Phoenix journal: No. 1
Entry 87:
The UA sports festival just passed. A perfect opportunity to take notes on future heroes, especially the first years. I have the feeling the league will go after them again. There was only one thing that annoyed me somewhat, beside the fact it was a hero festival. Todoroki didn't use the fire aspect of his quirk while fighting. He only used it a few times after a fight to melt the massive glaciers he made. So, I did some research, and asked Dabi a few questions. In the end I figured out that Todoroki's father Endeavour isn't a nice father. He is abusive and violent. His only goal is to get Todoroki, his perfect creation, to beat All Might. And Todoroki's scar comes from an incident relating to his mother, which led her to being put in a mental hospital. I guess she suffered too much under her husband. No wonder Todoroki tries to block out his father by ignoring his own fire. Still, it's just childish. But I could also use this to my advantage. Someone who has suffered under a society filled with lies, corruption and fake heroes could be persuaded to join my cause.
Either way, I need to get working on what is to come, and right now that is finding a way of getting Dabi into the league along with that other person he talked about. I also need to do more research on all for one and one for all.
Entry 90:
I was right about my all for one and one for all theory. Whenever I look deeper into the results, I just get more and more confirmation for my theory. All for one's DNA segment responsible for the quirk factor is unnaturally long. Hundreds of times longer in fact. And when I look closer, I can see all the different quirks. But how does it work? The quirks seem to just be attached directly to each other in a long line. I have tried this before, it was the first thing I tried, and I ended up with nothing but a pile of dead test subjects. So how can All for one survive? It shouldn't be possible, unless there is something I still need to find. After all, I'm still not done looking through the data.
All Might's quirk on the other hand is relatively much more straight forward. From what I can gather, it's some sort of stockpiling quirk that can be passed down. There even exists remnants of other people's DNA and quirks hidden within one for all itself. Seven people to be exact. The problem is that whenever I try to copy the quirk, the accumulated power doesn't follow. I can give it to my test subjects, and they will start showing signs of the stockpiling quirk, and with some persuasion, have been able to give the quirk to other subjects by giving them their DNA. Sadly, the power increase doesn't come from passing down the quirk, but rather the time it is given to accumulate energy. And according to my calculations, the first one for all user must have come from the first generation of quirk users for the quirk to be so powerful now. Meaning, unless All Might gives it to me personally, it will be useless. Or maybe I can energize the quirk myself?
Deku was sitting alone in the bar going over his research when Shigaraki and Kurogiri came back from somewhere he didn't know. He didn't pay any attention to them until he heard a new voice. "Why is there a kid here?" The raspy voice said. Deku turned around to face the man, and was pleasantly surprised. "Stain. Nice to meet you. I am a fan of your work" Deku said in a pleasant tone. "And who are you exactly are you?" Stain asked. "I am Deku" Deku replied. "Well, I won't keep you occupied any longer. Get on with whatever you three have planned" He said and went back to his notes.
Deku's attention was taken again when he heard someone being slammed into the floor. He looked over and saw Stain holding Shigaraki down on the floor with a knife in his shoulder. "So, you want me to join you?" Stain asked. "No matter what you stand for, you need conviction. Without it, you're just weak and will be purged. This is why this happened." He continued. "That's harsh" Shigaraki said. "Kurogiri, get this guy out" He ordered. "I can't move. It must be Stain's quirk" Kurogiri replied. "Deku" Shigaraki called out.
Deku closed his journal and casually walked over to Shigaraki and looked down. "I'm sorry, but you got yourself into this mess. Plus, I'm a fan of the hero killer myself. Someone else who can see that hero society is rotten to its core and want to change that. Even if we have two different ways about achieving our goals, I admire him. So no, get yourself out of this" Deku explained and walked back to where he was sitting.
Stain looked a Deku for a short while, trying to figure him out, before turning his attention back to Shigaraki. "Maybe not all of you are so bad. But still, criminals who use their power without conviction should be disposed of" The vigilante said and moved his knife to cut Shigaraki's throat, but Shigaraki grabbed the blade first. "You sure do talk a lot. Conviction. I don't need that" He said as the knife turned to dust. "I just want to crush a society where trash like All Might is worshipped" He explained and tried grabbing Stain, but he jumped away. "And my last injury was about to heal" Shigaraki complained as he got up. "What will you do about that?" He asked "So that is the kind of person you are. All our goals oppose each other, except for one. We both want to disturb the current order" He continued. "And behind all your childish ambition there is a hint of conviction. So, I'll let you live for now" Stain said. "Now take me back to Hosu. I have business to attend to" Stain ordered. Kurogiri just opened a portal and Stain left without another word.
"Deku. How many nomus can you give us?" Shigaraki asked. "Depends, when do you want them?" Deku asked. "Tonight" Shigaraki replied. "Tonight!?" Deku exclaimed. "Are you serious? One nomu can take a couple weeks and the higher quality ones can take over a month!" He complained. "Don't you have any ready?" Shigaraki asked. "I do" Deku replied as he calmed down "Three of them, to be exact. But they're nowhere near the quality of the one used at the USJ. Next time you want a good nomu for a job, tell me about it in advance of whatever you're planning" He explained and began walking down to his lab. "Tell me when you're leaving. I have some things I would like to do in Hosu as well" Deku said. "Is it about Stain?" Kurogiri asked. "Maybe" Deku replied and left the bar.
"Where is he?" Deku grumbled as he walked through dark alleyways, away from the commotion Shigaraki had made. "He tends to reside in back alleys, away from people. So, where is he?" Deku continued as he walked around another corner. "He's got to be-" Deku began, but stopped when he heard someone approaching. He quickly hid behind a corner and waited as the person came closer. 'Is that engines?' Deku thought as he could hear the sound better. Not long after Iida came sprinting right past Deku, not noticing the villain. 'Seems like someone wants to avenge their big brother. I think my luck just turned' Deku thought and followed Iida from a safe distance.
After a while of following Iida and almost losing him, Deku finally found stain. He could hear the vigilante preach about true heroes and so forth to who he presumed to be Iida. Deku walked around the corner, revealing himself. "Stain! You're a hard man to find" He greeted. "What do you want? Did Shigaraki send you?" Stain asked. "I'm here on my own accord. I don't work for Shigaraki. I'm an independent villain who would like to make an offer to you. But I can see that you're busy with these fakes" Deku replied. Stain just huffed and raised his blade, ready to kill Iida under him.
"Wait" Deku said. "What?" Stain asked. "Let him see his own failure before he dies" Deku said as he walked towards the second paralyzed hero, Native. "Let him see that in his anger, he prioritized avenging his brother rather than saving this hero" Deku explained and placed his palm over native's head. "This is your failure hero" Deku said and released a massive explosion, that blew up Native's skull, leaving only pieces of bones lying around the alley.
"You sick villain! I will take you as well!" Iida shouted. "How? You're paralyzed and about to die. I'm the one doing the world a favour by removing the fakes and-" Deku said, but stopped when Stain tabbed his sword through Iida's heart. "Hey! I was talking" Deku complained. "You were taking too long. And I'd rather not spend too much time here. Now, what is this offer you talk about. I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to work with the League" Stain said and cleaned off the blood on his blade. "You think I am a part of the league? Please, I'm simply enjoying a mutually beneficial partnership with them. Once I no longer need them, I'm out" Deku explained. "What I want to talk about however" He continued. "Is that we work together" He offered. "Why would I work with you?" Stain huffed. "We both have the same goal and the same reasoning. We both think that the current way society works, and especially the hero society, is wrong. And we both want to change it for the better" Deku said. "Yes" Stain agreed. "Of course, we both have different means of achieving our goal. You run a crusade against the fake heroes, hoping that society will start making true heroes. Me on the other hand, thinks that there is nothing good left to salvage from society, not even All Might" Deku explained.
"What do you mean? All Might is the only true hero" Stain said. "No, he isn't!" Deku exclaimed. "Then enlighten me. Because you better have a good reason" Stain snarled. "Let me tell you a story of a quirkless boy" Deku began as he collected himself. "Once, there was a defenceless, quirkless, little boy who wanted nothing else than to become a hero, like his idol All Might. But nobody supported him. His former friends became bullies and tormentors and he became an outcast. Even so he kept trying, always trying, hoping someone would believe in him. And one day, after a decade of torture, he got that hope. He met his idol and was finally able to ask him that one question. 'Can someone like me ever hope to become a hero, even without a quirk?'" Deku told. "And do you know what All Might said?" Deku continued as his anger grew. "He shot him down. Crushed the little boy's dreams without thinking twice" He grumbled. "But that not the end, no. Because the very next day, the boy's mother was a hostage during a villains incident. The little boy ran as fast as he could, hoping his mother was safe. When he arrived, All Might came flying in to save the day. He released the hostages and seemingly knocked out the villain. Once the hostages were free, All Might turned to his fans and the press to bask in his own fame and glory. Because of this, he didn't notice that the villain wasn't taken care of and was now pointing a gun at the boy's mother. The villains fired and the mother dropped dead, right in front of the little boy. That little boy was me. Do you now see that All Might is just like the rest of them?" Deku finished.
Stain slumped down next to wall and let out a sigh. "All Might is a fake" He said. "Now you see. This is why the only way to save society, is by destroying it. Let it burn down in the fires of revolution and out of the ashes, a new and better future will rise" Deku said. "So, will you work with me?" He asked and extend a hand. Stain stood back up. "Yes" he said and shook Deku's hand. "So, what do you have planned?" Stain asked. "If you just keep doing what you have done for the past few months, there is only one more thing I need right now. And that is for you to let the media run wild with theories about you working with the league" Deku replied. "Fine. Anything else?" Stain asked. "Just one. Meet me at this park three nights from now at midnight" Deku said and handed Stain a note with an address. "I need to introduce you to two people who also work with me. One of them is even a fan of you" Deku explained. "I'll be there" Stain said. "Now I need to go, bye" He said and left. "Goodbye Stain" Deku smirked and walked away in the opposite direction and out of the alley. A few seconds later, a flying nomu came and picked him up. Carrying him back to Kurogiri and Shigaraki. "This will be great" Deku said with glee.
In the middle of the night, while Izuku was trying to get some sleep. He was awoken from an alarm sounding. He quickly woke up and stormed into his lab. "Shit! Not now" He complained as he reached a big glass tube going from the floor to the ceiling, filled with a white liquid. "I won't lose you again" Izuku said and began pressing buttons on a nearby control panel. The tubes and wires connected to the tube began making low humming noises as they were filled with various substances. The alarm quickly stopped and Izuku let out a sigh of relief. "This time, it will work" He said and placed his hand on the smooth glass surface. "Everything will be alright mom" Izuku whispered as a few strands of green hair briefly came into view. "I'll bring you back"
A/N: Finally got the chapter done. For some reason I struggled to get some of the dialogue right. Anyways, what matters is that the chapter is now done. New alliances have been made, new plans have begun and Izuku is working on something. Anyways, I hope you all are having a wonderful day. Goodbye.