Not all men are created equal. That's the sad truth of the world we live in. Some would argue that this had always been the case, but it was made undeniable by the birth of quirks. It all started 200 years ago. A baby was born in China that glowed. Following that, reports of superpowers around the world popped up. Soon, the supernatural became the natural, and with it, an era of chaos ensued. But from that chaos arose the Era of Heroes, people whose job it was to protect civilians from Villains. Now, 80% of the world possesses a quirk, with the remaining 20% being seen as an anomaly. Those without quirks were incapable of matching those with quirks, simply due to the fact that society didn't allow them to be regarded as better. A fact I learned at the age of 4.

"Sorry, kid, not gonna happen," the doctor told the green-haired boy and his mother. At the age of 4, a person's quirk typically manifested, but not for Izuku Midoriya. All he wanted-all any child his age wanted-was to be a Hero. Ever since he'd seen the debut footage of All Might, the number 1 hero in Japan, he wanted to save people with a smile on his face just like him. His best friend, Katsuki Bakugou (Kacchan) had developed his quirk, the ability to shoot explosions from his palms, and all Izuku wanted was to have a cool quirk like him. But that dream was crushed by that visit to the doctor's office…No, it was crushed that night, when his mother didn't believe in him.

"Mom…Can I still be a hero?" Izuku pleaded with his mother with tears in his eyes while pointing at the All Might video. He needed her to tell him that he could still be a hero, even without a quirk. But her response wasn't what he needed.

"…I'm sorry, Izuku!" She rushed to his side and held him, crying all the while.

Since then, his life had been literal hell. Ever since discovering that he was quirkless, his classmates treated him as an object, something to practice their quirks on and ignore when not needed. The worst of this went to Kacchan, who quickly went from his best friend to his worst tormentor. The blond made it his mission to ensure that Izuku's life was as w\bad as it could be. But Izuku held his tongue, for speaking up about the bullying would tarnish Kacchan's reputation, and he couldn't be a hero with a record. The teachers weren't helpful, either, because they ignored it or didn't see it.

This happened for years, until that fateful day in middle school changed him forever.

"Alright, settle down class. You need to fill out your career application forms…ah, who am I kidding? You're all planning on becoming heroes, right?"

At this, everyone began cheering and showing off their quirks, until a snarky voice spoke up.

"Hey, teach, don't lump me in with the rest of these side characters." Sitting with his feet on the desk, Kacchan spoke up amongst the crowd.

"That's right, you're applying to UA, aren't you?" His teacher asked.

"UA?"

"Damn right I am! I even aced the mock test!" Bakugou sneered, standing up on his desk.

As the class began muttering amongst themselves over this development, the teacher decided to share Izuku's choice as well.

"Hey, Midoriya, aren't you applying there as well?"

"…"

The class burst out laughing, finding the idea of a quirkless loser attending UA hilarious. All except Katsuki.

Ring!

Once the bell rang, Izuku quickly went to the door, but he was stopped by Katsuki and his lackeys.

"We aren't through here, Deku!" Deku was another way to read Izuku's name, which meant "useless." What would happen to Izuku now that Katsuki was mad? Well, that would be covered later.

Alarms were blaring all around him as he ran. In his coat pocket was a vial containing a golden liquid. This liquid was the result of 5 years of study, as an alternative to quirks-manufactured superpowers, like in the comics of old. But this was made under the command of a very dangerous villain, overseen by a very evil doctor. This scientist, a man who had amnesia and forgot everything except his scientific knowledge, was one of the people who developed this liquid, which contained the power of 1 million exploding suns, theoretically. The man made his way outside before using the quirk he possessed. Whether this was his original quirk or not, he didn't know, but this quirk was called jump-warp, and it allowed him to defy space by jumping. Using it, he essentially teleported to a different part of Japan.

Izuku was walking home from school after a horrible day. Bakugou had destroyed his hero analysis notebook and told him that it would be better for him to jump off the roof and pay for a quirk in his next life. Worst of all, Izuku was too scared to do anything about it, so he was walking with his head down. Just as he was approaching a dark tunnel, a figure appeared before him. Not having time to react, the person fell on him.

"Oof!" Izuku cried. "Hey, are you okay? GAH!"

Izuku stared at the figure in terror, for the person was wearing a lab coat stained with blood, and his breathing was labored.

"Please…" he said, grabbing a golden vial from his coat pocket, "protect this serum." He put it in Izuku's hand before struggling to get up. Izuku stared at him, wide-eyed.

"W-wait, sir! Let me call a hospital!" Izuku started getting up, but before he could grab the man, he spoke.

"No, it's too late for me. Just keep the vial safe from-" Before he could finish, the two of them heard a noise. Turning behind them, they saw a person made completely out of sludge…and it noticed them, too.

"AH, just my luck! A meat suit to hide in!" He immediately lunged for the scientist, who pushed Izuku back. As he was getting engulfed in the sludge, he shouted out, "Run! Hurry!" And run Izuku did, all the way back to his house, though he felt like a coward later.