MyHeroAssociation

by PhineasFlash25

After a Mysterious-Cube falls from the sky, Class-1A finds themselves transported to a strange alternate-universe, and until they can return home to stop All-For-One and Shigaraki, they must train under the Class-S Heroes of this Other-World, and grow strong enough to win the Final-War that awaits them... (An Alternate Take on Lumpeistbark3's CYA: What Defines A Hero Series)

1. Chapter-0: The Intervention

My Hero Association Chapter-0

Month 0: Week 1:

The Intervention

---

Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku, was all alone. He had just recently pushed away his mentor, AllMight, the man he admired most in the world, and told him not to worry about him, and not to follow him around anymore. He thought that separating himself from everyone would be enough to lure out Tomura Shigaraki and All-For-One, while keeping them away from the ones he loved most. He thought that if he struck out on his own, they would follow him to the Ends of the Earth to take One-For-All from him. He was wrong. All-For-One was far too cautious to simply show his face the second that Midoriya was alone, and he likely saw right through his strategy. The arch-villain wasn't taking any chances. He wanted this multi-generational game of cat-and-mouse to end permanently. The power of One-For-All was the only thing that he feared could stop him. It did stop him once before, while it was in the hands of AllMight, and if it could happen once, then it could happen again.

Deku pondered how ever since the war between all the Pro-Heroes and the Paranormal-Liberation-Front, things just kept getting worse and worse. Dozens of heroes and Hero-Course students were killed in Jaku-City, the villain Dabi revealed himself to be Toya Todoroki, the oldest son of Endeavor, and his friend Shoto's older-brother, and Shigaraki escaped with Dabi and half of the other villains. Less than two days later, Shigaraki raided the Tartarus Supermax-Prison, along with six other prisons across the country, releasing hundreds, maybe even thousands of dangerous supervillains to wreak havoc on Japan. In just one short week, life had gone from being 'business as usual', to a nigh-apocalyptic wasteland of anarchy, with All-For-One and Shigaraki hiding somewhere, plotting their next step towards global-domination.

Heroes were stretched too thin to cover conflicts happening in too many places, and to make matters even worse, All-For-One would have a host of potential allies scattered about by all the chaos, and he had some of the most dangerous criminals freed from Tartarus close at his side. The Villain of Villains had sent assassins to try and capture Deku, though none of them posed much of a challenge besides Lady Nagant, a former pro-hero and part of the Hero Public Safety Commission's secret black-ops program. Inadvertently, these assassins and the chaotic city proved vital in Deku's growth. He can now continuously use up to 65% of his power without damaging himself. Using his increased strength, combined with the Fourth-Holder's Quirk, DangerSense, he would dash around the city stopping any criminals or conflicts wherever they appeared. This led to his current predicament. He was up against another of All-For-One's assassins, a villain known as The Dictator. He had the ability to physically-control people as if they were puppets. The worst part was that the unfortunate civilians he controlled were still fully-conscious and aware of what they were being forced to do, but their bodies were completely hijacked by the villain's malicious Quirk. The only way to free them was to either hit the victim with a strong enough attack, or knock out The Dictator himself. Izuku cursed himself for his current suit lacking the Air-Force gauntlets needed for long-range attacks. He was rushed by a mob of citizens, all screaming and begging for him to save them. He was quickly surrounded, wondering what to do, when suddenly a blonde-haired teen leaped out from nowhere, and immediately, Deku knew who it was. Bakugo's AP-Shot instantly hit the Dictator and knocked him out. All the civilians freed from his control began to thank the heroes, and then ran away from the scene, leaving the two teens in the silent empty square.

The rain was coming down hard. Bakugo took a long glance at his childhood friend. He looked completely different from the kid he once knew, even from just a few weeks ago. His body, just like his costume, was ravaged in scars, blood, and filth. His eyes were nearly lifeless from exhaustion. Nothing was said between the two of them for several long seconds, until Deku finally spoke.

"Thanks for the assist, Kacchan, but I'm fine. You should stay away from me. The others need you back at UA."

Bakugo said nothing as Deku slowly began to turn around. At this point, he was struggling to continue moving, but despite his condition he would continue, he had to. Then the Fourth-Holder's DangerSense flared-up, even closer this time, from behind him. Fearing for his friend, Deku quickly turned around, about to shout a warning to Bakugo that someone was in the area, but he was shocked to see that Bakugo was right in his face. More than that, Bakugo's hands were stretched out in front of him, but before Deku could move or even question what he was doing, Bakugo unleashed his Stun-Grenade, his hands exploding in a flash of light and sound. The light was blinding, and the sound deafening. It was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Deku's shock, exhaustion, starvation, and wounds all added-up in that moment, and he fell down unconscious… before his body could hit the ground, however, Bakugo caught him, and uttered his first words to Deku since his arrival.

"Get some rest, Deku."

Bakugo picked up Deku, and began to carry him off to the designated rendezvous-point. Everything now seemed quiet and peaceful, but if Bakugo had looked up to the skies, he would've noticed a small light, resembling a star, its visibility unobstructed by urban light-pollution, and little by little, it appeared to be growing brighter... or perhaps coming closer...

Deku had awakened back within the Vestige-World, a spiritual dark void where the 8 other Vestiges of One-For-All resided. There was nothing but a large light in the center, with 8 chairs set around it, inside the small, fragmented building floating in the abyss.

"Yo, look who's finally awake!" Deku looked over to see the Fifth-Holder, Banjo Daigoro.

"You gave us a pretty big scare there! Who would have known what would have happened if your friend didn't interfere when he did."

"What you were doing was pure recklessness." Another voice interjected, this time coming from the Fourth-Holder, Hikage Shinomori.

Another joined in, this one actually surprising Deku. It was the Second-Holder, Kudo.

"If it were solely up to me, I would say you made the right decision leaving them behind. Given the current climate of the world, and how close All-For-One is to achieving his endgame, perfecting your abilities, and destroying him should be top-priority. You can't afford to be distracted. However, you should still take time to rest, recover your strength so you don't kill yourself. If All-For-One did try to make a move while you were in that state, you would have been completely helpless. Heck, even if you were fully-rested, you still haven't fully mastered ANY of our Quirk-Factors, let alone all of them. Before the Final-Battle arrives, you need to prepare yourself as much as possible, and that means no more suicidal heroics." His tone was harsh, critical, and forward, which was sharply contrasted by the next voice. It was the Seventh-Holder, Nana Shimura, who was speaking now…

"The point we're trying to make, is that we're worried about you Midoriya. The weight of One-For-All is a heavy burden to bear, especially now, but you need to give yourself time to recover. This may sound selfish, given the favor I've already asked of you, but you can't progress towards any of your goals, the way you were going."

Deku just laughed.

"Goals? GOALS!?... I've accomplished my goal with every person I saved, every person that got home safely, anyone that's had their faith in heroes restored by my actions… those are my goals! If I'm going to be a Hero, then I can't ignore people who are in trouble just because I'm tired. AllMight was injured and broken after his battle with All-For-One seven years ago, but he still continued to save people, even when his powers were fading. Even when he only had the embers of One-For-All to cling to, he kept on fighting! That's exactly what I'll do! Now more than ever, people need a Hero to save them, and that Hero IS ME!"

The room was silent for a moment, all of the previous Vestiges of One-For-All staring at Deku before suddenly the First-Holder, Yoichi, started clapping.

"A truly motivating speech, Midoriya. Toshinori was correct in choosing you as the Ninth-Holder. You have the very same heart and spirit that he did, maybe even more so. If your mind is all made up, then I suppose we can't stop you. Still, if things don't work out, or you start to have second-thoughts, don't be afraid to come talk to us about it..."

As these final words were spoken, Deku started to slowly regain consciousness, waking up in a hospital bed that he had seen many, many, MANY times before. He was in UA's nursing room, but before he was able to fully take in his surroundings, his vision was suddenly obscured by a person immediately jumping on him and hugging him tightly. As his vision cleared-up, he recognized who it was instantly. It was his mother Inko. She was crying into his shoulder now. Her voice came out choppy between the sobbing and sniffling.

"I was... *sniff*… so... WORRIED!" She hugged her precious son even tighter, almost suffocating him. All Izuku could do was return the embrace. She eventually let go and returned to the chair sitting next to him. While wiping the tears from her eyes, she continued.

"When AllMight told me about you distancing yourself from everyone and even ditching him, I was just so worried about you! When your classmates finally found you and they brought you back here, and I saw the shape you were in... please…"

She looked Izuku dead in his eyes. "I know that there are a lot of things going on, I know you have responsibilities now, but… please... Just be more careful, at least for me. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you…"

Izuku nodded his head in understanding, and she continued.

"Well, I've probably talked your head off by now, and I'm sure other people would like to have a word with you as well." As she said that, she turned to the other person in the room, whom Izuku hadn't noticed until now. The skeletal-looking man wore a yellow suit, silently watching over the small reconnection between Izuku and his mother.

"I'll go outside. I'm sure your friends would be happy to know that you're up and awake." She stated as she walked towards the door and out the room, leaving only AllMight and Midoriya there to talk. Yet something felt off about the situation. Midoriya took his eyes off of AllMight to pan around the room and what he saw confirmed his suspicions. There was one more person in the room, and it was none other than his home-room teacher, Shota Aizawa, dressed in his usual dark attire, nearly blending into the shadows of the room. The one thing that stuck-out to Midoriya was that his Quirk was activated, one glowing red eye staring right at him. That's what felt off, he no longer had DangerSense constantly feeding him signals. He had finally gotten used to the Fourth-Holder's Quirk being active at all times, so having it deactivated by Aizawa's Quirk was an unexpected feeling, although he doubted that was the reason he was using it on him. He turned his head back to AllMight who was now standing. He approached Midoriya in the bed and put both of his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"It's OK to take breaks, Young Midoriya. It's OK to take a rest." He raised his head, finally meeting the boy's eyes.

"I understand the pressure that you're under as my successor. I understand wanting to continue helping others, no matter your condition. I understand it better than anyone. You're going down the exact same path that I did…"

AllMight faintly grinned to himself. He was going through a similar conversation with Midoriya that NightEye had with him all those years ago. He ignored NightEye's advice, and seeing how things turned out, he wanted to make sure Midoriya didn't make the same mistake…

"But you Shouldn't. You need to strive to be even better than me. Learn the things I never could. Learn How To Take Breaks. Learn How To Accept Help From Others. Don't Try To Carry Everything All By Yourself, because no matter how strong you are, you're still human."

"You've always idolized me, so maybe you just couldn't see it, but I'm Not Infallible, I Never Was. I've made many mistakes in my time as Number-One, and I don't wish for you to repeat them."

Midoriya sat there, digesting what AllMight had said. In response, he asked him a question.

"So… do... you just expect me to do nothing when someone is in danger? Because if so, I just can't do that! Even before you gave me One-For-All, all I ever wanted to do was help people, and now that I have the power to, I need..." Before he could finish, Aizawa cut in.

"There is no 'I' when it comes to heroes, we all work together to ensure the safety of the public. AllMight was extraordinary during his time as the Number-One-Hero, but he was never without the support of the other heroes around him. Now more than ever, we need to work together to make it through this, which brings me to you..."

Aizawa halted his intimidating stare, and Midoriya instantly felt the Fourth's Quirk reactivate, and right away, it had detected something. The danger was faint, and far away, then suddenly Midoriya couldn't sense it anymore. Before he could wonder why, Aizawa continued speaking.

"You, Problem-Child, violated guidelines set up for your adventure, and nearly stepped into the bounds of vigilantes. Of course, before it got to that point, your classmates asked the Principal to let them bring you back here. You should thank them when you get the opportunity. Anyways I'm not going to act like I even begin to understand what's going on between you and AllMight, but your independent actions have caused quite a stir, not just here but among the civilians as well. To make a long story short, from now until support from the foreign-heroes arrive, you will be restricted to school grounds, only allowed out on patrols if I'm accompanying you. You'll still get to save people and capture prison-escapees, but together, with everyone else."

Midoriya sighed, then rubbed the back of his head as he heard the last of his news.

"Given the incident, Nezu doesn't trust you not to run-off again, so he wants you to wear these."

He stepped aside and revealed dark, gray shackles with small spikes extended from them... at first, he was confused, but then it dawned on him. These were the shackles that AllMight used back during the semester-finals test. Seeing Midoriya's eyes widen in understanding, Aizawa began to explain the situation.

"Yes, these are Quirk-restraining shackles, not too dissimilar to the ones AllMight wore during your test with Bakugo. These, however, are much more advanced and weighted. Once you put them on, you won't be able to take them off without a device that will be in my possession. Also, along with those shackles, you will have a rotating pair of classmates looking after you just in case the restraints aren't enough for you to resist the urge to continue your reckless pursuits. With all that being said, I'm needed elsewhere at the moment, so put these on your arms and legs. Then you're free to leave the room and catch-up with the others."

Aizawa left the room as well, leaving only AllMight and Midoriya. The silence in the room was deafening. After a minute passed Midoriya finally spoke.

"Did you know about this, AllMight?" Almost immediately, AllMight replied.

"No not at all, I knew some sort of punishment was being discussed, but I was excluded from the conversation given my connection to you. They were concerned that it would make me... biased, in my judgment."

Hearing this, Midoriya nodded and thought about what he should do. He could try to escape during one of his patrols with Aizawa, using his SmokeScreen to cloud his vision and escape, but not only would they undoubtedly chase him down, but while they were all distracted with each other, there's a chance one of All-For-One's assassins could strike, which could lead to them being hurt or captured… or maybe even being killed.

"NO! I can't let that happen." Midoriya thought hard about what he could do to leave again, then remembered his classmates had convinced Nezu to let them try and take him back.

Maybe with their cooperation, he could convince Nezu to let him go. Midoriya nodded to himself. AllMight walked over to the shackles and tried to lift them, but failed. He tried again with more force, but failed again, he frowned to himself and turned around to Midoriya...

"Yeah, these things sure are weighted, I'm guessing that each may weigh 120 Tons, maybe more."

Deku nodded, and got up and walked over to the weighted shackles passed to AllMight. He activated his Full-Cowling up to 25% and put the shackles on each of his forearms and ankles. He wanted to test the Quirk-suppressors and attempted to raise the percentage of One-For-All; he got up to around 65% before he couldn't raise it any higher, and lowered it back down. AllMight pulled out a small device that had a red-button on it and pressed it. Immediately the shackles fell to the ground. Midoriya looked at AllMight questioningly.

"It would be better, if before you meet back up with the others, you go take a shower and get dressed. The shower is through that door." he pointed to a door opposite himself.

"You'll find a change of clothes in there as well; I'll be here waiting for you." Deku nodded and thanked AllMight before turning and heading towards the direction of the shower. Midoriya emerged from the shower with a green hoodie-jacket and cargo-shorts and a white t-shirt. He picked up the shackles and reattached them to his arms and legs, he nodded to AllMight, and they both proceeded out of the room into the hallway. They began to walk out of the school towards the dorm not before Midoriya got to say his thanks to the Recovery-Girl for speeding-up his healing. They began to head towards the doors of the Heights-Alliance dorms, and Midoriya began contemplating what he would say to his classmates, after all his time away. His thoughts were cut off, however, with the aroma of food in the air that smelled fantastic, reminding him of how he hadn't had a home-cooked meal in over two months.

Midoriya and AllMight opened the door, and were greeted by confetti-cannons popping. Midoriya shielded his eyes first then opened them to first see a big sign that said, "Welcome Back!", followed by seeing and hearing his classmates repeat the same phrase he saw on the sign. Everyone in the class was there as he scanned all the smiling faces, each saying their own form of greeting, until his gaze fell upon a certain light purple-haired guy, recognizing him to be Hitoshi Shinsou.

"What are you doing here, Shinsou?"

"Just because he's injured doesn't mean my training with Aizawa is through, and I need to step up my game as much as possible so I can be of more use." Shinsou replied. He had always been very self-deprecating since his Brainwashing Quirk was only useful under the right conditions. Mention of the current state of the world brought back Midoriya's plan, and seeing how everyone was there, he didn't think he could get a better opportunity. He was about to speak, but before he could his stomach growled loudly. He blushed in embarrassment as most of his classmates started laughing.

"Don't worry," said Tsu, "We had a whole buffet prepared for when you returned! We were all super-worried about you when you ran off, and all you left us with was that ominous letter!"

Ashido spoke up next. "Yeah, and Uraraka missed you the most!"

She concluded the last part of her sentence with a wink. Uraraka's pink cheeks turned red, and she immediately changed the subject.

"A... a... anyways Deku, I'm sure you must be hungry! Come on, now that you're here, we can finally start to eat!"

With a strangely quick pace, Uraraka left the room. There were a few snickers in the audience before they all decided to follow her into the dining room. As Midoriya went to follow his classmates, his DangerSense suddenly flared-up again, but only a little. That distant, unknown threat he had sensed earlier, it had gotten closer, but still many, many miles away. Whatever it was, Midoriya felt he needed to check it out before it could get any worse, but in his current situation, with his Quirk-suppressing shackles, he knew he had to convince AllMight and his classmates first. Then the danger disappeared again, just as abruptly as it appeared.

Nothing much has changed about the dorms dining-room since he left. There was an array of food presented on the table, to which each student began to grab a plate and eat.

The atmosphere was nice and refreshing for Midoriya, given his recent stressful activities. Kaminari decided to break the air with a question for Midoriya.

"So, you were hanging around the Top-3 Heroes! What was that like?"

All eyes were on Midoriya now, as he pondered on what he should say, and how much he should say about his journey. Eventually, he spoke.

"Honestly it wasn't too much trouble, most of the problems were just low-tier villains, or simple misunderstandings between civilians. One of the tougher challenges was when one of the Tartarus escapees, Muscular, was on a rampage. I fought him once before, during our summer-camp trip, over half a year ago, but I was able to beat him much easier this time around. Which is a testament to how much I've improved since then." As he said that, Midoriya looked to his hand and balled it into a fist, thinking back to his first battle with Muscular. Shoji was the first to reply.

"So that was the reason your arms were so badly injured back then?" Midoriya nodded in confirmation. Shoji replied.

"I see. It's good to know at least one of the League of Villains is back behind bars."

The mention of the League brought the mood a bit down, but Midoriya quickly moved on.

"What about you guys, what have you been up to since I've been gone?"

"Nothing much, we just kept training and helping out all the civilians in the evac-shelters," Kirishima answered him. "And of course, Bakugo did about as good a job at calming people down and comforting them as you'd expect!"

Bakugo, surprisingly enough, didn't immediately yell in outrage, and just kept to himself, a grumpy yet attentive expression on his face.

"Still, he's come a long way since the Licensing-Exam, and especially since the Sports-Festival!" Kirishima continued. "Remember when they had to chain him up and muzzle him like a rabid-dog, even though he won the damn thing! When the two of us were escorting civilians out of the city and into the shelters, one of the kids pointed at him and was all like, 'Look Mommy! It's the Scary-Boy from that Sports-Festival!'"

A chorus of laughter came from his classmates, and Midoriya laughed as well. The feeling was almost foreign to him at this point, but it was enjoyable. He looked around at all his smiling classmates, as they each told their own share of stories in this crazy world. He started to think of how he wanted to protect these moments, to protect everyone's joy. The suddenly sour look on Midoriya's face didn't go unnoticed, though. Uraraka was the first to comment.

"Deku? Why are you so down all of a sudden?" Midoriya, snapping out of his thoughts, asked his classmates a crucial question.

"Have any of you ever fought a villain that had multiple Quirks?" The laughter quickly died out with the question asked. Bakugo finally spoke up with an answer.

"No, we haven't. Are you saying there's more like you, or like Half-And-Half over there?" He pointed at Todoroki, who looked equally intrigued by Midoriya's question. Midoriya simply shook his head.

"No, not like me or Todoroki. Todoroki technically only has one Quirk, but it's a perfect hybrid of both his parents' Quirks, and I inherited mine from AllMight. But I recently fought someone who was given an extra Quirk, by All-For-One."

The atmosphere immediately dropped from the name of that one man. Kaminari responded worriedly. "Hey, hey, I thought he could only steal Quirks, now you're telling me he can give them to someone else as well?!" Midoriya simply nodded his head in confirmation.

"The fact that you guys haven't run into someone like that, means that my plan is working..."

Bakugo, who had been unusually quiet the whole time, now spoke up and voiced his frustration. "Oh? What plan was that? To run yourself ragged and get captured?"

Midoriya raised his head to look Bakugo in the eyes. "To protect you! All of you!"

His eyes scanned over all of his classmates. Bakugo grew angry at this, standing up.

"Oh, and who ever said I wanted to be protected?" He got up and approached Midoriya. "And who the hell's gonna protect you?!" Midoriya stood up to match Bakugo.

"You don't..."

"No, YOU don't get it! You might have AllMight's power, but you're not invincible! And we're not just bystanders! Don't you remember what I told you, back when I rushed-in and got stabbed by Shigaraki for you?!" He grabbed Midoriya by the shirt.

"I said, Stop Trying To Win This By Yourself! YOU taught me that! Even though I rejected it, you were always there to help me, you were there to help all of us, so LET US HELP YOU!"

He held his stare for a long moment, before Kirishima came up and put a hand on Bakugo's shoulder, signaling him to calm down. Bakugo brushed off Kirishima's hand, let go of Midoriya, and began to walk off around the corner, passing Aizawa, who entered the room in his place.

"It's getting late, time to go to bed. I want everyone to be ready for the morning-patrol. Midoriya, as further punishment, you'll be on clean-up duty for the foreseeable future. Those assigned to watch over him for tomorrow will help out as well. As for everyone else, get to sleep."

As most of his classmates filed out of the room, eventually only him, Uraraka, and Iida were left, Iida was the first to speak.

"Alright, I think it's best if we hurry and finish this up as quickly as possible. Being well-rested will prepare us for the challenges ahead." Midoriya and Uraraka both nodded and set out to clean-up the common-room.

Midoriya couldn't leave his thoughts as he cleaned. "I'm sorry, for dragging you guys down with me."

Iida replied first. "It's no problem, Midoriya, we're your friends and we all have to help each other."

"Yeah, this is nothing to be sorry for, we're just happy that you're back." Uraraka added.

A knot tied in Midoriya's throat from that sentence. "I can't stay here. Every second I do, the more I'm putting you all in danger..."

Both of his fellow classmates turned to look at him.

"So what, you expect us to just abandon you?" Iida asked.

Midoriya shook his head "You're not abandoning me, it's just, the threat to your safety is way too high with me around! Iida, think about your brother. Would he want you to carelessly risk your life if it can be avoided?!"

Iida took a deep breath before responding "This isn't like what happened at Hosu, I'm not doing this for myself. You're the one who's heading out to fight someone dangerous on your own!"

Midoriya winced at that last part, realizing just how true the counter-accusation was.

"Although my brother would probably say that I was being reckless, I know that he would still be proud of me. I know that he wouldn't abandon a friend in need, and I know that you wouldn't, and neither will I. Whatever comes next, we'll face it together. That's what friends do!"

Midoriya nodded and turned his head towards Uraraka.

"And what about you? You told me that you planned to become a hero to help support your family! Just being around me could get you killed! It could end your dream, one way or another."

Uraraka understood what he meant by his last statement, and raised her head with pure conviction with a spark in her eyes and met Midoriya's.

"I'm with Iida, I'm not going to abandon you when you need us most, Deku! I was there when that giant villain rampaged through the city, and I saw how bad things have gotten. It's true, I started out just wanting to help my parents, but now I want to save other people too, and I want to save you, Deku! It's not... It's just not right for you to have to do this all on your own."

Uraraka decided to try and add some humor to lighten the situation. "Besides, given all the destruction caused by the villains these last two months, my parents' business will probably be doing a lot better, trying to rebuild. And they've always told me not to worry about them too much, so..."

It didn't have the completely desired effect, but it allowed them to move past the awkward exchange and finish up cleaning. They all said goodnight to each other once done and went to their respective rooms for a good night's rest.

The next morning, Midoriya's DangerSense picked-up that same unknown threat, still far away from his current location, but steadily getting closer. Midoriya could now detect which direction the danger was coming from. It was... Up?

"It's coming from outer-space," The Fourth-Holder Shinomori spoke inside Midoriya's head. "You still have much to learn about how to use my Quirk and what it can do. Whatever threat it might pose, it's only a potential and/or indirect danger, which is why DangerSense is only briefly and partially triggered by it. It might just be a small asteroid passing by. Strange, though, my Quirk has never had such a wide-range before, even with the boost from One-For-All."

Despite the Fourth-Holder's reassuring tone, Midoriya didn't like the sound of that, especially those last two parts.

"That's the least of your problems," The Second-Holder Kudo spoke next, "If you're serious about leaving your friends again, you need to think of something quickly, so that you can get back to training with our different Quirk-Factors. All-For-One and Shigaraki are still out there, probably getting stronger and plotting their next move as we speak, and you're still not ready for either of them, let alone both of them. Either find a way to convince your friends and teachers to let you go, or just run for it the first chance you get. Your friends are stubborn, so I suggest the latter."

Midoriya had to agree with Kudo. Most, if not all his classmates still wanted him to stay, and simply talking to them about the danger wasn't cutting it. But maybe he could show them the difference.

Midoriya then came up with a plan of action, but it would require Aizawa's help to achieve it. After he and his classmates had breakfast, he asked to speak with Aizawa in private, to which he agreed, taking Midoriya to his private office.

"Okay, Problem-Child, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want you to host a match between me and the rest of the class, like what Mirio did before we started our Work-Studies. If I can beat all of them myself, then will you all let me go?"

Midoriya explained that if they were able to beat him, then they would be fully capable of fighting the people that would be sent by All-For-One, and if not, then he doesn't want them getting hurt for his sake. Aizawa pondered for a moment, before finally giving his answer.

"Alright, fine. The match will happen tomorrow."

Midoriya's eyes widened. "Wait, really?"

"Really."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. What, is that a problem?"

"What, NO! Not at all!" Midoriya frantically told his teacher, not wanting to lose the deal just after sealing it. "I just wasn't expecting you to agree to it so quickly."

"It's only rational not to put all my students in danger if it's unnecessary," Aizawa told him. "However, if they somehow manage to beat you instead, then you have to stay here, work as a team-player, and no more of this lone-vigilante crap, understand?"

Midoriya nodded. "Yes, I promise!"

The rest of the day was relaxing for Midoriya. He had his objective in his sights, and he just needed to be patient for 1 more day to achieve it...

---

(The Next Day...)

Aizawa must have already informed Midoriya's classmates on the match yesterday, given the change in atmosphere when he was around. Everyone was anxious and mentally preparing themselves for what's to come. Everyone had time to eat breakfast and get into their hero-costumes before Aizawa called all of them down to the gymnasium. All the students gathered around as Aizawa explained the situation to them.

"Alright, you all know this, but I'll go over it again. Similar to the Sports-Festival, the battle is won by incapacitating or removing your opponent from the bounds of the arena. You are not allowed to help in any way if you are thrown out. Other than that, anything goes. Oh, and before I forget..."

He pulls out the device to Midoriya restraints and presses the button releasing him.

"Now, everyone that's participating, head out onto the field."

A good majority of the class proceeded to head out onto the grounds, leaving only 1 individual watching from the sidelines.

"You're not going to participate, Shinsou?"

"Nah, there's nothing to use the Binding-Scarf on in this landscape, and he already knows how my Quirk works, and my Persona-Chords. Besides, judging by the looks on their faces, the time for talk is over." He said as he looked at the combatants in the arena, Aizawa nodded in reply.

"You may now begin."

Midoriya considered his options for a moment, not wanting to hurt his friends too badly, but wanting to end this as quickly as possible. He opened the fight with a St. Louis Smash Air-Force while at 40% Full-Cowling, hoping the large air-blast would throw most, if not all of his classmates out of bounds immediately, but to his surprise a giant wall of ice was brought up to defend his class from the air-pressure, smacking into the wall and dissipating harmlessly around the class. Before he could set up his next move, a Russian-nest-doll was launched over the wall, opening up to reveal the contents inside: a flashbang grenade.

Midoriya covered his eyes to shield himself from the light, and as he shielded his eyes more Russian dolls came from over the wall, each carrying flashbangs to keep Midoriya stunned and unable to see. However, Midoriya's DangerSense was still operational. Something else was coming at him; judging by the speed, direction, and method of travel, he deduced that it had to be Iida. He knew lida's style of attacks, and combining that knowledge with his DangerSense allowed him to predict and catch Iida's kick before it could land to the side of his head. Midoriya took this opportunity to grab Iida's leg with his other arm while maintaining his hold. He powered down to 30% and began to spin Iida around in a circle, then threw him out of bounds before he could recover. The flashbangs had stopped just as multiple pillars of ice rose from behind the ice-wall, and advanced towards Midoriya's position.

He countered with a Delaware-Smash Air-Force punch that completely stopped the attack before it could reach him. On top of the pillars, near the ice-wall however was Jiro, Ashido, and Sero, all about to rain down fire on Midoriya from a distance. Midoriya dodged left and right as the acid and soundwaves struck the ground around him. He switched tactics, using his SmokeScreen to confuse the long-range shooters, while using his Air-Force gauntlets to fire precise air-blasts back at the targets on the pillar, forcing Jiro and Ashido both to jump off their initial pillars and towards the next one.

To Midoriya's surprise, the shooters didn't grow any less accurate. He could only assume that Yaoyorozu had given them infrared-goggles to see him inside his smoke, but this worked to Midoriya's advantage as well. He would track the trajectory of the attacks back to the users and fire back with air-blasts that would displace them and lighten the attacks against him. Suddenly the smoke was dispersed by Bakugo using his explosions to clear all of the smoke out of the way.

The first thing Midoriya noticed was that the big ice-wall was gone and that the melee fighters were rapidly closing in on his position, Meanwhile Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Tokoyami were both still in their position. Shoji, Ojiro, Kirishima, and Sato all charged Midoriya. Ojiro was first, trying to sweep Midoriya's legs with a tail-swipe, but Midoriya jumped over it. While he was in midair, both Shoji and Sato attacked with a barrage of punches. Being in midair limited Midoriya's options, forcing him to block most of the punches directly. He was about to use the Seventh-Holder's Quirk, Float, when suddenly Jiro's sound-amplifiers appeared above him. Her HeartBeat-Wall prevented him from going upwards and forced him to take the barrage of blows. Midoriya, while not hurt by the punches, felt his body stiffen and his muscles started to spasm uncontrollably. It must be Tsu's mucus, he thought. As Shoji and Sato tried to move him out of the zone, they struggled to move him back, but then a third hand appeared from behind and tapped Midoriya's back, making him weightless.

He didn't see Uraraka in the charge towards him, but that could have been due to her advancing from pillar to pillar, hiding her presence until the right time. Midoriya started to get pushed back by their combined effort, so he thought fast, and using BlackWhip, anchored himself to the ground to find purchase once more. The struggle of pushing and pulling was a stalemate. Ojiro added to the mix as well, wrapping his tail around Midoriya, then Tsu came out of camouflage and attempted to wrap up Midoriya with her tongue. They both planned on pulling him out of the arena with them.

Midoriya was nearly out of bounds, so he immediately raised the percentage of his Full-Cowling up to 35%. He used BlackWhip: Froppy-Style, which shot a BlackWhip from out of his mouth, hitting Tsu right in the forehead, causing her to lose grip, and Deku broke free. After that, he overpowered both Shoji and Sato, and knocked both of them out of bounds. A similar situation happened to Ojiro. Midoriya had forcefully pried-off his tail from around his neck, and used it to spin and toss him out of bounds. He unleashed a 55% Texas-Smash, punching right through Kirishima's Unbreakable, sending him flying out of bounds. Uraraka was stunned as Midoriya began to approach her, but before he could, a wall of ice separated them. Todoroki yelled for her to fall back as Jiro, Ashido, and Sero continued their assault. Midoriya countered this time, with a sharp backhanded swat that sent out a wind gust that deflected most of the projectiles sent his way, or steered them off course.

Sero attempted to grab Uraraka and Jiro and bring them towards the group. He successfully grabbed Uraraka, but Midoriya managed to grab Jiro first. She had moved closer along with the melee fighters to restrict his own movements, and unlike Uraraka, there was no barrier in his way to grab her. He flung Jiro through the air and into Shoji so he could catch her, making her out of bounds as well. Bakugo attacked next using his AP-Shot: Auto-Cannon, forcing Midoriya to jump upwards, but still under the effects of Uraraka's Quirk, his momentum skyrocketed him into the air.

He tried to halt his momentum using the BlackWhip he implanted into the ground, but he felt his grip slip. Alternating strategy, he used Float to stop his momentum and looked down. Bakugo was aiming for the ground where his BlackWhip was embedded. Combined with Ashido's Acid, then burned into the ground enough to free the BlackWhip. Midoriya tried to dig them into the ground at other locations, but the same result would forbid him from finding purchase. Bakugo rocketed upwards to attack Midoriya in midair. Midoriya dissipated his BlackWhip, then resummoned them again. Using BlackWhip: Pinpoint-Focus, 3 whips were shot at Bakugo. He dodged all of them, coming up to land an explosive tap on Midoriya's shoulder, before dodging out of the way of another BlackWhip that sprang from Midoriya's back at him, Midoriya was able to use finger-flicks from his Air-Force gauntlets to move and dodge Bakugo's following attacks. Suddenly his DangerSense flared again. Someone else was coming up from behind him. He swung himself around to see Tokoyami in his Dark-Fallen-Angel state about to attack him with one of DarkShadow's claws. Midoriya thought fast and used his BlackWhip to wrap around DarkShadow's large arm and using it as leverage to maneuver around Tokoyami while dodging DarkShadow's other arm. When he was directly above him, Midoriya initiated a foot-dive directly onto his back, sending him spiraling towards the ground. Midoriya refocused his attention on Bakugo, attempting to use BlackWhip to catch his old friend, but none of them managed to connect. Bakugo dodged each tendril and counter-attacked with an Explosion. This exchange went on for several seconds, before Midoriya was finally able to get a hold of Bakugo's leg and attempt to throw him out of bounds. Before he touched the ground, however, he was able to recover, using his Explosion Quirk to propel himself back into the ring, and also back into the fight.

After Midoriya was clear he was immediately under fire from projectiles from the ground, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Ashido were using similar guns to Gang-Orca's henchmen in the Provisional-Licensing Exam, while Shoto, Sero, and Uraraka worked together to throw ice rocks at him. He dodged the cement-gun bullets, while smacking the ice away with his BlackWhip. He would return fire with his air-blasts at a much slower pace than before, being mindful of the blowback of being weightless and course-correcting accordingly. Bakugo was back on him in that moment, grabbing his arm while he was distracted, and performed an X-Catapult that threw him towards Tokoyami, who then hit him with a Sabbath-Strike that drove him to the edge of the arena. Using Air-Force, he stopped his momentum before he touched the ground, coming to a stop. Three of the cement-gun shots managed to hit him on his right hand, sticking it to his thighs while the other two struck his feet, sticking them together. Bakugo, seeing his opportunity, charged directly at Midoriya, using his signature Ultimate-Move, the Howitzer-Impact!

Midoriya's mind was now racing with panic, searching for a plan on what to do, but his frantic state caused his power to flare. As it did, he realized that this entire time he was holding back. Not wanting to seriously hurt any of his friends in the match, he subconsciously held back to 30% or less of his Full-Cowling. But not anymore. As Bakugo's Howitzer-Impact closed in on him, he raised his power to 60% and unleashed a Detroit-Smash! While not hitting Bakugo directly, the air-pressure alone was enough to send him flying away along with Tokoyami and Sero, the latter of whom attempted to grab and hold them from flying out, but all that ended up accomplishing was him also getting caught up in the colossal wave of pressure and joining his friends along the way. All 3 of them were blasted out of the arena, out of bounds, leaving only 5 other students remaining.

Midoriya began to move forward, easily breaking out of the cement that held his hand and feet together. He used his BlackWhip to dig into the ground, fending off Ashido's acid as he made his way forward. To her surprise, Ashido was suddenly hoisted into the air as the BlackWhip implanted into the ground had tunneled to her position. He threw her out of bounds for the others to catch and kept moving forward. Todoroki threw out a large column of ice that Midoriya destroyed with his fist and proceeded to move forward. He then made quick work of Kaminari, knocking him out of bounds with one kick. Uraraka was knocked out just as easily. Todoroki unleashed another massive wave of ice on Midoriya, only for it to be completely shattered and blown away by his punches.

However, the barrage was just a distraction so that Jiro and Yaoyorozu could get to opposite sides of him. Beside them, they each had two cannons, which fired on Midoriya while Todoroki launched more ice attacks. He countered them with an Air-Force attack, and caught both cannonballs with BlackWhip before throwing them back at the girls, just shy of directly hitting them. The force of the impact knocked both of them out of bounds. Todoroki was the last one standing.

Midoriya could already feel the heat coming, as the ice around the arena started to melt and evaporate away into steam. Midoriya speculated that Todoroki was mostly playing a supporting role due to the nature of his Quirk and its wide area of effect. But now, he could go all-out without worrying about friendly-fire. A giant eruption of flames was unleashed, heading straight for Midoriya. He jumped up and above it, getting reacquainted with the feeling of gravity on him.

Todoroki aimed upwards and shot another blast of fire, which Izuku dispersed using Air-Force. Todoroki could feel the rumbling below him, and using his ice, avoided the BlackWhip coming from all angles, while constantly throwing flames at the airborne Midoriya. Midoriya rocketed down towards Todoroki, aiming to land a Manchester-Smash near him, but Todoroki blocked it with another ice-shield. The two danced around the arena, with Todoroki spamming fire and ice attacks from range while dodging Midoriya's Air-Force shots and BlackWhips.

Eventually Midoriya managed to capture Todoroki's leg with BlackWhip, but before he could pull him out of bounds, Todoroki tried using the connection to freeze him in place, forcing Midoriya to dissipate the whip entirely. Their back and forth continued for some minutes, before Midoriya unexpectedly dialed back his overwhelming energy. Standing still near the edge of the arena, he had powered back down to 45% Full-Cowling. Seeing this as his opportunity, Todoroki was about to hit him with a FlashFreeze HeatWave, but before he could, Midoriya seemingly disappeared, reappearing right in front of him and shoving him out of the arena. Tsu had caught him before he crashed into the wall, and then slowly lowered him down towards the floor.

Midoriya immediately set off to see if he was alright.

"Sorry about that Todoroki, I didn't mean to launch you so hard. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Midoriya. You surprised me, though. I couldn't even see you move until it was too late." Todoroki replied.

"Yeah, that was FaJin, it allows me to build-up kinetic-energy, and then release it as an explosive boost in strength and speed." Midoriya explained.

Todoroki nodded "Bakugo made mention of you possibly having even more abilities than the ones he knew you unlocked. He and Yaoyorozu attempted to create a strategy to win but..."

"But my planning was just insufficient." Yaoyorozu interrupted. She was wobbly on her feet, being helped up by Uraraka.

"No that's not true, your plan almost worked. Deku's just super-amazing is all." Uraraka said, attempted to console her friend.

"She's right! Midoriya, you sure have come a long way with how you use your BlackWhip. Looks like my lessons have really paid off." Sero said, jumping into the conversation.

"Yeah, I thought you were super cool and manly even before you got your extra powers, but now, you're something else entirely!" Kirishima added.

While the rest of the class were all gathering around commenting on the match, Shinsou was asking Aizawa some questions.

"Why did you even agree to this match after we just got him back?"

"He was only being held here due to his violations of the plans drawn by Nezu and the Top-Three. With the re-establishment of the Commission's office, it sped up the processing to allow the foreign pro-heroes to come into the country. Rough estimates give them as early as 5 days before they arrive in Japan, two weeks at the latest. Our strategy with Midoriya will continue, so letting him out a little early wouldn't really change all that much."

As he was talking, Aizawa glanced over to the exit where he saw Bakugo beginning to walk out. Figuring that this loss had a major impact on him, he would be wise to go and talk to him, but before he could the ground began to rumble. The building itself shook as if it were hit by an earthquake.

Just seconds before the quake was felt, Midoriya's DangerSense had gone off, this time far more intense than before. It was that same, mysterious potential-threat coming from outer-space. Did it crash into the Earth after all?

"Whatever it is, we should probably go investigate." Said the Vestige of the Fourth-Holder.

"Right!" Midoriya said back to him internally, and started running in the direction his DangerSense told him it was coming from, powering-up to 40% Full-Cowling as he went. He won the match, so he had earned the right to leave, and he needed to get this creeping worry out of his system, this growing dread that he'd been feeling ever since this thing first triggered his DangerSense.

"Deku, WAIT!" Uraraka shouted, but it was too late. Midoriya had already disappeared in a green flash of energy and speed, comfortably breaking the sound-barrier as he went.

"Where's he going?" Kirishima wondered out loud.

"He won the match, and now he's bailing immediately!" Kaminari shouted, slightly upset.

"No, he's going after whatever caused that tremor!" Uraraka said, growing visibly more worried and anguished by the second.

"Wait, it's not All-For-One, is it?!" Ashido asked, "Is he making his move already?!"

The entire class was silent for a few seconds, terrified at the thought.

"I doubt it," Aizawa said, "More likely it's just another one of those Tartarus escapees sent to..."

Suddenly, Aizawa's phone rang, and checked to see who it was. It was AllMight. He answered, and after a few seconds, nodded and hung up.

"That was AllMight, he was outside driving through the city with Endeavor, and they both saw what happened..."

Exiting UA's campus-grounds, Midoriya saw it; a massive trail of smoke cutting through the sky, and his DangerSense directed him towards the area where that smoke touched the ground. It must've been a meteor, or perhaps a satellite knocked out of orbit. Either way, he needed to investigate and save anyone who might've been hurt by the impact.

Midoriya hurried there at his current top-speed, boosting to 65% Full-Cowling, and once he built-up enough kinetic-energy, used FaJin for a temporary boost, achieving Pseudo-100%. He reached his destination in less than 10 seconds, and what he found gave him pause. A massive crater was formed in the middle of a four-way intersection. Surrounding buildings had crumbled, and a dark cloud was rising from the gaping hole. Midoriya was hovering in the air with the Seventh-Holder's Float, a safe distance away. Now that he was closer than ever, his DangerSense was passively buzzing, indicating that there was SOME KIND of hostility radiating from the crater.

"This can't be right," Midoriya said to himself, but also the Vestiges, "Why is it still triggering DangerSense? If it's a meteor, it shouldn't pose any more threat now that it's already landed..."

"That's assuming it even IS a meteor, though," The First-Holder, Yoichi commented in Midoriya's mind. "We still haven't gotten a close look at it. Please exercise caution, Ninth. Whether this is my brother's doing, or something else entirely, we shouldn't be hasty."

Midoriya nodded in agreement, and as he did, he heard the screeching sound of a car coming to a stop nearby. He turned to his right to see that it was AllMight, having arrived in his high-tech car named Hercules, plus Endeavor, flying just beside him.

"Young Midoriya!" AllMight shouted, exiting the car, and running towards the scene, carrying a mysterious suitcase with him. Midoriya floated down and met his teacher.

"Endeavor and I saw the meteor falling from a distance. It is a meteor, right?" AllMight asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Midoriya clarified. "But whatever it is, it's making my DangerSense go off slightly."

Midoriya turned around and faced the crater. He, AllMight, and Endeavor all took small, careful steps forward. Now standing at it's very edge, Midoriya looked down into the crater, finally getting a closer look at what created the indentation in the earth. To his surprise, it wasn't merely a chunk of rock, but something far more refined. In the epicenter of the impact, there rested a mysterious black cube, perfectly-proportioned, and roughly the size of a typical jack-in-a-box, large enough to be picked up with one or two human hands. The mysterious cube seemed to be made of some kind of dark metal, and extremely well-polished metal at that.

"Have you ever seen anything like this, AllMight?" Midoriya asked.

"No, never." AllMight replied.

Within the next minute-and-a-half, the rest of Class-1A had arrived at the scene. Iida arrived in less than a minute, being the fastest of Midoriya's classmates, but even he was tired from the highspeed dash over there. Soon all of them had gathered around the strange black cube, which now seemed to buzz with a mysterious energy.

After a long minute of silent trepidation, Midoriya took a step forward. He was reasonably certain that this... thing, had nothing to do with All-For-One and Shigaraki. But it was still dangerous.

"I'll throw it back into space." Midoriya said, reaching his hand out to grab the cube, but the instant that he made physical contact, everything went dark...

---

Izuku Midoriya's Trial:

Midoriya fluttered his eyes awake. The first thing he saw once his eyes cleared was the familiar site of the bonfire and chairs that indicated that he was once again inside his Vestige-World. As he looked around and saw all the past holders of One-For-All, but strangely none of them were looking at him, but up above. Before he could ask them what was wrong, a strong, deep voice resounded in not only his head, but all of the Vestiges' heads as well.

"Interesting, very interesting... one being that holds the souls of 7 others, and another that is yet to join them. This world's evolution took a surprising turn."

Midoriya scanned the area, trying to locate the speaker, but he was nowhere in sight. Then he followed the Vestiges' line of sight and looked up, and he was shocked at what he saw. The normally pure-black skies of the Vestige-World was suddenly occupied by a titanic, inhuman figure, without any distinct features besides its immense size, and the strange, surging lines that made up its body. The Creature spoke.

"Before we begin, I find it only fair that everyone residing in this boy's mind has their voice heard in the upcoming conversation."

With that, the Vestige-World started to shake, a vibration so violent that it caused Midoriya eyes and head to spin. By the time it stopped, he heard an impossible voice.

"Mi... Midoriya!?" The voice came from AllMight; his ghostly appearance was still apparent, but his body was fully formed, his blue eyes sharp and aware of his surroundings. All of the Vestiges turned to look at the new voice. Shock filled all of their faces, especially Nana. Their eyes met again student and teacher. Thousands of words filled Toshinori's mind concerning what he wanted to say to her, but before he could say anything, Midoriya blurted out numerous questions.

"AllMight?! How are you fully formed here in the Vestige-World?! Did you DIE!? What happened to everyone!? Did All-For-One win and capture me!?"

AllMight held up both his hands. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, Young Midoriya! I don't think I'm dead. The last thing I remember is that you touched that DarkCube, and then next thing I know, I'm here."

Midoriya was relieved that AllMight was still alive, but he also didn't know what happened to everyone else either, which still caused him to worry. Before he could ask another question though, the disembodied-voice of the Mysterious-Creature filled their heads once more.

"Excellent. Now that we all are here, we can discuss the next chapter of events."

Banjo the Fifth-Holder was the first one to speak up, "OH yeah?! And what the hell would that be?! And what the HELL are ya!?"

Shinomori the Fourth was surprisingly the first one to speak up. "Hey, Settle down! This thing, whatever it is, is not something you want to piss off... My DangerSense is going crazy! If we weren't already dead and in a void, I would have already run away. This guy's no joke. I haven't felt a threat this terrifying since All-For-One, and compared to this, I would take him any day."

The Creature's voice rang out in their heads again, interrupting their conversation.

"People have called me many things. I have been called a God, a Devil, a Savior, a Destroyer, a Cosmic-Being, and so on and so forth… These labels, however, I have no real interest in. I simply offer deals when they are needed, and I now offer one to you, Child."

All attention was paid to Midoriya. He didn't really understand what was happening, but he had a feeling it was not good, so he offered a simple question in response. "And what deal would that be?"

The Creature replied, "Why, Power of course. Overwhelming power that cannot be matched. I saw the struggles that you were going through, just as these souls have, and just like them, I can help you achieve your goal. You want to be strong enough to save everyone, to stop crime before anyone else is hurt, but the power you have now is not enough. You have personally seen its shortcomings, but with My Power added on, nothing would be able to stop you."

The Mysterious-Creature started to cast images for Midoriya and the Vestiges to see. It revealed the planet Jupiter, its core exposed by a titanic hole in the atmosphere, a shockwave so powerful that it blasted away an entire hemisphere of the gas-giant. If such raw force were directed towards the Earth, it would've been completely obliterated thousands of times over. The Mysterious-Creature continued.

"I can grant you power surpassing this, something that cannot be done with what you have now."

The First-Holder, Yoichi spoke up now. "And what do we offer you in return? You sound very much like my brother. Making shady deals, promises of power, offering out one hand in friendship, while simultaneously holding a dagger in the other. What is it that you want?"

"Nothing but your undying loyalty to my cause. The elimination of all Quirks from your society. The Quirk-Singularity Doomsday-Theory is very real, and as the generations continue onwards, the Quirks they manifest will become far more dangerous, and impossible to control."

The Creature started to show them the Earth, their world's Japan in the near future. Destruction and panic reigned, and entire countries were destroyed, as what can only be described as monsters rampaged overhead.

"Your world has been on a timer, ever since the Dawn of Quirks, and the more you try to control it, the more it will slip through your fingers. The Yakuza you faced before understood this, and even made the cure to your situation, but it was too late to be implemented."

The view zoomed out and showed the Earth rotating. What was once green forests and pastures had all turned red or black, signaling the chaos and violence taking hold in those locations.

"But with My Power, you can save your world from this fate, the chaos brought on by these new dangers can be averted. Think about it. I shall await your answer..."

As it uttered the last few words, the Mysterious-Creature's display ceased, and it vanished before their very eyes. No one said any words for the next 5 minutes. They silently digested the information given to them, and the possibility of it being true, or just an elaborate hoax. The Sixth-Holder, En, was the next Vestige to speak up.

"So... how many of us actually believe that story?"

Banjo quickly replied. "Yeah, the whole thing sounds incredibly stupid, and even if it were true, what does it expect us to do about it? Completely get rid of everyone's Quirks? Does it seriously think they would ever do that willingly?"

Nana Shimura responded. "That's where the idea of giving us more power comes into play. I assume that with said power, we would basically strongarm everyone into getting their Quirks removed, or forcibly remove them ourselves. While I disagree entirely with such a method, if what he showed us really is the future of our world, then it would mean saving many lives in the long-term."

The Second-Holder chimed in. "Or it could just be All-For-One playing his mind-tricks on us, in order to surrender One-For-All to him willingly through this 'deal'. You said it yourself; it sounds like a plan your brother would make." he said, nodding towards the First.

"While I did say that, the things happening here seem to be well outside of my brother's current capabilities. If he still cannot control even Shigaraki, then doing something like this seems impossible. That Creature even brought Toshinori here without having to kill him. I don't think even my brother has so much power and knowledge as to do that." The First replied.

They all turned to look at AllMight, who in his incomplete Vestige form, was a golden being of fire reminiscent of a man. He gave his own thoughts on the matter.

"I agree with the First, this doesn't seem like All-For-One's doing. We're dealing with something completely different. But regardless of whether that future it showed us was true or not, it doesn't matter. We don't need its power to stop All-For-One. I believe in Young Midoriya."

Midoriya was in the spotlight next. He sat there pondering on a great many things. Could this gift really be so powerful that he could save everyone? Is the future they were shown really how things will end for their world? Could he ever hope to stop All-For-One without this Creature's power?

"But what if... Maybe... It's better If I do accept the deal..." All the Vestiges were shocked by this, while AllMight's smile dropped into a heartbroken frown.

"I don't know if I can beat All-For-One. I've improved so much, but he still has so many advantages over me, and combined with his trump cards like Shigaraki, the Nomu, and Gigantomachia, there's no telling how this will go. Even if we win, how many people are going to die in the process? But if we accept the deal, then I would be able to protect everyone from All-For-One, and if that future that he showed was real, protect them from themselves as well."

"And if the future that it showed was completely fake?" the Second asked.

"Well, then people still wouldn't have to live in fear anymore! Things would go back to the way they should be! Heroes could go back to being Heroes again..."

Toshinori spoke up next, "Midoriya, the pressure you face right now is more than any of us had to go through, and you're right that there are a great many things that All-For-One has against you. BUT, you are not alone. All of your friends, and all of the other pro-heroes, they still care, and they still want to fight with you. You can still win if you work together, just like you've done before..."

His ghost started to get up and walk towards Midoriya.

"Even if that future was true, you can change it, Midoriya. I know you can. NightEye knew you could. Before he died, he told me that he saw your future. You were supposed to die in your fight with Chisaki, but you didn't! You survived, and were victorious. If you did it once, you can do it again."

As AllMight said those last words, he hugged Midoriya.

Midoriya hugged him back and silently cursed his lack of confidence. If AllMight and his friends still believed in him, then what right did he have to still doubt? As the hug between master and apprentice ended, the dark, empty void became filled once more with the Mysterious-Creature, and the ominous voice came back, with a very slight twang of irritation to it.

"So, have you all decided?"

All of the Vestiges, plus Izuku Midoriya, looked to each other, nodding their heads in agreement, then they all turned to the Creature and unanimously said...

"No deal!"

It took a few moments for the Creature to reply and say, "I see, how disappointing to hear..."

Suddenly all around Midoriya, the Vestiges started to disappear into the inky blackness of the void, one by one disappearing from sight until it was only him and the Creature.

"Even if you will not accept my offer, I'm sure at least one of your classmates will..."

---

Ochaco Uraraka's Trial:

The last thing that Uraraka remembered, was chasing after Deku along with her other classmates, and finally catching up to him at the crater. Deku had reached out his hand to touch the mysterious DarkCube, and then... nothing.

Uraraka woke up lying on the ground. Did something knock her unconscious? She staggered to her feet and began rubbing her eyes to clear them up. What she saw next made her scream in fright.

The city was gone. Deku and all the rest of her classmates were gone, EVERYTHING was GONE. She was standing alone in a completely hollow void, a black abyss of nothingness. Uraraka had always been fascinated with outer-space and astronomy. One of her hobbies was stargazing, and she always thought that, if she had not made it into UA's hero-course, she would've wanted to become an astronaut. But this wasn't at all how she imagined outer-space feeling. All the joy and wonder was missing. There was only... an Absence that surrounded her. She was terrified.

"Relax, you are perfectly safe."

A strange, ominous voice had suddenly entered Uraraka's mind. She spun around, looking for where the voice could've come from. Then she saw it; A monolithic creature the size of the tallest of skyscrapers, with a vaguely human shape, but no facial-features to speak of.

"Wh... What are you?!" Uraraka asked as bravely as she could. "And where..."

"There is no need to ask 'where' you are, for this is not a place. It exists only in our minds," The Creature explained to her. "And to answer your first question, I am simply a benefactor of those in most dire need. I know what you fear most..."

Suddenly, the dark void surrounding Uraraka began to take on substance, land and sky materializing right before her eyes, as if the universe were being painted into existence. However, what she saw next made her wish that the world had remained empty.

UA was in ruins, corpses were strewn about like litter, and atop a pile of rubble, a triumphant Shigaraki was clutching Deku by the throat, lifting him off the ground with one hand and choking him out.

"NO! STOP!" Uraraka ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. She already knew there was nothing she could possibly do to save him, and she knew that this was most likely all just an illusion anyway, but it all looked and felt so real, so horribly real, that she couldn't bring herself to think rationally. She ran towards them without a plan, begging Shigaraki to spare Deku's life. But it was hopeless. The arch-villain activated his Decay, and Izuku Midoriya disintegrated into dust right before her eyes. Then Shigaraki teleported away with another one of his Quirks, leaving Uraraka lost and alone. She fell to her knees and started crying. She knew it wasn't real, it couldn't be real, it had to be some kind of illusion, but that didn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks. Whether it was an illusion or not, this was something that could happen.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"I am showing you what will most likely happen to those you love... unless you accept my deal..."

"A deal?"

"I can grant you far greater power than what you currently possess, and prevent that ominous future. Izuku Midoriya abandons you, he runs headfirst towards his demise because he knows he cannot rely on you, because he knows that you are weak."

Uraraka looked down at her hands and examined the pink pads on her fingertips. It was true. Her Quirk was always one of the weakest ones among her classmates, and she was nowhere near as talented as the rest of them. She was practically useless. She desperately wanted to lighten the load that Deku was carrying, but instead, she was only providing more dead-weight.

"Can... Can you really make me stronger? Strong enough so that Deku will never have to worry about me again? Strong enough to keep him alive?"

"Yes. I can give you all of that, and so much more. Take my hand, and all of your deepest wishes will be granted."

The Mysterious-Creature shrank down to a less imposing stature, then held out its right hand for Uraraka to shake. Uraraka stood back up, and began walking towards the Creature. She studied the Creature's hand, feeling a temptation unlike any she had ever experienced. "This is it!" She thought to herself. "This is what I need! With more power, I can finally be helpful! I can make Mom and Dad's financial problems disappear! I can make Deku love me!"

She was just about to take the Creature's hand, but... something didn't seem right.

"What do you gain from all of this? Do you want something in return?" She asked, holding her hand back, as if afraid she might take the Creature's hand by impulse. The temptation was so strong.

After the Creature explained the situation to her, Uraraka spent several minutes contemplating what to do. A future destroyed by later generations of Quirks? And in exchange for greater power, she was expected to help remove all Quirks from existence?

"However, you and those closest to you may be allowed to keep their Quirks," The Creature added. "As a gesture of my gratitude. In a world like that, not only will your loved ones be safe from all harm, but you will finally be able to give them the easy life they deserve."

Now Uraraka felt even more tempted to accept the deal. Some of the earliest memories she had were of her parents looking exhausted and worried, struggling to pay the bills, but would always put on fake-smiles whenever she asked them about it. And then she met Deku, who carried a burden that no one person should ever have to carry. She'd do anything to give them an easy life...

No. Not anything.

She was suddenly reminded of Himiko Toga, that deranged schoolgirl who murdered and drank the blood of innocent people, all so she could use her Transforming Quirk to shapeshift into them. During her second encounter with her back in Jaku, Toga said that she wanted 'A world that's easier to live in', and evidently she was willing to do anything to get there. Anything.

Uraraka shook her head. No! She was nothing like that lunatic! Himiko Toga only wanted an easier life for herself! Uraraka wanted it for her family and friends! It's completely different! And she wouldn't have to kill anyone like Toga did, so why was she so hesitant?!

Then it hit her. If she removed everyone else's Quirks, except those whom she loved most, that would make their lives easier, but it would also ruin the lives of countless other innocent people, people who relied on their Quirks to make a living. To give her family an easy life, she'd cause millions of other families to struggle instead. Is that what Deku and her parents would've wanted?

"No. NO, Of course, not!" Uraraka thought to herself. They'd be disgusted by such a choice. It was so incredibly selfish of her. Why was she even considering this?!

"I refuse!" She said finally.

"Without my power, your loved ones will surely die..." The Creature told her.

"NO! You're wrong! I'll get stronger, even without taking your deal! And so will all my friends! We won't let that future happen! Deku's going to be fine! You'll see!"

The Mysterious-Creature gave off a hint of annoyance, then disappeared from sight, leaving Uraraka alone again, stranded in the dark, desolate abyss...

Almost immediately, Uraraka wondered to herself if she truly made the right choice. If there was any truth to what the Creature had said...

---

Katsuki Bakugo's Trial:

"DAMN IT WHERE AM I?!" Bakugo shouted, after waking up in a similar realm of nothingness. He tried firing off his explosions, hoping to blast his way out of wherever he was, but it was no good. There was nothing to destroy, nothing to interact with, no way to escape.

Bakugo was about to let out another primal roar of frustration, when suddenly a deep, unfamiliar voice entered his mind.

"Such ferocity, such determination, such... discontent. Oh yes, you will be perfect."

Bakugo turned around, and suddenly his loudmouthed rage turned to silent dread. Standing before him was a colossal entity, larger than even the villain Gigantomachia, and exponentially more intimidating. It had no face, and its figure seemed to pulse with an unknowable energy.

"Katsuki Bakugo, you have proven to be an incredible warrior of great skill and ambition, and yet..."

Suddenly, the dark and empty space around Bakugo morphed to show visions, or rather, memories. Memories of all Bakugo's failures since entering UA. The day he lost the combat-training exercise against Izuku, his hollow-victory at the Sports-Festival, the moment he was captured by the League of Villains, and the time he got impaled by Shigaraki during the War in Jaku-City.

"You seek to become A Hero Who Always Wins, and yet you constantly fall short..."

"SHUT UP!" Bakugo shouted, growing angrier with every second. He closed his eyes and clutched his head with both hands trying to force the Creature's voice out of his mind.

"But it doesn't have to be this way. Take my hand, and I can grant you power that surpasses even One-For-All, as well as All-For-One. You will be the unstoppable hero you've always wanted to be."

The Creature somehow altered its size, shrinking down to a mere 6-feet tall. Then it offered its hand, awaiting Bakugo's decision. After ten long seconds, Bakugo replied.

"What's in it for you?"

"In you, I will have gained a champion, someone to fulfill one of my goals in addition to your own..."

The Creature told Bakugo about the dark future ahead, and how the only way to prevent it was by eliminating all other Quirks from the world.

"Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki were both chosen to wield great-power, so it's only right that you would be chosen to wield the greatest-power of all. Take my hand, and you will Always Win..."

Bakugo stood still, processing all that he heard. He looked at the Creature's hand, and then looked down at his own.

A Hero Who Always Wins...

Everything he ever wanted... just a handshake away...

Bakugo turned away. "You can take your offer and SHOVE IT! I don't know who or what you are, or what your game is, but I'm not making any kind of deal with you! I'll be dead before I take a cheap shortcut like this! I'll either become the Number-One-Hero with my own power, or not at all!"

"Even if that means Izuku Midoriya steals the title from you?"

Bakugo clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Whatever this Creature was, it knew exactly which buttons to push... though it made a grave miscalculation.

Bakugo took a deep breath, and let out a sigh before responding.

"Yeah, even if that's what happens. Dek- Izuku wants it too, but he still would've been happy for me if I got there instead. Even after all the crap I put him through."

Bakugo turned back around to face the Mysterious-Creature. "Besides, I don't need any kind of power-up from you! I'll get stronger on my..."

Bakugo stopped himself. "No, not on my own. I've got friends... And we'll all get stronger, together! That's how we're going to win!"

The Mysterious-Creature receded its hand, and after a few seconds of silence, finally responded.

"You will regret this..."

And with that, the Creature vanished, leaving Bakugo in the dark, desolate void.

It was the same for each and every member of Class-1A, plus Hitoshi Shinsou. Each of them woke up in a place that was not a place, each of them were approached by the Mysterious-Creature, each of them were offered immense power, and each of them either turned it down, or were taking a very long time to decide. Not even Shinsou, perhaps the most insecure of them all when it came to his abilities, was willing to accept the Creature's deal. It was an unfortunate setback for the Creature's plans. It might not be able to turn any of these children, however, they might still be of some use... elsewhere...

---

City-A, 11:00 AM:

In the middle of one of the streets leading in and out of City-A, a rupture in space-time expanded, cratering the ground beneath, followed quickly by another orb of darkness that appeared just above the ground nearby. From that orb a man appeared, a tall muscular man, with spiky, jet-black hair and 5-O-Clock Shadow. He was wearing a red super-suit with bulky white armor-plating and large shoulder-pads, complete with a white cape. The man walked towards the crater to investigate.

In front of him was another DarkCube. He had been hunting and collecting these dangerous artifacts for nearly 20 years now, but this time, something was very different. Usually, the DarkCubes were either stashed away in some highly-secure facility, or guarded by a powerful monster, but not this one. This one spontaneously appeared in the middle of a freeway. What's more, floating in the air above the Cube, 20 teenagers were trapped in spherical energy-fields. The man checked his surroundings, and noticed that in the distance a robotic-drone was coming over to investigate. He recognized it as one of Metal-Knight's.

He needed to act fast. Bofoi was no doubt an extremely valuable asset to the Hero-Association, but that didn't mean he could be trusted to know what was going on. The man quickly grabbed the Cube as fast as possible, which in turn moved the teenagers floating above him as well. He quickly slammed his fists together, the circles on his gloves lighting up and forming an infinity-symbol, as his power flowed outward, encircling himself and the 20 teens, and together they all disappeared. The events happened so quickly that by the time the drone approached the damaged street, it had not registered what had caused all of the damage. Multiple drones searched the surrounding area, but after finding nothing of interest, they simply noted the disturbance and went to repair the damage to the road.

A large bubble expanded over the roof of the Hero-Association Headquarters. The armored man carefully placed the DarkCube back down on top of the roof, the strange artifact denting and sinking into the metal slightly, but luckily stopping before completely falling through. As he finished placing it down, he began to step away, setting a distance of around 30 feet before creating a portal with one of his hands. He reached into it, grabbing someone, and hoisting him through. The man that he brought through the portal was a stocky older man in a black business-suit, with grey hair and a round nose. He was frightened to say the least, but calmed down once he saw who it was.

"Bl... Blast! Good Lord, don't frighten me like that! You have a phone for a reason, you know!" The office-man said.

"Oh, sorry about that, Sitch. Hey, you guys done some redecorating? City-A looks kinda... Different from when I last saw it." the man known as Blast said nonchalantly.

"A lot's happened since you were last here," the man called Sitch replied. "About a month ago, an extraterrestrial ship invaded City-A, destroying everything in their first attack. Luckily, we were having a Class-S meeting at the time, so we were able to counterattack immediately. Tatsumaki was instrumental in destroying the alien ship, while the rest held off the ground invasion force. Afterwards, Metal-Knight took up the reconstruction effort, being able to build all this in just 10 days. We decided to make City-A into a fortress-city, with roads leading to all the other major cities."

The mention of Tatsumaki brought a smile to Blast's face. She had grown a lot in the past 18 years, but there were other matters that required his attention.

"The reason I brought you up here was because of that..." he said, gesturing to the DarkCube, and the 20 teens trapped in energy spheres above it.

"I haven't run into anything like this before, and I don't know how long they've been in there. Given that they're all teenagers, they might be very impressionable, and some may have already accepted the deal. You think I should release them anyways?" Blast asked.

Sitch sat in thought. If the kids were infected by That Creature's power, then it would be a serious problem if they all went wild at once. Blast would be fine, but himself… well, he didn't want to find out. On another note, he really didn't want to have these children killed, not if it could be avoided...

"Blast, in your time dealing with people who have accepted That Creature's offer, have any of them ever shown signs of being... friendly?" Sitch asked.

"No." Blast's response was immediate and final.

"Drat. Well, let's just try and release them one at a time for safety. There's no guarantee that they have accepted the deal. It would also be inconvenient and risky to just leave 'em in there. Hmmm... let me see... how about we try him first." he said, pointing to the boy with messy green hair.

"Alright, but keep your distance..." Blast replied as he reached his hand out. With a mere thought, the bubble gave way to his incredible power, opening up and dropping the boy on the ground.

Izuku Midoriya began to stir. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring up into the sky. He moved his arms and legs to get some feeling back into them. He heard someone speaking from a short distance away, making him immediately sit up and look towards who was speaking. He was tall and muscular man with 5-O-Clock Shadow, and a red-and-white armored suit and cape that made him look like a Hero. Behind him was a businessman with grey hair. Midoriya didn't recognize either of them. He quickly glanced around, and was shocked by his surroundings. Not only was he in a whole new place, but he could see all of his classmates were trapped inside mysterious floating bubbles.

Midoriya looked back at the strangers, wondering if they were his allies or enemies. The tall man greeted him very casually, simply saying "Yo!" as he lifted his arm in a friendly wave.

---

Some Author's Notes:

Special Thanks to the writer Lumpeistbark3, who wrote the series titled C1AMA: CYA: What Defines A Hero, which is the inspiration and template for this series, and gave me his blessing to create my own alternate version of it. The initial setup and basic premise are very similar, but I have a very different creative-vision and plan for where it's going to go in the long-term, and even the early chapters have several key divergences that make all the difference later on. I just wanted to make sure I gave credit where credit is due, before I continued the series any further.

Next Chapter is when things REALLY take off! Hope you enjoy it!