Quirks. You know what they are. These special DNA strands in our genes that grant us special abilities at random. We never know what we'll get, if we do get one that is, and how flashy it will be. Do I really need to go over them?

I'll also assume you know the history of Quirks when they were first discovered. If you don't, I'll give you brief run down on the history. Quirks are discovered due to a glowing baby; soon more started appearing, people thought it was good while others said no, war happened till the government said heroes are now a job, everyone lived happily ever after (or at least should have instead of crying about it more).

But none of that matters. You're reading this because you are interested in me, and why wouldn't you be? I created most of the simple, and most complex things in life today. From a simple miniature robot that's soul purpose is to pass butter on your table to the freakin' Oasis for Virtual Reality. Yeah, I make life awesome. But…you aren't here for that. You're here because you want to know the why. Why am I a hero? What drove me to be one? Why the hell did I marry that guy? Okay maybe not that last part, but still, why am I a hero? Well, I'll tell you why. This is not only the story of how I became the most intelligent being on the planet, but also of how I became the 2nd greatest hero. …What? Were you expecting number 1? Pfft, no one can beat Deku.

Let's start off with my childhood for a brief moment.

I was only 4 when my Quirk was manifested, but as exciting as it was, I learned that it was almost useless. My Quirk wasn't a physical one, nor was it a mental one. All it could do was let me see up to 5 kilometers or 3 miles, away from my current position. To some, it was cool, but to most…it just meant they could bully me.

"Hahahaha! Your Quirk is useless!"

"Why do you want to become a hero? You can't even fight!"

"Seeing far away? You won't need that when my fist is in your face!"

"You will never be a hero!"

"Yeah, Hatsume! You will never be hero with a Quirk that pathetic!"

Everyone at school kept pushing me around because of this. I tried to keep to myself all the time, but they would always keep coming and remind me how unlucky I am.

It never got easier in middle school either. Some of the same bullies went to the same middle school as me, and...it really only got worse. There were times when they pushed and shove, slam me into a wall, throw my stuff everywhere, destroy my work, and at one point in 8th grade, accused me of looking at some boy's sexual reproduction organ, AKA, his penis from a far away distance.

Now, you're probably asking yourself, how could they do such horrible acts to a poor girl like me? Simple. They can. No one punished them for it, and even when I did tell someone, which was all the time, they tell me "they'll handle it." They never did. So, what choice did I have but to take it? I could have fought back, but what would that prove other then I let them win? I never let the villains win; I will always win because heroes need to win in order to save the day. Maybe they lose a battle or two, but never the war.

Of course, I was utterly depressed at school, but at home, the situation was better. My family had Quirks too. My father's quirk was only able to make him see more colors then the average eye can see. As for my mother, her eyes were able to see in the dark, night vision. Those weren't in demand, so my dad found a became a brilliant artist while my mother didn't want to be a hero or even work a job. She just wanted me in her eyesight. Her small, pink-haired, crazy, somewhat self-centered, mechanic princess. You really don't need to know much about my childhood life, so let's skip to the juicy stuff.

My house was next to a recycling center, and the owner who worked it didn't mind if I used some of his parts because he felt it would expand my imagination and it was good to see it reused, and boy did he ever make a great decision. Ever since I rebuilt a toaster, it became a hobby to rebuild things; then I built random things, then it got crazy. A little too crazy. Suddenly, I had a puppy. A robot puppy. It ate, played, ran, pooped and pissed, etc. Her name was Sprocket. I'm getting off track here. For the sake of this story, let's go to the part of my life where I knew I was going to be a hero no matter what.

My name is Mei Hatsume; I'm 15 years old, and I love to build. I'm obsessed with it just as much as I am with heroes. My Quirk is called, 'Zoom', and it allows me to see up to 5 kilometers or 3 miles (as I already mentioned earlier). If I had learned anything in life, it would have been that there's nothing more thrilling in life then discovery. Discovery is what brought humanity to the current position is it in today. From when fire was discovered, to discovering tides are made from the moon, to the laws of physics, metals, medicine, the elements, and so much more. And now we have today's most important discovery: Quirks. Not even the sky's the limit to discovery, and I am in love with it!

Right now, I was in the recycling center doing my usual thing: Building. "Ooooooh let's see what this does!" I say, as I hold up a rusty, unwashed, cube in my hands. I am in my regular attire: protective goggles on my head, my hair pink and asymmetrically styled while sporting two longer strands on the right side of my face, fingerless gloves and a black sleeveless t-shirt with a mechanics jumpsuit. "If everything is going according to plan, then this cube should be worth it for parties! What do you think, Sprocket, will it work?!" I say, turning my puppy.

She was small, grey, made out of metal, and had the body of a shih tzu. She's actually not a puppy anymore, but she's darn cute she is to me! "Bark!" She said, wagging her tail.

"Of course it won't, it's my first time testing it!" I yell out, having no idea what Sprocket said. I press a button and toss it into the air. The cube flashes and begins to levitate for a bit. At first, it was glowing brightly as expected. "Yeeeees." I say, watching it with a gleeful smile. Suddenly, it grows too bright and explodes. "Welp, I figured that would happen! Time to redo it-" I heard a beeping noise and checked my watch, which was made out of gears, and it was 6:30 pm. "Tomorrow!" I finish saying. "Come along, Sprocket, we must go home to mommy and daddy!" I say, adjusting my goggles and running out the center with Sprocket tailing behind me.

It took me a few minutes, but I was home. My home was a one story house that had black roof tiles, a brick style design for the walls, and resembled a western style then the traditional style of houses. To the left, we have a garage big enough for our car, a redone version of the 2018 Acura RLX. To the right, we had a lawn with beautiful green grass and a small pond containing Lotus flowers. Nothing fancy or too special.

Immediately, I grab my keys, turn the lock, and open the door. "I'm back!" I yell out to my parents. Sprocket and I enter the house before I close and lock the door. The inside of my home was your traditional and generic Japanese home style. I scrape my shoes on the mat, take them off, and place them by the door before walking to kitchen. My dad and mom were at the table having tea. My dad was a middle aged man with a red, shag cut hairstyle; black eyes, and some wrinkles on his face, but had a caring and soft face. His body structure was toned, and it makes sense since he travels a lot given his job as an artist and carries most of his supplies which weighed a lot. My mother had that same face, but without the wrinkles. Her hair was black, long and straight. Her eyes were golden, and her body structure was slim.

"Welcome back, Mei." My dad said, patting the seat next to him for me to join him. I smile widely and sat there, with Sprocket following me and sitting next to me. My dad smiled at me as he gave me the tea they were drinking, "It's Earl Gray, we decided to go simpler today instead of our usual complicated ones." My dad said as I drank my tea slowly.

"Still delectable, though!" I say loudly, enjoying my tea.

"Hush sweetie, your inside now. You know the rules." My mother said, smiling at me as well. How they put up with me on a daily basis I will never know, but I know they love me just as much as I love them.

"Sorry, mother." I say quickly, smiling back. "So daddy, anything new for work?" I ask him, knowing that he might just leave again for a week.

"Not this week, you know this week is a special week." My dad replied, taking a sip from his tea.

"It is?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Mei, you need to start paying attention to the dates more often." My dad sighed but chuckled, "It's your birthday week, princess."

"Oh. That. Okay then." I don't really care about my birthday to be honest. Congrats, I lived another year, why do I need to celebrate that?

"Are you not that excited for your birthday anymore?" My mother asked me, putting her cup down. She always tries to make a big deal out of my birthday whenever it comes around, "It's been years since you were last excited for it."

"Well… I just don't see a point." I reply, being as respectful as possible, "I mean, it's just celebrating that I lived another year in the world. What difference does that make it to the other days?"

"Because this is the week where we our most precious experiment was born." My dad said, ruffling my hair.

"Daddy!" I say to him, swatting his hand away from my head. I hate it when he does that because then my hair gets stuck in my goggles and it takes a long time to get them out of the gears and sprockets in them.

"But that's also not the only thing." My mother said as she pulled out an envelope. She hands it to me as I look it over, and my eyes widen and smile grows just as large as the Joker's. The letter was from U.A, the most prominent Hero High School in the world.

"Yes! The letter is here!" I look at my parents, not able to hold my excitement, "Can I go see if I got accepted please?!"

"If we didn't want you too, we wouldn't given it to you." My dad sarcastically said to me with an amused look.

I quickly left the table and ran into my room. My room was an organized mess as it was filled with inventions everywhere. There was no space, besides a walkway that was to my computer or to that comfortable thing in the corner that I can lay down on that I rarely use. I quickly open up the letter and find a projector in it. I place it on my desk, press the play button which in turn shows a projection, and on the screen was the newest teacher of U.A. The best hero ever to exist in history, All Might!

"I am here as a projection!" All Might says.

"I see that." I simply say, a little amused by this.

"You have passed the written exam! In the practical exam, you scored a total of 39 points! 30 villain points, and 9 rescue points! That means, you have passed the Practical Exam too! With that, I am proud to say this! Congratulations Young Hatsume, you have been enrolled into U.A!" All Might said with his signature determined and commanding voice.

I couldn't believe my ears. I….passed. I passed. "I passed. I passed! I PASSED!" I screamed out loud. This was the second best day ever (first being Sprocket's birth)! I was about to run out of the door, but then I heard something from the projection.

"However!" All Might said, his voice was now more serious. I pause and look back, "There is a technicality here." That caught my interest, so I sat back down on my chair and listened. "You see, you did pass, however, you did not use your Quirk at all. Instead, you used gadgets to your advantage. Although it is allowed to use such items, you signed up for the hero course. I'm sorry to say, but that disqualifies you from entering the hero course."

My world stopped for a moment. "Wait…what?" I lost all of my excitement, my smile completely wiped away and my mind blank.

"One of the stipulations to be eligible for the hero course is to use your Quirk during the exam. You did not once use it, and if you did, it wasn't one that was noticeable. The hero course is meant for those with physical or mental fighting Quirks and nothing else. It says here in your records that you do have a Quirk, but only allows you see to see far away. That holds no value when it comes down to head to head combat." All Might said to me, his smile replaced with a straight face. "Instead, you will be placed in the Support Course. I hope you understand Young Hatsume." And with that, the projection ended.

I sat there processing everything. My mind may have been blank, but I could feel emotions that I was familiar and unfamiliar with flowing through my veins. All Might just told me that I couldn't do it. That my Quirk was useless when it came to fighting. "I'm…useless…" That was all I could grasp at the moment. I was reminded of all the bullies who told me I was useless, that my Quirk was useless, and that I will never be a hero. And now, now they were proven right. I got up from the chair, and went straight to my bed and sat on it, holding my pillow close. I just couldn't believe it. I can't believe it, but…All Might said it. "My Quirk…is useless…"

What felt like hours to me, was only about 20 minutes in reality. My parents had opened my door carefully and poked in to see me on my bed and with my face into my pillow. "Mei?" My mother said softly. I scooted away slightly, ashamed of what I was born with. "Mei…" My mother and father entered my room and sat on each side of me. "Were you rejected?" My mother asked me, putting an arm over my shoulder.

"No…" I said into the pillow, not looking up to face either of them.

"Then why are you sad?" My father asked me, looking at the small projector on my table.

"Watch the video on the projector…" That's all I could muster to them. I didn't want to be around anyone right now. I felt Sprocket jump onto the bed and crawl into my lap, whimpering a little as she laid on my lap. My father got up, grabbed the projector and played that dream crushing message once again.

Once it was over, I could feel my parents faces and emotions change too. They were upset, but nowhere near as much as I was. I felt two hugs, both from them on each side of my body. "Mei…" My father began, "It's okay. You can still help people; it'll just be different from what you wanted originally."

"That's not what I want!" I yell out, throwing my pillow towards the door in frustration. Sprocket jumped off my lap, scared. "I don't want to be a support hero! I want to be a real hero!" I say to them both as tears are running down my face as I seeth in anger.

"Honey we know, but…" My mother words trailed off because she knew there was no way around saying what I already know.

"But my Quirk is useless and I hate it! It only proved those bullies right from the start!" I couldn't control myself. I only wanted one thing in life, and that was to be a hero. Yet, I couldn't be one because of what I was born with a stupid, useless Quirk.

"Don't say that Mei." My father said, a little firmly too, "You can't control what you are born with, but that doesn't make it useless. Look at me. I wanted to be a hero too, but my Quirk didn't allow that, but I'm still happy with where I am." My father tried to comfort me with his story, but that wasn't why I was upset.

"Daddy, I just…"I look up at him, choking a bit, "I wanted to prove everyone wrong…To prove to everyone who said I couldn't be a hero to eat their own words, to show them that I am capable. That I am able to be a hero...But…" I started to break down as I sobbed a bit, "I-I-I w-wanted to prove to y-you and m-m-mommy, and to myself that I could be...that I could…" I never got to finish as both of my parents hugged me tightly, and I broke right there. I let out all of what I could through my cries and sobs.

"You don't have anything to prove to us. The fact that you always fight for what you want says enough about you, Mei." My father told me while I hugged him tightly and buried my face into his chest, wetting it with my tears.

It had taken a while before I was calm enough to control my emotions. I told my parents I wanted to be alone, and they left me, but not before they gave me a kiss on my forehead as they attempted one last way of making me feel a little better. Sprocket stayed in my room, and went to a little corner of my bed and sat there. Once the door was closed, I looked at Sprocket. "Am I really useless, Sprocket?" I asked her. Sprocket walked over to me, got on her hind legs, and licked my face with her cold metal tongue. She was trying her best to make me feel better too. I sighed, grabbed her gently, and laid on my bed with her in my chest. "I guess that's your way of saying no…"

With that being said, I reached over and grabbed my phone from the charger and my earplugs. Whenever I feel down, I always listened to heroes talking about why they became heroes, or what makes a hero. I would watch the video of All Might's debut, but I grew out of it at some point. I watched so many videos to cheer myself up, but to what avail? Nothing helped me get my mind off of the dagger that pierced my heart.

Do I love to build? Yes. The support class is meant for builders, for imaginative people like me to build and sell to businesses and heroes who may need an invention to help them, or an upgrade for whatever they may need one for. But that wasn't my passion. I didn't just want to make money, I wanted more then that. I didn't want to be stuck in the back like some waterboy for the sports team. I wanted to play, to fight, to help the people who needed a hand. Support class was made for people like me, but the purpose was different.

I was scrolling through so many videos till I found an interview from about 80 years ago. The first generation of Quirk users. It showed this man, a very handsome and shaved man on the front, but he also wore something on his hand. It looked like it was made of metal. Just out of boredom, I tapped on it. The video was 7 minutes long. The person in question was this man named, 'Tony Stark', and he was doing an interview for the Daily Bugle. Most of the questions were pointless, and I can't even remember them. Out of shear luck, I decided to pay attention on the final question.

"You, in the back, say your question. This will be last one I'm answering." Tony Stark said, pointed to a reporter behind the camera.

"What makes a hero in your eyes?" The reporter asked him. At this point, I was about to turn off the video. I didn't know why I bothered trying to cheer myself up if I knew the truth already. But I didn't, and I am so happy I never did. The camera turned and showed a hero's costume I never saw before. It was gold and red human shaped suit made of some type of metal. Tony Stark got into it, and then his mask opened to show his face. What Tony Stark said next would ultimately change my life forever.

"Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with. I was born with superior intelligence, and that didn't help me punch out villains. So when I was rejected my request for a hero license, I didn't roll over and bitch about it. Instead, I used my intelligence to build a suit. A suit that everyone knows today as 'Iron Man'. I was rejected and told I could never be a hero, but look at me now. I'm one of the top three heroes in the world, and I'm just in a suit of armor. When someone says you can't do it, your first words should either be, 'Why can't I?' or 'Yes I can.' Everyone is capable of being a hero. It just depends how much work your willing to put into it to become one." Tony Stark then put up his hand as the palm glowed, showing off what his 'Iron Man' suit was capable of. The video ended there with Tony's hand in front of the camera and the palm of his hand glowing.

I stared at it for a few moments, before I replayed the last part again. Then again. And again. And again. And Again. I replayed it so much that I could recall all of the words Tony Stark said to heart. At the same time, I had another tab opened that was looking up who Iron Man was and what I found not only amazed me but brought my hope back from the brink. "This man…he did bad, but he'd tried to make it up afterwards by being a hero. He wanted to be a hero, but never stopped when everyone said no to him. Instead, he built a suit and much more to be a hero until he was hailed as one. This man…." I knew then what I wanted to do. My hope restored, my ambitions brought back, and my mind now racing. I looked at the projector and grabbed it. "I accept, but I will be the one to prove you and everyone wrong. I'll get into that hero course, I will be a hero, and no one is going to stop me." I could feel a grin growing on my face, as I put my phone back on the charger and fell asleep. This is where everything changed for me, and I was in for one hell of a ride and I discovered a new hero, a new idol for me to look up too.