Gone are the years where Mutations were seen as dangerous omens of Humanity's end. Now they are 'Quirks' and the world has evolved around them until they became the norm. May Parker, the daughter of American Pro Hero Spider-Man, tries to follow the example set by his father and her childhood Hero, the legendary All Might, and to do so, she must study at U.A!
Unfortunately, she is not the only one in that path, and she would soon find herself entangled with the story of a familiar, green-haired...Girl?
Fair share of precedents. I am not a native English speaker and, in fact, I am trying to use this fanfic and what comes of it as a sort of practice to polish my abilities. Expect a few spots of awkward grammar.- I do my best to keep it clean and run spellcheckers on this, but there are still some subtleties that I lack and I would greatly appreciate if you were kind enough to point them at me.
This story has several pictures and music used for reference. I am not entirely sure of how the site deals with these but I've seen them used occasionally in fanfics here.- Should any of the artists or staff members tell me to delete any or all of them, I would do so in a heartbeat.
I am still looking for an editor/betareader that would be kind enough to read the drafts before I post them.
Other worthwhile questions: Why Mayday?
There is already a lot of "Spider-Man in the UA" kind of scenarios around, and I don't feel I would be able to add anything new to the formula. After reading some of the Spider-Girl comics, I realized how a lot of its themes with legacy overlap with MHA's own. So I decided to give it a shot. Why is Deku a woman?
To quote the Ncko-Art blog. It is something uncommon in Shounen Manga, and I felt it would be interesting to explore the dynamics of a Deku that was a girl instead of a boy. However, the character is still very much the same in its roots. It's not a cosmetic change, but it's still the same character. And not, it isn't to make some lesbian yuri ship. I promise. So how does this setting work?
The settings are fused. I am still writing over important details and others will appear thorough the story. But I don't want to make it an infodump either. So I'll have to be careful. This sucks.
Probably.
None of the art or music in this story is owned in any means by me. The characters used belong to their respective owners. As for the art, in order of apparition:
Beaten Black Cat: Image taken from Venom (2018) Annual #1
Red Goblin: Red Goblin: Red Death #1 cover.
Young All Might: @jk_amlove on Twitter
Beaten Spider-Man: Art by Mcnivenart
Middle School Fem Deku: Art by PEB99 on Deviantart
Several art later on and the idea of a girl Deku is also on Ncko-Art on Tumblr. So I take the chance to credit them already.
In young May Parker's short life, she had barely been able to experiment much of the world. She was still a child; Small, weak, puny and defenseless. Marveled to the wonders of the world, and unaware of its horrors. Her parents always protected her, their friends always saved the day. - They told her there was nothing to fear in this world. They would always protect her from its evils.
But right now, she didn't believe so. In fact, in her childish mind, she couldn't understand anything but that simple emotion: terror. And everything around it would become her own personal image of that terror for years to come. The destroyed buildings and streets, the people running away in fear and panic. The fire, the rubble, the cracks. It would all become ingrained in her mind about this moment. As she cried with all of her might until her throat could take no more, and call for her mother and father to help her. Even if she already saw them suffer.
But above everything, what she would still remember for years to come was that face.
The face of death. The Red Death.
"HAHAHAHAHA! What is it? Crying for your daddy...?!"
May herself remained paralyzed. As she saw the monstrous red figure, wearing fire as some sort of cape, approach her in a slow and torturous way. Growing bigger and bigger in her impressionable eyes as she could only fall down on her rear and crawl away. The monster played with her as if feeding on her panic. May remembered that face, that smell of sulfur and brimstone as the smell of death itself. Because in that small window of her life, she felt like she was going die. Barely aware enough of the world, and yet sure enough that this monster was going to take her from it.
"Don't be scared, little girl. I'll promise it will be quick...Once I had--" The crazed red monster exclaimed again, in an echoing voice that made her bones shake. Yet, he suddenly stopped, his eyes opening wide for a few seconds as he looked down at his own body in some sort of confused expression."...Heart...Failure? That's a lotta...Bad luck..."
"Get...Away...From her..." The pained voice threatened weakly. It was a woman, May knew, it was her mother. Turning rapidly to look at her. Bloodied, bruised, beaten. Felicia Parker, known as Black Cat, could barely kneel on her spot, and her mind felt about to crack when she overextended her powers so much, and even then it was for naught. The heart failure was almost instantly negated by the Symbiote, who forced Norman Osborn's heart to start beating again.
May cried for her mother to no effect. The monster now turned towards Felicia instead. "Well, if you insist...~!" He laughed again and even went to jump forward, having eschewed his former glider to get truly personal with his kills. Felicia was paralyzed by the pain and was just moments away from being on the receiving end of the red claws, were it not for a kick that caught Norman's face, seconds before it reached May's mother.
The Red Goblin was kicked to the ground away, but no damage was done. As he turned to look back at his attacker, he let out another crazed, amused laugh. "Still standing, Parker...?"
There were no quips, no jokes, no safety or reassurance. Her father simply charged savagely to fight his enemy, like a cornered animal knowing his death was close. Peter Parker swung and punched him so hard even May could feel the ground shake and her body trembled of how hard the tremor was. Never before did he cut so loose with someone, but the monster was nonetheless mostly impervious. Even if it was injured, those bruises, those traumas in its red, almost flesh-like, skin healed moments after. Her father only grew more tired, and the monster continued to strike back. Even a child like her could realize he wasn't going to win like that. He needed his friends, but there was none to be had. The Red Goblin attacked when only a few of them were around. She saw the man who wore a costume similar to her father's get beaten. That black monster being defeated. That flaming man, Uncle Johnny, and even Uncle Ben. He beat them all. Only years later would she realize the kind of ambush he trapped them in, but right now, she felt alone. Defenseless.
Fortunately, she closed her eyes. She didn't need nor wanted to see how the fight went. Even if she could hear and outright feel the punches and kicks the two rivals shared against each other. But eventually, the inevitable happened. This thing, this 'Red Goblin' dispatched her father after hitting him hard enough to send him to a nearby building, only to trap him by using the red webbing made from its own biomass. Finally turning to look at the terrified May, who could simply not move away. Her legs did not react.
"Oh, Parker.- You have no idea how much I've been wanting to do THIS! TO DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU LOVE IN FRONT OF YOU! BEHOLD! NORMAN OSBORN. VICTORIOUS!"
May trembled, even a kid like her could realize the sheer insanity this thing was made of. Yet, she could do nothing but crawl away in the middle of the broken street still, as the Red Goblin continues to approach. His jagged maw opening slowly. Would he eat her? She didn't know. The terror didn't let her think. The terror didn't let her do anything. The only thing she could ask, in her head, was for someone to save her: Her mother, her father. Anyone. But her mother was down, her father was tied. Nobody could save her.
And then...
She did not react, at least at first, to the sudden turn of events. It happened so fast she could not react to it, and even Peter, who was suddenly free of his bindings, was barely able to keep up with it by sight alone. The Red Goblin was blown away by a single but sure hit that made him roll and crash several streets away until he extended crimson tentacles from his back to stop the momentum. May was only able to see that because afterward she was put down gently by strong, caring arms. And that was her moment her memory shifted every time she recalled the event...Because it was no longer about terror. It was about hope
May could only stare, completely awestruck, at this unknown, massive blonde man that now stood over here with a confident pose and a reassuring smile. There was something different about him, something she didn't see before. Maybe it was the way he spoke, the way he reassured her and proclaimed. He didn't boast that line, he didn't fake it. He promised her. Everything would be fine. And she only shrank in her spot, overwhelmed.
But she truly believed those words. A smile shyly drawing on her face moments after.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!!"
The thunderous, completely enraged voice of the unholy symbiosis demanded to know. The Red Goblin made his way back to the street after making a large leap that cracked the ground underneath him. He was furious, hysterical even. Breathing fire out of his hellish mouth like a rabid animal. He could not believe what just happened, he never accounted for it. Clearly, his mind was growing sloppy.
The unknown man turned, with that confident aura, and answered without even an inch of fear in his voice.
"Me? I am just a hero from Japan who was passing by this street. You can call me - All Might!"
"YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT BACK!" The red monster roared, it scared May once more. Sharp-edged tentacles grew from the back of that being, with his claws growing sharper as well and more fire being released. He truly looked deranged, out of his own mind. - If there was anything in that mind aside from broken madness, that is. It still terrorized the young girl, yet, the presence of the hero in front of her calmed her. All Might gently lowered his right arm, putting it between her and the monster. He protected her, and it was the first time a hero did that for her.
"Stay back, young lady! And don't worry anymore. You are safe now!"
All Might smiled at her once more, leaving her bewildered by that same aura. She was only able to nod to him again before his expression turns more serious, even if he kept smiling. He never stopped smiling, even as he started to run.
But he ran faster than anyone she had seen run before. Her brown hair waved harshly, part of her clothes waved too. But she was thankfully not blown away by the wind in his wake. In the single second that took her to blink, he was already in front of the Red Goblin, and he threw another punch. This time, an uppercut that strikes directly into the monster's jaw, so hard once more that the windows of the store buildings around them break at that exact moment from the fist's impact. It was massive, but there were few people around. Only May, who saw from away as the two figures dueling against each other. The color of her skin returned, and her heart beat once more. Even if she continued to shake. The sight of that hero made her feel a burst of emotion that she didn't quite understand at the moment: Hope.
"May!!" Peter yelled he ran to her side, grabbing the young girl and hugging her tightly. She could feel his breaths coming out heavily due to exhaustion and injuries. Felicia also ran to their side, having woke up moments before. The trio just hugged each other for a brief moment, almost in complete disbelief that they survived that encounter, even though it was not finished. May's parents murmured between each other, but whatever they said was something she would not remember. She didn't pay attention to it. She just hugged them and watched the massive fight going above the building. There was a maniac, demonic laughter that contrasted with the boisterous and reassuring one. She would never forget either of them.
"I have to go." Her father told Felicia, as he passed May to her, his gaze upon the battle that was raging high above them. He adjusted his mask, if only for show.
"Do you know that guy?" Felicia then asked, staring up with May in her arms. A confused but relieved look passed over her face.
"Hell, I wish," Peter commented and used his web to swing away rapidly, forcing himself to reach a nearby building and running over to the battle. Approaching the fight that was now taken to the rooftops of the buildings. Even then, they could still see and feel the shock waves of it. Felicia and May were left behind, but she could not nor she did she want to take part in that fight either. She knew her limits, and someone had to take May to safety. Turning away, she started to run off with the girl on her arms, huffing tiredly under her breath.
"It will be fine, sweetheart. I promise you." Black Cat murmurs, trying to comfort the girl who she expected to be panicking again. But she seemed surprisingly calm, still watching the fight before hugging her mother tightly and murmur.
"I know." May's voice was also weak. Raspy due to the constant crying. Yet, even if the vestiges of fear and uncertainty were still there, there was something that reassured her nonetheless. Something she could cling to. "It will be fine. He's here."
She didn't doubt those words ever since.
May makes her way back at home. -Her new home, better said. - With a smile on her face that nothing could shake off. Her right arm still held her basketball as she was coming back from the gym after a long evening of practice. Sports were one of the few things that allowed her to take her mind off of the pressures and excitement of her otherwise eventful life, but now she could not do that. Her other hand was holding the application paper that she just received from the mail, it was a notification of her acceptance in the first cut to the Entrance Exams.
The U.A Entrance Exam was in 10 months. They let her know to prepare.
How could she not be excited? She has been chasing that dream for longer than she has imagined, even if it was a hard one to follow. - Japan was certainly different than her home back in the States, and the requirements to enter as part of their exchange programs were not easy to pass. But May raced through them with a skill that surprised her peers. Her determination to get there was more than evident, and she aimed for it since a very young age.
"That's where All Might studied? Then I want to go there, too!"
She recalled that childish promise once she entered the elevator. Her parents probably thought she was just exaggerating, but it was far from it. With her grades? She could have gone to other prominant schools, too. With the rise of superhuman abilities around the world, many started to follow the success of the Japanese model to install order in society. May recalled her parents talking about those older times when things people called 'Quirks' were just dangerous Mutations. It was hard for her to believe. Just imagining the Xavier Institute as anything other than America's most advanced Hero School sounded like another world. But it wasn't truly that far away. She could have gone there if she wanted, but again, that was not her desire.
She wanted to be like him, like that man that saved her so long ago. His smile still gave her the same sense of safety today as it did that many years ago. She continued to think about it, walking towards the entrance of her new apartment, the one she shared with her parents.
May gave the door in front of her a few knocks before it was opened by an equally excited Felicia, who could knew about the letter and could tell the result just by looking at May. She reached for her mother and hug her tightly, completely unable to hide her emotion over the opportunity, she exclaimed. "It's almost there! Only ten months! Oh God, where is dad? I can't wait to tell him!" May let go of her mom and began to look about in search for her father.
Felicia just smiles, gently caressing the brown hair of her daughter while shaking her head. "He is still working. You know how he is; he really wants to get familiar with the city.Though, to be honest, it's barely different from what I remember." She says with a chuckle, apparently remembering something with nostalgia. May laughs at that as well, making her way through the living room towards a nearby window.
The tall view of the Japanese city of Musutafu extends in front of the two women. The city itself is nearby Tokyo, a place that May knows her mother is rather familiar of, but she wanted to move here in advance, knowing that the prestigious Hero Course of the U.A is taken here.
She is just that confident, and of course, her mother couldn't deny that request, although her father had to make some preparations to leave people looking over their things back at New York. At least she has been able to adapt quite well.
"Please don't tell him! I want to be the one to tell him myself. Oh, the paper says that they have a Practical Exam, too. He'll have to take some time to help me practice a bit! I read it tests the capabilities of a Hero in the field, so…Probably beating up bad guys, right?" May said, giving her mother a knowing and confident grin while she walks next to her.
Felicia could see the hopeful, excited beaming in May's eyes, as she stared down without being able to hide it much. How could she not? She has been hoping for this opportunity for a long time, and now it was in front of her, within her grasp.
"You know? I know dad was sometimes a bit iffy about the application.- Sure, I guess he was just worried…But, I am really happy you did this for me." May confesses, a bit overwhelmed by the emotion. Turning to look back at her mother, who once again just smiled back
"You worked really hard, and wanted it more than anyone." Felicia says. "And you wanted the best, so you get the best.- That's how it works, remember."
May's smile only grows and she turns back to her mother, wrapping her arms around her for another warm embrace that is easily returned. The girl whispers, calmly laying her face on her mom's chest with a hopeful tone as she asks. "Do you think...?"
"Are you really going to ask that? May, come on..." The platinum-haired woman responds, with her nails massaging the scalp of her daughter.
Izumi Midoriya was never a strong girl. Never has been, for as long as she could recall.
It wasn't only because of her status as Quirkless, but also because of how unassuming she was, how timid she could come across at times, insecure even. Maybe that was a result of her Quirklessness, though, for she recalls her mother still talking about how enthusiastic she was in her even younger days, how much more energy she had in the days before her Quirk test came, hoping to be just like her heroes.
But that wasn't what happened. She lacked that 'something.' That little 'gene' as they called that everyone else seemed to have, that made most of them special. She was just a small girl, slender, with a soft face and large, unkempt green locks that she at times used to hide herself. Not so different from how she would grow up to be, but maybe even more fragile.
And so, she sat alone while the other kids played in the park. They offered to let her play, but she never wanted to. – They only ever let her play as the victim when it came to Heroes and Villains, and usually laughed when she asked to be a Hero instead. So she just sat, and read whatever comic she had in her bag that day, for it was the closest she could get to it. She always brought one of All Might and some other Hero…That day, it was about an American Hero, and his name was Spider-Man. It was not the first time she read about him.
Reading about those heroes gave her a small escape, a little illusion of her own. Each of them was stronger than their powers, willful of their actions, and always tried to do what's best, and she wanted to be like them. But even someone as small, as young and naïve as her, deep down, could understand what the world was trying to tell her even back then.
The World's Strangest Hero, said the header of the comic in her hands. The story was about a man with a great power that decided that it was his responsibility to help others. She liked it, but the more she thought about it, the sadder her realization. Even if her more rational self knew the improbability of it, and even at such a tender age she realized that it was probably fantasy, she still could not do anything but watch those stories with amazement, even more so than her friends and family. – She loved heroes more than anything.
"H-Hey! Wait a m-minute, Katsuki! Haha, I can expla---"
"Don't you ever shut up?"
The sound of a small explosion following that brief exchange got her attention, and she now looks up to the scene in front of her; Katsuki Bakugou, the blonde friend she made back at their school, but that now didn't do as much as to occasionally scowl and rolls his eyes at her once her condition as Quirkless came out, and a few more of his friends, they cornered another boy in the park using their Quirks – And she had seen similar scenes with Katsuki to be aware that they wanted to pick a fight.
"Thought you could play a few pranks on us to make yourself look cool, huh? Now you wanted to play? Come on!" Another laugh, and Katsuki used his Quirk again on the boy to blow a small explosion that pushed him away and scared him – But little else. She could briefly recall just how angry Bakugou got when someone was making fun of him back at school…Even then; the boy was already bruised, and crying due to it. Katsuki was sometimes bent on teaching people a lesson.
It made Izumi take a pause and watch for a few moments. She could just stare and do nothing, as many people started to do after Bakugou got his Quirk. She knew that they would not even mention it to her, but the more she stared, the more frustrated she became, as the three boys continued to push and laugh at him.
Her eyes fall down to stare at the comics in her lap once more, and after a brief second, she takes a deep breath and saves them in her yellow bag before hitching it to her bag. Midoriya walks towards them, though her nerves were already getting to her, as she was visibly shaken, her hands holding down her dress just so she could hold something.
"Hey! What is it? You don't seem so brave now, haha! Isn't this fun---" Katsuki continued, though before he could push the boy back down with another small-sized explosion, Izumi finally managed to get in his way and shove him away, much to the surprise of both him, his friends, and even the boy.
"What the…" Bakugou was speechless.
"T-That's…Enough." Izumi said, though her voice cracked a bit midway through, and she stared down for a few moments to hide the fact her cheeks were ignited in red. "You d-don't…Y-you shouldn't…Hurt him, K-Kacchan…"
Izumi's eyes finally stare up again, to look at the trio of boys who all sported clearly confused expressions. They weren't as offended as much as they were just shocked that she just did that, even Kacchan himself, who looks at her still for a few seconds.
"Kacchan? Haha! Don't tell me that's what she—"The winged friend that accompanied Katsuki is suddenly cut short by the angry bickering of the blonde boy.
"Shut up." Bakugou's red eyes turn at him for just a second, but that sharp expression was enough to silence him before turning back to the still shaken Izumi. Yet, his expression shifts back into an amused grin. "So, Dek!. You got tired of playing victim with the other kids? Don't tell me you want to play Hero now, even if you don't have a Quirk!"
He laughed, and so did the rest of his friends. Izumi's face contorts into a grimace of slight shame at being pointed out like that; her eyes fall down once again. But they keep the laughter for a few more seconds before the sound of Katsuki's steps catch her attention more, and by the time she looks up at him again, he is already in front of her.
"I'm teaching him a lesson, so move." His voice, will still mocking, also carried a firm tone of command. She knew he wouldn't take no for an answer, he never took one, and yet…
"…No." Izumi stares at him still, and once more Katsuki's reaction is one of momentary shock. "He's…A-Already crying. Can't y-you see? You are just…P-Picking on him…" Her voice cracked thorough the sentence, and her face keeps that same fearful expression. But she nevertheless remains in her place. "Just leave him alone..!"
Another pause, Katsuki and his group of friends are merely confused by that display, but soon enough Bakugou chuckles again, albeit briefly, and then looks back at her with a large grin. "Fine, then." He opens his palm at her, and with little hesitation, he points at her with it.
Izumi freezes and she just watches the small sparks appear in there, a brief omen of the use of his Quirk – And yet, she still clenches her fists and remains in her place, fully aware of his intention. She gulps, but then --
"Hey, Katsuki! You are not actually planning to blow her away, are you?" One of his friends interjects. "Sure, she's stupid. But she's till just a girl! We are gonna get into trouble for hitting one…"
'Just a little girl.' Those words made Izumi's teeth grit in frustration every time she heard them. She hated it, she hated to hear it. – It made her feel weak, like everyone saw her as even more fragile than she was.
"…" Bakugou did not respond, at least not at first. He just keeps that same hand in front of her as a constant threat, as a way to keep her on edge although he eventually just pulls it away and scowls. "Pfft, fine." For the first time since she knows him, he made a concession, something that surprised both his friends and Izumi herself. But that did not calm the girl, who remains on her spot, shaking out of anxiousness and fear. "Just move away, got it? I don't care for a stupid girl anyways. Go and play the victim with someone else!" The frustration was evident in his tone. He was already bothered by this.
But Izumi did not move, instead, she just shakes her head several times while still looking down and, fighting the knot in her throat, she blurts out. "If you have a great power…"
"…?"
"Then y-you…Should be responsible with it." The girl repeated those words, quickly recalling them from what she just read. Her scared eyes stare back at Katsuki's own red eyes, and she could notice that, for some reason, those words really bothered him.
"…I don't get lectured by Quirkless girls." He finally snaps, and without warning, he shoves her straight into the ground in a single push, throwing away her yellow bag in the process. – He probably did not expect her to fall down so easily, or so harshly, but he didn't seem to regret it too much either. Izumi fell on the ground of the park almost instantly, and her already tearful eyes turn up at him again, even his own friends were briefly surprised by that outburst.
"You don't get to lecture me! I have a power, and you don't. Get it? I'm done here!" Izumi, still shaky and on the ground, watches him just storm off while grumbling to himself. He could have done more, in fact, she saw him beat down boys even older than him. The only reason he didn't do the same for her was because of who she was.
Just a little girl.
Izumi looks down for a moment, it made her pout and shake her head again. He could just see it in his eyes, how low he looked at her from that brief exchange, the complete difference between them, but her focus rapidly shifts to look at the bruised boy behind her, even forgetting for a moment about her bag and the comics that fell on the ground from it. She tried to help him, crawling to his side and offering a hand, but he just responded with anger.
"Who told you t-to help me!?" He responds, still shaken by it all. Izumi's surprise and alarm only grows when he slaps her hand away. "I don't need help from a Quirkless girl! Now they are gonna laugh at me because of you! Argh…" The boy grunts and huffs, getting back on his feet by himself and giving Izumi an angry scowl before he storms off, just like Katsuki, leaving her alone in the park once again.
It wasn't the first time something like that happened, Izumi recalls as she sighs and remains sitting on the grass. Few boys really wanted help from a Quirkless girl, their friends would just mock them for it, and even the other girls thought she was looking down on them at times, and yet, she kept doing this.
Her sad, green eyes watch down at her dirt-stained dress for a few moments more, almost not wanting to get up after that, but she has to. Izumi slowly stands up with a deep breath, and she turns around to see her bag and some of the comics she brought with herself thrown around, under the shadow of the large tree she was beside. Still alone, for her mother still hasn't returned, she walks to grab her belongings.
The first one she grabbed, aside from the bag of course, were her own comics of All Might. Not many people wanted to read comics when they could just see the real thing on the street, but she was different, she could never get enough of them. The smile returned to her face when she saw the drawn image of her idol in the cover.
Why couldn't she be like that, someone strong that could protect others?
Another sigh and she then walks to grab the other ones that fell down, the one with that American Hero, Spider-Man, and she recalls briefly the words that she threw at Kacchan in the heat of the moment.
"With great power, comes great responsibility…" She murmured to herself, as she watched the backside of the comic. Those words resonated to her, albeit she couldn't quite pinpoint why, at least back then.
She didn't really like spiders, but she still smiled and saved the comic back into her yellow bag, before walking back to the bench she sat at the beginning, and wait for her mother to come, murmuring to herself along the way.
"I may not have a great power…But…If I can do something, if I can help others…Then I should."
Peter made his way to his home by crawling to a nearby window, truly, he had no reason to actually do so. He could go right through the door with no particular fear of anyone 'noticing' he was Spider-Man anymore. Those days were long past now, but old habits die hard. And Felicia always insisted on entering this way, it helped to the thrill or so he guessed. He didn't mind much either, he was used to it.
"Well, that took a while." He said as he entered the apartment.
"I know. But it was a lot of fun! I almost feel bad for that guy. Maybe he thought that because he could make himself a few stores tall he was a big deal? Police said he had broken out a few times." Felicia commented as well, making her way into the apartment from the window after Peter entered. The first thing she did was to set her white hair free and take off her mask, just as Peter was also taking off his.
"He probably didn't expect Spider-Man to come around and beat him up." She had a wide grin, still amused at the memory of the criminal outright perplexed by the sudden appearance of the famous hero.
"You are making it sound as if I was picking on him, you know? He tried to assault several officers!" Peter retorts, an equally amused grin on his face. Long had passed the days of young Peter Parker, the teenage hero. He was now already a grown man, and the signs of age already showed. His hair was a bit longer than usual, and his sizable, trimmed beard covered his chin gracefully. His facial features were stronger and more defined too. Even his brown eyes carried themselves differently, years of experience weighing on them. His suit had also adapted as he came to add even more and more technology and support items on it as time passed. But to Felicia, he had barely changed. - Or at least, the years actually did him good. She always questioned herself if it was another super-power. Not that she would complain about that one.
"Calm there, hero. I am not judging, you know? People really liked you out there. It seems you already have a growing fan base." Felicia comments as she sets off her long, platinum hair from its ponytail to now make it wave wildly around her shoulders and make her way inside. The living room of the department was unusually quiet, however, as the two soon noticed. "Huh, awfully quiet, right? Normally May would have left a mess on the kitchen by now. Do you think she isn't here yet?"
Peter crosses his arms, furrowing a brow in response. "No, it's late. Did you tell---"
BAM!
The loud sound of something solid falling down on a nearby room made the couple stop and stand still for a second, just before the two of them rapidly rush to the hallway that connects the rooms of the apartment. They could both recognize where it came from, and Peter swung open the door to May's room in one swift motion, with Felicia still behind him. Their two honed parental senses were on alert as he asks almost instantly after opening the door. "May! Are you al--"
Peter just stares silently. Though Felicia behind him has to hide her own smile with her hand.
"Sorry..." May murmurs, her face hanging upside down and sporting an awkward smile on her face. Her short, brown hair also hanging down on the spot. Though the most obvious thing that both her parents noticed was her newly made suit, and the web-shooters on her wrists. The probable cause of her current situation and that of her room: Which was now practically one massive cobweb all over things, including her own stuff. She was especially worried about her drums, which almost looked broken due to the amount of webbing on it.
The girl could only stare at her father silently, who makes a few gestures of disbelief and then turns to look back at the still grinning Felicia, who returns the stare. "You sewed her suit already?"
"Hey. She was really insistent." Felicia shrugs, still keeping that knowing and smug grin. "...No idea where the shooters came from, though."
"They are from your old suit." May comments, still rotating on the web.
Peter just sighs and caresses his temples, shaking his head a few times but without knowing what to even say at that. Felicia took a few steps forward and rapidly unsheathes the claws from her gloves, using them to cut the webs around May, who falls on her father's waiting arms before he sets her down on the ground. "Can I ask why you are even awake, instead of sleeping to prepare for the exam?" Peter asks, once again crossing his arms while Felicia is taking care of the webs around, cutting and cleaning.
May chuckles nervously at that question, looking then at the web-shooters which seem to be blocked on its own web, which seems to be the reason why they stopped in the first place. She tinkers them almost like a nervous tick while answering to her father's question, eyes going between him and the equipment. "Well, I...Thought about practicing a bit? You know, huh, for when I get in! I was thinking about how to make those web-shooters into something useful. I really...Want to use them."
Peter sighs again, kneeling down to her. He helps to undo the web-shooters and realizes what she was, in fact, doing: Trying to modify them to help her make her own webbing take new forms that her wrists could not give them. "Wow." He could only murmur, it was not a bad idea. Considering she didn't need them, unlike him, After all, her webbing was natural. The wonders of evolution, Peter liked to think. Children surpassing parents and all of that.
Some people called it the Quirk Singularity, but he thought that was silly.
"Okay, I give you points for the smart attempt. But I take them off because of the suit. I mean, what is that? You look like your uncle Ben!" Peter's gaze now turns to Felicia, who seems to be already bothered about undoing the webs. Ben Reily, it was a rather complicate story now that he starts to reflect on it, his clone-now turned brother and who was now filling in for him back at New York, he had to leave many things incomplete to take his family to Japan, but at least he was there for the City. More importantly, May loves him.
"Really? You choose his suit over mine?"
"I didn't. It was her idea." Felicia responds, not even turning back as she points to May. "I just sewed the design she gave me."
"Wow, thanks for the save, Mom." May huffs, shaking off the literal webs around her, her eyes once more turning to her father. "Well, I can't copy everything from you, right? Besides, uncle Ben made me promise I would wear his suit. I think it looks kinda cool, what do you think?" The teenage girl grins once more, her excitement obvious in her gestures and her large grin, opening her arms to show him the suit in full detail.
"I think it's time you get to sleep and save that suit. I told you, you are not going with it." Peter moves to stand up again, Felicia had already cut most of the webs by now, though the room was still a mess. It would have to do for now, as it was still quite late. "Even if it looks cool? A lot of people there can't cost their own costumes until they enter School. It is only fair for them, too." May grimaces a bit at that, bummed down due to the news...But her father was firm on that.
He wanted her to earn it like everyone else. No advantages because she was the daughter of Spider-Man.
"Alright, alright. I get it." May finally responds and flops her arms, surrendering at the requests of her parents. With Felicia making her way out to join Peter, but not before winking at her in a complicit manner and murmur. "Not like she needs them." Felicia then proceeds to walk out on the way to their room, while Peter gives May a last stern glance. "And...You know, good luck with the exam."
He smiled gently at her, before walking off while closing the door behind him.
May was then left alone, rolling her eyes for a moment before she throws herself to the bed, still feeling some of the webbing over it, frowning as she passes her hand over it. She ends up resting her head against the pillow, not even taking the time to take off the suit. Truth be told, she really liked it. Though her mind wandered back to the incoming test. She was nervous and only tried to distract herself from it.
It was the chance of her life, after all, she could not waste it.
With a deep sigh, she closes her eyes.
"Sleep well, dear!" The middle-aged, short woman says from the door as she closes the door of her daughter's room.
Izumi Midoriya just smiles and waves to her a goodbye, sitting on her bed. Yet her eyes proceed to wander around her room idly afterwards until she stops at a mirror nearby. These last ten months had made a lot to change her psyche from the scrawny, slim girl that she was before into something more apt for physical activity. Her build was significantly more athletic and lean, though she can't help but smile a bit, even with that newfound strength, her face's factions were still quite soft, and she would never take the time to fix or comb her green locks much, at least she cut it back to a more manageable size.
She has said nothing, despite her habit of mumbling even alone. But she still wiggles and shakes somewhat nervously on her bed. Taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to relax. Even now her nerves were dragging her down, and even when her eyes continue to stare around the posters of All Might all around her room, she continues to feel that sense of anxiousness. Fidgeting with her hands held together before huffing.
"You too can become a hero!"
All Might's words still ring in her head as much as they did through all those 10 months that passed. Her body had grown stronger than she ever expected it to be, but her mind still could not stop worrying. She had a Quirk, but she never used it. And even with her training, it may not be enough. After all these people probably had prepared just as much as she did, they would have better control, more knowledge and--
"I'm not going to disappoint All Might!" She now murmurs, clenching her fists while taking a deep breath. The endless train of anxious thoughts finally stop rambling in her mind, but Izumi knew better, she could not allow herself to feel down already, not just yet. Fighting off those thoughts whenever they tried to creep back to her mind, she decides upon sleeping at last. Moving to stand up and make her way to her wardrobe to get into her nightclothes and prepare. Of course, they were All Might themed. She almost felt a bit silly at times always choosing his merchandise, but it eased her in times like these.
She jumps back into her bed, laying there idly with her face still staring at the wall for a few minutes in the lonely wait for sleep to claim her over, though, in the solitude of her room it was inevitable she would think about it, even if she already felt the tiredness caught up with her.
"What can a weak little girl like you do to become a hero?" She asked herself quietly. It was always a question that she asked herself. Because of her not having any gifts, not being special, but just being… normal.
Izumi grasped at the pillow even harsher, even if her eyes were already closing. She will show them; her mother, All Might, even Kacchan. That she can do it. She was not angry at their lack of faith or despised them for it. She was just sad, and disappointed. In herself, more than in them. But now she had the tools to change that, she had the chance.
She will show them, she reminds herself, as her eyes start to close even further until her sight is completely engulfed by the blackness of sleep. She continues to mumble about it, even in her sleep.
It was there, the massive doors and its blue fence that showcased the golden symbol of 'U.A'. The most prestigious Hero School in all of Japan. Its entry rate was ridiculously low, and only the most elite of students both native and abroad could ever hope to enter its halls as students. But they promised to take the students and make them into the next generation of Heroes. Few other schools with Hero Courses could compare with it; The Xavier Institute, the Von Doom Institute, and in the region only the Atlas Pan-Asian School for the Gifted was the true competator. She could have aspired to several of them, maybe it would have been easier even. But she knew what she wanted. She knew her dream.
To be like the hero that saved her so long ago.
The girl rolled her shoulder a bit while holding her brown bag on that same shoulder, taking the first step towards her future while--
Peter keeps his arms crossed as he remained a few steps away from the entrance, knowing he was not allowed to enter though he was still close enough to see and hear May. It was not only embarrassing but quite noticeable the fact that her father was a superhero since he was wearing his costume. And not exactly an unknown one, as several of the students as well as some passerby pointed and murmured about him. While Peter kept his mask on, May could swear that he was doing it on purpose.
"No, dad." She finally says, turning to look at him with a small smile, a far cry of her confident one, minutes before. She didn't even realize he had not left.
"Take care, then! And be careful, call us when you are done." Spider-man gave her a thumbs up and waves to the people around that kept staring. "Good luck, kids. Your friendly foreign neighborhood Spider-Man hopes you the best!" He said in Japanese now, though he had a thick American accent that was obvious to spot. Some people gasps surprised as if they didn't expect him to know before he swings away and leaves May to fully enter now. The girl attempts to scurry away before someone recognizes her, or tries to ask her about him. It got a bit boring back in America. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy.
"No. WAY." Someone finally caught up with her, it was a man which she realized from the voice. May rapidly turns to look next to her, as he was already beside her with his jaw about to hit the ground out of the impression. He was tall, though he had long and disheveled black hair and a distinctive, strangely shaped elbows. They seemed to hold some...Tape? May blinks, though her eyes turn to look up at him again. She wanted to answer, but before she could he spoke again.
"That was Spider-Man! And he was talking to you! How do you know...? Oh, Oh-ho...Wait a minute..." The young man figured it out rather quickly, not that she tried to keep it a secret. But still. "You are his daughter?!"
"There goes the secret identity." May laughs at that at last, walking alongside him on their way to the school. She didn't really mind anyway. "Yeah. My name is May, who are you?" The American girl responded, quite obviously not very acquainted with the customs of the region. But she at least defended herself more than well with the tongue, Japanese rolled easily on her tongue.
"Hanta Sero. I...Wow, I mean." He even forgot to properly introduce himself, too, still taken aback by the display beforehand. "Your father's a great hero, you know? He is my favorite of the American ones! And let me tell you, I got some of his moves too." He now smirked in a cocky yet goofy manner. May just laughs at that softly before answering. "You don't say..."
He probably didn't realize she did too.
"But, huh, quite weird to see you, people, around, right? I am sure you got a lot of---" Sero's word got cut mid-sentence as something caught his attention, as well as May's. The two of them turn to look back at the sudden, angry yelling of someone passing through people, shoving them aside.
"Stupid Deku, can't you get out of the way?!" The ash-blonde student yelled with exasperation, passing by a girl that was also close to the entrance before he makes his way towards both May and Sero, pushing them away while grumbling underneath his breath. "Extras..."
Sero was bewildered at that, staring at the boy to make his way forward. May frowned a bit, she was clearly annoyed but preferred to not bother with him, exclaiming while rolling her eyes. "Did he just call us extras? Talk about ego."
"He almost made that girl fall, too," Hanta comments while pointing back. The two teenagers now watch as well, only to realize that indeed. That average-sized, green-haired girl's face almost met the ground after the sudden shove, but she was now floating, helped by another, round-faced girl who kept her from falling. May stared and even debated for a moment about going or not, but she ended up walking towards them. Hanta accompanied her, even if only for inertia.
"Hey, are you okay? That was pretty rude on his part." May comments once she is close enough to the pair, giving them both a gentle and friendly smile before looking over the other girl. She carried herself so meekly she almost appeared lost.
But Midoriya was far from lost indeed, the sudden group just got her a bit more nervous and embarrassed about it. A faint blush appearing on her face while she scratches the back of her head. "M-Me? Ah, y-yes! I am fine. Sorry for making all of you worry...?" She gave them an apologetic smile, before bowing to them rapidly. "You shouldn't be so worried, I-I promise I am fine! Kacchan is just rude like that."
"Oh, so you know him?" The other girl asks rather surprised, tilting her head in an expressive, almost exaggerated pondering expression. "Hmm. Maybe he is just anxious about the test?"
"Maybe..." Izumi responds and then looks around, noticing most of the students had already entered. "O-Oh. We should hurry!" She held her bag with both hands now, rushing her way to the school. The round-faced girl also reacts the same way, rushing to enter too. May and Hanta just look at each other and shrug a bit, and while they speed up their steps, they don't sprint their way in. Though May felt her Spider-Sense go off briefly and turned back in response.
A boy rushed through the door, but he was somewhat darkened by his clothes and the hood he wore, which did not allow her to make up his full factions. She could only notice his odd gray skin.
"You are getting behind, Spider-Girl!" Hanta shouts with a snarky tone, grinning widely as he already took the lead. May returns her eyes to him and blinks, before rushing to his side again. Not giving it too much importance, only responding back to Hanta. "Hey, how did you discover my name already?!"
"Everybody say hey!"
Izumi's mouth opened, willing to do speak up even if lowly. But she was cut even before she could start by Bakugou, who murmured a simple. "Don't." The girl pouts a bit and looks away, but ends up not doing it.
So it's just silence.
The Pro Hero and Professor in charge of the exercise, Hizashi Yamada; more commonly known as Present Mic, just looks around with a tick on his left eye that was not being seen thanks to his glasses. Regardless, he composes himself and exclaims. "W-Well then. I guess I will just move to the explanation of the practical exam. Are you ready?!"
Again, no response. Except for the very low, almost imperceptible mumbling of the green-haired girl in one of the upper rows, as she seemed to swoon and gasp at everything the Pro Hero does. At least he had one fan, it seems.
The poor man tried to be as dignified as he could, now turning back to the center of the stage as he proceeded to explain the rules of the exercise as simple as they would be: Groups of students would be taken to a battle center specified in the Identification Cards given to each of them. Then they would race against the clock to win as many points as possible by destroying villains. It was simple enough, certainly. Even if the students were not even slightly engaged in the constant attempts of the Pro Hero to catch their attention. This wasn't a concert, after all, or so May thought to herself.
Regardless, the students now gave their cards a look, each of them memorizing where they would be in the battle centers. Midoriya and Bakugou both gave theirs a brief look only to realize they were in different ones, which was a relief for the green-haired girl. "Well, it seems we-"
"You'll still fail." Bakugou responded simply, turning to look back at her briefly and not offering more comments. Midoriya just grips tightly at the card but looks away.
"Hey, look! We are in the same one." Hanta murmurs, showing May his own card. They were both assigned to the Battle Center 'B.' She chuckles a bit. "What were the odds?"
"EXCUSE ME! I HAVE A QUESTION!"
The tall, blue-haired young man exclaims loudly enough that almost the whole place could hear him clearly. With his arm raised up, he stared sternly at the professor, who points at him and then thumbs up. "<Go ahead!>" He said, in English, probably because he just liked to be that boastful.
"In the instruction pamphlets, there are four types of Villains, not three! If this is a printing error, then it is a mistake we cannot tolerate!" Whoever this man with the squared-glasses was, he lost no time speaking and so he did. There was a certain aura of pride around him, though it was different from the egocentric, self-centered one someone like Bakugou showed. The young man continues then. "The U.A prides itself to be one of the lead Hero Schools in the whole world. How can they let this slip?! Also. You, the lady with unkempt hair!"
Izumi stares back at him and blinks a few times, leaning back in response to the accusatory finger pointed at her.
"Your behavior is shameful. You have been mumbling since you came here and do not act properly. If you think this is a vulgar field trip, then leave!"
Even Bakugou furrowed a brow at that, though he couldn't care less about some stuck-up extra. Midoriya said nothing, just mumbling underneath her breath. "I'm... sorry..."
May frowns, she had seen already two people pick up on that girl. Suddenly, she exclaims from her seat. "For someone complaining about her mumbling, you are louder than the guy with the Voice Quirk." She did not even try to hide the sassy tone behind those words even though she couldn't hide how american accented her japanese was.
"...?!" The young, blue-haired man turns to look at her, with his eyes open wide in surprise and bewilderment. The rest of the attendees followed suit, looking at the scene now with renewed interest and a few murmurs go through the hall.
"Did that girl just told him to shut it?"
"Hey, isn't she American?"
"Talk about disrespectful foreigners."
"You know how they are back there..."
"Excuse me. But who do you think you are to--"
"ENOUGH!"
Present Mic shouts out, the tension between the two students was obvious once May did not back off nor tried to shy away from staring back at the student with the glasses. The powerful voice of the Pro Hero cannot be ignored, however, and eventually, the two of them turn to look back at him and watch him glare a bit more sternly. "Ahem... as you asked, Examinee Number 7111? That fourth type of Villain is not a mistake. They are worth zero points and only work as obstacles. With that said, no more bickering with one another, both of you!"
The student with the glasses looks back and now lowers his head, bowing deeply in a sign of apology while speaking up once again. "Understood! I...I apologize for the disturbance...!" He was clearly ashamed and embarrassed about what happened, more so than what he was angry with the American girl for the retort. He just sits, and silence is made once more.
"Well. Since that's cleared? Get to your exams. Now!"
Once the time was up, the exams were taken from the students with as many answers as they managed to complete. But they didn't have much time to exchange results. For they soon got called to their respective Battle Centers for the next part of the entrance exams. With several of them going to the special bathrooms prepared for them to change clothes. Though the written exam was important, everyone knew this was the real deal. And the tension and nerves could be felt all around the groups.
Deku approached the entrance of the battle center among the last of her group. She had changed into her workout clothes and it was a surprising change, for she looked a bit too small and unassuming with her uniform on. Even then, she still kept that anxious stance and was clearly nervous, looking around trying to find some familiar faces. She found that round-faced girl a bit forward, and she also spotted that American student, who also changed clothes to something that looked like a basketball uniform. It made her tilt her head curiously, but she could not find it in her to approach her. Though, when she looked at her side she noticed the tall figure of the student with the glasses standing right next to her.
"Hmph" He appeared to be deep in thought, with his eyes sharply inquisitively watching May's movements. Yet he realized the girl with the green, messy hair beside him when she started to wave to him to catch his attention. "What is it? You know you shouldn't dis-"
"I...I just wanted to say that I am sorry for interrupting." Izumi says in response, bowing to him in a gesture that surprises him since he wasn't actually expecting her to mind.
"Do not worry. I apologize for being loud too." The blue-haired student responded. While he maintained that clear and stern tone, he tried to soften it up, showing he was indeed apologetic. Though, he couldn't shake off the friction with the other girl, staring at her every so often.
Deku just nodded in response. Her attention now returning to the gate to the Battle Center, designed to look like an urban area. She bounces on her spot a few times, as some kind of warm-up. But it was mostly just out of nervousness. This was it. It was her chance, her only chance to do it. And she could not fail. It was her dream...
"Time to start! Let's GO!"
The doors finally open, and a few aspirants take the lead while others just wait until the speakers' blast again.
"What are you waiting for? There are no countdowns in real fights!"
It was her dream, and she would seize the opportunity.
May's movements caught most of her companions and rivals by surprise. Even Hanta, who was literally beside her at the start of the exercise, could not entirely follow her up once the door opened. She jumped forward, and after making a gesture by pulling two middle fingers into her palms and the others out, she shot a thick strand of spider webs that attached to a nearby building, and she impulsed herself with the momentum of her charge, balancing above the head of most students as she makes her way further in. The agility that she sported was equally super-human, bouncing from buildings when they came too close, and even running in impossible angles.
He tried to follow her to the best of his abilities, using his own tape much as she did with her webs. Though his movements were not just quite as graceful as hers, and the fact that he could not just stick to walls made him look like an amateur in comparison. "...I guess she really wasn't kidding! She's got his moves!" Hanta murmurs under his breath. Spider-Man was an inspiration for him, and many of his own abilities he learned by mimicking him. But this girl was the real thing. He even frowns, landing a building to get some altitude and then he watches her swing by the place as she continues to shoot that webbing, but this time she used it to capture or stop the robots in their tracks, protecting the other students and keeping the enemies still for her to break down.
"Oh, man. She can do it without support gear?" Hanta scratched the back of his head. Now that was even worse, but he could not stand there just lamenting, with a big sigh, he now moves to leap down from the building, using his tape to control his fall and then to wrap it around some robotic villain duplicates – They were just vaguely humanoid machines, resistant enough to hits that only those with strong Quirks could smash them, but without much else going on, and their intelligence was so barebones that Sero easily trapped them, making them crash against each other. If anything else? He wasn't aiming for the top. He was just aiming to get it, and wouldn't get bummed down just because this girl wanted to ace it. Thumbing up to a fellow student he saved, he still can't help but think.
"And I told her I got his moves..." He felt kind of ashamed right now.
"DIE!"
Bakugou cleaned the whole street full of Villain robots with his two hands. His explosions were so big that they didn't even allow the other students to approach to try and seize some for themselves. It was on purpose and they knew it. He moved fast and covered a wide area, making sure no one but himself would get that many points. In fact, his explosions were so big and ample that at times they almost caught other students. Of course, he didn't actually aim for them...But neither did he care if they tried something smart.
He was there to win, that's everything in his mind. Victory, and right now everyone else was an obstacle in the path to his victory.
His pride was still hurt. People still remembered about the Sludge Villain incident, how he needed saving. How even a Quirkless girl had to come to his aid in spite of him being the one with the power, of him being the 'Hero.' It was something that never stopped to bother him through all those ten months that passed. But it didn't matter. He will show them all: Deku, All Might, this whole school. That he wins, he always wins. Because heroes always win.
He reminded himself of that, mumbling it under his breath, even though nobody could catch it due to the loud explosions going around all over, while he kept flying above their heads, moving faster than most of his rivals.
"That Bakugou boy sure is loud! And scary, jeez!" Present Mic commented, as he turned off his microphone and looked to the cameras all around the Battle Centers. As of right now, Katsuki Bakugou was leading the charts with exclusively Villain Points, which seemed to be ever-growing. It was already going around the twenty-eight so far. Which was a crazy count, he probably took almost all of the Villain Points on his Center. But in return, some of those around him got Rescue Points by just pushing people away from his explosions.
"He's reckless."Shota Aizawa, still sitting on his sleeping back on the ground comments, while drinking pre-made coffee to keep himself awake. He would have skipped his participation here, but he already skipped too many obligations in the year. Even then, his eyes continue to wander around as the group examines the prospects.
Snipe, all dressed up in his cowboy-inspired Hero Costume, lifts up his hat slightly and notices someone else on the screens too, commenting to the rest. "The American." He simply said, pointing at her score on the screen.
She was already in second place. With her Villain and Rescue evenly matched. Bakugou only barely surpassed her right now. That surprised a few of the Professors, but not many. They could read her name, of course, and they knew of her sheet.
"Well, isn't that quite the determined little girl? It's been a while since we had someone have such a performance. Of course, since she comes from such a background, we shouldn't be surprised." The R-Rated Hero, Midnight, comments with a laid back and cocky grin on her face. She seemed a bit amused, even proud of the girl's accomplishments. "Didn't you know her father, Toshinori?" The scantily-clad woman now turns to stare at the Symbol of Peace.
And there he was, standing like a...Scrawny, weakly mockery of his powerful and inspiring persona. But he did not want to leave all of his obligations just because he ran out of time. He stared as well, and his eyes didn't leave the monitors just yet. "Yeah...I remember her. She was there...In my first outing as the Symbol of Peace." The memories flooded back to him, it actually made him smile. Recalling that encounter, and now seeing just how deeply it influenced her. "Hah...Who would have said? Still...It makes me proud Parker's kid turned out like that."
"What about your...Pupil?" The chirping voice of the small creature caught All Might's attention. He saw Principal Nezu roll his chair from its spot to now turn at the standing All Might. The rodent-like head of the Quirked animal has a large grin permanently drawn on it, which gave him almost a mocking appearance. Fitting...Considering that with his intelligence, everyone else was practically children to him. "She hasn't garnered even a single point. I hope you are not regretting any decisions."
Toshinori stares down at the principal without a clear expression, yet, his eyes move up to look at the screens once more. Focused on the girl with the unkempt hair. She was so obviously behind everyone else that it was a fact she was done...Unless something happened. With his hands closed into fists, he only responds in a determined tone. "I trust in her."
"Let's see where that leads." Nezu responds, rolling his chair again.
And as the other Professors continued arguing about the exercise, something caught the attention of the otherwise disinterested Aizawa, his eyes settled in a particular monitor that was showing another student. Another one of the top 10, It was just briefly, and it was mostly his name. Another American? It seems the exchange program was doing very good this year. But that surname left him a strange taste in his mouth. "Brock, huh? Sounds familiar...I think?"
There seemed to be nothing she could do, nothing she could attempt to even her score. By now, most of the Villains had already been defeated. She was amongst the last to enter, and even if her physical condition was peak, she just couldn't do much against the Quirks of most of those around. She could not sneak up to even a single robot to deactivate them and win points, and the clock was still tickling. While she tried to remain calm at first, she was now so anxious that the drops of sweats fell all around her forehead until she cleaned them. "I'm going to lose...If I don't get points...I'm going to lose...!" She shouts under her breath, gritting her teeth in frustration.
And above the head of the green-haired girl, up in a nearby building was May. She was scanning around, trying to find any leftovers of the Villains to take care of them. Even if she knew that her score was more than enough to ace her entry to the school. Her wrists shake a little, however, she used a good deal of her webs...Which meant, she already felt just a bit weaker, her wrists already felt just somewhat shaky. But it was exactly what she feared.
She sighed heavily. "This is why I wanted to bring the web-shooters, Dad. No way you ca--" May stops when suddenly she feels an aching, stabbing pain on the back of her head. "Spider-Sense's tin--"
The massive robot lifted its hand rapidly, at a speed none of the presents thought it would.
The image of the girl jumping forward like a human bullet was then stopped on its tracks, swatted away by the hand while it was on its way to the head of the robot.
The girl didn't react, and she couldn't have done anything. But when she landed against the building? It was...Painful, and a failure. She was so close, May recognized the green-haired girl from before...Even if her body was so beaten up now. She failed the attack.
It wasn't just her, but everyone noticed. The massive, vaguely humanoid robot that was as tall as the building May herself was sitting on. It's painting reads 'Zero Points' as if it wasn't obvious by itself. No one truly expected it to be such a huge threat, as even its faintest movement made a huge fuzz and lifted a large cloud of dust on its wake. Its large, metallic arm suddenly swings about, destroying half of a nearby building from where Midoriya, the student with the glasses and many more were gathered. It was a stretch passage, with limited exits...
They ambushed them, literally.
May shakes her head and stands up, preparing herself to run away from the spot. The voice of the professor declared loudly that it was only two minutes before the test was over, and she was already resigned to her current score. And when she finally shots a web to swing away, her Spider-Sense tingles one last time, calling her forth to the place.
She turns, only to realize it by now, as she saw a small, lonely figure on the streets. Running straight for the robot.
"H-HELP!"
The brown, round-faced girl that a few hours before had helped her yelled, but in between the heavy sounds of the giant robot and the panicked yells of the rest of the students...Nobody realized she was there, nobody but a single person: Deku.
At first, Izumi just grits her teeth and attempted to leave, knowing it was futile to fight this thing. But hearing her call for her did not just catch her attention, it made something just click in her mind. It made the blood bump on her veins and made her turn to look back, for the girl was trapped. Maybe she could release herself? But as the looming figure casts its shadow above her, that thought soon vanishes...As does all thoughts in the once- Quirkless girl.
The sudden rush of adrenaline was enough to make her close the distance fast, but not fast enough to take the girl out of the rubble and leave.- That would be impossible, and so, she knew there was only one chance. Once she was close enough, she remembered the words her mentor told her...And the power came flowing through her. She jumped high into the air, her legs were instantly broken by the overload of power. But with the adrenaline, she didn't feel it. Not yet...Even if her eyes caught the moving hand of the robot. Which was...
It was going to catch her!
Yet, Midoriya suddenly noticed that it did not, and so did the rest of the students who watched the stunt in complete awe. The young student with the glasses was the first among them to show himself confused. But it happened, at the moment that Deku was running towards the robot, May had returned and used her webbing all around the right hand of the massive Zero-Pointer, with one hand holding the webbing while the other holds several other thick threads of web attached to a nearby building, working as an anchor. She returned, knowing and then seeing that girl run straight to save someone else. May could not topple that thing, but she gave Deku enough time to...
"SMAAAASH!"
In a single punch, the robot's head was completely pulverized by the punch, and it felt back due to the sheer power of the strike. May and the rest watched the scene still, but the American frowns, noticing she was not softening her fall. "She's...She's going to fall like that?!" May yells before she now runs from the building towards the falling, flapping figure of the girl. Only now she realized that those strikes broke almost all her limbs. What kind of power was that?!
May managed to tackle the falling girl mid-air and shoot another line of webbing to a building to swing around and slow their fall until she lands safely in the middle of the debris. The American girl's eyes now fell down on the almost unconscious, heavily injured Izumi, asking out loud. "Are you crazy?! What were you thinking?"
Midoriya did not answer, instead, she just turned to look aside and noticed how that girl from before already managed to free herself from the rubble, and rushed to look closer too.
That made her smile, and she closed her eyes peacefully then. Feeling at ease with passing out.
"Time's up!"
"So...You are saying...You met someone who was my fan? Huh, I mean..." Peter leans back to the counter of the kitchen while the mask of his Spider-Armor opens, he scratches his head. "Wow, and here I thought we could have a bit of a low profile here? At least they are not asking you for me to hand autographs like back at NY?"
"Not yet," Felicia adds, sitting on the table in the opposite chair to May. They picked her up personally and gave her a while to rest and clean herself. But honestly, the girl could barely contain telling them everything that happened. "Yeah. I think it's just a matter of time before he asks me for one. At least he gave me his number. See? I am already making friends." May explained with a large smile on her face.
"Didn't doubt you." Peter shrugs in response to that, though his gesture turns a bit more pondering for a few seconds before he sighs. "Hey, you spoke about this girl who broke her limbs...Is she alright? You saw that she would be?" He comments, curiously interested in it. Though May did not give it too much importance, simply responding. "Yeah, there was this medic girl who took care of her and healed her. But I heard her mumble while she was passed out...Seems like she didn't have any points? I kind of feel...Bad for her." With a grimace, she explains.
"Well, that's what happens sometimes." Black Cat shrugs too, leaning forward to the table. "You passed though, right? I heard the kids there saying you aced it and pointing and you. Hah!" While Felicia sports an incredibly proud smile, Peter just looks to the ceiling and comments.
"I hope they accepted her." The thought escaped his lips without even realizing it. That catches the attention of the two women, who blink at that comment.
"Really? I mean, she got zero points. I doubt she can make it even if she aced the written test and--"
"Why did you help her, Mayday?" Peter sharply asks, and it was clear that the question led somewhere. His daughter just stares for a few moments, as if collecting herself before answering. Felicia just lays back on the chair and watches.
"I helped her because it was the right thing to do. She needed help."
"That's the thing. When you have this kind of power? Sometimes it's not about the points, the fame or anything like that. It's about doing what's right, and helping others do it. You said she rushed to save another student, right?" Separating from the counter, at last, Peter makes his way and rests his hand on Mayday's shoulder, giving her a stern but wise gaze. The young heroine says nothing, just watching with closed lips. She expected a sermon, a monologue. But it was far from it, she only said those words and patted May's shoulder.
Izumi's eyes started to get watery already, watching the projection of the Symbol of Peace himself say those words.
"Call it lip service. But there is a time when lip service is needed!"
She started to sob already, with her hand passing through her face. She cried and cried well. The poor girl was even thankful it was just a projection rather than the real deal, she didn't want him to think she was a crybaby. But the emotions that coursed through her were more than what she could endure. As she hears him recount the points earned with a growing, accomplished smile on her freckled cheeks.
"Midoriya Izumi- 60 Points. Uraraka Ochaco - 45 Points. You both passed!"
"May Parker - 80 Points. Congratulations on attaining the first place!"
"I told you~" Felicia purrs bemusedly as her arms wrap around Mayday's shoulders, while the girl just stared with a simple smile. She was happy, there was nothing else to it. Just...Happiness, She did it. The first step...Into accomplishing her very own dream.
Her father gently placed his hand on her head, ruffling Mayday's short brown hair affectionately. "God, Ben is going to die when we tell him...Good job, May."
The youngest Parker just lets her shoulders fall at last as if she felt the weight of the world relieved.
"Allow me to welcome you...To your own Hero Academia!"
Black Cat: Carlos Vasseur
Peter Parker's facial: Spider-Verse (The original comic)
Spider-Amor MK4: Todd Nauck on Deviantart.
Mayday stuck: RickCelis on DeviantArt
Genderbend Midoriya: Original sketch by Kohei Horikoshi. I don't know who did the colors, though, so I would appreciate if someone knew and let me know!
Sero and Uraraka: Both pictures are from official artwork.
Ripped Deku: Feshnie on Deviantart
First chapter!
Not much to say. So far, still pretty constrained in the Stations of Canon. Tried doing some worldbuilding, but hopefully it won't feel reiterative. At the very least, I used this chapter to fix some stuff like the lack of descriptions for Deku, May and her parents. In retrospect, I think I really liked how this chapter turned out even if it was still restrained somewhat. i should have done a better job in regards to the final part of the exam however, because I feel it fell flat down the line. Still...
Peter almost jumps off his chair in the living room when he heard the loud and happy chirp come out of his daughter. No Spider-Sense can warm him of an enthusiastic, a bit overly-eager teen. His gaze turns to look at her, as she rushes out of the hallway where the rooms to the individual rooms are and stop once she reaches the living room. She was wearing her new, shiny and perfectly kept U.A uniform consisting of a white shirt underneath a grey, scholar jacket buttoned all the way up but the first few holes unbuttoned to show both the shirt and the big yet short red tie. On her lower body, she was wearing a greenish skirt which revealed most of her legs, though she used long socks all the way up to just below her knees along with brown shoes. She certainly looked impeccable regarding school etiquette.
...Or at least he thought so until he noticed she was wearing earphones while looking at him with a large grin.
"Are you sure they allow you those?" Peter was already dressed in his Spider-Man suit to take her there. Though he was a bit sleepy, his expression betrayed.
"Pfft. Why wouldn't they? It's not like I am going to use them in class."
Peter shrugged. "I don't know. Etiquette here is crazy. They have school on Saturdays and I got no honest idea of who you greet with a bow. Honestly, I am already missing NY."
"Well, you could let mom take me there unless she is-"
May's voice was interrupted by the sound of snoring coming from the hallway. Peter could not help but grin and roll his eyes, for he knew very well that would happen. He knew his wife, after all.
"She's a night kitty." He explains after Mayday turns to look back at him. "Come on, we should stop losing time anyway. You shouldn't be late to school on your first day.- Though God knows how many times I have been late on my other days..."
"Can't I just go alone?" May asks.
That made him stop on his tracks when after putting on his mask. He stood still for a few seconds. No, that was not gonna happen. Not at all.
"At this hour? I don't think so, you'll get there late." Peter tried to excuse it the best way he could, even if he saw his daughter was somewhat frustrated at that response. She probably wanted to practice her web-swinging on her way to school or some similar reason. But Peter was more than hell-bent, even if this was a place was full of heroes, he knew how easily one or two things could slip. And that one thing wouldn't be his daughter.
But it was a routine they already had since back at NY. Peter was just happy that Mayday didn't seem more than occasionally bothered by it, always ending up climbing to his back so they could jump out of a window and swing away. Just like this time. The city was different, the people around were more colorful than ever. But swinging around buildings held by a spider-web? That never changed for Peter, and neither did the sensation of it.
He could feel how much May enjoyed it, too. He didn't need to see her to know she was smiling. She always loved this stuff. The heroics and everything, the thrill, she was much like her mother.
He knew she loved it way more than he ever did. No doubt, she would be better at it.- Then again, he would have appreciated a Hero School back in his day.
No use reminiscing in the past however, he reminded himself. Just focusing on his way to the school while the inner system of the suit already traced a fast route there. Good thing he gave this thing a GPS with his Webware connection. At least he wouldn't get lost swinging here.
Mayday steps forward, her hands hiking her bag on her back while she stares up at the massive door in front of her once more. This was the second time she saw it, the entrance to the legendary Hero School.- But now she would enter not as a potential student, but as a REAL student! Her smile was overwhelmed with joy and pride, standing tall and straight. Just imagining this was the place All Might studied in, and where she would now do so as well...She almost wanted to jump off the excitement!
"Really May? 'I am here'? At least you are not imitating his smile..."
Like popping a balloon, her mood almost fell down right there and there.- Of course, just looking back up to the entrance of the school was enough to cheer her up again, but she turned to look back at her father, still in full costume, and once again getting a few curious glances and claps, he even waves back at some people. May could only hope this does not become a common occurrence.
"Uh-Huh...Thanks for the ride, dad. I'll...Get going." May awkwardly starts to walk to the gate alongside several other students, giving him a thumbs up along the way that he returns. But even then, he does not leave until he sees her enter the doors of the building itself. Which she noticed because she kept staring back to make sure.
She just sighs at that. At this point, she was thankful that she decided a Hero Course over a normal school. At least this should give him some confidence that she would be alright, or so she hoped. She was a woman, after all, she didn't need him to look over her at all times.
But that was just a passing worry. Mayday was still joyful about this chance. In fact, she could barely contain her emotion over it. Walking amongst the hallways of the U.A only helped her anticipation grow, as she held her phone and took off her earphones to read the note she wrote before. Her Classroom was the 1-A, and she started to scan around, stopping to look at a nearby map to get directions rapidly, before shuffling away fast. She even won some glances due to her rapid steps, but she didn't want to waste even a single moment.
After hurriedly making her way to the elevator and get up a few floors, she finally gets to the proper floor for the Hero Courses, and as she runs, she notices a familiar figure calmly walking alongside another student towards a large door that has a sign above it, reading '1-A'
The young man turns upon hearing her steps. Sero blinks upon recognizing her coming by and he waves his arm at her, calling her out. "Hey there, Spider-Girl! Seems you made it. Not like I had doubts." He grins at her.
Mayday stops on her tracks once she reaches where they are. The other girl also turns to look at her with surprise.- This one had a more obvious mutation, for her skin and hair were both pink and her eyes were black with yellow irises. "Oh! You are that American girl Sero spoke about? The one that is the daughter of a Pro Hero? That's super cool! My name is Mina Ashido, nice to meet you~!" The pink girl rushed to say, overly friendly in such a manner that left May also bewildered for a moment, but she was quick to return the gesture with a smile.
"Yeah. That's me." Her Japanese still carried some accent in its pronunciation, but it was otherwise quite competent. She still had to work on it a bit. "May Parker. Nice to meet you too, Mi--Ashido?"
She wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to refer to people when informally. Though neither of the other two students seemed to mind her initial complications. May was still worried, however, commenting to the two of them. "We should hurry! I don't want the teacher to find us here slacking off. I doubt heroes are late for their appointments!"
Maybe she could have phrased that better, as she now recalled how many times her father WAS late to appointments.
Regardless, the three of them made their way to the Classroom only to find it very populated already. Almost all of the students were already there, and May didn't lose time to scan the people around who she would now call classmates for a very long time. Some of them she recognized from the Entrance Exam and the Practical One. Like that tall guy with several tentacles for arms, or that guy with spiky red hair that Mina almost instantly went to greet with a fist bump. There were many others she did not recognize, however, like that other student with the spiky yellow hair that was apparently playing something on his phone, or that...Those floating clothes? She heard a female voice come from them, so she guessed it was some invisibility power.
There were just too many, she would have to memorize their names later or something.
"Soo! Was that your father back at the entrance? No wonder why there was such a fuzz there! I wish he gave classes here or something, he's such a cool hero!" Hanta says, still standing beside her, which returns her to the real world.
"I'll get you his autograph one of these days." May smirks at that, walking through the rows of seats to go to her own. "He did want to teach here but preferred to wait and operate for a while here. He still needs to build a good rapport in the regional charts before aspiring to become a teacher." Of course, Mayday wasn't entirely sure if that was just an excuse. After all, he was one of the most well-known heroes in America. She had a hard time imagining they would deny him the opportunity, but she never came to ask him outright.
"His autograph? For real?!" Sero beams a hopeful smile at that. Mayday returns it as she nods and then walks to her seat, which seems to be practically the last one of the entire classroom. Not the best spot, but it could be worse. Sero had a seat a few rows forward, but she could just see him with a huge, silly grin at the prospect.- She saw a lot of fans of her father, but he had to be one of the biggest.
May just gives him a thumbs-up as well and a wink, she wouldn't let him down anyways, before sitting down on her chair at the end of the row and look around quietly. It seemed like a good opportunity to relax before the professor came, as most students were also on their seats in preparation for it. Yet, just when she was about to get her phone with her earphones again, she is interrupted by a firm, deep voice in front of her seat.
"Good morning!" The student spoke up and she rapidly turned to look at him. It was him, that blue-haired student with the glasses from the Entrance Exam. May recognized him on the spot, though, he seems to take a few moments to do so as he continues to speak.
"I am from Somei Private School. My name is Iida Tenya and I--" It seems things finally click to him then.
"May Parker, I am from New York. You can call me Mayday." She said nonchalantly. Not even minding him too much, but she could notice his expression suddenly turned a bit puzzled as if he didn't expect that reaction.
"...Apologies? I recall we started with a bad footing beforehand! I wanted to deeply apologize for my former behavior and hope we can start a professional relationship from now on!" Tenya says, but he was clearly taken aback by that. Maybe he expected her to keep some kind of grudge or similar, and he even went as far as to bow several times to ask for forgiveness. - A bit overkill in her eyes, but she just lifts her hands and shakes her head.
"Hey, no need? I don't...Mind any of that? You were just a bit too hard on that girl. That's all." May faintly smiles at him, trying to ease him somewhat after noticing his somewhat rigid posture and behavior. "She didn't seem to have a good day. But there are no hard feelings. Everyone can be nervous on their first day."
"..." He didn't respond at first, but his hand thoughtfully went to his chin. "I see...It makes sense. That's how you figured the purpose of the exam...How could I have been so blind..."
Mayday just blinks, ignorant of what he meant and just watching him in deep thought. She realized these students were...Way more eccentric than her classmates back in her old middle school. But she just gave it a shrug and a nod. But before she could go back to mind her own business, her attention was caught by the sudden arrival of one of the last students who entered the door rapidly in a hurry. She was not the only one, because most of the Class also turned to look at the door at that.
The green-haired girl only stared at everyone, as she was now suddenly the center of attention.
"S-Sorry. I just...I thought I was late?" She mumbles out loud, scratching the back of her head briefly through the messy green locks of her hair. The attention of the class seems to rapidly change from her to their own matters once more. Or at least, most of them. She gave the place a thorough look over, examining those around and recognizing several faces from the entrance exam. There was that American girl daughter of Spider-Man. There was that other student with the glasses and there was a figure she didn't recognize for a fraction of a second. Ash-blonde hair, disinterested expression and sitting there with his feet on the chair.
Deku's eyes suddenly crossed with Bakugou's after that single second. While neither of them broke contact there, the tension between them was rather obvious. The girl herself could notice just how bitterly he watched, how silently angry he was at seeing her there. Normally, she would have just moved her eyes away and said nothing.- But she could not afford that after the last time they saw each other, recalling how he almost tried to scare her out of entering.
"You really came..." Bakugou speaks almost through his teeth before rolling his eyes with an exasperated expression. "Whatever." He kept his thoughts to himself, but she could guess pretty easily that he would not let something like that slip. He was offended. She took a step forward and almost went to say something, but before it someone else interrupted her.
"Do you have no respect for school property? How can you even do something so disrespectful as...?!" The tall student with the glasses approaches to him now. Midoriya managed to hear his name before entering.- Iida Tenya it was.
"Get lost." Bakugou simply responded.
"W-What? What do you..."
"I said get lost, pompous bastard. Go bother someone else."
Deku watches how Iida opens his eyes wide, completely taken aback by just how he was told off. It was far from the first time she saw Bakugou like that, so there was not even an inch of surprise in her own face. But she almost felt bad for him for a moment, probably not used to being talked back in such a manner. He almost immediately turned his attention to her, however, and approached rapidly much to her surprise.
"Greetings, I am Iida Tenya from--"
"We already met!" Midoriya interrupts him midway, smiling apologetically. "Remember? Back in the Battle Center? You, huh..."
"I am aware. I...I apologize for my behavior." Iida uses a solemn tone, just before bowing down in a sign of deep apology. A gesture that leaves Midoriya just as embarrassed as before, mainly, because some people were still staring.
"It's fine, I-I swear!" The words rush out of her mouth. "We already apologized to each other, right? So there is no need to..."
"I didn't apologize for that." Now the young man straightens himself once more and stares at Deku with serious eyes, explaining further. "I underestimated you. You understood the objective of the exercise better than I did. I thought you were just being lousy and careless. I shall not commit that mistake again."
Her lips press each other briefly, her expression turns to one between surprised and confused.- He was referring to the Rescue Points? Did she look that incapable back there? She was not sure how to take his words at first. But she settled with taking them as compliments while nodding to him a few times in reassurance. "Thank you." She said simply. Before her attention turns somewhere else once more, as she felt someone bumping to her from behind.
"Oh! It's you!" The high-pitched, almost squealing voice of her classmates catches her attention. It was the same girl from the exercise. The brown-haired, round-faced one that she saved from the robot. Sporting an enthusiastic smile and wearing the school uniform. "The girl from the entrance exam, the one with that Super-Power! Are we in the same class? That's great! I still remember how you punched that robot like it was made of paper, I never saw something like that--!"
The enthusiastic and almost bubbly attitude of her classmate was a lot to take in. Deku grins, but she was overwhelmed by the compliments and constant gestures, shrinking on her shoulders while looking away, her face reddening even further the more she speaks. It took her a while, maybe a minute or so, but she eventually calmed down and taps her hands together with a bright smile on her face.
"My name is Uraraka Ochako, what is yours?" She asked.
"I'm...Midoriya. Midoriya Izumi."
Izumi finally turns to look back at the girl in front of her. The two smile at each other happily and nod. However, something clicks in her head and she blurts out. "Maybe we should go to our seats? I am sure the teacher will come soon..." Her tone betrayed her slight nervousness. She didn't want to make a bad impression.
Iida blinks at that reminder and rapidly nods. "You are right! We shouldn't be here. The teacher could get annoyed by our obstruction at the entrance!" He was briefly alarmed, rapidly moving to return to his seat. Izumi and Ochako just look at each other and shrug, before each walks inside and directs to their seats. Izumi's own was practically in the last row, and what was worse, it was just next to Bakugou's seat. - But thankfully, he didn't seem to pay any attention to her for now. In fact, what surprised her most was that the first person to acknowledge her there wasn't Bakugou, but the lonely member of the actual last row.
"Hey, remember me?" The question was asked in good Japanese, but there was still a noticeable accent in there. When Izumi turned to look, she now saw that same American girl from the test, much to her surprise.
"Oh! It's you! I-I mean...Yes. How could I not?" The question actually ashamed her a little. How could she forget the person that saved her from falling to a certain death? "Thank you for...You know, what you did in the exam."
"Pfft. Don't worry. You would have done the same for me." Her tone didn't even have an inch of doubt about it, and she was very casual about it. "How are your limbs? Did you get better? They took you in a bad state, you know..."
Izumi looks away briefly, her cheeks still a bit red, probably ashamed to remember the display. It wasn't her proudest moment there. Especially recalling how everyone saw her wounded on the floor. "Yeah, I am f-fine now. I-I didn't give you my name, right? I'm--"
"I heard you before." The American girl grins, amused. "Don't worry, ah...Midoriya, right? I'm...Parker May? May Parker? Just call me Mayday!" It was clear she still had a few problems regarding how to address others and how to present herself. But Izumi interrupted her midway through.
"Oh, don't worry. I know you! I-I mean...I don't know you, but I know your father! Well...I-I don't know him exactly..." Deku's tone speeds up, almost stumbling on her own words while her hands continue gesturing due to her growing enthusiasm. "But I've seen him in videos! He's such a cool hero! The World's Strangest Hero, The Wall-Crawler, The Amazing Spider-Man! How could I not know him? He is one of the top Pro Heroes of all America, and America is the home of heroes! Can you imagine how cool that is? He started as a hero so young but now he is a veteran and everything! And his powers? His powers are incredible! I've seen him trap villains in webs before they could react and then-It's so cool! He is so cool! But he is also humble and everything, did you know he preferred to be called Friendly Neighborhood? He's everything a Hero should--"
"Shut up, Deku. Damn it...I can't even hear my own thoughts over your stupid voice." Bakugou finally says, turning to look at the muttering Deku, who caught the attention of the whole Class. Mayday herself was speechless.
"Ah..." Midoriya just looks around, her face fully red.
"Hey. She's right! Spider-Man's hella cool!" The student with the tape on his elbows shouts out. Her sole supporter.
The deep, tired voice of the obvious adult among the bunch of teenagers finally got them to shift their attention suddenly. In the middle of the small spectacle that Midoriya did. The man was completely wrapped in a yellow sleeping bag and was practically dragging himself on the ground. His long, disheveled black hair and his eye bags made it obvious he was pretty tired, even if he was somehow pulling himself through the day. Without even uttering a word in spite of the complete disbelief of everyone around him, he opens up the bag and finally starts to get up.
"W-Who are you? Are you aware we are waiting for our teacher now?!" Iida was outright shaken by this display, he probably thought this man was just some janitor. Izumi herself thought that too, but...
"I am your homeroom teacher." Those words left Iida in further disbelief. Izumi was just...Unsure of how to react to the ordeal. But the man just seemed uncaring. Pulling something out, it was a gym uniform. "My name is Aizawa Shouta. Put this and we'll get to your first class."
Izumi stared around, just to confirm that she wasn't the only one in disbelief. Certainly, she wasn't. The entire Classroom was too. Well, all but one.
"Eh. Midtown had it worse." Said Mayday from behind.
"4.13 seconds." Aizawa stares. His eyes still watching the finish line of the fifty-meter dash course. So far that was the fastest score. Katsuki Bakugo was certainly one of the most promising students. But...
"4.20 seconds." The machine beeps again, almost instantly afterward. The difference in time was so minimal it would have been hard to notice for a normal person.
Mayday came to a halt after using her webbing to impulse herself.- It was a difficult movement, for she tried to remain on the track rather than just swing around wildly, and she was convinced she could have done it better. Maybe she could have also tried simply running, but this was easily faster than that. Regardless, it was a solid second place. Her attention then shifted to look at her rival, smiling at him while speaking. "Nice one. You are pretty goo-..."
The ash-blonde student pushed her away before she could even finish, walking to the next course while grumbling. "Out of the way, loser."
"Well, nice to meet you too..."
She didn't think too much of it. It was not the first school jerk she encountered anyways. Her attention instead turns to look at Hanta and the red-headed boy from before, who both approaches her rapidly.
"That was amazing! I saw your father do that all the time. You are pretty good too." Hanta comments with a sly grin on his face. "I should try that sometime myself! But it needs a lot of practice..."
"Yeah, that was pretty manly!" The redhead shouts out, giving her a thumbs up casually. She recalls hearing Mina talk to him before.
"Eijiro, right? Or, huh...Kirishima?" Mayday comments with a slight huff. She really needs to get the hang of it. "Thanks! I'm just doing what I can." Even then, she was still taking it somewhat casually. Not entirely tired from the performance before.
"Yeah! Sero told me about you. So you are the daughter of a Pro Hero, right? That's cool! I am following the steps of my idol, Crimson Riot. So I know how it is to follow someone else." Kirishima explains proudly. His tone is very blunt, but at least he seemed more honest and welcoming than that Bakugou guy. At least to May.
"Really? And what are you going to call yourself? Red Riot?" May joked.
"Exactly! Cool name, huh?" He crosses his arms in response. Mayday blinks, she wasn't even serious about it.
While the two converse, Hanta looks around and notices someone else taking a different exercise. He idly comments. "I think that Todoroki guy is also the son of a Pro Hero, right? Isn't he the son of Endeavor?"
Mayday and Kirishima both turn to look back at the fifty-meter dash and realize he finished it as well after literally riding on the same ice he creates, using it to lift him forward faster than what he can run. While he doesn't do as much as to talk or glance at anyone, May cannot help but stare at his face and notice something strange about it.- It wasn't his scar, although it was also somewhat worrisome to see. But it was something about his eyes.
They reminded her of someone.
"We should be getting ready for the next exercise!" Kirishima comments, bumping his fist on May's arm to catch her attention. "Ready? I want to see just how well you can do!" He manages to take May out of her thoughts and she turns to him, nodding.
"Come on, Spider-Girl. You are getting behind!" Sero also shouts out, as he was already walking to the nearby gym to do the next exercise. It was grip strength. She was confident about that one.
"Stop spoiling my hero name!" She responds, running to join them.
Shouta Aizawa was cautiously impressed.
They already reached the fifth test and by now, he was already sure of who had potential and who didn't. So far, most of the students had shown at least some creativity or basic understanding of their Quirks. Some of them even managed to breeze through the exercises easily.- That didn't surprise him, of course, most students worth their salt would find a way to go through this, and those who didn't better had a good Quirk to make up for it. Though several of the students had both.
So far, the leading one was that American girl, Parker. That didn't surprise him in the least; He did his homework, and it was easy to see that someone who inherited the powers of someone like her father would be able to breeze through this. In fact, he would have been very angered if she didn't...But even then, he couldn't deny she excelled at most exercises. Her powers were dynamic, her strength managed to even break the Grip Tester and she was sharp in how to use it. Maybe she could benefit from taking this more seriously, but she at least cracked fewer jokes than her father.
Aizawa could not fathom how he managed to watch some of those videos. The guy was a clown.
Then there was the rest. Momo Yaoyorozu, who was second place through the use of her Quirk. She created all sorts of things to ace through the tests easily, some even said she was cheating, but he didn't care for that. She had the brains to make it through. Third place was Shoto Todoroki, and he aced through most of the exercises by brute force alone. He seemed smart, but he just didn't need it when he had so much power. And then there was that last kid, Katsuki Bakugou.- Smart, powerful Quirk, but seemed to always be on the verge of some anger attack. But he was there to teach them to be Heroes, not to teach them to be celebrities. He just had to keep that attitude away from his performance.
However, the last test came about.- And that's when he knew who wouldn't make it out of this class as a student.
Watching Izumi Midoriya attempt to go through the tests was an exercise in pity. While she was not exactly in a bad physical shape.- In fact, she was probably one of the bests taking solely that into account.- The use of her Quirk was none, and she couldn't even excuse herself with the nature of her Quirk. Aizawa already saw it, and already knew what it was capable of; Nothing, it was a complete mistake to let her in. No matter how much power a Hero has, if it has such a strong drawback like the one she has, and by now she hasn't managed to even find a way to circumvent it...
Well, some people just aren't made to be Heroes.
He saw the scene again. The Parker girl had just aced the test again, scoring a jaw-dropping 700 meters by the simple strength of her throw alone. While Aizawa himself wasn't particularly impressed, the rest of the students were fooled by just how well-rounded she was in her powers. Although the teacher noticed the increasing ire of Bakugou, who had been in a constant back and forth with the girl to see how scores more.
But his attention wasn't there, but rather, in the person that followed.
Midoriya Izumi was the next and last one to take the test. With Parker happily throwing the ball to her and wishing her good luck. Nice feelings, but they were not worth something in here.
His eyes remained on that girl's face. He could outright read her intentions through her facial expressions. She was doubtful, worried, she knew that if she didn't do it now, she wouldn't have a chance to be anywhere else from the bottom, so he prepared for what he knew she would try to do.
After a simple blink, his eyes turned a deep shade of red, just in time for the girl to do her movement a moment before her Quirk activated.- The ball was only thrown a pretty average 40 meters, which shocked Midoriya to the point her skin briefly turned pale, her attention once again shifts away to now stare at the professor, confused. "How..."
"...Those googles...You are...T-The Erasure Hero..." Midoriya's face remained outright terrified. For she knew very well what that meant. He couldn't care less if she was his fan or some such, however.
"I saw what your power is capable of. Nothing. You know that, right?" Aizawa continued, his frown growing deeper and sterner. "You didn't save anyone back there. You were saved. The girl you wanted to save freed herself on the spot, and she?" He now points to May, who seems just as confused as the rest. "She was going there even before you. She could have done the same thing, but she went there to save you.- The fact that you were allowed to pass was a mistake."
Aizawa saw her face turn into one of complete disbelief, she only now came to that realization. But he realized that back there and then, they only let her in because she made a nice impression, but not to him. "There was only one victim there, and that was you. Your Quirk? It's useless if you can't control it, no matter how strong."
"That's...Not true..." She objected, and he could now see the frustration in her eyes when faced with the reality, how she clenched her fists and grit her teeth. But a tantrum would not impress him.
"Go grab that ball and let us finish with this. If you break your arm? I'll expel you where you stand."
Izumi returned to her spot on the circle with the ball on her hand, but fully knowing that this was a trap.- There was nothing she could do. If she used her power on her arm like before, it would break and she would fail. But if she didn't, then it would accomplish the same. Complete failure in the test, it would just be proof that she wasn't ready for this. That she wasn't capable. That she was a victim like he said. The thought frustrated her, angered her, as she held the ball tightly on her right hand.
She didn't want to be a victim. She wanted to be a hero.
But his words didn't ring hollow. In fact, they were just the brutal truth. She wasn't the hero there, she was just another victim that got saved by that girl. Maybe he was right, maybe she just lucked her way into the school, but her power didn't work.- But that's a thought she could not afford to even consider. Even if it was true, it didn't matter.
Deku takes a deep breath and looks at the ball once more before the throw. His words continue to echo in her head. Victim. Victim. Victim.
Her attention now turned to the sky, and she gulped. It was all or nothing.
Pulling her arm back, she held the ball and prepared for the throw under the expectant gazes of her classmates, who some even tried to cheer her up and encourage her, while the teacher himself just stared disinterested, as if he already knows the result of all of this. But she didn't pay attention to it, she only concentrated on the act.
"SMAAAASH!"
Deku focused all of her strength on a single fingertip. It broke on the spot, that was obvious, and she could outright feel the muscles bulging and busting, breaking and tearing.- But it was more localized, in a single spot rather than her whole arm. Using that single finger as the last push of the ball, the subsequent shockwave was enough that it made the wind around her harshly gush around, but the ball flew beyond what the rest could see.
Aizawa didn't even say the distance this time, he just let his phone say it.
"710.4 meters."
Midoriya smiled defiantly, turning to stare at her now bewildered teacher with her hand clenched into a fist.- Her right index finger was broken, a bit bloodied and even reddened out of the trauma. A gruesome sight indeed, but one that she now took pride from. She managed to control it, even in a situation like this.
"I can still move...!"
The whole class had already concluded the tests. Much to Aizawa's surprise. They were fast, even after that short scene with Bakugou and Midoriya after her test. He tried to lunge at her like some wild animal before he and the Parker girl stopped him from doing so. He didn't care much about personal matters between students, but that was going too far.
Regardless, he had called for the whole class to reunite back in the yard and show them their results on the digital screen. And once they were all reunited, he turned it on and the image showed the final ranking.
Even in spite of her effort, the score simply wasn't enough. Midoriya remained in the last spot of the list, and she was already looking down with shaky legs, unsure of what to say or what to do.
I actually amused Aizawa a bit.
"By the way. That bit about the last place being expelled? I was lying." He simply said.
Several of the students in class broke in evident disbelief, especially Izumi, who looked about to pass out by how pale she was. She would need to grow a spine sometime soon.
"He was...Lying?" Ochako rushed to help the green-haired girl, keeping her up from falling to the ground.
"It was...Very obvious when you think about it." Momo also adds, with a small grimace on her face at the scene.
"I retire what I said before. This is worse than Midtown." May also adds, rushing alongside Ochako to help her.
"With this, we conclude. I'll see you all tomorrow for your next class." Aizawa explains just as simply as he spoke before. Not paying much attention to the wails and complains of some of the students as he walks off with a big sigh of tiredness. Making his way to the exit of the yard while collecting his thoughts about what he just saw.
It would be an interesting Class, to say the least.
Toshinori Yagi was waiting, arms crossed, a big grin on his face that he never erased. He never could in this form. It was the trademark of who he was, what he was. All Might smiled, no matter what was happening or what he was doing, even if what he was doing was...Waiting against a wall for a professor to pass by, which is exactly what he was doing, until the slim and dark figure of the slightly hunched Eraser Head finally makes his way to his direction and he comes to point at him.
"Aha! Shouta Aizawa. You thought you could fool me, right? Threatening the students with expulsion, but not going through it? What could have changed your mind like that?" All Might's smile was knowing, on top of his usual confidence and goofiness that came from that reassuring grin. He knew very well what happened there, and why it did.
"..." Aizawa just turns to look back at him. His expression never-changing. "All Might. Were you waiting there for me the whole time?"
"...That's beside the point!"
The teacher just shrugs at that, uncaring as always. "It was a tactical rouse. That's it."
"Nonsense! You went forward with such threats before.- Something made you change your mind, I am right?" All Might continues to inquisitively point at his fellow teacher, his darkened eyes even squinting somewhat to press forward the issue. "You saw something in that Young Midoriya, I am right?!"
"I saw that she had a brain and used it. That's about it." Aizawa finally turns to face him directly, his expression at least giving it to a bit of surprise as he furrows a brow. "What's your interest in that girl, anyway? I thought you would be more interested in that American girl...She was very close to the first place...Didn't you meet her parents?"
"...Young Parker, you mean?" Now that took All Might by surprise. He frowns in respond as indeed the memories come back to him. It would be hard to forget all the kinds of heroes he met in his time in America. "Yes, I did. Peter Parker is a great example of what it means to be a hero...He is an inspiration."
Toshinori almost didn't realize, but his usually boisterous and loud tone slightly faded. Shades of the person underneath surfacing as those words were honest, and coming from a place deep inside.
"...I see." Aizawa pauses but makes no further comments on the subject. Whatever passed through his mind, All Might couldn't guess, but he rapidly tries to compose himself again from his taciturn state.
"Her potential wasn't zero. That's it. We'll see how she fares." Aizawa sentences once more without changing his face's expression only to then walk away once more.
All Might is left where he stands, his eyes lowering down thoughtfully as he ponders about it. He didn't give it much thought before, but Parker's daughter did seem to have a lot of potential on her own...He always told him just how inspired she was by him, it made him laugh at times. How heroes can look up to each other so often.
But still, he wouldn't doubt his decision. He couldn't afford to. He trusts Midoriya.
Toshinori nods to himself before walking away.
Mayday makes her way out of the school, hiking the bag on her back with a fulfilled smile on her face. First day, second place.- Not a bad score, she thought to herself. For what was the greatest Hero School in the East? She breezed through it! Her father warned her about not getting too confident in her own abilities, but so far, she felt like she could eat the world. It was a dream come true, and she was in the high of her life.
"I can't wait to tell mom, hah. She'll-..." Her attention, however, turns to look at the trio in front of her. Iida, Uraraka, and Midoriya? She already bid her goodbyes to the other students and promised Hanta to bring him the autograph she promised, but she didn't talk to them since the test. It was a good opportunity as any. So she rushes to meet up with them, waving her hand to catch their attention once they look back.
"Hey there!" Mayday shouts out, now walking next to Ochaco as the group returns the greet as well.
"Hey~! You are the girl in the second place, right? Parker? You were spectacular back there! What kind of Quirk do you even have?" Ochaco beams to her curiously.
"Me? Nothing special. I just do whatever a spider can."
Iida frowns in a pondering manner at that, his gaze moving up as he speaks. "Is that so? That's a very versatile Quirk. Spiders are very varied animals...No wonder you performed so well..."
"Hey, huh...Thank you for what you did with Bakugou back there, too?" Izumi interrupts, peeking from Ochaco's side to look at May and shot a smile in her direction.
Mayday just waves her hand dismissively. "No worries. Guy's a real jerk. How come he seems to be so angry at you?"
She stares as the green-haired girl just looks down briefly and then shakes her head. "It's...Well, it's a long story. Haha...He's just rude like that.-- But still! Thank you again, Mayday.- That's what you said I should call you, right?" She seemed so worried about messing up that it even amused May herself, who gives her a thumbs up and a nod. "Yeah."
"Good.- Huh...Since we are going by nicknames? You can call me Deku."
"B-But I thought Deku was an insult! I--" Ochaco interjects, apparently surprised. Mayday was couldn't yet catch the double meaning of the word, at least not on the spot, but she still watched as Deku shakes her head in response.
"It's fine. My friends can call me that." With that, the girl smiles warmly at the trio following her. May returns the gesture with a smirk of her own.
"I see, well...Nice to meet you, Deku."
Something about that smile eased May. It was only the first day, but it felt good to already have friends.
Ever since this stupid American came to join them, he has not stopped talking to him. Over, and over and over. Whatever stupid quip, remark or joke he could think of. But he wasn't goofy, or stupid.- No, he was doing it on purpose. He wanted to bother him, to annoy him, to anger him. He has been tolerating the constant annoyance coming out of his mouth, if only because his master sent him there to help and because they were too busy doing their part.- But now, at the bar, with no one but Kurogiri to make them company.- He preferred him because he didn't talk. But this man? He wanted to kill this man.
"Look, I know we started with a bad foot. So how about we do it again?" His tone didn't change. Still mocking him. Shigaraki just stares at him from the corner of his eye, as he now offers his hand in some sort of stupid greet.
"Call me Phil, yeah? Or Urich. Phil Urich, really, however, you prefer.- Just not Philip." His nice clothes, foreign factions, his joking smile. Shigaraki was convinced he thought he was some sort of comedian, he even laughed when they captured the thugs his master ordered them to. He wouldn't care if he was a comedian with anyone else, but this...This annoyed him.
"Nice to meet you." Shigaraki finally manages to mutter, in a low tone with a raspy voice. He didn't care if this man was stupid enough to fall for it, but he now moved his hand to meet his. Knowing fully what would happen, he could not wait for it. He hated the things that annoyed him. He wanted them---
He pulled his hand away, Phil pulled it away, now making some phone gesture with it on his ear. "Oops! Oldest trick in the book. Nah, man. I already got warned- But you really thought you had me, right?"
Shigaraki made not even a motion to mask it. He simply turned and tried to push his other hand forward, with the full intent of grabbing the face of this annoying man that acted like some prankster. However, just moments before he could fully close his hand around Phil's face to use his Quirk on him, he could feel the sudden 'tap' of something against his chest, something metallic.- And the subsequent sound of something hammering down. He knew that sound.
"Come on, pal. Would be a real waste if we killed each other the same day we met, right?" Phil now held the gun straight against his chest, aiming exactly for the heart. They both knew that a single movement could mean the death of either of them, and Kurogiri was ready to step up at least once he set the glass down, but before could do so...Another voice calls the two of them from a tv with no image.
"That will be enough. Shigaraki, I understand you want to get rid of that which angers you.- But he is our guest now."
"...He annoys me."
"You can deal with that. Can't you? We still have use for him."
No response this time. Shigaraki did not move his eyes from the foreigner in front of him, who couldn't wipe off that smile from his face even in front of certain death.- He was just crazy, stupid or all of them combined. But the voice of his master was a strong pull, a powerful reminder. At which he finally pulls away from his hand, and in response, Phil does the same with the gun.
"As I said? Bad footing. let's talk it over with some drinks, will you? Hey, Mist! Do you have something good to drink?" Phil Urich calls forth once more as if nothing had happened, but he knew just how far to push his luck, or so he seemed. For he simply grabbed two glasses and set one for Shigaraki and one for himself.
"...I still want to kill you."
"You and about a dozen more people, pal." Phil responds with laughter. "But don't worry! I heard about the plan. There will be a lot to killing there.- Maybe you'll forget you are angry with me and everything...After all, what bonds people more than killing others?"
"...I guess."
Shigaraki just sighs and scratches his neck, as Kurogiri simply starts to fill the glasses with the drink.
The transmission cut again. The three people in the large chamber of the warehouse were finally able to talk, once there was no harm of their underlings hearing them. Each of them finding refuge in the shadows of their own corners, but the figure of the legendary Villain finally turns his seat from the monitor to now look back at the other two.
"Shigaraki is...Different.- But he has potential. I am sure you all have found someone like that before, haven't you? A rough diamond that needs some sharpening...But believe me, I trust him. Wholeheartedly." His injuries betrayed his state. He looked weak, on his deathbed. But everyone in that room knew better, they could see through the facade- Weak, yes, he was weak. But even in that state, they were all but flies in front of him, if he so chose. Respect is something that not everyone earns, but this man had the respect of everyone who has heard his name, even outside of his country.
"I would say I do.- But no, not really. The only thing that really matters? Is the brand." Another chuckle comes from the shadow, as the costumed figure steps out of it with his mask betraying his amused, mocking smile. In fact, it was very similar to that of his 'pupil.' "But you should know that, don't you? A man who has made his name so well-known.- Hah...Hahaha. Of course, you do!"
The last figure remained on his corner, watching, staring, learning. He read through papers, stared at the other monitors, confirmed the states of their projects. It was his project, his last project. The one he had to make sure it would work. That's what made him useful, that's what would allow him to live on. Even in this destroyed state, in this metallic mockery of his former glory. Confined to a tomb of metal that carried him around, even as his body was deteriorating even faster than the man on the chair. But eventually, their conversation caught his attention and he turned to them, hanging from the ceiling through his metallic limbs.
"I don't care." His voice was like his body, aided by his own suit that transformed his voice into a partially mechanized one because even talking was a tiring endeavor for him. "So long as they do their job. The subjects they sent were...Proper, yes. Useful. It could be better...But it will work."
The attention of the two men was now focused on the metallic monstrosity.
"I hope so. The doctor was rather...Impressed by your knowledge, and by your plan. I trust, then, that it will be ready when the time comes? That it will be better than what even he envisioned?"
"What kind of question is that? Otto Octavius...Never...Fails." The mechanized voice falters for a moment, but only a brief malfunction, as it now turns to look at the goblin-costumed man. "That specimen you gave...It was invaluable. Interesting.- It will make your weapon stronger, faster. It will make it lethal. Its hybrid DNA will be of use."
"What can I say? I have my methods.- Hobgoblin always has what's in demand. Only the price matters." His laugh soon followed, as he now crossed his arms. "Besides? It will piss off Spider-Man to no end. That's a freebie."
"But..." The old king interrupts, his voice unable to hide his delight now. "Will it be able to kill All Might?"
The robotic mummy now turns fully to look at that man, All for One. The mechanical arms supporting themselves all over the room, on the ceiling, on the ground, as it hangs above him and sentences. "Of course...And it will do more. Be more...It will be...Our vindication...Our new life...MY new life..." The mechanical voice falters again, if only for a moment. But he managed to speak even in spite of it, with his weak voice. Coughing heavily in between.
"That is...My dying wish..."
Almost all art is official, but I will make some brief recounts.
Shouta Aizawa: His normal sheet from the anime, taken from the wiki
Kurogiri: Same as above.
Shigaraki, All for One: Both are from MHA Smash Tap.
Phil Urich: from Amazing Spider-Man #666 (Not even kidding.)
Hobgoblin: Amazing Spider-Man #648
Doc Ock: Amazing Spider-Man #682
This chapter took me a while to write because I was honestly blocked after writing the first half, I just didn't know how to go at it. These early parts of the story were kind of a drag for me to write but I didn't want to go do too many skips.- At least, the Battle Trial arc IS skipped.
I also had a lot of fun with the villain interactions, probably the part I am most happy about, though the dialogue could still use some work. Maybe I'll revisit it when I am doing grammatical revisions.
As usual, you guys are the real heroes and thank you a lot for reading.
She was still thinking about what had just transpired during their exercise, but her mind was not analyzing her own performance.- Far from it, she still had that green-haired girl in her thoughts for some reason. The reason was, of course, the pain she must be suffering even now.
"Yo, May! You still with us? Jeez, it's like you always have these deep monologues in your head!" Hanta's voice brought her back to the real world. Interrupting her meditation to then make her turn her head to him and blink as she fights to not stutter her response.
"W-What? Oh, no, don't worry about that! You are sounding like my father..." Mayday scratched her head. "I was just thinking about the trial. That's all. You all did pretty well, yeah?"
"Says you! I know you are trying to be modest, but come on! You were in disadvantage three against two and STILL won!"
"Yeah, I don't know you, but that was pretty crazy! You even managed to evade my electricity! Do you, like, see the future or something?" Denki Kaminari was the blonde, spike-haired student that she just fought. He was still quite shocked by her demonstration.
"Not exactly. Just incoming danger." She explained. To his credit, Mayday was quite worried about it.- His electricity was enough to trigger her Spider-Sense to the point of high alert, something she didn't usually feel. Not many things could actually threaten her. "You were still quite good, actually. All of you were! I am quite amazed, honestly, U.A really doesn't accept but the best, eh?" She smiled at them both in a friendly manner, only to them watch them both exchange stares for a few moments. She wasn't quite sure what they were thinking, but they seemed surprised at her compliment.
"Heh. Thanks!" Hanta grins widely, rather proud even at that. Kaminari poses a bit and adds as well. "Well, you know, I have my moments...Could have fried you if you were not careful!"
Mayday just rolls her eyes at that but does not give them too much attention as her gaze then wanders off to stare to a few more students that are leaving now. She now noticed Ochako and Iida just going out of the school's inner door, but she does not catch the girl that was with them the last few times she saw them.- She recalls that her team was the first one to fight, and she broke several bones when she fought that blonde student.
"Hey...Weird, right? Have any of you seen that Midoriya girl? From the first team?" Mayday asks as her attention turns to look back at Hanta and Kaminari, who now look quite confused.
"Oh, the one that broke her arms?" Kaminari asked. "Well, she went to the nursery, right? She's probably still there, I guess. She got it really bad, right?"
Hanta shrugs at that. "I didn't see her leave either. But considering she broke both arms, she'll probably stay a while more.- I did see that Bakugou guy leave first, though! He was really pissed!"
Mayday huffs at the thought. She certainly recalls that part of the fight too, with that blonde boy of the explosions going all out on the girl. A lot of the students were particularly worried about her due to how meek she looked, and how vicious that Bakugou was.- Mayday especially. She never liked bullies, much less this kind of bully, but she didn't get the chance to confront him just yet...Something that was probably better for him. He even had the nerve to be angry and frustrated over the manner, as if he was the one that broke his limbs.
"..." A sigh, May shakes her head. "He really doesn't act like a hero, huh?"
"He is kinda scary.- Maybe he'll be good at scaring off the villains!" Kaminari snaps his fingers with a grin on his face. May just stares at him plainly.
"You did save that girl before, right, Mayday? Back at the entrance exam? Seems she hasn't been able to get the hang of her powers. I can't imagine how painful must that be." Hanta's expression turns to a slight grimace with a hint of worry. May did recall what happened back at the entrance exam - The exact same thing and was it not for her, that girl would have fallen to her death most likely. That thought also started to bother her as well, even if the school was already taking charge of it.
"Aha. I even spoke to her earlier today. Her Quirk is..." Mayday bites her lip, gesturing as she tries to explain. "Something like a burst of power? That's how she explained it to me. It breaks her body every time she uses it-- I can't imagine how much it must hurt...Jeez. She doesn't seem to be able to control it very well..." She stares up to the sky as they continue to walk. But her thoughts keep circling about that girl - She hasn't been able to get the hand of her Quirk in all this time they got until school? Or before? That was quite unfortunate.
"You are thinking about it too much. Some Quirks just have drawbacks, you know?" Kaminari comments as he lifts his hand and lets some sparks come out of his hand to exemplify his point. "Maybe hers are just really bad? No one's fault, you know."
"But it's just too bad. Don't you think?" Mayday retorts. "My dad used to tell me that Quirks back in his day used to have harsher drawbacks. But these days they are more controllable, more stable...Besides, she did control it back in the other exercise, right? I don't know..."
The trio eventually makes it out of the school as they step outside the large outer door of the school, being amongst the last students to make it out due to the time they took talking. Still, Mayday kept her gaze above to the sky an expression of deep thought as she ponders about that girl. It wasn't unlikely that she lacked control of her Quirk, a lot of it if the exercises were anything to go by- Even if the drawback was strong, she just didn't buy it. Maybe her Quirk is too different from her parents? It wasn't exactly her problem, but she still couldn't help but feel bad for her - The image of her broken limb was...Quite disturbing for her.
"..."
Suddenly, May was taken out of her thoughts by the confused stares of both Hanta and Kaminari.
"You need to give that brain of yours a rest, before it explodes." Hanta now grins again while the other student bursts into laughter. Mayday remained silent as he continues. "Look, if you are so worried? Why don't you just help her? I mean, it's not like we can do much ourselves."
May's reaction suddenly turned to surprise, a snap of her fingers follows her beaming smile. "Actually, that's a good idea! But I...Well, I am not sure I am too good of a teacher, I--"
"Why don't you just ask your father?" Another voice speaks up from the side of the group, catching the attention of the trio once more who now notice the figure of the large student approaching them. Rikido Sato was another one of the students that showed off in the exercise, his Quirk was rather good.- In fact, Mayday even recalls that it had to do with Super Strength as well! Once more her eyes beam, that wasn't a bad idea!
"Dude. You were spying all of this?" Kaminari asks.
"Not really. You guys are just loud." Sato shrugs casually before he crosses his large arms. He had quite the powerful frame now that they realized, even without his Quirk 'active' as it was. "You also took a while to leave! Guess it was really bothering you guys, huh? Well, it's not like there is any bad in helping a classmate, right?"
Mayday interjects then, now staring up at Sato. "Can't you help her? I thought your Quirk was about Super Strength too, right? Do you have any idea of why that happened to her?"
The bulky student frowns and takes a thoughtful stance, his hand holding his chin as he stares up. "Not really...My Quirk just multiplies my strength when I consume sugar. Though I did find it was easier and had better results the better shape I had. She doesn't look particularly bad, but that Quirk of hers...Well, I can't imagine even ME enduring that." It actually made him shiver a bit. "Sorry about it.- But yeah, can't you ask your dad? He looks like a reliable hero! Hanta can't stop talking about him. "
"Hey!" Hanta looks up at him with a frown. It made May chuckle a bit, even. But again...That wasn't a bad idea.
"You are not wrong, actually...I mean, he actually said he was a teacher a few times, and he taught me a lot too. I should at least ask him..."
However, that proposition now made Hanta and Kaminari bounce on their spots and approach May even closer. "Waitwaitwait! You want her to meet with a Pro Hero like that? That's not fair! Can I got too?" Kaminari smiles widely at that.
"Yeah- What about me? Can I go?!" Hanta also jumps forward, with his huge, toothy grin as big as it could get. Mayday couldn't do much more than to open her eyes wide in surprise and shake her hands a few times, before pushing them away.- The poor girl was between a wall and two fans. "No! No one is going yet! I was just going to ask him for advice, not to make him steal the school's job. Besides! Far as I know, you guys don't break bones when using your powers."
The two students stare at each other in silent communication, before they speak in unison. "...Well..."
"...That's different." Mayday stops them before they could continue. "Look, I am just...Going to ask. Alright? I just don't want to see her going around breaking her bones, and I am sure neither do you. She probably needs it, too, from what I could see."
"...Okay, fine." Hanta flaps his arms about and shrugs. "I guess you do have a fair point. She could use at least some bit of advice before us."
"Says you. I still want a web hammock. I saw some videos of the guy sleeping in them!" Kaminari responds. "But yeah. Fair enough."
Mayday sighs and turns to look back at Sato as well, patting his strong arm a few times to then give him a thumbs up. "Thank you too. Sorry if we were too loud? Probably my fault, haha..." She smiles apologetically, a bit self-conscious at the fact she was a bit too social at times, at least in comparison to the people around.
"Don't worry about it!" Fortunately, Sato smiles and gives her a thumbs-up back. "Glad I could help, I hope. If you guys need something else? Just say it. Hope you can at least help that girl- She was really nice to me earlier!"
"I'll try!" She smiles in return before finally moving away from the group, waving her hand at them. "Gotta go now, though. See you guys tomorrow!" Mayday shouts out at them as she now rushes on her way back home. Leaving the three guys to bid goodbye to her as well as the group slowly disband, with each of them going their own separate ways back home. At the very least she got an idea of what to do.- Sure, maybe she could just leave it to the school, but she wasn't one to just let that girl continue to break her bones until she figured it out.
Not if she could help her, at least. Those were her last thoughts before she rushed her way to the station.
Mayday sits nervously on a chair in the living room of their apartment. Watching as her mother tap her own cheek as she also sat in a seat on the counter of the kitchen.
"You want to help a girl, who is in the same school as you, who, in theory, should be taught by the professors...And who should figure it out on her own...Because you get nervous that she breaks her bones?"
"Mom, it's a bit more complex than that."
Felicia shrugs, already out of her hero suit as she turns to look at Peter. May's father was in the kitchen, still with the suit with the exception of the mask, trying to find a place to throw some bags while mumbling something about not finding a bin in the entire city. It took him a few moments to actually realize they were waiting for his opinion on the matter. He turns to look at them at last only to find their gazes fixated on him and in hopes of a response.
"...Oh." Peter scratches his head awkwardly. "Okay...Well, this is the same girl from the exam, right? The one you saved? Did you catch her name by any means?"
"Izumi Midoriya. She was pretty nice to me these last days, but..." May sighs and shakes her head. "She seems to have problems controlling her Quirk. Always breaking her limbs or wherever she uses it."
"Well, maybe that's just her powers. Some are better than others." Felicia tilts her head and blinks a few times, still staring at May. "Though I think these days its stranger to having powers that are so outright detrimental to oneself, that's for sure. She may be just unlucky-- But she is your friend, right?"
Mayday already opened her mouth with the intent to respond, yet she was interrupted soon enough by her father.- Both she and her mother soon turn to look at him.
"Maybe she just doesn't know how to hold back?" He adds, staring at the ceiling while pondering. "I mean- It's a possibility, I remember that during my first outings when I got my powers? I didn't have complete control, sometimes I ended up using more force than necessary.- Hell...I even recall breaking my knuckles a few times when hitting too hard." He draws a nostalgic smile on his face, his eyes now turning to stare at his hands.
Mayday frowns a bit, that bit of info was actually new to her. "But...That never happened to me? I don't know. I always just...Knew. Didn't you?"
A pause. Peter leans forward the counter and rests his arms on it as he stares at her seriously. "Well, that's because you were born with them, May.- Your powers grew with you, so to speak, and you have spent most of your life with them...I didn't. I had to learn the hard way." His frown deepens a bit as he recalls of those passed days. Mayday even felt a bit self-conscious now, it was probably not very kind of her to ask. Nevertheless, he just waves his hand to dismiss the worry on her face. "Not that I wanted you to learn it by getting beat up by bad-guys! But still, it's a different experience, and it requires a different approach at times."
"But that's not her case, is it?" Felicia asks.
"I...Don't think so." Mayday looks down for a moment. She doesn't have any particular reason to believe such could be the case.- Besides, it was such a rare occurrence...The chances were completely nil. "Maybe she just couldn't use it for some time, or something...I really don't know. I should ask her, but I was just hoping you two could give me some advice? It makes me feel...Bad. I don't know, she seems to try so hard and gets herself through so much pain.- I...I don't like that." She huffs after that, resting her forehead on her hand while grimacing again. She never felt at ease when people around her were in danger or hurt, -- She simply could not, even if she tried to help them and cheer them up.
Her parents stare at each other then. They always do that. They stare at each other, smile for a few moments as and keep that grin even after they respond. Sometimes she wondered if they were psychic or some such.
"Why don't you tell her to come tomorrow?" Peter then proposed. "I would actually like to talk to her, and it could help her to keep making friends, you know?"
Felicia chuckles at that too, laying back on her seat casually. "Yeah. You are making quite a lot of friends, actually. Bet you are already popular in your first week? Granted, it's not that surprising.- You are my daughter after all."
Mayday blinks a few times and then turns to look at her father almost choking on a glass of water after such a comment. Of course, only her mother could say something like that with a straight face and keep her grin as if nothing happened.
"Y-Yeah...T-That should do..." Peter coughs a bit more but eventually manages to recover from that. He moves away from the counter to not approach her with a smile on his face, watching down at her as he explains. "It's tell her to come tomorrow or Friday, okay? You should at least have the free night to see if we can help her, so her parents will no--"
"Dad. We have classes Saturdays too."
"...That's hellish." He slaps his palm on his forehead in response with a blank stare. She almost felt a bit bad for him, as he could probably not imagine how it must be to go to school on Saturdays. Still, she gives him another apologetic smile and moves to hold his hand for a moment. "Still! I don't think she'll have a problem meeting a Pro Hero. She seems to be kind of a nerd about them."
"Like you?" Felicia remarks with an amused expression.
Mayday did not answer to that at all, she just moved her eyes somewhere else, chuckling underneath her breath.
"Hey, no need to feel embarrassed." Her father responds and ruffles her hair a bit in a playful manner, laughing as well. "That should work, then. Tell her I'll take her back home once we are done...Hope that'll be enough for her parents."
"You are kidding? Who can brag that they were escorted by Spider-Man to their home?" With another laugh, Mayday moves to stand up then, holding herself on her father's arm only to then lean forward to hug him. "Thank you~!" In a happy tone, she separates from him wink at her mother as well.
Her parents stare at each other again with proud smiles. Her mother is the one to shrug it off again as she widens her smile. "Don't mention it. Also! You should be going to bed already, you know."
Peter snaps his fingers and points at her as she makes her walks to the hallway on her way to her own room. "Also!" He shouts. "Don't stay awake to temper with my web-shooters...Not that you can, I put a new lock."
May could not hold it, neither could Felicia. They both burst into loud laughter, with May opening the door to her room while briefly responding. "I-I won't...I-I promise...Hahaha!"
She could still hear him grumble even when she locked the door behind her. Wasting not even a single second before she jumps to the ground towards her bed and reaches for something underneath, an unassuming box that wasn't even closed with tape or similar. She opens it up, only to grab another pair of discarded web-shooter that he kept in his room. Her eyes beaming with excitement at the prospect of tampering with them. She should also consider a way to thank her mother for them since she is the one always breaking up to give them to her.
Deku walked alongside the rest of her small group of friends consisting mostly of Iida and Uraraka on their way towards a nearby table to eat their lunch. Quite honestly, the girl still felt somewhat strange and out of place in between so many people and, more importantly, so many people with such awesome Quirks; Heroes in training, in all the meaning of the word. The large hall that made up the cafeteria of the U. A was full to its maximum capacity, and though not every student there was trying to be a hero like her, that didn't make them any less impressive in her eyes.-- And those who were also studying to become heroes were only short of celebrities already in her eyes. Their Quirks were so amazing! She even saw one from the other Class that had grey and green skin, he looked like an alien, almost like that Ashido girl!
"Heeyy, Deku! You are mumbling again!" Ochako's voice broke her concentration suddenly, and it made her realize she was still standing while the two of them were already on their seats and eating. Without losing time, she moves rapidly to sit next to Ochako, shooting an apologetic smile her way. "Sorry-!"
"You don't need to apologize for that." Another laugh escapes the round-faced girl before she turns to focus on her food again.- Deku was always a bit taken aback by how much she seemed to enjoy it, more than anyone else in the hall probably, almost as if she has rarely eaten something so good in her life.- Granted, this food was of great quality but even then. Although Midoriya didn't give it much thought and went to eat as well.
Her attention shifts to look at Iida, however, once she notes him staring at her, or more specifically, at her arms.
"How are your wounds, Midoriya?" He asks in his usual firm tone.- But she can still notice the slight hint of worry in his voice. The question also catches her by surprise, making her stop what she is doing to then stare at her hands and arms briefly.
They still had some bandages over them, as well as several, recently healed scars that were small, but just enough of them to notice. The sight makes her frown for a moment and she briefly recalls the stern talk that she was given by All Might and Recovery Girl in regards to her wounds, as well as her mother's worry upon noticing those same scars. Her skin was once pristine, soft and almost lacking any imperfection...But those rough marks were so evident that people were bound to notice.
"They are good, really! It doesn't hurt me or anything." Deku responds, a gentle smile drawn on her face to ease the worry of both of her classmates, who stare at her still, but she gets a few nods in response.
"...I see. Still, you should be more careful. It's not good to sustain injuries like that too often. They can affect your performance, and you know what the teacher said abo-"
"Iida." Ochako interjects. "I am sure Deku knows that too."
"There was only one victim there, and that was you."
Midoriya's lips pout for a second. She remains silent as the other two classmates turn their eyes on her upon her reaction. She appreciated their worry, but at the same time, that same worry kept bringing back unpleasant memories...Even then, she closes her eyes and just widens her warm smile to them both as she shakes her head. "It's fine, really! I am okay now, and that's what matters."
She opens her eyes then and gives them a confident nod, it seems to finally ease their worries. Both Iida and Uraraka smile back faintly and the trio returns to their lunch for the time being. A bit more silently than usual, however, just when they were almost finished, another person moves in to join with them. Standing beside the table just next to Izumi.
"Hello there!" The girl greets in Japanese, though everyone still noticed she had quite the accent. Midoriya and the rest stare up to look at her, the foreign student from before: May Parker, who smiles in a friendly manner and waves her hand to each of them. "Sorry to interrupt. I just finished and-- Well, I wanted to ask Midoriya something?"
"Go ahead!" Midoriya responds in between the greets of her friends. Though her mind suddenly recalls something and she starts to stutter and blurt her words out before even she even gives the other girl the time to actually ask. "Oh-uh! B-By the way. You are the d-daughter of...Peter Parker, right? S-Spider-Man?! C-Could I...I...Get an autograph?"
"An auto-..." May blinks a few times and shakes her head, though she does chuckle a bit at that question. "Well, I guess you can get one, sure. I wanted to spend the evening training for tomorrow's practical exercise. Do you want to help me? My father will be there, you can ask him his autograph yourself."
"..." Midoriya remained silent at that. She could hear the words of encouragement coming from her friends, but she just froze in place and went pale.- Her smile grew as big as it could, and she started to chuckle nervously. She thought for a second this was a dream!
"Y-You mean...For real? The real S-Spider-Man? O-One of the Top 10 H-Heroes of America...? H-He...I-I can..." Deku could barely articulate words.
"Yeah." May just nods.
"I...Hahaha...Can I go?! I-I mean...I would l-love to go!" Her face was now lit in red, more out of the unspeakable excitement than anything else. She could barely hold herself from shaking and bouncing on her seat. Much to the surprise of everyone...Except for Uraraka, who just pats her back and tries to calm her down.
Mayday eventually laughs it off and ruffles Midoriya's messy green-locks in response. "Alright, alright. We'll go tonight after classes are done. Don't worry about getting back, my dad will take care of it too. Just tell your parents!"
"A-Ah..." Did she hear that right? "S-Sure...!" Deku nods several times, still barely able to say anything but messy mumbling.
The American girl chuckles at that again, clearly amused by the exalted reactions. But she eventually leans away and waves her hand again. "Good. I'll leave you guys to be then. See you later!" With that, May waves her hand to them again, this time to bid them goodbye, and walks away to leave the group once more to their own devices.
Of course, Midoriya could barely get back to her food after that. Even when her friends seem to be happy about it -- She was just more than that, her heart wanted to come out of her chest by now. Meeting a hero like him? Like that? It was like a dream come true! Although, most of her days since entering this school have been like dreams come true, at least for the most part. Still, she couldn't shake off her smile or her emotion by now.
She was going to meet a hero! Another great hero! How much better could her day get?
Deku did no respond to that, only gritting her teeth as she saw his looming figure over her. Katsuki Bakugou was never nice to her, not really. But she never felt this kind of outright malicious hostility coming from him. He was always angry, but not this angry. She knew that well, the only thing she had to do was to stare into his red eyes to notice his frustration and rage. She was careless, probably too excited about going out with that foreign student to realize when he cornered her once they reached the middle point of the stairs, forcing her against a wall while he angrily grits his teeth.
"You hide your Quirk your whole life, then you use it exactly at the right moment to humiliate me. That's right, isn't it? You just wanted to make fun of me."
"No, you are wrong. That--" Her eyes open wide suddenly, silenced by the sheer surprise once she felt him yanking at her red tie in a menacing manner. By now, most of the Class had made their way down while she remained behind. She didn't think he would be this angered. Neither did she want him to feel deceived, but by the time she left the nursery he had already left, leaving her unable to explain her situation.- And now she was paying for it.
"Now I see it. You've been looking down to me your whole life. Isn't it? You and your stupid power. If you think that makes you anything but a speck? You are wrong.- It doesn't change anything. You are still a useless little girl." Deku blinks a few times. Her hand now resting on his arm, as if warning him to let her go.- A gesture she would have never done before in her life.- But that only seems to make him even angrier, for his grip tightens and his teeth grit even harder.
"I wasn't hiding it. It...You don't---"
"Shut. Up. I don't care. It doesn't matter what stupid power you have. See? You only break yourself." He now reached to hold her wrist with his other hand and lift it, only to show up the rough marks of the scars on her arm. Deku stares at them for a few seconds before her eyes move back to Bakugou. "You know what that means? It means that you'll never, ever, stop being a worthless v--"
"That's enough."
Deku and Bakugou both were rather surprised by another voice joining them. Suddenly, a hand now rests on Bakugou's shoulder which makes him turn his head to the source.- It was Mayday, who now looked at them with both a rather serious expression, but his eyes turned to focus on Bakugou. The sudden tension in the air suddenly got even worse, for Midoriya noticed how May's hand tightens its grip.
"Get lost." Bakugou responded, his attention now shifting to May as the two get locked in a very heated staredown.
"What if I don't?" May's tone was now outright taunting. Deku knew that this could never go well, not with her challenging him so forwardly. "You are going to pick a fight with me too?"
"K-Kacchan. You shouldn't"
"I said..." Bakugou releases her at last, but that was the last sign. He moved an open palm to May's direction, now an outright threat that the two girls realized. "Get. Lo--"
"It's late. You should all leave."
The three students now all turn their attention to the fourth voice coming from the stairs. The dark, disheveled figure of their teacher approaches them in a slow and almost uncaring manner. But they could all realize his eyes were set on all of them through his wild, dark hair. Aizawa's eyes never did stop being scary. "Unless each of you wants to get expelled. That is." He sentences harshly. Deku knew he was not joking.
There was a long, awkward silence. They all stared at the teacher for a few more seconds as he idly and nonchalantly walked down the stairs to look at them all. Eventually, the message came across. Bakugou huffs angrily and hides his hands on his pants.- Crashing his shoulder against Mayday's while he walks away grumbling.
"..." Aizawa watched him leave before his eyes move back to Deku and May. His otherwise steely, ruthless gaze fades and makes way for his usual, careless one. "That goes for you two too...And stop picking up fights." He sighs tiredly, a roll of his eyes and then he also turns to walk away. Leaving Deku and Mayday alone in the corridor.
Deku watches Mayday's reaction, maybe a bit worried about what could she think for a few seconds, but she just shrugs without much care and casually looks back at her, smiling. "Sorry about that guy. You know him, right? Seems like he is really out for you."
"...Y-Yes. It's complicated." Midoriya frowns and shakes her head. "He is angrier than usual, I guess. I didn't manage to explain that...Well what happened, and..."
"You don't owe him any explanation," Mayday interjects. "If he keeps bothering you? Just tell me." A pat on her back, Mayday widens her smile into a more comforting one. Izumi appreciated the gesture, but she still felt uneasy about Bakugou.- Even then, there was nothing that she could do about it. Not right now, he had to cool down first, or she would just piss him off more.
"Thank you." Deku smiles.
"You are welcome."A light laugh escapes Mayday's lips. "Now. We should be going, actually. Besides, I was looking for you!"
"Looking for..." Midoriya uttered, confused at first, but her eyes suddenly open wide as she remembers it now. "Oh-Oh! Of course, of course of course! I-I already told my mother. S-So can w-we..." Again, the excitement made her cheeks red now, and it helped her even forget about what they were so worried about.
"Just follow!" May grabs her by the arm and leads her out of the school. Deku was so excited she could pass out!
Deku can barely hold herself on her seat beside Mayday. The walk here was rather normal and unassuming.- In fact, the apartment itself, while spacious enough on its own and cozy, was not even something a hero of his status would probably be seen having. Heroes in Japan, especially those in the Top Ten, could have any house they wanted, their agencies with luxuries that only their position at the top could give them. But this? This was...Well, normal. She couldn't imagine that it was that different back in America, in fact, it was probably even more noticeable...But nevertheless, she couldn't contain her surprise, her emotion, and joy upon seeing the two Heroes in front of her. Mumbling so absent-minded she could barely hear anything Mayday says her way.
"It's actually him! T-The Spider Hero, The Amazing, Spectacular, Sensational, Avenging Spider-Man!" Midoriya mumbles loudly, with her hands on her mouth trying to hide her massive smile. She just couldn't believe it! It was him, in the flesh! He was even in his suit, and with his partner next to him! "O-Oh, and the B-Bad Luck Hero, the Black Cat!" Her tone was going so high and so excited. She almost looked on the verge of tears. She has not felt this happy ever since she met All Might!
"Holy. I have that many titles? How is it that YOU are the one with the least titles?"
"I did the marketing, remember?"
"Oh..."
The two heroes were even in their suits. Which only made Deku even more enthusiastic than what she already was.
"Okay, okay. I got it, you like heroes, right? May told us a bit about you, you know? Glad to see she is making a lot of friends back in school. She is certainly rocking it better than I did." Spider-Man commented jokingly as he makes his way from the balcony to the living room with the rest of them.- So did the woman beside him, but she takes off the goggles on her way there, revealing her green eyes.
"Yeah. It's good to see she's got new friends around. Though with how many of them are asking for autographs, she may need to carry them like cards." The platinum-haired Black Cat also comments, making her way to stand next to Mayday, who seems mostly amused by Deku's reactions.
"..R-Really? C-Can I get an autograph?! I brought paper. Look, look!" Midoriya does not waste even a single second before she rushes to grab her bag and take her burnt notebook from it, rushing through the pages until she finds a blank one. "See!" She offers it to him, much to his apparent surprise.
The hero in blue and red stares at it for a moment, Deku figures its probably due to its state and suddenly she feels more self-conscious about using it. But eventually, that worry is relieved once she hears him talk, and even notices the movements of his mask which betray the smile underneath. "Sure thing." His words made Deku's breath stop for a moment, and he was even kind enough to take off his mask and grab a pen from the table to write down on the notebook. She just stared, wide-eyed still and with her hands now pressing against her face, beaming with pure joy.
"That should do the trick." The man says once finished, as he hands the notebook back to her and she can now see the signature herself.- His hero name with a small spider symbol underneath. Deku stared at it moments before she took the notebook and hugged it onto herself. "T-Thank you. Thank you!" She repeats, now bowing several times in deep gratitude.
"I am still surprised people ask for it here. And here I thought this would be calmer than New York."
"Well, it IS calmer. You know? At least there are fewer Villains to worry here about." Black Cat also interjects. "But fans asking you out is probably something you'll not get rid of. Poor Spidey~"
"You could say it's bad luck!" Mayday grins widely at that. Mother and daughter give each other complicit gazes. Truth be told, Midoriya felt somewhat in the middle of it all, but she could not stop feeling the sheer amazement of the situation.
"Come on, girls. You'll scare off the visits." Spider-Man rolls his eyes and shakes his head before he moves to stand up once more and looks down at Deku again. "So, anyways. Mayday told me a bit about you, you know? Your power and all...You two wanted to prepare a bit for your practical test. Isn't that right?"
Deku blinks and nods in response. "Yes, actually! It is a great h-honor that she invited me with all of you, I am very grateful and-!"
"Don't stress it over," Spider-Man responds. His smile only grows warmer as he pats her shoulder. "Do you want to go to it now? Hope you don't mind me and Cat watching."
"N-Not at all!"
"You certainly got the enthusiasm nailed." Black Cat also chuckles at that demonstration, which only makes Midoriya blush further.
"You haven't seen her in class!" Mayday's words only add to it. But as the group moves to follow down the hallway of their apartment and May offers her a hand to stand up and follow, Deku cannot do more than accept it and stand up with them.- Rushing to the side of her classmate, but still admiring the heroes from behind. Again, she could still not believe it. They weren't just any Pro Heroes - They were American Pro Heroes! From the Home of Heroes! It made her gulp awkwardly.- She knew she couldn't use her Quirk, but still...
She didn't want to look bad in front of them!
Midoriya steps back to take a deep breath and sigh tiredly. Yet, May was barely even breaking a sweat.
They were lead to a large studio room in their apartment that they had as a personal gym. Quite logical, she supposed, as all of them had to keep themselves quite in shape and didn't seem to be the type to own an Agency, at least not here yet. After she changed herself into more proper clothes to exercise, she tried to keep up with May's rhythm.- Only to notice the ever-increasing difference in their performances. Mayday's mother constantly told her she was stiff in her movements, and Deku didn't doubt it- She wasn't even half as dexterous and agile as her, nor as strong...Her powers appeared to be such a complete and efficient package that she was even a bit envious.
But of course, the problem was also evident here as it was back during their first day; She couldn't use her Quirk, and in this case, she really couldn't.- It would be crazy to break the house she was invited to show it off! But that only leads her to remain behind her Classmate constantly. Their sparring matches were...Disastrous.
And through all of it, neither of the Heroes who supervised them were even slightly confused or bothered. Deku, in fact, appreciated the tips coming from Mayday's mother...But as she moves to straighten herself and clean the sweat from her forehead, she still felt embarrassed.- Her red face was not only out of effort but a bit of shame. She felt she was just making a fool of herself, and the words of her homeroom teacher rang in her head again.
"Come on!" May spoke up, in an attempt to encourage her. "You are not doing it badly, you know? I think you do better than most of the class when you are not in pain and--" A pause, she now only realizes that wasn't a good thing to mention. It certainly made Deku grimace a bit and look away.
"Hey. What's with your arms?"
The voice came from above the ceiling, only now did Midoriya notice that Spider-Man was now standing in...The ceiling, his ability to stick to walls wasn't anything new, however. She watched him jump down from there at the same time as Mayday apologizes and turns to her mother instead.
Deku stares up at him for a few seconds before her eyes move to look at her arms as well. He was probably asking about the scars, as did a lot of people. She frowns briefly and sighs, a hand making its way to scratch the back of her head while she takes the time explaining.
"Well. It's...My Quirk. You see? That's why I cannot use it. My body can't take the full extent of the power.- It's...It's complicated, but they are like a burst in strength that my body can't take...I can control where in my body it manifests, but it's so much that..."
"It breaks you." The American Hero says.
"...Yes. It...Breaks my body. The sudden increase is just too much and it tears from the inside out. I...I guess it's because of my build and my...Lack of experience. I am trying to fix it! But no matter how much I train, it just doesn't seem to be enough. I just break again, and again..." Izumi's words betrayed the frustration it caused her. Even now, it was already being quite a dilemma that bothered her deeply, and the constant worry of her friends was even worse, of her mother too. Yet, when her eyes meet up with those of the older Hero, she finds him somewhat contemplative.
"Curious. These days most Muta--I mean...Most Quirks bring with them resistance to their own effects on the person. Don't they? At least to some degree, or their own bodies start to develop them with them."
Deku blinks and scratches her head even further. Hoping to not have run her mouth too much. "Y-Yes! But my case is a bit different...I just...Well, I am sorry for the display. I shouldn't--"
She stops her words upon feeling the man's hand rest on her shoulder. Her eyes once more move up to look at him, and his gentle smile eases her a bit on her worries. He wasn't judging her or some such. Which made Izumi feel all the more relieved.- She was scared for a moment that his reaction would be the same as All Might's at first, or that of her teacher.
"Don't worry. I understand, I really do...I know this may sound complex, but have you tried to regulate it? To...Hold back, so to speak? Believe me, I had to learn to do that quite quickly myself." With a hearty at his own memory, Midoriya can't help but be surprised at the proposition. Hold herself back? The power? She wasn't quite sure how to do that. The power always came out whenever she tried, and the best she could do was hope that her body wouldn't break.
"I...Don't know how." She finally murmurs.
"Well. It doesn't come easy at first. You got to practice it a bit." Spider-Man nods at that, his patience actually surprises her.- But he is kind enough to guide her to a punching back in the room to showcase his point. She watches him give it two punches; a casual one that barely moves it, and another one that hits it so hard it makes it slam against the ceiling for a moment.- Both of them made the same amount of apparent effort. Deku's eyes open wide again, though she knew well that was very far from his limit.
"Try to punch it with little strength, then punch harder after each one until you feel it's enough. In your case, it would probably be until you feel your body can't hold it."
Midoriya is a bit wary of attempting it at first. A combination of her worry due to the analytic eyes of the Spider Hero next to her, and the very real possibility of her punching everything away. But eventually, she heeds to his advice and starts to do as asked. Using her right hand which she closes into a fist, she starts to punch the hanging bag several times. With expected results that barely change punch after punch, still, he encourages her to just keep going. Punch after punch, she could barely feel the difference, but after a few minutes, it became evident there was more strength to her hits.
"..." She was speechless, though it was very early to come to any conclusion. Instead of commenting about it, she just continues with the routine, but her face turns to look at the Hero next to her and she asks with a slightly lower tone. "I...I don't get it. Why are you...Helping me?" The question was probably unnecessary, even uncalled for, Izumi realized almost the moment it escaped her lips and was about to apologize, but she didn't get the chance.
"May told me about what you did back in your first exam. How you broke that arm." Spider-Man points at her right arm, the one with the most scars due to that. "And what happened after, too. How you kept breaking your body. I figured something was not quite right about it...But I was surprised, you know? Not everyone is willing to go so far to help others or to accomplish something as simple as completing an exercise. Not with the kind of pain that causes..."
Izumi stops then, her arm lowers and she uses the other one to hold the punching bag in place to look at Spider-Man more properly. Her confused expression soon shifts to a small smile. "I..."
She was not ready for that question at first. Again, it took her aback and made her remain silent for a moment. Mayday and her mother left for a moment, so the silence wasn't broken by anything else for a few more seconds. But she eventually lifts her gaze again and responds, without stuttering.
"Because I want to be a hero. I want to save others."
"That's all?" His voice sounds genuinely surprised for a moment.
"What else could there be?" Deku's smile only grew faintly. "I want to be a hero that saves others. Like All Might, or...Like you. That's all...Why are you one?"
That last part, once more, came out without thinking it much, and it made the redness of her cheeks deeper still. But the man in front of her did not seem to mind, in fact, he gave her a nostalgic smile, as he leans forward and rests his hands on her shoulders once more.
"You probably heard this one before, but my uncl--" He pauses but only for a brief second before he corrects himself. "My father once told me that with great power, must also come great responsibility. I think that's why people like you and I have our gifts, so we can help others with it...And see, for all I get told? You seem to have a great power yourself."
Deku did not notice it at that exact moment, but there was a knowing smirk in Spider-Man's face, a hint of knowledge to something. She couldn't quite guess what, however. She was simply too awestruck by that.
"You are very brave to use it in the way you do. But you shouldn't worry about others because of it." With that, he now moves to stand up. His hand separating from her shoulders after a few firm pats on them. "Do you have someone that is very important to you? Someone that is worried about you?"
"..." Izumi frowns a bit. "Well, my mother...Doesn't like the scars."
"You shouldn't worry her more than necessary." He seems unable to hold a brief chuckle, and she realized there was a nostalgic aura about it. "It's also getting late. Let's not get her to worry too much? Get something to eat, and I'll take you with her. Sounds good?"
The man looks away in direction to the exit and he starts to walk there to lead her. Yet, Deku watches him from behind for a moment, with a frown, she tries to ask. "Can I..."
"Come again?" It was as if he read her mind. "...Well, can't say I am free every day, you know? We are working on a tight schedule these days, but...How about yo come here the next Friday again, and I can give you a few tips?"
Izumi gulps at that proposal. Her eyes lit up with excitement and hope, and she now rushes to his side as they walk together to the door. "T-That sounds great!" Is all she manages to say, with a huge, happy grin on her face. - She could not wait to tell All Might about this!
Midoriya stares from a top of the stairs to the massive dome that hosted the spaces for their next exercise. Mr. Aizawa had explained it already to the class what will the exercise entail on their way there, but words simply couldn't compare to being there and seeing it with their own eyes. The large dome was not only a technological marvel to prepare them for the scenarios that they would see in their work as Heroes.-- It was also impressive in its own right. She couldn't stop swooning over the sight, it made her feel in heaven, like a real hero in training. Meeting even more Heroes was just the tip of it all!
"Pay attention, Izumi!" Uraraka's words brought her out of her daydreaming once more, and she turns to look at the girl to smile at her again. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away again. Haha..." Scratching her cheek, Midoriya shakes her head and then nods again, though her attention shifts, now peeking from behind Uraraka to stare notice Mayday standing next to Sero, as she tended to do.
"...!" Without warning, Mayday starts to grab her head and scratch it, much to the surprise of the teachers and her classmates.- Her face now grimacing in deep pain.
"H-Hey! You alright there?" Sero tried to ask her, his hand held her in place due to her sudden lack of balance.
"Argh--!! Spider-Sense's going...!" She only managed to blurt for a few moments, before her face pales in fear and her eyes stare to the void, terrified. Deku had not seen someone so scared in a long time. Midoriya did not wait to rush to her side to help her as well, but she could only hear her cry out moments before the lights of the building start to flicker.
"What is--" Aizawa tried to speak, but once his face turns to the center of the dome, the same expression of worry overtakes him. Deku and the other students watch as well, only to realize what was happening just below the stairs. A dark purple mist emerges from it, like a cloud, and it soon grows larger and larger to give space to the strange figures that come out of it. Deku soon starts to pale as well, not so different as the rest of the students that can only watch with shock for a few seconds, even the teachers did not react to it at the moment. Just staring, as a decrepit and pale figure with hands all over its body appears to lead the group.
They could not hear a word from him due to the distance, but he appears to be talking. The realization of to who comes not long after, as another man comes out from the sinister gate-like cloud. This time he flies through the use of apparently biological wings, dressed as a Villain that Deku never heard of, but that had too much equipment to be just a simple nobody, he held a flaming sword with flames that would not snuff out, and they could hear him.- She heard him.- But only because he yelled from the top of his lungs in between demented cackling.
Deku had to find it in her to just look away from the dreadful sight, her eyes now set on Mayday, who continues to shake and quiver uncontrollably even in her and Sero's hold. "Is this...?" She tried to ask, but before she could even finish the foreign student shakes her head over and over again.
"Nononononono...!" Was the only word she stutters out, now pointing forward to the central plaza. The eyes of everyone turns to look at it again, for amidst the group of unknown invaders there was now one more that caught all of their attention, or at least, it was what had Mayday so scared, for she points at it directly.
A massive, black figure that stood above everyone in the group for at least a meter. Deku herself wasn't sure it was a person due to how it looked; Monstrous, with a black carapace that didn't look like actual skin. Large, inhuman claws in both feet and hands. A jaw with many sharp and dangerous fangs...And it had two white stains in its face, where the eyes should go. The image manages to chill Midoriya to the bone just as she watched the creature roll out its prehensile tongue out, drooling out a green spit.
"What is that thing...?" Midoriya murmurs, mostly to herself, but she got a response, either way, this time from Sero, who looked just as shocked as Mayday did.
"That's a...Monster."
All pictures, except the Kaminari, SpideyCat and Mayday one are official. So I won't bother to put credits for those. For the Kaminari one I didn't manage to find the original artist. But for SpideyCat is Staryabos, and for the Mayday on is satellite9 on Deviantart
With this, it should be up to date now.
It took me a while to make this one because I had to plan it a bit further. I knew I didn't want to do the Battle Trial Arc because it was redundant, and I knew I had to give Mayday and Izumi a more tangible relationship due to the way their stories were developing. The scene with her and the Parkers was actually from a bit further down the line, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to tone it down a bit and put it here to start explore the themes of the fic. Also get to the USJ once and for all.- Because let's be honest, this is where the things get interesting.
Also, I forgot to mention it but the whole deal with Iida and the break-in also happened but I didn't bother to put it either. But yeah, he is Class President here too.
I also know this chapter in particular has a lot of grammatical errors and I am looking into them. Spellcheckers can only do so much and so the grammar fell flat on this one. -I am very sorry for that, and I would appreciate if you could point some at me while you desire.
I hope you enjoyed it, dear reader. I am already writing the next chapter, and there are still some media/informational threadmarks I plan to add from the other forum.- As always, I am open for reviews of any kind and don't feel afraid to point any mistakes you feel I have made, I always read them and consider them.
So, in this case it's not an actual chapter, but just a few images I made using YourUltraArchive Tumblr to make sheets for both Mayday and Peter himself in the style of MHA, I really enjoy stuff like this, so I thought 'why not?' besides, its' a fun bit of world-building.
