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Chapter 1 - Sludge vs… Gel? Goo?

"This aptitude test is a waste of time," Bakugou growls. "Lumping me in with the rest of these damn extras… as if this school wasn't crappy enough already." He kicks his legs up to rest on the corner of the desk in front of his, despite one of his classmates already sitting there. The girl turns to glare at him, but one look at his bared teeth and blood red eyes is enough for her to be turning back around with a small squeak.

Izuku shrugs and rubs the back of his neck in sheepish disagreement. He shoots the girl in front of Bakugou an apologetic smile on his friend's behalf, but she's purposefully looking away from their conversation, probably out of fear of upsetting the explosive tempered boy behind her. "I dunno, Kacchan, not everyone is as sure as you are about what they want to do with their future," Izuku says.

"Sure as we are," Bakugou corrects with a grunt, leaning back as though his stiff wooden chair is actually a lounge recliner. The teacher narrows his eyes as he listens to Bakugou from across the room where he gathers their completed tests, but he says nothing, more than likely not wishing to flare the boy's rage over something as minor as placing his feet on the furniture. With Bakugou, it doesn't matter who does the challenging—authority figure or classmate. Any attempt at controlling his actions is usually met with utter ferocity.

"What?" Izuku raises a curious eyebrow.

"As sure as we are," Bakugou repeats. "You can't fool me, stupid Deku. You wrote down UA's hero course as your top choice as well, didn't you." He phrases it as a statement rather than a question. More than that, he's actually saying it, rather than shouting it out, a signifier of just how serious he is. So much of what Bakugou usually has to say comes out as a shout or a snarl, so when he speaks in low tones it usually tells Izuku that he should pay attention.

Izuku lowers his gaze to his hands rested on the desk. He forms them into fists and speaks in a quiet voice. "Yeah. You know I want to go to All Might's alma mater."

Bakugou scoffs. "Yeah, well, do what you want, Deku. I'm still going to be the first student from this crappy school to get into UA. You've got no chance with that stupid butterfly you have for a quirk—or whatever the fuck it is."

Izuku presses his lips together in a thin white line. "His name is Butterfree, and he's plenty strong enough to get into UA!"

Bakugou scrunches up his nose as though he suddenly smells something unsavory. "I suppose it's better than the worm it used to be, and then whatever the hell it was supposed to be during its puberty or whatever—"

"It was not puberty!" Izuku says firmly. "It was a cocoon. You know, caterpillar to butterfly?"

Bakugou smirks, throwing one of his legs over the other and nearly kicking the girl in front of him in the face. The girl has to scoot her chair over to the edge of her desk, and of course, she's still steadfastly ignoring what's unfolding behind her. "Whatever," he waves his hand to disregard Izuku. "Maybe if you could summon something a little cooler you'd at least have a shot. Maybe you should be applying to one of those D list hero schools instead."

Izuku nearly rolls his eyes. It's not a topic worth arguing. Bakugou is nothing if not stubborn, and Izuku knows he's not saying it to be mean, or, at least that's not the only reason. They're still friends after all, of a sort anyway. It's more just that Bakugou is honest to the point of near brutal cruelty. Izuku has learned the hard way not to ask Bakugou a question unless he's ready to hear the boy's true opinion. Bakugou is not the type of person one would go to for mollycoddling.

"Besides, what're you gonna do if some villain defeats your bug? Any villain with a decent quirk could at least get around it and attack you. What are you gonna do to stop them, skinny Deku that you are?"

Sometimes he goes a little too far. Or maybe I just can't take the truth about that…

Izuku looks away, resting his chin on his hands atop his desk. "Point taken, Kacchan," he says in a quiet voice, almost inaudible. "I'm still applying for UA though…"

Bakugou scoffs a second time, though he seems unsurprised. "I said you could do whatever you want, Deku. Just don't be surprised if I have to take you down in the entrance exam. I'll incinerate my competition no matter who it is!" He's back to shouting now, baring his teeth for the rest of the class to see, a wicked glint in his eye. "That goes for the rest of you nerds, too!"

Izuku lets out a sigh and reaches for the notepad in the top of his backpack. Going over his notes for Butterfree and those he's jotted down about hero and villain quirks sounds like a much better use of his time than listening to Bakugou get in another argument with the rest of the class about how much better he is than them.

"Bring it on! I'll take you all on at once!" Bakugou shouts, explosions crackling along his palms like firecrackers. Finally the teacher steps in, chastising Bakugou with the same wagging finger he always uses. As Bakugou argues his superiority over all of them, teacher included, Izuku begins to read, well practiced now at channeling out the chaos that comes with being around Bakugou so much.

"Butterfree!"

It feels like being able to breathe fresh air again after being caught in smog all day when Izuku finally summons Butterfree at the end of the school day. He waits until he's alone, walking down the much quieter back streets of the city and avoiding the busier urban areas where he's more likely to get pulled up for using his quirk.

Technically, what he's doing is illegal outside of his home. Using quirks in public, outside of life and death situations, is strictly against the law—hence him taking the long way home via the quieter streets where it's less likely to be an issue. Despite it being illegal, most people tend not to question people using their quirks when it's quiet. In crowded areas where they could be dangerous, sure, but not when Izuku is walking home alone with nobody else around.

The giant butterfly appears from nothingness to Izuku's left, its white patterned wings fluttering quickly to hover at his side. It takes only a glance to see that Butterfree is no normal butterfly. Firstly, it's well over half as big as Izuku himself, its body long and purple and made up of two distinct parts. The top part of its face consists of two thin black antennae, a small bright blue snout, and expressive red eyes. It has two small hands with three fingers each and long, digitless feet. Its wings are taller than the whole of its body, probably about three quarters of Izuku's entire height.

Izuku can't help but agree with people who tell him his quirk is a bit weird. Butterfree is like no other creature on the planet, and he's definitely spent time online searching. That's not to even mention what Butterfree is capable of besides its incredible appearance.

Somehow it can emit powders that, if breathed in, can either make its target sleep, feel sick for a while, or even temporarily become paralyzed, depending on what Izuku wants. Kacchan can call Butterfree useless all he wants, but to Izuku those powers alone seem pretty effective. Hell, the hero Midnight only has one of those abilities as her quirk, and she's a seasoned pro! Butterfree might not be effective in every situation, but he's definitely good enough that Izuku can become a hero—he's sure of it.

"Free!" Butterfree calls out in a voice that warbles like a whistle. He flies over Izuku's head and around in a loop before coming down and landing directly on the top of his head, flattening his shock of wild green hair. Like Caterpie and Metapod before it, the only sound the creature can make is it's own name, or perhaps Izuku has named them because of the sound they make. Their names have always sort of come to him instinctively anyway, so maybe it isn't even him doing the naming even subconsciously. Most days, his quirk is an enigma even to him.

Despite being the same creature that has transformed twice now, each form has sounded very different, almost like it has had a different personality to match each unique appearance. Caterpie's voice always seemed rather emotionless, Metapod's almost robotic, but Butterfree's on the other hand always makes Izuku want to smile. It's filled with the utmost joy, as though the world is chock full of rainbows, sunshine, and not much else. Even the way it flutters around as a picturesque epitome of beauty and grace acts as a symbol of its carefree spirit.

Izuku reaches up over his head to pat Butterfree's purple body. He lets out a contented sigh. Despite the strain the summoning takes on his energy, and the fact that it almost always results in a splitting headache, he'd always prefer to have Butterfree summoned and with him. Having the creature spirited inside him, or wherever Butterfree goes when not summoned, feels too much like hiding a part of himself away—like what the world sees is only a part of who he truly is.

"That's better, isn't it?" he says, talking to himself as much as to his summon. "I hate not being able to have you around…"

Butterfree shifts on his head and lets out his agreement with a warbling hum. Out his peripheral vision, Butterfree's wings spread out wide as he stretches and loosens his tense muscles and limbs. Just a moment later he's taking flight again, flying high above Izuku's head as he continues down the quiet streets.

"So, this is where you go, Deku!" Bakugou's sudden shout follows him down the empty street like an echo.

"Kacchan?" Izuku turns with a surprised, but shaky smile to see the boy sitting on a fence post behind him and watching him with his sharp gaze. After a moment, Bakugou slowly raises his head to watch Butterfree fluttering in lazy circles above. Izuku hunches his shoulders and tries not to meet Bakugou's piercing stare once it again focuses on himself.

Bakugou begins to laugh, clutching his stomach in mock hilarity as he hops off the fence post. "Do you seriously go this far out of your way to get home just so you can use your quirk without getting caught?" He tuts and shakes his head. "Making a devious plan to use your quirk in public? You're practically a villain."

Izuku fights the urge to roll his eyes. "But telling people you're going to explode their face is the hallmark of heroic behavior?" he counters quietly. It forces a wicked grin onto Bakugou's face. Anybody else that challenges him gets the rough end of his raging temper except Izuku for some reason; he loves the defiance instead. Still, this walk with Butterfree is normally the most calm part of his day, so he's not really in the mood for an argument, no matter if it's all in good fun.

"Why'd you follow me?" Izuku asks, trying to direct the conversation in a different direction.

Bakugou takes several long, quick strides so that he can walk besides Izuku. "Dumb Deku," he says, flicking Izuku between the eyes. "We're practically neighbors. Did you think I wouldn't notice you suddenly taking the longest possible way home?"

In all honesty, he hadn't actually thought it would be noticed. Half the time Bakugou disappears with Tsubasa and some of the other boys from their school after classes end anyway, so it's not like they really walk home together all that often. Not to mention, the reality of Bakugou's character is that he's always been extraordinarily self-absorbed. The fact he actually cares enough to follow Izuku comes as something of a shock.

Izuku shrugs his shoulders. "Butterfree needs space to really fly around, and he doesn't get that at home in the apartment…" Bakugou says nothing, simply stares up at the giant butterfly fluttering above.

"So, that's the only reason you followed me? You were curious where I was going after school?" Izuku adds quietly after a pause, almost afraid of the response. Still, his curiosity outweighs his fear of the other boy's retribution.

"I can do whatever the fuck I want Deku. Don't ask stupid questions," Bakugou yells in response before speaking in a much lower register. "It's not like I followed you because I care what you're doing or anything." Bakugou glances in the other direction. A small smile flashes across Izuku's face. Knowing Bakugou, that's more or less an admission that he does care.

That, and the fact that Bakugou only ever tells the truth as he sees it and nothing less, is the only reason Izuku has to ask the next question. Much as he tries to shake it, an uncomfortable thought floats around in his mind—the same question he's been trying not to focus on for years. After the aptitude test, though, and with high school life looming ever closer before them, it's becoming impossible not to dwell on.

"Kacchan… do you really think I won't make a good hero with my quirk?" Izuku waits for his friend's response with wide, green eyes, nearly brimming with tears. He already knows what Bakugou is going to say, but still some part of him deep inside flares with hope. Becoming a hero like All Might is all he's ever wanted. To hear that he can't, even with a quirk… it feels like enough to break him.

Bakugou lifts a hand to his chin, as though genuinely hearing the seriousness in Izuku's voice and not willing to just answer with a usual insult about how his quirk couldn't possibly compare to the brilliance of his own.

"Your quirk would be annoying to a lot of the stupid, fucking villains out there," he starts, "but all it would take is for someone to take down the butterfly, or whatever the fuck it is, and you'd be squashed like the bug you summon." He shrugs, "Just calling it as I see it, Deku."

Even knowing what Bakugou would have to say about it, actually hearing the words come back at him twice in one day is like having cracks appear in every dream he's ever had. It's like he's been watching all his hopes drift outside a window, barely out of range, just waiting for the chance where he might be able to reach past and grab them. However, he's now accepting that he will never be able to break past the glass. Even though he knows Butterfree's true worth, he can't deny the truth of Kacchan's words, either. Against some of the villains that All Might has had to face throughout his career, Butterfree would almost certainly not be enough.

Before he can answer, a shout from the streets nearby sounds in his ears like the ring of a cannon.

"TEXAS SMASH!" The shout that reverberates throughout the alleys and buildings all around them is so full of determination and strength that it makes Izuku's eyes water. A rush of air comes at them in a forceful gale, almost strong enough to not just knock Izuku off his feet, but Kacchan as well.

All Might…

"Come on!" Bakugou is running forward just a mere second later, beckoning behind him for Izuku to follow. Like Izuku, there is no way Bakugou would ever mistake the sound of that voice. With as little hesitation as his childhood friend shows, Izuku follows. The thought of seeing All Might is too much—it completely overwhelms any negative thoughts he'd been feeling just a moment before. More than that, it overrides all logic as well. Hearing All Might shout his signature move has to mean there's a villain about, which means danger, but to Izuku it doesn't matter one bit. To see his idol up close and in person…

Sure enough, as he and Bakugou emerge from the back alley and onto the main streets, All Might is standing in the dead center of the road. He's not wearing his hero costume like expected. Instead, he's dressed in a tight, white tee and beige cargo pants. Even so, he looks more heroic than anybody Izuku has ever seen. Just like in his pictures and videos, All Might stands as a giant of a man, easily twice the size of Izuku himself, with arms and legs like tree trunks.

"All Might!" Izuku finds himself calling out.

The number one hero turns to face them with a symbolic smile—the one he wears constantly, no matter the danger and no matter the circumstances. "Hey there, kids!" he says through his persistent smile. "Sorry, no time to chat today, gotta run!" Without another word he's jumping high into the air, defying gravity like a hero from the greatest comic books. As he takes off from the ground, his water bottle falls from the pocket on his cargo pants from the sheer force of his movements.

Izuku is short of breath. He'd give anything to get All Might back to talk, even if it's not the question he wants to ask most—the same question that he'd asked Kacchan. Just to ask his perspective about being a hero, to find out what makes him tick and what drives him… that would be enough. Still, just seeing him in person for the first time is an experience he'll never forget.

"He dropped his bottle, the dumbass," Bakugou says, reaching down to pick it up from where it's rolled towards him. "What the hell kind of crap does he drink, though? This is fucking rank."

Izuku eyes the clear bottle with curiosity. Much as he doesn't like Bakugou's tone, considering he's talking about the number one hero and the person the both of them admire most, he has to agree. The liquid inside the bottle is thick and greenish brown, almost like sewage. Even the lid closed on the bottle is not enough to contain the foul stench.

"You collect All Might's stuff, yeah?" Bakugou asks holding the bottle out towards Izuku, "You want this crap?"

Izuku reaches for the bottle. As disgusting as whatever is inside, he figures it will surely wash out. It might not be much, but All Might's actual water bottle? That sounds like something to add to his collection for sure. Kacchan doesn't call him 'fanboy' for nothing.

As soon as his hands wrap around the plastic, the liquid inside moves. Not just with the movement of the bottle, but in a more unnatural way, swirling around inside like it's generating its own personal twister. The lid pops off the bottle and the foul smelling liquid escapes onto the floor, and Izuku hastily drops the bottle and its contents.

"What the fuck?" Bakugou shouts. "Deku, get the fuck away from that shit."

When Izuku takes a small step back the liquid moves with him, pooling together on the floor before flying off the ground like a sewage filled rocket aimed for his face.

"Oi, Deku, watch out!"

Izuku's vision goes dark.

Izuku wakes on the cold concrete path with a splitting headache. His eyes are gluey and blurred as he groans and pulls himself into a sitting position causing a spike of pain that ignites in the back of his head. His groggy brain tries to restart itself to work out what the hell had actually happened.

Kacchan. That weird slime…

His memories come flooding back to him in a stream, making him dart to his feet despite the pounding in his head. For a moment, he sways unsteadily and the world seems to shift, but he blinks his way back to reality, looking at his surroundings through squinted eyes. The street is totally barren, as though his normally overpopulated neighborhood has suddenly become a ghost town.

For a moment he considers summoning Butterfree, but given the headache throbbing between his ears it seems like a bad idea. Either way, it's not like Butterfree could shed any light on the situation. No doubt the creature had disappeared the second he lost consciousness.

A couple of blocks over, emergency sirens blare, cutting through the silence of the empty street. As the fog in his mind clears, he registers the sound of distant shouts and cries of desperation like a disaster scene in an action movie. For the briefest moment, Izuku doesn't think much of it. In the age of quirks and superpowers, such sounds are heard every now and again, even with the symbol of peace All Might keeping a firm control over the rate of crime compared to other countries.

But a huge explosion cuts over everything, smashing windows of buildings and cars and causing a rush of air to nearly knock Izuku off his feet for the second time that day. After so many years hearing so many explosions, both small and large, Izuku would recognize the sound anywhere.

It's Kacchan, and he's openly using his quirk in public. That can only mean one thing.

He's in danger!

Izuku is running towards the source of the explosion in almost the same moment he hears it, ignoring the pain in his head and the stiffness of his limbs. There's not much in the way of logical thought going through his head, only a sheer determination to reach his friend.

He's running so fast he nearly trips on his own feet as he rounds the corner into the streets, the constant explosions getting louder and louder the closer he gets. Now he can hear a gathered crowd shouting and watching with abject horror with heroes trying to control the crowd and regain control of the situation.

Why aren't they helping Kacchan?

The answer to his question becomes immediately clear when Izuku makes it to the scene of the disaster. Even through the crowd he can see Kacchan, struggling against the same slime from All Might's bottle sticking to his limbs as he tries to break free.

Where before the slime was only enough to fill a small plastic bottle, now it's enough mass to potentially cover several people at least, drowning them in its voluminous filth. Swirling around in the sludge where it is desperately trying to restrain Bakugou from escaping its confines is a distinctive face—two white eyes and a wildly grinning mouth floating around in the muck.

Against a villain with such a strange quirk, the gathered heroes can do nothing. Backdraft has his hands full holding the crowd back from the danger. Kamui Woods and Death Arms watch from nearby, looking desperate and helpless before their foe. Mount Lady stands at the other end of the alley towering over all of them, her giant size too big to intervene without destroying everything around. Despite how incredible their quirks may be, strength and an ability to grow and shape the wood his body is made of aren't likely to help any of them break Bakugou free from the sticky liquid of the villain's quirk.

Izuku pushes through the crowd, nearly knocking over a sickly thin, blonde haired man gripping an electrical pole at the back and barging through the throngs of horrified onlookers.

"Get off me you bastard!" Bakugou screams at the top of his lungs and lets out another massive explosion, though the blast is diminished with his hands covered by the sludge. Izuku breaks to the front of the crowd and cries out his name. Even with the roar of the crowd behind him, along with the flames from his explosions burning around them, Bakugou shifts his red gaze to Izuku.

It's the most profound moment in Izuku's life. Bakugou is completely restrained now, the sludge forcing its way between his lips and around the majority of his body, as though it's trying to suck him inside and suffocate him. His red eyes, where normally all confidence and bravado, are shimmering with tears.

Time seems to come to an end, and the moment drags into eternity. Bakugou's red eyes meet Izuku's green.

Izuku's feet are moving before his mind can even begin to process what's happening. His entire body is moving nearly on instinct. He ducks under Backdraft's water barriers and sprints towards Bakugou.

Can't use Butterfree…

As much as his mind is screaming at him to use his quirk, Izuku knows that it's no good. Like the heroes already here, Butterfree's power is ill-suited to the situation. Sure, he could use his sleep, paralyze, or poison powder, but there's absolutely no guarantee that they would work on a villain made of sludge. What is certain, though, is that they would work on Bakugou, and the only reason he has survived this long is clearly because of how hard he is struggling against the villain. To put him to sleep or paralyze him would mean certain death.

"Stop, kid! Don't be stupid!" Death Arms calls out behind Izuku, but he can't stop. Kacchan is in trouble.

I have to get him free.

I have to get him free.

Izuku dives to the ground to avoid a dumpster launched at him from the sludge villain. It flies over his head, missing him by mere inches. It doesn't deter him from saving his friend.

I have to get him free!

Just like it had so many years ago, Izuku's mind supplies the answer he needs. An image flashes through his mind's eye, and his mouth is working before he even knows what syllables are going to erupt.

"Solosis!"

It feels just like when he summons Butterfree. There's a draw on his energy, as though each movement costs him twice as much as what it would have before. His mind goes into overdrive, and he's suddenly hyper-aware of everything around him. When his quirk isn't in use, it feels like he's only half of himself. Now, he's everything he needs to be. In the back of his mind, there's something instinctive telling him that using this new summon—a part of his quirk he hadn't even known was so much as a facet of his abilities—is exactly what he needs to get Kacchan free.

"Help me get Kacchan free!" Izuku shouts, not even turning to see his new summon and what it looks like. He's only got the vaguest idea from the image that flashed in his mind—but it's enough that there's a fear that looking at the creature will make him lose any semblance of hope of saving Kacchan.

He jumps at the sludge villain and claws at the ichor around his friends face. Bakugou's eyes are desperate and bloodshot as the sludge covers his nose and mouth and prevents him from breathing.

"Now I've caught two little flies in my web," comes a distorted voice from behind Bakugou. It's the villain himself, Izuku registers somewhere in the back of his mind. The liquid pools around his feet and soaks into his red joggers. As he scrambles to get Kacchan free, strands of it reach up at his ankles, climbing up his skin to trap him like his friend.

"Solosis!" Izuku cries out. Finally, he turns to face his new summon with wide eyes. Just like the image that had passed through his mind's eye, the new creature is small, even smaller than Caterpie was when he'd first summoned the caterpillar at seven years old. More than that, while Caterpie was clearly a Caterpillar, Solosis doesn't look like any creature Izuku has ever seen. It's a small, cell-like creature with a light green body suspended in a darker green gel-like substance. A strange yellow curl adorned the top of its head, and its beady eyes are locked on Izuku.

It doesn't look remotely capable of being able to help, nor does it move at all. Izuku sees it blinks once before he, too, is being pulled into the sludge villains disgusting body inch by inch.

Even with discovering a totally new creature to summon other than Butterfree, Izuku feels totally useless. His instincts are telling him that Solosis is the key to getting Kacchan free. Clearly that's not right, or Izuku just doesn't know how to make the creature help him.

And then Izuku is being pulled away from the sludge even as the villain tries to pull him back in. Izuku feels every inch of himself being pulled free, and his head immediately turns again to his new summon. It's eyes are squinted, a look of utter concentration on it's tiny green face.

What the hell is going on?

"Pull Kacchan free!" Izuku cries out. "He can't breathe!"

Bakugou is almost completely submerged now, all that is left to see being his red, tear-filled eyes. But then, like Izuku, more of him begins to be pulled free. He gasps for air as his nose and mouth emerge, and his arms flail as Solosis pulls him free.

It's telekinetic!

The truth of Solosis' power becomes abundantly clear, as does the reason his quirk instincts had made Izuku call the creature forth. None of the other present heroes' quirks are of any use against a villain with a power like this. But Solosis, with it's strange psychic powers? It couldn't be more perfect.

"You bastard!" Bakugou turns his body before he's even been fully freed to hit the villain with a series of small explosions. Other than sludge being blasted all over the alleyway, it doesn't seem to have much of an effect. Even as it is blown away, it pools back together to join the bulk of the villains disgusting body.

Izuku is more concerned with getting himself and Bakugou away from the villain than he is with fighting it. He ignores the explosions and grabs his friend under the arms and pulls, backed by Solosis' psychic strength. He feels the power of it pulling on every inch of him, separating him from the sludge and allowing the both of them to get free.

Izuku and Bakugou land on the ground in a heap before the mass of foul-smelling filth. Despite being free of its clutches for the moment, the villain looms over them, his swirling, liquid face morphed into a grimace.

With Izuku's energy spent, Solosis vanishes.

He feels the exact moment when his quirk stops, and just like after Butterfree vanishes, his head erupts with pain so severe it nearly blind him for a moment. His arms and legs feel heavy. Next to him, Bakugou looks just as exhausted. He's glaring with more ferocity than Izuku has ever seen, but he looks as spent as Izuku feels. With the villain before them and Solosis gone, they're both now sitting ducks.

"That was pretty good kid," the villain says in a voice that makes it sound like he's gargling water. "But what're you gonna do now that your quirk's all used up?" The branch of the sludge arcs high into the air, morphing its shape until it vaguely resembles a giant hand about to crush them like bugs.

"Go! He's going to kill them!" Izuku hears the heroes shout from behind them.

Izuku tries desperately to call for Solosis or even Butterfree, but his head feels like it's going to split into two on every attempt. He tries to pull himself to his feet, but Solosis' use of psychic powers to free them from the villain has drained him dry. It's almost like his muscles have atrophied. Bakugou, after struggling against the villain for who knows how long, must be in the same situation. He struggles to rise to his feet despite being more fit and healthy than Izuku in practically every way.

"Fuck you!" he roars. He flips the villain his middle finger before holding his hands out in front of him like he's going for another giant explosion.

The villain's faux sludge hand slices down through the air to crush them. Izuku's eyes close involuntarily. There's a rush of air all around him, but the pain he expects never comes. When his eyes open, he's been moved over towards the wall of the alley, Bakugou next to him on the ground with a bewildered expression. The sludge hand crashes down in front of them hard enough to crack the concrete.

"You kids really are something special," a deep voice permeates all the way down the alley. Izuku would know it anywhere. Not just from earlier when he'd seen him in person, but from years of online videos and podcasts. All Might is here.

We're saved! All Might's incredible speed has already allowed him to move the two of them out of the way of the villains strike.

"But this is my mess to clean up," All Might finishes, appearing before the sludge villain. Even with his gargantuan size he is dwarfed by the villain—yet still he looks to be the more imposing one. Izuku can only see him from the left side, but he registers it immediately when his signature smile disappears in favor of a more determined anger. He looks like the very image of justice, come to smite evil in whatever form it should appear. Everything he does is just so larger than life.

"Detroit Smash!"

In an instant, All Might has crossed the gap between himself and the villain and struck with a tremendous muscle-and-quirk filled uppercut. The wind it creates is so utterly powerful that it pins Izuku back against the wall. Mount Lady has to lean over the watching crowd with her giant form to stop them from being blasted away from the sheer strength of it. The Sludge flies off in every direction, completely blown apart from a single strike of All Might's fist.

The whole world seems to stand still in complete silence but for the wind that All Might brought forth with his punch. Then, the crowd roars.

All Might is left standing alone in the center of the alley, his white tee covered in filth but otherwise looking completely unaffected. Izuku's face splits with the widest smile of his life. All Might had saved them like in one of the videos he's watched countless times online, but this time he saw it in person, and it was him All Might saved.

All Might coughs once into his hand, not obvious enough for probably anybody else to notice. For Izuku who's been watching him for years, it's not something he's ever seen his hero do. Even the slightest sign of weakness is unconscionable in All Might, the greatest hero in the world.

All Might lowers his hand. It's spattered with blood. Izuku's smile falters.

Something's wrong with him.

Where before he was flooded with relief, now he comes crashing back to earth. All Might should never be bleeding. He's faced some of the strongest villains in the world and prevailed, often without breaking a sweat. He should never bleed. Izuku's idea of what the world is begins to crumble before his eyes. Such a small thing, one cough of blood, and Izuku's perception changes. All Might is not invincible, not perfect.

All Might turns to Izuku and Bakugou with his signature smile. Earlier in the day it had seemed powerful, but now to Izuku it seems hollow and fake—like it's hiding weakness underneath. It breaks his heart to see it.

"Are you kids okay? That was some fight you put up. You should be proud of yourselves!" All Might booms.

"You coughed blood," Izuku blurts. Bakugou turns to look at Izuku like he's completely lost the plot, but Izuku's eyes are stuck on All Might. Clearly, the other boy hadn't seen it.

For a moment, the hero looks completely taken aback, and Izuku knows in that instant that he definitely saw what he thought. All Might recovers quickly, though, plastering his smile on his face like it's nothing more than an instinct. "Did you hit your head? The paramedics will be here soon to check you over."

All Might launches himself into the air, steaming rolling off him in waves. Izuku has never seen that before, either. "Good job again, kids! You'll make great heroes one day!" All Might shouts as he flies off into the air.

Izuku should be thrilled. He's had one hope all his life—to be a hero like All Might. Now, he knows the potential is there. Clearly, his quirk is more than just the ability to summon Butterfree. Using Solosis, he'd actually been able to save someone!

But an injured All Might shakes his world view to the core. Something is wrong with the very man who inspires Izuku to be a hero.

Notes

Hope you liked the first (I guess second but first was super short and prologue) chapter of the fic! I was really excited about the reception it got! Lots of really nice reviews and questions and stuff which is honestly fantastic, so thankyou all very much.

Lots of you were wondering about the limits of the quirk. It'll get delved into more in future chapters, but rest assured Izuku isn't going to be able to just summon Legendary Pokes whenever he wants and become an instant powerhouse. As much as this quirk is probably OP anyway, I don't really like OP protagonists, and I usually try my best to make the protagonists struggles seem real and the stakes feel genuine.

I really really hope you all like this chapter. Got a good reception so I hope y'all trust me to do it justice after this chapter :) Feel free to ask me any questions, and if you want a quicker answer you can always join my discord! It's active every single day without fail at all hours, so no matter where you are in the world there's pretty much always somebody online.