My Hero Metal: Enter the Dark Multiverse
If there was maybe one thing Izuku "Deku" Midoriya hated about being a hero (perhaps the only thing he hated), it was uneventful patrols. Sure, the smiling faces and waves of the crowds were great along with the occasional "Do your best!" from an excited child, although his "best" and childhood friend, Katsuku "Kacchan" Bakugou. Hero name: Dynamight, tended to run them off with his abrasive personality.
Fellow hero, Shoto Todoroki, with his stone face, didn't help much in drawing people in either.
The three heroes in training were currently walking the streets around the Endeavor agency. The pro hero said something about going over some documents then told the three to go on patrol to gain solo experience, but only within a certain distance from the agency. He didn't even let Burnin go, much to her disappointment.
With nothing to really do but stay vigilant, Izuku thought to maybe start up a conversation.
"Do you guys think it's a little too calm today?", Izuku asked.
"I bet the villains are just scared there's a top new hero in town!", Bakugou replied with his usual bravado.
"With the increase in hero work along with my father it seems they're being more cautious." The biochromatic teen calmly replied.
"They're just cowards! As soon as they show their shitty asses, I'll blast them straight to Okinawa!", Bakugou declared.
It was then Deku noticed something odd a few meters down the road.
"Guys! Look!", half-whispered Deku.
Up ahead a single man, wearing what appeared to be a black bolor-vest combo, stood in the middle of the street with his head down, blocking traffic and getting honks and swears thrown at him from considerable amounts of impatient drivers, despite all the racket he didn't move from his spot. He didn't even seem to notice.
As the trio of hero trainees slowly came closer, they could see more of the man, or possibly boy (being quite short.)
Head down, legs apart, hands perched on what seemed from their distance to be a walking cane. His back was to the trio of hero trainees. Seeing no other heroes to take charge Bakugou, Deku, and Shoto moved to assist. Deku taking the first and more gentle approach, this man might possibly be mentally ill or maybe this was some weirdly misguided performance art piece, like with Gentle Criminal.
"Uhm…Excuse me, sir. It seems that you're blocking traffic for the other commuter- "
"Get your ass outta the damn street, ya dick!" Kacchan suddenly yelled, pushing Midoriya Aside.
"Kacchan! You need to be more delicate!" Izuku retorted with bug eyes. "Sorry about him, but it's dangerous to stand in the middle of the street like that, plus you're blocking traffic, so if you could come with us, we ca- "
"Wow. He was right. This one couldn't be sicker. How could anyone let this place get so filthy?" The stranger maintained his calm demeaner, but a careful listener could hear the hint of disgust in his voice. To Deku it sounded…chillingly familiar.
The trio instantly tensed up. The instincts drilled into them from Aizawa's training kicking in.
"Sir, we're not sure what you're saying, but we can discuss it once you're out of the street. You're disturbing the commuters." Todoroki spoke slowly and cautiously. Eyes never leaving the man's hands in case he went for a quirk or moved his cane. A small amount of frost forming on his right.
Deku decided to follow Shoto's lead. Getting into a tentative defensive position. "Sir, we can help you with whatever this "filthy" thing that's upsetting you is if you could just come with us."
Bakugou remained silent though slightly growled from frustration. Even so, He watched the man intently. He still had not moved. It looked like he was in a trance or something. Drugs? No, he was speaking too clearly, if not a little crazy, but he was coherent.
Katsuki searched the man with his eyes for anything. His stance. His clothing. His way of speech.
"If you refuse to move sir, we will be required to use force." Todoroki warned.
Midoriya hoped it wouldn't need to come to that over something so minor but decided to back his friend. "We'd rather not have to get rough over standing in the street. So..." The green lightning of One for All began form around his body, "Please step off of the street."
The man lifted his head. "Oh?" saying it as if pleasantly surprised.
The man then turned to face the three young battle-ready heroes.
The heroes in training were met with a well-dressed man no taller, and based on his voice possibly no older, than them, wearing black vest with a dark green tie, black slacks, a black bowler hat, and the oddest part of all, a dark hunters green steampunk style plague doctor mask complete with white silk gloves. Tufts of green hair stuck out from under the cap.
Upon being able to examine the strangers front the boys noticed the true danger at hand.
The masked man was strapped with four black Glock pistols, two shoulder mounted, tow hung on his hips.
"Sir don't do anything drastic," Deku attempted, "Whatever is wrong we can help, just please give us the weapons."
The masked-man's eyes instantly focused on Deku's, head moving quick like a bird. Deku felt a haunting dread rush through his body upon meeting the stranger's eyes through the mask. They felt so familiar, yet so alien, so broken.
"So, another unfortunate failure I see." Speaking to Deku.
"Excuse me, sir?" Deku inquired, understandably confused at the stranger's seemingly irrelevant statement.
Putting his hand to his face the man sighed, "Another unfortunate infected. It's sad really. Most versions are normal, or at least like-minded to our cause, but every now and again we find a hero." He spat out the word as if it burned his tongue. The trio simply watched in ready suspense.
The man removed his hand from the mask. "I'm sorry, Izuku Midoriya, but I'm going to need to start with you for the plan to commence
"Plan?", the kids thought in unison.
The man's eyes met Deku's once more. "Prepare to be cured."
The three heroes in training instantly sprung to action going for disarming the man as quickly as possible. Being the most adept at quick apprehension, Shoto sent out a wave of ice to freeze the perp in place.
To their surprise, the man was too fast and quickly side jumped to avoid the advancing ice, his right hand moving for the gun on his hip like lightning, drawing and instantly firing three rounds at each member of the team in one fluid motion.
Shoto managed to block his bullet with a wall of ice with ease, while Deku side-rolled out of the way. Bakugou chose a more offensive option. Using his explosions to push himself out of the way of the bullet then firing off a second compressed blast to launch himself at the masked gunman.
Landing, the villain pulled his other Glock and fired four more rounds at Katsuki missing each one receiving a rocket strength shoulder check for his troubles and dropping his twin Glocks.
"Your aim is shit!, Bakugou yelled as he pushed the perp back
"Is it, though?" the perp replied smugly.
Bakugou blanched, whipping around prepared to assess damage and perhaps even block the shots, but even Bakugou knew he wasn't that fast.
Three bullets had it their marks. One in a nearby pedestrian's foot, one in the cable of a window washer scaffold that was now starting to snap, one in the ground near Todoroki to halt his advance to help the pedestrian.
The fourth was now buried deep in the gut of a now heavily wounded Izuku Midoriya, having moved to protect another citizen.
Before Katsuki could make his next move though, he received a swift blow to the head by the masked villain's cane. The surprisingly strong impact knocking Bakugou to the floor, bleeding from the head and dazed.
As Bakugou began to get back up he was met with a berretta barrel to the face. "I wouldn't move to much if you to keep your quirk and both eyes."
Bakugouh glared daggers at the man. What did he mean by 'keep his quirk?'
"This is a very strange every other version of you wouldn't have hesitated like you did. Indecisiveness does not look good on you Kacchan or is it Dynamight at this point?"
The name sent a chill up Katsuki's spine. How in the hell did this plague doctor wannabe know either of those damn names?!
"How…" Katsuki managed to stammer out through his concussed daze.
"That's not important. You need exterminated like the rest of the infected. Even so, it's never easy curing you. Sorry, Kacchan"
"SMASH!" a green-clad blur collided with a stranger sending him flying into nearby store.
Bakugou looked up to see Izuku glowing with power, blood dripping from his mouth and a red scarf that may have been yellow wrapped and around his midsection to slow the bleeding
"Sorry Kacchan, but I needed to make sure the civilians were ok first. Todoroki is taking care of the rest."
Bakugou looked back to see a pillar of ice holding the nearly fallen scaffold and Todoroki himself attending to injured bystander.
Quickly standing up indignantly, "I had him Deku!"
"I know, but it didn't hurt to help right? I mean, we are a team," Izuku replied placatingly, used to his childhood friend's temperament.
Suddenly, there was coughing from the area the villain was launched. The two injured heroes put up the best defensive positions they could, given their injuries
"Hey, not that we need it, but did you bother to get Icy-Hot's dad?" Bakugou whisper yelled.
"Todoroki is already on it. This guy seems too dangerous for us to take on alone, and he hasn't even show us his quirk yet." Deku replied quietly.
As they dust cleared, watched the figure slowly limp from the broken window.
"My mask. cough Need my mask. Keeps the filth out."
That triggered memory in Izuku. A memory a similarly masked individual who once said something very much to that same effect: Overhaul, Kai Chisaki.
As the mans silhouette picked up his mask Izuku spoke. "Are you with the Shie Hassaikai. Did you follow Overhaul?"
That made the man pause. "Overhaul was no leader. He was a glorified con artist that dressed his hustle as an ideal. He was never believer in the true cause he preached."
As the dust fully cleared the two boys see more of the man, his mask half covering his face as paused while applying it. The visage they could see would haunt them and raise monumental questions. Staring cack them was a large green eye with freckled cheek so familiar it was almost undeniable. Midoriya began to shake.
The stranger finished putting on his mask and retrieved his can and guns with some form of wire coming from his sleeves. "I'm afraid I'll need to retreat. It seems you versions are more formidable than expected. Until next time Kacchan, Deku.
The man then lifted his cane and fired what appeared to be a grapple gun, pulling himself up a roof top and swiftly escaping.
"Wait you bastard!" Bakugou attempted but quickly stumbly disoriented and nautious from the head injury. Izuku held him up and brough him to where Shoto was taking care of the bystander caught in the crossfire and directing traffic. Bakugou sat down with the injured bystander shot in the foot as well as a wind washer that twisted his ankle when the scaffold shifted the other cleaner was helping Shoto direct traffic as he came back to apply ice to Bakugou's wounded head.
"He got away." Shoto said calmly, no condescension no gloating just a simple statement of fact.
"Yeah," Deku replied sadly but seemingly distracted.
Shoto noticed this, "Was there something else Deku? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Izuku remained silent for moment, "I'm not sure what I saw Todoroki. I'm just not sure."
"It was your face, dumbass," Izuku looked up at Bakugou, who wore an expression of frustrated bewilderment. Eyes not meeting Izuku's. "It was your dumb face."
Todoroki could only look on in confusion as to what happened to his two friends. Midoriya's face? What did that mean? Why were they so shaken?
"Shoto, are you alright? Where's the danger? I need a full report!" Endeavor yelled as he landed in front of the trio.
The boys were going to have hard time explain what they saw to Endeavor, but the next hour would a blur to Izuku. "My face. Why did he have my face? Himiko Toga? She prefers blades in order to be up close and personal and she'd never shown proficiency with firearms in the past. Maybe that twice guy. I don't the requirements for his quirk, but again, no guns. Maybe a new member alltoge- "
"Midoriya!"
Izuku quickly snapped out of his inner monologue-turned muttering spree. "Oh, sorry guys." He said sheepishly
"It's fine, Deku. I caught it." Endeavor said
"Fucking how?!" thought Katsuki.
"For now, you three return to the agency me and the Flaming sidekickers will take care of the rest. We'll discuss more when I return."
"Right!" the three replied in unison
The sick feeling in Deku's stomach would not leave him the entire way back. There would be no rest for the boy who saw himself as the one thing he was meant to fight.
A villain.