Chapter 3: A Tale of Two Paths
The transaction was a mundane, practiced motion. A handful of coins dropped into the bus's payment slot, the clatter swallowed by the diesel engine's low growl. Ben Tennyson took the ticket without a word and moved down the aisle, his backpack a familiar weight on his shoulders. He chose a seat by the window, the worn vinyl cool against his back.
With a hiss of pneumatic brakes, the bus lurched forward, pulling away from the curb and merging into the steady current of late-afternoon traffic. The city slid past the glass in a blur of concrete, steel, and vibrant advertisements. Ben watched it all with a placid detachment, his reflection a faint ghost superimposed over the world outside. He was just another passenger on just another bus, a quiet node in the sprawling network of the city. He rested his head against the cool window, the vibrations of the road a steady hum against his temple. The mission was simple, if a little frustrating: retrieve the earbuds he'd carelessly dropped yesterday. Yet, the journey felt heavy, each turn of the wheels taking him further from the bustling heart of society and closer to the quiet solitude of the woods.
At that very same moment, another boy with green eyes was anything but still. Izuku Midoriya's feet pounded against the pavement, his bright red shoes a flash of color against the grey sidewalk. He clutched his well-worn notebook, "Hero Analysis for the Future, No. 13," to his chest as if it were a sacred text. A wide, irrepressible grin stretched across his face, and his mind raced a mile a minute, a torrent of excited thoughts.
He's here! He's actually here! Kamui Woods' debut was amazing, but this is a Pro Hero in the top 20! His Quirk, Arbor, is so versatile, but his public speaking is what really sets him apart. I need to see him in person, I need to get his autograph, I need to analyze his crowd control technique and—
His sprint was so focused, so single-minded, that he didn't see the person in his path until it was too late. The collision was a soft thud.
"Oh! I-I'm so sorry!" Midoriya stammered, bowing quickly in apology as he stumbled back.
The man he'd bumped into barely registered him. He, along with dozens of others, was part of a thick crowd that had spilled from the sidewalks onto the street, their necks craned upwards. A chorus of excited shouts and panicked gasps filled the air, punctuated by the distant wail of sirens.
Midoriya's apology died on his lips. His hero-seeking instincts took over instantly. He followed the crowd's gaze and his jaw fell open.
A monstrous creature made of viscous, green sludge was rampaging above the train tracks, its form amorphous and terrifying. It had wrapped itself around a support pillar, its body rippling as it laughed, a horrible gurgling sound. Heroes were already on the scene. The Punching Hero, Death Arms, was trying to brace a falling signal tower, his muscular arms straining. Backdraft, the Firefighter Hero, had formed a cordon of water to keep the civilians at a safe distance.
It was chaos. It was terror. And to Midoriya, it was magnificent. He fumbled for his pen, his notebook already open. "A villain with a fluid body type! He's immune to physical attacks!" he muttered, his earlier mission completely forgotten.
Then, a new roar erupted from the crowd, a wave of pure, unadulterated adoration. A massive figure landed on the tracks with a ground-shaking impact. His shadow fell over the scene, a symbol of absolute certainty. It was him. The number one hero.
"It's All Might!" someone screamed, and the cry was picked up by a hundred other voices.
The Sludge Villain recoiled. "All Might…" it hissed.
With a blinding smile that defied the danger, All Might reared back a fist. "You are right to be afraid, for I am here! TEXAS SMASH!"
The punch didn't even need to connect. The sheer force of the wind pressure it generated was like a physical explosion. The sludge villain was blasted apart, its fluid body scattered into harmless droplets across the cityscape. The sky, which had been overcast, seemed to clear as if commanded.
The crowd erupted into a deafening cheer. Midoriya was shaking, his eyes wide with tears of pure joy, his pen frozen above the page. He had just witnessed a legend at work.
A few streets away, the bus carrying Ben Tennyson slowed for traffic. The muffled sounds of the cheering crowd and the receding sirens bled through the glass. Ben lifted his head from the window, his calm green eyes scanning the scene. He could see the aftermath—the scattered emergency vehicles, the reporters swarming in, and the colossal, unmistakable figure of All Might giving a confident interview, his voice too distant to hear but his presence overwhelming.
Ben watched the heroes working, the adoring public, the entire spectacle of a world he could only ever be a spectator in. A quiet, familiar ache settled in his chest.
How lucky, he thought, his gaze fixed on All Might's smiling face. To have a Quirk like that. To be able to do something, to be a hero. It must be nice… So why am I so useless? Why am I powerless while Gwen has such a flashy, incredible Quirk… and even that idiot Bakugo was born with something amazing?
The bus lurched forward again, and the scene of heroism slid out of view, leaving Ben alone with his reflection once more.
Midoriya's path home took him through a dark, narrow underpass. The euphoria of seeing All Might was still buzzing through him, and he swung his arms, mimicking the hero's signature punch with a quiet whoosh. It was in that moment of distracted joy that the darkness congealed behind him.
A foul, sewer-like stench filled the air. A gurgling voice echoed off the concrete walls. "A medium-sized invisibility cloak…"
Midoriya froze, turning slowly. The Sludge Villain, angrier and more desperate than before, oozed out from a manhole cover, its yellow eyes locking onto him. Before he could scream, the foul liquid surged forward, engulfing him. It forced its way into his mouth and nose, a suffocating, terrifying tide. His notebook fell to the ground with a soft smack. Panic seized him. He couldn't breathe. His limbs thrashed uselessly. His vision began to dim.
I'm dying… he thought, his consciousness fading.
"HAVE NO FEAR, YOUNG MAN!"
The manhole cover shot into the air like a cannonball. A booming voice filled the tunnel. All Might stood there, his bag of groceries dropped forgotten at his feet.
"TEXAS SMASH!"
The world became a hurricane of wind and pressure. The sludge was blasted away, and Midoriya fell to the ground, gasping, coughing, filling his burning lungs with precious air. His last thought before he passed out was the sight of his idol, a heroic silhouette standing over him.
The bus came to its final stop at the edge of town, where paved roads gave way to dirt tracks leading into the forest. Ben was the only one to get off. He gave the driver a small nod and stepped onto the gravel, the bus pulling away behind him with another hiss and a cloud of exhaust.
Silence descended, deep and profound, broken only by the chirping of crickets and the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze. He followed the familiar path, the one he and Gwen had taken with Grandpa Max just the day before. The further he walked, the more the sounds of the city faded, replaced by the natural symphony of the woods.
He found the campsite easily. The fire pit was a circle of blackened stones, the ashes within cold and grey. This was where he'd been sitting when he realized his earbuds were gone. He began his search, his eyes scanning the ground in slow, methodical sweeps. He kicked at piles of leaves, peered under ferns, and circled the clearing again and again.
Minutes turned into an hour. The sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. The forest grew darker, the shadows stretching into long, distorted fingers. Frustration mounted in him, a quiet, simmering heat. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"I knew this would be pointless," he muttered to the empty woods. "I'm just going to go home."
The words had barely left his lips when the world changed.
A high-pitched whistle tore through the tranquil evening air, growing louder and more intense with every millisecond. Ben looked up just in time to see a streak of brilliant green fire blaze across the twilight sky, directly over his head. It was moving too fast, too low to be an airplane. The light was so intense it bleached the color from the forest, casting sharp, dancing shadows.
It slammed into the earth a few hundred meters away with a deafening CRUMP. The ground shook beneath his feet, a deep, resonant tremor that vibrated through the soles of his shoes. A flock of startled birds erupted from the canopy, their wings beating a frantic rhythm against the sudden silence. A moment later, Ben saw them—rabbits, squirrels, and other small creatures, fleeing from the direction of the impact site in a blind panic.
Ben stood frozen, his heart hammering against his ribs. "What… what was that?" he whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "A meteor?"
Curiosity, potent and overwhelming, battled against his fear. The animals were running away from it. He, on the other hand, found himself running towards it.
He pushed through branches and vaulted over fallen logs, his eyes fixed on the faint glow and the plume of smoke rising through the trees. He arrived at the edge of a newly formed crater, its sides steep and composed of scorched, loose earth. He intended to just take a look from a safe distance, but the ground crumbled beneath his feet.
"Whoa—!"
He yelped as he lost his footing, tumbling and sliding down the incline in a messy cascade of dirt and stones. He came to a rough stop at the bottom, coughing up dust.
And there, in the center of the crater, was the source.
It wasn't a rock.
It was a metal pod, spherical and scorched black, but clearly manufactured. A large gash was torn in its side, and from within the breach, a soft, hypnotic green light pulsed, like a steady heartbeat. He got to his feet, cautiously approaching the strange object. The air around it hummed with a faint energy. He peered into the opening. Resting inside was a device.
It looked like a large, bulky wristwatch, mostly grey and black with a green faceplate shaped like an hourglass. A strange compulsion guided him. He had to know. "What… is this?" he wondered aloud, his voice barely a whisper.
He reached out a hand, slowly, hesitantly.
The instant his fingers came within inches of the device, it sprang to life. It leaped from the pod with the speed of a striking viper, a flash of silver and green. It wrapped itself around his left wrist, and with a series of audible clicks, clamped down with unyielding force.
"AHH!"
Ben screamed, stumbling backward and falling to the ground. He scrambled away, trying desperately to pry the thing off. It was fused to his skin, seamless and immovable. Panic flooded his senses; it had attacked him, latched onto him like some metallic parasite. He stared at it, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his mind reeling in shock and terror.
Then, a calm, synthesized voice emanated from the device itself.
"Omnitrix activated. Initializing Level One protocols."
Ben stopped struggling. He stared at the bizarre watch on his wrist, at the glowing green hourglass symbol now pulsing with a steady, living light. The reflection of it shimmered in his wide, terrified eyes.
"Huh?"