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Izuku Midoriya was a 16 year old Hero school dropout, at first he had planned on being a sort of Vigilante, but, he’s tired, tired of Villain’s vs Heroes, tired of fighting a never ending battle, tired of society. It’s a snap decision that makes him volunteer at Make-A-Wish as a wish granter. It’s a very small piece of light and levity that he’s making, for dying, sick, and injured children, but it makes him feel better, even if only a little bit. He starts wishing for change, not just to save people, most of the kids he grants wishes for are injured because of their ‘villainous’ quirk or ‘bad’ mutation. So he does the one thing he does best, research.
Heroes can’t actually enact political change. He’s too young to be a politician, and despite being so beloved by society and community and people, Heroes can’t start political movements. Can’t hold Public Office and an active Hero License. They are little more than an average citizen on the political scale. Izuku, even with his License, can’t do much, so he does what he can, supporting himself with a minimum wage job, dipping into his trust fund when he needs to; one of the only things his deadbeat father left him with; and brightening children’s days by granting their wishes.
It’s one of Izuku’s rare days off that the request comes in. a little girl, Sano Khalida, has wished to meet CrowFather.
“There is no way we can fulfill this right?” a supervisor grumbles. “I mean, CrowFather is a villain!”
“We can’t in good conscious let him into a hospital, right?” another deflects.
They’ve all forgotten, we grant kid’s wishes, if you have to hire an actor, hire an actor.
“She said that he’s like her when I asked why, apparently she saw him bring a bird back to life.” the one who brought the request groaned, “we kinda have to, she’s not willing to compromise.”
“How will we even find him?”
“I’ll do it.” Izuku volunteers.
“Huh? Mr. Midoriya? But, you have just as much chance as us.”
“It’s not like I haven’t fought with Villains before, and we have to at least try, Right?” Izuku says, he’s tired, but they all know about him. “I’ll take responsibility, and I can do it alone too, it’s no problem.”
“Ah! Mr. Midoriya! Thank you! You will be making little Sano’s Wish come true!” the man hugs Izuku with a big grin, “Here is little Sano’s information so you can bring CrowFather when you have secured a date!” he hands off the regular manilla envelope.
“We’re all counting on you, Mr. Midoriya!”
It takes him almost two months to track down CrowFather, from areas he frequents, to what he looks like in civvies, to common villain-friendly hangouts he likes, to finally staking out this one Info-Bar for a week before Izuku is finally able to spot him. He waits for CrowFather to settle in, get a few drinks, relax, before approaching.
“Hey, mind if I sit?”
“Naw, Mate, go ahead.”
“I’m Midoriya Izuku from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”
“Yeh? Can’t imagine what that’s like.”
“One of our kids wants to meet CrowFather for her Wish.”
And CrowFather laughs, “Right, like I’m gonna fall for such an obvious trap.”
And Izuku? Izuku sees red, he’s spent all of his free time tracking down this Villain just for him to laugh in his face? And call this request an ‘obvious trap’? He stands and slams his hands on the table, drawing the attention of the entire floor.
“I have spent two months tracking you down because an 8 year old little girl was beaten within an inch of her life because she has a Necromancy Quirk and the doctors don’t think she will even be able to walk again, and she asked to meet you because she saw you revive a bird once , and that made you like her , and that made you her hero , despite being a Villain! I am not about to let you laugh off her request like it’s an ‘ obvious trap ’ CrowFather. She has a handmade plush of you that she made herself ! You are her only inspiration to keep fighting her fight instead of just giving in like all her bullies want her to!”
CrowFather sighs, and tips back his drink, letting Izuku rant, before standing and ever so calmly, places one of his oh so dangerous hands on Izuku’s shoulder, quickly quieting him. “Quackity, a Private Room, please.” is asked of the bartender.
“Sure, man, five is open all night tonight.”
“Thank you.”
Izuku has little choice but to be dragged into a small room with a gold “5” emblazoned on the dark door.
“Look.” CrowFather says, once the door is shut. “It’s no secret among the heroes that I have a soft spot for kids, this has happened before, make a wish, last chance, all of them. I guess I never expected for it to actually happen, for a real volunteer to find me and invite me to meet a fan.”
“Huh?”
“Why don’t you give me the details, and I’ll come visit.”
“Ah! Ok, her name is Sano Khalida, in Last Light Hospital in Shiraki prefecture, room 305. Just tell reception you’re with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and they’ll let you up, I’ll tell them you’re coming!”
“Alright, now your phone please.”
“O-ok?” Izuku dug his beat-up phone out of his pocket, CrowFather fiddled with it for a minute before giving it back.
“This is my number if you need to find any more of us, yeah?”
“Ah! Thank you so much!”
“Sure, Mate.” CrowFather waves as he leaves the room. Izuku stands in awe for a moment, he actually did it! Then he looks at his brand new contact.
Dadza
xxx-xxx-xxxx
What? Why would he call himself Dadza? And how did he hide the numbers too? Is it a joke? Should he call the number to make sure it’s real? Wait did he set up a proper time for CrowFather to meet little Sano? Oh wait what if he calls it and it’s real? Would CrowFather get annoyed with him? He shouldn't call for an answer that he should already know and forgot just because he’s panicking right? Oh, wait, he’s panicking, he should stop that first.
The name was probably fine, it is what Izuku assumes to be the CrowFather’s personal number after all, so of course he wouldn’t want some random person he just met today to know it and it’s better that it’s not obvious his phone contains a Villain’s private contact info. He really didn’t set up a specific date and time for CrowFather to visit, but CrowFather also didn’t want to set anything in stone, just in case.
It makes sense, he’s being careful to stay out of the hands of authorities, he said he’ll come visit, which could be tomorrow or next month. It’s not as if he can trust the word of a Villain either, but Little Sano is going to be delighted when he arrives, and he said so himself, CrowFather has a soft spot for children. Izuku leaves the bar through the back, being guided by a friendly man made of goo, he’s green but it’s not sludge and he smells clean so, friendly man made of goo. He chatters the whole time too, his name is Charlie, and his boss is Quackity, and he knows a scary amount about the world, even who his father is; which no one but himself and his mother should know, not even his Father’s minions know.
Izuku is off put by Charlie, and not just because he’s green and mostly liquid, but doesn’t say anything and resolves to never speak to him again if he can help it.
CrowFather does visit little Sano, Izuku had texted CrowFather telling him that Izuku had to be present during the visit for insurance reasons, but he was free to tell him when the visit would take place as late as him arriving at the hospital if he liked. CrowFather texted back with a simple ‘Thx m8’ then an ‘I’m here’ a week later. Izuku who had taken to waiting around or in the hospital simply grinned and greeted CrowFather; who was in full costume; in the waiting lobby before leading the way up to room 305, where Sano Khalida was eagerly awaiting her visit from her favorite Villain.
“Wow! You really came to visit!”
“Sure did! How are you doing Mate?”
“Well I still can’t feel my feet, but the Doctor said I’m getting better!”
“I’m glad to hear that. You've been drinking all your milk right?”
“Yeah!”
Suddenly there was a peck-peck-pecking at the window.
“Now, I wonder who that could be?” CrowFather smirks as he opens the window for his Murder of crows.
“Ah! Birds!” Sano giggles, Izuku rolls his eyes at CrowFather’s antics, but lets it happen.
“Yup!” CrowFather then pulls off his hat, revealing another crow under it, the crow on his head caws, loud and bright. “This is Brian, he’s the one you saw me save that day, remember?”
“Ah! Brian. He looks happy.”
“Yeah, he keeps me up at night sometimes cause he’s a little shit, but he’s the happiest crow in all of Japan.”
Izuku watches as the murder deposits paraphanelia and gifts all over the hospital room, he’s fairly certain more than half of these things are stolen, but little Sano’s bright grin is worth it in his opinion. At the end of the visit, CrowFather takes a picture with little Sano using an instant polaroid camera and promptly signs it once it’s developed for her.
“Thank you for coming, CrowFather, you probably made little Sano’s year with that visit.”
“Ah, please Mr. Midoriya, call me Phil, no honorifics.” CrowFather, no, Phil, said. “And it was you who made my day setting this up for us.”
Phil bowed, it was awkward and a bit off, but Izuku could guess that Phil wasn’t born in Japan.
“You’re welcome, please stand up.” Izuku blushed, he still, after all these months, wasn’t used to praise.
He is praised again by his supervisors, the Sano’s, and little Sano herself, and turns into a strawberry each time.
It’s a few weeks later when another kid asks to meet a villain, this time it’s Queen, a publicly unlabeled Gender Queer, It doesn’t take Izuku quite as long to find Queen with Phil’s help, only six weeks. Izuku once again meets Queen in a frequented Info-Bar.
“Hello, mind if I sit?”
“I don’t mind, have you got something on your mind?”
“I’m Midoriya Izuku from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and one of our kids has asked to meet Queen for their wish.”
Queen paused in taking a drink, before putting the glass down and studying Izuku.
“Oh! You’re the one CrowFather was talking about! Of course! I would love to meet them!”
Izuku left that bar with a new contact and a bright smile. If only this meeting could have gone as smoothly as the last.
“Halt Villain!” is suddenly shouted across the waiting room. “I will not allow you to harm any of these innocent civilians!”
Izuku whips his head toward the noise, it’s the young Ingenium. He steps between them, putting his back to Queen, whelp here goes nothing.
“How dare you!”
“What?”
“How dare you! Queen is doing a good thing here, fulfilling a kid's Wish!”
“Impossible! Who are you to stand in the way of a Hero!”
“I am Midoriya Izuku from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and you, Ingenium, are about to ruin a child’s Wish! They asked to meet Queen and I took great lengths to find her so that they could have their Wish granted! I was the one who asked them to come here, and I will be the one overseeing this visit! How dare you try and ruin their Wish! You will go outside and wait until the visit is over!” Izuku pointed authoritatively at the door behind Ingenium.
“Ah, my apologies! It seems I have misread the situation.” Ingenium bowed deeply to Izuku, “I will wait outside.” Izuku watches him before turning to Queen with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry about that Queen, I didn’t know anyone would be patrolling this close to the hospital right now.”
“No. That was incredible Midoriya, awe inspiring!” Queen grinned, “Lets go see the kid before Ingenium gets impatient though.”
“Right! I’ll lead the way.”
After the visit, Queen left through the window with a flourish, and the child was delighted and validated. And Izuku had finally found the key to changing society through the villains.
Izuku gains a reputation among the Villains. You can trust him with your personal Number and if he says you wont be arrested during a visit, you wont, he will prevent it. Slowly but surely as more successful Villain-Fan meet-ups are asked for, scheduled, and conducted, Izuku gains a reputation around the office. The Villain Wrangler, they call him. Don't get on his bad side, he talks with Villains, others whisper. Did you hear about little Jane? She wanted to meet Lethe, he made it happen. Have you seen his Villain Notebook? He has over a hundred Villain contacts in there. On and on it goes. He becomes invaluable to the company, they start paying him for his work.
“Just give me the book, shitty nerd.” Kacchan, or better known as Dynamight, growls, practically pinning Izuku to a wall.
“I already told you ‘no’, Kacchan.”
“Come on, it’s not like the Villains will know it was you!”
“Yeah sure,” Izuku replies sarcastically, “Because none of these geniuses could ever figure out that I was the connecting thread to this mass arrest. Look, Kacchan, even if it wouldn’t mean my death, it would disappoint the kids, and you wouldn’t want to disappoint the kids, would you?”
“Hah? The hell’re you talking about shitty nerd!”
“Come on Bakubro, it wouldn’t be very manly of us to disappoint the children!” Red Riot claimed, tugging Kacchan away. Izuku sighs. Finally, if that went on for any longer he would have been late for his check-in. Right on time his phone rings. It’s CrowFather calling this time.
“Hello.”
“Midoriya! Mate, how are you doing today?”
“I’m alright, Phil, the Heroes are still hounding me for your Numbers, but it’s been slow the past few weeks.”
“Ah, are they still on about that? I would’ve thought Puffy’s demonstration would have discouraged them from hounding you anymore.”
Ah yes, Puffy’s ‘demonstration’ where she told Izuku to give her number to a specific group of Heroes and then killed them for trespassing and changed her number. “They’re Heroes Phil, they’re more stubborn than Tommy.”
The two share a laugh and bid each other farewell. Izuku sighs and puts his new phone away, a gift from the Blood God after allowing him to meet his youngest fan. He has a meeting with Stain this evening, a young serial-killer enthusiast wants to pick his brain on how and when he chooses his victims, so he’ll need to get a Prison ID and talk to The Warden for an escort, maybe Blood God too for backup, they would probably enjoy meeting him too.
Izuku is knocked out of his internal rant by someone grabbing him from behind, his hands being pinned to his chest and side and his mouth covered by a pink, sweet-smelling rag.
“Just go to sleep, Villain Wrangler, this’ll all be over in a bit.”
Izuku has no choice but to obey, as the drug takes over and drags him under kicking and screaming.
He wakes under a spotlight, tied to a chair. He can’t really see beyond the spotlight, but he can faintly make out theater seating.
“Just give up the Notebook, Villain Wrangler, this is for the Greater Good here!”
“You Idiot! Put me back before someone realises I’m missing!” Crap, the one thing he didn’t account for, kidnapping. At least he recognises the voice, Grape Juice, a selfish, entitled, fairly unliked Hero of a walking red flag. He’s too short to kidnap Izuku on his own though, and judging by the theater setting, he’s probably working with Magician, another selfish, arrogant, fairly unliked Hero.
“Huh?” there he is.
“You morons. Do I have to spell it out for you? Do you want this place wiped off the map? With us in it? How long has it been? If they get suspicious they check-in, and if I miss a Check-in they tend to come barging into wherever I am just to prove they can . Even if they figure out they’re not being threatened by proxy. Auntie Mitski really regretted throwing my phone into the pool that day. If they think for a second that I’ve given them up? They won’t hesitate to obliterate all of us , for their perceived trouble. You do know that some of the people in my book have access to Nukes and elemental abilities and the greatest fighting prowess on the planet and those are the safe ones.”
“Wait, I thought they trusted you!?” Grape audibly shivered. He sounded on the verge of crying, the coward.
“Trust is such a strong word!” Izuku laughed.
“He’s right.”
“What!?”
“Sleep.” both Heroes thudded to the ground, and Siren stepped into the spotlight.
“Thanks, Siren, you never know how these sorts of interrogations are going to go.” Izuku says as Siren cuts Izuku free.
“You did well, Midoriya, you stalled enough for us to reach you in time.”
“Yeah, well, you know me. Words are my first and only weapon.”
“A man after my own heart.”
“So, I have an 8 year old severe burn recovery patient who really needs a pep talk, if you would be willing.”
“Ah. Well. What the hell, sure!”
“Right, this Thursday at St. Helen’s then?”
“Sounds good, see you then Midoriya!”
“See you then!”
Siren, and whoever he brought with; probably Tommy; disappear with the Heroes in tow, and Midoriya lets his hand drop to his side. He hadn’t lied to Grape Juice and Magician, he knows several Villains by name that wouldn’t hesitate, Wilbur is among them. He knows that his life is on the line and in his hands. He knows that the moment he betrays his friends, he’s dead.
This isn’t the first time Izuku has gone to extreme lengths to protect their identities, no. The first time was when he memorized every Villain’s personal phone number and put each one in a code strong enough that it would take Nedzu multiple years to crack and multiple more to find out who each number went to in his little black Notebook, before deleting each one from his phone. Because Trust is a strong word, and he’s earned it.
And he’s terrified of what having their trust means .
Izuku goes to every Funeral, his Villains do too, CrowFather volunteers every time to be a pallbearer for the too-small coffin. Families always accept. Izuku almost thinks that the families prefer his villains’ presence over the Heroes’. They’re fierce, unapologetic, yet kinder that many would believe them to be. Izuku asked why once, Techno was the one to answer. “They have the right to their grief and anger, that’s their kid or sibling or grandchild they’re burying, 5, 8, 12, 18, 20? Doesn’t matter, they shouldn't be told to celebrate their life, they should be offered a shoulder to cry on and a punching bag and a screaming match with the void in whatever order they prefer.”
It’s been years since he first met CrowFather, some of the kids have grown up a bit, getting accepted into colleges at this point he thinks, for the older ones. Haruka Jane, the one visited by Lethe because she was developing memory problems due to Chemo, she made it, and started smuggling and illegally producing Chemo drugs for disadvantaged families. He’s got her number now too, in his little black book. The first one, Sano Khalida, she made it too, she’s in a wheelchair and never will walk again under her own power, but she made it.
Izuku’s not really sure when the Villain’s he contacts to visit the kids became his, everyone just started calling them that one day, even Heroes leave them alone when he’s there, looking the other way at Funerals, dismissing them entirely during visits. It’s not enough, not yet, but they’re getting there, Izuku is patient.
Of course that’s when it all goes wrong.
The kid, Hinata Arashi, wanted to meet Dream, Izuku said of course. It was a mistake, Izuku was confident, it was Hubris. He didn’t vet him properly, dismissed Tommy’s worries by saying he would be there the whole time. He forgot. These people are not his friends. These people are not safe. These people are Villains .
Dream has a Puppeteering Quirk, he was able to whisper a single command into little Hinata’s ear during the visit, and that was all it took. Izuku, it’s Izuku’s fault that he is dead, and Izuku is going to be the one to fix it. He can’t mend what is broken, nor can he bring that little boy back, but he can mete out a punishment.
The warehouse he leads Dream to is one of Techno’s, borrowed for this and set up beforehand. It’s perfect because Techno likes to let his prey run around and try to escape. Izuku is kneeling before a shrine when Dream arrives. To the boy he killed.
“Does it make you happy when you kill like this?” Izuku accuses lightly. He can’t bear to put gravity into his voice right now.
“I was wondering how long it would take for people to catch on, how did you figure it out?”
“‘Dream told me it’s ok’”
“HA! So the twerp actually told you! That’s gold!”
Izuku rises from his position, slowly, calculated. His first cut will be the Achilles tendon, to stop the green Villain from running away, then while he is still alive, the bastard will be sewn into place and his sins written on the wall in his blood.
The kill is ritualistic, easy, he caught Dream off guard. When he’s done, well, it’s probably the most blood this warehouse has seen at once and he knows Techno has killed ten people at once here. They refuse to show crime scene photos on the news and even the reporter is standing twenty meters away and at an angle to the entrance. Techno, who saw the aftermath while it was fresh, refuses to describe the scene to an ever more curious audience.
Izuku thinks Techno might be afraid of him now. That’s fine. It was what he had to do. Dream was one of his, and he broke the rules, he had to be taken care of, Izuku had to right his mistake. He doesn’t dismiss any concerns anymore, he actively searches them out now.
Izuku visits Hinata Arashi’s grave almost every week, to remind himself, traces the kanji of his name, over and over.
Izuku is never caught, the police hardly investigate. He thinks they know, but aren’t willing admit it.
He’s Quirkless on paper after all.
Bee is a mad scientist. A geneticist, computer genius, and Nuclear physicist all wrapped into a 4’ 3” chaotic sunshine boi. No wonder the girl with an incredibly rare genetic mutation; one that makes it so that she can't properly process oxygen; wants to meet him. She’s into computers and wants him to teach her how to hack before she dies.
Tubbo isn’t much older than Izuku is. Phil has tried for so long to stop the two from meeting, but it can no longer be helped. The visit goes off without a hitch, and it almost looks like Tubbo is going to stay until she passes, when suddenly his gaze hardens and he jumps up from his chair.
“Ah! Bee! What-” Izuku follows as fast as he can, but nearly looses the tiny brunette multiple times.
“Move!” Tubbo shouts at a doctor blocking a seemingly random doorway.
“Ah! I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into him suddenly, Bee!”
“I am not allowing you or Phil to go to another funeral! Now move!” Tubbo shoves past the doctor, into the room. “Where is it.” he’s muttering to himself when Izuku follows.
“Bee this area is off limits to visitors! We can’t be back here!”
“I’m a Villain, I can be wherever I want.” Tubbo retorts. “Ah, here it is!” he then shoves out of the room after pulling a small amount of a clear liquid into a syringe.
“Ah! Wait! Bee!” Izuku scrambles to keep up. The doctor is hot on their heels as well.
As soon as Tubbo reenters the girl’s room, he jabs the needle of whatever he had grabbed into her IV. Izuku pulls him off, leaving the needle to clatter to the floor, empty. Tubbo has his mad science grin on, while the doctor is frantically checking and rechecking the girl’s vitals. Izuku sighs, depositing Tubbo into his seat, whatever his goal was has been achieved.
“Did I fall asleep?” the girl asks, sitting up and yawning. “I’m sorry, I interrupted our lesson.”
“That's ok, do you want to continue?”
“Oh! Yes please!”
Both Izuku and the doctor are shocked, Tubbo, however, simply continues where he left off. The doctor quietly demands that a nurse outside the room go and bring him what Tubbo gave her, now, and stays to monitor how she’s doing.
After the visit concludes, the doctor demands that Tubbo tell him how he knew that would help.
“I did an experiment ages ago, I wanted to see what it would take to make people run faster. I got everything worked out except they kept passing out for no reason when the Heroes came and stopped the experiment and undid all my work.” Tubbo stuck his tongue out at this before continuing. “Figured out after that it was because they couldn’t get enough oxygen into their systems, fixed it by increasing a certain hormone that I cant say the name of and barely spell, which is the thing I gave her. As for how I knew it would work, she started getting lightheaded and sleepy halfway through the lesson, and when I suggested that she breathe deeply it worked to help wake her up, she can breathe normally but she’s not getting enough oxygen, so she must not naturally produce enough of the hormone, I gave her what she was lacking, but that’s a temporary fix, I’m going home and developing a medicine to fix her permanently, it should take me a couple weeks since I’ve already done all the theory and testing work.”
And with that Tubbo left behind a flabbergasted doctor, several crying nurses, and a madly grinning Izuku.
This. This is what he wanted all along. Change is so close, Izuku can almost taste it. And it tastes delicious.
It takes very little time after, honestly, for other’s to catch on. Jaemin, who created a robotic exosuit for herself, because she’s a paraplegic who lives alone, met a young fan and realized that she could make the exosuit for so many others and help them take back control of their lives. The Warden’s nanobots take to their new role of Cancer Removal as easy as the breeze, after one of the kids he visits regularly and exchanges letters with wrote saying her doctors found a new tumor after she had been in recovery. Genji, a cloning specialist, is written to by an old colleague if it was possible that a new heart could be grown for a little fan in need of a donor.
And that’s only the beginning, even Villains outside of his circle catch on, plying their abilities and experiences and knowledge to revolutionize Medical Science, then Computer Science and Cyber Safety, then the movement starts.
Signs are set up outside prisons, jails, government institutions, even Tartarus. Social media explodes with the same messages, discussion boards are made, pictures are posted, Testimonies are recorded. “Revolutionize the Industry!” they state. “Give our Villains a Second Chance!” they plead. “Stop locking our brightest away to rot!” they shout.
The change has spiraled out of control, and even if anybody wanted, it wasn’t going to stop. So the Second Chance Villain Rehabilitation Project launches. Only the villains in Izuku’s black book are considered for the program, not that anyone’s ever told that, Izuku doesn’t even give them the book either or a translation. No, he’s the one they call for the interviews, he’s the Villain Wrangler after all, he knows what makes a good villain. His days get busier, he has to quit his normal job, finally. He works for the SCVRP now.
He still volunteers for MAW, but he wrangles more than Villains now. Heroes, Doctors, Therapists, Celebrities. Now if they need a visit, and Izuku is available, he knows a guy at the very least.
Sometimes, late at night, when his insomnia refuses him sleep, Izuku stares at scarred, mangled fingers, glinting with green lightning and grins to himself, thinking over all the change he wrought, it’s still not enough, but it’s much more than he thought he would be able to accomplish, and it’s too far out of control now anyway.
Schools and businesses are quietly hiring on Counselors and Therapists for their employees, to slowly plug the Brain Drain that is them loosing all their smartest to the Costumes. Safety protocols are being overhauled to prevent accidents. Eventually, not today, not next month, not next year, maybe not even in the next decade, Heroes and Villains will be phased out of society once again, humanity once again focused on progress instead of flashy powers or bright costumes or superhuman fights.
When that day comes Izuku will finally be able to look his father in his nonexistent eye and tell him, the one thing he’s been longing to tell him since he left because he had a “Useless, unstealable Quirk.”
Checkmate, Bitch.