Chapter 1: Origin

Quirkless. For the last 10 years of his life, this word had cursed Izuku Midoriya. Now aged 14 years old, his dream of attending U.A university and becoming a hero became increasingly fictitious. Most people, like his former best friend Katsuki 'Kacchan' Bakugo, developed their quirk at aged 4. In fact, that was the reality for pretty much the entirety of the population as the majority of the 20% that did not possess a quirk were either older remnants of the previous generation or…well…Izuku.

Nonetheless, he could cling to the hope that quirk would develop in the next 4 years right? Wrong. As he was currently being so gracefully reminded by Bakugo.

"Dammit Deku, how many times I gotta remind ya huh?" snarled Bakugo, a sadistic grin slowly growing on his face as he extended his palm towards the boy cowering in the fetal position on the floor of the alleyway. Sparks popped on his palm as he activated his Explosion quirk, he would make sure he got the message this time…

BANG

A small explosion rang out and engulfed Izuku, causing him to whimper in pain. As brutish as Katsuki was, his fine-tuned control over his quirk was undoubtedly elite, and the explosion he let loose was only to the degree where it slightly singed Izuku, not enough to cause any major or permanent damage.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

"When are ya gonna get it through that skull of yours?" Bakugo leaned in close, "A quirkless nobody like you ain't ever gonna become a hero." With that said, he delivered a harsh kick to Izuku's ribs before backing off towards the two lackeys behind him.

Coughing from the mixture of soot and the bruising forming on his ribcage, Izuku spluttered out a reply as he defiantly rose to his feet, his head still facing down.

"Y - *cough* - you don't know that Kacchan" he stammered out. The destruction of his notebooks and the battering of his body by his former friend do nothing to deter Izuku. As he lifted his head it was clear to see. The spark in his eyes remained.

"I may not have a quirk but I-" His heroic speech was interrupted by Bakugo turning back with pure disdain on his face. Growling in anger, he grabbed Izuku by the collar of his shirt, and slammed him against a nearby wall. His red eyes narrowed dangerously and the bravery that Izuku had summoned prior quickly evaporated.

"For the last time shithead," Bakugo scowled, anger visibly bubbling, "It's impossible for a useless, quirkless, Deku like you to become a hero, even a small-fry villain would throw you to the side like the pebble you are." Bakugo's voice was raising with each word that he spoke as his rage grew, "But since ya wanna die so bad, lemme give you a preview of what a villain is gonna do to your quirkless, worthless ass!" By the time he had finished ranting, he was practically screaming, his right palm glowing and crackling with the nitroglycerin desperate to ignite and let off another explosion.

"Did I hear the word quirkless?" a third voice intervened.

All four boys turned to face the entrance to the alley where an imposing man in a white lab coat stood. Bakugo's rage slightly cooled as the man strode toward them, however, he kept Izuku pinned, watching the man with suspicion before snarling at the newcomer.

"Back off and mind ya business old-timer, I'm teaching this nerd a lesson on what happens when an extra steps outta line!"

The man did not hesitate and drew closer, a strange expression present on his face…was it…joy? Either way, his eyes were now trained on Izuku with an almost predatory glint while Izuku squirmed under Bakugo's grip, fear evident in his eyes.

"Oh no, please, by all means, don't mind me I'm sure this conversation is extremely educational, I would just like to confirm that this boy you are currently holding is quirkless."

"Yeah, he is, what's it matter to you huh?" Bakugo barked at the man. Pausing to take in the revelation, the man stood there, examining the scene before him.

"Fascinating" he breathed out.

"Huh?!" Bakugo looked at the man like he was insane "You got a screw loose or something old-timer?"

"No no, once again, pay me no mind, I shall be on my way, you are free to continue." Passing by the four boys, the man exited through the opposing end of the alleyway, seemingly disappearing from sight.

In the wake of this strange and brief encounter, Bakugo roughly dropped Izuku to the floor.

"Whatever," he scoffed "I'm outta here, I got better things to do than waste my time beating sense into you Deku, just remember… Stay outta my way." Following his parting statement, Bakugo exited the alleyway in the direction that the man had entered, tailed by his two grinning lackeys.

Taking a few seconds to compose himself, Izuku stood up and dusted himself off, before slowly hobbling out of the alleyway in the same direction as Bakugo had, unaware of the eyes peering around the corner, back down the alleyway watching his every move.

Kleito could not contain the grin that graced his features. This trip into the city had cleared his mind successfully. No… even further…it had provided him with the solution to his problem. A plan was already formulated. Keep tabs on the child until he stopped moving. Bring forth suitable reinforcements. Claim his test subject. An effective plan to bring his goals closer to reality. All hinged around a weak and unsuspecting quirkless child. Opening his phone, he quickly dialled the contact for The Compound.

"It's me… send agents… I've found a breakthrough…"

"Mom! I'm home!" Izuku dropped his bag as he yelled through his apartment announcing his return from school. His mother was currently in the kitchen preparing dinner

"Good to hear dear how was your day? Did yo – OH MY GOODNESS Izuku what happened to your face?! Your clothes as well?!" Inko Midoriya couldn't contain her outburst upon seeing the state of her son, his uniform slightly singed around the edges, small scratches and bruises present on his hands and face with his left eye displaying signs of swelling.

"O-oh er nothing Mom, just a bit of rough-housing at school, nothing major," he said while scratching his head and laughing nervously.

Inko stared sceptically at her son. She knew. She always knew. From the day that they had returned from the doctor's office a decade prior, she knew that her son would struggle in life due to his condition. She knew how brutal children could be. She also knew that her son would even go to the extent of hiding broken bones to simply prevent her from worrying. Of course, a combination of all this made her worries increase tenfold. Right now, however, not wanting to risk an argument by prying any further, she simply sighed and shifted the topic of conversation.

"Go get yourself cleaned up Izuku, katsudon will be ready in 10 minutes, you can tell me about your day over dinner."

"Ok Mom!" Izuku exclaimed as he dashed down the hallway to his room, preparing to unwind for the day and get ready for dinner.

Once the door to his room shut, Inko looked dejectedly at the floor. Why? Why couldn't she do her job as a mother and protect her child from the cruelties of the world? Why did a soul as pure as Izuku's have to endure such hardships? Why couldn't she have birthed him with a quirk? Before her thoughts could descend even further, however, there was a knock on the door.

Strange.

She wasn't expecting anybody…

Wiping away the lone tear that had rolled down her cheek, Inko approached the door, a wave of uneasiness flooded through her body as she reached for the door handle. It was almost as if her body was screaming at her not to open the door. Against her intuition, she proceeded and before she could even greet whomever it was, three clicks echoed through the hallway and a warm sensation filled her mouth.

Looking in shock at the masked man holding an outstretched silenced pistol, Inko attempted to scream, to warn her son, but her words failed her as the gunshot wounds to the chest had rendered her in a state of shock and she fell backwards crashing onto the floor. Looking up as her vision faded, she saw three men standing in the doorway to their apartment.

"Mom?"

Emerging from his room Izuku stepped out into the hallway and met his mother's eyes as she lay on the ground, blood pooling from her chest, staining the carpet.

"No…" is all that Inko could whimper out before the first of the three men currently in the doorway, the one that still held the smoking pistol, stepped inside and delivered a final shot to her forehead, instantly draining the life from her eyes.

Unable to comprehend the sight in front of him and operating on pure instinct, Izuku rushed forward, screaming unintelligibly, however, before he could reach out to grasp his mother, the second man intercepted him, grabbing him by the back of the neck and swiftly delivering a tranquilising injection to his spine. As his vision proceeded to swim and he blacked out, the last thing Izuku saw was the final man standing in the doorway, wearing a white lab coat.

"Marvellous work gentlemen!" Kleito commented to the masked agents while applauding slowly, "I trust that I can leave the clean-up to you while I transport our wonderful subject here back to The Compound?" The two masked men nodded wordlessly, the second, passing Izuku's unconscious body to Kleito while the first produced a bottle of kerosene from his jacket.

"Ah yes, the old tried and tested 'accidental fire' method, I must say, not the most creative, but effective nonetheless," Kleito remarked. If his comment was heard by the two agents, they did not acknowledge it as they proceeded to continue to douse the apartment in fuel without registering a response. Grinning at the almost robotic fashion of the agents, Kleito simply proceeded to exit with Izuku under his arm towards an all-black SUV with tinted windows parked downstairs. Unceremoniously, he threw Izuku into the back, the contents of the tranquiliser ensuring he would not wake until they were comfortably secured at The Compound.

As he slammed the back door shut and walked to the driver's seat, Kleito spotted a head of spiky blonde hair at the end of the road, his eyes meeting those of the boy who had been threatening Izuku earlier. With a smirk, he waved to the boy before entering the vehicle and speeding off, the picture of the confused expression on the child's face made him with chuckle as he embarked on his return to The Compound.

A/N: Chapter 1 done. Let me know what you guys think. Signing out until next week!