The Next Day.
The walk to school was jarring. Kids were flying, floating, flaming. A guy with a snake for a neck was using it to copy homework over someone's shoulder. Nobody blinked.
"So this is the hero society. Quirks. Flashy powers. No OSHA compliance."
Tony shoved his hands into his pockets and scanned the area. Cameras in bad locations. Old electrical poles. Drones with blind spots. Garbage pick-up schedule taped to a rusting pole.
He muttered to himself. "One good EMP would knock this whole district back to the dark ages."
As he approached the school gates, a sharp voice rang out.
"Oi, Deku."
Tony looked up to see him. Katsuki Bakugo.
Explosive, arrogant, volatile. Alpha predator of middle school.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Kacchan," he said flatly, channeling the memory. "Still compensating for something?"
Bakugo froze, blinking.
"What the hell did you just say to me?"
"Nothing you'll understand," Tony muttered, brushing past.
But Bakugo wasn't done. He grabbed Tony by the collar, eyes narrowed and hand glowing with heat.
"You finally snapped, nerd? Want a fight?"
Tony glanced at the glowing palm. "You do realize your Quirk is essentially weaponized sweat, right? You're one ignition mishap away from becoming human shrapnel."
Bakugo blinked.
"What?"
"Look it up sometime. Volatile chemicals are fun… until they aren't."
He shook himself loose and walked into class.
Bakugo didn't follow.
Inside, Tony took his seat in the back and pulled out a blank notebook. The label said "Hero Analysis for the Future."
He crossed it out.
He wrote something els on another blank page.
"PROJECT: STARK."
—
Tony spent the next few days poking at the boundaries of this world.
He tested his stamina, strength, coordination. It was like driving a car made of rubber bands—awkward, stiff, and very underpowered.
He built a motion sensor out of scrap calculators.
Rewrote the TV's remote chip to broadcast to police scanners.
Hacked the school library's computers during lunch and left behind a fireproof data clone just in case he needed a clean exit later.
Inko, sweet as she was, noticed the change.
"Are you feeling okay, Izuku? You're… acting different. More confident?"
Tony gave her a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine, Mom. Just… realized I needed to change. For both of us."
She smiled, eyes watering. "I always knew you were special."
Tony frowned slightly.
"No, you didn't," he muttered under his breath when she left the room. "But I'll make you believe it now."
That night, he opened his laptop and began designing the Mark 1 brace—simple shock absorption bands for his legs, using springs and pressure plates. Just enough to simulate muscle support.
—
The following day after. Wasn't something he was prepared for.
It happened fast.
A quiet walk under an overpass. Windless. Calm.
Then, the stench.
Tony gagged, turning too late as the sewer cover burst open. A swirling mass of green sludge surged toward him.
"Lemme borrow your body!" the creature screamed.
Tony grabbed for his bag—but no suit, no weapon. Just a prototype capacitor that might overcharge.
"This is the worst mugging attempt ever," he muttered before the slime slammed into him.
Darkness. Choking. Panic.
But Tony didn't thrash. He calculated.
'Throat blocked. No air. Pressure localized. No internal structure—must be fluid based. Can't punch it. Needs electricity.'
He twisted in just the right way, yanked the makeshift taser from his pocket, and jabbed it into the goo.
The monster shrieked—but didn't disperse.
Then—
BOOM.
The air shook.
Wind tore through the tunnel like a typhoon.
And then, the laugh.
"Fear not! For I am here!"
All Might.
Tony coughed violently as the sludge peeled away.
"Jesus, you took your time."
The towering symbol of peace froze. "Young man, are you alright?!"
Tony wheezed, wiping slime from his face. "I've been better. But hey, at least I got to meet my favorite hero while drowning in goo. So that's a win."
All Might blinked. "You're… unusual."
"You have no idea," Tony muttered.