Izuku hates what everyone thinks is his quirk. It's not a quirk, it's just the result of countless medical experiments. It's not a quirk, but it's not a curse either. Then again, spending your every waking moment hearing the thoughts of those around you probably would be considered a curse by most people. Along with constantly seeing through people's clothes and the walls. But Izuku isn't most people. He doesn't actually hate his powers, he just hates what he went through to gain them.

Project Bloodlines.

A military-funded medical study on the quirkless, subjecting unwilling children to go through what even the most shadowy of government intelligence agencies would consider torture. Most people knew about the project, but they thought it was only a study on activating latent quirks. They didn't know the truth.

But the worst thing about the project wasn't the secrecy of what was really going on behind the facade, or the illegality, or even the death toll of both the doctors and the patients.

The worst thing about Project Bloodlines was that it worked.

Ever since that doctor's visit when he was four years old, Izuku was part of Project Bloodlines. Weekly injections, monthly minor surgeries, and examinations. Things got hazy when he turned twelve, an entire months visit in the hospital a complete blank. He doesn't know what happened when he was there, he only knows the impossible weight in his bones, the pattern of scars behind his ears and that his eyes felt wrong in his head.

He can't pinpoint the exact moment his abilities came online, but it started slowly. Hearing things that weren't there, seeing things that didn't make sense. But he remembers the first time he crushed something in his grip, turned a brick into a fine powder. He's not normal, he doesn't think he ever was, even before everything. The first time he read someone's mind, really read it and dug into every piece of who they were, he had a migraine for a week. But now it's almost too easy.

He doesn't even need to write down quirk analysis anymore, he can just read it all in their own words. He knows that Mount Lady can only go from her normal height to sixty-seven feet and that Kamui Woods is only as good as he is from years of practice. His quirk isn't actually that strong, it's just versatile.

Adjusting his solid black sunglasses, Izuku made his way through his school, heading to class the same way he had hundreds of times already. He remembered how it used to be, the jeers and insults constantly lobbed at him from every angle, the teachers doing nothing because he was Quirkless. Now the insults were different, instead of 'quirkless' or 'useless,' it was 'creep' and 'freak.'

And he was a freak. Anyone who looked him in the eye would know, so he hid, even if the world saw through his flimsy disguise. But he wasn't hiding from the world. He was hiding from himself.

No normal middle schooler had seen as much of the world as he had, but who would ever believe him? The truth of Project Bloodlines was wiped from just about every government record, the lie the only thing left behind. And the only ones who knew about what had really happened were those who had lived through it. And those were in increasingly short supply.

But what was he supposed to do? Tell a hero? 'A secret branch of the military is killing quirkless kids that aren't actually quirkless and the doctors that created them, I know because I was experimented on in a shadowy hospital run by the government?'

Izuku scoffed as he slumped down in his seat seconds before the bell rang, earning him a glare from his past tormentor. Bakugou hadn't really messed with him after he developed a 'quirk.' He hadn't said a single word to him since the day Izuku had come to school with eyes as black as pitch that made even the toughest around puke until they passed out. Aside from the nausea, it wasn't the color that seemed to upset people the most, it was the flat dead look they always had in them. The absence of either light or life.

For almost all of his life, Izuku had wanted to be a hero, but now, now that he finally had power, he wasn't sure if he could be. He wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough. There were so many others who were better than him, people who had been born for greatness. People that weren't freaks.

He closed his eyes, tuning out the chaos that erupted when the teacher announced high school plans. Bakugou was shouting about how he was going to surpass All Might, and Izuku suppressed a laugh.

Bakugou acted tough, but his thoughts betrayed him. Izuku hadn't really understood what people meant by 'inferiority complex' until he had peeked into Bakugou's mind. He was always so scared, and so self-conscious. If he hadn't tormented Izuku ever since he was four years old, he would almost feel sorry for the explosive boy.

This will get the kids attention.

The thought came from the mind of the teacher, and Izuku's heart dropped when he heard the negative energy behind it. He didn't like the sound of this.

"You also wanted to go to UA, didn't you Midoriya?"

As the class fell silent, a ripple of tension flowing through the room, Izuku wished Project Bloodlines had given him the ability to sink through the floor or to turn invisible. They didn't say anything, but that didn't mean anything to Izuku.

That freak thinks he can be a hero?

Wouldn't he be more suited to be like, a villain?

He's such a creep, who would want to be saved by him?

freak he's so gross freak creep he's so weird what's wrong with him why are his eyes like that his quirk is so gross

Everyone's thoughts overlapped, but Izuku still understood them. He always understood them.

The only one of them that actually had the guts to speak was someone that Izuku would rather hadn't. "Deku, what the hell is wrong with you? You think you can be a hero? You think you can make it to UA? UA doesn't teach freaks!" Bakugou slammed his hands down onto Izuku's desk, glaring down at him.

Izuku sunk down in his seat, just wishing everyone would stop looking at him. "UA is, well, it's my dream, Bakugou." Of course, this was the first thing Bakugou would say to him after all these months, wasn't that just his luck.

"All these losers with weak quirks, but at least they don't make people sick." Bakugou sneered down at him, small explosions popping in the palms of his hands.

"There's nothing that says I can't go to UA, there's no harm in trying, right?"

"You just want to try? What can you even do other than make people sick?"

Izuku wasn't sure what happened after he was asked that, the rest of the day seemed to pass by in a blur until the last bell rang and he was alone in the classroom. Again. For the third time this week. He glanced up at the clock, he had been sitting there for over ten minutes after the bell.

With a sigh, Izuku packed up his school supplies, slinging his backpack on and heading home. His mind wandered as he walked, he seemed to be losing track of time lately and it was beginning to become a problem. He had even lost an hour of time while working out last week, he doesn't know if he just stopped running on the track or if he just kept going. He just felt like he was drifting through with no purpose.

Once Izuku stepped into the tunnel that he walked through every day, he stopped and leaned up against the wall, rubbing at his temples in the hopes of being able to make sense of everything that he life had turned into. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, letting his frustration and paranoia leave with it. But was it really paranoia if they're really out to get you. Izuku chuckled, leaning his head against the cold concrete of the wall and closed his eyes, letting the constant mental noise wash over him.

Someone nearby was getting married, somebody just bought a new pet, someone was going to a funeral. Someone was… running from a hero.

Frowning, Izuku straightened back up, tilting his sunglasses down and staring at the concrete under his feet. There was someone under there, moving through the sewers. Izuku took a step back, keeping his distance from the manhole cover that he had a feeling was going to become a door.

Pulling his sunglasses off all the way, Izuku blinked in rapid repetition, adjusting his vision to the slightly brighter light under the tunnel.

"A medium body to hide in." The villain bubbled up from the sewer, dripping as it reformed above ground.

Izuku jumped back, his augmented tendons and ligaments launching him over five feet, landing with a heavy thud and cracking the concrete slightly under his weight. Steeling himself, Izuku looked into the villains' eyes, the radiation and ultrasonic signatures he used to see forcing the gloopy villain to vomit violently. It was disgusting, but in this situation, he would rather have a villain vomit than have his own death. He wasn't sure how a villain made of sludge even could vomit, and honestly, he was starting to feel a bit queasy himself. But he kept his eyes open until they began to itch, the villain convulsing violently as they were sick over and over. Morbidly, Izuku wondered if it was possible to puke oneself to death, but he decided he wasn't going to test that anytime soon.

Blinking finally, Izuku rubbed at his eyes, putting his sunglasses back on as he kept his distance from the villain and their increasingly violent thoughts as they faded into unconsciousness. He sifted through the layers of the villains' mind, jolting in surprise when he learned exactly who the villain had been running from.

All Might was in town and was apparently chasing this very villain. Izuku had to admit that that was exciting, everyone wanted to meet the number one hero, but he never thought that might be a possibility for him.

And almost as if it were on cue, there was a loud clang as the manhole cover was flipped up from underneath, the figure of the nations greatest hero appearing in the small patch of sun that reached under the tunnel, casting his shadow forward.

"Fear not kid, I am here!"

With a bag of groceries apparently. Izuku would laugh if he didn't think he was going to puke. Instead, he just wobbled slightly, watching as All Might stepped into the puddle of vomit. That was the only push he needed and Izuku burst into laughter, pointing as he collapsed into a fit of giggles. "Watch out for the, hehehe, for the puke." He gripped his stomach, the convulsions from his laughter not helping his feeling of nausea. "Sorry, I should have warned you."

All Might looked down at the massive puddle, his trademark grin taking on a slightly pained edge. "This is… this is vomit?"

"Yes." Izuku nodded, fighting back a hysterical grin. "I made him puke until he passed out." He pointed to the unconscious lump of a villain, the orange eyes glazed over in their stunned state.

"That's an interesting quirk." Horrifying is more like it. I wonder how it works. All Might jammed the villain into one of the bottles as he pondered that thought, a flash of motion catching his eye.

Feeling slightly bold, Izuku tapped the side of his sunglasses with one finger, watching the expression on the heroes face shift slightly as he tried to figure out if Izuku could read his mind.

Did he hear that?

Izuku nodded, almost collapsing in laughter again at the look he was given in response. "Don't worry, it's just a passive quirk, I can't shut it off." He cast his gaze to the side, seeing someone's skeleton at the same time as seeing their skin really messed with his head after a few seconds.

That sounds awful. Do I even need to say that out loud? What's the etiquette here?

"It is awful. Imagine being twelve and learning about what your teachers do on the weekends." Izuku shuddered, he had learned more about his teachers in one hour than he had ever wanted to know. "And you should say things out loud, I don't want to look like a crazy person." Izuku wondered if All Might knew about Project Bloodlines, mostly he just wanted to know if he could trust him. His gaze skipped back onto the hero on accident and he jolted when he saw the dozens of hairline fractures, the missing rib, and the virtually shattered organs. Izuku's eyes widened behind the plastic of his sunglasses and his jaw dropped, "holy hell, how are you still alive?"

All Might went still, one of his hands coming up to cover the injury he had been struggling to live with for years now. How had this kid seen that? He wasn't thinking about it. Wasn't his quirk mindreading? Or nausea inducement? What was this kids quirk anyway? With a glance at the kids' feet, he saw the indents and cracks in the concrete and the matching ones five feet away. There was a sinking feeling in his missing stomach, and an unwanted thought came to mind. Multiple quirks?

Izukus hands closed into fists and opened again, the action rapidly repeating itself as he tried to think his way out of this. "Uh…. look over there!" Unable to stop himself, he broke into a sprint, the concrete shattering under his feet as he flew past the hero at his top speed, backpack slamming against his back with every step. He had never been good at thinking on his feet, his plan always seemed to be to run away.

"Sorry," he called out as he left All Might in his dust. He just had to get enough of a head start and even All Might wouldn't be able to catch him. Passing his school once more, he dove into the crowd on the sidewalk pushing his way through the people and ignoring their protests.

The moment there was a gap in the crowd, Izuku crouched down into a squat his artificial tendons flexing then contracting, sending him soaring through the air. Oh, this is awful, he thought as he watched the ground fall away beneath him, wondering how All Might did this on a daily basis.How do I land?

He twisted in the air, aiming for the closest rooftop as he began his descent. Gritting his teeth, he braced himself for the impact, his world all but shattering as he slammed onto the roof, his breath knocked out of his chest and his eyes rattling in their sockets. Stumbling forward, he miraculously managed to stay on his feet, muscles sore and already tired just from that one jump.

"Oh, that was terrible." Izuku brushed himself down before running his fingers through his hair in a doomed to fail attempt to tame the wild curls. "How does he do that and not cry?" He turned to use the set of stairs only to run face first into a mass of muscle that could only belong to one person.

"You and I need to talk, young man." The voice of the hero wasn't its usual boom, but it was lower and somehow more dangerous.

The only thing Izuku could think to respond with was a quiet, "meep," as he fell flat onto his ass, staring back up at All Might in shock.

"Are you alright?" Why did he run? What's he hiding?

Izuku shook his head, scrambling backward until his back slammed into the railing that enclosed the roof, bending it under his weight. He needed to get out of here, he couldn't trust anyone, not even the number one hero could be trusted. All heroes worked for the government, no one could be trusted. He rolled back to his feet, keeping himself pressed flat to the railing as he tried to figure out the best way out of this. "Uh, so, um. Shit."

He felt nauseous and weak, sweat dripping down his forehead and the scars behind his ears. He had to get out, he had to leave, he couldn't stay here. Forcing himself to breathe, Izuku gripped the railing, not feeling it crumple under his grip as if it were paper. The metal screamed under his hand, twisting into unnatural shapes with every twitch of his fingers.

It was all too much, he could see too much and hear too much and feel too much. Izuku dropped back down into a squat, desperate to just leave and forget that this day had even happened. He released the mangled metal of the railing, twisting his bloodied hands in his hair desperately.

"Kid?" All Might stepped forward, a worried expression on his face. He had only wanted to ask if the kid had a connection to All for One not send them into a panic attack.

"Did they send you? The Institute? Thorn Ridge? Bloody Peak?" Izuku began listing any shadow organization that had influence over the world of heroics, any one of them could be involved in the 'clean up' of Project Bloodlines. "Blackbriar?"

"Excuse me?" All Might had to admit that he was beginning to worry, he was running against the clock on his time limit and this kid was raising more questions than answers. What is this kid talking about? Thorn Ridge was shut down almost ten years ago.

"That's what they want you to think," Izuku shouted, heartbeat going wild in his panic. "Those shadow organizations are still out there, they've been killing us off like animals." Izuku had lost too many of the others that he had tracked down, almost one a month. He was the only one left other than the doctors. He didn't know when they would find him, but after the doctor that had made him had disappeared he hadn't so much as heard a whisper of the Project.

"What do you mean?"

Izuku looked up, black eyes wide behind his dark lenses. "What do you know about Project Bloodlines?"