234A/N: This is something new. I've had this idea sorta brewing up for a while and I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to tackle it. Honestly, I still don't, in some parts. I do have a general idea of what I'm doing though, it's just filler and setup that need the most work in the writing phase.
This first chapter will be the test, so to speak. It's the hardest chapter to typically write in any story, so there's that. I've always been a Mysterio fan, and the Far From Home movie did a really good job with him (expect some elements from that movie). I really hope this works out.
I'm going to clarify a few things before this officially starts:
One: Izuku will never be getting One for All in this story, so he will be 100% quirkless. One for All will be passed on, however to whom I will not say. I will say though, it's probably not going to be Mirio.
Two: The sludge incident will be pushed up a few years, mainly for plot convenience. Izuku needs time to learn what he needs to learn and whatnot.
Three: This story will, for the most part, be told in Izuku's perspective. He will not be attending UA, so information on canon events such as the USJ attack and the Sports Festival will remain limited. However for the Sports Festival, I'm going to have Izuku take an interest in it though, and probably watch it, though I'm not going to retell the whole thing.
Four: Regarding Katsuki, he is a problem (mainly with how I'm going to write him). I mean, he's going to be the main reason this alternate timeline will happen. Though, in this story, he will be different, in a better way, at least when the main part takes off. I'll try not to bash him too hard.
Five: Regarding villains, I am probably going to add original ones from time to time. They're probably going to mostly be one-offs though, and I'm definitely not gonna forget about our canon MHA version of the boys.
Six: Regarding the Infinity Stones, I'm on the fence about whether or not I should or shouldn't include them. I have interesting plot points in mind if I do (especially with the Reality Stone). Let me know what you guys think about that.
Seven: Regarding a pairing, I'm just going to go out and say now that I'm not going to take suggestions. I have a pairing in mind already, but I'm not 100% sure if it's going to take off or not. We'll see. It's going to be an underrated pairing though.
Eight: No, Spider-Man will not be in this story, at least not now or anytime soon, sorry to disappoint anyone. However, like I said in number five, I may incorporate some villains. I've been thinking of someone like Vulture or Electro based, not sure yet though. We should probably get through the first phase of the story first, right?
Nine: Eri has yet to be decided on the role she'll play in the future. I'm aging her up, that much is certain, and no she won't be the love interest. We'll have to see what happens coming up, and if anyone has suggestions then I'm willing to take them in a review.
Ten: I'm also considering adding a Multiverse, so to speak. This means other Izukus and stuff. I know a lot of other people do this already, but I've always been a fan of that sorta thing and it actually goes well with the stuff I'm trying to incorporate. Let me know if you guys are up for that as well.
Alright, that's enough for now. I'm going to get on with the story before I bore you people to death.
Midoriya Izuku. It was the name of a green haired, freckled boy that would go on to inherit one of the most powerful quirks in his time and go on to be the greatest hero that ever lived. His hero name, Deku, once used to bring him misery was turned into something he could instead be proud of and give people hope. From a bullied boy to an inspirational hero that saved the world.
This is not the direction this story took, not one bit.
It all started when a young boy found out he was quirkless.
"You should probably give it up."
It was then the heart of a dreaming young boy, shattered. He dropped his All Might action figure to the floor as his body unintentionally freezed. He became lost in his thoughts as his mother and the doctor conversed about his condition.
Izuku was smart, he was aware of what the word 'condition' meant. It meant something was wrong with him, and from what he could gather, it was the fact he was never going to have something that made everyone else so special.
A quirk.
After that, he would only watch one particular All Might video nonstop. It was something he could cling to in this desperate time, desperately reaching out for something to cling his heart to. His mom didn't even try to encourage him, only repeating the phrase 'I'm sorry' whilst hugging him tightly and crying. He couldn't help but hurt a little more because of that, and he ended up wondering if she had some kind of changed opinion over him.
That was the first time he became utterly broken.
The second? That was arguably a bit worse than the first. It was when he had told his best friend, the one that he had grown up with since birth, about it.
"Pfft, quirkless? What hero is gonna need someone like you? Give it up."
That's what sparked years of torture and torment. Years of hurt and pain on both a physical and emotional level. Years of being later a useless, worthless Deku. Years of being an outcast and a loner, all for one reason. Being quirkless.
He still dreamt though. Heroes were still amazing in their own right, and through the years he never gave up hope on becoming like one of those great heroes, like All Might, a hero that said anyone could be a hero. That's what makes the third thing sting ever so slightly more than the rest.
A school day at Aldera Middle School has just ended, and Izuku couldn't help but smile. A recent incident had made it all over the headlines and the boy possessed an almost unnatural eagerness to write it all down in one of his many notebooks. It was a natural hobby he picked up a little over a year ago, and he even surprised himself with how into it he had gotten.
Just as he grabbed his notebook and prepared to put it in his bag, a hand reached over and grabbed it out of his hands. "So, Deku, I hear you still have a certain dream of becoming a hero."
The now petrified boy glanced up only to see a scolding face looking down at him. Katsuki Bakugo, Izuku's former childhood friend and current bully, subtly waved the notebook in front of him. Izuku began to unconsciously sweat bullets and give a small reach forward.
Katsuki was always a popular child. It was all due to his powerful quirk, Explosion. He was always praised and followed, almost like a sort of godly figure, and because of that people followed him to Izuku, and bullied him. That never did stop Izuku from following Katsuki though, much to his disdain.
"Hey, Katsuki, what's that?" Another boy approached from behind, questioning his leader curiously with a smirk on his face.
Katsuki gave the journal a glance, "Huh? 'Hero Analysis for the Future 13'?"
The goons behind Katsuki mockingly laughed at Izuku's expense and Katsuki still held the notebook.
"P-Please g-give it back! I-It's fine, right?" All Izuku got in response was an explosion greeting itself to his notebook. Izuku was once again left hurt, on the verge of tears after seeing his notebook being blown up.
Katsuki then tossed Izuku's prized notebook out the window. Izuku jumped and flailed his arms in dismay. The spiky blonde fixed him with a fierce glare, "I really don't get why it hasn't gotten into your head at this point…" he trailed off as he backhanded the green haired boy, making him fall to the ground due to his frail structure. The explosive spiky haired blonde glared down at him. "I don't know why you still think you have a chance, just give it up." He then crouched down and picked Izuku up by the hair, lifting him up a small ways. "Do it before I make you do it." He popped off a few small explosions near the greenettes face for good measure before releasing him.
It was then the trio began to walk away from the boy on the ground. The two lackeys laughed and began calling him pathetic, among other things. Izuku wasn't really listening though, as he laid prone on the ground, his fists balled and tried his hardest not to let the floodgates open.
Katsuki suddenly stopped walking only a foot or two away from the door, and with a smile he turned around with a wicked smile. "You know, there's a quick and easy way to get a quirk." Izuku perked up after hearing that, despite his gut telling him what was about to be said would hurt. "Take a swan dive straight off the roof, and believe you'll be born with a quirk in your next life."
The goons laughed while Katsuki gave a small chuckle before leaving the room. That's when Izuku finally let the floodgates open, and the tears began to flow.
Eventually, he gathered his bearings, wiped away the tears and left the room with his belongings. He went outside to try and recover his notebook, which luckily landed in a small box of water (maybe not water, is it sewage?), with fish attempting to eat it.
Izuku grabbed the soaked and burnt notebook as the fish swam away. He looked at it, reminiscing in old memories before walking away from the school and toward his home.
He soon found himself under a bridge, which unknown to him was notorious in other universes.
He stopped walking, looking down at his own shadow as his grip unconsciously tightened around his notebook. 'Maybe they're right, I should just jump, maybe I'll be more useful in my next life with a quick instead of a useless-' he kicked a rock with his right foot, making it skip ahead. He sighed sadly, 'Deku'.
He let out an emotion filled sigh as he walked forward again. Just before exiting the tunnel however, he caught a strange noise filling his ears. Curiosity killed the greenette as he turned around to investigate.
His eyes grew as he began to tremble at witnessing the rising of sludge from a manhole nearby. The boy immediately knew it was a villain, as it began to clump into a larger blob forming glaring eyes that looked down at him. A mouth formed into a devious smile as it spoke, "A medium-sized invisibility cloak…"
The boy immediately tried to make a run for it, but all was for naught as the sludge villain jumped and immediately pounced on his prey. "Don't worry. I'm just going to take over your body. Calm down. It'll only hurt for about 45 seconds-"
He spoke more after that but Izuku's senses started to fail him, as his vision blurred and his hearing became distorted. He could barely render what was around him. He couldn't breathe and his eyes began to water as the sludge filled into his mouth in an attempt to steal his body. He desperately and reflexively tried to grab what was over his mouth, but to no success. The sludge villain made a snarky comment about how he was fluid, and thus couldn't be grabbed, among other things, but Izuku couldn't understand him. He began to feel his strength deplete as he desperately yelled for help within his own mind. Eventually he closed his eyes, tears still flowing, partly accepting this fate. Perhaps now everyone would get what they wanted, was something he thought.
That's when, suddenly, the manhole cover behind them blew open with a cloud clang. The sludge villain turned around with wide eyes. The boy had since lost his senses completely, now fully unaware of what was happening around him. The sludge villain began to panic as it attacked the newcomer, only to get blown away a mere moment later by an extreme gust of wind.
The boy was released and he opened his eyes, his senses returning. His vision fell in and out of blur, but he was able to see the image of the number one hero before he completely blacked out.
When he awoke, All Might, his favorite hero, was slapping him in the face repeatedly and at a rapid speed to attempt and wake him. "Thank goodness," he commented. Izuku scooched back in a hurry and panic at seeing the hero in front of him. A part of him was in shock and another in disbelief. "I'm glad you're okay," All Might continued. He then apologized that Izuku had gotten caught up in his villain fighting. He then thanked the boy and showed off the captured, and promptly knocked out, sludge villain in a bottle.
Izuku was still freaking out about how he was actually in the presence of such a renowned hero, not to mention his all time favorite. As Izuku was about to ask for an autograph, All Might pointed out he had already down it in his notebook in which Izuku promptly freaked out and began thanking and complimenting him.
All Might was then about to leave. "Well, I need to take this guy to the police station," he said as he pat the bottle in his pocket. The small and frail green haired boy began to internally panic. There were still so many things that he needed to ask him!
So, just as All Might took off, he patched himself into his leg. They then sprung up into the sky. It didn't take long for All Might to notice something was wrong and quickly look down at his legs. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," he commented before gently trying to get fanatic off of his legs.
"If I… let go now… I'll… I'll die…!" Was Izuku's protest. All Might quickly found that he was correct and stopped trying to shove the boy off. They then landed on a nearby building
"Good grief, I'm sure if you talk to the people downstairs, I'm sure they'll let you down," All Might said as he began to walk away from the recuperating boy. "I seriously am outta time, so I really must go."
Izuku quickly recovered, standing up with sweat pouring down from his body as he tried to go after the hero. "Wait! Um.." He tried reaching out to the hero, despite the fact his back was turned and walking the other direction.
"No! I will not wait!" All Might continued walking away, and Izuku's hand began to fall as he remembered everything about his childhood. Everyone criticizing him for his lack of a quick and so-called idiotic dream of becoming a hero. This was his last chance, he needed to ask All Might! The one who said anyone could be a hero if they tried hard enough!
"Even if I don't have a Quirk, can I become a hero?" He quickly spouted out. All Might stopped walking. "Can someone without a Quirk be like you?"
All Might turned around to look at the boy before suddenly disappearing in a puff of smoke. Izuku was shocked, to say the least, and when the smoke cleared he was even more so. All Might had essentially deflated.
All Might went on to explain that he was, in fact, All Might and that it was similar to guys at a pool flexing and posturing. He showed the boy his injury, a crippling weakness the hero had gotten five years ago that shortened his hero time to a mere three hours a day.
All Might told him, he can't simply say he could be a hero without power. Izuku was shocked and saddened, he knew what this meant. "If you truly wish to help others, then you could become a police officer. They're often teased because they get villains delivered to their doorstep, but that is also a fine occupation." All Might then opened the door to leave, but he didn't go until one last thing was said. "It's not bad to dream. But you also have to consider what's realistic, young man." With that said, he closed the door behind him and left.
Still on the roof, Izuku couldn't help but let loose a few tears as his teeth grit and a fist became ever so slightly tighter. He was frustrated, that much was certain. Nobody believed he could do anything. Not his best friend, the teachers at school, not even his own mother. Now though, not even All Might, the number one hero, the hero that said anyone can become a hero, told him no. You need power.
An explosion in this distance brought him out of his thoughts. He became shocked and began to rush toward the door geeking out about what heroes would show up. But, he stopped. He remembered what All Might said. What they all said. Then, he made the decision to go home.
Though, on his way home, he walked by the site of the villain attack. He didn't know why exactly he had shown up there, but he assumed it was by a force of habit. He felt meaningless and without a purpose as he sadly approached the crowd of people.
He managed to look between them enough to see a familiar sludge villain; his eyes widened. Why was he there? Didn't All Might have him? Then it occurred to him, if it weren't for him latching onto All Might, he would still have the villain in custody. It was his fault. He caused this attack.
"Why aren't the heroes doing anything?" A person nearby asked another. The other person looked over to the questioner to respond.
"They can't; apparently the villain caught a junior high schooler and it's been like that for a while."
Izuku looked more closely into the chaos, more specifically the sludge villain. He began to wonder how someone was able to bear the suffocation long enough to be able to go on for 'a while'.
Izuku further blamed himself as people spoke about how the villain had somehow escaped All Might. He was useless.
There was nothing he could do here; so with that thought he left the scene, his head hung low as tears threatened to release once again.
It didn't take him long for him to reach his home, in which his mother worryingly asked him if he was alright. He didn't give her too much of a response, but he did display a fake smile and with hands held up assured her that he was alright. He then retreated to his room.
He couldn't help but get on the computer and watch the video that had once sparked his dream to become a hero. He only watched it once, though, because the emotions were just too much for him to handle. All he wanted was to save someone with a smile, but instead-
"You're just a useless Deku!"
"You should probably give it up."
"What can you do? You're quirkless!"
"I can't simply say you can be a hero without power."
He unconsciously slammed his hands on the desk, actually managing to hurt himself. He was too frustrated for those thoughts, and figured he may soon lose himself.
He took out his notebook, flipping to an open page and thought about writing about some kind of new hero or something. But he just couldn't feel up to it, at all.
He, instead, thought about when he was really little and used to watch really old television shows about fictional heroes, predating the era of quirks. He used to get lost in them when he was little, always fantasizing about being a hero similarly to them.
He remembered this one hero. He was dark and smart, always able to uncover a mystery and take down any bad guy. The best part about him? He was quirkless! He was a master strategist and only used his own custom gadgets to help him fight, but he knew all types of fighting techniques too.
He thought further into heroes than he really had before, as he became lost in his own mind. It really wasn't fair, was it? People like Katsuki Bakugo, who tormented people 'below him' his entire life, get to apply to the best hero school in the country. Someone who had an attitude of a small child not getting what they want, always attacking and spouting 'DIE' at anyone who opposes him. Was that really fair?
No, it wasn't. The more he thought of that, the more angry he became. The comic he was holding began to wrinkle as his hands tightened around it. Now that he thought about it, people became heroes for fame and fortune nowadays too, didn't they? People like Uwabami only wanted fame and public spotlight from being a hero. People like Mt. Lady craved the attention and glory of it. The heroes at the scene earlier only stood there being useless as someone was suffocating!
They were all fakes, not heroes. They didn't deserve to be a hero, none of them! They didn't take it seriously at all!
He instantly got drawn out of his thoughts as a sudden noise entered his ears. A rip, to be more precise. He looked down at his hands to see he had been unconsciously gripping at a sheet in his notebook, which was slightly ripped now due to his own anger. He tried his best to straighten it out so he could fix it with tape.
He got out tape and began to fix the page as his mind wandered once again. He thought about it more and more, about how the heroes of old were able to do so much more with their kind and prowess and not just some power they were born with.
He ended up thinking: could he do it too? Was it actually possible to be something big without a superpower?
He vaguely remembered some old comics from when he was younger. They didn't have the money to buy any, but Izuku would often go to the store and browse their many selections of old comic books. There were multiple heroes and villains that utilized technology to make them a feared combatant, like one used gear and weapons, another an armored suit, and he vaguely remembered a villain that used special effects as well as illusions to manipulate his enemy. There were many more but those were the big ones that had always stood out to Izuku, especially after he found out he was Quirkless.
That's when it hit him. How could I have been so blind? He gave a frustrated chuckle to himself as he thought about the one that could help him. Technology. Technology was so advanced now that the potential uses for it could be almost limitless. Hell, without quirks even existing they would've colonized Mars by now.
But this was simple yet complicated. Heroes used support gear all of the time to help them fine-tune their Quirks, and help them hone their strengths and funnel their weaknesses out. For a Quirkless person, it would depend on what they were trying to do. For strength, they would need weaponry of some sort: guns, bows, melee, with more branches of custom options.
But to Izuku brute strength wasn't necessary enough. It was all about the mind. If you could outsmart your opponent and prepare ahead of time, you could win almost every time. Though, it would depend on the opponent and what mind games are played. But he thought, no, knew, that was the most effective way to win a fight.
Maybe instead of hitting someone's physical weakness, someone pokes their mental ones. You get them stirred up, off-balanced, confused. You could use their worst fears against them. Hallucinations, hypnosis, trickery, are just a few examples of accomplishing that.
He could learn those things and implement their ideas into different things. Izuku knew he would have to learn them, and learn how to build certain things, but he knew he was smart; he knew he could accomplish the task.
Screw being a hero. They were corrupt and hypocritical. He couldn't take them seriously anymore, he hated them. With what he knows now, what he's figured out, he could purge the fakes out. He needed to climb to the top, use the influence of a top hero to manipulate the standards and rules. He'd need to play the part of a hero.
This was something he could do. He knew he could do this. He would use this… illusionary power to show them- no, show the world that Quirkless isn't helpless. He would fix the corrupt hero system and bring it back to what it was supposed to be, while encouraging others like him they could step up and be something greater.
He'd show them all...
By. Any. Means. Necessary.
A/N: Well that's the first chapter. Mainly setup for what's to come soon, and the next chapter will pick up where this one left off, so that will be setup for the main event too. The third chapter is probably where we'll see what's happening in other perspectives, and where the main story will start.
Sorry for any grammatical errors. I don't have an editor so things are probably going to end up slipping through from time to time.
Anyway let me know what you think of this first chapter and if the setup was pretty good. I know it's nothing exciting yet, but that's what next chapter will start doing. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Edit: Fixed the chapter to get rid of any direct referencing to comics and stuff of the sort. Trying to make it more realistic to the BMHA universe in which Izuku is smart enough to come up with the idea of being Mysterio himself without directly seeing his character anywhere.
Edit 2: I added a little preview for whats's to come in the future of the story.
Edit 3: Preview has been removed due to changes. It may be added back in at a later date but as of now it is being removed.