2: The Fasttrack to Becoming A Hero!
Izuku Midoriya...
...could not believe what had just happened.
He looked down at the device inside the box, and then toward the spot where the strange man had disappeared then to the large plume of smoke rising from the city; his city.
He reached inside and picked up the strange gauntlet. It opened up as soon as he touched it, startling him into nearly dropping it, "Okay...here goes...everything," he rolled up the sleeve of his right hand and placed the Ultimatrix against his skin...and the thing suddenly latched onto him like a leech, almost as if it was fusing itself to his skin, "Ugh!" The startled boy groaned in discomfort as the Ultimatrix settled into place, locking itself unto his arm.
The dial then rose, a hologram image of an elderly man appearing, "Hello, young one," he said, "If you're seeing this message, then you've become the proud owner of the Ultimatrix." Izuku smiled slightly, "I'll make this as short as I can, since I can imagine that you're going to get into a fair amount of trouble pretty quick." He said, which did nothing to alleviate the boy's nerves, "To use the Ultimatrix, activate the dial by pressing the two buttons nearest your wrist, and it will make the dial rise up. Then turn the dial, which will activate the selection wheel. When you've selected the form you want to change into, slam the dial down, and the DNA will lock onto you. Then you'll change. For more information, the code for the Ultimatrix tutorials are activated by saying 'Ultimatrix Tutorial zero-zero-one through zero-ten. You can also ask for details on each transformation before you change into them. Good luck, Hero."
The hologram disappeared, and was replaced by another figure, this one looking decidedly feline.
Izuku thought that it was good enough to try out given that he was short on time, so he slammed the dial down. He didn't know what to expect, but he was expecting to feel at least some sort of pain when his body started mutating. The entire change took less than a second. No pain, no discomfort, just the rush of power flowing through like a shock that he never wanted to end.
"Fasttrack!"
He looked down at himself, seeing himself in a new, taller form. Blue fur surrounded his feet and shins almost like boots, while his hands and forearms were the same up to his elbows. His body was black with the symbol of the Ultimatrix on the center of his chest beneath a blue-furred lightning bolt design leading up to his neck and face. He reached up and felt something akin to a mask over his face.
"Cool," his voice startled him for a moment, sounding nothing like his normal high-pitched voice. "Whoa! I - "
BTOOOOOOOM
Izuku looked off toward the smoke, seeing flames rising above the buildings now, "Okay, no time to freak out!" He said to himself and started running toward the chaos, "Time to see what this body can do!" He said before he felt himself running much, much, much faster than he should have been! "Holy - ! Wow!" The boy/alien shouted in excitement, "This guy's a speedster!"
Fasttrack: The feline speedster in the Ultimatrix's arsenal. This fast furball possesses enhanced strength and durability as well as super speed, but be careful because if this feline freight train runs too fast he has a very hard time stopping!
He raced through the city toward the attack at speeds he thought only All Might possessed. "This is so great!" He laughed to himself before he saw the gathering crowd of people around the chaos. He tried to stop, but found that his feet had no traction, "Ah, not so great! Lousy brake pads!" He yelped when he saw he was about to come face to face with a wall, "Oops..."
WHAM
Fasttrack ended up face-planting into the wall, leaving a body imprint. "Me...Ow..."
"What's going on here?" He heard someone asking, "Wasn't that the Villain that All Might was chasing?"
The blue speedster yanked his face out of the wall, "Did they say All Might?"
"Yeah, he must've given him the slip!" Someone else said, sounding frantic, "Now the guy's running amok in the shopping district!"
"That's not the worst part," the blue speedster heard a woman say, "I heard from one of the police officers that he has a hostage! It's because of the kid's Quirk that all of those explosions are going off!"
Fasttrack's emerald eyes widened, "Explosions..." his thoughts immediately turned to his classmate, and the sludge Villain that had tried to take over his body earlier. [But how did he get away from...!] He remembered the moment when he had stupidly grabbed ahold of the Hero as he had tried to jump away...right where he had stashed the bottle that he had trapped the Villain in! [Oh, my god, it's my fault!]
"Why aren't the Heroes doing anything?" Someone else demanded, "They can't just let that poor kid die!"
"Hmph, I heard that they're all too scared to even get close to him because of the kid's Quirk going off," a man said, "Pathetic, Heroes are supposed to help people, not just sit on the sidelines!"
Fasttrack grit his teeth, [If I go out there, then I'll be arrested, but - ] He spotted a familiar figure standing nearby. [All Might! Here's actually here!] Standing against a lamp post in his weakened state was the world's Symbol of Peace, looking frustrated and ashamed. [Perfect! He must've come looking for the Villain after he found out he was gone!] He rushed forward.
Meanwhile, Toshinori Yagi, also known as the mighty All Might, stared at the fiasco of a scene in front of him in pure rage at himself. "Dammit all!" He cursed himself, "How far have I fallen to let something like this happen?!"
A blue blur appeared next to him, "It's not your fault, All Might," he looked at the new arrival in shock, seeing a blue bipedal feline in front of him, "It's mine because I was the one that grabbed you and caused the Villain to fall out of your pocket!"
The man's eyes widened in shock further when he recognized the tone from the stranger, "It...you...can't be...Young Midoriya!?"
Fasttrack nodded, "In the flesh...or fur, I guess?" He shook his head, "Never mind! Just tell me to fight!" He begged, "I can't right now because I don't have a license, but if a Hero or a Hero Agent authorizes it, I can go help my friend out there!" He pointed to where they both saw the sludge Villain writhing, explosions erupting all over his body. The blue furred alien caught a glimpse of his friend's desperate face as it began to turn blue from lack of air, "Oh, no!" He looked back toward the withered Hero, "Please! He's gonna die if we don't do something, now!"
Toshinori looked at the boy-turned-feline, and gave a slow nod, "Alright," he said and pointed through the crowd, "You get me to the front, and I'll authorize it!"
Without another word, Fasttrack picked the man up and sped up the side of the building to avoid the crowd. When the the blue speedster reached the front of the crowd, he jumped from the wall and landed next to where Backdraft was keeping the people at bay with a water barrier, "What the -?!"
Fasttrack set Toshinori down, and the man stepped up to the firefighter, "Backdraft, I'm Toshinori Yagi, a Hero Agent, and I'm authorizing this young man to use his Quirk!" He said with authority. Before Backdraft could argue, the blond man turned to the blue speedster, "Get going!"
"Yes, Sir!" Fasttrack dropped into a runner's pose and took off and running, aiming straight for his flailing friend. "Brace yourself, Kacchan!"
Katsuki Bakugo, known to only one person as Kacchan, widened his eyes as the blue blur came toward him, "Dek - " Before he could get the word out, it felt as though he had been smashed in the stomach by a baseball bat when Fasttrack's arms circled around his torso with such strength that he was forcibly pulled from the sludge Villain's body.
He skidded to a halt on the opposite end of the burning street, "Now," his eyes landed on the Villain, "It's payback time." Releasing Katsuki to return to the Villain, Fasttrack zipped by him, aiming a solid blow to the Villain's body, only to come away with a sludge covered fist, "Ah, gross!" He shook his hand clean, almost missing the whipping tendril of slime coming toward him. "Yikes!" He jumped up out of the way higher than he had intended, "Whoa, this guy can jump!" He muttered to himself before nimbly landing on a crooked lamp post.
"Okay, physical attacks won't work, so..." he then smirked as he saw an overturned garbage can, "I'll just see how much g-force this guy can take!" He lept down and started running again, circling around the Villain.
"What the hell is he doing?" Death Arms shouted as the boy ran in circles, "How's he gonna beat him like that?"
All Might, however, saw something that the large man didn't. The wind around the pair was picking up. [He's running so fast that he's creating a cyclone!]
The Villain growled at the speedster, "That's not gonna save you, ya little flea bag!" He shouted as he tried to launch his slimey appendages at him, but by now, the wind had become so powerful that he couldn't get near the blue teen. "What the hell're you doing!?"
Fasttrack wasn't listening to anything else except his own heartbeat. [Faster!] He told himself, [I have to go faster!] A burst of speed rushed through him, bringing a grin to his face, [Now!] A powerful whirlwind erupted around the Villain, tearing his body apart as he was lifted off the ground and into the vortex.
Izuku saw his chance.
He blasted out of the whirlwind, grabbed the trash can, lid and all, ran up the side of the nearest building and jumped toward the Villain's liquid body. He snatched up the Villain inside the can, slammed the lid down, and landed on the balls of his feet. He then rushed into one of the nearby stores, rushed back out and ran all around the can, wrapping it in duct tape.
After he was done, Fasttrack leaned over on his knees, "If you can't fix it with duct tape," Fasttrack huffed, out of breath, "You ain't using enough duct tape."
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BWOO
In a flash of red, Fasttrack was gone, and Izuku stood in his place.
The crowd, and the Heroes all gaped at the boy that had just defeated the Villain, and saved his classmate. Not only that, but he had completely upstaged the other Heroes.
"A kid?" Death Arms gaped, "You mean that little boy was...?!" He was growing angry for various reason, chief among them being that a child had risked himself.
Kamui Woods stepped forward, looking impressed, "Man, I've never seen a Speed Quirk quite like that before."
Death Arms looked at the young Hero in frustration, "It doesn't matter what kind'a Quirk he has," he snapped, "That kid shouldn't - "
"Instead of getting upset, you might thank the boy for a job well done," Toshinori said to the man, silencing him in an instant, "I only authorized him to fight because all of you were just standing around waiting for a Hero with a better Quirk to come along." He gestured to the recovering boy, "Well, guess what? There he is!" He said angrily.
Kamui frowned beneath his mask while Death Arms just crossed his arms, "Putting the kid's life at risk was still - "
"It was against my own better judgement," Toshinori admitted, understanding the man's attitude, "But he begged me to let him fight," the blond man snorted at him, "And with the life a child on the line, I saw no alternative since all of you were working the crowd while waiting for someone else to do your jobs for you."
That stung. In more ways that one as the two Heroes watched as the supposed Hero Agent made his way out into the street to check on the boy. However...
"DEKU YOU BASTARD!" Toshinori's brow nearly shot off his head at the shout. Then he saw the young man that had been held captive rushing toward Young Midoriya, looking utterly furious. "HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT?!" He grabbed the teen by the collar of his school blazer, shaking him violently. "YOU LYING LITTLE WEASEL! YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T HAVE A QUIRK!" The blond snarled nose to nose with the now petrified boy.
"WHAT?! NO! I wasn't lying! I swear, Kacchan!" The boy yelled quickly, sweating bullets.
"BULLSHIT!" Bakugo shouted, raising his hand menacingly, "YOU BETTER TELL ME RIGHT NOW OR YOU'RE DEAD!"
Toshinori grumbled and stepped forward to intervene, "I don't think so, young man!" He shouted as the blond whipped around in his direction, smoke already rising from the palm of his hand, "Young man, if you use your Quirk here, then not only will I have you reprimanded to by the Hero Public Safety Commission, but I will also make certain that you are denied access to any Hero Schools for the following year that you graduate from whatever middle school you attend!"
Bakugo was very fast to back off. One: because he felt that Deku wasn't worth losing a single day of Hero School. Two: even if this skinny Skeletor-look-alike extra didn't look like much, he had to be very high up to make such a threat.
"And just who the fuck are you supposed to be?" Demanded the explosive teen.
Toshinori smirked, "The name's Toshinori Yagi, kid, and I work as a Hero Agent for Might Towers out of Minato, Tokyo." Both boys froze, both for different reasons, but they weren't the only ones to hear his claim.
"That guy works for All Might?"
"Man, no wonder that kid was so good!"
"You think he'll get scouted for U.A.s recommendations?"
Toshinori gave the blond boy a hard look, "Instead of being angry with this young man, you should be thanking him for saving your life," he put his left arm out behind him, "Because if I hadn't authorized him to fight that Villain, then there's no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't be alive right now to complain!" Bakugo frowned, remembering how close he had come to suffocating, "Because none of these other Heroes wanted to chance rescuing you from that walking sludge heap!" He then pointed at the cowering Izuku, "But this boy was willing to risk everything; his life, his future, everything that he had to save your life!"
"I DIDN'T NEED HIS FUCKING HELP!"
"Then you're delusional as well as ungrateful," Toshinori frowned, "Now put. Him. Down!"
Bakugo looked ready to murder someone before huffing, "Tsk," and dropping Izuku on his ass before turning away from them.
Izuku yelped when he hit the ground, and Toshinori reached out to him, "Come along, Young Midoriya, we should get out of here before that circus we call the media arrives in force."
Izuku nodded and accepted his help up, dusting himself off. "Thank you, Sir," Toshinori looked at him, "For letting me save him, I mean."
Toshinori shook his head, "I think I'm the one that needs to thank you, my boy," he said somberly, "And I do believe that I owe you a huge apology for what I said to you earlier." Izuku smiled at him, "But I also believe that you have some explaining to do," Toshinori sad in a more hushed tone, "Like how you were able to transform yourself, despite being Quirkless, in less than an hour after we met last?"
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Professor Paradox smiled as he watched the goings on of Earth Omega through a small window through dimensions. Seeing the boy that he had gifted the Ultimatrix to use it so efficiently right away had made him exceedingly proud of him.
Of course he knew that he wouldn't keep the device a secret, though it could be explained away as a piece of Support Gear needed to activate his Quirk. What he worried about was the potential of the boy also accepting something he really shouldn't. Toshinori Yagi's Quirk was powerful, and if gifted to the boy, he would, eventually, excel as a Hero. However, the amount of pain that would come with it would not be worth it in the end. He would lose much.
That much he had seen through his walks through time.
However, looking at a split in the timeline had revealed something more to the boy. Like Benjamin Tennyson, he had a drive to help people, not for his own personal gain, of course, but through a sheer love of Heroes, and the idea of being one himself.
That wasn't to say that the future did not hold any dangers for the new wielder of the Ultimatrix. No, of course not, that would have been ridiculous in any universe. No, Izuku Midoriya would become a Hero that would inspire all of those around him, but he would still have to face great evils in his future.
Still, Paradox was proud of his selection of Izuku Midoriya and he was certain that his young friend, Ben, would approve of his choice.
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
"So this thing is the source of your power, and not a Quirk?" Toshinori said as he walked alongside the boy on their way to his home, "And the transformations are actually aliens and not a mutated version of yourself?"
Izuku thought for a moment, "Well, I haven't had time to go through the tutorials that are installed, but if I had to describe it, then I'd have to say that it's almost like..." He frowned, "Well, almost like my mind is being put inside a different body, and I'm just borrowing it from the actual owner."
"Well, that's not creepy at all, now, is it?" The man asked with a chuckle, "Still, I'm relieved," Izuku looked at him in confusion, "You remember the scar I showed you, right?" The boy nodded shakily, "Well, the one that gave it to me had an as of yet unrivaled Quirk that allowed him to steal a person's Quirk, and then pass it onto another if he wanted to."
"And you were afraid that he'd met with me?" Izuku frowned.
Toshinori shook his head, "No, that wasn't what I was thinking, but it was similar," Toshinori admitted, "I was afraid that he'd had himself a protege that he'd passed his power onto before...before our fight." He said, "Seeing another like him rise to power while I'm down to no more than three hours of Hero work is a frightening thing to think about."
"I guess I can see why that would worry you," Izuku sighed, "But I don't think that that man had anything to do with...whoever it was that hurt you." He said with a bit of embarrassment, "I'll admit that I can be pretty trusting, but I feel like I could seriously trust him," he held up the Ultimatrix, "And this...this is going to help me be a Hero."
Toshinori smiled at the boy's renewed enthusiasm, "Then I think you should go ahead and apply to U.A. as your school of choice," the man said with a chuckle when the boy looked at him, "I'm being serious, Young Midoriya, you certainly have the heart of a true Hero, and I know that my alma mater is tough, but it is known for turning out the most amazing Heroes the world has ever seen. Even foreign countries see that and send young people from all over in hopes that they'll be accepted."
Izuku looked down in embarrassment, "I wanted to go there anyway," he said, "Like you said, it was the school you attended to become a Hero, after all."
Toshinori smiled, "I'm glad that I'm still your favorite Hero after what I said to your today," he sighed, "I truly am sorry for that. I thought that I was trying to protect you." He frowned, "I know that a lot of Quirkless students still apply for Hero Courses, but so few actually make it through because the schools employ hazing tactics, and those that do go Pro rarely last longer than a year before being..."
"Killed," Izuku nodded, "I know, but I still wanted to be Hero so badly."
"And now you can be." Toshinori smiled, "But...is it me, or did you transform back against your will back there?"
Izuku nodded, "I think this thing has a time limit," he admitted, "If I remember it right, then I think a full ten minutes had gone by before I had to change back."
Toshinori frowned, "So that thing isn't as powerful as we thought." He said, "You mentioned a tutorial?"
Izuku held up the Ultimatrix, and pressed the two side mounted buttons, "Tutorial zero-zero-one," he spoke into the dial.
A moment later the dial rose and another hologram appeared before them. "Glad to see you back." Said the same elderly man from before, "If you're seeing this message, then this means you've activated the first of ten tutorial modes." He said, "This one is a simple introduction to how the Ultimatrix works, it's weaknesses, and defense mechanisms."
Toshinori and Izuku stopped to listen, "Is he wearing one himself?" Toshinori asked, seeing a similar device on the man's left wrist.
"First thing's first," the hologram said, holding up the device on his own wrist, "The Ultimatrix, like any other Omnimatrix, has a time limit of ten minutes when someone puts it on for the first time," he said, proving Izuku's theory, "But that doesn't mean that this limit can't be extended to a longer period of time. With each transformation, and depending on how efficient you perform in combat, the Ultimatrix's A.I. will decide whether you are ready to have an extended amount of time in any form you choose to fight in."
Izuku sighed in relief, "That's good to know," he said to the Hero, "At least I can train to extend my time limit."
"That'll be important," Toshinori agreed.
"But staying in an alien form for too long can have some serious side effects on your human body," the hologram went on, "For example, the first alien in the Ultimatrix's database that you can use in combat is a being that's known as Fasttrack. He has super speed, enhanced strength and reflexes, not to mention that he has an enhanced sense of balance so it's hard to make him trip unless you're on something slippery, or trying to stop after reaching top speed. But that isn't the only drawback. Fasttrack, being a feline-based lifeform has an aversion to water, which will transfer over to you when you change into him."
"Typical cat," Toshinori chuckled, "Lucky for you that there was no water involved in that fight back there."
"Yeah," Izuku laughed.
"But in any form you choose to take, there is a danger to your natural body," the hologram continued, gaining back their attention, "Most of the forms you take will be extremely durable thanks to the extreme environments that their DNA samples are taken from. But if they take too much damage, not only will you be forced to change back prematurely, but some of that damage will be transferred to your real body, even if it's been lessened to a certain extent, it can still be dangerous."
"As such, included in this tutorial are some items that might be of help to you if there comes a time where you can't use the Ultimatrix," the hologram said, "Because just like the ten minute time limit, there is a ten minute recharge time that takes place. So in that short amount of time, you will be vulnerable during a fight, if the time limit is reached before it's ended. But you should also know that with each use of the Ultimatrix, not only is there a certain point in which the time limit will be extended, but the recharge time will be shortened. And when in life threatening danger, the Ultimatrix has a defensive feature that recharges the battery instantaneously, allowing you to fight right away if the situation is dire enough."
"Now, to access the plans for these items, you'll need to speak the code; proto x21." The Hologram said, "You will need to access the next tutorial after your time limit has been extended. Until then, Hero."
Izuku watched the Ultimatrix go dormant once again as he looked up at his favorite Hero, "So, I guess I need to start training with this thing so that I can fight for longer periods?"
Toshinori nodded, "Not only that, but we need to have the support item built for you in case you're without the option to transform," he said, taking in the boy's very...very slight physique. "And I think we should also start trying to build you up a little...provided your mother will allow it after today's little stunt."
Izuku looked at the man with wide, watery eyes, "You mean - ?!"
The man chuckled with a nod of his head, "Yes, Young Midoriya, I am going to whip this weak little body of yours into shape, and make sure that both you and that fancy watch are ready for U.A.'s entrance exams next February!" He grinned at the boy's happy expression, "Get ready, you little newbie, 'cause you're about to go through hell!"
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Returning home was quite a loud affair for Izuku when he and Toshinori arrived. The moment he entered his home, his mother, having seen the evening news when she got home, immediately embraced him with a bone crushing hug that had the No.1 Hero wincing.
"Izuku, my baby!" Inko Midoriya cried with fountains of tears erupting from her eyes, "Do you know how worried I was when I saw the news!?" She demanded as her son squirmed in her arms, "And since when could you change into some speedy blue cat!? Did you get your Quirk!? Oh, my baby!"
Toshinori would have laughed at the scene if his would-be student wasn't turning as blue as Fasttrack from his mother's hug. He cleared his throat, bringing her attention to the her visitor, "Excuse me, Ma'am," he said politely, "But I think that the three of us need to have a very long, detailed talk about your son's deeds today."
僕ぼくのヒーローアカデミア
Ultimatrix Playlist #1:
#1 - Fasttrack
#2 - ?
#3 - ?
#4 - ?
#5 - ?
#6 - ?
#7 - ?
#8 - ?
#9 - ?
#10 - ?
Author's Note: Not the best action scene for Izuku's first transformation, and to all those wondering why I chose Fasttrack instead of XLR8, it's because he's over used. Plus, Fasttrack is fluffy, just like Izuku :p
Wanna see what happens next? Y'all know what to do! Adios Amigos!