Chapter 1: Along Came a Spider
It began on another sunny day, a fourteen year old Izuku Midoriya now leaving a comic book shop. He glanced down at the issue he had just bought, a slight yawn trying to come out of his mouth. "Man...All Might is so cool. I wish I could meet him." He whispered, only for his phone to vibrate. Taking it out of his pocket, he saw it was his own invention, the Midoriya hero app. The program switched to show a certain news headline Izuku always loved to see: All Might.
ALL MIGHT DEFEATS SLUDGE VILLAIN! ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE SYMBOL OF PEACE!
"Wow...wish I could have seen that in person. But that's not in the cards for a Deku like me." Izuku commented as he tapped the phone, "App, give me all the details. I want to record them in my notebook tonight."
"Understood." the phone replied back, Izuku putting it away a second later.
To say Izuku Midoriya was a genius was an understatement. The app he just used was his newest invention, something he found he was born for. He found early on that he had the knack for inventing, finding he could easily take anything apart and rebuild it. He started with the television at his house when he was five and kept going for years, trying to make all sorts of support items for the future.
But despite all that, his love was for heroics. He adored heroes since he was small, even before that faithful day when he was four. There, he was told he was quirkless, a judgement that along with the doctor that day, many others also told him that he could not be a hero. And it was something he lived with every day now. For after that day, he had spent over a decade of constant torment and bullying.
"Guess that's that." Izuku then looked back at the comic in his other hand, "Well, at least I have this. Though what's a brain like mine good for if I can't be a hero?"
It wasn't long till the day ended, Izuku going home. As he walked inside, he found his mother, Inko Midoriya, already in the kitchen. The woman had a slight frown on his face, Izuku knowing she probably wanted to do another 'talk' on how he shouldn't try to be a hero, and just go into support. Despite this, he saw she was making katsudon, the teen taking it with a small frown. But as he began to eat, he was halfway done before just tapping the food with his chopsticks. The sight made Inko sigh, the woman slowly speaking up, "Izuku...what are you working on now? I know you wanted to make that support portfolio thing for UA."
"Yeah..." Izuku sighed as he took another bite. "I just...I wish I could do more."
"Izuku..." She put her hand on his shoulder, the boy slowly looking up at her. "I know you don't want to hear this, but...I think this will be better for you. You have a brilliant mind. Why, I remember when you were five...you took apart the television to see how it worked. Remember that?"
She let out a small giggle at this, only for Izuku to slowly get up. "I'm...gonna go to bed."
"Izuku-"
"Sorry mom." He interrupted, "I'm just...not feeling it today."
He then shoved the plate over the table and walked away, the sight making Inko sigh. "Oh Izuku...I just want you to be safe."
The teen soon closed the door to his room, his eyes slowly drifting up as he saw his room. Around the bed where piles of metal, gadgets and gizmos he had created. Along with that was a stack on notebooks, all filled with analyses over heroes he had made over the years, his other passion. But they weren't what he was proud of. It was the sights on the walls, posters of All Might, shelves of action figures of every hero he knew, and piles of comic books to the side of his bed that he loved. This sight would always make him smile, a big goofy grin on his face as he would read a few comics or play with his action figures. But not today. Instead, he just slugged over to his bed and flopped down, a small stream of tears appearing from his eyes.
"Why couldn't I've been born with a quirk? I'd give up this brain if I could just have a quirk..." He put his face into his pillow as tears started to stain the cloth, "I wanna be a hero..."
"You'll never be a hero!"
That was the roar of Katsuki Bakugo the next day as he used his quirk on Izuku's stomach. The teen cried out at this, only for the teen to slam a fist into Izuku's face. "Augh!" Izuku yelped as he hit the floor, tears pouring out of his eyes as two other boys started kicking the downed student.
"Yeah! You heard Bakugo, you useless Deku!"
"Loser! Loser!"
Katsuki leaned down in front of Izuku's face, growling at the teen, "You hear that, you quirkless loser? I told you to not apply to UA! You're looking down on me, aren't you?!"
"I never looked down on you Kacchan, I-"
"Shut up! You'll never be a hero! You're just a worthless pebble!" Katsuki then kicked Izuku in the stomach, making the teen squirm, only to reach down and grab a certain notebook that Izuku was clinging onto.
"Hey! Give that-blaugh!" Izuku cried as Katsuki kicked him in the face.
"Shut up loser." He spat before opening it up, "What's this? Blueprints for...heroics?!" He quickly closed the book and glared at Izuku, "Seriously?! I just told you that you can't be a hero, you useless Deku!"
"I'm not...gonna be...a hero...Kacchan." Izuku wheezed out, "I'm gonna...go into...support."
"Yeah right, you quirkless loser! No one is going to UA in this dump except me!" Katsuki growled before lighting his quirk up, the book instantly exploding.
"NO!" Izuku screamed, only for Katsuki to kick him in the face again.
"I said, shut up!" Katsuki roared before opening a nearby window and throwing the notebook's charred remains out of it. He then leaned down and grabbed Izuku's collar, a huge grin on his face, "Listen here loser, if you really wanna be hero..." His grin grew wider as he said these next words, "Go take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life."
"You...Kacchan..." Izuku squirmed out, only for Katsuki to punch him in the face, "Blaugh!"
"Don't you dare call me that, Deku!" Katsuki spat as Izuku laid out on the floor, squirming as tears poured out of his eyes, "See?! You're just a worthless wimp. You'll never be a hero, so give up already and stay out of my origin story!"
With that, Katsuki spun around and left, the two boys that were always with him taking a second to kick Izuku again before running after the teen. And as Izuku laid out on the floor, he let out a wheeze of pain before a pair of shoes appeared in his line of sight. Looking up, he saw it was his homeroom teacher, a snarl on his face.
"Izuku...how many times do I have to tell you to stop laying on the hallway floor?! Get to class already!"
"Yes...sir..." Izuku coughed out, slowly getting up as the teacher walked away. He let out a sniff at this, another batch of tears going down his face, "Why...why me?"
The rest of the day was the usual for the boy, nothing but pain and misery. Even though he had the best grades in the class, the teachers always tried to go against him, all because he was quirkless. It was like this every day, every moment, especially since it had been announced the previous day he was applying to UA. Katsuki had run a fit at this, telling the class they were all beneath him, then giving Izuku yet another beating. This was followed by today, where Katsuki was extra mad, though Izuku couldn't really tell when Katsuki wasn't mad.
Despite this, the school day soon ended, and Izuku found himself having to purchase a new notebook. And as he walked out of the convenience store, he began to write in the book as he got on the train. 'Well, at least I remember most of what I wrote down. I do have nine months for the support department portfolio, and I've already written out a few blueprints.' He rubbed his face as he began to do a sketch, 'Hmmm...should I make a weapon? I know UA support prefers costume support, but maybe I could make something more logistical? What about a type of tracker or...'
His thoughts drifted as he wrote down a bunch of different things just as the train came to a stop. And as he walked out and back to his house, he couldn't help but think how pointless it was in the end. Despite everything he wanted, he was just settling for what he considered to be 'second best' with support.
'Eh, I'll figure something out. I got nine months after all.'
Nine months later, just 2 days till UA entrance exam starts...
Izuku was now staring at his desk in his room, four new fully written notebooks in front of him as he scanned over everything he had written out over the past nine months. Wads of papers were all over the floor, most in a small trashcan as he found himself going back and forth at the notebooks, staring at a few weapon blueprints he had made, only to shake his head. "No..." He whispered before looking down at his phone.
'The best invention I've made is on this thing, and I know that's not gonna be enough. All these portfolios are good, but this is UA! I'm running out of time! I just need a better idea. What if I-'
"Izuku!"
He was taken out of his thoughts at his mother's voice, the teen turning and yelling back, "Yes?"
"Could you take out the trash?"
"In a minute!" Izuku replied, only to glance back down at his desk. The sight made him flinch, only to sigh a second later. 'Why me?! Why can't I figure this out?! Kacchan's right...I'm just a failure.'
A few moments later, the teen got up and gathered the paper in the floor, soon taking his wastebasket to the trashbag, only to walk out a minute later with it. And as he walked over to the dumpster by the apartment, the teen found himself in a haze as he walked. His mouth began to mumble as he tried to think about what he was missing.
"Maybe I should do a type of all-in-one gauntlet like my earlier design. Though that might be too much, though maybe I could make a type of phone with the gauntlet. I mean, it could connect to a hero's mask, and then I could use a type of protective fiber over it that makes sure the hero...the hero..."
His muttering stopped as he let out a long sigh. "Oh, who am I kidding? Even after all this, I still can't do it. I just want to be a hero. Maybe Kacchan is right. Maybe I should just take a swan dive-YEOW!"
He let out a scream as he felt a surge of pain from his wrist, soon slapping it with a single strike. And as he looked down at his hand, he gasped when he saw a now dead spider in his palm. He quickly shook it off, squirming for a second, only to blink as he saw the spider hit the pavement, its corpse bouncing till it showed its back. Izuku blinked at the sight, soon leaning down as he saw the numbers 42 on it.
"What the heck?!" He whispered as he slowly picked up the bug, squinting as he spun it around on his fingers, "42? Why does a spider have a...wha..." Izuku's words began to slur as he felt his legs feel like they were about to turn to jelly, the teen almost dropping the bug as his other hand grabbed his knee. "Whoa..."
He felt a bit of nausea in his throat, his vision blurring as the pavement below multiplied and spun around for a second. Izuku closed his eyes at this, his legs still shaking as he started taking deep breaths. 'What...is...happening? Head...feels...funny. Did I...just get...poisoned?'
And after what felt like hours, the world stopped spinning on Izuku. He opened his eyes and saw that everything was fine. Rapidly blinking at this, he put the dead spider in his pocket, grabbed the trashbag and threw it into the dumpster, and quickly ran back into his room. His mother called out to him, but it fell on deaf ears as Izuku put the spider on his desk and then pulled up his laptop. 'Gotta find out what this spider is. I don't wanna die to a spider bite of all-'
"AUGH!" Izuku yelped as he clutched his head, "What now?!"
A burning sensation slammed into his head, the teen now rubbing the sides of his cranium. He semi-closed his eyes before glancing over at the spider, only for his head to hit the keyboard, his hand smacking the desk before pushing the spider under some paper as his eyes closed.
"Wha..." was all he could mutter out before he felt himself shut down, sleep taking over as he tried to move.
A long yawn escaped Izuku's breath as he felt his hands lift out of his bed's covers. His eyes slowly opening, he found himself staring at the ceiling, the sight feeling slightly zoomed in for him. But this was ignored as he felt a certain stiffness in his shoulders. 'When did I fall asleep?' he thought, 'What was I-'
"Izuku?" a voice called out as the door to his room opened. He glanced over to it and saw his mother walk in. "Oh, thank goodness."
"Huh? Mom? What's wrong?"
Inko just shook her head at this, "I found you passed out on your desk and your face was burning. I thought for sure you had a fever."
"A fever?" Izuku repeated as he put a hand to his forehead, only to feel semi-warm skin.
"You don't have one now." Inko commented as she walked up to him. "You just...well, you were burning for a bit, and I couldn't wake you up. So, I put you in bed." She sat down on the bed and put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay? Did you overwork yourself with the UA stuff?"
"No...I mean, I don't think I did." He said as he blinked at her, "I guess...I don't know. I think I'm fine now."
"Okay. Well, I want you to stay at home for today. I already called the school, especially since you slept in like that today."
"I slept in?" Izuku responded before turning to his room's clock, only to go wide-eyed as he saw it was almost noon. Inko giggled at the sight before patting his head.
"Just rest. There's some frozen dinners I picked up two days ago in the fridge. Just have that for lunch. I'm gonna go to my part-time job at the hospital, okay?"
"Okay..." Izuku slowly replied as his mom left the room, the boy shrinking back into his covers. And as she closed the door, he thought aloud, "What was that? What happened to...the spider!"
He quickly hopped out of the bed and over to his desk, quickly rustling through the papers until finding the dead bug under one of them. His eyes squinted at the sight as he picked it up again. "So...you didn't poison me, but you did something, didn't you? Alright, I'll examine you in a second."
He put the insect back onto his desk before getting up, walking into his bathroom. He was about to use the toilet, feeling the urge, only to stop in front of the mirror. He slowly turned to the reflective surface, only to see his arms...and they were muscular. "What the-" He looked down at his sleeves, seeing they were now constricted and tight, the teen quickly taking off his shirt. And the sight made him go wide-eyed.
Izuku was never an athletic child. He never really had muscles or much strength. However, now it looked like he had gone to the gym all his life. "I have...a six-pack?!" He yelped as he glanced back up at the mirror, now seeing the reflection of what he had just looked at. His eyes continued to grow as he felt down and patted the pecs, feeling every touch. "Whoa..."
He flexed his arms next, seeing the raw muscle now in them. He clenched his fist at this, feeling a surge of strength just in that one motion. It felt like he could do anything, as if he was now a one man army. "What happened to me?"
He then sat down on the toilet, doing his business as he began to think, 'How did this happen? Why do I have a six pack now? Why do I feel better than ever? What is going on?!' He got up a few moments later and began to wash his hands, but as he grabbed the handle and turned it...he found couldn't take his hand off it. "What the-" He began to pull at the handle, growling as he felt his hand stay stuck. "Stupid hand! Let go of-whoa!"
The teen let out a yelp as he let go, falling back as his hand suddenly stopped sticking to the sink handle. Izuku fumbled back before straightening up, growling as he stared at his hand, "What was that?!" He then went back to the sink and washed his hands, soon drying them and began to walk over to open the bathroom door...only to twist the handle, and the whole door broke off as he opened it. "WHOA!"
Izuku slowly looked down at the door handle, now seeing his hand was stuck to it before backing up at the now broken door. "What is..." his words drowned out as he felt his hand release from the door, Izuku quickly grabbing the door's sides and placing the door on the wall. And as he walked back into his room, his eyes instantly went back to the bug on his desk. "The spider..." He leaned down and poked the dead creature, the teen's eyes going wide as his brain finally caught up to everything that had happened this morning. "Did you...give me a quirk?!"
The next few hours were the busiest in Izuku's life. Ecstatic at what had just happened to him, he quickly began to figure out all he could do. For starters, he found he had immense strength, able to lift up the house's washer and dryer with one hand. He found he was quicker, and his hands and feet would now stick to things as he tried to climb up his room's wall...only to slightly tear off a bit of the ceiling with his fingers. This was followed by him looking up what spiders could do, which was followed by him taking out some old support equipment he had made, as he knew he had to examine every bit of what the spider was, and what it did to him.
"Glad I made this." he mumbled to himself as he pulled out a small folding microscope/scanner. He had made it for crime scenes, trying to make a portable medical scanner of sorts, which was supposed to connect to police computers, though he never really got to test it. Now, he took a small needle and pricked himself, putting the blood on a small piece of glass. But as he did this, he saw the little prick he did instantly heal up, the blood not even dripping off his finger. He blinked at this, only to tell himself that was another thing to look into before staring down the scope, his eyes quickly going wide.
The blood in the sample looked as if he had evolved, its structure no longer fluid, but in a state of constant flux. The sight baffled him before he plugged up the scope to his computer, soon examining the blood on a full screen. He then put the spider in the microscope, trying to find anything on it.
But the spider had nothing. It was if the spider had given Izuku everything and was now an empty husk. Seeing this, he took out a small bottle and put the spider in it, sighing as he put a lid on the container. This was followed by Izuku doing a scan of his own blood, soon going over what data his little machine could give him.
"Hmmm...so it looks like I have enhanced strength, I can stick to other surfaces, and I seem to have some kind of healing factor. Though, this sample is so strange. According to this, it should have also affected my nerves and brain-" He stopped as he then felt a tingle in his head, his ears ringing as he heard a small buzzing noise. His arm suddenly jerked at this, only to feel something now between his fingers. Squinting at it, he saw he had perfectly grabbed a fly's wings, the bug still alive. "Whoa..."
He let go of the fly, the bug flying off as he sat back down. He stared at his hand, flexing the fingers for a bit. 'Guess that answers that. I guess I have some kind of...radar sense? Still, how did this spider do this to me?' He then looked back at his computer, only to see something more to the data onscreen. 'It also says I have something with my skin, along with a type of...energy inside me? What is that?!'
He glanced back at the bug, slowly whispering, "What are you?" He then looked back at his hands, feeling the tense power inside them now, "Then again...I just got what I always wanted. A quirk." He glanced up at the screen, "Multiple quirks...or is it a mutation quirk? Might be that."
He slowly got off his chair, staring back down at the bottle containing the spider. "Thank you." He whispered before a grin shined on his face, "I have a quirk...I HAVE A QUIRK!" He exclaimed, thrusting his arms into the air. And as he said this, he then looked back down at all his notebooks, stars in his eyes. "I gotta tell mom! I gotta try the hero exam!"
And as he said those words, only one thought went through his head.
'I can be a hero!'
Chapter 2: Just a Failure
"No."
Izuku's face fell as he heard this before exclaiming, "What?! But mom, look at what all I can do now!"
"I see that." Inko replied, only to point to his room, "And I can see the damage you did in the house since we now have to replace your bathroom door and figure out what to do about your room's ceiling." Izuku grimaced at this, opening his mouth to counter her, but his mom just put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Izuku...I am happy for you, but you just got these powers. Do you really want to go in with no control over them, or do the support exam you know you can pass?"
"But...I...well..." Izuku stuttered out, glancing down at his hands before sighing, "I mean...I know I can pass, but..." He looked back up at her, tears flowing down his eyes, "I want to be a hero, mom! I-I-I don't want to be a failure anymore!"
"Izuku! You are not a failure!"
"I AM!" Izuku screamed back, "All I do is fail, and its all because I don't have a quirk! Now I do, and you want me to not use it?!"
Inko flinched at his uproar, the boy rarely raising his voice, only to sigh as she gripped his shoulders, "Izuku...I know you want to be a hero. You've wanted it all your life, and...and..." his mother stared at him straight in the eyes, "And you could do it with this...spider quirk. But the exam is tomorrow, Izuku. You remember telling me about the UA sports festival? How general education students can use that to get in the hero classes?" Izuku nodded back. "Support students do the festival too. Why don't you use that to get into heroics, alright? That was your plan, remember?"
"I...but I..." He tried to speak, but the big frown on his mother's face drowned out everything. Instead, he just let out a sigh and nodded, "Okay."
"Good. Now, I know this is hard, but you can be hero Izuku. You just...have to go a different path for it. Besides, the spider quirk will help you get there, but you...you can't just jump into this. You need to figure out your quirk first, and you can do that while at UA."
"I know..." Izuku muttered, staring back down at his hands, "I...I need to figure everything out."
'I have a quirk.' He clenched his hands into fists at this, a lone tear going down his face, 'I'm no longer quirkless right when the UA exam starts. Figures in my life, huh? Just...too little, too late for me.'
Sleep did not come easy for the teen. Izuku's brain couldn't stop thinking about his new quirk. It was his second day with it after all, and he wanted to spend every waking moment trying it out. Instead, he had to go take an exam at UA, something that also excited him, but nowhere near as much as his new quirk.
Despite this, Izuku woke up bright and early that faithful day, his mom quickly helping him get ready as she began to mumble out questions, "Do you have everything? Do you have all your supplies and your portfolio and your-"
"I got it all mom. I promise I'm ready." Izuku replied as he put away all his notes into his backpack. He then glanced back up at her, a small smile on his face, "Wish me luck, okay?"
"I will. I'm just...worried about you." She put a hand on his shoulder, "Remember Izuku, just focus on today. You can figure out the whole 'spider quirk' thing after this, alright?"
"I...yeah." Izuku sighed as he put the backpack on his back, "I know." He then hugged her, Inko embracing him back, "Thanks mom."
"I love you Izuku. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you." Izuku repeated, soon spinning around and walking out of the house. He waved back at her, Inko telling him she loved him one more time before he ran for the train. It was here he felt his new body speed himself up, quickly racing down the street like a bullet. Despite this, he found himself able to slow down just as he got to the station, soon hopping on before going straight for the school.
And as he rode the train, his mind was on one thing: His new quirk. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about it, but even the exam was in the back of his brain. He soon put his head in his hands, telling himself to think about the exam and review his notes, only to put his hands on the train's seat. They began to stick at this, making him jerk before slowly taking them off. 'I gotta get a handle on this. Don't want that to interfere with the exam.'
UA. The greatest hero school in the world was in the front of Izuku. The very sight made the teen feel like he was two inches tall, the size of the place alone making Izuku want to puke. His nerves made his whole body shake like a leaf, worry pouring over his face as he slowly walked up to the school.
'You can do this Izuku. You can do this. You're not a failure. You're not a Deku. You have a quirk now and you're gonna go pass the support exam and become a hero...by doing the festival.' He put a hand to his head as he felt his thoughts start to jumble up. "Get a hold of yourself Izuku..."
He began to walk up to the school, his feet slowly dragging on the sidewalk before he felt a tingle in his head.
Danger!
Izuku came to a stop, the teen glancing down as he saw his feet were about to trip on the sidewalk. He slowly lifted up his foot, making sure he didn't fall before continuing his walk. 'That was close. This new radar sense is nice...but its a lame name. Maybe I should call it something else. Like maybe...Spider Sense? That has a good ring to it.'
It was here that he saw he was already standing in front of the support exam room. He blinked at the sight, shaking his head before finding a seat. As he sat down, he rubbed his forehead as he thought, 'Gotta stop thinking about my new quirk. You gotta pass the exam Izuku, you have to-'
"Hello everyone." A voice made Izuku look up and see the support hero, Power Loader. The sight made stars appear in his eyes, his jaw slightly dropping.
"Its Power Loader...so cool!" He mumbled to himself, "He's one of the few heroes that has both a hero and support license! I heard he's-"
"Hey!" snapped a voice, startling Izuku. He turned to see a boy glaring at him, "Stop muttering. We need to hear what he's saying for the exam!"
"S-s-s-sorry." Izuku whispered before looking back at the Pro Hero. He grit his teeth, trying not to speak as Power Loader gestured to the desks in front of everyone. Everyone quickly sat down at this, Izuku's mind going back as he hunched over in his seat, 'Oh, why did this have to happen now? I wanna do more tests on my quirk. Just how much can I lift? Maybe I can-no!' He smacked the sides of his head with his hands, his eyes just now looking back up at Power Loader, 'Concentrate Izuku! You gotta pass this test!'
"Okay everyone, we're starting with the written exam. As you can probably guess, your exams will be slightly different from the other divisions. This one will be more support oriented, though it will still have the normal stuff like heroics and business will be doing. It'll also be three hours, and after that is the practical exam, so get ready for a long day. Now, any questions before start?" A hand shot up instantly at this, "Yes?"
A girl with pink hair in front of Izuku stood up at this, "Yes! Will we get full access to all the tools here at UA for the practical?! I already have too many ideas! I wanna make a super baby right now!"
"Baby?" Power Loader repeated before shaking his head, "No, you'll have the basics, though there are a few extras we have for the practical. That exam is more based on improvising and showing your skills. Now, does anyone have a question on the written exam?"
Silence soon followed this, the hero nodding at the sight. "Good. Then let's begin."
The written exam was a disaster. Izuku found that despite the feeling that he knew most the answers, he couldn't help but think about what he could now do. His mind was scattered, unable to think about anything but his quirk. Diagrams and terms were all over the paper, yet to the teen, he could only read half as he tried to concentrate. It wasn't till an hour in that he calmed himself down, giving him barely enough time to finish the exam.
And as he finished, he soon noticed glares all around him. Everyone had finished early except him, at least, that's what it looked like in Izuku's eyes. Nothing but cold, dead stares coming from everyone. But that was normal, it happened all the time at Aldera after all.
"Alright..." Power Loader muttered out as he looked over the stack of written exams. "Step one is done. Now, its time for the practical. Follow me."
The kids quickly hopped out of their seats, the pink-haired girl from earlier zipping up to the front. She looked as if she was about to run past the hero as they walked into the support lab, everyone soon going to a desk. Izuku was last, his eyes glancing around at the room.
'Wow. This is amazing.' he thought as he saw tools everywhere around him, 'UA really spares no expense. They have everything. Wonder what I could make with my quirk? There's a sewing machine over there...what if I tried to make a costume that could-'
"Everyone in a seat please." Power Loader said, knocking Izuku out of his thoughts. He looked up at the hero as he pulled out a sheet. "Now, let's begin the practical. As you know, this is UA's support class, and our main job is to be the future of supporting heroics in this world. Because of that, this test will have you to make a support device of your own design. If you're wondering why we don't give you a design, its because our class pushes improvising. As such, you'll have three hours to make your device with the tools we provide in this room. Any questions?"
No hands were raised at this, the hero nodding, "Good. Then...begin."
The first hour of the exam was grueling for the teen. Izuku expected the test to be something crazy, but he didn't expect it to just be so...normal. It was just making something. And it didn't help that his mind kept going back and forth over the first exam and his new quirk.
And so, he began to make a small portable information device. Over the past nine months, he kept trying to think up good support weapons for heroes to use, only to find none of them to be anything that wasn't already on the market. As such, he went back to mobile devices, which he found better luck with before he got a quirk.
He soon found that support items around gathering information were few and far between. Seeing this, he began to make blueprints over devices like this, devices that held small computers or scanners. He mainly tried to make them for wrists or masks...but never had the parts at his house. Money was always an issue when it comes to looking into support, which made practice even harder.
Despite this, he knew it was what he wanted to do in this exam. He began to gather up what tools he needed, soon making a small wrist device. This took over an hour, the design being super clunky, something he didn't care for, but he knew he was already running out of time.
But as it passed two hours and thirty minutes, he found himself in a complete mess. He was trying to make a scanner, but he found his quirk acting up as he began to make the mini wires for the device. Each time he grabbed one, they stuck to his fingers, making him growl as he ended up tearing a few apart as he tried to release himself from each tiny tube.
And as he grabbed a magnifying device, tilting it over his invention, he didn't notice a tiny spark appearing on the side of his arm. His mind raced as he glanced up at the clock, seeing another five minutes had passed. 'Come on Izuku...you can do this. You just gotta get this done...and working. And I'm almost out of time to test it!'
Sweat began to pour down his face at this, 'No...I can't fail. I don't wanna be a failure. I don't want to be a useless Deku!'
The spark slithered down his arm at this, the teen's mind melting as he took out a small electric welding tool. Tiny sparks flew off his device as he tapped the wrist. And as he did this, the spark traced up the back of his hand...and down his finger.
Izuku's eyes went wide at this, now seeing a green spark go down his finger...and into his device. His spider sense blared at this, but it was too late.
BOOM!
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Izuku screamed as his device exploded in his hands. Pain surged through him at this, making him flinch back as the whole room spun around to stare at him. Power Loader zipped out of his desk, getting over to the teen in a sudden burst of speed.
"Are you okay?!" he yelled as he reached Izuku, seeing the teen fall over as both his hands showed a tiny bit of smoke. He scanned Izuku's hands over, seeing them fully burnt, red and black searing over them before looking back at the other students. "All of you get back to work!" He then glanced back at Izuku, "I'm taking you to Recovery Girl, alright? Stay with me."
Izuku didn't respond after that. He barely said a word as he was taken to the school's nurse. Normally, Izuku would have been excited to meet the hero, but there was nothing as she kissed him and bandaged up his hands, grumbling as she told him that he's just the start of her day before going off to the heroics practical.
And as soon as he was done, he went back to the UA support room with bandaged hands, only to find the test was already over. The sight made his heart sink. His mind sunk into despair at this, quickly spinning around and walking out of the hero school.
"Why...why me?" Izuku whispered to himself as he walked down a street. He looked down at his bandaged hands, pulling at the strands as he felt something cool in them. And as he tugged a bit, he saw his hand was already healing, though very slowly. "Well...I guess that still works."
He let out a long sigh, tears going down his face. "I totally failed, didn't I?" He did a small sniff as he continued to mutter to himself, "I get a quirk and everything still goes wrong for me. Its like the universe won't let me be a hero."
He put a thumb to his mouth as he began to mumble rant, "But what was that? Did I do some kind of bio-electric thing? Why would the spider give me that? Are there electric spiders? I don't think there are. I mean, I looked up a bunch of different spiders after the bite, but none of them could-"
"YOUNG MAN!" yelled a sudden voice, making Izuku hop in place. He spun around at this, now seeing a police officer glaring at him, "Turn off your quirk this instant!"
"Huh? Quirk?" Izuku muttered out, "I don't-"
"I don't care what your quirk is, you're disturbing people!"
"I...am?" Izuku barely replied, "But I'm not-" He slowly looked down at himself, wondering if the bio-electricity had came back...only to see nothing. Nothing at all. Though he couldn't see it, he was just a floating head in the street right now. He blinked at this, his brain slowly turning before going wide-eyed. "HUH?!"
And in that instant, his body reappeared. He looked down at his now reappeared hands, quickly flexing them before the officer said, "That's better young man!" Izuku glanced back up at him, seeing a small smile on the adult's face, "Considering your surprise, you must have accidentally activated it." He shook his head, "Don't worry, I won't report you. Just be more careful, okay?"
"Um...o-o-okay." Izuku stuttered before doing a very slow robotic bow, "T-t-thank you sir. S-s-sorry I did that, s-s-sir."
"No problem. Just don't let it happen again."
With that, the officer spun around and left, leaving the dumbfounded teen. He glanced back down at his hands, blinking as his brain began to churn, 'Did I just...turn invisible? Since when can spiders do that?! Wait...is that the skin thing I couldn't figure out from the scan?'
He looked back up at the street before him, his mouth slowly moving as he said, "Just what was that spider?"
The next week was the longest in Izuku's life. Granted, his hands were now fine thanks to his new healing factor from the spider quirk, but that was the only good thing. Izuku couldn't help but think about the exam every waking moment. He knew he failed, he just knew it. He mainly spent the time either procrastinating over his failure, or trying to summon the bio-electricity and invisibility, but got nothing. His mind was too distracted by his horrible performance.
And it wasn't long till his mom ran in one day, yelling, "Its here! The letter from UA!"
Izuku was sitting in the living room at this moment, turning to see his mom run in. She quickly gave it to him, the boy ripping it open. There, they saw a small device, Izuku taking it out and commenting, "A projector?"
He put it down on the ground, a hologram of Power Loader soon appearing, "Hello there, this is Power Loader of UA." it said before the hero pulled out a remote, pressing a button and showing a picture of Izuku behind him. "Izuku Midoriya, you passed the written exam with an 81 percent. That's a good score, and considered passing for our basic regulations. However, due to the accident, you failed the practical."
Izuku's heart sunk at that, Inko shrinking back as they both felt tears start to appear in their eyes. And then Power Loader said those next words.
"I'm sorry, but UA has decided you do not qualify for the support department." He did a small bow, "I wish you good fortune elsewhere."
The hologram instantly shut off at this. And then the dam burst. Tears poured out of both, Izuku letting out a scream as he fell to his knees. Inko's eyes streamed tears out as well, hugging her son as he kept crying. "I'm so sorry Izuku. I'm so so sorry."
There was silence at this, Izuku just crying as Inko kept herself clinging to her son. But as she did this, she felt him shake, Izuku's tears stopping as he let out a scream. She had never heard him do that, looking back up as she saw the tears stop coming out of her son.
"Why?" he slowly muttered out, only to scream again, "WHY?!"
"Izuku..." Inko increased her grip, now seeing the pure despair on his face.
"Why...why...why?!" Izuku cried as he turned to his mom, "Why mom?! Why does this keep happening to me?!"
"I...I..." Inko tried to say, only to just hang her head, "I don't know. I'm sorry."
Izuku just put his face into her shoulder, muttering out, "I can't take it anymore! I just...I just want something to go right for once in my life."
"I know." Inko replied as she patted his back, "I'm sorry. I don't know why this happened, but...I'm so sorry Izuku."
Izuku sniffed as he leaned back, his eyes going back to the hologram projector on the floor. He kept sniffing as tears poured down his face, only for those words Katsuki had told him so long ago to race through his mind again. 'Kacchan was right. I can't be a hero.'
And as he thought those words, his tears stopped. It was as if something snapped in his brain, as if his entire life flashed before his eyes, all the pain and suffering he had endured now bubbling in his mind. He didn't know why, but he started to feel anger inside himself. And as he looked back at his mom, she saw the fire in his eyes. It scared her, as she had never seen this in him before. It was pure raw anger as he said, "I...I can't take it anymore mom. I'm gonna tell you everything."
"What do you mean?" Inko replied, only to see Izuku take a deep breath. And then, he began to rant.
Izuku told her everything, every day of Katsuki's bullying, every ounce of hatred he had for being born quirkless, and the hopelessness that came from it. He told her all the lies he told her about his injuries, all the times he came home burnt or beaten, and how it was all Katsuki. And as he continued to talk, his mother stayed silent, not responding to a single word. But she soon found that made it worse, for after he told her about that singular moment, the one where Katsuki told him to kill himself, his mother's face went pale.
But even after that, Izuku didn't stop. He kept getting louder as he finished his rant, "And then I finally get a quirk, only to take an exam I don't want to do, and then the quirk makes me fail it and fail my chances to be a hero! WHY?! Why does the universe hate me?! Why?! What did I ever do wrong?!"
As he screamed those last words, the teen slumped over, panting as the bloodshot look in his eyes began to fade. Small tears dropped out of his eyes, his mother just staring at him. She had never seen him this angry. She didn't think he could get angry. Sure, he had gotten mad if an invention had failed, but never raw anger. Nothing like this. And as she saw him finish his rant, she took a deep breath, ready to enter the conversation.
"And...Katsuki really said that?" Inko asked as she put her hand on Izuku's shoulder. "He...he told you to kill yourself?"
"Yeah." Izuku muttered out, tears still flowing down his face, "And I...I..."
"Izuku...you didn't really think about-"
"Yeah..." Izuku whimpered, tears dripping off his chin, "And the worst part is...he's right. I'm just a failure. A worthless Deku."
"Izuku! You are not-"
"I AM! Didn't you hear me?! I keep failing! Everything keeps going wrong in my life!" Izuku roared back, making Inko flinch. He saw this and flinched himself, making him glance away, "Sorry. I...I didn't mean to yell. I mean, I just yelled a bunch and I didn't mean to do that and-"
"I know." Inko interrupted, sighing as she put her arms around him, giving him a soft hug. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."
"Its...its okay. No one wants to help a quirkless-"
"Stop that!" Inko exclaimed, making Izuku hop. She grabbed his face, pulling him to make him stare right at her. As she stared into his eyes, seeing the hopelessness in them, the despair...her heart sank. She knew it was all her fault, she should have been there for him. Seeing this, she took a deep breath and said, "Izuku...I won't run away anymore. I'm going help you every step of the way. I know you failed the UA exam, and that's okay. We'll get through this, okay?"
Izuku blinked at this, just staring at his mother as she stared back. The two's eyes stayed still, tears appearing in both before they began to stream down their faces. They began to hug each other again, Izuku sobbing out, "But...I don't know what to do now!"
"We'll figure it out. I just...I'm sorry for not helping you all this time. I...I should have been there for you."
"Well...you're here now." Izuku finished as they continued crying, their hug staying for what felt like hours.
And when the hug ended, Inko grabbed some tissues and wiped her eyes before grabbing Izuku's hands. He stared into her eyes at this, his mother mumbling out a few words before saying, "Izuku...you're my son. And I said a lot of awful things to you because...I was scared. I gave up. But you...you can't give up. I know you never quit, and you kept chasing your dreams, even when I told you to not go for them...and I'm sorry." She put her hand up to Izuku's face, "No more. I'm here for you. I'll cheer for you, help you...whatever you need. You...you can be a hero. I don't know how, but we'll figure it out, okay?"
"Okay."
"And as for Katsuki..." She took a deep breath, her son grimacing as he saw anger appear on her face, "Don't interact with him anymore, alright? If that boy really did all that to you, don't go near him anymore. He is not your friend, and you should not be around him. Promise me that."
Izuku stared at her, his eyes slightly widening as he thought back to all the times he had been hurt by Katsuki, the bullying, the pain...and he realized what he had just heard is what he always wanted to hear. He did a small nod at this and repeated what he had just said, "Okay."
The anger instantly disappeared from her face, the woman patting him before showing a small smile, "Good. Now, I'm gonna go get some supper ready for us, alright?"
"Okay." He repeated again as his mother got up and spun around, slowly walking into the kitchen. "And mom?" She glanced back at him, "Thank you."
Her grin grew wider before nodding, "No problem."
As Izuku sat down in his room that night, his eyes staring at his phone, the device shifting to an archive app he had made, it now showed an interview with All Might. It was a recorded interview, one he had viewed hundreds of times. He had practically memorized it, but for some reason, he felt he had to watch it. Or watch anything.
But as the interview started, showing All Might giving encouraging words and statements, it was all muddled for him. Like, nothing mattered...until the last question. The interviewer asks him what he believes is the most important quality of being a hero. And the Number One responds in two sentences:
"I believe there are many things a hero must be, but if you asked me the most important quality, I would say one thing: A real hero is someone who never gives up."
"Never...gives up." Izuku repeated, feeling a small tear go down his face. And as he repeated those words in his head, his mind went over one thing. 'All Might is right. All I've done my life is give up. And now, I have a quirk...and I gave up again.' The teen took a deep breath as his eyes narrows, tears stopping as he closed the interview on the phone. 'No more. I won't give up anymore. I'm gonna be a hero, even if I can't go to UA. I will be hero!'
Chapter 3: The Leap
The next month was the busiest one in Izuku's entire life. Never had he done more than that first week after learning he had failed the exam. For starters, he went over everything he could do since he couldn't get into UA. Turns out, there weren't really any other hero schools nearby, and all their testing had already happened. Also, what normal schools that were left for him were...undesirable to say the least. None were what he wanted, and he knew most would have no challenge for his intellect. Seeing this, he ended up going for online classes, which considering what he looked up, he knew he would easily finish them.
However, that still left him with no hero school. The online classes were for basic education, so he decided that instead he would use this time to figure out what kind of hero he would become with this spider quirk. And so, he started looking up more stuff on spiders. As he found that none of them could make bioelectricity or become invisible, he also saw that a ton could make their own webbing, though mainly from their butts. But he knew he couldn't make any, mainly because he had used the bathroom plenty of times since the spider bite and got nothing, so the teen thought that it might be best to make his own. What followed was half a month of experimentation. He went over several formulas, dubbing them 'web fluid' as he tried them all out. It was about two weeks in that he figured it out, making a wrist band styled shooter that he fitted to his hand. He wanted to make it automatic in terms of refilling the fluid, but didn't have the parts, so he decided to make himself a small belt as part of his future costume to hold both the fluid and other things he knew would be useful.
"I'll have to make this thing less clunky in the future." He commented to himself as he tried the fluid a half-month in. He started by testing its tensile strength, soon going to the nearby Dagobah Beach and used a few left over fridges, dryers and washing machines for testing. He found they could lift all of them with the webbing, and it would stick around for about two hours, and was highly biodegradable.
And as he tested this, he also began to make a hero costume for himself. He had spent years drawing and making designs on what he would want his hero costume would be. Granted, he now switched it to a spider design, but also felt he should at least have a costume, even if he had failed to get into hero school. That and when he figured out his hero school situation, he could at least give their support department something to work with. He had experience with sewing thanks to his mom teaching him, saying it would be useful in the future for any situation, something he found himself glad to have done. The costume was dark green in color, his favorite color, and had a black web-like design over the green on the mask and down his chest and back, along with his gloves and boots. The rest was just pure dark green, though he had a white eight-legged spider on the chest and back, along with big white lens for the eyes.
His mother didn't completely like the design, saying it was a bit too scary for a hero, but Izuku didn't care. He felt that for a first costume, it was great. He then began to work on the lenses, giving them a zoom-in function, though he found that was all he could add at the moment. This was followed by making a green hoodie over the initial costume, complete with big long green bunny-like ears, in honor of his love of All Might.
And as that month was about to pass, Izuku decided to go for his first test run. The run would be a simple test with his web shooters, as over his time inventing them, he watched several videos on how spiders use their webs to swing around and decided that if his webs could hold dryers and washing machines, they could definitely hold him. However, despite thinking this, he found himself doing what he considered to the be the worst way to try this out.
By going to the tallest building he could find in Tokyo.
To be fair, he went there not in costume, instead hiding the suit under his clothes. He also brought a small backpack for his clothes when he changed, making sure that he could easily change back, which he was glad that that ending up being the easiest thing to make. The problem was that he was now being reminded that he was afraid of heights. That, and he knew he still didn't have a full grip on his powers, especially the bioelectric powers (He needed a better name for that!) which he couldn't even summon, or his invisibility powers, which he had a strange feeling that he would need to understand them very soon.
"Okay Izuku...you're really doing this, huh?" He told himself as he finished changing into his costume, stuffing his clothes in the small bag before hiding the bag in his hoodie. He then slowly slid down the side of the building, muttering to himself as he did this. "You can do this Izuku. Sure, its terrifying and it looks like you're two hundred stories up, though you know its less. Also, you've only had a little over a week of testing the web fluid and you probably should have tested a bit more...though you know it'll hold you. You already tried it at the house and mom got scared seeing you upside down that one time. You can do this...you can do this. And if you don't, guess Kacchan was right about taking a swan dive off a roof."
Those last words that came out of his mouth made him tense up, the words making him feel like he had sand in his mouth as he said them. He still couldn't believe Katsuki had said that, but also knew that was Katsuki being Katsuki. He took a deep breath next, his eyes staring at the streets below, the sight looking like it was a thousand miles away, but at same time being like two steps away. He closed his eyes next, feeling the glass that his fingers were stuck to slowly begin to release from them.
And then, he let go.
His feet kicked off the building, his fingers feeling them take off some of the glass as he released himself from the side of building. His whole body tensed up for just a second, only to loosen. His whole world flipped as he did a backwards flip in mid-air, his eyes closing for a second as he felt it.
There was no fear. No anxiety. Nothing.
And as he opened his eyes, he saw the night sky above him and the street below. The sight made him go wide-eyed, fear now hitting him again as the wind began to smack his face. He glanced back up next, his raising his palm at the building he had just leapt from and pressed the web shooter trigger. A web line instantly shot out, hitting the top of the roof. And with a single yank, he felt it.
The wind. The pressure. The gravity. The fall.
It was all gone.
All that was left was the rise.
His body zipped up at this, the teen just now releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding. And with his second hand, he pointed to another building and shot a web. Instantly hitting, he let go of the first before pulling along, swinging down wide as he felt the wind smack his face again.
It felt amazing. Like he was on top of the world.
And that fear he felt come back, the anxiety, the tenseness...it all faded away. It was all gone. It was...freedom.
Pure and simple freedom.
The boy let out a scream, "WOOOO-HOOOO!" before he swung again, his body zipping across a street. Block after block zoomed by as he did another web line, and another, and another. The biggest grin was now on his face under his mask as he swung past an office building, the people inside seeing the sight and all going wide-eyed. He then did a flip, soon staring at the stars above him before back at the city, the lights flooding his vision. The sight made the grin under his mask grow as he flicked his arm and shot another web. Again and again he thwipped the web, each swing syncing with his body.
"WHOOOO!" He exclaimed again, "THIS IS AWESOME!"
He then did a wide-arced swing, only to let go and do two flips, screaming with joy as he did so, "YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!"
The people below all glanced up, gasping at the sight. He was the center of attention, the world was watching. He had never felt more alive. More real. He...had done something amazing. Spectacular.
But as he shot the twentieth line, his spider-sense went off.
Danger!
"Huh?" He glanced back, only to see a certain hero he had seen a lot on the news lately: Kamui Woods.
"Come back here! You are under arrest!" he roared as strains of wood shot out of hero.
"What?!" Izuku yelped as a line of wood shot past his left side, the teen barely dodging the lumber before firing another web line, "Wait! Don't! I'm not a criminal!"
"You are!" Kamui barked back as he retracted a strain of wood before firing two more, both thrusting out to Izuku's sides. He then tried to pincer them on the teen, Izuku letting go of the web. He fell like a rock, only to fire another web, yanking himself back up as the wood from Kamui slithered back onto his body, "Stay still!"
"But I haven't done anything wrong!"
"You've committed the crimes of public quirk use and disturbing the peace!"
"Disturbing the peace?! I'm not doing anything to disturb people!" Izuku yelled back as he kept swinging away. "I'm just having some fun!"
"Liar! You're under arrest villain!"
"Villain?! I'm not a-"
"Take this, villain! Lacquered Chain Prison!" Several strands of wood shot instantly at this, Izuku's spider-sense blaring as he glanced back and saw the attack. And as he tried to speed up his swinging, he saw two strands shoot pass him again, only for Kamui to yell, "What the-where'd you go?!"
"Huh?" Izuku whispered, only to look back ahead as he shot another web line, but then saw his hand was missing. He had turned invisible again. 'Oh. Guess that works in danger. That's good to know.'
He then took a turn, making sure to miss Kamui's wood strands before swinging down two more blocks. He glanced back down and saw he was still invisible, a grin on his face before taking another turn and seeing his home now somewhat in the distance. "Nice." he whispered to himself before swinging over to the rooftop of his home. And as he landed, he looked down at his hands and saw they were still invisible, the teen telling his brain to turn off the invisibility...and it worked. Blinking at this, he closed his eyes and tried again, only to open his eyes and see his hand was mostly gone.
'So that's how it works. Guess I just needed some danger to make me learn how to use it...though I might need a little practice. I still gotta figure out the bio-electric stuff though...which I need a better name for.' He thought as he hopped off the roof and wall-crawled over to his room's window. Opening it since he had left it unlocked, and snuck in while panting and feeling the sweat in his hair.
"That...was...awesome!" He cheered before flopping onto his bed, taking off his mask and letting out a long sigh. A few seconds later, he pulled out his phone to see if any social media had picked up his joyride. There wasn't much, just some posts, but nothing really. Definitely not enough to present him as some dastardly villain like Kamui Woods has said he was, though he hoped he didn't make that bad of a first impression. He honestly felt he hadn't done anything, he just showed he was some kid having fun. That or a kid with a death wish.
And as he stared at his phone, he thought back to all he had done today. "That was so cool. The webs worked, and I'm no longer afraid of heights." he whispered to himself before glancing down at his web-shooters, "And it didn't take too much fluid. About half a cartridge at the end. I might need to make them a bit bigger though."
He looked back at his phone one last time, a new post showed up. Izuku blinked at it, only to see that the report was made by Kamui Woods. He stated it was some hooligan, making Izuku roll his eyes. But as this happened, a reporter had asked him if it was a villain or a vigilante, the teen raising an eyebrow at that statement. 'A vigilante? Me?' He put a hand to his chin, 'There's an idea. I mean, if I can't get into a hero school, I guess I could skip all the learning and just fight villains...but I'd be breaking the law.'
He didn't smile at the idea, but he felt it was something to consider. He looked back at his phone one last time before turning it off, his mind going over the idea and again and felt that it might be the right solution, telling himself to ask his mom about it tomorrow before taking the rest of his costume off and falling asleep.
And sleep never felt so good.
Chapter 4: The Debut
"No."
"But mom-"
"Izuku..." Inko interrupted before letting out a long sigh, "I know I agreed to help you with your dream of being a hero from now on, and I know I said I was sorry and want to make up to you all this time I haven't supported you. But I'm not going to support you becoming a criminal!"
"I'm not going to be a criminal! I'm just gonna be a hero without a license!"
"Izuku, you shouldn't have to break the law to be a hero!"
"Well, I don't have a choice now!" Izuku yelled back, his voice now increasing as the two glared at each other. The teen took a deep breath at this, trying to keep his composure as he continued, "Mom, I don't have a choice. There are no more hero schools available, and the semester is already starting. Katsuki is literally going to start at UA tomorrow and I get nothing! And if I can't go there, I have to start another way! I spent all this morning looking over vigilantism laws, and they say if I can be good enough and get on the side of the police, I can get into the hero business. I'll just have...less protection getting to that point."
"And that's exactly why you shouldn't do it! You shouldn't have to break the law to be a hero!" Inko exclaimed, "You deserve better!"
Izuku flinched at those words, shaking his head next, "If that's true, then I wouldn't have to do this! This quirk I now have, I need practice, and this is the best way to do it!"
"By fighting villains?!"
"By fighting criminals!" Izuku retorted, "I'll fight small crime and move up when I think I can handle the bigger stuff!"
"Izuku...do you not hear what you're saying?!" Inko cried, tears starting to appear in her eyes, "Izuku, I don't want you getting hurt, and this is the worse idea for that!"
"I wanna be a hero, mom! That means danger!" Izuku let out a long huff at this before adding, "I...I want to use this quirk! I can't just sit here and not use it! I've spent all these years without a quirk, and then I get one and you still don't want me to use it?!"
"But...but..." she tried to say, only to see the expression on Izuku's face. It was that face again, the one he showed when he exploded after hearing the UA results. She knew this meant one thing: Izuku was done listening. He was angry, something he rarely was, and...and he still wanted to be a hero. To help others.
He always had that spark in his eyes. It was something that she always feared, as it showed a look of pure compassion combined with a crazed desire to help others. The fire within them was almost too much at times, as she knew now more than ever that she couldn't convince him to not be a hero, to not help others.
And now he wanted to be a vigilante. The idea made her heart sink...but that expression he wore. It sealed everything. She wouldn't convince him otherwise. The woman let out a long sigh, only to say a few words, "Alright. You can be a vigilante."
Izuku's expression faltered at this, making him slightly flinch. "R-r-really?"
Inko did a slow nod, only to look back up at him, "But if you really want to do it, let's set some rules, alright?" Izuku nodded back as she continued, "You can't just jump into everything, alright? Don't go challenge big A-level villains first thing."
"Okay."
"And two...if you really have to do this, let me help you when you get injured. I'm a working nurse after all, but...just don't come back in a mess, alright?"
"I won't. I promise."
Now, Izuku knew he probably couldn't keep that promise. But considering what he was about to do, it was an obvious conclusion that the promise would be broken. Despite this, he waited till night for his first try as a vigilante. He took a mid-day nap before doing it, promising his mom to finish his online class homework first. She knew it would take him no time to do it, but it was just something she could use to get her some relief about her son's future.
And as the sun disappeared from the sky, Izuku put on his costume, already liking that feeling of putting it on. He took a deep breath as he opened his window, soon crawling out and up to the roof. The teen began to focus at this, his body instantly vanishing. He looked down at his hands at this, seeing he was now invisible.
'I think I got it. I still can't summon that bio-elec stuff again, but the invisibility isn't too hard. It just...takes a bit to concentrate.' He thought before staring out at the city before him. 'Now, let's go patrolling.'
He thwipped out a web line and leapt off the roof, quickly swinging away. A big smile was already on his face as he swung across the first few blocks, the feeling of freedom returning. He still couldn't believe he had a quirk. He had had it for just a little over a month and he still couldn't believe it.
But as he began to swing around, he remembered his first try at web-swinging, and the disastrous encounter with a hero. Due to this, he made sure not to yell this time, instead just silently swinging around. He did this for an hour, not finding a single thing as he webbed around Musutafu. He had hoped for something small, like a mugging, but found nothing.
'Figures. I start trying to be a vigilante and I don't find anything. Just great. Another failure for the worthless Deku. Guess I-'
He came to a stop as he saw a light in the corner of his eyes. He quickly webbed up to a nearby roof, landing on its edge before glancing back at the light, only to see it was from a building across the street. He squinted his eyes at this, the costume's eyes mimicking his as he saw several figures behind several large glass panes. He looked up at the building, seeing it was a bank. A rather small one, but it was still a bank.
But that wasn't what was important. What was important was that it was exactly what Izuku was looking for: Crime.
'That could work. Stopping a bank robbery is definitely a good start...I think.' Izuku put a hand to his chin, his mind going over the situation. 'Now...how do I do this? Obviously, the bank's alarm isn't going off, so one of them probably has a jamming quirk. Also, I have no idea what quirks they have.'
He then put his hand in his hoodie, soon pulling out a small notebook and a tiny flashlight. Opening it up, he looked over the notes he had made today. After looking over the vigilantism laws and his old notebooks over quirk analysis and what kind of hero he wanted to be back in the day, he decided to make a new notebook that was for purely writing stuff down on the fly. As such, he started on this new notebook today, which was filled with instructions he had made for himself earlier today on how to be a vigilante, along with plenty of blank pages for everything else.
'Okay. So, step one: If possible, make sure web fluid is full before going into a fight.' He glanced down at his shooter and saw it was at a fourth. He took out a full cartridge and replaced it. 'I really wish I could automate that. I need to find some better stuff.'
He looked back at his notebook, 'Step two: Make sure to smile and be positive. All Might says that being a hero is all about inspiring hope. Even if they can't see your smile under your mask, be positive. If necessary, make a persona for yourself to try and make others feel safe. Try quips as well and make people laugh.'
He then flipped to the next page, which was empty, as it was for quips he wanted to record...when he thought them up. Unfortunately for the teen, he found when he was first writing in the notebook, he didn't know any jokes. Izuku knew he was never a funny kid, but he also knew this was because he never had any friends to make jokes with.
'I'll figure out the quips later.' He sighed to himself before turning a few pages, all blank for future quips, before going to the final rule he had put down. 'Rule three: Until you're a hero, you need to make yourself known, even if its just leaving a calling card. That way, your name can get out and see if you can get the hero commission to sign you on.' He then pulled out a stack of cards in his other pocket in his hoodie, now remembering he hadn't even figured out his vigilante/hero name. 'It'll have to do for now. According to those laws I read, it takes a lot to get on their side. They mainly hunt down vigilantes more than anything.'
He took a deep breath, now looking back at the building. He thwipped his webs over to it, quickly zipping up to the bank's roof. 'Hmmm...guess I should go the underground hero route and do stealth here. At least, for my first time. Now, how do I get in?' He crawled down the side of the building at this, only to see an air duct. Seeing he could fit, he cricked his neck as he opened it up, 'Guess its time to see how flexible I am.'
He found the crawling was relatively easy. Despite being in a very confined space and knowing his body was more agile than it used to be, he was still surprised at how easy it was for him to just crawl through the vents. His body just slithered through, his sticking that he was still getting used to not even being a problem as he snuck through.
And as he went through the vents, he found a grate, his form quickly going over it. He squinted his eyes as he stared through the thin bars, now seeing three hooded men with flashlights pulling out a device that they were now using on an ATM. He blinked at the sight, only to slowly pick up the grate and quietly took it off, putting it slightly aside.
'Okay Izuku, you can do this. Your first fight against villains. Criminals. Technically thieves, but I guess it could be argued that they could be burglars or bank robbers. Yeah, that's probably the correct terminology, though-' He took a deep breath, trying to stop what he called his 'head muttering' as he looked back down at the criminals, 'Focus! You need to focus Izuku! Just...try to take these three out, and then see if there's any more.'
It was here that Izuku realized he didn't actually know how to fight. All he knew was how to take beatings, not dish them out. 'Should I just go in and try to punch them? I mean, I've never won a fight in my life. Can I really just-' He clenched his eyes at this before sighing, 'Stop it! Just...go in and...I don't know, improvise. Can't be too hard. I mean, according to everything I've analyzed about my body, I have super strength now. As long as I can hit them, I should be okay. And if I can't hit them...web 'em. That should work.'
He then crawled out of the duct, not making a single sound as he stuck himself to the ceiling next. He slowly went overhead of them, the trio not noticing the teen. Granted, all the lights were all off, the only lights being the flashlights on the thieves and the device they were using to open the ATM up.
Taking a deep breath, he set up a web on the ceiling and hung upside down, slowly extending the web as he quietly went down to the floor. He then silently flipped himself over, taking another breath before speaking up, "Hey fellas."
The three thieves shot up at this, quickly spinning around to see the green colored vigilante. He then saw what was under their hoods, one of them having a lobster face and the other two having crab faces. Izuku did a small wave at this, "So...making a late night withdrawal?"
"What the heck?! Who are you?!" One of the crab guys yelled.
"Uh...hi. I'm...actually, I'm still trying to think up my vigilante name. Who are you?"
"Vigilante?!" the lobster one yelped before pointing at Izuku, "Get him!"
The two crab thugs charged at him at this, pulling out long crab claws out of their hoods' long sleeves. Izuku's spider sense instantly blared, quickly hopping back as the first one lunged at him. The teen backpedaled at this, dodging two claw swipes as Izuku's brain started to catch to the situation.
And he found the criminal trying to attack him...was slow. As if, he could just easily see the strikes coming. His spider sense kept screaming at him, the second thug running up to try to hit him again. And as they attack again, Izuku's mind told him to do one thing: counterattack. His fingers pressed down on the triggers on his shooters, his hands aiming downward. Webbing covered both thugs' feet and the ground under them, making both trip. Their faces hit the floor, Izuku quickly firing more webbing on them, tying them to the ground.
"Blaugh!" Both cried as they felt their faces get smushed into the floor.
"Yes!" Izuku exclaimed, raising his arms up high before his spider sense blared again. He looked back up and saw the lobster thug now leaping at him.
"I'll kill you!" He roared, Izuku quickly ducking under a first swing from the thug. It was here that he saw the lobster-headed criminal just had normal human hands, both balled into fists as he swung them at Izuku. The teen kept going back, dodging three swings before pulling back one of his arms, balling up his own fist.
And then he thrust the punch forward. He expected it to just push the thug back, but as it connected, which it hit the lobster man in the chest, the criminal let out a scream as he was suddenly thrown across the room from the punch. Izuku flinched at this, now seeing his super strength used on a human for the first time as the thief flew onto a desk, bouncing off it and hitting the faraway wall, only to slump to the floor a second later. He fired a web at this, instantly wrapping up the criminal before letting out a sigh.
"Okay...still don't know my own strength. Hope I didn't hurt that guy too much." He then stared at the room, now seeing he had beaten all three criminals with ease. "Wow...I did it. I beat them." He looked back down at his hands, flexing them for a second. "I...I can do it. I can be a hero. I-"
"Hey guys, what's with all the noise? I thought you-" called out a new voice as it walked out of the bank's bathroom, a hooded man with a normal, albeit scraggly face. He went wide-eyed when he saw Izuku, only for the teen to reflexively shoot a web at him. It instantly hit his mouth, making him muffle out before charging at Izuku. But as he did this, Izuku quickly sidestepped a punch from the criminal, only for a second punch to go right for Izuku's face.
And as his spider sense blared, Izuku's hand raised up and caught the punch. The thug tried to pull his fist back at this, only for Izuku's hand to hold onto it. "Whoa...I caught it. Cool." Izuku commented as he stared at the fist. A grin shined under his mask as then pushed his hand forward, throwing the thug right off his feet.
"Mmph!" the criminal muffled as he felt his back hit the floor, only for a stream of webs to hit his chest, sticking him to the ground.
Izuku stared at the thief he had just webbed down, only to glance back at the original three, both crab men squirming and yelling profanities as they tried to escape the webbing. He pulled out his notebook again as he began to write in the quip page, "Late night withdrawal. That's a good first quip." he whispered to himself before walking in front of crab thugs, leaning down as he asked them, "So, got any more pals, mister seafood? I'm guessing your friend I just webbed up is the one who helped you with the alarms. Wait..." He looked back at his notebook, "Eh, that seafood thing wasn't as good. Not recording that quip."
"Let us go, you freak!" One of them yelled, Izuku looking away from the notebook.
"Yeah! Do you know who we are, you weird spider guy?!"
'Spider guy? Hmm...maybe I could rework that for my hero name.' Izuku thought before shaking his head and pointing at the criminals, "Listen here, all I know is that you're thieves. Er, I mean, bank robbers. I'm here to stop you, and...I did that." Izuku facepalmed at that, "And that's another failed quip." He then heard the criminal yell another profanity, Izuku just shaking his head before putting away the notebook.
"Now, what to do with you four?" Izuku asked before looking back at the bank's counters, an idea forming in his head. He walked over to the desks, looking around until he saw a small red button. "Here we go."
He pressed the button, sending a silent alarm to the police before taking out a calling card from his other pocket. Also taking out a pencil, he wrote out a small message as a smile shined under his mask. "Yeah, that's a good name for me." He then put the note on the lobster thug before walking over to the bank's main door. "Later fellas! Thanks for being my first ever crime! Er, I mean, first crime I ever stopped!"
And with that, he left the building and leapt up before shooting out a web, swinging away a second later.
Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa really wanted to go home for the night. Despite his usual late hours he would get on the job, he was really tired today. But a silent alarm had gone off at a bank in Musutafu and he was nearby, doing a small nightly patrol. He quickly zoomed over in his patrol car, only taking him a few minutes to get there.
And as he got there, he got out of his car and saw there was nothing outside the building. When it came to bank robberies and quirks, there was usually a torn up wall, or a bunch of broken windows, or a trail of money strewn outside of the bank. But there was nothing, which was cause for concern as he then heard a voice.
"Detective!" He looked up and saw the hero Death Arms, the most local hero he could get right now. He leapt off a nearby roof and landed beside the detective, both nodding to each other before the hero went in first.
And as they walked in, a voice yelled out, "Finally!" The two glanced down at the sound, now seeing the two crab thugs squirming under the webs, "Get us out of this!"
The two shared a glance before Death Arms grabbed both thugs, lifting them up as the webs snapped off the floor. As he did this, the detective looked over the area, seeing a desk knocked over and the lobster thug now webbed up to a nearby wall, fully knocked out. And as he walked over to him, he leaned down and saw a certain tiny note in the thug's lap. He picked it up and read it.
Just beat these bank robbers for you. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
"Spider...man?" Naomasa slowly whispered before looking back at the webbed up thug. And as he glanced back and saw Death Arms walk back into the room.
"Anything else?"
"No. Just this guy and that other one over there." Naomasa replied before holding up the note, "And this."
"What is it?"
"I think...it might be a new vigilante." He let out a long sigh at that statement, "And I already got a bad feeling about this one."