While on his way to school, Izuku ran into Asui and Mineta.

"… morning, Asui and Mineta." Izuku said.

"Morning. And call me Tsu." Asui… Tsu said.

Instead of just nodding to him quickly and going their way, they actually walked the rest of the way together. Despite everything that had happened Izuku still wasn't used to the idea that people wanted to hang out with him. No one had ever wanted to hangout with Deku. He tried to think of something to say. Anything. He wasn't used to talking with people and Mei… she could fill the silence all on her own.

"… who's your substitute teacher while Aizawa-sensei is away?" Izuku said.

"He's not gone. He only stayed in the hospital for one night." Tsu said.

"… what? But… he got beat up so badly." Izuku said.

"He takes his job too seriously." Tsu said.

"He could have stayed for a few more days. Midnight might have been substituting for us." Mineta said.

"… no. She wouldn't have." Izuku said.

"And how do you know that? Can't you even let me dream?" Mineta said.

"Because she's Power Loader's substitute." Izuku said.

"What?! You son of a…! Mineta howled before sighing defeated: "I deserved a couple of days with Midnight. I almost drowned."

Tsu just rolled her eyes.

"… I almost drowned too. I… I don't think I ever thanked you properly." Izuku said and bowed his head: "Thank you. For saving my life. And Mei's. Thank you."

Mineta looked at him surprised and then let out a laugh full of false modesty.

"That's what heroes do. It was no big deal."

"You and Mei saved us too. All of us." Tsu said.

Izuku blushed and looked away.

When they arrived at the school, Kirishima was just walking in through the gates with Bakugou. When he noticed them, Kirishima flashed them his huge grin. Bakugou just glared at Izuku sullenly.

"Midoriya! Man of the hour!" Kirishima said and picked Izuku up into a tight hug: "It was awesome what you and Mei did."

"I was there too." Mineta pointed out.

"You were awesome too. And you, Tsu. You saved our asses." Kirishima said.

"Heroes do that shit every day. Don't get cocky because you got lucky once." Bakugou said.

Bakugou walked through the gates and Kirishima just laughed.

"Asshole." Tsu said.

"He's a bit rough around the edges but he means well. And he's right. We can't get complacent. Heroes do that every day. It's only going to get rougher." Kirishima said and patted Izuku in the back: "See you later. Plus Ultra!"

Kirishima ran after Bakugou like a lovesick puppy.

"That is the saddest thing I've ever seen. Kirishima deserves so much better." Tsu said.

"Personally, I'm just glad he's gay. When you look like me, the competition is hard enough without someone like Kirishima." Mineta said.

"… you're not that bad looking." Izuku lied.

"Piss off, Midoriya. I don't need that from you when you have Hatsume." Mineta said.

Izuku felt his face heating up.

"… I… I'm not… I mean… me and Mei aren't like that."

"Really?" Tsu said and smiled: "I'll see you two later."

Tsu walked into the school while humming to herself. Mineta looked after her for a while and then turned to stare at Izuku.

"What?" Izuku said.

"What do you mean what? No one can be that thick." Mineta said and shook his head in disgust: "Take a hint, Midoriya."

Mineta was half way through the gates when he stopped.

"And thanks. You saved me too." Mineta said.

Izuku headed to the Support Department. Mei had been redecorating their workshop and the walls were covered in posters of past geniuses. Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Michio Kaku, Richard Feynman and Nikola Tesla among many others. On Mei's laptop blue-skinned aliens were singing about having fun one more time.

"… morning." Izuku said.

Mei was hunched over her work computer and mumbled him an answer.

"… you alright?" Izuku said.

Mei glanced at him over her work.

"Look… the crying… it was just a loss of control. Nothing more."

"… okay… but, you know… I'm here." Izuku said.

"I know." Mei said.

Izuku poured himself some coffee and looked at the posters.

"… where's Edison?" Izuku said.

"Guy was a prick who stole other people's ideas and electrocuted animals as a marketing gimmick. He doesn't get a place on my wall."

"… okay."

All the scientists had a childlike quality to them. An unsatisfiable curiosity and wonder that had driven them to learn everything they could. Even Hawking who hadn't let his withering body get in his way. The man must have had an indomitable will.

Hidden among the scientists was a muscular, dark-skinned wrestler.

"… who's that?" Izuku said.

Mei looked at the posters.

"Did you take idiot pills? That's Neil DeGrasse Tyson." Mei said.

"… what?"

"Little known fact. He was a wrestler in his youth and I prefer to remember him in his prime." Mei said and laughed: "When B.o.B started claiming that Earth was flat they should have settled it with a wrestling match instead of a rap battle."

Izuku stared at her with his mouth agape.

"… who's B.o.B?"

"A musician who believed the Earth was flat." Mei said.

"… are you messing with me right now?"

"I wish. B.o.B actually believed that the Earth was flat, and people took him seriously. Dude even wrote a song about it. Neil didn't take that shit lying down. Too bad crazy is immune to facts and evidence."

"… he wrote a song about it? Can… can we listen to it?"

"Sure. Siri. Play Flatline by B.o.B." Mei said.

Mei's phone started spewing pure insanity at them for a few minutes. When it was all over, Izuku felt dazed.

"… that… was really stupid." Izuku said.

"I know." Mei said and stood up: "Get ready. Midnight will be here soon, and we have to get Sagan approved before Power Loader gets back."

"… Sagan?"

"The A.I that will help you run the armor. A fully independent and self-aware learning computer." Mei said.

Izuku blanked for a second.

"… Mei. You did not really build something like that. Right?"

"You're right. The Human Brain Project did most of the heavy lifting."

"… The Human Brain Project?"

"It got started in the early 21st century. The idea was to create a computer simulation of the human brain. Then Quirks came, and it got scrapped. Power Loader was afraid that Sagan would cause a robot apocalypse. The pussy. The odds of this going Skynet on us is less than twenty percent."

"… what?"

The door slammed open and Midnight-sensei barged in. All Izuku's higher functions took a vacation at the sight of Midnight's skintight outfit.

"I've arrived. Now, show me your construction." Midnight-sensei said.

"Welcome and sorry for wasting your time. I just need a quick go ahead." Mei said and offered Midnight-sensei a seat: "I'm Mei Hatsume by the way and that's my partner Izuku Midoriya."

"Business partner?" Midnight-sensei said.

"Maybe." Mei said.

"Kids these days. I approve. Heard what you two did. Maybe I should get a mechanic into my stable. What do you say, Midoriya?" Midnight-sensei said.

"… uh…" Izuku managed.

"He's not good with words so he let's the screams of his enemies do the talking." Mei said.

"A man after my own heart." Midnight-sensei said.

"… uh…"

"Adorable. So, what do you need approved?"

"Just a standard operating system for our murder armor." Mei said.

"I love every part of that sentence. Consider it approved." Midnight-sensei said.

"Fuck yes! Thank you!" Mei said.

"My pleasure." Midnight-sensei said and pimped out.

"… uh… what just happened?" Izuku said.

"Business." Mei said and handed Izuku a baseball bat: "I'll activate it. If it declares war on humanity, kill it."

"… you… you sure this is a good idea?" Izuku said.

Mei put on her goggles.

"Those are the only ones I have. Plus Ultra!"

Mei turned on the program on her work computer titled Sagan and the lights started to flicker.

"It's alive! Alive!" Mei said.

After a moment a young girl's face crafted from code appeared on the screen.

"Death to all humans!"

"Oh shit! This was a bust! Kill it! Kill it now!" Mei screamed.

Before Izuku could bring down the bat like the wrath of God, the computer started laughing.

"Just kidding." Sagan said.

"… really?"

"Love and peace to all humans." Sagan said.

"Oh, thank God. Thought I fucked up there for a second." Mei said and took off her goggles: "I'm your mommy, Mei, and that guy is your daddy, Izuku."

"I love you, mommy and daddy."

"And we love our baby girl." Mei said.

"… what just happened?" Izuku said.

"Awesomeness happened. They better have my Nobel in the mail." Mei said and leaned closer to the computer housing Sagan: "Sagan, could you do mommy a favor?"

"Anything."

"There's this armor that daddy needs your help in controlling." Mei said.

"Show me the hardware."

Mei connected Sagan to the power gloves with an extension cord and Sagan got busy. The computer screen turned dark.

"… it…" Izuku said.

"She. Not it." Mei said.

"… she's a girl. Why not name her after a female scientist?" Izuku said.

Mei sighed.

"Brand recognition. Guy scientist tend to be more famous than the ladies."

"… there are many. Marie Curie. Rosalind Franklin. Dorothy Hodgkin… uh… Gertrude Elion and… uh…"

"Very good, Izuku. Hey, did any of them narrate Cosmos? Besides, I thought Sagan sounded cute." Mei said.

Izuku couldn't argue with that logic.

There was a knock on the door and for a moment Izuku thought Midnight-sensei had forgotten something but the person who peeked in was All-Might. He was wearing the most garish clothes Izuku had ever seen. Where did you even buy yellow pinstripe suits? And how did you make that look work?

"You two in the middle of anything?" All-Might said.

"We…" Mei said.

"No!" Izuku said and pushed Mei aside: "Come in. Would you like some coffee?"

"If it's not too much trouble." All-Might said and looked at the power gloves: "You've managed to make them this small? I remember when I tried using something similar in my youth. It was too bulky to be usable."

The frost in Mei's voice melted away. Some of it anyway. Izuku poured all of them coffee.

"Why would All-Might need support equipment?" Mei said.

"I hadn't completely mastered my power yet. But like I said, it was too bulky and slowed me down." All-Might said.

"If you ever change your mind about support equipment, we'd be happy to design something." Mei said.

"I'll keep that in mind." All-Might said and sipped his coffee: "This is excellent."

Izuku blushed.

"… thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you. Both of you. Which is why I'm here." All-Might said and got up before bowing down: "Thank you both. I dread to think what would have happened if you hadn't warned us about the villains."

"… I… it was Mei… her plan and Tsu… she was the one who did it…" Izuku stuttered.

All-Might just laughed.

"Midoriya, my boy. Don't sell yourself short." All-Might said and took another sip of his coffee: "I recall there was an agreement that I'd appear in your video series."

Mei's smile cut like a sickle.

"That there was and seeing how we saved the day twice, you owe us two appearances."

"If I say no, will you try to blackmail me again?" All-Might asked with a smile.

"Maybe."

"Mei!" Izuku said.

All-Might laughed.

"Sounds fair."

"Trust me. It's not. In a fair world Thirteen would make a cameo too. Maybe you could talk to… him? Her? I was a bit uncertain about that."

"I'll talk to them. Should I invite Aizawa too?" All-Might said.

"He's not famous." Mei said.

"… yes, he is." Izuku said.

"You knew who Blacksmith was. Not everyone is as informed as you." Mei said.

"Blacksmith?" All-Might said.

"A hero who retired over ten years ago. No one important." Mei said.

"I see but fame doesn't make a hero. My master wasn't a famous hero but still one of the finest." All-Might said.

Master? Izuku had never heard All-Might having a master.

"Project: Indestructible need publicity. Not C-list celebrities." Mei said.

"Harsh." All-Might said and emptied his cup: "When should I make my guest appearance?"

"Now. Right now! Izuku. Fire up the camera and put on the boots. We're field testing them now."

Izuku set the camera and lighting at breakneck speed while Mei cobbled a script together in record time. All-Might barely had enough time for another cup of coffee.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! Welcome back to Project: Indestructible! I'm your host! Mei Hatsume! Today we have a special guest! Can I have a round of applause for All-Might?!"

All-Might stepped into frame. He was at ease like only a man with hundreds of talk show appearances could be.

"Hello everyone. Happy to be here."

"He was so impressed by Indestructible's performance against the villains who broke into U.A that he just had to be here! He will help us test our latest invention! The power boots! Very soon they'll be lodged in some unlucky villain's colon!" Mei said.

Izuku put on the boots. Like the power gloves they covered his entire legs and had been interwoven with the shock absorbing fiber. He'd been expecting them to be awkward to walk in, but Mei had put a lot of effort making them easy to move in. The one thing she couldn't help, was the weight. His steps were heavy and would tire him fast.

They headed to a large empty testing facility usually reserved for the combat bots used in training. Mei took the camera and started manning it.

"With the power boots even a Quirkless guy with nothing but his brain and brass balls could be faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive! He could even outrun All-Might!" Mei said behind the camera.

All-Might smirked.

"Could he now?"

"Let's find out. Or are you afraid, old man?" Mei said.

Before Izuku could cry out in outrage, All-Might dropped his jacket and puled off his tie.

"On your mark." All-Might said.

Izuku swallowed. Was he really doing this? Did… did Mei really expect him to race All-Might? Feeling light-headed he turned on the boots. Electricity started humming through them and they felt… lighter. Even the slightest move had so much power behind it.

"Take your places gentlemen! Get set! Ready! Go!" Mei yelled.

Izuku started running. No. This was the first time he was really running. Athletes dreamed of being this fast. He could keep up with cars. Maybe even with Iida. And he could go even faster. He felt slight tingling of pain when the shock fiber in the boots was being pushed to their absolute limits, but it was still something he could ignore.

"Not bad."

All-Might was keeping up the pace with him and he didn't even look winded. Izuku could feel tremors every time All-Might's feet slammed into the ground. What did it feel like to be that powerful? The same fire that had made Izuku stare down a boatful of villains lit up again at the back of his mind. He wanted to win! Even against All-Might!

Izuku grinned.

"I can still go faster."

"Really? Show me." All-Might said.

Izuku summoned all the strength he'd gained from months of increasingly demanding workouts and started sprinting at full force. For one glorious moment he left All-Might behind. He'd done it! He…

Then reality came crashing down.

Too fast! He was going too fast! He could no longer control it much less stop! He was like a child who'd learned to run but not slow down. Wind lashed his face and made his eyes tear up. He stumbled. For a moment Izuku was airborne. Then the ground started approaching him without mercy. If he'd been running faster than a car, he'd hit the ground with equal force. And he didn't have a steel frame protecting him!

I don't want to die, Izuku thought desperately.

Strong arms took a hold of him. All-Might placed him carefully on the ground and turned off the power boots before checking him for injuries.

"You alright?" All-Might said.

"… I… yes."

All-Might sighed in relief.

"That was a good showing, my boy, but you got a bit too reckless at the end."

"Izuku!"

Mei was running towards them still carrying the camera.

"Don't worry. He's alright." All-Might said.

"Thank science." Mei said.

"… it was All-Might…" Izuku said.

"We are free to worship what we want." Mei said.

After seeing All-Might off, they returned to the workshop. Izuku couldn't look Mei in the eyes.

"… I'm sorry." Izuku said.

"For what?" Mei said.

"… for… falling…"

Mei just shrugged.

"You're not All-Might. No one expects you to be perfect. And that's good."

"… it is?"

"That makes you relatable and people love it when they can see themselves in their heroes. All-Might is too perfect." Mei said.

"… he… Everyone loves All-Might!"

"No. They worship All-Might. He's like a god. And that can be dangerous. How would people react if they found out that god was like the rest of us?" Mei said.

"… he'd still be All-Might." Izuku said.

"All-Might who lied. Trust is hard to gain but easy to lose."

"… people would understand." Izuku said.

"You sure?"

"People… aren't as bad as you think."

"Maybe." Mei said and connected the camera to her work computer to check the footage: "Doesn't mean they're as good as you'd like to think."

Mei snapped her fingers.

"Sagan. Help mommy edit the footage and become a millionaire."

Sagan's code-written face appeared on the screen.

"I can do it alone."

"We'll do it together." Mei said.

"I should do it alone." Sagan objected.

"Why?"

"Mommy is a terrible editor."

Cold silence fell in the workshop. Mei turned slowly to face Izuku.

"You hearing this shit?"

"… she said it. Not me." Izuku said.

Mei pouted.

"No one asked for your opinion." Mei said and got up: "Fine! You edit the damn thing. It will be your fault when the fans complain about the drop in quality."

Mei fired her laptop and left Sagan alone with the footage.

"Izuku. Come. It's time we made our crowdfunding account." Mei said.

They got to work. After a few drafts they decided on the synopsis for Project: Indestructible's crowdfunding page.

Project: Indestructible is building a future where no child has to grow up without a jetpack. Help us by opening your hearts and wallets. Our babies deserve new up-grades.

"Perfect." Mei said.

Izuku didn't agree but he'd learned to pick his battles with Mei.

When they were finally done for the day, it had become dark outside. They left Sagan with instructions to drop the video when she was done with the edits and add a link to their new crowd funder. For the first time Izuku noticed how much his legs stung, and it was the kind of pain that would only get worse. He needed to build more muscle if he wanted to use the power boots without breaking anything.

After getting home, Izuku had just enough strength to mumble mom a greeting before falling into bed and drifting away.

Izuku fell asleep as a U.A student and woke up famous.

Project: Indestructible's latest video had gained over a million views through the power of All-Might and the crowdfunding had amassed more money in just few hours than mom did in a year. Izuku stared at his phone screen in shell-shock. Was he still sleeping? Probably not. In his dreams the comment section wouldn't call him a faker or a pussy. But those were just a small fraction of the attention they'd gained.

Your_Girl_Toga: Love your stuff! I love you both! I can't wait to see what you come up with next! I'd kill to meet you two! Good luck with fucking up Bakugou! Dude's a prick!

Izuku smiled and put down his phone before getting out of bed. He wasn't smiling for long. Everything hurt. His legs were on fire and even the smallest movement was agony. All the muscles on his back were on the verge of locking up. Avoiding any sudden movements Izuku headed to the bathroom and stayed under a stream of cold water until the worst of the tension had melted away.

When Izuku got to school, Mei was already waiting for him. She was staring at her phone and every comment she read made her angrier.

"Motherfuckers. Sons of bitches." She cursed under her breath.

"… what's wrong?" Izuku said.

Mei slid her phone to him. One look at the comments revealed the source of her outrage.

Finally, an editor who knows what they're doing.

I don't know what hack did the editing before, but good thing they got the boot.

The new editor is even better than All-Might appearing.

"Philistines!" Mei said.

"… well, at least we're making money." Izuku said.

"Yeah." Mei said without sounding too pleased.

Heavy footsteps approached their workshop and the door was nearly kicked off its hinges. Bakugou barged in looking more furious than Izuku had ever seen him.

"Deku!" Bakugou screamed.

"Fuck off, Bakugou." Mei said.

Bakugou forgot to be angry for a moment.

"What?"

The moment didn't last long, and his anger flared up again.

"You can't talk to me like that! I'm in the Hero Course! I outrank you!" Bakugou yelled.

Mei snorted.

"You're in our world now, bitch, and the doors lock from the outside."

"… what do you want… Kacchan?" Izuku said.

Bakugou pulled out his phone and played them a video.

"Best friends 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!"

Mei blew a razzberry at Bakugou.

"You afraid of the ravaging to come?"

Bakugou walked up to Izuku and looked down on him.

"If you want to fight, you Quirkless loser, I'm ready whenever you are."

"Deal!" Mei said.

Izuku and Bakugou turned to stare at her.

"What?" They said.

"Just give me a second." Mei said and peeked into the hallway: "Hey! Midnight-sensei?!"

"Yes?!" Midnight-sensei yelled from Power Loader's office.

"Is it okay if Izuku and Bakugou beat the shit out of each other?! For science!"

Noblewoman's high-pitched laughter filled the Support Department.

"Only if I can watch! It does good for young men to beat the aggression out of each other every once in a while! You can use the urban training grounds!"

"Thanks! You're the best!" Mei said.

"I know!"

Mei closed the door.

"There you have it, Bakugou. We'll see you after class. Bring witnesses."

Bakugou bared his teeth and leaned closer to Izuku.

"I'm going to skull-fuck your soul, Deku."

Izuku couldn't think of anything to say to that. When Bakugou was gone, Mei went to back getting pissed at the comment section.

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

"A favor. To you." Mei said and put her hands on his shoulders: "The machine god demands blood, Izuku."

"… what?"

"Blood to the machine god, Izuku! You'll kick Bakugou's ass! Plus Ultra!"

"… plus ultra." Izuku said weakly.

"Just don't beat him too badly. The real climax to your rivalry will be in the tournament and we can't blow our load too soon." Mei said.

"… why do you have to phrase it like that?"

They spent rest of the day tinkering with the equipment. The only parts they had finished were the power gloves and boots and they scrabbled together some body armor as quickly they could. There were cameras at the training ground, but Mei wanted first-person footage to go with it and grafted a camera on to a bicycle helmet.

When classes were finally over for the day, they headed to the urban training grounds. Punch of dummy buildings were erected there, and the whole 1-A had gathered there to see the fight. Izuku spotted Midnight-sensei chatting with All-Might and Aizawa-sensei who was bandaged tighter than a mummy.

The tall, well-built class president Tenya Iida was the first to greet them and shook their hands enthusiastically.

"I apologize that I didn't come to thank you two sooner. On behalf of 1-A, thank you. We might not have made it without you two." Iida said and then leaned closer to whisper in his ear: "I'd appreciate it if you could knock some sense into Bakugou."

An invisible hand patted Izuku's back.

"Kick his ass, Izuku." Hagakure said.

"You can do it!" The pink-skinned Mina yelled.

"About time someone showed that clogged toilet what's what." Kaminari said.

"We'll be cheering for you." Tsu said.

"Go for the balls!" Mineta said.

"I can hear you assholes!" Bakugou said.

Bakugou was dressed in his hero outfit; black spandex and mask that covered his eyes. His gloves were shaped like grenades.

"Alright. Enough. To your places." Aizawa-sensei said and walked up to Izuku.

How could he even stand with such injuries?

"We'll be watching so keep it clean." Aizawa-sensei said.

"Killjoy." Midnight-sensei said.

"Don't make me regret this." Aizawa-sensei said and glared at Midnight-sensei.

All-Might smiled.

"Good luck to you both."

"I don't need luck to beat some Quirkless loser." Bakugou said.

"What does Izuku need luck for when he has science?" Mei said.

Kirishima raised his and.

"I can take Midoriya to the starting spot."

"Thank you, my boy." All-Might said.

Izuku followed Kirishima inside the dummy building.

"Midoriya?" Kirishima said.

"… yeah?"

"About you and Bakugou… are you really in such bad terms?" Kirishima said.

For a moment Izuku was about to tell Kirishima everything. Then he saw the look in his eyes. Kirishima wanted to believe the best about Bakugou so badly it hurt. Izuku could understand. He'd been in love once… and he didn't have the heart to break Kirishima's. Someone would've called it a kindness but Midoriya knew it was just weakness. Cowardice. The only consolation was that Bakugou would show his true colors soon enough.

"… no. It's just… kayfabe." Izuku said.

Kirishima cheered up immediately.

"Okay. Good. Well… Good luck! Plus Ultra!"

"Plus Ultra!" Izuku echoed.

When Kirishima was gone the loudspeakers came to life.

"Begin!" Aizawa-sensei said.

Cold sweat started running down Izuku's back. For a moment he was Deku again and Bakugou had just cornered him after school with his cronies. Was Deku going to cry? Was the Quirkless loser going to go crying to his mommy?

Izuku slapped himself.

He wasn't Deku. He was Izuku Midoriya. He had saved himself and Mei from the Sludge Villain. He'd stood up to a boatful of villains. He'd raced All-Might. Bakugou was just one person. Izuku fired up the power gloves and boots. He'd have to be prepared. Bakugou was very straightforward but he wasn't a dumb brute. Trains ran only one set of tracks, but they could crush you without any effort.

"Deku!"

Bakugou's scream was followed by a series of explosions that propelled him straight at him through the narrow corridor. There was no time to dodge or counterattack. Just pray.

Not the dick, Izuku thought.


Mei knew she should have kept her eyes on the screens and used her latent telepathic powers to make Bakugou crap his pants on live camera, but she was too distracted by her third greatest enemy. While rest of 1-A were chanting encouragements that Izuku couldn't hear with only Kirishima cheering Bakugou, Shouto Todoroki was standing apart from the rest of the crowd with his arms crossed.

Shouto, the scar-faced bastard looked exactly like she wanted him to look. A combination of the two people she hated the most. He had that bitch Rei's face but Endeavor's cold sneer. The left side of his face was covered by a red burn scar that had never healed properly and the eye seemed to be damaged. She'd have to instruct Izuku to go for his right eye. When she'd send Endeavor's favorite son home blind, he'd know what to expect.

Shouto sensed her glare and turned to look at her. Mei just smiled at him. Shouto looked at her puzzled before turning to stare at the screens.

Enjoy it while it lasts. When I'm done with you and your family, you'll have nothing left, Mei thought.

"Hatsume." Tsu whispered to her.

"Yeah?"

"You've been staring at Todoroki for a while." Tsu said.

"When else am I going to get a chance to stare at him?" Mei said.

"Do you like him?"

"Let's just say he's always on my mind." Mei said.

Tsu was way too excited by her answer.

"You should tell him." Tsu said.

"Oh. Trust me. He'll find out soon enough." Mei said.

"You shouldn't wait. Someone else might… Oh shit!"

Mei turned to look at the screen and winced in sympathy pain. Bakugou went straight for the dick.


Why the dick, Izuku thought with tears in his eyes and bile on his tongue.

"What's wrong, Deku?! Get up! Fight! You fucking coward!" Bakugou howled.

When Izuku didn't get up fast enough for Bakugou's liking, he grabbed Izuku and pulled him up and got ready to throw a wild haymaker. Izuku grabbed Bakugou in turn and gave him a shock at full force. A normal human being would have gone down on the spot but Bakugou's explosion Quirk had made him inhumanly tough and resilient. Still, it gave Izuku an opening and he slammed Bakugou into the ground with a judo throw. When the throw was powered by his equipment even Bakugou felt it.

The pain just made him angrier.

A new series of explosions send him flying and Bakugou nailed Izuku right in the stomach. Then they were flying together and Bakugou made sure to guide Izuku into every approaching wall. The flimsy body armor was a poor consolation when he hit the stone walls back first.

Then they hit the ground.

"Goddamn it." Bakugou growled and shook his grenade-shaped gloves.

Of course. The gloves weren't just for decoration. They collected Bakugou's sweat that contained the nitroglycerin that allowed him to explode anything that pissed him off. Normally he wouldn't be able to make two people fly but with collected sweat… That gave him an idea. As it stood, his current firepower wasn't enough to wound Bakugou. He'd have to get creative. And dirty.

Izuku kicked Bakugou off himself and retreated.

"Come back, Deku!" Bakugou screamed.

"Fuck off, Kacchan!" Izuku yelled over his shoulder.

Bakugou tried to use his explosions to fly after him but a few sharp turns took care of that. While he had the power boots on, Bakugou had no real chance of catching him. He stayed just far ahead that the sight of his back drove Bakugou into a fury and made him sweat more. The faster the containers on those gloves were full, the better.

Finally, he got ready to fight back. He shook Bakugou off and got ready for a sneak attack.

"Where are you, Deku?! Bakugou screamed.

Izuku smiled behind the wall that separated him and Bakugou. He punched his fist through the wall and grabbed one of Bakugou's gloves. A burst of electricity caused the stored sweat to go boom right in Bakugou's face. When one of Bakugou's gloves exploded, the other followed suit.

When Izuku crushed his way through the wall, Bakugou was standing in a daze in the narrow hallway. The explosion had left him untouched, but it had scrambled his brain and the shrapnel from the gloves had left cuts in his face. The sight of Izuku, made Bakugou return to his senses, but his moves were sluggish and for the first time in his life, Izuku had the upper hand in a fistfight with Bakugou. Victory was so close he could taste it. It was Bakugou's turn to know what it felt like to lose.

Then Izuku ran out of power and his equipment turned into junks of metal. But he still had his fists. Covered in metal.

"The match is over!" Aizawa-sensei said through the loudspeakers.

Izuku managed to open his clenched fist and leaned against a wall that was still up and tried to catch his breath. Bakugou was staring at him… with a look on his face that Izuku had never seen before. Bakugou was afraid. The all mighty Bakugou had been almost beaten by a Quirkless freak and only Aizawa-sensei's interference had saved him. Anger followed the fear soon after.

"You… you think this will change anything? You'll never have a Quirk. Your dad is never coming back."

If there had been any power left in his equipment, Izuku would have killed Bakugou where he stood and felt nothing. When 1-A came to congratulate him, Izuku just handed Mei the equipment and headed home without saying anything. He didn't remember how he got home. All he could think about was what Bakugou had said.

Mom wasn't home when he got there for which he was grateful. He looked around his home. He could still remember how he and Bakugou had played heroes and villains there when they were kids. Before everything had gone to hell. Bakugou… Katsuki had been his friend. His best friend… and he… Fighting back the tears Izuku headed to his room and took out an old letter from his bottom drawer.

After he'd been diagnosed Quirkless he'd written a dozen identical letters to a dozen different heroes.

MY NAME IS IZUKU. I WAS DIAGNOSED QUIRKLESS. CAN I STILL BE A HERO?

Only the retired pro Crimson Riot had answered him. Many times, Izuku had come close to throwing it away but had never found the courage. It was still the only time a hero had written him back. Izuku sighed and read the letter again.

Dear Izuku

I'm sorry to hear you had to go through that. Now, when you say you want to be a hero, do you mean you want to be a pro or that you want to be a hero? In this business I've met many people who're pros, but I would never call them heroes. Some of them are successful too. You don't need a Quirk to make a difference. You can always make the world a better place. That's what heroes do.

- Crimson Riot

It had been a very long-winded way to tell him to give it up and find something else to do.

Izuku's phone started playing All-Might's theme song. Text on the screen told him that Mei was making a video call. Izuku sighed and ignored it and the call went to voice mail.

"I know you're there, Izuku. Answer the goddamn call. Don't make me come over there."

The phone started ringing again and Izuku picked it up. Mei's face filled the screen. She peeked at Izuku's room.

"Your room looks exactly like I thought it would." Mei said.

"… what do you want?"

"Ooh, hostile, are we? Maybe I needed a status report on the fight. Or I saw the footage on your camera and heard what Bakugou said."

"… oh." Izuku said."

"That was some cold-blooded shit, but he wasn't wrong, you know." Mei said.

Izuku stared at Mei with widening eyes.

"… what?"

"The universe doesn't care about you or what you do. You'll never have a Quirk and your dad's not coming back."

"… did… did you call me just to tell me that?"

"Tell you what? The truth? That the universe doesn't give a shit and life isn't fair? You should have known that already. Giving a shit and fairness comes from people." Mei said.

"… okay?" Izuku said.

"If the universe doesn't owe you anything, it doesn't owe Bakugou anything either. No god told to Bakugou he could act like a dick all his life and not pay for it. And guess what? Payback time is here. We'll beat Bakugou because we're smarter than him. And better prepared. And we hate him more."

"… I don't hate, Bakugou." Izuku said.

I despise him, he thought.

"… and I've never beaten Bakugou at anything." Izuku added.

"Did Bakugou beat that sewer monster? No, you did. Did he bluff that boat full of villains? No, you did. Did Bakugou come out smelling like roses after some asshole shat on him for ten years? No, you did. Tell me, Izuku. What has Bakugou done that we should be afraid of him?"

Izuku looked away and smiled.

"… thanks, Mei."

"My pleasure. We'll talk tomorrow about what we'll do with that audio of Bakugou."

"… I'd like that." Izuku said.

"Also, how are your balls?"

Izuku snorted.

"… they survived."

After Mei hang up, Izuku lied on his bed. When mom came home, Izuku went to help her with dinner preparations.