Author's Note: My excuse for taking so long? Real Life sucks.

3: Waking Up

Later that evening...

Clark sat alone in his living room, his head resting against the back of his couch, eyes closed in thought. He was certain that the serum he had given Izuku would take, but he didn't know how long it would take to start affecting him. [Hopefully soon,] the former Man of Steel thought, [After getting his hopes up, I sure wouldn't want to hurt him any more than he's already been.] He reached up and rubbed at his eyes, feeling strangely exhausted. [But...if it doesn't take...] He gave a long, suffering sigh.

There were other ways for the boy to gain powers. Many of them he knew how to duplicate thanks to his friendship with those affected by the incidents in question, but none of them were safe. He could only hope that, given enough time, the exo-gene serum would take effect, and a new form of Superman would take the stage.

スーパーマン

The Next Morning - Midoriya Apartment...

Izuku groaned as he rolled over in bed, his head fogged by lack of sleep. The numbers on his All Might alarm clock red just passed five in the morning: Izuku hadn't slept a wink.

How could he?

He was far to concerned over the idea that the serum he had drank the previous night would have any effect at all. And the thought of not becoming a Hero was enough to cause him physical pain at times. He wanted it so badly that he was willing to take the U.A. exams without a Quirk. Something he knew wasn't a good idea, but what more could he do?

True, U.A. had recently reccended the rule that no one Quirkless could take the exams meant for Hero students, but he doubted that he would be able to pass them.

Sighing at the knowledge that he wasn't likely to get any sleep this late he threw back the covers and rolled out of bed. His feet hit the floor with a soft thud, and one of his All Might figures tumbled to the floor while the rest shook violently on the desk and his shelves. "Oops," the boy muttered as he bent to pick the figure up and set it back in its place. "Must've bumped it or something," he was still foggy with lack of sleep as he rose to his feet, heading for the kitchen.

He pulled his door open, not noticing how the knob seemed soft in his hand, nor did he notice the slight imprint his hand had left. His mother was already awake and in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She looked at her son, startled, "Izuku? What are you doing up at this hour?" She asked softly before seeing the dark circles under his eyes, "Oh, dear, did you not get any sleep last night?!"

Izuku shook his head, "No, too worried," the boy muttered as he took a seat at the table, "I still don't feel any different," he put his head in his hands, scrubbing his face to wake himself up a little more, "Maybe there is something wrong with me," he said in a quieter tone, "Just like what everyone else says."

His mother turned away from the stove, arms akimbo and a stern look on her face, "Now you listen to me, young man," she stepped around the table, wiping her hands on her apron before she took his chin in her hand and tilted his head up to look at her, "There is nothing, I repeat, nothing wrong with you," she told her son, "It's the rest of the world that's wrong to think that my perfectly healthy, intelligent and beautiful baby boy isn't normal for not having superpowers."

Izuku smiled at her, closing his eyes for a moment, "That include Dad, too?"

"If that's the way he thinks, then yes," Inko sighed, having accepted long ago that her husband would probably never come back home as long as she still claimed Izuku as their child. In truth, when Hisashi had found out about his son's Quirkless status, the man had hinted at putting him up for adoption. That had been the last straw, and the last fight they had ever had. While she loved him, she would not have him around her child so long as he felt that way about him.

The sadness in her son's eyes deepened, "I thought that if I could become a Hero, then he might come back," he admitted, feeling foolish because he knew that the man had practically abandoned them.

Inko smiled sadly and shook her head, "That shouldn't be your reason for wanting to become a Hero, Dear," his mother said, cupping his chin, "The idea of you becoming a Hero scares me to death," she told the boy while his eyes began to water, "Whether you were born with or without a Quirk, I was terrified that someday you would get hurt by some horrible Villain," she stepped back, folding her hands across her skirt, "But here I am, wishing that you never become a Hero, while my best friend's own child beats and humiliates you every single day."

"Oh, Kacchan isn't - "

Inko held up a hand to silence him, "Izuku, I'm not a fool," she shook her head, "Katsuki's been beating you for years now, yet you refuse to allow me to press charges." She sighed, "That ends now."

Alarm grew across his face, "But he wants to be a Hero just as much as I do!" He stammered, "If you take that from him, then - "

"Izuku," she looked at him, "Think about this for a minute: if he becomes a Hero with that attitude of his, then how long do you think it will be before he kills someone, even if it's by accident?" Izuku opened his mouth to claim this Katsuki wouldn't do such a thing, but immediately closed his mouth a moment later. "You see what I'm getting at?"

"I'm not saying that he shouldn't become a Hero, Izuku," she continued with a small shake of her head, "But as he is right now, I wouldn't be able to tell him apart from a murderous Villain." She saw her son begin to worry his lip before reaching out to him again, "Take today off." His head snapped up as she smiled, "You're dead on your feet, and I won't have you going to school in such a state, especially when I know that one of Bakugō's cronies will probably cause trouble for you again as they did yesterday."

The idea of getting some much needed rest did sound good, he had to admit that. "Okay." He smiled before letting out a huge yawn, making his mother laugh while she turned him toward his room and shooed him back to bed.

As he went, she noticed something rather odd. Her son, who she knew was just a little shorter than she was, seemed to have grown. He was now taller than she was at what looked like 5'7". She cocked her head a little, "When did..." she began to wonder before she gave a small shrug of her shoulders and turned back to making breakfast. "My son's growing up right in front of me." She said with a teary note in her voice.

Several hours later, Izuku woke up and felt much better than he had earlier. But he still didn't feel any different than he did the previous night when Clark had given him the serum. Sighing, he looked over at his alarm clock and was shocked to see that he had slept almost all day!

His stomach growled at him, demanding food. "Hey Mom?" He yelled out as he jumped out of bed, this time, when his feet hit the floor, he felt the whole apartment shake, "Whoa!" He yelped, pinwheeling his arms for balance, "What the...?"

He looked toward the door, noticing that the shape of the knob was off. "No..." he stepped forward, reaching for it, "No way..." His hand grasped the knob, his fingers fitting into the warps and dents perfectly. Then...he squeezed.

The knob creaked and groaned as it was crushed in his grip. Izuku took his hand away and smiled as he saw that his door knob was now nothing but a crushed piece of slag.

Izuku's smile became absolutely radiant as he looked down at his hands, "It worked..." his eyes grew watery with tears, "Granpa's Quirk...I have it...I have a Quirk..." He clenched his fists tightly before he hit his knees, his tears spilling over, "I have a Quirk!"

"That you do."

Izuku yelped and jumped to his feet...or attempted to. His jump not got the boy back to his feet, but also carried him up and into the ceiling. While not strong enough to send him through the ceiling, but it was enough to leave a sizable crack as the plaster fell away while Izuku landed back on the floor with a thump.

A bark of laughter erupted as Izuku rubbed his head, "Looks like your superstrength is coming in just fine," said Granpa Kent as he knelt down and patted the boy's shoulder, "Lucky for your neighbors it hasn't fully developed, yet." He said while looking up at the damaged ceiling.

"Grandpa?" Izuku groaned, in a daze after hitting his head, "What are you doing here?"

Clark jerked his thumb toward the door, "I have superhearing, Kid, I heard you the minute you found out the serum had worked." He smiked at him, "Good thing, too, or else I think you might've wrecked the house." He chuckled before helping the boy back to his feet.

Izuku blushed in embarrassment, "No I wouldn't have..." he muttered, "At least...not on purpose..."

Clark dusted him off, "Maybe, maybe not," he smiled at the boy, "But regardless, you don't need to be left alone right now until you get a handle on your powers."

"Mom's not here?"

Clark shook his head, "She went to visit her friend," the man sighed, "She's planning to do something about the bullying that's been going on."

Izuku looked alarmed at that, "But if she does that, then it'll get worse!"

"Better to nip this in the bud while she can," Clark told the boy, "Your superstrength is weak right now, but as you absorb more sunlight, you'll grow stronger." He pointed out, "And if someone's bullying you, then there's a chance that you might snap, and lash out at them," Clark shook his head, "And trust me, the last thing you want is to hurt someone with your powers, even if they might have it coming."

Izuku frowned a little, "But...I don't... Kacchan will get in real trouble if - "

Clark smiled, "I know that you want him to be your friend, Izuku," he said while reaching out to grip his shoulder, "But I've heard enough about what's been done to you, and believe me, I wish your mother had done something sooner." He looked at the boy sadly, "Besides, what if you really do snap and hurt him? You're such a gentle kid that you'll never forgive yourself if something like that happened."

Izuku sighed: while he knew that he would never intentionally hurt any of his...friends...Clark was right. There were times when either Daichi or Katsuki would say something that had Izuku truly wishing that he had the strength to fight back. And now he did.

And if the rumors and stories he had heard about Superman's immense strength were true, then losing control of his temper really was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"So," Izuku began, looking up at his grandfather, "What do I do now?"

Clark thought about it for a moment before he smiled, "I think we need to figure out just how strong you've gotten, and just how strong you're going to get." He guided the boy toward the door, "I'll take you down to Dagobah Beach. It's an illegal dumping ground that's got plenty of heavy things you can try lifting."

"Great," Izuku said before his stomach growled in protest. "Uh, before we go, do you think we can get something to eat first?"

スーパーマン

Alderaan Junior High School...

Inko Midoriya had always considered herself as a calm and reasonable person. Dealing with someone like Mitsuko Bakugo as a childhood friend had given her a great amount of patience, so much so that it tended to bite her in backside more often than she cared to admit. But today, her patience was being tested beyond what she could normally stand.

Why?

Because the principal of her son's middle school was a prejudiced, money hungry, egotistical prick! Really, the only thing missing was misogyny, and he could be a vaudville villain.

"Mrs. Midoriya, I really don't think a lady such as yourself can understand what I'm trying to accomplish here." Scratch that, the man was also a misongynistic prick as well. "Mr. Bakugō and Mr. Yamaguchi's behavior, while reprehensible, is quite understandable from a certain view point."

Inko smiled and leaned in, "Mr. Tanaka, I don't think you quite understand why I'm here," she said in the most condescending tone she could manage, "But while we're on the subject, Katsuki's mother will also be paying you a visit today because of the behavior you have encouraged." She had the satisfaction of seeing the man's face tigthen almost like he'd drank a cup of raw lemon juice, "And if you think that I really give a damn about what you're trying to accomplish by encouraging these hoodlums to not only beat and berate my child, then I believe you should find a new profession, preferably outside of the educational line."

She watched his face, while keeping her hands hidden behind her purse, her thumb on her phone. She had little proof, eye-witnesses or otherwise, against the man and his methods, but if she could push his buttons just enough, then maybe...

"I don't quite understand what you mean, madam," Tanaka said tightly, "I think my educational system works quite well."

Inko continued to smile, "Do you now?" She said in the same tone, "Then perhaps you can explain to me why my son's homework seems to be from a U.A. owned college at times?" His brow twitched, "Not that he has any difficulty with it. He's always been smart as a whip, that darling boy. But there has also been a few times where he's come home and shown me a report card that has little notes from your staff," her free hand reached into her purse to pull one such card out, "Shall I read to you what it says? Or perhaps you already know because you had a hand in writing it?"

"I cannot control what my staff does," the man sniffed disdainfully.

Inko's brow rose, "Oh, then they must not respect you very much considering you are the one that has a say on whether they stay employed or not." She let out a fake girlish giggle in order to make him angrier. "But I digress," she cleared her throat and read from the card, "Naturally, all A pluses for his grades, but the little note at the bottom says, and I quote "Quirkless children should mind their places." end quote." She smiled at the man, waving the card between her fingers, "This is the tamest one he has received, Mr. Tanaka." She said, her smile falling into a hard line, "Some of the others, and I have kept them all, have quite serious threats written out on them."

His brow furrowed: she almost had him.

"Mrs. Midoriya," his strained voice gave her all the confirmation she needed as her thumb pressed record, "While I understand that you wish for your son to be treated equally, the sad fact of the matter is that he is not equal to any of my students that possess Quirks, nor will he ever be. The fact that he has excellent grades even though we try to rectify that, should speak volumes of our tolerance for him." Inko ached to slap the man across his face, but she had to keep recording, "Your son has good grades, which mean he will get into a good school, and a good college: which means that he might have the honor of shinning his boss' shoes if he manages to find a job that has as high a tolerance for inferior being as we do here."

"Inferior?" Inko's voice rose in pitch, "My son isn't some chimpanzee at the zoo, you Quirkist hazbin!"

"At least I will be able to do something with my life," he snapped his hands slamming on his desk, "But your son will be lucky if he survives passed middle school!" He sneered at her, "I intend to see to it that he's tormented for the rest of his time here! There won't be a day that he isn't harrassed verbally or physically because he is nothing but a Quirkless nothing that will never amount to anything more than busboy!"

Inko managed to, just barely, keep a straight face, "You, Sir, will be hearing from my lawyer." She rose and turned on her heel, heading for the door.

"Good luck with that," Tanaka taunted her, "You aren't the first idiot to try to outsmart me."

Inko's smile as she pressed her phone again to end the recording could have almost been mistaken as villainous. "This is the first time I've been serious about ruining someone, Mr. Tanaka, and I think you'll find that I am a bit more qualified than most."

スーパーマン

Meanwhile...

"Explain something to me, Son," Mitsuki Bakugō said with her arms crossed while her son sat across from her, his face a sneer as usual, "You want to be a Hero, right?"

Katsuki's brow twitched, "You know I fucking do, so why even ask?" He demanded in a harsh, abrasive voice, "Why'd you even pull me outta school anyway? I gotta keep my grades up if I'm gonna get into U.A. next year?"

"Why?" Mitsuki feigned a look of surprise as she looked at her husband, "Masaru, darling, he wants to know why."

Masaru gave a humorless chuckle, "That's surprising, isn't it?" He said, playing along when he was just as angry as his wife for once, "Perhaps you'd better tell him."

Mitsuki shook her head, "Oh, I don't think he'll believe it coming from me," she said with a woeful moan, "It would be better coming from his father."

Katsuki's face was contorted with rage by this point. "Would you two fuckers get to the point already?!" He snapped angrily, his voice bouncing off the walls of their home.

His father's face lost all of its fake humor then, "First of all, you will not use that language with us ever again," Masaru said, stunning the boy before he started to snap again, "And if you do, not only will we ground you with no allowance or luxuries," his mouth snapped shut, "But we will also make sure that U.A., or whatever school you manage to attend after this, knows just what they're getting themselves into."

"What the fuck are you - "

"Consider yourself grounded for a week, no allowance, games or hanging out with those so-called friends of yours," Masaru interrupted him while the boy ground his teeth, "Did you think I was joking?" He demanded, "If you swear at either your mother, or myself again from this point on, you'll get one more week of the same stacked onto what you already have, understood?!"

Katsuki refused to answer, but both parents notice smoke rising from his palms, "And that's another thing," his mother said, gesturing to his hands, "You will not use your Quirk inside, or outside of this house until you are within a properly licensed school that teaches you the law behind unlawful Quirk use!"

"What -?!"

"Shut up!" Mitsuki snapped, her finger pointed at the boy, "I've warned you time and time again not to use your Quirk unless you were in a training facility," she reminded him as her eyes burned with rage, "But did you listen? Of course you didn't! You think that, just because you've got a strong Quirk, you can get away with anything you want!"

"Did that fucking Deku - !"

"You just added another week of punishment," Masaru interrupted him. "And to answer your question, no, Izuku said nothing against you."

Mitsuki nodded in agreement, "His mother did," she told her son, "And what would you have done if it was Izuku that told us? Hmm?" She demanded as he son's face burned, "Would you have stormed off to find him? Beaten him up? Used your Quirk on him?"

"You know how poor they are," Masaru said with accusatory gesture at his son, "Yet you alone have cost that family thousands in clothes because you like strutting around like a peacock showing off for his flock!"

"I was just - "

"You were just what?" His mother asked, "Being a "Hero"? She spat the word out, then pointed at the boy, "Let me tell you something, Katsuki: nothing you've done up to this point has been heroic," she saw him flinch, "But you already know that, don't you? Yet you still did it." She sat back with her arms crossed over her chest, "My question to you now is why?" She asked, "Why would you do something like this to someone that can't even defend himself?"

Katsuki opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came to mind, "I..." his hands shook, "I don't know."

Masaru arched his brow, "You...don't...know..." he drawled out before he shook his head, "I'm sorry, but that's not good enough, you're going to have to do better."

Mitsuki nodded, her face softening, "You two used to be such good friends," she reminded her son, "And Izuku's done nothing to warrant such blind hatred from you."

"I know." Katsuki muttered, both of his parents leaning in hopes of hearing more, "I...he was...my friend...but..."

Mitsuki looked ready to say something, but Masaru held up a hand, "But what Son?" He asked, hoping he would continue.

"He...no matter what I did or said..." Katsuki muttered, the smoke disappearing from his palms, "He always...kept following me...even when he was told he didn't have a Quirk."

Masaru was starting to put something together, "Son...are you afraid of him?" He saw his son's face twitch slightly. "I'm right, aren't I?" He continued, "You're afraid of him...of what he could become: a real Hero."

Mitsuki scoffed, "Of all the ridiculous - "

"Hear me out, Dear," Masaru said, holding up a hand to stall her, "You know that everyone's been praising Katsuki since he got his Quirk," he pointed out, "He's got a massive ego because of it - Sorry, Son, but it's true." He said while his son looked at him, "Izuku's always been trying to be a Hero, even without a Quirk. And, somehow, our boy felt threatened by it."

Mitsuki frowned, "Threatened?" She looked at her son, "How?"

"Fragile ego syndrome," her husband shrugged, "He's always been at the top of his class, perfect grades and a powerful Quirk to boot that will make him a good Hero, but Izuku has always had good grades as well, sometimes even better than Katsuki's, and even without a Quirk the kid is always stepping in when someone needs help, just like a Hero. Katsuki never does that. He just loves a good fight."

Mitsuki gave her husband a look, then turned to their son, "Inko wanted to press charges against you for illegal Quirk use against a Quirkless individual," Katsuki's head snapped up, "I'm going to convince her to drop those charges...on one condition." She gave the boy a hard glare, "From this point on, you are going to be taking therapy sessions to knock this behavior out of your system."

"Make that two conditions, Dear," Masaru put in before Katsuki could protest, "He needs to apologize to Izuku," he looked at his son dead in the eyes, "That part will be nonnegotiable. All that you've done warrants at least that much."

"If you don't agree to these two terms, Son, we've got no choice but to take legal actions," Mitsuki said, her face softening more, "It's not something we want to do, obviously, but want you've done can't go unpunished."

"Izuku will forgive him in a heartbeat," Masaru sighed, "It's Inko we really need to worry about."

Mitsuki sighed, "If she has her way with the school, she might be lenient," she relented, "And if Izuku wants to forgive him, she might even cave in a little bit," she then looked at her son again, "You're starting to realize, I hope, that your future depends on someone you've been cruel to for the last decade."

スーパーマン

Author's Note's: Buenos noches amigos! It's been a long time! Apologies for taking so long with this story, but RL has been kicking my can across the yard. And this chapter was kinda boring, so it took a little bit longer than I would have liked. And I know that it seems like Bakugo is getting off easy, but it will take time, and a lot of slaps to the face before he comes out of his ego shell.

Also, I've been cross-posting my stories on Archive of Our Own because for some reason, is not letting me read any stories. Hopefully this issue resolves itself soon. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter if you are able to read it. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review to show support to both the story and the author. Good night, amigos!