Diagnostics Run

Initiating…

Dissonance Damage: 15% (Concentrated in the Brain)

Repair Progress: 72%

Pressure Levels low

Nexus Yield: 65%

Within Acceptable Parameters

Warning: Dissonance Pocket is waking up

Can cause further physical and mental damage

Dissonance purge is recommended

Request to commence purge?

Denied.


Even as he had gotten used to the weight of the armor, it was still so surreal to see himself wearing it. He inspected himself closely in the mirror, the form-fitting black and green cloth that made up the first layer was dull in its color. It felt… lackluster in all honesty, it doesn't scream 'hero here to help!' more like an assassin than any kind of hero.

'Hey! I worked hard on it! And besides, it's supposed to be a prototype anyways; just a general proof of concept as better designs come to mind.'

Izuku shrugged. 'Fair enough I guess.'

The sleeve on his left arm felt tighter than necessary, but it wasn't super uncomfortable either. His mutated right arm was completely exposed, given that it is bulletproof and he didn't need to hide it anymore. And despite his earlier misgivings, he had to admit that the shoulder pads were a nice touch; they made him look bulkier.

However, what was uncomfortably tight was the chest piece and especially the collar. He could see the armor plating pressing up against the silk and he could feel it squeezing into him. And the collar was worse, it felt like it had a mind of its own and wanted to strangle him to death.

"And my god, these pants." He muttered to himself as he pulled on the groin region of these ungodly tight cargo pants.

'Hey, at least it makes it look bigger.'

Izuku paused as he heard the words. "What? Make what look bigger? My legs?"

'... yes… I was going to commit but that's Deimos-level humor.'

"What?" Izuku then shook his head, deciding it was better not to know. "Nevermind."

The boots were fine though, even if they were a boring lifeless red color.

He glanced down at the note he had received from the person that had created his costume. Someone named 'Mei' who called the costume their 'baby' which; by the way, raised well over a dozen red flags in his mind.

Izuku shook his head slightly and looked at the note, apparently, she had replaced the Kevlar and aerogel cloth with something called 'Dragon Silk' an artificially made spider silk that was four times stronger than Kevlar and could protect against heat just as well as aerogel while also protecting from extreme cold.

Along with the silk was something she called a 'Syn-skin' and he had no clue what it could do as the note ran out of room.

And to top it all off, she also replaced the steel and ceramic plates with something called 'Neutonian Polyethylene' plating that was just protective while being a fraction of the weight. In the note, she claimed that the suit was 'Nigh-indestructible' and that it was 'One of the finest pieces she had ever made'

'Lotta tough talk, but I doubt it'll stand up. I mean, seriously? Plastic plating? What happened to using good ol American steel?' Hank bemoaned in the back of Izuku's mind. The young boy rolled his eyes at the assassins demeanor.

"I guess a lot has changed since you were last here, technology progressed. Material science and all that." He ran a hand over his chest piece, the silk that pressed up against the interlocking plates underneath.

He paused, the young boy looking down at the black chitin that covered his arms. The sharp talons and spikes dotted the limb.

'...'

'!#*$%'

"Who are you?"

Izuku spun around, his senses going haywire as he scanned the seemingly empty room. No one in it but him, but he could feel someone else there.

"Hank… was that you?" He tentatively asked.

'Huh? Was what me?' The assassin responded, confused and mildly nettled. Izuku sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The red, vortex-like eyes scanned the room one more time.

"Sorry, must have been nothing." He muttered, Hank hummed at the words. Seemingly deep in thought over something. Izuku shook his head and grabbed the helmet.

Looking over the helmet it was almost somewhat bland, the hard platting mainly black except for the two green stripes on the top and the almost silvery respirator. He focused his gaze on the two grey lenses on the helmet, locking his eyes on it for a moment before turning the helmet around and putting it on his head.

The lenses turned a dull red as the helmet came to life, various readings flashing before his eyes as he heard various clicking noises as the suit tightened slightly. And then, he heard a slightly tinny robotic voice

Syn-Suit v1.012

Calibrating…

Calibrating…

Life signs nominal

Power at max capacity

Equipment modules activated

Adjusting suit

Calibration Complete

Welcome, User.

'Holy shit.' Hank muttered as the suit morphed slightly, the armor itself had now become drastically more comfortable and somehow lighter as well as easier to move in. He rolled his shoulders, now a lot less stuff, and began to flex his arm. He then did a few test jumps and found that the armor weighed less than a feather.

"Hot damn." Izuku said aloud as he looked at the armor, he then noticed what looked like a control panel on his left forearm. He tilted his head in confusion before pressing one of the buttons, just as he did a long metal bar popped out of the forearm in the armor and expanded, various metal plates shifting before clicking shut. A circular shield the size of his chest connected to his forearm.

Riot Shield, Deployed

'What? A portable shield?' Hank asked aloud, the assassin slightly shocked as he seemingly manifested in front of Izuku. Rapping his knuckles against the shield.

"Didn't you ask for something like this?"

'I did, but I didn't think they could actually do it. Shit, maybe this Japanese stuff ain't so bad after all.'

Izuku nodded in agreement before pressing down on the button again, the shield retracting.

"Huh, neat. Let's see what else this suit has." He muttered, trying to find other gadgets hidden in the suit. But stopped when he heard a knock at the door.

"Young Midoriya! Have you finished putting your costume on? The whole class is waiting for you!" The booming voice of All Might came from the other side of the door.

"Oh, yeah I'm ready." He replied and rushed over to the door, opening it and coming face to face with All Might. The hero looking over his costume.

"Hmm, needs a bit more… color I'd say. But overall a good starting costume young Midoriya. Protective yet sleek. I approve." All Might said with a thumbs up, Izuku fiddling his fingers slightly at the praise.

"O-Oh. Thank you Yagi-Sensei." He looked at his armor once more. "Honestly, I'm still a little iffy on it."

"Ahaha, don't be Young Midoriya." All Might said before patting the young hero on the shoulder. "It's quite normal to be dissatisfied with your first costume, it's all a part of finding your own identity as a hero. To find what works for you."

Izuku smiled slightly under his mask as he thought about the words, however, before he could respond a loud beeping sound emanated from All Might's wrist. The hero pulled back the sleeve of his costume slightly and grimaced.

"Oh jeez, we better get moving Young Midoriya, Only two and a half hours left." All Might said, Izuku grimacing under his mask before nodding in agreement. The two left the locker rooms in a hurry. However, when he glanced behind him, All Might had seemingly disappeared.

"Wha-" Izuku shook his head and continued on.


Hey, quick little Authors Note here in this line break. Ur mom.


As he exited the building and entered the testing grounds, Izuku stopped to gawk at the miniature city he found himself in. Dozens of large buildings and streets filled with signs and perfectly maintained walkways.

He wasn't the only one looking around in awe, he could see his classmates muttering to each other as they looked around the mock city. Before he could get a better look at their costumes, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Izuku-kun!" He turned his head and saw someone in a puffy pink and black astronaut suit walking toward him in an ungainly manner. The suit looked cumbersome and hard to move in with how much padding was on it, sorta like a suit made of marshmallows.

The short marshmallow person stopped right in front of them. A large hard-to-see-through fishing bowl where their head would normally be.

"Ochako-san?" Izuku tilted his head as he asked, the puffy astronaut nodded and reached for her helmet, and pulled up the first layer of the helmet, a transparent glass pane revealing the bubbly girl.

"Woah Izuku-kun! Your armor looks so cool." She glanced up at his mask. "Even if it's a little edgy." She added with a slight grin. Izuku scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"Hey! I may look edgy." He paused as he looked down at his armor and then her costume. "B-But at least I'm not wearing marshmallow pants." Ochako blushed somewhat in embarrassment as she patted her puffy costume.

"Yeah… I didn't think it'd turn out this… poofy." She admitted. "I wanted the costume to look like 13's but, I don't think it suits me."

"13? The astronaut rescue hero?" He asked, tilting his head, Ochako's expression turning around in an instant as she gained stars in her eyes.

"Yeah! She's so cool, I was her biggest fan when I was a kid. Still am actually." Ochako admitted, a reverent look on her face as she thought about the hero. Izuku smiled under his mask at how excited she had gotten.

"Yeah, she is cool; but I don't think the space suit theme would work as well for you. 13 has her blackhole and you have telekinesis right?" Ochako looked at Izuku in confusion, like he had said something incredibly stupid before her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! I never told you, that's right. I don't have telekinesis, my quirk is called gravikinesis." She explained, and just then, time crawled to a halt as an info card popped up on the screen.

Ochako Uraraka. Quirk: Gravikinesis.

The ability to manipulate gravity freely within a 50-meter radius. Increase or decrease the force of gravity, being able to crush matter or replicate zero-g. Particularly adept users can control the gravity of an object so well that it is indistinguishable from telekinesis.

Now time shall resume.

"That's your quirk?" Izuku hummed as he mulled it over. "Yeah, that makes sense." He then decided with a nod.

However, before they could continue someone interjected, a guy in silver Gundam-like armor with a blue jumpsuit underneath.

"Hello Midroiya-kun, Uraraka-san. Almost didn't recognize either of you at first glance." Iida said as he greeted the two of them.

"Oh hi, Iida-kun! Man, your costume looks super cool too. Mine's too poofy." Ochako tapped her fingers together, looking over her friend's costume as Iida nodded in understanding.

"I see, it makes sense that for most of us, our first costumes would be unsatisfactory. I am lucky enough to have experienced family members aid me when it came to designing my costume. Others…"

He turned his head to a very upset-looking Backugo, the boy cursing up a storm as he scratched himself red before yelling and tearing off the tank top of his costume. Yelling something about "Killing" the "Son of an inbred whore" that made the "Itchy torture device". Kirishima tried and failed to get his fellow to calm down.

'HA! Get fucked Back Man!' Hank shouted gleefully, laughing like a madman. And Izuku had to stop himself from joining in. Thankful that his mask managed to hide his grin.

"Oh man… that really sucks for him." Izuku managed to get out without bursting into laughter.

"Yeah…" Ochako muttered. "I guess it could be worse." She looked down at her costume.

"Indeed. Besides, I believe we'll have opportunities to work on new costumes." Iida said, reinforcing the words with a quick and decisive chop.

"Makes sense, all things considered," Izuku added before All Might stepped out of a nearby windowless convenience store while holding a soda cup and a half-eaten hot dog with various toppings on it.

"I AM HERE! With snacks!" The pro gestured to the fully stocked store behind him, various junk foods and snacks within. However, before the class could enter the convenience store. The hot dog in all mights hand was replaced by a bucket.

'Wonder if they got pie… mmmm pie.' Hank muttered, Izuku wondering the same too. Maybe the assassin's love of pie was beginning to rub off on him.

"Today is the first day of your heroics class, and as such, I figured some practical lessons would benefit you greatly. So for our first lesson, you shall be divided into teams of two. Heroes vs Villains."

"W-Wait, so we're fighting each other?" Ochako asked, looking disturbed as she looked at the other students.

"Yes, this shall be a sparing exercise, however. It is forbidden to use excessive force and I shall step in and stop a match if I feel one of you is in danger." The pro hero explained further, putting some of the girl's worries at ease.

"Will we be able to choose who we team up with?" Momo stepped up as she asked, wearing some kind of sleeveless red jumpsuit with a stark white utility belt.

"Of course not, I have placed all your names in this bucket and the teams shall be formed from whichever two names I pull out."

"If I may sensei, that doesn't make sense, when we are paired at random team synergy might suffer. Wouldn't it make more sense for those who know each other to form teams?" Iida interjected, however, before all might could answer Izuku spoke up.

"No, it does make sense; more often than not pros team up on the fly when out in the field during unpredicted disasters and villain attacks." He explained, Iida, nodding in thought.

"Of course, that does make sense. Thank you Midoriya-kun and many apologies Sensei." Iida gave a stiff bow and All Might carried on with explaining the simulation.

"Yes yes, now the main goal of the simulation. In one of the various buildings nearby, the villain team will be guarding a fake explosive and it is the hero's mission to disarm the bomb by simply touching it or capturing the villains with capture tape and doing so within a certain time limit.

"And you may ask 'Why Indoors?' well that's simple. Statistically, most injuries related to hero work happen during villain encounters indoors." All Might explained, his logic sound as he read the lines on an electronic billboard that the students couldn't see.

'Awfully convenient he didn't mention deaths, bet that would turn off most of the crowd here eh?' Hank muttered again, Izuku sighing underneath his mask as he did his best to ignore the overgrown sociopath.

"Now then, the hero team will have twenty minutes to find the bomb and disarm it or capture both villains. And remember, the villains are capable of capturing the heroes as well. With all that out of the way, let me pick the first team." All Might reached into the bucket and shuffled his hand around for a moment before pulling out two slips of paper. The wide grin on his face faltered momentarily before returning.

"Team A shall consist of Izuku Midoriya and… Katsuki Backugo." Izuku tensed up, crossing his arms as he turned his gaze to his former friend. The blonde glared at him, the boys' eyes narrowing, as if trying to immolate the other boy. The formation of the other teams went unnoticed by the two as they glared at each other.

Izuku looked away and grumbled to himself, ignoring the glare being sent his way. And it was at this moment Hank decided to speak up again.

'Ya know… you should ask for a poncho or sumtin.'

"... A poncho?" He whispered to himself, humming in thought as he considered the idea. A poncho would look very flattering and, not to mention, incredibly cool.

Shaking his head he turned his attention to his friend, Ochako, the girl seemed to be incredibly nervous. Tapping her fingers together as looked away from the rest of the group.

"Are you ok Ochako-chan?" He leaned in closer to her, the girl jumping in surprise before glancing at him and sighing. She looked around the giant city with an aloof, almost bitter expression.

"Yeah… I'm fine, it's just… all of this. I don't agree with it." She tried to explain, Izuku tilting his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"This mock city, it's so… garish. How much money do you think was spent building this place? All so we could tear it apart by beating each other senseless. I don't…" She paused, struggling to find the correct words.

"Call it childish but… If we end up fighting each other, I don't want to hurt you. I-I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't like violence." She admitted, a bashful look on her face. Izuku could hear Hank scoffing in the back of his mind, no doubt about to vigorously mock the girl even if she couldn't hear him.

"I understand," Izuku replied simply, crossing his arms as he looked over the mock city. The girl beside him looked up at him confused, like she didn't expect the answer. "A hero's supposed to help people right? Sure, there are villains to fight, but that's not the main reason. To help others, no matter what." He continued with an almost reverent tone to his voice. Ochako looked at him for a moment before smiling fondly.

"Thank you, for understanding." She replied content with the short conversation. A pleasant, almost comfortable silence fell over the two.

"NOW! For the first match!" All Mights' booming voice knocked the both of them out of their silence.

"Team A, Midoriya, and Bakugo; will face off against Team D Uraraka, and Iida!"

Ochako turned to look at All Might, her head turning so fast it gave her whiplash. Her heart thumped in her chest with wild fervor as panic shot through her body.

However, a reassuring hand was placed on her shoulder. She glanced at her friend, looking into the red lenses of his helmet.

"Good luck Ochako-Chan." The soft voice of her friend calmed her somewhat. She nodded and flashed him a bright smile.

"You too."


Izuku looked at the built-in watch in armor and set the timer to twenty-five minutes. In five the mock battle would begin. Turning his gaze to a nearby camera he gave it a small thumbs up. He glanced at his 'partner' and sighed.

"Listen Bakugo, we-"

"Shut up and stay out of my way Deku." Katsuki cut him off. "When this starts I don't need someone like you holding me back." The blonde continued, the Midoriya rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Right, because that's what having a good team is all about. Refusing to work together and charging in like a bunch of wild animals." Sarcasm oozed from the boys' tone of voice. Katsuki glowered at the taller boy, gritting his teeth so hard they looked like they were about to crack.

"Fuck you Deku, you arrogant asshole!" The blonde growled out, small explosions popping across his palms, the words making Izuku pause before he turned to glare at the hero in training.

"What? Me? Arrogant? Are you that delusional?" Izuku growled back, facing his former bully as the two glared at each other.

"I'm not delusional Deku! You think that just because you have a new quirk that makes you special? You're not!" Katsuki jabbed a finger into Izuku's chest plate. The lenses of the taller boy's helmet glowed as he clenched his fists in rage.

"You're still that shitty little deku, just because you have this lone wolf shtick now doesn't change that. Hell, you're practically a freak now too, who the hell would want to be saved by someone as pathetic as you? So stay out of my damn way."

Izuku had to fight every ounce of his body, wanting nothing more than to beat down the one person that had tormented him so much in his childhood into a bloody crippled pulp. The one person that, no matter what would always hate him for no other reason than because of petty pride.

Instead, he sucked in a deep breath and exhaled through gritted teeth. 'Not Today, patience. In the end, it will all be worth it.'

With that, he forced himself to calm down as he was infinitely grateful his mask hid any rage he had on his face. "I'm sorry you feel that way Katsuki." His simple, almost stoic response threw the other boy for a loop as Backugo looked at him in confusion.

Before the boy could respond, Izuku turned around and entered the apartment. When he closed the front door he groaned and leaned against the door for support. After a moment he let go and stood in the middle of the lobby, looking around at the drab concrete walls and pillars dotting the first floor.

He stood and waited.


"Jeez." Denki muttered while munching on some popcorn. "Wonder what got those two so riled up." He continued.

"Who knows, guess it'll stay between the two of em." Jiro half-heartedly replied as she twirled her ear jack in her hand.

"Probably."


"That's the plan then?"Ochako asked, glancing at the paper mache bomb in the middle of the room.

"Yes, I believe that this is the best course of action." Iida asserted, an unusual stoic calmness settling in the boy. Ochako hesitated for a moment before hardening her gaze and nodding resolutely.

"Let's do this."


He did not have to wait for long as it turned out as Backugo burst through the door. The blonde looked livid as he stormed towards Izuku.

"Damnit." He muttered to himself, preparing to ignore Katsuki as he thought back to what Hank had told him.

"Deku! Just you-"

"Katsuki, wait a moment." Izuku swiftly interrupted the blonde. Backugo's glare hardened and he opened his mouth to start yelling again.

"You think I should get a poncho?" Izuku asked, the question throwing Katsuki for a loop as he looked at the taller boy in confusion.

"A poncho?" Katsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, or like a cape. Ya know? Something to add some flair." He gestured at his armor. Hank scoffed in the back of Izuku's mind, however, Katsuki seemed to actually start mulling the question over.

"Well… yeah, if you can pull it off a cape really adds to a costume. Some heroes are nothing without a cape. But a poncho could be more practical, and still, looks badass."

"Yeah, a poncho is the safer bet. What with all those horror stories surrounding capes, how they get stuck on everything and it's especially bad when a villain grabs onto it."

"Exactly, poncho's are more practical. They look killer as fuck while also protecting from the elements far better than a cape could. I think it would work." The blonde reasoned. Izuku hummed in thought before chuckling to himself, Katsuki narrowing his eyes.

"What's so funny?" He growled out, Izuku shaking his head.

"Nothing, sorry. It's just… when was the last time we talked? Like this?" The green-haired boy wondered, glancing to the side. Katsuki glared at the taller boy once more before scoffing and pushing past him.

"Just stay outta my way Deku." The brash blonde growled out. Izuku watched him leave before sighing.

"Somethings never change." He muttered to himself before his watch began beeping, it was time. The speakers blared to life as All Might's boisterous voice reverberated across the building.

"Begin!"

Without hesitation, Izuku sprang into action. Rushing up the stairs and past Backugo as he ran up to the third floor. The building was twelve stories tall and the mock bomb could be in any one of them.

He stopped and strained his hearing, listening as Backugo closed in behind him. He then focused it on something else, at first it sounded like a conversation before it changed into rapidly approaching footsteps from six-wait no. It was already closing in, crossing the distance in a heartbeat as a silver blur was almost right on him.

Acting quickly Izuku managed to flip over the blur, just dodging it by a hairs breath. Izuku landed on his feet, entering a combat stance as the blur spun around and stopped at the opposite end of the room. A loud boom followed soon after that caught Izuku off balance.

'Jesus fuck!' Hank exclaimed in surprise, Izuku fighting to keep himself on balance as he fully processed what had happened.

Standing there was Iida, the hero in training standing there in confusion for a moment before pointing at Izuku dramatically as menacing symbols popped up around the armored speedster.

"Well dodged hero! But you shall not escape my torrent of doom! Muhahahaha!" The speedster bombastically exclaimed. His evil laughter filled the room. Izuku and Katsuki looked at the speedster in befuddlement before the green-haired boy snorted before laughing.

"Seriously Iida?" He questioned while shaking his head. "You're like one of those old cartoon villains." Izuku continued, Iida deflated slightly at the comment.

"Ochako-San said the same, am I really being that campy?" Iida asked genuinely wondering if he was trying too hard with the villain schtick. However, before Izuku could answer Backugo leaped across the room, controlled explosions propelling him forward as he let out a blood-curdling war cry.

"DIE!" Katsuki bellowed out as he spun his arms around and pointed them both at the speedster, Iida's eyes widened as Katsuki closed in. A loud boom followed as an explosion engulfed the area in front of Katsuki. And in a flash, Iida was standing near Izuku safe and sound if not a little rattled.

Izuku jumped in surprise before grabbing the capture tape at his belt and unleashing it, trying to lasso Iida with the tape. But the speedster reacted to it, dodging the tape before zooming behind Izuku. Attempting to get away from the green-haired boy.

However, Izuku pushed one of his legs backward. Tripping Iida as the speedster almost fell over himself before Izuku grappled him, forcing Iida down as he shoulder locked him.

Just as he was about to wrap the capture tape on Iida, Izuku felt a tingle down his spine before looking up and seeing Backugo soaring through the air once more. A look of complete and utter rage on the teen's face as explosions crackled up and down his arms.

Izuku grabbed Iida and rolled the both of them out of the way as Katsuki slammed down into the floor, letting off an explosion that rocked the area in front of the boy. The heat of the blast seeping through Izuku's armor as they just narrowly escaped it.

Letting Iida go Izuku stood up and glared at Backugo. "What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled at the blonde as Iida got up and disappeared in a blur before stopping at a doorway on the opposite end of the room.

"JUST STAY OUTTA MY WAY DEKU!" Katsuki yelled back before propelling himself after the speedster.

"Dangit." Izuku muttered to himself as Iida ran off into another room. Katsuki followed close behind. He stood there for a moment before running off in a different direction, moving up the stairs and toward where he believed the fake bomb would be.

'You ain't goin after four eyes?'

"Why would I? Iida's smart, bet he planned on Bakugo following after him."

'A diversion? Huh, makes sense. But if that's the case he's also hoping on you ignorin' him.'

"What else can I do really? Iida might be too fast for me to deal with, at least, with Backugo around." Izuku replied, thinking back to that shocking burst of speed Iida was able to put out. Taking into consideration just how fast he was and that loud boom that followed. Iida broke the sound barrier.

"He's a hell of a lot faster than I thought he'd be originally. It was like trying to dodge a rifle bullet."

'Huh, damn. Whole lotta surprises recently. A little too many for my taste.'

"Let's not focus on that right now. C'mon." Izuku said, Hank, grunting in response as the two continued. However, Izuku stopped just on the ninth floor and began looking around the desolate purple halls.

'Why we stoppin' Moldy locks? Heard sumtin while I was zoned out?'

"Before Iida rushed down. He was talking to someone on this floor." Izuku muttered as he walked down the hallways of the ninth floor, following a faint and familiar scent.

As he walked down the hall he stopped as he reached a turn. Hugging the wall he inched closer to the turn and peered over. Seeing a wide open room, the entrance to the room must have been ten meters tall and the room itself look far taller, in the center was the paper mache bomb alongside Ochako in her poofy spacesuit.

The girl sorta just stood there as she waited for… something. Probably him all things considered.

'Hey, moldy locks. I know she's your friend and all but listen, if you wanna win this thing you have to-'

"Hank, no." Izuku muttered, cutting Hank off before he could finish.

'Fuck you, let me finish.'

"I know what you were going to say, and I'm not going to do it. End of discussion."

Hank grumbled something out before the assassin let out an annoyed huff. 'Fine, be that way.'

Izuku ignored him before stepping out of his cover and into the hall, Ochako paused as she saw him entering the room with the mock bomb. The two stared at each other for a moment as an awkward silence filled the room.

"So…" Izuku tried to start but Ochako immediately jumped on the mock bomb as it began to levitate. "What the?" He continued just as the bomb hurtled its way past him like a rocket. Izuku tried to jump up toward the rocket but found gravity forcing him down before he could even make it halfway to the bomb.

When he landed on his feet he saw the rocket continuing to zoom off, Ochako looking back at him with a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry, Izuku!" She shouted before the rocket bumped into a wall and bounced around the corner. Izuku huffed to himself before running after the rocket.

"Hey! G-Get back here!" he shouted as he closed in on her, being far faster than the slow-moving rocket. However, as soon as he got within ten meters of Ochako he felt the gravity around in increase, slowing him down and making it harder to run.

"Wha- H-Hey! Th-Jesus- That's cheating!" He managed to shout as he felt himself continue to slow down. Forcing himself to keep running. Ochako glanced back at him and stuck her tongue out at him in a mature sign of refusal.

"Oh, it's on!" He shouted as he picked up the pace, just inching closer to the mock bomb.


Katsuki Backugo landed in the middle of a large hallway with dozens of pillars. Sweat dripped off his brow as he scanned the hallway. Seeing no sign of the speedster he took a step forward, however, a blur in the corner of his eyes caused him to turn around and set off another explosion. The recoil of the blast traveling up his arm as the massive explosion rocked the hallway.

He paused to see the burnt armor of Iida but saw nothing.

"Your powers aren't very heroic you know." A disapproving voice came from behind him. With a roar he spun around and aimed both hands down in the direction of the voice and let out another large explosion, engulfing a third of the entire hallway and causing Katsuki to step back as the backblast made his sore arms scream in pain.

Huffing the blonde teen looked around again, concern building up that he might have overdone the explosion. "Not to mention your attitude."

But it was quickly replaced by rage as he spun around and unleashed a volley of explosions that rocked the hallway and even broke a few of the pillars. Katsuki darted around the hall and blew up anything that moved in the vain hope of catching the speedster off guard.

He blasted off the ground, soaring through the air at the blur that was hiding behind a pillar. Using an explosion to redirect him in midair he spun around the pillar and let out another massive explosion that cracked the pillar. When he landed, there was still no sign of the speedster.

"Damnit! Stop hiding you fucking coward!" Katsuki bellowed out as he unleashed another volley of explosions, further rocking the building with their intensity. And it was then that the intercom came to life and All Mights' voice reverberated across the hall.

{"Young Backugo! These explosions are causing too much damage to the building and can put your fellow students in danger. Calm yourself or I'll be forced to end the simulation early."}

"Shut up!" Bakugo growled back at the intercom before turning back to the hall, a layer of soot was not coating the once-purple walls, and a few of the pillars had broken from the force of the many explosions.

Standing there, sweat pooling on his brow and condensing all over his body. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were sore and yelling at him to stop, his lungs burning as he continued to scan the area around him. Dead tired from the repeated use of his quirk. He glanced down at his gauntlets, his sweat filled the container stored in the equipment.

If all else failed, he wouldn't hesitate in using them. But his attention was shifted back to the fight as he heard a sound behind him. Katsuki spun around and tried to aim his palms at the speedster, but he was too slow, too sluggish as he felt something wrap around his arms. Binding his wrists together.

In front of him was Iida, the speedster letting out a sigh of relief as Katsuki looked at his bound wrists in disbelief before collapsing to his knees. Defeated.

Iida looked at the blonde for a moment, trying to keep his breathing steady before tapping the side of his helmet.

"Ochako, Bakugo has been restrained. Izuku didn't follow after me so I assume you're dealing with him."

{"Y-Yeah, I'm riding the bomb like you said I should a- Oh! Sorry Izuku! And I'm running out of floors. I've slowed him down but he's catching up and I don't want to increase the gravity anymore or…"} She cut off and Iida understood where she was going in an instant.

"I understand, just keep him at bay. I'm on my way, we'll strike from both sides as we discussed."

{"Got it."}

With that Iida turned off his communicator and ran off, disappearing in a flash.


"Ochako, let me disarm the bomb! Pretty please?" Izuku asked as he continued to jog after the bomb, more focused on conserving energy than actually catching up. His brilliant plan was finally being set into motion.

'Your brilliant plan? It's dogshit, you have to go all out if you want to win this.'

"Hank, don't." Izuku grumbled as he readied his grappling hook and some other useful stuff he found in his utility belt.

'Damnit Izuku, stop holding back, limiting yourself like this will make you a shittier fighter in the long run. Just go all out damnit.' Hank growled, becoming increasingly irate at the lack of progress and maiming. Izuku just ignored him as he grabbed a box on his belt with his right hand. The box shifted into the form of a gun with a hook attached at the end. Pulling the trigger the hook soared through the air and embedded itself into the mock bomb.

Holding it in place as Ochako almost slipped off the mock bomb at the sudden stop. "Huh?" She whispered to herself before Izuku reeled the bomb towards him. Ochako glanced behind her before putting all of her focus on the gravitational point of the mock bomb. Trying to snap it free of the hook to no avail.

Izuku held the bomb in place before he heard something getting closer, he then threw the things in his left hand behind him. A long bang reverberated across the hall as magnesium lit up the dark room for a brief moment. Izuku's eyes were protected by his mask, however, the speedster wasn't as fortunate.

Iida let out a yelp before he tripped over himself, Skidding just right next to Izuku. However, before he could capitalize on the stunned speedster, he felt the line on his grapple gun go limp. He turned and saw Ochako zooming off again.

"Dangit." He muttered before chasing after Ochako, reloading his grapple gun as he did. And as he was about to aim he felt a shiver run down his spine and he jumped over a silver blur.

Landing on his feet he then leaned back as Iida tried to fling the capture rope at him, putting some distance between the two. Ochako spun around and focused her gaze on him, Izuku feeling the gravity around him increase once more.

He grunted but kept standing. Focusing his attention on his two opponents, Iida and Ochako looking right back at him.

"So… you seem pretty winded, Katsuki give you much trouble Iida?" Izuku asked in a casual tone of voice as he reached for his utility belt once more, waiting to enact the next part of his really cool plan.

'You're strong enough to knock one of these guys unconscious with a bitch slap, stop holding back god damnit! You're just wasting time.'

Izuku felt a pang of anger swell in his heart but he continued to ignore the assassin, Ochako and Iida looked at each other with Ochako shrugging. Iida looked like he was about to respond but the intercom blared to life once more.

{"Attention Heroes and Villains, two minutes are remaining."}

All three of them tensed up for a brief moment before Izuku felt the gravity around him increase once again, almost bringing him down to his knees as Iida sped toward him.

He almost couldn't react to the speedster from such a close distance, so he just let Iida slam into him. As the speedster did so Izuku grabbed him by the arms and let the momentum carry them both for a moment. Izuku fell onto his back and let Iida go.

The green-haired boy grunted in pain as he felt himself skidding on his back as the speedster rolled across the hall behind him. When Iida was able to regain control over himself and stopped sliding he stopped when he noticed the capture tape wrapped around one of his wrists. With a sigh, he sat down on the floor.

Izuku then quickly got back up before rushing Ochako, the astronaut girl tried to increase the gravity around him again but not to a level where it would slow him down any. She didn't want to hurt him after all.

Due to that factor, Izuku managed to leap over her without much effort, to keep himself in the air he dug the claws of his right arm into the ceiling and with explosive force launched himself toward the mock bomb.

'Ok, as far as plans went, this wasn't as bad as I thought.' Hank admitted.

As he landed in front of the bomb he reached out to touch it, however, before he could something soft and poofy squished itself into his back as Ochakos padded arms around wrapped around him. Her padded space suit made it look like a walking marshmallow had attached itself to him.

"... What are you doing?" He found himself asking, mildly amused. Hank seething in rage in his mind.

'NO! What is she doing? What are you doing?! FLING HER OFF!' Izuku just sighed as he felt Ochako trying, and failing, to suplex him.

"I'm not trying to hug you if that's what you're wondering." She said before grunting and trying to lift him again, Izuku sighed before trying to shake her off. But as he wrapped a hand around her arm, he felt like all weight had just been removed as he felt the both of them floating in the air.

Izuku's eyes widened in alarm before Ochako flung him backward, away from the bomb. "I was just wasting time!" She shouted before floating towards the mock bomb. Izuku growled as he dug his claws into the floor to stop himself from going backward.

He then glanced at the watch in his armor and grit his teeth when he saw he only had half a minute left.

'Damnit! I told you, I fucking told you! I knew this would happen because you kept fucking around. Too much of a pussy to go all out!'

Izuku felt a shadowy finger press into his chest piece as Hank yelled at him, growling he pushed the finger away before charging the mock bomb.

"Hank, shut the fuck up and let me do this." He growled out, Hank forming out of shadows next to him and looking at him incredulously.

'Let you do this? You fucking blew it!'

"Shut up Hank." Izuku muttered as he got closer, just acting on reflex as he descended upon Ochako far faster than she had anticipated. The girl's eyes widened as she tried to increase the gravity around him. Glancing at his watch he saw he only had fifteen seconds left.

[Warning! Warning! One of the Dissonant pockets is waking up, activating Dissonant Nexus ability. Gear Shift at first gear.]

("WHAT!? Hank what the hell is going on?! Stress levels are off the charts!")

("Piss off Doc! I'm busy.")

'No, I don't think I will shut up you monumental retard! Damnit all, you failed a simple fucking training exercise! How are you going to deal with people actually going all out!'

Izuku felt his chest burning as tears formed in the corners of his eyes, a torrent of negative emotions swirling in his mind as he unleashed it all. 'SHUT! UP!'

[Second Gear activated]

As nexus energy swirled around Izuku, time seemed to slow down around him as he burst forward at incredible speeds. Closing whatever distance between him and Ochako in the blink of an eye.

His body was like a bullet as it tore through the mock bomb, stray bits of nexus energy burning the paper to a crisp as he slammed into Ochako. His shoulder drove itself into her abdomen.

The momentum he gained carried him forwards as they two crashed into an adjacent room. Izuku tumbled over the girl and skidded across the ground as Ochako just slumped into herself as she hit the ground hard.

Ochako groaned in pain as it become difficult to breathe, her body shaking as it felt like her nerves were on fire. The girl struggled to suck in a breath of air as she held her bruised stomach, whimpering in agony as tears of pain slipped out of her clenched eyelids.

Izuku caught himself, digging his hands into the floor to stop. He then heard Ochako whimper in agony, and he rushed towards her instantly.

"Ochako!" He yelled before kneeling next to her, the girl curled up in pain as Izuku's hands began to shake furiously, guilt and terror gripping him. But despite his fear he reached out and grabbed Ochako's hand, holding it gently, the girl increasing her grip on his hand as she calmed down slightly.

"O-Ochako. I-I'm sorry, I- y-you'll be ok, y-"

"What did you do!?" The shout caught Izuku off guard as Iida ran across the room and knelt next to Ochako, tearing his helmet off and looking at his partner in concern.

"I-I." Izuku tried to get out but stopped when Iida glared at him, Izuku hesitated. Guilt gripping onto him as he just looked away, unable to look at the both of them.

"I don't k-know what I did, I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't meant f-for this to ha-happen." Izuku managed to say, distraught and not thinking straight as the flurry of emotions earlier continued to muddle his mind. Iida's glare softened before he sighed and gently began to rub Ochako's shoulder as the girl began to breathe normally.

After a moment and fully regaining her breath she sat up, still dazed but overall fine. And as soon as she sat up Izuku just hugged her and held her tight, afraid of seeing her hurt like that ever again. Ochako stiffened up at the sudden contact but hugged Izuku back.

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to hurt you." He muttered as Ochako sighed. A faint blush on her face as Iida just looked at the two of them, gears turning in his head.

"Y-yeah. I know you wouldn't s-so calm down you big baby." Ochako muttered with a small laugh, Izuku chuckling slightly as he let go of Ochako. Iida took the moment to step in.

"So Uraraka-San, are you alright?" Iida asked as he patted her gently on the back, Ochako nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me." She said, putting both of the boys at ease as they helped her up.

"That's good," Iida said, breathing a sigh of relief as Izuku managed to stop his hands from shaking, the guilt he felt lessened but was still there as he stepped away. Ochako glanced at him before reaching over to try and grab his hand but Izuku just stepped away from her, walking ahead of her and Iida.

Ochako looked dejected for a moment as Iida glanced at the two before sighing and gently patting Ochako on the back.

All Might looked at the display on the cameras, a mixture of emotions hidden behind his ever-present smile. He just shook his head before turning the intercoms on again.

{"Heroes Won."}


Izuku entered the convenience store before the other participants of the mock battle, and as soon as he did everyone turned to look at him. All of them gave him weird glances, no one seemed to be judging him, but it was clear what had happened earlier in the tower made him the focus of the room.

However, before any of the students could try and say anything All Might stepped towards his pupil, his wide smile somewhat abated as he looked at the boy in concern. But Izuku was unable to meet his gaze.

"Young Midoriya, I know you feel-" The Pro started but paused when Izuku held a hand up, the younger boy sucking in a shaky breath.

"All Might-Sensei… I request an early dismissal, I need some time to think. Alone." He carefully put out, his voice and posture on edge. All Might almost frowned before a small artificial smile made its way onto the hero's face.

"I understand Young Midoriya, besides, you've already completed your part of the exercise. Get home safely." All Might replied, deciding to let the young man have a moment to think things over by himself.

Izuku nodded gratefully. "Thank you." He muttered with a small bow before leaving the convenience store and making his way back to the locker rooms. As he got closer he felt something bubbling up in his chest. Rage, bitter resentment, guilt, he didn't know.

As he pushed his way into the locker room and slammed the door behind him, he was hit by a torrent of deafening silence as he stood in the middle of the locker room all alone. Looking at his reflection, the lenses of his helmet were glowing, so much so they were radiating light.

With a groan, he reached up and pressed a button on the back of his helmet; it made a small beeping noise before the suit loosened up in an instant and he took off the helmet.

Holding it in his hands he glanced back at his reflecting, his eyes whirling around like cyclones. Emitting an intense light. He tightened his grip on his helmet as he closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

"Hank." Izuku muttered, his voice low, almost whispery as his hands clenched to the helmet.

'What?' The assassin spat out, venom dripping from the ninjas' tone of voice. And something about it just caused Izuku to snap.

"Fuck you." He spat out right back. "You annoying arrogant asshole!"

'Oh you're real fuckin mature, guy tries to help and-'

"Help!?" Izuku shouted, the teen both offended and bewildered at the word. "You! DID! NOT! HELP!" With each word, his voice got louder as his body began to shake again, this time in seething rage.

'Oh fuck off, not my fault you lost control. All I did was push you to try and give a damn.' Hank growled out, his voice low and even, pretending not to care about the teenagers' feelings. Izuku grit his teeth and clenched the helmet with more force, the polymer and ceramic straining against his grip.

"Not your fault!? YOU! Wanted me to hurt her! It was a training exercise, Training! But you had to yell and whine and butt it constantly."

'And it worked! You won, you're welcome moldy locks.' The biting sarcasm sent Izuku over the edge as he threw the mirror at the wall; throwing it with enough force that it embedded itself into the concrete.

"GOD DAMNIT!" He bellowed out. "You don't get it! I didn't care if I won! It was a training exercise! I just wanted, for one moment, to not be hounded constantly about what I'm supposed to be! To go one moment without feeling like a piece of shit."

'Listen kid, even if it's a training exercise you have to go all out. You can't hold back, not even against your friends. You-'

"NO!" Izuku screamed, cutting Hank off. "I didn't ask for this! I never wanted to end up like… like this, some freak." Izuku clenched his fists as he doubled over. "Ever since you and this nexus shit came into my life everything has gotten worse."

'... Y-you don't mean that. You wanted-'

"NO I DIDN'T!" Izuku shouted again as he punched a wall. "I never asked to be mutated like this, I never wanted to hurt people like that, like when I was a vigilante. I never wanted to enjoy hurting people!" Izuku yelled out, tears forming in the swirling cyclones of his eyes. The red light engulfed the room.

"Ever since you, there's been this rage burning in me. I never wanted that, I hate it. I hate carrying that with me every single day, every single second. I hate wanting to go out and just tear someone apart every single night. I don't want to be like this! I don't want to hurt people. I don't want to enjoy hurting people!" He continued to shout, tears streaming down his face before he choked down a sob.

Izuku hugged himself, his claws digging into his armor as it felt like every muscle in his body was burning. Stray nexus bolts flashed around him as Hank kept silent.

"I never wanted any of this." He muttered to himself through sobs as the vortexes in his eyes abated and the light dimmed. His eyes barely lit up, nothing but small red pin-pricks as he continued to cry to himself in the silence.

Hank not saying a word as Izuku leaned against a wall, the assassin unable to say anything. Instead, the teenager soon felt a sudden emptiness as Hank retreated to the recesses of the boys' subconscious.

After a moment Izuku wiped the tears off of his face and puffy eyelids. Taking off his armor and stashing it away, the teenager dressed in his clothes and walked out of the locker room.

His walk to the exit of U.A. was a blur as he stumbled out of the gate, just aimlessly wandering the streets as evening set in. Unaware of the person trying to find him, her hazel brown eyes scanned the city streets as she got closer.


Hey, it's me again, I'm back. It's only been, what? Half a fucking year? Lmao. Sorry for the wait, life's been beating the shit outta me for a while now. But I'm back. Now let's get to the nitty gritty.

Ochako's Quirk has been fully explained now so whoopie. It's not telekinesis guys, trust me bro. It's gravikenisis or however you spell it, basically her power from the anime but on steroids.

Iida's a speedster now, that will be explained as to why later on. Don't worry about it.

Also, from this point onwards the fic will be called 'The Nexus Manifest' because it's cool and professional. And I came up with the previous title when I was a dumb 17-year-old. The Nexus Manifest, it'll feel weird at first but I think everyone will get used to it eventually.

See you around, Space Cowboy.