Good day to you all! To new readers and those from the previous version of the story.

Hope you enjoyed the first rewritten chapter and will enjoy this one as well.

Just a quick note on dialogue.

A brief note on the dialogue:

"You can be a hero." - normal speech

"You can be a hero." - internal speech (for ex: between Otto and Izuku)

You can be a hero. - internal monologue

Whenever his dad came back from his overseas work, he would always bring some gift to Izuku. Naturally, it would always be related to All Might. But on occasion, Hisashi enjoyed bringing things that he himself used to like as a kid. Heroes from the works of fiction, sometimes all the way back from pre-Quirk era. Posters, action figures and, of course, comic books.

Izuku enjoyed those gifts all the same, even if it took some time to learn how to read those colorful books in reverse. The worlds shown in those were so bright and crazy. But perhaps, among the aliens and gods and demons, the craziest thing of all were the heroes like Green Arrow or Blue Beetle.

Heroes that had no special powers or abilities. All they had were their bodies and wits. Training their bodies to the peak of human condition and using the arsenal of nothing more than support items, they were taking on the enemies so much bigger and stronger than them every day!

Needless to say, as a kid, Izuku was hooked.

He can still remember the days he spent training back then. Running all the way to school every morning, using the weights his dad used back in college and coming up with all the tools he could use as a hero. He could see the path towards his future form and strengthen every night he went to sleep.

And so he trained for a whole year straight, doing everything a kid could imagine to get stronger. For one whole year, that newfound dream was fueling his drive. He knew he could do it. He knew that all he needed was just time and effort. Put those two together and you can achieve anything, right? He couldn't wait until the day all this training paid off and he became a hero.

Then, one summer day, he fell from the tree during one of his exercises and broke his leg. If Kacchan weren't around to take him to the nearest hospital, he wouldn't have recovered as well as he did.

But neither mom's scolding nor his broken limb hurt him more than realization that was growing stronger with each day he spent on the hospital day.

That none of his efforts were worth much.

In the end, he was just a little kid. He didn't have the money to travel the world learning the techniques or build amazing weapons. No mentor would jump out of the shadows to teach him every trick and skill of the superhero world. Even in the world where powers became a reality, his life was nothing like the comic books he read. A broken leg wouldn't stop any of the heroes he read about.

They were shot, stabbed, frozen and poisoned. And all they needed was willpower to fight back and on the very next night.

In Izuku's case, his broken leg cost him three months in the hospital.

Whatever meager progress he made was all gone because of the bedrest. He tried to get back into training. But his heart wasn't in it anymore. He couldn't continue training with the same passion and drive he held three months ago. And eventually, he gave up on the idea entirely.

In the end, he was just a Quirkless nobody.

But not anymore.

In a single day, his body was changed. Altered in ways that exceeded Izuku's dreams.

Pressing his fingers against the wall, Izuku felt the excitement bubble beneath his skin as he started crawling up the vertical surface without any trouble. He himself didn't understand what allowed him to do this or how it was even possible. But as he found himself on the rooftop, he couldn't help but those questions taking a backseat.

The night in Naruhata was not as bright and busy as other parts of the city. But perhaps that was the beauty of it. It was quiet and peaceful with only a few night lights illuminating the city district.

Time to go!

He ran in the dark of the night, his body light as a feather and yet brimming with power. Leaping from one roof onto another, he drank in the mid-air sensation of freedom. Each time, he would land softly, his whole body working in tandem with the Spider-Sense.

His body moved before he even thought to give his limbs a command. Twisting in the air with the grace of the professional acrobats, it was if he was both in control of his body and yet... as if it had a mind of its own.

He must have been running through the night district for an hour by now. And though he never stopped, he felt no exhaustion or pain. In fact, there wasn't even a hint of anything in a single cell of hi entire body. No pain. No fatigue. No numbness or burn.

Only the rush of it all.

Izuku wanted to laugh for everyone to hear.

Just a few days ago, he wouldn't be able to run half this distance without passing out. But now he was doing this without any problems whatsoever. If this was a dream, he wished to never wake up.

"We are almost there. Prepare to get on the ground."

He wanted to ask Doctor to wait. To give him more time to enjoy himself. But the evenness of the man's voice in his head offered no room for negotiations. It didn't matter, however. Izuku understood the importance of coming here. He could always run like this any time he wanted now.

The place was old and half-rotten. Briefly, Izuku wondered if whatever Doctor hid here was still inside. Pushing the rusty gates open, Izuku stepped inside.

With only the stray moonlight to shine upon them, three crates were standing ready for him.

"What are you waiting for?" Doctor's voice had a certain edge to it. Like someone who couldn't wait to be praised for all the work he has done. "Open them."

)O(

This world was different.

It wasn't just the existence of these Quirks, which Otto theorized to be the local variation of X-gene. No, it ran much deeper. The differences were small to the point that a lesser mind might have missed them entirely. But to Otto's eyes, the deviations from the Earth-Prime were clear as day. The slightest variations in atomic spacings and nuclei of cells. There were numerous changes that had no effect on the world around him.

And then there were more radical deviations.

This reality's Earth had neither unstable molecules nor Pym particles. No mention of Wakanda and its vibranium either. Any attempts to find out about this reality's versions of Richards, Pym or any of his past allies also provided no results. He was all alone here, without a single connection to his world no matter how superficial.

What did one do when in such a scenario?

A lesser mind would panic. Give up, even. But Otto was above that. And though his capabilities were significantly limited then, he didn't despair and managed to build up the sufficient enough resources on this world. Though they might not be what Otto could do if granted access to the materials he wanted, he was more than confident enough in their quality for the mission ahead.

His power reserves were only enough to last him two years when he arrived. As always, Otto made the best use of his time and defied the odds.

Scientists, financial analysts, consultants, writers. He created eight of false identities to safely work across the globe and provide his genius to those who were willing to pay enough without asking too many questions. In order to avoid the issue that arose with Donald back when he inhabited Parker's body, Otto made sure to remain anonymous outside of his assigned work.

Due to the nature of the projects he was hired for, his employers made sure his involvement was also a secret. The self-imposed and maintained anonymity somewhat limited the scope of work he could take part in and, therefore, the amount of fees he had received. But those were still high enough to acquire the funds necessary for this stage of their work.

And it all began here, in this abandoned warehouse.

Izuku gasped as he opened the first two crates. Like a child eager for the Christmas gifts, the boy carefully took out the components and examined each one. The contents of the crates were nothing when compared to what Otto once had. The resources of Parker Industries were, naturally, far greater than even Otto could accumulate in less than two years without an actual identity in this world.

But they would be enough for now.

"Solenoid needles, Teflon, turbine bearings..." Izuku muttered under his breath (a habit to be corrected later) as he went through the different components laying before him. It was good to see the boy knew what all these things were and could do. "These are all the parts your blueprints mentioned in our chat. For the restraining and transportation support item!"

"Web-Shooters, yes," Otto still saw the name as quite childish but he couldn't deny that he had grown attached to it over the time he spent as Superior Spider-Man. "You will learn how to build them as well as how to manufacture the web fluid. I need you to be able to maintain and repair those in domestic and combat conditions on a fly and alter both if necessary."

This world had a vast variety of powers, Quirks. And although Izuku would never be prepared for every single scenario, being able to adapt and modify his weapons during the fight could be the deciding factor between life and death for them both.

He could hear the gears turn in the boy's head as he went through the notes attached to the components. Being in his head, Otto could actually see the way the formulas were being analyzed, broken down and absorbed into the boy's brain. Not perfectly, unfortunately, with some of the data getting misinterpreted or immediately melting into the collective pool of the school material he had learnt by now.

But Otto saw the effort.

And at this stage, it was a good first step.

"Doctor? What is in the last crate?"

Quietly, Izuku put down the papers and walked towards the metal crate in the further corner of the warehouse. It was much bigger than the other two. But it wasn't just the size of it that seemed greater. It was the feeling Izuku got from looking at it. A soft gentle call from within, beckoning the teen to rip the lid off and not waste another moment away from whatever lied inside.

Before he could open it, Doctor Octavius' voice stopped him, "We will get to that part of your arsenal later, Izuku. Be patient."

Shaking off the momentary daze, Izuku gave a nod.

"My bad. Guess I just got too excited to see what I am going to work with once I get into U.A."

His lifelong dream was only a year away. And he already had the suit and the support equipment ready.

Should he use them during the entrance exam? Would training with them affect his physical training? If he trained solely with the support items, would he end up overly reliant on them? But if he was going to use them in his hero career, wouldn't it make sense to train with them from the very beginning? Would he have time for both? He was going to have a pretty tight schedule now, thanks to Doctor Octavius insisting that he tutored him in all the school subjects as well. And he was only starting to scratch the surface with his power so-

"Izuku, stop this before I give you a killer headache."

Doctor's voice silenced the flood of his thoughts. It was a weird feeling, something Izuku was still getting used to. Having someone else in his head wasn't really something he even noticed most of the times. Unless Doctor made his presence known, sometimes the teen even forgot he now shared the mind with an older man. But when they did talk... Yeah, it felt weird.

Especially since Doctor Octavius could read his thoughts even when Izuku wasn't trying to talk to him directly. The science behind this eluded him and the man himself. Doctor Octavius had theories. Ranging from this being his dormant Quirk to some mystical interference. In the end, however, those were only the theories and until they got the right resources, they were stuck together.

Not that Izuku minded it that much.

It was good to have someone to talk to.

To have someone teach him all these amazing things.

"So... What should we do next?"

They still had time to train. Maybe they could go and look for some locations to use for training. There were some unfinished construction sites that he could use. He also needed to think of the way to hide these parts when he took them home. Or look for a place to keep them stored. It would need to be available but also secure enough that he didn't have to wo-

The sudden jolt of pain shot through his brain.

"Ow, what was that?" Izuku yelped in shock. "Doctor, what did you-"

"I just made gave you a minor headache by forcing around the year's worth of advanced physics into your brain."

It was said with such casual yet smug satisfaction that Izuku got the chills. Did... Did that mean he now understood advanced physics? If that was all it took, then-

Another jolt of pain. Another brief yelp.

"Don't be ridiculous, Izuku. That is not how knowledge works. I cannot simply upload knowledge into your brain. What I did was more like compressing my own thoughts and speaking them at once. A mere disciplinary measure, no more."

"Oh, I see," Izuku couldn't help the slight disappointment. It would be pretty nice to know the things Doctor Octavius did. "So what are we doing then?"

Somehow, Izuku could feel the man roll his eyes. Even though the man had neither eyes nor, well, a body at all.

"You have school tomorrow, Izuku. We need to improve your grades," his tone shifted from calm to that of a warning. "I will not have my name or my successor associated with poor academic performance. You will graduate at the top of your school. Or die trying."

Izuku waited for the man to deliver the punchline to the joke.

A third and final jolt stung his brain instead.

)O(

Turns out having a genius in your head was not as nice as Izuku thought it would be.

Don't take him the wrong way, he was still eternally grateful to Doctor Octavius for choosing him and giving him these powers but... Having someone breathe down his neck during the pop quiz was the experience he could live without.

"You got eighty-two out of a hundred. I could solve the entire exam in five minutes without a single mistake."

He was in middle school! Doctor was nuclear physicist!

"Irrelevant. Do better. Or die trying."

Next class was P.E. Unsurprisingly, both him and Doctor took little joy in that.

While his classmates enjoyed what they saw as essentially a chance to play and just relax, Izuku always found himself out of his element here. Which was natural with his body among the weaker ones in the whole class and his general inaptitude with various sports. Luckily, safe for a couple of occasions, the others let him be and he just spent the entire time working on his notes.

All he needed to do was just go through the usual routine and he would be free.

With the blow of the whistle, the boys started their obligatory laps. Letting his body go on autopilot, Izuku couldn't help but wonder what he would do now that he had the powers. Mom still didn't know anything - and he didn't like keeping her in the dark for too long. But how could he explain the enhanced physical abilities when neither him nor dad had anything even remotely similar?

In theory, he could say it is some kind of mutation of the Quirks skipping generations. Due to the whole chaos in the early days of Quirks, starting with villains attacking government facilities and the general mess in organizing the Quirk registry during the initial years, there must have been some gaps in the system. But he couldn't say for sure. Then again, maybe he didn't need to work on an excuse at all? Pretend to be just as surprised as mom and let her imagination come up with an explanation?

That sounded like it could work.

"Midoriya!"

Then came the issue of training these powers. In particular, Spider-Sense. Doctor mentioned that, in theory, he could hone it. Refine it to the point he could predict danger even before it happened. That sounded like an absolute gamechanger for investigative and disaster relief work. But how could he train it? Set up traps for himself? Would the Spider-Sense register self-intended harm as actual danger?

"Oi, Midoriya!"

Doctor also mentioned learning the finer control over his strength. He provided a... strong visual example of the lack of such. Whoever Scorpion was, whatever he did, Izuku felt ill at the sound of the villain's jaw cracking. With his new strength, he could do so much good. And cause just as much if not more harm if he didn't learn how to control it. But how could he do that? The unfinished construction site five blocks away could be nice. But he could just as easily get into trouble if he-

"DEKU!"

Izuku;s train of thought was interrupted, shaking him out of the self-imposed trance. Shaking away the millions of thoughts running through his head, he looked around without stopping his pace only to notice three things.

The rest of the classmates looking at him, the mixture of disbelief and amazement.

Said classmates looking sweaty and out of breath off to the side.

And very angry Kacchan racing after him with absolute murder in his eyes.

"YOU GODDAMN NERD!"

Eeeeeeeeeeeep!

He tripped, just as Kacchan caught up to and ran past him. Unlike all the times the similar happened before, he didn't fall. Instead, he neatly twisted his body around and landed on all fours. Not the most elegant landing but no tears or dirt on his clothes and face counted as a victory enough. He didn't get to enjoy it for long as almost immediately he found himself surrounded by the rest of the class.

"How did you get to fast, Midoriya?"

"-saw you on the news. Were you-"

"Wait, did you finally get a Quirk?"

"Dude, when did you start working out?"

As Izuku tried to answer every single question, omitting the whole affair with Doctor, of course, he couldn't help but feel happy. He never really talked to his classmates much. Not in any meaningful way, at least. So to be accepted into the conversation was the feeling he definitely could get used to.

And if one explosive blonde kept trying to burn a hole in his skull with his glare, Izuku was enjoying himself too much to notice.

)O(

Ever since he was old enough to understand it, Katsuki knew that he was special.

He was smarter than his peers. Stronger than most, too. In addition to the natural talent, he was also a very hard-working guy. He refused to coast on his natural gifts alone and let his skills atrophy out of laziness. All that pride? All that boasting? The talk about extras and mains?

He earned the right to be every damn as loud and proud of himself as he was. And if someone wanted to challenge him on any of his claims, they were more than welcome to try. In the end, everyone knew he was worth every damn praise he got.

He knew that. His teachers knew that. And every single extra here also knew that.

Hate him all they want, but none of the guys here came anywhere close to his level. Most of the other kids here would go on to either become sidekicks for life or join some hero's support team. If they managed to get into hero work at all, that is.

Meanwhile, he would go on to become the next top hero and crave his way into the history books as the greatest badass who ever lived in this country. Hell, even the world didn't sound nearly as impossible.

That was his plan.

His origin story.

And now it was all going down the damn fucking drain.

"... Did Deku really save Bakugou?"

Walking through the hallway was always one of the best ways to reaffirm his place on the totem pole. The other kids would always be silent. Apprehensive and worried. And those that weren't always had envy written all over them. It was another proof them knowing how much better Katsuki was.

But today, the halls were loud. The wrong kind of loud.

"I know, right? Didn't think it was true till I saw the news."

"So much for the 'next top hero', am I right?"

"Maybe Deku should become a pro and Katsuki his sidekick."

Bastards.

Each and every single one of them.

And in the class, the same picture awaited him.

"Man, imagine being saved by someone Quirkless and still aiming for U.A!" one of the louder guys barely contained his laughter, other boys joining in with their own remarks and jokes. "If I were Bakugou, I would have-"

Slamming his fist into the guy's desk, Katsuki towered over the suddenly shrinking boy. His friends, wisely, backed away. The whole place was quiet. The right kind of quiet.

"Well?" he asked, looking over to the loudmouth. He didn't know this extra's name. Only that he had a stupid Quirk related to his eyeballs. "You would have done what, EyeScream?"

The boy he now dubbed EyeScream audibly gulped and looked for help in the eyes of the other guys. Judging by his quickly paling face, he found none. Guess it wasn't so easy to talk shit when he was right in the asshole's face.

"I-uh... I-I-"

"Hey, Deku is here!"

Immediately, his entire focus shifted from the eyeball freak, who wisely decided to run away somewhere else. Now, Katsuki's undivided attention was on the resident nerd who made his day a fucking hell.

"...didn't think you had it in you."

"What was All Might like in person?"

"Hey, did you get taller?"

Katsuki felt sick.

Sick at the extras swarming around Deku like flies.

Sick at the nerd for looking so damn happy about it.

Pushing aside the others, Katsuki wasted no time in pushing Deku against the wall. The whole place fell silent once again, the rest of the room unsure on what they should do. Then again, what could they do? Run off to the teacher? Try and stop him? They were dead either way and they knew it. All they could do was watch. And so that was all they would do.

"H-Hey, Kacchan. How have you-"

"Cut the bullshit, Deku," he growled out, hands smoking on the boy's shoulder. "You must be pretty damn proud of yourself. You made me into a fucking laughing stock!"

Saved by a Quirkless.

Saved by the class nerd and a weakling.

Saved by... Deku.

He wanted to find him and tell him he didn't need help that day. But this damn nerd disappeared off somewhere and left Katsuki stewing in his own humiliation. The videos online did not help. While he got the praise from some of the sidekicks, the rest of the country saw him the same way as their classmates did.

A joke that had to be saved by a powerless loser.

This is all his fucking fault.

"K-Kacchan, I have no idea what you are talking about! P-Please, can we talk this out?" And again, he spoke with the same wimpy tone. Stammering and mumbling under his nose as if he didn't know why he was doing this. As if he was the victim here. As if he was doing him a favor. This only pissed him off more. "P-Please, you are starting to hurt me! Let go!"

His patience ran out and Katsuki snapped.

He drew his arm back and went for the loser's face. He wanted to feel the other boy's face follow his hit. He wanted to hear the sound of bone hitting flesh. He wanted to see the damn fucking Deku reminded of his true place.

But his fist never connected with its target. Instead, almost effortlessly, Deku broke away from his grip and slipped under his punch. No. No, that wasn't quire right. In fact, it seemed that Deku moved almost seconds before Katsuki threw his punch.

Did he somehow read his move? Even if so, how was he fast enough to dodge him?

Deku used his moment of surprise to run for the door. But he grabbed the bastard by his collar and pulled him right back. With a swift leg swipe, Katsuki lifted the bastard into the air, ready to slam and pin him down.

Only Deku didn't fall.

He was on the ceiling.

"I-uh... I can explain."

Katsuki felt his insides twist and burn. HIs suspicion from the gym were damn right.

This bastard had a Quirk.

All these years, he had a Quirk.

All these years, the damn nerd was playing him for a fool.

Did he hide it even during the Sludge incident... just to make him look so damn pathetic? To screw him over? To make sure that even years from now, he would known as a joke who had his ass saved by some weak little shit?

He was fucking dead.

"Get the hell down, you fucking asshole! Get down and fight me, Deku!"

Like a cockroach, the nerd tried to crawl away from him. Katsuki jumped and grabbed onto the assholes leg.

The damned nerd didn't budge. Well, plan B then!

"Aaah!"

A direct strike to the loser's ankle and he went down. Katsuki used the chance to grab onto his leg and slam Deku against the cold floor. This time, it went perfectly. Wheezing and confused, he had no time or opportunity to stop Katsuki from stepping down on his chest. It was a nice feeling, getting to crush the asshole for looking down on him like that. For making him look like he needed his help.

"Kacchan, please, get off!"

Too late to run, bastard.

"Not so funny when someone else is looking down on you, huh?"

"Wha- What are you talking about? I never looked down on you! K-Kacchan, please, you don't have to do this!"

"Like hell you have a say in what I can do, Deku!"

Katsuki moved to knock the nerd out with one blow. A swift kick to the bastard's face would knock him out for good hour or-

Before his fist could even connect, however, his whole body was suddenly struck with the electrical charge. He froze and screamed in pain, the current running through his body in mad frenzy. He tried to grasp onto his anger to stay awake. To fight through the mind-numbing shock and break the damn nerd.

But to no avail.

As his body fell to the ground and his vision started to blacken, all he could see was Deku. The bastard looked at his hands, the small currents of yellow electricity still dancing at the tips of his fingers.

He was afraid.

But not of Katsuki. No. Not right now.

Instead, as he cried for help, the blonde genius could see that at this moment, Deku was afraid of only one thing.

Himself.

)O(

"I want you to understand that you are not in trouble," the principal's office never felt so small. He never felt the air so crushingly thin. "Kogitte-san has assured me that Bakugou was fine. He was taken to the hospital just to make sure there are no complications."

Izuku wished he felt the relief. Instead, he only felt more guilty for it.

"You are a good student, Midoriya. And I can only imagine how shocking it must be to awaken your Quirk under such circumstances. But, much as I can sympathize with you, I have to inform your mother as well as Bakugou's parents."

Well... That was one way for mom to find out about his Quirk. Not that it mattered much right now.

"For now, please return to the classes. We will continue this talk later with both of your parents present."

He gave a polite bow before exiting the room. His whole body felt numb and heavy, each step he took slow and swaying. As he made his way back to the class, he could feel the countless eyes on him. From every angle and corner, people were looking at him. But worse than that, he could hear them.

"Some kind of electric Quirk."

"- freaking psycho."

"Think he is gonna come after us next?"

"-almost killed Bakugou."

Izuku kept his head low as he walked through the hall. He still had to survive the day in the school where things went upside down before lunch. People were afraid of him, that much was expected after he practically electrocuted another student. No, after he electrocuted Kacchan. The blonde was a titan in everyone's eyes, unbeatable and unbreakable. And he took him down in one shot.

But fear was one thing. It was not that different from disdain the others showed him before. He could deal with fear.

He deserved it.

What he could not deal was being praised for what he had done.

"Great job, Midoriya! The bastard had it coming."

"Here comes the new top dog!"

"Yo, you are the man, Deku! Took him down in one go!"

He... He almost killed someone. He didn't care what nurse said. The way Kacchan was screaming, Izuku knew he was suffering. And he was being praised for it? Some guys even invited him to hang out... because he had beaten up his childhood friend? It would be much better if everyone feared or hated him. That, he at least understood.

"Excuse me, may I come in?"

He entered the class quietly, trying to avoid everyone's eyes. He didn't get his peace, however. Soon it became quite clear his classmates were far more interested in him than the teacher's history lesson. Some threw notes his way. Others tried to talk to him directly.

What was his Quirk?

How strong was it?

Was he going to fight Kacchan again?

Izuku looked at the clock on the wall.

The end of the day could not come fast enough.

More questions. More attempts at talking to him. All of which, he returned weakly and half-heartedly. It felt wrong, talking to his classmates as if beating Kacchan was something to take pride in.

The final nail in today's coffin were the cheerful words said to him as he was leaving.

"I bet you are going to ace the U.A. exam, Midoriya!"

He wondered if he even deserved to apply there now.

And that's a wrap for this chapter!

Bakugou is beaten but Izuku feels no better over it? Some sing him praises while others hurl insults. But none hate him for it more than Izuku himself.

I am not gonna lie, when I first wrote chapter 2 for this story almost a year ago, I really rushed the whole thing. Made Izuku a bit too eager to join the more violent side of heroics. Here, I wanted to show Izuku as the boy we know and love who feels absolutely terrified at the idea of hurting someone to such extent.

Good thing Otto has no control, he would kick in Bakugou's teeth in.

Anyways, reviews are always welcome! Especially if you are someone who read the old version and have thoughts on comparisons between the two!

Until next time, dear readers!