Izuku woke up as if was any other day, rolling out of bed. Literally. He fell on the floor, and his cheek connected with the floorboards, painfully. (So, no levitation, endurance, weight boost, etc.) He then got up and tried lifting his bed. (No superstrength.) A hop. (No jump boost.) Laser eyes? (Nope.) Overall, nothing remarkable.

Or, in this world, unremarkable. Everyone around Izuku had a quirk, yet he was the only one who didn't. He tested positive for the quirk gene, but he had never developed one. But, unbeknownst to him, that was going to change today.

000

On the walk home from school, Izuku saw the old abandoned subway tunnel, a hangout for his schools delinquents. But what caught his eye was not simply that. There was no light coming from the entrance. usually, lanterns in the tunnel cast an orange glow that would be noticeable, even in daylight, but the lights were out today. Then he heard a scream. He thought for only a second before running into the tunnel, grabbing his phone, and turning on the flashlight. The small beam cast along the ground, finding nothing but litter and the occasional near-empty vape pod. after a bit of walking, the beam got suddenly shut off, the battery dying.

I knew I should have charged it during lunch. But that didn't matter much, because a bright explosion lit up the tunnel just a few moments later.

"Get off me you bi-" an irate voiced shouted for a few seconds before cutting off abruptly. Izuku recognised that voice. "Kacchan!? was that you? What's going on!?"

She responded a bit later "Nothing's wrong, just a spider. What are you doing down here?"

This surprised Izuku, as if he ever tried speaking to her in school, she'd either threaten to blast his head off or just tell him to shut up.

"Really? why are you down here in the first place?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I came in 'cuz I heard a scream, and wanted to make sure nothing sketchier than usual was going on."

"Nah, it's fine, just go away."

"Well, I can't exactly see anything, plus I don't think that anything is fine. I heard a scream up there, and it damn well sounded like you."

"It was nothing."

Katsuri's words were clipped, almost like she was trying to save her breath.

"Kacchan, just be honest with me. And please, turn on a light."

"Alright."

A huge explosion illuminated the tunnel once again, and Izuku heard Katsuri yelling "Run for it!" They both bolted out of the tunnel, and Izuku felt something on his heels the whole time.