(A/N: Attempt #3 at this f*cking story. Hopefully this one is the one I stick with. I'm staying with the vigilante theme. The reason I'm trying again... is because I thought the first chapter and the second chapter I was writing sounded awkward. So hopefully I can do it this time. For the love of everything good in this world, hopefully I can get it right this time.)
*Midoriya's P.O.V*
Pat* *Pat* *Pat* "Haah... haah..." I muttered as I looked around the corner, "Lost them..." I muttered.
"Took you long enough... whatever happened to the whole 'Stick to the Shadows' thing?" The voice I know all too well said in my right ear. My good friend and trusty companion, Melissa Shield said.
"Things happen." I said as I climbed up onto the roof from the fire escape, "But that doesn't matter... I got him." I said.
"Nice... he had it coming for a long time." She commented, "Alright return home... we can celebrate then figure out what's next."
"Rodger that." I said as I started traversing the roof tops.
I've been a vigilante for a little while, a month actually. It all started with when I came into this world. Dad left the moment my mom said she was pregnant, mom died about 30 minutes after I was born, and I was an orphan for a while. Bastard, cursed child, orphan, and the icing on the cake? Quirkless. Every bad thing that could happen to a child happened to me. Now I was adopted, which was about the best thing that could have happened at the time. Key word being... at the time. Turns out, I was adopted by some drug addict dirt bags who for some reason wanted a kid. A reason I never asked out of fear that it will blow up in my face. So I pushed my way through that heck hole until High School came around. Before we get to that, let's talk about Junior High. If I could describe how it went in a sentence, it'd be, 'Running laps through hell'. It seemed that the rest of the world seemed to have forgotten how to raise their kids properly, because it was constant bullying about me being Quirkless... I didn't tell them about the other stuff, the last thing I wanted was them having more ammo to fire back at me. So I turned the other cheek and took it like a man, because I had two things left, my hopes and dreams.
I have a dream to become a hero, not just any hero... the #1 hero, but one thought plagued my mind, I was Quirkless. Meaning that I didn't have a special power like almost all the world has, but that didn't destroy my resolve. What did destroy my resolve, was when the current #1 Hero, and my idol, All Might told me to my face, that I can't possibly hope to be a hero, and that I should become a police officer or something along those lines.
Now, at the time I was depressed, crushed even. The one thing that was keeping me from jumping off the school roof was being told I could still become a hero to prove everyone wrong. I thought there was no hope for me, that I needed a flashy power to have any hope of becoming a hero. Then I found this comic from America. Thanks to my A in English I could pretty much read what it was about. It told the story of a man named 'Bruce Wayne' and how he became a superhero without any powers, just some gadgets and natural strength. Now that got me thinking, that maybe I could be like him. Now I may not have lost my parents to a creepy clown villain, but still, I could be a hero in my own way.
Now that explains the 'Why', time to tell you the 'How'. How I became a vigilante, well at first I had nothing. I was on my last year of Junior High... I decided as a bit of a joke and for the fact that the Universe has given me so much garbage that it had to balance out eventually, that I would take the U.A's entrance exams. Then the teacher intentional or otherwise, decided to announce that to the class, and now I was laughed at... thanks, really appreciate it. Now I'm not stupid, I would get killed if I took the exam for the heroes course, so I decided on the general course. Now I had 10 months to do whateve; study, train, pray, whatever. I decided as a mix of training and a public service that will probably go unnoticed, I decided to clean up the beach turned dump. It served as a good workout, a bunch of random pieces of trash, different shapes and sizes, working different parts of the body. All the while training with a metal pole I found in the rubble. Fast forward 10 months, the beach is spotless, and all the trash was piled onto the parking lot for the garbage people to deal with. Satisfied with my work I decided to head home after some more training. Which went on for a while, until it was almost dusk. My parents didn't care when I made it home, so long I came home, so I decided to get something to eat, as a celebration for cleaning and for the exam being tomorrow morning. That's when it all went wrong yet right at the same time. I was heading home after a good meal, when I heard a voice.
"Let go!" the voice exclaimed... sounded like a girl.
Another voice was too slurred to make out... but I decided to investiate. There was a girl who looked around my age if not slightly older, with blonde hair, getting assaulted by a red in the face man. I assume drunk. Regardless I need to help.
"Hey!" I yelled which got both of their attention. "Let her go." I said.
He saw through me, let go of the girl to walk towards me, "Or what?" He asked as claws shot out of his knuckles, must be his Quirk. He slashed me across the chest, but I took it and hit him square in the face with my fist. Thanks to him being drunk and my training, he was knocked out. However I noticed there was blood on my fist, at the time I was scared out of my everything. I punched a man and I was going to jail for it, was what I thought. So I bolted out of there before the victim could get a good look at me.
"Wait!" I heard her yell but I didn't stay for her to see my face.
Now the next day, I took the exam with a mix of fear and anticipation. I aced the written part, and passed the practical even with being Quirkless. Not that the practical part was all that hard anyway. Anyway I was heading home... then I saw a red haired kid talking to his friends whilst walking towards the front. I listened in close behind them.
They were talking about the news yesterday, about a person knocking out a drunk assaulter. Once I heard the word 'Knocking Out' all the stress left my body, I didn't kill him so I'm good. They then proceeded to talk about the girl I saved telling the news and police what had happened, as far as I could tell from what they said, she didn't seemed to have seen me and anything about me.
Once the story was over, I heard... approval and praise. Granted it was two people, but hey it's better than no one. Now it was a few weeks before I got my confirmation that I was going to U.A, so during that time I was doing patrols at night. I learned from the first night to be more careful with who I am, so I stole one of my adopted mom's shades, then I stole a leather jacket, a beanie, and a bandana from my adoptive father. They confronted me about it, but I lied through my teeth about it, they didn't believe me but they gave up after about 30 minutes of back and forth. So and I managed to bust a few assaults, and soon my name... well more so image was getting around. News was saying there is a new vigilante running around. Heroes hate me but from walking around the town, people have some positive reviews. I got my acceptence letter to U.A, and everything started looking up.
Then... the world decided that I was doing too well and decided to bring me back down a peg.
Literally my first day of school, I was stopped in the hallway, "Hey you." A person behind me said, I turned to see a girl... the same girl I saved from my first 'patrol' even though it wasn't really a patrol, it was just convinent happenstance.
I habitually turned around seeing no one behind me, before responding, "Y-Yes?" I asked.
Then she looked around before facing me, "I need to talk to you, can you come with me?" She asked.
Normally one wouldn't follow a complete stranger... but she was a student here so it shouldn't be too bad. I followed her to a secluded part of school. "So what did you need?" I asked.
Then she asked a question... one I was not ready to answer, "Are you that same guy who saved me from a drunk assaulter?" She asked.
I tensed up... but expressed confusion. The last thing I want is for someone to bust me when I just started, "No, what would make you think that?" I asked.
"Well, when the man started to run from the scene, his entire head of hair was revealed... green and wavy just like yours." She said.
"T-That's just a convinent coincidence." I said... with a guilty sounding stuttered... but she appeared to not be done.
"Well, if that's not convincing, then for the split second he turned to face the street light... I saw freckles, 4 in a diamond shape, like yours. And green eyes... like yours." She said.
'Freaking Genetics!' I exclaimed in my head, "S-Still that's not proof." I said.
She sighed, "Alright, I'll prove it 100%." She said as she grabbed the hem on my shirt.
"H-Hey wha-"
She lifted it up all the way... revealing the scratch on my chest. "I saw the man get a slash across his chest. Now where did you get a slash this big? And don't say you fell, because that's pretty much impossible." She said.
... She has got me. "... Fine." I answered, "I'm the vigilante."
Her eyes widened at the information, "I just wanted to see if you were the guy who saved me from the drunk... but no way you're that vigilante?" She asked.
... Before you ask, it still baffles me now how dumb I was saying that, "Y-Yeah... I am." I said, seeing there was no point in lying now.
"B-But how? Why?" She asked, completely shocked by the information.
"I'll just answer the why." I said, "All of this started when I was told, by a pro hero I admired mind you, that I couldn't become a hero because I'm Quirkless." I said which caused her shocked expression to soften into something like sympathy, "Needless to say I was crushed, the one thing that was keeping me going was now taken. It was when I read a comic book, that I decided to be a vigilante." I said.
She looked at me with absolute disbelief, "Y-You can't be serious."
"I am half serious, there were many other factors. The comic book was one of them, sure it was fiction, but it made me think that I could do it. The other was the fact that I was Quirkless... I was told that I needed a Quirk to become a hero... which angered me. Not just because it crushed my dream... but it was a stupid status quo. Just because you have a flashy power doesn't mean you can't help people. I want to show the world that Quirkless can get the job done. Now the final reason..." I said before taking a seat on the bench, "Sit down... this is a long tragedy that is my life."
She took a seat next to me, and I told her everything. Again, telling your life story to a complete stranger seemed like a bad idea... but what the heck, I could use a little venting. After hearing the Shakespearean Tragedy that was my upbringing she was stunned silence. "I-I'm sorry..." Was all she said.
"Don't apologize, you didn't have anything to do with it." I said, "So... what do you plan to do?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, you can either pretend this conversation never happened, or turn me in to the police and pros, who hate me for stealing their work for the sake of 'vigilantism'." I said.
"... Well how about option three." She said, which confused me, "I can help you-"
"No." I said.
"Why not?" She asked.
"Because associating yourself with a vigilante is a bad idea. You'll have no chance of becoming a pro if you do-"
"I can't be a hero." She said.
That's when I realized what she meant by that.
"I'm Quirkless as well. The only difference is that I abandoned my goal of becoming a hero to become like my father." She explained, "I'm a part of the support course, but what you told me, and the reason why you're doing this." She said, "You can become a Symbol of Hope. For Quirkless people everywhere... you're doing a good job so far." She said with a thankful smile, "So instead think of this as a 'Thank you' from me for saving me. By letting me upgrade your terrible excuse of gear." She snarked.
I would have rebutted... but she was 100% right on the gear.
That is how Melissa Shield and I partnered up. She was my eyes in the sky telling me where to go and what to do if I need it. Thanks to her setting up her own personal camera system all across the immediate areas like Dagobah, Hosu, Kamino, and Mustafu, all in a few days no less... She also designed my gear, a helmet... which was a literal biker helmet that was upgraded to heck and back. It has a communications device, a fan which was very considerate, and a visor which was an entirely black on the outside, but was a screen on the inside, it has 3 different functions; Viewing Mode which allowed me to view normally, X-Ray Mode which will allow me to see how many people there are even through walls, and Binocular Mode which is binoculars that allows me to zoom for better viewing. Next was my outfit. She said I had to be stealthy above all else, so she gave me one of her black leather jackets, that she got from her home town. It no longer fit her, the perks of being a little bit shorter. She also gave me a vest that she was making for the police. It was bullet proof, with Quirks or otherwise. Immune to sharp objects, again Quirk or other wise. Heat and Fire resistant, shock proof. After that she took me late night shopping for two black baggy pants,another jacket in case my current one I currently have gets torn up, and black sneakers. I offered to pay... but she insisted. "Do you happen to have... 13,000 yen?" She asked.
That's when it hit me that I was flat broke. "No..." I muttered with shame.
"There you are." She said as she paid for all the items.
Anyway back to the armor. The only the vest isn't good for is physical attacks, not that those will be a problem, especially with the new toy she made me a little while ago. Melissa made me these arm braces that will allow me to withstand any blow, they are so durable that they could take 3 full punches from All Might before breaking. So long I don't get in a fight with him, I should be able to withstand anything, they even came in black to match the jacket.
But, le pièce de résistance was my weapons. One for foes who prefer long range, and one for those who love close combat. The close combat method is my detatchable staff with an activatable stun baton at the ends of it. Should the target be weak against electrical attacks I could use that. As for long range... a stun gun with adjustable voltage, a basic weapon but it doesn't have to be flashy, just needs to get the job done. The stun gun is meant to not be lethal, there is a way to adjust it depending on the target. It only has 3 settings, short or thin, average height and weight, and tall and bulky people. It even has pictures so even I can't mess it up.
As for the staffs, they can be used as stun batons, but as Melissa said they should be used as a last resort. Which can be activated with a push of a button.
Anyway enough with reminiscing about the past, Melissa is waiting for me to celebrate. I stood on the roof of our apartment. I took off the helmet, the jacket, the vest, detatched the staff, and stuffed it all into my backpack. Then I decended down the fire escape until I made it to our apartment. Thank goodness that her room has this fire escape. I tapped the window three times before she let me in.
"I smell a mission accomplished." I said as I set my stuff underneath my bed.
"Did you leave the note?" She asked.
"Yup, 'Quirkless, we get the job done -Night Shot' Brilliant! Awesome name by the way." I praised which she rubbed the back of her head.
"It was spur of the moment, the mantra was all yours." She complimented back.
We celebrated with Cola and small rice cakes. Once we were finished we decided to discuss our next move.
"Look, small time villains are good, they helped get your name out there, causing the villains to think twice... but as far as I could tell, the crime rate hasn't dropped." She said looking at her computer she modified to heck and back.
"So, we need to step up our game." I said.
"Bingo... and I know just the guy." She said as she pulled up an article.
"No way... isn't that suicide?" I asked.
"He has killed many pro heroes, and mortally wounded some of them. This mission will be hard and dangerous... but he is just as bad roaming the streets at night." She responded, "... But think of the publicity, 'A Lowly Vigilante, take down Hero Killer'. The name Night Shot will be talked about for ages." She added.
That is true, we would be popular, but above all else, I want this Hero Killer to be taken down, that will send a ripple effect across Japan. "Alright, I'm in." I said.
"Awesome... which reminds me." She said as she brought up her camera system, "So from what I've seen, the Hero Killer was last seen... in Hosu, will he strike there again? Worth a look." She said.
"Got it... I'll patrol there tomorrow." I said before yawning, "But for now... I'll take a quick shower and head to bed."
"Hold on, did you do your homework?!" Melissa yelled.
"Yeah, I have to keep my cover." I said before washing off the tiredness in my body.
Once that was over I changed into sleeping wear and laid in my bed. So far so good... and if I can pull this one off, the name 'Night Shot' will be all over the news.
Believe it or not... I can't wait.
End of Chapter