Chapter 12: A Fresh Start

Izuku sat at his desk, bent over a scrap book with his notebook open at his side. Every once and a while he would jot something down or flip back to check some detail as he continued to develop his Spider-Man persona. Now that his exams were done and he had nothing better to do, he had no excuses left. He had enough working mechanical knowledge that he felt sure he could come up with something to address the core problems with the way he fought.

The first problem was his lack of mobility. Knuckleduster carried a grappling hook and according to him, even that small increase in versatility was enough to gain the upper hand on many opponents. With his superior senses, Izuku felt certain that he could take advantage of an even more extreme version of the grappling hook concept to give himself unparalleled mobility both in and out of combat.

The second problem that Knuckleduster had pointed out was his lack of ranged options. Izuku considered a variety of thrown projectiles, like knives or bombs, but he didn't want to overburden himself with gear. If he could combine his enhanced mobility concept with his ranged weaponry then he wouldn't have to worry about fumbling with equipment in the middle of a battle.

And lastly, he needed to be unconventional in his approach to all of these problems to make his opponents unbalanced. At first, he didn't think much of this dilemma. But as he went through a few potential ideas and their strengths and weaknesses, he realized that because he was putting all his eggs in one basket with a single weapon system, he needed it to be as novel as possible to avoid being immediately countered.

Lowering his pencil, Izuku looked over his latest creation. Even for someone as inexperienced as him, it was a crude design.

Too bulky and complicated. I bet you it would break every other week. Not to mention I have to build the damn thing.

He put down his sketchbook and sighed. Gazing out his window, he saw a spider building its web at the corner of the building.

The longer Spider-Man is off the streets, the more the people of the slums will suffer. He thought as he watched the spider spin its web. Every moment counts out there. But what can I do? If I encounter Shocker again I need to have the means to take him down.

Suddenly an unfortunate fly flew into the spider's web and became trapped. Izuku watched in morbid fascination as the spider quickly danced across its threads towards its prey. Fast as lightening, it wrapped the frantically buzzing fly up in silk while it continued to struggle in vain.

What a terrible way to die. He thought as he watched the fly get cocooned.

He shot up in his chair. It was so obvious! All of the problems he was facing had already been solved by the common spider! The weapon the spider had created was its web! It enabled control of its environment and could surprise its prey in equal measure. In addition, some species could swing across their webs to travel long distances and others even shot their webs at their prey to immobilize them. It was perfect!

Reinvigorated, he flipped his book open to a fresh page. With barely contained excitement, he began to translate the design from his mind into a workable schematic. He had so much energy that his hands From that point on he toiled over his design ceaselessly, barely pausing for rest. If it wasn't for his mother's insistence, he likely would have forgone meals too as he hardly noticed his body's needs. He had never felt this way before. Working on this weapon was a transformative experience. He had always daydreamed about certain gadgets or tools but he had lacked the knowledge to turn his creative energy into anything substantial. However, now that he had some understanding of what he was doing, there was nothing stopping him from exploring the concepts his mind created fully, from fantasy to reality.

After three days of nearly nonstop work, he at last let his pen rest. His creation was simple, compact, and uniquely suited to his quirk. Basing his weapon around a wrist mounted design similar to Shocker's gauntlets, he had created a highly pressurized liquid projection platform. This platform, which he had termed "web-shooters", would use a binary chemical compound that would massively increase in viscosity upon being mixed and ejected from his launchers. He intended this "web solution" to have a variety of uses.

Its primary function would be as a powerful adhesive to immobilize his foes. When he had first started crimefighting, he had used zip ties to restrain defeated criminals but he quickly realized they were largely ineffective as many villains had quirks that allowed them to escape. But if they were cocooned in this special polymer web, it would be far less likely that anyone could break free, especially if he enhanced the compound with special characteristics.

First and foremost, the compound would be elastic. This would prevent villains from being able to tear through or use brute strength to escape while also allowing him to use the webbing to swing across great distances. The mixture he created was also fireproof and electrically insulated. Both of these characteristics were easily achieved in a synthetic polymer.

The greatest challenge was its longevity. The compound he needed for his web-shooters couldn't last for very long. Otherwise the streets and any villains he webbed would be gummed up forever. By making his compound inherently unstable, he was able to achieve a maximum web solution lifetime of twelve hours before it rapidly decayed into paste, assuming his math was correct.

He flipped through his notes and examined his work. It was a confusing jumble of diagrams, jotted formulas, and long-winded explanatory sentences that curled around the page; too confusing for anyone he knew to understand. Hell, he could barely understand it.

'All of the chemistry is theoretical. I'm going to need a properly equipped lab to test the formula but presumably UA has one I could borrow. Assuming I got accepted that is…' he muttered.

'Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you got accepted, honey.'

'Eeek!' Izuku screamed whirling around and clutching his chest in shock. His mother was standing right behind him!

'Wh-Wh-Where did you come from?' he gasped.

Why didn't my spider sense warn me?!

'Oh, I've been here for a while sweetie. I see you're designing more gizmos and stuff. Can I take a looksie?'

She leaned over and attempted to push past but he blocked her.

'What? No! You wouldn't…I mean it's not…just-just get out of here! Come on, Mom!'

'Okay, okay. I'm just worried for you, that's all. You should take a break and go for a jog or something. Get some fresh air, maybe you'll meet a girl or something.'

Izuku took a few gulping deep breaths as she turned and walked out of his room. As soon as she was gone, he stashed away his notebook in the depths of his desk drawers.

She probably wouldn't understand what any of that meant, but even so. Jeez, what does it take to get a little privacy around here? It's a good thing I wasn't…

Suddenly he froze, a separate but equally horrifying thought had entered his mind. Fearfully he turned to his computer. His screen was on his homepage, but he had left a lot of tabs open. If she had read any of the titles…

Red faced, Izuku deleted his browsing history and closed all his tabs.

'She…she didn't see anything, did she? No. No, no, no. Definitely not! Why would she…? I mean…I guess its possible…' he muttered.

"…maybe meet a girl or something…"

Izuku took a long, deep breath.

'Fuck.' he whispered.

The next morning as Izuku was poking through the fridge for some milk for his cereal, the door to the apartment suddenly flew open and his Mom rushed inside. Her hair was a mess, her face was red, and her breathing heavy from running up the stairs.

'Izu! Izu! It's here!' His mom shouted as she rushed into the living room, a small envelope in her hands.

Izuku felt his heart stop.

'It's from UA.' she whispered; her eyes wide.

Leaving the refrigerator open, he numbly walked over. With trembling hands, he took the envelope from her and tore it open. Letting the envelope fall to the floor, he unfolded the paper within and started to read. The letter began:

Dear Izuku Midoriya

U.A. High School

On behalf of my fellow instructors I am delighted to acknowledge your application to attend U.A. High School for this upcoming school term beginning on the 9th of April. As per your preference you have been accepted into the Hero Support Program. The requirements for the Hero Support Department…

He stopped reading and lowered the letter.

'I got accepted! I'm in!' Izuku said feebly.

His mother squealed in excitement and dove into his arms, hugging him fiercely.

'Oh! Oh, I knew you would get in! I just knew it!'

Izuku didn't know what to do. He knew he had done well on both of the exams. He just figured that there would be some sort of catch. For years and years he had dreamed of being accepted into UA, but it had always seemed like an impossibility. For it to have actually happened left him at a complete loss. All he could do was stand there while his mother did her best to squeeze him flat.

A few seconds passed and he was vaguely aware of his mom releasing him and snatching the letter from his hands. While he stood there blinking in disbelief, she read the letter aloud. He barely heard her.

I got in.

'It says here support heroes do not get to request a professionally made costume…'

Izuku stirred from his reverie.

'Yeah, I heard support hero students have to make their own. I was thinking I'd use your design.' he said and she smiled.

'Well, okay then. Oh my god! This is such a relief! Your father will be thrilled when he hears the news. We'll have to see if we can Skype him tonight.' She beamed at him, 'Why so surprised, Izu? How could they not accept such a smart, kind-hearted, dashing young man like you?'

She laughed at his slack jawed expression. Without any further ado she started rambling about all the things they had to do. He'd need to get fitted for the UA school uniform of course, get a haircut, figure out the train schedule for his commute, and a thousand other things. While she rambled, Izuku slowly processed what had just happened. He, the quirkless loser from Aldera, was going to the most prestigious school in the country to become a professional hero.

The next few days were unbearably slow. He never would have imagined that he would actually be excited to be going to school, but now he was heading off to learn something that he genuinely cared about and things would be different; he was sure of it.

After waiting in agony for what felt like an eternity, the first day of high school finally arrived.

Stepping off from the train, Izuku started to make his up the quiet street towards UA High School. When he had went to UA for his exams, he had been so distracted that he hadn't payed any attention to the neighbourhood. This time though he could take his time to appreciate the scenery. The tree shaded street was spotlessly clean and lined with a variety of fancy glass windowed shops, upscale restaurants, and nifty businesses. Considering the importance of UA to the pedigree of Musutafu, everything was immaculate. A few of the people walking by took notice of his uniform and smiled at him. Each time he would sheepishly smile back. He couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. He was attending the most prestigious hero academy in the country. True he did lie a little to get in, but it wasn't like he was being selfish. He was putting himself at significant risk of discovery so that he could receive the training he would need to save more lives, and who knows? Maybe one day Spider-Man could be an official hero too – as distant a possibility as that may be.

As he approached the main gates, he became aware of a crowd of press standing outside the academy entrance. Puzzled he cautiously approached, unsure of what was going on. Drawing nearer, a news woman who was standing in front of a camera started talking.

'We are in Musutafu where Japan's number one hero, All Might, has just announced that he is entering semi-retirement.'

Izuku gasped and nearly tripped over his feet as the journalist continued.

'In lieu of full-time hero work, he has taken up a position here, at U.A High School, to teach the next generation of heroes.' the camera man panned over the gate as the news woman kept talking. 'So far, All Might has declined to comment and all press are being told to respect the privacy of the students. It is unclear if All Might plans on making any statements today as he is presumably teaching.'

Izuku felt his chest tighten as he heard the news. Could it be that All Might was one of his teachers? He had wanted to meet his idol his entire life!

Don't freak out Izuku! Don't screw up your first day by fanboying all over the school. Just be cool! If he comes to your class then talk to him…and if he doesn't then corner him in the parking lot. I'm sure he's used to it.

Creeping his way past the press to the school entrance, Izuku was able to slip inside without being noticed. Walking along the path towards the main building, his heart beat increased. Was All Might already in the building? What if they crossed paths in the hallway?

Entering the main building, he joined the other uniformed students as they went to their classes. According to his acceptance letter, classes at UA were organized via a number designation (one for first year, two for second year, and three for third year) followed by a letter which designated department. A and B were Hero Courses, while C through G were general education. Class H was hero support, while class I and J were the two business classes. Izuku was enrolled in class 1-H, the first-year hero support department class.

After a brief walk through the crowded hallways, he found himself standing in front of his homeroom door where he could hear voices inside. Smoothing down the front of his uniform and adjusting his trousers, he adopted what he hoped was a casual air and stepped inside.

Immediately he was struck with how spacious the room was. It was nearly twice the size of his old homeroom at Aldera Junior High despite having only half as many students. There were ten large work stations, five on the left and five on the right. Each one had two chairs. Currently the room was half filled with boys and girls his age, all excitedly chatting to one another. He groaned when he spotted the pink-haired girl from the exams. She was sitting at the front of the class, juggling around her laptop and water bottle as she rifled through her bag.

Ugh, she passed? I'd better sit as far from her as possible. I'd rather not be annoyed all semester.

Choosing a spot at an unoccupied bench at the very back, he arranged his things and took his seat. Once he was settled, he observed his classmates.

As usual there were a few morphologically different individuals in the class. One had wings, another had scaled skin, but that wasn't anything to blink at nowadays. They all appeared to be normal teenagers. Judging from their appearance, you never would have guessed that they were candidates to become professional heroes.

As he sat and waited, more students entered the class and began to fill up the seats. Wordlessly a tall, lanky boy with black hair sat next to him and set down his stuff. While Izuku debated whether or not he should be the one to break the ice, Power Loader entered and the class quickly fell silent. Everyone was still and watchful as Power Loader set his own briefcase down by his desk and unpacked his things. After a few moments, he turned to them and gave them a small smile.

'Good morning everyone and welcome to class 1-H, hero support. If you are here, that means that you all scored to within the top five percentile of the written exam and completed the practical exam with an exceptional performance. Well done.' he said crisply.

Several students grinned and exchanged smug looks. Power Loader waited before continuing.

'However, a word of caution to you all. Do not become complacent. Statistically speaking, several of you will flunk out of this program before the end of the first semester. The coursework in this class is difficult. Truly, difficult.'

The smiles around the classroom waned.

'Now, you wouldn't be here if you weren't gifted. The fact that you passed the exam with such distinction proves that much. All of you are capable of succeeding in this class. My advice to you is to not let yourself get discouraged, ask for help if you need it, and don't be afraid of failure. We all make mistakes.'

Before he could continue the pink haired girl's hand shot into the air.

'When do we get to build stuff in the development studio?' she asked breathlessly and Power Loader chuckled.

'Eager to get started, are you? Well don't worry. We have regular lab periods where you will be permitted to make use of the school's facilities. These are available for you to complete your assignment's and pursue your interests as you see fit – I won't try and babysit you too much. However, I must stress that these facilities are only to be used under my supervision.'

Izuku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe he could construct his spider suit, web-shooters, and web solution after all?

'For today I was-' Power Loader paused. The pink haired girls hand was in the air again, 'Yes?'

'Are you in on the weekends or before and after school?'

Power Loader seemed taken aback.

'Um, well, yes.'

'So we can come in and build stuff, like, whenever? Like, just show up and build?!' the pink haired girl asked in an elated voice.

'Yes.' Power Loader said slowly, 'But, I might not be in the lab every weekend. Usually I'm busy preparing for the Hero Courses exercises and I have a life too you know. I assure you, you will be kept busy with your own school work and will not have as much free time as you think.'

The girl looked unperturbed as she lowered her hand.

'Anyway, I have an exercise planned for us this afternoon, but for this morning I think it would be best if you all introduced yourselves. Let's see…' He scanned across the room before settling on Izuku, 'Ah, yes let's start at the back and go up in order.'

All of the classes eyes turned to Izuku. With a gulp he stood up from his chair.

'H-Hello, my name is Izuku Midoriya. Um…'

Izuku fidgeted as the class stared at him. He racked his brain for something to say, but he couldn't think of a single, solitary thing about himself that was interesting.

'That's it really.' he said quietly, sitting back down.

'Uh, Yes. Very good Midoriya.'

Embarrassed, Izuku shrunk in his seat as Power Loader turned to the boy next to him.

'Next we have…?'

The tall lanky boy stood up.

'Hi, my name is Moyashi. I'm from just outside Musutafu, but I went to school in the city. My quirk lets me act as a capacitator for electricity that I can discharge when I want to.'

Moyashi sat down and Izuku nodded politely with his other classmates though internally he was kicking himself for his clumsy intro.

Why did I have to go first?! Damn it!

One by one his fellow students introduced themselves. The last one to do so was the pink haired girl.

'Hi! My name is Mei Hatsume. My quirk lets me see up to four kilometers away. It's very useful for soldering electronics, no need for a microscope! Anyway, I came to UA to invent things and get rich! That's it!'

Izuku frowned slightly. He wasn't the only one.

She's joined the Support Hero Program to sell stuff?

However, if Power Loader found her answer odd, he made no sign of it. Instead he merely nodded.

'Very good. Well, I suppose its my turn. Many of you know me by my hero name "Power Loader", but my real name is Higari Maijima. In class you may refer to me as Mr. Maijima. My quirk has given me fingers tipped with steel claws.'

Power Loader lifted one of his arms to show the class his hands. At the end of each one of his fingers was a metal tip that looked similar to a tooth at the ends of an excavator bucket.

'I use this claws in tandem with my armoured helmet and chassis to tunnel through the ground. Over the course of my career I've used this quirks for everything from rescuing trapped miners to ambushing villains inside their own hideouts. One time I even…'

I wonder how fast he is in combat? His suit and hands may be well suited to tunneling, but can he hold his own in a fist fight? Thought Izuku as he focused on Power Loader's large hands.

He was well muscled, and obviously in great shape, but he had never seen footage of Power Loader actually confront a villain. Most of his battles were fought underground, if you could consider trapping someone beneath tons of rock and earth a fight.

It seems like he's another fighter who relies on his superior mobility. If I were to fight him, how could I beat him?

Snapping himself out of it, he forced himself to pay attention. He'd need to break his habit of zoning out all the time if he wanted to succeed. UA was a place for the elite.

'...but that was a long time ago. Amway, now that we've all gotten to know each other's names, let's go over the class rules and syllabus.'

The rest of the morning was spent learning the safety rules around the workshop and Power Loader's expectations for their work. The coursework was a mixture of both typical high school topics (such as English lessons, literature, history and so on) as well as the more eclectic fields of costume and gadget creation (advanced physics, engineering, chemistry, and calculus). It was an intimidating list to be sure, but Izuku felt like he was ready.

After Power Loader had finished his overview, Izuku and his classmates were dismissed for lunch. Entering the massive cafeteria hall, Izuku followed the herd to a free table. The cafeteria was packed to bursting with hundreds of students who were all excitedly talking about their first day. He flinched under the bombardment of sound. Despite being a school renowned for its Hero Program, UA still offered a full education for "regular" students and was one of, if not the largest school in the city.

Taking a seat with his classmates, Izuku began searching around the hall. His eyes travelled from table to table, until he found who he was looking for.

Sitting at a far table, was Bakugo; hastily devouring a hamburger while his fellow hero students chatted around him. Last week, Izuku had learned from Mitsuki's Facebook page that Kacchan had made it into the UA hero program. He smirked slightly. From the looks of things Bakugo was being antisocial as usual.

By chance Bakugo glanced his way and the two boy's eyes met. Bakugo lowered his hamburger and glared at him. Perhaps he was intending to come off as menacing, but the action of being intimidating with a hamburger in hand was particularly amusing to Izuku. Breaking out into a grin, Izuku waved cheerily. Bakugo rolled his eyes and returned to his meal.

'Who are you waving to, Izuku?' asked a girl's voice.

Izuku returned his attention to his own table. The voice belonged to girl around his height with blue eyes and straight, blonde cropped hair. For the life of him, he couldn't remember her name.

'Um, I was just waving to an old friend of mine from elementary school. S-Sorry I forgot your name, you are…?'

'My name is Kiska Kēki, nice to meet you.' she said courteously, 'What class is your friend in?'

He got in to the hero course.' Izuku said, trying his best to keep his stuttering out of his voice.

'Ah, I was going to try out for the hero course, but my quirk isn't well suited to destroying robots so I didn't bother.'

Her voice was friendly but he couldn't help but hear a note of bitterness. He could empathize. It seemed strange that the hero course would be geared so heavily towards destructive quirks when there were many successful heroes that would struggle to defeat a robot with their quirks alone.

'Did you want to join the hero program too?' Kiska asked him.

'Y-Yeah. But I didn't think I could bust up robots either. Not without some special equipment anyway.'

'Well, who wouldn't want to join the hero course?' interjected a surly boy's voice.

Izuku turned. It was the boy he sat next to in class, Moyashi. The lanky boy was absently twirling his spaghetti on his fork, not looking at either of them. Izuku looked at him puzzled.

'Your quirk is electrical storage and discharge, right? I would have thought that if you wanted to, you could have easily completed the hero test.'

'Hey, yeah!' Kiska added, turning to Moyashi, 'Destroying robots should be as simple as touching them, shouldn't it? You could just drain their batteries.'

'Yeah, you'd think so.' Moyashi said, smiling joylessly, 'But I don't have the fitness to join the hero class. I-I have asthma. It's pretty severe.' he finished irritably. Izuku's curiosity was piqued.

'Um, if you don't mind me asking, how did you complete the practical exam if you have severe asthma?' Izuku asked candidly.

Moyashi sighed. 'I walked for most of it. I think that of everybody who completed the practical exam I took the most time.' Moyashi paused to take a breath before continuing, 'I don't expect I'll last long in the support hero course either. Apparently, we have to do a lot of running around and exercise too.'

Izuku was silent. He didn't know what to say. All of a sudden Mei piped up from down the table.

'You should have joined the hero course and failed in style then!' she said between bites of her fruit cup.

The three turned to look at her.

'I-I thought about it. But I figured I might as well go for a ten percent chance of success then zero.' Moyashi said.

'Hm, whatever. If I were you, I would build some sort of…thing and stay in the game!' Mei said while she chewed. Kiska and Moyashi looked at each other and Izuku frowned.

'What would you build?' Izuku asked.

'Nuh-uh, I'm not telling! We're all competing with each other, aren't we? I don't want to give anyone else an edge!' Mei said in a sing song voice.

'Competing? We're all in the same class.' Izuku said incredulously.

Mei rolled her eyes and went back to her meal. At that, the conversation switched to everyone getting to know each other. Izuku tried his best to participate, but years of social isolation and insecurity left him mostly a mute participant. Still, he was at least thankful to be included in the discussion.

After lunch was over, Izuku and his classmates changed into their gym uniforms and went to the P.E. grounds. While they were waiting for Power Loader to turn up, the class began speculating.

'I wonder what sort of exercise Mr. Maijima wants us to do?' asked a boy with leathery wings who Izuku believed was named Bukimi.

'I hope its not like the entrance exam.' said Moyashi nervously.

'The entrance exam was easy-peasy.' said Mei waving her hand dismissively.

'Oh, yeah? You won't have your rocket boots with you this time.' retorted Moyashi.

'Well, er…' Mei paused, 'No one else will have any gear either! So I'm sure I'll do fine.'

Kiska turned to Izuku.

'Hey, you came in first place during the practical exam, didn't you?'

'Uh, yeah.' said Izuku, shifting uncomfortably.

'I saw you wearing a costume but I didn't see any gear on you when you ran the course. Did you complete the test using only your quirk?'

Izuku hesitated as Moyashi perked up and looked his way.

'Well yeah. I mean I didn't have any gear on me no. I did the test without…anything.'

'Huh. What was your quirk again?' Moyashi asked, frowning.

Several of Izuku's classmates who had been talking to one another quieted and turned towards him curiously. It struck him then that they still didn't know about his condition.

'Um…' Izuku stalled, scratching his ear.

It was bound to come up eventually. I should break the news now before it looks like I'm trying to keep secrets from everyone. They'll think I'm overly sensitive or something.

'Well actually, I don't-'

But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the arrival of Power Loader.

'Hey! Come over here and gather around.' called out Power Loader from some distance away.

He was standing over by a running track with a clipboard in hand. At the sight of his teacher, Izuku was suddenly reminded of Mr. Ijime's fitness recommendation test and his spider sense tingled.

'We're going to have a Quirk Apprehension Test. The objective of this test is to give you all a sense of where your quirks are relative to each other as well as to show you how your quirks can be used to give you an advantage. Up until now, you have all been actively discouraged from using your quirks. You've been told that you are all the same. However, that ends now. While you are here at UA, you can consider your quirks as tools. Use them how you see fit to accomplish your tasks.'

The class looked at each other gleefully as Power Loader continued.

'Not all of you will have quirks that will give you an advantage in every situation. It's important to see where your natural affinities lie and what the limitations of your quirk are. Midoriya.'

Izuku snapped up.

'Y-Yes, Mr. Maijima?'

'Come join me. You'll serve as a baseline. We'll start with a 50m dash.' he said as he pressed a few buttons on a nearby console beside the yard.

Spider-sense tingling, Izuku moved through the crowd of his peers and approached the start line. Taking a deep breath, he crouched down into position.

'There is a laser running across the start and stop line so you may proceed when you're ready. Or would you prefer if I gave you a signal?'

'Yeah, that would be best.' Izuku said.

Not too fast.

'Alright…Go!'

At Power Loader's command, Izuku took off at his preferred "Normal Person" sprinting speed. Making sure to keep his speed even, he bolted down the track. Crossing the line in what felt like an acceptable time, he slowed himself and trotted back to where Mr. Maijima stood waiting.

'5.3 seconds. Incredible, Midoriya. I know you received a special recommendation for fitness, but even so.'

A pang of guilt washed over him at Power Loader's praise.

'T-Thanks.' he said softly, intensely aware of his classmates silently regarded him.

Let's hope I don't stand out from everyone else too much.

'All right, now that we have a baseline. Let's have everyone else try. Line up and let's go.'

Izuku watched from the sidelines as his classmates all ran the 50 metres one by one. He kept his appearance as calm as possible, but inwardly he was cringing at the results he was seeing. None of them seemed to have very applicable quirks to running. The next closest time to Izuku was 6.2 seconds. Pretty fast, but from what Izuku remembered when he was researching plausible run times that was only slightly above average.

Once everyone had finished Power Loader jotted down the results in his clipboard. As he wrote, Izuku avoided looking at anyone and instead pretended to be fascinated with the clouds. All of his classmates were rosy cheeked and a few of them were breathing heavily. To his dismay, it seemed as though he would be undefeated in most if not all of the events that Power Loader had planned. Moyashi in particular was hunched over, hands on his knees as he struggled to breath.

'Okay. Next up let's do the grip strength test. Midoriya, we'll go with you first again…'

As Power Loader finished tallying up the day's test scores in his clipboard, Izuku stood uncomfortably immaculate amongst his dishevelled and panting classmates. It was as he had feared. With the exception of the grip strength test and the pitching test, Izuku had come in first place in every other test by a country mile. Even in the grip strength test and pitching test his score had landed him in a close second place. It seemed as though his classmates, academically strong as they were, weren't particularly physically inclined.

After Power Loader had recorded the results he turned to the class.

'I must confess, I am somewhat surprised at what I'm seeing. The majority of you only managed an average score at best; hardly becoming of heroes. You will all have to work as hard as you can to try and close the gap between yourselves and Midoriya.'

The class looked at each other shamefully. The bat winged boy Bukimi shrugged.

'Well, I mean if I may speak in our defence; Midoriya's quirk is uniquely suited to the fitness exam. You said yourself that some quirks are more advantageous for certain tasks than others.'

Power Loader was silent. He looked at Izuku then back to Bukimi.

'Midoriya's quirk?'

'Yes, I assume he has a physical enhancement type quirk that gives him an edge?' Bukimi prompted, looking at Izuku for some reassurance. Izuku stared back at him wide eyed.

Crap. Here it comes…

'I see.' Power Loader said slowly. He turned back to Izuku, 'Midoriya, I gather you haven't told your classmates about your quirk situation yet. Well now is as good a time as any. Tell us, what is your quirk?'

Everyone was looking at him now. Shrugging helplessly, he sighed.

'I, uh. Don't have one.' Izuku admitted, grinning sheepishly.

His class all glanced at each other, certain that they must have misheard.

'Yes, that's right.' Power Loader said before any of them spoke, 'Midoriya is quirkless. He was able to achieve the top score in the practical and written exams- '

Power Loader was suddenly interrupted by a shocked gasp from Mei.

'H-He got the top mark in the written exam? Like, the entrance exam? Is-is that what you just said?' Mei asked in a high-pitched voice.

'Yes, both exams.' replied Power Loader curtly. Mei slumped over, slack jawed. While she and the rest of the class looked on stunned, he continued.

'And he did it without the advantage of a quirk. Now, Midoriya presents me with a very rare opportunity. An objective baseline to determine the class average. If you cannot beat Midoriya, who has none of your natural abilities…'

I don't like where this is going. Thought Izuku as a chill ran up his spine.

'…then it stands to reason that you are not trying hard enough. I expect you all to close the gap with Izuku over the course of the semester. If you can't, well…then maybe general education is a more suitable place for you.'

Power Loader finished by looking over at Moyashi who stared back grimly. He had performed the worst.

'I have recorded your marks. Get dressed and return to class. We'll have a quick lab demonstration at the design studio before we break for the day. Dismissed.'

The class all turned away from Power Loader and towards Izuku. Their faces were filled with a mixture of apprehension and envy. Somehow, he doubted this little revelation was going to make him very popular.

As he walked back to school with his classmates, Mei bounded up to him.

'How'd you get top marks!?' she demanded, heedless of his personal space as she practically pressed into him.

'I-I-I work out a lot and-!' Izuku started, before Mei scoffed over him.

'I'm talking about the physical test, obviously! The written exam! How'd you get top marks?!'

'I stu-studied!' he stammered, trying to retreat but she followed him, a dangerous glint in her eye.

'Are your parents support heroes? Did they tell you about the test or something?' she asked, her yellow cross-hair like eyes tracking his own green pupils intensely as though trying to see into his mind.

'N-No! My parents aren't heroes.'

'Well, what prep school did you go to then? Was it under a support hero or a partnership program with the University?'

'I didn't go to one of the prep schools or anything. I went to Aldera Junior High.'

As guilty as he felt right now for humiliating everyone earlier, the expression of frantic concern on Mei's face was a small condolence. He was willing to bet that she had always been the top of her class wherever she went and now that she had some real competition, she must have figured that he beat her with some sort of trick.

'Aldera Junior High…' she repeated to herself quietly, drifting away from him.

Izuku's spider sense stirred and he looked after her with concern.

I hope she doesn't try to look up my school records or anything.

Following the Quirk Apprehension Test Izuku was thoroughly questioned by his fellow male students in the locker room then a second time by his fellow female students in the hallway on the way to class. He explained to them that he had started training a while ago in preparation for the hero course, but his quirk never manifested. Rather than give up, he chose to try and become a support hero where he could use his book smarts to hopefully develop some gadgets and tech to assist heroes.

Much to his annoyance, Mei was particularly interested in this fact.

'So, you're planning on opening a studio to develop gadgets and costumes?' she asked, walking sideways down the hallway so she could face him.

'Yes.' Izuku responded tiredly before he caught himself, 'Well, actually, I'm not sure. Maybe.'

'Do you…design a lot of stuff?'

'Not really.' Izuku said, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

'Ha! I design stuff all the time!' Mei said with a smug smile. Izuku nodded absently. He was busily scrolling through the next weeks weather report, 'I'd show you but I don't want you stealing all my ideas! You'd never guess though how great my babies can be! No hints, but I make the best stuff. Hey, your phone screen is broken. Do you know how to fix a phone screen? I do. I would have thought everyone here knew that much at least. Do you want to know how? It's easy!'

This continued all the way to the development studio. Upon entering the studio her attention was mercifully diverted by all the equipment on display. Power Loader was waiting for them inside.

'Welcome to my development studio.' Power Loader said, a measure of pride in his voice as he gestured to the equipment around him.

Izuku joined the rest of the class in marvelling at the many devices and pieces of equipment. Near the wall, he spotted a machine specially designed to fabricate costumes out of durable materials.

This is exactly what I need to build my Spider-Man equipment! Thought Izuku as he eyed the machinery hungrily.

'As a licenced support hero, I am authorized to perform basic modifications to student's costumes or create accessories at their behest. Besides servicing the students, this is also where I design and create my own pieces of equipment. One day you may have your own development studio or work in one for one of the hero agencies. A support hero's workshop is in many ways a manifestation of their experiences. My whole career as a hero can be seen in this workshop. I ask you to treat this place with respect.'

Izuku and his classmates listened solemnly while Power Loader went through his speech about the rules and safety precautions for the lab. With the exception of Mei, of course. She seemed more interested in the tools lining the walls. Once Power Loader was finished explaining the rules, he gave them their first assignment.

'You may have heard that the hero students already had costumes professionally made for them. Well in support you will make your own. Over the course of the semester, as you come to understand your quirk and the role you can fulfill, you will gradually tweak and refine your design until you have an efficient and refined costume to suit your needs.'

Izuku bit his lip. He hadn't given much thought to how his quirkless persona would fight or what sort of support hero he would be. It wasn't like he could base himself off of anyone.

'For today I want you to come up with something that you think you can incorporate into your hero costume. It can be anything. Whatever you design we'll build over the course of the week and evaluate. You may begin.'

At his command the students all excitedly scattered towards one of the many drafting table stations. Izuku stood still while all of his classmates rushed past him.

They're off building just like that? I don't even know how I'm going to fight yet, let alone what I'm going to build for myself!

While he hesitated, Power Loader turned to him. 'Is there a problem, Midoriya?' he asked.

He jumped slightly, 'N-No sir!'

'Well then get to it. You can't afford to waste any time in my class.'

'Right!'

He walked over to an empty drafting table next to Moyashi who was already sketching out his own design. Drawing out a piece of empty paper, he stared at it blankly.

Maybe I should start with the fundamentals. What does every super hero need?

He thought back to his meeting with Knuckleduster. He had stressed mobility and giving yourself options. The ability to surprise your opponent and to engage at a distance if you needed to.

Knuckleduster has a grappling hook, I suppose I could build one for myself as well. But is that enough to get by?

If he was going to be a successful quirkless super hero he would need all the versatility he could get. He would have his grappling gun and more besides if he could manage it.

Grabbing a pen, he set himself to work on a pneumatic launcher. It wasn't difficult to do as he had already explored the concept when he was designing his web-shooters. The trick was to make it distinct enough from his web-shooters so nobody could guess its origin while also maintaining functionality. Slowly he felt his anxiety fade away. He was in familiar territory again.

As he sketched the trigger mechanism, he felt his spider sense flare up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mei keenly peering over at his drafting table from across the room. Shifting himself on his chair, he put his elbow up on the table and blocked her view. To his satisfaction, he heard her let out an annoyed scoff and he grinned to himself.

After working for around three hours, Izuku finished transcribing his design. His gun could fire a grappling hook but it could also fire anything else that he could build into a twenty-millimetre wide cigar shaped casing. That would give him plenty of space to explore options for different types of ammunition.

Satisfied, he looked around the room. Many of the other students seemed to still be hard at work, though a few were finished, including a smug faced Mei.

'Alright everyone, we're out of time. If you're finished, you can leave your work up at the front and we'll go over them tomorrow. If you didn't finish today, take your work home and finish it. We will go over them tomorrow. Class dismissed.'

Approaching the front desk with his paper, Izuku stopped upon noticing Mei. She was nonchalantly leaning over the submission tray with her phone out, casually browsing, but he could tell she was up to something. Izuku watched as someone passed by her to hand in their work. As they put the paper on the desk, a tiny red light on her phone would briefly flash.

Clever. She must have modified her phone so she could take pictures noiselessly. Actually, that's pretty creepy come to think of it. Well I won't let her spy on me so easily!

Folding his paper, Izuku timed it so that his submission was buried underneath someone else's. As he turned to leave, he was pleased to hear Mei growl under her breath in frustration. She couldn't root around in the pile with Power Loader in the room.

Whistling cheerfully, Izuku left the development studio and headed home.

That wasn't so bad.

The afternoon sun streamed through the large open window and into a messy bedroom. Large posters of heavy machinery and weapons covered the walls beside a chalk covered blackboard, its dull surface covered in equations and formulas. The floor was littered with a mixture of disassembled toys, tools, and empty cans of energy drinks. In the corner of the room was a messy bed more like a sparrow nest then a proper sleeping space. Its covers were thrown back and the rumpled sheets were half-buried with electronics and magazines.

The fragile tranquility of the room was instantly shattered as the door burst open. Mei stomped in, fresh from her commute home. Tossing her school things unceremoniously over her shoulder, she rushed over to her computer, scattering junk across the floor as she went.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I leave the test early? I should've stayed…'

Reaching her desk, Mei impatiently wiggled her mouse to wake up her computer. After misspelling her password a few times, she finally logged in. Opening her browser and searching for Aldera Junior High, she quickly found the school website.

'Let's see…faculty…classes…hero support program…hero support program…where are you?' she muttered while she scanned through the page.

Nobody beat Mei Hatsume at exams. Nobody! She had been preparing for months. Well, mostly preparing. She had relapsed back into DOTA 6 for a month or two prior, but even so she had memorized all the material. Whoever this green haired what's-his-face was, he must have had some inside information or cheated or something.

Mei scowled as she read through the school class list. From the looks of things, it was just a basic junior high school. They didn't list any advanced science program or prep school or anything. Mei rubbed her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on. Grabbing her smartphone, she dialed the school office number. It wasn't quite five o'clock yet so somebody might still be in. After a few rings someone answered.

'Aldera Junior High, reception speaking.' intoned a nasally woman's voice.

Mei jumped out of her chair. Placing a hand over her mouth, she disguised her voice as best she could.

'Ooooh, helloo! This is, uh…' Mei frantically racked her brain for a plausible name, 'Georgio Recandio!' Perfect! 'I'm calling because I was hoping you could give me some information about your prep classes for UA. Do you, uh, know anything about that or…?'

Mei waited eagerly as she heard some shuffling noises come from over the line.

'Uh, for UA?' inquired the voice in a confused tone.

'Yes, yes. For UA High School.' Mei said impatiently, 'I was wondering what programs you have available for, um, like, giving the students a leg up on the competition. You know; AP classes and what-have-you.'

'We have no programs like that here at Aldera.' replied the voice.

Mei hesitated and her fake voice wavered.

'No…no AP programs or anything?' she asked tentatively.

'No. We only offer the basic classes from grade seven to nine here.'

'Oh.' Mei said, her voice dropping back to normal.

'If you like Mr. Recandio I can-'

At that Mei hung up her phone, there was no point in continuing the conversation. Sitting back down, she rested her hand on her hot forehead. Had he just been messing with her? She groaned. She didn't like being kept out of the loop! She was supposed to be the one messing with people, not the other way around! Who did this freckly guy think he was? He couldn't be for real, could he?

She forced herself to laugh. Why should she feel intimidated by him? As soon as class started in earnest, she would crush him easily. She had seen his rudimentary design in the development studio today. Admittedly she hadn't gotten as good a look as she would have liked, but she could tell it was a gun of some sort. Lame. She could build any kind of gun she wanted.

But then, a terrifying new possibility occurred to her. What about the lessons outside of the classroom? The physical exercises and so forth. Power Loader had said that he planned on using the green boy as a baseline. Did she have to beat him at that too? Couldn't she just build a thing to make her run faster?

Moaning piteously, she slid halfway down her chair. She really hoped she didn't have to do too much exercising. She fought with her brain! Leave the weight lifting to the chumps.

Snapping herself back up, she strode over to her backpack and retrieved her blueprint for the improved rocket boots she was designing. Initially she had planned on turning it in after class for some easy extra credit, but after learning that she had been upstaged during the exams she figured that her design could use a little extra spice to put her back in the spotlight.

Grabbing a pen from her desk, she got to work. They would be bigger, more powerful, more dramatic. As she worked, she grinned. She was going to knock everyone's socks off.