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Universe found- [Code name:- Far Cry] [Powers:- Null]
"Well, that's a weird name," Aizawa commented, glancing at Principal Nezu. "Also, what does 'null' mean?"
"Let's see," Nezu said, inspecting the tag. "It says that 'null' means the universe we are about to watch lacks any kind of powers," Nezu continued. Many in the audience appeared disappointed upon hearing that, although they refrained from voicing their opinions, especially Jeansist, who had already experienced Melissa's wrath firsthand.
The scene opens with Yu, Torino, Ochako, and Shinso standing outside a wooden door. Then, text appears on the screen: [U.S. Marshal = Yu Takeyama (Mt. Lady)] [Sheriff of Hope County = Gran Torino] [Deputy = Ochako Uraraka] [The Junior Deputy = Hitoshi Shinso].
The individuals appearing on the screen regarded it with interest and intrigue in their eyes.
"Oh! I look good in a cop uniform!" Yu exclaimed, admiring herself on the screen.
"Hmm... my other self looks just a few years away from retirement," Gran mused while rubbing his chin. "Well, at least the other me would be able to enjoy a quiet life."
"I guess, even if I am not a hero, I am still trying to help people," Ochako said, sporting a bright smile. Her mother and father smiled as they looked at their little girl with pride.
Shinso remained quiet, observing his on-screen self who didn't appear as sleep-deprived as he was.
Yu moves to open the gate with one hand on his gun, but Torino stops her. "Woah Marshal. Now we do it, we do it my way. Quietly," Torino warns him. "Calmly. You got it?"
"Fine," Yu says, rolling his eyes.
Now this got everyone's attention. Even if the people on the screen weren't heroes, they were still law enforcement. So, what reason would they have to be this cautious? It's one thing if this were a raid, but looking at the officers on the screen, that doesn't seem to be the case either.
"Uraraka, on the door. Watch our backs. Don't let any of these people get in," Torino instructs, then he glances at Shinso. "Rookie on me."
"He seems unreasonably cautious, wouldn't you agree?" Endeavor remarked as he tried to analyze the situation on the screen.
"Yeah, that does appear to be the case," Ryukyu concurred. "Moreover, the directive he issued to Uraraka... it suggests that there's more to the situation than we're aware of. Something that's making that old man this cautious."
He then turns toward Yu, "And you. Just try not to do anything stupid."
"Relax, Sheriff. You're about to get your name in the paper," Yu remarks, placing her hand on Torino's shoulder.
"Their attitudes are quite contrasting," Momo pondered aloud. "Ms. Lady appears notably more at ease compared to the rest."
"That's because my other self is just as confident in her abilities as I am," Yu replied, wearing a confident grin.
"Or maybe she is as oblivious regarding important things, just like you," Pixie-Bob quipped, flashing a teasing grin as Yu shot her a glare.
"You'll be fine," Ochako reassures Shinso as she turns to watch their backs.
A smile graced Ryukyu's face as she observed Uraraka's attempt to reassure her junior, a gesture she herself often tries to teach while mentoring her interns.
Yu and Torino open the door, revealing a church filled with many people.
A frown creased Ibara's brow as she gazed upon a church displayed on the screen. What bothered her more was the fact that it didn't resemble the holy place she was familiar with.
At the front of the church stood a man on the stage, proclaiming, "Something is coming. You can feel it, can't you?" Yu, Torino, and Shinso walked inside as the man's speech continued."That we are creeping towards the edge... and there will be a reckoning."
As soon as they heard that voice, they knew to whom it belonged. Unlike Batman, it wasn't altered by a device to make it unrecognizable. This time, it was loud, clear, and brimming with confidence and self-assurance. And then there were the things he spoke... causing the green-haired boy to question who exactly he was here.
As they moved forward, they began to attract attention from the people around them. Some of them held automatic rifles in their hands.
"Ok... that escalated quickly," Yu said, feeling worried for her on-screen self. She had thought that in a world devoid of quirks or superpowers, she would be relatively safe and could do some cool things. However, she definitely wasn't expecting to see automatic weapons, something to which she herself wasn't immune.
"That's why we started The Project. Because we know what happens next," the man continued his speech while the three officers kept walking toward him. "They will come. They will try to take from us. Take our guns. Take our Freedom..." the three officers garnered more and more attention as they continued their approach. "Take our Faith." Finally, the man's face came into view. "We will not let them."
The text appeared on the screen: [The Father, Joseph Seed = Izuku Midoriya].
Shock and surprise spread across the audience as they saw Izuku on the screen. A muscular, lean body adorned with tattoos, a well-kept beard, long hair tied in a ponytail, and distinctive yellow glasses. But most importantly, those sharp eyes. Well, let's just say that was enough to make a few faces in the audience turn red.
"So... he's a cult leader," Shinso remarked, and no one really denied the claim, especially Izuku himself, who stared at the screen with his mouth agape and eyes wide.
"Sheriff, come on..." Yu started, but...
"Just hold on, Marshal," Torino stopped her.
"We will not let their greed, or their immorality, or their depravity hurt us anymore!" Izuku continued his speech, ignoring the three officers approaching him. "There will be no more suffering!"
"He doesn't seem to care that there are cops here, does he?" Jiro said.
"People like him usually don't..." Iida responded, a shiver running down his spine whenever he gazed into on-screen Izuku's eyes. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he could sense and see the insanity within them. Insanity that was much stronger and crazier than what he had sensed in Stain.
"Sheriff..."
"Do not pull the trigger," Torino advised Yu, who was running out of patience."Remain Calm..."
"No fuck this," Yu said and pulled out a document, holding it in front of Izuku's face. "Joseph Seed! I have a warrant issued for your arrest on the suspicion of kidnapping with intent to harm! Now I want to step forward and keep your hands where I can see'em!" she declared as armed men from the church started gathering around them.
"Yep, she's definitely going to get us killed," Shinso remarked in a deadpan voice.
"Hey! I'm just doing my job!" Yu protested with a pout on her face.
Izuku finally acknowledged the officers in front of him and said, "Here they are... the Locusts in our garden... you see they've come for me," he spoke as armed individuals positioned themselves in front of the officers, creating a wall between them and Izuku.
"So how do you deal with a situation like this?" Kaminari asked, feeling worried for the officers.
"You either take down all of them with a large number of troops or try to assassinate the leaders to disrupt the chain of command, and then pick off the headless idiots a few at a time," Aizawa calmly replied while heroes nodded their heads in agreement.
"They have come to take me away from you," Izuku continued. "They've come to destroy all that we built," he declared in a powerful and commanding voice.
"If I'm being honest, I would rather fight brutes all day than face villains like him," All Might said. "Instead of fighting head-on, they send their misguided followers who we can't exactly harm since, at the end of the day, they're just civilians... how despicable," All Might said, a mix of anger and disgust evident in the frown on his face.
The voices of protest began to rise around them, and Yu reached for her gun, but Torino intervened once again. "Now hold on, do not touch that service weapon! Hold on and stand down! Stand Down! Everyone calm down!" Gran Torino urgently commanded, his voice filled with urgency, but the commotion continued to escalate.
"Geez, someone needs to take that gun away from that trigger-happy girl," Nemuri said. "Does she genuinely believe she can stand against those men armed with automatic rifles armed only with her small handgun?"
"Shut up hag, I know what I am doing," Yu shot back while glaring at Nemuri.
Then, Izuku walked down from the stage and placed his hands on his followers' shoulders. Immediately, the commotion began to subside.
"I wish my students were that obedient," Aizawa commented.
"We knew this moment would come. We have prepared for it. Go. Go..." he calmly explained, and his followers exited the church while giving glaring at the officers. Then, Izuku raised his hand in the air. "I saw when the Lamb opened the First Seal, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts say, come and see..."
"Step forward..." Yu interrupted him.
Izuku stared at her and raised his voice, "... and I saw and behold it was a white horse...and," he then stared at Shinso and held his hands out in front of him. "Hell followed with him."
How dare a sinful man like him quote something from a holy book," Ibara yelled, holy light descending upon her as if validating her righteous fury. Meanwhile, Izuku was staring at her, trying to figure out where that light was coming from.
"Rookie... cuff this son of a bitch," Yu commanded Shinso, who now stood facing Izuku. Izuku's eyes were fixed on Shinso, without blinking.
"God will not let you take me," Izuku said, his intense stare still fixed on Shinso. His hands remained raised in front of Shinso, offering himself to be cuffed.
"Come on Rookie..." Yu exclaimed in a frustrated voice.
Meanwhile, Shinso stood there, staring directly at Izuku. For some reason, his body remained unmoving.
"What happened brainfucker, got cold feet now?" Bakugo taunted, a smirk playing on his lips.
"I'm not sure if attempting to make choices that might lead to all of us staying alive qualifies as having cold feet, but you're welcome to think whatever makes you feel better I guess," Shinso sarcastically remarked.
"God is watching us. And He will judge you on what you choose in this moment..." Izuku said, his gaze still fixed on Shinso.
"Yeah, no pressure at all..." Shinso deadpanned, his expression devoid of emotion.
Suddenly, Gran Torino moved and lowered Izuku's hands, commanding, "Rookie, we are leaving."
"What the fuck are you doing?" Yu demanded, but the Sheriff ignored her and started walking back, pulling Shinso along with him. "What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing?" Yu positioned herself in front of them, blocking the door. "Sheriff get back there!"
"Shut Up and listen!" Torino's voice grew louder. "You put those cuff on him and none of us get out of here alive."
"I will have you all arrested," Yu threatened.
"So be it," Torino said and walked out of the door, and the screen went black.
"My on-screen self made the right choice. It would have been foolish to provoke a lion in his own den," Gran Torino remarked. "Especially when that lion is surrounded by so many armed hyenas."
"But is it really alright to not arrest a villain like that?" Kirishima asked. "I mean, it's not very manly to turn your back on a villain like that."
"Don't be delusional, kid," Torino responded. "It's better to keep your life to fight another day than to waste it on a baseless and stupid act of bravado."
"Still, I wonder what would have happened if Shinsho had actually tried to arrest him," Ochako mused. As if on cue, the screen illuminated once more.
******
Once again, we find ourselves at the moment when Yu asked Shinso to handcuff Izuku. However, this time, Shinso moved and followed through with the action, placing the handcuffs on Izuku's hands.
"Divergent paths..." Nezu mused, his thoughts drifting to the letter he had received from the Overseer. "It will be fascinating to see how a single choice can profoundly alter the course of one's life."
Torino and Yu opened the church door and began escorting Izuku out. Outside, Ochako, who was waiting for them, turned toward them and urgently stated, "We gotta get fuck out of here..."
"Mind your language, young lady," Ochako's father admonished, his voice stern.
"Dad! That's not me!" Ochako retorted. "And honestly, I believe language is going to be the least of my on-screen self's concerns."
"Marshal take the point. We're going right..." Torino instructed as a car filled with armed men pulled up beside them.
"Got it!" Yu responded, taking the lead and walking in front of the group.
The officers could feel their nerves tightening as the sounds of the protest and the barking of dogs grew louder with every step they took.
"I don't want to be in the front," Yu murmured out loud, and honestly, no one could blame her since the atmosphere on the screen was enough to give them chills, after all.
"Back up! Back up!" Yu shouted and forcefully pushed one of Izuku's followers to the ground. "Everyone keep back! I am a Federal Marshal, I am ordering you to stand back!"
"I doubt any of them give a shit about your title," Monoma said. "Actually, I highly doubt any of them give a shit about any of you in general."
Suddenly, a rock struck Yu in the face.
"That is going to live a nasty mark..." Yu commented, her hand instinctively reaching to cradle her face.
"Weapons out! Weapons out!" Gran said as he and Ochako drew their guns, while Shinso continued to escort Izuku.
"I suppose my on-screen self won't be enjoying his retirement either," Gran Torino remarked.
"Well, a few of us are even going to lose our lives but priorities I guess," Ochako said with a bitter smile.
Then, they forcibly pushed Izuku into the helicopter as his followers began assaulting and attempting to climb onto the chopper from all sides.
These people are behaving as if they're under the influence of the Dictator's quirk," Crust furrowed his brows. "Unfortunately, that's not the case here. They are acting out of their own free will."
"Pratt! Get us out of here!" Yu ordered as the helicopter started to ascend. A few of Izuku's followers were still clinging to the chopper, and one of them grabbed Yu's hand, attempting to pull her out of the chopper. In a desperate act, she did the only thing she could and shot the man, causing him to fall to the ground below.
Yu's breath caught in her throat as she fixed her gaze on the screen, her eyes widening in shock. While the idea of taking a life wasn't entirely unfamiliar in the world of heroes, for someone like Yu, who had only recently started her journey a year ago, this aspect of her profession remained relatively unfamiliar, so it really shook her to the core to see herself kill someone, and so brutally at that.
As they were flying away, one of Izuku's followers leaped into the chopper's blades, killing himself but causing the blades to malfunction.
All eyes remained fixed on the screen, their expressions a mixture of shock and disbelief as they bore witness to the actions of one of Izuku's followers.
"They are fucking insane," Bakugo remarked, his voice tinged with unease as he witnessed the insanity that was going on the screen.
Yu pushed another one of Izuku's followers to their death as the chopper began descending rapidly toward the ground. Meanwhile, Izuku remained seated in silence, his face devoid of any expression.
'Midoriya on the screen looks unusually calm...' Aizawa thought to himself as an eerie feeling rose his in heart as he laid his eyes on Izuku on the screen.
"Brace for the..." Gran's sentence was abruptly cut off as the chopper plummeted to the ground, and the screen faded to black.
"Well, that could have gone better..." Torino commented, and just as everyone seemed prepared to move forward, the screen abruptly flickered back to life.
Then, the screen returned to life as Shinso slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but he could discern that they had crashed on the ground and his fellow officers were unconscious still strapped to their seats. At the moment, they were upside down.
"At least we are alive..." Ochako said, feeling worried about her on-screen self.
"Please are you there? Are you there?" Shinso noticed and heard the voice from the communicator dangling in front of him. "Are you there Sheriff? Deputy Uraraka, if you are there please pick up."
A surge of hope rippled through the audience upon hearing the voice emanating from the communicator.
"Now, if Shinso can manage to reach that communicator, they might be able to call for backup and extricate themselves," Izuku spoke with a hopeful tone.
"Sounds simple enough... provided my other self's bones survived that crash enough to allow him to move his hand," Shinso remarked, his tone a mixture of skepticism and humor.
But alongside the voice coming from the communicator, another voice was audible - a voice singing "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound..."
Everyone's eyes widened, and shivers ran down their spines as they heard and recognized that voice.
Shinso moved his hand and reached for the communicator. After struggling for a few moments, he managed to grab it. However, just as he did, Izuku seized his hand, "...that saved a wretch like me."
"This is seriously bad... I mean, really, really bad," Kaminari voiced, echoing everyone's thoughts around him.
"Are you there? Is somebody there? Please..." Meanwhile, the woman on the communicator continued to try and reach them.
"I told you that God wouldn't let you take me," Izuku said, his gaze fixed on Shinso.
"Sinful wretch, stop hiding behind the name of god. It was your own men who obstructed the law enforcement and brought down that chopper," Ibara said, glaring at the screen.
"Please. I need to know what is going on," the woman on the communicator urgently pleaded.
"Poor woman... she must be so confused right now," Ragdoll remarked, feeling a sense of kinship towards the woman on the communicator, given that she had been thrust into a similar position ever since losing her own quirk.
Izuku reached for the communicator, speaking into the mic, "Dispatch."
"Ohh... my god," the woman on the communicator responded, relief evident in her voice.
"Everything is just fine here," Izuku conveyed over the mic, his eyes still locked onto Shinso. "No need to call anyone."
"Yes, Father. Praise be to you," Shinso's eyes widened as the woman on the communicator replied.
Once again, everyone's eyes widened in shock and horror as they heard the woman's response. Some of them even started to grasp the full understanding of this entire situation.
Izuku placed the communicator down and continued to stare at Shinso as cars filled with his followers arrived at the scene. "No one is coming to save you," he murmured in a hushed voice.
Shinso don't know if he could ever explain this in words but seeing that look and hearing those words from Izuku's mouth rose a kind of fear in his heart that made him appreciate Midoriya in their world even more.
Then the screen turned black.
"So, what are your impressions of this universe?" Nezu inquired, his gaze sweeping over the audience.
"Midoriya was scary," Shoto said. "Not in a, 'I don't want to fight this guy' scary but the 'I'd rather not be in the same room as him' kind of scary."
"Yeah, the nerd here is much better than that creepy fucker on the screen," Bakugo remarked.
"Without a doubt, our Midoriya is a far more compassionate soul compared to the sinner we just saw," Ibara affirmed.
"Going to the villain hideout with only three officers was a stupid move on Takeyama's part," Ryukyu said.
"Doesn't matter really, since the job was already rigged from the start," Yu grumbled under her breath. "Even that bitch on the Dispatch was part of that stupid cult."
Nezu heard everyone's comments and then turned towards Izuku, asking, "What do you think about your counterpart?"
Izuku thought for a moment and said, "I think he was driven by delusion more than anything else," he said. "He genuinely thought of himself as a chosen one. He wasn't just acting or saying things for the sake of it. He meant and believed every word that came out of his mouth, which in my honest opinion that conviction makes him far more unsettling than if he were merely putting on a facade."
Nezu nodded at Izuku's words and then they moved on to the next universe.
To be continued...
******
Source: Far Cry 5
******
Note:-
I know some of you might be wondering why I didn't mention the Seed siblings in this scene. The reason is that they weren't the focus here and didn't have any dialogue, so I chose to omit them. If I decide to continue this series, I will include them in the next installment.