Chapter 1 - Quirklessness

A good programmer will jump straight into their code and hammer away at the keys until they have roughly what they want. Then they debug and alter it until they have a functional program.

A great programmer will stop, think seriously about what they want to accomplish, and perhaps scribble down a few notes about the best and most efficient way to reach their goal. They will write a short, succinct code that needs very little debugging or modification.

Harry is a near perfect programmer. He can write hundreds of lines in a single sitting and then run a debug, only to find he's made no mistakes, and his code is exactly what he wants it to be. His fingers are a flurry of confident movements across his keyboard, nary missing a key, and long strings of code appear on the screen before his eyes.

If I can just get the memory coded right, I can -

"Harry, could you come here for a moment?" His teacher, Mr Shaughnessy, asks, snapping him out of his trance.

Harry lets out a subtle sigh. Now what?

"Can you help Seamus for a moment? I've looked over his code, but I think you will do a better job of explaining the problem."

Who's he trying to fool?

Harry pinches the bridge of his nose. It would be unfair of him to expect that everyone understand computer science as well as he does, but how is it his responsibility to teach the rest of his class just because he's good at it? Mr Shaughnessy can pretend all he likes that he can see the problem, but Harry knows better. He's been forced to explain very simple mistakes that any decent programmer would be able to see, let alone someone who's paid to teach the subject.

He leans over Seamus' shoulder, and it takes him all of two seconds to see the problem. "You're getting an error because your compiler doesn't know what x means. You need to declare it as a variable," he tells Mr Shaughnessy as much as Seamus. He receives two blank looks in return.

Harry suppresses his annoyance and points towards the screen. "See here? Your entire program rests on an unknown variable, which you've called x. But you haven't declared it, so the program errors." Harry moves around Seamus and fixes the problem with a few measured keystrokes.

"You understand now, Seamus?" Mr Shaughnessy asks, sounding more confident than he really should, considering he himself probably still doesn't get it.

Harry turns away and rolls his eyes so that the teacher can't see him. As much as he wants to try and cram as much information into the teachers brain as humanly possible before he graduates, he knows it would be fighting a losing battle. But the real problem isn't the teacher, even if he is the biggest contributor to it. The real problem is the students. Not a single one of them appreciates having to be shown how to do things by the school's 'quirkless loser,' as is abundantly clear by the glare Seamus is now sending his way.

Harry moves back to his own computer, a personal laptop set up in the back corner of the room. Even if he's still programming, he's not working on the same basic project that his classmates are. He'd finished all his final exams months ago, so now he's being allowed time to study for the entrance exams to whatever high school he wants to join.

Truth be told, he really should have graduated as far back as a year ago, if not earlier. But that requires parental consent, and that is not something that would be easily given. "Harry should graduate with the rest of his peers," James and Lily had told the teachers who had called a meeting to vouch for his academic abilities. The teachers had naturally assumed that their decision was made in the interests of keeping Harry safe, and that they felt he was too young to deal with the pressures of high school.

Harry knows that's not the real reason, even if his parents would never admit that, even to themselves. If quirkless Harry were to be accepted into UA at such a young age, even if only in the support course, then all eyes would be on him, instead of on his brother, the son lucky enough to inherit their quirks. What is quirkless Harry compared to him? Even if he's special in an entirely different way, he still doesn't have a quirk, and that will never change.

So after their plans to graduate him early were rejected, the teachers suddenly had no idea what to do with him. There's nothing they can teach him, really, so if he's quiet and stays in class, they generally let him do whatever he wants. It's a lucky thing, in the end. It gives him even more time to plan his designs for acceptance into UA's support course.

He's barely into his seat when the bell rings, signalling the end of class. He folds down his laptop and moves to slide it into his bag just as Seamus begins to approach. He's moving slowly, clearly watching out his peripherals to make sure the rest of the students and Mr Shaughnessy leave the room.

Harry stares unflinching at the sandy-haired boy. Now what's he going to do?

As soon as Mr Shaughnessy made him help Seamus, Harry knew there would be consequences. There are always consequences. It doesn't matter that he's only trying to help, and not even of his own volition. Harry is quirkless, and that makes him lesser than all the other students. Getting help from him is a weakness.

"You think you can show me up in front of the whole class?" Seamus hisses through gritted teeth. "You're just a quirkless little nobody."

He reaches out slowly, menacingly, with his right hand. Harry doesn't move an inch - utterly refuses to give in, even though he knows what Seamus can do with his quirk. He's not going to give the other boy the satisfaction of seeing his fear, even if underneath, his heart is racing. Seamus' hand begins to glow a dull red with the activation of his quirk. It burns hot, an ability a little like an iron press, only much more intense. Harry refuses to flinch even when Seamus' hand comes close enough to his arm that he can feel it start to burn from the heat. He's still not touching him, just inching his way slowly closer.

Seamus' face becomes a snarl as he locks eyes with Harry. More than anything, it probably annoys him that Harry won't back down or show him any fear, as always. Suddenly he smirks, and his red hot hand darts down to wrench Harry's laptop from his grasp. The outside metallic cover melts in his hand, the inside machinery spilling out like molten lava.

"You're not better than me. You're not better than anyone in this school," Seamus spits. He drops the remains of the laptop and leaves the room.

"Why didn't you just kick his ass?" Momo asks, clenching and unclenching her fists in rapid succession. Her jet black hair is tied up into a ponytail, and as per usual for her, she is dressed in a very short skirt and is showing more than a little cleavage, even as part of her school uniform.

"That's what you would have done," Harry answers, taking a bite out of his sandwich. The more indignant part of himself recognises that Momo would never be put in a situation like that, at least not for the same reasons. He puts aside the unhelpful thoughts.

"Damn right I would have. What I don't get is why you didn't? You know you could have, and that he would have deserved it."

"Maybe," Harry shrugs. There's no certainty in his mind that he could beat Seamus in a straight up fight, but he doesn't doubt that he could put up a lot more of a fight than what the other boy would expect.

"What's this maybe?" Momo queries. "We've both been in martial arts classes since we were knee high! You're an even better better fighter than I am, and I could pound that blonde doorknob into the ground even without my quirk."

Harry smiles and nods. "No doubt."

She shakes her head sadly. "You need to stop letting people walk all over you."

As nice as it is to hear his one and only friend be so upset on his behalf, it's not really a discussion he wants to have. It's not the first one they've had, and more than likely, it won't be the last, either. "It's not that simple, Mo," he answers softly.

Momo hesitates before she responds. "Isn't it? Don't you remember how we became friends?"

Of course he does. He'll never forget it as long as he lives. She'd transferred to their primary school in the very early years. Even then she was taller than most the boys in their year group, and for some reason some of them moronically thought it would make her a target. Harry had found a group of them making fun of her in the lunch break. She was too new to have made any friends, so she was all alone against them. His seven year old self had jumped to her defence almost immediately, ordering them to leave her alone. Of course, it hadn't been necessary. She'd gone on to create a staff with her quirk and beat the crap out of them herself, and the two of them have been best friends ever since.

"That was a long time ago, and it wasn't about defending myself," Harry tries to explain.

"You're lying to yourself if you believe you wouldn't do the same thing if it was happening right now. I just can't follow why you would immediately jump to someone else's defence but completely shut down when you have to protect yourself."

Harry looks across the courtyard to where Seamus is laughing with his circle of friends. Nick Potter can be seen clearly among them, laughing along with the same crowd that has been trying to make Harry's life miserable for years. "What's the point? It's just a laptop. I've got plenty more at home. There's only like what, two weeks left of school? Why start something now?"

Momo wags a finger in his face. "Don't give me that! This has been going on for years, and you've never done anything about it."

Harry smiles again, still trying to lighten the mood. "Well that's what I've got you for!" he beams. It's a true statement. Everyone respects Momo. She's tall and beautiful, has a powerful quirk and a powerful family to boot. The only time Harry gets any crap from anyone is when she's not in eyesight.

"Harry…"

He sighs. She's not letting it go this time.

"It's not worth it," Harry says.

"Yes it-"

"Momo, it's not worth it," Harry repeats strenuously. "Say I did fight him. Say I 'pound him into the ground.' Next thing you know I'm being called to the Principal's office for fighting, and that goes on your permanent record. The same record that UA's going to look at in my application."

Momo's lips press together in a firm white line. "But," she says in her often used analytical tone, "it would be self-defence. Your laptop is proof enough of that."

Harry shakes his head. "Maybe I would be in the right. But who in this school would actually believe me? The only person I can think of is you, and you weren't there. Think honestly about how many people would think it funny to get a 'quirkless loser,' like me in trouble by supporting whatever story Finnegan might come up with."

Harry looks back over towards his twin, easily finding his familiar mop of black hair amongst the crowd. "Even he wouldn't support me. It wouldn't bear thinking about that I could destroy someone's chance of getting into the hero course," he says sourly. "Even someone like Seamus is far more worthy than I am, all because he has a quirk, and I don't." Even as the words leave his mouth, he can see his brother mouthing them back to him in his mind's eye.

There's a crease between Momo's eyes. No doubt she can see the logic of what Harry's saying, and that she's just as upset about the injustice of it as he is. "How is it that the junior high school with the highest percentage of students who go on to become pro heroes, most of them trained at UA, is filled with so many small minded people?" Momo eventually asks, probably rhetorically.

Harry answers anyway. "I think it's because most of them go on to become heroes. They feel superior to everyone else, especially those they don't think have any power." It's a sad fact that in a world filled with so called heroes, true heroism is still rare.

Momo actually lets out a little laugh. "If they think that you're helpless, then they really know nothing about you at all."

Harry smiles.

"At least we'll both be at UA soon," she adds.

He nods slowly. "Let's hope so." Momo is already in on recommendation, but he still has to pass the entrance exams.

She grabs his face between his hands. "Repeat after me. I will be going to UA with my best friend."

Harry laughs. "I will be going to UA with my best friend," he replies dutifully.

"And I will be applying for the hero course," she tries.

Harry gives her a deadpan look.

She drops her hands from his face. "I know that building stuff is kind of your thing, but is it really your dream?"

Harry rolls his eyes with some amusement.

One time I mentioned that I want to become a hero. One freaking time. Momo has stuck the idea in her head like glue, even if Harry has accepted that fact that its just a fantasy. "I get the feeling that you just woke up today like, 'I think I'll nag Harry relentlessly today, that sounds like a great idea.'"

Momo lifts her hands in mock innocence. "Fine, fine, I'll stop." She chews her bottom lip anxiously, and Harry knows from experience that she's not going to be able to help herself from getting in one final word. "But you know I'm right," she says quickly. She changes the subject before Harry even gets a second to respond. "How's the progress going with Omni? I hope you didn't lost too much data when Seamus melted your computer…"

"Everything I work on is saved simultaneously to my private server," Harry replies, more than happy with the change of subject. He's quite glad to talk about the things that he can control, rather than the things he can't.

"Why do you always feel the need to push people," Nick chastises him as they step inside the front door of the building that serves as both their parents hero agency and their home.

Harry doesn't answer. There's nothing he could say that his brother would understand even if he did. He's used to this anyway. Nick always tries to tell him off after one of his idiot friends has done something to Harry, and he's well past sick of trying to explain his side of the story.

"Do you think it's funny or something? You feel like you don't have any power without a quirk so you have to make other people feel stupid?"

Harry smirks. "Like I even have to try to make people like Seamus feel stupid," he can't help but mutter. It wasn't intended to be loud enough for Nick to hear, but clearly he does. He grabs Harry by the shoulder and spins him around so that they're face to face. It's almost like staring into a mirror, except for the fact that Nick has James' hazel eyes, compared to the vibrant green of Harry's own, passed on from Lily.

"So that's what it is then? God Harry, if that's it, you can hardly blame Seamus for breaking your laptop if you're making him feel like an idiot on purpose," he says, judgemental tone in full force. "Frankly you were lucky he didn't do worse. At least you have about ten more laptops upstairs in that damned workshop of yours."

Not for the first time, it strikes Harry just how bad a hero Nick would make were he to get his license right now. It's hard to decide whether Nick is truly as dense as he appears in moments like these, or if he just subconsciously doesn't want to accept what his so called 'friends' are actually like.

When they were younger they were practically inseparable. Even after Nick's quirk came through, and Harry's didn't, they were the best of friends. But it wasn't to last. There's not a doubt in Harry's mind that Nick still cares about him, at least deep down; but status means more to him now, and James and Lily have done their part to make sure Nick cares more about becoming a good hero than a good person, even if it's not what they intended.

The chiming of the elevator has them finally breaking eye contact. Remus Lupin steps out and looks between them. Understanding dawns on his lightly scarred face. "Your parents are looking for you, up in the agency," he tells Nick.

"Right. Thanks, Moony," Nick says, using the man's hero name rather than his given one. He steps into the elevator and presses a button on the wall. Before the doors close, Harry and Nick lock eyes once more. Like Nick, Harry makes sure his face remains stoic and impassive. As ever, neither of them are willing to submit to the others argument.

"That boy really needs to learn to think for himself," Remus sighs when the elevator starts to rise. Harry smiles slightly. It's never mattered to Remus that Harry is quirkless. He's always been more interested in what Harry can do instead of what he can't, and Harry loves him for it.

"I'm guessing something happened at school today?" Remus guesses.

Harry shrugs. "Nothing I can't handle."

Remus nods. He's never doubted Harry's ability to fend for himself, instead content to just make sure he's okay every now and again.

"I must admit I find it difficult to believe anyone would even try to bother you with young Miss Yaoyorozu around. All Might himself would run away screaming if she caught him messing with you." Harry laughs out loud, trying to picture All Might running in fear for his life from his friend. At least he's not the only one in the world who sees how lucky he is to have Momo in his life.

"Shall we?" Remus asks, stepping towards the second elevator. Harry nods and steps inside. The Potter agency is different from most other agencies in that it houses most of it's sidekicks and management team all in the same building. The Potters were a rich family even before James and Lily became popular pro heroes, so they were well able to construct their own agency in such a way.

Despite how he feels about his parents being heroes and the numerous disadvantages it's had on his own life, he can't deny that there are advantages, either. For once, the bottom two floors are set aside entirely for training, including a large dojo and an entire floor set aside as a massive obstacle course. Best of all is that these facilities go mostly unused by the heroes currently assigned to the agency. They're generally intended for any sidekicks whose quirks may not be combat oriented, and this need to use martial arts or other skills as a substitute. Since they have no heroes or sidekicks with such needs at the moment, Harry and Remus almost always have it to themselves.

The elevator stops on the second floor, which consists of the gym and dojo, but he's only here for the latter. He prefers to do his muscle trainings in the mornings before school. In the end it's important he doesn't overdo it anyway, since his fighting style relies on him being able to move quickly and efficiently, which would be difficult were he built with large, bulky muscles.

He quickly changes into the freshly washed aikido uniform on the wall, consisting of a white top, known as a gi, and white pants. The belt is black, but it's not symbolic of any kind of rank that Harry has officially earned. His self-defence practice has consisted mostly of him sparring with Remus, or sometimes Momo if she's free. He's never bothered with any competition, instead quite content just to sharpen his skills for his own benefit.

Remus is already waiting in the centre of the dojo by the time Harry is ready. Without a word, he drops into a fighting stance. Harry steps over and faces him, adopting a similar form. There's no hesitation when Remus strikes, nor any sign that he's going to pull his punches.

But Remus doesn't need to hold back, not with Harry. It's not because Harry is as good as he is, though there's not much in it. Rather it's that they've been training together for so long that Harry can read his mentor like an open book.

He sidesteps Remus' punch and launches a high kick of his own, aimed directly at Remus' ribs. It's looking like a solid hit, bit it misses by mere inches when Remus jumps back to avoid the blow.

Harry uses the momentum of the kick to spin forward and strike with the back side of his hand. Of course Remus is ready for it, blocking the attack with one arm while striking with the other.

It's usual practice for them to trade blows in such a way. Every move they make against the other is instinctive, and they know just how the other will react to it. If he's honest with himself, it's not a good thing, since it means that he's not really learning anything new. Still, it's a good way to keep the movements etched into muscle memory. After several long minutes, both short of breath and sweating, they finally slow to a stop.

"Getting pretty fast there, Harry," Remus huffs.

Harry laughs, though it's more of a stunted, wheezy sound when he's so short of breath. "Maybe you're just getting slow in your old age."

"I'd love to deny it, but you're probably not far off the mark," Remus chuckles in return. "Hitting the obstacle room today?"

Harry shakes his head. It's what he would normally do after a sparring session, but he's too busy now to really even think about it. "I'm gonna skip it. I'm still putting the finishing touches on my design for UA."

"Really? You're usually more organised," Remus says, sounding more surprised than judgemental. "The Review board for the support course is only a few days away."

Harry shrugs. "I actually finalised the design weeks ago, but I'm just adding something extra. Once the idea was in my head I couldn't resist. It's different from anything else I've worked on before."

Remus cocks his head to the side. "Very mysterious. Can I have a hint?"

Harry smiles but shakes his head once. "Keeping this one close to the chest." He grabs his clothes and schoolbag before heading out towards the door. "But I'll tell you this -my new project is called Omni."

Notes

Hi all! Hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter. This one has been swimming around in my head for a really long time now, and I've had drafts written for months, so I figured I might as well post it.

Just so people know, this won't be a Harry/Momo fic, they're just awesome friends.

If you couldn't tell from the first chapter, this might feature characters acting pretty OoC, but that's not that weird considering its a full on AU fic.

Also, there is no magic in this fic at all. Its just Harry Potter characters in a world of quirks and superheroes.

Also I'm playing with a different tense in this fic, so if I've screwed up at all, feel free to let me know. The habit of using past tense is proving hard to break :\

Thanks!