Izuku let out a small grunt as he stretched his arm up as far as he could manage, the tip of his middle finger just barely brushing the edge of a gleaming piece of metal. The disk-like object wobbled slightly on its perch but remained stubbornly in place. He let a frustrated growl rumble in the back of his throat, but he remained determined. He secured a slightly higher foothold in the wall of scrap metal and plastic, hoisting himself just high enough to snatch the disk from where it sat.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed triumphantly to himself, taking a moment to admire his prize. It was shaped more or less like a flying saucer, a few different ports embedded in its slightly scuffed surface at regular intervals. A grin spread across his lips, but his feelings of victory were short lived. He felt the ground shift beneath his feet, the rotted-out casing of a dismantled service bot slipping out from where it was wedged in the side of the cliff-face of refuse, taking his foothold with it.
Izuku let out a yelp as he tumbled down the mountain of scrap, eventually coming to an abrupt stop when his back slammed against a warped and rusted steel panel. He lay there for a long moment, gasping to recapture the wind that had been knocked out of him. After many seconds during which it felt like his lungs were paralyzed, he was finally able to draw breath once more, and he lay there panting for a while.
Once the ache in his back began to subside, his eyes cracked open to stare up at the dim circle of light hovering high above; an opening at the top of a mile-long shaft, the warmth of the sun too distant to feel, let alone see. The twenty-six decks of Tokyo Nova's Musutafu Ward stretched upwards as far as the eye could see, the pale gray of the sky only visible from the bottom in that one spot. And the bottom it surely was. The Hole, as it was known in the area, wasn't exactly a popular hangout, despite being the only place in the entire ward where one could see the sky without being wealthy enough to live on the very top deck. No, the only reason one could see so far up at all was because the higher decks needed to be able to dump their trash.
Of course, what was trash to one deck was treasure to the ones below. Scrap metal had its uses no matter its origin, but the real diamonds in the rough for scavengers like Izuku were the scarce bits of high-end tech discarded from the very top. Such finds were rare, most everything from the top decks being recycled for the most part, but occasionally someone up there would get frustrated with a malfunctioning device and just toss it in. Often times it wouldn't take much tinkering to get them functioning well enough for a lower-deck citizen to covet even over whatever new version they could afford.
Suddenly, Izuku remembered the very gem he'd found among the trash himself, and he immediately sprang to his feet to look around for it. It had slipped out of his grasp when he fell, but surely it couldn't have gone far. After a moment of heart-racing panic, he soon spotted a familiar silver gleam nestled among a tangle of frayed wires and rusted components. He scrambled over to it, and before long he once again held that sleek metallic disk in his hands. He let out a sigh of relief. He'd only ever seen Deck-A tech once or twice before in his life, but those few encounters were enough for him to know it when he saw it, even if he wasn't entirely sure what it was functionally. The only thing he needed to know was that it would fetch top-dollar at Power Loader's shop.
Stowing the disc securely in his satchel, Izuku took care as he made his way the rest of the way down the ever-growing pile of scrap. The path out of the Hole saw him slipping between massive corrosion-stained pipes and through an old maintenance hatch. Technically, he wasn't supposed to be down there at all, the Hole being off-limits to unauthorized personnel, but the police drones never bothered to patrol it. Normally he would do everything in his power to adhere to the law as best he could regardless of risk of getting caught, but the kinds of things he could find in a place like that made the small breech of the rules well worth it in his mind.
He emerged through an out of the way grate at the end of a derelict alleyway somewhere on Deck-S, climbing out once he was sure the coast was clear before making his way down the street. The spaces between the buildings on the lower decks were at once vast and claustrophobic, the gaps tight but ascending upward the entire way to the underside of the next deck up, the occasional makeshift catwalk crossing overhead. The lights far above did nothing to cut through the shadows that permeated every inch of the deck, peppering the main roof with tiny pinpricks of light like a field of artificial stars. The streets below were instead lit by the ambient glow from holographic signs and advertisements, casting everything in a blue hue.
Despite there being not much room on the ground floor of the deck, there were still plenty of people and shop stalls fighting for space once he got into the busier part of town. Shoving his way through the crowd wasn't exactly easy or pleasant, but it was something he'd gotten used to in his ten years passing through that way to sell his latest scavenging finds. Even so, he found himself automatically apologizing anytime he bumped into someone, earning him several odd looks from those around him. Despite his politeness, he kept his hand buried in his satchel, his fingers clinging tight around his prize inside. He couldn't afford to lose this one to pickpockets.
Finally, the solid blue hue dyeing the streets was infiltrated by a splash of orange, the twisting neon coils of the sign above Power Loader's workshop acting like a lighthouse in the ocean. Making his way inside, Izuku noticed a few regular customers milling about and looking over the latest wares, as well as the familiar faces of a few other young scavengers waiting in line to turn in their finds. Power Loader tended to hire mainly kids and teenagers to go digging through scrapyards for him, finding that they were both more resilient and attentive than their adult counterparts – and were more likely to take a lower price for their finds. Even so, none of the kids or even their parents felt taken advantage of. The engineer always treated them with kindness and respect, and having any job at all helped to keep them from becoming street ruffians and delinquents.
The wait in line didn't take long at all, and soon enough Izuku found himself standing in front of a service window separating the shop section of the unit from the workshop proper. The man on the other side smiled warmly when he saw the young teen approach, though with what eyes one couldn't be sure. The upper half of his face almost looked like a small block of machinery had been fused with the man's skull, a haphazard jumble of different parts from different decks with no obvious optical sensors visible. A lot of biomechanical augmentations built in the lower decks had that same slap-dash look to them, most of the citizens down there too poor to afford even the cheap plastic mass-produced junk that many of them helped to manufacture. In fact, self-taught engineers like Power Loader were probably one of the only things that kept people alive and whole in the bottom half of the city.
"Back already, eh Midoriya? You must have found something nice," he greeted warmly, prompting Izuku to smile in return.
"Yeah, I think so! Here, take a look at this!" he replied eagerly, digging the silver disk he'd found out of his bag and holding it up for the man to take. Power Loader reached out to take it, the scoop shape of his mechanical fingers betraying his past as an excavation worker. Despite how clumsy they may have looked at first glance, those fingers held the disk with an unexpected delicacy. After a brief examination, the engineer let out an impressed whistle.
"Very nice, kid! I haven't seen a portable gravity negator like this in years, and never in this good of condition! It shouldn't take much to get it running again. Man, I can't wait to start tinkering with this baby!" Power Loader praised, his mind already racing with all the things he could make with such a device. Izuku couldn't help but beam proudly, always happy to be told he'd done good work. He felt even prouder of his find as he watched his employer bend down to stow the disk securely in a locked safe rather than simply adding it to the top of the pile behind him.
"Alright, I'm guessing you want me to hang onto your pay like usual. Put it towards the suit, right?" he asked once he straightened up again. Izuku nodded.
"Yeah, if that's still okay. How much longer until it's all paid off?"
"Well, this find alone pays for a decent chunk of it. Along with all you've saved up until now, I'd say you'd be able to buy it outright in another few months if you keep up this rate," the engineer replied cheerfully before bending over through the service window to whisper the rest to the boy. "Honestly, just between you and me, I've already been setting aside parts so I can start working on it right away."
Izuku's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that, his smile widening into a giddy grin. He couldn't believe it! Was it really finally happening? He almost couldn't contain his joy at the thought! He was only brought back to reality when he felt something press into one of his palms. He glanced down, finding that a circular token had been placed in his hand, holographic letters spelling out "Lunch Rush" rotating around the outer edge. A bit in shock, he turned wide eyes up towards Power Loader as though wordlessly asking for an explanation. The engineer smiled warmly.
"You work hard, and you've got big ambitions. That's what I like about you, kid. Treat yourself to some decent food tonight, okay?"
Izuku could already feel grateful tears gathering in his eyes, but he tried his best to keep them at bay.
"Th-thanks so much!"
After quickly pocketing the token, he left the line to allow the scavenger behind him to take their turn exchanging their find. Normally he'd glance back, curious to see what the others might have brought in, but not today. Instead, his eyes were drawn to something hanging on the far wall of the shop. A full-body power suit hung like a lifeless corpse in the corner, the dust of many years caked over the heavy metal plating. Despite being probably the most high-quality item in the shop, it went routinely ignored by customers and shopkeepers alike. Such was the fate of redundant technology, no matter how nice the quality may have been.
A good eighty percent of the population had some sort of biomechanical augmentation, giving them abilities beyond those of normal people. Many ended up getting them through their work, allowing them to more efficiently do their jobs but essentially making them indentured servants to the company that sponsored them until they could pay off the astronomical debt it incurred. For some, however, even that much was forever out of reach. It was becoming increasingly rare as the years went on, but a small percentage of people in the world carried a gene that caused their body to almost instantly reject any form of cybernetic enhancements.
Analog Disorder. Izuku's chest felt tight just thinking of those dreaded words, remembering with perfect clarity when the doctor had diagnosed him with it at the age of four. He was doomed to never be enhanced the way most of the population already was, doomed to be left behind in a society that was all about improving beyond the basic human form. The only way someone like him could ever hope to keep up, the only way he could be what he'd always wanted to be, was to wear enhancements on the outside. The best way to do that was with a powered exosuit like the one hanging there on the wall – useful only to those few like him without cybernetics.
He tried not to get too mired in self-pity about it, though. After all, his dream was finally within reach! Now was a time for him to smile and look forward to the future! Just a few more months of digging through scrap and it'd be in his hands!
"What the hell does some backwards-ass sack of meat like you have to smile so much about?"
As Izuku made his way out of the shop, he was frozen in his tracks when that venomous growl called out to him from the nearby alleyway. Suddenly full of dread, he turned to face the fiery eyes of a boy around his own age, the orange glow from Power Loader's neon sign gleaming off a pair of mechanical arms, the hands of which were currently shoved in the boy's pockets.
"K-Kacchan! Wh-what are you doing here?" Izuku stammered out, instinctively taking a few steps backwards to put a bit of distance between himself and the blond. Bakugo merely sneered in reply, pushing himself away from where he'd been leaning against the wall. He approached leisurely, hands still in pockets, but each step he took forward felt to the young scavenger like a goading threat. He continued to stumble backwards until, after just a few steps, he felt his back press against a wall. Bakugo continued to stalk forward until he stood barely more than a few inches in front of Izuku, glaring down at the other teen with clear disdain.
Suddenly, after standing over him for a long moment, a metallic hand pulled itself out from the pocket it had been hiding in, shooting up towards the shorter teen's face. Izuku let out a pathetic yelp, snapping his eyes tightly shut in preparation for the blow that was sure to come. It never did, however, and he was forced to hesitantly crack one eye open to see why he wasn't lying in a crumpled ball on the ground with a broken nose.
Bakugo's hand was held half an inch in front of the scavenger's face, the gleam of newly refurbished metal still apparent. In the center of the palm was a hole maybe an inch and a half in diameter, confusing Izuku thoroughly until the sweet caramel scent of burnt sugar reached his nostrils. His eyes widened before he focused them to look past the splayed hand, spotting the even rows of vent holes embedded in the heavy-duty steel of the other boy's forearm.
"Like 'em? They're new," Bakugo taunted, a cocky smirk spreading across his lips as he watched the other's reaction. Izuku fidgeted restlessly, terrified eyes never leaving the hand that was still held in front of his face, his legs shaking too badly to move him out of danger's path. He may not have a categorical knowledge of all the types of augments there were out there, but his time as a scavenger had exposed him to a good number of them after they were discarded. If the heavy scent of nitroglycerine was anything to go by, then he was sure those new arms of Bakugo's would do more than just break his nose.
"Th-th-those are illegal!" he managed to stammer out meekly, to which the blond responded with an incredulous bark of laughter. He then slammed that hand against the side of Izuku's face, pressing it forcefully into the grime-covered wall.
"You really think I give a shit about that?! Look around, loser! Who the fuck's gonna stop me from blowing your head clean off your shoulders?!"
Even as Izuku stood there with his face squished against the wall, to terrified to even try to resist, he glanced as best he could at the rest of the people milling about through the streets. All of them went about their day as though nothing at all was happening, the two boys seemingly invisible to the bustling crowd. He even spotted a police drone perched atop it's charging platform, their altercation still too minor for it to bother with. His fearful eyes turned up towards Bakugo once more.
"B-b-but if an Enforcer comes by, especially with those arms, y-you'll be—"
His warning was cut off when he felt the delinquent increase the pressure on his head, spikes of pain shooting through his skull as though warning that something was about to give.
"An Enforcer?! Hah! Don't gimmie that shit! This is Deck-S! Those overhyped pigs wouldn't waste their time down here, not when they've got those rich assholes in the upper decks signing their paychecks! They're too busy making sure someone doesn't jaywalk in front of some CEO's car to get their hands dirty down here!"
"Th-that's not true!" Izuku squeaked out with what little defiance he could muster. "Wh-what about All Might? H-he saves people down on the lower decks all the time!"
At the mere mention of All Might's name, the once apathetic crowd seemed to perk up to attention. The lot of them looked around eagerly, some hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary peace keeper, while less honest individuals hunted for a place to hide. Some street vendors even made haste to pack up shop, a clear sign that their wares weren't entirely legitimate. Bakugo himself seemed conflicted, his nose wrinkled in defiance but his eyes conspicuously unable to meet Izuku's own. Whatever the young delinquent felt, it made him loosen his grip on the other boy's head.
"R-remember when we were kids, Kacchan? D-didn't we both look up to him the same way? W-we were both going to become Enforcers together because of him, weren't we?"
Unfortunately, Izuku's plea only served to stoke Bakugo's rage anew, his fiery orange eyes snapping back to glare down at his victim.
"Tch! Like some modless twerp like you could ever be an Enforcer! You'd get splattered against the wall before your first patrol!" he growled in reply, though all of a sudden he seemed in a hurry to leave. Izuku felt the delinquent's free hand roughly probing his pockets before he was shoved unceremoniously to the ground. After briefly ensuring that his skull hadn't been fractured, the scavenger frantically went through his pockets, finding them empty. Glancing back up to Bakugo, he found that the other teen was admiring the Lunch Rush token that he'd gotten from Power Loader.
"H-hey! Th-that's mine!" he protested uselessly as Bakugo pocketed the token and turned to leave.
"Yeah, and now it's mine. You'd think you'd have learned by now that the strong take from the weak," the delinquent grumbled out dismissively. "Another reason you're fucking delusional for thinking you could ever become an Enforcer. Go back down to Deck-U and rummage around in the trash where you belong."
Izuku couldn't help but feel a bit down on himself as he wandered his way home, and not just because he'd gotten his ration token stolen mere minutes after he'd gotten it. Yes, the gag-inducing protein paste he grudgingly choked down every night would likely taste extra bland today, but not entirely because he'd be missing out on having real food for once.
Bakugo's insults that day hadn't really changed from what he'd been saying for years, but for some reason they seemed to sting more now. Perhaps it was because he was so close to his end goal. All of a sudden, doubts were starting to flood his mind. What if having a power suit just wasn't enough to stand up to criminals and other deviants with built-in enhancements? What if they overwhelmed him? He imagined a band of crazed thugs peeling that suit open like a can of tuna, exposing the vulnerable meat within, and…
He shuddered, shaking his head to banish the horrifying image from his head. No, he wouldn't let that happen! Sure, he had to be extra vigilant about his own safety, but there was no reason he couldn't do it! He just had to stay positive and keep on smiling, just like All Might always did! Turning his hopeful face up towards the ceiling, Izuku belted out a hopeful laugh, the same sort of laugh his idol had always let out whenever he showed up to save the day.
Unfortunately, his laughter was soon cut short when another sound echoed throughout the deserted alleyways of Deck-U. He quickly quieted down, letting the night fill with the agonized sound of a man screaming. Without warning, Izuku was moving again. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, but he soon came to the conclusion that his legs had merely began running on their own on pure instinct. It wasn't the instinct to run away, however. No, his legs seemed to be carrying him towards the screaming. Before he could think to compel them to stop, he rounded a corner and found himself standing before a gruesome scene.
A man lay splayed out on the ground, now silent, his face contorted into a permanent mask of terror as his lifeless eyes stared blankly up at nothing. Izuku recognized him as a member one of the many street gangs that populated the area, the emblems stitched into his ragged leather vest echoing those spray painted on many of the walls surrounding him. One of his arms was missing, torn haphazardly from a mechanical shoulder, his ribs spread and jutting outward like a blooming flower of blood and bone. Izuku had to slap both of his hands tightly over his mouth to keep from puking at such a grotesque sight, but that was the least of his problems at the moment.
A vaguely humanoid shape stooped like a ghoul over the body, its form mostly concealed by a long dark coat, a metal hand holding something still dripping red before pulling it into the confines of its coat. Suddenly, its head snapped to look directly at the young interloper, its face concealed in the shadow of its hood, a few strands of sliver hair catching the light of nearby neon as it turned.
Izuku's heart began to pound as the assailant silently stared him down, the teen's mind racing with all the possible things he could have stumbled upon. Was this just a particularly brutal attack from one gang on another? But most gangs on the lower decks wore their affiliations on their sleeve – quite literally, in most cases. Few were clandestine enough to conceal themselves head to toe like that. Maybe a botched repo job, then? If so, he wouldn't imagine it was anything legal to begin with. Not even the major companies that could get away with anything were so messy and brutal when handling repossessions of their augmentations.
He didn't have time to think more on it, as the shrouded figure began to stalk forward towards him. After a few steps, something began to rustle and bulge unnaturally in several places under that coat. After another second, the coat split open like a burst trash bag, falling away in tatters as a monstrosity of spider-like appendages revealed itself, each limb longer than the original figure had appeared to be, and each ending in a different robotic hand – one of which once belonged to the gang member that was lying there dead in the alley. The human form was almost completely gone, the only thing vaguely resembling a person being the head that was shrouded in a tangle of messy silver hair.
Izuku let out a terrified yelp, scrambling to try to get away, but he was far too slow. The spider-like creature leapt, countless hands reaching out hungrily to snatch at anything they could get a hold of. Cold metallic fingers wrapped tightly around the fabric of his clothes, around his wrists, his neck, his face. They began to claw at his flesh, desperately searching for cybernetic augmentations that just weren't there. The grip around his windpipe tightened further, choking off any scream for help he could make. He couldn't even attempt to pry the hands from around his neck, his arms yanked back behind him, his shoulders feeling like they would pop out of socket at any moment.
Hopeless tears began to flow down his cheeks even as his vision began to darken around the edges. No, this couldn't be happening! He was so close! It had taken him ten years to get this far, he couldn't just die there in some random alley for no reason!
But there was nothing he could do. Nothing anyone could do. No one was going to come to save him. Bakugo was right, no Enforcer would bother with the lower decks enough to make any real difference down there. Not even…
"Fear not, kid! I am here!"
What was this? Had he lost so much oxygen flow to his brain that he was hallucinating the voice of his idol? That had to be it. After all, why would All Might come all the way down to Deck-U just to save someone like him? As consciousness left him, he could barely register the feeling of a great gust of wind, those harsh metallic fingers losing their grip on him, and the feeling of falling.