Capcom, Mega Man, and all related characters are registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi, Shueisha, Viz Media and Studio Bones.

Chapter 2

When Izuku awoke he was greeted by his room's silence as the morning rays peeked through the blinds. A scraping sound came off as he raised his head, what he could feel was heavier than normal. The swelling must have come down as his eyes didn't feel puffy or strained.

He raised a hand to his nose to feel it clean and straight. Izuku couldn't recall whether he ever straightened it out or bandaged it in any way. How odd.

"You're awake!"

The sudden unfamiliar voice had him jump out of his seat, turning to greet the eyes of a floating rainbow colored orb with glowing particles flecking around it, hovering just centimeters from his face.

"GAAAAAH!" He screamed, backing away from whatever it was. His foot caught in the chair's legs, stumbling him as he caught his balance on the desk.

A transparent image of a human in blue armor stared at him with a surprised but happy smile. "You can see me!"

Still numbly processing what was going on, Izuku nodded silently. The blue armored creature's eyes widened, swiveling to the blank screen of his computer.

"How's your head? You should get to the Quirk-" The person started but before he could finish, Izuku crawled away as fast as possible to his door. A shadow from the mirror to his right made him turn, and he gaped at what greeted his eyes.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

The door to his room swung open, his mother appearing with a panic stricken face. "Izuku! What's wrong!?"

What she saw was not what she expected.

Izuku gaped at the mirror, hands shaking as they rose to prove that what he saw wasn't a hallucination. This wasn't real, it'd been over ten years! The doctor proved it! He couldn't have a quirk!

But there they were, right in front of him. His fingers traced along the warm, smooth contours of the white metallic antenna sprouting from the sides of his scalp. They pointed up, reaching past his head, adding a few extra inches to his height.

His hands went down to the antenna base and felt the connection point, right behind the top of his ears. A gemstone of all things was lodged at the center of his temple, glowing a dull gold.

He felt… different than before. It wasn't just that his wounds were gone; he could feel the lingering aches. But he felt… more than normal. He clenched his fist; his body felt lighter, faster, stronger. He felt…

Alive.

Tears rolled down his cheeks, turning around to greet his mom's wide eyes.

"A quirk…. MY quirk!"

Inko Midoriya couldn't believe it. It was an impossible statement; a harsh reality that she accepted many years ago. Izuku would not develop any powers no matter how hard he tried.

Her son rushed to catch her in a hug. Instinctively she embraced him back, staring in complete awe at the things on top of her boy's head. With hands wavering she touched the new appendages as it took her breath away.

Her son cried harder, "I… I'm normal mom!"

The words also made her tear up, "Oh Izuku!"

For so many years Inko thought she had failed as a mother. She failed to comfort him when he realized he had no quirk. She failed to encourage him as he struggled. This moment turned all those old feelings away. Mother and son bawled their eyes out in joy. They stayed like that for the rest of the morning, burning daylight without a care.

When it was all over, both Izuku and his mom sat down to eat their cold breakfasts. The school had been notified that he would stay home for the day, so they could go get his quirk registered.

Izuku pinched his cheeks, it wasn't a dream. It was real!

As Izuku cleaned himself up, he recalled the blue armored figure he saw before he saw the mirror. He dredged up as much of the memory as he could, drawing his best depiction of the person in a fresh notebook.

My Quirk Analysis Journal

The person looked tall even when most of his form dissolved under the light. While transparent, Izuku remembered the bright cyan eyes smiling at him when he woke up. Black lines crisscrossed sections of the torso following to his neck as if he was wearing some sort of armor. A bright red gemstone shone at the center of his temple as Izuku finished his recollection.

He felt his own golden gem as he pondered what it all meant. Did this person have anything to do with his own quirk? Were they related in some way? Who were they?

A ping on his computer brought him out of his mutterings. A map appeared on a window as he looked at the directions. Then a blue text message appeared for him to read.

Come meet! You're the only person that can see me!

Izuku jotted down the directions on a piece of paper, before walking out of his apartment with his mother.

The thoughts of going to the Quirk registry came back to his mind. It was really happening, now he needed to move to the next step; Izuku wanted to know what he could do, he had to find out. Of course the agency couldn't tell him what his power was, but it was for the sake of informing the world that he was finally normal now.

His mother understood. She looked so happy in a way that she hadn't in years, congratulating him for finally awakening his quirk again and again, and telling him how happy she was.

Izuku was too happy to mind how overbearing she was acting. His mother didn't have to suffer from her failure of a son anymore. No matter if she refused the notion if he ever said it out loud.

He remembered the look that Kacchan delivered before telling him to go home; The boy accepted him now, respected him too. Because he stood up. Because he wasn't simply hoping anymore.

Today was a new day. A big step for him, Quirkless Izuku Midoriya was no more.

It took them an hour to get Izuku assessed and update new records. The medical scans he was subjected to didn't help him or the agency deduce his quirk any better than the obvious. The material around his ears were made of a non-magnetic metal and the gemstone was a type of quartz. None of the Quirk assessment experts could tell what it was exactly. They could however deem it as a Mutant-type with a specific purpose; however said purpose was unknown.

"It's not often I'm stumped like this." A doctor told him once the exam was over.

Izuku was recommended to get counseling appointments, but considering the quirk itself wasn't inherently dangerous or uncontrollable, it wasn't considered a priority. That was what made him think and mutter under his breath as they traveled on foot, following the directions he wrote down.

His mother believed him when he explained what he saw, thinking it might have had something to do with his quirk. Another part made her concerned about their electronic security, so she made sure to come with him.

The initial tests regarding his quirk's abilities or parameters weren't helpful. His strength wasn't any better than he was pre-quirk. His speed hadn't changed at all, neither did his reaction speed or eyesight. It was a conundrum for Izuku. Quirks, especially mutant type quirks were special in that they changed the physiological makeup of the person that had it. Case in point, Kacchan was an Emitter type and while Emitter types didn't change the person by default; Kacchan's body adapted so that he was resistant to fire and explosive damage just so that his own quirk didn't hurt him. This made him resilient in other aspects like blunt force trauma.

But Izuku was utterly puzzled that his quirk didn't do anything. It seemed to him that his quirk was all cosmetic…

"Izuku, dear." His ruminations were cut short as he swiveled to greet his mom's impressed gaze.

"What is it?"

His mom raised a hand to cover her mouth, responding. "You didn't notice?"

He gave her a curious look, waiting for her to explain.

"Look!" She replied, waving an arm for him to see, "You haven't bumped into anyone since we left home! And it's been crowded for the past five minutes!"

His eyes widened and he looked around. It was true, even when he wasn't paying attention or occupied with his own mutterings he didn't get into any trouble at all! In a quick flourish he turned the page and started to write.

Izuku closed his eyes and realized he just knew where everything was. He could tell where everyone and everything was located! To him, everything was each a blip or dot surrounding him.

"Spatial awareness? Echolocation?" His mind whirled as he jotted down his thoughts. He'd have to test them out when he had the space and time. Could he be aware of walls in case of a circumstance where his vision was impaired?

There were so many possibilities! He needed full detailed accounts of his quirk. Surely it was hiding many more aspects; Was there a range limit, was it affected by day and night time? Too many questions!

"Izuku." His mother tapped on his shoulder to keep his mumbling under control. "Are we sure this is the right place?"

Honestly, Izuku wasn't sure. He double checked the address and compared it to what he wrote, and he was still concerned. He didn't expect the directions would lead him to a building that should have been lined off then demolished.

It was a three story dilapidated office with fading paint and cracked brick walls (Now matter how small those cracks were). The sign, or what was left of it, was nearly illegible, rust and dust crusted over the metal facing, so that Izuku could only make out the symbols of a cartoon skull beside a light bulb. The windows were heavily tinted, giving neither him nor his mother comfort when they walked in. The shop interior wasn't all that different from what was outside, it was cleaner certainly but that's where the differences ended.

There was a dim light pervading the show floor and the aisles were sparse, verging on the empty side while other sections were riddled with simple replacement parts for common electronics or appliances. It was completely empty, and didn't look like a patron had stopped by for a long time.

The front desk had covering walls like a cubicle, disallowing anyone aside from the first customer to get a good look at whoever was present, and that would be a struggle as well. It had a raised platform where both Izuku and his mother only saw the tips of frayed white hair, and the shine from the blading spot of an old man.

The old man in question was silent throughout the whole time they surveyed the place. Sounds of electrical discharge played a rhythm into his ears followed by the slight twinge of burning oil from a solder.

"Excuse me, sir?" Izuku quickly walked up to get the old man's attention.

The man waved a hand above the counter. "Are you picking up for someone?"

"No, we got these directions that told us to come here." Izuku explained.

The man laughed but still didn't pay them any heed, "That's a good one. Who in their right minds would send you to us?"

He must have misunderstood something, Izuku thought. He glanced around again, wondering if he wasn't played somehow.

"If you're here to use a training facility, I recommend you go to one of the nationally backed quirk gyms if you're going to get some practice." The man continued smoothly, since neither he nor his mother responded.

"I'm sorry, I think you have us confused with someone else," Izuku's mother explained politely.

Shuffling objects left his station before Izuku was quickly greeted by the sight of a balding head. The sides of his hairstyle went up and away as if they were wings, followed by fiery blue eyes under thin glasses. A bushy mustache completed the look on an aged face that seemed to be in the early seventies.

He looked at the pair before huffing, "Well? What is it?"

The grumpy old man was quite rude but that was Izuku's only hint. There was an option for him to leave and do everything on his own. He could train and learn more about his quirk, as well as form plans to enroll at U.A. The biggest thing that kept him from leaving was what he stared at.

Izuku gave the store another once over, trying to take in as many details as possible before he answered, "There was a person who gave me directions to find this place through my computer."

They could hear a sharp gasp before something felt off.

"The computer?" He demanded, his eyes stopped when it reached his forehead and Izuku just knew. "Do you have a name for this person?"

As quick as he could Izuku flipped the pages back to his drawing before handing it over to the old man. He narrowed his eyes to slowly lower himself to his seat, his view obscured once more. The loud thwack of a button press changed everything.

The doors leading outside locked themselves together before solid steel grates lowered themselves with a thunderous crack! A red light flashed with a dull alarm blaring out for them to hear.

His mother screamed, nearly tripping herself as he whipped to at a steel protective screen with wide eyes, right where the old man had peeked out from before.

"Who sent you!?" The intercom's ringing blasted.

Izuku was terrified. Thousands of possibilities ran through his mind; Was this a trap? The store was bad news from the start considering its lack of care. It must've been a villain's hideout!

Without knowing it himself, Izuku jumped in front of his mother in an attempt to shield her, when panels from all around them opened up to reveal weapon turrets, glowing, ready to fire at them with disastrous intent. There were dozens, complete with laser pointers all fixated on them.

"Not saying anything?!"

"We don't know anything! Honest!" His mother cried out, her maternal instincts had her try to move Izuku away from the line of fire.

But she couldn't push her son because of Izuku's newfound strength from his quirk, strength enough to have him roar defiantly, "You think this can stop this from coming out?!"

"This building can take anything you throw at it. Nothing outside of the strongest of physical impact or the hottest fires of the sun can get you out!" The old man threatened through the intercom.

The building was Quirk resistant?! How much forethought did this villain have?! How is it that no one had heard of him?! He had a shop for all of the public to see! Wait… couldn't have been a quirk to keep this man's activities secret? All Might! Izuku hoped within himself. Only All Might would-

"We'll see if you're willing to talk when we throw you straight to Tartarus!"

What?

"W-wait a second! Did you say tartarus?!" Izuku gaped, wide eyed. The old man wasn't a villain? "I think we have a huge misunderstanding!"

"You think you can lie yourself out of this one? Sorry kid, Auditory quirks are safeguarded with my powerful digital converters!" The man countered naturally, "You can't fool me! So be good and we wait for a Hero to get here…."

The turrets whirled up slowly as a threat. His mother screamed for him to get out of the way as he struggled to think of a reply. The old man wasn't a villain afterall. This was likely a safeguard location for underground heroes then. That was possible; There was very little information about underground heroes and what they did, those who did know usually didn't talk. What was certain was that many who weren't high profile worked alongside police and various government agencies, and their very nature called for secrecy.

If it wasn't that, then Izuku couldn't figure out the reason why the store was in such a deliberate state of disrepair, yet be fully equipped to counterattack various quirks.

Something from the intercom perked his ears. "Hey! What are you doing, you old fool!"

"What's going on down here? I heard the alarm!"

"They know about X!"

The other voice paused, "They don't seem dangerous at all."

The room's lights brightened up slightly, as a door from the edge of the counter opened to reveal a new face.

He looked to be the same age as the first, but with a full head of white hair with a thick beard which made him look a bit like Santa Claus. Concerned blue eyes looked over them worriedly. The man searched in one of his lab coat pockets to reveal a remote. Pressing a button caused most of the building defenses to shut down as he and his mother slowly got back up, warily watching the many turrets folding back into the walls. The red emergency lights faded just as the alarm followed suit, leaving a ringing silence.

The first man, who had threatened them with immediate death, came out from behind the counter to grumble. "You had to be such an optimistic fool!"

"And you're too much of a cynic to know any better," The other countered softly. "Look at these two! Do they seem like bad folk to you?"

"It's been done before."

He shook his head sadly at the claim, walking slowly to Izuku and his mother before flashing an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about this. It seems like my partner was too rash."

"I'll call for them to stop sending the dogs. But we will get a Hero here to sort things out."

"Who are you two?" His mother asked a bit fearfully.

He smiled softly, wrinkled eyes curved for added effect, "My name is Doctor Thomas Light, and this is my partner and colleague, Doctor Albert Wily."

Wily scoffed in a sarcastic greeting, "Welcome to Light and Wily Gear."

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