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Natsuo is twelve years old when he first meets Izuku.
It had been a typical Wednesday up to that point.
Wake up to the sounds of Shouto getting the shit beat out of him at ass o’clock.
Leave the house two hours early to escape the guilty feelings of relief that it wasn’t happening to him.
School.
Come home for lunch.
Fuyumi too busy tending to Shouto to spare him a minute.
Throw together a sandwich and head right back to school, eating on the way.
Do classroom cleaning duties.
Head to the QLA for the monthly Quirkless Support Group.
There’d been a skinny woman in a pink sweater being accosted by Miss Kim and that had been new so Natsuo had slowed to catch the commotion.
This would prove to change everything.
“I really am sorry Ma’am, but no Quirked people are allowed.”
“I’m here with my son.”
“I understand that, but I simply cannot allow you to attend the meeting.”
“He’s seven years old! I can’t exactly let him go by himself!”
This statement had given Natsuo pause. He’d been coming alone for years now, since Fuyumi had found this place for him online and promised to cover for him while he was gone.
“Look Miss Midoriya, I really do understand but you need to realize that this building is a haven for the Quirkless and your presence will be perceived as both a threat and as a proof that this place is no longer safe for them. I cannot allow you to destroy that.”
The woman’s eyes are wet but her face is twisted in pain and anger. “Fine then.”
She turns to go and Natsuo catches sight of an incredibly small form hunched into himself. Fluffy green curls and wide green eyes shimmering with moisture and-
“I can watch him.”
The words are out almost as soon as they’d crossed his mind to offer and he finds himself the focus of matching stares.
Miss Kim flashes him a bright smile. “Natsuo dear, you’re early.”
He grins sheepishly. “It looked like rain so I ran here.”
She laughs and sits back down behind her desk and Natsuo turns back to the boy’s mother. “I can give you my number just in case…” He pulls out his cellphone and hands it to her. “I promise I’ll look out for him. I can even walk him home after if you want…”
The woman still looks hesitant but she puts her number in and texts herself so she must really want her son to attend. She hands the phone back before crouching down to meet her son’s eyes. “Are you sure Izuku?”
The little boy gives her a watery smile and nods. She steps back and Natsuo takes his hand.
“You really don’t need to worry though.” Natsuo says. “Quirkless people would never hurt each other…”
The implied ‘Everyone else hurts them enough’ goes unsaid.
***
Natsuo leads the boy to the hall, shows him where the refreshments and the bathrooms are, and then goes to get them seats. Through it all the boy’s eyes are wide, taking in everything, and the grip he has on Natsuo’s hand is tight.
They don’t let him share with the group.
Natsuo tries not to feel too bad for the kid. He’s seven so he probably doesn’t have much to say anyway.
Natsuo himself never chooses to share either. He might trust these people not to hurt him, but you never know who might sell his story to the press for a quick buck. Better to keep his mouth shut. He’s only here because it makes him feel like his life isn’t half as shitty as it could be. And also like he’s not alone.
He keeps glancing at the boy, who he now knows is named Izuku, waiting for him to lose patience. It’s gotta be boring sitting here listening to strangers talk about their battles with bigots and discrimination.
Tama is talking about her fiancé making her pretend she has an innocuous quirk so he doesn’t get disowned. Something really stupid and impossible to prove like having nails that grow really fast. Natsuo is nodding along with Yamano’s interjection when he happens to glance back at Izuku.
The boy is crying so hard he’s shaking, fist in his mouth to muffle his sounds. Natsuo sighs and picks the boy up before heading silently into the hall.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ll call your Mom to come get you alright?”
He’s reaching for his phone when Izuku shakes his head. “N-not y-yet.” He sniffles and wipes hurriedly at his eyes. “S-sorry.”
He sniffles again and Natsuo leads him to the bathroom to wipe his nose and wash his face.
He’s honestly at a loss for what else to do. If Izuku isn’t crying because he wants to go home then why is he?
He must ask the question out loud because Izuku turns to face him.
“P-people are s-so… m-mean!!!”
He sounds indignant and angry and Natsuo is struck by how adorable it is even as it makes him sad. He ruffles the kid’s hair. “Yeah. I guess they are.”
***
“You’re sure you don’t mind Todoro-“
“Just Natsuo please, Miss Midoriya, and I really don’t mind at all. He’s very well behaved.”
Izuku’s mother gives him that look, the one he knows means he’s talking like an adult again and he laughs sheepishly.
She smiles. “Well okay, but you should stay for dinner this time so I can thank you.”
A chance to stay out of the house even later than usual without being penalized by missing dinner?
He is so there!
They head straight for their seats this time and Natsuo pulls out his phone to shoot a quick text to Fuyumi about being home late. Izuku drops his backpack and pulls out a foreign looking comic book in English.
“Hey what’s that?”
The boy freezes, pressing it to his chest as if he thinks Natsuo will just take it. So Natsuo does what any good friend would do when faced with such distrust.
He flicks his forehead.
“Relax Izuku. I’m just curious.”
“Oh…Uh… It’s Batman.”
“…Bat…Man?”
“Yeah he was a really popular hero figure in American culture before quirks were a thing.”
Natsuo shoots Izuku the ‘talking like an adult’ look and the boy ducks his head but can’t quite hide his grin. “My dad sends them to me to make up for working abroad.”
Natsuo forces down the flash of jealousy. Izuku’s dad sounds awesome. He’s not around too much and shows interest in things his son likes. AND buys him stuff! Some people have all the luck.
“Batman is amazing! He had the best superpower of all!”
Natsuo is intrigued in spite of himself and raises an eyebrow.
“…money.”
The laugh is a surprise even to himself but Izuku beams happily that his joke was well received and continues rambling on. “He didn’t have any superpowers, just a suit with a fully stocked utility belt and martial arts training, although some later adaptations gave him armor and weapons, but I prefer the earlier versions where he was just a really cool detective type hero who was always prepared for anything and managed to escape from superpowered villains like Poison Ivy and Freezer. But his main villain was quirkless just like him, an evil genius named The Joker! Even in some issues where Batman had to team up with other superheroes he was still clearly the one they all turned to for guidance and it’s just so cool!”
His eyes sparkle and Natsuo has to look away.
“Yeah but a quirkless hero is unrealistic.”
Izuku gasps in horror, tears filling his eyes and Natsuo feels incredibly wrongfooted like he’s said something terrible but he can’t figure out what.
***
Dinner is awkward but Natsuo isn’t ready to go home yet so when Miss Midoriya suggests Izuku show off his room Natsuo is all for it. Izuku seems more hesitant, still as subdued as he’d been since the meeting, but he nods quietly and leads the way.
The door is opened and Natsuo is shocked.
All Might.
All Might everywhere.
Wherever Natsuo looks there’s a giant smile beaming down on him.
Posters line the walls, action figures line the shelves and Natsuo feels that flare of jealousy again. Endeavor would never let him own a single piece of All Might merch. Izuku is so fucking lucky.
The little boy rummages in a box under his bed before emerging with a stack of comics. “Here Natsuo. These ones are the first two and these three are my favorites. You should read them.”
He holds the books tighter for a second before shoving them lightly against Natsuo’s chest.
“Y-You. Y-You’ll understand th-then…”
Izuku turns away and lays down on his bed. He rolls to face the wall and doesn’t move till after Natsuo leaves.
The comics stay in his bag.
***
Natsuo doesn’t make it to the next meeting.
Endeavor is usually busy with Shouto in the mornings but today his little brother is running a fever and his father is pissed. He storms into the kitchen while Natsuo is still eating breakfast and throws a glass at the wall.
Natsuo is too shocked to move and a piece of glass cuts into his face.
There’s a lot of screaming after that but Natsuo can’t focus on much besides the pain and the sight of his own blood.
It’s weird.
He’s always hated his father, thinks he’s the scum of the earth, but this is.
This is different.
He’s not watching Touya be pushed too far, not watching his mother be shattered, not watching Fuyumi forced to grow up too fast, not even watching Shouto be beaten.
No.
For the first time it’s his blood on Enji’s hands and there’s a new emotion glaring bright in Natsuo’s chest.
Fear.
***
Natsuo loses time for a bit.
He blinks and Fuyumi is in his space and looking at her hurts. His left eye is burning as something wet slides down his face.
He blinks again and there’s something soft pressed against his forehead and cheek.
Blink. Shouto is there, blanket wrapped tightly around his flushed form. He’s silent as he presses a cold hand to Natsuo’s forehead.
He can’t help leaning into his little brother’s palm, feeling a little more present but then there’s the sound of a door slamming shut and the two of them flinch in unison.
Shouto nods at him solemnly like-
Natsuo’s eyes widen in horror.
-like he’s just joined some kind of fucked up club.
Shouto disappears almost silently and it hurts that Natsuo gets it now.
His little brother is silent and quiet because of the fear.
Natsuo blinks again and now there’s a new face in front of him. He’s never personally met the man but he can tell from Endeavor’s demands that this injury not scar Natsuo’s face that this is Stitch. An unscrupulous man with a useful healing quirk who’s been around since Touya began training.
Stitch names a price and they haggle for a bit but Natsuo knows it’s just for show.
Endeavor will pay the original amount with a wink that the extra cover discretion and god does Natsuo want nothing more than to punch him.
Finally satisfied, Stitch removes the bloody towels from Natsuo’s face and grips the edges of the cut with nimble fingers. He slowly slides his finger down the seam and Natsuo screams as the wound closes with a burn.
He loses some more time after that and when he wakes up he runs to a mirror, frantically turning this way and that but his face looks fine.
There is a blissful moment where he thinks it was all a dream.
And then his door opens.
Endeavor stands in the doorway and his face is set in a glare. “What a disappointment. Even a child could have dodged that. Your reflexes clearly need more practice.”
That’s all the warning Natsuo gets before he’s dragged from his room.
He is sat at his place by the breakfast table and Endeavor opens a large box of cheap glassware. “Do not fail this time.”
He throws a glass. Natsuo dodges.
They practice for hours.
Natsuo doesn’t make it to school that day either.
***
He wakes from a nightmare with a muffled gasp and is horrified that his first thought is ‘oh god did I scream? Did I wake him? Is he coming? I can’t. I can’t. I-“
He jerks so hard he falls out of bed and has another little freak out that he hit the ground too loudly.
He can’t deal with this. He can’t. He needs to calm down. He needs… a distraction.
He reaches blindly for his bag to pull out his phone but his hands are shaking so badly he ends up scattering the contents all over the floor.
“Fu-uck” he mumbles as he quietly scrabbles to clean up the mess. His hands slide over glossy pages and he pauses.
Oh.
Izuku’s comics.
...Well he did want a distraction.
He slowly opens the first page.
It’s a while later that he finishes the last one, and his first thought is that Izuku was right, he does understand now.
His second thought is that he owes his little friend an apology.
***
He’s never seen or spoken to Izuku outside of the monthly meetings but he knows where he lives from that one awkward dinner. So after school the next day Natsuo sends Fuyumi a text that he’ll be home late and heads to Izuku’s neighborhood.
He’s walking past a park when he hears the sound of explosions followed by a familiar voice.
“Y-You sh-shouldn’t hurt other k-kids, K-Kacchan! I-I’ll I-I’ll s-s-stop you!”
Natsuo’s eyes widen. He’s never heard Izuku’s voice sound so shaky and scared before.
“Stupid Deku! You can’t protect anyone when you’re the most useless of all!”
Natsuo turns to the park almost in slow motion and is just in time to see a little blonde jerk blow Izuku back with a blast from his hands. The blonde and two others then step towards his fallen friend and the little kid that had been cowering behind Izuku takes off running.
“Not so tough now are you De-”
“Hey!”
Natsuo runs forward and he’s not sure what expression he’s wearing but it must be something fierce because the three kids immediately take a step back.
Izuku’s head snaps up, eyes watering, but Natsuo ignores him for a minute to focus on the little turds cornering his friend. He reaches for the biggest words he knows and crosses his arms threateningly. “Unprompted quirk use is illegal. Using your quirk for violence when not in self defense is a criminal offense.” Natsuo turns away from them pointedly and meets his little friend’s eyes. “Would you like to press charges, Izuku?”
He moves to help the sniffling boy to his feet and the three bullies take off running.
He lets them go.
Natsuo bends down to inspect Izuku’s knees and the boy falls into his arms, tacking him in a very loose hug.
The storm in his heart finally calms down a bit and Natsuo hugs him back.
When Izuku next looks at him, his eyes are shining with admiration and his smile is so bright Natsuo has to look away.
“That was amazing! You chased them away with only words! You’re so cool Natsuo!”
Something stirs in his chest, and a warmth he’s never felt before spreads to his face.
It’s not unpleasant though.
Just… different.
“It was nothing. What kind of person would I be if I just walked away from something like that…”
He puts the boy down and starts inspecting his dirty hands. “We should get you home so your mom can-”
“No!”
Natsuo rears back with a flinch at the shout and then immediately cringes in shame.
He’s fucking scared of a seven year old now??
Thankfully Izuku is looking at his own bleeding hands and seems to have missed it.
“Y-You c-can’t tell m-my m-mom! Y-You c-can’t! P-P-Please Natsu!”
Izuku looks at him like a kicked puppy and Natsuo looks away with a sigh. “...fine just… wait here…”
He heads into a nearby store and picks up a couple water bottles, a pack of bandages in assorted sizes and a tube of ointment and then makes quick work of taking care of Izuku’s hands and knees. When he’s done, he takes the seven-year-old’s hand and walks towards a nearby ice cream store. Izuku follows along quietly.
Natsuo orders two cups even though he’s not really in the mood. Izuku seems like the type not to eat if he’s the only one and Natsuo can always give the melted ice cream to Shouto later.
Once they’ve gotten their treats the two of them go sit on a bench out back.
It’s quiet for a while, Izuku enjoying his treat, Natsuo periodically lifting a mostly empty spoon to his mouth. Finally the silence has stretched too long and Natsuo places his cup down. “Izuku. I uh… read those comics you gave me… and…” he stops, at a loss for how to continue before a flash of inspiration strikes. He pulls out his wallet and slides out his credit card. “It occurred to me that I have a superpower after all.” He twirls the card between his fingers and winks at the boy across from him.
Izuku’s face splits into a wide grin, somehow hearing the part Natsuo is leaving unsaid.
***
Nothing much changes after that. They still go to the monthly meetings, though now it’s a given that Natsuo will be staying for supper.
They start getting together on weekends though to do what Izuku calls ‘research for the future’
Research for the future involves going through all of his comics and writing down any gadget that looks feasible for real world physics. It involves compiling lists of materials they will need and buying things in small enough increments to not get flagged on any databases.
It also involves reading over fight scenes and trying to imagine how they would have handled it if they were in Batman’s place.
Natsuo’s go to answer is always “kick his ass!” and at first Izuku would sigh, stare at the ceiling for a minute and then launch into his own list of gadgets that would have been useful.
At this point though he is resigned to Natsuo’s dream and added watching martial arts tutorials on youtube to the schedule.
Natsuo still isn’t sure if Izuku is a genius or if they’re wasting their time.
It’s nice to share a dream though.
***
Sometimes Izuku will toss him something and Natsuo will throw himself to the ground, rolling to come up in a defensive crouch. It’s an automatic reflex that he can’t fight, to dodge anything that comes his way.
Izuku never asks but Natsuo can’t hide the shame he feels.
Until one day Izuku waxes poetic about how useful it will be in a fight and then demonstrates how cool it looks.
Natsuo still hates his father for instilling this fear instinct in him.
But at least it’s good for something.
He spends his birthday with the Midoriyas and Miss Inko bakes him a cake.
They celebrate by finishing the last comic and entering phase two: Experiments.
***
Time passes by in a blur of training and researching and playing around with power tools.
And suddenly it’s time for Natsuo to apply for high school.
“DAMMIT!”
“You ok?”
“No I’m not fucking ok. The old bastard refused to sign my application for UA. He said if I apply to any hero schools he’ll cut me off! Too fucking embarrassed to have a quirkless-”
Natsuo cuts short his own rant to turn to Izuku with a rueful grin. “He’s gonna take away my superpower Izu!”
Izuku groans. “Come on Natsu. You’ve been making that joke for years. Just let it go.”
Natsuo shrugs. “It’s your fault.”
“I. Was. Seven!!!”
Natsuo flops onto Izuku’s bed as the boy continues fiddling with a thin tube.
“I just… don't know what to do. All our practice, all our plans, and he won’t even let me try.”
“You should blackmail him.”
Natsuo sits up so fast he falls off the bed. “The fuck Izu!?!”
Izuku pulls down some protective goggles and starts up his benson burner. “Oh you know. If he’s embarrassed then threaten to apply anyway. Sure his clout and refusal to pay would get you removed but wouldn’t that be even more embarrassing? You can then leverage for one of those specialized schools we were talking about. The one with all the useful electives, remember? You can graduate with certificates of training as well as your diploma and I think they have some useful after school clubs too. Then once I’ve graduated and got my hero license I can sponsor you as my sidekick.”
Natsuo blinks. “Hell no! If you get your license first then you’re gonna take Batman and I’ll be stuck as Robin!”
Izuku turns to flash him a grin, the goggles making his eyes look scary. “Well Batman is the smart one…”
“Hey! I’m smart! And Robin is plenty smart too! Doesn’t he lead the Teen Titans???”
“Fine then. You can have Batman. I’m taking Robin and immediately upgrading him to Nightwing.”
“You can't do that! Nightwing is a much cooler name than Batman!”
“So take one of the other quirkless heroes. Speedy upgrades to either Arsenal or Red Arrow but you'll need to learn archery.”
Natsuo grins wolfishly. “Ok but what if, and hear me out here. What if instead of just using existing names we make our own versions. Like I’ll be… White Arrow because of my hair. And you can be… Brightwing!”
Izuku lifts the goggles from his head and turns off the burner. “You know what such a decision means don’t you?”
His voice is super serious and Natsuo braces himself.
“We would need to… design original costumes…”
Natsuo can’t help it.
He laughs.
***
Natsuo ends up going to Opushon High. He signs up for computer programming and first aid and joins the archery and martial arts clubs alternating days to up his skills evenly.
Izuku spends his weekdays after school working on their gadgets and tech.
Natsuo gets a pullup bar for his room for their nightly videochat challenge.
The two spend the weekends together learning parkour and testing Izuku’s inventions.
They fall into vigilantism by accident.
***
“What the fuck is this Izu?”
“It’s a harness.” Izuku says as he tightens some more straps.
Natsuo rolls his eyes as hard as he can but his friend isn’t even looking at him. “I’m not stupid Izu. Why am I wearing it?”
“Because you want to test the grapple gun, obviously. You can’t just fire and reel, you’ll yank your arm out of your socket! The Batgirl comic made that very clear. With our current finances and materials I can’t make a proper shoulder brace yet so a modified zipline harness will have to do. Look here.” He points to a small hooked slot on the strap across Natsuo’s chest. “Before reeling yourself in, the gun hooks here so it pulls on the harness and the force is applied evenly. You should still take a running jump before flicking the switch though.”
“Um… I’m starting to think this isn’t as safe as they make it look in the comics.”
Izuku snorts and slaps Natsuo on the highest part of him he can reach, the middle of his back. “Don’t worry Natsu. I ran all the numbers. Worst case, I can practice the first aid training you've been teaching me.”
“That doesn’t reassure me at all.”
“Look, you don’t have to fly your first try. There’s different speed settings, see?” He shows Natsuo a tiny dial right below the recoil switch. “Just set it to slow and use it to walk up this wall. Then you can set it to slow for let out and use it to slide back down. Easy!”
Natsuo takes the gun cautiously. “Right. Easy.”
It takes him three tries to fire the gun so the hook latches onto the roof.
Izuku mumbles to himself as he writes down observations for future improvement.
The speed setting is adjusted and Natsuo flicks the switch.
He doesn’t hook it to the harness in time and it’s yanked from his hand to disappear onto the roof.
The two boys look up in silence.
“Well… Fuck.” Natsuo says finally.
Izuku just sighs and pulls out a spare from his bag. He holds it out but pulls it back at the last second. “If you lose this one too I’m going to teach you freestyle rock climbing the hard way.”
He says it with a meaningful glance at the wall beside them and Natsuo gulps. “Right. No pressure. Got it.”
This time he manages to hook the roof on the first try. He adjusts the speed setting and makes sure his grip is tight. “Hey Izu. Maybe for the future. You put the switch in a place where I can press it after it's hooked to my belt?”
“Well the dream is to get you a full arsenal of different arrows and theoretically the grapple arrows could have the tether hooked before you shoot. It’s just too expensive to make right now. Next project?”
He says it with a big smile and Natsuo can’t help mirroring it.
“Next project.” He says. And then he flicks the switch.
He manages to hook it to the harness this time and the pull is enough for him to comfortably walk up the wall. He climbs over the ledge and onto the roof and Izuku’s smile is blinding.
Natsuo has just tucked the first grapple gun into his bag when he hears a commotion from the alley. A quick peek over the edge reveals a couple of thugs cornering Izuku and Natsuo sees red.
He ties his line securely around the railing before hooking the grapple manually and jumping off the roof. He descends at mid-speed before cutting it short and his momentum swings him feet first into the thugs' faces.
He quickly drops the rest of the way down but Izuku has already pulled something out of his bag and flung it at the men on the ground. The tiny orb bursts on impact and a net springs free. There’s some kind of sticky substance on the ends of the net that holds it tight to the ground but Natsuo isn’t going to ask about it now.
He tosses the second grapple gun at Izuku and then the two are on the roof, parkouring to make their escape.
***
They never meant to make a habit of it but somehow every time they go out to test things an opportunity falls into their laps.
Eventually they decide to embrace their fate and just start heading to the test runs in oversized black hoodies.
***
“Natsuo look!” Izuku smiles brightly as he holds up a shiny metal bat shaped thing. “It’s a batarang! And look! I put a homing beacon here,” He points at the bat’s center. “So we can use them to track people if they try to escape! Also so I don’t have to worry about losing them.”
“Um. That’s great Izu. But uh, how did you make that?”
“Oh well my Dad forgot my birthday again, I mean he always does that but this time he forgot to get me a present too so I guilted him into getting me this laser for carving metal and some raw materials to start with… Boy was my Mom mad.” He laughs sheepishly. “But look how cool it is!”
His eyes shine with pride and Natsuo can’t resist ruffling his hair.
“So you just played around till you figured it out?”
Izuku snorts. “No. Of course not. When it arrived my mom was so pissed but since she didn’t want to disappoint me she signed me up for a class. Gosh everyone there treated me like an interloper. So what if I’m quirkless? That means I can’t work these kinds of machinery?”
Natsuo blinks. “Uh, I’m pretty sure they were treating you weird because you’re twelve.”
“Hey! I’m thirteen now! And you know that. You’re not the one who forgot my birthday!”
Natsuo raises an eyebrow.
Izuku sighs. “Fine you might have a point. Everyone else there was a grown adult. Happy?”
Natsuo ruffles Izuku’s hair again. “Very.”
***
When he leaves it’s with a couple batarangs in his bag to test out in the training room when his father won’t be around.
And if he and Shouto hang up a poster of Endeavor as the target, well. Nobody knows that except Fuyumi and she's not telling anyone.
***
“Hey, if you wanna try out that thing Batman used on the Freezer my little bro has an ice quirk!”
“Natsu!”
Izuku hunches over his table of gadgets protectively. “We are not trying out experimental tech on your brother!!!”
Natsuo groans exaggeratedly. “Fine.”
There’s silence for a minute.
“Anything I can try out on my father?”
Izuku sighs and looks to the ceiling. “This is it. This is how we get caught. Vigilante Duo Batman and Robin discovered to be two little quirkless kids with delusions of grandeur and too much money after they use their unique brand of tech to maim the number two hero.”
Natsuo grins and points his pen at him. “I like the sound of that.”
“Don’t focus on the maiming! Focus on the getting arrested you weirdo!”
Natsuo laughs and Izuku tackles him.
‘It’s funny’ Natsuo thinks. ‘When I first met Izu I made all these assumptions about him. But I never would have imagined we’d end up like this.’
***
Some time in the future Katsuki Bakugou will tell Izuku Midoriya that the only way for him to become a hero is to jump off the roof and pray for a quirk in his next life.
Izuku Midoriya will smirk to himself and go meet up with his partner.
All Might will capture a sludge villain with ease in an abandoned tunnel.
Izuku Midoriya will arrive at the UA entrance exam with a bag of weapons he made himself.
He will take down many robots with ease and even save a girl from being crushed by throwing one of his taser batarangs to shut the giant robot down.
He will make the news as the first quirkless student to make it to UA.
Natsuo Todoroki will make sure to have the news reports playing so he can point out to Endeavor that all that fame could have been his. ‘The father of the first ever quirkless hero’ he will say with a wide grin. ‘Oh well.’
Three years later Izuku Midoriya will appear in public in a dark green armoured jumpsuit, with a black utility belt, domino mask and bat emblem. Brightwing becomes the first quirkless hero.
No agency will hire him but that’s fine with him. He will erect a giant light on the roof of the police precinct in the worst neighborhood with instructions to turn on the ‘Bat Light’ only when they need him.
He will capture 5 criminals in his first night.
Critics will scoff that he isn’t making a dent in ‘real crime’ and will call for his forced retirement.
The people in his area will sing his praises in the streets.
A month later he will make the news again when he sponsors a quirkless paramedic to take the hero license exam.
Natsuo Todoroki will pass on his first try and become the second quirkless hero ever.
His first public appearance will show a matching costume to Brightwing, only in white, and an easy banter between the two.
White Arrow and Brightwing will make the news again when they officially announce themselves as a hero duo and add another precinct to their jurisdiction.
Sceptics will claim that the Dynamic Duo will not last. That there is no way to stand as equals to the other heroes without having quirks.
But the quirkless community.
The quirkless community will finally have hope.