Chapter 2: What is my life
It occurs to Izuku after the eleventh? No, the twelfth time he lands face first into sand that morning, that if he never saw a beach again after today, he'd be perfectly ok with that. Seriously. He knows everyone makes fun of that pre-quirk movie for saying it but it's true…he really hates sand. And it literally does get everywhere! Where is the lie?! For the last eight years, there hasn't been a single day he hasn't felt sand on him.
"Well! I think that's enough combat practice this morning. Unless you want another bout of course."
Izuku lets out a loud groan at his tormen-ahem. Dad's words. He rolls onto his side, clutching his stomach. The greenette uses the hand not supporting himself to wipe some sand off his face before opening his eyes to look up at his father's smug look. "You said we weren't using magic for those spars." He tries to make his tone accusatory but the pain and aches make it more of a whimper.
"Is that what I said?" He retorts raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Izuku shouts, getting himself into a sitting position and leaning back on his hands. "And I had you! Dagger to your throat and everything! But then you cheated and hit me with an energy blast!"
"Right, so what did you learn?" Dad asks while putting his hands behind his back.
"Tch, not to trust you."
His father has the gall to laugh, closing his eyes and bending forward a bit. Wait, he's distracted! Izuku conjures a throwing knife into his hand, a green glow appearing briefly as with everything he conjures or vanishes. He whips it at Loki's shoulder, only for the god to catch it midair, his eyes still closed and not even a break in the laughter.
Dad takes a deep breath before straightening up. "Oh Izuku, not trusting me should've been one of the first things you learned." He looks down at the knife before vanishing it. "That was underhanded… you make me more proud every day." That earns another groan as Izuku lets himself fall into his back. "Let me try another question. What did I say before we started sparring?"
"You said no magic, just regular sparring." Izuku immediately replies, grateful to have a few minutes to fill his lungs.
"No. Try again."
Izuku scrunches up his face in thought, thinking back. That is what he said right? Well, technically not. What he actually said was… "You said I wasn't supposed to use magic…" Izuku facepalms. "But you never said you weren't allowed to use it! Ugh…"
Izuku feels himself being picked up into the air. "That's right Izuku. Tricksters like us live and breathe in technicalities. It's how we keep ourselves from getting into too much trouble."
Izuku looks at his father to see his hands still behind his back. He blinks before looking at himself, floating, held up by seemingly nothing. The teen narrowed his eyes on his dad. "Really? First the energy blast and now telekinesis? Is it 'let's rub it in Izuku's face with what powers he can't use' hour? You wanna come over here and brainwash me while we're at it?"
Izuku was lowered onto his wobbly legs, thankfully still able to stand before Loki answers. "Izuku, the best brainwashers can do it without the use of any powers." The younger magic user rolls his eyes. He had to get to school soon and the tangents on manipulation could go on for hours. "And those are powers you can't use yet. I know you'll get there one day. Besides, brainwashing only works on the weak-minded. Which, you are most certainly not." It will never cease to infuriate Izuku how quickly he could go from wanting to stab his father to preening at his praise.
Now, let's see how much your magic has progressed since my last visit." Loki continues. Izuku stands straight and nods. "Show me how you hide your pre-" Loki quickly turns to block the slash from the real Izuku behind him. Their daggers make a loud clang as they collide. They separate and Loki looks behind him at the decoy that had stood in front of him, it gives a simple wave before fading. "Very good Izuku! I say you've mastered both hiding your presence and leaving a decoy to take your place. Now show me multiple decoys."
Izuku complies, taking a step back. Nine perfect copies of himself appear surrounding both of them. "So ten of you in total? Remember I want a dozen before high school."
"Right, I'm still working on it, father." The Izuku decoy nearest Loki says.
The man nods. "Now, transformations." The decoys fade leaving a single Izuku. Notably, he is not standing where he initially started. "Oh? You've started switching places with your decoys when you make copies? We haven't gotten to that yet."
Izuku shrugs. "Honestly, it wasn't that hard. I didn't want an opponent faster than me being able to rush me."
"That's my boy. Always thinking ahead. Now shapeshift."
Izuku nods again and lets multiple glowing green lines appear and travel across his body. In a second, where Izuku stood before, All Might now appears in his current costume. "HAVE NO FEAR! WHY? BECAUSE I AM HERE!" He shouts proudly in a perfect imitation of the hero's voice.
Loki can only give a deadpan stare. "Izuku. I deal with enough blundering blonde buffoons in Asgard, I don't need them here either."
The All Might copy lets out a thunderous laugh before resorting back to Izuku. "Ah dad, don't be like that. Besides, you make a great Uncle Thor!" In a green flash, Loki is gone. Standing there now, a muscular man wearing silver-plated armor from his chest down to his legs. A red cape behind him. Golden hair on his head and equally golden short trimmed beard on his face. Blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
"While I'm happy your transformation of others is going well." The Thor copy starts with Loki's voice. "If you don't turn me back rig-"
"Wait!" Izuku interrupts the threat. With a wave of his hand, a large silver hammer with a leather grip appears in Thor's hand. "Sorry about that dad. Now it's done. And look! You can finally lift Mjolnir!" Thor's eye twitches and Izuku just smiles innocently.
The subsequent energy blast and his thirteenth landing in the sand were totally worth it.
After getting home and showering, Izuku toweled off and looked in the mirror to see his hair was already starting to regain it's poof, he was pretty sure he couldn't control it even with magic.
Yellow glowing lines danced across his body for a moment before leaving him wearing his middle school uniform. When was the last time he physically changed his clothes? He couldn't remember. He could still do it though, honest. Everyone knows you put your pants on two legs at a time, simple.
Making sure he had everything he needed for school, Izuku quickly vanishes his backpack and makes his way to the train station. He really wished his dad could explain his conjuring power better. He made his notebook appear from thin air and started to write his thoughts, even as he got on the train.
He knew he could conjure and vanish anything in his possession. The first part was simple, he could do anything on his body. For example, his phone. If it was in his pocket, he could conjure it right to his hand, check hero forums, and then vanish it right back into his pocket. And he could do that with anything on his person.
The problem was the other stuff. To put it simply, he didn't know where his backpack was right now. Apparently, dad never got a straightforward answer from his mom before she died, but they can also conjure and vanish items too…somewhere…as long as they aren't too big. Running theory is they each have access to their own small pocket dimension. He's been able to keep school supplies, notebooks, extra daggers, and knives there. So far the biggest thing he's been able to vanish is a microwave, will his pocket dimension, or whatever it is, grow with time? He's not sure, all he knows is he can vanish stuff there and then conjure them right back to his hands whenever he wants.
The train slows to a stop and Izuku gets off walking to Aldera, probably getting a few weird looks for obviously being a student but having no supplies apart from a notebook. A key part of being an illusionist is the element of surprise, so even if he's attacked, something as simple as having a backpack that no one knew was there, could be enough to throw his assailants off. Plus it keeps people on their toes around him. Every little bit helps.
A few more minutes and Izuku is walking through the front gate. He stares up at the ominous building as he walks in. Without fail every time, he feels like a prisoner marching toward his execution here. After just figuring out astral projection, he wants to use it so bad. Sure he could only use it on a single decoy right now and he'd have to be within a few blocks of the school while he worked on expanding the distance, but it's still doable! To be able to perceive the world around him and communicate with people through a decoy would make things so much easier! He wouldn't have to be in the building and no one would know! As long as no one touches him…or explodes him…actually it might not work.
Walking through the halls to homeroom went about as expected. The usual jeers for his 'weak' or 'villainous' quirk were called out to him. Of course, he had only shown them barely a fraction of what his powers could do, and really? Would using tricks to beat a villain really be that bad? At least he only had two more years of middle school and then he'd be off to U.A. where things…would probably be more or less the same…
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Izuku opens the door to his classroom to more familiar sights. His teacher resting his head on an arm while lazily scrolling through his phone. Everyone else talking in their social groups, letting Izuku slip by to his desk in the back corner ignored. Well mostly ignored. He pointedly did not acknowledge the glaring red eyes that followed him since he entered.
The teenage illusionist plops down on his chair and conjures his backpack before going through and pulling out the supplies he'd need. "No quirk use in class Midoriya." His teacher calls out without looking up.
"It's not a quirk sensei!" He calls back. Those red eyes somehow glare harder.
The man just hums in response. Obviously not paid enough to respond. Not like Aldera enforced their no quirk use policies anyway. Which may sound like a dream at first, but in actuality was a go-ahead for the kids with 'stronger' quirks to do whatever they wanted. Well not if Izuku had anything to say about it.
The school day passes by uneventfully. Well, except for having to pull two kids out of Kacchan's way and some rats just appearing out of nowhere on a girl's head while she berated another girl. But that was all pretty normal so yeah, uneventful.
Vanishing his backpack and hiding his presence was second nature at this point when the final bell rang. In a few minutes, he had slipped off of school grounds unnoticed and was on his way to the grocery store. Mom was working late again so he offered to get some things for dinner on his way home. It would be easier if he could just use the Bifrost to teleport everywhere he wanted to go, but Heimdall said he couldn't. Izuku's pretty sure the man was just jealous he didn't think of it first.
Letting his powers change his clothes into something more casual before entering some busier sidewalks, Izuku began making his way toward the store.
Sure, while teleporting everywhere with the Bifrost was a good idea, of course it was, he would miss out on his walks where things would go conveniently right for people. Old man having trouble crossing the street? Oh would you look at that, it looks like all the lights turned red, stopping the cars and allowing the man to cross.
A purse snatcher running down the street thinking he's got away with it, only when he thinks his foot is about to step on a manhole cover, said cover fades away causing him to fall in, almost as if the cover was never there. He must've been seeing things.
"Dude, alligators aren't that scary!"
Izuku stops at the edge of a park, listening to a few boys from a different middle school.
"I know right, with those stubby legs and shit!" Says a second boy.
"All you have to do is step up on something a couple of meters high and the thing can't do anything to you." A third agrees.
Izuku sighs. He doesn't have a choice, does he? The greenette steps behind a tree and a few seconds later, as the boys pass, their laughter dies to a low growl. They spin around to see an alligator charging them like the still living dinosaur it is.
The three boys scream, two immediately bolting while the first boy trips on his own feet and falls. Does he have a make everything like it's a horror movie quirk or something? Still, he started the slight on the gators so he must pay.
Gator Izuku bites on the boy's pant leg, careful to use the tip of his mouth and not get any skin while shaking the leg a bit. The boy screams more, starting to yell he was sorry over and over. He gets it. Izuku lets go and the boy scrambles away. After making sure the coast was clear, Izuku allows his transformation to fall, rolling on the ground cackling.
What? He can't use his powers to solely help every time.
Also, it's not illegal quirk usage if it's not a quirk.
The trickster gets composed before making himself scarce, he didn't want to be around just in case anyone came around looking for a loose gator, so taking a shortcut through the park it was.
"Ewww, look. It's the demon girl!"
Or at least that was the plan for the last few minutes. Izuku stopped to see what looked like five elementary school-aged girls under the shade of one of the bigger trees in the park. Four of the girls had the smallest one backed against the tree. In between the other girls, he could see the one on the tree had small horns on her head, red hair, black leathery wings on her back, and a long sharp tail she was wrapping around herself.
Izuku's instincts go off in the back of his head. He's being watched. And he knows exactly who. But the half Asgardian doesn't care. He's got something to take care of first.
"Don't get too close, or she'll drag you to hell!" Another girl berates.
"You're right, we need something to throw! Ooooh, see how many rocks you can find?"
"Hey!"
The four girls look up to see a police officer looking down at them, scowling. "Is there a problem here?"
The girl who had suggested finding rocks looks down. "No sir." She says through gritted teeth.
"I hope not." The officer replies. "Assaulting anyone, in school or not, can get you in a lot of trouble no matter your age." The guilty girls still. "Maybe we should find your parents…"
"No!" The lead girl cries looking up. "We won't do anything like this again, we swear! Right?!" The other girls are quick to agree.
The officer begins to swing a pair of handcuffs on a finger. "Are you sure? Maybe you'd like to see what a cell looks like, just in case…"
The girls all bow. "We'll be good! Promise!"
The man cocks his head to the side once the girls look up. "Get outta here." And they do. You'd think they were the ones being chased by a gator. He bends down to look over the still trembling girl. After waiting for a few seconds, he smiles, putting his finger to his lips, letting green lines trace over his body to reveal Izuku. "Are you ok?"
Instead of answering, the little girl asks, "w-why would you help me?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Izuku counters.
"B-because I'm a demon…"
"Now why would you say that?" The little girl gestures to her wings and flaps to emphasize. Izuku hums, putting a finger under his chin. "What's your name?"
"H-hiromi Yoshinaga."
"Well, Yoshinaga. Do you act like a demon?"
"What?" The girl seemed so stunned by the question, that it took away her stutter.
"Are you a nice person?" Izuku amends a bit.
"A-always! I like it when everyone is happy!"
"That's great!" Izuku smiled at her. Not his million watt or whatever his mom calls it. But a smaller one. "So does a demon like when everybody is happy?"
"No! Demons want everyone to be sad!"
"That's right. So if a demon wants everyone to be sad, but you want everyone to be happy, then how are you a demon?"
Yoshinaga opens her mouth and closes it a few times, trying to think of a response before lamely gesturing to her wings again. Izuku chuckles a bit. "It's not the quirk that makes the person, it's how you act. And with you wanting to make everyone happy, I'd say that makes you more of an angel! Right?"
The girl's breath gets caught in her throat and stares at Izuku for a full minute slack-jawed. It almost gets to the point where the boy wants to pull out a mirror to make sure there's nothing on his face before tears decorate her face.
The red haired girl charges Izuku, sobbing into his chest, thanking him over and over. Izuku can't stop a few tears of his own while wrapping the girl into a hug, letting her cry it out.
After five minutes, Izuku can feel his watcher getting impatient, and Yoshinaga definitely doesn't need to be anywhere near here when that goes off. Thankfully, the girl lets him go, but not without a few more thank yous. "You're gonna do great things," Izuku tells her. "Why don't you head home and get cleaned up, maybe start on some homework? Oh and how about we keep me transforming into that police officer our little secret ok?"
The little girl giggles a bit through the last of her tears, wings flapping, probably involuntary. She nods and Izuku stands up, giving her one more hug before she runs off, waving him goodbye. Izuku waves back, waiting until she is clear out of sight before dropping his hands into his pockets and sighing.
"Come on out Kacchan before you set the park on fire."
Katsuki Bakugo stomps out from a shaded area, smoke rising from his tightly clenched fists. Izuku swears he can hear his teeth grinding from where he is. "Deku." Kacchan spits the name out like it disgusts him. Wait, it does.
Izuku smiles, knowing it'll just irritate him more. "Hey, Kacchan! Did you enjoy the show? Listen, if you wanna lecture me on quirk use, we both know my old scars say you have no problem with that." Unfortunately, it took a good few years for Izuku to learn how to do anything worthwhile with his magic so that left him helpless to Kacchan and everyone else. One of the first things he ever learned was how to use illusions to cover up his bruises and burns. Dad is rarely physically home to see through it and it fooled mom well enough.
The blonde boy, who might as well have steam coming out of his ears, stomps up until he's just under a meter away from the other. "Where. Do you get off?" He asks through barely controlled rage.
Izuku tilts his head a bit. "Huh?"
"Where. The fuck. Do you get off Deku?"
Izuku shrugs. "Usually in the shower. Uh, I guess it'd be rude not to ask so…how about you?"
Kacchan's anger seems to leave him for a few seconds as he processes Izuku's response. "In the shower? What the fuck are yo-" he stops and Izuku smirks, seeing a light blush of embarrassment on the other boy's face. It's quickly replaced by his old anger multiplied tenfold.
Kacchan yells, lunging forward to grab Izuku…only for his hands to go through a decoy. Izuku reappears in front of the tree Yoshinaga was backed up against, hands still in his pockets.
"That wasn't very nice, Kacchan. I thought we were having a simple conversation?"
The explosion quirk user trudges forward, thrusting a finger in Izuku's face. "Where the fuck do you get off saving some random extra Deku?!"
Now Izuku feels genuinely confused. "She needed help? That's pretty much all there was to it?…"
Kacchan does not relent. "I know you knew I was watching you, shitty nerd! What? You think I couldn't save her?! You think you could ever do a better job than me?!"
"Well no but I figured unless there was some big villain there, the almighty 'King Explosion Murder' wouldn't dare waste his time wi-" The called out explosion murder god doesn't let him finish, whirling an explosion ridden fist at his face. Only for, again, the fist to go through the decoy and hit the tree.
The Pomeranian howls in pain, grabbing his hand. Izuku appeared to the side of him, looking disappointed. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"
Kacchan seemed to think better about attacking, at least for now. "Listen here Deku, no one needs help from a worthless shit like you! All your quirk will ever be good for, is party tricks at some snot nosed kid's birthday party! Stop trying to be a hero!" He raised his good hand and let loose a few small explosions in warning.
"Kacchan…" Izuku warned. "Don't make me have to bring out your weakness…" Red eyes widened as Izuku waved his hand and an object appeared. "That's right…a small cup of water!"
Izuku was always taught to do things logically. On his list of things to do that day were to annoy Kacchan and go out for a run. No reason he couldn't combine those.
Izuku arrives home to find his apartment as he usually did, empty. Setting the groceries down on the counter, he got to work preparing dinner for himself and mom. He'd just leave her portion in the fridge. Heating the pans and starting to slice the vegetables was a nice distraction but didn't last very long. Mom had taken another shift at the hospital again. He understood her reasoning. As in, he understood why it made sense to her, but not him.
Dad had enough wealth that they could live off of their entire lives without either needing a job, and he readily offered it. But mom wouldn't have it. Sure if he needed something like a new laptop or some hero merch he really wanted, she'd dip for it, but other than that, mom wanted to be able to provide for them herself. Probably something to do with her pride. And he got that from her perspective, he just wished she was home more.
Still, she was home more than dad at least. Though he has good reasons, Izuku hopes anyway. After their first year of training, dad always said he had Asgardian stuff to take care of. He told Izuku how to do things and expected him to practice while he was away. Every now and then he'd check in as an Astral Projection, but physically he only came home for a week every five to six months.
'At least it makes the cover story of Hisashi Midoriya working abroad more accurate.' Izuku thinks bitterly. But when his dad came home, it always came with the added bonus that he takes Izuku to see his uncle and grandfather in Asgard for a couple of days, so that was something. They were set to leave tomorrow morning, he couldn't wait to show what he'd learned to Uncle Thor!
"Oh, that smells gooooood." Izuku groans looking over to see a decoy of himself sitting on the counter, sniffing the air.
"You can't smell," Izuku explains, very much letting the irritation bleed into his voice.
"Izuku! It's like you're trying to hurt us!" The decoy says, clutching his chest in mock hurt.
The real Izuku stirs the food on the stove. "Hey Two. I don't remember calling you."
"And why do we need to be called to spend time with our best bud! and he's right. The food is looking D. my man." Decoy Four says, sliding next to him. "Also, Six is raiding your fridge."
"I'm thirsty!"
"You can't drink, you're not real!"
"I can dream Izuku!"
"No! You literally can't!"
"And who's to say who the real one is?" Izuku let his head hit the counter, hoping it would knock him out. No luck it seems. He turns to see Five standing on the coffee table. "For all we know. I am the real Izuku and you're all MY duplicates!" A flying chopstick that goes through Five seems to disprove his point. Izuku taps another chopstick on his head showing he's solid. Five folds his arm and pouts. "One day, I'll get you guys…"
"What is my life…" Izuku whines.
"Well, it seems you've taken talking to yourself to an extreme, seeing as you don't have anyone real to talk to, you needed some sort of outlet before you went crazy." Decoy Three says a bit quickly, appearing next to Two.
Izuku wraps up his mom's portion for the fridge and brings his plate to the living room, sitting down and turning on the tv. "Right. Talking to five copies of myself because I have no friends is the definition of mentally stable."
"Well actually the definition is-"
"Not what I was asking for, Three!"
Izuku stops flipping the channels at the local news, the headline catching his eye. "Just to repeat. All residents are urged to be on the lookout for what has been reported as a loose alligator. If spotted, do not approach. Please inform the nearest officer or hero. It is said to be highly dangerous."
Izuku can't help but laugh along with his decoys, all sitting in the living room with him. Yup, just another day.
Chapter 3: Welcome Back to Asgard
While the need for secrecy was not lost on Izuku, it still made him no less bitter while he trudged through the forest that was a ways away from home. A low tree branch slapped his shin, causing the teen to yelp and grab his leg, hopping on one foot. 'That's it. I don't care what they say. I am finding a way to get a dagger that can summon the Bifrost or I'm stealing Stormbreaker from the vault.'
"Unlikely." Izuku turns to the side as he begins walking again to see Decoy Three walking beside him. Unlike his physical counterpart, he was unperturbed by his surroundings. "The chances of you being able to sneak into Odin's vault, grab Stormbreaker, and sneak out without being seen are approximately 3,720 to 1."
Izuku chucked at his doppelgänger. "Never tell me the odds."
"And that's not even factoring you trying to leave Asgard wi-"
"Wait! Once I have Stormbreaker, couldn't I just call on the Bifrost while inside the vault to get out?" Izuku asks himself because yes, this is what he's had to resort too to have any semblance of a normal conversation with someone.
Three put his hand to his chin. "That's true. As far as we know, there are no limits on Stormbreaker's ability to call the Bifrost from anywhere. This is of course, all hypothetical in the case we are actually able to lift the weapon without our body crumbling and our mind collapsing into madness."
"Bold of you to assume my mind hasn't already collapsed." The completely sane teenager snarks.
"Then we must not be doing our jobs right!" Izuku had long since run out of sighs for the day, so he did nothing as Two appeared, sitting on his shoulders. He could take at least a little comfort in the knowledge that his decoys, not being real, didn't weigh anything. However little comfort it gave.
Two continues, "He can still make jokes! His will to live carries on!"
"Yeah, dude! We knew you could do it!" Four encourages while hopping from tree branch to tree branch above. "And I'm not just saying that cuz without you, we'd cease to exist!"
"You should be fine Izuku. Ectoplasm is a fine hero and he can make clones as well. A lot more than you I might add." Three says.
"Actually, I was thinking about Ectoplasm the other day," Izuku starts. "So to make his clones he needs to produce that weird ectoplasm from his mouth right? He's not like you guys that can just annoyingly appear from anywhere."
Two nods. "Hurtful, but true."
"So while I wouldn't want him to ever get hurt, what happens if a villain just stops his ability to open his mouth? No more clones right?"
It's silent for a beat before Two and Four burst out laughing. The latter so much so, he falls out of the tree he's in.
"Oh my god bro, his weakness is duct tape!" Four shrieks from his curled-up position on the ground.
Izuku giggles along until Three begins to speak, bringing them all back to earth. Not literally in the case of Four this time. "While entertaining of an idea it is, Ectoplasm exceeds in close quarters combat situations."
"We're no slouch up close either." Two interjects.
"Also true." Three agrees. "But even assuming we are a match. We would have to fight while trying to stick tape across the hero's mouth. Keep in mind it has to cover the whole thing completely as any ectoplasm that leaks leads to clones. All of this while contending with possibly already created copies. And if after all of that we somehow get the tape on his mouth…what stops him from simply taking it off?"
Izuku's hands race across his conjured notebook. "What about a sneak attack?" He asks, tapping his pencil on his cheek. "It's kind of our bread and butter."
Four finally catches up with them. "You guys are just gonna leave a brother behind like that?!"
Three ignores him. "A sneak attack would solve the problem of already created clones. And though the tape may only stay on a few seconds, that should be all we need. We can easily overwhelm and confuse him with our own clones and given how his fighting style only uses his legs, our daggers are more than capable of removing them."
"Wait wait, removing his legs?! Isn't that a bit much?" Izuku asks, both of his arms flailing in front of him.
"Not necessarily in Ectoplasm's case." Three continues, completely ignoring Izuku's internal crisis of subconsciously knowing he is the one to have thought that. "While I would understand your hesitance in say, removing Thirteen's hands to incapacitate her." Izuku whines. "Ectoplasm's legs are prosthetic."
Izuku takes a deep breath before giving a nervous chuckle. "Well, I guess some of dad's lessons stuck with me better than I thought." Thinking back on his notebooks, it's what he had always done. Studied heroes, figured out the places they were weakest, and then came up with ways to mitigate those weaknesses. But now that he thought about it…
"Hey yo, you guys realize that it would be bad if our notebooks ended up in the wrong hands right?" It was Four to voice his thoughts.
"Well then, coding them is the obvious answer."
"Or we just write them in Asgardian," Izuku suggests. "Translate the old ones and write the new ones in it. No one on Earth should speak the language."
Three takes a moment before answering. "That should be enough. Between the language and the fact that our notebooks spend most of their time vanished, we shouldn't have to worry. What an excellent brainstorm we just had! New security measures and how to beat Ectoplasm!"
"You sound pretty confident. Weren't you just the one saying we shouldn't underestimate a pro?" While Izuku can't see it, he can just hear the cocky smile on Two's face as he says that.
Three gives his own small smile. "I'm just confident in our analysis and abilities."
"Let's gooooooo we're gonna take down Ectoplasm!"
Izuku quickly snaps his notebook shut at Four's exclamation, letting the book vanish as he does. "No no. No. We're just practicing our analysis and you know…maybe if they're good enough one day…we can show our entries to heroes like Ectoplasm if we get into UA…"
"Hey, none of that." Two bends forward so the decoy and Izuku can look at each other face to face. "When we get into UA young man. C'mon, you'll be out of the Aldera system. Just think of the tricks we can pull on people who have no idea what's coming…"
Izuku laughs before a look of horror spreads across his face. "Oh my god…I'm gonna get expelled from UA…" All four of them break out into laughter after that one.
Three shakes his head, calming down a bit. "Just don't go too far Izuku. We still wanna be a hero right? Can't do that if we get expelled."
"Pfff, you act like I'm not totally ready to go vigilante."
"Izuku! That's illegal!"
"Actually…"
"Don't you dare…"
"Vigilantism is defined as someone using their quirk illegally and since we don't have a quirk…"
"That only works if everyone knows it's not a quirk and no one will believe you!"
"Fine. Then it's only illegal if we get caught. And I can be in multiple places at once and can turn invisible soooooo…"
Two and Four cheer, sharing a high-five while Three has a look of exasperation Izuku hopes he can achieve one day. The group walks in silence for a few minutes before the maybe one day vigilante speaks up. His voice carrying a much more serious tone. "I'm gonna be a hero. The right way," he says out loud. They all know he's not saying it to anyone in particular, but making more of a declaration. "I want to save people. I want to make them laugh on their worst days and help them see it's going to be alright." He clenches his fist so hard his nails start to dig into his palm. "And no law is ever going to stop me from saving someone's life."
Three gives a reassuring nod. "I know, Izuku."
"Alright! Enough with all the serious stuff!" Two exclaims, throwing his hands up. "We figured out how to beat Ectoplasm with duct tape, now let's do another hero we like! What about Eraserhead?"
"Oh, Eraserhead is easy. All I'd have to do is shapeshift into a cat and he'd be putty in my hands." Izuku says with probably too much cheer.
Two finally decides to slide off Izuku's shoulders and walk next to him. "Wait, he likes cats that much? How do you know?"
Izuku has a different notebook appear in his hand and flips through it before finding the page he wants. "It's just a hypothesis based on this cat cafe he frequents."
Two continues to stare. "Uh-huh. Ok. That makes sense. Follow-up question. How do we know the elusive underground hero visits a cat cafe a lot?"
Izuku flips to another page in his notebook. "Just some periodic checks through the city's camera system."
"And exactly WHY can we-"
"Their password was password! It's not my fault! And it's never for anything bad! Usually just for different angles on hero fights I didn't see in person!"
Before the conversation could devolve into the usual shouting, Three's voice cut through. "And we are here." Izuku nearly trips before looking straight to see the line of trees that borders the clearing he uses.
"W-when did we?…" Izuku questions.
Four slaps his back. Izuku doesn't feel it but the sentiment is there. "You know we're useful for more than helping you with your mumbling right man?"
"The mumble squad is here to help you pass the time when you need it!" Two pumps his fists into the air.
"That name is still pending." Three says with a fond smile on his face that suggests he's more ok with it then he's letting on.
"You guys are ridiculous," Izuku says, letting the notebook in his hands fade. But try as he might, he can't stop the edges of his mouth from curling up. "I'll see you later." The teenager gives a wave as he moves between the trees in front of him. His decoys vanish behind him.
After a few seconds, Izuku emerges into the familiar clearing he uses to go visit his family. A line of trees encircles the entire thing, short grass blows in the wind. The clearing itself, while not exactly big, wasn't very small either. If Izuku had to guess, twenty or so people could probably fit. And in the middle, pattern-like markings lay scorched into the grass.
Izuku walks into the middle of the markings, taking a deep breath.
"I'm ready, Heimdall."
For a moment, nothing. Then, a rainbow light seems to take over the sky. The wind around him starts to move at a furious pace as a tornado of rainbow light crashes into the spot Izuku is standing in. It stays that way for only seconds before the light disappears completely. The wind dies down. You would never know anything was amiss. It's as if the light was never there. The only evidence is freshly scorched markings on the grass. Izuku is gone.
Light. That's all Izuku can see. Multi-colored lights danced around him, forming a tube. Outside the lights of the Bifrost, the colors of the universe soar past him at alarming speeds. He sees the black of space, the twinkling of the stars, and the different colors of the many, many galaxies he races past. It feels as if he's flying through space, being carried up to a bright white light above. He briefly wonders if death is anything like this. If it was, he could see why people would have to be begged to not go towards the light because the ride there is exhilarating. But all too soon, it ends. He knows it's only been seconds, but could never tell.
Izuku takes an extra step to stay on his feet as he lands and looks up to see a familiar circular room. The walls of the room were colored golden with gears surrounding him. Behind him, a hole in the wall overlooks space and it's stars. In the center of the room, steps were raised to a heightened platform with some sort of control mechanism that had a sword that was bigger than it had any right to be inserted into it. Lightning poured from the sword and mechanism.
Of course, that sword had nothing on the man who stood behind it. He was tall, with black skin and golden eyes that seemed to see much more than what was in front of him. He wore full body golden armor with a helmet whose sides curved upward in a 'U' shape. Like many in Asgard, including his uncle, he had a short trimmed beard on his face with black hair.
Unbothered by the lightning or the weight the sword must possess, the man, Heimdall, the one who can see and hear nearly all in the nine realms, removed the sword from it's mechanism. The lightning abruptly disappearing as he did so. He places the tip of the sword on the ground, grasping the hilt with both hands before looking down at his visitor with a warm smile on his face. "Welcome back to Asgard, Izuku."
The green-haired boy couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Heimdall!" He runs forward, taking the steps two at a time up to the platform before crashing into the gatekeeper, hugging him from the side.
To credit the man, the force of Izuku's affection doesn't move him at all physically. He has the decency to at least grunt at impact before putting one of his arms around the boy, keeping his other hand on the sword. "It's always good to see you."
Izuku unlatches, looking up, still with that grin on his face. "It's good to see you too! Now, have you given any thought to my proposal?"
Heimdall hums and thinks for a moment, pretending he has no idea what Izuku is talking about but they both know he does. "Your proposal, you say? What was it…ah. I remember. I believe you wanted the Bifrost to be your personal…what did you call it again? To be your own personal fast travel?"
Izuku's grin nearly turns manic. "Yeah! To be able to be anywhere in the world in seconds?! Do you know how much I could do with that?!" He could get himself to any villain attack instantly to help. Not to mention all the different HeroCon's around the world he could visit. He'd need new notebooks just for the potential signatures!
Heimdall gives a very brief chuckle. "I know enough to keep that power away from a child."
"I'm not a child! I'm thirteen!"
For some reason, this doesn't seem to convince Heimdall. "Compelling. Even so, you know this would violate our king's law and cannot be done."
"Well not with that attitude."
Heimdall snorts just a bit. "I have seen from my watch that your father has taught you many things." Izuku beams. "But it seems you still have a long way to go in developing your silver tongue."
Izuku's face falls dangerously close to a pout. "I can be convincing when I want to be…"
"Perhaps I'll come by later then?" The new voice sends a jolt of excitement through Izuku. The young Asgardian looks down at the entrance of the room behind Heimdall to see his Uncle Thor smiling up at him. His hair is cut short and instead of his usual armor, he wears a thinner, dark-colored armor with gold accents on the front. A black cloak covers his shoulders and most of his front. Mjöllnir hangs on his side.
Izuku straight jumps off the platform and barrels into the God of Thunder. "Hi, Uncle."
Thor hugs his excitable nephew back before separating, keeping both of his hands on the other's shoulders. "You are well, Izuku? Safe? How is-" Thor stops when he notices what's written on the green shirt the boy wears. 'Battle Armor.' The blonde man chuckles. "We're going to have to get you your own armor soon aren't we?"
Izuku shrugs a single shoulder. "As soon as I finish designing it, yeah. And I'm fine Uncle. Being safe." Heimdall makes some sort of sound but quickly covers it with a cough. Ok so maybe some of Izuku's online contacts aren't exactly what you'd call, law-abiding citizens, but they weren't bad people! They were useful for getting info on heroes for his notebooks. He's just using the information gathering methods his dad taught him, nothing wrong with that.
Thor doesn't seem to notice Heimdall's cover-up. "Very well." He takes his hands off Izuku's shoulders. "Come. We have a feast prepared for your arrival. Your father awaits us in the banquet hall."
Thor turns to begin walking before Izuku stops him. "Wait, Uncle! You see, I had such a long walk to get to where Heimdall opens the Bifrost...can I please have a piggyback ride?"
Thor turns around to begin protesting but when he does, Izuku isn't there. Instead, a small puppy looks up at Thor giving him the most pitiful eyes. A whine escapes from the dog's mouth. "Oh fine" Thor turns around and kneels.
Izuku shifts back into himself cheering. He jumps on his uncle's back before turning his head and sticking his tongue out at Heimdall. "How's that for convincing?"
Thor stands back up but Heimdall calls out to them. "One last thing before you go." Izuku hums. "Next time, when you are planning a heist of your grandfather's vault, maybe do not do so in a way that allows me to hear you." Izuku squeaks, pressing himself closer to Thor for protection. Both men chuckle before Thor waves and they walk out onto the Rainbow Bridge.
The large circular building they left behind sat at the edge of a waterfall that seemed to fall to nothing, only connected to the rest of Asgard by the bridge they walked across now. The Rainbow Bridge itself appeared to be a large diamond lit up with a myriad of different colors, hence, it's name. Each step Thor took lit up the bridge more.
And at the other end of the bridge, Asgard. The city was hard to describe in words, if one were to try, marvelous might be a word used. The buildings, all ranging in size from large to small and even some that were floating, were made of gold. The light made it as though they were to glow if hit right. Nature intertwined itself effortlessly in between the structures. And in the middle, a large castle that despite being the same color as the other buildings, seemed to somehow glow brighter than all else.
"You've gotten heavier since last we've seen each other." Thor comments on their walk.
"Woooooow, Uncle. Tell me you think I'm fat without saying it."
Thor chuckles lightly. "You know what I mean, cheeky boy. You've gained even more muscle since last time. I'm proud. But you are still pretty lean."
"Well, the muscles are pretty important to my fighting but not at the top of my priority list. Not everyone needs an eight pack to fight."
"You insult me. Only an eight pack." Izuku giggles. "So what was it you were planning on stealing from father's vault?"
The would-be thief squirms a bit before muttering, "Stormbreaker…"
"Ah, a fine choice. Finally taking after me are you?"
"If I say yes, will you help me?!" Izuku smiles and his uncle has to turn his head to shield his eyes.
"I shall think on it." Thor finally says. "Possibly if you let me use it as well. It never sat well with me that such a great weapon was forced to sit in a vault."
Izuku feels like he should be excited, but while he's not entirely sure how sincere Thor is being, how he said his answer bothers him. "Why did grandfather forbid you from using it anymore anyway?"
"It all comes back to his wishes to keep us separate from the other nine realms. Didn't want the weapon that could teleport anyone anywhere out of his reach." Thor let an easygoing smile spread across his face. "But that is a conversation for later. How is your mother? Is she safe as well?"
Izuku let the change in topic go for now. He can always get answers from the source later. "She's good, safe. You know, just working a lot so the usual."
Thor snorts. "It shouldn't surprise me that Loki would marry a woman just as stubborn as he."
"Uncle…I'm pretty sure your head is thicker than some rocks…"
"And don't you forget it. Now." Thor reaches to the side and grabs Mjöllnir, beginning to spin the hammer rapidly. "I assume your love of flight has not changed?"
The hammer isn't the only thing vibrating as Izuku does all he can to contain himself. It's not working. "YES! Oh my god yes! I love my powers, I really do, but I wish they included being able to fly!"
Thor looks confused. "Couldn't you just…shapeshift into a bird?"
Izuku slumps against the man. "Shifting into a new animal takes a lot of work. And no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get a bird down. Plus, it's not the same as flying in my regular body…"
"Well, I'm sure you'll get the transformation eventually. Now, are you ready?" Izuku tightens his hold and nods rapidly. He really did love flying. The feeling is just so freeing. Thor nods once himself and throws the hammer forward, keeping his grip on it and the two are launched toward the castle.
Thunderous laughter erupts from the banquet hall as Uncle Thor slams his mug on the table trying to keep himself from spitting out his drink. He only partially succeeds. Once he has better control, he asks, "you really did that?"
Izuku looks back and forth from Thor sitting next to him to his father, wearing a lighter version of his armor with no horns, who sits across from him at the large table. Loki has his head in his hands.
Again, Izuku looks back and forth between the men. "I don't see what the problem is? It's like, how could that guy trash talk Hawks, and just not expect me to be under his bed when he got home?"
Thor's laughter begins again while Loki stares at the potato on his plate, probably wondering if it could choke him if he swallowed it. The room they were in was large. The table was a long one, with a wide assortment of food, only half of which Izuku could name off the top of his head. Around them were pillars and lit torches. Staff walked in and out of the room refilling the drinks of the three and constantly switching food around.
"So, Izuku." Thor starts. "You mentioned when we first entered you finally mastered a new ability since last we spoke?"
Izuku finishes chewing on some steak before answering. "Yeah! I did! I finally figured out how to hide the presence of other objects!"
"I apologize but I thought you've been able to do that for a while?"
"Oh, no no. I've been able to vanish things for a while, but not hide their presence. Here, let me show you." Izuku conjures a blue marble and holds it out for his uncle to see. He vanishes the marble before making it appear in his other hand. Now that Izuku thinks about it, he'd make a killing in street magic. How hadn't he thought of this before? Food for thought later. "See, that's vanishing right?" Thor nods, prompting him to continue. Izuku places the marble in a groove on the table to keep it from rolling away before hiding it's presence. After a few seconds, he lets it reappear, still sitting in the same place.
"Vanishing and conjuring let me move the items around. I can't move around an item whose presence is hidden."
"I see," Thor says. "But would it not be better to just vanish all your items then?"
"Most items I can vanish are relatively small while I can turn much larger items invisible." With a wave of his hand, a nearby pillar disappears to illustrate his point.
"Impressive nephew. But what if the item can move on it's own. Loki, can't you turn other people invisible too?"
Thor's brother nods but Izuku shakes his head. "No, I can't yet. People are so much harder." Izuku looks crestfallen while taking back his marble. "It's hard enough to do it on myself, and I can't even do it very long. Doing another person seems impossible right now."
Thor gives the boy a reassuring shoulder squeeze. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You are still very young. Practically still a baby to other Asgardians." Izuku can't help the small smile on his face. "For you to have mastered the abilities you did, is nothing short of miraculous. Izuku turns his head to wipe away his rapidly forming tears. For all the magic he got from his dad, nothing could stop the tears he got from his mom.
Thor straightens in his seat and looks at Loki. "Still, it must bring you some relief that Izuku can't turn other people invisible yet brother. You don't have to worry about him sneaking any girls into his room anytime soon." Loki chokes on his drink and Izuku buries his head into his hands, turning very red, very fast.
"Uuuuuuuuuncle." That's it, he was jumping off the rainbow bridge. Nobody can stop him.
Thor tilts his head at the rapidly forming strawberry next to him. "What's wrong Izuku? What did I-" Thor's eyes widen. "O-oh! I am so sorry my boy, how insensitive of me. Of course, I have no problem if it's boys you wish to sneak into your room."
Loki has to hold his stomach to keep his laughter in check at his son's distress while Thor pats his nephew's back. "I know humanity only started accepting this part of themselves recently but Izuku. You have my support." The oblivious god says sincerely.
"Thor!" Loki is just barely able to get out through gasps of air. "Human's accepted that centuries ago."
"Well yes but to us, that's a very small amount of time."
"You have to remember it's not for humans, or for those who live among them."
Thor nods, looking back at Izuku who is devising the best method to melt through the floor and fall back to Earth. The blue-eyed man frowns at his nephew. "Izuku? Are you going to be ok?" He looks back up at Loki. "He has had the talk hasn't he?"
Izuku's bid for escape is cut short, Thor's grip is too much. He debates cutting his uncle's hand to get away. No no Izuku, that's too much. At least for now.
Loki can't hold back his laughter this time. "Please brother, be my guest." If Izuku thought it was remotely possible to lift his head from his hands, he'd be sending his father the worst glare he could. But at the rate things were going, he may never see anything again.
Thor turns in his seat to fully face Izuku and clears his throat. Izuku figures there are worse ways to go. He can't think of any right now but he's sure they're out there. "So, Izuku. You see, when a person loves another person very much…or when two or more people have had too much ale…or it happens to be a particularly boring day-"
"I've had the talk! I've had the talk! I've had the talk! I've had the talk!" Izuku cries, shaking his head.
"Oh." Thor sounds relieved. He's not the only one to feel that way. "Excellent."
At this point, Loki has his arm and head laying on the table, he can't breathe. A look of realization comes across Thor's face. "So you are in a gaming mood brother? Very well. Izuku." Despite what all logic and reason tell him, he looks up. "Did your father ever tell you about the time he transformed into a horse and-"
Two hands slamming on the table bring the other's attention to a furious Loki on his feet. "You dare!"
"Oh, I do dare brother."
Izuku tunes out the rest to calm himself down. Some of the red had already receded, just a couple of more deep breaths and he should be good. Just gotta calm down. Not like he'd ever have anybody like that to sneak in if he could. Izuku shakes his head before the downward spiral can continue. Looking down, he sees Mjöllnir sitting on the ground between him and his uncle.
A glance shows the other two still arguing. Could he risk it? He had always wanted to see if he could lift the hammer, who wouldn't, but his father had always said no. He was told it was better if he never tried because once that question was answered, it could never be unanswered. Honestly, he'd rather live with the disappointment than the constant question of if he could. Biting his lip, Izuku reaches for the hammer. It feels like he's in water and has to get his hand through the currents to reach it but he's just about there. Izuku goes to close his hand around the handle and-
"Izuku!"
The called-out boy snatches his hand back so fast he nearly falls out of his chair. He looks around to see his father eyeing him warily. "Come on. Your grandfather is ready to see us now."
Walking the halls of the palace wasn't anything new to Izuku. After all, it's where he spent most of his time while visiting anyway. But there was another part that stayed constant no matter how much he tried not to think about it.
"Do they always have to kneel?" Izuku asks, referring to the staff who bent down for a moment as they walked by. It's not that he hated it, oh wait no, he hated it.
"We are royalty Izuku. It's expected." Loki responds matter of factly.
"Can't say I'm the biggest fan either," Thor responds while Izuku tries not to show his relief that he's not the only one to feel that way. "It's a waste of time and I feel it degrades those who serve us. But I'm surprised. I thought the 'Prince' of Mischief would be all for the kneeling?" Thor says, not bothering to hide his smirk.
Izuku rolls his eyes. "Well, I wanted to be the 'something' of mischief. Being the god is taken and demi-god doesn't sound right so prince it is." Izuku takes another look around. "I have to say though. Aren't there usually more guards?"
"Yes, that would be Loki's doing." Thor praises his brother. "Because we have been in such an unprecedented time of peace, centuries since Asgard's army was called to arms, for years your father has been getting new laws passed. Laws that allow a great number of our military to retire, spend time with their families, and live their lives in leisure."
"Wow, really?" Izuku asks. "But wait, what happens if the army is needed?"
Thor laughs, ruffling Izuku's hair. He'll never admit how much he likes it when people do that. "Even in it's smaller stature, Asgard's army remains mighty. Even if for some reason, Heimdall didn't give us advance warning, it would take a truly terrifying force to lay siege."
Izuku turned to look up at his father, who simply smiled at him before saying, "I just want what's best for Asgard."
Any further conversation ended as the three reached a pair of massive doors. They all took a moment to gather themselves before the guards opened the doors for them. Inside was a massive room that put the banquet hall to shame. The room was multi-floored. With small sets of stairs leading to balconies. Pillars and torches lined the walls, and at the far end of the room, was the throne. A large flight of stairs led to the massive royal seat. Like everything else, it too was gold. Massive wings came out of the side turning upward to form a sort of 'U' shape, not dissimilar to Heimdall's helmet.
And on this throne, sat Odin himself. King of Asgard and protector of the Nine Realms. He was an old man now, with smooth white hair and a beard that matched in color. An eye patch covered his right eye. The armor he wore was similar to the one Thor currently wore. Dark-colored, with accents of brown and gold on the front. A long, red cape behind him and in his right hand, a sleek golden lance.
The three Asgardians walked to the base of the stairs where the throne sat. In a practiced maneuver they had each done numerous times, they pressed their right fists to their left shoulders and kneeled. "My King." They say in unison.
"Rise, my children." Slowly, they all do. The Allfather continues. "It always brings me great joy to see you all together. Izuku, you look well."
"Thank you, grandfather." Izuku loves the man but gosh darn it if he's not intimidated by him. Yes technically no one here is an actual god but Odin sure feels close. He can't even look the man in the eye. Just glances from the floor.
"And what of Midgard. Are we still part of man's myths and legends?"
"You are. You haven't been erased since you asked six months ago, grandfather."
Odin smiles. "No, and it seems that time has not erased your father's dry humor from you either."
Izuku looks up and smiles back, feeling more relaxed. "Never."
Odin himself stands. "If you don't mind, I would like to take a walk with my grandson, alone."
Thor and Loki nod, the former heads back the way they came while the latter takes a moment. "Meet me in the usual spot after." Izuku nods in confirmation and goes to walk alongside Odin to a different exit while Loki follows his brother. Odin waves off the guards that attempt to follow and they leave.
Thor Odinson leans back against the doors to the throne room and takes a shaky breath. Loki puts a firm hand on his shoulder. "Brother…"
"It always brings me great relief to see Izuku safe brother, you know this." Thor begins. "I just…I can't help…you know…"
Loki gives a reassuring squeeze. "It just makes you think of what could've been."
He had asked his brother numerous times if one of his abilities included mind reading. And despite the many reassurances he had received, it was moments like these that made him question it.
Loki's hand begins to glow, an indication he was hiding them from Heimdall. "It's not too late you know." Loki resumes. "You could go right now. I could help you. You know I have countless ways off Asgard that the gatekeeper doesn't know about-"
"Your offer for help is always appreciated brother, truly. But the decision was mine and I must live with it."
"Thor…" Loki says, frustration beginning to take hold. "That logic doesn't make sense here because you were not the only one affected by your choice. Just…I know this troubles you deeply. Promise me you'll consider my offer."
He used to be able to say no without much of a thought. But now, each passing year and every visit from his nephew made that harder. Finally, Thor relents. "Very well…I will consider."
Izuku and Odin exited the throne room and walked in what he thought was a random direction in silence for a minute before the king spoke. "So. I hear you plan to relieve me of Stormbreaker."
Izuku looks away, flushing in embarrassment. "I know you can hear me, Heimdall. We have a saying on Earth…snitches get stitches."
Odin laughs quietly. "There is no need for threats, Izuku. Just on the scale of the schemes your father has concocted, it's not very high on the list." Odin laughs once more as his little prince crosses his arms and sulks.
"Out of the treasures in my vault, why that weapon in particular?" Odin questions.
Izuku tilts his head side to side for a few seconds before answering. He debates lying but decides against it. "For the Bifrost."
"Yes, I thought so. Izuku, do you know why I locked Stormbreaker away in the first place?"
Izuku's not sure where this is going because he's pretty sure his grandfather knows that he knows why, but he'll go along with it. "In your words, for peace. After the last great war between the Nine Realms ended, you enacted laws that forbade travel between the different realms, especially for those in Asgard. Obviously, Stormbreaker offers an easy way to travel so you took it."
"Mostly correct." Odin states. "You must understand Izuku, that Asgard has a very bloody history. There are still many who see us as nothing more than conquerors. By removing the fear of invasion from the other realms, they have been allowed to flourish under their own direction. Of course, the laws state we are allowed to intervene if an outside force threatens the planet as a whole, but nothing close to that has ever occurred."
Odin gives a half-smile to the look on Izuku's face. "You don't agree." It's not a question.
"I…no. Sorry grandfather, I don't."
"That's quite alright. I know your father and uncle don't agree with it either. I swear, the only time those boys can agree on anything is if it's against me."
"It's just…" How should he word this? Odin typically has a lot more patience with him than others but still, he'd rather not push it. "I just feel that your plan is good grandfather, but only in the short term. Which is weird to say since, in this instance, the short term is in centuries." Odin nods but says nothing, allowing him to continue. "The realms can't survive forever on their own. Resources on planets are finite. Eventually, they're going to have to reach out to others for help. Also, by not letting people from the different realms interact, it could cause people to foster negative feelings about the others. People on Vanaheim can assume the worse of the people on Jotunheim and vice versa, and through the centuries, more and more people will believe until one day, when the people meet again, it could lead to violence and more wars. There's more but those are some of the reasons that stick out to me." Izuku takes a deep breath, he hadn't realized he had started mumbling. Not that it mattered to Odin since he always seems to understand him anyway. One of his favorite parts about the man.
"Thank you for speaking honestly with me, Izuku. But there's also another reason for the isolation I've called for." Odin says, waving his hand at two guards who unlock a set of doors near them. The Allfather beckons Izuku to follow down the stairs past the door. At the bottom, Odin unlocks another door himself and they end up in a dimly lit corridor, several objects lie on stands down the hallway and at the end of the hall, instead of a wall, sits a bright white light with numerous bars in front of it.
Izuku's breath hitches. 'Oh my god! This is his vault! I've never seen it before, this is so cool!' Izuku walks down the hall next to Odin, trying to take in everything he can. Some sort of blue glowing casket, a large golden glove, a giant crown of some sort, a white, blue, and red shield with a star in the middle, a red cloak draped over some kind of mannequin, and Stormbreaker!
Odin leads him past the treasures to a normal looking wall at the far end of the vault. "Grandfather?" Odin just gestures to the wall. Izuku is still confused but obliges. He puts his hand on the wall and…he can't describe it. Every one of his senses is overwhelmed at once. He can't see. He can't hear. Nothing. It's like when a surge of power is too much and a light bulb goes out, except in this case, Izuku is the lightbulb. He feels nothing and everything at the same time. After who knows how long, Izuku can see again. He's on his hands and knees panting. Sweat and tears drip off his face. His body burns like he just finished the hardest workout of his life multiplied by infinity.
After regaining some semblance of control, which isn't saying much, he looks up to see Odin watching him. "W-wha…w-what was that?" Izuku asks, barely holding back bile.
"Before I answer Izuku, let me ask you this. How does man think they developed their abilities?"
More tears stream down Izuku's face. He doesn't want to play twenty questions. He just wants to know what the hell that was and then go to sleep for a year! Odin gently lifts his grandson up from under his armpits and takes him to another side of the vault and leans his back against the wall. Izuku flinches but the wall is normal. Odin sits beside him, seemingly content on waiting.
After what could be hours, or minutes, Izuku feels his trembling hands start to still, and he's able to draw on deeper breaths. After a couple of more minutes, he finally answers. "Honestly…we don't really know? The biggest theory is that quirks are some sort of disease that was transferred from rats to humans but there's no actual evidence for it. The other theory is the quirk singularity theory but that has even less evidence somehow."
"Fascinating." Odin laments. "And I will never quite get over the word humanity chose…quirks…such a silly word." Odin gets lost in thought for a few moments. "Let me tell you my theory."
Izuku turns a bit to give his full attention.
"Centuries ago, there existed, let's call them items. These items contained power that had been around since the dawn of the universe itself. Each item possessed an immense and unique ability. One of them could grant a vast array of wishes, even those against the laws of nature itself. On it's own, it was powerful indeed, but still limited in it's reach and scale. However, when combined with another one of the items, it could easily affect change on say, a global scale. Put all the items together, and the scale is universal."
Izuku tries to digest everything he's listening too. His mind is running so fast that for once, his mouth can't keep up to mumble. He finally settles on, "s-so you're saying this…item, with the help of the others, is what gave people their quirks?…"
"I was not there to witness it myself, but I believe most likely, yes."
That's…Izuku swallows, yeah that's a lot. Until today, he still saw the threshold of power in people like All Might or his Uncle Thor but this…this was something on a completely different scale. "These…items…are they still?…"
"No. We were able to convince an ancient race known as Celestials that the power these items contained could no longer be allowed to exist. So they were taken and destroyed." Izuku can't even get his sign of relief out before Odin says, "well. Most of them."
Izuku goes cold. The connection is obvious. He stares at the wall he was previously at. Odin follows his gaze. "Yes, Izuku. One could not be destroyed. So I volunteered to keep it hidden. It's prison is made of it's own power, so only another item would be capable of breaking through."
"And since the other items were destroyed…"
"Then it should never see the light of day again. But I still rather not take chances. This isolationism makes the chances of anyone learning of the item, as minimal as can be. And so hopefully, it can stay locked away, forever. Izuku, you merely touched the wall that surrounds the prison the item is locked in. That was not even a taste of the devastation it could bring."
Izuku can only nod. He definitely should've let his body recover more before learning all of that! Right now, he can't even form proper thoughts on the situation. Well, that's wrong actually. He can form one thought. And that's to get as far away from this vault as possible.
Izuku stumbles onto the balcony near the top of the palace. Still reeling from the talk with Odin. Loki stands by the railing, hands behind his back as usual, watching the setting sun. He turns but freezes when he sees the state of his son. Loki rushes over and helps Izuku to the railing so he can lean on it for support. "Izuku, what's wrong?"
The boy says nothing, opting to lean against his dad instead, no longer holding back his tears. Every time he closes his eyes, he feels the phantom touch of the item. How small and insignificant it made him feel. He felt powerless and for once, not in control. And he knew nothing he did would ever be able to tame…whatever it was.
Loki sighs, running his fingers through Izuku's hair while he leans into his side. "Father told you what was in the vault, didn't he?" He asks softly.
Izuku stiffens before relaxing again and nodding. Loki takes a deep breath. "Don't worry, your uncle and I are aware. As well as a few select others. You can always talk to us about it." Another nod.
They stand in mostly comfortable silence for a while before the older trickster begins anew. "Izuku, did I ever tell you why, when announcing myself, I declare that I am burdened with glorious purpose?"
Izuku's mind is finally taken off the item for a moment. Had he thought about it? He hadn't. In his head, it was just something his father always said but he never really put too much thought into the words themselves. Izuku shakes his head.
"It's because, for the longest time, I didn't know what my purpose was."
Izuku is taken so off guard by the statement that his head whips up to look at Loki before he can think. In his father's green eyes, he sees more emotion than he thinks he's ever seen.
"I spent a long time just going from goal to goal. Purpose to purpose. Each time I thought, this is it. This time I truly found what I was meant to do. Only to be left disappointed and disheartened after each attempt. You know, part of me is ashamed to admit I was a bit envious of you Izuku."
"Of me?" Izuku's voice is hoarse.
Loki hums. "From the moment you could comprehend the world around you, you knew what you wanted to be. What your purpose was. To be a hero. I was envious, but also proud that you had figured out what had taken me so many years too."
"So what is your purpose dad?"
Loki gives a sad smile. "That is something that'll have to wait for the right time."
"I don't understand?"
"I know, son. But you will in time. All you need to know is that change is coming."
"A good change?" Izuku leans further into his father.
"Yes, Izuku. A good change is coming. Because no matter how people attempt to stall or run from it, change always comes." Loki watches the last of the sun's rays disappear over the horizon. "It is inevitable."