Izuku dodged narrowly the incoming strike from Bakugou's exploding hands as he ducked under it, shouting awkwardly.

"Where is it?!" Bakugou shouted back, an angry roar in his voice, "Make that lousy Blackwhip thing come out, you moron!"

"I-I'm sorry Kacchan, it just won't!" Izuku shouted back, trying his best to feign ignorance. All for Deku gritted his teeth. Calling Bakugou 'Kacchan' without any hint of irony and sarcasm was already grating, but for him to shout and insult him like that was far worse. He felt the need to do something about it, to remind him about who All for Deku was… except he couldn't, because he wasn't supposed to be All for Deku. He was supposed to be Deku, the wannabe hero with a shining light of justice in his eyes.

'A far better man than you…' A voice whispered in his ear, but he forced it back. The Vestiges were getting restless, like it often happened when he was in a fight, even if this was just supposed to be training. He still didn't know if the Vestiges were powered by his emotions, or if they had their own and were just amplified by his. The latter seemed to be the case, but All for Deku was never one to make assumptions if he wasn't sure they were true.

Izuku dodged once more, as Bakugou's explosion flew past him, and then answered with a kick that did nothing since he purposefully aimed it low. Bakugou avoided it before using another explosion to propel himself in mid-air and grab him by the collar, before slamming the man into the ground. Izuku winced, but he had felt much worse. The problematic part was keeping his hidden Quirks from flaring out. Regeneration was stinging under his skin to make his pain disappear, but that would have been a dead giveaway of who he was.

Telling Bakugou about the other universes had been a decision made with full knowledge that the teen was going to pay far more attention to anything weird he could notice. The payoff, of course, was setting up a trap for the other Izuku eventual return. And All for Deku didn't doubt he would be back eventually. Even if it seemed they had been gone from all the worlds, Midoriya knew that it was a temporary think. If there was a thing Izuku and One for All wielders had in common, it was surviving impossible odds.

"Enough." Bakugou scowled before walking away, "Get your shit back together, Deku. I'm not going to waste my time if your stupid Quirk is acting up again."

Izuku sighed, making his best impression of a sad teenager he could manage, considering he was about ten years older than he should have been. "I'm sorry, Kacchan. It just won't come out."

Bakugou didn't answer, just flipping him off before he walked away. All for Deku felt anger swell, but before he could say anything another hand touched his shoulder gently. He looked up at All Might, and that was a completely different bag of feelings.

Despite what many would have thought, All for Deku's opinion of All Might was far more complicated than just hatred. Toshinori Yagi had crushed his dream of becoming a Hero, true, but that had put him on his destined path. For making him meet his master, Izuku would have almost been thankful. On the other hand, of course, Yagi had also killed his master, before dying himself. All for One had not always been gentle to Izuku, but he wasn't about to spit on his memory for that.

The Symbol of Peace was a curse on his world, according to his teacher, but Izuku disagreed on that. It had been a false peace, but a peace nonetheless. What he believed was that Heroes themselves were the cancer, not just the Symbol of Peace. He was, all things considered, a benign effect from a horrible illness.

Either way, it didn't matter to him. This All Might had failed not once, but twice to end his version of All for One, and would never get a third attempt. If Shigaraki Tomura, this All for One, or even Alien King wanted him dead, it was none of his business. He wouldn't stop them, but he wouldn't do the work for them.

More pressingly, his time was running out, so he gently moved away from All Might, excusing himself saying he had to take a walk, and rushed off. Once he was at a safe distance from anyone, he let go his hold on One for All. His limbs exploded, a rain of blood and gore that fixed itself a moment later. He winced at the sudden pain, and groaned. One for All was getting out of control, all bottled up. The Vestiges were starting to push forward more aggressively, and eventually his mental fortitude alone would not be enough, slipping from his control. 'Guess I was too much of an optimist thinking I could hide in plain sight for long. Aizawa still hasn't used his Quirk on me, but the moment he does it's game over.' For who, All for Deku didn't need to say. 'First though, I need the ground laid thoroughly.'

-x-

Time in Tartarus passed slowly, an endless movement that the prisoners of the lower floors were unable to gauge in any way. It was, after all, meant to be the worst punishment. They were fed, allowed to sleep as they pleased, and nothing else. Entertainment came from the mind, or from the few, rare visits such individuals might receive.

All for One enjoyed it. The master of evil of Japan had spent decades in constant business, from fighting off opposing criminal factions to the successors of One for All. To be reduced to nothing but lazily waiting for the days to pass one after another should have been maddening, but All for One had something no other resident of Tartarus could enjoy: certainty of escaping. So long as Shigaraki Tomura, Doctor Garaki and his Noumu, and the strength of Gigantomachia were out there, Tartarus might as well have been made of paper tissue.

Therefore, he was treating it as a relaxing vacation, a chance to sit back and let Shigaraki grow to become suitable as the next version of himself, a body capable of hosting the powers his old one was struggling with. The moment where he could rise once more to the title of shadow emperor of Japan.

Until then, though, he could relax. His powers were sealed by Tartarus' excellent emergency systems, but that was only for those that the system detected as changes. After all, if that was not the case he would have been attacked the moment he entered the room, since Doctor Garaki's Quirk that had kept him alive for two centuries was always active. So, he had made sure to enter Tartarus with a few other Quirks active. Nothing too extensive, but his body could Regenerate if damaged, and a peculiar but useful Quirk prevented hitching, sneezes and similar unwanted stimuluses.

So he knew for a fact the weird behavior of All for One was a peculiarity not caused by his own body. First, the weak feedback he received from One for All had ceased. That had been surprising, but All for One had assumed someone had killed Izuku Midoriya. Interesting, but he knew better than to celebrate. Even if the host of One for All died, the Quirk itself always found a way to pass on. He had assumed that eventually, once the Quirk entered Midoriya's successor and took the spot of his Quirk, the feedback would return.

But it hadn't. Hours, then week, then days. All for One had waited sitting on his chair, with no feeling from One for All, his brother's accursed Quirk. And so, cautious optimism had made its way to his mind. It was unexpected, and mildly disappointing, that he would not be the one to put an end to his brother's legacy. He had to wonder if Tomura was the one behind the deed. The image of One for All crumbling away was a soothing one for him.

Still, he couldn't truly know if it was over. One for All could always survive in a strand of air, a drop of blood, a cut nail. Perhaps someone had saved a piece, merely waiting for things to calm down before consuming it.

As the days seemed to grow into weeks, All for One almost believed himself wrong. Maybe, after all, One for All was truly gone. He considered the idea for the first time, unable to dismiss it completely. But then, just what he believed to be less than a day later, a sudden feeling, the tugging of One for All, returned. He sighed, feeling the link to…

He paused.

Something was clearly off. The sensation was entirely wrong. His little brother's Quirk was a shining star, a supernova of power that pulsed and burned just at the other hand of that feeling that had told him before of the sudden changes the Quirk had experienced, changes he did not know but could feel.

But now it was telling another story. It was coiling on itself, roaring to be freed from a cage it hated. If before it shined like a brilliant star, now it was pathetic, writhing in agony like a black dwarf, the last remnant of a once massive power.

And then there was the other feeling, the cage.

The unmistakable print of All for One.

Shigaraki Tomura? No, this was too soon. Even if the Doctor had contacted Tomura immediately after his defeat, something he couldn't see the man doing, there was still the matter of Gigantomachia. Could Shigaraki have forced him into submission, at the level he was when All for One had been captured? He didn't believe so. And there was no 'luck' that could even the playing field between the giant and his student. No, Tomura had to develop more before he could take on the giant, at the time they separated.

For the first time, All for One found himself wishing for his imprisonment to come to an end sooner. Curiosity had been his greatest asset in his time as the leader of all crimes, but curiosity that could not be satisfied burned. He would have to wait. But the more he burned to know, the more his patience would crumble.

He sat there for three or four long days, the first ones he would call truly hard to pass. Finally, he took a decision. The villain smiled.

"I have an offer." He said out loud, "A deal you will not refuse."

-x-

Alien King leaned back on his large, comfortable chair. Calling it a throne would have been excessive, and he was fairly sure that ReDestro would have felt insulted by the idea someone that was not Shigaraki Tomura would sit in a throne of any kind. He waved at Geten, who was standing next to the door, and the man's teeth grinded together. "Still salty, uh?"

"I could have won." He murmured, and Mitsuhide laughed.

"Could have fooled me. So, when are the others coming?"

"Skeptic and Dabi are on their way. If what you say is true, it's their fault that we have this mess on our hands." The Iceman now seemed pleased. Judging by the tone he had used, it was because Dabi was being punished. That was… funny.

"Sorry to ask, but you are a man, right? You have a very feminine look, but the voice is a giveaway."

"I didn't choose to look like this. And, why do you care?"

"Nothing, just thinking out loud. I know you in my universe. But you are a woman there." Mitsuhide chuckled, "Though, you two look almost identical. That got me confused. Want to know more about that?"

"I still think you are just a crazy, delusional man." The ice user stared at him, "So I don't buy a single word you'll say."

"Oh, I'm wounded." Mitsuhide leaned back, his face twisting in a grin, "But since you don't believe it, let me tell you about Icewoman, shall we?"

"I won't believe it."

"So, she actually escaped the final fight, along with the doctor and a few others. Dabi made it out too, by the way."

Geten scoffed, "I wanted one thing…"

"Yeah, well Icewoman wanted one thing to. See, she went for Dabi." He laughed at Geten's eyes growing wide and his mouth falling open.

"No."

"Yes."

"That's a lie." Geten growled.

"Is it?" Mitsuhide raised an eyebrow. It was, since Dabi… Todoroki Touya's final fate had been a lot worse than marrying Geten, but he liked to watch to Ice user grow angry and embarassed, "I thought everything I'm saying is some delusion, and you didn't buy any of it. Why single this one out?"

Geten bit his lip and Mitsuhide chuckled, before the man turned his back to him, "I don't buy any of it, it's just…"

"Save it, Iceman, I get it. It's weird, but I will prove it." He studied him. Angry, bothered by the idea that was worming its way in his mind. Not loyal to the League, or at least he didn't like Dabi, who seemed to be this group's big shot with Shigaraki out of commission. Well, without Magne and Mustard, he was probably the logical choice. They could work together, he supposed. 'Still, I have to make sure I get the story straight. Back home, he had a reason to dislike his father and drop out of the radar, but for far different reason, he'd wager. His sister Shoko and the Shoto Todoroki of this world are too different to just have the same backstory."

He stopped his thoughts from wandering too much as Redestro entered the room, accompanied by two men with black hair. One kept them long enough to cover his eyes, not to mention reaching all the way to his back, but the other took him a moment to recognize. The amount of piercings, burns and… was that human skin? He blinked a moment. "Holy shit Dabi, that's some next level getup." He commented out loud. Geten choked on a laugh, and he let Redestro's unimpressed look wash off him. Hiding his intellect also came through in making offensive comments, at times. A bad first impression was better than people knowing from the start you were smarter than you looked.

"Thank you." The man in question said, sitting down. Skeptic sat in front of him, and glanced at Mitsuhide.

"You are the one that claims I'm not keeping a good watch on Hawks?" He asked, going straight to the topic. Typical of Skeptic, to put his ego above anything else.

"I'm not, if that has you worried." Mitsuhide answered calmly, "Hawks is good at his job. We never found out about him either."

"And that! What does that mean?! You can't just travel through universes. It's impossible!"

"I'm fairly sure we would have once called impossible the ability to turn furniture into golems, but there you are." He paused a moment, "That's still your power right? Because I need to make sure once in a while."

"Do you seriously trust this madman, Redestro?" Skeptic asked, turning to the man with an angered expression on his face.

"I wouldn't call it trust." Rikiya replied, "But it's undeniable that he is someone with All for One. He is also someone that had enough knowledge of us to know where our base was, and someone that is only telling us that Hawks is a danger, which we already knew."

"I'm not saying he is dangerous. I'm saying he is a spy, period. My associate proved it by examining someone's mind."

Dabi leaned back on the chair, "And that's the thing. We can't just believe you because you happen to give us some intel that, frankly, we could have figured out ourselves. Did you think I just blindly believed Hawks? I'm not Twice."

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that so far you have been passing him information, and he is feeding it back to the Heroes Association. They know about this base, for one."

Redestro frowned, "If they come we can take them down. We have other facilities."

"And how many of those does Hawks know about? Or how many of those could he learn about from the other members of the PLF?" Mitsuhide looked at each of them. The temptation of going in a deep explanation on why most of their hiding spots were burned was there, but it would blow his hidden sword, so instead he just sighed, "Look, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that one hundred thousand people aren't inconspicuous. You probably know you are on a time limit before someone slips. Do you know when Shigaraki will be ready?"

"I still say we shouldn't just tell him anything." Skeptic interrupted, before Redestro and Dabi even had a chance to reply, "He is…"

"He is making sense." Dabi replied, "And he isn't a hero, we checked. In fact, no one that fits his description exists at all. At the very least, he is a third party."

"And that's enough?! For what we know, he is a member of the Chinese Triads or the Russian Mafia, trying to infiltrate our rank."

"And I'm sure I just happened to stumble on All for One, uh?" Mitsuhide laughed, "No, I'm a genuine Japanese villain, just from another world. You are free to not believe that part, it's fine, but the point remains that I'm here to help your effort as an ally. If we can get to an agreement."

"And what's that?"

"The complete eradication of One for All." Mitsuhide replied, "We help you hunt down yours, you help us hunt down ours. Also, loyalty to the alliance, of course, but I think one comes with the other."

"And what if we refuse?" The fire user asked, a small blue flame appearing on his fingers.

"Nothing. We aren't here to conquer you, we already have a world of our own to deal with. However, think about it. One for All is too dangerous for all of us, a weapon that at any point can be pointed at our head. We want to take it down in all of our worlds, and even further, to make sure we can remain in control. Now that we know the Multiverse is real, it's the only logical thing to do, right? Otherwise, imagine winning just to then be defeated by an enemy that suddenly appeared from nowhere."

"So you are saying the entire reason we should work together is built on convenience." Redestro summarized, "We work together for a single common goal and once that is complete we go back to our respective… universes," He struggled with the word for a moment, like he had an hard time even pronouncing it, like pronouncing it meant he was accepting it as a fact, "And then we just disband and go back to our own devices, is that right?"

"Yes. With a deal of course to never invade on each other's territory, but that only matters for a select few of us. Not me for example."

"And in exchange you bring to us the strength of two All for One, Muscular and Spinner?"

"For now, yes. If we want more, I can always ask All for D- my other ally to bring more." He replied, feigning a slip of the tongue. He was rewarded by Rikiya and Touya both rising an eyebrow, clearly curious of who he was really going to mention. 'Good, curiosity means attention.'

"And will that work?"

"He says he can do it. He has a lot to offer, from some Noumu to his Hero Suppressors – that is his anti-Hero police, believe it or not – and I have more Noumu of my own and the few survivors of my past war. Not a hundred thousand, but definitely compensating quantity with quality."

"We will need more time to consider this." Redestro warned him, "I can't just agree to something like this. The rest of the highest ranking members will need to be informed."

"I know. I'm just telling you that meanwhile you want to deal with Hawks. Kill him."

Dabi grinned, "I have a better idea."

"Which is."

"We use him. If the bird has been telling behind our back, we can find out easily. I just need your help." He said, staring at Alien King, "If you can deliver, that is."

Alien King looked back with a wide grin to match Dabi's "Tell me all about it."

-x-

Mariah sat in her office, reading through yet another document from the ministry. "Abuse of Quirks in regard to magic power… Abuse of Quirks in regard to weapons development… Abuse of Quirks…" She groaned, dropping the paper on the desk with a solemn grunt.

She hated her job sometimes. Her Quirk was the hope of the world, the only thing stopping One for All from destroying the world, and here she was, stuck with a desk job because the government had decided she was too precious to risk on the field. 'Oh, miss Mariah, don't be ridiculous, we could never ask you to fight on the front line. Oh, miss Mariah, we are not going to make you risk your life like Japan did your father, don't worry. Oh, miss Mariah, please spend the next hundred years behind a desk…' "God I've been working for too long." She opened a drawer and picked out a bottle of fine bourbon, along with two small glasses. The first one was for herself, the second one for Todoroki, since he was apparently taking the elevator and there was no one else for him to meet down there right now.

"Delta, did Todoroki tell you or Beta why he is coming downstairs?" She asked. The projection of Zuzu-9-Delta appeared, and bowed slightly before answering.

"Oh, Todoroki wants to talk with… you… wait how did you know?"

"Search." She simply replied. Delta just sighed for a moment before slapping her face with her hand.

"Of course, ma'am, I should have known."

"Don't worry Delta, you know that you are not required to know all of my Quirks."

"I still should, it's my job as the lower floors defense to know which Quirks you have and lack." She replied, "I'll do better ma'am."

Mariah nodded. She had a point, she supposed. Delta's job as the defense mechanism of the lower floors meant she had to be sure to tell her apart from any morphing Quirk, magic or device. Since knowing which Quirks she had and she lacked was a good way to prune infiltrators – not that they ever had any – it was a problem that she didn't know about one. Still, she couldn't blame her. Mariah purposefully kept the full list of her Quirks secreted, even from the other founders. Search was one she had never mentioned to Delta before, or even to the other members of the League. 'Doesn't really matter though. I never mentioned it because it never really came up.'

Search didn't work between universes; they had already confirmed that. Which was good for them, since it meant any villain that had it wouldn't understand what had happened to a target that jumped from one world to another. However, it also meant she couldn't use it to find people.

A knock on the door interrupted her. "Come in." She watched Todoroki enter and Zuzu-9 blip out of existence after a quick wave towards the man.

"Sorry to disturb you." The man said, sitting down. She studied him. Twenty-eight years old, red and white hair, scar on his left side. She had seen other Shotos with those characteristics, those that didn't have, in one way or another, a good childhood. Enji and Rei could be shit parents or the kindest of families, or anything else on that spectrum. But if they had the scar, usually that was telling.

"It's not a problem." She grabbed the remaining glass, "Have a drink."

"I don't drink much…"

"One glass won't hurt, and it will make both more comfortable. God knows you look like you are about to jump out of that chair if I move too fast."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She waited for him to take a sip, "So, what brings you here? I thought you didn't like much the Midoriyas."

"I'm mellowing up." He replied, "But to be honest I just have several thousand questions. The most important being, 'how much help can we count on'?"

"An awfully complex question."

"It's a very simple question. Ten? One hundred? One thousand? How many people are willing to jump in our universes?" He asked the question with a look that told Mariah he needed that answer.

"I take it you are worried."

"We have been here for two days, and not a single new person has showed up since we arrived. I just want to make sure I'm not going to spend my entire time here waiting for Izuku."

"A fair assumption. But don't worry, I can assure you they will start showing up soon. Patrollers usually have a once per month reporting schedule, but a number of them act weekly, or biweekly, so it's just a matter of days." She smiled, "And I'm also helping in another way." She pulled out a stack of paper held inside a binder. "This is your best bet."

"That's a big binder."

"This is a list of the sixty Wanderers that currently live in this world." She explained, showing him the first picture. He stared at a picture of him as a man in his forties, his air cut short but still impossible to mistake. "That's Shoto Todoroki from J-316. He escaped from home at the age of fourteen and became a bartender in a nightclub, before he was shot with a Quirk called Disintegration Bullet by a robber. Turns out, the Quirk didn't disintegrate, just sent people in other parts of the Multiverse."

"And how does that help?"

"It doesn't, in his case, he just happened to be the first file. His Quirk control is lower than yours, since he never became a Hero and all that, so I wouldn't count him in. But he isn't the only one. One for All users, Heroes hit with a stray Quirk, magic users and tech researchers. And to add to that…" She pulled out a second stack, shorter than the first one, "This list of people that have decided to live in another world we know about. Just ask the right patroller and you can talk to them too."

Todoroki's eyes were almost greedy, now that he realized the implication of what she was saying. That was a list of people with relatively little to lose and all reasons to think helping was important. "Can I…"

"Have fun." She handed him both binders, "I could use the help, my real job and this one don't exactly agree."

"What's your real job?"

"I'm the Head of the Office of Quirk Abuse and Control at the Ministry of Quirk Administration. As well as the only member, since it was entirely created to keep me employed. You'd think that would mean I get little work, but no, I actually get the most."

"And… What is it you do?"

"My job is to go through any case reported to the Police of a crime related to Quirks. I then look over the file, and if the Quirk is too dangerous to be left in the hands of the user, I take it." She noticed his expression and waved her hand dismissively, "Don't make that face, there are laws for what I can and can't take. No mutations, no powers whose loss would impair the life of the person they are taken from… It's only for people that are either actively harmed by their Quirk, or that are using an extremely destructive Quirk in a violent manner."

"It's still not that fair."

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm supposed to just let them harm civilians because my Quirk is stealing Quirks instead of setting them on fire." Her tone shifted, and she was sure Todoroki didn't miss that. She wasn't going to allow him to make her sound like a thief.

"Sorry, you are right. I don't… I don't feel comfortable around the topic of All for One, but I will acknowledge that your way is probably the best possible for it to be used."

She took the apology, even if she doubted he meant it. It was clear he really disliked any idea of using All for One. She could understand. Even in her world it was controversial to use her power, and she didn't even have the villainous stigma All for One had in most realities.

Not for the first time, she had to admit she was glad from time to time she could get proof of more positive All for One existing. It helped her balance knowing that, in the grand scheme of the Multiverse, she was a villain.

She really hoped more could be found.

-x-

My name is Izuku Midoriya, also known as The Emerald Knight. In my world, nanomachines are the source of all powers, their Implant giving us superhuman abilities.

As the user of All for One, my Implant allows me control over any other nanomachine, that I can absorb or replace in someone else gifted with an Implant.

It's a power that comes with great responsibilities, since if it was used for the wrong reasons, I could be a dictator, a monster above all people.

But I don't want that.

I'm the Emerald Knight, Izuku Midoriya.

And that is all I ever want to be.

Izuku took a deep breath. He was sitting on a couch, facing a younger version of himself that was very awkwardly waiting for his reaction. Above his head, hovered what claimed to be a dream version of himself. And the younger's claimed to be an AI female version of the Emerald Knight.

The clock ticked on the wall as Izuku considered the truth bomb this young man had just decided to casually drop on him. A truth bomb he would have never believed, if it wasn't for the fact that, up close, he could easily tell this Izuku never had an Implant, and didn't have any active one now, but when asked to he had easily picked up the couch with him on it. With one hand. All while covered in green light. And then he had showed him a whip made of shadows extending from his hands.

Moreover, multiple powers were the domain of him and his wife. If there was another Implant like that, it would have been too dangerous to be left around. But again, no trace of an active Implant in the young man's body. Not that nanomachines could have explained a shadow whip.

So, the only other option.

This was real. More versions of himself, an evil one planning to take over various worlds, and more that were trying to stop him.

He put a hand on his face, slowly sliding it from the forehead down, taking another deep breath to calm down, before finally looking at him again. "Alright. Assume I believe you and this isn't just some elaborate charade. What do you want from me, Izuku?"

The kid looked down to the ground for a moment. He seemed unsure of what to say, before finally deciding on something. "I need your help." He said, bowing his head as he did so, "I need your help to fight All for Deku and the others. We can't do it alone."

Emerald Knight nodded. It was more or less what he supposed. A request for help. "Alright."

Izuku looked up, eyes widening as he took in what he had just said. "What?"

"Alright. You need help, I will help. Not sure how much I can bring on the table, but I'm not about to sit back and relax while I know other people are suffering." He couldn't. He wouldn't. Emerald Knight knew what it meant to face something far more powerful coming from beyond what you knew, and wasn't about to let other experience it without help. "But first, I think we have to deal with the more urgent matter."

"What is it?"

"If we need to work together, you should know the truth about my powers."

Izuku raised an eyebrow, worried, "The truth?"

"Yes. Like how there is a chance for my powers to just spread like an illness."

"WHAT!?" The trio shouted, but the loudest was, surprisingly, the AI on the bracelet, "But that doesn't make sense! Implants are artificial, we have seen you on tv!" Izuku retorted, and Emerald Knight sighed. Of course that would come up.

"I'm sorry. I know what we say, but that's just a cover story."

Izuku let out a strangled gasp, "What?"

"It's a lie we tell the larger populace to prevent Nanomachines from spreading too much. If people knew that all it takes is picking up what remains in the air, too many would try and keeping them under control would be impossible."

"But why build them like that?!" The AI shouted, "It didn't make sense from the start! You have this technology you only use to give yourself superpowers, and you made it contagious?! It's maddening!"

"You are taking this very harshly."

"I'm a machine myself. I know what we are. I know that, at the end of the day, we are born as tools, not as people. That I'm lucky to have enough intelligence I was deemed sentient. And that's why I find this so absurd. Where is the purpose? I don't see it."

Izuku stared at his younger self, who was staring at the bracelet, mouth agape. And then up to Izzzuku, the dream being, who was just staring at him instead, waiting for an answer. The jokes he had been cracking before, while Izuku told him the truth, were now gone. "I will tell you." He replied, "This is an international secret, by the way. Only about three hundred people in the entire world know the truth. It took years of cover up and it takes constant monitoring to make sure it doesn't spread. I'm trusting you to not tell anyone that doesn't need to know."

"We won't." Izuku replied, and Emerald Knight could tell he was honest. Not that it mattered, since he had to tell him either way, but it was nice to know. More importantly, the story was so absurd he was only telling it because of the equally absurd tale the young man had just given him.

"The truth is, those nanomachines aren't really Earth technology. Centuries ago, a giant spaceship crashed off the west coast of the US. For centuries after, Native American and American Colonists told of strange storms over the water, and of humans and creatures gifted with bizarre, monstrous powers. However, that area of the sea was so hard to reach that only one hundred years ago the US finally managed to build an operation to study the place and the spaceship they had found in it. That was I-Island." He noticed his younger self's eyes widen, meaning he recognized the name. "Then, for forty years, they prodded, opened and studied the spaceship, after finding it. Forty years, until one day something happened. The I-Island incident has so many mysteries I can't even start to explain it, since the Americans are hell bent on not letting what little they know out. They might even not know anything, and just be posturing. The point is, the island went kaboom, and became completely impossible to reach because of the storm that surrounds it constantly and the… things that swim in the water around it. However, the explosion also did something else. It spread a mysterious technology we don't understand."

"The Nanomachines…"

"Yes. They spread all over Japan and North America, since the currents led them here, though sometimes a few pop up in the rest of Asia, America, or even further away. Luckily, they can't just infect anyone. They can only enter through open wounds, and only in an area where there is a heavy saturation of them, like in the water, or if you touched a wall covered in them, or well, if you pass through a large number of them. But still, now people had superpowers."

"And so, the government decided to pretend those were artificial."

"Yes. They not only spread the official story of the Nanomachines development, but they also spread a conspiracy about the corporations testing them by implanting them in unwilling civilians during medical checks. I'm sure that took a lot of gaslighting and a lot of killing, though thankfully I wasn't there for it. But this is the world I live in. A world where we try to keep up a lie that is becoming so large one day it will explode on our face, and everyone knows it." He took a glass of water and downed it, wishing it was something stronger. He stared at Izuku, who now looked really concerned. Then at Izzzuku, who just seemed undecided on what to say to him. And then at the bracelet, even though there could be no visible reaction there. Not visible to him at least.

"This is… A lot." Izuku finally said.

"If it makes you feel better, it was a lot for me too when they first told me. I believe I fainted."

"It makes sense though." Epsi commented, finally answering herself, "The purpose must have been different for the aliens. The fact they work on humans this way might be a side effect, or the result of modifications on I-Island."

"That's correct." He leaned back, relaxing, "I'm only telling you this because you should know the risk of contagion spreading. I can help, I will, but…"

"But you don't want the nanomachines to reach other worlds." Izzzuku nodded, "Yeah, Isaac would bash me in the head for this. I don't think you will be allowed to help after all."

Izuku winced. "Are you sure?"

"Not until I talk with Isaac, but probably. Sorry about that."

Emerald Knight sighed. "Damn."

"Don't worry." Another voice said. This time, he realized, it was the kid. He looked at him, bowing his head and showing a smile, despite the sadness in his eyes, "Thank you, anyway. I'm glad you were so willing to help. It gives me hope others will be too."

Emerald Knight smiled back. "I'm sure they will kid." He extended a hand on his shoulder, "We are heroes, after all."

And the kid smiled back.

(xx)

Big chapter with A LOT of our characters. It's always interesting to write AfO's perspective, but in this fic it's always a challenge to write the multiple AfO users in ways that make them both similar and different. I hope I'm reaching that.

So, I think the main talk for this chapter is definitely the Nanoverse. I bet people didn't expect the spacecraft `:rolleyes: . But the Multiverse is vast and sometimes, aliens is the answer.

Mariah didn't get as much space as I wanted to, but the chapter was already growing long and I needed to include Emerald Knight's part in this chapter too. Still, her part is fairly important.

And what might All for One be doing? Who knows, right? `:rolleyes:

Thank you all for your patience with the most recent chapters, my schedule is growing complicated recently but I should be back on track soonish. Until next time!