Chapter Text
All men are not created equal.
Despite what some idealists have said, that dream has probably never been a reality. But with the advent of Quirks, that failure could not be more obvious.
The first incident was in Qingqing city. An extraordinary child was born who radiated light. After that, reports of people with superpowers popped up across the globe. No one ever figured out where these "Quirks" came from, but no one cared. Suddenly, people had the power to turn the supernatural into the normal. To turn their dreams into reality. And the biggest dream that became real was a profession that had formerly been restricted to comic books. The world entered an age of superheroes.
I don’t know when I first wanted to become a superhero. I mean, what kid wouldn’t want to be a superhero, saving the day with amazing powers? But I think it was something stronger for me. It wasn’t a want, it was a need. And while I don’t know when exactly this need, this dream, started, I do know what brought it on. Or rather, who.
--
When I was little, there was an old video I used to watch over and over again. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the most kid friendly thing, disaster footage from a building collapse a long time ago. But the reason that I always wanted to watch it is that it was the debut of the greatest Hero the world has ever known. I still remember the amazed shouts of the civilians in the video, asking who this guy was, and how he managed to save so many people so quickly. And then the way he rose into view, a giant of a man with a blue, red, and yellow costume, his blond hair shooting up in two tufts, carrying almost a dozen people in his arms. And despite the chaos all around, he smiled. And he laughed. And then he shouted, “Fear not citizens. Hope has arrived. Because I am here!”
And watching the video, I would shout as well. “Once I get my quirk, I’m gonna be an awesome hero, just like All Might!”
--
But I’m getting distracted. I was talking about Quirks, not Heroes. After Quirks became normalized, and the chaos surrounding their arrival faded, they were praised as the advent of a new golden age for humanity as a whole. But that golden age never arrived. At least, not for everyone. If anything, we just gained a new way for people to not be equal. Because even when everyone is super, some people are more super than others.
And, well… not everyone is super.
--
“Sorry kid. It doesn’t look like you’re getting a Quirk.” When my doctor gave me that diagnosis during a regular check-up when I was four years old, I was shocked. I couldn’t not get a Quirk. Everyone else in my class had Quirks, if I didn’t get one, what would happen to me? How was I supposed to become a Hero?
I wasn’t looking at my mom’s face, desperate for some sort of comfort, but, even now, I remember the concern I found in her voice instead as she responded to the doctor. “You think there is something wrong with him then?”
“Well, looking at his X-rays, that does seem to be the case. You see, a number of studies done on Quirks have determined a connection between Quirks and the removal of vestigial parts of the human body. So one way to check to see if someone’s getting a Quirk is to see if they still have those vestigial parts. And, unfortunately, your son has an extra joint in his pinky toe here, a fairly easy-to-spot vestigial trait. Based on the research that’s available, I think it’s safe to say that your son won’t be developing a quirk.” He was so clinical and cold as he said that, as if he wasn’t destroying my entire world.
That night, I watched the All Might video again, trying to focus on his heroic smile. He always had a smile on his face, no matter how bad things got. Even if it seemed impossible, he never gave up. I knew that, without a Quirk, my dream had become impossible. But maybe… If I never gave up…
That resolve on its own wasn’t enough, so I turned to my mom, with tears in my eyes. “Do you think… I can be a Hero too?” My world was crumbling, and there was one thing I needed to hear.
She ran over and pulled me into her arms, sobbing as well. “I’m so sorry. I wish things could be different.” That wasn’t it. Even though she didn’t answer my question, I knew what her response meant. She didn’t think my dream was possible, and that it would be for the best if I let it die.
--
But no matter how hard I tried, my dream refused to die. For one thing, I never gave up on my Quirk. Even after the doctor’s diagnosis, I kept trying to pull objects toward me like my mom, or to breathe fire like my dad. But even if my Quirk never arrived, I wasn’t going to wait for it to become a hero.
--
“Why are you being so mean, Kacchan?” A few months after my Quirkless diagnosis, I saw Kacchan, my classmate and friend since we were in diapers, testing out his Quirk on one of our classmates, so I ran to get between the two of them and protect the other boy. “If you keep on hurting him, I’ll- I’ll stop you myself?” I got into my best approximation of a fighting stance, doing my best to look and feel like a real Hero, but my bold words couldn’t keep my legs from shaking, and Kacchan and his cronies could easily tell that I couldn't back my words up.
“Heh. You want to be a Hero? I'm the Hero here, Deku. With no Quirk, you're nothing. Or do you need a reminder?” As if to highlight that fact, Kacchan activated his own Quirk, lighting a few small explosions in his hands, both as a warning, and as a warmup for what he was about to do to me for getting in his way.
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All men are not created equal. When I was four years old, I learned that some people simply have more power than others. But I won’t let that hold me back. My name is Midoriya Izuku, and this is my story.