It was a beautiful early autumn day at Heights Alliance dorm building for Class 2-A. The birds were chirping, the felled leaves resting upon the ground, and a 17-year-old boy was running out of the front door muttering, "I'm late," over and over again. The boy's tie was half done, his buttoned shirt not buttoned all the way, and his hair was unkempt, but that was usual for him. That boy's name was Izuku Midoriya, his hero name was Deku, and he was late on his first-ever date.
A shout came from inside the dorm building. "God damn it, Deku! Were you raised in a barn?! Close the damn door!"
Izuku, still running and buttoning his shirt, shouted back, "Sorry, Kacchan!"
The blonde hot head stood in the doorway, watching the heroic prodigy accidentally collide into a tree when he wasn't looking. Katsuki chuckled to himself. "Eh, I'll let him have it easy today; he has enough on his plate."
Izuku, who recovered from his little meeting with a tree that he swore wasn't there before, kept running, leaves crunching under his red shoes, and a single thought running through his head: Oh she's gonna hate me for this.
Oh God, he probably hates me, was the thought of one Ochaco Uraraka, sitting at a table at Il Ristorante Decente. A semi-fancy restaurant that Yuga suggested added to the mystery of whether or not he was really a Frenchman. The memory played in her head. "Oui ma chere ami, this restaurant is the finest in French cuisine in all of town!"
Oddly enough, the restaurant wasn't French, it was Italian.
Where is he? Ochaco thought. A bigger matter was at hand; Izuku was five minutes late, and the gravity girl started to worry. She sighed as she used her phone as a mirror to look at herself. She didn't put much makeup on, she couldn't afford much. Ochaco wanted to look her best for this date, for him. She put her phone down on the table and started tugging at her red sweater. It wasn't the best sweater in the world, but it was hers, and she can't say that about a lot of things. It was handed down from her mother. "Oh, Ochaco sweetie, when he sees you in this, he'll melt! I wore this sweater for years, it's how I managed to catch your father, ya know!" Ochaco didn't know if that last sentence was sweet, or a sign to immediately switch tops.
Whatever, she thought. Maybe all of this anxiety will go away when he shows up.
If he shows up.
Another thought flew through her mind.
Did something happen to him? Is there a big battle and I don't know about it? Or, what if he just did this to make fun of me and he doesn't like me at all? Is he who I think he is? So many anxious thoughts clouded her mind.
She looked up from her phone and out the window, and by a stroke of luck there he was. Izuku Midoriya and he- oh no. He's too formal. Oh God. Do-does he not get what formal-casual is? He does look cute, though...
Her gaze followed his every step, a nervous smile crept on her face, and her cheeks reddened.
He actually showed up! Oh God, now I have to talk to him… alone… for hours... hoo boy.
With each step, Izuku took his heartbeat twice as fast.
Oh my God, I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this, his thoughts raced.
Oh my God, this is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening, her thoughts raced.
Izuku stopped in front of the door to the restaurant.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. The green-haired boy took in a deep sigh and opened the door.
Ochaco witnessed the door to the restaurant open. This is happening. This is happening. This is happening.
Izuku turned to his left and saw his date. Oh my God, she's beautiful… I'm overdressed, aren't I?
Ochaco could only stare. God, he's cute.
Izuku shook off his shock and started to walk towards the table, his head was in the clouds. For one reason or another, he was confident. You can see it in his smile and his walk. He can do this. He's gonna have the best date ever today with the girl he likes so much. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, the boy's right foot hit his left and became entangled with each other, starting his fall.
I can't do this.
This is not happening.
Ochaco watched in horror as her date hit the floor, hard.
"Deku!" she cried as she got out of her chair, "Are you okay?" She bent down to grab his arms.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay," he groaned as he started to get up, "Sorry about th-" he cut himself off when he realized he and Ochaco's faces were only centimeters apart. If his face wasn't red enough from that embarrassing fall, it's redder than the red curtains that lined the restaurant's windows.
Izuku wasn't the only one who was blushing, however, as Ochaco was somehow worse. It was common for her to have a small light blush whenever she was around Izuku, but today is different. Her face started to burn up like it never had before.
The same thought infected both minds: So close!
The pair felt like the world around them disappeared. Izuku could see every stroke of blush on her cheeks, while Ochaco can count every freckle on his cheeks. After the blushing came the stammering, "H-hey," said Izuku.
"H-hi, Deku," said Ochaco. An awkward silence fell upon the not-yet-official couple. Neither of them had been on a date before. Is there usually this much blushing and awkwardness? These thoughts zoomed through their minds because what was only seconds for the world felt like years for the young heroes.
"I... thought this was a French restaurant," said the flustered boy, breaking the silence.
Ochaco blinked. "Y-yeah, I thought so too."
The two student heroes finally got up on their feet and sat down. Finally, the date started, and the great debate of the most mysterious student in the class: Yuga Aoyama.
However, the flamboyant classmate wasn't all that they talked about. Izuku embarrassingly told the reason why he was so late and looked so formal. They both talked about school, internships, and their summer vacations, all the nice stuff.
They ordered their food. Both of them ordered a basic plate of spaghetti and meatballs; they didn't eat Italian, not French, or food a lot, which was their safest bet. The restaurant was plastered with dark red wallpaper, Italian quotes adorned the walls, and the table even had a map of Italy. Again, definitely not France. Eventually, they got their food after a small wait.
As they were eating, they both remembered the prep that went into this date. Ochaco went to Momo for advice on "how to eat proper," while Izuku consulted Kacchan, Shoto, and Ida.
"To eat properly, you must have both hands on the table, your napkin dressed over your legs, catch any stray food that might fall, hold the fork in your right hand, and the knife in your left."
"Sit up straight, dumbass!"
"Maybe you should make a heart with the food…"
"Midoriya! This isn't hard! Just pretend I'm Uraraka and talk to me! This is vital to make this the perfect date!"
They each had different experiences.
"So how's Mirio these days?" Ochaco asked. "I haven't seen him since his graduation!"
Izuku smiled. "Oh, he's doing great! He joined Mr. Nighteye's former agency, and he's working well as a hero. He has a lot of support gear on since well... you know. It's been difficult for him, but you know Mirio he never gives up and-"
Ochaco just stared at the green-haired prodigy. Some people got annoyed when he muttered, but she found it really cute. There was so much information in that big brain of his, and sometimes he needed to let it all ou- Why is there a car heading towards u- oh my God!
As if it was second nature to her, Ochaco stood up and reached over the table, grabbing a fistful of Izuku's shirt.
"Uraraka, wha-"
Her quirk activated and she pulled, Izuku went flying right into her arms. She held on to him tight and jumped back. As she did this, a car flew through the restaurant's window. Glass flew everywhere, Ochaco prayed that no shards hit anybody. The patrons' many screams were dominated by the sounds of heavy metal grinding and crushing in upon itself.
The pair hit the ground hard with Ochaco still holding Deku tight.
"Oww," groaned Izuku.
That was right in my ear, yep, uh-huh, okay.
Ochaco opened her eyes and was horrified to find that she somehow landed right on top of Izuku; specifically, her head was on his chest.
Oh my God, are you kidding me?
Ochaco looked up at Izuku, his eyes wide open and face red as a tomato. She followed his lead, and the two teens stared at each other in heated embarrassment for a moment before Izuku finally stammered, "W-we should check f-for civilian damage."
Ochaco blinked. "Okay." Ochaco stood up and helped Izuku stand up as well. They checked their surroundings: the car lodged itself into the wall, Glass strewn about the floor, the debris of the past destruction lying around. These two needed to get to work. After checking each person who was in the restaurant and checking the driver in the vehicle, it was decided to call emergency services. Making sure that the scene was safe and all civilians attended, Izuku and Ochaco decided to hit the streets. There they found the culprit: a villain throwing cars into buildings. Izuku and Ochaco nodded to each other and headed out to confront the villain.
As they ran towards the epicenter of the danger, Izuku pulled out and put on his Air Force Gloves from his backpack and threw Ochaco her Air Pressure Gauntlets. "Did you really bring those to our dinner? And how did you get my gauntlets?!" Ochaco yelled, still sprinting.
"You always gotta be ready for a villain attack, Uraraka!" the boy said as he punched the car flying their way. "And I asked Mei to make spares for your gauntlets just in case your originals break!"
"You're such a dork!" Ochaco laughed as she activated Zero Gravity, leaped to the sky, and started to seemingly fly towards the villain thanks to her Air Pressure Gauntlets. "I'll go on ahead to see what we're up against, and give you the report when you catch up!"
Deku pulled out a small earpiece. "Dispatch, this is student-hero Deku, I need seven ALS rigs at the address nineteen seventy-seven, Coruscant Road, and I need police and pro-heroes two miles due west of previous address…"
As Deku called for backup, Uravity confronted the villain. She recognized the villain from a news report the other night. He called himself Professor Squid; he obtained a mutation quirk of ten extra extendable arms out of his back. Uravity landed near the rampaging villain. "Halt! I am student-hero Uravity, and I demand you to cease your attacks!" she bellowed, taking a defensive stance.
The villain roared and threw a car at Uravity, which she swiftly dodged. "I don't want to fight, Professor!" Another car flew towards the young hero. "Professor, I strongly suggest..!" Yet another one... "That's it!" she yelled and charged the villain.
When Deku caught up to Uravity, the battle was already over. Professor Squid was buried under a pile of wreckage with a victorious Uravity standing above. "Villain's taken care of."
Deku blinked, a little intimidated. "I-I can see that."
The police arrived, and the villain was carted away to jail. The young couple gave their reports to the police chief. "So this villain just happened to attack in the middle of your d-"
"Yes!" Ochaco said, cutting him off. "He threw a car into Il Decente Restaurante down the street," she said, pointing behind her.
The police chief raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a French restaurant?"
Izuku and Ochaco's faces became stoic upon hearing this question.
The pair left the scene after being cleared by the Police Chief and continued on their way. Even though they got robbed of a nice late lunch, that wasn't going to stop them. Both of them wanted this date badly, and they would be damned if it was ruined. Their next destination was the popular SEGA arcade in Mustafu.
"So, you've never been to an arcade before, Uraraka?" asked the green-haired boy.
Ochaco had a small blush on her face. "I mean… I didn't say I never went to an arcade, it's just…" Her face dimmed.
Izuku noticed her diminishing mood and panicked. "Well, that's why we're going today! To make up for those lost days," he said as he gave a bright smile.
Ochaco perked up. "Okay," she murmured and gave a soft smile.
The arcade held many joys for the young pair. The lights weren't on, but the lights from the games gave the arcade this techno atmosphere. Ochaco and Izuku spent the next hour going from game to game, just having a blast. Ochaco herself kept coming back to the classic game Flicky, an old SEGA game from the pre-quirk era.
"I used to have this game as a kid!" she said when she first laid eyes upon it. "My family couldn't afford any of the new game consoles, so we bought an old and cheap SEGA Genesis Mini!"
Izuku described the feeling of watching Ochaco play Flicky as an "out of body experience." He knew Ochaco was already extremely competitive, remembering the first sports festival, but what he was witnessing was otherworldly. What was once a cheerful and bubbly person was now completely unrecognizable as Ochaco worked her way to the world's highest score. She was completely silent, her gaze locked onto the screen. Her reactions to the enemies became lightning-fast, as nothing could break her attention towards the game. She even forgot that she was on a date. All that mattered was getting past the high score of 10,871,400 points.
Izuku got excited for his best friend as she got to 10,870,800 points. She was gonna do it! She was gonna take the world record! Only one more door to put the Flickys in and-
The entire row of arcade cabinets was gone, and at the end of the trail of destruction was an unconscious Death Arms. Izuku immediately ran to the pro-hero, but Ochaco was motionless. She looked down to her hands, still in the same position when the cabinet was still there. She stared at her hands for a lengthy period.
"FUCK," she yelled and immediately ran out the gaping hole in the arcade.
"Uraraka, no!" cried Izuku as he started to run towards his best friend, phone clutched in hand. "-make that eleven ALS rigs, dispatch!"
Deku ran out the hole in the wall and made a left, he didn't see the ensuing fight, but he definitely heard it. A roar, a human scream, another roar, and a crash of metal accompanied by very loud, "Fuck you!"
Is Kacchan on patrol?!
Deku finally made it to the fight, but what he found shook him to his core. Standing on a pile of wreckage, with the setting sun casting a red light behind her, was Uravity, and lying under the pile of wreckage was the villain, The Iguana. Deku looked at his hero partner, her glare was piercing, her stance menacing, she glowered at the villain trapped underneath her boots and the rubble. "There, now think twice before you commit a crime next time, jackass."
Deku stood before the disturbing scene. It wasn't that he was disturbed by Uraraka's sudden outburst of anger; it was more like he'd never seen it before. He made a mental note to write on Uraraka's page to not get between her and a video game.
He looked up to his date. "So."
Uravity whipped around and looked down at Deku. "What?"
Deku swallowed a lump in his throat. "W-wanna go to our picnic?"
Uravity blinked a few times, and her whole demeanor changed. "Yeah! I think it's time for dinner," she said with a smile.
The picnic location they chose was Dagobah beach, a seemingly popular date spot since the pollution and debris were all cleared by a mysterious person. They chose a spot that wasn't claimed by any beachgoers and set out the picnic blankets and everything. They didn't plan to go into the water, they just wanted to have a nice view of the sunset as they ate their dinner. The pair looked out towards the water, the sky was a beautiful violet hue.
"Hey, Uraraka?" asked Izuku, who was sitting pretty close to his date.
Ochaco answered, "Yes, Deku?"
Izuku stayed silent, worrying Ochaco. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, taking his hand.
Izuku looked down at their entwined hands and blushed. "Oh," he said, "Um…do, you remember when we first met?"
Ochaco smiled and gave a small laugh. "Of course I do. How could I forget saving you from an embarrassing fall?"
Izuku gave an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, but I saved you from that Zero pointer."
"I gotta admit, those, what? Thirty seconds? Was a blur, Deku," her lips curved into a smile, "But I remember you. Clear as day, bright as the sun. When I saw you running towards me, I just thought, 'What is he doing here?'" She laughed. "But when I saw you jump high in the air and one-shot that robot. I felt… I dunno. I could only think about how you saved me and… that I wanted to save you too." Her face started to blush a deep red.
Izuku also started to blush, but his lips also curved into a smile. "And you did. You saved me from being flat as a pancake. It still stings by the way," Izuku said, pointing to his cheek.
Ochaco giggled. "Yeah… sorry about that, but saving you is what got me such a high score for the test."
"Same here," Izuku said, now facing Ochaco, his heart beating faster. "It looks like we're always saving each other, huh?"
Ochaco suddenly realized how close they were, and blushed harder. "Y-yeah. Like when you saved me from Toga."
Izuku leaned in just an inch closer. "Or when you saved me from thinking, Deku was the name of a loser."
Ochaco followed suit, leaning in just an inch closer. "Or when you saved me from being slashed by Shinsho's scarf."
Again, Izuku moved closer. "That same day when my quirk went out of control, you were the one who held on to me," he said.
Ochaco shifted again, even closer still. "I was so scared for you. Seeing you in pain like that...it shook me to my core, Deku. Ever since the day I met you, seeing you sacrifice your whole shot at your dream school just to save me. I just…" She looked up and realized that they were one inch away from each other. Both teens blushed the deepest red in the world. She felt his breath on her face, and he felt her's on his.
They were close, closer than when they were at the restaurant. Izuku swore that he can feel her nose slightly tickle his. He's been close to her before, but never this close. Ochaco's heart beat faster and faster as the reality of this situation started to settle in. She's been denying her feelings for Izuku ever since she got her Hero License, she felt that these feelings would slow her and Izuku down in their path to becoming heroes. However, even when she buried those feelings under 2,000 lbs. of concrete, they'd always Delaware-Detroit Smash their way out. Izuku inspires her to become the best hero she can be, and the best Ochaco Uraraka she can be. Ever since the day she met him, he was her hero.
Izuku's face felt red hot as he noticed every detail of Ochaco's face. Izuku was too shy to admit it, but he fell for Ochaco the very first time he met her. When he tripped, and she caught him, it was the first time in his life that somebody who wasn't named Mom, Dad, or All Might ever show him kindness. She didn't laugh at him for tripping, she saved him from being laughed at. It also helped that he found her incredibly pretty. Throughout the school year, Izuku got more and more comfortable around her. He was able to talk to her without becoming a stuttering and blushing mess. However, there were times when she would smile at him, and he'd immediately feel like a Meteor Smash was raining upon him. He knew she was something special. She made her feel not only confident but also good about being "Deku." Ever since the day he met her, she was his hero.
"Ochaco…"
"Izuku…"
They both leaned in, to put away their past tension, to seal their feelings for each other; this was it, this was finally it. They closed their eyes, tilted their heads, and -
SKREEEEEEEONNNNNK!!!
A terrible sound was heard from the ocean as the pro-hero Godzillo, King of the Monsters, was thrown from the blue water and landed right on top of Izuku and Ochaco's picnic basket. Covering them with sand. Another screech rang out as a giant lobster crawled onto the beach. It was Ebiro, the crustacean kaiju villain!
Izuku and Ochaco stood motionless, their eyes wide open. Sand covered them both head to toe, their moment ruined.
"GOD DAMN IT!" they cried in unison.
When police arrived at the scene, the battle was already over. Ebiro lay there, unconscious, cracks in his carapace, and his giant claw arm bent a way it wasn't supposed to. A very pissed off Deku was standing to the side as Ochaco gave the report to the police. "... and finally, there need to be two kaiju ALS rigs at the site of Dagobah Beach."
He was silent as he listened to the dispatch operator. "NO, BUT WE ALMOST DID, THOUGH."
Finally done with the report, the Chief of Police, Satoshi, excused them. The sky was a deep dark blue as night had finally set in. Ochaco looked to Izuku. "Wanna go to the gardens?"
Izuku sighed. "Yeah… yeah, let's go."
And so they did.
The pair made it to the Mustafu Botanical Gardens, but the mood was shot. They walk side by side in silence, an arm's length apart... This date was supposed to be perfect. Weeks of planning went down the drain for Izuku and a year and a half of battling her emotions wasted for Ochaco. But no, heroes never rest, do they? Whenever trouble showed, they had to respond. It was their job, and that was fine, but they wanted to enjoy each other's company. They found a small stream of water with a small bridge. The two of them stopped there and tried to relax.
Ochaco finally spoke up. "So… this is what hero life is like." She hung her head.
Izuku sighed. "I didn't know it was going to be this…"
"Intrusive?"
"Yeah."
The pair sighed. Was romance worth it in the hero field? Were they truly compatible with each other? If they decided to go forward with this relationship, would they have to deal with this pull and push lifestyle every day?
Drops of water plopped onto their heads. "Great," Ochaco said frowning. "Rain." The pair ran to the nearby gazebo as the rain came down. They made it, and they started to lean on the rail of the said gazebo.
"Well, at least it looks beautiful," Izuku said.
"Yeah, that's true."
More silence.
"Hey, Deku?"
Izuku gave a small sound in response.
"Do you think this is how it's gonna be for us? Being heroes?"
Izuku closed his eyes in thought and contemplated for a moment. He then opened his eyes and took a deep sigh. "Well, I think that it won't always be like this. There are quiet days, and there are busy days. I guess today's just a really busy day. What a day to be busy, right?" He gave a weak laugh.
Ochaco smiled thinly. "Yeah, seriously."
The rain pattered on the roof of the structure.
"I love fighting alongside you, though," said Ochaco.
The world went silent yet again. However, this silence was different, before it was as if the two just had ear muffs on, this time, it was as if they were deaf to the world around them.
Izuku turned to face Ochaco, who was standing close enough, their arms brushed, and gazing at him. The darkness clouded his deep blush. "Y-you do?"
Ochaco smiled. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I love fighting alongside the man who inspires me to be the best hero around?"
Izuku blinked slowly and smiled back. "I love fighting alongside you, too. You using your quirk in creative and unique ways is just breathtaking to watch, Ochaco. And… you're the reason why I call myself 'Deku' in the first place. I can't picture myself fighting battles without you."
It was her turn to blush a deep red. "D-do you want to keep fighting alongside each other? Like… like…"
“P-partners?” suggested Izuku.
"I had another term in mind, but, yeah, that," she said, leaning even closer.
Before Izuku knew it, Ochaco was practically in his arms. He looked down at her, and she looked up to him, and the world stood still yet again. He looked into her eyes, the girl who always had his back and always saved him when he needed it. She looked into his eyes, the boy who drove her to be the best she can be. They closed their eyes, tilted their heads, mouths open just a small amount, and then…
Contact. After everything that happened to them today, they finally kissed. The world around them disappeared, all that was left was each other. They broke the kiss. "Ochaco, I…" Izuku was cut off by another kiss. This one, deeper.
"I know, Izuku, I do too," she said when they broke apart. They engaged in yet another kiss, deaf to the world around them.
Which was bad, because of the man with a knife slowly approaching them. "Heh, easy picking. Bet they have some coin on them," the thief muttered.
Izuku and Ochaco left the botanical gardens with spirits high. Even though the mugger tried to ruin their mood, they came out on top.
"Yeah, one Police Squad car to the Mustafu Botanical Gardens, please, dispatch?" He went silent, listening to the dispatch officer, smiling when he looked down at his hand, entwined with Ochaco's. "Yeah, everything went just right," he said as he squeezed her hand. The now official couple smiled at each other and walked back to the UA dorms.
It was 11:00 PM as they entered the dorms. The lights were off, and they walked as silently as they could towards the elevator and pushed the button. They got in, and the elevator started to ascend. It stopped at Ochaco's floor, and they walked to her dorm.
They stood hand in hand in front of the door. "See you tomorrow?" Izuku asked.
Ochaco smiled. "Yeah, we'll walk together to class, okay?"
Izuku smiled back. "I'm looking forward to it." He gave her a small peck on the cheek. "Good night, Ochaco."
Ochaco beamed. "Good night, D…Izuku." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek back.
There, the couple parted ways for now, but this was only the beginning of their lifelong journey together. Ochaco waited until Izuku texted. He was in his dorm before going in and stood outside, smiling, and giggling in the meantime. She did it! She finally did it! A whole year and a half of having this knot in her stomach bear down on her, and now she just felt so amazing. She got the text from Izuku and walked into her room, texting him sweet dreams, set her phone on her desk, and locked the door behind her. The events of the date played back in her head until the lights suddenly turned on, and every girl in class 2A appeared, sitting in her room.
"So, how did it go?" asked Mina, a coy grin curved onto her features.
This question was asked to Izuku, too, as he found every boy from class 2A waiting for him in his own room.
- the “camera” moves
- a new character shows up
- someone speaks
- someone else speaks
- a new idea, subject, or topic is introduced
- time passes or reverts to an earlier point
- the setting changes
- the mood shifts
- you want to create dramatic effect
@delirious-motions @grim-ghastly y'all have no idea how happy it made me to see they you both tagged me in this! An excellent thing to come home from work to!
1. Vibing to music on my headphones during breaks ar work or while I'm cleaning the house
2. Messages from my friends when I wake up or am on a break at work, or at any hour, really
1. The unwavering faith & love my cat has for me (no matter how many other relationships I may've messed up)
2. Roadtrips (alone, with other people, but especially with M)
3. Lighting a candle and turning up the volume on my headphones until music is the only thing I feel
4. Days at work when the store manager isn't there and us associates get to run the store ourselves, having dance parties and shouting sarcastic comments across the store, all flirting outrageously with each other (cause what else is a group of gays supposed to do?)
5. Talking on the phone with Wally while we do basic human tasks
Have a lil serotonin @snakefarm42 @richie-fucking-records @glitch-lou1min6 @ginger-bastard @notawasteofspace @kaliente-monster @f-ro-g @lespressobean0415 @aevarswall @boomerangsandadora
1. playing video games with my sisters early in the morning
2. the rain. being inside in the rain, being outside in the rain, listening to the rain, looking at the rain—i just like rain
3. finding out people i really like/respect really like/respect me too
4. listening to music in my earbuds full blast or out loud full blast when i’m home alone
5. the quiet when you watch the sunrise, or climb a mountain at midnight, or go on a roadtrip all night.
tagging (feel free to ignore!) (i also am confused by the original tag instructions bc how does tumblr work i do not know soooo i’m just tagging people): @firebendingfool-eh @ren-likes-muffins @zukosaturtle-duck @drama-queen-supreme and anyone else who want to :)
Re-organizing my lunchbox full of nail polish/my makeup backpack
The fact that, thanks to being a drama major, I no longer feel guilty for not only buying makeup, but that I can now have an excuse for buying more and for buying multiple makeup bags
Joining a voice chat and hearing people excitedly say my name when they notice
Let's see, last ten people in my notifs... tagging @imbeccablee @the-gayest-dovah @2us2kstuukkarask @artschoolandtoomuchcoffee @girlydies @theendlessmidnight @ren-likes-muffins @the-what @speakofme-as-iam and @bongripsncoffee !!!♡♡♡♡ 😊😊😊
When I get a paragraphs-long comment on a fic I'm especially proud of or excited for
When I write out a scene I've been excited to write and it comes out exactly how I wanted it too
When I get the chance to share my encyclopedic knowledge on My Hero Academia with someone akdjaksja
Aaaaaand when I suddenly get hit with a Motivation Shot and I write a few thousand words in one session. I always feel so fulfilled after I finish one of those.
and now for tagging from my notifs! @rex101111 @cerebralthunder42 @theunofficiallibrarian @wheeinsoar @i-am-a-kitty-cat @thementalistscandidate @kaenanmatsuura @n8thegr8 @hakucho-art @dont-touch-my-dinosaur
1. My girlfriend fell asleep on my arm yesterday and like, you know how when the mood and lighting is just right and you look at you s/o and think “How are they so beautiful?” She makes me so happy.
2. I saw a really cool fan made trailer of My Hero and a AMV of Marvel’s Future Fight. I didn’t even know that Future Fight had cool obscure characters that only I knew LOL
3. Something about coming up with awesome action scenes like it’s a movie with music and all that cool stuff is so motivating for me. The chances of My Avengers Academy having an official adaptation from a collaboration with SJ and Disney are 1/14,000,605 but it’s still cool to imagine.
4. Something about Izuocha really hits the spot. So pure but so badass.
5. The fact that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate even exists is enough to make me bawl.
I don’t have any friends on here soooooo I don’t think I’m gonna tag 😅
I love when fic writers leave a little bit of themselves behind, in the songs the characters listen to or the breakfast they eat, the childhood toy or odd best friend. It fits as good as canon, but if you’re listening, these writers are leaving us little glimpses of their authentic selves, tucked away into the lives of our beloved characters, no so that we’ll like them too, but because these songs and faces and flaws are worthy of attention. If our heroes were real, their taste would be at least as good as ours, their lives at least as idiosyncratic. And we’d matter to them just as much as they do to us.
Well now I need to know: What is your fic writing fingerprint?
My characters always wind up having emotional talks at diners and/or using beach trips as therapy, because let’s be real, how could you not do both of those things?
I split my music loves up between my characters, random historical or cultural facts I know will mentioned, and an animal species I’ve had as a pet will probably show up at some point.
Hi there. I live in the same city as BioWare. My friend’s mom works there. One day he asked me, a flithy Sonic fan, if I wanted to have some of their old comics (they were cleaning out the archives). I said yes, and he gave me about 100 issues of Archie Sonic, most of which was Ken’s run.
So if you ever want evidence that Shade was inspired by Julie Su, I have the actual BioWare archive issues that they used in development as “research”. They all have big ol PROPERTY OF BIOWARE stickers.
(I later worked there myself, and there was TONS of SATAM and Underground and X DVDs in their work archives. There was also a massive Green Hill Zone mural in their Sonic themed meeting room. They were taking most of that down in my one year there, however, ready to move past it all seemingly)
Just thought you and your fans might be interested in this info!
Listen, the disappointment in how they treated Shadow in 2018 cannot be understated. We honestly were robbed and those 2 seconds before the reveal that we were looking at Assist Trophies misled and broke so many hearts.
Peter looked at the delicious treat that was laid out in front of him. He glanced at his Auntie May, who had a face scorned with concern and sorrow.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Auntie.” Peter then slowly started to pick at his treat. It was a gloomy summer day. It was overcast and the man on the tv said it was going to rain that day. He was in an ice cream parlor. It had a certain classic feel to it. Sitting across the booth was his auntie and uncle, which both looked so sad. Peter had his head hung low, but it was up enough for him to bring the spoon to his mouth.
“Hey, kiddo, why don’t we watch Aladdin when we get back home, huh?” Uncle Ben said in an attempt to liven up the mood.
Peter began to play with his treat. “No, it’s okay.” His spoon kept moving the ice cream in circles. An endless loop until he decided to put a stop to it. He’d just been to the doctor. It was his yearly check-up. It was supposed to be a good day. His fifth birthday was only two days ago, and that was a good day. Today was supposed to be a good day. However, something ruined it. Droplets of salty tears started to form in Peter’s eyes. Why was he like this? Was he cursed? Why did it seem like the universe was out to get him? Did he do something wrong? His vision began to blur from the heavy flow of tears and his nose clogged up with mucus.
“Auntie May? Uncle Ben?” he choked. He slowly lifted his head, he couldn’t bear the shame he felt within him. He tried to look them in the eyes but he couldn’t, he just couldn’t. “Why am I quirkless?” he sobbed. “Why am I quirk-“
“-less?” Peter felt a rush of adrenaline shoot through his body and he quickly sat up from his lying position. He found himself in an unfamiliar location. Everything was sterile and white. The bed he was lying in felt rough, but still gave some sense of comfort. His head was throbbing in pain. He put his hand on his forehead. “Am... am I dead?” he muttered.
“If you were, then I’ve been doing a crappy job.”
The voice startled Peter out of his daze. He looked to his left to see a woman he’d never seen before. She was dressed in a white long coat, glasses, and a little badge that read: “Claire Temple, Doctor”. She was writing on her clipboard. “Mornin’ sleepyhead.”
“Umm…”
The doctor looked up from her clipboard. “What?”
“Wh-who are you?” Peter blinked.
“Claire Temple, resident Doctor at the Avengers Academy Hospital Ward,” she stated matter-of-factly.
What, I’m in the hospital?!
“You went into a syncopal episode, fell and hit your head on the ground, no bleeding though, so that’s great. We took a blood test and everything seems norm-“
“Woah woah woah, back up.” Peter waved his hands. “I fainted?!”
The doctor cocked an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you know what syncope means,” she commented, “But yes, you fainted. Specifically from a spider bite.” She gestured to Peter’s right hand.
Peter gasped as he looked at the back of his right hand. There were two small teeth marks and a giant bump. He almost fainted again.
“I… I’m not…”
“No, miraculously there wasn’t any poison delivered. Your blood came back perfectly normal.”
Oh, thank God… Peter sighed and hung his head. His memory was still covered in a deep dark fog. He held his head and shook it. “Doctor Temple-“
“Just call me Claire.”
Peter was taken aback by this statement. Isn’t the stereotype that doctors want to be called ‘doctor’?
“... Claire. What happened when I was unconscious?”
Claire’s gaze returned to her clipboard. “Your friend screamed for help and got the attention of Dr. Banner. He picked you up and rushed you up here.”
Peter jumped up onto his knees, a sudden burst of energy rushed through him. “I was held by the Hulk?!”
Claire backed up a bit, surprised by the sudden outburst. She readjusted her glasses and gave a light laugh. “You’re quite the hero fanboy aren’t you?”
As it is guaranteed that the sun will rise in the east, Peter’s face turned crimson with embarrassment. “I uh, wanna be one.” He scratched the back of his head.
“So do a lot of kids, but since you're quirkless, it adds more desperation, doesn’t it?”
Peter was taken by surprise by this. She read him so easily. Did she have a quirk? Was her quirk about knowing what a person is like just by looking at them? “That’s so cool! Can I write this down? That’s such a neat concept for a quirk. You could know exactly what’s wrong with a patient and act accordingly! I need to write this do-“
“Oh, by the way, your uncle’s on the way to pick you up.”
Claire’s words were a giant hammer to Peter’s wall of muttering.
“Also, I don’t have a quirk,” she added.
Peter started to sweat bullets. His heart started to pound like a jackhammer, and his body started to shake faster than Pietro when he tried to convince him that he could phase through solid objects. “Uncle Ben’s coming here?! B-but he’s supposed to be at work!” he sputtered. “J-just let me go home! He doesn’t have to pick me up…”
Claire sighed and rubbed her temples. “Yes, yes he does. Under federal law, a minor, you, cannot be discharged from the hospital, here,” she said as she circled her arm around the room while pointing. “Unless a parent or guardian, your uncle, signs a legally binding paper that states that you have been discharged from said hospital.”
Peter shook his head in desperation. “No no no no you don’t understand. Uncle Ben works a nine-to-five job, it’s really strict over there and even though Uncle Ben’s a veteran, they barely let anybody just drop their shifts even for family and and and-”
Suddenly Peter heard a vibration coming from a corner of the room, where the cabinet for patient belongings was stored. He then got out of his bed. His legs wobbled beneath him. It had been a while since he walked.
“Oh, you can walk, that’s good,” Claire added while writing on her clipboard.
Peter opened up the cabinet and saw all of his clothes folded neatly, and his phone and glasses laid on top of the pile. He snatched them both and turned the phone on immediately.
“I can see your ass, by the way, hospital gowns do a crappy job of covering stuff.”
Peter let out a small, “Yipe!” and covered his full moon. “Y-you coulda told me that earlier!”
“Yeah, I could’ve.”
Peter grunted. So that’s why it felt airy in here. Peter walked back to his cot; this is when Peter finally noticed the heavy bags under Claire’s eyes. She must not get a lot of sleep. He hopped into his cot, making sure that he stayed modest as he did, and turned on his screen. He saw a variety of messages:
Pietro Maximoff (2:36 PM): Sis is kind of a stalker amirite?? Message us when you wake up big guy, worried for ya.
Uncle Ben (2:40 PM): Hey son, I’m 5 minutes away, okay? Stay tight, I love you.
After Peter read the message from his Uncle, he wanted to scream out to the heavens. Uncle Ben needed to work; make money so that he can support the family. This can’t happen, it just can’t. He felt breath on his shoulder. He turned his head to his right to see that Claire’s chin was resting on his shoulder, sneaking looks at his phone. He then jerked his phone away and sat on it. “Hey, no peeking!”
Claire pushed herself from the cot and the rolling chair carried her a bit of a way away from the cot. “Your girlfriend’s pretty clingy, you should watch your back.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he snapped. “She’s just my friend.”
A sly grin climbed itself onto Claire’s features. “Uh-huh, sure.”
Eventually Uncle Ben arrived at the hospital ward and Peter was discharged, free to go home. Uncle Ben and Peter had to book it to the car since he put only enough money in the parking meter for twenty minutes. Once in the car, Peter stood silent. A mix of emotions swirled within him like a ravaging hurricane. He was sad, frustrated, angry, and depressed all at once. He didn’t want to talk to Uncle Ben. Peter basically demanded him to drop him off at the subway station so he could get back to work as soon as possible.
Uncle Ben took a look at his nephew. Peter sat on an angle where his whole body was facing away from him. His head was tilted and rested on the window. It despaired him so much to see Peter in such a bad mood. He thought back to when Peter was born. He was so excited for his brother, Richard, and his sister-in-law, Mary. They’d been trying for years to have a child, and when Peter was born, he saw this spark in their eyes. He knew Peter was something special, a boy that could lighten up any room he’s in just by talking about what he loves. Uncle Ben kept his eyes on the road, but he couldn’t help but attempt to get Peter in a better mood.
“Hey, Pete, when I get home tonight, why don’t we watch It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World? I’ll have May make us some chocolate shakes and you can invite Pietro and Wanda over. We can make a whole thing out of it!”
Peter sighed. “No, it’s okay.”
Uncle Ben eyed Peter. He knew something was up. “Son, are you okay? What’s bothering you? Is it the camera? May and I can get you a new one.”
Peter always hated it when he called him “son”. It meant that he was worried about him, and he was trying to connect with him. Even though Uncle Ben couldn’t possibly understand what Peter was feeling. However, he knew he couldn’t hide things from him for long. He always finds out one way or another.
“N-no! Don’t get me a new one, please. It’s just that I… I didn’t want to pull you away from work. The hospital should’ve let me go home,” Peter said in a low sad voice.
“Peter,” Uncle Ben sighed, “You know that I’d do anything for you, right?”
Peter bumped his head against the window. “I told you to stop that,” Uncle Ben scolded.
“Sorry,” Peter mumbled, “I just… I just don’t like taking you away from your responsibilities, I guess.”
“Responsibilities? Peter... my responsibility is you. Providing for you. Raising you. Teaching you. Taking care of you.”
Peter shook his head. “But I pulled you away from work. Don’t you have a responsibility there too? One that’s a lot more important than me...” Peter trailed off.
Uncle Ben suddenly pulled over to an open space on the side of the road and put the car in park. He drew in a hefty sigh and turned to look at Peter.
“Peter, look at me,” Uncle Ben said. Peter turned his head to see Uncle Ben looking at him dead in the eye. He knew what this meant. He was going to get a speech.
“Peter, you are my greatest responsibility okay? When May and I took you in, I knew what that meant. I knew that I had to be the best parent, guardian, whatever there is for you. I had to be. I had to do it for Richard and Mary, but most importantly I had to do it for you. Yeah, I have to go to work and yes, doing well at work, going to work, etc. is my responsibility. But you are my greatest responsibility. Making sure that you grow up into a fine young man. Picking you up from crazy situations like these. Protecting you. Also, supporting whatever you want to be. You still wanna be a hero?”
“Yeah...” Peter blushed in embarrassment.
Uncle Ben let out a small chuckle. “That’s a big responsibility to take on, Peter, but I know you can pull it off. You’re a smart kid. With enough gusto, you can do anything. Now, don’t say you’re not important ever again, okay? You’re already my hero, alright?”
“O-okay Uncle Ben,” Peter stammered, “I love you.”
Uncle Ben smiled and patted Peter on the shoulder. “I love you too. Now let’s get you to the train station okay?”
Uncle Ben then put the car into drive and looked over to his blind spot to see if any cars were coming. Peter went back and laid his head on the window. He could hear the mumblings of his Uncle as there were no decent spots to pull out into the street. He laughed silently at the nonsensical words that were spoken from his Uncle’s mouth.
“Jeez, finally,” stated Uncle Ben.
Peter then felt the car start to move. Then out of nowhere, a horrible migraine hit Peter like a truck. Time slowed down as he felt this excruciatingly weird tingly feeling running through his head and his body. He felt extreme paranoia and a sense of immediate danger.
Look out.
“Uncle Ben!”
“What’s wrong?!” Uncle Ben exclaimed, whipping his head around to face Peter.
Without warning, a speeding pick-up truck came rushing past the car, honking its horn as it passed.
“Woah!” exclaimed Uncle Ben, turning his head back towards the road. “I... I didn’t even see him,” Uncle Ben muttered, “Saved us another doctor’s visit. Good eye, kid.” He gave a hearty laugh.
Peter let out a nervous chuckle, “Y-yeah, r-right...” Peter was sitting stiff as a board at this point. That’s the thing though; Peter never saw the truck coming. He just felt this overwhelming feeling of danger and decided to act on it. What the hell was that? was his thought as Uncle Ben finally pulled onto the street and started to drive again.
The rest of the car ride was blanketed in a kind silence. The talk had been made, love had been reaffirmed, but Peter was struggling inside yet again. If something seemed off, he couldn’t just let it go. Uncle Ben had this trait too. “The Parker Paranoia” he called it. That migraine wasn’t normal. It felt like I was having an aura.
Uncle Ben dropped Peter off at the train station. When he boarded his train, he pulled out his phone. He wanted to research the phenomena that he had just experienced. Quickly he realized that he never texted Pietro and Wanda and that there were 30 new messages from her.
“Oh, shit.”
Peter was bummed to find out that his regular stop, the Queens Station, was closed due to the earlier Villain attack by the Sandman.
Pretty basic name, if I gotta be honest.
So he had to get off one stop early and huff it the rest on foot.
It took fourteen minutes of apologizing to Wanda, but eventually, he got through to her. Nobody found out about the fight between Flash and Pietro. Peter internally groaned since he could already imagine the amount of bragging from Pietro about how he was totally going to win that fight. Peter shot a text to Wanda saying that he’d gotten off of the train and that he’d see her when he’d get home. As Peter was walking down the sidewalk, he spotted a beautiful lone flower in the middle of a desecrated lot. Police tape withheld entrance to the lot, thick sheets of glass covered the perimeter, and there were two signs: one had the radiation symbol, and the other read “Area Quarantined by Damage Control.”
This is where the Radioactive Man was arrested last week, he thought.
Villain attacks have become a common occurrence in society ever since the Quirk Boom in the 1960s. It wouldn’t be too unusual for an entire block to be destroyed. There were government programs and agencies such as Damage Control that helped get common people and communities back onto their feet.
Peter reached into his backpack to grab his camera, only to remember the fate of his most sentimental possession. He hung his head in sadness once again and he continued on his way. He didn’t even want to take a picture with his phone. He just didn’t want to do anything at the moment. He was tired, his head ached, his legs felt wobbly, and he just wanted to go home.
As Peter continued walking, his mind flashbacked to that horrible day. The day he found out he was quirkless. He recalled the doctor’s harsh words to him, the tightness in his chest, the pain in his throat from crying so much; he recalled everything. Today was the anniversary. He wanted to wipe away the horrible memory by making new ones at Avengers Academy. However, as his luck would have it, today might just have been the worst day of his life.
He came across a small tunnel. He stopped and sighed. He lost all of the pictures he took today; the SD card either was smashed or was lost. Why? Why me? Peter has asked this question many times but has never gotten an answer. He just felt like he was the unluckiest boy alive. Tears started to well up in his eyes as they usually did. Peter was always taught that crying was a healthy thing, but other times Aunt May felt like it was a mistake to tell him that. Peter cried so much that Pietro sometimes joked that crying was Peter’s secret quirk. Usually, when he’d say that, he’d trip and fall on his face courtesy of Wanda’s Hex.
His chest started to tighten as the intense emotion of sadness filled him like water pouring into a cup. His vision blurred with tears. Then, he put his back against the wall of the entrance to the tunnel, knelt, hugged his knees to his chest, hid his face, and cried. I’m so useless. Memories of Flash’s name-calling ran through his mind. Every day he suffered. Whether it was Flash, life, or even himself, Peter’s days were filled with sadness and depression. Sure, there were days where his family and friends would cheer him up, but that could only do so much, and it was all because of his body. His blood. His DNA. It was all because of him. Because of himself, he could never be who he wanted to be. He could never become a hero. He couldn’t fly, he couldn’t punch through walls, shoot lightning from his fingertips, nothing. All he could do was what everyone else could already do, and that made him feel absolutely horrible.
His breath became irregular and he started to hit himself on the head. “I’m so stupid.” He hit the wall behind him, and pain stung his balled-up fist. “Nothing ever goes right.” He pulled his hair. “I’m a damn failure.” He started to scratch his wrists. “Nobody loves me.” He flung his head and bumped the wall behind him. “I want to die!” he screamed. His head then started to throb with pain, and he kept muttering, “I’m so worthless,” over and over again. He cried harder and small sobs and whines escaped his mouth. Even though nobody was around, he didn’t want his pain to be noticeable. Nobody should know that he’s hurting, not his family, not his friends, not his teachers, not his therapist, not God, not anybody. His head started to hurt more and more. His arm hair stood straight up.
Why can’t I be normal? Why can’t I have a quirk? Why was I born wrong? Why am I curs-
“Excuse me.”
Peter jolted back to his feet when he heard the voice coming deeper from the tunnel. Peter’s eyesight was still blurry from the crying, but he could see the vague figure of a man standing a few meters from him.
“O-oh,” Peter stammered, “I’m sorry about that.” Peter’s head started to hurt even more now, and his legs started to wobble beneath him. What the hell?
“No, child, it’s okay.” The stranger's voice sounded odd to Peter as if it was a corrupted sound file on a computer. “I was just trying to find my way home. Do you know where I am?”
Peter kept wiping his eyes. “Yeah, actually, you’re in Queens.” A chill ran up and down Peter’s spine.
What’s happening?
The stranger let out a small laugh. “Good, good, and what time is it?”
Peter looked down at his phone. “It’s 3:23 PM, sir.” A small voice yelled in Peter’s head. RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN.
“How excellent!” the stranger exclaimed, “Everyone’s still at work now, yes?”
Peter still couldn’t see the stranger. His eyes were no longer blurry, but he was still shrouded in the darkness of the tunnel. A foul stench caught the attention of Peter’s nose. “Jeez!” He then held his nose. “Um, yeah they still should be.”
RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN, the voice kept screaming. His eyes widened as he remembered this feeling. This feeling of paranoia. Of imminent danger. The feeling that he was going to die. Peter took a step back and lengthened the distance between him and the stranger. “Well, sir, I hope you find your way home. Have a good day.”
He turned around and started to walk. RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER. His leg was snagged by something mid-step and Peter fell to the ground. “What the..?” He looked to his leg and his heart jumped into his throat when he saw it being held by a red tendril. “Oh no.” Peter’s gaze followed the tendril back to the tunnel, and, more horrifyingly, back to the stranger.
The stranger began to speak once more. “Oh, don’t go! We haven’t even learned each other’s names yet!” The voice transformed into something much more demonic with each passing word.
Peter felt himself slowly starting to slide across the old tough concrete ground towards the stranger. RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RU-
“I’ll start!” The stranger’s face became much clearer, however, one would be mistaken if you could even call it a face. It had no eyes, but it had giant white angular white splotches where eyes should be. It did have a mouth. It looked familiar to Peter, and that made him realize who currently had him in its grasp. It was jagged, and the teeth were long and black. It was a symbiote’s mouth. RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN.
“My name is Carnage, and we’re going to be best friends!” The creature cackled a hellish laugh. Peter grasped at the ground around him to try to get away, but it was in vain. More tendrils came from Carnage, wrapped around his throat, arms, and remaining leg, and pulled him into the darkness of the tunnel.
Peter’s screams for help were cut off from another tendril wrapping itself around Peter’s mouth. Carnage put its long finger up to its mouth and gave a chilling hush. “We can’t have you ruining our playdate, human. You gotta help me, best friend.” Peter was brought closer to the monster and his entire body violently shook. Everything in his body told him to run, to get out of there, but he couldn’t break free. “You see, I’m playing Cops and Robbers with another friend! I’m the robber and I need to hide. Best friend, I need to hide in your body.”
No no no no no no no, this can’t be happening.
“I’m also…” Carnage’s tongue escaped its mouth and traced Peter’s face. Its saliva felt hot and slightly stung Peter’s skin. Peter tried to let out a scream, a cry for help, anything, but he couldn't. “Extremely hungry. My friend started to play with me in the middle of my dinner,” the red demon cackled, “And you, best friend, are the perfect replacement for my dinner.”
A giant tendril shot out of Carnage’s body, forced its way into Peter’s mouth, and slithered its way into his body. Peter’s whole body was on fire, he was in so much pain, and his head wouldn’t stop hurting.
Am I dying? Is this it?
“Thank you, best friend. You’re a real hero.”
Peter’s life flashed before his eyes, his first memory, his birthdays, meeting Flash and Wanda, watching movies with Uncle Ben and Aunt May, the day he found out he was quirkless, the day that Flash beat him up for the first time, his Aunt and Uncle hugging him and crying because of something he said, every memory started to get sadder and sadder. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t want to die. Not like this. I need to be a hero. Peter looked at his hero notebook which laid upon the ground. It was opened at Iron Man’s page.
Someone! Please! Save me!
Peter’s vision started to fade. There was no light to go to; there was only the encroaching darkness that consumed everything. During what he thought were his final moments, he heard a loud clanging noise to his right. He heard someone say, “Man, I’m sure glad this suit has filters.”
He heard another voice screech in terror and say, “No! Not you! Let me have my din-!” Peter felt intense vibrations surround him, and then everything went dark.
Peter’s eyes shot wide open. He looked at his surroundings and realized he was no longer in the tunnel, but he was at the park. He saw Flash standing over a boy he didn’t know, and he was on the ground clutching his stomach. Peter noticed how the boy was in pain and rushed to his side. Peter turned to Flash. He noticed that he had a distinct smile on his face.
Peter called out to him. “Flash, what happened to him?”
Flash only chuckled to himself and shook his head. The boy groaned in pain, and Peter’s attention went back to him.
“Flash, you have to get an adult,” Peter said, “He’s really hurt.” Peter looked at the boy. His skin was pale as a sheet, but his hair was a fiery red. His clothes were expensive-looking, a green vest, a white shirt, and dark pants. His face was bruised and beaten. “It’s okay, we’re gonna get help and-“
“Why are you helping him, Wall-Crawler?”
Peter snapped his head back to Flash, an annoyed look was painted on his face.
“Look at him. He’s weak.”
Peter’s eyes widened. Why was Flash acting like this? Peter’s gaze was drawn to Flash’s knuckles; they were red. Peter swallowed the lump in his throat. “Flash… did you hurt him?”
Flash only grimaced.
“Flash, answer me. Did you hu-“
“-rt? Hey kid, wake up! You good?”
Peter felt something cold cup his cheek. It felt metallic.
DANGER!
Then, he felt that same cold metallic object smack him across the face.
“Oh shut up, Friday, the Hulk woke me up with an Earth-shattering roar. This kid can handle a love tap to the face.”
F...Friday? Peter could only see darkness since his eyes were still closed. He could hear a voice, but it sounded robotic and static. However, it sounded familiar. He knew that name: Friday. His mind was still clouded by a thick fog.
“I can’t just leave him here. Just because I purged the Symbiote from him doesn’t mean he’s okay. He’s just a kid.”
I definitely know that voice. Wait… is that-?! Peter interrupted his thought by opening his eyes. However, the light from the afternoon sun blinded him as he threw his hands up to cover his eyes.
“Oh, good, he’s awake.”
Peter heard the sound of heavy footsteps that came from his left. Along with the footsteps, sounds of mechanical whirring and clanging came with it. Peter put down his shielding hands, and his eyes readjusted to the light. On his left stood a man, clad in red and yellow armor. Various blue lights lined the crevices, and a glowing blue triangle adorned the man’s chest. A mask covered the man’s face; the eyes glowed the same blue light as in the crevices and the triangle. Peter’s jaw dropped in utter disbelief. He was in the presence of the most popular hero in the world.
The man clad in red and yellow armor knelt to meet Peter eye to eye. “Hey, you okay, kid?”
Peter’s entire body went numb. His mouth quivered in excitement. The earth stood still, time stopped, and all he could hear was the flow of his blood in his veins. He started spouting incoherent nonsense. “I-I-I-I-“ he stammered.
The man tilted his helmet in a curious disposition. “You what, kid?”
“Iron Man?!” Peter screamed while pointing at him.
Iron Man then dashed towards Peter and covered his mouth. “Pipe down, kid! Do you know how hard it is to escape rabid fans?!”
Peter's whole body shook as he realized that the real Iron Man was telling him to shut his trap. This is so amazing! Peter slowly nodded his head, and Iron Man then released his grip on his mouth.
This turned out to be a bad idea, however, Peter didn’t start screaming again. Instead, he started to mutter.
“So do you actually have a quirk or not it’s been a debate for years and years and you’ve been really shady when you have to talk about it and that’s fine ‘cuz it’s your own personal life and all but I really really would like to know ‘cuz I have this notebook here see and let me open up to your page and oh wow you actually signed it oh my God oh my God this is amazing I’ll treasure this forever it’ll be hung up in the living room oh wow oh wow you’re so amazing and...“
“Woah, this kid has nothing better to do, does he?” Iron Man mumbled under his breath. Peter’s onslaught of words was getting on Iron Man’s and Friday’s nerves, and Friday didn’t even have nerves to get on. Iron Man needed to stop this before Peter passed out. “Alright, alright, calm down,” he said while waving his hands. “Are you feeling okay? No voices? No sudden urge to consume human flesh?”
Peter flinched when Iron Man suddenly interrupted his airstrike of word vomit. Then, he shook his head. Iron Man then let his arms hang and sighed in relief. “Awesome,” he said as he turned his back on Peter. “Don’t worry about Carnage. He’s secure and sedated in a special compartment in the suit.,” he said lightly tapping his gauntlet on his left hand. Iron Man then turned his head slightly in Peter’s direction. Peter could only see a bit of the mask, specifically the glowing eye and a bit of the face. “You know your way home, kid?”
Peter only made a small sound in response.
“Beautiful.”
Peter was at an impasse. There he was, standing behind the most popular hero of all time, and he was told to be quiet. He couldn’t even make a sound anymore. All he could do was look onward. He reached out his hand when Iron Man turned his back. He was leaving him that quick? A signature, a few basic questions, and that was it? No questions about himself? Nothing? Peter didn’t even care that he almost died only minutes ago. He just felt so heavy, as if a rock was tied together by steel and was stuffed in his heart. Was this a hero's life? Was this Iron Man’s true self? Was he wrong about everything?
“Alright, kid.” The distinct sound of exhaust and flames started to emanate from Iron Man. “Go home, okay? Your parents are probably worried sick about ‘ya. Oh, and if you do start feeling particularly cannibal-ly, call the Avengers hotline. We’ll deal with it immediately.” The sound of engines began to intensify and Iron Man was shot into the sky by the rockets built in his boots and palms.
Tony Stark sighed as he began his flight; he didn’t have much time left. He just had to get Carnage to the Raft, charge up there, and get home. He was really taking this one a little too close to the chest by being out so long. Carnage was a crafty bastard and a quick one as well. No wonder why he’d been on the run for more than thirty years.
“Boss, something’s on your back,” his in-suit AI, Friday, said with the enthusiasm of a secretary on the last thirty minutes of her shift.
This made him panic a bit inside. Was it a villain attack? Now? How did his sensors not pick up this object until it was already on his back?
“Putting up live-feed from the ‘Hulk’s-Hand-in-the-Cookie-Jar’ camera,” Friday stated.
The live feed showed up on the mask’s UI, and Tony could not believe what he was seeing. It’s that kid! How the hell?!
“Friday! Get him off my back!” he shouted.
There was a long pause of silence, and even though the suit blocked off all sounds from the outside world, he could faintly hear the screaming of the kid that was clung to his back.
“Are you an idiot, boss? Look where we’re flying over right now.”
Tony’s visor then switched to standby mode, a mode which was used when no action was happening. He then saw that he was high above the streets of Manhattan and realized why dropping a child from this height would be very bad for his public image.
Tony sighed and he looked back at the kid who was still hanging on. He was slightly disturbed by the g-forces at work doing a number on the poor boy’s face and told him specifically to keep his head down. Once he saw the boy follow his order, he held the kid’s head with his left hand and gave it a little pressure to hold it in place. This was a precaution in case the kid was stupid enough to raise his head and let his neck be at the mercy of the laws of physics.
“Boss, power level is currently at 3%. You have to hurry,” Friday stated urgently, “We have to get this kid to safety soon.”
Easier said than done, Tony thought. He couldn’t just drop the kid off at street level. It would take too much power to get back at a respectable altitude and fly the rest of the way. He had to drop him off at a building, but a smaller one though. Suddenly, Tony felt extremely weak. His body started to become extremely stiff, and his breathing started to slow and become labored.
Shit.
“You know, you didn’t have to do that to him, Flash.”
Flash shot a disapproving glare at his friend, Kenny Kong. He was a bit on the plus side which made him ideal for the school’s football team. He did well enough in school to qualify for sports, but he wasn’t exceptionally bright. He was also born quirkless, which made life a bit difficult for him socially, but he was well respected among his peers for going toe-to-toe with other quirked students in football. He was not a mean person by any means; he didn’t go out of his way to torment or bully people who he deemed below him. However, maybe he didn’t get on anyone’s bad side because he thought he couldn’t stand up to them. Usually, after school Flash and Kenny would go downtown and find a nice alley that they could bunker down in and drink some booze in secret.
“You could’ve gotten suspended,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall behind him.
Flash exhaled from his nose in annoyance. He took a swift swig of his 40, and his face scrunched up as he felt the alcohol burn his throat and the pungent taste assault his taste buds. He let out a breath of relief and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. That was a lot stronger than I thought. He tossed the bottle to Kenny, who in turn caught it and took a swig himself. “But I didn’t, right? So nothing bad happened.”
“Bro, he fainted…”
“So?”
“He coulda got hurt!”
Flash scoffed at him. “Nah, that round-faced bitch caught him before he hit the ground. And he was just overreacting anyway. It’s just a camera.”
“Uh, no she didn’t! He hit his head!” Kenny exclaimed.
Flash shrugged in indifference.
“Come on du-“
“Listen, Ken, the Wall-Crawler’s in over his head.” Flash walked up to Kenny and snagged the bottle from him. “Imagine that Parker is this bottle, okay? What would happen if I chucked it at the wall there?” Flash asked as he pointed behind him.
“It would break…?” Kenny answered, not sure where Flash was going with this metaphor.
“Yup, it would break into a million little pieces and the alcohol inside would spill out. The bottle is gone and it failed its task to hold the booze. It can’t even be recycled.”
“I don’t see how that…”
“But, if I, let’s say…” Suddenly, Flash’s arm became covered with the symbiote, and Flash’s hand grew claws at the end of his fingers. He then took the bottle with his hand and cracked the top of it off. All that was left on the top was the craggy pattern of broken glass. “Did that. Yeah, the top’s broken off, but look, the alcohol is still there. It can also be recycled into something else.”
“That was $30 man!” Kenny shouted, “Do you know how expensive it is to get booze as a minor?!”
Flash put his finger to his mouth. “Irrelevant, and pipe down will ‘ya?! I’m not lookin’ to get an underage drinking mark on my record. I’m aiming for the big shots, y’here?” Flash then sighed. “Look if that idiot somehow gets into a hero school, he’s going to get slaughtered. By a teacher, classmate, or even a villain if he ever gets that far. And apparently, I’m the only one man enough to put him in his place and teach him a lesson.” Flash shook his head and slumped against the wall. “It’s how I learned.”
Flash heard a “‘Tch” come from Kenny. “You got a problem, Kong?”
“Yeah, maybe I do.”
Flash stood up; a blood vessel started to make itself visible on his forehead. “Well, please then, tell me a better idea. If ‘ya have one.”
Kenny stood up too, matching Flash’s deadly gaze with his own. “How about this: leave him alone. It’s his life. If he’s quirkless and wants to be a hero, then let him. You’re not obligated to stop his dream, no matter how unattainable it is. He ain’t your responsibility, and maybe your method of literally crushing his dreams isn’t really all that good.”
“What do you know?” Flash spat. “Isn’t it a hero’s job supposed to be stopping deaths from happening?”
“Yeah, but they don’t usually send their saved civilians home with bruises they caused. You’re making excuses.” Kenny crossed his arms. The two stared down each other; the menace of anger filled the air. More of Flash’s symbiote crawled down his other arm. Kenny noticed this, grunted, and shook his head. “Whatever, man. I’m going home. I expect $30 on my desk tomorrow.”
Flash rolled his eyes. “And where the hell would I find $30?”
Kenny shrugged. “I dunno. Hold Parker upside down and shake the money out of him.”
“Jesus Christ, Ken, I-“
Suddenly, Flash noticed that Kenny’s eyes were wide. His mouth was ajar ever so slightly and his bottom lip was quivering. Normally Flash would just write this behavior off as Kenny being Kenny, but there was something about his eyes. They were dilated, and they weren’t looking at Flash. They were looking above him.
He could feel it. The atmosphere changed radically. Instead of the stench of anger, the smell of fear permeated everywhere. Flash didn’t like this feeling. Not one bit. Something was behind him, and he did not want to turn around. His hands started to shake. He swallowed a lump down his throat. They both needed to get out of there. They both were in serious trouble.
“Ken,” Flash whispered, “Run.”
Red clouded Flash’s vision and a psychotic laugh pierced Flash’s ears.
Peter had spent the last forty-five seconds coughing his lungs out. A common occurrence because he had never been able to burp his entire life, and he usually resorted to coughing up all of the gas in his stomach due to his horrible hiccups. However, this time it was because he was flying around at speeds that a human was never designed to be traveling at. That was so stupid.
“Kid, that was literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen someone do, and I work with Deadpool.”
Peter sighed as he looked back at Iron Man. Again, his back was turned to him. He wasted time. He had this question. This question haunted him for ten whole years. Why didn’t he ask this question earlier when he was ranting? Peter finally got back up on his two feet.
“Keep banging on the door until someone lets you down. After that, go straigh-“
“Wait a second!”
“No!” Iron Man’s voice became stern, like a master scolding their dog. “I’m extremely busy, and I don’t have time for fanboys an-“
“Can somebody become a hero, even if they don’t have a quirk?!” Peter bellowed. He did it. He tossed the line into the pond.
Iron Man turned his head slightly in Peter’s direction. “Kid, I…”
Peter kept his eyes closed. He couldn’t bear to see the expression on Iron Man’s face. Even though he had a mask on, he knew if he looked he would feel an intense wave of disapproval. He just knew it. When he realized that Iron Man didn’t continue speaking, he stepped back in. “I wasn’t born with a quirk, but I always wanted to be a hero. I’ve been picked on so much because of that. I can’t run really fast or move things with my mind, but, I don’t know. I just really want to save people. I just think … that’s the coolest thing in the world. I want to be able to save the world with brimming confidence. Like you do. I don’t want a reward. I don’t care about money and fame. I just want to be there when someone falls to catch them right in the nick of time or rush in when some criminals rob a bank. I just want to help.” Peter opened his eyes and lifted his head to his hero. “You know what I mean?”
But who Peter saw standing in Iron Man’s place wasn’t him. Who stood in his place was an incredibly anorexic man, with greying hair on his head and on his beard, wearing a graphic t-shirt of two cartoon electrons telling a smart chemistry joke, and baggy green-ish pants. Peter screamed in terror.
“Wh-what?! Who are you?! What happened to Iron Man?! You look like Tony Stark but…! Wait! You’re an imposter! A fake! Some sort of off-brand Life Model Decoy?!” he babbled while pointing at the man.
The man hung his head and gave a deep, depressed, and frustrated sigh. “I am Iron Man, and ‘off-brand Life Model Decoy’? That’s pretty rude to say to someone, kid.”
“No way,” Peter gasped. He couldn’t put his finger on why he knew, but hearing him talk assured him that the unusual-looking man in front of him was indeed Tony Stark: The Invincible Iron Man. “You haven’t shown your face in years. People were wondering if-“
“If I was dead?” Tony sat down and put his back against the short ledge behind him. “No, not yet… Well, technically yes.”
Peter couldn’t process this. Tony Stark wasn’t huge or anything, but he was a six-foot-tall man who exhumed confidence by just standing in the room. Always dressed nice, cleaned up well, and still considered attractive at an age where most models would be let go. The man sitting in front of him was pale, frail, his hair was thin, and his eyes looked sullen and tired. This was a man who looked like he gave up on life a long time ago, not the man who saved the world in a high-tech suit.
“Well, if you’ve seen me like this, I guess I’ll just tell you.” Tony grasped the bottom of his shirt and lifted. Peter flinched when he saw virtually a skeleton with skin wrapped around it. He didn’t even have a belly to speak of. It was sucked in so far into his body. How did he even walk to put the suit on today? What caught Peter’s eye, though, was the arc reactor nestled in his chest. Everyone knew the story of Tony Stark and his invention. However, Peter noticed that the veins around the chest piece itself were glowing multiple colors. A group of colors that seemed oddly familiar to him, but he didn’t know why. “Five years ago, there was a battle, and I did a Hail Mary play to end it. I died. My heart stopped, but I was still conscious. I’m basically running on fumes right now.” Tony then knocked on his chest piece, the famous Arc Reactor. “Because of my quirk, the energy that I absorbed during the battle is what is keeping me alive. If I use it, I die. I charge the arc reactor on my off time, storing new energy so I don’t have to use this special energy that’s inside of me. It‘s built to run on a 1% charge for a day, but when I use the suit, it drains fast.”
Peter’s mind flipped through its imaginary pages to find the event that he was talking about. “Was it the fight against the U-Foes? They really messed you and Cap up…”
“Those D-Lister lowlifes?” Tony said dismissively. “No, it wasn’t them. This battle had very little coverage. I made sure of it.”
The thought of Tony Stark manipulating news coverage on a fight disturbed Peter, but that was a discussion for another day.
“The Invincible Iron Man should always remain, well, invincible. If word got out there that I’m functionally dead, people would lose hope. Sometimes I feel that I’m the only thing that’s holding this world from destruction. I don’t know if that's my ego talking or if it’s true. That’s why I wear the armor, kid. So people won’t see that I’m terrified. That I’m human, just like the rest. Some people say I’m a symbol of peace. A man who rejected his war profiteering ways and decided to fight for the greater good of humanity. In reality, I’m just a scared and jaded old man who shouldn’t even be alive.”
Tony got up and walked towards a door that led to the stairs of the building that they were on. “Oh, and to answer your question.”
Peter’s ears perked up. His chest tightened with anticipation.
“I don’t think a person without a quirk can be a hero, and before you say anything, Cap doesn’t count. You have to be willing to lay yourself down on the barbed wire so your partner can crawl on top of you. Except the barbed wire is laced with poison and you don’t have a healing factor. Also, the field that you’re in is over two-hundred degrees Fahrenheit and you don’t have a heat-resistance quirk. You’d just be killed. I’m sorry.”
Peter’s head hung low, and his eyes darkened with sadness. “Ah, I see,” he whispered.
Tony opened the door and sighed as he could practically feel Peter’s sadness. “Listen, if you wanna be able to help you should be a first responder. It’s a fine profession. New Yorkers love their Firefighters and Paramedics. You’d be doing a good thing. Also, I don’t think I need to tell you this, but don’t post what I said to you online, okay?”
Tony glanced back at Peter. He noticed the small tears running down his face, going down his neck, and seeping into the collar of his shirt. He hated being the bad guy. “But, I can tell that you won’t. You look like a good kid.” After he said this, he walked through the doorway and closed it. Peter could faintly hear Tony ask Friday something about where she put Carnage’s canister, but he honestly didn’t care. He was now alone on a rooftop. Heartbroken.
Before Peter had time to sulk and cry about his situation, he heard a loud explosion. Then, he peered over the edge and saw people running out from an intersection. A villain attack?! Peter ran to the door and grabbed the handle. It’s not far. I should-
The memories of Tony Stark’s words flew through his mind like a wasp circling its victim. Peter’s grip on the handle loosened, and his shoulders hung. “Never mind,” he whispered to himself. He opened the door and slowly walked down the stairs. Right now, he just wanted to go home.
Peter hit the streets and made his trek towards the station. What was he gonna tell Aunt May? If he told her, would he ever be allowed outside the house again? Would they have to start driving him to school so they can make sure he’s safe? What was he gonna tell Wanda and Pietro? “Hey, by the way, on the way home I was attacked by the most infamous and deadly serial killer of the modern era. What game do you guys wanna play?” He could tell that whatever measures Aunt May and Uncle Ben would take to protect Peter; Pietro and Wanda’s measures would be one-hundred times more severe. They’d probably request a class transfer so they could make sure he’s safe, or at least Wanda would. As much as he’d like that, the last thing that he wanted was to burden and worry them.
Peter made a right at the intersection and was taken out of his trance when he picked up the faint and distinct smell of burning gas. He looked up to see a group of people huddled around an entrance to an alley, as he got closer. He realized where he was. He was at the location of the explosion he heard earlier. Even though he had his hopes and dreams crushed by the most popular hero in the world, there was something in Peter’s instincts that drew him to danger. He sighed. If he was already here, he might as well get the most of it. He pushed his way through the crowd, and he saw that Multiple Man was still on patrol today as he, once again, formed a barrier between the civilians and the action. Peter felt an intense heat as fire engulfed parts of the alley. Past the barrier of men were a couple of heroes that Peter recognized: The Thing and Mr. Fantastic. The last two-thirds of the Future Foundation. By the looks of things, they were having trouble. Peter’s gaze went past them to see the villain.
A horrible, stomach-churning feeling ravaged Peter’s body like a hurricane. He saw a monstrous indescribable form of red, but it was very familiar to him. It was Carnage, and he was in the process of eating another person. He could faintly overhear the two heroes debating on how to beat the villain. There were sounds of worry in their voices. Were they losing? Were they not prepared?
This is my fault. Peter remembered that Iron Man said something about storing Carnage in his gauntlet. He specifically remembered him pointing to his left arm. The same arm that he used to hold Peter’s head down when they were flying. How did it fall out? Was it loose? Was it because his power was low? This is my fault and someone is going to die because of me. He covered his mouth in terror. Peter overheard some commotion in the crowd, there was talk about Iron Man. There was talk about how Iron Man was chasing Carnage earlier. People were also asking where Iron Man was.
This is my fault this is all my fault. Peter saw a glimpse of the victim that Carnage currently had in its grasp. It was a horrifying sight. Carnage’s mouth was wide open, and razor-sharp teeth were everywhere. Its victim was inside its mouth as if it were slowly eating the victim. It was straight out of a horror movie. Peter felt like he was going to throw up. He knew how horrifying it is to be in the grasp of Carnage. He knew exactly what the victim was thinking. He suddenly heard a scream. It was a scream for help. Peter looked up, and his heart stopped.
What he saw in the mouth of Carnage, was the desperate and scared face of Eugene “Flash” Thompson. Half of it was human, and the other half was covered in his symbiote. He was holding out his arm as if he was reaching out for help.
Peter gasped.
Save him.
Peter then found himself eight feet in the air, because he just jumped over Multiple Man’s barricade. Shoes touched down on the concrete earth, and he ran. He ran faster than he ever did.
“You?!” he heard the red demon screech. He saw Flash mutter something but he didn’t hear.
He swore he could hear the cries of the two heroes that were currently behind him, begging him to stop, but he didn’t listen. He just kept running. His legs kept moving on their own. His head tingled, and his body shivered.
Danger.
He saw Carnage whip a tendril at him, but he knew it was coming. He moved out of the way ever so slightly to the left, and the tendril completely whiffed him.
Danger.
He heard the blood-curdling scream from the monster as it threw another tendril at him. He swiftly dodged to the right and came out unscathed as the tendril hit the ground.
Danger. Danger. Danger.
Yet another blood-curdling scream filled the air as multiple tendrils shot themselves towards Peter. Peter dove over all of them, rolled when he hit the floor to keep his momentum going, and kept running.
Peter wasn’t even thinking at this point. He couldn’t even feel anything either. He couldn’t feel the heat of the flames around him or the pain from the scraps on his knees. Someone was in danger and he had to do something.
He was close to Carnage now. Carnage cried another scream. As he was closing the gap between himself and the symbiote, instinct suddenly took Peter over. He held his arm up high and aimed his palm at Carnage’s eyes. His middle finger and ring finger curled into his palm, and something unexpected happened. A string of fluid shot out from Peter’s wrist and hit Carnage square in the white blotches that it called eyes. Carnage thrashed about as it couldn’t see. The strange fluid seemingly solidified and wrapped around Carnage’s face. Carnage’s grip on Flash loosened as he slid ever so slightly out of the gullet of the demon. Finally, Peter got close, took hold of Flash’s arm, and began to pull.
“Parker?! What are you doing?!” he frantically yelled.
Peter kept pulling and pulling. “I don’t know! I couldn’t stop my legs! I don’t know what’s happening!”
“Why are you here?! Get out of here!”
“Flash I…!” Peter’s face contorted into a determined grimace as tears ran down his face. “I'm not gonna stand there and watch you die!”
Flash’s eyes widened and his symbiote crawled to the edges of his face. The only human thing about Flash was his face at this point; his whole body was covered in the black symbiote. Flash bared his teeth, his eyes became pinpoint with rage, and he screamed.
“Get the hell ‘offa me!”
The symbiote within Flash came to life. Its own tendrils battled Carnage’s as it formed itself from Flash with a chilling figure. It looked similar to Carnage. It had white splotches where its eyes should be and it had sharp white teeth. It almost looked like it was grinning. It was black as the midnight sky, but the fires illuminated it with a subtle tinge of blue.
“Kill him! Venom!” Flash bellowed.
Venom let out a guttural roar that shook the earth beneath them. It then bit into Carnage’s upper face with its sharp monstrous teeth as Carnage screamed in pain.
“No! No! No!” Carnage yelled. Two large mouths flew out of Carnage’s blob-like biomass and bit hard into Venom’s neck. Venom screamed in agony. As did Flash who recoiled his free arm. Which escaped Peter’s grip, and held his neck in pain. Venom screeched in pain and fell to the side, not moving.
“This is not how playdates are supposed to go! I’m supposed to win! Always!” Carnage ripped off the solid-like fluid of his face and let out yet another roar.
Danger!
Peter felt danger coming from his left but it was too late, tendril struck him in the stomach and wrapped itself around his torso. Peter yelled in pain. It felt like someone took a bat to his abdomen. He tried moving his arms as he struggled to get out of Carnage’s deadly grasp. He needed to get out! He needed to save Flash!
“This play date is over!” Carnage screamed. “Now go to Hell!” An extra mouth formed from Carnage’s red mass and shot itself towards Peter at a blistering speed.
Peter’s head tingled and throbbed with pain but he could do nothing. He was trapped. He closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable.
The roars of engines suddenly filled the air and Peter opened his eyes to see Iron Man blocking the mouth with his arm!
“Iron Man?!” Peter yelled.
Iron Man looked directly at Peter. “I really am a piece of work, huh? Apparently, I wasn’t practicing what I preached!”
“No! Not you, again!”
“Hold on, kids!” Peter felt Iron Man grab his arm and he felt him pull. Peter was no longer in the grasp of Carnage, and he saw that Iron Man had Flash in his other hand.
He did it!
Peter saw the light in crevices of the armor glowing multiple colors. The same colors he saw earlier that were surrounding the chest piece.
“You know, Carnage, technically you aren’t human. You’re just a quirk!” Multi-colored light began shining from the chest piece. “Which means that I don’t have to hold back on you!”
“No!” Carnage screamed in terror.
Iron Man dropped Peter and Flash behind him as the multi-colored energy whirled within him. He crossed his arms in an “X” formation across his chest. The colors started to flash with more intensity. Iron Man kneeled and aimed upwards with his torso. “Oh yes! Your reign of terror is over!”
“I will not be defeated! I am Carnage! I am the most powerful being on the pla-“
”Yeah?! So what?! I’m Iron Man!” he bellowed. “Take this! Unibeam!”
A giant beam of multi-colored energy exploded out of Iron Man’s chest piece and enveloped itself around Carnage. It let out one last scream as its molecules were ripped asunder, and being vaporized into nothingness. The beam went past the nearby buildings and headed straight right into the stratosphere as it left the Earth.
Peter blinked and saw that Iron Man stopped the Unibeam. It didn’t look like he was moving. Peter started to worry until Iron Man’s hand curled into a thumbs-up. He then stood on his two feet, turned to the crowd, and gave them a thumbs-up as well. The sound of a cheering crowd filled Peter’s ears, and for the first time since this morning, Peter had a genuine smile on his face.
The events of the next hour were a blur to Peter. After Carnage was vaporized by Iron Man, Peter and Flash were pulled aside by on-scene medics to be evaluated. However, during this Peter got scolded heavily by the Thing for being so reckless. Peter felt a bit intimidated by him, but deep down in his heart, he knew he did the right thing. After being let go by medical services, Peter made his trek home once again. He tried to talk to Iron Man but he was hounded by the media.
As Peter got on the train once again, he opened up his phone once again to see that, once again, he had more messages than he can count. Everyone texted him. Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Pietro, Wanda, and even Mr. and Mrs. Maximoff, and they couldn’t even speak English too well. The texts from them touched Peter’s heart. He knew that he was loved, but it was nice to be reminded of that. He texted them all that he’s fine and he’s on the way home. However, he noticed that none of them read it. He shrugged and put his phone back in his pocket.
As the light of the setting sun filled the train car, Peter started to have questions about what he just saw. How did Iron Man do that? He had no energy left. He used the energy that was keeping him alive to pull that stunt off. Why didn’t he die? Did he not use all of it? Peter sighed and shook his head. He was so tired. He had a really long day.
Peter finally got to the Queens stop. Now it’s fixed? He touched ground and began his walk home. The sun was setting on the horizon with a beautiful orange glow and the sky danced with beautiful evening colors. The leaves were just starting to change. Peter didn’t notice it this morning, but now he realized how truly beautiful the season of Autumn can be. He turned on his street, and he saw blue and red lights in front of his house. Great. They probably think I’m missing. He turned back to the street that he was on beforehand so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone. He had to mentally prepare himself before he walked into the mess that was his front yard.
Danger.
“Parker!” a familiar voice barked.
Peter jumped, he knew something was coming, but he still jumped. He turned around to see Flash standing behind him. He looked furious. Peter flinched inwardly, but only for a second. He took a deep breath and exhaled.
“What do you want, Flash?” he asked with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. He was taught by his consular to take his time when he needed to stand up for himself. To take a deep breath and visualize what he was going to say and how he was going to say it.
“I want to tell you something,” Flash’s eyes narrowed, “I didn’t ask you to save me. I didn’t need your help. I could’ve gotten out of it.” His face was red, and his speech was slurred. “I don’t need your pity! I don’t need anything from you! Not from some quirkless, weak, worthless nobody!” He turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. He stomped angrily as he went. “Don’t cross me, Wall-Crawler!”
Peter tilted his head in confusion as he saw Flash walk away. He winced when he saw him kick an innocent trash can in spite.
I guess that’s his way of saying thank you?
A rush of concern for Flash washed over Peter. A rare occurrence. Flash stank of booze and looked pretty drunk. For a person with a symbiote to get drunk meant that they had to drink a lot of alcohol to balance out the host and the symbiote. Peter cupped his hands to his mouth.
“Flash!” he called out, “Do you know how to get home?!”
Flash turned around, his face even redder than before. “Of course I do, dumbass!” He pointed further down the road. “Go down three blocks and turn right!” He swiped the air with the hand he was pointing with and pivoted back into the direction he was walking in. “Just get outta my sight!” he yelled.
Peter gave a minuscule smile, sighed, and shook his head. I’m too nice to him… he did destroy my camera, today, though. That smile went directly in a frown. Great. Peter turned back around. He had to prepare himself again.
Dick. He just had to ruin my focus.
He took a deep breath, formulated his plan, figured out what he was going to say, and visualized how everything was going to go down. He decided he was ready and almost took his first step before he was interrupted again.
“Hey, kid!” A familiar voice shouted from above Peter. Peter looked up and saw Iron Man flying towards him.
An expression of shock found itself on Peter’s face.
“Iron Ma-?!” Before Peter could finish his shriek, Iron Man firmly planted his palm onto Peter’s mouth. Peter could practically taste the metal of the iron. Which was kind of disgusting.
“Are you going to do that every time?” he asked.
Peter shook his head and Iron Man let go of his mouth. Like last time, Peter had questions.
“So how did you escape the media they always hound you whenever you do hero work and also speaking of hero work how the hell did you do that and not die you explicitly told me that if you use that energy that’s keeping you alive which I have some theories about by the way you would literally die because your heart isn’t beating and also explain to me how that makes sense because I’m losing my Goddam-“
Suddenly the armor ran out of power again and revealed the zombie-like Tony Stark to which Peter promptly screamed in terror. Once Peter calmed down. Tony sighed and began to speak.
“I’ll answer all that in a bit, but right now, I gotta tell you two things, one’s a statement and one’s a question.”
Peter nodded cautiously.
“Okay, so, question first.” Tony sharply inhaled. “Why did you lie to me?”
Peter was utterly taken aback. “Wh-what?!”
“Your quirk! You told me you didn’t have a quirk!” he exclaimed.
“I don’t have one! What are you saying?!”
“Kid, I saw it. You jumped ten feet in the air over a human barricade. Ran faster than any kid your age can. Dodged every single attack thrown at you, with style, if I might add. And you shot that stringy stuff out of your wrist!”
Peter was grasping for an explanation. Any explanation. There’s no way he had a quirk. No way. This was all some sort of misunderstanding.
“Listen, uh, Mister Stark, what I said to you was true. I don’t have a quirk! You can check my medical record, I’m quirkless.” He looked towards the ground, feeling dejected. “All of that earlier must have been a misunderstand-“
Danger.
“-ing.” Peter’s eyes widened. What just happened? Peter looked up and saw that his hand was holding a pen, and from the look of it, the pen was thrown at his head. Peter looked at Tony with disbelief. Tony had a smug look on his face.
No way.
“Oh my God. I have a quirk,” Peter muttered with a little chuckle of utter disbelief.
“Now that we’ve proven that theory. Statement second. Thank you, kid. I mean that. If you didn’t figure it out by now, I was in the crowd. I showed up and felt utterly helpless. I couldn’t do anything. No. It’s that I wouldn’t do anything. I was too scared. Too scared to die.” His face darkened with regret as he said this. Then, he looked up at Peter and smiled. “But, then I saw you. This kid. This stupid, arrogant kid. Whose dreams were just crushed by his idol. Who was told by the most popular hero in the world that he could not be a hero. This kid ran in there with no hope. This kid that thought he had no quirk; ran in as if he had a plan to save the day. Let me guess. Your legs started to move on their own, didn’t they?”
Peter nodded frantically.
Tony chuckled. “Figured as much. It’s a phenomenon. Heroes claim that it happens all the time. When they run headfirst into danger and they don’t stop. They don’t think about their own wellbeing. They only think about saving people. That’s what happened to you. Kid. What I’m about to say is something that I say very rarely. I was wrong. Dead wrong.”
The wind blew through the dying leaves of the Autumn trees. The setting sun looked like it illuminated Tony from behind him. He was both in shadow and light. The Arc Reactor in his chest burned brightly through his clothes. Peter then noticed how beautiful the evening sky was. Vibrant shades of pink, yellow, blue, and orange danced in the atmosphere. Time stopped and nothing mattered at that moment except the words that Peter thought he was going to hear. Breathing became harder for him as his chest started to become extremely heavy. His eyes stung as they began to water, and thus his vision became blurry.
“I’d be saying this even if you didn’t have a quirk. Because even though you apparently have one now, you still believed that you were quirkless when you ran in.”
Don’t say it, Peter thought. Don’t you dare say it. I’ve cried so much today. So much! I don’t think I have enough in me to cry again! Peter clutched his chest and he fell to his knees as tears rolled down his face. His body began to shiver as anticipation took him over. Memories from the past flew through his mind like a bird flying into a house and exiting through an open window. Memories of the day he was told he was quirkless. Memories of him, Uncle Ben, and Aunt May all excitedly watching the latest villain attack on the news. Memories of the day when he tried to save a boy from Flash. Memories of the day when he met Wanda and Pietro. Memories of the day where they all promised to attend Avengers Academy and become heroes together. Memories of every beating from Flash, of every hug from Aunt May and Uncle Ben, of every time somebody told him that he couldn’t be a hero, and of every time either Wanda, Pietro, Uncle Ben, or Aunt May told him that he most certainly could become a hero and a damn good one at that.
“Kid, you can become a hero,” Tony Stark stated with a genuine and sincere tone.
The floodgates opened. Peter Parker officially broke. His question was finally answered. He had a quirk. He could start his dream. He could finally start his journey to becoming an Avenger.
“Hey, so, uh, I’m gonna need that pen back.”
Me (11:00 PM): hey u up?
Harry Osborn (11:01 PM): DUDE HELL YEAH IM UP I JUST SAW YOU ON THE NEWS
Me (11:05 PM): YEAH I KNOW THAT WAS WILD
Harry Osborn (11:06 PM): So do you like have a quirk now????
Me (11:10 PM): Yeah I think?? I didn’t have the chance to play around with it cuz of all the police that were at my house. And May and Wanda scolded me for hours
Harry Osborn (11:11 PM): Wanda’s probably training so she can whip you into submission when she ties the knot with you ;D
Me (11:16 PM): >:-[ shut up!
Harry Osborn (11:17 PM): I can hear it now, the screams of agony as she literally ping pongs you across the room over and over again for working too much as a hero >:)
Me (11:24 PM): You enjoy this don’t you?
Harry Osborn (11:24 PM): You love it you know you do
Me (11:30 PM): No. I don’t. Anyway, you free to have a video call soon? I was at Avengers Tower, and they mentioned that your dad’s company is doing quirk research with Stark Industries.
Harry Osborn (11:31 PM): oh you found out about that? Lol yeah it’s a thing that dads investing in to like you know Cure me lol but yeah dude! I’m free this Friday or Saturday
Me (11:33 PM): Saturday please lol Wanda has Pietro and I tied down to go see some movie that day
Harry Osborn (11:34 PM): Pietro gonna sit between you two lovebirds? ;)
Me (11:45 PM): oh shut up. We’re just friends!! Just friends, I don’t know why people think that there’s something more!
Harry Osborn (11:46 PM): lolll! just busting your balls bud
Me (11:55 PM): well stop! They hurt! lol but anyway, believe it or not I’m still going to school tomorrow lol so I gotta get to sleep. Night dude!
Harry Osborn (11:56 PM): Good night man!! Welcome to the “wonderful” world of quirks! Good thing your’s doesn’t kill you like mine does.
Me (12:00 AM): Oh shush lol we’ll find a cure for you! I promise! Good night :)
The first thing that crosses Ochaco Uraraka’s mind as she is pulled from her deep slumber was those four words. Everything that she accomplished these past three years all was leading up to this very special day. Graduation. All of the blood, sweat, and tears were all worth it in her eyes. She’s finally going to walk across that stage, get handed her diploma by Principal Nezu, and walk her happy self back to her seat.
And damn that’s gonna feel so good.
She pulls herself from the comfort of her bed and commences her usual morning routine. As she’s finishing putting on her clothes, she notices that her phone has a notification. As she grabs it off her bedside table, she remembers that she doesn’t have a cheap flip-phone anymore, but a new-ish smartphone, courtesy of Momo. She fumbles with it, not used to how heavy and how big smartphones can be until the screen turns on and shows her that she has two new messages from her boyfriend of two years: Izuku Midoriya. One text was the usual good morning message, while the other was a question about their fellow classmate Yuga Aoyama. She giggles at the following text as she shoots off her good morning message.
We never really found out if he’s really French, haven’t we?
Another message pops up on her screen. It’s from her close friend and classmate, Mina Ashido. When she read the text, a giant doofy smile crept on her face. She sends back: “Yeah, today is the day! In more ways than one (^0^)”
Mina’s energetic message reminded her about the small red velvet box sitting on her bedside table. When opened, it reveals a beautiful gold ring. Nothing fancy. No diamond. No special writing. Just a golden engagement ring. A very expensive golden engagement ring. Ochaco can still hear her wallet wail in pain. Before she leaves her dorm room, she opens the box to take a quick look.
Anxiety waterfalls through her body, and her knees dare to crumble beneath herself as she gazes upon the ring. She hasn’t even asked the question yet, and she’s still nervous.
These past few weeks were hell for her. Constantly trying to hide the box whenever Deku would visit her room. Keeping Mina’s mouth shut. The sudden bouts of anxiety and stress whenever she thought of proposing. Keeping Toru’s mouth shut. Graduation. Keeping both Mina’s and Toru’s mouths shut. Needless to say, Ochaco feels extremely exhausted, but she remains determined.
There is no big villain.
There is nobody in need of saving.
No burning building.
No hurricane.
The only thing standing in her way is herself.
She finishes her morning routine and prepares herself for the day ahead of her. Graduation is at 4:00 PM, and the after-party is at 7:00 PM. Eight hours until she walks across the stage in front of all of her classmates and loved ones, and eleven hours until she asks the most stress-inducing and important questions of her life.
Before she steps outside her room, she takes one last look at the place she called home for three years. With a smile and a confident attitude, she closes the door behind her.
However, just as she steps outside her room, disaster strikes. In a blink of an eye, her legs entangled with each other, and she loses balance. Gravity takes over. Instead of facing the wall, she now finds herself facing the floor. She closes her eyes, and anxiously waits for impact.
You gotta be fu-
Rather than having her nose break when her face mercilessly hits the floor, Ochaco realizes that she had been falling for quite a while. Or at least she thought she was. She opens her eyes and sees that the floor is not getting closer, rather it stays static.
“Ochaco! Are you okay?”
A familiar voice brings her to finally notice the two muscular arms holding her torso and waist. She’s been held by these arms enough times to deduce who they belong to. If this was two years ago, she would have blushed madly, and he would follow suit. But now, she just smiles.
Today is going to be a very good day.
Only three senses that the leader of the League of Villains, Tomura Shigaraki, still retained. His taste, hearing, and touch. In his mouth, all he could taste is the metal of his own blood. Darkness blinds him. He doesn’t know if he’s just in a dark room, or if that crazy bitch removed his eyes. His hands and feet ache, but even he knows that it’s just phantom pain. He remembers when she meticulously cut his limbs off. The sounds as the knife grind and cut against his bones.
The horrific glee in her voice as she sang to herself. And the sickening crunches and slurps as she consumed every ounce of his blood as she could. He can’t even scream, she sewed his mouth shut. She said that she doesn’t want any backtalk during her meals.
He doesn’t know what time it is. He has lost all sense of spatial awareness. And that’s why he tries to scream whenever he hears that door open. The echoes of footsteps bounce off the walls and stimulate Tomura’s eardrums. Giggling circles around him. He feels his heart thump in his chest, desperately attempting to break free of its boney prison.
The giggling stops right in front of him, and Tomura can feel her breath on his face.
“Oh, Tomura~” the demon taunted. “Today’s the day.”
All Tomura can do is groan and moan in response.
“Oh, you don’t know what today is? Haven’t you been listening to me, dummy? I always talk about it during dinner.”
He feels her presence inch ever so closer. A murderous intent fills the air. A sharp pain stings his neck. He can feel his blood steadily flow out of the wound and run down the knife.
The hellish woman whispers in Tomura’s ear. “Today’s the day where I start spending the rest of my life with the two people that I love. Which means…” Her voice changes from being playful to serious. “... I’m finally done with you.”
Tomura failed to scream as he felt the knife quickly slash his throat and blood splashes everywhere. He becomes light-headed as no matter how many times he gasps for precious air, the oxygen just escapes through his open trachea. There is no coming back from this.
Throughout all of this, she laughs as if she’s watching a standup comedy show.
Eventually, his body stops writhing in a desperate attempt to save himself. His muscles relax, and his chest falls. Before his hearing fails him, he can hear his killer say something that would have made his skin crawl if his nerves weren’t dead.
“You had such a wonderful Quirk, Shiggy. It’s a shame you were such a disappointment.”
After she utters those words, Tomura Shigaraki becomes deaf to the world around him. The only thing he can hear is his own mental screams as he is collected by the Reaper and enters the great unknown.
The rest of the day flew by Ochaco faster than she anticipated. First, she ate breakfast, and the next thing she knew, she was already in the UA girl’s locker room, sitting down on a bench in her traditional yukata. Her fellow classmates' voices conversing with each other become muffled to her as she focuses on the open red velvet box in front of her.
Can I really do this?
A sudden tap on her shoulder pulls her out of her dazing, and she turns around to see a certain green-haired, frog-quirked girl. Ochaco smiles at her close friend, and Tsuyu Asui returns the smile with a small “ribbit.” Ochaco remembers the first time she really talked to Tsuyu when they were only first years. Small fledgling heroes in training. Not knowing what the next three years would bring to the table. Talking about who they looked up to, getting to know each other, and, most importantly: why they want to be heroes.
And if Ochaco knew anything, it’s that Tsuyu can read people like open books.
“Cold feet? Ribbit,” she asked.
Case in point.
In the past, such a question from her would elicit an extreme reaction. She would usually bury her face in her hands and accidentally activate her Zero Gravity and float towards the ceiling. But now, the only thing that Tsuyu would get out of her was a small blush, or if the question caught Ochaco off guard: some mild stuttering.
“Isn’t cold feet supposed to be before the wedding?”
Tsuyu shrugged and took a seat next to Ochaco.
“Same idea. Are you having second thoughts?” Tsuyu asks her friend.
Ochaco just sighs and shakes her head. “No, it isn’t that, not at all. I know… I know I want to do this.” The box in Ochaco’s hand starts to shake as her body fills with anxiety. “I love him. I really really do, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him, but…”
Tsuyu tilts her head in curiosity.
“But…? Ribbit.”
Ochaco faces Tsuyu and looks at her directly in her eyes. A serious look adorns her face.
“What if he says no?”
This one sentence stops all activity in the locker room. Everyone looks at Ochaco as if she suddenly grew two heads. Not uncommon for someone in their society, but certainly different. Ochaco felt all eyes on her and sheepishly closes the ring box. Embarrassment filling every fiber of her being. Desperately trying to escape the silent judgment from everyone in that room, she quickly put the ring box in her bag and gets up and fast-walks her way to the door.
Still feeling the gaze of every girl in the room, she turns around and faces her baffled audience. Everyone had a different reaction. Mina just keeps letting out small chuckles and laughs, holding her hand to her mouth as if holding back a monster from getting into a medieval city. Having her mouth hang open as if to say something, Momo Yayorozou did not find the words to which to object the objectively insane question she just heard. Ochaco cannot figure out what emotion that Toru expressed. Jiro just rolls her eyes and continues to idly play with her ear jacks. Finally, Tsuyu’s eyes transform from a deep green to a sheet-white.
Ochaco laughs and scratches the back of her head. “Ha, um, stupid question?”
“Very,” all the girls said at the same time with varying tones.
“Right, right,” Ochaco mutters to herself.
At 3:45 PM, Ochaco sits in the hallway directly outside the reception hall. Just fifteen minutes, she and the rest of her class will walk out and officially become alumni UA. She originally thought that proposing to Izuku would be the most stomach-churning and world-flipping event of that day. But, the thought of going onto that stage in front of all those people made Ochaco’s legs wobble and turn into gelatine. She fiddles with the ring box as she thinks about the next few hours.
She’s a hero! Why is she getting stage fright of all things?! She’s taken down bigger and badder villains that any normal person can dream of. She’s gotten her arms broken, ribs cracked, brain rocked, jaw dislocated, and so much more, and this is what is doing her in. She’s so focused on making that inevitable walk across the stage that she doesn’t even realize that Izuku Midoriya is right behind her.
“Ochaco, are you feeling okay?”
For the second time that day, Ochaco is caught off guard. She faces her boyfriend, wearing his hero uniform, and with speed never seen before, she hides the ring box in the folds of her yukata's breast.
She replies, “Oh, D-Deku! Just experiencing some stage fright, that’s all.”
Izuku tilts his head downward, his gaze aiming at Ochaco’s covered chest, and puts his hand on his chin. Ochaco notices this, and the internal struggle begins.
Did he see the box?!
She snaps her fingers, reeling Izuku out of his deep thought.
“Hey, hey. Eyes are up here, Mister,” she says as she points her index and middle fingers to her eyes.
Izuku’s face turns a deep red and waves his hands in front of him. He stammers out, “N-no! I-I wasn’t…!” He stumbles on his words and desperately tries to explain his mistaken lecherous gaze. Ochaco, however, just smirks and crosses her arms across her chest.
She giggles and punches Izuku’s arm, holding back her true strength by a large margin. “I’m joking, you dork.”
However, rather than returning a less than witty comeback, Izuku’s eyes narrow, and he goes silent.
Ochaco frowns. “Aw, come on, Izuku, I didn’t punch you that hard…”
As if just realizing that she was standing next to him, Izuku snaps back into reality. Confused, he looks around the hallway, as if he is looking for someone.
“Something’s happening…” he mutters.
Ochaco’s head tilts to the side, perplexion written on her face like words on a page.
“Um, Deku?”
Izuku doesn’t say anything.
“Izuku, is it cold again?” she asks.
Izuku turns his body to face Ochaco, his face panicked and tense. When seeing the look of utter anxiety on his face, Ochaco finally starts to put the pieces together. She recognizes that look, the way his body shakes, his eerily silent panic, the small flickers of green lightning enveloping his body.
It’s the way he reacts when All for One is near.
Joining him, Ochaco scans the immediate area as well. Her gaze bouncing off the doors, crawling through the floor and touching the ceiling. The two didn’t speak to each other, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t communicating. They position themselves back-to-back and hold hands. As careful and as silent they can be, they make their way down the hall. They have to warn the others. Ochaco feels Izuku’s hand squeeze hers, and she squeezes back, reaffirming that they’re in this together.
Izuku’s presence only calmed Ochaco to a certain point, however. Her heart beat like a giant gorilla striking a wooden gate over and over again. It dared to burst out of her chest. She still fears All for One. Facing Tomura Shigaraki at the end of her first year left her scarred and horrified at the power of the madman.
Her gaze went everywhere, making sure that nothing moved. Floor. Doors. Ceiling. She repeats this routine. Floor. Doors. Ceiling. Again. Floors. Doors. Ceiling. Again. Floors. Doors. Toga. Ceiling. Once mor-
“Hi, Ochaco baby~” Himiko Toga’s face had always been described by documentations by heroes to represent the dark side of the human condition. That face is currently smiling with its sharp vampiric-like teeth and bright golden eyes directly at Ochaco.
Not having time to be scared, Ochaco’s hand glows pink and activates Zero Gravity on Izuku.
“Deku!” she yells.
Izuku’s body lights up with his signature green lightning. With a swing of her arm, Ochaco flings Izuku around her body like a whip. With his leg bent to deliver a devastating kick, Izuku flies through the air and screams, “Smash!”
Himiko should have been sent flying through the wall with at least a few broken bones. She should have been knocked out from the force of the kick. Instead, there stood Himiko, her face still cracked with the same deranged smile, holding Izuku’s leg in midair.
“What the-“Snatching her hand, Himiko interrupts Ochaco’s train of horrified thought.
“Ochaco, run!” Izuku screams.
Himiko screeches out a laugh that makes nightmares seem like fluffy teddy bears in comparison. “Let’s go, my loves, to a place where…”
The hallway began to twist and turn around the three. Ochaco’s soul feels the hammer of dread striking it over and over again as she sees the world around her literally revolve around her.
“... we can…”
Ochaco feels the temperature around her rise to levels higher than normal. Her forehead produces beads of sweat.
“... be alone forever!”
The building around them crumbles and withers away into nothingness. The sun shines in through the cracks, and Ochaco finds herself in an unfamiliar place.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, my loves?” Himiko’s voice slithered its way into Ochaco’s ear. “A place where nobody will bother us ever again.”
Ochaco, becoming tired of this three-way dance, finally sees her opening. With a swift kick to Himiko’s gut, she finally freed her hand from the devilish villain, pulling Izuku, still stranded in mid-air as his leg is still held hostage Himiko, from her grasp as well. Ochaco and Izuku then gained some distance from Himiko, hearing her cackle as they dash away.
Spotting a desolated wall, Ochaco, and Izuku mad-dashed to take advantage of their newly discovered cover. Once there, the duo slammed their backs to the wall and took a moment to catch their breaths. Other than her lungs hurting like hell, Ochaco felt a sense of pure fear emanating from Himiko. When she smiled at her and called her “baby” she swore she would have fainted if Izuku wasn’t there. But it wasn’t just that. There was something else...
“Deku,” Ochaco finally got out between deep breaths, “What percentage was that kick?”
Clutching his chest, he lets out an exasperated, “40%.”
Ochaco’s widened her eyes at this revelation. A 40% charged kick from him would incapacitate any villain that didn’t have some sort of defensive Quirk.
Ochaco felt her entire body shiver and quake. “Izuku, she shouldn’t be standing. She shouldn’t even be conscious, how did she even-”
“She has it…” Izuku cut her off. “She has All for One.”
Ochaco couldn’t believe what he just said.
“But, Shigaraki…”
“Shigaraki’s dead. She killed him and consumed his blood. I can feel it in her, but… where are we?”
Ochaco hadn’t even thought about it, but when she looked up, her head felt weightless. The sky wasn’t blue as one would expect, it was a fiery red as if it was set ablaze. And the white things floating high up in the air weren’t clouds, they were ash. Her gaze then scanned her environments, she couldn’t stand to keep looking at such an unnatural sky. Buildings were scattered about, but most of them were dilapidated and destroyed. She can recognize some of the buildings like the ones found in Shibuya, but what bothered her was the lack of life. No human in sight, not even any animals.
“Deku… I don’t think we’re home,” she said with a small crack in her voice.
“... A man with a unique Quirk was on the news the other week… he went missing, and there was only a pile of dust left at his apartment.”
“Shigaraki went Quirk hunting?”
Izuku nodded. “Yeah, after graduation, I was gonna start following the case. But… the Quirk always bothered me. It allowed the man to go to alternate universes.”
Ochaco peered over the wall to see if Himiko was in sight. “Okay, but Toga didn’t turn into Shigaraki or that guy when she brought us here.” Her eyes bolting left and right, vigilantly keeping a lookout.
“But what if it was enhanced?” inquired Izuku.
“But All for One doesn’t enhance power, right? That’s One for All,” shot back Ochaco.
Ochaco jumps back down from her lookout position and lands on her bottom. In turn, Izuku jumps in to take over lookout duty.
“That’s true, and she ran out of my blood a long time ago. I think she’s been using Quirk Enhanc-!”
“Okay, but could an enhancement drug do that?” Ochaco asked. “And even so-gah!”
A deep stabbing pain penetrates Ochaco’s shoulder. A pain she is well familiar with. Currently lodged into her shoulder is a knife, and perching on the wall, grabbing Izuku by the throat, is the knife’s owner.
“Wow, Izuku baby, you hit the nail on the head.”
Seeing her boyfriend in the madwoman's clutches, the thought of Himiko using Tomura Shigaraki’s Quirk, Decay, races through her mind. Ochaco dashes to Himiko, arms outstretched, and her mind on autopilot. She needs to free Izuku from her grasp and fast. Himiko flashes her a smile and hurls Izuku at her. Ochaco hears the whump of Izuku colliding with her abdomen. The pain settles in only less than a second later. Her momentum and direction reverse. As if instinct, she wraps her arms around Izuku’s body, ignoring her body’s own cries of pain as she holds him close. They both hit the ground and groan in pain.
“I chose this universe just for us, my loves!” Ochaco hears Himiko scream out. “Nobody will ever bother us!”
Whistling fills the air, and Ochaco observes as eight knives fly through the air. With a tug on her arm, she is pulled away from airborne assailants by Izuku. One only grazing her calf, producing small traces of blood. She then watches as Izuku makes a mad-dash towards Himiko. Ochaco can only make out the traces of his lightning trail as she follows his lead. Ochaco touches every pebble, rock, and brick and activates her Zero Gravity on them. They all float behind her as she wills them to follow her. She catches up to the fight and watches on as Izuku and Himiko exchange blow after blow.
“Smash!” Izuku yells as he lands a direct hit on Himiko’s face. She laughs in response and returns his strike with a swift swipe with her knife. Himiko dances around the battlefield making wide swings and swipes with her knife. Ochaco can tell that this fight is all a dance to her. A duet in a theatrical production between the main character and his lover. While Izuku bounces back and forth, dodging left and right repeatedly, only making precise strikes where he has an opening. None of these strikes makes a difference, however. Himiko just laughs them off as his fist would bury itself into her flanks. Ochaco is getting really sick of that damn laugh.
Ochaco yells out Izuku’s name and puts her fingers together and shouts, “Meteor Smash!” Then, the debris that she touched come flying at Himiko at exactly 9.8 meters-per-second. Izuku takes heed of Ochaco’s warning and bolts out of the battlefield like a bat out of Hell before the onslaught from Heaven destroys the ground that Himiko stands on. The sound of metal and concrete hitting earth fills Izuku and Ochaco’s ears. The dust from the impact rushes to Ochaco and Izuku. Izuku returns to Ochaco's side just seconds after impact.
“She’s alive, right?” Ochaco asks, a hint of uncertainness plaguing her voice.
Izuku nods his head. “A 50% hit from me only inconvenienced her. She should be alive.”
Then, an explosion from the rubble shakes the earth beneath their feet, and from said rubble rose Himiko Toga, still with her everlasting grin.
“Damn it, she isn’t dead.” Ochaco sighs.
Izuku looks at her incredulously. “You do know we need her to get back, right?”
Ochaco waves her hand, dismissing his question. “Yeah, yeah. I just really hate her.”
By the time Ochaco turns back to face Himiko, she discovers that she disappeared. Gone without a trace. The two then go back-to-back once again, covering each other’s blind spots.
“Oh, Ochaco baby. I’m hurt.” Himiko’s voice surrounded Ochaco and Izuku. “You know just how much I love you, baby.”
They look all around, trying to pinpoint her position. Where is her voice coming from? Where the hell is she? These questions keep invading Ochaco’s mind as she scours the wasteland of this dead Tokyo.
“I love you so much, Ochaco baby~ I knew this from the first day we met! At any chance I got, I would drink your blood just so I can be the person who I admire most. It was so lonely just having your blood, though. I also need Izuku baby’s blood. We’ll all be together forever!”
Ochaco grits her teeth and stomps her foot. “You’re delusional, Toga!” she bellows, “Even if you do kill us and drink our blood, you’ll run out eventually!”
Once again, Himiko's laughter echoes off of the abandoned buildings around them. “Oh please, Ochaco baby. With this amazing Quirk, I can go to any universe I want to and find you two again and again. If I run out of Quirk Enhancers, I’ll just hop on over to another universe and get more! I can’t lose. Especially not to you! My enhancers give me a boost for twenty-four hours, so I’m never losing this fight! We will be together forever, all because of your Quirk, Ochaco baby.”
My Quirk?
“Release.”
Ochaco’s life flashes before her eyes as she looks up towards the sky and realizes what exactly Himiko meant. There, floating directly above her, are many knives. Before she can even gasp, gravity regains control. The cloud of knives descends at exactly 9.8 meters per second. Each knife looks like a raindrop, and all Ochaco can do is stare. Her body screams at her to move, to do anything. But just like a deer in the headlights, all she can do is stay put as her brain tries to comprehend the situation.
It all happened so fast.
Her mind blanks at the memories of the past few seconds.
She doesn’t know why Izuku Midoriya is kissing her, and she doesn’t know why he says, “I’m so sorry. I love you, Uravity,” in such a weak and diminished tone when he pulls away. She sees his eyes welling up in tears as they usually do, but the green in his eyes… they were soulless. His hand on her cheek releases its grip, and his head slumps forward, allowing Ochaco to see eighteen knives buried in his back. She puts the pieces together.
“I...Izuku?”
She inches closer to him.
“Deku?”
No response.
“Deku, please. Izuku, honey. Please.”
She reaches out and brings him closer. His head lies on her lap. When she strokes his cheek, she finds no warmth.
“No. No. No. Y-you can’t do this, Izuku. Izuku, you can’t- you just can’t.”
She shakes him.
“Deku. Wake up.”
She shakes him more.
“Deku, please. Wake up.”
His eyes never open.
Ochaco’s sight blurs from the tears welling in her eyes. A scream escapes from her throat, and it dares to shake the Earth beneath her, only because her world has been shaken to its core. Something in her chest leaves, but she doesn’t know what. A small thump to her left, and she sees the red velvet box open in the corner of her eye. The ring no longer shone like before. No light reflected off of its magnificent surface. Only dust and rubble stuck itself onto its golden sheen, like a cancer.
Her head feels light, and her stomach turns because of the gravity and reality of the situation. Her eyesight becomes even blurrier, but it’s not because of the tears. She’s starting to lose consciousness.
Her head hangs. Her eyes become heavy. The last thing she sees before the world turns dark is Izuku’s soulless face. She succumbs, not even caring that Himiko could be anywhere around her.
When Ochaco opens her eyes up, she can’t lie and say that the situation she found herself in isn’t confusing. There, in front of her, is Izuku Midoriya. There is no blood dripping out of his mouth. No knives lodged into his back. His eyes are a bright green rather than dim and soulless. He smiles at her.
He greets her with a simple, “Hey.”
“Wh-wh-what the hell…?” she replies, astounded by the scene in front of her.
She takes her time to look around her. For as far as she can see, there is only darkness all around her. She turns back to Izuku and asks, “Am I… dead?”
He shakes his head. “No, you’re still alive.”
Ochaco’s face becomes dark. “But… you are, right?” She can feel the tears rearing its ugly head again. She tackles Izuku, but he doesn’t fall over. She wraps her arms around his torso and buries her face into his chest. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!” she screams. “W-w-w-w-we were supposed to graduate today, I was going to propose to you at Momo’s party, and-and-and we were going to get good jobs and then we were supposed to get married at the botanical gardens and-!” She tilts her head up to meet his eyes. “You were supposed to be the new Symbol of Peace. Deku, you were going to save the world. We were gonna be the greatest hero couple, remember?! H-how am I supposed to do this alone? I need you! The world needs you!”
Izuku hugs her back. She can feel how warm he is.
“I know, Ochaco, but… things change. You know? We knew this on our first date, remember? Hero life is unpredictable. We put our life on the line to save others. I’m just…” She sees that he’s starting to cry as well. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that I can’t be with you anymore.” His embrace tightens around her. “You have to be the Symbol of Peace now, Ochaco.”
Ochaco’s eyes widen in shock. All of the puzzle pieces fall into place. Izuku used to tell her about the plane of existence that One for All resided in. Talking to past users.
She remembers how One for All is transferred from user to user.
She remembers the kiss that Izuku gave her before he died.
“Izuku…” she mutters.
“I’m sorry, Ochaco. I’m sorry for putting this burden on you.”
She feels breathless, but somehow, she feels safe. Even in this ethereal plane, she can feel the power flowing within her veins.
“It’s okay.” Her voice cracks just slightly. “Is... is there anything I need to know? How to use it?”
Izuku stays silent but only for a moment. “It’s different for everyone, Ochaco. But you’ll find out.”
He smiles at her and then hugs her tighter without any warning.
“Thank you so much for always saving me, Ochaco.”
A beat of silence permeates through the endless void until Izuku lets go of Ochaco. His face is shaded with a deep red. Ochaco chuckles a bit, she hasn’t seen him like this in years.
“Oh my gosh oh my gosh I’m so sorry Ochaco was that too creepy or cheesy I really don’t know it was like in the moment and I don’t know and just-”
Ochaco’s eyes once again well up with tears, but happy ones. She cuts him off with a smile.
“No, Izuku. It wasn’t creepy at all! Or cheesy! I’m glad you think so. Because I do too,” she says.
Izuku stops his worrisome look and smiles back at her.
“Thank goodness,” he says back.
Ochaco can feel the space around her start to break and dwindle. The world is changing once again. She feels like she’s waking up. She gazes upon Izuku’s face, who was still smiling.
“Ochaco,” he says, “You’re the Symbol of Peace now.”
Ochaco must have blinked. Because Izuku wasn’t there anymore. His smiling face transformed into a calm and lifeless frown. She knows where she is.
She isn’t with Izuku anymore. She’s awake.
She’s with her again. She can feel her presence looming over her.
“You feel it now, don’t you, Ochaco?” Himiko’s words drip from her mouth like venom from a snake. “You fought so, so hard, and for what?”
Ochaco doesn’t even look up to face her. Not even to confirm her position.
She doesn’t have to.
She already knows where she is.
She stands seven meters from her. She is standing straight up. There is a knife in her hand.
She knows where everything is.
384,400 kilometers away directly above her head is the moon, and 151.52 million kilometers away at a 45-degree angle is the sun. She feels them. Every planet in the solar system and every star in the sky. Every galaxy in the universe. She knows where they are.
She feels everything.
She feels their gravity.
She feels Himiko’s gravity.
Himiko continues. “To live in a world where everything is taken away for no reason? No reason at all?” Ochaco feels her getting closer. Ochaco feels Himiko raise her arm that she holds the knife in. “Don’t you think it’s so unfair?!”
She throws the knife. It flies through the air. Cutting the small oxygen particles in its path. However, before it can hit its target, it stops. Ochaco’s tears stop flowing down her face, and her eyes stop producing tears. Now, they produce energy. Her brown irises struggle to escape their prison and bleed into her corneas. Streaks of green and pink lightning escape her body. The ground around her cracks and crumbles, and the rubble floats around her body.
“I trust your decision, Deku,” she whispers to the body she holds in her arms. She carefully lays Izuku’s former vessel in this physical world down and kisses its forehead. She then stands up and faces her opponent.
Toga’s look on her face is a mix of bewilderment and terror.
“What the fuck?! What did he do to you?!” she screams at Ochaco.
Ochaco says nothing and grabs the knife that is still floating in midair. She winds up and throws it back at incredible speed. She sees it lodge itself in Himiko’s hand. She watches her scream and clutches her hand in pain.
“What happened to you?!” she continues to scream at her. She produces another knife and throws it at Ochaco, and once again, it stops right before it could slice into Ochaco’s face and skull.
Ochaco looks at the rubble, flying around her like a shield. She nudges one of the rocks slightly, and from that touch, that rock falls to the earth and craters the small patch of dirt it landed on. It continues to bury itself deeper inside the earth and shows no sign of stopping.
She looks up and faces Himiko once again.
“I’m the Symbol of Peace now, and gravity is mine to control.” With lightning speed, she snatches a rock from her shield and hurls it at the sky. As she feels the rock’s gravity gets farther and farther away, she feels Himiko’s gravity is closer and closer. Before Himiko could reach out and touch Ochaco, reducing her to dust, she suddenly becomes weightless. Along with the rubble around her, she floats precariously in midair.
“It’s no use, Himiko,” she says to her in a cold voice, “You can’t win anymore.” She gets close to her face. Looking her into her crazed yellow eyes. “You said, there isn’t anybody living on this Earth, right?”
“Yes, Ochaco, baby! This was the only one I could find! We can be alone here! Please, baby. Just let me put my knife into your heart and drink your blood. Please, baby. We can be alone together. Forever. Please…” Himiko didn’t stop her insane ramblings.
Ochaco grinned. “Good.”
384,400 kilometers above her, she feels a new gravitational pull. It’s strong. Just the way she planned it to be. Himiko suddenly stops her ramblings, and her eyes look up in horror. Ochaco feels a sense of excitement and pride at how scared Himiko is. Ochaco doesn’t need to turn around and see what she’s looking at. She already knows what’s happening.
“You see it, right? The moon? It’s disappearing. Warping. Being crushed into a small one-dimensional strand. All because of that rock that I threw. I don’t know if you dropped out of school before you learned this, Toga, but everything has their own gravitational pull. You. Me. Everything.”
Ochaco continues, “The smallest rock can become a black hole if its gravitational pull was powerful enough.”
Himiko’s eyes widen. “You bitch…”
Ochaco grabbed Himiko by the arm, her vice grip threatening to break it.
“Now, listen here, Toga. You’re going to bring us back to our original universe, and if you don’t…” Her grip tightens. “I will make your life a living hell, okay? Make your decision quick. We only have seven minutes before the black hole destroys the Earth.”
Ochaco sees Himiko’s face twist and contorts in anger before; finally, the light in her eyes gives in. “Okay…” Any confidence, any bravado she once had in her voice, has sucked into a black hole. “You win.”
Satisfied, Ochaco turns around and walks back towards Izuku’s body. She picks him up and curls him inward. For a second, she hopes that Deku isn’t truly gone. That despite all of the reality saying that Izuku is dead, he would get right back up.
Reality, however, doesn’t work that way. It is cruel and unforgiving, and Ochaco knows that. Ochaco stops and picks up the ring box as well. To her, it is the heaviest object she’s ever had to lift. She walks back to Himiko, who is staring daggers at her. Himiko then rolls her eyes and activates the Quirk.
Once again, the world twisted, turned, and spun around them. Buildings restructure themselves. The air cools down, no longer the oppressive heat on the other Earth. The gravities that she felt on the other Earth disappeared, and new, familiar ones took their places. Once the world stops spinning, she looks around and finds herself on her graduation stage.
Murmurs and gasps deliver from the audience in the stands and Ochaco’s classmates in the seats. Toshinori Yagi, the former Symbol of Peace, runs up to her.
“Young Uraraka, what happened?” he asks, gazing upon Izuku’s body.
Ochaco simply looks up and meets his eyes. Toshinori’s expression goes from surprised to saddened in a split second. He does not say anything else. He only nods. She gives him Izuku’s body and turns to Himiko, who is still floating.
“You lost. You’re going to Tartarus,” she tells the madwoman. Himiko grins, however.
“Don’t think that our fight is done, Ochaco baby. I’m still enhanced. I could just touch you, and your head will just disintegrate!” Himiko’s arm lunges forward and grabs Ochaco’s face. “Die!”
Nothing happens.
Himiko’s eyes widen once again. “Wh-what?”
Ochaco grabs Himiko’s arm once again and pulls her hand away from her face.
“You’re twenty-four hours are up. When I grabbed you, I intensified your personal gravity. Time sped up for you.” Ochaco tightens her grip around her arm. She feels the bones crack in its grasp. Himiko screams in pain. “You’re never going to hurt me or anyone else again!” Ochaco feels her body light itself on fire with rage. This person. This villain. This monster took away the world’s greatest hero. Her hero. Green lightning crackles around Ochaco; she can feel the immense power flow through her body and into her fist. With her free hand, she throws a devastating punch, connecting with Himiko’s face. Himiko flies towards the ground and is buried into the stage.
Ochaco looks into the crater with disdain and disgust. She sees Himiko, laying there, chuckling to herself and whining in pain. She closes her hands together and says, “Release,” lifting her gravity spell off of Himiko. She doesn’t even react to her teachers, who run up to her and try to talk to her. She looks down at the velvet box, opens it, sees the ring sitting there alone, and trembles to her knees. She clutches the ring box close to her and cries as tears roll down her face.
“Miss Uravity? Who’s this?”
Ochaco looks down at her protege, Atarabo, and smiles. She’s only fifteen and just about to graduate middle school. Her Quirk? She can lift anything smaller than her. An odd Quirk for sure, but Ochaco saw the potential in her. A fiery go-getter who believes in making people happy. It reminds her of the person who they’re currently visiting.
Ochaco’s gaze switched from Atarabo to the gravestone in front of her. There it reads: Here lies Midoriya “Deku” Izuku. A loving son, boyfriend, and classmate. The greatest hero who has ever lived.
“This… this is the greatest hero who’s ever walked this Earth, young Atarabo.” She kneels down and places her hand on the stone.
“But, Miss Uravity! You’re the greatest hero in the world! You top popularity charts, like, every week!” Atarabo exclaims.
Ochaco laughs at the eagerness of her young protege. “Atarabo, I’m only the most popular hero because of him, and he became the greatest hero of all time because of me.”
“Who is he, Miss Uravity?” she asks.
“He was my friend. My best friend, actually. We met on the day of our entrance exams. I saved him from,” she takes a second to chuckle to herself, “Embarrassing himself. And he saved me that same day. Then we went to class together. We trained together. He saved me. I saved him…”
“Did you love him?”
Ochaco turns to Atarabo. “Yes. I love him very much, and he loves me too. He… died on our graduation day, and he gave me One for All. Atarabo, do you still want to be a hero?”
Atarabo nods her head with extreme vigor. “Yes, ma’am! More than anything!”
Ochaco smiles at her enthusiasm. “Then I won’t lie to you. Heroism is a dangerous job. You can easily lose your life. And one day, I will too. Once I give you One for All, my body will start to wither away. I’ll lose my Quirk. I’ll become weak, and then I’ll die. Leaving you to become the next Symbol of Peace.” She can tell that Atarabo is about to cry, another thing that reminds her of Izuku. She reaches out and grabs her shoulders. “But, Atarabo, it’s okay. I’ll never truly die. You will carry on my Quirk, my legacy, as I do with One for All's past wielders. I will always be with you, just like Izuku is always with me. Heroes never die, Atarabo. The memories of us live forever. In the heads of our family and friends, and in the static time that those memories live in.”
At this point, Atarabo’s face is an ugly mess of tears and snot. “But… but when you die, will I see you again?”
Ochaco only smiles at her. “You will. One day.” She pulls Atarabo into a tight hug, letting the tears flow down her green and pink hero outfit. As she hugs her, she pulls out an old and withered red velvet box. She opens it, and the ring inside almost blinds her, but she doesn’t flinch. However, her tears do start to blur her vision.
I will see him again. I still have to ask him one last question, and that is going to feel damn good.
My Avengers Academy Chapter 2: And Along Came a Spider
“This. Is. So. Cool!” Peter couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The lobby of Avengers Tower looked like something out of Star Wars, but it still had that Stark Industries feel to it. Holographic images of Tony Stark played welcoming whoever walked through the door. The floor was gold stained marble, and Peter could see his own reflection. They probably deep wash this floor every night! He saw multiple strangers littered across the entire room: business people, the media, some students, and even some pro heroes.
“Oh my God, Ant Man is literally twenty yards away from me,” Peter mumbled, absolutely star struck.
“Jeez dude, you ‘aight? You seem really uh…” Pietro trailed off.
“Eager, to say the least,” Wanda cut off Pietro. She planted her hand on Peter's shoulder and almost flinched; he was shaking and quivering. To be fair, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering how excited he must be. He was excited. Wanda would describe Peter as a young child being brought to his favorite toy store. She knew how important this was to him;it was important to her as well. She wanted to be a hero who could magically whisk away people’s problems. If Wanda couldn’t do that, then she wanted to help as much as she could.
“I know how excited you are, but keep it down a level or two. We can talk about all this...” Wanda’s gaze scanned the giant room, “...really,'' her journey stopped when she saw golden statues of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, the first Ant Man, andThe Wasp respectively. They weren’t massive, which allowed for them to be placed near the enterence to the staff and student only elevator. “...cool,” her gaze wandered over to see a rather attractive man in a blue uniform with a red flowing cape. “Oh my God, it’s Doctor Strange.”
“Oh my God, he’s right there.” Peter pulled out his hero notebook.
“Oh my God, he really is.” Pietro’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Oh my God, shut up,” a fourth voice spoke up.
The trio turned their heads to see Flash. His face was plastered with a smug grin. Pietro stood forward, pushing Peter and Wanda behind him.
“Oh please, Eugene. You wanna get into Avengers Academy too,” Pietro spat back, “You gotta be a little excited, right? Or is that impossible for someone with a cold dead heart?”
“Tch.” Flash put his hands in his pockets and walked past Peter and Wanda. Pietro mimicked his movements, effectively acting as a wall between the two and Flash. Flash looked at Peter, “How’s the hand, wall-crawler?”
Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes opened back up and he pointed to Flash’s arm. “J-just fine. How’s that bruise on your arm?”
Flash’s eyes widened and lifted his left arm to inspect it. What he found was right under his short sleeve; a dark red bruise. He put his arm down and glared at Peter with a ferocious intensity. “You should get better material, Parker,” he growled, “Whatchya lookin’ at me so much, huh? Peekin’ out from the cracked closet door?”
“Enough.” The four turned once again to see their chaperone towering over them. “If you four aren’t on your best behavior, believe me, I will personally see that each one of you is punished. Got that?”
“Yes, sir…” all four replied.
Peter watched as the chaperone walked away. Yeah, just ignore the casual bullying, nothing to see here. Peter groaned in annoyance.
Flash sighed and started his walk towards the main group, bumping his shoulder with Pietro as he did. “I’ll catch you later, Wall-Crawler.”
Peter felt so helpless when he called him that. It just reminded him of that day.
“Jeez Peter, you’re so weak!” a young Flash Thompson said while on top of a wall.
Peter glanced towards the ground in embarrassment. He has been trying to climb the wall for the past ten minutes, but he kept falling. “I can’t do it, Eugene! I-it’s too, um… slippery!”
Flash rolled his eyes. “Stop making excuses, Peter! Come on!”
Peter’s mind raced as he looked upon the wall again. It towered over him, making him feel so small. He couldn’t do this there’s nothing to grab on to. “F-Flash, I’m just gonna go around.”
“Ugh Peter, don’t be such a sissy.”
“That’s not a nice word,” Peter muttered.
“Come on! Just do it!”
Peter winced at Flash’s command. Why couldn’t Flash just let him go around? Peter couldn’t climb it; it’s too steep and slippery. He’ll just fall again. He didn’t want to make Flash mad, but no matter what, Peter just couldn’t climb it.
“Hey! What are you doing you wimp?!”
Peter snapped back into reality and noticed that Flash was gone. W...where did he go? he thought.
A scream deafened Peter’s ears. “Flash?!” Peter called out for his friend.
“Stop! Stop please!” the screaming continued, “Daddy! Help me!” the screaming was coming from the other side of the wall.
Peter didn’t think when he heard those screams. He vaulted himself onto the wall and started to climb. Digging his fingers into the cracks, pushing up off the ledges under his feet, reaching for the deformities to climb up. “Flash, I’m on my way!” He got to the top and then looked down behind him. He… he did it! He climbed the wall. “I… I did it.”
“Hey, Peter-“
“-are you okay?” Wanda’s voice suddenly entered the picture, and Peter jolted out of his dreamlike state. No longer was he at a park in the year 2021. Instead,he was back in Avengers Tower in the year 2030.
He turned his head to look at her and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, I’m okay,” Peter gave a big smile, “Let’s go and enjoy this!”
Wanda flashed a smile back at Peter. “This is gonna be great!”
The tour of the facility was structured into three sections, and each section had been allotted an hour. The first section of the tour was dedicated to the general history of the Avengers, its founders, and the history of heroism.
“Our tour guide is Hawkeye?!” Peter gushed excitedly to Pietro, who returned his excitement.
“I know! Dude, do you think he really has a quirk?” Pietro asked inquisitively.
Peter closed his eyes and put his hand under his chin. He then went into deep thought. “I actually never considered that. If he doesn’t then it would definitely be a scandal in the superhero society. However, he claims that he never misses, and his quirk is called ‘Dead-Aim’ when he was being interviewed by the Daily Bugle top journalist Eddie Brock he has never released his blood examples to the public. It’s not like he’s contractually or legally obligated to. The Super-Human Registration Act never forces you to make anything about yourself public, and even then it’s highly unlikely-“
“Hey, kid! Yeah, you! The one next to the white-haired boy an’ the brunette, would ya mind shuttin’ ya trap? I’m tryin’ to give a tour here!”
A jolt of surprise ravaged Peter’s body as he was interrupted by the very subject of his mumbling. His gaze was met with the intense gaze of Hawkeye himself, who had conveyed annoyance from his posture. “I-I-I,“ Peter stammered as his body stiffened, and his face turned a shade of crimson red.
“Yeah yeah, that’s what I thought, just keep your mouth closed alright?”
“Y-yes, sir…” Peter said with his face hung in embarrassment. He averted his gaze to the right and noticed Wanda gritting her teeth.
“Asshole,” Poison dripped from her tongue as she said this.
Peter let out a small chuckle and pulled out his hero notebook. He opened it to Hawkeye’s page, and added, ‘Rude,’ under his personality profile. Definitely not asking him my question…
“Tch,” Peter looked up from his notebook to see Flash looking directly at him. He then shook his head, putting his attention to the tour.
The second section of the tour was a showcase of the academy. The group was stuffed into a large elevator and was lifted up to floor 63. From there, the tour continued to the vast array of classrooms. Peter was astonished from the sight. It was the end of lunch for the students, and they were all headed back to their classrooms. “So many students, and they’re all gonna be heroes…” Peter murmured.
“They’re all so well dressed…” Pietro added, “Ugh, do I have to put the effort into how I look when I go here?”
“The day when you put effort into your appearance is the day when hell freezes over, Pietro,” Wanda jabbed, “Maybe if you do, you’ll actually get a girlfriend.”
Peter tried so hard to keep in his laughter, but his body betrayed him. Pietro then shot Peter a dirty look that screamed, “Are you for real?” Pietro was wearing the bare minimum in terms of fashion. He bore a logoed t-shirt with bright blue jeans and basic white gym shoes. Compared to Wanda’s more fashionable choice of a black undershirt, a red jacket, ripped dark jeans, dark gym shoes, and a red bandana wrapped around her head in a nice bow, Pietro’s fashion was basic and uninspired.
“Nah, I don’t have to put effort into my appearance,” Pietro scoffed, “I’m already perfect as is. The girls are gonna run at me.”
Wanda rolled her eyes at Pietro’s egotist statement. “How am I even related to you?”
“Wanna have a detailed explanation?”
“I’d rather not.”
“Guys, Beast is in the class next to us,” Peter whispered, peeking into a classroom.
Pietro and Wanda dropped their sibling banter and joined Peter. There they saw Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as Beast. He had a heteromorphic quirk, which meant that he looked different from “regular” humans.
“He’s huge,” Peter gasped. He stood at 6’8,” and was covered head to toe in blue fur. He had fangs, sharpened claws, and had muscles that were reminiscent of an ape. Peter pulled out his hero notebook once more, and wrote down what he was observing.
“Jeez, he’s intimidating,” Pietro blurted quietly.
“Y-yeah for real,” Wanda stammered.
Peter was writing in his notebook with a fervor that was never experienced by man before. He wrote down every detail he saw: how he was reading a book as he was hanging upside down from the ceiling, how even though he looked like a monster he still had to wear glasses to read, how he was now right in front of him? Wait, what?
Peter’s soul nearly jumped right out of his body as he came to the discovery that the Pro Hero Beast was now standing right in front of him. He looked to Wanda and Pietro, who were shaking in their soles.
Beast opened the door that separated him from the trio. “Hello! How may I help you, children?”
He’s so polite! Peter, Pietro, and Wanda had the same reaction.
Beast took a deep look at the three children that were in front of him, they all had a mixed look of terror, anxiety, curiosity, and amazement plastered onto their faces. He noticed their lack of uniform and came to the only rational conclusion.
“Ah, you must be on tour!” He clapped his hands together and laughed. “I know how overwhelming this school can be at times, with all the pro heroes and promising students treading around.” He kneeled down to be at Peter’s eye level. “But you should know that at the end of the day, we’re all human. We’re just like you, and that’s why we’ve become heroes in the first place.”
As Beast was giving his small lecture, Peter wrote every word he heard, all while maintaining eye contact with him. Beast took note of this. “Ah, a fine learner, I presume?”
Peter stopped writing and tried to stammer out an answer. “I… I… I…”
Beast gave a hearty laugh. “Oh don’t be embarrassed, my boy! Be proud of your sense of curiosity and love for learning.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him for years!” Wanda chimed in gleefully.
“Oh, and you have support as well, young man! By just looking at you three I can tell that you are all extremely close.” Beast took a hand each of the trio and put them together, the trio now in a position reminiscent of how sports teams break in their huddles. Peter’s face was cascaded in red as he took Wanda’s hand. “Cling on to this kinship that you all have, children. If you wish to graduate from this school and become a hero, having friends you can trust is the most important weapon to fight evil that you will ever have.”
Peter, to say the least, was starstruck. An esteemed hero, such as Beast, was giving him and his best friends life advice to become heroes! He didn’t ask if he was quirkless, and he didn’t assume anything negative. Peter had to ask him his question. Beast was the right person to ask.
“D-Dr. McCoy I-” Peter felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, which shocked him deeply.
“What did I say about being on your best behavior?”
Peter, Pietro, and Wanda turned around to see their chaperone, who wore a very annoyed look on his face.
“Sorry, sir.” The trio hung their heads in shame.
The chaperone huffed. “I apologize for the annoyance, Doctor.”
Beast laughed once again. “Oh do not apologize, my good man. These children are just starstruck!” Beast smiled warmly. “It’s not every day that you get to see a pro hero so up close.”
The chaperone sighed. “Well, you’re not wrong.” He motioned to the trio to go back to the group. “We’re waiting on you three.”
Peter, Pietro, and Wanda said their goodbyes to Beast and headed off on their way. Peter excitedly opened up his notebook yet again and turned to Beast’s page. He wrote the word “kind” under his personality profile.
“Jesus Christ.” Yet again, Peter perked up to see Flash looking at him yet again. Flash looked away, then, as if nothing happened.
Peter suddenly had a horrible thought. Was Flash going to do something to him on this field trip? There are so many people around, though. Was Flash growing bolder? Did he think he can get away with hurting Peter without anybody noticing? No, he’s not that stupid. There are too many people, plus Wanda and Pietro are here. Peter shook his head and walked with the tour guide to the last section on the itinerary.
The final section of the tour was a scientific demonstration by Dr. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, also known as Hulk and Iron Man. The demonstration was held in the school’s auditorium, and it was the biggest room that the group had ever been in. They sat in three seats next to each other in the front row of the auditorium.
Wanda reached her hand towards the ceiling. “It’s so tall...”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Pietro sneered, “Anything else painfully apparent that you wanna point out?”
Wanda shot a dirty look at him. “You’re an idiot who’ll run into a ditch on your first day of being a professional hero, and you’re going to fall into obscurity as I rise to the top.”
“Ouch.” Pietro dramatically clutched his chest. “These hot takes are giving me a strong case of ‘You’rejustjealousthatIhaveacoolerquirkthanyou-itis.’”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that! There’s a vaccine for it, it’s called a ‘reality check.’”
“I like Hex more than Super-Speed, I gotta admit,” Peter chuckled.
“No, not you too, man!” Pietro reached out to Peter. “Don’t tell me she brainwashed you!”
Peter showed Pietro Wanda’s page in the hero notebook and pointed to the ‘potential’” section. “I mean, Hex can probably make her fly and that’s automatically awesome.” Peter flipped the page to Pietro’s. “While your quirk is astonishing, and you’re only going to become stronger with more practice, I don’t see you flying. Sooo, yeah.”
Pietro’s face drooped with disappointment. “Yeah, thanks for the ego check, man.”
Peter smiled brightly. “You’re welcome!”
Wanda snickered.
“Oh my God,” Pietro sighed.
“Hey Pete, can I see my section?” Wanda held out her hand.
“Yeah!” Peter handed Wanda the notebook. “Here.”
Wanda flipped to her section of the notebook. She scanned the page and saw that the ‘Potential Hero Name was filled with different options. “Wow, there are a lot of names.”
Peter scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yeah, like a week ago I sat at my desk and made all of these potential hero names for you. Some of them are cool, but the others… not so much.”
Wanda gave a small chuckle as she scanned the names. One name, in particular, caught her gaze. “The Scarlet Witch?”
“I actually really like that one!”
“Sounds like a villain’s name, to be honest.” Pietro chimed in.
“It sounds cool but…” Wanda pulled a pen out of her purse and added a new name. “How about this?”
Peter and Pietro leaned in to see the name “The Crimson Sorceress.”
“That’s just ‘The Scarlet Witch’ with different synonyms, sis.”
“Yeah, but it sounds more heroic.” Wanda acted like she was putting up a magic barrier between her and the boys. “More magical.”
“I like it!” Peter exclaimed.
“Yeah, of course, you would.” Pietro sank into his chair. “Whipped,” he whispered.
Suddenly, a stinging pain found its home on the backside of Pietro’s head as Wanda’s hand slapped it. “Ow! What the hell?!”
“I heard that, you dick.”
Peter tilted his head in confusion. “Heard what?”
“Don’t worry about it, Pete.” Wanda winked, but only for a moment.
The lights in the auditorium dimmed and brightened, signaling that the demonstration was going to begin. Peter put on his glasses and pulled out his camera. He wanted to take pictures of the event, and maybe get a better photo of Dr. Banner and Iron Man for his notebook.
Wanda turned to Peter. “Make sure the flash is off, okay?”
“Yeah, ya don’t wanna cause any difficulties, alright bud?”
“Don’t worry, I turned it off before we even got on the bus,” Peter confirmed.
The curtains rose, and there he stood: Dr. Banner, the Incredible Hulk. He stood even taller than Beast did. Peter’s estimate put him at least seven feet tall. Dr. Banner wore a suit that had to have been tailor-made for him, considering how buff he was. He wore heavy rimmed glasses, which Peter appreciated. Like Beast, he looked intimidating, but he emanated this feeling of kindness and sincerity. His appearance showed the strength of his character, as for many years, the Hulk was called a menace to the Earth. Dr. Banner has made many TV appearances to talk about his beginning years as the Hulk. How he fled to South America to escape the United States Military, how his childhood trauma fed into the alternate persona that the Hulk adopted, how dealing with anger management is important, and how living with a split personality disorder is just another facet of the crazy experience called Bruce Banner’s life. When he merged himself with the Hulk, he explained that he felt whole, but sometimes when pushed to the edge the other personality comes out. He went on to explain that the Hulk wasn’t a bad person, far from it. In reality,the Hulk was actually a really kind and gentle creature that just wanted to be left alone. In fact, The Hulkstill had conversations with him about the meaning of life, the ins and outs of heroism, and even what they were going to have for lunch that day. Ever since then, Dr. Banner has been a pioneer in not only the genetic and radiological sciences ,but also in mental health and the understanding of all kinds of disabilities. Whenever Dr. Banner had an interview, Peter made sure to either watch it live or record it; he loved hearing the man talk.
Peter heard the audience murmur about the missing hero who was supposed to be with Dr. Banner on stage: Iron Man. The most popular hero, not only in the USA, but in the entire world. The story of how Tony Stark, a weapons dealer and billionaire playboy philanthropist became the Invincible Iron Man. Everyone knew how it went: Tony Stark was a selfish CEO of Stark Enterprises, and only looked out for himself until he was captured by terrorists in 1998. The terrorists used missiles that were designed by Stark himself and were struck in the chest by shrapnel but were saved by a man who managed to create a magnetic field inside his body to keep the shrapnel from reaching his heart. He was forced to build a new type of weapon for the terrorists, but what he really did was build a suit of armor that augmented his quirk: Arc Reactor. He then became the Invincible Iron Man, and escaped the terrorists’ base making it back home to the United States in one piece. He put a stop on all weapon construction, changed Stark Industries to become a humanitarian company, and registered as a hero. He became a cultural icon; everyone knew of Iron Man and his heroism. He wasn’t Peter’s favorite hero, but he still held a place in Peter’s heart as a founding member of the Avengers, and a great hero all around. He hasn’t made a public appearance in a while, though, Peter thought.
Dr. Banner stepped up to the mic, tapped it just so slightly to see if it was on, and had to catch it because it almost tipped over. “Sorry, over thirty years of being in this body, and I still can’t gauge how strong I actually am.” The audience was filled with laughter. Dr. Banner waved his hands to signal the audience to calm themselves. “You might be wondering about the lack of an overinflated ego that’s trapped in a yellow and red suit of armor.” He took the microphone and started to walk across the stage so that he wouldn’t stay static during the presentation. “Unfortunately, about thirty minutes ago, Iron Man was called for duty, and it’s my off day.I’ll be damned if they call me in.” He played with the wire of the microphone. “I never get called into work, I mean,” he chuckled, “Would you want to be the one to tell The Hulk that he has to come in on his day off?”
The audience burst into laughter once again, which showcased how strong Dr. Banner was as an enter, Dr. Banner knew how to keep the audience entertained. Peter had a hard time getting a good shot due to his own chuckles.
“I never knew he was such a personality on the stage,” Wanda whispered to Peter.
Peter turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Wanda, we watched like five of his interviews two nights ago.”
Wanda’s face was struck with confusion. “We did?”
Something told Peter that Wanda wasn’t paying attention that day, and that made him a bit sad. He soon forgot about it though, considering how the actual presentation began.
“Now, onto the real show.” Dr. Banner walked towards the podium that was on his left. “As we know, quirks are genetic in nature, but scientists haven’t figured out what they really are yet.” A projection of a DNA strand appeared behind him. “However, we do now know that the quirks have a very similar genetic make-up to that of gamma radiation.”
“Hey, is that true?” Pietro asked Peter in a whispered tone.
Peter leaned his into Pietro to speak directly into his ear. “Yeah, last year they found out that his irradiated genetics are comparable to quirks. He wasn’t born with a quirk, remember? It was the gamma bomb that did it.”
“So, to pursue the hypothesis that quirks were birthed from a gamma event, the Avengers Institute and Stark Enterprise partnered with Oscorp to explore this line of thinking.”
A sudden thought rushed through Peter’s head, Oscorp? That’s Harry’s dad’s company… I haven’t texted him in a while. I should see what’s up with him when I get home.
“Just recently we made a gigantic scientific breakthrough, we found out how to create quirks.”
The audience erupted in disbelief. Soft mumblings filled the auditorium. Some were in disbelief, while others questioned the ethics of such a practice.
“Nah, that’s impossible, man.” Peter turned his head to Pietro. “There’s no way that you can create a quirk just like that.ike, an actual quirk, not a superpower born from an explosion or from an experiment, but an actual quirk? I call BS.”
“Would you just shut up and watch?” Wanda spat.
“And, this, right here, is the fruit of our labor,” Dr. Banner declared as he pressed a small clicker in his hand. “Oh, it didn’t break it this time, thank god.”
The stage floor opened up. Peter heard the machinery in the under-stage doing its work. Then, out of the blue, he saw a very odd-looking machine rise up. The machine had two parts to it: two pillars stood erect parallel to each other. Each pillar curved into each other, at the end of both points were bright red spheres. Various ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ were delivered from the audience.
“This, my eager audience, is ‘The Quirk Accelerator,’ and we are going to make a quirk, right here, right now.” Dr. Banner clicked the clicker once again and a thick sheet of glass separated the stage from the audience. “Man, I’m on a roll today,” he stated proudly. “Now, once I press this button again, we will create an entirely new quirk.”
“Dude, you have to get a shot of this,” Pietro demanded.
“Yeah, Pete! Ooo, this is gonna be cool!” Wanda exclaimed in a hushed voice.
Peter excitedly pulled up his camera, but not before double-checking to see if the flash was turned off. He put his eye up to the viewfinder, and pointed his shot towards the Quirk Accelerator. As he took multiple shots of the machine itself, he noticed something that wasn’t supposed to be there. It was small, but he saw it. A spider, that was lowering itself from the ceiling with a single strand of its web. Peter didn’t know why he focused on such a minuscule thing, but he took a picture of it anyway. Who knows, maybe it’ll get him an award or something. That’d be nice, he thought to himself.
“Strap yourself in folks, ‘cause this is gonna be one hell of a frickin’ light show!” Dr. Banner shouted with excitement.
With yet another click, the Quirk Accelerator hummed. All of the lights that illuminated the stage shut off, and the thick sheet of glass tinted itself to a rather dark degree. Dr. Banner’s description was very apt. In between the two pillars, extremely bright electricity flowed and clashed with the two red spheres. Muffled crackles of thunder were heard as the light got brighter and brighter. Peter, in desperation, shot a picture aimed right in the middle of the action. The sheet of glass got darker as the light emanating from the experiment got brighter. The light show got to its final performance as the light suddenly turned a bright green. The light soon disappeared, though. stage lights were turned back on, and Dr. Banner stood there with a big smile. It faulted for a moment, before returning to a grin. “Now, the quirk will be collected. Since we don’t have any machine assistance here on the stage, I’ll have to collect it myself.” Dr. Banner took a small capsule out of his pocket and walked between the two pillars of the Quirk Accelerator. The audience immediately went into various chatter.
Pietro turned to Peter. “Hey, do you think if any of us go blind because of that, Tony Stark will pay us boatloads of money in settlements?”
“'No, we signed away our right to sue in the event of an injury. It's not like Stark would give you anything. It's better for all of us if you were blind.".” Wanda shook her head.
“It’s true.” Peter nodded.
“Aw, man, that can’t be legal can it?”
“It’s totally legal.”
“Ah, so…” Dr. Banner’s voice cut the audience’s murmuring down to silence. “Apparently, this is our first failed test.”
“Told you he was full of-” Pietro was then cut off by a swift kick to the shin, courtesy of Peter. “Ow!”
Dr. Banner walked back to the podium. “But this is to be expected with any realm of science, that is why we go back to see what went wrong here.” He clicked the clicker for the last time which resulted in the Quirk Accelerator being lowered back into the stage. “We do have various quirks in storage, but live testing hasn’t been authorized by the government yet.” He walked downstage to where the mic stood and put it back in place. “We’re getting closer to unlocking the mystery of quirks every day. Maybe one day we can even track what the very first quirk was, but for now all we can do is theorize and experiment. I apologize that this was a failure, but I’m very glad that I was able to show you our latest endeavors here at Avengers Tower.” Peter took a shot of Dr. Banner as he said this. “I hope to see some of you attend the school next yearand that I sparked a wealth of scientific curiosity within you. Thank you so much, and have a good day, everyone.”
The curtains cascaded down upon the stage, and with that, the demonstration came to end. The lights illuminated the auditorium and people got out of their seats and headed towards the exit. Some were bummed, and others were ecstatic to be in the same room as the Incredible Hulk.
Pietro snatched Peter’s camera right out of his hands. “Dude, did you get the shots?”
Peter jumped in surprise when he realized that when he blinked, his camera was no longer there. “P-Pietro! Be careful with that!”
Pietro shot a genuine smile at Peter. Pietro was tossing the camera up and then catching it with the same hand without looking at it, showing off his dexterity. “Don’t worry, man! I’m the most careful person in the world.”
Wanda crossed her arms. “You literally broke a plate at dinner last night.”
“A one-time incident, won’t happen again.” Pietro tossed the camera up again and waited for it to come back down, but it never did. “Wait, what the hell?”
“Interesting camera you got there, Maximoff. I’m surprised you could afford something like this.”
Pietro groaned as he recognized the voice, he turned around to see Flash going through the pictures on the camera. “That was a lazy insult you had there buddy. Let me guess, did the parasite come up with that one?”
“Funny,” Flash grunted.
Peter stood in utter fear as Flash held his camera. The phrase, Why does he have it? Why does he have it? kept repeating in his mind. This was his biggest fear.
“Here ya go, Parker.” Flash held out the camera in front of Peter. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t have any weird pics of me.”
“O-okay.” Peter hesitantly reached out to grab the camera. “Thanks, Fla-“
A thud. A crack. The sound of plastic falling onto marble flooring. Glass shattered. Peter’s gaze peered downward to see his camera in pieces.
A devious smile crawled onto Flash’s face. “Whoops.”
Peter was stunned. Did that actually just happen?
“Thompson!” Pietro grasped Flash’s shoulder and forcefully turned him around to face him. “What the fu-?!”
A black tendril shot itself out of Flash’s body and hit Pietro square in the face. He backed up, holding his nose in pain. “Don’t touch me, you freak.”
“Pietro!” cried Wanda.
“That’s it!” Pietro pushed against his right nostril and exhaled from his nose, a clot of blood flew out of his left nostril. “I’ve been playing nice for Peter’s sake, but you just crossed the damned line, Thompson!”
“Pietro, stop this!” Wanda exclaimed with a desperate expression on her face. “Don’t fight him!”
Peter backed up against the wall of the stage. His legs quivered beneath him. A fight? Here?
“Nah, nah, sis!” Pietro rolled up his sleeves as he walked towards Flash. “This guy has been a pain in our asses for years, I’ve been wanting to put him in his place.”
Flash took his stride over to Pietro. The symbiote crawled itself onto his skin and up his neck. “Let’s do this, wuss. Show me you’re a real man and not some pathetic bitch.”
“Bring it on, douchebag.” Pietro leapt forward at Flash in less than a second. Fists flew, and the fight began.
“Pietro, no!” Wanda rushed towards the scene.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” Peter muttered over and over. He curled himself into a ball. His breathing became fast and uneven. He felt light headed, too. A sensation of dread and anxiety swept up his body in a hurricane of fear. “Nononononononono.” Why did this always have to happen? Today was supposed to be a good day, for crying out loud. Why did Flash have to ruin it again? Pietro was just making it worse. He won’t be allowed back into Avengers Academy. Peter thought about his camera, and the thought alone forced him into a shaking fit. He was glued to the sight; his precious camera, it was in pieces. It used to belong to his mother. The name: Mary Fitzgerald, was written in sharpie on the side. Why did this always happen to him? Why did he bring bad luck wherever he goes? Why was he so useless? Why was he quirkless? Why am I just human? Why do I-
Peter felt a stinging pain on his right hand and slapped it. “Ow!” He looked down and his hand and saw a giant bite mark, and the corpse of the spider he just squashed. He sighed. “This day’s just getting better and better.” Perhaps the spider bite was a blessing in disguise, it broke him out of his panic attack. He sighed again and steadily began to stand back up. He started walking towards Wanda, but with every step he began to slow down. He felt as if there was a giant weight on his shoulders. His legs turned into jelly. He started to shake violently. “Wh-what’s happening to me?”
“-eter? A-e -o- oka-?”
Is that Wanda’s voice?
“W-ah! B-o yo- goo-?”
Pietro?
“Y-! Wa-cr-ler! Th- -ck’s th- ma-er?!”
Flash?
His vision started to become blurry, and darkness crept in from the edges of his eyes. “Wanda, I… I don’t feel so good.” Peter lost all control, and immediately lost consciousness as he hit the ground.
These words echoed in Izuku Midoriya's dorm room at approximately 2:56 AM. He sat up in his bed and stared into his dark room. His breathing was deep but fast. His heart felt like it was going to break. Was he having a heart attack? No, it can't be since his left arm wasn't numb. Although he has heard that different people show different signs of cardiac arrest.
"Ow," he said, holding his head in pain. His blood pressure must have been skyrocketing, he felt so tense. Every inch of his body was pumped full of adrenaline. He clutched his chest.
"Okay, okay, just breathe. Just breathe." Izuku closed his eyes and imagined a leaf floating in front of him. To control his breathing, he must breathe so that the leaf stays in this imaginary box, it's helped him in the past.
But Izuku started to breathe faster and faster; it wasn't working. It wasn't working. Why wasn't it working? His lungs started to spasm as he began hyperventilating, the leaf flying in the air, wildly out of control.
"Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh God," Izuku whispered, his body shook.
"Midoriya?" a voice suddenly rang out to Izuku's ears.
The boy let out a muted scream as he was pulled back into reality.
"Midoriya, mon ami?"
Aoyama? What was he doing awake at this hour?
"Midoriya, are you okay?" Yuga said, his voice slightly muffled from beyond Izuku's door.
No no no not now, Izuku thought. He didn't want to answer; he didn't want to deal with anyone right now. He can't let anybody see him like this.
"Izuku, I'm coming in, okay?" The doorknob started to rattle.
"No!" Izuku cried. Suddenly the rattling doorknob stopped.
"Izuku? Are you alright?" said Yuga.
Izuku gulped. "Y-yeah, Yuga. I just had a nightmare."
There was silence at the other end of the door for a moment. "Mon Dieu! Do you want to talk about it?" Yuga exclaimed.
Izuku sighed a breath of relief, he didn't have to talk to him for any longer. "No, it's okay, Yuga. Thanks."
"Well, if you need anything, just tell me, okay?"
"Thanks, Yuga."
"You'll never amount to anything, you quirkless piece of trash."
Izuku's face went pale as snow. He started to tremble again. Did he really just hear that? How did he know? "Wh-what did you say?" Izuku stammered in disbelief.
"I said bonne nuit! It means 'good night,'" Yuga said.
"Oh… yeah. Good night Yuga. See you in class tomorrow…" Izuku waited until he heard Yuga walk away until he sank back down in his bed. He felt as if a rock has been chained to his back and that a demon was sitting in his chest. His breathing once again became quick and shallow. His vision? Blurry as tears formed. Did I really hear that? Izuku thought, Did… did Yuga actually say that?
He felt himself become heavy as if he was sinking deeper into his bed, he felt that all of the memorabilia in his room was watching him. Judging him. He wept. He felt so lost. He felt so scared.
He reached to his bedside table, found his phone, and turned it on. The light blinding him for just a moment. This was a nightly occurrence for him. Every night he'd been feeling anxious and scared and had been having the worst nightmares. So he would turn on his phone and play a voice message from a few months ago.
"Hey, Deku!" It was Ochaco's voice. "I just wanna say that I miss you so much, and I can't wait to see you when you get back from your training on I-Island. It's been weird without you around! Class isn't as cheery as it was when you're around. Even Bakugo's become more irritable than when you are here!" She laughed. "When you come back, let's go to the gardens, okay? I miss going there with you. Say hi to Melissa for me! I love you so much."
This was the only thing that can calm Izuku down. The voice of his girlfriend, Ochaco Uraraka. He opened his messages and saw the last text he received that night.
<3Uravity<3: Good night babe! I'll see you in the morning. I love you <3
Izuku's breathing slowed down, and his heart rate mellowed. He was finally calm. At least, calm enough to try to go back to sleep. He lay back down and put his phone by his head. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Izuku focused on his breathing, another suggestion from Hound Dog. He inhaled and exhaled. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. She's lying. Exhale. She's lying, she hates you. Inhale. Why would she ever love a worthless piece of trash like you? Exhale. Once she finds you out, it's over. It wasn't working. They'll all find out, and you'll be alone. Izuku pleaded it to stop. Just like you deserve. It was just a small voice in the back of his head, it wouldn't shut up. Why is this voice bothering him so much? He knew that none of what it's saying was true, but… was it? For the second time tonight, he started to cry. Small, weak, sobs escaped his throat.
Izuku felt a great chill throughout his body. Which was peculiar since it was in the middle of May. He opened his eyes, and he couldn't believe what he saw: his room was encased in ice. Izuku sat up in his bed. He felt the cold pierce his skin, even though he was covered with a blanket. Even though the room was dark, he could see his reflection, and sitting there was not him. It was him, but it also wasn't. Staring back at him was a warped reflection of himself. Eyes? Bloodshot and sunken. Skin? Emaciated and wounded. Body shape? Anorexic.
"We are alone." It actually spoke. "We don't deserve anyone. We are quirkless. We are a thief. We are loveless. We are not a hero."
Deku closed his eyes and covered his ears. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real.
"And we need us."
Izuku's eyes shot open and observed that his room was back to normal. No more ice. Just his regular room. He was shivering. Not from being cold. However, he was shivering from fear. He lied back down and wept.
"Does… anyone really like me?" he cried softly to himself. He went through his phone again and played Ochaco's voicemail once more. Darkness eventually overcame him, and he was whisked away to the dream world, where more terrors awaited him.
The grandfather clock in the common area of the dorm rooms struck eight times, light shone through the windows in between the blinds, the smell of breakfast was in the air, it was apparent that Class 3-A was getting ready for class. Rikido Sato and Katsuki Bakugo were on breakfast duty this Monday morning, and they were cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
"God damn it! Those pancakes aren't nearly done, you dumbass!" screamed Katsuki, stirring the pancake batter with the burning ferocity of ten suns.
"Don't you go telling me how to cook, you phenomenal douchebag!" yelled Rikido, flipping pancakes on four pans while also cooking the bacon.
"You see this egg?!" Katsuki screamed as he cracked an egg in his hand open. "This is gonna be your head when we're in hero training today!"
Rikido flipped a pancake on its uncooked side and violently pressed down on it with his spatula. "And this'll be you when I flatten you like a pancake, you maniac!"
"Guys, guys, calm down jeez!" whined a tired Ochaco Uraraka as she entered the kitchen with Momo Yayarouzo. The gravity girl's eyes were half-closed, and her hair was disheveled. She was not ready for the day ahead. The creation girl, however, was fully awake, her hair done to perfection, and she was ready to take on whatever the day was ready to throw at her. The pair took their seats at the table, Ochaco throwing her upper body onto the table in exhaustion, making a decently loud noise. "Ow," she groaned.
"It is much too early for you two to be yelling," Momo stated, with her hand holding her forehead. "Can you two just keep your animosity towards each other bottled until hero training, please? I'm getting a headache."
Kachaan felt a surge of anger well through his body. "Well, maybe if you didn't pair me up with this actual idiot! You wouldn't be havin' a damn headache!"
"How does Kirishima do it?! Actually, how?!" Rikido screamed to the Heavens as he put more finished pancakes into the pancake pile.
"They aren't finished!"
"Bite me, asshole!"
Two plastic forks were sent flying through the air, barely missing Katsuki's and Rikido's faces, and stuck themselves into the wooden cabinets. The two turned to look at the table, and they were met with a very pissed off Ochaco Uraraka, arm outstretched, and a face that screamed, "Shut up." The two stared in horror at the girl for a moment, then looked at each other, sneered, and went back to cooking. Ochaco gave a small "humph" and sat back down, returning to her exhausted sprawl position on the table.
There was an awkward silence in the air. Until Katsuki spoke up.
"Round Face, where's your boy toy? He should be back from training by now."
Ochaco got out of her tired position and sat up straight. "I don't actually know. He didn't even text me good morning today..." she said as she looked down solemnly.
Katsuki heard this disservice to his ears and snarled, "Absolutely disgusting." He started to stir the pancake batter even more violently now.
Ochaco sighed and pushed herself up from her chair and stood. "I'm gonna go check on him."
"No!"
Everyone's gaze turned to Rikido as his arm was outstretched towards Ochaco. "S-send Bakugo instead! He knows Midoryia pretty well, right?!"
Everyone in the room looked at him like he was an alien from Mars.
Ochaco blinked. "Um… but Sato… I don't thi-"
"Please!" exclaimed Rikido, tears flowing from his eyes and a knot in his throat.
Ochaco's eyes widened in understanding and nodded. "Yeah, Bakugo, go check up on Deku. I'll take over kitchen duties."
"Hell no, you won't," said Katsuki, "Unless you want a shitty breakfa- hey!" Before he knew it, Katsuki was suspended precariously in the air. "Put me down, you Deku-lovin' bitch!"
Ochaco walked up to the floating boy, grabbed his leg, turned to face Rikido, and cheerfully said, "I'll be right back!" Ochaco dragged Katsuki through the air into the common room with the hotheaded boy cursing her with every name in the book.
"God damned, Round Face," Katsuki mumbled as he stormed his way up the stairs, "It's her job to be his frickin'- forget it." Katsuki eventually found himself before the door of the one and only Izuku Midoriya. He took in a deep breath. "The things I do for this damn class." He pulled his arm back and slammed on the door. "Deku! Get your ass outta bed it's almost breakfast!" he exclaimed.
No response.
"Deku, you're gonna be late for class if you don't get up!"
Again no response. Katsuki's blood pressure skyrocketed to inhuman levels. "Damn it, Deku! Open the-!"
The door flung open, and Izuku appeared where the door once was.
"Jesus, finally. What took… you… Deku, you look like utter shit."
An apt description if there ever was one. Izuku looked entirely different than what he normally did. Instead of his bright green and cheery eyes were dark and reddish in tint. Heavy bags haunted under his eyes. His hair was even more disheveled than it usually is. But what struck Katsuki the most was Izuku's skin: it was pale white.
"Hey, Kachaan," he said weakly.
Katsuki's eyes widened in shock. He's known this kid for years, much to his dismay, but nonetheless. He knows what Izuku Midoriya was all about. This person standing in front of him was all wrong.
"Deku… what the hell?" he said flabbergasted.
Izuku bit his lip and directed his gaze to the ground, "I uh… I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Yeah, no shit…" Katsuki shook his head. "A-anyway, you gotta come downstairs, uh," he stammered. "Round Face is worried."
Suddenly life sprung forward to Izuku's appearance. "Oh my God, I totally forgot to text her good morning!" he cried, starting a muttering swarm.
Katsuki stared at him in disbelief, shook his head, and started to walk back the way he came. "Absolutely disgusting."
Izuku snapped out of his muttering state and witnessed Katsuki walking down the hall. He started to run towards him. "Kachaan wait," said Izuku as he caught up to him. "I uh, need to ask you a question."
Katsuki sneered. "What is it? It better not be dumb."
Izuku looked sheepishly down towards the ground. "Um… do you think that the class is gonna… find out that I was quirkless?"
Katsuki stopped in his tracks and shot Izuku a look, screaming: "Are you serious?"
"Zip it. They're not gonna care," Katsuki sighed, putting his hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Listen, Deku, I know it's a riot coming from me, but it doesn't matter. If the truth of One for All comes out to the class, who cares? They already like you enough as is. I don't know why, but they do. You being quirkless once won't matter to them. It doesn't matter to me anymore, so why should it matter to them?" He took his arm off of Izuku's shoulder and started to walk again. "That was a really dumb question, by the way."
Katsuki's words were as if a sword slashed at Izuku's soul. The opposite of what the words were meant to do to him, but par for the course for Katsuki.
Anymore? Izuku thought.
All of those words, but that is what he focused on. He sighed, and he noticed that he could see his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, the hallway began to freeze with ice. It was crawling towards him as if it was alive.
"Jesus, Deku, keep moving!"
Izuku jumped at the sudden voice of his classmate and looked behind towards the hallway. The ice was no longer there. "Oh! Right…" And thus he walked to the kitchen area to greet his classmates, eat breakfast, get a good morning kiss from Ochaco, and start his day.
"Deku, on your six!"
Uravity's voice pierced Deku's ears as he turned around and gasped as he saw Ground Zero hurtling towards him. "Die!" he yelled.
Deku sidestepped to his left, the heat of the ensued explosion just barely singed his costume. "Damn it!" Ground Zero yelled.
Okay, he's going to follow up with a- Gah!
A sickening pop was heard and felt by Deku. His left arm burning as it flailed around uselessly. He flew and crashed into a nearby building, leaving a crater in the wall. "Ow." he groaned. Deku could hear Sugar Man and Ground Zero arguing in the distance.
"He was mine, dumbass!"
"Why did I have to be on your team?!"
"God, you're so damn useless!"
Dumbass?
Useless?
A chill ran up and down his body.
"Deku!" Uravity exclaimed, "Are you okay?!" She got on her knees and grabbed Deku's waist, activating her Zero Gravity.
Deku?
Deku came to his senses and realized that he was floating in mid-air, he sighed. "Thanks, Uravity."
"Oh, thank goodness."
She let the boy down and back on his feet, deactivating her quirk in the process. He faltered to stand up straight. He clutched his dislocated arm in pain.
"Deku, your arm, do you-?" she asked worryingly.
He sighed, "No, it's okay. I just gotta…" He closed his eyes and concentrated, suddenly his quirk, Black Whip, shot out of his back and wrapped itself around his shoulder and arm. With a sudden movement, the arm moved up, and a pop was heard yet again. He cried in pain but for just a brief period. He took in a sharp breath. "I'm gonna be okay." He gave her a weak smile.
She looked at him doubtfully. "D...Izuku, I think you should take a break for today," she suggested. Deku didn't like what she meant when she called him by his first name. The only time she called him "Izuku" was when she was romantic, angry, or worried about him.
She was definitely worried about him, and he hated it when she was. He looked her in the eyes and took a deep sigh. "No, no, I'm okay. I just didn't notice Sato behind me," he said, his gaze slowly lowering to the ground, "I should've, though." His fists clenched tightly.
"Izuku," she said, taking Deku's hand, "What did we talk about hypotheticals in battle?"
Deku sighed once again, and he directed his gaze towards his partner. "To stop dwelling on things that already happened before I get punched in the face?"
She gave him a bright smile. "Exactly, now come on. Let's crack some heads."
Deku gave a smile back. "Alright," he said softly.
Uravity leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. Deku's cheeks erupted in flames. It's been a year with her, and he's still not used to that. "Love ya," he said.
Uravity gave him a wink and turned towards the battle. "We're all going to find out eventually, and you'll truly be alone."
Deku's entire body stopped as he heard this. His heart started to pound. "Wh-what?" he stuttered.
Uravity turned around and faced him with a confused look. "I said I love you too… Hon, are you okay?" It happened again. He heard something different. Deku thought about Uravity's question for a moment. Was he okay? Was this a side effect of One for All? Was he having hallucinations? What was happening to him?
Deku swallowed a large lump in his throat. "Y-yeah. Let's finish this." He nodded to Uravity, and she, albeit hesitantly, nodded back. The pair ran out of the storefront and ran right back into the battle, ready to face their opponents.
She's right, you know. They will all find out that you're worthless.
Deku kept running.
She's also lying. She doesn't love you. Why would anyone love you?
Deku kept running.
Kachaan was right. You're worthless. You lied.
Deku started to slow down. His vision started to become blurry.
Everybody pretends to like you. They pity you. When they find out you were quirkless, they will all leave you.
His breath started to quicken. The sounds of the world were drowned out from the high pitched ringing in his ears.
You're a thief. One for All isn't your own. It will never be. All Might is ashamed of you.
He tripped, his face hitting the ground hard. He could barely make out somebody calling out his name.
You're worthless. You're quirkless. You're loveless. You're trash. You should die. You should die you should die you should die you should die you should die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die -
Deku screamed.
"Izuku!" Uravity cried.
Sugar Man and Ground Zero stopped their arguing after hearing Deku's scream, and both turned to face the boy.
"What the fu-?!" Ground Zero's question was suddenly cut off when Deku suddenly sprinted off further into the fake city.
Uravity cried out Deku's name once again, but he couldn't hear her. He ran. Faster than he ever has. Deku found a small bunker, built right after the USJ attack as a precaution to keep students safe if the League of Villains ever came back. Deku entered the bunker, closed the door behind him, and barred the door with a steel pipe, twisting it like a pretzel to ensure no one can get in. Deku faced the door, and he started to walk backward, tears running down his face, and his eyes puffy and red. He found a corner and sat down, curling into a ball and closing his eyes. He sobbed loudly. He couldn't believe he just did that. Why did that happen?
"Why… did I do that?" he whispered to himself.
"Because we are worthless."
A sheer cold ran through Izuku's body. He opened his eyes, and to his shock, the entire bunker was frozen in ice. He looked to his left and yet again in the ice's reflection was himself, a twisted dark version of himself. It was sitting in the same position.
Izuku shuddered. "What do you want with me?"
The reflection spoke. "For us to understand. We are worthless." Mirror Deku stood up, slowly and painfully. "Everything good in our life is a farce. We want us to understand this. We will never amount to anything."
Deku closed his eyes in horror. "Are you One for All?" He kept his eyes closed for a while until he opened them to see his dark reflection closer to the ice wall dividing them.
"No… We are us, Izuku," the reflection droned. "Nobody loves us. Not even us. Why should we be loved? We are weak."
"Shut up!" Izuku cried, "I earned this! I earned On-"
The reflection slammed on the ice wall, shaking the entire bunker. "No! We do not deserve anything! We do not deserve her love. We do not deserve his praise. We do not deserve their friendship. We are a horrible person! We do not deserve to be a hero. We are quirkless. We are worthless. We are-!"
"Izuku?"
Ochaco's voice cut through the cold air like a flaming sword. "Izuku, can you hear me?"
"Do not answer her, Izuku. She is tricking us," the reflection said, "She is laughing at us, Izuku. She hates you."
"Izuku? Honey?" Ochaco said on the other side of the door, "If you can hear me, please say something."
"Don't do it."
Izuku closed his eyes and swallowed a big lump in his throat. "I… I can hear you, Ochaco."
"No! She is trying to embarrass us!" the reflection cried.
A muffled sigh is heard from the other side of the door. "Oh, thank God. Izuku, can you open the door for me? We can't help you if you don't open the door."
Izuku let out a small cry. "I-I can't. T-there's s-so m-much i-ice," he stammered, "There's ice e-everywhere."
"We will never let us leave this bunker."
There was a brief moment of silence.
"Okay, Izuku, what are you doing right now?" asked Ochaco.
"I… I'm in the corner. I'm on the ground," Izuku answered weakly.
A deep breath was heard on the other side of the door. "Okay, Izuku? I need you to listen to me. We can't open the door, you barred it too tight. I know you're surrounded by ice, but I need you to be strong right now, can you do that for me?"
"Do not listen to her! She hates us! She hates us! She hates us!" the reflection ranted.
Izuku covered his ears and closed his eyes, trying to block out the reflections ramblings, he didn't want this. He didn't want to be what this reflection of himself thought he was. Izuku opened his eyes and put his hands on the icy cold floor. "O...okay. I think I can do that," he said wearily.
"No!" the reflection cried. Izuku ignored his dark self and slowly but steadily rose to his feet.
"I'm standing up," said Izuku.
"Okay, Izuku, can you walk?"
Izuku's breathing started to quicken and become more shallow. "I think... I think I can," he whispered, "Ochaco, there's so much ice."
"I know, baby, I know," Ochaco reassured, "Just take it one step at a time, okay?"
Izuku took in a deep breath and tried moving forward, but his legs wouldn't move. "I-I can't do it!"
"Give up."
"No! You can do this, Izuku. I believe in you," she said. Another moment of silence fell upon the pair. "Izuku, okay, remember that really old American Christmas special from the pre-quirk era that you love?"
"She is trying to humiliate us!"
"Yeah, I do."
"Remember that song that you used to sing with your mom from it?" asked Ochaco.
Izuku started to sob as he remembered him and his mom singing while watching it every Christmas morning. "I do," he cried softly.
"We're going to sing it to help you, okay?" said Ochaco, "We're going to get you out of this."
"No!"
"Okay," said Izuku.
"On three, okay? One… two… three…"
Izuku started to walk forward, incrementally. "Put one step in front of the other," the couple sang, "And you'll be walking across the floor." Izuku's steps slowly quickened in pace. The memories of Christmas' past flashed in front of him, the many years spent alone with his mother, some with his father, giving Ochaco the All Might charm, and finally the last Christmas he spent with her. Warmth flushed through him as he kept moving forward. The pair kept singing, and Izuku kept moving. He could see his reflection yelling at him, but he couldn't hear him. He found himself at the door, he made it. He did it. All he needed to do was open the door. He reached to grab the steel bar.
"No! We will not let us do this!" the reflection screamed. Before Izuku's eyes rose, a new giant wall of ice, separating him from the door.
"No!" Izuku yelled.
"Izuku?! What happened?!" Ochaco cried.
"I can't get to the door! It's blocked by ice!"
"We will stay here! They hate us! We are safe here!"
"Ochaco, I can't… I can't… I'm useless, I can't."
A third moment of silence fell.
"Izuku, yes, you can," Ochaco pleaded, "You can do anything."
"No…, no, I can't," Izuku sobbed, "I'm worthless."
"No, you aren't! You're a hero, Izuku!" she cried.
"We are worthless."
Izuku kept on sobbing, he felt so helpless.
"Deku, listen to me. Do you remember why I call you that?"
Izuku hesitated to answer. "Because you thought it was cute?"
"What a frivolous reason."
"No, Deku, I call you that because it sounds like the name of a hero. A hero whose entire personality yells, 'I can do it!'" she said, "Do you remember that?"
"Do not listen to her!"
"Yeah, I do…" he whispered.
"You are that hero, Deku. You can do anything. You can break this ice."
"Stop it!"
"You are the Deku who can do anything!" Ochaco cried.
Izuku faced the ice wall. His reflection staring right back at him. "We will doom us."
"Shut up." Izuku cocked back his arm, balled his hand into a fist, and closed his eyes, and concentrated. Green lightning coursed through his body, and power within him swelled. He threw his fist forward, and it collided with the ice wall, putting a crack in it.
"They hate us!"
"Is that all you have to say?!" yelled Izuku as he threw another punch, damaging the wall even further. He had to admit he was shaking in his boots. He didn't know if he could do this, but he had to try.
"They will find out, and they will leave us!"
Izuku yelled as he punched the wall, yet again, pain from the impact coursed through his knuckles. His reflection stood in the ice wall. Even more emaciated than before, the skin even more dead, and his eyes even redder, a gruesome sight for Izuku.
"We will never leave us."
Izuku hesitated. "I know. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "But I don't care." He let out a cry and punched the ice wall, breaking it into a million pieces. When he opened his eyes, all of the ice was gone. As if it was never there in the first place. He walked to the door, looked back to the inside of the bunker, took a deep breath, and undid the bar. "I'm coming out, okay?"
Izuku would've lied if he said he wasn't immediately embarrassed when he walked out, and he saw all of his classmates look at him with concerned faces. A worried Ochaco throwing her arms around him as he emerged. Mr. Aizawa gave the order: Izuku must take the rest of the day off. He tried to suggest otherwise, but Mr. Aizawa quickly shot him down. Ochaco volunteered to walk him back to the dorms and to stay with him for the rest of the day.
The walk towards the dorms was a quiet one, not quiet born from awkwardness, but quiet born from worry. Every time Izuku spared a glance at her, he saw a different emotion paint her face. Worry. Fear. Sadness. Angst. Every time he saw a new emotion, another sword pierced his heart. He hated this. He hated making her worry like this. It's all his fault. If only he was stronger.
Eventually, the pair arrived at Izuku's room.
"I'm gonna go change into some clothes from my room, okay?" Ochaco said, holding Izuku's hands together. "I promise I will be right back."
Izuku nodded weakly. "Okay." Ochaco smiled and gave him a small kiss on the forehead. She then walked out of the room. Izuku closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He got up, got dressed in more comfortable clothes, his "t-shirt" shirt, and shorts, and sat on his bed. He sat there, and he waited for Ochaco to come back.
She's not coming back.
That voice came back.
She'll never come back. She hates you.
He held his head. "Not again. Not again, please."
"Hey, I'm back."
The thoughts disappeared as quickly as they showed up. There standing was Ochaco in her normal casual wear, a t-shirt, and shorts. She motioned him to scoot over and make room for her on the bed. He obliged, and she sat down.
Ochaco sighed. "Izuku… we need to talk."
This is it. She hates you.
Izuku hung his head in shame. "I… I know."
"Is something bothering you? Something is. I can tell. Don't lie to me, okay?"
"Okay…" he whispered, "I've…. I've been having these nightmares and… hallucinations lately..." He brought his head back up to look at her in the eyes. He told her Everything. The ice. The reflection. What the reflection has been saying. His auditory hallucinations. Everything. It wasn't easy. He didn't tell her in a muttering mess. He told her in short bursts of information. As if there was a battle in his head every time he spoke.
"He told me I was a horrible person. That… you don't love me and… everyone will find out and leave me."
Ochaco tilted her head in confusion. "Find out what, hon?"
Izuku froze. Oh, God. This is it. She was going to leave him. He can't back out. He has to tell her. It was going to come out eventually. His eyes started to blur as tears were forming. Ochaco saw the waterworks flooding and immediately pulled Izuku in a hug.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell m-"
He held her tight. "No. No. I have to say it." He started to hyperventilate. "Ochaco I…" His throat started to swell.
It took every ounce of bravery in Izuku's soul to say what he said, but he did it. "Ochaco, I was born quirkless and… my quirk isn't mine." He broke. His vision was completely blurred by his tears. He sobbed on her shoulder, probably soaked her shirt in the process. This was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Training for a year with All Might? Child's play. Fighting terrifying villains? A daily routine. Confessing his true nature to the girl he loves? Like trying to push a boulder uphill. She knows. She knows. His brain was rushing through every possible outcome. Every outcome was her walking out the door. He braced for her response. But all he found was her grip becoming tighter.
"Oh, Izuku," she choked, "I'm so proud of you."
What? Izuku thought. He broke the hug ever so slightly to look at Ochaco's face, who was also sobbing.
"That must've been so hard for you to say, huh?" she sobbed.
Izuku gave her a confused look. "You're… you're not mad at me?"
"Why would I?" she said, wiping away her own tears, "It doesn't change what I think of you." Her accent started to show. "You're still the amazin' Deku I love."
Izuku was so confused. This wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to yell at him, call him worthless, say she never loved him, and walk out the door to tell everyone else.
"Ochaco…. I…. I don't know," he stammered, "I can't believe that. I-I don't…"
"You can't believe anybody because you keep thinking of the worst possible scenarios." She put her hand on his cheek, lifting her pinky, so she doesn't accidentally activate her quirk. "Izuku, if you can't believe anyone, please try to believe in what I am going to say right now," she said, "I have the deepest and most sincere love and admiration for you. I didn't know it then, but since day one, these feelings were there. That love and admiration have to come from somewhere, right? You had to do something to make me just… be over the moon for you, right? Izuku, what makes me love you is that you're you. I love every single bit of you. Your flaws. Your strengths. Everything. Even your muttering. It doesn't matter to me if you were quirkless. It doesn't change the fact that you're Deku. The hero who can do anything. You're the Deku who's gonna be the number one hero one day, and…. you're the Deku who I want to spend the rest of my life with. So please… please. If you can believe in anything. Believe that I believe in you."
"Ochaco…" At this point, Izuku's room was flooded with both of their tears. This was the hardest he's ever cried. Instead of coldness, warmth flowed through his blood, coursing through his body—the warmth of love. "I love you so much," he said as he hugged her tightly.
"I love you too, Izuku," she wept and hugged him back just as tight. The two spent the rest of the day crying, hugging, and talking. When night fell, Izuku's face went beat red when he timidly asked Ochaco to spend the night with him.
"I-I d-don't wanna be alone t-tonight," he stammered. He saw Ochaco's face turn even redder than his.
"Y-yeah. Of course," she said.
Eventually, Izuku and Ochaco fell asleep in the same bed, at first, it was awkward, and the two kept blushing and apologizing for the lack of space between them. However, they found themselves whisked away to the realm of dreams, holding each other close in the waking world. For the first time in weeks, Izuku Midoriya didn't have any nightmares. Because tonight, he believed and knew that he was loved, and nothing in the world could change that.
