Chapter Text
They say it started with a single glowing baby.
Qing Qing City, China. A newborn shimmered with light in his mother’s arms, his body radiating an otherworldly glow. No one could explain it, the mystery stunning doctors and scientists around the world. And thus, the status quo shifted.
They were called Quirks, abilities that defied logic and reason. At first, they were rare, miracles really. But within a few decades, they were everywhere. Powers that were once confined to childish fantasies were brought into reality.
People could fly, bend metal, manipulate fire, regenerate, or even warp space. Society scrambled to catch up, reshaping itself around these new abilities. Governments fell. New laws were written. And crime took on new, terrifying forms.
And in the chaos of the new age, there were people who took advantage of it. People who took their powers as confirmation of the fact that they could do as they please. But there were also others who wanted society to function once more, for life to return to some semblance of normalcy.
And thus began the vicious cycle of heroes and villains.
Over time, Heroes were given licenses, rankings, status. They were the standard, the ones that every child looked up to and wanted to become. They were public servants and celebrities wrapped into one tight, messy package. The top heroes were idolized, worshipped, and scrutinized in equal measure.
But all good things come at a cost.
Not every quirk was equal. Not every child was born with something useful, or even with anything at all. For every star, a hundred were left in the shadows.
And somewhere along the line, appeared a boy. Born strong, he had to adapt to the path that fate hard pushed him down. The path of helping others who couldn’t help themselves.
This isn’t just a story about heroics or morality.
This is a story about responsibility and what it means to be The Strongest.
The television in the waiting room buzzed softly, the screen flickering with a commercial for All Might brand vitamins. A foam cutout version of the Symbol of Peace posed heroically, shouting something about "Plus Ultra bone growth!" while holding a colorful bottle of pills.
The hospital was quiet except for the humming lights and the sound of someone coughing far away. Izuku didn’t like it here. Everything smelled funny, and the walls were too white.
He held his All Might backpack on his lap, hugging it to his chest as he swung his feet back and forth with a mixture of boredom and nervousness.
“Mom,” Izuku whispered, tugging at Inko’s sleeve “Do you think I’ll have a cool quirk?”
Inko smiled down at Izuku “Of course, baby. Whatever it is, it’ll be special. Just like you.” She said before ruffling his fluffy green hair.
Izuku smiled back at her as she ruffled his hair, before going back to staring at the nurse, hoping that his name will be next.
Kacchan already had his quirk, he could make little explosions with his hands. The teachers said that it was super strong.
Izuku looked at his own hands, he didn’t explode, or glow, or float. He tried, He even jumped off of the couch once and shouted “Detroit Smash!!”...all he got was a scraped knee.
“Midoriya Izuku? Is there a Midoriya Izuku, here?” The nurse called out, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts.
He and his mother stood up, and followed the nurse into the doctor’s office. “Doctor Ts-Tsubasa?” Izuku whispered to himself, trying to sound out the doctor’s name.
They were met with a short bald man in a doctor’s coat with a fluffy grey mustache, and green goggles on his face. “You must be Izuku and Inko Midoriya, correct?” he asked as he looked up from the folder in his hands.
“Y-yes.” Izuku squeaked out nervously, feeling like a swarm of bees were flying around in his stomach.
His mother looked down at him comfortingly, before turning to the doctor “Yes, that’s us, Dr. Tsubasa.”
“Come in, take a seat.” The doctor said before placing the manilla folder on the table in front of them “I have Izuku’s quirk results right here” He said as he pointed to the folder.
“S-so... What quirk do I have Doctor Ts-Tsubasa?” Izuku asked nervously as he stared at the folder in front of him, swinging his feet back and forth impatiently.
“No need to be so nervous kiddo.” Dr. Tsubasa said to Izuku with a kind smile, before explaining. ”You have a pretty simple telekinesis quirk, basically just a stronger version of your mom’s quirk.”
“Tele- Tele-what?” Izuku asked, his nervousness forgotten and replaced by confusion.
“Telekinesis.” Dr. Tsubasa repeated, still smiling. “It means you can move things with your mind.”
Izuku’s eyes went wide “Like- Like in the cartoons? Like when the person stares really hard at a spoon and it floats up?” He asked excitedly as he leaned forward in his chair “I can do that?”
Dr. Tsubasa chuckled good naturedly “Well, not right away. Your quirk just started to develop, so it’ll be weak at first. But with practice, and if you work hard-”
But before he could finish, Izuku’s eyes locked onto the manilla folder laying on the desk in front of him.
He wasn’t even thinking, just trying to feel the folder through his mind. His fingers curled around the edge of his seat as his face scrunched up in concentration.
‘Move.’ He thought to himself, staring as hard as he could at the folder.
And move it did.
The folder lifted off of the desk slowly, wobbling a little at the start before smoothly rising up into the air.
Inko gasped in shock as she stared at the manilla folder, which was now hovering in the air, right above the desk.
Dr. Tsubasa’s sentence caught in his throat as he watched his folder hover about a foot and a half above his hard wood desk, completely still in the air.
A huge grin broke out in Izuku’s face. “I did it! I did it!” He shouted with glee as he pumped his fists up in the air.
The folder wobbled as Izuku lost concentration, before dropping back onto the desk with a soft thump.
“That… you weren’t supposed to be able to do that yet.” Dr. Tsubasa muttered, blinking.
Inko stared at her son, her eyes wide with shock “Izuku… How did you do that?”
“I- I just thought about it” Izuku said as he looked at his mom with confusion, as if he didn’t understand their shock. “D-did I do something wrong?” He asked as he looked around worriedly.
Dr. Tsubasa leaned back in his chair, clearly impressed “Did something wrong? Kid that was amazing. You have very strong early control. That kind of precision right after learning about your quirk is incredibly rare, especially with a quirk as difficult to use as telekinesis.”
Izuku grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. “Does that mean that I’m strong?”
“It means,” The doctor said “that you have something special. And if you keep working at it, Izuku… You’ll be able to do amazing things.” Dr. Tsubasa told him with an encouraging grin.
Inko smiled radiantly at her son “You’re going to be such a wonderful hero one day baby… I just know it.”
Izuku jumped at his mom and hugged her tightly, unable to contain his excitement and joy.
Because it wasn’t just a dream anymore. His story had already begun.