Pain! Everything was pain! Ever since Izuku had started going for morning jogs pain had been a constant companion. It felt like someone had carved off his leg muscles and then told him to sew them back on himself. After the first week of running just standing was agony.

Still, he persevered. No one had said that becoming a hero was going to be easy, but he was going to be a hero none the less. Besides, with everything he'd gained in return the pain was an easy cross to bear.

Just a few weeks ago school had been his entire world and Bakugou had ruled it with an iron fist. With Project: Indestructible his world had grown so much bigger. Far bigger than just his school. There was an entire new world outside the school gates, and he had a friend there. That made school easier to stomach and Izuku spent his breaks reading the books Hatsume had given him. He'd never given any real thought on how much Quirks had affected the progress of technology. Two hundred years was nothing when compared to the entirety of human history but when it came to science… If a man from the 19th century had travelled forward in time two hundred years, the 21st century might as well have been in alien planet to him. But if someone had leaped from the dawn of Quirks to the modern time, they wouldn't have missed a beat. So much time and progress had been lost. It wasn't right.

"What are you smiling about?"

Izuku looked up slowly and saw Bakugou looming over his desk. Bakugou had stayed off his back for the past few weeks but good things always came to an end.

"… nothing."

"What are you reading?"

Before Izuku could answer, Bakugou yanked the book from his hands. When Bakugou saw the book was about engineering he gave a victorious smirk.

"Did you finally get it, Deku? That you're a Quirkless freak who can never be a hero?"

Normally Izuku would have folded and just nodded in agreement but some of Hatsume's bravado had rubbed on to him. He turned to face Bakugou. When was the last time he'd been able to meet Bakugou's gaze? Not since they were children and Bakugou called him Izuku. When they'd been best friends.

"… I will be a hero." Izuku said.

Bakugou had never much cared for defiance. He blew up the book with his Quirk and threw the charred remains on Izuku's desk.

"You…!" Izuku gasped.

Bakugou leaned closer.

"Yeah? I, what? Come on, Deku. Speak up. What are you going to do about it?"

Izuku looked at the book and then at Bakugou. Sparks were already flying from his fingertips. Izuku looked away.

"Like I thought. Nothing. Wanna know why? Because you're a coward. A coward who'll never be a hero." Bakugou said.

Bakugou left him to stew on that and Izuku took the blackened book in his shaking hands. The covers had taken the worst of the damage and the pages were more or less still okay. After school the burned book felt unusually heavy in his bag. Hatsume had entrusted it to him and he'd failed to take care of it. How could he ever be a hero if he couldn't even stand up to Bakugou?

There was a note at the workshop saying it was closed while Hatsume's dad was off running errands and Izuku went in from the back.

"… Hatsume?"

"Izuku!" Hatsume said and walked up to greet him holding a video camera: "You came just in time for the video log. Take off your shirt."

"… what?"

"Not for creepy reasons! We need to monitor the pilot along with Project: Indestructible. Now, shirt off. Strip! Strip for science! Plus Ultra!"

"… Hatsume. I… could you turn that off?" Izuku said.

Hatsume raised an eyebrow and put down the camera.

"What's up?"

Izuku took out the burned book.

"… I'm sorry." Izuku said without being able to face Hatsume.

Hatsume looked at the book and shrugged.

"It's just paper."

"… but… how can I be a hero if Bakugou…"

"Because we have Project: Indestructible! Bakugou will… Wait. Was Bakugou the dipshit that also wanted to get into U.A?" Hatsume said.

"… yeah." Izuku said.

"Fuck yes!" Hatsume said and turned the camera back on: "Best friend turned rivals will face in the U.A tournament! Katsuki Bakugou believes that might makes right while Izuku Midoriya will rise up to prove him wrong! Project: Indestructible will fuck Bakugou with its titanium dick in the finals! And the whole world will watch! Plus Ultra!"

Hatsume turned the camera off and grinned at Izuku.

"This is perfect. Now Project: Indestructible has a bad guy. Now we have a story. We also need to play up some thinly veiled homoeroticism between you and Bakugou. People love that." Hatsume said.

"… I refuse to do that." Izuku said.

"Come on. Try being bi-curious for science!"

"… I'd rather stick it into radioactive waste than into Bakugou." Izuku said.

"We'll worth a shot. Let's get to work. There's a baby who needs a lot of loving."

Izuku put on his work overalls and followed Hatsume to her private workshop. He'd been surprised how easily he'd taken into tinkering electronics. It was a bit like cooking. Much like spices you just had to figure out what each part did. Once you had the basics down you could start finding out what went well together. Hatsume had a knack for that much in the same way as the guy who'd found out how good chocolate and peanut butter tasted together. Izuku still had a lot to learn but Hatsume made learning fun. After a while he forgot about Bakugou and concentrated on getting the shock gloves to work. Making the shocker work was easy but it had a bad habit of frying the user as well.

Angry knocking echoed through the workshop and woke them from their trance.

"Son of a bitch! Someone better be dying!" Hatsume said and turned on the security camera to see who was at the door.

Two kids were standing at the door. At least Izuku assumed the other one was a kid. His skin was covered in green scales and he had the flat features of a reptile. He had long hair and Izuku wondered if he'd dyed it pink or if it was naturally like that. The other one was definitely a kid, a student in black uniform as short as Izuku with brown-hair and a condescending smirk.

"Great! Just fucking great! The Shi Hassaikai douchebags!" Hatsume complained.

"… Shi… Hassaikai?" Izuku said.

"Yakuza."

"… what's a yakuza?" Izuku said.

"Not a clue." Hatsume said and put on the shock glove: "Let's go ask."

"… maybe we shouldn't…"

"Izuku, Izuku, Izuku. Chill and take a look at this." Hatsume said and pulled out a small box from a drawer.

Izuku took the box.

"… what is it?"

"That is the fuck box. I use it to keep track of all the fucks I give."

"… it's empty."

"Exactly. Respect the fuck box and let's get moving."

"… but…"

"Respect the fuck box, Izuku! Plus Ultra!"

"… what…"

"Plus Ultra!" Hatsume said.

"… plus ultra." Izuku agreed halfheartedly and put down the fuck box.

Hatsume opened the door and glared at the intruders.

"We're fucking busy and vice versa so make this quick." Hatsume said.

The intruders stared at them.

"What?" The student in black uniform said.

The lizard boy was the first to recover.

"We were just passing by and thought to drop by to warn you." The lizard boy said.

"About what?" Hatsume said.

"Old buildings like this are a huge fire hazard. You never know what might happen if you're careless." The lizard boy said.

Hatsume nodded.

"Well, thanks for the warning but we're very careful with our babies."

"Babies?" The student in black uniform said.

"Babies." Hatsume agreed and threw her arm around Izuku's shoulder: "We're very good to our babies. And very bad to anyone who tries to mess with them. So, watch your mouth or the hero Indestructible will punch you right in the piehole."

The student in black uniform and lizard boy looked at each other. Izuku didn't know what they had been expecting but no one was prepared for Hatsume. Ever.

"Never heard of this… Indestructible." The lizard boy said.

"You have now." Hatsume said and patted Izuku's shoulder: "Gaze upon your destroyer and know peace."

Sweat started running down Izuku's face. What had he gotten himself into? He glanced at Hatsume. Was her plan to sic these two on him while she ran away? He tried to figure out what was going through her mind and saw… faith? Hatsume actually seemed to believe that they could handle this. Someone was placing their faith in… him.

The student in black uniform started laughing.

"This dweeb? Hey, shorty. What's your Quirk?"

"… I don't have one." Izuku said.

"You're Quirkless?" The student in black uniform said and laughed even louder: "Does your zookeeper know where you are?"

"Come on, Mustard. We shouldn't make fun of… cripples." The lizard boy said and smirked.

Anger started building up in Izuku's chest. With Bakugou fear always dulled his rage but these two weren't Bakugou. Not even close. He wouldn't be embarrassed in front of Hatsume. He stepped closer to the student in black uniform… Mustard.

"… we would like you to leave now." Izuku said.

"And what if we don't want to leave, you Quirkless freak?" Mustard said.

"Then we have no choice but to get violent." Hatsume said and put up her shock glove clad mitts: "Want to remember what it feels like to pee your pants? Go on. Make my day."

Mustard backed off at the sight of the shock gloves, but the lizard boy was made of sterner stuff.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Shock gloves. Want to try them?" Hatsume said.

The lizard boy smiled.

"Sure. Go ahead. If they work."

Hatsume grinned.

"Got me there."

Hatsume sucker punched the lizard boy in the stomach with the shock glove. Rage twisted Mustard's face when lizard boy fell on his knees.

"You cunt!"

The world went black for a moment following Mustard's words. When it all came back Izuku's knuckles were stinging and Mustard was lying on the ground holding his split lip. Hatsume looked at Izuku with surprise before smiling at Mustard.

"You're bleeding. That time of the month already? Do us all a favor and cover that up with some panties, will you." Hatsume said.

Mustard was too angry for words and pulled out a stiletto. Izuku froze and even Hatsume started to wonder if her mouth had written a bigger check then her fists could cash.

An invisible force yanked the knife out of Mustard's hand.

"What's going on here?"

Hatsume's dad was standing at the gate looking mighty pissed. The stiletto floated into his hand.

"Dad…" Hatsume said.

"Shut up. All of you." Hatsume's dad said and the knife twisted into a ball that he dropped at Mustard's feet: "Leave. Both of you. Tell Shi Hassaikai that they're not welcome here. If I see either of you here again, I'm calling your parents. Got it? Good. Now, fuck off."

Lizard boy and Mustard did as they were told. When he got to the gate, Mustard turned to glare at them.

"You're dead! All of you!"

Hatsume's dad had to just look at him to make Mustard turn tail and run.

"… what… what did you do?" Izuku said.

"My Quirk Iron Works allows me to…"

"… manipulate metal within five-meter radius of yourself. You… you were the hero Blacksmith! You worked with Endeavor!" Izuku said.

Hatsume's dad's face hardened.

"Everyone makes mistakes. Now what were you two doing? I told you not to open the door to those clowns." Hatsume's dad said.

"We could have handled…" Hatsume said.

"I see how well you were handling it. Guess what, Mei? You're grounded."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"I just did. Go to your room." Hatsume's dad said.

"Dad. Not in front of Izuku." Hatsume pleaded.

"Now."

Hatsume pushed the shock glove in Izuku's hands before blowing a razzberry at her dad and stomping off. When they were alone Izuku couldn't look Hatsume's dad in the eyes and made do with staring at his feet.

"… Mr. Blacksmith? … sir? It wasn't her fault."

"Really now? Show me your hand." Blacksmith said.

"… my hand?" Izuku said and then noticed the deep cut in his knuckles.

"Punched without thinking, didn't you? That always happens." Blacksmith said while inspecting Izuku's hand: "Keep it clean and you should be alright. I'd like you to go home now."

"… okay but... Will… will you be alright?"

Blacksmith smiled.

"Don't worry about it. The yakuza these days are a joke. Neither of those two were old enough to shave."

Izuku nodded.

"… okay."

"And Midoriya."

"… yes."

"Thank you for being her friend."

Shuichi rubbed his stomach. The goggle girl knew how to throw a punch. Mustard had gone quiet and dried blood colored his jaw. It was always the same. His innards turned mustard yellow the moment someone stood up to him and he'd hate himself afterwards. But there was something different about Mustard this time. Something murderous.

"Mustard? You alright?" Shuichi said.

"Quirkless…" Mustard said.

"What was that?"

"Some Quirkless freak thought he could punch me." Mustard said behind his teeth.

"Yeah, well, you were talking shit about his girl. That's what you get."

Mustard sucked on his split lip.

"Was she really his girlfriend? He was Quirkless." Mustard whined.

"Maybe. Man, I want a girlfriend too. Well, at least we still have each other."

Mustard didn't answer him and walked off.

"Where are you going?" Shuichi said.

"I'm going to find slime boy in whatever sewer he's hiding in." Mustard said.

"Mustard. The guy has pros after him." Shuichi said but Mustard was far beyond listening to reason.

Shuichi watched him go and wondered how he would explain this to their handler at Shi Hassaikai.

For the next few days Izuku had to work alone on the shock gloves. He could use the workshop at his school and the teacher was ecstatic of his new interest in engineering but even his encouragement had a condescending edge to it. The Quirkless idiot had finally given up on his pipedream.

Izuku had been worried that the gloves would be too much for him, but the beauty of science was that you didn't have to be a genius to understand genius. When he looked at the problem with fresh eyes it was easy to see where the problem with the gloves lied. Trouble shooting took time, but it never felt tedious. There was a joy in working with your hands and seeing everything come together.

Finally, Izuku put the gloves on and activated them.

Current ran through the gloves but didn't harm him but it still needed testing. He smirked at the thought of using Bakugou as a guinea pig. The gloves were still too heavy and clumsy to be used in combat but now they had a starting point. After taking off the gloves he texted Hatsume.

"They work." Izuku wrote.

His phone started ringing almost immediately.

"Fuck yes, Izuku! I knew you could do it! Plus Ultra!" Hatsume screamed in his ear.

"Plus Ultra!" Izuku echoed without hesitation.

"We need to give the baby a test run. Meet me at the beach. The one with all the junk on it."

"… you're not grounded anymore?"

"Till my dying day." Hatsume said.

"… but your dad…"

"What dad doesn't know can't bother him. See you soon." Hatsume said.

It had been only four days but Izuku had missed Hatsume. Texting and phone calls only took you so far. When he got to the meeting place Hatsume was already waiting for him and gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder.

"Izuku, Izuku, Izuku. My man. Come on. Show me our baby."

"… why do you call them that?" Izuku said.

"Call them what?"

"… you know what."

"Oh. You mean babies. What's wrong, Izuku? Does making babies with me make you uncomfortable? Would you like to stop making babies with me? You don't think making babies with me isn't fun anymore?"

"No! It's just…"

Hatsume laughed.

"You need to step up your game, Izuku, and empty your fuck box or you'll die all alone and confused."

"… I don't have… that."

"You should get one. Everyone needs a fuck box."

They walked deeper into the beach that had become the unofficial dumping ground for their city.

"… about your dad…" Izuku said.

"He was ecstatic that you knew who he was. Haven't seen him that happy in years."

"… really?"

"No."

"… oh. Uh… do you know what happened with him and Endeavor?"

"He doesn't like talking about it… or Endeavor. Or heroes in general. He burned a lot of bridges when he quit Endeavor's agency and couldn't find anyone who'd take him after that."

Hatsume sighed and looked at the ocean.

"Mom didn't stick around for long after that."

A familiar pain hit Izuku.

"… I'm sorry. I… know what it's like. When I was diagnosed Quirkless… dad… he left."

They walked onward in awkward silence and Hatsume tried on the shock gloves. She gave an approving whistle when she saw that the current ran safely through the gloves without harming the user. Then Izuku's stomach twisted.

"… do you smell that?"

"You're not pinning that one on me. Who smelt it dealt it." Hatsume said and then she smelled it too: "Oh my God! What is that?! I swear if I find another corpse in here, I'm going to freak out!"

Dark green mud was dripping out of a drainage and it was the foulest thing Izuku had ever smelled. Then it started rising above them into the form of a man. Izuku and Hatsume could only stare when the creature opened its eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth formed. The thing grinned at them.

"What are you two little kids doing here all alone?"

The creature had a raspy voice and the stench of its breath brought tears into Izuku's eyes. What was even worse than the smell was that Izuku knew the thing. Sludge Villain. A D-rank criminal who had been all over the news the past few weeks. Hatsume recognized him too. Without saying a word, they ran deeper into the junkyard and hid amongst the trash.

"We need to get the hell out of here." Hatsume whispered while using her Quirk Zoom to find an escape route.

"… see anything?" Izuku said while dialing the emergency number.

"I don't think he knows… Run!"

A shadow fell over Izuku and he saw one of the trash mountains falling towards them. Izuku let out a terrified yelp when they scampered out of the way. The earth shook when tons of trash collapsed, and the crash was loud enough to make Izuku's ears ring.

"Found you." The Sludge Villain said.

Hatsume dropped the shock gloves when the Sludge Villain grabbed her.

"What are you doing here wasting your time with some Quirkless freak? I could show you a lot better time." The Sludge Villain said and grinned at Izuku: "Don't even think about moving or your little girlfriend will be drowning in shit."

Hatsume looked at Izuku. There was fear in her eyes but also determination. Even now she believed that together they would get out of this. Without saying a word, a plan was forged between them.

It was blatantly obvious that the Sludge Villain never had a Bakugou in his life. If he had, he would have known better than to take his eyes off an enemy. Izuku lunged at the fallen shock gloves and when the Sludge Villain tried to swipe him aside, Hatsume had a free shot at his eye. His huge bulging eye. It didn't matter how tough someone was. No one could take a blow in the eye. The Sludge Villain was no exception.

Many things happened at once.

The Sludge Villain dropped Hatsume and clutched his bruised eye. Izuku grabbed one of the shock gloves and put it on. Then a high-powered current of electricity was running through the Sludge Villain.

A normal person would have been knocked out instantly. Unfortunately, the Sludge Villain was not a normal person. Whatever his body was made of it had a much higher percentage of water in it than an average person and that made the shock glove hit far harder than it was meant to. The sudden surge of power fried the Sludge Villain, the shock glove and Izuku's hand. When the glove exploded searing hot metal hit Izuku in the face. The Sludge Villain melted into a puddle and Izuku fell into the ground bloodied and half-blind.

"Izuku? Are you…" Hatsume said.

Then the stench hit her.

The Sludge Villain had reeked like the sewer he'd crawled out of. Getting electrocuted hadn't improved the odor.

Izuku threw up first. Then Hatsume followed suit. The green puddle that had been the Sludge Villain twitched weakly. When Izuku was lying on his knees, throwing up until his throat hurt, he felt something heavy hit the ground.

"Worry not, for now I am… Oh my God."

Through the tears Izuku saw All-Might standing over them and looking sick. He'd covered his mouth and tried to force his breakfast to stay down. Izuku spat out a mouthful of bile and All-Might started coughing. He coughed until he was spitting blood. Then he started… steaming and… shrinking? In the blink of an eye All-Might was gone and in his place stood a blonde skeleton.

"What the shit?! What the shit?!" Izuku yelled.

"Aw… crap." All-Might sighed.