Well… here we are again.

So, I’m sure several of you have questions… the prevailing one being: WHERE IS EP?!?!?!?

Well, I’m sure you won’t like the answer: probably not coming.

This is for a myriad of reasons, but the primary one is that I’ve set up quite a few threads that I just… don’t have a desire to pull on anymore. The primary of which is, of course Shigaraki fucking Tomura.

I’ve never liked the guy. I thought he was a shit villain from the very moment he debuted and my opinion never got better, only worse. I sincerely never once understood how so many people thought he was a good villain just because he struggled to accomplish his goals. Especially since he had fucking Evil™ as his mentor. He is and was a petulant manchild and I utterly despised him. There was not a single moment in this entire manga where I actually liked Shigaraki. Not as a character. Not as a villain. Not even as a hate sink.

But for all of that, he still had potential to be a foil to Izuku and challenge his ideals. I really liked what Zabeck did in Hero Rises with him, and I wanted to do something similar back before All For One happened. You know, make him earn some of the shit he had just handed to him on a silver platter in canon. (Don’t even get me STARTED on Re-Destro and the MLA just… blegh. FUCK.) Now? I literally cannot bring myself to give a fuck.

And that doesn’t even go INTO what an utter fucking debacle the handling of SO many characters was. Izuku fucking regressed to pre ‘you CAN be a Hero!’ and became a fucking teacher out of nowhere. Spent the best part of a decade going backwards in time with his ‘friends’ basically ignoring him until they handed him a fucking supersuit that took that long to make for some fucking reason when All Might got his in less than a year. Hori-fucking-koshi bungled his fucking ending so badly that instead of ending the series like he wanted; he had to go and release an emergency “just kidding guys this is the real final chapter” chapter to fix some of his cock ups.

He learned nothing. He didn’t try to push on despite losing One For All. He didn’t continue trying to be a Hero. He settled until someone handed him a way to pick back up where he left off. Legitimately, not exaggerating even the slightest bit, he became the Deku everyone made him out to be in middle school.

“Oh, but EP Izuku isn’t canon Izuku!” Yeah, well, he had the same fucking backstory and that backstory is making me want to fucking vomit right now. And that doesn’t even go into the fact that Izuku’s Quirk in EP is just too fucking overpowered. It has TOO MANY aspects to it. Too many abilities that would EACH be a top tier Quirk in their own right. I gave him like five or six Quirks and was just like “hahaha NoOoOoO it’s just ONE Quirk guys!” I’m constantly having to contrive ways to keep fights interesting and every fucking time it amounts to putting my elbow on the scale on the villain side so that he can’t just hit the “I win” button. Just the telepathy alone is busted broken in this setting. Just give the enemy a good ol’ fucking aneurism!

Sooo… Yeah. That’s kind of where I am right now. I’ve planned and replanned and burned my notes and planned some more and replanned to try to make it work and I’m just fucking tired of it.

It’s not where I wanted to be. I wanted to continue. Clearly I can still have fun with MHA (surprisingly), but as things stand, I just… can’t have fun with EP.

So… here we are. I’ve got a cavalcade of ideas (really, it’s a fucking LOT of ideas) and I’m just going to start posting them for a while. We’ll see what wins in the end. Probably not this one though, as much as it made me cackle maniacally when I came up with it.

-]|[-

Midoriya Izuku had not been having a very good day.

No, more like he had not been having a very good week. Ever since he had learned about what had been happening to Eri-chan, and how both he and Mirio had inadvertently given her back to her abuser, he had been sick to his stomach.

Doubt, self-loathing, and every other negative emotion he could imagine had filled him when he realized that he had failed to save her. That poor girl was being harvested by Overhaul. She’d had bandages all over her. She had looked like she had been in the process of escaping from an illegal asylum… and yet he’d still given her back.

He knew Mirio-senpai had been absolutely kicking himself over it too. They had sworn they would save her during this raid.

And yet things had gone from bad to worse. That bastard had perfected his Quirk-Erasing bullets. And he’d successfully shot Mirio with one. Izuku’s senpai, one of the strongest, most capable Heroes Izuku had ever met, had just had his Quirk stolen from him. Permanently, since he doubted they’d be able to find anything to reverse the process in this destroyed compound.

And then Sir Knighteye got a huge spike of concrete through the gut. Everyone there knew that there was no way he would live. Not without the mother of all healing Quirks. And to make matters worse still… Izuku was failing. He couldn’t beat Chisaki. Even pushing One For All to ten percent wasn’t enough. He was just too slow. Too inexperienced with his Quirk. He’d had it for seven months. Been truly using it for even less.

Izuku had lamented his Quirklessness before. For years after his initial diagnosis, he had wished for things to be different. That he’d wake up, and it would all just be a bad dream. Now? Today?

For the first time, Izuku cursed his Quirklessness. Or rather… he cursed Kai Chisaki. ‘WHY?!’ He thought to himself as he dodged a barrage of snakelike concrete spikes. ‘Why did HE have to get this Quirk?! Such an amazing Quirk in the hands of a bastard like this?!’ He bared his teeth at the man as he dodged into the ceiling and bounced off of it. ‘He could be the world’s greatest doctor! He could perform miracles of surgery! He could capture villains en masse just by changing the pavement into prison cells!’ The very center of his palms started to ache as One For All continued to burn through his body. ‘It’s such an amazing Quirk with SO MANY benefits to society! Why does HE have it?!’ He dodged another round of spikes, feeling his muscles start to ache from overusing his Quirk.

He was caught in a trap and was forced to spike his Quirk usage up to twenty percent to blow the spikes away with a backhand. He winced from the pain as he felt something in his hand give. It wasn’t shattered like at a hundred percent, but he doubted he’d be able to take even one more move like that. Especially with his already-damaged glove coming apart and revealing his flesh. And as he floated there for a moment, a thought ran through his mind. ‘WHY COULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN MINE?!’

All the heartache, all the pain he’d experienced as a child… He wouldn’t have had to go through any of it with Overhaul! He could have been learning how to truly help people from a young age! He could have saved Eri from this son of a bitch without Mirio losing his Quirk! He could heal Nighteye! HE COULD HAVE FUCKING HEALED ALL MIGHT!

He wanted Overhaul. He wanted it so badly he didn’t even feel the agonizing stab of pain as One For All focused itself in the center of his palm. “CHISAKI!” He yelled, not even thinking as blocks of concrete surrounded him with the intent of crushing him into paste. He charged a hundred percent into his legs, shattering them and the sound barrier with them as he flew at the madman. ‘I WANT IT!’ He roared in his mind as his palm closed around Chisaki’s throat. The man gagged as he squeezed, though only with base-human strength. Even with the rage he felt, even with him thinking the most unheroic thoughts of his life… he was no murderer.

The two of them smashing into the ground at Mach Fuck threw up a cloud of dust that obscured a black and red flash. And then Izuku flew out of it, crying out as he hit the ground with a smash. He rolled a few times and came to a stop.

When the cloud cleared, Chisaki was on the ground as well. He groaned as he got up, feeling oddly exhausted as he got onto his hands and knees. “Damn Hero brat…” He rasped, his voice rough from the impact to his larynx, “I can heal myself, but it still hurts when I blow myself apart.” He growled out as he reached up.

Izuku bared his teeth again, in pain this time as he rolled onto his front. ‘Not again! I broke myself without thinking!’ His legs were shattered, and he hadn’t even taken Chisaki out! ‘AND WHY DO MY PALMS HURT?!’ He roared in his mind, turning his right hand out to look at it. And then he stopped. ‘Huh?’ There was a hole in his palm. He turned his hand over and looked at the back, finding nothing. He looked at his palm again… but nothing changed. There was still a hole in his palm. It wasn’t bleeding or anything. In fact, it was just a completely black hole in the center of his palm just a bit smaller than a one-yen coin. ‘What the heck?’

“What?” Chisaki growled out, his voice still rough. He patted himself a few times. “My Quirk.” He slammed a palm onto the concrete, only for nothing to happen again. “What is going on? WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

Izuku stared at the man, wide-eyed, as he watched him slap his hands on things with increasing panic. And then his eyes dropped to his palm, and then back at Chisaki. And then, not daring to believe it, he reached down to his legs. Instantly, knowledge of his own body flooded him. He saw each and every damaged bit in his mind’s eye. Something he knew shouldn’t have been possible.

And then something else appeared in his mind. A black mask. Multiple Quirks. All Might struggling to even hit the man. ‘That’s… not… possible, is it?’ He thought to himself in shock. But not so much shock that he couldn’t imagine his broken body being fixed.

He blipped. There was no explosion of gore. No pain. His body simply broke down into individual atoms in an instant and then reassembled itself. He lay there in disbelief. It had just been so… easy. ‘W-Was Chisaki that much of a mad butcher that he even subconsciously butchered himself when using his Quirk?’

He couldn’t help it. The situation was so bizarre that he started to laugh. It started as a low giggle that echoed in the grim silence of that basement. And then a chuckle. And then a loud, belly-aching laugh that rang through the shattered area.

And Kai Chisaki blew up at the noise. “WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT?!” He roared at Izuku.

Izuku continued to laugh as he got to his feet. His Hero uniform snagged on a piece of rebar that he had rolled near and tore when he got to his feet, revealing all of the healed wounds all over his torso. “Oh…” He said, catching sight of his scars. He looked at his arms all over as Chisaki got to his feet, ready to charge at Izuku.

And then Izuku touched himself and blipped again. His scars were gone. His fingers were no longer crooked. He felt good. He felt better than good. And Chisaki? He tripped and fell to his knees. “What?” He asked, horror in his voice. “That’s… that’s not possible!” He began to shake.

Izuku started to walk towards him and Chisaki’s shaking intensified as he got closer. And then confusion rose when Izuku walked right by him. Nighteye was gaping, a small string of blood pouring from his mouth. “Sir…” Izuku kneeled next to him.

“I-My Quirk- I never!” He babbled. Izuku reached down and Sir Nighteye blipped as well. The gigantic concrete spike (which honestly should have killed him minutes ago. He had been even more injured than All Might himself had been. The only vital organ he had that had been completely untouched had been his heart!) “It never foresaw this!” He patted his healed chest in shock… and a small amount of horror, if he were honest with himself. “All For One…”

“I… don’t think so…” Izuku winced, “I mean, I have the toe joint and everything.” He looked at his palm to avoid looking at the scared tinge on his mentor’s face, “And I could only feel One For All before…”

“Toe joint? But how can that be?! It guarantees you were Quirkless! Then…” Nighteye gasped, “Then the original Quirk… the one before Stockpile was added… Could they both have been the same all along?!”

“Is that possible?” Izuku asked, before being interrupted by Chisaki.

“Give it back. GIVE IT BACK!” Chisaki roared, “Without it I can’t cure this diseased world! I can’t keep Eri from rampa-”

Izuku’s face went flat, and he vanished from Nighteye’s side. “Shut-” He said mildly, “THE FUCK UP!” He roared as his clenched fist smashed into Chisaki’s face, knocking him into the concrete with a terrible impact. His beaked mask flew away, leaving Chisaki completely insensate on the ground. Izuku reached down and the man blipped, separating into Chisaki and Nemoto Shin once more. The man looked utterly terrified of Izuku, who merely put his hand on the ground. The concrete surged, melting and solidifying around both men in tight bands that completely immobilized them. An additional one stuck itself in Nemoto’s mouth, preventing him from speaking. “We should go find Mirio… maybe I can…” He started to say, and then the ceiling caved in.

“What?!” He heard Ochako gasp as a whole ass dragon broke the ceiling and fell into the cavernous basement, “Deku-kun?! But then who-” She looked back and he followed her eyes, only for them to see another Izuku melting into Toga Himiko.

Izuku again didn’t think. He moved. Turning One For All to twenty percent with the knowledge that he could just heal himself, he vanished and appeared in front of Mr. Compress. He lashed out with a kick the man had been completely incapable of reacting to, only for him to immediately turn to mud. Izuku’s eyes widened as he realized it was just a clone. He landed as Twice started to bubble up and create clones for them to escape.

A thunderous punch from Izuku dissuaded him of that action, sending spittle flying through the man’s mask as he sank to his knees and collapsed, holding his gut. He then dodged Toga’s attempt at stabbing him with her syringes, grabbing her wrist with his left hand, parrying her, and then dropping his exposed right hand on her back. Her equipment disintegrated, “WHAT?!” She screeched as he slammed her into the ground.

“League of Villains…” He said, an elated smile on his face, “You’re under arrest.” He patted the ground, and it surged, wrapping around the two villains like it had the other two in the basement. He then patted himself and again, his body stopped aching.

“What the heck, Izuku-kun!?” Himiko gaped at him as best she could from her position on the floor.

“You just stay there for now.” Izuku growled at them.

He hopped back down the hole. “Deku-kun!” Ochako yelled as he landed near them. “What the heck happened?!” She pointed at Chisaki and Nemoto, “HOW?! What happened to your scars?!”

“Uhh, well…” Izuku rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking at Nighteye. Nejire and Ryūkyū had gone off after Mirio.

Nighteye sighed, “There’s no way we’re going to be able to hide it.” He said flatly. “Even if we leave it off official reports…”

Izuku winced, “Yeah…” He looked at Ochako and Tsuyu, “So I uhh… I kinda… stole Overhaul.”

“Kero?” Tsuyu blinked, “What do you mean you stole Overhaul?”

Izuku shrugged helplessly, “I don’t know! My Quirk started acting weird, and all of a sudden I had his Quirk…” He was sweating heavily as the two gaped at him.

“We need to move.” Nighteye interrupted them. “Mirio was still injured.” He said quietly.

“Right.” Izuku blurred and then blitzed down the hall. And then he stopped and looked at his hand with an intrigued look on his face. Overhaul, he was learning, had some components to it beyond just the disassembly and reassembly aspects. Sure, it could do incredible things, but to be able to perfectly merge two people together and unmerge them later without any actual side effects, there had to be a mental aspect to the Quirk. Something to help figure out what needed to go where so that no one ended up with a femur coming out of a lung. He had seen that clearly when he had healed himself. No one could be that good of a surgeon without help.

So now, he decided to try something else. He placed his hand on the wall and closed his eyes. Instantly, he started getting a spreading mental map of the compound. It was vast and there were people all around it. He ground his teeth slightly as the information started to overload him and came off the wall with a gasp. Shaking his head, he took off and immediately veered left. He continued to run until finally; he found who he was looking for. “Eri! Mirio!”

Eri and Mirio gasped, with the young girl looking at the uninjured Hero with shock. Mirio let out a small chuckle, a watery smile crossing his face. “Hey kouhai… did we win?”

“We won.” Izuku smiled as he kneeled next to the older boy. “Sorry it took so long… Eri…”

“But…” She looked to be having an existential crisis, “But Chisaki… his… his power…”

Izuku winced, “Yeah, about that…”

“Did you break his arms?” Mirio coughed, wincing from the pain.

“Not… exactly.” Izuku said, casting his gaze towards Eri, “Hey Eri-chan… don’t be scared, okay?”

“Huh?” The young girl blinked at him in confusion. This lasted all of a second before her jaw unhinged as Izuku put his hand on Mirio.

The blonde blipped and was back to as normal as Izuku could get him. Unfortunately, this did not include his Quirk. The blonde looked at him in shock, “Was that Overhaul?” He asked incredulously. He examined himself, finding that even his costume was pristine once more.

Izuku rubbed the back of his hair sheepishly, “Yeah, I uhh…” He gave Mirio a very poor smile, “Kinda stole it.”

Mirio could take a lot of things. This was not one of them. His legs wobbled and he fell, sliding down the wall. “How?!” He asked hoarsely.

Izuku did not get a chance to respond. “You… took it?” Eri said quietly, starting to tremble. “You can… take powers?” She started to cry before rushing forward. “Please! Take my curse! Take it away!” She sobbed at him.

“Eri-chan.” Izuku gathered her up and pulled her into a hug. “Your Quirk is not a curse.”

“But it IS!” She screamed, backing away, “Ch-Chisaki hurt me for it! And I- and I made… I made dad disappear!” She continued to cry, “Please…”

“Eri…” Izuku’s heart broke and even Mirio was trying not to tear up. “Let’s see…”

“Deku?!” Mirio gasped as Izuku put his hand on her head.

Izuku closed his eyes and allowed information to flow into him. Honestly, this was a bit disappointing if he were honest with himself. It was just… too easy. Every detail of her Quirk came to him almost instantly. It was boring. He smiled at her, “Eri-chan… whenever you’ve used your Quirk, how did it make you feel?”

She had stopped crying, going back to her normally inexpressive face. She was still a bit red and eyes bloodshot now. “F-Feel?”

“Yeah.” Izuku smiled at her, “When I first used my Quirk, it felt like an egg exploding in a microwave.”

“Pfft-” Mirio looked away to stop himself from spitting on Izuku by accident.

“I…uuhhh…” She reached up, feeling her horn, “My horn feels… tingly?”

“Good.” Izuku picked her up and put her in the middle of the hall before backing away. “Now I need you to do something for me, Eri-chan. Close your eyes.” She looked at him hesitantly, before closing them. “Good. Now I want you to picture an empty room with a door.” She tilted her head in confusion, before she did so. It was her room. The only place she really knew for now.

“O-Okay…”

“Do you have the image?” He asked, and she nodded hesitantly. “Good. Now I want you to remember that feeling of your Quirk. That tingly sensation on your horn. And I want you to fill that room with it. Door closed.”

She opened her eyes, “But I-”

“Please, Eri-chan?” Izuku kneeled so they were at eye level. “Chisaki can’t hurt you anymore. We saved you, didn’t we? Like we promised.” She bit her lip before nodding hesitantly. “So you can trust us, Eri-chan. Neither of us would do anything to hurt you.”

“O-Okay.” She closed her eyes again and pictured that small room. In her mind’s eye, the door was invisible, and she just filled the inside with sparkly light. “I-I did it!”

“Good.” Izuku smiled at her and took a few steps back. “Now open the door.”

“Bu-” She stopped, took a deep breath, and decided to be brave like Izuku and Mirio had been. She reached up and opened the door. Immediately, her horn started to glow gold and release a miasma of light.

“You did it, Eri-chan!” Mirio called out, a wide smile on his face. “You used your Quirk!”

She gasped and immediately slammed the door shut. “S-Stay away!” She yelled, “I don’t want to-”

Izuku hopped forward and patted her on the head. “Don’t want to what?” He headpat her with a wide smile on his face.

She stared at him in disbelief. “Y-You’re not… disappearing?”

“Of course not.” Izuku beamed at her. “You turned your Quirk off all on your own. You’re such a smart girl!” She trembled for a moment, before hugging him. “You see, Eri-chan? Your Quirk is just a Quirk. It’s not a curse. It’s a blessing.”

“But I… But I made dad vanish!” Eri wailed into his shoulder.

“I know.” He said softly. “But it was an accident, Eri-chan. No one is born knowing how to use their Quirks. Do you want to know what happened the first time I used mine?” She pulled back, nodding hesitantly. “I destroyed a BIG robot the size of a building!” She gasped, “And broke every bone in my legs and my right arm in a hundred different places.” He ran his hand through her hair, “If I hadn’t jumped into the air… if I had just tried to punch… I could have killed every person in front of me.”

“But, but you-” She stammered.

Izuku smiled at her again, “It took me a long time to learn how it worked. It didn’t really have an instruction manual.” He said softly, “…it would have been really useful, honestly.” Her lips wiggled for a moment. He grabbed her little hand and walked her over to Mirio. “Now Eri-chan, I need you to count to two for me. Can you do that?”

“O-okay! One. Two.” She said.

“Good. Now do it again.” Izuku said.

“O-One. Two.” She did it a few more times at Izuku’s behest.

“Good girl.” He smiled and had her put her hand on Mirio’s chest. “Now, I want you to close your eyes again and open the door juuust a crack.” He held his fingers a centimeter and a half apart, “Like this. And then I want you to count to two and close the door. Even if Lemillion makes a weird noise, you have to count to two before you close it. Can you do that for me, Eri-chan?”

She looked hesitant, and her fingers were trembling as she rested them on Mirio’s chest. She closed her eyes and cracked the door open. Mirio gasped. “O-One. Two!” She slammed the door shut and backed away.

“Oh!” Mirio smiled massively and then fell backwards through the wall. He then popped out of the floor, “My Quirk!” He started to cry. “Eri-chan.” He dropped to his knees and hugged Eri tightly. “My Quirk! You gave it back, Eri-chan!” He sobbed as he hugged her. “Deku was right. Your Quirk is a blessing.”

“See how happy you made Lemillion?” Izuku asked, “Without you, he may have had to quit being a Hero.”

“B-But he’s crying!” Eri said.

“Because I’m happy, silly!” Mirio choked out, “Tears aren’t only for when you’re sad. There are happy tears too.”

Eri began to softly cry, reaching out for both of her Heroes, who wrapped her up in as tight a hug as they could.

And off to the side, Nejire, Tsuyu, and Ochako were feeling their hearts squeeze as they watched. Nighteye looked away, determined not to cry as he witnessed the sheer joy on his student’s face.

-]|[-

The raid had been successful, and with Overhaul in his hands and Eri starting to learn how to use her Quirk, none of the Heroes who entered the raid with them had any serious injuries. Aizawa’s stab wound (and even his slightly deformed orbital socket from Nōmu!) had been restored. All the damage Tamaki, Kirishima, and Fatgum had taken vanished as if it had never been there. Even Eri’s own scars, the reason half her body was covered in bandages, were erased by Izuku’s hand.

They still took her to the hospital. Everyone needed to be checked over even with the two healing Quirks on display. But there truly was nothing wrong with any of them. Overhaul and Rewind, Eri’s Quirk, were truly miracles.

The villains were all rounded up by the police and packed into a transport headed straight for Tartarus to await trial. Tomura Shigaraki would have the mother of all fits when the call he was expecting from Toga and Twice never came, and instead he had to hear from the news that they were both captured during the raid. An entire neighborhood burned to the ground in one of the deadliest acts of arson in recent memory.

The remaining Quirk-Erasing bullets would have gone with the villains, but Izuku destroyed them with Overhaul, declaring the dreadful things should not exist. He was smart enough to keep the antidote, however. Chisaki had produced those as well. He gave them to Aizawa-sensei, seeing as if any of the bullets were still around, they would likely need the antidote.

And with all of that settled, it was time to deal with the elephant in the room. “Midoriya-shōnen!” All Might smiled as he walked in the small office, “I heard your very first real mission went well!”

“It did.” All Might stiffened as Sir Nighteye, sitting off to the side, spoke. He smiled, “He did amazingly, honestly. Even proved my Quirk wrong.”

“Mirai…” All Might said softly as he looked at the man.

Nighteye stood, before bowing. “I’m sorry.” He said softly.

“Mirai, please…” All Might put his hands on his shoulders. “Do not bow to me… I’m the one who wronged you…”

“You did NOT!” Mirai stood straight, “Everything for the past six years… I’ve just been such a fool.” He sighed, “Almost dying has a way of giving a man perspective…”

“What?!” All Might gasped, “But you look fine!”

Nighteye chuckled humorlessly, “Through no act of mercy from the Shie Hassaikai, I assure you. I was hurt worse than you were, Toshinori.”

Toshinori’s face went flat. “This is no time for jokes, Mirai.”

“It is, unfortunately, not a joke.” Mirai sighed, “…One For All was a lot… stranger than any of us thought.”

“…What is that supposed to mean?” The blonde, retired Hero looked confused.

“He means One For All evolved during the fight, All Might.” Izuku chimed in for the first time.

“Evolved?” Toshinori turned to Izuku, “Evolved how? Can Quirks even evolve?”

“They can.” Mirai said, adjusting his glasses. “It is a very rare phenomenon, though it has been happening more and more over the years. Do you remember The Crawler?”

“How could I forget?” All Might chuckled for a moment.

“Well, his Quirk almost certainly evolved from when he first started as a Vigilante and when he debuted as a true Pro Hero.” Nighteye explained. “It’s been theorized that it will begin to happen more and more as the generations pass by and Quirks grow stronger.”

“Well, I’ll be…” All Might turned to Izuku and grinned, “Well, if that’s the case, I suppose it makes sense that One For All of all Quirks could evolve after nine generations. So, what happened? Did you maybe manage to use a Quirk from one of the previous wielders? Oooh, was it Float? That was my master’s Quirk!”

“Cool!” Izuku exclaimed excitedly as he thought of the possibility, before reality crashed into him and he slumped, “Ah… not… exactly.”

And Toshinori realized something was wrong, because Izuku’s excitement had died almost instantly. “Midoriya-shōnen… what happened?” Izuku turned his palm out and showed All Might. The retired number one visibly looked like he experienced a software crash. “…What?” He managed to croak out as he stared at the way too familiar hole in his protégé’s palm.

“We haven’t actually figured out much of anything.” Mirai said softly, “But Midoriya was confirmed Quirkless with the toe joint. I personally gave him the x-ray an hour or so ago to keep it secret. It wasn’t on his end.” He sighed. “But that doesn’t change the facts. One For All evolved… into his Quirk.”

“…What the stinking super crap?!” Toshinori asked hoarsely.

“I stole Overhaul.” Izuku said quietly, “The Quirk of the villain boss.” He clarified to All Might’s disbelief. “If I hadn’t…”

“I’d be dead.” Mirai said flatly. “And they likely would have gotten away.”

Toshinori stood there in disbelief for a moment. But he saw Izuku shrinking in on himself and knew this was no time to freak the heck out. He dropped to a knee and put a hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “Midori- no, Izuku.” He said, using Izuku’s first name for the first time. Izuku looked up hesitantly. “If there’s anyone I trust to have that Quirk, it’s you, my boy. And you’ve already done so much good with it.” Izuku immediately teared up and hugged his mentor. Toshinori looked at Mirai, “Has One For All acted up at all other than that? Have we figured anything out?”

“Conclusively, no.” Mirai said, “But I’ve made some fairly educated guesses.” He uncrossed his arms, “This is entirely my conjecture, but I now believe that One For All and All For One were never any different at all.”

“What?” Toshinori and Izuku both yelped.

Mirai chuckled dryly, “Let me explain. We know from our many, many years fighting against All For One that his patsies normally started losing their minds and individuality if he started giving them too many Quirks. This is why, I believe, that these Nōmu that we’ve encountered are corpses.”

“They’re WHAT?!” Izuku yelped even louder.

“Corpses.” All Might said, “That’s why we were able to capture the one from the USJ so easily after Shigaraki Tomura fled. They have no individuality. They’re basically just corpses being piloted by the orders they’re given and nothing more.”

“That’s disgusting.” Izuku made a face.

“Indeed.” Mirai nodded, “And it also means that they’re one of the few villains that you don’t have to worry about putting down permanently. Every law enforcement agency in the country is aware that they’re basically zombies and therefore every Hero has full authorization to ‘kill’ them on sight.”

“U-Understood.” Izuku said uneasily.

Mirai nodded, “But we’ve digressed. The reason I believe they’ve turned to these Nōmu is because living humans are incapable of bearing the ‘weight’ of multiple Quirks within their bodies. And that means that there are always side effects when All For One gives one of his Quirks away. The one exception that we’ve ever known of was All For One himself.” His glasses glinted, “But now, I believe I’ve cracked the code. Not only do I think you will, at one point or another, begin expressing the Quirks of the previous wielders, but I believe that One For All is the only other exception to the ability to hold multiple Quirks. This is because I now believe that One For All and All For One are the same Quirk.” He pushed the bridge of his glasses up. “With one key difference.” He said ominously, “The bastard either through the luck of his birth or, through great stress in a world ripping itself apart at the seams, Awakened his Quirk.”

Toshinori choked, “Then…”

“When the First was given Stockpile, they passed it on, allowing it to begin collecting Quirks and pushing it towards awakening.” Izuku finished, dumbstruck.

“And it’s why All For One could never steal it! It can’t steal the same Quirk!” Toshinori continued on his student and former sidekick’s train of thought.

“That is my theory.” Mirai nodded with a small smile. “I could be entirely wrong, of course, but it is the only explanation that makes sense. Why else would a completely, one-hundred percent confirmed-Quirkless boy develop the exact same mutation that allows him to take Quirks and subsume them inside him?” He shrugged, “I doubt we’ll ever know for sure without testing All For One himself. But now the only question that remains is… what will you do now, Midoriya Izuku?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” All Might said before Izuku could speak, “He’s going to be the greatest Hero that ever lived.” He said proudly. His smile twitched as Izuku burst into tears. “…If he can get those leaky eyes under control.” He deadpanned as Mirai began to laugh.

-]|[-

“Hey Eri-chan!” Izuku called out as he entered the room.

“Mr. Deku!” Eri looked up at him. Her dirty hospital smock had been replaced with a clean one. They had also gotten her some socks.

“How are you?” Izuku asked as he walked in with All Might following him behind him. “Better?”

She nodded, looking at the tall, lanky blonde hesitantly. “Mr. Deku, who is this?”

“This is All Might.” Izuku introduced him, “He’s my teacher, and has been my Hero too. Can you say hello?”

Eri gasped, “Y-You saved Mr. Deku?”

All Might smiled at her, “It would be more accurate to say that we saved each other, little one.”

“H-Hello, Mr. All Might.” She said, a bit hesitantly. They could work on it.

Izuku sat down with Eri, “Eri-chan, I first met All Might over a year ago when he saved me from a villain.”

“B-But you’re so strong!” She yelped, wondering who could possibly have hurt her Hero.

“I wasn’t strong back then.” Izuku sighed, “I was… a different person…”

“You’re the same person you always were, Izuku.” Toshinori put his hand on his shoulder, “Just significantly more muscly!” He laughed as Izuku blushed.

“All Might…” He muttered, blushing. Eri just looked confused, and he shook his head to refocus. “Eri-chan, like I said, I met All Might about a year ago. But five years before that, he got into a fight with a villain that was even more dangerous than Chisaki.”

“M-More?” Eri looked terrified.

Izuku nodded and hurried to explain, “All Might beat him, but the fight cost him. He was gravely injured and today, he lives in constant pain, even if he doesn’t show it.”

She looked at All Might, “I’m sorry?” It was more of a question. She wasn’t sure it was the right thing to say.

“It’s alright, little one. I’ve lived with it for a long time now.” Toshinori replied, before looking at Izuku in confusion, “Why are you telling her this, young man? She doesn’t need to hear things like that after what she’s been through.”

Izuku smiled, “Eri-chan, I’ve helped you use your Quirk, but up until now, I haven’t actually explained to you what it actually is or does, have I?” Toshinori’s eyes widened as Eri shook her head. “Do you have any guesses?”

Eri shook her head. “I-I don’t know…” She said softly, “I just know that-that Chisaki would… do the bad things to me because he wanted it. And that I gave Mr. Lemillion his Quirk back. And that I made dad…” She looked down.

Izuku patted her on the head, “Your Quirk, Eri-chan, makes things Rewind.”

Toshinori’s eyes bulged open, but Eri looked confused, “Huh?”

“Watch.” Izuku grabbed the TV remote, “Were you liking this show?”

She nodded hesitantly, “It made me feel a little strange.”

“Well, because of us, you missed part of the show, right?” Izuku asked her, and Eri nodded hesitantly. “Well, that’s no problem. We can always-” he pressed a button, “-rewind.” She watched in confusion as the TV started to play the show backwards. And then Izuku hit play, and it started playing a part she had already seen. “Do you get it? Your Quirk makes time go backwards for living things. It makes it so that things that happened to them never did. If a villain knocks a tree down, as long as it was still alive, you could rewind it so that it was never knocked down at all. If a person got really hurt and lost their arm, you could make it so that they were never hurt at all. And if a person got shot with a bullet that destroyed their Quirk permanently, you could rewind their body to before they were ever shot and give their Quirk back.”

“My word, what a blessing of an ability, little one!” Toshinori exclaimed, making her flinch at the sudden noise. He quieted down, “You could become the greatest doctor in the world, or the greatest rescue Hero. As long as something is alive, you could undo any tragedy!”

“Then…” She struggled to keep making the jumps, “Then my dad vanished because I made him younger than me?”

Izuku pursed his lips, “Yes.” He brushed her hair, “It was a terrible accident. But you need to know it wasn’t your fault. It’s like I told you… no one ever knows how to use their Quirk perfectly the first time.” She nodded hesitantly. “But diligent practice makes it easier and easier. So now I want to ask… would you like to try to help All Might?”

“Izuku-” All Might tried to protest but was interrupted.

“I’ll do it!” Eri balled her little fists in front of her chest.

Izuku smiled and couldn’t help but place a little kiss on Eri’s forehead. “Thank you, Eri. You’re so brave!”

She felt something warm inside her. “I’ll do it for you, papa.” Izuku and Toshinori froze for a moment. “D-Did I say it wrong?”

Izuku unfroze. ‘Later! Unpack that later!’ He smiled at her, “No, you said it fine, Eri-chan. I just wasn’t expecting it.” He kissed her forehead again. All Might beamed at the sight. “Now, do you remember the door?” She nodded, “This time, you need to open it all the way.”

She looked fearful, “But what if I-”

Izuku continued brushing her hair, “This time, instead of counting to two, you’re going to count to twelve before you shut the door. Can you count to twelve for me, Eri-chan?”

She nodded and took a breath. “One. Two. Three… Eleven… Twelve!”

“Excellent job, Eri-chan!” Izuku smiled at her. “Now, practice one more time.” She did, counting to twelve as directed. “Perfect. Now, we’re unleashing the full power of your Quirk this time, so I’m going to stand back over there. All you need to do is hold All Might’s hands, okay?”

“Wh-what if I can’t shut the door?” Eri asked, now hesitant.

“You will be, but if it fails, then all we have to do is separate you and All Might. He can back away, or you can let go of his hands and scooch away from him.” Izuku told her. “Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. You only have to try your best.”

“Yes, papa!” Izuku’s heart squeezed as his adorable new daughter (AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!) exposed him to terminal cute once again.

“Good girl!” Izuku smiled and kissed her forehead one more time. He stood and patted Toshinori’s shoulder as well, “You start counting as well once her cute little horn starts to glow. If she passes thirteen, back away.”

Toshinori smiled at Eri and offered her his hands. “Whenever you’re ready, little one.”

Eri nodded and took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She stared at the door hesitantly, before swinging it open. ‘One. Two. Three.’

“Oooh, this feels strange.” Toshinori grimaced as his side began to ache.

‘Five. Six.’ Eri continued to count.

“Really strange.” Toshinori grunted as his body started to bulk up in slow motion. Like he was turning into All Might once more.

‘Eight. Nine. Ten.’ Eri counted, readying herself to slam the door shut.

“Blrergh.” Toshinori coughed up some blood as the hole in his side opened and spewed blood before sealing itself.

“Twelve!” Eri yelled and slammed the door shut. She panted as she opened her eyes, “Did I-AH!” She screamed as she saw All Might bleeding and significantly bigger than he had been a moment ago. She scrambled away, “Di-Did I do it wrong?!”

“You did perfect Eri-chan!” Izuku was beaming.

“B-But he’s bleeding!” Eri said, scared. “And big!”

“That’s because his wound reopened when you rewound him. But now it’s closed again! And this is what All Might really looks like, Eri-chan. That really skinny version was because his wounds made it impossible for him to eat properly.” Izuku told her, “I’m so proud of you, Eri-chan!”

All Might was patting himself down and looking like he wanted to cry. He took a full, deep breath for the first time in years. “I-I can breathe!” He dropped to his knees and held a hand out for Eri to take. “Thank you so much, Eri. Izuku is right. Your Quirk is a blessing! No, it’s a miracle!” He exclaimed, before wiping his tears away. “I… most of the important parts of my body were destroyed in that fight. I shouldn’t even have been alive. I… for the first time in six years, I feel normal. Thank you, Eri! Thank you so much!”

She teared up as well, “Y-You’re welcome.” She got out before hiding her face in Izuku’s neck. He continued comforting her until she yawned sleepily and fell asleep right then and there.

“You’re so good with her.” Toshinori smiled tenderly at his student.

“She called me papa!” He said nearly inaudibly, freaking out for a moment. He forcibly moved on. “What about One For All? Did you get it back as well?”

“No.” Toshinori shook his head, “I can’t feel it at all. Some things are beyond even her Quirk, it seems.” He smiled softly at the young girl.

Izuku’s lips quirked, “Well, maybe I should go grab that Nōmu from the USJ.” He said, an uncharacteristically impish look on his face. “It doesn’t need those Quirks, does it?” And once again, he was treated to the sight of All Might blue-screening.

-]|[-

That was fun. And evil. Probably doesn’t have much of a story behind it, sadly, but still fun. :p

Hope you guys enjoyed Izuku making Overhaul his bitch and acquiring new daughteru.