39Izuku gulped as he entered the room.
He, along with the class of 1-A, and a few other UA students, had been summoned by Nezu to the school's 'viewing room', a dark room that was basically an in-built movie theatre.
Izuku looked around the room and spotted the rest of his classmates talking with each other, a few of the teachers: Aizawa, Midnight, Present Mic and Power Loader discussing something, and the Big 3 was playing with Eri.
Mei Hatsume was tinkering in the corner with some sort of glove while All Might talking with his mum in his deflated form… wait, why was his mum here?!
"Mum? What are you doing here? I thought Nezu said he had something to show us?" All Might was spooked by Izuku's arrival, the hand that was placed on Inko's darting back to his own lap.
Inko smiled at him, giving him a quick hug."Oh, Izuku sweety! It's so lovely to see you! I feel like it's been forever! Mr. Nezu was nice enough to invite me to watch whatever it is that we are going to watch! He said that he needed my permission for something really cool and I gave it, so All Might was kind enough to drive me here!"
All Might smiled at the boy, and Izuku smiled back, glad to know that his mum was here. It had been too long since he had seen her last. He was about to continue talking when the door Izuku had walked through opened once again, showing Nezu riding on a stranger's shoulder.
"Greetings everyone! Am I a rat? A dog? A bear? Who knows! All you need to know is I'm principal Nezu!" The stranger that he was perched on walked to the front of the room and placed Nezu on the floor.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why I have summoned you here, so please, everyone take a seat! I will explain everything shortly!" Everyone followed his orders, sitting down in their assigned groups.
Izuku blushed as he bumped elbows with the girl to his right. "Hey, Uraraka! I wonder what Nezu is going to show us! Do you think it's this guy's Quirk? I don't see any visible mutations mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter"
"Mr Midoriya, please calm yourself, we will be explaining why you are here now," Nezu said, standing in front of a podium. The man beside him joined him on the podium and bowed to the group.
"You may refer to me as Logar, my codename. My Quirk is called [Timelines]. It allows me to bring out a visual representation of the various ways a person's life could have differed. Before you ask Yaoyarozu, yes I can see the look on your face, my Quirk indeed does prove the Multiverse Theory correct."
He waved his hands over the crowd. "Now! Normally I don't leave the government facility I live in, but I owe Nezu a favour, so here I am! I will be working with one student, who has been selected already, to view alternate timelines of yourselves, to see if we can get some insight into our own world."
Izuku's face brightened. "Because some things might be the same, we could get crucial information about our own enemies! That's so cool! I have so many questions about your Quirk!"
Logar laughed. "In time Mr Midoriya, but for now, could you please come up onto the stage, you are the student that my Quirk will be focusing on."
There was a bit of a ruckus as people started murmuring, all of it interrupted when there was an explosion from behind Izuku. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU TAKING THE NERD UP? MY ALTERNATE LIVES ARE BOUND TO BE FUCKING COOLER THAN HIS!"
Before anyone could respond, Bakugou was pulled back into his chair by some invisible force and felt the killing intent behind him, silencing the boy.
Inko had dragged him back with her Quirk and was glaring at him. "Katsuki Bakugou, is this how you treat your elders? I wonder how Mitsuki would react seeing her son behave this way."
Bakugou gulped. Neither of them really had to wonder what Mitsuki would do. It would be a copious amount of smacking Katsuki over the head, and even more yelling than her son normally did.
Nezu clapped his paws together and smiled. "I assure you that Mr. Midoriya was chosen for a good reason, one that should be apparent to anyone who knows the truth. The rest of you have been cleared for this secret because you would most likely not be able to participate in this viewing if you weren't.
Izuku paled and looked quickly to All Might, who nodded, and Bakugou, who scowled and shrugged his shoulders. He sighed and stood next to Logar.
Logar smiled. "If that's all well and done, I would like to begin this session! Please be warned, while I can apply some directions to the general tone of the universe we view, I am unable to choose specifics. This means that there might be things that do not sit well with some of you. You are free to leave at any point, although you must return soon afterwards. Is this agreeable?"
There was some deliberating, but eventually, everyone agreed. "Excellent! Now, Mr Midoriya, are you ready?" Logar asked, and Izuku nodded. "Wonderful, let us begin…"
He placed his hand on Izuku's forehead, and the boy seemed to fall asleep, slouching over. The screen behind him lit up pure white before colours started to fade in.
The rest of the room's lights dimmed, giving them a clearer view of the alternate universe they were about to watch...
To say Inko Midoriya was worried about her son would be the very definition of an understatement. The plump mother had always been a worrywart her entire life of course but this was different.
Inko gasped as she appeared on the screen. She hadn't expected to be the first person to appear, and she was embarrassed to be described as a 'worrywart' near immediately.
Ever since Izuku was just a small child who had heard the tragic news that he had no powers to speak of in a world filled to the brim with super-powered individuals, life had been hard for them both.
It wasn't long after the news broke that the boy's father had a sudden job opportunity in America that would pay better, that he 'absolutely had to take' for their sake. The pay didn't change; he just didn't want to be associated with Izuku.
Inko's eyes began to fill up with tears as she thought about her own version of Hisashi. Was that why he left? Or was it just this reality's reasoning? She hoped for the latter. All Might put his hand on hers and squeezed it, smiling at the woman.
Todoroki's eyes narrowed watching the scene.
Not even a year later and the stress of the situation was catching up to the mother fast, as her figure began its spiral from slim and desirable to rotund from all the comfort food. On the bright side at the least, it made her a much better cook for her son, even if it was a minor thing to take solace in.
As for Izuku himself… She didn't fail to notice the light in his eyes dimming every day. The way his bouncy excited movements became more reserved and tame as though he was trying to keep himself quiet and hidden away.
Even the usually disinterested people (read: Bakugou) were entranced by the screen. Bakugou had seen the same thing in Izuku's eyes as they had grown up, but it had always rekindled whenever Izuku said he was gonna be a hero.
So why wasn't it coming back in this timeline?
And the worst part was whenever she washed his clothes, she almost always found small bloodstains and tears. the first few times resulted in crying fits and now she just… expected it.
Kirishima jumped up in his seat. "Bloodstains?! What the hell! That's majorly fucked up! Who would be hurting him like that?!"
He missed how Katsuki flinched.
It was horrible and she hated it but because of Hisashi's departure, and the fact that the only extra money she had was from government payments to help with property replacement during a quirk manifestation that had been taken away, she had no feasible way to move out of their apartment and put the greenette into a better system.
It was hardly the last thing she noticed about her son's rapidly worsening life either. The worst part either had to be the burn marks or his "failing" grades.
She didn't need to be a genius to figure out the origins of both problems either. The first was without a doubt the work of his supposed 'best friend' Katsuki Bakugou.
Bakugou huffed as he faced the killing intent of almost everyone in the room. Nezu and Aizawa filed the information away for later and motioned for everyone to look back at the screen.
"We will be dealing with the similarities after we have finished. Everyone should just focus on the screen for now."
The thought brought many emotions to the front of her mind when she thought about it but chief among them all was just a lack of surprise. The greenette had been friends with the boy's mother and on her own as a person she was a bit of a handful, but enjoyable and understandable if a bit feisty.
However, while Inko didn't want to be rude, she knew for a fact the woman never should have been a mother. Her actions and attitude were the exact kind of thing that would bring about a complex in a younger child and it was apparent that it had happened in Katsuki.
Bakugou huffed again as Inko grimaced. She loved Mitsuki like a sister, but she found herself having to agree with her alternate self. Her attitude to life and her temper made her… less than an ideal role model.
And now Izuku was paying the price.
The other problem in a messed up way brought far more anger to her. At the very least, Katsuki was barely older than a toddler and simply just didn't know better. It was horrible and she hated it but she understood it.
The 'failing' grades were something much worse. The mother had made a habit of checking over her son's work all the time just before it was due in, making sure to confirm answers for herself even if she didn't give help to him before letting him go so she knew when he was being screwed over and being screwed over he was.
Both his maths and his Japanese lesson's would often come back with abysmal scores for perfect answers and when she'd finally had enough and stormed into the school one day, she'd found out just how far some horrible adults were willing to go with their discrimination against a child who just wanted to be loved because they had been replacing his work with lesser ones and outright erasing some of his answers.
Everyone gulped as they swore they could see an evil glint in Nezu's eye as they heard that bit. Nezu turned to Inko slowly. "Excuse me, Mrs Midoriya, could you please tell me the name of your son's middle school? I have some people's careers to ruin."
He heard a laugh from Bakugou. "Oi, Principal. It's called Aldera. It's a fucking shithole, you're better off just razing the whole fucking place to the ground and building a new school."
Nezu nodded and wrote down the name of the school, and many of the teachers at Aldera suddenly had a chill run down their spines.
She was beyond disgusted and her displeasure had been known to the school, along with the evidence they were faking. Nothing had ever brought her as much anger as the principal's response.
He'd said he'd make sure it doesn't happen again, simply waving it away like it didn't matter. What was much worse though often repeated in her mind every now again ready to ruin whatever enjoyable moments she had.
"I see no reason to change past scores. It won't make a difference to a Quirkless child's career prospects either way."
Nezu growled. Literally growled. He walked outside of the room for a second while people murmured quietly. Most people were confused. Yaoyaorzu was the one who spoke up first. "He is Quirkless in this other timeline? That is quite unfortunate for him. I know that Quirkless people are not treated as well as they should be."
Inko smiled at the girl, internally wishing that Izuku had had people like this around him for his childhood instead of the people at his previous schools.
It never failed to make her blood boil. And on top of every last bit of this, she was stuck forever feeling guilt with the fact that of all the people hurt her son with his Quirkless nature she had been the first.
He had to want to be a hero. The one career path in the world that actually needed a quirk to be attainable. He had to ask her if it was possible…
She could have told him he could be one, and preserve his dream but slowly and surely help him adjust to the truth over time so it wouldn't hurt as much. She could have dealt with all the heartbreak at once and shut him down but kept him safe and hopefully made amends through his life.
Instead, she had to choose the worst possible action at that moment.
"I'm sorry, Izuku!"
Aizawa's eyebrows raised, he had been told nearly the same thing as a child. That his Quirk wasn't hero worthy. And while he at least had one, he was curious about how this Quirkless Izuku would end up.
The class was still either shocked that Inko had said no to Izuku, or gushing over how cute baby Izuku was. Uraraka was blushing while Mina smirked at her.
All the heartbreak without a definitive answer, and it was a moment that stuck with them both she was sure. The lack of answer soon led to her son deciding to try anyways which she couldn't bring herself to stop as she watched on in pain as he wrote away notes in his notebooks about every pro he saw, as If they'd somehow help him bypass the lack of his own quirk.
There was a general murmur of approval from the teachers when they saw his notes, agreeing that they were better than expected for a boy his age. Aizawa wrote himself a reminder to ask Midoriya about his notebooks, just as Nezu returned, grinning evilly.
For her, the moment stuck because of how much she'd hurt her own child without meaning to. It was a moment that had popped up more than once in her nightmares on the worst nights and usually it far surpassed any other scenario because it had already come to pass.
So of course, she began to do the only thing she could think of to make up for it. At every single opportunity, she made sure to do her best to always be a shining beacon of safety for her child. Of course, that was her job as a mother anyways but she went out of her way to do practically everything for him whether he asked or not to help.
Inko was fully crying now, this universe's version of her was nearly identical to how she had handled the situation. And while she was trying to be supportive of Izuku as he went to UA, she still regretted her past actions.
It wasn't for naught at least as the effort meant that every day, for the ten years since he'd been diagnosed when he returned from school at the least he would give her a small if potentially fake smile.
She knew when they were fake, and it was common but even a fake smile took some energy to maintain that meant he at least cared enough to try, and sometimes that was all she could really ask for.
Uraraka frowned as she saw Izuku's forced smile. She agreed with this version of Inko. They were very clearly fake, but it was a marginally good thing that he was still trying to be happy.
So when for what was more or less the first time in an entire decade of effort, her son had walked into the house and she'd hurried from the kitchen as she always did to greet him and let him know what hero news he missed at school.
This time however there had been two very noticeable differences. The first was that parts of him were covered in slime, like someone had used a quirk she'd never seen before and much more importantly….
He was pretty much completely unresponsive. He'd let out little more than a grunt to her greetings before he collapsed on the couch with a forlorn look.
And at that moment, she just knew that whatever was coming next would be hell for at least one of them.
Bakugou had tensed up at the mention of slime, and All Might's eyes were wide, wondering if it was going to show one of the moments he regretted most in life.
"Sweetie?" She'd asked, raising a brow in concern as she took a seat beside him, placing a hand on his leg. "Is something the matter?"
"…"
"Did someone use another quirk on you?" she asked, knowing the bullies had a track record for going far beyond normal shoves and blows at times. The response she got practically stopped her heart in her chest.
Mirio spoke up. "I know I'm not very familiar with Midoriya or his mum, but the fact that that was her first guess is really messed up. Like, I was bullied a bit because of my gimmicky Quirk, but no-one ever hurt me for it..."
Eri squirmed out of her seat and walked up to the front of the room, sitting in Izuku's lap as the boy had been propped up on a chair. She grabbed onto one of his hands, nuzzling into the boy's chest. 'Deku might have been hurt too… I have to help him like he helped me!'
"Villain attack."
"WHAT?!" Multiple yells were heard.
"WHAT?!" Her arms quickly wrapped around the child in worry as she pulled him in, eyes going wide. "Are you ok?! What happened?!"
"….Robbery. Villain wanted to use my body to escape." He explained vaguely, gripping tightly at the threads he was concentrating on. He pulled off his bag slowly, like it took all the energy he had and he pulled out his book, handing it to her. She gasped as she realized he'd opened it to a page with a specific signature. "All Might saved me. He was in the area chasing the villain and I got to talk with him for a couple of moments."
All Might flinched and removed his hand from Inko's, readying himself for the fallout of the words he knew were coming soon. Nezu looked at him pointedly and frowned slightly.
"Sweetie that's amazing! I know he's one of your favourite heroes!" Inko said, happy for him and smiling before she saw the look of utter anguish on his face and her heart dropped.
"….I asked him If I could be a hero without a quirk."
"Oh, honey…" He didn't need to elaborate for her to immediately understand what had happened. She moved to pull him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry…"
Inko had devolved further into crying, and people were glaring at All Might, already being able to guess what he had said from the alternate Izuku's mood. Uraraka was especially angry, a deadly look in her eyes as she stared at All Might.
Before her arms could get around him however, he suddenly stood straight up and bolted to his room, a slam coming from the door and her heart ached. It ached for his shattered dreams, but it also ached because that was the first time in the boy's entire life that he'd rejected his mother's comfort and affections.
In fact, it was the first time he'd ever shown his hurt so clearly in a long time, and Inko….
Inko had no idea what to do.
"Hey, look at Midoriya!" Someone called as the green-haired child stared at his desk dejectedly waiting for class to begin. Like always, there were harsh messages scribbled across the top just small enough that you'd only notice as long as you were near to it. "He looks like a zombie!"
"You mean ugly as a zombie?" Another voice asked as absent-mindedly traced the U in a comment with the word 'Useless'. He was used to blocking out the taunts and jeers. One of the girls let out a cruel laugh before talking to themselves.
As people started to arc up about these kids' treatment of Izuku, Nezu raised his paw. "Calm yourselves children. An investigation has already begun into our own version of Aldera, and I can assure you that if anything like this happened in our reality, it will not go unpunished.
"He's always been that. He looks more pathetic than normal though."
"Alright, what the fuck, you shitty nerd?" The familiar angry voice of Bakugou asked, barely managing to get the greenette to look in the blonde's direction with a small explosion. "Finally realized how much of a worthless shit stain you are?"
There was a smack as Uraraka punched the boy in the face. "How dare-"
"Yeah."
"-you… Deku?"
"You'll never be a-" Suddenly, the blonde stopped and blinked. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"…"
There was a moment of silence as it sank in, and then Katsuki lost it.
"DEKU WHAT THE FUCK?!" The angry teen growled, punching the boy's desk and setting off an explosion. "ALL THESE FUCKING YEARS AND YOU JUST FUCKING STOP?! WHAT THE SHIT YOU ASSHOLE?!"
Jirou made an 'ugh' noise. "Is he seriously getting angry about Midoriya doing exactly what he wanted him to do?" They looked over at Bakugou. "Guess you're an ass in every universe."
"…"
"ARE YOU REALLY THAT FUCKING PATHETIC?! AT THE LEAST I THOUGHT YOU HAD MORE PERSEVERANCE THAN THESE OTHER MORONS YOU BASTARD!"
Jirou made another angry noise. "Is this some convoluted form of encouragement? Or do you just become irrationally stupid when angry?" Bakugou growled.
"Shut up before I rip your earphones off and plug them into your ass."
Wow, Bakugou complimented Midoriya, even if in an insulting kind of way. That was something that never happened and it caught many of their classmates by surprise that no one said anything in response to that jab.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"
"Thanks for your advice yesterday, Kacchan. I'll keep it in mind for the future." The greenette said, without a trace of sarcasm or really anything but defeat in his voice. Most were just confused about what he was referencing but the three boys who had been there shared looks of disbelief.
Most people were confused. 'What advice would thisBakugou give him?'
Considering he'd essentially been told to kill himself that didn't bode well.
Bakugou was narrowly saved from another knuckle sandwich, courtesy of Uraraka again, by Aizawa's capture weapon. "Sit. Down. If this happened in our own reality, we will deal with it. You have to remember that this is an alternate dimension. If you cannot separate that in your mind, You will be asked to leave."
Uraraka grumbled, but nodded, and was placed down in her chair by Aizawa's capture weapon.
"….Tch. Fuck you Deku." Was all the blonde seemed to think to say as he went back to his seat, his entire rant amazingly forgotten as their teacher finally walked in.
There wasn't another comment made about the Quirkless boy that day, mainly out of confusion of what was even going on with him.
Even after a few days had passed, Izuku was still no better than when he had walked into his house and explained what had happened to his mother.
Once he'd done that, he'd ended up running to his room to cry and once that was out of the system it was like his emotions just… switched off. Questions directed his way rarely got more than hums and one-word answers just to assure whoever was talking to him he heard them
Inko was crying again, and All Might was staring at the screen in despair. What if this had happened in their own timeline? If Izuku hadn't run in to save Bakugou, All Might was sure that he would have missed out on the perfect successor for One for All forever.
He couldn't bring himself to care about even something as small and important as eating. He was just drifting by at the moment, surviving in a horrible limbo state where he could only replay the day over and over in his mind when he wasn't distracting himself with menial tasks.
It had been a more or less ordinary day, if a little more exciting with the debut of Mount Lady but it quickly devolved with Kacccan's verbal abuse reaching a new height and his physical abuse being more focused on his property.
He just had to do that, just had to make Izuku take the long way around to grab his book and get stuck in happier memories. Make him show up and just the right moment for the slime and All Might to show up.
Of course, once the greenette had seen his chance, he had taken it, clinging onto the man for dear life as they soared through the air. For the briefest of moments the villain he managed to capture had slid away in the chaos but the man had grabbed It just in time as he landed before berating the boy.
There was a yell from multiple people as they saw All Might take off with Izuku in tow. Had their own Izuku done that? All might have realised that this universe was probably different because the sludge villain had been kept secure, making it so he never got to see Izuku's heroic spirit.
Then he had to go and ask that stupid, stupid question….
All Might flinched as he was wracked with guilt.
"Izuku? Did I get you a flavour you don't like?" His mother's voice suddenly brought him back into the current moment and he sighed. In both their hands were chocolate ice cream cones they had gotten while taking a walk through the park.
"It's a good flavour." He commented lamely, giving a half-hearted attempt and eating it before stopping and continuing on, ignoring his mother's worried gaze.
Inko sniffled as she watched. She was beside herself with guilt and anger and… a million other emotions. Regret was a major player in her mind, showing her images of her own treatment of Izuku.
She had been at it non-stop this week, doing every last thing she seemed to be able to think of to find a way to improve his mood. Old tapes of them together were dug out, an outing to a new movie that most certainly wasn't cheap, a more fancy dinner at a restaurant and now even just a simple walk in the park together to try to clear his head.
It seemed she was pulling out every stop she had to try to help him. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate it but he still just couldn't find it in him to care anymore.
Yaoyarozu, who had studied psychology before, sighed and placed her hand on her chest. "These are all signs of incredibly potent clinical depression. To think that our own classmate could have gone through something similar to this.."
Uraraka balled up her fists and tried to not cry for Izuku. She failed.
"…Hang on one moment, sweetie." Inko suddenly requested as she hurried off somewhere. He just nodded and continues to try to work his way through his ice cream at a pace that would make a snail look like it was the fastest creature in the universe. "-don't mind?"
"Of course not! Always got to be willing to lend a hand, even if it's not the usual kind." A gruff voice said, making the greenette look up to see all the people his mom found, Death Arms and Mount Lady. "So, you're the kid huh?"
"You're a cute one." The female pro commented with a small smirk, before humming. "Hey, I could have sworn I saw you at my debut!"
"…I was there."
"Oh yeah, you were at the back taking notes." Death Arms chuckled in realization, while the elder Midoriya just looked confused though not necessarily surprised. "So, here you're quirkless and a little down about it right now."
"Not gonna lie kid, being quirkless sounds like it sucks." The gigantification pro admitted, before getting a light hit in the shoulder and a warning glare from the super-strength pro. "But! You can still do awesome things if you put your mind to them, right? Maybe pick up an instrument and learn, or start helping sell hero merch!"
"Wow, way to be subtle. Do they not teach you how to talk to civilians properly in the Hero course?" Most people were surprised that Mei Hatsume was watching, as well as the fact that she seemed to realise what bad social cues were.
Nezu shook his head. "We do, but Death Arms did not go to UA. I cannot say if other schools have that sort of curriculum."
Mei huffed and turned back to the screen, looking more focused than anyone had ever seen her.
"If you're in the habit of taking notes about pro's." Death Arms cut in while rolling his eyes, reaching into his pocket and taking out a picture of which he seemed to have many. "Then maybe even consider looking into becoming a professional analyst for new heroes. There's plenty you can still do, and one of those things is getting an autograph!"
Nezu stroked his chin. "He's an analyst? I may have to have a bit of a chat about his notes with Mr Midoriya after this…"
With that, he gave the greenette the photo of his which was pre-signed and the pro gave thumbs up. Mount Lady hummed, reaching into what appeared to be the only pocket in her outfit and pulled out a pen, quickly scribbling on the back of the picture. "And mine as well! Shame you gotta see this mug before my beautiful penmanship."
"Oi! I'm way better looking than those scribbles."
There were a few chuckles. 'Way to stay focused, Mt Lady.'
"Thank you," Izuku said simply before the two could argue, giving a deep bow. His facial expression hadn't changed at all. The two shared a glance with his mother who just looked saddened.
"Well uh, just keep it in mind kid."
He nodded. It didn't matter. All he wanted to do was to be a hero, he already knew he could do anything else but none of that would help now.
Aizawa sighed inwardly, rubbing his eyes. 'Seems like he's as determined to be a Hero as our own Midoriya. I'm going to bet this is a theme.'
He was thankful to have met the two heroes, but perhaps really any other time would have been better.
Soon enough, he was on his way with his mother and his mood hadn't changed at all. What did he even have to feel out of this emptiness?
Regret, self-pity, anger and sadness. Maybe it was for the best he'd shut down like this.
"Deku! Don't give up! I'm sure if anyone could become a Quirkless hero, it would be you!" Uraraka's sudden yell spooked a few people, and Inko just smiled at the girl.
Logar chuckled. "Unfortunately the other Izuku will not be able to hear your encouragement, Miss Uraraka. But you are correct. From what I saw earlier, there are quite a few Quirkless Hero Izuku's out there in the multiverse.
All Might smiled at that. It was good to know that his son successor would be successful, even without One for All.
It had been an entire week since the incident with All Might had happened and Izuku was still not really there, as he carried a heavy basket filled with groceries for his mother around on her newest venture to cheer him up.
They were at a special shopping district, 'the Mile Market', named for the fact that it was a street lined with shops for exactly a mile. It was a public street where vendors could set up for free, so it could be different every time someone meant making it perfect for multiple outings while often being able to serve a practical use at the same time by selling stuff.
Without a doubt the most popular attraction of the city, and also really the only one. Much like everything else though, Izuku found he lacked the ability to care as they made their way through the street while purchasing things they needed from the vendors, the younger greenette quiet all the while.
"Look at how broken he is…" Amajiki's whisper wasn't loud enough for most to hear, but Mirio put his arm around his friend's shoulder and squeezed.
He was even more distracted than usual really, unable to get the decision he'd made in his class that day out of his head. It had been time to finally submit forms for where everyone wanted to go for their high school and the greenette had his last opportunity to put anything besides U.A. down just to be safe.
To know he had a future, even if not the one he wanted.
And instead left it and submitted fully with the knowledge it would more than likely end in nothing but misery for him.
Izuku stirred slightly, arms wrapping around Eri as he made a sad face for a second before he went limp again. Apparently their Izuku disagreed with that statement.
"Izuku?"
"…hm."
Inko sighed, stopping and turning to him with sad eyes. "Son, we really need to talk about this state of yours."
"…."
"It's not healthy, and I'm really starting to worry about you." She sighed, clenching her fist. "I want to help you feel better but nothing I'm doing is working. Please, if there is anything just tell me. I can't stand seeing you like this."
"….I-"
"AGGHHHH!" A sudden scream grabbed both their attention and they turned to see a villain storming through the street all of a sudden, jets of water streaming from his hand and ruining the stalls around him into wreckages and throwing people down.
"A villain! Can't this Izuku catch a break?! What is he an anime character?!" Everyone elected to ignore Kaminari, although now that Nezu thought about it, Izuku's life was similar to many shonen tropes.
"ALRIGHT FUCKERS GET DOWN NOW!" He demanded, and the two greenette's complied immediately. Admittedly, even if it wasn't a positive emotion, Izuku was definitely feeling something now. Worry and fear. "THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO. YOUR GONNA GIVE ME EVERY LAST VALUABLE YOU HAVE, EVERY SINGLE BIT OF MONEY ON YOU AND IF YOU DON'T IT WON'T BE PRETTY!"
"I'm glad that the heroes arrived swiftly! It is both their and our duty to be there to help protect the innocent at all times!"
A few people chuckled in reaction to Iida's impromptu speech, but most were focused on the villain.
"No one is going to be handing anything to you, villain!" A gruff voice called and relief flooded the two Midoriya's momentarily as they saw Death Arms and Mount Lady approaching. The latter may not have been massively useful in a place like this but any pro to help was welcome at the moment. "This was a terrible decision on your part! A public place such as this is where you chose to attack?!"
"They shouldn't have been here." The quirkless boy barely heard the water villain hiss, then he turned to the two and time froze as their eyes locked. The villain suddenly blasted towards him and his mom and before he could register what was happening a spray hit him hard enough to blast him back into a nearby wall and collapse into the ground. "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING NEAR ME YOU TWO, OR I'LL TURN THE FATTY'S INSIDES TO MUSH WITH A PRESSURE WASH!"
"Inko!/Mama Midoriya!/Mrs Midoirya!"
Bakugou growled at the villain on screen, his hands unconsciously popping off with sparks. As rude and abrasive as he was, no-one messed with Inko Midoriya and lived as long as he had anything to say about it.
The younger Midoriya weakly raised his head as It ached and his eyes widened with horror as he saw the villain stepping on his mother with a hand to her head, her face betraying her sheer terror.
His body shook as the world slowed and he really realized what he was seeing.
His mother, the only person in his life to remain constantly with him, never leaving his side and always doing everything she could even into this past week trying to keep him happy.
The only family he had, and really only friend for that matter. His own flesh and blood was about to be murdered in front of him…
(Clouds, dark and grey began to fill the sky.)
"What was that?! Was that a Hero's Quirk?" Kirishima yelled over to Nezu, who shook his head.
"No, Mr Kirishima, there are no registered heroes in the Mustafu area that have the ability to control the weather to such effect. I believe that this might be the Mr Midoriya of this universe's doing.
And he was as powerless as ever. Unable to do anything.
He was so pathetic he couldn't even save his own damn mother! He was just some weak, worthless nerd with nothing to him who was just a punching bag.
(His fingers dug through the solid concrete, pulling it away as his nails began to break and his entire form continued to shudder.)
Kaminari cheered. "Look at him! He's ripping through concrete with his fingers! Is this his Quirk manifesting? He's super strong in our universe too!"
She was going to die because of exactly what he'd always been told, the fact he was a powerless loser.
(Lightning struck right at his side, destroying the cart beside him. Another struck the wall behind, caving it in.)
SHE WAS GOING TO DIE AND HE WAS GOING TO DO NOTHING BUT SIT THERE AND WATCH?!
Inko gasped, hating seeing her baby in so much pain. All she wanted to do was reach through the screen and give the boy a hug.
"No! NO! NOOO AGAHHHHHHHHHHHH"
All eyes were fixated on him in shock as the ground beneath him cracked and crumbled. His once non-existent muscles swelled up and most of his hair spiked into the air in a new style as it's green and black colour faded into a vibrant glowing gold that left everyone stunned.
"Ok, that is definitely not his Quirk. That's literally just him going Super Saiyan! Is his Quirk in this world being a Saiyan? Cause that would be incredibly powerful, given Goku and Vegeta's track records…"
Everyone stared at Momo as he went on her tangent. Mina squealed. "Miss Yaoyarozu enjoys watching shonen Anime! That's adorable!"
His head jerked up and his eyes were revealed to them all. They were a glowing turquoise colour that struck a chord into all their hearts.
And all he could see was red.
Kaminari squeaked. "Remind me never to piss off Midoriya please Jirou, I don't think I could take a beat down from a Saiyan."
"Izu….ku?!" Inko coughed out, in such a massive combination of emotions that it was near impossible to pin down a specific one. The pros were stunned beyond belief, having recognized the kid from the park and remembered how he was supposed to be some powerless and quiet kid.
Aizawa huffed, "Powerless my ass, if that kid is an actual Saiyan, then he's gonna be stronger than fucking All Might at some point". He ignored the stares given to him for knowing what a Saiyan was.
Now, he practically looked like another person. In fact, there was almost a case to be made that he looked like a miniature All Might with much spikier hair and a far more intimidating aura around him.
"What the hell!? STAY BACK, KID!" The villain shouted, raising his hands for a moment and firing at him in a shocked panic. That was when he moved or more accurately, that was when he finished moving.
Once the spray stopped and the villain looked again the child was gone and so was his hostage. All eyes looked around for them, and they settled far down the other end of the street, barely visible at the distance were the two Midoriya's.
"Holy shit he's fast! I wonder if all the other Midoriya's we're gonna see are this Manly!" Take a wild guess who said that.
Inko laid on the ground still in pain and absolutely flabbergasted. Since when could her son do THIS?!
"Don't worry Mama Midoriya! I would be flabberghosted or whatever that word was as well if I saw that!" Mina smiled at Inko, and the woman just nodded, looking worried for her alternate son.
Midoriya, stood tall. Where he was in the right state of mind, the sensible thing to do would be to get away, but he most certainly was not in the right state of mind.
All he could feel at this moment was a torrent of fury, and a target in the water villain. In less than a second, he was back behind the villain and his fist came down.
SMACK!
"AHHH!" The villain let out a painful cry as he collapsed in a heap. The teen wanted to do so much more but very barely he finally managed to get a loose grip on himself, just enough to focus on what was really important.
Kaminari cheered "Holy shit he knocked him out in one hit! And look how far he went! This Midoirya is a fucking badass!"
Getting his mom away.
He was beside her at a speed that seemed more like teleporting than actual movement to anyone but him. His own eyes made it easy to see every single moment of it, like they had gotten faster with him.
No-one said anything as Izuku flashed out of sight for a moment, too shocked to speak. That was even faster than their own Izuku was!
He picked up his mother with one hand, keeping her over his shoulder which was no small feat of strength, and then he was off again.
It took them an hour and forty-five minutes when they had walked to the market originally. It only took thirty seconds for them to get back with this sudden newfound speed.
The now golden-haired teen bolted up the stairs to their apartment, stopping and gently setting his mother on the couch before standing back. Without a focus now, the pro's already likely having handled the villain, his rage began to subside and very suddenly his new form disappeared.
His hair dropped down, returning to normal along with his eyes. His muscles shrunk back into the thin twigs they were before finally, it all caught up with him.
Momo gasped. "Oh my Goodness!, he's an actual Super Saiyan!. Even base-level Goku can destroy planets, what would Super Saiyan Midoriya be able to do? He could be stronger than All Might!"
As dark spots began to appear around the edge of his vision and he fell back into his seat, his mother still thoroughly confused as to what just happened, he uttered out the only explanation he could currently think of before he lost his grip on the waking world.
"I have.. a power?"
The screen went dark.
And then chaos erupted.
"And that was actually Midoriya from another timeline?!"
"Dude, he manifested his Quirk to defend his mum! How freaking Manly is that!"
"He was quite impressive! I wonder if he will ever reach the level that Goku and Vegeta have attained!"
"Can we go to the next universe? This is super cool!"
Bakugou just lowered himself into his chair. He pitied the alternate him. He would never admit it, but he had watched Dragon Ball and all of its sequels. If that version of Izuku was an actual Saiyan, then the alternate Bakugou was fucked.
'But who knows, maybe it's just a Quirk that looked like a Super Saiyan transformation.' Bakugou thought, definitely not pulling at strings to comfort himself and soothe his pride.
Logar clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone! While that wasn't very helpful for your future endeavours, I do admit that it was entertaining, even if a few parts were a bit angsty."
The screen started showing randomly coloured orbs as Logar waved his hands around a bit. "I have selected another universe for our viewing. Again, I am unsure of the specifics of the universe, so be warned."
He clapped his hands, and the screen lit up a forest green colour. He sat down, and the next universe played.
