CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FIRST STONE

"Lunch time!" Rock Lock looked up from his hospital bed. Wincing as he put himself in a sitting position. A nasty reminder of his injuries. The weird thing about it was that the villains he fought new exactly how to fight him as if someone gave them all information on how his quirk worked. "Here you are!" The young man said excitedly while handing him his hospital food. This one was shorter than the last orderly who gave him his meal. He wore the same scrubs, apron, medical cap and surgical mask like the last one though.

"Thanks", he took a bite from the tray of freshly cooked noodles. He noticed the orderly was still standing there watching him eat. "What are you still doing here?"

"Oh me?" The boy pointed at himself. "I'm just waiting for the drug to take effect"

"Wha-", Rock Lock passed out falling face first in his lunch.

"That drug", Izuku smirked sliding down the surgical mask. Gently lifting up the pro hero's head he let it rest against his pillow making sure he was indeed unconscious. Once he was sure, the young villain took out a small syringe from his blood extracting kit he kept on hand.

It was a bit of a hassle to use his connections and money to hire a small group of villains to put this hero in the hospital. He gave them strict orders not to kill Rock Lock, along with a detailed strategy on how to fight him. Once he read the news article about the pro hero being in the hospital, it was a simple matter of finding out which one, infiltrate it as an orderly that brought food to patients and he'd be given easy access to the man's room.

"Thank you for your donation", Izuku said as he extracted a vial's worth of blood from the pro hero. Once he was finished he put the surgical mask back on and left the room quietly. He looked to the security guards stationed outside the door. "He's sleeping, we'll send someone with more food later", the guards nodded their heads not seeing anything suspicious at all. Izuku smiled as he left the hospital, one blood sample richer.

U.A. FACULTY MEETING ROOM

"We ran the name Apotheosis through our informants", Detective Naomasa began in front of the U.A staff. "Also some criminals we captured told of him during interrogations", he took out his notes. "He's a kid from what we were able to gather, about the same age as your first year students. He started out working with groups of small time villains, none of them ever saw his face, and nobody knows what his quirk is either"

"That's not much to go on", Shouta Aizawa stated.

"But we have a motive behind him now", Snipe spoke up. "From what Iida told us from his encounter this boy seems to be under the delusion that he can create a true hero"

"Yes we figured that", Naomasa flipped through his notes suddenly remembering something. "Due to the boy's supposed genius that the villains praised about we came to a theory that he might have an intelligence enhancing quirk like yourself Nezu"

"That's very concerning indeed", the small white animal said. "A brilliant mind being used for evil. Do you think that's why he's mentally unstable?"

"Possibly", the detective frowned. "But what I still don't understand is why someone like him with goals similar to the hero killer would join up with the League of Villains?" The doors to the meeting room suddenly opened revealing Toshinori A.K.A Allmight in his true form.

"Sorry I'm late, I went to speak with Iida", the skinny skeleton of a man said as he sat down in the next available chair.

"And how is he enjoying his detention?" Aizawa asked with a cross tone. Tenya was given a month of detention for that little stunt he pulled with the hero killer in Hosu. His punishment should have been worse, but during the incident the student acquired valuable information about Stain and Apotheosis, so he was given a lighter sentence.

"Well he's certainly remorseful and feels ashamed by his actions if that's what you're asking", Toshinori said. "He did ask something that concerns me a bit"

"And what did he ask you?" Nezu questioned.

"Ah…It's nothing. I'm sure its noting", Toshinori dismissed. It was actually something that Apotheosis kid told Iida. How he claimed that Allmight was indirectly created by a villain. He must have been referring to All for One. Which means that man is definitely behind the League of Villains. But what really concerned him was the fact that man told another villain how the quirk One for All worked. That was bad and only reminded how he needed to find a successor to pass the power on to soon.

"I think we're blowing this out of proportion", Aizawa announced. "He's just a kid, it doesn't matter what he thinks he can do. He'd be stopped if he tried, no matter what his quirk is"

"If you say so", Detective Naomasa said. "We'll get him when we finally track down the league anyway", easier said than done. All they had on the league was three known members at large, no real names, and no faces to identify. "Oh!" the detective shouted suddenly startling everyone. "Stain mentioned in front of Iida that he saw Apotheosis earlier wearing a school uniform, so that's something"

"Do you know how many schools there are in the country?" Midnight said with an air of sarcasm.

"Yes, but he's probably a first year student, so if you look through each school. If we can find a student that has a quirk similar to Apotheosis" Toshinori said.

"Then we'll finally have a lead", Aizawa finished that line of thought.

"I'll inform the boy's at the office to look for a first year student with any intelligence based quirks and or energy manipulation", the detective explained. The U.A faculty nodded, sounded like a decent plan.

LEAGUE OF VILLAINS

"What I miss?" Izuku asked as a glass shattered against the wall across from him.

"Not much", Kurogiri said while he used his warp quirk to clean up the mess. Tomura had been throwing random temper tantrums ever since the attack on Hosu. It seems the media was more interested in Stain than him and focused more on that man's killings than the league's terrorism.

"Do we have any new recruits yet?" the teen questioned.

"Not at the moment", the bar tender admitted. "We have Giran currently working on that", Izuku sighed in disappointment. It seems the League of Villains was getting nowhere fast right now. If it continued to stagnate like this he'd probably end up leaving them behind. Another glass was shattered against the wall as soon as the news reporters on the television mentioned the words 'hero killer'.

"If you could do something about this I'd be eternally grateful", Kurogiri pleaded. Izuku glanced from Tomura to Kurogiri with worried eyes.

"Alright", Izuku smiled and went over to the boss's apprentice. "Tomura-san, let's go get lunch", Shigaraki turned his venomous glare at him.

"Why would I do that?" The older boy snarled.

"Because you could use some fresh air away from all the newscast and I'll give you my current analysis on Stain", Izuku smiled up at him.

"Fine, but you're buying", Tomura agreed and removed the hand mask from his face since they'd be going out in public.

One hour later they were walking through a mall dressed like civilians. At least Izuku was dressed like a normal civilian with a pair dark green pants, and a form fitting Allmight t-shirt. Shigaraki was dressed in all black with his hood up.

"Stop staring at me", Tomura fumed.

"I'm sorry. I've just never seen your face before", Izuku apologized. "Have you considered Chap Stick?" that wasn't a joke it was a legitimate question.

"If you ever ask me that again I'll turn you to dust", Shigaraki threatened.

"Okay", Izuku sighed.

"Do you have to wear 'his' merchandise?" Tomura said while starring daggers at his Allmight shirt.

"I'm blending in better than you though", Izuku smirked as they strolled through the mall. "No one would look twice at a kid wearing an Allmight Tee, but a guy dressed in a black hoodie in the middle of the day looks a bit suspicious", he said with an air of arrogance.

"Just shut up and find us a place to eat" After their short argument they found a fast food joint, ordered something and found a booth with nobody around it to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Well? What's your analysis on Stain?" Tomura finally asked while nibbling on some fries.

"I got up close in personal with him during that Hosu attack and I was able to figure out his quirk allows him to paralyze people when he licks their blood", Izuku put his half eaten burger down while he went off on all the practical uses for this quirk. "A very useful quirk in the hands of a serial killer"

"I'm not interested in that", Tomura hissed. "I want to know why everyone's so focused on him"

"Focused how?" The green haired teen didn't see the problem here. So what if Stain was popular now? Villains come and go, just like heroes.

"After everything I've done. The attack on U.A, my attack on Hosu, it was all just swept under the rug by the hero killer", Tomura raged as he disintegrated one of his fries.

"Why not use that to your advantage?" Izuku questioned. The media thought the hero killer was connected to them anyway. "Use Stain's influence and message to bring more villains to the league"

"I don't want that!" The older villain shouted. "Stain is undermining everything I did and what I stand for"

"What do you stand for?" Izuku suddenly asked him. "Seriously I don't understand what it is you want or wish to accomplish"

"How can you not know?" Tomura snapped at him.

"You don't have a creed like Stain, you don't seem to have a purpose or goal. You say you want to kill Allmight just because you don't like him", Izuku went on. "Why though?" That actually made Shigaraki pause and think about it for once. Why did he want to kill Allmight? What was it that he hated about the man so much? "When you come up with an answer maybe then you can start to be the leader that Sensei is trying to help you become", and with that Izuku stood up and left the restaurant to let All for One's protégé think. If his words didn't finally get through Tomura Shigaraki's immature mind then nothing would. He needed to start thinking for himself any way since Izuku wouldn't be around much longer.

As he walked through the mall the green haired teen spotted a rather interesting sight. One of his targets that he had yet to retrieve a blood sample from. Ochako Uraraka wandering around the mall seemingly alone. What luck. Izuku slowly walked towards her while pretending to be looking elsewhere.

'Hey aren't you that girl from the U.A. sports festival', No doesn't sound right.

'Hey I know you', Nope sounds kind of creepy.

'You look familiar…Oh! You're from the sports festival!' Yeah go with that one. As he was about to pass Uraraka he stopped and took a good look at her.

"You look familiar" Izuku said getting her attention. "Oh! You're from the sports festival!" The girl blushed not used to getting recognized out in public.

"Um yeah that was me", she chuckled while smiling brightly. "Ochako Uraraka"

"I thought so, you went up against Katsuki Bakugou", Izuku remembered that battle well. "You did great"

"I lost though" Ochako said sadly.

"Oh I don't think you did. You stood up to Bakugou, I think that's pretty heroic" he smiled at her. "Anyone who stands up to that guy is a hero to me".

"Do you know Bakugou?" She asked.

"Yeah I went to middle school with him", Izuku looked away bashfully. "He used to bully me for being quirkless"

"Really? That's terrible!" Ochako exclaimed. She knew that Katsuki was a hot headed jerk, but she didn't know he was that kind of monster. Picking on the people weaker than you is not heroic at all.

"Its fine, we ended going to different high schools so I'm free of him", Izuku smirked internally as he played his sympathy cards right. The two of them found a bench to sit down in the mall and started talking. Izuku acted like the nerdy school kid, a performance that he used to live in. He asked her things about U.A, what the classes were like, but mostly about what Allmight was like as teacher. Ochako lightly teased him for being an Allmight fanboy based off his shirt and obsessive interest in the number one hero. Not once was she suspicious of his act. To her he seemed like a sweet and honest boy, plain looking, but kind of cute. Ochako could definitely tell that he worked out with how his shirt seemed to cling to his muscled torso. Shaking the thoughts from her head she asked him to repeat his question hoping he didn't notice her flushed face.

"I said, why do you wish to become a hero?" Izuku repeated. Something he wanted to know before he extracted what he needed from her. He slipped a hand in his pocket and palmed a small chloroform spraying device. He planned to lure Ochako to a more private area, knock her out and get a blood sample.

"Well this is going to sound a bit selfish, but I'm doing it for the money", she had the decency to look ashamed.

'And how does that make you any different than glory seeking assholes like Bakugou?' Izuku thought to himself with disgust, hiding it behind his cheery smile.

"Well it is the most lucrative profession in this day and age", he said as he tightened his grip on the gas dispenser in his pocket.

"I just want my parents to have an easier life", Ochako smiled sadly. That made Izuku pause. "My parents have a construction company that's failing because of other companies having people with quirks better suited for the job", she held her fist in front of her. "So I want to be a hero so I can use the money I earn for my parents"

'That changes things', he let go of the device in his pocket and smiled a real genuine smile. "I think that's a very noble and heroic thing to do", Izuku placed a hand on her shoulder. "I have to go now, good luck with your goal", he stood up to leave.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name", Ochako suddenly said.

"Oh! I'm Izuku Midoriya, it was nice to meet you", he waved at her.

"I hope to see you again Izuku" she smiled at him.

"Oh I think we will" Izuku smiled back. Indeed they would meet again. Perhaps on opposite sides of the battle field. As Izuku walked away he mentally added Ochako Uraraka to his list of potential true heroes for his new society right next to Tenya Iida.

'She'll be great'

THE NEXT DAY

"Let's begin", Izuku grinned as he faced the 'Forge'. A big spherical shaped machine with pipes and pistons running along the outside of it. He was able to hack into the city's power grid to give him the necessary energy to complete the process. The machine was basically a giant engine that used his formula to literally forge a stone into existence with the desired quirks built into it. The substance used was something Izuku invented that he called mortal resin, a synthesized organic liquid that would be hardened into a solid crystalized object, harder than the toughest diamonds.

"Please work", the boy pushed the button on the control panel to activate the process. This was the moment of truth. He'd find out if his theory and scientific formula was correct. The Forge roared and bellowed as steam and sparks burst from every vent. Izuku took several steps back, wondering if the machine would explode. Unfortunately his worries were correct as after five minutes fire and smoke exploded from out the sides, obliterating the mechanisms inside. Izuku shielded himself from blast as half of his lab was nearly destroyed.

However, the small compartment next to the control panel opened and there sat a small round metal capsule. Sparks rained around Izuku as he slowly approached. Reaching out with his gloved hands he gently picked up the metal orb. Giving it a turn he removed the top half and was captivated by a blue light.

With Kurogiri's warp gate power, the flash warp quirk, and several enhancing and amplify quirks. Rock Locks quirk Lock Down was combined with the conversion quirk. Now instead of being only able to lock a nonliving object in space, the quirk could get both. Another quirk went into this stone courtesy of All for One. A failed experimental Nomu possessed a quirk called Epidermal Shield. A power that covered the skin in an invisible protective barrier that was far from impenetrable, but could be focused in a specific area of the body at the cost of lessening it the other areas. Unfortunately the Nomu lacked the intelligence to use it to its full capabilities so Sensei offered the creature's blood to Izuku along with the blood of other various failed Nomus.

All of these wonderful quirks were combined together and the end result was a small blue glowing stone the size of a walnut resting comfortably in Izuku's hand.

"The space stone", he dubbed as he smiled down at the first of his infinity stones. Izuku let out a chuckle that evolved into triumphant laughter. "It works! IT WORKS!" He cheered. It destroyed the Forge to do it and caused a city wide black out, but it worked. All his hard work and complex math finally paid off.

'Now if only I had a gauntlet to put it on', he would soon though when he finished the next stone.

Wow some fun stuff happened in this chapter. Izuku got his first stone and got to meet Ochako face to face. Originally he just wanted to get a blood sample from her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. At least not yet. He's a bit manipulative, but he still has a heart. Plus she might end up in his Black Order, who knows. Izuku has expressed interest in several people, but not all of them will be in it.

We got the space stone now, but it only works if it's attached to a device that draws out its power. I probably wasn't clear on that on previous chapters, but the stones on their own can't be used without a gauntlet. Like I thought I said before, this is the Infinity Gauntlet and stones applied to the universe of MHA so it's going to work different to how you're probably imagining. It's still going to be crazy OP so don't worry.

Another thing I want to address that someone in the reviews asked about is Todoroki. Yes he still doesn't use his fire quirk, but Izuku is going to help him out with that later down the road. Let's just say that Shoto won't exactly have a choice in not using his fire when he meets Izuku and his Infinity Gauntlet.

Is there going to be a finger snap? Yes, and it's going to be one of Izuku's ultimate moves.

Now the last thing I want to talk about. Some people are still complaining about not having a mind stone. I already have the three acts of this story planned out without it and I don't want to restructure everything because I like how it's going. However I might have perhaps figured out a way to include a mind stone into this. It would have to appear later in act two, because it would fuck up the current act, but I think I could rework some of what I plan to do in act two and three. Maybe a few minor changes. Not completely sure yet.

I will get back to you all with an answer on whether or not I'll have a mind stone next time. I need to give it some more thought.

Thanks for reading.