So, it's been made clear to me through some genuinely helpful reviews that I... probably should have uploaded this chapter along with the first one.

Pretty much everything that makes this story interesting and original (I hope, anyway), begins here, with Chapter One merely setting the stage. Once I realized my mistake, I immediately went about doing my last minute checks so that I could get this out ASAP. It's not reasonable to upload a story without its hook, and for that I apologize.

Hopefully I don't make any similar idiotic mistakes, but the whole point of this story is so I can practice maintaining something like this, so please bear with me.

Thanks for your patience.

Edit:

Fixed some formatting issues and typos.

Now... On with the show!

Camping is boring, Izuku decided.

Despite his family name implying otherwise,* Izuku wasn't the greatest with plants or the outdoors. In fact, he had a rather nasty allergy to a few types of flower that was rather common in more rural areas of Japan. Not enough to be dangerous, thankfully, but enough to give him a perpetually runny nose and the occasional sneezing fit.

Combine that with a general disinterest in classic camping activities, and… Izuku wasn't having the greatest time right now.

His mother tried to make it work, she really did, but the trip was monotonous at best and draining at worst. They were staying overnight in Kijimi forest, a place not too far a drive from Musutafu, and while his mother had clearly done some research, neither of them had ever been camping before.

Which led to their current problem. They didn't have any food.

"I'm so sorry about this, honey," his mother apologized for the third time in as many minutes. "The guidebook said that the best experience was to 'catch your own dinner,' and—"

They were sitting at the edge of Kijimi's small lake, cheap fishing rods awkwardly held in their inexperienced hands as they waited for something to bite. The sun was already setting, so the likelihood of them catching something in time for dinner was diminishing with every minute.

"Don't worry about it, mom," Izuku interjected. "It's fine, really. I get it."

"But—"

"Mom, you already explained it, three times even," Izuku cut her off. "It's not a big deal. The worst that'll happen is we stop someplace on the drive home tomorrow for food."

"I know, sweetie, I just… I wanted this to be fun for you, for us," she explained. "You've spent so much time cooped up in your room lately, doing your schoolwork… and I just can't help but remember all the times you'd sit with me for dinner and explain your latest idea for a hero costume, or the newest pro's debut—I… I'm worried for you, honey."

Izuku twitched a bit at the reminder of his prior… interest.

"Mom…" he began, somewhat warningly. "I'm fine."

"You never smile anymore, either," she continued, as if she hadn't heard him. "I don't want you to be miserable for the rest of junior high, especially if it carries on once you get into U.A… and what if you don't get in? It's very competitive there and you signed up for the hardest class, excluding the Hero Course anyway, and—"

His old mumbling habit had to come from somewhere, and that somewhere was definitely his mother.

"I smile all the time!" Izuku declared, properly interrupting her this time. "See?"

He gave his best cheery grin.

"That's just it, sweetie. I know you're faking it. You're terrible at hiding things, just like me, and I know when you're smiling for real or not," she stated gently. "You used to smile so brightly. It made me think that, no matter what you went through, you would be all right. Like All Mi—"

"I'm nothing like him." Izuku disagreed, standing up and stabbing his fishing pole into the ground forcefully.

"Izuku, wait! I didn't mean—" his mother exclaimed, shooting to her feet to try and follow him.

"I'll be in the tent," he declared, stalking off.

Midoriya Inko let out a sigh, sitting back down on the tree-stump she'd been using while waiting for a bite.

"I don't know how to help him…" she mumbled.

…

He knew she meant well, but he just couldn't help himself.

Saying his name had become something of a taboo in the Midoriya household. That man had committed the most raw betrayal Izuku had personal experience with, and while parts of Izuku still loved and admired him, they were usually overridden by the negative emotions he associated with the man.

It was frustrating, dealing with contradictory emotions, so Izuku tended to shunt the issue into a mental box marked 'do not open.' Of course, that made it all the worse when he was reminded of the situation.

For as long as it lasted, however, denial was a soothing balm to his problems.

He had a future planned out, and while it wasn't what he originally wanted, it was more than most could hope for. That was enough for him. And, now that the pain wasn't fresh, he was determined to move on with his life.

One of the things he'd always admired about Bakugo, despite all the problems with that particular mess of a relationship, was the fact that the boy never looked back or had regrets.

It was a trait Izuku was determined to emulate.

As he reached their campsite, Izuku's momentary anger was already cooling off. He wasn't the kind of person to get angry in the first place, especially when it came to his mother, so it was no wonder that the emotion didn't last.

I should probably go back and apologize, shouldn't I?

Just as he was about to turn around and walk back to the lake, he saw motion out of the corner of his eye. Blinking, he turned to face it.

Up in the sky was a light, streaking across the star-speckled canvas, was a glowing orb of light. It was a shooting star.

"Pretty…" he gasped.

A moment later, he had a thought. He'd heard a saying, from the west, that if you wish upon a shooting star, it'll come true. It was a myth, obviously. The kind of thing you tell children to make their world brighter… but even still, Izuku found himself wanting to believe—even if just a little.

Since it's impossible for me, I wish that in another life… I could be a hero.

Smiling gently, he continued watching for a moment.

That's when he noticed something… odd. The streak was getting bigger. Much bigger. Worse still, it was getting bigger quite rapidly. Frighteningly so.

Oh crap… That's heading straight at me, isn't it?

Adrenaline burst throughout his body, activating his flight or fight response. Given the absurdity of the idea, fighting didn't even register as an option. As such, he dove to the side and landed in a clumsy roll, pulling himself to his feet and charging further into the forest to the side of the path.

With nary a moment to spare, he avoided the trajectory of the meteorite; which tore through the trees and dirt where he'd been standing, continuing for several dozen meters and leaving a path of destruction that culminated in a massive shockwave.

Izuku flew into the air, propelled by the dust and kinetic energies of the impact into the side of a tree. A moment later, he returned to earth, coughing and wheezing.

Did that seriously just happen…?

Partly because of the shock of his situation, and partly due to an unhealthy dose of curiosity, he shakily pulled himself to his feet and approached the crater. Despite the dust still in the air, he could make out a roughly spherical hunk of… metal? Well, whatever it was made out of, given it came from space, it was resting at the center of a ten meter crater.

Sliding down the sloped dirt and rock, carefully avoiding contact with the parts that were still steaming, Izuku approached the orb.

"What is that…?" he murmured to himself.

The orb was definitely made of metal, with an unusual shape reminiscent of a nautilus' shell. Bits of it were dented and charred, no doubt from the perilous journey that is entering the atmosphere, and the air around was distorted from the heat it was emitting.

For a moment, Izuku paused, tilting his head from side to side as he analyzed the thing.

"The fact that it looks like that is fascinating. Either something managed to form into such a specific shape that looks like Earth's sea life, or it was purposefully crafted to look that way…" he mumbled. "Either option has interesting connotations, and unless it's just something dropped from our technology… this may be evidence of some form of extraterrestrial life…!"

The gravity of the thing's appearance hit him then, his eyes widening in shock as he realized the potential ramifications of his discovery… and that's when it opened.

Sliding open in a way similar to a garage door—segments of material on a pre-made track—the thing released ominous amounts of sound and gases, sending Izuku into a coughing fit.

Waving his left hand in front of him in an attempt to clear the air, Izuku stepped forward to get a better—

Suddenly, something latched onto his arm.

Screeching in utter terror, Izuku tugged his arm away as he fell backward. Whirling his arms around, he struggled to remain balanced as he panicked. He could still feel the weight of the thing on his limb, firmly wrapped around his wrist.

After several more moments, he realized that nothing else was happening. No yank of a monstrous tentacle into a portal in the metal shell, no constriction of his arm until his hand fell off, no biting or tearing at his skin…

Utterly bewildered, he turned to look at the offending limb.

"...what the hell?"

Sitting on his wrist, perfectly secured in a disturbingly comfortable fit, was a green wristwatch. It looked metallic, despite the way it conformed to his skin—stretching the way he'd expect leather or plastic to—with a black strip wrapped around everything but its face, which itself was unusual. Instead of a typical clock, there was a silver disk with a black and green hourglass upon its surface. The green of the hourglass was subtly glowing, inset into the black that surrounded it. **

"What is this thing?" he asked, somewhat rhetorically.

Twisting and turning it, he looked for any kind of latch so he could remove the unwanted accessory. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything there.

Now, while he'd so far been rather calm about the situation, never mind the girlish shriek a moment ago, he was not happy about the idea of there being some kind of—presumably—alien technology stuck on his wrist.

"Maybe there's some kind of button to take it off…?" Izuku wondered.

Using his other hand, he fiddled with the dials on the side of the face, pressing them like buttons at first and then trying to twist them like knobs.

The disc popped upward, extending from its base in a way that should not have been possible given its mass. Black and glowing green technological patterns wormed across the surface of the cylinder that held up the watch's face, adding another dose of otherworldliness to the timepiece.

Most notably was the way the hourglass shifted inward, crossing its own centerline until there was a large green diamond occupying most of the surface. Centered within was a black symbol that looked vaguely like three gemstones.

Utterly bewildered, Izuku pressed down on the cylinder. He did not want to break this thing while it was still attached to—

The moment that he depressed the whole thing, he heard a satisfying click. Within milliseconds of the sound, green light radiated from the watch and forced Izuku to cover his eyes in a panic. A distinct staticy feeling covered his body—like when your leg falls asleep—but spread throughout his entire self.

Moments later, he blinked away the green from his eyes and noticed something.

He felt… different.

...Is that my hand?

In front of his eyes was what both had to be his hand, yet at the same time couldn't be. Long, delicate, and most importantly feminine fingers obscured his vision. Twisting the limb around proved it was his, despite its altered appearance, and revealed even more mysteries.

At the base of the hand, right where the joint was, there was a circular indentation. Somehow, he knew that something belonged there, like seeing a USB port in a computer.

At the edges of his vision, he noticed blue strands of hair dangling from his head, further worrying him.

He turned to look at the metal shell that was the meteorite. It's surface was, though distorted, just reflective enough to show his appearance.

Staring back at him was a highly attractive face… for a teenage girl, anyway.

"...what?" he squeeked.

The girl looking back at him had a face designed for smirking, with a pointy chin, high cheekbones, and a nose with the slightest natural upward turn to it. The only thing that subtracted from the image was the freckles dotting her cheeks, since they distracted from the cat-like yellow eyes—

Images assaulted his mind as he stared into those slitted yellow orbs.

Devastation, flames, and the ashes of humanoid forms stretched as far as he could see. Above them all, silhouetted by overlapping twin moons, was a monster. A wild mane of blue hair crested her upper back, glowing orange orbs tinkling dangerously around the feminine figure and illuminating them eerily. Her feral grin caught a glimmer of light, but the glow of their eyes… those familiar eyes…

They could belong to nothing but a demon.

'Seven. Hundred. Years…' A voice whispered into his ear, shattering the illusion.

Izuku staggered a step backward, his head darting around as he looked for the source of the voice. The overwhelming nature of the situation plied panicked breaths from his lungs, bringing with them unexpected sensations.

Why is my chest this heavy…?

The crater was empty, well, excluding the metal shell and Izuku, of course.

'Give or take a few, anyway.' The voice continued lackadaisically, switching to his other ear.

"Where are you?" Izuku demanded in a panic, turning his head erratically.

His fright was only worsened when he realized his voice was nearly identical to the one in his ear, only a bit younger sounding.

'Why're you so scared, human?' The voice giggled.

"I-I'm warning you!" Izuku called, getting into what he was sure was a terrible imitation of a hero's fighting stance. His balance was off though, more than he'd expect of his untrained body, anyway. Unfortunately, he had a suspicion of why everything seemed so awkward.

Glancing down for the first time, he gained direct confirmation.

He was a girl now.

A rather busty one, if the way his shirt was riding up and revealing his stomach was any indication. The new weight distribution, when combined with the fact he was pretty sure he was taller now was more than enough to throw him off such that...

'Boo~!' The voice exclaimed, directly behind him this time.

"AH!" Izuku screamed, whirling around to face the source of the sound and...

...he tumbled to the ground, landing directly on his face with his rear in the air gracelessly.

'Oh—Oh I can't, I just…' the voice began. '...BAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!'

With a twitching eyebrow, Izuku pushed himself to his feet and went to yell at the source of the voice… But what he saw shocked him into silence.

"A... A… A ghost!" he shrieked.

Floating in the air was half of the monster he'd seen in that terrifying vision, now turned transparent, with the area below her knees dispersing into a ghost-like vapor that trailed toward the watch…

Which, when he glanced at it, he realized was now a tattoo of itself that wrapped around the center of his now feminine-looking left forearm.

'Y-you are just adorable!' the ghost declared patronizingly, her own laughter interrupting her words. 'A ghost she says! Hah!'

"Hey! I'm not a girl!" he denied.

The ghost swirled to the side, tilting over such that her wild blue hair dangled low. An impish grin slid onto her face. 'Oh re-a-a-lly…?'

She lifted her hands, her delicate fingers seeming more like claws than digits, and then she lunged towards Izuku's chest.

"EEP!" Izuku, well… 'eep'ed, twirling to the side and hugging 'her'-self protectively.

The ghost remained where Izuku had been a moment ago, tilting backward dramatically as her eyes gleamed. It was rather menacing in the moment, but no doubt looked bizarre from an outside perspective.

'Are you s-u-r-e…? Because you certainly acted like a girl just now, little Izu-chan!'

Izuku nodded her head rapidly. "F-fine! I'm a girl right now!"

It was worth dealing with being called a girl so long as the crazy demon-ghost-lady stayed away from her chest.

'Great!' she declared. 'I can't have my sweet little sister ignoring her feminine side!'

"...What…?"

The demented she-devil winked in reply. Winked!

'Why of course you're my little sister, Izu-chan! You look just like me now!'

The demon-ghost paused, wrapping her fingers around her chin as she pantomimed thinking deeply.

She's just… messing with me! Urgh!

'Well, besides those freckles of yours…' She continued, 'And the fact that you haven't reached the perfect, forever twenty-one look like yours truly.'

"Would you just get to the point, you… you demon!" Izuku shouted, her composure finally lost.

The woman flinched at the use of that word. Visibly recoiling like she'd been slapped. Her playful demeanor evaporated as her eyes welled with an almost comical amount of tears.

'I'm not a demon!' she whined childishly.

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to be sucked away by the watch tattoo, like a vacuum pulling a bald man's toupee. Clearly, she'd retreated back from where she came from, yet Izuku still remained in this new body.

Izuku stood there in shock for a moment, blinking a few times as her mind caught up with what just happened.

"What is going on…?" she whispered in utter, dumbfounded, confusion.

Suddenly rather tired, the now blue-haired former boy walked over to the metal nautilus and leaned against it, allowing her weight to carry her to the ground as her back slid against the thing's surface. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she rested her now pointy chin on her legs and began to do what she did best: theorize.

What do I know?

It was a rather obvious question, but utterly necessary to begin organizing her scrambled thoughts.

One: whatever is going on now is likely a result of that watch… which itself is quite possibly extraterrestrial in origin. Two: Somehow, when I pressed down on the watch, I turned into a girl—one that looks like a younger copy of the demon woman. Presumably, she's an alien from the planet that made the watch; but that's an assumption, just like the possible fact that the watch is, itself, from elsewhere in the universe. Three—

Nearby, in Kijimi forest, a skinny man in spandex yawned.

He was tall and lean, a prime example of the word ectomorph, with tall spikes of brown hair extending past his silver mask. The metal covering only obscured his eyes, but the mesh-pattern that served as the front of it allowed him to see through with little difficulty. His body was clad in yellow tights, with gray sleeves and metal cuffs on the arms and legs of the one-piece suit.

His long legs carried him far with each step, in the direction of the smoke trail that was still rising above the tree-tops. In his hand, he held a cell phone—it's bright light illuminating the side of his head as he held it to his ear.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he stated, his reedy voice unnerving what little wildlife was nearby. "Bag the shell thing and go, don't bother trying to open it or bad shit'll happen. I heard about that idiot who actually got one open before, y'know? I'm not lookin' for something like that to happen to me, no sir."

Indistinct audio erupted from the phone, and he pulled it away from his head rapidly, his arm stretching to twice its natural length as he rushed to remove it from his sensitive ears.

'Yeesh! No need to be so pissy, boss-man."

Another few steps, and he had entered the clearing created by the meteorite's crash landing.

"Hey, uhh… Boss?" he began, bringing the phone back to his ear. "Is there supposed to be a highschool girl next to the, and I want to make sure you hear this bit, OPEN shell thing?"

A response flowed from the phone's speakers, audible only to the yellow-clad man.

"What does she look like…? Why does that matter?" he asked.

Despite his response, he brought his free hand up and held it flat as he leaned forward for a better look.

"She's got blue hair, really long and spiky… I… can't quite make out her face at this distance, but she's wearin' clothes that don't fit. Maybe she's advertisin' the goods to the boys at her school…? Oh, and her eyes seem kinda glowy. As in, I can tell they're yellow from here even though I can't make out her face." the man explained. "No clue what her quirk is. Aside from the eye bit, she seems pretty normal…"

More indistinct audio left from the phone speakers.

"What? A weapon? I don't see anything like that on her, but the shell is definitely open," the man replied. "Hell, she's sittin' with her back against it right now!"

A brief statement came from the phone this time, much shorter than the other bits of communication.

"Fine, fine, I'll go check it out… The girl probably saw what happened, or… if she did open it, well, she's nothin' in the face of the great 'Gravitational Spring!'"***

The phone let out a 'beep,' going dark a moment later.

'Gravitational Spring' slid the phone into a hidden pocket, muttering a quiet "Asshole…!"

...and what will happen if this doesn't wear off soon?! I'll need to get my ID changed, and modify my application! Oh no, will they even let me do that? What if I can't prove I am who I say I am? Will mom even recognize me?

Despite all the ways Izuku had grown in the past couple months, he was still prone to falling down mental rabbit holes whenever he got too introspective or overly analytical. A major detriment that resulted from his above-average intellect.

At least he wasn't muttering it out loud anymore.

Oh crap, will I have to use the girls' rooms for the bathroom and changing for gym classes? I can't do that! I-I'll be called a pervert or—

This mental train of thought may have started with reasonable questions and suppositions about the situation, but… well, stress is a hell of a thing.

—and I'll never be able to get a girlfriend now! I had practically no chance before, but now I really have no chance! What kind of girl would want a mess like me?!

"Holy crap kid, you good?" A voice called, startling Izuku out of her thoughts. "You're just rockin' back 'n forth on your ass next to this thing. Are you having a breakdown? 'Cuz I can't handle it when girls cry—Dunno what to do with 'em."

"Huh…?"

Standing over her was a… hero? Who else would be dressed in spandex outside of a gym?

"Err… Who're you?" Izuku asked.

"The guy sent to check out this meteor, that's what!" the man declared, posing dramatically with his chin in hand and his eyes pointed down.

It probably looked much cooler in his head.

"Oh…"

"So, little missy, did you see someone come along and open this sucker up?" he asked.

"Uh, no… I was the one who opened it," Izuku replied, finally noticing that the man thought 'he' was a girl.

...He's not wrong, I guess. Still, it's weird to be called 'missy.'

"Oh? You did?" the man asked. "Did you see anything weird inside?"

Something was wrong. Before, the stranger just seemed like an average hero…

Well, most of them are eccentric in one way or another, since it takes force of personality to make it to the pro level. Besides that, many of them exaggerated facets of their behavior to make themselves seem silly and pacify the people they were saving. There were even classes on it in most hero courses…

Yet, the moment the man wanted clarification, he'd gained an… edge, almost. It was unnerving.

Izuku slowly stood up as she replied. "No sir, there wasn't anything inside. Was there supposed to be…?"

The spandex-clad man paused, his helmet gleaming as a grin slowly spread on his face.

"It ain't nice to lie, sweetie," the man stated, stepping toward her once.

Izuku replied by nervously shuffling back. All her instincts were screaming at her to run away and hide. This wasn't a hero, no…

He's a villain isn't he?

"W-what're you talking about?" Izuku stuttered.

"I know there was something in that meteor, kid," the man declared. "Hand it over, and ya get to live and go make out with your boyfriend, or whoever you're out here dressed like that for…"

M-my what?! Ew…!

"It's called a meteorite," Izuku interjected with false-confidence. It was the first thing that came to mind so she could stall.

She needed time. Time to think, time to come up with a way to get out of here.

"...What?" the man replied, thrown off by the correction.

"A meteorite. A meteor is what it's called when it's still in the sky. Most of them burn up from entry into the atmosphere and are called meteoroid—"

'MOVE!' A familiar voice shouted at her mentally, and something compelled her to slide slightly to her right.

Something blurred past the corner of her left eye, a distant 'boom!' resounding from behind her. Terrified, she slowly turned to the side and saw the man's arm—stretched out several meters and cutting deeply into the earth behind her. The arm blurred again as it retracted to normal length.

Several small strands of blue hair fell to the ground at her side.

"Stop stalling," the man ordered.

Despite the cold tone in his voice, the man's eyes kept darting between her and his arm, like something unexpected had happened.

H-he meant to kill me just now…! It wasn't a warning shot! I-If I hadn't dodged… How did I dodge that?

"S-sorry," Izuku replied, her whole body shaking with fear.

'Quite the situation you have here, huh, Izu-chan?' the ghost-lady's voice echoed in her mind.

D-demon lady?

'I am not a demon!' she shouted, making Izuku wince. 'Muuuuuuuu…'

Are you… Are you pouting?!

"Missy, you have five seconds to cough up an answer, or… well, I guess you're gonna get a far less pleasant experience outta tonight than you had planned with that boyfriend of yours." the villain stated.

Is there anything you can do to help?! He's going to kill us both!

'...How did you know I'm connected to you, Izu-chan?'

It was kind of obvious… between your comments and the evidence at hand.

'Oh, my cute little sister is smart too! This is great!'

"Three seconds, missy."

Please, Ms. Demon-lady, there's got to be more you can do besides turning me into a girl!

'My name is Ryoko! Ryo-ko! ...Muuuuuuuu...'

She had returned to pouting.

"Two seconds…"

Are you eight?! He's going to kill us!

'I'd rather be dead than a 'demon!'' Ryoko replied. 'Now, apologize to big-sis Ryoko!'

"One second…"

Fine! I'm sorry I called you a demon!

'Now, was that so hard, Izu-chan?'

"Time's up!"

At that moment, Izuku realized she was going to die. Time slowed down as she automatically tried to cover herself with her arms in a last ditch, instinctual attempt to protect herself. The man's arm blurred forward, coming straight for her head. Izuku clenched her eyes shut and prayed...

A second passed. Then two. When the third second passed, and nothing felt different, Izuku opened her eyes.

There was an arm sticking through her crossed limbs and jaw. Izuku's eyes widened in shock, a shout of pain clamoring to escape… and then she noticed something else. There wasn't any pain. More than that, she didn't feel any different than a few moments ago—so it wasn't shock either.

"...What?" Izuku said in astonishment.

The word was audible, too, as if the man's arm wasn't there.

'So you figured that one out, huh, Izu-chan?' the demo—Ryoko asked rhetorically.

"Never seen a quirk like that before…" the villain muttered, retracting his arm and stroking his stubble idly. "Well… It seems we've got a bit of a standoff here. Y'see, I'm not leaving until I get what I want, and I can't hurt you… but, since you definitely weren't fakin' your terror, there's probably some kind of downside to that intangibility of yours…"

Is there...?

'...W-e-e-e-ll…' the woman replied. 'When I use it, it's perfect. But… I can't imagine it'll be easy for a beginner. You might end up stuck underground until you revert back to your boring human self.'

This'll wear off? Oh thank god!

'...You don't need to sound so happy about it, Izu-chan…' Ryoko mumbled discontentedly.

Out of nowhere, a new voice shouted.

"Izuku?! Where are you?! Are you okay, honey?! I saw the crash, and our camp is nearby! Are you hurt?! Izuku!?"

Izuku's eyes widened.

Oh no.

The villain's grin deepened.

"Oh? What's that?"

Izuku turned toward the direction her mother's shout had come from and yelled. "Mom! Stay away! There's a—"

The villain's arm blurred again, stopping this time just in front of Izuku's mouth and muffling her words.

"Izuku? Was that you? You sound different… Are you okay?!" his mother cried.

A moment later, the green-haired woman burst through the edge of the forest around the crater, panting and huffing like she'd just run a mile… Which she probably had, actually. Given how out of shape she was, it was rather impressive.

"W-what's going on here?" the woman demanded between heavy breaths.

The villain let go of Izuku, his other arm smashing into the ground behind him and launching him over to Inko. Though she briefly struggled, the woman was rapidly overwhelmed and wrapped in a single, extended, arm of the spandex-clad villain.

"You've seen the news, I'm sure, so you know how this works!" The villain shouted.

He… He has my mom…

"Give me what I want, or this chick gets it!"

The green-haired woman was still trying to struggle, but when the man's grip visibly tightened, she stopped moving altogether, her eyes frozen in terror that Izuku could see despite the fact that twilight was rapidly giving way to dusk.

I… I have to do something…

All Might's words echoed in Izuku's mind, freezing her in place as she struggled to do something, anything, to save her mother.

I can't. I'm useless. I can't be a hero… I can't save anybody… Not even mo—

'Alright, that's it!' Ryoko shouted mentally. 'No sibling of mine is going to throw a pity party before she's even done something!'

"Hello?! Anyone home in that empty head of yours?!"

B-but what can I do?

'Just get close to him somehow, lie if you need to, and leave the rest to me… Just trust your big sis!' Ryoko declared confidently.

Somehow, Izuku could hear a grin in her words.

"F-fine! I'll give you what you want!" Izuku called.

"Great! Now get over here!" the villain ordered, lifting his other arm and aiming his palm at Izuku as a passive threat. "No funny business either, it's r-e-a-l easy to startle me… and you know what that'll mean for your dear old mom!"

Izuku nodded firmly, blue bangs smacking against her forehead.

One step, two steps, three…

Sweat beaded down her forehead as her hands shook.

Five steps, six steps, seven…

R-Ryoko… You do have a plan, right?

Silence was the only response.

"Alright, that's far enough!" the villain declared.

There was still a good two or three meters between them, and Izuku didn't think it was close enough.

Ryoko? Is this close enough?

Silence…

"So, out with it! What'd you get out of the meteor?" the man demanded.

I'm terrible at lying, so I should just tell him.

"I-It was a—"

Izuku's throat suddenly tightened, setting off a bout of coughs several seconds long.

"—a wa—"

The coughs interrupted her again, worse this time, and she fell to her knees, throat clutched in her hands.

"The hell's wrong with you, brat?" the villain demanded, pulling Inko along with him as he approached Izuku.

'Now, Izu-chan!' Ryoko suddenly declared.

Izuku felt… something form within the palm of her hand, instinct causing her to clamp down on the… orb? Yes, the orb of orange energy in her hand. It instantly extended into a simple approximation of a blade, almost like a lightsaber actually, with a laser extending upward to form a blade as well as an extension below her fist in a disconnected mimicry of a dagger.

Instantly, she lunged forward, her body moving with a speed and grace that felt alien to her as she closed what little distance remained between her and the villain.

Bzzt!

With a perfectly timed and aimed swing of the light-blade, the arm that wrapped around Izuku's mother fell to the ground limply. The man stumbled backward, staring at his newly cauterized stump in shock. The currently blue-haired former boy stumbled as well, gawking at the damage she'd done with barely any effort.

Inko coughed a few times before scurrying backward. The whole time, she was staring at Izuku with a mix of wonder and confusion.

"Who are you...?" she asked.

Izuku startled at that, the light-blade fading from her hand as she almost physically recoiled.

"Y-you… You… YOU BITCH!" the villain screamed.

All forms of tactics faded as he lunged toward Izuku, seeking nothing but to destroy her with his primordial rage. Within a single stride he was—

Slam!

A red blur smashed into the man, pinning him to the ground in an instant. Crimson wings, the color of dried blood, unfurled and perfectly still, obscured the man's form, but even then… Izuku knew who this was. Given her background of hero obsession, it was impossible not to.

"H-Hawks…?"

For ten or so minutes, a hero had been sitting high up in a tree.

Brown baggy clothes, with stark white fur lining covered his black and yellow under-clothes. On his sharp nose he bore a pair of durable plastic sunglasses, beneath which his golden eyes stared intently down at the crater before him. Elegantly folded behind him was a pair of dark red wings, twitching and ready to extend at any moment.

His posture, though relaxed at first glance, reflected his ability to leap off the branch any second and dive toward the focus of his attention: a blue-haired girl that was fighting a villain.

"What a night to be a voyeur…" Hawks yawned sarcastically.

Despite scratching his stubble lazily, he never took his eyes off the girl. He'd been watching since he arrived, which itself was around when he'd watched the green-haired boy activate his quirk. It was odd, shifting his entire appearance as it did, but nothing too exceptional…

But then he'd seen the former boy's reaction.

Either the teen had experienced some form of quirk evolution… or his quirk had spontaneously activated for the first time. At that age, something like that just didn't happen. Add to that the reason he was here in the first place, and… well, the higher ups wanted information on these meteorites that'd been causing such a stir in the villain community, and clearly the kid had been affected by the latest one of them.

So he settled in to watch, gathering information with the wiretaps that were his feathers. Picking up and decoding air vibrations was a hard task, but one he was well used to by this point.

The girl seemed to be talking to someone or something, perhaps a quirk-born hallucination?

It wasn't unheard of, but it would make his quirk unusually multifaceted. Gender-bending and hallucinations? There was no correlation there that he could see… Of course, it could be schizophrenia, but that felt unlikely.

It was another piece of the puzzle for his report.

Then, to make things more annoying for him, a villain showed up. Normally, he would have intervened the moment he saw the man's intentions, but he knew how fast he could go… and there may be more to the girl's quirk than was already displayed.

It was… cruel. He knew it. Unfortunately, it was also the best decision for solving the most problems.

Yet, even still, beneath his lackadaisical facade, it hurt to see the civilian's fear. It went against every heroic instinct he had and it took effort to keep himself rooted in the tree.

...There was a bird joke in there somewhere, he was sure.

Anyway, the girl handled herself unexpectedly well, even trying to stall for time—not that it meant much without any way to fight back or escape, but the fact she did it at all was praise-worthy. Then, she even managed to do something besides gibbering after nearly dying. Good for her.

It was a pain to reposition himself in the tree after that though—he'd taken off silently when the villain raised his hand, only halting when he realized the transformed boy would dodge successfully. Thankfully, he'd managed to not blow his cover.

After that, he continued watching.

The second the villain raised his arm again, he would have jumped in, but what his feather detected stopped that idea. Somehow, the girl wasn't there anymore. She created no vibrations in the air with her presence. Either she was a teleporter on top of a shifter, or she'd made herself intangible.

Both options were absurd, such a range of powers was unheard of outside highly classified reports on long-dead villains…

Of course, when nothing happened for several moments and she muttered words of confusion to herself while the villain's forearm was visibly stretched through her jaw, Hawks was forced to mentally update his assessment.

Jeez, I'd hate to hear what the Committee would do to get their hands on her...

Actually, he knew what they would do. An untrained kid that just discovered their, frankly unheard of, quirk? It was like catnip for those power-hungry bastards. There were few things they would be unwilling to do with the public's eye on them… but behind the scenes and in the dark?

It was enough to draw his long-caged conscience from the hole he'd mentally locked it within.

Ah… crap. I've gotta do something about this, don't I?

Maybe he could offer the kid a position at his agency?

If the kid became a sidekick under him, well, the committee had nothing to complain about, right? They had control over their desired 'asset.' But, he'd still be able to mitigate the inevitable damage they'd seek to inflict to cement their control over the teen.

Oh, what now?

The girl's mother had shown up.

Wonderful, another civilian that was at risk because he needed to do his job just right. Things unfolded about as expected, with the villain making the obvious decision in the face of an unknown but powerful quirk. Well, the obvious decision for a low-level mook, anyway.

A hostage situation had begun.

When the girl froze in place, somehow looking more terrified for her mother's sake than she had a moment ago when she was about to die, Hawks' well-trained smile finally left his face. He was done with waiting. He'd gotten all he was likely to out of the situation, and letting a kid face such torment for a single moment longer was inexcusable.

Then the girl snapped out of it, calling out to the villain and stepping forward.

She has a plan…? Maybe there's actual potential here beyond a strong quirk...

The girl was still clearly terrified, the eyesight that matched his name made that fact clear, yet the blue-haired girl was able to work past it. A necessary trait for a hero, and one she hopefully wouldn't need in the future.

When the girl spoke up about the contents of the meteorite, Hawks knew she was trying to lure the villain in. It was clear to anyone with half a brain that she was faking that cough. She was in desperate need of acting classes.

I'm gonna have my work cut out for me, yikes…

For a brief moment, he considered just forgetting the idea of an offer, it would be so much less work…

But he shook his head and continued watching.

The villain approached and the morphed boy revealed yet another aspect to her quirk: energy constructs.

He saw the scene moving in slow-motion, the way that the girl effortlessly slipped inside the man's range and took aim for his arm… it was clear what her intent was, but that was irrelevant.

Hawks had solved the puzzle of her quirk. Whatever it would be called, it allowed her to manipulate a form of energy unique to her, granting various abilities that stemmed off its use. It explained the morphing—whether it was a one-time, permanent, transformation, or a temporary one was irrelevant—since the body she had now was adapted to the use of the orange energy.

The hallucination was likely a side-effect of the energy permeating her body, and something that would be mitigated or eliminated with practice and control—while the intangibility was shifting her body into the energy she controlled.

Forming basic objects, or theoretically projectiles of some kind, was comparatively quite simple.

Overall, it was an incredibly powerful quirk, but still something he could tone down in a report. It was not some impossible new development that his superiors would demand more information on.

No need for that offer now. They should leave her alone unless she makes a nuisance of herself.

As he was thinking, events had progressed and the now one-armed villain was lunging at the teen.

With a smirk, Hawks dove forward, his body blurring into a smudge of red against the night sky.

Finally!

"H-Hawks…?" Izuku stuttered.

The wings retracted, folding up gracefully behind the man as he straightened up. The villain beneath him was out cold, spittle tracing an outline of motion from his mouth while the cracks in the dirt displayed just how much force he'd been hit with.

It really did look like a bird had swept down from above to strike a hare with the impact of its stoop.

The man turned around, a lone feather flying into his hand, and began to pick at his teeth with the point at its base. As he did this, he leaned back against his wings like they were a wall to loiter upon. It all served to generate a very casual appearance.

"Yup, that's me, kid," he said nonchalantly.

Izuku stared in dumbfounded awe.

"Jeez, just ask for my autograph already. I can tell you want to, you have the fan-girl air to ya," he stated as he let go of his feather and stepped forward.

Izuku shook herself out of her daze and went to do just that, her mind so overwhelmed by the past several minutes that she defaulted back to old habits. But—

"Ah!" she suddenly exclaimed, whirling around and blurring at her mother.

Hawks just smiled at the scene, content to stand by the villain's body in silence.

Izuku instantly started checking her mother for wounds, mumbling and muttering various things she knew about first aid as she checked things in descending order of importance.

"I-Izuku…?" Inko questioned, pushing the blue-haired girl that was acting so familiar away for a moment.

"Huh?"

The green-haired woman's eyes raked over the unfamiliar person in front of her, analyzing things in a way incredibly similar to her son, but without all the unnecessary detail. A few moments was all it took for her to come to a conclusion.

Tears began to fall from her eyes as a happy smile spread across her face.

"What's wrong?! Mom?! Why're you—" Izuku exclaimed.

The woman latched on to her son-turned daughter, hugging the blue-haired girl so tightly that she started gagging.

"I-Izuku! Y-You have a q-quirk!" the woman sobbed.

"I—What?" Izuku managed to say before her mother continued.

"You c-can be a h-hero now!" she declared through her tears.

Izuku's eyes widened in shock.

Between the absurdity and terror of the moment, it hadn't even occurred to her that she could be a hero now. With this new power…

"You wanted to be a hero, eh?" Hawks interrupted.

The blue-haired girl turned to face him as best as she was able, given that her mother was holding on for dear life as she kept repeating various phrases to the tune of 'you can do it now.'

"Well, from what I saw when I showed up, you've definitely got the potential," Hawks continued.

"I-I… I don't know… I just, I've never—" Izuku stuttered.

"Ah, don't worry about it right now, kid," Hawks stated.

A feather flew out from his wings and onto his palm. He pulled a pen from his pocket and scribbled something on the surface.

Suddenly, a flash of red light enveloped the girl. When it dissipated a moment later, the green-haired boy was back to normal, even having gained some breathing room from his mother's hug due to the difference in height.

Hawks smirked at the change and waved his feather over to the boy.

"If you decide to get into the business, call me. I'll give you an internship once you've gotten into a Hero Course, though you can call me for some tips and suggestions before that, if you'd like," the blonde declared. "You've got what it takes, kid."

"You can be a hero."

* In Japanese, Midoriya is written as 緑谷出久. The first kana, 緑, means 'Green' or 'Greenery' on it's own, hence the minor joke about Izuku being bad with plants.

** Given the original source of this idea is rooted in Ben 10s Omnitrix, I thought I'd pay homage to it by having the watch reflect it's design. Specifically, it's appearance post-recalibration. The slimmer design suits Izuku better, I think, than the original design. To be clear, though, this story won't be leaning on anything from Ben 10 besides the appearance of the watch.

*** Gravitational Spring is a character from MHA cannon, and shows up during the USJ incident as a minor villain. He doesn't get much screen time, and is really unimportant narratively, so I gave him more character and used him for my own purposes.