Tanya and Izuku turned fourteen over the summer and had just started their last year of middle school. They both had a little growth spurt and were three inches taller to make their heights comparable... if Tanya stood up on her toes. She groused about that nearly every day as they walked home from school. It just made Izuku laugh every time she did.

“I don't care how short you are. You're my best friend, Tanya. I couldn't imagine my life without...” Izuku's eyes caught sight of something and his fight or flight instincts kicked in. “MOVE!” He yelled and pushed Tanya to the side as a blob of sludge surged up from a sewer grate and splashed over him.

“IZUKU!” Tanya yelled as she hit the ground and saw her best friend be covered nearly completely. It took her only a second of watching him struggle before she composed herself and bent to take off at supersonic speed.

Just as she was about to launch herself, a large figure slammed into the ground right beside the sludge blob, creating the very air disruption she intended to use to weaken the monster. The figure then slammed his large fist into the sludge and felt around. When he pulled, Izuku came out and the man tossed the boy to the side.

“I got him!” Tanya said and used her quirk to slow Izuku down enough to catch him without hurting either herself or him. It didn't mean they didn't tumble a couple of times, though. “Izuku! IZUKU!”

“M'fine.” Izuku whispered and then coughed. “It felt like... it was trying to... get inside me.”

Tanya gasped and quickly cast a detection spell and then sighed in relief. “There's nothing inside you.”

“Th-thanks. It makes me feel so empty with nothing in here.” Izuku joked.

Tanya snorted a laugh and smacked his arm. “I meant no sludge, you doofus.”

“No duh.” Izuku said and sat up to look around. “What happened to... ALL MIGHT!”

“I am fine, young man!” All Might said as he stuffed the sludge into a soda pop bottle. “I've been tracking this fellow for three blocks and he slipped away before I could corner him.”

“I'm glad I could help.” Izuku said.

All Might blinked his eyes for a moment. “Did... did you just readily accept being almost consumed because it let me catch the villain?”

“All Might, let me introduce one of your biggest fans.” Tanya said and waved at Izuku. “Izuku Midoria is in his final year of middle school.”

“And this lovely young woman is my best friend, confidante, and conspirator, Tanya Degraff.”

All Might froze at the name.

“She's in her final form at school, too.” Izuku said.

“Yes, well... it's been great. I really must get this villain to the authorities. Toodles!” All Might said and bent down, then launched himself up and into the air.

“Son of a bitch! He just ditched us!” Tanya shouted.

“Did you see his reaction to your last name?” Izuku asked and she nodded. “We won't get another chance like this.”

“No, we won't.” Tanya said and took out the straps she used for packages. “Front or back?”

“Back. You need to be in complete control without my legs dangling.” Izuku said and slipped the harness over himself as he stepped behind her.

Tanya hooked him up as he carefully put his arms over her shoulders to not impede her movement. “Hold on!”

“I love this part.” Izuku whispered into her ear.

Tanya blushed as the air swirled around them, then she launched them into the air in the same direction that All Might went. “I don't see him.”

“He's on the sixth building's roof over there.” Izuku pointed off slightly to the right. “He's prepping to jump again!”

“Dammit! Changing to mid-flight encounter!” Tanya said and shifted slightly as she gathered her magic, then poured on the speed just as All Might jumped into the air. They met as All Might was nearing the apex of his very long jump.

“You're supposed to be my hero, All Might!” Izuku shouted to let the man hear him.

All Might's head turned and he stared at the two people flying beside him as he jumped. “What are you... YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE YOUR QUIRKS!” He said and flailed his arms to stop his slight twist his body was doing in the air.

Tanya reached out to steady the man and turned him back to face forward. “Land first then yell!”

All Might silently agreed as he started to descend on the downward part of his jump towards a secluded spot near a closed construction area. He landed with a thump in a small mound of gravel and stood up to glare at the two teenagers gently landing ten feet away.

“What do you think you're doing, using your quirks publicly like that?” All Might asked with a bit more anger than he should have. Neither teen were bothered by that, though.

“I have a special exemption from the government that I use for my business.” Tanya said and unstrapped Izuku from her back.

All Might opened his mouth to say that didn't matter, then realized what she said. He needed to check into that later and find out why she had special permisison.

“Besides, only Tanya used her quirk. I'm quirkless.” Izuku said, a little proudly.

“Wait, what?” All Might looked shocked.

“I've worked really hard the last few years and developed my mind and body, with Tanya's help. I'll get into UA, even if I have to settle for the Support Course.”

“Don't talk like that!” Tanya admonished him and whacked him in the back of the head. “You're getting into the Hero Course or they are going to answer to me!”

Izuku laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “I was just saying...”

“Don't you dare say you are going to settle for second best, dammit!” Tanya nearly shouted.

“Okay, okay! Geez.” Izuku said and they both turned to look at All Might. “Why did you run away?”

“Huh? I didn't...” All Might thought they were talking about the sludge villain, then remembered he had run away from the young woman that was now glaring at him. He felt a familiar tremble in his muscles and tried to hide it. “That is, I needed to get away and...”

“We know. As soon as you heard my last name, you looked like someone kicked a puppy.” Tanya said. “You are going to tell us why.”

All Might looked at their determined faces and knew he wasn't going to avoid this conflict any longer. “We need to sit down. I can't... there's something...” He sighed and walked over to a pile of steel I-beams used in building construction and bent one into a bench shape before he planted it partially into the ground. “Please, sit.”

Tanya and Izuku exchanged a look and sat down right beside each other at one end of the bench.

“I've carried two very damaging secrets ever since that day over four years ago.” All Might said and sat down on the other side of the bench. “I must implore you to never reveal them to anyone.”

“No.” Izuku said immediately. “We can't promise that without knowing the implications first. If we promise and it's something that we can do something about, our promise to never reveal it would stop us from helping or seeking other help.”

Tanya nodded and took his hand. “My thoughts exactly.”

All Might gave each of them a lingering sad look, then let his muscle-form go. Steam flowed off of him and the very large nearly eight foot tall man deflated within ten seconds to leave a nearly skeletal thin man behind.

“All for One was responsible for the Hero Massacre that day.” All Might's tiny form said and lifted his shirt to show off the massive wound in his side. “I lost a lung, a kidney, and my stomach. I have mechanical replacements after a dozen surgeries to try and fix the damage.”

“Good god.” Izuku whispered and his hand tightened in Tanya's.

“Is that why... why...” Tanya couldn't bring herself to say it.

“Your mother was the bravest hero... not support hero, an actual hero... that day. She saw me fall and as All for One starting killing the other heroes, she risked her life to come to my aid. I thought she was going to heal me at first and I warned her to not waste her time. I thought...” All Might paused for a moment with a sad look on his face. “...it was too late for me.”

The two teens sat there and listened without saying anything to interrupt.

All Might lost his sad look and smiled. “She told me to shut the hell up and to keep smiling like I was supposed to.”

“That's my mom.” Tanya whispered and Izuku nodded.

“Then she said something. Imbue. I felt something surge through me. I had never felt anything like it before and I've been a hero for over a decade. The thing was... it didn't stop.”

Tanya caught her breath and All Might nodded to her.

“I found out later that her mother's quirk let her boost a hero's quirk for a short time. What she never told anyone except her boss at the agency she worked for, was that the more powerful the quirk she boosted, the longer the boost would last... and the more it would take out of her.”

“No!” Tanya gasped.

“The second secret I have is that my quirk is called One for All. It's actually a compound quirk that gets passed down from hero to hero and combines their inherent quirks. I'm the eighth holder of it and...”

“Izuku! We were right!” Tanya exclaimed.

Izuku nodded. “We knew there was something odd about your quirk, All Might. All of the things you can do with just a power quirk didn't make sense. One or maybe two would be understandable; but, the different things you've done and demonstrated over the years shows the influence of more than one quirk. Strength, speed, durability, fighting prowess beyond normal, and apparently transformation.”

“The other two are to gather power over time and to pass it along.” All Might said. “Seven quirks.”

“Oh, god.” Tanya said as tears came to her eyes. “My mother... she... she needed to rest between each boost and eat to get her energy back.”

All Might hung his head. “I told her to get away. That it wasn't worth her life to save me.”

“Every life is worth saving at least once.” Tanya whispered her father's motto and then smiled. “Unless they're bastards. Let them rot.”

All Might nodded. “She said with this one boost, she could save thousands of future lives. She was right.” He said and lifted his head to look at the young woman sitting on the bench beside him. “I felt like I was my old self, before the injury, and I rose up from where I lay. I looked down and saw her happy face and knew that she had given me her all. She deserved for me to do the same thing.”

Both Tanya and Izuku nodded.

“The fight lasted another thirty minutes.” All Might said. “I couldn't believe it. I wasn't tiring or wearing out. It was amazing.” He let out a sigh. “I became arrogant and let the villain boast about killing more people, egged him on, and then let all of my anger and frustration out on him.”

“He deserved it.” Tanya said.

“He did... especially when the fight was over. He was done. Defeated.” All Might said and turned his head to look away. “Or so we all assumed. He pretended to be weaker than he actually was as the police hauled him away. He broke free of custody and killed three more police officers... and your mother... before I beat him down into unconsciousness again.”

Silence fell in the small construction area and no one said anything for several minutes.

“Now you know.” All Might said and stood without looking at them. “Please, don't tell anyone my secrets. If anyone knew that the Symbol of Peace was subsiding on baby food and can only be a hero for a few hours a day...”

“Chaos.” Izuku whispered and saw his hero nod in agreement. “We promise to keep your secrets.”

All Might looked at them and saw the resolve on their faces before he nodded. “I need to go and get the sludge villain into custody.” He said and tried to pat the bottle tied to his waist, then he gasped. The only thing there was the thin rope that the bottle used to be tied to. “It's gone!”

Izuku and Tanya exchanged looks and stood. “We'll help you look.” They said at the same time.

“No, I can't ask you to...”

“You didn't. We're offering.” Tanya said and quickly walked with Izuku towards the fence around the construction area.

Izuku handed her a toy pistol from his backpack and Tanya made it glow before she shot the lock off of the gate with a small explosion. “That's still so cool to see.”

Tanya chuckled and took his hand as they quickly walked down the street and searched for the bottle or the traces of sludge the villain leaves behind when he moves.

All Might walked over to the gate and became his muscled form and wrapped a piece of rebar around the gate to hold it closed, now that there wasn't a lock to lock it anymore. He turned and braced himself, then leapt a short distance back in the general direction he had been heading from before. He needed to get that dangerous villain off the streets before it claimed another victim as a puppet.

*

Bakugo's life had taken a drastic turn two years ago and he attributed it all to that girl that dressed like a boy all the time. He still didn't know her name, nor did he care to learn it. She didn't matter to him or to his goal to become the number one hero. His therapist said that he needed to not associate his anger issues with any specific person to diffuse it. He thought that was stupid and hated the man with a passion.

“Hey, Bakugo! Wait up!” Someone shouted and he stopped walking to turn and see three of his old gang trying to get his attention. “Tch! I don't have time to hang out! I'm going to train and...”

His world went black as he was covered in something. It was slimy and felt like slime. It stunk, too. He sparked his hands and a voice laughed.

“Relax, meatbag.” A voice said in his ear. “It'll only be a minute before your wonderful quirk will be all mine. Like you are now.”

“NO!” Bakugo yelled and built up his sweat.

“Oh, no! What are you going to do? Light a fire inside a sludge pile that smothers fire? Whatever will I do? I know! How about smother you! Ha hahaha!”

Bakugo choked as the sludge tried to slide into his open mouth and down his throat. He bit down on it and there was a whimper sound, so he grit his teeth and opened his overcharged hands.

*BOOOOM!*

“AHHH!” The sludge villain yelled in pain as his middle blew out and partially revealed his prisoner.

“Damn extra!” Bakugo shouted and kept using smaller explosions to stave off the sludge as it tried to completely cover him again. “Let. Me. GO!”

“No! You need to keep fighting! The more you struggle, the quicker you become tired!” The sludge villain said with a laugh. “Your quirk is getting weaker, too. Soon, you will be my puppet and I'm going to use you to wreck the whole city and you get to take the blame! Ha ha ha!”

“No... please... it can't end like this.” Bakugo pleaded. “I need... I need help. Please! Someone! Help! HELP!”

Suddenly, there was a sonic boom close by and the sludge villain screamed as part of his body was vaporized.

Bakugo struggled and tried to escape, now that he had a good chance, even though he barely had the strength to move. It was then that he felt a pair of hands pull apart the sludge over his face and he saw someone he never expected.

“IZUKU?!?” Bakugo yelled.

“I've got you, Kacchan.” Izuku said and pulled the exhausted boy out of the trembling sludge and started to run. “Tanya! We're clear!”

“Hold your ears, everyone!” Tanya shouted and held the toy gun in both of her hands. “This is going to hurt!”

Not many people believed her until she pulled the trigger. It contained one of her specialty ammo pellets specifically meant for explosions and she had to be close because a pistol's range was very short.

*BOOOOOM!*

“AHH-ACK!” The sludge villain's scream was cut off as his entire mass was vaporized.

Izuku and Bakugo were tossed a few feet and landed in a pile beside the road while Tanya had braced herself and was tossed through the air and landed on the lawn twenty feet away.

No one reacted at all until a small cloud started to form above them and then it started to rain sludge.

“Fear not! For I am... here?” All Might said as he came to a stop and took in the scene.

“What the hell, Izuku!” Bakugo spat and pushed the other boy off.

“I couldn't let you be hurt, Kacchan.” Izuku said and stood up.

Bakugo glared at him. “We haven't been friends for years!”

“I don't need to be your friend to care about saving you, Kacchan. I saw that you needed me and I was there.” Izuku said and walked over to where Tanya lay and knelt beside her.

The pistol was a mangled mess of plastic with the barrel blown apart and her hands looked a bit burned.

“I told you not to charge it to full capacity. We didn't modify the pistols for the specialty ammo yet.” Izuku admonished her.

“I couldn't... take the chance... it wouldn't work.” Tanya said and looked up at him. “You look like how I feel.”

Izuku laughed at her joke about his messy green hair and lightly pet her forehead to keep the hair out of her eyes. He heard sirens coming and smiled. “Just lay there and relax. They are almost here and we'll get you looked after.”

“Okay.” Tanya said and closed her eyes. She was unconscious a moment later.

All Might once again looked at the whole situation and made his decision. He needed to clean up the villain first, however. He called in a couple of the local heroes and they quickly gathered up the villain's remains and shoved them into a police officer's generous donation of his coffee thermos.