All for One and Spiders for All

Chapter 1: Field Trip!

The rising sun beamed through the glass walled entranceway and into the bustling, expansive lobby of the Tokyo based Quirk Research Institute. Groups of professionally dressed people trickled back and forth through the security checkpoint before proceeding to their destination with the sort of cool efficiency that only the competitively successful have the energy to muster. Silently ascending and descending glass elevators ferried people between floors as yet more suits streamed into the marbled plaza. These men and woman strode quickly about, speaking curtly to one another about some important business, hardly sparing a second glance at the chatting group of teenagers that were clumped together in their midst.

While they talked, a tired looking, balding, middle-aged man attempted to get their attention.

'Everyone, please settle down. Please, everyone…everyone.' he called, clapping his hands, but none of the fourteen-year old's payed him any mind. They were busily laughing, talking, and playing on their smart phones. After a few moments of trying and failing to silence his students, he lost his patience.

'Everyone! Settle down! NOW!'

The rambunctious group quieted as their red-faced teacher scowled at them.

'Do I have your attention?' he said, his nostrils flaring dangerously.

There were murmurs of assent amongst the students and their teacher continued.

'Now before we go on the tour, I'd like to remind you all to be on your very best behaviour. This is a very rare opportunity for us-'

As he spoke a group of students at the back of the crowd started laughing and jostling one another.

'-and I worked very hard to arrange this trip-'

The students at the back started laughing harder.

'-and when I-' the teacher's eyes narrowed, 'EXCUSE ME?!'

The students in the front parted before their teacher's glare to reveal the back of the class. There, a blonde haired and red eyed boy along with two others stood over a smaller boy who was kneeled on the tiled floor, papers scattered around him. The smaller boy had dark green hair, green eyes, and freckles. A small, worried, smile tugged at his lips as he looked up at his teacher.

'Is something funny going on back there, Midoriya?' snapped the teacher. The blonde-haired boy and his two compatriots stepped away from the smaller boy as he scrambled to his feet.

'N-No, Mr. Tamanegi, sir!' stammered the green-haired boy.

'Midoriya if you would rather goof off, I can arrange for you to wait over by the security station while we go on our fieldtrip if you prefer.'

A look of panic crossed the boy's face and he swallowed nervously.

'No, sir! I-I'll be quiet sir!' Midoriya said.

Mr. Tamanegi regarded him coldly before turning his attention to the blonde standing beside him. He had a cocky grin on his face as he locked eyes with his teacher, silently challenging him to say something. Mr. Tamanegi blinked first and turned his gaze back to Midoriya.

'Clean up your mess.'

'Ye-Yes sir!' Midoriya said. The blonde and his two flunkies started snickering to each other.

'And If I hear so much as another word out of you, you WILL be spending the trip waiting by the exit, do you understand me?'

'Yes, Mr. Tamanegi, sir.' Midoriya said resignedly as he fell to his knees, sweeping his papers back towards him.

'Bakugo, would you please join me at the front?' Mr. Tamanegi asked.

The blonde rolled his eyes and sauntered towards the front of the class. The rest of his classmates smirked as he stepped on and over Midoriya's papers while he and his buddies moved to the front of the crowd.

'It's going to be one of those days…' Midoriya muttered to himself as he piled his notes together and stood up.

As the class moved to rendezvous with the tour guide, Midoriya fell in line at the rear of the group, his lips sealed shut.

'Welcome Aldera Junior High to the Quirk Research Institute of Tokyo! My name is Doctor Hoshiko Motoori and I've been assigned to act as your tour guide for today! Are you all excited?'

The class mumbled indistinctly in response while a few of the students checked their phones.

'Great!' said the guide, unperturbed at the lack of enthusiasm, 'For your safety and for the safety of those around you I would like to go over a few rules we have here at the ol' Institute, okay? So please listen up!'

Of all the students only Izuku Midoriya gave the guide his undivided attention.

'Firstly, you are required to stay with the tour group at all times. Don't wander away, as there are important experiments being conducted in the laboratories here and we mustn't disturb the researchers.'

The class muttered in acknowledgement.

'Secondly, if I may direct your attention to the door over there?'

The tour guide pointed over to a key card locked steel door. Across its threshold were checkered yellow and black hazard markings.

'Do you see the yellow and black paint? Any door that is marked with either the yellow and black or the red paint is strictly off limits. For your safety, do not attempt to access any of the restricted areas.'

The class mumbled again, somehow even less enthusiastically than before.

'Now, if at any time an alarm is sounded, please stay with the tour group and I will lead you all to the designated fire exit. If you cannot find me or have become separated, calmly wait where you are, and a security staff member will come collect you.' she looked the class over once more before smiling, 'That's all for the rules, let's get this tour started!'

Walking backward, the guide began to narrate with practised ease the history and nature of the scientific work at the Quirk Research Institute while the class reluctantly dragged themselves after her. Amongst the lethargic crowd, Izuku couldn't help but stare open mouthed at the various glass cases and humming computer equipment around him.

After all, this was no common school outing. For Izuku this was his last, desperate hope of gaining a quirk. In the world in which he lived, the majority of the population were born with a special ability called a quirk. These quirks manifested themselves in a staggering variety and ranged from telekinesis, like his mother possessed, to super strength, like the great hero All Might. Some quirks also caused physical mutations, like animal characteristics - such as a tail or wings - that likewise imparted traits not seen in the typical human.

Not all quirks were created equal and those with powerful quirks got further in life than those without. If a person was born with a particularly powerful quirk then they could even become a professional hero, a defender of society and a servant of justice. There was nothing Izuku wanted more then to stand shoulder to shoulder with the professional heroes, helping and inspiring people.

Unfortunately, he was one of very few people in the world who was born quirkless. Quirkless people were heavily disadvantaged in society as nearly every faucet of a person's social standing was influenced in small or large part by their quirk. Everything from employment to personal relationships were affected and for people like him, the future seemed grim indeed.

But despite all the bullying and ridicule Izuku received regarding his condition, he held on to the faint hope that he was just a late bloomer. As soon as he manifested his quirk, he knew that with a focused mind and an eager spirit, he too could be a hero just like his idol All Might. All Might was considered by many to be the pillar upon which society was built. His selfless sacrifices to protect and serve the people inspired an entire generation to be like him, the symbol of peace.

However, for all his wishful thinking about mental fortitude and discipline, he knew deep down that he would never be able to make it as a professional hero unless he developed a quirk, and soon. When he heard that his teacher Mr. Tamanegi had arranged a field trip to the Quirk Research Institute he had practically leapt with joy. Maybe they could help unlock his potential!

And so, Izuku gave the tour guide his undivided attention, writing down everything she said as they moved through the facility.

'Here we are at the Quirk Manifestation Labs or the Hot Labs as we call them on account of the high ambient temperatures that we need to maintain for our experiments. Here you can see researchers hard at work determining what specific factors influence quirk manifestation.'

The class lowered their phones and crowded around a series of glass habitats, each one containing a different insect.

'What's with the bugs?' asked a violet haired girl, a look of disgust visible on her face beneath her thick sunglasses.

'Oh! In the Hot Labs, the majority of our experiments are conducted on insects.' said the tour guide brightly, 'In previous years, research was conducted on animals but after animalistic quirks emerged in certain humans and animals themselves started developing quirks, albeit rarely, we chose to examine insects as they haven't evolved sufficiently in nature to develop quirks. Yet.'

'Ha!' barked out Bakugo, 'Did you hear that Deku? Sounds like you and these bugs have something in common.'

Izuku grimaced for a moment before forcing himself to smile slightly as his classmates laughed at him. Deku was Bakugo's mocking nickname for him. It meant useless and defenceless. He hated the name, but over the years he had gotten used to it. Nowadays everyone called him Deku, even some of the teachers at his school.

The tour guide waited for Mr. Tamanegi to rein in his students before continuing.

'The insects that you see in these glass cases have all been modified with artificially cultivated quirks, allowing us to-'

'What?' Izuku shouted, almost dropping his notebook, 'Did you say you were able to give something a quirk?'

'Midoriya, I warned you-' growled Mr. Tamanegi before the tour guide interrupted him.

'No, no. It's fine.' she said to the teacher before addressing Izuku, 'Yes, we have been able to artificially stimulate quirks, but there are a few issues. The first being that we are years from human testing. Relative to humans, insects breed and mature rapidly meaning that we can more easily study the effects of genetic changes in a population. Humans mature more slowly and are much more complex genetically and so modifying the human genome is exponentially more difficult.'

Izuku nodded, his heart sinking a little.

'The second issue is that these insects are, for all intents and purposes, brain dead. Or they would be if they had a higher functioning brain such as ours. See how docile they are?'

The class turned and looked at the insects. They were all sitting still in their glass enclosures, unmoving.

'When we first started experimenting with quirk manifestation, we soon discovered that the subjects lost all agency in their own biological priorities and they would essentially die from starvation as their quirks activated. To combat this, all of the insects here have far more nervous tissue. It helps them cope with all their quirks.'

'These insects have multiple quirks?' asked Izuku incredulously.

'Yes.' responded the tour guide happily, 'It was a milestone in Dr. Akatani's research into quirk manifestation.'

Izuku scratched his head.

Dr. Akatani is the quirk specialist that Mom took me to when I was a kid. I didn't know he worked here…

'With the extra nervous tissue, the insects are able to be active for about twenty or so minutes over the course of the day. In between these periods of activity, they lie and rest.' The tour guide moved away from the insect tanks.

'Anyway, if there are no more questions…?'

Izuku opened his mouth, but quickly shut it upon noticing the dirty look Mr. Tamanegi was giving him. He gulped and averted his gaze.

'Then our next stop will be the Quirk Sequencing Lab. There you can all examine your own quirks and see the sequence it comprises in your DNA! Isn't that neat?'

The class mumbled again, before turning back to their phones.

As Izuku's classmates started to shuffle away from the display cases Izuku found that he couldn't move. Somewhere within the small multicoloured insects was the answers to all his life's problems.

Quirk manifestation! But at the cost of near total brain death. Maybe in a few years time-

'Midoriya! What did I tell you about goofing off!'

With a yelp, he hastily rejoined the group.

Izuku stood off to the side as his classmates waited in line at the quirk sequencing machine. After a small sample of blood, the machine would go through a series of calculations and a graphic would appear informing them of the exact sequence of DNA that comprised their quirk.

Though his classmates looked like they couldn't care less, he would have given anything to sit in that machine and be told he had a quirk, but all he could do was watch with envy as everyone was told what made them exceptional, unique, before they turned back to their smartphones.

It just isn't fair. He thought bitterly, peeling his eyes away.

Looking back to his teacher, he spotted Mr. Tamanegi doing his best to flirt with the tour guide, her smile slowly waning as she rebuffed his clumsy banter.

I wish I could have gotten a closer look at those insects. I wonder how they figured out how to impart multiple quirks? Maybe I could get an appointment with Dr. Akatani and…and…

Izuku shook his head and cleared his throat. His eyes started to well up as he felt a wave of hopelessness wash over him. In less than a year his class would be graduating from junior high and moving on to high school and high school was the deadline to apply to one of the hero programs. He had the highest grades in his entire school, but without a quirk it was pointless to even try.

Sniffling, he shielded his face with his hand and turned away from his class.

Get a grip Midoriya! If Kacchan catches you crying you'll really be in for it. They'll be here for a while. I should go to the washroom and wash my face.

Moving away from his classmates, he walked outside the room and into the hall. As he headed towards the restroom, he spotted a man in a lab coat pushing a cart with an insect tank out of the Hot Labs. He stopped and watched as the cart rattled through one of the opened hazard doors. Curious, he moved over to the yellow marked doorway. What was the harm in a looking?

Peering inside, he saw nothing but an empty hallway, abandoned save for the insect cart. The scientist was nowhere to be seen. He hesitated at the doors threshold, the tips of his shoes toeing the hazard paint.

If I'm caught in one of the restricted areas Mr. Tamanegi will go ape shit. But if I only take a peek-'

'What are you doing, Deku-Shit?'

Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. Spinning around, he saw Bakugo and his two cronies standing right behind him!

'Ka-Kacchan.' he stuttered, reflexively using his old childhood nickname for the blonde back when they were friends, 'What are yo-'

'I told you to never call me that!' the blonde snarled, 'Call me Bakugo.' he put his hand on Izuku's shoulder. Izuku flinched at his touch.

'S-Sorry I was just-'

'What have we here?' Bakugo said looking past him, 'Trying to steal a look at the mutant bug? Feeling jealous, Deku?'

'No! I-I-'

'Here, lets go for a closer look.' Bakugo started walking, pulling Izuku with him past the yellow hazard markings and through the doorway. Bakugo's two drones followed, chortling as Izuku gave up his fruitless struggle.

'May-Maybe we shouldn't be in here. We could get in trouble.' he said as Bakugo hauled him closer to the cart.

'No shit dumbass. We're in a restricted area. Quit being so retarded, Deku.'

'B-but-' his protests fell on deaf ears as he was pushed in front of the case.

Despite himself, Izuku couldn't help but look inside the case. Inside was a motionless blue and red spider about the size of his thumb. Its dully shining eyes seemed lifeless and if he didn't know any better he would have assumed it was a toy.

'Why's it blue and red? Must be side effect of the quirk modification or something.' Bakugo said absently, 'I doubt those colours are natural…'

Izuku's curiosity got the better of him and he inched closer to get a better view.

If they could do this with genetic engineering then maybe there is hope for me after all. I mean, stranger things have happened right?

'I wonder how they did it?' Izuku wondered aloud, 'If they can modify insects then-'

As he leaned in closer he was suddenly knocked forward. Lurching off balance he went crashing into the cart. It was all he could do but watch helplessly as the trolley fell over sideways, the glass case cracking against the tile floor.

'Hey! I-' but before he could say another word he felt his legs get kicked out from under him. Collapsing next to the case, Izuku looked up at his tormentor. Bakugo stood over him a furious look on his face.

'Don't think for a second that you'll magically get powers from this place, Deku! Just because they made some mutant freak doesn't mean they can do shit for you.'

'Bu-Bu-But-' he stammered, trying to keep from crying.

'But what, Deku? You think they can inject you with some serum and you'll get a quirk in time for high school? Stop fantasizing about being something you're not and learn your place!'

At that Bakugo stormed off, his two flunkies in tow, laughing to themselves.

Izuku stayed on the floor as they left. Tears falling down his face.

'D-Damn it.' he said, looking over at his spilled notes. Everything he had written, everything the tour guide had said and given him hope seemed so stupid now.

Wiping his face on his sleeve, he made to gather his notes. But before he could move he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. With a muted shout, he reflexively slapped behind him. His hand suddenly felt wet.

Oh, no. No, no, no…

Drawing his hand back to his face, Izuku looked on in horror as he saw a blue and red smear in the palm of his hand.

Doing his best to appear innocent, Izuku carefully blended back into the cluster of students. Trying as he might though he couldn't help but fidget uncomfortably. His mouth was as dry as scorched sand and he felt a cold sweat breaking across his body.

Any second now that cart is going to be discovered, and when it is I guarantee that Mr. Tamanegi will accuse me first. Proof or no proof I'll be taking the blame. Oh, Kacchan! What did you do?

As Izuku panicked the tour guide finally managed to extract herself from the "charms" of his lecherous teacher.

'Did everyone have a chance to get their quirks analyzed?' the tour guide asked, moving back in front of the group.

'Yes.' chorused the class emotionlessly.

'Good, now if you'll follow me I can take you to see our chemistry labs! Neato, huh? Sadly, you won't be permitted into the labs themselves, but we have an observation area that you can enter.'

Izuku shakily stepped forward, anxious to put some distance between himself and the broken spider case. Walking at a torturously slow pace, the group plodded after the tour guide as she led them up a small set of stairs and into a viewing gallery.

The gallery consisted of little more than a few rows of chairs lined up in front of a floor to ceiling window overlooking a counter filled room. Inside, white coated scientists were hard at work swirling beakers and fiddling with various instruments as they conducted their research. But Izuku didn't care about any of that. Upon entering, he gratefully slumped down in one of the chairs. Under normal circumstances, he would have been over the moon to see such an impressive nerve centre of scientific brilliance, but right now he was just concentrating on not throwing up.

'This is our primary laboratory. Here we've made several breakthroughs in genetics, including the quirk development formula. Right now, the science team is hard at work creating a new formula in the hopes that it will one day be used to help those with unstable, dangerous quirks.'

'Midoriya! Pay attention!' Mr. Tamanegi called out, seemingly oblivious to the half dozen students who were busily texting on their phones.

With difficulty, he lifted his head. The lights in the room seemed very bright.

'Can anyone tell me what the primary source of accidental injury in Japan is?' asked the tour guide happily, 'No? Anyone?'

'Improper use of a quirk.' said a voice from the doorway. A few students turned to look at the newcomer.

'Ah! Everyone, this is Dr. Akatani. He is the senior researcher here at the Quirk Research Institute and is the leading mind in the field of quirk research!'

Izuku lolled his head to the side. Standing at the entrance to the observation theatre was the doctor his mother had taken him to several years ago. He was bald, slightly overweight and wore thick glasses. His expression was relaxed yet Izuku noticed his eyes pass over every one of the students. His eyes lingered over Izuku for a moment before shifting back to the tour guide.

'You flatter me Dr. Motoori. Though I am but one of many researchers in the field of quirk manifestation. So, how is everyone enjoying the tour?'

The students murmured indistinctly in response.

'Excellent. It's inspiring for all of us to see a crop of fresh young minds considering the possibilities of the future.' said Dr. Akatani just as one of the student's phones started blaring a silly tune.

'So Doctor, how goes the research?' asked the tour guide.

Dr. Akatani's relaxed expression tensed slightly before he smiled.

'It is proceeding. Not as quickly as I would like, but proceeding all the same. Speaking of, there is an important series of deadlines that I expect my team to meet and they require my supervision. Please, pretend I'm not here.'

'Of course, sir. Now who here can tell me-'

As the tour guide spoke, Izuku watched Dr. Akatani navigate around the room before sitting somewhere behind him. Izuku was tempted to look over his shoulder but he felt a fresh wave of nausea wash over him and he quickly concentrated on controlling his breathing.

This is more than nerves. That spider. It had to have been that spider.

His strength waning, he dropped his head in his hands as he felt his eyes start to burn. He could hardly see his own lap. After several minutes of agony, the tour guide finally announced that she would be leading them back to the entrance. At a snail's pace he shambled after his classmates while they meandered their way back to the entranceway and the waiting bus.

Sitting in the back, he rested his throbbing head on the glass and tried to ignore his loud classmates. It was going to be a long drive from Tokyo to Musutafu.

Tokyo may be the capital of Japan, but Musutafu was where everyone wanted to live. A gleaming symbol of progress, it was the cultural and economic centre of the country. As Japan's fastest growing and largest city, its undeniable energy attracted people from all walks of life. Fiercely competitive, only the exceptional rose to the top, and in a society where superpowered beings were the norm, the exceptional had to be special indeed.

Of course, not everyone could be a success and Musutafu had its share of problems, poverty chief among them. With a large percentage of the population unemployed, many turned to crime and the slums of the city were truly dangerous. To make matters worse, the most dastardly and ambitious of these criminals might even turn to a life of supervillainy. Honing their quirks through deadly combat, these villains would take and do as they pleased if not for the constant efforts of the pro heroes.

However, for once the battle between good and evil couldn't have been further from Izuku's mind. After an agonizing, vomit filled commute home, he stumbled into the small but comfortable apartment that he, his mother, and perpetually absent father called home. Letting his backpack and notebook slide to the floor, he sluggishly lurched across the shared dining and living area towards his room.

'Izuku? Honey, how was the field trip?' called out his mother, Inko Midoriya, cheerily from the kitchen.

'Is…okay.' he said weakly, wiping a thin trail of drool from his mouth as he passed her back.

'Good. Well supper is ready when you are.' she said over her shoulder.

'M'kay.'

Stumbling past her, he went for the doorknob to his room. After fumbling for a bit, he finally worked the handle out and staggered inside. His small, clean room was filled to bursting with All Might paraphernalia. Lining every shelf were dozens of red and blue All Might figurines in a variety of poses and costumes and tacked on each wall were large posters of the smiling muscle-bound hero, famous slogans printed around their frame.

I hope I don't throw up over all of my merch.

Pushing the door shut with his foot, Izuku let himself collapse back into his bed. Shivering violently, he pulled the covers over his head and quickly lost consciousness.