"Say, how about we invite Peter to the dance?"

"Pft, that loser? You've gotta be kidding me, that bookworm wouldn't know the first thing on what to do there!"

"Yeah, he's Midtown Mid's wallflower after all!"

I ignore those words, walking past that group within the school hallway with a confidence to step, because today is a special day. My nerves are up in the air after going through all my classes today, having finally finished them.

Today's the day I'm gonna ask my crush out on a date, Liz Allen. A beautiful blonde-haired girl who's popular in this school. I can't exactly describe why I like her, but a crush is a crush you know? A real beaut.

And there I see her, alone at her locker, nobody to interrupt me at all as I look up and down the hall.

I feel a gulp go down my throat as I approach her. "Hey, uh, Liz. Do you think we could go to the dance together?" Really Parker? That's what you open up with?

The girl turns to look at me, a look of annoyance on her face as she immediately recognizes me, to which she quickly retorts back. "Peter, for the upteenth time, you're just not my type…" She looks past my shoulder, at something I can't immediately see as I feel a slap on my back, and with a shock I trip forward. "...not when there's dream boats like Flash right here!"

Of course, Flash, that damn jock. Disdain is felt as I turn around to see the smirking asshole, blonde and packing enough muscle that I can't ever hope to win against.

"You've got good taste Liz." A charming smile comes from the bully, as he just as then quickly enough shoots me a glare. "How about you leave her alone Parker? It's not exactly cool to keep asking out a chick when she ain't into you!"

***Look out!*** ***In front of you!***

A tingle is felt throughout my body as I immediately recognize what is about to happen, but before I can make even a single move he runs towards me in what could only be described as a flash, disappearing from my sight as I suddenly feel two arms at my shoulders pushing me back until I fall down on my ass.

I look up to see him come into view again with that same glare still on his face. "What's that Parker? Still trying to rely on that sense of yours when you're up against me? Come on Liz, let's leave the bookworm here." And with a laugh he walks away, Liz following suit.

I look around to see a lot more students in this hallway than there were before, having seen the event that just occurred. With tears forming in my eyes and a blush to my face I stand up, brush the dust off my school clothes, wipe my tears and glasses, and walk away in shame.

People of all kinds walk around me with their different features compared to boring old me. Cooler hair colours, different ethnicities, maybe an extra limb or two, or taking after an animal. You know, the usual.

"No flying within the hallway!"

"Yes Miss…"

My eyes turn for a brief moment to look as some guy that looks like a bee awkwardly descends down to the floor.

Right, I've been forgetting to mention something, haven't I?

As I finally make it to a large door, I open it as a spring air comes rushing at me, and I see the outside world. As buildings tower over me and chaos consumes it all, something eventful takes my focus away from my embarrassing failure earlier.

"A villain on the loose, huh?" I quietly say to myself as I see some costumed criminal rolling down the street as a large ball, some heroes right behind them sweating as they struggle to catch the rather goofy looking villain. I watch as one of the heroes, someone with a good maneuverability power stretches one of their limbs and wraps around the villain, grabbing hold of them as they put their feet to ground, having the other heroes grab onto them tight as the villain is pulled and then flung right back to them.

Another hero, one who turns their right arm into a giant stone-like arm punches the villain flung at them, as the villain crashes to the ground in a daze. It doesn't take too long after for the heroes to finish wrapping up and taking away the goofy villain in cuffs.

"Urgh, can't get any peace to myself, can I?" A sigh comes from me. What I wouldn't give for this to not be an average day. You see it once, you see it a thousand times.

This…

This is a world of powers, or to use the proper word, quirks.

Around a century ago, some kid in China was born with one of them. Their body completely luminescent. After that, nobody knows why, but babies all over the world started to be born with quirks. And that's what eventually led to this, with new studies saying that almost 80% of the population by now has quirks, and by extension, me.

Born with a quirk that lets me sense danger. You'd think that'd be easy to make use out of, right? Turns out it's next to useless if you don't have the body to match it, let alone against other quirks that completely outspeed it.

Sure, there's heroes out there with quirks even more disadvantaged than mine, but… I don't exactly care about heroes anyways. I appreciate them being there to keep the peace, but I don't idolize them like Flash does, who got his nickname from his "Flash-Step" Quirk.

Not that even he's gonna be a hero, since last I heard he was trying his best to get into sports. And-wait, why am I even thinking of that guy!? "Tch, if I had a better quirk, I'd show him what's what."

With a grumble and sour mood, I head back home. Leaving Midtown Mid and crossing these crazed streets of Musutafu, Japan.

—

"Peter!" As soon as I step through my front door, a large man with a bit of grey to their hair swings his arms around me, a bright expression on their face. My Uncle Ben.

And, well, it doesn't matter what happens to me on any given day, seeing him smile makes me smile too. I return the hug back, looking behind my Uncle to see yet another familiar face to brighten my mood even more, Aunt May. Oh, is it just me or do I see her cooking something that smells nice in the kitchen. Pancakes?

My uncle steps back, having finished hugging the life out of me. "Come on Peter, dinner's almost ready! You can tell us about your day."

As soon as your uncle turns back to walk to the open kitchen, I cringe to myself at the thought of telling them anything. They're nice but… I don't want to burden them with my own troubles, and the thought of either of them giving me dating advice is doubly worse.

Shaking that out of my mind, I take your shoes off and continue forward, taking a seat at the dining table, May continuing her cooking right near me and Ben with a whistle to her voice.

"Well come on my boy!" Ben says as I also see Aunt May's ears perk up.

I begin. "Well, uh…" But I can't seem to get a grasp of something to talk about. Jeez, there's gotta be something other than what happened earlier. But to no avail I just can't seem to do it.

"Something happened at school today?" Bingo. He's always been rather observant like that, I genuinely don't know just how he does it. But I keep silent, unknowing on how to go on. He sighs to himself and gives a warm smile to me. "Pete, I know school can be rather… Hard sometimes. I remember my own young school life as well back in New York and it wasn't exactly all shine and daisies, ain't that right May?"

Aunt May jolts a bit, hearing him call for her. "Can't say that's not true." I see the pancake flip within the pan she holds as she continues. "We both were quirkless, not exactly as rare in those days but still uncommon, so we stuck by each other most of the time."

I grunt at that. "Yeah but I'm not quirkless and I still can't seem to get anything good to happen." Being titled as the school's bookworm for the past 2 years has thrown out any hope of changing things.

"Peter…" Uncle Ben reaches past the table to pat my shoulder. "You're just 14, and only started your third year recently. You can't resign yourself to thinking that you can't change things this soon in life. You've got way more ahead of you. All the teachers can ever say about you is just how smart and bright you are, a few faults and trips in life isn't going to ruin all of it."

I… As much as I want to reject that, I can't help but get my mood back. "What are you, an empath?" I jokingly throw those words at him.

He chuckles back at me. "Nope. I just know you more than you think I do kiddo."

"Oh right, Peter?" I look at Aunt May as she seems to be thinking about something. "Don't you have that… You know?" A second or two of silence, but I don't say anything as I can't seem to grasp what she's talking about. "That… Science thing?"

Oh.

"Oh crap."

"Peter, language!" May admonishes me as Ben just starts laughing his gut out.

Oh shit oh shit oh shit! "The Science Exhibit! Sorry Ben! Sorry May! I've gotta go right now!" How could I forget about that!? That's today! I take my phone out as I rush towards the door outside, putting my shoes back on. Crap! Only 20 minutes until it starts! I'll need to run for it! "Bye!"

I still hear the laughter of Uncle Ben as I go out of the front door, and into the streets running for my life.

—

How would I describe the city of Musutafu? To be honest, I'd call it a work in progress. That very same thing is what drew Aunt May and Uncle Ben here in the first place when I was a kid. Apparently 20 years back the Japanese Government decided to pull a large reconstruction project across the nation, starting with Musutafu. It's now led to the tall buildings and structures that are ever-so-similar to New York City. A "New York in Japan" those two call it with affection. It's brought in a ton of foreigners that have come from outside of the country to make a new home, me included.

Surprisingly a good chunk of them have been Latino, leading to a large spanish-speaking influence within the city despite its Japanese origins. It's even brought about a nickname to the city, "Nueva York".

Despite that, I am now cursing its name given that I'm going to be late to the Science Exhibit and it ain't helping when I have to run across streets with a million cars in the way!

I can feel my breath get more heavy, my glasses fogging up as I continue to run and my legs starting to feel weak. With my phone still held up to guide me on where to get to my destination.

The time is ticking, and just as I turn a corner and see it, it looks like it's already in full motion. Dang it, if only I remembered sooner! At least it's not too big of a deal, other than missing a demonstration or two… Okay, maybe that is a big deal to me.

The Science Exhibit, despite its relatively simple name, is something akin to an open community fair. That doesn't mean it's small though. It's where various companies such as Detnerat and Oscorp are able to show off new future products and plans. It's not only limited to just companies, as various hero agencies and even students are able to show off their stuff should it impress the folks behind the scenes running it all.

I don't exactly have anything to show off this year, but it's always been a dream of mine to do so ever since I was first dragged here by Uncle Ben and Aunt May all those years back. Science is something I truly love, despite how lost I am on where to exactly specialize.

With all of the different venues, the organizers basically split people into multiple groups to better get everyone around at a timely pace and to keep a check on everyone. Don't want to let people just go anywhere they can when there's so much delicate stuff here.

"Huff, huff!" I arrive gasping for air, randomly choosing one group to latch onto. Some weird looks here and there but they don't pay much mind at all. The person leading them seems to be a formally-dressed lady with yellow skin, can't exactly point out what her quirk seems to be though.

"So, we seem to have a late arrival here. Moving on." Come on, did she really have to point that out? Today's just not my day.

And so we start moving. Going from venue to venue, smaller ones compared to the bigger venues yet to come. Everything from hero support gadgets, appliances for everyday life, standard chemical and engineering projects, to even unique artificial food flavours that some companies give portions out, they do tend to taste terrible though.

"We're all different! You, I, and everyone else has something unique about them. Something that makes you, you!"

My ears perk up as I Immediately recognize that voice, Yotsubashi Rikiya, the head of Detnerat! I can't say I'm surprised though, ever since his debut as company head a decade ago he's always attended The Science Exhibit every year.

Despite how the late 20's man looks, with his posh hair, fancy black and white striped suit along with a green tie, and most stand out of all his big nose, he's one of those people I can't help but admire. His company, Detnerat, is squarely out to help those with quirks that don't fit in as easily in society. With all different kinds of inventions made to help out those who have uncommon or even one-off quirks.

He's the closest you could get to a CEO of a huge company who actually cares for the little people.

"With that uniqueness, it's quite troubling to live in this society of ours, is it not?" He says that with an exaggerated shrug, flipping between different body expressions with each sentence he brings out. "That is why we at Detnerat always aspire to help your unique cases! Whether your body is not a familiar shape to everyone else, or you have an out of control quirk that can fire out at any moment, we will do our best to solve these with our inventions in only just 3 days at most! With that said, I thank you all for coming to The Science Exhibit yet again, showing off not just the uniqueness of your quirks, but of your minds as well!"

I'm practically glued in, ignoring the group around myself to hear the man who I've listened to over a dozen times over at this place.

"Though… I must say, it's sad to see that good ol' Norman Osborn isn't here with us yet again. What are Oscorp showing off this time? Something to do with radiation?" A tone of amusement comes at the end of that, despite the radically different directions the two companies go to, they both have something of a rivalry against each other. A rather bold move when Mr. Yotsubashi threw that out the gate immediately after taking over his late father's company. But it gave a large interest into the company by the wider public, between a man who inherited a company which tries its best to help those with quirks, and the quirkless man that is Norman Osborn who built his company with his own two hands.

Suffice to say, that got the ball rolling.

Though… Radiation huh?

I look around myself, nobody seemingly paying attention to me. Good. Sorry Mr. Yotsubashi, but this sounds way too interesting to not check.

I take a few minutes of going venue to venue, keeping my head low. It honestly doesn't take long until I find the place.

And of course, in that green colour-scheme Oscorp seems to love. It also looks like a group is already there too, I could probably squeeze in and not get noticed.

Sweat goes down my brow. It's been a lot of walking and running today after all, my slim frame can only handle so much.

But, nonetheless, I manage to get in unnoticed. Sneaking right behind this huge elephant guy until I just walk like everyone else.

A man made of pink jelly suddenly starts speaking, he looks to be the one leading this bunch. "As you all should know, Oscorp Industries is a multinational corporation with a large focus on chemistry and electro engineering, which has had a significant effect in our daily lives. Everything from the many items famous heroes sport now, to construction machines, and even products made for mundane uses such as their famous Oscorp Shampoo line. They're always out there experimenting on the next new thing."

Yeah I already know that, just when exactly is she gonna get to the radiation stuff?

"But, even though they have nothing explicitly new to show off, that doesn't mean they can't give you a little peek behind the curtain at their latest experiments!" And with a show of hands, he extends his gooey arm to what is behind him.

A large… It almost looks like a sci-fi ray gun, except humongous. It has a ballpoint at the end, pointing to another ball.

"Controlled radiation. At this stage they have managed to get radiation steady enough that it only fires at a focus point, not at all spreading out. They have already cleared it with safety and many officials, passing all tests with flying colours! So there's no need to worry about being near it."

My eyes widen in surprise, holy smokes! They've worked it to a level like that!?

Awesome!

I stand there, giddy. Barely able to hold in my excitement. But, not enough that as I watch the people working near it decide to start showcasing it working, I see a small spider on it.

"1!"

"2!"

"3! Fire!" Though radiation isn't exactly visible, it's still cool to know that it's happening right in front of me. That spider though… It's right at the point where it's firing. Eh, whatever, it'll die of radiation on the spot.

Taking my time to actually focus on the tech itself, minutes pass by as I get absorbed in listening to the speaker in front of me, grabbing each new sentence and keeping it to my heart. It's not everyday that you see some genuinely new scientific progress right in front of your eyes.

***On your hand!***

What?

Tsk! Pain shoots through my hand, what the hell!? I look down at my arm, as I see the spider from before having bit it.

The spider that just got hit by radiation.

As I see the spider's life perish on my hand from the radiation, I immediately panic. Not saying anything to those around me, but rather running away from this place. Wait, I should've just said to them immediately! What am I doing!?

In my panic I seemed to have run far. Shit. My body feels… It feels like energy is charging right through it all. All the way from my toes to my head. Just what is happening!?

***From the left!***

"BEEP!"

A car suddenly swerves towards me as I realize i'm in the middle of the street!

That is when something inexplicable happens.

I jump.

And not just some small jump to get me out of the way in time as I find myself high in the air. Staying up there for 3 seconds until I reach touchdown.

"Kid, watch the damn road! Trying to show off like that can get you killed!" A man says to me from the window of his car, before just as quickly riding off somewhere else.

What…

"What just happened to me?"

I can't stand here shocked though, I need to get somewhere private.

That alleyway perhaps?

I walk there, slumped as I try to grasp the situation that just happened, yet still pumped up with far more energy than I've ever had in my life.

I place my hand to the wall to catch my breath. Just a few moments to get a hold of myself.

…is my hand not coming off the wall?

The hand that I just put on this alleyway wall-it just-it won't come off! And in yet another panic I put my other hand forward to get some leverage, also getting it stuck too.

Okay, Parker, calm down. Think this through and take the deepest breath you have ever took. You were just bitten by a spider that was absolutely baked in radioactivity. And then you're suddenly bursting with energy, just jumped over a car, and now sticking to this random wall?

As soon as I start calming down and thinking, my left hand unsticks.

What if…

I decide to put my left hand higher and place it on the wall, and then focus on my right hand to unstick. It does, and with a strength unknown to me, I pull my entire body weight up with that single hand and then put my right hand further higher up the way. Then, I try my legs, and even those seem to manage to stick, and before too long I find myself just climbing higher and higher, not taking even a single moment to stop.

"Moooom! That man is climbing up that building!"

"Yes I know honey, a wonderful wall-crawling quirk to have. But don't take after people like that, no using your quirk in public!"

I ignore the sounds of those under me, just climbing until I reach the very top, intending to grab onto a steel pipe at the roof. But, as I wrap my hand around it, it instead bends. Crushing underneath the strength of my arm.

As I finally stand up there, and look out onto the city below, I can only feel awe at what just happened.

Do… Do I have a new quirk now? Can this even be called a quirk?

A spider bit me and now I have the strength to crush steel pipes, jump over cars, and climb walls.

"Ha… Ha ha ha…" I can only start laughing to myself. Just what the hell, right? This… This is amazing! I'm like a scientific wonder! There's a way to get powers without having a quirk, this could revolutionize the world!

I go down back to the alleyway below, using this new quirk of mine. It feels amazing! Even my danger sense is now a hundred times better with this strong body!

My ears perk up as I hear something to the side of me, along the alleyway.

"Welcome in, coming to fight in the ring today or betting?"

"Betting."

"Good, make yourself well."

Some bouncer-looking guy seems to be guarding a passageway to some steps that go down, as he lets someone in. An underground fight club perhaps?

…Well, that's certainly one way I could test these newfound powers.