Chapter 3 in da house!

I gotta say, I'm so happy and relieved that all of you are In support of my Doomslayer x Miruko pairing. I admit I did have Daisy in mind when I made this match-up. Might help The Slayer gain a little of his humanity back throughout the story.

UPDATE NOTE 12-21-21: Rewrote the family segment.

DOOM, My Hero Academia, and Darksiders belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.

Chapter 3

Coming to Grips

MUSUTAFU, JAPAN-U.A. HIGHSCHOOL

THE NEXT DAY

"So he just…fell right out of the sky after the thunderstorm?" Toshinori Yagi raised an eyebrow as Izuku finished his tale.

"Yeah!" Izuku nodded. "But there wasn't a weather forecast for it and then he walked off without saying a word."

Midoriya had just finished recounting what happened last night to his mentor after class. They were currently in the teacher's lounge with the two sitting across from each other on the couches.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time a Hero had a little slip-up." Yagi rubbed his triangular chin.

"Slip up?" Izuku repeated.

Yagi chuckled a little. "What, you think all Heroes land on their feet? You'd be amazed at how many videos MeTV has of us Heroes face planting whenever they try jumping from building to building or get hit by lightning. It happens to all of us."

"But this guy fell several stories down! He could've broken his arm or leg but he didn't even look the slightest bit injured!" Izuku exclaimed to Yagi.

The Symbol of Peace looked down at his feet in thought, mulling this info over. "You said he was wearing armor?"

"Yeah. Really heavy, worn-looking armor. I guess it's what kept him alive." Izuku figured as he got out his cell phone and showed Yagi a photo of the impact crater he took after the armored man left. Yagi took a closer look and hummed, noting the indentation of a rather tall man in the center of the crater.

"I have heard talk of new technology being applied for defensive uses; ballistic armor being one of them. Maybe this was a trial run of sorts." He figured with a shrug.

"So was he a Pro Hero?" Izuku inquired.

"Could be. If I had a photo of him, I'd be able to tell who it is. But if it's not, then it could be a foreign Hero visiting from overseas. We sometimes get a lot of 'em." Yagi answered, remembering Captain Celebrity. "In any case, I'll be sure to bring this up with the other Heroes and see if we can find out a little bit more about him. Thanks for letting me know of this."

Izuku nodded with a smile with Yagi smiling as well. "Anyway, don't let me hold you up, you go on and enjoy that trip with your friends."

"Oh, thanks," Izuku said as he got up and headed for the door. He stopped when he realized something. "Say, how did you know about…?

Yagi grinned and in a sudden puff of smoke, transformed into his iconic All Might form!

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Word around this school travels very quickly, my boy!" Yagi boomed, striking a heroic pose. "And besides, a teacher must always be on the lookout for their precious students! It would be cruel of me to deny you a chance to unwind! Go and embrace your youth, young Midoriya!"

Mouth agape and stars dancing around his eyes, Izuku began bowing rapidly to his mentor. "Yes! Thank you, All Might!" And he sped out the door like a rocket.

Sighing in satisfaction, Yagi transformed back into his regular form in another puff of smoke. He would remember to look into the man Midoriya talked to him about but right now, he pulled a card from his shirt pocket that was addressed to him from Melissa Shield…

UPTOWN MUSUTAFU-ALDERRAN PARK

The Doomslayer loomed over a table that had a cardboard box filled with assorted playthings in front of a small toy store. He eyed a particular action figure and plucked it out of the box. It was a relatively new figure of All Might with a tiny button on its belt buckle. The Slayer pressed the button and it played a short chiptune along with a voice line.

"Watashi ga kita!"

Why did this feel so familiar all of a sudden? He reached into his hammerspace backpack and pulled out the tiny little figurine of himself the UAC of the alternate universe made (still couldn't understand why they did that). He looked at the sign in front of the store.

CLEARANCE SALE. ALL ITEMS ARE FREE!

Fuck it. Might as well have a souvenir of this crazy world. Dispensing the figurines of All Might and himself into his backpack, the Slayer walked away from the store and headed near the park area. He didn't sleep at all last night, just kept on exploring the city on foot as he listened to VEGA giving him more information about the numerous different Heroes around the world. He found himself oddly engrossed in every power and the individual who had them. The videos that showed them in action were especially helpful. What was most interesting were school-like institutions dedicated to training younger Quirk-users to better control their powers and eventually they would officially become Heroes. Pretty noble of them.

/Slayer, I have finished reviewing the data and I have discovered something very…unfortunate. You may not like what you hear./

The Doomslayer stopped walking and clenched his fists.

/While this world has made numerous technological advancements, it is not on par with the Union Aerospace Corporation. They do not have the technology or the resources needed to build a working teleportation device, a feat that they consider to be impossible. We have no way to return to Mars and back to Dr. Hayden; we are effectively stranded in this new universe. I am…sorry./

The Slayer dipped his head and his shaking fists slowly unclenched.

/I will give you some time to yourself./

The Doomslayer slowly made his way through the park, ignoring the numerous people going about their lives.

So that was it. He and VEGA were stuck here…for life. A world where they were essentially pariahs and strangers to the public. After everything he had been through, everything he fought and bled for, what did he get in the end? His sanity shattered, thrown into a completely alternate universe, a knife to the back, and stranded in another world he didn't understand. Did fate truly hate him that much? He grimaced as he realized there would be no way to stop Hayden from doing whatever he wanted with The Crucible and if another invasion happened, the Slayer could do nothing to stop it.

He sat himself down on a bench, looking down at his feet. What was he going to do now? What was left for him? Something floated past him and he looked up to see a red balloon float by him and slowly ascended into the air. Hearing someone quickly approaching him, the Slayer looked to his right to see a young girl around six years of age with purple hair and a third eye on her forehead run towards him. Guessing she was chasing after the balloon, the Doomslayer grabbed it by the string before it could float away.

The girl stopped a little bit in front of the Slayer as he handed her the balloon. When she took it, he continued to look down at his feet but then noticed the girl was still there with her three eyes locked on him.

"Mister, are you a Hero?"

Damn it. He didn't need this. Go away, just go away.

For a moment, he could hear the girl leaving but then came back just as quickly holding something up to his face. It was a tiny, delicate Bluebell flower she had just plucked from nearby. Unsure of what to do, the Slayer took the flower and observed it. Looking back at the girl, she smiled with a giggle and ran back to her parents. For a second, he saw himself along with his wife and son in place of the family.

The Doomslayer watched them leave and then saw the whole park in all of its serene glory. Children playing with each other. Families eating at picnics. Smiling faces. Flowers of every kind. Couples hanging around water fountains. The bright Summer sun shone down on everyone. Absolutely beautiful.

As he stared at the peaceful sight he thought he'd never see again, he began to realize something. If this universe didn't have a UAC then it meant that the demons couldn't invade it. And no demons meant there were no Maykrs. These people had no idea how good they got it. And that brought some level of comfort to the Slayer. Maybe his fight was over and he could finally have some semblance of peace.

A cry of fear entered his eardrums and the Doomslayer snapped his head to the left to see a gruff-looking hoodlum with Cheetah legs shove his way through a crowd. He had a purse in his hand and the Slayer surmised that he must've stolen it. Just as the goon was about to pass him, the Slayer shot out his leg and tripped the criminal; causing him to tumble across the cobblestone pathway.

He got up from the bench and walked toward the thug with dangerous intent. Hissing in frustration, the felon pulled out a switchblade and lunged at the armored man only for the Slayer to grab him by the wrist and squeeze it. The criminal yelled in pain as his wrist was ground into dust and then flung face-first into the bench, dazing him. The onlookers then began clapping and taking pictures of the Slayer, more than likely piecing together what happened.

"Hey! You caught that guy? Nice job!"

The Doomslayer looked behind him and was surprised to see that it was none other than the woman he saw last night: the Rabbit Heroine Miruko! The Slayer never would've guessed he would see her again as she walked over to him.

"Been chasing this purse-snatcher for the last hour and a half, guess I got you to thank for stoppin' him in his tracks." She said with a grin as she jabbed her thumb over to the unconscious palooka. The sounds of heavy footsteps approaching them could be heard and Miruko rotated her ears to get a bead on where it was coming from. A large, round man the Slayer almost mistook for a Mancubus jogged into view; huffing and puffing as he did. He had an oddly cartoonish face and wore an orange hoodie along with metallic boots. The Slayer recognized the man from the Pro Hero database where VEGA had supplied him. Who was he again? His HUD popped up with information on him.

Subject: Taishiro Toyomitsu

Height: 8'2

Age: 29

Alias: BMI Hero Fatgum

Quirk: Fat Absorption-Allows him to make anything adhere to his obese body on contact and shrink into his body fat, as well as allowing him to store kinetic energy which he can convert into offensive muscle mass at the cost of his fat.

Current rank: Number 58 Pro Hero of Japan.

"Took you long enough!" Miruko griped at him. "Master Chief over here already stopped him while you were busy catching up! This is why I work alone!"

"Sorry. Speed isn't exactly my forte." Fatgum admitted as he went over to the prone criminal and slung him over his shoulder. "Thanks for the assistance, Sir!" Fatgum waved at the Slayer.

"Same here. Sweet armor you got, big guy." She complimented as she rapped her knuckles against his chest plate before picking up the purse and following Fatgum. The Doomslayer was left confused as he watched them leave. Did they mistake him for a Hero? It probably wouldn't be long before they found out he wasn't in the registry and was acting on his own accord. Not that he cared. He looked down at his right hand and noticed he was still holding the Bluebell the girl had given to him earlier. Perhaps…there were some things in this new world that he could still fight for. He dispensed the flower into his hammerspace backpack and left the park.

As Rumi strode over to Fatgum who handed the goon off to the waiting police officers, she kept thinking about the armored man she met earlier until she stopped with a perplexed expression. Come to think of it, was that guy a Hero on duty? Rumi lightly tapped her foot in thought, noting that his appearance didn't seem to match anybody in the Pro Hero registry that she knew of.

She looked behind her at the bench area but saw that the man was long gone…

To be continued…

Another chapter in the bag!

I enjoyed adding in little callbacks to the Doom series and introducing more Heroes to the Slayer along with another encounter with Miruko!

I know some of you think that I might be making this a little too touchy-feely but I'm just trying to expand the Doomslayer's character a little more. I honestly compare this fic to God of War 4 in terms of tone and giving a normally emotionless character some extra layers. The Slayer has been shown to greatly care for humanity despite his violent tendencies. But to make up for that, the next chapter will have him encounter Tomura Shigaraki!

Don't forget to review but please don't flame.

Stay home, stay healthy, and stay safe.