"-Whatever I want!!" Izuku yells, stamping his scepter on the ground, releasing a surge of red energy around them. Tree roots from underground shoot up at Strange, wrapping around both his arms and legs. Before the hero can react, the roots shift in property, the wood turning into steel.
In the air around Strange, the splinters of the trees he destroyed turn toward the sorcerer, morphing into dozens of knives. Izuku slashes his scepter, and the knives come down, but Strange smirks and twists his hands.
Suddenly, it feels like the world around him inverses, and Izuku's stomach lurches as everything blurs. When his vision returns, it takes the teen all of about a second to realize he and Strange had switched places, and that a few dozen knives are about to stab him.
He would be enjoying the irony if he wasn't about to become a green-haired voodoo doll. Gods, Ochako would be so upset. Oh, and he'd probably get hurt too. Which could really put a damper on his day.
Spinning his scepter because that's a cool trick, the knives fly in a circle around Izuku, fusing together into a giant metal ball in front of him. When he peers back up, Strange has already freed himself from his bindings. "You seem to have gotten over your aversion to hurting me rather quickly." To Izuku's surprise, Strange doesn't sound the least bit mad, just amused.
"I've seen you handle worse." The metal ball Izuku had created begins to significantly heat up. So much so that bits of it fall off as it turns into a ball of molten lava. Izuku takes a deep breath, feeling the scepter keep him cool and protected.
Ceasing in his spinning, Izuku thrusts his scepter at Strange, firing the ball of liquid metal, but the much more experienced magic-user raises an eyebrow, simply raising his hand and deflecting the attack. "You honestly didn't think-"
Strange has to take a step back, forming two golden circular blades on his hands as Izuku appears in front of him, trying to stab him. The boy's scepter is gone, the long weapon transformed into two smaller blades on each of the trickster's hands to mimic his daggers.
"Oh, I get it. You just needed to distract me to get in close." Strange lowers into a fighting stance. "What? You think because I use magic I don't know how to fight?"
"…Would you be offended if I said yes?" Izuku yelps when Strange hurls one of the discs in his hands at him, forcing him to duck like he's playing limbo. "I'll take that as a maybe!" He jumps out of the way of another disc. "Now it's a probably!"
Twirling his miniature scepters in his hands, Izuku attacks Strange, using every slash and stab he's been taught while jumping and twisting through the air to confuse his opponent. And while he's able to force the hero back into the Avengers facility down a long hall, everything he throws at him is blocked.
Strange jumps as Izuku attempts to cut his midsection, before the older hero seemingly disappears. "What-"
A whistle catches his attention, and Izuku backs up a step when he sees Strange upside down, standing on the ceiling with no problems. "You did understand the implication that the laws of physics need not apply while we're here, correct?"
"Of course, I did! I'm not a fool!" Izuku walks over to the wall and hesitantly places his foot against it, glancing at Strange quickly to see if he is doing anything special. Okay, okay he's got this. Bouncing a little in place to hype himself up, Izuku takes a couple of breaths and lunges forward, placing his other foot against the wall.
He winces, ready to feel himself fall, but when no pain comes, Izuku cautiously opens one eye and then nearly does fall over when he realizes he's standing on the wall! "This is so cool!! I mean, how many kids can say they ran up a wall today?!"
"Uh, hey Sensei…"
Aizawa's eye twitches as he stares at Sero, who is hanging from the ceiling of the hospital room by nothing but his fingertips. The homeroom teacher looks to Recovery Girl, who shrugs and sighs, holding up the boy's medical tests.
"I'm going to go ahead and guess you're not using any tape right now." Aizawa's tone matches the long day he knows is coming.
"…I'm not, Sensei…"
"Of course, you aren't."
Running across the ceiling, Izuku and Strange continue their fight, now upside-down, as the trickster and wizard slash and block at one another, constantly switching walls and jumping side to side. At one point, the hall begins to twist on its own, because of Strange, Izuku suspects, forcing them to run down to a door at the other end, their feet hitting a new side of the room with each step because of how fast the room is spinning.
Izuku leaps for the door, only for a portal to open at the last second, after which the greenette finds himself landing face-first on the roof of a building.
"You ever been to New York City, kid?" Strange asks, looking out over the sea of buildings. "Weird but proud people, good food, tons of traffic, and probably more rats than you'll ever find in any other place." Izuku just groans in response, slowly getting back to his feet and wiping debris off of him.
The wind blows Strange's robes, the sun shining down brightly on both of them. "You're only using the scepter." Izuku hums in confusion, tilting his head at the hero's words as Strange turns to him. "I know from your dear old dad that you are capable of a vast array of powers, so why are you only using the scepter to attack me?"
"My other powers are worthless against you," Izuku answers, trying to be respectful and not sound like it's the most obvious thing in the Mirror Dimension right now. "Illusions, duplication, invisibility, my shapeshifting…you would be able to see through all of it, so why use it?"
"Is that what you thought against Ultron?"
Izuku sucks in a breath as Strange takes a step back to the middle of the roof, crossing his arms. "Yeah, that was in Vision's report as well. What about your other powers? Why not use them?"
"There are no other powers? I can't use stuff like telekinesis."
"No, kid. I'm talking about powers that come from the Mystic Arts."
Flushing a bit in embarrassment, Izuku rubs the back of his head. "My dad said those kinds of tricks were only useful for birthday parties, so we never went over them. He's never liked fighting face to face."
Strange rolls his eyes. "Of course. Because being able to use things like energy blasts, force fields, teleportation, and transmutation wouldn't have been at all useful against Ultron. How about enchanting inanimate objects to life? I'm sure that wouldn't have been useful either."
Izuku's eyes are as wide as dinner plates. "I knew about the energy blasts, but could I really do the rest of that?!"
"You could have the potential to do some of it, or none of it, who knows," Strange shrugs. "You certainly won't unless you try." He thinks for a moment. "Alright, how about we add some stakes to this fight?" Izuku nods excitedly, both terrified and eager to hear what Strange has to say. "You land a single hit on me like I said in the beginning, and I will help you."
"Help me how?…"
"I'll do for you what my teacher did for me." Strange lets his arms drop. "While I can't be sure of some things, I know that because of the way your father taught you, you view your powers through a keyhole. Now you have begun to widen that keyhole with your ice powers, congratulations, but I think it's time for more. Land that hit on me and I will open your eye, making it easier for you to access them."
"W-w-wait! Are you saying…" Izuku looks down at his hand, letting a green wisp of magic fly off it. "That you can help me finally learn to use my energy blasts? And maybe more?!"
"I'm saying I can help you gain the ability to learn those things. What happens after is up to you."
"…Why?"
"You know," Strange chuckles. "Most kids would say thank you and run with this offer?"
"I'm not like most kids," Izuku grins. He's not sure if he should be as proud of that as he is.
Strange chews on his words for a minute, decidedly not looking at Izuku as he thinks of a response to his question. But when he finally does, Izuku can tell his words are measured and careful. "I believe it is only a matter of time until you learn what you're capable of, and so if you're ready, why not speed that up a bit?"
"Sounds a little like cheating."
"More like bending vague rules in my favor. I hear you may know a thing or two about that."
"Yeah, I do." Izuku holds up the scepter, letting its aura wash over his body once again. "I guess we should get back to our fight, huh? But you telling me the Reality Stone created quirks gave me an idea. Does that mean I could have any quirk I wanted?" Izuku swings his scepter at Strange, firing a blast of energy that the hero dodges again but this time, the energy morphs into chains that wrap around him, and when he gazes back up, Izuku's gone.
"I've always wanted to try this!" Strange's head creaks up to find Izuku falling down at him, smiling wide, his scepter attached to his back. The quirk he gave himself is still not clear. Then, Strange's eyes widen as red lines of powers and arcs of green lightning begin to trace over Izuku as he clenches his fist, rearing it back. "Detroit…" Strange works as fast as he can to get the chains off but- "SMAAAAAASH!!"
There's a resonating BOOM as the roof of the building is blown to dust, followed by a pained scream. The smoke clears to reveal Izuku kneeling on debris, cradling a mangled arm in his other hand. Every small movement is painful. Izuku whimpers a bit as he positions his arm on the ground and shifts to grab his scepter with his other arm.
A portal opens up on the other side of the roof with Strange walking through, watching curiously. Izuku gives him a wobbly smile. "S-sorry, one second. I'm used to being stabbed, not breaking bones." His arm glows with the power of the scepter and Izuku exhales as his bones reset with several sharp cracks! before healing completely.
"Wow," Izuku sighs, flexing his hand. "That was a lot. Remind me to not do that again. I don't think I could handle breaking a bone every time I used my powers. I mean, could you imagine-"
A line of golden energy wraps around Izuku, making sure to include his mouth. "Do you ever stop talking?" Strange asks, thoroughly vexed. Izuku grins with a resolute shake of his head.
"And if he can't talk, we'll do it for him!" Strange whips his head to the side, where Clone Two is giving him an innocent wave.
"Wait, wait!" Clone Four runs up. "You know how Izuku thought Strange was at the end of his rope mentally? Well, look!" He gestures to the magic that the hero had used to tie Izuku up, bringing to attention how rope-like it is. "It's actually Izuku at the end of his rope! Literally!" The clone laughs, as do Two and Izuku.
"Oh, hell no." Strange briskly walks up and kicks Izuku off the side of the building, not even bothering to hide the satisfaction he feels from it.
Two clicks his tongue, looking over the side. "Yeah, to be honest, he probably had that coming."
"Kurogiri tells me that you're planning to attack the training camp of UA's hero students."
Hirona uses all of her willpower to stop her shaking leg and crosses her arms to keep her hands warm. It's cold in whatever room on I-Island they're in. It's not too dissimilar to the warehouse she'd met All for One in before, a darkened room with machinery everywhere, except there is much less of a mess of cords on the ground. Something she can attribute to I-Island's more advanced and streamlined technology she supposes.
She can barely see her soon to be former master at the other end of the room, covered in even more technology and bandages from whatever procedure they're giving him. Garaki, as always, is by his master's side, typing who knows what on several computers.
"Yeah, I am," Hirona decides to finally answer. She is cautious. All for One is usually one to get straight to the point, not begin with idle conversation. "I have plans for one of the students."
"Oh, yes I'm sure you do." The demon of the underworld chuckles darkly. "I must say, to gather the forces you have and plan such a bold attack, it is truly remarkable given your…natural deficiency. And here All Might is the one who went into teaching; perhaps I should give it a chance? I clearly have a natural talent."
All for One laughs a bit to himself, while Garaki full-on belly laughs. "Oh, very good, Master! Very good!"
Hirona moves her hands behind her back to clench them tightly, putting her head down and shutting her eyes tight. She had hoped she could get through a single conversation without All for One dressing her down, but she was foolish to think so.
"Master." How tightly Hirona is keeping her eyes shut loosens a bit when she hears Kurogiri speak, walking up next to her. "If I may. I believe most of the new members of the League of Villains elected to stay because they share Shigaraki's viewpoint on how society should be."
"If I wanted your opinion Kurorgiri, I would demand it." All for One replies sharply. The portal user bows, backing up a step. "Now." The villain switches his tone back to pleasant. "About the student you have plans for…"
Screaming because that's what one does while falling for a long time, Izuku grunts when he hits soft ground, panting. His hair has reached levels of wildness not previously thought possible.
No longer bound, the teen groans as he sits up, blinking out the blurriness. Well, it wasn't a swan dive he took off the building, but Izuku still technically fell off one so he hopes that'll be enough to make Kacchan happy? Maybe he should bring it up when they talk about his alien origins finally. The explosion-user already seemed none too pleased with him, so how much madder could he really get?
Shaking the dark thoughts his brain makes for him to cope away, Izuku takes in the forestry area and extra large foliage around him. He looks up as Strange floats down, a portal closing behind him. "You kicked me off the building and through a portal?!" Izuku rhetorically asks.
"No, I-" Strange pauses in thought for a moment. "Actually, yeah. That's exactly what I did."
"Where are we?"
"Antarctica."
Jumping to his feet, Izuku shakes his head laughing, assuming it was a joke. "No, seriously, where are-" his eyes widen as the ground vibrates, a large puddle of water near him having waves of ripples travel throughout it. Realization smacks him in the face. They are in Antarctica! Just under it! "No! No way! I've heard about this place but didn't think it actually existed!"
Izuku turns back to Strange, smirking as he twirls his scepter in his hand. Behind him, the foliage breaks, revealing a Tyrannosaurus Rex letting out a mighty roar into the sky. "The Savage Land is real, huh? I guess I know where Denki can take Tokage on their first date! But before that!" The scepter glows brighter. "I'll make you regret taking me to the one place on Earth where dinosaurs still exist!"
Usually, it would take months of practice for Izuku to learn how to shapeshift into a new animal. Luckily for him, a certain scepter lets him skip all of that. Green and red lines surge around Izuku before turning him into his own T-Rex. Another great thing about the scepter is its ability to turn his illusions into reality. Case in point-
"You've got to be kidding me," Strange sighs as several T-Rex and a dozen velociraptors charge him. Strange flicks his hands, creating a multitude of clones of himself, all of which use mystical energy blasts to defeat the velociraptors, before they use the same golden rope magic to tie up the T-Rexes, dragging them all hard to the ground.
Izuku turns back into himself, waving his scepter again. One by one, the Strange clones are destroyed by Pterodactyl, the dinos swooping in from above, while Izuku lunges at the real Strange, changing forms again. Strange uses a barrier to trap the new dinosaur Izuku had become, a small Dilophosaurus, in front of him. But that is a mistake.
Izuku screeches, showing the frill on his neck before spraying Strange in the face with blinding venom. "Ah! You little shit!" Before Izuku can capitalize, Strange releases a pulse of energy and opens a portal beneath them, dropping the two into another location.
The green-haired boy, back in his human form, lands on a hard surface. Inhaling quickly from the pain, he looks up. "Hey!" He jumps to his feet, banging on the wall of a small cell that kept him trapped. "Did you put me in jail?!"
"Yeah, I did." Strange makes a noise of disgust as he cleans his face from outside. Rows of cells line the walls around them. "What the hell did you spit on me? Whatever. Welcome to the Raft. One of the most secure prisons on the planet. I figured you deserved it. Now." Strange lifts his hand, causing the entire structure floating in the middle of the ocean to begin to creak and groan.
"You're sinking us," Izuku realizes.
Strange nods. "Yup. And sorry, kid. I'm not letting you out to do anything about it."
"You don't have to!" Izuku's clones appear behind Strange and attempt to jump him, but he is prepared. With a motion of his hand, he begins firing golden energy at each of the clones in rapid succession, teleporting each of them into a different cell.
"Guys! Did you see how ready Strange was for us?! Wasn't it awesome?!" Seven questions excitedly.
"This is warding magic," Twelve analyzes.
"Indeed," Three concurs. "That means Strange would've had to prepare this beforehand for each of us to end up in a specific location. I'd be impressed if I wasn't so intimidated."
Clone Thirteen nods, looking sound the cell. "Yup. This is where I'd end up if anyone hurt Ochako…or if someone tried to hit on her…or if-"
The Raft's inner walls begin to bend, water starting to leak inside. "Alright, kid." Strange looks around. "Surrender?"
"I got a better idea!" Strange reels back as his hand glows, and Izuku makes a perfect copy of his sling ring onto his own hand. "You wanna go under the ocean? Let's do it!" Using his scepter and the mirror dimension to help push his abilities, Izuku uses the ring to create a new portal under him and Strange that they drop down through.
Izuku opens his eyes and the sight of a civilization he always wanted to see greets him. Buildings of beautiful color along with tubes and pods floated around them, as did schools of fish and marine life since they also happened to be very much underwater.
"Atlantis?" Strange questions in surprise, his voice a little distorted as it travels through the water.
With the scepter allowing him to breathe underwater and protecting him from the pressure, Izuku can't waste time, no matter how much he wants to explore the Greek architecture-based buildings around them. A quick twirl of his scepter and a tornado of water surrounds them both, with Izuku turning into a swordfish and charging Strange with a gang of sharks behind him.
"Nope." Strange makes a series of hand motions, and before Izuku can process what he's doing, the water around them dries, forcing him back into human form.
Looking around the now dry city, Izuku's perception senses fire into overdrive. Something is coming. He looks back at the hero. "What did you do?!"
"Simple." Strange points up. "I flipped the whole world upside down for a moment, but don't worry, we're back to being right side up. What you should be worried about…"
Izuku peers up at where Strange is pointing, his jaw dropping. "I-is that-"
"Remember when you threw all of those knives at me?" Strange asks casually. "Well, enjoy having the entire ocean dropped on your head."
"Pull!"
Nagant hurls the random junk tech into the air while Hirona aims, throwing one of her force field discs at the object, destroying it, and letting the bits fall to the ground. Exhaling, she leans back on one of the work benches, wiping some sweat off her forehead after having lost count of the number of pieces she had destroyed.
"So." Nagant drops some machinery when it seems Hirona isn't going to have her throw another one. "You wanna talk about it now, or do I have to ground you from movies again?"
"Shut up, you're not my mom."
Nagant snorts at the teen's failed attempt to sound serious. "Yeah, I know." Hirona pouts as the sniper pats her head. "I could only imagine how shitty you would've turned out if I was."
"Because I am just the peak of all teenagers the way I am?" Hirona snarks, raising an eyebrow.
"I think you're more like a teenager than you give yourself credit for." Nagant begins to list things off while counting down on her fingers. "You're moody, hyperfixate on things that don't matter, think you're always right, and won't admit when you have a crush."
"I don't have a crush on anyone!"
"Also, you're predictable," Nagant chortles, rolling her eyes. "Please, don't pretend I'm stupid. I won't judge you for having a thing for the hero girl."
"I don't!!"
Nagant laughs as Hirona's voice cracks. "I bet you know all there is to know about her. That blue hair, her wave-motion quirk, the brown eyes-"
"Ha, you're wrong!" Hirona cuts her off. "Her eyes are blue!!" Her face drops at the sight of Nagant smirking, her face going red. "S-shut up!" She looks away. "I'm not stupid either. I know you're just saying all this stupid stuff to take my mind off All for One."
"It worked, didn't it?"
Hirona sighs, giving Nagant the stink-eye. "Fine, whatever. I feel better. Are you happy? Just go and make sure the other members are taking as much as they can carry. We won't have access to this place much longer. And check in with Taskmaster. Make sure he found a good place for us to stay and got our provisions."
Nodding, Nagant begins to make her way to the lab door. "And All for One agreed?"
Sniffling, the black-haired girl nods back. "He really wants us to get him his precious Tomura. He said we can use the Nomu."
"Good. Anything else?"
Hirona snorts. "Yeah, could you give All for One eyes?"
"Eyes?"
"Yeah." Hirona looks up at Nagant, her expression burning for revenge. "Eyes. So I can look into his as I kill him."
Strange isn't kidding! In the sky, all Izuku can see is water rushing back down towards them way faster than he ever thought he'd see water move. Thinking fast, Izuku starts to make another portal. "There is nowhere on the planet for you to go to avoid this," Strange advises.
"I know!"
Izuku throws the portal at both of them and Strange is hit with a blast of cold air. Wherever they are is dark, desolate, and cold. The snow is so deep, it's almost up to their knees. Strange raises an eyebrow. "Back to Antarctica?" But where was the ocean? And his magic should usually protect him from the cold so-
"Do you feel cold, sir?" Izuku's back is to him, looking up at the world around them. Strange's eyes widen as he figures out where they are. Izuku turns halfway back to him. "You will."
They're in Jotunheim.
The little frost giant stomps his foot on the ground, letting the cold fuel him as the scepter lets his illusions come to life. Ice streaks at Strange faster than he had anticipated, forcing him into the air and creating shields to block. He won't get away that easy! Around Izuku, several tanks made of ice come to life and begin to fire artillery at his opponent. Again, Strange is forced on the defensive, blocking and redirecting every attack.
Dangit! Izuku needs a way to hold him and deliver a finishing blow, and he won't have a better opportunity than here! Think! Think!
Up in the air, Strange creates a giant spear to skewer the tanks and destroy them. Ice golems are ready to pounce on the wizard, but he creates a summoning circle underneath them, having a Kraken emerge and drag the monsters under the ice.
"Let me try that!"
The ice beneath Strange's feet shifts as a summoning circle appears. Before he can get away, something large emerges from it, wrapping its tail around Strange and restraining him. Turning his glare upward, the hero is met with piercing blue eyes. The creature inhales before leaning forward, roaring in Strange's face. It's the professional hero's turn to be surprised as he's put face to face with an ice dragon.
Izuku laughs from atop its back. "Look, look! I made a dragon!!" He laughs more like the petulant child he is. "Isn't it cool?!" The trickster waves a dramatic hand at Strange. "Now my white dragon with blue eyes, attack!"
The beast opens its jaw as a bright blue ball of ice and lightning begins to form. Strange tries to move his hands but his arms are stuck tight. As the predicament settles in, he chuckles. "You did good restraining my arms, kid." Izuku beams at the compliment. "But you missed my mouth."
The smile is wiped off his face as Strange mutters a quick spell under his breath and spews fire from his mouth onto the dragon's tail. It cries out in pain, letting Strange go and flying up into the air, before unleashing a terrifying ice blast at the sorcerer supreme.
Smirking, Strange creates multiple portals, absorbing the dragon's attack with one and redirecting it at the beast with the others, creating half a dozen beams. But he isn't done. With another wave of his hands, Strange morphs the ice blasts into ones made of Hellfire, incinerating the dragon instantly.
Izuku screams as he falls, only to fly through another portal and land on wood flooring. Strange steps forward. "Welcome to-"
"The Sanctum Sanctorum! I'd be so excited if you didn't have a huge advantage here!" Izuku creates a new portal, but Strange attempts to stop him, leading to the two grappling for control and falling through to a new area.
Strange exhales, looking around. "Where'd you send us?…" His eyebrows shoot up. "This looks like a castle…kid, where did you send us?"
Izuku rubs his head, getting up. "The first place I thought of. Latveria."
"We need to get out of here before he finds us. Now." Strange quickly makes a new portal.
"Who? We're in the Mirror Dimension though? No one should be able to-"
"Are you so sure, little god-child?" Strange straightens while Izuku looks around, trying to find the source of the voice. If he has to describe it, Izuku would say it radiates authority. Whoever is speaking is in charge, and they know it.
"I was a god once. I found it… beneath me."There's a bright white flash, and before Izuku knows it, both he and Strange are thrown through the newly created portal, hitting and rolling on the ground hard.
"Are you okay?" Strange pants, wiping his sweat and rising to his knees.
"Yeah…" Izuku rubs his hands, standing up on what appears to be the deck of an Aircraft Carrier. Slight problem. They are also high up in the clouds. "A Helicarrier, wow!" he exclaims. "That gives me an idea on how to end this!"
Strange also gets to his feet. "Oh yeah, how do you-" the hero stops when he sees Izuku do a backflip over the edge of the ship. "…Yeah, that might as well happen."
Walking over to the edge, Strange peers down but doesn't see anything. What he does, however, is hear the sound of an engine rumbling closer and closer. "He didn't." He leaps back as a quinjet flies up above the Helicarrier into the sky. Sighing, Strange taps his ear, creating a radio and microphone. "Kid, am I seeing things or did you really just create a quinjet for yourself?"
"The scepter makes all my illusions real so yes!!"
"And how in the hell are you flying? I was under the impression that Wade was flying the day you two stole X-Jet."
"You know about that?!" There's a cough. "He taught me a few things. Besides, because of the scepter, I'm mostly controlling this with my mind."
"Then I hope you're a fast thinker." Strange waves his hand behind him, the weapons of the Helicarrier coming to life with the many guns moving into position.
"My thinking is always a bit scattered, but I always manage."
In the distance, Izuku's sole quinjet begins its approach on the Helicarrier when suddenly, it's joined by nearly a dozen new quinjets at its side. Inside his cockpit, Izuku uses his magic to create a flight helmet around his head. "You guys ready?"
"I have no idea what's happening but let's do this!" Clone Two laughs from inside his jet.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Eight worries.
Four can't breathe he's laughing so much. "Forget jumping the shark, we took a rocket ship to space over it!!"
Izuku smiles, attaching his oxygen mask over his mouth. "This is where the fun begins." He flips a switch, arming his weapons. "Gator 1, box 1!" He hits a button, firing the missile.
"Gator 2, box 3!"
"Gator 11, box 4!"
"Gator 13, box 2!"
All of his clones continue to call out, firing at the Helicarrier. Strange waves both of his hands to create a shield big enough to block all the missiles, before returning fire with his own machine guns and projectiles.
"Evasive maneuvers!" The quinjets scatter before firing on the ship at will, flying around it like flies, forcing Strange to create new and stronger shields to stop them, all the while keeping his own weapons firing.
It's evident early on the hero can't keep this up forever. With absolutely no one else to help, Strange has to control everything. To try and alleviate some pressure, the sorcerer brings up one of the more powerful weapons on the ship, firing a green laser at one of the quinjets, but it spins out of the way.
Ten turns around angrily. "You did not just shoot that green shit at me!" He lowers his machine gun and fires it directly at Strange, but he holds his hand up, turning all of the bullets into butterflies. Just as Ten passes overhead, their opponent creates a portal, cutting the jet in half, with Ten screaming as it explodes.
One by one, the jets are destroyed as the sorcerer supreme takes full advantage of his portals and with each one, Strange's advantage grows. "My uncle told me those laser weapons have unstable power cores! If I can hit it, I might be able to take the whole thing down," Izuku calls out. "But I can't get close!"
"We got you, buddy!" Clones Two, Four, and Thirteen line up their jets ahead of Izuku, priming their guns. "Gentlemen! Let's plow the road!" The three jets let loose a wave of machine gun fire, forcing Strange's attention on them. He releases three magical energy discs that disable the jets, but it's too late. Izuku's missile is already hitting the laser weapon. Combined with the damage they've already inflicted, the entire Helicarrier begins to groan and slowly fall back down to Earth, black smoke pouring off it like water.
Distracted by his victory, Izuku doesn't notice when Strange flies up, making himself intangible to fly through the teen's jet and grab him out of his chair before throwing him on the deck of the quinjet.
Izuku jumps up for an attack, his scepter clashing with a magical sword Strange had created. The two trade blows on the doomed ship with Strange again countering everything Izuku does, even dodging him as he backspins his scepter. Finally, Strange pushes his arm away and stabs Izuku through the chest.
The demigod grabs the sword in shock, looking up at the hero with wide eyes as blood slowly begins to leak from his mouth. For his part, Strange just rolls his eyes. "Come off it, kid. I know I've been fighting a clone."
The real Izuku leaps from the smoke throwing a knife at Strange's face, but he catches it easily, just as the Helicarrier begins to crash into the ground. But before either magic-user can feel it, Strange creates a new portal and hits Izuku with a more powerful energy blast, sending him tumbling through it.
Landing on the ground back at the Avengers facility, Izuku grabs his chest in pain, writhing on the ground while trying to consume as much air as possible. When he sees Strange standing over him, his knife still in the man's hand, he tries to get up, but Strange gently pushes him back down. "You're done, kid. You gave it your best shot."
Izuku looks around, trying to think of anything, but when his attempt to get up is thwarted again, he slumps down. "Dang."
"Sometimes it's just not meant to be."
"Yeah…I guess." Izuku sits up, leaning back on his hands. "Still, that was really cool! I loved that we could do anything in there! Make dragons. I flew a jet. You dropped the ocean on me!" The knife in Strange's hand clicks. The hero looks down at it, eyes wide. "I infused one of my knives with a bomb-"
Boom!
"I think it's safe to say, after a thorough analysis, the kid's scepter does contain the Reality Stone…or at least a very powerful object that can mimic its abilities." Strange wipes some soot from his cheek, glaring at Star, Thor, and Miguel, who can barely contain their laughter. "It's not that funny, alright?"
Star slaps her knees, sounding like miniature thunder strikes. "He got you with an exploding knife!" She chokes in between her laughter. "It's like something out of a cartoon HAHA!"
"Yes, well done, Izuku!" Thor slaps his back, nearly knocking the teen off his feet. "Where did you get such an ingenious plan?"
Izuku grins sheepishly. "Remember that story you told me about Dad and the exploding arrow? With how…confident…uh, Dr. Strange was acting, I thought it might work on him too…"
"What Izuku is inferring…" Strange turns his glare to Vision as he speaks. "Is that he exploited your overconfidence in the same way Clint did to Loki so long ago."
"Yeah." Strange nods rapidly. "I think I was able to infer that as well. Thank you so much for explaining."
"We can explain it again if you're still confused," Miguel offers.
"You're all really starting to get on my nerves."
"We have a knack for that."
"If I'm not interrupting," Bruce says, entering the conference room with the scepter in his hand. "After running more comprehensive diagnostics on the scepter, I can say confidently that it really is the Reality Stone." He places the weapon down on the table.
The mood in the room drops, with even Miguel and Star's expression drooping. Strange sighs. "Well, there it is then." He motions to a seat at the table with his head, which Izuku sits at, suddenly more nervous than he's been all day. "Just one more question." Strange sits on the table. "Where'd you get it?"
Izuku's head shoots up, eyes wide. Immediately he scans the room for possible exits. But the only one is the door behind him and he'd never get to it with his uncle, Miguel, and Black Panther standing in his way. His mouth moves but no words come out. "I- u-uh, what? It? Where'd I get what?"
Strange blows air out of mouth, rubbing his hands together. "Wow, the son of Loki and that's the best you got? The scepter, Lokison, the scepter with the Infinity Stone. Where. Did. You. Get. It?"
"Oh…you know…around."
"…Around?"
"Yesss…" Izuku holds onto the 's' for a bit too long. "I f-found it."
"Really?" Strange gives him a look to match his words.
"…Yes?"
"Are you asking me or telling me?"
"Telling you?" Izuku gulps as Strange inclines his head, letting it hang. "I-I mean telling you. I f-found it. I-in a dump at the beach."
"Let me get this straight." Strange rubs his temples, exhaling slowly. "You found a weapon made of rare alien metals containing one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe that is sized perfectly for you at a garbage dump?"
"…Y-yes?"
"Kid."
"My dad." Izuku ducks his head in shame, staring at his feet, not willing to look at any of them as he speaks. "He called me before the meeting. He told me you were going to ask questions about it, and I had to lie about where I got it."
Thor sighs, disappointed. "While admittedly it is what we all suspected, to hear it is disheartening."
"Not bad." Strange gets up. "He had the awareness to get ahead of our meeting, but he was perhaps a bit too overconfident in his son's abilities. Specifically, in the lying department." He turns back to Izuku. "Does Loki have a scepter of his own?" The boy nods. "Does it also have a stone?"
The last question is what gets Izuku to finally look back up in a panic. "No! Or I mean- I don't know!" He calms down a bit. "I don't know. He never told me."
"Truth," Strange easily confirms. "It was never gonna be that easy, but it doesn't hurt to try. Thor." The god, who had been pacing, stops. "Relax. Get ahold of your brother and get him here. Quickly."
Thor makes a so-so sign with his hand. "That is easier said than done. There's no telling where Loki could be at any given time, and locating him has always proven to be difficult."
Strange hums. "Should've expected that." The air in the room changes. Despite being the same people he had been joking with a few minutes ago, it's like their auras had completely shifted from happy-go-lucky to all serious. Strange points to each member as he speaks.
"Vision, get in touch with as many government networks as you can; see if any of them have any Intel on Loki's whereabouts. If they don't have anything, start reaching out to other planets. Cathleen? Same thing but with your military contacts. Ken, you may want to alert Wakanda, just to make them aware of the situation. Use diplomatic pressure to help Vision if he needs and keep the UN off our backs. Bruce, start figuring out how in the hell any of this could be possible in the first place. Miguel, round up all the vigilantes you talk to; they can get information from places we can't."
Spider-Man nods, walking away. "Empezaré con Koichi."
"I'll head for my lab and pull every file we have on the stones."
"I'm on the next plane."
As various Avengers begin to scatter around the room to fulfill their duties, Izuku can't stop his question. "Is he in trouble?"
They all stop, looking back at him, while Strange chews on his lip. "I… cannot say," the sorcerer finally answers. "I believe we are all willing to give Loki the benefit of the doubt as he's done far more good than harm."
"He was instrumental in stopping Hela when she broke out of prison a couple hundred years ago," Thor reminds them all.
"That he was," Strange confirms. "Listen, kid. This is more about us not knowing what's happening or what could be happening, and we have to figure that out sooner rather than later. For everyone's sake. For now, all we want to do is speak to your father."
"And my scepter?"
Strange looks away from him for a moment, and when he looks back, Izuku already knows what he's gonna say. "I'm sorry, Lokison. You're talented, and if Thor's inability to shut up about you all these years is true, you already have that future hero license locked down. But…it's an Infinity Stone, kid. We can't let you keep the scepter."
Izuku slumps back, laughing a little in defeat. "I guess it's like Uncle Thor said: It's one thing to know something is coming, but it's different when you actually hear it."
To his surprise, Thor growls a bit. Strange turns to him. "I see your objections have not gone away."
"No, they have not." Thor walks behind Izuku, putting his hands on his nephew's shoulder. "I trust the boy. And my brother. And I have to believe there is a reason he both kept the existence of the stone a secret and gave it to Izuku."
"Yes, and that's all well and good, but this isn't about trust," Strange counters. "One mistake, one stray thought, one microscopic slip-up with an item capable of shaping reality could mean irreversible damage to the world around us. We cannot allow a power like that in the universe unchecked. Especially when we don't know why it exists again in the first place."
"Since we're speaking our minds…" Star begins surprisingly quiet, moving to stand beside Thor. "I know I'm the new kid here, but I gotta agree with the old man here!" Thor frowns. "My quirk lets me do some of the same stuff as that stone, but I'm allowed out into the world? Kept to a rigorous training schedule and set rules like I was, I don't see why the kid couldn't keep it!"
"You have to understand, Cathleen." Bruce walks up beside Strange. "Your quirk, while immensely impressive, has some severe limitations that frankly, the Reality Stone does not have."
"Anyone else?" Strange asks a bit sarcastically, before rolling his eyes when Miguel backflips next to Izuku. "Any particular reason why?"
"Yeah," the young man laughs. "I could use some competition in the field, I'm getting tired of swinging circles around the rest of you." He bumps Izuku with his elbow a few times. "Could also make your eventos canónicos a bit more interesting, eh amigo?" Izuku gives him a bewildered look.
"Enough," Strange sighs. "The decision is made. But in that same vein, a deal is a deal." The hero steps up to him. "You landed a hit on me." He puts his hand on Izuku's forehead, thumb out. "So, I'll help you."
"What are you-" Izuku can't say anymore when he feels everything at once. It's as if he was struck in the head by the hardest punch he's ever felt, but at the same time, he is somehow falling but not falling at the same time? His body, no, his soul weaves through planes of existence so fast he can't hope to process what he's seeing, before it's gone, and when he finally lands back in his chair, Izuku falls to the ground.
Helped up by his uncle, he knows his eyes must have a crazy look in them from the amusement on Strange's face. "To make it clear, I gave you no new powers. I just made the path easier for you to master what you are already capable of. The rest is up to you. Study and practice hard." He inclines his body a bit in a small bow.
Gathering his senses long enough to not be rude, Izuku bows back to the Avengers, thanking them for their time and autographs. He shakes himself a bit. He feels lighter? A little floaty? Izuku definitely feels better and like he could take on the world! But tackling the walk out of the facility is probably a good place to start. All Izuku knows for sure is he feels closer to the flow of magic inside his body than he has ever before.
After exchanging goodbyes with the rest of the team, and getting Miguel's phone number, the demigod takes what will hopefully not be his last look at his scepter as he walks out.
In the elevator alone with Thor, he can't help himself. "Are you sure Dad will be-"
"It'll be alright." Thor smiles down at him, making Izuku feel better. "I'll make sure my brother is treated fairly, and we get to the bottom of whatever is happening."
Izuku smiles back. "Thank you."
The doors open, and the teen hears something hit the floor. Looking down, Izuku finds a little white card. "Oh, Uncle Thor!" He picks it up, holding out to the man's back. "You dropped your keycard!"
"Where did my keycard go?" Thor looks around, putting his hand above his eyes. "I just had it."
"Uncle?"
"Ah, well. What a fool I am. I'll just have to get a spare without letting anyone know I lost it. That would be embarrassing." Thor turns back, grinning, and winks.
Izuku nearly drops the card in surprise. He points to the card and back to himself. Thor replies with a small nod. Giving the man a grateful smile, Izuku vanishes the card to his pocket dimension. His uncle really does trust him.
"Izuku!! If you don't hurry, you won't make the bus to your training camp!!"
"I know Mom, I know! I'm hurrying!" Izuku starts to stuff the last of his clothes into his duffel bag, zipping it up. It's the morning of the first day of training camp and as usual, he had procrastinated just a little on packing. Only slightly. But in the time since coming back from America, he and his friends had enjoyed their time off, choosing to rest and relax for once since they should hopefully be getting plenty of time to train during the camp. Izuku knows several people who want to get the hang of some of their new powers while away.
He vanishes his bag and is about to do the same when he receives a text message. Eyebrows shooting up, he hadn't heard from the sender since right before his meeting with the Avengers. Izuku sends a text back to confirm he's alone and a few seconds later, there's a green glow in his room.
"Dad," Izuku greets, both relieved and slightly anxious.
The astral projection of Loki smiles at him warmly. "Son. I'd hug you but…" he looks down at his arms, but Izuku waves him off. Nodding, his father placed his arms behind his back. "Well, no reason to delay it, I know you have a busy schedule ahead of you, how did the meeting with the heroes go?"
"Pretty much like you said it would." Izuku drops down onto the bed, leaning forward and placing his elbow on his knees.
"I see. And what about what we discussed?"
"You got into contact with your son before he met with the heroes, and had him lie on your behalf regarding the scepter?" Ebony Maw questions. He stands next to Loki on top of one of I-Island's facilities.
"I did." The God of Mischief grins. "And he completely and utterly failed, just as I had hoped." Maw stares at him until he continues. "I have been able to impart much wisdom onto Izuku but unfortunately, the ability to lie has always eluded him."
"So, instead of keeping one of our most valuable weapons in a place we could control, you have somehow been able to both gift the heroes the stone and make them suspicious of your actions," Maw summarizes flatly. "Truly spectacular work. Incredible. I am so baffled by your accomplishments I cannot even bring myself to anger." He starts walking away. "I shall enjoy your execution immensely."
Loki smirks at his back, letting him get a few more steps before speaking up. "You lack vision."
Maw stops but doesn't turn around. "I do not need enhanced sight to see your mistake." The alien turns. "Please entertain me on why."
The god's smirk widens. "We are only a few short months away from the Invasion of Asgard, and with the heroes' attention turned squarely on me, I have ensured they will not catch a sniff of any attack before it's too late. As well, while it is small, the issue of the scepter has already created division within the team. One that will continue to grow and fester right under their noses." The wind blowing their clothes changes direction. "A house divided cannot stand."
"Ah," Maw strides back to him. "That explains why you used the boy to give them the stone instead of merely handing it over. Did he know?"
Loki shakes his head. "No. He's not ready for that kind of deception yet. Izuku merely thought he had let me down, but I reassured him and promised to meet with the heroes soon."
"Risky," Maw summarizes. "All of this is very risky. Not to mention the stone-"
"Is exactly where we want it to be."
"Toshi, I've never seen this part of Might Tower?"
"Most haven't. It's a place for top heroes to discuss things a bit more privately." All Might smiles softly, scanning his keycard to allow the heavy door to open, bringing David into the dark room.
"I- thank you but I'm unsure of what I could do to help here-"
"Plenty." David gasps when a hologram of Bruce Banner appears. "Great to see you again, Dr. Shield. I'm sorry Yagi had to be so vague while bringing you here, but the matter is sensitive. We're trying to use connections on our end to convince the UN to allow you temporary travel back to the States but until then, we could use as many minds as we can trust to help us with a case. And Yagi trusts you so…"
Another hologram appears of a scepter propped up on a lab table. "We could use your help."
David looks at Toshinori in disbelief before chuckling, turning his gaze back on the scepter. "Well, I guess that's worth a look."
The bus shaking violently jolts Izuku awake, but he doesn't get very far with Ochako's body keeping him in his seat. Oh, looks like they 'accidentally' fell asleep together again, whoops. Stretching and yawning, the green-haired boy looks around.
Outside the windows, all he sees are forests. Around him, a few other members of 1-A had been awakened by the harsh jerking of the vehicle as well, their eyes no doubt bleary like his.
Well, not everyone. He glances over to see Mina, Clone Thirteen, and presumably Toru giggling at the sight of him and Ochako before lowering themselves behind their seats. Oh good, he can look forward to more teasing.
But not just him, as he watches the trio slyly point to Tenko and Tsu's seat, with the gamer playing a handheld carefully so as to not stir the sleeping Tsu who is leaning against him. Okay, Izuku might join in on the teasing in that one.
Next, the trio of shippers started silently arguing over a notebook on Clone Thirteen's lap while pointing repeatedly to another trio. Yaomomo and Jiro, who both slept, with Todoroki beside them, staring off into space.
Clone Thirteen points at Yaomomo and Mina nods. The duplicate writes something down and points at Jiro, which Mina nods at excitedly, but Toru waves her sleeves in between them, gesturing to Todoroki, which causes Mina to reconsider. Clone Thirteen shrugs and puts another name down with question marks around them.
"Midoriya… Midoriya." An urgent whisper takes Izuku's attention away to the seats across from him, and he has to cover his mouth not to laugh at the sight of an utterly incensed Shinso in the middle of the seat with Denki stretched out over him, sleeping peacefully. "Help. Me."
"I thought you liked cats," Izuku whispers back, giggling.
"Midoriya. I swear to your dad, his dad, and whoever else, if you don't help me-"
"Have you tried waking him up?"
Shinso's look couldn't convey 'Do you seriously think I didn't try that already?!' more. The purple-haired boy makes a show of putting both his hands on Denki and shaking him roughly. The blond simply wiggles around a bit, whispers, "no," and gives Shinso a tiny jolt of electricity for his troubles.
"See?!"
"Okay, okay, I'll help." Izuku grabs the attention of Shoji behind him and conjures something, asking him to give it to Shinso and Denki. The multi-armed boy looks down before shrugging and extending his arms over to the other pair.
"No, that's not what I meant!" Shinso whines as Shoji drapes a blanket over them.
"You're welcome," Izuku says through a sly grin.
Turning back to stare outside, the trickster laughs to himself a bit, watching as a sea of trees pass them by under a bright sun. Actually, a very bright sun now that he thinks about it. A sun that is getting so bright, all Izuku can see outside the windows is white. What is going on-
Everything goes white then. It's so harsh and bright he's forced to close his eyes to try and ignore the pounding in his head. But as quick as it occurred, the light is gone. Slowly opening his eyes, he quickly realizes the bus is no longer moving and they can't tell what's outside anymore.
Oh, and everyone's awake.
"What just happened?!"
"I did not consider there could be such a thing as too bright of a light!"
"We're in a cutscene, aren't we?"
"It's not a villain attack, is it?!"
Everyone quiets down when Aizawa stands at the front of the bus, noticeably not surprised. "We're here. Get out. Don't worry about your bags."
Feeling a little better that whatever just happened to them was apparently planned, Izuku gets up, giving Ochako's hand a squeeze when she still looks worried. She nods her thanks to him and very noticeably does not let go of him as they make their way off the bus, the events on I-Island still affecting her.
It turns out that leaving the bus did nothing to help them discern where they are. All any of class 1-A can tell is that they're in a giant enclosed room with the floor and walls made of metal. Above them sits a balcony with a sliding metal door behind it. The initials 'KW' are branded onto them.
Before anyone can say anything, there's a hiss along with several beeps. A computerized voice comes over the speakers. "Scanning for comparability."
In a long dark hall, several figures walk briskly toward the sliding metal door on the other end. Suddenly, the lead figure stops to mess with some sort of control panel on the side.
"Is now really the time?" One of his companions asks.
"There's no better time." He finds what he's looking for and hits a button. "Especially when you want to make an entrance."
Back in the room with the students, the computer voice speaks again. "All specimens are compatible with atmosphere."
There's the sound of a speaker cutting out before they hear…chanting?
"Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga-"
"What is this?" Denki rubs his eyes, looking around for an answer.
"I can't stop this feeling…deep inside of me…" A man sings between the chanting.
"Is this a song?" Jiro questions, her interest piqued. "Sensei, what's going on?" Aizawa is frustratingly silent.
One of the metal panels on the walls lifts up to reveal a thick window and…black outside. Izuku's eyes widen but it's Ochako who calls it first, dragging him to the window. "Those are stars!! ARE WE IN SPACE?!"
"Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga-"
"Girl, you just don't realize…what you do to me..."
"WE'RE IN SPACE?!!" It's a wonder Ochako doesn't fall over when Mina rushes her, pressing her face against the glass. "Holy shit!!"
"Holy shit!"
"Holy shit!!"
"Ribbit!!"
Almost everyone in 1-A follows Mina's example and rushes the viewport to get a good look of the outside.
"Even with the twinkling of the stars…the darkness is never ending…" Tokoyami stares in wonder with Dark Shadow.
"Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga-"
"When you hold me…in your arms so tight…"
Izuku's eyes narrow at the window, his brain putting the pieces together as he looks back at the initials on the door. "I know where we are!" He snaps his fingers. Some of the class turns back to him. "Nowhere!" He proudly declares.
"Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga
Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga-"
"You let me know…everything's alright…"
Yaomomo tears her eyes away from the viewport. "That can't be true, Midoriya. Even if we don't know where we are in- in space, we still have to be somewhere."
"No, you don't understand! We're literally-"
The sliding metal doors above them open. "Welcome to Knowhere!" The music swells. Peter Quill steps through with Rocket Raccoon hanging off his shoulder, Cosmo the spacedog at his feet, and Mantis by his side. "Name's Star-Lord. And this is Guardians HQ. Home to your training camp. Which begins…" He checks his wrist. "Hm. Right now."
He hits a button on his belt, and the floor beneath them opens.