The next morning, Izuku woke up in his bed, laying on his stomach with a blanket carefully tucked around him. The blanket was soft, and not at all annoying on his wings like he would have assumed it would be.

That was when Izuku felt like he had been punched in the face.

Wings.

Izuku had a quirk. That was the only explanation to the new limbs on his back. Right? He was just a late bloomer. But then what about his pinky toe? It had two joints. It was physically impossible for him to have a quirk. But there was no other way to explain them. Quirks were the only powers a person could have.

His thoughts were interrupted by his father opening his bedroom door to see him pacing the length of his room as he thought. When had he begun doing that?

"Oh, good, you're awake. There are some people here to see you. They said they have an explanation for your new, er, abilities." He explained, gesturing vaguely towards Izuku's new wings that just barely didn't touch the ground behind him.

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute." His father nodded in response as he left, closing the door behind him.

Izuku quickly grabbed a pair of scissors from his drawer and cut off the shirt that had been torn when his wings had exploded from his back the night before. Izuku winced at the memory of what else had happened that night before turning back to his closet and picking out an old shirt that he didn't really care about much.

He cut out a good chunk of the back in a circular shape, leaving the top and bottom connected before snipping the bottom, creating two pieces. connected only at the top. Izuku then pulled the shirt over his head and tied the bottom together beneath the wings. It wasn't the best solution, but it would do for now. Better than not wearing a shirt at all.

As he made his way downstairs, Izuku could hear what sounded like an older man talking. Deciding now was as good a time as any to interrupt, he walked into the kitchen where they were all sat down.

There were two men Izuku didn't recognize sitting across from his father. One was bald and sitting in a wheelchair that looked more expensive than everything Izuku owned combined. The other had his arms crossed across his chest. Even sitting, Izuku could tell he wasn't very tall, but the scowl on the man's face told him he really shouldn't comment on it.

"Hi," Izuku waved awkwardly as all attention was now on him. "Um, I'm Midoriya Izuku, er, uh, actually, Izuku Midoriya. Right?" He looked to his father for help, and the man just nodded with a chuckle. Three years and he could still barely introduce himself.

"Hello, Izuku. My name is Professor Charles Xavier. This is my associate, Logan." The bald one greeted, gesturing to himself and his friend. "Please, sit. We're here to talk about your powers."

The casualness that he spoke with made Izuku reel. These things that would forever be connected to a traumatic incident and he was talking about them as if they were morning news on the television.

Izuku sat.

"So, you were diagnosed quirkless at six before moving here just a bit later, right?" The man asked.

Izuku held back the urge to say "Moving is a nice way to put it" as he nodded.

"Yet, you have wings that have appeared last night." Izuku nodded again, despite it not being a question. "While it is more rare than gaining a quirk, some people have a different genetic mutation called the X-Gene. Instead of these powers appearing around four years old, these usually appear around puberty or due to a traumatic or stressful situation. Some will even appear before or right after birth."

"But that just sounds like a quirk, just later in life." Izuku commented once the professor had stopped talking. "What makes it so different?"

The smile on the man's face made Izuku wonder if he should have asked in the first place.

"Ah, on the outside it may not seem like much of a difference, but any attempt to stop, enhance, or copy a quirk will be ineffective on a mutation and vice versa due to their different genetic makeup. They are different on a genetic level."

"So why don't they teach about mutations in school like they do quirks?"

"Well, the gene for a quirk is dominant to the mutant X-Gene, so only 'quirkless' people who also have the X-Gene are technically mutants. Even if someone with the quirk gene also has the X-Gene, their mutation will never come to fruition."

Izuku thought for a moment. The explanation made sense, but there were still a few things that were unexplained.

"How did you know I'm a mutant, and why come here to tell me? Why not just let me live the rest of my life believing I was a late bloomer. Maybe an exception to the one-jointed-pinky-toe rule, but a late bloomer all the same."

"Izuku!" His father admonished, turning to look at his son.

"It's fine Mr. Midoriya. He's a curious young man. That's not a bad thing." Charles turned to Izuku as he explained. "At our base, we have a machine called Cerebro. Now, my mutation is a telepathy one. I can read minds and project my own thoughts into other people's heads. The Cerebro utilizes my mutation and allows me to search the entire world for new mutants. Since they are so rare nowadays, we like to know that they are safe and understand their situation.

"As for why we came to you, we have a proposal. You are welcome to turn it down at any time and come back home, but I run a school in North Salem specifically for mutants. Should you accept, you would live at the school and have access to training grounds to train your mutation when you are not in class. There is no charge for the schooling or housing, we only hope to assist you in mastering you mutation. We even offer a hero class that will eventually allow you to take the Pro Hero Licensing Exam and become a hero."

Izuku's mind was spinning. All of the memories of wanting so badly to be a hero came rushing back to Izuku's mind. He could be a hero. He had a power, and he could be a hero.

He turned to his father, who seemed to be looking through the pamphlet that they had brought with them. He looked up at his son, who was looking at him with something in his eyes. Hisashi couldn't quite place what it was, though.

"Izuku, this is a good school. And you haven't had nearly as much time as the other kids to master your power, so if you can go to a school that can really help you with that," He paused, seeming to contemplate something first, "But it's your choice. I won't force you to go anywhere you don't want to."

Izuku's mind flashed back to his mother hugging him on the plane, apologizing for something that wasn't either of their faults.

"Okay," Izuku finally said, his voice quieter than he expected, "I'll go to the school."

Charles smiled as he explained everything to Izuku.

"Welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. You can come visit your father during the breaks. If you ever want to leave for good, you are free to do so. We can come back next week on Tuesday if that's good with you." He turned to Hisashi for the last part as they talked technicalities.

Izuku made his way out of the dining room, not really understanding what they were talking about anyway.

"Congrats, kid." A gruff voice came from behind him. Izuku turned to see the shorter man from earlier who had not said anything.

"For what?"

"Your powers. I spent some time in Japan a few years ago. 'Quirkless' people aren't exactly treated the best. over there."

"Thanks. Uh, what's your qui- mutation?" Izuku asked, hoping he wasn't sounding rude.

Logan lifted up his fist, and Izuku heard a shink sound as three long, metal claws came from between his knuckles. Izuku just stared before reaching to touch. He lifted a hand before looking at Logan in question. He just nodded, and Izuku reached forward and ran a finger along one of the claws.

"That's so cool," He finally said after a moment before running off, calling behind him; "Stay there, I'll be right back."

Izuku ran upstairs into his room and grabbed his newest notebook. His friends at school had been glad to explain their quirks when he asked about it, some even asking if they could have an entry in his notebooks. It was such a strange and foreign concept to Izuku that it had thrown him through a loop at first.

He ran back down the stairs to see Logan in the same spot he left him in, a little smile on his face.

The man easily answered all of his questions (after Izuku realized he should shy away from any having to do with his origin) before he and Charles had to leave to get back to school. Izuku had a feeling he would like it at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

---

Whew, this is a nice, long chapter. Hope you enjoyed meeting the first of many X-Men.

Also, I read the entirety of both the Mutant Biology and Mutant Genes wiki articles, and I used nothing in them that I couldn't have just bullshit myself, so you're welcome.