A Hero Rises

The Rise of Atlas

The sun, just barely beginning to come down as the afternoon rush set in beneath it, shone down on the city of Musutafu as two figures looked down to the streets. Both figures were smiling as they spoke with one another,

"Well, my boy, are you ready for this?"

"Toshi, I think you and I both know that it doesn't matter if I'm 'ready' or not. What matters is that I tell the world 'I am here!', right?"

"That's right, and I know you'll do great out there. You've already taken down the most powerful supervillain in the history of quirks, so a light patrol should be a piece of cake for you."

Izuku Midoriya stared at his mentor with tears brimming in his eyes, and his smile softened a bit as he stepped forward and wrapped both arms around the frail man.

"Thank you, Toshi." Izuku felt the older man's arms wrap around his back, "I promise that I'll make you proud of me."

"Izuku, you already have." Toshinori Yagi smiled down at his longtime pupil as a few tears pooled in his own eyes, "I couldn't be prouder of the man you've become."

Stepping back from the man, Izuku nodded his thanks as he turned around and looked back out at the city. And it wasn't just any city, Izuku thought, it was the same city he had grown up in, and the city that he had left behind four years ago when he and his mother traveled to America so that Izuku could train under All Might after he failed the U.A. Entrance Exam. He could still remember that day so clearly in his mind,

_____

Izuku felt numb as he listened to All Might speak, and he hardly felt the soft impact of his knees hitting the sand when his legs failed him. He had failed. All Might had shown him the results of the exam, even with the rescue points he received for helping that nice girl he hadn't been able to pass. He felt so pathetic as tears slid down his face, dropping into the sand below him as he cried. That girl had even tried to give him her points, but he knew that even if U.A. had allowed that, it probably wouldn't have been enough for him to pass.

"My boy, I apologize for failing you!"

What? Izuku stared up at All Might, his eyes wide as he saw the Number One Hero of Japan on his knees. 

"I should have given you more direction on how to use your new quirk, One For All. It's my fault that you weren't able to pass the exam, I'm sorry."

Izuku felt his head begin to spin as he tried to speak, "A-All Might, I'm-I'm the one who failed the exam, not you. I wasn't even strong enough to save someone without screwing it all up, I ended up useless after just one smash. You gave me your quirk and even with your power I-"

The boy's rambling was cut short when he felt All Might's hand on his shoulder, and he looked up only to find that the man was staring him down with a fiery determination in his blue eyes.

"No. That quirk, that power, it's yours now. One For All belongs to you, not me."

"But, All Mi-"

"My boy, this set back is on me so I'll be the one to fix this. I can't get you admitted to U.A., but I can still make sure you'll be able to test for a different school." 

Izuku looked at the man in confusion for a moment before everything began to make sense,

"You didn't just study at U.A...."

"That's right, while U.A. gets the credit for my education, it's important to remember that I was still learning even after I graduated. I've got a lot of contacts in both Japan and America that can help you to grow and learn to handle your quirk." All Might offered a hand to Izuku as he began to stand, "If you'd like, I'll take both you and your mother to America to train you. We'll return to Japan on occasion as well, so that you can take the Provisional and Full Hero Licensing Exams here, and so that you can do internship work here."

Izuku reached up and took All Might's hand, drying his tearstained face with the other, "I'll do it."

_____

Izuku smiled as he thought back to that day, it had taken a lot of work to get his mother on board with moving to America, and in the end they ended up having to explain the secret of One For All to her, but she eventually agreed. 

"-cer down. I repeat: We have an officer down on 5th! Requesting hero assistance, the villain is on a rampage!"

Izuku felt his eyes go wide for a moment as he heard the sound coming from his earpiece, and he turned back to Toshinori, only to see that the older man was grinning at him.

"Go get 'em, Atlas."

That was all it took for Izuku to spring into action, and with a quick tap to the device that sat under his ears he had his metal mask on over his mouth and nose. Being forty stories up made it easy for Izuku to launch himself into the sky above Japan, and he knew it wouldn't take long for him to find the villain once he could see most of the city. Then, flashing a smile to rival All Might in his prime, the hero Atlas took to the skies.

Back on the rooftop Toshinori shielded his face with his arm as the wind from Izuku's leap whirled around him, and as he lowered the arm and watched the boy-no-the man soared through the air like a rocket, he felt pride swell in his chest as tears began to sting his eyes.

Izuku flew through the sky in the direction of the rampaging villain that had been reported, his mind focused on the task at hand as he let off periodic flicks of his fingers to propel himself even faster than Float would normally allow, leaving tiny sonic booms in his wake. Within moments Izuku could see the destruction surrounding the rampaging villain, and he felt a wave of nostalgia as he saw that the criminal looked like he had some kind of gigantification quirk. It was just like that day that he'd met Toshinori for the first time, there had been a giant rampaging villain that got taken out by Mt. Lady as she made her debut to hero work. 

Now, Izuku thought to himself, it was his turn to enter the world of the pros and make his grand debut. In one fluid motion Izuku flipped himself over in the air to face towards the villain before flicking two fingers on each of his hands, sending him speeding down to the ground. He could just barely hear collective gasp of the crowd that had been surrounding the crime scene as he arrived. Taking a deep breath Izuku flipped over once more as he reached the villain, extending his foot and bringing his heel down onto the villains back with both the speed of his entry and a decent percentage of One For All. As the metal of Izuku's armored shoes connected with the villain a powerful gust of wind whipped across the street, and Izuku couldn't help but feel guilty as civilians and police officers had to shield their faces and hold onto things around them due to the intensity of it. But then, as the wind faded away and the air grew still, a silence fell over the gathered crowd as they all looked towards the man standing overtop of the now unconscious villain. Izuku put on his practiced yet genuine smile, retracted his mask, and as his yellow cape billowed behind him he spoke,

"There's no need to worry, because I am here!"