Time-Travel fic. Begins at ~manga chapter 316, contains heavy spoilers for the entire manga. Deals with some heavy topics (child abuse from Enji, aftermath of death from Hawks, PTSD from Best Jeanist, toxic mentalities and self-sacrificing tendencies from Deku), contains a fair amount of blood and violence, and is overall a relatively good time. I hope you enjoy! I tried to keep characted as close to their canon personalities as possible, but please, let me know what you think in the reviews! :3
It was safe to say that Deku, the Ninth and Final Holder of One For All, was not having a good day. Rocketing through a crumbling city with reckless abandon, he embedded broad cracks in the already shredded concrete with every tension-filled step he took.
Over streets devoid of life and ricocheting off high-rises with every single window shattered, the young man raced faster than the eye could see. Racing through the decomposing remains of Hero society as he knew it, the Hero was closer to a bolt of living lightning than anything else. His form blurred into little more than flashes of green and teal, the sight of him unnatural and inexplicable to the few that still wandered the streets. Thunder followed him, roaring and crackling faintly as Deku flew over the desolate corpse of Hoth City. With a thick yellow cape streaming behind him and the spirits of seven mentors watching over his shoulders, he was ready for anything.
Well, that was what he thought - he wasn't, really. Not for what was coming.
His viridian eyes, narrowed against the sheer wind rushing against his rippling hood, had worry and anxiety written clearly into their vibrant greens. He already knew he was headed towards what was likely an active Villain attack, but he still didn't feel anywhere near prepared enough.
Really, it had been just a single shout over the Hero Comms - he'd managed to discreetly link into them with All Might's assistance, which was indescribably useful - but it had filled him with an encompassing dread nonetheless.
"Best Jeanist's - he's, he's gone! Someone, send help, send hel-"
It was a harsh voice, throaty and deep, but still absolutely terrified before they were somehow silenced - Deku pegged them as one of the many Heroes accompanying the Top Three. After all, the three Heroes had a few dozen of the Top Hundred surrounding them. Back-up, as they patrolled the city and took out the villains terrorizing the populace.
Swallowing the new-found fear rapidly rising in his throat, Deku stood, left behind All Might's simmering tonkatsu, and moved. Straining his ears for any signs of a battle in his vicinity, he made his way towards Jeanist's last known location.
As far as he was aware, the Top Three were staying near to him but not too close - approximately one kilometre away. In addition to that, the two groups weren't supposed to be seen explicitly working together, but Deku hoped they'd make an exception this time. Well, they had to, didn't they? This was hardly a situation where his assistance could be declined.
Best Jeanist, taken out? Gone? Just like that? Even with Hawks and Endeavor fighting alongside him?
The only time the fashionista was eliminated like that was… well, it was at Kamino.
When he faced All For One.
Deku picked up the pace. In his veins, white-hot magma bubbled and frothed madly and thick strands of steam hissed off his skin as he pushed past his limits, ignoring the stern yet weary disapproval emanating from the Vestiges.
One For All : Full Cowling.
Sixty Percent.
Sixty-Five Percent.
Seventy Percent.
It burnt, yes - electricity running through his body, through his bones and blood, through the center of his very being - yet, even so, it burnt in such an achingly satisfying way. He might even call it… intoxicating. Every trickle of power settling into him fit, like it was always meant to be there, like it was meant for him and him alone.
That doesn't matter, he chided himself as he forced his mind back to the present. What mattered now was only finding the Top Three. Ever since that initial message, all comms had gone completely silent - not a single Hero responding to his frantic questions. Not a good sign, he had to say.
Slamming into the side of a building and leaving little more than pulverized dust in his wake, Deku suddenly altered his course, adrenaline and anticipation bubbling up. He'd finally heard something - a loud and rightfully pissed-off shout not too far away, three or four blocks off to his right.
He was there in mere seconds, wind buffeting his unruly curls - his hood fell off again. His suit was falling apart at the seams, rips and tears and blood covering every damn inch. He really needed a replacement, but he couldn't. He can survive just fine without asking that of All Might. A ripped suit is hardly something either of them have the luxury of wasting time and resources on.
Landing with a loud and rumbling crash on the corner of the street, Deku narrowly avoided falling right into a dense pool of flames. Throwing his arms out in front of him, he stumbled several steps away from the intense heat. Sure, with Full Cowling active he could probably walk in and out of the flames without injury, but it would still hurt.
The small street was completely blocked off, massive walls of scorching fires filling the road, impossibly tall and imposing. Streetlamps bent and slumped within, the concrete cracking and splintering beneath it. The wall of flames bent slightly, encircling a small and quiet road within it's warm embrace. The property damage was through the roof, but to be fair to the Number One, it already was.
Now, Deku was certainly not expecting to see the infamous 'Circles of Hell' in action today. This was one of Endeavor's more uncommon signature moves, only used to lock slippery and lethal Villains into a single area. Rarely seen, it's presence only solidified Deku's inferences - whoever this Villain was, they were dangerous. If even Endeavor was pulling out all of his stops…
At the very least, the Number One was still standing - Deku could hear the man shouting angrily from somewhere nearby.
Into the skies, he decided, in order to get an idea of the situation. With a sharp, terrifying crackle of thunder, Deku was suddenly floating in the air above the street. His cape billowed in the wind behind him as the morning sun illuminated his war-torn figure, standing in the sky like the fictional heroes of yonder.
Wide, shocked eyes roved the asphalt, filled with surprise and a miniscule trickle of fear.
Dozens of weakly stirring Heroes littered the road, every single one seemingly unconscious. Not dead, he noted with grim relief, unless he was missing the signs. Actually, Deku could identify most of them - all in the Top Fifty, at the very least. Clues pointed to an all-out assault, but where was the assault force? For that matter, where were the Top Three?
As far as Deku could see, there were no crimson feathers in the area, and no strands of denim whipping about either. Only Endeavor. Where were the other two?
Facing Deku, Endeavor stood alone in the street, his body tense and coiled like a viper as he faced off against what Deku knew was a Villain just from their outrageous clothes.
Standing just below Deku's position in the sky, the figure didn't look dangerous. An expensive-looking gleaming coat, shimmering and silver, hung over a form-fitting black shirt, padded - likely armored. Pants made of the same material as his shirt, thick and padded. A revolver was strapped on his left hip, still holstered despite the fact this man was facing the Number One Hero. Instead, he was staring at his wrist, a brilliantly gold watch gleaming from under his jacket's cuffs.
Deku's hands clenched into fists as he noticed their mask; a pure white with nothing other than a gleaming golden circle emblazoned on. Not even eye holes adorned the smooth metal.
Could it be… Mister Compress?
Doubtful. He was still in prison, and last he heard, permanently maimed. Some sort of copy-cat, perhaps? A relative?
Whatever the case, Deku's already had enough of watching. He's already late enough that something's happened to Hawks and Best Jeanist. He won't let this Villain walk free any longer. With precise and calibrated aim, gravity's grip on Deku returned, and he fell - towards the Earth and towards the man, with One For All hissing through his veins in anticipation.
One hit. That's all it should take.
The moment his feet touched the asphalt, a dozen or so meters behind his target and still unnoticed, Deku pushed off the ground, leaving massive fissures in the street. Fifty percent through his legs, and around twenty percent pooling in his arms. If he was being honest, even that much was rather high for someone without a durability quirk to take, but Deku wasn't about to take any chances. This man was obviously dangerous.
But before Deku made it halfway to the Villain, they turned leisurely. The faceless mask turned to his approaching form - this close, Deku noticed the symbol printed on his mask. A golden clock?
Time seemed to slow down, as Deku's senses sharpened and tunneled in on the man. One For All enhanced his senses to the extremes, but this was something new. It was almost like he wasn't in control of his own body, moving through honey so he could get to the spiderweb.
How the hell did he do that? With an aggravating flourish, the Villain carefully stepped out of Deku's warpath, making an indescribably fast movement look as natural as breathing.
With the speed he moved at plus the time motif Deku was beginning to notice, it was obvious he'd already underestimated this Villain. Dammit.
Despite his best efforts, Deku wasn't able to stop and readjust for another attack as quickly as he would have liked. Instead, he rammed his shoes into the concrete and slid roughly to a tumbling stop, landing directly in front of Endeavor. Throwing rubble and pebbles into the man's face, Deku tried not to let the displeasure and annoyance emanating off Endeavor get to him.
The man didn't waste a moment on berating him. "Deku! Get out of here, now!" Commanding turquoise eyes turned on Deku, but he ignored them with the experience of a bona fide master.
"No, sir! Where are Hawks and Best Jeanist?" Deku shouted back, jumping rapidly to the other side of the street. The sidewalk cracked under his impact, but Deku kept his eyes on the Villain. He still hadn't moved again, his head tilted in amusement as he stared at the pair.
"Gone! Don't let the bastard hit you!" Endeavor ordered, his voice gruff and worried as Hellflame coagulated in his palm. "He's got some sort of light manipulation quirk. It hit Hawks and Jeanist, and they were just gone!"
That didn't fit, not all for one person. Incredible speed, light manipulation of some type, and teleportation, maybe… or, hopefully not, disintegration? A new Kurogiri, maybe? Best Jeanist and Hawks both had powerful quirks that All For One might want for himself… and besides, who else could threaten the Top Three, other than one of his underlings?
Suddenly pulling Deku out of his musings, Endeavor lobbed a massive sphere of condensed flames at the Villain. The glowing ball sprayed stray sparks across the street as it flew right at them, and landed in the centre of the street with a heavy thud. Suddenly, it exploded, with all the ferocity of one of Kacchan's super moves, sending out a crushing shock wave across the road. With Endeavor expertly manipulating the flames, they didn't touch any of the Heroes on the street floor, only spiralling towards the Villain.
Direct hit, goddamn - Deku recoiled slightly, the lightning across his limbs dimming minutely. That had gotta hurt, no doubt about it.
Deku blinked.
The Villain was gone.
No, scratch that - they were standing, slouching actually, atop a nearby street light. The lightning crackling across Deku's limbs intensified, and he tensed in preparation for another attack. They didn't have any time to waste. Definitely another Kurogiri, that had to be teleportation what with how fast they moved.
This Villain had to be taken out right now, whoever they were. A more circular and unpredictable attack this time, less chance of being dodged like last time. But before he jumped at them, the Villain spoke aloud.
"I must apologize for this, Endeavor, but you are the best of the best, aren't you?" he said, a wistful lilt to his baritone voice. "I'm sure you'll manage well enough." he finished, raising an ominously glowing palm at Endeavor.
Yet again, time seemed to slow down for Deku. He didn't wait for the Villain's quirk to charge up - Deku acted. Wasting not even a millisecond, he jumped across the street towards Endeavor. With the intense speed Deku was moving at, Endeavor hadn't even started his own dodge, still stood stock-still in the street. It wouldn't be enough.
Deku slammed into Endeavor's side, sending both of them tumbling down the street, and hopefully out of range. After they slid to a screeching stop, Deku jumped to his feet immediately, and pulled Endeavor up alongside him, ignoring his shocked grunts. Danger Sense wasn't active, not at all - it seemed his plan had worked.
Wrong.
Deku turned his face back to the Villain just in time to see the light on their palm reach an unbearable intensity, and he tensed in preparation to dodge yet again. Why was Danger Sense silent? Perhaps it's not an actual attack, just some form of teleportation… no matter. They need to dodge it anyhow. Blackwhip snaked out of his hand - it's clear he's got absolutely zero idea on how this Villain's quirk worked. They need to regroup and plan.
Without any warning towards the Hero, tendrils of void pushed their way through the air to hold down Endeavor for safe transport out of the area. Retreat and recovery was a valid tactic in the face of an unknown enemy, especially when they were already down two top Heroes.
But in the end, it was useless.
After all, nothing can escape light.
The beam of light, pure and inescapable, struck both of them. Spiralling around them in a lightshow of every color imaginable and some not, the attack surrounded the pair. Then, just as instantly as it had arrived, it suddenly disappeared, encompassing a time period so utterly small one could say it didn't even exist.
And when the light dimmed and flickered out, the street looked exactly the same.
Though, there was one minor, miniscule difference.
Endeavor and Deku were no longer there - they were gone. Utterly gone. The only signs they'd ever been on the street were the flames burning incessantly in the background, and the cracks dotting the asphalt.
Where were they, then?
The correct question to ask was not 'where' they went.
It was 'when'.