MHA: Apex Predator

Chapter Three

Rowan couldn't believe it. He was paralyzed from the waist down. He couldn't walk. He couldn't Run. He couldn't hunt. Hell the only thing his quirk was good for now was teleporting him around. He couldn't even push himself up in bed since he's been in a coma for six months and his muscles atrophied. The doctor and his father were looking at him waiting for some sort of reaction.

"Rowan?" His father asked tentatively.

Rowan looked at him as tears started falling. "What am I supposed to do now? All my plans are ruined. I can't even use a fucking wheelchair on my own!"

"I'll give you some time." The doctor said as he left the room.

"Look. I know how things look right now. But I've been talking to David. He said he might be able to make something to help you walk again. I wasn't going to tell you yet because he's not sure it's gonna work and I don't want to get your hopes up. But there is a small chance." His dad said gently.

"Ok. What about Kyoka? Is she ok?" Rowan asked his voice dull.

"She's fine. She comes by everyday." Alex replied.

"And mom?" Rowan choked.

"She's sick right now. She was going to come today but didn't want to risk making you sick." They were silent for a while before Alex began talking again. "You know, you did really good son. You saved and protected your friend at the risk of your own life. You are a hero."

"Who was the hero that blocked the attack?" Rowan asked.

"It was All Might. The man was a wreck after seeing what happened to you."

"I'd be in a worse state if not dead if it wasn't for him. That car would've crushed me and Kyoka." Just then the door to his room opened and Kyoka walked in.

She shut the door quietly then turned and stopped. "R-Rowan? Oh thank god!" She ran to his bedside and leaned over to hug him. He hugged her back. He saw his father's grin over her shoulder and he blushed.

"I need to go call your mother. I'll bring some food back with me." Alex said before leaving failing to hide the chuckle in his voice.

"I'm so happy you're awake Rowan. I thought I'd never get t... I'm so happy." Kyoka cried. "Thank you for protecting me."

Rowan kept hugging her even though his arms were growing tired. 'Fuck. I'm so fucking weak right now.' "I'm glad you're ok. Was everyone else alright?"

She pulled back and wiped her tears. "Kirishima and Mina are the only other ones that come and visit. The others don't seem to care."

The next day his mother came to visit regardless of her illness. Within the week he started on physical therapy for his upper body. It was hard and he hated it but one of his parents or Kyoka would be there with him. Kirishima and Mina came to visit too. Over the next few months he got to the point where he could move himself around in his wheelchair and he was discharged. He started going back to school but most people didn't bother with him. He didn't really mind. He had to much to catch up on to worry about what people thought. Almost a year after his accident he got a visit that he had hoped and prayed for. He was at home with his parents when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Rowan called to his parents as he wheeled over to the door and swung it open. "Hi how can I... David? Melissa?" A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes as he saw the genuine smiles devoid of pity and cases they carried.

"Hello Rowan. We have something to talk to you about." David said. Rowan rolled backwards and gestured to the couch in the living room.

"Rowan who is it?" His mother said as she came out of the kitchen where she had been preparing lunch. "Oh hello David... David? HONEY! GET OUT HERE!"

With the family was sat across from the two inventors David spoke. "As you know I've been working on something in hopes of helping you walk again. Now I need to say this is extremely experimental and I'm not totally sure it will work, that being said I believe... we believe that we have a safe and functional prototype for you to test." David gestured to Melissa and she opened the case on the table. In it was a jointed interlocked piece of metal off of either side were curved metal prongs. "This will require a surgery to have it work properly, but it is supposed to connect to your spinal column, brain stem and nervous system to intercept the signals trying to get to your lower body. When it does it will act as an in between and send the signals like normal. The only question is do you want to give it a shot?"

"What happens if it doesn't work?" Rowan asked.

"Well it could break your spine. If we don't do it and it was a fail then I won't know how to change it. If it works then I will make a better final version though you can use the prototype until it's done." David responded.

Alex and Aiko looked at each other then at their son. They both knew this wasn't their decision. This could set their son back onto the path he wanted no matter how much it terrified them. "This is your choice son. What ever you choose we will support you."

'If I do this and it works I can walk again. But if it goes wrong I could break my spine again which could paralyze even more of my body.' He thought. 'I want to talk to Kyoka. I want to know what she thinks I should do.' He knew what he was going to do. How he'd respond. Ever since he learned that David was working on something to help him he knew his answer to this exact question.

"Let's do it."

Alex and Aiko sighed. They knew what his answer was going to be. They knew how trapped he felt. David and Melissa smiled wider.

Two weeks later Rowan was lying face down on a medical table. Over the past two weeks David went in depth about how exactly the surgery would work. "Ok Rowan. I'm about to put you under. Hopefully when you wake up you'll be able to move your legs." David said.

A few seconds later and Rowan was out. Then he was opening his eyes looking at the ceiling of a hospital room.