MHA: Dark Matter

Sitting in my workshop, which doubled as a hideout and a makeshift chemistry lab, I swirled a test tube filled with black liquid. My own blood. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, and my overall mood was sliding toward "screw it all" and "I'm going to go hug Mei." The black liquid sloshed carelessly inside the tube, and its mere existence sent my brain into a tailspin.

"I don't understand anything anymore!"

I shifted my irritated gaze to the analyzer I'd shamelessly... liberated from a private Tokyo research lab. A pretty convenient device, not too demanding in terms of user knowledge. A real black box. Pour blood in here, press a few buttons there, and a few hours later you can read the output on the screen: blood composition and a sample analysis based on template comparisons. Of course, the device wasn't infallible. Errors could happen. Especially when Quirks had been treating fields like physics and biology with near-total disregard for decades. And judging by my blood test results, my Quirk had basically told my biology to go screw itself.

So what is blood, anyway? It's a potent mixture of three different cell types suspended in a "broth" scientifically known as plasma. For the vast majority of people, it's absolutely essential for life. People whose mutations run as deep as, say, Kurogiri's, who essentially has no blood, are rare. So when the color of my blood decided to go full "gothic" for some reason, I started feeling a little off. During my years in the back alleys, I'd run into more than a few freaks who just died from their own Quirks. Usually, it was related to excessive Trigger use - the Quirk-enhancing drug - leading to physical exhaustion or the Quirk itself mutating and the user wasting away. But there were plenty of unlucky ones whose Quirks decided to pull a stunt at the expense of the user's life.

Naturally, I got worried. Even basic school biology teaches that our blood is red because of hemoglobin, a chemical that transports oxygen throughout the body. So if my blood changes color, the logical conclusion is that something's wrong with the hemoglobin in my blood. And, heaven help me, I was right.

There's no hemoglobin in my black blood!

But that wasn't even the craziest thing happening to me. In my normal state, my blood is red and contains hemoglobin. In my state with gray skin, it's black and has no hemoglobin. Instead, it has some weird black cell. When I took samples from my two states, the "switch" between them took less than a minute. I took three samples: before activating my "overdrive" mode, while it was active, and after. The first and third samples were identical. The second was still pure "gothic darkness." And I still have no idea where the hemoglobin disappears to or where it comes back from. As for the weird black cell, I'm sure Dark Matter is involved. Because honestly, what else could it be?

So now I'm stewing in this dualistic state, feeling like a blindfolded tightrope walker who doesn't know if the ground is one meter away or a hundred. For example, will my organs fail from oxygen deprivation when I use my Quirk at full power? Or how does this new black cell interact with all the chemical reactions in my body? Does it perform the same functions as hemoglobin? Does it somehow affect my hormonal state?

Sigh.

I put the test tube back in its rack and walked over to the mirror. It reflected my smug, tired face. I whispered quietly, recreating the necessary sensation in my mind.

"In one moment, the flame will turn to ash within him."

The Dark Matter flowing smoothly through my body stopped. I carefully grasped the entire volume of Dark Matter with my consciousness. And I let go of control. Conscious and subconscious. Ever since that Dream, which was really the awakening of my Quirk, I'd been maintaining subconscious control over it. Control born from fear. Fear of fully immersing myself in the pleasure of a game where there was only me and those delicious, bright, human-shaped blobs. Dark-violet lightning crackled across my body.

Throb.

A tremor ran through my body from the chaotic movement of the Dark Matter inside me. Chaotic. Free. Unrestricted. I watched as my skin slowly turned gray.

Throb.

An invigorating lightness enveloped my drowsy, irritated consciousness. No need to hold back, restrain myself, force myself to play by others' rules, or fake the right emotions. There was no difference between normal sight and my Gaze, because I could see the entire surrounding world from all sides at once.

Throb.

Why bother choosing? Why adapt to the world when I can just accept it all? And if I don't like it, I can reject it. 'Hardening' and 'Absorption' are just two sides of the same coin.

With a crack, stigmata opened on my forehead.

I have no limits except those I create for myself. And if any appear, I'll sweep them away with my power.

Because that is true freedom.

---

I stared at my reflection's eyes. Crimson coals in lakes of darkness. Just like my father's. Too bad. I'd rather have my mother's blue eyes. I don't want to be like my father at all. I clenched my fists and looked closely at the stigmata on my forehead. A wry smile appeared on my lips.

"As you name the ship, so shall it sail?"

That proverb now took on a new, ironic meaning for me. I'd taken the name of an antagonist from an old pre-Quirk manga mostly as a joke, a private laugh because of how similar our powers looked. I was joking. And now here I stand in the "Form of Noah." Only my eyes don't fit the image. Amber irises would be a perfect fit. Then I could expect the arrival of the Millennium Earl, alias Noah, who'd start telling me about the war against the wielders of Pure Light and that my name is Joyed, Noah's Pleasure.

Ha. Ha.

I covered my face with my palm at the absurd mental image. The lightness in my consciousness didn't go away. There was no tension or pressure like I'd felt when I killed Subject 41. Fine. I could test the maximum time I can stay in, heh, the "Form of Noah" later. For now, I wanted to experience some pleasure, so to speak, to match the theme.

With my skin back to normal, I used Choice, becoming permeable to most of the surrounding world. A weak Rejection under my feet. I hovered in the air. I quickly oriented myself and flew on.

Fifteen minutes later, I silently approached a pink-haired girl staring at her tablet.

"Eep, Ken!"

I wrapped my arms around the blushing girl from behind, and she squeaked in surprise.

"I missed you, Mei."

"But we already... tonight..."

Her voice trembled slightly, affecting me like an aphrodisiac. God, she was so cute when she got shy and I took the initiative.

"I really missed you while I was on I-Island."

My hands were already caressing her beautiful body. My girl's body. I pressed myself closer to her, inhaling her scent with pleasure.

"W-well, if you want to..."

Her breathing grew heavier. I whispered in her reddening ear.

"I really want to."

My hand was already sliding under her shirt toward her magnificent chest. My thoughts began to blur with rising excitement.

Don't forget the condoms. Sure, I don't like limits.... But becoming a father this early isn't really appealing either..

****A/N****

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