Izuku Midoriya laid on his bed, with the covers kicked off and strewn across the wooden floorboards beside it. In his hands, he clenched an utterly ruined notebook, titled 'Hero Analysis For the Future: Volume Fourteen,' tightly to his chest. He clung to it so desperately as it was the only thing which kept him anchored in reality.

Reality.

It was because of the hard facts of life, with the unlucky hand he'd been dealt, he knew he would never be able to be happy. At least not truly happy. For as long as he could remember he idolized heroes. His fanaticism for them ascended so highly he wished nothing more than to be one of them. To stand alongside them and put a smile on people's faces just like…

He swallowed thickly. He didn't want to think of anything related to the man who crushed his dreams.

Now, though, as his situation became more and more bleak, he understood that his presence would only hinder them. A burden. A Deku.

All Might's words kept coming back to haunt him.

'It's ok to dream, kid, but sometimes you have to be realistic.'

The bolt of hurt that sentence alone sent through his heart still stung as fresh as when he first experienced it. The events of yesterday reverberated throughout his mind like an echo chamber, causing him to curl up and sob pathetically into his stained pillow. His mom had elected not to bother him, thinking her son needed some time to sort through things.

'Not even my own mother believes in me… so why should I?'

"Psst, hey!"

For a second, he thought he imagined the voice, so he ignored it. When he heard his window physically shifting, he leapt off his bed, tripping over his blankets, and scrambled against the wall. He watched in rapt attention, heart thundering, as a pair of hands flung his window wide open, making way for an unknown visitor, who clambered in with no hint of grace.

"Hah! Alright, I'm in!" The boy, who looked to be around the same age as Izuku, stared at him expectantly, as if he wasn't a total stranger who just broke into his room.

When he noticed that the smaller teen in front of him was shaking like a leaf, he had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

"Heh, sorry about that. We wanted to limit as many people who saw us coming here as humanly possible." He shrugged as if it couldn't be helped.

The boy, well- he looked pretty average, all things considered. His attire consisted of a green jacket with a bold number ten on it over a black shirt, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers. His hair was an unkempt chestnut brown, to go along with green eyes.

'So you climbed through my window!? I don't even have a balcony to stand on!' He thought disbelievingly.

"Name's Ben Tennyson! You're Midoriya, right? Please tell me we didn't just break into the wrong place?"

Izuku wanted to speak but his words were trapped in his throat and wouldn't come out.

"Stage fright? I don't blame you! Hey professor! You coming in or what!?" He yelled out the window suddenly, fully leaning his upper half through the opening.

Izuku briefly considered making a run for it, but he had a certain sense that these guys would somehow find him again, so he willed himself to stay put, albeit, still attached to his wall. As… Tennyson pulled away from the window to allow another guest in.

The new person revealed themselves to be an older man, with slicked black hair and goggles hanging around his neck. They stumbled inside, dusting off his white lab coat, looking over at Izuku guiltily, avoiding his owlish gaze.

"I hate to have arrived in such a prude way, I truly am sorry, my dear boy. You may refer to me as Professor Paradox! Gumball?" He introduced himself, before offering the small spherical candy in his outstretched palm, then wordlessly putting it away as he noticed Izuku was still planted on the wall across from them, obviously freaking out of his mind. He cleared his throat awkwardly, before Tennyson took over the reins again.

"There's no need to panic-" Tennyson flapped his hand about nonchalantly.

"-Why are you people in my room!?" He finally managed to force out, cutting off Tennyson and causing both of his intruders to flinch.

"A-and how do you know who I am!?"

"...It's complicated. I would love to explain in thorough detail but I'm afraid we don't have much time." The professor spoke sternly.

"We have an offer. It may seem like a lot, seeing as All Might agreed to give you his power, just the other day, right?"

Silence.

"WHAT!?" Izuku screeched, while Tennyson suddenly looked very panicked.

"Oh shit! Paradox, did we get here too early!? Did I just destroy the space-time continuum or something!?" Tennyson whirled on the professor with wide eyes, the man in question shook his head, frowning slightly while glaring at a stopwatch for some reason.

He closed it, humming. "You have nothing to fret over Benjamin. We are exactly where we should be. It appears we have landed in a particular timeline where Midoriya is not in on the know-how of this world's greatest hero, the aforementioned, All Might." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then upon seeing the boy's apprehensive expression, added, "at least, not most of it."

Tennyson looked relieved by the professor's reassurance, but clearly was still on edge.

"Forget what I just said. Anyway, this is going to sound totally insane, but you have to believe me- err, us." He jabbed a thumb into the older man's bicep.

"We come from another universe."

Izuku nodded gradually, allowing Tennyson to continue deliberating.

"We came here because we wanted to find a suitable wielder for this." He pulled his jacket sleeve up, where a futuristic watch was proudly on display.

"It's called the Omnitrix, and it allows whoever wears it to turn into different alien life forms and..." He trailed off, eyes narrowing. "...You're taking this surprisingly well?"

"I mean, with quirks, really anything is possible. It wouldn't surprise me if someone was born with a multidimensional type quirk that could allow them to travel to different universes." He muttered, his tense posture finally easing up. "So this only confirms my theory. Aliens, however-"

Tennyson blinked, but clapped approvingly, cutting the boy off before he could go on an internalized tangent.

"-This is definitely going to make things easier."

"Tick-tock, Benjamin…" The professor reminded the teen, who shot a sharp glare over his shoulder.

"Look… you don't have a- what is it called here? Quirks?"

"Yes, and I-I'm quirkless." He admitted, sadness permeating through his being upon saying it out loud. Rather than hearing laughter or insults being hurdled his way, Tennyson merely smiled.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. I am also what you would consider quirkless."

Izuku felt like an anvil had been dropped into his stomach.

"Really?"

Tennyson laughed a little, before adopting a morose expression.

"I would like to chat more, Midoriya, but as the professor says, we are severely lacking on time right now."

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you have to go back to your universe?" He guessed, and judging by how the duo shared a glance, he hit the nail on the head.

"That's the tricky thing- we do need to go back, but not for the reason or reasons you may be already thinking of." The professor's smile was a grim one.

"To make a long story short: I'm dying." Tennyson said bluntly, but the reaction it got from Izuku was anything but.

"Y-you're going to…!?" Crestfallen, he flinched when a hand rested on his shoulder.

Tennyson chuckled.

"You know nothing about me- I even broke into your room uninvited- but you still want to save me, don't you?"

Izuku, though he hadn't stopped to consider it, knew immediately he didn't want whatever fate lay ahead of Tennyson to befall upon him. He took note of the taller teen's appearance, now that he was closer— and he could see the signs. His cheeks were sunken, the tiredness in his eyes was evident— and now he understood why he thought the jacket he had on looked too big for him— it was because he was so thin. It honestly shook him that he didn't notice the signs earlier. Tennyson hid his weakened state well behind his exuberant personality.

"Hey." He sighed, gathering that seeing him like this was hurting the boy.

"It's OK. I accepted my fate a long time ago. But I can't in good conscience let this-" He brandished the Omnitrix again, "-fall into the wrong hands. Which is why we're here."

"What? You want to- to give me the Omnitrix!?" He was already shaking his head.

"I can't take that from you."

"You aren't taking it from me. I'm giving it to you." He repeated, as concern laced his features.

"I can't force you to wear it, but I do want you to know that it's an option. Back in my universe, I originally found it by chance when I was ten years old. I used it to become the greatest superhero on Earth. Then eventually, the whole universe." He opened his arms up wide to emphasize the scale.

"I… I'll admit, I'm… kind of an asshole sometimes. I'm arrogant. I have a temper. I joke and mess around when I shouldn't. I've pushed people away because I didn't want them getting wrapped up in whatever hero business I was doing." He paused.

"I've hurt people, too, even if I didn't mean to." He said sincerely, tone regretful.

"That's why I knew, when I saw your profile over a list of a million other candidates- that you were the one. You have all the qualities to be the perfect superhero!"

"Tennyson… I don't know what to say?" Izuku mumbled helplessly, shaking his head, feeling a familiar wetness forming around his eyes.

"How can you be so sure? Up until ten minutes ago, I was about ready to give up on everything! If I don't believe in myself then- then how can I know that I'll be ready? That I got what it takes!? To be a hero like you?"

"Let me tell you something-" Tennyson blinked a little about how he phrased that, though Izuku had no idea why, before shaking his head. "-Being a hero, it's not about how many villains you beat or how many lives you save. There will always be things outside of your control. Trust me." He nudged Izuku's chest with his index finger, right over where his heart was currently thumping against his ribcage.

"It's not about expecting people to recognize you. Or about being thanked and praised. Even if no one knows who you are..." His gaze was deep, penetrating.

"...It's always about doing the right thing."

Tennyson's wise words hit a powerful chord inside Izuku's soul. The taller teen pulled away, allowing him to wipe at his face, which was burning due to embarrassment for crying in front of these two.

"Oh, and to answer that question- about knowing when you'll be ready? The answer is simple: you don't! It's a leap of faith." He smiled, before he made a movement with his wrist, which went unnoticed by Izuku as he was still rubbing away at his excess tears.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me that you said those words Tennyson."

"No problem: Here." He practically shoved a small cardboard box into his trembling hands.

Inside, nestled between various other items he didn't recognize, was the Omnitrix. Small as a wristwatch, with a viridian green and black color palette. On its central dial was a dulled hourglass symbol. Before he could rebuke the other teen, Paradox chose that exact moment to step back into the conversation.

"If we are to leave it must be within the next…" He flipped open his stopwatch. "...three and a half minutes. Apologies once again, Midoriya. I am afraid time is of the essence."

"You and that time talk of yours…" Tennyson grumbled, but quickly regathered himself as he also walked over to the window sill.

"H-hey! Wait!" He dropped the box on his desk. "How do I use the Omnitrix!?

"You put it on." Tennyson deadpanned at him.

"That may have been too broad of an answer. Perhaps try being more specific?" Paradox mused, causing the teen beside him to huff.

"You're one to talk about specificity when your whole 'schtick' is being confusing! If I gave him all the answers to a test, then gave that test to him- would he actually learn anything?" He placed his hands on his hips, earning him a dignified scoff from the professor in return.

"Ok, so I put it on. What then? What are those aliens you said you can turn into?"

"Two minutes and counting down…" The professor hummed.

"Damn. Look, the best way to master the Omnitrix is through trial and error. I can't tell you much now obviously-" He looked up at the older man annoyedly, who was unperturbed by the youth's excessive rudeness.

"-So all the advice I can give you is try not to freak out when you transform for the first time. Also, steer clear of any forests if you can." Tennyson spoke like he knew from experience.

"S-so I should do this in a secluded area? With no witnesses?"

"Pretty much any place that you think would be safe to train any ordinary quirk. The omnitrix has near limitless versatility-"

"-Izuku? Honey, are you okay? You haven't come out of your room all day and I think I heard shouting?"

The boy in question froze up, sparing a fleeting glance at his door which his mom was currently standing behind, and if she walked in and saw— He gawked as Paradox was already halfway out the window.

"J-just a second mom! I'm wrapping something up here!"

"Oh, ok!" He temporarily drowned out his mom's muffled voice, looking back to the duo.

"Wait, before you go, there's something I need to ask you, Professor Paradox!"

The man raised his goggles over his head, smiling.

"Fire away, my dear boy!"

"...Can I have that gumball now? If you're still offering, that is?" He blushed, trying not to notice Tennyson's slack jawed expression upon hearing his request.

"Why of course! You didn't need to ask!" He promptly snapped his fingers, confusing him more than anything else. "Farewell Midoriya, shall we ever come across one another through time travel again one day!" With that the professor fell unceremoniously backwards through the window.

"He's fine. Time dilation effect and all that mumbo jumbo." Tennyson hastily assured him, as he rushed to climb out after the man. A moment of contemplation made him halt, however, as before he jumped, he decided what his parting words should be.

"You'll be an amazing hero Midoriya, with or without that watch." He gave him his brightest smile, followed up by a mock salute, departing from his bedroom just as his door was creaking open.

"Izuku!? I heard voices and I got worried! Are you… okay?" Inko Midoriya stared at her only son as he was slumped against the wall, appearing worse for wear.

"Oh baby…" She silently padded over to her boy and wordlessly embraced him.

"I-I don't know what I'm going to d-do mom." He sniffled while she ran a hand through his unruly hair.

"You're only fourteen, you don't have to know what you want to do yet..." She was only now taking notice of the room's blank walls— his All Might merchandise appeared to have been stuffed inside one large garbage bag, that had been messily stuffed inside the way-too-small trash can by his desk. The Midoriya matriarch admitted to herself that she couldn't believe her son would dispel any notion of the number one hero— not after what happened the day prior. Her son idolized the man to no end.

Seeing him look so lost hurt her greatly.

He shook his head adamantly. His brief meeting with Tennyson and Professor Paradox was already rekindling his passion for heroics. He could feel it, his dwindling dream slowly eating away at him from the inside. He desired nothing more. In that moment he knew he had to make a declaration in order to turn that lip service into a reality.

His reality.

"I want to go to UA." He decided, with no room for argument, with his mother being too shocked by his resolute tone to respond for a while.

"That's all I have ever wanted! I want- no- I need to be a hero! Which means that I have to give it everything I got!" He scrunched the part of his shirt where his heart was. "I'll never know if I never try! So mom, will you help me!?" He stood, offering a hand to his mom, who looked up at her son with no lack of amazement, never having seen this side of him before.

Nevertheless, she found his determination inspiring, unable to decline his plea.

"I'll support you in any way you need me to Izu!" She allowed him to pull her up, and she was surprised by his sudden surge of strength as he got her to her feet in an instant.

She didn't have time to make any other comments as scrawny arms found their way around her once more, trapping her in a bone-crushing hug. The Midoriya's shared a tearful embrace.

"Thank you mom. I love you." He rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"I love you too, Izuku. No matter what."

Unbeknownst to the small family, outside the apartment complex, on the roof of a parallel building, Ben Tennyson and Professor Paradox set down their pair of identical binoculars. The duo's legs swung over the edge of the roof, as they took a seat. Neither worried about being so close to the edge.

"I must commend your pick, Benjamin. This one certainly has potential."

"Thanks doc."

"Though excuse my inquiry- why did you eventually choose to go with him? Out of all the universes we scoured- it was like you knew he was the right choice from the very start?"

"Don't you already know what I'm going to say?"

"I do." The professor ruefully admitted. "However, I do like to hear it come from the source in real time."

Ben let out a mirthful chuckle.

"Well, then I suppose I'll entertain you for a bit." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Is it crazy to think that I saw some of myself in him?"

"On the contrary, my dear boy. You are both still human, afterall."

"I think… knowing what he would've become- that even after everything hes gone through up until this point in time- he's stronger than he thinks. When he learns to tap into that…" Tennyson leaned back, propping his weight up with his hands, unfamiliar with the lessened weight on his wrist from the absence of the omnitrix.

"The skies the limit? I don't know, that saying seems a bit underwhelming to me. Don't they got another saying here for that?"

"Are you perhaps thinking of Go Beyond, Plus Ultra?"

"Yeah, that thing." He smiled. "Wanna head back now? I've got a hankering for a smoothie."

The professor merely nodded, clicking a button on his stopwatch, causing a teal portal to openly materialize behind them. The man disappeared as he walked through the gate, leaving the teen alone for a couple seconds as he spared one last glance towards the Midoriya's apartment.

"Plus Ultra, kid." With those final words, Benjamin Tennyson departed from the world of quirks, never to be seen again, gone like the wind...