Authors note: hey guys. Sorry I know this has been a long time coming, and I worked really hard on the next chapter, but with so much I wanted to do for the characters, I could only get through the first half of the first episode, and even that is almost 30 pages in word. I plan on continuing to work on this story for the forseeable future, but it may take a while to get the next chapter out. I apologize in advance, and I hope you enjoy the shenanigans that follow.
If you like the story, be sure to UNITED STATES OF SMASH that like and follow button.
:My hero academia, and all the characters associated with it, as well as the music scores and scripts are owned by their respective owners. This is a work of non-cannon fiction based on those characters and is not for profit.
The show opened with the familiar buzz of cicadas in the summer, but they were paired with a childlike whimper.
"Why are you being so mean?!" A young Midoriya asked, tears in his eyes as he tried to protect a boy kneeling on the ground. "You're making him cry Kacchan! If you keep on hurting him, uh... I'll, uh... I'll stop you myself!" He declared, raising his fists.
The screen shifted to a young Bakugo and 2 other kids, their expressions shifting from confusion to amusement.
"You wanna pretend to be a hero?" Bakugo asked, he and his friends activating their quirks. "You don't stand a chance without a quirk, Deku." He declared with a menacing grin. Midoriya gasped as the three charged at him, only for the scene to shift again.
"Bakubro, thats not manly." Kirishima said softly, as a few glares met the exploding hero. They had all seen this happen in the trailer, and knew it was coming, but now with their full attention brought to it, the scene really hit home. The exploding hero's only reply was a small grunt, all of his classmates unaware of the churning feeling in his gut. Little did he know, a certain scarfed hero had the same thought as him that moment:
This is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.
The hero in question turned in his seat to face the exploding student, who seemed to have a particular interest in the wood exit door. "Listen well Bakguo, because I'm only going to say this once" he growled. The two locked eyes, and Aizawa could have sworn he saw a flash of guilt in his red ones, but he didn't let up an inch. "You may have gotten away with this in the past, but I will not stand for it now. If I catch you pulling a stunt like this in UA's halls, it will be the last time you ever see them. Understand?!"
"Yes sir." Bakugo's uncharacteristically calm answer did nothing to ease the hero's nerves. Something was seriously wrong here. He turned back to the screen, processing everything he just saw.
From his experience as a hero, Aizawa knew the telltale signs of a person who had suffered from abuse, and Izuku was lighting them all up like a Christmas tree. That being said, Bakugo's obvious inferiority complex was also setting off red flags left and right. He brought a hand to his chin, deep in thought.
He emphasized the kids quirklessness. His issue isn't with the problem child himself but with his lack of power. A trace of understanding flashed across his eyes. But kids usually have no such innate bias. That kind of hate and discrimination is taught, not learned. Someone is influencing Bakugo, making him think this is ok. All the while, leaving Midoriya to take the heat of his emotions.
As his eyes met Yamada's, and Nezu's, it was clear that they had come to the same conclusion. And so, the first big mystery of the show began: Who was teaching Bakugo to hate?
Here's the sad truth an older Midoriya explained while his younger self was seen on the ground, barely conscious. All men are not created equal. When I was 4 years old, I learned that some kids have more power than others.
Just as quickly as they appeared, those hardened glares were replaced by sympathetic looks towards his green clad counterpart, including one from the pink zero gravity hero to his right. Uraraka knew Bakugo used to make fun of him using the name Deku, but she didn't think it was anything like this.
All Might was having a similar thought upon seeing his successor so badly injured. Dammit. How could I let this slip past me? I should have asked more questions, paid more attention. His wandering eyes found their way to the young man himself, who was looking anywhere but at the people around him.
Midoriya's emotions were swirling, and he had no idea where he was in the vortex. He didn't like this. Deku's relationships, his thoughts, his memories, all of them were being laid bare for everyone to see. The only word he could think of to describe this feeling was violated, like someone had opened up his own mind and was reading his thoughts like a book, or maybe a fan fiction.
The warmth of a hand in his was enough to shake him from this stupor, as he looked up to meet Uraraka and her kindhearted smile. The same smile from when she had saved him at the entrance exam. The same smile from their first day in class together. The same smile that would mean more to him then she would ever know... actually, that may not be true in a matter of time he thought to himself as his fingers weaved together with Ochako's.
The tapping of footsteps was soon followed by a splash in a puddle and more upbeat music, as the screen shifted, showing an older Midoriya running throughout his hometown, a smile on his face. But that won't hold me back. If anything it pushes me to do better.
A few of the teachers smiled, seeing that Deku had not been deterred despite clearly having a rough childhood. Even Aizawa was somewhat impressed by his attitude, given what they already knew. That kind of lesson is hard to swallow, especially for someone so young. And to make peace with it and keep moving, he's either incredibly driven or insanely stubborn. Maybe both.
The student's on the other hand, didn't hesitate to voice their support.
"Oh yeah. Preach Midori!" Mina encouraged.
"Talk about a manly attitude!" Kirishima cheered.
"The saddest people smile the brightest" Tokoyami quoted.
The problem child in question blushed a little at the encouraging words of his friends, a shaky smile of his own forming on his lips. This part isn't so bad I guess.
The scene shifted again, now showing a very muscular man roaring at the top of his lungs before switching to Midoriya's title card, and then zooming out to a wide shot of Tatooin Station, the villain standing on the bridge above the student. *gasp* "Thats one huge supervillain!"
"Midoriya, I don't think you can really call that guy a 'Supervillain' *ribbit*" Tsu noted, her finger placed on her chin as she contemplated the anime.
The boy in question scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, to be honest, I hadn't seen many at that time, so just seeing a villain that big and the heroes fighting him blew my mind."
Several shots of allmight flashed on screen accompanied by the acoustic sound of an electric guitar.
"Wait- is that-" Jiro thought aloud, as everyone soon came to focus on the beautiful sound.
As the music began, Midoriya was shown kneeling on a golden, sparkling backdrop. He rose to stand upright, and the screen flipped to his point of view, showing the lights and sparkles coming from allmight, as the view continually flipped from Allmight to Midoriya as one reached out to the other.
"The Day Has Come!" The song cried out in English before switching to a bold white plus ultra on a color changing background, and flashing images of the entire class in full hero costumes. The flashing images ended on a logo of my hero academia written out in big white and yellow letters.
The music hero rose to her feet the moment the singing started, her eyes sparkling more than Midoriya's background. "Thats so rocking! We have an anime intro too!"
Meanwhile, Ojiro and a few others sweat dropped at the comment. "I'm not sure you can say 'we' have one. The class was on screen for less than a second."
"I feel like a side character." Shoji complained with a mouth from his tentacles.
Clarence, deciding to ignore the self proclaimed extras, looked at Jiro. "Pretty cool right? And this is just one of the catchy soundtracks we got in store."
Jiro was practically drooling upon hearing that, trying to soak in every glorious note of this inter-dimensional melody. Original, never before seen music from across the multiverse!? Dad's gonna flip when he hears some of this stuff! she thought, pulling out her phone to record the audio.
To her left though, Kaminari was enjoying an entirely different show. Even after everything the two had been through, he had never seen Jiro so passionate and excited for something. It was a nice change of pace. "A music nerd through and through" he said, admiring this new side to Earphone Jack.
And that was when her mood shifted from excitement to embarrassment and annoyance, her earphone promptly jammed into Denki's eardrum as she sat down.
Through fade in, Midoriya was shown walking across a bridge in the rain, the bustling city lit up below him. His downtrodden expression came into focus as his collection of hero notebooks flashed on screen one after the other.
"Wait, hold on a second. Can you pause?" Iida asked. Clarence obliged with a snap of his fingers, the image freezing on the unburned 13th notebook. The speedster tried his best to analyze the images he had just seen, specifically, the crayon drawing of All Might on one.
Did he actually? His amazed gaze was turned to his best friend, as he found green eyes staring back at him, a slight blush on his face as Izuku had a relative idea of where this was going.
"Midoriya, exactly when did you start taking these notes?"
Hearing the question aloud, the green hero's blush grew darker as he found some particular interest in his red sneakers. "Um..."
That hesitation alone was enough for every head to turn and every hero in the room to shift in their seats to look at the ever reddening hero, almost all of them recalling most of the early examples as sideways art books, not notebooks.
"Well..." he trailed off again, much to Bakugo's annoyance.
"Just spit it out already you damn nerd!"
Not sure how the room would react, he hesitantly said "Sometime in pre-k."
The class knew that Midoriya was a huge hero fanboy, but this took everything to a whole other level. "Wait really?"
"Holy crap. You were analyzing and idolizing heroes even back then?" Sero questioned.
"That's adorable Midori! Most of us didn't even have our quirks at that age! Much less any plans to use them" Mina exclaimed.
"I know I didn't" Hagakure said said with an invisible smile. Thats when a loud and deep laugh echoed through the theater, as All-might, now in muscle form, stood and smiled at Midoriya.
"Thank you young Midoriya, for your years of support! It's clear you have dreamed of being a hero for quite some time now! Your research, study, and dedication have served you well!" He gave Midoriya a thumbs up as he started steaming. "And I'm sure your fanboy knowledge will do you justice in the future. Keep it up, and go beyond- PLUS ULTRA!" And with that, Allmight disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reverting back to his skeletal form and sitting down, leaving his successor a stuttering and blushing mess.
Mirio chuckled at his reaction. "Careful. You might break him with all that praise." He teased.
"Even so, Midoriya's study of heroes and drive to perfect his craft are certainly admirable!" Iida continued, complete with his signature hand chopping. "As heroes in training, we should all be striving to match it!" And with that declaration, Clarence played the video.
The notebooks flashed on screen one more time, now transitioning to a young Midoriya and Bakugo on divided sides of the screen, each smiling.
"Awe! You two were BOTH so adorable as kids!" Mina cooed, the feeling mutual across most of the girls in class. Meanwhile, a certain purple hero turned his back to the class.
Of all people why are those two getting all the girls?
The two boys switched sides, now showing them in middle school uniforms, both frowning with their backs to each other. But it didn't last as soon they were both glaring while in the UA uniforms. As both screamed and turned around, their fists met and the screen went white.
As the bright light of the clash faded, a familiar man with a hand on his face appeared reaching towards the camera.
Most of the class shuddered at the image, remembering what Shigaraki had done at the USJ, and the damage caused by the attack on the camp. His was the last face they wanted to see, even in anime form.
As Shigaraki disappeared, Allmight reappeared, his fist raised as he prepared for a fight. He launched a punch, sending villains flying before exchanging blows with the Nomu.
The screen flashed again to the smoke villain before switching to Aizawa, using his scarf to take out villains left and right.
"Wait, is this show going to cover the USJ incident?" Nejire asked, an innocent smile on her face as the class winced at the memories of the event. "I've been wondering what happened in there. Like what would have happened if we had been in the incident during our first year."
"I don't even wanna think about what that would have been like." Tamaki Shuddered, curling into his seat. Mirio put a protective arm around his shoulder while simultaneously nudging his talkative classmate.
Midoriya flashed on screen one more time before his classmates started showing off their quirks one at a time, Uraraka, Iida, Mineta, Tsuyu, Todoroki, Kirishima, Bakugo, and finally, Midoriya himself, his fist flickering between his and Allmights.
The Day Has Come!
That last part got a lot of peoples attention, wondering why that particular imagery was used here. As several eyes made their way back to Midoriya, the hero student offered nothing but a nervous look and a shrug. It was obvious he was hiding something, but Clarence didn't pause the video to let them talk about it.
Deku had surmised what the anime would show next. It was fairly obvious the story would detail what had happened the day he met All Might. As much as he understood the secret had to be let out to save a lot of lives, he still wanted to prolong the reveal as long as possible. The class still didn't know he was using a borrowed power, and he was scared they would think less of him for being quirkless, the same way Bakugo did.
As the song ended, a hospital building was shown in the dead of night, one of the rooms glowing brightly. The first incident was in Qingqing city. The camera zoomed in on a glowing baby boy. An extraordinary child was born who radiated light. His father was shown panicking as he looked at the child's powers.
The image of the father earned a few chuckles throughout the audience, each one imagining the panic he must have felt being the first one to have a kid with a quirk.
Three kids were shown with powers on a blue screen. A boy with a head of fire, a girl with her arms encased in ice, and a second boy telepathically levitating and reading a book. After that, reports of people with superpowers popped up across the globe. No one knew what was causing these quirks.
The camera pulled back, showing a view of the globe. Before long, the supernatural became the totally normal, dreams a reality.
"Uh, Clarence." Hagakure called, getting the agents attention. "I know these things are important, but do you really have to explain quirks to us? I think we all know the basic history." She claimed, waiving her arms for emphasis, though to everyone else, it just looked like a floating pair of gloves.
Her question was met with his usual smirk. "What, you think you guys are the only ones watching? This is just pure entertainment right here."
"Wait what?" Midoriya spoke up, afraid for what that would mean for his secret.
"Yeah, it's another reason why we start telling stories from different universes. We use the broadcasts as a way to help raise support and funds to save different dimensions. We've actually worked with quite a few universes thanks to these methods, ranging from the world of remnant, to the MCU. That being said, we're also very careful about which universes we broadcast to. Each one has to meet very specific criteria to prove this information will not be a danger in their hands. Things like a lack of common superpowers or an inability to travel between dimensions." Hearing that helped the green hero, as well as a few other people relax a little.
"People are that interested in a story about us?" Ojiro questioned.
"That's right, and 'My Hero Academia'" he continued using air quotes "has actually gained a small cult following in some universes." And with that, they went back to the video.
Silver age Allmight was shown walking down a dimly lit hallway to a bright doorway. The world became a superhuman society, with about 80% of the population possessing some uncanny ability. Our streets looked like scenes from comic books. A scream was heard as Allmights cape billowed in the wind. As cities swirled with chaos and confusion, a new profession dominated our collective consciousness.
The scene returned to the screaming supervillain who swung his arm and broke a power line, the metal structure falling to the street below before a hero with a black and yellow headbands with matching gauntlets and belt ran up and caught it. It was an age of heroes.
"Oh nice! Way to go Death Arms!" A civilian cheered.
"The punching hero!" Another exclaimed. "I wish I had a quirk that made me super strong!"
As the heroes face flashed in a blue comic style, Koda's gaze fell on a music themed hero. "Hey, didn't you do your internship with him?" He asked quietly, but Jiro had no trouble hearing thanks to her quirk.
"Yeah, I even got to help with a hostage situation. Though he and the rest of the team did most of the heavy lifting." As Kaminari snickered next to her, she contemplated jabbing him again before her brow furrowed, analyzing what she just said. "No pun intended."
The crowd was shown once again as a stream of water floated across the screen, forming a large x connected to a small barrier. The camera panned to a second hero in a costume similar to a firefighters, but with water valves for hands, and a strange mask.
"Everyone, please stay back! This area is far too dangerous!" The second hero declared.
"Woah! The rescue specialist Backdraft is here? He'll make sure we're okay!"
Uraraka's smile lit up the entire room upon seeing yet another rescue hero as backdrafts face shifted to a red comic book style. "Woah, you got to see him in action?! He's like my second favorite hero!"
So pure Midoriya thought, his eyes shut as he faced the bright girl. And he wasn't the only one blinded by her smile.
Meanwhile, Tsu turned to face the zero gravity hero. "*ribbit* if Backdraft is second, then who's first?"
The girl in question was immediately brought down to pocket dimension, twiddling her thumbs sheepishly. "Well- that's gotta be Thirteen" she said in a half whisper.
The rescue hero in question turned around in her seat up front, a smile and light blush hidden by her black helmet, remembering the heroine in question from the final exams. "You really admire rescue heroes, don't you Uravity?"
Perking up at her words, Ochako regained some of her lost glimmer. "Yeah! I've been wanting to focus on rescue for a while now. It just felt right."
Before the space age hero could respond, a low rambling noise interrupted the conversation. Turning to her left, Uraraka found Deku muttering away as he scribbled more notes into Book 13. "... could definitely be useful in disaster situations for clearing rubble and transporting victims. It might also help if she had some support gear to help her increase her own speed and maneuverability while in the air. With that she could apply techniques to her style similar to the ones used by Sero at the factory race and-"
"DEKU!" Bakugo screamed, annoyed with his constant muttering.
Hearing his name, the hero in question jumped slightly in his seat, looking up to find several people staring. His face beet red from embarrassment, Midoriya buried his head in his hands. "Sorry" he whispered. Great. Wonder how often thats gonna happen in the show.
But something about his words caught the attention of the heroine sitting next to him. Looking over his shoulder, Uraraka was surprised to find a highly detailed drawing of her hero costume, along with dozens of other notes on her quirk, fighting style, special moves, and support gear. There were even drawings and ideas of how she could incorporate new techniques and equipment.
"Deku, did you come up with all of this?" she questioned, her voice laced with curiosity and disbelief. His hands lowered just enough to see his emerald green eyes.
"Y-Yes?" he said, phrasing it more as a question rather than an answer. The pink hero's heart swelled at his answer, realizing just how much work he must have put into this. He wasn't just trying to become a great hero himself, but he was trying to make sure everyone around him could do the same, including her. That's so sweet.
With his attention focused on Uraraka, Deku didn't even notice Dark Shadow making his way over the seats to float at his left side, silently turning the page of the book. The being of darkness marveled at the next few pages. "Check this out!" Deku jumped in surprise at the new voice next to him. "He's got a page for everyone in class, including us Tokoyami!"
"Wait, seriously?"
"Thats so awesome!"
"let me see!"
Within the next few seconds, several of his classmates had gathered around Izuku trying to get a glimpse at the information he held. Several hands reached out trying to turn the pages of the book, much to Deku's horror, worried it was going to tear. Before they got the chance, a familiar silver coin landed on top of the open book. When everyone looked up at the inter-dimensional traveler, they found he was already holding the notes in one hand, adjusting his glasses with the other. "Lets see what you've got here." No one was really surprised at this point when they looked down to find the book had disappeared.
Meanwhile, principal Nezu had made his way over to Clarence and was once again hanging off his shoulder as he read. "Improved grappling techniques and styles for Ojiro, a lightning rod for Kaminari to channel his electricity through, there's even molecular charts and diagrams here to help Yaoyorozu." Clarence closed the book with a satisfying thump and passed the book back to the row behind him, letting it slowly make its way back to the hero. It wasn't often that the mousy hero was surprised by anything, but the revelation of the notes did bring a smile to his face. "Impressive work Midoriya, but why haven't any of your classmates seen this yet?"
The hero in question twiddled his thumbs, his face reddening for what seemed like the 100th time today. "I- uh... I didn't think it was anything special. It's their quirks, so I didn't want to bother lecturing them on something they already knew."
"Oh come on, don't sell yourself short like that. It's not manly."
"Yeah, I mean, I get where you're coming from" Kaminari continued, "but at the same time, I don't think I could have come up with half of the info you have on my quirk."
"That's no surprise." Jiro laughed behind him, leaving the electric hero with a red tick mark on his forehead.
As everyone made their way back to their seats, Aizawa's eyes were locked on the green hero. He has the tactical and analytical mind of a genius and yet his confidence is still so low. Midoriya, what happened to you?
The scene shifted to a wide shot of the villain on the bridge, Midoriya looking for a way to get closer for a better view. "This guy must be pretty desperate to go full monster in the middle of the city. Do you know what happened?" A civilian asked.
"Just some amateur. stole someone's bag and then got himself cornered."
"a quirk like that and he's just a petty thief."
"Seriously? he could have been an awesome hero with that kind of power." Ojiro commented, to which the class hummed in agreement.
"I got held up. Train's out. Another Villain. I'm not sure when I'm gonna make it into the office"
as Midoriya crept closer to the scene a shadow quickly flew over the crowd, as a crowd of girls squealed in delight. the shadow was revealed to be a man with wooden skin. "its Kamui! we're your biggest fans!"
Just wait you beautiful maidens! a purple pervert thought to himself. One day, I'll be a hero and have a harem all to myself! Seeing the look of lust and perversion in Mineta's eyes, a certain frog themed hero made a point of using her tongue to smack him upside the head.
Kamui jumped on the nearby streetlights and then onto the bridge, narrowly avoiding a punch from the villain that destroyed a section of the bridge. the man turned to see the hero in midair. "Get away from me or I'll break you, toothpick!"
"How are you gonna do that when you can't even touch him! Come on Kamui, hit him with that lacquered chain prison!" Bakugo taunted, seeing the hero in action, but just as the fight was getting good, the screen paused. "Hey! Why'd you stop the-" The exploding hero froze when he saw the confounded expressions of his classmates, all surprised to see how into the action he was getting. A few of them even recognized the name of a special move thrown into his jab at the villain. They knew he liked fighting, but this was a whole other level. "What're you looking at? Stop staring at me you fucking extras!"
Todoroki's eyes widened in realization as he processed what he had just heard. "Don't tell me Bakugo is just as big a fanboy as Midoriya." And just like that, the entire class felt their view of the blonde hero do a complete 180 as a few smirks and snickers made their way through the crowd.
A large red tick mark grew in response to the comment, along with a slight blush. "SHUT UP HALF AND HALF BASTARD!"
A few seats next to him, pink hands covered an ever-growing smile. "Oh my god, he totally is!" Mina cooed, as she and the rest of the Bakusquad discovered a whole new aspect to their explosive leader, much to his annoyance.
"He even memorized his special move!"
"Wait, is his room filled with All Might merch too?"
"So who's the bigger fanboy, him or Midoriya?"
Meanwhile, Izuku had just made his way to the front and gasped at the sight. "This is gonna be good!" The villain tried to grab the hero, but Kamui wrapped his viselike arm around a nearby support beam and launched himself back into the air. "Its Kamui Woods!"From there, woods released his grip and with the agility and skill of an acrobat, turned himself to face his opponent, his glare lit up in the same blue comic style as before.
The screen shifted back to Midoriya on the main road. "He may be new, but he's making a big name for himself!"
"Midoriya! definitely Midoriya" Kaminari noted, earning a few snickers from the music hero next to him.
"One look at that dopey grin and I know what you are" a civilian with star shaped horns declared, getting Midoriya's attention. "a fanboy."
"Uh- Sorta" Midoriya answered sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, 'sorta'?" All Might asked with a smirk, his eyebrow cocked. That went for the rest of the class too as everyone was shooting him incredulous looks.
Deku raised his hands in mock surrender, laughing a little. "Ok, ok, I get it. I'm totally a fanboy."
"Understatement of the fucking millennium" Bakugo concurred under his breath, happy to have the focus off of him. They can never be allowed in my room.
Shifting back to the fight, the villain brought a hand down on the train tracks, trying to crush Kamui, but he jumped over his strike and ran up his arm, moving for a quick strike at the villains head with another vine-like arm. Blocking it with his left arm, the villain let the appendage wrap around his wrist and used it to fling the hero through the air. Woods retracted his arm once again before twisting in midair and sliding to a stop on a nearby platform.
"Dang! Kamui has some moves!"
"Eh, he's not bad." Aizawa shrugged.
Uraraka turned to look at her frog-like friend. "Tsu, do you think you could do the same thing with your tongue?"
"*Ribbit* I suppose it's possible."
"Hey yeah! I bet I could do it too with my tape! Midoriya write that-" Cellophane paused, turning to see the green clad kid already scribbling away in his notebook, muttering away like there's no tomorrow (which there technically wasn't in this pocket dimension).
"I think he's got that covered." Uraraka smiled.
"assault, robbery, and illegal use of powers during rush hour traffic. You are the incarnation of evil!" Kamui declared, his arm growing into a large bunch of bramble.
Now the entire class was sweat dropping at the wood clad hero. Seriously?
"Hmph, rookies." Aizawa grumbled.
"He's more overdramatic than I am" Present Mic observed.
"Yeah, and more serious" Midnight added, a smirk on her face as she licked her lips. "His lack of lame puns definitely turns me on."
The screaming hero turned his head so fast, Aizawa was surprised he didn't break the sound barrier. "Lame! I'll have you know I-" a raised hand interrupted his spiel.
"If you answer that with a pun, I swear to god, I will strangle you with my scarf."
"Hm...Kinky." Midnight noted with a smile, much to the distain of her comrades.
"There! His special move!"
"Come on, Tree Man, show us somethin' flashy!"
"Looks like you're gonna get your wish Bakubro!" Kirishima declared, as all the students watched the scene with bated breath.
Midoriya spoke in turn with the wooden hero. "the pre-emptive..."
"...binding..."
"...Lacquered Chain Prison!"
Dozens of branches and vines launched themselves at the villain, who looked away in fear, knowing he was about to be caught, but that was when another voice was heard in the fray.
"Canyon Cannon!"a giant blonde woman in a purple hero costume burst onto the scene and kicked the villain off the bridge before Kamui could grab them, much to the surprise of the audience both on screen and in the theater.
"What the heck?!"
A few students finally recognized this as Mount Lady's heroic debut, but they didn't hear much about Kamui being involved in the situation.
The villain and the hero landed on the ground in a puff of smoke, the former laying flat on his back while the latter stood tall. Meanwhile, dozens of fanboys and photographers were lining up for pictures.
"Money shot, money shot, money shot..."
A few facepalms were heard throughout the audience. Mostly from the women.
"Why are guys such pigs?"
"Seriously. They're almost as bad as Mineta."
Speaking of the purple haired hero, grape juice was, surprisingly, not drooling over the scene, earning a few looks of confusion at his lack of a reaction.
"What?" He asked confused.
"We figured you'd be ogling her more than those photographers."
Mineta curled himself into a ball in his seat, looking away. "Not after that hell she put me through at the internship."
"Piece of cake for the worlds next hottest hero. Hi there everyone, I'm Mt. Lady, and you don't have to worry about this bum anymore" she declared, shaking her butt at the screen.
"Money shot, money shot, money shot..." the photographers continued, as Midoriya continued writing his notes.
"Aaand, she's actively encouraging them."
"See, this is why I hate most limelight heroes." Aizawa declared, as the eyes of his coworkers fell on him with irritated glares. Eraser offered nothing but a blank stare. "I said 'most'. If you ask me, we'd be a lot better off if hero work had never become such a popularity contest."
"Fair, but having public heroes that the populous can look up to can also be beneficial." All Might argued. "After all, having heroes and a symbol of peace guarding society helps people feel safe and prepared in an emergency."
"Uh, no offense All Might-" Clarence interrupted. "but I have to side with Aizawa on this one. We S.P.E.A.R. agents actually have a name for that phenomenon. It's called 'safety-theater', and it can be very dangerous, especially on a countrywide scale."
To say the class was taken aback was an understatement. They had lived with the ideology of the symbol of peace for most of their lives. They had seen the videos online and known a lot of the people All Might had saved. So to have someone actually call him into question- to say he was putting people in danger himself-
"Hang on!" Midoriya stood up, understandably upset. "You're not seriously-"
"Stand down Midoriya" Clarence said calmly, raising his hands in surrender. "I never said just 'having' a symbol of peace was a bad thing."
Hearing that, a few people visibly relaxed, but Midoriya was left completely lost. "Then what are you saying?"
"My point is that he handled it wrong, ESPECIALLY after the first quirk war and his 'incident'" he raised his eyebrows at the last word. Most were confused, thinking the dimension walker was referring to the Kamino incident. Only a select few understood when he referred to All Might's gruesome injury.
Nighteye shot a knowing glare at his former boss, finally having his own feelings and ideals validated after so long. So much pain and suffering could have been avoided if the stubborn moron had just listened to me.
Clarence turned back to the screen, rewinding to where they were before the argument started. "I don't feel like going over the facts more than once. We can discuss this more after the 3rd episode."
"Wait, she's getting all the credit?" Kamui asked, still on the platform above.
"Mount Lady used attract!" Kaminari exclaimed, hearing a few chuckles from around the room, the tense aura from before starting to fade away. "It's super effective!"
With the rise of superpowers came an explosive increase in criminal activity. Mount Lady slowly shrunk down, as the screen shifted to the heroes working with the police. While governments were stuck trying to figure out how to reform laws with quirks in mind, courageous people started performing heroic acts to keep our cities safe. Protecting us against villains who abused their powers for evil. With overwhelming public support, heroes found an official place as peacekeepers, overseen by the government. Those who performed the best were paid the most and got all the fame and glory. Their careers depended on their ability to stay in the spotlight.
A quick shot of Mount Lady with a creepy smile was shown, Kamui Woods doubled over in the background, completely forgotten.
Aizawa shifted in his seat, glowering at the screen. This is exactly what I was talking about. Kamui might not have captured the villain, but he did more to help than she did. Eraser Head considered telling the class this, but realized doing so would just start another argument, and decided to leave it be for now.
The scene shifted, showing Izuku still on the scene after the fight, writing and mumbling away. "gigantification, huh? well she's definitely got the looks and attitude to be a crowd favorite, and her quirk is really showy, but it'll be kinda hard for her to get around much in the city without damaging lotsa things. That means, she might not be very useful."
"Damn, Midoriya is savage!" Sero exclaimed, earning a few more laughs from the class. The teachers, on the other hand, were more interested in what he was saying.
"Hang on. Little listener, is this the kind of track you're always broadcasting when you mutter?" Deku's only answer was a confused stare.
"What do you mean? You guys have seen me mutter before-."
"Yeah but that doesn't mean we understand it." Jiro butted in. "Heck, I have trouble picking up what your saying, even with my quirk."
"What are you- OW!" The green hero was interrupted when a sharp pain erupted in the center of his forehead. Looking down to see what hit him, he found an old fashioned tape recorder sitting in his lap.
"What's this?"
"That is a tape recorder." Clarence said matter of factly. "Remember our conversation about the multiverse?"
Deku's brow furrowed, recalling the conversation, but unsure why it was so important. When he pressed the white play button, he recognized his own voice, but it was too quiet to make out more than a few words here and there.
"That's what the rest of the group heard." Clarence explained, reaching into his jacket and pulling out yet another grey coin. Upon flipping it, the disk morphed into a second tape recorder. "This is what you and I heard."
Audio: '"Wait, you're saying there's a multiverse? but thats only theoretical. To this very day people have been theorizing about what alternate dimensions would be like or if there are even any out there. If this is the case it would redefine everything we know about the universe-." "Midoriya. You were muttering again." "Sorry"'
Around the room, a few mouths were left agape at his words, finally starting to realize how brilliant the green haired kid really was. "Young Midoriya, is that really what you were saying?"
The green clad hero scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking anywhere but his favorite hero. "More or less."
His bashfulness was only met with a blank stare. "More or less? Problem child, you were literally hypothesizing the ramifications of a MULTIVERSE in THEORETICAL PHYSICS."
"Technically it's just physics now." Clarence corrected, as Aizawa shot a well deserved glare at the dimension hopper, who proceeded to ignore the look and played the episode.
As if we needed more proof of his intellectual prowess. Or his signs of abuse.
"What's that fanboy? You taking notes over there? Wanna be a hero, too, huh?"
Midoriya turned to face him, surprised at first, but a bright smile flashed on his face. "Yes, more than anything!"
"So pure!" Uraraka exclaimed, jokingly shielding her eyes. And she wasn't the only one feigning blindness, to which, Midoriya just rolled his eyes, doing his best to ignore the redness in his cheeks.
Episode 1: Izuku Midoriya: Origin.
When she lowered her hand, Ochaco smiled seeing the title and turned to her green clad friend. "Cool, so we're finally gonna see how you became a hero student!"
"Y-yeah! cool..." he trailed off, a sinking feeling in his gut as he remembered this day. He wasn't the only one, as Bakugo silently debated leaving the room.
The scene then shifted to Aldera middle school, where Midoriya and Bakugo were in class.
"So, as third year students, it's time to start thinking seriously about your futures and what you want to do with your lives." The teacher lectured. Midoriya was busy writing in his notebook. "I could pass out some career aptitude tests, but why bother?" the teacher glared as he snatched the tests off the podium, a couple of students activating their quirks.
"I know you all want to go to the hero track!" he laughed as he threw the papers, nearly all the students behind him showing off their quirks.
"Wait-what?! That is the very definition of unprofessional!" Iida asserted, choping his hand as usual.
"What in the world was that teacher thinking?" Midnight thought aloud. "You can tell by LOOKING at them, none of these students have done quirk training."
"I'm catching your tune Midnight! From the looks of it, the only one who might have a chance at making it is that rock student up front, and even that's a long shot."
"Yep." Aizawa sighed. "Not just our school either. I don't think they could get into a hero program period."
Those words alone stunned Midoriya. He knew that a quirk alone would never be enough to be a hero. He understood it was a career that required discipline and training, but this was the first time he had ever heard someone say it. As someone who spent his entire life researching, studying, and basically idolizing heroes and their quirks, the conversation rocked him to his core.
"Yes, yes, you've got some very impressive quirks. But no power usage allowed in school! Get a hold of yourselves." The teacher asked nonchalantly as the screen zoomed in on the students.
"...anybody else think that was a little... strange?" Melissa pointed out. To which, several students nodded in agreement, but one pair of green eyes in particular shot her a confused look.
"What do you mean?" Midoriya asked.
"Don't get me wrong, their quirks are cool and everything, but it almost seemed like they were just waiting for an excuse to flaunt them like that."
"I concur" Nezu agreed, turning to Izuku. "Don't forget, the two students up front started using theirs before the teacher said anything. Is it safe to say displays like this were common at your middle school?"
"Well, um... I guess?" he said scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Despite what teach said, this shit happened a lot." Bakugo spoke up and surprised everyone, though he refused to look anyone in the eye.
"Oh yeah, I forgot you guys went to the same school!" Kirishima remembered.
"Hey teach!" A familiar voice called "Don't lump me in with this bunch a losers. I'm the real deal, but these guys'll be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted D-lister." The screen panned to reveal a red comic style Katsuki Bakugo on top of a blue background.
"Speak of the devil!"
"Dang, so you were a jackass BEFORE you came to UA?" Kaminari joked, much to his teachers annoyance.
"I dare you to say that again you defective Pikachu!" he screamed, lighting up his palms for emphasis.
"A little blunt, but his comments on the other students aren't entirely unfounded." Nezu noted.
"Yeah, but we have got to work on his attitude if he's gonna be an effective hero." Midnight argued. "It's one thing that doesn't turn me on."
"You think youre better than us, Katsuki?!" One of the students cried, as several shot the explosive students aggressive looks. But the student in question had a shit eating grin.
"Lets go, I'll take you all on!"
"Well aren't you a cocky prick."
"HATSUME!" Powerloader reprimanded.
"What? Everyones thinking it."
As much as the teacher wanted to deny it, there were a few glares being sent towards the blonde, still remembering the stunt he pulled at the sports festival. Great. He was even worse before!
The screen shifted to the teacher who was looking at a clipboard. "Huh. You've got impressive test results. Maybe you will get into UA high."
That got the students attention, several jaws dropping "he's gonna try for the national school?"
"That school has a .2% acceptance rate!"
"Its impossible to get into."
Hearing that definitely boosted a few ego's around the room. The students had been working for months, and even years to get to where they are now, both before and during their career at UA.
"You know, it never really hit me before now, but in student terms, we've become the elite of the elite haven't we?" Mineta asked.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves." Aizawa declared firmly, his glare causing the purple hero to jump out of his skin. "Just cause you got in doesn't mean you can't be kicked out. If that's the kind of attitude you have in your first year, none of you will see graduation."
A few people shifted uncomfortably in their seats, all suddenly being forced to face the knifes edge they were all dancing on. This wasn't the first time they had been threatened with expulsion either.
That's when a lightbulb went off in Deku's head, raising his fist with a smile. "Then I guess we'll have to go beyond!"
The audience slowly caught on to what he was doing, as more and more hands were raised in the air, all smiling with inspiration.
"PLUS ULTRA!"
"Thats exactly why its the only place worthy of me." He boasted before jumping onto his desk. "I aced all of the mock tests. I'm the only one at this school who stands a chance at getting in. I'll end up more popular than All Might himself, and be the richest hero of all time! People all across the world will know who I am. And it all starts with UA high!"
"That's quite an ambitious goal young Bakugo!" All Might declared. "But reaching it is easier said than done. We'll have to put you through the ringer to even stand a chance."
"Whatever, like I didn't already know that."
"Oh yeah, Midoriya, don't you wanna go to UA too?" The teacher asked.
"Uh-" Midoriya had his head down on his desk behind a stark white Bakugo, and when he finally looked up, the entire class was staring, and suddenly, laughing at him.
"Midoriya? You're kidding right?"
"There's no way you're getting into the hero course without a quirk!"
"Wha-! Ok, sorry for stealing your line little listener but that-! That was unprofessional!"
"I couldn't have said it better!" Iida agreed.
"Definitely not manly!"
"What the hell was he thinking? It's like the teacher wanted Midoriya to get bullied." Momo exclaimed.
Meanwhile, Izuku was shifting nervously in his seat. He remembered that day, and just wanted to get this episode over with, hoping to god it wouldn't show what happened after class. Little did he know, a similar thought had crossed Bakugo's mind, who now refused to look at the screen.
As hard as they tried to be discrete, both were noticed by Professor Aizawa, who finally had his answer for who was teaching Bakugo to hate. But now an entirely new mystery was brought about. Why was everyone in that class targeting Midoriya?
It could have been his imagination, but their attitude, their near worship of quirks... it almost felt... familiar.
The kid in question got up, still looking a bit nervous. "Well, actually they got rid of that rule. I could be the first one."
"Wait what?"
"Midori, you're not gonna argue that?" Mina asked.
The green haired hero took a large interest in his red shoes. "Just... keep watching. you'll understand."
While most of the audience left him alone despite their confusion, All Might sent him a sympathetic look. I wish I had known you were having such a hard time. Why didn't you say anything?
Suddenly, Bakugo came out of nowhere and slammed his hand into Midoriya's desk, causing an explosion as he screamed. The green student was thrown backwards.
What the-?! The group thought collectively.
"Listen up Deku! You're even worse than the rest of these damn rejects, you quirkless wannabe. You really think they'd let someone like you in when they could have me?"
Irritation and anger radiated around the room, all of which was aimed at the exploding hero. "Bakugo, show some respect for your classmates!" Iida demanded.
"Whatever" he said quietly, choosing not to defend his past self's actions, still fearing the moment this got out of hand. Still afraid that the video will show one of the biggest mistakes he ever made.
"Huh? no, wait!" He panicked, raising his arms in surrender as he backed into the wall behind him. "You've got it all wrong! Really! I'm not trying to compete against you. You gotta believe me!" A solemn look crossed his face as he looked down. "It's just that I've wanted to be a hero since I was little. I may not have a quirk, but I can still try my hardest, can't I?
"Of course, you can Deku!" Uraraka encouraged, though her eyes, and those of everyone else encouraging him were glued to the screen, not noticing how much their words meant to the former quirkless child.
The bully's hands started smoking "You'd never be able to hang with the best of the best. You'd die in the exams!" The screen shifted again, showing the entire class as red eyed shadows on a purple background. They almost looked like demons.
"Woah. What the hell was that?" Ojiro gave voice to the question on everyones mind.
Clarence turned to look at the class. "The majority of the show is from Midoriya's perspective remember? That's how he saw everyone."
"Now that is not ok!"
As the class switched between scolding Katsuki and comforting Izuku, Aizawa was doing his best to try and link all of the pieces together. The over emphasis on quirks and superpowers, the targeted bullying of quirkless individuals, where had he seen this before?
And then all at once, everything seemed to click into place. Bakugo's violent tendencies and inferiority complex, Midoriya's low confidence and history- horrifyingly, Aizawa actually managed to come up with a logical answer, and even as an atheist, he hoped to god he was wrong.
"Clarence, you said you had information on a lot of the major villain groups in the area right?" Aizawa asked, his gaze filled with concern for both of his students.
The room fell silent. "Well yeah, but why-" he paused, considering the scene and everything he knew about Deku's past. "Wait you don't think-"
"Logically, its possible, and we have a way to be certain thanks to you." He argued back with a hardened gaze. The class looked back and forth between the two. They didn't want to believe it, but no matter how terrifying the idea was, what Aizawa was implying did make sense. The only people who were left out were Deku and Uraraka, completely baffled at the conversation before them. Seeing that the teacher wasn't going to back down, Clarence sighed and pressed a button embedded into his right armrest, as a keyboard swung down from the back of the chair in front of him.
"Alright, there's a lot of different villain groups in Japan, but we've identified 3 with enough reach and power to pull something like this. First up: League of Villains."
As he spoke, several different files began appearing on the projector, all of which were detailing the league of villains: recent whereabouts, Images and pictures, quirk analysis, and the one that Clarence was most interested in, known members and associates.
"Along with theirs, I'm accessing a list of students and faculty from Aldera middle school spanning the past 3 years."
"Wait- you're doing what?" Midoriya asked, only to be ignored.
"Computer, cross-reference these two lists for any known matches."
No matches confirmed! A small pop up declared.
"Well, at least thats one down" Aizawa sighed. I just hope that group doesn't make an appearance.
"Hang on!" Midoriya said loudly as he stood up. "You guys can't be serious right? Look, I know I had a rough childhood and all, but doesn't this seem a little over the top? I mean-"
"Midoriya." A firm voice called, his eyes meeting Melissa's glare as she interpreted what he was saying. Is this really the kind of life he led she though to herself. "This is far more than a 'rough childhood'. I'm quirkless too, remember? I know what it's like to grow up without these kind of powers, but getting called out by teachers and ganged up on by an entire class? That's- that's not normal!" She finished, shaking her head.
"Well, it's like Aizawa said, only one way to know for sure." Clarence interrupted. "Next: Shie Hassaikai"
"She- what now?" Mineta asked
An image appeared onscreen of an 8 sided star, along with several pictures of people wearing old school plague masks. The biggest one was a man with brown hair, wearing a green and purple jacket, black shirt and pants, and a white tie and gloves.
Lemillion flinched upon seeing the familiar face onscreen, which did not go unnoticed by his peers. "Mirio, do you know them?" Tamaki asked hesitantly.
"They're a yakuza group, one thats been more active than usual for the past few weeks. Sir and I have been investigating them." The hero in question was taking in as much data as possible from the screen, trying to find any kind of clue towards the groups objective. When he couldn't find any, he turned to the dimensional traveler.
"You have information on what they're up to?"
"Not much as of right now, but we do know they're not really happy with the current state of society."
"That's it?" Nighteye deadpanned. "You have a detailed list of their current members and location, and that's all you could come up with? A toddler could have come to that conclusion." Clarence didn't even bother to look up.
"I thought I told you we aren't all knowing. The only information we can confirm right now is that their schemes seem to revolve around a white haired girl named Eri."
That caught the former sidekick off guard. "Eri?" Wracking his mind, he went over all the information he and Mirio had gathered up to that point. "That name hasn't shown up in any of our reports. Who is she?"
"We don't know, but our investigation of the situation is still ongoing. In the meantime- computer, cross-reference these two lists."
No matches confirmed!
On the upside, This crossed off another potential group that might have been targeting or abusing his student, and Aizawa was glad his suspicions had been denied so far. It made sense too, since the kid did'nt seem to have any ties to the yakuza whatsoever. But at the same time, he had a sinking feeling, a guess at the last group clear in his mind..
"Alright. Last one iiiissssss-"
Much to Eraser Head's disdain, the very organization he had feared was right there in black and white.
Images of a small town flashed on screen one by one, along with a repeated acronym: M.L. A.
"The Meta Liberation Army? I haven't heard that name in years." Gran Torino whispered, surprised.
"Who's the Meta Liberation Army?" Jiro asked. She wasn't the only one who was confused.
The retired teacher turned in his seat to face everyone. "It used to be a political organization. One fighting for equality when quirks were new. But I thought they disbanded years ago."
"That's the old M.L.A." Clarence clarified. "According to the S.P.E.A.R. database, this villain group is a new branch of the former, lead by the son of their former leader Destro: Re-Destro."
"So if they're not standing for equal rights, what are they fighting for?" Momo asked. Her question was solely followed by the click of computer keys, until a new window was displayed onscreen.
"Looks like their goals have shifted from equality to extremist. That must be why the computer labeled them as villains."
"What do you mean?" Ojiro questioned.
"This new M.L.A. seems to be actively trying to render all laws and rules surrounding quirks null and void. Their endgame is to create a world where free and unregulated use of quirks is seen as a basic human right."
"Well, that isn't all bad is it?" The entire room turned to face Kaminari. "I mean, a lot of these laws came from a time when quirks we're just starting to appear. I can understand remaking and rewording some."
"But that's just it. They're not talking about rewriting the law." Clarence argued, a serious look on his face. "They're talking about removing all restrictions and regulations against quirk use, letting people with powers get away with pretty much anything. They're trying to create a world where the only thing that matters is who was born with the strongest quirk. A world where the weak don't survive."
That thought hit hard for everyone in the room, especially Melissa and Midoriya. Society as a whole already placed a large amount of stock and value in quirks in general. They had seen it first hand, so to hear that they were trying to exacerbate the whole situation, it just didn't sit well with them.
"Wait" Todoroki said calmly, his eyes squinted as he slowly processed everything. "If this organization places so much importance on the freedom and presence of quirks, and their ideology is that those who are strong should be in charge, then what would happen if they met-" Clarence slowly understood what Shoto was saying, both of their eyes widening as the former cut the latter off.
"Computer, cross-reference this list right now!"
Confirmed Matches Found!
Blood ran cold around the theater, everyone slowly realizing that their worst fears rang true. Midoriya watched the screen in horror, the words catching in his throat as a faraway look grew in his eyes. "There... there really were villains at the school?" Gritting his teeth, Clarence wasn't sure he wanted to ask, but the class needed to know for certain.
"Display all known matches! Sort by student and faculty and by date of employment/attendance!" A new list appeared, this one generating the names of all the members in red. ten names. dozens. hundreds. How deep did this horrifying rabbit hole go?
"Oh my god" Mina whispered, her hands over her mouth as she and the rest of the audience watched the list grow in horror. The truth hit them all like a punch in the gut, but none worse than the green hero himself. As he fell back into his seat in shock, he felt like someone was actively reaching into his stomach and ripping it out. The reality of it all was slow to sink into the room, no one wanting to believe such a thing, but the pieces stubbornly putting themselves together no matter how much they despised it. Not even Clarence had seen this coming.
Affected groups: 97% of faculty, 63% of graduated students.
The silence that followed was absolutely deafening, everyone, even the pros completely horrified at the prospect of a villain group that large, or that close to one of their classmates. The scarfed let out a dejected sigh, hating that he was right.
"It's not just the middle school is it?" Aizawa asked solemnly. "He just graduated, but that first incident at the playground..." he trailed off.
"The little listener couldn't have been more than 5." Mic whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
"The teachers were grooming students to become members of the army." All Might's voice broke as he clenched his fists, his knuckles stark white as the remnants of one for all coursed through them. "And they used my young Midoriya as their punching bag! Dammit!" Without warning, the retired pro slammed his right fist into the armrest of his chair. It was a small motion, barely moving an inch, but the force was still enough to completely obliterate a section of his seat.
The retired pro turned to face his protege. Uraraka had latched onto his side in a comforting embrace. The wave of emotions hit him like a truck, and with everything he had just learned, Deku couldn't stop the tears from falling as he caved into her hug, sobbing into her shoulder. 10 years. The villains had been surrounding and tormenting him for 10 fucking years!
I'm so sorry young Midoriya.
But he wasn't the only one facing turmoil that day. The moment the numbers displayed on screen, Bakugo had shot up from his seat, desperately trying to deny how much sense this all made. When Kirishima finally looked over at his Bakubro, he saw something he had never seen before. The fear in his eyes, the trembling going through every part of his body, the color drained from his face. It was a face Kirishima never wanted to see again.
For the first time, Bakugo looked vulnerable.
When the bully's eyes finally met the victims, everything became too much. The emotions were rampant. He couldn't think. He couldn't breath. So the explosive student did the one thing he could do in that moment.
He ran.
Authors note: Dun dun dun! What a twist ending! Yes, I know that any connection between the school and the MLA has yet to be confirmed in the manga or anime, but when I saw the ideologies and similarities, it just made too much sense to me, so I decided to throw it into the story as well. How will Bakugo and Midoriya cope with it? They'll have to keep their chins up, and GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!