Bill was down in the basement, working on Izumi's support gear. The sound of metal striking metal filled the hidden room in the underground apartment. Izuku was told to sit in the living room and watch cartoons. Bill said he needed a childhood, so they turned on something that most kids in this world liked to watch. "Cyberchase", if they remembered correctly. Izuku liked it, mainly because of all the math. But it had weird shapes and funny-looking characters, so it would have to do. But its true purpose was to be a distraction. So the small green-haired ghost child was currently sitting in his All Might onesie, watching a bunch of nerds save an imaginary computer lady with numbers. The best part was that the channel it was on didn't have any annoying advertisements, which meant that Izuku would stay in that spot until Bill came back.
The yellow demon laid down their hammer next to a small green headpiece and admired their work. It was a device made for amplifying the brainpower of a person with a psychokinesis quirk. It was built so that even someone who was only cable of lifting tv remotes or small toys could gain the ability to lift boulders and three-thousand-pound (1,360 kg) cars. And with Izumi's 'strong' quirk, she could lift buildings with this. "Man, Stanley would be so proud of me," they said to themselves, laughing maniacally at their own joke.
Izuku's memories proved to be very useful once more. His ability to analyze quirks at the age of four gave Bill a huge advantage in just about everything, and his love of heroes is what made it so much easier to get information on them. That being said, the sound of muffled protests reminded them of the hero who was currently tied up in his secret room with Flex Tape. Bill had seen an advertisement on the television as they were scrolling through news channels one day and made sure to grab some while they were out shopping for the final pieces of Izumi's headpiece. They thought it would come in handy in the near future, and oh did it. The turbo hero, Ingenium, had discovered a puddle of blood behind the building that led to the basement. They would have to clean that up later.
When Bill arrived back at their apartment and saw the hero turning the place upside-down looking for the source of the murder scene, they had to knock the hero out to shut him up. Luckily for Bill, Izuku just happened to be practicing his dreamscape powers at the time and wasn't there to see the commotion, so no crying was involved. All he knew was that a robber had broken in again and Bill was dealing with it, so nothing to worry about. Bill would get Izuku to take down some bad heroes, that way he wouldn't be as opposed to hurting heroes as he was right now. It was only a matter of time when it came to humans.
The black tape was wrapped around Ingenium's helmet to block sound from escaping, and more tape was expertly wrapped around the rest of his body to keep him from escaping. The yellow demon was amazed at just how strong this stuff was and made a mental note to buy more the next time they go out. Bill slowly walked over to the struggling man and took off the shiny helmet. The man was covered in scars from the fight he put up and his eye- no eyes- had dark purple bruises on them and one was starting to swell. It looked painful, not that Bill really cared.
"Oh boy, that looks painful~," Bill mocked, further angering the blue-haired hero. He looked at the yellow psychopath with pure hatred and attempted to spit at him. However, the slanted position he was in had only caused him to spit on himself. Bill blinked a few times before giggling cruelly at the man's pitiful position. "Wanna try that again?" they sang. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO HELP EVERYONE!" he cried, rage filling his very soul.
Bill laughed hysterically at the accusation. "Who in their right mind said I was the good guy? I mean, no offense, but you humans are way too trusting? Hell, when I look in the mirror I see some yellow salesman trying to scam me, only to realize that it's just my reflection," Bill joked, but Tensei wasn't amused. Annoyed at the lack of a reaction, they continued. "Anyway, I'm guessing you wanna know why your hero, right?" Bill asked, a bit more serious than before. Tensei didn't respond, which Bill took as a sign to continue. "Well, you're here because find it curious as to how you have an entire car engine inside your arms," Bill explained.
Tensei looked at them like they were crazy, even though he already knew that the yellow inventor was downright insane. "It's part of my quirk, dumbass! It's genetic!" he shouted. Bill chuckled darkly, "Oh I already knew that much. I want to know the mechanisms of how they are capable of functioning just like a car. They emit fumes that smell like gasoline, but last I checked, that's not healthy for you humans," Bill explained. "Orange juice. It's fueled by orange juice," he said flatly. Bill was beyond confused by this answer. Orange juice? Why orange juice of all things? And how many different drinks did they test to figure that one out? This also begged to question of whether there were other beverages capable of a similar result.
Tensei had once again tried to worm his way out of the restraints, but they didn't budge. "What the hell is this thing?!" he cried. "A super secret item that only I can wield. Don't bother trying to escape, not even All Might could break out of those," Bill lied with a grin. They tried to hold back their laughter when his eyes widened in fear. The idiot actually bought it. Man, how stupid could this human get?! Bill picked up the hammer and a small saw. "Now stay still, orange lover. I've never done surgery before, so this might hurt," they told him with a sinister grin.
. . .
Tensei was still screaming after the "surgery". The poor excuse of an "amputation" was half-assed and Bill knew it, but they didn't care. They could have removed his arm in a more painless, and frankly easier way, but where was the fun in that? The arm was dragging itself down the wall Tensei was strapped to, slowly and painfully falling apart. Bill placed the saw on the metal table and pulled the arm off bit by bit. First the skin, then the muscle, and then the shattered remains of the bone, each one splattering more fresh warm blood on their white apron. They didn't want their favorite sweater to get blood on it, so they were wearing their plaid undershirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Bill liked it when they got their hands all bloody. It was still a wonder to them how doctors managed to cut open their patients without all the squirming. They decided to rummage through Izuku's memories later to see if he knew any fun facts about the medical field. Bill tightened a rubber strap above the wound to cut off circulation and prevent Tensei from dying of blood loss. They then walked over to the table and grabbed a pair of gloves and began to examine the arm.
They peeled away the outer layer of the skin, making a wet ripping sound as it revealed the muscle fibers. It was then that they noticed an oddly shaped structure attached to the bone. They tapped it with the hammer and it made a metallic 'clang'. The strange noise had piqued their curiosity further and they spent quite a bit of time poking and prodding at the arm. All the while, a numb and barely conscious Tensei watched the yellow blur dance around humming a tune he couldn't quite remember at the time. At some point, Bill had placed a pair of goggles on their face to prevent blood from spraying in their eyes, though he wasn't sure when that happened.
A loud metallic noise startled him awake to see the demon still dancing with a pair of pliers holding a strange object in its teeth. The object was dropped into their hands and they smiled for some unknown reason. Bill had actually discovered a fascinating piece of information to write down. The metal-like object that they had found was actually hardened bone marrow mixed with crystallized tissue to form the illusion of a metallic engine and the fat-like tissue that surrounded it protected him from physical harm on the outer layer of the skin that might be caused by quirk overuse. The item in their hand was actually the engine itself.
Upon further inspection, the hollow tubes that go through the bones and veins are what allow it to function. And as for fuel, orange juice wasn't the only source of fuel after all. It was the main source because it was the most effective, but the engine is actually fuelled by the nutrients inside of the food he eats. And there was a circular organ in the center that, as it turns out, was some sort of second digestive system. It took even the tiniest of nutrients and turned them into an energy that could equal about half a gallon of gasoline, making someone with this kind of quirk never run out of energy, just as long as the user eats a proper meal every day with a healthy snack whenever they can.
Bill decided that this was all the information and turned back to Tensei and smiled. Placing the engine next to the pliers they had set down on the table, they picked up the dismembered arm and walked over to the hero, who looked nauseous. However, the man had already thrown up whatever was in his stomach at the time, so Bill didn't have to worry about getting vomit on his clothes. Bill grabbed a needle and spool of thread and kneeled down in front of the pale bloody man who covered himself in his own vomit. "What are you doing?" he asked weakly. "I'm stitching you back up. I'm done with my experiments so I'm letting you go," they said happily to the wide-eyed Tensei.
"Now hold still or I might put it on backwards." Tensei held back his screams as he felt a shard needle go in and out of his skin. He looked down at half-assed stitch work that attached his arm to his body as he panted heavily, finally free from the pain. "Now run along Mr. Ilda. You have a family to get back to," Bill told him, and the hero did exactly that. Tensei's only goal at the moment was to get away from Mr. Cipher and warn the other heroes of the true evils behind that "company". The many crimes and cruelties that Cipher had committed for the sake of money were atrocious. If Tensei had been any more out of it, he wouldn't have noticed the bodies in the corner, which was where the blood came from.
. . .
Izuku didn't understand the goal of this show. He had spent the past few hours watching three kids- the good guys- and a purple bird run around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to catch "The Hacker"- the bad guy- and stop him from hurting "Motherboard", the queen of a magical land full of robots and animatronics. On one hand, they did manage to chase Hacker away every time he attacked, but he just always came back in the next episode, determined to defeat these pesky children and dominate the world of ones and zeroes. And the amount of time and effort they put into scaring him off was absolutely ridiculous.
But what confused Izuku most was when he reached the twenty-third episode and the heroes raided Hacker's base. Izuku got excited, thinking that they would finally defeat him once and for all and he would be put away for a more powerful villain to replace him, but NO!! ALL THEY DID WAS SHUT DOWN HIS COMPUTER AND DESTROY HIS WEAPONS, allowing Hacker to get away AGAIN!! And then Hacker came back in the very next episode, with ALL OF HIS WEAPONS, ALL OF WHICH HAD BEEN UPGRADED SINCE THE LAST TIME THEY FOUGHT!!! These "heroes" were completely useless. Sure, they were only kids, but he was eight and he could do a better job than them, and they were twelve. Bill wouldn't even have to help him win a single fight against Hacker because the guy's aim was even more pathetic than each and every one of his attempts to take over Motherboard and her kingdom.
And yet, for some reason, he kept watching it. Because regardless of how quickly he was going mad with all this stupidity... Clifford was on next, and it was about a giant dog, so he could tolerate another episode. Izuku groaned for the millionth time as Hacker got away and the heroes cheered for their "victory". The audacity... just give him his giant puppy already, dang it! As he thought that, he heard muffled noises coming from the secret room, which meant more quirk analysis. But it didn't sound like it would be for a while, so he went back to watching his show. After about three episodes of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Dragon Tales came back on and he cheered. He liked this show the most because it had actually meaningful life lessons in them, plus he liked Cassie. She was nice.
Bill had finally come out of the room, now dressed in their suit and carrying a notebook. Izuku reached out and grabbed the air repeatedly until Bill gave him the notebook. Izuku had immediately got to work on the notes but occasionally glanced at the tv for a few seconds to see whatever it was that sounded interesting or important. Bill had pulled a packed lunch that one of the maids had whipped up for them. "You sure you like that? You seemed pretty invested in that one about the computer lady," Bill asked. Izuku groaned at the mention of that infuriating show. "Heck no, that show is annoying," Izuku whined, scribbling down more notes on speed quirks and how they could use the information for their business. "Oh? Do tell, I'm itching to hear you get mad about something."
Izuku did not hesitate to complain about all the reasons why the show was stupid and that the so-called "heroes" in the story were complete morons. Sure they could put some numbers together, but that didn't do squat if they kept letting the villain get away. This led to a rant about what heroes should be and why these "heroes" needed to be replaced with someone who could do their job right for once. Izuku's complaints about the show had given Bill an idea. If Izuku was introduced to the darker sides of heroes, he might actually help them the next time they experimented on one.
But in the meantime, they'll just have to listen to the sweet sound of Izuku throwing his very first tantrum. They were almost proud of their little green ghost for coming up with all these insults. Oh, the lives they could ruin with their new partner in crime. This world never stood a chance.
. . .
A change of air pressure was the only warning Tensei got before his world turned upside down. "Wait, why am I falling?" Tensei thought to himself as his world faded into black and swallowed him whole. Tensei's severed head rolled on the ground. His head, now separated from his body, held a look of freedom now frozen on his face. A man in a torn-up red bandana loomed over the corpse of the young hero. "Fake," they said simply. Stain, an ex-vigilante turned villain, killed Tensei in one clean movement. From the eyes of an outsider, the hero had run past a crime scene where a hostage situation was taking place, ignoring the cries of fear in favor of saving themselves. "Running instead of helping? Hmph, and you call yourself a hero," Stain scoffed, disappearing into the night once more.
Upon closer inspection, Tensei's body was perfectly fine. No stitches or any other kind of damage was anywhere to be seen, so any evidence of his kidnapping was nonexistent. He wasn't even relatively close to 'The Cipher'; in fact, he was miles away from it, but he was far too panicked to notice the change in his surroundings. The next day, the police were informed by a nearby hero on patrol that the pro hero: Ingenium, AKA Tensei Ilda, was dead. Everyone was shocked by the news, and his family was heartbroken. While the tears of his parents fell to the ground as they mourned their beloved son, a little seven-year-old screamed at the police for not helping his big brother.
And all the while, a "child" in a yellow suit stood smiling...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(At this point, I am beyond tempted to make Bill some sort of adult family figure to Izuku. While Bill is manipulative and insane and usually keeps the smart ones around for the sole purpose of benefitting them in some way, there is something about Izuku that just hits differently. In the billions and billions of years that Bill Cipher has existed, not a single soul has ever been this accepting of their presence. And to top it all off, Izuku is a child prodigy, so he still has so much room to grow. And now that he is a ghost who shares his existence with an immortal demon, he can learn everything there is to know however fast or slow he wants with no repercussions whatsoever because they can now exist for all eternity. And Bill would encourage that behavior because Izuku's intelligence, ingenuity, and cooperation will empower them more than any other living creature they've ever come across- and that's really saying something considering how long Bill has been "alive".
Eternities have passed before their eye and they have still never felt this way about anyone. Their brother had gotten close, but the traitorous square demon had left them alone after calling Bill a monster and trying to destroy all of their hard work. At this point, the small fragment of sanity Bill has left is solely due to Izuku being a part of them. Their souls merged when Bill possessed him, so tiny bits and pieces of their personalities had merged as well, making Bill a little bit less evil and Izuku a bit more apathetic. Izuku's kindness has affected Bill more than they even know, and it's all because they wanted a body.
This isn't a ship. It's just a friendship between two people who don't understand what having a true friend is like. And I love it.
Unfortunately, Izuku died, so his ghost will never age no matter how much time passes, and Bill's magic will keep their body young forever. So Izuku will be forever eight years old, and Bill will be whatever age they want.
But anywho, thanks for reading and I'll see you all soon!)