It has more than it needs. Not many from Earth are born as metahumans. Most have had something happened to alter their human biology or genetics during their lifetime. Others are aliens from different planets or planes of existences.
Superman, for example, is Kryptonian. Raven is Azarathian. Wonder Woman is a demigod. [He crosses his arms.] None of that has any bearing on whether someone is a "hero" or not.
Batman and I are from Earth. Nightwing, Red Robin, Batwoman, Batgirl. None of us have powers. Powers just get in the way.
Your world's really different from mine. [Not that it's a surprise, but Izuku had somehow been so distracted by finding other heroes that it just didn't occur to him how different things could be. It seems obvious in hindsight.]
Ours used to be like that, with just a handful of people with quirks being born. But now... about 80% of the world's population has a power of some kind.
Being quirkless...it makes you stand out. [Not in a good way. Izuku's voice gets even quieter.] If you don't have a quirk, then you're... [Useless. Though Izuku bites the word back, it's clear what he was going to say anyway. It's the word he heard thrown at him more times than he cares to remember since he came back from the doctor's with his quirkless diagnosis as a kid.]
Anyway... [Izuku turns his gaze away.] There's nothing that says quirkless people can't try to take the licensing exam, but with the way things are, no school is going to take someone that doesn't have a quirk for their heroics course in the first place.
[He's not stupid. Damian can fill in the blanks. He's also a great read of people, and he can tell that this means more to Izuku than what's being said. There's something personal about it, about this information. The way it's given, the words chosen.
Izuku reacted very differently than Kirishima, and it isn't because they have different personalities. They're actually different kinds of people.] So it is true. The licenses keep people without quirks from being heroes. The whole system has been set up in favor of those with powers, excluding chances for the ones without.
I've never heard anything more stupid in my life. Offering a school for those with powers is one thing, but barring the powerless from doing what they can to protect the well-being of the world is idiocy. The schooling shouldn't mandate the acquisition of a license.
Regardless, implementing an official database of heroes is foolish. If anyone acquired that information, it could be used against everyone calling themselves heroes.
[There's conflict in his expression as Damian lays it all out. Izuku loves heroes and quirks. He's loved analyzing everything since he was a kid, grown up watching them in action. But he's also been on the other side of the system, and he knows Damian's criticisms aren't without merit.]
You're...not wrong. [It's painful, getting the words out.] The system is really skewed to favor people with quirks.
[He knows that. There are probably other quirkless kids like him who grew up being bullied and told they weren't worth anything because of something they couldn't help. And they won't be as lucky as he is, with the way he'd caught All Might's attention and gotten a second chance at what he wanted.]
[Izuku flinches. Had he been that obvious? He is a terrible liar, and Damian's already shown himself to be incredibly observant as well. Izuku shouldn't be surprised that he'd figured it out so quickly. He's just lucky that no one else has really talked to him about this before. It's...hard pretending that the topic doesn't affect him in any way when it's so personal. This was his life for ten years.]
That's... not exactly right. [Izuku raises a hand and activates his quirk, green energy sparking over his skin. Then, he lets it go, staring down at the table for a long moment.
He shouldn't be talking about any of this when he's just met Damian barely a few days ago. And yet... here Damian is, putting into the words some of the very things Izuku had wondered as he grew up. Surely, there could still be a way to become a hero even without a quirk? Surely, there was a way that even a quirkless nobody like him could still help? Those were just a few thoughts he'd had when he was younger, until the repeated bullying and taunts from his classmates had almost stamped his dreams out.]
My quirk came in really late. Usually quirks begin manifesting before you're four. I got mine when I was fifteen. [Izuku finally says. It's what he'd told his own mother, in any case, and why try to make the excuse any more complicated than it needs to be?] So I guess even if I have one now...I know how it feels to be quirkless.
[Something doesn't seem right, but Damian has no evidence to discount Izuku's explanation. So he accepts it for now, watching the green energy until it disappears. Maybe a small piece of him feels betrayed, yet hadn't he just told Izuku that a lot of metahumans receive their powers later in life?
Furthermore...] Your world's system of heralding those with powers is still ridiculous.
[He looks away with his head, glancing out over the library.] I had powers once, too. For a short period.
The how and why are irrelevant. [Or, rather, explaining them would be he needed to explain more about himself. Which he isn't going to do. Also, he's trying to be Robin, not Damian.] I had powers somewhat similar to Superman.
I could fly, had superhuman strength. That sort of thing. The powers didn't last, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm capable without them. If you aren't able to do what you do without your powers, then you don't deserve them.
[It's a heavy topic, and Damian's words, sensible as they are, just sit uncomfortably in Izuku's chest at the moment. They're hard to accept over things that he's heard for years and years, even if Izuku is trying.]
That's... the opposite of what I've been told for years. [Your quirk defines you. The more powerful and flashy the better. And if you didn't have a quirk at all, then you amounted to nothing. That's the way it's always been.]
Going out to do this line of work untrained is foolish at best, but letting that stop you from getting stronger and better is worse than failure. [On one hand, he doesn’t think anyone else can do it. On the other, people who don’t try piss him off.] You don’t need special abilities to know when it’s right to save someone, or to help them.
You don’t need a special certificate or special schooling, only the will and the training. Use your mind instead of relying on some overpowered gimmick. Think smarter than the bad guys. That’s all you need to be stronger than anyone else, even more than physical skill:
[Izuku nods, expression clearing just a little. Though Damian's given him a lot to think about, some of those words ring true to what All Might had said before. Reaching out to help people, whether or not they ask for it, is what a hero does.]
...my intellect... [He echoes, pressing a thumb into his bottom lip in thought. From the way he says it, it's like he's never really had anyone tell him that is a strength, even if he's considered it before. He thinks back to all the notebooks of information he's compiled over the years.] It...it's true, I did think that analyzing everyone's quirks and finding strengths and weaknesses would be helpful before. Back...before I got my quirk... the other kids always made fun of me for doing it, though.
[And yet, here's someone who works as a hero saying that it's exactly what he should have focused on. One thing's for sure... through all this, Izuku's slowly been filled with the burning need to know more about Damian and the other quirkless heroes he mentioned.]
Robin... [Izuku hesitates, the bashful sort of look very different from the excitement and quiet melancholy from before.] Can you tell me about you and Batman? And the others you mentioned earlier. The...the ones without quirks. I'd...like to hear about them.
[His reason for asking is obvious, even if he doesn't say it.]
[For a little bit, Damian is quiet. There's a lot he can't say, but still a lot he can. Things that are relatively common knowledge in Gotham, on Earth. Things that wouldn't hurt to be told in earnest.] Batman is...
[He's never had very many opportunities to candidly talk about his father--well, or Batman. Now that he has the chance, he isn't sure what to say. He's nervous. He doesn't want to tarnish Batman's haunting image, but he also doesn't want that image to scare Izuku. Batman strikes fear in criminals, not civilians.] Batman fights for those who can't fight for themselves. It's not about getting rid of the toughest criminal, or about fighting the hardest battle.
It's about the people he helps.
Every criminal in Gotham fears his name. You can't hide from him. He will always find you. Your life of incarcerated reform begins the moment you decide to take advantage of others. He doesn't have any powers. [He has money, but listen.] He has an arsenal, and he has his intelligence.
There's one thing Batman never does, and that's kill. Not even the criminals. [Much to Damian's disapproval. It had taken him some time to not only accept this, but strive to follow it.] He knows they can be helped, too. The most hideous of evils, the most terrible of masterminds; he won't kill them because killing them means he'll be no better than they are.
[There's a long pause. Damian's lips aren't frowning, but he isn't smiling exactly.]
[Everything about this strikes a chord in him. From the part about fighting for people who can't fight for themselves, to the part about having his intelligence in battle.]
He sounds like an amazing hero. [Izuku says softly, a small, but genuine smile on his face as he looks at Damian.] It's no wonder you look up to him so much.
[Though hearing all of this means the world to Izuku, he can tell that being able to talk about Batman means something to Damian, too. He's glad that he asked, even if this conversation's thrown some of his world views into question.]
[His head tips enough that it's apparent he's glancing down, lips set in a line, brows drawn. He's not sure what to say, and he doesn't want to acknowledge the last part, or obviously that means it'll be true.]
The others are... [Like Batman, he's not sure how to describe them to someone who doesn't know.] Nightwing is the most annoying, overbearing idiot in the world. His jokes are dry and ridiculous, and you shouldn't ever hear any of them. He's a very skilled acrobat, among other things. [He doesn't think it's safe, even here, to mention they all use to be Robins. Not yet.] He's... also caring. About people.
Red Robin is a toad that should be in a swamp with Red Hood. [Hm. Even in his attempt to give astute descriptions, Damian's feelings are clear...] He's a liar and an idiot on a different level than Nightwing... but he's skilled with technology, and sometimes, his plans are logical.
Batwoman is capable. She's good at what she does, and she's not stupid like some of the others, even if she can be a little brash. She knows the risks. Batgirl...
The current Batgirl is one of the most talented, humbling people I know to ever take up any of the other mantles in the Family. None of the rest could ever dream of amounting to her skill.
[Why would he be biased to a fellow ex-Assassin tool? SURELY NOT HIM. Damian Wayne, holding up Cassandra Cain flags.]
[Wow, Damian, tell us how you really feel?? There's so much in Damian's descriptions of the other heroes that Izuku has to take a moment to just let it all sink in.]
Batman, Batwoman, Batgirl... Robin and Red Robin. [He murmurs those names to himself.] It sounds like there's a naming theme going on in here, especially for the first three.
That last one, though. Batgirl. It sounds like you really respect her. [Even if Izuku hasn't known Damian for very long, he has a feeling that level of praise is rare for him.] She must be amazing. What does she specialize in? [Since Damian had mentioned technology before.]
oh... i janked my timelines bc comics are suffering rip me
[There's a whole mess of other things he could tell Izuku, but it'd just complicate everything, and he thinks, right now, they aren't important. Like Stephanie Brown. Like Barbara Gordon. Like Duke Thomas. Like Jason Todd.] She...
[He looks away, not in embarrassment necessarily, but in uncertainty. It's not the time or his place to talk about Cassandra. And yet, he doesn't want her legend to be unheard. She deserves better than that.] She goes by Orphan. She had the same training I did.
Some people thought they could use her as a tool, but she proved them wrong. She's an expert at stealth and combat. She could win a hand-to-hand fight against Batman.
Orphan... [Izuku's eager expression flickers again.] That kind of name sounds lonely. [He wonders if she had something to prove when she chose it, the way he did when he stuck with "Deku" in the end.]
So she's skilled enough to best a pro like Batman--that's really impressive! And...I'm glad for her, that she isn't letting anyone use her like that.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Superman, for example, is Kryptonian. Raven is Azarathian. Wonder Woman is a demigod. [He crosses his arms.] None of that has any bearing on whether someone is a "hero" or not.
Batman and I are from Earth. Nightwing, Red Robin, Batwoman, Batgirl. None of us have powers. Powers just get in the way.
no subject
Ours used to be like that, with just a handful of people with quirks being born. But now... about 80% of the world's population has a power of some kind.
Being quirkless...it makes you stand out. [Not in a good way. Izuku's voice gets even quieter.] If you don't have a quirk, then you're... [Useless. Though Izuku bites the word back, it's clear what he was going to say anyway. It's the word he heard thrown at him more times than he cares to remember since he came back from the doctor's with his quirkless diagnosis as a kid.]
Anyway... [Izuku turns his gaze away.] There's nothing that says quirkless people can't try to take the licensing exam, but with the way things are, no school is going to take someone that doesn't have a quirk for their heroics course in the first place.
no subject
Izuku reacted very differently than Kirishima, and it isn't because they have different personalities. They're actually different kinds of people.] So it is true. The licenses keep people without quirks from being heroes. The whole system has been set up in favor of those with powers, excluding chances for the ones without.
I've never heard anything more stupid in my life. Offering a school for those with powers is one thing, but barring the powerless from doing what they can to protect the well-being of the world is idiocy. The schooling shouldn't mandate the acquisition of a license.
Regardless, implementing an official database of heroes is foolish. If anyone acquired that information, it could be used against everyone calling themselves heroes.
no subject
You're...not wrong. [It's painful, getting the words out.] The system is really skewed to favor people with quirks.
[He knows that. There are probably other quirkless kids like him who grew up being bullied and told they weren't worth anything because of something they couldn't help. And they won't be as lucky as he is, with the way he'd caught All Might's attention and gotten a second chance at what he wanted.]
no subject
You're one of them, aren't you? One of the people without a quirk.
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That's... not exactly right. [Izuku raises a hand and activates his quirk, green energy sparking over his skin. Then, he lets it go, staring down at the table for a long moment.
He shouldn't be talking about any of this when he's just met Damian barely a few days ago. And yet... here Damian is, putting into the words some of the very things Izuku had wondered as he grew up. Surely, there could still be a way to become a hero even without a quirk? Surely, there was a way that even a quirkless nobody like him could still help? Those were just a few thoughts he'd had when he was younger, until the repeated bullying and taunts from his classmates had almost stamped his dreams out.]
My quirk came in really late. Usually quirks begin manifesting before you're four. I got mine when I was fifteen. [Izuku finally says. It's what he'd told his own mother, in any case, and why try to make the excuse any more complicated than it needs to be?] So I guess even if I have one now...I know how it feels to be quirkless.
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Furthermore...] Your world's system of heralding those with powers is still ridiculous.
[He looks away with his head, glancing out over the library.] I had powers once, too. For a short period.
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Damian's next words have him looking up in surprise, though.] You did? [Wait..."for a short while"?] How did ou lose them?
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I could fly, had superhuman strength. That sort of thing. The powers didn't last, but it doesn't matter to me. I'm capable without them. If you aren't able to do what you do without your powers, then you don't deserve them.
Powers aren't what help you do what's right.
no subject
That's... the opposite of what I've been told for years. [Your quirk defines you. The more powerful and flashy the better. And if you didn't have a quirk at all, then you amounted to nothing. That's the way it's always been.]
no subject
Going out to do this line of work untrained is foolish at best, but letting that stop you from getting stronger and better is worse than failure. [On one hand, he doesn’t think anyone else can do it. On the other, people who don’t try piss him off.] You don’t need special abilities to know when it’s right to save someone, or to help them.
You don’t need a special certificate or special schooling, only the will and the training. Use your mind instead of relying on some overpowered gimmick. Think smarter than the bad guys. That’s all you need to be stronger than anyone else, even more than physical skill:
Your intellect.
no subject
...my intellect... [He echoes, pressing a thumb into his bottom lip in thought. From the way he says it, it's like he's never really had anyone tell him that is a strength, even if he's considered it before. He thinks back to all the notebooks of information he's compiled over the years.] It...it's true, I did think that analyzing everyone's quirks and finding strengths and weaknesses would be helpful before. Back...before I got my quirk... the other kids always made fun of me for doing it, though.
[And yet, here's someone who works as a hero saying that it's exactly what he should have focused on. One thing's for sure... through all this, Izuku's slowly been filled with the burning need to know more about Damian and the other quirkless heroes he mentioned.]
Robin... [Izuku hesitates, the bashful sort of look very different from the excitement and quiet melancholy from before.] Can you tell me about you and Batman? And the others you mentioned earlier. The...the ones without quirks. I'd...like to hear about them.
[His reason for asking is obvious, even if he doesn't say it.]
no subject
[He's never had very many opportunities to candidly talk about his father--well, or Batman. Now that he has the chance, he isn't sure what to say. He's nervous. He doesn't want to tarnish Batman's haunting image, but he also doesn't want that image to scare Izuku. Batman strikes fear in criminals, not civilians.] Batman fights for those who can't fight for themselves. It's not about getting rid of the toughest criminal, or about fighting the hardest battle.
It's about the people he helps.
Every criminal in Gotham fears his name. You can't hide from him. He will always find you. Your life of incarcerated reform begins the moment you decide to take advantage of others. He doesn't have any powers. [He has money, but listen.] He has an arsenal, and he has his intelligence.
There's one thing Batman never does, and that's kill. Not even the criminals. [Much to Damian's disapproval. It had taken him some time to not only accept this, but strive to follow it.] He knows they can be helped, too. The most hideous of evils, the most terrible of masterminds; he won't kill them because killing them means he'll be no better than they are.
[There's a long pause. Damian's lips aren't frowning, but he isn't smiling exactly.]
He's one of the greatest men I've ever known.
no subject
He sounds like an amazing hero. [Izuku says softly, a small, but genuine smile on his face as he looks at Damian.] It's no wonder you look up to him so much.
[Though hearing all of this means the world to Izuku, he can tell that being able to talk about Batman means something to Damian, too. He's glad that he asked, even if this conversation's thrown some of his world views into question.]
no subject
The others are... [Like Batman, he's not sure how to describe them to someone who doesn't know.] Nightwing is the most annoying, overbearing idiot in the world. His jokes are dry and ridiculous, and you shouldn't ever hear any of them. He's a very skilled acrobat, among other things. [He doesn't think it's safe, even here, to mention they all use to be Robins. Not yet.] He's... also caring. About people.
Red Robin is a toad that should be in a swamp with Red Hood. [Hm. Even in his attempt to give astute descriptions, Damian's feelings are clear...] He's a liar and an idiot on a different level than Nightwing... but he's skilled with technology, and sometimes, his plans are logical.
Batwoman is capable. She's good at what she does, and she's not stupid like some of the others, even if she can be a little brash. She knows the risks. Batgirl...
The current Batgirl is one of the most talented, humbling people I know to ever take up any of the other mantles in the Family. None of the rest could ever dream of amounting to her skill.
[Why would he be biased to a fellow ex-Assassin tool? SURELY NOT HIM. Damian Wayne, holding up Cassandra Cain flags.]
no subject
Batman, Batwoman, Batgirl... Robin and Red Robin. [He murmurs those names to himself.] It sounds like there's a naming theme going on in here, especially for the first three.
That last one, though. Batgirl. It sounds like you really respect her. [Even if Izuku hasn't known Damian for very long, he has a feeling that level of praise is rare for him.] She must be amazing. What does she specialize in? [Since Damian had mentioned technology before.]
oh... i janked my timelines bc comics are suffering rip me
[He looks away, not in embarrassment necessarily, but in uncertainty. It's not the time or his place to talk about Cassandra. And yet, he doesn't want her legend to be unheard. She deserves better than that.] She goes by Orphan. She had the same training I did.
Some people thought they could use her as a tool, but she proved them wrong. She's an expert at stealth and combat. She could win a hand-to-hand fight against Batman.
ah... comics
So she's skilled enough to best a pro like Batman--that's really impressive! And...I'm glad for her, that she isn't letting anyone use her like that.