Chapter 1: New Origins
Izuku was excited, for later that day his mother would be taking him to see a doctor to learn what his quirk was. Every kid in his class already had their quirks and Izuku just loved seeing them. His best friend Katsuki Bakugo could fire out an explosion from his nitroglycerin-like sweat. Bakugo was already talking about how he was going to be a top hero, Izuku hoped he got a cool quirk like that so he could fight alongside his best friend.
He was so excited, so for the past few days, Izuku had been trying to use his mother's telekinesis quirk and his father's flame breath quirk. Yet he didn't show signs of being able to use either of their quirks.
Despite this Izuku was still excited. He couldn't wait until he learned what quirk he had so he could begin training to become a hero. He was sitting in the last period of kindergarten class. His feet were swinging under his chair waiting for the bell to ring so he could dash to meet his mom out in the car.
"Alright, class." The teacher said, struggling to keep the kids' attention for the last few minutes of class. Which was a common struggle on Fridays, even with high schoolers, "I know it's almost the weekend but it is important that you pay attention until the bell rings."
RIIIIIINNNGGGGGG!
Izuku didn't have time to hear the teacher cursing the bell, as he jumped up, grabbed his stuff and ran out the door. He rushed down the hallway, heading straight for the forward door, ready to learn what his quirk was. As he rounded the last corner he spotted his mom waiting for him past the front door. Once he reached the front door, he pushed it open and ran into her outstretched arms.
"How's my little baby?" Inko said, cuddling her only son. Her pride and joy and the most important thing to her in her life. Inko rubbed her son's hair, ruffling it up, "How was school?"
"I'm good. I'm so excited to learn what my quirk is." Izuku said, jumping up and down as Inko walked him to the car. The entire ride Izuku was bouncing in his seat, yet Inko could only smile whenever she looked at him through the rearview mirror.
She had done this since her only son had been trying to use a quirk and every time failed to do so. As Izuku's doctor's appointment got closer, she was increasing worry that Izuku might be quirkless.
Eventually, they arrived at the doctor's office. After several tests and a blood draw, the two greenheads found themselves in a room waiting in a basic doctor's room. Izuku was reading a book, while Inko twirled her hair between her fingers. She had been to the doctor enough times to know that if a doctor was taking this longer it could only mean bad news.
Inko said a silent prayer to whatever god was listening that her son did for a quirk and it would be perfect to make him a hero. She had a friend in high school that had been quirkless and with the discrimination her friend had, Inko won't wish that on her worst enemy. Izuku was a kind soul and Inko didn't want the world to destroy it. As Inko finished this silent prayer, a small knock came from the door.
Inko released a breath she didn't know she had been holding, as she watched the door open. A short doctor walked in, carrying a weird device Inko thought she recognized from the engineering class her husband took.
"Hello Mrs Sutāku, how have you been on this wonderful day?" The doctor asked in a calming voice as if he was able to deliver some bad news.
"Anxious to say the least. My son, Izuku, has been so excited the past few days to learn what his quirk is. He's been trying to use my telekinesis and my husband's flame breath." Inko had become worried, after seeing their Izuku didn't have either of their quirks.
"I assume with not much luck." The doctor guessed and Inko shook her head. He could see the worry on Inko's face. He had seen it on a lot of parents when their children didn't show obvious signs of having a quirk, "Well Mrs Sutāku. After looking at the test, it was clear that Izuku didn't inherit either your or your husband's quirk."
"Is he quirkless?" Inko asked, her mind just forcing the question out. She needed to know, after not seeing either quirk demonstrated by her son she had begun to fear the worse.
"He is not. He does have a quirk, however, it is not heritage. It in itself is completely unique to him." The sentence caused Izuku to look up from his book. "Izuku, I want you to understand something. Our mind runs off static impulses. It's what allows our brains to send signals to different parts of our bodies." Izuku listened attentively to the doctor as he continued to explain, "However, too much of this static electricity can cause nerve damage. However, by running a blood test we saw that not only is your body holding a high amount of static electricity, it is also producing it."
"Is that dangerous for him?" Inko asked, the doctor's words were folding upon themselves. She was getting confused.
The doctor held out a hand, while he grabbed the strange device, "This is a multimeter, which is used to measure voltage, current and resistance. It's been modified to handle high amounts produced by lightning quirk. Izuku, could you hold these two metal poles?"
Izuku nodded as he reached forwards and grabbed the two metal prongs the doctor held out. After turning on the machine and checking a few things. The Doctor turned the device to Inko and Izuku, "Normally a person's body can not withstand 42 voltage with a current of .1 ampere for two seconds.
"That sounds low," Izuku said. He understood a bit about electricity from the paper his father wrote for his degree.
"It surprisingly is. That is why electricity is so dangerous. However, this device reads the Izuku body currently holds 105 volts with a current of 10 amperes. Yet at the same time, Izuku is as healthy as can be. To answer your earlier question, Izuku's quirk, which I've come to call Static Cell, appears to allow him to hold a large amount of electricity within his body"
"Will He/I be able to fire off the electricity?" Izuku and Inko asked at the same time. Izuku imagined himself as a powerful hero, being able to take out multiple villains with a single attack. Inko was imagining all the potential fire hazards Izuku could cause.
The doctor smirked as they asked their question at the same time. He pulled out his cell phone, "Izuku, I would like you to concentrate on this cell phone and try to shoot a bolt of lighting."
Izuku nodded and turned his full attention to the cell phone. His face narrowed to show the amount of focus he had. After a few seconds nothing happened, "While it is common for people with electricity-based quirks to be able to discharge it as lighting, it seems Izuku will not. However, when most electricity-based quirks form they are only about to produce about 10 volts. It appears at the cost of being unable to discharge, Izuku's body is able to produce more electricity " The Doctor placed the phone in Izuku's outstretched hand, so the wireless charging port was up, " So unless you have a material that is superconductive. The static electricity in your body will never have a chance to leave your body." The doctor turned the phone over so the wireless charging port was touching Izuku's skin, "However if you can use a material such as this phone charger port. The electricity will slowly flow between your body and the material.
Izuku looked at his hand and saw a small spark of green electricity jump occasionally between his hand and the phone. The phone screen lit up, showing that it was charging. Izuku stopped paying attention as Inko continued to ask the doctor questions about Izuku's mutant quirk.
In the end, the Doctor stated, "Your son is perfectly healthy and I see no change that needs to occur to keep him healthy."
Inko thanked the doctor and Izuku handed back the doctor his phone. As the mother and child left, the doctor turned his phone back on and saw that unlike before his phone had a full battery. The Doctor laughed at the comedy provided by that thought.
"So I still can be a hero." was the first thing Izuku said he got home. Inko had begun to worry about Izuku and him slipping into depression when he didn't say anything the entire car ride home. He was normally a talkative and chirpy kid so his current attitude didn't look good.
Inko frowned at Izuku's comment, while in itself was great, the tone Izuku used didn't sound hopeful. Inko knew she needed to help her son, "That's great Izuku, you will be one of the great heroes in the world." Inko hugged her son
Izuku smiled a bit because of his mother's comment, "Yeah I can be the world's greatest hero. That just means I'll have to work extra because of my quirk. Yeah, I can be a hero."
Inko opened the front door to their apartment and allowed Izuku to walk in.
"Hey Zuzu, can you go to your room? I need to talk with your father." Inko said a smile on her face. Izuku smiled back and ran to his room. He was curious about what his parents were going to talk about so he left the door open.
"So Whose did he get?" Izuku heard his father ask. He hadn't been able to go to the doctor's appointment due to work. He had just barely arrived home before his wife and son did.
"Neither." Izuku heard a few books hit the floor. Izuku couldn't tell whether it was out of anger or surprise, but he knew his father had knocked the books over, "He's not quirkless. He has his own unique quirk. The doctor called it Static Cell. Izuku's body is able to produce a high amount of electricity, however, to balance it out, he can fire it off as lightning."
"So, he's basically a battery." Izuku heard his father laugh. It was a kind laugh that came out as if Izuku's father had heard a funny joke. It warmed Izuku's heart a bit.
Inko said, tears coming to the edge of her eyes. "Hisashi, I'm serious," Inko had tears forming in her eyes, "Izuku still wants to become a hero. But his quirk isn't like the others. I don't see how he could use it to fight or protect himself. What if he becomes a hero but can't control his quirk? He can seriously get hurt."
Familiar with his wife's waterworks, even before they got married Hisashi was ready. He stood up and wrapped his crying wife in a big hug and kissed her forehead,
"Hey, Inko, it's going to be fine. I still have contact with some old friends of mine. I'm sure I can get their help with this issue. If my son wants to become a hero, then I'll find a solution. Izuku has a kind heart and wants to help people, so I'm going to make sure that I can help him become that kind of hero. I will create a way for our son to become a hero."
Chapter 2: Growing Pains
Over the weekend, Izuku tried to experiment with his quirk. He tried complex things like turning on and off electronics from a distance to more simple things like recharging dead batteries. Yet nothing worked, but Izuku didn't get discouraged, he kept his hopes high, but then the weekend was over and he went back to school. As Homeroom started, Izuku was called to the front of the classroom. He was asked to demonstrate his quirk, though after a few moments, Izuku couldn't think of anything. Then he recalled how the doctor had shown how he was able to recharge a phone.
Izuku turned and looked at his teacher and asked for her phone. She gave a confused thought, but withdrew her phone and handed it to Izuku. Izuku turned it on and saw it was low on power, perfect to show off his quirk. He held up the phone as if presenting it at an expo then pressed his fingers into the back of the wireless charger. After a few seconds, the phone turned on, showing that it was charged, more than that the phone was charging quickly and within a few seconds reached 100%.
Izuku then quickly withdrew his phone from the back of the phone, then handed it back to his teacher. She looked over the phone and saw it was fully charged, "Oh I must have forgotten to plug it in last night."
"So you can control electricity." Izuku's best friend Bakugo said.
"Yeah, can you shoot out electricity?" A kid asked.
Izuku shook his head, "The doctor states that I won't be able to naturally produce lightning, though my quirk is more powerful than most electric based quirks."
Bakugo laughed, "What's the point of having a powerful quirk if you can't use it. You're just a large battery then." The rest of the class began laughing along with Bakugo, "You have such a useless quirk. I would rather be quirkless, then you would have an excuse for being so useless. There is no way you can become a hero with a quirk you can't use."
Izuku looked over the class as they began to laugh. Izuku thought about what the doctor had said, he was able to produce more electricity than most electric base quirks ever could. Yet there was no way for him to discharge his quirk, so maybe Bakugou was right. If he couldn't use it, then he wouldn't be able to become a hero.
Izuku let out a small sigh as his head and shoulders dropped. He somberly walked back to his desk and sat down. He put his arms on the desk and used them to cover the majority of his face as he looked up at the board.
"Thank you for that demonstration of your quirk, Izuku." The teacher said, making no note of the harassment from the other kids. Izuku didn't pay attention to the rest of the class, just sat wallowing in his own self-pity. He sat alone at lunch, not listening to anyone talk about him. He only listened in class, not answering any of the questions. Once the bell had rung, Izuku quietly got his materials in his backpack, and then quickly walked out of the school.
He said nothing as Inko drove him home and he headed directly for his room. He sat on his bed, his All Might blanket covering him. He was crying when a knock came on the door, "Are you feeling alright Izuku?" His mom asked.
"Why is my quirk so useless?" Izuku cried from under his blanket. Inko took in a sharp breath, it was clear his quirk demonstration hadn't ended on a good note. Inko slowly opened the door, to see her son sitting on his bed with the blinds closed. It was a complete 180 from how he normally acted, school must have been really harsh.
"Izuku, honey, your quirk is not useless. It's powerful and I'm sure that one day you'll achieve great things with it. Your quirk might not be as straightforward as others, but I'm sure you'll find a way to use it. Look at Whiplash" Inko knew he wasn't exactly the best hero to use for an example, but he was the first one she thought of, "His quirk doesn't allow him to shoot out lightning, but he uses equipment to defeat villains."
That did little to cheer up Izuku, as he just covered himself more with his covers. Inko took a small shallow breath as she walked over to Izuku's bed and sat down next to her son. Then as she began rubbing circles on his back she said, "I have faith in your Izuku. You'll find a way to become a great hero." Inko continued to try and comfort her son until it was time for her to start dinner. Dinner brought a small smile to Izuku, but after the table was cleared up, he quickly disappeared back into his room.
Izuku sat on his bed, with his door cracked so he could hear his mother and father talk.
"So I take it that his demonstration didn't do so well," Hisashi said as he cleared the plates from the table and took them over to the sink. He began rinsing them off until he noticed the downtrodden look on Inko's face.
"Kids really don't have any filter, they are even worse than alcoholics." Inko said and Hisashi chuckled. Inko threw a damp towel at her husband, "Hisashi, I'm being serious. Izuku has only had his quirk for a bit and he's always thinking it's useless."
Hisashi walked over to his wife and hugged her from behind, "Come on, Izuku is a smart kid and he's always talking about how much he wants to become a hero. I'm sure he'll find a way and you and I will always be there to help him out. I had some calls back from some of my old colleagues, they all have promise and they love a good challenge. It doesn't matter how long or how hard it is, I will help our son become a hero."
At that point, Izuku got up and walked over to his door. He closed it and then walked back to his bed. Izuku slipped back under the cover and soon was falling asleep, with the hope that tomorrow was going to be better. Unfortunately, the next day was not that good, from the moment Izuku stepped into school to the moment Izuku left for home, he was constantly made fun of for his quote-on-quote useless quirk.
And that's how the following week, then a month then two months went by. The only light Izuku had in his day-to-day life was when Hisashi was home in time for dinner. After dinner was cleaned up, Hisashi would bring Izuku into the master room and show him what he and his colleague had been working on.
Yet even that didn't last long. As the years came and went, Hisashi was making it home for dinner less and less. And at some point, Izuku couldn't remember when, but Hisashi began coming home less and less. It became more and more common that Hisashi would only call home and inform Inko and Izuku of any progress he had made. Izuku would hang onto every word his father said, but soon those phone calls stopped. Only leaving Izuku to wonder what had happened to his father and with Izuku's fragile mind he couldn't help but think what everyone was saying was true.
He had a powerful but useless quirk. One that Izuku would never be able to become a hero with. Was that why his father had abandoned Izuku and Inko, with all he had done to help Izuku become a hero? Had Hisashi learned the truth that everyone seemed to know, Izuku could never become a hero. And it seemed Inko saw Hisashi's act as abandonment too, as eventually she took down all the photos of Hisashi and switched back to her maiden name. Izuku couldn't help but think that was all because of his quirk. If only he had been born with a quirk he was actually about to use.
Over the coming years, hearing less from his father and hearing more from his classmates, Izuku began to become depressed. He barely talked in class and would only give quick responses when called on. Mainly keeping to himself, writing in his journals for future hero analysis. At home it wasn't any better, he would board himself in his room. He always claimed he was working on homework, but with his intelligence, he easily finished any assignment he was given. Through all this, Izuku tried to hold out hope that one day Hisashi would come home, but the only clue he was still alive was that Inko received monthly checks to take care of the bills.
Until one day the checks stopped and Inko received the worst noise of her life. Izuku had gone off to school, and Inko had spent her time cleaning the house. She had just finished the living room when a knock came from the door. Inko flickered the towel over her shoulder, then headed over to the front door.
Inko opened the door and found a slender woman dressed in a grey suit. She held a briefcase in her hands and had an empathic look on her face. The woman locked eyes with Inko and asked, "Are you Inko Sutaku?"
"Midoriya. I no longer go by my ex-husband's name." Inko said as she looked the formally dressed woman up and down.
"Ex-husband?" The woman questioned and Inko nodded, "The legal firm was not informed that there was a divorce."
"Not officially, but after Hisashi left me and my son I went back to my maiden name. You said you were from a legal firm." Inko said. Hisashi and Inko's names were still both on the title to the house, car and everything else. As Inko had officially filed for divorce, everything was still under the name Sutaku
"Yes. Mrs Midoriya, I regret to inform you that a week ago Hisashi Sutaku was found dead. In his will, he left everything to you." The woman said.
Inko froze as the woman's words connected in her mind. Hisashi was dead. She didn't care for him as much as she had when they were first married and she didn't think of him as her husband anymore. Yet to suddenly hear that Hisashi was dead. Inko stumbled back and nearly fainted.
Inko caught herself and managed to walk back to the couch and fell into it. The woman walked in and laid her briefcase on the coffee table. She opened it and pulled out a thick binding folder, laying it down on the coffee table.
"Mrs Midoriya. Hisashi Sutaku had a lot to his name, he had many patents under his name and a large sum of money to his name." The woman then opened the folder and began to read, "Being of sound mind and body, I Hisashi Midoriya, leave the following. To my wife, Inko Hisashi/Midoriya. The sole owner to the title of the house of 2145 W…."
"Stop." Inko then repeated herself in a stronger voice, "Stop. I don't care for Hisashi Sutaku or his money! He abandoned our son and left me to raise me by myself! I don't care what my ex-husband left me or my son! I won't accept anything of his. So…So just leave."
The woman didn't seem fazed by Inko's outburst. "I understand Mrs Midoriya, however Mr Sutaku left a close in his will that nothing is to happen to his possession, except for being passed into your hands. He even set aside a storage unit to be purchased to hold his possessions until you were ready to accept it."
"I don't care for anything of his." Inko said.
The woman closed her briefcase as she nodded and stood up. She then walked to the still-open front door and grabbed a box from the front porch, "Among everything in Hisashi's possession, this was the only box that he stated needed to be given to you. Even if it was by force." The woman said as she carried the box in and placed it on the coffee table.
"I said I don't want anything from my ex-husband." Inko said as she stood up and went for the box.
Yet she was stopped as the woman grabbed Inko's arm, "In his will Hisashi wrote that this box needed to be protected, at all cost from everyone. He specifically included you on that list of people, however, he wrote that he regretted having to add your name. So as Welfare Legal Firm, if you are suspected to be any danger to this box, we are allowed to take legal actions against you. I can assure you do not want that to happen."
Inko huffed and said," Fine, I'll keep his damn box safe." Inko was just going to hide it in the back of her closet where she didn't have to see or think about it.
The woman nodded and began making her way back to the front door, as she walked through it she stopped and looked back at Inko, "You might not want your ex-husband stuff, but it's there for you. Keep the folder, when you want it, sign the papers and bring it to Welfare Legal Firm. Until then Hisashi Sutaku's assets will be waiting to be claimed."
With that, the woman left and Inko was left by herself to look at the will and the box. Inko didn't know how long she stayed looking at the items. But eventually, Inko grabbed the folder and the box and carried them to her closet. She rammed the closet door open and shoved the box and folder into the back, behind her old wedding dress that she hadn't sold yet.
As Inko began to close the closet, her eyes fell on her wedding dress. She no longer fit in, having gained some weight from all the stress of having to raise Izuku by herself. Now that Hisashi was dead, maybe it was Inko to threw herself back into the single life. Inko refocused on her wedding dress and then slammed the closet door shut. She had been forced to raise Izuku by herself, she didn't need anyone else's help.
"Mom. I'm home." Called out an 11-year-old Izuku in a voice Inko barely held. It must have been a hard day at school again.
"How was your day sweetie." Inko called out, yet she already knew the answer.
"Fine. I'm going to work on homework." Izuku said.
Inko listened as Izuku climbed the steps and entered his room. As the door closed Inko let out a breath she didn't realize she had. She had tried to uphold the lying promise that Hisashi had made, to support Izuku's dream of becoming a hero. Yet as a caring mother, Inko didn't want to see Izuku in danger all the time. And with how sideways Izuku's quirk was, Inko had no idea of how to help her son. Inko had seen her once cheerful and optimistic kid turn into a depressed and forgotten kid.
Izuku tried to hide it, but Inko could see it in his eyes. The light became dimmer and dimmer every day, and Inko feared that one day it would go out and then what would become of her son. Would he become a wayless wonder, just making his way through life with no hope for the future? Inko had always wished she could find a way to help her son. In her heart, she prayed that a miracle would bring Izuku some joy, that he would become the Izuku she remembered him by.
On the other side, Izuku was doing the same, barely holding onto a small bit of hope that a miracle would happen. As he had gotten closer to finishing elementary, he had decided to take one last shot to see what hope he had in becoming a hero. He had made an account on a hero question and answer forum, made for those heroes that didn't keep a lot of limelight. He had posted his question in the general forum, though he had been vague to hopefully catch the interest of some of the heroes.
It worked as Izuku was in direct communication with some heroes who had electric-based quirks. Most of them were able to discharge their quirk and found it weird that Izuku couldn't. Yet as they couldn't be much help for Izuku's direct question, he thanked them for their time and help. Then he focused more on the heroes who had to use equipment with their quirks.
While he was happy to have the chance to talk with many types of heroes, all of their conversations ended with them stating that the work and effort that they had to put in to become heroes, most days that effort wasn't worth it. They all stated Izuku had better luck in going into a different profession, one where he could use his quirk differently.
Izuku couldn't believe his luck. He wanted to be a hero, a true hero. One that wants to save those around, not for fame or glory or the money, but for the wanting of helping others. To make it so that everyone could live with a smile, just as All Might did. Yet here he was, stuck with a powerful quirk but unable to use it to achieve his dream.
As Izuku pulled up the message with one of the last two heroes he still talked to, Inko looked at him through his nearly closed day. Inko's eyes got watery at seeing how much of a husk her son had become. She had been there for him, even when he forced her away. Yet what could she do, she did not know anything about engineering, she was even a few credits short of getting a degree in business. She had dropped out to marry Hisashi and have Izuku.
Inko turned back to the box the woman from the Welfare Legal Firm had forced her to keep. Maybe that could have some answers. Inko made her way back to her room and walked over to her closet. She opened the door then reached into the back and quietly withdrew the box. She carried it over to the bed, then pulled off the lid. After silently putting the lid on the bed, Inko began to look through the box.
The box was filled with some blueprints that Inko couldn't make heads or tails of, so she set them off to the side. Turning her attention back to the box, Inko spotted a large textbook on the bottom. The kind of textbook one would usually see a college student carrying about and making notes in it. Inko pulled the textbook out of the box and set it on the bed. The cover read, "An Introduction to Mechanical Engineering. Vol 2."
Inko recognized the textbook as it was the one Hisashi had accidentally dropped on her foot when they first bumped into each other at college. Inko chuckled as she remembered how she had swore her lungs out at him, and only stopped when Hisashi offered to take her out for dinner to make for it. The only reason Inko agreed was because his textbook hadn't put her foot into a cast. Now it seemed even years later, Hisashi still hadn't gotten rid of his lucky textbook. Lucky as it had introduced him to her.
Inko shook that memory from her focus as she opened the book and saw 'Hisashi Sutaka' written in stylized text under the section to whom the book belonged. Moving past that, Inko thumbed through the textbook, recognizing some of the notes she had seen from whenever she helped Hisashi study late into the night. She didn't understand them then and even less now, only enough to make conversation with her ex-husband.
As Inko continued to thumb through the book, she wondered if she should give it to Izuku. Hisashi had promised that he would try his best to help Izuku become a hero. Yet as Inko thought about it more and more, she realized how crushing that would be to Izuku. Not only to learn that his father was dead, but that even his brilliant mind and life's work, in the end, had amounted to nothing. That would just tell Izuku how impossible it would be for Izuku to become a hero.
So Inko slid the textbook back into the box and put the lid on it. Telling herself that Izuku would never see the textbook and it would never see the life of day again. Izuku didn't need to know how much his father had lied to him.
Yet it seemed that fate had other plans.
At age 13, Izuku had completely removed himself from the social aspect of life. He had no want of being in the spotlight, not that he needed help in any way. Even though he was extremely smart and always had the best test scores, he was brought up to the front of the class to be given praise. Was it because the teacher saw he didn't want it, or was it because they didn't think he deserved it? Not that it matters, Izuku didn't want it anyway. That just meant by the age of 13 Izuku was a loner in all senses of the word, even going so far as to stop talking to the heroes on the QandA form.
This just gave Izuku more free time to spend at the local beach. The beach might be filled with trash, but it brought Izuku some comfort to surround himself with stuff that was even more useless than him. Showing he wasn't at rock bottom yet, but he was close. Izuku had walked to the beach with the intent of wasting another afternoon there, it wasn't like he had anything else better to do.
Once Izuku arrived he walked through the pile of trash that had been swept up by the ocean current and added to by people illegally dumping there. He walked on the sand until he reached his usual pile, which had a broken couch he would lay on. Izuku carefully climbed the pile of trash, already knowing by heart what pieces were loose and what items had good handles. Izuku climbed until he was halfway up and found his broken couch waiting for him.
Izuku lowered himself onto the broken couch and looked over the afternoon almost evening sun. With a sigh, Izuku came back to a thought he had every time he came to the beach. He couldn't believe how far downhill his life had gone. His father had left him, he was a social outcast, his mother looked worse and worse every day, and all because he had a useless quirk. He had tried to power through, work to prove everyone wrong, even god above. But it seemed he wasn't strong enough to make his dreams come true.
"Damn it, where is it?" A voice called down from the ground.
Confused as to why anyone else would be at the beach, Izuku stood up and looked around for who was speaking. Yet he couldn't find anyone.
"Where is that battery?" The voice came from Izuku's right so he turned and looked around.
Izuku's eyes fell on a mop of pink dreadlocks then led to the body of a young girl. Izuku's throat locked up to not allow a scream escape, as he hid behind his couch. What was a girl doing at the trash dump? Izuku looked over at his coach and down at the girl. She had pink dreadlocks and was wearing a pair of blue overalls through the straps and around her waist, with a stained black undershirt.
"Come on, it has to be somewhere around here. I didn't build this baby for nothing." The girl said as she turned around and Izuku saw a device in her hand. The girl then suddenly looks up at the pile and Izuku hides behind his couch. "Damn it all this trash is messing with the sensors. I think it's in this direction."
The girl turned around but then stopped, "No it's saying it behind me." The girl smacked the device a few times but eventually turned back around. She looked up and down the pile again, then kicked it, "I don't see anything that looks like a battery."
The girl kicked the pile again and this time the sound of wood breaking occurred as her foot went clean through the backside of a dresser, "Well a hot shower is going to feel nice after all this."
The girl withdrew her foot and began walking away but then stopped when the sound of metal breaking echoed through the beach. Izuku then felt the trash pile begin to shift around his feet. He barely had a chance to curse his life before the trash pile collapsed under him.
Izuku landed on a washing machine and dented the side of it, as the rest of the pile fell to the ground around him. Izuku moaned as he picked his head up and looked around, only for his eyes to land on the girl. Who was now holding the device in her hands like a weapon, "Who are you?"
The device in the girl's hand beeped and she looked down at it. She then looked back at Izuku, then back at her device, then back at Izuku, then back at her device, then back at Izuku. "And what have you done with my battery?"
"I don't know anything about your battery," Izuku said as he began rubbing the back of his head. He was going to have a bruise there in the morning.
"I built this baby to pick up on electrical waves, to find me sources to power my new babies. What have you done with my battery?" The girl said though she took a step back. Then she lunged forward and tackled Izuku to the ground. She began stretching him with her nails and beating him with her device.
Izuku managed to wrestle the girl off of him and throw sand in her eyes. Izuku quickly got to his feet and took off to get away from the girl before she had another chance to attack. He ran up to the sidewalk and leapt over the guard rail. He briefly stopped to make sure the girl wasn't following him, before running back to his house.
Izuku ran down the sidewalks and through the neighbourhood, not stopping until she got home. Once inside, Izuku locked the front door.
"You're home early." Inko called from the kitchen, "Are you hungry for dinner?"
Izuku said nothing as he sat down on the couch, watching the forward door. Inko noticed and asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"
"More like watching out for someone?" Izuku said not taking his eyes off the front door. Inko looked at her son, more than a little concerned for his mental health. Maybe she should give him the book and give him something to work forward to. Maybe he could take after her ex-husband. Become an engineer and build something that helped him become a hero. Similar to the promise her ex-husband made all those years ago. Inko shook her head, Izuku would just be reminded of all the lies Hisashi had told him.
"Well dinner is ready. Maybe you should eat on time for once." Inko said, placing onigiri rice on the table. Izuku reluctantly walked over to the tables, trying his best to keep the front door in view, however, Inko had already sat down, leaving the only chair with its back to the front door.
Izuku sighed as he sat down and grabbed some rice. His stomach growled as he ate dinner, his mind soon forgetting the crazy girl from the beach. However, fate enjoys pulling a sick joke on the Midoriya family.
Three hours later, Izuku was watching the TV, a conference talking about the heroes' recent activity when a knock came from the door. Izuku lowered the volume on the TV, while his mother got up to answer the door.
"Hello, Ms. Midoriya. Sorry to disturb you, but are you familiar with this girl." A police officer asked at the door. Izuku leaned back a bit and saw that it was the girl from the beach, with the sensor still in hand, though her hands were cuffed.
The girl noticed him, resulting in her jumping forwards, and yelling, "He's got my battery. He's got my battery." After pulling the girl back, the police officer looked further into the apartment and met eyes with Izuku
"Son, can you come to the door for me?" The police officer asked. Izuku sighed as he walked to the front door, trying not to stare at the girl. "This girl here claims you stole a battery from her."
Izuku shook his head, he still had no idea why the girl was even looking for a battery. Inko chuckled a bit, "Is that why you're here? I'm sorry if you waste your time."
The police officer sighed a bit, "I came because we got a call from your neighbor that this girl was stalking around the apartment, more specifically yours. When asked, she claimed your son stole some kind of battery from her. I'm simply now trying to figure out what's going on."
"Officer, I can assure you that my son has stolen nothing in his life," Inko stated.
"I understand, however, this is a case of civil dispute, and it would greatly help if you were willing to come down to the station and clear the air. You may also press charges for trespassing." the officer threw a stern look at the girl. However, she didn't seem to notice it as she continued to glare at Izuku.
"There's no need for that. We'll come down to the station and help any way we can." Inko said, bowing. It was clear the officer wasn't fully sure how to handle the situation, it's not often something like this happens.
The officer bowed slightly, without taking his hand off the girl's shoulder, "Thank you, it will help with the paperwork greatly."
Inko returned the bow, as she grabbed her purse and car keys, "Izuku, grab your shoes, it looks like we are going on a trip."
Chapter 3: Unexpected Offer
After a quick ride to the police station, Izuku and Inko were led to a side room where chairs were waiting for them. The opposite wall of the chairs was a one-way window that led to an interrogation room. After a few minutes of waiting, the police officer dragged the pink-haired girl into the room. He walked her over to one of the chairs and then attached the cuffs around her wrist to a chain that was attached to the ground.
"Wait here." The police officer said, then disappeared through the door.
As Izuku and Inko went back to waiting, Inko turned to Izuku and asked, "Honey, did you steal anything from that girl?"
Izuku looked up at his mother and shook his head, showing he was just as confused as to what the girl wanted from him. "She just suddenly appeared at the beach. I think she was looking for some kind of battery. She had some kind of device that pointed itself at me and then she started to claim that I had stolen a batter from her. I'm surprised she followed me home, all over a non-existent battery.
Izuku looked through the one-way window and watched as the girl began pulling stuff from her pockets. Izuku was surprised she had managed to smuggle that much stuff through processing. From everything on the table, the girl began to fiddle with the material, acting as if she was building something. Izuku wasn't sure until a toy helicopter took form, then the girl pulled an AA battery and inserted it into the helicopter. The blades began to spin and the toy helicopter looked as if it was going to achieve lift but then the battery must have died as the blades stopped rotating.
The girl huffed as she grabbed the helicopter and pulled out the battery. Izuku thought that was the end of that, but then the girl began pulling out more and more batteries. Testing each of them, but none of them had enough power to get the helicopter fully into the air. As the girl tested the batteries, Izuku was amazed that the girl had been able to build a seemingly fully functional toy helicopter from scrap.
The other issue was it had no power. With that thought, Izuku looked down at his hands. The girl claimed she was looking for a battery, was it to power the helicopter or to power something else better? Izuku was drawn out of his thoughts as he heard something hit metal. He looked and saw the girl's face planted on the table in front of her, seeming out of frustration of her toy helicopter not being able to work.
That confirmed Izuku thought that she had been looking for a power source. Izuku thought of the device the girl had, she claimed it had been built to detect electrical waves. Had it locked onto his quirk and led her to him? Izuku chuckled to himself under his breath and mumbled, "She was looking for a battery and instead found me.
A knock came from the door Izuku and Inko had entered through, then the police officer from before walked in and asked, "Are you comfortable?"
"We are Officer. I'm just not sure why you had to put that little girl in an interrogation room." Inko said. She didn't personally know the girl, but seeing the girl in that kind of room made Inko a little nervous. The girl was young and didn't know any better.
"Well in the eyes of the law, she is a criminal. She was found stalking and trespassing on private property. So it was either this or a holding cell and until we get the whole story it's going to stay like this." The officer seemed a little amused and confused at the situation he was in. He knew when his co-workers heard about this, they would laugh. He always seemed to be the one to get these kinds of cases.
"Officer, I think this is simply a matter of misunderstanding each other." Izuku said without taking his eyes off the girl, "She came to the beach looking for a battery, which she would use to power that device she has," The officer looked at the device the girl had discarded and looked a bit panicked as she had it. How she had gotten all that through processing? Hold on was that the scanner from processing, "At the beach, she had a sensor, one that she claimed was built to look for batteries that still had power in them. Her sensor must have picked up on my quirk and directed her to me. She must have thought I got to it first and stolen it."
Getting over his concern about what else the girl had broken apart for pieces, the officer looked over the group of discarded batteries on the ground. It would make sense the girl was looking for new batteries if all the ones she had were dead. But why not just go to the local store? The officer looked at Izuku and said, "That's a good working theory." Shoot it was better than any he had come up with, the best being that the girl was mentally deranged and needed to be admitted to a psych ward, "But the best way to figure it out is to talk to her."
"Do you mind if I talk to her first?" Izuku asked, still not looking away from the girl.
The officer rubbed the back of his head. It was usually protocol that the stalker was not allowed to see their target, yet the girl didn't seem to be dangerous, "It's unusual, but she doesn't seem too dangerous." The officer had no idea of what to say but he knew he wasn't going to send Izuku in.
However, Izuku had taken the officer's words as him giving Izuku the okay to go in, so Izuku stood up and walked over to the door that led directly to the interrogation room. He opened the door and walked in. Before Izuku had a chance to close the door, the girl looked over at Izuku and said, "Thief."
The girl glared at Izuku, but he was used to getting death glares from Kacchan. So her's did nothing to Izuku as he calmly closed the door. He then turned and walked to the table and sat across from the girl. He looked her in the eyes and said, "I am not a thief. My name is Izuku Midoriya."
The girl instinctively introduced herself as, "Mei Hatsume. If you're not a thief then where is my battery? Where did you hide it?"
"Funny thing, there was never a battery. Did you manage to sneak in that sensor of your's?" Izuku asked as it would be useful in explaining his point.
Hatsume nodded as she reached into her overall pockets and pulled out the sensor. Izuku could only imagine the officer's reaction to how Hatsume had managed to sneak that in. Izuku gestured for the sensor, so Hatsume put it on the table and slid it across. Izuku then grabbed the sensor and looked it over, there were several buttons and dials on it, luckily Izuku found one that was labelled power.
The screen turned on and Izuku saw several options, not wanting to mess with anything he selected the option that said, "Continue the previous session." The screen flashed green and two beeps went off, then after a few seconds, a black arrow appeared and spun around. Around 10 seconds the arrow turned green and pointed itself directly at Izuku.
Izuku then slid the sensor back to Hatsume to look at. She looked at the arrow and saw it was still directly pointed at Izuku, "You have my battery on you. Give it to me." Hatsume tried to lunge at Izuku again but was stopped as the chains attached to her cuffs stopped her. Hatsume lost her balance and nearly biffed her chin on the table.
"I told you there was no battery. You device things were picking up my quirks, it was reading the bioelectricity within my body." Izuku said.
"Prove it. Prove then my baby was reading your quirk." Hatsume said.
"Um." Izuku said as he thought of a way to show off his quirk. His phone was completely charged and there was no specialized multimeter able to read his quirk. Izuku's attention then fell on the toy helicopter. He reached forwards and grabbed it, he then inserted his left pinkie into the battery slot as far as it would go. The next second the helicopter blades began to quickly pick up speed making the motor humm loudly. Until the blades were going too fast and broke away from the helicopter, making Izuku and Hatsume duck from the sudden flying knives.
As Izuku sat back up he saw that Hatsume had a massive grin and stars in her eyes, "You're perfect. With you, I won't have to worry about ever running out of power for my babies again. I never thought I would see that quirk that would be able to power my babies."
Hatsume launched herself again at Izuku, but this time she looked to be grabbing him instead of trying to hit him. Izuku quickly stood up from his chair, knocking it over as he stepped back.
The door that led to the side room flew open and the officer stopped in with Inko behind him. "Midoriya, I think that's enough. Hatsume your parents are here to pick you up."
The officer then walked over to Hatsume and unchained her cuffs. He then put a hand on her shoulder and directed her out of the room. Izuku and Inko walked them to the front room of the station. Two people with similar characteristics to Hatsume were waiting in the lounge.
The moment they spotted Hatsume, they stood up.
"Mom, Dad. I finally found something powerful enough to power my babies." Hatsume said, hopping over to her parents. Her father was wearing a similar outfit to her but had fewer grease stains over his overalls. Mrs Hatsume looked more presentable, with a simple pair of jeans and a dark blue short-sleeved shirt. She obviously recently washed her hair, as it was done up in a ponytail, while her husband's hair was full of dirt and hung loose around his neck.
"Um, what is she referring to?" Inko asked, turning Hatsumes' attention to her. Hearing Mei referring to something as babies was a little concerning for Inko. Mei was only Izuku's age, so she shouldn't have kids of her own.
"Oh sorry, that's what our little ball of energy refers to her invention as. Sorry if she caused you any issue." Mrs Hatsume asked, placing a hand on Mei's shoulder. It was a habit that Mei had picked up from her father before his wife made him break it.
Inko took a deep breath, as she felt her worry begin to disappear. She hadn't made plans to press charges, if anything with Mei stalking Izuku, Inko might be able to use that to scare Izuku out of his solitary life, "Everything is fine, it was just a simple matter of misunderstanding. In the end, no real harm was done."
"So what did you find, my little girl?" Mr Hatsume asked, wrestling a hug out of his daughter. Mei tried to wiggle out of it but failed. Mei admitted defeat and suddenly pointed at Izuku with only her right hand. Leaving her left hand by her side, revealing that only her left hand was still in cuffs
With greed in her eyes and voice Mei simply said, "Him."
"Um... Hi." Izuku asked, giving a small wave. He didn't like being around new people and being the centre of attention. So the two adults looking at him were quite unnerving, especially when they were the parents of his new stalker.
Mr Hsatsume looked over Izuku then threw a confused glance at his daughter, "Him? What do you mean?"
"His quirk," Mei said though that cause made her parents even more confused. Leading them both to look to Izuku for an explanation of what their daughter could possibly be talking about.
"My quirk, Static cell, allows my blood cells to generate a high amount of bioelectricity, turning me into a living battery," Izuku said, reminding himself he needed to come up with a better way to explain his quirk.
"Aw, that explains that. My little ball of energy is always making new projects, big projects and they all require a high amount of electricity to run. Store bought batteries just don't cut it. So she found you and thought she had to do whatever she could to use you." Mr Hatsume laughed at his comment, while Mrs Hatsume and Inko blushed.
"How about dinner, tomorrow, on us? To make up for the trouble our daughter has caused you." Mrs Hatsume offered, holding her hand out towards Inko.
"There's no need for that. As I said, no harm was done." Inko said, shaking her head.
"Then let's just say it's more to ease our consciousness." Mrs. Hatsume offered, but Inko shook her head again, "Then how about a new friendship, despite its strange beginning. My daughter knows about your son and his quirk, she's going to be looking for him again and again."
That made Inko chuckle a bit as she thought about the offer. In the end, she accepted it with a handshake. Then as Mr Hatsume led his daughter out to the car, Mrs Hatsume handled the paperwork and finalized dinner plans with Inko. When all was settled the family parted ways until tomorrow evening.
Inko and Izuku drove to a grocery store where they found the Hatsumes waiting for them. Across the street was an expensive Japanese Barbecue restaurant that Mr Hatsume led the group to. Upon entering they were immediately led to a table and given time to look over the menus. Inko looked over her menu and noticed how high the prices were. Inko expressed her worry about not wanting to take advantage of Hatsumes' generosity, but Mr Hatsume said she didn't need to worry.
"We can handle any kind of bill. You see, our family business is making support equipment for pro heroes. It allows us to live a small bit of luxury but nothing too major." Mr Hatsume explained and Izuku's eyes went wide.
"What heroes do you make equipment for?" Izuku asked as his eyes turned into stars.
"Mostly the local heroes, Airjet and his kind. Or up and coming pro heroes that can't afford the bills from the more expensive support companies." Mr Hatsume said with a chuckle. As he continued to answer Izuku's question Mrs Hatsume leaned over to Inko and said, "You've got a little fanboy there."
"It's been his dream to be a dream since he got his quirk. He looks up to them, more than the other kids. But with his quirk, he can't discharge any of his electricity like others can, so becoming a hero became less and less likely to happen. He would need some powerful equipment to use his quirk properly. Just look at his phone, he had to modify it and its battery can withstand being charged by his quirk." Inko explained.
"Izuku is into engineering?" Mrs Hatsume asked.
Inko shocked her head, "Not heavily. He likes to take things apart and put them back together, but others seriously pass that. When he worked on his phone, he had some help from a gentleman in our neighbourhood who did work as an engineer for the city.
"Oh, still the kid has all that electricity and no way to use it." Mrs Hatsume said then seemed to get lost in thought for a few seconds. She then looked at Izuku and then back at Inko, 'Would you say Izuku still wants to become a hero?'
"He hasn't talked about it for years, but yes, I think he wants more than anything to become a hero." Inko said.
"Then how would he be up for receiving some help from a local hero support company?" Mrs Hatsume asked.
"What do you have in mind?" Inko asked, noticing a cheeky smirk on Mrs Hatsume. A similar smile that her ex-husband always got, when he had an idea that could either make him millions or blow right up in his face. Inko smiled a bit at that, but quickly shook her mind away from her ex-husband and refocused on Mrs Hatsume.
"I know our families might have gotten off on an awkward foot, and I know you think this dinner makes up for it. However, I have an idea. One I would like to run by your son and see what he thinks of it. If he could come by the shop after school on Monday, I believe we would have something that would excite him." Mrs Hatsume had already pulled out a business card. She put it on the table and slid it in front of Inko, before tapping it twice.
Inko looked over the business as she thought over Mrs Hatsume's offer. It read Hatsume Industries, Helping Those That Help Others. Inko couldn't deny they had met in a bizarre way, however, the Hatsumes seemed like genuinely good people. If they thought they could help Izuku, Inko would accept it, more so if they could help her with her idea of helping her son, "I'll ask Izuku about it and see what he thinks."
Inko accepted the business card and Mrs Hatsume nodded and made no other comment about the situation for the rest of the night. The group enjoyed the rest of their dinner, afterwards departing. Inko did bring up Mrs Hatsume's offer for the entire drive.
Inko didn't bring it up until Izuku was ready for bed and already over his cover. She then knocked on his door and said, "Hey Zuzu can I talk to you for a few seconds
Confused about what his mother wanted to talk about, Izuku walked over and opened the door. "Yeah, mom. What do you want to talk about?" Izuku asked as he looked down at his mom. She had a thoughtful look on her face, one that she only had in passing and one she thought Izuku never noticed before.
Inko walked into the room and sat down on Izuku's bed, gesturing for him to join her. Once Izuku sat down she continued, "I know this past few years have been hard, with your father not being home and stopping with the phone calls. And I know you still want to be a hero." Izuku was about to say something but Inko stopped him, "We don't talk about your dream much anymore, but I know you still have. And I'm sorry that I haven't been able to help in any way, but…" -Inko took a deep breath, "but during dinner, Mrs Hatsume gave me an offer. She said that their company might have something that could help you with your quirk. Something that could help you become a hero.
Inko pulled the business card from her pocket and held it out to Izuku. Izuku took the card and looked it over. He hadn't fully given up on his dream of becoming a hero, but he came to terms that he never could. The Hatsumes seemed like nice people, maybe a little weird but they helped new pro heroes. So if they thought they could help Izuku, he should take the offer.
But what if in the end, they couldn't help, that would just reaffirm just how impossible it was for Izuku to become a hero. Would he lose the last bit of hope he had? Was it worth taking that chance, then again if anyone could help Izuku it seemed that the Hatsume were the best option. They helped all different kinds of heroes and would be best suited for helping Izuku.
Izuku recalled something his father used to say, "It's better to try and live with the experience, then always question what could have happened."
With that thought Izuku nodded his head. He would ask the Hatsume for help and if in the end they couldn't, Izuku would just work twice as hard to keep his hopes up. That he would eventually find a way to become a hero. He would keep his dream until lock and key, knowing he would never be able to live with himself if he stopped trying.
Izuku focused back on the business card before taking a deep breath and saying, "It can't hurt to see what they have."
Inko nodded and stood up from the bed, showing the first genuine smile she had towards her son in years. Being about to hear the optimistic kid was still in him, he was still hoping out hope that he could be the best he could be. Inko took the business card and said, "I'll give them a call in the morning."