thomasdarkrose
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MHA - Stark Snippet/Chapter 1
🕑 Added 2024-09-15 21:26:54 +0000 UTCI only called it Stark because I couldn't think of anything else. So a proper title suggestion wouldn't be amiss. Also, I didn't do a ton for the background on this, if I was to go forward with it, I would write the things he did as flashbacks to explain how he got the things he has and how he got where he was. Anyway, enjoy.
-----Line Break-----
Chapter 1
I awoke with a start. I had no idea where I was but it looked like some kind of high class office you would expect an expensive lawyer to have. The room was filled with bookshelves that held thick official looking books, trinkets that looked to be made of gold, and photos I couldn't quite make out.
More important that any of that was the man sitting across from me with a massive highly polished wooden desk separating us. The man was wearing an expensive looking suit, had black hair that was slicked back with enough oil to endanger penguins if he ever went swimming in the ocean. Lastly, were his eyes, the only truly inhuman thing about him. They were solid red, no pupils, sclera, or anything else to differentiate the parts of the eye. Just, red.
Actually, looking at him, it reminded me of the eyes that Crossroads Demons had in the TV show Supernatural.
The moment that thought fluttered across my mind, the man smiled broadly, “That's close enough for our purposes tonight.”
Wait... did he just read my mind?
“I did, yes.”
Oh, shit.
“Now now, there's no need for too much concern. I wish to extend an offer to you, but it's up to you if you wish to accept it. If you choose not to, you will return to your regular life and this will just be some really strange half remembered dream.”
“What's going on?”
“An astute question. Right now your soul is in the in-between, the realm of beings of immense power. Think primordial gods, old ones, and other such beings of indescribable power that rule over entire realities. That's not quite accurate, but close enough for our purposes.”
“And I take it you're one of the said beings?”
The man nodded, “Correct. I am the one who summoned your soul here for this little meeting.”
There was only one thing I could ask to that, “Why?”
His smile seemed to grow larger than his face as he answered, “In short? Entertainment. In long, it is exceptionally boring to be a being who can destroy several realities with just a snap of the fingers. Myself, and several others like me, find people we consider interesting and use them for our entertainment. For example, I know you're aware of the infamous Truck-kun. Truck-kun is run by one of my contemporaries. He likes to smack people he finds entertaining and send them to worlds he's designed himself. All just to see what will happen.”
“Huh.”
“Quite. In my case, as you've guessed based on my chosen looks, I prefer to make deals. Fear not, I'm not at all interested in your soul, your life, or really anything you possess at all. I am only interested in the entertainment you can provide me, should you accept the deal.”
I had to admit, I was both immensely interested, and just as terrified. This was a being that could destroy realities on a whim. I didn't doubt his words for even a moment. There was just something... I don't know, but it made me believe the man in front of me when he spoke. My life was... normal. There was nothing special about it. I wasn't rich, I wasn't poor, my education was average, as was my office job. I was single and had been for decades, mostly because modern women just were not worth the hassle.
Frankly the only fun part of my life was when I sat down to write fanfiction of some of my favorite shows. I had a habit of harping on about the things I found stupid or that didn't make sense, but that didn't detract from my love of the shows in the least. For example, I absolutely loved the show High School DxD. Issei was fucking hilarious and a joy to watch as he did all the usual shonen stuff with a perverted twist. No matter how many times I saw it, I still laughed when Issei would get a power up because of Rias's 'oppai'. However, I also recognized the fact that, in a real world, Issei and his two buddies would have been expelled near instantly and would have criminal records for sexual assault. Just because I liked pointing that out didn't mean I didn't love the source material deeply.
There was only one thing I could say, “So, what kind of deal are we talking about here?”
The toothy grin I got in return was... disconcerting, to say the least, “I'm thinking it would be fun to reincarnate you into a world where you've made fun of the main character and their choices as that character. Specifically, I wish for you to become Midoriya Izuku.”
I paused to consider that. Izuku was one of the few characters I actually had real issue with. The boy wanted to be a hero and help anyone he could, an excellent goal, but did very little toward that goal. He spent a decade doing nothing but making his notebooks. Izuku was extremely intelligent and could have leveraged that intelligence in so many ways to make himself into a hero even without a quirk.
Hell, there were examples of people within the canon that had proved a powerful quirk wasn't necessary. Earaserhead, for example, only had an ocular Quirk and while it was helpful in disabling Quirks, it was also limited. Specifically, it did nothing to mutant types with enhanced attributes, yet he could still defeat a bunch of them during the USJ incident. Why? Because he trained his body! Sure, he would never be a huge well known hero, but Eraserhead WAS a hero and he was barely better than a baseline human.
Or, look at Hatsume Mei, her Quirk was also just ocular and allowed her to zoom in on things. Which was admittedly helpful with looking at small things like soldering computer chips, but not something that couldn't be replaced by proper equipment. Using nothing but her brains she made all kinds of equipment and items that could help her if she ever wanted to be a hero.
There were others with niche Quirks that were capable of, and succeeded in becoming, heroes. Izuku allowed his label of 'Quirkless' to rule him and squandered his true potential. If he'd put his intelligence to work properly, he could have easily become the Tony Stark of his world. The technology was there! Hell, Hatsume had goddamn hover-boots and a jet-pack as a first year student! Izuku was easily as smart as her, if not as naturally gifted, and could have easily done the same with inventions.
It was just such a waste that he forsook his intelligence to become a punching kicking brute who relied on physical might to win his battles. His complete neglect of his potential is what made me dislike him gaining All For One so much. I just... I saw Midoriya Izuku as a worse version of Monkey D. Luffy. Both had big dreams but Luffy was willing to do everything in his power to become the Pirate King, even happily dying if he did it in pursuit of his dream. Izuku? He gave up. Oh, he might talk about wanting to be a hero, but it was just talk. His actions spoke far louder than his words ever did.
So, yeah, I had issues with Izuku. It didn't stop me from cheering and having fun watching the show, not at all. It was just always something in the back of my mind that was telling me he didn't deserve to be a hero because he didn't truly give it his all. Even Bakugo Katsuki gave it his all to be a hero, even if he was a complete piece of shit. But that was something I didn't need to think about right now. The point was, everyone that wanted to be a hero gave it their all from the beginning. Izuku didn't do anything until All Might told him he could. Luffy would do it no matter how many people told him it was impossible, he would never let anything stop him. If Izuku had even a small fraction of Luffy's determination he would have been... Amazing.
I looked at the man in front of me and gave him a grin, “It sounds like fun to me.”
The man clapped his hands together, “Excellent! Now, there are a few things we have to go over before you can begin your new life. Specifically, we must address the imbalance in our deal. There are a vast number of highly complicated rules that govern reality and in order for you to become my entertainment, I must compensate you.”
“Ah, a 'golden finger' as it were?”
“Apt. Now, the balance between us isn't extreme enough to warrant much. However, I wish to add terms that will shift the balance further.”
“I'm listening.”
“The terms I wish to lay out are thus. First, you shall be reincarnated at Midoriya Izuku the day after the fateful visit to the doctors office where he learns he is Quirkless. Second, you will be forbidden from gaining One For All by any means. Even if things happen the exact same as they did in the canon story, your body will simply not accept One For All. In fact, not even All For One will be capable of granting you a Quirk. You will be forever locked into being Quirkless.”
I shrugged, “I have no problem with either of those. What do I get in exchange?”
“In exchange, you may make requests. The number of requests will vary based on how big of a request it is. These requests can only affect yourself. So, no genderswaps or the like. It should go without saying that a Quirk is also not an option. Other modifications to your new body are possible though along with requests for access to extra knowledge. However, in the case that you make more than one knowledge request, the knowledge must come from the same source. As an example, if you were to ask for a body capable of using Haki from One Piece and the knowledge to train it, all other knowledge requests would have to come from the One Piece world.”
“Could I do that? Request a body capable of using all three forms of Haki?”
“Yes. Though it would be mistaken for a Quirk, it is technically not one. However, if you were to take my example, the Haki and knowledge of its would be all you could gain.”
I pondered that, “What about the Rokushiki? Could I figure those out on my own?”
He nodded, “You could. There is nothing supernatural about them.”
I leaned back in my seat and pondered my many options. The key, in my opinion, was the possibility of gaining otherworldly knowledge. If I knew things, especially scientific things, I could build just about anything I wanted to make myself into a proper hero. However, I didn't want to neglect my body and focus entirely on my mind. I needed a balance of both to be a great hero.
I thought a bit before asking, “Would it be possible to have my body modified to have the same potential as one from the One Piece world?”
“Just the potential? Easily.”
I smiled at that and began forming my plan. The human body in One Piece was capable of amazing feats of strength even without special techniques. Zoro, even early on in the series, was lifting literal tons with a single arm. Just that kind of strength alone would be on par with a lot of strength based Quirks. Obviously I would have to work towards that, but it would be worth spending the time on.
For the next part of my plans I asked, “Could I also have my intelligence increased to Tony Stark levels?”
He nodded, “Izuku was already fairly intelligent, adding to it isn't a big deal. However, doing so shall put us on balance.”
I blinked, “Really?”
He nodded, “Of course. While the intelligence boost is not massive, the change to your body is rather large. You would, after all, have the ability to unlock Haki through training, mimic and learn the Rokushiki since you are aware of them, learning the breath of the world and cutting steel, and so much more.” His lips curled into a playful smile, “After you leave I will even flip a coin to decide if you have Conqueror's Haki. Anything a determined person within One Piece could do, you will be capable of with effort and training. That is a rather large improvement and moved us significantly closer to a balance.”
Here his smile turned sinister, “If you would like to have more, I wouldn't be opposed to adding more restrictions or difficulties from my side. It would definitely make things more interesting.”
I could tell by the look on his face that what he found 'interesting' I would likely find to be a pain in the ass. I considered putting an end to it there, but there were two things I was willing, even eager, to give up for a little more to help me out, “Would you be interested in taking all of my memories of My Hero Academia?”
He arched an elegant eyebrow and asked, “Why? I would think you'd wish to keep them to make it easier for yourself.”
I pointed at him, “That's exactly why! I don't want to make it easier on myself by knowing the future. Not only that, but keeping my memories will be a burden on me. How could I live my life normally knowing someone like Eri was suffering? How could I make real friends if I'm always looking for people like Momo with the intention of using them for their Quirks? I just... I don't want metaknowledge making me do things a certain way.”
“I see. Yes, I could do that for you.”
“And...”
“And?”
I sighed deeply, “I don't want any memories specific to my life, like friends and family. Not that I have much of either left, but still. I don't want to be thinking about that and having it influence me. I would really like this to be a new life.”
He leaned back and studied me for a moment. Finally, he nodded his head, “If you're sure, I could do that as well.”
I sighed. It wasn't easy and part of me didn't want to do it, but that was the part I knew would cause me trouble. How could I think of Midoriya Inko as my mother if I could still remember my original mother? Even more, how could I treat her like my mother if I was, essentially, a forty year old man stuck in her sons body?
“I just want to remember all of this discussion so I don't say something I shouldn't about other worlds and such. It'd be embarrassing for me to be committed and probably boring for you.”
“Agreed. I will take both your memories of the My Hero Academia canon, as well as the personal memories of your life. What would you like in exchange?”
I chuckled as I asked, “I don't suppose I could ask for all the knowledge of Kamar-Taj from Marvel?”
He chuckled as well but shook his head, “You could, but there would be no point in it. The rules and laws of the Marvel Universe are different from the ones you will be living under.”
I nodded in understanding. That killed a couple of ideas I had. Magic would have been an awesome tool to have, but I could survive without it. I would have Tony Stark's intelligence and he was able to learn an entire field of study in a night.
…
Okay, that was likely just him talking shit, but there was no denying how intelligent he was. The guy cracked time travel in a day or two, maybe even in just a few hours. Between an IQ that high and a body with near limitless potential, what else could I ask for? Well, a way to put that super human body to good use sprang to mind.
“I'd like all the knowledge necessary to train my body and learn to use the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist invented by Bang in One Punch Man.”
“Oh, what an interesting choice. However, with it you will not be able to ask for much more.”
I nodded in agreement. Honestly, it was between that or Renewal Taekwondo from God of High School. I chose it over RE Taekwondo simply because I believed it offered a much more balanced approach to offense and defense along with excellent counter attacks. I also believed it would make better use of the potential in my enhanced body.
The biggest downside of picking it was that I couldn't ask for knowledge from any other source now. If I wanted... wait.
“Do I have enough left for knowledge on cybernetics from One Punch Man?”
“Barely, but yes. I do hope you're not intending to turn yourself into a cyborg such as Genos.”
“Oh, no, definitely not. That would be such a waste of my bodies potential. But, it is a good source of information on making cybernetic limbs that I could offer to people who have lost limbs. It could also point me to different power sources and weapons. Genos might have been kind of a joke since he was constantly smashed to pieces, but the sheer power of his power source and weaponry is not something to laugh at. He could probably body any of the top ten in MHA but All Might.”
The man nodded in agreement, “True enough. It will give you a good start. Now, to clarify, you will be taking over as a four year old Izuku, incapable of getting a Quirk through any means, and sacrificing your memories of the setting and your previous life. In exchange you will have the body potential of a One Piece character, the IQ of Tony Stark, and the knowledge of Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and cybernetics from One Punch Man.”
He looked me in the eyes and I could swear I saw his swirling with eldritch energy as he held his hand out to me, “Do we have a accord?”
I nodded and clasped his hand in my own, “We do.”
-----Line Break-----
I woke up and lay in my bed. I didn't want to be awake, it would mean yesterday was real and not a dream. I was... Quirkless. I could never be a hero now, even mom thought so. Why? Why couldn't I have even the smallest Quirk like mom's?! Something! Anything! Even a tiny Quirk was better than none at all.
I felt tears prickling my eyes while I felt my dream slipping further and further away with every moment. Before my tears could fall my head throbbed with pain more intense than anything I could ever remember feeling. It hurt so bad I opened my mouth to scream but no sound ever came out.
Memories flooded my head. I saw so many things. Knowledge came next and I just suddenly knew a powerful martial art and all about cybernetics. It was intense and I thought my head was going to explode, but the pain faded as the last drop of knowledge entered my mind.
When the pain was gone I felt... different. My newest and freshest memory was my meeting with that man. Which made this my second life... Did I make a deal with a devil? Why? I tried to remember, but I couldn't. Just as I remembered asking in the memory of the deal, all my memories of my last life were completely gone. I didn't know my old name, how old I had been, my friends or family, nothing.
What I did remember gave me some clues through. I was an American, most likely. I had memories of watching ancient anime shows with subtitles in English. Speaking of, I was also now fluent in the English language, a few muttered sentences proved it was easy for me to speak. If my guess was right... I know had forty or so years of speaking English in my head. It was nifty.
Then there were the changes to my body. I didn't feel any different even though I was supposedly able to grow in strength to an insane degree. I would have to start training soon! I had an amazing martial art and a body that could easily grow strong enough to use it to its full potential. Even so, I didn't feel different from that.
No, what really felt different was my mind. If I had to put it into words... it was like a fog had been lifted from my mind. I could look at my memories of cybernetics and everything made perfect sense. The core Genos used was powered by a form of Nuclear Fusion that produced an unimaginable amount of energy. I even understood the steps I would need to reach the peak of the field. I couldn't just make a nuclear fusion reactor with store bought tools! I would need to build tools to built tools to build the toys.
The most important thing though was what all of this meant to me, personally.
I could be a HERO.
Not just any hero taking down purse snatchers either. I could be an amazing hero! Bang, the man who invented my martial art was an old man and he was one of the top heroes in his world! If he'd been in his prime he would have been even more powerful! I'm pretty sure he was stronger than any base line human could ever become, but I could reach that level of strength and go even further! With just my body and martial arts I could become a powerful hero. Add in my new intelligence and knowledge on cybernetics and there was no way I couldn't become a top ten hero!
My heart hammered in my chest. I could be a greater hero than I ever hoped. I could save people with a smile like All Might! But I could go further! Like past me thought, I could easily use weaker and simpler versions of cybernetic limbs, which I knew how to make with simple tools, and give people back missing limbs! I knew how to make a prosthetic to replace any missing parts of someone's body! Even organs!
That last one was important. I could make prosthetic hearts that worked as well as real ones, kidneys that no amount of alcohol could harm, intestines that digested food more efficiently than organic ones, and the list went on. The only organ I couldn't replace was the human brain. Consciousness was not something so simple that it could be transferred from an organic brain into a mechanical one.
This was all important because it was a pathway to becoming a hero even greater than All Might. He was still the greatest hero, but even he couldn't give someone a new heart or fix their eyes. The sheer number of people I could help with those replacements was... well I didn't know how many it would be but it would be a LOT! A lot of people I could help! A lot of people I could save!
I jumped out of my bed and smiled from ear to ear as I vibrated with excitement. I could be a hero! This was the best day EVER!
I quickly made my way to the computer and turned it on. I quickly made my way to my favorite video of All Might and his debut. Yesterday I would have needed mom to help me with it, but today I knew how to do it because I'd watched her do it so many times. I watched the video one more time, it was still my favorite! I watched All Might rescue those people, the smile on his face never faltering. Though, this time I could see it was fake, but that didn't matter! The smile wasn't for himself, it was for the people he was helping!
When the video finished, I noticed my All Might toy next to the monitor and grabbed it. I'd been so sad last night that I'd forgotten all about it. I hugged it close as I looked at the monitor with confidence. It was time to put my mind to work. I couldn't afford to waste time in school! Not until I was old enough to go to U.A.!
I navigated through the internet looking up the standards of education in Japan. I fully intended to be home schooled and done with everything within the next few years. I would need a couple of doctorates as well so people would be willing to look at my creations. No way they would listen to some random Quirkless kid claiming he had the schematics to beyond cutting edge technology that could perform all kinds of miracles.
I paused, how did I know that? I went through my mind and was enlightened. I might not remember the day to day specifics of my last life, but there were enough context clues to show me the paths I should avoid. Not to mention all the examples of genius kids like me in all the fanfiction I'd read about reincarnation. Some people avoiding it, others embracing it. Me? I was going to embrace it because I truly was a genius now. The knowledge I got about cybernetics definitely gave me a humongous leg up but I was certain that I could make similar stuff once I had the proper education.
I started moving through the internet doing as much research as I could so I cold plan my future path. I had eleven years until I would be old enough to take the U.A. Entrance exam. I wanted to work my way through several doctorates in that time. Not to mention working on my body and practicing my martial art.
All of this was going to be a lot of hard work, but if there was one thing I would never give up on, it was my dream!
I WILL BE A HERO!
-----Line Break-----
Inko yawned as she left her bedroom and made her way to Izuku's room. She didn't expect he would be up yet after the events of yesterday. She was rather surprised to see his bed empty. If he wasn't in his bed... She sighed heavily and made her way to where they kept the family computer. If he wasn't in bed then he was most likely there wanting to see the All Might video 'just one more time'.
As she stepped around the corner to see the room, she froze in place. Izuku was standing in the chair still wearing his All Might onesie and focusing on the screen intently. Most surprising was that he was not looking at the All Might video, but rather had a web page opened to an official looking site. She stepped closer and saw it was a page on the standards required for a home school education.
“Izuku, what are you doing?”
When he turned to look at her, she gasped in surprise. The completely destroyed look he'd sported yesterday was completely gone. Instead he looked focused and determined, more so than she'd ever seen him before. All signs of his depression were absent and it left her shocked and confused. He looked at her for a moment before he turned back to the screen, “I'm going to be a hero, mom. I don't care what anyone says. Katchan can make fun of me all he wants, but I will be a hero.”
She silently watched as he printed out the form that was showing on the screen. She was almost distracted by how cute he looked when he hopped off of the chair and grabbed the paper from the printer. He held it up to her with a look of pure determination, “The first step is learning. I need to be smarter first!”
Inko took the paper and looked down at it. It was an application to apply for a home schooling permit. Once approved, Izuku's education would be in her hands. He would be required to still take government issued tests to prove his grade level, but other than that the pace of his education would be down to how fast he learned. She knew he boy was smart, maybe even a genius, but with intelligence enhancing Quirks no one cared about natural born geniuses anymore.
She studied the paper for a moment before looking Izuku in the eyes, “Are you sure you want to do this? You won't be able to go to school with your friends next year if you do.”
She watched as Izuku looked down at the ground and clenched his little hands into fists, “They won't be my friends anymore once they know I'm Quirkless.”
Inko was instantly in tears and dropping down onto her knees to pull Izuku into a tight hug, “I'm sorry baby. I'm so so sorry.”
-----Line Break-----
I let mom cry on my shoulder while I hugged her for a little while. I didn't recognize it last night, but today I could see the guilt she was drowning in. She felt responsible for me not having a Quirk, that it was somehow her fault that a trick of genetics meant I was 'less' than everyone else. I didn't care about having a Quirk anymore. It was a small bit of genetics that I had no control over. Even if I had been born with a Quirk there was no telling if it would have even been the least bit useful for hero work.
My mind though? That I could leverage to the extreme and BUILD super powers. Bakugo, my now ex-best friend, could make explosive sweat that was like nitroglycerin. Oooohhhh aaaaahhhhh. So fancy. Meanwhile, I could create Incinerator Canons capable of shattering Earth destroying meteors that anyone could use.
I had no reason to be jealous of anyone or their Quirk. I would train my body and mind, build a suit of power armor, and become a hero like none before me.
Once mom calmed down, and leaned back so we could see each other, she spoke, “If this is really what you want...”
I firmed up my resolve and nodded resolutely. There was no way in hell I could waste time in a regular school moving at a snails pace. I wanted my mandated education over and done with so I could move onto the more important parts, college level courses! I planned to do all of my education as self-study. Thanks to intelligence enhancing Quirks I'd found that it was possible to test for degrees and even gain doctorates simply by applying for them and showing I knew the material. Though a doctorate still required a dissertation along with extensive testing. Nothing I wouldn't be able to handle. I wanted at least two doctorates before I went to U.A. so that I would be taken seriously. I was aiming for medical and engineering. Both fields I had a huge head start in. After all, you had to be intimately familiar with the human body to be able to make robotic replacements for its various complex systems.
It wasn't going to be as easy as I would like, but it would be worth the effort and struggle just to see the looks on peoples faces when there's a powerful Quirkless hero out in the world!
-----Line Break-----
You know, I didn't realize being a genius was such a pain in the ass. It took a lot of arguing from my very angry mother to get the stooges that ran the testing center to allow me to take my middle school exit exams. They didn't believe for a single moment that me, a Quirkless nobody, could possibly be smart enough to pass the exams. Especially when I was only four and a half years old. She had to threaten to sue the proctor for discrimination to get me a seat for the testing.
It was... awkward to take that first test since the proctor practically hovered over my shoulder the entire time staring at me. It was as if he was daring me to make a single mistake so he could rub my face in it. Needless to say, I made no mistakes. The middle school curriculum was crazy easy for me. Seriously, it took me no effort at all to pass that exam. And I highly doubt the high school exam would be much different. Unfortunately, it would be another six months until I could take it.
There was a problem that cropped up when my results came back as perfect. They, as in the government officials in charge of the school system, didn't believe I could possibly be that intelligent. This led to me and mom getting dragged to a testing facility where I was put through a plethora of tests to measure my intelligence and more thoroughly prove I was Quirkless.
Apparently the whole toe thing was the weakest and least effective way to tell if someone had a Quirk or not. Not only did I go through an entire series of written tests, but all kinds of medical ones as well. By the time the whole ordeal was over and the results came in, they were shocked beyond belief. I had the second highest IQ ever recorded, period. The only person to ever score higher than me was someone with an IQ enhancing Quirk. I couldn't help wondering if that person was Principal Nezu over at U.A. They also determined, beyond all possible doubt, that I did not have a Quirk.
Shocker, right?
Anyway. Once they had my official IQ in number form and knew I was beyond the level of a standard genius, and promised there would be no further interference from them when I went for future testing. I even qualified for the same shortcuts as people with intelligence Quirks. Apparently that was something they had to confirm since it wasn't intended for Quirkless people.
Assholes.
Aside from studying the material to test out of middle school, I also spent time training my body. Not that I could do a whole lot as a tiny-tot. My body just wasn't meant for the true strengthening I would need. At best, I was making sure I developed properly and stayed fit. It would be a few years before I could actually start to really work out. In short, I needed to hit puberty first, I needed testosterone. Which sucked. It meant I couldn't truly push my strength training until I was at least fourteen. At least that would leave me with a year or so I could push my training to the limit before U.A. started.
On the bright side, I could move through the easier katas of my martial art and begin engraving them into my muscle memory. It was related to tai chi so that was also a great thing for me as far as flexibility and other stuff to help my body grow went. Sadly, I was very limited in it as well when it came to the more extreme sides of the art. There were movment and fighting techniques that required a certain level of strength that I wasn't sure I would have before starting U.A.
With all the limitations I had due to my age, I might end up going to U.A. as just a very fit teenager with a suit of power armor. Not that I would complain about that! I'd have three years of school to grow stronger and by the time I hit eighteen and graduated, I should be superhumanly strong and be able to shatter boulders with my bare hands. Hell, I might even be able to teach myself some of the Rokushiki! I seriously wanted to learn Soru and Geppo. I wouldn't always be in my suit so having good movement options was something I felt I needed.
I put aside my day dreaming of becoming an uber powerful hero and got back to work with my soldering iron. I was designing my own computer and building it from scratch. Well, building most of it from scratch. I had to buy certain parts pre-made since I lacked the manufacturing capability to produce my own micro-processors. Mostly, I was using this as a stepping stone in my learning process and a prototype of something I wished to make in the future.
Once this was finished, I planned to patent it then sell it to a tech company. The money from the royalties on the patent would then be used to procure an actual workspace, advanced tools, and proper materials. It was a long and annoying process but I believed that by the time I hit age ten, I would be a multi-billionaire with a sprawling tech empire.
I couldn't wait.
-----Line Break-----
If I could go back in time I'd tell my five year old self to not be so naive. It turns out, shockingly, that people running tech companies are complete assholes. The first prototype I made... I got ripped off. I was so excited, so happy, thrilled that a company wanted my tech to improve their products. They made me a lucrative offer but I thought I was smart and hired a lawyer to make sure everything was legit. With his approval, I signed, along with mom since I was still underage and she had to co-sign everything with me.
It was my first big mistake, trusting someone else.
The lawyer was a complete asshole and had conspired with the tech company, Luminal Industries, to rip me off. In exchange he got a huge payday. It was obviously a mistake going to him but he was the only lawyer we could afford and we believed he would do right by us. Instead, being the Quirkist asshole that he was, he tricked us into signing away all the rights to my creation for a pittance.
It became a huge mess. He lost his license to practice, but despite that, we couldn't do anything to the tech company. A lawsuit would take forever as they would bury us in lawyers and litigation until it no longer mattered. Simply put, we didn't have the financial means to fight them legally.
That didn't stop me from swearing vengeance on them. I would make it my mission in life to financially ruin them.
Until then, I spent six months focused on nothing but becoming an expert in law. I refused to be screwed over again. I would hire a lawyer to represent me, but I would double and triple check everything before signing it until I felt I could trust the lawyer. Even then I would still read everything before signing.
When I was seven I made a second prototype, this one for a robotic leg prosthetic. It was easier than making an arm. Hands man, they were extremely complex. Hands man, they required far more precise work than I was capable of with my limited means. Mom did her best, but there was no way I could ask her to buy me a machining lathe and all the attachments I would need. I would never ask her to put more strain on our finances like that.
Thankfully, making a simple robotic prosthetic leg only required some basic tools and a bit of skilled work with some electronics to connect it to the nervous system. It was far from the best I could do, but it would function and wouldn't cost a fortune to produce. Again, I patented it and began shopping around for a company to sell it to.
Those fucks at Luminal Industries came calling again. Hearing mom tell their rep to go fuck themselves was priceless.
In the end, I sold temporary production rights to a smaller company named New Lease on Life, that specialized in prosthesis for victims of villain attacks. They weren't the biggest or richest company out there, but they made a good offer. The initial payout wasn't much, they didn't have the capitol, but the royalties for sales was twenty percent. It was a good offer and we signed off on it.
It was another six months before we finally saw the first payment from them. It took time to get new facilities for production up and running. I helped them out by streamlining the process on the down-low. Child labor laws and whatnot. From then on I got a payment at the end of every month. It helped immensely.
The very first thing I insisted we do, move out of our small apartment. It was far too cramped and I needed space for a proper work room. I also wanted mom to have everything she wanted. She'd helped me through all of this and supported me every step of the way. We only had each other and she deserved everything she wanted.
Even if she still hadn't told me I could be a hero.
Regardless of the difficulties and my insecurities, life was finally turning into something good. We weren't filthy rich yet, but thanks to my efforts we lived in a nice house and I had my workshop. We didn't move too far away, just into a nicer neighborhood more in line with our new means. Things were looking good and life was good. It was time for me to begin making progress on my plans for being a hero.
-----Line Break-----
I stood before the gates of U.A. in a simple outfit consisting of jeans and a tee-shirt while carrying a metal briefcase in my right hand. I watched other kids walk past wearing their various school uniforms, each of them giving me a disapproving look at my casual wear. It wasn't my fault that I'd never actually spent any time in a school before. Going to U.A. would be the first time I ever did the whole school thing, despite my various Master's degrees and Doctorates.
I tried to get a recommendation for going to U.A. but was unable to land one despite my reputation. This meant having to take the normal entrance exam, which I was not against in the least. I just honestly didn't think it would be fair, for obvious reasons.
I chuckled at that and started to make my way onto the campus. After a few steps my I tripped on a paving stone sticking up just a bit further than the others on the path. I immediately embraced the oncoming fall, my left hand shooting out so I could catch myself and perform a simple hands stand to flip back onto my feet.
You can imagine my confusion when I stopped half way through the fall and just floated in the air, “What the?”
“I'm sorry I used my Quirk on you without asking, but I thought it would be back luck if you tripped and fell!”
I felt a hand grip my shoulder lightly as the feminine voice explained the situation I found myself in. She gently righted my position and made sure my feet were on the ground before she pressed the tips of her fingers together and I felt gravity reassert itself. How interesting!
The girl was pretty interesting too, she was short and cute with auburn hair in a short bob with long bangs on either side of her face and cute blush marks on her cheeks. When my eyes finally reached hers, I was surprised to see they were a soft brown that matched her hair, “Thanks for the save.”
She gave me a bright smile, “No problem! Oh! I'm Uraraka Ochaco!”
I smiled and held my hand out toward her, “Midoriya Izuku, new big fan of you and your Quirk.”
After a quick shake, one where her blush marks turned darker, I gestured toward the building, “We should get going, but do you mind if I ask a few questions about your Quirk on the way?”
She shook her head and we began walking, “It's called Zero Gravity. I can remove the effects of gravity from anything I touch with all five fingers on either hand.”
I nodded along but then looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate, when she didn't I frowned slightly, “Just gravity?”
She looked at me slightly confused, “Yeah, why?”
I shrugged, “Because from what I just experienced, you don't just remove the effects of gravity, but also momentum. If you didn't stop momentum, then I would have continued to fall even after you used your Quirk on me. An object in motion wants to stay in motion. When you stopped me, you stopped my motion and therefore canceled out my momentum. That's pretty amazing, you know?”
She stopped in her tracks and looked floored. I paused after a few steps and turned to look back at her. She quickly recovered and gave me a dazzling smile, “That's amazing! I never realized that before, but you're right. Anything I touch stops moving.” She quickly caught up to me and we continued walking, “What about you? What's your Quirk?”
I smiled brightly as I looked her dead in her beautiful eyes, “I don't have a Quirk.”
She jerked to a stop once more at the 'bomb' I dropped on her, her eyes wide in surprise. She looked around, seemingly to see if anyone was nearby before whisper shouting, “You're Quirkless? Can you even get into U.A. without a Quirk?”
I didn't begrudge her the reaction or the question. Someone my age being Quirkless was exceptionally rare. Of the twenty percent of people without Quirks, eighteen of that twenty percent was old people. Only two percent of the entire population below the age of fifty was Quirkless and that percentage dropped drastically the younger the generation. On top of that, no Quirkless person had ever gone to U.A. before. So, I didn't just assume she was looking down on me or deriding me. Rather, she just seemed curious and confused.
I gave her a warm smile, “It's fine. There's no rules against a Quirkless person going to U.A. because such a rule would be discrimination and thus, illegal. I'll just be the first to ever do it, is all.”
She looked conflicted. I didn't mind. It wasn't her fault that she'd been raised thinking that all great heroes had great Quirks. Or that to fight villains a Quirk was required. I just continued to give her a confident smile, “Don't worry about it. I've trained most of my life for this.”
She still looked conflicted, but gave me a soft smile and a nod. Before we could talk anymore, we arrived at the testing area. Phase one, written exams. Cake walk.
-----Line Break-----
God that test was unbelievably easy. Well, for me. I did have a distinct advantage. I could see how it might be difficult for others though so I kept my opinion on the test to myself. The next step was the practical exam.
I sat in my assigned seat between two strangers while the Pro-Hero Present Mic explained how the exam worked. We would be going into a testing area and fighting robots... that was... a TERRIBLE idea to put me up against. It would be so easy for me to hack into their systems and take them over. And since they had to be controlled for safety reasons, they were probably on a wireless network. That meant if I could hack one, I could hack them all and take control of the entire network.
Truly, a terrible match up against me. However, I didn't feel the need to prove my superiority in such a fashion. So, I'll ignore that glaring weakness and instead participate like other students and fight the machines in person.
Though, the explanation for the Zero Pointer left me frowning. Why on earth would he tell us to run away from a villain? I do realize that sometimes a fight is just a piss poor match up, like being a fire based hero and fighting against someone fireproof. But to run away? That wasn't very heroic at all. In such a case the hero should stall, do whatever they can to slow the villain until more heroes arrived and use teamwork to take down the stronger foe.
I narrowed my eyes and swore I'd take down the Zero-Pointer.
The explanation for the practical exam finished quickly and we were all placed on busses and driven to our testing ground. After disembarking, I spotted Ochako, but left her to her stretching. I didn't know how much time we had and it would take me a little bit to get ready. I didn't need to change clothes like most people, instead I set my suitcase on the ground and knelt down to pop it open.
Inside of my case was a tech nerds wet dream. Just looking at it you wouldn't be able to tell what it was, just that it looked very high tech and very expensive with various metal parts glowing neon blue. I reached down and stuck my hands into two ports with crossbars. With a twist and pull the mechanics inside began whining as power flowed through them in greater quantities.
I drew a lot of looks as metal began unfolding and sliding into position on my body. It wasn't a full suit of power armor, but a stripped down exoskeleton that just hugged my limbs. The most heavily armored places were my arms up to the elbows, my legs from the knees down, and on my upper back. The part on my back was the largest single piece as it contained three miniaturized fusion cores that powered the suit and its Incinerator Cannons.
Making my first Fusion Core had been a pain in the ass. It took a huge amount of power to jump start it. I had to build an army of huge capacitors and store energy in them for three months before I had enough of a charge to start the first Core. Thankfully, once I had that first core I had as much energy as I could ever want to jump start new cores. The Mini-Cores didn't last as long or put out as much power, hence having multiple, but they were easy to build, easy to start, and still provided more power than anyone else would know what to do with.
As for the Incinerator Cannons... Yes, I could have made something else like lasers or something. Except, A Incinerator Cannons were just fucking cool, and B controlled blasts of fire were actually exceptionally easy to create and control meaning they took less parts and were much easier to produce and use. So, I had a pair of their apertures installed on the palms of my armored hands giving me weapons I could use.
Once every piece of the exoskeleton was locked into its proper place, the three Mini-Cores spun up and began to power it. A low volume but high pitched whine filled the area as power flowed through thick conduits to charge the systems. As I was running a diagnostic using the small system display on my left forearm, I felt a hand land heavily on my shoulder.
When I turned to look I saw it was the same dumbass from the presentation. He hadn't let Present Mic even finish the presentation before jumping to conclusions and aggressively questioned the Hero, even going so far as to say some really unkind stuff about U.A. staff making mistakes. Honestly, I didn't like him or his attitude. Which, he apparently planned to level on me as he opened his mouth to berate me, “What do you think you're doing? Are you here to interfere with your fellow test takers? There are rules against using support gear for the exams!”
I gave him a flat look. He wasn't technically wrong about support gear. It wasn't allowed except for in very special circumstances or where it was specifically required for someone to use their Quirk safely. I fell into the special circumstances category. I took a page out of Iron Man's book and registered all of my personal equipment as advanced prosthesis. It was against the law for U.A. to not allow me to use my gear. It would be the same as them taking a walking cane away from a blind man.
This jerk didn't need to know that though. So I maintained my flat look while I gently grabbed his hand and removed it from my shoulder, “I'm sorry, are you a teacher? Or a Proctor, perhaps? No? Then how about you mind your own business and focus on the test.”
“And Start!”
Those were the magic words! I crouched, the advanced micro-robotics in my knees and hips whirring as they powered up. I straightened up and they propelled me into the air for a dozen or so meters. At the apex of my jump flames erupted from my feet as jet boosters fired and pushed higher into the air. Smaller thrusters around the frame gave me control in the air so I could fly further into the area gaining distance from the other test takers. I didn't want to have to fight against them for machines to take down and earn points.
I spotted my first target, a small robot with a single unicycle wheel at the base that looked highly unstable but still managed to stay up. It must have some seriously good gyroscopic systems inside of it. Well, regardless, I targeted it and went into free fall. Seconds later my armored feet crushed its head into its body collapsed in on itself.
Well, I suppose they couldn't make the robots too structurally sound or it would be impossible for the students to destroy them. But hey, that was one point for me! Now that I was on the ground I checked my display again to see what the sensor suite on my suit had registered. There were tons of robots all over the testing area and I was now locked on to every single one. I could see many of them disappearing closer to the gates where the other students were trying to catch up. Good for them.
I turned away from that direction and targeted the nearest robot by lifting my left hand and pointing my palm at it. Within my palm a small circle opened and began glowing an ominous orange. A moment later a beam only a few centimeters wide lanced out from my palm, instantly burned through the walls of a concrete building, and blasted through a three pointer on the other side of the building.
I smirked and lifted my right hand to point it in another direction. I paid very close attention to my sensor read outs and power output, I would not risk hurting the other test takers or letting a blast pass through too far. It was a delicate balance but easy enough. I stood in the same spot an just spun in place to aim my hands at the next nearest target rapidly depleting the number of enemies near me.
In less than five minutes I'd earned ninety-five points. Given how I, alone, had destroyed nearly twice as many robots as the other test takers in my area combined, I'd say I was doing pretty awesome. I could go for more, but why bother when it would just rob others of the opportunity?
Instead I ignited my boosters and launched into the air once more. I found the tallest building in the area and landed on the roof with a smile. From there I watched the destruction and mayhem the other students were unleashing on the robots below. Some were pretty impressive, others... not so much. But that was the way it went.
I spotted the blue haired uptight jerk and had to admit that even if I didn't like him, his kicks were pretty strong, if highly telegraphed. The engines in his calves were interesting, but not ground breaking. I eventually spotted Ochako and smiled at her tactic. She'd slap robots with her hands as she ran by them, letting the negated gravity lift them into the air. Then, she dropped them and they broke from the impact. Judging by how heavily she was breathing she had to have a limit on what she could lift.
Still impressive as hell though.
I saw another kid with gravity defying purple hair struggling desperately against a one pointer. Was he Quirkless? I didn't see any signs of him using anything Quirk-like. He was just yelling at the robot while dodging its attacks. It didn't look good as the guy was backed into a corner. I lifted my hand and fired off a lance of fire that destroyed the robots head when it looked like it was about to hit him.
After that I decided to keep an eye out for people in trouble while I waited for the zero pointer to show its ugly mug. If they looked like they couldn't handle it, I sniped the robot giving them trouble. Sometimes that just meant taking out a robot sneaking up on them before they noticed they were in danger.
Of course, I highly doubted that they would get more than bruises or a broken bone at worst. There had never been a single fatality during the testing and I knew U.A. wouldn't risk changing that now. The danger was all simulated, but I still didn't want to let them get hurt and lower their chances of success.
I kept it up for a few minutes until the building I was standing on began to violently shake and break apart. I ignited my thrusters and took to the sky where I hovered and observed. And holy shit! The Zero Pointer was breaking its way out of the building where it had been hidden and I've been standing. I double checked my sensors, they should have detected the power signature of something so massive.
I sighed at the results, it hadn't been powered on so it had been hidden from my sensors. I originally had sensors that could detect things like metal and such, but being inside of a city made it near useless since metal was everywhere. Well, none of that mattered now, I had my nice big punching bag and it brought a huge smile to my face.
I quickly flew down toward the ground, idly noting the other test takers were fleeing, and landed a good distance in front of the giant machine. It's five large red eyes seemed to flash as its huge blocky head turned to look directly at me. That just made my grin even bigger. The ground shook violently as the behemoth moved. A couple of my suits were pretty big, but I didn't have anything nearly that big in my arsenal!
Well, size wasn't everything...
I pointed both of my hands at the giant robot, energy from all three Mini-Cores feeding into them causing the apertures to glow like miniature suns as I gathered an obscene amount of power. This one is for you Genos, “Incinerator Cannon, Full Power.”
The glow grew brighter as I fed every last drop of power from all three Mini-Cores into the arms. The Zero Pointer's metal body groaned as it moved closer and I couldn't help laughing as I shouted, “Goodbye!”
A massive beam of pure energy erupted from my hands that was several meters wide and moved through the air with enough speed and power to shatter the speed of sound causing a thunderous boom to echo over the entire testing ground. The powerful beam of energy had no trouble blasting clean through the majority of the Zero Pointer and making its way into space.
There was dead silence except for the ticking sound of cooling metal. What was left of the Zero Pointer was a crescent of bright orange and slowly dripping metal above the treads that made up the legs. The damage extended past it to vaporize what had been left of the building it had exited from.
Of course, I wasn't batshit crazy enough to fire off something like that without making sure it was perfectly safe beforehand. I even went so far as to make sure there would be no airliners in the trajectory of the beam of energy. That one likely had enough energy behind it to make it into space before dissipating. I'd have to be a psychopath to fire something like that off without taking everything into account.
“And TIME!”
I turned after Present Mic announced the end of the test only to pause. Everyone within sight was staring at me with gaping mouths and wide eyes.
Yeah, I was that awesome.
-----Line Break-----
Alright, that's enough for this. It just wouldn't leave me the hell alone. Now I can get back to Fabricator. I hope you guys liked this.
Comments
phil
You literally broke your rules if I understand this you get one universe for power. He used one piece as an example then asked for marvel than one punch man. That is 3 different universes so I can not in good conscience read something that breaks its own rules in 10 paragraphs or less.
Jimmy Golden
New chapters?
