"Now don't worry. This won't hurt... after I administer a dose of anesthesia." The doctor, Onita, said with a flatness that could rival a plateau. "Think of it as a precaution, albeit a heavily measured one."

Midoriya Izuku nodded with a look that betrayed no emotion. Or at least attempted to. He had charged headlong into a villain, soared through the air while gripping for dear life on the leg of his lifelong idol, and been tasked with eventually carrying the proverbial torch of All Might.

His mother, Inko, however, was much more open about what she was feeling. The green-haired woman looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Are you sure?! He won't feel anything uncomfortable?!" Inko had been semi-hysterical ever since she had seen her only son rush towards a certain gelatinous criminal on the news.

Upon finishing the injection, Doctor Onita gave the matriarch of the Midoriya family a sidelong glance as she inserted the syringe need into Izuku's arm, and gave a small upward curl of the lips. "He'll be fine." Barring an allergic reaction, but she kept that to herself.

"And are you positive this is safe?" Inko asked, breathing deeply.

"Of course! All establishments and offices of LexMed pride themselves on being of the utmost professionalism." She turned back to her patient. "How do you feel, Midoriya?"

"A little... woozy," he replied.

"Good. You'll be feeling fine in less than an hour." Turning to the door, Doctor Onita walked out, and the two greenettes could see through the glass barrier as the medical professional strode over to a trash can and threw the needle away. She then walked to a counter top and picked up a second syringe.

Curiosity got the better of the currently Quirkless young man. "What's in that one?" he asked as the doctor returned to them.

"Just a concoction based on Gadolinium," She clarified. "It will help us see the results of these scans in a far more accurate light, so to speak." Not waiting for anymore questions, she hastily repeated the process of injecting Izuku with the contents of the needle. With that process complete, she walked over to a corner of the room, towards a refuse bin with a biohazard symbol on the front, throwing the syringe away.

Making her way back over to the table, she gently guided Izuku down into a laying down position. "Try to remain absolutely still, young man."

The Quirkless boy gave a weak nod and an even weaker thumbs up gesture.

"If you would follow me, Midoriya." Doctor Onita made for the door.

Both women soon were on the other side of the wall to the room, looking in through a small window. Protective mother that she was, Inko kept her eyes glued on her prone son.

"And he's Quirkless?" Onita asked, pressing down several keys on the board before in quick succession.

"What?" Inko made herself focus on the words. "Oh, sorry. Yes, that's what we were told."

"I see. It's not unheard of for a late bloom to occur. I myself did not find that I had an unusual ability until I was nearly a decade old."

"Really?" Inko asked. The tiniest of slivers of hope seeped into her. Her son had always wanted to be a Hero, and nothing else.

Onita nodded. "In some fields, my peers are questioning Quirk diagnosis itself. A joint is hardly solid evidence, according to them. Minor birth defects and whatnot. Some of them say Quirks can be brought on by trauma or stress, but that's just here-say." A few keystrokes later, the x-ray hummed to life, snapping deep portraits of the patient. "That dye I injected earlier should tell us of any rips in his innards and organs, as well as internal bleeding."

Inko nodded choppily. "Thank you, for letting me be here. I've just been practically pulling my hair out ever since that incident with the Sludge Villain, and he's been acting so differently lately."

"As a parent myself, I know how it feels to see a life you created in possible, unseen danger."

Not even a minute later, Doctor Onita quickly entered a command sequence to shut down the machines scanning Izuku. "Now then, we-" The other door behind them suddenly swung open, causing the doctor and Inko to look at the intruder. It was a rail-thin man in a white lab coat.

"Ezaki." Onita acknowledged her colleague. "Is there an emergency?"

Jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to the hallway, Ezaki said, "I need a word."

With a roll of the eyes, Onita finished turning off the x-ray scanners. "Make it quick."

The two in ivory coats walked down the hallway. Staying where she was, Inko continued looking through the window to Izuku. He was not moving, perhaps for the best. Onita had not given him leave to get up yet. However, her ears involuntarily picked up a few of their words. Tonight... strange... project... dosage... neon?

A few seconds later, Onita returned, holding a new syringe.

"What happened? Is something wrong?" Inko feared the worst.

"Nothing that cannot be corrected," Onita assured. "One of our staff got a few numbers mixed up but it's nothing to worry about now." Her words had just the slightest of hints suggesting hesitation.

Inko watched as she helped Izuku up and inserted a third needle into his arm. Putting the syringe into her coat pocket, she helped Izuku to his feet with a gentle hand...

"Well, nothing seems wrong," Doctor Onita said as she and the two Midoriyas looked at the photos resulting from Izuku's scans. "No ruptures. No tears. No lesions. You're perfectly fine."

Inko nearly cried with relief while Izuku smiled with relief. A small part of him worried that if he got injured this early into All Might's training, the Number One Hero might give up on him. It was a long shot, but still it gnawed at him. He was still dazed has he sat in the chair as his mother and the doctor exchanged some words. Everything seemed to be in order, and the two green-haired ones made their way to the ground floor and out the door.

Before they left, Izuku looked over to the wall and, for the first time, noticed two large paintings of two different yet similar men. He wondered to himself if they were brothers before he began to remember a few things. Both had not a single line of hair on their scalps. One had green eyes and a smirk on his lips, as if he knew something dire and was not sharing. The other had a small yet thick beard on his chin and yellow tinted glasses over his eyes. History lessons had taught Izuku who the former was, yet the second one escaped him. A business partner? The man who built the building? Or something else...

Upon nearly tripping over his own feet, he decided it was more important to staying upright until the numbing agents wore off.

The night had been a blur. Izuku could barely remember anything after leaving the LexMed building. The morning proved to be better. He was fine, just like he had told his mom countless times yet still had gone in just to be sure.

On the train ride to his middle school, he pulled out his phone and began surfing the information super highway for the latest Hero news. What he found sent a shock to his system briefly.

LexCorp medical building the location of a suspected terrorist attack?! He read the article quickly, eyes dashing back and forth.

The place had been fire-bombed on multiple floors, injuring scores of workers and patients. The building still stood but was essentially condemned.

A cold sweat ran down his back. What if he and his mother had been there when it had happened? How close had that call been? Taking a few deep, cleansing breaths, Izuku attempted to get a hold on himself.

Class was no different. The usual teasing from nearly everyone was present. Shocking, is it not?

Dweebs, he thought to himself venomously, before freezing and staring down at what his classmates and teacher would assume to be his notes. Where did that thought come from?

He had never held any ill will towards his peers before. So why start now?

I'm just tired, he told himself. Still getting used to All Might's training schedule.

He kept to himself for the rest of the day, never quite figuring out his unseen, momentary outburst.

Walking down the streets towards Dagobah Beach, Izuku continued pondering on just what had brought about that spark of rage. Sure, it had passed over him as soon as it had appeared, but that did not mean it would not return, or worse, overstay its welcome.

Is the stress getting to me? If I can't handle the pressure of trying to into UA, how am I gonna survive what comes after!?

Before he could launch himself into one of his signature muttering tirades, something caught his eye. He had walked this path to the filthy beach several times now, and yet he had never noticed the motorcycle dealership. It had never been something to pay mind to, but now? Izuku found himself staring at a few of them, imagining himself riding down the road with the engine roaring.

Blinking a few times, he made himself continue on towards his training ground.

Where did that come from? He questioned himself. I've never keep into any sort of vehicles before. Now, I kind of want to go for a test ride... no. It's a pointless fantasy. I'm too young to drive, and have more important things to do right now.

"Who throws out a taxi cab?!" Izuku wondered aloud as he tried to push the yellow car towards a designated pile. The flat tires and rusty axel were not helping in the slightest.

Yagi Toshinori, better known to the world as All Might, the Symbol of Peace, chuckled slightly at the rhetorical question. Currently in his true form and sitting atop the slowly but surely moving car, he looked down at the boy he had chosen to be the next wielder of One For All. "Believe me, Young Midoriya. You're going to be seeing far stranger things in this business."

"Why do I not doubt that?" He panted as he finally got the taxi where it had to go. Leaning on the dented hood, he panted like a dog on the hottest day of summer and wiped the sweat from his brow. Hard work towards his dream... Every single drop of perspiration was worth it. Is it just me, or is this getting easier?

Groaning, Izuku opened his eyes. Judging by the orange light on the walls, the sun was just beginning to rise. Another day to be seized.

He pulled himself up and got out of bed. With a sniff, he could smell breakfast already being prepared. As if on cue, his stomach growled. As he got to his feet, he felt a little dizzy. Exhaustion brought on by inadequate sleep? Oh well, there was little else he could do but power on through it.

Making his way to the kitchen, he quickly made a detour to the bathroom. Switching on the light proved to be a somewhat bad move. His ocular organs were still adjusting to the morning, thus he had to blink several times. Eventually his vision cleared.

And what he saw in the mirror made him yelp and check behind him for a possible home invader, because he certainly did not recognize what was in front of him.

Inko had obviously heard his outburst. She had made a beeline for the door, which was still open. "Izuku, are you AAAHH!"

"Mom... I think..."

Were it not for the voice coming from the being in front of her, Inko would have drawn the same conclusion he had about somebody breaking in.

Where once there had been fair skin, it now looked like Izuku had taken a swim in a pool full of white paint. His green eyes had been replaced with solid scarlet gazers, and around them were what could be described as spontaneously appearing black birthmarks that brought a crescent moon to mind. Even his hair was different. While his mane was still its spiky, wild self, the color was black and shiny, like a grand piano.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Inko vaguely remembered Doctor Onita mentioning getting a Quirk far later than most.

"Are..." She gingerly reached out and touched her boy, both to reassure and calm him, and to make herself sure this was reality and not a dream. Or a nightmare. "Are you okay?"

"I... I feel..." He looked back into the mirror... and a smile grew on his now snow-hued lips. "I feel fraggin' great!"

Parting Words: A major source of inspiration for this came from the Dark Nights: Death Metal tie-in, Infinite Hour: Exxxtreme.