I've always wanted to write a reincarnation fic. So why not write one with two of my current favorite shounen?

I got inspired to write this a pretty long time ago while listening to One Piece opening 21, Super Powers, over and over again. Specifically the english cover by Dave Does Music and the rock cover by Miura Jam. As you can clearly see, that's where the title of this fic comes from.

I told myself that I would start this waaaaaay later down the road, but I couldn't resist finishing the first chapter. So, here you go. XD

To all those waiting for an update on From Mafioso to Pirate, the next chapter is actually done. I just want to finish re-proofreading my other chapters (there's a looot of typos I didn't catch the first time around...) and finish posting those to my AO3 and Wattpad accounts before posting the latest one, so that everything's caught up on all accounts.

Anyway, enjoy!

XXX

Super Powers

Prologue:

Izuku Midoriya: Origin

XXX

Izuku Midoriya was four years old when he realized that people were not all born equal.

"You see here?"

Izuku stared blankly at the image the doctor gestured at. An X-Ray of his foot. The doctor pointed towards the two joints visible in his pinkie toe.

"During the advent of Quirks, many studies have been done trying to find the cause of the phenomenon. Through that research, a link was discovered between the possibility of having a Quirk and the possession of a second joint in one's pinkie toe."

Izuku glanced at his mother to see she was staring at the doctor intently, biting her bottom lip in apprehension. "So...what does this mean for Izuku?"

The good doctor sighed and leaned back against his seat. "People who exhibit Quirks were found to have only one joint in their pinkie toe. Quirks are seen as the next stage of human evolution, so the popular theory is that the human body also evolved into a more streamlined form and did away with unneeded parts such as this." He looked down at the small, green-haired boy with a look that could only be described as pity. "The chance of him having a Quirk is pretty much non-existent."

Izuku looked from the doctor, to the picture, to his tearful mother, and back to the doctor again. Truth be told, the bulk of the conversation went completely over his head, but one thing was abundantly clear.

"So, I don't get superpowers?!"

"Sorry, kid."

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Ever since the revelation that he had no superpowers ("Quirks, Izuku. They're called Quirks," his mother kept insisting), young Izuku Midoriya's life gradually became very different.

For one thing, his mother was no longer able to look at him without looking like she was about to burst into tears. She seemed to have convinced herself that it was all somehow her fault he was superpower-less ("Quirkless, Izuku. You're Quirkless," his mother kept insisting). Izuku himself didn't really see how any of it was her fault, but trying to tell her that only seemed to make her sadder, so he stopped.

Those changes didn't just stop at home, though. They followed him to his kindergarten, too. Being the only superpower-less ("I give up. Call it whatever makes you happy, Izuku...") child in the kindergarten came with certain ramifications.

For one thing, his teachers seemed to pretty much stop paying attention to him entirely, unless it was absolutely necessary. When he told his mother about it, she had told him that it was because the rest of the kids all had superpowers that they were still learning how to control, so they needed more of their attention.

She then proceeded to start crying again. Izuku decided it was best not to ask her anymore questions about superpowers.

It wasn't just the teachers either. It was the other kids, too. A few of them still treated him the same, but a large number of them had started making fun of him over his lack of superpowers. His number one bully was a boy by the name of Katsuki Bakugo.

It was kind of a shame. Kacchan ("Don't call me by that stupid nickname!" "But your name is too complicated!" "HOW IS IT COMPLICATED?!") was his neighbor, and his mom got along with Izuku's mom. It had been pretty much set in stone that the two would grow up to become childhood friends.

Izuku tried his best to befriend the other boy, constantly following after him even when the boy gave him the nickname of "Deku," meaning "useless." Though, if he was honest, that nickname never really bothered him too much. ("Hey, Mom, I got a nickname today!" "Oh, that's terrific, Izuku! What is it?" "Deku!" "I-Izuku, are you sure that's not an insult instead?" "I like it!" "Izuku...")

Once it was revealed that Izuku was superpower-less, their budding friendship took a complete turn. Really, it had taken kind of a turn already before that, when Kacchan's superpower was revealed. Everyone was talking about how amazing it was and how he would become a great hero someday. Admittedly, Izuku thought so too. Being able to make things explode was really cool! But once he was able to do that, he became really, really arrogant; treating the other kids, and Izuku, like they were all beneath him. Izuku...just didn't like that.

And when he found out that Izuku was superpower-less? That's when it really became bad.

"Hahahahaha! I always knew you were useless, but now you're Quirkless too?! You really are a Deku!" Kacchan laughed, along with those other boys who always followed after him. Izuku's sure they've told him their names multiple times, but he for the life of him couldn't remember what they were.

Izuku pouted and crossed his arms. "Shut up! I'll become strong even without a superpower!"

Kacchan stopped his laughter and glared at him. "As if! You'll always be a little weakling! AND THEY'RE CALLED QUIRKS!"

Izuku, who had been sitting on the ground with his back facing him, jumped up and turned to glare right back at him. "I'll show you! Fight me!"

Kacchan's eyebrows went up while the two boys behind him started snickering. "You're not serious, right?"

"I'm serious!" Izuku put his fists up. "I'll prove I'm strong right here and now!"

The other young boy stared at him, dumbfounded for a moment before a sinister smirk stretched across his face. He pounded his fist into his other hand, a spark of fire appearing as he did. "You think you actually have a chance against me?"

"Yeah! I'll kick your butt!"

"Bring it on, then!"

"ALRIGHT!"

Izuku soundly got the shit beat out of him.

When he woke up in the infirmary, his mom was already there, crying her eyes out.

"IZUKUUUU!" She shouted, enveloping him in a hug when she saw that he'd woken up.

"Uh... Mom?" He slurred.

"Izuku, I'm so glad you're alright!" She sobbed. "When I saw you lying here, I-I-I-!"

"Wha happund...?" His memory was so blurry...

His mom loosened her grip and stopped rubbing her face into his hair to look at him properly. "Y-You don't remember? You got into a fight with Katsuki! You've been passed out for nearly three hours! Oh, I'm so glad you're awake!"

And just like that, his memory came back to him. "Oh, right..."

His mother wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "Izuku...can you tell me what happened? I-It's okay if you don't want to yet, but..."

Izuku used his hands to force himself into a sitting position, ignoring the protests from both his mother and his own body. He rubbed his cheek, where Kacchan had punched him first. "I challenged him to a fight..."

"Wh-What?!" His mother quickly went into panic mode again. "Why?! You and Katsuki are friends, aren't you?! Why would you challenge him to a fight of all things?! Especially when he has a Quir-" She immediately cut herself off, slapping both hands over her mouth as her eyes went wide.

"That's why!" Izuku said, ignoring her reaction entirely. "Kacchan says I'm weak because I don't have a superpower! I'm not! I'm tough!" Izuku looked up at his mom. "Right?!"

His mother paused and slowly took her hands off of her mouth. She remained silent, though, and Izuku's frown deepened.

"...Mom, right?"

His mom snapped out of whatever thoughts she was having, shook her head, and looked him in the eyes with determination. After everything that happened, she was most certainly not going to cause her son's self-esteem to drop any further. "Of course you are, Izuku! Fighting someone with a Quirk like that is a very brave thing to do!" She said encouragingly, though at the same time thinking 'Though I really hope you don't get into fights like that again...' She couldn't help but smile when she saw how her son beamed at those words. "But, Izuku," she continued, "I'm sure there are other ways to show how tough you are that don't involve fighting."

Izuku looked up at her in surprise. "Really? Like what?"

"W-Well..." She stuttered, trying to come up with something.

Izuku thought about it as well when, almost in an instant, an idea came to him. "OH! I know!" He smiled brightly. "Mom! I know perfect way to show Kacchan how tough I am!"

"O-Oh, really? That's great, Izuku! How?" She asked, trying to give a similar smile back. She never could quite figure out how her son managed to smile so big and brightly. He certainly didn't get that trait from her or her husband.

"It's a secret!" Was the young boy's only reply.

"O-Oh. Well, if you say so..." His mother muttered.

She had...a bad feeling about this. But Izuku is only four years old. Surely nothing too crazy would happen. Especially with the kindergarten workers keeping watch over him more thoroughly from now on.

...Right?

"KACCHAAAAAAN!"

Katsuki Bakugo, who had been busy showing off his Quirk to his classmates, jerked up and whirled around at the sudden shout. He frowned when he saw that it was Izuku, who had somehow, without anyone noticing, climbed his way up the nearby shelf of storybooks and now stood at the very top. The boy had just gotten back to kindergarten after their last encounter and he was already at it again?

"What do you want, Deku? Another fight?" He smirked as smoke started to waft from his hands.

"No!" Izuku shouted at him, much to his surprise. "I have a better way to show you how tough I am!"

The blonde boy frowned at him, getting more and more confused. "And how's that?"

By this point, the other kids and the teachers had taken notice of what was going on and were making their way over.

"Is that Deku?"

"What's he doing?"

"He was yelling at Bakugo again."

"Didn't he beat him up last week?"

"What's he thinking?"

"I-Izuku-chan!" The female teacher yelled at him, trying to get to him but unable to with the group of kids gathering in front of her and blocking the way. "Get down from there! It's dangerous!"

The male teacher hurried over as well. "I-Izuku-kun, what are you doing?! Get down from there right now!"

"Everyone watch this!" Izuku shouted, reaching into his pocket for something and pulling it out. "I'll show you I'm strong, too!"

The two teachers' faces went pale when they realized what he was holding, along with most of the kids. Kacchan just looked at him wide-eyed.

"I-Is that a KNIFE?!" The female teacher shouted in panic. "Izuku-chan, why do you have a KNIFE?!"

"I stole it from home!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! WHY DID YOU STEAL A KNIFE?!"

The kids started backing away and mumbling to each other.

"H-He brought a knife?!"

"Is he crazy?!"

"What's he gonna do with it?!"

"He's Quirkless, so maybe he wants to fight Bakugo with that?!"

Seeing that every eye was on him now, Izuku continued with his plan. He held the knife in both hands, point facing upwards, determination flashing in his eyes.

He then proceeded to stab himself in the face.

"WHAT THE?!"

"WHAT'S HE DOING?!"

"IZUKU-CHAN?!"

"IZUKU-KUN!"

"OOOOWWWW!"

"DEKU, YOU IDIOT!"

"Th-That didn't hurt at all," Izuku said through his tears as his mother wept in front of him, having been called by the teachers.

"LIAR! YOU'RE CRYING!" The rest of his class, including Kacchan, yelled behind him.

"IZUKUUUUU! WHEN I SAID TO FIND ANOTHER WAY, THIS WASN'T WHAT I MEEEAAAANT!" His mother sobbed.

"I-I'm sorry..."

His little stunt left him with a scar on his face, just under his left eye. There were people in the infirmary who had superpowers that could make small scars like his disappear, but Izuku adamantly refused. ("It's a battle scar!" "But you gave it to yourself!")

After another long talk with his mom about why what he did was bad and why he should never do it again, Izuku found himself in front of the mirror in their restroom. He traced his new scar with his fingers.

He didn't care that everyone said that it didn't count, it was his battle scar! It was so cool! It looked just like his old one!

...

It took approximately five seconds for him to realize what he just thought.

'Huh? My old one? I don't have an old one! I'd remember if I had another cool battle scar!'

...

...

...

The thought wouldn't leave him, though.

He leaned in closer to the mirror, fingers continuing to rub over his scar. He searched his mind for whatever had caused that feeling of familiarity. His fingers froze as another thought struck him.

Hesitantly, he moved his hand away from his face. Reaching down, he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and slowly lifted it up. Smooth skin showed through the mirror, and he sighed and let his shirt back down.

Of course he wouldn't have a scar on his chest. He'd definitely have noticed that before.

...But he should have one, shouldn't he? From when... From when...

Izuku groaned and slapped both sides of his face to try to get himself together. He didn't know where these weird thoughts were coming from, but he didn't like them. They made him feel weird and scared.

"Izuku?" The boy tore his eyes away from his reflection to see that his mother had opened the door and was now looking at him worriedly. "Are you alright? You've been in here for a while... Does it still hurt?"

"No..." He replied truthfully, jumping down from the stool he had been using to reach the mirror and sink. "I finished brushing my teeth, Mom..."

"I-I see. That's good..." She tried to smile, but it didn't last long. She fiddled with her fingers a bit before speaking once again. "Izuku... You've been putting on a brave face, but you really are upset about not having a Quirk, aren't you? You don't have to hide anything from me, you know. I'm your mother."

Izuku fiddled with his own fingers for a moment before responding, pushing his earlier scar thoughts out of his mind. "A little..." He admitted. "I would've been really cool to have a superpower..."

"Yes..." His mom grew sadder at this, the emotions showing on her face.

Seeing this, Izuku quickly put a smile on his face. He didn't like making the people he loved feel sad like this. "It's okay, Mom! I'm still strong, even without a superpower! I proved it, right?"

"Y-Yes..." She mumbled. "But... Please don't do something like that to yourself again. Alright, Izuku? You've proved it once, there's no need to again!"

"Right."

His mom heaved a relieved sigh and smiled at him. "Go to bed now, alright? It's getting late."

"Okay!"

Inko Midoriya gently closed the door to her son's bedroom, having finished tucking him in. Going to her own room, she plopped down onto her bed and let out a sigh.

Her motherly instincts were right about Izuku being more disappointed by not having a Quirk than he let on, but she was glad to see that it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. She knew most kids around his age started expressing the desire to become heroes. Although Izuku himself hadn't shown that yet, when she learned that he was Quirkless she'd started to become very concerned for his future.

...Although, truth be told, she wasn't all too broken up about him not being able to become a hero. She couldn't bear to see him go through all those battles and injuries she had seen other heroes on the news go through. And, since Izuku hadn't shown any desire to become a hero yet, maybe that just wasn't something he was interested in? That made her wonder what exactly he did want to do in the future... Well, she supposed it was still too early for that.

Turning on her side, she closed her eyes and couldn't help but remember small memory of when Izuku first learned that Quirks existed. He had been so wide-eyed and excited to realize that the people he saw on television doing all those amazing things were, in fact, real. ...She never could quite get him to call them Quirks, though. He always stubbornly insisted that they were superpowers. He wasn't technically wrong, but still...

Well, it was at least better than what he had originally called them. Why her son thought Quirks came from fruit of all things was something she doubted she would ever be able to comprehend.

Hmm... What was it he said he wanted his Quirk to be...?

Oh, right.

"I wanna be made of rubber!"

"That's certainly...a unique one to want."

Most children wanted super strength, flight, or the ability to use elements. Izuku wanted to be made of rubber. Really, her son was so strange sometimes...

As Izuku closed his eyes and began drifting off into sleep, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to his earlier thoughts. He tried digging deeper into his memory, trying to find what had caused them. Strangely, it seemed to become easier to do the further he sank into sleep.

Scar... A scar under his eye... A scar on his chest... A scar he got from...

From...

From...

Ace.

The name came to him just as his mind finally plunged into sleep, and it was as if that one name was the key to an avalanche of remembrance. His mind was plunged into what felt like a kaleidoscope of different images.

Of memories.

Of Ace, his brother, taking a killing blow for him. Thanking him for loving him while he died in his arms.

Of him, Ace, and someone else drinking sake together; declaring themselves as brothers.

Of a green-haired man with tears running down his face, pointing his sword to the sky and promising him that he would never lose again.

Of a long-nosed boy in the distance yelling at him to get back up and fight so they could all go back to the sea together.

Of an orange-haired girl looking up at him with tears of desperation, begging him to help her.

Of a blonde man running through the rain to where he lay motionless, a basket in hand.

Of a small reindeer declaring that he wasn't a human and could never join their crew, only for them to welcome him aboard anyway.

Of a black-haired woman shouting that she wanted to live; to come back to all of them.

Of a big, blue-haired man declaring that of course he would join his crew. No one else could repair their ship as well as him.

Of a man who had been so alone for fifty years that he had wanted to die bursting into tears and saying how happy he was to be alive.

Of a hat and a promise.

More and more came to him the deeper he dug.

Monkey D. Luffy. That was his name. How could he ever have forgotten?

He felt like he was falling, watching all these memories of his life, or past life, play around him. But wait, there was something else there.

He looked forward to see something in the distance. An object?

As he reached for it, it seemed to move closer. He grasped it in his hand, trying to figure out what it was. It felt familiar, like everything else in this place. A purple ball with swirls...

His eyes widened in recognition. "Huh? This is... The Gomu Gomu-"

His eyes shot open. It took a moment to regain his bearings and figure out where he was.

Right, he was in his bedroom. Sunlight was peeking in through the curtains. Morning.

He raised one of his hands in front of his face and stared at it. It was so small now.

With his other hand, he grabbed his fingers and started to pull.

They stretched.

And stretched, and stretched, and stretched.

Like rubber.

He let them go, letting them snap back into place before both arms fell back onto the bed. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, trying to comprehend everything.

Izuku Midoriya was four years old when he remembered that he wasn't supposed to be four years old.