#ohh ohhh fuck yes
Book 3 of my aideku, Doctor Strange reincarnated as Izuku idea will be the final fic in the series and is actually an AU of book 1. I haven’t thought of a title yet; maybe I’ll take it from the quote if I can’t think of anything better. “Never put your faith in a Prince. When you require a miracle, trust in a Witch.”
Izuku is going to be a (fake) villain, and I am going to have a lot of fun with the aideku interaction; there is going to be so much UST (fighting and close contact and restraints, yes) and Shouta is going to be so conflicted…so much fun.
So, what happens is, traveling dimensions in his astral form has side effects in this new world with its new metaphysical rules that had never occurred to Izuku. The time dilation/passage of time differs between dimensions, and he knows how to carefully calculate his travels so that only hours pass for his physical body while the perception of time in his astral form stretches out to weeks, months, or even years. Izuku returns to find that his physical body reflected the passage of time his astral form experienced. That is, he basically ages from 10 to 16 overnight.
Izuku tries not to panic, but there is no good way to explain what happened. Even claiming to be a victim of an aging quirk would bring too much attention, and then there’s the problem if doctors or police have a way to tell, not to mention schooling and government documents, and all of it bogged down by quirkless discrimination (and maybe a neglectful, borderline abusive mother in this AU). Better idea. He disappears and sets himself up as a villain to investigate the stains of dark magic he’s glimpsed in the criminal underbelly (he’s a dumbass on a good day, sudden teenager-hood won’t exactly mitigate that; although he will be grateful to have skipped most of his second puberty). Izuku knows he’ll be declared dead pretty quickly, and no one is going to connect his new identity to his real one when he’s years older than he should be with different hair color and style.
Shouta eventually becomes aware of a villain establishing territory within his patrol route. The villain is making a bit of a name for himself, establishing certain rules within his territory (no trafficking, no children) and having the power to back it up. (Maybe Izuku is more of a thief, but a villain is a villain in the eyes of the law, and anyway there are some bloody and frightening rumors surrounding him that he absolutely encourages to bolster his reputation; ‘Doctor’ can be a rather ominous moniker in villainous circles). Concern regarding this villain, Dr. Strange (is that a good alias, or should I think of something else?), grows in police and hero circles until he lets on that he’s quirkless. Shouta is absolutely frustrated by how this dangerous villain is almost immediately dismissed by most of law enforcement/heroics, and ends up becoming Izuku’s main pursuer.
They tangle often enough, and each time, to Shouta’s anger and irritation, the villain manages to slip away. Dr. Strange plans his heists too well, and is skilled, creative, and adaptable besides. But over the years they develop a rapport. And there are several times Shouta knows he could have been killed or badly wounded, and yet he hadn’t. Had even saved him, once or twice, and Shouta has no idea what to do with that. It would be easier if he wasn’t coming to appreciate him, to respect him, even, if he hadn’t seen little hints that Dr. Strange cared; cared about stray cats, and the homeless, and people who have been beaten down by everyone and everything. But he’s still a villain and those bloody rumors didn’t spring up from nowhere. He’s seen him committing crimes, seen him at villain hangouts while going undercover to infiltrate (and it’s absolutely terrifying that Strange always seems to recognize Shouta no matter how he’s disguised, though he never did give him away either). Sometimes Shouta just wants to forget everything about him so that he could stop being so torn, so conflicted and afraid that Strange would ruin him.
Meanwhile, Izuku finds himself growing attached to Eraserhead, though he does his best not to show it. It’s hard not to respect a hero who actually takes him seriously, who is so fun to taunt, who is kind (even, sometimes, to Izuku, when he is injured and ill and simply trying to stagger his way home) despite his façade of apathy.
Izuku also discovers that it was a better idea than he thought to go undercover as a villain. The dark magic he hunted had two anchors, he only discovered after removing/defeating the first. And the second is somehow related to the Hero Commission. By this point he’s somehow enough of a threat to have gotten their attention (maybe certain people manage to notice him poking around with magic despite his extremely minimal and careful use?; quirkless competence in relation to heroics via villainy is also somehow a threat when it becomes more well-known, maybe), and eventually Izuku’s bright idea to investigate is to allow himself to be captured. Unfortunately, with Eraserhead nearly in the crossfire, but Izuku manages to keep him from being noticed by the agents.
Shouta eventually finds him in rough shape during a raid on a warehouse or lab or something that no one knows is connected to the Commission. Shouta takes care of him, nurses him back to health, and Izuku eventually takes care of the second anchor. Maybe sheds his villain identity and re-enters society as Izuku? Shouta, at least, learns the truth of what he’s been doing for years, and is relieved/validated that he didn’t somehow fall in love with someone truly villainous.
