IMPORTANT:

Several Warnings before we go: mostly canon levels of violence with a few scenes depicting blood and gore, though not gratuitous or described in depth. Also mentions of Child Abuse in the early chapters.

In this story, Izuka Midoriya (Fem!Izuku) will be very overpowered. A Part of the theme of the story is how she surpasses All-Might and becomes an Eternal Hero, so expect her to be very powerful, though not invincible.

Expect new chapters every couple of days!

This Story has been inspired by Yokai Hero: Dekiru by StarDekiru and Tameshi-Beginnings by The_Fluffy_Villain_Fluff_Master

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The Immortal Hero: Phoenix

Chapter 1: From the Ashes

Toshinori Yagi, better known as the Number 1 Hero All-Might, sat in a Hospital Room, his entire left side covered in bandages and a dull ache in his lungs and stomach. To be honest, he had nothing to complain about; just a few hours ago, he was certain he was going to die from a wound inflicted by his Arch-Nemesis, All for One. But now he was alive, permanently weakened but not crippled, and All for One was cold ash, all because of the little girl lying in the bed beside him.

Toshinori looked over to the other bed, a growing sadness in his dark eyes as he watched the sleeping girl. Izuka Midoriya… 10 years old. She was dangerously thin and a fair bit shorter than most children her age, with a cute freckled face and soft green curls that had been rather roughly cut into a short style that just barely reached her shoulders. When she had been awake, Toshinori had marvelled at the sparkling green eyes, shining with hope despite the awful situation she had been in.

Exactly one year ago, on July 15th, Izuka's 9th Birthday, the girl had been kidnapped by a Villain in the employ of All for One. Izuka hadn't been the intended target, but had saved the real target Katsuki Bakugou, by pushing him away from the Warp Gate, only to be taken herself. Her kidnapping had sent the country on a manhunt for the Villain that took her, especially since the unique black warp gate had been associated with the disappearance of many other individuals, all with unique and interesting Quirks. It was that fact that caused All-Might to take a special interest, suspecting All for One's hand in the crimes. When he had gone to ask Inko Midoriya, Izuka's mother, about her Daughter's quirk, All-Might had learned she was quirkless and his heart had nearly stopped. If she had no Quirk to steal and had not been returned, it made it very unlikely she would ever be found alive and made it less likely that the other kidnapped individuals would ever be seen again. All-Might had added Izuka's death to the crimes committed by All for One, and it fuelled his furious search alongside the murder of his mentor, Nana Shimura.

Then finally, one week ago, they had finally caught a break in their search. A lesser known Pro Hero by the name of Clementine Man was kidnapped (his quirk gave him several orange-themed abilities such as growing peels for protection, producing and controlling orange juice in a bizarre form of Hydro-kinesis and creating a calming smell). He had been one of the heroes helping the search and had managed to hide a tracker inside himself, allowing the Heroes to pinpoint the location of All for One's base. Then finally, on July 15th a year after Izuka's abduction, All-Might had assembled a team (really a small army) of the best Pro Heroes and Police Officers and attacked the base, which turned out to be a laboratory in the mountains. All-Might, leading a team consisting of Eraserhead, Midnight, Power Loader, Endeavor, Gran Torino and Sir Nighteye had been the first to infiltrate the lab.

To the shock of everyone, they had found Izuka alive but with a glassy look in her eye, like she had given up all hope. All for One mocked the Heroes for failing, but just as the Warp Gate Villain was about to take Izuka away while All for One attacked, Eraserhead had temporarily erased All for One's quirks (saving Power Loader's life) and pulling Izuka away from the villains. The rest of the fight became a blur of action and quirks. All for One unleashed strange mutant creatures that kept the Heroes busy while All-Might and All for One battled one on one. In the end, the Mutants were killed, the Heroes were left battered, bruised and unconscious and both All-Might and All for One were left mortally wounded and glaring at each other.

It was at that moment that All-Might nearly lost hope; little Izuka crawled out of the rubble and All for One ordered her to kill All-Might, his cruel voice telling her that all her suffering was his fault, that if All-Might was dead, she wouldn't hurt any more. Toshinori's lungs and stomach were basically shredded and he barely had the breath to whisper, telling Izuka that everything would be alright, that her mother was waiting for her to come home and that even if he died, he'd be happy if she was safe.

And then Toshinori Yagi saw the one thing in his life he'd never forget. That little Quirkless girl summoned up a fire and with a beautiful light returning to her once hopeless eyes, she had smiled at him; "I want to be a Hero!" she declared and spun around, unleashing her flames on All for One. There wasn't even a scream; just a look of pure disbelief as All for One was reduced to ashes. Izuka had then fallen to her knees beside All-Might and sobbed, finally crying out all her suppressed feelings from the past year. Toshinori gently took her hand, feeling his life slowly slipping away. If he died without passing on his Quirk; One for All, then it would die with him, so he had swallowed his reservations and gently lifted his bloody hand and pushed a finger to Izuka's lips. He felt it when a single drop of blood passed between her lips and felt his Quirk react, signifying it had been passed on.

"Live, young Midoriya, and become a Hero; my successor and the new Symbol of Peace! Talk to Gran Torino, he'll help you. Goodbye, my dear girl." he had choked out, his breathing becoming harsh and shallow.

But Izuka Midoriya had to surprise him yet again. She had screamed her refusal to let her Saviour die and conjured up those same flames, this time with an oddly cute pink hue. She pushed the flames into his wound and the pain caused Toshinori to pass out completely. When he awoke, he was in hospital, in a bed in the same room as Izuka and the other injured Heroes.

Sir Nighteye was the first to come and speak to him; "All-Might! Thank goodness you're alright! I-I saw your death and thought for certain this fight would be the end!"

"I am alright… What happened? I was certain I'd die myself!" All-Might admitted. He wasn't in his muscle form any more, his hair hung more limply and he wasn't as muscular as he should be even in his normal form, but aside from the bandages, he looked like a fairly average fit and healthy man.

"Recovery Girl said that something caused your lungs and stomach to regenerate, though you have become a bit anaemic and lost some muscle mass. She says you'll only be able to safely use about 75% of your old power, but considering the alternative… what the hell happened?" Nighteye replied.

"It was the child! She has a Quirk; one revolving around flames. Her flames killed All for One and healed me." Toshinori answered.

That had caused Sir Nighteye to pull a strange face and leave, promising to return after helping the police go other the remains of All for One's laboratory. The other Pro Heroes gradually awoke and left to return to their agencies, though Gran Torino and Eraserhead stuck around at the request of Nighteye. Inko Midoriya had appeared not long later and sobbed her heart out as she profusely thanked the heroes for saving her baby girl. When she learned her daughter had a Quirk, Inko was shocked but upon learning she'd used it to save All-Might's life, she had smiled and hadn't left Izuka's side since. Recovery Girl had reported that aside from malnutrition and a touch of Anaemia, Izuka seemed to be in perfect health.

Now Toshinori was just sitting around, waiting for the little one to awaken so he could reveal what he'd done. Gran Torino, Inko Midoriya and Sir Nighteye had all been irritated by his giving his Quirk to Izuka, but they understood his reasons. It wasn't until Noon the next day that All-Might learned he wasn't the only one who'd done such a thing.

Toshinori, Inko and Aizawa were eating a light lunch around Izuka's bed when Gran Torino, Sir Nighteye, Agent Nest from the Government, Recovery Girl and Principal Nezu all came in with serious expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Toshi asked worriedly.

Agent Nest held up a small tablet computer. "We were able to recover a lot of files from the remains of the computers in the Villain Base. A lot of files pertain to something that All for One called Project Phoenix… the subject of the project was Izuka Midoriya."

"No! What did that monster do to my baby!?" Inko screamed, hugging the unconscious girl.

Nest, a plain looking man in a black suit, with black feathers in place of hair, frowned and reluctantly pulled up some files. "I will read some of All for One's entries… he was nothing if not meticulous in preserving his thoughts. However, a lot of this is highly disturbing."

"We need to know." Toshinori said seriously.

"Very well. I will read in order; the first entry was July 15th 2045." Nest stated and began reading.

Project Phoenix

Entry #001: July 15th 2045

The Abduction of Katsuki Bakugou failed due to unforeseen circumstances, so the acquisition of the Explosion Quirk will have to wait, however the failure has resulted in a far greater prize.

Izuka Midoriya, Age 9. She was captured when she pushed our target away from Kurogiri's Warp Gate, only to be caught herself. I examined her and discovered her to be Quirkless, so ordered her disposed off. Kurogiri took pity on her and instead of allowing Tomura to decay her, he shot her in the head with a pistol. Death was instantaneous.

Inko screamed in horror, "T-They murdered my baby!? How is this possible!?"

"I'm about to get to that." Nest answered patiently. He knew it must be hard to hear of her child being murdered.

After the child was terminated, a Noumu was ordered to dispose of the body, but after a sudden flash of light, the child was resurrected and the bullet wound was gone. After a quick scan, it was discovered the bullet had also vanished completely. I re-examined her and discovered that her death had triggered the awakening of her quirk, which I have codenamed: Phoenix. It allowed her to return to life after death and, to my disappointment, I was unable to take it.

It seems that the Quirk is so tightly bound to the child's DNA and Spirit that my own Quirk can recognise it as a Quirk, but not remove it, much like One for All. I have begun work on plans for a new project dubbed Project Phoenix. We can't dispose of the girl, release her or take her Quirk, so we'll just have to convert her to our side.

"Impossible… a Resurrection Quirk! How can such a thing exist?" Toshinori asked, the only one left that could still formulate words despite the shock.

"This isn't the first Quirk that defies death. The Government currently has nineteen similar cases documented world wide, with two in Japan alone… well, three now I suppose." Nest answered.

"S-So Izuka can comeback to life after being killed? Is it one time only?" Inko asked fearfully.

Nest shook his head; "No. All for One… he was very thorough in stress testing her quirk."

"N-No! Oh my god, he didn't…?"

"I'm afraid so. The next month's worth of entries are… highly detailed descriptions of these tests. I won't go into the gory details, but from his tests, All for One discovered she could resurrect from asphyxiation, drowning, blood loss, terminal disease, massive bodily trauma, poison, starvation, dehydration and… and incineration, disintegration and melting. Nothing can permanently kill her."

Inko dashed for a trash bin and promptly vomited between horrified screams and tears. What horrendous torture had that evil creature put her daughter through!? Aizawa awkwardly rubbed her back, his own face looking deathly pale. Recovery Girl was gripping her walking cane with whitening knuckles, Nezu's fur was beginning to stand up from rage, Sir Nighteye looked at the unconscious girl with pity and Gran Torino was focused solely on Toshinori…

The Number One Hero was FURIOUS. No single word could truly express the sheer depth of his anger and hatred and despite all his chivalry, a tiny bit of Toshinori couldn't help but viciously think that All for One got what he deserved, being incinerated by the very person he had tortured. Volcanic Rage and Arctic Hatred mixed with grim satisfaction within him.

"If it makes it better at all, it seems Izuka was a very strong willed little girl. She resisted his every attempt to brainwash her. Here, I'll read more entries." Nest began, turning his attention back to the files.

Entry #027 July 29th 2045

Project Phoenix proved to be an appropriate name for my current work. I attempted to repeat the Incineration Stress Test today, as punishment for the Child's defiance, but the flames did nothing. No flame of any heat or intensity seems to affect her any more. On further analysis it seems her Quirk is more than Resurrection, but a true representation of a Phoenix's power. Through scans with various Quirks, I have identified that the Phoenix Quirk has multiple facets; Resurrection, Flame Immunity, Creation and Control, Flight via the creation of wings of fire and Healing through the use of Pink Flames. The Pink Flames heal wounds by consuming blood from the patient and/or the Child herself to fuel the healing flames. She can heal herself if need be. I may need to research her family bloodline.

On the topic of her actual resurrection, I have made a few observations that have proven consistent throughout; 1. Cause of Death has no effect on the Quirk. 2. It is apparently a mandatory resurrection; multiple times the child seemed disappointed and sad to be revived, implying she may have resisted. 3. Resurrection always takes precisely 200 seconds, regardless of the body's condition. 4. When the 200 second elapses, whatever is left of her body flashes white and she reappears in perfect condition. 5. After revival, any blood she lost is replenished, but blood spilled remains where it is, allowing us to use her as an infinite supply of blood and as she is blood type O, her blood is highly compatible with others. Oddly, while removed blood remains after resurrection, actual flesh and organs disappear. It appears blood, saliva, hair and nails are the only things that can be removed and STAY removed when she is killed and revived. This needs further study.

"That's why both she and I were Anaemic! She used my blood to heal me and then when she didn't dare take more, she used her own! I'd wager if there had been more blood, I'd be in perfect condition." Toshinori exclaimed.

"Oh, it gets better." Nest continued.

Entry # 29 July 30th 2045

My research has paid off. The Child is the failed offspring of a Quirk Marriage between Hisashi Kintaro and Inko Midoriya, instigated by the former. Medical records show her birth was wrought with complications and left her mother unable to bear another child, so when the Child was falsely diagnosed as Quirkless, the father left the family. Hisashi Kintaro bears the quirk "Salamander Evolution" a hybrid of his mother's fire quirk and his father's "Auto Evolution". It seems the Kintaro family are Quirk Supremacists and their Quirk evolves other quirks they come into contact with through procreation. Salamander Evolution provided Hisashi with fire breath stronger than his mother's own quirk thanks to the Evolution aspect, but little else.

Inko Midoriya's Quirk is a fairly simple telekinesis quirk. The combination of a Fire Quirk, Psychic Quirk and Evolution Quirk has somehow mutated and combined into the Phoenix Quirk. It was a one in a million chance, but it seems the Child beat the odds.

In addition, each subsequent death seems to cause the Child to evolve a little bit to resist the cause of her previous death. By repeatedly drowning and starving her, we have discovered the Child can now go without air for 30 minutes before losing consciousness and 45 minutes before death, and she can last two weeks without water and three months without food, at least according to my current estimations. Poisons are also less effective and it has become near-impossible to infect her with diseases. Even highly infectious ones such as HIV and Tuberculosis have proven ineffective. This doesn't seem to extend to physical trauma however; her body remains as vulnerable to physical blows as ever though her Pain Tolerance is increasing.

Regardless, I have the information I need and can bring Phase I of Project Phoenix to a close. Now it is time to move on Phase II.

Nest skipped over most of the next few entries, which were focused on attempts at re-educating poor Izuka and forcing her to train her Quirks by healing herself and fighting creatures called "Noumus"

Entry #089 September 22nd 2045

The Child continues to resist the mental conditioning. She obeys each and every order given, but when ordered to inflict harm on another, she refuses and never willingly accepts the Ideology lessons. Kurogiri reports her schooling is going well, and Tomura seems to enjoy playing with her, but no matter what we do, she resists! Punishment quells her spirit, but doesn't break it; her resistance just becomes less vocal. I have even tried to give her rewards; presents, toys, clothes, nice food and even a proper room to replace the Dog Crate and still she resists. She thanks me for every gift but never gives in! It may be time to move beyond education and into brainwashing.

By this point, Inko had finally calmed down enough to leave the trash bin and return to her Daughter's side; Aizawa standing close by in case he needed to help her again. "The villains researched me and my ex-husband?"

"It appears so. Miss Midoriya, what can you tell us about this? The Quirk Marriage I mean." Sir Nighteye asked politely.

Inko looked down sadly; "I didn't know that was what Hisashi wanted at first. We dated for a bit and he said he'd fallen in love with me. After only a few months he proposed. I never knew he was connected to the Kintaro company as he insisted on using my name, though he never changed it legally. I suppose it was so I couldn't get any of his money after we divorced; not that I wanted it. I work quite happily as a Personal Assistant at a Law Firm."

"Forgive me, Miss Midoriya, but I did a bit of digging of my own after I first saw these files. You are still receiving monetary support from the Kintaro Group." Nest pointed out.

"Ah, that's because of my former brother-in-law; Haru. He's Hisashi's older brother and the current CEO of the Kintaro Group. His Quirk was actually "Dragon Evolution", a more advanced version of Hisashi's, which is the real reason he's head of the company. Hisashi wanted to create a stronger child than his brother to convince his father to choose him over Haru. I've only ever seen and spoken to him through Video Chats, but he adores Izuka and pays child support in his brother's stead. I tried to talk him out of it, but he's stubborn. His Quirk lets him fly and control fire too, but instead of Resurrection and Healing, he can grow horns and scales." Inko explained. "Now, what was this about brainwashing?"

Nest smirked; "Your daughter was a very annoying subject for All for One. Here, this is the entry that best describes it."

Entry # 213 April 22nd 2046

The moment it seems we're making progress with Phoenix, a new complication arises! It took six months to finally find a Mind Control Quirk that her will couldn't break through immediately and results were promising! I was even able to order her to actually harm one of the animals I brought in for the tests! But the moment I ordered her to kill it, something snapped and I felt my control break away, and the girl had the nerve to cut her own wrist to heal the creature! I murdered the thing to teach her a lesson, but even after I repeated the test, she still healed the damage she'd done even knowing I'd kill it.

It seems we have hit a wall. No matter what, she will not kill. I had hoped stripping her of her name and dubbing her Phoenix would have enough of a Psychological effect to weaken her resistance, but it seems that plan has fallen through. I'd capture her parents to force her compliance, but the Heroes are sniffing around her mother and the Bakugou family, and she doesn't seem to care about her father.

"Izuka always was such a sweet child… I can't tell you how many times she came home with bumps and bruises from standing up for other children." Inko said, a fond smile on her face as she petted her child's hair. Izuka mewled in her sleep and leaned into the touch; likely the first pleasant touch she'd had in a year.

Toshinori smiled at the display and turned back to Nest; "Are there many more entries of note?"

"Only three. One is fairly distressing, but will help us get a grasp on her mental state when she awakens. The second has something to do with another Quirk, something All for One gave her, and the third answers questions as to what happened to Clementine Man." Nest replied.

"Alright. Miss Midoriya, do you think you're up to hearing more? We can go to another room if you'd rather not." Toshi asked.

Inko gave him a grateful smile; "Thank you, Mr All-Might, but I need to hear this. If it can help me help my little girl, I want to know."

Nest nodded in agreement and continued.

Entry #223 April 29th 2046

Finally some success in the Control Program! Phoenix has a childish idea of importance, so when given an ultimatum of two lives to save, she'll always pick the one she deems most important and kill the other. We introduced two subjects; a rabbit and captured homeless woman. At first, she put up the usual resistance; hurting them under the influence of my Mind Control, but snapping free before killing them. However, after being told that I would kill both subjects unless she killed one of them, her will broke enough that I was able to force her to kill the rabbit via Mind Control.

She still fails to kill Humans regardless of threats to herself and others, and won't even kill animals without the Mind Control but progress is finally being made. It seems the cause of her rebellion is a sort of Mental Defence she has built for herself… a kind of metaphorical fortress within her mind that she retreats to in order to preserve her sanity and morality. If I can break this fortress, the girl will fall apart and I will be able to control her completely!

With this, I have decided to allow Kurogiri to continue work on Phase II with some help from Tomura while I move on to Phase III.

Nest stopped the reading and turned to Recovery Girl; "Do you think this mental defence will help Izuka in her recovery?"

The Elderly Heroine nodded; "I wouldn't be surprised if this was a side effect of her Phoenix Quirk's Survival based Evolution. If her Quirk interpreted her failing mental state as a damaging weakness, it may have helped her create the Mind Fortress to protect herself. Still, my grasp on Psychology is intermediate at best; we'll need a real expert."

"I can arrange for that. I have an old friend who is very good; I know from experience." Nezu smiled. The Mouse Principal felt a kinship with the poor child, for he too had been kept and abused as part of a cruel experiment.

Nest made a note of the Principal's statement and continued, "This is were we move on to what Phase III is; a focus on the Evolution aspect of her Quirk."

Entry #245 May 11th 2046

Work on the "Link Evolution" Quirk has officially been completed and the testing on the Noumus has proven it effective. Getting Phoenix to go along with the process was much simpler now that Phase II is nearing completion; I have taken to keeping her permanently under Mind Control. By blending together quirks designed to "link" two or more individuals together and quirks similar to my own that allow one to use another's quirk, I have been able to create a custom quirk that can create a mental link between the user and any number of participants. The person at the centre of the link can use the Quirks of the linked individuals, though to a lesser degree and as a side effect, all those involved in the Link can communicate telepathically, likely thanks to the telepathy quirk that I used as a base.

Upon introducing the Link Quirk to Phoenix, it blended with her namesake quirk and picked up the Evolution aspect, just as I hoped! Now, in addition to Phoenix being able to temporarily use the Quirks of those she links to, those linked have their Quirks "evolve" to improved versions! Linking with Kurogiri has increased the range he can make warp gates as well as the number, and Tomura is now able to control his Decay Quirk's activation and has been able to release the quirk from his feet in addition to his hands.

There are limits however; the Evolved Quirk requires much more stamina to use if going beyond the original limits and while the Quirk will evolve more the longer the link is held, after a while, we reach a breaking point where the Quirk will cease to grow stronger. The only other limitation is for Phoenix herself; each additional person she links to doubles the stress on her body. We were able to link her to 32 Noumus before her body went into critical failure because of the stress. Maximum safe range seems to be three to five people, more than that and stress begins to weaken her. Overall Phase III is nearing completion and we will soon begin on Phase IV

The Pro Heroes in the room gawked at the Agent and then turned to the still sleeping child. This girl was immortal, could control fire, fly, survive hostile environments for longer than most, heal others and now she could link with people to speak telepathically, borrow their quirks and even permanently upgrade them! And now she also had One for All...

"Thank god that she wants to be a hero so badly!" Toshinori said, slouching in his bed from sheer relief; "If All for One had succeeded in making her a villain, we'd be toast! It looks like I picked a really great successor!"

"All-Might is correct; if more Villains like All for One appear, we'll need Izuka's power. Miss Midoriya, I know your child wants to be a hero and this may be highly selfish of us to ask, but will you please do everything in your power to encourage this dream?" Nest asked, bowing his head to the woman.

Inko frowned, "I-I want to, I really do. Izuka has loved heroes since she was old enough to toddle about and even her baby talk was full of words like "All-Might"… it's the only dream she's ever had and it was crushed when we thought she was Quirkless… but I can't forget what's been done to her! She's been hurt so much, all because someone wanted to use her power. I won't let anyone else do the same; Hero or Villain!"

Shota Aizawa, better known as Eraserhead, stepped forward; "I agree with you, Miss Midoriya. We shouldn't go using her, which is why I wanted to offer my own idea. All-Might is going to have to spend time training her anyway, so she is able to use One for All properly, so why don't we offer her a sort of Junior Hero Apprenticeship? She can see what real Hero work is like from a safe distance under the guidance of All-Might and the U.A Heroes. It'll give her the training she needs, let her see what our line of work is like and if she chooses to really pursue Heroism, she has a job opportunity right out of the gate."

Nezu nodded; "That is a wonderful idea. I am a teacher, but as Principal of U.A, I don't get to actually directly teach students much, so I can take on the role of her academic tutor and also as a sympathetic ear if she wants to talk about her experiences with someone who understands. Toshinori, Gran Torino and Nighteye can train her to safely use One for All and give her a chance to see some Hero work. Aizawa can give her a sneak peak at the U.A Hero course and Recovery Girl can oversee her training in using her Healing Quirk safely."

"If it makes you feel even more secure, I can talk to my superiors in the Government." Nest added; "With so many Heroes on side and with how important her powers are, as well as the Media attention this rescue will bring, I can convince the higher-ups to make an agreement to allow Izuka to live her life as she wishes, so long as she doesn't turn to villainy of course."

"You'll all really protect my baby?" Inko asked, tearing up.

"Of course! It is a shame for us Heroes that it took us a whole year to save Izuka, and she was the only one of the missing individuals to be recovered alive… we won't let anything bad happen to her again!" Toshinori declared, doing his best to look heroic despite his injuries.

"Then I suppose I have no choice… but it's Izuka's decision! If she decides not to be a Hero for whatever reason, you have to accept that." Inko said, hugging the girl to her.

With that, Nest read the last entry of importance, regarding the fate of Clementine Man.

Entry #294 July 3rd 2046

Phase II had another setback today. Since Phase III was completed and we're preparing to begin Phase IV, I decided to assist Kurogiri and had him capture a Pro Hero; speficially a bizarre man named Clementine Man. His Quirk was interesting, but ultimately useless for my goals so I allowed him to keep it and used Mind Control to force Phoenix and the Hero to fight.

The Hero's will was nowhere near as powerful as Phoenix's and he moved in for the kill as soon as I ordered. Still, he was unable to really put up a fight against Phoenix; she may lack any degree of combat skill, but her fire power and healing has made her a worthy opponent for these D-list heroes.

Unfortunately, it was another failure. I released the control on the Hero so he could try and make excuses for himself, but Phoenix resisted the control and ignored my order to kill him. My control has grown strong enough that she can't break it, but she still seems able to ignore a killing order! However, there was almost an incident when the Hero grabbed the girl and seemed to hug her. I'm certain he said something to her, because his actions broke my control on Phoenix. Tomura killed the fool before I could interrogate him and Phoenix won't say what he told her, though I suspect it's related to the talk of a Pro-Hero team looking for her. No matter, we searched the Hero carefully and he had no tracker on him, so the chances of us being discovered are nil.

"HA! Cocky bastard didn't think a "D-list Hero" would think to hide the tracker inside his own body. Clementine Man's death is tragic, but he managed to save a child's life even in death! I salute you!" Gran Torino said, pointing a hand to the heavens.

After a moment of silence for the departed hero (Nest made a note to arrange an appropriate funeral and compensation for his family) they continued on to the final bits of information.

"Obviously by these files, All for One had several phases planned for this Project Phoenix. Phase I was testing her quirk, Phase II was mental conditioning and brainwashing, Phase III was the Link Evolution experiment, but what about Phase IV? And was there more beyond that?" Aizawa asked.

"It seems there were five phases. Phase IV was set to begin in the next week and would have revolved around live training exercises. In other words, All for One would have sent Izuka out with Villains in his employ to have her wreak havoc. Phase V was full implementation and would likely have been All for One using her for whatever plan he'd cooked up. The actual details on these phases are limited and the only data we have is that there were three planned attacks; All-Might's Hero Agency, U.A High School and the Centre of Government in Tokyo. Names of several villains are attached, such as Muscular, Innsmouth, Kurogiri and several Noumu with different serial numbers. However, most of the Noumu were killed and All for One has been declared dead after Izuka incinerated him, so I doubt these plans have a chance of continuing. All the same, we're keeping an eye out for Kurogiri and Tomura Shigaraki." Nest stated.

The group nodded in understanding, and with nothing left to be said, Nest decided to return to his office to continue his work and Sir Nighteye had to return to his own Agency to ensure everything was fine there, leaving Gran Torino, Toshinori, Aizawa, Nezu and Recovery Girl to stay with the Midoriyas. They settled into quiet conversation, mostly centred around getting Izuka the help she would need, when finally, at around 7pm, the girl began to stir.

Izuka blearily opened her eyes, fighting to shake off the best sleep she'd had in a year. The others held their breath as Inko gently helped her daughter sit up while Gran Torino rushed to get a glass of water.

"M-Mommy?" Izuka croaked out, unsure of her voice and what she was seeing.

"It's me baby. You're safe now, we're in hospital and then we'll finally take you home." Inko smiled, happy tears pooling in her eyes.

"Is this real? It's not a dream right?" Izuka asked fearfully.

"It is real, little one. You are safe and soon, all this will be a distant memory." Toshinori comforted her as Gran Torino lifted a glass to her lips. Izuka tentatively sipped at the clear liquid, but upon finding it was water, she greedily gulped it down, drinking four glasses before finally being sated enough.

"Mommy, are you okay?" the child asked, cuddling into her mother's side.

"I am now that you're here sweetheart." her mother smiled.

Izuka giggled sweetly and turned to the others in the room. "I 'member you." she said, looking at Aizawa, "You stopped Kurogiri from taking me 'way. Thank you Mr Eraserhead."

Aizawa gave one of his rare smiles and ruffled the girl's curls. "No problem kid. Happy you're back with us."

The child turned her attention to Gran Torino and Nezu; "Sorry, I don't think I know you… thank you for helping me though!"

"It's fine child. We aren't well known and truthfully, I was only part of organising the rescue, not a participant. We are just happy you could be brought home safe and sound." Nezu replied, waving her off. Izuka giggled and after Nezu got closer, she petted his fur, making the Mouse Principal chuckle and pat her hand. Gran Torino just smiled and nudged Toshinori forward.

The moment Izuka's eyes fell on him, they went from shining to impossibly sparkly, like an entire galaxy was contained solely in her eyes. "All-Might! Are you okay? Did my healing work?"

"It did. I am alive thanks to you; I owe you my thanks!" Toshi smiled widely, his best and most earnest smile on display.

"It's okay, I really wanted to help you! Sensei, I mean, All for One..." Izuka shuddered, "He really hated you. He kept saying that me and Tomura were gonna kill you… he said Heroes were bad, but I didn't believe him."

All-Might patted the girl's back; "Well done my dear. You were very brave to stand up to him. You'll make a great Hero, if you want to be one."

Izuka's eyes shone brighter, then dulled for a moment. "Mr All-Might, can someone like me be a Hero… even if I hurt people? I didn't mean to! Sen- I mean, All for One made me do it! But still… I hurt people and animals, and I killed some animals even though I didn't want to… and… and I killed All for One. Can I still be a Hero after that?"

All-Might sighed and sat down on her bed, taking one of her hands in his own. "Killing is always a difficult thing. Because it's against the law, many consider it evil and in many cases, that's right. However, Heroism is not always as glamorous and clean as it is on TV. Most Heroes have been forced to kill a Villain in dire situations or even just by accident. I'd wager every Hero in this room has taken a life, even if they didn't want to."

Each one nodded, even Nezu and Recovery Girl and all looked sympathetic to her feelings. All-Might continued; "As awful as it is to be forced to take a life, sometimes it is the only thing you can do to protect many others. If All for One had lived, I would certainly have died and the other Heroes on the scene who were injured might have been killed too. You, my girl, are a little Hero who was forced to make a horrible choice because of the failures of adults, both my failures and the Villains. But the fact you feel guilt for killing All for One, even after everything he did to you, proves that you are as far from a bad person as you can get. I promise you, Izuka Midoriya, that if you truly wish to be you can become a Hero!"

Izuka began to tear up, sniffling and hiccuping as she squeezed her mom's and All-Might's hands. "Y-You know what he did? About my quirks?"

"Yes, Sweetheart. We know what happened and we're here for you. You don't need to be brave and bear it all by yourself any more." Inko smiled, tears spilling over and down her cheeks.

In a flash, Izuka let go of her emotions and a whole year of pain, sadness and fear overwhelmed her and the poor child burst into heartbroken tears. She threw herself into her mother's embrace and cried her little heart out. "Mommy! It was really scary, and it hurt so much! I kept being killed and-and I didn't want to come back again! I just wanted to stay asleep! I wanted to come home!" she cried.

The Heroes felt misty eyes as they watched mother and daughter crying in each other's embrace, both sobbing out all the negative feelings that had come as a result of their separation. Still, despite the tears, everyone was happy that the family was back together.

Izuka was finally home, and could begin to truly heal.