Inko's Dreamscape
Inko, or rather, Teleki, was standing in the middle of a ruined park. It was the same park she remembers taking Izumi and Izuku to up until they were eight. When she started bringing only one of them. But it wasn't the same park anymore. Everything was either melted or burned to ash, with smoke still rising. The destruction appeared to be recent.
"Mom..."
Teleki froze when she heard that voice. Looking across the playground, she saw her boy in his middle school uniform. He was in terrible condition. His uniform was burned and scuffed while he himself was bruised and bloodied, like he had just been assaulted. Tears were flowing down his cheeks as Inko ran toward him. "Izuku! Don't worry, it'll be okay! I'll protect you!" When she got close, he started backing away, the unease on his face increasing as she got closer. But, as usual, she ignored his feelings and kept running.
That earned her an up-close and personal view to see a hand burst through Izuku's chest from his back and hold his heart right in front of her. Hers and Izuku's eyes widened in abject horror, the latter vomiting an obscene amount of blood and being lifted off his feet. Inko looked behind Izuku to see a figure the exact same height as him clad in green fire. "Hello again, Teleki." he spoke in a distorted voice with the crackling of fire behind it. "You!"
Suddenly, the playground was engulfed in a forest of fire. The bloody hand holding Izuku's heart was set ablaze, and the dying boy gasped while smoke escaped his wounds and mouth. "Get off my son!" Teleki yelled while extending her hand out, but nothing happened. The Green Devil merely shook his head in disappointment. "How dense are you? Did you already forget I can neutralize telekinetic waves. You're powerless."Inko clenched her fists and tried swinging them, but was held back by green chains wrapping around her.
"You monster! You won't get away with this! For all the lives you've taken, I will-" "Arrhhhh..." Teleki's heroic rant was cut off by Izuku's dying groan which came out of his mouth in the form of green flames. "Spare me your heroic drivel nonsense. Without power, you're not even worth looking at. Don't you agree?" At that simple question, Inko froze. She looked behind the emerald demon and saw a truly horrifying sight. "Ah yes, them. They made good entertainment, but they broke far too easily."
Behind them all was Katsuki and Izumi lying dead on the ground, and Izuku would be joining them soon. Inko felt her stomach flip and her heart fall. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the bloody, lifeless bodies that were her pride and joy. Even Katsuki, who, despite being a nephew to her, was close enough to be considered part of the family.
"M-Mom..."
Inko's attention was pulled to Izuku, who was unrecognizable at this point. His uniform was entirely burnt away, layers of skin had burnt away and peeled off, his eyes were melted right out of his skull, his muscles, bones and tendons were on display and his heart was being held in near white-hot heat. Worst of all was what came next.
"Why didn't you save us?"
Teleki looked confused, before the landscape shifted to a burning graveyard. They were right next to a hauntingly familiar tombstone. The tombstone of Hisashi Midoriya, loving husband and father, and the Green Devil was holding her only son right above it. Tears streamed like waterfalls from the broken heroine's eyes, but they did absolutely nothing against the raging green flames.
"You weren't there when we needed you. How disappointing."
Those were Izuku's final words before the Green Devil crushed his heart and his body was reduced to ash on the grave. Teleki felt like dying herself, but no. The monster turned his back to her and walked away. "...you're a monster." she uttered. "For turning my back on the weak? Ruining futures? Who are you to judge? Hero?"
Reality
'Izuku...' Inko thought while still wandering the hall between life and death. Her horrifically damaged body was under the careful, vigilant eyes of central hospital's top doctors and All Might himself. The inflated bag of muscles was holding his unconscious wife's hand, praying for her to get better and cursing the monster that did this. The doctor's assured him that, despite being on the brink of death, she would recover. However, not the same as before. Teleki's back was a nightmare. Her agility will be greatly hindered moving forward. It's already a miracle she still has feeling below the waist.
Meanwhile, in a reserved meeting room
"A road to healing, you said. He may come quietly, you said. A better life for him, you said!" Endeavor slammed his palm on the table as he chastised Tsukauchi with his own naive words. The detective who called the meeting groaned into his hands, not having the energy to deal with number 2's tirade.
The meeting room was reserved for police and heroes with a single goal: Capture the Green Devil of Musutafu. They enlisted the help of heroes in the area such as Backdraft, Kamui Woods, Death Arms and Mt Lady, as well as more experienced higher-ups. From the top twenty, Ingenium. And from the ten, Mirko, Hawks, Endeavor, Best Jeanist and the best of the best himself, All Might. Who was late to the meeting because he went straight to his wife's room. Their orders were simple, patrol the streets the devil is most often sighted at or has been seen, and arrest him on sight. This meeting is about how to go about it.
"One of us tries to bring in that menace calmly, and what does he do? Hospitalizes Teleki!" Endeavor yelled. "With all due respect, Endeavor, that's why we're here. To discuss strategy about dealing with this guy." Endeavor scoffed and stormed off towards the exit. "Strategy for what? Some brat on a power trip!? I'll leave you with some of my sidekicks, they should do." Tsukauchi pinched the bridge of his nose as the Flame Hero left.
"Now that's what I call a team player." Mt Lady remarked. "He lasted longer than I was expecting." Hawks said. "How bout we get this started before I bounce, too." Mirko said while tapping her foot up and down and looking agitated. Tsukauchi sighed. 'Well, Endeavor and All Might are capable enough.' "All right, here's our target. Moori?"
A man with green skin and two short antennae on his forehead stepped up. This man's quirk was Memory. She can look into the memory of a person and convert it into viewable media for others to see. It needs to be transferred to a device to be seen by others and whether or not he can see anything is dependent on how much the mind he's looking into resists. On the screen at the end of the room was a short figure with his face and chest obstructed by green fire.
"Grrr... This rug rat." Death Arms growled. He had a little vendetta against the vigilante for rescuing those two kids when he was waiting for an opening to do it himself. "The Green Devil, at least that's what the public calls him. From what we've gathered, he's killed five villains and three officers, brutally injured Teleki and leaves behind a trail of half dead criminals in his wake. He's a child, likely twelve or thirteen with a green fire quirk not in our database."
Many at the table seemed to be caught off guard. "He's seriously that young?" "Isn't this a little extreme?" "Maybe it's just a delinquency phase." Tsukauchi shook his head. "You think he's someone to take lightly? Tell that to Teleki in the emergency room." The projector showed a list of the Green Devil's known abilities.
"His flames burn chillingly cold, invoking fear and unease in his opponents to throw them off. He can also turn up the temperature to a degree that can cremate people in an instant. He's shown flight capabilities, pyrokinesis, as well as next level combat abilities and adaptation. He learns from each battle and uses that experience to improve himself. In an alley, he fought two kids, one of them with a telekinetic quirk. A few weeks later, he develops a technique that renders him invincible to telekinetic waves, which is how he defeated Teleki. He was nearly killed by a villain with a blade quirk, and short after that he develops a more devastating blade of his own. Sharp and hot enough to cut through anything."
The heroes were starting to take this seriously. "His ability to learn and adapt may be his most dangerous weapon. We need to bring him in as soon as possible. That's why you're all here. Win or lose, as long as he's still alive out there, he'll continue to learn and grow. And the more time that passes, the more violent he seems to get. The worst case scenario we're trying to avoid is if he kills anyone in his way and has the strength to stand up to even our champions."
Best Jeanist spoke up. "To that end, you must have come up with a plan for us in case we run into this powerful child." Tsukauchi nodded. "You will all be patrolling in teams of two. We're creating conditions to give the devil extremely low chances of victory or escaping." Death Arms put his hand on the table. "Hold up, all of us, plus police and other heroes patrolling the streets is already enough. Now team ups? This is a kid we're talking about." Tsukauchi nodded to Moori, who turned the projection to a video format. It was from the people in the alley the Green Devil cremated a villain, and from Teleki herself.
The video was a brief, but enough to burn away any doubts the heroes had about this pint-sized threat. When backed against the wall, the emerald demon revealed his ruthless tenacity and will to survive. When provoked by Teleki, though it's unclear how, he burns hot enough to wipe away several pros. Most surprising, he was able to perfectly mimic Endeavor's Flashfire Fist. A child was able to do what a grown man had dedicated years of his life to mastering. It's actually a good thing Endeavor walked, otherwise he might've been so angry the room would be reduced to ash. Inferiority complex having egotist.
"That is what we are fighting. The reason we're all here today." All Might said as he finally joined the meeting. They all knew he was serious since he wasn't smiling. "Hey, something's been nagging at me." Hawks said while raising his hand. "So this kid has a super powerful quirk that, for all we know, can do anything. How is it we don't have it in our database?" "Good question, Hawks." Tsukauchi said. "He could just simply be a late bloomer. It's also possible that he and his ability were kept hidden by someone else."
"Someone able to hide a super powerful kid from the world for thirteen years? Who's good enough at hiding to pull that off?" Tsukauchi turned the topic back to their mission. "As I said, we're creating conditions so that the devil is disadvantaged. You'll all be patrolling in teams."
- Ingenium and Best Jeanist [A capture specialist and a speedster make a good combination]
- Mt Lady and Death Arms [Relying on their outrageous physical strength]
- Kamui Woods and Backdraft [Widespread capture range and the power to cool flames]
- Endeavor and Mirko [Mirko bounced on her own since she didn't wanna be stuck with sidekicks]
- All Might and Hawks [Unmatched speed and power]
"Looks like it's you and me, huh big guy?" Hawks' carefree demeanor put the smile back on All Might's face, even if it was smaller than his usual one. "I'm glad to have you by my side, Wing Hero."
Tsukauchi clapped his hands together. "All right, you've all been assigned your teams. Remember, if you encounter the devil, be quick and decisive. No dragging the fight out or dropping your guard. He has a knack for adapting."
"Understood." Kamui said next to Backdraft. "That demon's going straight to hell!" Death Arms proclaimed while punching his fist into his palm. "A kid demon." Mt Lady pointed out to him.
...
After the meeting, most of the heroes left to begin patrolling in their designated areas. Meanwhile, Tsukauchi and All Might stayed behind and talked. "So, how are the kids taking this?" Toshinori bristled at the question. "This hasn't done anything to deter Katsuki's determination. In fact, he's putting even more effort into training. Izumi is too, but she's... scared. She and her mother share the same quirk, and you saw what happened."
"Yeah... and the other one?" Toshinori looked confused for a moment, before remembering. "Yes, Melissa is actually more motivated to come to Japan with her support expertise. She's eager to outfit Katsuki and Izumi with her own impressive inventions." Tsukauchi nodded without looking at the Symbol of Peace. "Right, David Shield's daughter. History repeats itself, huh?" All Might debuted in America with David Shield as his go-to for equipment and costumes. Now he's picturing Izumi and Melissa as the next generation of that fond memory. So then, it seems he's made his decision about his successor. But there was something Tsukauchi was disturbed by.
'He didn't mention his missing son, but his quirkless niece who will move in next year. Toshinori, don't tell me...'
Their conversation was cut short by Hawks re-entering the room with that carefree smile of his. "Ready to do this, Number 1?" All Might's smile returned. "Don't start without me, Hawks." Tsukauchi saw them go off. "Even if you can't find the devil, gather any and all intel you can." Hawks threw a wave over his shoulder. "You got it boss man." The door closed.
5 seconds later
"We've got a problem, boss man." Tsukauchi nearly jumped out of his skin. "Dammit, Hawks! Our next case could be my death if you keep that up! And what problem? You haven't even left the building yet."
Hawks looked out the window to the city. "I think you know what I'm talking about. The big guy." Tsukauchi sighed. "Look, I've got nothing but respect for All Might, but in his current state of mind, he could be more trouble than help in this. I mean, he wasn't even smiling when he walked in. Most of the general public can't imagine what that looks like." Tsukauchi put some coffee on the pot while listening to the young pro.
"Yeah, after what happened to Teleki, he'll likely be less than patient enough for this situation." Hawks put his fist under his chin in thought. "'Late bloomer'. He had a quirkless son didn't he? Missing, allegedly kidnapped?" Tsukauchi nodded. Hawks asked him to pull up the video memory from Teleki's encounter with the devil. He studied the green flame user more carefully this time.
"Hmm, in the beginning, it looked like he was messing with Teleki, not taking her seriously. He seemed pretty talkative for a broody rebel. Though, that could just be disliking of heroes in general." The video continued until the end. "That's definitely not something to ignore. Whatever Teleki said or did, it made him fight like a different person. Something just snapped. Something inside of him."
Tsukauchi took a sip of his coffee. "Too bad Teleki doesn't remember more details. She was so focused on him, it's like tunnel vision." Hawks pulled down his golden shades. "This kid, you said he's not only strong but smart. He observes abilities, even mid-battle, and adapts to meet them, or copies them to get an edge. His fighting style could change at any point. He must have a library of notes, huh?" Tsukauchi glared down at his mug.
"Real quick, what was Teleki's ex-husband's quirk?" "Fire Breath, but nowhere near the level the Green Devil is on." "Kids often show more potential than their parents had, Izumi Yagi is an example of that. One last thing I'm curious about, his motivation. What's he trying to achieve? What pushed him to be the Green Devil?" Tsukauchi put down his mug. "Don't tell All Might." He beckoned for the wing hero to follow him.
He gave Hawks a file that was, until now, privy to his eyes only. Izuku Yagi, born quirkless. Missing within the same week the Green Devil appears. Parental quirks: Fire type and Telekinesis. Hawks speed read through the file. It was speculation with strong evidence to support it. He closed it and looked at Tsukauchi with an uncharacteristically serious expression. "All Might and Teleki can't see this, not until we have solid proof."
The two of them left the building. "Izuku's spent years of his life studying all kinds of heroes, villains and their quirks and fighting styles. He has encyclopedic knowledge on the subject, and pairing that with bitterness and a power we know little about, it could be seriously bad." Tsukauchi nodded. "We'll stop him from falling even deeper. No matter what he's done, he's still a hurting child."
Elsewhere
"Ah, isn't this a double-edged sword? You've become so strong, that now the heroes are mobilizing. Though perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I wonder how the adoring public will react as their champions fail to bring down a lone vigilante, and in turn giving burgeoning villains inspiration to act. Hmhmhm, All Might being in the dark about Izuku's fate works in my favor. He'll swing mercilessly at his own son, feeding the fire that propels him. This will make quite a delectable show."
The shadowed figure grinned hideously. "You heroes have unknowingly doomed yourselves, and will only sharpen the blade that will end up in my grasp."