~ Disclaimer:
All events, characters, and places depicted in this story are purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to real events is purely coincidental.
~ Copyright & Acknowledgement:
All characters, settings, and storylines from My Hero Academia belong to their creator, Kōhei Horikoshi, and all rights are owned by the respective copyright holders.
The character Ben Tennyson and its related concepts belong to Man of Action and the respective copyright holders.
I claim no ownership over these intellectual properties.
The only thing I own is the original storyline presented here, which serves as a crossover work between the two worlds.
Chapter 1: The Quirkless Anomaly
The bell's shrill cry echoed through the corridors of Aldera Junior High, a sound that signaled the end of one brief freedom and the beginning of another. It was the frantic, five-minute chaos between classes. The hallway was a river of bodies, a torrent of chatter and laughter, the squeak of shoes on polished linoleum, and the percussive slam of locker doors. Sunlight, thick with dancing dust motes, streamed in through the tall windows, painting bright rectangles on the floor that students navigated like stepping stones.
Through this bustling ecosystem moved Ben Tennyson. He walked with a practiced nonchalance, his shoulders slightly hunched, his hands firmly gripping the straps of his green and black backpack. He wore the standard school uniform—a grey blazer over a white shirt and dark trousers—but he wore it with a kind of rumpled indifference. His brown hair was a perpetually messy work of art, and his green eyes, sharp and intelligent, scanned the path ahead, calculating the route of least resistance. In a world defined by extraordinary abilities, by the very Quirks that shaped society, Ben's greatest power was his ability to blend in, to become just another face in the crowd. He was Quirkless, a label that felt less like a medical diagnosis and more like a social verdict.
His life was a tale of two halves. The first was a world of normalcy with his parents, a simple, comfortable existence where being ordinary wasn't a flaw. The second began the day he walked into the Japanese school system, where a child's worth was often measured by the power that flowed through their veins. Here, being ordinary was being a target.
He navigated a knot of chattering girls and sidestepped a boy showing off a minor telekinesis Quirk by making his pencil case hover. Ben's goal was simple: get to his next class without incident. But as he rounded the corner, a familiar and unwelcome scene snagged his attention, making his stomach tighten.
There, pinned against a bank of beige lockers, was Izuku Midoriya. His head was down, a curtain of unruly, dark-green hair hiding his face. His own yellow backpack was askew on his shoulders, and a notebook lay splayed open on the floor beside him. Standing over him, caging him in with one leg propped against the wall, was the school's apex predator: Katsuki Bakugo.
Bakugo was flanked by his two usual cronies, their smirks carbon copies of their leader's arrogance. His own uniform seemed sharper, more defined, as if bent to his explosive will. His spiky, ash-blond hair and piercing red eyes radiated an aggressive energy that demanded submission.
"You damn Deku," Bakugo's voice was a low growl, already laced with the gravelly edge of adolescence. "I heard you snitched to the teacher about what happened last week. You know what happens to snitches, so why'd you do it? Trying to test my nerves?!"
Midoriya flinched, his small frame trembling. He looked up, his own large, green eyes wide with a familiar, terrified awe. "I-I'm sorry, Kacchan! The teacher insisted… he wanted to know the truth about what happened—"
"SHUT UP!" Bakugo's voice cracked through the hallway noise like a whip, silencing the immediate vicinity. A few students further down paused their conversations, their eyes darting towards the confrontation.
"Oh, it's Bakugo again."
"Is he hassling Midoriya and Tennyson again?"
"He really enjoys it, doesn't he?"
"I heard they're all neighbors from the same district."
"Weird. You'd think they'd be friends, but they're always at each other's throats. It's strange."
Bakugo leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a menacing hiss. "I don't care about any of that, you worthless weakling. And don't call me Kacchan!"
Ben's jaw tightened. This was the moment of decision. He could turn around, take the long way to class, and pretend he saw nothing. It was the smart thing to do, the safe thing. But some stubborn part of him, a part that hated bullies and injustice, refused to yield. He lowered his head, hoping the flow of student traffic would provide enough cover, and tried to slip past the scene.
He almost made it.
"Huh?"
The single syllable cut through the air and froze Ben in place. He watched as Bakugo's crimson eyes swiveled from Midoriya and locked onto him. A slow, predatory smirk spread across Bakugo's face.
"Well, well. Hey, Tennyson," he called out, his voice dripping with mock pleasantry. "How dare you walk past without even saying hello?"
Ben stopped, the straps of his backpack digging into his palms as his fists clenched around them. He remained silent, his back to the unfolding drama, his mind racing. He took a slow, deliberate breath and then, as if he hadn't heard a thing, he started walking again.
"He… he's ignoring Bakugo."
"Is he serious?"
"That guy has guts, man."
The smirk on Bakugo's face widened into a grin that showed too many teeth. The crowd of onlookers grew larger, their whispers feeding the tension. With a dismissive shove, he removed his foot from the wall beside Midoriya and started towards Ben. Midoriya's worried eyes, along with those of Bakugo's lackeys, tracked his every move.
One moment, Ben was walking. The next, a hand seized the back of his backpack, yanking him backward with incredible force. He stumbled, his balance gone, and slammed hard against the cold, unyielding metal of the lockers. The impact echoed with a loud CLANG, rattling the doors and sending a jolt through his spine.
Bakugo pinned him there, planting a hand on the locker door next to Ben's head. He leaned in close, his grin unwavering, his breath hot and unpleasant. "You've got some serious nerve ignoring me, the King of Explod-o-Kills, Tennyson."
He stared directly into Ben's eyes, a cruel amusement dancing in his own. He raised his voice so everyone, especially the boy still on the floor, could hear. "Deku! You're lucky you're not the only useless one around here!" Midoriya's eyes widened, a fresh wave of anxiety washing over his face. Bakugo gestured mockingly between Ben and Midoriya. "This idiot is right here with you. He's even got the same stupid green eyes as you."
A tense silence fell over the gathered students. They were no longer whispering, just watching, a captive audience to a play they had seen too many times before. Just behind them, a girl with vibrant, shoulder-length orange hair and eyes the same shade of green as Ben's and Midoriya's came to a halt. She had a bag slung over one shoulder and was carrying a stack of textbooks in her arms. Her expression was sharp, analytical, her eyes quickly assessing the situation.
"So, Loser-Tennyson," Bakugo continued, his face inches from Ben's. "What was that just now? Were you deliberately ignoring me, huh?"
Ben finally broke his silence, turning his head to the side with a sigh of bored irritation. "And who wouldn't ignore that gravelly voice of yours? Did you hit puberty a decade early or something?"
The girl with the orange hair took a small, determined step forward.
A low chuckle rumbled in Bakugo's chest. He pulled his hand back from the locker, his palm beginning to glow with a menacing orange light. Tiny, crackling sparks danced around his fingers. "You've had a smart mouth since we were kids. Way different from Deku."
Ben closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable heat and force of the explosion.
But it never came.
Instead, a shimmering, rose-colored cord of energy, as bright and solid as stained glass, suddenly snaked through the air and wrapped itself tightly around Bakugo's raised wrist. The crowd gasped. Everyone's attention snapped from the confrontation to the source of the intervention.
It was the girl. She held her stack of books steady with one arm, while her other hand was outstretched, a faint pink aura flickering around her fingertips.
"It's Gwen…"
"Gwen Tennyson again…"
Ben opened his eyes slowly. He saw the luminous pink tether holding Bakugo's attack at bay. Bakugo followed the path of the energy with a hateful glare until his eyes landed on the girl.
"Well, look who it is," he snarled, the light from his palm sputtering against the Quirk's hold. "Gwen Tennyson. You here to save this weakling again?"
Gwen's expression was calm, her voice steady and clear, cutting through the tension. "Using your Quirk in the school hallways is forbidden, Bakugo. You know that."
"Then why are you using yours?!" he shot back, struggling against the energy binding him.
"To stop an idiot from committing assault against someone who's Quirkless," she stated flatly, not a hint of fear in her voice.
Bakugo's face contorted with rage. "I've always let you off because you're a girl, but you've been getting in my way too much lately. Don't make me make a girl cry."
Gwen's eyebrows knitted together in a frown of defiance. Just as she was about to retort, a stern voice boomed from down the hall.
"Hey! What are you all doing there?!"
Instantly, the pink energy cord around Bakugo's wrist dissolved into nothing, as if it had never been. The charged atmosphere dissipated in a heartbeat. Bakugo took the opportunity to lean close to Ben's ear, his voice a venomous whisper.
"You're lucky you've got a personal bodyguard like her. But are you really okay with a girl having to protect you? What a shame."
He pushed off the lockers and stalked away, his cronies scrambling to follow in his wake. By the time the school official arrived, the crowd was already melting away, the tense scene having vanished completely.
"What was all that commotion?" the man demanded, looking at the remaining few. "Get to your classes! All of you, now!"
Gwen walked over to Ben, who was rubbing his back where he'd hit the lockers. "You okay?"
"Peachy," he muttered, straightening his uniform.
She let out a soft sigh, a sound that was a mixture of exasperation and concern. Her gaze then fell upon Midoriya, who was hastily gathering his scattered books and notes from the floor. Without a word, Ben went over and knelt to help him.
Midoriya looked up, a small, grateful smile touching his lips. "Thanks, Tennyson-kun."
"Tch," Ben grunted, handing him a notebook. "Just because he has a good Quirk doesn't give him the right to be so arrogant."
Midoriya stood up, brushing the dust from his trousers. He smiled weakly. "Kacchan has… changed a lot since we were little, hasn't he?"
Ben stood as well, his expression hardening. "That's not a positive change. He's become a real jerk. If only I could give him a taste of his own medicine someday…"
He and Midoriya stood there in a moment of shared, silent frustration.
"In any case," Gwen interjected, adjusting the books in her arms. "We should get going, or we'll be late for class."
Midoriya nodded quickly, and the three of them turned and walked down the now-empty hallway together, a strange trio bound by circumstance: two Quirkless boys and the girl who was anything but.