"My quirk is… Green Hair?" Izuku Midoriya sat on the cold metal examination table, surrounded by various medical equipment and colourful posters displaying different types of quirks and their uses. He'd been waiting for this appointment for a long time, ever since the other kids in his class started manifesting their new abilities, around the age of 4. He was already 5, and still nothing. No sign of a quirk. To try and help her son out, his mother had taken him to a Quirk specialist to get some answers.

"That's right, kiddo! Pretty cool, huh? That's an exceedingly rare quirk and you're one of the lucky few! Just think how much money you'll save on hair dye!" The doctor exclaimed, giving Izuku a hearty thumbs up and a big grin. This wasn't Izuku's usual physician, Dr Tsubasa, who had known him since he was born, so he was trying to endear himself to the boy. He noticed his gaze seemed to be fixed on the small spot of light reflecting across the stethoscope around his neck.

"Are you sure that's what my son's quirk is, Doctor? It's just, I thought he got the green hair from my side of the family?" Inko asked, confused about the situation. She sat next to Izuku holding his hand, looking down slightly at the child wondering what could be going through his head after hearing the news. She'd hoped the doctor could shed some light on why her son's quirk hadn't manifested yet - but this wasn't at all what she expected.

"There are two other kids at school with green hair…"

"We've run all the tests, and that's what came up! I was quite surprised as well. Honestly, it's rare that a child's quirk is entirely based around an aspect of the parent's appearance, but that's what I find so fascinating about this job!" The doctor kept up his chipper attitude, for Izuku's benefit. "Here Izuku, have a lollipop for being so brave!"

He handed Izuku a wrapped candy and smiled warmly. He accepted the lollipop, but let it slip out of his fingers and fall onto the side of the table, completely dazed by the news. "I can't even change what shade of green it is…" he said softly with a blank expression.

Inko swallowed, feeling a pang of sadness for her son. This was the worst possible news he could have heard, she knew how much he wanted to have a powerful quirk like the many heroes he admired. He was always watching hero shows on TV, reading hero magazines and comics, and collecting hero figurines and posters. He had even made his own hero costume out of cardboard and tape. Wishing she knew what to say to comfort him, or cheer him up, she instead stood up from her chair and bowed.

"Thank you for taking time to see us today, Doctor," She picked up her still frozen son, and the lollipop, and headed for the door.

The doctor waited until he heard his office door click before rubbing the bridge of his nose and sinking into his chair. He really wished he could have given Izuku some better news.

"Poor kid…"

-

Inko and Izuku left the doctor's office and walked along the busy streets of the city, passing the tall buildings, billboards advertising all sorts of quirk specific items, and the various shops and restaurants. Despite the relative serenity of the day, she kept a tight grip on her son's hand, feeling particularly anxious and protective. She'd been a worried mother before, but things seemed so much worse now. Quirks, regardless of all the good they'd done, had made the world a dangerously frightening place. With Izuku being such a fragile boy she wasn't sure how he'd cope without a power of his own. She tried her best to not let this show through to her son, right now he just needed to be a kid for a while.

"Hey Izuku, how about we stop by the toy store? I heard there's a new All Might figure with a new hat!" She suggested to her son, hoping to cheer him up.

"Oh, yeah…" Izuku said in a low voice. "Probably from when All Might rescued that farmer and they took a picture of him wearing his hat… I saw it in issue 26 of All Might Monthly…" He sighed.

Inko smiled to herself; even when he was down like this, he was still the hero-obsessed kid she'd raised. She loved her son more than anything, and knew he had a big heart and a strong spirit. If he kept it, she knew that someday he'd find his place.

Suddenly, Inko felt a surge of panic as she saw a massive ball of jagged metal spikes burst out of a shop window on the opposite side of the street. The ball unfurled itself into a man covered in sharp quills, like an echidna, holding two bags full of stolen loot in his hands.

"That's Quiller Killer!" Izuku exclaimed, pointing at the menace. "H-he's a villain!"

Quiller Killer heard the boy's voice and spun around, spotting them over the road. Snarling, he charged at them. Inko wrapped herself around her son protectively, fearing for their lives, but fully prepared to accept the full force of the attack to keep Izuku safe.

But the attack never came. Before the villain could reach them, a metallic whizzing sound cut through the air, followed by a loud clang. Izuku wriggled out of his mother's embrace and looked up, his eyes wide with wonder. "Power Loader!" He shouted.

Inko turned around and saw a muscular man with no shirt on, who looked around her age. He had a peculiar helmet on his head, and long digger-like claws on the tips of his fingers. Nearby, Quiller Killer was ensnared in a web of steel cables tying him to a lamppost. "You two okay?" Power Loader asked, walking over to them. He seemed calm and confident, as if he had done this a thousand times before. Noticing Izuku's starstruck expression, like the kid's eyes were about to pop out, he said, "Uh, hey kid. Stay in school." Then dashed off to secure Quiller Killer and call for backup.

Izuku was speechless with awe as he replayed the scene in his mind, eventually snapping out of it to bombard his mother with facts about Power Loader's quirk, his gadgets, his hero ranking, and his shoe size. Inko listened patiently and smiled; seeing the passion and inspiration from Izuku's every word.

Back at the Midoriya household, Inko busied herself with dinner preparation as her son watched hero videos on her computer. She was making his favourite dish, katsudon, hoping to cheer him up after a long and stressful day. From the kitchen she could hear All Might's recognisable laugh bellowing from the tiny speakers. It was comforting, knowing that Izuku still has his love of heroes despite the bad news he received earlier that day. It was somewhat less comforting when she heard the same clip being played again, and again, and again.

Venturing out of the kitchen, she approached Izuku's shaking body, his face lit up by the scenes of All Might's debut. "Izuku?" She asked tentatively.

Izuku turned in his seat, his face covered with tears, and he tried to articulate his feelings. "Mom…Do you think someone like me…Could ever be a hero?"

Inko froze in her tracks, seeing this poor boy on the chair in front of her. Could he be a hero? Any other time she would have said no, she probably would have said nothing. Hell, she'd probably apologise. But the events of that day, after seeing Power Loader take down that villain without even needing to use his quirk… She knew what to say.

"Yes Izuku, yes you can!" She wept, hugging her son.

"You…r-really think so?" Izuku asked, sniffling.

Inspiration struck Inko and she released the hug but kept her hands on his shoulders. "Wait here, I'll be right back." She rushed to her closet in her bedroom, and began rummaging through the cardboard boxes sitting at the bottom. "I know they're here somewhere…"

Moments later she reappeared in the living room with a pile of dusty items in her arms, carrying a collection of books, magazines, papers, graphs and sketches, and laid them out on the floor for Izuku to see. He looked at them in confusion and curiosity, and tried to read the words.

"Engi…engine..?" He struggled.

"Engineering manuals, Izuku. These were your grandfathers' on your father's side. He died a few years before you were born." Izuku looked up at her. "He was a support inventor many years ago, but he was never… He never really got his business off the ground. But he had so many ideas." She began to show Izuku the notes and half finished blueprints of various inventions with enthusiasm and nostalgia: magnetic locking handcuffs to restrain villains, extendable grabbing implements to reach high places or far objects, springloaded boots to enhance jumping ability. There were at least a dozen more. "There are heroes out there who use support items like this even more than their quirks."

"There are...?" Izuku looked at his mother with interest and awe, still with tears streaming down his face.

"There are, and I think you could be one of those heroes."

Earlier that day:

"Poor kid…" The doctor sighed to himself, and called Inko back into his room. "Excuse me, Mrs Midoriya? There are a few things I wanted to clear up." He gestured for Inko to follow him into his office, closing the door behind him and leaving Izuku in the nurse's capable hands (with a juice box and a heroics magazine to keep him occupied.)

Inko followed him inside and sat down in the chair across from the doctor's desk, now paying more attention to the files and papers cluttering it. She noticed some of them had Izuku's name on them, along with some charts and graphs she didn't understand. "Shouldn't Izuku be here for this?" she asked nervously, unsure what he had called her back for.

"This is somewhat of a sensitive matter and I feel that, for the time being, it would be best if we kept it between the two of us." The doctor said, lowering his voice. Inko could see the concern in his eyes. He took off his glasses for a moment and rubbed his temples, showcasing his tiredness.

"Oh I, I see… What's the issue, doctor? Is there something wrong with his quirk?" she asked, clutching her purse tightly, hoping it wasn't anything serious or dangerous.

Bluntly, he responded, "Mrs Midoriya, your son is essentially quirkless."

"Well yes, green hair is not a particularly powerful-"

"Your son's quirk isn't having green hair, Mrs Midoriya." He cut her off. "It can be difficult for a quirkless child in today's society. I wrote that on the forms to, at least slightly, give him a better chance. Even a useless quirk is better than none at all. I know from experience." He breathed deeply. Inko could tell there was more to this story, but felt it best not to pry into his affairs.

"Oh I, thank you doctor, but, is that allowed?" Inko asked, feeling confused.

"As far as anyone is concerned, it's entirely legitimate. But that's not what I wanted to speak with you about. Your son does possess the quirk gene, he has a quirk. The issue is we have no idea what it is, or how to activate it." He opened one of the folders on his desk and showed her the results of their tests with a pen. There, plain to see, was the dormant gene.

With a sliver of hope in her voice, she asked, "So he could still get a quirk, some day?"

"Yes. It could be activated by a certain trigger word like 'Release', surpassing a certain necessary level of fitness, wearing a particularly tight pair of trousers. There is no end to the possibilities. Or…" He trailed off, hesitating.

With anxiety in her voice, Inko had to ask and find out more."What is it, doctor?"

Softly, he responded, "There are some quirks that activate due to… Traumatic events." He looked at her with seriousness in his eyes.

Inko immediately realised the implications and felt a chill run down her spine."…This is why you didn't want Izuku in the room."

"Yes. Some children, when they learn about this, try to," He breathed deeply again, and shook his head, trying to think of the best way to put this without scaring her too much, "They try to 'fast track' the traumatic event."

"That's awful!" Inko exclaimed, and covered her mouth with her hand. It had been an issue in the quirkless community for some time and she had heard some horror stories, but it tended to be swept under the rug. The most recent case had been a boy who tried to activate his quirk by leaping from a 4th storey window.

"My advice to you is to keep Izuku in the dark as long as possible. Your son loves heroes with all his heart, doesn't he?" The doctor asked.

"Yes he does, very much. Especially All Might."

"Hah, I don't blame him, what child doesn't? Help him to keep that love of heroes alive, it's good for a young boy to have role models." The doctor nodded and smiled warmly. "But try to…manage his expectations realistically. With the quirk we have on his documentation there was never a chance of him becoming a hero, and if a power of his does eventually manifest there's no telling it'll be a strong quirk." He looked at Inko with a stern expression and leaned forward on his desk. "But there are so many other ways to help people." Suddenly his expression turned cheerful again, "such as being a doctor, for instance!"

"Thank you, Doctor, for telling me," Inko said gratefully. There was a mix of emotions rushing through her head: relief, fear, anger. But also hope. Hope that Izuku can find happiness and fulfilment in life.

The doctor smiled and stood up from his chair, before escorting her back to the waiting room where her son sat. Watching the two of them leave his clinic hand in hand, he could feel there was something special about Izuku Midoriya.