I don't own Marvel or BNHA
Quirk Hospital
Inko Midoriya knew a lot of things. She knew she probably wouldn't be allowed to see her husband again unless she flew out to the states. She knew who he was and exactly why he was considered one of the most dangerous men on the planet. She knew that there would be trouble when Izuku had first transformed, showing the same powerful quirk as his father. She knew that despite that, she would support her son every step of the way, and that Bruce would do what he could from the states.
But above all else, Inko Midoriya knew that the two most important people in her life only wanted to help people, either as a hero or a scientist. That they were the two people she trusted most to have such destructive and violent quirks, to keep the raging beasts under control.
It was that trust that made the decision in front of her so easy.
The news that All Might, the only hero who had been able to help Izuku learn to better direct and control Skaar, had been dealt a near crippling injury. That she had met All Might many times before, in his civilian face of Toshinori Yagi, an old friend of her husband's. That he would no longer be physically capable of helping Izuku learn to control Skaar. And that General Ross, that same man that held her husband prisoner, was on his way to take her son.
It was shocking. Inko was a simple woman, not cut out for dealing with multiple military agents and problems involving the number one hero. But this involved her son, so she was prepared to do what she had to.
That was how she found herself meeting with the head of the quirk hospital alongside Toshinori, who was acting as All Might's 'agent'.
"I understand," The head doctor of the rehab center said with a sigh after Toshinori shared the news of All Might's inability to continue working with Izuku, "It certainly explains why he hasn't been around to work with him this past month, disappearing like he did had Izuku quite worried."
Toshinori gave a nod at that and Inko refocused the conversation. "So what are the options for Izuku now, are there other available heroes who would be able to continue working with Izuku here, or was All Might the only one?" Inko already knew the answer to her own question, but she had to ask.
"Skaar has already developed a resistance to Midnight's quirk and other suppressing drugs that we might use, its immune system is truly incredible. That said, without All Might, we can only prevent Skaar from coming out, not stopping it. Nurse Anzu has spent a great deal of time with Izuku, but she is due to transfer next month, so even our ability to prevent Skaar from appearing will be cut short."
"I know the hero Eraserhead also has the ability to prevent Izuku from transforming, but asking a hero to spend all their time containing a single quirk would be too much to ask, wouldn't it?" Inko asked, mentally going over the options Toshinori had discussed with her on the drive over. She didn't like them, any of them. She already knew which one Izuku would pick, but as the responsible adult, it came down to her decision.
"Yes, while Eraserhead has occasionally checked in on young Izuku, he already splits his time between his hero work and working as a teacher for UA, he is far too busy to spend as much time with Izuku as he needs." Toshinori added in, knowing what the doctor would say next.
"As unfortunate as it is, without All Might, Izuku will be unable to further his control over his quirk here, which means he will have to be discharged to a facility that is capable of helping him. I recall a note in his file that an American General had offered to help when he was first admitted, would you like for me to start writing up the paperwork for a transfer?" The doctor was just as quick to jump on the idea as Toshinori expected, clearly willing to hand Izuku over to Ross without a second thought.
That was option one, let Izuku be taken by Ross, and potentially get to work with his father. But that also put him under Ross's command, and after seeing how the man treated her husband, Inko would fight tooth and nail to keep the General's grubby mitts off her child.
"Thank you for the offer, but we have an alternate plan." Toshinori started, giving Inko a side glance and taking her nod as her acceptance to move forward with her choice.
Option two was to use the same drug Bruce had used on himself on Izuku, physically preventing his cells from transforming him into Skaar. It would be risky, despite how similar the quirks were, Skaar was different from the Hulk, and might react differently to the drug. There was also the fact that Inko would be forcing Izuku to become quirkless. He was only 'quirkless' for a short time, but Inko had failed to believe in her son then. She had apologized when he asked for reassurance, she didn't believe in his dream.
She had learned from her mistake. She had seen the pain in Izuku's eyes when she had indirectly told him she didn't believe he could be a hero. She was going to put her trust in Izuku, give him any chance she could to become the hero he had always dreamed of becoming.
"Young Midoriya's father has a very similar quirk, and while he sought to learn how to control his quirk, he developed a drug that enforced the heartbeat to stay at a steady pace, preventing the quirk from activating." Toshinori said, pulling out one of the formula's Bruce had sent him, handing it to the doctor.
"It isn't without downsides of course, the slowing agents within the drug are expensive, but All Might's hero agency is more than happy to foot the bill. All Might has expressed the desire to see Young Midoriya grow as a hero, and will help him indirectly even if he is unable to help directly." Toshinori continued as the doctor looked over the papers in his hands.
"I see, this would allow for Izuku to go back to everyday life, although I am slightly worried about the side effects and the dosage size." The doctor said, handing the papers back to Toshinori.
"Those are valid concerns, but not ones without answers. The side effects for slowing down the heart include slowing down both mental processes and general reaction time. To put it simply, it will be like Izuku is high the whole time while on the drug. While this will make life harder for him day-to-day, it is simply the price to pay for containing his quirk while he lacks control." Toshinori said, watching as the doctor nodded along, Inko sitting still as a statue beside him.
"As for the dosage issue, while it is true that Skaar has shown the tremendous ability to build resistances to various drugs, only a fraction of that resistance is transferred over to Izuku. So while he will need larger doses over the years, it will be decades before it grows too large for him to handle." Toshinori explained as the doctor sat across from him, watching the larger man as he explained.
"So that is your choice then Mrs. Midoriya, condemn your son to a half-life to control his quirk?" The doctor asked, an edge of hardness to his voice.
"No." Inko responded, her own gaze hardening at the man who had clearly been paid by Ross to get Izuku into his hands. "The drug will only be necessary while Izuku lacks control of his quirk. All Might negotiated a deal with the Japanese government for Izuku. That if Izuku is able to pass the UA entrance exam for the hero course, he would be able to stop taking the drug as he would then have access to more resources to work on his control as well have already demonstrated that he can control his quirk to an acceptable degree." Inko laid a different set of papers in front of the doctor, ones that detailed the deal Toshinori had brokered for her son, a deal that wouldn't have been possible without Bruce providing the formula for the calming drug.
This was option three. It would be hard for him, but Izuku could do it. She believed in the hero her son would become. And she would give him the chance, no matter how hard it would be, to prove it.
"Alright then." The doctor said, clearly knowing when he was beaten. "I'll pass the formula onto the scientists and we can get it ready for Izuku. All I ask is that we test it for a week here before he is discharged." The doctor said, getting nods from both Toshinori and Inko, signalling the end of the meeting. Both Inko and Toshinori got up and went their separate ways.
Inko to explain what came next to her son, and Toshinori to meet a certain General at the airport, and make sure he got right back on his plane.
Tokyo Airport
General Ross was a goal oriented person. Once he set his goal, it would take an act of god to move him from it. And right now, his goal was acquiring the child of the Hulk after the original had gone and made himself mostly useless to Ross. Holding him in the labs was an act of spite at this point, every scientist he went to told him the same thing, Banner had managed to lock his quirk away. Permanently.
So the second he heard the child that had been kept from him in Japan was unable to continue working to control the beast, he pounced. Japan just didn't have the resources of the States, despite having the number one global hero in All Might. When it came to detaining powerful quirks, the US led the world.
Ross had already prepared the boy's housing, a nice steel bunker underneath a mountain, where even if he lost control, he still couldn't get out. And with how young the boy was, Ross could train him to be loyal instead of resentful like his father. A perfect soldier, a perfect weapon.
So when he was greeted as he got off the plane by all of Japan's top 10 heroes, All Might leading them, he was forced to pause. That pause then turned into worry when he noticed that All Might lacked his usual smile, the world's most powerful man's face set in a grim line.
"General Ross, you are overstepping your position, please return to your plane and go home." All Might told him, his face never wavering from its stony visage.
"I'm not sure I understand you All Might. My reason for being here is well within my jurisdiction." Ross tried to sooth the hero, but he was forced into silence by the large man's glare.
"You are here for custody of Izuku Midoriya, under the pretense that you can help him control his quirk where Japan can't. Not only are you incorrect, you have no right to Young Midoriya. Don't bother protesting that his father is an American citizen, because Young Midoriya is not an American citizen, he doesn't even have dual citizenship. So if you were to try and take him, you would be abducting a Japanese citizen without just cause or permission from the Japanese government, and a child with a powerful quirk at that. Some could misinterpret that as an act of war, General. So I say again, there is nothing for you here Ross. Go home."
By the time All Might was done, Ross was fuming. He had been assured that he would be able to simply walk in and claim the child. That All Might had recently been injured and would be unable to stop him again. Now he was staring down ten individuals that could individually crush what little forces he had brought with him if he tried to continue onwards.
"This isn't over All Might." Ross ground out, trying not to let his fear of an angry #1 hero show as he turned on his heel and boarded his plane not five minutes after he got off it.
Looking back over his shoulder, he could see All Might continue watching him, eyes never leaving the general's retreating form.
This wasn't over, not by a long shot. While he might have been denied the son, he still had the father. And while Bruce Banner might not be able to turn into the rage beast himself, the secret to his quirk was somewhere within him. He had been reluctant to do so before, but now he had no choice, Dr. Sterns would have his patient.
Aldera Middle School
Katsuki Bakugo knew he wasn't the greatest in the world.
It didn't matter how many people kissed the ground he walked on, how powerful his quirk was, how fast his reflexes, or even his above average intelligence. None of that mattered, not to a boy who vividly remembered waking up in a hospital bed, both arms in casts, one leg in a floating cast, and a shell of bandages around his torso. He remembered his mother crying at his broken form, the miracle it took to put his body back together in perfect condition.
And he remembered the cause of it. The scared little boy who had grown in front of his eyes into a raging monster, one that crushed his arms in its hands and then swatted him away like a fly as it turned to his two lackies.
Deku. The quirkless scrub that wasn't even supposed to be a pebble on his path to the number one hero. The boy too scared to stand up for himself. Those eyes that changed from shivering fear to unstoppable rage in a matter of moments as a quirk that neither of them knew existed activated for the first time.
It only took a quick internet search once he could use his hands again to find out where Izuku got his power from. The American destroyer, the Hulk. The only one to ever beat All Might in a straight fight. And based on the quirk similarities, probably Izuku's father.
Power that could beat All Might, all trapped inside the wimpy form of Deku. It was a waste, but it was also a goal. All his life KAtsuki was told he was the best, the future number one, it was his own goal as well as others expectations for him. Until that day it had seemed like a sure thing, he would grow and improve, and at the end of it all, he would stand as the undisputed and unbeatable number one, just like All Might.
Now he knew things weren't going to go that smoothly. If Deku, a boy he had written off as useless and a waste of time, could almost cripple him, who else could surprise him. Were there others like him spread across Japan just waiting for their shot at the number one spot, each one not realizing they were only big fish in small ponds when the world was the ocean.
Deku and his rampaging quirk had opened Katsuki's eyes. If he wanted to be number one, he had to work for it, and never stop preparing for the monster he was unaware of. Deku was a lot more than a pebble in his path, and Katsuki knew there would be more like him out there. But he would crush each and everyone of them to reach the number one spot. And didn't that sound like a lot more fun than just walking up to the throne and taking a seat.
Life was going well for Katsuki Bakugo, he was preparing for whatever pebbles would find themselves in his path, So imagine his surprise when halfway through his second to last year before junior-high, sensei had announced a new classmate.
"I'm not sure if anyone remembers him, but after almost six years of quirk rehabilitation, we have a student rejoining our class, please welcome back, Midoriya Izuku."
Katsuki had almost choked on his own spit as Deku entered the room, hands in his pockets and bag casually thrown over one shoulder.
Deku was finally back, and if he had been released from quirk rehab, then he could control the rage machine that had put him in the hospital in seconds. He would have the strongest quirk in the class instead of Bakugo, and he probably wouldn't shut up about becoming a hero.
"Hellooooo everyone…..I'm baaaaack." Izuku spoke slowly, his form sagging slightly as he spoke. He made a clumsy bow before making his way to an open desk and almost collapsing in it.
The entire lesson, Katsuki couldn't focus on what sensei was saying, far too busy glancing over at Izuku to pay attention to math he had already learned ahead of time.
What he had originally mistaken for calm confidence was actually a detachment from reality. The just barely put together look wasn't Deku trying to be cool, it was him actually being barely put together. Deku could barely keep himself from slumping over on his desk, his eyes were glassy and prone to staring off into space rather than paying attention. Whenever he spoke, it was like he was trying to take as long as possible, making sure each word came out just right and often making the vowels over enunciated, the annoying muttering Deku had made his habit was certainly a thing of the past.
All put together, Deku looked and acted like he was high, very very high.
It was at recess when Katsuki finally managed to corner the green boy, the lack of surprise on his muted features told Katsuki he was expected.
"What's with the dopey look Deku, thought you'd be over the moon about having your quirk under control and be off in mumble city, not sitting on the sideline like a damn extra." Katsuki asked in his gruff manner, taking note of how it seemed to take several seconds for Deku to process the question, and several more for him to come up with a reply.
"Noooooot exactly Kaaaacchan." Deku managed to get out, his voice still making him sound like he was about to fall asleep, each elongated word like a yawn. "The heeeeerooooooo I was working with had to stop….because he was injured…..and siiiiiiiince there was no one who could work with meeeeeeeee….except him…...I had to leave the centeeeeeeeeeer. Since I can't control my quirk…..I have toooooooo take a calming drug…...Sooooooooo it won't activate in the first plaaaaaaaace."
Once Katsuki put together what Deku was saying, he had to hold back a laugh. Of course Deku hadn't been able to get a hold of his quirk. No matter how powerful his quirk was, he was still just Deku. Even with a pro hero helping him he wasn't able to do it.
While Katsuki would always fear the quirk that had beaten him in seconds, he wouldn't fear Deku. Because nothing had changed, even with a quirk, he was still nothing, he was still Deku. If it had been someone more capable, someone like him, with the berserker quirk, then he might have to be worried.
But it was just Deku, and he was nothing but a pebble in Katsuki's path, and it was long overdue reminding him of that.
"Well then Deku, allow me to be the first one to welcome you back to school." Bakugo said with a wicked smile growing across his face, his palms crackling as his sweat ignited in a series of firecracker-like explosions.
Izuku said nothing as Bakugo gave him his welcome back beating, said nothing as he had the whole school deriding him by the end of the day, spreading the word of his inability to control, and how it was locked away.
Katsuki Bakugo went home that night with a vicious smile on his face. He was going to be the number one hero, and he had just finished leaping over the first pebble in his path. Deku wouldn't be able to challenge him, not in the state he was in, meaning that Bakugo won.
He could only hope the next pebble would make him work for it a little bit more.
Jaku Hospital
Nurse Anzu Itori was sad to leave the Mustafu Quirk Rehabilitation center, in her time there she had loved working with all the patients, and Izuku Midoriya in particular. She had loved working with the excitable boy, and was more than happy to stay by his side in his day to day activities to ensure his quirk didn't activate out of his control again.
She only wished she could stay and continue helping him, but without All Might, he would never make progress in controlling his quirk. Skaar existed for combat, and without a challenge, he would be completely unwilling to work with Izuku, instead content with breaking whatever he could get his hands on.
Izuku would have been stuck there, even with her aid, he would be forced to stay in the rehab center and waste his life away fighting against his quirk. And she would have been forced to watch, watch as the child with so much enthusiasm and life slowly drained away to a bitter man with a hatred for his own strength.
So when she received a request for her in the operating ward of the Jaku general hospital, she quickly accepted. Not only was Jaku one of the top hospitals in the country, and she had been asked for by name, but it would also force Izuku's situation to move forward, to not let the boy who wanted nothing more than to be a hero become stuck in a white room, constantly holding back with all of his willpower as his quirk raged.
Reaching the operating level, Nurse Anzu smiled as Dr. Ujiko greeted her personally. The accomplished doctor ready to give her a tour of the facilities himself before she set about her new duties.
That night would be the last time Nurse Anzu Itori would be seen and a long time, the door to the operating swinging shut behind her and Dr. Ujiko with an ominous slam.
Yup. I did that. All of that.
I'll be honest. This was a story idea I've had for a long time, and I had multiple versions I was debating between. Then I watched the first Avengers movie and locked in on one of Tony's comments, about how Banner stays calm. As most know, his suggestion was a big bag of weed.
That then gave me the mental image of the Hulk high off his ass and just chilling, and I laughed my ass off. Then that thought quickly transitioned into my Izuku idea, and the mental image of a stoned Izuku set me off again, and so, this story was born.
But seriously, I didn't want to have Izuku get too strong too fast, and conflict with Skaar is a way to make him develop. Basically putting the situation on hold until UA for power growth allows for mental growth. I also plan on not using Izuku's point of view until he is off the drug again, so expect some creative views coming soon.
As far as more Marvel characters goes, I did just tease 2 more in this chapter, but in terms of UA classmates, I think I'll only replace one student, probably Sato and Koda, because even though he was a low scorer, Mineta is funny and an important part of class 1-A's dynamic. As for who I'll put in, I've got a pretty good idea, and it opens up a few other paths for me to take the story, as well as a few more villains and anti-heroes I can use. As a hint, I just got my hair cut in a mohawk. Quarantine decisions.
Happy Reading and stay virus free -Centuring Africanus
