Superhuman Gifts

Chapter Two - Sludge

Hello World! I'm glad that the response to chapter one was pretty positive!

Now I should probably mention the release schedule that I will be trying to follow. If you have been paying attention and know 5th grade math, you may have realized I will be trying to release chapters once a week. The main and only reason behind this is burnout. If I don't schedule myself, I'll post all the chapters I have in one day and then struggle to keep working.

That doesn't mean I won't post two chapters a week occasionally. But if I want to get back into publishing my other stories(and I do) I'm gonna need to follow the schedule.

Anywho, it's time to begin chapter two!

(Disclaimer: I own my stories and nothing else)

Katsuki Bakugou marched into the playground like he owned the world.

"What's up you guys?" His friends had already gathered.

"Deku went to the hospital, apparently he's quirkless!" Tsubasa, a chubby kid with demon wings, replied quickly.

Katsuki smirked, "Of course he's quirkless, he's an extra after all." He thought to himself.

"Heh, what did I tell you, Deku? There's no way you can get a strong quirk like mine!"

Izuku, who was sitting on the ground drawing, looked up from his notebook and smiled, "I guess so Kacchan!"

Katsuki paused at this, he was expecting Izuku to complain or at least seem a little upset.

"Oh well." He thought to himself.

"Let's play heroes and villains!" He quickly took control of the group of kids.

Sounds of approval rang out.

"Alright then who is gonna be the villain?" Katsuki asked, already knowing what the response was gonna be.

"I nominate Deku!"

"I mean, he doesn't really have a hero-like quirk!"

Katsuki turned to Izuku, "So majority vote goes to-"

"Ok!" Izuku agreed enthusiastically as he stood up.

"Eh?" Katsuki was really surprised this time. No one ever wanted to be the villain, the villain always lost.

"I'll do it! Where's the goal?"

Katsuki collected himself and responded, "Uh… The same tree as always…"

"Alright, I get a 30 second head start!" Izuku said as he ran towards the goal.

The rules were simple, a villain was trying to run away and had a secret getaway plane, the heroes job was to stop the villain from reaching the escape point. The heroes could use any means necessary to stop the villain, but the villain only lost when he cried uncle.

"Kacchan!" His friend snapped him out of his daze, "30 seconds have passed!"

"Huh? Right!" Katsuki shook himself out of it, "Well this is Deku! It's not like we need to be in any rush to get him!"

His friends snickered as they fanned out to locate the 'villain'

Katsuki started to moved too when.

"Kacchan!" A voice called out to him.

He ran over to the sound of the voice and saw Tsubasa stuck in a net of strings tied between two trees.

"I saw him! Then when I started to chase him I got stuck! He went that way!"

"Right!" Katsuki ran in the direction Tsubasa pointed him towards and was suddenly doused by a wave of water.

"What the-" He looked up and saw the source of the water. Izuku was sitting in a tree holding an empty bucket.

"Eep!" Izuku inhaled sharply when he made eye contact with Katsuki.

"I've got you now Deku!" Katsuki raised his hand to signal all of his friends, but nothing happened.

"What!?" He stared at his hand, "Deku!"

Izuku, had taken his confusion as an opportunity to jump from the tree, and make a break for the 'Get-away point'

"DEKU!" Katsuki, being far more athletic, caught up with him and quickly restrained him.

"Aww…" Izuku sighed, "Oh well, I guess I lost!"

Katsuki stared at him.

"Why?" He thought.

"Why do I feel like I lost?"

"Why did I lose to him!?"

"He's quirkless!"

"He's Deku!"

"Why is he so strong?"

"Humph!" Katsuki got off of him, "You got pretty far this time! But I bet I can make it farther!" He dried his hands off on his pants and let out a single pop.

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked as he stood up.

"I mean rematch! This time I'll show you how a real villain gets away! You guys will never be able to be real heroes at this rate!"

"Eh? You're gonna be on the villain side this time?"

"Sure am! If I don't no one is ever gonna get any practice to be real heroes!"

"Wow!" Izuku was impressed as usual, "Thanks Kacchan!"

"Heh! Don't be thanking me until you catch me!"

Katsuki turned away from him to hide his anger, "There's no way a quirkless loser is stronger than me."

That day Katsuki knew. The greatest threat to his position as number one hero, came from a quirkless extra who wasn't supposed to be able to do anything.

Ten Years Later…

Izuku packed up his stuff as the teacher got ready too hand out future career surveys.

"So… You guys all want to be heroes right?" The homeroom teacher's question was answered by a wave of screaming, cheering, and random use of mostly useless quirks.(Really. Who needs a quirk that lets you pull your eyeballs out of their sockets?)

"Yeah yeah, you all have great quirks. I'm sure you'll all do great!" The teacher said, voice dripping with fake enthusiasm.

"Teach' don't lump me in with all these extras!" Katsuki Bakugou proudly stood up on his desk, "I'm not gonna become some sidekick to an unknown hero agency like them! I'm gonna be the very best! Like no one ever was!"

Katsuki's proud declaration stirred up a bit of unrest.

"What gives you the right to say that!?"

"Yeah right! Give us a break!"

The teacher silenced all of the complaints immediately by saying, "You were aiming for Yuuei right?"

"Of course! The top heroing school with the lowest acceptance rates! I'm the only one strong enough from this backwater school to make it in!"

He too was silenced by the teacher saying, "Oh yeah, Midoriya was going for Yuuei too…"

Izuku tried to camouflage with his desk, a strategy that wasn't working out all that well for him.

"Pfft!"

"Midoriya!?"

"The quirkless kid!?"

"Come on! Knowing a lot about heroes is different from being one!"

Izuku stood up, "There are plenty of heroes without quirks! A-america actually has several quirkless h-heroes who use gadgets to fight villains!"

"What? Are you claiming you can make an iron super suit or something?"

"No b-but…"

"HAHAHA!" The class laughed some more at him.

Katsuki sat back down, "Tch. Stupid nerd…"

After class had finished and Izuku was out the door, he recieved a text message from his mom.

"Could you stop by the supermarket on your way home? I'm gonna make Katsudon tonight and we're out of sake."

Izuku typed out his reply, "Sure thing Mom, be home soon."

"Deku!"

Izuku looked up from his phone to see Katsuki walking up to him, "Kacchan? W-what's up?"

Katsuki glared at him, "Give up on Yuuei.."

"Huh?"

"You're quirkless. Yuuei only accepts the most elite candidates, they'll skim right over your application, give up before you humiliate yourself."

"But Kacchan getting into Yuuei has been my dream since I-"

*BOOM*

Katsuki struck the phone Izuku was holding out of his hands.

"Listen up Deku. There's no way you can ever stand in the same ring as me! Got it!?"

"Kacchan! I'm not trying to compete or-"

Katsuki shoved Izuku aside, "Stay out of my way"

Izuku picked up his phone and brushed it off, the explosion hadn't done any real harm to it, but the ground had cracked the screen and exposed the battery. It was probably out of commission.

Katsuki's words echoed in his head.

"So what if I'm quirkless? I don't need a quirk to be a hero!"

Izuku continued telling himself this, through the supermarket and his entire trip back home. Or at least until he was attacked by sentient sewage sludge.

Izuku didn't have time to react before his mouth was covered.

"Stand still kid! I need your body!" The sludge said as he drowned Izuku.

"Help!" Izuku tried to yell, his voice didn't cooperate with him.

Izuku retreated to his thoughts, "Is this how I'm gonna die? Am I never gonna have a chance to be a hero!?"

Izuku clenched his hands into fists, "No..."

"From what I can tell, my attacker is made mostly of water. Since he's liquid I can't grab him or break free. But he should also conduct electricity a lot more than I do!"

Thinking quickly, Izuku reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, powering it up.

*Bzzt*

"OUCH! What the hell!?" The sludge villain pulled away from him.

"Don't come any closer!" Izuku yelled, voice wavering, "My quirk allows me to electrocute people I touch!"

Izuku slipped the broken smartphone into his sleeve, hoping the villain wouldn't see it.

"Brat! Why I oughta!"

Izuku took the bottle of sake from the plastic grocery bag and swung the bag at the villain. The bag filled with water and Izuku tied it off at the top.

"How's that!?" He yelled at the villain.

"Ha! That's the best you've got!?" The villain smiled at him, "Taking away water from my body isn't gonna do anything! If you wanna beat me you'd have to-"

Unfortunately, the villain didn't have time to give away the method to defeat him, as he was interrupted by a loud voice yelling.

"TEXAS... SMASH!"

The villain was blown away and part standing in his place was a buff man wearing a white t-shirt and cargo pants.

His golden hair stood up in two spikes that seemed to defy gravity.

His smile magically reflect the sun, despite the fact that he was standing in the shade.

Standing right in front of him was the number one hero, All Might.

Izuku fainted.

"Kid! Hey kid!" Izuku woke up to someone lightly slapping him in the face.

"What just-"

"Thank goodness you're alright!" All Might boomed happily, "I thought you were a goner!"

"ALL MIGHT!?" Izuku reinstated.

"Yes! I AM!" All Might proclaimed proudly.

"Right! Um..." Izuku's instincts kicked in and he pulled out his notebook, "W-would you s-sign this!?"

"Sure thing kid!" All Might pulled out his own marker, "Sorry about getting you caught up in my fight! But Don't worry! I've caught the villain!" All Might held up Izuku's grocery bag, this time with two eyes and a mouth inside.

"It's fine! I'm just glad you got here in time!" Izuku nearly fainted again, as All Might set down the bag and took the notebook.

All Might signed his name in all caps across two whole pages, "Seriously, it was my mistake! I guess I got over excited, moving into new town and all! Is there anything I could do to make up to you?" He handed back the notebook.

Izuku barely kept himself from hyperventilating, and pulled a business card out of his wallet, "Yes actually! I write a small blog... And- If you're not to busy! I'd like it if I could have a one on one interview..."

"Sure thing kid! Just make it fast!"

All Might accepted the business card, it read "Quirk Crossing"

"First off! Can you tell me anything about your quirk!?"

All Might's smile flickered, "Jumping to the big questions already?"

Izuku blushed, "Well, most of the other questions have already been answered..."

All Might shook his head, "Sorry kid, I can't tell you that! What if a villain hears about it and finds out a weakness?"

Izuku mimicked him, shaking his own head, "Don't worry! I don't mention anything that could harm a hero's reputation! I specifically leave out details that someone could use against them!"

All Might nodded, "A good policy, but I'm sorry, I really can't tell you anything."

"Right..." Izuku tried his best to mask his disappointment, "In that case... Why have you been limiting yourself to three hours of hero work per day?"

All Might choked.

"ALL Might!?"

"I'm sorry kid, I was just surprised you knew that!"

Izuku flipped a couple pages in his notebook, "It's pretty obvious if you just look at the amount of time you spend fighting and rescuing." He showed All Might a chart depicting his recent decline in hero activities.

"I see..." All Might regained his composure, "Well, I've been letting the rookies get a bit of the action! I can't go taking their jobs now can I? Not to mention, I can't be the symbol of peace forever! I'm gonna take some time away from heroing in this upcoming year!"

Izuku nodded vigorously, "You're working at Yuuei right?"

All Might choked again.

"Yes... I am? But how did you know that?"

"I'm aiming to attend there next year! But the heroics class doesn't have a teacher listed on their website! But I only connected the dots a minute ago when you mentioned that you were moving here!"

All Might pinched the bridge of his nose, "I see... What else did you want to ask me?"

Izuku turned back to a blank page and continued writing, "Um... Next up would be..." His eyes lit up, "Were you taught by Nana Shimura?"

All Might not only choked, but coughed for several second before responding.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"She was a hero whose peak was around the time you were in high school. She was best known for her philosophy to always smile, a philosophy that you live out all the time. And from what I can tell, your quirk is very similar to the strengthening quirk she had!"

All Might coughed a bit more before saying, "Yes, she did teach me... She was my predecessor."

"What do you mean by that?" Izuku asked.

"Sorry kid, but I've got to go now! I was planning to meet up with a friend pretty soon."

"Oh..." Izuku didn't even try to mask his disappointment this time, don't ask for the impossible.

"Hey! How about we finish this interview some other time! Where should I go to meet you?"

Izuku's smile was several times larger than All Might's, "My address should be on the business card! But the phone number doesn't work anymore."

"Alright! How does this Saturday work?"

"Perfect!"

All Might got ready to jump.

"Just one more thing!" Izuku stopped him.

"What's wrong?" All Might asked.

"This isn't for the blog but..." Izuku fiddled with the notebook in his hands, "I've always wanted to be a hero, just like you! But... Even though my mom and teachers have been super supportive... There's always been a small voice in the back of my head saying I can't do it..."

All Might was silent, so Izuku continued, "So my question is... Can a quirkless person become a strong hero as well?"

All Might looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe you can become a hero."

Izuku felt the tears well up.

"We can discuss this more on Saturday, but for now, stay out of trouble!"

Izuku watched his idol as he soared away through the sky, powered only by a single jump.

So, this chapter(along with chapter three) were originally gonna be one chapter. But then it got ridiculously long. Admittedly, I could write chapters longer then 1,500 words... But... Shorter chapters are easier to manage!

Anywho, some people have expressed concerns about this story following canon a bit too closely. And I'll say right here, it will be a lot like canon up to chapter 4. I will still so stuff like USJ and the sports festival, but I have very big plans for how those are gonna be different.

And don't ask me about "One for All", I'll get there eventually.

Next chapter, "Explosion"

-TitaniumDragon22