Bokuboy A bit of a longer one at 3,900 words.
Mom and I sat there in our living room, stunned. Neither of us could believe what we just saw on live television. The screen went blank for a second and then the newsroom came on and the woman started talking. We didn't hear a word of what was said.
The phone rang and Lois picked it up. “Yes?” She paused and nodded. “I'll be right there.”
“Mom?” I asked and she gave me a blank stare.
“Your father needs me.” She said and stood.
“I'm coming, too.” I stood as well.
“Connor, they won't let you see him.”
“Oh, yes they will.” I said, adamant.
Lois gave me a nod and we left the house and drove to the closest hero medical facility to downtown. It was a madhouse. I held Mom's hand and we worked our way through the crowd to get to the reception desk.
“Superman, please. I'm his wife.” Lois said.
The crowded room went quiet and the nurse behind the desk nodded. She gave us a piece of paper with the room number on it and pointed where to go. We followed the directions and entered another busy room.
“Pulse erratic! Massive blood loss! He's not healing!” A nurse exclaimed. “We're losing him!”
“Step. Aside.” Lois ordered and the doctors and nurses stopped working and moved away at her command. We walked forward and looked at the ruined chest of Superman.
“Dad.” I whispered.
Superman opened his eyes and looked at us. “You... made... it.”
“Oh, Clark.” Lois said and her blank face broke and she started crying. “Why? Why were you so stupid?”
Superman chuckled and coughed up blood. “Couldn't... help it. Luthor was right. I took... too long.”
Lois let my hand go to cup the sides of his face. “Clark.”
“I love you.” Superman said. “I don't... regret...”
*BEEEEEEP*
“Miss? We need to work.” One of the doctors pleaded.
“No.” Lois said and took something out of her purse. “He doesn't want to be revived.”
“That's not your call. We have some of the best cybernetic parts and can...”
Lois ignored him and pushed a button on a little device as she laid it on Superman's chest.
“What is that?” A nurse asked.
“An eraser.” Lois said and stepped back. The device grew legs and crawled into the hole in Superman's chest, then it emitted a bright light. When the light faded, the body was gone, as was the blood, the sheets, and the pad on the stretcher.
I knew without seeing that the pool of blood at the site of the fight would be gone as well.
“Let's go. There's nothing left for us here.” Lois said and took my hand to lead me out of the room of stunned medical professionals.
We didn't speak at all and everyone that saw us pass by, knew that the world had lost a true hero.
*
Everyone was in shock. Superman was dead, All Might was grievously injured, and the villain survived having a broken neck and shattered spine. At least he was crippled and had been sent to prison, which was a relief.
I was ten, without a father, and my mother had thrown herself into her work. She wanted to track down every last villain that had been involved in the first war and the latest fight. She made it her crusade to see them all brought to justice and being an investigative reporter helped her a lot in her chosen task.
As for me, I only had one friend since I was a baby. Izuku Midoria. You see, we were both classed as quirkless because we didn't show off any powers. In a society that mostly consisted of people with quirks, we were considered less than useless. The thing was, that meant everyone that had a quirk bullied us.
The worst offender was Katsugi Bakugo. He had an explosion quirk and thought we were the lowest of the low. He rallied the others, even those with useless quirks like extendable fingers, to help and torment us. Neither Izuku nor I let it get us down, though. We knew they were just jealous of our intelligence and our drive to still be heroes.
We told them off all the time, using words they didn't understand, and we would laugh as they tried and failed to crush our spirit. We even secretly trained to strengthen our normal bodies at a pace that didn't stunt our normal physical growth. We were too smart to overdo it and only enhanced ourselves for lean muscles and quick reflexes. Not that anyone ever suspected that, because we never showed off.
*
Four years of blissful peace later, we were fourteen and were a year away from finishing middle school. No one knew what our plans were and we were at the top of the class, much to the other students and the teacher's dismay. We showed those idiots that our intelligence was just as important as having a quirk. None of them even came close to our test scores and we had several scholarship offers for different academies across the country.
“Today is the day you decide what academies you apply to for next year, not that I need to ask. You all want to be heroes, don't you?” The teacher asked and lifted up the forms and the class started to yell and the students started using their quirks. He laughed and waved for them to settle down, although he didn't enforce the school's policy of no quirks in class.
“Quiet, you extras!” Bakugo spat and let off a wide dispersal explosion in the air to make them all flinch. “None of you are good enough to be heroes like me! I'm going to UA and I'll show you all! I'll show you that All Might's time is over and I'll be the number one hero!”
*WHAP!*
“OW!” Bakugo said and rubbed the back of his head. “Who's the bastard that hit me?!?”
The whole class went quiet as Bakugo turned around and saw two teens standing behind him.
“YOU!” Bakugo spat when he saw Connor and Izuku standing there with their fists clenched. He started to charge up another explosion and the teacher coughed.
“Please, no more destruction today.” The teacher said and handed out the forms.
Bakugo growled and stopped the sparks before they ignited. He grabbed the form and sat down with a grunt.
“Detention for the two of you after school. You punched first.” The teacher said and handed a form to the two teens that were still standing.
Connor and Izuku had long ago accepted that they would be blamed for everything and didn't comment as they took the forms and sat down. They exchanged a knowing look and quickly filled out the forms.
An hour later, the teacher gathered them up an went back to the front of the class. The day was almost over, so he quickly shuffled through them to see how many were shooting above their abilities. He almost laughed as he found three UA applicants. One he expected, Bakugo. The other two were both a surprise and a disappointment. He would need to discourage them.
“It seems we have a budding pro hero in our class.” The teacher said and stood. “I'm sure UA will be proud to have the star of our school attending, Bakugo.”
“You bet your ass they will!” Bakugo shouted, pleased at the recognition.
“It also seems two of you are a little delusional about what it takes to be a hero.” The teacher said and looked at the two delinquents. “Connor and Izuku. You won't be accepted into the hero course at the premier hero school in the country.”
The two teens didn't say anything at all the jeers from their classmates.
“How DARE you!” Bakugo spat and jumped up onto his chair. “No rejects are gonna mess with my future school! Only I deserve to leave this crappy middle school to ascend the heights of hero society!”
“I'm surprised you know what ascend means.” Izuku muttered.
“WHAT did you say to me?” Bakugo shouted and sparks came from his hands.
“He called you an idiot, not that an idiot like you would understand that.” Connor said.
“You're DEAD!” Bakugo spat and lunged.
Connor easily dodged such a blatant attack and then the bell rang. “Oh, look. It's time for immature angry babies to leave.”
Bakugo growled and turned to glare. “I'll be waiting for you outside!”
“That hasn't worked for you in years, you dunce.” Izuku said and pointed at the door. “Go ahead and keep wasting your time somewhere else.”
Bakugo grit his teeth and stormed out of the classroom with his hands sparking the whole time. The other students filed out and the teacher gave Connor and Izuku stern looks.
“You need to stop antagonizing him.”
Connor and Izuku once again shared knowing looks and didn't respond. They both knew it was always Bakugo that started things and that the teacher always favored him. Complaining never gained anything.
The teacher sighed and told them part of the school book that they would need to copy out for detention. Both boys stood up and walked over to his desk to hand him a pre-written report on the chapter. He stared at the cleanly written assignments and didn't know what to say.
“We wrote out the whole book.” Connor said and he nodded to Izuku before they left barely a minute after their detention started.
“Do you think he hung around or will he come back in an hour?” Izuku asked.
“That depends. Does he have an analytical awareness of the situation like we do?” Connor asked.
Izuku thought about it for three seconds. “Yes. He knows we can outsmart the teacher and ditch early. We need to use the south exit today.”
Connor smiled and pat Izuku on the back. “I was thinking the same thing. Let's go.”
Both boys avoided meeting their hated bully again that day. Unfortunately, they met something else instead.
“Fresh meatbags!” A pile of sludge shouted and grew into a blanket size and then lunged at them.
“NO!” Connor yelled as Izuku was caught on the legs, even as they dodged.
“I got you now! Ha hahaha!” The sludge pile with eyes said and started flowing over his latest victim.
“I'm not losing you!” Connor shouted and dug his hands into the sludge and it was like pulling taffy.
“Save yourself!” Izuku said and pushed him away. “I won't let him get the both of us!”
“I'm not going anywhere.” Connor said and started to move faster. He was actually making progress when there was a loud thump behind him.
“I'VE GOT THIS!” A familiar voice called out and the two teens and the villain stopped and turned to look.
“All Might!” They said as one.
“Dakota SMASH!” All Might yelled and he was instantly beside them and his fist slammed into the sludge villain's face. It was instantly pulverized into little bits and could no longer hold onto Izuku.
It took ten minutes for them to gather up all the pieces and to shove it into an old pop bottle. All Might bent a piece of metal to make a cover.
“He can be compressed and expand to oversize.” Izuku whispered and nodded his head. “It's too bad he looks like he does. He could have been a great hero with the right support system.”
All Might stared at the spiky green haired teen. “Excuse me?”
“He said something about meatbags and I thought he mentioned making me a puppet. It would be a great power to use against villains that don't want to cooperate.”
“That's a good point.” Connor said and eyes the bottle. “Unfortunately, he's lost to his abilities and only wants to possess things.”
Izuku looked down at his uniform and sighed at the small holes scattered over it. “He has a slight corrosive element to his molecular biology, too.”
Conner looked at his arms and saw his uniform looked the same. “Hey, you're right. I wonder how long it would take for him to dissolve his puppet?”
“If our clothing is any indication, I'd say a month.” Izuku said. “Even with that, as long as he released the puppet within a week, neither of them would be damaged.”
“That's what I think, too.” Connor agreed.
All Might was speechless. Both of these teens had just been in a life and death situation and they were discussing the values of the villain's quirk like it was just another day. “I need to get this thing to the authorities.”
“Hmm? Oh, sure All Might. Thanks for helping.” Connor said.
“Say, could I get your autograph?” Izuku asked and took out a black notebook from his backpack. “I've been a fan of yours since I was a kid.”
“Of course.” All Might said and flipped through the book, only for his eyes to widen as each page had a hero and an in depth analysis of their quirks. “What is this thing?”
Connor chuckled. “Our side project. We geek out over everyone's powers because we're quirkless.”
All Might was shocked to hear that. What were the odds I would meet two quirkless students on the same day?
“It's really going to help us when we apply to UA.” Izuku said. “Knowing how quirks work is invaluable.”
UA? Really? All Might thought. That's not really something a quirkless person should hope for.
“I'm applying because of my Dad.” Connor said. “He loved being a hero... and he... he died doing what he loved.”
Izuku put an arm over his friend's shoulders briefly and let him go. “Even if we don't get into the hero course, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we tried and did our best. There's lots of spots for the general and support courses.”
Connor nodded and sighed.
All Might thought that was quite noble. “If you don't mind me asking, who was your father?”
Connor hesitated for a moment. He promised his mother that he wouldn't tell anyone; but, this was his dad's best friend. “He was the hero known as Superman.”
All Might coughed and a spurt of blood came out. “C-Connor? You're Connor Kent?”
Connor blinked his eyes. “You know who I am?”
“Your father talked about you all the time.” All Might said and put a hand on his shoulder. “His little genius.”
Connor smiled and nodded. “He always did say that.”
“Well, young Kent. I must be off.” All Might said and stood up to his full height. “Good day, you two.”
“Bye, All Might.” Connor and Izuku said at the same time and watched All Might jump away.
“Well, that just happened.” Connor said and looked at his best friend. “Go ahead.”
Izuku gave him a blank look for a second and then shouted. “WE JUST MET ALL MIGHT! I GOT HIS AUTOGRAPH!”
Connor laughed and put his arm around his friend's shoulders. “Come on, we need to get home. We'll have to cut across the alley near the station to get back to your street.”
“Mom's going to kill me.” Izuku said, remembering his ruined uniform.
“Hey, we can claim it in the villain damage deduction. We have All Might as a witness, so they can't tell us no this time!”
Izuku didn't look convinced.
“Well, we can try.” Connor said with a grin and Izuku chuckled. They both knew they would be denied.
They walked on for about half an hour before they came across another villain attack.
“He's got a kid!” A spectator shouted.
“Why aren't you helping?” A woman asked the heroes.
“Our quirks won't work against that sludge and we're waiting for someone to come and handle it.” One of the heroes said.
Sludge? Connor and Izuku thought at the same time, looked at each other, and ran over to look. “It's him!” They said at the same time and saw the sludge villain flowing over someone.
“You have to help her!” An older woman exclaimed. “If that villain gains her quirk, we're all in trouble!”
“H-h-help.” A female voice whimpered.
Connor wasn't sure why he could hear her and he didn't question it. “Izuku! Combat Team Up!”
Izuku nodded agreement and the two of them hopped over the police barricade.
“Hey! Stop! There's a villain over there!” A cop shouted.
They ignored the warning and Connor ran ahead, then ducked to present his back for his friend. Izuku stepped onto his back and used it like a launching platform as he leapt, both feet out in front of him.
“Damn kids! Leave me alone! I already have... URRGGLLL!” The villain gurgled as Izuku slammed his feet into the villain's face and smashed it as he sailed through.
Izuku flipped over and landed on his feet and one hand as he slid slightly to stop, then both he and Connor ran at the villain from two directions. Before the villain could recover from having his head turned into mush, he was hit with a clothesline from from the front and from behind. Conner went high and Izuku went low, flipping the sludge over and making it splat onto the pavement.
“Ugghhhh.” The young woman groaned and was now half visible.
“Don't worry, we know how to handle this.” Connor said and grabbed onto the girl's torso as he nodded to Izuku.
“I've got it.” Izuku said and ran over to the nearest fire hydrant. He glanced around and saw a stop sign, kicked it at the base, bent it and broke it, then went to the fire hydrant.
Everyone stared in shock at this and then gaped as he easily used the leverage the signpost gave him to pry open the side cap of the hydrant and water shot out onto the street.
“No... let go... he'll get... you, too.” The young woman whispered as the sludge started to cover her again.
“Not a chance! We're saving you, even if we don't have quirks.” Connor said and saw the look of surprise on her face. “Close your eyes and hold your breath! We're about to get soaked!”
She did it immediately and they were splashed with a deluge of water. Connor held his breath and slowly started to stand and pull the young woman up as well. For some reason, he felt a bit stronger than he normally did. The water diluted the villain's sludge properties and it couldn't hold onto either Connor or the hostage tightly enough to stop them from escaping.
“Izuku!” Connor said and turned to toss the girl without looking.
“Got her!” Izuku said and caught her. He quickly brought her over to the older woman that had pleaded for her life.
“Thank you, young man.” The woman said and held her daughter tightly.
“All in a day's work, ma'am.” Izuku said and ran back to Connor.
“Wait, you idiot! You can't go back there!” One of the heroes shouted.
“You're the idiot that's not doing their job!” Connor shouted back. “Izuku? Is any of the sludge in my eyes?”
“No, but let me wash you off anyway.” Izuku said and splashed water all over him. They didn't worry about the girl because she was right in the middle of the stream from the fire hydrant. “Okay, you're good.”
“Thanks.” Connor said and they walked away from the diluted puddle on the ground. “Someone cap the fire hydrant! We don't want the villain to wash away and escape!”
“Yeah!” The civilians around yelled in support.
One of the heroes managed to cap it again and the others gathered around the sludge pile and wondered what to do with it.
“Get sealed containers to stop it from getting away.” Izuku said with a shake of his head. “Did you graduate from the hero course or the idiot course?”
The heroes were angered by his words and yet they couldn't say much, since two kids had easily handled something that they couldn't. It would make them look like fools if they argued back.
“That was an incredibly stupid thing to do.” A hero that looked to be made of wood said.
“No, what was stupid was a bunch of heroes standing aside and letting a villain assault a beautiful girl.” Connor said and missed seeing that girl blushing furiously.
“A hero's job is to put his life on the line, no matter the odds, and save everyone that they can.” Izuku said. “You shouldn't be classing what people to save based on just your quirk.”
A lot of the people around them nodded in agreement.
“You don't have licenses to...”
“We also don't have quirks, so you can stuff your excuses.” Connor said to shut him up.
The cops, the heroes, and the civilians around them gasped and muttered in surprise.
“You don't have quirks?” The woman holding her daughter asked.
“No, but that won't stop us from being heroes.” Connor said and looked at his bare arms and the ruined school uniform. “It may impact our wardrobe, though.”
That made a few people laugh. Some uncomfortably, as they looked at the heroes carefully trying to coax the pieces of sludge into different containers without touching it.
“I will cover the cost of replacing your uniforms.” The woman said and handed Connor a business card. “Let whatever shop you use know that the Yaoyorozu Group is good for it.”
Izuku and Connor froze at the name. They both knew that they were one of the biggest business conglomerates in the country. “Ma'am.” They said as one and bowed deeply to show the proper respect.
“You saved my daughter's life and the city untold damage by stopping the villain before he absorbed her and her quirk. It is the least I can do for your heroics.” The woman said. “Let's go home, Momo.”
They started to walk away and then Momo stopped. “Mother, wait.”
“What is it, dear? You need rest after an event like that.”
“Their names.” Momo said and blushed. “We didn't ask them their names.”
The woman nodded and let her out of the hug.
Momo walked over to the two teens and blushed again. “May I know your names?”
“I'm Connor and he's Izuku.” Connor said and reached out to take her hand. He placed a kiss on the back of it and handed the hand to Izuku, who repeated the gesture and kissed it.
“We are honored to meet you.” Izuku said and let her hand go.
Momo's face was bright red and her mother behind her nodded her head in approval. “Are you applying to UA?”
“We both are.” Connor said, proudly.
“Then... I will see you there.” Momo said and quickly turned and went back to her mother's side.
“Okay, wow.” Izuku whispered.
“Yeah. That just happened.” Connor said and then chuckled. “We're not even heroes yet and we're already heroes!”
Izuku laughed as well. “We better get out of here before the heroes are done and try to scold us again.”
“Good idea.” Connor said and the two teens walked away at a fast pace.
The both of them had completely missed an emaciated man that had stood at the back of the crowd and had watched the whole thing. He had been too shocked by the sight to even speak, let alone intervene.
Bokuboy A bit of a longer one at 3,900 words.
Mom and I sat there in our living room, stunned. Neither of us could believe what we just saw on live television. The screen went blank for a second and then the newsroom came on and the woman started talking. We didn't hear a word of what was said.
The phone rang and Lois picked it up. “Yes?” She paused and nodded. “I'll be right there.”
“Mom?” I asked and she gave me a blank stare.
“Your father needs me.” She said and stood.
“I'm coming, too.” I stood as well.
“Connor, they won't let you see him.”
“Oh, yes they will.” I said, adamant.
Lois gave me a nod and we left the house and drove to the closest hero medical facility to downtown. It was a madhouse. I held Mom's hand and we worked our way through the crowd to get to the reception desk.
“Superman, please. I'm his wife.” Lois said.
The crowded room went quiet and the nurse behind the desk nodded. She gave us a piece of paper with the room number on it and pointed where to go. We followed the directions and entered another busy room.
“Pulse erratic! Massive blood loss! He's not healing!” A nurse exclaimed. “We're losing him!”
“Step. Aside.” Lois ordered and the doctors and nurses stopped working and moved away at her command. We walked forward and looked at the ruined chest of Superman.
“Dad.” I whispered.
Superman opened his eyes and looked at us. “You... made... it.”
“Oh, Clark.” Lois said and her blank face broke and she started crying. “Why? Why were you so stupid?”
Superman chuckled and coughed up blood. “Couldn't... help it. Luthor was right. I took... too long.”
Lois let my hand go to cup the sides of his face. “Clark.”
“I love you.” Superman said. “I don't... regret...”
*BEEEEEEP*
“Miss? We need to work.” One of the doctors pleaded.
“No.” Lois said and took something out of her purse. “He doesn't want to be revived.”
“That's not your call. We have some of the best cybernetic parts and can...”
Lois ignored him and pushed a button on a little device as she laid it on Superman's chest.
“What is that?” A nurse asked.
“An eraser.” Lois said and stepped back. The device grew legs and crawled into the hole in Superman's chest, then it emitted a bright light. When the light faded, the body was gone, as was the blood, the sheets, and the pad on the stretcher.
I knew without seeing that the pool of blood at the site of the fight would be gone as well.
“Let's go. There's nothing left for us here.” Lois said and took my hand to lead me out of the room of stunned medical professionals.
We didn't speak at all and everyone that saw us pass by, knew that the world had lost a true hero.
*
Everyone was in shock. Superman was dead, All Might was grievously injured, and the villain survived having a broken neck and shattered spine. At least he was crippled and had been sent to prison, which was a relief.
I was ten, without a father, and my mother had thrown herself into her work. She wanted to track down every last villain that had been involved in the first war and the latest fight. She made it her crusade to see them all brought to justice and being an investigative reporter helped her a lot in her chosen task.
As for me, I only had one friend since I was a baby. Izuku Midoria. You see, we were both classed as quirkless because we didn't show off any powers. In a society that mostly consisted of people with quirks, we were considered less than useless. The thing was, that meant everyone that had a quirk bullied us.
The worst offender was Katsugi Bakugo. He had an explosion quirk and thought we were the lowest of the low. He rallied the others, even those with useless quirks like extendable fingers, to help and torment us. Neither Izuku nor I let it get us down, though. We knew they were just jealous of our intelligence and our drive to still be heroes.
We told them off all the time, using words they didn't understand, and we would laugh as they tried and failed to crush our spirit. We even secretly trained to strengthen our normal bodies at a pace that didn't stunt our normal physical growth. We were too smart to overdo it and only enhanced ourselves for lean muscles and quick reflexes. Not that anyone ever suspected that, because we never showed off.
*
Four years of blissful peace later, we were fourteen and were a year away from finishing middle school. No one knew what our plans were and we were at the top of the class, much to the other students and the teacher's dismay. We showed those idiots that our intelligence was just as important as having a quirk. None of them even came close to our test scores and we had several scholarship offers for different academies across the country.
“Today is the day you decide what academies you apply to for next year, not that I need to ask. You all want to be heroes, don't you?” The teacher asked and lifted up the forms and the class started to yell and the students started using their quirks. He laughed and waved for them to settle down, although he didn't enforce the school's policy of no quirks in class.
“Quiet, you extras!” Bakugo spat and let off a wide dispersal explosion in the air to make them all flinch. “None of you are good enough to be heroes like me! I'm going to UA and I'll show you all! I'll show you that All Might's time is over and I'll be the number one hero!”
*WHAP!*
“OW!” Bakugo said and rubbed the back of his head. “Who's the bastard that hit me?!?”
The whole class went quiet as Bakugo turned around and saw two teens standing behind him.
“YOU!” Bakugo spat when he saw Connor and Izuku standing there with their fists clenched. He started to charge up another explosion and the teacher coughed.
“Please, no more destruction today.” The teacher said and handed out the forms.
Bakugo growled and stopped the sparks before they ignited. He grabbed the form and sat down with a grunt.
“Detention for the two of you after school. You punched first.” The teacher said and handed a form to the two teens that were still standing.
Connor and Izuku had long ago accepted that they would be blamed for everything and didn't comment as they took the forms and sat down. They exchanged a knowing look and quickly filled out the forms.
An hour later, the teacher gathered them up an went back to the front of the class. The day was almost over, so he quickly shuffled through them to see how many were shooting above their abilities. He almost laughed as he found three UA applicants. One he expected, Bakugo. The other two were both a surprise and a disappointment. He would need to discourage them.
“It seems we have a budding pro hero in our class.” The teacher said and stood. “I'm sure UA will be proud to have the star of our school attending, Bakugo.”
“You bet your ass they will!” Bakugo shouted, pleased at the recognition.
“It also seems two of you are a little delusional about what it takes to be a hero.” The teacher said and looked at the two delinquents. “Connor and Izuku. You won't be accepted into the hero course at the premier hero school in the country.”
The two teens didn't say anything at all the jeers from their classmates.
“How DARE you!” Bakugo spat and jumped up onto his chair. “No rejects are gonna mess with my future school! Only I deserve to leave this crappy middle school to ascend the heights of hero society!”
“I'm surprised you know what ascend means.” Izuku muttered.
“WHAT did you say to me?” Bakugo shouted and sparks came from his hands.
“He called you an idiot, not that an idiot like you would understand that.” Connor said.
“You're DEAD!” Bakugo spat and lunged.
Connor easily dodged such a blatant attack and then the bell rang. “Oh, look. It's time for immature angry babies to leave.”
Bakugo growled and turned to glare. “I'll be waiting for you outside!”
“That hasn't worked for you in years, you dunce.” Izuku said and pointed at the door. “Go ahead and keep wasting your time somewhere else.”
Bakugo grit his teeth and stormed out of the classroom with his hands sparking the whole time. The other students filed out and the teacher gave Connor and Izuku stern looks.
“You need to stop antagonizing him.”
Connor and Izuku once again shared knowing looks and didn't respond. They both knew it was always Bakugo that started things and that the teacher always favored him. Complaining never gained anything.
The teacher sighed and told them part of the school book that they would need to copy out for detention. Both boys stood up and walked over to his desk to hand him a pre-written report on the chapter. He stared at the cleanly written assignments and didn't know what to say.
“We wrote out the whole book.” Connor said and he nodded to Izuku before they left barely a minute after their detention started.
“Do you think he hung around or will he come back in an hour?” Izuku asked.
“That depends. Does he have an analytical awareness of the situation like we do?” Connor asked.
Izuku thought about it for three seconds. “Yes. He knows we can outsmart the teacher and ditch early. We need to use the south exit today.”
Connor smiled and pat Izuku on the back. “I was thinking the same thing. Let's go.”
Both boys avoided meeting their hated bully again that day. Unfortunately, they met something else instead.
“Fresh meatbags!” A pile of sludge shouted and grew into a blanket size and then lunged at them.
“NO!” Connor yelled as Izuku was caught on the legs, even as they dodged.
“I got you now! Ha hahaha!” The sludge pile with eyes said and started flowing over his latest victim.
“I'm not losing you!” Connor shouted and dug his hands into the sludge and it was like pulling taffy.
“Save yourself!” Izuku said and pushed him away. “I won't let him get the both of us!”
“I'm not going anywhere.” Connor said and started to move faster. He was actually making progress when there was a loud thump behind him.
“I'VE GOT THIS!” A familiar voice called out and the two teens and the villain stopped and turned to look.
“All Might!” They said as one.
“Dakota SMASH!” All Might yelled and he was instantly beside them and his fist slammed into the sludge villain's face. It was instantly pulverized into little bits and could no longer hold onto Izuku.
It took ten minutes for them to gather up all the pieces and to shove it into an old pop bottle. All Might bent a piece of metal to make a cover.
“He can be compressed and expand to oversize.” Izuku whispered and nodded his head. “It's too bad he looks like he does. He could have been a great hero with the right support system.”
All Might stared at the spiky green haired teen. “Excuse me?”
“He said something about meatbags and I thought he mentioned making me a puppet. It would be a great power to use against villains that don't want to cooperate.”
“That's a good point.” Connor said and eyes the bottle. “Unfortunately, he's lost to his abilities and only wants to possess things.”
Izuku looked down at his uniform and sighed at the small holes scattered over it. “He has a slight corrosive element to his molecular biology, too.”
Conner looked at his arms and saw his uniform looked the same. “Hey, you're right. I wonder how long it would take for him to dissolve his puppet?”
“If our clothing is any indication, I'd say a month.” Izuku said. “Even with that, as long as he released the puppet within a week, neither of them would be damaged.”
“That's what I think, too.” Connor agreed.
All Might was speechless. Both of these teens had just been in a life and death situation and they were discussing the values of the villain's quirk like it was just another day. “I need to get this thing to the authorities.”
“Hmm? Oh, sure All Might. Thanks for helping.” Connor said.
“Say, could I get your autograph?” Izuku asked and took out a black notebook from his backpack. “I've been a fan of yours since I was a kid.”
“Of course.” All Might said and flipped through the book, only for his eyes to widen as each page had a hero and an in depth analysis of their quirks. “What is this thing?”
Connor chuckled. “Our side project. We geek out over everyone's powers because we're quirkless.”
All Might was shocked to hear that. What were the odds I would meet two quirkless students on the same day?
“It's really going to help us when we apply to UA.” Izuku said. “Knowing how quirks work is invaluable.”
UA? Really? All Might thought. That's not really something a quirkless person should hope for.
“I'm applying because of my Dad.” Connor said. “He loved being a hero... and he... he died doing what he loved.”
Izuku put an arm over his friend's shoulders briefly and let him go. “Even if we don't get into the hero course, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we tried and did our best. There's lots of spots for the general and support courses.”
Connor nodded and sighed.
All Might thought that was quite noble. “If you don't mind me asking, who was your father?”
Connor hesitated for a moment. He promised his mother that he wouldn't tell anyone; but, this was his dad's best friend. “He was the hero known as Superman.”
All Might coughed and a spurt of blood came out. “C-Connor? You're Connor Kent?”
Connor blinked his eyes. “You know who I am?”
“Your father talked about you all the time.” All Might said and put a hand on his shoulder. “His little genius.”
Connor smiled and nodded. “He always did say that.”
“Well, young Kent. I must be off.” All Might said and stood up to his full height. “Good day, you two.”
“Bye, All Might.” Connor and Izuku said at the same time and watched All Might jump away.
“Well, that just happened.” Connor said and looked at his best friend. “Go ahead.”
Izuku gave him a blank look for a second and then shouted. “WE JUST MET ALL MIGHT! I GOT HIS AUTOGRAPH!”
Connor laughed and put his arm around his friend's shoulders. “Come on, we need to get home. We'll have to cut across the alley near the station to get back to your street.”
“Mom's going to kill me.” Izuku said, remembering his ruined uniform.
“Hey, we can claim it in the villain damage deduction. We have All Might as a witness, so they can't tell us no this time!”
Izuku didn't look convinced.
“Well, we can try.” Connor said with a grin and Izuku chuckled. They both knew they would be denied.
They walked on for about half an hour before they came across another villain attack.
“He's got a kid!” A spectator shouted.
“Why aren't you helping?” A woman asked the heroes.
“Our quirks won't work against that sludge and we're waiting for someone to come and handle it.” One of the heroes said.
Sludge? Connor and Izuku thought at the same time, looked at each other, and ran over to look. “It's him!” They said at the same time and saw the sludge villain flowing over someone.
“You have to help her!” An older woman exclaimed. “If that villain gains her quirk, we're all in trouble!”
“H-h-help.” A female voice whimpered.
Connor wasn't sure why he could hear her and he didn't question it. “Izuku! Combat Team Up!”
Izuku nodded agreement and the two of them hopped over the police barricade.
“Hey! Stop! There's a villain over there!” A cop shouted.
They ignored the warning and Connor ran ahead, then ducked to present his back for his friend. Izuku stepped onto his back and used it like a launching platform as he leapt, both feet out in front of him.
“Damn kids! Leave me alone! I already have... URRGGLLL!” The villain gurgled as Izuku slammed his feet into the villain's face and smashed it as he sailed through.
Izuku flipped over and landed on his feet and one hand as he slid slightly to stop, then both he and Connor ran at the villain from two directions. Before the villain could recover from having his head turned into mush, he was hit with a clothesline from from the front and from behind. Conner went high and Izuku went low, flipping the sludge over and making it splat onto the pavement.
“Ugghhhh.” The young woman groaned and was now half visible.
“Don't worry, we know how to handle this.” Connor said and grabbed onto the girl's torso as he nodded to Izuku.
“I've got it.” Izuku said and ran over to the nearest fire hydrant. He glanced around and saw a stop sign, kicked it at the base, bent it and broke it, then went to the fire hydrant.
Everyone stared in shock at this and then gaped as he easily used the leverage the signpost gave him to pry open the side cap of the hydrant and water shot out onto the street.
“No... let go... he'll get... you, too.” The young woman whispered as the sludge started to cover her again.
“Not a chance! We're saving you, even if we don't have quirks.” Connor said and saw the look of surprise on her face. “Close your eyes and hold your breath! We're about to get soaked!”
She did it immediately and they were splashed with a deluge of water. Connor held his breath and slowly started to stand and pull the young woman up as well. For some reason, he felt a bit stronger than he normally did. The water diluted the villain's sludge properties and it couldn't hold onto either Connor or the hostage tightly enough to stop them from escaping.
“Izuku!” Connor said and turned to toss the girl without looking.
“Got her!” Izuku said and caught her. He quickly brought her over to the older woman that had pleaded for her life.
“Thank you, young man.” The woman said and held her daughter tightly.
“All in a day's work, ma'am.” Izuku said and ran back to Connor.
“Wait, you idiot! You can't go back there!” One of the heroes shouted.
“You're the idiot that's not doing their job!” Connor shouted back. “Izuku? Is any of the sludge in my eyes?”
“No, but let me wash you off anyway.” Izuku said and splashed water all over him. They didn't worry about the girl because she was right in the middle of the stream from the fire hydrant. “Okay, you're good.”
“Thanks.” Connor said and they walked away from the diluted puddle on the ground. “Someone cap the fire hydrant! We don't want the villain to wash away and escape!”
“Yeah!” The civilians around yelled in support.
One of the heroes managed to cap it again and the others gathered around the sludge pile and wondered what to do with it.
“Get sealed containers to stop it from getting away.” Izuku said with a shake of his head. “Did you graduate from the hero course or the idiot course?”
The heroes were angered by his words and yet they couldn't say much, since two kids had easily handled something that they couldn't. It would make them look like fools if they argued back.
“That was an incredibly stupid thing to do.” A hero that looked to be made of wood said.
“No, what was stupid was a bunch of heroes standing aside and letting a villain assault a beautiful girl.” Connor said and missed seeing that girl blushing furiously.
“A hero's job is to put his life on the line, no matter the odds, and save everyone that they can.” Izuku said. “You shouldn't be classing what people to save based on just your quirk.”
A lot of the people around them nodded in agreement.
“You don't have licenses to...”
“We also don't have quirks, so you can stuff your excuses.” Connor said to shut him up.
The cops, the heroes, and the civilians around them gasped and muttered in surprise.
“You don't have quirks?” The woman holding her daughter asked.
“No, but that won't stop us from being heroes.” Connor said and looked at his bare arms and the ruined school uniform. “It may impact our wardrobe, though.”
That made a few people laugh. Some uncomfortably, as they looked at the heroes carefully trying to coax the pieces of sludge into different containers without touching it.
“I will cover the cost of replacing your uniforms.” The woman said and handed Connor a business card. “Let whatever shop you use know that the Yaoyorozu Group is good for it.”
Izuku and Connor froze at the name. They both knew that they were one of the biggest business conglomerates in the country. “Ma'am.” They said as one and bowed deeply to show the proper respect.
“You saved my daughter's life and the city untold damage by stopping the villain before he absorbed her and her quirk. It is the least I can do for your heroics.” The woman said. “Let's go home, Momo.”
They started to walk away and then Momo stopped. “Mother, wait.”
“What is it, dear? You need rest after an event like that.”
“Their names.” Momo said and blushed. “We didn't ask them their names.”
The woman nodded and let her out of the hug.
Momo walked over to the two teens and blushed again. “May I know your names?”
“I'm Connor and he's Izuku.” Connor said and reached out to take her hand. He placed a kiss on the back of it and handed the hand to Izuku, who repeated the gesture and kissed it.
“We are honored to meet you.” Izuku said and let her hand go.
Momo's face was bright red and her mother behind her nodded her head in approval. “Are you applying to UA?”
“We both are.” Connor said, proudly.
“Then... I will see you there.” Momo said and quickly turned and went back to her mother's side.
“Okay, wow.” Izuku whispered.
“Yeah. That just happened.” Connor said and then chuckled. “We're not even heroes yet and we're already heroes!”
Izuku laughed as well. “We better get out of here before the heroes are done and try to scold us again.”
“Good idea.” Connor said and the two teens walked away at a fast pace.
The both of them had completely missed an emaciated man that had stood at the back of the crowd and had watched the whole thing. He had been too shocked by the sight to even speak, let alone intervene.
