Chapter 8

Izuku and the others were looking at their mirror-images – the versions of them from this world.

Dekiru and his team were around two years older than them. He himself was already a young man – around 18 to 19 years old. The age difference was the same for the others.

Purely optical Dekiru´s outfit was looking very similar to Izuku´s in it´s style, except the darker color. The same went for Todoroki and Shinso, who had chosen darker colors for their outfits. This was not so much to show their `darker´ alliance, but simply a rational choice. Less bright colors made you less of an obvious target during batle.

The ones of Uraraka, Momo and Tokoyami were looking identical to their younger selves.

But aside from that, there was also something else different about them. About the way they were holding themselves, their demeanor, their very nature.

Some, like Dekiru himself, practically radiated malice. With a with others, like Momo or Todoroki, it was more a complete cold- and emptiness. Maybe it was simply the result of living in a world like this.

It was nearly like looking at a twisted version of their own futures.

"Now that we are all together here, let us talk talk about how things continue from here," Dekiru said to them.

"I will give all of you a choice. We are planning to leave this world behind... for yours. And we will go through this Gate," he declared, gesturing to the Gateway behind them.

"You can try it - Shithead," Bakugou commented.

"That means you all have two options. You can either join us and come with us… or stand in our way," Dekiru continued.

"Except you `old friend´," he said looking at Bakugou. We both know that you are too much of a self-righteous moron to even consider changing your ways. And to be honest, I don´t really want an idiot like you in the team anyway," he stated.

Bakugou glared at him angrily, but said nothing otherwise.

"The rest of you however, you can ever join us or die," Dekiru told them.

"I decline," Kurugiri replied.

They had not expected anything else from him. After he had left All for One´s service, he had been a member of the Resistance for years.

"No," Aizawa said simply.

"We are Heroes," Endeavor stated. "Do you really think we would let a group of mass murderers like you just use this machine to get to our world?"

"Heroes," Dekiru repeated the word in a hollow tone. "Alone the fact that someone like you can call yourself that shows how little that word actually means. I am actually ashamed that I once believed in this nonsense."

Izuku gritted his teeth as he heard the words of his counterpart. He knew that his other self had given up on his old ideals and even turned into the exact opposite of them. And after only a few days in this world he had a very good idea why. But that didn´t mean he would ever become the same.

"Very right My Love," Uraraka agreed smiling with Dekiru. But that smile was overlaid by an bitter expression that she showed right before and afterwards.

xxxx

Yes, she knew that better than most other people. Back when she was a child she had also thought differently, believed that the Hero Society had preached. Before everything fell apart, before her parents had been killed by a former Hero turned mercenary, before she met Dekiru and he helped her to avenge them.

Quite ironically, while they were just as horrified as everyone else, the fall of the Hero Society and the destruction of America ultimately actually had a positive side for her family.

Shortly after he had taken over - she herself had just joined UA Academy a short time before - Governor All for One had given the order for a few large building projects.

Under them the raising of several `defense-walls, around vital regions of his new domain Japan. Officially the were for defenses, in case the Nameless Ones and their mutated thralls managed to reach the country - not that a few walls would make any real difference then. The real purpose had been to better control the population, to keep them from wandering off and leaving the cities and eventually form independant communities or resistance cells.

Her family´s company had been enlisted for the creation of one of these walls. And while All for One didn´t leave them much choice in the matter, it helped them a lot financially.

Until her parents had been murdered and one of her father´s competitors took over the contract and eventually their company. The killer had been nobody else than a former Hero, who had turned to become a hitman after the Hero Society fell.

But as Dekiru had helped her to find out, it had been the same business rival who had taken over her family´s business who had hired him for the murder.

Still the fact that it had been a Hero who had done it had completely disilliosionied her.

With Dekiru´s help she had taken revenge. They had killed both of them with their own hands. Well, not exactly hands in case of the businessman. She had actually used her Quirk to let this guy floating up till he was in space while he was still alive.

On that day she had given herself to Dekiru, with body and soul - well, especially in body, she thought.

xxxx

"This Hero business is all lies and false promises," Uraraka said. "I know that better than anyone. Tsu, Himiko - both of you - please see reason and accept. I don´t want to have to kill you."

Reason? They all just starred at her bewildered. Even Toga found this amusing, coming from a person who seemed crazier than herself.

Not that Toga truly saw herself as `crazy´, but she was the first to admit that her idea of normal was drastically different from that of most other people´s.

"You are crazy," Tsuyu said. "We have seen what you have done in this word. Hero or not, do you really think we will just let you do the same thing in ours?"

"Too bad Tsu - we just had to kill the other you because she had betrayed us. I truly wish we did not have to do it again," Uraraka replied.

Her other self was probably the only one in that group still sane, Tsuyu thought.

Uraraka turned to the others.

"Himiko and the other Himiko - we can give you two an entire lake full of blood if you just come with us," she told them.

"Forget it," Himiko replied instantly.

She was still coming to terms with the fact that Kurogiri had intended for her to just abandon this world and leave with the others. But she had no time to deal with that now.

Toga, her other still villainous self, however took a moment more for her own answer. A lake of blood, she could not help but imagine the sight in her mind. But on the other side, even she agreed that this world was terrifying - at very least for the monsters running around.

In truth she just wanted to get back home. And of course that Izuku, Tsu and Dabi made it home save as well.

"What she said," she finally agreed with her counterpart.

"We will never accept your offer," Izuku declared. "You might have given up all you believed in, but we have not."

"Well - I for my part am not a Hero," Dabi finally said, "quite the opposite actually. I am a Villain." He had staid silent until now. "So tell me, what exactly to you plan to do?"

"Dabi!"

"Toya!" Shoto and Endeavor called out nearly at the same time to their enstranged brother/son.

"You bastard," Bakugou hissed.

"Hey - I just said I will hear the man out, not that I will necessary join them. But given how you react, maybe I should."

"Ah - finally a smart man," Dekiru stated. "To answer your question, I plan to make contact with your world´s All for One and Shigaraki. My guess is that they are still alive, right?"

Nobody answered his question. But that was already answer enough for him. If they were dead they would not resist the temptation to tell him that.

"We will form a new alliance and together with them we will take control of your world. Then we will build up a new state, formed by our ideals."

"Are you going to do the same thing there too?" Dabi asked. "I mean, killing a tenth of the population, that is a bit much even for me."

"I guess we could hold ourselves back a bit," Dekiru said with a smile. None of them really believed his words.

"And just in case some of you don´t believe that we are really able to do all that?"

He made a gesture and the four Nomu stepped closer to them.

"You should know, these Nomu had originally been created by my old teacher All For One. Based on designs he had made to fight Allmight," he explained.

Allmight... Damn it, they all thought.

Most of them, including Aizawa, had seen first hand that the Nomu the League had once created to fight Allmight could do and Endeavor had red the reports on that fight. If all four of these Nomu were as strong as that one had been, then they had a real problem.

"I guess that decides it," Dabi said. He moved and took a position right next to Dekiru´s group.

Shoto and Endeavor looked to the same part disappointed and devastated.

But Dabi was not the only one. Toga as well stepped forward and moved to the other side.

"I am sorry. But he is right. We have no chance," she said in resignation.

"I knew you would come to your senses Himiko," Uraraka said happily. "Izuku, Tsu - please come over here too," she pleaded.

"So - is there anyone else willing to change his mind?" Dekiru asked.

Nobody said anything.

"I see," Dekiru said. "So this is your decision? To be honest, I am at the end of my patience anyway. Kill them," he ordered the Nomu.

But, something happened.

"Enough." Thy were suddenly being interrupted. It was Shoto Todoroki, the one from this world, who was part of Dekiru´s group.

With this single short word he took a small device out. It was obviously some kind of control-device... Izuku and the others had no idea for what, but Dekiru and his group had a look of complete surprise on their faces

... and then Todoroki pressed one botton on the device.

Suddenly a few short but very powerful flashes of electricity shot through the upper bodies of the Nomu, burning their brains and their entire nervous-sytems.

All four of them let out short inhuman shouts that were instantly cut off after just a moment, when their bodies sank down limp and lifeless.

Izuku and his friends, including heir own Todoroki, Endeavor and even Aizawa were just starring disbelieving and with open mouths.

And so were their enemies.

So much for the Nomu, they all thought. This things must have been some kind of last resort kill-switch in case they got out of control. They could barely believe how simply someone had taken care them for them. But why?

"What - what have you done?" Dekiru called out in complete shock and growing anger.

"Tsuyu was not the only one," Native Todoroki said to him. "In fact she had been covering for me. She has sacrificed herself to keep me undetected."

Dekiru was now glaring at him in pure rage and hatred.

"You..." he growled. "Damn it," he suddenly shouted and at the same time he send a barrage of explosions at him.

It was really Bakugou´s Quirk.

Izuku also noticed a couple of small ring-like devices that Dekiru was carrying on his underarms. They seemed to serve a similar purpose like Kachan´s own gaunlets in collecting his explosive sweat. Only they were smaller and easier to hide with Dekiru´s dark outfit.

Native Todoroki formed a wall of ice in front of him, that shattered under the impact, but protected him mostly from the explosions.

In the same moment however Dekiru himself was suddenly being attacked, by a blast of fire hitting him from the other side.

It was Dabi. Had he just been pretending to switch sides, or... was he just taking advantage of the situation?

Maybe it didn´t even matter. A pillar of flames hit Dekiru, who had been concentrating on Todoroki, frontally.

One moment later the Native Shoto Todoroki joined in on the attack. He first froze Dekiru´s feet on the ground, before sending another blast of fire from his own direction.

Until now, everyone else had been too surprised by the line of events to even react.

The situation had suddenly turned completely around.

xxx

"Dekiru," Uraraka called out.

But before she could do anything, Toga had turned around and first send a kick into her stomach and then a punch into her face, sending her to the ground for the moment.

The next one trying to interfere was Shinso, but Tsuyu jumped into his way.

"Get out of my way frog," he said. "Do you think someone as pathetic as you could stop me? I watched the other you begging for mercy and..."

Before he could say anything else, Tsuyu had shot out her tongue and slapped it right into his face.

`I know your tricks,´ she thought. `Provocations and insults to get your opponent talking to you so you can control him. I won´t fall for it.´

"As you want it - Frog," he told her.

xxx

Dekiru was now being blasted with fire from three sides at once, as the Todoroki from Izuku´s group joined the attack as well. The fire not only completely engulfed Dekiru´s body, but also burned a large hole into the wall behind them.

To their luck they knew that none of the power-lines feeding the Gateway were going through this wall. At least if the design was the same as the Gateway they had been shown in their reality.

Even Dekiru´s powers could not longer hold back the heat and they all heard a terrifying scream as his body was charred and burned.

Shoto stopped his own attack in this moment. He had just aimed to kill from the beginning, he knew - not some mutated zombie, but an actual person, a double of his classmate Izuku on top of that.

But he didn´t feel bad about it. Dekiru had not just been some Villain, but a murderous dictator. And there was no justice system for him here in this world. They did what they had to do.

Endeavor was just standing there next to Aizawa with a small grin on his face. This were his sons, he thought silently.

But then something happened what none of them would have expected.

Dekiru was suddenly standing straight up again and his body was regenerating and healing itself in an incredible speed.

His normally fireproof uniform was now charred and damaged, but still hanging on his body.

"What the...? An Regeneration Quirk?" Bakugou called out. "That are not my powers."

"But how...?" Aizawa said. A moment later he realized the obvious answer. Several of them did.

"All for One," Izuku said it loud.

Before he was even fully healed, Dekiru threw another explosion at his now former teammate Todoroki, that impacted right in front of him.

But that, as they all realized one moment later, had just been a distraction.

But it was already too late, as Dekiru leaped forward with incredible speed and materialized a black substance in his palm that formed itself into a black colored blade.

This made it clear to them, Dekiru had not just more than one Quirk, he possessed the Quirk All for One itself - somehow... and who knew how many powers he had absorbed.

He appeared right in front of the Native Shoto, whose sight was still hindered by the explosive attack and stabbed the makeshift blade straight through his chest.

"You..." Native Todoroki said to him, blood was lowing out of his mouth, right before Dekiru let his dieing form sink to the ground.

"You underrestimated me old friend," he told him.

All of them were starring at him.

Especially one person. Endeavor knew rationally that this was not really his son, the boy that he had raised as not much more than a weapon, before he came to regret his old ways.

But when he saw this, he felt the anger building up inside of himself and a moment later he unleashed another incredible blast of fire at their enemy.

But this time Dekiru was not taken by surprise. The same black material he had used for his blade - it´s color reminded them of Tokoyami´s Dark Shadow - now formed a large shield in front of them, that held back Endeavor´s flames and redirected some of them to the already damaged wall, that now burned themselves through the building to the outside.

Endeavor now got back a hold of himself and stopped his attack. He reminded himself that if he accidentally damaged the Gateway or it´s power-supply they would be trapped here. To their great luck, the power generator should be on the still undamaged side of the building.

But if they wanted it to stay that way, they needed to take the fight outside. It was also to their luck though that their enemies wanted the Gateway intact as well.

In this moment Izuku jumped forward. He concentrated the power of One for All and in his own version of Texas Smash, threw his fist against the black matter of Dekiru´s barrier.

The black shield shattered instantly under the impact and Izuku was still moving towards his opponent, with Bakugou right behind him.

At the same time however they heard a terrible growling coming from outside. Of course their fight had not been undetected.

The creatures controlling the area had noticed them... and they were coming.

The story is now slowly nearing the end, with probably one or two more chapters after this one.