Chapter Text
“This is crazy, you know that?” Katsuki only grunted in response. He knew that already, didn’t need Shinso to spell it out for him. They hovered around the screen as it scanned the DNA sample. A bloody piece of green fabric from the now deceased villain—Deku.
It was without a doubt that many would wonder why Katsuki could ever want to bring his pack's sworn nemesis back. In truth, Katsuki didn’t quite understand his own logic himself. Perhaps it was the memories of missed opportunities, hands reaching out, eyes hopeful and tear filled followed him like a ghost.
Those green eyes haunted him nearly every night in the form of paralyzing nightmares. Eyes that were once filled with dreams following his every move as a child. Till the end, where the eyes were dimmed of all life staring up at him with nothing but hate and disdain.
If only he hadn’t pushed him away, if only he hadn’t been cruel, if only. But that train of thought only brought spiraling what ifs and never any answers or solutions. It didn’t matter what Katsuki did, he couldn’t change the past. His childhood friend turned into a villain, and he was to blame. Even his blood was permanently stained into his hands now.
It was a tale as old as time. Izuku wasn’t extraordinary when it came to his villain origin story. It started out as just most villains did. A starry eyed child with hopes and dreams bigger than the world itself. Then, society chewed up those dreams and spat them out so malformed that they couldn’t ever possibly be fixed and put back together. A through and through recipe to create a villain. He’d seen it time and time again over the years. They were pushed so far into a corner that they could only claw their way out with blood.
Midoriya had been like that. Katsuki remembered fondly of the green haired child that looked up to him as if he had hung the stars in the sky himself. Always the most kind in class, willing to share his things, encouraging others even when he was so weak himself. But that was years ago. He found himself wondering if that time of his life had even been real at all.
“What if he’s just like the one from here?” Shoto’s question brought Katsuki back from memory lane. Katsuki had wondered this very thing himself.
They were playing with literal realities of existence, trying to pluck a version of Izuku Midoriya from a different timeline and bring him here, just to see if they could .
You’d think if people were able to make a literal multiversal machine that they would have figured out how to make the people pulled here a random choice. But it hadn’t been possible. The choice had to be clear. DNA provided with an as vivid as possible 3D model of the person they wanted to steal from their universe. Complete randomness didn’t work with this form of entropy. You had to pick the person, and then wait to see what sort of version of them would come out.
In Katsuki’s mind the obvious choice for their first little test of the machine was his childhood best friend that he had killed only one year ago. The green blood stained uniform had sat under his bed the entire time preserving the villain's DNA. Of course, he knew every square inch of his body like the back of his hand. How could he not? They had fought for several years.
“Then we’ll deal with him again.” Katsuki’ s words were devoid of all emotion. Those had to be buried long ago if he was going to survive fighting Midoriya.
A long pause filled the open space of the lab. Shinso and Shoto had learned to simply let their mates chaos be when it was spiraling so viciously as it was now. They could either embrace the storm or be swept away. They’d choose the ladder.
The screen flashed green, drawing their attention to the now shimmering portal. A bright space matter that appeared in a long glass cylinder tube—reinforced to try and withstand cosmic forces that were previously unknown. Whoever was transmigrated would appear inside of it, confused and disorientated.
“They aren’t going to like that we used this for a personal grudge. He’ll most likely be a beta too.” Shoto’s eyes flickered back and forth from the large button that would begin this process to the glowing tube. His brows were furrowed, sweat beginning to pool on his brow. His body was begging Katsuki to change his mind, to leave this be and let the ghost of Izuku Midoriya die for good.
Even Katsuki knew he was right, because Shoto was, they were the top three heroes. If they weren’t sure they’d be screwed, and even now with their status they’re bound to be put on some sort of probation. But the consequences were just light enough for Katsuki to say screw it.
“Katsuki, are you sure about this? We know this isn’t what it’s meant for.” Shinso tried to voice the words that Shoto was unable to. Both of their scents were unsure about their mate's choice in this matter.
Katsuki thought the real purpose of this thing was already fucked up enough. Why couldn’t he add to it?
It was meant to bring omegas here. With a steeply declining birth rate and the all-time low of omega presentations, a prior project to explore the multiverse became a beacon for getting the nearly extinct designation back. Only omega DNA from deceased individuals was meant to go through with the hopes that it will bring another omega back. Though that theory hasn’t been completely tested.
Many tried to reason, imagine if their omegas disappeared without a trace, what that would do to them. How it would collapse their society entirely. But the commission must have figured that that is another realities problem—not ours.
“Fuck it.” A loud whirring sound echoed throughout the building as soon as Katsuki slammed his fist down on the start switch. Too much thinking, it was easier to just do .
Shoto and Shinso could only brace themselves, preparing for the worst case scenario—a Midoriya that was just like the one here. An villain, angry, and willing to do anything to take them down.
There was a bright blinding flash, all three were forced to look away lest they go blind in this idiotic personal experiment. Then silence. So quiet that you could hear the ragged breaths leaving their bodies, the faint humming of machines creating an eerie ambiance. The three blinked away the dark spots clouding their vision, unable to access if it had even worked at all.
Shinso was the first to gasp. Shoto swayed, and Katsuki’s breath hitched. There inside the tube was a much younger than intended Izuku Midoriya, confused and blinking away the light just as they were before his knees began to wobble and he collapsed. Katsuki couldn’t believe it. A dead man was brought back to life—a man he killed . The three heroes could only watch, waiting to see what sort of Midoriya this would turn out to be.
The younger Midoriya let out a groan of pain as he tried to stand up, a futile attempt as he was back on the ground immediately expelling the contents of his stomach.
Katsuki hadn’t considered that there may be severe side effects for the person being brought to another plane of existence. Could he die from this? How long would he last?
Green eyes met his and the entire world slowed to a halting stop. Katsuki was expecting the cold calculated look that he had grown used to for years. Instead, a soft look of relief was shining in those out of place green eyes. He took a step back, a strange feeling bubbling up in his chest.
“Kacchan?” Izuku mumbled before continuing to vomit. The single word had frozen Katsuki in place. The sound of his heart beat erratically thumping rang through his ears. He hadn’t heard that nickname in nearly twenty years.
It was a childhood name that Izuku had given him when they were kids. Before Katsuki got his quirk and before he presented. That single word solidified what he already knew. This was not the Izuku Midoriya he knew.
“Kacchan?” He stuttered out again, a string of drool leaving his mouth. The pile of bile in front of him was nothing but stomach acid and water.
“What’s happening?” He tried again. “Or Shinso, Shoto—one of you. Talk to me.” Shinso was the first to make a move, slowly walking over to Izuku. Hands out cautiously as if he was some wild animal.
“How do you feel?” Shinso was in front of him now, crouching down next to him. Katsuki watched his hand ready to use his binding scarf if needed.
“Like shit.” Izuku laughed out loud. Smiling through the pain. Even that threw Katsuki off beat. It wasn’t the usual maniacal laughter of a man descended into madness. But light hearted, soft, words that didn’t fit what came to mind when thinking of the villain Deku.
“Shinso what happened…” Izuku’s eyes narrowed at Shinso. His eyes darted around his face, analyzing every indent and wrinkle. Izuku must have realized something from his observations. He suddenly forced himself to his feet, beginning to back away from the purple haired hero.
“Are you really Shinso?” Once he got a good look at his face Katsuki could see gears turning in his head. Izuku somehow noticed that this Shinso was not the one he was familiar with. Were they that close for him to notice so quickly? Was a reality like that really possible?
“Kacchan?” Izuku looked at the blonde who was still standing behind the control panel. There was a test to his voice, as if he was trying to feel out if the strange uncanniness would extend to him as well.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Katsuki wasn’t sure how he convinced his body to speak at all. Though, after seeing Midoriya’s voice maybe it would have been better if he said nothing. The moment he answered Izuku’s eyes widened, clearly realizing that Katsuki wasn’t the same either. He didn’t understand how it was possible for him to tell.
“Who are you? Where are they?” Izuku immediately got into a fighting stance as dark electric energy pulsated around him. Black whip…but that was Mirio’s…Katsuki glanced at Shinso and Shoto’s equally curious expressions.
“You have One For All?” Shinso could never stray from his bluntness could he?
“You say that as if it’s a surprise.” He continued to carefully back away, most likely hoping the three wouldn’t notice his miniscule movements. Izuku never could hide anything from him, it seems that fact extends no matter what reality Deku’s in.
“It is. Mirio has it in our world.” Izuku glances between the three of us before slightly relaxing.
“So that’s the situation then. How’d I get here? Quirk incident? Mission gone awry?” Izuku glanced down at himself, looking his clothes and body over.
“So you're a hero in your world?” Katsuki ignored every question, too focused on his own curiosities about the anomaly to worry about what Izuku had to say.
“You say that as if I’m not here…?” There was a spark of curiosity that Katsuki once knew. As a child Izuku had always been inquisitive, questioning every thing and coming to conclusions that were almost right every time. He’d often daydream what that look would be like on an older Izuku. Now he knew, a thought that both pleased and unsettled him.
“You weren’t.” Katsuki tested the waters.
“Weren’t?” Of course he picked it up. It took all of Katsuki’s power to not smirk. This Izuku was already amusing.
“Izuku Midoriya is dead here.” Shoto supplied.
“He was a villain.” Katsuki watched the gears turning in the greenettes head.
“Why should I believe anything you say?” A reasonable question, as of right now they had no proof to give him. It was logical to question things. Something their Izuku had long stopped doing.
“How did you know that we were different from your versions of us?” Katsuki asked instead, masterfully redirecting the conversation to go his way. Everything was his way here. He wondered if that was the same in this Izuku’s world too.
“How could I not know? The four of us live together, we are with each other every day of our lives both at home and at work. It would be weird if I didn’t notice. Besides, you guys are clearly much older than my versions of you.” Katsuki’s mind was reeling. Roommates and heroes together, a world like that really existed out there while he was stuck with this shitty reality where he ruined everything and killed his childhood friend. Just how bad was his luck exactly?
“I can’t imagine a world where you and Katsuki get along.” Shinso interrupted. Katsuki found himself completely agreeing, even if he imagined lighting Shinso’s face on fire just for saying that. The gears were already turning in his mind, this was a clean slate, Shinso didn’t need to ruin already. However, his comment only earned another laugh from Midoriya, lighter this time. His eyes sparkled as if recalling a fond memory.
“Believe it or not Katsuki hated me when we were kids. He bullied me, told me to take a swan dive off the roof and hope my next life was better. Can you believe that? All because I was quirkless and wanted to be a hero! He was such a jerk.” Katsuki’s breathing slowed, as those exact memories resurfaced. Izuku’s tormented face as he told him with words laced in venom to kill himself and hope for better next time.
Those words had changed everything, because his Midoriya did take a swan dive off the roof and he was never the same even after he healed. His mind had been more broken than his body and no one had bothered to fix it.
“Did you?” Katsuki winced at his own meagerness. He’d never told Shinso and Shoto what he said to Midoriya all those years ago. Only that he fucked up enough to ruin someone forever, never the details.
“Of course I didn’t. I couldn’t just give up on all my dreams because you—well my Katsuki—told me too! Besides, I wanted to prove him wrong and become the first quirkless hero. But then things happened and I inherited All For One.” Katsuki could feel the heated stares from Shoto and Shinso on the side of head. Surely the puzzle pieces were finally clicking together in their minds, after years of wondering what exactly Katsuki had done to Midoriya to make him so…angry.
But somewhere else, far away from here where he couldn’t ever hope to possibly reach, there was a Midoriya who was able to persevere through his wickedness. This one found strength to carry on, a strength Katsuki wasn’t even sure he’d be able to muster if someone else put him through the same.
“And you’re friends now?” A light flickered in the darkest parts of Katsuki’s heart. There, a child-like dream to fix the wrongs of the past.
“Best friends. He’s my partner in crime, I couldn’t imagine being a hero without him by my side.” Each word was a jab to the gut, water began to build in his eyes with the thought of them fighting alongside each other—not against each other.
This Midoriya was proof of something that Katsuki had thought to be impossible. But there was a strange rage lingering too. Why couldn’t it have been him ? Some other Katsuki Bakugo got to live a peaceful life where all of his mistakes were bygones. Yet he was stuck in this reality, where nothing ever worked in his favor.
If only he had gotten the stronger Midoriya in this life. The one who could be beaten down and somehow find the will to stand back up after years of being belittled and tormented. Katsuki knew it wasn’t rational, most people would have broken long before his Midoriya did—a quirk less child nobody hanging onto a thread longer than even some adults could. He still did his best, still kept his head high longer than most, but then Katsuki told him to kill himself and he actually tried to do it.
“So who is this version of Midoriya?” Shinso motioned to all of him. “You mentioned we looked much older, right?” Shinso’s eyes bore into Katuski's. His face was loud and clear: we’re talking about this later. Katsuki didn’t expect any less. Somehow this grand idea he had had was now turning into an entire shit show. What’s new?
“Yeah, definitely older. You guys look like the commissions been running you ragged! Just how old are you guys anyway?” Midoriya looked over each of them carefully, assessing the differences between the people he knew in his reality and the men in front of him.
“Twenty-five, all three of us.”
“Jesus, you guys are all old! We’re only twenty!” Shoto let out a laugh. The sound was music to Katsuki’s ears. Maybe this is what they needed to put the thousands of shattered pieces between them back together again. Maybe this Izuku Midoriya was the answer after all.
“Twenty-five ain’t old you brat.” Katsuki forced the joke out of him. It wasn’t natural to look at someone with Midorya’s face and act light hearted.
“Uh-huh, sure grandpa!” Izuku’s natural smile was blinding. Katsuki swore it could light up the whole world brighter than the sun could. He wanted to see more, what other faces could an adult Midorya make?
“Hey, what’s your designation?” Katsuki hadn’t meant to say that, the words slipped through his mouth with his growing eagerness.
“My designation?”
“Forget him Midoriya, that was rude of him to ask out of the blue.” Shinso’s words held a warning. But Katsuki wasn’t sure he could abide by his mates wishes.
“Rude? I don’t understand what he’s even asking.” Izuku’s face seemed to say as much. There was no recognition when he’d first asked, and even now there was only a strange look of confusion.
“You’re secondary gender, does your world call it something else?” It was possible, leave it to Shoto to think that it might just be called a different name. But even then, Izuku still didn’t seem to understand what he was talking about.
“I don’t even know what you're saying right now. Like the sex you're born with? Is that what you mean by gender? Or are we talking biology? I’m lost.” Katsuki was sure neither of them had pondered that there would be a vast array of world structures. Places that had different social standings, worlds where everyone was quirkless.
In hindsight, it seemed obvious if anything. Katsuki didn’t realize how they could have missed considering such a factor. If there were thousands of realities how many would actually be the same? For all they knew, they could be the only one with designations.
“Alpha, beta, omega. Any of that ring a bell?” Shinso attempted to get Izuku to recognize some sort of verbiage they used. Katsuki already knew better, the reality that this twenty year old Izuku belonged to was nothing like theirs.
“Not at all.” Izuku confirmed the three’s growing suspicious. How a non-designated person would fit into a world filled with pheromones and primal hierarchy was unclear. It was possible his body would adjust just as it was possible for him to walk blindly in a world ran on instincts alone.
“So are there any primitive instincts that you can’t help but fall into? Scents, bonding?” Shoto seemed desperate, seeming to understand that Izuku lacking these instincts would do more harm then good. But Izuku merely shook is head, confirming that his world didn’t function as ours did.
“Primitive instincts? I can’t even begin to fathom what you might be implying by that. But from what you’re saying, no we don’t fall to baser instincts where I’m from. But I’m taking it, you all do?” That was the understatement of the year. As the top heroes they practically ran on instinct alone.
Sometimes it was impossible to pull away from, like a fog clouding your mind as you descended into some primitive animal. It would make sense then why this Midoriya might be stronger. Without designations the world was probably just a tad bit simpler than theirs was. His Midorya wasn’t weak, this one just happened to be in a world that was much better than theres was.
“I see.” Shoto was at a loss for words. It was difficult to imagine a society nearly identical also being so different.
It was clear that there were endless possibilities of who could waltz through this gateway. People that weren’t even human anymore could come through and destroy everything. Katsuki glanced at his mates, a scent of clarity racing through the room. They were on the same page here.
This machine, was dangerous. They got lucky this time, but who knows what sort of things could be brought here. The commision has proved itself time and time again as unrealizable and self serving. They would risk the lives of thousands of people just to attempt to bring omegas through. With the odds so improbable, this was as good as wild goose chase—one with the power to destroy the very fabric of their reality.
Katsuki’s instincts roared to life, spreading to his mates as they breathed in long ragged breathes. Their instincts called to them, the three bonding in a way that only a pack could. They all stepped forward in time with the other leaving the clueless Izuku at a loss. Their sudden synchronization startled him, he frantically moved away from the machine, abandoning the tube which brought him here.
A burst of fire and ice, an imploding explosion, and a sea of carbon fiber bindings attacked the machine. A bright flash enveloping them all.
A thundering crack rang throughout the building as alarm bells roared to life at the impact. They had only seconds until this place was locked down tighter than an iron fortress. Katsuki didn’t think, the one perk to these ‘baser instincts.’ He grabbed Midorya, throwing him over his shoulder like a rice sack and blasted himself out of there. Shinso and Shoto were right behind him, fleeing the scene as the building began to collapse into itself.
Midorya was horrified. Never had he seen people link up in such a way. He wondered if these so-called designations offered a bluetooth feature with other people, because it should have been impossible.
But most importantly, and probably worst of all, they’d just destroyed his only chance of getting home. That reality had another wave of nausea wash over him. He was going to be stuck here. Without his family, without his friends, just strange uncanny copies of them. The speed from Katuski’s blast had block dots clouding his vision.
He wanted to stay, wanted to cry and scream and fight. But his body had just crossed dimensions and he could feel the weight of that change heavily on his shoulders. He could do nothing more than sleep, even as he mourned his life as he knew it.