CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE POWER STONE
"EAT THIS!" Allmight said holding out a single strand of bright yellow hair. His hair to be exact.
"Excuse me?" Mirio asked eyeing the strand.
"To take in my power you need to take in a piece of my D.N.A", the hero explained. "This is how One for All is passed on"
"I see", the third year student seemed to understand how it worked. "Why are you giving this two me now when you said that you were going to wait before?" Allmight sighed and returned to his skinny form in a puff of smoke.
"The truth is that I'm worried about the future", the hero said with concern in his voice. "I want to pass the power on to a successor now in case something happens to me"
"I don't think you're going anywhere Allmight", Mirio said with enthusiasm. "You're too strong and important to let anyone beat you"
"No one is invincible Mirio", Allmight frowned. "I learned that lesson the hard way", he thought back to the last time he saw his master alive, before All for One killed her. "I need to stop Midoriya, I have to try and make him see reason, to bring him back, but if I fail…"
"You won't" the large blonde boy spoke proudly. "You're the symbol of peace. I'm know you'll get throw to that boy", Allmight had told him about his relationship with Izuku Midoriya, in great detail. While Mirio Togata understood the hero's reason for telling a fan that he couldn't be a hero without a quirk, he didn't completely agree. The fact that his own quirk permeation wasn't powerful or practical for a hero until he made it that way was proof that a quirk wasn't everything to the profession. He honestly felt bad for this boy that that society looked down upon for lacking a quirk. It couldn't have been an easy life, to be told by everyone even the hero that you looked up to the most to give up. Personally he saw Midoriya as someone who had lost all hope and turned to the side of evil because he had nothing left. He still needed to be stopped before he went too far. When Allmight caught him Mirio wanted to get the chance to speak to Midoriya and maybe even help rehabilitate him.
"Just promise me that you will stop him should I fail", Toshinori held out the strand of hair again.
"I promise", Mirio gratefully took it. A choked gag later and he had successfully swallowed the hair.
"Good. It should take effect in the next few hours", Allmight gave him a pat on the back. "Nothing we can do now, but wait"
WHILE THAT WAS HAPPENING
"Now Himiko I can't stress enough how important this is too me", Izuku explained to the still grinning girl that obsessed over him. "This machine is slowly processing a new stone for me. I need you to guard it with your life and once it's finished you will call me immediately"
"You can count on me Izu-kun!" Togo smiled and saluted him.
"What's so important about this thing again?" Dabi walked around the large round machine, examining it with open skepticism.
"My Forge is a machine of my own design", Izuku told him. "They are how I create the stones for this", he brandished the gauntlet, pointing at the stones. "This particular version of the forge is right now processing what will be the most powerful of all the stones. The stone that will keep both the heroes and the villains in check"
"How so?" Dabi asked.
"You'll have to wait and see", Izuku smiled turning to Himiko. "Remember call me when it's done", and with that he activated the forge and let his machine begin to crafting the soul stone. Making a portal he stepped through followed by Dabi. They were now back at the abandoned factory that Izuku originally brought them both to.
"I'm glad I chose you two when I asked Tomura if I could borrow a couple of his league members." Izuku walked around his makeshift lab. "You two seem the most reliable" Dabi just stared at him.
"What is it you hope to accomplish?" The patched up man finally asked. Izuku stopped what he was doing and faced him. "You said you wanted to eliminate the fake heroes just like Stain wants. Was that true?"
"Of course, but unlike Stain I want to go a step further", the teen looked down at his gauntlet. "I wish to create a society with real heroes. Ones that aren't just determined by how powerful their quirks are, but by their character too", he walked over to a large object covered by a white sheet. "My Infinity Gauntlet is the key to seizing control of our world and making the new law of land"
"Do you really think it will be that easy?" Dabi questioned.
"If there is one thing I've learned is that power is what rules everything. It was power that made Allmight the symbol of peace and its power that will topple his reign" Izuku promised while removing the sheet, revealing another version of his forge machine. "And when these next two stones are finished I'll have so much power that no one can stop me"
'He's obsessed', Dabi noted. 'But still, anything to put that bastard in his place', he thought about the hero that he hated more than anything. In Izuku's world that hero won't be allowed to exist, hence why he was here to support the freckled boy's plan. As crazy as it sounded, it could work.
"Here we go", Izuku smiled as he activated the machine with a push of a button.
"So which stone is this?" The dark haired villain asked.
"The power stone", he answered without taking his eyes off the forge. "This one is also going to take a while to make. The D.N.A was rather stubborn, but I still cracked it open with a little time and data", he chuckled lightly at how simple it was after his talk with All for One. In the end it just needed a drop of somebody else's blood to make the quirk reveal itself. Who knew that 'he' would be so useful?
ELSEWHERE
Ochako slung her back pack over her shoulder, moving on to her next class. Thoughts of Izuku hadn't left her mind this whole week. There were just so many questions she wanted to know. Where was he? Why was he doing this? How long was he planning this? Was he really her friend?
'Why am I still thinking about him?' That was the current question running through her head as she walked down the hallway.
"Psst!" Ochako jumped when a voice caught her attention. Whipping around she spotted Mei Hatsume poking her head from around a corner, waving her over. "Psst!"
"What?" Ochako walked up to her.
"Come with me", Mei grabbed the other girl's wrist and took off. Eventually after a bunch of silence and dragging they ended up in one of the girl's restrooms.
"What's this about Mei?"
"I think I know where Izuku might be hiding", she blurted out. Ochako's eyes widened and quickly looked around at the stalls to make sure they were alone.
"You know where he is?" The brown haired girl asked.
"He mentioned this place a few times. A junk yard that he thought would be good for materials and a testing ground. I didn't think much of it at the time, but with him disappearing I figured Izuku would be hiding there since it's pretty remote", the support student explained.
"Where is it?"
"Raxus Junk Yard. It's located outside the city", Mei told her. "I was wondering if you could go there. No heroes, no police. Just to check and see if he's there"
"What if he is?" As much as Ochako wanted to see him again, he was still a powerful villain.
"Can you just talk to him for me if he is there", Mei pleaded. "Ask him why he's doing this. I'm sure you want to know yourself. And if possible maybe you could even get him to consider stopping whatever he's planning"
"Why can't you go?" the hero student asked out of curiosity.
"Because they're watching me", seeing the curious look she decided to explain. "As one of Izuku's known associates the police recently interrogated me about him. They probably suspect that I might be a spy, since he's allied with the League of Villains"
"That's crazy", Ochako knew that Mei couldn't be a spy.
"I know!" Hatsume exclaimed. "I've never done anything. Sure I blew up the workshop a few…dozen times, but that doesn't make me bad"
"Did you tell them that I knew Izuku?" The hero student questioned with a worried expression. That last thing her parents needed was their daughter brought in for questioning about possibly being in cahoots with a villain.
"Actually no", Mei looked thoughtful for moment. "Plus you got your provisional license so you won't get in any serious trouble if anyone finds out", Ochako chewed on her bottom lip while she thought about it. On one hand there was probably no sign of Izuku at the junk yard. On the other hand, if he was there then it would be the perfect opportunity to ask him some questions and maybe she could convince him to surrender peacefully
"Alright I'll go check the place out after class", she was suddenly swept up in a hug.
"Thanks! I owe you for this one!" Mei smiled while Uraraka awkwardly hugged her back. Together they made plans and looked up directions to the junk yard.
LATER
"Check", Izuku smirked as he moved his knight into a dangerous position for his opponent.
"This isn't fair, you're too smart for chess", Dabi scowled at him. "Let's play something that's luck based", he was interrupted by the sound of a small alarm.
"That will be the door", Izuku chuckled as he stood up from the table. "They're here, let's get a move on", he knew that it was only a matter of time before the heroes found this little hideout. Luckily Izuku was prepared with an escape plan.
"How are we going to move this thing?" Dabi looked at the forge, still busy processing the newest stone.
'It's like he hasn't been paying attention', the younger of the two used his gauntlet to simply open a portal on the floor, lift the machine and gently send it through. "After you", Dabi nodded and jumped through the open portal followed by Izuku.
OUTSIDE
"So how do you want to do this?" The group of pro heroes looked at each other as they stared at the abandoned factory. "Allmight said he wanted to go capture him alone, but he isn't here yet", deciding to ignore the initial instructions they headed inside building intent on arresting the villain and getting all the glory for themselves.
"Izuku Midoriya!" One of them called out when they entered the main floor. Getting no response he tried again. "Hello!?"
"He's not here", another hero examined what looked like a work space set up on the factory floor. Another noticed an oil stain and a set of indentions on the concrete.
"Something was recently moved from here", they continued to look around for clues as to where Midoriya could have went or what he was working on. "What's that?" Noticing a tall dark silhouette in the dimly lit side of the room, the hero cautiously approached it, only to pause when he saw a set of glowing red eyes flash on. Out of the darkness stepped a big chrome robot, another prototype for the Titan, with the number four printed on its chest plate.
"Uh Oh!" The robot growled and charged forward at the surprised group of heroes.
MEANWHILE
"Hm", Izuku smiled as they drove off, it was a good thing he kept another of the Titan prototypes. "Always look before you leap. I guess they don't teach that at hero school", Dabi was behind the wheel of a large armored bank truck that the green haired villain recently commandeered. In the back of the truck the forge sat, still forming the next stone to be attached to the boy's gauntlet.
"You want me to drive casual or aggressive?" The dark haired man asked with a sarcastic smirk. His question was answered when a squad of police cars appeared in pursuit behind them.
"Aggressive please", Izuku kept glancing at back at his forge. It wouldn't be long now. Dabi successfully weaved around other cars, occasionally lobbing a blue fireball out the window to keep the police at bay.
"This pursuit is getting annoying", Izuku commented with a frustrated sigh. "I'll be right back", he said before vanishing in a flash warp.
"I hate when he does that", Dabi spoke to himself. Outside Izuku reappeared on top of the moving armored truck. He was dressed in a black hooded long coat with slits in the sides for extra leg mobility, black pants, shin/knee guards, and armored boots. He walked to the edge, facing the pursuing cars.
"Oh dear, this street appears to be in dire need of repairs", waving the gauntlet around, he quickly tore the pavement apart. The cop cars were forced to hit the brakes, lest they crash into the shredded bits of the road. "Hang on Dabi!" Izuku pointed his gloved hand in the direction they were travelling, levitating the truck off the street and taking it through the air. Miles later he set the car down in an alley, between two buildings.
"I didn't think they'd be that hot on our trail", Izuku remarked as he opened the back of the truck up. Five minutes until the stone was ready, by his estimation.
"You're the kid with the plan", Dabi said getting out of the vehicle. "What do we do now?"
"Stall for time. I need to get-", Izuku froze feeling the air shift behind him. He spun around just in time to see the number one hero himself speeding towards him. Thinking on his feet he held the gauntlet out, activated the space and reality stone to project his epidermal barrier outward. Allmight's hand was blocked by a blue round barrier a mere yard away from his target. When the two met it created a shockwave strong enough to push Dabi back.
"HAH!" With a shout Izuku forced Allmight away, who skidded to a halt near the end of the alley. He would not be tossed around again so easily.
"Midoriya!" The hero stared the boy down.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes", Izuku smirked, pulling his hood down. "Allmight. Come to put a stop to the big bad Izuku Midoriya", he said sarcastically.
"This is as far as you go boy. Why?" The hero stood in a battle ready pose, sporting his trademark smile. "Because I am here!"
"Same old catchphrase", Izuku raised his infinity gauntlet in retaliation. "Same old Allmight!" The hero was blinded by bright red glow and then promptly blown back out of the alley. "Guard the machine, and bring me what comes out when it's done", he said without looking back at his accomplice.
"I want out of here as soon as I do", Dabi told him. "I can help you fight almost anyone, but not the strongest hero in the world"
"Understandable", Izuku nodded and walked out of the alley after his opponent. Walking out into the now evacuated city street his green eyes zeroed in on the man who crushed his dreams over a year ago. "So how have you been? We didn't get a chance to properly talk last time we met"
"You didn't exactly give me a chance to talk to you", Toshinori said, referring to the incident.
"Sorry about that", Izuku almost sounded sincere. "I was caught up in the moment of finally obtaining super powers"
"Why are you doing this?" Allmight finally asked the question that had been bothering him the most. "Didn't you want to be a hero? The boy I met said he wanted to save people with a smile?" Izuku frowned after hearing that.
"The boy you met was naïve. He was weak and foolish", he levitated off the ground as spoke. "The old Izuku kept trying to reach for an impossible dream. I'm the new Izuku. I'm better than him in every way", the gauntlet hummed with power as he pointed it at the hero.
"That still doesn't answer my question", Allmight pointed out.
"You want to know why? Fine I tell you", still keeping the device on him Izuku decided to explain himself. "The awful truth is you broke me Allmight. All my life everyone and everything chipped away at me, the doctors, the kids at school, the teachers, Bakugou, my own mother", he listed off all those who either put him down or didn't believe in him like his mom. "But you Allmight, you were the hammer that shattered me into pieces", every word was like a dagger of guilt stabbing Toshinori in the chest. "I had two options then. I could either stay a broken shell of person for the rest of my life, or I could rebuild myself and make sure what happens to me doesn't happen to anyone else again", the earth began to shake as he activated the stones' power. "I'll start by eliminating you, the fraud who lies to the world and gives them all false hope", the concrete at the hero's feet changed shape into a field of pointed spikes. Allmight avoided it by jumping into the air and grabbing onto the side of nearby building.
"I'm sorry Midoriya!" He shouted hoping to reach the kid. "I truly am!"
"No you're not!" Izuku yelled back at him. "You're not sorry for what you said to me! You're sorry about the end result!" He argued. "If I didn't become a villain, would you be here apologizing to me?! Did you even once think about me again after our first meeting?!" Allmight looked away in shame. It was true, he didn't think about Midoriya until Naomasa brought him up as a potential suspect. "That's what I thought", pointing the gauntlet at him Izuku channeled air into the palm creating a small vortex of wind. He then tossed it at the blonde hero.
Retaliating, Allmight punched the air cancelling out what looked like a miniature tornado. He leaped from the side of the building towards Midoriya, attempting to grab him out of the air. Izuku saw him coming and flash warped away in time. Once he was a good distance away Izuku quickly thrust his gauntlet at Allmight, using the reality stone he closed his fist. Chunks of concrete, cars, and pieces of the buildings rushed to the symbol of peace's location, trying to crush him. Allmight merely clapped his hands hard and sent the debris flying away from him before landing safely back on the ground.
"Very good! As expected from the best of the best!" Izuku applauded.
"You should stop before this gets out of hand", Allmight told him.
"Hm", Izuku looked around the city from his position in the air. The area looked deserted. "So the heroes must have evacuated the citizens. I see, you learned your lesson from your battle with All for One", with a smirk on his face he brought his left thumb to his middle finger. "That means I can cut loose a bit", with a single finger snap the sides of every building around them were shattered, cars were blown away and Allmight had to shield himself with his arms lest he be swept up by the shockwave too.
'Damn. He's so powerful now', Allmight looked around at the destruction that was caused by just a snap of the kid's fingers.
"Incredible isn't?" Izuku grinned down at him. "Who would have thought that a quirkless person that you and the rest of society dismissed as worthless could generate such power?"
"I never thought of you as worthless!" Allmight tried to reason with him again. "I was wrong alright. I think it's possible for you to be a hero", he was cut off when Izuku furiously yelled at him.
"You're lying!" The teen glared darkly. "Back then, on that roof, you told me the complete and honest truth. Powerless people like me can't make a difference in this world", his fists were tightly clenched as he spoke. "Don't you dare insult or patronize me ever again!" With a scream Izuku ripped up every single fire hydrant in the city, manipulated the water that sprayed out, and aimed it at the hero that dared to still look down at him.
'I need to fight him at a distance', Izuku contemplated as Allmight blew away the water with a single punch. 'Up close I still stand no chance', he manipulated the water again and sent it all back towards the man, this time freezing it into ice before it made contact. 'Once Dabi delivers the power stone then its check', the ice was shattered nearly instantaneously. 'And once Himiko calls me about the soul stone's completion…check mate', he knew that all he needed to do was stall for time.
'He's fighting from a distance', Allmight noticed. 'Which means…' the hero vanished and reappeared in the air on Midoriya's right side. "You're not good at close combat!" With a simple palm smack he sent a wide eyed Izuku tumbling down a street.
"Oomph!" The boy's back was slammed into the back of a car, stopping his path. Good thing the epidermal barrier, a passive ability of the space stone, protected him from any serious harm. Getting back to his feet he shook his head clear. "Okay, that hurt a bit"
"You can't beat me Midoriya", Allmight marched down the street towards him.
"You're right I can't", Izuku smirked at him. "Not with three stones at least", he spotted Dabi sneaking up with a spherical capsule in his hand. Allmight noticed him too and attempted to grab him only to get blocked by a wall of blue fire.
"Catch!" The black haired villain threw the sphere at his comrade. The symbol of peace tried to snatch it out of the air, but a small portal opened and swallowed the capsule up. Panicking, he looked to Midoriya who now held the metal container in his gauntlet covered hand.
"Nice try", the boy smirked widely at him. "But not quick enough"
"What is that?" Allmight worriedly glanced at something that was obviously important to the young man's plans.
"I like to think of it as…poetic justice", Izuku opened the capsule revealing a glowing emerald green stone inside. "Thank you Dabi", he said as picked it up with his right hand. Gently he took the stone and placed it in one of the empty slots on his infinity gauntlet, the one located on the back of the palm. The result was instantaneous. As soon as the stone bonded to the device, a torrent of power exploded out of Izuku. "GAAAAHHH!" The green haired teen screamed as the energy surged threw his body. A neon green vein like pattern covered his skin. Even the ground beneath his feet cracked from the power surge. "Wow", Izuku breathed a sigh of relief when the rush finally subsided and veins faded.
"What have you done now?" Allmight demanded.
"I've tipped the scales", Izuku grinned as he removed his hooded coat revealing what he was wearing underneath. He was sporting a tight fitting black sleeveless top that hugged the lean muscular frame that he worked hard to achieve this past year. His right arm was covered in a fingerless black glove made of the same material that stopped mid bicep. He wore dark gray pants with black armored boots. All in all Izuku looked dressed for combat.
"I'm warning you now Midoriya, if you don't stop this madness and surrender, I'll have to use more of my strength against you", Izuku didn't respond to his threat and started walking towards his opponent. "Don't say I didn't warn you", he rushed forward with his palm raised to deliver another open palmed smack. "Kansas! Sma-", he was cut off when Izuku's armored hand grabbed his incoming one, stopping the attack in its tracks. The wind kicked up around them from the sheer force of the collision. Dabi's eyes widened in shock that Izuku was able to stop the world's strongest hero.
"I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that", Izuku grinned as green sparks began to dance along his body. "Oh! Were you about to say…" his right fist rapidly shot forward. "SMASH!" Crashing into Allmight's chest and sending him flying down the street to slam into the side of a building. A cloud of dust was kicked up from the destruction which immediately blown away by a simple hand gesture from the green haired teen.
"W-What was that?" the blonde hero coughed up blood as he pulled himself out of the crater in the wall that his impact made. That strength. It was almost the same as his own, but that's impossible.
"So many questions, so much confusion", Izuku winced in pain, it seems his right arm was broken in several places after that punch. "Allow me to shed some light", brandishing the device on his left hand the young villain decided to explain. "My greatest invention, the Infinity Gauntlet. A device that takes crystalized replications of quirks, harvested from D.N.A and gives the wearer limitless access to those quirks", each of these stones glowed brightly as he went on. "The space stone, the reality stone, the time stone and the latest addition the power stone", Izuku smirked despite his arm still in agony. "Or if you want, you can call it by its nickname. The One for All stone!" Allmight paled when he named the stone.
"No!" Realization hit him, the trademark smile replaced by a look of shock and horror.
"That's right! The power you used to become a pretend hero is now part of my gauntlet!" the freckled boy laughed. "Ironic isn't it?" He just continued to laugh at the look on Allmight's face.
So how is it for part one of what is going to be a three chapter fight? Every week I keep thinking that I'll have time to write and every week I'm proven wrong. I really want to get this first arc done with by the end of this month, but it's looking like I might not be able to. We'll see though.
A lot of you already saw coming what the power stone was going to be. One for All, what else would it be? But do Mirio and Izuku both have it now? You'll just have to wait and see. And what is the soul stone going to be? Again, not telling till we get there. Oh and before you go thinking that Allmight just rushed in there without a plan. Just wait till next chapter.
INFINITY GAUNTLET POWERS
Space Stone-Blue: Creating Warp gates/portals. Flash warping only in short distances (Think flash step from Bleach, but leaves a blue glow). Locking things into a point in space. Epidermal shield, protects the wielder's body from most harm and can be focused on specific areas of the body at the cost of decreasing it from other areas.
Reality Stone-Red: Complete manipulation of matter (moving it, reshaping it, changing its state, breaking it down, etc.) you could almost liken it to alchemy from FMA. Some gravity manipulation. Energy manipulation. Body levitation.
Time Stone-Yellow: Stopping time in a zone or area for a maximum of ten seconds. There is a cool down to this power that depends on how many seconds time was stopped in the bubble. There is another ability called Restoration, but I'm waiting for a future chapter to talk more about what that does.
Power Stone-Green: One for All. Gives the user super strength, equal and potentially greater than Allmight. In theory this stone can be used to amplify the others when combined.
Thanks for reading.