Chapter Text
-Chapter 1: Along Came A Spider-
The universe is funny sometimes. A homeless man ends up winning the jackpot at a lottery.
A hospital patient with terminal cancer wakes up the next day to find it's miraculously going into remission.
A nerdy boy who was once declared Quirkless suddenly finds himself with great power, and uses that power to become a hero. One of the world's greatest heroes.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Before we get to that point, we need to start at the beginning.
The day my whole life changed because of one itsy-bitsy spider...
-New York City, New York, United States of America-
It wasn't often that Izuku Midoriya got to see his father. This was mainly due to Hisashi Midoriya's job constantly taking him overseas to the United States, and that he was usually so busy that he rarely got vacation time. As it was this was the first time Izuku had seen him in the flesh in roughly three years.
The few times Izuku did get to see his dad, though? They were usually pretty awesome since the company his father worked for, the CyberMax Corporation, would sponsor or host big events ranging from trips to amusement parks, big expos that showcased all sorts of advanced scientific breakthroughs or projects the company was researching right now.
Or in this case, they let Hisashi give Izuku a tour of the building he worked at, including his lab.
Izuku looked in awe around the lab. "No matter how many times I've been here, this place is always awesome."
Hisashi smiled while bashfully rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, it is pretty awesome."
A lot of people probably wouldn't assume that Hisashi was Izuku's father at first glance, as the majority of Izuku's looks came from his mother Inko Midoriya. Izuku's hair and eyes were both green, while Hisashi's own hair was black while his eyes were blue. However, Izuku and Hisashi both had the same messy curly hair, as well as very similar facial structures. Hell, they both shared the same four freckles on each cheek.[1]
The other thing they both had in common were that they were both incredibly smart in the fields of science. When he was seven, Izuku had torn apart their TV to figure out how it worked and then put it back together. Miraculously the thing still worked. That was just the beginning. The shelves in Izuku's room, the ones that weren't loaded with merchandise of his favorite hero, All Might, were loaded with various machine parts and electronics that he had acquired from digging around in scrapyards and junkyards. Whenever he was bored or needed something to do he'd tinker around with them and try to either get them working again or try to make them into something else. Beyond that, not a single one of Izuku's science or math grades had ever fallen below a 95%, though that was a double-edged sword since it gave the bullies at school more ammunition against him. (Not that he cared.)
As for his father's job, Hisashi Midoriya was a high ranking scientist in CyberMax's Genetic Research Division, specifically in the fields of Quirk Research and Quirk Genetics (which would probably also explain where Izuku's love of Quirks came from.) Since their building in Japan wasn't as up-to-date as their one in New York City, they offered him a lab there and a much needed pay raise. Considering he had a wife and kid to support, he accepted.
Noticing some animal cages on the far wall, he asked "What are those?"
Hisashi smiled. "Something new we're working on. Take a closer look."
Izuku did so and peered into the cages, noticing large amounts of white webs.
And some of the most bizarre looking spiders he'd ever seen: the majority of them were the size of Wolf Spiders, but their colors were off. One was a balanced red and blue, one was straight up scarlet, one was jet black with red legs, another one was white and black with magenta patches on its legs. But the one that stood out the most to him was a dark green spider with silver-white legs and a red mark on its abdomen.[2] Fascinated, he asked "What kind of spiders are these?"
"These are Quirk Spiders." Seeing the confused look on Izuku's face, Hisashi continued "Let me start at the beginning. The project is an attempt by CyberMax to create new Quirks, ones that not only have uses in combat but can also have uses in medicine."
"Wow." Looking among them he asked "So, what all can they do?"
"Well all of them have slightly advanced healing. Not instantaneous but give it anywhere from a few hours to a day and they'll heal. They also seem to exhibit a sort of warning system for danger. One of the interns dubbed it the 'Spider-Sense.'" That got a chuckle out of both of them. "Yeah, it's kinda silly. Aside from that though, they're stronger, faster, they're reflexes are increased, and they all show a very high resistance to poisons and toxins. The only exception seems to be Ethyl Chloride-"
"-that pesticide designed specifically for spiders," Izuku finished.
Hisashi nodded. "Yep. But a few of them have a couple unique powers of their own. Like this little guy," he pointed at the black spider with red legs. "Watch this." He tapped on the glass, and the spider looked at him before scurrying back.
And to Izuku's surprise, the spider's colors began to fade until it seemingly disappeared. "Whoa. Invisibility?"
Hisashi smirked. "Technically, it's Adaptive Camouflage. See, true invisibility would make the spider completely unseen to the naked eye. But if you look really closely..."
Izuku followed his father's gaze, noticing that right by the water dish there was movement, and he could just make out the spider's outline as it moved. "Ah. So it's not perfect." He smiled and added "Still pretty cool though."
"That's not the only one," Hisashi added, pointing at the dark green spider. "This guy here is one of my favorites. One of the strongest specimens we have. Hell of a jumper too, but I suppose that makes sense since he was a Jumping Spider."[3]
As if to prove his point, the spider swiftly jumped up to the top of cage, clinging there and looking out at them. "He's a pretty fast one too," Izuku noted.
"Yeah." Looking at his son he said "And these guys are just the start. With enough funding and research, we could possibly move on to human testing."
"Human testing," Izuku asked.
Hisashi nodded. "You remember when you were diagnosed as Quirkless?"
He sighed sadly. "Yeah. How could I forget?"
That day had honestly been the worst day of Izuku's life. After all, how can you top the day when your dream was entirely crushed because of your own genetics?
"Your mom and I both felt bad because of that. But you kept pushing on, wanting to be a hero. Seeing that determination of yours was... inspiring to say the least. That's why I've pushed so much time and effort into this research."
Izuku's eyes widened. "Wait. Are you saying that if this works, you could give me a Quirk?"
Hisashi nodded. "And not just you. With enough time we may be able to cure Quirkless-ness period." Seeing the starstruck look on his son's face, he added "Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet, Izuku. We've still got a lot of work to do before we get that far. But it's looking pretty promising so far. It may take another year or two, and if you still plan on going into UA you might have to start a year late." He then smiled and added "But one way or another, I will help you become a hero."
Unable to do anything else, Izuku hugged his father and said "Thanks Dad."
Once they separated, his father replied "Well, it is part of a parent's job to help their child achieve their dreams." Ruffling Izuku's hair he also added "Plus whenever you end up on TV I get to show all my friends and say 'That's my boy!'"
They both laughed at that, but were interrupted by Hisashi's phone ringing. Looking at the collar ID he groaned. "Leave it to the higher ups to interrupt a good moment like this."
As his father answered the phone, Izuku lost himself in his own thoughts. He smiled and thought If this works, I can get a Quirk and become a hero! His expression then turned puzzled and he continued But what Quirk should I get? There's plenty of Quirks that can increase strength, but maybe I should get something to go with it? I've always wanted to fly. Or maybe I can get Telekinesis like Mom's got? Or-
"See you've still got that mumbling habit, eh Izuku?"
Jarred out of his thoughts, Izuku said "Sorry. Force of habit."
"Don't feel bad. I used to do the same thing." Chuckling, Hisashi added "Still do sometimes. Anyway, I need to handle something on another floor. You good staying here until I get back?" Seeing Izuku nod he continued "I shouldn't be more than a few minutes, maybe an hour."
"Anything serious?"
"Just an intern making a mistake cataloging samples. Nothing too serious." Opening the door he said "I know I shouldn't have to say this since you're 15, but please don't mess around with anything."
"Don't worry, Dad," Izuku replied while pulling out his phone. "I'm not a little kid anymore."
"I know. Just never hurts to make sure."
And with that he left leaving Izuku to his own devices.
Since he had nothing better to do he sat down in one of the chairs, coincidentally right next to the spider cages, and started looking through the Hero News App. "Let's see if we got anything good."
He skipped most of the first articles, and a whole bunch of pictures of Mount Lady posing for the camera ("Has she no shame?") when he finally found an article that caught his eye.
New Hero Kamui Woods Rises In Popularity.
Izuku smiled. "Good for him. Guy's got skill and a good heart. What else?"
After giving it a quick read he continued to another one.
Endeavor Solves Another Case.
His smile changed to a frown. "Meh. Never really liked that guy. Always seemed to care more about beating villains and solving cases as opposed to helping the people." Plus if the rumors about how he treats his wife and kids are true, the dude's an asshole of the highest caliber.
Passing it over he finally came to an article that put a big smile on his face.
All Might saves 500 civilians and defeats the villain Black Dragon!
"Ha. Now that's more like it."
All Might was Izuku's favorite pro superhero and the kind of hero he aspired to be like: a strong, confident and fearless superhero who saved civilians, beat the bad guys, and did all of this with a calm and reassuring smile on his face. Whenever he said his trademark "I AM HERE!" the civilians knew they were saved and the villains knew that they were utterly screwed.
Continuing to read through the article and look at the video clips, Izuku did what he usually did and started taking notes on Black Dragon's Quirk. "So his Quirk allows him to create and control fire similar to Endeavor. But unlike his Hellflame, Black Dragon's flames are far more dangerous, as any organic material caught in the flames will be incinerated. And once the fire catches they'll burn for seven days and seven nights, or until the target is ashes. And no amount of water or ice can extinguish them. [4] That's a dangerous Quirk to be sure. But it looks like All Might managed to stop him by nailing him with a Detroit Smash and sending him flying into the ocean. So does his Quirk not work if his body's wet or is he just weakened by water? I hope they figure that out soon because if he get's out again-"
Unknown to Izuku, when he had started his foray into the exciting road of Heroes, the green and silver spider that had jumped to the top of its cage had noticed something. Apparently one of its captors had neglected to make sure the top of the cage was properly secured. Sensing a way out, it crawled up and pushed the lid up enough to squeeze through the gap and to sweet freedom.
Back with Izuku, he was still reading the article and speculating on Black Dragon's Quirk, his one hand resting on the small ledge in front of the cages. He was so lost in the world of Heroes and Quirks that when the sudden spike of pain came it was the mental equivalent of being shot out of a canon and through several brick walls. He looked down at the source of his pain, his hand...
...and saw a familiar looking green spider on his hand. "Oh no. How did you- You know what? That's not important."
Moving quickly he slipped the lid of the cage open and put the spider back in, nudging it off his hand with his phone. Before it could jump out again he put the lid back on and made sure it was properly secured this time. Looking at the arachnid he said "Sorry, little guy. But you're probably a lot better off in there than out here."
The spider apparently didn't agree, because it tried to jump onto Izuku's face, only to land and stick onto the glass wall. Izuku shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Nice try."
He looked at the back of his right hand, noticing the two newly acquired fang marks and the red skin around them. Pulling out his phone he looked up the symptoms of spider bites, specifically from Jumping Spiders. Fortunately the venom of the majority of the species weren't incredibly toxic. At most he'd feel pain, a bit of an itchy feeling, possibly a bit of nausea. Still, Izuku figured he should tell his father when he got back.
Speaking of which, what was taking him so long anyway?
Hisashi sighed, not really wanting to have this phone call. "Sir, I've told you we're not ready for human testing."
"It's been ten years since this project started. You've got your spiders, now I think it's-"
"Sir, if we rush into this the results could be disastrous. We may get a stable reaction, or we may end up killing the subjects. Or worse."
"How could it be worse than that?"
"You've never read a comic book, have you? If things go wrong we could potentially create a horrifying mutated monstrosity, which in turn could infect civilians and turn them into mutants or possibly kill them. A possible mutant epidemic; and if the city doesn't get quarantined, a pandemic. And when the dust settles, everyone will be pointing at CyberMax and calling for blood. Your blood." Once he was done he added "Look, I want to save your son as much as any other doctor, but if we go this route we get one shot. And if we miss or we hit the wrong spot..."
He left the statement hanging, before he heard a sigh and the man on the other end replied "I know that. But the Board of Directors are on my ass about this project and how long it's taking to get tangible results from it. If we don't start seeing something, anything, soon; they're liable to outvote me and cut funding for your project."
Hisashi nodded. "I've got something that should work as a bone for the bigwigs. I just need a month or two to finish testing it."
"Don't disappoint me." And with that he hung up, not even bothering to say good-bye.
Hisashi sighed, before pulling up a file on his phone. ReGen. "Hopefully this will be enough to get them off my back for a few more years. Plus if it works to its fullest potential, we'll be able to help paraplegics and amputees all over the world." Assuming the bigwigs don't make it cost an arm and a leg. Pricks. Always thinking of lining their pockets instead of helping people.
As he walked back to his lab he looked up some photos on his phone of him, Inko, and Izuku. There weren't as much as he'd like, sadly, but they never failed to make him smile. They're the reason you're doing this, Hisashi. They're the reason you're on the other side of the planet at this job. Flipping to another photo of the three of them having goofy grins, he chuckled. Those happy smiles are what make this all worthwhile.
Pocketing his phone he entered his lab, seeing Izuku on his phone. He looked up and said "I think you might need to talk to someone about making sure the cages are properly secured."
Confused, Hisashi asked "What do you mean?"
Izuku explained what happened with the green and silver spider getting out of its cage, with Hisashi looking equal parts surprised and annoyed.
Up until Izuku told him the spider had bitten him on the hand, which immediately set off warning bells in his head. "Are you feeling okay?"
He nodded in reply. "Yeah. I don't really feel sick or anything. And I looked it up, most jumping spiders aren't that toxic."
"Yeah, MOST jumping spiders," Hisashi said, pulling out a digital thermometer and a few other medical devices out of a cupboard. "These are genetically modified spiders. There's no telling if they're really poisonous or not." Flipping on the thermometer he said "Say 'Ahh.'"
Rolling his eyes, Izuku obliged as his father stuck the device in his mouth. He then proceeded to take Izuku's blood pressure and check his heart rate. "Temperature's a little high. You're blood pressure and heart rate are normal though." Looking at him he asked "You feel okay? Any nausea, dizziness?"
Shaking his head, Izuku replied "I feel fine. Aside from a slight itch where it bit me, I don't feel any different."
Nodding, Hisashi sighed in relief. "Good. If your mother found out I got you poisoned by one of my spiders, she'd never let me hear the end of it. Still, it never hurts to be careful."
"So, I'm okay?" "Near as I can tell, you're fine." Putting away the equipment, he added "We'll check again tomorrow morning just to be sure, alright?" He nodded, and Hisashi said "Good. Now let's get going. You're mom's probably done with her spa appointment and ready to see us again."
"How did you get her that appointment again?"
"I know the right people."
They both laughed as they exited the lab, unaware of the green spider in its cage giving off a soft green glow once the lights died down.
That night at Dad's apartment was pretty great. One of the few times we're able to sit down and enjoy dinner like a family. Even if said dinner was two large pizzas from Pizza Hut. One Meat Lovers and one half cheese and half mushroom (that one was mom's.)
Dad and I never brought up the spider bite, both of us thinking that it probably didn't inject any of its venom in me. And even if it did it probably didn't do anything to me.
Oh, boy were we wrong. As we found out the next morning...
The moment he woke up, Izuku could tell something was wrong.
After all, last he checked the bed wasn't supposed to be on the ceiling. "What the he-"
That's when he realized that the bed wasn't on the ceiling.
HE was on the ceiling.
Pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he then carefully placed his hand forward on the ceiling, testing it and finding that he was still sticking to it. He crawled a little more, finding that his newfound adhesion abilities were still there. He was still sticking to the ceiling like a spider.
And then he remembered the Quirk Spider that bit him.
"Did that spider's venom... give me a Quirk?"
It sounded absolutely ridiculous. After all, something like this could never happen. Not outside of comic books, anyway.
And yet, the evidence was right there. He was clinging to the ceiling, for crying out loud! Something he would've never been able to do if he was still Quirkless.
There was a knock on the door, and he heard his mother say "Izuku, sweetie. Time to get up."
He panicked a little, wondering how he was supposed to stop sticking, when suddenly he felt nothing but air. Which was good...
...until he fell straight down from the ceiling onto the bed, bouncing off of it and ending up tangled in the blankets before he hit the floor. Hard. "Ow!"
The door opened almost immediately, and his mother poked her head in looking concerned. "Izuku, what happened? I heard a crash and-"
"I-I tripped and got tangled in the blankets," he quickly stammered, poking his head up out of his improvised cocoon. "I'm okay!"
Inko sighed in relief. "I swear you and your father are both the smartest AND the most accident prone boys I've ever met."
"Well genetically speaking I'm only half as clumsy as he is."
She giggled. "Anyway, your dad's taking us to breakfast at this one place that makes great pancakes. So hurry up and get dressed."
He nodded. "Got it. Be out in a few minutes."
Once she was gone he got up, noticing a blanket still stuck to the palm of his hand. "Okay," he breathed. "Let's try this again."
He held his hand out with the palm facing down, taking a deep breath and thinking of not sticking. And sure enough, the blanket immediately fell from his hand and landed on the floor. Breathing a sigh of relief, he quickly picked up the blankets and made the bed, before heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
And the moment he saw his reflection in the mirror, his jaw dropped.
When he went to bed last night, he was still the same scrawny fifteen year old with barely any muscle at all. Everyone had him pegged as the weak, nerdy, intellectual type who wouldn't be able to hold his own in a fight. As it was his mother would often chide him for being too skinny.
But his reflection told another story.
He wasn't a bodybuilder by any means, but he had put on a significant amount of muscle. Enough to look like he'd been spending a lot of time at the gym lifting weights (which he didn't) or that he'd been on a steroid regimen (which he wasn't and never would. Don't do drugs, kids.) Hell, despite his eternal hatred of sit-ups he now had a six pack. "Okay, the sticking powers I could buy, but what the hell was in that spider's venom that did THIS?!"
His stomach then rumbled, reminding him of breakfast, so he quickly brushed his teeth and got dressed. His clothes definitely didn't feel as baggy as usual, but he did notice that his pants seemed a little smaller. Not terribly so, but enough that he made a mental note to ask his mom to up his pants size before the new school year. The shirt was fine, but mostly because it was a hand-me-down from his dad, who was an XL as opposed to Izuku's own Large. Even then it felt smaller than it was yesterday.
Well, at least nobody can call me skinny anymore he thought triumphantly.
Once he was dressed he walked out into the living room, his father looked at him and blinked. "You go through a growth spurt, Izuku?"
Izuku shook his head, checking to see that his mother wasn't around, before saying "I think it's a side effect of the spider bite."
Hisashi's eyes widened. "You sure?"
Nodding, he added "That's not the only one, though. This morning I woke up on the ceiling, and I was able to crawl on it. Like a spider. Do you think-?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I'm mostly just hoping you don't start growing extra arms."
"Me too."
"Once we get breakfast, we'll head back to my lab and run some tests."
"Tests for what?" Both of them turned to see Inko walking into the room with her purse. Looking concerned, she asked "And what exactly do you mean 'extra arms?'"
Hiashi winced. Oh boy, am I in trouble.
Nice knowing you, Dad.
To Be Continued...