Beyond Responsibility

by Knutty Entertainment

A twist of fate leaves quirkless wallflower Peter Parker with great power, but also responsible for his uncle's death. When a letter comes approving him for the foreign exchange program of U.A.'s support course, Peter decides the best thing he can do to protect his aunt, secret "quirk," and identity as the vigilante Spider-Man, is to move to Japan.

11. Chapter 11: Quirk Evaluation

Chapter 11: Quirk Evaluation

"Treat your friends as if hereafter they will become your enemies and your enemies as if they will become your friends" – Napoleon (misquoted)

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Thursday, March 3rd, 2XXX

Aizawa flicked through the forms on his clipboard with apathetic eyes, the subject of his sleepless nights for the last week stared back at him. Such sleepless nights were once blamed on the villains he would have to subdue on his nightly patrols. But now he was a dedicated teacher, and an entirely different sort of troublemaker dominated his midnight hours: the high school teenager.

Exhibit A: one Peter B. Parker, a prime example of the trouble he endured because of his dedication to his job. This case was affectionately referred to as Headache #1. The first in an ongoing series currently numbering at four, though Aizawa expected his other sixteen students to receive their designations within the next two months.

Setting up Parker's schedule and clearing everything with the support course and foreign exchange committee over the last few days had been a hassle, or it would have been if he had bothered to do it himself. Instead he had shunted the paperwork onto Parker and made the kid do the legwork while Aizawa micromanaged.

Aizawa allowed a slight smirk to appear on his face as he set his clipboard aside and took a sip of his early morning coffee. It hadn't been truly necessary for him to subject Headache #1 to all that; in truth, Aizawa could have gotten the whole matter sorted over the course of an afternoon with the Principal's help, but Parker needed a task to occupy his time and room to reflect on his decisions.

Lesson one kid, if you're going to commit to stepping onto the path of the hero, then you better be willing to do it the right way, and that means going through all the trouble involved with getting onto the right path in the first place.

Aizawa considered this punishment adequate. And educational.

Of course with that off his plate, Aizawa had the time to conduct a bit of a background check. In this line of work you couldn't afford to do things halfway. Not only was Aizawa a pro-hero—one of the highest demand and heavily regulated occupations in the world—but he was personally charged with rearing the next generation of heroes at the most prestigious institution in the nation. For all intents and purposes, he was a shepherd and these were his sheep, a notion Aizawa took with deathly seriousness. He was going to guide and nurture them into becoming the best heroes they could be, come hell or high water, whether the kids liked it or not.

To that end Aizawa made it his business to become intimately familiar with each of his charges on a personal level. He would investigate their background, their goals, likes and dislikes, analyze their quirks, and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Then from there he would determine what they needed to work on most and provide them with the best individualized instruction possible.

After their meeting during the entrance exam fiasco, Headache #1 was first on that list. He needed to know what made the kid tick, and U.A. had no shortage of the resources needed to figure that out, and figure out he did…

---

Aizawa was up late the night before—or rather, much earlier that morning—pouring over everything U.A. had on file about Peter Parker, which wasn't much, seeing as he was a foreign exchange student and all. That meant the next step was to get in touch with Peter's contacts and go from there.

When the kid blew up at him earlier, he had mentioned an 'Uncle Ben' before he stormed out. Aizawa suspected someone close to Parker had died and he obviously felt guilty about the affair. That would not be abnormal behavior or circumstances, especially for U.A. students: many of their more dedicated students had similarly tragic backstories; it was a common trope for a reason. Aizawa supposed investigating that was as good a place as any to start.

Aizawa sorted through the files till he found what he was looking for. There we go, Legal Guardians, May and Benjamin Parker. He frowned. Why would he still be listed as his guardian? Peter made it sound like he died, or had at least left the family behind. And I know this information can't be more than a few months old. Maybe there are two Ben's? Guess that's another thing to ask about.

Aizawa dialed up the phone number.

"Hello, is this May Parker?" Aizawa asked, with no trace of a Japanese accent.

"It is. And who might this be? I'm afraid I don't recognize your number."

"This is Shouta Aizawa, a teacher at U.A. High School. Am I correct in assuming that you're the Legal Guardian of Peter Parker?"

"Oh, goodness, yes that's me. Is my Peter alright? He isn't hurt, is he? I just knew I shouldn't have sent him off to live in Japan alone. I mean he's only fifteen, and quirkless too."

Aizawa swore he could internally hear the sound of cracked glass as his tired, red eyes snapped open at that revelation. He took a moment to rub his eyes and let his hair fall back down, leaving a long pause at the other end of the line. "I'm sorry Mrs. Parker, could you please repeat that?"

"I was just saying that it was a mistake to send Peter away like this, oh I knew something was bound to happen."

"Right… Well Peter is perfectly fine, Ma'am, he's been working with me personally. I'm just checking in to see if there's anything I should know about Peter before school starts. As his teacher it's my responsibility to try to get to know my students as well as possible to attend to their needs."

"I see, thank heavens. I really shouldn't worry so much, Anna always tells me that it wouldn't do to get so worked up, but enough about me. You won't have any problems with Peter, he's the brightest, sweetest boy you'll meet."

"And what is your relation to the boy?"

"I'm his aunt."

"Forgive me if this is too personal, Mrs. Parker, but Peter's paperwork says he has another guardian named Benjamin Parker, am I correct in assuming this is your husband?"

The pause in her response and the lack of mirth in the voice that returned all but confirmed Aizawa's assessment. "Yes, Ben Parker was my husband, but I'm afraid you won't find him here. He passed away a few weeks ago. A few days before Peter left for Japan, in fact. I'm not surprised Peter didn't mention it to you, he didn't take the news well, felt so much responsibility for everything that he almost rejected your offer in order to comfort and support me here."

What? A few weeks ago? Not months, not years, weeks? I suppose that's why he's still listed as a guardian, Peter's application was submitted before his uncle's death.

That had left him puzzled. Aizawa would have assumed the event had been far less recent, acting as a pivotal turning point in Parker's life that planted the seed of heroism and led him to aspire to U.A. in the first place. But apparently Parker had an entirely different motivation for applying to the support course. It also didn't explain why the kid felt so guilty about it. Sure, it would be fresh on his mind, but it sounded like Parker had held himself accountable for the event. Survivor's guilt, perhaps? Or maybe something more gradual. Judging from Mrs. Parker's voice, his aunt and uncle must be pretty old. I could see a case where it fell on Peter to provide for the family and subsequently struggle to pay for his uncle's medical bills, slowly seeing his uncle deteriorate in what he saw as direct correlation to his failure to provide proper care. Yes, that could be it. Could also explain why he became interested in hero support. Not only is it well paying, but Parker also could've been motivated to create the equipment and materials to help his uncle live healthily and comfortably, especially if he couldn't afford to buy those things from someone else. But that doesn't explain why he would choose to pursue that career by leaving his country, and therefore his family, nor does it explain that comment Mrs. Parker made about him being quirkless––the mere thought of that reveal gave Aizawa a headache. I suppose it all comes down to the circumstances of his death. No use speculating until I know that.

"My condolences, Mrs. Parker. If I may ask, what happened exactly?"

"I'm not too sure of the details, it's not something I like thinking about. Peter went to school that morning, Ben went to work. And then, sometime in the afternoon, a crook shot him in the street. I didn't find out until the police came to the house that evening to tell me, Peter came home to the news a short time after the police arrived, and well, he wasn't quite the same the next few days. But enough with that. I'm sure you don't want to hear the dour moods of an old widow and her anxieties. However can I help you, Mr. Aizawa?"

The answer certainly left Aizawa unsatisfied on all accounts, but he didn't think he'd get much more from harping on the issue. "No, no, it's my fault for bringing up the topic. Let's talk about Peter. What do you know about his life as a student? Does he do well in class, is he known to be a troublemaker? These things are always a bit of a concern when we have a foreign exchange student that's not accustomed to the Japanese way of doing things you see."

When she spoke again, Aizawa heard a sharp note of pride return to her voice. "I assure you my nephew is the cream of the crop, Mr. Aizawa. Perfect grades, never sluffs, and all of his teachers have nothing but praise. And he's been studying Japanese since he was nine years old, you'll find him as fluent as all your other students. You will have no issues with him, and if he ever does give you any trouble, tell me right away and I'll set him straight. On Peter's end though… I do fear he may have some trouble making friends. He suffered his fair share of bullying at his last school because of his quirklessness. Not to say the students at U.A. are anything less than model citizens, but with it being a hero academy, I'm worried he might have trouble fitting in when surrounded by such powerful quirks, especially when he's also a foreigner."

Aizawa had to admit that hearing this sweet old lady worry about her young nephew's school troubles was starting to affect him. "I understand your concerns, Mrs. Parker. Allow me to personally assure you that I won't allow anything of the sort to happen under my watch. As the people responsible for raising the heroes of tomorrow, we at U.A. enforce the highest standards of behavior, myself in particular. I maintain zero tolerance for villainous behavior like bullying."

"I'm glad to hear it, I'm sure my nephew will be safe in your hands, Peter's lucky to have such a diligent teacher."

"In light of Peter's quirk status, as well as his status as a foreigner, I would like to know a little more about his family's quirk history, I don't imagine I can ask his parents, so can you tell me what you know about what kind of quirks his relatives have."

"Yes, Peter's parents, Richard and Mary, they died in a plane crash when Peter was very young. I'm afraid I won't be much help when it comes to their quirk history: I married into the family, you see. But I do know that none of the Parker's have had very flashy quirks. Ben and Richard were quite athletic in their youths. From what I recall, Richard had always been quicker on his feet, though never quite as strong as Ben was. There was little else to their quirks besides that. Both of their quirks severely atrophied in their twenties, and we never learned why, though both of them did their best to stay in shape despite that, even when it went against the doctors' orders. The process began before I had married Ben, in fact it was why his previous girlfriend left him and got with his best friend. I knew it was a touchy subject for him, so I didn't ask about it much. For Richard it happened about 5 years before Peter was born. As for Mary, I'm sorry, I never got the chance to know her too well. She married Richard only a couple years before they died and their work often took them out of the country, I think she was quirkless, so she never talked much about her quirk history anyway. I do recall someone mentioning once that one of her parents had a quirk though, a 1st generation transformation type, but still nothing impressive, the other parent I don't know about. Ben and Richard were only 2nd generation themselves. Peter was found to have the toe joint for quirklessness shortly before his parents died, we were all saddened by the news, but it wasn't much of a surprise considering his parents. I wish I could be of more help, Mr. Aizawa, but that's about all I know."

Aizawa's frown continued to sit stubbornly on his face. No answers, only more questions. "Thank you for your help, Mrs. Parker. Before I leave, have you been in contact with Peter recently?"

"Not much, no. It's been almost a week since he last called. From the few texts I've gotten it seems he's become very busy preparing for school, and more than a little stressed. Of course, I know you don't have anything to do with that."

Aizawa grimaced, suddenly feeling targeted and rather guilty for unknowingly straining the relationship between a poor old lady and her only surviving family. "I'll make sure to remind Peter to call home more often."

"Thank you, he works himself too hard sometimes. But why do you ask? Has something happened with Peter?"

"Right, all things considered you probably aren't aware yet. What do you know about Peter's studies here at U.A.?"

"He was accepted into your foreign exchange program for your school's courses in hero support, was he not? Is that not still the case?"

"Yes and no. In addition to being entered into Dr. Connor's support course, Peter has decided to take extra classes with me in the heroics department. That's why I'm calling. As a pro hero myself, I wanted to know more about Peter and his motivations for pursuing a career as a licensed hero."

"HE DID WHAT!?" Aizawa flinched and pulled the phone away from his ear. It was his own fault for being caught off-guard, such an eruption was to be expected. "I can't believe Peter hasn't mentioned anything of the sort to me, that young man is going to get an earful the next time I can get ahold of him! Oh, but where are my manners, I shan't shoot the messenger. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr. Aizawa. And thank you for your service as well, I had no idea I was speaking with a pro-hero all this time. Still, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this. My meek and quirkless nephew training to become a pro-hero, I never would have thought he had any interest in such a thing. Are you sure that's why he chose to take those classes? I can see how having experience with the way heroes are trained would be useful when developing support items, maybe that's why."

"I'm quite certain. Your nephew is anything but meek, Mrs. Parker. At U.A. we hold an entrance exam for the tens of thousands of students that aspire to take our heroics course. This exam involves fighting against an army of faux villains in the form of dangerous robots. Students who have no interest in the heroics course don't need to take that exam. Peter did it anyway. Not only that, but your nephew got the highest score in the history of our institution, disabling every single robot in the exam."

May was gobsmacked at the revelation. "Wha- B-but he's quirkless! How could you even allow him to take such a dangerous exam!? And do you honestly expect me to believe a fifteen year old child defeated an entire army of robots? It sounds like the set up to a bad joke, and I'm not very fond of being made to play the fool, Mr. Aizawa."

Aizawa supposed he did play up the situation a little much, but he needed to see how she would react.

"Normally we wouldn't allow it, but there are plenty of safeguards in place to ensure no harm comes to the students. And we were just as surprised as you to learn that one student managed to do something so unprecedented. He found a way to hack into the robots to make them fight each other before deactivating them all at once," he explained, assuaging her fears.

"I suppose that makes more sense, Peter has always been good with computers. Still, it is rather hard to believe that he would want to join a heroics course. I can hardly imagine how dangerous that career would be for someone with his disability, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with just taking the classes, especially at such a secure and prestigious school. Not that I could stop him anyhow, it must have been Ben's death that convinced him to change his mind, which means he's not going to give up on it now no matter what I say to him, Parker's just aren't like that, Ben was just the same way. I guess I'm just not yet ready to accept that he's already left the nest, but if this is the path he's chosen, then I couldn't be prouder of his decision, even if I am a little concerned. Oh, but why am I telling all of this to you anyway, excuse my rambling. Thank you for bringing all of this to my attention, Mr. Aizawa. I wish I could have been more helpful."

"It's no problem, Ma'am. As pro-heroes, being available to help is the least we can do, especially when it comes to showing gratitude for the parents of the next generation. Now if that's all, I have some more work I need to be getting back to."

"Just one last thing before you go."

"What is it?"

"Please look after Peter for me. Make sure he doesn't overwork himself or get into too much trouble. He needs to know he has good people like you supporting him, especially right now."

Aizawa paused. Even after years of hero work, these moments of heartfelt emotion still managed to overcome him. "...I'll do my best Mrs. Parker, you have my word," he finally replied before hanging up, unable to shake the feeling that he had just agreed to something that would end up leaving him way in over his head.

Well, I guess I didn't call him Headache #1 for nothing.

---

Recalling his mind back to the present, Aizawa scanned through the results of last night's background check with consternation at his inability to unravel the mystery that was Peter Parker.

The boy's family—both living and deceased—were good enough people. All highly regarded in their community for their work ethic and generosity, but nobody extraordinary either. According to Parker's old teachers, the boy himself was much the same: he was good humored, hard working, very intelligent, he kept his head down but was still decently ambitious, and to top it all off the boy was a bit of a misfit that was picked on for his quirk status (Aizawa would get back to that later). Even his recommendation from Oscorp seemed to only be the result of a close but unassuming friendship between Parker and the CEO's son;

'Peter was a good egg for sure,' his teachers had said, 'but I certainly wouldn't say he's hero course material.'

The report he had put together was damningly unobtrusive. There was nothing in Parker's background that would suggest at the behavior he displayed when he tore up the entrance exam. The feelings of guilt from his uncle's recent death were one thing, but different people interpret those feelings differently, and heroism is not the outlet one would expect from a case like Parker's. By all accounts, that shift in behavior had come out of nowhere.

Despite that, the change was still very real. Aizawa had seen it on his face: The fire in his eyes, the ardor for heroism he displayed; Aizawa had seen it on many faces, and those things didn't just come from nowhere. The before and after pictures showed completely different people, all the way down to the dorky glasses he apparently stopped wearing when he left America.

It was almost as if there was a piece missing in all this.

Well, there was no 'almost' about it. Aizawa knew there was something he wasn't being told, and he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the boy's quirk.

Because Aizawa's most unexpected revelation by far had been that the boy was legally quirkless in America. The boy's teachers and the government workers he spoke to swore up and down about that, not to mention his aunt. Aizawa still didn't know what to think of it.

The Japanese Quirk Registry had Parker's quirk listed as "Simian." On paper it was perhaps the most pedestrian quirk Aizawa had ever seen. It might as well have been called "Homo Sapiens plus" for how unassuming the ability was:

---

Type: Mutant
Synopsis: confers the traits of monkeys and apes.

Abilities:
• enhanced strength
• enhanced dexterity
• heightened senses.

Additional notes: particular proficiency with jumping and climbing.

---

In light of this, while it was certainly curious that his quirk status was inconsistent, most people would still probably write it off as an understandable error, a simple misdiagnosis.

But which prognosis was in error? Were the Americans right in labeling him quirkless? Had Parker taken advantage of the loose standards Japan had for cataloging the quirks of foreign residents to forge a quirk for himself? A good enough athlete could certainly pull it off. Afterall, quirks were abnormal, but not necessarily superhuman. And if the reports of Parker being bullied for his quirklessness were to be believed, then the boy had plenty of motivation to do just that.

Even looking at Parker's performance in the entrance exam, one could be convinced that the boy was quirkless. Yes, Parker had gotten a record breaking score, but that was largely due to factors other than his physical abilities, Aizawa knew from his own training sessions with the robots that he himself could easily out do Parker's performance despite his quirk not affecting robots. And if Aizawa could do it while effectively quirkless, then Parker's performance was certainly attainable for a truly quirkless examinee.

With all that said, if Aizawa had only ever been told that Parker was quirkless, he'd have believed it. It wouldn't be the first time someone quirkless had attempted the exam afterall; heck, Parker wasn't even the only one in that situation this very year. Well... sort of. Aizawa would round on Headache #2 at a later date.

There was just one problem with the idea: Aizawa knew Parker had a quirk. He'd seen it first hand when he used erasure on the boy. The boy's sixth sense had reacted negatively and his strength was clearly sapped. Interestingly, despite being the most notable part of his quirk, the sixth sense was only tangentially noted on his quirk's profile. Then again, Parker himself didn't seem to fully understand the nebulously defined ability.

Now was it possible that Parker knew about Aizawa's quirk beforehand and was faking being under its effects? The idea made Aizawa grimace. He loathed to admit he couldn't outright dismiss the idea. Aizawa was pretty good at spotting when someone was or wasn't activating their quirk, especially when it came to identifying their tells. He liked to think so anyway, he had developed a pretty good eye for such things—literally. But that didn't mean he was infallible, he could think of a few actors good enough to fool him.

They had only been interacting regularly for a week, but Aizawa had grown rather fond of Headache #1. And if it turned out that Parker was concocting some big con, then so many things would cease to make sense: his behavior in the exam, his motives, personality, background. Aizawa could scarcely wrap his head around the possibility of it all being fake.

But it isn't impossible.

Which meant it was a possibility that Aizawa was forced to consider. And that aggravated Aizawa to no end.

Aizawa didn't want to dwell on such dour thoughts any longer than necessary.

Which led him to the other possibility, the comforting possibility, the possibility that made for such a suspiciously perfect alibi that it did very little to actually comfort him:

The possibility that Parker did have a quirk and that the Americans were wrong in labeling him as quirkless.

All the very same reasons that Aizawa admitted could convince him that the boy was quirkless despite all his evidence to the contrary, helped make it all the more unsurprising that Parker could be listed as quirkless in his country of origin. The primary way of diagnosing quirklessness, the extra toe joint, would return a perfect false positive for someone with a quirk like Parker's. And if there never arose any reason to doubt a childhood prognosis, the issue wouldn't be revisited, especially when such traits could so easily be attributed to mundane athleticism. One could even make the case that Peter had truly believed himself to be quirkless. And even if he didn't, there might still be incentive to not reveal his true quirk status. Aizawa recalled that some places in America offered disability and welfare benefits for the quirkless, something the Parker's would be very keen on receiving considering their family's lower class status. However, Japan had no such incentives, there was no question that on this side of the pond that Headache #1 would be better served by flaunting his quirk rather than hiding it.

There were problems with this theory too though. For one, if Parker had believed himself to be quirkless, then how did he come to find out he wasn't, and why wasn't anybody else aware of the discovery? Would Peter really hide that discovery from his aunt? Then again, he is a teenager, and teenagers tended to be hormone-addled bundles of secrets with little sense. And from what Aizawa had gathered from his teachers, Parker seemed like the anti-social sort of teenager to boot.

Speaking of Parker's school life, Aizawa was surprised to find that the only subject he had flagging grades in was physical education. In the words of his gym coach (a hard bitten man named Stan), 'Peter's a nice kid, but he's a shrimpy nerd at the end of the day, and blind as a bat too. I remember I used to make him do the rope climb just to watch him fall on his rump. Hah! Good times.'

Parker's quirk would certainly have allowed him to excel in that subject if he had a quirk but didn't know it, meaning that Parker was faking his lack of athleticism. The bullying was another point. Aizawa's first confrontation with Headache #1 after the entrance exam showed that Parker had no issue with standing up for himself. He should have had no problem getting the bullies off his back. So it had to be an act. Peter had to know he had a quirk and was just pretending to be a quirkless wimp.

But if the Parker's knew that Peter wasn't really quirkless, then that made Aizawa's conversation with May Parker sound very strange. She didn't seem to be aware of Peter's Simian quirk whatsoever and treated his quirkless status as the most obvious fact in the world, and she didn't seem to be putting on an act either. And if the Parker's were faking a disability, then wouldn't Peter and his aunt communicate with each other about their plan to reveal his quirk while living in Japan?

Unless Peter was hiding his quirk from even them. Aizawa could see the disability benefits being the motive for keeping his quirk secret from his aunt and uncle, that way he could keep collecting the welfare money and spare them the guilt, that would keep them out of poverty so long as no one found out about Parker's quirk. But if that was the case, why would Peter come to Japan and reveal his quirk? That would leave his aunt alone without any welfare money, and that would be right after she lost her husband and any income he might have brought in. May Parker did mention that Peter almost rejected the offer to come to U.A. to stay and support her. But then there's the problem of why Peter would have applied for U.A. in the first place if they needed the money back home so badly, and why he would reveal his quirk when he got here if it was tantamount to confessing to welfare fraud?

Another problem with that theory was the glasses. If he was faking, why the glasses? Sure, the Clark Kent technique went a long way in selling the quirkless look, but it was excessive. Heightened senses was an explicit part of Parker's quirk, an ability that Aizawa could confirm easily enough from his interactions with Parker, so Aizawa doubted he actually needed glasses. Did his aunt and uncle know he didn't really need glasses? If not then prescription eye glasses would be a large and unnecessary medical expense. And after going through the trouble of getting a prescription, Parker would then need to go through the trouble of swapping out the lenses for fakes, otherwise Parker would harm his vision while wearing them. And he would also have to pretend to be blind while not wearing them. It just seemed like an extreme amount of effort for no good reason. His need for eyeglasses was even stated on his learner's permit. All that just to stop wearing them once he got to Japan?

Then again, he could have just started wearing contact lenses Aizawa realized. Well that was a dead end, he thought.

He supposed he could just call May Parker again and ask about some of these things, like whether or not they received disability benefits on behalf of Peter's quirklessness, but that would sound unduly suspicious and she would probably clam up and stop talking to him. Plus, Aizawa really didn't want to be the one to break the news about Peter's quirk to her if he could avoid it, especially when he still didn't have the facts straight. The least he could do is give the courtesy of waiting until he heard Peter's side of the story and then encourage him to break the news himself.

"Uuurrr," Aizawa groaned, rubbing his temples. He was beginning to think he would never get to the bottom of this. There has to be some way to get this to work, he thought as he leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling, electing to digest all the information, and allow his subconscious to work through the problem instead of actively obsessing over it.

His meditation was interrupted after a few minutes at the sound of someone new entering the teachers' lounge.

" *yyaaawn* Oh, hey Aizawa-kun, I see you've been burning the candle at both ends… again."

Aizawa shifted his half-lidded eyes over to the emaciated man. "Toshinori. You're here early. Aren't you usually on patrol around this time?"

"Yep." All Might responded as he did some basic stretches before collapsing on the couch. "But the principal has insisted that I start taking it easy. My quirk levels plummeted another 4,000 AP last week, can you believe it?"

"4,000! Wasn't it just at 8,000? Your quirk levels just got cut in half, Toshinori. You went over your limit again, didn't you? How can you be so flippant about this? Nezu's right, you need to stop overexerting yourself all the time."

"Trust me Aizawa, no one's more frustrated about this than me. My time limit fell by a whole half hour. Been having a real rough week. But when you're a hero for a long time, your body just starts falling apart. You know how that goes."

Aizawa's features scrunched up as something occurred to him. He sat up straight and scanned through his notes again. As he was flipping through, one thing in-particular jumped out at him:

3rd generation quirk user; inherited paternally; history of early-onset quirk atrophy on father's side.

A new idea started forming in his head. A developmental disorder perhaps? Could Parker just be a late bloomer? Some quirks did undergo significant development that was delayed until puberty, such as quirk factors tied to one's reproductive organs that couldn't manifest until after adolescence for obvious reasons. Pubescent manifestation was pretty uncommon nowadays, but it happened more often in the early days of quirks when quirks were more mundane and could fly under the radar until the user developed more obvious traits. Today, not only were quirks much more potent, but children were routinely diagnosed and trained to control their quirks from a very early age, so such a thing was rare, and when it did happen, it was foreseen far in advance.

From what he had gathered, the Parker family was a prime example of mundane quirks that appeared only recently in their lineage. Add to that Peter's early diagnosis as quirkless, his introverted bookish nature, childhood trauma from his parents' death and constant bullying at school, the effects of poverty, and his family history for quirk atrophy, and it was entirely possible, if not very likely, that Parker did not have proper nutrition, exercise, and counseling growing up, stunting his growth physically and emotionally, which could have a serious negative effect on his quirk development.

But what could be the catalyst for such a sudden change in Parker's physiology? Oh- right, his Uncle's death. Kind of obvious in hindsight now that I think about it.

His mind went back to what May Parker had told him: 'I'm not surprised Peter didn't mention it to you, he didn't take the news well, felt so much responsibility for everything… he wasn't quite the same the next few days.'

Yeah, that would do it. Still, it would be good to get a second opinion.

"Toshinori, you have personal experience with quirk atrophy, mind shedding some light on something for me?"

"We've been over this, Aizawa. I don't like discussing my quirk, it's personal. Just forget I said anything."

"No, it's not that. It's about one of my students. They're listed as quirkless when I know that's not the case."

All Might went rigid for a second before responding. "Ah, I wouldn't pay it too much mind. You know how these things go with these middle school kids, their bodies are going through changes, late bloomers and all that," he said in a blasé tone, hoping Aizawa would buy the deflection.

"That's why I wanted your insight." Aizawa replied as he handed the clipboard with all his notes to the more experienced pro. "Peter Parker, one of our American exchange students. He's been legally quirkless his whole life. Not only that, everyone who knows the kid is adamant that just a few weeks ago he was a scrawny weakling. And yet in just a couple weeks he somehow gained the power and skills to break your record in the entrance exam."

All Might's brow furrowed, shading his blue eyes as they scanned the page. "You're right. That is a pretty big change. What do you think could have caused it?" Now that Toshinori knew this wasn't about Midoriya, he gave his full attention to solving the matter.

"Parker lives with his aunt and uncle, his only surviving family. A couple weeks ago his uncle was shot and killed by a gunman. Evidently he took the news pretty hard, his aunt noted a large shift in his personality immediately after the event. By all accounts, that's where the change started."

"Seems like some pretty major trauma, that kind of thing could definitely play a factor in sudden explosive quirk development. You said he was legally quirkless? America doesn't let just anyone claim something like that. I assume he has the extra toe joint?" All Might asked in reply. Though the question was mostly rhetorical.

Considering his own special quirk status, Toshinori knew more about this topic than most, and much more than he let on. The simple fact of the matter was that people who develop quirks show signs from the moment they're born, long before the quirk itself develops. Even if those quirks wouldn't manifest until puberty, it would come as no surprise to anyone. You just can't hide what's in your DNA. They would still be missing the joint, and they would still have the X-gene. The unfortunate truth is that true late bloomers don't actually exist. It's a pipe dream, a comforting lie told to quirkless kids so as to not crush their dreams. Toshinori didn't agree with that approach, he didn't much like giving people false hope. Of course, it still made for a very convenient excuse when it came to hiding the true nature of One for All, so All Might kept his true feelings to himself. He had even encouraged Midoriya to claim he was a late bloomer if anyone got too suspicious for their own good. And that was precisely why All Might was skeptical of that explanation.

"Yes, he does have the extra joint. But there's a certain… complication about that," Aizawa explained.

"Complication?"

"Parker has a mutant type quirk called Simian that gives him the traits of monkeys and apes, or so he claims." All Might frowned at hearing that, prompting Aizawa to nod in agreement. "My thoughts exactly. Basically, we have no reason to expect his anatomy to differ too greatly from that of a standard homo sapiens, in other words, a perfect false positive. And there's more than just that. His mother is the quirkless daughter of a 1st generation quirk user. His father is 2nd generation, but has significant history of chronic quirk atrophy. He's also impoverished, physically inactive, and likely suffers from childhood trauma."

That was all very convenient. Too convenient. "Have you confronted him about any of this yet? I'd sure like to hear what he has to say about all this," All Might inquired.

Aizawa shook his head. "No, not yet. I only found out about it due to the background check I did on him just last night. But he's meeting with me later today. I'll make sure to get a proper answer out of him then. What do you think in light of all this? From your own experience with quirk disorders, do you think it's at all possible that Parker's growth was stunted in his youth, and that his uncle's death was the trigger necessary for his quirk to finally start manifesting? I've gone through every other possible explanation I could think of, this is the only one that seems remotely possible to me."

All Might cupped his chin in his hand and looked down at the ground for a moment before turning back to Aizawa with his response, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we can rule anything out at this stage."

Aizawa sighed. "I understand."

All Might stood up and walked to the side of the teacher's lounge closest to the door. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Aizawa-kun. I'm sure Young Parker has a perfectly normal explanation for all this," he stated, channeling his heroic bravado as he sought to put his colleague at ease. "It's probably no big deal, but even so… I'm gonna go inform the principal about all this, standard procedure and all that."

"You're right, Toshinori, I'm likely just overreacting. Like you said, it's probably no big deal."

Both of them were lying.

---

Peter got off the bus and looked up at the massive imposing building on the other side of the gates. Here he was again, back at U.A. High.

Man, did it feel weird to finally be able to say that, Peter couldn't help but think as he walked through the doors of the school he used to only dream about attending. His school.

"Welcome to U.A. High!" a cheery voice called out. "How can I hel- oh, it's you," the receptionist's cheerful tone dropped as she realized who she was talking to.

"Yep… it's me," Peter said dully, trying to get this over with. "Look, do you know where Shouta Aizawa is? I have an appoint-"

"Parker, you're actually on schedule"—speak of the devil and he appears—"Come on, let's see if we can save us some time, Headache #1"

"Right- wait, what did you just say?"

"I said, 'let's see if we can save us some headache this time for once.'"

"Oh, that's… what I thought you said."

"Enough dilly dallying, follow me," Aizawa deflected as he made his way down the hall and motioned Peter to follow.

Peter jogged a little to catch up, "So what's the deal? What did you call me in for today?" he asked curiously.

"You'll see. We'll be there in just a second."

After a couple more minutes of walking, the pair arrived at the U.A. locker rooms.

"Here," Aizawa said as he handed Peter a blue tracksuit with the letters U.A. subtly patterned on it. "Put this on and meet me outside. We're going to be using the school field."

"We're having a gym class? But classes won't start for another month."

"It's more of an assessment, now hop to it."

Peter did as he was directed and soon found himself outside in the cold morning air in one of the school's empty track and field pitches.

"Okay, we're here, just the two of us, mind telling me what we're doing?"

"I'm going to be running you through a series of simple tests that I use to establish a baseline for all of my students: 50-meter dash, grip strength, ball throw, endurance run, that kind of thing. You're probably used to taking these kinds of tests in middle school, but there's a difference here, unlike normal schools that just want to get a handle on your level of physical health and fitness, the purpose of this is to assess the capabilities of your quirk."

Peter nodded in understanding. Truth be told, this was something that he was curious about as well. He hadn't yet had the chance to test the upper limits of his new powers in the few weeks since he got them. As a science nerd, he was itching to finally get his hands on some actual hard data on the transformation his body had undergone. But there was a slight problem with that. He already stood out way too much. He may not know the full extent of his abilities, but he knew they were way stronger than any fifteen year old's quirk had any right to be, his record breaking score in the entrance exam had been a testament to that, and he was holding back a lot at that time to avoid getting in trouble for public quirk use. Unfortunately that meant he would have to dial things down to the level he had shown during the entrance exam until the attention he was getting died down a little more. Wasn't too big of a deal though, the tests sounded easy enough and he could wait to measure his powers another day.

"Oh yeah, by the way, if you don't meet my standards, or I get the sense that you're holding back, then you're expelled."

"Woah, hold the phone! Expelled!? You can't do that, the School year hasn't even started yet."

"U.A. is a lot more lenient than other schools, that's its selling point. We teachers have the authority to run our classes however we see fit."

"But I'm not even in your class, I'm in 1-H with Dr. Connors, shouldn't he have a say in this?"

"Of course he does, or he would if you were just a normal support course student. But if you're going to be taking lessons from me, and insisting that I leave a seat in my class empty and waiting for you, then you're going to have to live up to my expectations. There are plenty of other students who are ready and willing to fill that vacancy at a moment's notice, prove to me that you're the one who deserves it."

"I thought I already did. Top scorer in the entrance exam, remember?"

"You did do well in the entrance exam, however…" However? Where's he going with this? "In my personal opinion, the entrance exam is completely irrational."

Peter looked up at the pro-hero, slightly confused at that statement. "Well, no arguments there. Though it sure would have been nice to know that before we got into that big argument over it last week. But that's all over now, I passed the exam and earned my spot, so what's the problem?"

"Here's the point: I can't control who the school chooses to accept into its hero course; they can assign me any students they like. But we have a certain understanding you see, once they step foot in my class, they're under my authority. I have my own tests and standards when it comes to who I deem worthy to be in my class, and those who don't measure up, I reserve the right to expel. And that's especially true for support course students who are just sitting in on my course after skirting around the intended rules for the entrance exam."

Peter grit his teeth. "Weren't you the one who encouraged me to take classes with the hero course in the first place?"

"Getting cold feet, Parker? Maybe I misjudged you. If you don't want to worry about the possibility of being expelled at a moment's notice then you can just stay in your lane and keep your head down in Dr. Connor's class. Your scholarship entitles you to that much. But if you want to be part of the greatest hero course in the world, then you better get used to giving 110% every day, Plus Ultra style. The choice is yours, that's why we're doing this a month before classes start instead of on the first day with the rest of my students. It's a professional courtesy to give you the chance to turn back before the point of no return."

Peter's clenched fists shook silently at his sides until his knuckles turned white. His hair covering his eyes as he stared at the ground.

Aizawa watched expectantly for a few moments but received no response. He sighed. "Alright, I'll go inform Dr. Connors and the Principal about your deci-"

"I'll do it!" I didn't come all this way for nothing. You want my best? Fine, I'll give you my best.

Aizawa paused for a half second before a rascally grin split his face and lit up his tired eyes. "Then let's get to work."

---

Test #1: 50-Meter Dash

"Sometime in the next minute a starting pistol will fire," Aizawa explained

Peter closed his eyes and waited, 23 seconds passed, and then: ≈*≈

BANG!

Peter's legs tensed reflexively in response to his spider-sense going off. Time slowed down as he pushed off the blocks and pumped his legs as fast as they could carry him, accelerating to a sprint at a moment's notice. He couldn't get to his full speed in just 50 meters, but between his powerful legs striking the ground with his full strength, his perfect equilibrium intuitively putting him into the optimal posture to push off the ground at just the right angle at full tilt, and his spider-stick to give him the extra bit of traction needed to efficiently translate all that force into forward momentum without slippage, he easily managed a score that no quirkless person could dream of.

"4.38 seconds!" The robot voice chirped out.

"Hmm." Aizawa hummed. Even for animal type mutant quirks that was a very impressive score, people almost never got below the 5 second mark, especially in High School.

But those were civilian standards. People in the field of heroics were a whole different breed. People who spent serious effort to train their bodies and quirks to the limit were often superhuman in all areas, not just limited to the domain of their quirks. That was the inherent gap in potential between Homo Sapiens and Homo Superior, regardless of the quirk. Aizawa himself was a prime example, despite not having a physical quirk, Aizawa's own time at the 50-Meter was 4.81, much faster than the Homo Sapiens record. It was for this reason that quirkless people were considered incapable of becoming heroes. There were plenty of heroes with non-heroic quirks with niche specializations or who relied on support items, but they still had a baseline of physical ability that even the old olympic athletes couldn't match.

Aizawa's purpose with these tests was to gather as much info on Parker's quirk as possible. Going into this he had three main theories:

1) That Parker was quirkless, but very good at hiding it.

2) That Parker had a quirk

2a) And he knew it, but was good at hiding it.

2b) But he didn't know until recently.

3) He was a late bloomer of some sort (could contain elements of 2a or 2b depending on when the quirk fully developed).

Aizawa was already nearly certain that neither 1 or 2 was true, but he did his due diligence to properly falsify the hypotheses anyway. And already he was seeing results. If he needed any more proof that Parker wasn't a normal homo sapiens, this was it. It was still technically possible for him to be a homo superior with monosomic quirklessness or some other rare quirk disorder like the one Dr. Connors suffered from, but Aizawa doubted it, which meant that theory 1 was already thrown out the window.

"so-..." Aizawa noticed Headache #1 say something in his peripheral vision, but paid it no mind.

Instead Aizawa checked his clipboard. He had taken the liberty of accessing Parker's test scores from his old High School. Coincidentally he had taken a very similar fitness assessment only a couple months ago. Comparing the results had already proven to be illuminating. The 100-yard dash Parker had done back then had a time of 14.55 seconds. That kind of improvement in such a short amount of time simply wasn't realistic. He wouldn't say it was impossible, not when quirks were involved, but to say it was fishy was an understatement. If Parker had suffered from some rare quirk condition, he had evidently been miraculously cured in the intervening months. Either that, or he had been faking his quirklessness back then. Theories 2 and 3 were still on the table it seemed.

"Ar-. . . listen-..."

Aizawa then pulled out his phone to check the more intricate data that was recorded from Parker's run. The time it took to cross the finish line wasn't the only thing they measured. There was also a high speed camera that scanned the examinee, and the starting blocks had pressure sensors to gauge the muscle tension, all to find the exact moment and force of the push off. The 50-Meter Dash was the first event for a reason. Out of all the events, if gave the best look at the examinee's body type. Their reaction time, cardiovascular health, coordination and range of motion, distribution of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers, all valuable data to know going into the other tests.

Parker's data was unusual to say the least. First was his reaction time: 0.011 seconds from the ignition of the starting pistol. It was ten times faster than the quirkless record. But that's not what Aizawa cared about. What he cared about was that it just wasn't possible. Aizawa was 10 meters away when he fired the pistol, it would take 0.03 seconds for the sound to even reach Parker's ears. Another 0.01 seconds to reach his brain, 0.1 seconds to process, and another 0.01 for the signal to reach his muscles. It simply wasn't possible to react faster than 0.15 seconds in this situation. That meant Parker started moving before he heard anything. He anticipated the gun. That often happened with race car drivers who had mastered the rhythm and timing of the light turning green, but Parker had no indication when the gun would go off. In fact Aizawa had waited until Parker's muscles were more relaxed and his heart rate was stable before he pushed the button, he couldn't have anticipated it would have happened at that exact moment.

But the high speed cameras and pressure sensors confirmed it. There were a multitude of signals that all happened in perfect synchronization. His eyes opened, pupils immediately dilated to pinpricks, full body muscle contraction and piloerection, then his blood pressure and heart rate spiked to the anaerobic range immediately afterwards. An unmistakable unconscious reaction. It was perfect, too perfect. No one's heart rate went from resting to running for your life in just a couple seconds, normal people took at least ten seconds to rev up the engine, so to speak. Not Headache #1 it seemed. His body was a well oiled machine, all his systems perfectly integrated for maximum efficiency. He wasn't even winded afterwards, once he crossed the finish line his body seemingly returned to normal just as quickly as if nothing had happened.

"Hey… Aizawa…"

Even for a mutant type quirk it was pushing boundaries, there were hard biological limits to things like how fast an axon could fire.

So how did he do it? Unless Parker's nervous system was completely inhuman under the hood (something he seriously doubted considering its simian nature) then the only answer was that sixth sense of his. It must have somehow alerted him to pistol firing long before the sound reached his ears. How it did that, Aizawa had no clue. Based on how Parker had described his sixth sense, maybe it was some kind of low level psychic power that allowed him to sense Aizawa's intent to push the button. After all, simians had the greatest brain power in the animal kingdom, so it wasn't too much of a stretch that his quirk also affected his mental abilities.

But unlike the other mysteries surrounding Headache #1, this was one Aizawa was fine with placing into the category of bog-standard quirk nonsense. There were many quirks that made people question their understanding of the laws of physics, and while seemingly mundane on the surface, Parker's was now one of them. It made Aizawa wonder if this sense allowed Parker to react to something before it happened, i.e. could he move out of a bullet's path before the trigger was even pulled?

Regardless, that removed the 0.03 second sound delay from the equation, which also included the 0.01 seconds it took for the signal to go from the ear to cognitive processing. That still left the 0.1 seconds for his brain to process the information and the 0.01 for the signal to get to the muscles, a total of 0.11 seconds. Parker still managed a tenth of that time. Aizawa didn't think Parker's physical nerves were all that different from the norm, maybe slightly faster, so that just left the processing time. Aizawa could think of two possibilities, either Parker could process information at least a hundred times faster than the average person, or his sixth sense had cut out the middleman and was hard wired to his motor neurons to make him move on automatic reflex. Either one of those two things (and it could even be both) would translate into incredibly potent abilities. And U.A.'s handy little devices had automatically recorded all that information for him. How convenient.

"Yo, wha-..." Again, he noticed Headache #1 babbling about something, but tuned it out, instead turning his attention to his handheld device.

Aizawa moved down the list to look at Parker's other stats. His acceleration and impulse were both very impressive, he got to about 40 km/h before the end of the first second, though after the initial burst it seemed to get harder for him to pick up speed, ending the race at 56 km/h and still climbing. All in all, there wasn't enough data to determine the distribution of fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers, something that was always difficult to ascertain whenever super strength was involved.

"Hey! Earth to Aizawa?" Aizawa growled and looked up to see Headache #1 standing in front of him. "Come on, what's the hold up? What're we doing next? Hopefully something more challenging than a little sprint."

"Settle down, Parker. Just recording some notes. Now, head over to the gym, we've already wasted two and a half minutes dawdling. Show some hustle."

"You mean you wasted two and a half minutes dawdling" Peter grumbled as he shuffled towards the gym.

Aizawa couldn't help but chuckle. Yep, a real headache, no doubt about it.

---

Test #2: Grip Strength

Peter stood in the large domed gymnasium with a device that measured how tightly he could squeeze the handle. A dynamometer, huh? Seems pretty high grade too. This should be interesting. Wall crawling has shown just how much stronger my grip has gotten, even without using my spider-stick, but I haven't done much beyond crushing soda cans. I'm actually kinda excited to see just how strong I've gotten.

Peter clenched his fist around the handle, except-

*Bzzt- clatter*

He crushed it. Bits of plastic, metal and wire fell to the floor as the device shattered in his grasp. Crap, totally overdid it there, definitely gonna raise some eyebrows with a result like that. Ah man, I just didn't think my grip was that strong. Maybe Aizawa just gave me a flimsy dynamometer to test if I was holding back my strength? Yeah, that's gotta be it. Peter snuck a glance over in Aizawa's direction to see evident surprise plastered on his face. Yeah, definitely not a test.

Aizawa looked at the result with wide eyes. That thing was rated for 2 tons. Even pros with super strength capable of lifting 50 tons would struggle with that. Isometric muscle contraction just doesn't produce the same kind of force as isotonic contractions, especially considering the muscle groups involved. Deadlifts and squats can recruit major muscle groups to do the work, but hand strength doesn't have that privilege. There are only small muscle groups in the hands, it's all tendons and ligaments that connect things together, and those are focused on creating precise movements, they don't get much bigger or stronger, so you have to completely rely on the forearms to supply the force. That's why measuring grip strength is such a valuable indicator of overall health.

"I had you pegged as a monkey or a chimp. It seems you're more like the gorilla type of simian. But seeing as I can't have you destroying any more school equipment, it seems we'll have to measure your strength some other way."

"Uhh, sorry about that, I'll be more careful in the future," Peter apologized.

Aizawa just nodded to show his acknowledgement as he pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call. "Cementoss, this is Aizawa. I need you in Gym Gamma for a specialized training exercise… Yes, that's right… Understood… Thank you for your help, we'll be ready and waiting." He then turned to Parker, "Come on, we gotta go get set up."

"So what's this 'specialized training exercise' thing all about?" asked as they walked over to the gym's supply room before going to meet up with Cementoss.

"A way to measure your grip strength where you won't break anything. Instead of a crushing grip we're going to do a pinch grip exercise. All you have to do is not drop the ball."

"Seems simple enough."

Aizawa opened the door to the supply room and scanned around before he found what he was looking for. "Parker, you see those balls and chains over there?"

Peter walked over to see a series of chains and solid metal cannonballs of varying sizes. Going from the size of shot puts to wrecking balls with comically large chains to match, even the ones at the front had links bigger than his shoe. He examined them with a quizzical look as he held up a length of one of the chains. "What do we need these for? A demolition project?"

"You'll see. Grab a size-5 ball and size-20 chain. Two of each."

"What? Not strong enough to carry them yourself, Aizawa?" Peter quipped even as he obeyed. The ball wasn't too big, about the size of a small bowling ball, a little smaller than a volleyball. Just big enough that he couldn't quite wrap his fingers around it for a good grip, though he supposed that was probably the intent. The chain on the other hand was one of the comically large ones he noticed before. "Talk about a mismatch," he muttered as he attached one end of the chain to the ball, which looked more like a kettlebell because of how big the loop needed to be in order to accommodate the massive links.

When they went back out to the main gym area, they saw a humanoid block of concrete waiting for them. Peter stopped in his tracks at the strange sight. "So I assume you're this Cementoss guy that Aizawa called? I wasn't expecting you to be soo…"

"Square?" Cementoss offered.

"No offense."

"None taken. You must be Peter Parker. Your Japanese is very good by the way, if it weren't for your slight American accent I wouldn't be able to tell you weren't a native speaker. As your soon-to-be Japanese teacher, I'm looking forward to working with you."

"It's an honor to meet you too Cementoss-sensei," Peter greeted with a bow. Though his smile was for a different reason than one would think: he appreciated Cementoss's reaction to his distinctive accent, because it was an accent only Peter Parker used, and used purposefully. Spider-Man didn't have any notable accent. It would be an issue if people heard Spider-Man speak with a foreign accent, and a bigger issue if Peter Parker sounded like Spider-Man. Hearing Cementoss confirm he was succeeding at creating as many subtle disqualifying distinctions as possible between himself and Spider-Man was comforting to hear.

"Hmm, well mannered too. I see why you've taken a shine to this one Aizawa. Now, what do you need me for?"

Well mannered? If only you knew, Aizawa inwardly groused, but outwardly he remained focused on the task at hand. "Hercules hold. We've got the chains, think you can provide the resistance, Cementoss?" he nodded and placed his hands on the ground.

Peter raised an eyebrow, "Hercules hold? Sounds pretty dramatic, what is it exactly?" he commented as he watched a large cement structure rise out of the ground.

"Normally the hercules hold involves standing between two large pillars and bearing their weight as they threaten to fall down and pull you apart, but that wouldn't allow us to increase the weight much. So, I'll use a simple pulley system instead. How much weight do you want, Aizawa-san?"

"Start with one ton on each side, we'll work our way up from there." He turned his attention over to Headache #1. "Go stand up on that central platform. You're going to attach those chains to those large concrete blocks. Then you just have to maintain your grip on the balls and stand in place without letting go, keep the blocks suspended in the air for as long as possible."

"Alright, but I think calling it the hercules hold is a bit of a misnomer. Yeah, Hercules was pretty strong and held up the sky for Atlas for a bit, but I don't remember him ever struggling between two pillars, clearly the mythological paragon of strength that you're looking for is Samson," Peter mused as he began walking up the concrete stairs that Cementoss had caused to emerge from the floor, leading him upto the elevated platform.

On either side of the platform were the aforementioned large concrete blocks, each bigger than he was. Each had a small handle on top where the chain would attach. Between the blocks and the platform was a simple pulley system. The platform itself wasn't very fancy either. There was a small circular dais in the middle that was raised up a step from the rest of the platform—obviously the place he was meant to stand. On each side of the platform was a short wall with a hole in the middle, big enough to feed the chain through, but not big enough for the ball.

Peter dropped one of the chains on the dais and carried the other over to one of the walls. He pulled the chain through the hole before climbing up on top of the short wall and feeding it through the pulley system before jumping down onto the block to attach the end of the chain to the handle. He noticed that the chain had gone taut, and sure enough when he looked back he saw that the ball at the other end of the chain was caught against the wall, too big to fit through the hole. That meant the chain was just barely too short to reach the block.

"Hey, either of you guys got a big hook? The chain is too short to tie around the loop without one."

Aizawa answered his question by tossing him a pair of large carabiners.

"Thanks." Peter replied as he used the missing link to attach the chain, making it go taut. "It's the perfect length, I'm impressed you got the dimensions just right, Cementoss."

"I said I've done this before, didn't I?" he said as he smiled.

Peter repeated the process for the other side before going to stand on the dais in the middle of the platform, the wrecking balls protruding from the walls on either side of him, about five feet out of reach.

"Alright, anything else before we start, Aizawa-sensei?"

He shook his head in the negative. "Whenever you're ready. Let's start by seeing if you can lift one of the blocks. You already exerted over two tons of force when you broke that grip strength device, these blocks are only half that much, you should have no trouble pulling the chain out of the wall."

"Are you serious!? You mean to tell me that your dynamometer could withstand upto two tons of pressure? I would have sworn it was only built for a tenth of that, the thing felt like it was made of papier-mâché."

"Is this your first time testing your strength to this degree, Parker-san?" Cementoss asked curiously, a question that Aizawa silently thanked him for asking, if Aizawa had asked he feared it would have come off as interrogating him, something that would only cause Parker to clam up if he was trying to keep information about his quirk secret.

"Well, I've lifted up the back end of a car once. You don't exactly get many opportunities to cut loose more than that when you live in a big city and worry about causing damages. My full strength is still a mystery to me, but if what Aizawa said is true, then I shouldn't have a problem with this."

Peter placed his hand on the bowling ball sized mass of iron, his hand didn't even get halfway around the wrecking ball, meaning that he could barely curl his fingers enough to get any grip on it whatsoever. He pulled, but only got the ball about an inch away from the wall before he was stopped by the unyielding concrete weight, he was surprised by how how much resistance he felt, but then again he supposed that even someone with super strength would struggle to lift a ton if they could only use their fingertips, even if they would have no problem otherwise. It reminded him of a time a few days after he got his powers when he tried doing pull ups and handstand push ups using only a single finger. He had eventually got it down pat after some practice, but there was no question how much more difficult it was compared to the standard versions of the exercises, which had been effortless.

Peter pulled harder to try and lift the concrete block off the floor, but only succeeded in yanking his arm back as his fingers slipped off the smooth surface. He tried again, this time making sure to pinch the ball as best he could to keep a firm grip, even still it was much more difficult to keep his fingers from slipping. He began walking backwards, making his steps slow in order to keep his hand steady, though it did little to help. The chain links clumsily grinded through the pulleys, causing the ball to jerk around unevenly in his grip, something made worse when the concrete block began to sway slightly now that it was suspended in the air. Even so, this time he made it all the way to the dais, but when he went to put his foot on the raised step, his shoes slid half an inch on the smooth concrete and he once again lost his grip as the ball slipped through his fingers for the second time.

THUMP!

The one ton concrete block slammed back into the ground as the ball and chain was quickly reeled back into the wall, not unlike a tape measure would.

"Having trouble, Parker-san? I can reduce the weight if you'd like." Cementoss asked.

"No, it's alright. The weight isn't the issue, it's just a matter of keeping my concentration. I think I'm getting the hang of it."

Aizawa watched as Parker took his socks and shoes off, presumably to get better traction with his monkey-like bare feet, before grabbing hold of the ball and trying again. The fact that Parker had been able to pull the chain out wall at all was a testament to his firm grip and sense of balance. Aizawa had no doubt that lifting the weight would have been light work for him if it weren't for the awkward hand hold and the need to walk backwards onto the dais. Aizawa had honestly expected Parker to grab it by the chain in order to pull it out, only switching grips when things were steady and the exercise truly began. Once he was standing on the dais, all he would have to do then is focus on holding the weight in place, no need to worry about exerting the effort to actively pull on it at that point. Afterall, the hercules hold was an exercise about endurance, not power.

Peter grabbed the ball for his third attempt, this time engaging his spider-stick to keep ahold of it as he walked back, doing the same with his feet to avoid sliding again. He had wanted to see how strong his grip was without relying on his ability to cling to things, but now that he had done so, he wanted to find the true limits of his grip without having to worry about dealing with the slippery ball as it jerked around unpredictably. Even so, he also didn't want to just let his arm hang limp while he relied entirely on his clinging ability to keep his hand glued to the ball. So he only engaged his spider-stick in the center of his palm at the small point where his hand was tangent to the ball on the spot opposite the force vector of the chain pulling the ball away from his hand. It was a failsafe that prevented him from accidentally letting go due to a sudden jerk of the chain, but still required him to use his natural grip strength in order to lift the block.

The stabilizing effect of using his spider-stick on his hand and feet suddenly made the task child's play. He didn't even have to walk backwards anymore. With this new arrangement he could comfortably shuffle sideways, allowing his arm to trail behind him as he walked right over the dais, and made his way over to the wall on the other side of the platform. Once he grabbed the other ball, it was easy to allow the weight of the first block to reel him back in as he shuffled onto the dais in the center of the platform, the weight of one block acting as a counter weight for the other.

Now with equal weight on both arms, he felt the almost pleasant sensation of his chest and shoulder muscles stretching out in response to being pulled in two directions. Noting in the back of his mind that if he were still quirkless that such a thing would almost surely have ripped his arms from their sockets. If not flat out tear him in half.

"Alright, now what?" Peter asked.

"Just hold that stance for as long as possible." Aizawa responded with his stopwatch already out and ticking.

"That should be easy enough. Better get comfortable, I might be here for a while." Peter replied as he shifted his stance to do just that. He even experimented with turning off his spider-stick now that he was settled in, and found he had no trouble maintaining his grip without its help. However, he quickly re-engaged it to prevent himself from accidentally dropping two tons of weight without warning.

A few moments passed. "Are you starting to feel any strain at all?" Aizawa inquired.

"Nope. They should make this into a yoga pose, it's really opening up my lungs. But it needs a fancier name. I shall call this new pose 'The Temple of Dagon.' Close your eyes, deep breath in," Peter squeezed his eyes shut and loudly inhaled in exaggerated fashion, "deep breath out… Namaste. Whew! Feels great, really invigorating. I feel like I could take on a thousand philistines and really let my hair down."

"Well that's sacrilegious," Cementoss stated dryly.

"What do you say we start increasing the weight? Let's work up to five tons on each side," Aizawa replied.

Cementoss complied, but even as the concrete blocks got bigger and heavier, Peter showed little sign of strain. "You're holding up five tons on each arm, how are you feeling?

"That all you got? I'm barely breaking a sweat up here." He taunted, but a noticeable bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Looks like I'm gonna have to actually start trying, Peter thought as he engaged his spider-stick on the tips of his fingers to avoid letting go. Some spiders can lift upto 200x their own body weight, if I have that same proportional strength, then considering my weight of 150 pounds, I should be able to lift around fifteen tons, that means I'm closing in on my theoretical limit here with five on each arm. Of course, I'm not lifting anything, just trying to keep my grip to stop it from falling, but that's not much easier.

"Ten tons. But add the weight slowly." Aizawa ordered.

"Okay, now I'm starting to feel something," Peter announced as he began to feel some strain in his hands and wrists. Nothing painful, but it could result in a slight cramp if he had to hold it for another ten minutes. Reminded him of the time he stayed up all night writing a 5 page essay due the next morning, his hand was so sore the next morning that he had sworn his pencil had given him carpal tunnel.

"Do you need us to stop?" Aizawa asked. He really hadn't expected Parker to hold up past 5 tons, and that was already a mind boggling amount of weight for this exercise.

"No, keep going. I'm just getting started," Peter replied. Though the slight strain is his voice didn't go unnoticed by the two pros.

Peter began to grit his teeth. He was doing all he could to keep his muscles contracted. Just like how it was harder to do a pull up when idly dangling from the bar than it is if you start with your arms at a ninety degree angle, if he let himself get stretched out too much then his muscles wouldn't be able to pull back in. He tried to pull the wrecking balls closer together in order to maintain the slight bend in his elbows that allowed him to engage all the muscles in his arms, chest, and shoulders.

However, as he pulled, he felt his finger tips begin to scrape as the balls grew farther apart. Unwilling to stretch his arms out farther, he instead engaged his spider-stick across the whole length of his fingers instead of just at the fingertips to prevent the balls from slipping out of his grasp. And soon after that, he engaged it across his whole hand, now relying entirely on his clinging ability to maintain his hold and reallocating all that strength he was using to pinch the ball between his fingers to instead try and tuck his elbows closer into his sides.

"We've now reached 10 tons on each side, how are you holding up?" Cementoss asked, looking up at the teen standing stoically upon the platform, head bowed and arms bulging from the strain.

Peter had succeeded in preventing his tight stance from being pulled apart, but this was no longer a test of his grip strength, he had reached that limit two tons ago. Now it was just a matter of how long he could keep his muscles tensed and flexed like this.

"*gasp* *grunt* M-more weight." Peter replied between gritted teeth as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Gotta make sure to take careful, shallow breaths so that I don't accidentally disengage my chest and core muscles by breathing in too deeply, Peter noted as he grit his teeth again, nostrils flaring like a gorilla as he struggled to control his breaths.

Despite Parker's insistence Cementoss was still apprehensive. As the custodian of Gym Gamma, he knew what it looked like when students pushed themselves past their limits. "What do you think, Aizawa? Should we leave it here and see how long he lasts?"

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. This is getting outrageous, something isn't right here. There's no way this kid was anything close to quirkless two months ago. He's hiding something; I need to know his limits. "No, keep adding weight. Look at his hands, if he can still keep his grip with flat open palms like that then he's fine. Because of how the exercise is set up, he'll be forced to let go of the ball long before there's any risk of him tearing a muscle. It's not like we've tied him to the rack, he can let go at any time." Unbeknownst to him, Aizawa's analogy was closer to the truth than he thought. With Peter's hands practically glued to the iron balls thanks to his spider-stick, the idea that he was being stretched out on a rack like a medieval torture victim wasn't too far off.

Cementoss frowned. "Alright, I'll trust your judgment on this one. Increasing to twenty tons." More cement poured on the concrete blocks as they expanded to the size of pickup trucks.

Peter felt a sharp pain shear across his biceps and pectorals. He barely bit back a scream of pain, but the damage was already done: his stance was broken apart and his wingspan was stretched as wide as it would go. If he wasn't sticking his feet to the ground, then he would have been left suspended in air, strung up between the chains. In this position he could offer no resistance to being pulled apart. His strength had already reached its limit. Even still, he refused to let go. It was his durability that was being put to the test now.

"We've passed fifteen tons," Cementoss commented.

I wonder what's stronger, the adhesive strength of my spider-stick or the tensile strength of my tendons and muscle fibers. Which would give out first, will my fingers be peeled from the ball, or would my arms be pulled from their sockets before that? Peter wondered in a bout of morbid curiosity. Of course, he would let go long before it came to that point, but he was becoming increasingly interested in the upper limits of his clinging ability. Out of all the new abilities his new quirk gave him, his spider-stick was the one he understood the least, even including his spider-sense. As far as he could tell he didn't secrete an adhesive—there was no residue and it didn't explain how he could turn the ability on and off at will anywhere on his body—and it didn't match what he had researched about how spiders climb walls. Right now each of his fingers was supporting several tons of force without issue. Even his web fluid wasn't that sticky.

At the sound of his bones creaking from the strain, Peter returned his attention to the increasing weight that threatened to rip him in half. Not sure how much longer I can hold on. "What's the weight at?" Peter cried.

"We've just reached twen-"

SNAP

THUD!

The chain holding up the left block snapped, dropping the block to the ground with a thud. If Peter wasn't sticking his feet to the ground, he would have been thrown across the room by the right chain reeling him in, now that he didn't have the left block acting as a counter-weight to hold him place. But keeping his footing didn't mean he wasn't thrown off balance. He doubled over, bent ninety degrees at the waist as his arm was nearly yanked from his shoulder. He grabbed his right forearm with his now freed up left hand as he tried to stand up straight again. But even with both hands, he was too off balance to pull back the twenty ton weight trying to sweep him off his feet in the biggest match of tug of war Peter had ever seen. He gripped the iron ball as hard as he could, digging his fingertips in with a claw-like grip.

screeeech

THUD!

CRASH!

It had all happened a split-second after the chain snapped. Aizawa jumped up on the platform to assess the situation. Parker had somehow kept his footing and his grip on the second weight despite the extreme whiplash from the first one dropping. A feat that must have taken extreme levels of balance and body control to pull off. Aizawa turned his eyes to the balls and chains. The left one had simply dropped to the ground after its weak link had burst. The chain on the right had been reeled back through the pulley system so fast that the wrecking ball at the end had smashed straight through the short wall that had dispensed the chain. The ball now sat in a pile of rubble on the right side of the platform. Aizawa walked over to examine it, and his eyes widened when he saw 5 small trenches dug into the solid mass of iron. He whipped his head around in an instant and sure enough he saw iron shards on Parker's fingers. He sheared through solid iron with just the grip strength in his fingertips!

Peter was no less flabbergasted than the pro-hero as he looked at his hand. Well, guess that answers the question of what had the lower tensile strength. Apparently the answer was… iron. Yeah, wasn't expecting that one. He looked up to see Aizawa openly gaping at him with wide owl-like eyes.

Peter quickly hid his hand from view by pretending to scratch the back of his neck, causing the bits of iron to clatter to the ground. "Soo… Uh, do I pass the test? Hehe- he… he." He asked awkwardly as he tried to dispel the tension in the room.

Cementoss spoke up for the first time since the chain snapped. "Well you certainly held up better than the chain. Aizawa-san, what size chain did you use, by the way."

Aizawa quickly regained his composure upon being snapped out of his daze. "They were size-20 chains."

Cementoss nodded. "That means they're rated for no more than twenty tons, no wonder it snapped. Well Parker-san, it seems to me that Eraserhead here wasn't expecting you to be able to handle that much weight. Seeing as you clearly surpassed his expectations and went Plus Ultra, I would say that yes, you passed. Be proud, that was a total of forty tons, quite the accomplishment."

Aizawa nodded. "I've never had a student with that much grip strength before. I severely underestimated you. What do you say we get a number of your lifting strength too while we're at it?"

Peter sighed. Great, could I draw any more attention to myself? I can't really refuse though, I've still got six more of these tests that I need to ace if I don't want to get expelled. "Alright, but my upper body is pretty much dead now. I think I pulled a muscle or something too."

Cementoss glanced over to his fellow teacher and decided to throw Parker a bone and give him a break from Aizawa's often draconian methods. "Why don't you take him over to Recovery Girl for a check-up first. You did push him pretty hard there. It could be a problem if he ended up with tendonitis. You won't get accurate results if he's injured, and Recovery Girl will give you an earful if you make those injuries worse. I'll still be here once you get back."

Normally Aizawa would make his students complete all eight tests in one sitting. Afterall, real heroes didn't get the chance to call it quits in the middle of things. If they injured themselves, then they needed to deal with the consequences and learn how to overcome that drawback for the rest of the evaluation or else forfeit all the events they didn't take, which in his eyes was grounds for immediate expulsion. However, this hercules hold wasn't exactly one of the eight tests that Aizawa normally gave, and unlike what Headache #2 had done in the entrance exam against that zero pointer, it wasn't like Parker had injured himself due to reckless quirk use. He had only gotten into this situation because Aizawa had pushed him into it. Plus, Aizawa didn't need to ascertain whether or not Parker was ready for the hero course, that was just a logical deception he told Parker to prevent him from holding back. In reality, Aizawa's mind was already made up on that matter. What he actually needed was to get more information on Parker's quirk, and Cementoss was right about how an injury would interfere with that. Besides, having Recovery Girl perform a few tests could give valuable insight into Parker's physiology.

Aizawa nodded his agreement to Cementoss. "Good idea. Come on Parker, let's get you checked out."

---

The two leisurely walked the maze-like halls of U.A. as they made their way over to the nurse's office.

. . ."So, how are your arms feeling?" Aizawa asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh? Oh. They're, um, they're fine. Just a little sore is all. Doesn't hurt much so long as I'm careful not to stretch it too far." Peter responded. The two still felt awkward around each other due to the stressful experiences surrounding their introduction and the exhausting week that followed. "Uh, thanks for asking." Peter added in an effort to prevent the awkward silence from reestablishing itself.

"As a teacher it's my responsibility to make sure my students are in their best condition. *cough* It's only logical." Aizawa dismissed.

Peter snickered at the slight fluster he caught from the usually inaffable teacher, a warm smile settling on his face. "You know what, Aizawa? You may come off as all crusty, but beneath it all you're actually a big softie, aren't you? You're alright in my book."

Aizawa let out a long grumbling sigh. "Simmer down, you're going to give me a headache. Besides, we're almost there."

Sure enough, after turning one last corner, the pair arrived at the door labeled Nurse's Office. "Wait here for a moment while I explain things to Recovery Girl," Aizawa said as he walked through the door.

"Aizawa-kun, what brings you to my office so bright and early? Your heroics and homeroom classes won't start for hours."

"I'm here on a pet project actually. I have an upcoming first year student I'm considering transferring to my class from the support course, so I've been putting him through my orientation…"—Aizawa proceeded to explain Parker's unique status to Recovery Girl—"...In light of all that, I'll need you to perform those tests to see what Parker's hiding under the hood."

Recovery Girl nodded. "I see, a quirkless boy suddenly becoming world class overnight, that certainly is quite the unique situation." She scanned Aizawa's reaction as she asked her next question, "Does anyone else know about the boy's peculiar status, by chance?"

Aizawa shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of. So far it's only me, All Might, and now you. Though All Might will be reporting all this to the principal as well."

"Good. It's best we keep it that way. News of abnormal quirks like these can cause quite the stir, and as the saying goes, you can't put the genie back in the bottle." If Recovery Girl didn't know that All Might had already used One for All, she would have suspected that to be the cause of the sudden change in Parker, but just because that possibility was ruled out didn't mean there weren't other esoteric means by which such a metamorphosis could have occurred. Though why one as unassuming as Peter Parker had become the epicenter for such things was a mystery she had yet to puzzle out. And something she would certainly be consulting with Toshinori about. But for now, she would have to focus on getting her own findings.

"Call the boy back in here, no point in leaving him to grow suspicious from waiting outside too long."

Aizawa nodded and went to bring Parker inside.

"Pleasure to meet you young man. Please, have a seat and tell me how you're feeling."

"Oh, we've met before actually."

Recovery Girl tilted her head at that. "Really? When would that have been?"

"At the entrance exam. I carried another examinee with a large tail over to you to be healed. Though I suppose that wasn't a very proper introduction. He's alright, isn't he? You were able to fully heal him, right?"

"Ah yes, I remember that patient, he had quite the number done on him. I was quite surprised to learn that you carried him from several battle centers away, to think you would be that same boy from back then. I'm happy to say that he made a full recovery, thanks in no small part to you getting him to me so quickly."

"Well that's a relief." Peter sighed.

"Indeed it is. Here, take some candies as a thank you," she said as grabbed an All Might pez dispenser from her desk and gave him a few of the small pieces of candy.

"Ooh, candy, far be it from me to say no to free food. Pleased to officially meet you as well. The name's Peter Parker. Mhm! Are these bananas flavored? Come to think of it, that kid's tail kinda looked like a squashed banana before you treated him, how's that for irony? Actually, on second thought, I think I've lost my appetite."

"Let's get to your check-up then. From what I've heard from Aizawa, that kind of exercise can be pretty grating on your nervous system. Try squeezing this stress ball a few times. Are you feeling any cramps, numbness, or weakness? Any chills or spasms?"

"Yeah, a little discomfort and soreness in my hands and wrists."

"Just a little?" she inquired as she prodded and pinched around his hands and forearms.

Peter nodded. "Just a little. But my biceps and pectorals are pretty sore."

Recovery Girl knitted her brow at that. "I would have expected the major muscle groups to be the areas experiencing the least strain comparatively. We'll do scans later. For now let's stay focused on the nervous system. I imagine that you would have had some difficulty breathing while you were up there. Any shortness of breath, disorientation, lightheadedness, or dizziness?"

"Now that you mention it, I never get dizzy or disoriented anymore. Though I did experience a little lightheadedness towards the end, but I'm completely fine now."

Recovery Girl released her grip on his wrist "Hmm. Well your pulse has long since returned to normal, so that's to be expected. Still, it's good to be thorough. Look at my finger." She grabbed a small flashlight and shined it in one eye, and then the other.

Peter obeyed and tracked the movement of her finger with his eyes as she moved it from side to side.

"Pupils are normal. Will you read off that eye chart on the wall over there for me."

"Sure thing. My eyesight is pretty good if I do say so myself." Peter replied as he turned his attention to the pyramid shaped chart of random letters tacked to the far wall. "The bottom row has the letters E, I, S, H, E. The next row up has the letters S, N, A, M. The middle row is L, I, N. The second from the top is O and B, and I think it comes as no surprise to any of us that the massive letter at the top there is a G."

Aizawa suppressed a smirk at the innocuous test Parker had unwittingly walked right into. You're right, that's some pretty good eyesight you got there Mr. Parker—Better than 20/20 even—and Recovery Girl just confirmed you're not wearing contacts. But something tells me that those big thick glasses you wore in every picture of you from America weren't just for show, and your family is too poor to afford lasik surgery, there's no way you would have done something like that right after your uncle's death. So just how did your eyesight miraculously improve all of a sudden? And more importantly, why did you lie about it? I hope you have a good answer prepared Headache #1.

"Excellent, now if you'll just lay back, we can take some scans, heal you up, and you'll be free to go."

---

After another half dozen tests, Peter was entreated to the strange sensation of Recovery Girl's quirk. There was an itchy feeling beneath his skin for a few seconds as he felt his muscles knitting themselves back together, but once it passed he was amazed at how quickly all the soreness left him, taking a weight off his shoulders he didn't know was there. Come to think of it, it probably healed up some residual damage from his fight with Shocker, he didn't feel the injuries anymore after a few days of rest, but cracked ribs don't disappear without a trace in just a few days, the healing process doesn't end once the cracks were pasted up with new cells and he regained full functionality, it took time for all the microscopic substructures to regrow properly, Recovery Girl had probably just saved him from some developing some internal scar tissue.

"How do you feel?" Aizawa asked.

"Great. I feel refreshed like I just got a relaxing massage. *yawn* A little sleepy though, which is also a common effect of relaxing massages."

"My quirk accelerates your body's ability to heal, but healing takes energy, using up too much energy could end up killing you. So I usually tell people to take the day off to rest after receiving a dose of my quirk. Here, take some gummies, your blood sugar will be on the low end after that."

Peter dumped the small handful of gummy bears into his mouth. "Thanks! I feel better already," He responded with his mouth still full of the chewy candy. "Wait, did you just say I could have died from that!?"

"You're free to go now, but don't work yourself too hard." Recovery Girl finished, paying no mind to Peter's comment, prompting Peter to question whether or not he had even heard her correctly.

"Head back over to the gym, I'll be right behind you," Aizawa instructed.

Peter clapped his hands against his face a few times to wake himself up fully and put his mind back on track. "Alrighty then, I think I remember my way back. Don't be a loose caboose, and trail too far behind, Aizawa!" Peter said enthusiastically as he waved goodbye and walked out the door.

Once the door was closed Aizawa and Recovery Girl shared a pointed look. "So, what's the damage? Is he a freak of nature?"

Recovery Girl sat back in her swivel chair and let out a sigh. "He's unusual, but not in any of the usual ways. And with only simple scans I can only conclude so much."

"Meaning?"

"Most mutant type quirks introduce a distinctly inhuman aspect to the user's anatomy: the Plus Alpha elements. For example, Peter mentioned that examinee with the tail. He had an altered musculoskeletal structure to accommodate the new limb. But Parker seems almost entirely typical, at least on the surface. The most unique feature I found in my scans was a surprising level of complexity in the dermis, with a much higher than average concentration of capillaries, nerve endings, glands, and follicles. Particularly surprising was the presence of vellum hair in glabrous areas like the palms of his hands, in fact that was where it was most heavily concentrated. That level of sophistication hints that there's probably some kind of additional function there, perhaps an increased ability to regulate body temperature, but I don't understand why it's there or what it does."

"So all you found is that his hands are extra hairy? I suppose that makes sense for a monkey-type quirk, plus he's an American, they tend to be hairier than the average asian so your point of reference may be skewed."

Recovery Girl shook her head. "No. Though you're right that Americans are much hairier and sweatier than Asians, I doubt that alone could account for it. Chimpanzees have a similar number of hair follicles as humans. Their hairs are just thicker and longer, the real difference is that humans have ten times as many sweat glands to aid with long distance running, and our small vellum hairs are more efficient for wicking. Parker is further evolved in that area. His dermal glands are much more developed than a standard homo sapiens, almost like they're constructed to secrete more than just sweat, and his hairs are finer and more sensitive to touch too."

"So he's less chimp-like than you and I are." Definitely not what Aizawa wanted to hear.

"In that regard, yes. In other aspects it's much less clear. That's the only difference in structure that I could find from the standard hominin template. The other differences were all differences of degree, and it's much harder to identify differences in physiology than differences in anatomy. He generally has the same blueprint as other humans, but he's far more robust and efficient. For example, you were correct that his musculoskeletal system is heavily specialized for jumping, climbing, and maneuverability with a particular emphasis on flexibility, body control, and explosive power, all at the expense of strength. In short, an acrobat's dream. I've no doubt he could climb a flagpole while keeping his body perfectly parallel to the ground."

"How is that at the expense of strength? I just saw him hold forty tons."

"Relative to his other abilities. No one's denying that his strength is still quite incredible. But from what you described, Parker didn't lift forty tons, he maintained a stable posture against resistance, a feat more of control than of strength. It's the difference between a handstand and a pull up. If you asked Parker to try and deadlift one of those twenty ton blocks I doubt he could do it."

"I can't imagine how that could be the case," Aizawa retorted with a frown. "There's no way his hand grip can create more resistance than all the major muscle groups in his lower body could overcome."

"Ask him to give it a try if you don't believe me. Strength is determined by the force of muscular contraction. Like stretching and compressing a spring. But where Parker shines is his resilience, the tensile strength of his muscle fibers is incredible, his tendons, ligaments, and the cartilage in his joints is particularly tough. A rare case of the small muscle groups being stronger than the large ones. Most people only use about 20% of their full strength most of the time. The brain automatically places limits on muscle contraction to prevent your muscles from tearing themselves apart and causing accidental injury. Pro-heroes can often access a much larger percentage due to their extreme conditioning, but most still don't approach their body's full potential. Parker on the other hand is soo resilient that he doesn't have to worry about hurting himself as much, his muscles can much more easily withstand the force of their own contractions. His body hasn't realized that yet, so his brain is still used to limiting him to using only a small fraction of his true strength most of the time. And usually there's never any need to use more than that. But with practice, his body will learn to access that strength more readily when put under stress. Your hercules hold test created the perfect conditions for such a scenario. A normal person would strain the tendons in the hands and forearms, risking tendonitis. As such they would be forced to let go of the weight long before they met enough resistance to strain their muscles. The tendons just aren't built to transfer that much force to and from the muscles, typically that kind of stress is put on the skeleton directly. But as I stated before, Parker's connective tissue is much tougher than the rest of his muscles and he has a grip strength that any rock climber would envy, allowing him to slowly draw on more and more of his true strength. Whereas a normal person would need to be in a life or death scenario before their brain allowed them to use close to 100% of their full strength due to the threat of injury, I suspect Parker will continue to showcase these short sporadic bouts of super strength with increasing frequency as his body realizes it doesn't have to worry about hurting itself."

Recovery Girl pulled up some scans to show Aizawa before elaborating, "Of course that doesn't mean there's no risk whatsoever. His resilience isn't so far ahead of his strength that he can't hurt himself, while my scans found little injury to his bones and connective tissue, they found major muscle tears in his biceps and pectorals."

Aizawa swung his clenched fist down to his side at that revelation. "Blast! That means I pushed the poor kid too hard. I thought he would just let go at the first sign of pain. That exercise must have felt like torture, like I was ripping him limb from limb." He ran a hand down his tired face. "Alright, duly noted. He's risk-prone and has difficulty recognizing when he's gone past his normal limits. I'll be more careful with egging him on in the future. Anything else?"

She nodded. "Yes. The muscle tears themselves were expected, but I was surprised to find that they were already healing."

Aizawa glanced at the clock on the wall. "It can't be more than half an hour since the exercise, you're saying that his body already made significant progress towards repairing itself that quickly?"

"Nothing eye opening. He would have been finished with the initial stage of reconstruction by the end of the day. That's still several times faster than regular homo sapiens, but among mutant type quirks, such a thing actually isn't uncommon, especially when they're young. That's not what surprised me. The speed of the healing isn't as important as the method. It was much more efficient than it had any right to be. You'll notice how even after I used my quirk to heal him he was still quite chipper and energetic. Even with naturally accelerated healing you can't escape the energy cost involved with healing. It's just a matter of how quickly you can expend that energy and how much stamina you have to fuel the healing process. For an injury like that, my quirk should have left him wiped out for the rest of the day."

"So why didn't it? What makes his healing factor so different from others that he's able to expend less energy healing his injuries?"

"When I took a closer look at the muscle tears during my scans, I found that the damaged area was being filled with totipotent stem cells."

Aizawa took on a look of consternation at the unfamiliar terminology. "You mean like medically induced regeneration? I don't know much about the procedure, but I've heard of people getting bone marrow transplants from a much younger donor that give them access to pluripotent cells that can transform into more specialized cells for a more complete healing process. Is that the answer? He has some stockpile of multipurpose cells that reduce the need to expend energy on cell division?"

"Yes it's similar to that, but on an even higher level. Pluripotent stem cells are cells with 'plural potential' meaning they can transform into multiple different types of cells to build new cellular structures from scratch. You find them more often in young children that are still developing. The younger the better. Once you're fully grown your body will just repair damage to the pre-existing structure through regular cell division. If Parker had pluripotent regeneration, it'd be impressive, but regenerative quirks like that exist. Dr. Connor's epimorphosis quirk works off the principle of pluripotency for example. But Parker's body was producing totipotent stem cells, which are cells with 'total potential.' Those are cells capable of transforming into any cell type, including embryonic cells. You could use these cells to create a complete clone of someone. That means Parker's body is actively rebuilding itself from the ground up, a complete rebirth, and it seems to be a recent development, I don't see any other way his eyesight could have miraculously healed than through this totipotent regeneration, and that process that usually stops shortly after children first develop their quirks around age 4. If Parker really was virtually quirkless until recently, that means that he's a true late bloomer, catching up on all the development he lost out on when he was a toddler right now. His quirk is evolving before our eyes. I've never seen anything like it." That last sentence wasn't entirely true, she had seen two other quirks with that potential, but Aizawa didn't need to know about those.

"So what should we call this quirk then: Super Human?"

"Simian is a fine enough name, while the idea that it's centered around monkeys and apes is a tad misleading, it does describe him quite nicely. It gives him access to the full potential of the last forty thousand years of human evolution, which includes the abilities of our ape ancestors."

"What about his brain scans? I noticed he had impossibly sharp senses, I theorize it's some kind of psychic ability?"

"I'm not a neurologist so unfortunately I can't say much in that department. He does have increased brain activity. But most of that heightened brain activity is not in the frontal lobe, which is what you would expect from an intelligence boosting quirk. Rather his brain seems to be specialized for subconscious processing and reflexive action with a higher proportion of white matter over gray matter. So no, it doesn't seem like any kind of psychic ability. His intelligence doesn't come from his quirk, to the contrary, his heightened senses are due to him being more in tune with his animal instincts."

"How is that possible? From what I observed during the sprint test those senses must border on precognitive."

"Yes, it is incredibly well optimized. There were incredible amounts of interconnectivity between the cerebellum, brainstem, and parietal lobe, all of which were directly hardwired to the hypothalamus. That's what was responsible for that highly coordinated instantaneous fight or flight response you observed in response to your starting pistol."

"So that's how he was able to do things like control his heart rate at will?" Aizawa asked.

"Not at will. It's all subconscious, just incredibly efficient and well coordinated. Usually you would need a conscious input to contextualize sensory data. Your subconscious mind doesn't understand the concept of a 50-meter dash. It only understands the vague concepts of danger and safety. If you don't perceive the sound of a starting pistol to be dangerous, then your heart rate shouldn't spike in response. Likewise your heart rate shouldn't instantly stabilize in response to crossing a finish line."

"Apparently Parker's subconscious didn't get the memo."

"I suspect it has something to do with his parietal lobe. He has more brain activity in that region than any other, it's off the charts. His interoception, proprioception, vestibular system, and somatosensory cortex are all much more highly developed than in any animal I know of, except for insects perhaps. By contrast, his other four senses, sight, sound, smell, and taste, are all much closer to normal levels. Although I did notice that signals from the optic nerve seem to be integrated directly into the parietal lobe as opposed to being received second hand through the dorsal stream of the occipital lobe."

"In english please."

"He has a highly developed sense of feeling, balance, and hand-eye coordination."

"I thought you said his eyesight was normal."

"From what I could tell at a glance, his eyes and visual cortex are normal—a bit above average. This is an entirely different matter. Visual information travels from the eyes, down the optic nerve, and is then processed in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain which is what creates the picture we see when we look at things. The occipital lobe then gives that information to the parietal lobe which is in charge of the hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness that we need to actually interact with our environment rather than just look at it. Parker is different, that visual information goes directly to the parietal lobe instead of taking a detour to the occipital lobe. In practice that means Parker can see and react to things before he even knows what he's looking at. If you threw a ball at him, he would catch it out of mid-air before he even realized you threw something at him. He knows where the things around him are before he even knows what those things look like."

"I'm still not sure I follow, but if you'll write that all down in a report I'll analyze it later."

"Of course, Aizawa-chan. Go meet up with your student now, it's not good to keep teenagers waiting around for too long."

---

Aizawa walked the halls back to Gym Gamma. It was still technically the morning, but this had proven to be a long day for him. The more I learn about Parker's quirk the less I understand. And if I can't wrap my head around it, then I doubt Headache #1 knows himself. I'm starting to doubt that I'll be able to get any meaningful answers out of him. Aizawa shook his head. Stressing about the nature of his quirk isn't going to get me anywhere. Regardless of the inner workings of his quirk, Parker has been nothing but one case of suspicious behavior after another. He's hiding something; how much that secret ties into his quirk is another question, but at the rate things are going every answer just leads to two more questions. Looks like I'm going to have to make peace with the fact that I won't be able to uncover all the details in just one day.

By this point Aizawa's train of thought was interrupted as walked through the door to Gym Gamma to find Headache #1 hovering around Cementoss like a man obsessed.

"So is your skin actually made of cement? How does your body make that? Do you have to take limestone supplements with your meals? How is it scientifically possible for you to telepathically control cement? Why cement? Does it only work for cement? Why not other materials? Why did you decide to go into Japanese literature? Is your skull also cube shaped?"

"Uuugh… It's like Nejire all over again." Cementoss sighed. What had started out as standard small talk had slowly devolved into Peter barraging him with questions.

"Wait, who's Nejire?"

"Parker! Stop badgering Cementoss. Remember, you still have six trials you need to pass if you want to avoid being expelled."

Peter visibly deflated. "Alright, I'm sorry. But I mean, come on, you've got to be at least a little curious. Just think about it, it could have been anything, but out of everything, he chose to minor in Modern Japanese literature. There's gotta be a story behind that."

"Not really, I just really liked reading as a kid, but I never got into the old classics like One Piece or Brandon Sanderson, so I decided to focus on more modern literature instead," Cementoss replied.

"Huh!? That's it? That's the reason? On second thought, don't answer my other questions. The mystery is probably more interesting than the actual answer. And hold on, are you saying that you've never read Brandon Sanderson? How can you even claim to be a book lover when you haven't even read the greatest author of all time!"

Not for the first time that day Aizawa felt like he was on the verge of having an aneurysm. I'm going to have to deal with this headache for the rest of the year aren't I?

≈*≈ Peter suddenly felt his Spider-sense blare as the sluggish sensation of having his quirk erased washed over him. "Hey! What was that for?"

Aizawa silently returned his quirk but ignored him. "Cementoss, could you please create a twenty ton barbell?" He turned back to Peter who had brought himself back to attention. "You were able to hold twice that much weight, so deadlifting it should be no problem, right?"

"Errh, right. I can do that."

Aizawa nodded to Cementoss and watched as a massive concrete barbell rose out of the ground.

Peter walked up to the massive weight and wrapped his fingers around the bar before something occurred to him. "Just one question: What exactly is 'deadlifting'?"

"You can't be serious."

"What? I'm a nerd, not a jock. I've never done this weight lifting stuff before."

Aizawa suppressed a growl rising in his throat. "Start by squatting down like you're about to sit in a chair, grip the bar with both hands, palms facing towards you, and then lift the bar by standing up straight. Lift with your knees, not your back or arms."

"Oh, okay, that's simple enough." Peter got into position and tried to lift the weight, but it wouldn't budge. "Grrr huuumph! Eeerr, and up… gah, huh, huh," he panted. "Are you sure this is the same weight as before? Maybe you didn't pull it out of the ground completely, certainly feels like it's still attached to the floor."

Cementoss frowned. "I assure you it's twenty tons. I'm surprised, I thought this would be easy for you… are you sure you're lifting with your knees?–"

"Yes! I'm sure I'm lifting with my knees!… I think." Peter tried to lift the weight a couple more times, but to no avail. "Sorry Aizawa, I can't do it. Guess I'm still too tired from before."

What do you know, Recovery Girl was right. He's only as strong as the situation demands. Still, I didn't think he would subconsciously restrain himself to this degree, this is less than half the strength he showed before. The mind's a pretty powerful thing. I just hope he also instinctively holds himself back when fighting other people. It'd be a problem if he inadvertently sent his classmates to the ER during a sparring match.

"Reduce it to ten tons," Aizawa ordered.

Peter tried again with the now reduced weight, after gritting his teeth and straining every muscle in his lower body, he found he was just barely able to get the barbell all the way up before dropping it back down to the ground with another huge crash.

"I assume you're not going to attempt another rep?"

"No *huh* way *huh*" He replied between gasps. "I'm done with being a human earth mover for the day."

Aizawa nodded. "That's just as well. Congratulations Parker. Even for a one rep max, ten tons is nothing to scoff at. Though, keep in mind that in a real life scenario you're not going to have the benefit of the perfect weight distribution and grip that a barbell offers, and the chaotic atmosphere of a real emergency is going to throw off your technique as well; moving heavy debris is going to require a lot more dynamic movement than simply lifting a barbell a few centimeters off the ground. So for now your functional limit is seven tons. If you try to lift more than that while out in the middle of the action you're only going to leave yourself open and vulnerable, and likely even hurt yourself in the process. Remember: anything that turns you into a liability for your allies instead of an asset is almost never worth it. But all in all, good work today, you've exceeded my expectations. Let's move on to the next test."

Peter had been hunched over his hands on his knees as he tried catching his breath, but upon hearing Aizawa's rare words of praise, he looked up and allowed a giddy smirk to crawl onto his face as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Well, what are we waiting for then?"

---

Test #3: Standing Long Jump

"Thirty meters, very impressive." Looks like his quirk file was right when it said he was good at jumping.

---

Test #4: Repeated Side Steps

"250 steps in a minute."

---

Test #5: Ball Throw

Peter looked at the softball in his hand. "So I just throw it as far as I can and your device will measure the distance?"

"That's right. Anything is allowed so long as you don't leave the circle."

Peter shrugged. "Alright then, let's give it a shot." It would have been easier if he could have used his webs for these tests. He could have easily made a slingshot of some kind, or spun the ball over his head at the end of a line to wind it up better. But between his super strength and his spider-sense guiding his movements, he didn't think he'd have any problem getting a good enough score.

Peter grinned as he gave his best sportscaster impersonation. "And here comes Parker walking upto the pitcher's plate, he's gonna give us a real fast ball today, but this batter's been hitting nothin but homers, and he's gonna be swinging for the hills again. It's two strikes so far, will he get a third? Come on, swing, batter-batter! Swing, batter-batter!"

"Parker, will you stop messing around and just throw the darn ball?"

"Sheesh, tough crowd. Okay, here goes nothing." Peter struck a pitcher's pose with comical exaggeration, swinging one leg over his head in a perfect vertical split before taking a big step forward and twisting his whole upper body as he threw the ball at a perfect forty-five degree angle, the ball disappearing over the horizon. "And it's out of the park! A clean sweep for the Yankees!"

"Ugh, Americans."

"Oh come on, Aizawa, lighten up. If I've gotta do these tests then I might as well have some fun with it. So what's my score?"

Aizawa glanced at his device. "386.8 meters. Pretty good, though for someone capable of lifting ten tons I expected a lot better" he responded with a sly smirk.

"Oh come on, the physics behind those two things are completely different. You're comparing the ability to do work with the ability to impart impulse."

Aizawa knew that Parker was right to some degree, but enjoyed needling the kid. Besides, he had to learn not to get a big head. "Seems to me like your strength from earlier was just a fluke," Aizawa teased. Thanks to Recovery Girl, he knew that the real problem was that Parker wouldn't be able to summon his full strength for something mundane like throwing a softball, but Parker didn't know that, and so Aizawa was free to hold it over his head.

"I'll show you what is and isn't a fluke," Peter grumbled. "Come on, what's the next test?"

---

Test #6: Seated Toe Touch

"Really? You want me to touch my toes?"

"I thought you had something to prove? This better be one impressive toe touching otherwise I'll be forced to conclude that your words from before were all bark and no bite."

"Just because it's a lame test doesn't mean I'm not going to ace it still. I may not look it, but I'm actually pretty flexible, you know." Peter sat on the ground with his legs straight out in front of him, feet pressed flat against the side of the toe touch box and hands resting on the ruler attached to the top. Peter folded himself in half at the waist, his chin reaching past his knees and his wrists reaching past his toes.

Seeing as his fingertips were far past the end of the ruler, Aizawa had to take out a tape measure to measure just how far he had stretched. "It seems your dexterity is even more impressive than your strength, point taken."

---

Test #7: Sit Ups

"three hundred in a minute, that's about five every second, that might just be a new record actually. Although you did have to hang upside down from a pull-up bar to do it."

"I admit it was a bit unorthodox, but hey, whatever works. It's all about maintaining that momentum, you know?"

Aizawa shrugged. "Whatever works."

---

Test #8: Distance Run

"One kilometer in a minute and twenty-eight seconds."

"Too easy, I'm barely even winded."

"That's nice to hear, we'll be putting that stamina of yours to good use. Peter Parker…"

Peter looked up at Aizawa in anticipation.

"Welcome to the Hero Course."

"All Right!" Peter shouted and pumped his fist in the air. "Not that there was ever any doubt. Even you have to admit that I aced those tests."

Peter bragged, but it was mostly for show. If he was being honest with himself he had a very little frame of reference for the kind of standards a world class school like U.A. would have. Sure, Peter was confident in his quirk—strange as the method by which he obtained it might be—but the students at U.A. were quite literally one in a million. As far as he knew, outliers like him were the norm here. And he wasn't fool enough to think that his shenanigans in the entrance exam was an accurate way to compare him to his super human peers. So hearing Aizawa's confirmation that he could stand on the same level as other hero course students did a great deal to take the edge off his nerves.

"Indeed, you've proven without a shadow of a doubt that you belong here." Now comes the hard part, Aizawa thought. I've somehow got to convince a fifteen year old kid to confess his deepest secrets and anxieties to a man he's only known for a week and doesn't particularly like. I could start by probing him, ask about his uncle and background and see if he slips up and reveals any key information. On the other hand, Parker's not stupid. He's probably thought up a good cover already, and the moment I bring up his past he's going to get suspicious. He'll gather as much information on what I know as I will on him, and once he's ascertained what information I have to work with, he'll dance around my questions and weave a tale convincing and airtight enough that I'll never get to the truth. With that in mind, it would probably be better to confront him right off the bat and not give him any time to think. If he's flustered, he's more likely to slip up.

It may come off a little strong, but I've never been one to sugarcoat things and I'm not starting now. Aizawa cleared his throat. "That being said, I wouldn't be celebrating just yet."

Peter's voice died mid cheer as he watched Aizawa pull out a sheet of paper. "Before I sign this form to officially modify your class schedule, there's something we need to clear up first. As part of my standard teaching procedure I elected to conduct a bit of a background check on you. According to your aunt and just about everyone else I talked to, you were legally quirkless in America. Would you mind shedding some light on that for me, please?"

Peter went wide-eyed. "You- What!? Who gave you permission to go snooping around in my past? My personal life is none of your business!"

"You gave permission. All I did was use the information you included in your application. As a representative of UA High School, and as a pro-hero, if I suspect you're not being honest with us, I'm within my rights to bar you entry into this school until I'm satisfied, and if I suspect villainous activity like quirk fraud, then I don't have to worry about getting a warrant before investigating. It's high time we got down to brass tacks. You're not in America anymore, Parker, you're a foreigner who's been keeping secrets about your sketchy history. I don't have to respect your right to privacy if I feel it's necessary. I've been courteous so far, just looking through the information you provided and making a few phone calls. And now I'm offering you a chance to explain. This isn't about your teenage insecurities or juvenile gossip. I don't care how shy you are about it, you're going to tell me what the deal is, understood?"

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! How much does he know? Has he been following me? What if he searches my apartment and finds my Spider-Man stuff? Wait, have all these tests just been a way for him to gather information about my quirk? I walked right into that one. Does he already know I'm Spider-Man? There's no way he could have discovered that, right? Is he just baiting me? Maybe I should just confess before he calls my bluff. What? No, you idiot, you'd get expelled. Forget about being expelled, they'd lock me up! Oh get a grip on yourself already!Peter mentally smacked himself as he schooled his expression and quickly considered his options. Don't panic. We knew this could happen, we planned for a situation like this.

"Alright, alright, geez! You don't have to throw the whole book at me," Peter pivoted. "I'm just a late bloomer, that's all."

Peter liked this explanation for a multitude of reasons. It sounded like a straight answer on the surface, but in reality it could mean a million different things depending on which conditions were involved. Most people didn't know the science behind late bloomers and the different kinds of quirklessness, so they would just take the statement at face value without realizing the inherent vagueness. And even if Aizawa did know enough about the topic to call Peter's bluff, Peter could just feign ignorance about the true nature of his quirk status. It's not like he's ever taken a DNA test (well, he had, but it was DIY, so there were no medical records of it). There was no way to prove Peter was lying so long as he was careful not to reveal too many details.

But if Aizawa wasn't satisfied with his answers and demanded he take a blood test, then it was over for him regardless. Even if his identity as Spider-Man wasn't uncovered as a result, he'd still probably be turned into a lab rat at some secret government facility due to the anomalous results. Suffice to say, Peter had no intention of ever allowing things to get to that point. And in order to avoid that turn of events, everything hinged on Aizawa being satisfied enough with his story to not ask further questions.

And so Peter resolved to keep to this vague explanation until he figured out what Aizawa had in mind. So long as he did that, there'd be no reason to assume his quirk was anything more than an uncommon—though not unusual—case of delayed development. That would be better for everyone.

And with such a comforting and easy to swallow explanation being served on a silver platter, why would anyone want to dig deeper and risk having to deal with all the disconcerting implications that came with it? Let Aizawa jump to conclusions all he wants. Let him construct his own version of the story, filling in the gaps with his own assumptions.

Peter remembered a story he heard while watching one of Dr. Connors's online lectures. He said that fooling a smart person was easiest when you let them fool themselves. No one is immune to confirmation bias. Once they have their desired conclusion in mind, they'll form a theory to reach that conclusion without fail. With a fool you could poke holes in their story and make them realize their error, but smart people know all the clever loopholes and workarounds to reconcile those difficulties and ensure they never come close to encountering the truth, so they'll convince themselves of all the half truths necessary to maintain their view. No one likes having their hypothesis disproven afterall. Even trained scientists whose whole job is to try and prove themselves wrong still get frustrated to see all their hard work go down the toilet and then be forced to admit they were wrong and go back to the drawing board. That kind of thing can ruin careers. It's why academic consensus is so hard to overturn, and why theories like geocentrism lasted as long as they did.

It was a cautionary tale, and for someone like Aizawa who was trained in detective work as part of his heroics degree, he really should have known better than to look for evidence to fit his conclusion, instead of the other way around. Unfortunately for him, truth is often stranger than fiction, and the idea of getting a quirk from a radioactive spider bite wasn't even on Aizawa's radar.

And as much as Aizawa would deny it, he wasn't unbiased in his assessment either: Headache #1 had wormed their way into his heart somehow. And once you believed someone's character was generally good and innocent, it became all that much harder to suspect that any other aspect of their life could be dissident either. When all you ever see is their good side, you don't suspect there's anything else; like the first time you see a superhero wearing their eyeglasses or waiting in line at McDonald's, it's obvious in hindsight that having a strong quirk, being famous, or a good person, doesn't make you exempt from vision problems or waiting in line, but it's still jarring to come to that realization that even celebrities are still normal people in their personal lives.

That made things much easier for Peter, now he just needed to figure out what information Aizawa already knew and what his suspicions were, from there it would be as easy as telling him what he wanted to hear and Peter would be home free.

The only thing Aizawa has let on so far is that he knows I was listed as quirkless in America. I've also already revealed to Setsuna that I was diagnosed as double jointed as a kid and grew up thinking I was quirkless, so even if Aizawa doesn't already know about that, it's inevitable he'll find out about it sooner or later through Doc Conners, so I have to factor that into my cover story.

Thankfully, my Simian ruse covers the toe joint problem almost completely. The idea I believed myself quirkless is more problematic. The simplest explanation for my quirk would be to convince Aizawa that I'm not a late bloomer, but rather that I intentionally hid my quirk, or that my quirk was weak enough growing up that I didn't notice it. Problem with that is that I can't outright claim I faked my quirklessness without creating a lot of new problems to deal with stateside. I could hint at it, and make Aizawa think that's the truth while my late bloomer story is just a cover. But that's just encouraging Aizawa to believe that I'm keeping secrets and hiding things, the absolute last thing I want on his mind. But then again, if Aizawa is already thinking I'm hiding things, it might be worthwhile to steer him towards a more innocuous secret than the reality. In any case, it would probably be best to keep that as an emergency plan B. For now I'll keep my focus on making my late bloomer story as airtight as possible.

First thing on the docket is to figure which type of quirklessness he thinks I suffered from. There aren't many types that could produce late bloomers, so it should make for a relatively simple process of elimination. Still, it would be best if I can feign one of the more common types. The more information Aizawa knows, and the closer he gets to the truth, the more contrived and peculiar my explanation will have to be in order to remain plausible.

There were several types of quirklessness, but to understand them, one first needs to understand the X-gene. Contrary to what the name implied, it was not a single gene but a whole 24th pair of chromosomes (but the name 'X-chromosome' was already taken, and 'X-gene' had already been popularized), the technical name was chromosome 24, also called the 'Superior Chromosome,' because it's what makes the difference between homo sapiens and homo superior.

Everyone inherited twenty-four chromosomes from each parent, so two copies of each. The 22 standard pairs, 1 pair of sex chromosomes (an X-Chromosome from your mother and either an X or a Y-Chromosome from your father), and then finally a pair of Superior Chromosomes.

That meant that if your parent had an X-gene, you would almost certainly inherit it. This is where the first type of quirklessness came in: aneuploid quirklessness, also called sapiens syndrome, was when someone only had the base twenty-three sets of chromosomes. In laymen's terms, they were normal pre-quirk humans, the humble homo sapiens. After so many generations of interbreeding, this type was increasingly uncommon, only really found among the elderly and blood purists.

Next was monosomic quirklessness, by far the most common type of quirklessness. This came from when only one of your parents passed down an X-gene, meaning you only possessed a single chromosome in the haploid set. These were the children of interracial marriages, hybrids between homo sapiens and homo superior.

Thankfully, haploid X-genes only sometimes resulted in quirklessness and almost never resulted in a full blown disorder. Oftentimes one X-gene was enough to inherit the quirk of the parent you got it from. However, the lack of a second usually meant there was something vital missing that prevented the X-gene from fully expressing itself, resulting in one of three types of monosomic quirklessness: inert, generic, and vestigial quirklessness.

Inert monosomic was when the X-gene was completely dormant. The DNA was simply never transcribed or translated. The X-gene might as well not exist for all the difference it made. People with this type of quirklessness were phenotypically indistinguishable from those with sapiens syndrome. Whether the dormancy was due to something present in the X-gene or the other chromosomes that prevented the activation, or something missing from the X-gene, was currently unknown. The leading theory was that it was due to a deficiency of the epigenome, though most believed that there were many different causes that could lead to inert monosomic quirklessness. Regardless, all efforts to forcefully activate inert X-genes had yet to produce any fruit.

This was the type of quirklessness that Peter suffered from, and as far as he knew, he was the first to overcome the condition. He hypothesized this was due to somehow inheriting a second X-gene from the spider that bit him, but he hadn't had a chance to do any actual research as of yet, so it was just a guess.

Generic monosomic quirklessness was when the genes of the Superior Chromosome were properly expressed, but the quirk factor failed to develop any Plus Alpha elements.

Plus Alpha elements were the individual biological systems and structures that made up the anatomy of one's quirk. For example, in Ojiro's case, it was the new bones and muscles that made up his tail, as well as the part of his brain's motor cortex in charge of moving the tail. And for Peter… well, Peter didn't actually have the foggiest clue about his own Plus Alpha elements.

In practice, this meant that while people with generic monosomic didn't have a unique quirk, they still benefited from all the marginal benefits that homo superior boasted over homo sapiens and thus were overall more advanced than pre-quirk humans in most areas on average.

Finally, vestigial monosomic quirklessness was when the Plus Alpha elements were underdeveloped and not functional, like a stubby tail that one couldn't move, or the vestigial leg bones that snakes still had leftover from when their ancestors still had legs. They only had half of an X-gene, and thus their quirk also came out half-baked and useless.

Apart from Monosomic quirklessness, there were a few other types that appeared in the population more randomly. First was trisomy 24, a disorder analogous to down syndrome resulting from possessing three copies of the X-gene.

There's also three forms of epigenetic quirklessness. This occurs when the issue lies with genetic expression rather than the content of the DNA itself.

Most common was epistatic quirklessness, wherein the traits you inherit from each of your parents are incompatible and cancel each other out. One might receive their mother's quirk for prehensile hair, but also receive their father's allele for baldness, preventing the expression of the prerequisite Plus Alpha elements.

This happens because the X-gene isn't the true source of the genes that code for the Plus Alpha elements. Because genetic mutations create new genes far more than they discard them, a large portion of the human genome is junk DNA: leftover genes that lie dormant.

For example, the genes that coded for tails in our monkey ancestors weren't deleted from our genome, they're still there but are never expressed. That's where the X-gene comes in, it's an epigenetic regulator, a DNA command center that chooses which genes are expressed and how. So Ojiro didn't inherit the genes that made his tail from his parents' X-gene, his X-gene just re-activated the dormant genes already present in the other twenty-three pairs of chromosomes. That's why animal type quirks were so common, their quirk factor just unlocked the animal DNA leftover from their animal ancestors.

What the X-gene actually coded for (among other things) was an organelle called Archonoplasts, or AP for short. If the X-gene was the command center of the genome, then these were the worker ants of the cell. They micromanaged genetic architecture in order to serve two purposes: increasing intracellular efficiency several times over, the reason for the inherent superiority of homo superior over homo sapiens; and constructing the Plus Alpha elements by searching the genome for the requisite building blocks, and guiding the genetic expression thereof.

There was a direct correlation between the number of AP in a cell and the strength of one's body and quirk, those with naturally higher AP tended to be born athletes or geniuses, regardless of what type of quirk they had. Regular civilians typically had a quirk level of a few hundred AP, but pro heroes who train to increase their quirk levels by putting stress on their quirk factor, could have thousands of AP, with some world-class quirk users reaching records of over ten thousand.

That led to the next type of epigenetic quirklessness: Null Alpha quirklessness. Similar to generic monosomic, this was when you didn't develop any Plus Alpha elements either due to low AP count, or because of a deficiency of the AP ligands involved in signaling gene transcription.

The final type of epigenetic quirklessness was atrophic quirklessness, which was functionally identical to Null Alpha but was contracted later in life, typically due to environmental influences that caused the quirk factor to deteriorate or be impaired, similar to the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This was the type of quirklessness Doc Connors suffered from.

The last two kinds of quirklessness were quirk impairment, which was when someone developed a disability that affected their Plus Alpha elements, e.g. Aizawa could lose his quirk due to going blind. And juvenile quirklessness, A.K.A. Late Bloomer Syndrome, where the Plus Alpha elements didn't begin development until puberty, ideally what Peter would like to convince Aizawa of.

Peter ran through the different types of quirklessness and assessed which were suitable to his needs, Late Bloomer Syndrome would be best, but if Aizawa ended up asking Doc Connor's for his assessment, he'd see through it in a heartbeat. Right off the bat, Sapiens Syndrome, inert monosomic, trisomy 24, and atrophic quirklessness were off the table. They just didn't fit his story. Vestigial was also out, as it never produced late bloomers. That just left generic, null alpha, and epistatic, where some preliminary experiments have had some results in treating the condition (usually through dangerous procedures like AP injections), though there were almost zero confirmed cases of people overcoming it naturally.

He might have to claim a combination of different disorders, though with any luck, Aizawa probably wouldn't know enough about the science to know the difference, especially if Peter kept the details vague. Oh who was he kidding, Parker luck was never that good.

But there was little use fretting about it now, he had already claimed to be a late bloomer, he had made his bed and now he needed to lie about it, the ball was in Aizawa's court now, best he could do was do his best to improvise, come what may.

Peter was pulled out of his thoughts by Aizawa finally bringing an end to his contemplation. "A late bloomer, huh? Interesting. You don't see many of those nowadays. So, you believed you were quirkless growing up?"

"Do you even have to ask? You said you talked to my teachers and aunt, surely they told you about how I was bullied for it."

"Fair enough. When did your quirk first manifest then? Or do you not remember?"

Ah, the first test, Peter thought. As if any kid who grew up quirkless would forget the day they got their quirk. And I can't just vaguely answer that it happened 'a while ago' either.

"I'm not sure exactly. It was probably developing for some time before I first became aware of it. Many simians aren't very different from humans in strength anyway, especially when they're young. And as a high school hero teacher, I'm sure you know how quirks get exponentially stronger when kids hit their growth spurt during puberty. My quirk didn't get strong until I started really training it, and it's not like there are many situations in day to day life where you need to lift more than fifty pounds."

"You've done it now, Parker. I can believe some of that, but it's clearly not the whole picture. The idea that your quirk developed slowly and was just too weak to notice before has some serious holes in it. You were half blind and flunking gym class at least until the day you submitted your application on the 9th of last month, but sometime between then and your arrival in Japan on the 21st you suddenly gained a solid understanding of a quirk strong enough to lift several tons. Even if we assume those twelve days were nothing but training, there's no way you underwent that kind of transformation in that amount of time by normal means, and between your uncle's death and the traveling, you likely had no more than a week to do it. Even if you suspect that something was brewing under the surface for a long time before that sudden transformation, there's no getting around the fact that there must have been a particular moment sometime that week when you first realized you didn't need glasses, that you could sense danger, and that you could jump thirty meters. Any normal quirkless kid with nothing to hide would be beyond excited to share such a miraculous story, and yet you're brushing that moment under the rug. Something caused that change, something you want to hide. If I had to guess I'd say it's the same reason why you blame yourself for your uncle's death, so fess up."

Peter began to panic even more than he already was. Crap! I forgot about the glasses! How could I have forgotten about the glasses? That's a dead give away! Aizawa's clearly way more prepared than I expected, he knows the exact time frame, he knows about uncl-

"Wait, who told you I blame myself for Uncle Ben's death? I've never told anyone that!" Peter demanded.

"So you admit you were keeping it a secret?" Aizawa asked with a sly grin.

"What!? No, I-" but the excuses died in his throat, "It's just not a time I like thinking about, it seems like ages ago, but it's really only been a few weeks, I guess the nerves are still pretty raw," Peter said more slowly as the air between them grew heavy with melancholy.

Aizawa gave a deep sigh. What am I doing? He's just a fifteen year kid and I'm interrogating him like he's a villain. I'm supposed to be a hero, and more than that, I'm supposed to be his teacher, someone he can trust and confide in. This kids been burned too many times in his life already, I don't need to make him afraid of me too.

"I'm sorry, I know that couldn't have been easy on you. And I know that we started off on the wrong foot. But, Peter, whatever's eating at you, I want you to know that you can trust me. I have a duty as a school administrator, yes, but even moreso, I have a duty as your teacher. The duty to do everything in my power to make you into the greatest hero you can be. I even promised your aunt that I'd look after you, and I think we both know it's best not to get on her bad side,"—that drew an involuntary snort from Peter—"So please, tell me," Aizawa begged. He really wasn't one for this sappy stuff, but there was something about Headache #1 that one couldn't help but be endeared to. So much so that Aizawa hadn't even realized he had subconsciously put them on a first name basis.

Peter slowly nodded, "I'll never forget that day." He cast his eyes down to the ground, and took a couple moments of silence before shifting his stance so he was no longer facing Aizawa so as to be more guarded. He looked out into the middle distance, not quite turning his back to Aizawa, but establishing enough emotional distance so that he could retreat fully into the memory.

"We… we got into a fight. The day that he died that is. That was the last time I ever saw him. He was trying to teach me something, something important: that 'with great power there must also come great responsibility.' I didn't care to listen. And then he died, and as far as anyone knows, those were his last words."

Peter placed a hand over his heart and squeezed the fabric of his shirt. "That hurts more than anything else. I wish I had stayed, given him the chance to have even a few more words to say, instead I stormed off in anger, played hooky. While I was out, I saw a crook running from the police after robbing a place. I could have stopped him, the cop told me to stop him, but I didn't. Let him run right past me, he even said thanks. Meanwhile, Uncle Ben must have gone looking for me, because I found out later that he was killed trying to stop that same guy. He was just an old man, he barely even had a quirk," Peter growled.

"But he did it anyway because he knew that doing the right thing wasn't about how much power you had. He took it as his duty to do every little bit of good he could do, that's what made him such a great power for good.

"I realized then that I had been listening to his final words in that moment. And I brushed them off like they were nothing but a gust of wind. And as far as anyone else knows, that's all they were. Just a simple platitude wasted on a moody teen while sitting in a lousy car, completely indistinguishable from every other car on the road, utterly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Lost to history. I'm the only one who knows the truth. By all accounts, Ben Parker lived an insignificant life; only Aunt May and I really know just how special he truly was. I won't let that memory die with me." His voice stopped quivering as he finished, the conviction in that last line being all that kept him from breaking down completely.

In theory, this change in topic was to Peter's benefit. Carefully steering the conversation away from his anomalous quirk by turning up the waterworks and hopefully guilt tripping Aizawa enough that he wouldn't notice the holes in his story—or at least feel bad enough not to prod further.

That was the plan, or so Peter had told himself. But the words had come all too readily, the emotion all too visceral, and Peter had never been good enough at acting to fake that. Before he knew it he was pouring these things off his chest before he had time to consider whether it was smart to reveal all this. He realized with a start that this was the first time he was unloading all these emotions. He simply hadn't had the chance before. He couldn't bear the thought of bringing it to Aunt May and adding to her burden when she already had so much on her own shoulders. And Harry just wouldn't understand, so he had just bottled it all up instead. Until now that is, perhaps the worst possible time to not have his emotions under control.

"With great power comes great responsibility, huh?" Aizawa mused. "It's sound advice, and a worthy mantra to live by. He must have been a great man." Aizawa stated sincerely, doing his best to comfort the vulnerable fifteen year old in front of him.

"Thanks, he really was. I hope I can live up to those words," Peter replied.

It didn't escape Aizawa's notice that Peter had neglected to answer the question about his quirk directly, and had instead subtly shifted to his uncle's death, but Aizawa was fine with the detour. It was readily apparent that this man's death had a deep and scarring psychological impact on Peter, the fact that this was where his mind had immediately gone to when the subject of his past was brought up showed just how interconnected the two things were in his mind. Hearing about one gave him great insight into the other. And indeed, many pieces of the puzzle had already fallen into place.

To start, it did a great deal to explain the change in Peter's personality. The dichotomy between awkward nerd and steely-eyed warrior was jarring, especially with how quickly he swung between the two, but now Aizawa finally understood how such a development could have seemingly come out of nowhere, and it removed any lingering doubts he may have had about whether or not taking time away from Peter's support course studies to plop him in the hero course was really the right call. But now it was time to turn his attention back to the conversation at hand. He still didn't know the truth about Peter's quirk afterall.

"So now you know my secret." Peter stated. "That's why getting into the hero course is so important to me. I don't like talking about it, obviously. I thought coming to Japan would be a good way to put the past behind me and live the kind of life Uncle Ben would have been proud of. But it looks like this is something I just can't get away from."

While Peter's appeal to pity had largely paid off, Aizawa still had plenty of questions, plenty of observations of things that didn't add up, and he wasn't about to let Peter off the hook just yet.

"I see. And your quirklessness?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, you brought up my uncle and I got sidetracked. Yeah, I can clear some things up for you. What do you already know?" Peter inquired.

In a rare moment of incaution, Aizawa deigned to give a straight answer. "I know you were diagnosed to have the extra toe joint, and that you have a history for quirk atrophy on your father's side."

Ah, so that's what you think happened, you must think I have some developmental disorder, Peter thought with an invisible smile. His fishing for information had given him exactly what he needed to catfish Aizawa. I'm impressed he managed to figure out so much, even I didn't know that my father suffered quirk atrophy. Though it makes sense now that I think about it, Uncle Ben's quirk deteriorated at a young age, and I remember hearing that he and Richard were practically twins in all but age. That's rather convenient for me. I already claimed I was a late bloomer, but that seed of truth makes it all the more believable. Now it's just a matter of discerning what Aizawa wants to hear and confirming his suspicions. I notice he said that I was diagnosed as double jointed, and not as quirkless. He's using that ambiguity to give himself a window to believe that I was never truly quirkless, or at least not monosomic quirkless. I can play into that.

"Well you already know most of the story, but I'll give a bit more context. I was pretty shrimpy growing up, it was noticeable even as a little kid. My parents were pretty athletic, so that wasn't normal. I learned to talk and read early enough, but I was always behind other kids physically. When I was late to reach quirk milestones as well, that warranted a visit to the doctor. They said my quirk factor's growth was stunted to the point that my phalanges weren't fusing so they diagnosed me as quirkless."

"Your what weren't fusing?" Aizawa interrupted.

"The bones in my feet. Babies are born with around three hundred bones, but they fuse as you grow older, the process continues until puberty until you're left with around two hundred as an adult. The X-gene plays a major role in that process, that's why people with mutant type quirks are able to develop such vastly different skeletal structures with many more bones than usual."

"Ah, yes, that does sound familiar, carry on."

"Anyway, we figured that I had inherited the Athlete quirk from my Father's side as well as his disorder, however because my mother was quirkless, that meant she was likely to have the recessive gene for quirklessness, and without the second copy to cover for my father's defective one, there was nothing to suppress or delay the early onset of my quirk factor's degeneration, so it was stunted from the start."

Aizawa thought the story over. It was all very reasonable and fit with what he had learned about the Parkers. Aizawa could even see how a quirk like Simian could develop with his limited knowledge of neogenic heredity and quirk marriages. But there were still points of confusion that he would have to consult with Recovery Girl—or perhaps Dr. Connors—about later.

Because of how neogenics worked, language of 'dominant' and 'recessive' traits was invariably an oversimplification. Quirk development involved the whole genome, and not just a few sets of alleles. As such there was almost always some level of co-dominance or incomplete dominance between the expression of the parents' quirks in their offspring. For this reason Aizawa didn't know exactly what Peter had meant when he mentioned getting his mother's "recessive gene for quirklessness," was he referring to a missing chromosome or a specific hypostatic allele?

The statement gave the impression that Peter simply wasn't very well versed in neogenics—surprising considering his admiration of Dr. Connors. That meant that Peter wasn't likely to know any specific information that could help Aizawa deduce what kind of quirk disorder he suffered from. One particularly noteworthy thing however, was that Peter mentioned that his quirk factor was stunted, not that he didn't have one, so whatever he was diagnosed with, it couldn't have been true quirklessness. Most people, including Peter, were diagnosed quirkless as toddlers. And toddlers aren't very smart. They wouldn't care or even remember which type of quirklessness they had, nor could they understand the medical details around it regardless. So unless one revisited the matter when they were older, most kids would only have the rudimentary understanding of the science behind their disability that they learned in middle school biology class. And it seemed like Peter was one of those kids. Of course it's also possible that Peter was committed to being vague and unhelpful by intentionally trying to appear more ignorant than he actually was. In any case, Aizawa could only guess at the nature of Peter's quirk, but he could still infer a good deal from the explanation.

In Peter's case, his father's quirk—apparently named 'Athlete'—was the most standard of enhancement types, and general enhancement type quirks were often fine tuned to the user's alleles: their height, their weight, their body type. That makes them a very flexible base for mixing with other quirks. If the child inherited a different set of alleles from the other parent, the quirk factor would have to recalibrate to account for that by assimilating traits from the other parent's quirk. It was common to see hulking bodybuilders pass on those types of super strength quirks to their lithe daughters, only for it to develop into something more agility oriented instead as they grew older. It seemed something similar had happened with Peter here.

Aizawa knew next to nothing of the kind of quirk he would have gotten from his mother's side, so it was anyone's guess how they would interact. However that turned out to not be an issue as Peter had clearly stated that he had inherited the "recessive allele" from his mother. And while Aizawa was no expert, the fact that his mother's side had difficulty manifesting quirks suggested there was probably something in their bloodline that suppressed the X-gene. Aizawa had also heard that AP levels were inversely proportional to the amount of neanderthal DNA one had, the unevolved DNA making for an unfit carrier for the X-gene. If that were true, then the neanderthal alleles from his mother would not only explain why Peter had a hard time manifesting his father's quirk, but also why his Father's Athlete quirk had mutated in the direction of emphasizing Peter's simian traits, and away from the more generic form of athleticism seen in homo superior.

It all fit. The puzzle had finally come together in Aizawa's mind, the only thing left was how Peter had overcome his condition. A sudden influx of testosterone from a pubescent growth spurt could explain how he overcame the stunted growth, and the trauma of his uncle's death could be a powerful psychological catalyst, but there was still something missing that would explain the explosive increase in power. Drugs maybe?

"I understand all that, but if your quirk factor was already deteriorating all the way back then, how did you flip the script so suddenly?"

"I have a few theories," Peter said. "First, my condition probably only developed into full blown quirklessness because of my poor lifestyle. I kinda just accepted that I was quirkless and gave up hope. Growing up, I knew I would never be on par with all the other kids, so I didn't even try. I never did sports or played outside, I never made friends, I just focused on my studies. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but my original motivation for coming to Japan was that I assumed quirkless discrimination wasn't as prominent because quirk use is so heavily regulated here. So I would finally be on an even playing field because no one else would be allowed to use their quirks to get an upper hand. Thought that I could hide my quirklessness and live in peace. But because I never tried to get stronger, the genes for building muscle and the like never activated, and since the Athlete quirk relies on those genes, it was left even more underdeveloped than it normally would be. I just lived my childhood in hibernation mode and let my quirk factor waste away. And because I believed I was completely quirkless and pathetic, I probably ended up subconsciously suppressing my quirk as well."

"The Nocebo Effect," Aizawa stated.

"Huh?"

"It's when you believe you'll get sick, so your brain makes you feel sick. It's the opposite of the Placebo Effect. You thought you were quirkless, so you made yourself quirkless," he mused. Recovery Girl did say that his brain was suppressing his strength, I even saw that for myself. If he can subconsciously limit himself to only a fraction of his full strength, it's not too unsurprising that his mind would also limit his senses, explaining why he never noticed his sixth sense and needed glasses.

"Hmm. I think you're onto something there." The gears in Peter's head were also turning from that piece of information. The Nocebo Effect, huh? Clever, clever, Aizawa. I hadn't considered using that kind of explanation. I barely have to do anything, you're making all the excuses for me.

"But that still doesn't explain how you were able to overcome all that. Tell me about the moment your quirk manifested."

"I actually discovered my quirk similar to how you did."

Aizawa furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Before today, if someone told you I was quirkless, how would you know that wasn't true?"

"I erased your quirk when we first met, that wouldn't have worked on you if you were quirkless." Aizawa's eyes widened a tick as he realized the implication. "Are you saying that you discovered your dormant abilities due to the effect of someone's quirk?"

Peter nodded, letting Aizawa choose what was easiest for him to believe. "Though, I suppose I should give a little more background first." Peter was good at improvising, but he still needed time to think of a good enough story to sell. In the meantime, he'd set the stage, make things dramatic and emotional enough that Aizawa wouldn't stress the small details. Meanwhile, he'd throw Aizawa a bone, throw him off the scent by admitting to something shameful, make him think that was his big secret rather than his quirk itself. And the best lies were based on truth.

"The night Uncle Ben died. I was so angry I couldn't think straight. I remember Uncle Ben's words kept going through my head. They seemed ridiculous to me, I kept telling myself it wasn't my fault, that I didn't have the power to stop it, but I still couldn't shake those words. Then I saw who the perp was. I realized all at once that it was those same excuses that got Uncle Ben killed. It was my fault. I did have the power. In his old age, Uncle Ben was even weaker than me, but that didn't stop him from doing the right thing. And when his quirk had started deteriorating, he took responsibility. He ate well and exercised to keep his strength up to ensure he could provide for us, even when the doctors told him he was pushing himself too hard, that it was impossible to overcome. Meanwhile, I never even tried, never returned the favor. Something awakened inside of me that day. I realized how weak my mindset had been. If Uncle Ben could do it, then why not me? I decided to take his message to heart. I was going to do something about it, do whatever it takes… to get revenge."

"Revenge, huh? I see why you didn't want to tell me about this. If you were worried about me punishing you for proving that you're human, then your fears were misplaced. It's illogical to punish someone for not reaching an impossible standard of perfection when even pros can succumb to the desire for vengeance against villains. You can trust me to have your best interests at heart, so tell me, did you get what you were after?"

Aizawa had said all that to comfort Peter, but the boy's unsurprising desire for revenge against his uncle's killer wasn't the detail that stood out to him. 'Something awakened inside of me that day.' Peter's words echoed through his mind again. Could it be? No, it's crazy, just a myth. Then again, it wouldn't be the first myth proven true, and it would explain things.

Peter continued his story, unaware of Aizawa's conundrum. "I prepared for days. Training, searching. I pushed my body to the breaking point over and over again as I looked for any lead I could find. And well, this is where things get weird. Most people would call me crazy, and even I'm not convinced it wasn't a dream. Eventually I found myself in front of some kooky fortune teller. I don't know how her quirk worked exactly, I heard that she could gain special insight on people by looking at them. I don't know how true that is, but she knew about all my quirk." That much was true actually, he really did run into a strange fortune teller during his first week as Spider-Man in New York. She had given him some cliche ultimatum about how the time would come when he'd be forced to make some big choice with dire consequences in the future, but he had just brushed it off as mumbo jumbo. Who would've thought the experience would come back to help him here. "I asked her if she knew where I could find the killer, or a way for me to get a quirk that I could use to beat him. Sounds silly asking a fortune teller, I know, but I was desperate. She said some really cryptic stuff in response about how it would change my destiny, but I said I didn't care. She started hypnotically waving her hands around, then I started feeling dizzy, everything was spinning, and next thing I know I'm standing in front of the old abandoned warehouse at the docks, the last place the killer was seen the night he killed Uncle Ben."

Okay, was the story a little lame and unbelievable? Admittedly yes. But it was the best he could come up on short notice. And the weird fortune teller lady was real! So it wasn't like he made that part up at least.

"Sounds like she used hypnotic suggestion to make you walk over there in a trance. I actually know of a student with a similar quirk. She probably does something similar in her fortune telling routine. Hypnotic suggestion could also be used to lift the mental blocks on your quirk."

"Huh, I was thinking she just teleported me somehow. But your explanation makes more sense." I'm surprised that Aizawa is buying this so easily. Then again, it'd be even less believable if I told him the truth. "Anyway, I figured she sent me there for a purpose, so I went inside to search for clues."

"D-... did you find him?" Aizawa asked, almost afraid to know whether Peter was successful in getting his revenge or not.

"No. But someone found me. Apparently some crook was squatting in the place and jumped me. The fight was pretty hectic, and a lot of it's a blind blur, but I'll try and share what I remember. He tackled me and we scuffled on the floor for a bit until he punched me in the face and knocked my glasses off. I managed to kick him off me in desperation with a sudden burst of strength, but I couldn't see anymore, so I was left to rummage around on the ground looking for my glasses while he got back and reached for his gun. That was when my danger sense activated for the first time. With a jolt I reflexively ducked out of the way of the gunshot. I didn't notice in the moment because of the adrenaline, but when I looked back up at him, I could see him clearly even without my glasses. I rushed at him, but this time something was different, my senses felt like they were dialed upto 11, my mind was going so fast everything else felt slow by comparison. I disarmed him and easily lifted him off the ground. I could have ended him, I had the power… but then I saw the fear in his eyes, and I knew it wasn't what Uncle Ben would have wanted, so I put him down. He surrendered after that, then he asked me why I was there and what I wanted with that place. I told him about my uncle, and surprisingly he said he knew the guy and was going to meet up with him in a week. I finally had a chance at revenge, but then the acceptance letter from U.A. came in the mail, and I had a choice. I could either avenge Uncle Ben, or I could go to Japan instead and let the trail go cold."

Aizawa nodded in understanding. "That couldn't have been an easy choice, but for what it's worth, I'm glad you didn't choose revenge. What made the difference?"

You wouldn't be saying that if you knew the true story. "When Uncle Ben said I had great power, I didn't understand why he had said that. I thought he was just trying to make me feel better. What power could he have seen in a quirkless kid like me? But he still believed in me and my talents, knew that I could do great things. He said I was the smartest person he knew, and told me to never give up. He knew that was where my true power was. I didn't want to disappoint him. Didn't want to give up on my dream, when he never gave up on me. So I did the responsible thing. Simple as that really."

"Spoken like a true hero." Aizawa took out a pen and signed the class change form. "I've never heard of a student taking two courses before, but you've convinced me. Not many can say they manifested their quirk in response to life threatening circumstances, afterall. If anyone can do it, you can."

"I- I don't know what to say." Peter stiffened up and bowed deeply at the waste. "Thank you Aizawa-sensei! I won't let you down."

Aizawa simply nodded his acknowledgment, not letting any emotion show. "If you want to keep that promise then get to studying. You've only got a month until classes start."

Peter smiled at that and turned to leave, but was stopped by one last comment by Aizawa. "Oh, and Peter. I know I've been harsh with you and we don't get along very well-"

"No, really? The stick in the mud teacher doesn't get along well with teenagers?" laughed Peter. "It's alright, I've also been a bit of a pain to deal with lately."

Aizawa awkwardly cleared his throat. "Anyways, as I was saying, I know you didn't exactly want to tell me all this. And I know there's probably more to the story than you shared. Whatever it is that's still weighing you down, you don't have to bear it alone. You've been hurt, you've lost people, and you're scared of opening up in fear of it happening again. Look, I get it, I was a lone wolf for most of my hero career, but trust me when I say it doesn't work. Even heroes need help. We at U.A. are here for you. You may be an orphan, but the students and teachers here can be your family if you'll let them. Even if you don't want to talk to me about it, tell someone. Someone you can trust."

Peter looked down ar his feet while he considered that. I can't tell anyone about Spider-Man obviously, but Aizawa's right. I came way too close to being exposed today. I need someone who I can trust to have my back and cover for me when people start getting too nosy. As Peter thought about who that could possibly be, only one name came to mind: Harry. He's my best friend, even if I told him everything, he'd be on board right away. In fact, he'd probably get over eager and demand to become my 'Guy in the Chair' or something, ever the overachiever. Peter reminded himself.

There was a reason he hadn't told Harry already. He couldn't allow him to get involved with his vigilante life, as Harry would undoubtedly insist on doing. As the heir of a multibillion dollar corporation, it would be far too risky and high profile if people found out Spider-Man was associated with him. He'd like to lie low as an unimportant street level vigilante for as long as possible. And it'd be even worse for Harry if people discovered he was in league with Spider-Man, and Peter wouldn't allow his friend to throw his future away for Peter's sake and open himself up to the possibility of getting kidnapped by vengeful villains. Especially considering that Oscorp was responsible for the incident that gave him his quirk, news that would turn the world upside down if it ever got out. Until Peter unraveled that mystery, he'd rather not tempt fate. Still Harry doesn't even know that I have a quirk at all yet. Even if I tell him only the needed details, he'll be an invaluable ally.

Peter remembered the time at Uncle Ben's funeral when Harry asked him how he was feeling. Peter had admitted that they had gotten into a fight the last time he saw him. Harry had interrupted him by saying that he didn't need to know the details, and assured Peter that whatever they had been fighting about, he was sure Uncle Ben was still proud of him regardless, and that if Peter needed anything then he was here for him. I really am lucky to have such a loyal friend.

"Thanks for the advice, Aizawa-sensei. I'll keep that in mind."

"One last thing, Peter."

"What is it?"

"Call home to your aunt more often, for both our sakes."

Peter snorted before slowly being overcome by a swarm of giggles and snickers that bubbled up within him at Aizawa's predicament.

"Alright, you're dismissed. Now get out of here, you still have to deliver the good news to Dr. Connors, you know."

Peter got himself under control and ran off. "You got it, Aizawa. See you when classes start!"

Suddenly, Aizawa was left alone. *Huh…* he sighed, letting the concerns of the long morning roll off his shoulders. Man, what a headache, he thought mirthfully. Hmm… why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? Then it struck him.

"Wait! Parker, I need that gym uniform back!"

---

≈*~ Principal's Office; Later that day ~*≈

The short mouse-like Principal of U.A. High School sat at his desk, small form completely covered from view by the large file he was reading. He laid the file flat on his desk for the moment as he turned his attention to his two guests: a tall thin man, and a very short elderly woman.

"Well I must admit that it is a peculiar case. I must thank you for bringing this to my attention Toshinori. I know you floated your suspicions earlier, but I need your honest assessment. You've got more personal experience with him than any of us. Do you think this could be his doing?"

"That's what we're here to discuss." Toshinori replied in his tired voice, as he suppressed a yawn. "I'm undecided as of yet, but if you must have my current assessment…" he continued as his tone became more serious, "then I don't see many other possible explanations. It certainly fits his M.O., and much too closely for my liking."

The old woman besides him also added her two cents. "The boy is undergoing a metamorphosis, one nearly identical to what I observed with my treatment of Midoriya following the entrance exam. There's no other quirk in Japan that could emulate it."

"Are you certain?" Nezu clarified.

"The quirk levels don't lie. Midoriya sat at 70 AP before, and by the time of my checkup after the exam it had already shot up to a few hundred. That would be an obscene amount of growth in a month, but it's utterly unheard of in just one day. He's probably sitting at a thousand by now, and I suspect he'll be at around two thousand by the time classes start at the rate he's going,"

"And you already know that my levels have dropped by 4,000 AP as of yesterday. I suspect Midoriya will start to level off once he reaches that number," All Might added.

"Which is exactly why you can imagine my shock when the spit sample I snagged off Parker came back with a reading of 3,000 AP. I don't know where his quirk levels were at before, but for someone who was quirkless less than a month ago, his growth would have to match or even exceed Midoriya's for that to be remotely possible."

"Then there can be no other explanation," Nezu confirmed.

"I suppose it's possible that someone new has appeared." All Might answered before Recovery Girl could. "Remember that the brothers were born during the dawn of quirks. Another quirk of that nature should have popped up by now. America is a big place afterall, and New York in particular…"

Recovery Girl's lips drew a thin line, but ultimately gave a sigh. "I suppose you're right. We mustn't jump to conclusions. The boy's story, well, it sounds like malarkey to me. But there's no denying that it's carefully well crafted malarkey. It's not im-possible that it's true, or even that some unrelated third party is behind it. Anomalies do happen, if they didn't then we wouldn't be having this conversation." she admitted.

"It's less the quirk and more the circumstances that concerns me," Toshinori clarified. "The same year I retire and start teaching. The very same day Midoriya inherits my legacy, this new kid comes out of nowhere, infiltrates the exam, and then squirms his way into Midoriya's class. Everything about him is just too convenient to be believed."

"You think he's a plant? I must admit that if I were in their shoes, then placing a spy in the hero course is exactly the kind of thing I'd want to do," Nezu mused.

"All the little parallels too. If that bastard wanted to taunt me, then this is exactly the kind of thing he would pull. Nerdy, quirkless, American, the super strength quirk, even beating my old record in the exam. It's like he's building a dark mirror of Midoriya and me."

"Parker's only been in Japan a couple weeks, and his quirk manifested before that. Do you think that All for One could have reached him in New York? Wasn't the purpose of your own trip to America to get you out of their reach?"

"By now I doubt there's anywhere in the world where his influence doesn't span. I'm sure he had connections in the US even back then. Rather, targeting a foreign exchange student seems like the perfect opportunity to get his claws into someone weeks before any other applicants are accepted. He even fits the profile of his usual victims: poor, quirkless, an orphan, vulnerable and thirsty for revenge after his uncle's death. He's a golden prospect. And now he's living alone in U.A. faculty building, far away from home and the few friends and family he has, nothing left to anchor him."

"Connors and Aizawa both vouch for him," Nezu pushed back. "Do you really think he could be a villain?"

Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at the ground in frustration. "How could I know? I've never met the kid. But you two have. Based on your own interactions with the boy, what impression did you get from the boy?"

Recovery Girl looked pensive for a moment. "He-..." She paused, but ultimately decided this was too important to be left unsaid. "The boy with the tail. The lengths he went to in order to help him. A villain would never have done that. Say what you want about his quirk Toshinori, but the circumstances at least prove that his heart is in the right place."

Nezu interlaced his paws under his chin as he reflected on his own experiences with the American youth. "I must concur with the consensus assessment reached by Dr. Connors, Aizawa-san, and now Shuzenji-san as well," he said, nodding to Recovery Girl. "Peter Parker seems to me to be a very bright and earnest young man with no shortage of drive or passion for helping people. That being said," Nezu stated much more slowly. "I cannot overlook certain curious comments Mr. Parker made to me when we first met." Memories of their first encounter flashed through Nezu's mind: 'So you're an animal with a quirk, right? Could you tell me about that?... It's something I've been interested in for a long time.' In hindsight that conversation had some troubling implications. If we assume that he acquired his quirk suddenly and through unnatural means, then he could very well have brought the topic up as an unsuspicious way to gather information on Amutagenesis. Then again, there's no reason he wouldn't do the same thing if we assume he's innocent.

After a lengthy quiet in the room, Nezu once more broke the silence. "I think we need to consider just how deeply involved Parker himself may be in any potential conspiracy surrounding him. Is he a devoted servant of our enemies, or just a pawn? Are his goals aligned with theirs, or is he being manipulated, blackmailed? If so, then how much of their intentions is he even aware of?"

"Make sure your pawns aren't in a position to come back to bite you should they ever be turned against you," All Might nodded. "Every good Shogi player knows the principle."

"If he was being blackmailed, then why wouldn't he just come to us about it? Surely he'd know it's his best chance at getting help." Recovery Girl argued.

All Might shook his head. "No, Nezu's right. You haven't been in the kind of hostage situations I have. You can't expect kids to behave rationally in that context. They're too afraid, naive, immature. They're often worried they'll be punished from both sides if they tell. I wouldn't expect a student to come forward about something like this until they've had at least a couple months to build trust with their teachers. Still, I don't know if blackmail is the answer, not from what Aizawa described. From my experience of how All for One operates, I can see him offering Parker a free gift, only to call in a 'small favor' in return when the time comes. Perhaps threatening to take his quirk away again if he refuses."

"I suppose it's little use speculating until we know more. All we can do for now is decide on how we're going to respond." Nezu concluded, opting to change the subject.

"The three of us are the only ones at U.A. who know the secret of One for All. As such, I don't think it would be wise to reveal our suspicions outside of this room." All Might stated.

"We could have a traitor in our midst and you don't think we should at least inform the faculty to be on the lookout for more information?" Recovery Girl chided.

"Shuzenji-san, you must remember that this is Toshinori's secret to keep. If he does not wish to expand our circle, then we must respect his choice. Besides, I think Toshinori is making the right call. As of yet, Mr. Parker hasn't done anything wrong, we shan't spoil his teachers' first impressions of him before we even have good reason to suspect him. Children notice such things, and Mr. Parker has already suffered enough alienation in his life. He shouldn't be regarded any differently than his classmates, we must put our best foot forward in showing him that we are here to support him. Side-long glances will only push him further away and into the arms of our enemies. Remember, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Whether Peter Parker be friend or foe, we will continue to nurture the seed of heroism within him. Even—no, especially—if he has found himself mixed in with the wrong crowd."

"I'm just not fond of twiddling our thumbs while we wait for something bad to happen. If we know something's up, then we should do something about it. What good does it do to know about a problem if we ignore it anyway? It's like finding a cancer early on and not cutting it out straight away because it's not a big problem yet. I assure you it won't stay small for long." Recovery Girl huffed.

"If we really must know the truth, then I have a friend on the force with access to a lie detector quirk. He knows my secret, so there's no worries there. I could arrange for him to speak with Parker and ask a few simple questions." Toshinori offered.

"I think Mr. Parker has been interrogated enough for one week, anymore and I suspect he'll get resentful of having all his dirty laundry aired so frequently."

Toshinori nodded. "Just be aware that option is available if needed."

"Thank you, Toshinori-san. That's much appreciated."

"What about Midoriya?" Recovery Girl asked. "He's the main party concerned here. Shouldn't he be made aware that one of his classmates might be targeting him? You know that you can't keep him safe from All for One forever, Toshi. He needs to know what's out there, especially if he's already in their sights."

All Might sighed. "I know. I wish that I had more time to train him properly, more time for him to grow up and have a normal childhood. He already has so much on his plate, and is more than a little prone to paranoia. With how he was bullied growing up, I want him to feel safe at school for once, and not become a nervous wreck every time he sees one of his classmates thinking they've got it out for him, especially as he's already got Bakugo to deal with."

Nezu nodded. "He's your protégé, the decision is upto you. But for what it's worth, I think not telling him is the right move. For all we know, Peter Parker is just an innocent late bloomer. With that in mind, Midoriya might find a kindred spirit in Mr. Parker due to their shared history of quirklessness. We best not ruin their potential friendship before it even has a chance to start."

"And what if Parker exploits that shared history to manipulate Midoriya and lead him into All for One's clutches."

"Or Midoriya could use it to inspire and redeem Parker," Nezu countered. "We can't know such things for sure until they happen."

"We really are stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I say we table this discussion until classes start in earnest." Toshinori offered.

"Yes. It seems that would be for the best," Nezu agreed.

"So what's the plan until then?" Recovery Girl inquired.

"We wait, and watch carefully. Aizawa already has his suspicions and will be on the lookout. I'll also instruct Dr. Connors to keep a close eye on him. They live next door to each other, and already have a close relationship. Most importantly, Parker respects him greatly. If anyone has a chance of uncovering anything Parker has kept under wraps, it's him."

---

A/N: UUUUUUGHHH… This chapter kicked my trash, every scene was hard fought and hard won. So sorry, I know it's over a month late, but it's over 30,000 words, that's longer than Trigger Part 1 and 2 combined. That's a third the length of the rest of the fic so far. It originally wasn't meant to be so long, I was actually planning on it being rather short, but it JUST… WOULDN'T… END. So this is the lore dump chapter. Honestly, I'm not too proud of it. It's starts off pretty good, but I felt it got more and more stilted as the chapter went on as I did my best to just plow through the worst writer's block I've ever had and grind the chapter out quickly. That last scene with Aizawa interrogating Peter really suffered. That's why it doesn't have that flare you've come to expect from this story. Wish it could be better, but I only got through it in the first place because I have a hard deadline this time: I'm going to be spending the next two years doing volunteer missionary work. That's full time, away from home, and no internet, so all my stories will be on hiatus during that time. So sorry, but this chapter is extra long to help make up for it.

Now onto notes on the actual chapter. First thing you will notice is that this chapter takes place BEFORE Trigger chronologically, though this one was written after. As such I will probably rearrange the chapters to put it back in chronological order after the chapter has been out for a few days.

There is tons of foreshadowing and set up in this chapter, so I won't reveal too much, but hopefully it'll give you guys something to puzzle out and keep yourselves occupied over the next two years. From Peter's past, to how quirks work, etc. In fact, there's a secret hidden in this chapter that will reveal some foreshadowing from earlier chapters which won't be revealed in earnest until much later down the line. Special kudos to the person who finds it first, and don't worry, it's not too hard to find.

And everyone's got their eyes on Peter now that the truth is starting to come out, and he'll have to work much harder to maintain his cover.

The thing about All Might's quirk levels dropping from 8,000 AP to 4,000 AP is actually canon, and comes from a blink and you miss it detail from the Two Heroes movie. Everything else about the X-gene and AP is stuff I made up. AP are basically just the quirk equivalent of midi-chlorians or mitochondria. And I think I did a pretty good job coming up with a realistic and scientifically possible explanation for quirks. Just gonna pat myself on the back for that. It's not like I did countless hours of research on the various aspects of both human biology as well as marvel and MHA lore or anything. Heh heh… he…

This chapter was originally just supposed to be a short omake detailing Peter taking the quirk assessment test in order to give the audience a feel for the upper limits of Peter's powers, and I went a little overboard. But I think I achieved that goal at least. It's infamous in Spider-Man discussions that Peter is constantly holding back his full power so that he doesn't end up killing the street thugs he fights. I wanted to maintain that interesting aspect of his character while also giving realistic reasons and limitations that allow Peter to keep growing. Otherwise every fight would just be solved by the question "well why doesn't he just punch their lights out?" I also think I did a pretty good job giving neurological insights into how Peter's spider-sense works and how it affects his brain. As for the spider-stick, it is canonical that the cling is strong enough to support several tons per finger, honestly it's Spider-Man's most underrated ability, hope I showed that well enough.

The idea that people with quirks are just athletically superior to quirkless people regardless of what kind of quirk they have, as well that there are different degrees of quirklessness, is based on a few details from the story. First, we see people doing superhuman feats without their quirks, even pretty early in the story. For example, When Bakugo takes the 50-Meter dash during the quirk assessment test in chapter 6, it shows how much his time improved since middle school (when they weren't allowed to use their quirks for the tests) and even as a short (5 foot 7 at most) Middle School kid not using his quirk, Bakugo is still posting world record times. And then Mina shatters both men's and women's records easily with an even better time without using her quirk either. Then there's the kind of stuff Deku does during his training cleaning trash on Dagobah beach. He drags a truck up to the top of a massive trash heap, and gives All Might a piggy back ride (All Might weighs 560 lbs by the way), combine that with his naturally green hair, and there's no way that Deku is a 100% normal human, especially when he comes from 4 whole generations of quirk users. This also explains why people, including All Might, are so adamant that quirkless people can't be heroes despite the existence of people like Knuckleduster, Aizawa, Twice, and many others who can keep up with strong quirk users in combat despite technically being "normal" humans when it comes to physical ability. It's the same reason why you don't really see female marines. The boot camp is made for men in peak condition, and it's almost impossible to overcome that natural advantage. That's the reason I see anyway.

Anyway, I'm sure there's so much more I wanted to comment on and forgot because this chapter is just so dang long, but I'll end things off here before I talk your ear off all day.

Now, onto Q and A responses:

Fanfictioner8 : Why does Aizawa's Erasure work on Peter?

A: I'm glad you brought up the thing with erasure, as it's a nuance that I haven't expounded upon in the story yet, though I will go into more detail later in the story.

Here's my philosophy when it comes to erasure: we know it can affect mutant quirks to some degree, for example, in chapter 135 we learn that if Aizawa used erasure on Ojiro, it would make his tail go limp. Basically, erasure temporarily turns off any part of the brain that's not acting like a normal human brain, i.e. the part of the brain in charge of using the quirk. It doesn't remove the quirk, it just paralyzes the non-human parts of the brain.

So how does that work with Spider-Man? Erasure does two things: 1. he loses the ability to turn his wall climb on and off. 2. It pinches his connection to his spider-sense. Now the Spider-sense notices that its connection to Peter is being stifled, so it goes haywire and freaks out, and we know that when the spider-sense freaks out that it's painful and disabling, that's why erasure weakens Peter. It's not removing his powers, it's just a side-effect of his spider-sense.

Guest : You missed the deadline for this chapter!

I know, and I'm so sorry. Hopefully you can all understand and forgive me, especially as this is the last chapter in a long while.

Thank you all, soo soo much for all the support on this story, it's been a blast developing this community alongside you. I'll see you all again in two years. Until then,

Excelsior!