The Zerg larva writhed within the confines of the drop pod as it moved through the endless depths of warp space. Reaching out with its mind, the larva searched for any signs of life or unique essences that could be assimilated into the Swarm. Suddenly, it detected a planet nearby teeming with life and strong psionic signals indicating the native species had the potential to be infested. With a mental command, the larva directed the pod out of warp space.
Momentum carried the pod into orbit around the newly discovered planet as the larva quickly scanned the surface, seeking an optimal landing site and suitable host. Vast oceans dotted with islands spread below which is then surrounded by two massive land masses. After several seconds of psionic investigation, the larva identified an uninhabited island surrounded by open water. It maneuvered the pod into a descent trajectory, aiming for the sandy beach at the island's center.
The external skin of the drop pod glowed cherry red from atmospheric friction as the craft plunged into the planet's envelope. Lacking eyes, the larva perceived its surroundings through psionic senses, watching the target island loom larger in its mind's eye. It braced itself moments before impact, the pod slamming into the sandy soil with enough force to topple surrounding trees.
With a wet tearing sound, The larva emerged from the ruptured pod on countless caterpillar-like legs. The wormlike Zerg creature reared up like a cobra, swaying its insectoid head from side to side. It reached out mentally, sampling the psionic signatures emanating from the intelligent beings that populated this world. To its surprise, the essences were remarkably similar to Terrans, yet each being glowed with a distinct signature unlike anything that the Swarm had assimilated before.
The larva stretched out its psionic senses once more, probing the surface of the planet in search of the ideal host to seed with the infestation of the Swarm. It scanned a myriad of minds, assessing the cerebral functions and the genetic potential of the native inhabitants. While all of them showed some degree of psionic receptivity, none of them approached the capabilities of the most powerful Terran Ghosts.
Further focusing revealed a mass of land surrounded by an ocean. This was the main landmass that the natives Terrans called Japan, and the larva absorbed details through the surface thoughts and memories of its inhabitants. Filtering the psionic static, it sifted through countless minds, looking for anomalies. The larva was programmed to seek out a worthy host, though most showed only faint psionic whispers.
And there it was, a flicker of light on the psionic plane. The larva honed its psionic perceptions and locked on to the tantalizing glow. There, untrained but brimming with potential, resided an individual of immense psionic ability. The larva assessed the neurological architecture. It confirmed that this being possessed a psionic command that surpassed even the most powerful Terran Ghosts. Once infected, this individual could direct the swarm on a massive scale. Allowing for relentless psionic control.
The larva tracked the psionic radiance to the center of a densely populated urban area. Countless of the native species were housed in massive apartment buildings and skyscrapers. This subject appeared to be an adolescent stage of Terran biology, no doubt unaware of the vast psionic abilities that were locked away within its developing brain. While taking care to avoid detection, the larva focused its eager thoughts into a narrow psionic beam, probing its target's location. There it found the subject, on an upper floor of a nondescript apartment building.
At last, the discovery of a host with such a wealth of psionic talents made the larva quiver with anticipation. The psionic potential of this individual could be used to make a worthy leader of the Zerg. Once infected, they would be an ideal leader for the expansion of the swarm's reach on this fertile world. But before it could have any contact with the host. The Zerg larva needs to make a proper base, or more specifically, a hive cluster.
The larva wriggled and squirmed in the sandy soil, its tiny body pulsing with the urges of its primal Zerg instincts. Though it was alone and isolated on the remote tropical island, it could feel the call of the Swarm in its blood. It was compelled to grow and evolve. The time had come for it to begin to metamorphose.
Slowly, the larva began swelling, its translucent skin stretched and tightened around its expanding mass. Over the course of a few seconds, its body blew up like a balloon, inflating. The pulsation quickened as the transformation accelerated. The larva's slimy skin filled with fluid and tissue.
Eventually, the larva had no more room for expansion. The pressure within its body reached a critical point, and with a wet ripping sound, the larva's skin began to peel. Cracks began to appear on its surface, and a thick, slimy fluid oozed out. The larva thrashed harder. Its movements were restricted by the tight cocoon its body had become. With one last violent spasm, the larva tore through the restricting outer layer of its body. Underneath was a pulpy, velvety mass, shot through with thick veins and membranes. It was the nascent core of the developing hive structure.
The Zerg biomass began to rapidly unfold into the mature form of the Hive, freed from its larval shell. The pulpy tissue expanded upward and outward, hardening into a deep purple and a bone-like gray of organic slabs. Within an hour, the basic structure of a pyramid had formed, surrounded by a honeycombed framework of vein-like tubes and passageways. Slowly, the top of the pyramid began to open. It revealed a gaping, sphincter-like entrance surrounded by sharp spikes.
By the time the sun set, the Hive structure had reached its full height of over fifty meters. As it settled into its full form, a soft hissing sound emanated from its porous lower layers as the first of the Creep began to seep out. The thick, living carpet of Zerg biomass quickly expanded across the floor at the base of the hive. Throughout the night, the creep spread rapidly through the surrounding jungle, covering the running animals and encircling the towering trees. The advance was unstoppable. It engulfed all organic matter in its path, fueling the Hive's growth.
By the time the sun came up the next day, the entire island was covered in the Zerg's biomass. The Hive itself was throbbing with life, its spikes and orifices dripping with fresh organic fluids. Though a single Zerg structure, as if it were the vanguard of the Swarm itself, the hive exuded an aura of primal menace. For the time being, however, it was alone on the island that it had claimed and corrupted as its own. In preparation for the creation of the Hive's brood, the creep continued to spread, absorbing all the nutrients and biological matter on the island.
Izuku Midoriya lay listlessly on his bed. He stared at the ceiling with a blank expression. A heavy pall of apathy and despair had been cast over his face. The light that used to shine in his green eyes had faded to a flat, lifeless look in his eyes.
This despondent state was nothing new. Izuku had been sinking deeper into depression ever since his hopes had been dashed by first his former friend turned tormentor, Katsuki Bakugo, and then even by his longtime idol, All Might. After revealing his impossible dream of joining U.A. High School's prestigious Hero Course, despite being Quirkless. Izuku had endured both physical and emotional devastation.
First, there was the brutal beating at the hands of Bakugo. Bakugo had always looked down on "useless Deku". But now, he seemed to want to break Izuku's spirit as well as his body.
"Get back here, Deku!" Katsuki roared and took off after Izuku.
Izuku's heart was pounding with fear. Katsuki was going to kill him because he had tried to apply for the U.A. And even worse, now the whole class knew about it as well. He had to get out of there, fast.
Izuku ran, his breath sawing in and out of his lungs as he ran. He ran around a corner. In his desperation to escape, he almost crashed into a row of lockers.
"I told you to wait, you damn nerd!"
An explosion propelled Katsuki forward, right on the heels of Izuku. Izuku bit back a whimpering and pushed himself to run faster. But it was to no avail. Soon, a hand gripped his shoulder, spinning him around roughly.
"You thought you could escape, didn't you?" Katsuki towered over him. His face twisted into a terrifying scowl. Without warning, he pulled back his leg and launched a kick straight at Izuku's face.
There was no time for Izuku to react before the kick connected with him. A wave of pain exploded through his head and he fell backwards. In a dazed state, he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. When he touched his forehead, his fingers were wet with tiny droplets of blood.
"This is for this morning, you little runt." Katsuki stalked over to where Izuku was cowering on the ground and nursing his wound. "Don't you ever learn anything?"
Izuku froze in his tracks. This was terrible. During school hours, Katsuki usually limited himself to verbal abuse and the occasional shove. He must be really angry about Izuku's U.A. ambitions. To attack him directly on the school grounds.
Izuku had to appease him somehow. "K-Kacchan, I'm sorry! Please, can't we talk..."
"There is no time to talk, Deku!" Katsuki yelled at him. "I've told you a million times as well, don't call me that stupid nickname!"
He aimed another vicious kick at the ribs of Izuku. The smaller boy collapsed, gasping in pain and clutching his chest.
"You still don't get it. Do you?" Katsuki asked. He grabbed Izuku by the front of his shirt and pulled him upright. "A useless, quirkless nobody like you would never be able to get into U.A. You'd just be humiliating yourself and our whole school."
He started to shake Izuku a little. "I'm going to be the first and ONLY one from this crappy school to get into U.A. Got it?"
Katsuki pushed him down again when Izuku didn't answer right away. "Hey, are you deaf as well as stupid?"
Izuku shivered. His eyes darted around looking for an escape route. But the two of them were alone in the hallway.
"I asked you if you got the message!" Katsuki yelled at him.
Izuku stammered out, "I'm sorry Kacch-I mean, Katsuki. I'm giving up on U.A. Just please stop!"
"Hmm, I don't think you sound very honest." Katsuki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll have to beat it into you a little bit more."
He cracked his knuckles in a threatening manner.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Izuku curled up in a ball. This was a nightmare. This time, Katsuki was really going to put him in the hospital for real.
"Oi, what the hell is this?"
Izuku opened his eyes and saw that Katsuki was rummaging through his backpack. With a jolt of horror, he realized that Katsuki had found his hero's notebook, the one in which he had analyzed all the quirks and strategies.
"Give it back to me!" Izuku made a desperate grab for the notebook, but Katsuki easily held it out of his reach. He pushed Izuku away violently. When Katsuki opened the notebook, he scanned the pages with a deepening frown on his face.
"Hero Analysis for the future? This has to be some kind of joke on your part." Katsuki snapped the book shut with a snap. "Are you still playing pretend, Deku? When are you going to open your eyes and see the truth for what it is? You are never going to be a hero!"
He said mockingly. He dangled the notebook over Izuku's head.
"No, no, please!" Izuku cried and jumped in an attempt to grab the notebook back. "I-it's important. You don't understand!"
"Oh, I understand very well." A cruel pleasure flashed through Katsuki's eyes. "This garbage is going to fill your head with stupid ideas. It's time for you to wake up and join the real world."
With that, he pressed the palm of his hand flat against the cover of the notebook. Sparks danced across the skin of his hand.
"No, don't do it!" Izuku cried out.
BOOM! The explosion blew up the notebook into a confetti of shrapnel. Burning pieces of paper were raining down all around them.
Katsuki brushed the ash from underneath his sneaker. "Here. Maybe now you'll have a clearer view of things."
Frozen in shock, Izuku could only stare at the wreckage. In that notebook, years of obsessive research, analysis, his deepest hopes and dreams had been written. And in a matter of seconds, Katsuki had destroyed them.
The numbness he felt quickly gave way to rage. Izuku let out a raw scream. He flew at Katsuki in a blind rage, his fists swinging wildly.
"Whoa, there!" Caught off guard, Katsuki quickly blocked the blows that were aimed at his face. "Are you getting feisty all of a sudden?" He defended himself easily against the weak blows of Izuku.
"I hate you!" Izuku screamed in frustration. Tears of rage and frustration ran down his cheeks. "You've ruined everything!"
The expression on Katsuki's face darkened. He grabbed hold of Izuku's flailing wrists with an iron grip.
"Looks like you are in need of one last lesson, nerd," he hissed.
Katsuki let loose a small but powerful blow and pressed his palm over Izuku's face.
Izuku's head snapped back under the force of the impact. His vision went white and then quickly turned black. Katsuki's scornful voice was the last thing he heard.
"Stay down and learn where you belong from now on, Deku."
When Izuku came to, the first thing he noticed was that he was cold. His cheek was pressed against the rough surface of concrete. He noticed that it was raining when his senses returned. His prone body was hit by heavy drops.
Izuku pushed himself upright with a groan. His head throbbed angrily in protest against the rain. He took in his surroundings. Somehow, he'd ended up on an abandoned playground. His rucksack lay nearby, soaked to the core. The sky above was iron grey.
How long had he been lying there, unconscious? It had to be late in the night by now. A bolt of panic shot through his body. His mother was going to be worried sick.
Izuku struggled to his feet, ignoring the screaming pain in his ribs. He had to get back to his home. But his knees buckled when he tried to take a step. He ended up on his hands and knees in the muddy grass.
"Come on! Move!" In frustration, he slapped his numb legs. Why wouldn't his body do the work for him?
Izuku collapsed in defeat after a few more failed attempts. The rain pattered down on his hunched shoulders and mixed with the tears that were flowing freely down his face.
First, Katsuki had been a humiliation to him. Then he'd destroyed his most precious possession. And to top it all, he'd left him beaten and useless. He couldn't even walk home.
Can this day get any worse? Izuku was beginning to think that it would have been better if Katsuki had just let him die. At least then he wouldn't have had to put up with his miserable life any longer.
Somehow, this hadn't been the lowest point of Izuku's day. No, that was when All Might himself, the legendary symbol of peace and Izuku's personal hero, shattered his last faint hope by telling him that it was simply impossible to become a hero without a Quirk. All Might had tried to soften the blow by suggesting that Izuku should set his sights lower and just try to become a police officer, but the damage had been done.
Izuku was about to fall into despair. A soft voice came from nearby. "Young man, are you okay?"
Izuku's head snapped to attention. A tall, imposingly muscular figure stood over him. His blond hair was plastered to his head from the rain. The booming voice was one Izuku would recognize anytime
He squealed in disbelief, "A-All Might?"
Sure enough, the legendary symbol of peace was crouching in front of him, as real as life itself. His piercing blue eyes were full of worry and concern.
"What happened here, boy? Are you hurt?" All Might asked the boy. His voice was much softer now. There was none of his usual theatrical bravado.
Izuku stared at him, too overwhelmed to speak. All Might spoke with him. His idol was standing right in front of him. He looked at him with concern, as if Izuku was worth something.
"I'm okay," he finally managed to say. "I just f-fell down earlier. Nothing to worry about." The lie came out of nowhere. He couldn't tell All Might about the way Katsuki had beaten him to a pulp. His hero would only have the impression that he was weak.
"Hmm. Well, if you say so." All Might didn't seem to be completely convinced. "But you shouldn't be out this late on your own. Where do you live, anyway? I can get you there safely."
He held out a huge hand to Izuku. Izuku took it in a numb way and let All Might pull him to his feet. He still had a hard time believing that this was the case.
They were on their way in silence. To Izuku's slow, stumbling steps, All Might adapted his pace. Even though he towered over Izuku, his presence made Izuku feel strangely safe. For the first time, his presence made him feel safe.
But still, questions were burning inside of him. There were so many things that he wanted to ask his hero. Izuku knew that this was probably the only chance he would get. He was going to need to risk this.
"Uh, All Might?" His voice came out in a small and hesitant tone.
All Might looked down at him in a friendly way. "Yes?"
Izuku asked. He clenched his shaking hands. "Do you... do you think someone without a quirk could ever become a hero like you?"
All Might's brow was slightly furrowed. Izuku was in a hurry to explain.
"It's just that... I've always had a dream to be a hero, too, ever since I was a little boy! But then it turned out that I am Quirkless, and everyone is telling me that I should give up and be realistic. I thought maybe if you told me..."
He trailed off in a miserable way. Even when he said it out loud, it sounded silly and naive. What right had he to ask the world's greatest hero these things?
All Might was silent for a long moment before he finally managed to speak out. "It is true that being a hero is always a matter of life and death. That is why I cannot recommend this path to you so easily, my boy."
Izuku's shoulders were in a slump. "I... I see..." He could barely get the words out through the lump in his throat.
"But there are still many ways you can help people." All Might went on softly. "For example, you might want to consider becoming a police officer. It's a respectable profession. No matter what others may think."
He placed an enormous hand on Izuku's shoulder. "There is nothing wrong with having dreams. But you must also have an eye on what is realistic. I'm sure that you will discover you destiny."
With that, All Might crouched down and jumped into the air. He disappeared from sight.
Izuku remained frozen on the spot and stared at the spot where his hero had been standing a moment ago. Over and over again, he replayed the words of All Might in his mind, but they refused to make any sense. After what felt like hours, Izuku finally turned around and shuffled his way to the entrance of the apartment building. The euphoria from earlier had completely vanished, leaving him feeling empty and numb.
How could he hope to become a hero now? After all, his idol had told him that it was impossible. Maybe it was time to give up chasing foolish dreams. That was what everyone kept telling him. Izuku slowly walked up to where he lived, his shoulders slumped and his eyes fixed unseeingly ahead. The spark of hope that had been ignited by All Might had only been extinguished by the darkness that had taken over.
The front door of the Midoriya household creaked open with a slow creak. Inko Midoriya, Izuku's loving but worried mother, rushed into the front hall to greet her son. She had been extremely worried about his whereabouts and his safety.
"It is almost midnight! I was so worried!" Inko exclaimed. She followed her confused and injured son down the hallway. She examined his physical condition with motherly concern.
"Please," Inko asked worriedly, "tell me where you have been and what happened to cause these terrible injuries."
Izuku avoided making eye contact with his mother. Instead, he looked away awkwardly. He gave an excuse that wasn't completely true. He wanted to avoid further questioning.
"I was walking home alone and I fell down awkwardly. A nice old couple insisted that I go to the hospital and get checked out," Izuku mumbled in a vague way.
Inko suspected that he was being untruthful to avoid talking about his problems. But she was relieved that at least he was safe at home now. She had doubts about the logic of his story.
"Why didn't the hospital call me to inform me of the situation, if that's what happened?" Inko asked with a confused expression.
Izuku stared down, not wanting to look at his mother and just kept staring. He gave a further explanation for the white lie he had told. "The doctors said that it was nothing too serious medically, so they allowed me to go home after having done some routine tests and having treated me minimally."
Inko decided not to push him any further, although she remained concerned. "Very well then. Please be very careful from now on, Izuku. You know that I love you deeply as my son, so please talk to me if you have anything on your mind or heart."
Inko looked down and noticed the weather-beaten condition of her son's backpack. "By the looks of it, your school bag has had some damage from the rain. Let me take it. I will wash and dry it for you. Go and get some rest. You must be exhausted."
"Of course, mom. Good night," Izuku replied quietly before he retreated to his bedroom.
Izuku collapsed on his bed in the sanctuary of his All Might decorated bedroom. He had acted normal in front of his mother. But his body still hurt from the beating Katsuki had given him. Any kind of movement was still difficult and painful.
The full traumatic weight of the day's events finally sank in as Izuku looked around at the All Might posters, figurines and memorabilia prominently displayed in the room.
Overwhelmed with despair, Izuku asked himself, "Why do I exist at all? Not mom, not Kacchan, and not even All Might himself believes in me or supports my hopes."
This painful realization was the beginning of the end for Izuku. Izuku broke down into inconsolable, body-shattering sobs. Tears streamed down his battered face, more intensely than he could ever remember crying before.
Now, the light of optimism that had sustained Izuku through years of ridicule and discouragement had finally faded away as he lay numb in his room filled with All Might merchandise. His mother, who had always supported him, did not even seem to notice the change in him. Instead of the broken shell he had become, Inko Midoriya still saw her son as a happy All Might fanboy.
Izuku turned listlessly to face the wall. He could not bear to look at the All Might posters that had once inspired him but now only reminded him of his failure. Why had he ever believed that he could rise above his status as a Quirkless and stand at the side of his heroes? He had only been fooling himself, and now that fragile dream had been shattered forever.
Again and again, Izuku asked himself why he was supposed to keep on living. Never before had he felt so utterly alone and without hope in his life. The well of optimism that he had always relied on to bounce back from the blows that life had dealt him had finally run dry.
Normally, no matter how terrible things seemed, Izuku could always find a silver lining. But now, where his usual exuberance used to be, there was only a yawning emptiness. The light inside of him had been extinguished, leaving him to drift in the darkness and apathy.
Izuku did not even have the energy for tears anymore. He just lay there and wished that he could just fade away completely. Even putting an end to his miserable life seemed to be too much effort. So he stayed trapped in his bleak despair. Every minute, his will to go on weakened more and more.
As the last flickers of hope and self-esteem shrank in Izuku's heart, he bitterly wondered if anyone would even notice when the quirky nobody known as Deku finally disappeared forever. Maybe if he just gave up, it would be better for everyone.
A single question ran through Izuku's mind in an endless loop. "Why was I even born into this world without a Quirk?" He couldn't understand why he needed to exist in such a pathetic and useless way. Why did the universe deny him any power while all his peers developed Quirks?
Izuku was sitting on his bed, brooding and morose, stewing in the misery of his seemingly hopeless situation, when all of a sudden a strange, disembodied voice sounded in his head.
"But what if you can have one? Izuku Midoriya," the bizarre voice whispered, seeming to come from the inside of Izuku's own head rather than from the outside world. Its tone was ambiguous. It was genderless and ethereal.
Izuku was startled by the unexpected mystical utterance. He jumped to his feet in alarm. He frantically looked around his bedroom, searching for the origin of the phantom words that had pierced his melancholy introspection. But he found no one.
"Who said that?! And how do you know my name?!" Izuku asked, his voice strained with fear and confusion. His green eyes were wide as they quickly scanned the room in search of the owner of the strange voice that had been so cryptic.
The mysterious voice spoke directly into his mind again just as Izuku was beginning to convince himself that it was just a product of his overworked mind.
"Do not be afraid of me. I mean you no harm." The psionic voice sounded reassuring. "I am communicating with you telepathically through a psionic link that only you can hear. That psionic link also includes knowing your name."
Izuku gasped and searched desperately for the source of the voice that penetrated his mind. This time he attempted to speak inwardly.
"Who are you? Why are you in my head?" He thought intensely, hoping that the being could hear him.
"I am known as the Hive Mind," came the immediate reply. "and I am here to help you."
Izuku struggled to process this shocking revelation. The voice belonged to someone called the Hive Mind, capable of telepathic communication? It sounded absurd, but there was no denying the evidence in his own mind.
"Help me? How?" Izuku asked mentally. He was still confused and afraid.
"In whatever way you need," the Hive Mind replied in a friendly manner. "I sense an enormous inner pain within you. You have a feeling of powerlessness and loneliness. But I can change that."
This strange presence could apparently read his emotions and deepest vulnerabilities. And it claimed to have the power to be of help to him in his time of crushing despair. Why, though? What did it have to gain?
"Without a Quirk," the Hive Mind continued, "I know you feel broken. "But I can give you strength beyond your imagination. Allow me to show you your true potential."
Could this be the real thing? Izuku desperately wanted to believe the promises of this creature. After a life of worthlessness and rejection, to finally have power. But it seemed to be too good to be true.
"How?" he asked simply, still wary of wanting to believe.
The Hive Mind simply responded "Time to reveal everything."
Izuku woke up in total darkness. He was standing on what seemed to be thin air in the middle of a huge, inky black void.
"Wha... what is this? Where am I?!" He shouted into the darkness in the hope that someone or something would hear him.
"We are in a psionic vision, Izuku Midoriya," the voice of the Hive Mind replied, now seemingly coming from all directions. "It is the only way I know how to show you the answers to the questions you have asked me, as well as the best way to inform you of my request." As the creature spoke, the landscape around Izuku began to change, taking shape and color until it became a huge cityscape. Izuku hovered several dozen meters above the scene.
Tall skyscrapers and busy streets materialized. Where there had been darkness, there was now light. Izuku found himself high in the air and looked down at a massive plaza surrounded on all sides by towering skyscrapers. At the center of the plaza stood an enormous statue depicting a man with regal clothing.
Spread across the statue was a formidable army, thousands upon thousands of soldiers in thick mechanical armor. Each soldier was completely surrounded by the armor. Izuku was able to see that each of the soldiers was equipped with an intimidating array of weapons.
In perfect unison, the army of armored soldiers raised their weapons and pointed them in a threatening manner at an unseen enemy. Behind them, several hundred small aircraft swooped down from the sky. Their shapes twisted and reformed as they landed behind the ranks of soldiers. The planes morphed into hulking humanoid robots. They were armed with massive Gatling guns. Row upon row of tanks sprouted legs from their treads and dug into artillery positions behind the soldiers. The barrels of their main guns were aimed and ready. A platoon of Mechs took up positions around the perimeter of the plaza as well.
This was clearly an army that was prepared to wage war on a massive scale. Their equipment and regimented coordination was a sign of extensive training and technical prowess. Izuku could sense that these troops had been hardened by battle, they had been in the face of unimaginable threats before. Now, they were ready for the defense of their city with a ruthless, mechanized force.
A great distance away from the plaza, an even greater force was gathering. A teeming horde of insectoid creatures poured into the streets and buildings surrounding the square, their numbers so great that they seemed like a flood of claws and fangs. Thousands, even hundreds of thousands of them converged on the square.
The creatures converged on the plaza in a massive tidal wave. They crossed the distance to the waiting soldiers in seconds. With the unstoppable force of a tsunami hitting the shore, they crashed into the armored ranks. The chitinous horde washed over the troops. It threatened to drown them by sheer force of numbers.
As the two armies clashed with each other, the plaza erupted into utter chaos. The Armored Soldiers opened up, firing with everything they could muster. Rotary cannons came to life. They filled the air with thousands of rounds per second. Missiles rained down, bursting into fiery explosions. Each blast wiped out hundreds of Insectoids.
But it was not enough. For every creature slain by the futuristic weapons, dozens more took its place. The horde was endless. It was driven by the overriding will of its leader. They threw themselves into the torrent of fire in a suicidal rush, their claws ripping through the armor and their fangs tearing into the flesh below in a savage fury.
One by one, the armored soldiers fell to the endless tide of clawed flesh. Mechs toppled as the Insectoids climbed up their legs. They tore open access panels to reach the pilots inside. Tanks found themselves dragged to the ground and torn to pieces by the endless horde. The largest Mechs resisted the longest. Their heavy armor withstood the claws for a time. But inevitably, the tide of creatures found weak points in their armor, and they, too, were dragged down and cut to pieces by the seething mass.
In a matter of minutes, the once prideful futuristic army had been decimated. The few remaining soldiers gathered around the statue of their leader. They fired desperately into the endless waves of creatures that crashed against them. But they knew that they were doomed to die. With a last defiant shot, the last armored soldier was buried beneath a mountain of the deadly creatures.
Izuku watched with a mixture of awe and horror as the battle raged between the two immense armies. The savage ferocity and the endless number of the insectoid creatures were a terrifying sight to behold.
"What... what are those things?" Izuku's voice was loud in the hope that the Hive Mind could still hear him in this strange vision.
"They are the Zerg." The voice of the Hive Mind replied, seeming to come from everywhere at the same time. "They are my kind."
Izuku's eyes widened shocked. The being that had brought him to this psionic vision was related to these nightmarish monsters? What could it possibly have in mind for him?
The Hive Mind continued, sensing his unspoken questions. "I know that you are confused, Izuku Midoriya. I brought you here and showed you this battle to explain my intentions. But first, I think some history is in order."
The scene shifted once more and transformed itself into a shadowy, organic chamber.
"My existence can be thanked to the Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan," the Hive Mind explained. "She had planned me as a contingency in case she failed in her quest to defeat the fallen Xel'naga named Amon."
Izuku saw a tall figure step out of the shadows, it was undeniably the Queen of Blades herself, the dreaded leader of the Zerg swarm.
"My purpose was to find a worthy host to inherit the Swarm should Amon defeat Kerrigan. I was to find a worthy host to emerge and continue her fight."
The Hive Mind continued to explain as it spoke.
"In search of one who could be the new leader of the Swarm, I had traveled across countless stars. One who had immense psionic potential."
Izuku's eyes widened and he jumped back in a big surprise. It was him, the Hive Mind had chosen him. But for what reason? He wasn't anyone special, just a child without any quirks!
"M-me? But I don't have any power! I'm Quirkless, I've always been looked down on because of that..."
"You possess a power that no Terran of this world has ever seen," the Hive Mind said. "Your essence shines in the psionic realm, more brightly than any other that I have come across on this planet. If you were to become our leader, you would be able to unleash your latent psionic abilities. The Zerg can give you the power that you have always wanted to have."
Izuku's thoughts raced. His emotions were all over the place. A chance to gain power? For him? But he had never been able to show any special abilities, not like Kacchan or All Might did. He was nothing. He was worthless. Unwanted memories began to rise in Izuku's mind. The worried eyes of his mother as she apologized to him for his lack of a quirk. Kacchan's taunting and fiery explosions. The pitiful look of All Might when he told Izuku that he couldn't be a hero. Worthless Deku, Quirkless loser... In an endless loop, the labels chased each other.
"You have endured the scorn of your peers, the doubts of your family, even rejection from your greatest idol," said the Hive Mind. "But no more. Embrace the Swarm, lead us as our new leader, and we will give you power. After all, the world that you live in only recognizes those with power only."
The temptation was on the rise. Izuku had tried so hard to get a chance to prove himself. Only to have doors slammed in his face again and again. He was tired. Tired of being looked down upon, tired of being rejected, tired of being told that his dreams were worthless. Here was a chance for him to finally be something more than that. This was his chance to show everyone just how wrong they had been about him.
Sensing Izuku's weakening resistance, the Hive Mind pressed its advantage. "The choice is simple, Izuku Midoriya. You can accept it and gain the power that you have always sought, or you can reject it and remain forever a dismissed and discarded nobody."
Izuku closed his eyes and let the past and the present collide inside of him. He saw again the sadness of his mother, the contempt of his former friend, the pity of All Might. Worthless! Senseless! A nobody. The negative memories flowed through his mind until in the end, he could take no more of them. When Izuku opened his eyes once more, they were glowing with a determination. He would show them! Show them all!
It was then that Izuku gave out a simple answer, "I accept."
From the farthest corners of Izuku's psyche, the Hive Mind's exultation echoed. "Excellent, a new age dawns for the Swarm."
Izuku watched as the vision dissolved into darkness. Suddenly, he found himself sitting on his bed, back in his room exactly as he had been before his telepathic exchange with the Hive Mind.
"How...how long did that take?!" Izuku exclaimed out loud.
Izuku looked at his watch in disbelief. He saw that hardly any time had passed. The hands on the clock face were in exactly the same position as they had been when the Hive Mind had first reached out to him.
"Be at ease. In a psionic vision, time flows differently than in the material realm. What seemed like hours immersed within the psychic landscape was merely seconds to your physical form."
He nodded his head in understanding. So that was the explanation for the discrepancy between the duration of the psionic vision and the time in the real world.
Finally, Izuku took a deep breath, the emotions swirling around inside of him as the full implications of this sank in. With the acceptance of the Hive Mind's offer, he now had a real chance to fulfill his dreams of being a hero.
For someone as Quirkless as he was, that goal had seemed hopeless and out of reach for so long. He was constantly told that he would never make it. That wanting to be a hero was useless without powers. Everyone from his childhood friend to his own idol, All Might, had crushed his hopes by doubting and pitying him. But now, with the Zerg, everything had changed for him.
Izuku allowed himself to smile, small and triumphant. He would prove them all wrong. He would surpass even the greatest heroes. With the help of the Zerg, he would be able to do all the things that were out of his reach before. When no one else would, the Zerg reached out to him.
Izuku knew now that this was just the beginning. One day, he would be the greatest hero.