Chapter Text
Cheers and cries of joy boomed from the speakers as the video clip replayed itself, the screen showing dozens of people gathered around the ruined remains of what used to be a highway. Amidst the rubble, a figure emerged from the destruction, carrying injured and unconscious civilians to safety. Battered and bloody they appeared, but they were alive, saved from the jaws of death by the timely intervention of the man, no, the Hero.
"Again?" The woman smiled down at her child, rubbing his head affectionately. "Izuku, I think you're responsible for tens of thousands of this video's views. It's a little too scary for mommy to watch."
Four-year-old Midoriya Izuku watched the screen with wide eyes filled with admiration, clutching the All Might action figure he treasured tightly to his small chest. The respect he felt for the hero was almost on the level of worship, his room decorated with countless pieces of All Might memorabilia.
"Are you seeing this?!" A bystander in the video yelled in the foreground, tears of joy running down his face. "He's already saved a hundred people! And it's only been ten minutes so far! And he's laughing!"
True enough the hero's mighty laugh echoed proudly, a victorious sound that rang through the air like a bell, announcing that everything was going to be alright.
"Fear not! Why, you ask? Because I am here!" All Might declared, standing tall and confident. A symbol of modern heroism. A symbol of peace.
"He's so cooooooooooool!" Izuku exclaimed, his voice full of wonder. "When I get my Quirk, I wanna be just like him!"
[x]
"I'm afraid there's no hope for him." The medical professional replied in a curt but calm voice, the finality of his statement seeming to hammer that fact deeper into everyone in the room. The action figure of the number one hero All Might clattered to the ground as the boy's fingers loosened in shock.
The doctor's office in the hospital was cold and lifeless like the poor boy's eyes as the bespectacled man reported his findings. It felt as though all life had drained out of Midoriya Izuku as he sat frozen, unable to believe his ears even as his brain started to process the words.
They had run tests, dozens of them, with strange devices he'd never even seen of heard of before. The nurses probed and prodded at him, took blood samples, x-rays, even put him in a weird whirring machine that sent shivers down his spine. Yet, they had found nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"No! There must be some mistake!" Izuku's mother cried out from beside him, her tone desperate. "Most of the other kindergartners' Quirks have already manifested, but he's the only one..."
"Pardon my asking, ma'am, but you're fourth generation, yes? May I ask about your Quirk?"
"Yes, of course..." she replied hesitantly, a wave of her hand showcasing her telekinesis as the action figure floated off the floor and into her lap. "I call pull small objects towards me, and my husband can breathe fire."
She glanced worriedly at her son, only to find him still stunned in silence, his eyes staring forward at empty air. A wave of mounting dread hit her as she feared for her son's happiness; the boy always dreamed of becoming a hero when he was older, but now...
The doctor cleared his throat, catching her attention as he produced a pointer from his pocket. With it he gestured to the x-ray mounted on the all, tapping on the diagram.
"By the age of four, a child should manifest either one of his parent's Quirks or a composite of the two. It is also possible for Quirks from a previous generation to show up or even mix with the ones from a different generation." He explained, nodding his head. "However, early Quirk research discovered one important finding."
The doctor pocketed his pointer, now using his finger to tap on a specific part of the x-ray diagram. "It has to do with the presence or absence of the extra joint in the pinky toe. Humans have no need for this, you see. Those without this joint represent the next stage of evolution."
Midoriya Inko squinted at the image and looked over it carefully, before turning back to the doctor in confusion. "But that's Izuku's x-ray isn't it? I don't see any extra joint."
"Well, after running some tests we have come to a conclusion about your son's condition." The doctor looked pensive as he considered his next words. "Your son is what we in the medical field would call an 'Abnormality'."
"What?!" the woman cried out, looking horrified.
"My mistake, I meant no offense." He coughed and backpedaled slightly, raising his hands in a placating manner. "It is simply a term we use to classify a certain type of individual who is unable to use their quirk for one reason or another."
"I-I don't understand." she whispered, the urge to hug her boy rising with each passing minute. Her poor Izuku still sat there unmoving, his mouth ajar. "Is there something wrong with my boy?"
"No, no. Nothing that would endanger his life." the doctor answered. "It's becoming quite rare nowadays, but cases like these happen once in awhile."
"W-what do you mean?"
"You see, Ma'am, what young Izuku here has is what we would call an 'abnormal' Quirk." he theorized, holding up a palm to stop her from interrupting. "It's not that he doesn't have a Quirk, it's just that he probably has one that is too hard to even detect or understand."
"I still don't-"
"There are two possibilities." the man continued, showing two fingers for emphasis. "The first is that his Quirk is so insignificant that one could hardly notice it in everyday life. Take for example a person who quirk emits tiny amounts of heat, or a quirk that causes nearby metals to vibrate imperceptibly. Nobody would even know unless they ran extensive tests, they would still have to understand what the Quirk was even doing in the first place. The most well-known of these cases is the Akihabara incident six years ago. A man previously thought to be quirkless was discovered to have a Quirk that produces an uncontrollable, minuscule electromagnetic pulse every 15 minutes that interfered slightly with any electronics in a one-meter radius. He didn't even know what he was doing until he noticed all the television screens he walked past produced a tiny bit of static. Now, we've tested young Izuku here with every instrument we could have thought of; Geiger counters, EMP sensors, Cyclotrons, you name it, we've done it. Nothing."
Izuku's mother nodded slowly, listening intently while the words seemed to flow right past her son's ears.
"The second possibility is that the boy has a Quirk that can only activate under very specific conditions, this is most likely what is happening here. Some notable real-life examples include; the Quirk to create water only when there are exactly twenty people are in physical contact with you, or Quirk to control air only when everyone around you is feeling the same emotion. That last one happened at an eighty-year-old's birthday party- an old lady had inadvertently used it to blow out her candles. It was likely nobody would have ever found out if she and her family hadn't been so happy that day."
"I-I've never heard of Quirks like these." Inko stammered, still in shock at the revelation.
"Of course you haven't, that's why they're extremely rare." The doctor shook his head sadly upon glancing at the boy, who hadn't said a word throughout his whole explanation. "The latest case was three years ago; an elderly man in Korea who thought he was Quirkless all his life discovered he could control a hurricane's path, but only when he was in the eye of the storm. He promptly got onto a boat he'd found and sailed out to sea, dragging the hurricane along with him and saving hundreds of lives."
"So… my boy can still be a hero?" she breathed, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
The man hummed, thinking of what to say before shaking his head slowly. "There's no real way to say this. Even after four generations of research into Quirks there are still so many things we don't know about superhumans. It's perplexing, really."
He took a moment to catch his breath.
"Unfortunately, It's highly unlikely that your son will ever be able to use his quirk, let alone become a hero."
Inko gasped, a hand over her mouth. She took a quick glance at her son, only to find him still frozen with the same empty expression. Her heart sank as the doctor began to explain further.
"It takes a long time for abnormal Quirks like these to be understood, even by their own user. Abnormals have lived and died without even knowing what their Quirks do or if they even have any at all." The doctor sighed, clasping his hands together. "By the time he discovers the specific factors needed to activate his Quirk he could be older than you are now- said Quirk might not even have very noticeable effects."
The mustached man paused, taking off his thick rimmed glasses as he glanced between the two of them, a hint of pity in his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
[x]
The pair finally arrived home after a long walk home in the pouring rain, having not exchanged even a single sentence on the way back. Izuku shuffled lifelessly towards his room, looking like the most miserable four-year old in the world. His mother reached out gently with a hand but stopped, unable to come up with anything to console him with as she followed him into the dark little room that housed the computer.
Posters of All Might plastered the walls with his trademark grin, heavily contrasting the mood of everyone in the room. Without a word, the boy trudged towards the computer and turned it back on from its sleep mode, empty eyes focused on the video he unpaused with a soft click of the mouse. The screen lit up with color as the magnificent visage of All Might appeared once again, half a dozen people on his massive back as he carried them off to safety.
"Fear not! Why, you ask? Because I am here!" All Might grinned triumphantly at the camera, the sounds of people cheering in the background blasting out the speakers. Once again, the day is saved thanks to the Symbol of Peace.
"Mom..." Izuku began, mouth still ajar with shock. His mother sniffled, worry for her child almost overwhelming her there and then. "No matter what kind of trouble you're in, he'll save you with a smile."
He turned around to face her, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he began to cry. "A super-cool Hero like that." A trembling hand pointed at the screen as his voice began to shake. "Can I… be a Hero too?"
The dam broke as she rushed forward, crashing into him with a tight hug. She too began to cry as she wrapped her arms around his tiny body, embracing him while tears flowed freely from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Izuku!" she wailed, feeling her child tremble with sadness. She felt her heart shatter into pieces, holding him close to her bosom as they both cried into each other. "I'm so sorry! Mommy's so sorry..."
Unbeknownst to the two of them, that very moment was exactly when Izuku's abnormal quirk began to activate. The criteria needed for its use demanded the user feel exceptionally powerful emotions in a short span of time, emotions that encompassed the user entirely. At that moment, all poor Izuku could feel was a mix of despair and desire.
Despair that he'd possibly never be able to achieve his dream of becoming a hero, and despair that he'd made his dear mother cry.
At the same time, the desire to be a hero filled his mind, a bottomless hunger that seemed to consume his entire being filled his heart. The child knew it was selfish, but couldn't stop. He wanted to be a hero.
With the criteria fulfilled, the Quirk began to create. Glowing motes of light manifested, starting to gather as they formed a sphere on the roof of the apartment building, shrouded by the heavy rain. The sphere, no, the egg slowly but surely got larger as it fed off Izuku's despair to grow, unknowingly comforting its master. As it grew the light it emitted grew dimmer and dimmer until a long, writhing tentacle emerged, the tips splitting off into five points to form fingers, then a hand.
The arm reached out towards the horizon as a bolt of lightning speared through the sky, illuminating the growing being. The limb seemed to recoil in fear, fingers brushing against the concrete roof. Wherever the digits touched they left deep gouges, almost like the solid concrete had been made of soft butter.
It reached out slowly, testing the environment and inching forward hesitantly. The sphere began to change as it elongated, more tentacles sprouting from its torso and eventually forming into human-like limbs. The being now had the rough shape of human adult, two arms, two legs, and a head. Glowing fingers flexed experimentally, forming a fist and then opening it to feel the raindrops slide off it's smooth palm. It looked skywards, establishing a mental link between itself and its master.
The entity jolted as the link connected, a rush of emotions flooding its mind. Desire and despair twisted and flowed like oil and water through the connection. Slowly it began to consume the despair for fuel, while examining the desire with a childish curiosity. The desire to be a hero, it realized. A desire so strong that it overwhelmed the newborn being, bringing it to its knees.
'A super-cool hero like that. Can I… be a hero too?'
The words echoed in it's mind as it stood, trembling slightly.
Be... a hero...
But what was a hero?
It probed through the master's mind for more knowledge, only to be blasted with a literal torrent of information as colors and shapes began to appear; memories being copied and transferred like data in a computer. Men and women in magnificent costumes saving innocents, rescuing them from danger. Fighting against the forces of Evil. Icons of Hope and Justice in times of darkness.
He...ro.
It strengthened the link, trawling through the master's mind for memories associated with the word. There, it found a single, resounding memory, stronger than all the others it'd previously come across.
'Because I am here!'
The victorious image of All Might appeared, and along with it came a rush of emotions from the master's mind. Hope. Admiration. Respect.
All… Might. Hero.
The simulacrum mouthed the words, finding itself unable to speak. A minor setback. Looking down at itself and finding its current form unsatisfactory, the being began to shift- slimming down as the outline of its body started to curve. A female form, it decided. The master's memories showed that other humans were more receptive to a female hero. They certainly cheered much louder. Nodding to itself, it began to think of a more specific look, ultimately deciding to base itself off its Master's, no, her brother's DNA.
Bro...ther. Hero.
Waist-length snow white hair blossomed from her head as a beautiful face formed on what used to be a featureless canvas. A modest chest and womanly hips rounded out the body as she flexed and stretched, experimenting with interest. The end result was nothing more than stunning as the being stood upright, looking more like a supermodel than a superhero. Then again, from her brother's memories most super-heroines tended to look that way. Looking down she found her entire body naked but featureless like a mannequin except for her navel, an absence of genitalia; where a woman's sacred parts were supposed to be there was only smooth, milky white skin. There weren't even any nubs on her chest, unlike the memories that brother remembered. Strangely, he associated a woman's parts with a strong sense of embarrassment, prompting her to leave the body featureless from the neck down.
If onii-chan could see her now, she thought. Yes, that was what the memories told her- that all little sisters should address their big brothers with that specific term. Oniichan. She took the form a girl in her late teens or early twenties, her features strikingly similar to himself and his mother. She could probably even pass for an older sister if not for her pale alabaster skin.
Turning to face the city, the being once again reviewed her memories. Hero. If that was what onii-chan wanted, then it was her life's purpose to fulfill it. a pair of cold, staring eyes opened, a soft green glow emanating from them as she scanned the horizon. She bent her knees and leaped, soaring through the air effortlessly like a bird of prey.
On that very night, four-year-old Midoriya Izuku had just unknowingly created the number one vigilante.
[x]
It had been nine months since the doctor's visit. The Midoriya family decided it would be better for their son to be called Quirkless instead of an 'Abnormality' after researching into past cases of 'Abnormals', finding stories of people shunned by society and feared for their unknown power thanks to an infamous group of villainous 'Abnormals' five years ago. Though it broke her heart, Izuku's mother decided to go along with the plan, listing her son as Quirkless instead of branding him with such a horrible title.
"T-that's mean, Kacchan. C-can't you see he's crying?" The tiny boy shielded the other child with his own body, arms outstretched.
Before him the three bullies advanced, their faces curling with cruel grins.
"I-I-If you keep going, I'll never forgive you!" Izuku yelled, still shaking with fear.
Bakugo Katsuki and his two lackeys stood stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter, pointing and mocking. That bully had once been his friend, his best friend, even. How did things go so wrong?
"Even though you're Quirkless..." Bakugo slammed a fist into his palm, a tiny explosion bursting from the impact. "…You're pretending to be a Hero, Deku?"
Izuku felt his knees wobble like jelly until the fear he was feeling simply melted away, replaced by a sudden, rising bravado. He grimaced and brought up his fists, intent on defending the crying boy behind him.
"At least I'm not the one acting like a Villain."
The three bullies grunted in anger, one growing wings while the other's fingers began to lengthen. Bakugo just snarled as he opened both his palms and began causing more explosions, popping noises filling the air.
The three charged, yelling out war cries in their childish voices.
Izuku charged right into them with a battle-cry of his own.
Fifty kilometers away, a pure white vigilante raised the newly defeated villain high in the air to cheers of a grateful crowd.
Hero. I will be a Hero for you, onii-chan.
[x]
"I'm home."
"Welcome home, sweetie, I-" Midoriya Inko stopped, worry on her features as she rushed towards her son.
"Izuku! What happened? You're all covered in scratches and soot-" she fussed, checking on his injuries. "Hold on, I'll get the first-aid-kit."
"Mom, I'm fine." Izuku groaned, gently pushing past her to settle on the couch. "I just had a little fight with Kacchan, that's all."
"Oh dear, I told you that boy was bad news!" She continued to look for the first-aid-kit, objects flying around her in an orbit as she searched with her telekinesis. "I don't want you hanging out with him any more if possible, he's a bad influence."
The boy nodded tiredly as he flicked on the television, just in time for his favorite show; Hero News Network.
"-and word on the street is, crime has fallen drastically due to this new Vigilante! She's practically unstoppable, roaming all across the country and stopping crime wherever she goes!" A newscaster was saying, gesturing excitedly at the camera.
"Now hang on, why does the public still call her a vigilante? She has proved to be more than worthy of being called a hero in our fine country." The woman beside him piped up, an amused expression on her face.
"Well, Kamiki-san, an individual needs a hero license to operate legally as a hero." A third newscaster explained, clearing his throat. "While the little lady does go around saving people and beating up bad guys, she does it all without a license. It's illegal!"
"Yeah, but it doesn't seem to bother her!" The first man babbled, still overcome with excitement. "I mean, she always has the same cold expression on her face. In control. Totally cool under pressure, even in combat!"
Izuku sat up a little straighter, now paying more attention to the television. Even without a name, he knew who the three newscasters were talking about. Nine months ago, a certain Vigilante had started making waves in the Hero community. White as snow and cold as ice, that was the description that eyewitnesses gave as their voices shook with equal parts shock and awe.
It started out slow; a few thieves beat up and dumped in front of the police station, people rescued from a house fire downtown. Then things started to snowball. Drug dealers kidnapped and thrown in front of police stations, earthquake survivors rescued from tons of rubble.
The vigilante had received many names by the public. Solitude, Jocasta, Guardian Angel, Shakedown, White Queen, Empress, Thundercracker. But the one name that stood out the most was Valkyrie.
It seemed only fitting to name the emotionless superheroine after mythical female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. In this case, It was who was to be arrested and who was to be rescued. Unsurprisingly, Valkyrie had never objected to her new name; she hadn't spoken a single word to anyone since her first appearance.
"Now, it's speculated that Valkyrie is mute," The old newscaster was saying, signaling to the younger man who in turn tapped at a button to reveal an image of the vigilante. "There she is. The 'Unstoppable' Valkyrie. She's never uttered a single word, so it's either she can't speak, or she won't. I'm personally leaning towards the former."
He pointed at the static image displaying Valkyrie in her full glory, a featureless body paired with a gorgeous but expressionless face.
"Ummm, a little risque, isn't she?" the female newscaster highlighted, blushing slightly. "I mean, she looks… naked."
"That's the keyword, 'looks'. If you look closely, her body is completely devoid of any, ahem, parts. I like to compare her look to the 18+ hero; Midnight- they both share a similar fanbase, ha! It's almost as if she's wearing a full-body swimsuit that melds seamlessly with her skin."
"I think that is her skin." the older man coughed.
"Are you suggesting she's a mutant-type?"
"Could be with that Quirk of hers. Also, take a look at those eyes."
The image zoomed in to Valkyrie's eyes, her pupils milky white and seemingly unseeing. An eerie green glow broadcast from her empty gaze.
"Her clouded eyes suggest blindness, but eyewitness accounts clearly state she turns her head to look at objects. And her Quirk-"
"Ahem!" The lady reporter coughed, interrupting her two colleagues. "That's my part to explain, Koyomi-san. Now, about Valkyrie's Quirk, the first thing people notice about her is the super-strength. Seen time and time again in her battles against Villains, her strength allows her to take down the baddies with sheer brute force."
An image of Valkyrie holding up two captured Villains by the collars of their shirts appeared on screen, the same deadpan expression still on her face.
"She's strong, but nowhere as strong as the Number One Hero All Might. At least, that's what witnesses have observed. The more prominent power she displays is her apparent Invulnerability."
"Hang on, are you saying she has two Quirks?!"
"Of course not! It's more likely that she has 'super-strength' because of her invulnerability. Here, take a look."
A short video clip began to play with Valkyrie standing motionless in the street while a huge mechanical suit charged at her, slamming its massive metal fist right into her face. The vigilante didn't budge an inch as the fist impacted, while the villain within recoiled in pain, clutching his broken hand as pieces of his exosuit arm crumbled away, destroyed.
Valkyrie shoved the villain roughly to the ground, mounting the exosuit as she straightened her fingers, plunging her entire hand into his chest armor like a hot knife through butter. Then, she began to peel the outer layers of his armor open, the villain within screaming in terror.
"The most interesting theory out there is that it's not really super-strength. The main theory is that she has some sort of tactile telekinesis surrounding her entire body- It's suspected to be the cause of her invulnerability. The so-called super-strength is an extension of the same ability. From what we know she's completely unaffected by physical forces or any sort of Quirk- A hero even tried teleporting her to safety away from a Villain's energy blast only for nothing to happen. She just weathered the blow without even batting an eye."
"If that theory is true, she's simultaneously the unstoppable force and the immovable object." The older man breathed in disbelief. "Goodness, If she were an actual hero she'd easily be in the top fifty."
"Exactly! Now aren't you glad she's on the side of Justice? She's so popular she even has her own fan club- even if she doesn't acknowledge them. She doesn't acknowledge anything, really." The woman turned to the camera, smiling. "For all you viewers at home, stay tuned to Hero News Network! We'll be right back after the break. Up next, a special report on the Number One Hero, All Might!"
Izuku leaned back, humming in thought even as his mother returned with some bandages. Valkyrie, huh. He wondered how she managed to evade capture for so long. According to rumors on the Internet, numerous heroes have tried to take her down in an effort to stop her rampant vigilantism, only to find her literally unstoppable as she completely ignored them; Valkyrie only moved to stop villains or rescue innocents from danger. A group of criminals tried pretending to be victims in order to ambush the heroine, only for her to immediately detect the trap and beat them all to a pulp before dumping them off at the nearest police officer she could find. Needless to say the poor officer was terrified when the vigilante tapped him on the shoulder and unceremoniously dropped a pile of unconscious bodies before him.
Her lack of speech and emotion, It didn't make sense. It was almost as if she was a robot instead of an actual human being, following a strict set of orders. Some people have even tried to follow her to find out where she lived or rested, only to report that the she never seemed to have a fixed schedule. After following her for a certain period of time she always seemed to disappear into thin air, gone without a trace as soon as she left their line of sight. Sure, no one had seen it happen but many suspected she had some sort of teleportation ability as well.
"Hmmm? What are you watching, Izuku?" Inko asked, carefully applying some medicine to the bigger scratches as she nursed his wounds.
"A report on this new vigilante, Mom." The boy suddenly paused, looking at his mother, then back to the static image of Valkyrie tearing apart the exosuit on the screen. "Actually, she kind of looks like you."
Now that his mother was directly in front of him, he could make an easy comparison. It was easy to see why he would make the connection; both women were around the same height and had similar svelte builds. The only difference was the hairstyle and face. Valkyrie's face… she looked somehow familiar but he couldn't place it.
"Eh? No, no, mommy's not that pretty, or young-looking. Our faces are different, see?" she huffed, glancing at the screen. "In fact, she looks like what you would look like if you were a girl."
Izuku stopped, his head swiveling away from the screen to slowly face his mother as a strange suspicion began to form.
"Mom..."
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Did you have a kid before me? A girl?" he asked shakily, a trembling finger pointing at the screen. "Do I have a secret sister?"
"Wha- Of course not!" the woman sputtered, nearly spilling the medicine all over the couch. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Then do you have a super-secret Quirk that allows you to be in two places at once?"
"If I had such an amazing Quirk I would have left a copy of me to work while I took care of you." she deadpanned, cotton swab in her hand. "Now hold still, I need to disinfect the wound."
Later that night he dreamed of sailing through the air, the night sky shining with stars as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop with his powerful, snow-white legs. Looking back he could see other heroes trailing behind him, in hot pursuit of something. Must be a big villain to warrant such a huge response from the heroes, he thought. If he'd just looked a little closer he would have realized the pursuers were chasing him, or rather, the being whom he shared a mental link with.
The connection between construct and creator broke off as Izuku drifted off into deep sleep, Valkyrie dashing across the rooftops as she reviewed his memories. So onii-chan stood up for himself today, hmmm. He was making progress, getting more heroic as the days passed. Not that he needed her help to begin with but it certainly accelerated the process.
The crack of a heavy switch cut through the night sky as a helicopter overhead turned on it's floodlights, illuminating the area around her. "Give it up, Valkyrie! Your vigilante days are over, we have you surrounded!"
What to do, what to do. Due to her orders she couldn't hurt these people, they were a mix of law enforcement and local heroes. This wasn't the city that onii-chan lived in so she was unfamiliar with the environment and the Quirks of the local heroes. Fighting them would be a waste of valuable time and energy. Time and energy she could spend looking for other villains or people in need of rescuing.
"Come quietly or there will be trouble!"
Annoyed, the girl picked up a nearby brick and snapped it in two, flinging both pieces consecutively at the helicopter with pinpoint accuracy. The first piece shattered the spotlight into a thousand pieces, while the second smashed into the under-hanging megaphone attached to the Helicopter's nose. The heroes fired, doing exactly what she wanted them to as multiple blasts of different energies converged on her. The moment the blasts hit her it produced a blinding glare and explosion, the smokescreen allowing her to cut a hole through the roof she was standing on and dropping into the shopping mall below.
As she fell her form began to change, camouflaging to fit a new disguise, a female law enforcement officer. The police rushed into the building, looking around in vain and never suspecting the vigilante was hidden among their ranks. If anyone had just taken a closer look or paid a little more attention they would have realized that a certain lady officer looked much too young to be on the force as she stalked off into the night to find new targets, her face cold and expressionless.
[x]
[10 years later.]
"He can't say anything. He's so lame. Even as a third year..." Bakugo smirked, looking back at the shaking boy. "…He still can't face reality."
Midoriya Izuku, fourteen and seemingly Quirkless, said nothing. This was how the world worked. The weak couldn't stand up to the strong. Even after all these years he was still being bullied by his former friend.
"You wanna be a hero so bad? I've got a time-saving idea for you." the blonde laughed, a hollow sound that rang in his ears. "If you think you'll have a Quirk in your next life, go take a swan dive off the roof!"
Izuku whirled, anger and despair evident on his face as he prepared to cry out-
Miniature explosions crackled on the bully's open palm as he displayed his Quirk, a dark look on his face.
"What?" he challenged, the explosions growing bigger with each passing second.
Izuku was left standing there in the empty classroom as his once best friend left with his cronies, their brutish laughter echoing through the hallway. As fast as his anger started it faded away just as quickly, leaving the poor boy alone and dejected.
He slowly shuffled down the stairs, making his way to the back of the school to retrieve his fallen notebook. It had been scorched and thrown out the window by Bakugo in a fit of smug superiority, landing in a tub of water where it now floated, nibbled at by carp swimming just under the surface.
Depression coursed through him as he fished it out of the water, grimacing as scraps of paper sloughed off wetly. Weeks or even months of work damaged thanks to Bakugo. Idiot, he thought. If I'd really jumped, you'd be charged with bullying me into suicide! Think before you speak!
Again, his depression and newfound anger seemed to flow away like water down a drain, as if someone had pulled the bath plug. He'd hardly paid attention to it and thought of the phenomenon as some sort of subconscious coping mechanism that he'd developed as a child. Ever since he was told to be an abnormality, strong or overwhelming negative emotions would simply disappear as if they were never there in the first place. At first he thought that this was Quirk, the Quirk to cancel out negative emotions, but quickly found out that he could still experience said emotions. Granted, he could still feel sad or angry, but never too much or for too long.
He sighed, slowly shuffling out of the school and onto the way home.
On the other hand, positive emotions such as happiness or excitement seemed to last a little longer, probably due to the same weird subconscious mechanism. Izuku considered the idea that he was going insane before quickly dismissing the thought, shuddering. Then again, he'd sometimes have these weird dreams where he was sailing through the air, feeling free and powerful. Like a Hero.
Sighing to himself, the boy trudged along the empty road, entering a small tunnel as part of the journey home. In the end, they were just dreams. He'd probably never even figure out what his Quirk did until he was old and senile or by accident, that was how it was for most abnormal Quirks. The memory of his mother sobbing and apologizing as she hugged him flashed through his mind.
Izuku shook his head, clearing his thoughts. No, mom… Back then, what I wanted you to say was...
He reached the exit of the tunnel, sunlight hitting his eyes as he raised his head.
That was when I decided, he thought. I decided not to care what anyone says! To keep my chin up and keep moving forward! Ha Ha Ha!
His grandiose mental monologue was rudely interrupted by a sudden wet noise behind him, a slithering and gurgling that broke him out of his practiced and patented All Might laugh that he'd just started. Turning to look back, he soon wished he hadn't.
The creature writhed and flowed like mud, its features oily and slick. Two glowing yellow eyes locked on to him, blinking lazily as they examined the weak, helpless boy before them. A formless body squeezed out from a manhole cover on the ground, dark green tendrils creeping from within the sewers whilst it hoisted itself up.
"A medium-sized invisibility cloak…" the living slime rasped, its face flowing like melted wax as it advanced.
"A villain?!"
Izuku turned and ran, seeing no chance to fight against this new threat. There wasn't even time for a fight or flight instinct to register as he bolted, running as fast as his legs would allow.
Too little, too late. The slime pounced, a literal wave of ooze wrapping and engulfing him in the horrible substance. His hero notebook was thrown to the ground as he fell, landing a few feet away. Pure, unadulterated fear coursed through his being as he realized what was about to happen.
"Don't worry, I'm just going to take over your body." The villain hissed, slime already starting to enter Izuku's mouth and silencing him. "Calm down, It'll only hurt for about 45 seconds. You'll feel better soon."
[x]
Valkyrie stood ramrod straight from her vantage point on the corporate office building, eyes staring ever forward while she surveyed the nearby landscape. Her svelte form still remained mostly the same after all these years, having not aged a day. She did grow a little taller, but not by much.
So far it'd been a good day, no negativity that she could detect in the area. For the past ten years she'd been moving from area to area, detecting negative emotions to stop incoming crimes and rescue civilians in danger. Ten years she had followed the orders given to her by her onii-chan. Be a hero.
Still, oniichan hadn't even called her back, not even once in the past decade despite her doing her best to be a hero. Had she been doing something wrong, she puzzled, feeling confused and hurt. He didn't even let her share a visual link with him to show off her handiwork; she was only able to establish echoes of a connection while he was sleeping. She had so much to show him, but her orders demanded she continued her mission instead of approaching him. There were many lives to be saved and crimes to be stopped, after all. Did he hate her? The sudden, abrupt thought caused her to shudder slightly, a pang of heartbreak echoing within before she quickly swept it away.
She was sure that she saved more than enough people to qualify as being 'heroic'. Yet oniichan won't even look her way. She even ignored the angry heroes who tried to attack her for unknown reasons over the decade. She didn't understand. Weren't heroes supposed to defeat villains and help the innocent? That's all she'd been doing. Why did some still attack her on sight? It's not like she was harming anyone… well, not permanently, anyway.
She fed off her brother's negativity through the mental link, powerful emotions that she felt were unhealthy and detrimental for him were an energy source for her. It was a symbiotic relationship, beneficial for the both of them. She got her food and he never got to feel too negative. Of course, she'd still let him feel a bit of negativity; she'd learnt that emotions were what made a person, well, a person. She tried consuming positive emotions once but it was much too sweet and fluffy for her tastes. Plus, it made people sad when she ate up their positive emotions, so that wasn't very heroic.
Valkyrie thought back on the Angry Fire Man that had tried to burn her to a crisp so many times in the past few years. How enraged he'd been, and how bitter his anger tasted. Yuck. She'd usually stick to her brother's emotions instead of leeching off random people but sometimes she got hungry. Once, she got really hungry and started to feed on the fear of villains she fought- she'd quickly learnt that it wasn't very wise to do that as they just got less scared of her and started fighting back even harder.
The vigilante prepared to move, flexing her fingers and taking a final look at the city before she departed to patrol a new area. This was her birthplace, the city where onii-chan created her. Valkyrie liked coming back to this particular city, as strange as it may seem. It calmed her down, let her relax.
She crouched and bent her legs preparing to jump when a sudden spike of fear coursed through her body, causing her to stop. Fear that transferred over her mental link instead of her empathy sense.
Onii-chan was in danger!
Valkyrie spun around to face the source of the fear, propelling herself dozens of meters with a single leap. She wasn't the fastest hero out there but she could still cover a good distance under pressure. She was lucky she happened to be nearby while he was in danger. Her dear brother had felt fear before, but nothing like this all-encompassing, wave of dread. She instantly recognized the type of fear from victims she'd rescued- it was the fear of death. She strode across rooftops, ignoring new negative readings that appeared on her emotional radar.
Objective one: Protect onii-chan.
Objective two: Be a Hero.
It was clear which one Valkyrie chose. She sped across the rooftops towards her destination, the safety of her creator her current goal. Everything else was put on the back-burner.
[x]
It sure as hell didn't feel better at all. Izuku struggled and panicked, twisting and kicking to no avail. The slime was in his mouth, choking him and stopping his breathing. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe. Attempts to wrench the foreign substance out of his mouth failed as his fingers sank easily into the gunk, raking right through it like water.
"You can't grab me. I'm fluid!" The living slime leaned in close, eye to eye with its victim as it gave off a malicious smirk.
The boy started to flail his legs around, kicking in vain as muffled screaming echoed in the dimly-lit tunnel.
"Thanks for your help, you're my hero." It crooned, now lifting him off the ground. "I'd never thought he'd show up in this town."
I'm dying… Am I dying? Izuku thought, getting weaker and weaker as his air supply ran out.
I'm dying...
Somebody… Somebody!
The fallen notebook fluttered open, the page with his sketch of All Might flapping away.
Tears began to run down the boy's cheeks. Was this how he was going to die? Killed by a villain in broad daylight?
No...!
CLANG.
The manhole cover behind them blasted from off from the road, bouncing off the ceiling and rolling away. Out of the ground a large, muscular arm reached out, the figure hoisting himself up onto the street effortlessly.
"It's all right now, young man."
The villain turned to face the new threat in surprise, Izuku still gripped within his slippery folds.
The magnificent visage of All Might stood before the two, a grocery bag in one hand, clenched fist in the other. Instead of his usual colorful costume he was dressed in a white t-shirt and green pants, clearly out on a casual walk.
"I AM HERE!"
The villain snarled, a tendril of slime whipping forward and crashing into where the hero stood just moments ago. All Might easily dodged the blow, closing half the distance in a single step as he co*cked his powerful fist back.
"TEXAS-"
A white blur raced into the tunnel opposite All Might, two delicate hands reaching out as they speared into the villain's body from behind, grasping Izuku's shirt tightly. The sludge barely had enough time to scream as Valkyrie tore the semi-conscious boy out from within his slimy prison, shielding him from the incoming blow with her own body.
"-SMASH!"
A pressurized blast of air rushed forward and impacted the slime villain, his body starting to break apart under the sheer force of the blast.
"Wind Pressure?!" The slime could take no more as it simply splattered everywhere, on the ceiling, on the walls, and all over Valkyrie. She tanked the pressure wave easily, her arms wrapped protectively around the boy even as he drifted off into unconsciousness. All Might… and someone else? Izuku felt a strange comfort as the unknown girl embraced him. It felt somewhat… familiar.
"Ah… oops." All Might said sheepishly, finally noticing the vigilante. "Didn't notice you there."
Valkyrie wordlessly stood up with her trademark deadpan expression still present on her face, the pieces of slime that stuck to the walls and ceiling stubbornly starting to slick off her like water off a duck's back. He was about to apologize since she didn't look very amused, but then remembered that's how she looked by default. Valkyrie glanced towards the hero, recognizing him as the Big Cheerful Man, All Might, before turning back to her brother.
The Number One Hero scratched his head gently, unable to think of something to say. It wasn't the first time he'd encountered the strange girl, he'd tried to convince her to register for a hero license multiple times in the past, only for her to ignore him like he was a roadside plant. One time he'd even tried stopping her by putting his hands on her shoulders and she'd simply continued walking, dragging him behind her along the road with little effort. The girl really was something, that's for sure.
"Ahem." All Might coughed awkwardly, pulling out an empty soda bottle from within one of his pockets. "Would you like to help me clean up this villain, Miss Valkyrie?"
The girl didn't even bother to look at him as she opted to sit down with her legs tucked in, placing the unconscious boy's head gently onto her lap. A lap pillow, he realized after a few moments. Huh. That was… odd, to say in the least. Valkyrie never did that for anyone she'd rescued before. If he didn't know any better he'd say she was worried for him.
"Ooooookaay. I guess I'll have to do this myself then."
After painstakingly collecting the pieces of the defeated villain by himself, All Might turned back to the pair, still in the same position he'd left them in. Strolling over, he started to lightly tap on the boy's face. A few taps in Valkyrie had gently pushed his hand away. When he tried again she smacked his hand, seemingly annoyed though her expression remained even as ever.
"Look, I'm just trying to wake him up to see if he's alright." All Might explained, unsure of how to react. "If you don't mind, can you wake him up?"
Wordlessly, the girl nodded and craned her neck down slightly, grasping his head with both hands and pressing her forehead against the boy's with closed eyes, as if she was sensing something. A few seconds passed and she separated, nudging his head lightly with both palms.
Izuku's eyes slowly fluttered open, blurry vision attempting to focus on the object before him. He felt his back on the ground, his head on something warm and soft. A pillow? Why would there be a pillow in the in the middle of a tunnel-
The past few events suddenly flashed through his mind. The tunnel. The Villain. All Might!
He blinked owlishly as he vision slowly focused, the whiteness before him focusing into a clear image.
A pretty girl stared at him from above, the soft green glow of her eyes reflected in his own. From above? Then that must mean-
A hand reached up to feel what his head was resting upon, finding only softness and warmth. The realization started to sink in as the blood began to rush to his face, turning the poor boy redder than a cherry tomato. He was resting his head on a girl's lap. A lap pillow. At that moment, All Might and Izuku witnessed something that nobody had ever seen before: Valkyrie's smile.
Valkyrie gave her creator a kind smile, a feeling of satisfaction and happiness welling up deep within her being. He'd grown so much since she'd last remembered! Her brother was absolutely tiny when she'd last seen him and now he was at least twice as large. She idly wondered how he would react to her saving his life.
She soon found out as Izuku backed away in embarrassment, apologizing.
"Uwaaaaaah! I-I'm so sorry Miss- Miss-"
He stopped, finally realizing who she was.
"You're- You're-" The poor boy was lost for words as Valkyrie, the infamous vigilante, tilted her head in mild confusion. He'd fainted. And slept like a baby on her lap. The shock was almost too much for him to take as he began to shake.
"Oh good! I'm glad you're okay!" A loud, cheerful voice boomed from behind him. Izuku spun around only to come face to face with All Might, a grin stretched from ear to ear. "Valkyrie here must really like you, I've never even seen a different expression on her until now!"
"A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-" Izuku began shaking even harder. "M-m-m-m-m-m-m-"
"Calm down, kid. Everything's okay now, sorry for getting you caught up in my villain fighting." All Might shrugged, his glorious presence causing Izuku's legs to wobble like jelly. Valkyrie glanced between the two with mild interest.
"I don't usually make mistakes like this, but I was in high spirits on my day off in a new place." The Hero laughed loudly, a hand on his forehead. The trademark All Might Laugh! "But, you were a big help. Thanks! To the both of you, of course!"
All Might proceeded to raise two soda bottles up victoriously, displaying the defeated villain within proudly. "I captured him safely!"
Izuku could barely believe his good luck. He got to meet both the Number One Hero and the Number one Vigilante, and help capture a villain, all in the same day! Any more excitement and he'd faint a second time. He made sure not to pinch himself: if this was a dream, he wanted it to continue forever. All Might's teeth seemed to gleam in the afternoon sun as he grinned.
"Oh, right! An a-autograph! Where should I-"
A soft tap on his shoulder drew his attention- Izuku turned to face Valkyrie who was still smiling, his notebook in her hand.
"A-a-ah. T-thanks, V-v-valkyrie-san." he stuttered, blushing furiously. It was times like these when he hated himself for not being able to talk to girls properly. Opening the notebook, he already found All Might's signature plastered along two pages in thick bold lettering. Underneath his thick handwriting was a small 'V' that All Might had somehow persuaded Valkyrie to write.
"He already signed it! And so did you!" Izuku exclaimed, ecstatic. "Waaaaaah! Th-Thank you very much! It'll be a heirloom! A family treasure!"
"Okay!" All Might gave him a thumbs up, confident as ever. "Well, I need to take this guy to the police. See you again at the other side of the screen!"
"W-wait, already?" Izuku glanced nervously between All Might and Valkyrie, not sure who to look to. They both seemed to be preparing to leave, All Might crouching down and preparing to jump away, Valkyrie looking skywards with her usual bored expression back on her face.
"Pros are constantly fighting enemies and time." All Might answered, stretching his leg muscles.
Wait, Izuku thought. There are still... things I want to ask...
Izuku made his choice.
"Well then," the Hero announced, leaping into the sky. "I'm counting on your continued support!"
Then All Might seemed to notice he was just a tiny bit heavier.
"Wait." he looked down at his leg only to find the boy clutching at him tightly, holding on for dear life. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!"
"Mrrrrrruugghhhhhrrgghhhhhh!" Izuku cried out as he flapped in the wind.
"Let go of me! Your fanaticism is too much!"
"If I let go now.. I'll...I'll die!"
"Oh. That's true."
"I have… a lot of things… I want to ask you directly!"
"Okay, okay! I get it, so close your eyes and mouth!"
Valkyrie watched as they flew further away into the air, eventually becoming a speck in the distance. Hmmm. Onii-chan did seem rather happy to finally see her. Did that mean she was doing a good job? The girl pondered for a moment before leaping away in another direction in search of new negativity. She had work to do, after all. She'd continue working on her current objective until she was summoned by her brother once more.
[Chapter 1 End.]
