia universe, Nen would just devolve the story into whose got the bigger stick.
5. A particular character from Hunter x hunter will be making an appearance during the USJ incident.
That's about it. Anything else that happens will be revealed when I'm done writing the chapters and placing them on the site. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story.
Author signing out!