Spongebob was motionless, hands pressed to his mouth.
In the middle of Bikini Bottom square, there was a gigantic black jellyfish, which had enclosed Squidward, the sea sponge's friend, among its deadly tentacles.
"It's my fault... He has exhausted his strength with me..."
Spongebob was Quirkless, a very normal sponge in that ocean of super beings, and his octopus friend, Squidward, was no exception, being born with the powers of Explosion.
Not normal was also the loyalty that the yellow sponge felt for the turquoise octopus, which was angry and haughty towards him, and treated Spongebob as a nullity, because he lacked an Uniqueness.
Not far from them, there was Mermaid Man, now frail and elderly, with under the orange suit the signs of a deadly fight, and the marks left by it prevented the Hero from fulfilling his task.
Spongebob was tormented, because Mermaid Man's Quirk wouldn't have activated in time to save Squidward, and the other Heroes who arrived in the square didn't have the skills necessary to deal with that muddy black jelly that was swallowing his friend.
Now the sponge couldn't help but bend over himself with guilt, praying that someone would come as soon as possible to put an end to that horrible spectacle. Despite his thousand flaws and anything but appreciable behavior, he cared for Squidward.
Squidward, meanwhile, was there, with his mouth and nose covered by the jellyfish, which sent pink flashes and reflected the light that penetrated the surface, and this play of light helped to make it even more disturbing than it already was.
The bright spots were as big as eyes, and in fact they looked like the big eyes of a ravenous predator, who would have devoured the cephalopod in one bite.
Spongebob looked horrified, with blue eyes wide open with horror, while Squidward kept them closed and fought not to suffocate.
It was a matter of a moment.
Squidward opened his brick-colored eyes again, and a desperate plea for help emanated from them.
Spongebob, then, as if maneuvered by thin threads, ran like a madfish towards the center of the square.
All the Heroes crowded around him shouted not to do it, to stop, but he didn't hear them.
The black jellyfish had stopped, and Squidward had also had time to focus on his savior.
"Spongeku?"
The latter, frightened, ran into the flames, because the monster had devastated a part of the city.
"What am I doing?! Why am I running ?! Why can't I stop?!"
The jellyfish was coming towards him quickly, and he was thinking just as quickly.
"What would a Hero do in this case?"
An illumination went through his brain.
"Of course!"
He grabbed the backpack he kept on his shoulders, and which contained everything needed for school.
The zip was half open and in flight all the contents spilled over the jellyfish, which was overwhelmed by books, notebooks and pens.
Taken aback, it flew backwards and loosened its grip on Squidward, who could take a deep breath.
"SQUICCHAN!" Spongebob shrieked, starting to scratch the jellyfish's gelatinous skin, being careful not to touch its tentacles.
"What happens?! Why are you here?!"
"I don't know, my legs moved by themselves!"
The jellyfish regained control over Squidward.
Spongebob looked at him with tears in his eyes as he desperately tried to smile like a real Hero:
"Squicchan... I couldn't leave you at the mercy of this monster!"
Mermaid Man's Quirk was reactivating; with his last strength, Squiddy tried again to shake off the jellyfish.
Just when the beast was about to throw its black tentacle on Spongebob, a shadow protected him:
"I'm pathetic, huh?"
It was Mermaid Man, and he had blocked the blow.
"Heroes always risk their lives! Anthozoa Smash!"
With that single punch, Mermaid Man had made the black jellyfish fly away and caused a strong underwater current that threatened to overwhelm the remaining Heroes as well.
And while the white-haired hero remained on the ground to catch his breath, Spongebob thought about what he had done.
"I don't know why I've acted like this..."
From an early age, he was told that he would've never developed a Quirk... and in fact the most vivid image he had in his mind was that of his mother, Margaret, who had hugged him tightly when he discovered that he would've never been like the other children, nor could he have aspired to Hero's career.
Squidward's words, who didn't want him in his own school, had come back to him as well:
"Do you think I'd accept having someone like you in my class?"
"What went through your mind?"
"You didn't have to risk your life!"
Spongebob's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the Heroes, who cursed his rash conduct.
Squidward, on the contrary, was praised for his resistance and the good Quirk.
But he didn't listened to those compliments, and yet he loved them, and a lot too.
His sharp gaze was focused on the boy a few meters away, sitting in penance in front of the Heroes.
After a few hours, after being visited by the doctors, Spongebob was preparing to return home.
"I would have liked to apologize to Mermaid Man... I will try to leave him a message on his official page."
"Spongeku!"
They were also neighbors.
The octopus was out of breath.
"I... I wasn't asking you to save me! You didn't save me, I did everything myself, let's be clear! A Quirkless cannot underestimate me like this! Or did you save me to make me feel indebted to you? Dishwashing sponge!"
"Wow... He recovered well..." thought the yellow creature, "... But he's right, in truth I didn't do anything, I'm always the same, even if I'm satisfied with myself. Now that I understand it, I can start thinking about a future more suitable for me..."
"HERE I AM!"
Spongebob shouted. Mermaid Man had suddenly appeared.
"Mermaid Man, what are you doing here? I thought you were still dealing with journalists..."
"It doesn't take anything to get away for someone like me!"
Even though he was trying to maintain his former strength, the Hero was visibly weakened.
"I came looking for you to apologize and make you a proposal..."
He still didn't know, the unsuspecting yellow sponge, but he was about to become part of the great story of the underwater Heroes... It would have been hardships and sorrows, but also friendships and sincere smiles. He would have cried, laughed, got angry, felt frustrated... But he would have had in himself the power of Mermaid Man, something that would have burned in him like an Olympic torch.
What he had done that afternoon had been the first step towards his very personal climb to heroism.