In the depths of his Kamino laboratory, Dr Garaki strode through his lab at a quick yet deliberate pace. He wasn't in a rush, but he was eager to keep working on his favorite project.
Fluorescent lights illuminated the lab as he stepped past multiple purple test tubes containing several high-end nomu. Unlike the number series these projects hadn't failed yet; they were still incomplete.
But they were there for another time today; he decided to continue working on number zero. Number nine had the most raw power at its disposal. Number six was the most clever of the lot. Toya Todoroki had run before he had the chance to become a number but Garaki's beloved master had found a much better candidate for that.
After all Toya or rather Dabi as he was going by now in the underworld was only a backup candidate for becoming his master's true successor. But Number Ten or Tenko Shimura had been molded to take that role as Tomura Shigaraki.
Still, the very first candidate who triggered the idea in the first place had always been Garaki's favorite.
Garaki stopped before a sealed black door of specialized quirk-forged material. Typing in a quick code, a thumb scan, and doing a quick retinal scan the door quickly unsealed itself. Stepping forward through a white mist of cold fog, Dr Garaki stood before his favorite project.
Stuck in cryostasis floating inside the massive purple vat was a boy. Number Zero. The only living son of All For One.
Zero floated silently; the only noise in the room was the humming and beeping of machinery and Garaki's breathing.
"It looks like you'll finally be waking up soon," Dr Garaki sighed as he looked up at 0 floating in his primordial chamber. Many years ago, when All For One first toyed with the idea of a successor, he wanted an heir to his dark empire. But eventually AFO had found a quirk to prevent him from aging any further past the point he had gained it.
Now 30 years old AFO had seen little use for the infant child he had recently helped conceive. Although he'd wanted a metaphorical black knight to be the champion for his metaphorical demon lord status, in the end the boy became nothing more than a threat. So the child barely old enough to know what was going on had been medically put to sleep and kept on ice waiting in isolation.
His lord hadn't given the child a proper name either only the large black number labeled on his container. Zero hadn't even awakened his quirk yet, hadn't spoken one coherent sentence yet either though his first words had passed through his lips.
Even still, no matter how bright the boy was for his age. Number Zero had the potential to become a second All For One and his father couldn't allow a potential rival to rise.
The boy was aging slower than a normal human thanks to the cryostasis machine. He'd stopped at roughly 14 to 15 years old. But even though the boy hadn't moved a muscle in all that time he hadn't atrophied or anything. His organs were perfectly functional and although his brain activity was minimal it had never stopped.
The boy although perfectly preserved, was so frozen over that ice had completely covered its surface. Now only the child's shadowy silhouette could be seen through the chilly glass.
"You've clearly inherited your father's durability. Let's see if you have his looks as well." Garaki raised his hand and touched the frosted-over surface of the test tube. The freezing glass meant nothing to him as he scraped the ice off the side and attempted to get a good look at the boy's face.
"Hmm," Garaki hummed, leaning in; he could catch the faintest hint of his master's facial features within the darkness of the ice. The boy's eyes were clearly closed and his expression plain and sleepy. Even so, the old Dr could tell number zero was exactly what he'd been waiting for. His great and glorious master was in fact now searching for a new body thanks to the fact that his current one had been ruined.
All For One had his heart set on teaching Shigaraki to be the ultimate villain that his master believed he could be but Garaki didn't believe that the fool child truly had the potential to be what AFO wanted. No, he couldn't have the perfect combat ability required to become a perfect vessel. Garaki had watched and waited for years before making the suggestion.
Despite the boy's quirk being a gamble at best. The sheer level of potential risk was balanced against the benefits and his master had decided to take the bet.
So now 105 years to the day since he was born. Number zero was finally about to reawaken into the world.
Stepping over to the nearby control panel to begin the thawing process, Garaki smiled. Mechanical hissing and beeping started up as a robotic female voice spoke.
[ "Good evening Doctor, would you like to begin defrosting number zero?" ]
"Yes," he answered staring up at the pod. As the voice command activated, the room began to glow with orange heaters. Dr Garaki only had eyes for the child lying still within the vat.
[ "Speak the confirmation code please." ]
"Execute order 66," The doctor smiled adjusting goggles as maniacal laughter began to seep from his lips.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUMBER ZERO!"
Meanwhile as steam began to emit from the tank the boy within began to awaken to consciousness.
XXX
The first thing he felt was cold. His mind was blurry and he was just on the edge of realising he was awake. Then when he did cross that boundary he began to wonder about the basic questions.
'What's my name?' he thought and in searching his mind he found no answer. Frowning on instinct the boy labeled Zero began to search for his memories. They all started coming back slowly but one became far more prevalent than the others.
There was a great dark space and two glowing beings spoke to one another. Their voices were muffled but from what he could recall the larger of the two beings was explaining something, some offer.
Then there was a giant wheel beside them; though he couldn't read it he could tell these were destinations.
Soon enough, the wheel spun and landed on a world whose name quickly translated.
MY HERO ACADEMIA
Memories of the entire strange series and several others snapped through his mind like a movie of rapid-fire pictures. Heroes, villains, tragedies, and plenty of other anime to go along with it. Though this My Hero seemed terribly boring at times.
Most of the heroes were half-baked at best and the demon lord wasn't even a true demon lord. Plus if it wasn't for the plot it should have been dreadfully easy for him to win and yet he hadn't.
The two spirits talked back and forth for a while; all their words were muffled to the point that he couldn't tell what they were saying.
Then one audible sentence slipped through.
"-choose my own quirk?"
A verbal response from the other that seemed close enough to a yes made the other spirit jump with joy.
"A quirk that lets me make my own quirks and have as many as I like!" The spirit said excitedly bouncing in place.
"Very well," The greater spirit said, recalling its name; he remembered it was ROB, and he also remembered that the lesser spirit was him. The soul soon glowed with a myriad of colors and then a large white portal opened before sucking him in.
Now he was here in the dark and the cold; he tried to move he should have a body, right? From what he'd recalled and put together this was his second life. Like an isekai he'd seen in his new memories.
Trying to move his arms and legs they felt numb but also prickled with pins and needles. I tried to open my eyes but all I was met with was a chilly sensation. After a few more seconds he managed it just barely. His vision was entirely blurry but eventually adjusted to reveal he was in some strange purple, slushy-like material.
'Where am I?' He thought trying to talk and to turn but he still felt like a block of ice in the Arctic sea. He strained to sense something beyond just the cold. His ears perked as he picked up an annoying repetitive noise.
Muffled through the liquid he could hear a very strange liquid beeping and just vaguely the silhouette of a man below him. Subconsciously he tried to take a breath and that's when he was under icy purple water with no way to breathe except what was inside.
With a primal fear of drowning now instilled within him, he knew he needed to get out.
'Need to escape! Need to get out! Must get away!' His mind was still incredibly fuzzy but these simple thoughts were coming at him rapid-fire.
He started struggling; the beeping grew louder and louder, his limbs started to respond to his commands and suddenly he started pounding at the glass. His hands slapped at it with no success at first, then he remembered how to make a fist and punched at it.
Thump!
The impact was dull but louder than expected; he tried again.
Thump!
Still nothing though the odd purple slush around him had turned nearly fully liquid by now and he could see a bit better.
'I'm in a tank, like a fishbowl,' He thought as he started to feel sick. He was nauseous, his stomach aching, and the need to breathe was growing more frantic than ever.
He pounded at the glass again; it cracked slightly but didn't drain at all. He pictured the glass shattering as he kept trying to escape and suddenly an odd shuddering sensation built in his chest. It was an odd energy mixed with an uncomfortable sensation, like when your heart beats so fast it starts to hurt a little.
That feeling spread and suddenly his whole body was shaking with the building energy. He curled up into a ball on instinct before suddenly erupting outward in a silent scream.
CRASH!
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!
The glass shattered and blasted backward as the sirens continued to blare. He fell forward slapping wetly against the floor with a gasping groan. For a few moments, he lay there gasping for air in the glass-laden pool of purple fluid. A few moments later, he noticed a stinging pain in his arms and as his eyes adjusted he tried to move to look at them.
Only to be barely able to lift them under the brand-new weight of gravity.
"Zero?" A voice shaking with what seemed like both awe and terror called out to him.
'Zero? Is that my name? Everything hurts whats going on?'
Right now he was in pain and bleeding and his body was a mess. He tried to turn around but everything felt wrong; the air was both cold and warm and sparks of electricity and glowing purple lights flickered about everywhere.
'If only I could have a perfect body then all this pain would go away,' he thought to himself and suddenly all of his pain did just that. His mind cleared as the shards of glass gutted out from his body and he no longer shook from the cold or flinched from the heat. He'd grown taller and stronger, no longer in the body of a boy but a man in his prime. Pale of skin, hair, and eyes all of them white as snow though there was a faint glow in his eyes as well.
"Yes, I remember now," he whispered flipping over to his stomach before going to his hands and knees. It took him a moment to adjust as he was still wet with tank fluid and the weight of gravity pressing on him but it wasn't too bad. He went to one knee, and he started smiling.
"I have finally been reborn," His grin widened; he remembered why he was here in this brand new world of superheroes and strange villains.
He looked up, a massive smile on his face. He stared into the eyes of the white-clad doctor who'd been knocked prone by the explosive force of Zero's awakening. The doctor's gaze was full of awe, horror, and sheer utter reverence for the being before him.
"I'm going to turn this world upside down!"
[Chapter image]
XXX
Hey everyone welcome to my new story. I know this probably isn't the best time for it, but I had the idea and I just couldn't get it out of my head.
Let me know what you guys would like to see in the upcoming story.