A figure stood on the moon overlooking the Earth. It couldn't be described as human, through its shape was close enough to it. The body of the creature was pitch black, filled with dots of glowing light that seemed equal in intensity to the stars behind it.

The only defining features on what could be called its head were two large burning orbs that were vaguely shaped like eyes, and a thin strip of white that seemed to be pointed in the shape of a frown.

"Five thousand D-Nomu destroyed, all of my various cohorts reduced to ruin. This has been a terrible week." The beings voice was odd, seemingly reverberating on itself, as if a hundred people with the same voice all yelled down a cave at once. The starlight filled creature turned its head to the man behind him, the twin white orbs that made up the creatures 'eyes' narrowing in obvious annoyance. "And of course, there is you."

Said figure was an older man, with black hair tinted in places by stripes of white, giving a rather dignified look to him.. He wore a number of strange regalia including a red flowing cape and a eye like amulet around his neck. But most striking was the gauntlet over his right fist, seemingly perfectly fitted for just him and with six glowing stones placed within it.

"Your reign of madness ends now. I shall return you from whatever dark corner of reality spawned you." the caped man proclaimed, his voice booming despite the vacuum of space around them.

The figure let out an odd laugh, its voice a low affair that seemed to shift in tone and pitch with each movement. "Well, you would be far from the first to try." It raised its hand and tilted its odd head to the left.

"Very well. You face Doctor Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts and protector of this world." Strange lifted the arm covered by the gauntlet as the six stones lit up bright enough to illuminate even the darkness of space.

"Oh are we doing names, I love doing names." The figure was almost giddy at the prospect as space began to warp in front of his outstretched hand. "You may call me All for One."

And the two figures, each wielding powers beyond the scope of human perception, clashed against one another in an explosion of light and sound that rivaled even the creation of the universe.

The world changed one fateful night, when the world was lit by six colorful explosions that could be seen from every point on the planet at the same time. Mere hours afterward a child was born in Qing Quig, China. Thus began the Age of Quirks, or rather, the beginning of one of the darkest ages of mankind. More and more beings born with superhuman abilities began to crop up throughout the world, seemingly chosen at random and with gifts that varied from the mundane to nearly impossibly strong.

Humanity reacted to this new development with fear, and society turned on itself, pausing progress for nearly eighty years as more and more children were born with superpowers, slowly overtaking those born without quirks.

However soon a new age began, the Age of Heroes. Superhumans who vowed to protect the ideas of justice and freedom from those who would abuse their powers to bring ruin to a peaceful world. Standing above all heroes past or present was one man, the shining beacon whose presence became a pillar for the entire world, All Might.

Yet this is not his story. No. Rather, this is a tale about an odd young man who would one day become the world's greatest hero.

Izuku Midoriya had always been a strange child. From even the moment of his birth, one could say. When he was first taken into the nurse's arms he was silent. Only the beating of his heart gave any indication that he was alive. It took hours until his first cry, and it had only seemed to have happened because a nurse picked him up.

The nurse would later be found to have been stealing medicine from the hospital to supply a ring of villains who were attempted to remake the Trigger drug.

It had been assumed as he grew up that Izuku was displaying the onset of a strange quirk, as he only seemed to cry or become especially animated around people who held intense negative or positive emotions. Despite this he grew rather normally, hitting the right weight at the right time, growing, and saying his first words around them time it was expected he would. Even his dream as a child was normal, to become a hero. To the outside observer Izuku was a normal child with an odd quirk.

However, the truth was a bit stranger, though the only person who knew about anything strange happening was his mother, who was all too happy to simply write off any oddities as childish mischief.

After all, it was normal for a kid to talk to imaginary friends, or move things from one spot to another, or hit the remote to the exact channel when a Hero he enjoyed was on. Animals being attracted to him was also easy to write off as he seemed to take care of them.

And yet that sense of normalcy in the face of the unknown changed due to a doctor's visit, where a professional had told them there was simply no way that Izuku could have a quirk. Even specialists brought in due to the circumstances claimed the same.

The confusion this injected into the heart of the family was immense. Inko Midoriya could only watch as the hope burned away from her son's soul, asking desperately if he could be a hero. All she could do was cry and hold him, cursing her own weakness.

She didn't notice for a moment the lights flickering, or the sorrowful howl of the local strays.

Being declared as quirkless in a world of superpowers was near the same as being born without arms or legs. Anyone who knew always carried some amount of pity in their hearts. As children saw adults leaving Izuku to his own devices they chose to do the same, until there were few people in the elementary school who could even remember the young boy.

Despite this, he gravitated to another boy named Katsuki Bakugou, following him and his group despite jokes made at Izuku's expense, or the occasional too hard play punch thrown at his arm.

To Izuku, Bakugou was like a bright flame, his passion and drive made him a person impossible for someone with Izuku's disposition to not want to follow.

Until one day, Bakugou had pulled his friends into a place they weren't supposed to be, and while playing he fell. He was unharmed and more bothered by having his clothing soaked then having actually taken a fall. It was on pure reflex that Izuku ran down to offer a hand to the other boy.

A hand offered in help was a shot to the boy's pride, and when he slapped it away a feeling that Izuku had never previously encountered shot through his body.

Hate.

Bakugou hated him.

Hated that he was being offered help.

Hated that it was a weak, pathetic, insect like Deku that was trying to offer to help.

Just from a single touch all of this information flooded into Izuku's mind, the look of concern replaced by horror. If given more time Bakugou might have responded and told him off, instead Izuku turned and ran, out of the park, out to the sidewalks.

Izuku ran, because it was the only thing that he could do at the moment, wishing desperately for the voices to stop. It didn't matter how tightly he held his hands against his ears he could hear the resounding thoughts and feelings of his closest and only 'friend'. And it only seemed to get worse: as he ran he could feel the thoughts of those around him. This in and of itself was odd, as normally contact was needed for him to feel others emotions, but now they flowed freely into his mind.

He felt the judgmental thoughts of those who saw him, of those wondering why he was alone, all of their thoughts and words connected and screamed until his mind was filled with static. Even his vision became unclear, his legs giving out as he tripped over someone's foot. All he could do was curl into a ball and whisper, "please stop," again and again as the feelings of those around him burned ever deeper into him.

Then a hand came down and rested on his shoulder and the world was quiet again. Izuku's eyes opened and looked up at the stranger through the tears in his ears. The man seemed old, his hair was black but with a number of grey spots running throughout it, and from his facial features it was obvious he was a foreigner. Yet still he had a smile that was calming and now that the voices were gone he could make out the words being spoken by the man.

"By the Ageless Vishanti guide this young man's soul to peace and ebb the flowing mana within him." The man's words were spoken with a kind of strength that Izuku had never encountered before in his life, and it seemed that the static that had been building in his mind ceased. "Interesting, and I had thought that this world was utterly without those with a deeper connection to the mysteries of the mystical arts." He spoke in flawless Japanese, but the way his lips moved didn't seem to match the words that Izuku heard.

The young boy didn't quite understand what the older man was talking about, but he tried his tears on the back of his arm and pulled himself up on shaky legs, almost falling if not for the intervention of the man.

"Hm, it seems the drain on you was quite substantial." the old man smiled kindly. "Do you live far from here, little one?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," the young Izuku said in a somewhat dazed tone of voice.

"Indeed prudent life advice. We shall remain on the streets and should I attempt anything uncouth...bad… you may call out and I am sure a hero would be along to investigate post haste." Despite Izuku being a child the man's words were respectful.

"That makes sense. If you were a bad guy a hero would definitely come and stop you…" Izuku nodded, though if it was just to himself or the man in front of him it was hard to say. "My name is Izuku Midoriya. What's yours?"

"Stephen Strange. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." With that, the two followed Izuku's directions back to the apartment complex where he and his mother lived and opened the door.

"Izuku, is that you? I thought you were spending time with your…" Izuku's mother turned the corner and froze at the sight of a full grown man standing behind her young son, a thousand different thoughts running through her mind.

"Pardon my intrusion. I found your son on the streets having suffered from a certain… shall we say, 'episode', and felt it my duty to see him home, at the very least." Strange reached into his coat and pulled out a glossy business card, offering it to the Izuku's mother. On the front it showed: 'Dr. Stephen Strange, medical consultant.'

"Oh my." She ran over and wrapped her child in a tight embrace before looking up, eyes filled with gratitude towards Strange. "Thank you so much for seeing my son home safely. But you said he suffered a-"

Strange's expression turned dour for a moment, but quickly shifted to his usual smile. "It might be better to discuss this over a cup of tea. I'm afraid that the explanation for all this might be a bit much, Ms.-"

"Inko Midoriya, and off course, please come in." Once the Strange was inside she went toward the kitchen, opening the fridge with her quirk, and pulling out a juice box for Izuku who began to happily drink while she began preparations for tea. "So please doctor tell me more about what happened."

"I cannot speak for the condition that he was in before I arrived, but he was curled up on the ground and appeared to be covering his ears and in a great deal of pain."

"Oh, Izuku," Inko placed down a cup of warm tea in front of the doctor and took her own seat, looking at her son with eyes full of concern.

"I take it that this isn't the first time this has happened?" Strange looked down at the cup of tea in front of him and took it in both hands, and when she saw them Inko gasped.

"Your hands," she said. Inko looked at the horribly broken fingers on the man's hand, bent and twisted at strange angles along the joints, their movements painfully stiff. She could only imagine what could do so much damage to a person's body.

"Hm?" He took a sip of his tea and looked down toward his hands. "Oh yes, the result of a horrible car accident many years ago. They ache when the weather changes and don't move quite so well as they once did, but I feel no pain from them." He placed the tea cup down and smiled. "A wonderful cup, did you create the blend yourself?"

Inko's eyes snapped away from Strange's hands and focused back on his face with a light blush, feeling a bit ashamed for gawking at what was no doubt a sore subject for the man. "Yes, I'm surprised you were able to tell."

"When one travels in such circles as I have the subtle flavors tend to speak the loudest. But we can speak of tea later. For now, let us return to the subject of your son."

Inko gave a nodded and looked down at her own cup. "Izuku tends to have...spells of unrest that can last for hours. Sometimes he sees things, or starts hearing voices. It always seems to go away by itself, but recently…" she felt tears spring to her eyes at her own helplessness. There was no worse feeling then having to look at her son living through such pain and being able to do nothing about it.

"I see." Strange looked at the young boy with a quizzical expression. "Might I see the tea leaves you used for the brew?" Before Inko could question it, Strange raised a hand. "Please, humor me."

Despite the question held on the tip of her tongue, Inko stood and walked over to the sealed containers where she kept her tea blends.

"No, the ones that were used, please. If you could put them on a plate for me as well. I would myself but such subtle tasks are difficult for me." Strange smiled and waited for her to drain the rest of the tea and place the used leaves on the plate. Once offered to him he looked toward Izuku. "Young man, if you would please come over."

Izuku looked up from his juice box and walked over to the older man and was motioned to look into the wet leaves on the plate. An odd expression came over Izuku's face and suddenly his eyes began to move as if looking at something only he could see until his face exploded into a bright smile. "All-Might is on T.V.!" He rushed to the living room with the excited speed only a child could muster and turned the device on, hitting in the keys to the exact channel showing coverage of the symbol of peace in battle with some villain.

For her part, Inko looked gravely confused but Strange could only smile as he pushed the plate further onto the table. "It is rare for one as young as him to develop such strong abilities so early. In fact, I had thought that in this whole world I was the only one in anyway connected to the mystic arts."

"The mystic arts? You mean magic?" Her expression became doubtful for a moment.

"It goes by many names, but yes, magic is a good blanket term." Strange closed his eyes and laid his palm out as flat as he could against the table. Above his hand balls of white light appeared, spinning and dancing through the room. At the same time the faucet in the sink started and the used cups and kettle lifted themselves into the air and landed softly in the sink. The final thing to happen was that Strange's body lifted itself out of the chair, hovering a few feet in the air.

Then all at once he landed back in the chair with a pained grunt, the white lights disappeared as he hit the wooden surface. "Not the most impressive display, but I am afraid that I am nowhere near as powerful as I was back in my hayday."

"That was...did you use a quirk?" Despite saying the words on reflex some part of her knew that he hadn't. There had been a certain energy that ran through the building when he had begun his display, something she had felt when holding her son against her body during his fits.

Strange shook his head and used a napkin provided to him to carefully dab the sweat from his forehead. "It can be quite a bit to take in. I understand your hesitation to believe in the mystical. However, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that your son is gifted with a great affinity for magic."

"So you are saying that the fits Izuku has are caused by magic?" It made sense in its own little way. After all, no doctor she had visited had ever given her a reason for the fits, even those with quirks that aided in the identification of diseases could not find anything wrong with her son other than being born without a quirk.

Strange mulled over how to respond for a moment. "Yes, and no. Magic is a force, an energy that flows throughout the world quite naturally. Through either discipline or the proper tools a mage can harness that power to perform deeds beyond understanding. However, your son's natural affinity is for opening gateways that he is too young to understand how to close himself off from. If I had to guess, his mind is picking up the thoughts and feelings of those around him; he is a powerful empath on a level rarely seen."

It was obvious just from her facial expression that most of what Strange had said sailed over her head, but she understood the basic concepts well enough. "Is there a way to stop this from hurting him?"

"Through proper training and understanding of his abilities I have no doubt that he would be able to gain a firm hold of his natural abilities and prevent such incidents from occurring again."

A spark of an idea appeared in Inko's mind and she sat quietly for a moment. "This… magic. If he learned to harness it then it wouldn't be dissimilar from a quirk."

The doctor thought for a moment before giving a noncommittal shrug to that. "I suppose it would be within the same vein, a special ability honed and practiced. Though anyone with a connection to the magical realm could perform similar deeds to any other so I suppose it wouldn't be as wholly unique as the genetic mutations most have."

Inko took a deep breath and forced back the tears in her eyes. "If he were trained would he be strong?" it wasn't quite the word she was looking for, but she was grasping so tightly to this one thing that her word choice didn't feel like it mattered.

"Extremely so. I have seen such natural talent in only a select few. if properly trained he could even come to exceed my own skills. And during my time I have...or, rather, had faced quite a few foes who could have been best described as terrifying."

"Could he become a hero, if he learned all of this?" A few tears ran down her face despite her attempts at keeping herself together. "There is nothing more Izuku wants then to be a hero and rescue people, but neither his father's nor my own quirk came down to him. I want to give him the life that he wants, but I can't even give him the tools to pursue what he wants the most in life." She stood and bowed to Strange. "Please, Dr. Strange, please teach my Izuku."

Strange sat for a moment in silence, his face unreadable before standing up and placing a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder and offering a handkerchief in one of his broken hands. Once she had a chance to right herself he took his place on the other end of the table and drew in a deep breath. "I can teach Izuku how to harness his powers, how to perform deeds of such greatness that he will always be remembered. But I'm sorry: it is not within my power to make him a hero."

His mind drifted to old friends and allies, of the greatest heroes and the most humble. In a few scant moments he remembered the terrors he had once faced, and even when confronted by such evil how he had found strength in those alongside him.

"Would you please call him in." His voice was low and seemed to convey an age beyond his physical appearance.

Inko looked at the doctor and nodded. "Izuku, pause the T.V. and come in here please."

From the other room Izuku entered with a bright smile on his face. "Mom it was so cool, All Might totally blew away a ton of bad guys in a minute flat!" He swung his arms out in front of him as if blowing away invisible enemies before noticing the mood between the two adults. "Am I in trouble?" Izuku's young mind came to the first thought it could summon.

"No, but if you wouldn't mind I would like to ask you a few questions, young man," Strange turned to Izuku from his seat, eyes fogged over with memories despite his attempts to focus.

Izuku smiled at the knowledge that he wouldn't be getting yelled at and nodded. "I don't mind."

"Your mother tells me that you want to be a hero. Why exactly is that?"

Izuku's face lit up. It was rare that he got to talk about his dream, so having a chance with the nice man who had helped him out was a rare treat. "Because I want to be like All Might!"

Strange's expression didn't change in the least. "And what does that mean, to be 'like All Might'?"

"I...I don't understand." Izuku was honestly confused by the doctors words.

"What is it about All Might that makes you want to be a hero. Is it because he seems happy? Is it popularity? Simple strength? What part of being a hero makes you want so desperately to be one?"

That question threw Izuku for a loop and his young mind couldn't quite grasp an answer that he could be happy with. Everyone wanted to be All Might-wanted to be a hero like him. But now that he was asked he couldn't quite think of a reason. Of course he wanted to help people, but that seemed almost too small. "I…" he looked down, frustrated at himself.

Strange waited a few moment before sighing to himself under his breath. He was about to say that Izuku could return to the living room before being preempted by the answer to his question.

"It's because someone has to." Izuku looked up at the doctor with eyes filled with an odd sort of determination. "All Might is the strongest, coolest, and best there is and that means he could do anything. But he is a hero who saves people. One time when he was being interviewed he was asked about why he became a hero, and he said 'because someone had to protect people, so it might as well be me'. So…" Izuku drew in a breath and stood to the full height. "I want to be a hero, because if someone has to do it, I want it to be me."

In that moment Strange found himself frozen by that childish declaration, seeing that there was no dishonesty in Izuku's eyes but a fire burning within them, one that he recognized from the many examples in his life. In those eyes he saw a man gifted with great strength who bore the world on his shoulders because it was his responsibility. He saw a man who walked a path toward the future, willing to put his life on the line to ensure a brighter tomorrow. And, most of all, he saw a man out of his time with a will so unshakeable that if he stood before a wave it would shatter against him like glass.

"I see." Strange smiled to himself and looked toward Izuku. "I believe we have a great deal of work ahead of us."

Thanks to everyone who has read through the first chapter, I hope you guys are ready because this is going to be a wild ride. Before anything else big thanks to Phantomhill for editing this.

As with all my stories make sure to comment to make your voices heard, and follow for more fun in this...strange crossover.