What if... Midoriya was Electro?
Rotten.
Maggot infested.
Inedible.
The boy dug through the dumpster, finding nothing that he could safely eat… though with how his stomach was screaming in protest, he would probably have to risk it.
The boy sighed and shut the dumpster, having only found a few slices of bread with some mold on it. He left the alleyway, hands in the pockets of his green hoodie as thoughts bounced around his head.
He didn’t remember his name. He didn’t remember who he was. Only a few weeks ago, he woke up in a building, naked, surrounded by dead bodies, each one covered in jagged burns. He had awoken with a sense of panic, the lights above him flickering while various devices around him sparked and activated. He remembered feeling so thirsty, he went to a nearby sink, but stopped at seeing his reflection. He had a plain, young face with freckles dotting his cheeks. His hair was buzzed down and messy, but from what little he could see, was also dark green. It would have been a plain and unassuming look, were it not for his eyes, glowing neon green with black… sclera? Was that it? Aside from that, across his face, making a jagged, star-like pattern, was several glowing green veins.
Reminded of his thirst, he reached for the facet, but an erratic line of green electricity shot out and hit the handle, turning it for him, releasing a stream of cold water. That had been strange, but he was too thirsty to care. He stuck his hands in, but pulled back when the electricity on his arms reacted poorly with the water. Pulling back his hand, he grabbed a nearby bowl, and filled it up. Soon after he had his fill, he grabbed some clothes out of a nearby trashcan and hurried out of… the morgue? That’s what the sign above the doors had called it… but… that was for dead people, and he wasn’t dead, right?
But then… he didn’t look alive either.
The boy took out one of the moldy slices and took a bite out of an edge that wasn’t fuzzy or blue. It was disgusting, but it was all he had. He had spent the last few weeks living in a box in a side alley. He tried to approach someone for help, but they all backed away from him, or drove him off. All around him, he saw advertisements, toys, shows talking about these living legends, heroes, who could help him. And yet he couldn’t find one. He just wanted someone to help him out, but none of them did… he wished he knew who he was, so he could at least figure out something to do.
He got flashes, though, of a woman resembling him crying while hugging him and apologizing, an ashy-blonde boy looking up at him while sitting in a stream, a screen depicting a large man with a large smile carrying two people on his shoulders, that same man fighting off villains with screams of “SMASH!”, and… a man without a face, speaking to a younger man with hands covering himself.
“This one will be a powerful warrior for you, Tomura, with great control over electromagnetism. It will heal from all injuries, think creatively, discern the health of anyone in sight, intercept electronic signals, process information far faster than any other nomu, and most importantly-”
A small form colliding into his side brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down, seeing a girl. She had silvery blue hair, large red eyes, a small horn jutting out from the right side of her forehead, and was dressed in a tattered gown with bandages along her arms and bare feet.
He looked down as she clung to his leg tightly, her shaking hands gripping his filthy jeans. Around him, people walked past, either caught up in their own business or intentionally ignoring them.
“There she is!”
Looking up, he saw two large men, wearing beak-like masks approach. One was muscular, wearing only an undershirt and cargo pants. The other was lean, but his fingertips ended in tubes? No, gun barrels. Probably had some kind of emitter quirk, possibly shooting bullets. Maybe bone spikes, considering his fingers otherwise looked small, though it’s possible that they’re lasers-
‘Wait, what? Where'd that come from-’
The boy was brought out of his strange musings when the larger of the two approached. “Hey, thanks kid, our, ah, charge slipped away from us. Just hand her over and we’ll be on our way.” His face, while smiling, immediately put the boy on edge. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the scars on his face. Maybe it was the freaky bird mask that exposed his jagged teeth through the clear plastic. Or the way he was sizing the boy up like a fox in a henhouse. The large man, who became ‘Scars’ in the boy’s mind, approached the girl, who went on the other side of the boy, using him like a shield.
“Don’t let them take me…”
The boy looked at the girl again, frozen in indecision. He didn’t know what to do.
“Kid, hand her over and things won’t get… complicated.” The other man, Fingers, he decided to call him, reached for the girl.
He knew the smart thing was to let them take her back. He couldn’t help her. He couldn’t even help himself. He didn’t know her relationship to the two men. Maybe they were uncles. Maybe they were babysitters. It wasn’t his business, and he had no reason to help…
Until she spoke up.
“Please… help me…!”
Without thinking, the boy threw his arms up, green electricity shooting out. The bolts hit Fingers, sending him into some trash cans. The noise immediately caused a panic among the civilians, who started screaming “VILLAINS!” and running. Some stayed and pulled out their phones to record, but no one did anything to help.
The boy, acting without thought, grabbed the girl and ran as fast as he could down the street. The girl held onto him, her eyes wide in an emotion he couldn’t identify. Fear, probably. The boy made it to the crosswalk when Scars dropped down, a massive pair of arms growing out of his back, ending in talons.
“Hand her over, brat!”
The boy turned away, even as Scars ran after him, Fingers close behind him. They weren’t very fast, but unlike the boy, they had full meals prior to the chase, and they weren’t carrying a scared little girl half their size. Glancing around, he saw a traffic light, on the other side of the street. In his head, a calculation suddenly appeared. He thought about how the faucet handle had turned, how he unintentionally willed it to be moved closer to himself. He needed to move away fast, but if he couldn’t use his legs… maybe he could move himself.
Right as the larger man was about to grab him, the boy threw out his arm to the traffic light and shot out a bolt of energy, shooting him across the street as if he was attached to a bungie cord. He shot past the pole… but didn’t think of how to land. Screaming, he released his… tether, for lack of another term, and shot out his hand, a bolt of energy hitting the ground.
He started to slow, enough that when he landed, he just got the wind knocked out of him instead of breaking his legs. The girl whimpered, but otherwise seemed to be fine. The boy stood up shakily, when a voice cut through the adrenaline.
“Deku?!”
Spinning around, the boy looked at the speaker and froze. It was the ash-blonde boy from his memory, only now he was older, in a uniform and carrying papers for something called “Aldera High?” Right now, though, he wasn’t staring at the papers, but the electric boy with nothing but shock on his face.
“...who’s deku?” the boy asked, taken aback by how surprised the other boy looked, which only grew worse at the response he had given him.
“There they are!”
There wasn’t enough time for the ash-blonde boy to respond, since Scars and Fingers ran through the traffic, skidding to a halt further down the sidewalk. The boy looked around, unsure of what to do next. The two were almost on him, and they weren’t going to be merciful to either of them. He needed to get out, fast. Fast… like that truck driving past them!
The boy flung out his other arm and launched himself into the back of the old pickup, much to the driver’s shock. Thankfully, instead of stopping, he noticed Scars and Fingers chasing them and sped up. Several bone spikes shot past him, fired from Fingers’ gun barrel-like appendages, one getting uncomfortably close to his head when it embedded into the truck bed, but the truck was too fast for the men to catch up to. Only a minute later, they lost the two villains, and the driver slowed, but didn’t stop. Finally able to relax, the boy laid down, sighing in relief. He had a headache, as always happens when he used up too much electricity, but the pain came from another source this time.
Deku…
That… name was familiar. But with it… came pain…
That boy, when he was younger, stood over the electric boy… called him Deku… blew him up, caused him pain!
But he… he felt something for the other boy.. Admiration?
“Eh-leck-tro…”
The boy looked down, the girl clinging to his side.
“What did you say?” he asked her.
“You… you have…. An e-lec-tro quirk… right?” she asked him.
“I…. I guess so.” he admitted. She curled up against him, shaking in fear. “...do you have a name?”
“...Eri.” she whispered, her grip tightening. He couldn’t help but feel his heart clench at how scared she was, so he pulled her close and hugged her tight. His body crackled with electricity, but somehow he knew how to keep it from doing more than causing a light buzz.
“Don’t worry Eri… I won’t let them take you away again.” he said. He didn’t know why he promised that, but something inside him… the same thing that made him blast away Fingers, felt strength from that promise. It also drove him to whisper his next words to her. “Because I am here.”
Minutes later, the truck stopped outside a building. The driver climbed out, and looked at the two. The boy was shocked at how thin and sickly the man looked. His blonde hair fell limply around his face, framing his black and blue eyes. Eri pulled closer into the boy’s chest, shivering. Seeing this, and her general state, the man stepped back, hands raised and concern apparent on his face.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you… I just want to ask you some questions.”
“...are we… in trouble?” the boy asked.
“...that remains to be seen.” the man said. “But you’ll be safe with me, I promise. You can call me Yagi Toshinori.”
The boy looked around. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around, but he felt nervous. Before he could object, his stomach growled loudly.
The man, Yagi, noticing this, made another offer. “I’ve got food and a hot bath.”
That was apparently enough for the two, because before he could really think about it, the boy followed him inside, still carrying Eri in his arms. They made it to the top floor, the boy constantly glancing around in worry. Thankfully, what awaited them was a plainly furnished apartment, with some papers spread around a coffee table, depicting a blonde haired, blue eyed boy with a smile.
Eri didn’t release her grip on him until they sat upon the couch, and even then she refused to part from him.
“I’ll make some ramen for us. It’s not much, but with my condition, I can’t have anything fancier.” Yagi apologized. “Can I have your names?”
“..her… her name is Eri.” the boy said. “I… I don’t remember my name…”
The man looked over. “You have amnesia?”
“I… I think so…” the boy admitted. “...this other boy called me… “deku,” but it… hurts my chest when I think about it...”
“A boy?” Yagi asked.
“Ashy blonde hair, red eyes, he had a.. A school uniform… and papers… they said… ‘Aldera’ on them.” the boy said after a moment.
Yagi blinked, surprised at how much the homeless kid could recall. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi was not having a good day.
First, his favorite coffee shop had run out of those cheese Danishes he enjoyed, he was making no headway in his missing persons case, and now some child had run down a street, openly using his Quirk to flee from two men who shortly afterwards disappeared. Several eyewitnesses have differing descriptions of the boy, mainly due to his “head being wrapped in a crackling electric star.”
Oh, yeah, and apparently he was skilled enough with his Electric Quirk that he could use the magnetic side of it like a grappling hook.
Naomasa was about ready to call it in, when he heard someone shouting.
“Move aside extras, I gotta talk to the detective!”
Naomasa looked up, sighing. He was all too familiar with the boy moving towards him. He was a central figure of the investigation he had been undertaking for a year now, even if most of his colleagues had long since given up.
“Look, Bakugo-san, I told you, when we have a lead on your missing friend, we’ll call-”
“I saw him!” the boy interrupted. Naomasa fell silent, looking at the schoolboy.
“....what do you mean ‘’you saw him?’’”
“Dek- Midoriya was the kid running from those criminals!” Bakugo explained what he had seen. Though the boy looked different, he had recognized him by his distinct hair, even though it was cut short now. However, Naomasa immediately spotted a problem with this seemingly fortuitous turn of events.
“I thought you said your friend was Quirkless.”
“He is! Or, he was… I don’t know how he got that new look!” the boy muttered. “But I saw him! It sounded like him… but he…” Bakugo fell silent.
“He didn’t recognize me.”
“So? You said you weren’t friends-” Naomasa did.
“Dek… Midoriya always thought otherwise.” Bakugo said quietly, not meeting the detective’s gaze.
A phone call playing an American tune interrupted the conversation. Naomasa sighed, pulling it out. “I need to take this, but we’ll talk afterwards.”
Bakugo grunted in annoyance, but nodded. Naomasa walked to the side, answering the phone. “Toshinori, I’m in the middle of something.”
“Does that something involve an electric boy and a little girl being chased by two bird masked men in a public area?”
Naomasa paused and sighed. “Saw it on the news?”
“I was there, Naomasa. They jumped into my truck. They’re alright, but shaken. I took them to my apartment and gave them some food and clean clothes.”
Naomasa sighed in relief. At least something was going right today. “Did they give their names?”
“The girl’s apparently called Eri, but she’s scared badly. I also took off some bandages on her arms and legs, and they’re covered in surgical scars. I think whoever those men were have been hurting her for some reason. I think you should come over.” Toshinori’s voice said that in a way that to most passersby would have seemed calm, but Naomasa was experienced enough to know he was hiding a lot of anger.
Naomasa clenched his phone tightly. Few things angered him like accounts of child abuse. “What about the electric boy?” Toshinori took a few seconds of silence before he spoke up again.
“...that’s the thing, he says he doesn’t remember who he was, any family he might have had, even what city he’s in. All he knows is that he woke up in a hospital morgue a few weeks ago.”
… oh hell, it was gonna be one of those days, wasn’t it?
“...what does he look like?” Naomasa asked quietly.
“Short, thin… not much muscle... He’s got short hair, a sort of forest green that looks like it’s growing back after being cut off. He’s also got this… star-like pattern of glowing green veins on his face, and his eyes are black with green irises…. He’s covered in surgical scars, mainly around his chest and sides.”
“...Toshinori, keep him there. I think he’s part of that missing persons case I’ve been looking into.”
“The Midoriya one?” Toshinori asked, confused. “I thought you said he was-”
BOOM!
Toshinori’s words were cut off by an explosion on the other end, his phone going dead.
“Toshinori?? Toshinori!! YAGI!!” Naomasa screamed into the phone, only barely restraining himself from using his friend’s hero name. Naomasa turned around and ran to his car, ignoring the confused protests of his fellow officers and Bakugo.
Right now, they didn’t matter. Only saving All Might did.
The boy’s head was ringing.
He had just gotten out of the bath, wearing some ill fitting clothes and his hoodie. Toshinori was speaking to someone on those devices, phones? They made his head hurt, but he could hear the conversation just fine despite being in another room. He wasn't sure how. Probably had to do with his Quirk. When that name, Midoriya, was spoken, however, he had frozen.
That name… it was… familiar…
But he couldn’t think about that, because shortly afterward the wall and ceiling exploded inwards.
That explosion had knocked him out of the bathroom… and a chunk of the ceiling pinned him down. The boy (Was he Midoriya?) tried to get up, but he couldn’t feel anything below his neck at the moment. Several men, all wearing those bird masks, entered the apartment, surrounding Toshinori and Eri.
He felt something in his torso. Looking down (oh, hey, his neck can move again) he saw it was a metal pipe, crackling from his electricity and sticking out of his ribcage. Reaching down, he pulled it out and weakly dropped it. Immediately his body began stitching itself back together. Snapped bones reconnecting and mending his torn flesh, painful sensations reappearing in his body only to vanish seconds later. In minutes, he’d be whole again. Just like always.
So instead he looked out at the scene. A group of eight men, all in masks, had parted for someone who could only have been their leader. He wore a green jacket with a fluffy purple collar, white gloves, and a red and gold mask.
“Boss, I found her!” Fingers ran out, dragging the unmoving Eri. The boy looked at her, his eyes shifting until he could see her nervous system, glowing and pulsing with electricity.
‘She’s still alive…’ he thought in relief.
“See, boss?? I’m not a failure! You don’t have to kill me, right?? I led us here with my bone bullet, just like I said!” Fingers said, a desperate smile on his face as he handed the unconscious girl to a man in a white cloak.
“So you did.” the leader said. “Your punishment will be lessened.”
Fingers visibly relaxes, relief on his face. “Thank you, Overhaul, I will not-”
Fingers didn’t get a chance to finish when the leader, Overhaul, his hands now free of his gloves, grabbed the man’s head, which exploded instantly, the body crumbling to the ground helplessly.
“A quick, painless death without fear, instead of a slow painful one filled with terror.” Overhaul said simply, wiping his hand on a handkerchief before replacing his glove. “Better than what your partner received for failing to guard my daughter.”
The boy’s eyes were wide in shock and fear. Having seen him casually murder another man like it was nothing, he now knew one thing for certain: That man, Overhaul, he was a villain! His power, or, Quirk, appeared to be touch based, and it seemed like he was restructuring matter-
“Midoriya…”
A groan distracted him from his thoughts. Turning his head, the boy saw with some horror that Toshinori, the kind man who had brought him into his home, had a large chunk of glass in his leg and was bleeding out from an open wound in his left side. The man had dragged himself over to the remains of his wall, despite the trail of blood left behind.
“You… you need to save her…” he groaned, his voice just quiet enough to keep the men from overhearing.
“But… but I’m not a hero… I’m just a kid… a homeless kid who doesn’t even remember who he is.” the boy denied quietly, reaching out an arm, the only free part of him, to the man.
“You… you acted to save her… your body moved to save her without thinking… and you can heal from injuries…” Toshinori coughed, catching some of the masked men’s attention.
“Urgh… disgusting…” Overhaul muttered. “Hojo, kill that trash.”
“Yes, Overhaul!” a large man without hair nodded and approached, crystals forming on his body. Toshinori’s eyes widened, and he turned to the boy.
“I’m sorry, I was hoping this wouldn’t happen, but right now I have no choice!” Toshinori grabbed the glass shard in his leg and wretched it out, and, before anyone could stop him, he impaled the bloody shard through the green boy's arm.
“Holy shit!” a man with blonde hair shouted, thrusting out his arm. Immediately the shard of glass flew out of the kid's arm and into his hand.
“My power… is yours…” Toshinori whispered, his eyes shutting.
“...huh, wonder what that was about-” the thief muttered when an explosion of electricity knocked everyone down. Hojo, sent into the remains of the coffee table, only barely managed to form enough crystals to protect himself from the explosion, while several others fell, convulsing from the electrical energy in the air.
The only exceptions were Overhaul, a doll-like minion, a man with metal-coverings on his hands, and a man in a monk-like robe, who had thrown up a yellow barrier in time to block the explosion of energy.
Eri, despite having been in the blast zone, was untouched, the green electricity arcing around her harmlessly.
And the source of that power, the boy with green hair, floated before them, electricity crackling along his body. The explosion had burned away most of his clothes, save for the hood and top of his borrowed shirt, leaving his chest exposed. Like his face, he had four lines of jagged glowing nerves that gathered over his heart, which glowed like a miniature sun, nine bright lights shining within it.
“Get away from Eri.” he said, cold fury filling his words, his voice now reverberating through the air, sounding inhuman.
Overhaul snarled, regaining his composure in spite of the situation. “She is my daughter, and the cure to the plague that has afflicted you and countless others!” he growled out, reaching for Eri. A bolt of green lightning struck the ground between him and the girl, making the masked boss draw his hand back.
The noise was enough to wake up Eri, who moaned and looked around. “What…?” spotting Chisaki, Eri’s eyes widened and she gasped, crawling away from him, her horn activating. Touching one of the men by accident, she gasped as he started shrinking, deaging into nothing.
“Damn…” Overhaul muttered, more annoyed than sad over the loss of his minion.
Eri continued to back away, scared, until she bumped into the electric boy. Feeling her horn was still active, she scrambled away, sobbing. “Don’t touch me, or-”
But when he laid a hand on her, his hand shrouded in energy, he was unhurt. Eri stared at him, her jaw dropping in shock.
“Don’t worry…. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again.” he said, floating down to her, a gentle smile on his face.
“Because Electro is here.”
“No… NO!” Overhaul screamed in rage and slammed his uncovered hands onto the ground, spiked pillars of wood and plaster shooting towards the boy and impaling him.
Electro jumped back, his wounds healing over much more quickly than usual even for him. “You nearly hurt Eri!” he snarled in anger.
“So what?? I'll just fix her again! I’ve done it before!” Overhaul sent more pillars of wood and concrete after the two. Electro, seeing the apartment was too small to really maneuver around, scooped Eri up and dashed through the window, letting his back take the worst of the glass.
Overhaul growled, and glanced down at the bodies around him. “Men… I need your help."
“Anything for you, master.” Hojo said, limping over. “My body is yours.”
“Good.” Overhaul said, grabbing the gem covered man, who exploded.
From below, a police car skidded to a halt, Detective Naomasa stepping out. Before him the boy from earlier, the one with electrical powers, floated down, a scared little girl in his arms. “Stop right there!”
The boy looked at him. “Detective Naomasa?”
“You Midoriya?” Naomasa asked, his tenseness loosening only slightly. Yeah, save for the glowing nerves and veins, he could see the resemblance to the photos he’d been shown.
“I don’t know.” he admitted quietly, setting Eri down. "You can call me Electro for now."
“Where’s Toshinori?” Naomasa asked.
“...he’s… gone.” he said quietly, when an explosion from the apartments grabbed their attention. From the building, a massive monster with six arms leaped down, the “head” opening up like a grotesque flower to reveal Overhaul, his bottom half fused into the monstrosity he created.
“ELECTRO!” he screamed in fury.
“Take Eri out of here… I will handle this.” Electro muttered, hovering from his position, the remains of his hoodie and shirt fluttering around him.
“Wait, you don’t have a Pro Hero License!” Naomasa protested, leading Eri into his car nonetheless.
“Don’t care. I’m the only one capable of stopping him.” Electro then blasted forward without another word.
“....the HPSC is going to have my head for this…” Naomasa muttered, but climbed into the car, driving away as fast as he could from the battlegrounds.
‘His Quirk is a touch based matter restructuring emitter-type. His only limit seems to be imagination, and direct contact with his hands. Chances are he’s going to be able to use it through his new limbs. The body must have been made from the minions he brought with him, and there's a chance he can use their quirks in addition to his own. My best bet is to take him out of the city, either into the air or over the ocean.’
Electro continued his analysis, shrouding his form in massive electrical arcs as he flew into Overhaul. Overhaul slammed a massive fist into the ground, spikes of concrete and tarmac flying to the boy.
Midoriya dodged them, his senses enhanced by whatever Toshinori had done in his final moments. Reaching out with a hand, he grabbed several empty cars with his electricity and, combining and reshaping them using electromagnetism into a pair of giant fists, pummeled the Yakuza boss all over.
“SICK! TWISTED! DISGUSTING! ERI IS THE CURE TO THIS DISEASED WORLD, AND YOU WON’T STOP ME FROM USING HER TO CREATE IT!” Overhaul screamed to the boy, grabbing the makeshift fists with two appendages while lunging at him. Midoriya dodged in a flash, so Overhaul used Chronostatis, given to him by Hari Kurono. Struck by the hair emerging from his form's giant hand, the boy slowed down, and Overhaul reached forward, a hand covered in Hojo’s crystals ready to impale the thief!
But the boy vanished! Teleported right in front of him in a burst of electricity strong enough to temporarily blind him!
“How…?!” Overhaul screamed out, using Nemoto’s Confession to get an answer.
“I turned myself into lightning, which is on par with light in its speed!” Electro explained, thrusting both hands out and blasting him with electricity. Overhaul hurriedly covered his form in more crystals, swiping his arms at the boy, trying to grab him with Larceny, but the boy did that lightning teleport move, and raised his hands. From the ground several electrical cables pulled themselves free from the buildings and wrapped around Overhaul’s limbs.
The pain was excruciating, but he was able to focus enough to summon blades of concrete around him, severing the power lines from their source. Electro, however, didn’t seem concerned, instead using the cables to wrap around his arms, forcing him into a spread eagle position.
“How… how are you so powerful?!” Overhaul demanded. Once again, Electro, under the effects of Confession, gave an answer.
“I don’t know, but I think Toshinori, the man who you killed, did something to me.” he admitted.
Overhaul growled, resolving to restrain the boy and extract whatever secrets he had, slowly, after he caught him. That, unfortunately was put on hold when a blast of flames slammed against him and the boy, whose loss of focus allowed Overhaul to slip free out of the cables.
Endeavor, the number 2 hero, had arrived, news helicopters behind him. “Stand down, villains!”
“I’m not a villain! He-” Electro began, his face already healing over from the burns, but Endeavor ignored him, shouting “HELLFIRE SPIDER!” Tendrils of flame shot out from him, impaling Overhaul, who was forced to throw up another Barrier to block it, and used this chance to Overhaul himself, bringing his injuries back to nonexistent.
Electro looked around, trying to think of what he could do, when he came up with an idea. It was crazy and stupid… but then, that was today in a nutshell.
The boy dived down to the street, searching the rubble until he found what he wanted. Using his electricity, he ripped a manhole cover off the ground and flew into the sewers.
Overhaul & Endeavor were too busy trying to keep their respective quirks up to notice, not that the former would have done anything. A big mistake, for as Electro had noticed, the barrier may have protected Overhaul… but it didn’t break through any buildings or the ground when it activated…
Meaning that he had no defense against an attack from below the earth.
So when Electro burst out of the street, his fist raised like Superman, Overhaul was taken by surprise when a small, but powerful object impacted his middle and sent him flying into the sky.
From her home, Inko Midoriya laid on her couch, nursing a bottle of beer.
It had been over a year since her boy, Midoriya, had vanished… taken while walking home from school. She had searched and searched, but nothing came up, and now only one cop was still investigating.
Mitsuki was the only one who still talked to her, not that Inko had many friends prior to this year. Most others thought her son’s quirklessness was like a disease, as if being around him would affect them or their kids. And once she lost Midoriya, her baby boy, and what few friends she had left her after a few weeks, supposedly to “give her time”, but she knew it was because she had become miserable company.
The worst part was that so few people had attended the wake or organizations she had set up. If she had gotten sympathy it would have been one thing, but no, many of them just gave empty condolences, or 'bright sides' like “at least she didn’t have to deal with raising a quirkless child anymore.”
Inko still had a scar on her knuckles from punching the man who had said that to her face. It had gotten her fired, but she wasn’t going to take such a thing lying down. Thankfully, she didn’t need to work, her husband taking care of her needs. He had flown over the day he was able to, but eventually he had to return to his job overseas. Leaving Inko alone with nothing but her own misery, which lead to where she was now: staying at home, drinking beer until she ran out, then leaving to get more.
Inko’s thoughts were interrupted by her bottle finally running out. The woman sighed and got up, kicking over a few other empty bottles as she did so. She went through five bottles a day, and by next month, she would probably be on six. She stumbled towards the fridge, swaying slightly as she looked around the apartment. A once neat and clean place had become slovenly and messy, much like its sole occupant. About the only thing that looked close to clean was the photograph of her baby boy.
Inko stopped, staring at the photo on her mantelpiece. It had been taken only a few weeks after that diagnosis, after she had broken down and told him how sorry she was that she didn’t let him be born with a Quirk. He had been broken-hearted, so she took him to a festival to try and cheer him up. She bought him a new All Might toy, one he had kept up until his vanishing… but she knew it would never be enough to make up for being a failure of a parent.
“INKO!” Mitsuki pounded at the door, screaming at the top of her lungs.
That sudden interruption broke Inko out of her thoughts, and she growled. Whatever stupid idea Mitsuki had to try and help Inko feel better, she wasn’t in the mood for. Swaying, the short, plump woman went to the door, and opened it. “Mitz… keep it dun….”
“You need to see this!” Mitsuki pulled out her phone. It was playing a news feed, showing a spider-like Villain fighting Endeavor, when a green blur shot out of the hole and launched the spider monster into the air.
“Ah’m not hic! in da mood fer heroez…” Inko grumbled, annoyed.
“Oh for the love of-” Mitsuki reached over and struck Inko in the face.
SMACK!
Needless to say, Inko was pissed. “Ow! The fuck was that-” Inko was interrupted when Mitsuki shoved the phone in her face.
“Just keep watching!”
Annoyed, but wanting to get back into her apartment, Inko watched the footage again. The news feed showed switched to several cameras, one focused on Endeavor’s furious expression, one a shaky camera from the ground, and a third that zoomed in on…
….no. It couldn't be.
Inko leaned in, trying to focus her inebriated mind on the phone. The camera had zoomed in on the blur, a young boy shrouded in green lightning… with green hair… freckles…. and a familiar smile.
His eyes were different… his hair was shorter… and he looked thinner with more visible bones…
But Inko would recognize her baby boy anywhere.
“Izuku….!”
Electro kept flying up. The weight of Overhaul was hell on his arms and muscles, but he kept going, taking him out of the city until he saw a trash-strewn beach. Angling downwards, he pushed the screaming Overhaul towards the ocean like a meteor. Upon impact, a massive tidal wave rose up, lightning crackling within it. Thankfully, the impact was far enough away that by the time the wave reached the beach, no one was in danger.
Electro could feel his body broken from the impact… but he felt himself heal over in seconds, far faster than ever before. Overhaul, however, was not as lucky, and while he tried to crawl away, with few limbs of his remaining active, Electro focused, gathering as much electricity as he could. The ocean around him boiled, the electricity leaking from his form so intense that the water around him was converted into hydrogen and oxygen, scaring away what little sea life had survived the reentry.
“TOSHINORI…. REMEMBRANCE…. SMASH!” Electro screamed, releasing his stored up power straight into Overhaul, who could only form crystals in a vain attempt to protect itself.
From the few people close to the beach, it looked as if a tornado of flame and lightning exploded out of the water. When it dissipated seconds later, the crowd was silent. They didn’t know if they should cheer or scream and run. The helicopters approached, Endeavor close behind them.
From the ground, Bakugo watched the explosion, waiting intently to see who would come out. So intense was his staring that he didn’t hear a car pull up close by until Detective Naomasa came out with a little girl at his side.
“Where is he??” Naomasa asked the boy, keeping the girl beside him.
“Who??” Bakugo stared at the detective.
“Electro!” the girl piped up, only to shrink from Bakugo's look.
“The boy you thought was Midoriya.” Naomasa explained.
“He… he went into the water.” Bakugo muttered. “He was carrying that villain like it was some kinda meteor..!”
Naomasa was unable to ask further questions when someone screamed. On the beach, several bits of trash, all at least partially metal, flew into the water, many pieces disassembling themselves in the process. In the distance, Electro rose up from the ocean, his hands raised high as he gathered the bits of metal, reshaping it around Overhaul, acting not so much like handcuffs as a full body set of restraints, each finger held back so they couldn't touch anything.
Electro was severely drained, struggling to stay airborne, but he continued his task, wrapping the trash around Overhaul’s form, until there was no metal left on the beach and Overhaul couldn’t use any of his hands. He then flew towards the beach, dragging the twitching villain, where Endeavor was glaring at him.
“Surrender villain! You’re surrounded and will be brought in for illegal Quirk usage, citywide destruction, vigilantism, and murder!” the hero shouted as Electro stumbled onto the sand, dropping the villain on the shoreline, who grunted in pain, showing he was still alive.
“Eri… is Eri safe…?” he asked, not registering what the number 2 hero was saying.
“Electro!”
Endeavor looked up, Eri, having slipped through the crowd, ran to Electro, hugging him tight before the number 2 hero could stop her.
“Eri… you’re… you’re safe….” Electro muttered happily, his voice losing the reverb while his electricity faded.
“You came back…” she said, crying happily, her face split into the first smile she had ever had in a long time.
“I said I would… but right now… I… need… a nap.” Electro promptly collapsed, snoring loudly.
EPILOGUE
All Might, real name Yagi Toshinori, had been found dead in his apartment, killed by a high velocity impact from the explosion causing internal bleeding and a severe laceration in the femoral artery. The man’s broken body had been revealed to a tearful world, with millions attending the parade held in his honor. Sir Nighteye gave a eulogy that many felt was heartfelt, and full of regrets. A new statue was erected, depicting him standing tall and smiling to the world.
Overhaul was arrested and, with Eri’s reluctant assistance, separated from the Yakuza members and bodies he had absorbed. A swift court case sent him to prison for life, with no chance of parole, and the other members of his gang followed behind him.
Inko had rushed over to the beach, where, seeing her baby boy alive and well, broke down in tears of joy on national television. Eri was taken in by Inko, who had been more than happy to provide care for her. Eri still needed time to adjust to her new situation, but she found herself enjoying the company of her new mother, Aunt Mitsuki, Uncle Masaru, and big brother Bakugo, though she still wished she could see her Big Brother Electro.
And Electro himself?
Electro woke up two days later in a specially made rubber and plastic cell, Quirk Suppressing cuffs on and Pro Heroes observing him around the clock. Although Naomasa had spoken up in his defense, his illegal Quirk usage and heavy damage to the street where Toshinori had lived meant that he had to be arrested. Though once he learned that Overhaul was in Tartarus and that Eri was alive and well, Electro complied with the Pro Heroes and police. Being in a cell was still better than living on the streets, eating garbage.
When Inko came to visit him, now sober and attending rehab, he got a flash of memory. Though upset that her boy had lost his memory, Inko was more than willing to be patient while they tried to help him.
So for now, Electro, real name Izuku Midoriya, sentient Nomu and current host of the most powerful quirk in the world, was triumphant, yet behind bars.
Although…
From the sound of it, a certain rodent principal was interested in entering Electro into his new Vigilante Rehab program.