A green-haired woman found herself wandering aimlessly, yet she did not mind, for she had been wandering for a very long time. Problem was, eating a pizza while walking and holding a pizza box proved to be a challenging task, even for an immortal. The solution was simple: find a place to sit. But, there was no appealing bench nearby, so she continued wandering. Until she found herself at a park, with luscious green grass and five boys playing on the swing set in the playground. She sat the box down next to her, took out another slice, and continued happily munching away, thankful that Pizza Hut didn't go out of business following the war (seriously, the food chain seemed to be about as immortal as she was).

Her happy munching got interrupted by crying and shouting. One of the boys was standing up for another against three.

"You made him cry, Kacchan! If you don't stop, I'll... I'll... I'll stop you myself!"

The woman watched as two of the boys' various body parts morphed, and the third created a small explosion in his hands.

"With what powers, runt! You don't have a Quirk, so, how about we teach you a lesson about what happens to Quirkless boys who don't know their place!"

And so, she watched as the three boys mercilessly bloodied the boy who did the morally right thing, but had no power to defend it. When the fight was over, the bloodied and bruised boy picked himself up and started limping away, but not before noticing the green-haired woman. As they locked eyes, the woman could not help but feel sympathy in spite of his naïveté. It reminded her of another raven-haired teenager, a boy with good intentions but no way to act on them. Until he met her, that is.

Stage 1: The Day a New Hero was Born

Late. Again. That seemed to be a constant in Izuku's life when it came to getting to school. At least he would have an excuse, though he wasn't sure if anyone would believe "a Villain was holding up the train lines." And yet, he could not help but be mesmerized by the Villain's quirk, which, at first glance, seemed to be some form of gigantism. His admiration of those with Quirks grew even more when he saw the Villain's subduing at the masterful hands of a new Pro Hero, Kamui Woods.

At the same time, the young boy felt disparaged. He would never have any kind of power come to him as easily as they had it. No, Izuku Midoriya would have to work for his power. Because, no matter what others said, he would never lose hope that there would be some way for him to become a hero. So long as he remembered that crying boy's face from so many years ago, he would strive to make sure he would never see it again. But being a hero was for another time. Now, he had middle school, a.k.a. "the place to go when you want to be beat up by Kacchan" (judging from his own experience, anyway).

School came and went like every other day. Including the average beat-down by Kacchan. Of course, Kacchan never liked to be called that, as he much preferred his real name, Katsuki Bakugou. As such, the end result was another prat of his skin left slightly charred by Kacchan's antics.

As he walked home, Izuku thought of the best way to explain what happened to him today, seeing as 'I tripped' seemed to no longer suffice. As such, he chose to use the explanation "I got knocked over by a baseball in batting practice"? That would explain the arm bruise, then he could say the leg burn came from me sliding on the ground, mentally thanking the physical properties of friction for that. As much as he got annoyed with Bakugou's antics, Izuku still hung around him, as Bakugou would never truly maim or hurt him, and, should anyone threaten him, Kacchan would feel obligated to protect him as a way to prove his own superiority. Having solved that problem, his mind continued to muse about random events and happenings around him on his walk home.

His musing was short-lived, as a city-wide alert started. The target: a brown slime Villain with a hostage in tow. The location: the street Izuku was walking down on. As the Villain came into view, most people went into a panic and started running away. Izuku was not 'most people,' however. He started running after the Villain and conjuring up plans on getting the hostage out of his clutches. The Villain moved into an alley, and Izuku moved to follow. Had he been more careful and observant of his environment, he would have noticing the small boy in front of him. However, he wasn't until the last second. Upon finally seeing the boy, Izuku swerved out of the way and ran straight into the window of a shop next to the alley. The boy uttered a quick apology and ran off along with the rest of the crowd, at which point Izuku regained his senses and started running into the alley to catch up, but it was too late. The Villain was gone.

Izuku never gives up without a fight, so he continued down the alley, hoping to find some trace of the entity that created such a ruckus. The alley was dilapidated, as it had not been given post-war treatment yet. Government was too busy dealing with the constant influx of Villains. As he scoured, he came across a piece of rubble with a black glint reflecting out from underneath. Upon pulling a concrete slab off of it, he was able to see it in its entirety.

A black mask, the tempered glass in the center shattered to pieces. It didn't take long for him to recognize it, though he was amazed it didn't deteriorate more over the years. So, this is how it was like during the rebellion, Izuku mused. His history classes hadn't gotten there yet, they had only just reached the point of Napoleon's invasion into Britain, and its leaders' subsequent defection. However, he had done his fair share of research, and the articles were fascinating, with great debate on how the leader of said rebellion was able to pull off some of his most extreme schemes. Seeing as he couldn't take it home with him, Izuku opted to take a picture and put it back where it came from.

He came to a fork, and with no prior clues found, he chose randomly. He made a choice, and he stuck to it. And heard something that he wasn't expecting. Instead of hearing either the hostage's screams or something that sounded like a slime moving, he heard quiet mumbling.

"The drop point is roughly 50 meters away, followed by a left, right?"

"Can't be. Scout reported significantly higher activity than expected. I haven't gotten any status updates from Leader. Damn, they're always making us guess, the bastards."

"If only that idiot didn't run through this path. What part of 'make sure to put space between us' didn't he fucking understand?"

Izuku took a single peek around the corner. Two men, and a body bag. He jumped back at the sight, but not without kicking up some rocks in the process.

"Who's there?"

The next sound Izuku heard terrified him to no extent: the cocking of a barrel. Guns had been outlawed over 50 years ago, as there was no need for them in a world with so many superpowers. In fact, not a single one was ever reported in the news or on the internet over the last two decades. So, to have one meant to be above the law. Izuku knew now, these were no people to be trifled with. One wrong move, and not only him, but his only remaining family would find themselves an early grave. Izuku's thoughts began to cloud with that of his mother, Inko, and he knew he had to make it out alive, for her sake at least.

The young boy jumped behind a nearby dumpster and evaluated his (few) options. I could surrender. No, I know they have guns, and they couldn't let that get out. I could try and run. No, they would immediately spot me and shoot me down. With the simple options out of the way, he silently slid his backpack off and took inventory. Several notebooks, some paper towels, a butane torch (they were doing chemistry experiments in school), a laptop, and some charging cables. Nothing to arm himself with. But, as luck would have it, there was a liquor bottle next to him behind the dumpster that was still fairly full. With that, he had a plan. And yet, he hesitated. Did he have it in him to to take a life? Could he justify it? As he continued evaluating his options, he found his thoughts interrupted by a click.

"Put your hands in the air, and stand up."

So, Izuku did as he was told, and got up slowly, stammering out an explanation as to what he was doing.

"I-I-I didn't mean to see you guys, I swear! I was simply following the slime villain. You know, the one you were talking about earlier?"

The men stopped and lowered their guns.

"So you heard us, then? Either way, we believe you. You don't seem like the kind of kid who hangs around here anyway. Just the wrong place at the wrong time."

One of them raised their guns again.

"Unfortunately for you, kid, policy dictates 'no witnesses.' Today is just not your day. I'll make it as painless as possible, through. Just don't resist." The man spoke of killing as if it were as simple as taking a shower. Izuku, from this, gathered one thing: there was no escape. For he was Quirkless. Power dictates who lives and who dies. And he had none. And yet, the best thing he could do was make sure his mother wouldn't get involved, make sure he protected at least one person. So he obeyed.

Then, Izuku noticed movement out of the corner of his eyes, and a grunt from one of the mooks. Izuku's yet-to-be executioner whipped around towards the source of the movement and fired. Into a green-haired woman. Calm turned to anger as the man shouted at his partner.

"Dammit, I thought you secured the fucking bag!"

"I thought I did! You didn't tell me she was so damn strong!" the second mook groaned out.

The woman fell to the ground, and Izuku rushed over to see if he could do anything. All the while, Izuku had one thought running through his mind. One person. I couldn't save one girl! And yet, he tried. He tried and he tried and he tried. And there was nothing. His executioner turned back towards him and lifted the gun up once more.

"Pardon the interruption. As I said, it will be quick and mostly painless." Once again, Izuku thought of something, anything to save himself, but the only thing he could to was reach for the girl in vain. He couldn't protect himself, he couldn't this girl. He had no power, nothing. He thought he could become a hero, the strongest there ever was. What a joke. And yet... and yet! And Izuku Midoriya found his hand embraced by that of a dead woman.

"You don't want it to end here, do you? You appear to have a reason for living. If I give you power, could you go on? I propose a deal. In exchange for this power you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different providence, a different time, a different life. The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"

Izuku's reply was heartfelt, and quick.

"I accept!"

The young boy got up slowly, and faced the two men who dared to kill him, one of which was getting up following the woman's attack. A red crane enveloped his left iris. And, with that, Izuku Midoriya spoke.

"Peacefully turn yourselves in to the proper police authorities, and admit to any and all wrongdoing."

With a glowing red ring around their eyes, the two men put walked off, the police station down the street being their intended destination. Adrenaline retook Izuku's body as he began to process the events that had taken place over the last two minutes. In conclusion, he did what anyone else would have done.

He ran.