Chapter 6

.:. Hole in One .:.

The day Izuku's life changed had started normally—actually, no, that was a total lie. Abnormal days don't always start out as abnormal from the very second you open your eyes. Considering it took less than a minute of being awake to notice the holes in his palms, he couldn't say his day started "normally" at all.

He still wouldn't have predicted that it would end with him turning into sludge.

Tears threatened to spill as he looked down at his hands, the green sludge constantly morphing and wobbling as they struggled to keep a hand shape. What was even happening anymore? His whole body felt wrong, his uniform rippling and bulging as his new sludge form continually shifted under it. It maintained a generally human shape thankfully, but he couldn't fully control it.

Izuku had no idea what was going on. As it stood, he had only one clue. The villain who'd tried to suffocate him now laid unconscious next to him, looking remarkably plain and not made of sludge. Did... Did I do that? he thought distantly over his panic. It was the only explanation he had. One second he was normal and the guy was made of sludge, and now their roles were reversed.

The holes. He'd been trying to make them appear again, hoping they'd absorb the sludge or—or something. And when he thought back, when he tugged on that odd light he thought he did feel something enter them. But how the heck did that turn him into sludge!?

A panicked whine slipped out, his voice just slightly warped, and he winced as he felt his teeth slide around with the motion. Wrong, everything felt so wrong! Was he hyperventilating? Could he hyperventilate? Did he even have lungs!? No, of course he had lungs or he wouldn't feel like he was suffocating, and he probably had all the other internal organs too. Oh god, what if he could feel them—

The metallic clang of the sewer lid crashing into concrete snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see a large figure land next to the opening. If Izuku had proper eyelids his eyes probably would have widened as the light outlined a familiar silhouette he'd only seen on television in the past.

All Might.

His heart soared instantly even as that unending dread continued to wash over him. How long had he dreamed of meeting the Number One Hero? Of course, Izuku had never imagined it would be anything like this, even without the part where he was made of sludge. He took a deep, shuddering breath, absently noting he did have lungs as he turned to face his idol.

"A-All Might, h-h-help," he choked out. Everything would be fine now that All Might was here.

As if his words were all the man needed he sprung into action, racing over to Izuku's side. "Young... man?" he asked, hesitating on the last word, and Izuku nodded, then quickly stopped as his entire head threatened to slump over. "Can you explain what happened here?"

"I d-don't know!" Izuku cried. "O-one second I was walking home, a-and then th-this guy made of sludge came out of the sewers, and t-tried to—t-to—" He couldn't even force out the word, feeling his breathing pick up as he remembered the horrible feeling of suffocating. "I c-couldn't breathe, my m-mouth and nose were t-t-totally covered, a-and... a-and..." A high-pitched sob slipped out, his whole body shaking.

He almost died.

It only hit him now how close he'd come to death. In his initial panic over, well, everything, he hadn't really thought about the fact he'd nearly suffocated.

"Young man, please calm down!" All Might's voice drew him back to reality before his thoughts could spiral too much, and he looked up to see his idol crouched in front of him. "Tell me, where did that villain go?"

Izuku's gaze flitted to the nude man next to them. "U-um..." He lamely lifted a hand to point at him, grimacing as he saw his slimy "fingers" sort of sag with the motion. All Might stared at the man in silence for a moment.

"...I apologize, but believe I might need some more information." That made two of them.

"I think... it's my Quirk?" Izuku started hesitantly, and after years of wishing he had one, he didn't really feel all that excited about it like he'd expected. Probably because he was in shock over the whole "almost died" and "turned into sludge" thing.

"You think..." All Might trailed off, and Izuku could almost see the gears turning in his head. "Young man, could it be you've just developed a second Quirk now?"

Oh, thank the stars All Might was so smart and experienced. He picked up on the situation immediately just from Izuku's jumbled stammering, as expected of the Number One Hero. "Y-yeah," he confirmed with a shaky nod, feeling his chin drip with the motion. "I-I just, I woke up this morning with holes so I tried to make them appear again hoping they'd do s-something, and th-then... this happened?" He shrugged lamely to gesture at his body.

"Holes?" All Might echoed, and Izuku bobbed his head again. The Number One Hero hummed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, visibly considering the situation, much to his relief. Izuku's mind felt too frayed to think clearly right now. "Hmm, I don't see how holes relate, but... Perhaps if you try using your Quirk again, you can undo the effects?" Izuku paused and stared dumbly at him.

Somehow, that hadn't occurred to him.

"...Right, yeah," he muttered, nodding more vigorously and ignoring the yoyo-like sensation on the bottom of his head. "Okay, j-just... gotta use it again. Visualize it... again. Right." He closed his eyes to focus, and then paused again as he realized something. "Oh, I do have eyelids! Guess that shouldn't be so surprising actually, since having your eyes open all the time would dry them out... unless the sludge would lubricate it? But then how would you sleep at night, wouldn't the light get in the way and distract you? Would you need a sleeping mask? Or could the eyeballs just sink in deep enough that the light wouldn't matter—"

All Might made a faintly choked sound of surprise at that. "Um, young man? I think you're getting a little... distracted?"

Izuku's eyes opened briefly, and he stared forward into empty space with a deadpan stare. "...What is wrong with me today," he groaned, and then closed his eyes to try to refocus. Okay, the visual of the light was what worked last time. Probably, anyway. He did transform after grabbing it. It didn't take long to conjure an image of the light, and he reached for it.

Except... it didn't feel solid this time? Or like it existed?

When he imagined himself wrapping his hand around it, he couldn't feel it like he did last time. If he had eyebrows they'd probably furrow in consternation as he tried to grasp the feeling from before. After a few seconds he decided it just wasn't working, and opened his eyes to look at his dripping, shapeless hands.

"Is it because I don't have the holes?" he mumbled to himself. "Wait, but my hands are made of sludge now. Can I make them appear again? Am I—am I stuck like this if I can't make them!? Was it a one-time use thing!?"

"Calm down!" Once again All Might's voice cut through his panic before it could fully form, and Izuku snapped his head to look at him. The Hero didn't have his trademark smile, but it wasn't a frown either. His expression was more neutral, and still had an air of reassurance. "Listen, I know using a new Quirk can be confusing. What is your original Quirk like? Maybe if you think about that, it can help you figure out how to use it."

Izuku stilled at the suggestion. For literally anyone else, that probably would be a good strategy, in fact it was one he'd recommended to a lot of people. But for himself though... "A-actually," he said slowly, ducking his head shamefully. "I was... Quirkless." If he had a regular face he'd be grimacing, but for now he could just feel the back teeth slide downwards, the sensation almost making him shudder.

All Might was silent to his declaration, and Izuku didn't dare look at him to see his reaction. "...Yes, I suppose that does complicate things," he finally said, and Izuku hung his head with a groan. "But, fear not!" All Might continued, and Izuku found his gaze returning to the hero to find him flashing his giant gleaming grin. "It is too soon to fall into despair! Perhaps you need to approach it from a different angle? You mentioned holes, correct? And your body seems to be rather, er... fluid, I suppose," he settled with a slightly awkward half-shrug. "So, perhaps you can form the holes on this body?"

"...Form the holes?" Izuku looked at his hands again, watching the sludge drip and softly wobble. That... he probably could do that. Maybe. He wasn't sure it would work, but he could at least try.

"Also, how did you visualize your Quirk when you used it?" All Might continued, making Izuku glance at him again. "Perhaps if you talk it out, it can help you better understand how to do it." Izuku nodded slowly, absorbing the words and letting his mind wander back.

"...I squeezed my eyes really hard until I saw spots," he started slowly. "And then I saw this... light?" He frowned, a hand reaching for what should be his chin as he began mumbling to himself. "Well, I call it that, but it also... wasn't. It's hard to describe, it kinda had a weird... aura to it, I guess? But it stood out, so I tried to grab it, and I swore I felt it, and then I... I pulled it."

He stood up a little straighter, realization starting to sink in. "I thought maybe the holes could suck up the sludge, so I tried to imagine myself pulling. So maybe... Maybe the light wasn't just my imagination, but something I actually grabbed and pulled into me? So maybe... Maybe it's... inside?" He closed his eyes as he spoke, focusing more on... himself. It felt kind of weird at first, because he didn't know what he was doing, but then it was like instinct took over.

His mind seemed to enter a trance-like state. Within seconds the same light he'd seen before appeared, and already he could tell it was different from when he'd tried to imagine it. It radiated that odd, murky quality, a feeling of dampness present in the dim glow. Izuku imagined himself reaching for it, and when he pictured his hand touching it, he felt it. He felt it, slick and slimy against his palms.

Now that he held it though, he had no idea what to do with it.

Touching it didn't do anything. When he opened his eyes, he was still made of sludge, making him frown again. "Okay, I think I found it, but it didn't do anything," he muttered. "Is it because my hands weren't actually touching something this time? It does seem to be tied to the holes, so..." He trailed off, thinking hard.

And then, his gaze flitted to the unconscious villain.

No matter how Izuku looked at it, that light reminded him of the man before... whatever his Quirk did to him. As Izuku studied him, a thought slowly began to form. "I'd been grabbing at the sludge when I used my Quirk, and the holes were definitely touching it when I pulled on it. So, maybe... Maybe the light isn't actually my Quirk, but instead..." As he mumbled he reached out to press a hand to the man's back, closing his eyes. It took only a few seconds to find the light again and take hold of it.

Last time I pulled, so what if I push it?

As he imagined himself pushing the light forward, he felt a small surge of something, followed by a sensation of change. The fluid sense of instability vanished, his body feeling more structured and defined. The skin below his palm felt wet and slimy, his hand sinking into it slightly—and he could feel it on the skin of his palm.

His eyes snapped open with a gasp, and sure enough, his hand had turned back to normal, confirming his body had reverted with it. So, too, had the sludge villain, his unconscious form beginning to start to seep and expand into a puddle.

Izuku's face lit up in a brilliant smile as he pulled his hand back, his eyes sparkling with delight as he turned his palm to see the small hole in it. "I—I did it!" he exclaimed. "I used my Quirk again!" Then he froze as the gravity of his words sank in, and his smile dropped as he jolted upright with a gaping mouth. "I have a Quirk!"

With the danger and panic finally gone, the excitement he'd expected finally crashed over him. At long last, after fourteen years of dreaming, ten years of hoping, five years of praying, Izuku had a Quirk. He didn't know what the Quirk was exactly just yet, he'd only used it two times now in the span of five minutes. But based on what happened, he felt it was pretty obvious.

"I can take Quirks," he realized, voice soft with awe as he stared at the holes in his palms. "I think that light was his Quirk. That's what I sucked up. That's... That's amazing!" No wonder he'd been so weirdly focused on everyone's Quirks today, it must be a secondary function of it. A Quirk that could take and transfer Quirks would probably have some other minor abilities directly related to Quirks.

Wow, this Quirk really was well-suited for him. Izuku already loved analyzing Quirks, so it was a perfect match. The thought made him perk up, rapidly looking around the underpass before his eyes settled on his notebook lying several feet away next to his backpack.

He darted over to snatch it up, ignoring the burnt and soggy condition as he flipped through the pages. Notes, he needed to start writing notes! There was so much to think about now! Izuku reached a blank page and opened the backpack to grab a pen, turning to write before pausing.

Hold on. He had his notebook, and All Might was here...

ALL MIGHT WAS HERE! How could he forget about that!? "Can I have your autograph?" Izuku blurted, spinning to face his hero. His hopeful smile soon vanished though. All Might was staring at him with his jaw hanging open, his eyes blown wide enough he could see the blue in them even in the shadows.

Suddenly, Izuku felt very self-conscious, shrinking back under the stare. "A-All Might, sir?" he stammered nervously. Did he do something wrong? Oh, crap, he did. "Wait! Am I in trouble for using my Quirk!? I'm sorry! I know it's illegal to use it on someone else, but it was a panic reaction and I didn't even know I had a Quirk for sure! I promise I won't ever use it again on someone without their permission, and I'll register it right away! I'm not going to jail for it am I!?"

His panicked rambling seemed to snap All Might out of his stunned stupor, the man sucking in a sharp breath before flashing his brilliant, gleaming grin. "Of course not, young man!" he declared in that booming baritone, and Izuku sagged in relief. "One can hardly fault you for using your Quirk for the first time under such circumstances. Most delayed Quirk activations are triggered by highly stressful or dangerous situations, and this certainly counts as the latter!"

"R-right, I guess that's true..." Hachinose had activated his Quirk from the stress of his first day at school, and from what he heard Kiyomi-chan's rainstorm Quirk first triggered when some bullies hit her. They didn't get in trouble back then, and those times didn't involve life-threatening situations where a villain was trying to actively murder them.

Using your Quirk on another person was still bad, but seriously. The guy was trying to kill him. Izuku could feel the blood drain from his face as he realized once again just how close he got to dying. "I think he wanted to kill me and use my body as a puppet," he said slowly, voice ringing oddly hollow in his own ears. "He was trying to stuff himself into my mouth while suffocating me... Did he plan to enter my body and control it form inside? How would that work? My body's not hollow. Was he going to push out my internal organs?"

The last question had him physically blanching, unable to stop the gruesome image of his organs being forced out of whatever openings existed. "Er, perhaps it's better not to think on that too hard," All Might said, once again stopping Izuku's worse thoughts before they could get, well, worse. When he glanced over he found the hero had retrieved the unconscious villain and somehow scooped him into a large soda bottle while he'd been distracted.

How did he do that? Izuku wondered as he watched the man screw the cap on it. It wasn't like he could just pick up sludge—or, could he? Actually, on that note, how did the villain's whole body fit in the bottle!? Sure, it was one of those big two-liter bottles, but could you seriously fit an entire grown man's worth of sludge into a single bottle?

...Actually, know what? He didn't care. Izuku decided he was sick and tired of thinking about the sludge Quirk so much, and gladly focused on All Might as he spoke again. "Well, this has certainly been an... eventful capture," he declared, slipping the bottle into a pocket on his cargo pants. "And it's been a very eventful day for you, hasn't it young man?"

"Yeah, it has!" Izuku confirmed, bobbing his head with a small smile as he glanced at his palms again. The holes had vanished once again, but he didn't mind. He knew now they were there, waiting for his Quirk to activate, and that was all that mattered. As he stared at them his vision started to blur, the familiar sensation of tears burning his eyes. "I can't believe I finally have a Quirk..."

He sniffled quietly, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve, but his smile never faded. It wobbled as he felt his cheeks grow wet, his chest warm with contentment. His whole life had been leading up to this moment, and he had a Quirk. "I can finally be a Pro Hero..."

All Might coughed, and that was enough to make Izuku jolt and quickly wipe away the tears, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Did he really just cry like that in front of All Might? Of course he did, he was crybaby Deku after all. "I understand this is a very exciting development, but procedure must be followed," All Might said. "How about I drop off this villain at the police station, and then you can come to my agency to go over your report?"

Izuku's brain short-circuited briefly at the last part, mind going blank. "Wait, you want me to go to your agency?" he blurted.

"Indeed I do!" All Might confirmed, and flashed him a blinding grin. "It's not every day someone activates their Quirk for the first time, and you just went through quite a traumatic experience at that! Submitting a report at the police station might feel a bit, ah, uncomfortable. I believe filling it out at my agency will give you time to process it in a more comfortable setting in your own time. If you wish to, that is," he added.

This... Was this real? Was this really happening? Was All Might seriously inviting him to Might Tower? Tears started forming in Izuku's eyes for a different reason, and his head bobbed more vigorously than ever before. "Y-yes!" he choked out. "I'd love to go! Th-thank you so much, sir! I-if it's not too much trouble, I mean," he added, losing some of his steam and face falling as he frowned anxiously. "You must be so busy, I mean, you're All Might. Do you really have time to spend with someone like me?"

"My boy, of course I do!" All Might assured him with his famous smile, and Izuku felt his own smile return, feeble and wobbly as it was. "Your Quirk is very unique and has a lot of potential, young man. I know some people who would be very interested in it, and might be able to help you better understand how it works before you submit the formal registration." Izuku felt some of the tension seep from his shoulders, his anxiety replaced with awe.

"Is my Quirk really that great?" he whispered, but he already knew the answer. The ability to take and transfer other Quirks was one of the most potentially powerful Quirks he'd ever heard of. How many Quirks interacted specifically with other Quirks? He'd only had it for, like, ten minutes now, and he was only just starting to wrap his mind around how awesome this power truly was.

"I believe it is," All Might confirmed, and his voice was softer now, more quiet, but it still carried a note of power that made Izuku swallow and nod.

"Thank you, so much," he whispered, willing himself not to cry.

"Give me a moment to text my associates, and then we'll be off!" All Might said, pulling out a cell phone. "Ah, by the way, what is your name, young man?" Izuku snapped straight at that, feet clicking together and arms stiff at his side.

"I'm Midoriya Izuku, sir! It's an honor to meet you!" He dipped into a bow as he spoke, fighting off the rising tears. In response All Might laughed, the booming sound echoing off the concrete walls of the underpass.

"Lift your head, young Midoriya! You don't need to bow to me!" Izuku raised his head as told, rubbing away the tears while All Might used his phone. After a few seconds the man made a triumphant hum and slid the device into his pocket. "There, sent! Now, come here so we can go!"

"Come... there?" Izuku stared blankly as All Might turned around and bent down, and the imposing Pro Hero gave a hearty laugh as he glanced back.

"You don't think I intend to simply have us walk there, do you? It will be faster for you to hop on my back so I can get us to the police station!" Izuku's jaw dropped, only able to stare in shock as All Might turned his head forward once more. "Now, hop on! We have a lot of work to do tonight, so the sooner we leave the better!"

...This was officially the best day of Izuku's life.

Meanwhile in Tokyo, Sasaki Mirai sat at his desk going over paperwork as usual. Even after leaving his partnership with All Might to form his own agency three years prior, he hadn't fully stopped assisting with the paperwork for the Number One Hero. A receptionist from Might Tower had stopped by to deliver the latest batch of paperwork, a substantial stack that easily doubled the amount his own agency generated in a week. Given this was only half the amount Mirai dealt with on an average day during his time as a sidekick though, he considered it a trivial addition.

As he finished the last one in the stack his cell phone rang on the corner of his desk. "A message is here!" Toshinori's voice declared, and he perked up at the custom ringtone he'd set for messages from his former partner. He immediately snatched up the device and unlocked it, a chill washing over him as he read it.

'Mirao emergwncy Might Tower NOW will explain in e0 minuted'

The text was riddled with typos, unusual for Toshinori, but that only hammered in the urgency and panic behind it. Mirai quickly deduced he'd meant to type 'Mirai emergency Might Tower NOW will explain in 30 minutes' based on the nearest keys to each mistaken character.

Even without details, the urgency in it had him leaping from his desk and heading to the door. "Awata, something's come up, I'll return later!" he called as he passed his sidekick, the blue girl snapping to attention. "If I'm not back, lock up the office."

"You got it, boss!" she replied, mock-saluting as he walked away. The paperwork could wait. He could only imagine what could possibly have All Might sending a text like that.

Title comes from cannibalisticapple, CocoaNerd takes no responsibility for it. (We are also open to more pun suggestions)

We hope everyone in the US had a good Thanksgiving yesterday! This year's definitely one to remember.

Feel free to offer your own take on All Might's inner reaction to this situation in the comments. We are also taking bets on who else gets second quirks!

And we repeat: the Sludge Villain's Quirk is weird.