"He's floating!"
Ikari Ichinose's jaw dropped. His newborn son hovered three feet above the hospital bed, umbilical cord still attached.
"HAHA! Would you look at that! Our boy's flying!
"Catch him!" A nurse lunged forward.
Yuichiro drifted higher, bobbing like a balloon. Yui pushed herself up on her elbows, smiling despite her exhaustion. "He's perfect! Look how strong he is already!"
"Ma'am, please lie back down-"
"Our son's quirk manifestation!" Ikari jumped, arms spread wide beneath his floating son. "This is incredible!
Yuichiro hiccupped, then dropped two inches. Ikari swayed to the left, but Yuichiro drifted to the right.
"Sir, stay calm-"
"I AM CALM! HAHA! Come to papa little man! wait what if he flies away? Do we need a leash?"
"We'll figure it out!" Yui beamed, "Everything will be wonderful!"
A doctor finally snagged Yuichiro mid-float, but Yuichiro snapped the doctor's finger.
Crack.
"Ow mah fingers!"
Ikari's eyes went wide. Did you see that? Our boy's got superhuman strength, too! Just like his old man!"
"Sir, your son just broke my finger."
"HAHA! Sorry about that! Hey, at least he's not crying, right?"
Yuichiro looked completely unbothered, floating gently in the doctor's good hand.
Three Days Later
The crib bars bent outward like playdough. Yui found her son sitting in the wreckage, drool running down his chin, chewing on a twisted metal bar.
"Ikari!"
"What? What happened? Is he-WHOA! Did he just-"
"Rip apart his crib? Yes." Yui knelt beside Yuichiro, scooping him up. "Look at you! My strong baby!"
The baby cooed, reaching for her nose. She dodged, barely, preventing herself from having to get a rhinoplasty.
"We're definitely going to the quirk doctor tomorrow," Ikari said.
Quirk Assessment Center - Chiba Prefecture
Dr. Yamachi adjusted his glasses, staring at the readings. "This is... unprecedented."
Yuichiro floated in a specialized containment field in his onesie, giggling with sensor bands wrapped around his arms and legs, which glowed faintly
"What's wrong?" Yui said, leaning forward, "Is he okay?"
"Oh, he's more than okay." Dr. Yamachi pulled up a holographic display. "Your son has what I'm calling Smart Atoms. His atomic structure is fundamentally different from that of baseline humans. His atoms can remember their states and actively reinforce his body. When he exerts force, his muscle atoms remain intact despite the strain. When he flies, air molecules around him create lift through atomic manipulation."
He zoomed in on a cellular scan. "His durability, strength, speed, and healing are all enhanced at the atomic level. And based on the genetic markers from both parents..." He glanced at Ikari and Yui. "Your Superhuman quirk provided the foundation for extreme physical enhancement. Your Body Adaptation quirk contributed to the reactive, intuitive nature of the atoms."
"So he got both our quirks?" Yui's eyes widened.
"And then some, this is a true mutation quirk, something entirely new." Dr. Yamachi smiled. "Your son's potential is practically endless."
Ikari shot to his feet. "THAT'S MY BOY! But can he control it?"
"With proper training and time, yes. Right now, it's mostly instinctive. I recommend careful supervision and quirk counseling as he grows. No rigorous testing until he's older, of course, so for now, just baby-proof everything."
----
Four years later
"I'm the hero!"
Yuichiro stood atop the jungle gym, a towel draped as a cape, with three other kids below.
"You'll never catch us!" A girl with a plant-sprouting quirk shook her fist.
"Watch me!" Yuichiro jumped.
He flew, swooping down like a superhero with his arms forward. The kids shrieked and scattered, laughing. A boy with black hair ran past, Kirishima Eijirou from his class. "That was cool!"
Yuichiro landed beside him, grinning. "You wanna play? You can be a hero too!"
"Yeah!" Kirishima's eyes lit up. I'll be the strong hero!"
"I'm already strong."
"Then I'll be the fast one!"
"I'm fast too."
Kirishima's face scrunched up, thinking hard. "Then... I'll be your sidekick!"
"Okay!" Yuichiro grabbed his hand. "Let's get the bad guys!"
They charged across the playground together, laughing as the villains ran screaming away. A teacher watched from nearby, smiling. "Those two are going to be trouble."
Yuichiro tackled a boy with stretchy arms, both tumbling into the sand pit. Kirishima dove in after, fists raised.
"Got you!" Yuichiro declared.
"No fair! You can fly!"
"Heroes don't need fair!" He stood, brushing sand from his shorts, pulling Kirishima up with him. "Heroes just need to win!"
Kirishima nodded seriously. "Yeah!"
The stretchy-armed boy groaned dramatically. "You defeated me... Tell my family... I was a cool villain..."
"You were!" Yuichiro assured him. "The coolest!"
All three boys grinned as the plant-quirk girl ran past. "I'm escaping!"
"No, you're not!" Yuichiro took off flying with Kirishima sprinting behind him. "Wait for me!" Yuichiro caught the girl, both of them laughing as they rolled across the grass. Kirishima piled on top, declaring victory.
"We did it!" Yuichiro pumped his fist in the air.
"We're the best hero team!" Kirishima agreed.
The girl squirmed free. "I'll get you next time!"
"No way!" Yuichiro stood, offering his hand to Kirishima. "We're too strong!"
Kirishima took it, hauling himself up. "Yeah! We're gonna be real heroes someday!"
"The number one heroes!"
"Both of us?"
Yuichiro paused, thinking. "Okay. You can be number two."
"Hey!"
They shoved each other, laughing, before racing off to chase the other kids. Across the park, Ikari and Yui watched their son fly circles around his new friend.
"He's really something," Ikari said softly, his usual boisterousness toned down by pride.
"He's going to change the world." Yui smiled. "Just watch."