AN: A friendly reminder that this story is set in an Alternate Universe. Apparently that wasn't clear lol
"And you're sure we can't study together?" Izuku asked again, adding just a bit more pleading to his voice.
"I told you," Tokoyami laughed good naturedly. "I require complete focus when studying. It really is nothing against you. As a part of my animal heritage I have a lot of trouble retaining information."
"That makes sense…" Izuku sighed before rushing over to Shoto and brightening. "Hey! Todoroki-chan-"
"No." Shoto said, not unkindly. "No offence Midoriya, but your presence is…"
He waved his hand in a vague circle as Izuku's face fell.
"Disruptive…" Shoto decided. "Apologies, but I cannot afford to experience any emotional upheaval when I need to study."
"I guess that makes sense." Izuku frowned. He slung an arm over Kendo's shoulders in lament. "Guess it's just you and me, Kendo."
"Yeah…" She said flatly before she paled and ducked out from under Izuku's arm. "I- listen, I'll catch up with you guys later… I've gotta… do something."
"Should we wait for you?" Izuku asked as she walked off. "Are you gonna make the train on time?"
"Go on without me!" She said quickly. "I'll be okay!"
The boys stopped, watching their friend jog over to join a skinny man in a yellow pinstripe suit and the buff blonde upperclassman.
"Who is that?" Tokoyami pondered.
"I recognise Togata Mirio but not that other man."
"I've seen him around the school." Fumikage admitted. "Perhaps he's a teacher in the support- or general studies course?"
"Not likely." Izuku disagreed. "I've got no idea who that is either."
"He needs a better tailor." Tokoyami deadpanned.
"Maybe he has a size-changing quirk like Kendo-chan's." Izuku puzzled. "Could he be a relative?"
"Whoever he is, it would be rude to keep staring." Shoto said. "And you're going to miss your train if you don't hurry."
"Why does it feel like I'm always late for a train nowadays?" Izuku pondered.
"Likely due to your poor time-management skills." Tokoyami speculated.
"Hey!" Izuku objected.
"That's not fair." Shoto added. "His distracted nature is just as much to blame."
"Hey!"
The trash on Dagobah beach hadn't had time to build up too much in the few weeks Izuku had been away.
"He cleared the few small heaps that built up near the shore in just a few hours. He felt a strange connection to the beach. Beyond training his powers here, this had been the place where he finally received a chance to make his dreams a reality.
He dusted off his hands and went to sit near the shore to watch the sunset. He turned his head just in time to see a glowing disk of blue light appear.
"Mister Paradox?" Izuku's eyes widened.
"Professor actually." He winked. "Hello, Izuku Midoriya! Keeping well?"
"I am!" Izuku grinned back before furrowing his brow in confusion. "But I do have a-"
"Question?" Paradox finished. He plucked a pocket watch from his coat and flicked it open a moment. "Yes, I expect you do. Well I have approximately four minutes and forty-seven seconds to answer it."
"What? Oh. Well…" Izuku now had several questions. "Why do we always meet each other here on Dagobah beach?"
"We most certainly do not." Paradox said, sounding almost offended. "Well, you might, but I meet you all over the place. I can't help that you always seem to be here at this timespace nexus."
"Timespace nexus?" Izuku repeated.
"Think of it as a crossroads between various points in time." Paradox explained. "Only that some points aren't always available and you need to keep track of when they are."
"I don't think I…" Izuku trailed off, waiting for Paradox to finish his sentence before finishing lamely. "...understand.."
"I don't expect you do." Paradox beamed. "Well, I should be off. Crises to avert and all that."
"Anything I can help you with?" Izuku perked up.
"Wel…" Paradox stroked his chin ponderously. "Now you mention it… yes. You can."
"Why did you say it like that…" Izuku asked nervously.
"Never mind that!" Paradox grabbed his arm and yanked him into a spinning disk of blue light.
Izuku blinked and opened his eyes to the scattered lights nestled in deep blues and purples of space.
"Whoah!" Izuku exclaimed. "Where are we?"
"Behind schedule." Paradox clicked his tongue. "And that is not the right question."
"When are we?" Izuku tried again, marvelling at how he was walking without any physical material under his feet.
"Why on earth would that be the right question?" Paradox laughed, staring into his pocket watch. "I know it's around here somewhere… ah! Here we are!"
He grabbed Izuku again and pulled him through another disk and into a forest.
"Hello!" Paradox greeted himself, pointing to a tall man with a shaved head. "Can I borrow him for a moment?"
"Of course!" The second Paradox told himself with a smile, noticing Izuku as he turned. "Hello, Izuku Midoriya! Keeping well?"
"He is." The first Paradox confirmed as Alien Force walked over to him and Izuku. "Have you done the Marbora fire yet?'
"Marbora fire?" The other Paradox pondered. "That doesn't sound good."
"It isn't." The first Paradox confirmed while Izuku nearly sprained his neck looking to and fro between the Paradoxes. Alien Force merely rolled their eyes and crossed their arms. "Nasty business. You'll need this."
The first Paradox handed the other Paradox a small, leather bound book. The second Paradox put the book inside his lab coat and handed the first Paradox a spiral notebook bursting with bookmarks which the first Paradox put in his frilled tailcoat.
"Sorry about the mess." The first Paradox smiled. "I never have-"
"Time to organise?" The second Paradox smirked. "I know the feeling."
"Now then, off we pop." The first Paradox motioned for Izuku and Alien Force to follow him. "Out of the frying pan…"
"See you around, Izuku." The second Paradox winked and stepped out of the area.
Izuku waved and followed the remaining Paradox into a portal just before Endeavour landed in a blaze of fire. He straightened, watching the trees with bright, blue eyes. He raised his hand and disintegrated a row ahead of him.
Izuku, Paradox and Alien Force walked out into a long, metallic hallway. Paradox studied his watch for a moment.
"This way." He said. "We should make it."
"Hi." Izuku said while bowing in greeting. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, pleased to meet you."
"And you are sure this will not cause a-"
"Paradox?" Paradox grinned.
"-Problem?" Alien Force continued, narrowing their eyes.
"Oh. No, of course not." Paradox waved them off. "Follow me."
"Is he always like this?" Izuku asked quietly.
"Indeed." Alien Force confirmed.
"I never caught your name." Izuku said, keeping his voice level. "Not that I don't trust you or anything, but I know every hero operating in Japan and America by heart, not to mention more than a few global heroes, and I don't recognise your costume. Though I recognise the company."
Izuku pointed to two dots on the costume's collar.
"What makes you think we are a hero?" Alien Force asked, almost smiling.
"Well…" Izuku rubbed his neck nervously. "Paradox seems… I just don't think he'd work with a villain."
"You are more perceptive than we remember." Alien Force noted.
"Remember?" Izuku frowned. "Have we met? I would have remembered, surely…"
Alien Force seemed to find this funny for some reason.
"Here we are." Paradox whistled, flipping through the spiral notebook he got from himself. "Poor man. I wonder what 2020 means? I find it both amusing and frustrating that I always seem inclined to be cryptic in my notes. How on earth am I to decipher all this? What was I thinking?"
"Professor?" Izuku queried while stretching to look at the notebook.
"Oh this?" Paradox smiled coyly. "Well, as a time traveller, obviously I stumble upon alternate versions of myself every now and again."
"Don't you mean previous?" Izuku wondered.
"Well yes." Paradox admitted. "But also no."
"I don't understand." Izuku said, walking faster to catch up to the timewalker.
"Well, I always carry around a notebook." Paradox explained. "I take notes from all of my adventures and when I encounter myself, I either give myself knowledge I didn't have going in, or I receive knowledge about events that haven't transpired yet. Following so far?"
"I think so." Izuku nodded. "But that still doesn't explain why you said 'alternate' versions."
"Ah! But it does." Paradox winked. "Let me put it this way: If I am giving my past self knowledge I myself didn't have, is that still the same version of me? Because I remember struggling for that knowledge while the new me will simply know what to do, as long as I wasn't too cryptic. Like here! Why is only one name from this list underlined? What was I trying to say?"
"But…" Izuku furrowed his brow. "Wouldn't that be a-"
"Paradox?" Paradox finished gleefully. "Why yes, my dear boy. I do believe it is."
"Is there a point to this conversation?" Alien Force grumbled. "Our world remains unguarded."
"We're nearly there." Paradox said. "Just around the corner."
They stepped out into a circular room, filled with control panels and screens. The far end of the room seemed to be a massive, curved window and a tall, metallic cylinder dominated the space in the middle of the room.
"I do believe that…" Paradox walked over to the cylinder, crouching to examine it. "...is our bomb."
"BOMB?!" Izuku and Alien Force cried out in unison.
"Well, from a certain point of view." Paradox nodded, plucking a panel from the side of the cylinder. "This device is known as a Multiphasic Genetic Reconfiguration Actuator. Referred to in short as an 'MGRA'. It is based on technology created by a species known as the Contumelia."
"Genetic… reconfiguration…" Izuku repeated. "That doesn't sound… explosive…."
"Well… no…" Paradox admitted, scooting into the cylinder with most of his upper torso. His voice came from inside the device now, echoing metallically. "While, in theory, this device is used to modify the nature of matter on dangerous or 'uninhabitable' celestial objects such as stars and asteroids to induce life, in practice it is often used by species who would like nothing more than to be the only life forms allowed to… well.. Live…"
"So we dismantle it. Destroy it." Alien Force crossed their arms as Paradox's legs disappeared from view. "We can manifest as a Galvanic Mechamorph and turn the device into a pile of spare parts."
"Be my guest then." Paradox said slyly and crawled out from under the device.
Alien Force narrowed their eyes, but stepped towards the device anyway. Izuku's eyes widened as the man's body shifted.
"Upgrade!" He exclaimed, pointing at the black and blue alien. "Wait... Does that mean…"
The mechamorph turned its head towards Izuku and even though it had no mouth, Izuku knew it was smirking.
"That's… He's…" Izuku watched as the black goo enveloped the MGRA, pulsating. "My Future self?"
"Might be." Paradox nodded. "But you're not their past self."
"What?" Izuku exclaimed. "That makes no sense! How can he be my future self, but I'm not his past self?"
"Well for one thing," Paradox explained. "They don't remember this happening, do you, Alien Force?"
"Silence…" Alien Force rasped, their body going slightly transparent. "This is difficult… even partial intangibility does not allow me to interface with this infernal technology!"
Their body shifted into a small red-skinned being. Rectangular-pupilled orange eyestalks sprouted from their head as their fingers lengthened into tentacled bundles.
"We shall now endeavour to FIX FIX!" They said, scrambling into the hole Paradox had made.
The ground lurched.
"How is the dismantling going?" Paradox leaned to look into the gaping panel.
"The construction is- FIX! -aggravatingly well crafted." A black tendril, sporting a glowing blue eye emerged from the hole. "Even by incorporating FIX! Cerebrocrustacean, Planchakule, Galvanic- FIX! FIX! and Mechamorph features, I cannot even access the device's workings?"
"Might I suggest some Chronosapien tampering?"
"Chronosapien?" The eye widened. "Of course! FIX FIX!"
Footsteps echoed from behind the door, causing Paradox to spin and face it.
"En Garde, Izuku!" He beamed, brandishing his cane like a sword. "Our gracious hosts have taken note of our presence. We must buy yourself some time to disarm the MGRA."
"Our hosts?" Izuku spun the Omnitrix dial. "Who would you recommend?"
"Perhaps that new form." Paradox grinned. "He will be quite handy here!"
The door slid open, half a dozen humanoids in shining armour dashed into the room, brandishing energy weapons and shields.
Izuku slapped the dial down, feeling his entire body warp and pull.
"Time it is for you to cool off!" Big Chill turned intangible, flying straight into the floor below.
"Oh!" Paradox slammed a heel into a nearby workstation, upending it and taking cover as a barrage of lasers blasted from the armoured figures' energy lances.
Big Chill emerged from the floor, passing through and freezing the nearest enemy. Several armoured figures levelled their weapons at him. He crossed his arms, going intangible, as every bolt slammed into him, sending him to a singed heap on the floor.
"Izuku!" Paradox cried out.
Big Chill phased into the floor. His head reappeared, phasing out of the steel in front of the timewalker.
"Told me to choose this form!" Big Chill hissed.
"Yes, well, from my point of view, I last unlocked your mechamorph form." Paradox sheepishly dodged a bright red blast. "Wibbly wobbly and all that."
A distorted static rumbling emanated from under one of the armoured warrior's helmets, followed by short bursts of static from their companions.
"They're afraid of damaging the device." Paradox said quickly. "They are moving in with their close range weapons!"
In a fluid motion he vaulted over his barricade, twisting in the air as he disarmed the nearest enemy with a flourish of his cane.
"Avast ye rapscallions!" He beamed, advancing.
Big Chill emerged silently behind the rear combatants, slamming their heads together so hard that the helmets dented. He folded his wings into a cloak to present a smaller target, facing a charging enemy as the first two crumpled to the floor.
"Careful now!" Paradox ducked between a wild slash as he duelled two enemies at once. "You don't know your own strength!"
"Don't know any strengths!" Big Chill rasped. "New to this form! Hardly experience at all!"
Paradox weaved between sword and lance slashes expertly, while Big Chill cut swathes in the white metal armour with his claws, using his intangibility to phase into the walls and floors to avoid attacks. As he phased through a side wall his eyes widened in surprise.
"We are on a space ship!" He explained, lifting and throwing one enemy into another.
"Yes!" Paradox deftly dodged the stumbling enemy, sticking out his foot to send them tumbling to the floor. A smack from his cane rendered them motionless.
"Who these guys are anyway?" Big Chill phased through a punch, then slammed his head into his opponent's as his opponent held his frozen hand in pain.
"Eternal Knights." Paradox swept another's feet from under him. "An offshoot of a much less successful group from my homeworld. Their founder reverse engineered Techadon weaponry, and set about their crusade to eradicate every species apart from their own in every universe."
Big Chill nudged the gleaming white helm off the nearest Knight's head and started. With a shaking hand he slapped the dial on his shoulder.
"They're… human." Izuku said quietly.
"Yes." Paradox rested a reassuring hand on Izuku's shoulder. "They are."
"I guess in my head, the evil multiversal conquerors who wiped other races from existence…" He trailed off.
"Try not to dwell on it." Paradox smiled kindly. "We can not take responsibility for their choices, as much as we would like to. But what we can do is avert the devastation of countless lives in this universe."
"How can I help?" Izuku asked, resolute.
"It is hopeless!" Alien Force's body warped and twisted, shifting into a humanoid form again. "We have tried everything."
"Perhaps you'll allow me to give it a once over?" Paradox offered.
"You will do nothing but perish."
They spun, facing a new wave of armoured figures, their weapons trained on the trio. At their head stood a black armoured figure in a bright red cloak.
"Lombard." Paradox smiled. "Let's be reasonable. I have two Omnitrix wielders with me. You cannot truly believe you will succeed in this."
"They are from Level 4 worlds." The Black Knight snapped. "This is not a game, Paradox. You can not bluff your way out."
"Well, so much for reason." Paradox groused. "Izuku, Alien Force, keep our host entertained while I attempt to disarm the device."
In a flash of green light, Izuku's limbs lengthened and bright blue fur erupted from his body. Fasttrack crouched, letting his mind accelerate as the laserfire in the room slowed to a near standstill.
He dashed forward taking the first Knight off his feet with a shin kick. He watched Alien Force's body warp and change, eyes lengthening into reptilian slits as twin antennae sprouted from his head.
Fasttrack slapped the next Knight's laser lance from his hand, then swept his feet from under him.
Citrakayah? The word buzzed in his head.
He turned, watching Alien Force, whose body was slowly extending twin black tendrils from their head.
You can-hear my-thoughts? Fasttrack thought as he casually disarmed the next Knight.
Amperi ability. They responded. Though we had to use Chronosapien waves to broadcast our thoughts at a fast enough speed.
Fasttrack watched the world rush by in front of him. The three Knights he attacked tangled and fell to the floor as he scrambled out of the way of the next flurry of surprised attacks.
"The creature is upon us!" the Black Knight bellowed, his bright blue energy sword blazing into life in his hands.
Bright green crystals erupted between Paradox and the Knights, creating a wall that barred their access to the timewalker. Fasttrack breathed evenly letting time slow down.
Your Cytrakaya is still a cub. Alien Force resonated. Switch to Crystalsapien or Petrosapien. Even Techadon light-blades can not damage them.
What-do you mean-switch? Fasttrack scrambled from under the bright blue blade, barely an inch above his head. He spun on his hands, sending the Knights legs out from under them. They floated in midair. He crawled underneath them, dashing until he was behind a second crystal barricade stagnantly rising from Alien Force's tendrils.
Time rushed back to normal speed, and a laser nicked Fasttrack's left ear as the barricade fully formed. Not a moment later a volley of lasers thrummed from the other side.
"Change." Alien Force twisted, shifting until their body resembled the sea green crystal barricades.
"I can't-do that." Fasttrack gestured to his body. "Can't risk-being in time-out right-now.."
"Of course." Alien Force liquified, closing the distance between them. He lowered his head, mouth and throat warping and twisting. "Command Code 1010 Tennyson Benjamin; Activate Voice Control; Disable Time-out."
Fasttrack had never heard the voice before. It sounded American, and despite knowing for a fact that it did not belong to anyone he knew of, Izuku could have sworn that he had known that voice his entire life. The Omnitrix on his chest rapidly flashed green as Alien Force grinned wide.
"Diamondhead!"
Fasttrack felt his body warp, growing angular and sharp. His skin cracked, then hardened, shifting and sliding into place.
"Sic 'em." Alien Force beamed proudly, his voice still emulating the familiar yet unknown cadence. "You're basically indestructible, except against sound waves. Go nuts. Oh! And flex your forearms!"
Diamondhead elongated and sharpened his forearms into jagged crystal blades.
"This is too cool!" He leapt forward, laser bolts bouncing off him harmlessly. He rushed into the enemy line, blocking strikes from the Black Knight's gleaming sword. He slashed and sliced, destroying the hilts of a laser sword with every other strike.
A second wave of Knights rushed in as Diamindhead dispatched the last few of the first. The Black Knight rasped static into his helmet urgently.
"Focus!" Alien Force called, absentmindedly encasing a Knight that rushed at them in crystal. "Try… how do I describe it… try twisting with your fingers."
Shards of crystal blasted from Diamondhead's hands, pinning three Knights to the wall, right through their white armour.
"Now call 'em back!"
Diamondhead laughed out loud as the shards flew back into his hands, slamming into the backs of two retreating Knights as they went.
From behind the console, Paradox smiled. It had been, well from his estimate, decades since Alien Force had seemed as happy.
Diamondhead held both hands in front of him, encasing the door in crystal shards. He clapped imaginary dust from his palms as he turned to face his companions. Alien Force lowered the barricade between Paradox and the rest of the room.
"Not bad." Alien Force allowed, voice back to normal.
Diamondhead stopped short as he felt the blade pass through his arm.
He was no longer Fasttrack. He no longer had the advantage of perceiving time in a thousandth of the speed, but it felt like an eternity passed as he watched his severed arm fall towards the floor.
His eyes widened, meeting Alien Force's shocked expression, as he felt a second blade cutting into his neck.
Izuku was thrown across the room in a flash of green light, landing in an unconscious heap near the MGRA.
Alien Force roared in rage, blurring in speed as they engaged the twin red armoured Knights in the doorway. A wide circular opening showed in the remains of Izuku's failed barrier. From the hallway beyond, a legion of white armoured Knights assembled, pouring in.
Black lines stretched across Alien Force's face as their Kineceleran eyes manifested. Their arms warped, shimmering with red Prypiatosian energy. They manifested a second set of arms, sprouting glowing green eyes all over their body. Their arms blurred as they absorbed laser blasts and parried blows from white energy blades.
One red armoured figure fell to the ground, writhing, as a slash burned through their torso. Alien Force whirled, bisecting their other opponent. Their limbs blurred as they sped forward, phasing through opponents, bladed arms slashing through heads and torsos.
"Enough." A voice as old as time resounded.
Alien Force paused noting that, while their weapons were trailed on him, none of the Eternal Knights were attacking. With his Opticoid omnidirectional vision, he watched a golden armoured figure holding a thrumming energy blade to Paradox's neck. The timewalker slumped, head bleeding as the Golden Knight held him upright by an arm.
A white armoured Knight pointed a laser lance directly at an unconscious Izuku's temple.
Metal plating littered the floor, revealing a glass cylinder containing a small, cubic device hooked to various unplugged wires and open switches. Alien Force paused.
"These blood traitors will be given fair trial." The Golden Knight intoned. "I can extend the offer to you as well, abomination."
"Forgive us if we don't take your word for it." Alien Force crossed their arms, hiding the fact that the skin on the back of their arms was shifting to a papery brown. They were stalling, rearranging internal muscle structure and neural pathways to boost their cognition time and response time to the highest degree they could manage.
"You would not understand." The Golden Knight rumbled. "The Cleansing will commence. It has never been stopped in a thousand realities, it will not be stopped now."
Metal sounded as the far walls shifted. Massive shutters slid away as the darkness of space extended infinitely outside the viewport. The Earth shone below them, a pure globe of green and blue.
"Shouldn't you be retreating to a safe distance?" Alien Force did not wince as nerves ruptured muscles and wrapped around bone through their back and legs.
"The True Light is unaffected by the energy wave." The Golden Knight replied, watching Alien Force unwaveringly.
"Good to know." Alien Force blurred forward. Brass dials ruptured from their back, spinning to send waves of green energy through the area around him. They slashed, faster than lighting, like a whirlwind of death through the Eternal Knights' ranks.
As they came to a standstill, the ship was silent. They laid Paradox carefully down next to the still form of their younger self. They leaned against the cold hull of the ship, panting heavily as a thin stream of blood flowed from their ears.
They straightened, turning to regard the fallen Golden Knight, coughing on his own blood. A light flashed on the man's golden gauntlet. On several monitors in the room and hallways, a countdown displayed.
"How do we shut it down?" Alien Force rumbled.
"Let this last realm be cleansed." The Golden Knight gagged. "For the glory of-"
Alien Force twisted their heel as they crushed the man's skull. They extended thin tendrils into Paradox's chest, jolting the timewalker with energy.
He gasped, eyes wide with pain as he awoke.
"Dear God…" He whispered.
"Focus Paradox!" Alien Force snapped. "That thing is counting down."
"Then… then we are too late." Paradox winced.
"Paradox!" Alien Force rounded on the timewalker. "I felt it! When I manifested my Chronosapien abilities!"
Paradox hung his head.
"This is my world." Alien Force's voice was barely a whisper. "We are looking down on my Earth."
"Yes." Paradox admitted. "We are."
"You knew?"
"I did."
"Go back. Go back and prepare better. We do not care how many times it takes."
"I cannot." Paradox winced at the force of the other's glare. "The True Light has activated a chronal interference array. We should not be here at all. I tried to leave and return when I was attacked. Until we disable it, we are stuck here."
"Then we disable it. We will search the ship!"
Red energy arced from the device through the gaps in the tube's panelling.
Alien Force shifted, bright purple crystals emerging from their shoulders while their fingers warped into bronze tubes.
"No!" Paradox struggled to his feet, grabbing Alien Force's arm. A port in the floor opened, dropping the device from the ship. "Nothing can survive the blast!"
Alien Force's eyes landed on the Omnitrix, gently pulsing on Izuku's wrist.
"No." Paradox's eyes widened. "No!"
In a blur, Alien Force wrenched the unconscious Izuku through the wall, phasing out through the hull into open space. They watched a beam of red energy slowly erupt from the MGRA. Small crystals of ice began forming on their younger self's skin. They sped in front of the beam, hurtling Izuku in front of the blast.
The MGRA cracked, then ruptured and for a brief moment, space was a sheer, undisrupted white.
Alien Force held their arms in front of their face as they were buffeted by waves of pulsating energy.
Unseen on the Earth, hundreds of thousands of kilometres below, the energy burned unseen through cities and people.
In a hospital in Keikei city in China, a child was born that radiated light.
It was black. Not simply dark, but utterly devoid of light.
Devoid of everything.
Izuku looked down at his hands and noted with a stab of fear that the Omnitrix wasn't on his wrist.
"Don't worry, it never shows up here."
Izuku's head snapped up, eyes resting on a young man, five years or so older than him. The man had messy, brown hair and wore a bright green hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. The number 10 was printed on the chest in white letters.
"I… recognise you." Izuku wondered.
"Probably because I'm famous." The man beamed. "Ben Tennyson, saviour of the universe, like a thousand times over."
"I know a lot about heroes," Izuku doubted. "And I have never even heard of you."
"Well, I am from a different reality." Ben shrugged.
"Am I in a different reality?" Izuku paled. "I can't be in a different reality!? I have exams coming up!"
"Wow. You're a bigger nerd than Gwen." Ben laughed. "But no, you're just kinda passed out. This is, for lack of making actual sense, all in your head."
"Why would I imagine someone I've never met before?"
"Probably because we've been inseparable for around 13 months now." Ben smirked.
"The Omnitrix?" Izuku's eyes widened. "You're the Omnitrix?"
"Kinda." Ben shrugged. "I had it for so long it became a part of me, and I guess a little bit of me became a part of it too."
"Have you been…" Izuku gestured vaguely. "Aware..? this entire time?"
"Not exactly." Ben frowned. "I couldn't talk or see or anything, but the longer you spent bonded to the Omnitrix, the more I could help. Choosing aliens you really needed, or just making your life more fun!"
"Wait," Izuku narrowed his eyes, pointing accusingly. "You're the reason the watch has been malfunctioning!"
"I'm also the reason your memory improved," Ben raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "The reason you transformed while trapped in the sports festival, and the reason you're not dead right now."
"Why would I be dead?"
"Usually the watch has a failsafe that won't let you die." Ben explained. "When you are put in a situation where a transformation could prevent you from dying, the watch searches the codon stream for the best transformation to do that."
"Okay?"
"But…" Ben dragged the word out. "It looks like something damaged the watch. That's why it's so… gooey. And it looks like a bunch of functions have been disabled. I wasn't exactly sure what was happening, so I changed us into something that could take a hit."
Ben smirked, as stars sparked to life in the void around them.
"Any hit actually." Paradox said, stepping out of a glowing portal with a smile. "Hello Benjamin. It has been a while."
"Am I imagining you too?" Izuku wondered.
"If you are," Paradox's smile widened. "You have a spectacular imagination."
"Pull up a chair?" Ben offered.
"No time, I'm afraid." Paradox said kindly. "Izuku has a very difficult series of exams to study for."
"Good thing he got my memory." Ben beamed, folding his hands behind his neck. "Should be practically photogenic any day now."
"I'm sure he is very grateful." Paradox rolled his eyes fondly. He moved away from the portal, gesturing for Izuku to step through.
"Wait." Ben's face grew serious. "I have to know something."
They stood, facing each other in the void.
"Do you have Sumo Slammers in this universe?" Ben demanded.
"I don't know?" Izuku frowned. "I- I guess I'll check?"
"You better." Ben replied, resolute. Mischief twinkled in his green eyes, belying his serious demeanour. "It's a matter of life and death."
"Can I…" Izuku mulled the question over. "Will I be able to talk to you again?"
"Maybe. After all…" Ben winked. "I'm always by your side."
Izuku opened his eyes. Dagobah beach stretched ahead of him. The Omnitrix pulsed with blue light on his arm, half buried in the sand.
"I am sorry." Paradox said quietly, watching waves lap the beach. "I know how disorienting that can be."
"I am so confused." Izuku groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position.
"So am I." Paradox sighed. "Alien Force always does what they believe to be right. But they are not afraid of sacrifice. A product of their life I suppose."
"I grow up to be… them…" Izuku whispered, mostly to himself.
"Well, not if you don't want to." Paradox reassured. "Alien Force is the greatest hero in their world's history. Your world's history is still very much being decided."
Paradox stood, dusting sand from his coat.
"By you at this very moment, in fact." He smiled.
"Is this goodbye?" Izuku asked, scrambling to his feet as another portal swirled into being.
"It very well might be."
"Oh." Izuku lowered his head.
"Every goodbye might be the last one." Paradox smiled, halfway through the portal. "We can never control when or even if we will see someone again. But we can make the most of the time we have with them. You have many people in your life who care for you very deeply, Izuku Midoriya. I am proud to count myself among their number. Oh… and enjoy the additions."
Without another word, Paradox vanished. Izuku tapped the Omnitrix, but it simply pulsed blue, unresponsive.
"If this is some kind of joke, Ben…" Izuku grumbled.
Bellwood was in ruins.
He kept it that way. No one lived there any longer. From the crater in the suburbs, where his house had once stood, he watched the injured Professor Paradox stumble through a portal.
He did not follow.
He did not need to.
Paradox would die of his injuries soon. His arm turned black as the void, sparkling with stars. He pulled his finger through the air, tearing a slash in the fabric of space. He had conquered thousands of universes, slain thousands of wielders of the Omnitrix.
What did it matter that one damaged Omnitrix lay in the possession of a dying timewalker?
The Conqueror knew now. He knew of Paradox's little plan. His secret protege.
Ben Tennyson stepped through the rip he made in space.
He would find this… Midoriya.
And he would kill him. Just like all the others.
AN:
I lived bitch
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|| Review Review || Return of the Reviewening ||
GoliathG
Big Plans for Monoma. Real big plans. :)
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DarkSpeed
If I recall correctly, Sir Nighteye basically had All Might convinced to give OFA to Mirio before he met Izuku.
But knowing Mirio gets his quirk erased… It would be a diddly dang shame if he had OFA when the bullet hits him…
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TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r
I Hope this chapter answers that question for you. :)
I also really would like to get this story back up to speed.
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VowsUnspoken
The OFA successor subplot was a massive weight on me actually. I hope I'm doing it justice.
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Funny-Little-Cute White Fox
Yeah… uh… well… I didn't exactly update soon. Sorry ^^;
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Symbo
For sure! I actually post all my latest art on the Core Bearer Discord.
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SonicMax
I completely understand where you're coming from, though I have to say, my Bakugou isn't canon Bakugou. He fails to save Izuku from the sludge villain, and needs to get other pro heroes to save the dude he's been bullying for years. Then Three of his classmates and his teacher are seriously injured, while one of his classmates actually dies in the USJ incident. He is a very different character from the Bakugou in canon who feels unbeatable and Invincible.
I'm really glad you are enjoying the changes I make. More to come. :)
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ImHellaUgly
I don't believe for a second that you're ugly. Thanks for reading my story. I'll give you a wild ride for damn sure.
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mckertis
I'm sorry you feel there's no point in reading past chapter 4. You're probably not going to see this then, but I hope the rest of the story is better.
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CCSakuraforever
Yeah I was severely unmotivated by the time that chapter hit. I hope this double thick chapter makes up for it lol
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bignathan02
I loooooove Big Chill. I dislike canon Mineta, but I didn't want to kill him. Instead, I want to make him a badass.
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Yup
Monoma's quirk is derived from Osmosian DNA, you are 100% right. :)
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Lord Terronus
That is such a kind review. I believe a story can be fantastical, as long as it adheres to its own logic, if that makes sense? I did not want to write just a rehash of canon, so I'm committing to a brand new story with new characters and new obstacles. The timeline will split even more now!
I try to make characters feel in character to my version of the story. I'm glad you like what I'm doing with them!
No lie, you have no idea how close your guess is to true. Unfortunately… things have changed. ;)
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Flashyboi
Thanks for the feedback!
I went back and edited every chapter before this one to fix any errors in syntax etc.
I hope that makes it an easier read. :)