Note: this vigilante!Deku version of mine will be in a worse state than the canon one. You know, for dramatical purpose. Oh, and also, some part will different from the canon cause some of my touch involved in it
For Poseidon3000: I'll probably think about it later since I already have most of this story planned. But thanks for the recommendation. I could see why it was interesting too
-oOo-
They waited with bated breath as the screen began to lit up. Excitement and anticipation slowly rose from the depth of heir heart as they wondered what awaited them in this showing.
Sky. The sky was blue with some puff of clouds hanging in the air. It was the first thing they see.
And slowly the camera peered away, revealing a sight that shocked them to the very core.
"What the... fuck...?"
Someone muttered in disbelief as the carefree atmosphere dissipated in a second.
A city. A remnant of it to be more precise.
It was dead quiet with some small rumbles here and there. Some building could be seen in the edge of crumbling down, some even has already become a ruin and fell to the ground. A few skyscrapers were not given mercy either.
But that wasn't the only one that caused them to freeze and left dumbfounded.
No, it was the sight of a person that was perched atop the hawk-shaped waterspout.
Several gasps could be heard in the room as they lay their gazes on the person that was revealed just now. A certain mother took it the most hardest than the other at the state that certain person was currently in.
"D-Deku...?" Even Bakugo wasn't spared from the shock.
It can be simply described as monstrous. His outfit was only a remains of what it was supposed to be in the past. Caked in dry blood and covered in filth, it was clear that the whole thing could have fall apart at any given moment.
His leg appeared to be like a talon at first glance from how damaged and crooked the iron soles of his shoes. The fabric of his kneepads were damaged while there were no sleeves that covered his arms, revealing the slightly broken Mid-Gauntlets that was designed by Melissa Shield.
However, those all were nothing compared to his head that was partially covered with his torn mask and charred cape, in which Gran Torino quickly recognized as his.
The respirators directly under his mouth, which was currently chewing on an energy bar, was definitely more than unusable from how it rusted and have chipped edges.
And the eye of the owner, it was completely difference to the one they knew. It looked so dead tired that not even Aizawa's eyes can be compared to it. Ugly diagonal scar spreads across his face, starting from his eyebrow, crossing his closed right eyes and nose. Several other fading scars could also be seen on his face.
This person was no other than Izuku Midoriya himself. Student of U.A High School and the current wielder of One for All.
Not even the experienced pro-heroes nor Stain and Nagant know how to respond to this. It was worse than what they had seen, and considering their line of work, it was either impressive or extremely saddening.
'He looked exactly like someone who just came fresh out of literal hell.' Nagant noted with sympathy. From the look of it, this person was no older than those U.A student, which make it even worse for her.
'You have sacrificed a lot huh, true hero. Forgive me for putting that much of weight on your shoulder, boy.' Even Stain himself feels sorry for the boy.
"M-Mr. Lemiliion, w-what happened to Mr. Deku?" Mirio don't know how to answer that.
"D-Deku-kun...?"
"M-Midoriya...?"
"Y-young Midoriya!?"
Fear and shock was shared between the students at the terrible state of one Izuku Midoriya. How and what exactly is the reason he looked so battered, broken and tired like that? They shared that thought as concerned frown graced their face.
"Do you mind explaining what happened to Midoriya-kun, Noth-san?" The jovial aura around the principal was gone, replaced by grim seriousness and slight anger.
"To put it simply, Principal Nezu, a war will occur in the future. It was still happening at the time this part showed. The ruin and that state of Izuku Midoriya are one of the few that was affected the most by the said war."
War.
That word brought an unsettling fear into their mind, especially to those who knows just how bloody this whole hero industry can get. But what happened to the pro-heroes then? Were they failed to won the war? The thought shook their heart to the very core, but they still willed themselves to watch.
'Was All for One who caused all of this...? I... I'm so sorry for giving you so much burden, Young Midoriya...' With regret and sadness clear on his face, Toshinori silently thought to himself as he tried to calm the worried mother on his side.
Suddenly, Izuku's single eye widened as if something was bothering him for a second, prompting him to stop his meal. "Another villain rampage, huh." He shoved the whole bar into his mouth before swallowing it after a little chewing.
Donning his mask, the disguised boy then took a deep breath.
Before zapping away, turning into a blur and leaving a trail of dark green electric cackle on his wake.
"F-fast!"
The most shocking part isn't that Izuku was just fast, but it was the fact that his speed could give some speed-based quirk user a run for their money.
"The distance is roughly 300 meters away. Probably strength-based quirk. Threat rank: Orange most likely. Deploying..."
Barely ten seconds have passed but the boy has arrived at the scene. Several people, dressed in thick warm clothes and makeshift armor could be seen trying to hide in a cafe building while a giant of a man, built purely out of bulking muscle, chaotically wreck havoc on his surroundings.
"Muscular... And one hero, possibly still in training..."
Upon further inspection, the escapee was apparently fighting someone else. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that the hero in training was winning the battle, in fact, the fight seemed to be very one-sided as the villain pummeled the boy down to the ground.
What make this situation very dangerous is that they are fighting in an area filled with tall buildings, risking the life of those civilians that decided to set a base camp in this zone .
After assessing the situation quickly, Izuku left no more time to waste and jump into action.
The screen sudenly faded into blackness, signifying that the point of view will change a bit.
But the momentary pause gave the cast a time to process what they have just witnessed. It was a common knowledge among them that Izuku can only use some percentage amount of his quirk's full-power even before they knew the existence of One for All. Does that mean he had mastered the quirk?
"Yo-kun!"
A girl with fin-like blonde hair shouted in fear at her partner that currently fighting the escapee. The boy had used his strongest technique against the muscle villain, but it hardly did anything toward the man as he overpowered Shindo very easily.
"Weak! You're fucking weak! Time for a bloodba-"
But before Muscular could finish his sentence, a strong force knocked him away from the unconscious boy. The earth shook and rumble as he crashed against a building.
However, he proved to be a very capable fighter as he recovered quickly from the impact. Looking up, he tried to see just who in their fucking right mind dared to interrupt his fun time.
"Muscular..."
–!
That voice-! Could it be-?!
"No wonder my danger sense was going haywire..."
As the veil of smoke slowly faded away, it revealed a monstrous figure that resembles a beast more than a man. His cape and the ears of his mask flappes in the wind as he secured the boy in his arms. Several black tendrils sprouts from his back, creating a terrifying sight along with his overall look. Smoke was constantly flowing out of his body as he looked down at Muscular in hunched posture.
"MIDORIYAAAAA!" The muscled madman screamed his lungs out, "I missed you so much! These small fries are so boring!"
"W-wait! How did that guy know about Midoriya?" No one answered Kyouka's question, as they wondered the same.
"Um..." Until Kota suddenly raised his hand, gaining their attention, "I-Izuku-nii-san fights that guy when the camp was attacked. He saved me from him."
Now that explains why he looked so terribly wounded at that time. The sight of Izuku with two broken arms cased in makeshift splints resurfaced in the mind of those who knows and causing them to shivers.
"I would have been content just by rampaging around and do whatever I want with my quirk." The blond rambled as he picked up a rock, "But after that stunt you pulled on me..."
And with a wider manic smile, he put the rock into his empty eye socket, causing it to bleed, "HOW COULD I EVER GO BACK AGAIN!"
The expression Muscular wore on his face was enough to made even the experienced heroes shivers in chills, but Deku in the screen was being so very calm and stoic at the display of madness as if it did absolutely nothing to his nerves.
Before the villain could made his move, Deku quickly released a thick veil of smoke around the surroundings.
"YOU BETTER NOT RUN AWAY, MIDORIYAAAA!"
'I have to get this boy to safety and avoid collateral damage as much as I can...'
With that, the boy disappeared in the white smoke curtain, briefly leaving behind the raging mountain of muscle. Deku sped away toward the direction where he saw those civilians set up a shelter.
"Yo-kun!" As Deku finally arrived at the gate of building, the blonde girl from earlier rushed toward him.
"Please give him an immediate care. I will make sure to keep Muscular away from this place. Thank you." After handing the knocked out boy, Deku disappeared as quickly as he arrived, causing the girl to be left confused.
'I couldn't see him clearly... He's fast and this smoke wasn't helping either. But who is he? That voice is pretty familiar...'
"Putting a lot more smoke at less-populated area as a decoy and quickly rushing toward safe zone to put the wounded... This Midoriya is very experienced and skilled..." Aizawa noted as he watched the screen with critical eyes.
"What is that smoke anyway? A support tool...?" Kaminari asked out loud.
"There was no visible tool or device around his arm except that red thingy..." Mei answered as he inspected the mid-gauntlet with her quirk.
"I don't remember ever putting any secret function in the mid-gauntlet, nor I ever gave it a room for a possible modification, at least not now..." Melissa continued, gaining the pink-haired girl's attention quickly.
Luckily, she decided to hold her curiosity back for a moment. Even if she appeared to be crazy and obsessed with technology, she still have some semblance of common sense and tact in her.
"Good job at your quick decision tactic, Midoriya. Using thick smoke as a decoy is a smart move, indeed." An apparition of black haired man suddenly appeared on Deku's side, his hands lazily placed around the boy's shoulders.
"Thank you, sir."
"Keep up the good work, I suppose. But don't forget to rest, you have been staying all day without stopping lately."
"Yes... sir."
"Who is that?"
"One of the One for All user." Noth answered curtly to the question.
All Might could only look in surprise at the revelation. For the whole time he had been living with One for All until he gave it to his successor, Toshinori never knew that the quirk allows him to do that.
That smoke was most likely the quirk of one of the user's. Does that mean Izuku have a multiple quirk in his weapon choice? A-and does that mean he can met N-Nana once again?
'Muscular... The man who could withstand my 100% smash... There's no way I could forget him either...'
Deku leaped up into the air, observing his surroundings for any sign of the escapee. Suddenly, he could feels another tingling sensation from behind his back and a giant fist made purely out muscle came out of the thick smoke curtain.
"MIIDOORIYAAAAAA!"
Muscular screamed out of his lungs while sending a barrage of fist toward the boy. However, not even a single fist has touched him as Deku maneuvered with ease. The emotionless and bored look on his face remained unchanging.
Deciding that it was for the best to not prolong this fight, Deku swings away with one of the black tentacle on his back.
Muscular was relentless on his chase, but Deku was just simply too quick and agile to catch as he practically wall running away from the giant.
"Don't you dare to run away again from me, Midoriyaaa!"
Deku didn't bother to answer his mad rambling, instead, he pointed his arm at Muscular and watches as the black whip ensnare him in a coil.
A surprised exclamation was the only thing Musculuar could produce as a strong force pulls him down and slam him unto the ground below, causing the earth to shook and rumble.
"W-woah..."
Most of the watcher could only gawk wordlessly at the display of Deku's capabilities. All of his action and reaction was calculated with brutal efficiency that it made the fight looked like a one sided battle.
Which was pretty unnerving considering just how strong and fast Muscular looked in the screen. Yet, he was being tossed and played around like a fiddle in here.
Aizawa couldn't help but subtly nod in grumbling approval at how his Problem Child fought. However, he wouldn't lie to himself that this is was concerning.
'Dirty work should have been left for us to handle. Children shouldn't meddle with adult's business after all.' He looked up at the screen, 'What happens to you, Problem Child?'
"I had hoped that you wouldn't resort to pesky tricks, Midoriya...!"
The water splashed all over the place as Deku landed in front of him.
"Your liberator, Shiragaki. Where is he?" He asked bluntly, looking down at the downed Muscular with no visible emotion on that mask covered face.
"Don't know, don't care! He told me to do whatever I pleased!" With a manic face, Muscular rose from the ground and roared, "So stop changing the subject! I'm here to fucking fight! MIDORIYAAA!"
However, Deku remained unfazed by the man's outburst. With a low voice, he the softly asked.
"Why... Why do you have these urges to go on rampage?"
"Did he tried to talk sense to him?" Momo asked, surprised at Deku's patience to ask a clearly mad and unstable man about moral and goal.
"Yes..." Midnight answered her question somberly. It didn't take a genius to understand the sadness in her voice.
Even if the boy was still care enough to question the villain, they could see that the kindest and hope in his voice was barely present anymore, unlike the Deku they had known. His voice sounded so tired, as if he has been asking that to numerous people, as if he knew the answer already.
Nagant feels her own heart resonated with this Izuku. It was as if she was seeing her own reflection in a mirror. It only reminds her to how unfair and cruel this world is.
"To live without any regrets!"
"Regrets..? What would that be?"
"Are you dumb? I would regret not being able to fight you!"
"...Is there no other path for you to take... Imasuji Goto?"
"NONE AT ALL!"
The giant of a man managed to break free out of his bound. His muscle multiplied, grew bigger that it made his previous look much more prettier than this.
"SAVE YOUR THERAPY TALK, MIDORIYA! THE ONLY THING I CARE FOR IS BLOOD, GUTS AND THE THRILL OF BATTLE!"
'Just like that time, perhaps if I could understood him... If I met him far earlier... Things would turn out different...'
The regret and sadness in his voice, it shook their heart to the very core. Tears were spilled by some of his closest and those with a much more sensitive heart.
What exactly had happened for Deku, for Izuku to turn so sad, battered, bruised and so heartbroken?
"I WANT A LEGITIMATE FIGHT WITH RAW POWER, MIDORIYAAA!-"
Suddenly, the fight was over in an instance.
Deku who remained stoic throughout the dialog was now far behind Muscular with fist raised in relaxed manner. The water was being split apart into two beautiful arcs, like the legend of Moses, while dark electric crackles left behind in his wake.
"This is my power."
His face, which was finally uncovered, didn't even shows any sign of exertion, as if the fight, if you still able to call it a fight, hardly give him any challenge or whatsoever.
'Forgive me...'
With that, the one-sided beating ended with Muscular slumped unto the ground with his prized muscles torn and tears apart.
The screen ended and silence enveloped the room. Several sniffles and sobs could be heard from the children and some of the girls. They had expected a happy sight. They had expected the admirable Deku to become the number one hero.
Yet, reality is often disappointing.
In any other circumstances, they would have been roaring in awe at the shows of power. But right now, they just don't have any power left to do that, nor they want to do that if they have any.