The story of how I became the greatest Hero, Wizard and Bender [HWB]

Two months after All Might was killed, Vito still didn’t know what he was talking about. The news was running stories about his death and his past non-stop ever since that day. Everyone, even the villains, was interviewed. He didn’t remember much after All Might died but he remembered insisting on walking home after the medics checked me.

“Was he just delirious from the neurotoxin?” Vito mumbled to himself “I don’t think that’s a symptom of it but I don’t know for sure.” I opened my laptop to search for neurotoxin symptoms. “I still can’t believe All Might is gone and it’s all my fault!”

“It isn’t your fault, young Vito.”

Vito heard All Might’s voice, clear as day. He shook his head. “I’m just hallucinating. I haven’t slept well since that day.”

“True, you haven’t slept well. You should also eat a balanced diet! But you’re not hallucinating! I am here!”

“All Might? How? I thought you were dead!”

“I am dead! And you must stop blaming yourself. It wasn’t your fault. I’ve become a little slow. I was injured a few years back and I all but retired.”

“If you’re dead… Wait! Am I dead?”

“Of course not! I’m speaking to you through your quirk!”

“Quirk? I don’t have a quirk!”

“You do now! I didn’t have much choice. Your body has been adapting to it which is why we haven’t been able to speak until now. Do you want me to explain?”

“Yes! How do I have a quirk?”

“I’ll explain everything. But first! Go eat something! You haven’t eaten for days!”

“I’m depressed, God dang it! I killed Japan’s number one hero!” Vito scrambled to put pants on and rushed down the stairs.

Vito’s father was bending water from the faucet into a pot and his mother was using her wand to float ingredients from the cupboards.

“Buonasera, Tesoro! [Good evening, Treasure]” Father called as he entered. “You seem animated today!”

“Buonasera! Do we have any oranges?” Vito asked.

“Are you feeling better, Tesoro?” Mother asked as she used her magic to toss him an orange.

“A little. Enough to eat, at least.”

“I’m glad!” Mother said.

“Will you be joining us for dinner today?” Father asked.

“Maybe. I’m going to eat this and see how I feel.” Vito hurried back upstairs to his room.

“Your family seems lovely. They are a healthy balance of concerned and supportive.”

“No offense, All Might, but I’m kinda freaking out here. Can you please explain?”

“Of course. I’ll explain while you eat. My quirk is called ‘All for One’. It is a power that can take the quirks from someone and give it to someone else. Just as I gave you All for One.”

“So you had more than just super strength?” Vito began peeling the orange.

“Oh yes! Much more! I took powers from every super criminal just before they were locked away. But I didn’t take the powers from criminals that had a chance of seeing the light of day. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to prepare someone for these powers before I can transfer them. Humans aren’t designed to be able to hold so much power inside them at once. It has to be transferred gradually. Obviously, that wasn’t an option for us. I had to transfer All for One in a hurry.”

“So I have the ability to take other peoples’ powers?”

“Yes but you shouldn’t do that unless absolutely necessary. As you can imagine, it would be incredibly easy for someone to go power mad and become a villain. Because of that, most people would be terrified and hunt you down if they knew you could steal powers.”

“Understandable.” Vito popped an orange slice in my mouth. “What do I do now?” he said around a mouth full of orange. He swallowed and ate another. It could be that Vito hadn’t eaten in days or that he was really thirsty but that particular orange was the juiciest and sweetest orange he had ever tasted.

“I wish I could say just carry on as normal but I’m afraid it isn’t that simple. You see, All for One has a purpose: to stop One for All.”

“What’s One for All?”

“It’s like the antithesis of All for One. At the same time, it’s quite similar. One for All is also passed from user to user. The difference being that it takes every user’s power and adds it to the next generation. So, someone who has no powers could give it to the next person who also has no powers and they are as strong as two men. Now add powers to the mix. A fire bender gives it to someone who wields a fire quirk. Now, not only are they as strong as two men, they also have all the experience and powers of a fire bender along with someone who can train that fire to be hotter, travel further, burn longer, etc.

“It’s always a close fight. He wounded me before I killed him.”

“You killed him? Doesn’t that mean he’s not a threat?”

“Unfortunately, no. He resurrects every couple decades. Sometimes, he comes back in the same body. Sometimes, as his own child. But he’s always evil and always a threat to the world. We, your predecessors have been calculating how long it takes for him to resurrect and it’s been getting faster and faster every time. Between when my master fought him and when I fought him, there was barely a ten year difference. It is very likely you will have to fight him before it’s time for you to pass it on to your successor.

“All for One is at an advantage in that it can take others’ abilities but the experience doesn’t get copied like it does for One for All. It has to be trained the old fashioned way. So the wielders of All for One have been gathering powers for generations to fight One for All. But none of your predecessors have had to start over like you do.”

“Lovely,” Vito said, sarcastically.

“Fear not! Once you hit rock bottom, there is only one direction you can go!”

Vito smiled. “Easy for you to say.”

“Not really. I’m dead after all. I’m below rock bottom. Probably at least 6 feet below.”

Vito rolled over and checked the time on his phone. It was 6:30 A.M. His parents should already be at work by now. His father worked at the hospital as a healer and his mother was a police woman. He climbed out of bed and got dressed. After he finished getting ready, he walked out the front door and nearly stumbled into the mailman.

“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t see you there.” Vito didn’t recognize him. He wasn’t the usual mailman. This man had a bald head and bushy red beard. His arms and legs were also pretty hairy. He was looking back and forth between Vito’s house number and a piece of paper.

“The fault is mine, young man. In my old age, my eyes don’t work like they used to.”

“‘Old age?’ You look younger than my father.” Despite looking slightly below middle age, his mannerisms did seem older.

“You’re very kind. I’m a lot older than I look. Tell me, son, do these addresses match?” He showed Vito the piece of paper where his address was neatly written above his and his father’s names.

“Yes sir.”

“Oh good. Do you know where I can find Atka and Vito Locus?”

“I’m Vito. Atka is my father. Is there a package I need to sign for?”

“Package?” He looked confused then seemed to realize he was wearing a mailman’s uniform. “Oh no. Nothing like that. You said you’re Vito?” Vito nodded. “I see… Well in that case, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies. It’s such a shame when someone so young has to die.”

Before Vito could respond, the man’s skin took on a deep blue hue and his teeth, fingers, and ears elongated into sharp points. His eyes flashed orange like a raging bonfire. His clothes melded into his flesh and his beard turned a very light blue, almost white. His physique swelled immensely. He was nearly 9 feet tall and his arms and legs had rippling muscles as big around as Vito’s head. In the blink of an eye, the demonic creature lifted him off his feet by his throat so that Vito was at eye level. From his elevated vantage point, he could now see the man/demon had a pair of neatly folded leathery wings on his back.

“I’ve heard of this creature. He’s a mercenary known only as ‘The Cerulean Carnage’. He’s been on Interpol’s most wanted list for at least a decade. From what I hear, he only takes the most difficult and bloody jobs because he delights in the carnage, hence his name. I’ve never heard of him failing… But he’s never faced us before!” All Might sounded almost arrogant. “Grab his forehead and take his power.”

“Easy for you to say,” Vito tried to say but the demon’s grip was too tight. It only came out as a gasp.

“Don’t struggle. It’ll be over before you know it. I don’t like making children suffer but don’t mistake me for a merciful man. If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll drag out your death. Where is your father?” The demon growled. He released his grip enough for Vito to speak.

Vito was too far away to grip his face so he spoke in as quiet a whisper as he could manage, which wasn’t too difficult with how badly his throat hurt. Vito hoped his pointed ears didn’t afford him crazy good super hearing.

“Fuck. Did I crush your throat? I hate it when I do that.” He brought Vito closer to his ear. “Try again. Where is your father?”

Vito grabbed the demon’s leathery forehead. “Beyond your reach!” Vito wasn’t sure how to take his power but almost immediately, he felt a tugging in his gut and wispy red tendrils emanated from the demon and converged on Vito. Panic spread across the demons face as he began to shrink just as quickly as he grew. Before long, he was human again but the tendrils didn’t stop. They kept pulling and pulling the man’s power out of him. The hairy man began to shrivel rapidly and his hair grayed and turned milk white.

Vito shrieked and let go but it was too late. There was only a pile of ash and empty clothes.

“Oh God! Did I kill him? I did, didn’t I? You didn’t tell me that taking his quirk would kill him!”

“It doesn’t! I’ve never seen that happen before!” It seemed that All Might was just as surprised as Vito.

“Then what happened?”

All Might didn’t respond for a few seconds. “My best guess is that his quirk prevented him from aging. When you took it from him, his true age must have caught up to him all at once.” That didn’t make Vito feel any better. “There was no way of knowing that would happen, young man. I certainly don’t condone killing but you had to defend yourself. Try not to feel too bad. He would have killed you and your father had you given him the chance.”

Vito didn’t respond immediately. He knew All Might was right but he didn’t like it. He hoped he would never have to do this again. He tried hard to push his feelings down as he picked up the handwritten note with his address. He couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity.

“Did you feel bad when you killed One for All?” Vito finally asked.

“Of course I did… I am… was… a hero. I wanted to protect everybody, even villains. There are a lot of gray areas in this world, young Vito. Is a man who steals food for his starving family a villain? Maybe. But is he evil? I don’t think so. Desperation sometimes pushes good men to bad actions. Understanding a villain’s actions is an important part of defeating them. A great writer once wrote, ‘In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.’ I like that quote because, in my opinion, the greatest heroes don’t have flashy powers and can stop powerful villains. The greatest heroes help everybody, even villains, if they can.

Unfortunately, One for All was a completely different beast. He wanted nothing but carnage and destruction. He murdered hundreds just because he could. He fought as if he didn’t feel pain, as if he didn’t care if he lived or died. He made it clear that one or both of us would succumb to our wounds by the end of that battle… Both of us almost did.”

“Will I have to kill again?”

“I hope not, young Vito. I sincerely hope you find a solution to all your villains that doesn’t require killing.

“...It may not be the best time to mention this. It may be a good idea to meet up with my contacts in Japan. They can teach you how to use the quirk you just acquired.”

“You want me to go to Japan?”

“I know there are hero academies all over the world but only a handful of people know of my quirk and how it works. All of them are in Japan. Perhaps they can prepare you for a fight with One for All. Although I also hope he doesn’t come back, I doubt the world is that lucky.”

“So how do I do that? Do I skip school and take care of that?”

“I don’t like the idea of youth skipping out on their education.”

Vito didn’t either. His friends and schoolmates skip from time to time and make fun of him for enjoying school.

“However, I believe this is quite important. I’ll give you the number to call. Japan is seven hours ahead. It might be too much to wait until after school.”

“I understand. Give me the number.” Vito turned around and went back inside. “If Mother or Father ask, I’ll just tell them I felt sick.”

All Might gave Vito the instructions to contact Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi in Japan and a specific message to give him. “Introduce yourself and tell him that All Might declares a Code Zero. You are the new wielder of All for One and need to be debriefed. He’ll take care of the rest.”

Vito didn’t understand fully but completed the instructions given to him.