Chapter Text
Oscorp Tower was one of the tallest buildings in all of Musutafu, dwarfing everything around it. From the streets, the tops looked as if they touched the clouds. The moment Izuku heard that they would be taking a school trip to Oscorp, he knew it would be one to remember. And indeed it was.
Mr Ito acted as a guide, taking their class from floor to floor. Robots, jetpacks, and armoured suits were protected inside reinforced glass, as if they were trophies. A few of them didn't seem to care very much, too busy talking to one another, but Izuku was brimming with excitement, entranced, taking in every sight, and listening to every word that came out of Mr Ito's mouth. He was so entranced, in fact, that he didn't notice that he was muttering to himself.
''Look at him. He's talking to himself again.'' Bakugou whispered so that the adults wouldn't hear.
''I know right. He's so weird! I can't believe you used to be friends with him.'' Tsubasa whispered back, laughing.
Bakugo was not laughing. ''Are you saying I was friends with a quirkless loser? So what you're saying is that I'm a loser?''
Tsubasa paled. ''No, no, of course not!''
Bakugo snorted. ''That's what I thought.''
The enthusiasm slowly drained from Izuku. Why am I so different? Izuku was alone in the group, behind his classmates, as he always was. They either ignored or mocked him, he didn't know which was worse. This had been his life for 9 years, since Dr Ujiko told him that he would never develop a quirk. The only time things were different was in his dreams, when he had a quirk like everyone else. He sniffled. It's only going to be a dream. You're quirkless, Deku. He wiped his eyes.
Izuku listened to Mr Ito's voice. He would make the most of this trip. Mr Ito motioned towards a black jet pack that was encased in glass.
''Everyone knows and loves jetpacks, there's nothing like flying in the sky and looking down on the world. But do any of you know how they work?'' Izuku hesitated. ''Anyone?'' Mr Ito's eyes scanned the group. Izuku raised his hand. ''You, in the back.''
''Well — well, we need a few things.'' He started, doing his best to seem calm as the attention fell to him in an instant. ''Hydrolyise is used for the engine. Of course, you can use peresode, but it's hard to find. There are only a dozen sources where you can mine it. Oh, not many people know this, but mixing Lubryl and Achum makes really powerful fuel.''
Mr Ito was smiling now. ''And what do we use for the gas generator?''
''Soscite or Rafil.''
''What's your name?'' Mr Ito asked.
He swallowed. ''Izuku, sir. Izuku Midoriya.''
''Izuku.'' Mr Ito said. ''You're a smart boy. I wasn't expecting anyone to give an answer as detailed as that.''
He turned red as a tomato. ''Thank you sir!''
The words sank in. An Oscorp employee thought that he was smart! Izuku felt Bakugo's red eyes on him. But he didn't dare turn to look. Sometimes it was better to be quiet.
A swarm of scientists in green coats, the colour of Oscorp, hurried along the floor. They scanned their surroundings, as if looking for something very important.
Mr Ito raised a brow. ''Did something happen?'' He asked.
One of the scientists stepped forward. ''No. At least nothing to be concerned about.'' He eyed the students. ''We're just looking for a pesky runaway.''
''What runaway?'' Mr Ito said carefully.
''A spider, the spider. Have you seen it?''
''You let it escape?'' Mr Ito said coolly.
''A spider?'' Mr Sasaki, their teacher, yelled. His eyes widened comically.
The man sighed. ''I did say that it's nothing to be concerned about. The spider is a false widow, nothing to be overly worried about.''
Mr Ito added. ''Spiders also rarely bite humans. Even if you are unlucky and bitten, you'll only be uncomfortable for a day or two. Oscorp is safe. The animals here aren't dangerous.'' He made it sound final.
Mr Ito acted as if nothing was wrong, and continued the tour, once the scientists scurried away. There were whispers among the students.
''What if I accidentally step on it and make it angry?''
''I hate spiders, they give me the ick. I hope they find him.''
''What if we get bitten? I want to go home...''
''I think I'm going to ask Mr Sasaki if I can leave early….''
Izuku disagreed with his classmates; he wanted to meet the false widow. He always liked spiders, and they seemed to like him. Spiders weren't fond of humans, but he had fed a few. The spider was nowhere to be found though, and soon the tour ended.
Mr Ito walked them out of the building. Mr Sasaki walked through the sliding door, muttering to himself. ''And they call themselves professionals.''
The spider was still on Izuku's mind. What reason did Oscorp have to keep a spider within its walls? The realisation came slowly and gradually, and unease filled him. They were experimenting with animals. That couldn't be it, animal experimentation was wrong. Oscorp gave heroes the technology they needed to save lives, they wouldn't be so cruel to experiment on animals.
Something tickled his arm. He looked and saw a little spider smaller than a human hand.
''How are you doing, little guy?''
The spider had latched onto his arm. Firmly, but not painfully. In the corner of his eye, he saw the scientists from before, scouring the surroundings of Oscorp Tower like vipers. Izuku didn't like the dark looks written across their faces. He stopped walking. His classmates didn't care or notice. He scooped the spider into the palm of his hand and bent down.
''Run, little guy. Don't let them catch you.''
The spider peered at him: its eyes were strangely aware. Then the little creature crawled away. He watched with a bright glint in the green of his eyes. He got on the bus and sat in the front, alone. Nobody wanted to sit next to him. He could feel a pair of eyes on him, but Bakugou stayed in his seat. He took a calming breath. Today was Friday, and the weekend would be coming very soon. He took out his notebook from his backpack and began to read. It eased him; he even forgot about Bakugou and the kids in his class. Inside were scribblings of heroes and battle tactics. Some were rather detailed; All Might's analysis was six pages long. Reading it over again made him grin. All Might was everything a hero should be. Strong, brave & and unbeatable. The bus stopped. 30 or so students spilled out into the car park and exited through the gates. Izuku was walking down the road, when a cold, haughty voice called out.
''Oi, Deku!''
He slowly turned to face Bakugo ''What is it Bakugo?'' He said nervously.
''What is it Bakugou?'' Bakugou repeated, mocking the tremor in his voice.
He grabbed onto the straps of his backpack.'' I really should be heading home, my mom is expecting me…''
Bakugou snorted. ''Scared?''
He fidgeted ''No...''
Bakugou swaggered onwards, hands in pockets ''You think you're so smart, don't you?''
They were face-to-face. ''I don't.''
''Yeah, you do. You were showing off earlier, tryin' to look smart.''
''I wasn't trying to look smart.'' He said honestly. ''Mr Ito just asked us a question.''
''And you're the only one who said anything. You were tryin' to show off.''
''I really wasn't. I –I don't show off. I swear.''
The taller boy shoved him to the floor. His bag fell from his shoulders and skittered against the concrete. Bakugou flashed Tsubasa a smirk.
''Think I was friends with him now?''
''No.'' Tsubasa mumbled.
Bakugou stood over him. ''Why did you even try to show off? You're quirkless, that means you're worthless.''
''I'm not worthless.'' He said weakly.
Bakugo took his bag and dug inside. ''I know it's here somewhere.'' He grunted, then took out a notebook. ''There it is. I always see you writing in it.''
He stood up. ''Give it back!'' Bakugo shoved him back down.
''Now I really want to take a look.'' He flipped through the pages.'' Tsubasa looked over his shoulder. ''It's just some drawings.''
Bakugou rolled his eyes. ''They ain't just drawings, idiot. He's writing about quirks.''
He flipped a page. His eyes narrowed into slits. ''Battle strategies?'' He looked down at him ''Why are you writin' about battle strategies?''
He didn't have it in him to answer. Bakugou leaned down. ''I asked you a question.'' He shook his head. ''Let me guess, you're still tryin' to be a hero?''
He faltered. ''Can't I at least try?''
Cold laughter rang out in the street.
''You, a hero? You've gotta be jokin'. Heroes have quirks, strong quirks.'' He lifted his free hand. A yellow hue flickered in the palm of his hand. ''I've got a strong quirk. I'm the only one in this dump who's ever goin' to mean anything. I'm goin' to become a hero.''
Izuku lowered his head. ''Can I please just have my journal back?''
''You ain't getting it back.''
The yellow hue intensified. There was a loud bang that rattled the ground under them. Smoke drifted from Bakugo. The journal was nowhere to be seen, it had evaporated. Hot anger rose within Izuku, he started to lift his head.
Bakgou cocked his head. ''Goin' to do something?''
The anger melted away. All those years of work had been destroyed in moments.
''Maybe we should leave him alone.'' Tsubasa looked uncomfortable. ''Sure, he's a weirdo, but he looks like he's about to cry.''
Bakugou's face darkened. ''Tryin' tell me what to do?''
Tsubasa backed away and forced a chuckle. ''No...'' He trailed off. ''You're the boss.''
''I'm actually doin' you a favour.'' Bakugou said to Izuku. ''If you tried to be a hero, you'd just end up dead anyway.'' He started to walk off. ''C'mon. Let's get outta here.''
Izuku did not move from his spot in the dirt for some time. It had been drilled into him for years, but maybe this time it had been hammered deeply enough to compute. He was quirkless, and the quirkless weren't ever heroes. They were never anything. Izuku wanted to cry, but he didn't. There was nobody on the street, but somebody could still walk by.
A ticklish sensation ran up his arm the second time that day. Even before looking, he knew that it was a spider.
''Is that you?'' He said quietly. ''Did you follow me?''
Izuku didn't know if the spider on him was the one from Oscorp. But what were the chances of stumbling across two false widows on the same day? He knew it was a false widow, because of the skull-shaped marking on its back.
''You're so lucky.'' He murmured. ''Spiders don't have to worry about life, about quirks, about anything. You're free.'' There was no doubt it was the same spider from before. Its eyes gleamed with intelligence that didn't look natural on any spider or animal.
''Go.'' He said warmly. ''The people from Oscorp are probably still looking for you. Don't get caught, okay?''
A pair of teeth sank into his flesh. Izuku let out a sharp gasp and threw his hand violently. The spider landed and hurried away. He rubbed his hand, noticing that it was already inflamed.
''Why did you do that?'' He said to the retreating creature. No spider had bitten him before.
At first, Izuku thought nothing was amiss. It was a bit painful: his hands were swelling. But false widows' bites didn't kill. He got up and walked through the neighbourhood, and as he was crossing the street the road started to spin as if the world had been turned upside down. He stumbled along the busy road and only just avoided speeding cars that would have squashed him like an insect. He pushed his back to the wall, nauseous. Puke rose in his throat; he swallowed and tasted sick. Finally, after much effort, he stumbled back home. The scent of delicious soup tickled his senses. Inko Midoirya, his mother, and the best woman in all of Japan, stepped into the living room.
She creased her brows with worry. ''Are you okay, Izuku? You look awful.''
''I don't know.'' He covered his mouth. ''I just feel a bit sick.'' She hurried over to him, taking her hands into his.
''I'll help you to bed, honey. And I'll get you some ice cream.''
''I don't think I want ice cream.'' He said. ''I can get to bed on my own….I just need to lie down…''
Izuku staggered into his room and fell into bed. He looked up at the ceiling. A horrible, burning pain like fire spread through his chest. Am I going to die? He thought and fell into a deep sleep. The first time he woke up, the pain and nausea were gone, and he was standing in the living room. His body felt weightless. He saw himself, four years old, sitting by the computer. The screen showed All Might standing in the ruins of a city, carrying injured civilians on his massive shoulders. The man grinned.
''It's fine now. Why? Because I'm here!''
The young Izuku was crying, and hot tears streamed down his cheek.
''Can I be a hero too?'' He asked.
Inko, 9 years younger, scooped Izuku up into her arms and wept with him.
Izuku opened his eyes. His room was upside down, and webs surrounded him. He yelped, tore through the webs and landed, without a stumble. He made for the door and grabbed the knob, but found that his hand was stuck. He pulled his arm away, but his hand was glued to the knob, so he pulled again. The door came off its hinges, falling with a bang. Was that his doing? He gawked at the door, then at his hands. It was still dark out, but Izuku didn't care, so he barged into Inko's room. ''Mom, mom, mom, wake up!'' Inko rolled to her side. ''Izuku?'' She slowly sat up.
''What's wrong, do you feel sick, do you need some medicine?''
''No.'' He said excitedly. ''I feel great, better than I ever have.''
Inko looked confused. ''That's good, honey.'' She looked at her clock. ''But it's not even morning yet. Go get some sleep...''
He blushed in embarrassment. '' Sorry mom, but I had to. I have a quirk!''
Her eyes grew sad. ''Honey...''
She didn't believe him, Izuku realised. How could he convince her? Remembering the incident with the door, he decided to press his hands against the wall. On instinct alone, he climbed, situating himself on the ceiling like a spider. ''Look, Mom. I wasn't lying, I have a quirk!''
Inko uttered the words, ''What the fuck,'' and it sounded unnatural coming from her. She fell into bed, unconscious.