Chapter 2: Fame
OOOOOOOOOO
All over the world, people were talking about the biggest thing since All Might's debut. A Japanese teenager by the name of Izuku Midoriya has a mysterious watch that turns him into 10 different heroes that were supposedly aliens and has used this watch to become a vigilante.
Not only did this reveal that the 10 mysterious vigilantes that appeared out of nowhere four years ago were all actually one Quirkless boy, but also caused a great deal of furore.
Some just believed that it was all one big hoax.
Others truly believed that Izuku's transformations were genuinely aliens.
Others believed they were simply powerful mutant quirks and that he should be arrested for vigilantism.
This, in turn, sparked more discussions regarding vigilantism and its place in modern society which then snowballed into an Internet war about the laws revolving around Heroes.
All because of one video.
"The aliens are already among us. Observe, the biology of these strange heroes are too radical and powerful to be that of mutant quirks. They can only be that of extraterrestrials, otherworldly beings with unbelievable powers and abilities. Aliens are real."
HeroMastermind's voice was obviously altered to hide their identity, as noted by Izuku. The video he was currently watching, titled "The secret of the 10", had almost reached a billion views in the past 24 hours.
The video had started off with a picture of Earth, which was then replaced with clips of Izuku as his aliens in action. The teen could see a red, four-armed giant lift up a giant villain and throws him in the air, a black and blue velociraptor-like being stopping a bank robbery in just five seconds, a giant insect with four eyes spewing goo at a helicopter and more.
Izuku could also see a compilation of pictures and videos, some from actual news reports, of his alien forms, which were originally known to the public as the vigilante team called "The 10".
"But that isn't the amazing part, this is. All of the heroes you've just seen are actually alter egos of one man. His name... is Izuku Midoriya, a student at Aldera Junior High in Musutafu City."
In tandem with the mention of his name, the video shifted to a picture of himself. In it, he was at a cafe in the mall known as Mr Katsudon wearing his school uniform while eating a bowl of katsudon, the Omnitrix shining brightly on his left wrist.
"Izuku, could you put down your phone please? Your secret may have been revealed, but you've still got to eat breakfast and get to school."
The male greenette looked up to see his mother have a chastising face on her face as she read that morning's newspaper of which the front page stated in big, bold letters: LOCAL BOY REVEALED TO BE VIGILANTES IN VIDEO, SAVES GALAHAD CORP AIRSHIP.
Izuku quickly scooped the last of the cereal in his mouth and placed the bowl in the sink, ignoring the commotion he heard outside through the closed curtains of the apartment. Last night, he had expected some attention, either from the media or the law. The vigilante felt that he could handle paparazzi with some well-worded comments, but police and perhaps even some pro heroes would be significantly harder. Maybe he could-
Bzzt
Another alert on his phone shook Izuku out of his thoughts and made him sigh. Ever since he woke up, his phone has been constantly buzzing, all being Twitter notifications for new followers.
While finishing the last of his miso soup, Izuku could see an incredible number of people being new followers of his Twitter account, which went by the name of "Deku 10", with #Deku10, #AirshipRescue and #Aliens being the top three hastags.
Checking the screen just to be safe, Izuku was glad to see that he had received a text, a welcome relief from the other notifications, from his best friend.
Uraraka: Good morning Deku, heard the news. How u doing?
You: Guess I'm fine. At least I haven't seen any of my enemies or the cops yet.
Uraraka: Good to hear. Just watch out, the press is probably surrounding you guys right now. Hope you can make it out.
Izuku grimaced, he really did need a alternate route for himself and Izumi to get out of their apartment.
You: Thanks for the heads up. See u later.
Uraraka: K. I'll see you guys at school.
Uraraka: P.S. watch out for Bakugo.
Izuku, slinging on his school bag, did realise the last text did raise a concern. Katsuki Bakugo wasn't the most cool-headed teenager around. "Knowing him, the news made him blow his top off," thought the wielder of the Omnitrix. Izuku wondered how the explosive teen would blast him this time.
"'Zuku? It's about time we get going," said Izumi, bringing her brother back into reality.
"Hold on, Uraraka just told me that the press is just outside. We should probably-"
Izuku was then interrupted by his twelve-year-old sister who just chuckled. "Please, how can there be that many reporters?"
She then found out that, in fact, there were that many reporters when she unlocked the main door and opened it. Izumi was blinded and stunned by just how many journalists and photographers there were. Every single one of them wanted only to see one person: her brother.
Said brother then walked over to the door, causing the already large commotion outside the Midoriya household to become bigger and louder. However, no one outside got their chance to speak with the infamous teenager as he grabbed the door and shut it in their faces.
Izuku then walked over to the window in their kitchen and looked out, an idea forming in his head.
"C'mon," said the emerald-haired boy in a serious tone as he patted the window stool. "We'll get out through here."
Izumi and Inko both shared confused expressions. "The window? Are you sure, Izuku?" asked his mother in a concerned tone.
Just then, Izuku took of his backpack and then proceeded to throw himself out the window. Needless to say, his sister and mother were shocked, all of them letting out worried cries.
Suddenly, a green flash could be seen shining from just below the window while a large thump could be hard. Both Midoriya females looked out to see Izuku's crystalline alien form, Diamondhead standing on the ground unharmed with his backpack in his right hand. The transformed teenager then looked up and yelled, "Sorry about that, I would've transformed inside, but I couldn't fit through the window as Diamondhead."
Izumi then formed a small pink sphere of energy and tossed it at Izuku. Of course, the sphere did squat against her brother's crystal body. "Izuku, if I wanted you to jump, I would've asked Katsuki to get his ass here to cushion you!"
Inko nodded. "I have to agree with Izumi, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry about that, but I fight criminals on an almost daily basis! A fall is nothing compared to what I've done," said Diamondhead as he placed his left hand on the wall, creating a makeshift ladder for his sister. The Petrosapien then began stabilizing the crystal construct as he gestured to his sister to climb.
After Izumi was finished climbing down to the ground, the crystal ladder began shrinking as Diamondhead then he focused on absorbing it. After it was gone, he tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. One flash of green light later, Izuku stood where his crystalline form once stood. As he slung on his backpack, Inko waved down to her children.
"Have a great day at school, you two! I'll try to make the crowd go away!"
Her children, in response, said their goodbyes as they began walking away. After being certain that they wouldn't turn back for whatever reason, Inko quickly whipped out her phone.
She had a few favours to call in, at the same time hoping that Izuku and Izumi didn't get themselves into any trouble.
"Hold up, 'Zuku!" Izumi tried her best to keep up with her brother, drawing quizzical looks from some passersby.
The girl, panting from slight exhaustion, asked, "'Zuku, what's up? Don't we still have time before school starts?"
Izuku shook his head and held up his phone. On it, there was a radar that showed the icon of a monster as well as two heroes and an entire crowd. "The 10-Drone's picked up a villain attack. Looks like duty calls."
Building the drone was probably the best idea Izuku ever had. When he decided to act on bigger crimes and starting investigations, the greenette eventually realised that despite the power the watch gave him, he realised that he required an efficient way to notify himself of crimes in progress.
Getting a smartphone for his birthday along with seeing a spy drone in a movie inspired him to create the 10-Drone (named by Izumi). It didn't take long to create a functional version of the machine, thanks to Grey Matter and Upgrade. Even to this day, Izuku still kept giving it upgrades he could with whatever scrap he found at Dagobah Beach and devices he could afford online.
Meanwhile, Izumi let out a small sigh, she knew her brother had chronic hero syndrome and just couldn't stand aside while innocents are danger, it could be slightly annoying at times like this. Then again, it was what made him the hero he was and inspired her to aim for her dream as well.
As they reached the scene, the Midoriya siblings could see a gigantic villain with a horse-like head rampaging on the train tracks while the pro heroes Death Arms and Backdraft could be seen trying to handle the situation while an entire crowd watched. It was that moment Izumi knew what her brother wanted to do.
"Are you sure, bro'? I bet you're probably already in hot water with the law."
Izuku sighed, he knew his sister was right. Sooner or later, the authorities would come down in him. However, as he heard the villain rampage, his instincts overpowered any hesitation he may have had.
He stepped forward, simply telling his sister. "Go ahead and meet up with Uraraka, Izumi, I'll catch up."
Now, it was his sister's turn to sigh, she knew his mind could not be changed now. "Alright, now kick this guy's butt Izuku," said the girl with a small grin as she continued on the way to school.
After that, Izuku hurriedly walked into a nearby alley, more out of habit when it was time for him "to go hero". Izuku then put his backpack down against a wall, pressed the button on the Omnitrix, turned to dial to the alien of his choice and raised his left arm and slammed down the dial.
The attention of the crowd and the hero present, Backdraft, was drawn to a green flash that came from a nearby alleyway. Just then, a giant insect with four legs, two arms, large orange wings, a sharp stinger tail and four eyes on stalks. Beneath his helmet, Backdraft's eyes widened as he recognized the vigilante immediately. "Stinkfly!"
As the Lepidopterran flew closer, Backdraft let out a groan of disgust. "Ugh, you really do reek."
The insectile alien chose to ignore the comment as he took to the sky. As he did so, the many phones in the crowd began were raised, their owners eager to capture the vigilante in action.
When Stinkfly was on eye level with the villain, he said, "Are you kidding me, you have a quirk like that and you're a petty thief? Guess you didn't have the brains to do anything better with it!"
The vigilante's attempt to rile the giant villain was successful, as he swiped at him with his muscular left arm. Luckily, Stinkfly managed to fly out of the way in time, ready to sry out the next steps of his plan.
Just then, the new pro hero known as Kamui Woods appeared at the scene, jumping over the crowd, eliciting sequels and cheers from his fangirls while running over to the railway before nimbly jumping up onto a traffic light before jumping onto the railway. Once he spotted Stinkfly, his face had a scowl that was covered by his mask. He had heard that the giant bug was supposedly some teenager boy that should be heading to school by now. In any case, Kamui Woods would have to give him a word about vigilantism.
"Hey!" Stinkfly turned around in mid-air to see the plant hero glare at him. "Don't you know that using your Quirk without a license is illegal. Leave this to me and stand down!"
The vigilante, having received comments liked this ever since he started, simply scoffed and then flew away from the railway over a relatively empty street next to it.
"C'mon big guy, too slow to squash a bug?" Judging from the villains general behavior, he seemed easy to enrage. With that taunt of his, the villain roared in anger and jumped off the railway, creating a small shockwave as he landed onto the street.
With the first part of his plan complete, Stinkfly then landed on a part of the ground right in front of a building. Raising his four eyes at the villain, he began to spew a large amount of goo directly at his chest, causing the giant villain to groan, both in disgust and anger. Said villain then raised his left leg in an attempt to stomp the life out of the vigilante.
Just as Izuku had planned.
He quickly flew away before the foot came down. Then, he spewed out more goo at it, enveloping the villain's foot and trapping it. The look of shock on the giant's face when he realized that he was duped was, to Stinkfly, priceless.
The giant then attempted to use his other foot to kick at the alien insect, only for him to effortlessly move to the side while the villain's foot on the side of the building. With some more goo from his four eyes, both the villains's feet were trapped.
"Now for the final touch," thought Stinkfly as a methane was shot out of his eyes and straight into the villain's face. The sudden gas that the villain breathed in was too much for him. Eventually, the villain was out cold.
After that, Stinkfly could hear clapping and cheers. He turned his eyes around to see that the crowd was excited, people had filmed the incident as well as taken a great deal of photos. "As expected," thought the vigilante, it was the usual reaction to his heroics.
He turned around to see Death Arms and Kamui Woods gave him glares. "Kid, I don't know how the fuck that watch of yours gives you quirks, but you're not a pro hero. Just a vigilante," gruffly started Death Arms.
Stinkfly simply flew down to him and said,"What did you expect me to do? I couldn't just let him cause trouble and you guys didn't seem to take any actions to do so." As he took in the insulted looks on their faces, the transformed teen remembered that he still had school to get to. With his vigilante activities, he was late on several occasions and didn't intend to add one more occasion to the list.
"Sorry, but I've gotta fly," were his final words to pros as he then flew to the school as fast as he could.
At least, before he remembered his bag and quickly flew back to grab it.
After Stinkfly landed in front of the school, he tapped the symbol on his forehead, reversing his transformation. He managed to make it, with five minutes to spare as well. At the gate, he could see Izumi and a familiar brunette waiting for him.
Ochaco's face seemed to be red for some reason, Izuku hoped that she was fine. "Oh! Hey, Deku!"
"Hello, Uraraka," said the greenette with a wave of his hand. "Was Izumi bothering you? I get that-"
Izumi dashed right in front of him, interrupting his sentence as she said, "Nothing much, bro'. I was just showing her the latest feed!"
She then raised her phone, showing the latest of Izuku's recent escapade. As the male greenette saw the large number of pictures and videos of him flying around and dealing with the giant, he became aware of the almost constant buzz on his phone alerting him to new Twitter followers.
With a sigh, Izuku, Ochaco and Izumi then walked over to the main entrance of Aldera Junior High. "Well, fingers crossed that nothing too weird happens," wished Izuku as he and his sister opened the door and stepped inside.
When the trio entered, almost everyone in the hallway stopped what they were doing and began to stare shamelessly at the male Midoriya.
Ochaco leaned towards her best friend and whispered,"I think you might've jinxed us, Deku."
The teen let out another sigh. Despite how much he had grown from his "job", Izuku was still an introverted person at heart. As a result, the muttering and quiet conversations among the students that were obviously about him left a uncomfortable feeling in his heart.
"Hey, Ishii!" The loud voice drew the trio's attention over to a group comprised of two students, both third-years like Izuku and Ochaco, over at several lockers confronting a teen with short black hair and blue eyes. "You bumped into me again you clumsy little bast-"
The senior was interrupted when the raven-haired teen flicked his nose as hard as he could. Backing up slightly, the former felt an small ache for his nose as his eyes laid on the latter's metallic left hand.
"Listen, I've got better things to do than mess with two morons- Hey, there you guys are!"
Upon hearing the excited greeting of a familiar voice, Izumi Midoriya broke into a smile as the teen began to approach the duo, pushing aside the two irate seniors again. The duo were about to snap at their junior again, but faltered when a certain greenette in their year flared at them, wisely deciding to walk away.
"Morning, Jun!" cheerfully said the female greenette as she and her friend fist bumped each other. While Ochaco gave a joyful greeting to the boy, Izuku merely waved, his mind on other things on the moment.
"Man, you were awesome out there, Senpai! You defeated that villain without breaking a sweat! Well, if Stinkfly could sweat anyway. I saw the video, how're you guys holding up?" asked the boy, concerned for his friends.
Hearing his concern, Izuku spoke with a calm tone, "I expected that when my identity would be revealed, the police would come to take me in. We haven't seen them yet, but I expect that I'll will be brought in for questioning for my activities. I doubt they believe in aliens for now."
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the other three members of the group became silent, both fearful of the consequences the teen could face as a result. Jun clenched his fists, the older greenette had helped him gain control over of temper and quirk. He felt that it just wasn't fair that someone as selfless as Izuku would have to face the law like some villain.
Sensing the downcast mood, Izuku decided a change of topic was required. "Anyway, Jun, how's your practice with your quirk? I saw what you did earlier, your hand transformed in just two seconds" asked Izuku. Upon hearing his mentor's inquiry, Jun dug into his pocket and took out a 100 yen coin, his mood having been somewhat lifted.
"Pretty good, not much else to say," said the 13-year-old as he concentrated and activated his quirk once more. The same metal over his left hand began to cover his right almost instantly.
Izuku, hearing about his friend's progress, now had a small smile on his face. "Good to see you've really been practicing. Just be careful to avoid doing it near any energy sources."
After all, Izuku really didn't want to fight him again.
2 years ago
As he ran through the park, Diamondhead hoped that he can make it in time. If Jun really did meant what he said to Izumi the previous day, then some kids in her class would be in danger.
According to his sister, said three kids usually hung out at this very park near the lake. Since Jun apparently wanted "payback" against against them for tormenting him, he knew where to look.
Soon after, the crystalline alien found the raven-haired boy, his hands crackling with electricity as he stood over three kids who were the same age as he was. "Call me a freak, huh? Well, this freak is gonna make you all wish you were never born!" Jun's voice sounded wild and fierce, causing Izuku to realize that only one thing could have happened: Jun must have absorbed some energy.
Ever since Jun Ishii transferred into Izumi's school, rumors followed. Rumors about him beating up teachers and students alike at his old school, the fact that he was generally rather aggressive and rude did nothing to help. Only Izumi was willing to reach out to Jun and make an attempt to befriend him.
For a while it did work, but eventually, people started to target Jun. Adults saying he was just a punk and delinquent and would amount to nothing while humiliating him in class, his fellow students with the notable exception of Izumi all avoiding him and laughing at said humiliation. It was enough to make anyone snap.
And soon enough, he did.
Izuku recalled stories that Izumi would tell him, that Jun started fighting with other students with him using his Quirk to absorb energy beforehand. At one point, he almost punched a teacher. After listening to his sister, Izuku began theorizing things about Jun's quirk, the most notable theory being that absorbing energy makes the raven-haired boy become more unhinged and crazy each time he did so while having power high, almost akin to consuming drugs.
With this incident and the many beforehand, it seemed that, unfortunately, that theory was correct. Izuku had met Jun once when Izumi introduced him to her brother, he came off as rather rude, but seemed to be a good kid deep down.
Izuku, after hearing of the incidents, felt only pity for Jun. The boy just needed some guidance, but from what he knew, Jun's father had died a while back and later, his mother had remarried. All of these changes may have been too much for poor Jun.
Diamondhead, now standing behind Jun, said with a booming voice, "Hey kid, you really shouldn't do stuff like that. Let them go right this ins-"
Before he could say more, the boy turned around, his eyes wild with small black lines surrounding them. "Stay back, hero! I'm already going to fry these punks first!" proclaimed Jun as the bolts of energy emitting from his hand became stronger, scaring his former tormentors up to eleven if the stink Diamondhead could smell and the newly-formed wet patches on their pants meant anything.
"Please Jun, you don't need to hurt any innocent people-" Diamondhead was interrupted again as Jun fully turned around with a crazed look on his face, unconcerned that one of the 10 vigilantes somehow knew his name in his mania. "NO ONE'S INNOCENT!" yelled the boy with great fury. "THEY HAVEN'T HAD THE CHANCE TO MAKE FUN OF ME YET!"
After hearing the 11-year-old say that, Izuku decided it would be best if Jun started calming down in a crystal hold. He could not risk him harming anyone. "Now hold still Jun, you just need to calm down. I can help with that."
Just as he was finished talking, the three kids decided that it was the perfect time for them to make like a tree and leave. The quirk and hurried sound of fearful feet could be heard, causing both Jun and Izuku to look and see that the three kids the former had held hostage were currently running for the hills.
The dark-haired boy raised his hands in an attempt to shoot them from a distance, only to meet resistance in the form of Diamondhead wrapping his arms around him. Izuku's initial thoughts of "I've got him now!" were dashed when Jun placed his hands on his large crystal arms. It was then that Izuku felt pain jolt through him, as though something was being taken directly from his body.
The pain made him let go of Jun who, to Izuku's shock, now had crystals covering upper part of his torso, head and his right arm. Jun's head and face now looked startlingly like Diamondhead's. Izuku was shocked, he didn't expect Jun was capable of absorbing powers too. It made him even more dangerous!
"Hold on, only part of his body is covered in crystals," noted Diamondhead. "Could it be that whenever he absorbs a power, his version of it is weaker?" Once the raven-haired boy looked at himself, he let out a crazed laugh. "Now would you look at that? I've got your Quirk!"
The new hybrid raised his crystallized right arm, changing it into a sharp, giant blade and struck Diamondhead. However, the blade just cracked when it came in contact with the crystalline alien's body. Both of them were somewhat stunned at this.
"Alright, that confirms that theory," thought the hero as he proceeded to create blades from his hands. "Please Jun, don't make me hurt you."
Unfortunately, Diamondhead's words fell on deaf ears as rage and mania flowed through Jun once more as he let out a primal roar. His eyes spotting the Omnitrix symbol on Diamondhead's chest.
With just a hunch, he grabbed the symbol with both hands, activated his Quirk and absorbed whatever he could feel. Diamondhead felt power flow not from himself, but from the source of his power.
Jun began to change, letting out a groan as growths erupted from his body, both flesh and crystal. Izuku could see familiar body parts of his aliens begin to form on Jun. Two lower arms extended from Jun's torso which began to enlarge, one of his eyes enlarged while the other split into two small ones, large, orange insectile wings grew on his back while a black tail with blue stripes.
Once he was finished mutating, the Petrosapien let out gaps as their friend became an amalgamation of his aliens. The groans of pain Jun let out became one final roar as a new villain was born.
The present
"Yeah, nothing like that will happen again Izuku," reassuringly said Jun Ishii as he put the coin back into his pocket. "I never needed to absorb energy or powers anymore ever since you gave me the idea to absorb matter instead."
Izuku gave a sigh. "Well, its good to see you've found out more tricks to your quirk."
A somber look appeared on Jun's face as he said, "Yeah, trust me when I say this. I'm never becoming a monster ever again."
Just as the girls of the group were about to comfort him, it was at that moment that the school bell chose to ring.
Izumi then grabbed Jun's hand, turned to her brother and said, "Welp, it's time for us to get going. See you two later!" She then ran to her class which was just around the corner, dragging a surprised friend with her. Izuku and Ochaco, on the other hand, simply jogged up the nearby staircase and for a bit into the hallway as they stood in front of his classroom.
The brunette turned to her friend, placing her comforting hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Don't worry, Deku. I've got your back."
The greenette glancing towards Ochaco, gave her a small and soft smile as they walked in.
As soon as the duo did so, every single one of their classmates feel silent, moving out of their way as Izuku and Ochaco walked in. However, the two of them knew, from experience, that the silence couldn't last as certain landmine would go off any moment now. The greenette began to count down in his mind, "3...2...1..."
Almost in tandem with the "1", the landmine blew up. A sudden explosion could be heard at the back of the classroom, scaring several students if the helps and screams were anything to go by. The source of the explosion was none other than Katsuki Bakugo who was pissed beyond belief.
"DEKU!" Katsuki then marched up to Izuku, both his hands creating small sparks as his right hand grabbed onto the latter's left wrist and held it up, giving a sharp glare towards the Omnitrix. "Tell me the damn truth! There's no way a Quirkless little shit like you would have ten quirks-"
Ochaco, deciding to step in, slapped away the blonde teen's hand away from Izuku, practically growling at him as she said, "He doesn't need to tell you anything, Bakugo. "
Katsuki, witnessing the brunette's defiance, became even more infuriated. "Shove it, Round Face. Let's see you talk back when your mouth's blown time bits-"
The explosive boy was interrupted once again by the first target of his wrath. Izuku stepped between his friend and bully with a serious expression on his face. He and Katsuki stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
It just so happened that at that point, their teacher, Mr. Yamata, walked into the classroom. "Bakugo, please release Midoriya, it's time for the lesson to start, take your seats everyone."
Katsuki, in response, released Izuku with a grunt and sent back to his seat, kicking his feet on his table after doing so. The greenette simply walked behind him and sat on his seat, wondering how his day could get even worse.
"Oh, Midoriya, you have to report to the principal's office, there's a police officer who wishes to speak with you."
"… I really did jinx it, didn't I? I suppose this had to happen sooner or later," thought Izuku as he got up and walked out the door, trying to think of a way to talk of his way out of this mess.