CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE SUSPECT

Allmight stared out the window from his spot on the hospital bed. Going over everything that happened in his fight against All for One the other day. He defeated the villain, but in turn he found out that Tomura Shigaraki is Nana Shimura's grandson. To top it all off the league escaped and All for One revealed that Apotheosis has some big plan in the works.

It was a good thing he decided to conserve his strength. Otherwise he might have been in trouble or worse the public could have seen his true form. Luckily none of things happened and he walked away from that fight with some broken bones and a concussion. However he pushed his power past the limit once again and now his time frame was reduced even more. He figured he probably had half an hour at most in his strong form.

The whole incident hammered in the fact that he still needed to find a successor to pass on the power of One for All. There were some candidates, but the ones in class 1-A that Toshinori was interested in were too young and inexperienced. None of them had the heart of a true hero that he was looking for. So he started looking outside of that class to the third years.

"Moping about Allmight?" Shota Aizawa said interrupting his thoughts. "That's out of character for you"

"And being concerned for me is out of character for you", Toshinori said turning to face his fellow teacher who entered the room. "So how was your day?" He asked finally noticing the other was dressed in a white shirt, tie, and actually looked clean cut for once.

"Going home to home to tell parents about the new dorms we're moving the students into, by myself", the man sighed in exhaustion letting his hair fall down. "How do you think it went?"

"Guess I owe you a drink", Allmight chuckled.

THE NEXT DAY

Izuku smirked as he watched the fight on his dorm room computer. He mostly just wanted to see All for One's power. Tomura liked to brag about how strong Sensei was, but he had never seen it until now that is.

'So this is what you get with the power to steal any quirk you want?' He mused as he poured notes on everything he learned from the video into his book. 'What a great and dangerous ability', Izuku hat to wonder about the power of All for One though. With the ability to steal quirks, why didn't he just take Allmight's quirk? Perhaps he needed to be in direct physical contact for a period of time and of course the hero is not going to sit back and let that happen when he can Texas Smash him if he tries. His phone suddenly rang stopping his research. Looking down at the screen he spotted Kurogiri's number.

"Hello", Izuku answered.

"Did you know?", that wasn't Kurogiri's voice. It sounded like a dangerously calm Shigaraki.

"Tomura-san?" He asked.

"Did…you…know?" the pale haired man on the other end said slowly.

"Know what? You need to be specific", Izuku wasn't expecting a call like this.

"Did you know what would happen?" Ah so that's what he wanted. "You're the god damn strategist. You always seem to know how things will play out", he growled at him. "Did you know how all this would go? Did you know that Allmight would come? That Sensei would be defeated and captured!? DID YOU!?" Tomura screamed at him. Izuku frowned wondering if he should tell the truth or not.

"To be honest I didn't expect a raid on our base so quickly", he lied smoothly.

"And where were you?"

"I was in my lab working when I heard a noise outside. I poked my head out and saw the heroes attacking the Nomu Factory. I figured the same must have been happening at the bar", Izuku continued to spin his story. "While I was frantically deleting computer files and burning evidence Sensei appeared, told me to flee and promised to erase my lab", now that part was true. The secret to lying was always sprinkle in a bit of truth. "So don't go assuming I left you all behind to your fate", Tomura remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Where are you now?" Tomura seemed to buy his story.

"My school dormitory", Izuku answered.

"I'll have Kurogiri create a warp gate for you", the green haired boy sighed as they hit this little snag that he knew was coming.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I going to have to decline"

"What?" Tomura growled out.

"We need to go our separate ways for now Tomura", Izuku explained. "You don't need me or Sensei anymore. I have my own plans and goals that I need to follow"

"So you're abandoning us!?" Shigaraki shouted at him. "After everything we did for you!"

"No! Think of this as me taking some time off. We'll see each other again, but I'm too close to finishing what I started. I can't help you right now", Izuku apologized once again.

"Just what are you up to?"

"You'll see soon enough", Izuku chuckled darkly. "Tell Dabi and Toga I said hello" and with that he hung up. Izuku then went back to taking notes on the quirks All for One and One for All while re-watching the video of its two wielders battling it out. He found both of these quirks very fascinating.

ONE WEEK LATER

"So do you think my costume could be lighter?" Ochako asked.

"Come on! Give me a challenge", Mei Hatsume laughed.

"How about a weapon then. Like a staff of some kind", Ochako explained while making a bat swinging motion with her arms. A hand held weapon would benefit her greatly and maybe give her the edge she needed.

"Maybe it can have like a grapple tether, to pull people back down that are effected by your quirk", Mei smiled getting an awesome idea. "OH! I know somebody who made an awesome grapple weapon, let's ask him about it"

"Him?" Ochako wondered while the pink haired girl went to her computer and opened up a video call. A few minutes later and the screen opened up revealing big green eyes on a cute familiar freckled face.

"Mei, you kind of caught me at a bad time", Izuku appeared to be moving around using his phone to continue this video chat.

"Are you at Geonosis still?" Mei asked.

"This is the last week of my internship before I go back to school so I'm trying to cram as many projects as I can into the limited amount of time I have", he smiled at her awkwardly. "So I'm a tad busy right now"

"Midoriya!" Ochako exclaimed finally recognizing the boy on the screen.

"Uraraka! We meet again", he was glad to see she was alright. For a while Izuku was worried that Toga may have seriously hurt her when he sent her to retrieve a blood sample during the training camp attack. "I heard what happened at the training camp. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine", she smiled at him. "Just a few scratches", he knew she got blown up by Bakugou during that attack, so she must have been playing it off as not to worry him. How sweet.

"You two met before?" Mei asked with a bit of a suggestive tone

"It was before summer break, we ran into each other at the mall", Ochako quickly explained with a blush.

"I recognized her from the sports festival and wanted to say hello", and get a blood sample which he refused to do at the time. "So what do you need from me?" He gave Mei his number in case she wanted advice from a peer and fellow inventor, or if she just wanted to discuss ideas.

"My lovely associate here was looking to get a staff weapon. Didn't you say you made one for a pro hero recently?" The support student inquired.

"Yeah but the guy decided he didn't want it", Izuku smiled sadly. "He said he couldn't trust something that a quirkless person designed", Ochako looked upset that some bigot talked down to someone as nice as Izuku. It seemed prejudice towards those who lacked a quirk was something that still existed.

"I'm sorry", she apologized for bringing it up.

"It's alright Uraraka", Izuku assured. "I'm used to it by now"

"You shouldn't have to deal with that!" Ochako suddenly said angrily.

"She's right you're brilliant, you shouldn't have to take that kind of abuse", Mei added equally angry.

"So you're interested in the staff?" Izuku asked changing the subject. "It was a good weapon. One end could change into a grappling claw, the other into a loop like they use in zoos to wrangle animals, both with extend and retractable tethers that can be fired out a distance of fifteen yards. Oh! It also could extend and change into a segmented whip form", he explained in detail going off into one of his tangents again. "Ochako could use it quite well in combination with her anti-gravity quirk, making the staff weightless when she swings it. She could make them float then capture them with the grapple staff"

"Izuku! You're doing it again", Mei interrupted him.

"S-Sorry", Izuku flushed in embarrassment. "Bad habit of mine"

"Its fine", Ochako found it kind of cute actually.

"Now I can't legally give you the prototype. However I can send you the blueprint for it and if Mei adds a few extra improvements, maybe repaint it a different color then no one gets in trouble", Izuku smirked then frowned when a small explosion went off behind him. "Dammit"

"What was that?" Mei asked with concern.

"This metal synthesizer I made keeps blowing up", Izuku sighed running a hand through his messy green locks. "I have to get back to work, I'll email you the staff blueprints. It was nice seeing you two again"

"Bye", Ochako and Mei both waved at him before the screen cut out.

"Alright looks like we have your boyfriend to thank for your new staff", Mei suddenly said.

"W-We're just friends!" the pink haired girl laughed at the other's denial.

Meanwhile in another room at U.A two others were having their own discussion. Allmight was approached by his friend Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi during today's class training. The man asked to talk privately with him in the hero teacher's office, once there Allmight deflated into his true form.

"What's this about? We're busy helping the students create special moves" Toshinori said.

"I came to you because we might have a possibly lead and the League of Villains", Naomasa took out a folder and placed it on the desk. "We finally have a suspect that we think is secretly the villain Apotheosis. Description wise he's the best match in terms of height, age, hair and eyes", opening the folder the first thing in it was a photograph of a boy with dark green hair and eyes, freckled cheeks and a bright smile. "His name is Izuku Midoriya", Allmight coughed loudly nearly choking on his own blood as he immediately recognized that face.

"What is it?" The detective was surprised by the sudden reaction.

"I-I've met him…once before", he remembered meeting the boy over a year ago when he saved him from being attacked by that sludge villain. He told his friend what happened not leaving out a single detail from his memory of the event. He'd never seen a kid so devastated before. It hurt to crush the kid's dreams, but he was so sure that it was the right thing to do rather than let the kid hope for what was impossible. Plus he figured the boy would get over it and move on.

'Is it possible for someone like me without a quirk to become a hero?'

"I told him no, that it wasn't possible", the skinny man looked away. "Do you think that was the right thing to do?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask, but if you want my opinion I don't think quirks are everything", Naomasa told him what he thought. "I've heard of some heroes with very impractical quirks, but when combined with a gadget or weapon it suddenly becomes very useful"

"But what if it was my words that turned a kid into a villain?" Toshinori looked down at his boney clenched fist in shame.

"We're not even sure Midoriya and Apotheosis are the same person yet", the detective reminded him. "He's just our only suspect"

"What do you have that points to him aside from matching descriptions?" They flipped through the folder revealing a few photos from traffic cameras. It showed a crowd of people watching the fight between Allmight and All for One on the jumbo screen. In the back of the crowd, zoomed closely in the next photo, was the boy in question. He was dressed in a suit and holding a metal briefcase.

"He looks remarkably unconcerned with the fight compared to everyone else in the crowd", the officer pointed out. "What was he even doing in Kamino at night? He's a student", not only that but in the next picture it looked like Izuku walked away before the fight was even finished as if he didn't care. It was definitely a bit suspicious. "There's more. We couldn't accurately pinpoint Apotheosis's quirk because he displayed different abilities in every noted encounter with him", there was a list of possible quirks he might possess. At the top was super intelligence, then energy manipulation, barrier projection, and recently teleportation was added to the list after the things witnesses saw him do during the training camp attack. "In every encounter he seems to have a piece of machinery attached to himself. Katsuki Bakugou even said he used some sort of sticky foam grenade to trap him"

"What are you getting at?" Allmight asked.

"We never even considered the possibility that he doesn't have a quirk at all", it was true. Quirkless villains were rare mainly because they were hardly a threat in today's world, and they were always dealt with swiftly and easily. In fact the longest a quirkless villain was at large before capture was one month.

"You think he built weapons and devices to make others think he had a quirk", the hero stated. "Does Midoriya have the ability and resources to do that?"

"You obviously still don't watch much of the news", seeing the question on the gaunt face he flipped through the file, stopping at an article from the internet. "This is an article from this year's Tech Expo", in the top picture was Izuku Midoriya standing next to a big robot. "He's been working as an intern for Geonosis Tech, but due to his genius, they've been fast tracking him through their R & D department", the article also contained pictures and descriptions of the devices he invented. Some of which functioned in the same way as the supposed 'quirks' that Apotheosis displayed.

"Anti-villain robot huh?" Allmight frowned as he read through the article. "Is this all you have? While it's true this all fits together, we still don't have a motive or reason behind his actions"

"Actually we do now", Naomasa looked at him. "You just said you met the kid before and told him he couldn't be a hero. What if its revenge he's after?"

"Shigaraki is the one that wants to kill me. Apotheosis has never expressed the same interest. We don't know what he wants", Toshinori corrected.

"You're forgetting what Iida said", he reminded him. "Apotheosis told him that he wanted to create a true hero. Someone who's been repeatedly scorned and rejected by society and its heroes might want that. Maybe he wants to make a hero that completely surpasses you for personal satisfaction. There's a list of psychological disorders I could dive into but now isn't time for that", after a short but silent pause while Toshinori stared at the smiling cheerful face of Midoriya he finally asked.

"What happens if he is Apotheosis?" He swallowed the guilt and steeled himself.

"He'll be arrested and questioned", the detective answered immediately. "However, he's just a minor, so provided what information he surrenders on the League of Villains, he'll probably be let go under surveillance or house arrest. Maybe even placed into protective custody", the man sighed, it was exhausting putting all these pieces together the past week. "If not then he'll be sent to a juvenile detention center"

"I want to meet him", the hero spoke. "At the very least I owe him an apology for crushing his dreams. If he is Apotheosis I'll be able to tell by talking to him in person"

"Are you sure that's wise?" Naomasa questioned.

"I've dealt with a lot of villains in my career", he said while holding up his bandaged fist. "If there's secretly a villain hiding inside that boy I'll know"

"I'll talk to Geonosis and see if we can arrange a meeting", the detective wrote something down in his notes. "I hope you know what you're doing"

FIVE DAYS LATER

Yagi Toshinori looked at the large tall building of Geonosis. He was here in his true form under the guise of a representative of U.A looking into the new training devices and security systems. He also expressed interesting in meeting their star intern Izuku Midoriya, to see if he wanted to transfer to U.A's support department. He had discussed it with principle Nezu, in case it turned out that Midoriya wasn't Apotheosis, they would still offer him the transfer. He did not however tell the company about the investigation or the fact that they suspect the boy might be a villain. Adjusting his oversized yellow suit he made his way into the lobby.

Toshinori didn't have to wait long, a company executive was waiting there to greet and show him around the building. After a short tour that ended in the research and development department, he was shown a bunch new security programs and training robots that would very useful in the student's development. Toshinori didn't understand half the techno mumbo jumbo they told him, but he still smiled and nodded like he did. Finally came the moment he was waiting for. He would get to meet Midoriya, the number one suspect on the identity of Apotheosis.

"He's probably working through lunch again", the executive said as they approached the office door.

"He hasn't gone back to school yet?" Toshinori asked.

"Tomorrow he does, but for the past week he's been here day and night", the man chuckled. "We had to force him to go back to his dorm after we caught him sleeping in his office the other night", the door opened and the two men walked into the office. Toshinori immediately spotted the boy on the other side of the room rapidly writing some sort of large equation on a white board. He cleared his throat loudly when he realized that Izuku hadn't noticed them come in.

"Huh!?" The teen whipped his head around. "ALLMFF!" Izuku quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, sending an apologetic gaze to the hero for almost revealing his identity. "S-Sorry", he put his marker down and approached the two, straightening his white button down shirt. "I'm all tweaked out on caffeine and you startled me", he chuckled awkwardly.

"Its alright", the executive said. "This is Yagi Toshinori, the representative from U.A we told you was coming"

"It's nice to meet you", Izuku smiled playing along.

"Izuku Midoriya. I've heard a lot about you", the match stick man said holding his hand out.

"All good I hope?" The teen asked shaking the offered hand. One secretly a villain who knew exactly who the man was and the other secretly a hero who suspected who the boy was. "What can I do for you?" Allmight took a brief moment to glance around the room. It looked like a normal windowless work space, albeit a tad large for an intern. Some books on a shelf, a few pictures on the wall. The desk was cluttered with papers and blueprints, but what caught Toshinori's eye was the various Allmight figures placed neatly on the front end, some were even limited editions. So the boy was still a fan, even after what he said to him. One point towards not being a villain.

Upon observing him he could tell that Izuku was considerably taller than the skinny kid he met over a year ago. He also appeared more muscular under his shirt. There were dark circles beginning to develop under his eyes suggesting a lack of proper sleep recently, but beyond that Toshinori didn't see any visual signs that would implicate him as a possible villain.

"Is it alright if we speak in private?" He asked the executive who nodded and left the two of them alone. "You look well kid", Toshinori said pulling up a chair from the work table.

"I-I didn't tell anyone about you I swear", Izuku shook his head frantically.

"Relax", the hero calmed him down. "I'm not here about that"

"Oh!" Izuku sighed in relief, but secretly he was smirking inside.

"You've come pretty far Midoriya", Toshinori smiled. "An intern with his own office huh?"

"They pretty much give me whatever I need as long as I keep producing results" Izuku shrugged.

"I've seen those results, you've done a lot of good work for the support industry", the man said.

"Thank you", Izuku smiled proudly. "That means a lot coming from a hero like you", Allmight couldn't figure out if Midoriya was sincere or just a great actor. It was very difficult to see a villain in this boy, even with all the clues pointing to him.

"I'll get right to the point kid, I'm here on behalf of U.A. We want to offer you a chance to transfer to the support class of our school"

"I would love nothing more, but I'm not qualified", Izuku looked down in dejection. "I don't have a quirk"

"Actually they changed that rule over a year ago", Allmight corrected while wondering if the kid already knew that and was just pretending. He doubted a villain would want to go to U.A, an institute full of pro hero teachers and students trained to defeat people like him. This was a test to see what his response would be.

"Really! I can actually go to U.A?" Izuku beamed with stars in his eyes. Toshinori frowned lightly at his words. Another point towards not being a villain. He went on to explain U.A's support program, all of what it entailed, how Izuku would have to meet with the principle after he finished his internship. He learned that Midoriya was actually friends with someone from that class, a girl named Mei Hatsume that Power Loader frequently talked about in meetings. After they finished scheduling a day where he would come visit U.A, Toshinori finally decided to talk about what was weighing on his mind.

"Do you remember what I told you that day on the roof?" The emaciated man asked.

"How could I forget?" Izuku smiled sadly. "That was the day I gave up my dream"

"It was not my intention to hurt you", or possibly turn you into a villain.

"I understand. I really do", the boy looked down at his hands. "I have no quirk and if I were to fight someone with a quirk…I pretty much lose by default", he sighed. "There really is no way someone like me can be a professional hero. I've accepted that reality", he then smiled brightly. "But that doesn't mean I can't find other ways to help people. That's why I plan to create the best hero support devices"

"That's very mature and heroic of you", Toshinori said. "You look like you're on the right path for that"

"Thank you. It's the best a quirkless kid like me can do", Izuku continued to smile. "If my Titan robot can save lives when I can't I'll call that a victory", it was in that moment that Toshinori finally saw it. For one brief second before it vanished. There was a look in the boy's eyes, a look he had seen in many villains, and even in his enemy All for One years ago. A dark gleeful calculating look that held nothing but contempt for what they viewed as beneath him. In this case it was himself that Izuku was glaring down at. Then it was gone, replaced by cheerful mossy haired boy that claimed he only wanted to help people.

"Well I can't wait to see what you develop while attending U.A", Toshinori stood up. He'd seen enough, there was just one last place he needed to go after this. Shaking Midoriya's hand again he left the office with a promise to keep in touch.

Once outside the building the hero let his boney shoulders finally sag in disappointment. He really didn't want to believe that Izuku and Apotheosis were one and the same, but it all pointed to him. Getting back in the car that he arrived in he stared forward not acknowledging the detective in the driver's seat.

"So what do you think?" Naomasa inquired.

"I'm almost positive that he's a villain", Toshinori said holding back a cough. "He had a nasty look in his eyes hidden so well hidden I almost didn't catch it"

"Okay I believe you, but let's not go arresting a kid based off a look in their eyes", the detective looked at him with concern.

"Let's go. One more stop", Allmight ordered.

"Where?" Naomasa asked.

"Here", he handed him a piece of paper with a location written on it that he got when he called the boy's current high school about the U.A transfer. "We're going to see his mother"

Back inside Geonosis, within a secret lab Izuku watched Allmight drive off from his computer screen. He had an amused smirk on his face while he rested his head on his knuckles.

"It looks like they're starting to put things together", he chuckled. "Oh Allmight. You may think you're finally catching up, but…", he turned his gaze to a transparent cabinet that occupied the center of his lab. "Your still so many steps behind", he laughed as he stared at what appeared to be a gold metallic gauntlet resting in the case with two stones attached to special slots. One red the other blue.