[Chapter 2]
It was the weekend, and Izuku felt like a brand new person.
Technically she was a brand new person, but being in a different body took some time to get used to. She'd done some minor experimentation and theorizing in the two days since the incident, making some startling discoveries along the way. Izuku glanced down at her costume as she hovered just above the seawater, a girl in a frilly green-and-white dress smiling back at her.
The white, flower-shaped choker on her neck barely felt like it was there, the chest area sporting a cute green ribbon that was topped with an alabaster four-pointed flower. Her arms ended in a pair of pristine gloves made of some strange, unknown material; soft as silk yet breathable like Egyptian cotton. She blushed and did a little twirl, still a little embarrassed at the prospect of being in a skirt. Then again, it was super comfy. Under the ruffled skirt was a pair of fluffy bloomers to prevent any accidental pantyshots, which was nice since she would be flying most of the time. Finally, her feet were clad in a pair of white heels with green highlights and ribbons, somehow much more comfortable than what ladies on the internet described wearing them would be like.
It turned out that the entire outfit itself was part of her power, able to manifest or withdraw at a moment's notice. The twinkling forcefield that surrounded her was a completely different thing, constantly on even when she didn't have the dress manifested. Perhaps the clothing was a secondary function of her Quirk. Dispelling the dress simply revealed her to be wearing what her male form was wearing before he transformed. That'd be useful.
Then there was the transformation itself, so unlike what she'd seen in those kid shows. No sparkling colors, no music, no magic pocket mirrors or whirling ribbons. Instead of a musical number her transformation was more like a flashbang grenade detonating, her two bodies swapping instantaneously. Izuku managed to figure out that the body not in use was sent to some sort of 'alternate space', with everything they were wearing going along for the ride. She'd even tried keeping her phone's camera on when she swapped bodies to see if she could capture some footage, but all it recorded was static. Static, on a modern smartphone. Her power was weird.
Izuku shrugged, blasting off further towards the sea of Japan to do some power testing. There wasn't a soul for miles around, a perfect space for her to practice some aerial maneuvers. The air started to wrap around her in a cone as she accelerated, going faster by the second. Shock diamonds formed beneath her feet, the water below parting in her wake.
Faster, Izuku thought, excitement burning in her core like an engine. Faster, faster!
She began pushing into the sound barrier, a visible vapor cone swirling around her body like a ballerina's tutu. The girl grinned, marveling at how invincible she felt. This was power, and the freedom that came alongside it.
"Wooooooohooooooo~!" she screamed with delight, finally breaking the sound barrier with an ear splitting crack.
The sonic boom she caused was heard for approximately thirty miles, with local fishermen and merchant ships just perceiving it as another military exercise.
Izuku giggled and let her fingertips skim along the sea, creating a massive spray of water. She was fast, and just as strong. Nearly invulnerable. At that speed her fingers should have been ripped clean off just by making contact, but here it was as though she was cutting through a lazy stream.
Mach 1. Is that my limit? Izuku thought, becoming a green and white blur atop the waves. Better not push it too far for now.
She spotted a coast guard vessel on the way back, quickly avoiding it by flying low and changing course. A minute later she was back in Japan, landing on Dagobah beach after a quick and sharp deceleration. This body could withstand extreme g-forces too. Excellent.
Dagobah beach had been beautiful once, before people started using it as a dumping ground. Izuku remembered coming here with her parents, watching the sunset while the ocean waves washed against the shore. Now all the waves did was pull and push the trash everyone dumped in and out of the beach in a loop, the sea spray rusting tons of metal and causing a deep, iron-like stench to permeate through the air.
Izuku decided to use the beach as a training ground whilst cleaning it up. All that junk made for good practice dummies, and no one was coming to clear it anyway. Two birds with one stone.
"Okay…" Izuku did a few stretches and hopped from side to side to hype herself up. "Alright, okay!"
She started with some light footwork, followed by a little shadow-boxing. High kicks soon followed, then speed drills to test her explosiveness. Her fists and feet cut through the air, the power of her own attacks still astonishing her.
Enhanced reflexes, lightning fast. Izuku thought to herself, mentally recording down every single detail. I can think faster and learn faster, too.
Izuku had been watching martial art tutorials, absorbing a variety of different styles like a sponge with water. Skills that would have taken years to master could be familiarized in half the time with her superhuman brain.
A flurry of punches was unleashed at an abandoned pickup, crumpling the derelict vehicle like a pancake. She then proceeded to lift it up, holding it over her head with ease. It didn't make sense at all. To have the raw strength to do that she would have needed muscles the size of beach balls. Instead she was lithe and slim, built more like a ballet dancer than a brawler.
Izuku reasoned it must be the forcefield, what she called her Glitter, doing the heavy lifting, with the true power being in her mind to project it around her. Invulnerability, flight, strength. The perfect trifecta of abilities once thought to be the pinnacle of superhuman prowess during the Golden Age of Heroes.
The girl giggled but quickly calmed down, careful not to get too full of herself. According to her notes, overconfidence was responsible for almost 40% of hero-related casualties. She had to be careful, especially with how hard she could hit.
More practice and training was needed. Whereas everyone got their Quirk at the age of four, Izuku had been Quirkless for the first fourteen years of her life. A sudden influx of overwhelming power wasn't exactly a boon. One misstep, and she could accidentally kill someone with a single punch. Power and control was always inversely proportional, so she decided to take it down a notch.
Izuku faced an abandoned refrigerator, pulling her hand back. 70% output should do it.
"Hah!"
The sound of her fist hitting the metal was like a car crash, sending the large appliance flying backwards and skipping across the waves like a pebble before it finally spun apart into pieces from its own repeated impacts with the water.
"...Oops." she muttered sheepishly. "Okay, maybe 60%. 50%? Hmm…"
She practiced for the next few hours, hauling trash to the correct dumping zones during her breaks. Izuku knew she had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to catch up. In terms of combat experience and Quirk usage she had zero, nada. She intended to change that before the U.A entrance exam started.
As time passed she began getting a better feel for her new body, all sorts of theories and questions running through her mind. Izuku was slowly becoming used to the power thrumming through her, learning its strengths and limitations. Flying around at max speed earlier tired her out quickly, and so did launching rapid-fire punches at 100%. It was like she was a rechargeable battery, with a limited amount of energy to work with.
Izuku wondered if her 'capacity' could be increased. Knowing how Quirks worked, it probably could. Quirks were like muscles—the more one used them, the stronger they would get. In her case she was already terrifyingly strong, so she needed to learn how to reign it in and get it under control or risk having it run wild.
Next came ranged power testing. If her power was anything like those children shows, Magical Girls would have the ability to shoot some sort of beam or energy attack, usually from their hands or feet. Izuku aimed at a pile of trash and thrust her hand outward, focusing on her palm.
"Shoot!"
Absolutely nothing happened. The girl pouted and wriggled her fingers for good measure, trying to project her twinkling forcefield outward. It stubbornly refused, sticking to her body like a second skin.
Hmmm. Maybe if I… Izuku thought back to how she'd first transformed when she did a cute pose. It'll be super embarrassing, though. Oh well, it's not like anyone's watching.
"L-like this?" Izuku cupped her hands together to form a heart shape, half-expecting an actual beam of energy to manifest. "Love-Love Beam~!"
She did not expect a naked man to pop out of the sand.
"Eh?" the man blinked.
"Ah." Izuku said, still stuck in her pose.
Then she screamed, voice high-pitched and shrill.
"GYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA!" Izuku cried out, panicking. "A pervert!"
"Wait, no, miss! I'm sorry, I didn't expect anyone to be here—"
The words went unheard as she grabbed fistfuls of sand off the beach, throwing them at the naked man. It was fortunate that the attacks somehow phased through him, because they impacted the ground behind him with the force of shotgun blasts. Izuku paused but still held her hands up, ready to launch another volley.
"Miss, please calm down. My bad, I really didn't know anyone would be here!" the blonde man… no, the teenager raised one hand in surrender while preserving his modesty with the other. "This was supposed to be my new training ground, you see. I'm a student at U.A. who got tasked to clean this place up."
Izuku's eyes lit up at the mention of the prestigious school, but still had her guard up.
"Oh yeah? Prove it!" she huffed.
"I, uh, don't carry an I.D. with me. Because I'm…" he gestured at himself. "Y'know. It's part of my Quirk."
Izuku threw another fistful of sand at him, this time with the strength of a normal person. It still phased through his body harmlessly.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked, more bemused than annoyed.
"T-to check if you're lying. What kind of Quirk requires you to be naked?"
"My Quirk is called Permeation. It allows me to become intangible, so everything slips through me."
"Intangibility. If so, why can you see and hear me? Light and sound should be able to pass through you too, unless… a targeted effect? Keeping your head and feet tangible while the rest of your body isn't?" Izuku squinted at him, mumbling to herself. "That must take a lot of concentration and practice… Your clothes fall through you and—wait, didn't I see you at last year's U.A Sports Festival? You were the streaker on the track!"
"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" the blonde smiled and stretched his hand out. "I'm Togata Mirio. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Miracle, and wish I could say the same." Izuku looked at his hand as if she was presented with a live snake. Like hell she was going to touch that. "Are you really gonna pretend that you're not just standing there butt-ass naked?"
"Oh, right. You mind if I uh…"
Izuku raised an eyebrow and the tall boy quickly turned and retreated back into the ground. She glanced at his wide back as he went, noting his impressive physique. All it did was confirm that she still had a male mind, seeing as she wasn't the least bit attracted to his body. If anything, it made her want to work even harder as boy-Izuku.
Mirio returned a minute later, now properly dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. Izuku finally relaxed once he showed her his U.A. identification card, confirming that he was who he claimed to be.
"So, uh, Miracle-san, right?" Mirio began, going with the flow and not questioning her name. "You figured out my Quirk real fast! Are you intending on joining U.A?"
"Pretty much. Do they really make students clean up public places, or is this like an extra-credit thing?" Izuku mused, hauling another abandoned refrigerator atop her shoulder.
"It's the latter. I was hoping to clean this place up and do some training at the same time, but it looks like you beat me to it." Mirio admitted. "What's up with the Magical Girl outfit?"
"Same reason why you were naked." Izuku said, turning red. "It's a part of my Quirk."
"Really? That's amazing!" Mirio laughed, backing away when she sulked. "No, no, I'm not laughing at you. It's just nostalgic. Everyone used to watch those shows as a kid, so it's pretty surreal seeing you make it work in real life."
"Believe me, I didn't choose to be this way either." Izuku mumbled, embarrassed. "But I'm happy with what I've got."
"That's the spirit! You gotta work with what you have!" Mirio cheered, his smile as brilliant as the morning sun. "With a Quirk like yours, I'm sure you'll get into the Hero Course!"
"Uh, yeah, thanks." Izuku winced, shying away awkwardly.
She got the feeling that most people wouldn't see it that way when they found out how her Quirk actually worked. Changing from a powerless boy to an uber-powerful girl wasn't exactly common. Izuku was sure this guy had no bad intentions, but she couldn't help but feel a little worried when she thought about how people would react to her. Would they turn away in disgust, shock, and anger?
The girl wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. Instead she glanced at her phone, faking a face of alarm.
"O-oh, would you look at the time!" she gasped. "Sorry Togata-san, but I've got to get home for dinner!"
"Eh? It's 3pm."
"Pre-dinner! I-I'm eating for two." Izuku paused, reddening. "Wait, that came out wrong."
"Um, congratulations?" Mirio said hesitantly, unsure how to react.
"No, it's not, I, um, gah!" the girl fumbled her words, slowly hovering into the air. "N-nevermind. See you around!"
"See ya, Magical Girl Miracle!" Mirio waved as she shot off into the horizon, leaving a sparkling trail behind her. "She can fly too? Man, what an interesting Quirk…"
He then glanced around the beach, noting that it'd been completely cleared of all trash. That girl must have spent the entire morning cleaning it all up, all by herself. Mirio smiled, knowing that someone like her was going to go far in the world of heroes.
[x]
Izuku continued to fly circles high above the city as Miracle, still testing her Quirk. She could feel herself reaching a limit of sorts, running out of power after continuously boosting forward every other minute.
So there's a limited amount of energy I have, which corresponds to how much time I have left. The less power I use, the longer I can stay as Miracle.
She wondered what would happen if she exhausted her reserves, and slowly began descending to a safe height. Perhaps she would return to becoming boy-Izuku? If that was the case, it'd be best to find out her limit now. She shuddered at the thought of her identity being revealed mid-fight, and her male form couldn't fly so a mid-air transformation would turn him into a red stain on the pavement.
A loud kaboom pulled her out of her thoughts, Izuku turning to the source and spying a column of black smoke in the distance. A fire? She quickly checked her remaining reserves, satisfied.
Izuku arrived on the scene to see a building being evacuated, choking black smoke flooding through the windows and doors. The huge logo on the front told her it was a bank, dozens of civilians streaming out in a panic. She analyzed the situation, her mind processing every minute detail.
Smoke, but no fire. Light, but no actual heat. Smoke bomb, or Quirk? Non-toxic. Meant to simulate fire to incite panic. White van near entrance, already waiting. Getaway vehicle.
"This is a distraction." Izuku whispered, biting her lip.
Should she interfere? There were no heroes around but getting involved meant vigilantism, which was considered a crime. From her notes she estimated it would take maybe two minutes or even three for a local hero to arrive, then they would be busy with trying to put the nonexistent fire out to notice anything wrong. Whoever planned this had done their homework.
Four men in blue electrician uniforms were running out the doors, and in the chaos nobody noticed the heavy duffel bags they were carrying. If she didn't do anything now they'd get away with it…
One of the men shoved an old lady out of the way as the group of thieves raced towards the van, and Izuku made up her mind. In the blink of an eye she quickly caught the lady before her head could smash against the concrete steps, then righted her before somersaulting away and into the path of the bank robbers.
Izuku landed right in front of them, blocking the path to their getaway vehicle. They froze, and she gave them what she hoped was a friendly smile.
"Hi there! I'm afraid your transaction wasn't successful." the Magical Girl said sweetly. "I'm gonna need you to hand those over."
The men exchanged glances, then dropped the bags and nodded as one.
"Get her!"
They attacked, assuming she was a hero. Izuku sure felt like one, dodging the incoming projectiles and Quirk effects that were sent her way with casual ease. She expected to be afraid or terrified at the prospect of actually fighting villains and criminals, but this was fun! Absolutely exhilarating. It was a game of back and forth as she slipped and weaved between their attacks like a boxer, downing each opponent with a single punch to the liver. Izuku was careful not to hit too hard, precisely managing her output…
One of the thieves let out a pained wheeze when she hit a little off target, feeling a rib break atop her knuckles.
"O-oops. Sorry…" Izuku said, genuinely apologetic.
"Fuckin' bitch!" the last man roared, his massive fist headed straight for her face.
Izuku caught it with a gloved hand, matching his glare with one of her own. She began to squeeze, the pain actually bringing the larger man to his knees. He reached around his waistband for something, and she brought up her other hand just in time to catch a crossbow bolt aimed at her eye. A crossbow? Really?
"Don't do that." she told him, kneeing him in the chin to knock him out.
The screeching of rubber on asphalt reminded her of the last loose end, and Izuku threw the bolt right at the getaway vehicle. With her strength it traveled at the speed of a bullet, lodging itself into the back left tire and causing it to veer off course and crash into a lamppost. Just like that it was over, and Izuku opened one of the bags to check the contents.
Each bag the thieves were carrying was stacked to the brim with bills and documents, Izuku letting out a low whistle before quickly refocusing. Right, a hero had to make sure that everyone was alright.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" she asked the old woman from earlier, quickly checking on her.
"I-I'm fine, young lady." The old woman glanced at the unconscious criminals. "Oh my. Were they…?"
"Robbing the bank? Yeah." Izuku focused on the building, narrowing her eyes. She could still hear the shuffling of feet and loud coughing within. Someone was still trapped inside. "One moment, please."
She turned into a green and white blur and shot into the smoke, returning a few seconds later with a nauseated-looking couple in her arms. The crowd watched in awe as the unknown hero gently put them down, then began cheering once they realized she'd foiled the robbery.
Izuku's cheeks burned bright red when they started crowding around her, giving their thanks while asking for her name. Not only was she unaccustomed to all the attention, but the fact that she was wearing a skirt only made things worse. Blaring sirens soon reached her ears, a quartet of police cars rounding the corner. A hero was with them too, riding atop one of the cars like a majestic knight.
"Um, gotta go!" she said quickly.
Izuku took off just as the officers stepped out of their vehicles, leaving the stunned crowd behind while the police stormed the area.
The last of her energy was used up to fly home, Izuku letting out a tired sigh as she landed on the balcony of her apartment. To her surprise she didn't change back into Izuku when she finally ran out of power, the Magical Girl form disintegrating into a stream of green particles and revealing a blonde girl beneath the costume. She was wearing what boy-Izuku was wearing before he transformed, clad in a simple t-shirt and shorts.
"H-huh? What the…" Izuku rushed into the bathroom, studying her new form in the mirror. "A secondary form?"
Unlike Miracle, the girl in the mirror didn't have a hint of the color green in her entire body. She had short hair in a neat bob cut in contrast to the Magical Girl form's fluffy long ponytail, large innocent eyes staring back into Izuku's.
"Ah! If this Quirk is based off a TV show, then this must be like a 'civilian' mode. I suppose it'll come in handy for disguise purposes…" Izuku mumbled, poking herself in the cheek. Soft, with no clover-shaped markings. "Wait a minute."
She blinked, examining herself carefully. Light blonde hair and yellow eyes were paired with a feminine face that was a bit plainer than Miracle's. Still very cute, though. The golden Magical Girl on the bridge had blonde hair too. Izuku didn't get a good look at her face since she was covered in blood, but a pit of worry and suspicion was growing in her stomach.
"Are you her?" Izuku asked herself, waiting for a response. "Did I somehow fuse with you or something?"
No such luck. No voices in her head called out, and no magical mascot creatures popped out from nowhere. Izuku let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, relaxing her shoulders. She still had so much to learn about this weird Quirk.
Just as she was about to swap bodies she sniffed the air, catching the scent of smoke and seawater. Yellow eyes grew wide with embarrassment when she realized that this body required maintenance too, and now she needed a shower.
"I-I guess it can't be helped." Izuku mumbled, red as a tomato. "It should be okay, r-right?"
It was not okay. Izuku had her eyes closed throughout the entire ordeal, letting out a small squeak every time she brushed against something soft. Were all girls this soft? She didn't know if it was okay to still feel this way, especially since it was her own body. She used a towel to prevent herself from further skin-on-skin contact, only using her hands to wash her hair.
The young heroine kept her eyes closed even as she toweled herself dry and got dressed, biting back a curse when she realized she only had boys' underwear. It'd have to do for now, but she promised herself she'd do some shopping soon. The girl in the mirror was still blushing when she finally reopened her eyes, hair still a little wet. Tiny glittering particles told her that the forcefield was still up even in this power-saving 'civilian mode'.
"That felt so wrong…" Izuku took a deep breath, looking down at her small, petite hands. "Okay, fun's over."
A part of her didn't want to change back, but she knew it was for the best. At the end of the day her Quirk allowed her to have two bodies, one significantly stronger and able to utilize the Quirk to its full potential. The other was just… her old self. But that didn't mean she could just stay as her girl form forever.
"Henshin." Izuku whispered.
There was a sharp bang and a flash of light. Izuku was back as a boy, plain-looking as ever. He groaned, hands curling into fists and unclenching. This sucked. He was Deku again, and he felt like a loser. He'd felt like a loser for the past ten years of his life. In contrast, his female form was everything he'd ever wanted to be. Strong, fast, and powerful in ways that he couldn't even have imagined. A beautiful, perfect hero.
He was just… him. Weak, worthless Deku.
Izuku shook his head rapidly, pushing the dark thoughts to the back of his mind. It was time to cook dinner anyway.
The bank robbery replayed itself in his head while he began to prepare the ingredients, and Izuku winced. Why had he done that? Vigilantism was a crime, but it was as though his body moved by itself when he saw someone getting hurt.
Checking the news on his phone revealed that there was some news about Miracle, though it was largely just witness reports of some mysterious girl in a frilly outfit stopping the criminals and rescuing a couple trapped in the smoke. No one had gotten pictures of her face but there was one blurred photo of her flying off into the distance just as the police arrived.
It'd been a mistake. He was aiming for U.A, so the last thing he needed was a criminal record. Yet deep down in his heart he knew it'd be wrong to just step back and let the entire incident happen.
Did I do the right thing?
Izuku honestly didn't know. Maybe he could ask that boy on the beach about what he should have done. Surely U.A. taught their students about scenarios like those.
Thinking about the tall boy made Izuku realize how unfit he currently was. Somehow it felt as though everyone was better than him. Even his female form was physically fitter, lithe and lean while he was skinny and small.
Izuku sighed. No better time than now to start. He got down on his hands into a push-up position on the kitchen floor, and began.
"One, two, three…"
[x]
The next day was spent doing more training in the skies of Musutafu, Izuku having recovered all her energy after a good night's sleep. She still continued trying to fire out beams but to no avail. It seemed that her powerset allowed her to be an infighter, specializing in up close and personal fights. Izuku preferred it that way.
Thunderous booms and panicked screams echoed from the city below, Izuku pausing in confusion and heading down to see if she could help. At first she hesitated but there was this pull in her head that beckoned her closer, like iron filings to a magnet.
She arrived on the scene to find something most peculiar. There was some sort of… monster running wild through the neighborhood, letting out a bellowing roar as a group of five heroes tried to stop it.
The creature was an ugly, inhuman thing; covered in pale, wrinkly skin that flexed and undulated over its quadruped body with every movement. From above Izuku thought it looked like a giant human hand, then realized that was exactly what it was supposed to be. Its four limbs ended in gigantic fingertips, a pinkish nail on each 'hoof'. The middle finger of the hand was its 'head', a pair of antennae shaped like fingers twitching sporadically. Even its mouthparts were in the shape of five fingers arranged in a grasping grip, spraying drool everywhere as it screeched and howled at the heroes surrounding it.
"Whoa…" Izuku whispered.
One of the heroes that she recognized as Kamui Woods leapt onto the beast's back, his branches coiling around its neck while he attempted to wrangle it like a wild horse. The monster bucked and screamed, charging around in a blind panic until it raised its front feet into the air and slammed them back down.
To everyone's surprise dozens of grasping hands erupted from the ground, the asphalt constructs grabbing Kamui Woods and flinging him through a wall. They'd assumed that the beast was a transformed human with a heteromorphic Quirk, not expecting a second emitter-type Quirk to be present. Kamui Woods emerged from the rubble, charging right back into the fight while one hand was held to his ear communicator.
"Lacquered Chain Prison!" he yelled, but the beast broke through his binding branches as if they were made of matchwood. "Backup, we need back—oof!"
The monster kicked him with its hind legs like an angry bull, the impact scattering wooden splinters everywhere and sending the young hero spiraling into the air. Izuku caught him right before he hit the concrete, joining the fight since the heroes looked to be outmatched.
"Kamui-san! Are you alright?" she gasped.
"I'll live." he coughed painfully. "Wait, who the hell—"
Izuku didn't let him finish, zooming into battle after putting him down. Every time the beast stomped it created more of those hands from any inorganic material nearby, the strange constructs having bound the rest of the heroes to nearby walls and even the road.
"Hey! Hey, stop!" Izuku yelled.
To her surprise, the monster actually did stop. Izuku hadn't planned for that and was at a loss for words when it turned around to face her.
Those eyes. It had a pair of brown, human eyes burning with intelligence. The creature studied Izuku with a strange intensity, but didn't attack. Instead, it bowed at her.
Wait, what?
Izuku didn't have time to contemplate what she just witnessed when a blast of orange energy sailed over her head and smashed into the creature, causing it to let out a shriek of anger. One of the heroes from earlier had broken free and was now shooting fireballs at it with an outstretched palm, fury in his eyes.
"Die, monster!"
"No, wait!" Izuku tried to say but the enraged hero rushed past her, more focused on glory and revenge than actually solving the problem. She suspected that the entity only attacked in self-defense, and it proceeded to use its Quirk once again in retaliation.
This time the summoned hands were clenched into fists. A barrage erupted from the ground, mercilessly slamming into the hero over and over until Izuku quickly grabbed his unconscious body and pulled him away to safety. She hovered in front of the monster's face, holding out her arms in an effort to calm it down.
"Hey, hey! Whoa, it's alright!" she cried out, trying to reach the person inside the monster. "Um, sir, ma'am? Can you hear me?"
Just then even more heroes arrived with reporters trailing behind, capturing the scene of Izuku standing alone against the beast. They charged in and fired with their Quirks, once again aggravating the creature. Izuku let out a groan of exasperation, not sure what to do.
One of the heroes picked up a truck and hurled it at the hand-monster, only for it to be deflected by a well-timed wall of linked concrete hands. The vehicle instead spun wildly through the air… headed right for the crowd of reporters.
Izuku moved before she could think. The cameras were still rolling when Izuku caught the pickup truck with her bare hands right before it crushed the crowd, her tiny body supporting all that weight while still hovering. The men and women below her gaped, unable to believe their eyes.
"Everyone okay?" Izuku asked, gently placing the vehicle down.
One of the reporters nodded dumbly, and that was enough for her to race back into battle. When she arrived the monster had already defeated most of the heroes there, with only Kamui Woods still standing while the rest were downed or chained by stone hands.
"Stop!" Izuku commanded.
The beast obeyed just like before, turning towards Izuku. Unfortunately Kamui Woods had been winding up a punch a few moments prior and couldn't halt his attack in time. His fist struck straight and true, the monster screeching and refocusing on him instead. It charged, and when the hero dodged to the side it continued galloping right at the frightened crowd.
"Oh, come on!" Izuku groaned and shot forward to protect them again, but to her shock the beast reared up on its hind legs and stopped before it trampled the crowd underfoot.
It… doesn't actually want to hurt anyone?
Terrified screams brought her back to reality. Izuku flew towards the monster who was still roaring, chambering a fist.
"Sorry about this." she closed in, aiming for its head. "Smash!"
Her knuckles impacted with a meaty crunch, finally incapacitating the monster when its head hit the road hard enough to crack the asphalt. Izuku let out a huff as the crowd behind her cheered, waiting to see if it would get up.
It let out a loud, pitiful moan of pain and collapsed into a whirlwind of multicolored particles. Izuku reeled back in shock, grabbing at what had once been the monster only for the particles to fall through her fingers like sand.
"What was that…?" Izuku whispered in amazement.
"Miss, miss! Could we have a statement?"
"Are you a new hero? What's with the Magical Girl theme?"
"Miss, over here! Is this your debut?"
The girl turned to face them, suddenly finding over a dozen cameras and microphones pointed in her general direction. She took a step back in fear, legs turning to jelly under their combined gazes until a single thought ran through her mind.
What would All Might do?
He would smile. He'd tell everyone watching that everything was going to be okay.
"I'm Miracle, a magical warrior of love and peace!" Izuku gave the viewers a great big smile, her hand held up with a 'peace' sign. "Nice to meet you!"
The gathered crowd cheered and clapped even as Izuku rocketed into the sky moments later, covering her face in embarrassment. Magical warrior, love and peace? That's the best she could come up with? It was so… girly! Damn it, she should have said 'peace and justice' instead! There went her chances of being a super-cool, ultra-manly hero like All Might. Well, maybe she could still be cool and tough like Mirko. She was a girl, and she made it work…
"You there! Stop right there, vigilante!"
Hm?
There was a hero behind her, white vapor trailing from a jetpack on his back. Izuku recognized him as the Buster Hero: Airjet. She thought for a moment then decelerated in an instant, allowing him to zoom past when he overshot. The girl watched with interest as multiple flaps opened up in the man's armor, creating drag and letting him slow down for a sharp turn.
"Miss, I'm gonna need you to come with me. What you just did was—"
"Hi there, Airjet!" Izuku smiled, thrusting her notebook and a pen into his face. "Can I have your autograph?"
"Eh? Oh, um, sure." Airjet signed the book, blinking when he saw the sketch of himself within. "Wait, is that me?"
"Thank you so much!" Izuku cheered, sliding the notebook back into a hidden compartment near the back of her dress. "Bye-bye~!"
"What the—hey!"
Airjet kept chasing her, but Miracle was faster. She slipped between buildings and broke line of sight, dispelling the dress and turning back into her civilian form. A moment later she landed within an alley and jogged out into the street, blending in with the pedestrians milling about. The Buster Hero arrived only moments later, searching around but finding nothing.
"I've lost her. Unknown vigilante last spotted on sixth avenue, tightening the perimeter." Airjet was speaking into his helmet's radio, but Izuku could hear him with her enhanced sense of hearing.
"Wow, look mommy! A hero!"
"Is that Airjet? Hey man, keep up the good work!"
Various civilians pointed and waved at Airjet, Izuku doing the same while smiling. This Quirk made things so easy. She began to head home with a skip in her step, satisfied with a new autograph in her collection. In contrast to how worried boy-Izuku felt about vigilantism, she was positively thrilled to have the opportunity to help people after years of being weak and useless.
Maybe she should just be a girl forever.
[x]
Izuku groaned when he thought of yesterday's events, hands steepled atop his classroom desk. He'd broken the law again! Even though he was clearly in control as a girl, there seemed to be some sort of compulsion that drove him to fight crime and defeat bad guys when he was in that form. Was it another aspect of his Quirk? He knew from his notes that Quirks could affect their users' minds, and his was definitely doing something weird to him. His female form was more bubbly and confident, but also much more reckless. There was no doubt that the Quirk was influencing his personality a little. Izuku made a vow to stay true to himself whenever possible.
He knew he shouldn't, yet the thought of people getting hurt because of his inaction was worse than the fear of being labeled as a criminal. If Miracle hadn't stopped that creature, the heroes would have attacked it even more and someone might have gotten seriously hurt in the chaos. Overall her participation yielded positive results, so Izuku was willing to let it slide.
What was that thing anyway? The boy pondered as he drew it from memory, largely ignoring the teacher's droning since he'd already studied the lesson material in his free time. Izuku's pencil danced across the paper of his notebook, sketching the hand monster in precise detail.
It could be the effect of someone's Quirk. Maybe an escaped laboratory subject, or part of someone's body that grew and mutated when they detached it? Hmm…
Whatever it was, it clearly didn't want to actually hurt anyone. Izuku knew that most of the collateral damage was caused by the heroes trying to take it down instead.
The school day passed faster than usual, and Izuku quietly packed his bags and headed home before Bakugo or his pals could corner him. Business as usual.
Izuku took his usual path home, doing a little window-shopping on the way back. He caught himself looking at department stores, remembering that he still had to buy undergarments and clothes for his other self. It'd be nice for her to have some outfits of her own instead of wearing his weird t-shirts. They were a bit too loose on her since he had bigger shoulders, even if they were rather comfortable.
A sharp pull in his head alerted Izuku to something going on in the distance. Looking up he could see a column of smoke in the distance, police cars racing towards the source of the disturbance.
Again?
Izuku began running, slipping into an alley to transform. Miracle exploded from the darkness after a flash of light, flying towards the chaos.
She was met with not a villain attack, but a monster rampaging just like yesterday. This time it was a great, feathered serpent with six wings and eyes, its bus-sized, translucent body flashing periodically like a strobe light. Various heroes were trying to ground it, small explosions blossoming atop the entity's skin as it swam above the city like an eel.
Izuku watched the battle for a moment, waiting to see if the heroes needed help. They definitely did, seeing as all their attacks seemed to slide off it like water off a raincoat. It'd been the same yesterday with that hand monster; with only her attacks seeming to have any actual effect.
Why me in particular? Izuku wondered.
No matter. Izuku descended to help the local heroes, hovering right in front of the serpent's path. It'd been swimming through the air lazily and ignoring everything thrown at it, but the moment it saw Izuku it reacted in alarm, rearing back and flaring its wings outward to appear larger.
Is it afraid of me? No, it knows I can hurt it when the other heroes can't. The girl realized with a fair bit of shock. How does it know?
Low rumbling filled the air when the serpent began vibrating its wings like a hornet, its threat display solely directed at Izuku. It had no mouth, instead relying on its body to communicate. Izuku still found herself puzzled, trying to figure out what it was.
The beauty of it mesmerized the civilians below, many of them pointing up and recording the creature on their phones. Izuku could hear them whispering and murmuring, some of them even saying it looked like an Angel.
Angel. That name would suffice for these mysterious beings.
The Angel, as she dubbed it, began turning away after realizing she wasn't intimidated at all, choosing flight over fight. It descended and began snaking its way through the city, forcing the heroes to pursue it through the urban jungle.
"Stop!" Izuku tried.
It was no use. Unlike the hand creature the translucent serpent didn't obey Izuku at all, writhing and flexing as it surged through the city streets like a wave of glass. Pedestrians screamed and dived out of the way, the heroes raining down attacks upon the Angel from above.
That clearly annoyed it because the creature suddenly shuddered and bursts of intense white light flashed from its body, focusing into beams that struck at the heroes who attacked it. This action confirmed Izuku's earlier theory that the Angels only retaliated in self-defense. It was far too late by then, the creature's laser beams now sweeping across the area in a wide, cutting arc. She watched in horror as one cut a car in half, but was left astonished when the passengers within were completely unharmed. The beam had swerved to avoid them, the Angel somehow capable of bending light itself.
"Cut it out!" Izuku snapped, grabbing onto the beast's tail and driving her feet into the road.
The Angel dragged her along for a few meters until Izuku dug her heels in, pulling at the beast while it whirled and shook in her grip like a fish on a line. It was strong, terrifyingly so. If it'd actually wanted to kill the heroes, it could have done so simply by ramming into them with its sheer mass and speed. Instead, it was trying to get away, to escape.
"Just calm down!" Izuku wrestled with it, her grip slipping on its translucent glass skin. "I know you're angry, but please! You're scaring everyone!"
Another rumbling note, this one higher-pitched. It was getting pissed off. The Angel released another blast of laser fire, making the heroes back off while Izuku still held it in place.
"Don't make me do this!" she yelled, pulling a fist back.
In the end, she didn't have to do anything. A bolt of purple plasma struck the Angel right on the crown of its skull, causing it to crash into the ground unceremoniously. The entity let out a final low, pained rumble before starting to disintegrate into those familiar multicolored particles, defeated by that single attack. Izuku looked up to see who had finished it off, about to give them a piece of her mind until she saw who it was.
Dark purple hair arranged into twintails billowed in the wind, a pair of heterochromatic eyes so very much like Izuku's boring into him. Her frilly dress was a deep purple with white highlights, featuring a goth-lolita style compared to Izuku's Mahou-Kei aesthetic.
A twinkling, purple Magical Girl stared down at Magical Miracle Midoriya, pearly-white teeth bared in an innocent, childlike grin.
"Sup, Deku." she giggled. "Still up for that sandwich?"
[Chapter 2 End]
Thank you for reading!
Izuku needs a 'civilian' mode for a plot point I'm planning later on. He still has two bodies, its just that the female form has two modes; 'Magical Girl' and 'Civilian'.
Her civilian mode is based off the character 'Tiko' from Horikoshi Kohei's old manga, 'Barrage'.
The design of the Hand Monster is based off one of his old sketches.
Hope to see you in the next chapter.