Don't own Kamen Rider or My hero Academia
My Kamen Rider Academia
The first day of classes finally came for the pair of Joseph and Mei. Mei was trembling in excitement, her uniform slightly scruffy since she had jammed every piece of her tech she could fit into her pack and her pockets. Her excitement came from know the Pro Hero Power Loader, a hero known for building amazing machines to augment his Quirk and tactics. Mei was hoping to show off her machines and get Power Loader's help to make her 'babies' even better than before.
Joseph himself was slightly nervous, wondering just what he was getting into. He knew he was probably looking at a normal set of classes, but what else could he expect in the Support Course? Would the other students accept a Quirkless person in their class? Mei seemed OK with him but he was aware of the prejudice and discrimination that Quirkless people suffered in this society.
"What are we waiting for?" Mei grinned, looking at Joseph. She quickly grabbed his arm and began to pull him along, "Let's go!"
"Waugh!" Joseph yelped as Mei pulled him, all but dashing for the doors so they could reach the first class. Despite her figure, Mei had a serious set of muscles on her from pounding metal and cranking bolts all day.
"We just got here! We have time!" Joseph yelped as he was pulled along.
"I can't wait! We have to get there now! Power Loader might be there!" Mei squealed back.
Somehow, Joseph felt this was going to be a regular thing between them.
They received their new student packages, mostly real ID cards so they could pass through the security gates and other student only areas. It turned out that the press often tried to sneak in or harassed the students, trying to get a glimpse inside of the school to get a story about the hero teachers or just try to find something they could write a good or even sleazy story about.
They found their classroom, which was part of another building connected to manufacturing facilities and seemed more like a regular school setting rather than the outrageous settings which came with the main building on campus.
Joseph found himself in Class 1-H, a surprisingly spacious classroom with tech posters and tool sets and cabinets for materials all around. Mei forced him to sit next to her, still trembling in her seat in excitement. Being surrounded by so many fellow inventors was just one of the best things in her mind.
Joseph had did research into the Support Course of U.A. It was geared towards creating hero equipment, keeping heroes supplied with vital gear, but also ways to keep villains trapped for incarceration. To be precise, they were the heroes that worked behind the scenes to make sure the heroes who worked on the field could perform efficiently.
Some went on to be public figures with fame as heroes. If he had to draw a parallel, the Support Course took the way to helping heroes with skill sets like Batman or Iron Man, the heroes who focused on building tech for themselves or their allies.
As the students chatted, in some cases bragged about things they build or what school they went to, the door opened as their teacher came in.
He was shirtless, wearing thick gloves and boots with jeans. The fingers of the gloves were cut out, showing he had orange shovel-like claws on his fingertips. His face was mostly concealed by a yellow helmet shaped like a backhoe claw. His mouth was visible as well as some spiky orange hair.
"Power Loader!" Mei squealed under her breath, her trembling getting fiercer.
"Mei-chan, calm down before you pass out or something," Joseph tried to calm his friend down.
"Okay, okay, calm down everyone," the Pro Hero, Power Loader, announced. "Take your seats now. Class is about to begin," Everyone quickly obeyed, going to assigned seating. Joseph and Mei were next to each other by a stroke of luck. "Okay, welcome to U.A.'s Support Course. I'll be your homeroom teacher, Power Loader. Starting today, I'm going to whip you all into shape and making the cutting edge gear the meat heads on the front lines need to survive."
Power Loader took a piece of chalk and drew a diagram of what looked like hero tools like utility belts and other things, all next to a hero figure with question marks over his head. Once finished, he looked to the class, "Okay, I know a lot of you were probably hoping to get into the hero courses and are disappointed. There are a few every year so don't be afraid to complain to me after class. I've heard it all before."
"Pft. As if I'd go anywhere else," Mei rolled her eyes.
"Now then, you are all here because you showed talent and abilities with tech which means your skills can be used to build yourselves into heroes instead of using Quirks to make a big show of it," Power Loader continued. "And let's face it, most of the heroes you see on the news or doing movies or shows, most of them barely have a clue on how to really build or maintain their gear and instead rely on supporters, namely us, to build it for them so they can be a little more versatile in the fields and not so predictable. We can't all smash stuff out of the way like All Might."
Plenty of the students grinned in pride, seeing that they weren't being just shunted aside to some side courses since they didn't have the flashy and heroic Quirks that people liked to see on the news. Power Loader reminded them of a reason to have pride in themselves and their abilities, being vital to the duty of heroes just as much as the flashy heroes were.
"Glad you got it," Power Loader grinned. "Okay, let's take a look at the syllabus and what you're all in for. Passing the entrance exam was just the first step. It's not going to get any easier."
Power Loader went to explain what they were going to be learning. There was plenty for a normal education, including all of the subjects that high school students needed. On top of that, there were classes set for learning all sorts of manufacturing, types of building, as well as training with the equipment in various ways.
It seemed to suit Joseph just fine, especially since he relied on his own equipment instead of a Quirk.
During free time between classes, Joseph used the time to get to know his classmates. A lot of them seemed nice enough. Plenty of them had Quirks which seemed geared more towards building, maintaining, or other things to do more with a hero's gear than going out and being heroes directly, so they were in the right place to take advantage of it.
"So, wait, you're that Kamen Rider Build guy?" asked one male student, his hair made of wires and cords. "Wow! I saw you on Facespace! I didn't know you were applying for U.A.!"
"You actually got to meet All Might too!" another girl who had circuit patterns on her hands. "Is it true he recruited you directly?"
"He, well, vouched for me, so I guess he did," Joseph rubbed the back of his neck. It seemed his brief internet fame hadn't ended quite yet.
"So why kind of tech do you use? How's it help your Quirk?" asked a third student, trying to discreetly see if Joseph had brought the Build Driver with him.
"Well, it's powered by Nebula Gas," Joseph began, trying to slip around mentioning any kind of Quirk or lack of it. "By purifying pockets of it, depending on on the source after the impurities are removed, it can generate different sets of Halfbody armor which gives me different abilities. If they are a Best Match, I get a power boost."
"How does that work?" asked the circuit girl. "I saw your first suit was rabbit and tank. How do those pair up? They have nothing in common."
"That...I...don't know. They just do," Joseph shrugged. "My best guess, they compensate for each other. Rabbit is fast with light attacks, but Tank is slow and its attacks are strong. Put them together and they even out."
"Cool! Do you have any others?" asked wire-hair.
"We're starting a collection," Mei cut in smugly. She even produced photos and sketches of the FullBottles in question along with the Halfbodies, much to the admiration of the trio. Mei never passed up a chance to brag about projects she spearheaded, or played a major role in. "See? We've got Gorilla and Comic so far."
"Can I get one of these with an autograph? My little brother turned into a fan," asked circuit girl.
"Um...I guess?"
"And don't forget his awesome technician Best Match, Mei Hatsume!" Mei laughed, standing proudly.
"So where do you get this Nebula Gas? Do you generate it with your Quirk?" asked another student. "If so, could you spare me some? I'd love the chance to experiment with some if you can do all this with it."
"The Nebula Gas..." How was Joseph supposed to answer that?
"Nah, there's a villain out there that's making or pumping it somehow," Mei waved off the question bluntly. "JJ-kun got his gear from one of their lackeys, called the Smash, and he got his first taste of hero work and never let it go! He's been investigating during his vigilante stint and those villains he fought were Smash, which just belch the stuff out like a bad smell." Mei's grin grew as she got into the explanation. "It's got nasty effects unpurified too! You guys saw how it put down Kamui Woods and Mount Lady? It's nasty until it gets purified by our baby!"
"Uh...Mei...a secret?" Joseph grimaced.
"OOOOOH! First days out and he made his first villain rival? A nameless and faceless one too!" the third student gasped.
"So cool!" grinned the wire-haired boy.
"So the drama!" added the circuit girl, caught up in the story.
"Wait, what?" Joseph blinked. Were they all pulled away from the Quirk question just like that? Did everyone in the course have ADD or something? He looked to Mei who winked at him.
Lunch Period - Cafeteria
Joseph went to the cafeteria to grab lunch. He looked around for a place to sit and spotted a familiar face sitting alone at a table. Carrying his tray, he went over and sat down beside the lone person.
"Hey," Joseph greeted. "Hitoshi, right? Can I sit here?"
The purple-haired boy blinked in surprise, but hesitantly nodded, "...sure."
"Thanks," Joseph nodded, taking a seat. "A little nervous, being one of the new people. Glad I found a familiar face."
"I can agree with that," Hitoshi nodded. "I'm a little surprised you're still willing to talk to me. Once word of my Quirk got out in my class, more people began avoiding me."
"The brainwashing thing?" Joseph frowned. "Meh, I'm not too scared about it. Like I said at the exams, if you're here, then you're planning to do good with it so why be afraid?"
"And right there I could use it, but you're still not scared," Hitoshi shook his head. "Then again, you'd have to be real brave if you went into these exams without a Quirk."
Joseph grimaced, "How'd...you find out about that?"
"Blonde guy with explosive hands was ranting about it and I overheard," Hitoshi answered. "Ranted about Build. I look on the internet too and I recognized the brief glimpse it had of you."
"Ah," Joseph gulped. "Well, glad you're taking it so well."
Hitoshi shook his head, "I know what it's like being discriminated against. People keep acting like I'm destined to be a villain because of my Quirk. The fact you don't have a Quirk and you still got in must mean you really want to be a hero. I can respect that kind of drive."
"Thanks," Joseph grinned with relief. "So you got into the Hero Course? I slipped into Support since my skills deal with making components for my armor and supplementing my fighting skills with them."
"Yup. I'm glad I did," Hitoshi nodded. "And the Support Course sounds perfect for your abilities. 1-C isn't as glamorous as 1-A, but it's still for the heroes and I plan to give it my all."
"Plus Ultra," Joseph laughed, making Hitoshi smile back. "Anyway, Hitoshi, I know your Quirk has potential but what happens if you are in a situation when it does not work or a villain can neutralize it?" Brainwashing was powerful but people with stronger wills could resist it.
"I've considered that. I know there are Quirks that can mess with sound. Mine only works if someone hears me talk to them and responds to my actual voice too, so no megaphones," Hitoshi nodded. "As for ones who can neutralize it? Haven't met one yet, but I am taking some martial arts to help me fight back if I get jumped before I can speak. I can't rely on my Quirk to get me out of everything."
"Good thinking," Joseph agreed.
"Anyway, since I shared, could you tell me about your suit?" asked Hitoshi. "I heard on the blogs about you after the exam that you could interchange pieces of it to get new abilities."
"Blogs?" Joseph blinked, but shrugged. "Okay, it's powered by something called Nebula Gas which when I purify it-!"
"Hey, JJ-kun! Who's your friend?" Mei's voice rang as she approached, interrupting the conversation.
"Speaking of technical," Joseph grinned. "Hitoshi, this is Mei Hatsume, my self-proclaimed Best Match Mechanic. Mei, this is Hitoshi Shinso, someone I met during the exams."
"Awww! You got me a nickname too!" Mei grinned like a happy kid. "Just like my Build Up Boyfriend to do!"
Hitoshi looked to the two of them, "Are you two dating? I kind of don't want to be the third wheel here."
"Gck! No, it's just a nickname thing she started!" Joseph choked out.
"Mn" Mei nodded with a smile.. "Isn't it cute? He needed one since we're such good friends!"
"Friends. Okay," Hitoshi nodded. "Anyway, want to compare notes about how our classes went?"
"Sure!" Mei grinned, taking her seat. "We got Power Loader as our teacher. Who'd you get?"
"Well…" Hitoshi began to grin.
"YOU!"
Everyone turned to who had yelled and Joseph saw it was the explosive blond he had met back at the exam. He had a deep scowl on his face and was stomping towards the table with a head full of steam.
"So, he got in," Joseph muttered.
The blond marched up to Joseph with an angry expression. Everyone stepped back to make way for him as they were scared of him. Once he was at Joseph's table, he slammed his palms on it.
"How da hell did a Quirkless loser like you get into U.A.?!" he snapped. "This is a school for heroes, not wannabes!"
"Coz that isn't your call?" Joseph retorted. "Also, are you blind or did you not see how I beat that thing in the exam?"
"Without that suit you're nothing," the blond spat.
"And without your Quirk, are you any better?" The retort made the blond growl and clench his hands, sparks starting to ignite in his palm in small pops.
"I suggest you leave," Hitoshi spoke up.
"Who asked you!?" the blond snapped.
Joseph blinked. Wasn't Hitoshi's Brainwashing Quirk activated when someone responded to him? Oh, this should be good.
"I said leave and don't bother us," Hitoshi repeated himself. The order made the blond growl again, but then his eyes turned vacant like he stopped thinking. Standing straight, he turned around and walked straight out of the cafeteria. The onlookers blinked at the sudden defusing of the situation, wondering what had happened.
"That was cool," Joseph chuckled.
"Totally!" Mei giggled just the same. "You've gotta explain how you did that!"
"Well…" Hitoshi smiled lightly, feeling some pride in himself, and relief in what appeared to be his new friends.
Katsuki Bakugo was many things, a thug was what most who met him would say. If they saw his Quirk, more would say he had a bright future as a Pro Hero. His victims in the past would often call him arrogant, a blowhard, a bully, and quite a few number of negative names which would often not be off the mark.
Not that Katsuki cared, considering anyone who said such thing just extras or pebbles on his road to the top.
Right now, he was stewing on the fellow new student, the self-proclaimed Quirkless would-be hero, Kamen Rider Build.
Many would have thought, considering how Katsuki seemed to have an increasing target on the Kamen Rider, that he was prejudiced against the Quirkless. Anyone who knew him in his middle school days and his history with Izuku Midoriya would probably agree if they weren't too busy praising him for his Quirk. Anyone who really knew him though could attest that Katsuki was definitely not prejudiced. His parents did raise him better than that, despite his temper, and if his mother caught him spouting that attitude, she would have reamed him up one side and down the other.
No, despite his temper, Katsuki's real issue stemmed from one which was one that he had since his Quirk appeared, namely his titanic pride and his confidence and complete arrogance in his Quirk taking him to the top.
Ever since he got his Quirk, a big and flashy one which people loved to see in the Pro Heroes, he was praised and elevated by everyone around him as a Pro Hero in the making. Since his home district was pretty mundane, as were the schools filled with people with weak Quirks, a lot of people rallied around something to give them some hometown pride. Even his teachers did the same, seeing a chance to elevate their own status if a Pro Hero came from their schools. With Katsuki's excellent grades, partially due to his mother cracking the whip on him to study hard, everyone who wanted to ride his coattails or have their name connected to his came out of the woodwork.
It of course gave Katsuki and astoundingly large sense of entitlement. So large, he felt like he was the center of his own heroic origins story and everyone else was just an extra or an obstacle in his way. When his former best friend turned up Quirkless, Katsuki just mocked him for it. An extra who was too lame to even be an extra, in his view. A pebble on his road to the top. The weak were just extras and they stayed that way, Quirkless being the most obvious of all. Almost all authority figures in his life covering for him just reinforced that mindset.
Why Build was pissing off Katsuki so much was because he was a major point of contention, pointing out a major weakness in Katsuki's worldview. In the blonde's world, he was destined to be the best, his quirk was one of the most badass, and everyone else could just be a stepping stone or an extra. Everything in his personality and mindset was really built up on the pride and arrogance he developed for his Quirk. In short, his Quirk identified him in a lot of cases. If no one had a Quirk like him, then there was no way they'd be as great as Katsuki Bakugo would be.
And then Build was proving otherwise.
Build didn't have a Quirk, so he should have been moved to the sidelines, just another extra. Instead, he took on two, two, villains and smashed them both with loud explosions. Katsuki knew since he saw the alerts on Facespace. Katsuki admitted that it was kind of cool, although not as cool as he was!
Build had become kind of a minor internet celebrity after it was revealed that he was both a vigilante and had been able to meet All Might. Everyone wanted to know what became of him, but then were shocked he showed up at U.A. of all places.
That would have been fine, but Katsuki got pissed when it was revealed, by Build himself, that he had no Quirk! A Quirkless person couldn't become a hero! A Quirkless person shouldn't have been able to get into U.A. A Quirkless person couldn't fight off and beat villains!
But Build did it...and Katsuki couldn't understand in his narrow worldview how that could happen.
Then when Katsuki got confused, he got pissed. When he got pissed, he decided he had to punch something.
The problem was, how could Katsuki pick a fight with Build without getting into trouble for using his Quirk without the teachers' approval? The guy didn't look like he was part of the Hero Course.
After the normal classes which took place in the morning, the real heroic courses were done afterwards. Power Loader returned to the classroom and began explaining their first construction project before he let the students have the floor and talk amongst themselves.
"So we'll be making these hero suit designs?" Joseph asked, looking to the sheet of paper which students were supposed to list the parts of the costumes as well as draw a picture of what it was supposed to roughly look like.
"Hmm, seems so," Mei frowned, tapping a pencil on her sheet. "And just how am I supposed to fit so many of my babies that I might need in such a confined space like a costume?"
"Maybe make it modular. Have the equipment you have disassemble to be plugged into parts of your actual suit for different functions or something," Joseph suggested. "That way you have a wider arsenal and plenty of tools, but need less overall tech."
Mei nodded with a grin, "There's an idea! You're getting to be just as creative as me, JJ-kun!"
"I picked up a thing or two from you," Joseph shrugged, still staring down at his paper. "Just not sure if I even need a costume. It sort of comes with my armor."
"Speaking of," the wire-haired boy spoke up again, leaning over perhaps to try and pick some tips for his own suit. "If your armor is your costume, think you can show it to us here?"
"What?" Joseph looked up, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah!" called another student. "Come on, we have to see your tech in person!"
"Totally!" agreed a third.
"Come on guys, here? In the middle of the classroom?" Joseph sighed. He wasn't really in the mood to show off and since he got updated on Quirk laws and the like, he was always worried about just transforming in public unless he had to.
It didn't seem like Bakugo's earlier outburst in the cafeteria had affected his classmates. Either they had not heard him calling Joseph Quirkless or they simply did not care. With all of the noise going around, it may have been the former, but Joseph hoped for the latter.
"It's fine," Power Loader spoke up, drawing the attention from the class. "One thing about getting inspiration for gear and costumes is to see what came before. Besides, it seems like everyone's still excited about your internet fame so help them get it out of their systems."
Power Loader also had his own intentions for seeing Joseph's tech in action. As a gearhead himself, he was always curious about what kind of tech new heroes and supporters were able to bring out. The notes he got from Nezu about Nebula Gas and Build's armor made him seriously want to see the armor in action himself. What better place than in the middle of his own classroom where he'd have an excuse to examine it.
Josep sighed, but took solace that the teacher was giving him permission, "Okay, fine. Let's just make some space on the floor and open some windows. My Nebula Gas might be purified, but I don't want to risk it messing with your Quirks."
Joseph was pretty sure that the class had planned the exhibition since they moved the desks out of the way too fast to be random. Power Loader, and a few students, and picked up sensing equipment or just used their phone cameras to watch the impending show.
Joseph strapped on the Build Driver and took out two Fullbottles which he shook before sliding them into the slots on his belt.
Rabbit!
Comic!
Are You Ready?
"Henshin!"
The Halfbodies snapped together, forming his suit. As soon as it formed, his HUD gave him the specs for the suit and info on what each Halfbody could do.
"Looks like Comic gives me the power to materialize whatever I draw," Build said to himself as he studied the pen-shaped Realise Painter on his left arm.
"Ooooooh!" the majority of the students admired, clicking off pictures on their phones or taking readings from whatever devices they pulled out. Even Power Loader had devices out to check the readings.
"Behold! The power of the Nebula Gas-powered Build armor!" Mei grinned, moving to display Build in his suit. She began a number of technical jargon as several students took notes.
'Well, I suppose I can get used to this,' Build thought to himself as Mei made the presentation, explaining what each Fullbottle in their collection did.
It was late at night in the city but there appeared to be an assembly taking place in the warehouse district.
Inside a warehouse, many people congregated from all walks of life. While they may seem different from each other, they had one thing in common: they were all Quirkless.
They had all received an e-mail telling them to come to this place. It convinced them that they could somehow change their fate by coming. Though not all who received the e-mail came, ignoring it as they believed it to be a scam, there were enough people who were desperate enough to believe anything.
"Welcome, all of you," Blood Stalk said as he revealed himself. He showed up in his red armored suit. "Since you're all here, that means you got my message. Now, let me get to the point: in this world, men were not created equal and that's unfair for you all, isn't it? And all because of Quirks. All those people who were born with a fancy ability, they look down upon you because you don't have Quirks. They all call you useless, worthless, and treat you like outcasts and trash, isn't that right? And perhaps some of you got disowned by your own families because they could not take the shame of being parents to a Quirkless waste of space."
Blood Stalk looked at the crowd and smiled. He knew he had their attention.
"But the world doesn't have to be that way, ladies and gentlemen. After all, before Quirks, it was people without Quirks who changed the world, who made discoveries, who created amazing things. While that day is long gone, that doesn't mean it has to be gone for good. So, what I am offering you is an equalizer."
Blood Stalk popped open a briefcase that was filled with multiple Smash Bottles. He picked one up and showed it to the people.
"If you've seen the news, you've seen that 'villain' that appeared, the one beaten by the vigilante Kamen Rider Build. Well, that guy got power from this tiny bottle and you can too. Oh, and don't worry about payment. All of you will get these bottles for free. But, if you're still not convinced then how about a demonstration? Any volunteers?"
The Quirkless audience looked to one another, some being somewhat more confident than others. Finally, a nerdy-looking individual, literally so plain he exemplified the stereotype of a Quirkless, timidly stepped forward and reach for one of the bottles. He hesitated, but Blood Stalk was perfectly patient and sounded even kind.
"It's alright. It's perfectly safe," he reassured the man.
Seemingly emboldened by the kind words, the man took a bottle.
"Now what?" the man asked.
"Just pop the bottle open and pour its contents over yourself," Blood Stalk instructed.
The man frowned slightly, but followed the instructions. Lifting the bottle, he poured the stardust-like contents and gas over himself. It was only for a moment before it seemed to sink into his skin. It was only for a moment before numerous needle-like spikes suddenly rose from his skin, moving as he flexed his arms in shock.
"I...It...wha…?" the man gasped in shock.
"See? The Nebula Gas works just as I promised," Blood Stalk explained. "It has awakened the dormant Quirk inside of you."
"I have a Quirk?"
"Indeed! All this nonsense about being Quirkless, it's just stupid idiotic ignorance! They say only 80 percent of humanity has Quirks! The truth is that 20 percent of you have dormant Quirks that just need to be awakened!" Blood Stalk proclaimed. "With my Nebula Gas, you can now activate those Quirks and step out of the shadow that society pushed you all into!"
"I have a Quirk," the man looked at his needles in awe and he cheered loudly, raising his arms, "I HAVE A QUIRK!"
"Now," Blood Stalk looked at the crowd he knew was eating out of his hands. "Who's next?"
It became a chorus of cries as the numerous people swarmed Blood Stalk's case, grasping for the Fullbottles. Nebula Gas began to fly as people began crying, cheering, or letting off whoops of joy as their bodies began showing new traits such as gold plating, extending arms, transforming to stone, all the range of Quirks they knew about in their lives, but thought forever denied to them.
"And the meek shall inherit the earth," Blood Stalk chuckled. "Just so long as they remember to endure the next step towards it."
Next Day...
Taro Fubuki hated his life. Ever since he learned he was Quirkless, his life had been terrible. His parents neglected him and at school he was an outcast without any friends. At best, he was ignored. At worst, he was a target for bullies.
And today it was the same thing all over again as his bullies dragged him to the rooftop like always for their daily dose of fun. The school never did anything as the teachers favored the students with Quirks. Plus, these students' parents were people who had a lot of influence and money.
"OK, loser," one of the bullies, Kaito sneered. "Fork over your money and we'll leave you alone."
Normally, Taro would give them his money so they would leave him alone. However, this time, he decided that enough was enough.
Kaito's Quirk was that he could electrocute people that he could touch. It was not all that flashy but it still hurt. His pal Kuma's Quirk was that he was as strong as a bear and he even had bear-like ears atop his head. He also had dark circles around his eyes that made him look like a panda or a racoon.
"No," Taro said defiantly.
Kaito blinked, unused to such a response.
"Say that again," Kaito growled.
"I said no, Kaito," Taro repeated.
"Alright, guess I'll have to teach you a lesson," Kaito said as he grabbed Taro's arms to give him a shock and a reminder. But then Taro punched him in the face. Kaito staggered, surprised. Then he growled. "Kuma!"
Kuma cracked his knuckles and then Taro smirked as he showed them what he could do. The first thing was that his skin turned grey as it hardened into rock. Then, his body started to gain muscle as he bulged, nearly ripping up his uniform in the process.
Kato gasped and Kuma gawked as the Quirkless outcast of their school suddenly showed that he had a Quirk. Even the witnesses who hung back to watch the shakedown couldn't help but openly gape as the 'natural victim' suddenly wasn't. But Kaito had a reputation to maintain and sent Kuma to attack.
Kuma was as strong as a bear, but even a bear was not strong enough to break rock. He broke his fist against Taro's chest and Taro responded by smacking Kuma in the face. This knocked the bear-like boy out. Taro then turned his gaze toward Kaito who shivered. He turned to run but Taro grabbed him by the back of his uniform and dragged him to him.
Taro lifted Kaito up by the lapels of his uniform, his face set in a stony scowl, "Never again."
It was a common statement among many of the Quirkless who found the inspiration, and proof, that they weren't going to be the downtrodden anymore.
Hatsume Residence
"Hey, Mei. Have you seen the news?" Joseph asked as he came down to the lab to see his friend. "Mei? Mei!"
Whenever Mei was focused on her inventions, she tuned out everything else. At the moment, she had her welding torch on, spraying sparks as her goggles protected her sensitive eyes whilst her Quirk let her make quick and precise welds. At Joseph's louder call, she turned the tool off to look in his direction.
"Oh, sorry JJ-kun. I've just been busy," Mei said as she lifted up her goggles. "What is it?"
"There's reports of previously Quirkless individuals displaying powers," Joseph answered as he showed her the newspaper report. It was not a tabloid rag either, but a major publication. The front page even had a title of 'QUIRKLESS NO MORE?' emblazoned on it.
"Wow? Really?" Mei blinked. She approached the paper, showing a scuffed up boy a little younger than they were, holding up his arm, made of stone, with a teary smile of pride on his face. "'Taro Fubuki, age 13, discovered to his great joy that his Quirk suddenly activated as a pair of students attempted to extort money from him. After being told he was Quirkless for years, he and his parents are overjoyed to see he has overcome his disability. It is a trend...which has been growing all over the city in only a short time'." Taro was not the only one. In fact, there were many others who had discovered their Quirks after many years of being told they were Quirkless.
"Mei, is it possible for Quirks to just remain dormant until something causes them to go active?" Joseph asked. He had read Marvel and DC comics in his world and they showed how people could gain powers in numerous ways. Natural birth was a big one, but all sorts of things could happen to grant them their superpowers. Spider bites, gamma radiation, cosmic radiation, dark matter exposure, the list went on.
"Hmm," Mei tapped her chin. "Well, usually everyone develops a Quirk by a certain age. If they don't, they are considered Quirkless. Dormancy though, well, I don't think I've heard of that. But I'm not a biologist. Everyone just knows Quirks show up by a certain age. But it is weird for several people to suddenly discover their Quirks at the same time."
"Like they were all exposed to something which suddenly made them activate them," Joseph frowned. He eyed the paper, feeling a bit torn seeing the happy kid on the front, "I...I told you that, in small amounts, Nebula Gas can give enhanced abilities, right?"
Mei blinked, but then looked to the paper, "And we know someone's been pushing the gas since all those Smash showed up…"
"Someone's distributing Nebula Gas to give people Quirks," Joseph concluded.
"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Mei asked, now looking troubled. "He looks so happy in this picture."
Joseph looked at the picture. Taro did look happy. However, he couldn't help but feel as if the boy had made a Faustian contract of some kind to gain his Quirk. There was always a price to pay for power.
"What if it's only temporary? What if he has to keep taking it to keep his new 'Quirk'? What might whoever's giving it to him ask for in return?"
Mei pondered the questions and the answers she came up with were not good.
Bakugo Residence
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"
Midoriya Residence
Inko Midoriya broke out into loud sobs as she heard the news which was shocking the nation. The people who were born Quirkless, like her son Izuku, were somehow activating Quirks thought denied to them. Inko, having forever felt like it was her fault her son didn't have a Quirk and almost lost his dream, just felt like it was a miracle for so many like it had been for her son.
She was going to leave such a huge offering next time she visited a shrine!
?
Blood stalk chuckled as he watched the news while experts argued about what was happening.
"First one's free. Want better, then be ready to pay."
To Be Continued...
A/N:A little shorter, but this chapter was going to be slice of life with hints as to what would come. If you guys want to see more of this, just keep reviewing and let me know. Also, special thanks to Kamen Rider Chrome for helping hash out ideas for this plot bunny.
