The Nature of Quirks, a My Hero Academia crossover (Ch 1)

Hi. Do y'all remember NoP Superheroes by u/ImaginationSea3679? It gave me the idea of a MHA crossover that's been living in my head rent free ever since. For a while, I waited for someone else to magically read my mind and write my idea for me, but that didn't seem to work, so I guess I have to write it myself. I've never done this before so I'm totally open to feedback. Just keep your criticism constructive and all that jazz.

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Memory transcription subject: UN Secretary-General Elias Meier

Date [standardized human time]: July 10, 2136

I stood proudly behind the podium, addressing the crowd.

“It has been said that were it not for Quirks, humanity would be vacationing on Mars by now. But it is through the power of Quirks today that humanity will travel beyond what we ever dreamed possible.” I gestured toward the astronauts behind me. “These four brave explorers are about to go where no human has gone before. It is my honor to see them off on humanity’s maiden voyage among the stars. I would like to give a special acknowledgment to our heroes here. Without the scientific innovations made from studying their Quirks, the whole Odyssey project would not have been possible.”

As the audience applauded, I glanced at the two heroes behind me. Warpstar sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, and I couldn’t help but smile. I knew better than to stereotype mutants based on their appearance, but it was just too perfect that the Space Hero, who looked like a walleyed grey alien, was going to space. Quanta downed an energy drink and pumped her fist in the air, her antenna crackling with energy. Even during a celebratory moment like this, the Caffeine Hero couldn’t help but do a product placement. Ever the businesswoman, I supposed.

I waited for the audience to quiet down before continuing, unable to keep the sentimentality out of my voice. “A few decades ago, heroes of their caliber would have been swamped with villain subjugation and disaster response. This collaboration between heroes and scientists embodies how far we have come as a society.”

The turn of the century had been a tumultuous time for humanity. The rise and fall of All For One in Japan triggered villainous riots across the globe, as the public image of heroes was tarnished and individuals who’d fallen through the cracks of society seized the opportunity for revenge.

Though heroes managed to subdue each uprising, it was the social reforms, spearheaded by the UN, that truly brought an end to the villain wars. With easy access to counseling and quirk support, disgruntled villains who felt betrayed by society were at an all-time low. The wicked would always exist, but heroes had a much better time handling the villains that remained, freeing them up for other endeavors like the Odyssey program.

“I dream of a better future for humanity, one where all peoples stand united, regardless of nationality, appearance, or ability. This voyage is a step towards that dream.”

I turned and met the eyes of the four astronauts. “Dr. Williams, Dr. Rosario, Warpstar, Quanta, are you ready to embark on this journey in the name of science? In the name of humanity?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then go do us proud. And if there really is life out there among the stars, let’s show them what humanity is all about!”

The crowd cheered as the Odyssey’s crew boarded. My final words said more to them than the onlookers realized. Unlike the general public, the astronauts knew about the corpses in the UN’s vaults. Life existed out there somewhere. It was time for humanity to say hello.

Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: July 12, 2136

A panicked security officer burst through the doors, interrupting General Kam’s report on the status of our defense forces after the recent Arxur incursion.

“Governor Tarva! An unknown vessel just exited hyperspace in the upper atmosphere!”

Kam and I shared a glance. The officer wasn’t frightened enough for this to be the Arxur. If anything, he looked frazzled and confused. Kam spoke up first. “An unknown vessel? We should have schematics of all Federation ship models. Are you sure you didn’t just miss an identifier?”

The officer took a moment to compose himself. “We checked thoroughly, Sir. It doesn’t match any known Federation vessel, and it’s too different to be an updated version of existing models. The subspace trails lead to the edge of the solar system, but taper off from there. The vessel must have been in the system for a day at least, maybe longer. We’d need in situ subspace readings to trace its route at this point.”

Now that was strange. What was a mysterious ship doing in our system? Could this be an uncontacted species that developed FTL? If so, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The thought made me a bit excited. I flicked my ear for the officer’s attention. “Send them a transmission. I want to personally speak with the incoming ship. This could be an experiment from someone else in the Federation but… I have a feeling this might be a new species. They must be very capable to have discovered FTL on their own. People like that could be powerful allies in the war against the Arxur.”

“Now hold on,” Kam objected. “We don’t know anything about these people yet. What if they’re hostile? Don’t you think we should be a bit more cautious, given how depleted our local defenses are?”

“The ship has possibly been here for days, Kam. They’re certainly not Arxur, or they would’ve already attacked. Besides, there’s no way a predator race discovered FTL. These people could be our chance to turn the tide in this war. That is a risk I’m willing to take.”

Kam looked skeptical, but he relented with a swish of his tail. I dismissed the security officer and readied myself as the hail was sent out. The ship quickly answered our transmission, but I was woefully unprepared for the visage that appeared before me.

A human appeared on the screen, baring its teeth in a vicious snarl. I recoiled in my chair, nearly toppling over. Kam didn’t move, but I could hear his breath quicken. The humans were supposed to be dead. Why are they here now?

The predator uttered some words in a guttural language, and I waited for the translator to announce its threats.

“Hello. We come in peace, on behalf of the human race.”

I forgot my fear for a moment. “Peace? Why would you want peace?”

The predator closed its maw and tilted its head, as though it didn’t expect that response. “Why wouldn’t we? Our scientists have long suspected that we were not alone in the universe. We’ve always dreamt of finding friends among the stars.”

“You expect us to believe you want friendship? You can’t even keep the snarl off your face, predator!” Kam interjected.

“What? I don’t…” it trailed off, as though something occurred to it. “You mean the ‘smile’, don’t you? I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, really. That’s just how humans express happiness and good will. Our lips curve up and...” It rubbed its forehead with a soft appendage. “Can we start over? I’m Noah. We’re here on a mission of peaceful exploration.”

Noah really expected us to believe that flashing teeth was meant as a friendly gesture?! Then again, if our readings were correct, the predator had been watching us for some time now. It hadn’t attacked us yet, so what choice did we have but to play along?

I gazed into those animal eyes and tried to keep my voice steady. “I’m Governor Tarva. Welcome to Venlil Prime.”

“Thanks,” the human said, before glancing off-screen. “Oh, I should probably introduce you to my crewmates. They’re quite eager to say hi.”

The thought of seeing more predators sent shivers down my spine, but I remained silent as Noah pivoted the camera to reveal two humans and a being I had never seen before. “This is Sara, Catherine, and Roswell.” The beings each waved an appendage in turn, but I was distracted by the new creature. It—they had grey, hairless skin, a large scalp, and all-black side-facing eyes that contrasted sharply with the beady forward-facing eyes of the predators. I gulped. There was an uncontacted species after all. Did they make the same mistake we did with the Arxur? Had the humans fully enslaved them? Were we next?

‘Sara’ spoke first. “Hey, nice to meet you. Noah’s a big talker, so we let him handle introductions. Catherine here likes to run her mouth more than any of us, but she’s stuck on transmission duty.” She nudged the human next to her, whom I just now noticed had metallic antennas attached to her head crackling with some sort of energy. Wires wrapped around her headgear and fed into the console in front of her.

Catherine grunted in a way that my translator insisted was a chuckle. “What can I say, I’ve got a beautiful voice. I should thank you though, Governor. Your translation matrix made my job a lot easier.” She poked the grey being next to her, causing them to flinch back. I could only imagine how frightened they must be, held captive by three predators.

“Yo Roswell, you’ve gotta say something man. I know for a fact that you’re more excited about this than any of us.”

Roswell imitated the humans’ ‘smile’ and rubbed the back of his head. “Haha, I mean, I guess so.” He turned to me. “Hi, I’m Roswell, er… I guess you already know that. It’s an honor to meet you, Governor Tarva. I’ve, um, I’ve dreamed about meeting aliens for my whole life, honestly it still feels like I’m dreaming.” He paused awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I swear I’m usually better at talking than this. I thought this would be like talking with other humans, but it’s not, and I feel really out of my depth. Sorry.”

Roswell’s words agitated Kam, despite his fear. “Did you say other humans? Do you honestly consider yourself one of them?”

The grey alien seemed at a loss for words. The antennaed human spoke instead. “Right. Obviously you’re confused by that. Roswell’s human like the rest of us. He just has a mutation that makes him look like…” she waved her hand in his direction, “that.”

The utter ridiculousness of her claim momentarily snapped me out of my fear. A mutation that extreme was unheard of in the Federation. It went against the laws of science. Why would the predators lie about this? Would they brainwash us into believing we were mutated humans? My fear returned with that thought, and I tried to calm myself with deep breaths. At least they weren’t annihilating us like Arxur. Maybe we could convince them that we were similar enough to be left alone.

“What would you say to seeing Venlil Prime firsthand? As esteemed guests of the Republic, of course.”

Roswell perked up, his dark eyes glimmering. Noah replied from off-camera, “It would be an honor.”

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