Do you want to know my story?

Are you sure you want to know?

The tale I'm going to spin isn't for the faint of heart and...

Wait! Wait, don't go!

O-Okay look, this is the first time I've told anybody what happened like this, so please be patient!

Our story begins like a lot of manga and comics do... in middle school.

Izuku Midoriya was tapping his pencil anxiously as he listened to Urobuchi-sensei droning on and on about the Meiji period. History wasn't Izuku's favorite subject. At least, not ancient history.

The Dark Age before year 20XX was far more Izuku's speed. The Age of Destro kick-started an era of death, chaos, and upheaval not seen since Quirks first began appearing in the world. Society was on the verge of collapse and only the fledgling Hero system maintained some semblance of order.

But everything changed when All Might came onto the scene.

All Might, the Symbol of Peace. Whenever he arrived, the Villain was captured and nobody was hurt. He'd always appear with the widest grin on his face, his booming laughter echoing through the air no matter what kind of danger he plunged into.

Whether it was rescuing people, stopping criminals, or just getting a kitten out of a tree, no job was too large or too small for All Might. Evildoers dreaded his name while the innocent knew that everything was going to be alright when they saw his smile!

A goofy grin spread across Izuku's lips as he sketched a crude drawing of All Might's face into his notebook. He couldn't help it. Thinking about his idol always put him in a great mood.

"Man, I wish I could see that video of him taking out those bank robbers earlier today I can't believe it happened just a few blocks from here!"

The bell rang and Izuku began packing his notebooks into his bag. "Not only that, All Might actually teamed up with Ingenium for that! It'll be the first time I've ever seen him be partnered with a speed Quirk user. I can see how Ingenium stacks up against All Might in that depart-!"

"Hey! Deku!"

Izuku winced, turning around to see his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugou sauntering towards him with a fierce scowl on his face.

"Your mumbling bullshit is getting on my nerves! I could hear it all the way from my desk!"

"S-sorry, Kacchan..." Izuku apologized while bowing his head. He had that problem ever since he was a kid and people have complained about it before. "I'm working on it and..."

"And what the hell are you doing obsessing over the speed of All Might and Ingen-whatever?" Bakugou asked with a sneer of contempt.

Izuku could hear his classmates mutter to themselves.

"Ah, geez here they go again..."

"I know Bakugou has an awesome Quirk, but he's way too pig-headed."

"Hey, better he be an ass to Midoriya than to us."

"Heh. True that. At least I've got a Quirk."

"Honestly, Midoriya's just sad..."

Izuku's heart sank as the chorus of insults and pity began. "W-Well, I mean, I just want to gather information and..."

"Dream on, Deku." Bakugou poked Izuku on the forehead hard enough to knock him to the floor. "Your scrawny little ass couldn't even hope to catch up to them. I mean, have you seen yourself in Phys Ed? It's a disgrace you're even competing against me, let alone all these other losers!"

"I-I was just..."

Izuku's gaze drifted to the ground. Everything Bakugou said was true. His physical condition was lacking...

...It was sad, really. Clinging to his dream like this. One would think he would devote his mind and body to training, like one of those comic characters of old...

But that was fiction. This was reality.

Bakugou clicked his tongue in annoyance, "So stop muttering or shouting that bullshit. You're distracting an elite like me from getting what I deserve."

With that, Bakugou sauntered away to meet up with Kohei and Masashi. Izuku's classmates muttered or chuckled with one another but left Izuku alone. Once everyone else had left, he picked himself up off the ground and bit back the stinging tears building at the corners of his eyes. He snatched his bag before darting out of the classroom.

"It doesn't matter what Kacchan says. There's a chance. There's always a chance. There has to be a chance for someone like me to be a Hero!"

Not exactly my finest moment.

By the way, don't think too badly about Kacchan. He's the result of the society we live in.

You see, it all started when a glowing baby was born in China. Soon after that, more and more people were developing miraculous powers. Powers that changed their appearance, powers that let them manipulate the elements, powers that allowed them to fly... all the abilities dreamed up by comics in the East and West were becoming a reality.

Needless to say, the world was plunged into chaos in those early years as the definition of what it meant to be human shifted. To maintain order, those with especially powerful Quirks were given the power to capture criminals and protect the innocent.

We call these extraordinary people Heroes!

Nowadays, 80% of people have a Quirk to call their own. Kacchan was born with an especially powerful Quirk. His sweat acts like nitroglycerin and he's able to ignite it at will to create powerful explosions on command. He had always been told that he was amazing, that he was sure to become an incredible Hero. It also helped that he was really smart and athletic, not to mention brave. I've always admired those things about him even though he liked to pick on me.

As for me?

...Yeah, I was part of the other 20% of humans born on Earth.

I was Quirkless.

Izuku's head hung low as he walked the streets of Musutafu, a sigh escaping his lips as Bakugou's words ran through his mind.

"I can't let what he says get to me," Izuku thought to himself with a shake of his head. "So what if I'm not athletic? Some Heroes rely a lot on their tools. Snipe relies more on his marksmanship than how fast he can run or how hard he can punch! Yeah! If I just study enough, I can find a path best suited for me and..."

Izuku stopped and stared at his reflection in a puddle on the sidewalk. "Oh, why am I doing this to myself?"

Izuku had been told all his life that his dream was unrealistic, impossible even. That without a Quirk he could not be a Hero. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it.

"I still won't believe it!"

But still, he needed to train if he wanted to have a hope of making it through U.A's physical tests.

He needed to do something to prove to himself that his dream wasn't impossible.

"But first, I need to get into U.A.," Izuku sighed for felt like the hundredth time. "Kacchan will probably throw a fit when he finds out..."

Izuku was dragged out of his thoughts when he saw something from the corner of his eye in an alley. Something purple and scaling the walls.

"What...?" Izuku looked from side to side. Nobody else had noticed. He gulped. He should probably just ignore it and move on...

...But what if something else was happening? Was it the debut of a new Hero?

...Or a crime in progress from a Villain?

Izuku's curiosity overcame his common sense as he tiptoed into the alleyway, making sure to crouch and press his back against the wall.

He wanted to stay hidden and have a quick escape route after all.

Izuku had to stop himself from letting out an 'eep!' when a loud thud echoed through the narrow confines of the alley. He ducked behind a trash can and listened.

"It's not here."

Izuku peeked out his head a bit and saw the back of a tall person. They were wearing a purple longcoat with a high collar that obscured most of their head. Forest green flames were embroidered across the bottom lining. The kanji for "danger" and "risk" were emblazoned in neon green on the middle of her back. He watched her crush an abandoned cigarette beneath the lime-colored outsoles of their purple combat boots. Their left hand was raised to their ear.

"Wait... I think I recognize that jacket from somewhere..."

Izuku wracked his brain for an answer, but he was interrupted when the figure spoke again.

"Yes, I checked the walls!" The voice was distorted and muffled underneath her mask, but it definitely belonged to a woman. "It's definitely not here! I'm not picking up anything from my lenses either... hey, don't blame me, you son of a bitch! You gave this tech to me! It's not my fault your little science project vanished into thin air!" The woman turned around...

Izuku clasped his hands over his mouth.

The woman was clad entirely in aged, cracking purple leather, a dark green shirt complete with a padded vest zippered up to her collarbone. Her pants were sagging and tucked into almost knee-high boots with green straps. A matching utility belt circled her waist and what looked like the hilt of a shinai hung from her left hip. Her ski mask was the same shade of purple. Its white eye lenses that were slanted and teardrop-like black markings surrounded each eye, meeting at the nose and curving up towards the back of her head. She looked like a Villain version of an old-school Sukeban delinquent.

It finally hit him.

"That's the Prowler!" One of the most notorious Thief Villains that made a name for herself years ago! She was so slick that not even All Might could catch her! "S-She hadn't been seen in years! What's she doing here!?"

The Prowler stared in his direction for what seemed like a good while, Izuku's hear his heart pounding in his ears as the Villain went silent. Did she see him? What would she do if she did? Prowler never let anyone who stumbled on her heists live...

Prowler grunted and hit the side of her ear again. "Shut up! I can hear you just fine!" She sighed. "Whatever. Keep on bitching. I can't find it and I'm heading back."

With that, she let go of her ear and glanced back in Izuku's direction. "Mind your own damn business, kid."

She turned around and ran at the wall. She placed her left foot on it and then her right. Gravity didn't seem to affect her or her coat as she ran up the building, slipping over the roof and out of sight.

"She did see me!" Izuku clutched his chest with both hands, hyperventilating as a film of cold sweat formed on his brow. That was a Villain. A real Villain without a Hero anywhere in sight. A Villain who could've easily killed him just to be safe!

"I wonder... do Heroes ever feel like this from time to time? When they're all alone and facing their first Villain?"

Izuku shook his head. He had to tell a Hero right away! Tell them that the Prowler had resurfaced and was looking for...

For...

"What was she looking for?" There were no important tech companies in this district and she said something about a science project. Why was she looking for her quarry here?

"Hey! Deku!" Izuku looked up to see Bakugou and his posse. Kohei and Masashi looked down on him with cruel amusement. Bakugou was wearing his usual scowl of annoyance... and was that concern? "What are you doing down there?"

"Hey, maybe he took your advice that he was trash and..." Kohei began, but Bakugou silenced him with a glare.

"Shut the hell up! I'm asking the questions right now!"

"K-Kacchan..." Izuku picked himself up, his voice cracking. "I-I just saw... saw..."

"WHOA!" Masashi's eyes widened as he pointed in Izuku's direction, "The hell is that on your arm Midoriya!?"

Izuku glanced down at his right hand and saw a spider. Not just any spider, but one as big as his hand. Its body was black and hairless, its carapace smooth as silk. Its jet-black fangs curved like shark teeth. He could feel tiny, hook-like hairs poke and prod his skin as the spider shifted its spindly legs around. Most striking of all was the design on its back. It was an hourglass like the black widow's but dyed the color of malachite.

Not only that, but it seemed... distorted. Like TV static, flickering in and out of Izuku's vision. His blood ran cold as it stared at him with its eight, beady eyes...

...And then it bit him.

Izuku screamed. His hand felt like it had been stabbed by an icicle before it was lit on fire. The pain only intensified as it spread from his hand to his arm. Someone had poured molten lead into his veins. His muscles were melting into sludge. His bones turned into jelly. Every nerve was screaming over and over:

"Oh god, it hurtsithurtsithurtsithurts!"

Izuku flung the spider away as the agony seeped into his chest. The creature fell to the ground on its legs, ready to pounce on someone else.

"DIE!" Bakugou shouted as he flung his sweat at the spider, watching it explode into a puff of ash and hair. "What the hell was that Deku!? Are you screaming like a girl because...?"

Bakugou's taunts trailed off as worry crept into his expression. "Deku?"

Izuku's vision was swimming. Everything blurred into a haze. The colors dulled and every drop of light seemed a thousand times brighter.

"Cold. I'm so cold..." He shivered and shuddered, leaning against a wall to stay upright. His lungs burned as he took haggard, wheezing breaths. Sweat cascaded from all of his pores. His drenched clothes were trying to strangle him and the nausea was worsening with every passing second. He clutched his belly and lurched forward, emptying the remnants of his lunch on the street.

"Dying from a spider bite before I can even get to U.A.," There was something darkly comedic about it, but Izuku was in no laughing mood. He swayed one more time before collapsing. He lifted his head just enough to see Bakugou's blurred form running towards him.

"Hey, Kacchan... I'm alright. I can get up. Just need a minute to catch my breath and..."

And that's when Izuku blacked out.

Yeah... that spider bite was one of the worst experiences of my life.

I was kind of fading in and out during the entire trip to the hospital. I was dead to the world. I had spasms. Kacchan told the police that my breathing was shallow.

I could tell you that I remember bits and pieces of what people said on my trip to the hospital's emergency room... but I'd be a liar.

Everything was just one quiet stretch of blackness and muffled voices until I somehow managed to open my eyes.

The first thing Izuku noticed was how dry his throat felt.

Izuku coughed as he opened his eyes. "Where... Where am I?"

He looked around the room. He was on a plain, white hospital bed with a cream-colored cabinet in front. Sunlight, no longer agonizingly bright, streamed through the windows on his right. When he looked to his left, he saw an IV drip that gave a wet 'plop' with each drop.

"I'm in the hospital."

It wasn't surprising since he could remember being bitten by a spider that was probably poisonous if his reaction was anything to go by. Yet, Izuku's heart began to race again, thumping loudly as he remembered how close he was to death.

The heart monitor beeped rapidly and Izuku heard activity outside. The clacking of shoes resounded through the halls before the door was thrown open by a female nurse with short brown hair and freckles. The tense expression on her face relaxed when she saw him staring at her and she said, "Oh! You're awake!"

"C-Can I have some water?" Izuku asked, his voice dry and raspy.

The nurse smiled apologetically. "Please hold on. I need to get Dr. Tsubasa."

Izuku blinked in surprise. His childhood doctor was treating him?

A few minutes later, Izuku saw that the doctor hadn't changed in the slightest from when he'd last seen him ten years ago. He still had the same bald head, gold-rimmed glasses with dark green lenses, and a bushy brown mustache.

"Well, it's good to see you up so soon," Tsubasa dragged a chair in front of Izuku's bed and sat down while the same nurse from before (the tag said her name was Mai) brought a small, pink plastic cup on a tray. She took it and brought it gingerly to his lips. Izuku instinctively reached for it with his right hand.

"You have control of your motor functions already. Now that is surprising." Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, and Izuku instantly drew back. Tsubasa smirked before continuing. "However, I would advise you to wait a bit before trying to grip anything. We have to do a few tests before letting you do things like that."

"A-Alright…" Izuku let go as the nurse brought the cup to his lips and tipped it over. He took slow, greedy gulps and felt relief as he felt the water go down his throat. "H-How long…?"

"Well, before I answer that I have to ask you a few questions. Standard procedure," Tsubasa took out a small notepad from his lab coat as well as a pen. "Now then, what is your name?"

"Izuku Midoriya."

"Age?"

"Fourteen."

"What is the date?" Izuku paled as the heart monitor beeped again.

Tsubasa chuckled. "Don't worry. It hasn't been months or years. But this will help clear up how you are in terms of your memory."

"O-Oh…" He calmed himself with a deep breath. "The fifteenth of March, 20XX."

"Okay, now just one more question…" Tsubasa glanced at him. "Do you know why you are here?"

Izuku winced before gazing at his right hand. The memory of the spider and the bite came rushing in. He clamped down on the urge to scratch the area and said, "A-A spider bit me in the alley. Kacchan was there along with Kohei and Masashi. I was… really sick and fell to the ground. Kacchan was running to me… and then I woke up here." He looked at Tsubasa with worry. "W-Was the spider poisonous?"

Tsubasa scribbled on his notepad for a bit before nodding. "Yes, that's very good…" He put it away before looking directly at Izuku. "Now, to answer your questions. First off, you've been under our care for two days since you blacked out from the spider bite."

Izuku could not help but look down. "Mom and Dad must've been pretty worried…"

He could imagine his mom already. Inko Midoriya sitting just outside the emergency room crying on the phone to Hisashi, who was trying his best to calm her down while trying to figure out a way he could convince his boss to let him fly home.

"We took you out of emergency care after we took a look at your blood." Tsubasa leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "Now, normally when it comes to spider bites there should be a trace of the venom within the bloodstream, especially in a case as severe as yours. However, once we stabilized you and took your blood to try and find the kind of spider that bit you… well… there wasn't anything in there."

Izuku stared at him with wide eyes as the doctor nodded. "Yes. I was just as surprised as you are right now. From what I can guess, your body had managed to fight and reject the poison. You managed to sweat it out and expel it through... various other methods. I'll leave those to your imagination."

Izuku turned a bit green at the thought.

"As for your little coma? That was just your body recuperating," He smiled, his bushy mustache turning upwards at the sides. "I have to say, it's amazing for a Quirkless individual like yourself to have such a hardy immune system!"

There it was.

"You should probably give up, already."

The doctor in front of him said those words to him ten years ago. Izuku could already feel tears start well up as the memories of that day bubbled to the surface. The shock, the denial, the words Tsubasa and his mom exchanged to one another explaining why he knew this truth. Watching All Might's debut video over and over again all night the tears, his mom hugging him and tearfully apologizing…

"Damn it…"

"Well anyways, that brings us to the present." Tsubasa pointed to Izuku's right. There were several cards, a few flowers in vases, and even a teddy bear wearing All Might's costume on the windowsill. "Your mother and classmates visited after we moved you here. In fact, she's in the cafeteria right now. I'll let her know you're awake once I leave this room."

Izuku found himself staring at one card… well, it wasn't so much a card as it was just a piece of paper propped up against the window. A simple message was scrawled on it in pencil.

"If you can read this then get your ass up you damn nerd!"

Izuku couldn't help but smile. Good old Kacchan.

"Now, before I go, I would like to ask you one thing," Izuku turned back to Tsubasa. "I would like to draw some more blood from you for research purposes. To be perfectly frank, your case is the most unique I have ever seen. And while the venom may be gone there might be some traces of its effects in your body. Katsuki Bakugou gave us a description of the spider that bit you. From what we can tell, there is no record of a spider species with those characteristics. Your blood may allow for us to find better ways to treat its bite should someone else be bitten by another of its kind."

"T-That's fine. Yeah." Izuku nodded before his eyes widened in shock and horror. "Doctor! T-That alley I was in! Before the spider bit me, I saw a Villain looking for something there! It was the Prowler!"

"Really?" Tsubasa raised an eyebrow. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I'm surprised you even know it."

"I-I like to research things with Heroes and Villains, and that includes old ones," Izuku said bashfully before shaking his head. "A-Anyways! I think the Prowler was looking for that spider!"

"Hmm…" Tsubasa stroked his moustache. "Alright. I'll notify the police before telling your mother about your awakening. In the meantime, try to get some rest."

He got up and motioned the nurse to leave. Tsubasa began to follow her but stopped as he reached the door. "So… you still have that dream huh?"

Izuku's lips flattened. "Y-Yes?"

Tsubasa sighed. "Well, I certainly can't stop you. But honestly? You should focus more on setting your sights on the police force." He pointed to Izuku and smirked. "Still I can't fault you for a lack of effort! Whatever workout regimen you have going is certainly doing wonders for your body!"

"Huh?"

"Your muscles made it a tiny bit more difficult to draw blood from you. Nothing major, but still it and your thick skin required a bit of extra force."

With that, Tsubasa left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Muscles…?" Izuku whispered to himself. He stretched out his right arm. He hadn't worked out all that much. Heck, his mom chided him for being way too skinny! He certainly couldn't have had the muscles that Tsubasa praised.

Izuku rolled up the sleeve and flexed.

His arm was still skinny, but now there was a noticeable bulge of muscle where a small groove used to be.

"Well, that's new."

My mom came in a bit after that, sobbing and holding onto me tight. I tried my best to calm her down but that just turned on my waterworks. We held onto each other for a bit after that. She fretted over me and I tried to reassure her that I was fine. She promised me that as soon as I got home she would make the best welcome home meal ever with katsudon as the main course. Inko Midoriya is the best mom in the world.

She put me on a video call with my dad after that. I don't really talk to him all that much, but it was still good speaking with him. He's never been the social type. He even once told me it was a miracle he managed to date Mom and for them to get married. But still, my dad loves me and Mom as any father would. He couldn't manage to get a flight in time to visit me that week, but he promised that he would come down soon.

I was questioned by police afterwards about the Prowler and I told them as much as I could. Apparently, she'd been spotted around town and was being blamed for several robberies. They had their suspicions that the spider that bit me was some genetic experiment that was worth a lot of money, but none of the companies she robbed from were talking since it was probably super illegal.

If only they knew…

Anyways, I was stuck in the hospital for another week just so the doctors could monitor my progress. Mom didn't leave my side until visiting hours were closed. My classmates visited too, saying the standard stuff. Asking how I was doing, that I looked good, if I needed some notes for the classes I missed (which I gladly accepted), and so on.

I knew they were only doing it out of politeness. I didn't have any friends at school and most of them would either pity me or look on gleefully when Kacchan picked on me. Still, it was nice to see them treat me like any other member of the class, if only for a little while.

Kacchan never visited. Kohei only conveyed his message that I needed to hurry up and get back to school rather than 'sit on a comfy hospital bed like a bitch'.

Maybe he felt guilty over having to rely on the hospital to save me? He never told me and I never asked.

Dad visited on the last few days of my stay. He asked how I was doing, snuck me in some sweets from the United States and brought a few translated comics. Specifically, they were Spider-Man comics from the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko era. He was trying to lighten the mood, but mom chewed him out over his lack of tact. I thought it was nice and thanked him. We watched a few Marvel movies together in the hospital room. He tried to poke fun at the special effects until mom shushed him. I was just in awe of these old Heroes doing what they did best. He left just before I was discharged, promising to come back when he finally had a vacation.

After that, I was free to go. I welcomed that sense of familiarity I got when I made it home.

Familiar ceiling, familiar walls, familiar food…

...but with me in an unfamiliar body.

And let me tell you, things got weirder from there.

Izuku gawked at his new physique for what seemed like the hundredth time. Apparently he had gotten a six pack, which should have been impossible since he hated sit-ups the most. After taking a shower, he discovered that he was muscled all over.

His shoulders were broader. His formerly noodle-like arms and legs pumped up when he flexed them. Even his pecs jutted from his chest a little. Sure, they weren't big or anything, but all of it was rock solid, defined and functional. It was like someone had taken his head and placed it on the body of a wiry, but strong acrobat.

"Did the spider do this?" It was hard to believe, but any other explanation he thought up just managed to sound stupid when he repeated it to himself. "Maybe its venom is like a steroid or something."

The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him, but his new muscle mass was extremely odd and they asked for more blood to run some tests.

Whatever had happened, it wasn't like he could complain. No one could call him skinny anymore!

Still, he probably shouldn't just keep staring at his reflection all day.

He pulled on his undershirt and buttoned up his jacket, marveling at how the clothes seemed less baggy on him before racing out his bedroom door. It was almost scary how quickly he got to the table while his mom was busy cooking breakfast.

"Good morning, Izuku," Inko said with an anxious smile, scrambling the eggs in the pan while the ham was cooking in another. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah I did, Mom." He returned her smile with his own. "Slept like a log too. So I think that's a good sign. Just hungry now, is all."

"I'm actually surprised," Inko scooped the eggs onto two plates and distributed the ham before placing them both on the table. He sat down and began digging into his meal with gusto. "You used to barely touch your food and now you're devouring it. I mean, I heard of growing boys but honestly, this is a shock."

"Yeah, for me too." Izuku agreed with a nod. He'd surprised himself last night when he shoveled down four bowls of katsudon and still had room to finish all of the sides and toppings. He returned to eating but he could tell that his mom was looking at him worriedly.

"Are you sure you're alright, Izuku?" She asked with concern in her voice. Izuku looked at her and felt a slight tug of guilt even though the spider bite was totally out of his control.

Well, okay, maybe following a known Villain and staying in the area wasn't the smartest idea, but at least he managed to provide the police with some useful information.

That had to count for something.

And besides, he felt good. Really good. Like he could run a mile without breaking a sweat.

"Yeah. I am."

"You don't have to go to school yet if you still aren't feeling well."

"I-I'm fine Mom," he stuttered a bit, glancing to the side before flashing a confident grin. "All Might wouldn't stay out from something like this, so I won't either!"

His mom nodded, but the troubled look on her face suggested that she could tell that he was trying to reassure himself as much as her.

He continued to eat breakfast and wolfed down the leftover eggs in the pan with a piece of toast. When Izuku was finished with that he hugged his mom and ran out to school.

He got there in no time. Crime wasn't exactly huge at the moment so there were no Villain battles holding up traffic or blocking roads. Things hadn't changed all that much and Izuku didn't have a parade waiting for him at the shoe lockers. He was just another kid coming to punch in their daily education for a few hours.

Izuku released a bit of his bated breath as he stepped inside. "Okay, first day back. No big deal. I'm up to date with notes and homework so all I have to worry about is…"

"Deku."

"EEEP!" Izuku jumped back and plastered himself against the nearest wall, hitting the flier board to the left side of the entrance. Bakugou was boring into him with his usual scowl.

"H-Hey, Kacchan!" Izuku laughed nervously as he tried calming himself. "I-I got your card! It was really thoughtful and…"

"I see you're back to your usual nerdy self." Bakugou clicked his tongue and started walking away. "If you wanna thank me for saving your scrawny ass, then keep your mouth shut for the rest of the day."

With that, he left and Izuku breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least he isn't making a big deal out of it." Izuku began peeling himself from the wall…

But felt resistance before he heard the tinkling sound of metal hitting the hardwood floor. Izuku brought his hand in front of his face and found a flier that read 'Join the Kendo Club' with a cartoon tiger scrawled on it. The tacks that held it to the cork board lay scattered at his feet.

"What the…" Izuku turned his hand a few times, but the paper would not come off.

"What's going on?!" Izuku swung his hand around with no luck and several students passed him by whispering amongst themselves. "Is it glue?! How do I get this off?"

As soon as he had that thought, his palm went slightly numb for a second and the paper fluttered harmlessly to the floor. Nothing appeared to be wrong with it. The paper wasn't sticky nor was there the telltale sheen of glue. Izuku gazed at his hand for answers and noticed something.

They were small, but there were now little brown dots on his hand. Not big enough to be noticed from a distance, but as Izuku brought his hand closer to his face those dots got bigger. He squinted his eyes.

"T-Those aren't dots!"

They were barbed, hook-shaped hairs, or at least something close to hair, growing out of the underside of his hand, extending outward ever-so slightly.

They were what gripped the paper. They kept him from letting go despite his best efforts.

"T-they must be able to hook onto anything so it won't come off!"

Izuku held his breath and gently stretched his hand, watching the little hairs retreat back into his skin.

"I don't want to grip anything right now." he reached down to the paper and touched it with his right index finger. When he brought the finger up, the paper did not follow.

"Pick it up." Izuku stretched out his finger slightly and brought it down. When he brought the finger back up, the paper clung to the tip without Izuku gripping it at all.

His breath hitched in his chest.

"W-What is happening to me?"

Izuku looked at his hands in wonder, a small smile on his face as the little hairs popped out of his skin before retracting. "Amazing..." he muttered to himself as he ignored the activity around him. It was lunchtime, so it wasn't like the teacher was going to embarrass him in front of everyone for being occupied with something that actually was more important than the lesson.

After all, he had just gotten his Quirk.

"The spider bite must have awakened the gene or something like that!" It wasn't impossible. Izuku's research back when he was four and fresh from Dr. Tsubasa's diagnosis revealed that there were a few late Quirk awakenings. It was rare but sometimes people went through most of their lives thinking they were Quirkless until a traumatic event of some kind caused it to come out on reflex. The hairs on his hands were becoming easier to manage. He just needed to think that he needed to stick something on his hand and out they would come.

Izuku reminded himself that the substitute nurse called the hairs setules. She hadn't heard he was Quirkless and Izuku was able to cover for his interest in the Quirk he supposedly had for all his life by saying he thought they looked weird today. She thought Izuku was trying to get out of school and just kicked him out.

Izuku pushed his pencil eraser into the center of his palm and the setules came out. "Looks like they come out anyways if enough pressure is placed on them ..." He grinned nervously. "This Quirk is amazing!"

It was the only logical explanation, wasn't it?

It wasn't like the spider gave him its natural abilities! That was just the plot of Spider-Man! It was fiction and this was reality!

No, the truth was the spider bite managed to activate his Quirk. His loss of fluids caused Izuku to slim down and his muscles developed because it was just his body adjusting itself so the setules could develop.

That was it! The thing Izuku had been hoping, no praying for had finally come true!

His Quirk had finally awakened and now he had the stuff to become a Hero!

Izuku turned his hand and allowed the pencil to hang by its eraser from the center of his palm. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, do a little jig on his desk, exclaim this discovery to the class that made fun of or pitied him, or all of those at the same time.

"T-the possibilities of this Quirk are limitless! With these I could stick myself onto fast-moving vehicles without much trouble... N-no wait I'll probably need to train my body to handle the velocity. Oh! Wait, recon! Scouting out a Villain's location and observing the situation from a safe position is also a possibility for this Quirk...!"

"Deku..."

"But wait, I'll also need to train my upper body before I go to U.A... T-that shouldn't be a problem now! I'm pretty sure there are tons of training programs online for people with Quirks that let them to scale buildings!"

"Deku...!"

"Man, I need to tell Mom as soon as possible! T-This Quirk probably came from someone in her or Dad's family and I can get advice from them! Yes, that's it! I...!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Something occurred immediately after Bakugou's shout reached Izuku's ears. Izuku's head was throbbing, something akin to a headache but not as painful. It was like his brain was tingling, as if something was working around in his head.

"What...?" Izuku thought as he observed what was happening in front of him. It was like everyone was moving in slow motion. Yu was trying to throw a wad of paper into the recycling basket as if it were a basketball, Chie and Haruko were giggling amongst themselves but their bodies were shaking more slowly, and Hinata's eyeballs bulged from their sockets as he turned towards Izuku.

Duck.

Izuku brought his forehead to his desk without another thought. He could hear the desk crack and he saw it begin to buckle. When he heard the familiar pop of Bakugou's explosions above him, Izuku threw his head back and through the cloud of smoke. He screamed as he began tripping back on his chair, his arms gripping tighter on the plastic desk to steady himself.

The desk cracked and bent, shattering into shards of plastic and metal.

Izuku's head hit the desk behind him and went tumbling to the floor. It took him a second to recover and see his now ruined desk. Everyone was gaping at him and even Bakugou was staring at him with wide-eyed amazement.

There was no mistaking it. Something on a subconscious level had warned him about Bakugou's prank. Slowed down his perception to give him enough time to avoid it and...

"Spider-Sense."

"I-I can explain!" Izuku shouted, trying to ignore the thought that passed through his mind. But as he waved his hands around he saw that the edges of his desk were still on his open palms.

"Increased strength. The ability to stick to anything with tiny hairs on your hands. After a spider bite..."

Izuku's mouth went dry. "N-No. That's... that's..."

"Deku..." Bakugou's red eyes were practically glowing with rage and disbelief as he stepped forward. Spider-Sense or not, Izuku knew it was time to go.

He willed the setules to retract, letting the desk pieces hit the ground as he backed away. He leapt to his feet, amazing everyone and himself... and just bolted out of the classroom.

"This is impossible... This is impossible!" he muttered over and over to himself, his mind racing as weaved through the people in the hallways.

He ignored the fact that he was running past the shoe locker and through the front door. He ignored the P.E. teacher asking where he was going. He ignored Bakugou's shouts from his classroom window and leaped when he was near the fence.

Izuku stopped as he found himself on the other side. He looked back at his gate with the school behind it. "I just jumped over ten feet and I'm fine..."

Izuku didn't dwell on it long, running down the sidewalk and ignoring the confused glances of passerby.

Izuku had no idea how long he ran. His mind was struggling to process what just happened. Only a few days ago he was Quirkless. Now? Now he had muscles. He had setules that grew out of his skin. He had super strength and some sort of precognition ability! This went beyond just having a Quirk, and all these powers...

"B-But how could a spider bite do this!? N-No wait, there was something wrong with that spider! Was the reason Prowler was tracking it because her employer was doing experiments on it?! Was it actually radioactive like the one from Spider-Man?!"

Izuku's heart skipped a beat as he nearly shouted. "Do I have cancer now?!"

I would like to state for the record that no, I do not have cancer. I can donate blood without it having any... deadly side-effects, and my wife is fine thank you very much.

Izuku was so wrapped up in fear and dread that he didn't even notice the crowd of people stopped at the corner. He ran out ignoring their shouts until a deafening horn blared on his left.

His head tingled and time seemed to slow again. He turned left to see a sixteen-wheeler barreling towards him. The driver's right hand was slamming the horn and grimaced in anticipation for the inevitable collision.

But it never came.

Izuku almost unconsciously crouched before jumping, flying up and over the truck as time returned to normal.

Izuku screamed. He was now over twenty feet in the air and barreling towards the side of a skyscraper. He instinctively shot his hands out and felt his body slam against the wall, cement rubbing up against on the left side of his face. Izuku groaned, slowly peeling himself off like a bug on a windshield until he noticed something.

"I-I'm not falling?" Izuku opened his eyes and looked to see he was still on the cement wall of the skyscraper. After lifting his head, he realized his hands were flat on the stone.

He felt a gust of wind wash over him and looked down to see people staring at him in shock or annoyance for worrying them with a Quirk like that. Most of them just went back to walking about, ignoring him.

"Oh my god..." Izuku as he looked back at his hands.

His mind flashed back to how Spider-Man would scale buildings. He used his hands and feet, crawling on them like a bug...

Izuku gulped and lifted his right hand, bringing it up a bit before bringing it down. He positioned his feet flat on the surface, spreading his legs a bit, before raising his left foot and placing the tip on the wall. He repeated the action with his left hand and right foot. He did it again, and again, and again, slowly creeping up the side of the wall.

"This isn't a dream." Izuku thought as he continued to crawl up. Rather than feeling scared... he was elated. "This isn't an impossibility. This is...This is actually happening!"

Whatever fear Izuku had was gone. The strangeness of getting his... powers in this way, powers that mimicked those of a fictional character and were acquired the same way, were chased out of Izuku's head and replaced with pure, unadulterated joy.

So what if he got his powers like this?

They were now his.

The feeling of powerlessness he carried throughout his life, all the speeches and lectures about how he could never become a Hero... they were now meaningless.

Now he can be a Hero!

"Hey! Kid!"

Izuku was snapped out of his thoughts by the new voice. A cursory glance showed he had climbed near the roof of the building. A man in a black bodysuit save for a brown wooden helmet, gloves, and belt was leaning over the edge of the roof to talk to him.

"K-Kamui Woods!" Izuku squeaked. "Y-You're the new rookie who's rising in popularity!"

The Hero said nothing at first before slowly nodding. "Yeah... that's right. Mind telling me what you're doing up here and not at school?"

Izuku looked down in shame. School. That's right. He had just ditched school for the first time in his life. "I-I'm sorry." He couldn't tell the truth... Hell, Izuku himself had a hard time believing it. Still, he could tell a half-truth. "I... I got scared. I-I just... my Quirk just awakened and I... I thought I was Quirkless my entire life."

Kamui Woods didn't hesitate and leaned closer. Whatever the Hero was actually thinking he did not show, but he got down on a knee and extended a hand. "Yeah... I'd imagine something like that would be a bit of a shock. Now come on. Your school is worried sick about you and you're making people nervous. I'll help you down. All you need to do is take my hand."

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief and grasped Kamui Woods' extended one with his right hand.

His secret was safe for now.

"Mind easing up the grip? Feels like you're going to crush my hand."

"Sorry..."

Let me tell you, my principal knew how to give one hell of a lecture.

I had to face the music after getting chewed out by the cops below for using my Quirk after I was out of danger and skipping school. They brought me back and my principal droned on for about an hour about how my stunt put the reputation of the school at risk and how those who skipped school were destined to become undesirable in the modern world. But considering my stellar grades and the fact that I had never gotten into trouble before, they were willing to let me off with a couple days of detention. The fact that my 'Quirk' had just awakened probably convinced them to be more lenient.

Lucky me.

So after about an hour of cleaning my classroom and trying not to think about the glares Kacchan threw my way, I headed home.

I had no idea what I was in for.

Izuku tried to ignore how clammy his hands felt from washing the blackboard and desks. The punishment he had gotten wasn't brutal and it certainly could've been a hell of a lot worse, but it was exhausting.

"Guess Spider-Stamina can't help me recover from tedious chores."

That was really something. He was now referring to his abilities as Spider-something.

Just like in a comic book!

"Mom is going to go crazy when she sees what I can do now..." Izuku was a bit worried whether his mom would be more worried about him than happy considering he just tried to skip school over his newly awakened 'Quirk'. "Dad will probably just think it's ironic considering the movies we watched."

"{Kid...}"

"But what should I do now?" Izuku muttered to himself. "I need to learn the limits of my power. I can't just assume I've got everything that Spider-Man had... I need to test my strength, my speed, and everything else."

"{Kid...!}"

"And I need to practice what movements I make using this new body," Izuku flexed his right arm. "I can't just assume I can pull off everything from his movies. Most of those movements were created using old CGI and they tend to stretch things a bit and..."

"{Hey, kid!}" Izuku felt a hand grab his right shoulder and his nose met the unpleasantly familiar scent of garbage and sweat. His gut lurched.

Was he being mugged!?

He spun around to meet his assailant, his fingers brushing against the hand of the person touching him. Izuku felt something well up within him, a shiver that flowed from his chest into his fingertips. His eyes widened as the person stiffened, seemed to bolt up, and was flung backward. He glanced down at his hands to see green sparks coming from his fingers.

"What the..?" Izuku began, but the person shot something out. A white glob hit him square in the chest and Izuku's mind registered that the 'glob' was part of a white string. He had about a second to think about this before he was pulled with the person that grabbed him. Despite his new reflexes, Izuku landed face-first on the asphalt and groaned as he picked himself up.

This wasn't going to become a thing, was it?

He shook it off and ran to the person, kneeling beside them and trying to shake them awake.

"A-Are you okay!?" Izuku shouted as he fumbled for his phone. What the hell was that!? Another one of his powers? Spider-Man never had that power! "I-I'll call a hospital! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..."

Izuku trailed off as his eyes noticed several things.

One: The white 'string' was not one solid item. Rather, it was a conglomerate of different strings wound around one another. It was coming from the person's left hand, which upon closer inspection had a two-finger lever device in the center of his palm.

Two: The person who grabbed him looked like a Caucasian man with short brown hair that had a stripe of grey hair running down the sides of his head. His chin and cheeks were covered in stubble.

Three: The person was wearing a pair of dirty grey sweatpants, a blue left shoe and a red right one, and a stained green coat.

Four: Underneath that coat was what appeared to be a Hero costume. It was primarily red with blue on the sides, but the red portion had a black web-like design that converged at the center of his chest.

There Izuku found a black, stylized symbol of a spider.

"That's impossible..."

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.

Before I could become a Hero, I had to meet my teacher.

Everyone, this is how I met Peter Parker.

The original Spider-Man.

No, I'm serious. Trust me. I promise it will all make sense soon enough.

After all, this is ultimately the story of how I became one of the greatest Heroes in the world.

This is the story of how I, Izuku Midoriya, became Spider-Man.

The Infamous Man Presents...

Amazing Fantasy

Note: This idea came up a while ago. I have always loved and admired the initial Stan Lee and Steve Ditko run of Spider-Man. They were able to twist the idea of a superhero on its head by giving amazing power to what was essentially a normal kid. We all know the story. Kid gets an ego because of the powertrip rather than using it for good, one mistake leads to personal tragedy, and Peter Parker learns that with great power there must also come great responsibility. I also love My Hero Academia for being inspired not just by Spider-Man but all Western superheroes. That good people do exist and wish to protect their fellow man using their great powers while melding it with the Shonen genre.

I made this idea on Spacebattles a while ago due to my hype for the new Into the Spider-Verse movie, but sort of put it on the back burner.

Then, Stan Lee died.

Regardless of what happened between him, Steve Ditko, and Jack Kirby, Stan was the man who helped bring humanity to Superheroes. He showed that not all Heroes are squeaky clean like Superman, but in spite of all their personal troubles and hang-ups they will try to save the day. He brought a new avenue of storytelling within the genre, and without Stan's contributions with the Marvel artists a seminal work like Watchmen might not have been made. Hell, without Stan and those like Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby it is entirely possible My Hero Academia wouldn't have been made.

Stan Lee is a legend within the industry, and with his passing the 'big three' of the Marvel Bullpen are now gone.

So this idea and story are dedicated to him and Steve Ditko for their amazing work that defined a generation of comics.

I even turned this into a full-fledged story because I love the idea so much, and so does my beta 'repuzzan' who recently helped to edit this chapter.

This won't take time away from A Different Kind of Truth, but I feel I work better when I'm able to work on more than one fic so I don't get burned out on ADKoT.

Be sure to tell me what you think with a review!