Chapter 2: What Could Have Been

Bakugo didn't know how to describe what was happening. It was dark, and he couldn't feel a thing. No air flow, no temperature. He couldn't hear anything. It was almost like he was conscious of being nothing. It was terrifying.

He didn't know how long he'd been floating in that darkness for. It both felt like seconds, and years. But at some point, something changed.

He didn't even know when, but there seemed to be a faint color of purple. Streaks of it, moving and waving about aimlessly. After a while, the purple started to swirl, and he realized he could just make out the sound of voices. Like he was deep underwater and someone was talking above the surface.

As more purple started to fill in the inky blackness, the voices got loader.

And suddenly he was blinded by light, and the rush of sound almost made his ears pop.

He felt himself falling to his knees and managed to catch himself from hitting the ground, though he was still blinded.

He felt like he was going to throw up.

All hope seemed to be lost.

The Nomu had taken every hit Almight had thrown at it, yet no matter what, it just kept regenerating and going in for more.

Almight was steaming, close to losing the strength to keep his muscle form.

Both Eraser and Thirteen were in critical condition, and none of the other teachers had been able to make it out to the U.S.J..

"Wha..." the voice of the villain, Kurogiri, suddenly gasped. "What is this...?"

His leader, Tomera, looked from the fight to his subordinate, confused by the sudden confusion in his voice.

"What?" Tomera hissed.

"There's someone... in me...?"

"What do you mean there's someone in you?" Tomera asked, both perplexed but worried. If someone had found a way to enter Kurogiri's void without his knowledge, it could be trouble for their missions going forward.

"I don't know. They just appeared."

"Well, can you kick them out?"

Kurogiri went silent for a moment, concentrating on the spot the intruder was residing. A moment later, a cloud of swirling purple and black appeared next to him and the body of a boy with blond spiky hair was being pushed out. He fell, narrowly throwing his hands out to catch himself from hitting the tile floor.

Though his clothes appeared to be a bit too big- the large grenade shaped gauntlets having fallen off before he'd even started to fall out of the portal- they appeared to be professionally made, clearly designed with a quirk in mind. Though, given the ill fit, it didn't appear to be his quirk they were made for.

The boy started coughing, and even threw up a bit.

"I don't think he intended to enter my void, Master Tomera..." Kurogiri said, observing the boy.

"Well, I don't care if he did or not. Get rid of him." Tomera said, directing the order at another villain that was on standby.

The villain nodded and advanced toward the boy, who was now squinting at his surroundings.

The sound of the villain's steps finally registered in Bakugo's mind and he turned to look. His eyes were still somewhat burning from the light, but they were gaining some clarity. Enough to register that the man stalking toward him wasn't coming to help him.

Still a bit dizzy, he pushed himself to his feet and felt a new wave of nausea hit as he found himself to be quite a bit shorter than what he expected.

He shook his head, trying to push the nausea away. He'd figure it out later. Right now he needed to force himself to adjust.

He tested his quirk, and was glad to see it was still working. He looked up just in time to see the right legged kick the villain was throwing at him. He shifted to the left, putting up both arms to shield his face, and braced for the impact. He felt the blow hit harder than he was expecting, but other than the general pain, nothing was injured. He needed to end the fight quickly though. Before the leg could be retracted, Bakugo grabbed it and ducked under, twisting it so the villain was forced to pivot the other foot and have his back to Bakugo.

Still holding the right leg, Bakugo threw his own kick, hitting the back of the villain's knee on the leg he was standing on. With Bakugo still holding the right leg, he wasn't able to catch his balance. The result was the man falling ungracefully to the tile floor, breaking the bones in the left knee as it hit the ground.

"Ahh!" the villain cried out in pain. He tried to roll onto his back and push himself away from Bakugo but Bakugo was already in motion, bringing his hands down in a clapping motion over the man's ears. The effect was instant as the man's ear drums burst and he was left dazed.

Not wasting any time, Bakugo readied himself for more on coming attacks.

After a few more minutes of dodging and weaving past villains and taking them out, he had exhausted them all.

All except for two. And he couldn't believe who it was.

How was it possible? They had been taken out ages ago, back when he was in high school.

The leader of the L.O.V., Tomera Shiguroki, and his right hand, Kurogiri. It didn't appear the other members were here, or at least not nearby. Guess he could be thankful for that. Not by much, mind you. Both of them took an entire squad to take down separately.

A squad. Where was his squad?

Cursing himself for not having surveyed the area once his senses had all returned, he did so now. What he saw only confused him.

If he didn't know any better, he was inside the U.S.J., specifically its central plaza. What really threw him was that the layout wasn't how it should be. It was always changing and being improved upon, even when he'd been in highschool. What he was looking at now looked exactly how it had when he'd first entered UA.

Wait.

He was smaller, and wasn't as strong as he had been not even an hour ago- even his quirk was weaker. He was standing inside what appeared to be an old version of the U.S.J.. And in front of him stood Shigaraki and Kurogiri, surrounded by other low tier villains.

No. It couldn't be.

He looked toward the entrance, the only place that he'd had his back to the entire time as he'd been keeping his eyes on Shigaraki and Kurogiri.

"What the..." His jaw dropped open as, there in the distance, he saw some of his classmates; all of them young, clearly highschool age again.

Suddenly the memories of that day came flooding back. The day the U.S.J. had been attacked. It had been the debut of the L.O.V., and had started the downfall of the Hero's reputation for years to come.

He found himself wondering how this had happened, but mentally scoffed as it was obviously the outcome of Evance's Quirk.

He looked around more and noticed Almight fighting the Nomu. Something seemed off about that though. If he recalled correctly, the fight should have been over by now. He hadn't been in the area during the fight, as the class had been forcibly split up all over the U.S.J.. But he had read the report on it, and the only real casualty had been Thirteen, her quirk being used against her. Almight and Aizowa had jumped in and cleaned things up relatively quickly. Almight struggled for a moment with the Nomu, but had quickly realized its weakness, and took it out soon after.

Ultimately they had captured all but Shiguroki and Kurogiri, who had fled using portals.

But this seemed different. Aizowa was beaten, barely conscious, and being carried away by three of the students. Almight was struggling, clearly close to losing the strength to maintain his facade. Almost as if he'd already passed down his Quirk, but that hadn't happened until much later in the year.

He didn't have much more time to think about it as he found himself being attacked again. Dodging and weaving, he once again took down all the enemies that came at him. Whenever he got the chance he tried to check on Almight, and each time he grew more frustrated. Almight clearly hadn't figured out the weakness yet, and was getting weaker by the second.

He had the last of the goons in a suplex hold when he looked over again and saw the Nomu, once again regenerating and his patience broke. Both frustrated, and fearing for his former mentor, he shouted.

Almight was struggling. He knew giving up One for All would make him weak, but he hadn't expected it to be this extreme. Granted, this particular enemy was specially made to take him on at his former strength.

Its ability to take anything he threw at it and regenerate was proving to be troublesome. He was really starting to wonder how he could possibly beat such a monster.

"Almight! He's only regenerating! He can't nullify the damage! You need to go beyond 100% power!"

The voice was that of Young Bakugou, though he hadn't noticed when he had rejoined his class. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the young man had taken out the rest of the goons, and couldn't help marveling at that. But then his words registered and Almight realized what he said was true.

He hadn't realized it till now, but each time the monster regenerated, it was just a bit slower than the last time. It had been so gradual that it wasn't noticed, but now he could see it. If he did use over 100%, coupled with fast, nonstop hits, he could wear the beast down until he could no longer regenerate.

Digging deep, he summoned what strength he had left. It was just barely enough, and he'd have to make sure every hit counted, but he could do it.

It was painful. More painful than he could ever recall experiencing before. While he had gone beyond his limit in the past, and it had never been pleasant, having to force so much of the quirk out when it was already dying out inside him was something else. It felt like he was ripping all the muscles in his body, especially in his arms, to ribbons. Every punch sent shocks of electrifying pain up his arm. It felt like when you lost circulation in a limb and poked at it, only so much worse. He felt like at any moment he could pass out from the pain.

But he couldn't do that. He had to keep going, had to keep hitting. Had to make sure every punch had just as much power as the last. Had to make sure each one connected solidly.

As much as it hurt, the pain meant he was landing his punches.

Finally, just as he was reaching the end of his reserves of energy, he saw that the beast was no longer regenerating. With one final blow, he sent the beast flying, crashing through the roof of the U.S.J. and beyond.

He had done it. Just barely, but he had done it.

Knowing he couldn't keep up the muscle form for much longer, he turned to address the only threat left.

"Now, Villains," He said, stressing the title with a hit of disgust, "I'm sure we'd all like to end this as soon as possible."

He was met with mutterings, and the leader of the villains started itching his neck, like it was a nervous tick. His eyes were filled with hatred. Clearly he had expected things to go much more in his favor.

Growing weaker by the second, he had to find a way to get rid of the villains, but he could no longer fight. Just maintaining his stance was taking an enormous effort. He had to bluff his way out, through pure intimidation.

Adopting a mocking tone, he asked, "What's wrong? You're not coming? I recall you saying you'd 'clear' this or something?" His glare hardened, daring them to try, even though he knew if they did, he'd most certainly be killed, if not just severely injured. "So come on then. Try!"

The intimidation worked. The leader backed away, flinging himself away from Almight as if dodging a punch.

But it wasn't enough. They needed to be gone. He knew it was wrong to let them flee, but what choice was there. He was the only qualified Hero to take them on, both Aizowa and Thirteen having been taken out of commission. Sending the children on them wasn't an option either. He had nothing left though. It was all he could do to just stay in muscle form. Even just taking a step would cause him to lose it.

Resisting the urge to give in to the pain, he shouted, "Well?! What's wrong? Are you going to finish what you started, or do I have to end your game here and now?"

Tomera was infuriated at the situation. He had been beaten. Even if Almight was bluffing, he could hardly take that risk. And much as he was loath to admit it, his goons had been beaten, by mere children no less- and that 15 of them had been taken out of a single child was worse.

Even if he still had some goons left, they'd be taken out sooner or later.

He hated to admit it, the mere thought sending irritating itches all over his body, but he had to retreat.

"We're leaving, Kurogiri," he said.

Bakugo watched as Almight bluffed. He was both impressed and exceedingly troubled by it. Impressive as it was that it was working, the fact that he had to bluff at all meant that something drastic had changed from when this happened in his youth, but how and what that could be, he couldn't understand.

But, regardless, the bluff had worked, and Kurogiri surrounded the two in mist and they disappeared.

Covered as he was by the smoke emanating off his body, Almight was hidden from most eyes, but the smoke would quickly dissipate once he lost his muscle form. He knew that no one knew of the weakened form until much later, which, despite clear changes, this at least seemed to still be the case. He looked around, trying to find some way to provide better cover, or at least a distraction. He needn't have worried though, as a wall of concrete rose up from the ground, blocking the other eyes from Almight. While he didn't see the user of this Quirk, he knew it was Cementos. Looking around again, he saw the other teachers had arrived, and had started making quick work of the remaining villains. He didn't know what more he could do, so he just stood back and observed.

Things had definitely changed though. It was almost as if this weren't even his timeline. Just as he was having this thought, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, years of combat experience kicking in as he realized he was under attack again.

Swiftly dodging the kick thrown at him, he leaned to the side, and almost without thinking, reached out and grabbed the leg and swung his new opponent around, only to find himself face to face with... himself.

"What the hell?" he said, releasing the leg.

"What do you mean, what the hell?! That's what I should be asking!" his other self shouted. Pointing a finger at him, the other Bokugo continued, "Who the hell are you! You some shape shifting villain? And why did you take my face?!"

Bakugo didn't know what was going on. A Quirk that sends you back in time was one thing, but this? This had to mean that he was in an entirely different universe, and the implications of THAT were enough to send his mind whirling.

"I'm... I'm you. But..." He tried to explain, but realized he didn't even know how to explain. He was still trying to come to terms with the confirmation of multiverse theory being less of a theory now.

Suddenly he felt an intense pain in his head and his knees buckled.

"Ah!" he cried out, gripping his head, as if trying to keep it from splitting open. Just as the pain became too much to bear, he blacked out.

Again, after what felt like both hours and mere seconds, he came to, thankfully not falling out of a portal. not so thankfully, however, his head hurt, but not overwhelmingly so as it had before he passed out. He went to rub at his temples, only to realize his arms were bound to his sides. Not surprisingly, he found his legs also bound at the ankle. Opening his eyes, he realized he'd been propped up against a rock, and he was still in the U.S.J..

"Oh, you're already awake, huh?" said a familiar voice next to him.

Looking around, the action causing a slight dizzy spell, he found himself looking up at his younger self, leaning against the same rock.

Before he could say anything, his younger self started talking.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but I'm gonna give you one chance to come clean. Who are you? And why did you take on my face? What, were you supposed to infiltrate us and pretend to be me?"

Bakugo couldn't help but chuckle mentally. God, this version of himself was cocky. Clearly, his young self thought he was a villain, yet instead of turning him over to the authorities right away, he had secreted him away to question him himself. Either that, or somewhere deep down, his younger self didn't sense any danger in him. Not the best attitude to have, especially considering the very recent events, but perhaps this would work in his favor.

Gathering his thoughts, he found himself still shocked at the whole multiverse thing, but pushed past it.

"Look, I'm not a villain. I know you don't believe me, trust me-" after all, he had to deal with a villain with that exact ability, and purpose, "but I am you. I know this is gonna sound crazy, especially since I appear the same age as you, but I'm from the future. Or at least a version of your future. I'm a future version of you."

"Well, points for creativity, but you're right, I don't believe you." the younger Bakugo scoffed.

"Okay, what if I told you something only the real Bakugo would know?"

"Yeah, good luck with that. I'm sure whatever secrets you've managed to dig up weren't-"

"You have mild Frigophobia, because the cold renders your Quirk weak, and you have to work harder. As a k8d it was so painful, you avoided being in the cold and would have anxiety attacks in the form of tantrums. You've pushed youself to get over it, but on some level, it still causes stress. you hate how it makes you weak. It's painful, and you'd just rather not deal with it."

This seemed to give the younger Bakugou pause, but after a moment he shook his head. "While I don't know how you got that information, but it's not exactly something no one knows about. My parents, know, my doctor knows, you easily could have gotten the information from one of them."

"Alright, point..." Bakugo grumbled. He wasn't wrong. Frustrated, he looked around. He knew no one was nearby, but what he said next, he really didn't like having to say, even if just to himself.

"Okay, how about this one. Assuming you're not totally different from how I was back then, then this should still hold true. You also have Athazagoraphobia. You fear being forgotten, and it's one of the biggest drives you have for seeking the position of being the number one hero. It's why you act overly aggressive, because you've seen how dad gets overlooked all the time because of his meek demeanor. So you adopt this overly aggressive attitude to stand out. You thrive on attention, not because you actually wanted the attention itself, you just wanted to be noticed." Bowing his head, Bakugo muttered only to himself, "It's why you valued Mydoria as a friend..."

The younger Bakugo was blinking in astonishment. While he hadn't known the name for it, nor had he really recognized fully that it was a fear, he couldn't help but concede that everything the other said was true. Though he was thrown by one thing.

"You said Midoria... If you were really me, you'd call him Deku. Everyone knows that."

Bakugou grimace. Right, it hadn't happened yet for this Bakugo. Midoriya would still be attempting life at a normal school. It wasn't until months into the school year that he started skipping classes, and even then, Bakugo hadn't found out about it until after Midoria had completely given up on going to school.

"Look, just... You should check on Midoriya. When you last spoke to him, you... said something that really got in his head. He's not doing too-"

"There you are Kachan!" came the voice of the one he thought lost.

His head whipped up as he saw a boy with a head of fluffy black/green hair. He appeared to have more muscle than during the Entrance exams, and to Bakugo's surprise, he was clearly wearing hero gear.

From his angle of approach, Midoriya hadn't recognized the tied person as being Bakugo, but as he came closer, what he thought was another villain became clearer, yet only served to confuse him.

Slightly panicked, as he had similar thoughts about the identity of the older Bakugo as the younger Bakugo had thought, he started waving his arms, "Um... Uh, Kacahn, wh-what's going on? Why are there two of you?!"

"Oh calm down, ya damn Nerd. I'm still trying to figure it out myself. Hey, you-" the young Bakugo turned back to the older Bakugou, about to continue the interrogation but, upon looking at him, both young Bakugo and Midoria came up short.

Bakugo, looking in shock at Midoriya, had tears streaming down his face.

"Y-your alive. You're here? But... But you're quirkless. How are you here? How did you pass the practical exam?" He was rambling.

"Uh..." Midoria didn't know what to do or say. If this really was a villain, it was rather odd behavior.

The young Bakugo was confused, and frustrated at what he was about to do, but he needed to voice his thoughts, and if the ever overthinking mind of Deku could help bounce ideas around, it could help.

"He claims he's a future version of me." He said begrudgingly.

Midoriya blinked, somewhat surprised Bakugo was confiding in him, but didn't stay stuck on that realization for long. His mind was whirling with the information that apparently time travel could be possible.

"And was he able to prove that? Are you sure he's not just a villain with a body mimicking quirk?"

"Yeah, he told me some stuff only I should know."

Midoriya nodded. He wasn't foolish enough to inquire what that was exactly. "And do you believe him?"

The young Bakugo growled. "Well, unless he's a mind reader on top of body mimic, then I have no choice but to believe him. No one, not even my parents know about what he said. And his clothes... They're not totally like mine, but really similar, but they don't fit him like they should, like he shrank. If he were a villain, trying to infiltrate us by being me, then the gear would look just like mine and properly fit, or he'd be in the school uniform, which is easier to get."

Midoriya nodded, "Not to mention trying to imitate you just wouldn't work. You're in the spotlight too much for covert operations to be done." young Bakugo's eyes narrowed, looking at Midoriya in suspicion, wondering if he had heard about his fear of being forgotten. But Midorya was looking off in thought, so it appeared it was just an observation. One that he couldn't totally disagree with. "So it's like what Sherlock Holms says. Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"Nerd..." young Bakugo muttered as he looked back down at his apparent future self. "Still, I'm not totally certain I believe it, even if I don't see any other explanation."

The older Bakugo, having regained some composure, cleared his throat. "Look... take me to see Aizowa. Have him use his Quirk on me. If I were using a body mimic Quirk, or a mind reader, I wouldn't be able to do that."

Midoriya looked from the older Bakugou to the younger one, "He's... got a point... But Eraser is still getting fixed up... I don't know when he'll have the strength to do that."

"So let's take him to Almight-"

"No!" Midorya suddenly burst out, and then backpedaled, "I-I mean, Almight's just... he's busy, you know? He's gotta give a report of the incident to the Principle..."

Both Bakugo's were looking at Midoriya, one with confusion, the other with mounting suspicion.

"Then... Can I... Talk to Midorya alone for a moment...?"

"Hell no. Why?" young Bakugo said.

"There's one more thing I think I can say to prove myself, but it's not something you should know yet."

Young Bakugo stared through narrowed eyes at his older self. "Fine, but you're not leaving my sight." With that he stalked over to another rock, far enough away that he wouldn't be able to hear them.

"So... what is it?" Midorya asked, curious.

Bakugo found himself coming up short, choking back more tears as he found himself marveling at how this Midorya seemed to be thriving. And there was only one reason he could see for that. There just wasn't any other way. Taking in the appearance of the boy once again, he noticed something he hadn't before, and it all but confirmed his suspicions.

"So, when did he give it to you? I can only assume it was before the entrance exams." Bakugo said.

"What...?" Midorya stuttered out.

"Your fingers are broken. And they look exactly like how I saw them before, only on a different boy. And if he gave it to you, it's the only way you would have been able to get through the entrance exam. On top of that, he was definitely weaker in that fight than when it happened in my time, meaning he gave it up sooner in this timeline."

Midorya was fidgeting now, not wanting to believe what he thought was being said.

Bakugo didn't let that last though.

"So... when did Almight give you One for All?"