Chapter Text
Poof! “What the hell?!” Kan said, confused. He was in a dark room that almost looked like a theatre.
Poof! Where did that sound come from? “Bark!”
“Rex?” That was definitely his cute Husky-Corgi, panting next to him…but he wasn’t next to him before. It was almost like he had just appeared into existence.
Poof! There it was again, he turned in its direction. “Vlad-Sensei?”
“Kendo?”
Poof! “Where the fuck am I?” A tall green kid with blades on the sides of his mouth, popped into the room.
“Kamakiri?”
“Oh, hey teach.” The Mantis teen waved.
“Where are we?” Kendo asked.
“I don’t know,” Kan answered.
Poof! “Argh, I’m…back in my clothes and in a room with my classmates and a…dog?”
“Monoma?”
“I…was just taking a bath, sir.”
“We…didn’t need to know that photocopier,” Kamakiri said with a slightly red face.
Poof! “Oh, is that a dog? Awwww, they're so cute!”
“Tokage. Yes, this is…”
Poof! Another teen appeared; she had pink hair. “MY BABY!!!” Poof! A purple-haired kid appeared next, looking tired. “WHERE’S MY BEAUTIFUL BABY?!!!”
“Aren’t you a little young to be having kids?” the purple-nette asked.
Kan didn’t recognise either of them. “I’m plenty old enough to invent items for the hero course,” the girl replied. Before anyone else said or did anything at all, several more teens appeared.
Poof! “Mommy?!” A girl with brown hair that covered her eyes squealed in fright.
Poof! “What demonic sorcery is this?” A vine-haired girl asked.
Poof! Poof! “Such a dark place, filled with shadows.” An all-black guy said with a manic grin.
“Put a sock in it dipshit!” A plain kid with a blue and white headband yelled. Eventually, all the seats were filled by the entirety of Kan's class 1-B, himself, Rex, the Support Course girl and the tired kid.
“WTF is going on here?” Kosei Tsubaruba asked.
“I honestly have no idea, but is every one that is here okay?”
“I think everyone is fine Sensei, if a little shaken,” Nirengeki Shouda replied.
“I’m good, BUT WHERE THE FUCK IS MY BABY?!”
“Uh…you two are?” Setsuna asked.
“Oh, I’m Mei Hatsume, nice to meet you all! I’m in Class-1H; the top class of the Support Course.”
“Ah, you’re Maijima’s newest problem child,” Kan said.
“Yep, that’s me!”
“I’m Hitoshi Shinso, Class-1C.”
“A Gen Ed kid. Why are only you two here? Wouldn’t it make sense for the entirety of your classes to be here too?” Kendo asked.
Before anyone could answer, the screen in front of them lit up. It showed a street and a clock. Then it showed a cute, green-haired kid, looking sad. “Who…is that kid?”
“Who cares who he is, he’s so cute and he’s got green hair, like me!” Setsuna said.
“He looks like a gift from the lord,” Shiozaki said.
“Why are you being so mean, Kachaan?! Can’t you see you’ve hurt him! You’re making him cry” The boy was standing in front of another, defensively. “If you don’t stop, I’ll stop you myself!” The next frame showed a smug-looking ash blonde with two others. The blonde smirked.
“You really want to play hero, how are you going to stop me without a Quirk, Deku? You don’t stand a chance.” The blonde slammed his hands together, making a small explosion.
Hatsume flinched a little when she heard that the boy on screen didn’t have a Quirk.
“Deku? Does he mean like Dekuonobu…” Kan’s thoughts were cut off as Kamakiri exploded.
“IT’S THAT SON OF A BITCH WHO STOLE MY POINTS!” Setsuna facepalmed and Kendo and Tetsutetsu had to hold Kamakiri in place to stop him lunging at the screen.
The green-haired kid’s face turned to horror as the bullies flew at him, Quirks activated. A voice began to narrate, obviously the greenette.“Here’s a sad truth; Not all people are created equal. That was a lesson I learned that day…when I was only four years old.” The green-haired kid was lying down, unconscious. The other boy he had been defending was leaning over him.
“That was so unmanly,” Tetsutetsu said.
“Hpm, bullies,” Pony said in frustration.
“No child so cute should have to learn that lesson when they were so young. May the Lord bring pain on those wretched souls!” Shiozaki prayed.
“That’s a little far, don’t you think Shiozaki,” Shouda sweat dropped. Kodai silently nodded.
“But that was both the first and the last mistake I made.” The kid appeared again, running through the streets of Mustafu with a smile on his face. The screen paused and was overlaid with a pop art filter. The text below displayed his name. “Izuku Midoriya.”
“That’s the kid who destroyed the Zero Pointer,” Kan blurted out, remembering the Entrance Exam when the kid on screen utterly destroyed one of the huge Executor-class villain bots.
“What, no fucking way!” Awase yelled.
“Awesome.”
“THAT’S SO MANLY!”
“But, wait, didn’t that other kid say he was Quirkless? How is that possible,” Hatsume asked, curious and confused.
“Maybe he’s just a super late bloomer or something,” Shouda suggested.
Izuku’s smile widened as he saw a massive guy towering above the city. “Wow, that’s one big villain!” The screen flashed to black and changed to a hospital at night. “The first incident was reported in Qing Qing City, China. A baby was born glowing with bright light. Shortly after, reports flooded all over the world of people developing strange powers. Nobody knew what was causing these Quirks…”
A few people chuckled at the sight of a man screaming as he saw his baby glowing.
“Tch, why is he giving us a history lesson? We learned this shit in elementary school,” Kamakiri said, annoyed.
“Perhaps this show is based on events from Midoriya-kun's perspective and this context dump is for those unfamiliar with our world in other ones,” Manga suggested. Everyone turned to him, eyebrows raised. “What? My Quirk gives me comic powers so I like to read a lot of comics.”
All Might in his silver age costume was shown walking through a corridor. “Pretty soon the supernatural became the new normal, dreams a reality. The world became a superhuman society, with over 80 percent of Earth’s population having their own uncanny ability. Our streets began to look like those from fiction. As cities swirled with chaos, a new type of profession dominated our collective consciousness. It is an age of heroes.”
Rex barked in excitement as Death Arms appeared on screen, saving a bunch of civilians who were too close to the battle. “Sir Kan, what’s with the cute dog?” Shishida asked as he sat down in his seat.
“Oh right, um, everyone this is Rex, my pet Husky-Corgi.”
“Rex, as in a T-Rex?” Setsuna asked, eyes wide with surprise.
“Nope, I named him after a character from a TV show I used to watch all the time,” Kan revealed.
“He’s so cute,” Pony said, eyes twinkling.
“I know, right,” Setsuna said.
“1000 Yen that 1-A’s teacher is a cat person,” Kaibara whispered to Awase.
“That’s not even a fair bet Sen,” the other boy replied.
Backdraft appeared next, helping the police to keep the crowd away while the Pros handled the villain.
“Why is that guy doing crowd control, shouldn’t he be helping to fight the villain?” Rin asked.
“Backdraft is a rescue specialist and besides, that crowd is way too close. If it wasn’t for Death Arms, those civilians would’ve been crushed,” Shouda replied, ever helpful, “Though maybe the police should be doing the crowd control themselves…”
“Hmph, maybe if they weren’t so incompetent,” Kamakiri muttered.
“This guy must be pretty desperate to go full-on monster in the middle of the city. ‘You know what happened?” One civilian in a suit asked another.
“He’s just some amateur,” the other civilian replied, “Stole someone’s bag and then got himself cornered.”
“A Quirk like his and he’s just a petty thief.”
“Civilians these days are always thinking that, but it isn't that simple. Sometimes criminals don’t have any other option than to pursue a life of crime. Remember that kids, most criminals you’ll meet are just broken people,” Vlad King said.
“Yes Kan-sensei,” Kendo said with a smile while everyone else smiled a little.
Midoriya pushed through the crowd, making his way to the front. “I’ve been held up, sir. The train is out because of a villain attack,” another civilian explained to someone on his phone, “Yes, I’m not sure what time I will arrive at the office.”
A group of schoolgirls suddenly squealed as a shadow flew over the crowd. “It’s Kamui! We’re your biggest fans!”
Midoriya smiled as he took out a notebook. “This is going to be so cool! Kamui Woods might be relatively new on the hero scene, but he’s making a big name for himself.”
“Hohoho, oh, one look at that dopey grin and I know what you are,” stated an older man who had some kind of star-shaped antennae protruding from his cheeks and the top of his head. “A fanboy!”
“A hero fanboy huh? Hm, wonder what’s with the notebook,” Kendo said.
“There is so much allure to him, a mystery yet to be revealed,” Reiko said.
“A dark mystery perhaps,” Kuroiro suggested.
“Perhaps.”
“Chill the fuck out, you edgelords,” Awase cussed out.
Kamui Woods crouched on top of an arch above the tracks, staring down the giant villain. “Assault, robbery, and illegal use of powers during morning rush-hour traffic. You are a pure incarnation of evil!”
Shiozaki, Kaibara, Kendo, Tokage, Shouda and Vlad all sweat dropped. “What the heck?”
“I would say he needs to chill out, Awase,” Reiko said coolly, “As for myself and Kuroiro and in your own words; shut the fuck up!” Awase was lost for words while Kamakiri and Tsuburaba both burst into tears of laughter.
The criminal yelled out for Kamui to leave him alone, throwing his arm out in a motion similar to trying to swat a fly. Kamui dodged it, leaping into the air as root-like growths grew on his right arm.
“Here it comes,” Izuku said, “His special move.”
“Pre-emptive binding lacquered chain prison!”
“Urgh, not to be offensive, but…why do people always yell out their move’s names before they attack?” Pony asked, “Sure it looks cool, but it’s not really practical.” A few people raised an eyebrow. “Have you guys ever seen Despicable Me 2?”
“Nope.”
“Afraid not.”
“Sorry."
“No idea.”
Pony sighed. “In the first two movies, the protagonist would yell out which gadget he was using before using it, like how we do it here in the East for attacks. However, in the second movie, the flaw was exposed; the split seconds between yelling the attack and using it allows the opponent to try and muster up a defence or an effective counterattack. Yelling the name after, however, negates this.”
“Hey, you know what, Pony’s right,” Tokage said, “That sounds way more practical.” Monoma nodded.
“It may be a deciding factor between life or death,” Vlad thought, “I’ve got to write that down.”
Poof! He turned to see a notebook and pen had appeared on his chair’s armrest. “Okay, wtf is going on?! First Rex, then my kids and now a notebook and pen!!! How is this stuff appearing out of nowhere?!!!”
“Canyon Cannon!” Kamui Woods’ ultimate move was interrupted by a sudden flying kick from a giant hero who burst into the scene at the last second, knocking the villain off the overpass. She stood up in front of the downed villain, the show’s “camera” centred on the curve of her butt.
“Oh no, not her,” Tokage thought in horror and disgust.
“Welp, that was anticlimactic,” Shinso said before yawning.
Midoriya jolted as lines of men with cameras suddenly appeared in front of him. “Money shot. Money shot. Money shot.”
“Piece of cake for the world’s next hottest hero,” the giantess stated with a breezy, dismissive tone. “Hi everyone. I’m Mt. Lady, and you don’t need to worry about this bum anymore,” she greeted, winking and emphasising her giant butt at the word.
“Money shot. Money shot. Money shot.”
“HAVE SOME DECENCY!” Shiozaki cried out.
“Oh boy,” Kendo thought, sweat dropping.
Vlad sighed. “Now I see why Nemuri doesn’t like this girl. She’s such an attention whore.”
As the scene was wrapped up with the villain arrested, Izuku was seen writing frantically into his notebook, which featured a sketch of Mt Lady and notes about her Quirk and personality. “Gigantification huh? Well she has the looks to be a great hero but with a Quirk like that it might be difficult to move around in an urban environment.” The man from before came over, noticing what he was doing and asked if he wanted to be a hero too. “Yes, more than anything,” Izuku answered.
“You’ve got to admire his determination and conviction. IT’S SO MANLY,” Tetsutetsu cried. Kodai nodded silently while Tokage noted that he certainly had the heart to be a great hero. Monoma meanwhile, looked at Midoriya with peaking interest.
“A fellow Quirk analyst. Such a rare skill, it should be cultivated. I need to meet Midoriya Izuku, face to face. Perhaps, it will finally help prove the cold-Quirk theory and explain some things about my classmates' own Quirks.” Hatsume seemed to be thinking the same thing.
The title card appeared with a yellow background and white and red text “Midoriya Izuku: Origin”.
So this is an origin story for that Midoriya kid,” Manga said, “He must be the main protagonist of this story.”
From the title card, the scene transitioned to a typical public middle school captioned ‘Aldera Junior High’. A homeroom teacher in a classroom began speaking, and the audience could see both Midoriya and Bakugo in the class, Midoriya seemingly trying hard not to be noticed while Bakugo was lazing about disrespectfully with his feet on his desk. “So, as third-year students, it’s time to start thinking seriously about your futures and what you want to do with your lives!” Midoriya furtively looked up from his notebook at his teacher. “I could pass out some career aptitude tests but…”
The teacher glared at the sheets of paper in his hand. “Why bother?” Already some students near his desk were starting to show off their quirks. One boy’s body audibly began turning into grey rock. “I know you all want to go to the Hero track!” The room exploded into noise as almost everyone activated their Quirks.
“The fuck?!” Awase said. Everyone in the theatre was stunned. “Why the hell are they using their Quirks in class?!”
“What they’re doing is illegal. Have they never heard of Quirk laws,” Jurota asked, rhetorically.
“I’m going to need to talk to Principal Nezu about opening a public inquiry into this school. Such blatant use of Quirks in class is seriously troubling,” Vlad thought. He wrote this down into the notebook.
“Hey, teach. Don’t lump me in with this bunch of losers. I’m the real deal, but these guys will be lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted D-lister.” Bakugou laughed.
“Wow, arrogant much,” said Kendo as the Aldera class jeered at him.
“He is certainly prideful in his abilities,” Reiko noted.
“I’d be surprised if anyone in 1A actually likes that guy,” Vlad agreed as the teacher on screen mentioned that Bakugou wanted to go to U.A., “I doubt that Aizawa likes him at all. In fact, I’m surprised he wasn’t expelled on the first day, he’s expelled people for less.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yep, last year he expelled his entire class, but he later had them reinstated and Snipe was made their homeroom teacher.”
“Why would he reinstate them, let alone expel them in the first place?” Pony asked.
“I don’t know, but apparently they were fooling around and he expelled them because they had “no potential”.”
“No potential, when they were just sitting around on their phones,” Monoma repeated, outraged.
“That’s exactly why it’s the only place worthy of me,” said Bakugou with a prideful look on his face as he stood atop his desk. “I aced all the mock tests. I’m the only one at this school who stands a chance of getting in. I’ll end up more popular than All Might himself, and be the richest Hero of all time!”
“Very humble of him,” Honenuki said with a frown, his facial muscles contouring slightly to express his feelings despite his oversized teeth and lack of lips or gums.
“Yeah, what an asshole,” Awase commented.
“And he’s rather loud,” Bondo said, drawing circles in the air with his fingers.
“Oh yeah, Midoriya, don’t you wanna go to the U.A. as well?” The teacher’s words were casual, almost like an afterthought, bringing up the one other student in class who aspired to enter the prestigious institution. Bakugo’s form was stylized in white as he froze in complete shock, while Midoriya squeaked and looked very much like he wanted to disappear. Meanwhile, the class was silent for a moment, before there was an uproar of laughter.
“Midoriya, ha.”
“You can’t enter U.A. with just good grades.”
“They got rid of that rule a long time ago, I could be the first one. There’s just no…” Midoriya was interrupted as Bakugou slammed his hand on his desk, sending him flying into the wall at the back of the classroom and destroying both the table and the chair.
“Woah, woah, woah,” Tokage gasped.
“The fuck,” Awase yelled.
“Welp, so much for that desk,” Pony said empathetically.
“Listen up, Deku. You’re even worse than the rest of these damn rejects, you Quirkless wannabe! You really think they’d let someone like you in when they could have me?”
“Huh.”
“Quirkless?”
“He must have still not manifested a Quirk yet.”
“Maybe he needs a specific trigger for it, I was the same,” Vlad revealed, “Mine didn’t come in until I tasted blood for the first time. The only part I had at birth was the fangs.”
“Hm, stranger things have happened with Quirks before,” Monoma mused.
“Like not being able to use certain Quirks yourself, photocopier?” Kamakiri asked the analyst of their class. He nodded.
Midoriya scrambled to put distance between himself and his far more aggressive and violent classmate, holding out his hand and scooting backwards until his back touched the classroom’s back wall. “No! Wait! You’ve got it all wrong, really! I’m not trying to compete against you. You’ve gotta believe me! It’s just that…” he looked down, seemingly not daring to face any of his classmates as he confessed his dreams. “I’ve wanted to be a hero since I was little. I may not have a quirk, but I can still try my hardest, can’t I?”
“It would certainly take a lot of work and dedication but…with one of my babies, he could definitely do it,” Hatsume said, “Please, for all of us greenie, do it.”
“Plus there’s Eraserhead,” Shinso commented tiredly, “Despite him having a Quirk, he has to fight Quirkless against those with Mutant-type Quirks.”
“He’d also need a hardcore WORKOUT MONTAGE,” Tetsutetsu called out, “Look at the kid, he’s a literal toothpick.”
“You’d never be able to hang with the best of the best! You’d die in the exams!” His image and those of Midoriya’s classmates became red-eyed and mouthed black silhouettes with jagged outlines and spiky teeth against an ominous purple background. “Defenceless Izuku!” mocked Bakugou and Midoriya flinched inwards. “This school’s already crappy. You really wanna embarrass it more by failing so hard?”
Bondo and Pony both leapt back with fright at the frame of the shadow creatures. “Midoriya might need some serious therapy,” Vlad realised. He wrote it down.
The scene changed to that of a street on the other side of town. “Hey, stop!” A clerk with a Tenrec mutation ran out of the store while a woman with a forcefield Quirk had shielded herself and was lying on the pavement.
The Sludge Villain ran across the streets, pushing people out of the way. “Yell all you want, sucker; this cash is mine!”
“The Sludge Villain,” Shouda observed.
“Hey I heard about this from my host family,” Rin said, “Apparently he took a kid hostage and then another tried to save him while the heroes were doing nothing and then All-Might saved them both.”
“Could Midoriya have been one of those kids?” Pony asked.
“Yeah, maybe that’s what caused his Quirk to trigger.”
The back of an emaciated man was shown as he walked out of a convenience store, overhearing the citizens. “Remember when we didn’t have to worry about randos with quirks all the time?”
“Seriously, there’s no stopping them.”
The skeletal figure hunched for a second before his body expanded, growing tall and buff; becoming a person anyone would recognize. “Yes, there is.”
All of Class 1B, Shinso and Hatsume gasped in shock.
“SHIT!” Vlad thought, “That’s Toshinori, out of costume. I’m going to need to explain this to him and Nezu later. Hopefully, the kids don’t put two and two together.”
“You know why?” the man asked as the civilians who’d been standing in front of the door suddenly became excited. The laughing sludge villain looked back, terror piercing him at the sight of All Might’s smile. “I am here!”
“What. The. Fuck.” Awase said, simply.
“That’s… that’s impossible. He… he looked like he…” Kendo was lost for words.
“SHITTING SHIT!!!”
Back at Aldera, the class seemed to have ended. Midoriya was scrolling on his phone, smiling, looking happy again. He moved to put his notebook in his backpack but then it was snatched out of his hand by Bakugou. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Deku, but we’re not done.”
“Don’t tell me you’re taking notes on how to be a hero,” one of Bakugou’s two flunkies laughed at the sight of Midoriya’s ‘Hero Analysis for the Future No. 13’ notebook. “That’s so pathetic!”
“Pathetic. PATHETIC!” Monoma raised his voice in anger.
“He’s delusional,” mocked the other.
Midoriya looked between the two and Bakugo as they picked on him. “Yeah, real funny guys. Just give it back.” Bakugo slammed the notebook between his fists, making an explosion that torched Midoriya’s pride as the boy made a distressing wail before whimpering, “That’s so mean…”
“HOW DARE YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!” Monoma lunged at the screen, snarling with a panther. Kendo went to use her Quirk to grab him and hold him back, but nothing happened.
“I… can’t use my Quirk!” She yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. Vlad tried to eject some blood but found he couldn’t either. Others in the room tried using their own Quirks but for the most part nothing happened.
“Aww, no mushroom buddies,” Komori cried.
“My quirk still seems active for the most part,” Shiozaki said, showing she could still control the vines that made up her hair. “But I can’t detach them from my body.”
“You know if you really want to be a hero that badly there actually might be another way.”
Everyone’s attention returned to the screen in surprise. Was Bakugou just a softy underneath all the pride and shouting?
“Just pray that you’ll be born with a quirk in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof of the building.”
There was silence and then uproars of jeering and anger. If looks could kill, Bakugou would have likely suffered a worse fate than those hit by the first Atomic Bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “SHUT UP!” Shinso yelled. Silence again, as his Quirk still worked and put the entire theatre under his control. The purple-haired insomnia was taken aback and released his control immediately.
“What the fuck was that?” Awase asked.
“That was so…chilling… calming… relaxing,” Reiko said.
“It was my Quirk, I can still use it,” Shinso said, “And now you all hate me.”
“Huh, why would we hate you?” Kendo asked, confused.
“Because of my Quirk, Brainwashing. It’s… villainous.”
“Shit,” Vlad thought, “Midoriya’s not the only one who needs therapy.”
“Again, why would we hate you?” Kendo asked. “Just because your Quirk is different, doesn’t mean it is inherently good or evil. It's not a Quirk that makes someone a villain Shinso, it’s their choices and actions that do.” Shinso was taken aback, surprised that she didn’t hate him.
“Yeah, and if anyone in our school thinks otherwise, I’ll kick their asses,” Kamakiri said.
“Here here.”
“Me too.”
“Same.”
“We’ve gone off topic again, but I’m not complaining,” Shouda said.
Midoriya was walking along the grounds at the base of the school, fortunately not up on the roof. ‘Idiot’ he thought. ‘You can’t go around telling people to kill themselves. What if I’d really jumped? What would he do then?’ Given the angry tone of his thoughts, it seemed like jumping was not an option he’d seriously considered.
“Thank the lord, I don’t think I could’ve taken that well,” Shiozaki said.
“Yeah, keep pushing forward, noodles!” Hatsume yelled.
Midoriya spotted the tossed-away notebook in the pond, some koi nibbling at its pages. ‘My dreams have turned into fish food.’ “That’s enough, give it back!” he scolded the fish, emotion thickening his voice. “Dammit…”
The scene changed again, this time to an apartment where a woman with long green hair was washing up when a young Midoriya appeared. “C’mon, mom! It’s computer time!”
“So cute,” Everyone thought.
“Already?” she asked her son with an amused smile, and turned to turn the tap off.
Izuku’s mother finished with the computer as she stood next to the chair her son was sitting in, her voice having sounded a little worried while she humoured the boy even as she stood next to him with a slight smile. Teenage Midoriya began narrating over his younger self’s excited expression as the kid leaned forward towards the monitor. “The video I loved was an old one. Disaster footage from a long time ago. But more importantly, it was the debut of the greatest hero the world has ever known.”
“It’s All-Might’s debut video, well his Japanese debut at least,” Shouda realised.
“Fear not citizens! Hope has arrived! Because I am here!”
“He’s the coolest in the universe!” child Midoriya cheered. “And once I get my quirk, I’m gonna be a hero just like him!” Midoriya started to laugh in an All Might imitation after his declaration while his mom looked on in worry.
“Oh wow, he’s such a dork,” Tokage said.
“He’s adorable,” Reiko commented.
“ADORKABLE!” They both yelled. A few of the others chuckled.
The scene shifted to a doctor’s office, with a bald glasses-wearing doctor with a bottle-brush moustache sitting lackadaisical in a chair. “Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen. You will have to give up.”
“Oh dear,” Inko Midoriya said, placing her hand on Izuku’s frozen back after his toy clattered to the ground from his limp hand. “So you really think there’s something wrong, then? Most of the other kindergarteners in his class have begun to show signs already.”
“This is just confirming our suspicions already, Midoriya’s Quirk manifested late,” Kendo said.
“That certainly does not excuse that man’s terrible attitude to Sir Midoriya, Ms Kendo,” Jurota said.
“I agree with Mr Beast here,” Kamakiri said, “Not even my Quirk counsellor was that fucking terrible of a person, though obviously, their competency might be lacking somewhat, as we know with what photocopier revealed.”
“I think me and Mei are missing some context,” Shinso said.
“Monoma’s copy ability works similar to that used in the Mega-Man games,” Kendo said, “While copying a person’s Quirk, Monoma can also scan the host body, even from a small touch and for only a second or less. He used it on Komori and there were some… revelations about her Quirk.” Hatsume purred in interest.
The on-screen conversation continued with Dr Ujiko asking Inko what her Quirk and her husband’s Quirk are and after explaining that Izuku should have manifested either of those, a grandparent’s Quirk or a combination of the two Quirks, explained how early research from the dawn of Quirks showed that most often people with Quirks have a single-jointed pinkie toe while Quirkless people had two.
“That research is horribly outdated,” Monoma said, “I have two toe-joints.”
“Same,” Hatsume blurted out, without thinking. She mentally slapped herself for running with her mouth as usual.
Later, Izuku was watching All-Might’s debut video again. He asked his parents if he could be a hero like All-Might. They just hugged him, crying into the night. “No mom, dad. That’s not what I needed you to say.”
“...My world was crumbling,” teenage Midoriya narrated over the image of his fallen All Might toy. “There was only one thing I wanted to hear.” The scene returned to the “present” as Aldera Midoriya walked home from school, holding his burnt hero notebook in his hand as he stood beneath a pedestrian tunnel with a sign saying ‘Watch your head’ above it. “I made a decision that day. No matter what anyone else thinks, I have to believe in myself, and I’ll keep smiling, just like him!” Midoriya screwed a smile onto his face, and started to laugh like All Might as he headed into the tunnel.
“I’d follow this kid all the way, past any obstacle,” Tokage declared.
“Victory is born from battling adversity. We must all struggle with our own darkness, and overcome it to become true heroes,” Reiko said.
Sludge rose up behind Midoriya. The sound made the young man stop laughing and turn around as the amorphous form of the villain towered over him.
“Oh shit!”
“Midoriya!” Hatsume cried.
“You’ll make a perfect skinsuit for me to hide in, kid!”
“I can’t watch this,” Shiozaki said as the villain engulfed Midoriya and attempted to take over his body.
‘No way, this can’t be the end,’ Midoriya thought as his vision started to fade, eyes catching sight of a drawing of a hero in his notebook. ‘Somebody… help!'
The manhole cover within the tunnel flew up into the air.
The sludge villain turned around, and his eyes widened in shock, mortified at the sight in front of him. The camera panned to the side, revealing…“All Might!”
“Have no fear, young one, you’re safe now.” He stomped his foot down, dust rising from the concrete as the first bars of the same heroic music from his debut video started up with the introductory strings. “Because I am here! TEXAAAS… SMASH!” He threw his fist forward, a torrent of wind blowing the sludge villain away.
“I can’t… hold… together!”
His fluid body scattered, leaving Midoriya free of the villain. His eyes barely fluttered open, consciousness still fading from having suffocated from the villain’s brutal attack. ‘Is that… All Might?’
Midoriya’s vision went black.
There was a moment of silence as everyone took time to process what had happened. Then…
“THAT WAS SO FUCKING COOL!”
“SO MANLY.”
“Thank the lord.”
“YEAH, go All-Might!”
“Such power. IMAGINE WHAT HE COULD DO IF HE HAD ONE OF MY BABIES!!!”
“Very impressive, Toshinori.”
The screen came back, showing All Might repeatedly slapping Midoriya’s cheek. “Hey! Wake up! Hey!”
There was silence and then there was laughter.
“For god's sake Toshinori, that’s not how you bring someone back from unconsciousness.”
Midoriya’s eyes opened fully, taking in the sight of All Might standing over him. “Thought we’d lost you there.” He screamed in response.
Everyone in the room laughed at Midoriya’s reaction, even an unseen person at the front. Well, mostly unseen; Reiko could see the vague shape of a woman sitting in front of her, on the end of the front row, next to Tokage. Her eyes widened.
“I didn’t mean to get you caught up in my justicing. Usually, I pay more attention to keeping bystanders safe, but it turns out this city’s sewer system is pretty difficult to navigate!” He laughed. “Anyway, you were a big help. Thank you. I’ve captured the evildoer!” All Might posed, showing the villain contained within the two plastic pop bottles that had been in his shopping bag. Stars and stripes appeared all over the screen.
Everyone continued to laugh. “Talk about a large ham,” Kamakiri wheezed out to Tokage between chuckles.
“I know right? It’s so campy but I love it,” his seatmate replied with her signature mischievous grin.
‘The greatest hero of the entire world, All Might. The All Might’ Midoriya was still freaking out. ‘The real thing. In the flesh. Standing right in front of me. He looks so much taller in person!’
“He’s exactly the same,” Awase blurted out.
Midoriya shook his head clearly as he realised something. “Holy crap! I need to get an autograph! I’ve got a pen around here somewhere!” He gasped, catching sight of his Hero Analysis notebook. “Please sign my notebook!” Midoriya picked it up and opened it. All Might had already done his best John Hancock imitation, his signature covering two whole blank pages of the book. Again, Midoriya freaked out.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This will be an heirloom, passed down from generation to generation!”
The volume in the room tripled. “A family heir…” Hatsume couldn’t finish as she sputtered from the ridiculousness of the scene.
“He is such a dork. I LOVE IT!” Tokage yelled.
“Welp! I’ve gotta get this guy to the police so they can take care of him,” All Might said, patting the pocket in his pants where he’d secured one of the bottles with the villain. He turned away from Midoriya. “Stay out of trouble. See you around.”
Midoriya broke out of his fanboying moment. “Wait, you’re leaving already?”
“Pro Heroes are constantly fighting time as well as enemies,” his idol answered as he limbered up.
‘He can’t go yet,’ thought Midoriya. ‘There are still so many questions I have to ask him.’
A moment of realisation dawned on Hatsume’s face. “He wants to ask if he could be a hero without a Quirk.”
All Might launched into the sky in a powerful jump. “Thanks for your continued support! Huh…” He saw that Midoriya had latched onto his legs.
The laughter exploded again. “This is getting ridiculous!”
“Midoriya is incredibly reckless. I’m going to have to inform Aizawa and have him help Midoriya tone it down a little, aren’t I?” Vlad felt so done with this.
All Might coughed, a bit of blood leaking out past his clenched teeth. ‘Shit!’
The tone immediately soured and everyone remembered the form All Might had been before chasing the Sludge Villain. Was this related to it? What had happened? How could the invincible symbol of peace look like someone who belonged in the ICU?
All Might and Midoriya landed on the roof of an office building. Midoriya looked like he might pass out again or turn into a zombie, whichever was more natural. “I just saw my whole life flash before my eyes.”
“Yeah, I bet it did, Curly Green the 2nd,” Kamakiri said.
“Curly Green the 2nd?” Tokage repeated.
“You’re Curly Green the 1st.”
All Might pressed his fists to his hips. “Not a very smart move,” he firmly stated to get his scolding across. “Bang on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now, I have to go. See you on the flip side.”
“Can you be a hero without a Quirk?”
Silence. Hatsume smiled softly.
All Might stopped; frozen in place in surprise.
“I’m a normal kid without any powers,” Midoriya continued. “Could I ever hope to be someone like you?”
The music swelled as All Might half-turned at his words to look back at Midoriya. “Meeting All Might was a dream come true,” Narrator Midoriya stated. “A real miracle. Standing in front of me was the hero I’d idolised most of my life. I didn’t realise it at the time, but that chance encounter would change the course of my future.”
An ending theme started, showing the notebook open to a drawing that most now somewhat recognized, the original depiction of Midoriya’s hero costume.
“It's over,” said Vlad.
“Only the first episode,” said Manga, “I have a feeling we will need to watch more.”
“Indeed, you will,” an unfamiliar voice said. Eyes widened and bodies froze in place as a woman appeared before them. She had light-mid brown skin, light blue eyes with a tint of purple at the edge of her irises and long, curly chestnut brown hair. She had a tall, petite figure with round, B cup breasts and strong, muscular thighs. She was wearing dark makeup; black, dark blue and midnight purple nail polish, on sharpened, wolf-like nails that complimented her black lipstick and black eye makeup. She wore a black, one piece suit that seemed to shine in the lights and was skin-tight. She also wore black mesh, fingerless gloves and thigh high heeled boots made of the same material as her suit. She had a spiked choker around her neck and studded bracelets on her wrists. She had a black hoddie tied around her waist which had a moon symbol on the back and strange characters down the arms. She looked at them with a small smile, sharp wolf-like canines flashing amongst her damaged, yellowed teeth.
“Greetings, Class-1B. I am Artemis and welcome to the Lotus.” The windows on either side of the screen brightened to reveal:
“WE’RE IN SPACE!”