Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Something felt wrong.

The air was heavy with a strange energy. The students didn’t seem to notice but for All Might’s enhanced senses, it was clear as day. The current match was playing out on the observation room’s screens and for a first lesson, the kids were putting up a good fight.

Currently, it was a match between Tsuyu Asui and Mina Ashido as the Villains and Melissa Shield and Momo Yaoyorozu as the heroes. 

Usually, All Might would be grinning with sheer pride over his successor and unofficial niece. Melissa had proven a fine wielder of One for All already and she hadn’t even had the Quirk for more than a month. That said, the strange energy in the air just wouldn’t stop bothering him. It felt like sparks of static were shooting up and down his muscles, forcing mini contractions and surges of adrenaline. Much like how one would act when the suspense of a life or death battle was ahead. Yet this was just a first lesson on heroics. 

He tried shaking off the feeling and focused on the match.

Tsuyu had just taken a nasty hit to the stomach from a quarterstaff of Momo’s creation. It knocked the frog girl down a flight of stairs and she landed heavily against the opposite wall. 

Some of the students behind All Might gasped and winced with worry in their voices, but judging from how Tsuyu got up and dusted herself off, she hadn’t suffered any serious injury. Rushing to her aid, Mina engaged with the hero team to buy Tsuyu some time to recover. By now, it was obvious the villains were on the verge of losing, but matches like these always came down to the wire. Anything could happen.

Melissa rushed forward and headed straight for the bomb. Mina tried blocking her off with some acid, but the blonde girl ducked under the jet of goop and struck out with a punch. Red lightning danced across her whole body, showing the tell-tale signs of One for All. The blow was powerful enough to send Mina crashing against the far wall, knocking her out cold.

A moment later, Melissa touched the bomb and earned the hero team a victory.

“ Well done! The bomb has been secured, the heroes win! Now, please regroup with us so we can discuss the match. ” The statuesque pro hero spoke into his ear piece and received acknowledging replies. He watched as Tsuyu and Momo gently roused Mina back to consciousness and made a few basic checks. From the look of her reactions, there wasn’t any concussion, only some bruising and a few scrapes.

So, with that, the two teams began their journey back to the observation building on the far side of Ground Beta.

Though as they walked, All Might suddenly felt a spike of internalised dread. As if something was about to happen and he needed to do something immediately. Perhaps he was merely being paranoid after so many years of heroic service. He cleared his throat, excused himself from the observation room and headed out onto the fake street. 

Something was in the air and he really didn’t like it. If he concentrated, he could just make out wisps of strange blue energy flitting about, like the very air was charged with electricity.

He could also pick up the faintest hint of a whisper just at the edge of his perception.

It set his teeth on edge.

“Uncle Might, is something wrong? You look… pale.” Melissa knocked him out of his thoughts when the girls reached him. He tried shaking off his concerns, but he just couldn’t bring himself to relax. 

As if to confirm his paranoia, there was a sudden thunder clap that boomed across the fake city. A pulse of energy created a powerful shockwave that knocked Mina, Tsuyu and Momo off their feet. Melissa and All Might remained strong, but that was one hell of a force. The source of which was nowhere to be seen. 

“What was that?” Mina grunted, shuffling back onto her feet. 

“ I’m not sure, but it’s best you head back to the observation room right now. ” All Might’s tone offered no room for argument. The four girls looked up at him and saw that his usual smile was now incredibly forced. His eyes twitched and he barely held on to what little composure he had. That sudden thunderclap had changed something in the air and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Thankfully, three of the girls followed his orders without any question. Not so thankfully, Melissa remained. “ Young Melissa, please go with the others. I need to make sure everything’s safe for the next group. ”

“Hey, if I’m going to be your successor, I think you should trust me a little more. That boom just now… and this weird electric feeling I keep getting. What’s happening?” Stubborn like her father, Melissa stood her ground and stared at him with a mix of irritation and genuine concern. Not only that, but she had felt it too. All Might probably should have expected that much. Melissa did have the same enhanced senses as him.

“ Like I said; I don’t know, but it’s driving me crazy… ” Before Melissa could reply, another resonating thunderclap burst across the street followed by another shockwave that made both All Might and Melissa struggle to keep their footing. Then, a crack of light formed in the air around forty feet away. As if the very fabric of reality was tearing apart, the light grew horizontally and more light shone out through it.  “ Melissa, get behind me, now. ” All Might placed himself firmly between his adoptive niece and the tear. 

Instincts kicked in and he threw his hands forward. A large mass shot out from the tear accompanied by the roar of an engine. The mass ran straight into All Might’s hands and he dug his feet in to push back against whatever had come through. 

Only, he was suddenly met with a shocked looking woman hurtling toward him. She crashed against his chest and for a brief moment, All Might lost his balance. The object he caught pushed him over and flipped through the air, crashing to the ground with a groaning scraping noise.

The woman’s momentum carried her a short distance away from where she slammed into All Might. She came to a stop just in front of the object All Might had tried wrestling.

It was a motorbike. A high performance one at that.

“Uncle Might! Are you ok!?” Melissa ran up to him where he lay on the ground. He was dazed to say the least. “You just tried wrestling a super bike! And… turned the rider into a human missile.” 

“ I assure you, it’ll take more than that to hurt me! ”

That said, he had to admit the impact winded him quite badly. 

He hopped back to his feet and quickly looked over to the tear. It still hung in the air like a bolt of lightning frozen in time. Cracks branched off from the main tear and weird shapes could be seen just beyond the threshold.

Veh belia mig ra khra.

All Might froze. The words were barely audible. Less a verbal whisper and more something placed directly in his mind.

Judging by how pale Melissa had grown, she had heard it too.

That was definitely not a language All Might recognised. It didn’t even sound human. For a fraction of a second, All Might swore he glimpsed something staring at him in the corner of his eye. When he looked, there was nothing there but empty buildings and random objects. Thankfully, the groaning coming from the strange woman was enough to distract him.

“ Shit… that hurt…” she muttered. She was speaking English.

The pro hero cautiously approached and studied the woman. He didn’t rightly know if she was a villain or not, so he kept his guard up.

She was wearing a bomber jacket over a heavy duty combat vest, thick leather bracers and combat boots that reached to just below the knee. Glowing tubes were flowing around her waist like a belt and they seemed to feed into a leather pouch on her back. Her hair was a mess of black swept back and falling down her neck. All Might could see several scars. One on her right brow, another just along her left jaw line and a rather nasty one that seemed to ring around her whole throat.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open and met with All Mights.

In a blur of movement the woman threw out a hand as if throwing something away from the pro hero. A trail of orange light ran from her palm and a second later, she had vanished in a ripple. Only to appear a few feet away, standing ready for a fight. 

A teleportation Quirk, perhaps? What was that trail of light? Perhaps it was a connection between the woman and her destination. Short range teleportation had its uses, but outside of combat, those uses dwindled somewhat.

Still, All Might would have preferred not to fight, so he raised his hands as calmly as he could.

“ Let’s calm down. I’d rather not turn this place into an actual battlefield. Not while I still have a class to teach. ” He spoke in English. A language he hadn’t needed to use for a few years now.

“Wait… class? As in school? The hell kind of school teaches a class in what looks like a bombed out city?” The stranger’s eyes scanned the area. To someone who wasn’t familiar with Ground Beta, the place did look like a disaster had torn through the area. Some old battle scars remained on the sturdier structures and most of the buildings were merely husks. Empty shells built to fill up space rather than to serve a function. 

Her eyes then landed on the tear in reality.

“Oh… shit. So, quick question; do either of you know anything about Void Floods and Cascades?” Both All Might’s and Melissa’s blank faces gave the stranger her answer. Her shoulders slumped and her battle ready stance relaxed into something more like an annoyed fidget. “Great. No Vitoplast around, either. Guess it’s going to have to be the old fashioned way. Alright, you two, I don’t know who the hell you are or where the hell I am, but I’m going to need your help. I need to seal that breach manually, but when I start, it’ll attract some nasty shit. I need you to keep that shit off my back while I work.” She walked across the street with confidence rivaling All Might himself. She was also just as tall as him which was rather intimidating for Melissa. Though just as the stranger reached the tear, she seemed to remember something. “Uh… can’t help but notice the lack of guns. Please tell me you’re not unarmed?”

The very notion of using firearms caused All Might’s brain to stall slightly.

Why would he ever need to use a gun?

Why would Melissa need to use a gun?

None of Class 1A had any ballistics based Quirks. Granted, Katsuki Bakugou’s Quirk involved ignition of nitroglycerine but that was irrelevant here. Either way, the lack of an answer made the stranger growl with irritation.

“Damn it… ugh. Never mind, I’ll just do it myself.”  

Before All Might or Melissa could say anything, the stranger raised her arm and a concentrated beam of pale orange energy shot out from her palm. 

The beam made contact with the far corner of the tear and without a moment’s notice, violent bursts sparked and popped from the point of contact. The stranger struggled to hold the beam steady as it looked like she was met with quite a bit of resistance. She grunted and grounded herself against the pushback. Then, shapes began to emerge from the tear.

A creature that looked half formed, held together by otherworldly light. 

Hulking a whole foot taller than All Might, the creature charged forward, brandishing a huge scythe-like weapon. 

They roared and prepared to slash down at the stranger.

Only for a gunshot to pierce the air. 

In the stranger’s off hand, she was holding a heavy pistol that smoked from being freshly fired. The attacking creature staggered backward, but didn’t fall to the shot. The stranger fired two more times and each shot blasted fragments of the creature apart until it finally fell to the ground.

However, it didn’t seem to be over just yet.

As its half-physical form failed, its spectre shot up into the air, letting out inhuman shrieks. In response, the stranger holstered her pistol and fired a second beam of orange light from her off hand. The beam cut into the semi-corporeal form and for a moment, the creature screamed in agony before finally exploding into nothingness.

There was a very brief moment of relief before more of the same creature started to burst out of the rupture. Each one just as hulking as the first.

Before All Might knew it, Melissa had rushed forward to help the stranger. 

“Idiot, without a weapon, they’ll tear you apart!” The stranger yelled over the cacophony of noise. Only for Melissa to grin with confidence. Red lightning danced across her body and she glowed with the power of One for All. One of the creatures lunged forward in an attack, but Melissa nimbly dodged to the side, allowing the huge scythe blade to pierce the concrete ground. She then threw a punch straight into a cluster of armor plating. The whole creature exploded from the impact, reducing it to its spectral form in one blow. “Holy shit! Are you a… ugh, move!” Using her foot, the stranger pushed Melissa away before firing another beam at the spectre.

“ What are these things!?” Melissa - despite her willingness to help and fight - was truly terrified. 

“Explinations later. Listen, take the silver pistol out of the right holster on my side. When those creatures are in that ghostly void form, shoot them with the gun. I really need to concentrate on sealing this rupture and the more Centurions on this side the more difficult it’ll be.” When Melissa hesitated and another creature tore itself out of the rupture, the stranger unholstered the mentioned pistol and forced it into Melissa’s hand. “Just aim and pull the trigger!”

The monster lumbered forward and raised its scythe with the intent on killing Melissa.

A burst of wind rushed over both the stranger and Melissa as All Might finally knocked himself out of his shock. 

His fist hit squarely on the monster’s partially formed jaw, causing it to explode into pieces. The remaining ghost of the creature was staggered back and let out a shriek. It started to gather power in the centre of its torso. However, before it could do anything else, Melissa shot it twice. Once in the shoulder and once in the head. 

The gun did not sound like how a gun should sound.

In fact, now that Melissa looked at it, it didn’t look like anything she had ever seen. Sure, it had the same basic form as a regular gun. A handle, trigger, receiver, barrel. However, it was an intricate - almost organic - shape and glowed with the same pale orange energy the stranger was wielding. 

“ Melissa, for now, we should do as the woman says. More of them seem to be coming, so whatever that weapon is, please use it! ” Sure enough, three more of the creatures piled out of the rupture. However, one of them looked slightly leaner. More compact. It was also holding what looked like a rifle that had mutated growths of silver curling along its form. All Might’s eyes widened and his instinct to move shrieked in his head. 

Just as the gunner pulled the trigger, All Might threw himself across the street away from Melissa and the stranger. 

The gunfire followed him and the gunner roared as it ran toward the pro hero.

The two larger creatures rushed toward Melissa, one of them striking down at her with a powerful swipe of its arm. The girl took the blow and felt blood splatter from her mouth. Adrenaline kept her from blacking out then and there and she grabbed for One for All’s power. The energy filled her body and she lashed out with an elbow to the monster’s knee. The half-formed limb snapped in two and the rest of the creature stumbled. It struggled to keep its form for a moment but the second monster merely pushed it aside.

Now, Melissa just barely ducked under a wide sweep of the scythe. She could even feel the blade brush against her hair. 

“Almost got it… just… don’t die.” The stranger helpfully growled, continuing to struggle against the invisible resistance. So, with as much strength as she could handle right now, Melissa tackled the monster she had snapped the leg of. She then wrestled its scythe out of its clutches and brought the blade down through its head. She then finished off the spectre with two shots to the head. The scythe was far heavier than she thought it’d be and it had the same mutated growths as the smaller monster’s rifle.

Still, she spun around and dodged the second monster’s swipe. Scythe met scythe as Melissa locked her opponent’s weapon in place. 

Only using the scythe with one hand, Melissa couldn’t keep her opponent at bay for long. Whatever these things were, they were very physically strong despite only having half formed bodies. It wrestled to free its weapon and quickly succeeded. In doing so, it also sent Melissa’s scythe flying through the air and completely out of reach. 

Now without the extra weapon, Melissa faced down the brute with no small amount of trepidation. One false move and she’d be dead. So, she held her breath when the monster prepared for another attack. 

Only for a dark red boot to suddenly kick the monster right in the face with enough force to send it to the ground a few feet away.

The boot, of course, was attached to none other than Eijirou Kirishima who had apparently rushed in ahead of the rest of class 1A. The redhead yelled in a boast as he landed. “Don’t know what the hell’s goin’ on, but we figured you could use a hand, Shield. Where’s All Might-sensei?” He then gave a dubious glance toward the stranger. Though, for now, any thoughts he had were kept to himself.

“He’s fighting another of those things. It had a gun, so he drew its attention away from us.” Melissa replied, wiping sweat from her brow. At least she wasn’t facing these things alone anymore.

The rest of the class had caught up by now and were looking at the scene in shock and fear. At least most of them were. A certain few were almost in awe of the spectacle.

The stranger had sealed just over half of the rupture but more creatures were starting to claw their way through the still open gap.

“This would be SO much easier if the kid was here! She’s the void bullshit expert, not me!” The drifter lamented to herself. “Don’t just stand there, take the damn things out!”

“ Children, retreat to safety, right now! Melissa, the weapon! The ghost is escaping! ” All Might was doing his best to keep the ghost of the gunner monster in one place, but it was quite difficult to fight something that didn’t have a physical form anymore. 

So, Melissa quickly fired at the ghost which was a lot quicker than its larger brethren. Out of four shots, only one hit its mark, but that didn’t appear to be enough. It took another two to finally destroy the ghost. When that was done, the gun hummed and the energy it resonated with seemingly faded, leaving the weapon inert. 

Sure enough, when Melissa tried firing at the now recovering monster Eijirou had kicked, it just didn’t fire. “Crap, uh, Miss, your gun’s not working anymore!”

“It’s just out of energy. Press that button on its left side and pull back the hammer. It’ll feed off the ambient Void energy leaking out of the rupture.”

Following her instructions, Melissa watched as the weapon’s barrel lit up once again and the energy thrummed back to life. Just in time, as the monster Eijirou had kicked was about to charge forward. Eijirou hardened his arms and blocked the scythe, making sparks fly everywhere. Then came an explosion from above them. 

Bakugou Katsuki let out a growl as he made another explosion.

“Damn weird ass extra! I haven’t had my fuckin’ turn to fight, yet! Don’t know who the bitch in the jacket is, but she’s gonna have a lot of explaining to do!” Like always, Katsuki was loud, abrasive and very eager to fight. Luckily, he was on their side. 

Both explosions weren’t enough to reduce the monster into its ghost form, but it definitely had an impact. 

Not to be out done by his friend, Eijirou took hold of the blade still pushing down on his arms and began to wrestle with the monster. The scythe groaned and after a moment, the blade snapped, resulting in a small pulse of energy to knock Eijirou backwards. 

“Bakugou, Kirishima, we need to reduce it to its ghost form so I can shoot it with this weapon!”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Blondie!”

Katsuki said that, but he still began to throw out explosions to do just as Melissa had ordered. 

After a few powerful explosions, the monster finally lost its physical form and Melissa immediately opened fire, putting the thing down for good.

However, that was not the end of them.

Several more of the creatures had managed to escape the rupture just before the stranger finished sealing it. The beam of orange light she was using faded and she fell to a knee as exhaustion started to take its toll. “Done… no more will get through, but could you deal with those last few?” She managed to say through laboured breathing. Melissa gave her a nod and turned to the oncoming force of creatures. At a count, there looked to be eight in total.

Three of which were the smaller, gun wielding variety. 

“ Children, get to cover! ” All Might called, frustrated that they hadn’t already ran away. “ Detroit Smash! ” He rushed forward and threw a punch so powerful, it completely decimated two of the monsters at once. Their ghostly forms also took a solid hit, knocking them to the ground and almost destroying them as well. He then carried his momentum forward and delivered another strike, destroying a third scythe monster. He was going so fast, Melissa was having a hard time keeping up with finishing off the ghosts.

Katsuki took on one of the gunners and Eijirou assisted All Might with the other scythe wielders. Everyone else remained on standby, vigilantly watching for any other threats to appear. After all, too many of them fighting would make it harder for Melissa to aim. No one wanted to find out how it felt to get shot by whatever that gun was.

This went on for another minute before the last monster finally fell and was dispatched.

The fake street fell silent as the combat finally ended. 

“That was… different…” Mina muttered under her breath. “Kinda feels like we were watching some sci-fi action movie just now.”

“Yeah…” Toru Hagakure replied, just as stunned as everyone else.

Then, the stranger let out a sigh of relief.

Before promptly passing out.

Chapter Text

There were many different kinds of headaches that Drifter absolutely loathed. 

The headache after one of Arthur’s long winded briefings. The headache the morning after a fling with Quincy. The headache when Quincy and Amir argue like squabbling siblings. The headache just after one of Elanore’s deeper mind probings. The headache whenever On-Lyne was played through the mall tannoy. They all sucked. Many more kinds also sucked. None, however, compared to the headache that came from a combination of Transference Static and Void exposure.

It felt like someone was currently picking her brain meat out with a blunt shovel.

Very slowly.

Drifter groaned as she came back to consciousness. She managed to seal the rupture shut, but in doing so, she gave herself one hell of a kickback. However, as sensation started to flow back into her limbs, she noticed one vital point. 

She wasn’t laying on concrete. 

So, she must have been moved while she was out cold. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes and her suspicion was confirmed. Instead of laying on the ground of  that weird hollow street, she was in a fairly clinical room a lot like something she’d find in a Höllvanian hospital. Only, there was a very distinct lack of any Techrot. Which - at the very least - was somewhat of a relief. She focused and could hear voices somewhere in the room. 

Three to be exact. One sounded like that buff man she had crashed into. Only it sounded a little less full than before. The second voice sounded like an elderly woman. The third was strange and hard to pin down. It was light, high pitched and eagerly speaking in rapid fire. It was almost like a child’s voice, but the few bits Drifter heard made it sound far more intelligent than a regular child. It didn’t sound like the kid, so for now, Drifter would just have to fly by the seat of her pants.

She forced herself up and grumbled under the searing pain in her head.

Still, she pushed through it and swung her legs off the medical bed. This was by far not the worst she had ever dealt with. Her time in Duviri gave her quite an exceptional tolerance to pain. 

At least she was still dressed like normal. However, she couldn’t help but notice that all her equipment was gone. 

They had disarmed her.

She grit her teeth at that thought, but it wasn’t like she didn’t understand. The Hex did the same thing when she first arrived in 1999. Granted, Arthur also gave her a rather dashing scar on her hand, too. Luckily, these people were less stab happy than the Excalibre Protoframe. 

“And what do you think you’re doing Missy?” The elderly woman suddenly spoke up right in front of Drifter. She was a tiny thing, barely four feet tall and incredibly frail looking. She was also speaking Canatese. Thankfully, Drifter had picked up the language thanks to Aoi. The very few perks of being stuck in a year-long time loop meant Drifter had plenty of time to learn these kinds of things. 

Transference also helped.

“Thanks for patching me up, doc, but I’ve got to get going before my team tears the place apart looking for me.” Drifter replied with a sigh. She really didn’t want to deal with another lecture from Arthur. However, now that she was more lucid, a thought popped into her mind. “Wait… shit… I came through a rupture and I had to seal that rupture to stop a potential Cascade… meaning… ah crap…”

She had trapped herself and cut herself off from the Hex.

“Indeed. Crap. Now, sit back down before you make anything worse. You don’t have any physical injuries, but some of your scans are showing… concerning results.” The old lady spoke with the kind of authority only someone like her could manage. Drifter had to admit, it worked. She found herself getting back into the bed. This old woman had the same demanding energy as Lettie, only in this case, there was a little more compassion and patience. Still didn’t stop the old woman from brandishing her authority.

“Our guest is awake at last!” The high pitched voice caught Drifter’s attention. She wasn’t expecting it to belong to a white furred creature that looked like a hybrid between a Kubrow and a Kuaka. It didn’t particularly matter what the creature was, it was intelligent, friendly and therefore deserving of respect. Was it another of the Cavia? If it was, that meant it was another victim of Albrecht’s wanton Void experiments. “Am I a dog? A bear? A rat? It doesn’t matter! I’m the Principal of UA! My name is Nezu and it’s good to meet you, visitor from beyond the rupture. This is our fabulous school doctor, Chiyo Shuzenji.”

“Pleasure. Just don’t go hurting yourself again.” The old woman huffed, nodded and wandered over toward a lanky, skeletal looking man with a huge bush of blond hair. Said man looked a little like the beefcake Drifter crashed into, if he was emaciated. Perhaps they were brothers.

“Drifter,” she introduced absentmindedly.

“Is that a hero name?”

“You could say that.” Drifter shrugged. Quite a few people had said they saw her as a hero. Both during the New War and among the civvies of 1999. “It’s just what people seem to like calling me.”

She actually wasn’t sure how the name came about. 

But it stuck.

So, she just went with it. It was better than the alternative of just not having a name at all.

Centuries of repeated torture and executions had completely erased certain things from her mind. One of those things was her real name. The same went for the kid. Though the kid got a new name from the Entrati family, Drifter wasn’t so lucky. So, Drifter it was.

“Very well,” Nezu gave a small chuckle, “now, there are a few things I want to ask you. Would you be willing to answer my questions?”

For a brief second, Drifter thought that over.

“Don’t know if I’ll be able to answer properly, but shoot.”

“I think the most important thing is to ask about the creatures that followed you through the rupture. The student who assisted you - Melissa Shield - said they looked like ghosts covered with clusters of mutated armor.” That was a pretty apt description. So, that girl’s name was Melissa Shield? Drifter made a point to at least thank her later. 

Still, what could Drifter say to the question at hand? The truth was, no one knew all that much about them. Just basic observations and the like. Drifter might have had a bit more experience with them than most, but that experience usually only involved killing them as quickly as possible.

“From what little I know, they’re manifestations created out of raw Void energy. They take their form from half remembered fragments of memory and emotion. In this case, that emotion is a desire to conquer and dominate.” Drifter explained as best she could. The mental image of Dominus Thrax popped up in her mind and it brought some bittersweet feelings. When it really came down to it, the existence of the Thrax manifestations was because of Drifter herself. Not that she would say that out loud. She wasn’t quite ready to face that particular fact just yet. “Normally, they wouldn’t be able to exist outside the Void, but that rupture must have created a localised field that could sustain them.”

“I see. This… Void you mentioned; is that a place?”

“Kind of. It’s… really hard to explain.” Drifter was calling back to very old memories of her time on the Zariman before the Jump Accident. 

Nezu gave a nod of understanding. “Would you be willing to try?”

“... Well… the Void doesn’t really exist in the traditional sense. It’s kind of like the space between reality. It’s essentially an infinite well of entropic energy that can be used in a lot of different ways. That said, it’s Eldritch in nature… even the smallest bit of exposure without proper protection can drive someone mad. Funnily enough, only adults though.”

“That’s… concerning…” the skeletal man spoke up from across the room. He was sweating profusely when Drifter finished. “That rupture wasn’t the Void, was it?”

“Sort of. Honestly, I have no idea what it was. It’s sealed up now, though, so any ambient void energy will fade over the next few days.” Drifter pointedly left out the fact that she herself was a source of Void energy. Thankfully, she hadn’t sent anyone mad before. “I’m going to say screw it and put my trust in you all. By now, you’ve probably assumed I’m not from around here. Well, this isn’t my reality. Then again, I don’t think I have a reality of my own anymore.”

Duviri definitely did not count.

The three others in the room were silent for quite a while. 

Drifter had figured this was a completely different reality a while ago. It probably said a lot about her that she really wasn’t all that surprised. This was probably among the more mundane things that she had experienced. That said, it was no less frustrating. The last thing she remembered before winding up here was being sent out on a routine sweep and clear of a Techrot breeding ground. Then, slam, she was face to pectoral with a man with muscles on his muscles.

“This is quite something…” Nezu finally muttered. His eyes wandered across Drifter as if she were some sort of work of art. “I suppose Drifter really is a fitting name. During the battle, you demonstrated several abilities. Tell me, are those a result of a Quirk? Do you know what a Quirk is?”

“Not in the context you’re apparently implying.” 

It was the old woman who spoke next. “A Quirk is some sort of unique ability or power. Roughly 80% of the world’s population has a Quirk. If you need an example, take my Quirk. I can vastly increase someone’s healing process by using up their stamina. So, if you were to break a bone, I could heal it in minutes rather than weeks.”

“I do that anyway,” Drifter shrugged, earning a raised eyebrow from the three others. “I get what you’re talking about, though. It sounds a lot like Warframe abilities. Speaking of… I just realised I’ve lost access to mine.”

“Warframe?”

“Ugh… long story. Irrelevant right now,” Drifter scowled, suddenly in quite a poor mood. She really had shot herself in the foot by sealing up the rupture. 

Not that she really had much choice.

If she left it alone, it would have developed into a full blown Cascade. There was no telling how much devastation that would cause. It still sucked, though.

“Can I have my shit back? Some of that stuff is dangerous,” Drifter said as she shifted off of the bed once again. This time, she didn’t feel any pain, so her body had at least recovered. 

The little rat thing chuckled. “I suppose we don’t need to fear you suddenly attacking us. Very well, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the Support Studio. I took the liberty of bringing your motorcycle there as well. It was in quite a state.” 

“Arthur’s going to kill me if he finds out I totalled another Tommy…” Drifter grunted.

“Thank you for your patronage! We hope to see you again!” Izuku Midoriya gave a polite bow and smiled as the customer took their coffee and left the store.

The smile lasted for roughly a millisecond after the customer left before Izuku’s whole demeanor sagged. He let out a sigh and slumped onto a stool. He could lament his situation, but what good would that do? What more could he say without repeating himself. He just had to accept his lot in life. He was Quirkless, he could never be a hero, even All Might said as much.

His teeth chattered when that name crossed his mind.

Ever since that day on the roof, Izuku’s opinion on the Number One Hero had undergone a complicated change.

On the one hand, All Might was still the perfect example of a Hero. Charismatic, powerful, an unshakable sense of justice. He was no doubt the golden standard any aspiring hero aimed to be like. Yet, on the other hand, Izuku couldn’t help but feel some level of spite towards the man. He wasn’t looking for much when he asked All Might that damn question. Even just some empty encouragement would have done. What he got instead was a crushing refusal and then the man just left him on a rooftop. On the day when Katsuki had essentially told him to kill himself.

He considered doing exactly that for a long while as he sat on that roof.

The only thing keeping him from doing it was the thought of his mother. How much pain it would bring her. He couldn’t bring himself to do that to her.

So, now here he was, working at a cafe instead of attending High School. He had tried to apply to non-hero schools in the area, but each one had refused him without even allowing him to take their exams. All because he was Quirkless. They never officially said that, but it was basically all but confirmed in each case.

This job itself was a miracle find.

The owner was a Quirkless man himself. A little rough and impatient, but deep down, he was a kind soul and had offered Izuku a job despite not really being able to afford it. Just so the boy could get some kind of work experience. It didn’t pay much, but it kept Izuku’s mind busy and he had learned a whole lot from his boss. 

“Midoriya, something’s come up at home. Would you mind closing up shop?” Speaking of his boss, the mature, slender figure of Yoshino Shibata emerged from the small kitchen area hidden just behind a huge shelf of coffee bean jars. His usual slicked back hair was slightly sticking up as if he had been scratching it. He stroked his small goatee and made a short humming sound when he saw Izuku slumped on the stool. “Somethin’ bothering you, kid?”

“Oh, no sir! We’re closing up now? Ok, I’ll clean up and take out the trash. Do you need me to balance the cash register too?” Izuku jumped up and immediately tried forcing an eager smile.

Yoshino clearly saw straight through it.

“Yeah, thanks kid.” The old man shrugged and took off his apron. As he went about collecting his things, he let out a long sigh. “Kid, you really need to find something to do other than slaving away in here. You’re not happy, that’s obvious. But… whatever, I can’t force you. Make sure the burners are all turned off and the stove isn’t leaking gas.”

With that, Yoshino pulled on his jacket and left the cafe, leaving Izuku alone once again.

He let out a long sigh and set about the routine of cleaning up the store. 

It was menial labour but there was something about it that made Izuku feel somewhat accomplished. He took pride in how clean the place looked after he had mopped up, dusted and washed everything. When he first got here, it was obvious that Yoshino didn’t really put all that much effort into cleaning anything that wasn’t the counter or kitchen area. The place definitely had a rustic and cosy atmosphere, but it was also in dire need of an update.

Izuku did what he could and offered to stitch up some of the holes in the booth seats, but there really was only so much one boy could do.

The process of balancing the cash register was just as depressing. They just barely reached their sales goal for the day, but any hope of a decent profit was out the window. 

He counted up everything, double checked his work, triple checked, then took the tray filled with money and placed it inside the small safe under the counter. 

The last thing to do was to take out the day’s trash. 

He tied up the bag, made sure the front door was locked tight and the security shutters were secured then took the bag out through the back. It was a crisp spring night in this little hidden street. The back alley was what one would expect of a small local business and residential district. A few dumpsters, lots of neatly sorted trash and a few locked up bicycles and mopeds secured to railings.

Locking the door behind him, the boy threw the bag of trash into the cafe’s assigned dumpster and prepared for the short walk home. One of the perks of this job was that it was fairly close to his apartment building.

However, as he turned to leave, there was a sudden sound behind him. 

As if something had been knocked over, the sound of empty glass bottles clinking against the ground rolled out from deeper in the alley. Fear crept into his chest as he was frozen in place. Voices were whispering in urgent tones and a flicker of light caught Izuku’s attention. Was this some sort of villain attack? A vigilante patrol? This area was pretty quiet, but it still had its issues with small time crooks. 

It was dangerous, but Izuku’s livelihood was right on this street. He couldn’t just let potential thugs wander around unchecked. 

He stepped forward and tried looking for any figures that stood out.

“Who’s there? Hello? I warn you, I have a powerful Quirk that I’m not afraid to use!” Izuku bluffed out of his ass and it showed in the quaking of his voice. The voices suddenly went dead silent as a shuffling came from a pile of trash bags and a dumpster.

“What language was that?” One voice quickly asked, oddly in the very same language Izuku was speaking.

“How should I know, I’m not a linguistics expert! Never mind what language, I repeat; Fish. Out. Of. Water!” A snobbish voice replied, seemingly struggling to breath. “Must I remind you of my position as a prime piscine? Operator, would you kindly address that stranger? Quickly now! Before Bird-3 soils himself in panic once again.”

“Too late!” There was a third voice, a lot more excitable than the other two.

“Oh… delightful…”

“You sound like you need help. Uh… are y-you ok? Do I need to call s-someone?” Izuku called out before a sudden flurry of movement caught him off guard.

A short girl who looked to be around his age jumped out of the trash pile with her hands in the air. “Don’t panic! We’re not going to hurt anyone!” She whisper-shouted, trying not to make any more noise than she needed to. 

The girl spoke in perfect Japanese and for a second, Izuku was stunned by her very presence. She was dressed a little like a sci-fi themed hero in a black and grey body suit with blue lights along the limbs. Her black hair was a messy mop much like his own green hair, but what stood out most was the strange silver and dark grey markings curling out from her eyes. Perhaps that was to do with her Quirk as said eyes seemed to glow a pale blue in the low light of the alley. 

“So, here’s the thing; we must have taken a wrong turn and… well… wound up here. No idea how, no idea where… so, uh… could you give my friend a hand? He needs a big container of water before his reserves run out.”

A large container of water?

It must be a semi-amphibious Quirk. One that primarily focused on breathing water rather than oxygen. If that were the case, the only thing Izuku could think of was the public bathhouse just down the street. However, that was closed for renovations right now. And judging by the perplexed look on the girl’s face, Izuku was probably muttering all this out loud.

“Miss Operator! Mr. Fish-oh-naa-chee is starting to breathe real weird! Like how Mr. Loid gets when he has to sweep up all the nasty sand in the nest!” The excitable voice called out and then emerged a huge avian creature. Huge was an understatement. At a guess, it was easily ten feet tall if not taller. With blue and pink plumage, it was the most exotic bird Izuku had ever seen that looked like a hybrid of an ostrich and a chicken. It was also the most terrifying as it was quickly waddling over, waving its disheveled wings wildly. “Oh! Hello! Oh, wow, you look like you just saw a ghost! Oh wait… isn’t that a bad thing? Nope! Don’t think about that!”

The bird shook itself and sent feathers scattering across the alley.

Izuku wanted to cry at how out of his comfort zone he was. He just wanted to go home and bury his head under his pillow. This was just a delusion. It had to be.

“Ish good - uff - you’re ‘aking frienshs… ‘ut - ugh - again… urshant ishewsh!” Yanking its way into view was a creature resembling a deer but very alien. Gold trimmings were fitted on its hoofs and along its body giving off a pretty regal impression. If only it wasn’t unceremoniously dragging what looked like a mass of red with bulbous protrusions and one droopy looking face. Evidently, this was the person in need of water. Each yank made the red thing groan and complain.

“J-just… wait right here! I’ll… figure something out…” Izuku shook himself out of the crazy stupor and charged off back towards the cafe. 

Once inside, he desperately rummaged around in the small kitchen area for anything useful. 

He then opened one of the hidden away cupboards and found a large cast iron pot. He had never seen it being used, but he could give a decent guess as to why. It was a lot bigger than what the boss usually needed for a day’s business. Likely in the cafe’s heyday, batch cooking was an absolute must on this scale. However, the customer base had dwindled over the years, only really consisting of hardcore regulars and the occasional college student. So, pots like this just lead to wasted food.

Still, it was definitely big enough for that red mass to fit inside. Not comfortably by any means. But it would do for now.

He filled the pot up and dragged the now very heavy pot back into the alleyway. “H-here! S-sorry, this is the biggest thing I could find!”

“It’s big enough.” The girl gave a warm smile and approached the red piscine mass. “Up we go, Fib!” She then hefted the fish up and placed it into the pot. Its bristle-looking dorsal fin sagged over the edge of the pot, but that didn’t seem to matter too much. The fish was more concerned with taking in deep breaths. 

“This is utterly humiliating! I hope you don’t plan on boiling me in this infernal prison of iron! Norgs are notoriously bad for you. Dreadful after taste.” The fish wiggled inside the pot and huffed. The sight of a talking fish almost made Izuku swear he had finally gone insane. But he could handle that possibility later, these animals clearly needed help.

Though the girl’s sniggering laughter briefly made him forget what he was thinking about.

“Don’t tell him, but Norg Brain is actually a delicacy among the Ostron.” She grinned as she leaned in close to Izuku. 

“Right… uh… sorry, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Who… who a-are you?”

“Hmmm… you can call me… Operator.”

Chapter Text

From the infirmary to the Support Department wasn’t exactly a long walk, but it did show Drifter one thing about this school.

Whoever designed it liked to have things way bigger than necessary. 

She got the feeling they’d get along great with Albrecht. That is if the bastard ever decided to show his face again. 

After a brief and silent walk, Nedzu and Drifter arrived at a heavy set, riveted metal door. As they approached, it automatically slid open and revealed a huge room inside. Rows of machinery were stationed in neat, marked out sections. To one far side, there was a blacksmith’s forge that was currently not in use. On the opposite side was a woodworking section with plastic translucent drapes bordering it. Near the centre was a few large desks with computers set up, all of which were turned off for the day. It was all very high tech and equally impressive

There was - however - a distinct lack of people. Which, now that Drifter knew it was getting late, wasn’t all that surprising. The students would have already gone home.

The only person still inside was a relatively short man with compact muscles that were on full display - as he wasn’t wearing a shirt. A large yellow helmet that looked more like a piece of construction equipment was nestled under his arm. When Nedzu entered, the man looked up and his lips curled in a grin. “Ah, I was wondering when someone would come to snatch those beauties away. A shame I couldn’t study them more…”

“Yes, well, our guest has proven not to be our enemy, so it’s only fair we return her items!” Nedzu hopped up onto a nearby desk and proudly nodded. “I assume you managed to keep your students from tampering with the items?”

“Barely. They’re like rabid animals when new tech comes through.” The man gave a good natured chuckle. “Especially one of the first years. She can be a bit… excitable. A lot like her mom in that sense. Anyway, I'm sorry, where are my manners? I’m Higari Maijima, also known as Power Loader. I’m head of the Support Studio. Nice to meet you, Miss… uh…”

“Drifter. This is an impressive set up!” Drifter was genuine when she said that. Compared to the salvaged scraps Aoi had to work with, this was a heaven of engineering. It was still a bit rudimentary compared to the Foundry system Drifter usually used, but definitely still a wonder on the eyes. She could already tell just how much fun she could have tinkering with things in here.

If she wasn’t in such a crisis, she’d ask to get cracking right now.

“Thank you! I try to provide everything this department needs. No expense spared!” Nedzu took the credit for the praise, but Higari didn’t seem to mind.

With introductions out of the way, Higari set the large helmet down on his desk and gestured for the two to follow him. He walked across the studio toward a set of heavy duty security lockers. Slotting a key into one, he pulled out a large metal drawer, carrying it to a nearby counter top. 

“Alright, everything’s in here but would you mind if I asked a few questions? These pieces are like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” Higari asked with no small amount of hope. Drifter shrugged and gave a nod, prompting Higari to pop open the lid on the drawer. Sure enough, everything was there, sorted neatly and untouched. Immediately, Drifter picked up the silver glowing pistol and gave it a quick inspection. The barrel shifted and a quiet hum thrummed from its core. “That’s what caught my eye the most! It’s completely unlike the other items you had.”

“That’s true,” Drifter gave a smirk as the barrel clicked back into place. She then slotted the weapon safely back into its holster. “It’s called the Sirocco and basically put; it fires concentrated Void energy. It doesn’t require any ammunition, only a source of Void energy. I can also adjust its power output meaning it can be lethal or non-lethal.” 

“That sounds invaluable!” Nedzu pondered, looking at the piece as it sat in its holster. “I presume that rupture was what kept it charged during the battle?”

“Yes, but that’s only because that Melissa girl was the one handling it. It usually takes its energy from me.”

That earned a perk of the little animal’s brow. Though he kept whatever thoughts he had to himself for the time being.

“Moving on, this other gun is quite the piece, too.” Higari grabbed their attention back before gesturing to the second pistol in the drawer. Drifter picked it up and quickly field-stripped it on the counter. Each piece was immaculately designed and streamlined, yet there were also signs of heavy use. Small scratches on the paint, discharge residue, small specks of dirt and a few red stains that were best left not thought about.

“This is a custom machined version of a Lato designed with the body of a Protokol Tekna. It’s a pretty standard issue firearm, but it’s reliable and it’s served me well.”

“This is a pretty high calibre for a standard issue…” Higari pondered, completely baffled. “If I tried firing that, it could probably rip my wrist in half.” 

“A regular Lato isn’t nearly this high a calibre. Like I said, it’s custom machined and modified.” Once Drifter reassembled the gun, she slotted it into her second holster and picked up the extra magazines from the drawer. The remaining items weren’t weapons but they were equally vital. “Before you ask, this is a Smokescreen. It takes in oxygen and infuses it with a small amount of Void energy. It then converts it to smoke that messes with mechanical sensors as well as providing… well… a smokescreen.” The item in question was a small cylinder with a small glowing line running up its side. She clipped it to her belt and made sure it was still working.

“Does that include things like sonar and radar?”

“Yep! Handy for making an escape or getting past a bunch of Corpus security.” It was actually the first piece of equipment Drifter built herself. It proved invaluable during the New War. Next was a wrist mounted device she fixed just under her leather bracer. It had a small screen that rested against the underside of her wrist and when she clicked the button on its side, it let out a faint beep. The screen then showed three dots. “Portable short range detection. Programme it to pick up what you want - provided it either has a biometric or mechanical signal - and it’ll show you.”

“We have similar things like that, but not as compact and specific as that. Whoever made these things must be a genius!”

“You’re making me blush!” Drifter smirked when Higari’s face ran pale.

“ You made these things?” He asked, completely dumbfounded. Drifter nodded and couldn’t help but feel a small sense of pride swell up in her chest. Granted, these items weren’t all that advanced, they still seemed incredibly impressive to Higari. “Hey, so, how about a job here in the studio?”

“Now, now, Power Loader, remember that staff hires are my decision.” Nedzu giggled in what could be described as good nature, but it still made Higari shiver nonetheless.

“Thanks for the offer, but I really need to figure out a way to get back home,” Drifter gave an apologetic smile. That said, she had no actual idea how to do that. She could no longer feel any connection via Transference and she didn’t have access to Albrect’s lab to restart the Kalymos Sequence. As urgently as she wanted to head back, she really had no way of doing that without ripping open the Void. That wasn’t an option for obvious reasons.

She was sure the Man in the Wall was laughing its ass off right now.

Provided it had one.

“Anyway, where’s my Tommy?”

Higari’s face lit up and he clapped his hands together. 

“You mean your bike? Yes, it’s in the garage… though it’s in quite a rough shape. Follow me, if you would.”

Higari began to walk over to a large shutter door that led into a deeper part of the Studio. This section was designed to house all kinds of vehicles and larger projects. 

From a cursory glance, Drifter saw a few cars currently under construction, some large exoskeletons, a heavy duty truck and even a medium sized boat. Needless to say, the garage was huge. 

“Only second and third years are allowed here due to the complexity of these projects,” Higari explained, motioning around this low lit workshop. “Not that the first years don’t try to sneak in. Anyway, I’d give you the tour, but some of these projects are actually under NDA’s.”

“Indeed. Not only do we provide Support Items to our students, but sometimes we receive commission work from our alumni too. Take that fine boat for example. Don’t worry, that one isn’t under an NDA. It belongs to Selkie, a hero that focuses primarily on ocean rescue. However, his usual vessel is a little too large for certain assignments. This smaller vessel is designed for rivers and can be deployed anywhere by the main ship.” Nedzu explained with pride. 

“Impressive,” Drifter looked over said boat. She didn’t know much about maritime engineering, but it definitely looked well built and sturdy.

“Ah, here we are,” Higari spoke up, gesturing toward a cordoned off area. In one of the smaller stations, suspended slightly in the air by a rig was her Atomicycle. Its chassis was dented, paint scuffed and scraped, several parts were damaged and above all, the front wheel had sheared itself off. The front axle was a complete mess of warped, sharp metal. The whole thing would need to be replaced. “I have to say, though, some of the weapon systems on this thing are… concerning. Do you really need high payload missiles and a wave motion generator? This thing is packing enough heat to decimate a whole street.”

“This bike was designed for high speed, precision strikes against overwhelming forces. I’m fighting against a zealous army of militant fanatics while also trying to push back the forces of an unknowable Void entity that way as well be a god of entropy. I don’t have the luxury of holding anything back. So, yeah, I need missiles and a big boom button.”

“Uh… right…” Higari didn’t quite know how to respond to that.

Drifter let herself relax her shoulders. “Sorry, it’s just… there’s a lot on my plate and the whole ‘alternate reality’ bullshit is just another thing I have to deal with.” 

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. That little outburst did come out of nowhere, so Drifter couldn’t exactly complain. That said, she gave the bike another look, a pit forming in her stomach. The damage was extensive enough that it was probably just better to scrap the whole thing and get a new one. 

But she couldn’t afford to abandon it. Not here and especially not back home.

“Yep… Arthur’s going to kill me…” Drifter sighed as she looked over the damage again. “Shit…”

What the hell was Izuku supposed to do?

He paced up and down on the roof of his apartment building and muttered to himself with a fervor that caused the three animals no small amount of concern. Specifically, the deer-like creature - who introduced himself as Tagfer - was keeping a close eye on the boy. Perhaps out of suspicion, but also out of some level of concern. The large bird - or Bird-3 - was merely watching in a way a child would watch a pendulum swinging.

The fish - or rather Fibonacci - couldn’t see anything at all. He was still stuck in the curry pot for now. As for Operator, well, he would rather not think about what she was doing right now.

It was a small mercy that Izuku’s mother - Inko Midoriya - was currently working a night shift and wouldn’t be home until morning. That gave Izuku at least eight hours to figure something out. The Cavia couldn’t stay here, that was for sure. For more reasons than simply the apartment complex didn’t allow pets. 

As he paced and muttered, Bird-3 quietly leaned down to Tagfer. “I thought Mr. Loid paced a lot… do ya think he’ll start making a trench in the floor?”

Tagfer just gave the best equivalent to a shrug he could manage. 

Then, the roof access door burst open and Operator sighed with relief. She was no longer in her body suit. Instead, she was wearing a loose fitting white T-Shirt with the Kanji for ‘Bedsheets’ written on it, accompanied by some old pajama pants that Izuku managed to dig up from the depths of his wardrobe. Around her neck was a towel and her hair was damp, stuck up in wild angles, ready to be flattened and dried properly.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had an actual real shower! Most of the time, I have to get by with the self cleaning function in my suit. Or making my Hydroid soak me down… but that always leaves me feeling gross considering all he controls is sea water…”

“I still don’t know what you’re t-talking about… but I’m glad you enjoyed the shower…” Izuku tried - and failed - to keep eye contact. He flushed bright red before averting his gaze. 

He internally screamed. 

He was always like this around girls. If a girl so much as looked at him for more than a second, he would just devolve into a nervous wreck.

Yoshino tried to help him get more confidence, but no matter how hard Izuku tried, it never worked.

Social anxiety be damned.

“Anyway… thanks again for helping us! I think I’ve got a handle on the situation now.” Operator gave a warm smile. She joined the three animals and took a seat on the wall surrounding the edge of the roof. “Something pulled us through the Void and spat us into this alternate reality. Honestly, I’d be more surprised, but this isn’t the first time I’ve been temporally displaced. Probably won’t be the last time either. Hey, Fib, do you know a way we could get back to Loid?”

“Well, the most obvious solution would be to forcibly open a tear back through the Void! But we lack the resources to even begin an attempt.” The fish’s voice sounded very echoed from inside the pot, giving his snobbish tone an almost robotic aspect. “Not to mention the calculations needed would require… well… quite some time to perform.”

“You’re forgetting how that’d basically open this place up to the Murmur. If it hasn’t already.” Tagfer added, giving a low sigh. 

“Yes, well, I suppose that also bears mentioning.”

“Ok, can we just… b-back up a bit!” Izuku suddenly spoke up, looking absolutely lost. His eyes shifted from Operator to Fibonacci to Tager then back to Operator. “Did… you say you’re not from this reality!?”

“Honestly, I thought you would have figured that out back in the alley. Or are talking animals normal in this world?” Operator tilted her head.

“No they aren’t normal! Well… it’s… not unheard of…” The principal of UA briefly came to mind. “It doesn’t matter! You’re apparently extradimensional beings! That’s crazy even for Quirks! Or… maybe not. It might not be entirely out of the question for a Quirk to connect to other universes. But… that would prove the theory about multiple universes! Holy crap, that would change what we know about science completely!”

“You keep saying that word. Quirk as if it’s a thing.” Tagfer knocked Izuku out of his muttering spree. “It sounds pretty important.”

The deer-like animal’s confusion only gave more evidence that they were telling the truth.

Izuku had to admit; he was a little giddy. Enough that he had to make the conscious effort to keep himself from going on a mutter spree to rival the gods.

“Well… our society revolves around Quirks. They’ve been around for hundreds of years now after they suddenly appeared and about 80% of the world’s population has one. Basically put; they’re unique powers and abilities. They can be almost anything and some even bend the laws of physics to a certain degree. No one really knows why they suddenly appeared, but now it’s basically just a part of mundane life.”

“So yeah. Important,” Tagfer concluded.

“If everyone is super, doesn’t that mean no one is?” Bird-3 asked, earning an awkward chuckle from Izuku. 

“I… guess.”

Then Operator went ahead and asked the one question Izuku really didn’t want her to. “What’s your Quirk?” Immediately, his expression soured and a feeling of glumness fell over him. Everyone picked up on it except for Bird-3. Izuku didn’t even need to reply for Operator to understand the answer. “I get the feeling people who don’t have Quirks aren’t treated all that well.”

“You’re not wrong…” Izuku sighed.

“That’s rough, buddy,” offering what little sympathy he could, Tagfer trotted up to Izuku and lightly nudged the boy’s hand with his nose. “Can’t say I really know what you’re going through, but hey, no judgement from us.” 

Izuku gave a very small smile and nodded in appreciation. 

He was honestly expecting ridicule or some kind of discrimination, but now that he thought it over, that expectation was just plain dumb. 

These people didn’t even know what Quirks were five minutes ago, of course they wouldn’t discriminate.

It was just his damn brain forcing him to believe he deserved it.

“Yes, yes, this is all very heartwarming. Can we perhaps get back to the matter at hand? We are currently stuck in a comparatively primitive time stream with no contact to our Sanctum, no resources, and no real knowledge of our surroundings! Not to mention I am currently stuck in a cooking pot! Utterly humiliating! But I digress; you mentioned these Quirks can somewhat bend the laws of physics, correct? Oh… if you’re nodding, I can’t see you, so I’ll just assume you are. Now, if what you say is true, perhaps there is a person with a Quirk that can allow us to reconnect with the Sanctum, or better yet; get us home!”

Fibonacci was practically rambling at this point, splashing in the pot and spilling quite a bit of water. 

“Fib… shut up, you’re scaring Bird-3,” Tagfer tapped the metal pot with his front hoof.

“Too much to think about! Too much!”

As the animals bickered amongst themselves, Izuku pinched his lower lip in thought. What Fibonacci said wasn’t completely out of the question. A warp Quirk could theoretically breach through realities depending on how that particular warp Quirk worked. Unfortunately, that ran the risk of going horribly wrong. Most warp Quirks required the user to be familiar with the target location already. Or at least have some prior knowledge. If doing something like that didn’t outright kill the person, then who knew what else could happen. There was also this Void thing Operator kept mentioning. Was that a place? 

Izuku slowly started to feel his brain melt. This was way out of his wheelhouse. He could analyse a Quirk and understand it and its drawbacks, but when it came to these strangers, he was at a loss.

“I think Bird-3 is right,” Operator spoke up, breaking the silence. “Right now, it’s too much to think about. We’re all tired and no doubt you’re getting overwhelmed too, Izuku.” The boy stuttered at the use of his given name. He reigned in his thoughts about that, however. Operator probably didn’t know Japanese etiquette. It was fine. “That said… uh… we’re kind of in a weird situation.”

Izuku let out a breath. 

He knew full well where this was going.

“I… can s-sleep on the couch. But… uh, my apartment is too small for Bird-3.” Izuku thought it over for a minute. He then glanced toward a small overhanging canopy sticking out from one of the building’s roof installations. With a few blankets and cushions, he could probably make something comfortable. As for Fibonacci, sadly, there wasn’t much else he could do without going to a department store and buying a large fish tank.

So, for now, he went ahead and started building a makeshift nest for both Tagfer and Bird-3 to sleep in. As he did that, Operator helped Fibonacci refill his pot with fresh water. Much to the fish’s chagrin. 

“No one comes up here, so it should be ok. If someone does … please try to hide.” 

With the animals tended to, both Operator and Izuku returned to his apartment. They could figure everything out in the morning. Provided his mother didn’t get off work early. So, it was no use fretting now. 

When Yoshino told him to find something to do outside of work, he probably didn’t mean something like this.

That night, it was almost impossible to drift off to sleep. 

And not because the couch was uncomfortable.

Inko Midoriya yawned loudly as she trudged up the stairs of the apartment complex. The sun was just starting to rise and if she wasn’t absolutely exhausted, she probably would have stopped to enjoy it. 

She didn’t mind working the night shift, but it definitely took its toll on her. 

After all, the night seemed to attract all the idiots. As a Paramedic, Inko knew that all too well. Drunk accidents, small time villains, the occasional small time hero in over their heads. They all ended up in the back of her ambulance and they all had their own problems. Tonight was no different. Seven bar brawls, four robberies and several assaults later, Inko had just about experienced enough tonight. 

She was looking forward to collapsing on her bed and passing out for the next twelve hours.

When she entered the lounge, however, the last thing she expected to see was her darling son sprawled out on the floor, fast asleep and drooling on the small carpet. 

He had apparently tried sleeping on the couch - as evidenced by the blanket and pillow left abandoned - but had taken to the floor either in his sleep, or as a last ditch effort. As for why he wasn’t in his room, that revelation came when Inko heard light snoring coming from the slightly open door. Confusion set in as well as some slight irritation. She was tired and really didn’t want to have to deal with whatever the hell this was. At the same time, however, she couldn’t help but wonder if Izuku had finally made a friend.

He had been in a bad slump ever since barely graduating Middle School. 

Rejection after rejection from any and all High Schools in the area had left him as a hollow shell. He had given up on his dream, he had resigned himself to whatever he could grab and that left him depressed and aimless.

Inko tried to help as best she could. 

She’d give him all the love and affection she could, but it was rarely enough. 

Whoever the mystery guest was, Inko would just have to find out later. She just hoped it was no one dangerous. So, she decided to let it slide for now. It was a problem for Future-Inko. 

With that, Inko Midoriya slumped into her bed and immediately fell asleep.

Chapter Text

“Ah! Good morning, Drifter! I would ask how you slept, but considering you spent all night in the Support Studio, I can assume not at all.” Nedzu said and grinned. Drifter entered his office with an irritated look on her face, but surprisingly didn’t actually look tired. Her eyes immediately snapped to the second person in the room.

Shouta Aizawa.

Also known as Eraserhead. 

He was currently leaning against the wall-sized window behind Nedzu’s desk. As broody as ever, the man scowled and hid most of his face beneath his Capture Weapon. 

“I don’t need to sleep all that much. Was busy trying to fix the smaller issues on my Tommy.” Another curiosity casually dropped.

“So, you’re the one who interrupted my Class’s first heroics lesson. The fact you’re not currently in handcuffs is honestly illogical.” His gruff voice and suspicious nature never failed to lightly amuse Nedzu. It was one of the reasons the little rat kept him around. Among other things. Regardless, in this case, Shouta’s remark earned him a sigh from Nedzu.

“We’ve been over this, Shouta.” The principal warned with a single glare. He then gave a warm smile toward Drifter. “This is Shouta Aizawa. He’s the Homeroom Teacher for Class 1A which means he takes responsibility for them.”

“A random woman appears out of nowhere followed by a bunch of freakish monsters. I get it. You’re right not to trust me. You remind me a lot of my friend… he also has a Skana up his ass.” Drifter huffed and slumped in the chair opposite Nedzu. “Alright, I’m here, so what do you want?” She noted that Shouta was growling at her, but otherwise didn’t choose to argue further. Aside from that, Nedzu chuckled and gently rocked in his chair.

“I’ve been mulling over what you explained last night. It’s all rather fascinating!” Nedzu let out a small giggle. Just thinking about the implications alone boggled the mind. “However, you mentioned an… entity . Something that apparently has godlike power. That’s a little concerning to say the least. Can you… elaborate?”

Drifter’s lips thinned and her brow furrowed.

“I… suppose I should explain that much. Uh… does tall-dark-and-gloomy know about me?”

“I’ve been told most of it.” Shouta curtly responded. “Haven’t decided if I believe it or not,” he gave a shrug, “though lying about something like this wouldn’t make any sense.”

Nedzu quietly smirked at the fact Shouta didn’t even blink at the nickname.

“Alright, where to start…” Drifter lent back in the chair and tapped a finger against her chin. “Well, it has a few names. ‘The Man in the Wall’ , ‘The Indifference’, ‘The Murmur’. They’re all the same thing. Some sort of higher intelligence with unknowable motives. We have no idea what it really is. Some think it’s the Void itself but that’s just pure speculation. So far, all I can gather is that it just wants to cause chaos just to see what happens. Like some sadistic scientist poking at a test subject with a hot poker.” 

Drifter’s voice betrayed the animosity she had. She was speaking from personal experience, it seemed.

Nedzu’s expression darkened for a fraction of a second. That hit a little too close to home.

He had only just learned of this entity’s existence and he already hated it with every fibre of his being. 

“I’ve been trying to fight it for… a long time, but how do you fight something as abstract as that?” Drifter sighed wearily, as if years of exhaustion were weighing her down all at once. “And now I’m stuck here, allowing it to do… anything it wants. That religiously fanatical army I mentioned? The Man in the Wall took the body of one of its generals. A woman named Neci Rusulka who turned out to be the adoptive daughter of two of my teammates. Now, she’s disappeared to Void knows where, growing power and forces.”

It was all quite a lot to take in. Drifter had clearly been through a lot and still had more hardships to endure. Which made her being trapped here seem all the more concerning. At least to her. Nedzu himself chose to see it as a blessing in disguise. If this fight of hers was as important as she implied, she’d need all the help she could get.

He also saw this as an opportunity.

But he would get to that in due time.

“If I may ask; what attracted this entity’s attention to your reality? Was it drawn to something?” Nedzu asked carefully. The immediate growl that Drifter let escape gave him his answer. 

“Albrecht Entranti. That’s who attracted it.” She spat with vitriol. “An Orokin scientist who discovered the existence of the Void and later developed Void travel. An arrogant bastard who views people as little more than pawns in his shitty game of space chess.”

“Orokin?”

“They were the rulers of the Orokin Empire. Egotistical, oppressive, hedonistic. They called themselves the Golden Masters and thought of themselves as gods. Ugh… I even used to worship them when I was really young. We were raised like that. Subservient to the letter. Thankfully, I grew out of it real quick.” This little trip into Drifter’s history was fascinating. Everything about Drifter was fascinating. However, if Shouta’s grumbling was anything to go by, this conversation had been going on for long enough. What Drifter had shared was definitely a lot to think about.

So, Nedzu gave an understanding nod. “They sound simply awful. I’d love to discuss everything in more detail, but I’m afraid we’re running low on time this morning.”

“I still have a class to get to. They’re probably already starting to arrive… given the media outside the gates don’t hold them up too much.”

“You have media troubles? What’s happened? Y’know… besides me.” Drifter chuckled at the obvious. Though she knew it’d have nothing to do with her. Unless one of those kids decided to kick up a fuss about some stranger bursting into their class out of nowhere.

“They’ve recently caught onto the fact that we have taken on All Might as a teacher.” Nedzu explained before hopping off his chair and walking around the desk to hand Drifter a newspaper. It was an article in a local tabloid about the hero. It was all baseless rumours and nonsense, but there was one thing that the rest of the media latched on to. And that was how All Might was now a teacher at UA. “You’ll be unaware of this, but All Might is actually Japan’s highest ranked Professional Hero. Most consider him to be the most powerful man alive right now. So, it’s no wonder his current situation would cause a stir.”

“I can’t read this…” Drifter muttered under her breath. She got the gist, though. “So, the buff dude I crashed into is a big deal, huh? With the way he fought those Centurions, I don’t doubt it.”

“Indeed,” Nedzu then grinned. “However, he isn’t all that experienced as a teacher. I have an offer for you, Drifter.”

“I’m not going to be a teacher.” 

Drifter immediately shot that down, prompting Shouta to stifle a snort.

“Oh? If I understand your situation correctly; you’re trapped here with no money or resources or even an identity. Simply put; you have no options. However, should you accept my offer, I can return the favour by giving you access to all the resources you might need in finding a way back home.” Nedzu studied Drifter’s reaction to that. The slight shift in her frown hinted that she was starting to see the benefits. “I’ll even provide food and lodging. We’ve been considering a dorm house system for a while now and already have some built. You’re free to take one of them and do with it what you will.”

“And what do you get out of it? I’ve never taught anyone before.”

“Aside from a powerful new ally? I get to ask you all the questions I want about the Void and your home. Knowledge is beyond valuable and I find myself quite taken with your stories.” Nedzu once again grinned.

She was considering it.

“Ok… but you’ve apparently already got the Number One Hero on your payroll. I’m not entirely sure what the hell I can offer. All my experience involves… well… a lot of killing and a lot of being killed.”

“Excuse me?” Shouta’s eyes widened slightly. “How can you have experience with being killed?”

To answer his question, Drifter ran her finger along the jagged scar ringing her neck. Nedzu’s first thought was that she must have survived having her throat slit, but the scar ran the whole way around. “Are you saying you’ve been decapitated?” Nedzu asked, raising a brow. Drifter nodded with a dark expression. Memories swam around in her eyes and for a brief moment, Drifter looked numb to all emotion. Her lack of a follow up told Nedzu she probably didn’t want to talk about it. “You truly are fascinating. We must get back to that later!”

Drifter sighed in resignation.

“To address your concerns, yeah, I don’t understand this, either. Nedzu just does what he wants.” Shouta recovered from his shock, but seemed to regard Drifter with a bit more respect. Of course, to anyone who didn’t know him, it just sounded the same.

“I feel I’ve earned that right!” Nedzu giggled in a slightly maniacal manner. “I digress. What I want from you is somewhat of a mixed bag. You’ve demonstrated your power, so I want you to act as All Might’s assistant during combat and hero training. However, you’ve also demonstrated exceptional talent for engineering and tinkering. I’m sure Power Loader would love an extra pair of hands to help with his own students and their projects. There is also the matter of potentially more ruptures opening. If it happened once, there’s no telling if it could happen again.”

“You’ve… got a point about that.” Drifter relented, nodding slightly. “I could try and rig something together that detects Void energy signatures.”

“That would be wonderful!”

Drifter let out a long sigh. “So, what do you think of this?” She glanced up at Shouta. 

In response, he gave a shrug, pushing himself off the window. “As long as you don’t teach the kids anything weird, I don’t have much of a choice. Once Nedzu makes his mind up about something, it’s basically impossible to change it.” At his words, Nedzu merely giggled. “Even if it’s irrational, I’ll go along with it.”

“Gee, thanks… fine, if I help you, you help me,” Drifter gave a reluctant nod down toward Nedzu.

“Excellent! You begin this afternoon!”

After many, many, many apologies, Izuku had managed to ask Yoshino for the day off. 

It was still quite early, but it was better to phone in now rather than leaving it until later. He hated the idea of disappointing his boss, but right now, his mind was focused on one thing. 

What in the absolute hell was he going to do?

Sure, he could just kick Operator and her animal friends out onto the street and tell them to figure it out on their own. That thought had crossed his mind more than once. However, it just went against everything he stood for. They needed help, so Izuku would do everything he could to help. That said, he still didn’t really know how. Which led him to his current predicament. 

Inko’s smile might have looked warm and welcoming, but Izuku knew full well just how tired the woman was. Which also meant she was very irritated about having her sleep interrupted by Operator’s presence.

The three sat around the kitchen table in awkward silence. 

Izuku had cooked up a simple breakfast for all of them - making sure to set some aside for the animals - but only Operator had tucked into the food. She was seemingly oblivious to the tension building. “Wow, this stuff is good! Way better than the nutrient blocks and ration pouches I usually eat!” She happily chirped. Izuku wasn’t entirely sure if Operator was willingly ignoring the awkwardness. It wouldn’t be surprising and given how Operator reacted to meeting Inko, there was something underneath the chipper attitude.

When Inko introduced herself as Izuku’s mother, Operator practically recoiled in shock. After half a second of suspicion, she then shook off whatever her feelings were before happily introducing herself.

“T-thanks…” Izuku muttered, sipping his orange juice. 

“So, Operator, I take it that’s your Hero name? You look a little young to be a hero… but I suppose I shouldn’t judge you by outward appearances. May I ask for your civilian name?” Inko asked, keeping her warm smile steady. She might have been annoyed at the whole situation, but she still wanted to try and act welcoming. If the two had met under other circumstances, Izuku had no doubt that Inko would be doting on Operator as much as possible.

Still, Operator paused at the question.

Izuku had given her a brief run down on the basics of pro heroes and the like, so at least she wasn’t confused.

“Ayatan. I know that doesn’t sound like a real name, but it’s what I was named by the Family.”

Izuku caught the capital F in that word. Curious.

“That’s a unique name,” Inko commented, taking a long drink from her coffee. “So, my son found you struggling on the streets and offered to help? Always a good samaritan, it’s one of the biggest things I’m proud of him for. He’s had a hard time of it, so I’m happy he’s made a friend.” 

“Mom, please…” 

Inko giggled with a renewed sense of warmth. Now that she had woken up a little more, she wasn’t as annoyed as she was. 

Which meant she was going to maternally tease as much as possible.

That said, she did give Operator - or rather Ayatan - a quick glance. The way the girl was scarfing down her food gave Inko a worried expression. “Say, Ayatan, where are your parents?”

“Dead.”

Such a flat response shocked both Inko and Izuku into silence. The girl barely even stopped eating to respond.

“I’m sorry to hear that, sweetie,” Inko managed to snap herself out of the silence first. “Do you have a guardian or relative?” That question made Ayatan take longer than a second to respond. She paused and chewed on the strip of bacon still in her mouth.

“It’s complicated… I technically live alone.” She shrugged, “well, not really alone… but like I said; complicated.”

For now, they left it at that. 

Apparently Ayatan’s history was a lot more complicated than even multidimensional displacement. Izuku struggled to imagine just what she had gone through. “Hey, mom, do you know any Quirk doctors? The hospital you dispatch for had one, right? The guy who gave me my… diagnosis.” The image of the portly man with a huge mustache crossed his mind. Izuku hadn’t seen him since he was four, but he could still remember exactly what the doctor looked like. And how dismissive he was the second he gave the Quirkless diagnosis.

“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”

A pretty harsh way to break the news to a four year old.

Inko shook her head. “Dr. Garaki transferred out to another hospital about five years ago. I’m afraid management hasn't gotten around to replacing him. It’s really frustrating not having a Quirk specialist On Call, but no matter how many complaints get filed, it’s always the same excuse. No room in the budget. Why do you ask, Honey?”

“Oh, Oper- uh… Ayatan has some issues with her Quirk that she wants checked out.”

“Oh? Can I ask what your Quirk is?” Inko asked, giving Ayatan a concerned look. “I’m not exactly a doctor - just a paramedic - but maybe I can at least offer some advice?”

A small drop of sweat formed on Ayatan’s forehead. She glanced at Izuku, who could only shrug and silently apologize for putting her on the spot. “Well, it involves warping. Most of the time it’s just short range displacement, but I recently had an accident that landed me here without a way to get back home.” She tried to make the explanation as vague as possible, but Izuku couldn’t help but feel that was more truthful than he figured. He hadn’t actually seen what Ayatan could do, yet. So, for all he knew, she could have actually had a warping Quirk.

“Huh, that’s a tricky one,” Inko let out a short sigh. “Sadly, warping Quirks are pretty rare. I wish I could actually do something for you, but I’m afraid I don’t have the know-how.” She gave Ayatan a sad glance. Maternal instincts kicked in and she rested a hand on the girl’s head. “That said, you’re free to stay here for as long as you need!”

That would have been great if there wasn’t the issue of a certain trio of animals currently hiding on the apartment building’s roof.

Speaking of the animals, Izuku suddenly got an idea.

It left a sour taste in his mouth. 

After all, it involved a place he had no right even being near. However, it was also the one place that had a precedent for talking animals. UA High School. He had no hope in hell of actually getting into the heroics course like he had dreamed of. He also didn’t want to enter General Education, either. Being so close to the heroics course with no hope of joining it would just fill him with resentment. More so than he already had. 

Plus, it would also mean a certain explosive blond would have more opportunities to put Izuku in his place.

That was one of the bigger reasons he had abandoned the idea of going to UA for.

Maybe, if he somehow caught the principal’s attention, he could help. Though that was definitely easier said than done. Nedzu had better things to do than to talk to some Quirkless nobody.

The rest of their breakfast went by in relative silence and before long, Izuku and Ayatan were back on the rooftop. However, the moment Izuku stepped out onto the roof, he suddenly had a thought. He had absolutely no idea what the animals even ate! They were from another reality so it could be absolutely anything! He looked down at the leftovers he was carrying and gulped. Sensing his hesitation, Ayatan gave a quiet giggle. 

“You don’t need to worry. The Cavia actually take their sustenance from me. Ever since they Alchemised, they can live off of my Void energy. Doesn’t mean they can’t eat, though.”

As fascinating as that sounded, it was still confusing as hell.

“R-right… I’ll take your word for it…”

They rounded the corner and came upon a strange sight. At least to Izuku. Bird-3 was currently running his beak along Tagfer’s body and occasionally chomping on something crunchy. As the avian worked, Tagfer tried resisting the urge to mewl with content. “Oh yeah, a few got in there good last time I checked. Can you see any eggs?”

“Nope! These insects are weird, though. Still tasty, but super weird! Small and not all that crunchy.”

Oh, Bird-3 was helping clean Tagfer of any lice or fleas.

That actually made Izuku smile.

“Ugh… must you prattle on about inane nonsense? This water is stale enough as it is. Ah! Operator! And the other one!”

“He has a name, Fib…” Tagfer sighed before nodding toward Izuku. “Ignore the fish. He’s actually an idiot.” It was unclear if that was meant to be a joke, or if there was actual animosity there. Neither Bird-3 or Fibonacci made a comment, so it could have been either. It was best not to dwell on it. “So, getting home - got any ideas? ‘Cause I got nothing. Oh, and… sorry for making trouble for you, kid. You must be having one hell of a time of it.”

“Oh, I’m fine! D-don’t worry, Mr. Tagfer,” Izuku found himself bowing out of reflex.

It made Ayatan snort quietly to herself.

“I actually do have an idea, but it’s a long shot…” Izuku began, pinching his chin in thought. “Well, sort of an idea. Honestly, I’m j-just grasping at straws with this. You three are talking animals, and while that’s not entirely unheard of here, there’s only one other instance of that sort of thing. At least in public knowledge. He’s actually the principal of UA. That’s Japan’s best heroics school, by the way. It’s known world wide and has a whole bunch of extremely powerful alumni!”

“Ok, so how does another talking animal help us?” Tagfer gave a pretty doubtful glare.

“His Quirk is called High Specs and it gives him intelligence way beyond a human level. If he doesn’t know how to help you, then… I have no idea who will.” There was a pause when he finished. Everyone was looking at him. Or rather, Fibonacci was trying to look at him through stainless steel. “Sorry… it’s not a lot to go on.”

“It’s a start.” Ayatan smiled at the boy. “And it’s more than we had last night.”

“ I look forward to working with you, Young Drifter! ” The huge mountain of a man known as All Might gave a hearty wave. “ Hopefully, under less… distressing circumstances this time. Honestly, I’m not at all surprised Nedzu brought you into the faculty. He has some interesting ideas. ”

After a lengthy orientation of the school, Drifter wasn’t exactly in the best of moods. She gave a grunt and waved back, but any sort of enthusiasm had to wait. 

They were now waiting for Class 1A to arrive at the training ground. This one was very different to that hollowed out city from yesterday. For one, it was a single gigantic building with a huge main gymnasium. The floor was smooth concrete and apparently, UA had someone on staff that could turn the terrain into almost anything. However, for now, they were keeping it flat.

Off to the side were the smaller facilities of the building. Namely the locker rooms, restrooms and equipment storage. All contained in the annex connected to the main hall.

“He didn’t give me much of a choice.”

“ He rarely does. ”

“So, those media at the gate haven’t gotten to you yet, huh?” Drifter asked, trying to make some semblance of small talk.

All Might laughed with a slight awkward edge. “ When you’ve been a hero for as long as I have, you tend to pick up a few tricks to avoid the press. There’s no end to the number of journalists who would love an exclusive from Japan’s Number One. It can get exhausting. ” If Drifter didn’t know any better, she would think that was a form of boasting. Then again, the only actual experience with journalists that Drifter had was with Elanore. And there was no avoiding her.

But at least she wasn’t frothing at the mouth for idle gossip and pointless rumours. 

Though she did occasionally literally froth at the mouth.

Drifter shook off the distraction. She would get back to the Hex soon enough. She just hoped they could hold on without her.

“So… what exactly am I going to be doing with these kids? Pretty sure you don’t want me shooting at them.”

“ If you did, I would have to arrest you myself. ” All Might gave a confident grin. Then he laughed with a friendly bellow. “ For today - and tomorrow with 1B, I think you should familiarise yourself with the children and get to know their abilities. A great way to accomplish that is to face them in a friendly sparring match! I’ll leave the particulars to you. I’ll serve as official supervision and make sure neither you nor the kids get hurt too badly. ”

“You don’t need to worry about me. If I do get hurt, it won’t be for long.”

All Might was about to say something in response, though he was cut off by the double doors leading to the annex swinging open. 

And in came class 1A, each one wearing their costumes in a display of colour and variety.

All Might’s smile widened as he dramatically gestured toward the children. “ Right on time! It’s only your second Heroics class and you’ve all started to develop good punctuality! Excellent! ” He laughed and cast his gaze across the class. “ Today’s lesson will be somewhat of a make-up session seeing as a few teams didn’t get to participate in yesterday’s trial. Now, as you may have noticed, we’re joined by a new addition, today. Our surprise visitor from yesterday has agreed to act as a Teaching Assistant for the time being. ”

The whole class stared at Drifter with mild confusion and no small amount of suspicion. A lot of them hadn’t actually interacted with her yet. They had only seen her pass out and be carried off by medical robots.

“Hey,” she offered an awkward wave.

She did catch the eye of Melissa Shield who gave her a smile in response. Everyone else just stood in awkward silence.

“ Ahem… anyway! Today, Drifter here will be engaging in some sparring with each of you. Use this as a chance to gain some experience and get a better grip on each of your classmates’ strengths and weaknesses. As such, I’ll be acting as a supervisor, so, Drifter, the floor is yours. ”

“Right…” Drifter sighed and stepped forward. 

She had never taught anything before. Her only formal education ended when the Zariman Jump Accident happened, so everything else beyond that was strictly self taught. Aside from a few pointers from Teshin, her combat skills came from trial and error through thousands of years of torture. These kids didn’t have Duviri to harden their skills in. Which was honestly a good thing. She wouldn’t wish her own experiences on anyone.

She took in a breath and tried to present a confident grin. “Alright, I won’t be holding back. Who’s ready to get their asses handed to them?”

Chapter Text

If Drifter had to describe 1A in one word, it would be eccentric.

Each one had their own unique style. That at least made it easier to identify individuals. 

A few specifically stood out to her. A tall, heavily muscled boy with six arms. A short girl with horns and Kathe-like hooves. The shortest boy of the whole class with purple balls lining his head. A boy with an avian head. 

Still, they didn’t have all day, so she may as well kick things off immediately.

“So, you’re going to be coming at me in pairs. The aim is to land one solid hit on me or force me out of bounds within five minutes. Do that, you win. You go out of bounds, you’re eliminated.” Drifter made sure to take note of the more enthusiastic students. A few of them looked unsure, some were pretty shocked and a few looked quite confident. “How do you usually decide teams?” Without a word, All Might handed her a small box filled with slips of paper. She looked at it blankly before All Might leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“Have the students pull a slip from the box. Matching slips form the pairs.” 

“Oh…”

She shrugged and cleared her throat. Turning back to the class, she awkwardly held out the box. 

Most of the students were hesitant, but the more confident ones took the lead. Specifically, the loud blond boy with exploding hands. He smirked and plunged a hand into the box, pulling out his slip. “Pretty cocky to think we need to pair up to take you on! Hah! I don’t need shitty extras riding my coat tails.” He laughed, but nonetheless went along with the selection. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually, everyone had their teams. 

Team One - Mezo Shoji and Momo Yaoyorozu

Team Two - Yui Kodai and Melissa Shield

Team Three - Toru Hagakure and Katsuki Bakugou

Team Four - Ochako Uraraka and Tenya Iida

Team Five - Tsuyu Asui and Pony Tsunotori

Team Six - Yuga Aoyama and Kyouka Jirou

Team Seven - Minoru Mineta and Koji Koda

Team Eight - Fumikage Tokoyami and Mina Ashido

Team Nine - Shouto Todoroki and Hiryu Rin

Team Ten - Denki Kaminari and Eijirou Kirishima

With that decided, Drifter gave a grin. “Who wants to go first?” She didn’t even finish asking when the explosive blond stepped forward and pretty much dragged his partner along with him. Said partner was an irritated looking girl with vibrant light green hair that was flecked with bits of pink and blue. Double checking the names, Drifter saw that this was Toru Hagakure and she was understandably pissed off about being dragged around.

The girl was wearing a pretty form fitting body suit that was an iridescent green colour that almost looked like snake skin. She was also wearing plain blue gloves and a pair of boots. 

“Alright! Everyone else, give us some space!”

After shuffling around for a bit, Drifter was standing in the centre of a marked off arena. Katsuki was on one side of the arena and Toru was on the opposite. Both students lowered themselves into ready stances and Drifter remained straight. She wasn’t going to underestimate them, especially when she didn’t really know what they could do. Especially Toru. So, she prepared by focusing her mind on the Tenno Schools.

She didn’t really need them to channel her power, but it certainly helped.

“Fight!”

The moment All Might bellowed, Katsuki launched himself forward with a burst of explosions. The force propelled him with impressive speed as he reared back for an open palmed right hook. 

Drifter responded with a wave of Void energy that - when it hit Katsuki - halted the boy in mid attack. His personal time stream had been dragged down to a crawl, giving Drifter enough time to throw a Void Sling directly up into the air. In a ripple of light, Drifter vanished and appeared thirty feet in the air.

The slowing wave wore off and Katsuki’s movements instantly returned to normal. The resulting explosion had caught Toru right in the stomach. Her form flickered in and out of visibility before stabilizing a moment later. When the match started, Drifter didn’t fail to notice the fact that Toru had turned invisible. A powerful ability that Drifter had plenty of experience using. So, just as Drifter threw out the slowing wave, she also activated her tracking device to mark Toru’s precise location. It gave Drifter the opportunity to turn Katsuki’s eagerness against the two of them.

As Drifter began to fall and the two students below tried to figure out what the hell just happened, Drifter shot another Void Sling directly down at the ground. 

The moment she appeared, she decked Katsuki in the face. 

Chaining Void Slings, Drifter dashed around him, punching and kicking him until finally, the boy had enough. Sparks popped out of his palms and just as Katsuki produced a huge explosion, Drifter threw up a defensive barrier of Void energy. The explosion was absorbed by the Void Shell, only making it stronger. The heat was consumed and a very distinct bubble surrounded Drifter. To finish the fight off, Drifter brought the Sirocco out from its holster and aimed a single shot into the boy’s stomach.

Had she left the weapon on its default setting, this likely would have gravely injured or even outright killed the boy. Thankfully, Drifter had turned the power output down to its absolute lowest. Meaning that getting shot by the Sirocco was comparable to getting punched by someone of average physical strength.

Even still, the shock was enough to put Katsuki on his ass.

Drifter then stepped to the side and grabbed an invisible limb. She felt the weight of Toru as she threw the girl over her shoulder. When Toru slammed into the floor, she immediately became visible and squeaked at the sight of the Sirocco pointing straight down at her. 

“I give up!” She yelped.

“What was that bullshit!?” Katsuki roared, launching himself up and storming over to Drifter. “What the fuck is up with that Quirk?”

“Young Bakugou, the fight is over. Please calm down.”

For a few seconds, the boy glared up at Drifter with his teeth bared and fists clenched. Drifter looked like she was unfazed, but she was poised to retaliate should Katsuki give in to his anger. She had gone through enough of this sort of thing with Lodun in Duviri after all. Fiery anger and inflated ego made for - ironically - an explosive combination. After another moment, Katsuki grunted and stormed off. 

“Whatever. This was bullshit anyway…” he muttered as he rejoined the other students. 

Toru got up, brushed herself off and gave an awkward giggle.

“He’s like that with everyone. It’s… kinda scary but he knows he can’t just go around attacking people.” She said, rubbing her shoulder. “How… did you know where I was anyway? I thought I was being sneaky!”

“I could hear your footsteps. You’re good at keeping quiet, but I’ve learned to listen out for these things.”

Plus the device on her wrist also helped. Still, Toru took an explosion directly to the stomach and barely let out so much as a squeak. That definitely showed her toughness. If she was just a bit quieter or faster, then that last punch might have hit its mark.

Impressive.

The next match was Melissa Shield and Yui Kodai. 

Granted, Yui didn’t look all that enthused, merely following Melissa’s lead. Still, the girl held a neutral gaze framed by neat black hair and a red and white costume. 

As for Melissa’s outfit, it actually reminded Drifter of a Zariman suit if it was a little more armoured and not completely black. It also didn’t have a hood, just a holographic strip curving around her eyes. Dark red accents decorated the hips and forearms along with dimly glowing lights. 

With the same set up as the first match, the two students readied themselves on opposite sides of the arena. 

All Might called for them to start.

Two things happened simultaneously. 

First, Drifter noticed Yui throw several objects up into the air. Second, the sparking energy engulfed Melissa and she dashed to the side in a wide arch. Not a direct attack like Drifter had expected. Drifter followed Melissa’s movements and carefully watched for any tells. That was until Yui made a gesture, followed by large shadows suddenly forming over the arena.

The objects Yui had thrown suddenly quadrupled in size, turning out to be several large boulders.

Just as Drifter looked up, Melissa rushed in, aiming to punch Drifter in the gut. 

These two were at least a lot more coordinated than Toru and Katsuki. It might have even worked if Drifter was anyone else. Timing her own move, Drifter suddenly vanished in a ripple of energy. Melissa’s punch passed straight through and the boulders crashed to the ground. One almost landed on Melissa’s leg which made Drifter frown. She may be trying to beat these kids up, but she didn’t actually want them getting hurt.

Still, that maneuver was impressive. It played to both their skills and was pulled off almost perfectly.

However, Drifter reappeared, standing atop one of the boulders. She whistled and shot a smirk down at the two younger girls. “Nice moves!” She praised, though it might have come off as a little taunting.

It was her turn and without missing a beat, she focused energy into a condensed orb. She threw it to the ground just behind Yui and jumped up into the air. A moment later, the orb pulsed and began to suck inwards like a miniature black hole. Yui struggled against the force, but was soon met with several boulders hitting her and bowling her over. She tumbled and rolled across the ground, landing outside the arena marking, still conscious, but definitely dazed. These kids were a lot more durable than Drifter thought.

“Oh my, is Kodai going to be ok…?” One of the students gasped, only to be reassured when Yui raised a shaky arm and gave a thumbs up.

“That Quirk is definitely something else, Drifter-sensei! What else can it do?” Melissa spoke, studying Drifter’s movements. “So far I’ve seen you teleport short ranges, slow down someone’s movements, turn invisible, create barriers and now create mini black holes! The science behind that is… mind blowing, I won’t lie.”

“Those assumptions aren’t strictly accurate, but I’ll get to that later if you guys really want to know,” Drifter grinned, casually taking a step to the left as Melissa stepped to the right. They started to pace around each other slowly, looking for an opening. “What about your Quirk? I’d say it’s electricity, but you’re not actually producing electricity, are you? It’s just a visual display of energy. You’re using it to speed up your muscles and strengthen your attacks.”

Melissa briefly widened her eyes.

It seemed Drifter was at least partially correct.

Not that the knowledge would do much to help. 

Melissa shot forward with her arm cocked back. Another frontal attack? It was fast and a lot of power was building up in the girl’s body, but it was also painfully telegraphed and predictable. Drifter threw a wave of the slowing energy she had used on Katsuki. Melissa’s movements slowed to a crawl and Drifter began to step to the side. 

However, something started to happen which caught her off guard. Melissa’s body pulsed and the lightning sparked with a flash of intensity.

A second later, Melissa had broken out of the temporal restraint and began moving at full speed once more. Or rather, her speed had doubled.

“Shit!” Drifter barked and jumped backward.

Melissa’s attack just barely missed.

At least, the fist did.

The wind pressure, however, was another matter entirely. It felt like several thousands of tiny Skanas had slashed across her face. The aftershock was more like a thump of raw concussive force that knocked her back several feet. In fact, she almost stumbled out of the ring. The pressure alone was like getting socked in the face by an Atlas Warframe.

“Holy crap!” Was all Drifter could say in response. 

It might not have been a solid hit, but damn did she feel like it was. 

She quickly wiped a gloved hand over her face and sighed in relief when she didn’t find any blood. Still, the dull ache on her left side was a portent for a lot of bruising.

Her thoughts, however, were ground to a halt when she saw Melissa clutch her arm and drop to her knees. “Damn it… went overboard again…” she whispered through harsh breaths. Sure enough, the arm of her costume had ripped off to reveal a grizzly sight. It didn’t take a genius to see the bones were very, very broken. “At least it’s… ow… not as bad as the first time…” despite her words, Melissa was struggling to keep tears from falling. 

“Ah! Young Melissa!” All Might marched forward and patted the girl on the back. He briefly glanced around and called out to the shocked onlookers. “Young Hagakure, would you escort Young Melissa to Recovery Girl?”

The bubbly Toru nodded and helped her fellow classmate up.

“I think I need to go too…” Yui said with a quiet grunt. Her expression remained neutral as she walked with a very slight limp.

Maybe Drifter went a bit far with that pairing.

Even still, Melissa had managed to overpower the Void energy Drifter had thrown at her. She noticed that the energy within the girl flared substantially more than what Drifter had seen previously.

Did that mean Melissa wasn’t using her full capability when she fought the Void Manifestations? 

That thought actually sent a shiver down Drifter’s spine.

If that punch actually hit her, then it was very possible that Drifter would have died. Again. Without direct access to the Void, Drifter wasn’t entirely sure what would happen if she had died. Would it be like normal? Or would it actually mean she’d die for real? Thoughts for later. She still had eight more of these fights to get through. 

“I’d say that last one counts as a win for the students…” Drifter relented, earning an agreeing nod from All Might.

“WHAT!? Blondie didn’t even hit you! The fuck is this shit!?” Katsuki snarled, stomping his foot in rage.

“Hey man, you saw what that last punch did,” Eijirou Kirishima offered, looking quite spooked. “We felt it from all the way over here! Gotta admit; it was so damn manly!”

“Don’t let Shield hear you call her ‘manly’,” the pink skinned girl - Mina Ashido - grinned, jabbing Eijirou with her elbow. With the attention briefly being taken from him, Katsuki looked like he was stewing in his own anger. To the point where Drifter could swear she saw steam rise from his brow. So, not only was he ill-tempered and egotistical, he was also an attention seeker. Seriously, what was a kid like that doing in a school meant for training heroes?

Granted, the thought of that kind of school was still incredibly jarring for Drifter.

All Might cleared his throat as loudly as possible and the students quieted themselves. “On with the next bout! Any volunteers?” No one spoke up. Well, Katsuki raised his hand with fuming indignation, but was promptly denied. “Hm. Very well, random choice it is!” The huge man bellowed with laughter before plunging his hand into the box of team slips. He rummaged and pulled a single slip with a smile. “Team Seven! Young Mineta and Young Koda, if you would?”

“Oh god damn it!” The tiny boy with purple balls cried out in dismay. He slumped and began the small march to the arena. Drifter almost missed him muttering “at least she’s hot…” to himself. She didn’t know if she should be creeped out or flattered. No one really said anything like that about her before.

Well, except Quincy.

Heh, stupid, stubborn, sexy sniper.

She shook off that particular thought as she took note of the second student. 

His general physique was stocky and wide with a head that somewhat resembled a rock. Drifter’s first thought was some sort of strength power given his body type. He didn’t look all that confident, though. He hunched his shoulders and tapped his fingers together with a nervous smile. He didn’t say anything but then made a few strange gestures with his hands. Drifter raised a brow at the movements. Was he trying to communicate? 

“He said he hopes he won’t disappoint,” the short purple boy relayed. 

“Young Koda is selectively mute, so he communicates mostly through sign language.” All Might supplied the rest of the explanation. 

The vague memory of Amir mentioning something about sign language floated around Drifter’s head. It was a pretty strange concept, but she simply shrugged. “Alright, well, as long as you do your best, I’m sure you’ll impress me!” She gave Koji a grin and a nod. His meek expression twitched slightly, but he returned the nod.

“Pretty sure I can find certain other ways to impress you!” The tiny kid’s grin was by no means innocent. The implications weren’t lost on Drifter.

It actually made her chuckle.

“Aren’t you a forward one. You’re almost as bad as Varzia,” her response prompted Minoru to quirk his brow in confusion. Clearly, the boy was used to being rejected or scorned. Drifter just found his advance amusing. It was actually adorable in a way. Comments were harmless, but if he tried to act on them without consent; that was when it became an issue. “I have to say, though; I’m a little too old for you.”

“I like older women!”

“Hah! I like this kid. He’s got spunk!” Drifter clapped, before realising what she actually said. Minoru was already in the process of trying to get the joke out. “Say anything about spunking anywhere near me and I’ll have to show you what swallowing Void feels like.” 

Comments were harmless.

But Drifter had her limits. As long as he kept things to casual flirting, she honestly didn’t care. Though she made a note to make sure he didn’t turn his advances on anyone less willing to entertain him.

“Yes ma’am…” Minoru nodded, sufficiently cowed. 

To the boy’s credit, their following match was at the very least impressive. At first glance, ‘Pop-Off’ didn’t sound all that powerful. After all, it was just sticky balls. Not exactly overwhelming. That aside, he actually used it to great effect. With strategic placements and decent spacial awareness, both Minoru and Koji actually managed to trick Drifter into standing on one of the balls. Rooted in place, Drifter had to resort to tearing her foot out of the boot, only to lose her balance and begin falling into a cluster of balls.

With a quick Void Sling, she was in the air.

From there, she dispatched both students with a combination of low powered Sirocco shots and Void Sling powered kicks.

Koji’s Quirk turned out not to be strength, like she originally thought. 

In fact, he seemingly hadn’t used any Quirk at all much to Drifter’s confusion. Perhaps it was just not suited to direct combat. After the fight, the gentle boy made a few gestures and gave a polite bow. “He’s thanking you for the lesson…” Minoru muttered, picking himself up off the ground. Drifter swore he said something about being stepped on, but she chose to ignore it. “Dunno what lesson, all you did was kick our asses… what’s even the point of this?”

“I actually thought you did well. You’ve got the basics down when it comes to area denial, you just need to work on your follow ups.” 

Like a switch had been flipped, Minoru’s face lit up at Drifter’s praise.

He might not have said anything in response, but he looked like he was completely starstruck.

“Uh… so…” Drifter chuckled awkwardly, “Koda, may I ask what your Quirk is?”

The larger boy smiled and made a few gestures, stringing along what looked like a pretty lengthy description. All Might took a moment to parse the gestures before interpreting for Drifter. “He can connect with animals and convey his intentions and understand their needs. An overly simple explanation is that he talks to animals. Though it’s a bit more complicated than that. Either way, he can enlist their aid in all manners of tasks.”

“Huh… that’s… very, very useful.” That probably explained his selective mutism. He probably didn’t want to accidentally summon hordes of animals every time he said something.

Drifter couldn’t help but think of the Cavia. As far as animals went, those three were pretty talkative.

“... and that brings me to the next point…” Fibonacci continued his ramblings, his voice echoing from inside his cooking pot prison. 

This had been going on for what was probably three hours. Suddenly, Tagfer sneezed, cutting off Fibonacci’s lecture. “Huh… I think someone’s talkin’ about us. Weird.”

“Oh! Oh! Maybe Mister Loid is worried about us?” Bird 3 hopped on his feet.

“Doubt it…”

The empty Sanctum Anatomica suddenly echoed with the sound of a sneeze.

Loid shook off the shiver and lowered his book. “I should really look into those three’s disappearance,” he said to himself. He shrugged and leant back in his chair, letting a sigh of relief escape through his lips. The Sanctum hadn’t been this peaceful in a long time. It made his research much more enjoyable, Murmur threats notwithstanding. “I’m sure they are doing just fine.”

Loid went straight back to his reading.

The following matches went by in similar fashion. 

Some teams offered more threats than others, but when all was said and done, Drifter was impressed. 

The vast majority of these kids could definitely handle themselves. She was particularly intrigued by Momo Yaoyorozu who could seemingly create anything out of nothing. The sheer potential behind that was mind boggling. Perhaps the young girl could supply some crucial components Drifter would need. Momo also wasn’t too bad in direct combat, either. She showed ingenuity, good instincts and a keen intellect.

Another student to catch Drifter’s attention was Shouto Todoroki. He didn’t talk much, and seemed to regard everything with a certain level of apathy. Yet, his command over ice was no joke. He clearly preferred overwhelming his opponents as quickly as possible, so the longer the fight drew on, the easier it became to avoid Shouto’s ice. It also seemed that he had an issue with body temperature. His power was making him way too damn cold and Drifter almost called it early in fear of his health. Despite that, however, he demonstrated good control and made sure not to hinder his teammate’s movements too much.

The other students weren’t exactly slouches. They had clear potential and it was easy to see why they had been chosen to attend this school. Each one had earned their spot as far as Drifter was concerned.

Now that the fights were over, the students were all crowded on the bleachers, looking down at Drifter with some expectant expressions. “Are you gonna explain your Quirk to us?” Mina Ashido asked, nursing her sore arm. “How were you able to do all that!?”

“Bullshit…” Katsuki growled under his breath.

“As much as I’d like to go into details, I honestly don’t know all that much about my powers. The long and short of it is that I can create and control Void Energy. Think of it like a stable paradox that I can draw power from. You’d probably need a quantum physicist to really explain it.”

“And yet you can still use it to kick our collective asses?” Eijirou couldn’t help but grin. “So… manly…”

“You said ‘stable paradox’… but isn’t that a paradox in and of itself?” Momo Yaoyorozu questioned, raising her hand.

“Best not to think about it too much,” Drifter chuckled. She had spent quite a few Spirals in Duviri going insane just trying to comprehend everything. She sometimes still found her sanity slipping. “Anyway! I gotta say you’ve all impressed me. Some more than others, but you all did better than I expected. You even scored one win against me!”

“I still think that’s horseshit! She didn’t even hit you!”

“Change the record, Bakugou…” Eijirou sighed.

From there, the class had drawn to a close as their time had run out. All Might looked rather keen to disappear, so when he suddenly power walked toward the exit, Drifter couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion. What if the kids had questions for him? Or wanted some one-on-one tutoring? Whatever the case, Drifter lingered behind until all of class 1-A had left for the changing rooms. It left her alone with her thoughts and that probably wasn’t a good thing.

This was her life, now.

Just when she had started to get used to the whole 1999 temporal loop thing, she was thrown into another crazy situation. Only this time, there wasn’t a stable way back and forth.

She couldn’t even feel the kid’s presence anymore. 

Normally, she’d just switch places with the kid, allowing her to return to the present. The Paradox was… weird like that.

Now? That wasn’t an option. She had already tried.

So, for the foreseeable future, she was stuck teaching kids how to fight. It felt weird seeing as she was never formally taught. Her only teacher was cold, hard experience. 

And dying.

A lot of dying.

Somehow, she doubted these kids had that luxury. 

Still, things could be a whole lot worse. Though she definitely didn’t want to jinx it. So that line of thought was definitely locked down as soon as it started. 

No matter. 

She had a bike to fix.