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MHA - Eidolon (One Shot)
🕑 Added 2024-12-03 18:00:00 +0000 UTCCold.
Wet.
Those were the first thoughts to enter his groggy mind as he began to awaken. He tried to open his eyes to ascertain why he felt the way he did but the light was too blindingly bright and hurt him. As his mind ever so slowly awoke, he realized he was completely submerged in liquid. The only thing keeping him from drowning was a mask over the lower half of his face covering his nose and mouth.
He started to move, to try and figure out where he was and what was going on, his mind still too muddled to panic.
A slight sting emanated from his arm and his mind began fading once again until darkness claimed him.
—--Line Break—--
Cold.
Wet.
Wait… this was… familiar. How many times had he woken up only to be greeted by darkness once again shortly after? He didn’t know. It was so hard to think. To remember. One time? One hundred times? He didn’t know, and that should scare him. He knew it was the drugs they were feeding him that kept him calm.
Whoever they were.
Every time he awoke he was allowed to remain awake a little longer. It took a saddeningly long time for him to realize that it was his movement that triggered whatever drug was used to put him back under. Though even if he held perfectly still he would still be put back under rather soon after waking.
He flinched as he felt the familiar sting from his arm.
The darkness quickly encroached once more.
—--Line Break—--
His mind slowly came around, still thick with drugs. He might have been facetious in his thoughts before, but he was now certain it had been over a hundred times that he’d awoken only to be put under.
Something was different this time though. His mind was clearing faster. This had a rather unfortunate side effect.
His whole body jerked as a wave of pain crested over his entire body. It felt like there was liquid fire flowing through his veins. He could do nothing to stop his body from thrashing in agony. His screams were drowned out by the liquid surrounding him.
The only positive to the overwhelming agony was that it forced his eyes open. His first distorted glimpse through the murky liquid he was submerged in didn’t fill him with confidence. He welcomed the familiar feeling of the unknown drugs flooding his system to numb the pain, even as he saw the deranged smile on the unfamiliar face of a short balding man with a mustache wearing goggles and a white lab coat.
Ah, darkness, his old friend.
—--Line Break—--
Time passed, and each awakening brought agony, for a while. Eventually, the agony faded and he felt better. Yet, his mind was still clouded and foggy. He wanted to escape from his prison. It was impossible to tell how long he’d been there. Once the darkness claimed him he lost all sense of time. Had he merely been here days? Weeks? Or even years? He had no way of knowing.
What he did know was that something had changed. Something within him. He could feel it, but the drugs clouding his mind prevented him from understanding it. His mind seemed to be clearing faster though. Perhaps he was growing accustomed to the drugs and fighting them off?
He hoped he was, even as the darkness began to creep in once more. Awareness would give him a chance for freedom.
—--Line Break—--
Something was very different this time. His mind felt clearer than it had since the first time he woke up. It wasn’t perfectly clear, his mind was still foggy and he couldn’t really recall anything. He wanted to panic about not remembering his own name but there were more important things he needed to focus on.
Things like getting out of his prison.
It might have been all he knew for a long time now but he knew it was wrong for him to be trapped in whatever thing he was. He needed to escape. The problem was, how?
Something answered his unasked question. A thought… no… a proto-thought, an idea, something small niggling at the back of his mind. It told him he had the power to escape his confinement, to be free. It just didn’t elaborate on exactly how he would accomplish such a feat.
He didn’t have enough time to think on it before the darkness welcomed him into its embrace once more.
—--Line Break—--
He awoke screaming in agony. It was so all-encompassing he didn’t even register that he was warm and dry, at least compared to when he usually awoke. His eyes flew open, bloodshot and painful. His head jerked up to look around where he was, to find the source of his agony. What he saw terrified him.
The bald mustached man in the lab coat was joined by another two wearing coats as they all hovered above him. Looking down he could see them all cutting into his chest and stomach, his breastbone clearly cracked open to reveal his erratically beating heart.
It was simultaneously fascinating and horrifying to see his heart beating and his lungs expanding and contracting.
They were vivisecting him!
The mustached madman holding the scalpel that had just been cutting into one of his organs, turned to look into his eyes, “Oh, my. It looks like we need to up your dosage once more.” The mustache moved in what he could only assume was a smile, “Most impressive. Yes, yes, just a little more I think and you will be perfect.”
He wanted to yell, scream, and demand answers, but his attention was stolen by what he was witnessing. His body was healing at a visible rate! He watched, horrified, as one of the other two men used his scalpel to reslice a portion of his stomach that had managed to heal a little. The burning agony of feeling himself being sliced brought some clarity to him.
He focused on the mustached man as he pushed a plunger to pump drugs back into his system. He managed to groan out a question he needed answered, “What are you doing to me?!”
The mustached man focused on him, though he couldn’t see through the man’s goggles, “We’re making you perfect, Eidolon.”
Darkness encroached once more, but that word, that name, echoed in his mind.
Eidolon.
—--Line Break—--
The next time he awoke it was in the familiar cold and wet environment. He could only assume he was suspended in some sort of tank filled with an unknown liquid. He highly doubted it was water. He could feel his mind had gained some more clarity, though he doubted he was at full capacity just yet.
Even so, he could tell something had changed since he was vivisected. That feeling he’d noted before was stronger, trying to… well it was almost like it was trying to talk to him, to tell him all about itself. Whatever it was, he knew, deep down, that it was his key to freedom. He just couldn’t tell how.
His attention was caught by a voice, one he now hated, coming to him. He didn’t know if the liquid made sound travel easier or if there were speakers within his aquarium, but he could hear the conversation quite clearly. He slowly forced his eyes to open, the liquid stinging them but no longer rendering him completely blind. After all, what was a little sting compared to being sliced open from neck to navel?
“The results of our latest tests are very exciting!”
Ah, the voice of the mustached man. He didn’t know what he was like before, but he would gladly kill that man right now if he could.
“So he is not a failure like previous subjects?”
That voice was new. It was deeper, darker, and authoritative. The boss?
“It depends on your point of view. Did the subject gain the full power of All For One? No. However! What has happened is extremely interesting, regardless. Due to All For One being your original Quirk your body is perfectly adapted to holding multiple Quirks without the issue of Quirk Singularity coming into play. Others though? Their bodies are not able to handle the adaptations needed like yours.”
“Yes, the failure of Nine to adapt was well documented Doctor. Get to the point.”
“Yes, sir. This subject has had difficulties as every other subject has. However! His difficulty was unique. I’m still not sure why, more testing will be required, but its body has taken in One For All’s adaptability and made it a core part of itself through a vicious mutation cycle that would have killed it without your support.”
“Ah, that is why you requested the removal of the regeneration Quirk from that particular Nomu.”
“Yes, sir. The regeneration Quirk helped to stabilize the subject and keep it alive. In doing so the body of the subject has nearly finished its mutation phase.”
“I see. The results?”
“The subject has taken the mutability of All For One and made it into an entirely new Quirk! Instead of taking Quirks from others the mutated version, which I have named Eidolon, is, essentially, a Quirk factory! It’s lost the ability to take Quirks from others and, in exchange, is capable of making new Quirks within itself!”
“Hoh? Does this mean the subject will be able to make any Quirk I desire?”
“Uknown at this time. There’s no way to tell how exactly Eidolon produces new Quirks. It could be limited in some way that can’t be foreseen at the moment. It will require further testing once the subject has fully adapted to Eidolon and it begins working in full. We’ve monitoring the efficacy of the regeneration Quirk as a means to tell when his mutation has finished.”
“I see. Keep me informed.”
The doctor turned away from where he’d been looking and toward him, “Ah, you’re awake again. A good sign! It’s not time for you to be awake yet though. Hmmmm. It would be best to begin your conditioning now. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
As the doctor finished speaking, he pushed a button and darkness once more began to fill his vision.
—--Line Break—--
When his mind came back from the darkness, he knew something bad was about to happen. How? He was dry! The last time that happened he’d been shown his own beating heart. That was not something he was prepared to deal with again. Fortunately, he didn’t feel any pain. However, he also noticed something disturbing. No adrenaline rush.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t felt an ounce of adrenaline since the first time he woke up. Even when he was being vivisected he didn’t feel it. He knew it should be flooding his system and demanding that he either fight or run away. But… nothing.
It had to be whatever drugs were flowing through his veins. He swore, the moment he could he would kill the man with the mustache for all of this!
He slowly opened his eyes, dreading what he might see. He felt a flood of relief when he didn’t immediately see, or feel, himself being sliced into. As more of the drugs cleared his system and let his mind work better he could take in his situation a bit better.
Currently, he found himself alone in a room strapped to a chair. He experimentally tried to move his arms and legs but found they wouldn’t budge and inch. He didn’t know what the restraints were made of, they didn’t feel like metal, but there was no way he was going to be breaking free from them.
Something told him that he had a bunch of different ways to break free of the restraints with ease, yet he had no idea how. It must have to do with what the mustache man had said to the other. Something about a mutating Quirk. He assumed that it was him they were talking about. But, what was a Quirk? How could it help him escape?
He could feel something nudging at the back of his mind but it just wouldn’t reveal itself. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to focus on it before he heard movement behind him. The previously dark room brightened up as the door behind him opened. He heard the sharp clacking of heels on the ground as a woman walked around from behind him.
She was an old woman with a wrinkled face and steel gray hair. Her dark eyes narrowed as she looked down at him with a severe look one usually reserved for a worm, “Good to see that you are awake Subject Seventeen, Codename Eidolon.”
He lifted his head to look up at her while opening his mouth to speak. All that came out was a wordless groan followed by him coughing. He’d done nothing but scream, the one time, since the first time he woke up, his voice had clearly not been used in a long time and it didn’t like him suddenly trying to use it without warning.
The woman clicked her tongue, “Don’t bother trying to talk or ask questions, you will receive no answers from me. Whatever life you had before is over, gone. Your only hope of survival is obedience. I will ask you questions. You will answer. Failure will be met with pain.”
She stepped out of sight for a moment only to return with a plastic cup filled with water and a straw. She held it toward his mouth so the straw was within reach of his lips, “Drink and we will begin.”
It took him a little more effort than it should have to wrap his lips around the straw and draw water through it. As soon as the life-giving liquid hit his tongue, he began greedily drawing on the straw for more. Even though the water was room temperature it felt like cool mana from heaven to him as he drank. He had no idea how long it had been since he drank something but this was heavenly.
Unfortunately, the small plastic cup was soon empty and taken away by the stern woman, “Good. Now, we will begin. What is your name?”
He didn’t know what would happen if he refused to answer but he assumed torture wasn’t off the table. So, he licked his lips and swallowed before he tried to answer, “I-I don’t know.”
His voice sounded like sandpaper, even after the water, and it hurt his throat to speak, but he managed to get the words out. The woman narrowed her gaze at his answer and hummed for a moment, “Not unexpected. That will make this easier. When asked for your name you will answer with either Subject Seventeen or Eidolon. Am I understood?”
After he nodded his head, she gave him an unpleasant smile, “Good, what is your name?”
“Eidolon.” He wasn’t about to call himself subject seventeen and Eidolon was as good a name as any.
“Good. Your Master is All For One. Who is your Master?”
“All For One.”
The moment the words left his lips he felt a jolt of pleasure surge down his spine. It was breathtaking, literally, as he tried to catch his breath when the pleasure faded. After recovering, he looked up to the old woman who was looking at him in a knowing manner, “That was my Quirk, Heaven and Hell. Believe me, you do not wish to feel Hell. It will make the one time you woke up on the operating table seem like a nice day at the beach.”
He shuddered at the thought of something feeling even more painful than that moment. It didn’t take a genius to realize what the woman was attempting to do. He was being indoctrinated. Pleasure for obedience, pain for disobedience. They were trying to program him and he had no idea if he would be able to resist it.
The woman gave him a cruel grin, “Try to get at least a few questions wrong.”
He swallowed thickly and dreaded the possibility he would fail. He didn’t like pain and wasn’t looking forward to feeling more.
“Let’s continue.”
—--Line Break—--
He stumbled as he was shoved into a small dark room by the burly guard who had practically dragged him the entire way. The thick metal door of the cell slammed shut and a resounding clank echoed from the lock being slammed home.
The cell was completely bereft of any amenities, not that he noticed as he shivered on the floor. He’d experienced ‘Hell’ and it left him a sobbing mess. As great as the pleasure of ‘Heaven’ had been, ‘Hell’ had been a thousand times worse and he’d been completely unable to handle it. He’d immediately broken down into a sobbing mess after the first time she’d used it on him. Who could blame him though? ‘Hell’ felt like every inch of his skin was slowly being fileted off and covered in salt.
He never wanted to feel anything like that ever again.
Despite the residual feeling of pain and the occasional twitch of a muscle, he wanted to thank the woman. She probably didn’t realize what she’d done for him. As the pain faded, answers on how to deal with the pain flooded his mind.
He’d found his Quirk. He didn’t know all the limits of it, yet, but he did know a few things. First, he didn’t have just one Quirk, he had over a hundred. He didn’t know how many exactly, he hadn’t taken the time to count them yet but it wasn’t important right now. Second, he could only pick three of them. He could feel the ‘slots’ for them and knew picking one of the Quirks would fill a slot.
The problem was, he didn’t know if whatever he picked would be permanent or not. If he chose something that got rid of pain but was pretty crappy otherwise, he’d be wasting a precious slot. No. What he needed to do was find a power that would allow him to escape while also being useful even after his escape. It also needed to be subtle. He didn’t know what to expect during his escape and just going for a powerful ability could see him easily recaptured.
His mind floated through the possibilities as he tried to understand the powers sitting at his fingertips. It wasn’t as if he got a full in-depth explanation of the abilities he had access to, just vague impressions. For example, there was one ability that would give him a powerful forcefield around his body. But how powerful? Could it only stop bullets or could it stop super-powered punches? Even so, he doubted it would stop ‘Hell’ from affecting him and it didn’t convey any kind of strength.
It took some time to weigh the pros and cons until he came across a Quirk that seemed perfect for what he wanted. He decided to call it… Bodyjack. By looking someone in the eyes for a few seconds he could swap himself into their body and take it over. He could swap into her body, knock her out with the drugs she’d threatened him with, and make his escape using her body.
With that thought filling his mind, he drifted off into a fitful sleep. The first time he’d actually slept and not been put under by sedatives that he could remember.
—--Line Break—--
The sound of the door to his cell slamming open jerked him out of his uneasy sleep. He blinked rapidly, trying to adapt to the bright light flooding the room. He didn’t get much time for that before the rough hands of the goon that had dropped him in the cell were grabbing him by the shoulders. With a jerk, he was hauled to his feet and dragged out of the room.
He wanted to fight back in some manner but between his still foggy mind and the new sensation of gnawing hunger in his stomach, he didn’t have the strength. He hadn’t eaten a bite, ever and he was definitely feeling the need for food. He assumed they’d fed him intravenously before now.
The thug dragged him into the room that the older woman had drilled him in the previous day, or one that looked just like it. The thug wasn’t very gentle as he was forced to sit and then locked into place. It only took moments before he was locked in place and the thug was gone leaving him alone in the dark.
An unknown amount of time later the door to the room opened and the same woman from last time walked into the room. This time she was accompanied by a heavenly scent. When she stepped in front of him he could see she was holding a tray with a steaming bowl of something on it. He had no idea what it was, but he knew he wanted to eat it. The loud rumbling of his stomach let him know his body agreed.
The woman had a knowing look, “Good morning Subject Seventeen. Who is your Master?”
He didn’t hesitate even though it hurt his throat to speak, “All For One.”
“Good. What is your purpose?”
“To serve in any way my Master wishes.”
“Very good.”
She set the tray down and picked up a spoon. He dug it through the bowl and held the steaming contents toward his mouth, “What is your name?”
Having the food so close and being forced to smell it was making his stomach gurgle and cramp as it tried to digest itself. It was just a spoonful of plain oatmeal, hardly more than bland mush, but he wanted it so badly he went for overkill in his answer, “Subject Seventeen, Eidolon.”
“Good.”
With that final word, she moved the spoon closer and allowed him to eat the porridge. It burned his mouth and was bland as hell but he loved it. She pulled the spoon away, took a step back, and studied him with malicious glee, “Let’s continue your education.”
He knew that if he waited much longer, he’d lose himself to the ‘education’ process and become what she wanted him to be. He couldn’t find a better Quirk in the massive confusing mess of Quirks he had access to, so he selected the one he’d designated as ‘Bodyjack’. As soon as he made the selection he felt it slot into place and grant him further understanding of how it functioned.
He lifted his head, just a bit, so he could lock eyes with the older woman. He kept focused on her eyes as he ignored her asking the next question. He knew doing so would normally see him punished. This time though? After three short seconds, he felt himself leaving his body. A brief moment later he was inside of her body.
—--Line Break—--
He groaned while his eyes fluttered open to stare at the ceiling above him. Had he fallen down? Why? Then, he remembered. Everything. His mind was crystal clear. All his lost memories and the perpetual fogginess had completely vanished leaving him fully functional for the first time in so long.
His name used to be Yamamoto Micheal, named after his American father and his mother’s maiden name. He remembered her clearly, especially the last time he’d seen her when she kicked him out of the house the day he turned sixteen. The look of relief on her face as she kicked out her ‘embarrassing useless child’ had been… expected.
After all, not only was Micheal half-Gaijin, he was Quirkless. A constant reminder of his mother’s horrible life choices when she was younger. A punishment visited upon her by god for deigning to sleep with a foreigner. It was only how her parents would have reacted that kept her from either ditching him in an orphanage or orchestrating an ‘accident’ for him as a child. The moment it was legally allowed she didn’t hesitate to kick him to the streets and tell him he was no longer a member of the Yamamoto family.
He snorted as he recalled that. If only she could see him now. His younger siblings had decent Quirks, but neither of them could compare to how he was now. He had access to over a hundred Quirks.
Speaking of his Quirk. With his mind completely clear he could comprehend his Quirk far better. He had no idea if it was normal to understand one's Quirk like he was, but he wasn’t going to complain. It meant he didn’t have to worry about Bodyjack being a permanent choice. He could get rid of it at a time of his choosing and pick another from his long list. All of his Quirks were just temporary.
Not that he cared! It meant that he could constantly change his Quirk around and try out all kinds of things! It was the greatest Quirk ever! He could have any three Quirks and use them as he saw fit. For now, that meant getting the fuck out of wherever he was. These assholes had kidnapped him from right off of the street and done who-knew-what to his body while he was unconscious.
He sat up and looked down at his now slightly wrinkled hands. He’d successfully stolen the older woman's body. Looking to the side, he saw his body, sitting limp in the chair. It was weird seeing himself from the outside, but it gave him his first clue about how long he’d been here. He’d kept his hair cut fairly short, and while it had grown a little in the month he’d lived on the streets, it was significantly longer now. His best guess? He’d been a prisoner here for months, if not a year or longer.
There was no time for that though. He moved, a little awkwardly, in his new body and kneeled in front of his own to slap his own cheeks a few times. It was so odd hearing his body moan as it shifted and quickly came awake. His body jerked in shock, eyes wide. The head jerked around as the body struggled against the bindings. Finally, his body looked at him and demanded, “What have you done?!”
He, or was he a she now? He still felt like a he, so he smirked at her, “I’ve done what I need to, to escape this place.”
His body scoffed, “There is no escape!” She narrowed his eyes for a moment before they shot open in shock, “What happened to my Quirk?!”
He blinked at that and focused on the body he was possessing. It took him a moment but he found it, her Quirk! His had come with him when he swapped their bodies. It only now occurred to him that if her Quirk had gone into his body he’d be in deep shit after waking her up. When his mind had been clouded he’d planned to drug her. A terrible idea since he had no idea where he was or how to get out.
He thanked whatever god was listening that her Quirk remained in her body while his traveled with him. It was totally unfair but he could live with that! It, essentially, left the woman possessing his body Quirkless.
Focusing on her Quirk left him with a feeling like it was a knob set in neutral. Turning it one way would let him force whoever he was looking at to feel pleasure. Turning it the other way led to pain. The further he turned it the more the target felt of either sensation. He was brought out of his examination of her Quirk by her shout of, “Answer me!”
He looked at her and instead of answering verbally, he turned the mental knob to the pleasure side just a bit. He watched with a certain amount of pleasure as her eyes widened in shock, “No!”
His grin grew as he nodded, “Yes. You are going to help me escape this place. If you refuse or try to signal someone or do anything else…”
He didn’t mean to leave the threat hanging, rather he’d fallen into looking at his many quirks. With them being temporary and with some of them likely to be exceptionally powerful, or even super sneaky, wouldn’t one of them be better than relying on the woman to help him? God! He was furious with how the drugs had clouded his mind. Even now he was mentally recovering from the effects even if the physical ones had vanished with the body swap.
He completely tuned out the sounds coming from his body as he fully focused on his Quirk. With a perfectly clear mind, he had a much easier time filtering through them and getting a general idea of what they did in a broad sense. Hell, with his mind clear a quick look showed him he had several Quirks that granted different flavors of Intangability. He could just walk out through the walls! But no, he was looking for something more useful and it took him some time to find it.
Teleportation.
He only had a single Quirk option capable of granting him teleportation and it felt like it took a lot more energy to use than Bodyjack. He didn’t have the appropriate words to describe it but some of his Quirks just felt that way. It marked them as more powerful and he felt like he could only have one of the more powerful ones at a time. Thank god Bodyjack was a ‘weaker’ power, relatively speaking.
He quickly selected the teleportation Quirk and slotted it in. This left him with just one more slot and a hundred or so powers to pick from for it. He’d decide what to get for it later. With the new power selected came an innate understanding of it. He could teleport anywhere he had a good memory of or a good picture. He couldn’t take much with him though, maybe two people at maximum.
Well, that limit didn’t matter to him right now. With the power ready for use and the unfortunate recollection of several alley’s he’d slept in while homeless, he could leave at any moment. He only hesitated because he wanted his own body back. A quick look around the room provided him with a solution to taking back his restrained body and not giving the woman a chance to disable him with pain.
He grabbed the syringe sitting on a side table and looked at the glowing green contents. It could NOT be healthy for something like that to be flowing through his veins. Who knew how many times he’d been dosed with this very same drug? Well, it was time for the woman he was possessing to experience it!
As he lifted the needle to his own neck the woman stuck in his body looked confused, “What the hell are you doing?!”
He didn’t answer as he jammed the needle into his neck and pushed down on the plunger pumping the drugs into his system. He heard the woman gasp in shock and confusion. He couldn’t blame her, she didn’t know what was about to happen. As the familiar darkness began to eat at his vision, he locked eyes with his own body and jumped once more.
This time there was no overwhelming shock as he went from muddled to clear-minded. For whatever reason, his mind remained perfectly clear even back in his heavily abused body. Well, it's as clear as it could be on a night of bad sleep while being starved and dehydrated. A loud thump brought his attention to the woman. She’d collapsed on the ground and was out cold, though alive. As much as he despised her, he didn’t want her blood on his hands.
He took a breath and tested his ability to teleport by focusing on the other side of the room and willing himself to be there. There was a dull flash of light as he shifted positions. The next moment he collapsed onto his ass, his sitting position having transitioned with him through the teleportation.
Grunting he lifted himself to his feet, struggling to do so thanks to his weakened state. He shuffled over to the table where the now much colder oatmeal sat and grabbed the bowl. He practically inhaled the bland food but it was significantly better than nothing. Unfortunately, it only took the edge off of his hunger and left him desperate for more.
Well, he had the power to fix that now! He focused on his memory of a filthy alley he’d slept in somewhere in Musutafu near the beach. He liked the beach so he’d spent a week in various alleys not too far away from the surf. He actually liked the dump on Takoba Municipal Beach Park as it provided him with shelter at night and a great view of the surf.
Moments later he found himself in the alley he’d been picturing. From what he could see in the dark of night, it hadn’t changed much at all. The trash was different but it was still the same shitty place it had been the last time he’d been there.
He stumbled his way to the exit of the alley and looked out into the darkened streets lit only by streetlights. He had no idea what time it was, but it had to be pretty late given how dead the world around him seemed. Good. He was hungry, thirsty, and tired, the only way he could think of to fix that was to get his hands on some cash. There were some nearby twenty-four-hour fast food joints and he could get a room in a capsule hotel for the night easily.
He just needed the cash to do so. He didn’t like the idea of being a ‘villain’ but the easiest way he could think of to get the cash he needed was to just knock off an ATM. He even had an idea of how to do it easily, just use one of the intangability abilities he’d been considering earlier. He flipped through the options and picked the first one he could.
Once it slotted into place he frowned a little in annoyance. It was intangability, but it only worked for as long as he could hold his breath. Kind of annoying but, whatever. He was only going to reach into the ATM, grab some cash, and pull it out. Easy enough. He was tempted, oh so tempted, to just walk into a bank vault and grab a bunch of fat stacks, but that would be too much like a villain and not something he could just tell himself he did out of desperation.
With everything set, he stepped out of the alley and slowly shuffled down the street. Honestly, it was a miracle he could even walk. Given the chill in the air, he suspected he’d been unconscious and off of his feet for months. He couldn’t tell if it was the beginning of fall or the end of winter, but either way, he knew he’d been captured for a long time.
He stopped at the very first ATM where he kept his head down, his longer hair easily covering his eyes and keeping his face hidden from the camera’s view. With his Quirk, he hoped to one day become a hero. Like every child, he’d dreamed of being a hero. He didn’t even let his Quirkless nature stop him. He’d joined a gym as soon as he was old enough and worked out religiously to get himself into shape. On top of that he studied mechanical and electrical engineering in his free time to learn how to make support gear. He firmly believed that with the right gear, he could have made a good hero. Maybe not one of the top ten, or even top fifty, but he could still be someone out there helping others.
He’d always intended to take the entrance exam to get into the U.A. Support Department. Unfortunately, his plan hit a huge bump when his mother kicked him out. He lost everything he had and was left starving on the streets begging for change and scraps. His body had suffered and he had no ability to study. All his time went into finding a way to survive.
That could change now. He might need to steal this bit of money to get started, but with his Quirk he was certain he could get into U.A. College. Once enrolled he would be living in one of their dorms with his meals provided by the cafeteria. He just needed to find out how far away the entry exam was and prepare for a whole new exam.
He was going to be a hero!
…
After this little bit of villainy.
He inhaled deeply and shoved his arm into the ATM up to his elbow. He began feeling around. It was weird but he could get a weak sensation of what his hand was passing through. Like… it was like feeling a familiar texture while his hand was numb. He could tell the difference between metal and paper and it only took him a short while to find the hopper that held the cash.
He pulled his arm out before grabbing any and took a few deep breaths. He used to be able to hold his breath for several minutes, something he practiced heavily to prepare for his future career. Now it had barely lasted thirty seconds. He breathed for a bit before inhaling deeply and shoving his arm back into the ATM. He went right for the cash hopper prepared to grab a fist full of two-thousand yen bills…
Except he couldn’t. His whole body was currently intangible and he couldn’t just make his hand physical once more. It had to be his entire body. It was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back. He’d been abandoned like trash, homeless, kidnapped, experimented on, tortured, brainwashed (attempted), and forced to escape to keep his life, such as it was. He just couldn’t take it anymore and even his Saint-like patience and endurance snapped.
He ripped his arm out of the ATM and returned to normal before he began pounding on the machine in anger, “Fuck you! Fuck you! FUCK YOU!” Tears of frustration dripped down his cheeks as he literally broke his hands against the immovable object. It didn’t even register to him that the torn skin and broken bones healed nearly instantly as he continued to mercilessly beat on the machine while screaming profanities at the top of his lungs.
He was so focused on venting his fear and anger that he didn’t even notice the strange light purple mist creeping in around him. Only when his vision began to darken did he come out of his berserk state. His head jerked around looking for his assailant, “I won’t go back! One For All can kiss my fucking ass! I’d rather die than go back!”
He turned to run but stumbled and fell to the ground. Fear coursed through his veins as the darkness claimed him. As his eyes closed he caught a single glimpse of his captor. Or, well, a glimpse of her feet as a pair of black high heels stepped into view. He heard a feminine voice talking above him but couldn’t make out the words as the familiar dreaded darkness claimed him once more.
—--Line Break—--
Kayama Nemuri, better known to the public as the X-Rated Hero: Midnight, looked down at the unconscious body of the villain she’d just stopped from robbing an ATM. She’d been on her normal patrol taking one last look for the evening before turning in and heard the sound of violence. Normally she was a bit more flamboyant about her captures, preening and drawing attention to her assets with lewd comments while her Quirk went to work. The man… no, looking closer it was just a boy. The boy had already been distracted so she remained silent and just released her Quirk to quietly take him down.
Now, looking at him from up close and taking into account the things he’d been screaming… Well, she wasn’t sure what to think. The clothing he was wearing looked less like street clothes and more like an outfit worn by a patient in a hospital. He didn’t even have shoes on, just thin slippers. Then there was his hair and face. His hair was overgrown and clearly not cared for while it looked like he hadn’t shaved the scraggly teen-bush of a ‘beard’ that was on his face in quite some time.
It struck her as odd since he looked like someone who’d lived on the streets without proper care and yet he was clean and wearing something patient-like. Add in the comments he’d been screaming before passing out and she grew even more concerned. She didn’t know who this ‘All For One’ was, but it sure as hell sounded like a villain name to her, it just screamed of greed.
She wasn’t sure what she should do with the boy so she did what she always did when presented with such a conundrum, she pulled out her cell phone and selected ‘Nezu’ from her contacts. She grinned and mentally gave herself bonus points for annoying him by calling him in the middle of the night. She considered it payback for the ‘unfair’ amounts of paperwork she had to do in her day job.
—--Line Break—--
Micheal slowly came around to the annoying sound of a heart rate monitor beeping. The moment he recognized what the sound was, he shot up with his eyes opened wide and taking in every detail of his surroundings. He found himself in a hospital room wearing one of the itchy gowns they liked to stuff people in that left their asses hanging in the breeze. The room was white and empty with only the now erratically beeping heart monitor to keep him company.
A quick check of himself showed an IV needle in his arm, which he quickly ripped out and tossed away, even if the bag it had been attached to read ‘Saline’. He repeated the process with the heart rate monitor clipped to his finger. The continuous beep of the monitor was annoying but he had no trust. The only thing that kept him from teleporting out right away was the fact that he couldn’t. He’d been unconscious long enough that he’d lost the ability but not long enough to be able to select it again.
He knew his abilities only lasted for twenty-four hours at a maximum, but he wasn’t sure what the cooldown in between uses of the same ability was. Bodyjack, Teleport, and Intangability were all on cooldown so he would have to dig up something new to keep himself safe. That was priority one.
He quickly found a Quirk that would help protect himself and give him multiple options for how he wanted to handle things. He quickly selected a Quirk he dubbed ‘Illusion’. Once it slotted into place his vague understanding of it increased. He could create nearly perfect audiovisual illusions within a range of about ten meters around himself. Until the illusions were broken it would be nearly impossible for anyone to tell they weren’t real. It would allow him to make an illusion of himself laying in bed and talking, while he was actually on the other side of the room, invisible.
Essentially, he could do anything he wanted, such as opening and closing doors, and no one would see it happen unless he wanted them to see it. His illusions weren’t mental influences but overlayed reality with false images.
Hearing footsteps coming toward his door, he did exactly as he planned when picking the Quirk. He hopped out of his bed, creating an illusion of himself still in it. He moved to the other side of the room, not too far from the door, and observed. He had no trust, but he was in a real hospital, not in some pod or in a cell of some kind so he was willing to take a small chance to find out what was going on.
Moments later the door opened and three people walked into his room. The first was a nurse who made her way to the still-beeping monitor and shut it off. He didn’t pay much attention to her though as the other two people within the room drew most of his attention. He recognized them. The first was the hero Midnight. She was impossible to mistake for anyone else. Like many healthy young men, he had a great deal of interest in the fairer sex and it was hard to find someone that symbolized that sex more than Midnight.
The amount of porn featuring similar-looking women wearing knockoffs of her costume was unreal.
…
Not that he would know.
Anyway, the second person he recognized wasn’t technically a person, the Head Master of U.A. University, Nezu, the first known animal to have obtained a Quirk. No one actually knew exactly what kind of animal he was as he looked like a chimera of sorts. He was world-famous for being one of the most intelligent beings on the planet thanks to his Quirk, High Spec.
Nezu was the one to do the talking, “Thank you, Nurse Sato, we’ll take it from here.”
The middle-aged nurse gave the pair one last disgruntled look before she left them to it. Nezu focused back on the illusion of Micheal and gave the best smile he could, “Am I a bear? A mouse? A dog?!” He raised a cute paw into the air, “I am Nezu, headmaster of U.A. University!”
Micheal had the illusion copy the smile he wore. He’d always dreamed of going to UA for college so it was a small bit of his dream coming true to meet the headmaster. Naturally, he had no reason NOT to talk to the heroes in front of him, “I’m Micheal.”
Nezu continued to smile, though he filed away Micheal’s lack of using his last name for later, replied, “It’s good to meet you, Micheal. I’m sure you have a lot of questions so let me summarise the situation and we can go from there, alright?”
After Micheal had the illusion nod, Nezu explained, “Last night you were apprehended by Midnight here attempting to rob an ATM. As she was subduing you, you shouted several things that caused concern. On top of that, there was the condition you were in. Deciding there was something more going on, Midnight elected to call me. We decided that it would be best to get you looked at. Midnight brought you here and the reports we’ve received are… concerning.”
Micheal wasn’t surprised much by what Nezu was saying. Hell, even now, just looking down the loose front of his hospital gown let him see a number of his ribs. He’d been malnourished before being captured, now he seemed more like a skeleton with a layer of skin wrapped around it. Yet, despite that, he didn’t feel weak. It was rather odd, honestly.
Nezu continued, “Naturally, we looked up your records and found a few things that concerned us. Your school records end shortly after you turned sixteen, a little over a year ago now, and you vanished from all records at the same time. On top of that, you are listed as Quirkless in the registry, and yet we’ve been informed by the staff that you possess a rather strong regenerative Quirk.” He gestured to Nemuri, “Midnight also reported that you managed to phase your hand into the ATM during your attempt to rob it. This leaves us with many questions and few answers. We were hoping you would tell us your story and fill in the blanks.”
With no reason not to tell them what he’d been through, Micheal took the time to explain everything from the moment his mother had abandoned him to when Midnight had captured him trying to rob an ATM so he could buy a meal and a bed. He even explained everything he knew about his Quirk. By the time he finished, Midnight looked furious, on his behalf, and Nezu had a serious look that worried Micheal. Nezu had to confirm though, “And you’re sure they were attempting to brainwash you into serving someone named All For One?”
Micheal nodded his head, “I’m certain. The woman made me repeat his name hundreds of times to make sure I would never be able to forget.”
“Lastly, the conversation you said you heard, are you certain the doctor claimed your Quirk was a mutation of All For One?”
Micheal nodded, “As sure as I can be. My head was still pretty messed up from the drugs, but it stuck with me.”
Nezu nodded and seemed to think a bit before he said, “Thank you for explaining it all to me, Micheal. The doctors wish to keep you for observation, after they release you where will you go?”
Micheal looked down in thought. He had nowhere to go but back to the streets. Still, with a Quirk, any Quirk, it would be a lot easier to get a job. It was a small, but noticeable, bit of discrimination that no one seemed to care about. Even a shitty fast food job would rather have someone with a useless Quirk working for them than a Quirkless kid. He wouldn’t have a problem getting that job, he would just have to live on the streets for a couple of weeks, a month max, to save up enough to get a slummy apartment somewhere.
He nodded to himself and looked back at Nezu, “I’ll get a job and find a place to live until the next entrance exam for UA.”
Once he was in UA he’d have all of his needs taken care of. U.A. had dorms for the students and provided all their meals. Every person who passed the exams and was accepted into the school automatically got a full ride courtesy of the Japanese government. Then, once he graduated, he’d easily be able to join any agency to earn some money and fame until he could open his own agency. As long as he didn’t turn into a complete douchebag, who wouldn’t want to have him under their wing?
Nezu hummed and studied Micheal for a moment. He, obviously, couldn’t let anyone with a connection to All For One roam around all on their own. Especially not a victim that he was certain All For One would do anything to re-capture. Micheal needed to be protected and watched, “I have an offer for you.” when Micheal perked up, Nezu continued, “It’s clear you will need a lot of time to train your unique Quirk and to come to an understanding of your multitude of abilities. You won’t be able to do so while working a menial job. I’d like to offer you a dorm room on the UA campus and access to our training facilities so you can practice with your abilities.”
Unsaid was that Nezu planned to use this opportunity as a chance to spy on and examine Micheal to learn more about the young man and determine if he was a hidden threat or not. The boy's story painted him as a victim, but the fact he admitted to the brainwashing attempts left Nezu feeling uncomfortable. Nezu could sympathize with being a lab rat more than anyone on Earth, but that also worried him. It could all be an elaborate conspiracy to get his sympathies and allow the boy to get closer to himself. It didn’t seem like a highly likely possibility, but it was there. Ironically, the only way to know for certain was to keep the boy close.
Micheal felt his heart beating in excitement at the offer being presented to him by Nezu, “Do you mean it?”
Nezu nodded, “I can offer you room and board the same as any other student. Staying will be contingent on you passing the public entrance exams in six months. You will need to study and work hard if you wish to have a chance of passing. Your Quirk is powerful and has unlimited potential, but you are inexperienced with it and will need a lot of training and experience to make the optimal choices for abilities in a given scenario.”
Micheal kept the illusion of himself from getting as misty-eyed as he was while having it answer for him with a bright smile, “I would love that!”
Nezu smiled and then did something that surprised Micheal, he turned on Midnight's shoulder and looked directly at him, “Excellent! Perhaps you’d be willing to drop the illusion then?”
Micheal jerked in surprise and failed to maintain his concentration causing the illusion to fail and shatter like glass. Midnight let out a small surprised sound and turned to look at Micheal. Micheal looked at Nezu with a small frown, he would forever deny it was a pout, “How did you know?”
Nezu’s eyes sparkled with mirth as he raised a paw to tap his dark nose, “The nose knows.”
Micheal groaned. Of course! The illusions were only audiovisual, they did nothing for his scent just as they did nothing for touch. Midnight might not have noticed since he didn’t have a strong scent such as body spray or cologne, but an animal's sense of smell was much stronger.
Nezu continued to smirk as Micheal made his way over to the bed, refusing to turn his back on them since he didn’t appreciate the idea of either of them seeing his bare ass. Especially not Midnight! Once near the bed, he quickly got under the covers, only to realize he could have made an illusion of clothing to cover himself. Nezu was seriously right about his need to practice with his Quirks.
Once settled he looked at Nezu, “What now?”
“Now we wait for the doctors to clear you. Meanwhile, I’ll make sure a dorm room is ready for you to move into. Once you’re settled we’ll work out a schedule for your self-study and practice times.” He narrowed his black eyes at Micheal, “I expect you to study hard and pass the entrance exam with flying colors. Do I make myself clear?”
Micheal nodded his head like a bobblehead, “Perfectly.”
It wasn’t like he planned to slack off and squander the opportunity he was being presented. He would work his ass off to make sure he passed both his high school final exams and the entrance exam. Though he had to admit, a massive part of himself was looking forward to seeing what he could really do with his Quirk.
—--Line Break—--
Micheal looked up at the top of the main gates onto the UA campus. His heart was fluttering and he felt giddy at the prospect of crossing the threshold. Standing just on the opposite side of the gate was a scruffy-looking man with a grey scarf and yellow goggles hanging around his neck. Micheal had no idea who the guy was, but given his apparent age, he was likely a teacher.
Unlike a regular college, UA didn’t accept people of any age. Once a student graduated high school they could take the entrance exam for UA that year and that year only. No taking a year off of school to ‘find yourself’ or any other bull. Straight from high school to college. Micheal was extremely thankful that he’d only been captured for months rather than a year or more. He might not have had enough time to learn to control his Quirk before the exams.
“You Micheal?” the scruffy man called out.
Micheal nodded in response. The man turned on his heels, “Follow me.”
As they walked the man handed a folder over to Micheal, “Everything you need to know is in there.”
Micheal opened the folder and found his schedule, a map, a key, and some paperwork. The paperwork included emancipation documents and his new last name, Goto. He smirked a little at his full name Goto Micheal. Goto meaning ‘road’ or ‘way, either physical or conceptual while Micheal meant ‘who resembles God’ and ‘gift from god’. It was a silly thing he chose to do. He didn’t think he was on his road to becoming God or anything, but he liked to think it was a declaration of his desire to walk the road to becoming a strong hero.
After leading him to the building his dorm room was located in, the scruffy man, who still hadn’t introduced himself, left Micheal on his own. That was fine. Micheal had the map out in a heartbeat and made his way directly toward the cafeteria. Not only was the place run by the world-renowned Cook Hero: Lunch Rush. The man who could feed ten thousand people a full-course French meal all on his own. The man was a legend and Micheal was looking forward to eating his food.
That was one issue his stay at the hospital had brought up once all the excitement died down. He could eat a LOT. While he didn’t starve, the hospital refused to feed him more than six meals a day. Those six meals had allowed him to put on some weight making his ribs slightly less noticeable. Nezu had promised he could eat his own body weight at every meal if that was what it took to get him healthy again.
As soon as Micheal walked up to the counter, Lunch Rush’s head snapped in his direction and Micheal could feel the intensity of his stare, even if he couldn’t see it. Lunch Rush wore a full chef’s outfit, including the hat. However, the hat was pulled down over his eyes and his mouth was covered by a gasmask-like piece of support gear with a hose leading into the uniform. He had no idea how Lunch Rush could see, but he had no doubt Lunch Rush was staring into his very soul.
Slowly the Cook Hero rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. A moment later he was a flurry of movement that would put most known speedsters around the world to shame. Plates of food started to seemingly appear out of nowhere in front of Micheal. He didn’t even bother trying to find a seat and devoured the food just as fast as Lunch Rush was producing it. Somehow, Lunch Rush had sensed the challenge of feeding Micheal and had risen to the occasion with gusto.
Over the course of an hour, Micheal ate his weight in food and it clearly showed. His ribs were no longer visible and his gaunt features had filled out until he looked less like a victim of starvation and more like a normal guy. For the first time he could recall in a long time, Micheal actually left a meal feeling full. He gladly returned the enthusiastic thumbs-up he got from Lunch Rush as he was leaving. The man might not talk much, but he was extremely easy to understand.
—--Line Break—--
Micheal looked around the training area he’d been assigned. It was the oldest one on campus and therefore the smallest one. It was no Gym Gamma, but it was more than enough for himself. He was given private access to it from four in the afternoon until midnight. He was expected to study for the rest of the day before hitting the gym.
A couple of hours into practicing with a new Quirk, Smoke Body. It allowed him to transform either parts or all of his body into smoke. It let him fly if he turned his whole body into smoke, which was awesome as hell. He could also turn parts of his body solid once again and lash out with them to attack.
Naturally, this meant that he was in the middle of practicing his new rocket punches when the door to his gym opened and someone walked in, unannounced. He didn’t turn right away as he watched his fist smash into a target dummy and send it sprawling. As awesome as being able to fire his fists with a trail of smoke billowing behind was, they only hit as hard as he could punch. Still fucking awesome to watch though!
After he reformed his hands, he turned to the door, expecting to see a teacher. Instead, he froze in shock as he saw the number one hero in the world, All Might, standing right there! He didn’t even notice the other teen in a green tracksuit standing next to the towering behemoth of muscle.
It was only when he heard the other teen muttering about the uses of a smoke Quirk that got him to look away from the greatest hero ever. The other teen had green hair and eyes and looked rather short and skinny. It kind of reminded Micheal of how he looked before Lunch Rush began feeding him. Now, after just a couple of days, he looked as healthy as could be. He’d even gained a few inches in height as his regeneration Quirk repaired all the damage done to his body and slowly brought him closer to his peak physical state.
He might not appreciate being kidnapped, experimented on, and vivisected, but he had to admit that the things he’d gained from it were pretty damned amazing.
All Might cleared his throat getting both boy's attention. His gaze fell on Micheal, “I take it you are Goto Micheal?” After Micheal’s nod of confirmation, he continued, “Good. I am All Might and this is my student, Midoriya Izuku. He will be attempting the entrance exam at the same time as yourself. However, we are here to discuss something else.” His gaze hardened, “Tell me everything you know about All For One.”
—--Line Break—--
Aaaand CUT!
So, I’m sorry for how long this took to come out and it not being Fabricator or Phenex Rises. Like some others, this idea came and wouldn’t leave. I’d been putzing around and found a CYOA for MHA and filled it out on a whim. Which then stuck like glue and wouldn’t go away until I wrote it. So, I did. The character is a CYOA character but doesn’t know it and never will. No metaknowledge for him! I also think making a sort of reverse All For One is kind of cool. He has tons of Quirks but can only use so many at once. For those unaware, the Quirk he has is based, loosely, on Eidolon from Worm. I’ve only ever read fanfics of Worm and browsed the wiki a bit. The Quirk was part of the CYOA so I just modified it a bit to make it more to my liking.
Lately, I’ve been having trouble writing because of some issues within my home. It’s hard to write when you feel like shit because of bad things happening. It’s downright depressing. Regardless, I managed to write this and I think it turned out pretty great.
I’ll be going back to working on one of my current stories so consider this an incomplete one-shot.
Do let me know what you think about it though! I love feedback and it always makes me feel better to interact with you guys over something I wrote.
Comments
Owen Keating
This is great and makes a great start if you ever want to continue it and good luck with whatever’s been causing you issues
Cody S.
His list of available Quirks is limited, unable to make new ones. I'm using the CYOA as a bit of a guideline to help limit his power so I don't just pull something random out of my ass. Three abilities he can swap out anytime is damned powerful and doesn't need him crafting custom made Quirks added on top. Technically, he only has two Quirks, which for an attempted Nomu is not unheard of. Regeneration on par with the USJ Nomu and Eidolon. I plan to keep it that way.
Loghead101
Ooooohhh I like this. Out of all of your MHA one shots you’ve done I think I like the premise of this one the most. No need for the meta knowledge because as much as I love the munchkin antics that happen, it takes away some agency from the story. The heroes in the know know that AfO is active far earlier than before and they have quite the powerful asset now. Said asset while obviously strong isn’t so much so that he can completely wash the opposition. The regeneration seems automatic but haveing 3 usable slots leaves a lot for experimentation. Is he stuck with the 1 or 2 hundred he has now or can he make new quirks should the need arise, because that sounds like he could just make a quirk that functions like one he’s seen. And getting Midoriya involved early leaves opportunity for a dynamic duo. Both were quirkless and now have incredible power and both have strengths that can help alleviate each others weaknesses. All in all, good one shot and if any of them have a chance at getting a proper story I hope it’s this one. Sorry to hear about home life, I hope it gets better and soon. Take care man!
