Chapter Text
Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia / My Hero Academia is a Japanese Manga created by Kohei Horikoshi. The only thing I own in this story would be the plot and whatever original characters I create. This is a work of pure fiction and I wish I can make money out of this...
Possible shoutouts: Marvel Universe, Kamen Rider, Gundam
Go Beyond, Plus Ultra! Damn it!
“Assign parameters to ports 56 to 67. Reroute power to cable six in event of power tripping. Access the grid for data compiling.” A series of buttons clicking quickly and a mutter storm filled the silence of the room that would make one think of the dwelling of a mad scientist. It was a fairly large room that had been partitioned to create different spaces for whatever work was being conducted, with a big part of the room set aside for what looked to be old medical pods that had their parts dismantled and mixed together into some monstrosity to allow two people in their place. Near that was a table where a man was hammering at the keyboard with his eyes focused on the monitor, the light stubble on his face, the messy locks of hair and bags under the eyes a clear indicator of him not having a wink of sleep for a while.
“Izuku, are you in there?” Someone calling out to him followed by the sounds of the door opening did not stop him from typing, but the sudden glare from above did. The man winced from the introduction of brighter light and turned to face his guest, the light now showing his once green hair now turning grey, several faded scars on his slightly chiselled face, a left arm that was clearly not made of organic flesh, and finally a glowing light could be seen beneath the shirt he was wearing where his heart would be at.
“Eri?” the man blinked to get his eyes adjusted to the light quickly while lightly coughing from the dryness that he only just noticed. A bottle of water appeared before him for him to drink from, which he accepted with gratefulness. After quenching his thirst, he turned to face the young woman who looked to be hitting her twenties with a slim figure, white hair running down her back and a single horn on one side of her forehead that added a certain level of cuteness to her. Her red eyes that used to hold an innocent light were now devoid of them and focused on him with a weariness.
“Izuku, have you been working on this all the while?” Her eyes narrowed as she took in the equipment and his computer. “When was the last time you slept?” Izuku blinked a few more times to clear his head and process her words.
“Erm, maybe a few weeks ago?” His uncertain answer got the woman sighing.
“Izuku, I know that you have gotten a breakthrough with the experiment, and yes, I would be very happy with the results if it works, but you do not need to rush it without any sleep.” The woman went to grab his shoulder and without any effort on her part moved him to the bed nearest to them. “I would have asked if you were eating properly, but that may be self-explanatory.” She remarked dryly while looking at the pile of instant noodle cups with a disapproving eye.
“Sorry about that.” Izuku scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, slightly frowning at the grit in his hair. “I just had the brainwave and needed to get it out before I forget it. Not even writing it down helped.” Eri let out a huff before looking at the equipment.
“Has it really been three years since that test?” Eri wondered out loud. Izuku chuckled as he took another sip of water.
“Yes, it is. And to think it all started with me trying to help you get a better handle on your quirk.” Izuku remembered fondly how that came about; he had been trying out a design for Eri to see if she could attempt manipulating her time based abilities to accelerate instead of reversing time while maintaining a certain level of control for her. The first test almost had Izuku panicking as her quirk quickly surged in power and she temporarily blanked out only to have her gasp to get some air. They did not really know what had happened until something on the news attracted Eri’s attention which made her pale even more than usual. Further questioning revealed that Eri had somehow managed to throw her mind into the past and altered an event in the past that had accumulated to what was happening on the news, which at the time was talking about a hero who had stopped a major attack on the populace. The same hero that Eri insisted had died in her previous timeline.
Her answers opened up a door to a great number of possibilities that Izuku was tempted and afraid to try. Not helped that Eri was excited at the idea of having a method for a “do-over”, a chance to reset their pasts and get things done right. Izuku was briefly trying to tell Eri the difficulty and downright insanity of time travelling, only to be asked by Eri if he genuinely believed that and whether he wanted to prove to all the quirkists that he could do something they couldn’t. His resolve pretty much crumbled at that and the two set out to try and create the world’s time machine to send back their minds.
So many rats were sacrificed in the name of science over the 3 years.
“Be honest, how far along are you?” Eri turned to face him.
“I have managed to tweak the processing to reduce the startup and to monitor our health. As for power, I have to build more arc reactors to keep up with the feedback, and prepare an emergency energy tap on the power grid to get it all on the off chance we run out of juice.” Eri snorted at that last part. Knowing what she was told by Izuku regarding his arc reactors, the odds of them needing emergency power were very low. One of them was even powering the entire complex they were in. “If all goes to plan, we should be ready for the final phase soon.”
“Soon huh?” Eri looked to the television that was displaying the news. “I hope so.” Izuku knew what was worrying her without looking at the television, it was displaying the same type of news for the past 15 years.
Sometime around his fifteenth birthday, a group of villains called the League of Villains made their debut by attacking the first year students of UA at the USJ, resulting in 4 deaths and 5 heavily injured. Of the survivors, 2 students quit the course and left UA to take on civilian lifestyles. Later, the league appeared in the city of Hosu alongside the infamous Stain, aka The Hero Killer who had taken out several heroes at that point in time. At Hosu, the hero killer killed Native and another UA student of the same class 1A. Shortly after that, the league attacked the first years at their training camp, kidnapping 2 students and 1 hero while eliminating 3 additional students along with two of the heroes. A rescue force composed of several of the top heroes and the police force was assembled, including the number one hero at the time, All Might, and were sent 2 days later at the hideout of the league. Said force were almost wiped out by the league’s apparent leader who looked like a violent avocado had sex with an older and uglier avocado to give birth to a potato head avocado. The leader went into battle with All Might, and while All Might pulled off a victory as usual, it evidently revealed a secret that Izuku knew of when he once met the man before.
The secret of All Might having been weakened by the same enemy a few years prior and making him lose his strength overtime.
It was when the battle was over that the situation got worse. Aside from All Might’s weakened form exposed to the world and forced retirement, the hero kidnapped lost her quirk and one more student perished during his escape. That may have contributed to what was considered UA’s worst provisional exam turnout where barely a quarter of the class 1A managed to pass. The morale went lower as they entered provisional internships that saw the yakuza come out from the shadows and wrecked havoc with their quirk nullifying bullets, only to be absorbed by the league after the leader got taken out by the heroes and then literally disarmed by Tomura Shigaraki, who had stepped up the plate from being the face of the league to an actual leader.
If that was not bad enough, the Meta Liberation Army led by Re-Destro came out from the woodwork to begin an invasion, showing how many heroes were secretly working for them. The HPSC then revealed the amount of bureaucratic power and control they have over their own set, sending out the heroes and carrying out acts of violence that were barely toeing the line of war crimes. Throw in the League of Villains for good measure and it was effectively a clusterfuck that saw Japan effectively quarantined from the rest of the world to ensure none of the villains would leave the country.
The government tried to hang on but ended up dissolving from all the conflicts going on and multiple corrupt politicians cashing on the situation. It was effectively martial law under the rule of HPSC, but there was division amongst the heroes over what must be done and who could be trusted. With the level of control the HPSC had over them, it did not take long for the hero academies to break off and formed a different group to ensure the children under their protection were not sent out carelessly like foot soldiers. It may have helped a little given what happened with the MLA getting absorbed by the League and under the control of Shigaraki who somehow gained a new set of quirks to become a one man army of destruction and death. The stalemate had stalled between the three groups for the next 18 years, and at present, the war was somewhat favouring the villains. The Hero Faction consisting of the academies ended up adopting guerilla tactics to fight while the HPSC favored assassination and propaganda to fight their battles, the latter even breaking out some of the worst villains out of Tarturus to help them in exchange for a reduced sentence. Vigilantism was on the rise with people trying to make do with the situation without getting caught on any side.
This was not the ideal situation for any civilian to be caught in, and they were smacked in the middle of it.
“Eri, do you want to proceed with this?” His query got Eri raising an eyebrow at him.
“Are you getting second thoughts on this?” Izuku placed the drink down on the table and stood from the bed to stretch, wincing as the joints popped from the stiffness.
“I am not sure what to think on my part. I guess I am doing this more for the discovery, the idea that I can give the middle finger at the laws of physics to perform actual time travel is what drives me on. You are the one who is going to help power the equipment with your actual quirk, you are effectively the one who has the most to lose.” Izuku spoke.
“True, I am the one who has to provide the actual ability to allow us to send our minds back to our old bodies. I am also the one who wanted to do this the most, a chance to have an actual reset in my life. A chance to be happy instead of living in fear from all of this shit going on in our lives.” Eri sat in a chair while maintaining her eyes at him. “But I can tell that I am not the only one who desires that reset. Admit it, you wanted a chance to go back in time to prove something to yourself, to tell your naysayers and bullies that they were wrong to doubt you. Don’t bother lying to me, bro. Tell me what you are really feeling.”
A sigh came out of his mouth as he considered the words to answer her, a part of him knowing that he was being slightly hypocritical to hold back on her when he told her to open up during her early childhood. Eventually he decided that bluntness was the best manner of doing it.
“You are right. A part of me really hated the fact that All Might just smashed my dreams without hesitation and gave away a quirk to someone who could already do so much with his own quirk, like he needed more power to do that. It bugged me that he only did it just so he could get back into the good books with his old partner, when there were others who could have benefitted from that. It pissed me off with his double standards when he himself was quirkless in the beginning and Melissa was also quirkless.” Eri stayed silent while Izuku started getting agitated in his rant, years of holding back his disdain for the hero system now being let loose.
“It sickens me that this society is built on the belief that quirks are all that matters and defines people, and that anyone without a quirk is considered defective and subhuman! I hate the fact that no one bothered to look for us when we needed someone to do so! I want to show those fools that quirks are not the ‘do-all, end-all’, and rub it in their faces that science and good old brains can beat them!” Izuku slammed his fists hard against the table and took a few deep breaths to calm his temper. It had been a long time since he actually ranted in such a manner, and it was both exhausting and liberating to do so.
“Better now?” Eri asked kindly. Izuku nodded slowly while letting out a breath.
“I am. Thank you.” Izuku smiled tiredly at her.
“You need to let it out, it would help to speed up your work.” Eri stood up from her chair and moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder. “If this works, we have a chance to make things right, or at the least, get our own futures straightened out. So let’s hang on to that dream, okay?” Izuku chuckled at her optimism.
“Thank you, little sis.”
“Anytime, big brother.” Eri reached over to grab a screwdriver. “So what needs to be tweaked? I might as well chip in a little.” Izuku’s smile got wider.
“Well, if you insist on helping, there are a few to be touched on.”
(One week later)
“So this is it.” Eri commented as Izuku fiddled with the controls.
“Yes it is, and not a moment too soon.” Izuku finished with his tests and went to check on the helmets the two would be wearing for this work. He was not joking about the timing; the war between the HPSC, the Hero Faction and the League of Villains had escalated badly and tilted heavily in favour to the villains, with the heroes and officers dropping like flies as the League fell upon them like a never-ending tsunami that could not be stopped. The citizens had lost all faith in the heroes and it was every man, woman and children for themselves.
In their case, the villains had heard of his work in cybernetics and various inventions along with the knowledge of Eri’s quirk. These served as a lure for some of the officers to come after them, with some of the MLA remnants wanting to “cleanse the world” of the last quirkless in Japan. Izuku had managed to hold them back for the past few weeks, but as of two days ago, the Nomus had breached the outer perimeter of his compound and were advancing to the bunker they were in now. As a last resort, Izuku had lined the bunker and the area with enough explosives to rival a nuclear explosion if required.
Whether this experiment would work or not, Izuku and Eri had decided that it was better to die on their own terms than to get captured by the League.
“It is really weird, knowing that this could be the last time we would talk to one another.” Eri remarked as Izuku handed her the finished helmet.
“It is, and on that note, I need to ask you once more.” Izuku paused to look at her. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? There is no set point for us to agree on, and for I know, we may return to our old bodies at different points.” Eri merely smiled while rolling her eyes.
“Yes.” She gave the word. “There is no turning back for us even if I refuse. The villains are outside as we speak and I would rather not become one of those Nomus.” The two shuddered at that thought.
“Okay then.” Izuku barely replied when the room shuddered violently to make some of the loose files and beakers drop to the floor. “Shit, they just breached the front gate!”
“Better do this now.” Eri went to her pod and rammed the helmet on her head. Izuku quickly went to the computer and entered a few commands to start up the system along with the self-destruct sequence. On the off chance this failed, there would be a valve to send in a gas to knock them out into a painless sleep while outside of the room, several tonnes of questionable chemicals and nerve gas would be vented to catch any intruders coming for them. And in the event they managed to go through, the bombs will take of them.
“Right, here we go.” Izuku went to his pod while the power started surging around and about them, an indicator for Eri to begin calling out her quirk to begin the procedure. “Any last words, Eri?”
“I just hope that this works.” Eri called out from her pod as her horn started getting smaller. “That and I hope you are ready to adopt me.”
“I will try to get that sorted.” Izuku smiled as he placed the helmet on his head and pressed a button just as the room rumbled again. “They have just breached the security door.” His lips were thin while trying to maintain the smile.
“Let’s get going then.” Eri called out just as her pod closed shut. Izuku nodded as his pod closed over him and light started to build up inside. Through the glass, Izuku could see the monitor that showed both the progress of the experiment and the security footage that showed the villains and Nomus breaking into the next gate which activated the security features, dropping most of them to the floor dead and the most stubborn Nomus to slow down as their regeneration tried to kick in. Something Izuku ensured would be a hard task to complete since he reverse engineered their healing factor and created a virus to target Nomus specifically to stop that ability. But it was a matter of time before they got to the last set of doors. Izuku initiated the self-destruct sequence and prepared for what was possibly the last time he would be in this place. Unwillingly, his eyes glanced at the sole photo in his hands, one that held an image of him, Eri and a chubby woman whose face was blurred out from years of neglect.
“See you on the other side, Eri.” With that, Izuku pressed the last button on the control, and for a brief moment, Izuku felt weightlessness as he seemingly travelled through a vortex of light and images that went on forever before everything went dark.
~ooOOoo~
“Oh, Izuku.”
The first thing he noted was the sounds of a woman sobbing near him. Something about the voice seemed familiar but he could not place it.
The second thing he noted almost as quickly was the sheer pain and numbness going about his body. It took a while to register the pain as the type coming from burns, specifically types that came from explosives, and the numbness from hitting something hard with some medication to dull the pain. There was a tingling sensation that made him realise that he was actually feeling it on his left side, specifically a left arm that was definitely flesh and blood.
Finally, he noted his eyes being covered with a wet cloth, hence blocking his vision. Izuku tried to move his arm and hissed as a new flash of pain went through his body.
“Izuku!” The cloth was removed from his eyes, making him narrow his eyes from the sudden glare before they got covered by a mop of hair while he was gently hugged. “My baby boy, you are awake!” Those words and that voice came together to make his memories click, and Izuku found himself trying to control his emotions as he now remembered the source of the voice.
“Mum?” At that, the hair in front of him moved and Izuku found himself staring at the relieved face of Inko Midoriya, her tear stains and puffy eyes being an indicator of how much she had cried. She was looking a lot younger than he remembered her, but also showing signs of stress eating. But he did not care how much she ate or looked, the fact of the matter was his mother was alive and in front of him.
It worked. He actually did it!
He briefly looked away to see where he was and found himself caught in slight nostalgia at the sight of all the hero merchandise that had shown his previous idolising of All Might. It was honestly a little disconcerting and he forced himself to look back to his mother to avoid the oncoming emotion of derision towards all heroes.
“What happened?” Izuku asked to try and get some information.
“What do you remember, Izuku?” Inko sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on his head. Izuku subconsciously leaned into her touch, his heart aching from having missed it over the years.
“I am not sure, it is a blur.” Izuku frowned, both to keep cover and an attempt to dredge up old memories. Not an easy thing for a thirty odd male having to deal with all the crap in the old timeline. “What date is it?”
“It is July 18, 3 days after your birthday.” Inko answered while worriedly checking his head for possible bruises and wounds that might explain his possible memory loss. “You left the house early in the morning and returned late with all these injuries. What happened to you?”
Ah right, he remembered now. It had been roughly 2 years since that visit to the doctor who broke the news of his quirklessnes so callously, and Bakugo and his rag-tag group decided to do a “celebration anniversary” by chasing him down and ridiculing him with their quirks. When Izuku tried to fight back, that was when Bakugo unleashed a particularly big explosion that saw Izuku crashing through trees and bushes before ending against the wall. They left him there while warning him to not tell anyone about it, forcing him to drag himself back to his home to heal over the weekend.
Izuku in the past had given a very bad excuse that he fell against some electrical fuse box that burned him and made him knock himself out. The teachers at that point in time just sneered and let him off, muttering about his quirklessness while his mother frat about.
This time however? He was done playing nice. He needed to get things moving if he wanted to get something resembling a good future for him, Eri and perhaps some other people.
Especially the mother before him who had given so much. This time he would save her.
“Mum, I have something to tell you.”