Chapter 3: A Hero's Dream.
Izuku Midoriya(Deku) POV:
*RING* *RING* *RING*
The bell rings signaling that Heroic History with Midnight-sensei has ended for now. I don't understand why they call it history, it would be easier if they just called it public relations. Though, I guess we are learning from the failures and successes of the past.
At least classes with her aren't too distracting. I heard Midnight-sensei used to be far more promiscuous than she is these days but had to tone it down after some Osiris' comparisons. It's weird how sex appeal is an actual study in these classes but it has to be done in very specific ways to avoid a certain being coming to mind.
I can see Uravity talking to Creati in the corner so she is busy for now. Can't Stop Twinkling and Dark Shadow are sitting on their desks, glad that the class is over. ChargeBolt and Grape Juice are over in a different corner staring at their phones with a perverted look on their faces. I'm not even going to attempt to touch that one.
Red Riot and BakugoGround Zero are having a discussion. I wonder what they are talki….ah right, I have to stop concentrating on him.
Powers are unfair. There are the type of people like most of my classmates who will get a power eventually by birthright, normally around seven or eight years of age. The far more stable parahumans comparatively. Sure, some of them get a mutated body from their power expression but I would say that is still better than being powerless. Not to mention there is a solution now to help them blend in with society.
Then there are the people like myself.
The people who have to go through trauma to get our power. I remember seeing my childhood friend that kept pushing me away saying that I should learn my place and don't tread where I shouldn't exist. He told me to try and join the police or be a firefighter if I wanted to help so much. Sometimes I wonder if I should've listened.
I saw him walking home one day and an escaping villain suddenly wanted some hostages. A breaker that could turn into slime and insert himself into other people's bodies, puppeting them. I saw him trapping my friend and trying to master him and that just couldn't be allowed to happen. Everything stopped for a couple of seconds and when I blinked and looked forward the situation was already handled.
Luckily, All Might came in as always and saved the day. I would've gushed over how cool he was if I wasn't more concerned with my friend. After rushing to him and trying to make sure he was okay, he pushes me away and moves on from the event unlike how I never did. As Bakugo leaves, I turn around to find out that All Might never did as he asks my name and makes sure I was okay.
He left shortly after that and I thought that was the end of that until he showed up at my house the next day. He apparently recognized the trigger situation and was able to see I was the cause, coming to make sure I had support after the event.
He took me secretly to the UA building where Japan trains its parahuman children, the first of its kind, so that I could fully find out the limits of my power. I didn't even know what it was at the time but the irony was not lost on me after we figured out exactly what my power did.
They were right when they said trigger powers like to remind you of how you got them and don't fix the initial problem. Permanent growth. My power allows me to never reach a limit on the amount of gains I receive from training, slowly advancing in the brute and mover scales.
But it wouldn't have helped me that day. I didn't have any training yet, so I had no chance to stop that villain with the power I received. Everyday I train, my mind keeps going back to that moment and I remember in vivid detail how my friend could have become a puppet.
That slime power the villain had only puppets the body apparently, meaning Bakugo would have been fully aware while that villain did whatever he wished with his body if he got away. I train harder and harder but it never seems like enough to my memories.
As I walk down memory lane mentally and the hallway physically, I'm pulled into a side room as soon as no eyes are on me.
"Midoriya, my boy, how are you?"
All Might, the man who tried his best to help me through all my trigger trauma. If anyone knows loss, it would definitely be him. My hero. My mentor. My predecessor.
The whole world knew of All Might's passed on power and he decided that the next generation needed its hope as well. He retains more than enough strength to keep Japan in check even after passing it down and wanted it to be in unknown hands so that the power couldn't be targeted or snuffed out.
After six months of back and forth between the two of us and him really understanding how my power worked, All Might thought the synergy would help make me a second Symbol of Peace in the future. I hope to live up to that high expectation. I begin to have a conversation with him inside the room, perfectly secure and safe from outside on-lookers.
"Ahhh, f-f-fine Sir! Training as always Sir!"
"Well that's great my boy but this isn't the military so no need to call me sir every sentence. Also, I thought we talked about how you need to take a break? Life needs to be lived for more than others, you need to appreciate yourself as well."
I want to point out that it sounds hypocritical of the most giving person in the world to say that, but I wouldn't dare call out Japan's savior regardless of how close we are. I will just have to live up to that standard and grow stronger so he can finally get the break he deserves.
"All Might, don't worry. I have some friends and I feel alot better. I have fewer nightmares and I'm getting stronger and stronger."
"Glad to hear! Anything with the ladies I need to know? Hmmmmm"
"All Might! I don't have time for relationships right now….no matter how beautiful and kind some of my classmates are."
"My boy, nothing wrong with a little exploration. I have nothing but the highest hopes for you. I fully believe that you can achieve anythin—"
….
Huh. Huh?
All Might is gon—No, I'm gone. Everything is different, this isn't Musutafu. All my surroundings have a distinct look to them that isn't common in Japan.
Focus Deku. Most likely I'm in some American tow—
"Boo"
"AHHHH!"
The person's voice goes off right next to my ear and I panic.
I flinch, turning and trying to make a light grapple on the person behind me. Between being suddenly teleported and appearing in this alley, the person may be involved so I should take precautions.
My hands reaching out as I turn, I'm suddenly lifted by my neck and slammed into the nearby wall the second after I lay a hand on the person. No, no, no, no. Not a person.
I'm face to face with the most recognizable existence on the planet. That was Scion in the past but he spends half of his time taking cats down from trees, not hosting death game streams on the internet.
Osiris. Not only is it Osiris, but she's looking at me with a slight frown on her face. Oh God No. As I'm continuously held against the wall, she speaks.
"I think I'll forgive you for that BUT you have to apologize. After all, you laid your hands on me first so you are now exempt from my mercy. You know what happened to the last person to try that."
"A-aa-a-aa-ah I-i-i"
"*sigh* Say you're sorry. Well?"
"Do. It."
"I'M S-s-s-so-SORRY!"
She lets go of me and I slide down the wall, my butt hitting the pavement as she looks down on me.
"There, that's all you had to do. Isn't everything better when we all act nicely to each other? Honestly, All Might must have skipped the heroics lesson on well, being heroic, when teaching you. This is the legacy of my largest game's winner?"
The slight hint of disgust in her face is telling of what she thinks of me.
"Stand on your feet. I'm feeling more regret on my decision to include you the more I look at you. You're lucky you'll make for good ratings."
"W-w-w-what?"
"Talk with confidence, get rid of that stutter. Most of my contestants can at least look me in the eyes as I'm speaking to them. To clarify for you since you're too slow, You. Are. One. Of. My. Contestants."
"H—huh, W-w-w-why me?"
"I'm now questioning that myself but I'm looking forward to how you do. At least by the end of this you'll either grow a backbone or die. Evolution at its finest."
"Anyways, I'm getting sick of this conversation. You're in my game, yada yada, think about your power upgrade to understand it, yada yada, good luck."
She's gone just like that, not even the tiniest evidence that she was ever here beside that crack in the wall. What should I do? I can't die here, I'm carrying All Might's legacy! I'm not even old enough for a hero internship!
I look around and finally notice the red barrier covering the entire city and realize this isn't the world's worst joke, just a nightmare. I s-s-s-should head to the Protectorate Headquarters, that's what they call their hero association right? At least I was sent here in my hero suit.
As I float up to the top of a nearby building and scout around, I see a way to get where I need to go.
Maybe, just maybe I could prove myself as All Might's worthy successor a littler earlier than I thought.
Tony Stark(Iron Man) POV:
The second my sensors detect something wrong with the populace, I put on my suit. I may not be able to have an AI after that one crisis and worries about a second Machine Army, but I still have an army of VI's to handle my business for me.
I grab a suitcase out the corner of my room and immediately shift it to be equipped. It layers my body, connecting to the power source that has replaced my heart. All of a sudden, I'm Iron Man again.
I fly out the window of my skyscraper and immediately see the issue.
Red Walls.
Red Walls surrounding the town. Osiris.
Shit.
Operating through my vision-based interface, I immediately release my collection of support drones all over the city. They will direct all the regular citizens to Endbringer shelters, hopefully keeping them out of this mess.
I fly high in the air and turn up my suit's speaker system, allowing most to hear me at a noticeable volume regardless of distance.
"PEOPLE OF NEW BROCKTON BAY, settle down and follow the drones to Endbringer shelters. Gather your loved ones and proceed in an orderly fashion!"
I'm sure they don't appreciate being told that in these circumstances, but plenty of people die not from the endbringer attacks or wars but by getting trampled on the way to a shelter.
I begin to run a diagnostic through all the shelters, heavily reinforced for almost anything after all the examples of what could go wrong through the years. Amazing that people didn't want to build shelters in this town saying that it's already been attacked once, but NYC sure showed them how foolish that thought was for them.
It all comes back green, PRT officers are near the shelters fully securing them after the occupancy becomes full and redirecting the populace to available places. I turn to go to the poorer side of town to offer more assistance there. When I built this town, I tried my best to avoid having any ghettos or projects but after a certain size it just can't be stopped.
"H-HEY IRON MAN!"
"What the…"
I turn around and see a suited up kid that I don't recognize from this town's parahuman populace. Let it not be said that I'm an idiot. My local server of parahumans combined with my mask's sensor suit quickly pulls up an identity. I begin to speak to him as he floats(his power is registered as a brute power, already suspicious) towards me.
"Deku, Hero School Attendee from UA. Are you here for the reason I suspect?"
Japan's 'Hero Schools', a far different method from our Wards here in the states. They have 3 schools total but UA is definitely the first and most well known, proving that the concept at least worked for them.
It also has better acceptance rates than the Wards since they get far more training and equipment BEFORE they're sent out into the streets to corral gangs. Many parents don't trust their children in the Wards after all the failures of the program. Japan being a safer country has allowed them to treat their younger 'human resources', thanks to that disgusting term Tagg, in a much safer manner.
"Wow! That must be your sensor suite at work. IWonderHowYouProcessedMeByMyFeaturesSoQuickly? ItMustHaveBeen—"
Great, a fanboy. This is not the time for an autograph. At least I can understand him, good ole' dragon bitch at least has her death match arena come with universal communication so different nationalities can interact like everyone else.
"Boy, breathe and focus, I have a lot to do for the next week. Are you a contestant, yes or no?"
He took a deep breath like I said but went pale as he finally calmed down.
"Y-yes. O-o-o-Osiris pulled me from Japan, I need to f-f-find the Heroes main base."
Shit again. He's going to get eaten alive. I look again at the data my drones have gathered and PRT forces already got to the area I was heading towards under wraps. For all the things I have to say about the man, Calvert has always kept a tight ship. Okay, I have some time.
"Come with me, kid. Let's see what kind of mess you're in for this year."
As the two of us fly through the city and arrive at the Protectorate Headquarters, we are quickly ushered into the director's office with me guiding the rookie. As we reach the door, I can hear a conversation hushing before the door opens.
I see Aeon, a kid I often kept an eye on since I know how much everyone hates her mother. Of course they don't ask me for help in watching over her in her civilian identity until AFTER she triggers. Calvert's schemy tactics at work with her recruitment no doubt, they should have put her in a different city but unfortunately I'm not calling the Protectorate's shots.
Their underhanded tactics is one of the reasons I quit. As I increased all my sensors and better processed and analyzed information, it was obvious the Protectorate would have stopped me from all my betterment for the average man. Noooo, it would be to make 'another weapon' or 'power sources only for America' nonstop. As if the average citizens don't deserve a better life.
"Calvert, why's the kid here? No offense showstopper, but we are in a bit of an emergency situation."
"Well Iron Man, I can only think she's here for the same reason as the boy next to you. After all, they both flinched the second they saw each other."
Two kids? Fuck Osiris, always something new to depress any sane person with in this world. Pretty much all of her past contestants were at least adults with one exception. At least what happened in the War of New York can't happen again.
I hope it's one of the better ones. Man, I hated the last time I saw children have to deal with this kind of disaster. I'm knocked out of my thoughts as the showstopper speaks up.
"So, you're who I'm working with to survive? Hope you got a good power, we're in for a ride."
Hmmmm, I knew I forgot something. While Calvert seems to be busy on his phone, I speak up to the two young ones.
"Speaking of which kid, why do you have a flying power when you were only recorded as a brute before? The dragon bitch rarely gives people something not related to their current power. It would help our teamwork if we know what we can each do."
"W-w-well, Osiris is going to announce my power everywhere so I might as well say it, huh. I…..I inherited All Might's power and have a personal brute power."
…FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOU DRAGON BITCH. I don't know exactly what game you have set up but I just know this shit is going to be troublesome. Everything gets problematic when any of the past winners are involved no matter how distantly related.
As I try to soothe my sudden headache, I can hear the two continue their conversation.
"Well, if we have a chance of dying together then the least you can know is my name. Victoria Dallon here, nice to meet you I guess."
As she takes off her mask and the kid blushes at her, he responds in kind.
"A-a-a-ah, Midoriya Izuku, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Don't even bother, kid. She's not single."
As the three of us start having a conversation, Calvert hangs up the phone and begins speaking to all of us.
"While I love you all having this talk in my office, we need to head to the meeting room to include all the other heroes. Not to mention, it seems we have one more hero contender that's on our side."
Well, 3 heroes joined together is greater than most years and there could be a fourth hero who just decided not to come here for one reason or another.
Let's see if most of us can get out of this alive.
Round 2, bitch.
Toshinari Yagi(All Might) POV:
He's gone. I was just talking to him and he vanished in front of my eyes.
I immediately focus all my senses to gauge my surroundings. Most people think that my brute rating just means I'm big and strong, not realizing that I should have a thinker rating as EVERY part of me is better performing from my power.
I sweep the surroundings with my sight as well as listen for anything happening in the nearby blocks. I even try to see if I can smell his scent anywhere nearby but nothing tells me his location. Looking out the windows gives me no clues as well.
Could he have been kidnapped? I don't have any enemies with such an unnoticeable teleportation power. There would have to be some assistance by a thinker to target a teleport like that as I would have found a stranger in my range.
I find no clues nearby and I'm starting to panic. I got to go find—
"Don't Bother."
My entire body freezes in place. I could never forget that voice, not when it is responsible for setting up so much pain and despair. I take a deep breath inwards, turn around, and there is Osiris. She stands right where young Midoriya was standing, reminding me that this MONSTER is inside a school full of children.
"Osiris."
She smiles at my greeting before continuing the discussion.
"Hello my previous winner, nice to see you again. Don't worry, this is just a social call. I suppose you could consider it a small case of kidnapping too."
"Where is he?"
I have no need to look further, it's obvious who took my protege. After years of service, I hardly believe in coincidences anymore.
"Well, you see it's time for my yearly thing. You know about it of course, it made you famous after all! Did you ever thank me for that?"
"THAN—Thank You? You devastated the world and shaped everything that was destroyed to your desire! You treat human life as a game!"
"I devastated the world? I distinctly remember you and All-For-One doing most of the fighting but I suppose you're having memory problems in your older age. You're hitting what, forty-eight soon? You're a little young for Altzimers."
The usual clueless act. No one else commits near genocide then waves it off with a 'tee hee' other than her.
"You strengthened those monsters like All-For-One and Nilbog and yet you stand here as if you did nothing wrong."
"Those memory problems of yours are continuing, I remember saying that I challenged humanity as a whole when I started my games. That includes every great hero, normal person, and devilish villain."
"You were there the day I made my contract with humanity even if you were just in the background. If you didn't trust them as members of your race then you should have killed them before I decided they would make for nice viewership. Nevertheless, if I wanted to have this argument again I would just troll online and you brought me off topic."
"What could you possibly have to say to me?"
"Oh nothing special, I just came to let you know that I found the most adorable little rabbit with bunny ears and everything. So, I decided to just pick him up and take him to a new home. One with nice red walls so he can't run away and everything a growing boy would need."
Memories flood back into my mind. Countless deaths, endless combat, and all the people who thanked me for killing them. They THANKED me for ending them as they suffered through that beasthood with the last of their sanity.
I nearly break right then and there when I know my boy could be taken to such horrors. I immediately draw on my strength and confront this devil.
"HARM A SINGLE HAIR ON THE BOY'S HEAD AND I'll —"
My speech is suddenly paused as it barely starts when she practically teleports right into my face, her eyes meeting mine while our noses are practically touching. She begins to speak softly but with plenty of emphasis.
"You'll WHAT?"
She moves her head from directly in front of my face to put her mouth right next to my ear and she whispers just loud enough to know I didn't mishear her.
"You know, this town of Musutafu looks pretty nice. I haven't held a war in Japan even once out of respect for your work and victory, but that can always change."
Horror and chills cover my body at that statement, but Osiris is back where she started as if that conversation never even happened. It always hurts when the reminder comes that there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop her while she's playing, let alone if she gets serious. Seeing that once was enough.
She continues in a happy tune as if there was never any animosity between us or threats of mass suffering to my hometown.
"Anyways, just came to let you know. Nice to check up on you, maybe come down to Egypt and see me sometime. Like, so rude to never visit. We have such a great history between us. Anyway, Ta Ta."
And it's gone. That monster came and decided to turn my life upside down again.
I never regretted being in the monster's war as I don't know if anyone else could have won. I saved the world from a potential end by a mad man and I'll take all the nightmares in the world for that.
Even if my fears have got me banned from going to fights against the fifth Endbringer.
But why not me? Why not any adult hero who knows what they sign up for in this life. He's just a child. He has so much more to learn.
God, if you exist, please let my protege come back home.
I can't be there. Please.
Contestant 3 out of 7 For the Ninth Holy Grail War - Midoriya Izuku AKA Deku:
Original Power: Inheritor of All Might's passed power. Has minor control over All MIght's brute power and one past user's flying/floating power. Personal power is continuous growth AKA will never have gains from training reach a roadblock or stopping point. Training results will never be detrimental no matter how hard the user pushes themself. Further improved growth by passed down powers' effect. Trump 9, Brute 6, Mover 3 with ability to grow.
Upgraded Power: Increases rate of acquiring power of former users. Personal growth increased exponentially depending on the chance of the user's death and personal harm. Increased control over All MIght's power. Trump 12, Brute 8, Mover 6 with ability to grow.
AN: So, did you expect Deku, genuinely curious? Had to change his back story a good bit to make it work better, as there is no way All Might is passing his power to a normal kid in this world. Limitless growth combined with a high brute power for training makes for a good pair, but this is early canon deku(not his strength, his personality) AKA mostly heart since he hasn't had a real fight yet.
War Review 3 in a day or two.