The preschool classroom smelled like crayons, glue sticks, and the kind of hope that only exists when you still believe you can be an astronaut and a dinosaur at the same time.
A circle of kids sat cross-legged on a rainbow rug, legs bouncing, hands waving in the air, faces lit up like it was a festival. In the centre stood a little girl with chubby cheeks and a ponytail that kept trying to escape its hair tie. She looked like she'd been picked up straight out of a storybook and dropped into reality for one particular purpose.
To be adored.
"Do it again! Do it again!" one boy chanted, practically vibrating.
"Yeah! The sparkly one!" another kid shouted, eyes wide.
"Show us your quirk!" a girl with sticker-covered sleeves squealed. "Pleeeease!"
The teacher knelt nearby, smiling as if this were the sweetest kind of chaos. "Alright, alright. If you want to show everyone one more time, you can. Just safely, okay?"
The little girl nodded so hard her ponytail whipped her ear. "Okay!"
She held out her hands, fingers spread, like she was about to catch something invisible.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the air around her palms shimmered.
Not fire, not smoke. Something softer. Like tiny glittering motes lifting off her skin and swirling in little loops. The light from the classroom windows caught it and turned it into a mini galaxy, sparkling and drifting as if it were alive.
The circle of kids collectively gasped.
"Woooooah!"
"It's like magic!"
"It's like... like fairy dust!"
"That's the best quirk ever!"
The little girl beamed, cheeks going pink. The sparkles fluttered higher, bobbing like bubbles, then popped into tiny flashes that made everyone giggle.
A kid leaned forward, eyes huge. "You're gonna be a pro hero for sure!"
"Yeah!" another piled on immediately, because preschoolers were basically a hype squad with snacks. "You're gonna be famous!"
"I'm gonna buy your merch!" a boy declared, with the full seriousness of someone who didn't know what money was.
The teacher laughed, covering her mouth. "Oh? Merch already?"
"Are you gonna be like All Might?" a kid asked, practically whispering the name like it was sacred.
"No!" someone else yelled. "She's gonna be even better!"
A chorus of agreement erupted instantly.
"Top hero!"
"Number one!"
"Can you beat All Might?" the sticker-sleeve girl demanded, like this was a completely normal thing to ask a four-year-old.
The little girl's smile wobbled for a second, like the idea was too big to hold in her mouth. Then it burst out anyway, bright and fearless.
She wiped at her eyes with the back of her wrist, even though she was still grinning so hard it looked like it might crack her face in half.
"I'm gonna try!" she declared, voice shaking with excitement. "I'm gonna train super hard and save everybody and be the best ever!"
The glitter motes danced around her hands again, like they were cheering too.
She looked around the circle, eyes watery, voice suddenly small but steady. "When I get to the top... You guys have to cheer for me, okay?"
YOU ARE READING
Ultra Responsibility (My Hero Academia X Spider-Man Reader)
FanfictionYou all know the origin story of radioactive bug bites; with great power comes great responsibility. But what if this time it was different? What if you were born with the powers of Spider-Man? After the tragic fate of your loved ones, take the mant...
