Chapter 2 Transformation

It wasn't the first time Izuku Midoriya sat next to Shigaraki Tomura. So close, and so threatning. This time, the boy some people called Deku was sitting in a wooden chair, his hands and legs restraining back as Tomura pulled up a bar chair and sat in front of him. This time was different than the first for obvious reasons, but the main struggle ran through Deku's mind: how do I get out of this situation? There were no civilians that Tomura could threaten Deku with, but there were about five other villains that loomed over him, watching every single one of his movements. It wasn't like he could move much anyways. Deku was starting to feel all of the pain that had saved itself for a time he wasn't running around fueled on a great heaping pile of adrenaline. He was in no condition to fight.

"Well, this isn't what I wanted. Not. At. All." Tomura's head dipped low, a hand moving back to scratch his neck idly. "But, now that you're here, I'm sure we can figure something out." Deku kept his head low, thinking of a strategy as he waited. There wasn't much for him to do at that moment since there were so many villains surrounding him and he didn't know all of their quirks. He knew for certain that Tomura in front of him could disintegrate once he got all his fingers wrapped around him. Okay, avoid his hands. But the bartender over to the side with the mist floating around him was a tricky one. Warp gates for teleportation means that he'll be able to bring in reinforcements. It was too risky to move even with just him around. As for every other villain inside that room, there was no room for guesses. What Deku didn't know, he didn't know. The possibility of escape was slim, the best course of action would be… Keeping himself alive long enough till he's rescued.

"You know, I really want to kill you." Tomura's voice felt like a knife cutting through him. Deku shivered, but kept his face hard, unwilling to cooperate. "But I'm thinking that you're going to be great bait now, for All Might." He rubbed his neck, leaning over his chair with a hand reached out. Deku winced, moving his head farther back as the fingers approached him.

"I was thinking, right? That we use Bakugou and get him to join us. His strength, his entire character screams a villain!" Tomura explained, laughing.

"You're wrong." Deku spat out, biting his lip right after. "Kacchan would never be persuaded to be a villain. He aims for the top, to be the No. 1 pro hero." Just like All Might. He didn't mention the name, knowing very well from the last time he and Tomura met that the villain absolutely detested him. Bringing him up might be a bad choice of words.

"Well, it doesn't matter what he wanted. I would've given him the option to join but if he still refused, we would've made him anyways. You, though, I was thinking, and hear me out." He placed two fingers on Deku's forehead.

"Wouldn't it be better for the story, if the person that turned villain was the hero?" Deku swallowed. What is he saying?!

"Like, how much more fun would that be? Sure we take the kid that already seems like a villain, turn him into a villain, but you. Mr. No. 1's Fan Boy! Imagine if you were the one to turn into a villain." Tomura explained, his teeth showing as a wide grin spread across his face, the same one that left Deku shivers down his spine back at the shopping outlet. "You know how much more people would despair? How much All Might would despair?" When he said his name, Tomura's voice was lowered and laced with disgust.

"No, I'm- I'm never going to be a villain! No matter what you do!" Deku screamed out, his eyes already brimming with tears. He came so far to become a hero, there was no way they can persuade him, no matter what kind of quirk one of them had! If it was a brainwashing quirk again, he'll figure something out! There was a limit too, he just had to exploit it to the best he can. He could do this, his spirit was strong, it's always been strong, Deku just had to –

"Tomura." The voice came from a screen. Everyone turned to look at the source of the fuzzy voice. Shigaraki Tomura got out of his seat and headed over to the screen.

"Sensei, I need your help. I think it's time to get little Midoriya on our side." Tomura held his hands out, similar to a child pleading for a toy.

"A wise decision Tomura. I'll prepare. In the meantime, break his spirit." The voice on the screen went dead, and Deku's eyes shot up as Tomura straightened his back. He turned and headed over to Deku, eyes widen with madness as he grabbed a hold of Deku's shoulders, one pinky up.

"You should be lucky, getting a private lesson from Sensei himself. At least before then, I can play around with you for a bit." The pinky went down. All fingers were on Deku's shoulder and his clothes had started tearing away, then his skin.

"STOP!" Deku screamed out, feeling his shoulder be torn apart slowly, crumbling away as the muscles below it blistered and screeched. He had seen Aizawa-sensei's elbow been touched and disintegrated, but the feeling was so much worse than it looked. He gritted his teeth, trying not to scream and give Tomura the satisfaction, but once he placed his other hand on the other shoulder, Deku cried out, tears rolling down his face as both of his shoulders began disintegrating slowly. It was only his shoulders but it felt like his entire body was being pulled apart, piece by piece. It didn't feel like someone was pulling away a whole piece, but instead someone was grabbing at Deku's skin, pulling it out, and cutting small pieces at a time while keeping their grip. The pain was nearly unbearable. If Deku didn't have a high tolerance for pain, he might've passed out, even considering the wounds and bruises he sustained while fighting Muscular earlier. Deku moved to bit down on his lip, to try and focus on that pain as blood seeped down both his shoulders and now his bottom lip. In his head he screamed, louder and louder. I'm sorry mom! I'm sorry All Might! I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry everyone please! Tears continued to roll down his cheek, his shoulders looking nothing like red, bloody splotches before Tomura let go.

"I can't wait to meet the changed you. Make sure you thank Sensei for his gift. Consider it, the best kind of power-up." Tomura's grin appeared once more as black, gooey liquid came pouring out of Deku's mouth and enveloped him, transporting him away.

Tomura looked down at the empty chair, grinning before he turned towards the door. A knock.

"PIZZA DELIVERY!" He only grinned wider.

-

Everything was black. The darkness was heavy and it didn't feel like the usual darkness of the night. He had ended up on the floor somewhere, hard and cold. Concrete probably. Deku's body screamed out in agony, as the waves of nerves splitting from his shoulders transported its way down to his entire nervous system. He nearly choked out a sob before hearing a cold, elderly voice.

"Oh dear, that Tomura did quite a job on you didn't he? Don't mind him, he seemed to be very excited by you being here." Out of the darkness stepped an older man, with a deformed face and a dark suit dressed him well. Deku felt the air turn extremely cold, the atmosphere become dangerously ill. This man screamed of pure evil.

Deku tried to move himself away, but screamed out in pain as his body twisted onto itself, both from his shoulder wounds and previous over-exertion.

"Don't worry now, let me help you." The man leaned down and place his hand on Deku's face. His eyes widen before he felt his entire body tense up. An almost cooling, calming wave spread across his entire body, fixing his wounds both externally and internally. It wasn't like Recovery Girl's power where it sped up a person's healing process. This quirk was a healing quirk all together that had no repercussions. It felt too good, almost enough for Deku to sigh and smile in relief but considering he was being healed by the villain, the feeling was bittersweet.

His body rebuilt itself, patching up every last wound that he accumulated over the course of the few days. Deku couldn't help but feel, refreshed.

"Your face." The man spoke up, reminding Deku where he was and that the man's hand was still on his face. "That's strange. This is might sound odd, but your face reminds me of my younger brother." Deku's eyes widen at the implication. He slowly turned towards him, swallowing hard as his voice refused to be let out. He did his best to stutter out a:

"A-Are you… All for One?" The man only grinned. Deku froze. This was the man that All Might was destined to fight and defeat. No, it was the man that Deku had to defeat. Everything One for All accumulated to was in order to stop this evil that was now standing in front of him.

"So you are my brother. I suppose not technically, but," The man's hand left Deku's have and went down to his arm, helping him up and steading the boy. If Deku didn't know anything was that going on, it was almost as if a kind gentleman had given him assistance off the floor. "You are so much like him. Tell me Izuku, before receiving One for All, what was your quirk?" Deku refused to say anything. Whether it was from defiance or pure terror, he couldn't open his mouth.

A hand went up to his forehead, a thumb onto his forehead gave All for One the answer. "Quirkless! My you really are my brother aren't you? Izuku, you have no idea how happy to makes me to know that you will be alongside Tomura now. When I was younger, I longed for my brother to be by my side. Finally, I can live through Tomura and you." Before Deku could react, the man wrapped his arms around him in an embrace.

Deku didn't know what was happening. He was terrified, frozen with absolute horror as this name, the one that is deemed the purest of evils, was hugging him like they were old friends.

"Now then, let's get to work." Two hands grabbed a hold of Deku's head as his entire mind blacked out.

-

Izuku Midoriya sniffed. The young boy, only about the age of 5, sat on the ground with bruises and cuts from scraping the ground. Looking up he saw Katsuki Bakugou, his hands cupped as small explosions lit up. A few other of students from their preschool had gathered around to watch him use his quirk.

"See Deku! My quirk is so much cooler! I can beat you now but when you get your quirk, I'll still beat you!" He laughed before walking away.

Right. When Izuku gets his quirk, he'll be able to become a great hero! He'll rival Bakugou! He'll be just like All Might! Except, he never got his quirk.

Time flashed forward. The constant teasing from Bakugou became more and more degrading, but Izuku had held onto his All Might action figure and shouted back once. "Just you wait Kacchan! I can still be a hero! Even without a quirk!" The phrase was met with an explosion to the face and let Izuku on the ground.

"Shut up Deku! You're useless! Quirkless piece of shit!" He laughed. Izuku hated the name Deku.

More time flashed. He was going to apply for UA, despite everyone's disbelief. Even if he was quirkless, they had changed the rules to state that even people without a quirk were able to apply. Even if no one had been accepted on those merits, there was still a chance!

"Hey I got an idea, if you really want a quirk why don't you swan dive off the roof and die? Then you can reborn with one!" Izuku winced, staring at Kacchan with tears brimming in his eyes, as usual. The fierce boy only threatened him with more explosions. It wasn't like Izuku hadn't thought about something like that before. Every night he considered ways to obtain a quirk. Maybe if he threw himself into a vast of toxic waste? No, it was okay! Because he could become a hero without one, right?

Life at home was quiet. Both his parents went across borders to work but Izuku knew it was became they wanted nothing to do with him. He never knew his father much anyways, but Izuku could tell that his mother felt guilty about not being able to pass down her quirk to him. He didn't care if he was quirkless, he just wished his mother showed him more support.

He had finally met his idol. On a rare chance that Izuku was taken by a villain and out of all of the heroes that could've rescued him, it was the one and only All Might! Izuku had to take the chance presented to him, he had to ask him, the person he looked up to the most, and the person who will tell him what he wanted to hear!

"Even if I don't have a quirk, can I still be a hero?" The now, frail-looking All Might only shook his head. Rejection. Flat out refusal. His No. 1 Hero, All Might had told him no, he could never be a hero. Deep down, Izuku should've known this, he knew deep down that it was impossible for him so why did he hold onto hope for so long? Why did All Might tell him no? Why? Why couldn't he be a hero?!

Izuku had walked straight to school after that. He climbed up onto the school roof and looked down at the city he longed to protect. Tears rolled down his eyes as he looked at the hero notebook he'd been creating for himself, when he becomes a hero. There was no use for it. He threw it off the roof flinging it over the fence, crying out loudly as he watched his dream disappear into the ground below. Izuku took a moment to reconsider what he was doing. What was he doing?

There wasn't anything left for him. He was useless. Quirkless. There wasn't anything Izuku wanted to be but a hero, and he couldn't. It was reality now. He took the time to think of those around him. He didn't have any friends, and Kacchan was the one that suggested the plan really, so he wouldn't care if he left the Earth. His parents had left him long ago and now his one shining hope had gave him the slap in the face reality has been trying to scream at him for the longest time. He wondered if there were heroes who specialized in suicide prevention. Izuku never recalled hearing about a hero like that, which made him laugh. He was too useless to even be saved by something like this!

There was no one left in the world for him, no one to protect. He truly believed that maybe if he did jump, he could be reborn.

With one hand on the fence, he began climbing up on it. No one stopped him, either because they didn't see him or no one truly cared anyways. That's what Izuku thought. Sitting on top of the wired fence, he tried to think of reasons to get himself down, to stop what he was doing.

"I like eating katsudon, if I die I can't eat that…" He told himself but frowned. He could eat some if he was reborn anew, maybe he'd like something else.

"I really like my shoes." He could jump with his shoes on, maybe he'd be reborn with them. Everything Izuku thought was minimal, absolutely useless just like him. Even he wasn't able to think of ways to prevent himself from jumping. He couldn't even save himself!

With one last look to the sky, he tried to imagine All Might, in his hero form, coming towards him and stopping him. Grabbing him and holding him, telling him that he's wanted and he's still someone with passion. 'You can still be a hero!'

He wished for that to happen, but once he was plummeting to the ground, he realized that no one was going to rescue him. Maybe he just wasn't worth being saved. At the last second, Izuku closed his eyes, tranquility washing over him.

When he opened his eyes, he was on a bed. A man with a scarred face and a black suit sat beside him. Next to him was a young man, older than Izuku, with grey hair and chapped lips. Izuku's hand flew behind him, his instincts kicking in. He tried to find his backpack to offer the young man some Vaseline that he always kept in the front pocket. (It was great for cuts and wounds that he got often as a child.)

"You're awake. Young man, you gave us quite a scare." The man spoke, leaning over to "look" at him.

Where am I? That's what Izuku had wanted to say but instead, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is, "I'm sorry."

The younger man raised an eyebrow. "You take a jump off a roof and you're apologizing? Geez, how fucking twisted are you?"

The older man didn't say anything to that, he kept his face turned to Izuku. "Tell me, dear boy, why did you do it?"

Izuku's heart ached as he spilled all of his feelings out to two strangers. Everything from his goal to be a hero, to the constant bullying for being quirkless, to how he came home to no one, to finally meeting All Might and then being told he couldn't be a hero. His life was shattered at that instant, life was no longer meaningless.

"All Might huh? What a joke!" The younger man hissed out, placing his fists on the bed, keeping his fingers away. "Listen kid, just became that excuse of a hero told you that you couldn't be one, doesn't mean you listen!" His voice grew with animosity, something Izuku hadn't heard before when talking about the No. 1 Pro Hero.

"Izuku Midoriya, it seems that we stopped you from death, but what will you do now?" The older man asked. Izuku sat up in the bed, gripping the blanket and biting his lip. Nothing changed really, his resolve to die was still there. He was silent.

"Izuku." The man spoke again, using his first name fondly. It almost felt like a father who was giving his son advice. "What if I told you that you can be a hero?"

Izuku turned to face the man. "But how?" He asked, tears brimming again. "I don't have a quirk-"

"What if I told you I could give you one?"

The room went silent. Izuku stared at him, then to the younger man to see if he was bluffing in some sort, if this was all a practical joke. So many questions ran through the young boy's mind. Too many questions.

"Why me?" Was all Izuku managed to say, clutching at his chest.

"Because, from just knowing you now, I know that your passion is true. You have the heart of a hero, and I can't sit idly by and watch you destroy your life. So if you'll agree, join me. Us. I'll make sure that you become a hero that's even better than All Might. One that will look to a child and tell them 'you can be a hero.'" A hand extended.

With a sniff and a sob, Izuku accepted.

-

"Izuku." All for One spoke up, letting go of Deku's head. The black goo wrapped itself around the young boy, leaving only his face there as a new hero suit was placed on him. It was the one that Izuku had imagined for himself, but with alterations Sensei provided. His new implanted memories will adjust soon, and for good measurement, Sensei had given him a hidden quirk that would pair nicely with his new found, altered mind.

"Sensei?" Deku looked up, then from left and right. "Sensei! Where are we? What's going on?"

"We're at the Noumu base. It appears that we have been found by the heroes. You were stunned for a while, do you remember anything?" He asked, not really interested in an actual response before turning towards the front of the building. They would come soon.

"I remember being with Tomu-chan, did Kurogiri transported me here?" He asked, concern growing as he clenched his fists and got ready for whoever was coming.

The building had been brought down by Mt. Lady. Deku had put himself in front of his sensei to block whatever debris would be flying over there.

"Let me handle this Izuku." All for One spoke before walking out of the dark side of the building they were. Even with Beast Jeanist's intuition, Deku knew that it was no use for his Sensei. The musculoskeletal coiling matched with air propulsion had sent the Pro Heroes flying backwards, destroying the neighborhood they were in. Noticing that Best Jeanist had taken his comrades out of the blast range, Sensei laughed and began clapping.

"As expected of the No. 4 Hero! I was trying to blast everyone away but in an instant you controlled everyone's clothes and pulled them out of the way! Your judgement, your technique, you've got nerve of steel. Isn't that so, Izuku?" The young boy beamed, following his Sensei out into the light.

"That's definitely Best Jeanist for you, not only does he have a versatile quirk that can affect anyone who's wearing clothes, he's also known for his swift judgement!" That could never be taken from his, his knowledge and admiration for heroes. It was one thing Sensei felt needed to stay.

From then on, the battle ensured. Tomura had been brought over with the other villains, much to his relief. He was ready to leave though, reluctant knowing he had to assist Tomura in any way he could until All Might came crashing in, saying his name. It made his stomach churn. He didn't need saving, and never from him. That time had passed.

"DEKU!" Now that was a name he hadn't heard in a very long time. Everyone in the base referred to him as Izuku, sometimes Izkun, but that name laced with a specific voice, "Deku" couldn't help but smile! Finally, it was his time to shine. To meet his rival.

He jolted towards him and punched him square in the face.

Everything after that was fueled by excitement and adrenaline. Kacchan was here, he had friends too! It made Deku's stomach churn with both joy and envy. He wasn't ready to confront his childhood 'friend' but it didn't stop from him making a monologue of his past. Deku was a chatterbox anyhow, so being able to finally give the world his backstory had excited him. It might've been the rush of excitement that stunted Deku's rational strategy. He had forgotten the friends that were with Kacchan, so when an ice barricade was built he grew annoyed.

Kacchan and the others had made their way, and Deku had wearily announced his resentment to his previously favorite hero. He eventually left, watching as his Sensei have his last fight with One for All. He landed next to Tomura in an unknown location with the rest of the villains, standing there, staring at him. Deku's first instincts were to go to Tomura.

"Tomu-chan are you alright?" He took ahold of his shoulder. Shigraki Tomura would've slapped him away, but he remembered what his sensei told him. The boy would be key to their success. He had a suspicion that the boy was now brainwashed, having different memories implanted that showed Tomura as someone to be respected and cared for. Not only a few moments before was Tomura grabbing Deku's shoulder and making him cry in agony, destroying his skin. Now he was holding his shoulder, asking if he was alright. He grinned.

"I'm fine Izuku. We have to support Sensei now." They all looked around, turning to see a small TV against the wall.

Unknown to either of them, the memories that Sensei had implanted into Izuku Midoirya had made Shigraki Tomura seem like an older brother. It was obvious once someone thought about it. If Tomura were to be the successor of All for One and Izuku was the successor of One for All, then he wanted to parallel his own relationship with his brother.

All the memories pointed towards Tomura as his friend. Someone who had given him hope when no one else was there. Whether Tomura liked that or not, he would soon find out that he himself needed someone like Izuku in his life. A younger, apprentice who now shared the same drive. The boy that once looked up to All Might was now his, their goal the same. Snuff out the flames of the previous One for All. If they had met under different circumstances, would they have gotten alone? The artificial Tomura in Deku's memories was obviously designed to keep the allusion as realistic as possible, but the villain wondered how much if it would really be his responses and actions. It dawned on him that he might've actually like Izuku, his drive and his intelligence if it wasn't for the boy's love and admiration for All Might. Now that the drive was destroyed and recreated; however, it meant that Tomura could use the boy the way he liked. Actually get along with him and he'll still follow Tomura around like a dog.

The two of them had cried when they watched their Sensei be taken away. Tomura was ready to throw a fit, a tantrum and destroy everything that was in that dark space. Kurogiri was ready to transport his hands away if he were to touch one of them, but Deku had come over and placed a hand on his shoulder once more, smiling through his tears.

"It's your time, Tomu-chan." He told him. In that instant, Tomura almost took that smile to be a reminiscence of All Might, but came to realize that it was a smile from Izuku Midoriya's heart that made him actually calm down.

He nodded. He was going to take down All Might. And his special weapon was standing willing next to him, ready to risk his life for him. Tomura was ready to destroy All Might and deny him everything. He couldn't wait to see the No. 1 Hero's reaction to Deku taking all of the hits from all of the heroes to protect him. The despair that was coming was inevitable.