Chapter Text
Takoba Municipal Beach Park. In its glory days, the beach was a picturesque escape for citizens of Musutafu and its neighboring districts, boasting of a splendid shoreline overlooking the sparkling blue waters of the bay.
Today, it was anything but. Mountains upon mountains of garbage were heaped upon its grounds. Broken and dilapidated machines, smashed wooden crates, tires and furniture were littered haphazardly across its expanse. It was as if all the garbage trucks decided to dump the entirety of their waste in this one spot.
Standing at the entrance of the beach, Izuku Midoriya stared up at the mountain of garbage before him.
"Without power, can one become a hero?" All Might had said, looking straight into Izuku's soul with those beady eyes. "No, I should think not."
Izuku tied a rope around a refrigerator jutting from the pile and heaved, trying to drag it free.
"If you think you'll have a quirk in your next life..." Kacchan had told him at school. "Go take a swan dive off the roof!"
The fridge finally gave, falling onto the sand with a loud crash.
"I'm sorry, Izuku," his mother had told him through tears when he was only a small child. "I'm sorry!"
Izuku dusted off the dirt and grime from the refrigerator and grimaced when a rotting stench wafted out of it.
"I can do this," he said, mustering a smile to try and encourage himself.
It had been a week since the sludge villain attacked him, the encounter where All Might himself had come to save him. In that same encounter, he'd told the hero of his childhood dream, his hopes of one day saving people as a pro hero despite being quirkless. The man he'd admired his whole life, the pinnacle of justice, had told him he would never become a hero. That he could never be a hero without powers.
And then he'd left. The number one hero, walking off the rooftop without so much as a smile to give.
But Izuku refused to believe him. Quirk or not, he wanted to become a hero anyway. So what if he could never be as good as heroes with powers? If it meant he could save even one person, he would keep striving towards that goal.
"O-okay!" Izuku steeled himself. "If All Might won't give me a chance, then I'll become strong by myself!"
With that declaration, Izuku pulled on the rope tied around the refrigerator and started dragging it away from the pile.
The plan he had devised was simple, if a little insane: clean up Takoba Beach by himself. That way, he would build up muscle and get fit for U.A. High School's entrance exam, all in one go. He'd started a week ago, and so far, the beach hadn't changed much, if at all. Working at it only after school meant it would take a long while, but he'd get there, even if it killed him.
Alongside the strength training, he started jogging every morning before school. Every day, he ran from one end of the beach to the other, slowly increasing the laps he ran over time. His mother worried at the lack of sleep he was getting, and begged him to get some rest.
"It's only until I enter U.A., Mom," he'd told her. "I'll take all the breaks I want when I'm there, I promise."
At the mention of U.A., her expression would turn conflicted. Izuku pretended not to notice. She wanted to believe in him, he knew. But they both understood the odds; a quirkless kid getting into U.A.'s hero course was close to impossible. Still, that was fine with him, as long as there was even the slightest possibility. He was fine with trying and failing. If he never tried at all, he'd have failed before he began.
As he began pulling the refrigerator again, a loud boom shook him out of his trance.
He looked around to try and find the source of the explosion. Maybe some heroes were dealing with villains somewhere nearby? There sure were a lot of villain attacks recently--
Another explosion interrupted him and he covered himself reflexively as smoke and debris came raining down on him. He fell. His back collided with the sand, hard, forcing the oxygen out of his lungs.
No, wait, the oxygen had been forced out of his lungs because someone had landed on top of him. Two mounds of soft flesh were pressed right on Izuku's chest. They felt warm.
...Wait, what?
Izuku dared to peek out with one eye. Immediately, a flush spread across him from head to toe.
Right on top of him was a girl around the same age as he was, her face framed with thick, pink dreadlocks. Two golden eyes were looking down at him. Her pupils had a curious crosshair pattern that he'd never seen on anyone before. Was that related to her quirk? He hoped it had nothing to do with killing, but the girl was grinning like some kind of malevolent demon. Oh god, he was going to die here.
"Hey!" the girl exclaimed. "I think you can be of use!"
Without warning, the girl reached a hand down to grab the collar of Izuku's shirt and hefted him up to stand before her.
"Whoa!" Her strength caught him completely off guard.
"You look like you're in the right age range, so you must be in junior high!" Her grin got wider. "You must have a lot of free will by now! Right? I can totally count on you!"
The girl extended a hand, calloused and stained, a few bruises scattered across the knuckles. In fact, her whole body was like that; even her face had smudges of oil on it. She wore what looked like an old, oversized jumpsuit with countless pockets lining the sides, filled with what he assumed to be various tools and implements for mechanics. A big pair of goggles sat on her forehead.
"S-sorry?" He shook the hand. The girl's grip was firm.
"I'm Mei Hatsume!" She didn't let go of Izuku's hand. "Future CEO of Hatsume Industries! Right now, though, I really need a guinea pig to test out my new baby! What do you say?"
Her face was so close he was starting to feel dizzy.
"Baby?" Izuku squeaked.
"Yes!" Mei said with excitement. "Oh, right! You're probably confused right now, so let me tell you all about it! My baby is a state-of-the-art high-mobility personal propulsion gear!"
Before Izuku knew it, he was dragged by the hand toward another pile of junk where a large... thing sat. The pile of junk had been flattened under the bulk of whatever this contraption was.
"Behold!" Mei said, spreading her arms wide. "I present to you... The Turbo-Mobilizer Mark Zero!"
The Turbo-Mobilizer Mark Zero was a mess of various pipes and cables. The main bulk of the machine consisted of a large barrel that pointed forward, attached to an iron platform on the ground, which had handles sticking out of the sides. Straps dangled on the sides, likely to attach to the user's arms and legs. A giant fan protruded from the back.
"Wow," Izuku managed.
Mei giggled. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? This baby was made specifically for speed, with the capacity for full maneuverability and high-jumping! With this, anyone can feel like they're soaring through the skies like a pro hero! Doesn't that make you excited?"
While speaking, she had gotten uncomfortably close to Izuku once again. He had to back up in order to put a healthy amount of personal space between them.
"Um, you built all of this yourself?"
"That's right!" She grinned at him. "But I need a guinea pig to test this baby out for me, and I think you're the right guy for the job!"
"Wait, wait." Izuku held up a hand. "What about the explosions from earlier?"
"Oh! Those were different babies, my Rocket Thruster Arms!" Mei pouted, kicking a small metal canister from a pile of junk nearby. It bounced a few times and fell onto the sand. "I was testing them out earlier, and the propellant canisters I installed into them were faulty. A shame. The babies performed well for about a few seconds."
A shame, indeed. "I don't know if I want to test this one out, then..."
"Don't worry!" Mei patted him on the back, which felt like getting hit by a small car. "This one is totally safe! In theory."
Izuku had serious doubts. The Turbo-Mobilizer Mark Zero was covered in scratches and dents, like it had already survived several crashes.
"Actually, um..." he began.
A girl was asking him for help. Izuku had never had a girl ask him for anything before. If it were one of the girls from school, he'd probably have stuttered and let them laugh at him. This girl, though... he'd be a horrible person to just say no, wouldn't he? Helping her out, wasn't that kind of heroic? If All Might saw him do it, he'd probably be proud.
"I'd love to help you out!" he finally said, mustering the most heroic smile he could.
"Great!" She gave him a thumbs-up. "Now, just put on the harness and hold on tight! We're gonna do some test runs to see if it works as well as I imagined!"
Before he could react, Mei shoved him into the machine and yanked the straps tight around him. The front of the harness pressed down hard enough that he could barely breathe. There were so many belts. Were they all necessary?
Once Izuku was fully secure inside the contraption, Mei began pressing buttons on the machine's interface. Various beeps and clicks came out of it.
"Hm... let's see... thrust at... twenty-five percent power..." Mei mumbled as the Turbo-Mobilizer began to vibrate. "If I've done the math right..."
"Umm... Hatsume, was it?" Izuku called from within the contraption. He could only see the back of her head and the mess of pink dreadlocks. "What's this machine actually gonna do?"
"Excellent question!" She spun on her heel to face him. "We'll see!"
That... was vague.
He felt the ground beneath him rumble. Oh god, he was about to fly.
"Hey! W-wait!"
"Have fun!" She slapped a button on the interface and ducked away.
For one second, he was flying. Then Izuku crashed straight into a pile of garbage. The machine skidded across the ground, throwing up sand and trash before it finally stopped, leaving a sizeable dent in a broken car. His head spun from the whiplash, and it took a lot of effort to get the machine's straps off of him so he could peel himself out.
"Oh, crap! Sorry about that!" Mei called from afar.
He waved at her, signaling that he was okay. As far as crashes went, it could've been worse.
Mei ran over to where he'd crashed and helped him up. "How do you feel?"
"Like my head's going to explode." Izuku chuckled and held a hand up to it. "Ow."
"Hmm." Mei poked him in various places around his body, mumbling under her breath all the while. "You seem to be functioning properly."
Izuku tried to shy away from the poking, squirming when her finger caught him right under the ribs.
"Yep! Nothing broken!" Mei concluded, putting her fists on her hips. "That's a good sign! I was a little worried it'd break your bones and I'd be put in jail for it, y'know? I can't make any babies if I'm in jail, right?"
"Yeah, I guess..."
"Now!" Mei's eyes lit up again as she turned back to the Turbo-Mobilizer. "I'm gonna increase the thrust power by five percent, and then let's try again!"
"Already?" He felt like he needed a few minutes to let the world become stationary again.
"The sooner I'm done with these tests, the better!" Mei went around the machine, typing away on its interface. "Now, I need you to tell me all about the performance after you crash, alright?"
Izuku blinked. "What makes you so sure I'm going to crash?"
Seven crashes later, Izuku felt like he was about to fall over dead at any minute. His legs were wobbly from trying to control the machine, which would accelerate and decelerate with very little regard for inertia. By now, they'd settled into an awkward pattern where Izuku would go zooming around the beach for a bit, shouting at the top of his lungs, before he'd be sent careening into another pile of garbage.
After the latest one, which had been a very nasty collision with an old washing machine, Mei went over to him to help him out.
"How are the vibrations? Is the machine stable when turning at high speed?" Mei asked him.
"The turning isn't the problem." Izuku held up a hand, which was trembling. "It's the acceleration and the braking! There's so much recoil! I don't think the human body can handle it..."
"Hmm, I'll see if I can install some kind of cushioning, then," Mei said, already sketching in her notebook. "It's pretty much what I expected. This baby is made to be a speed demon. We can't have the best of everything."
"Yeah..." Izuku muttered.
At least it had been kind of fun? Even though he'd gotten injured multiple times and felt like he would throw up any minute now. This girl was absolutely crazy.
"Okay, we're done for the day." Mei hauled Izuku up on both feet and took both of his hands to shake them vigorously. "Your help was really appreciated, you should take this!"
Withdrawing one hand, Mei fished out a handful of money from one of the many pockets on her jumpsuit and pushed them onto Izuku.
"Uh." Izuku gaped at the amount of cash he'd been given. He was sure it was over 5000 yen, if the thickness of the wad was any indication. "You're paying me for helping you with your experiments?"
"That's right! Like I said, your assistance is appreciated, er..." Mei withdrew her other hand and scratched her chin. "What's your name?"
"Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya." He fidgeted with the money in his hands. "But, I mean, you don't really have to pay me or anything."
"Nonsense! Fair compensation is the most important part of being an employer! If my guinea pigs are well-compensated, then they'll help me again in the future! I think." Mei crossed her arms. "I haven't actually hired anyone before. If I'm going to be a good CEO in the future, though, I should get some practice now."
Good to know she had some business acumen.
"Um... thank you." Izuku stuffed the cash in his pocket. "Are you really building all of these to make money, then?"
"Making money's a secondary goal," Mei stated. "I really only care about making the greatest babies anyone has ever seen! As long as I have the funding to do that, I'm happy! Speaking of babies..."
Mei turned to the Turbo-Mobilizer, which was embedded halfway through the broken washing machine. The contraption sputtered, its fan spinning slowly in a feeble attempt to run again. It fell on its side with a loud clang, looking pitiful.
"Time to get you fixed up." Mei pulled out a small wrench from one of her pockets and started dismantling parts of the machine. "Well, Midoriya, I gotta get to work! You're free to leave if you want!"
"Right."
Izuku lingered awkwardly for a while, watching Mei take the machine apart with surgical focus. It was like the whole world disappeared around her when her mind was on a project.
As Izuku made to leave, he realized he hadn't really done any cleaning up on the beach today. Oh well, there was always next time.
"By the way, will you be here again tomorrow?" Mei abruptly called.
Izuku paused. "Y-yeah. I'm kind of... cleaning the place up. For now."
"Then, I'd like to hire you again!" She gave him a big thumbs-up without looking at him. "I'll make some more babies for you to test out! Maybe we could make babies together, if you have the skills for it!"
Izuku choked on air. Babies? What kind of... oh. She meant her inventions.
"I... don't think I'm really an inventor like you..." he muttered, face burning.
"Aw. Well, if you change your mind, let me know!" Mei exclaimed, now holding the large fan in her arms, trying to fit it in a bag that was too small for it.
"Sure."
After taking several deep breaths, Izuku peered back at the fridge he'd been trying to haul away before a girl fell on top of him. Well, there went today's training session. Maybe he'd double up tomorrow? For now, it was probably better to head home.