Chapter Text
Ruin.
That is all he could see.
His lenses was cracked, the shattered glass showing the grey of the sky ands battered earth below. One of his arms was buried under Debris, the other shattered by battle against his foes. His entire lower torso was covered by what once must have been a bridge, punning him down. Perhaps if he was better rested he could've used his quirk to effortlessly destroy what was on top of him like he had done so many times before. But this time, he was well and truly stuck.
In his chest he could feel movement, jolts of something trying to move, something he knew couldn't move again. Something he knew was broken. Rumble His memory told him, one of his children who was broken due to-
Due to.....
.......
Who?
Who was he fighting?
He couldn't remember, all he could remember was a bright purple flash, an explosion and the sensation of weightlessness as he was flung miles away.
As the cyborg looked up he heard a an ever familiar and oddly comforting "SQUAWRK!"
He saw a blip on his ruined HUD, the shape getting ever closer. Even through his shattered helmet he could see it's red and black colours vividly. A single word almost immediately came to mind, despite his terrible wounds.
'Laserbeak.' He thought, a sense of pride and relief flooding him before it was stamped out by his agony. The mechanical bird that was more like a son than a pet hovered nearby, almost expecting to land on an outstretched arm like he usually would. Alas, said arm was broken and in pieces, blood and coolant leaking into the rubble and mixing with the rainwater.
He tried to sit up, to get closer he had to but.....
who even was...he?
'-Soundwave Superior-.' The phrase echoed in his head, a fragment of a broken memory that further depleted his reserves.
The mechanical bird landed on the debris surrounding his crater, staring at him sorrowfully despite the lack of expressions. The noises that he once understood clearly due to his.....quirk? Yes, that sounded right! His quirk let him communicate with his children! Or...was that only one of them?
He couldn't remember that. But he could remember something even in his fading consciousness. Three words. Three words were all he needed to say, all he could say.
"L-LASERB-BEAK-K." The broken voice of Soundwave uttered, multiple tones fusing inside the scrap that had once replaced his long- torn out because of how annoying his screams were -removed vocal chords.
"OPERATION LIBERATION."
The retreating form of Laserbeak, echoing an affirmative, ready to achieve their goal, was the last thing Soundwave, once known as Izuku Midoriya accurately remembered during the paranormal liberation war before he blacked out for a time. The communications expert Nomu of the league of villains being taken by Japanese authorities and placed in custody following a final encounter with a very familiar hero and the villain known as Tomura Shigaraki. His ultimate fate being to rot away until someone finally came for him.
"We have our concerns Principal Nezu." the voice of the warden answered, he was an older man, a former American pro who had gone by the name of Prowl. He had been "let go" following an unknown incident in New Mexico, after which the now defunct HPSC had recruited him to be a warden at one of their....lesser known prisons in Okinawa. A prison known only as Kaon.
Nezu knew all of this, obviously. He wasn't just called the world's smartest mammal for a reason! But Prowl was hardly the reason he was there, no.
His interests lay in a more....infamous new inmate at Kaon. One that he had a vested interest in, one tortured soul caused by cruel experiments to another.
The mammal of indeterminate origin sighed, sipping on his tea as he stared up at the warden. "I am sure that you do. However!" He sipped again, relishing the slight twitch of the eye the warden gave him in response, making sure to take a deep breath that took far too long before he continued. "Soundwave is a rather....unique case wouldn't you say?"
Nezu reached for a file on the desk, "After all, he was hardly in control of his own actions. I was led to believe quirk usage especially mental control ones are take into account in such cases?"
Prowl's face turned stony, "Tell that to all the heroes he either killed himself, sent his little pets after or," He pointedly looked at Nezu, trying and failing to intimidate him, "He helped kill through sabotage or incorrect data. Hell, this fucker killed some damn good boys in Gunga, took out an X-66 or two and i'm pretty sure what he did in Deika could be considered a hate crime."
"Well, certainly a fine list of accusations," The rodent conceded, "However i have a few counter points."
"For one, he was under mind control and was therefore unable to resist orders to kill any heroes he was told to. Secondly, the casseticons have been deemed sentient enough to make their own calls, therefore he is not solely responsible for their actions." Nezu paused to sip again, further pissing off Prowl to his even greater amusement." At least, not any more than Tomura Shigaraki or All for One were! The same applies to Gunga! As for Deika...." That one did make even him think for any possible justification, "By technicality, everyone in Deika above the age of fourteen was a valid target and were technically villains!"
Prowl looked disgusted at that, even Nezu felt dirty needing to use that one. "So what, he just gets off....scott free? Released back into the public like he did nothing at all? You think any of that holds up in a court of law?"
Nezu shook his head, "Certainly not! However, the new Nomu laws do apply to Midoriya...unless of course you oppose the law and it's rulings on his status?"
Prowl glared at him before putting his face in his hands. "I hate you, you know? I really do."
"Oh i am well aware of that!"
The warden sighed again, "Fine, talk to that...thing. Hell knows it doesn't say shit to us, even after we fixed it's throat up. It just....stares, like it's always thinking about how to rip us apart." He shivered, his decades of experience hadn't even remotely prepared him for....that.
Prowl feared no man, but that thing?
It scared him.
Nezu nodded, taking the keys to the interrogation room across the one way glass, despite the fact it wasn't even remotely opaque, Midoriya's eyes never left him.
Nezu grinned at the look from the former villain, this would be a challenge, this would be fun.
Nezu had read Midoriya's file. He had seen the optimistic and timid boy in photos, even a few videos provided by the unfortunately small number close to him. But...
The Midoriya of now and the Midoriya of just under two years ago couldn't look less alike.
Midoriya's hair was still green, mostly. White streaks were common to the point that a joke could be made that he was a Todoroki. Nezu would likely keep said joke to himself for now.
Scars ran across his entire visible body. A mix of battle-scars, surgical scars and what he suspected, judging from how he had seen them on Nagant, were scars caused by multiple quirks being implemented. Unlike other Nomu however, Midoriya was in relative stability, much like Gigantomachia only he kept his vast intellect, something that Nezu, ever humble, would admit was similar but obviously not superior to his own. It had also effectively kept the League and the Front at an intellectual advantage, Midoriya wasn’t a prodigy but his intelligence was still great enough that I-Island likely would have seen value in his notes. Alas, that intelligence had been used to fuel evil rather than all the good that such a mind could have done. Nezu noted that Midoriya stood at a height of 6 feet and 5 inches, something that he never would have reached if not for his....tragic fate. His height in his amour meanwhile was a just over seven feet tall. He had the tradition build of a Nomu, yet far more lean than the Nomu of the USJ, 'More similar in build to Endeavor than All Might' he mused. clearly meant to both tank damage while also being more than capable of stealth if the situation called for it.
After all, how better to kill a symbol than to first break his will, only to then break his body?
One last thing Nezu noticed as he sat down, were his eyes. A mess of Glowing Purple with green flashing through, the flat dead glare didn't make him uncomfortable though.
It just made him feel even worse for this poor child, a child that they had all failed as heroes.
Looking the broken boy dead in the eye, Nezu gave an uncharacteristically gentle smile before placing a porcelain cup of tea next to the former super-weapon, iced of course as to ensure he couldn't use the heat to harm the Principal.
Not that he would of course. Hound Dog, Power loader, Snipe and Prowl, along with a six man elite team were all on standby at that very moment. It would have been suicide with the cuffs on his arms and legs, even with Midoriya's unnatural strength given to him by that bastard Garaki.
The principal also couldn't help but notice that around Midoriya's mouth was a metal facemask, resembling that of one his student in class 2A, young Shoji. Sadly both boys seemed to be wearing them for tragic reasons rather than any potential aesthetic.
Regardless Nezu thought how best he could use this situation, he considered his usual routine of guessing what animal he was, however he had the feeling that he wouldn't get an answer this time around. Instead he chose a more... subtle approach.
"Hello Izuku." Nezu said softly, noticing an almost perfectly hidden twitch at the name. "I've heard many things about you, but none of them matter I promise. I suspect you are far more than meets the-."
"SOUNDWAVE."
"Hmm?" Nezu answered, his brow raised.
"MY NAME IS SOUNDWAVE. IZUKU MIDORIYA IS DEAD, INFERIOR." The former villain spoke, the principal noting both rage and unexpectedly...sadness in his voice. Despite it's potential as a weapon, Midoriya had been allowed to keep it despite the fact he could bludgeon someone with it and on a lesser note, that the mask modulated his voice, 'Perhaps the only way he could speak after....' Nezu winced, 'That display at Kamino'.
His voice was just something else that had been taken from him after all.
Nezu nodded at his far larger guest, "Then Soundwave it is." He took his own cup in his hand before glancing at Soundwave. "Now, would you care for some tea? And perhaps a few questions?"
"AM I BEING ORDERED TO ANSWER?" His tone once again changed, barely noticeable to a layman but to Nezu? It was practically a reflex to see the change, more importantly it made him relies perhaps why Midoriya was so guarded in this aspect.
He didn't want anyone to be his master gain, to control him ever again.
A feeling the Principal knew all too well.
Nezu frowned, was that what the guards had been trying? He shook his head to assuage his fellow Experiment's fears. "No, you don't have to answer anything, you can choose to answer or not. If you so desire, we can just drink tea in peace, either until you are ready or until you feel more relaxed"
After a moment of silence the boy nodded much to Nezu's delight and what said rat suspected was the warden's shock.
"I WILL...COMPLY, ONLY IF MY OWN QUESTION IS ANSWERED FIRST."
The principal nodded, "Very well, what do you wish to know?"
Soundwave stared at Nezu. "WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHY ME?"
Nezu smiled at that broken boy who he saw briefly flash across those haunted eyes, he would make sure that one day those eyes had a true light in them, That he swore.
"I am here, to give you something that you need my friend...."
"A second chance."
And somewhere within the fractured mind of Soundwave, a quiet part of him that he had long silenced to stop the pain inflicted by those who claimed to hate torment yet tormented him regardless. Felt hope once again. Even if just for a moment. Izuku Midoriya, Soundwave, felt hope.