Getting knocked out by someone's trigger only lasts for seconds. The bugs wouldn't have time.
-
For all readers and writers
After much ado, our new tagging system is here and being rolled out to the userbase. Read more here!
Khepri-Sensei (Worm/MHA) (Post-GM)
- Thread starter Chaos Theory
- Start date
-
- Tags
- my hero academia worm
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This is a really, really intriguing premise. Please continue!
The Purpose of Power
"Two minutes."
Toshinori looked over his shoulder as he washed the dishes. Taylor was huddled in the corner. "What?"
"I remember, it was two minutes."
He saw tears start to roll down her cheeks and he went over to crouch near her. "Taylor, what is wrong? Is there anything I can do for you?"
She glared at him, her eyes red with tears. "I mastered you!" She spat. "Why don't you hate me?"
"Taylor, you were in a desperate situation trying to save everyone. I'm just happy that I could help."
She started shouting, her voice raspy, "I didn't grab you to save the world! I did it because one of the Thinkers I had mastered calculated that the army would probably survive two more minutes with you in it!"
She lunged forward, grabbing at his collar and pulled him so his face was directly in front of hers. "I enslaved you! I would have sacrificed you without a second thought! All for two fucking minutes!"
He kept his voice calm and steady, "Taylor, if I had died buying you two more minutes to save the world, then they would have been the proudest two minutes of my life."
He saw the strength leave her and she collapsed onto his shoulder. She started to weep uncontrollably. He pulled her into a position that he hoped would be more comfortable for her and allowed her to do so until the tears finally stopped flowing.
Eventually she got her strength back and pushed herself back into the corner. Then she looked him dead in the eye, "I wish you would hate me."
Toshinori looked back at Taylor, unsure of what to say or do. Finally she answered the unasked question that hung in the air.
"I wish that you would hate me because if you did I would feel less conflicted about hating myself."
Izuku watched the second hand on the clock with fascination. He knew with certainty that it was 15.08 cm long and had a mass of 5.92 grams. Despite the fact that it looked like it was barely moving, he knew that it had an angular momentum of 4.7e-6 kg m2/s. He knew the plastic that made it had a flaw that was 6.37 cm from the center which would halve the force needed to snap it in two.
He turned his attention to the things he couldn't see. The bed he sat on was about 60 cm off the ground. There was a person about a meter to his left quickly standing from the chair they had been sitting in.
He had a quirk! It wasn't the most impressive quirk, nothing like Bakugo's, but it was his and with it he was going to become a hero!
"I-", Izuku was pulled out of his revelry as he heard his mother's voice coming from his left. He conjured the image of a microwave's dial in his mind and twisted it until it turned off. As he did, time seemed to return to normal and the information about everything he looked at stopped flooding in. "-zuku! You're awake!"
"Mom! Guess wha-" Izuku's words cut off as his mother's face came into view and he saw the tears in her eyes.
She pulled him into a hug, "Izuku! I was so scared!"
Izuku did his best to return the hug despite her having pinned his left arm, "I'm fine, Mom."
The door opened and she released him from her hug. He turned and saw a woman in a white coat step in followed by a man in a suit and the woman in the checkered coat that had been collapsing during the attack.
Izuku felt a deep shame well up from inside, he had been so focused on his quirk he hadn't even thought about her since waking up. Some hero he was, not that he had even saved her.
He wanted to ask if she was okay but the doctor quickly came up to him and started asking him questions and running tests. He answered and after a few minutes she spoke to the room at large, "He seems lucid, though there seems to be some signs of a minor concussion." She turned to his mom, "I would like to hold him overnight just in case, but I don't expect any complications."
He heard his mother agree and then the man in the suit asked, "Chiba-sensei, is he well enough to make a statement?"
The doctor paused for a moment before answering, "That shouldn't be a problem. Just keep it short."
The man turned to him, "Midoriya-san, I'm Inspector Yano. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you about the villain attack. But if you aren't feeling up for it, or if your mother would prefer, we can schedule something and do this later."
Mom walked up and grabbed his hand lightly, "Do you want to do this now?"
"I don't have a problem with that, but I have a question first if you don't mind." The inspector nodded and Izuku turned to the woman in the checkered coat who had yet to speak, "You weren't injured were you?"
The woman smiled at him, "Just a couple of scrapes."
Izuku let out a relieved breath, "Good." He turned back to the inspector, "I'll answer your questions now."
The man turned his head towards the doctor and the woman in the checkered coat, "Chiba-sensei, Hebert-san, I must ask you two to step out of the room for this."
Izuku felt his mind race. Hebert-san, as in Taylor Hebert? And the bugs during the attack. He gasped at the woman, "Are you Khepri!?"
The woman looked surprised, "I am."
Izuku felt his eyes go wide.
"You were All Might's second sidekick! And you made his last two costumes! That's so amazing! His newest one is the best one he ever had! I think your first design was a bit too much of a departure from his classic look, but the current one brought it back to basics with just a touch of modern flair. It looks amazing and the fact that you make all of your suits out of spider silk is the coolest thing ever!" Izuku sucked in a breath, "When you left, you went to work at UA right? I really want to go to UA to become a hero! Can you give me any tips!? Actually, give me a second. I need to find a notebook!" He twisted in his seat searching the room. He found his hero notebook sitting next to the chair his mom was waiting in, "Can I get your autograph?"
Having finally stopped talking he noticed his mom squeezing his hand and tapping him on his arm, then he saw the bemused smile on Khepri's face. He felt his blood rush to his face and time slowed to a crawl. What had he been thinking? That was the most embarrassing thing ever. He forced himself to get his emotions under control and then turned time back to normal.
He bowed his head at Khepri, "I'm sorry."
Khepri laughed, "It is not a problem."
Izuku looked back up, "It is just that you are one of my favorite heroes and I'm still a bit overwhelmed because I just got my quirk."
The room exploded in noise and motion.
His mom squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt, "What? How?"
The doctor gave him a confused look, "That should not be possible. We may need to take some scans."
The inspector's eyes turned sharp, "I'm sorry young man. When exactly did you get your quirk?"
Khepri just looked at him with tired eyes then said a single word, "Silence." The room obeyed.
"Chiba-sensei, you can talk to Midoriya-san later about getting scans. Yano-san, the boy seems distracted right now. Maybe if I get him an autograph like he requested you would have better luck getting a coherent statement." Her voice brooked no debate and the two quickly agreed to her suggestions before leaving the room.
Khepri walked over and picked up his notebook with a metal hand. Then she pulled out a pen and signed it with her left. She then pulled out a card out of one of her pockets and wrote on it as well.
She handed him the notebook and mom the card. He looked at the cover and saw her signature! He was going to need to get this framed!
"As for your questions about UA, how about we schedule a tour. I will be able to answer anything you want to know then."
Izuku turned to his mom, somehow even more excited, "Can we? Please?"
"I don't know, Izuku. Khepri-san must be a busy woman, I don't want to use up too much of her time." Izuku felt despair sink into his soul.
"It wouldn't be any trouble at all."
Mom turned to him, then glanced at the card Khepri had handed her. She frowned and turned the card over. After a moment she quickly pocketed it and looked back up. "Well if you insist. I know Izuku would be over the moon for a chance to get a tour of UA."
Khepri smiled back, "Then I will see the two of you in a couple of days."
Izuku stopped time to stop himself from shouting out in excitement. Almost being killed by a villain aside, today was truly the greatest day of his life.
Taylor sat on a bench in front of the hospital thinking about what she had just heard through her bugs. Midoriya-kun's statement to the inspector had been shockingly thorough and accurate given that he was a young witness, though she wondered if the Thinker power he described had a hand in that.
At the thought of his trigger she felt the deep pit of worry she had been struggling with returning. Was Scion still alive? Or did another one of his kind come to pick up where he left off? Or did this not mean anything and it was just the Passengers acting on their own with Scion dead? So many questions and no way to get any answers.
She forced the questions out of her mind as there was no purpose in dwelling on it. If Scion or something like him had returned she would fight them again, but until she knew for certain she would focus on what she could do on this Earth.
She stood as the inspector stepped out of the hospital and approached her, "Hebert-san, I'm surprised you are still here."
"I was going to meet with a friend when I ran across the robbery. He should be meeting me here very soon."
Yano-san nodded, "Well if you have a moment, I have another question for you."
Taylor faked a smile, "Certainly."
Yano-san pulled out a recorder, "Midoriya-san said he remembers grabbing something while trying to escape the slime villain, but we did not find anything like that at the crime scene. Do you remember seeing anything in his hand while you were providing medical aid?"
Taylor shook her head, "I did not find anything like that."
Yano-san turned off his recording device then gave her a stern look, "I've worked with you before, Khepri. Something is different about this case. What are you hiding?"
Taylor kept her face blank, "I've already given you my statement. The villain's death was an accident that I will be taking full responsibility for." She looked down, directly meeting his gaze, "Do you understand?"
Inspector Yano flinched and looked away, "Midoriya must have been confused."
Taylor patted him on the shoulder with her prosthetic, "I'm glad we agree. Now my friend has just arrived. If you have any other questions for me, reach out to the UA Hero Agency."
She then walked past him to where the thin form of Toshinori stood waiting. He turned and started walking with her. After a moment she heard him sigh, "Taylor did you have to intimidate the poor inspector? He was just doing his job."
"Midoriya-kun does not need the records to say that the first thing he did with his quirk is kill someone."
"Still, there had to be other ways you could have accomplished that."
Taylor laughed, "What can I say? I was just falling back on old habits."
Toshinori groaned, "You have to stop using that excuse, you were only a villain for a few months, and it was almost a decade ago at this point."
Taylor turned to meet her friend's gaze. His eyes sparkled with mirth as she continued the old routine, "They were very memorable months."
"I don't think you can argue that, son." Toshinori finished with his best impression of Sorahiko.
They both giggled and Toshinori pulled her in for a one arm hug, "It is good to see you Taylor."
Taylor returned it, "You as well." She looked up at the darkening sky, "It is a little late for tea. Want to get takeout? We can chat at my place."
Taylor handed the last dish to Toshinori so he could dry it. While he finished up she filled her tokkuri with sake and pulled out two ochoko. She went to the table with Toshinori trailing shortly behind.
She filled one of the ochoko and passed it to Toshinori who was looking at the walls. She heard him speak quietly under his breath, "Still so spartan..."
Taylor coughed quietly and Toshinori started. He picked up the tokkuri and poured sake into the other ochoko and passed it to her. They clinked their cups and drank them in peaceful silence. After setting his down Toshinori broke the silence. "So, any idea what that boy triggering means?"
"No. It could mean anything or nothing. We know that the Passengers survived the death of Scion because my power still works, so there is no reason to think they couldn't give out powers without him. Still I called Nezu and asked him to check if there are any other reports of people getting new powers after traumatic events."
Taylor wasn't very hopeful about him finding anything. Quirk Awakenings were going to lead to lots of false positives so unless quirkless people had started triggering it was going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Toshinori picked up the tokkuri and poured more sake into her ochoko, "And is the boy alright? From what you told me Trigger Events are traumatic and powers can have side effects."
Taylor returned the favor, "Izuku Midoriya. He seems like a good kid, wants to be a hero and is a huge fan of yours. He started critiquing the costumes I made for you when he found out I was Khepri." Toshinori started to laugh but stopped himself before he could spit out the sake he was sipping, "I invited him and his mother on a tour of UA. I'll tell him about being a parahuman there."
"Good idea. For now I think I will take this as good news." Taylor raised her eyebrow at him, "You are not the only parahuman on this earth now."
Taylor sipped her sake, "Misery loves company."
Toshinori set down his ochoko and gave her a worried stare, "Taylor, are you miserable? If something is bothering you, let me kno-"
"Sorry, that was a bad turn of phrase." Taylor cut him off, picking up the tokkuri to top off his ochoko. "This Earth has been good for me."
Toshinori let out a long breath, "I'm glad. You deserve happiness after everything you have been through. Everything you have accomplished."
Taylor smiled in agreement…
She felt a chill run down her spine. She agreed that she deserved happiness? When did that happen? Had she forgotten who she was? What she was?
Taylor emptied her ochoko and forced the unwelcome thoughts out of her mind. She made a note to bring this up at her next appointment with Hirabayashi-sensei.
"So I know the events of today have been distracting, but why did you want to see me in the first place?" Taylor changed the subject.
Toshinori gave her a concerned glance before answering, "Well I did just want to see how you were doing but I also have something I wanted to tell you."
He picked up the tokkuri and filled her ochoko with the last of the sake. Taylor stayed quiet letting him stall.
"I want to start teaching part time at UA."
Taylor blinked, "Are you looking for a successor? Honestly I thought you would never retire willingly." She had already been talking with Mirai about how they would probably have to start browbeating him into doing so in the next few years.
He laughed and transformed into his All Might form, "I've still got plenty of heroic deeds in me before I need to retire." He transformed back, "But that isn't completely untrue. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I need to start looking for a successor. I don't plan on giving them One For All right away, but if I don't start looking I might miss the perfect candidate."
Taylor frowned, this didn't seem like Toshinori. "Even with All For One still out there?"
Toshinori nodded, "He is who I have been thinking about. When my master gave me One For All I had thought I understood its purpose. To stop All For One and bring as much peace as I could to this world. But five years ago I had a chance to stop All For One once and for all and I just let it pass."
Five years ago would have been right before she signed up with his agency. How serious he looked when he told her about the threat that man posed had been the impetus for her to actually get her license and try being a hero again. She considered interjecting but sipped her sake instead letting Toshinori tell the story at his own pace.
He looked down into his ochoko for a second then emptied it in a single gulp. He set it down and continued, "I had already beaten him, stopped his plan and captured his allies. We were fighting and he decided to cut his losses and retreat. I saw the opening, but if I went for it he would have definitely had a chance to counterattack. So I let it pass, and let him escape."
Toshinori looked up at her as if expecting her to pass judgment upon him, she remained silent. Finally he continued, "I've been thinking about it for years now, I've thought myself a coward, told myself that it wasn't a real opening just a trap, I've wondered if my master hates me for failing to avenge her. But now I think I finally understand. I couldn't risk One For All just to kill All For One because that is not its purpose."
Finally Taylor broke her silence, "Then what is?"
Toshinori looked her in the eye and answered, "Gold Morning." Taylor flinched. Toshinori's gaze turned apologetic but he continued anyway. "Gold Morning showed me that for as dangerous as All For One truly is, he can still be nothing more than a chapter in human history. Even if he were to succeed and shape this world in his own image, he would still have done nothing to the majority of humanity. But Scion, he was something else."
Toshinori closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before continuing, "With every successor One For All grows stronger. My responsibility is to ensure that chain continues. to find someone who will wield the power it already holds with responsibility and who will help forge it into a shield that can be used to protect all of humanity the next time there is a threat like Scion."
"Then let's get started."
A/N: Thanks to MN01 for beta reading this chapter. So canon was never really on the rails. I had a few reasons for this change but the biggest one is that this lets me decouple from the canon timeline so that we can follow a class through three years of Taylor's classes.
I do have a mild concern because Taylor is a first name basis with a few characters who are better known by the hero names so I figured I would mention them down here to help clear up any confusion.
Sorahiko = Gran Torino
Mirai = Sir Nighteye
Finally I am looking for beta readers. PM me if you are interested.
Toshinori looked over his shoulder as he washed the dishes. Taylor was huddled in the corner. "What?"
"I remember, it was two minutes."
He saw tears start to roll down her cheeks and he went over to crouch near her. "Taylor, what is wrong? Is there anything I can do for you?"
She glared at him, her eyes red with tears. "I mastered you!" She spat. "Why don't you hate me?"
"Taylor, you were in a desperate situation trying to save everyone. I'm just happy that I could help."
She started shouting, her voice raspy, "I didn't grab you to save the world! I did it because one of the Thinkers I had mastered calculated that the army would probably survive two more minutes with you in it!"
She lunged forward, grabbing at his collar and pulled him so his face was directly in front of hers. "I enslaved you! I would have sacrificed you without a second thought! All for two fucking minutes!"
He kept his voice calm and steady, "Taylor, if I had died buying you two more minutes to save the world, then they would have been the proudest two minutes of my life."
He saw the strength leave her and she collapsed onto his shoulder. She started to weep uncontrollably. He pulled her into a position that he hoped would be more comfortable for her and allowed her to do so until the tears finally stopped flowing.
Eventually she got her strength back and pushed herself back into the corner. Then she looked him dead in the eye, "I wish you would hate me."
Toshinori looked back at Taylor, unsure of what to say or do. Finally she answered the unasked question that hung in the air.
"I wish that you would hate me because if you did I would feel less conflicted about hating myself."
Izuku watched the second hand on the clock with fascination. He knew with certainty that it was 15.08 cm long and had a mass of 5.92 grams. Despite the fact that it looked like it was barely moving, he knew that it had an angular momentum of 4.7e-6 kg m2/s. He knew the plastic that made it had a flaw that was 6.37 cm from the center which would halve the force needed to snap it in two.
He turned his attention to the things he couldn't see. The bed he sat on was about 60 cm off the ground. There was a person about a meter to his left quickly standing from the chair they had been sitting in.
He had a quirk! It wasn't the most impressive quirk, nothing like Bakugo's, but it was his and with it he was going to become a hero!
"I-", Izuku was pulled out of his revelry as he heard his mother's voice coming from his left. He conjured the image of a microwave's dial in his mind and twisted it until it turned off. As he did, time seemed to return to normal and the information about everything he looked at stopped flooding in. "-zuku! You're awake!"
"Mom! Guess wha-" Izuku's words cut off as his mother's face came into view and he saw the tears in her eyes.
She pulled him into a hug, "Izuku! I was so scared!"
Izuku did his best to return the hug despite her having pinned his left arm, "I'm fine, Mom."
The door opened and she released him from her hug. He turned and saw a woman in a white coat step in followed by a man in a suit and the woman in the checkered coat that had been collapsing during the attack.
Izuku felt a deep shame well up from inside, he had been so focused on his quirk he hadn't even thought about her since waking up. Some hero he was, not that he had even saved her.
He wanted to ask if she was okay but the doctor quickly came up to him and started asking him questions and running tests. He answered and after a few minutes she spoke to the room at large, "He seems lucid, though there seems to be some signs of a minor concussion." She turned to his mom, "I would like to hold him overnight just in case, but I don't expect any complications."
He heard his mother agree and then the man in the suit asked, "Chiba-sensei, is he well enough to make a statement?"
The doctor paused for a moment before answering, "That shouldn't be a problem. Just keep it short."
The man turned to him, "Midoriya-san, I'm Inspector Yano. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you about the villain attack. But if you aren't feeling up for it, or if your mother would prefer, we can schedule something and do this later."
Mom walked up and grabbed his hand lightly, "Do you want to do this now?"
"I don't have a problem with that, but I have a question first if you don't mind." The inspector nodded and Izuku turned to the woman in the checkered coat who had yet to speak, "You weren't injured were you?"
The woman smiled at him, "Just a couple of scrapes."
Izuku let out a relieved breath, "Good." He turned back to the inspector, "I'll answer your questions now."
The man turned his head towards the doctor and the woman in the checkered coat, "Chiba-sensei, Hebert-san, I must ask you two to step out of the room for this."
Izuku felt his mind race. Hebert-san, as in Taylor Hebert? And the bugs during the attack. He gasped at the woman, "Are you Khepri!?"
The woman looked surprised, "I am."
Izuku felt his eyes go wide.
"You were All Might's second sidekick! And you made his last two costumes! That's so amazing! His newest one is the best one he ever had! I think your first design was a bit too much of a departure from his classic look, but the current one brought it back to basics with just a touch of modern flair. It looks amazing and the fact that you make all of your suits out of spider silk is the coolest thing ever!" Izuku sucked in a breath, "When you left, you went to work at UA right? I really want to go to UA to become a hero! Can you give me any tips!? Actually, give me a second. I need to find a notebook!" He twisted in his seat searching the room. He found his hero notebook sitting next to the chair his mom was waiting in, "Can I get your autograph?"
Having finally stopped talking he noticed his mom squeezing his hand and tapping him on his arm, then he saw the bemused smile on Khepri's face. He felt his blood rush to his face and time slowed to a crawl. What had he been thinking? That was the most embarrassing thing ever. He forced himself to get his emotions under control and then turned time back to normal.
He bowed his head at Khepri, "I'm sorry."
Khepri laughed, "It is not a problem."
Izuku looked back up, "It is just that you are one of my favorite heroes and I'm still a bit overwhelmed because I just got my quirk."
The room exploded in noise and motion.
His mom squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt, "What? How?"
The doctor gave him a confused look, "That should not be possible. We may need to take some scans."
The inspector's eyes turned sharp, "I'm sorry young man. When exactly did you get your quirk?"
Khepri just looked at him with tired eyes then said a single word, "Silence." The room obeyed.
"Chiba-sensei, you can talk to Midoriya-san later about getting scans. Yano-san, the boy seems distracted right now. Maybe if I get him an autograph like he requested you would have better luck getting a coherent statement." Her voice brooked no debate and the two quickly agreed to her suggestions before leaving the room.
Khepri walked over and picked up his notebook with a metal hand. Then she pulled out a pen and signed it with her left. She then pulled out a card out of one of her pockets and wrote on it as well.
She handed him the notebook and mom the card. He looked at the cover and saw her signature! He was going to need to get this framed!
"As for your questions about UA, how about we schedule a tour. I will be able to answer anything you want to know then."
Izuku turned to his mom, somehow even more excited, "Can we? Please?"
"I don't know, Izuku. Khepri-san must be a busy woman, I don't want to use up too much of her time." Izuku felt despair sink into his soul.
"It wouldn't be any trouble at all."
Mom turned to him, then glanced at the card Khepri had handed her. She frowned and turned the card over. After a moment she quickly pocketed it and looked back up. "Well if you insist. I know Izuku would be over the moon for a chance to get a tour of UA."
Khepri smiled back, "Then I will see the two of you in a couple of days."
Izuku stopped time to stop himself from shouting out in excitement. Almost being killed by a villain aside, today was truly the greatest day of his life.
Taylor sat on a bench in front of the hospital thinking about what she had just heard through her bugs. Midoriya-kun's statement to the inspector had been shockingly thorough and accurate given that he was a young witness, though she wondered if the Thinker power he described had a hand in that.
At the thought of his trigger she felt the deep pit of worry she had been struggling with returning. Was Scion still alive? Or did another one of his kind come to pick up where he left off? Or did this not mean anything and it was just the Passengers acting on their own with Scion dead? So many questions and no way to get any answers.
She forced the questions out of her mind as there was no purpose in dwelling on it. If Scion or something like him had returned she would fight them again, but until she knew for certain she would focus on what she could do on this Earth.
She stood as the inspector stepped out of the hospital and approached her, "Hebert-san, I'm surprised you are still here."
"I was going to meet with a friend when I ran across the robbery. He should be meeting me here very soon."
Yano-san nodded, "Well if you have a moment, I have another question for you."
Taylor faked a smile, "Certainly."
Yano-san pulled out a recorder, "Midoriya-san said he remembers grabbing something while trying to escape the slime villain, but we did not find anything like that at the crime scene. Do you remember seeing anything in his hand while you were providing medical aid?"
Taylor shook her head, "I did not find anything like that."
Yano-san turned off his recording device then gave her a stern look, "I've worked with you before, Khepri. Something is different about this case. What are you hiding?"
Taylor kept her face blank, "I've already given you my statement. The villain's death was an accident that I will be taking full responsibility for." She looked down, directly meeting his gaze, "Do you understand?"
Inspector Yano flinched and looked away, "Midoriya must have been confused."
Taylor patted him on the shoulder with her prosthetic, "I'm glad we agree. Now my friend has just arrived. If you have any other questions for me, reach out to the UA Hero Agency."
She then walked past him to where the thin form of Toshinori stood waiting. He turned and started walking with her. After a moment she heard him sigh, "Taylor did you have to intimidate the poor inspector? He was just doing his job."
"Midoriya-kun does not need the records to say that the first thing he did with his quirk is kill someone."
"Still, there had to be other ways you could have accomplished that."
Taylor laughed, "What can I say? I was just falling back on old habits."
Toshinori groaned, "You have to stop using that excuse, you were only a villain for a few months, and it was almost a decade ago at this point."
Taylor turned to meet her friend's gaze. His eyes sparkled with mirth as she continued the old routine, "They were very memorable months."
"I don't think you can argue that, son." Toshinori finished with his best impression of Sorahiko.
They both giggled and Toshinori pulled her in for a one arm hug, "It is good to see you Taylor."
Taylor returned it, "You as well." She looked up at the darkening sky, "It is a little late for tea. Want to get takeout? We can chat at my place."
Taylor handed the last dish to Toshinori so he could dry it. While he finished up she filled her tokkuri with sake and pulled out two ochoko. She went to the table with Toshinori trailing shortly behind.
She filled one of the ochoko and passed it to Toshinori who was looking at the walls. She heard him speak quietly under his breath, "Still so spartan..."
Taylor coughed quietly and Toshinori started. He picked up the tokkuri and poured sake into the other ochoko and passed it to her. They clinked their cups and drank them in peaceful silence. After setting his down Toshinori broke the silence. "So, any idea what that boy triggering means?"
"No. It could mean anything or nothing. We know that the Passengers survived the death of Scion because my power still works, so there is no reason to think they couldn't give out powers without him. Still I called Nezu and asked him to check if there are any other reports of people getting new powers after traumatic events."
Taylor wasn't very hopeful about him finding anything. Quirk Awakenings were going to lead to lots of false positives so unless quirkless people had started triggering it was going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Toshinori picked up the tokkuri and poured more sake into her ochoko, "And is the boy alright? From what you told me Trigger Events are traumatic and powers can have side effects."
Taylor returned the favor, "Izuku Midoriya. He seems like a good kid, wants to be a hero and is a huge fan of yours. He started critiquing the costumes I made for you when he found out I was Khepri." Toshinori started to laugh but stopped himself before he could spit out the sake he was sipping, "I invited him and his mother on a tour of UA. I'll tell him about being a parahuman there."
"Good idea. For now I think I will take this as good news." Taylor raised her eyebrow at him, "You are not the only parahuman on this earth now."
Taylor sipped her sake, "Misery loves company."
Toshinori set down his ochoko and gave her a worried stare, "Taylor, are you miserable? If something is bothering you, let me kno-"
"Sorry, that was a bad turn of phrase." Taylor cut him off, picking up the tokkuri to top off his ochoko. "This Earth has been good for me."
Toshinori let out a long breath, "I'm glad. You deserve happiness after everything you have been through. Everything you have accomplished."
Taylor smiled in agreement…
She felt a chill run down her spine. She agreed that she deserved happiness? When did that happen? Had she forgotten who she was? What she was?
Taylor emptied her ochoko and forced the unwelcome thoughts out of her mind. She made a note to bring this up at her next appointment with Hirabayashi-sensei.
"So I know the events of today have been distracting, but why did you want to see me in the first place?" Taylor changed the subject.
Toshinori gave her a concerned glance before answering, "Well I did just want to see how you were doing but I also have something I wanted to tell you."
He picked up the tokkuri and filled her ochoko with the last of the sake. Taylor stayed quiet letting him stall.
"I want to start teaching part time at UA."
Taylor blinked, "Are you looking for a successor? Honestly I thought you would never retire willingly." She had already been talking with Mirai about how they would probably have to start browbeating him into doing so in the next few years.
He laughed and transformed into his All Might form, "I've still got plenty of heroic deeds in me before I need to retire." He transformed back, "But that isn't completely untrue. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I need to start looking for a successor. I don't plan on giving them One For All right away, but if I don't start looking I might miss the perfect candidate."
Taylor frowned, this didn't seem like Toshinori. "Even with All For One still out there?"
Toshinori nodded, "He is who I have been thinking about. When my master gave me One For All I had thought I understood its purpose. To stop All For One and bring as much peace as I could to this world. But five years ago I had a chance to stop All For One once and for all and I just let it pass."
Five years ago would have been right before she signed up with his agency. How serious he looked when he told her about the threat that man posed had been the impetus for her to actually get her license and try being a hero again. She considered interjecting but sipped her sake instead letting Toshinori tell the story at his own pace.
He looked down into his ochoko for a second then emptied it in a single gulp. He set it down and continued, "I had already beaten him, stopped his plan and captured his allies. We were fighting and he decided to cut his losses and retreat. I saw the opening, but if I went for it he would have definitely had a chance to counterattack. So I let it pass, and let him escape."
Toshinori looked up at her as if expecting her to pass judgment upon him, she remained silent. Finally he continued, "I've been thinking about it for years now, I've thought myself a coward, told myself that it wasn't a real opening just a trap, I've wondered if my master hates me for failing to avenge her. But now I think I finally understand. I couldn't risk One For All just to kill All For One because that is not its purpose."
Finally Taylor broke her silence, "Then what is?"
Toshinori looked her in the eye and answered, "Gold Morning." Taylor flinched. Toshinori's gaze turned apologetic but he continued anyway. "Gold Morning showed me that for as dangerous as All For One truly is, he can still be nothing more than a chapter in human history. Even if he were to succeed and shape this world in his own image, he would still have done nothing to the majority of humanity. But Scion, he was something else."
Toshinori closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before continuing, "With every successor One For All grows stronger. My responsibility is to ensure that chain continues. to find someone who will wield the power it already holds with responsibility and who will help forge it into a shield that can be used to protect all of humanity the next time there is a threat like Scion."
"Then let's get started."
A/N: Thanks to MN01 for beta reading this chapter. So canon was never really on the rails. I had a few reasons for this change but the biggest one is that this lets me decouple from the canon timeline so that we can follow a class through three years of Taylor's classes.
I do have a mild concern because Taylor is a first name basis with a few characters who are better known by the hero names so I figured I would mention them down here to help clear up any confusion.
Sorahiko = Gran Torino
Mirai = Sir Nighteye
Finally I am looking for beta readers. PM me if you are interested.
Last edited:
- Location
- Finland
It would be very refreshing if that was the case. I don't think I have seen a MHA fic where All Might isn't the half OP powerhouse/half liability he is in canon.
I would love a fic that doesn't get too caught up in the OFA vs AFO power struggle.
Well I have some good news about this story.
AFO is still going to be present as a villain though.
.IronSun.
I don't descriminate, I hate all of you equally.
- Location
- IN UR BASE, PUNCHIN UR DOODZ
There was one where Future! Eri got OFA from Deku after a series of apocalypses ruined the world, used it to boost her own ability to reverse her own timeline, and popped up on Dagobah Beach to give it back to kid!Deku before healing Toshinori. Unfortunately it was over on QQ and was mostly an excuse to bang Deku's mom.
Thanks for the chapter!
JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
Izuku's definitely gonna have a brain fart when he finds out he still doesn't have a Quirk, and instead has a giant eldritch-alien-supercomputer-rock-whale psychically wired into his brain.
Last edited:
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Not unless AfO manages to crack Kurogiri's Artificial/Combined Quirk enough to have it imitate Doormaker's Portal power, in that case AfO could try to become Every Earth's Demon King.
Yeah but even then he's not nearly powerful enough to control all that. Powers in Worm are bullshit and he'd get stopped at literally every turn.
Plus Contessa put Taylor here for exile, there is no way for anyone to get off that planet because Path to Victory had already made it impossible like what she did to Earth Aleph in cannon.
And even if he somehow beat PtV, got past all the many many heros and villains trying to stop him (who's powers he can't steal) and successfully becomes the Demon King of humanity... he still won't measure up the the threat that Scion was.
All Might is absolutely correct, even if AFO wins its just the next chapter for humanity, and eventually he will be dealt with. If Scion won though? He would have ended the book, and then gone on to burn it so no one knows there ever was a book to read in the first place.
- Location
- In a tower. In the plane of Chaos.
This is shaping up to be the best MHAXWorm fic I have ever read, because it allows both aspects of the crossover breath and bring their strengths to the table and lets both sides suffer less.... Also I love any MHA story that makes All for One less important scale wise, not because I don't love him as an antagonist he is a great antagonist in my eyes, I just like him getting knocked down a peg by the story itself.
For Better or Worse
Lemillion ran as fast as he could towards the bank in sector B2. He was running late, Nejire-Chan had called for backup but he had been delayed helping a pair of civilians trapped by some rubble. Without slowing, he phased through the wall and entered the bank.
The room was dead silent. In the middle of the room he saw the unmoving forms of half a dozen of his classmates hanging from webs.
He felt his heart pound and his breath quicken as he rushed forward to see if he could help them. The moment he reached them the room exploded into noise as insects poured out of the vault and started swirling around him.
Lemillion fell into a defensive stance preparing to phase into the floor at a moment's notice. He scanned the swarm looking for any sign of Khepri-Sensei. She had said she would not be attacking with her swarm without being present herself for this assignment so he needed to subdue her before she left to capture anymore of his classmates.
The noise of the swarm began to harmonize and formed into a voice, "You are late. The civilians you rescued were not in urgent danger but you prioritized them over providing backup to your teammate just because they called out to you for help." Le Million flinched. He knew what he should have done but the thought of someone calling out to a hero and being ignored just felt wrong.
Lemillion saw a black mass moving against the stream of the swarm. He launched himself forward and phased into the ground. As soon as he was in striking distance of the mass he propelled himself out of the ground and into the middle of the swarm with his fist already in mid swing. He connected and it exploded into insects. He felt a sharp prick at the back of his neck and phased back into the ground, returning to where his classmates were tied up.
The swarm once again began to speak, "When you arrived you rushed in without any attempt to assess the situation or link up with other heroes." Lemillion began to feel woozy and his legs lost strength dropping him to the ground.
The swarm disappeared and standing right where he had been looking was Khepri-Sensei's black armored form with the creepy orange lenses, in her right hand she held a tranquilizer gun.
She spoke again, this time with her real voice, "So you didn't have anyone watching your back and just became another hostage. You have a big heart, Mirio-kun, it will help you be a wonderful hero. You just need to temper it with some discipline so that it won't get you killed."
The world faded to black.
Izuku was practically vibrating with excitement as he turned the corner and the gate of UA came into view. He had to stop himself from running forward and dragging his mom towards the campus. Normally he would have slowed down time and gotten himself fully under control, but the thought of delaying his arrival at UA for even a second was unbearable.
Instead he turned his head towards his mom and smiled. She looked as worried as she had all week but still returned it. He felt bad. Him finally finding his quirk had been the best thing that had ever happened to him, but him being attacked by a villain had obviously shaken mom. He had tried to tell her that with his quirk he would learn how to become a hero and be able to fight back against villains in the future, but that had not done anything to assuage her.
Still she had called UA and set up the tour, so he knew she would feel better once she got a chance to see how well he would be trained once he got in.
As they arrived at the gate a blonde boy wearing the UA school uniform waved at them, "Midoriya-san?"
Izuku waved back excitedly, "Yes! That would be me!"
He bowed, "I am Mirio Togata. I am a second year hero student here. I will be helping out with your tour today." He handed each of them a lanyard with a card on it, "Make sure you wear these while on campus. The security around here is tight and the buildings will go into lockdown if unidentified people are on campus."
Izuku took the pass and pulled it over his head. Togata-san continued, "To start with we will be going to Principal Nezu's office. Khepri-sensei will meet you there."
"That means you're going to be a pro hero in two years! That is so cool! What is your hero name? And your quirk? I bet it is so cool!"
Togata-san smiled proudly at him, "I'm Lemillion, because I am going to save a million people." Then he blushed, "My quirk is called Phasing. I'd show you, but I end up phasing through my clothes if I'm not careful."
"Oh my." Izuku glanced at his mom who was blushing furiously, "That seems like it would make being a hero difficult."
Togata-san laughed, "It was quite the problem, but UA was able to figure out a solution! Khepri-sensei brought in another support specialist to make some genetically modified spiders. When they would drink some of my blood their web the web they would produce would contain my phasing protien. So now I have a spiderweb suit that I can phase in! Sensei also said she would make me some phasing civilian clothes when she has some extra time!"
"That is so cool!" Izuku glanced at his mom who looked less impressed and more slightly disturbed.
He turned back to Togata-san to ask another question but mom beat him to the punch, "If you don't mind me asking, did the school make you come in on a Sunday to give us a tour."
"No, but giving tours is considered part of hero training, so students can get extra credit by doing so." Togata-san blushed, "I messed up on the last exam so I jumped at the opportunity."
Izuku frowned in confusion, "How is giving tours part of being a pro hero?"
Togata-san laughed again, "Well it isn't really, but when you're on patrol you're likely to interact with the public who often are excited to meet and speak with you because you're a pro hero. Giving tours of UA as a hero student is similar so it is meant to teach us to interact with the general public while still focusing on our task. Speaking of, we have arrived at the Principal's office."
Togata-san opened the door and Izuku stepped through. Inside was Khepri standing in front of a desk wearing her hero costume! It was a deep royal blue with silver armored sections. Though she wasn't wearing her iconic mask, and instead just had her glasses on like he saw at the hospital. It was so cool! He wondered if he would ever see her in her all black suit that the forums had dubbed her "Serious Business" suit after footage of her and All Might bringing down the Four Horsemen had leaked. She turned around to smile at them and that was when Izuku noticed the small rodent-like form of Principal Nezu behind her!
Nezu spoke, "Midoriya-san, Midoriya-kun, I am glad to see you two made it here well. Togata-san, I know this is not normally how tours go, but Khepri-sensei and I have some private business to discuss with them. Would you please wait outside? If it goes too long we will let you go and you will still get full credit."
Izuku frowned as he heard the door shut behind him. What could they need to discuss with him? And why in private?
Izuku formed the image of a microwave dial in his head and turned it as little as possible. Time did not slow noticeably but his power turned on and the world looked like it was brought into focus. He called this his Analysis Mode. When he was like this, all of his senses were enhanced, giving him far superior detail than they normally would, and information about whatever he was focusing on would pop into his head. It also turned on his ability to sense his surrounding environment.
He had figured out that he could do it a couple of days after getting out of the hospital and had intended to spend all his time like this, but then he found out that after a few hours doing so would cause him to have a terrible migraine. He had been intending on saving this for when the tour started in earnest but now he felt this was more pressing.
"If the two of you would join me." Nezu scurried over to a sitting area in the corner of his office with a table that had four tea cups sitting on it. Khepri walked over to a counter where a pot of tea was brewing and brought it over to the table. Izuku could smell that the tea was some blend of green tea and looking at the pot told him that its temperature was 80.39 celsius.
As she approached he moved his focus up to her face and slowed time almost to a complete stop to prevent himself from gasping. In the middle of her forehead he saw faint details of two circular scars. Information about the scars and the makeup covering them started flooding in but he forced his attention inward making himself to focus on getting his emotions under control then went back to Analysis Mode.
Taylor poured a cup of tea for Nezu and herself and offered one to him and mom. After receiving affirmation she poured two more and passed out the cups.
As the cups sat cooling on the table Nezu spoke, "This is your show Taylor. But I would like for us to start soon so we don't keep poor Togata-san waiting too long."
Izuku could hear a low buzz start to come out from the walls. He started to feel nervous again. What was this about?
"Does this have to do with you having been shot in the head?" Izuku blinked, realizing that it was him who had just spoken.
"Bullshit Thinkers." The words were so quiet he wouldn't have been able to hear them without his Analysis Mode but they sounded amused. As he looked back up he saw that Khepri had a small smile.
"Don't worry, that was from a long time ago. Nothing to do with you." Izuku felt relieved for a moment before feeling like an idiot. Of course that wasn't why she was collapsing, there would have been no way she could have been there when he woke up if she was recovering from that.
"No this is about you. It is just difficult to explain." She paused again but this time Izuku noticed that the low buzz had disappeared. "I guess I will start with the simplest aspect. Midoriya-kun, you do not have a quirk."
Izuku slammed his hand on the table and stood up, "Yes I do! The doctors verified it! I registered it yesterday! You can look it up, it is called Analysis Paralysis!" He stopped time and stared. He had a quirk! There was no way he could do this without a quirk! He let time flow again.
"Sorry, I did not think about how you might react to me saying that. You do have a power,it's just not a quirk."
Izuku sat back down feeling a deep well of confusion. "What does that even mean?" He felt his mother's hand rest on the back of his and glanced over to her.
"Quirks are the result of human mutation. But you do not have one, you are a parahuman like myself. Our powers come from a completely different source and that makes them distinct in a few important ways."
Izuku felt his confusion begin to give way to curiosity. "Then what is the source of my power?"
This time Nezu spoke up, "I am here to help answer that question. What we are about to tell you is going to sound quite crazy but this has all been verified. The first thing you need to know is that there are other versions of Earth."
Taylor nodded, "And that I came here from one of them."
Izuku stared. He wanted to say that sounded insane, but with quirks almost anything is possible so maybe it wasn't. All Might could punch the weather after all. "Okay."
Nezu clapped his paws together, "A mind open to new information is such a wonderful thing."
"But that doesn't answer my question."
Khepri sighed, "No it doesn't. About 40 years ago an alien arrived on many Earths including my own. The alien began distributing powers by connecting a piece of itself to people going through traumatic events."
"So you are saying I have a piece of an alien in me?"
Khepri shook her head, "No. You have two new growths on your brain that connect you to a fully autonomous piece of that alien that resides on another Earth and is likely somewhere between the size of a city and the size of an entire continent."
"Huh…" Izuku picked up the tea and sipped it as he leaned back into his chair. His brain seemed to have stopped working.
Khepri started to sip her own tea, "Take your time, Midoriya-kun. I know this is a lot to take in."
His mother's voice came out from the seat beside him. "How do you know that this is the case, Khepri-san?"
"Because I was there when he triggered. You told the police that you saw me collapsing, right Midoriya-kun?" Izuku nodded. "That was because of something called Sympathetic Triggers. When a parahuman gets their powers they go through what is called a Trigger Event, which causes them to black out momentarily. When this happens any nearby parahumans will black out for the same duration. That is why you saw me collapsing, though I was awake again by the time you could see me."
Izuku finally felt his brain restart. "Khepri, this power, whatever its source, it is still mine, correct? It won't abandon me."
"As far as I know that has never happened."
Izuku nodded, "Then none of this matters. It doesn't matter if I am quirkless or a parahuman or whatever, I will become a hero that makes everyone feel safe when they see my smile. And my power will only help me achieve that."
Khepri stared at him with a bewildered expression.
Nezu laughed, "What a wonderful answer. I think you have the potential to make a wonderful hero young man. I look forward to seeing how you do on the entrance exams."
Khepri's expression morphed into a small smile, "I cannot say I disagree. He reminds me of All Might."
Izuku leaped from his chair and rushed over pulling Khepri into a hug. He felt tears in his eyes as he looked up at her, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
He heard his mother let out a quiet cough and released the hero. She patted him on the head, "It wasn't a problem, Midoriya-san. I can see how much this meant to him."
Nezu walked out in front of Izuku, "Well I know that must have been quite overwhelming. I am going to suggest you do not spread this information about alternate Earths and parahumans around. It is your secret of course, so keep it at your discretion, but being too cavalier with it could have some unintended consequences."
Khepri then continued, "And I am going to have to ask that you do not tell anyone that I am from another Earth without my permission. That is my secret."
Izuku heard his mother affirm that they wouldn't speak of it and he repeated her statement.
Nezu went to the door, "Wonderful. Now I know that this has been a lot. Would you like for us to reschedule the tour?"
"No!" Izuku had been waiting all week for this. Any longer and it was going to kill him. "I still want to do it now." He looked at his mother, pleading with his eyes.
"I don't have a problem with that, Izuku" Izuku threw up his hands in celebration. She turned towards Khepri, "I do have a few questions for you though, Khepri-san."
"I don't have a problem with that."
Nezu turned towards Khepri, "Then how about you take Midoriya-san to your workshop to answer her questions while Togata-san and I take Midoriya-kun on the tour. We will meet you there when we are done or you can always join us if you finish up early."
Izuku heard his mother's affirmation and Nezu turned towards him, "Now my young future hero, let us show you everything we have to offer."
Izuku beamed.
Taylor unlocked her workshop and let Midoriya-san in.
As she closed the door behind her Midoriya-san walked up to one of her costume stands. "Khepri-san, do you sew?"
"In a way, I weave with my spiders. Part of my contract with the school has me make costumes for all the new students."
Midoriya-san looked shocked at her statement, "That is a lot of work for one woman."
Taylor smiled, "Part of my power lets me divide my attention nearly infinitely so I can make a lot at the same time. Plus I can just do it while I am teaching. Now Midoriya-san, what questions do you have for me?"
"Please, call me Inko."
Taylor nodded, "Thank you Inko, then call me Taylor."
Inko fished the card Taylor had given her at the hospital out of her purse, on it was the note she had written. 'His quirk could be dangerous.'
"You said his power came from an…" Inko took a breath, "An alien. Why did this alien give people power? Why did it give Izuku powers?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Some people who knew about the alien longer than the rest of us thought it wanted to see what people would do with those powers. But the alien is dead, the pieces of the alien, which I call the Passengers, is all that remains. As for why Izuku, I cannot tell you. As far as I can tell he is the first person on this Earth to trigger."
Inko stared at her, "Then this Passenger. What does it want?"
Taylor looked down, "I'm not sure. I think that the Passengers are just continuing to do what they were made for."
"Then why tell us this at all. If you had just let Izuku think he had a quirk nothing would have changed?"
Taylor leaned on her desk, "Because there are differences. The Passengers want their powers to be used and they can influence their hosts. When I was a couple of years older than Izuku my Passenger would make me use my powers in certain ways as a means to 'help' me. Ways that I would not even realize I was doing."
Taylor sighed, "There was a theory that powers would alter the personality of parahumans to push them towards conflict. Though there was a lot of disagreement about whether or not that was a real phenomenon or if people who were naturally drawn towards conflict were just more likely to get powers. Still some people were never the same after their trigger events."
Taylor watched as Izuku looked with wonder at one of the training rooms, "I don't think that is the case with your son, but you would know better than I."
Taylor looked up at Inko, "I cannot say what the long term effects of this will be. But when I look at Izuku I see a wonderful kid."
Inko smiled sadly, "I do too." She sighed, "There is nothing I can do to stop him from being a hero. I'm not sure I even want to, no matter how scared the idea makes me. So I want you to train him and help him get into this school."
Taylor was taken aback, "What?"
"You said you are the only other parahuman on this Earth. That means if there is a problem you are the only one who might be able to help. And you are a teacher, I'm sure you can help him."
Taylor looked at Inko and an image of her own mother flashed into her mind. "I will be there to help him with his powers no matter what. If you notice anything just give me a call. And I am willing to help him prepare for the entrance exams, but he will still need to earn his place."
Inko smiled gratefully, "I have no doubt he will, you said it yourself, my son reminds you of All Might."
It was true, whether for better or worse, the boy did. She would just have to hope she could instill some amount of self preservation into him without him having a years later revelation about Gold Morning.
A/N: A massive thank you to @MN01 and @FlowerPothead for beta reading. This is a necessary exposition chapter, but I think I got a couple of good moments in there. Next chapter will be a bit of a training montage with Taylor and the one after should be entrance exams. But I've got good plans for both so I'm already excited to start writing them.
My solution to the clothing issue for Mirio is silly but is still somehow less silly than them getting enough hair from him to produce a full body suit in less than three years, so I'm happy with it.
The room was dead silent. In the middle of the room he saw the unmoving forms of half a dozen of his classmates hanging from webs.
He felt his heart pound and his breath quicken as he rushed forward to see if he could help them. The moment he reached them the room exploded into noise as insects poured out of the vault and started swirling around him.
Lemillion fell into a defensive stance preparing to phase into the floor at a moment's notice. He scanned the swarm looking for any sign of Khepri-Sensei. She had said she would not be attacking with her swarm without being present herself for this assignment so he needed to subdue her before she left to capture anymore of his classmates.
The noise of the swarm began to harmonize and formed into a voice, "You are late. The civilians you rescued were not in urgent danger but you prioritized them over providing backup to your teammate just because they called out to you for help." Le Million flinched. He knew what he should have done but the thought of someone calling out to a hero and being ignored just felt wrong.
Lemillion saw a black mass moving against the stream of the swarm. He launched himself forward and phased into the ground. As soon as he was in striking distance of the mass he propelled himself out of the ground and into the middle of the swarm with his fist already in mid swing. He connected and it exploded into insects. He felt a sharp prick at the back of his neck and phased back into the ground, returning to where his classmates were tied up.
The swarm once again began to speak, "When you arrived you rushed in without any attempt to assess the situation or link up with other heroes." Lemillion began to feel woozy and his legs lost strength dropping him to the ground.
The swarm disappeared and standing right where he had been looking was Khepri-Sensei's black armored form with the creepy orange lenses, in her right hand she held a tranquilizer gun.
She spoke again, this time with her real voice, "So you didn't have anyone watching your back and just became another hostage. You have a big heart, Mirio-kun, it will help you be a wonderful hero. You just need to temper it with some discipline so that it won't get you killed."
The world faded to black.
Izuku was practically vibrating with excitement as he turned the corner and the gate of UA came into view. He had to stop himself from running forward and dragging his mom towards the campus. Normally he would have slowed down time and gotten himself fully under control, but the thought of delaying his arrival at UA for even a second was unbearable.
Instead he turned his head towards his mom and smiled. She looked as worried as she had all week but still returned it. He felt bad. Him finally finding his quirk had been the best thing that had ever happened to him, but him being attacked by a villain had obviously shaken mom. He had tried to tell her that with his quirk he would learn how to become a hero and be able to fight back against villains in the future, but that had not done anything to assuage her.
Still she had called UA and set up the tour, so he knew she would feel better once she got a chance to see how well he would be trained once he got in.
As they arrived at the gate a blonde boy wearing the UA school uniform waved at them, "Midoriya-san?"
Izuku waved back excitedly, "Yes! That would be me!"
He bowed, "I am Mirio Togata. I am a second year hero student here. I will be helping out with your tour today." He handed each of them a lanyard with a card on it, "Make sure you wear these while on campus. The security around here is tight and the buildings will go into lockdown if unidentified people are on campus."
Izuku took the pass and pulled it over his head. Togata-san continued, "To start with we will be going to Principal Nezu's office. Khepri-sensei will meet you there."
"That means you're going to be a pro hero in two years! That is so cool! What is your hero name? And your quirk? I bet it is so cool!"
Togata-san smiled proudly at him, "I'm Lemillion, because I am going to save a million people." Then he blushed, "My quirk is called Phasing. I'd show you, but I end up phasing through my clothes if I'm not careful."
"Oh my." Izuku glanced at his mom who was blushing furiously, "That seems like it would make being a hero difficult."
Togata-san laughed, "It was quite the problem, but UA was able to figure out a solution! Khepri-sensei brought in another support specialist to make some genetically modified spiders. When they would drink some of my blood their web the web they would produce would contain my phasing protien. So now I have a spiderweb suit that I can phase in! Sensei also said she would make me some phasing civilian clothes when she has some extra time!"
"That is so cool!" Izuku glanced at his mom who looked less impressed and more slightly disturbed.
He turned back to Togata-san to ask another question but mom beat him to the punch, "If you don't mind me asking, did the school make you come in on a Sunday to give us a tour."
"No, but giving tours is considered part of hero training, so students can get extra credit by doing so." Togata-san blushed, "I messed up on the last exam so I jumped at the opportunity."
Izuku frowned in confusion, "How is giving tours part of being a pro hero?"
Togata-san laughed again, "Well it isn't really, but when you're on patrol you're likely to interact with the public who often are excited to meet and speak with you because you're a pro hero. Giving tours of UA as a hero student is similar so it is meant to teach us to interact with the general public while still focusing on our task. Speaking of, we have arrived at the Principal's office."
Togata-san opened the door and Izuku stepped through. Inside was Khepri standing in front of a desk wearing her hero costume! It was a deep royal blue with silver armored sections. Though she wasn't wearing her iconic mask, and instead just had her glasses on like he saw at the hospital. It was so cool! He wondered if he would ever see her in her all black suit that the forums had dubbed her "Serious Business" suit after footage of her and All Might bringing down the Four Horsemen had leaked. She turned around to smile at them and that was when Izuku noticed the small rodent-like form of Principal Nezu behind her!
Nezu spoke, "Midoriya-san, Midoriya-kun, I am glad to see you two made it here well. Togata-san, I know this is not normally how tours go, but Khepri-sensei and I have some private business to discuss with them. Would you please wait outside? If it goes too long we will let you go and you will still get full credit."
Izuku frowned as he heard the door shut behind him. What could they need to discuss with him? And why in private?
Izuku formed the image of a microwave dial in his head and turned it as little as possible. Time did not slow noticeably but his power turned on and the world looked like it was brought into focus. He called this his Analysis Mode. When he was like this, all of his senses were enhanced, giving him far superior detail than they normally would, and information about whatever he was focusing on would pop into his head. It also turned on his ability to sense his surrounding environment.
He had figured out that he could do it a couple of days after getting out of the hospital and had intended to spend all his time like this, but then he found out that after a few hours doing so would cause him to have a terrible migraine. He had been intending on saving this for when the tour started in earnest but now he felt this was more pressing.
"If the two of you would join me." Nezu scurried over to a sitting area in the corner of his office with a table that had four tea cups sitting on it. Khepri walked over to a counter where a pot of tea was brewing and brought it over to the table. Izuku could smell that the tea was some blend of green tea and looking at the pot told him that its temperature was 80.39 celsius.
As she approached he moved his focus up to her face and slowed time almost to a complete stop to prevent himself from gasping. In the middle of her forehead he saw faint details of two circular scars. Information about the scars and the makeup covering them started flooding in but he forced his attention inward making himself to focus on getting his emotions under control then went back to Analysis Mode.
Taylor poured a cup of tea for Nezu and herself and offered one to him and mom. After receiving affirmation she poured two more and passed out the cups.
As the cups sat cooling on the table Nezu spoke, "This is your show Taylor. But I would like for us to start soon so we don't keep poor Togata-san waiting too long."
Izuku could hear a low buzz start to come out from the walls. He started to feel nervous again. What was this about?
"Does this have to do with you having been shot in the head?" Izuku blinked, realizing that it was him who had just spoken.
"Bullshit Thinkers." The words were so quiet he wouldn't have been able to hear them without his Analysis Mode but they sounded amused. As he looked back up he saw that Khepri had a small smile.
"Don't worry, that was from a long time ago. Nothing to do with you." Izuku felt relieved for a moment before feeling like an idiot. Of course that wasn't why she was collapsing, there would have been no way she could have been there when he woke up if she was recovering from that.
"No this is about you. It is just difficult to explain." She paused again but this time Izuku noticed that the low buzz had disappeared. "I guess I will start with the simplest aspect. Midoriya-kun, you do not have a quirk."
Izuku slammed his hand on the table and stood up, "Yes I do! The doctors verified it! I registered it yesterday! You can look it up, it is called Analysis Paralysis!" He stopped time and stared. He had a quirk! There was no way he could do this without a quirk! He let time flow again.
"Sorry, I did not think about how you might react to me saying that. You do have a power,it's just not a quirk."
Izuku sat back down feeling a deep well of confusion. "What does that even mean?" He felt his mother's hand rest on the back of his and glanced over to her.
"Quirks are the result of human mutation. But you do not have one, you are a parahuman like myself. Our powers come from a completely different source and that makes them distinct in a few important ways."
Izuku felt his confusion begin to give way to curiosity. "Then what is the source of my power?"
This time Nezu spoke up, "I am here to help answer that question. What we are about to tell you is going to sound quite crazy but this has all been verified. The first thing you need to know is that there are other versions of Earth."
Taylor nodded, "And that I came here from one of them."
Izuku stared. He wanted to say that sounded insane, but with quirks almost anything is possible so maybe it wasn't. All Might could punch the weather after all. "Okay."
Nezu clapped his paws together, "A mind open to new information is such a wonderful thing."
"But that doesn't answer my question."
Khepri sighed, "No it doesn't. About 40 years ago an alien arrived on many Earths including my own. The alien began distributing powers by connecting a piece of itself to people going through traumatic events."
"So you are saying I have a piece of an alien in me?"
Khepri shook her head, "No. You have two new growths on your brain that connect you to a fully autonomous piece of that alien that resides on another Earth and is likely somewhere between the size of a city and the size of an entire continent."
"Huh…" Izuku picked up the tea and sipped it as he leaned back into his chair. His brain seemed to have stopped working.
Khepri started to sip her own tea, "Take your time, Midoriya-kun. I know this is a lot to take in."
His mother's voice came out from the seat beside him. "How do you know that this is the case, Khepri-san?"
"Because I was there when he triggered. You told the police that you saw me collapsing, right Midoriya-kun?" Izuku nodded. "That was because of something called Sympathetic Triggers. When a parahuman gets their powers they go through what is called a Trigger Event, which causes them to black out momentarily. When this happens any nearby parahumans will black out for the same duration. That is why you saw me collapsing, though I was awake again by the time you could see me."
Izuku finally felt his brain restart. "Khepri, this power, whatever its source, it is still mine, correct? It won't abandon me."
"As far as I know that has never happened."
Izuku nodded, "Then none of this matters. It doesn't matter if I am quirkless or a parahuman or whatever, I will become a hero that makes everyone feel safe when they see my smile. And my power will only help me achieve that."
Khepri stared at him with a bewildered expression.
Nezu laughed, "What a wonderful answer. I think you have the potential to make a wonderful hero young man. I look forward to seeing how you do on the entrance exams."
Khepri's expression morphed into a small smile, "I cannot say I disagree. He reminds me of All Might."
Izuku leaped from his chair and rushed over pulling Khepri into a hug. He felt tears in his eyes as he looked up at her, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
He heard his mother let out a quiet cough and released the hero. She patted him on the head, "It wasn't a problem, Midoriya-san. I can see how much this meant to him."
Nezu walked out in front of Izuku, "Well I know that must have been quite overwhelming. I am going to suggest you do not spread this information about alternate Earths and parahumans around. It is your secret of course, so keep it at your discretion, but being too cavalier with it could have some unintended consequences."
Khepri then continued, "And I am going to have to ask that you do not tell anyone that I am from another Earth without my permission. That is my secret."
Izuku heard his mother affirm that they wouldn't speak of it and he repeated her statement.
Nezu went to the door, "Wonderful. Now I know that this has been a lot. Would you like for us to reschedule the tour?"
"No!" Izuku had been waiting all week for this. Any longer and it was going to kill him. "I still want to do it now." He looked at his mother, pleading with his eyes.
"I don't have a problem with that, Izuku" Izuku threw up his hands in celebration. She turned towards Khepri, "I do have a few questions for you though, Khepri-san."
"I don't have a problem with that."
Nezu turned towards Khepri, "Then how about you take Midoriya-san to your workshop to answer her questions while Togata-san and I take Midoriya-kun on the tour. We will meet you there when we are done or you can always join us if you finish up early."
Izuku heard his mother's affirmation and Nezu turned towards him, "Now my young future hero, let us show you everything we have to offer."
Izuku beamed.
Taylor unlocked her workshop and let Midoriya-san in.
As she closed the door behind her Midoriya-san walked up to one of her costume stands. "Khepri-san, do you sew?"
"In a way, I weave with my spiders. Part of my contract with the school has me make costumes for all the new students."
Midoriya-san looked shocked at her statement, "That is a lot of work for one woman."
Taylor smiled, "Part of my power lets me divide my attention nearly infinitely so I can make a lot at the same time. Plus I can just do it while I am teaching. Now Midoriya-san, what questions do you have for me?"
"Please, call me Inko."
Taylor nodded, "Thank you Inko, then call me Taylor."
Inko fished the card Taylor had given her at the hospital out of her purse, on it was the note she had written. 'His quirk could be dangerous.'
"You said his power came from an…" Inko took a breath, "An alien. Why did this alien give people power? Why did it give Izuku powers?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Some people who knew about the alien longer than the rest of us thought it wanted to see what people would do with those powers. But the alien is dead, the pieces of the alien, which I call the Passengers, is all that remains. As for why Izuku, I cannot tell you. As far as I can tell he is the first person on this Earth to trigger."
Inko stared at her, "Then this Passenger. What does it want?"
Taylor looked down, "I'm not sure. I think that the Passengers are just continuing to do what they were made for."
"Then why tell us this at all. If you had just let Izuku think he had a quirk nothing would have changed?"
Taylor leaned on her desk, "Because there are differences. The Passengers want their powers to be used and they can influence their hosts. When I was a couple of years older than Izuku my Passenger would make me use my powers in certain ways as a means to 'help' me. Ways that I would not even realize I was doing."
Taylor sighed, "There was a theory that powers would alter the personality of parahumans to push them towards conflict. Though there was a lot of disagreement about whether or not that was a real phenomenon or if people who were naturally drawn towards conflict were just more likely to get powers. Still some people were never the same after their trigger events."
Taylor watched as Izuku looked with wonder at one of the training rooms, "I don't think that is the case with your son, but you would know better than I."
Taylor looked up at Inko, "I cannot say what the long term effects of this will be. But when I look at Izuku I see a wonderful kid."
Inko smiled sadly, "I do too." She sighed, "There is nothing I can do to stop him from being a hero. I'm not sure I even want to, no matter how scared the idea makes me. So I want you to train him and help him get into this school."
Taylor was taken aback, "What?"
"You said you are the only other parahuman on this Earth. That means if there is a problem you are the only one who might be able to help. And you are a teacher, I'm sure you can help him."
Taylor looked at Inko and an image of her own mother flashed into her mind. "I will be there to help him with his powers no matter what. If you notice anything just give me a call. And I am willing to help him prepare for the entrance exams, but he will still need to earn his place."
Inko smiled gratefully, "I have no doubt he will, you said it yourself, my son reminds you of All Might."
It was true, whether for better or worse, the boy did. She would just have to hope she could instill some amount of self preservation into him without him having a years later revelation about Gold Morning.
A/N: A massive thank you to @MN01 and @FlowerPothead for beta reading. This is a necessary exposition chapter, but I think I got a couple of good moments in there. Next chapter will be a bit of a training montage with Taylor and the one after should be entrance exams. But I've got good plans for both so I'm already excited to start writing them.
My solution to the clothing issue for Mirio is silly but is still somehow less silly than them getting enough hair from him to produce a full body suit in less than three years, so I'm happy with it.
Last edited:
Your solution opened up alot of options you may or may not have meant to. The quirks are all biologically based, the super spiders are desigend to drink any blood sample, and then the quirk causing biology effects the spiders or at least their silk.
It does not seem hard for her to have a great many blood samples and a great deal of variously enhanced super spiders collected and stored. This is an incredibly powerful thing to give her.
Also any bug tinker able to make those spiders might be able to make other things. It might actually be better for someone with a healing power to have rapidly enhanced his hair growth or something than have a bug tinker that made super spiders Taylor never uses for anything and never asked to make anything else.
Last edited:
- Location
- US
Oh wow, this is so interesting! Definitely watched!
Im... not super happy about this chapter.
No offense but Inko browbeating Taylor into becoming Izukus mentor seems off to me. I mean this is the woman who faced down Scion and won. Maybe if Inko asked, or even begged then i could have seen it but trying to browbeat Taylor into it like she did would just make her say no and walk off.
I have a few other minor problems with the chapter but that's the big one
No offense but Inko browbeating Taylor into becoming Izukus mentor seems off to me. I mean this is the woman who faced down Scion and won. Maybe if Inko asked, or even begged then i could have seen it but trying to browbeat Taylor into it like she did would just make her say no and walk off.
I have a few other minor problems with the chapter but that's the big one
Tweaking the ending
After reading the feedback I tweaked Taylor's final interaction with Inko so it hopefully feels more in character for both of them. I am aware of the pacing issues with the chapter but that would take a more extensive rewrite to fix and I have a hunch that if I do that it will end up killing my motivation.
Thank you to everyone who provided constructive criticism.
Thank you to everyone who provided constructive criticism.
- Location
- In a tower. In the plane of Chaos.
I like how the whole parahuman thing is handled, the Midoriya's are given the facts relevant to them and told to be aware of the possible differences between those and quirks, while some what hinting at the wider scope of past events. Lemillion meanwhile is the goodest boy and is doing his best.
yacov
Lurking and sometimes blurting
- Location
- Clogging a drain
Oh good, Taylor's bullet scars prevent Midoriya from noticing the scars from the lobotomies. It is good thing Amy was so good at healing or else I imagine Taylor's head just being a mass of scar tissue under her hair.
Ah yes, all of the potential downsides of a sentient quirk with none of the ways to prove it to a layman. At least sentient quirks are somewhat based on human logic and emotion, Passengers and their influence are completely alien.
Also the operative word for "Passengers" is "alien". Orange/Blue morality doesn't even begin to cover that. Honestly it is more equivalent to being the Chosen of a minor eldritch deity than anything based on humanity.
Wow, either Inko doesn't know how Khepri operates or All Might has one hell of a PR department. I am sure the news that Khepri has a protégé will be met with shock and horror from her colleagues and students.
Last edited:
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
Does this mean that eventually Izuku could still get One for All and not risk dying of accelerated ageing?
yacov
Lurking and sometimes blurting
- Location
- Clogging a drain
Considering Parahuman's brain hosts a connection to the shard and their alternate earth that is ill defined at the best of times, eh I am sure the previous wielders of One for All will be fine with Izuku's headspace with a fragment of an omnicidial eldritch entity.
They even get a new roommate to [TEST] with for [DATA]. Izuku's Passenger would probably be 100% on board with this.
Last edited:
Does this make Izuku immune to eraserhead?
Training Montage
New
Taylor slammed her prosthetic fist down on the desk, "Nezu! What the fuck do you mean I must stop responding to every instance of bullying I see with my swarm?"
Nezu's gaze remained calm and measured, "Taylor, I know you want to protect our students but we cannot make them feel like they are constantly under surveillance."
"I've seen the security system here, they are constantly under surveillance!"
"But we do not use that to spy on them. Only in the case of a security incident is any of that footage viewed by a person." Nezu sighed, "If the only reason the students behave is that they fear they are being watched then it will stifle their growth. It might result in them lashing out while away from the school or push them towards paranoia."
"The victims are already having their growth stifled!" Taylor realized that she had been shouting in English. She pushed her reaction out to her swarm and continued more calmly in Japanese, "If we do nothing the perpetrators will only learn what exactly they can get away with, and they will keep pushing that boundary until permanent damage is done."
"There is a system in place to prevent that."
"Your system is not good enough, you have seen all the reports I have filed and I haven't even been here a full semester." Taylor glared at the rat, "There is nothing worse than being a victim and watching the system protect the one that hurt you while it leaves you to fend for yourself."
"You're right."
Taylor slid her hand off the desk, "What?"
"You are correct, you have made it abundantly clear that our system has some glaring oversights." Nezu dug through his desk drawer pulling out a brush and a dust pan then he started sweeping up the splinters from where she had punched his desk, "That is why I want to work with you. Let's make a better system."
Izuku looked up in wonder. The building he was staring at looked like a remarkably plain office building, but he knew that was only a facade. He was standing outside one of the remote offices for the UA Hero Agency! Who knew what wonders hid inside?
And even better! He was here to be tutored by none other than Khepri! He had no idea how his mom had convinced her to agree to it, but she was officially the greatest mom ever!
He stepped through the sliding doors and inside was… a remarkably plain office lobby. The only person he could see was a young man with reptilian features reclining behind a desk. He had a book open in one hand, but was looking over it directly at Izuku. "Midoriya-san?"
Izuku quickly walked up to the desk, upon arrival he put his feet together and stood up straight. "Present!"
The man chuckled, "Calm down kid. You are here to meet with Khepri, yeah?"
"Yes, sir."
The man pressed a button and there was a buzzing sound. He gestured to a door behind him and to the left, "Go through there, then go to the second door on the right." He looked back down at the book as Izuku turned away, but then as he opened the door the man spoke up again, "Oh, and please tell Taylor-san that her choice for book club this month is amazing. I had no idea Frankenstein would rock this hard!"
Behind the door was a plain hallway. Izuku followed the receptionist's instructions and entered the door to reveal a dojo! It wasn't a particularly impressive dojo, but at least it was a dojo!
Inside, Khepri was leaning against the far wall. She was dressed in her hero suit but still wasn't wearing the mask. As he entered she spoke up, "Good to see you Midoriya-kun. Did you have any issues finding this place?"
"Um, I walked past it once, but it wasn't too difficult."
"Let me guess, you were expecting something a bit more grand?"
Izuku blushed and nodded.
She chuckled, "The main office is on campus and is exactly what you are expecting. Eraserhead and I tend to work out of this one as we prefer the less ostentatious feel. Plus this is closer to your school. Now, did you bring gym clothes as I instructed?"
Izuku nodded furiously and patted his bag, "Good." She pointed to a door, "That's the men's locker room. There is a locker in it with a key in the lock, get changed and store your stuff inside."
Izuku gasped, "I've got my own locker here?"
Khepri nodded, "For the next nine months. One way or the other you will lose it after the entrance exam."
Izuku slowed time to stop himself from squealing. He had a locker at a Hero Agency! Did that mean he was like an intern or maybe even an unofficial sidekick!? This was so cool! He would have to get mom the greatest gift ever!
Izuku let time resume and ran towards the locker room, as he entered he turned around, "Um, the receptionist told me to tell you that he is enjoying Frankenstein."
Khepri smiled, "I knew that Hachiro would. Though it is sad how relevant that book still is even three hundred years later. Now hurry up and get changed. I need to figure out what your starting point is and we don't have all day."
Izuku rushed into the locker room. This was going to be so much fun!
Izuku gasped in pain as he hit the mat and time returned to normal.
After he had come back, Khepri had asked him some questions about how his power worked. Then she had him do some physical tests for her as she wrote down the results. After that she had him watch her hit a bag for a while telling him to twist his dial until he found a speed where he thought he could easily react to her attacks but wasn't so slow that he risked letting his mind wander while he waited for something to happen.
That had been great fun, and when they had finished he had his newly christened Combat Mode! But then came dodging practice, and despite the fact that he had only been doing so for about twenty minutes he could already tell that he hated, no he abhorred, dodging practice.
Dodging the first strike was easy, but then the follow up would come and he would trip over his feet, or just not be able to get out of the way fast enough. Next thing he knew he would be on the mat, over and over again. One time he had been able to dodge the second strike, but that had ended up with him on his butt as Khepri stopped her knee about a millimeter before it planted itself inside his stomach.
She stood over him, and offered her hand. Izuku paused a second before grabbing it and she pulled him to his feet. "Why do you think you were unable to dodge my attacks?"
Izuku wanted to pout and tell her he obviously couldn't dodge because she was a professional hero but instead paused to consider, "After I avoided your first strike, I was off balance so I couldn't get out of the way of your next attack without falling over."
"Correct." Khepri's voice sounded approving, "We will be working on that, teaching you how to keep your balance while evading and how to dodge with a minimal amount of movement. But there is something more fundamental that you are missing. Simply put, you are not yet fast enough to take advantage of your abilities. So the most important thing for us to work on is your overall physical fitness so that you can act on the data your power feeds you."
Izuku looked down at his arms, he really was skin and bones now that he thought about it. Khepri spoke up again, "I'm curious. You said you intended to be a hero even before you triggered. So why weren't you working out and taking martial arts or at least some basic self-defense courses?"
"Um, I spent a lot of time studying heroes and I was kinda hoping that would be enough to let me pass." Left unsaid was that if he had started training and Kaa-chan found out, it might not have gone well.
Khepri sighed, "You really were meant to be a Thinker. At least you are willing to train, unlike some I've worked with."
"Um Sensei, what does "Thinker" mean? I heard you say it under your breath when we were in the principal's office."
"Thinker is one of the main categories of the power classification system we used on my Earth. Thinker specifies powers that relate to enhancing the way the user perceives, collects, or analyzes information. So people like you, Sir Nighteye, or Nezu. Actually, I also have a Thinker rating because of my ability to multitask and sense through my bugs."
"Oh! Does that mean it is part of the same system as "Brute" and "Mover"? I hadn't heard of Thinker before but that makes sense." Izuku smacked his fist into his open palm, "Then is the reason all the categories use English words is because you started it?"
"Actually, I was intending on translating them to Japanese, to increase familiarity, but All Might insisted they sounded cooler in English and his terminology caught on." Izuku's eyes went wide. All Might was totally right, they did sound cooler in English! "Alright this is where we stop for today. I need to put together your exercise plan, so drop by after school tomorrow and the receptionist will give it to you."
Izuku was shocked, "That's it!? But I haven't even thrown a single punch!"
"I told you, Izuku. Today was just me figuring out your starting point so I can create a proper training regime for you. As for attacking, we will get there eventually, but the core of combat for anyone who's power does not make them more durable is evasion. If you take a direct hit you are very likely going to be incapacitated. So the first thing we need to work on is making sure you don't get hit to begin with. Do you understand?"
Izuku's voice was sullen, "Yes, Sensei."
Khepri put her hand on his shoulder, "This is going to be hard work, Midoriya-kun, but you will get there soon enough."
Izuku closed the book and glanced up at the clock.
Ten minutes. It had only taken him ten minutes to read his entire history textbook cover to cover. He had been swapping between his Paralysis Mode, where time seemed to move so slowly that it felt like it stood completely still, and real time so he didn't have to wait an eternity for the pages to turn.
When Khepri-sensei had told him to start using his powers to get ahead in his studies he had initially balked. For years his teachers had been telling the class that using your quirk for school was against the rules. When he had said as much she laughed and said that was irrational, that if he wanted to be a hero he needed to wring any and every advantage he could out of his power. So he bit the bullet and did the deed. Now he was ahead in every single class.
He opened the textbook to one of the pages he had marked and entered Paralysis Mode again. He didn't have too many more uses of it left today, the more he slowed time the faster he got a Thinker headache, but he might as well use what he had left to review the material before he started tonight's workout.
Izuku watched as Khepri-sensei moved in slow motion, dodging his kick. But something was different. It was the first time he had ever seen her center of gravity not centered. She was off balance! He needed to go for the win!
Izuku focused his eyes on his target and reeled his fist back. Then he lunged forward for a Manhattan Smash! As he approached his power informed him that just below his line of sight her fist was coming up, now seconds away from smashing into his stomach.
Izuku tried to dodge but he was too late, his momentum carried him straight into her attack.
Izuku wilted as Khepri-sensei sipped tea across the kitchen table. "I'm sorry for missing training yesterday, sensei."
"Are you feeling better now?" Her voice gave him no clues as to how much trouble he was in.
"Yes, I'll be starting my workout routine for the day in about an hour."
Khepri-sensei nodded, "I'm glad. Now can you tell me if you know why you left school early with a migraine yesterday?"
Izuku winced, as he knew that this conversation was about to go south. "Because I was trying to increase how much time I can use my power for."
"I've told you that is not how our powers work."
"I know, but it just feels wrong. The power is mine! I should be able to train it!"
Khepri-sensei sighed, "I know how frustrated you feel, Izuku. But the limits of our powers are set by our Passengers, they are not something we can change on our own. Just give it time, I expect you'll find that they will relax sooner than you think. My range is more than five times longer than it was when I first triggered."
Izuku felt relaxed at her words of understanding. Then she handed him a sheet of paper, "Here is the update to your training schedule since you skipped yesterday."
Izuku looked at the massive book Khepri-sensei had just handed him. Human Anatomy was plastered across the cover as well as an image of a man that had a groove carved in him revealing various layers that made up the body.
"I want you to use your spare time to start studying this. Let me know if you are having issues, this is a college level text so it might be difficult to understand. Especially the parts about common quirk mutations."
Izuku looked up at her, "Why?"
"Well I'm hoping a goal that you need to use your power for on your off days will help you regulate yourself so that you don't end up with any more pointless Thinker headaches." Izuku pouted, but Khepri-sensei continued on undeterred. "But as for the subject, your power is dangerous. You need to start learning the limits of the human body so you don't accidentally kill anyone."
Izuku frowned, "What do you mean my power is dangerous? It's not like I can cause explosions or anything."
Khepri-sensei's eyes looked distant, "When parahumans first arrived on Earth Bet, there was a Golden Age of Heroism. It ended when a hero was killed by an unpowered man with a baseball bat. Dead from a single swing that hit him in the wrong place. Your power will help you find all of the weak points the human body has, so you need to start learning which ones will incapacitate and which ones will kill."
"I guess. It just doesn't seem like much when compared to the things I've seen quirks do."
"All of the power in the world doesn't amount to anything if your enemy doesn't give you a chance to use it or just isn't there when you do so." Khepri-sensei stroked her forehead, "Of the most powerful people I have ever met, something like half of them were Thinkers. Including the most powerful one of all."
Izuku felt his eyes go wide, "All Might has a Thinker rating?!"
She looked at him with tired eyes, "No."
Izuku suddenly found himself feeling a lot smaller as Sensei's final word sunk in.
Izuku was surprised to see Sensei wearing her civilian clothes and speaking to a young woman when he entered the dojo. The newcomer was dressed in an outfit that looked like a stylized baseball uniform. As he approached Sensei turned to him, "Izuku this is Grand Slam. She is a sidekick at the Gunhead hero agency."
Grand Slam smiled at him and waved, "So this is the rumored protege. It is good to meet you! Though I must say, I'm amazed you still look sane given what Khepri must be putting you through."
Sensei turned to glare at Grand Slam, "I haven't put him through anything, just given him some basic training."
Grand Slam raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well that's no fun. I was hoping to swap war stories." She gave an exaggerated shudder, "I have a hard time imagining I will ever face anything even a tenth as scary as the final exam you gave us."
Finally sensing a lull in the conversation Izuku bowed, "It is good to meet you Grand Slam. Gunhead is a very impressive hero! I would love to hear what it is like working with him!"
"He really is still innocent! How cute!" She clapped her hands, "And call me senpai, you'll be getting into UA next year, right?"
Izuku nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, senpai."
Khepri sighed then walked to the corner of the room and picked up a pair of staves. She tossed one to Grand Slam and the other to Izuku.
"While the fighting style I've been teaching you is meant to give you a chance against a Brute, it should only be used as a last resort. Ideally, you will be fighting with tools and weapons as often as possible." Sensei nodded to the young sidekick, "Grand Slam is an expert with the bo staff and has agreed to teach you the basics."
Izuku twirled the staff in his hand, "Understood, sensei."
"I'll be grading papers in the office across the hall if you need me." She went to leave but then paused at the door, "Oh, and Grand Slam, if you tell him about the final I will need to come up with a new one. If such a thing were to happen, I will ask Gunhead to send you over to test it so I can make sure it is fit for the students."
Grand Slam's eyes went wide and Izuku watched as she actually shuddered, "U-understood, Sensei!"
Izuku felt a lump in his throat as he entered the dojo. Sensei was wearing her all black Serious Business suit. He vaguely remembered being excited by the prospect of seeing it long ago, but now that he saw it in person it left him with a feeling of dread.
That feeling was almost immediately proved prophetic as she tossed him his bo staff and insects started pouring out of the vents behind her. "Today I will be hiding inside my swarm. Your goal is to use your power to locate me and land a hit with your staff. Be warned, if you leave me an opening I will use it. Do you understand?"
Izuku forced the lump down his throat as the orange lenses faded into the inky depths of the swarm and it started to surround him. He fell into his neutral stance and entered Combat Mode, "Understood, S-sensei!"
"Itadakimasu!"
Izuku looked at the giant bowl of ramen sitting on the bar in front of him. Grand Slam was sitting next to him pulling her chopsticks out as she looked hungrily over an identical bowl. He did the same and took a bite. Time seemed to stand still for a reason that had nothing to do with his power. This had to be the best ramen he had ever tasted! He hurriedly took a second bite.
He heard Grand Slam chuckle, "I told you that this was the best ramen in the city."
Izuku nodded enthusiastically as he swallowed, "Does the chef have a Quirk that makes food taste extra delicious."
Grand Slam laughed uproariously. Izuku let her do so and went back to the bowl of concentrated deliciousness sitting in front of him. After about a minute she wiped her eyes and called out, "Hey, old man! My kohai here wants to know if your cooking was the result of a quirk!"
"Hell no. I've been quirkless since the day I was born." The man walked up, looming over Izuku, "Do you understand, kid? This ramen is the product of hard work, not any fancy powers!"
Izuku swallowed his bite and smiled at the genius chef before him, "That's awesome! This is by far the best ramen I have ever had!"
The man slowly turned to Grand Slam, "It is hard to stay mad at that level of earnestness."
"I know! I'd say that is his quirk if I didn't know better!"
The man went back to preparing food, "So Yasu, who's this kid anyway?"
"This here is Izuku Midoriya, and tomorrow he is getting into UA!"
The chef raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it bad luck to celebrate before the game?"
"That's only an issue if you need luck to win." She patted Izuku on the back, "And this kid has skill!" She turned her focus to Izuku, "Actually on that topic I'm surprised you are taking the exam at all. Given who your mentor is, I had expected you to get a recommendation."
Izuku turned towards Grand Slam, "Sensei offered, but I declined. I need to prove to myself that I've earned my spot."
The chef let out a booming laugh, "Good call kid! There is no value in something you haven't earned! After you get accepted, drop by again and I'll give you a bowl that puts that one to shame!"
Izuku looked at the man in wonder. Getting to become a hero was its own reward, but he supposed that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the side benefits as well!
A/N: A thank you to @MN01 for beta reading this chapter. Writing a montage was an interesting experience. I like how it turned out but I'm still nervous. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Nezu's gaze remained calm and measured, "Taylor, I know you want to protect our students but we cannot make them feel like they are constantly under surveillance."
"I've seen the security system here, they are constantly under surveillance!"
"But we do not use that to spy on them. Only in the case of a security incident is any of that footage viewed by a person." Nezu sighed, "If the only reason the students behave is that they fear they are being watched then it will stifle their growth. It might result in them lashing out while away from the school or push them towards paranoia."
"The victims are already having their growth stifled!" Taylor realized that she had been shouting in English. She pushed her reaction out to her swarm and continued more calmly in Japanese, "If we do nothing the perpetrators will only learn what exactly they can get away with, and they will keep pushing that boundary until permanent damage is done."
"There is a system in place to prevent that."
"Your system is not good enough, you have seen all the reports I have filed and I haven't even been here a full semester." Taylor glared at the rat, "There is nothing worse than being a victim and watching the system protect the one that hurt you while it leaves you to fend for yourself."
"You're right."
Taylor slid her hand off the desk, "What?"
"You are correct, you have made it abundantly clear that our system has some glaring oversights." Nezu dug through his desk drawer pulling out a brush and a dust pan then he started sweeping up the splinters from where she had punched his desk, "That is why I want to work with you. Let's make a better system."
Izuku looked up in wonder. The building he was staring at looked like a remarkably plain office building, but he knew that was only a facade. He was standing outside one of the remote offices for the UA Hero Agency! Who knew what wonders hid inside?
And even better! He was here to be tutored by none other than Khepri! He had no idea how his mom had convinced her to agree to it, but she was officially the greatest mom ever!
He stepped through the sliding doors and inside was… a remarkably plain office lobby. The only person he could see was a young man with reptilian features reclining behind a desk. He had a book open in one hand, but was looking over it directly at Izuku. "Midoriya-san?"
Izuku quickly walked up to the desk, upon arrival he put his feet together and stood up straight. "Present!"
The man chuckled, "Calm down kid. You are here to meet with Khepri, yeah?"
"Yes, sir."
The man pressed a button and there was a buzzing sound. He gestured to a door behind him and to the left, "Go through there, then go to the second door on the right." He looked back down at the book as Izuku turned away, but then as he opened the door the man spoke up again, "Oh, and please tell Taylor-san that her choice for book club this month is amazing. I had no idea Frankenstein would rock this hard!"
Behind the door was a plain hallway. Izuku followed the receptionist's instructions and entered the door to reveal a dojo! It wasn't a particularly impressive dojo, but at least it was a dojo!
Inside, Khepri was leaning against the far wall. She was dressed in her hero suit but still wasn't wearing the mask. As he entered she spoke up, "Good to see you Midoriya-kun. Did you have any issues finding this place?"
"Um, I walked past it once, but it wasn't too difficult."
"Let me guess, you were expecting something a bit more grand?"
Izuku blushed and nodded.
She chuckled, "The main office is on campus and is exactly what you are expecting. Eraserhead and I tend to work out of this one as we prefer the less ostentatious feel. Plus this is closer to your school. Now, did you bring gym clothes as I instructed?"
Izuku nodded furiously and patted his bag, "Good." She pointed to a door, "That's the men's locker room. There is a locker in it with a key in the lock, get changed and store your stuff inside."
Izuku gasped, "I've got my own locker here?"
Khepri nodded, "For the next nine months. One way or the other you will lose it after the entrance exam."
Izuku slowed time to stop himself from squealing. He had a locker at a Hero Agency! Did that mean he was like an intern or maybe even an unofficial sidekick!? This was so cool! He would have to get mom the greatest gift ever!
Izuku let time resume and ran towards the locker room, as he entered he turned around, "Um, the receptionist told me to tell you that he is enjoying Frankenstein."
Khepri smiled, "I knew that Hachiro would. Though it is sad how relevant that book still is even three hundred years later. Now hurry up and get changed. I need to figure out what your starting point is and we don't have all day."
Izuku rushed into the locker room. This was going to be so much fun!
Izuku gasped in pain as he hit the mat and time returned to normal.
After he had come back, Khepri had asked him some questions about how his power worked. Then she had him do some physical tests for her as she wrote down the results. After that she had him watch her hit a bag for a while telling him to twist his dial until he found a speed where he thought he could easily react to her attacks but wasn't so slow that he risked letting his mind wander while he waited for something to happen.
That had been great fun, and when they had finished he had his newly christened Combat Mode! But then came dodging practice, and despite the fact that he had only been doing so for about twenty minutes he could already tell that he hated, no he abhorred, dodging practice.
Dodging the first strike was easy, but then the follow up would come and he would trip over his feet, or just not be able to get out of the way fast enough. Next thing he knew he would be on the mat, over and over again. One time he had been able to dodge the second strike, but that had ended up with him on his butt as Khepri stopped her knee about a millimeter before it planted itself inside his stomach.
She stood over him, and offered her hand. Izuku paused a second before grabbing it and she pulled him to his feet. "Why do you think you were unable to dodge my attacks?"
Izuku wanted to pout and tell her he obviously couldn't dodge because she was a professional hero but instead paused to consider, "After I avoided your first strike, I was off balance so I couldn't get out of the way of your next attack without falling over."
"Correct." Khepri's voice sounded approving, "We will be working on that, teaching you how to keep your balance while evading and how to dodge with a minimal amount of movement. But there is something more fundamental that you are missing. Simply put, you are not yet fast enough to take advantage of your abilities. So the most important thing for us to work on is your overall physical fitness so that you can act on the data your power feeds you."
Izuku looked down at his arms, he really was skin and bones now that he thought about it. Khepri spoke up again, "I'm curious. You said you intended to be a hero even before you triggered. So why weren't you working out and taking martial arts or at least some basic self-defense courses?"
"Um, I spent a lot of time studying heroes and I was kinda hoping that would be enough to let me pass." Left unsaid was that if he had started training and Kaa-chan found out, it might not have gone well.
Khepri sighed, "You really were meant to be a Thinker. At least you are willing to train, unlike some I've worked with."
"Um Sensei, what does "Thinker" mean? I heard you say it under your breath when we were in the principal's office."
"Thinker is one of the main categories of the power classification system we used on my Earth. Thinker specifies powers that relate to enhancing the way the user perceives, collects, or analyzes information. So people like you, Sir Nighteye, or Nezu. Actually, I also have a Thinker rating because of my ability to multitask and sense through my bugs."
"Oh! Does that mean it is part of the same system as "Brute" and "Mover"? I hadn't heard of Thinker before but that makes sense." Izuku smacked his fist into his open palm, "Then is the reason all the categories use English words is because you started it?"
"Actually, I was intending on translating them to Japanese, to increase familiarity, but All Might insisted they sounded cooler in English and his terminology caught on." Izuku's eyes went wide. All Might was totally right, they did sound cooler in English! "Alright this is where we stop for today. I need to put together your exercise plan, so drop by after school tomorrow and the receptionist will give it to you."
Izuku was shocked, "That's it!? But I haven't even thrown a single punch!"
"I told you, Izuku. Today was just me figuring out your starting point so I can create a proper training regime for you. As for attacking, we will get there eventually, but the core of combat for anyone who's power does not make them more durable is evasion. If you take a direct hit you are very likely going to be incapacitated. So the first thing we need to work on is making sure you don't get hit to begin with. Do you understand?"
Izuku's voice was sullen, "Yes, Sensei."
Khepri put her hand on his shoulder, "This is going to be hard work, Midoriya-kun, but you will get there soon enough."
Izuku closed the book and glanced up at the clock.
Ten minutes. It had only taken him ten minutes to read his entire history textbook cover to cover. He had been swapping between his Paralysis Mode, where time seemed to move so slowly that it felt like it stood completely still, and real time so he didn't have to wait an eternity for the pages to turn.
When Khepri-sensei had told him to start using his powers to get ahead in his studies he had initially balked. For years his teachers had been telling the class that using your quirk for school was against the rules. When he had said as much she laughed and said that was irrational, that if he wanted to be a hero he needed to wring any and every advantage he could out of his power. So he bit the bullet and did the deed. Now he was ahead in every single class.
He opened the textbook to one of the pages he had marked and entered Paralysis Mode again. He didn't have too many more uses of it left today, the more he slowed time the faster he got a Thinker headache, but he might as well use what he had left to review the material before he started tonight's workout.
Izuku watched as Khepri-sensei moved in slow motion, dodging his kick. But something was different. It was the first time he had ever seen her center of gravity not centered. She was off balance! He needed to go for the win!
Izuku focused his eyes on his target and reeled his fist back. Then he lunged forward for a Manhattan Smash! As he approached his power informed him that just below his line of sight her fist was coming up, now seconds away from smashing into his stomach.
Izuku tried to dodge but he was too late, his momentum carried him straight into her attack.
Izuku wilted as Khepri-sensei sipped tea across the kitchen table. "I'm sorry for missing training yesterday, sensei."
"Are you feeling better now?" Her voice gave him no clues as to how much trouble he was in.
"Yes, I'll be starting my workout routine for the day in about an hour."
Khepri-sensei nodded, "I'm glad. Now can you tell me if you know why you left school early with a migraine yesterday?"
Izuku winced, as he knew that this conversation was about to go south. "Because I was trying to increase how much time I can use my power for."
"I've told you that is not how our powers work."
"I know, but it just feels wrong. The power is mine! I should be able to train it!"
Khepri-sensei sighed, "I know how frustrated you feel, Izuku. But the limits of our powers are set by our Passengers, they are not something we can change on our own. Just give it time, I expect you'll find that they will relax sooner than you think. My range is more than five times longer than it was when I first triggered."
Izuku felt relaxed at her words of understanding. Then she handed him a sheet of paper, "Here is the update to your training schedule since you skipped yesterday."
Izuku looked at the massive book Khepri-sensei had just handed him. Human Anatomy was plastered across the cover as well as an image of a man that had a groove carved in him revealing various layers that made up the body.
"I want you to use your spare time to start studying this. Let me know if you are having issues, this is a college level text so it might be difficult to understand. Especially the parts about common quirk mutations."
Izuku looked up at her, "Why?"
"Well I'm hoping a goal that you need to use your power for on your off days will help you regulate yourself so that you don't end up with any more pointless Thinker headaches." Izuku pouted, but Khepri-sensei continued on undeterred. "But as for the subject, your power is dangerous. You need to start learning the limits of the human body so you don't accidentally kill anyone."
Izuku frowned, "What do you mean my power is dangerous? It's not like I can cause explosions or anything."
Khepri-sensei's eyes looked distant, "When parahumans first arrived on Earth Bet, there was a Golden Age of Heroism. It ended when a hero was killed by an unpowered man with a baseball bat. Dead from a single swing that hit him in the wrong place. Your power will help you find all of the weak points the human body has, so you need to start learning which ones will incapacitate and which ones will kill."
"I guess. It just doesn't seem like much when compared to the things I've seen quirks do."
"All of the power in the world doesn't amount to anything if your enemy doesn't give you a chance to use it or just isn't there when you do so." Khepri-sensei stroked her forehead, "Of the most powerful people I have ever met, something like half of them were Thinkers. Including the most powerful one of all."
Izuku felt his eyes go wide, "All Might has a Thinker rating?!"
She looked at him with tired eyes, "No."
Izuku suddenly found himself feeling a lot smaller as Sensei's final word sunk in.
Izuku was surprised to see Sensei wearing her civilian clothes and speaking to a young woman when he entered the dojo. The newcomer was dressed in an outfit that looked like a stylized baseball uniform. As he approached Sensei turned to him, "Izuku this is Grand Slam. She is a sidekick at the Gunhead hero agency."
Grand Slam smiled at him and waved, "So this is the rumored protege. It is good to meet you! Though I must say, I'm amazed you still look sane given what Khepri must be putting you through."
Sensei turned to glare at Grand Slam, "I haven't put him through anything, just given him some basic training."
Grand Slam raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well that's no fun. I was hoping to swap war stories." She gave an exaggerated shudder, "I have a hard time imagining I will ever face anything even a tenth as scary as the final exam you gave us."
Finally sensing a lull in the conversation Izuku bowed, "It is good to meet you Grand Slam. Gunhead is a very impressive hero! I would love to hear what it is like working with him!"
"He really is still innocent! How cute!" She clapped her hands, "And call me senpai, you'll be getting into UA next year, right?"
Izuku nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, senpai."
Khepri sighed then walked to the corner of the room and picked up a pair of staves. She tossed one to Grand Slam and the other to Izuku.
"While the fighting style I've been teaching you is meant to give you a chance against a Brute, it should only be used as a last resort. Ideally, you will be fighting with tools and weapons as often as possible." Sensei nodded to the young sidekick, "Grand Slam is an expert with the bo staff and has agreed to teach you the basics."
Izuku twirled the staff in his hand, "Understood, sensei."
"I'll be grading papers in the office across the hall if you need me." She went to leave but then paused at the door, "Oh, and Grand Slam, if you tell him about the final I will need to come up with a new one. If such a thing were to happen, I will ask Gunhead to send you over to test it so I can make sure it is fit for the students."
Grand Slam's eyes went wide and Izuku watched as she actually shuddered, "U-understood, Sensei!"
Izuku felt a lump in his throat as he entered the dojo. Sensei was wearing her all black Serious Business suit. He vaguely remembered being excited by the prospect of seeing it long ago, but now that he saw it in person it left him with a feeling of dread.
That feeling was almost immediately proved prophetic as she tossed him his bo staff and insects started pouring out of the vents behind her. "Today I will be hiding inside my swarm. Your goal is to use your power to locate me and land a hit with your staff. Be warned, if you leave me an opening I will use it. Do you understand?"
Izuku forced the lump down his throat as the orange lenses faded into the inky depths of the swarm and it started to surround him. He fell into his neutral stance and entered Combat Mode, "Understood, S-sensei!"
"Itadakimasu!"
Izuku looked at the giant bowl of ramen sitting on the bar in front of him. Grand Slam was sitting next to him pulling her chopsticks out as she looked hungrily over an identical bowl. He did the same and took a bite. Time seemed to stand still for a reason that had nothing to do with his power. This had to be the best ramen he had ever tasted! He hurriedly took a second bite.
He heard Grand Slam chuckle, "I told you that this was the best ramen in the city."
Izuku nodded enthusiastically as he swallowed, "Does the chef have a Quirk that makes food taste extra delicious."
Grand Slam laughed uproariously. Izuku let her do so and went back to the bowl of concentrated deliciousness sitting in front of him. After about a minute she wiped her eyes and called out, "Hey, old man! My kohai here wants to know if your cooking was the result of a quirk!"
"Hell no. I've been quirkless since the day I was born." The man walked up, looming over Izuku, "Do you understand, kid? This ramen is the product of hard work, not any fancy powers!"
Izuku swallowed his bite and smiled at the genius chef before him, "That's awesome! This is by far the best ramen I have ever had!"
The man slowly turned to Grand Slam, "It is hard to stay mad at that level of earnestness."
"I know! I'd say that is his quirk if I didn't know better!"
The man went back to preparing food, "So Yasu, who's this kid anyway?"
"This here is Izuku Midoriya, and tomorrow he is getting into UA!"
The chef raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it bad luck to celebrate before the game?"
"That's only an issue if you need luck to win." She patted Izuku on the back, "And this kid has skill!" She turned her focus to Izuku, "Actually on that topic I'm surprised you are taking the exam at all. Given who your mentor is, I had expected you to get a recommendation."
Izuku turned towards Grand Slam, "Sensei offered, but I declined. I need to prove to myself that I've earned my spot."
The chef let out a booming laugh, "Good call kid! There is no value in something you haven't earned! After you get accepted, drop by again and I'll give you a bowl that puts that one to shame!"
Izuku looked at the man in wonder. Getting to become a hero was its own reward, but he supposed that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the side benefits as well!
A/N: A thank you to @MN01 for beta reading this chapter. Writing a montage was an interesting experience. I like how it turned out but I'm still nervous. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Last edited: