"W-What do I do, Peter-san!?"
Peter tried hard to be as quiet as possible while he slurped his ramen noodles. He had eaten the dish plenty of times throughout his life, and it was still a staple of his diet. Sure, Izuku helped out by bringing him money so he could get fresh produce every now and then, but he was still ordering food on a teenager's allowance. It was hard to eat healthy when you're short on cash.
He'd been trying to solve this problem by looking through job brochures he picked up on the street. Unfortunately, most of them required some form of identification that Peter lacked.
Whatever job he did find was bound to suck.
He winced as the last noodle went into his mouth with a light pop. It was a bit rude, but Izuku did call him during dinner time. "Barely got a word in before he spilled his guts." The kid had spent the last minute or two telling him the news. His school had already figured out that his powers weren't like the abilities most people had.
"Should I be insulted? I mean, I'm close to my fifties and the only ones that know my identity besides MJ are other superheroes and Felicia... and Fury, I guess, but only because Junior's spying on everyone."
While Fury's kid wasn't as boneheaded as Maria Hill, he was still as ruthless as his old man when it came to being a spy. The only consolation Peter had was that Fury wasn't going to tell anyone anytime soon.
Peter didn't know if he was just that good at keeping a double life or that a lot of institutions in his universe were just incompetent. And considering his government did a lot of stupidly expensive stuff either to keep Mutants or superheroes in check, Peter was going to bet on the latter.
"Alright. Calm down, Izuku." Peter put down his chopsticks as he adjusted his earpiece. "This isn't as bad as you think it is."
"What do you mean!?" Izuku was obviously trying not to scream. "U.A knows I don't have a Quirk! A-All Might knows that I was lying to him! How is any of this not that bad!? They are going to take me to a lab or something, I'm not going to get into U.A, and I'm never going to become a H-!"
"Izuku." Peter kept his voice calm and low. "Are the police knocking on your door to take you in?"
"N-No..."
"Did All Might say that you were not going to get into U.A?"
"No, b-but with what he said after...!"
"Then stop worrying so much!" Peter heard Izuku's breath hitch from the other end. "Look, this is a weird situation for both of us. Whether we like it or not, they know that your powers aren't natural. You can't deny that anymore, otherwise you're going to dig yourself in a deeper hole and trust me that never ends well."
It sucked that nobody got their powers from radiation or magic in this world. "It would be so much easier if that happened..."
He could hear him choking back sobs, his voice hushed to a whisper. "P-Peter... please, I'm scared. I don't know what to do… I-I can't lie about this anymore..."
Peter leaned back. "I didn't enjoy when I was younger and I wish you wouldn't have to either." His brow wrinkled. Constantly lying to Aunt May, flaking out on dates, blowing off his normal friends... It sucked. There was a reason why most superheroes' social circles consisted almost entirely of other superheroes. While he did tell them or they figured it out later on, it still hurt knowing that he was lying to his mother figure and the people he wanted to get close to.
"But Izuku... he has to deal with the fact that he's not like everyone else. He doesn't have powers 'normal' people would have, and before that he didn't have any at all. His powers are so out-there and the story behind them is so wild that he probably thinks that people will call him a freak..."
But the cat is out of the bag now...
Peter's eyes widened.
"Wait. Only the first part is out of the bag..." A grin spread across his face. "Yeah! We can work with that!" He chuckled lightly and said, "Izuku, listen to me. Tell them the truth."
Izuku was silent for a second.
"What?"
"Not all of it. I doubt anybody would be ready to believe the whole alternate dimensions and me being real thing. Just tell them that you got your powers from the spider bite. The hospital has the records of your transformation and the police know the spider was weird. The fact that Prowly was looking for it just makes the whole thing even more believable!"
"Yes… The spider was supposed to be some illegal genetic experiment. At least, that's what the police believed! I can tell them that I got my powers from the bite and they'll probably believe me!"
"See? No big deal." Peter picked up his chopsticks. "Look, just tell them enough to satisfy them and you'll be fine. Trust me."
"Thank you so much." Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously, this whole situation was hell on him. But sometimes the simple solutions are the best ones, even if they aren't immediately obvious. "I-I'll tell them that. But... but I wish I could tell them about you. Maybe they could help you..."
"...Not everything works as smoothly as a comic book, kid." Peter sighed. "Telling them all that stuff will create more problems than solutions. Just relax and tell them just the spider-related stuff. Fewer headaches for everyone."
"O-Okay. Good night, Peter-san!"
With that, Izuku hung up and Peter took out his earpiece. "Man... the kid's going through just as much drama as I did." And here he thought Izuku would have an easier time without the need to maintain a secret identity.
But he should have known. Becoming a superhero in any universe made life complicated. Especially if you wanted to become Spider-Man.
As he continued eating his ramen, Peter glanced at the newspaper next to him. There were more reports on these wannabe Villains that dressed up as his old C or D-List Villains, but nothing on Mysterio.
It was as if Quentin dropped off the face of the Earth after his debut, which was completely unlike the narcissistic supervillain.
But if Peter were a betting man, then it meant that Quentin Beck was planning something.
"I'll have to keep an eye out."
For now, it was just dealing with the punks that Quentin was hiring through the Power Broker app.
"Real original Quentin. Real original..."
It was just like Quentin though. He always stole things from movies or television as part of his bombastic schemes, something Peter would comment to enrage the fishbowl-headed supervillain.
But now? The scary part was now Quentin was stealing ideas from other supervillains, using them to make himself a bigger deal in this universe than his own.
Who knew how much influence Quentin had in the criminal underworld here?
"Damn it... if I had the network I had back home..." Peter set down his chopsticks again, his mind wandering once more to Mayday and Mary Jane. "I wish I had a lot of things from back home."
It had been nearly a year... why hadn't the Avengers or Fantastic Five popped through a portal to find him? Why hadn't Mysterio been found out? Why hadn't the tide of wannabe Villains come to a screeching halt?
What the hell was going on back there for him not to be home already?
"Damn it." He threw his cup of ramen in the trash bit he had scrounged up and headed for his 'bed'. "Don't think about it, Parker. You'll get Quentin when he finally decides to try and get you again."
And knowing Quentin Beck, he wouldn't have to wait for long.
At least some things are guaranteed.
"Would you like some tea, Midoriya-san?"
"No." Inko Midoriya shook her head as Principal Nezu poured himself a cup of tea from behind his desk. She was dressed in a simple grey suit and skirt, neatly pressed just a few days before. Her back was ramrod straight as she gazed at the dog... cat... mouse... man-thing that was going to oversee her son's education.
At least, that was the plan.
Things have gotten more complicated since U.A asked to question them about Izuku's powers, which were not from a Quirk.
When she heard the news it had been a shock. The principal had called her personally to let her know that she was needed two hours before classes began to discuss the problem and shed light on how Izuku got his powers.
"Problem. They called it a problem." Inko tried hard not to squeeze her hands in frustration. "That Izuku isn't like everyone else, that he may have the powers needed to be here but he's still... still..."
She turned her head to see Izuku practically shaking in his seat, his back as straight as hers as he looked forward. He wore the school-issued uniform that consisted of a light gray blazer with dark turquoise trimmings. It was worn over dress pants and a white dress shirt along with a red tie that they had spent hours the night before trying to get to the right length. U.A.'s lax clothing policy allowed Izuku to wear his favorite shoes inside the halls.
Sweat came down his brow in little beads as the principal calmly sipped his little tea cup.
How he held it, she had no idea.
"He's just as scared I would have thought."
Scared of what the principal was going to say, scared of how he might not get into U.A, scared of how this will affect his dream...
...scared of her too.
"Mmm... Chamomile. Can never get enough of it." Nezu set down his cup and looked directly at Inko. "Now, I thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to meet with me. I don't feel the need to remind you why you are here, so I'll cut to the chase." While his expression did not change, there was something in his eyes that made Inko feel like she was under a microscope. "Midoriya-san, did you know that your son didn't have a Quirk?"
"Of course I knew that. I spent years knowing that my son was Quirkless."
Rather than say that, she kept her voice calm and measured. "Yes... I knew that my son was Quirkless ever since he was four years old. As for whether I knew that the powers he currently has weren't actually from one... no, I did not."
"So he told you it was a Quirk as well?"
"I just...!" Izuku began, only for Nezu to hold out his hand.
"Midoriya-kun, I am not condemning you." Nezu's voice was patient, but firm. "I am simply trying to get all the facts straight. You need to understand that your case is incredibly unique and we must know every detail as to how it came about." Nezu scribbled something on his desk with a pen then motioned her to continue.
Inko pursed her lips. "Yes, he did. The powers he had shown... that I saw... do run in the family. My great-grandfather has an Quirk that allows him to telekinetically stick to walls, while my husband's great-grandmother had some sort of phasing ability. He told me it was a Quirk, and when I looked back on our family history it was believable."
Nezu nodded as he continued to jot down notes. She turned her head to Izuku, who kept his down in shame.
Perhaps this is what hurt her the most.
Not that he had lied to the world saying his abilities were a Quirk. Who could blame him for that? For years, other kids would pick on him and other adults would whisper whenever she walked by, how he was a freak clinging to impossible dreams.
Who could blame Izuku for deciding to shout to the world he had a Quirk when powers just like it fell in his lap.
"But it was the lying to me that's doing it." Inko still didn't know how to feel about that.
Why would Izuku lie to her about something that changed his life forever?
"And for the past two years, you've never seen anything that might indicate that something was different about your son's case?" Nezu set down his pen and stared at her with that gaze again. She could feel it already, that it wasn't just this... principal's eyes on her.
Other people were watching, studying their every move.
"Has anyone approached either of you with an offer of some kind? Is your son hanging around strange people?"
Her mind wandered just a bit to her son's tutor, the man named Tobey Reilly. "No, no. He only met the man after getting his powers." Before then, Izuku rarely deviated from his usual routine of watching Heroes from the sidelines. "Not to my knowledge, no."
"And your husband?"
"Other than him visiting when my son was hospitalized for his spider-bite, we only talk with him over the phone." Inko admitted. "I wouldn't know about his activities, but my husband is not the type of man to break the law."
She was the one to do the crazy and wild things when they were younger, after all.
"I see..." Now, Nezu turned to Izuku and smiled at him. "Now, Midoriya-kun. Can you tell me why you tried to pass off your abilities as a Quirk and how you think you got them? Please be as truthful as possible."
Izuku gulped and glanced at her. She nodded at her son, which was all the assurance he needed. He took a deep breath and responded.
He told them all about how he had stumbled onto the Prowler searching for something. Of how the strange spider bit him when she left. Of how he woke up to discover his changed body. The muscles that gave him enhanced strength, the setules on his hands and feet that allowed him to scale up walls, and a form of precognition that warned him of danger.
Of how this all made him realize that what he had wasn't a Quirk, and that he ran from school because of that realization.
"Oh, honey..." She thought as Izuku rambled about confronting the Prowler and discovering his phasing ability on top of that, as well as some sort of bioelectric discharge ability he discovered while training. She had suspected that he ran away that time because of the shock of getting powers, but this added a layer to it.
That he ran away because he realized he was something different.
"And the reason why you claimed this was a Quirk, when it became increasingly apparent to yourself that it was not?"
"I-I did it because... I was scared." His voice quivered. Every word was like pulling teeth. "A-all my life, I had been Quirkless. W-When I got these powers, I thought it was a dream come true. I-I wanted to believe that it was a Quirk.
"But... B-but then I realized that it wasn't. T-That I got it by accident, that a spider bit me by chance. I-If everyone knew that... t-then they would... would..." He chewed his lip as tears pooled at the corners of his eyes. "I-I just wanted to become a Hero, to get into this school and..."
Inko chest ached as words failed her son. "He had been bottling all this up?" This was the reason why he'd kept it from her. He already felt like an outsider due to his Quirklessness. If everyone knew that he gotten his powers unnaturally, he thought they'd call him a freak again.
That she would call him a freak.
"No... no that's not it."
She remember words she uttered years ago. She'd taken him into her arms the day he learned he could never be a Hero. Both of them cried inconsolable tears while he gazed longingly at the video of All Might's debut.
"I'm sorry Izuku...! I'm so sorry, sweetie!"
"Please try and continue, Midoriya-ku-"
"No, that's enough." Inko rose from her seat. Both Nezu and her son stared at her while she stared directly into the principal's beady little eyes. "There is no need for this to go on."
"I'm sorry?"
"This! All of this!" Inko motioned to Izuku. "My son has already told you how he got his powers. It wasn't from some illegal deal and he didn't do it to try and pull one over your school. It occurred completely by chance, nothing more."
Nezu held out his hands to placate her. "I am not stating otherwise, but the matter is tha-"
"Talk to the police and the hospital. They have records to show that my son never did this on purpose! In fact, the hospital's records should show my son's powers manifested while he was still recovering and was completely unaware of them!" Inko let out a breath and tried to calm herself. It wouldn't help if she lost her temper.
"My son... has always wanted to come to this school. He's dreamed about it his whole life, to become a Hero just like All Might. Even if... even when he didn't have a Quirk." Inko looked down. "Nobody believed he could do it. Even I... even I doubted his dream would become a reality."
"Mom..." Izuku let out a hushed whisper, and she took his hand into hers.
"How he got his powers is strange. Even I barely understand it." She turned back to Nezu. "Even so... he trained as hard as any of the other students here! He studied and did everything he could to learn about his new powers before he even took your exam, and he did wonderfully if I heard right! Who cares where he got these powers? My son wants to be a Hero with all his heart, and if you keep acting like he's some sort of criminal with something to hide... then you don't deserve to be called the birthplace of great Heroes!"
Inko took deep, heavy breaths as Nezu and Izuku remained speechless. That was the most passionate speech she had ever given. Parts of it sounded like a barely coherent string of thoughts when she looked back on it.
But she said what needed to be said.
If she couldn't support Izuku back then when he needed it, then by god she was going to do it now!
Nezu chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Thank you for that, Midoriya-san. I have to say, that does clear up some things. But there is no need to worry. We have no intention of denying your son admission."
"What?" she and her son asked at the same time.
Nezu took another sip of his tea. "We could see from the exam that your son is two things: one, a powerful hero with skills that would benefit society at large, and two... a compassionate one. One that is needed in this day and age."
He set down his cup. "To be honest, we needed to ask these questions because U.A cannot afford to have unknowns. Neither can the government, which is why we will take him in... but we'll be keeping an eye on him during classes and exercises to study his powers. We are also aware of the police reports and hospital records, and we'll be using those as part of an investigation to find the Villains responsible."
Inko has been expecting many things. For the principal to laugh at her, for her son to have his hopes dashed yet again, and for her to begin plans to enroll him at one of the other top Hero schools.
But U.A... was surprisingly reasonable. They were letting her son in, but were going to have him under observation? "So he will get to become a Hero?"
"Yes, he will." Nezu pressed his paws together. "Plus if we didn't agree to this, the government would run their own tests." He traced the scar running across his eye. "However, I wouldn't allow that. I know far too well what people do when they are curious about something they do not understand..."
Inko felt a shiver run down her spine.
She heard sniffling and a chair scooting back. Izuku had jumped from his seat and bowed while clutching his chest. "T-Thank you... thank you so much!" He sobbed while the principal smiled.
"It's no trouble, my boy." Nezu began scribbling on his notepad again and added, "Also, don't worry about the true nature of your powers getting out to the media. It's now on a need-to-know basis within the government, restricted to them and relevant Heroes which includes the U.A staff."
Inko felt her shoulders sag in relief. "At least we won't get harassed by nosy reporters." Or featured on tabloids and whatnot. That would be a nightmare.
"We will also help you with your Quirk registration paperwork."
"Q-Quirk registration?" Izuku asked as he wiped away his tears. The term sounded familiar to Inko, but she could only vaguely remember signing forms like that years ago.
"Well, we can't have you registered as Quirkless anymore. The government hates irregularities like that. So you'll have to come up with a catchy name and description of your powers when you get home. The fact you were registered as Quirkless will just make the process smoother." He waved a hand. "With that out of the way, get yourself cleaned up and run to class. And I hope you will have a great day as well, Midoriya-san."
Inko stood up and bowed. "Thank you, Principal Nezu." With that, she and Izuku left the office.
Today was his big day, the next step towards achieving his dream.
But first... they needed to talk.
Nezu watched as Izuku Midoriya and his mother exited his office. "That is one strong-willed woman." Taking one more sip of his tea, he set the cup down and turned his chair around. "So what did you think, Aizawa-kun?"
The yellow blob that been hiding behind him and out of sight of the mother and son groaned before turning itself over to face him. The entire Japanese Hero community joked that if Shouta Aizawa had never chosen become a Hero, he likely would have never set foot outside of his house.
But luckily for everyone, he had. Now Aizawa was both a respected Hero and Class 1-A's homeroom teacher.
Which, coincidentally, also made him Izuku Midoriya's homeroom teacher.
"I think they're a bit too enthusiastic." Aizawa wouldn't pick his head off the ground, moving only his eyes to look at Nezu. "And emotional."
"Hard not to be considering the situation." He leaned back into his chair. "Even though Midoriya-kun knew his entrance was all but guaranteed, there was still small part of his mind that assumed we wouldn't accept him. A reasonable fear considering his strange situation."
Powers born from something other than a Quirk. The average person would declare it impossible, a novelty restricted to the fiction of yesteryear.
Those same people also assumed that it was impossible for animals to develop Quirks, but he was one of a gifted few that helped dispel that assumption.
Aizawa groaned as if he'd just gotten out of bed. "I peeked out from the corner of your desk and tried to use my Quirk on him. I didn't expect much."
"Oh?"
Aizawa pursed his lips. "Normally I wouldn't be able to tell if my Quirk worked or not until the idiot I'm up against tries to use it. But this one... it felt like I opened my eyes in a pool. Had to blink a lot sooner than I usually do."
"Interesting..." Well, count that as another strange component of Midoriya-kun's powerset. "Will this affect how you'll teach him?"
"Not really, no. But you better not expect me to go easy on him just so you can gather data."
Nezu grinned. He could already see all the various exercises and mind games he had in store for Midoriya. "Wouldn't dream of it, Aizawa-kun!" He laughed aloud for a bit, but reined it in before he got too into it.
Such moments were better kept private.
"Do you think he's hiding something?"
He hummed to himself and tapped his paws on the armrests while reviewing everything he knew about Izuku and Inko Midoriya.
The woman had to be one of the most honest and protective people he had ever met. Inko had been willing to stare him down and fight for her son's right to chase his dreams. It was obvious his status as the principal and a Hero would not budge her.
It was easy to deduce that everything she said, and everything she thought she knew, was true.
Izuku Midoriya on the other hand...
He was telling the truth for the most part. He had no idea where the spider that bit him had come from, and everything from the shock of discovering his power to the fear from the Prowler incident was honest.
Still, there seemed to be some omitted details.
A boy that new to his powers couldn't have demonstrated that level of mastery at the Entrance Exam through self-study alone.
"Perhaps." He shrugged at Aizawa. "Call it a gut feeling." Well, the boy was certainly holding something back but it seemed unrelated to that man. "In any case, Izuku Midoriya is in the clear as far as the investigation is concerned. All that needs to be done is for Endeavor to retrieve the blood samples from the hospital and relay their findings to Sir Nighteye."
That seemed to surprise Aizawa. "Nighteye's getting involved with this?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Nezu allowed his face to turn grim. "It seems that this Mysterio character... is dealing in much more than weapons."
There was no need to elaborate further. "Guess I should be getting to class." Aizawa then began crawling away in his sleeping bag like a caterpillar. "It would look bad if I was late for the first day... what a pain."
"You would get there faster if you just unzipped yourself out of that thing, Aizawa-kun." The only reply the Hero gave him was a short grunt as he brought his right hand through a small opening the zipper made to open the door before bringing it back and continuing his slow crawl.
Nezu sighed while turning his chair to face the table again. As he picked up a biscuit, he muttered one thing to himself.
"This year is definitely going to be an interesting one..."
Izuku was exhausted and he hadn't even gotten to homeroom yet.
"I thought I was gonna die in there…" He'd stayed up most of the night rehearsing what he'd say to the principal. What sounded reasonable and what didn't, taking great pains to leave out details that would give the slightest hint of his time with Peter.
He wanted to believe that Principal Nezu bought the story… but he couldn't be sure. The man… dog… principal was sharp. Izuku felt as if every word that came out of his mouth was being carefully dissected in the principal's head.
"But… he didn't seem angry. That's good, right?"
God, he hoped it was.
"Izuku."
Izuku let out a strangled gasp as he whirled to his mom, whose expression was soft and pleading.
"M-Mom…" He bit his lip. Everything he heard back in the office was amazing… but sad.
He knew his mom doubted he would become a Hero. She tried to hide it to support him, but there was always that air of hesitation. He could tell she was forcing herself to say that there was still a chance for him.
He remembered the night he learned he was Quirkless, how she said she was sorry when all he wanted to hear was that he could be a Hero.
It broke his heart in two. Not only did his own mother not believe in him, she blamed herself for his condition in some screwed-up way.
He wasn't blind. He could see how the stress of raising a Quirkless, friendless kid like him weighed on her. She didn't know what to do. Inko Midoriya was just as lost as he was.
"But the way she spoke back there... She was willing to stick up for me, to yell at the principal and say how I deserved to be there." Izuku had to hold back tears from streaming down his face again. It was really something, hearing how his mother was willing to do all that because she felt she let him down years ago.
"M-Mom… I'm so-." Izuku was interrupted when she put her hands on his shoulders.
"You have nothing to feel ashamed about." Inko said as she gave him a warm smile. "I-I know you have been going through a lot. The way your body had changed and how it wasn't part of a Quirk… it must have been tough. I probably would have done the same thing if I were in your own shoes.
"I understand why you did it… but you don't need lie to me anymore, Izuku." She seemed to be holding back her own tears, and Izuku felt his own start to form. "No matter what goes on with you, no matter what you do… I will always be here to support you, sweetie. So no more lies… okay?"
"Mom… I-I was lying about training with someone called Tobey Reilly. My trainer… he's actually Peter Parker. It's Spider-Man, Mom."
He wanted to say that. To reveal the final truth he kept from his own mother.
But he couldn't. Instead, he said, "O-Okay, Mom…"
As the two hugged each other tight, warm tears slid silently down his cheeks.
Every second in his mother's embrace made Izuku feel like shit.
They stayed like that for a few more seconds before they released one another. Inko wiped the tears from her face. "Now…get going, Izuku. Can't be late for your first day in the Hero course!"
"G-Got it! See you later, Mom!" Izuku quickly left his mother and ran to the stairs, his mind racing all the while.
"How could I just lie to her after promising I wouldn't do it anymore!? She already knows half the story! Peter probably wouldn't even be mad if I told her!"
But his worried mother might call the cops on Peter to protect him from the crazy foreigner trying to brainwash him.
Getting powers from a spider-bite courtesy of a spider experimented on by Villains? Sure.
Interdimensional mentor? Yeah… that was a quick way to get thrown into a padded cell.
"This sucks…" Izuku's shoulders sagged as he looked down the hallway, glancing at the massive doors to find his class. "How could the comic superheroes stand this? Hiding all these secrets from your loved ones, lying to your friends and family… and for what? To keep a secret identity!? They could help! If they just trusted them and the government enough…"
But could he really claim that? Even he knew that the world's governments locked up Heroes along with the Villains in the early days!
Was it fair for him to judge just because he lived in a world where something like the Superhuman Registration Act worked out, and only after years of refinement?
"I still don't like it…" It didn't matter what he believed.
The fact was he was still lying to his mom, and he could do nothing to justify it to himself.
"No, enough about that!" Izuku slapped his cheeks as he stopped in front of the door marked 1-A. "This is my first day! I can't look mopey! I have to make a good first impression!"
That's right. He could deal with the morality and emotional weight of his lies and half-truths later.
Right now… he was about to start his first day in U.A.
Gulping to himself, Izuku reached for the handle to open the door.
"I-I can do this… I need to do this. It's my first real step towards becoming Spider-Man."
He opened the door and took his first step into the class that would help shape his future.
"HUH!? What the hell are you spewin', nerd?"
The first thing Izuku noticed about his classroom was the distinct presence of Katsuki Bakugou. His feet were on his desk and he was busy arguing with the guy who yelled at Izuku at the practical exam.
"Why do you do this to me, fate?"
"Let's start over." Tenya Iida stretched out his hand to the student who decided to be belligerent to his polite request that he take his feet off the desk. "I'm Tenya Iida from the Somei Private Academy…"
"Somei, huh? That must mean you think you're better than me!" The student with the spiky hair grinned maliciously and leaned forward. "I'm gonna enjoy tearing you a new one!"
Tenya took a step back, aghast at his classmate's declaration. "You would threaten me!? Your own classmate!? Are you sure you're in the right place?"
He had not been having the first day he had expected.
He had been overjoyed knowing that he had passed. Once again, the Iida family's tradition was secure. He would learn alongside his peers to become part of a great generation of Heroes, and Tenya himself would bear the Ingenium name with pride.
He had expected all the students to be like him, mingling only to make the necessary introductions and waiting eagerly for their teacher to arrive.
He had arrived to find the room in disarray.
Some were sitting at their desks, sure, but they were talking to each other about trivial things like hobbies or reading manga! A diminutive student with purple ball-like hair who's name was Minoru Mineta was reading a mathematics textbook… but the grin and flushed cheeks were certainly not something one gets when reading about equations.
Obviously, this boy was sick and needed to see the nurse!
A couple of students were sitting or leaning on their desks, and after he greeted them he noted it. They returned to their seats but shot him looks that did not convey any gratefulness for being reminded proper school procedure.
"I don't understand… shouldn't everyone in U.A be trying to live up to the standards set by the best of Heroes?"
Maybe he was expecting too much. Imposing one's own standards on others was not becoming of a Hero.
"But that doesn't excuse this one's behavior!"
The blond clicked his tongue at him but then seemed to notice something behind him. His arrogant expression changed to a glare, and Iida followed his gaze to see…
...the messy-haired student from the entrance exam.
"It's you…" Tenya muttered, narrowing his eyes.
As everyone also looked at the student and he made a shaky introduction, Tenya was already walking up to him.
"So… he did pass."
He supposed that wasn't a surprise. After all, nobody would be that confident in their performance without some assurance they would pass.
Perhaps he had been too harsh on him, allowing his feelings of frustration and adrenaline fuel his words. However, he would not take them back. His attitude during the exam was unbecoming of a future Hero, an insult to those struggling to take the exam.
"Even so…"
"U-Um, hey!" The messy-haired student said to him. "I-I'm sorry for…"
Tenya didn't let him finish and bowed stiffly. "Hello. My name is Tenya Iida of Somei. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"He will be my classmate. I cannot let my personal feelings complicate future professional relationships."
"O-Oh! Nice to meet you! I-Izuku Midoriya… I'm from Aldera Junior High…" Tenya could see that the newly introduced Midoriya was not looking him in the eye, likely remembering their last discussion.
"I wonder if he took my words to heart."
"Yo! Midoriya!" Tenya looked to see Jirou and Sero up from their desks and walking towards them. Jirou had a sly grin on her face as she said, "Same class, huh? What are the odds?"
"Yeah, man! Talk about freaky!" Tenya moved out of the way as Sero walked up to Midoriya and lightly slugged him on the shoulder. "I mean, the three heroes of the Entrance Exam together again!"
"Uh…" Jirou glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "No offense, dude, but I'm kinda drawing a blank with you."
Sero's grin dropped. "What!? Are you serious!? I'm the one who gave Midoriya the tape he was swinging on!"
"Hey, don't blame me. You didn't exactly introduce yourself when all was said and done."
"By the way, who the heck are you?" Sero's eyes lit up. "Wait… are you the girl I saw carry Midoriya and that Uraraka girl?"
"Oh?" Jirou placed her hands on her hips. "So you saw that and didn't have the decency to stop and say hi?"
"I-I was just…! There was a giant robot heading our way!"
"G-Guys, come on. Lets not argue!" Midoriya got in between them, nervously. looking from one to the other
"They know each other?" But… why? How? U.A was supposed to be meticulous about how they did their Entrance Exam. How could three people who have known each other before take have worked side by side? "And saving someone? Just who could've…!?"
"Whoa. Relax, Midoriya." Jirou looked at Sero. "I was just just joking. I probably would've left before you could introduce yourself anyways."
Sero chuckled. "Yeah. A big robot does that to you."
"Oh! Nice to see you guys again!"
All of them turned to see the girl who Tenya knew as Ochako Uraraka ran over with a big smile on her face "It's Deku, right? I'm Ochako Uraraka! Nice to meet ya!"
Tenya could not help but notice the slight flinch Midoriya had at the name. "What's the history behind that?"
"U-Um…" Before Midoriya could respond, Uraraka was talking again.
"I mean, it was pretty incredible how you just got me out of that rubble like it was nothing. It was unreal how we were swinging through the air! I mean, I could feel the wind through my hair and I've gotta admit you knew how to hold onto me tight but not too tight! I would've gotten myself out of the rubble but you got me out faster than I ever could!"
"Whoa, whoa slow down!" Jirou had her hands up in surrender. "First off, take a breath or something." She then motioned to Midoriya. "Second, give him a second to cool down."
Midoriya was now red in the face, muttering to himself about 'holding girls' and 'sorry'.
"I would've gotten myself out of the rubble…"
"Wait, so all three of them helped you escape from some rubble?" Tenya motioned to Midoriya, Jirou, and Sero. "All during the exam?"
"Oh yeah! Deku got me out and Jirou-chan caught us before we had a nasty fall!" She then motioned to Sero. "Sorry… I don't really know who you are."
"For the love of… I'm the one who was spitting out the tape for Midoriya to swing on!" Sero threw up his arms. "Come on! I'm not that forgettable!"
As the four continued to mingle, Tenya stared at them in wonder.
The boy he assumed was not taking the test seriously… had also realized the true purpose of the test?
Tenya had no idea that there were Rescue Points during the exam. They were neither in the brochure or in the presentation. He wouldn't have known he received any had he not been told in his acceptance message! "In hindsight, however, it makes perfect sense. Of course a Hero school would reward us for saving our fellow students."
But Tenya had gotten his points unknowingly. For the most part, Tenya could only assume he accrued them when he took advantage of a robot that was chasing a fleeing student to get the points and when he destroyed that robot attacking Midoriya.
However, Midoriya knowingly got his by intentionally rescuing someone? While fleeing from the robots?
"Perhaps I underestimated him…"
"If you're here to mingle, go somewhere else. There's no place for it in this school."
Tenya along with his classmates looked into the hallway to see…
...well, a man in a yellow sleeping bag.
Unknown to Tenya, they all had the same thought:
"What the…!?"
It was a man with long, disheveled hair who looked like he didn't get enough sleep. His hand reached up from inside his sleeping bag so he could sip on a packet of… fruit jelly?
"Who is this man? Is it… is it the janitor?"
If so, then U.A needed to reassess its standards!
The sleeping bag unzipped and the man stepped out, showing that he was wearing a black tracksuit, shoes, and a silvery scarf wound around his neck like a snake. "I'm Shouta Aizawa, your homeroom teacher."
Unknown to Tenya, he shared another collective thought with his fellow classmates.
"He's our teacher!?"
Tenya gripped his face in shame, only barely holding back the urge to fervently apologize for his transgression. "I-I thought our teacher was a janitor! How could I be so disrespectful to a Hero and our instructor!?"
But… weren't Heroes supposed to look like… well… anything but Shouta Aizawa? Shouldn't he be in a business suit, or his flashy Hero costume, or something other than looking like he just crawled out of bed!?
"I just don't understand this school!"
As Bakugou got into the starting position for the fifty-meter dash, he looked at Deku and glared. "Still can't believe that bastard got in…"
It pissed him off. He was supposed to be the only person in that shithole of a school to get into U.A! He made it his top priority to make that perfectly clear. After all, he was the smartest and strongest of those losers! Not even those shitheads who followed him home to ride his coattails could try to make it! He told them so himself!
At least they got the memo and stopped bugging the shit out of him the last year they had together.
"But then Deku just had to fuck it all up, didn't he?"
Not only that, but he had to get into the same class as him! It was ridiculous! He was supposed to be top dog, but Glasses didn't cower or anything! Nobody was calling him cool or whatever when he put his feet on his desk and put Glasses in his place!
Hell, Deku got more attention than him!
"Seriously, what the hell is going on?!"
Ever since Deku finally stopped hiding his Quirk, it was like Bakugou barely mattered anymore. People either wanted to finally include Deku in their shitty activities or wanted to meet 'The Prowler Kid'. Why the hell would they want to meet a shithead who was basically pissing himself on national television?
They should be focusing on him, like they always did!
"Ah, screw 'em! They don't know what they're missing!" He was still top dog! He was first place in the exams, and he was going to show why U.A was just another stepping stone and these losers were all just the same shitty extras he dealt with throughout his life!
The school agreed with him on that front. U.A had no patience for losers. The person in last place in this examination will be kicked out altogether.
Soon… he would blow that loser in the dust.
He would prove that Izuku Midoriya was the same loser he had always been!
"Runners on your mark!"
Bakugou snapped back to attention, looking forward to the finish line. "I'll blow you out of the water with this, Deku!"
"Ready?" Bakugou arched his back and tensed his leg muscles. When the starting gun went off, Bakugou leapt forward and began running. He could see that Izuku was next to him from the corner of his eye and grinned.
"Eat this!" Bakugou crossed his arms before throwing them back. His Quirk's explosions rang out, and he could already feel himself accelerating. "Burst Speed!"
The basic idea was that he would rely on the force of his blasts to propel him forward after he got a running head start. That way, his speed would only increase and he would reach the finish line before Deku could even realize what was happening.
He took his feet off the ground and flew forward, his explosions moving him like a bullet past the end line. He couldn't help but laugh as he heard the robot give its declaration.
"4.13 seconds!"
Bakugou had been keeping track of the other losers' scores. None of them compared to this one! Sure, some of them outshined him but it was only a matter of time before…!
"5.27 seconds!"
Bakugou cut off his Quirk and skid to a halt. As he wheeled around he saw Izuku come to a stop, not even panting as he looked back at the field with a grin.
"What the hell are you smiling about, Deku!? I'm the one who won here!"
All Deku had gotten was a pathetic five seconds. Big deal! It was barely better than Froggy and Glitter!
But why was it pissing him off so much?
Shaking his head, Bakugou went back to the group of students who were either finished or waiting for their names to be called.
"Woah! Four seconds? Man, that was awesome!" Bakugou glanced at an extra that had spiked, obviously died and gelled, bright red hair that was especially pointy on the sides. He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "Name's Eijirou Kirishima, and I…!"
"Fuck off, Spiky Hair." Bakugou snarled as he walked away from him.
The last thing he needed to deal with was extras trying to blab to him.
He watched as Spiky Hair shrug and start blathering to Deku, the nerd flushing in embarrassment from the attention and muttering replies.
Bakugou scowled and turned away from the scene.
"Who gives a shit that the extras finally leave me alone? All that matters is winning this thing."
Then everyone would understand his awesomeness and come to him in droves.
That's how the world is supposed to work.
"Seriously? It's an insult?"
"As far as I can tell, yeah." Jirou told her with a firm nod. She pointed at Bakugou who was just returning from his second go at the ball throwing test, the result being just slightly over the original seven hundred meters. "That dude is a serious dick. He shoved me and Midoriya out of the way when he could've just walked around us before the Entrance Exam, and you saw how he was treating Iida. The dude had a stick up his rear but Bakugou just egged him on to be an asshole. I don't think he'd give every person he met a 'friendly' nickname."
"Oh man..." Ochako Uraraka massaged her temples with the tips of her fingers. "I hope I didn't hurt Midoriya-kun's feelings…"
This was embarrassing. She had thought Midoriya's name actually was Deku!
She had been going to the Entrance Exam and had seen him on her way there talking to, as it turned out, Jirou. She heard Bakugou shout at 'Deku' and reasoned it had to be the only male in the duo, so she decided to call him that.
"Well, that's what you get for making assumptions…"
Why didn't Midoriya say something earlier? She had been calling him that all morning and even when they met their other classmates, from the pink-skinned Mina Ashido to the cool, mature Momo Yaoyorozu!
She even introduced him as Deku a couple of times!
"Ah, don't worry about that. Hell, I don't think the guy cares much."
Ochako looked at Jirou who was giving her a sly grin. "What do you mean by that?"
Before Jirou could answer they heard the electronic voice of the robot call out "Four hundred and twenty meters!"
"Well, speak of the devil…" Jirou muttered out. Izuku was walking away from the field with a nervous grin on his face. She waved at him and he waved back, briskly walking towards them and making a point to avoid eye contact with Bakugou.
"H-Hi, Uraraka-san!" His cheeks turned red as he scratched the back of his head. "What's up?"
"Um, De-I mean Midoriya-kun…" She pressed her fingers together in embarrassment. "S-Sorry for calling you Deku, before…"
"Huh?"
"Told her about Bakugou, man." Jirou gave him a knowing look. "She had to know sooner rather than later. Better to rip off that bandaid now."
"I'm really sorry!" Ochako bowed stiffly. "I really thought it was your name! I didn't mean to insult you!"
"I-It's fine, Uraraka-san." She looked up and was relieved to see that Midoriya just had a nervous smile on it. "I mean, I'm glad you didn't do it on purpose, but why did you call me that?"
'Well…" This was going to be embarrassing to admit, especially now that she knew the truth. Still, like Jirou said, better to rip this off now than later. "I kinda thought it meant 'you can do it' than… whatever it was Bakugou-san was calling you that for. I thought it was a cute name…"
It was mortifying. This entire time she was insulting the guy who went out of his way to help her out.
Some way of returning the favor...
"Then you can call me Deku!"
Ochako blinked in surprise at Izuku, who was grinning happily… but his entire body was completely stiff.
"That was fast!" Jirou let out a small laugh. "But man, come on. Don't do this to yourself just because a girl said she thought it was cute…"
Ochako could already feel her own cheeks redden as she played back what she just said. "Maybe I should've called it a cool nickname or something."
"I-It's not that!" Midoriya shouted with a shake of his head. "I mean… yeah, Kacchan had been calling me that for years. But… I'm trying to move on, you know? So… if you really read that nickname like that…" He beamed at her. "You can call me Deku anytime, Uraraka-san!"
"I don't know whether to find that kind of awesome or a bit sad…" Jirou hummed for a second. "Maybe a bit of both."
"C-Come on, Jirou-san…"
As the two continue to banter, Ochako stared at Izuku.
"He's actually letting me call him by an insulting nickname because I found a different meaning to it…"
She already knew that Izuku Midoriya was a nice guy. He'd gone out of his way to help her when no one else would. Jirou and Sero admitted that they didn't even notice that she was pinned down by the rubble, and it was Izuku who had rushed to help her.
He had no idea she would be able to free herself and risked his life to help her anyways.
"Anyone would be lucky to have him as a friend." And she hoped she would become one in the near future.
"Crap, crap, crap….!" Uraraka turned to see a short boy with three purple balls on the top of his head biting his fingernails while sweat dripped down his forehead. "Why the hell did I have to end up in a class where everyone's a freakin' athlete!?"
"Don't tell me… Oh man, is he in last place!?" Her heart broke as she looked at the boy named Mineta and once again cursed the unfairness of this exercise.
She knew that U.A took its Hero course seriously. It wouldn't be good if the students weren't prepared for things like natural disasters and Villain attacks. However, this entire exercise seemed… sadistic. It was making them give it their all for sure, but there was the overhanging threat of expulsion if they wound up in last place.
"But like Aizawa-sensei said… life isn't fair." Uraraka sighed. "Doesn't make this better, though.
At least she was confident in not being in last place. And Deku was probably not going to end up in last place either.
Over four hundred meters with the ball toss alone… and that was just one of the many amazing feats he accomplished during the assessment.
"Just what kind of Quirk does he have that would let him do all that?"
No use wondering about that now. There were still a few exercises left before judgement was passed.
She could only hope that everything turned out alright.
Izuku could only stare in awe as he looked at the results of the exercise.
Bakugou wasn't in first place. He was in third.
First place went to Yaoyorozu, who only seemed mildly impressed with her own results.
Izuku himself was in second place.
He had done it.
He had managed to outshine Bakugou!
"This is unreal…" He felt dizzy just by looking at them. While he managed to outshine Bakugou in the P.E exercises in their previous school thanks to his powers, that was only because Bakugou didn't use his Quirk.
When they were allowed to use them for their first assessment, he thought there would be an even wider gap.
But it looked he was now on the other side of the gap for once.
"Wow! Look at that, Midoriya!" Izuku felt a hand slap him on the back, causing him to turn and see Sero, Uraraka, and surprisingly enough Kirishima. "Second place! Not first, but making it that close is something else!"
"You jumped so high, Deku!" Uraraka swung her arm up, a wide grin spreading across her face. "I mean, you were like 'whoosh'! And without that tape stuff helping you swing! I had no idea you could do that! What else can you do!? You gotta tell us!"
"Does your Quirk let you go all-out with your body or somethin'? I could barely see it change!" Kirishima gave him a thumbs up. "Have to say, havin' you, Yaoyorozu, and Bakugou bein' that close is so manly!"
"W-Well…" Izuku blushed at the attention he was getting. He could hear the other students talk amongst themselves about the test scores, some moans about how they could've done better while others were in awe at his and Yaoyorozu's placement. He could see Iida rubbing his chin and studying the results closely, while just behind him the half white and red haired Shoto Todoroki was lightly glaring at the screen. Jirou gave him a small wave before returning to her conversation with Ashido.
But Bakugou…
He was gaping at the results as if they were telling him that the sky was green and that aliens have just landed at the U.N preaching for intergalactic peace and harmony.
He was looking at indisputable proof that Izuku had managed to outshine him for once.
In his mind, he was staring at the impossible.
"But it isn't, Kacchan." Bakugou was probably going to start something soon, but Izuku didn't care.
"I'm not going to hold back just to satisfy your ego, Kacchan."
"I-I just wanted to give it my all, just like Aizawa-sensei said."
"Yeah, I get you." Sero nodded in approval but his expression shifted to one of relief. "I don't think anyone wanted to be in last place…"
Uraraka shushed him. "Keep it down! Don't you think Mineta-kun feels bad enough already?"
Everyone glanced at the unfortunate soul that ended up in dead last, Minoru Mineta. He was practically shaking in place as tears spilled out of his eyes. They could already hear him muttering, "This is a bad dream… it's gotta be…!"
Izuku felt terrible. Like everyone else here, Mineta worked hard to get into U.A. He studied and trained to get through the entrance exam, and now has to leave just because he wasn't as physically active and had a Quirk with fewer applications than the rest of them?
"If I hadn't gotten my powers, I would be in his position…"
"Uh…" Kirishima bit his lip. "Yeah, that really sucks… but come on! It's not like they're really going to kick out the one who ended up in last place!"
"Really?" Izuku asked hopefully.
Kirishima had a grin but didn't look any of them in the eye. "Y-Yeah! I mean, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't…"
"You don't sound too sure…"
"Alright all of you." Everyone turned to Aizawa, who had turned off the scoreboard with a remote. "Now you have a good idea where you stand in this class. Now…"
"DEKU!" Izuku turned to Bakugou and let out a short gasp as the explosive teen stormed towards him with explosions popping off in his palms. "You shithead! You were holdin' back even after you showed off your Quirk?!"
"W-What?!" This was bad! Bakugou didn't know how extensively he had trained under Peter, and while he did hold back a bit in P.E it was to regulate his own strength. But Bakugou just saw this as another insult! "N-No, Kacchan, I was…!"
"I'll fuckin' kill yo-!"
Before he could lunge at Izuku, long strands of cloth wrapped around his neck, arms, and upper body. His explosions were also silenced, no matter how much he flexed his palms and struggled against his restraints. "What the…?!" Bakugou and Izuku looked back to see that Aizawa was the one holding them.
"What a pain…" Aizawa's eyes were bloodshot and showing obvious irritation. "Don't tell me you kids are going to give me dry eye from stupid temper-tantrums like this every day!"
"Dry eye…?" Wait, Bakugou's Quirk wasn't working right, and the comment about his eyes meant… "I-I know you! You're the Underground Hero: Eraserhead!"
The Hero that made it a point to operate at night and stay out of the public eye. The man who had the amazing power to suppress other Quirks with a glance and had practically no merchandise save for an extra strong coffee brand!
"Huh? Eraserhead?" Sero scratched his head. "Never heard of him…"
"Wait! I think I have!" The burly and full-lipped Rikido Satou shouted from his spot. "Didn't ya take down bunch of drug dealers a couple of weeks ago? A reporter lady was complaining you wouldn't give her an interview…"
"Man, talk about anti-social!" The mostly invisible Toru Hagakure declared, covering her mouth-area with her right hand which Izuku could only tell because the sleeve of her tracksuit went up.
"What the… let me go…!" Bakugou protested, only for Aizawa to glare at him.
"Let me make something very clear." Aizawa's voice was low and deliberate, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't know the history between you two. I couldn't care less about any of that. Just know that if you try rushing at him after I let you go or if you try any of this childish stuff on any of your classmates after this… I will not hesitate to kick you out of this school. Do you understand me, Katsuki Bakugou?"
Bakugou stared at him wide-eyes before glaring and gritting his teeth. He reluctantly stopped squirming without a word. The cloth retracted back to Aizawa who sighed and fished out more eye drops from his pocket.
"Wow… what the hell was that?" Izuku turned to see Jirou walking to him. "I knew he was a dick but that was just crazy!"
"K-Kacchan was just upset…"
"If that was upset, I don't wanna know what he's like when he's pissed." Sero said with a frown. Bakugou was just standing in place, his fists clenched and his head down. "I mean, he looked like he wanted to murder you."
"He did say he wanted to kill you." Uraraka agreed with a nod.
"Yeah… But now he's going to wait for an exercise or something to do that."
Training with Bakugou is going to be a nightmare.
"Yeah, but you gotta admit the guys passionate! He always givin' it a hundred percent!" Kirishima flexed his right arm and grinned. "I'm pumped just thinkin' about taking him on!"
"WAAH!" Everyone turned back to Mineta, who was now openly sobbing. "I'M SO SCREWED!"
"C-Calm down, Mineta-san!" said Yaoyorozu. "There's no need to be upset!"
"Oh yeah, that's easy for you to say!" He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You're not the one being kicked out!" He continued to cry and everyone looked unsure what to say. Even Izuku was for a loss of words. What could he say without making things worse for Mineta?
"Stop whining." Everyone looked to Aizawa who was putting away his eyedrops. "You aren't getting kicked out."
Mineta sniffled. "R-Really?"
"Hah! Knew it!" Kirishima shouted while pumping his fist into the air. "It was just a trick to motivate us."
"Obviously." Yaoyorozu sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, I'm surprised none of you figured it out. It was so obvious..."
"What!? No fair, Yaoyorozu-chan!" Mina huffed. "You could've told us it was just a lie…"
"Oh no. I was being serious."
Everyone slowly turned to Aizawa, who was giving them a scary grin. "I would have expelled the student in last place. I would've even expelled all of you if you didn't impress me enough."
Everyone's jaws dropped.
"WHAT?!"
"Anyone can get into U.A. with a powerful Quirk and enough study time." Aizawa cleaned his ear with his pinkie. "But a lot of those who do get in think they can coast by on their Quirk. I'm here to tell you that's not enough. Your Quirks are useless if you don't have the imagination to use them creatively… or the potential to grow."
He pointed at Mineta. "I saw you use your Quirk in the side-stepping exercise to increase your speed. You used a very simple Quirk in a way that outpaced most of your classmates in that particular exercise, so I know that with enough training you can make a decent Hero." He grinned at the crying Mineta. "That's why I didn't kick you out. But make no mistake: one slip-up and I'm revoking this decision."
"AIZAWA-SENSEI!" Mineta cried, throwing himself at the teacher with his arms outstretched. The Underground Hero simply stepped to the side, allowing the diminutive student to hit the ground facefirst.
"The same goes for the rest of you!" Aizawa shouted at the gathered students. "U.A is not a playground! This is a school of Heroes! The moment you take your training here as anything less than essential is the moment you clean out your desks! U.A has no time for wannabes!" He gave them a firm stare as he continued. "From now on, you're all going to live and breath the school's motto. Go further beyond… Plus Ultra-style."
"Right!"
Izuku smiles as he looked at Mineta who was scrambling to his feet. "Aizawa-sensei is… harsh, but he means well!"
He was happy for Mineta, and himself for making the right decision.
U.A only taught the best to become Heroes.
"A threat of expulsion and a physical assessment… on my first day!"
There was one thing Izuku could gather from this:
His school days were never going to be boring!
IZUKU MIDORIYA!
His Quirk? GHOST SPIDER!
This kid can do anything a spider can… and then some!
With the setules and proportional strength of a suped-up spider, Izuku Midoriya can climb up walls and lift almost… ten tons!? Better hope he doesn't get a grip on you!
But that's not all! He also has a spider's innate sense to detect danger and can even send a blast full of biolectric 'venom' into an enemy with a touch! He can only do it once a day, so ya better hope he did his one-shot attack on someone other than you!
Finally, his phasing ability lets him move through objects! He'll really mess up any electrical device he passes through and if he moves through flesh he'll Cronenberg it! But if he uses it too much, he'll get a tummy ache!
"Are you sure this is everything?"
Enji Todoroki, known throughout Japan as the Flame Hero: Endeavor, took a cursory look through the files in his hands as he walked behind Dr. Tsubasa on the way to the samples room.
"Everything we were able to gather before most of our samples of Midoriya-kun's blood were used up.' Tsubasa chuckled a bit. "We were really running ourselves ragged trying to find out just what happened to the boy. Testing for various venom strains and the like."
Enji grunted while he looked two x-rays. One of them was obviously from a skinny teenager who barely worked out. Hardly any muscle around the bones. The second one was radically different. The bones were slightly thicker while the muscles expanded dramatically. Several question marks were on the corners of the notes that described the radical body change which had occurred in little under forty-eight hours.
Well, at least it showed the doctors here weren't dumb.
They just couldn't comprehend that what was happening was a Quirk activation without the Quirk.
It was unnatural. It went against every single law of biology they knew.
Hell, Enji himself still could barely accept what he was seeing.
"So you couldn't find anything from all the tests you ran? All those vials of blood were wasted for nothing?" Enji asked. He didn't get to be the Hero with the most solved cases under his belt by leaving things be.
But did he get recognized for that? Oh no. Everyone just paid attention to All Might and his stupid grin whenever he beat the Villain. Nobody paid attention to his hard work. The blood, sweat, and tears he put in to keeping them safe both in the spotlight and behind the scenes.
If only they knew the sacrifices he had to make...
To his credit, Tsubasa didn't seem to be phased by the question. "Well, I wouldn't say that. After Midoriya-kun's case, we have a firm understanding of how to stabilize a person if they are bit by a similar spider. And our tests uncovered several potential new antivenoms. Our research is still in the earliest stages, so don't expect to see them in the science or medical journals anytime soon. It's simply incredible…"
Tsubasa stopped when they reached a door that read 'LEVEL 1 HOSPITAL STAFF ONLY'. "Please wait here, Endeavor. This will only take a minute." With that, Tsubasa entered the room and disappeared.
Endeavor leaned against the wall and kept reading through the files. Most of it consisted of medical jargon he couldn't understand, but did his best to memorize it. He would be able to look up the things he didn't understand later so he could make a note of relevant information for his investigation before he had to share the files with Nighteye.
It irked him having to share this investigation into Mysterio with All Might's old partner, but at least the man was only handling the string of kidnappings connected to Mysterio and his cronies. Enji had a good amount of control over everything else pertaining to the case, including what other Heroes could get involved.
Thankfully, this was one where All Might wasn't needed.
Let him walk an old lady across the street. Endeavor would be the one to really make a difference.
The door to the lab opened and Enji closed the files. Tsubasa was carrying a small briefcase with a smart lock just under the handle. "These are all the samples we had left after our tests. The records will confirm the number as well."
Enji grunted and took the briefcase. "Thank you for your cooperation."
"May I ask what that boy has gotten into that necessitates this?"
Enji's eyes narrowed. For some reason, something about this doctor seemed… off. "All you need to know is that it's none of your business."
"Ah. Classified, huh?" Tsubasa nodded gravely. "Well, the paperwork was in order so I won't complain. Hope what we had helped your work, Endeavor."
Enji eyed him for a second before giving a stiff nod and leaving.
He would have to look into this place soon. Something about it raised the hairs on his neck.
Tsubasa watched as Enji went to the doors that lead to the stairs and returned to work.
He did the usual routine. He saw patients, delivered good news and bad in-person or on the phone, talked with Misato in reception about her kids, and managed to squeeze in enough time to enjoy the taco special in the cafeteria.
He made the rounds as usual until it was time to go home, and once it was almost nine at night he went to his office.
Whistling to himself, Tsubasa opened the bottom drawer of his desk and punched in the combination for the safe inside.
As it beeped, the electronic lock opened and he took a look inside.
In the temperature-controlled interior there were six vials of blood, each of them marked with a strip of tape labeled 'MIDORIYA' on the side.
"That was a close one wasn't it?" Chuckling to himself, Tsubasa opened a drawer to his left and took out a suitcase. "Well, we better not push our luck." He opened it and placed each vial inside the temperature-controlled container. When he was finished, Tsubasa waggled his eyebrows and mustache at the blood-filled vials.
"After all… you and I are going to change this world."
The body of the former 'leader' of the Beetle gang laid sprawled on the floor. His green and purple tights were torn in places and his mask was thrown to the side. Blood ran from his ears, eyes, and nose and pooled underneath him.
"Damn it. Why couldn't you just pay him?" She clenched her fists. No, now was not the time to feel sorry for scum like this.
They had knowingly signed the terms and agreements of the Power Broker app. They knew they had to give a cut of their take to Mysterio whenever they did the job. In exchange, they would get their gear and any upgrades that came in the future.
Yes. It was a reasonable arrangement.
But the 'Beetles' had been greedy. They had gotten it into their heads that since they had the gear, they were under no obligation to pay their dues.
And because they missed their payments, the Enforcers had been sent in.
"That's right. It's their fault for being greedy. They chose this. It wasn't our fault they…"
"K-Koha-?" A timid, but distorted, voice stuttered from behind her.
She sighed. "Boomerang... You know we're not supposed to use our real names when we're on jobs."
"O-Oh… I'm sorry… I messed up…"
"Look, it's fine." She turned around to look to one of the few people in her life she could call a friend "You just need to remember, okay? It's fine since nobody here besides us, but you should try to use codenames more often."
Boomerang was a boy who was shorter than her, dressed in what amounted to a motorcyclist's attire with black boots that reached to his knees, metal shin guards spray-painted white, a black leather jacket zipped up with white shoulder pads and elbow guards, and black leather guards. Around his neck was a long white scarf that fluttered in the wind.
But on the sides of his boots were three white miniature boomerangs sticking out the back, matching the ones inserted into the three pockets that ran horizontally down each side of his jacket and painted to resemble ribs.
His head was covered by a sleek black motorcycle helmet with a visor that looked like a boomerang whose ends jutted up a bit to form two pointy 'ears'.
"O-Okay…" Boomerang shifted in place. "But… what if I screw up again? I don't mean to, but I…"
"Come on, it's no big deal!" She walked over and patted Boomerang's right shoulder. "All you've got to do is swap four names for different ones whenever we're wearing our gear. You'll get it right after a few more tri-!"
Something slammed through the ceiling and onto the floor just across from them. "What the!?" She narrowed her eyes and saw that it was the mangled body of a body of a Beetle. Every inch of him was riddled with holes and the right side of his face was practically obliterated. "Vulture!" She growled as she heard the familiar sounds of turbines becoming louder.
Their clothes fluttered from the wind as their teammate landed in front of them. A boy three years their senior wearing a dark green aviator jacket with the flag of the old country called South Vietnam stitched on the left arm. He wore matching pants that were tucked into metallic black boots which had two long blood-stained metal claws on the sides and one single claw near the heel. On his back and spread were two metallic 'wings' that were spray-painted green and had two spinning turbines in the center. They were attached to an egg-like pack which itself was strapped to Vulture with a firm harness on his upper body.
His face was covered by a metal mask, one that made him vaguely look like he had a beak, with glowing green eyes and tubes running from the sides to the back. His black hair was shaved short on the sides while the top was spiked back, which seemed to add to the dangerous air Vulture always exuded.
"Sorry I'm late!" Vulture's wings folded as he walked over to the corpse and kicked it. "This sonuvabitch was giving me trouble out there! Fuckin' bastard thought he could pull a move on me, but the skies belong to me!"
She growled and looked down. A piece of wood and broken off from the Beetle's crash and landed by her foot. "You idiot!" She stamped her foot in anger, turning her attention back to Vulture. "You could've killed us!"
He turned back to them and gave a dismissive wave of his right hand. "Calm your ass! I made sure you weren't in the blast radius, and thanks to your little toys nobody can hear us from outside! Other than a few screams, it was all nice and quiet!"
"That's not the point! Geez, how can you be so irresponsible!?"
"Ch-Cho.. I mean, Vulture, you shouldn't talk like that with her…"
"Aw, Jesus… not you too…" Vulture sighed and rubbed his hair. "Man up, dude! Only a fuckin' pushover just takes the side of a woman when their bro is in…" Vulture paused as he pointed at Boomerang. "Fuck man, you're bleeding!"
She looked back at Boomerang and finally noticed the blood running down his left arm. "Boomerang!" She reached ran over to him and reached for the disk on her left first aid kit materialized with a light flick of her wrist. She lifted Boomerang's arm and saw that his upper arm arm had been gashed and was bleeding like crazy. "Why didn't you tell me!? I could've been helping you earlier!"
"I-I didn't want to bother you…" Boomerang muttered, not reacting when she doused the wound with disinfectant.
"But what if it was really bad!? You can't do that! You're a member of the team, remember? We're supposed to look out for each other!" She began wrapping the bandage around Boomerang's arm.
Boomerang's devotion to the Enforcers was a sight to behold… but his disinterest in his own well-being made more than its own fair share of problems.
"At least he'll listen to me. If he does that, then he won't get hurt too bad…"
"Aw, leave him alone!" Vulture snickered. "That scratch is a badge of pride! I mean, you should've seen him before! He went totally apeshit on that one bastard who called you a no-tit bitch! I mean, he wasn't wrong but…!"
She had soon as she tied the knot on Boomerang's bandage she picked up the free piece of wood and threw it at Vulture in the blink of an eye. It hit him square in the face. "You little…!" He stomped over to her like she did with him, the two of them meeting in the middle. "The hell was that for!?"
"Why the hell did you have to say that!? You could've just said he was trying to get back at the guy who insulted me!"
"I was just statin' the facts! Calm you nonexistent tit-!" He dodged the punch she threw his way. "Hah! Missed m-!" He didn't dodge the knee she drove into his crotch. "FUCK!" As he doubled over and covered his junk, she placed her hands on her hips and gave a huff of victory.
But the elation of victory ended when she was picked up by her collar and brought eye-to-eye with the Enforcer's resident muscle.
He was a man that towered over 196 centimeters, his face covered by a mask comprised mostly of criss-crossing yellow material save for brown fabric that covered his forehead and converged to between his eyebrows. His eyes were featureless, reflecting the world and making his mood unknown to those save for people that knew him. The rest of his body was covered by a white suit, neatly pressed and buttoned up with a dark brown shirt and white tie. His hands were covered with brown and silver gauntlets. Specks of blood decorated his sleeves.
"Enough. Stop this foolishness right now." Shocker narrowed his eyes at her. "You are supposed to be our leader, so stop acting like a child."
She looked down at that. It was true. She had let the idiot's words get to her over something as trivial as her bust size. "Damn it…"
She thought she put aside stupid insults like those years ago…
"And you…" he turned his attention to Vulture. "She is your leader, so you will treat her with respect. If a subject does not agree with her, then you will drop it unless it is of vital importance to the mission."
Vulture groaned as he got up, cradling his groin. "Read ya loud and clear."
Giving a satisfied grunt, Shocker put her down. "Alright. I've just gotten the bank account numbers as well as the passwords. We're done here."
"Right…" She looked away from Shocker's sleeves and tapped the right earpiece of her helmet. "I'll call Mysterio-sama and let him know."
"While you're at it, ask him when we're going to get a real job! I'm sick with killin' wannabe punks all the time! When me and my gang were runnin' things back in Tokyo, we didn't just limit ourselves to..." She groaned as Vulture continue to rant behind her.
"Yeah, yeah we get it. You were on the street before joining up. You're such a big freakin' deal despite being an idiot." Well, Vulture may not know his way around algebra but he did know how to fight and work his gear. She'll give him that.
"Hello…" The voice of her boss caused her to stand up straight for attention. "I trust the mission went well."
"The Beetles are eliminated as per your instructions, Mysterio-sama." She responded as professionally as possible. Despite their closeness, Mysterio never wanted her to treat him like an equal.
He held the keys to her kingdom, after all.
"Never did like that bunch." He gave a short, cold chuckle. "Never liked their predecessors much, either. Abner was such a suck-up and Tombstone's brat is an entitled loser who could only slum it up with other losers to feel superior… but I digress. Now that the annoyances are out of the way, we can give the identity to someone a bit more willing… and cooperative."
"I can run background checks for you this time." She tried to hide the eagerness in her voice. "There will be no mistakes this time. Only those we can trust to handle the gear and make their payments would be allowed…"
"Don't bother. Just handing it to them and a short little message about how the last holder had to be let go thanks to violating the terms and agreement will be enough to kill any ambitious ideas." She could hear a low humming behind him, a harmonious sound she sometimes heard in her dreams.
The sound of another world.
"In any case, return to base. I need to discuss some things with all of you."
Mysterio was meeting them in person? He rarely did that to anybody but her, that disrespectful Villain called Prowler, and his partner within the League of Villains. "Mysterio-sama?"
She heard him chuckle. "We need to get ready. Soon you're going to be making your public debut… and you will be going up against the big leagues."
She was silent for a second, processing this information.
"The big leagues… then that means…" Her eyes narrowed, her lips twisting into a vicious smirk. "Heroes."
"Understood, sir."
"I look forward to seeing you soon, Clash."
With that, Mysterio cut his line and Clash let her hand fall to the side.
Heroes. They were going to face Heroes and make themselves known to the world.
"It's about time."
This was it. This was her chance to strike back at the world that rejected her. A world that hoped she would be locked up somewhere and forgotten along with so many others like her.
The Heroes thought they had things under control. That they knew all there is to their reality. They assumed the status quo would last, unshaken and unbroken thanks to All Might's presence.
It was time the Enforcers broke that illusion with a clash of thunderous sound and blood.
To Be Continued...
Notes: Phew! Managed to bring this bad boy out just a day before Spider-Man: Far From Home came out! Special thanks to reppuzan for helping me out in making that possible!
Okay, so I had a firm idea since the beginning of this fic that the whole drama during the Aizawa's assessment about whether or not Izuku was going to pass was going to be nonexistent. I mean, come on. The kid now has Spider-Man powers. He'll breeze through all of them. Instead, I decided to focus more on the POVs of different characters and get their take on the events.
Mineta was in last place and as much as I hate the little living cliche I hate the idea of bashing or throwing him out completely when there's no reason to. In the manga/anime Aizawa states outright that he can see if people have potential and he kicks out those who do not have it. Mineta, for all his faults, is intelligent and can use his Quirk creatively when he's not thinking with the head between his legs. That's why he's sticking around, but don't expect him to get any focus. You won't catch me dead writing a POV section for him.
Also, hoped you liked the set-up for future Villains! I'm really excited about what I've got planned for the Enforcers, and hope that you're all interested in what's going on with Tsubasa!
Special thanks to FoxOnPie for including this fic in one of the many worlds within the Neither A Bird Nor A Plane, It's Deku! Multiverse!
Please leave a review and check out this fic's TV Tropes page!
