The Green Spider - PrinceRiolu - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1: Along Came a Spider

Chapter Text

It began on another sunny day, a fourteen year old Izuku Midoriya now leaving a comic book shop. He glanced down at the issue he had just bought, a slight yawn trying to come out of his mouth. "Man...All Might is so cool. I wish I could meet him." He whispered, only for his phone to vibrate. Taking it out of his pocket, he saw it was his own invention, the Midoriya hero app. The program switched to show a certain news headline Izuku always loved to see: All Might.

ALL MIGHT DEFEATS SLUDGE VILLAIN! ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE SYMBOL OF PEACE!

"Wow...wish I could have seen that in person. But that's not in the cards for a Deku like me." Izuku commented as he tapped the phone, "App, give me all the details. I want to record them in my notebook tonight."

"Understood."the phone replied back, Izuku putting it away a second later.

To say Izuku Midoriya was a genius was an understatement. The app he just used was his newest invention, something he found he was born for. He found early on that he had the knack for inventing, finding he could easily take anything apart and rebuild it. He started with the television at his house when he was five and kept going for years, trying to make all sorts of support items for the future.

But despite all that, his love was for heroics. He adored heroes since he was small, even before that faithful day when he was four. There, he was told he was quirkless, a judgement that along with the doctor that day, many others also told him that he could not be a hero. And it was something he lived with every day now. For after that day, he had spent over a decade of constant torment and bullying.

"Guess that's that." Izuku then looked back at the comic in his other hand, "Well, at least I have this. Though what's a brain like mine good for if I can't be a hero?"

It wasn't long till the day ended, Izuku going home. As he walked inside, he found his mother, Inko Midoriya, already in the kitchen. The woman had a slight frown on his face, Izuku knowing she probably wanted to do another 'talk' on how he shouldn't try to be a hero, and just go into support. Despite this, he saw she was making katsudon, the teen taking it with a small frown. But as he began to eat, he was halfway done before just tapping the food with his chopsticks. The sight made Inko sigh, the woman slowly speaking up, "Izuku...what are you working on now? I know you wanted to make that support portfolio thing for UA."

"Yeah..." Izuku sighed as he took another bite. "I just...I wish I could do more."

"Izuku..." She put her hand on his shoulder, the boy slowly looking up at her. "I know you don't want to hear this, but...I think this will be better for you. You have a brilliant mind. Why, I remember when you were five...you took apart the television to see how it worked. Remember that?"

She let out a small giggle at this, only for Izuku to slowly get up. "I'm...gonna go to bed."

"Izuku-"

"Sorry mom." He interrupted, "I'm just...not feeling it today."

He then shoved the plate over the table and walked away, the sight making Inko sigh. "Oh Izuku...I just want you to be safe."

The teen soon closed the door to his room, his eyes slowly drifting up as he saw his room. Around the bed where piles of metal, gadgets and gizmos he had created. Along with that was a stack on notebooks, all filled with analyses over heroes he had made over the years, his other passion. But they weren't what he was proud of. It was the sights on the walls, posters of All Might, shelves of action figures of every hero he knew, and piles of comic books to the side of his bed that he loved. This sight would always make him smile, a big goofy grin on his face as he would read a few comics or play with his action figures. But not today. Instead, he just slugged over to his bed and flopped down, a small stream of tears appearing from his eyes.

"Why couldn't I've been born with a quirk? I'd give up this brain if I could just have a quirk..." He put his face into his pillow as tears started to stain the cloth, "I wanna be a hero..."

"You'll never be a hero!"

That was the roar of Katsuki Bakugo the next day as he used his quirk on Izuku's stomach. The teen cried out at this, only for the teen to slam a fist into Izuku's face. "Augh!" Izuku yelped as he hit the floor, tears pouring out of his eyes as two other boys started kicking the downed student.

"Yeah! You heard Bakugo, you useless Deku!"

"Loser! Loser!"

Katsuki leaned down in front of Izuku's face, growling at the teen, "You hear that, you quirkless loser? I told you to not apply to UA! You're looking down on me, aren't you?!"

"I never looked down on you Kacchan, I-"

"Shut up! You'll never be a hero! You're just a worthless pebble!" Katsuki then kicked Izuku in the stomach, making the teen squirm, only to reach down and grab a certain notebook that Izuku was clinging onto.

"Hey! Give that-blaugh!" Izuku cried as Katsuki kicked him in the face.

"Shut up loser." He spat before opening it up, "What's this? Blueprints for...heroics?!" He quickly closed the book and glared at Izuku, "Seriously?! I just told you that you can't be a hero, you useless Deku!"

"I'm not...gonna be...a hero...Kacchan." Izuku wheezed out, "I'm gonna...go into...support."

"Yeah right, you quirkless loser! No one is going to UA in this dump except me!" Katsuki growled before lighting his quirk up, the book instantly exploding.

"NO!" Izuku screamed, only for Katsuki to kick him in the face again.

"I said, shut up!" Katsuki roared before opening a nearby window and throwing the notebook's charred remains out of it. He then leaned down and grabbed Izuku's collar, a huge grin on his face, "Listen here loser, if you really wanna be a hero..." His grin grew wider as he said these next words, "Go take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life."

"You...Kacchan..." Izuku squirmed out, only for Katsuki to punch him in the face, "Blaugh!"

"Don't you dare call me that, Deku!" Katsuki spat as Izuku laid out on the floor, squirming as tears poured out of his eyes, "See?! You're just a worthless wimp. You'll never be a hero, so give up already and stay out of my origin story!"

With that, Katsuki spun around and left, the two boys that were always with him taking a second to kick Izuku again before running after the teen. And as Izuku laid out on the floor, he let out a wheeze of pain before a pair of shoes appeared in his line of sight. Looking up, he saw it was his homeroom teacher, a snarl on his face.

"Izuku...how many times do I have to tell you to stop laying on the hallway floor?! Get to class already!"

"Yes...sir..." Izuku coughed out, slowly getting up as the teacher walked away. He let out a sniff at this, another batch of tears going down his face, "Why...why me?"

The rest of the day was the usual for the boy, nothing but pain and misery. Even though he had the best grades in the class, the teachers always tried to go against him, all because he was quirkless. It was like this every day, every moment, especially since it had been announced the previous day he was applying to UA. Katsuki had run a fit at this, telling the class they were all beneath him, then giving Izuku yet another beating. This was followed by today, where Katsuki was extra mad, though Izuku couldn't really tell when Katsuki wasn't mad.

Despite this, the school day soon ended, and Izuku found himself having to purchase a new notebook. And as he walked out of the convenience store, he began to write in the book as he got on the train.'Well, at least I remember most of what I wrote down. I do have nine months for the support department portfolio, and I've already written out a few blueprints.'He rubbed his face as he began to do a sketch,'Hmmm...should I make a weapon? I know UA support prefers costume support, but maybe I could make something more logistical? What about a type of tracker or...'

His thoughts drifted as he wrote down a bunch of different things just as the train came to a stop. And as he walked out and back to his house, he couldn't help but think how pointless it was in the end. Despite everything he wanted, he was just settling for what he considered to be 'second best' with support.

'Eh, I'll figure something out. I got nine months after all.'

Nine months later, just 2 days till UA entrance exam starts...

Izuku was now staring at his desk in his room, four new fully written notebooks in front of him as he scanned over everything he had written out over the past nine months. Wads of papers were all over the floor, most in a small trashcan as he found himself going back and forth at the notebooks, staring at a few weapon blueprints he had made, only to shake his head. "No..." He whispered before looking down at his phone.

'The best invention I've made is on this thing, and I know that's not gonna be enough. All these portfolios are good, but this is UA! I'm running out of time! I just need a better idea. What if I-'

"Izuku!"

He was taken out of his thoughts at his mother's voice, the teen turning and yelling back, "Yes?"

"Could you take out the trash?"

"In a minute!" Izuku replied, only to glance back down at his desk. The sight made him flinch, only to sigh a second later.'Why me?! Why can't I figure this out?! Kacchan's right...I'm just a failure.'

A few moments later, the teen got up and gathered the paper in the floor, soon taking his wastebasket to the trashbag, only to walk out a minute later with it. And as he walked over to the dumpster by the apartment, the teen found himself in a haze as he walked. His mouth began to mumble as he tried to think about what he was missing.

"Maybe I should do a type of all-in-one gauntlet like my earlier design. Though that might be too much, though maybe I could make a type of phone with the gauntlet. I mean, it could connect to a hero's mask, and then I could use a type of protective fiber over it that makes sure the hero...the hero..."

His muttering stopped as he let out a long sigh. "Oh, who am I kidding? Even after all this, I still can't do it. I just want to be a hero. Maybe Kacchan is right. Maybe I should just take a swan dive-YEOW!"

He let out a scream as he felt a surge of pain from his wrist, soon slapping it with a single strike. And as he looked down at his hand, he gasped when he saw a now dead spider in his palm. He quickly shook it off, squirming for a second, only to blink as he saw the spider hit the pavement, its corpse bouncing till it showed its back. Izuku blinked at the sight, soon leaning down as he saw the numbers 42 on it.

"What the heck?!" He whispered as he slowly picked up the bug, squinting as he spun it around on his fingers, "42? Why does a spider have a...wha..." Izuku's words began to slur as he felt his legs feel like they were about to turn to jelly, the teen almost dropping the bug as his other hand grabbed his knee. "Whoa..."

He felt a bit of nausea in his throat, his vision blurring as the pavement below multiplied and spun around for a second. Izuku closed his eyes at this, his legs still shaking as he started taking deep breaths. 'What...is...happening? Head...feels...funny. Did I...just get...poisoned?'

And after what felt like hours, the world stopped spinning on Izuku. He opened his eyes and saw that everything was fine. Rapidly blinking at this, he put the dead spider in his pocket, grabbed the trashbag and threw it into the dumpster, and quickly ran back into his room. His mother called out to him, but it fell on deaf ears as Izuku put the spider on his desk and then pulled up his laptop. 'Gotta find out what this spider is. I don't wanna die to a spider bite of all-'

"AUGH!" Izuku yelped as he clutched his head, "What now?!"

A burning sensation slammed into his head, the teen now rubbing the sides of his cranium. He semi-closed his eyes before glancing over at the spider, only for his head to hit the keyboard, his hand smacking the desk before pushing the spider under some paper as his eyes closed.

"Wha..." was all he could mutter out before he felt himself shut down, sleep taking over as he tried to move.

A long yawn escaped Izuku's breath as he felt his hands lift out of his bed's covers. His eyes slowly opening, he found himself staring at the ceiling, the sight feeling slightly zoomed in for him. But this was ignored as he felt a certain stiffness in his shoulders. 'When did I fall asleep?' he thought, 'What was I-'

"Izuku?" a voice called out as the door to his room opened. He glanced over to it and saw his mother walk in. "Oh, thank goodness."

"Huh? Mom? What's wrong?"

Inko just shook her head at this, "I found you passed out on your desk and your face was burning. I thought for sure you had a fever."

"A fever?" Izuku repeated as he put a hand to his forehead, only to feel semi-warm skin.

"You don't have one now." Inko commented as she walked up to him. "You just...well, you were burning for a bit, and I couldn't wake you up. So, I put you in bed." She sat down on the bed and put a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay? Did you overwork yourself with the UA stuff?"

"No...I mean, I don't think I did." He said as he blinked at her, "I guess...I don't know. I think I'm fine now."

"Okay. Well, I want you to stay at home for today. I already called the school, especially since you slept in like that today."

"I slept in?" Izuku responded before turning to his room's clock, only to go wide-eyed as he saw it was almost noon. Inko giggled at the sight before patting his head.

"Just rest. There's some frozen dinners I picked up two days ago in the fridge. Just have that for lunch. I'm gonna go to my part-time job at the hospital, okay?"

"Okay..." Izuku slowly replied as his mom left the room, the boy shrinking back into his covers. And as she closed the door, he thought aloud, "What was that? What happened to...the spider!"

He quickly hopped out of the bed and over to his desk, quickly rustling through the papers until finding the dead bug under one of them. His eyes squinted at the sight as he picked it up again. "So...you didn't poison me, but you did something, didn't you? Alright, I'll examine you in a second."

He put the insect back onto his desk before getting up, walking into his bathroom. He was about to use the toilet, feeling the urge, only to stop in front of the mirror. He slowly turned to the reflective surface, only to see his arms...and they were muscular. "What the-" He looked down at his sleeves, seeing they were now constricted and tight, the teen quickly taking off his shirt. And the sight made him go wide-eyed.

Izuku was never an athletic child. He never really had muscles or much strength. However, now it looked like he had gone to the gym all his life. "I have...a six-pack?!" He yelped as he glanced back up at the mirror, now seeing the reflection of what he had just looked at. His eyes continued to grow as he felt down and patted the pecs, feeling every touch. "Whoa..."

He flexed his arms next, seeing the raw muscle now in them. He clenched his fist at this, feeling a surge of strength just in that one motion. It felt like he could do anything, as if he was now a one man army. "What happened to me?"

He then sat down on the toilet, doing his business as he began to think, 'How did this happen? Why do I have a six pack now? Why do I feel better than ever? What is going on?!' He got up a few moments later and began to wash his hands, but as he grabbed the handle and turned it...he found couldn't take his hand off it. "What the-" He began to pull at the handle, growling as he felt his hand stay stuck. "Stupid hand! Let go of-whoa!"

The teen let out a yelp as he let go, falling back as his hand suddenly stopped sticking to the sink handle. Izuku fumbled back before straightening up, growling as he stared at his hand, "What was that?!" He then went back to the sink and washed his hands, soon drying them and began to walk over to open the bathroom door...only to twist the handle, and the whole door broke off as he opened it. "WHOA!"

Izuku slowly looked down at the door handle, now seeing his hand was stuck to it before backing up at the now broken door. "What is..." his words drowned out as he felt his hand release from the door, Izuku quickly grabbing the door's sides and placing the door on the wall. And as he walked back into his room, his eyes instantly went back to the bug on his desk. "The spider..." He leaned down and poked the dead creature, the teen's eyes going wide as his brain finally caught up to everything that had happened this morning. "Did you...give me a quirk?!"

The next few hours were the busiest in Izuku's life. Ecstatic at what had just happened to him, he quickly began to figure out all he could do. For starters, he found he had immense strength, able to lift up the house's washer and dryer with one hand. He found he was quicker, and his hands and feet would now stick to things as he tried to climb up his room's wall...only to slightly tear off a bit of the ceiling with his fingers. This was followed by him looking up what spiders could do, which was followed by him taking out some old support equipment he had made, as he knew he had to examine every bit of what the spider was, and what it did to him.

"Glad I made this." he mumbled to himself as he pulled out a small folding microscope/scanner. He had made it for crime scenes, trying to make a portable medical scanner of sorts, which was supposed to connect to police computers, though he never really got to test it. Now, he took a small needle and pricked himself, putting the blood on a small piece of glass. But as he did this, he saw the little prick he did instantly heal up, the blood not even dripping off his finger. He blinked at this, only to tell himself that was another thing to look into before staring down the scope, his eyes quickly going wide.

The blood in the sample looked as if he had evolved, its structure no longer fluid, but in a state of constant flux. The sight baffled him before he plugged up the scope to his computer, soon examining the blood on a full screen. He then put the spider in the microscope, trying to find anything on it.

But the spider had nothing. It was if the spider had given Izuku everything and was now an empty husk. Seeing this, he took out a small bottle and put the spider in it, sighing as he put a lid on the container. This was followed by Izuku doing a scan of his own blood, soon going over what data his little machine could give him.

"Hmmm...so it looks like I have enhanced strength, I can stick to other surfaces, and I seem to have some kind of healing factor. Though, this sample is so strange. According to this, it should have also affected my nerves and brain-" He stopped as he then felt a tingle in his head, his ears ringing as he heard a small buzzing noise. His arm suddenly jerked at this, only to feel something now between his fingers. Squinting at it, he saw he had perfectly grabbed a fly's wings, the bug still alive. "Whoa..."

He let go of the fly, the bug flying off as he sat back down. He stared at his hand, flexing the fingers for a bit. 'Guess that answers that. I guess I have some kind of...radar sense? Still, how did this spider do this to me?' He then looked back at his computer, only to see something more to the data onscreen. 'It also says I have something with my skin, along with a type of...energy inside me? What is that?!'

He glanced back at the bug, slowly whispering, "What are you?" He then looked back at his hands, feeling the tense power inside them now, "Then again...I just got what I always wanted. A quirk." He glanced up at the screen, "Multiple quirks...or is it a mutation quirk? Might be that."

He slowly got off his chair, staring back down at the bottle containing the spider. "Thank you." He whispered before a grin shined on his face, "I have a quirk...I HAVE A QUIRK!" He exclaimed, thrusting his arms into the air. And as he said this, he then looked back down at all his notebooks, stars in his eyes. "I gotta tell mom! I gotta try the hero exam!"

And as he said those words, only one thought went through his head.

'I can be a hero!'

Chapter 2: Just a Failure

Chapter Text

"No."

Izuku's face fell as he heard this before exclaiming, "What?! But mom, look at what all I can do now!"

"I see that." Inko replied, only to point to his room, "And I can see the damage you did in the house since we now have to replace your bathroom door and figure out what to do about your room's ceiling." Izuku grimaced at this, opening his mouth to counter her, but his mom just put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Izuku...I am happy for you, but you just got these powers. Do you really want to go in with no control over them, or do the support exam you know you can pass?"

"But...I...well..." Izuku stuttered out, glancing down at his hands before sighing, "I mean...I know I can pass, but..." He looked back up at her, tears flowing down his eyes, "I want to be a hero, mom! I-I-I don't want to be a failure anymore!"

"Izuku! You are not a failure!"

"I AM!" Izuku screamed back, "All I do is fail, and its all because I don't have a quirk! Now I do, and you want me to not use it?!"

Inko flinched at his uproar, the boy rarely raising his voice, only to sigh as she gripped his shoulders, "Izuku...I know you want to be a hero. You've wanted it all your life, and...and..." his mother stared at him straight in the eyes, "And you could do it with this...spider quirk. But the exam is tomorrow, Izuku. You remember telling me about the UA sports festival? How general education students can use that to get in the hero classes?" Izuku nodded back. "Support students do the festival too. Why don't you use that to get into heroics, alright? That was your plan, remember?"

"I...but I..." He tried to speak, but the big frown on his mother's face drowned out everything. Instead, he just let out a sigh and nodded, "Okay."

"Good. Now, I know this is hard, but you can be hero Izuku. You just...have to go a different path for it. Besides, the spider quirk will help you get there, but you...you can't just jump into this. You need to figure out your quirk first, and you can do that while at UA."

"I know..." Izuku muttered, staring back down at his hands, "I...I need to figure everything out."

'I have a quirk.' He clenched his hands into fists at this, a lone tear going down his face, 'I'm no longer quirkless right when the UA exam starts. Figures in my life, huh? Just...too little, too late for me.'

Sleep did not come easy for the teen. Izuku's brain couldn't stop thinking about his new quirk. It was his second day with it after all, and he wanted to spend every waking moment trying it out. Instead, he had to go take an exam at UA, something that also excited him, but nowhere near as much as his new quirk.

Despite this, Izuku woke up bright and early that faithful day, his mom quickly helping him get ready as she began to mumble out questions, "Do you have everything? Do you have all your supplies and your portfolio and your-"

"I got it all mom. I promise I'm ready." Izuku replied as he put away all his notes into his backpack. He then glanced back up at her, a small smile on his face, "Wish me luck, okay?"

"I will. I'm just...worried about you." She put a hand on his shoulder, "Remember Izuku, just focus on today. You can figure out the whole 'spider quirk' thing after this, alright?"

"I...yeah." Izuku sighed as he put the backpack on his back, "I know." He then hugged her, Inko embracing him back, "Thanks mom."

"I love you Izuku. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." Izuku repeated, soon spinning around and walking out of the house. He waved back at her, Inko telling him she loved him one more time before he ran for the train. It was here he felt his new body speed himself up, quickly racing down the street like a bullet. Despite this, he found himself able to slow down just as he got to the station, soon hopping on before going straight for the school.

And as he rode the train, his mind was on one thing: His new quirk. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about it, but even the exam was in the back of his brain. He soon put his head in his hands, telling himself to think about the exam and review his notes, only to put his hands on the train's seat. They began to stick at this, making him jerk before slowly taking them off. 'I gotta get a handle on this. Don't want that to interfere with the exam.'

UA. The greatest hero school in the world was in the front of Izuku. The very sight made the teen feel like he was two inches tall, the size of the place alone making Izuku want to puke. His nerves made his whole body shake like a leaf, worry pouring over his face as he slowly walked up to the school.

'You can do this Izuku. You can do this. You're not a failure. You're not a Deku. You have a quirk now and you're gonna go pass the support exam and become a hero...by doing the festival.'He put a hand to his head as he felt his thoughts start to jumble up. "Get a hold of yourself Izuku..."

He began to walk up to the school, his feet slowly dragging on the sidewalk before he felt a tingle in his head.

Danger!

Izuku came to a stop, the teen glancing down as he saw his feet were about to trip on the sidewalk. He slowly lifted up his foot, making sure he didn't fall before continuing his walk. 'That was close. This new radar sense is nice...but its a lame name. Maybe I should call it something else. Like maybe...Spider Sense? That has a good ring to it.'

It was here that he saw he was already standing in front of the support exam room. He blinked at the sight, shaking his head before finding a seat. As he sat down, he rubbed his forehead as he thought, 'Gotta stop thinking about my new quirk. You gotta pass the exam Izuku, you have to-'

"Hello everyone." A voice made Izuku look up and see the support hero, Power Loader. The sight made stars appear in his eyes, his jaw slightly dropping.

"Its Power Loader...so cool!" He mumbled to himself, "He's one of the few heroes that has both a hero and support license! I heard he's-"

"Hey!" snapped a voice, startling Izuku. He turned to see a boy glaring at him, "Stop muttering. We need to hear what he's saying for the exam!"

"S-s-s-sorry." Izuku whispered before looking back at the Pro Hero. He grit his teeth, trying not to speak as Power Loader gestured to the desks in front of everyone. Everyone quickly sat down at this, Izuku's mind going back as he hunched over in his seat, 'Oh, why did this have to happen now? I wanna do more tests on my quirk. Just how much can I lift? Maybe I can-no!' He smacked the sides of his head with his hands, his eyes just now looking back up at Power Loader, 'Concentrate Izuku! You gotta pass this test!'

"Okay everyone, we're starting with the written exam. As you can probably guess, your exams will be slightly different from the other divisions. This one will be more support oriented, though it will still have the normal stuff like heroics and business will be doing. It'll also be three hours, and after that is the practical exam, so get ready for a long day. Now, any questions before start?" A hand shot up instantly at this, "Yes?"

A girl with pink hair in front of Izuku stood up at this, "Yes! Will we get full access to all the tools here at UA for the practical?! I already have too many ideas! I wanna make a super baby right now!"

"Baby?" Power Loader repeated before shaking his head, "No, you'll have the basics, though there are a few extras we have for the practical. That exam is more based on improvising and showing your skills. Now, does anyone have a question on the written exam?"

Silence soon followed this, the hero nodding at the sight. "Good. Then let's begin."

The written exam was a disaster. Izuku found that despite the feeling that he knew most the answers, he couldn't help but think about what he could now do. His mind was scattered, unable to think about anything but his quirk. Diagrams and terms were all over the paper, yet to the teen, he could only read half as he tried to concentrate. It wasn't till an hour in that he calmed himself down, giving him barely enough time to finish the exam.

And as he finished, he soon noticed glares all around him. Everyone had finished early except him, at least, that's what it looked like in Izuku's eyes. Nothing but cold, dead stares coming from everyone. But that was normal, it happened all the time at Aldera after all.

"Alright..." Power Loader muttered out as he looked over the stack of written exams. "Step one is done. Now, its time for the practical. Follow me."

The kids quickly hopped out of their seats, the pink-haired girl from earlier zipping up to the front. She looked as if she was about to run past the hero as they walked into the support lab, everyone soon going to a desk. Izuku was last, his eyes glancing around at the room.

'Wow. This is amazing.' he thought as he saw tools everywhere around him, 'UA really spares no expense. They have everything. Wonder what I could make with my quirk? There's a sewing machine over there...what if I tried to make a costume that could-'

"Everyone in a seat please." Power Loader said, knocking Izuku out of his thoughts. He looked up at the hero as he pulled out a sheet. "Now, let's begin the practical. As you know, this is UA's support class, and our main job is to be the future of supporting heroics in this world. Because of that, this test will have you to make a support device of your own design. If you're wondering why we don't give you a design, its because our class pushes improvising. As such, you'll have three hours to make your device with the tools we provide in this room. Any questions?"

No hands were raised at this, the hero nodding, "Good. Then...begin."

The first hour of the exam was grueling for the teen. Izuku expected the test to be something crazy, but he didn't expect it to just be so...normal. It was just making something. And it didn't help that his mind kept going back and forth over the first exam and his new quirk.

And so, he began to make a small portable information device. Over the past nine months, he kept trying to think up good support weapons for heroes to use, only to find none of them to be anything that wasn't already on the market. As such, he went back to mobile devices, which he found better luck with before he got a quirk.

He soon found that support items around gathering information were few and far between. Seeing this, he began to make blueprints over devices like this, devices that held small computers or scanners. He mainly tried to make them for wrists or masks...but never had the parts at his house. Money was always an issue when it comes to looking into support, which made practice even harder.

Despite this, he knew it was what he wanted to do in this exam. He began to gather up what tools he needed, soon making a small wrist device. This took over an hour, the design being super clunky, something he didn't care for, but he knew he was already running out of time.

But as it passed two hours and thirty minutes, he found himself in a complete mess. He was trying to make a scanner, but he found his quirk acting up as he began to make the mini wires for the device. Each time he grabbed one, they stuck to his fingers, making him growl as he ended up tearing a few apart as he tried to release himself from each tiny tube.

And as he grabbed a magnifying device, tilting it over his invention, he didn't notice a tiny spark appearing on the side of his arm. His mind raced as he glanced up at the clock, seeing another five minutes had passed. 'Come on Izuku...you can do this. You just gotta get this done...and working. And I'm almost out of time to test it!'

Sweat began to pour down his face at this, 'No...I can't fail. I don't wanna be a failure. I don't want to be a useless Deku!'

The spark slithered down his arm at this, the teen's mind melting as he took out a small electric welding tool. Tiny sparks flew off his device as he tapped the wrist. And as he did this, the spark traced up the back of his hand...and down his finger.

Izuku's eyes went wide at this, now seeing a green spark go down his finger...and into his device. His spider sense blared at this, but it was too late.

BOOM!

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Izuku screamed as his device exploded in his hands. Pain surged through him at this, making him flinch back as the whole room spun around to stare at him. Power Loader zipped out of his desk, getting over to the teen in a sudden burst of speed.

"Are you okay?!" he yelled as he reached Izuku, seeing the teen fall over as both his hands showed a tiny bit of smoke. He scanned Izuku's hands over, seeing them fully burnt, red and black searing over them before looking back at the other students. "All of you get back to work!" He then glanced back at Izuku, "I'm taking you to Recovery Girl, alright? Stay with me."

Izuku didn't respond after that. He barely said a word as he was taken to the school's nurse. Normally, Izuku would have been excited to meet the hero, but there was nothing as she kissed him and bandaged up his hands, grumbling as she told him that he's just the start of her day before going off to the heroics practical.

And as soon as he was done, he went back to the UA support room with bandaged hands, only to find the test was already over. The sight made his heart sink. His mind sunk into despair at this, quickly spinning around and walking out of the hero school.

"Why...why me?" Izuku whispered to himself as he walked down a street. He looked down at his bandaged hands, pulling at the strands as he felt something cool in them. And as he tugged a bit, he saw his hand was already healing, though very slowly. "Well...I guess that still works."

He let out a long sigh, tears going down his face. "I totally failed, didn't I?" He did a small sniff as he continued to mutter to himself, "I get a quirk and everything still goes wrong for me. Its like the universe won't let me be a hero."

He put a thumb to his mouth as he began to mumble rant, "But what was that? Did I do some kind of bio-electric thing? Why would the spider give me that? Are there electric spiders? I don't think there are. I mean, I looked up a bunch of different spiders after the bite, but none of them could-"

"YOUNG MAN!" yelled a sudden voice, making Izuku hop in place. He spun around at this, now seeing a police officer glaring at him, "Turn off your quirk this instant!"

"Huh? Quirk?" Izuku muttered out, "I don't-"

"I don't care what your quirk is, you're disturbing people!"

"I...am?" Izuku barely replied, "But I'm not-" He slowly looked down at himself, wondering if the bio-electricity had came back...only to see nothing. Nothing at all. Though he couldn't see it, he was just a floating head in the street right now. He blinked at this, his brain slowly turning before going wide-eyed. "HUH?!"

And in that instant, his body reappeared. He looked down at his now reappeared hands, quickly flexing them before the officer said, "That's better young man!" Izuku glanced back up at him, seeing a small smile on the adult's face, "Considering your surprise, you must have accidentally activated it." He shook his head, "Don't worry, I won't report you. Just be more careful, okay?"

"Um...o-o-okay." Izuku stuttered before doing a very slow robotic bow, "T-t-thank you sir. S-s-sorry I did that, s-s-sir."

"No problem. Just don't let it happen again."

With that, the officer spun around and left, leaving the dumbfounded teen. He glanced back down at his hands, blinking as his brain began to churn, 'Did I just...turn invisible? Since when can spiders do that?! Wait...is that the skin thing I couldn't figure out from the scan?'

He looked back up at the street before him, his mouth slowly moving as he said, "Just what was that spider?"

The next week was the longest in Izuku's life. Granted, his hands were now fine thanks to his new healing factor from the spider quirk, but that was the only good thing. Izuku couldn't help but think about the exam every waking moment. He knew he failed, he just knew it. He mainly spent the time either procrastinating over his failure, or trying to summon the bio-electricity and invisibility, but got nothing. His mind was too distracted by his horrible performance.

And it wasn't long till his mom ran in one day, yelling, "Its here! The letter from UA!"

Izuku was sitting in the living room at this moment, turning to see his mom run in. She quickly gave it to him, the boy ripping it open. There, they saw a small device, Izuku taking it out and commenting, "A projector?"

He put it down on the ground, a hologram of Power Loader soon appearing, "Hello there, this is Power Loader of UA." it said before the hero pulled out a remote, pressing a button and showing a picture of Izuku behind him. "Izuku Midoriya, you passed the written exam with an 81 percent. That's a good score, and considered passing for our basic regulations. However, due to the accident, you failed the practical."

Izuku's heart sunk at that, Inko shrinking back as they both felt tears start to appear in their eyes. And then Power Loader said those next words.

"I'm sorry, but UA has decided you do not qualify for the support department." He did a small bow, "I wish you good fortune elsewhere."

The hologram instantly shut off at this. And then the dam burst. Tears poured out of both, Izuku letting out a scream as he fell to his knees. Inko's eyes streamed tears out as well, hugging her son as he kept crying. "I'm so sorry Izuku. I'm so so sorry."

There was silence at this, Izuku just crying as Inko kept herself clinging to her son. But as she did this, she felt him shake, Izuku's tears stopping as he let out a scream. She had never heard him do that, looking back up as she saw the tears stop coming out of her son.

"Why?" he slowly muttered out, only to scream again, "WHY?!"

"Izuku..." Inko increased her grip, now seeing the pure despair on his face.

"Why...why...why?!" Izuku cried as he turned to his mom, "Why mom?! Why does this keep happening to me?!"

"I...I..." Inko tried to say, only to just hang her head, "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Izuku just put his face into her shoulder, muttering out, "I can't take it anymore! I just...I just want something to go right for once in my life."

"I know." Inko replied as she patted his back, "I'm sorry. I don't know why this happened, but...I'm so sorry Izuku."

Izuku sniffed as he leaned back, his eyes going back to the hologram projector on the floor. He kept sniffing as tears poured down his face, only for those words Katsuki had told him so long ago to race through his mind again. 'Kacchan was right. I can't be a hero.'

And as he thought those words, his tears stopped. It was as if something snapped in his brain, as if his entire life flashed before his eyes, all the pain and suffering he had endured now bubbling in his mind. He didn't know why, but he started to feel anger inside himself. And as he looked back at his mom, she saw the fire in his eyes. It scared her, as she had never seen this in him before. It was pure raw anger as he said, "I...I can't take it anymore mom. I'm gonna tell you everything."

"What do you mean?" Inko replied, only to see Izuku take a deep breath. And then, he began to rant.

Izuku told her everything, every day of Katsuki's bullying, every ounce of hatred he had for being born quirkless, and the hopelessness that came from it. He told her all the lies he told her about his injuries, all the times he came home burnt or beaten, and how it was all Katsuki. And as he continued to talk, his mother stayed silent, not responding to a single word. But she soon found that made it worse, for after he told her about that singular moment, the one where Katsuki told him to kill himself, his mother's face went pale.

But even after that, Izuku didn't stop. He kept getting louder as he finished his rant, "And then I finally get a quirk, only to take an exam I don't want to do, and then the quirk makes me fail it and fail my chances to be a hero! WHY?! Why does the universe hate me?! Why?! What did I ever do wrong?!"

As he screamed those last words, the teen slumped over, panting as the bloodshot look in his eyes began to fade. Small tears dropped out of his eyes, his mother just staring at him. She had never seen him this angry. She didn't think he could get angry. Sure, he had gotten mad if an invention had failed, but never raw anger. Nothing like this. And as she saw him finish his rant, she took a deep breath, ready to enter the conversation.

"And...Katsuki really said that?" Inko asked as she put her hand on Izuku's shoulder. "He...he told you to kill yourself?"

"Yeah." Izuku muttered out, tears still flowing down his face, "And I...I..."

"Izuku...you didn't really think about-"

"Yeah..." Izuku whimpered, tears dripping off his chin, "And the worst part is...he's right. I'm just a failure. A worthless Deku."

"Izuku! You are not-"

"I AM! Didn't you hear me?! I keep failing! Everything keeps going wrong in my life!" Izuku roared back, making Inko flinch. He saw this and flinched himself, making him glance away, "Sorry. I...I didn't mean to yell. I mean, I just yelled a bunch and I didn't mean to do that and-"

"I know." Inko interrupted, sighing as she put her arms around him, giving him a soft hug. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."

"Its...its okay. No one wants to help a quirkless-"

"Stop that!" Inko exclaimed, making Izuku hop. She grabbed his face, pulling him to make him stare right at her. As she stared into his eyes, seeing the hopelessness in them, the despair...her heart sank. She knew it was all her fault, she should have been there for him. Seeing this, she took a deep breath and said, "Izuku...I won't run away anymore. I'm going help you every step of the way. I know you failed the UA exam, and that's okay. We'll get through this, okay?"

Izuku blinked at this, just staring at his mother as she stared back. The two's eyes stayed still, tears appearing in both before they began to stream down their faces. They began to hug each other again, Izuku sobbing out, "But...I don't know what to do now!"

"We'll figure it out. I just...I'm sorry for not helping you all this time. I...I should have been there for you."

"Well...you're here now." Izuku finished as they continued crying, their hug staying for what felt like hours.

And when the hug ended, Inko grabbed some tissues and wiped her eyes before grabbing Izuku's hands. He stared into her eyes at this, his mother mumbling out a few words before saying, "Izuku...you're my son. And I said a lot of awful things to you because...I was scared. I gave up. But you...you can't give up. I know you never quit, and you kept chasing your dreams, even when I told you to not go for them...and I'm sorry." She put her hand up to Izuku's face, "No more. I'm here for you. I'll cheer for you, help you...whatever you need. You...you can be a hero. I don't know how, but we'll figure it out, okay?"

"Okay."

"And as for Katsuki..." She took a deep breath, her son grimacing as he saw anger appear on her face, "Don't interact with him anymore, alright? If that boy really did all that to you, don't go near him anymore. He is not your friend, and you should not be around him. Promise me that."

Izuku stared at her, his eyes slightly widening as he thought back to all the times he had been hurt by Katsuki, the bullying, the pain...and he realized what he had just heard is what he always wanted to hear. He did a small nod at this and repeated what he had just said, "Okay."

The anger instantly disappeared from her face, the woman patting him before showing a small smile, "Good. Now, I'm gonna go get some supper ready for us, alright?"

"Okay." He repeated again as his mother got up and spun around, slowly walking into the kitchen. "And mom?" She glanced back at him, "Thank you."

Her grin grew wider before nodding, "No problem."

As Izuku sat down in his room that night, his eyes staring at his phone, the device shifting to an archive app he had made, it now showed an interview with All Might. It was a recorded interview, one he had viewed hundreds of times. He had practically memorized it, but for some reason, he felt he had to watch it. Or watch anything.

But as the interview started, showing All Might giving encouraging words and statements, it was all muddled for him. Like, nothing mattered...until the last question. The interviewer asks him what he believes is the most important quality of being a hero. And the Number One responds in two sentences:

"I believe there are many things a hero must be, but if you asked me the most important quality, I would say one thing: A real hero is someone who never gives up."

"Never...gives up." Izuku repeated, feeling a small tear go down his face. And as he repeated those words in his head, his mind went over one thing.'All Might is right. All I've done my life is give up. And now, I have a quirk...and I gave up again.'The teen took a deep breath as his eyes narrows, tears stopping as he closed the interview on the phone.'No more. I won't give up anymore. I'm gonna be a hero, even if I can't go to UA. I will be hero!'

Chapter 3: The Leap

Chapter Text

The next month was the busiest one in Izuku's entire life. Never had he done more than that first week after learning he had failed the exam. For starters, he went over everything he could do since he couldn't get into UA. Turns out, there weren't really any other hero schools nearby, and all their testing had already happened. Also, what normal schools that were left for him were...undesirable to say the least. None were what he wanted, and he knew most would have no challenge for his intellect. Seeing this, he ended up going for online classes, which considering what he looked up, he knew he would easily finish them.

However, that still left him with no hero school. The online classes were for basic education, so he decided that instead he would use this time to figure out what kind of hero he would become with this spider quirk. And so, he started looking up more stuff on spiders. As he found that none of them could make bioelectricity or become invisible, he also saw that a ton could make their own webbing, though mainly from their butts. But he knew he couldn't make any, mainly because he had used the bathroom plenty of times since the spider bite and got nothing, so the teen thought that it might be best to make his own. What followed was half a month of experimentation. He went over several formulas, dubbing them 'web fluid' as he tried them all out. It was about two weeks in that he figured it out, making a wrist band styled shooter that he fitted to his hand. He wanted to make it automatic in terms of refilling the fluid, but didn't have the parts, so he decided to make himself a small belt as part of his future costume to hold both the fluid and other things he knew would be useful.

"I'll have to make this thing less clunky in the future." He commented to himself as he tried the fluid a half-month in. He started by testing its tensile strength, soon going to the nearby Dagobah Beach and used a few left over fridges, dryers and washing machines for testing. He found they could lift all of them with the webbing, and it would stick around for about two hours, and was highly biodegradable.

And as he tested this, he also began to make a hero costume for himself. He had spent years drawing and making designs on what he would want his hero costume would be. Granted, he now switched it to a spider design, but also felt he should at least have a costume, even if he had failed to get into hero school. That and when he figured out his hero school situation, he could at least give their support department something to work with. He had experience with sewing thanks to his mom teaching him, saying it would be useful in the future for any situation, something he found himself glad to have done. The costume was dark green in color, his favorite color, and had a black web-like design over the green on the mask and down his chest and back, along with his gloves and boots. The rest was just pure dark green, though he had a white eight-legged spider on the chest and back, along with big white lens for the eyes.

His mother didn't completely like the design, saying it was a bit too scary for a hero, but Izuku didn't care. He felt that for a first costume, it was great. He then began to work on the lenses, giving them a zoom-in function, though he found that was all he could add at the moment. This was followed by making a green hoodie over the initial costume, complete with big long green bunny-like ears, in honor of his love of All Might.

And as that month was about to pass, Izuku decided to go for his first test run. The run would be a simple test with his web shooters, as over his time inventing them, he watched several videos on how spiders use their webs to swing around and decided that if his webs could hold dryers and washing machines, they could definitely hold him. However, despite thinking this, he found himself doing what he considered to the be the worst way to try this out.

By going to the tallest building he could find in Tokyo.

To be fair, he went there not in costume, instead hiding the suit under his clothes. He also brought a small backpack for his clothes when he changed, making sure that he could easily change back, which he was glad that that ending up being the easiest thing to make. The problem was that he was now being reminded that he was afraid of heights. That, and he knew he still didn't have a full grip on his powers, especially the bioelectric powers (He needed a better name for that!) which he couldn't even summon, or his invisibility powers, which he had a strange feeling that he would need to understand them very soon.

"Okay Izuku...you're really doing this, huh?" He told himself as he finished changing into his costume, stuffing his clothes in the small bag before hiding the bag in his hoodie. He then slowly slid down the side of the building, muttering to himself as he did this. "You can do this Izuku. Sure, its terrifying and it looks like you're two hundred stories up, though you know its less. Also, you've only had a little over a week of testing the web fluid and you probably should have tested a bit more...though you know it'll hold you. You already tried it at the house and mom got scared seeing you upside down that one time. You can do this...you can do this. And if you don't, guess Kacchan was right about taking a swan dive off a roof."

Those last words that came out of his mouth made him tense up, the words making him feel like he had sand in his mouth as he said them. He still couldn't believe Katsuki had said that, but also knew that was Katsuki being Katsuki. He took a deep breath next, his eyes staring at the streets below, the sight looking like it was a thousand miles away, but at same time being like two steps away. He closed his eyes next, feeling the glass that his fingers were stuck to slowly begin to release from them.

And then, he let go.

His feet kicked off the building, his fingers feeling them take off some of the glass as he released himself from the side of building. His whole body tensed up for just a second, only to loosen. His whole world flipped as he did a backwards flip in mid-air, his eyes closing for a second as he felt it.

There was no fear. No anxiety. Nothing.

And as he opened his eyes, he saw the night sky above him and the street below. The sight made him go wide-eyed, fear now hitting him again as the wind began to smack his face. He glanced back up next, his raising his palm at the building he had just leapt from and pressed the web shooter trigger. A web line instantly shot out, hitting the top of the roof. And with a single yank, he felt it.

The wind. The pressure. The gravity. The fall.

It was all gone.

All that was left was the rise.

His body zipped up at this, the teen just now releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding. And with his second hand, he pointed to another building and shot a web. Instantly hitting, he let go of the first before pulling along, swinging down wide as he felt the wind smack his face again.

It felt amazing. Like he was on top of the world.

And that fear he felt come back, the anxiety, the tenseness...it all faded away. It was all gone. It was...freedom.

Pure and simple freedom.

The boy let out a scream, "WOOOO-HOOOO!" before he swung again, his body zipping across a street. Block after block zoomed by as he did another web line, and another, and another. The biggest grin was now on his face under his mask as he swung past an office building, the people inside seeing the sight and all going wide-eyed. He then did a flip, soon staring at the stars above him before back at the city, the lights flooding his vision. The sight made the grin under his mask grow as he flicked his arm and shot another web. Again and again he thwipped the web, each swing syncing with his body.

"WHOOOO!" He exclaimed again, "THIS IS AWESOME!"

He then did a wide-arced swing, only to let go and do two flips, screaming with joy as he did so, "YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!"

The people below all glanced up, gasping at the sight. He was the center of attention, the world was watching. He had never felt more alive. More real. He...had done something amazing. Spectacular.

But as he shot the twentieth line, his spider-sense went off.

Danger!

"Huh?" He glanced back, only to see a certain hero he had seen a lot on the news lately: Kamui Woods.

"Come back here! You are under arrest!" he roared as strains of wood shot out of hero.

"What?!" Izuku yelped as a line of wood shot past his left side, the teen barely dodging the lumber before firing another web line, "Wait! Don't! I'm not a criminal!"

"You are!" Kamui barked back as he retracted a strain of wood before firing two more, both thrusting out to Izuku's sides. He then tried to pincer them on the teen, Izuku letting go of the web. He fell like a rock, only to fire another web, yanking himself back up as the wood from Kamui slithered back onto his body, "Stay still!"

"But I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You've committed the crimes of public quirk use and disturbing the peace!"

"Disturbing the peace?! I'm not doing anything to disturb people!" Izuku yelled back as he kept swinging away. "I'm just having some fun!"

"Liar! You're under arrest villain!"

"Villain?! I'm not a-"

"Take this, villain! Lacquered Chain Prison!" Several strands of wood shot instantly at this, Izuku's spider-sense blaring as he glanced back and saw the attack. And as he tried to speed up his swinging, he saw two strands shoot pass him again, only for Kamui to yell, "What the-where'd you go?!"

"Huh?" Izuku whispered, only to look back ahead as he shot another web line, but then saw his hand was missing. He had turned invisible again.'Oh. Guess that works in danger. That's good to know.'

He then took a turn, making sure to miss Kamui's wood strands before swinging down two more blocks. He glanced back down and saw he was still invisible, a grin on his face before taking another turn and seeing his home now somewhat in the distance. "Nice." he whispered to himself before swinging over to the rooftop of his home. And as he landed, he looked down at his hands and saw they were still invisible, the teen telling his brain to turn off the invisibility...and it worked. Blinking at this, he closed his eyes and tried again, only to open his eyes and see his hand was mostly gone.

'So that's how it works. Guess I just needed some danger to make me learn how to use it...though I might need a little practice. I still gotta figure out the bio-electric stuff though...which I need a better name for.' He thought as he hopped off the roof and wall-crawled over to his room's window. Opening it since he had left it unlocked, and snuck in while panting and feeling the sweat in his hair.

"That...was...awesome!" He cheered before flopping onto his bed, taking off his mask and letting out a long sigh. A few seconds later, he pulled out his phone to see if any social media had picked up his joyride. There wasn't much, just some posts, but nothing really. Definitely not enough to present him as some dastardly villain like Kamui Woods has said he was, though he hoped he didn't make that bad of a first impression. He honestly felt he hadn't done anything, he just showed he was some kid having fun. That or a kid with a death wish.

And as he stared at his phone, he thought back to all he had done today. "That was so cool. The webs worked, and I'm no longer afraid of heights." he whispered to himself before glancing down at his web-shooters, "And it didn't take too much fluid. About half a cartridge at the end. I might need to make them a bit bigger though."

He looked back at his phone one last time, a new post showed up. Izuku blinked at it, only to see that the report was made by Kamui Woods. He stated it was some hooligan, making Izuku roll his eyes. But as this happened, a reporter had asked him if it was a villain or a vigilante, the teen raising an eyebrow at that statement. 'A vigilante? Me?' He put a hand to his chin, 'There's an idea. I mean, if I can't get into a hero school, I guess I could skip all the learning and just fight villains...but I'd be breaking the law.'

He didn't smile at the idea, but he felt it was something to consider. He looked back at his phone one last time before turning it off, his mind going over the idea and again and felt that it might be the right solution, telling himself to ask his mom about it tomorrow before taking the rest of his costume off and falling asleep.

And sleep never felt so good.

Chapter 4: The Debut

Chapter Text

"No."

"But mom-"

"Izuku..." Inko interrupted before letting out a long sigh, "I know I agreed to help you with your dream of being a hero from now on, and I know I said I was sorry and want to make up to you all this time I haven't supported you. But I'm not going to support you becoming a criminal!"

"I'm not going to be a criminal! I'm just gonna be a hero without a license!"

"Izuku, you shouldn't have to break the law to be a hero!"

"Well, I don't have a choice now!" Izuku yelled back, his voice now increasing as the two glared at each other. The teen took a deep breath at this, trying to keep his composure as he continued, "Mom, I don't have a choice. There are no more hero schools available, and the semester is already starting. Katsuki is literally going to start at UA tomorrow and I get nothing! And if I can't go there, I have to start another way! I spent all this morning looking over vigilantism laws, and they say if I can be good enough and get on the side of the police, I can get into the hero business. I'll just have...less protection getting to that point."

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't do it! You shouldn't have to break the law to be a hero!" Inko exclaimed, "You deserve better!"

Izuku flinched at those words, shaking his head next, "If that's true, then I wouldn't have to do this! This quirk I now have, I need practice, and this is the best way to do it!"

"By fighting villains?!"

"By fighting criminals!" Izuku retorted, "I'll fight small crime and move up when I think I can handle the bigger stuff!"

"Izuku...do you not hear what you're saying?!" Inko cried, tears starting to appear in her eyes, "Izuku, I don't want you getting hurt, and this is the worse idea for that!"

"I wanna be a hero, mom! That means danger!" Izuku let out a long huff at this before adding, "I...I want to use this quirk! I can't just sit here and not use it! I've spent all these years without a quirk, and then I get one and you still don't want me to use it?!"

"But...but..." she tried to say, only to see the expression on Izuku's face. It was that face again, the one he showed when he exploded after hearing the UA results. She knew this meant one thing: Izuku was done listening. He was angry, something he rarely was, and...and he still wanted to be a hero. To help others.

He always had that spark in his eyes. It was something that she always feared, as it showed a look of pure compassion combined with a crazed desire to help others. The fire within them was almost too much at times, as she knew now more than ever that she couldn't convince him to not be a hero, to not help others.

And now he wanted to be a vigilante. The idea made her heart sink...but that expression he wore. It sealed everything. She wouldn't convince him otherwise. The woman let out a long sigh, only to say a few words, "Alright. You can be a vigilante."

Izuku's expression faltered at this, making him slightly flinch. "R-r-really?"

Inko did a slow nod, only to look back up at him, "But if you really want to do it, let's set some rules, alright?" Izuku nodded back as she continued, "You can't just jump into everything, alright? Don't go challenge big A-level villains first thing."

"Okay."

"And two...if you really have to do this, let me help you when you get injured. I'm a working nurse after all, but...just don't come back in a mess, alright?"

"I won't. I promise."

Now, Izuku knew he probably couldn't keep that promise. But considering what he was about to do, it was an obvious conclusion that the promise would be broken. Despite this, he waited till night for his first try as a vigilante. He took a mid-day nap before doing it, promising his mom to finish his online class homework first. She knew it would take him no time to do it, but it was just something she could use to get her some relief about her son's future.

And as the sun disappeared from the sky, Izuku put on his costume, already liking that feeling of putting it on. He took a deep breath as he opened his window, soon crawling out and up to the roof. The teen began to focus at this, his body instantly vanishing. He looked down at his hands at this, seeing he was now invisible.

'I think I got it. I still can't summon that bio-elec stuff again, but the invisibility isn't too hard. It just...takes a bit to concentrate.' He thought before staring out at the city before him. 'Now, let's go patrolling.'

He thwipped out a web line and leapt off the roof, quickly swinging away. A big smile was already on his face as he swung across the first few blocks, the feeling of freedom returning. He still couldn't believe he had a quirk. He had had it for just a little over a month and he still couldn't believe it.

But as he began to swing around, he remembered his first try at web-swinging, and the disastrous encounter with a hero. Due to this, he made sure not to yell this time, instead just silently swinging around. He did this for an hour, not finding a single thing as he webbed around Musutafu. He had hoped for something small, like a mugging, but found nothing.

'Figures. I start trying to be a vigilante and I don't find anything. Just great. Another failure for the worthless Deku. Guess I-'

He came to a stop as he saw a light in the corner of his eyes. He quickly webbed up to a nearby roof, landing on its edge before glancing back at the light, only to see it was from a building across the street. He squinted his eyes at this, the costume's eyes mimicking his as he saw several figures behind several large glass panes. He looked up at the building, seeing it was a bank. A rather small one, but it was still a bank.

But that wasn't what was important. What was important was that it was exactly what Izuku was looking for: Crime.

'That could work. Stopping a bank robbery is definitely a good start...I think.' Izuku put a hand to his chin, his mind going over the situation. 'Now...how do I do this? Obviously, the bank's alarm isn't going off, so one of them probably has a jamming quirk. Also, I have no idea what quirks they have.'

He then put his hand in his hoodie, soon pulling out a small notebook and a tiny flashlight. Opening it up, he looked over the notes he had made today. After looking over the vigilantism laws and his old notebooks over quirk analysis and what kind of hero he wanted to be back in the day, he decided to make a new notebook that was for purely writing stuff down on the fly. As such, he started on this new notebook today, which was filled with instructions he had made for himself earlier today on how to be a vigilante, along with plenty of blank pages for everything else.

'Okay. So, step one: If possible, make sure web fluid is full before going into a fight.' He glanced down at his shooter and saw it was at a fourth. He took out a full cartridge and replaced it. 'I really wish I could automate that. I need to find some better stuff.'

He looked back at his notebook, 'Step two: Make sure to smile and be positive. All Might says that being a hero is all about inspiring hope. Even if they can't see your smile under your mask, be positive. If necessary, make a persona for yourself to try and make others feel safe. Try quips as well and make people laugh.'

He then flipped to the next page, which was empty, as it was for quips he wanted to record...when he thought them up. Unfortunately for the teen, he found when he was first writing in the notebook, he didn't know any jokes. Izuku knew he was never a funny kid, but he also knew this was because he never had any friends to make jokes with.

'I'll figure out the quips later.' He sighed to himself before turning a few pages, all blank for future quips, before going to the final rule he had put down. 'Rule three: Until you're a hero, you need to make yourself known, even if its just leaving a calling card. That way, your name can get out and see if you can get the hero commission to sign you on.' He then pulled out a stack of cards in his other pocket in his hoodie, now remembering he hadn't even figured out his vigilante/hero name. 'It'll have to do for now. According to those laws I read, it takes a lot to get on their side. They mainly hunt down vigilantes more than anything.'

He took a deep breath, now looking back at the building. He thwipped his webs over to it, quickly zipping up to the bank's roof. 'Hmmm...guess I should go the underground hero route and do stealth here. At least, for my first time. Now, how do I get in?' He crawled down the side of the building at this, only to see an air duct. Seeing he could fit, he cricked his neck as he opened it up, 'Guess its time to see how flexible I am.'

He found the crawling was relatively easy. Despite being in a very confined space and knowing his body was more agile than it used to be, he was still surprised at how easy it was for him to just crawl through the vents. His body just slithered through, his sticking that he was still getting used to not even being a problem as he snuck through.

And as he went through the vents, he found a grate, his form quickly going over it. He squinted his eyes as he stared through the thin bars, now seeing three hooded men with flashlights pulling out a device that they were now using on an ATM. He blinked at the sight, only to slowly pick up the grate and quietly took it off, putting it slightly aside.

'Okay Izuku, you can do this. Your first fight against villains. Criminals. Technically thieves, but I guess it could be argued that they could be burglars or bank robbers. Yeah, that's probably the correct terminology, though-' He took a deep breath, trying to stop what he called his 'head muttering' as he looked back down at the criminals, 'Focus! You need to focus Izuku! Just...try to take these three out, and then see if there's any more.'

It was here that Izuku realized he didn't actually know how to fight. All he knew was how to take beatings, not dish them out. 'Should I just go in and try to punch them? I mean, I've never won a fight in my life. Can I really just-' He clenched his eyes at this before sighing, 'Stop it! Just...go in and...I don't know, improvise. Can't be too hard. I mean, according to everything I've analyzed about my body, I have super strength now. As long as I can hit them, I should be okay. And if I can't hit them...web 'em. That should work.'

He then crawled out of the duct, not making a single sound as he stuck himself to the ceiling next. He slowly went overhead of them, the trio not noticing the teen. Granted, all the lights were all off, the only lights being the flashlights on the thieves and the device they were using to open the ATM up.

Taking a deep breath, he set up a web on the ceiling and hung upside down, slowly extending the web as he quietly went down to the floor. He then silently flipped himself over, taking another breath before speaking up, "Hey fellas."

The three thieves shot up at this, quickly spinning around to see the green colored vigilante. He then saw what was under their hoods, one of them having a lobster face and the other two having crab faces. Izuku did a small wave at this, "So...making a late night withdrawal?"

"What the heck?! Who are you?!" One of the crab guys yelled.

"Uh...hi. I'm...actually, I'm still trying to think up my vigilante name. Who are you?"

"Vigilante?!" the lobster one yelped before pointing at Izuku, "Get him!"

The two crab thugs charged at him at this, pulling out long crab claws out of their hoods' long sleeves. Izuku's spider sense instantly blared, quickly hopping back as the first one lunged at him. The teen backpedaled at this, dodging two claw swipes as Izuku's brain started to catch to the situation.

And he found the criminal trying to attack him...was slow. As if, he could just easily see the strikes coming. His spider sense kept screaming at him, the second thug running up to try to hit him again. And as they attack again, Izuku's mind told him to do one thing: counterattack. His fingers pressed down on the triggers on his shooters, his hands aiming downward. Webbing covered both thugs' feet and the ground under them, making both trip. Their faces hit the floor, Izuku quickly firing more webbing on them, tying them to the ground.

"Blaugh!" Both cried as they felt their faces get smushed into the floor.

"Yes!" Izuku exclaimed, raising his arms up high before his spider sense blared again. He looked back up and saw the lobster thug now leaping at him.

"I'll kill you!" He roared, Izuku quickly ducking under a first swing from the thug. It was here that he saw the lobster-headed criminal just had normal human hands, both balled into fists as he swung them at Izuku. The teen kept going back, dodging three swings before pulling back one of his arms, balling up his own fist.

And then he thrust the punch forward. He expected it to just push the thug back, but as it connected, which it hit the lobster man in the chest, the criminal let out a scream as he was suddenly thrown across the room from the punch. Izuku flinched at this, now seeing his super strength used on a human for the first time as the thief flew onto a desk, bouncing off it and hitting the faraway wall, only to slump to the floor a second later. He fired a web at this, instantly wrapping up the criminal before letting out a sigh.

"Okay...still don't know my own strength. Hope I didn't hurt that guy too much." He then stared at the room, now seeing he had beaten all three criminals with ease. "Wow...I did it. I beat them." He looked back down at his hands, flexing them for a second. "I...I can do it. I can be a hero. I-"

"Hey guys, what's with all the noise? I thought you-" called out a new voice as it walked out of the bank's bathroom, a hooded man with a normal, albeit scraggly face. He went wide-eyed when he saw Izuku, only for the teen to reflexively shoot a web at him. It instantly hit his mouth, making him muffle out before charging at Izuku. But as he did this, Izuku quickly sidestepped a punch from the criminal, only for a second punch to go right for Izuku's face.

And as his spider sense blared, Izuku's hand raised up and caught the punch. The thug tried to pull his fist back at this, only for Izuku's hand to hold onto it. "Whoa...I caught it. Cool." Izuku commented as he stared at the fist. A grin shined under his mask as then pushed his hand forward, throwing the thug right off his feet.

"Mmph!" the criminal muffled as he felt his back hit the floor, only for a stream of webs to hit his chest, sticking him to the ground.

Izuku stared at the thief he had just webbed down, only to glance back at the original three, both crab men squirming and yelling profanities as they tried to escape the webbing. He pulled out his notebook again as he began to write in the quip page, "Late night withdrawal. That's a good first quip." he whispered to himself before walking in front of crab thugs, leaning down as he asked them, "So, got any more pals, mister seafood? I'm guessing your friend I just webbed up is the one who helped you with the alarms. Wait..." He looked back at his notebook, "Eh, that seafood thing wasn't as good. Not recording that quip."

"Let us go, you freak!" One of them yelled, Izuku looking away from the notebook.

"Yeah! Do you know who we are, you weird spider guy?!"

'Spider guy? Hmm...maybe I could rework that for my hero name.' Izuku thought before shaking his head and pointing at the criminals, "Listen here, all I know is that you're thieves. Er, I mean, bank robbers. I'm here to stop you, and...I did that." Izuku facepalmed at that, "And that's another failed quip." He then heard the criminal yell another profanity, Izuku just shaking his head before putting away the notebook.

"Now, what to do with you four?" Izuku asked before looking back at the bank's counters, an idea forming in his head. He walked over to the desks, looking around until he saw a small red button. "Here we go."

He pressed the button, sending a silent alarm to the police before taking out a calling card from his other pocket. Also taking out a pencil, he wrote out a small message as a smile shined under his mask. "Yeah, that's a good name for me." He then put the note on the lobster thug before walking over to the bank's main door. "Later fellas! Thanks for being my first ever crime! Er, I mean, first crime I ever stopped!"

And with that, he left the building and leapt up before shooting out a web, swinging away a second later.

Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa really wanted to go home for the night. Despite his usual late hours he would get on the job, he was really tired today. But a silent alarm had gone off at a bank in Musutafu and he was nearby, doing a small nightly patrol. He quickly zoomed over in his patrol car, only taking him a few minutes to get there.

And as he got there, he got out of his car and saw there was nothing outside the building. When it came to bank robberies and quirks, there was usually a torn up wall, or a bunch of broken windows, or a trail of money strewn outside of the bank. But there was nothing, which was cause for concern as he then heard a voice.

"Detective!" He looked up and saw the hero Death Arms, the most local hero he could get right now. He leapt off a nearby roof and landed beside the detective, both nodding to each other before the hero went in first.

And as they walked in, a voice yelled out, "Finally!" The two glanced down at the sound, now seeing the two crab thugs squirming under the webs, "Get us out of this!"

The two shared a glance before Death Arms grabbed both thugs, lifting them up as the webs snapped off the floor. As he did this, the detective looked over the area, seeing a desk knocked over and the lobster thug now webbed up to a nearby wall, fully knocked out. And as he walked over to him, he leaned down and saw a certain tiny note in the thug's lap. He picked it up and read it.

Just beat these bank robbers for you. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

"Spider...man?" Naomasa slowly whispered before looking back at the webbed up thug. And as he glanced back and saw Death Arms walk back into the room.

"Anything else?"

"No. Just this guy and that other one over there." Naomasa replied before holding up the note, "And this."

"What is it?"

"I think...it might be a new vigilante." He let out a long sigh at that statement, "And I already got a bad feeling about this one."

Chapter 5: On Metal Wings

Chapter Text

Izuku didn't find anymore crimes to stop that night. And after another hour of patrolling and almost crashing as one of the shooters ran out of webbing, he switched the cartridges and headed home. He had the biggest smile on his face as he got back into his bed, the memory of him beating those robbers going through his head.

"That was so awesome." Izuku muttered to himself. "I already love doing this."

He closed his eyes a second later, instantly falling asleep. And as he did this, he didn't see his mom slightly opening his door, her eyes glancing down at her son's face. She saw the giant smile on his face, something she hadn't seen for a very long time. Worry still racked her brain, but that sight...it was the best thing she could hope for right now.

Her son was happy.

The Next Day...

Izuku didn't sleep in. Despite what he did last night, and the fact he got to bed really late, he found himself instantly rested when he woke up. Izuku had found that over the past month, his newfound power gave him a bunch of extra energy. And with this, he spent the first two or so hours of the day doing a basic morning routine before looking up his online classes. Seeing there wasn't much at the start, he went ahead and did the first two weeks of homework, finding all of it to be super easy.

While he did this, his mom asked him how last night was, Izuku replying and saying it was beyond great. He told her he now truly thinks he can do this, and then promised her to do the homework. And as he finished it, he shined the biggest smile he could before putting his costume on.

'Spider-Man...I think that name works well.' He thought as he put on his mask and then put on the web shooters, 'I wonder what the police think about the card I left. I mean, I beat those bank robbers really easily, though that might have been their first try at crime too.' He snorted at that thought, 'That would figure for me. The first criminals I beat are also first time criminals...'

He then walked into his bathroom, staring at the mirror there. He looked himself over, the lens in the mask zooming in and out. "Not bad. It still looks good, even after last night." He commented before looking down at his shooters, opening up the cartridges. "All full, and I got about ten in reserve. Better make some more tonight."

And with a click on the wrist, he checked his front door, making sure it was locked, and then went over to his window. Opening it, he turned himself invisible and crawled out, closing the window behind him before getting up to the roof. As he got there, he leapt off and started swinging, a smile under his mask.

"Ahh...this feels so awesome. I still can't believe I have a quirk now." He whispered to himself as he swung building to building, passing blocks in mere seconds. "Guess I'll try a day patrol."

He then landed on a rooftop and pulled out his phone from his hoodie, tapping it a few times. It switched to a police scanner app Izuku had created a while back, a spin-off of his hero app. "There we go. We'll keep you on just in case I can't find anything." He put it back into his pocket, reminding himself that he should have done that last night, but it was too late now.

With that, he began to swing again, his form quickly zipping through town. As he did this, he saw that several people below were gasping, all seeing the masked teen seemingly fly past them. But as he passed another block, a single thought went through his head. 'I hope I'm not making too much of a spectacle. I don't want a hero suddenly chasing me again like Kamui Woods did the other day.'

He pulled out his phone as he shot another web line, seeing the scanner begin to beep. A crackled voice came out of next as Izuku glanced away from the device and stared directly ahead as swung down another street.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a mobile villain going down Dathomir Street, Kamui Woods and Mount Lady, please respond."

"Dathomir...that's not too far." Izuku commented to himself as he took a tight right swing, "Maybe I can at least see what's up."

He shot two web lines at the same time, slingshotting himself three blocks before going back to a regular web swing. And as he did this, he saw a black figure flying in the distance. This was followed by Mount Lady taking a swing at it, missing before a flood of wood shot off her shoulder. The flying thing quickly dodged the lumber attack, Izuku hopping over to a roof as he watched what was going on.

"What are they chasing? Is that the villain?" He whispered while squinting his eyes, the lens mimicking this. It was here that he saw what they were chasing. It was a man in a blackish green suit that had a pair of light green wings, though if you looked closely, you could tell they were made of metal. He had a bag in one of his hands, but his wings kept flapping despite this. The man was bald, and seemed to be yelling at the two heroes as Izuku leapt over to the next rooftop.

"You'll never catch the Vulture, you two-bit heroes!" The bird man roared as he swung his wings down, cutting through Kamui Woods forest attack.

'A villain? Don't recognize him, so he's probably E or F-rank...though if he's new and can avoid them, he might be at least C-rank.'

This was followed by Mount Lady lunging a giant hand at him, but the bird just spun around and slashed her, making her flinch back.

"Yeow!" she yelped as a thin line of blood appeared in her right palm.

Seeing this, Izuku went wide-eyed before narrowing his eyes. 'I gotta get in there and help them!' He glanced down at his shooters, quickly switching to a full cartridge. 'Here we go. Let's see how I do against my first villain.'

He looked back up at the battle, the fight now going a block away from Izuku. Taking a deep breath, he leapt off the roof and shot a web, quickly shifting into a swing. He began to zip up to the block the battle was going on, now seeing the Vulture dodge Mount Lady again.

"You'll never catch me!" Vulture barked as he spun around, turning to try and slash at the hero again. But as he did this, a line of lumber shot out at him, making him flap his wings, pushing himself back. "Blast it! Just leave me alone already!"

"You're not getting away, villain!" Kamui exclaimed as he swung a long vine of wood at the bird man, Vulture slicing it as it came close.

"That's not enough!" Vulture countered before stretching his wings up and slamming them down, firing a gust of wind that knocked Kamui off of Mount Lady's shoulder.

"Kamui!" she gasped as she spun around to catch him.

"Ha! Later losers!" Vulture laughed as he quickly shot away, zipping down an alleyway. "No one can catch me!"

"Wanna bet?" said a new voice, making the villain raise an eyebrow, only to feel something hit his back.

"What the-" Vulture yelped before trying to do a barrel roll, only to feel the weight still on his back. He then glanced behind himself, now seeing a certain green costumed teen on his back. "Wha-get off of me!"

"Nah, I don't think so." Izuku replied before aiming his wrists at Vulture's wings, "How about we ground you instead?"

Vulture went wide-eyed at this, only to quickly spin around again, "Whoa!" Izuku yelped as he tried to hold on, his spider powers trying to help him keep his grip.

"Get. Off. Of. Me!" Vulture roared before flailing his right wing up, smacking Izuku in the head.

"Ack!" he yelped, losing his grip off the bird man. He fell off at this, his spider sense yelling at him before firing a web to a nearby building. Swinging back up, he saw Vulture try to flap away, only to swing right up to him in two quick bursts.

"Get back here!" Izuku yelled as he thrusted his legs at Vulture's back, only for the villain to spin around and smack him with his wing. "Augh!" Izuku cried as he was flung over to a nearby building, his form smashing through a window. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

He felt himself roll across a hard floor, only to shake his head as he got up, "Oookay. Gotta be quicker." he whispered before glancing around, seeing he was in an abandoned building. "Well, at least I didn't destroy anything."

He then raced out the window he had been flung into, quickly going into a swing as he saw the Vulture in distance, dodging another attack from Mount Lady. "Will you heroes go away already?!" He screeched as he zipped past the giant.

'Gotta get ahead of him if I wanna beat him.' Izuku thought before taking a left, swinging down an alleyway. He zoomed through there, quickly coming out to the next block. There, he saw the Vulture flying away from the two heroes again, narrowing his eyes at the sight. He swung down another alleyway before swinging out to the next block, now seeing the Vulture about to fly toward him. Izuku then fired two lines, preparing to slingshot himself at the villain.

"Gotta line this up...now!" He let go and shot up, thrusting both legs ahead as he exclaimed, "Hey bird boy!"

The Vulture turned to the voice, only to feel two feet slam into his chest, "Augh!" he yelped, Izuku then firing a web at Vulture's legs. He swung down and then upward, flipping over the bird man and landing on his back again.

"You again?! Get off of me!" Vulture screeched as he flapped the wings, Izuku this time dodging both. But as this happened, Vulture turned to an alleyway to the right, only to flap his wings and let out a burst of speed. Izuku quickly gripped onto his back, only to see that Vulture was about to fly into a very very thin alley. So much so that the bird man had to go to sideways.

Danger!

His spider sense blaring, Izuku quickly jumped off, grabbing the side of the building to the side of the alleyway. Izuku took a deep breath at that, soon crawling up to the roof. "Okay...almost got squashed there. Maybe I should just web him up from a distance."

He got up to the roof and began to run, soon seeing the Vulture fly out to the next street. Izuku quickly leapt off the roof, firing a web right at Vulture's feet again. It instantly struck the villain's soles, making the bird man look back, "What the-"

"Sorry birdie, your flight is cancelled!" Izuku yelled as he held onto the web line. "Your next flight is a one-way ticket to prison!"

"Grrr...what is with you?! Leave me alone!"

"Nope!" Izuku chuckled as he pointed the wrist right up at Vulture's right wing...and fired.

THWIP!

The web instantly struck, making the Vulture suddenly wobble. "My wing!" he yelped as he tried to flap the wing, only to see his metal feathers were now stuck. "What is this?!"

"Flight's over!" Izuku yelled as he let go of the strand, only to fire two to both his sides, trying the slingshot trick again. And with a mighty pull and release, he fired himself up at the bird man.

"Aaah!" Vulture yelped as Izuku's legs slammed into his back. And as he screamed out a cry of pain, webs suddenly wrapped up both his wings, making him instantly nosedive. "Wait! Stop! I'm gonna die at this height!"

"You haven't been paying attention, have you?" Izuku remarked as the Vulture felt something grab his back, only to be yanked up. The villain looked up at this, now seeing Izuku fire a web line and started swinging one-handed while the other held up the bird man. That is, till Izuku landed on a rooftop, Vulture's body hitting the side of the building. Seeing this, Izuku quickly yanked him up to the top, only to web him up even more.

"And that's one bird down thanks to Spider-Man!" Izuku commented before patting Vulture's head, "Now, be a good birdy and stay here for the authorities." He then straightened up at that, quickly pulling out his notebook. "Huh. That's a good one. Heck, that was several good quips. I gotta record-"

Danger!

"Huh?!" Izuku yelped before leaping back, only for two wood lines to shoot past him. He glanced back, now seeing Kamui Woods on Mount Lady's shoulder.

"Halt villain!" he yells as he fires a third branch, only for Izuku to duck right under it.

"Hey! Come on, I just helped you stop that guy!"

"So that makes you a vigilante! You're under arrest!" Kamui barked back, Izuku now finding himself backpedal, only for his foot to tap the side of the roof.

Looking back for a second, Izuku let out a sigh before staring at Kamui, "Listen, the name's Spider-Man. I saw you were having trouble with birdie over there and just wanted to help."

"You can help by surrendering!" Kamui roared as a stream of branches shot out of him, "Lacquered Chain Prison!"

And as the lumber attack came, Izuku quickly leapt off the roof. His body then turned invisible, making him vanish just as Kamui ran over to the other side of the roof. "What the-where'd he go?!" Mount Lady yelled as Izuku began to swing away.

"Grrr...he did that last time too." Kamui growled before looking back at the webbed up Vulture. "Well, at least you're caught."

Izuku came to a stop a few blocks away, his form still invisible as he swung up onto a nearby rooftop. Letting out a long breath before partially opening his mask, he revealed only his mouth as his invisibility stopped. And as he sat down, he began to catch his breath. "Whoa. That...was intense." he gasped before staring down at his hands, seeing them both shake. "Wow. This quirk the spider gave me is so awesome! It made that fight so...amazing." Izuku blinked at that statement, "I need better words."

He then pulled out his notebook, quickly jotting down the quips he used, "I need to figure out a good way to fight airborne opponents..." He commented to himself while opening the bottom of his mask, "Maybe I should add a section on fighting styles..." He licked his finger and turned a few pages, soon writing down a new step.

'Step four: Figure out your own fighting style. Observe heroes and fight villains to figure it out.' He stopped writing after that, instead staring at his hand with the pencil in it. 'Fighting styles mean super moves for heroes.'

He closed his eyes at this, remembering the support exam and what happened. 'That bio-electric thing. I wonder if that's supposed to be my super move.' He put the notebook away before crossing his arms, 'But if that's the case, why can't I summon it again?! Its been a whole month and I still can't make it appear again!'

Gritting his teeth at that, the teen got up and glanced down at his web shooters. Switching out cartridges for a second, he then began to swing across the city again. "Eh, I'll figure it out." He told himself while swinging down a block. "Until then, might as well get some practice swinging."

It was an hour later that Izuku found another crime, that just being a mugger in an alleyway. He had a mutant quirk, that being what looked like a porcupine human. The thug had a woman up to a wall, hand over her mouth.

"Now listen here missy, just give me your purse and-"

Thwip!

"Huh?" the thug yelped as a web line was now on his hand over the lady's mouth. He followed the line up and saw Izuku sticking to the side of a wall, just staring at the mugger.

"Good morning. Why don't you let that lady go?" Izuku yanked at the web at that, flinging the mugger off his feet. A second later, Izuku dropped down to the ground, the thug yelling a profanity as he got onto his feet.

"I'll kill you!" he roared as his arm was now covered in quills. Izuku quickly ducked under the punch, the quilled fist hitting a brick wall instead. This was followed by a web plastering itself over his arm, sticking him to the wall. "What the-"

"Just stay there for a bit, would ya?" Izuku commented as he then webbed up the other arm, sticking both to the brick wall.

"Hey! Lemme go!" the porcupine man yelled as he tried to move, only to then feel his feet get webbed into the wall as well.

"No, I think you should just stay right there." Izuku chuckled before turning to the lady, "Hey, you okay?"

"Um...uh..." the woman squirmed, Izuku blinking at her.

'She's really scared. Maybe I should just get going.' he thought before looking back at the mugger, and then back at the lady, "Um...you don't mind calling the police on this punk for me, do ya?"

"Uh...sure?"

"Thanks. You okay?"

"Um...I think so?" She muttered out, Izuku nodding at this.

"Okay. I gotta go. Stay safe, alright?" He then shot a web, ready to pull himself up the alley wall.

"Wait!" Izuku glanced back at her, the girl taking a deep breath, "W-w-who are you?"

"Me? I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" Izuku exclaimed before shooting up and out of the alleyway, the woman watching him flee with wide eyes.

"Spider-Man..."

"So that's what you look like in color." Detective Naomasa sighed as he watched the news recording of the Vulture fight. Despite how far the fight went into the city, some reporter got some footage of Spider-Man tackling the villain. He then glanced back to another screen at his desk, showing footage of the bank from yesterday, though it was in black and white.

He watched as the vigilante slightly flail around while beating the bank robbers before looking back at the Vulture fight, showing a bit more direct movement from Spider-Man. "Looks like I was right. This could be a problem."

He glanced back at the bank footage, zooming in for a second, "You're obviously young, so why are you a vigilante and not trying to be a hero?"

It was an hour or so later that Izuku decided to go back home. Before this, he found two more muggers, quickly webbing them up before having a passerby call the police. Each time he did this, he found himself able to handle the situation just a tiny bit faster, though still found the following conversations to the victims in the mugging to be very awkward. Izuku knew it was because he had never really talked to many others in his life, and he knew that was gonna make things so much harder.

But as he got home and took off his costume, he had the biggest smile on his face. "Today...was...awesome!" he cheered, raising his hands up high. The teen soon changed, going into the kitchen and microwaved some food for himself.

A few minutes later, he was on the living room couch, turning on the local news on the TV. He saw a reporter going over today, which was over several hero stories...only to go wide-eyed when he saw himself.

"And for a special hero report today, we have news on a new vigilante in Musutafu. We have reports from three people he saved today that the vigilante's name is Spider-Man!"

"No way...they're talking about me!" Izuku gasped as a bit of meat fell out of his mouth.

"Not only that, this new vigilante seemed to have fought a villain that was fighting up coming pro heroes Kamui Woods and Mount Lady. Here's footage of him now."

The screen turned to footage of him fighting the Vulture, showing him launch himself at the villain before the camera lost track of the fight. As this happened, Izuku saw the news headline at the bottom of the screen, saying a new vigilante had saved the day.

The tagline made tears appear in Izuku's eyes, making him sniff, "I...I actually succeeded! I'm not useless!" He leaned back into the couch, "I saved people."

And then he shined a giant grin. 'And this is just the beginning. I'm gonna be a hero!'

Chapter 6: Crimes of the Demons

Chapter Text

Izuku rested for the last part of the day, deciding that it would be better to take it slow. That and his mother soon called him after she saw him on TV. She mainly asked if he was okay, but he confirmed to her he was just fine. He found that his healing factor had mostly healed him after the fight with Vulture, though he hadn't been injured that much.

As such, he spent some time making a few more cartridges of web fluid and made sure his costume wasn't damaged. After this, he decided to try and summon his bio-electric powers again, only to see find nothing. Despite all his attempts, he found he could only make himself invisible and his regular spider powers.

After this, he pulled out a new notebook and began to write about his encounter against the Vulture, doing a full analysis on the villain. He tried to think up all the problems and mistakes he did, writing down a few pages as he wrote how he would get around the villain if he ever fought him or someone like him again.

His mom came home a little later, quicky hugging him as he told her he was okay. It wasn't long till the rest of the day was done, the teen vigilante soon going to sleep. And as he began to fall asleep, he thought back to all he had done and the road ahead, knowing this was just the beginning.

The Next Day...

Izuku did his morning routine in a quick and formal fashion, soon fully dressed as he checked his classes. He saw he was still ahead and decided to work on his costume instead. He found that while there was no damage from yesterday's fight, the suit still got dirty, and was now looking up new material online to help with that.

That is, till he saw the price tag. After this, he went back to his notebook, reading everything he had written down. 'Hmmm...what else can I do? I know I need to make a reputation for myself, but there should be something else.'

He glanced over at his computer and decided to try out an old past time of his: Watching hero interviews. He took the next hour watching several interviews all about All Might, the hero talking about how heroes should inspire hope and good. To be better, and to help others while showing a big bright smile.

"I hope I can be a hero like that someday..." he said to himself as he finished watching the fifth video. He saw there was a few more left on the playlist, but decided to turn the computer off. "That's enough for today."

He stretched his arms out, glancing over at the clock and saw it was almost noon. His mother had left an hour or so ago, and Izuku decided that he would do a quick lunch and then out to patrol. And as he did that fast meal, he put his costume on and swung out into the city.

"Aaaah..." Izuku sighed as he went down a few blocks. 'This feels so good.'

And as he did this, he landed on a rooftop and pulled out his phone, checking the police scanner. He stayed there for a few minutes, only for nothing to come in. "Guess crime isn't happening today." He commented as he put the phone away, quickly zipping down another street.

But as he did this, he swung over to another one of Musutafu's banks, one of the oldest in the city. It was a huge building, several stories tall despite its old marble-ish look. And as he landed on a roof across the street from it, he glanced down and saw two black vans drive up to the place. Raising an eyebrow at the sight, he then saw a group of masked men all get out of the vehicles.

The group were all wearing black and white suits and had black and white masks on, the masks all looking like demonic creatures. Izuku saw eleven thin looking ones along with one buff bulky man all walk up the bank's stairs, the sight making Izuku going wide-eyed.

"They're not...surely they're not just gonna go and rob the bank in broad daylight looking like that, right?"

But then they slammed the bank's front doors opened and gunfire started to ring out, making Izuku flinch. "Guess they are. I gotta say, either they're really ballsy or really stupid."

And as he said that, a loud noise rang out behind him.

BOOM!

He glanced back and saw a pillar of smoke now appearing several blocks away. "Or...they just did a distraction for their bank heist." He looked down at the bank next, "I...better go try and stop them."

He then shot a web line at the bank before swinging down, aiming straight for the already busted in front doors. "Coming through!" He exclaimed as he swung in, his legs slamming into one of the thugs.

"What the?!"yelled one of the gang in a language Izuku didn't recognize, all of them turning around to see Izuku web up to a wall, sticking to it while staring down at the masked thugs. Behind them was a ton of terrified people, all of them cowering on the floor or under the bank's desks.

"Hey there! I'm Spider-Man, nice to meet you. You wouldn't mind just giving up and not robbing the bank, would ya?"

"Get him!"another yelled, Izuku's spider sense blaring as he saw four of the masked thugs point their rifles at him.

"Uh-oh." Izuku gulped before leaping off the wall, quickly firing a web at one of the rifles. It instantly jammed it as the other three began firing, Izuku dodging the bullets as he swung across the room. The main room was giant one, which Izuku was glad for, as it gave him flexibility as he began to swing around.

"You three, take care of him. The rest, get the money!"commanded one of the two bulky thugs, the trio of gun wielders all still firing at Izuku as the others began to storm past the bank's desks.

"Hey! No illegal transactions while I'm around!" Izuku yelled before firing another web line at one of the gun-wielding thugs, this time grabbing the rifle before yanking it away with a quick tug. The other two kept trying to hit the vigilante, only for Izuku to fire webbing at both their feet before pulling on the web lines, knocking them off balance. Seeing this, he quickly shot more webs at the two, sticking their whole bodies to the ground before landing on the bank's floor.

One of the thugs then charged at him, this one being the one Izuku had kicked in the back at the start, and now the vigilante saw that the thug's fists had started to glow black and white. "What is that?" Izuku asked as he ducked under the first attack, only to backpedal as the thug tried to jab at him twice. This was followed by the teen throwing an uppercut, knocking the thug off his feet and over the bulky thug behind him.

"What are you doing?! Get him now!"the bulky thug roared, two more charging at Izuku. But as they were about to each him, he ducked under both punches from the thugs before doing a spinning leg sweep, knocking both off balance. And as they hit the floor, he fired another batch of webbing, tying them to the floor.

"Holy cow! Did you see that?! I did like a kung fu move there! Or a-"

BOOM!

Izuku turned to see smoke now appearing beyond the bank's main desk, meaning only one thing: They had blown up the main safe. He was about to cut into a run, only for the bulky thug to walk in front of him, making Izuku come to a stop.

"Out of the way, you...uh...big round guy!" Izuku shook his head at that, "Okay, not a great quip. Anyways, I'm not gonna let you-

"You will pay for this, Spider."

Izuku blinked at this, "Oh hey, I can actually understand you." But as he said that, he saw black and white energy pour out of the bulky thug's fists, "And you're a lot scarier than the others...say, you wouldn't mind not fighting me and sitting down for a cup of tea or something, would ya?"

"Die!"the thug roared before slamming his fists into the floor, Izuku's spider sense blaring at this. But it was too late, a shockwave firing out of the floor and hitting the vigilante.

"Augh!" he yelped as he was knocked back, hitting a wall a second later. "Ow..." he moaned as he slumped down, only to look up and see the bulky thug was now charging at him. Going wide-eyed, he fired a web up to the ceiling and yanked it, flinging himself over the thug just as he punched the wall behind Izuku.

Izuku then swung over to the opposite wall before hopping back down to the floor, panting as stared at the thug. 'Okay...that hurt. I'll need to hit hard to beat this guy.' The thug then charged at him, quickly swinging another fist at Izuku. The teen ducked under the first jab, soon dodging another before throwing a punch right at the thug's gut...only for the thug to not budge an inch. "That's not good."

WHAM!

"Waugh!" Izuku cried as the thug backhanded him, knocking the vigilante across the room. He collided with a desk, almost splitting it in half as he let out a groan, "Ow...guess I didn't hit hard enough."

"You will die here, Spider."the thug growled as he began to slowly walk up to the still knocked down Izuku. The teen looked up at him, his eyes slightly blurring at the sight.

'Get up Izuku! Get up! You gotta get up!' He inwardly yelled, his spider sense screaming at him as the thug got closer. At the same time, he began to hear a barrage of voices, his eyes slowly turning to see the rest of the gang that had gone to the bank's safe now running out into the room. They were all carrying duffel bags of money, the sight making Izuku start to get up, 'No...they're getting away! Come on, get...up!'

And as he thought this, sparks began to cover his right hand. His eyes began to focus again, soon staring straight ahead as the thug was now mere feet away. The bulky man then leapt at him with a glowing black and white fist, the sight making the teen tense up before shifting his body as he got up and charged at the villain, "Back...off!" Izuku roared as he pulled back his right fist, the hand now sparking blue lightning.

BAM!

The punch slammed into the thug's face, instantly knocking him off his feet. Izuku came to a stop at this, going wide-eyed as he saw the thug go flying into the opposite wall. "Whoa..." Izuku gasped before looking down at his right fist, now seeing it spark like crazy.

And then the lightning stopped. He blinked for a second before trying to summon what he felt at that moment, only for the fist to spark again. "Yes! I got it!" He then turned to his left fist, glaring at it before lightning started to spark around it as well. "Yes!"

But as he began to celebrate, a new sound made him see the bulky thug peel himself off the bank's wall. However, Izuku just pointed his shooters at him. "Nope, we're done fighting. I gotta go get the rest of your pals." A barrage of webs came next, webbing the thug up to the wall.

He then fired a web to the top of the front doors, quickly zipping over. But as he got outside, he saw one of the vans the gang came in was now racing off. "No!" Izuku yelled as he pointed his web shooter at the van-

Psst!

And no webbing came out. Izuku blinked at this before mentally facepalming. 'No! I forgot to check my shooters before fighting them!' He quickly took out the cartridges and replaced them, only to look back up and see the van was now gone. They had gotten away.

"Dang it..." He sighed before turning back to the bank. But before he could go in and check, he heard police sirens ring out in the distance. He quickly zipped up to a nearby rooftop, soon seeing several red, blue and white lights coming for the bank. He glanced down at his hands, now seeing the electricity spark across them. "Well, at least I figured this out."

He leapt off the roof at this before swinging away, "Guess my work here is done. Still...who were those guys?"

Naomasa knew something like this was coming. Whenever a talented vigilante appears, tons of trouble always seemed to follow. To be fair, that happens anytime new heroes come onto the scene, but vigilantes always seem to help make more trouble than usual.

Despite this, he was now watching security camera footage of Spider-Man fighting a gang of masked men in a bank, and he had to admit he was impressed. Spider-Man beat basically half the gang, and seemed to take down five of the six with ease. It wasn't till the big guy started fighting the vigilante that things got more dicey, only for the detective to go wide-eyed as he saw Spider-Man knock the thug away with some kind of energy punch.

And then he saw Spider-Man cheer about it. Like it was some part of his quirk he didn't understand, but knew he had. "Strange...he seems to have multiple quirks, but also seems to be surprised that he has them. Why?" Naomasa whispered to himself as he watched Spider-Man beat the thug before swinging out of the bank...and that was all the footage he had.

"The robbers must have got away." He commented as he pulled out a small pad and wrote some notes. "Guess I have more to add to this case."

As he said this, a head poked into Naomasa's room, "Yo Naomasa!" The detective turned to see his fellow officer, the cat-headed Sansa Tamakawa. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you know. The usual." Naomasa sighed as the officer walked in and saw what the detective was watching.

"Spider-Man, huh? You've been assigned to his case?"

Naomasa shook his head, "No. There's no direct case yet, mainly just the usual when it comes to vigilantes. Did you get anything out of the bank robbers?"

Sansa shook his head, "No. We got a translator come in to help interrogate them, but all of them are acting like they have no idea where they are or what they were doing. They also can't do that energy quirk anymore. You know, the one we saw them all do in the footage."

"So...some combination of energy transfer and brainwashing quirk?" Sansa shrugged at this, making Naomasa sigh, "Ugh...that means we need Eraserhead to check them with his quirk. They might still be brainwashed...and they're a brand new gang, aren't they?"

Sansa shook his head. "Not quite. We've had like...four reports on them for the past two months, all random small time events. They're not brand new, but relatively new. Though they haven't done anything quite like this. They mainly just appear for a bit and then disappear. This is the first time we've caught some of them."

Naomasa raised an eyebrow at this, "Did we get anything out of 'em?"

The cat man shrugged, "Not much. Just a name. They call themselves the Inner Demons."

"Well, that's a villainous name, and it goes with their masks. Though it figures that this happens on the week Eraserhead starts up his class."

"We can get him over here later. He's already responded to our call."

"True...guess its back to this then." Naomasa groaned as he pointed at the footage of Spider-Man.

"Yup. Though I gotta say, surprising that he's a vigilante. I mean, look at him take those guys out. A bit messy, but I'm guessing he went in with no information and it mostly worked."

"Yeah..." Naomasa muttered as he tapped his pad with his pencil. "He's got a very powerful quirk and he's talented...but his timing is something that happens when it comes to vigilantes."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the hero entrance exams are done for the year." Naomasa sighed again, "Every year after the UA entrance exams happen, one or two kid vigilantes appear."

"You mean, they fail the exam and go into this?" Sansa asked as he pointed at Spider-Man as he showed him take out two of the thugs with ease. "You think he failed? Really?"

Naomasa nodded, "Oh yeah. Just cuz he's strong doesn't mean he can crack the exams. Anyways, what usually happens is that the rejected students will try their hand at vigilantism, only to fail, realize they're in over their head, and give up. That or they get caught. However, considering what we've seen with Spider-Man..."

"He's probably gonna stick around." Sansa finished, "That is worrying. Think you can ask UA for their records on all who failed the exams?"

"I already have. Nezu said he can get them to me soon."

"Nice. Well, I gotta go. Need to talk to DeWolff about that other case."

"Got it. I'll be in here." Sansa nodded and left the room, leaving Naomasa as he bit the top of his pencil's eraser as he rewatched Spider-Man hit the thug with his new electric punch, "And why do I get a feeling those records aren't gonna help?"

It wasn't long till Izuku returned home. Despite the happiness that came with figuring out his bio-electricity powers, he was depressed that part of the gang he was fighting got away. This was followed by him going to the computer and trying to look up the gang he had just fought.

But after two to three hours, he came to the conclusion that they must be new. After all, they were quite flashy with their debut at the bank, making it quite obvious that they were new since there were no reports on them despite being so flashy...or just really ballsy. Seeing this, Izuku began looking up other spiders, trying to figure out if any had something similar to the bio-elec powers, but found nothing.

"Guess its something special with you." he commented as he stared at the dead spider in the bottle. "Figures. Maybe I should name the attack after stuff other spiders can do?"

He glanced back at the screen, his eyes squinting, "Says here a lot of them use venom and poison..." He looked down at his hand, seeing a small surge of power in it. "Maybe...Poison Power? Or Venom Power?"

He hummed at those words, "Yeah, that's good. Venom Power sounds really powerful...and cool."

He then clicked another tab, which changed to the playlist from earlier, this one showing another interview with All Might.

"So All Might, what is the one thing you think heroes should do more?"

The hero shined a huge grin at this,"I think out of all the things that heroes should do, which many have forgotten about in these days of heroes, is charity! Helping others that can not help themselves is a sign of a true hero!"

"Charity..." Izuku repeated as the interview kept going, "I could do that. It sounds really important. Though...I can't really do that much since I have a secret identity and...vigilantes do have problems with money." He leaned back in his chair, only for a small bulb to go off in his head. "But that doesn't mean I can't get some experience in it before becoming a true hero."

He looked back at the computer and began to type away as he said to himself, "I'll just...have to do it as Izuku Midoriya." And as he typed 'charity events' in a search engine, it popped up something he didn't expect. It showed a picture of a building on a news article about a charity organization that had been made a while back in Musutafu.

"Food, Emergency, Aid, Shelter and Training, also known as FEAST, is an organization for the homeless and underprivileged." The teen read before nodding, "Huh. Maybe I could start there tomorrow."

Chapter 7: The Prelude to Something More

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up a bit early the next day. He spent the morning making an extra bit of web fluid while also writing up some notes. They were mainly on his new Venom Powers, thinking on how all they could be used in his arsenal, only to keep going back to using it as a super move.

"I just don't know. I need to figure out just how powerful my Venom Power attacks are..." he sighed to himself as he filled another cartridge. "Eh, I'll figure it out later. I do need more experience in the fighting department."

He did a quick stretch as he began to put on the costume. "I got a good feeling about today. I can't wait to do some heroics!"

He then grabbed his phone and turned on the police scanner, waiting to hear something, only to get nothing but silence as he finished his setup. Humming at that, he declared to himself he would just go patrol today. Quickly crawling out his window while invisible, he soon swung off into the city.

And as he began that first hour of patrolling, Izuku's mind wandered, now realizing something. With the exception of when he tried out his web shooters, the heroes really hadn't tried to chase him. He didn't understand why, as he saw on multiple sites that heroes usually try to chase down vigilantes, but he wasn't complaining. Maybe the good he's done has made them realize he's on their side.

But as he thought that, a loud humming sound rang out. "Huh?" He glanced down, only to see a window suddenly shatter as what looked like a mid-air shockwave shot through it.

"Go go go!" yelled a voice, Izuku quickly swinging over to a nearby rooftop and seeing that the voice came from a jewelry store. There he saw a young man in a purple and gray vested outfit with two large metal gauntlets over his hands jump through the now shattered window, along with two other thugs.

"Shut up Shocker!" yelled one of the thugs as they began to scramble into a brown car, Izuku now seeing that the thugs had bags of jewels. The man called Shocker got into the car last, Izuku leaping off the rooftop at this. He fired two webs and slingshot himself right on top of the car, a loud thud ringing out as the car shook from the impact.

"What the-" one thug yelped before seeing a small hand tap the driver window. Spider-Man's upside-down head came down next for the thug, making the other one in the passenger seat gasp.

"Hey fellas!" Izuku chuckled, "So...robbing the jewelry store this early in the morning? Couldn't you have robbed a coffee shop instead? Its too early for this!" Izuku then snapped his fingers, "Oh, that's a good one. I'll need to write that down later."

"Aaaah! Shocker, get him!" the thug in the driver seat screamed.

"Shut up! Just give me a sec!" Shocker yelled from the backseat, rolling down the window and pointing his gauntlet at Spider-Man.

But as he did this, Izuku's spider-sense blared, making him turn and grab the gauntlet just as Shocker pointed it at him...and then surged some Venom Power into it. "Oooh! I can use it that way?" Izuku slightly whispered as the gauntlet began to spark.

"DIE!" Shocker roared as he fired the gauntlet...only for the device to let out a sputter. "Huh?"

"Hmm...looks like its not working. Guess that's what happens when you don't read the manual." Izuku laughed before tapping two fingers on Shocker's shoulder, "Let's try this now."

ZAP!

Shocker let out a yelp of pain, only to slump over in the car.

"Huh. So it works that way too. Guess I should only use a lot of power on the big villains."

It was here that Izuku looked back at the thugs in the driver and passenger seats, only to see they hadn't started driving yet. In fact, they were just frozen there, wide-eyed and speechless as they saw Spider-Man easily take out their muscle with just a poke.

"So...you two ready to go to jail now?" The thugs shared a glance at this, only to slowly nod back. "Okay! We'll just wait here and-oh!"

The sound of police sirens rang out as he spun around, now seeing two cars race up to them.

"Ah! They're here. Welp, its been fun fellas. I'll see you later!"

With that, he shot a web line and swung off, a smile on his face under the mask. "Well, that was easy. I wish all the fights were that simple. Still, that felt good." He then pulled out his phone, switching to the Midoriya Hero App, "Wonder if there's any-whoa!"

The teen quickly zipped over to a rooftop, his eyes now glued to his phone as it showed a video of the press at UA.

"Excuse me!" One of the press yelled at a student, "What's it like having All Might as a teacher?!"

The camera turned to a girl with short brown hair and two blush marks on her cheeks. She began to talk about how cool All Might was, only for it to turn to another student, this one was wearing glasses and was shouting out a long rant over the hero. But Izuku didn't hear the words coming out of their mouths. Instead, his mind was racing with something else as he slumped over on that rooftop.

'All Might...is teaching at UA?!' He felt tears began to appear in his eyes, 'I...I lost my chance to get taught by All Might?!'

He felt his rear touch the roof's surface, weakly chuckling to himself as he reached into his mask and wiped his tears. "Figures...I start feeling good doing this, and then I'm reminded just how much of a failure I am."

He glanced back at his phone and turned off the app, sighing to himself before looking up at the sky. "I just can't win for losing, huh? Kacchan was right, I really am just a worthless Deku."

With that, he got back up and began to go swinging again, the teen's mind now muddled as he swung across the city. 'Guess I'll go and find out what that FEAST place is like.'

It only took a few minutes to find the FEAST building. It was a large structure, about three stories high, the size impressing Izuku as he landed on a rooftop a little bit aways. After seeing no one was looking, he switched into his civilian clothes, now sporting a shirt that said 'shirt' and walked across the street over to the building.

Despite the depression he felt swinging over here, that was now knocked away for nervousness. Izuku had never really interacted much with others, mainly due to his quirklessness. All his birthdays and Christmases were all spent alone with his mother, no friends or other family. Nothing.

As such, the building before him felt like a whole new world, as he knew there were tons of unknown faces inside. The teen took a deep breath at this, and slowly opened the front door.

Now, Izuku had never gone to place like this, and he was expecting a big version of a soup kitchen, or a giant homeless shelter. Turns out, it was kind of both, as he saw that the entrance was just a small lobby with a bland white colored wall that had the word FEAST on it. As he walked in here, he saw there was no one at the reception desk and went to the next door, only to go wide-eyed.

In front of him was basically a giant gym with beds, blankets and chairs placed everywhere. All the people inside looked to be at least ten to thirty years older than him, a few elderly in the very back. He saw that most had mutant quirks, a random assortment of creature faces, only for a girl with a snake face to walk up to him.

"Hello there. Are you new?"

The teen turned to the girl, his mouth instantly not working. She blinked at him, Izuku now shaking as he tried to form words, "U-u-um...h-h-hi." he stuttered out.

The girl giggled at this, a tiny forked tongue slightly vibrating out of her mouth. "Nervous little guy, aren't ya?"

"Uh...er...." Izuku muttered, his brain now kicking him as he tried to form words.

"Its okay. Take your time."

"Th-th-thank you." Izuku slowly said, taking a few deep breaths. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." The snake girl extended a hand at this, "I'm Gloria Davila. Who are you?"

"I'm Izuku Midoriya. N-n-nice to meet you, Davilla."

"Same. Just call me Gloria."

"Wha-I can't do that! I-I-I just m-m-met you and-"

"You can, and you will." Gloria chuckled before crossing her arms, "So, you look new. Are ya?"

"Y-y-yes." Izuku replied, doing a slight gulp. "Um...you see, I uh...wanted to volunteer."

She tilted her head at this, blinking for a second before responding, "Oh? Why?"

Izuku slightly flinched at the question, his eyes trying to stay on her as he said, "Well...I uh...this may sound s-s-stupid, but I want to be a hero and...I-I-I want to learn charity."

The girl's eyes narrowed at this, her eye slits almost hiding her pupils before gesturing to him with a single finger, "Follow me."

"Okay..." Izuku squeaked out, the teen slowly following her as they went back to the lobby and then up some stairs. It was here he saw that the gym had a slight second story, which seemed to be a place for two offices. One office had a glass wall showing the gym while the other was inside a wall, Gloria leading him into the wall version.

She opened the door at this, gesturing Izuku to walk in as she said, "Yo Mister Li! I need you to meet someone!"

Izuku looked inside the room and saw a clean brown colored office, a big desk in the middle with a man sitting behind it. The man looked middle-aged, with slick jet black hair and was wearing thick black suit. He showed her a small smile as he responded, "Hello Gloria. Who is this?"

"This here is Izuku Midoriya. Says he wants to volunteer."

"Oh?" the man replied before gesturing to the two, "Come in then, please."

The duo slowly walked in, Izuku seeing there was only one chair in front of the desk. He was about to sit in it, only for the man to flash a hand at Izuku, "Hello there. I'm Martin Li, owner of FEAST. Its nice to meet you."

"Oh! Um...i-i-its n-n-nice to meet you t-t-too, Li." Izuku responded while taking the hand. And as he shook, he felt a strong grip in the man before sitting down.

"Please, call me Mister Li. Everyone here does." Izuku opened his mouth at this, only for Li to continue, "So Midoriya, I'll just cut to the chase. Why do you want to volunteer here?"

Izuku felt a slight chill down his spine as he tried to speak, "Well...I uh..." his eyes slightly looked away as he twiddled his thumbs, "You see...I failed to become a hero and...well...I want to help people anyways."

"You failed to become a hero?" Martin replied while tilting his head, "Why?"

"I...uh..." Izuku stuttered out, his mind now locking up. His brain began to yell at him at this, telling him to just say anything, only for one lie to come to mind. One that used to not be a lie. "I'm quirkless."

The words came out instantly, the statement making Martin raise an eyebrow while Gloria was wide-eyed, as if she had never heard that before. But before Izuku could continue, Martin spoke up, "I see. I will admit, I've never met one your age." Izuku flinched at that, only for Li to add, "And you want to volunteer here? To help others?"

Izuku did a slow nod.

Li then shook his head. "No. You're not allowed to help."

"Huh?"

And before Izuku could ask if it was because of his quirklessness, Martin shook his head again and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, "Kid, I mean no offense, but its obvious you're the one that needs help."

That made Izuku blink, his brain stopping as he muttered out, "Wha...w-w-what do you mean?"

Martin patted his shoulder before letting out a calm chuckle, "Let me show you something." He gestured to Izuku to follow, all three leaving the office, Martin making him go to the siding, which showed the entire gym, all of it filled with its beds and blankets. There, all the people were talking or laying down, Li pointing at them, "See that? I made this place to help people like that. To help those who are rejected in this quirk ruled society."

Izuku just stared at the sight before turning to Martin as he continued, "You said you're quirkless, right?" Izuku slowly nodded back, "You're definitely someone that we would help, but instead you came to do help. That's a good quality to have."

Martin pointed to Gloria at this, "See Gloria there? She's looked down on because of her appearance. However, I and others here have tried everyway to help her with that."

"And you have." Gloria replied while sticking out her tongue, "And you were way too forceful about it."

Martin let out a laugh, "Oh, I wouldn't say that." He then tapped Izuku's shoulder, making the teen look back at him, "Now, do you know why I was able to help her?"

"Um...y-y-you showed her people who accept her?" he guessed.

"That's one part. But there's another." Li pointed to himself, "You see, I obtained a fortune a long time ago. And instead of just wasting it like some rich slob, I created FEAST. Its a place to help others. Sure, some may call it a glorified homeless shelter or some giant soup kitchen, and it kinda is...but that's okay. Because those things help those in need. But, in order to do that, I had to help myself first."

"Y-y-you had to...help yourself?"

"Yeah. My quirk is what many would call a 'villain quirk'. And if you're wondering, I don't show it to anyone. Its dangerous." He put his hand back on Izuku's shoulder, "But I don't let it control me. Its obvious when looking at you that you let your quirklessness control you. That's why you need help."

"Oh..." Izuku barely whispered, his mind now yelling at him, 'But I'm no longer quirkless.'

"Seems you're thinking about it now, aren't ya?" Martin chuckled before crossing his arms, "Tell you what. I'll let Gloria introduce you to some of the other volunteers here and you can decide for yourself if this is the place for you, okay?"

Izuku blinked at him, his mind reeling at the conversation. He had never met someone like this, and his mindset sounded like a hero...but he wasn't one. The man just wanted to help without being a hero. The teen just nodded back as he said, "Okay. T-t-thank you Mister Li."

"No problem." Li nodded before pointing at Gloria, "Now, go follow Gloria. She'll help you out."

"Follow me squirt." She said as she stuck out her forked tongue. Izuku slowly followed behind her as they went back down to the first floor.

It turned out, there wasn't many volunteers. Mainly, there was a pair of helpers that had dog quirks, one having a poodle face while the other had a pug face. There was also another snake mutant quirk, a girl named Steff, and the final helper was their cook, Wanze, who says he's an inspired follower of Lunch Rush.

After this, he met most of the people on the gym floor. He found they were mostly elderly, three of them being retired heroes that ended up down on their luck, along with several mutant quirks, all adults who were rejected for theirs looks. He found none were quirkless, but once it was revealed, most said they understood his pain.

Despite this, Izuku found himself stuttering at every introduction, but he also found that everyone was patient with him. The teen was utterly shocked at this, finding it made it even harder to respond. And as he talked to everyone, an hour or so passed before he took his leave.

"Wow..." Izuku whispered as he left the FEAST building, now walking down a few streets. "I've never met so many...nice people." He looked down at the street as he continued to walk, "And they didn't mind me saying I'm quirkless, even though that's a lie now."

'I didn't know people like that existed.' He glanced back at this, FEAST now not even visible. 'Mister Li is amazing.'

And as he looked back to the road ahead, he felt something boil in him. A spark of determination before his eyes shifted to a nearby alleyway. He quickly zipped into it, turning invisible before crawling up the building's wall. "Mister Li is right." Izuku commented to himself as he got to the rooftop, soon taking out his costume. "If I want to help others, I need to help myself first."

He checked his web shooters before leaping off a rooftop, feeling a burst of wind in his face. Taking a deep breath, he fired a web line and shot across a street. He wasn't sure how long he swung, his mind wandering as he continued to zip across the city.

'Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard. I mean, I'm a vigilante, I'm Spider-Man...and I've done some good. Maybe I could do more, but...I think I'm doing well.' He let out a long inward sigh, 'I guess...I guess I'm still hoping to just have some miracle happen that gets me into UA.'

Izuku shook his head at this as he whispered, "Guess that's not in the cards for a worthless Deku like me."

And as he swung down another street, he zipped up to a rooftop and checked his web shooters, "Need to change 'em." he commented to himself as he switched the fluid. But as he did this, he heard a series of grunts and yells, "Hmm?"

He leapt over to the next rooftop, soon glancing down an alleyway and going wide-eyed. A gang of ten thugs, all in biker outfits were all ganging up on a round man in a large yellowish hoodie. "Fat Gum? What's he doing here? Isn't he based in Esuha City?"

The teen blinked at the sight, only for his brain to catch up as he saw one thug, a guy with what looked like a bear mutant quirk, continue to push the hero back into a dead end in the alleyway with a series of punches. 'Stop staring and help Izuku!' he mentally told himself before going invisible.

He hopped off the rooftop, firing a web to slow his descent before almost silently landing behind the gang. He looked down at his hands as he began to charge his Venom Power, only to see his invisibility glitch. 'What the-can I not do both?' He saw the invisibility continue to glitch, making him grimace. 'Not quite. But that's okay. I'll figure around that later.'

He then tiptoed up to two of the thugs, both hands now sparking as he tapped the back of their necks. "Huh?" they both said as they slapped their necks before turning around.

ZAP!

Electricity covered them for a split-second before slumping over, the sound of them hitting the ground making three others spin around. They all went wide-eyed as they saw their comrades on the floor as Izuku materialized as his invisibility wore off. "Hey fellas. Why don't you pick on someone less your size?"

"What the heck?! Get him!" One roared before the other two charged. One of them hands turned into a brick while the other, which had a shark for a head, pulled out a syringe and injected himself. Izuku ducked under a jab from the brick quirk user before uppercutting him, sending him flying off his feet. But as he did this, his spider sense flared, making him to turn to see the shark man now screaming as he charged at Izuku.

"Holy-" Izuku tried to say just as the shark man tilted his head to try and bite Izuku's head, the teen quickly leaping back. The shark man chomped nothing but air before Izuku fired a burst of webbing at his face, closing the fish's mouth shut. "No Spider-Man flesh for you!"

"Mmmrrrgh!" The shark man growled as he tried to open his mouth, his flipper hands now clawing at his face. Seeing this, Izuku fired more webbing, now sticking the shark's hands to his face. Izuku's fingers sparked next as he quickly ran up and tapped the thug's shoulder.

"Good night!" Izuku declared as electricity surged through the fish man, making him flop over.

"You little-guys!" yelled the third thug, making three more glance back. "I need some help here!" He added as he injected a syringe into himself. His hand turned into a long claw at this, Izuku glancing up to see the thug's face. It was that of a weasel, his nose slightly stretching out as he showed both hands as they became super long claws.

"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered as the weasel man charged at him, quickly doing a horizontal claw swipe. Izuku leaned back at this, dodging the first attack before backpedaling, evading two more swipes before pulling a fist back, "Sorry, this is a no claw zone."

He swung a direct punch at the weasel man, the thug ducking under it before trying to slash at Izuku again. Spider-Man quickly backpedaled again, dodging the attack as he then heard two thunderous growls. His spider sense yelling at him again, he glanced up and saw the three thugs from before were now on the alley's walls, each one showing a different animal head. One was a puma, another a leopard, and the final one being a tiger.

"Oh great. The one day I forgot the catnip at home." Izuku quipped before firing two webs up the side walls, quickly yanking himself over the weasel man. As he did this, the puma lunged at him, grabbing Izuku out of mid-air.

"Ack!" he yelped as the puma man slammed him into the concrete, a jolt of pain hitting Izuku's back.

"You're gonna regret ever fighting us, the Tombstone Gang!" The puma man hissed as he showed his giant fangs. "Now I'm gonna tear you to shreds!"

"Nice...breath." Izuku moaned out before lifting his hand and poking the side of the thug, sparks flying out of his fingers.

ZAP!

"Augh!" The puma man yelped as he felt electricity surge through him. And as he began to slump over, Izuku raised his knees and then legs, kicking him off.

"Bad kitty!" Izuku yelled before the tiger and leopard leapt at him, Izuku quickly firing webbing at the leopard's mouth. The two quickly tackled him, the tiger punching him in the face before the leopard tried to bite him, only to let out a mumble as the webbing kept the leopard from chomping him. And as they did this, Izuku grabbed both, electricity surging as he zapped them. The leopard man slumped over instantly, but the tiger man just let out a roar, shaking off the pain before punching Izuku again.

He proceeded with three more punches, Izuku feeling his face scream in pain. "Urgh...forgot your claws today?" Izuku groaned as he lifted his arms up to protect his face from another punch.

"No. Just like toying with my prey!" the tiger man hissed before grabbing Izuku's arms and pulling them apart, his mouth now wide open as drool dripped out, "Now, let's have a bite."

"No, let me shred him first!" The weasel man declared as he appeared above Izuku, "Let me cut him a-Oomph!"

Suddenly, another thug slammed into the weasel man, knocking him over. The tiger man glanced up at this before looking back in the alley, only to see the other thugs all knocked out. Standing above them was Fat Gum, a glare on his face. "Get off him! Now!"

"Make us, hero!" Weasel man spat before charging at the hero, Fat Gum bracing himself.

As this happened, Izuku thrusted a knee upward, slamming the distracted tiger's man chest. The thug clenched at this, Izuku taking this chance to slip his arms away from the tiger man's hands before slamming them into the sides of the tiger's head. He yelped in pain before Izuku thrusted his knee up again, this time knocking the thug off him before stretching his legs back and thrusting them into the tiger man's chin.

THWACK!

The tiger man went flying, falling back first in front of Fat Gum as he knocked out the weasel man. The hero blinked at the sight before staring at the alleyway, now seeing all ten thugs knocked out as Izuku got back up.

"You okay?" The hero asked as he saw Spider-Man get up, his legs slightly shaking.

"I'm good." Izuku moaned as he flashed a weak thumbs up.

"Good." Fat Gum chuckled as he walked up to Izuku, "I remember you. You're Spider-Man, aren't ya? The new vigilante?"

"Yup." Izuku coughed before standing up straight. "Are you okay, Mister Fat Gum sir?"

"Mister Fat Gum sir? Ahaha!" The hero laughed before patting Izuku's shoulder, "Don't worry, it'll take more than that to take me down."

"Oh..." Izuku muttered out, "S-s-sorry for interfering sir."

"Sorry?" The hero shook his head, "You helped me, boy! Thank you. Though...why are you here?"

"Uh...I just wanted to try and help. You looked like you were overwhelmed." Izuku answered, blushing under the mask. "Though um...are you gonna try to arrest me now?"

Fat Gum just chuckled at that, "No, I don't have problems with vigilantes. Besides, you saved me. Though..." He then tilted his head at this, "Why are you a vigilante? You showed some considerable skill there, especially against triggered villains."

"Triggered...villains?"

Fat Gum nodded. "Trigger. That drug you saw them shoot up with. It makes quirks get stronger, but also makes the person go wild. I've been hunting this gang for a bit. Calls themselves the Tombstone gang, and they've been making the drug." He turned back to the alley of knocked out thugs, "Though...they didn't go as wild. Might be a new version of it."

"Huh. Well, sorry for interrupting your investigation."

"Nah, this fight was part of it." Fat Gum laughed before pointing at the vigilante, "But enough about that. You wouldn't mind answering my first question, would ya? Why are you vigilante?"

"Well...that's...uh..." Izuku muttered out before pointing his hand upward and firing a web line. He quickly leapt and yanked himself away, "Sorry Mister Fat Gum!"

"Hey, wait!" The hero yelled, but Spider-Man was already a half a block away, "Shoot..." Fat Gum sighed as Spider-Man vanished into the city. Shaking his head at this, he looked back at the thugs and pulled out a phone, "Better get these guys settled away. Still...poor kid. Reminds me of my intern, tons of skill but no self-confidence." As he tapped a few buttons, he put the phone to his ear as he added, "Hope you get some help Spider-Man."

'Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!'Izuku thought as he swung back to his house, growling as he landed on his rooftop before crawling through his window. 'Why?! First time meeting a hero that will actually talk to you and you just run?! WHY?!'

Izuku threw his mask off, facepalming as he landed on his desk chair. "Why?! Why do I keep messing up?!" And then smacked himself again, "And you didn't even ask for an autograph! Augh!"

He slumped over at this, slowly moving his hand down his face. 'You gotta stop doing this Izuku...' he mentally told himself before sighing. 'I mean, to be fair, you've barely been able to interact with anyone for all your life before all this and...and...and you're Spider-Man now! You need to be better Izuku!'

And after a minute of just sitting there, he took off the rest of his costume, took a shower, and went back to his desk. 'Just...figure out what to do next Izuku.' He slumped down in a chair at that thought, 'Need to get my mind off of this.' That thought made him hum, now remembering what had just happened before turning to his computer, "What did those guys say they were? Tombstone's gang?"

He began to typing away at his computer at this, "Tombstone...Tombstone..." He whispered as he pulled up the public villain database. And after a bit of searching, he found what he was looking for.

And it didn't look pretty.

Izuku crossed his arms as he read aloud the villain's profile, "Tombstone, A-rank villain. Quirk is Unyielding Wall, which is a mutant quirk. It allows him to have an almost invulnerable body. Considered highly dangerous." He scrolled down the page for a bit, "Was last seen being beaten by All Might two years ago, but escaped from the police van taking him to prison. Hasn't been seen since."

The teen scratched his chin at this, now reading that Tombstone was originally a drug lord, and liked hiring mutant quirks like himself, which explained why Izuku was fighting so many animal quirks earlier, Tombstone saying they follow him better, but nothing else to note. Seeing this, he looked up Trigger, only to find nothing but warnings or obvious spam links to dangerous sites. The rest was redacted, and after another hour, he turned off the computer and laid down on his bed.

"I need...to help myself." He slowly said to himself as he stared at the ceiling. "I need...to want to help myself."

His eyes began to close, his mind beginning to swim as he started to go to sleep. 'I gotta be better. And I will be better. I have to.'

Chapter 8: The First Disaster

Chapter Text

Mornings haven't been easy for Toshinori Yagi recently. To be fair, after going almost forty years of being the symbol of peace All Might, staying strong wasn't easy. Despite this, he found this morning to be a bit rougher than most. And as he woke up in his new apartment that was setup to be near UA, he knew today was gonna be a bit rougher.

He only had a little over three hours a day with his quirk now. Not a lot of time. It also didn't help that he hadn't found a successor, one that he believed could carry the torch that he had wielded for so long. But, he had a feeling that UA could give him what he was looking for.

However, he noticed as he woke up and got ready for the morning that he had not been alerted to any emergencies. Usually, Might Tower would call him bright and early, telling him how many disasters and villains were out there, and usually use his first hour taking them all down. But this time there was no alarm, no alert to wake him up, making the man take out his phone and call Might Tower.

"Yes sir?" Responded a voice.

"Secretary, is there any emergencies today? It is unusual for you to not alert me over anything."

"My apologies sir. I would say yes over the usual, but a lot has been solved this morning by multiple heroes and others."

Yagi slightly flinched at that, "What? Why did you not wake me if that is the case? Surely they need my help."

"I would agree, but this morning has been...different. Let's just say anything that has been reported has been handled very quickly."

"I...see." Yagi replied, blinking at the response as he walked into his bathroom. "I suppose if the other heroes are solving things, I should try to get to UA early today. Is there anything else on the agenda?"

"There is one situation currently." The screen on his phone switched to a picture of a giant pink muscular villain. "This is C-rank villain Habit Headgear. He was to be transferred to a new prison, only to escape. He's currently on a rampage in Musutafu."

"Are the nearby heroes having problems with him?"

"Yes. Kamui Woods and Mount Lady are currently fighting-wait. Nevermind. Situation has been resolved."

"Oh? By who?"

"Its...the newest vigilante, Spider-Man."

"Spider-Man? Who's that?"

A few minutes ago...

Izuku had woke up really early today. He hadn't slept much, his mind still jumbled from the previous day of FEAST, Fat Gum, and fighting another gang. And as he got up, he decided he would do a full day of Spider-Man and nothing else. He started by doing his usual morning routine, telling his mom that he was going out early, setting up a full thing of web cartridges and left his room.

His mom was against him going out so early, but she also knew she couldn't stop him. So now, the vigilante was swinging through the city, a blank expression on his face under the mask. He let out a small yawn as he pulled out his phone and turned on the police scanner again. This morning had been quite crazy, as he found that every kind of thing was trying to happen in Musutafu. Just in the past two hours, he found himself taking on two muggers, a group trying to rob a jewelry store, and helped get a few people out of a burning building. And amid the thank yous from civilians and criminals yelling profanities, he found himself swinging around every bit of the city.

"Wonder if I'll fight any big time villains today? Maybe a C-Rank?" he muttered to himself as he swung down another block. And as he said that, the scanner began to speak up.

"This is Musutafu police. We have an escaped prisoner on the loose. Last sighting is Lothal Drive. Kamui Woods and Mount Lady, please respond."

Izuku's eyes went wide at this, "Escaped prisoner? That's not good." He took a right at this, "Lothal Drive isn't too far away. Hope I can help out."

He quickly zipped down two more streets, only to land on a rooftop as he saw Mount Lady in the distance. He turned invisible at this, soon webbing over to a rooftop beside her before looking down at the street, now seeing Kamui Woods along with the prisoner, a pink muscular villain...who had three people in one of his arms.

"See this lucky little family? Come after me and I'll snap their necks!! Got that? Stay back, heroes!!" The villain yelled, Mount Lady and Kamui Woods hesitating as they glared at the villain.

'They need help.' Izuku thought as he turned himself visible for a second and refilled his cartridges before vanishing again. He then swung down to the street, now seeing the villain raise his arm up as the family cried out in pain.

"I'll do it! I'll kill them!"

"Listen, don't-" Kamui tried to say.

"Shut up hero!" Habit interrupted before slowly putting two of his fingers down on one of the hostages. "I'll crush her head right here!"

"You..." Kamui growled as his left hand began to vibrate, branches slowly coming out it.

"Listen pinkie, you're not going to get away with this." Mount Lady chimed in, the villain then glaring up at her. "Let them go. Now."

"I don't think so!" Habit screeched, "I'm getting my freedom back, and I'll kill anyone I have to to get it!"

And as he yelled this, Izuku tiptoed up to the villain's back, sparks now appearing in both of his hands. 'I better do a double zapping tap here. I just hope it knocks him out.'

With that, he leaned down and poked the back of villain's legs. Habit hopped at this, "Hey! What was that?"

"What was what?" Mount Lady replied.

"I just felt something funny!" he barked before glaring down at his hostages, "That's it, I'm gonna kill-"

ZAP!

"YEEAAAAUGH!" He screamed as lightning surged through his body. Seeing this, Kamui Woods quickly shot out branches from his hands, instantly grabbing the hostages as Habit kept screaming in pain.

Izuku reappeared at this, slightly backpedaling as he saw the villain just stand there in pain...but not fall over. "Uh-oh." He whispered before pulling a fist back, this one now fully sparking. "Guess I better hit him with everything I-"

WHAM!

A giant foot slammed into Habit Headgear, the lightning in Izuku's fist instantly sputtering out as he saw Mount Lady crush the villain under her massive heel. He could only blink at the sight before the hero glared down at him. "Spider-Man..."

"Uh...hi?"

She lifted her foot, now seeing a knocked out Habit under it before looking back at Izuku. "Did you do that? That whole zapping thing?"

"Um...yes." Izuku squeaked out, his feet shuffling back as his eyes went between Mount Lady and Kamui Woods.

"Huh." Lady responded before glancing down at Kamui, the hero gesturing to her. Seeing this, she shrunk down to her normal size while putting her hands to her hips as she glared at the vigilante, "Thanks."

"You're...welcome." Spider-Man slowly said before turning to Kamui, the hero checking the family over before they all thanked him and ran away. The hero then wrapped up the villain in a bundle of wooden vines before glancing over at the vigilante.

"Spider-Man...thank you." He replied before pointing a finger at him, "We need to get this villain back behind bars. As for you, I'll let you go since you saved those people."

"You sure?" Lady chimed in, Kamui nodding to her.

"Yeah." He turned back to Spider-Man, "But this is the only time. Next time, I will bring you in. Now go."

Izuku instantly turned invisible at this, quickly firing a web line before swinging away. And as he did this, his mind became even more jumbled. 'What just happened? Last two times I encountered Kamui Woods, he attacked me! Now he just...let me go? Huh?!'

The webslinger shook his head at this, "No...I'm not that lucky."

He then swung down another street at this, sighing as he glanced down at his phone, 'No, don't get depressed Izuku. The day's just starting and you just saved some more people. Just...keep swinging.'

Arriving early wasn't something Toshinori Yagi ever really did. He found that despite what he usually does, he always found he would arrive in the nick of time or too late. It was never early, but today was the exception. Now, he was standing beside the Space Hero: Thirteen in the USJ of UA. He was in his true form, as he hadn't used his All Might form at all today.

"Nervous?" Thirteen asked as she turned to the skeletal man. "You look like you're expecting something bad."

"No. Just...I can't help but think something is off today." he replied while wiping his mouth of a bit of blood.

"Oh? How so?"

"Not sure." Yagi responded before taking out his phone, "They should be coming soon, right?"

"Its still early." Thirteen added as she did a small stretch.

Yagi did a small hum at this, "That is true." He rubbed the back of his head at this, "Sorry...I don't mean to be awkward."

"Its fine." Thirteen chuckled, "I suppose you're a person who's 'always on time'?"

Yagi shook his head, "Not quite."

As he said this, the sound of a vehicle rolling up rang out, making them both turn to the USJ entrance. "I'm gonna change. Do you want me to appear after your lecture?"

"Sure." Thirteen chirped as Yagi walked into a nearby building.

A minute later, Thirteen found herself standing in front of a full group of students. They were Class 1-A, all of them looking young and energetic in their hero outfits. Ahead of them was their teacher, Eraserhead. He had his usual bored expression on his face as he let out a long sigh.

"Thirteen...where is All Might?"

The hero pointed to the nearby building, "In there getting ready. He'll be out in a second."

Eraserhead nodded as this before Thirteen walked up to the class, "Everyone, I'm the Space Hero: Thirteen. I'm a Rescue Hero."

"So cool!" squealed a brown haired girl, stars in her eyes.

"Calm down Uraraka." whispered a girl with two long earlobes as she patted Uraraka's shoulder.

"Thank you all for coming." Thirteen continued before gesturing to the facility behind her. "As you can see, this is the USJ, or the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. It is designed to help you understand the many situations you can get in while trying to rescue others. This is very important for your future as heroes, as disasters will be a part of your life, and that means you need to understand how your quirk works in that situation."

"Tch." spat a certain blonde teen who had grenade-looking gauntlets on, "Like any of these would be a problem for my quirk."

"I wouldn't say that, young man." Katsuki's eyes narrowed at the hero as she shook her head, "All quirks have advantages and disadvantages." Katsuki's palms began to spark at the comment, but Thirteen didn't notice as she continued, "As you all may or may not know, my quirk is Black Hole. It has the power to suck up anything and destroy it. Now, that can be used for both good and ill, and it is deadly. That is why we have regulations, to help us understand on how to use our quirks to help others rather than hurt them. Does everyone understand?"

Katsuki let out a hiss at that, muttering that he already knew something so simple as the rest of the group all started clapping or said 'yes sensei'. And as this happened, the door to the building to their right opened up, a booming voice echoing out at the same time.

"I could not agree more, Thirteen!"All Might exclaimed as he walked out in his bronze age uniform."It is this kind of facility that will help you the most in heroics!"

"All Might!" a few in the class cheered, the hero chuckling back.

"Indeed. I am here to help. As you know, this facility is for certain environments under crisis, but there is also the chance of fighting while in these places."

Thirteen nodded at this, "Agreed. As such, All Might has volunteered to help with exercises here today. As he said, its in these situations we will be going over today where things can always go wrong. That is why we will be having All Might here help demonstrate the worst cases and how to resolve them."

"Wow!" a spiky red-haired boy exclaimed, "That's super manly!"

"That's right young Kirishima. Now-"

"Hey, what's that?" a voice interrupted, a few noticing it was coming from a certain invisible girl that was part of the class. They all turned to where a floating glove was pointing, only to see a purple hazy mist.

"Thirteen, is that-"

"That's not part of the facility." Thirteen instantly chimed in, only to notice Eraserhead clench up.

"Thirteen...get the students out of here." Eraserhead slowly said before glaring at All Might, "Get ready."

As soon as he said that, the purple mist extended as a pale hand came out first. This was followed by a boy with a hand on his face, only to soon show the rest of his body was covered in hands. This was followed by a giant black monster that had its brain showing and wearing long brown pants, along with several small-time looking crooks coming out of the portal.

"Is that part of the USJ?" one of the students asked.

"No! Those are villains!" Eraserhead yelled as he unfurled his long scarf.

"Yes...you all have a lot of nerve coming here."All Might added.

"Ah..." the one with hands on his face muttered before pointing at All Might. "Looks like the schedule was right. The Symbol of Peace is here...lovely."

"And who might you be?"

The purple mist regressed back at this, soon showing two misty yellow eyes and a brace for its neck. And despite showing no mouth, it began to speak, "Greetings. We are the league of villains."

"And we're here for one thing!" The boy with hands cackled before pointing at All Might, "Your death, All Might!"

Hearing this, the hero cracked his knuckles as he glared down at the villains,"And you invaded this place to try something that ridiculous?!"

"Its not ridiculous. We can do it." The boy pointed to the giant monster behind him, "You see, this is the Nomu, the ultimate OP cheat code monster. He also has another name: The bioengineered anti-symbol of peace!"

"You should not announce the trump card so quickly, Master Shigaraki." the mist man said before the hand boy spun around.

"Shut up Kurogiri!" He glanced back at All Might, "Get him Nomu! The rest of you, kill the other heroes and students!"

"You heard him, get 'em!" one of the villains yelled before charging, the rest about to join him, only for All Might to appear before them.

"None of you will do any of that! Do you know why?"All Might exclaimed, everyone in the building suddenly feeling a shift of pressure as they saw the hero's signature grin fade, switching to an angry glare."Because...I am here! Missouri Smash!"

Before the villains could even move, a sudden burst of force slammed into them, instantly knocking out every single minor villain that came out of the portal. The sight made most of the students gasp before the hero spun around, only to see the Nomu charging at him. He quickly raised both arms out, catching the rampaging monster as he locked his hands with the beast.

"Unf!"All Might hissed as he felt his feet grind into the floor as he pushed the monster back,"Not bad. You are definitely strong."The hero then thrusted a knee into the Nomu, only to see the blow not even faze the monster."Hm. Seems I'll have to try a bit harder!"

The creature let out a roar at this, pulling its right arm back as All Might let go of it. Seeing this, the hero met the monster's next punch with his own, only for both to start exchanging blows in a blinding rapid-pace fury.

"Grrr...he's already cheating!" Shigaraki growled before pointing at Kurogiri, "Bring us the rest of the minions now! I want a full mob spawn going!"

"At once, Master Tomura." Kurogiri's body began to shift, only to come to a stop as his mist slowly began to grow.

"Hey! What are you doing, Kurogiri?! I want them now!"

"I...can't fully use my quirk."

"Huh?" Shigaraki muttered out before spinning around, now seeing a glaring Eraserhead as he fired his scarf at him. Shigaraki quickly ducked under the weapon, a sigh escaping his breath, "Eraserhead...figures you would try to cheat too."

Eraserhead didn't reply as he swung his weapon again, Shigaraki quickly backpedaling at every attack, only to lunge at the underground hero, making Aizawa evade and stop staring at Kurogiri as he now focused on Shigaraki. As this happened, Thirteen turned to the students, all of them entranced at the sight before them. "Everyone, we must leave now!"

"But what about Aizawa-sensei and-"

"Leave this situation to them." Thirteen interrupted, "All of you, get in the bus. Now!"

Hearing this, most began to file out, Katsuki glaring at the fight in the distance. He felt his palms clench at the sight, wanting to join in, only for Thirteen to grab his arm, "Come on! We're leaving right now!"

But as they did this, Kurogiri suddenly appeared before them, "I think not. You will all-"

SMASH!

What sounded like a cross between a car crash and a sound boom rang out, making the group all look back as they saw a black figure fly out of the USJ, soon landing with a small dust cloud in the distance. The sight made most of their jaws drop, Kurogiri's yellow eyes expanding before disappearing in a blast of mist.

"What the-YOU DIRTY CHEATER!" Shigaraki screamed, everyone glancing over at him. "You can't just beat the super weapon like that!"

"I can and I have."All Might replied as he zipped right up to Shigaraki,"Your toy is broken, boy. I will admit, it hit me with a few good blows, but I'm at full strength today."

Shigaraki began to backpedal at this, only for a pillar of smoke to consume him. "We're leaving Master Shigaraki."

"Tch." Shigaraki growled as the mist devoured him before pointing at All Might, "I'll be back Symbol of Peace. You will fall!"

And with that, the two villains disappeared, All Might now feeling a drop of blood come off his lips. He then glanced back at the class,"Are you all alright?"

The class all responded that they were, All Might then admitting to Eraserhead that that was close. The teacher sighed at this, saying that this was all All Might's fault, but agreed, and then told the Symbol of Peace to go and call the police to round up the knocked-out small time villains from before. And as this happened, they agreed to put off training for today, saying they can always do the USJ another day.

Meanwhile...

Izuku suppressed a yawn as he swung down a few streets. It had been a little over an hour since his encounter with Habit Headgear. After this, he kept his ear to the police scanner, but nothing was really coming in now. Letting out a sigh, he landed on a rooftop near FEAST. Checking his web shooters, he switched cartridges before swinging again.

"Guess there's no problems around here." He muttered as he went down another block, "Well...since nothing is happening, maybe I should write down some quips. What was that one I did yesterday?"

He fired a web line at this, only to glance down at the street below. He saw the people just walking by, most not even looking up compared to how it was the past few days. 'Are they already used to me? Then again, heroes are normal...and I guess vigilantes are probably the same-'

His thoughts came to a stop as he saw something in the corner of his eye, a certain sight in an alleyway. He quickly took a hard right, flinging up to a rooftop. "Was that-" He tried to say before quickly running across the rooftop, soon arriving above the alleyway...and went wide-eyed.

In the alley were two black vans, one of them very familiar looking, along with a semi truck. One van was in front of the semi while the other was behind it. And as he stared at the vehicles, a door in the nearby building opened up and a barrage of masked men ran out and quickly started to get into the cars.

"Huh. Guess it is my lucky day." Izuku commented as he checked his shooters before leaping off the roof, turning invisible while firing two web lines behind himself to slow himself down. He then descended down onto the front van, quietly landing on the roof as the gang all got into the vehicles.

And as they began to rev up, the invisible vigilante crawled over the side of the van and webbed up the right side tires. 'This'll slow you down.'

On cue, the masked men put their foot on the gas, only for the van to jerk."What?! What's going on?!"the driver yelled as he let go of the gas. He turned to the passenger seat,"Something's wrong! Check the van!"

"Understood."the masked man tried to open his door, only to find it wouldn't budge."Huh?"

Though he couldn't see it, his door was now webbed up along with the tires. And as he pushed on the door, Izuku slithered under the car, whispering about how cool it is that he could just crawl under there upside-down with ease. He then webbed up the other doors before the tires. 'Nice. One set of masked mooks webbed up.'

But as he grinned under his mask, the passenger door from before flew off the van, hitting the alley wall with a clang and making Izuku jolt. His invisibility glitched for a second at this, but he shut his eyes and focused, getting it back under control. He then crawled onto the top of the van, now seeing a masked man with black and white energy pouring off his hands. 'Oh yeah. Forgot everyone in this...gang? I guess its a gang, but yeah...forgot they could do that.'

"What the-the spider!"the masked man roared as he saw the webs on the van's tires."The spider from the bank is here!"

'And they're still speaking some language I can't understand. Who are these guys?' Izuku thought as he watched the masked man yell at the driver. 'They know I'm here now. I better go ahead and make my move before this becomes a car chase.'

He then leaned over and tapped the shoulder of the masked man that was outside of the car. He let out a yelp before lightning surged in him, the thug soon falling over. Izuku's invisibility stopped at this as he fired a blast of webbing, plastering him to the alley wall. The gang started yelling at this, Izuku turning to the van with the now missing door.

"Hi fellas!" he said as he walked up to the open segment of the van. He then pointed his wrists at them, firing a burst of webbing all over the van, tying them all up. And as they began yelling again, Izuku reached in and zapped each of them with a poke as he added, "Stay here, would ya? I gotta fight all your pals in the other cars and I really don't need you joining the party."

But as he said that, he looked over to the semi and other van, only to see them going in reverse...and out into the street. "And...there goes the party." Izuku whispered as fired a web line at the semi before quickly yanking himself on top of it. And as he landed, the back door of the semi opened up and two thugs climbed onto the truck. They both pulled out katanas with the black and white energy pouring off them.

"That's new."

"Get the spider!"one of them roared as he charged at Izuku, the vigilante tensing up for a second. The thug swung the katana with a horizontal slice, Spider-Man quickly ducking under it before backpedaling, dodging a second slice.

"Oi! Watch it with the sharp stuff!" he yelped before feeling himself stumble a bit. The thugs did as well, both falling to one knee as the truck finished going into reverse. Seeing this, Izuku glanced down at the sidewalk, seeing several bystanders all staring at the sight. He quickly pointed at a man among the bystanders, "Hey you! Call the heroes now! These guys are villains!" The semi began to accelerate at this, Izuku looking back at the thugs as they got up, energy surging around their weapons.

"Oh boy...I got a bad feeling about this." Izuku gulped as he saw one of the thugs charging at him, thrusting the sword at the vigilante. "Whoa!" Izuku side-stepped from the attack, only for the second one to run up and try to slash Izuku. "Aah!"

Izuku backpedaled at this, only for the first thug to attack again, this one slashing Izuku's chest. "Augh!" He yelped as the attack made him fall, his back hitting the top of the semi. He blinked at this before going wide-eyed as the thug held the katana above his head.

"Die!"he roared before thrusting the blade down, Izuku quickly rolling to the side and dodging the katana. And as the sword went right through the semi's roof, Izuku thrust a leg up, slamming into the thug's chest. The blow knocked him off his feet, Izuku quickly firing a web at the second thug's chest before pulling it. The thug yelped as he was flung down, Izuku then thrusting a foot into the thug's face, knocking him back as well.

And as both thugs hit the semi with their backs, Izuku hopped up and fired two bursts of webbing, trapping them both to the roof. He glanced down at his chest, seeing a tear along with a bit of blood drip out. "That's not good. I need to-"

Danger!

His spider sense yelled as he glanced up and saw another masked thug climb onto the semi roof, the sight making him sigh. "Great..." Electricity surged through his fists as the thug began to walk up to him with a glowing katana. "Listen pal, you and your masked friends need to stop this semi now and not do...whatever crime you were going to do."

After mentally facepalming over messing up another quip, electricity sparked out of him before charging at the thug, the masked man doing the same. He quickly thrust his sword at this, Izuku leaping up in response, going over the thug before hitting his back.

ZAP!

The masked thug let out a cry of pain before falling over, Izuku quickly webbing him to the roof as well. "Another down." Izuku moaned, only for his spider sense to ring again. "Oh, come on!"

He spun around to see two more thugs climb onto the semi roof, "Seriously?! How many guys you got inside this thing?!"

"Hey! Pull over now!" yelled a new voice, Izuku and the two thugs turning to the sound.

There, Izuku went wide-eyed as he saw a certain hero running up to the still in motion semi. "Ingenium?!"

"Its a hero!"one of the thugs yelled before pointing at the others,"Tell the others inside to get the guns! I will fight the spider!"

The second masked thug nodded before going back over the side of the semi, Izuku grimacing at this, "Hey! What did you just tell him to do?"

"Die!"the thug screamed as he charged at the vigilante, but Izuku was ready. He shot a web at the thug's feet and yanked it, instantly flinging the thug off his feet. And as the masked man's back hit the semi's roof, webbing covered his body.

"Nope! No more slashing at me with your pointy weapons!" Izuku commented, only to let out a small hum, "In fact, why don't you...uh...eh, can't think of a quip." He mentally sighed and flexed his wrists at this, 'At least it feels like I'm getting better at this.'

Izuku then turned to the hero racing beside the semi, "Hey! Mister Ingenium!"

"You...you're Spider-Man, right?" he replied back.

"Yeah!" Izuku responded, his mind already racing. 'Holy cow, that's Ingenium, the Turbo Hero! He's known for-stop it Izuku! Focus! Fanboy later!' He resisted the urge to slap himself as he then said, "Say, you don't mind taking out their other car first while I take care of the semi, do you?"

"What other car?"

"Huh?" Izuku glanced back to the front of the semi...only to see the other car that left the alleyway was now gone. "Oh shoot!" He looked back at the Pro Hero, "They must have split up while I was fighting them!"

"Well, even if that's true, we have to stop this semi first!"

Izuku agreed with that, soon running up to the end of the semi, turning invisible as he lowered his head down to see what was inside. His eyes went wide as he saw at least ten more thugs inside, all of them taking out guns now. "That's not good." he whispered before raising his head and turning visible. He glanced over at Ingenium and yelled, "Hey! Can you handle the drivers of this thing?! I'm gonna go inside and beat the rest of them!"

"What?!" the hero yelped before seeing Izuku fire a web and hopped off the semi, yanking himself back as he swung into the semi's back. "Hey! Wait!"

But it was too late as Izuku flew in and yelled, "Surprise! Venom Punch!" He then thrust a charged fist into the closest one of the group inside the van, zapping him and blasting the thug into four others. A scream of rage came next as two of thugs instantly tried to counterattack, both pointing their guns at the vigilante. Spider sense blaring, Izuku fired two shots of webbing, jamming both guns before punching one of them. He then spun around and kicked the other in the chest, knocking him into the wall, making the semi tilt for a second.

And as the rest tried to gain their footing inside the semi, Izuku stood tall thanks to his spider abilities, allowing him to fire webs at two more thugs feet before yanking them, flinging them around. As this happened, the last masked man in the semi stood up, a bulky one that looked just as big as the one Izuku had fought at the bank. Black and white energy surged from his fists as he glared at the vigilante.

"Hey there. Any relation to that big guy I fought at the bank the other day?"

"DIE!"he roared as he charged at Izuku.

"That's probably a yes." Izuku commented before ducking under a jab, "And you have the same temper. Are you twins?!" The thug just yelled a profanity at this, though Izuku couldn't understand it as he dodged a second punch, "I sure hope you aren't triplets." He then pulled back a fist as it surged with electricity, "But knowing my luck, you're probably quadruplets or something."

POW!

Izuku's electric fist uppercutted into the thug, the criminal's head hitting the semi before landing like a sack of bricks. The teen flinched at that for a second before firing a bunch of webbing, tying him to the floor along with the others. And as he finished this, a psst came out of his shooter, making him see he had just ran out of webbing. He switched out the cartridge as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he commented to himself, "And that's that. Now, let's see if Ingenium needs-whoa!"

He then felt the truck brake, everything inside slightly moving despite all the thugs being mostly webbed down. Izuku almost stumbled, but kept himself upright. "That answers that."

A second later, the hero appeared in the open back door of the semi, "Spider-Man! You okay?"

"I'm good." Izuku replied as he walked out, "Just uh...a little winded."

The hero glanced into the semi, seeing the many knocked out thugs before nodding, "Wow." He looked back at the vigilante. "Good job."

"Oh uh...t-t-thanks." Izuku responded while blushing under the mask. "It was um...it was nothing."

"I doubt that. There was a full group in this thing. Anyways, I already called the police to pick these mooks up."

"Nice." Izuku added before he began to backpedal, "So uh...are you gonna try and catch me now?"

The hero turned to him, blinking under his mask, "Hmm? Why would I-oh. Right. You're a vigilante."

"Yeah...I am."

Ingenium shook his head at this, "Well, you don't have to worry. I don't mind vigilantes. You can go if you want."

"Really?!" Izuku gasped, only to quickly reach into his hoodie and pull out a small notebook, a second one Izuku kept stashed in his clothes. "Then...could I have your autograph?!"

Ingenium almost flinched at this, surprise on his masked face before taking the notebook. "Sure."

He did a quick signature before giving it back, Izuku trying to contain is inner hero nerd as he put it back in his hoodie. "Well uh...I better go before the police get here."

"Got it. And thanks for catching these guys."

"No problem." He glanced back at the semi, "Though uh...before I go, do you know who they are? This is the second time I've fought them and they all have similar quirks and talk in a different language."

Ingenium shrugged at this, "I don't know much. This is my first time encountering them. Sorry."

"Guess they're still new. Oh well." Izuku sighed before leaping onto the semi, "Welp, see ya around."

And with that, he fired a web line and swung away, leaving the Turbo Hero. He took off his helmet at this and scratched the back of his head, "Spider-Man...seems like a good kid. Sounded like he's Tenya's age. Why is someone that young and talented a vigilante?"

It wasn't till a few blocks that Izuku remembered his wound...and that he had forgot to tell Ingenium about the first car. He then swung over there, only to find the police had already beat him too it. Turned out, whoever he had told to call for the heroes must have noticed the webbed-up car.

Glad about this, he looked down at his wound and saw it was already healing, though it was doing so very slowly. Seeing this, he decided to just go home, saying he had done more than enough today. And as he got home, he snuck back through his window and took off his costume, only to now feel all his adrenaline leave him.

The teen soon crashed into his bed, sleep embracing him in an instant.

But as he began to dream, he couldn't help but think today had been a good day.

Somewhere else...

The shuffling of paper could be heard in a certain dark office, a man in a pure white suit sitting behind a desk. And as he flipped through a folder, the office's door opened, revealing a masked man. His demon mask showed a long frown with fangs coming out of it as he slowly walked up to the desk.

He did a small bow,"Master."

The one behind the desk glanced up, a small hiss coming out his mouth,"What is it?"

"The operation...failed."

The man raised an eyebrow,"Why? What happened?"

"The spider from the bank. He...appeared again and took out one of the cars and the semi."

The white suited man closed the folder, gritting his teeth as he slowly ascended from the desk. He spun around at this, taking a long katana from the wall behind the desk. He pulled the weapon out of the sheath, the blade shining as energy surged around it.

"Is that so?"He then pointed the sword at the masked man, putting its tip on the thug's chin,"If the spider interferes again...kill him. Slowly."

"Yes master."

He removed the katana away from the thug's chin, letting out a long hiss,"This is only the beginning. I have no need for vigilantes interfering with our work. All the cards must fall."He spun around and rubbed his finger down the blade,"I will take this city's underground...and then my plan will truly begin."

Chapter 9: A Day Off

Chapter Text

Half the day had already passed when Izuku woke up. His mother was slightly worried, mainly due to seeing him have a long sword slash on his chest, but he told her it was fine, saying it was just a very long day yesterday and his healing factor would do its job. Sighing and saying she feels like she's lost ten years off her life ever since Izuku started being a vigilante, she told him to relax today, which Izuku agreed to after a light lunch.

Now, he was on the living room couch, sewing up his costume from yesterday's fight.

"I need to make a few spare costumes." He told himself as he finished up the outfit. He looked it over at this, letting out a hum, "There we go."

And as he put the costume down, the television stopping showing commercials as a reporter appeared on the screen.

"Breaking News! UA was attacked! Villains attacked the school, trying to kill All Might!

"Kill All Might?!" Izuku yelped, his eyes going wide at that statement, "Wait...villains thought they could actually do that?!"

"A group of villains attacked the prestigious school, believing they could take on the Symbol of Peace, only for recent investigation to show that the hero instantly beat them. More news to come shortly."

"Wow..." Izuku muttered out as he got up and put his costume in his closet, "To think villains would be that ballsy. Then again, a lot of criminals I've been fighting have been gutsy like that."

And as he went back to the living room, the television was now showing a group of reporters, all going over different exploits of All Might and how the villains were so foolish to attack the school. Seeing this, Izuku slumped down in the couch after grabbing an extra cup of ramen out of the kitchen.

As he began to slurp the noodles, he stared at the screen, 'Guess the stuff I did yesterday didn't hit the news. Eh, that's okay. I mean, it is All Might after all. Still...I wonder if Kacchan got to see it. Probably did since he gets everything...he probably even got to fight those villains.'

Meanwhile...

Eraserhead didn't want to teach today. Granted, teaching was his job, but if he was totally honest, his mind was more set on what he would be doing later today. Thanks to the villain attack, which after the incident he went to Nezu and repeatedly asked him to get rid of All Might, saying it was all his fault that his students were put in danger and the press will start looking at them when they really shouldn't, and now the staff was gonna meet later to talk about the attack. And Nezu didn't get rid of All Might despite how much he complained.

Sighing at this, he dragged his sleeping bag as he went up to class 1-A's front door, quickly opening it with a single swing. There a barrage of noise in the room, over half the class talking about the incident yesterday, mostly about how All Might beat that monster villain.

But silence soon came when they saw their teacher open the door. He glared at them as he drudged up to the podium, "Five seconds. Its an improvement, but I expect you to be quicker next time." Aizawa grumbled as he pulled out a cup of coffee from the sleeping bag, which had somehow not stained or spilled inside the thing.

He let out a long sigh as he saw the expectant faces his students were wearing, "Alright...before you all ask, yes, what happened yesterday did happen. There was a villain attack becauseAll Mightis now teaching here." As he said that hero's name, the students could feel the anger drip out of his voice, "As such, the rest of the school and the press now know about the attack, which means eyes are going to be on you, even if you didn't participate in the attack."

Katsuki shined a huge grin at this as Aizawa continued, "However, I want you to all to forget about it, because there's a lot more important stuff happening soon."

"Like what Aizawa-sensei?" the student known as Ochako Uraraka asked.

"The UA Sports Festival is in two weeks."

The class immediately went into an uproar, Aizawa knowing he had lost all their attention at this. And after a minute or so of talking, he got it back as he said, "Now listen up, the festival is important, as there will tons of eyes on you all. That also means you can't slack off at all. I expect you all to do well, or you're expelled. Period."

Almost all of the students flinched at this, remembering the first day where the student Mineta Minoru was expelled after failing the quirk test.

"Good. You're all learning. Now, let's begin the day."

Izuku was now at his computer, finishing up some extra homework before skimming through a few online news outlets. Back when he first created his special hero app for his phone, he designed it around a news collecting program he had created on his computer. Despite this, he found it to be inefficient, as the news it mainly found were either extremely biased or redacted like crazy.

As such, information was scarce despite being in the information age. It just goes to show you how easily stuff can be covered up if someone wants it to stay hidden. Izuku had no doubt in his mind that half the info that never got out was part of the hero commission, but he knew that was part of a hero's job, even if he wasn't one.

Despite this, he did find that a few did report the adventure he had yesterday. It was mainly through them trying to interview Ingenium, though Izuku didn't mind. He had gotten a sweet autograph out of it.

However, he was also looking over the news outlets for something else. He still had nothing on those masked men. Two encounters and he found zilch on them. There was no name for the gang, no purpose except robbing that bank, and they all had the same quirks and spoke a different language.

Izuku leaned back in his chair at this, pulling out another notebook. This one was new, one that he made purely for investigations, which he had thought up after his encounter with Tombstone's gang. He tapped the pages with his pencil as his mind went over everything.

'So...I still don't have much. These masked guys come out of nowhere, rob a bank and cause a car chase...at least, in my tussles with them. There's nothing online, so they have to be new...' He glanced back up to the computer, which was now showing an interview with Ingenium. 'No name to the gang either. They all just have the same quirk, speak a different language...and they're really gutsy. I mean, they do all their stuff in the day. At least, of what I've seen.'

He put the notebook down at this, letting out a sigh as he crossed his arms. "Hmm...I don't know much about detective work. Guess its another thing I'll have to learn since I failed to get into UA. Maybe I should get a small forensic kit for my costume. That, and I could bring my old scanner I made..."

He looked up at the computer again, now seeing another news report on the UA attack. 'Hmmm...wonder who those villains were? I mean, they're even more ballsy than those masked guys if they want to take on All Might.' He leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head, 'I better not think about it. Might be best to just take on one or two cases at a time.'

Naomasa was walking through the halls of UA, his eyes scanning at the files in his hand. He couldn't help but think that this was just the beginning. He then looked up and saw a single door, sighing as he grabbed the handle and opened it. Glancing inside, he saw a conference room filled with every hero UA had. Even All Might was there, in his skeleton form as a drip of blood went down his chin before wiping it.

"Ah, detective! Welcome!" exclaimed the principal of UA, Nezu. The little stoat creature was waving to him as the detective slowly walked into the room.

"Hello everyone." Naomasa responded as he put down the folders he was carrying, "I hope you all know why this meeting was called."

"About the attack at the USJ." Vlad King chimed in while crossing his arms.

Naomasa nodded back, "Yes. Now, as you all know, an organization of villains calling themselves 'The League of Villains' attacked UA. We've looked into this organization and it seems to be that this is a brand new villain group. We've found no information on either of the main villains over this, that being Tomura Shigaraki and Kurogiri. Tomura Shigaraki seems to be the leader, and based on what Eraserhead said during his encounter with him, he has the power of disintegration, which we now believe is what took out the pillar at UA."

"Which allowed the press to get in." Aizawa grumbled, "What else do we have on him?"

"Not much. We've looked deep into the databases and quirk registry, only to find nothing. We have no background on him, no family...nothing. There is no record of him whatsoever. We do now have a profile set up for him. According to what we've interviewed between you all and the villains he recruited, Shigaraki seems to have a very childish personality. Its like he's a man-child that has been given too much power."

"Agreed. He acted like it was some kind of performance when I fought him." Aizawa added, "And do we have anything on Kurogiri?"

Naomasa shook his head, "No records there either. All we have is that he has a warp quirk, probably the most powerful one we've ever seen."

"That's not good." Snipe chimed in.

"And what about that weapon they attacked me with. What was that?" All Might added, Naomasa taking out a paper out of folder in response.

"Ah yes, the Nomu." Naomasa replied as he tapped the paper with his hand. "I just got a report from the crime lab over the monster. We tried to interrogate it, but got nothing. It doesn't seem to respond to anything, so the lab ran a DNA analysis instead. Turns out, it was originally human, just a small time criminal."

"That thing was originally human?" Thirteen asked, "How?"

"We don't fully know. All we know is that according to the analysis, it has multiple quirks and seems to be designed to be braindead. We suspect this was done so it could follow orders more easily."

"Wait...multiple quirks? How is that possible?" Midnight chimed in, "Isn't the most you can have is two?"

"Under normal circ*mstances, yes. However, that's not the case here." Naomasa responded, "We believe this could be connected to All For One."

The room almost went silent at that, most going wide-eyed as Present Mic asked, "All For One? Isn't that a myth?"

"He's real." All Might spoke up in a low, draining tone, "He's very very real." He slowly turned to Naomasa, "Is there any more evidence that its him?"

"No. However, when it comes to All For One, you're not going to find much more evidence than something like this."

"True." Nezu hummed as he glanced over the files, "According to these results, this is extreme experimentation. This Nomu is essentially no longer human. That being said, if this is an experiment and this is its first appearance, that must mean this is brand new." He looked back up at the detective, "Do we have anything else like this, this...multiple quirks injected into one being? Any case similar?"

Naomasa bit his lip at this, "Honestly, I would say no...except that a recent new case does have certain...similar circ*mstances."

"Oh? What might that be?" Nezu chirped.

Naomasa closed his eyes at this, taking a deep breath, "Before I start, I want to state that this is purely my theory. I have brought it up with the lab, and they denied it due to how the Nomu seems to be made and the lack of evidence. The Nomu seems to be designed to be a puppet, and everything about it is made to be just that. However, the Nomu is like nothing we've ever seen before."

"And the case you're following isn't remotely like it though, is it?"

Naomasa nodded back, "Correct. The only things that connect is the fact that the individual has multiple quirks, the timing, that is, the fact that this person just appeared right before the Nomu...and how perfect both are in terms of their quirks. They both seemed to be exactly designed for their quirks. Now, the number of quirks is actually unknown for this individual, but its been debated that they have between three or four quirks. Regularly, that should be impossible, just like the Nomu, which is why I believe this could be connected." Naomasa then pulled out another paper, spinning it around to show an image of a certain costumed individual. "This is Spider-Man, a new vigilante on the scene."

"A vigilante? That's not a villain, detective." Vlad instantly chimed in.

"I know. That's why it could possibly be not connected." Naomasa replied, "However, the case is extremely bizarre. For one, all the footage and evidence we have of him seem to suggest this vigilante just received his quirks."

Looks of confusion filled most of the room, Midnight asking, "Just received them?"

Naomasa nodded back, "Yes. Here, watch." He gestured to a laptop that had been setup, soon showing the footage of Spider-Man at both bank fights, along with him fighting Vulture.

"As you can see, he has no experience, and he acts as if he just received his powers."

"He also acts like he knows what quirks he has, but is surprised when it works." Eraserhead commented as he saw Spider-Man venom punch the bulky masked thug in the bank before celebrating on the quirk working.

"And based on the interviews with others who have encountered him, they believe he's around UA entering age." Naomasa let out a long sigh at this, "In fact, his first appearance, which was later confirmed by Kamui Woods, seemed to be the vigilante testing out his quirk and-"

"It happened a little bit after the UA entrance exams, didn't it?" Nezu interrupted, the room all turning to him as Naomasa nodded again, "I figured as much. Vigilantes do sometimes appear after failing our exams."

Several glanced back at the footage, Snipe chiming in, "Wait...you're saying we rejected him? With that kind of power?"

"Its possible." Nezu shrugged, "If he truly had no experience using his quirk, our test would be hard for him. Is this why you asked for the files on who failed our exams, detective?"

"Yes." Naomasa nodded, "Unfortunately, it didn't give me anything."

"I see. I figured that was where you were going with this. I won't deny there's a problem with the amount of students we accept to take the exams makes a giant suspect pool, and if he did in fact just receive his quirks, the profile he submitted to UA will probably be misleading. Anyways, I understand why you think this is connected, detective. This is a bizarre case, as it shouldn't be possible. Do you believe perhaps Spider-Man is an escaped experiment from the one who made the Nomu?"

"That's definitely a possibility. As you all probably know, people who are born with two quirks are extremely rare, and most that are born with them are usually very unstable. However, both the Nomu and Spider-Man seem to have perfect combination quirks. For Spider-Man, he has perfect assassination abilities. The powers of a spider allow him to crawl up walls with ease, along with the invisibility and electricity quirks, give him very distinct abilities that any hitman or killer would want. His webbing is also unique, as what samples we've tried to collect dissolve into nothing in what appears to be under three hours, as if by design as well."

"And the Nomu is the same, though its designed for something completely different." Eraserhead added as he stared at the paper before him. "Super Regeneration with Shock Absorption, along with body enhancements, possibly a strengthening quirk...definitely what you would want for a tireless super-powered weapon of destruction. Perfect for distractions and chaos."

"Agreed." Nezu continued as he looked over the file Naomasa had made on Spider-Man. "However, this Spider-Man could be recruited as a potential student. We do not have a full heroics class this year after all. The interviews make it sound like he's very young, is that correct?"

"Yes. Though that is a legal hassle now. You know what the commission thinks about vigilantes."

Eraserhead rolled his eyes at this, "That's because they prefer flashy heroic quirks and not quirks that could actually make a difference. This Spider-Man...he's perfect for underground hero work, something the commission barely approves." He let out a long sigh, "Its irrational, but there's no way they would accept him now."

"Now now, no need to be that negative Aizawa." Nezu replied before rubbing his chin with a grin, "Regardless of all we've discussed, there's a lot happening here. We should begin creating an investigation over the League of Villains and we'll keep the Spider-Man case separate for now until new evidence comes to light."

"Agreed." responded everyone but All Might.

As for the Symbol of Peace, he stared at two different papers. One showing the Nomu, the other Spider-Man.'All For One...so you're alive. What are you up to now?'He stared at a photo of Spider-Man, remembering back to his encounter with Shigaraki, 'This Shigaraki boy...you've obviously corrupted him. Did you try to do the same to this Spider-Man?'

Izuku spun the pencil in his hand, still surprised at his new enhanced reflexes. He always wanted to be able to do small finger tricks like in the movies, but now being able too...it was still strange. He then stared down at his notebook, which was on the pages over fighting styles.

However, there weren't anything on fighting styles. Instead, it just showed super moves. In the past few hours, he found everything he looked up on martial arts to be worthless. Nothing corresponded with using his webbing, something he knew he needed to put in his fighting style.

As such, he concluded he would have to make his own, and started to put in super moves instead. He figured out a few obvious ones with his Venom Power, and started to try figure out stuff with webbing. This was followed by several stealth moves, along with thinking some acrobatics could be put in, though Izuku concluded he had no idea how to do that.

And as he finished his notes, he went over to his webbing cartridges, seeing a big supply of them now. The sight made him smile, glad that his inventing talent that he hated so much now become so useful with his new quirk. Despite this, he felt unfulfilled, mainly because he promised his mom to not go out as Spider-Man today.

'Oh...I want to go out as Spider-Man! I can't stand being cooped up in here!' He thought as he began to pace in his room. 'I wanna try this stuff! I wanna go out there!'

He then slumped down in his desk chair, letting out a long sigh. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

Meanwhile again...

All For One stared at the screens before him despite not having working eyes. His many sensory quirks allowed him to semi-watch the footage before him, this time showing several heroes along with a certain new vigilante.

"Spider-Man...interesting. You have multiple quirks, yet you don't seem to be a mindless monster like my Nomu. Very interesting." He chuckled before putting his hand to his chin, "Why are you a vigilante? Did this so-called world of heroes reject you?"

"Master, its time for another treatment." said a voice coming from a certain small bald man now walking into the room.

"I see. Before you do it doctor, tell me something." All For One pointed to the screen with Spider-Man, showing him fight in the bank, "Is that one of yours? Perhaps an escapee?"

The doctor shook his head, "No master. I have nothing like that in my experiments."

"It has to be an experiment, doctor. No one has that many quirks except for me. Think its one of your colleagues? Perhaps Connors?"

The doctor shook his head, "Bah, it couldn't possibly be him. He's too much of a goody-two-shoes. No, if he's an experiment, I can only think of two to three other scientists it could be...though I haven't heard much from them lately."

"I see..."

"Do you wish for me to capture him for you, master? I can send Kurogiri and-"

"No." All For One interrupted, "Leave him be."

"Oh? May I ask why, master?"

"Simple." All For One replied as he shined a huge smile, "Vigilantes stir up the underworld. They act outside the law, meaning they'll go after anyone, which helps keep the underworld disorganized. When I'm ready to take over again, its much easier to get all the villains to follow me in the chaos. Besides, that's the beauty of this world now, thanks to the so-called heroes."

"What do you mean?"

"This world is now obsessed with heroic quirks, meaning that those who don't fit the norm will become desperate or become villains. This allows hundreds of villains to be born for every one hero." He put his hands together as his smile grew even more. "Its the perfect system for me. Simple as that."

"I see. And if this Spider-Man interferes?"

"If he does, we'll just have another interesting quirk or two to put into our arsenal."

Chapter 10: Weaving A Web

Chapter Text

Izuku had to admit, despite not currently being Spider-Man, he did feel like he was doing good right now. After telling his mom what FEAST was like the other day, she asked if she could come along when he went the next time. She agreed with Martin Li's advice, saying he did need to help himself. However, Izuku found himself mostly ignoring this today, as he was too embarrassed having his mother there at FEAST.

Not only that, he found out that his mother could just easily walk up to anyone there and talk to them, something he could barely do. As such, she was already friends with Gloria, the snake lady constantly giggling at how different he was to his mother. This was also added by the fact that his mother told him he couldn't be Spider-Man till tonight, having caught him trying to do that this morning, and told him to still relax and recover even though he did that yesterday, or go to FEAST before being a vigilante tonight.

Despite this, he felt he was doing good right now. Thanks to bringing his mother, Martin Li accepted Izuku to volunteer. That and they needed people right now, as they were doing a weekly soup kitchen operation. Now, Izuku didn't know how to really cook, but they needed multiple people to serve the food, which was something he could do. Not only that, Li soon commented at how strong Izuku seemed to be despite his tiny frame, Izuku telling him he just works out regularly. He then had Izuku help move a bunch of tables and supplies around, Izuku now realizing just what little help the place had.

And as the soup kitchen started and he began to serve others food, Izuku found that this charity thing was worth it. Smiles and thanks happened over and over, making him feel like he was truly helping others. Part of him still wanted to go out and fight crime, but he now knew why All Might said this was so important. A real hero helps everyone.

And after a few hours, he took a lunch break, his mother staying behind to talk to her new friends as Izuku got himself some food. After getting some grub from a stand nearby FEAST, he went back inside and onto the building's roof. He went there, thinking he could use some peace and quiet, only to open the door and go wide-eyed at the sight.

On the roof was another resident of FEAST, Howard. He was a scraggly old guy that Izuku had met the first time coming to FEAST, but now realized he never saw him come down to the kitchen. Howard had a small shed set up on the roof, which had three pigeons inside.

"Yes yes...quiet down you." Howard chuckled as he scratched the chin of one of the pigeons before glancing over at the teen, "Ah, Izuku! How ya been doing?"

"H-h-hello mister Howard." Izuku replied as he walked up to him, "What's all this? W-w-why do you have all those birds?"

"Oh, these darlings? They're nothing much." Howard chuckled, "You see, they're my wife's pigeons."

"You're married?"

Howard shook his head, "Not anymore. She's uh...she's gone. This is all I really got left of her."

Izuku blinked at this for a second before bowing, "Oh, I-I-I'm so sorry. I-I-I didn't mean to-"

"Its fine." Howard waved his hand, "Don't worry about it." The pigeon he was scratching then tried to nip at him, making him flinch, "Hey! None of that!" Howard then shook his head, "Heh...looks like Bertha here still doesn't like me. If only I had my wife's quirk."

"Oh? What was her quirk?" Izuku chimed in, only to blush, "I-I-I mean, if you don't mind me asking..."

Howard shook his head and then patted Izuku's shoulder, "Its fine. Her quirk let her talk to birds. Mainly pigeons and a few others...not great, but it let her be a good veterinarian."

"Wow."

"Yup." Howard laughed before patting the pigeon's head, "Unfortunately, my quirk doesn't help with pigeons."

Izuku didn't reply to that, remembering when he first met Howard. His quirk was with his teeth, which were mole-like, allowing him to eat through just about anything. Unfortunately, it didn't have a much of a use, even when Izuku asked to analyze it and told him it was an amazing quirk. Despite this, he told Izuku he had had a fulfilling life, and told Izuku its okay to be limited like he was. Izuku had found him to be inspiring, though he didn't tell him.

Now, he stared at the pigeons and asked, "S-s-so...are these your only birds?"

"No." Howard sighed, "There's two more...but they randomly leave and come back." He scratched the side of his head, "I really wish I had a way to track them."

"Track them?"

"Yeah...two of them really love to fly everywhere and I'm worried someone will decide to...you know, get rid of them."

Izuku blinked at him as his mind began to catch up. 'Tracking them...' His eyes went wide at this, 'That's it!'

"Izuku? Are you okay?" Howard asked as he saw Izuku go silent and then wide-eyed.

"I gotta get going. Thanks Howard!" Izuku yelled as he suddenly ran for the door, quickly opening it.

"Sure...wait, thank you? But I didn't do anything!"

Izuku quickly ran downstairs and found his mother, Inko asking why he looked like he was in such a rush. He then told her he needed to go home, telling her he just thought up an invention idea. She asked if this was a lie, thinking he was going to go be Spider-Man early, something he had promised to do tonight, but Izuku told her the invention would take him all day. Nodding to this, he was allowed to leave early.

He quickly left the place and ran down an alleyway, turning invisible before changing into his Spider-Man outfit and swung over to his house. Izuku was glad he had figured out invisibility so quickly, it made things so easy to get around. He got to his house unnoticed, wall-crawling through his window and into his room before taking out a notebook he hadn't used in a while.

It was his invention notebook, though it was the fifteenth one he had created over his lifetime. Here, he wrote up a few blueprints, and then a few hours later, he began to create something new. He found his inventing drive was ten times stronger than ever, as if having the purpose of helping him be Spider-Man made him be a better inventor.

'I should write down a whole list of support equipment just for Spider-Man.he thought as he pulled out his main notebook over being Spider-Man. 'Let's see...I want to automate the web shooters one day. I also want multiple material sets for the costume for different scenarios...maybe some kind of stealth suit? That could useful.' He turned to his other notebooks, only to see his cell phone on the desk. The sight made him hum as his mind told him to write down something else, 'There's an idea. I've always experimented on how my phone's apps could respond through other devices, but only made them work through my computer or my phone.' His eyes shifted over to his vigilante costume laying over a chair, 'I wonder if I could ever implement that into my costume. Maybe just the mask? Eh, that's an idea for another day.'

And as evening came and the night started, Inko had already came home and was surprised to find Izuku still at his desk. He told her that he was going to go out as Spider-Man tomorrow, saying this new invention would help him be a better hero. Sighing and shaking her head, she told him she was proud of him going to FEAST today, and told him to not stay up too late before going to bed. And as she did this, Izuku finished his project and went to bed like she asked, knowing that this was just the beginning.

The Next Day...

Izuku woke up early that day, stretching as he flipped out of bed and onto the ceiling. As he crawled off the walls, he did his morning routine before telling his mom goodbye. She asked him if he had done his homework, only to tell her he was already three weeks ahead. He then changed into Spider-Man, turning invisible and out his window before swinging into the city.

And after swinging down a few blocks, he landed onto a nearby rooftop and pulled out a small device from his hoodie. 'Now...I hope this works.' He thought to himself as he stared at the gadget, which had a screen on it before taking out a tiny metal spider. 'Hmm...what should I call you? How about...spider tracer? Yeah, that sounds good.'

He put both away before swinging again, soon going down a few more streets, "Now to start my patrol."

And so, hour after hour passed, the vigilante swinging across the city. As he did this, he found two muggers, stopping both with ease, but nothing else. He then saw it was about noon, the sight making Izuku stop and land on a rooftop, soon changing his web cartridges. "Better get some grub. Wonder where I should eat?"

As he said that, the police scanner in his phone rang out.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a report of two speeding vehicles. Last sighting is at Mortis Avenue."

"Mortis Avenue?" Izuku repeated before staring at the street below him, "That's pretty close. Maybe I could find-"

His words came to a stop as two black vans suddenly shot down at the end of the block he was looking at. "Nevermind. Looks like they're coming to me." He tensed up, ready to hop off the roof, only to go wide-eyed as he saw a figure lean out of one of van's windows. "What the-its those masked guys again!"

A masked thug was leaning out of the window, a two-handed rifle in his hand as Izuku followed where he was looking and saw another sight. "That's...Airjet!" The flying mecha-looking hero was right behind the two vans, quickly zipping back and forth as the masked man started shooting at him.

"Looks like he needs help. Good thing I just reloaded my webbing." Izuku said before leaping off the building, "Let's do this!"

He fired a web line and began swinging, seeing Airjet flying over one of the vans, the hero yelling, "Pull over now! This is your last warning!"

"Shoot the hero down!"the driver in the van responded, the masked man in the passenger seat pointing a gun at the hero.

"Uh-oh." Izuku gulped as he swung behind the hero. Airjet saw the gun and shifted over to the top of van, out of the range of the rifle. He then flew down, slamming himself into the roof of the van. The car began to shake at this, only for right side door of the van to open, showing two more masked men.

One fired an energy blast at Airjet, knocking him back as he tried to hold onto the van. "Airjet!" Izuku gasped before firing two web lines at the van's back, then yanking himself forward. He shot himself at the back of the van, landing as the van rocked at this as well. Airjet and the masked men glanced back at this, Izuku gripping the vehicle's rear at this. "Airjet, I'm here to help!"

"Spider-Man?!"

"The spider?!"one masked man yelped before ducking back into the van,"The spider is here! He's trying to stop us again!"

"Great...still can't understand you." Izuku sighed before seeing the masked man pull out a gun and point it at him. "Oh no you don't!" He aimed his wrist, firing it at the gun. The webbing instantly covered the weapon before Izuku yanked it away.

"No!"the masked man barked, only for an armored hand to suddenly grab his shoulder. He turned to see Airjet pulling back a punch. The other masked man charged up some energy in his fists at this, Izuku seeing this and fired a web line at the man's mask. The man yelped as he was suddenly blinded, only for Airjet to jab the first masked man.

The blow knocked out the thug, Airjet still keeping his grip on the thug's shoulder as Spider-Man climbed onto the roof. He turned to see the second van about to take a right, 'Gotta stop this car, but that one might get away. Time to try out the spider tracer.' He put the tracer in his wrist and fired a web, instantly sticking it on the bumper of the van.

He then turned back to Airjet, now seeing him leap into the van, punching the others inside. "Guess I'll stop the driver and-"

A scream rang out next, making him look up and he saw the van was now heading for a park...and its tires just went up the sidewalk. The tires then hit the grass, Izuku now seeing there was a playground filled with kids coming up next. "NO!" Izuku screamed before firing two web lines at some nearby trees in the park and slingshotted himself ahead. He flung himself over to the jungle gym in the playground, making two kids gasp as he landed on the metal bars.

"Get out of here kiddos!" He yelled before spinning around and pointing his web shooters ahead. "I hope this works." He multi-tapped the shooters at two trees that the van was about to pass through. Piles of webbing shot out, making a giant web as the van came.

And as he kept firing webs, the van hit the big webbing net, slowing the speeding van as its tires grinded into the dirt. It kept trying to move at this, until eventually all its momentum was gone, sticking the car in place. "Nice." Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, seeing the van was now fully stuck. And as he aimed at the van's roof again, a 'psst' came out of his shooters. "Great..."

He opened his shooter to replace the webbing, only for a loud clang to ring out as Airjet screamed, "Augh!" Izuku glanced up to see the hero's back hit a nearby tree before slumping over.

"Airjet!" Izuku gasped before quickly replacing the webbing, only to see a certain masked thug walk out of the van. This one was bulky, just like the other two he had fought. "Oh, great. So they are triplets." And as he said that, the one in the driver seat stopped hitting the gas and instead hopped out of the car as well. This one had two long black and white energy whips in his hands. "That's new..."

"Forget the mission! Kill the spider!"the whip guy yelled as they both ran around the webbed-up van. Izuku let out a growl as he leapt off the jungle gym and got down into a crouched stance.

"You guys are gonna pay for the destruction you've done today!" Izuku said as he pointed his wrist at the whip guy, only for his spider sense to yell at him. But before he could react, the thug flicked the whip, instantly grabbing Izuku's arm and yanking him. "Whoa!"

The thug slung the whip overhead, flinging Izuku into a tree. "Urgh!" He groaned as he hit the pillar of lumber, denting it slightly as the whip let go of his arm. And as he slumped down, his spider sense went off again, making Izuku quickly fire a web line to another tree, yanking himself away just in time as the bulky thug charged at him. He missed the vigilante at this, destroying the first tree in the process before turning around, now seeing Izuku get back on his feet.

"Okay, let's try that again." Izuku grunted before his spider sense rang out again, making him backflip as the whip guy swung his weapon at him. The whips just missed the teen as he kept going back, only to then fire a web line at the whip thug, hitting his leg before Izuku yanked it, knocking him off his feet.

But before he could do anything else, the other thug charged at him, swinging two jabs. Izuku ducked under the first, only for the second to hit him in the stomach, the punch turning into an uppercut as it knocked the vigilante off his feet. "Oof!" he yelped as he was knocked upward, only to point his wrists at the thug and fire two web lines, catching both of the thug's fists. And with a mighty yank, he fired himself right back at the bulky man, slamming his feet into the thug's chest.

The thug let out a wheeze of pain as he was knocked back, only for Izuku to quickly fire some webbing over the now laying criminal. But as he did this, his spider sense blared before a whip shot straight for Izuku's head, and then grabbed his neck. "Urk!" Izuku yelped as he was yanked off his feet, the masked thug laughing as he began to drag Izuku through the dirt.

"Today you die spider!"the thug exclaimed before tightening his grip on the whip, energy flowing through it as it reached Izuku. A surge of pain struck him at this, making the teen cry out in pain.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Izuku screamed as he felt the energy from the whips zap him.

"Ha! And now you-blaugh!"

A fist slammed into the thug's face, knocking him down instantly. Feeling the whip loosen, Izuku grabbed and pulled it off, coughing as he laid there in the dirt. "That...sucked."

"I couldn't agree more." said a voice, making Izuku look up and see Airjet standing over him, offering the vigilante a hand, "You okay?"

"Yeah...just sore." Izuku groaned as he took the hand and Airjet pulled him up. "How about you?"

"Only thing that's hurt is my pride." Airjet replied before patting the vigilante's shoulder, "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"You saved me. And everyone at this park." Airjet continued as he gestured to the still webbed up van. "I thought I could contain those villains, but they were too much for me. So...thank you."

"Oh...right." Izuku slowly said as he stared at everything around him, now seeing the knocked out masked men along with the van. And then he saw a crowd form around them, several people yelling thank you while others were taking pictures with their phones.

Airjet patted his shoulder again, making Izuku turn to him, "You best get going."

"Wha..."

Airjet let out a chuckle, "You're not used to compliments, are ya?" Izuku shook his head, "Thought so. Just take the thank you and get going. I know I shouldn't let a vigilante get away, but you did good here kid. You saved all these people, so I'll let you go."

"Oh...t-t-thanks." Izuku nodded before firing two web lines and slingshotting away.

And as he did this, Airjet stared at the fleeing vigilante and hummed, "Spider-Man, huh? Seems like a good kid." He looked back at the knocked out masked men, sighing at the sight, "Still...this is quite the mess. Guess I better get started."

Izuku wasn't sure how much time passed as he swung away. He just kept swinging, soon passing over to the district where his house is located. Seeing this, he turned invisible and went to the roof, crawling through the window like usual. And as he sat down at his desk, he pulled out a small device from his hoodie. It was the tracker, which was now showing one red repeating dot.

"Guess the spider tracer worked." Izuku sighed as he slumped over in his seat. "He said...I did good. I helped those people at FEAST yesterday, and today...I caught the bad guys and saved a bunch of kids."

He stared up at the ceiling, "Wow...so this is what it's like to be a hero, huh?"

A smile graced his face at this. "I love it."

And as his eyes continued to stare at the ceiling, he took a long deep breath before glancing down at the tracker. "And tonight, I'm gonna catch the rest of you."

Chapter 11: The Dealings of Demons

Chapter Text

After the near noon escapade, Izuku decided to take a long nap. He only woke up when his body told him he hadn't eaten anything today, making him make a quick frozen dinner from the fridge. His mom was home by then, which she then showed him that he was on the news.

And as he ate, they both watched an interview on the television, the reporters talking to kids at the park playground he had saved. They were all saying how amazing he was, saying how Spider-Man stopped the runaway van. And as Izuku stared at the screen, Inko could only chuckle as she saw her son tear up at the words he was hearing.

She had had her doubts over the whole 'vigilante first, hero later' thing, but seeing this made her realize this truly was what Izuku wanted. She knew she couldn't fully support it, but she would do enough. His mother gave him a soft hug at this, saying she was proud of him as Izuku hugged back.

"Thanks mom." was all he said before finishing his meal.

An hour later, he checked his online class, refilled the web shooters and put his costume back on. Inko asked him if he could just hunt the tracker tomorrow, but he told her he thought it could be discovered by then. As such, he turned invisible, crawled out of his window and swung into the city.

Now, the tracker had a limited range, meaning he would have to swing through the city till he got a signal. As such, he zipped around the place for over an hour, the teen starting to think his new invention must have been found and destroyed, or it just didn't work.

But as it hit the two hour mark, his tracker let out a beep. Glancing down at it, he began to follow it, taking a few turns before turning the volume down on the tracker. And as he continued to swing, he found he was going to a nearby port, where a bunch of warehouses were at.

'Classic bad guy hiding spot.' he thought to himself as he landed on one of the warehouses before looking at the tracker again, 'Hmm...looks like its close.'

He ran on top a few of the warehouses, leaping over one after another before coming to a stop inbetween two of them. The tracker now no longer moving, he glanced down and saw the black van from before sitting there....along with three more black vans and a black colored semi truck.

'Seriously?! How many cars do these guys have?!' he thought before seeing there were also a bunch of motorcycles to the side, along with a few semis that were colored brown. 'Those aren't theirs...I think. Is this place someone else's?'

He fired a web line over to the warehouse, zipping to its roof and crawling down its side to a nearby window. And when he glanced inside, he went wide-eyed. It was the masked thugs from before, some with katanas, others with guns as they were having a staredown with a bunch of other thugs. These were dressed like bikers, though most have mutant heads, like tigers and sharks. Behind those thugs were piles of boxes and a few motorcycles, along with desks with a bunch of different equipment.

"Tombstone's gang..." he whispered before pressing his hand to the glass. He gave it a silent push, slowly opening it up to hear the conversation.

"Listen here!" one of the masked men yelled, Izuku surprised he could understand him. "We are claiming Musutafu as ours." He pointed his gun at one of Tombstone's men, "Tell Tombstone you will all leave town now, or we kill you all."

The gang members all just stared at the masked man, only to start laughing. It was an uproar of laughter, certain animal noises coming out as well as a tiger man pointed at the masked man, "Are you serious? Do you not know who our boss is?! He kills idiots like you for breakfast." He then pointed at himself, "And we'll do the same to you."

Izuku's eyes went back and forth at this, now seeing multiple masked men charge the familiar black and white energy in their hands as Tombstone's thugs pulled out syringes. 'No way...am I about to see a gang war happen here?!' That thought made his eyes shrink, 'Oh no...what do I do?! If they start fighting, they'll kill each other! But...is that good? I mean, they're all criminals and villains...'

He bit his lip at this, seeing both sides stand off as he felt time slow for himself, 'Shoot...what do I do here?! I was hoping to get here and maybe stealthily take them out, but...'

He took a deep breath at this and fully opened the window, ready to go inside before he stopped himself, 'Wait...am I just being stupid here? Maybe I should just call the heroes.' He blinked for a second, only to hear one of the thugs co*ck his gun, 'Then again, the closest hero is quite a ways away, and if they start fighting now, it'll be too late. Got no choice...but I shouldn't be dumb here.'

He then glanced around at the ceiling, only to see the dangling spotlights above the group. A bulb instantly appeared over his brain, the teen quickly ducking out of the warehouse. "There's an idea..." he whispered to himself as he hopped off the building. He slowly walked down the side of the warehouse, soon finding what he was looking for: A breaker panel.

"This should help." As he walked up to it, now seeing a big lock on it. He yanked it off, glad his super strength made it easy. He then opened the door and grinned at the sight. Nothing but wires and switches, the hero quickly flicking a few off.

The place went dark instantly, yells and screams now happening inside the warehouse. "That should stop their party for a bit." He then fired a web line and yanked himself back up to the roof. The teen opened a new window, now seeing Tombstone's gang turn on some lamps they had around while yelling at the masked thugs as they continued to summon that black and white energy, bare lights now beginning to light up the place. Seeing this, Izuku crawled up to the ceiling and landed on a small rafter. Pointing his wrists at the thugs, he knew what he had to go for first.

Thwip!

Webbing shot down and grabbed the thugs' guns, Izuku quickly yanking them away. The masked men began to yell at this, only for webbing to shoot down and grab their swords next. Seeing this, everyone looked up, now seeing a pitch-black ceiling, just barely able to see a dark green figure.

"Hi fellas! Mind if I join the party?!" Izuku exclaimed before electricity began to surge around his fist. 'Now, let's try my very first super move.' He leapt off the rafter, aiming himself right in the middle of Tombstone's gang and slammed his fist into the floor, "Venom Smash!"

BOOM!

Electricity blasted out of him, zapping over half of Tombstone's gang. The thugs were flung all over the place, crashing into piles of boxes. Izuku then looked up to see the masked men charging at him, Izuku's spider sense blaring at him, telling him that someone was charging at him from behind. He then leaped at the first masked thug that was about to reach him, only to grab the thug's shoulders and flipped over him. A shark man then collided with the masked man, Izuku charging another Venom attack as he landed and punched the next thug about to attack him. The thug flew across the place, colliding with two masked men.

And as he this happened, a bulky masked thug ran up to him, Izuku sighing at the sight. "I knew it. You're quadruplets." The thug then swung a fist at the vigilante, Izuku ducking as energy poured out of the thug's fist...which shot out and hit another Tombstone thug.

"Kill the spider! Kill him!"yelled another thug as two leapt at Izuku, only for the teen to slide under the bulky thug's legs. He then spun around, charging his right fist.

"Venom Punch!" He yelled as he slammed the bio-electric fist into the bulky thug's back, knocking him into the two thugs from before. As he did this, a tiger man leapt at him next, Izuku firing a blast of webs at his face, covering his eyes.

"Augh!" the tiger man yelped as he crashed next, Izuku then firing two web lines at the ceiling, yanking himself back up to the rafters.

"He's up there!"barked one of the masked men, only for a shot of webbing to hit his foot, Izuku yanking it."Whoa!"

Webbing covered the thug next, tying him to the floor. Seeing this, one of the masked men yelled,"Flee! The Spider is taking all of us out! We must inform the master that this has failed!"

Izuku let out a gasp, "Whoa...did I just do all that? That was...awesome." He then looked back down at the warehouse, now seeing the masked thugs quickly race out of the building. He was about to give chase, only to spot one of the Tombstone's thugs grabbing a gun. He fired a web at this, yanking it out of his hand. "Hey! No killing on my watch!" Izuku then leapt down, now finding himself facing ten Tombstone thugs.

"You think you can take us?!" one of the gang members growled as they pulled out a syringe.

"Er...maybe? I mean, I've made most of this up to this point. Like, I just did the most awesome stuff I've ever done as Spider-Man right now and I have no idea how I did it. Heck, I still can't believe this is going so-"

Danger!

Izuku went wide-eyed at his spider sense yelling at him, making him stop his muttering storm and fire web lines up at the ceiling. But as he tried to yank himself upward, a masked thug leapt at him with a katana, swinging it as an energy wave shot out of it. "Yaugh!" Izuku screamed as the wave hit him, an explosion coming next, the blow making the teen go flying over the Tombstone thugs, throwing him across the warehouse before crashing into a pile of boxes.

"Whoa..." one of thugs commented as they watched this happen before turning back to see five remaining masked men. "Get them!"

The rest of Tombstone's gang charged at the masked men, a mighty clash soon happening as Izuku pulled his head out of the boxes. Rubbing his back next, he slowly got up with a groan, "Ouch...that stung." He glanced back up and saw the Tombstone gang pushed the masked men back, blinking at the sight before cricking his back for a second. "Okay...didn't exactly go as planned. Though to be fair, I think I did really well there..."

Izuku could feel the adrenaline leaving him as he flexed his back, pain still surging through him before firing a web line up to the rafters. Zipping himself up there, he looked back down and saw the Tombstone gang take out the last masked man, only for a gorilla man to stab himself with a thing of Trigger, letting out a roar. He then leapt up at him, Izuku going wide-eyed at this as the beast landed on the rafter and swung a punch at him. The teen backpedaled, dodging the first jab before a second fist slammed into the teen's stomach.

"Urk!" Izuku yelped as the blow knocked him off his feet, his body rocketing up before his back hit the ceiling. He felt the pain surge through his body before falling, his eyes closing for a second as his spider sense yelled at him, making him jerk his eyes back open. Izuku then stretched out his right arm, pulling it as he grabbed the rafter from before as he barely got a grip on the metal beam. He then glanced up to see the gorilla man running over to him, soon standing over the teen while pulling back a fist. And as the thug was about to hit him again, Izuku let go off the rafter, dodging the blow.

He fired a line of webbing next, yanking it as he swung himself over to another rafter. And as he landed on it, his spider sense rang out, glancing back to see the gorilla man leapt at him, only for Izuku to point his wrist at him and fired a blast of webbing. The webs hit the thug's eyes mid-jump, making him yelp as he then overshot over the rafter, hitting the warehouse's wall face first before falling and crashing into a pile of boxes. Izuku looked back at the thug as he slumped over, aiming his wrist at the pile before firing a giant net of webbing, covering the whole pile.

"Please don't get up." Izuku commented before looking back at the others in the room. He saw that there were only three members of the Tombstone gang still on their feet. Closing one of his eyes, he fired webbing at two, grabbing their feet and yanking them upward. They flipped over, heads hitting the floor before Izuku fired some more webbing, trapping them both to the ground.

Seeing this, the last thug gasped before glaring up at the rafters, "You won't surprise me Spider-Man! I'll kill you!" But as he yelled that, Izuku took a deep breath before turning invisible. He then swung across the warehouse before firing a web line upward, flipping over and silently letting himself down.

"You hear me?! You're dead! I'll-"

ZAP!

"Augh!" the thug yelped as Izuku tapped his shoulder, sending electricity through his system. He flopped over a second later before Izuku webbed him down to the floor.

Izuku then cricked his back, groaning in pain before pushing in his shoulder. Letting out a low moan, he let out a deep breath. "Urgh...that hurt." He then stared down at his hands, flexing them for a second. "It feels like I'm really getting the hang of this...but I still made a ton of mistakes. Guess that's part of being a worthless Deku." He looked back at the warehouse, now seeing the huge mess the fight had caused.

"I better call the police to clean this up." He pulled out his phone next, only to stop himself. "Wait...they could trace me." He glanced down at the thug he had just pinned to the floor and leaned down, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. "Here we go."

Tapping a few buttons, he put it to his ear as he spoke up, "Hello? I'd like to give an anonymous tip."

Izuku wasn't sure what time it was when he got home. All he knew was that he went into a situation that was way over his head, beat up more criminals than he could count and felt like he was about to die. And as he got home in the deep dark cloak of the night, quickly scurrying into bed, half his body still in costume, he let out a moan. "Guess I broke my promise to mom...I totally went too far today."

Sleep soon came after this, his eyes fully closed as he let out a long sigh.

Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa wanted to go home for the night. Again.

Letting out a long sigh, he drove out to the ports of the city, soon coming to a stop at a certain warehouse. About an hour ago, the police had gotten an anonymous tip. And by anonymous, it was totally a teenager trying to mask his voice, and Naomasa knew who it was. It was Spider-Man.

Knowing this meant it was probably a mess he was going to have to clean up, he asked for a full police van and some extra police cars, along with a pro hero, this time being Kamui Woods. The two soon arrived at the place, getting out of the vehicle and slowly walking into the warehouse.

Opening it up, they saw the power was still out and most of the thugs were still webbed to the floor or walls. Seeing this, he told one of the officers to go find the breaker as Kamui Woods used his quirk to gather up the criminals. And as the lights soon came on, Naomasa went wide-eyed along with several officers. Though some crates were destroyed, they knew what operation this was. It was full-on drug stash warehouse.

Loads of Trigger were in the boxes, the detective taking a deep breath at the sight before gesturing to one of the officers, "Call headquarters. We just got a lot of extra work to do here, and I want to keep as much as we can under wraps."

And as the officer nodded and ran back to the car, the detective shook his head, "Spider-Man...you're a real piece of work. If it got out a vigilante did all this, the commission would put a bounty on your head for sure."

Sighing again, he walked through the building and up to one of the desks, leaning over and finding a marked map of the city. "Tombstone, huh? Looks like he's doing drugs again, just like Fat Gum said." He glanced the paper over, "If the Inner Demons want this operation, it could lead to a full-on gang war."

The detective then grimaced at his next words, "And Spider-Man may have just forced it to happen sooner than either side expected."

Chapter 12: A Normal Day

Chapter Text

Izuku hated his yesterday self. Despite his super slow healing factor, his body did not like getting hurt, and the blows he had taken were now making his body scream at him. Pain surged through him as he woke up, went to the bathroom, did his morning routine, everything. The pain wouldn't go away.

And as Inko saw this, she told him no on being Spider-Man today.

Izuku wanted to argue, only for Inko to drag him to FEAST. And as she did this, Izuku successfully got most of his costume under his clothes and put the rest in his backpack. His mother knew he had done this, but she also knew she couldn't make him not bring it.

As such, the two were now at FEAST, Izuku still feeling the pain in his back, though only slightly now. His mother surmised he might have a cracked rib or two, but Izuku told her he would be just fine. And as they got to FEAST, Gloria got Izuku to work instantly. A food delivery truck arrived just as Izuku got there, and he found himself helping unload it.

An hour or so later, he was helping in the kitchen, only for Martin Li to walk into to room. "Ah! Izuku and Mrs. Inko. Nice to see you both here again."

"Oh, hello Mister Li." Inko replied, "How are you today?"

"I'm fine. Say, if you don't mind, could I borrow Izuku for a second?"

Izuku and his mother exchanged a glance before the teen nodded, "Sure. W-w-what do you need?"

"It'd be better to show you. Follow me." Inko gave Izuku a quick nod before her son left, the teen following Li until they were outside. There, he saw pair of adults. One was a brown-haired lady with blush cheeks on her face while the other was a tall man with lighter brown hair and a small smile as his expression. "These are the Urarakas."

"Oh, um...h-h-hello." Izuku squeaked out, his form slightly shaking. "I'm I-I-Izuku Midoriya."

Li chuckled at this before leaning over to the two, "Don't worry, you're not scaring him. He does that with everyone." He whispered before turning back to Izuku, "Now, do you know why I'm introducing them to you?" Izuku shook his head, making Li smile, "Well, they're responsible for creating the second FEAST facility."

Izuku went wide-eyed, "Really?"

Li nodded back, "Oh yes. Its a bit aways from here, but their construction company is responsible in making it, and its actually already mostly done. However, they asked me if we have any volunteers that are more free than others."

"Oh..." Izuku slowly replied, only to point to himself, "Wait...you mean m-m-me?!"

Li laughed at this, "Of course! Why else would I introduce you? I know what you're thinking, you've only been with us for just a few days, but I have a feeling I know you well enough Izuku. Not only that, you're strong."

"You sure he is?" Mr. Uraraka asked as he gestured to Izuku.

"Oh yes. He's stronger than most of the guys we have here." Li responded, "Trust me on this."

"Huh. Okay." Mr. Uraraka hummed before looking Izuku over, "Say...how old are ya kid?"

"F-f-fifteen."

"Ah. My daughter's age."

"D-d-daughter?"

"Yup." He chuckled, "She's a student at UA right now, training to be a hero! She's a regular go-getter!"

'UA?! Oh wow...wonder if I could have been her classmate?'Izuku mentally shook his head, 'No! Stop thinking like that Izuku!'

"The expression you're giving says you want to go to UA too. Do you?" The man asked, making Izuku flinch.

He then glanced away, staring at the ground as he muttered out, "I...I can't. I uh...I'm quirkless."

Both Urarakas went wide-eyed at this, Mrs. Uraraka smacking her husband as she whispered, "Apologize to him!"

"Oh, uh...sorry. I um...didn't know." Mr. Uraraka stuttered out, Izuku then shaking his head.

"Its fine. W-w-what do you need me to do?"

The two parents shared a glance before Mr. Uraraka said, "Well, we're already started on the building, but Mister Li here has a bought a building nearby to set up as a storage facility for that FEAST building. However, we don't have the extra manpower to move the first round of supplies for the place. They're coming in later today and were wondering if we could get some extra help."

"Oh, okay. I can do that."

"Great!" Mr. Uraraka clapped his hands, "We're also going to have our daughter come over to help. Her quirk makes things super convenient."

'Her quirk? Wonder what it could be...'

A few hours later...

Izuku's back was no longer hurting. Instead, it was now constantly itchy, something that was somehow worse due to just how annoying it is. Despite this, he found he was able to keep himself from scratching as he was now wasting some time with Howard in FEAST. They were playing a round of chess, a few watching the game, as everyone found themselves unable to beat Izuku. Apparently, Izuku found he was quite good at the game despite never really playing till now. He knew it was something people played in school, but no one would play any game with a quirkless like him.

As such, even the old timers there that had been playing for years found themselves struggling against the teen. Granted, he lost his first two games, but both were close. After this, he found he could play very well against most there.

But as another game ended, Li walked up to the group. "Izuku!"

The teen spun around at this, "Yes Mister Li?"

"I'm about to go over there. You ready?"

"Sure." Izuku nodded and got up, the two soon leaving the place after Izuku told bye to his mom. They got into a small black car, Izuku getting in the passenger seat.

And as Li began to drive through the city, Martin Li turned to Izuku, "So, you doing okay today Izuku?"

The teen glanced over at him, "Um...I think I'm doing well."

Li nodded back, "Good. Do you like helping out at FEAST?"

"Uh, yeah! I um..." Izuku looked away at this, slightly blushing, "I...I really enjoy it."

Li chuckled at this, "I'm glad. And you said you want to be a hero, right? That's why you're doing this?"

"Yeah...I know a lot of heroes don't do charity anymore, but I..."

"You want to be different?" Li asked, Izuku slowly nodding. "That's good. I think you're doing a great thing, thinking that way."

"Thanks..." Izuku muttered out before turning to Li, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Li shrugged.

"Um...do you think someone like me could be a hero?"

"You mean, because you're quirkless?" Li instantly responded, Izuku flinching at his words. Li then shook his head at this, "I think you shouldn't have to ask that."

"I...shouldn't? What do you mean?"

"If you want to be a hero Izuku, then go be a hero." Li replied before looking back at the roads ahead of him. "I made FEAST despite others looking down on me, and I think you can do the same with being a hero."

Izuku just stared at him at that, unable to respond. He had never had someone tell him that. Memories of every day of school flooded his mind, every beating from Katsuki, telling him he couldn't be a hero. Every teacher yelling at him, saying he wasn't allowed to mutter about his notes on future heroic stuff. The explosions that would scar his body every day, blood and bruises as everyone laughed at him as he said he wanted to be a hero.

And yet, Mister Li said he could do it. And he did it so casually. No empty platitude, no half-way talking...just pure bluntness. Izuku's vision switched back to the road ahead, silence consuming him as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

As he did this, Li just chuckled as he said, "That make you think?" Izuku slowly nodded, "I had a feeling it would. You still haven't helped yourself, have you?" Izuku shook his head, "I see...well, I think being at FEAST will help you get there. I've noticed your stutter is less."

"It...it is?" Izuku muttered.

"Yup. And I think its because you've been helping." He glanced back at the teen, "I gotta say, I'm glad you and your mom have been volunteering. It does more than you can possibly imagine."

"Oh...um...you're welcome." Izuku whispered, Li chuckling again.

"You're a good kid with a good heart, Izuku. Don't ever lose that."

"T-t-thank you." Izuku stuttered out as they took a turn, only for his eyes to slightly widen. "Is that?"

"Yup." Li replied as they stared a mostly complete building in the distance. "That's the new FEAST location. Its almost done." He then turned the car slightly, going to a building across the street, "And here's the storing place I bought."

They soon parked, Izuku getting out as they saw two semis right by the building. At the backs of the vehicles was a brown haired girl in casual clothes that looked like a younger version of Mrs. Uraraka, complete with the face blush marks and everything, and was currently talking to a construction worker. The person then walked away before spun around, blinking at the two before she walked up to them.

"A black suit...are you Mister Li?"

"That's right!" Li nodded, "I'm guessing you're Ochako Uraraka?"

"That's me!" She shined a huge grin and did a thumbs up. "I'm here to help!"

"Good." Li responded before pointing at Izuku, "You already know me, so let me introduce you to my helper here, Izuku Midoriya."

"Hi there! Its nice to meet you!" Ochako said as she smiled at Izuku, the boy instantly freezing up. His face was pure red, his mouth mumbling out words that neither could hear. Izuku then glanced away, Ochako leaning up to Li and whispering, "My parents said he'd do something like that. Is he like that with everyone?"

"Oh yeah." Li whispered back, "Don't worry, he's really reliable though."

"Okay." Ochako replied before turning to the semi, which was full of boxes of canned food. "So, I was told to start unloading this thing. Is there somewhere specific you want them to be?"

"Not really. We just got the place, so just put it inside for now. We'll organize it all later."

"Got it." Ochako nodded before turning to Izuku, "Ready to get started?"

Izuku just slowly nodded, mumbling as he watched her spin around and walk over to one of the semis. Li then patted his shoulder, chuckling as he said, "I gotta go across the street and talk to the construction crew. Be back in a few, alright?"

"O-o-okay." Izuku stuttered out, Li nodding before walking away. The teen then looked back at Uraraka as she walked up a small ramp. 'Holy cow! I just talked to a girl!' He actually hadn't of course, but that was what was going on in his mind as he slowly made his way over to the semi. As he did this, he saw her tap a few boxes with her fingers, only to slide them out with ease. Izuku then saw the boxes begin to slowly float up, making him mutter out, "Whoa..."

"I know! Isn't that cool?" Ochako giggled.

"I-i-is t-t-that your q-q-quirk?"

"Yup! I call it Zero Gravity! It lets me make objects weightless by removing their gravity." She grabbed hold of the boxes with a grin, "Cool, huh?"

"Its amazing..." he slowly said, Ochako feeling a slight blush at the praise.

"Thank you! So, I'll start by taking these inside. How many do you think you can carry regularly? I got a feel on them and they're a bit heavy, but I can remove their weight to help you carry more."

"Oh um...I-I-I don't know." Izuku replied before turning to the stacks upon stacks of boxes. "Uh...l-l-let me see h-h-how many I can carry first."

"Okay. I'll take these in while you figure it out. After all, this is good practice for my quirk!" She then skipped away with a few boxes, Izuku watching her before letting out a long breath.

"Holy...I thought I was gonna die!" He gasped while holding his chest, "A girl my age actually talked to me..." He took a deep breath, "Okay Izuku, just...act natural." His brain came to a stop at that, unable to respond as he muttered out, "How do I do that?"

And as his brain just stalled out, one of its gears spun and yelled at him, telling him to get to work. He looked up at the semi and began to pull out boxes as his mind kept saying, 'Don't think about it! Just do what she asked Izuku!' He came to a stop at this, only to mentally facepalm, 'And don't think about her quirk! Don't analyze right now!'

He grabbed one box, then another, and another...only to soon be holding five boxes filled with canned goods with one hand. And as he reached for a sixth, Ochako walked out and gasped. "Oh my gosh! I didn't mean for you to grab that much!"

"Huh?" Izuku barely replied as he balanced the stack on one hand and grabbed a seventh box with the other.

"Wait, I'll remove their gravity-" she tried to say, only to see Izuku throw the seventh box up onto the stack, the object landing perfectly...and act like it was nothing. He then threw an eighth box, the objects now towering several feet over him, and yet he was somehow making them stay stable and balanced with one hand. Her jaw dropped at this, wide-eyed as she stared at the sight.

"D-d-did I grab too many?" Izuku asked as he looked up at the stack that was now over his head, "I did, d-d-didn't I? I-I-I won't be able to go through the door if its that high. Hang on." He put the stack down with ease, Ochako just staring at him as he reduced the stack to just five. "Y-y-you think that I can still g-g-get through with this many?"

"Um...yes?" Ochako slowly responded, only to shake her head, "But wait...my parents said you were quirkless."

Izuku blinked at her before slightly looking away, "I uh...I am."

"What?!" she yelped before pointing at him, "Then how did you do that?!"

"What do you mean?" Izuku replied, slightly surprised he wasn't stuttering.

"That! You carried all of those boxes like they were nothing!"

"B-b-but...aren't they light?"

"No!" she exclaimed, "No one can just do that! Y-y-you just lifted it all with one hand and did a balancing act! How?!"

Izuku tilted his head at this, only to glance back at the boxes as his brain caught up to the situation, 'Wait...did I do that with my quirk that I now have and somehow forgot I had?!' He mentally facepalmed at this, 'You moron! You worthless Deku! Why did you do that?!'

"Um...s-s-sorry." He stuttered out as he looked back at her, "I-I-I didn't mean to make you worry."

"Huh? No!" She began to wave her hands at this, "I wasn't worried! I was just...surprised, is all. I mean, I know they told me you were strong, but..." She hesitated as she said her next words, "Are you really quirkless?"

"Uh-huh." Izuku replied, nodding.

"Wow...guess people can be stronger than I thought." she responded while scratching the side of her head, "So uh...sorry for making that assumption. I'm sorry if it sounded like I insulted you. I didn't mean to."

Izuku shook his head at this. "Oh, y-y-you didn't insult me." He then glanced away as he stuttered out, "I-I-I'm used to it. N-n-no one believes in someone like me."

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that!" she squeaked, waving her hands again, "I'm so sorry!"

"Its fine. T-t-this is all I'm good for." Izuku muttered out before walking past her with the boxes, slowly striding into the building. She didn't respond, just watching him go inside while putting a hand to her mouth.

"Oh...I messed up, didn't I?" She then glanced down at her hands, letting out a long sigh before walking up to the boxes again. She began to touch them, only to clench up her fingers. "No. Don't run away. Fix it Ochako. You came here to help your parents and...practice your old methods for a day."

And as Izuku came back out, he saw her standing in front of the boxes. She had a determined stare on her face, making him almost flinch. 'Uh-oh. Did I insult her? Oh no, I messed up again, didn't I?'

But before he could start fully insulting himself again, she did a long bow, making him flinch this time as she yelled, "I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?!"

She leaned back up with a huge frown on her face, "I shouldn't have been like that. I was inconsiderate and I apologize."

"Wha..." Izuku barely said before shaking his head, "Y-y-you weren't inconsiderate! If anything, it was-"

"It wasn't you." she interrupted before presenting her hand to him, "Can we please start over?"

Izuku stared at her with wide eyes, his brain shutting down again. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. His mind was now blue screening, unable to comprehend anything. Someone apologized to him? That had never happened before. And just when it was about to get awkward, he looked down at the hand, and his reflexes took over before his brain could keep up. He quickly grabbed her hand, his face fully blushing. "Um...s-s-sure."

"Good." She shined a big grin at this, "I'm Ochako Uraraka. Its nice to meet you!"

"I-I-I...I'm I-I-Izuku M-M-Midoriya." He stuttered out, the girl giggling at this as his face became even redder.

"Alright Midoriya, let's get to work!"

"R-r-right, U-U-Uraraka!"

The two began to unload the semis at this, Ochako surprised at how fast Izuku was. While she found herself able to keep up with him in terms of walking speed, she had to repeatedly use her quirk for her lifting while he didn't need it at all, which slowed her down as he continued to unpack at a faster pace. A little over an hour passed when they were done, Ochako having to admit that Izuku did more than half. Yet despite this, he didn't seem remotely tired, which confused her even more.

And as they sat down after getting done, Ochako spoke up, "So...my parents said you're my age. Where do you go to school?"

"M-m-me? Um...I-I-I just do online classes."

"Oh? What do you want to be? What's your dream?"

"M-m-my dream is...is...I-I-I wanna be a hero." Izuku muttered out while glancing away.

Ochako blinked at this, tilting her head, "You do? Then why didn't you go to a hero school?"

"I...got rejected."

"Rejected?! With your kind of strength?!" she yelped, "I mean, I know you're quirkless, but there's no way they rejected you because of that! Heck, with that strength, even UA would have to take you! I know it would, and I go there! What, did you fail the regular exam or something?!"

"No...I-I-I failed the practical."

She went wide-eyed, "You...did? How?!"

'I can't just say I zapped myself!' Izuku mentally told himself before muttering out, "Um...I got hurt during it. Badly."

The girl felt her heart sink at that, slowly looking away as she said, "Oh. I'm so sorry."

"Its okay."

She glanced back at him as she then asked, "Do you...still want to be one?"

"More than anything." Izuku replied as he pulled his knees up to his feet, soon hugging his legs. He slowly turned to her, the girl able to see slight tears trying to form in his eyes as he asked, "Y-y-you go there, don't you?"

"UA? Yeah." Uraraka nodded before chuckling, "I honestly thought I wouldn't make it. The entrance exam was crazy with the whole army of robots that sent at us."

"D-d-did something happen to you in the exam?"

"A lot." Uraraka sighed, "My exam didn't exactly go well. I almost got crushed by one of the robots, but I got saved by one my classmates, Tsuyu. I'm so happy she was at my exam grounds. And then I like...got the lowest score possible to get in with a 35. If I hadn't took down one less robot, I would have failed."

"Oh. I-I-I'm s-s-sorry it was so tough for you."

The girl shook her head at that, "Eh, its fine. I'm just glad I made it in." She showed a big frown at this, "I'm sorry you didn't make it."

"Its f-f-fine." Izuku whispered before asking, "What's it like?"

"UA?" Izuku nodded back, the girl then putting a finger to her chin at that, "Well, if I'm totally honest, its...different. Like, think regular school, but random extreme stuff happening every now and then. Like, we'll have regular classes, but also have an hour for using our quirks, or how to help in disasters or some crazy obstacle course."

"Huh." Izuku responded, only to come to a stop at his own words. He had expected himself to say something like 'wow' or 'that sounds awesome', but he didn't. Instead, he just did a small one note response. His mind stalled at this as he thought, 'Wait...that's it? I do that and more as Spider-Man! I mean, I do online classes, and then do extreme stuff...like fighting criminals and car chases.'

He glanced away as his brain caught on, 'Holy cow! Is what I've been doing what they teach? Wait...does that mean I don't need a hero school?! I mean, I need it to get a hero's license...and that's it. Heck, an obstacle course sounds kinda boring now compared to web-swinging.'

"You okay?" She asked, causing him to cut his thoughts short as he looked back at her.

"I...s-s-sorry. Just uh...just wished I could have made it."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Izuku shook his head at this, "Its f-f-fine." He took a deep breath, "I just...I-I-I don't know. I just...I just w-w-wanted to be a h-h-hero." He then turned to stare across the street, seeing the still being constructed FEAST center. "But, I think I'm at least doing a kind of hero work right now."

Ochako was surprised he didn't stutter there, only to raise an eyebrow at the statement, "What do you mean?"

"Charity." Izuku replied before glancing back at her, "I uh...I watched an interview of All Might and he s-s-said that most h-h-heroes don't do charity anymore. So, I-I-I found FEAST online and started v-v-volunteering. I um...I-I-I want to b-b-be a hero that does that."

"Charity, huh?" Ochako repeated before turning to stare at the FEAST center, "I never thought of it that way." She did a small nod before looking back at Izuku with a huge grin. "You're right!" Izuku flinched as her voice slightly raised, only for her to add, "In fact, you know what...when I can, I'm gonna go volunteer at FEAST too!"

"Huh? You...will?"

"You bet! Heck, I think I'll ask some of classmates while I'm at it. I know a few who would be down for it." She then got up and presented him a hand. He slowly took it and stood up as she said, "And as for your dream, don't give up!"

"W-w-what? B-b-but I already failed."

She shook her head, "I don't believe it. Go look up other hero schools. I'm betting there's somewhere you can do it. And if you don't want to do it now, its okay!" She patted his shoulder at this, making him flinch. "I know you can do it!"

"Oh...um...t-t-thanks." Izuku replied.

"No problem." She shined him a big grin and a thumbs up. "Now, let's go see what Mister Li wants us to do next!"

Izuku just nodded back at this, the girl walking off and across the street. The teen stared at the sight, his brain smoking at the interaction, 'She...she didn't make fun of me. Someone my age didn't...make fun of my dream.' He let out a mental sigh at that, 'Now I wish I made it to UA even more.'

A few seconds later, he walked over the street as well and met Uraraka's parents again, only to find out that that was all they needed to do today. However, Li had left a little earlier and had asked if the Urarakas could take Izuku back to FEAST, but he then told them he was okay and would just go home by taking the trains. Ochako then told him that she was happy to have met him, making him blush before muttering out he was glad to meet her as well before leaving in a full-on sprint.

Izuku never went to the train. Instead, he ran into an alleyway a few blocks down and turned invisible, quickly scaling the walls before reaching the rooftop. There he glanced around before quickly changing, glad he had kept his backpack with him. It wasn't long till he was Spider-Man, fully outfitted and web-slinging ready.

He then leapt off the roof and began swinging, feeling the wind hit his face. 'Ahh...I missed this. And I'm no longer hurting or itching.' He thought to himself as he fired web after web, 'Still...can't believe what she told me. I mean, it sounds like I've been doing what UA would teach me...just without safety. Or the means to get a license. Guess there's a few more steps for me.'

And after a good twenty minutes of just swinging, he reached into his hoodie and pulled out his tracker. 'Last night, some of those masked goons got away. I wonder if my spider tracer is still on their car...' He glanced back up to fire another web line, 'Better check that warehouse first.'

It took about twenty minutes to get there, having to only change out web fluid once. But as he got close, his fears began to be realized as his tracker started to signal he was close. And as he turned invisible and landed on a nearby rooftop, he saw the warehouse was filled with yellow 'do not cross' tape...and the car he had put the tracer on was still there. They had fled in a different car.

'Figures. Just my luck. Better grab the tracer then. No need to make more if it can be reused.' He hopped off the roof and zipped over to the warehouse roof, only to slowly crawl down its wall. And while still invisible, he snagged the tracer off the car and swung away.

"Guess I'll just go patrolling then." He said to himself as started to go back to the center of Musutafu. And as a half hour passed, he found himself swinging down some familiar streets. He then passed by the original FEAST center, landing on a nearby roof as he looked down and saw his mother leaving the place.

'She must have stayed the whole time. Well, I'm glad she's enjoying helping out.' He thought, only to then see the full Uraraka family walking up and talking to her. 'They're here too? Must have had to do something with Mister Li-'

"AAAAH! THIEF!" Screamed a voice, making Izuku spin around and look down, now seeing a lady pointing at a man that was fleeing down a street with a purse in his hand. His legs had turned into wheels and was now speeding through the streets, hopping over cars.

'Great. Mom's gonna see me do this, isn't she? Here's hoping she doesn't chew me out too much.' He thought as he fired two web lines before slingshotting himself. He then transitioned into a web swing, quickly zipping up to the thug. "Hey! This is a no purse snatching zone!"

"Huh?!" the thief yelped before glancing back, only to see nothing.

"Up here." The thief looked up, only to see a swinging Spider-Man as he fired some webbing at the criminal's back.

"What the-whoa?!" the thief gasped as he was yanked off the ground, Izuku then grabbing the back of his shirt's collar. "Hey! Lemme go!"

"Really? You want me to do that up here?" the teen asked as he slowly began to turn around mid-swing. The thief looked down and paled at the height he was now at.

"Um...nevermind!"

"Good." Izuku replied as he swung back over to the lady, landing on a nearby building wall. He stood on it and dangled the thief over her, "Now give it back."

"Um...here." He muttered out as he dropped the purse, the lady catching it.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed.

"No prob." Izuku then spun the thief around, grabbing him by the front collar this time while still standing on the wall, "Now, what should I do with you? You're just a purse snatcher, but do you want to go to jail for just that?"

"Um...er...no?"

Izuku leaned up at this, his lens narrowing as he growled at the thug, "Then I'll give you one warning. You could use your quirk for a ton of other things that isn't stealing. Go home and rethink your life, alright?"

"Uh...okay." the thief squeaked out before Izuku walked down to ground level and let him go, the thug quickly running away. Shaking his head at the sight, he leapt onto a light pole before firing a web line, swinging away a second later.

And as he left, two individuals watched the scene more than anyone. One was Inko Midoriya, who was trying every way to hold back a long sigh as she whispered to herself, "That boy is going to be the end of me."

But the other was a certain Ochako Uraraka, the girl just staring at the sight. She had heard of the vigilante Spider-Man, as he had appeared on the news once or twice. But to see him easily make that thief give up, not even hesitating to swing in and shut down the situation while she had just heard the scream. The girl had just started moving toward where the thief was running away too, her parents yelling at her, only for Spider-Man to just come in and...fix it.

She could only blink at the fleeing vigilante, "Amazing..."

Chapter 13: The Trouble With A Viper's Fangs

Chapter Text

UA was a relatively normal school today. Despite the usual crazy shenanigans of the heroics class, Ochako Uraraka found herself slightly bored of what they had been doing today. They had gone back to the USJ in the morning, doing a few rescue exercises before returning to the school for lunch. And as she sat down with her food, she just stared at tray before her.

"You okay, kero?" asked a certain student sitting across from her. Uraraka looked up at her, seeing it was Tsuyu Asui. "You seemed out of it today."

"I uh...I don't know." Uraraka replied as she began to eat some rice. "Sorry Tsu."

"No need to apologize, kero." Tsuyu responded, "I was just wondering why you were spaced out like that."

"Indeed!" another voice exclaimed, this one sitting next to Tsuyu. It was a Tenya Iida, a tall boy in glasses as he chopped the air with his arm. "I saw you seem off today, Uraraka! Is something wrong?"

"Oh! Is it a boy?" said another girl, this one sitting right beside Uraraka. She was a pink-skinned girl wearing a huge grin.

"No Mina." Uraraka deadpanned, giving her a low stare, "Nothing like that."

Mina Ashido leaned up to her face, her grin slightly widening, "I don't know about that. You seemed quick to say no."

Uraraka shook her head at this while a girl with long earlobes tapped Mina's shoulder, "Stop it, Mina. Its obviously not that. If she doesn't want to talk about it, don't bug her."

"Thanks Jiro." Uraraka said as the girl nodded back, only to take a deep breath as she then asked, "Say...this might be out of nowhere, but uh...what's your thoughts on vigilantes?"

Everyone turned to her at this, all showing mixed expressions. A boy with red spiky hair, who was sitting by Iida, spoke up at this, "Why do you ask?"

"Well...yesterday, I was helping my parents with a job they were doing when I saw the craziest thing. There was this guy that had this wheel quirk, and he stole someone's purse and before anyone could do anything, that new vigilante on the news, Spider-Man, just swooped in and stopped him." Everyone raised eyebrows at this as she continued, "It was amazing! He did it instantly, and he didn't do any damage or make a confusion. It was like watching a pro!"

"Huh. Sounds manly." the spiky haired kid replied, "Though uh...he is a vigilante, so that's not as manly."

"Agreed!" Iida declared while pushing up his glasses, "Vigilantes are criminals! They're basically villains!"

"But then why did he do it?" Uraraka instantly countered. "Like, after I saw that, I spent last night looking up online what Spider-Man's done and...he's done nothing but good. He's stopped two bank robberies, helped stop car chases and took down villains!"

"But what he's doing is illegal, kero." Tsuyu chimed in. "He's breaking the law, doing that without a license."

"Indeed!" Iida added, "No one has the right to go against the law, even if they're helping!"

"I know. I just thought it was strange. I thought vigilantes were like violent rejected heroes or something. But he wasn't like that at all. According to everything reported on him, he just...well, he goes in and saves the day while making sure there's little to no damage."

"Weird." Jiro responded, "So like...he just does hero stuff without a license? Isn't that kinda like us in training?"

"I...guess?" Uraraka replied while crossing her arms, "Its just...when I looked him up online, a lot of people think he's our age."

"Really?!" Mina gasped before tilting her head, "But you said he took down that guy like a pro."

"I know!" Uraraka said as she ate a bit more rice, "Or maybe I don't know. I just thought it was strange. Like, if he's that talented, why isn't he a hero? It just...didn't make any sense. Sorry for bringing it up."

"Its fine, kero." Tsuyu finished before putting a finger to her chin, "Though, I wonder if we'll have a class on vigilantism. I could see Aizawa-sensei lecturing about it."

The others all paled at that, remembering his last lecture over recklessness after going to the USJ today. But as they continued to eat, Uraraka's thoughts went back to yesterday, her conversation with Izuku and then witnessing what she had seen. 'Spider-Man...I wonder, are you like Izuku? Did you get rejected too?'

Meanwhile...

'Okay...this is not what I was expecting to fight today.' Izuku thought to himself as he was now in a giant sandpit, complete with a massive snake. Granted, he knew something was wrong, but he honestly felt that his grip on reality wasn't exactly stable right now. It also didn't help that Pro Hero Shishido was there, growling and roaring as he tried to fight the snake.

But it was how this all started was what Izuku was thinking about as he fired a web line to the ceiling and swung himself up to a nearby wall. The wall was not what it was supposed to be, as it looked like it was made out of some old Aztec temple. And in the middle of the building, Shishido was clawing at the serpent, repeatedly slashing at it with his claws, but the beast wouldn't go down. In fact, it acted like Shishido was barely there.

Izuku stared at the situation, his mind going a mile a minute. 'Think Izuku, think! Why is this happening?! How did this happen?!'

Fifteen minutes ago...

"Ugh...that was the worst." Izuku whispered to himself as he fired a web line, swinging down a block. He had just spent the morning listening to his mom telling him that he had broken his promise. Again. She told him she knew she had to get used to him being reckless, but he knew better. He knew she would keep worrying for the rest of her days.

As such, he was now doing a day patrol, the teen feeling a yawn coming along as he found nothing. And as he did this, he swung down another street, only for the police scanner to go off.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a disturbance at Rishi Avenue, any hero present, please respond."

"Rishi Avenue...that's not too far." he muttered to himself as he took a left, firing a few more lines as he crossed three streets, and then took a right. And as he did this, he quickly saw what the disturbance was. It was a crowd of screaming people running out of a bank, the sight making Izuku sigh.

"Seriously?! Another bank robbery?! Is that all criminals do around here?!" He commented as he landed on the bank's roof before looking down at his shooters, "Not gonna mess this up again."

Exchanging the web cartridges, he turned invisible and fired a web line on the roof before leaping off and swinging into the bank's front doors. And as he swung in, he fired a web, yanking himself up to the ceiling. But as he landed on the ceiling and looked down, he went wide-eyed.

"What the heck?!" he said, not noticing his invisibility cutting off as he stared at the sight before him. Somehow, the inside of the bank, in particular its main floor, had turned into a giant sandpit that looked like it was inside an Aztec temple. "How did-what is this?!"

He saw several people were stuck in the sandpit, making him shake his head. "Figure it out later. I got people to save." He swung back down the to the front door, clinging above it as he pointed his wrists at the trapped people. "Everyone, over here!" The people all spun around, several gasping at the sight of the vigilante. "Hang on! I'm gonna get you all out of here!" The teen then fired several web lines, grabbing people and yanking them out. Several more screams followed this, the teen quickly throwing them through the front door. And as he was about to grab the last person, a loud noise rang out.

"RAWR!"

"Huh?" Izuku stuttered out, only for a pile of sand to fly out of the middle of the pit. And as this happened, a giant dark figure shot out, letting out another roar. The teen flinched at the sight, now seeing a massive snake. It looked like it couldn't fit in the building, as only part of its body was inside the sand pit. The last civilian screamed at the sight, making Izuku glance back at him before firing a web line. He gave it a good yank, flinging the person out of the building before firing webbing at the front door and pulling it, closing the door. And as he did this, he looked back at the snake, now seeing it glare at him.

"Uh...hi?" He squeaked out, his spider sense blaring as the snake tilted its head and lunged at the vigilante. "Whoa!" He yelped as he leapt off the wall, just dodging the snake as it hit the wall. The whole place rocked at this, Izuku swinging over to another wall before looking back at the monster, 'Okay Izuku, you need to think. How do you fight this...thing?! Maybe I can-'

THOOM!

The bank's front door flew off their handles, hitting the snake. But as the door hit it, they just bounced off, the snake not even flinching. And as this happened, a new roar rang out. Both Izuku and the snake looked down at the now broken entrance, revealing a certain Pro Hero.

"Shishido?" the teen muttered out as he then saw the hero roar before leaping at the snake.

"GAWR!" the lion man hero barked as he thrust his legs into the beast. The snake just shook at the blow, only for the hero to start slashing at the creature. But as he did this, the snake just glared down at him before opening its massive mouth.

"Watch out!" Izuku yelled, making the hero stop and look up.

"Spider-Man?!" he growled, only to turn to the snake, the beast now lunging at him. He then slammed his claws down into the sand, sand not scattering despite what he did before leaping back.

'What the-did he not get stuck? I thought he was in the sand pit.' Izuku thought before looking back at the snake, 'Don't think about it. That thing's gotta go!'

He clenched his fist, electricity now sparking around it. The vigilante fired a web line and yanked himself above the snake, pulling his fist back. "Venom Smash!" He yelled as he fell and slammed the fist into the back of the beast's neck. But as he did this, the blow shook the snake, only for the beast to spin around and flick its head, knocking Izuku off the monster.

"Augh!" he yelped as he fell into the sand. The snake then opened his mouth over the teen, only for Shishido to lunge at its back, slamming into it. The monster only slightly flinched at this, quickly spinning back around as he glared at the Pro Hero.

And as the snake tried to chomp him again, Izuku's head popped out of the sand. 'Okay...this is not what I was expecting to fight today.' Izuku thought as he fired a web line and yanked himself back onto the wall, 'Think Izuku, think! Why is this happening?! How did this happen?!'

He stared at the fight before him, watching Shishido quickly dodge another attack from the snake before glancing around the room. 'Wait a minute...that's it! I forgot what this building is supposed to be! Its a bank! That means a robbery must be happening while this...giant snake monster is here.'

He looked back down and saw Shishido hit the beast with another blow, which looked like it should have carved right into the monster's skin. However, it did nothing. 'Wait...is that thing even real? I mean, my spider sense did warn me, so...is it just real enough?' He glanced back down, seeing nothing but old rock walls covering the place. There were no desks, chairs, nothing. Just a sand pit, a giant snake...and the busted front door.

'Its gotta be an illusion quirk! Though...its really powerful. If its that strong, maybe the one with the quirk is still around here somewhere.' He turned back to the fight, about to yell at Shishido, only to see the hero continue to attack the monster in a fit of rage. 'Eh, I better figure this one out by myself.'

He then turned invisible and crawled over to the wall opposite of the front door. He went down to floor level while staying on the wall, feeling around till he felt something. A doorknob.

'Here we go.' He slowly turned and opened it, slithering inside before closing it behind himself. As he did this, he found he was back in a modern setting, a basic office hallway. 'I was right. It is an illusion. Now, where's the-'

His thoughts came to a stop as he saw what he was looking for. The bank's safe, which was wide open. He quickly shot two webs and slingshotted himself over to the safe door, landing right in front of it. There, he saw a single person in what could only be described as the craziest outfit he had ever seen. It had a long purple cape, long green scaly jumpsuit and what looked like an upside-down fishbowl for a helmet.

The sight made his mind stutter, causing him to drop his invisibility. The masked man then turned to him, flinching at the sight as he stopped shoving money in a large duffel bag. "What the-Spider-Man?!"

"The one and only! Who are you? Fishbowl-Man?"

"Me?" The man replied, only to glance down at the money he was trying to steal before looking back at Spider-Man, "I am...Mysterio, the greatest illusionist in the world! Master of the Arcane Arts!"

Izuku just blinked at the name, only to let out a snort, "No, seriously. Who are you?" The teen then pointed at him, "You know, besides being a bank robber."

"I said, I am...Mysterio!" He exclaimed before dark green gas exploded out of him.

"What the-" Izuku flinched as the room was instantly filled, making him close his eyes for a second. And as he reopened them, he saw he was now in a pitch black void. "Huh?! How did-"

"You will do nothing, Spider-Man! For I, Mysterio, am taking all the money out of this bank! As for you, you will spend the rest of your days in this endless void! AHAHAHAHA!"

Izuku didn't know how to respond to that. He wanted to spit out a quip, but nothing came into mind. Instead, his mind just went into quirk nerd mode. 'Wow. So that's how he did that in the bank! Wait, he can do multiple illusions?! That's amazing!' He then mentally facepalmed before thinking, 'Focus Izuku! Think of a way out of this! I mean, you only felt a tiny bit of something was off with your spider sense in the bank earlier...'

And as he stood there, the villain finished stuffing the duffel bag before tiptoeing around the vigilante. As he did this, he watched Spider-Man just stand there, making him grin under his helmet. "Too easy." He whispered, only to feel a hand grab his shoulder. "Huh?"

"Found ya." Izuku chuckled before a surge of lightning went through his palm.

ZAP!

"Yaugh!" Mysterio yelped as electricity covered his body before falling face first into the bank floor. Seeing this, Izuku fired a glob of webbing, sticking him to the ground.

"Thank you, spider sense." Izuku whispered as he took out a card from his hoodie, "Haven't done this in a while."

The police had just arrived when the snake illusion in the bank suddenly dissipated. Shishido came to a stop at this, panting before letting out a bunch of roars. It took a minute before he went back to human speech, telling the officers that this monster was attacking the bank and Spider-Man was here. And as they ran into the back of the building, they found a certain villain webbed to the floor.

"What's that?" one officer asked as Shishido walked up and saw the card on the criminal's back.

"Grrr..." he growled as he picked up the card and read it, "Says 'I caught your bad guy. Be careful, he has a powerful illusion quirk. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.'"

"Seriously?" another officer remarked, "That guy's the villain?! Look at how he's dressed!"

"Eh, whatever. Let's just cuff him. Sides, the bank camera footage will probably tell us what happened."

But as Shishido ripped up the webbing, a sudden burst of gas came off the villain. "Whoa!" one of them yelled as the rest began coughing. Shishido kept swinging his paws around, trying to push the smoke away as Mysterio rose up. And as they this did, the villain grabbed his bag from before and bolted out of the room.

"Blasted Spider-Man!" Mysterio growled as he took a right, running to a back door of the bank. He slammed the door with his foot, only to come to a stop as he saw a line of cops all staring and pointing guns at the now opened door. "Aaah!" he yelped before he activated his quirk, another blast of smoke coming out of him. The officers all went wide-eyed at this before a few began firing, but it was too late.

The villain had cut a hard left and bolted away just in time, dodging the few bullets that were close by a split second. He then ducked into an alleyway as the smoke covered everything, gasping as he cut into a sprint. "That accursed vigilante! That is my first ever bungle! He will pay for beating me and ruining my performance!"

Izuku landed on a rooftop a few blocks away when he felt the adrenaline wear off. He let out a long sigh as he sat down and checked his web shooters. "Wow...did not expect that today. Guess there's villains of all types out there."

He then pulled out his notebook, flipping a few pages before getting to fighting styles. It was here he began to write, 'Let's see...I need to put my spider sense into my fighting style. Being able to sense danger and see through threats are really important. Granted, I don't think I'll be fighting giant snakes for a while, but there are other illusion quirks out there.'

He looked over what notes he had already made, ones over his fight with the Vulture, the masked men, the Tombstone gang, and now had something new to put in. 'Guess that's good for now. I've mainly had to fight crowds, so Venom Power will mainly be used in those scenarios. If it's one on one, I should hold back. I still don't know my full strength.'

He closed the notebook a bit later, making him sit back on the roof as he let out a sigh, now thinking back to today and yesterday, "Still...that was crazy. And according to Uraraka, they do like, lower key stuff at UA." He put a hand to his chin, "Do I want to go to UA? I mean, I'd be getting taught by All Might, but..." His eyes went wide at this, "Wait, I never asked her what its like to be taught by All Might!"

The teen facepalmed at this, "Augh! I'm such an idiot!" He slumped down at this, "Guess I'm still a worthless Deku."

After another few minutes of sulking, the teen leapt off the rooftop, swinging down the streets as his thoughts went back to today, 'I can't give up. I just...I just have to keep going. Though, I don't want to fight an illusion quirk again. Just let me fight something simple.'

And as he took a turn, firing another web line, he thought back to when he encountered Mysterio and said, "And no theatrics please. That was just...too much."

Meanwhile...

In a lone apartment, a certain gray-haired man stood above a smaller red-haired woman. Despite her size, she was an adult, and was currently rewiring a small gadget. "Ooookay. Got it." She spun around in her chair as she presented the device to the man, "Here we go, a new video camera and everything."

"It looks exquisite!" the man replied before lifting up a small teacup. "I love it! Well done!"

"Thank you Gentle!" she cheered, "I can't wait to try this out tomorrow!"

"Indeed! Tomorrow will be our greatest heist yet, La Brava!"

Chapter 14: Living on the Wild Side

Chapter Text

A long thin web line shot over the buildings, a certain vigilante swinging by as he let out a yawn. "Guess its another slow morning." He commented to himself as he swung down a few blocks. "I was hoping to see those masked guys again. Still got nothing on 'em." He took a turn at this, firing another stream of webs, "Maybe I should swing by FEAST for a bit. See how everything's going. I know mom is working at the hospital today, but that doesn't mean I can't go alone."

He landed on a rooftop next, rolling as he landed before going over to the building's edge. Across the street was the FEAST center, the teen glancing around at this. 'Hmm...still nothing. Maybe I should update my notes first.' he pulled out his notebook and flipped a few pages. He had somewhat started to get the hang of quips and after yesterday's battle, he began to write up a bunch of theories on how to use his spider sense in battle more. He had also considered adding a detective part to the notebook, but decided to just do a separate small notebook at that, thinking it was better to put all the detective work he was going to have to learn on the fly in its own book.

However, when he started on that book, he found he had no case to follow. Both Tombstone's gang and the masked men weren't exactly detective cases, as both were just gangs that appeared randomly and made a mess, though he did end up adding entries for both, thought they didn't have much. After writing this, he began to try and redo his Midoriya hero app, thinking he could make it look up news reports where heroes had failed to catch criminals. However, he found it wasn't exactly what he wanted, thinking he needed a bit more time to readjust the app.

He leaned back at this, letting out a sigh as he put his notebook away and refilled his web shooters. The teen looked back at FEAST, shaking his head, "Eh, not feeling it today. I'm thinking of going on a villain hunting spree!" He leapt off the roof and fired a web line, swinging away with a single stride. 'Yeah...I'm really feeling it today! I feel like a real hero!'

And as he did this, he swung over two figures walking down the street. One was a man in a long brown trench coat while holding a white cane and the other was a small red haired woman wearing a large white hat and a light purple coat. The woman glanced up at the man and asked, "So, what is the plan today, Gentle?"

"It is to find a new act to submit myself into history, my dear La Brava!" Gentle laughed as he scratched the facemask covering his face. "But first, we must go to our destination!"

"And that is?"

"Today, we will go to Bronze-Mart! They have been recently hiding the fact that their so called 'sales' are nothing but lies! Recently, they started selling a new product that says its half off when in actuality, that 'half off' price is the real price!"

"How ungentlemanly!" La Brava gasped, "How should we punish them?!"

"Why, we'll be making a video, of course. But first, we must go and grab ourselves a spot of tea. Perhaps some Royal Honey brand?"

"Sounds wonderful!" La Brava gushed, only to glance up and see a certain vigilante swing through the street, "Oh, look! Its that new vigilante, Spider-Man."

Gentle glanced up and saw the teen, narrowing his eyes at the sight, "Indeed. You told me that videos on him have been gaining popularity online?"

"Yes...though the videos on him are on people's phones and amateur video camera junk." La Brava sighed while shaking her head, "Its actually surprising though. Vigilantes are usually looked down on."

"I suppose a different type of spirit that is neither villain or hero can gain attention." Gentle added, "Though I will not be dismayed by such an act!"

La Brava swooned at this, "That's my Gentle! Never discouraged by anything!"

"Ha ha!" Gentle cackled, only for his face to switch to a hard cold glare, "Still, I suspect its best that we do not encounter him. Let us fight the usual D-list heroes or so."

"Okay." La Brava replied as she pulled out her phone, "Hmm...looks like there's a place nearby that serves that tea."

"Wonderful! Off we go then!"

Detective Naomasa stared at the screen before him, tapping the side of his head with the eraser of his pencil as he rewatched a scene for the sixth time. It was a video from yesterday showing Spider-Man swing into a bank that people were running out of. There was nothing but fear on all their faces, but the cameras didn't show what it was. According to interviews, it had been a giant illusion of a sandpit and a massive snake...but he couldn't see any of it.

As for the villain of the incident, it was definitely one of the most craziest costumes he had ever seen, but nothing really else. Must be someone new, though of what Naomasa had looked up, there had been a report of another bank robbery a month ago over an illusion quirk, though no evidence it was this guy.

Despite all this lack of information, the scene before the detective was the beyond strange. He watched as Spider-Man, and later Shishido, both get knocked around the room...by nothing. Only for Spider-Man to disappear, then Shishido stopped flailing around a minute or so later. He switched his view to the bank safe, which showed Mysterio take a bunch of cash from the place, only to stand and talk to Spider-Man. The vigilante froze up for a second, only to suddenly grab the villain from behind and zap him.

"How did he know where he was?" Naomasa muttered as he looked down at his notes on Spider-Man. "Did the villain make a sound? I mean, according to Shishido, the snake illusion made sounds, so it can't be that..."

He glanced back up at the screen, replaying the moment Spider-Man knocked out Mysterio, "Do you have a sensory quirk as well?"

A knock on the door came next, the detective saying, "Come in!"

"Yo Naomasa!" The detective turned to see his fellow officer, the cat-headed Sansa Tamakawa. "How's it going?"

"The usual. Do you have the report over the raid the other day?"

"Yup. And you're not gonna like the numbers." Sansa replied as he handed Naomasa a folder.

Naomasa took it and went wide-eyed as he read it, soon glancing back up at Sansa, "Is this real?"

"Uh-huh." Sansa nodded.

Naomasa let out a groan and leaned back in his seat, "Oh my word...I'm so glad we covered that up." He held up the paper to his eye level at this. The report was over the event Spider-Man had led them to the other day, which included a full on bust of a warehouse filled with Trigger. Now, they didn't have all the numbers of how big this bust was, mainly because they had to process all the thugs to prison and lockdown the warehouse, but now the crime lab boys were done.

And the amount of Trigger found in the warehouse was staggering.

Naomasa had been around since Trigger first truly got its start on the streets. Granted, it had been around before he was born, but it had its biggest impact a few years back when he was on the case. Despite this, the numbers he had just been given had the potential to be on a disaster level scale of Trigger.

And Spider-Man had shut it all down.

A vigilante had essentially done the biggest Trigger drug bust since the instant villain disaster. And it was only one warehouse. Naomasa knew if this information had gotten to the hero commission and then the press, it would be an even greater disaster. A vigilante doing that much would cause the hero system to be questioned.

"Ugh..." Naomasa moaned as he gave Sansa the folder back, "This is a nightmare."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that." Sansa lowly chuckled, "And uh...the chief also wants to talk to you."

"Of course he does. I'm betting he wants me to head an investigation immediately."

"Probably."

Naomasa put a hand to his forehead and began to rub it, "I'm starting to see why Eraser is always so negative..."

Sansa shook his head at this, "Its not that bad Naomasa. Sides, maybe we'll get a break and Spider-Man will just go after small fry for a while."

"Yeah...like that'll happen. Knowing this...kid, and he is a kid, he's probably gonna go after some major A-rank villain next."

"Eh, I don't think he'll go that far. Maybe a C-Rank?"

Naomasa got out of his chair at that, "I would make a bet with you on that, but I know better. Come on, let's see what the chief wants with me."

Sansa let out a chuckle before patting Naomasa's back, "Aw, don't be so negative. Sides, if the chief wants you to catch him, maybe he'll let you team up with a hero fit for the job."

Naomasa hummed at that, closing his office's door behind him, "Maybe. I do have a few ideas for that..."

"And that's another mugger down." Izuku said to himself as he swung down another street. That was the fourth mugging he had stopped today. Despite his feeling that it was going to be a short day, Izuku found himself constantly finding small crimes. Granted, they weren't much, mainly thugs who thought they could get away with something quick before a hero showed up.

However, this left him feeling a bit unsatisfied. He expected at least one villain, but every place he went to was...empty. Like it just didn't want him to be a hero today. 'Eh, at least mom won't be mad.' he thought to himself, 'I did promise to mainly stop street crime.'

He shot another web line as he kept swinging. 'Maybe I can-' His thoughts came to a stop as the police scanner rang out.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a reported disturbance at Bronze-Mart on Sorgan Street, any hero present, please respond."

'Bronze-Mart?! Why would someone attack there?' he thought as he took a hard right, 'Better go see what's up.'

A few minutes ago...

"Behold viewers!" Gentle exclaimed as he stood atop a counter, "As you can see, Bronze-Mart is dealing in unlawful practices. This new product is not half-off, but at its normal price. It is false marketing at its core!"

"No way!" La Brava gasped as she kept the camera on him. "What will you do Gentle?"

"Why, we will punish Bronze-Mart! We shall-"

"Hold it right there!" roared a new voice, making the duo turn to see two masked heroes at the main entrance into the store. "You're under arrest!"

"Oh dear." Gentle sighed as he hopped off the counter. "La Brava, prepare to cut..." The heroes both charged in at him, Gentle quickly doing a fighting pose, "Now!"

Izuku landed on a rooftop a street across from the building, quickly readjusting his web shooters. As he did this, a scream rang out before he saw a masked hero go flying out of Bronze-Mart's main front doors. He then saw a second hero skid across the ground, making him go wide-eyed.

"Uh-oh. That's not good." He fired a web line at the building and leapt off, quickly zipping across the street. And as he did this, two individuals walked out of Bronze-Mart.

"That was amazing Gentle!" La Brava swooned, "But what about punishing Bronze-Mart?"

"It is fine, La Brava!" Gentle cackled, "We have recorded their horrible behavior! That will be enough!"

"Oh, so gentlemanly!"

"That's right!" Gentle laughed, "Now, let us return home and show the world-" His words came to a stop as the duo now saw a certain green costumed vigilante land right before them. The sight made Gentle slightly flinch as he commented, "Or...perhaps we are not done here."

Spider-Man went into a crouched stance, one hand touching the ground while the other was above him, 'Oh great, I can tell this is a theatrical one. Not again...' He took a deep breath before saying, "I'll give you one chance to give up."

Gentle shined a small grin at this, La Brava pulling out the camera, only for Gentle to flash a palm at her. "No, La Brava. Do not record this."

His partner went wide-eyed at this, "Wha...Gentle, why-"

"Don't. You told me he is beginning to be popular. I do not help others' popularity." Gentle replied as he tapped his cane on the ground.

"I'm guessing that means you're not giving up?" Izuku asked, Gentle responding with a deep glare. 'I should have gone invisible. Oh well, that's what I get for just jumping in.'

Gentle then did a bow, twirling his hand in a circular motion. "Greetings, Spider-Man. Unfortunately, our job is done today, so we will be leaving."

"Considering you just hurt a hero, you're not going anywhere!" Izuku yelled as he pointed both wrists at the villain. Pressing the triggers, the webs came out instantly. But as they were about to hit Gentle, they suddenly went upward, like they had hit a rubbery wall. "What the-"

"It seems you are not a loyal viewer. Those who know about me know about my quirk: Elasticity!" The webs then shot straight up before falling, splatting on the ground. Izuku blinked at it for a second as Gentle put his hand down. "As you can see, I can make anything elastic, including both the air..." La Brava then hopped onto his back, "And the ground! Gently Trampoline!"

BOING!

Gentle suddenly went flying upward, the ground wobbling as it shot Gentle into the air. Izuku glanced up at this, wide-eyed as he then saw Gentle make another elastic platform in the air, bouncing him away. His mind caught up a second later and fired two web lines at the Bronze-Mart rooftop and pulled back.

"You're not getting away!" Izuku declared as he slingshotted himself upward, quickly zipping into the air. And as he got to the height of his fling, he aimed his wrists at the fleeing villains, "Get back here!"

THWIP!

The webbing snagged Gentle's foot, Izuku yanking him a split-second later.

"What?!" Gentle yelped as he felt himself getting pulled down.

"Gentle! He's got your foot!" La Brava gasped.

"Come here!" Izuku roared as he kept pulling, only for the villain to spin around and form an elastic barrier under himself, bouncing himself away, this time yanking Izuku upward. "Whoa!"

"You will not catch us!" Gentle declared, "Begone vigilante!"

The villain made a second elastic platform for himself, bouncing even higher as Izuku held onto the webbing stuck on Gentle's foot. The teen then fired another line of webbing at the criminal, only for it to bounce off the barrier Gentle had just created and then went straight for Izuku's face. He quickly tilted his head, dodging his own webbing before suddenly hitting what felt like a giant invisible rubber band.

"Mmph!" He muffled before feeling the barrier push him down. He kept a firm grip on the web line, only to feel himself keep getting impaled by the elastic barrier, and then the webbing snapped. Split second later, the vigilante was shot down like a bullet, the teen gasping as his spider sense screamed at him. He fired two web lines, hitting two roofs as he pulled on them, trying to slow himself down, only for his back to hit the street.

"Yaugh!" Izuku yelped as he felt pain surge through him, the teen flinching and wincing. The teen let out a gasp, Izuku's eyes rapidly blinking as he saw Gentle slowly get away, Izuku then shaking his head. He slowly got up, cricking his back as he moaned, "Urgh...that didn't go so well." He glanced back up and pointed his web shooters, firing two and slingshotting himself upward.

But as he got back into the air, he fired another shot of webbing at Gentle, this one missing as he felt the pain in his back made him flinch his wrist. Seeing this, the vigilante began to drop as the villains kept hopping away. "Darn it!" Izuku yelled before firing another a web line at nearby building, quickly going into a long-arced swing. And as he did this, he saw his arc was about to shove him right into the pavement below, making him fire another web line, quickly yanking himself back up.

He soon got into a web swinging rhythm while looking back up at the sky, seeing the villain duo bounce away in the air. 'Blast it! They're going above the buildings! I don't have anything to get me up there!' Letting out a small groan, he just kept swinging, 'Guess I'll have to just follow them and look for an opening.'

As he continued to swing, hopping over rooftops and through alleyways, he kept his eyes on them. And as he did this, La Brava was watching him, holding onto Gentle as she said, "He's not giving up Gentle!"

"Its fine La Brava! You told me earlier that you believe he needs buildings to chase us, yes?"

"I...think so." La Brava replied as she glanced back at Gentle, "Maybe we should-eep!" She let out a yelp as something pulled on her. Gentle went wide-eyed before turning his head to his partner, now seeing a webline connected to her back. And with another tug, she was yanked off Gentle.

"La Brava!" Gentle gasped.

"Gentle, help!" his partner screamed.

Gentle spun around and created another elastic barrier, shooting himself downward this time, instantly catching La Brava just as she pulled away, wrapping one arm around her. But as this happened, he saw a mid-air Spider-Man right under them point his wrist at the two. Webbing came next, Gentle responding with a quick swipe of his free arm, creating another elastic barrier, blocking the web line before spinning again, bouncing on that same barrier before flinging away.

"Are you alright?" Gentle asked as he continued to air-hop.

"I'm okay." she replied while tightly hugging him, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me, for you are my-" his words came to a stop as another webline struck him, this one hitting his free arm. He felt himself get pulled again, Gentle spinning at this as he swung his arm, creating another barrier, this one distorting the webline before cutting it. He then summoned another under his feet and bounced away, now going even higher.

"He's not giving up!"

"I know." Gentle, "He is persistent, but I will not be dismayed! Come La Brava, let us find a place with no buildings!"

"Yes Gentle!" La Brava responded as she glanced over Gentle's shoulder, "Oh...this is not good."

Back below, Izuku kept swinging and firing line after line of webbing. He was feeling himself getting a little winded at this, having almost caught them multiple times, only to instantly be denied and having to readjust his web-swinging before trying again. But after this recent attempt, he had to hop onto a rooftop, quickly sprinting across it before firing another web line as he grumbled, "Grrr...that quirk is ridiculous! How am I supposed to catch him?!"

He fired two web lines and slingshotted himself again, covering a few more blocks as he started to get right below them before firing another web. But unlike the past few attempts, Gentle was a step ahead as La Brava warned him, making the villain spin and create another invisible elastic barrier that the webs bounced off of.

"Dang it!" Izuku yelled as he got into a swing again, 'Come on Izuku, think! They're getting away, and you're gonna run out of web fluid if you don't think of something!'

He landed on another rooftop and cut into a sprint, huffing as he parkoured over a few objects before looking ahead...and saw he was about to go into a suburb. All his tall buildings were about to end, 'I gotta do something!' He aimed his wrist one more time, 'Come on...please hit!'

He pressed his fingers on the trigger...only for it to let out a 'psst'. He was out of web fluid. He then came to a stop on the rooftop, now seeing the duo continue to bounce away. He slumped over at this, letting out a long sigh, 'Dang it! What were you doing, Izuku?! Not only should you have gone invisible to take that guy on, you didn't even try to get a spider tracer on him!' He put his hand to his face and rubbed it downward, "I can't even catch some random villain..."

Gentle continued to fly over the suburbs at this. He had gone for over twenty minutes after La Brava said she could no longer see Spider-Man. And it was here that he decided to turn around, saying he was getting tired and they both slowly landed. He switched back to some disguises, quickly making their way back to the city.

An hour or two later, they were in their department, both panting as they slumped over in chairs.

"Gentle...let's take a break for a day or two." La Brava suggested as she felt like melting in her chair.

"Agreed." Gentle moaned out, "I do not want to run into Spider-Man again. I must say, we've never had a hero be that persistent."

"Yeah...we used my quirk too quickly on those first heroes. If I hadn't-"

"Do not say it, La Brava." Gentle interrupted before sitting up straight, "Come, let us upload the video and rest. And after that...perhaps a spot of tea?"

"Absolutely!" La Brava perked up and hopped off the chair.

Izuku came home in the most depressed mood possible. Inko was already there, and she was shocked at his expression and entrance, as he was in civilian clothes instead of going through the back window. His face was like Izuku was back at Aldera, only for the teen to tell her he was going to his room. She didn't pry, knowing she wouldn't get anything out of him anyways, and let him go.

And as he walked into his room, he slumped down in his chair, flinging off his backpack that contained his suit. He wore a frown that looked like it had been nailed on his face, though his aching back tried to make his frown slightly tense up. The teen slumped at this, looking up at the ceiling and sighing as he thought about what had just happened.

It was another failure, something Izuku was used too. His whole quirkless life was nothing but failure and pain. It was normal for him. He would go weeks, months, even years of nothing but bullying and beatings, something he had just accepted was part of his life.

But now he had a quirk. A quirk he had been using to try to be a hero...only to remember all he has done. And it was not much. That very thought led to something else that kept going off in his head for a long time now.

"You'll never be hero!"

"You're just a worthless pebble!"

"Listen here loser, if you really wanna be hero...go take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life."

Izuku let out a long sigh as those words kept repeating in his brain. Granted, they repeated a lot in his head over the past ten months, and even when he became Spider-Man, they never truly went away. They kept reminding him, telling him just how bad he was.

And now he had another bad day. He got beat up at the warehouse with the two gangs, he had only stopped minor villains, and every time he encountered the masked men, some always got away. Nothing but failure.

Today was just the same, as he found himself against a villain that beat up other heroes...and then they got away scott free. Like it was nothing! He could have instantly beat the villain, only to hop in guns blazing and mess up. He rubbed his face at this, letting out a groan.

"Guess...guess Kacchan is right. I'm still a failure."

But as he said that, his mind rang out three more sentences that he had heard recently, one from Martin Li:

"If you want to be a hero Izuku, then go be a hero."

And the other from that girl Ochako Uraraka:

"And as for your dream, don't give up!"

"I know you can do it!"

"There's...people that believe in me." Izuku muttered to himself, tears beginning to appear in his eyes as a few words repeated back into his head.

"You'll never be hero!"

"Listen here loser, if you really wanna be hero...go take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life."

Katsuki's words rang out again, making him shrink into his chair. "Kacchan's right...I'm such a loser. A worthless Deku." He held up his mask, seeing his reflection in the lenses. Despite all this new power, he still looked the same. The weakling that cowered under those better than him. Under Kacchan.

The mask then slipped through his fingers, his hand embracing his face a second later as he closed his eyes. More thoughts of failure came through, blocking out everything before he glanced back up, only to see a large All Might poster above his desk.

"Did you ever fail All Might?" He whispered, only to let out a low chuckle, "No...you never fail. You're All Might." He continued to stare at the poster, seeing the giant man grin at him. There was something hypnotic about it, Izuku's mind drifting as he remembered the many things he had heard All Might say on TV.

"A true hero is someone that never gives up!"

That was another interview he had watched over and over. It was one of Izuku's favorites. And as he stayed stuck in his head, he reached down and grabbed the mask, putting it on the desk as he said, "That's right. If there's one thing a hero never does, it's give up. All Might doesn't give up...then that means I can't either."

Izuku turned to another part of his desk, pulling out a notebook he had been recently writing in called 'Spider-Man Cases'. In it were notes on every fight he had done so far, including that first night with the bank robbers. There were notes on the Vulture, the masked men, Tombstone's gang, Mysterio, and now...he began an entry for Gentle Criminal.

'I'll start hunting for you tomorrow, Gentle Criminal.' he mentally told himself, 'Count on it.'

Chapter 15: A Distracting Stinger

Chapter Text

Two days had passed since his encounter with Gentle Criminal. Despite writing down and planning everything he would do if he found the villain again, Gentle Criminal had gone silent. This was surprising, as he had looked up the villain after their encounter and found tons on him, though most being what the villain recorded himself.

He was arrogant, and loved causing trouble, though it was all minor crimes until he fought the heroes. However, none could catch him, which Izuku found surprising, as he knew his quirk was powerful and good for retreating, but he seemed to beat plenty of heroes with ease. They were all and C and D-list heroes, but they should be able to handle it, so that means he had to have a trump card. Izuku knew he had to have one, as anytime a fight happens in the video, it cuts.

As such, Izuku had nothing, and had spent the two days patrolling, feeling mostly aimless. Little scuffles with muggers and car thieves were all he could find. Nothing on the masked men, Tombstone's gang or this Gentle Criminal. There was nothing, nada, zilch.

Because of this, he was now at FEAST, letting out a long sigh as he helped bring in some supplies for a soup kitchen they were preparing. He was now carrying six full boxes, unable to see anything in front of him as he walked over to the main kitchen area. "Where do you want this, Mister Li?"

"Over there." Li responded, pointing to a section, only to glance back and see Izuku couldn't see him. Chuckling at the sight, he added, "On the table to your left."

"Got it." Izuku replied as he went over and put the boxes down.

As he did this and began to unstack them, Li walked over and patted his shoulder, making the teen turn to him, "You sure you're quirkless?"

"Uh-huh." Izuku nodded, getting a bit tired of being asked that. Multiple people at FEAST had asked them over the past week after seeing how strong Izuku was. Two of them asked to arm wrestle, only for Izuku to beat both with ease. It wasn't until he had to literally lift his shirt for them, showing his abs, (And he made sure to not be wearing his Spider-Man outfit underneath it) that they decided he must be telling the truth about his quirklessness.

However, Li seemed to still be a little less convinced to Izuku as the man just shook his head, "You're something else." Li laughed, "Still, glad you seem to be getting over your stutter."

"What do you mean?" Izuku responded with a raised eyebrow.

"You're speaking more casually now." Martin patted his shoulder again, "Its an improvement, though I have to ask, is something wrong? You seem...aimless today."

"Eh." Izuku shrugged, "Let's just say...I can't find something I'm looking for and its getting old."

"I know that feeling." Li chuckled, "Tell you what, why don't you finish up and then go out for the rest of the day. You look like you need some fresh air. We'll handle the kitchen today." He then gestured his head to the side, "That and your mother tells me you're not the best for the kitchen."

"She says that about everybody." Izuku replied in a deadpan tone, "She thinks it her domain and only her domain."

Li let out a roar of laughter at that, "There ya go!" He patted Izuku's shoulder once more, "Now, go on and finish up, alright?"

"Um...okay." Izuku slowly said before going back to the supply truck. A few minutes later, he was done carrying in the boxes and said goodbye to his mother, Inko knowing what he was going to be doing next. After all, it was now time for Spider-Man.

"Thanks for coming Eraser." Naomasa said as the underground walked into the detective's office. He had a cup of coffee in his hand, taking slight sips as Naomasa put his notepad away.

"Eh, its good to leave the school every now and then." Eraser grumbled as he took another sip.

"Well, thank you anyways. I know you're busy since the UA sports festival is literally one week away, but-"

"But you asked for me. Its fine." Eraser sighed while scratching the back of his head, "Sides, my students are currently getting some extra training today and I don't need to be there."

"All Might watching over them?"

"Don't mention his name around me." Eraser growled, "Now, what do you want? What's the case?"

Naomasa let out a chuckle and shook his head, "You know he's not that bad. As for why you're here..." He took out a folder and slid it across the desk, Eraser soon picking it up. The underground hero stared at it for a second before opening it up, only for his eyes to slightly widen.

"This is..." He glanced back up at Naomasa, "Is this for real?"

"Yup. The amount and everything. We're keeping it under wraps for now."

"Okay." Eraser put the coffee down and scanned the files over, only to look back up at Naomasa again, "When did this happen?"

"Almost a week ago. And if you're wondering, yes, we didn't do a thing. It was all Spider-Man."

"He did a drug bust this big?!" Aizawa asked, Naomasa nodding back, "Dang. You're right to cover that up then. You've made sure the commission doesn't know?"

"Not a peep. I've tried hard to keep their grubby eyes and ears out of this. I mean, if they found out-"

"They'd want Spider-Man hauled off to Tartarus." Eraser finished, "There's no way they'd accept a vigilante doing that kind of work, even if it is this new...Inner Demons gang. It would make people really start questioning their precious 'hero society'."

"Yup. That's why the chief has assigned me to catch him." Naomasa replied as Eraser handed him the file back.

"And you want me to help you?" Naomasa nodded in response, "Figures. You do realize if you have me do this, Nezu will want to meddle. He knows you called for me."

"I know." Naomasa put the folder away at this, "But I don't really have a choice. This is my case now, and I need the help that I know can get me Spider-Man."

"And once you caught him? Then what?"

Naomasa leaned back in his chair at that, "I'm...not sure. Ideally, we can find out why he never tried to be a hero and go from there. Maybe we could-"

WHAM!

The office door was slammed open, the two turning to it as Sansa ran in, "Naomasa! You've got to see this! Now!"

Naomasa and Aizawa shared a glance before getting up, the two leaving the room as they went into the main room of the police department. There, they saw several officers all crowded around a television, a reporter talking through the screen.

"This is eighteen news reporting a villain attack! Right now, Pro Hero Fourth Kind and the vigilante known as Spider-Man are fighting off a rampaging villain that calls itself, 'The Scorpion'!"

A few minutes ago...

Izuku was sitting on a rooftop a few blocks away from FEAST. Ever since going there, he tried to make sure he appeared as Spider-Man some distance away so no one would get suspicious of the place or his connection to it. Granted, he knew that people suspected he probably lived in Musutafu, but that was unavoidable. Despite this, he had only done a few swings before sitting down on a rooftop, unable to get any momentum going today.

"Ugh..." he groaned to himself as he stared at his notebook, trying to think of something to write down...only for his brain to give him nothing. Sighing at this, he slumped over and put the notebook away, "Darn it! I'm such a worthless Deku! Why can't I find anything?! Surely there's something I can do to find those masked guys or Tombstone's gang or..."

THOOM!

A sudden loud noise rang out, making the vigilante hop in place before running to the edge of the rooftop. There, he went wide-eyed as he saw a certain pro hero fighting a villain across the street. It was Fourth Kind, and he was fighting a villain dressed in a dark green metallic suit with a long winding tail that had a blade at the end of it. The tail seemed to be coming from the villain's behind, though he had perfect control over it. It looked as if the fight had just started, the two now fighting in the street as Fourth Kind seemed to be trying to push the villain into a nearby construction site.

Izuku watched as the four-armed man fired rapid punches at the villain, only for the villain to block over half of them with just his tail before hitting Fourth Kind back with a set of quick jabs.

"You're not beating the Scorpion, you two-bit hero!" the villain roared as he thrust his tail, Fourth Kind barely ducking under the blade.

"Grrr...you little-" Fourth grunted as he swung another punch, only for Scorpion to catch it with own his hands. Fourth followed this by thrusting three more punches at the same time, Scorpion backpedaling as he dodged each blow.

"Looks like he might need some help." Izuku commented as he fired a web line, zipping himself across the street. And as he landed on the roof, he turned invisible and leapt off the building. As he did this, Fourth knocked Scorpion back, the two now in the middle of a construction site. However, as he landed two more blows into Scorpion, the villain just withstood the punches before swinging his tail. The tail did an upward diagonal swing, slashing Fourth with a deadly precision as it cut through his suit. Blood began to spill out at this, making Fourth stagger back.

"Ha! Worthless hero!" Scorpion laughed as he extended his tail back, ready to thrust it right into Fourth's head as the hero tried to recover. "Now....die!"

He fired the tail, about the strike the hero-

THWIP!

A web line hit the top of the blade, only to instantly be yanked up, making him miss the pro hero. "What the?!" Scorpion yelped as he saw his tail fling away. He swung his tail back and forth at this, the blade snapping the webbing before he lowered the tail up to his face, "Webs?"

"My calling card." said a voice behind him before Scorpion felt a tap on his shoulder.

ZAP!

"Yeow!" Scorpion screeched as electricity surged through his body, only to instantly spin around, thrashing his tail at this. Izuku quickly leapt back at this, dodging the tail as he saw Scorpion was still standing despite being zapped.

"Great...that didn't work." Izuku sighed as his invisibility wore off due to him using his bio-electric powers. Scorpion now saw the vigilante, growling at the sight.

"Spider-Man! So, you want a piece of the Scorpion too?"

"The Scorpion? That's your name?" Izuku replied, "I thought it would be something less lame, like...green tailed man."

"What?! Why you little-" Scorpion growled, only to feel something yank his tail. He turned around to see Fourth Kind holding onto the tail with his one of his arms as he thrusted his three other arms at the villain. All three punches struck him, only for the villain to backpedal and yank at his tail, the bladed weapon slipping out of Fourth's grasp. He then thrust the tail at the hero, Fourth crossing his arms at this. The blade struck the four arms and slipped over it, almost cutting the top of Fourth's head.

"Urgh!" Fourth grunted as he started to stagger back, only for Scorpion to spin around, swinging the tail in a wide arc. Izuku's spider sense blared at this, making him leap back again, barely dodging the tail. As this happened, Fourth charged at Scorpion, only for the villain to just thrust his tail again, this time not even looking at the hero. Fourth had to side-step at this, evading the tail as Scorpion saw Spider-Man charge up a Venom Punch, his arm sparking in power.

"You're not stopping me!" Scorpion roared as he charged at the vigilante, his tail now over his head as he ran. Seeing this, Izuku turned off the Venom Punch and instead aimed both wrists at him, firing a two shot of webbing right at the villain's face. But as they webs were about to hit, Scorpion whipped the tail in front of his head, cutting both shots with the tail's blade. He then thrust a punch at Spider-Man, Izuku quickly ducking under the jab, only for a second punch to slam into the teen's face. And as Izuku staggered back, Scorpion thrust his tail at him, blade going straight for the teen's neck.

But as this happened, the tail was suddenly yanked back, Fourth now grabbing it again before throwing a trio of punches at the villain. However, this time Scorpion just let the blows hit his back before yanking at his tail, slipping it out of Fourth's grip again before spinning around and punching Fourth in the face. The hero staggered back at this, only for Scorpion's tail to sweep low, knocking over Fourth's feet, making the hero collide with the dirt.

"Fourth Kind!" Izuku gasped before swinging a Venom Punch at the villain, Scorpion quickly spinning around and blocking it with his tail. But as the bio-elec punch hit it, the lightning surged through the villain's body, making him flinch.

"Gah!" Scorpion yelped before swinging his tail upward, smacking Izuku with the back part of the blade.

"Blaugh!" Izuku cried as he was knocked off his feet. As this happened, Fourth got back up and slammed four fists into Scorpion's back, making him cry out in pain. And as the villain felt this, he spun again, swinging the tail in a wide arc at the hero, only for Fourth to grab the tail. However, he used all four hands to grab it this time, Scorpion quickly finding himself unable to get it out of Fourth's grip.

"Let's see how you fare without this blade of yours!" Fourth growled as he let out a grunt of aggression, twisting the end of the tail. He then lifted two fists up and thrust them down on the blade, breaking it into pieces.

"NO!" Scorpion yelled, only to yank the tail out of Fourth's grip again. "You're gonna pay for that!" He then swung the tail in a wide arc once more, smacking Fourth into the face. The blow knocked him down again, the hero's back hitting the ground with a thud.

"DIE!" Scorpion screamed as he thrust his tail's broken blade down next, only for web lines to hit his back. He was then yanked away from the hero, missing his target as his tail's end hit the dirt. He spun around at this, only to be met with a Venom Punch right into his face. "Blaugh!"

Electricity surged through him, knocking him off his feet and flew over the hero. And as the villain hit the ground, Spider-Man ran up to the downed hero, "Mister Fourth Kind! Are you okay?" The hero let out just a grunt of pain, showing he was trying to form words. "Mister Fourth Kind?!"

Danger!

His spider sense blared at this, making him look up to see Scorpion already recovered and thrusting his tail again. Spider-Man ducked under the weapon before firing a glob of webbing, Scorpion quickly side-stepping to dodge it. And as this happened, he swung the tail again, Spider-Man somersaulting over it before thrusting another Venom Punch. But as he did this, Scorpion just side-stepped again, dodging the blow before trying to stab the vigilante. Izuku quickly backpedaled at this, just barely able to get out of the tail's reach.

"Go away!" Scorpion roared as he thrust the tail again and again, Izuku's spider sense screaming as it helped him duck and dodge each attack. He then fired several shots of webbing, the villain's tail quickly zipping around, blocking every web.

'Darn it! I can't seem to get a good shot on him! Think Izuku, think!'

"Grrr...stop moving!" Scorpion barked again as he began to run right at the vigilante, Izuku firing two web lines upward. The webbing hit two girders and he yanked himself upward, swinging right over the villain. Seeing this, Scorpion spun around as Spider-Man landed and did another wide arc with his tail. As this happened, Izuku's spider sense blared, making him go down to all fours, slipping under the tail before spinning and thrusting both legs right up at Scorpion's face. The blow knocked him back, only for the villain to swing the tail wide again. This time it hit Izuku's stomach, the blow striking with the middle part of the tail, knocking the wind out of the teen and off his feet. Scorpion then spun around, Izuku stuck on the tail before being flung across the construction site.

"Augh!" Izuku yelped as he slammed into a pile of bricks.

"Ha!" Scorpion laughed before looking back at Fourth Kind, who was still trying to get up. "Don't you dare." the villain hissed as he pointed the broken bladed tail at the hero, "Your life ends today."

And as he said this, a new sound made him look up, now seeing a helicopter flying overhead. The sight made him blink before smirking, "Looks like we got an audience." He glanced back at the hero, "But I gotta cut this short. After all, if the press is here, heroes will soon come crawling."

He lifted the tail over the hero, licking his lips at the sight. But as he was about to thrust the tail down-

THWIP!

Two web lines hit his shoulder, instantly yanking him away. "Seriously?!" Scorpion yelled as he swiped his tail, cutting the webbing, "Don't you get it?! That doesn't work!"

"It might not work, but I won't let you hurt that hero!" Izuku barked back as he fired two more web lines, both going to either side of Scorpion. He then slingshotted himself at the villain, Scorpion replying with another tail thrust at the vigilante.

'Gotta time this just right...now!' Izuku thought as he swung his leg upward, connecting with tail and smacking it away from incoming vigilante. He then slammed his other foot into Scorpion's face, knocking him back as Izuku backflipped and landed on all fours, showing a signature spider-like pose.

Scorpion staggered back at this, only for Izuku to thrust a Venom Punch at him. But as he did this, Scorpion caught it with his hand, the electricity zapping the villain, only for him to punch Spider-Man in the face with his other hand. And as the blow hit, he kept his grip on the vigilante before zipping his tail up and around Izuku, constricting the hero like a snake as the tail grabbed Spider-Man's stomach.

He then began to squeeze, making Izuku moan and Scorpion laugh, "HA! You're no match for me either!"

"I...wouldn't...say...that." Izuku groaned before as he slowly pointed his other hand at Scorpion's face.

THWIP!

"Augh!" Scorpion yelped as webbing covered his face, making him let go of Izuku before flinging his tail, throwing the vigilante across the site again. Izuku hit the ground, rolling in the dirt before quickly getting back up, now seeing Scorpion trying to get the webbing off with his tail. But as he did this, Izuku fired two web lines upward, slingshotting himself into the air. He then landed on a nearby girder and charged a full fist of bio-electricity.

"This ends now!" he yelled as he leapt off the girder just as Scorpion got the webbing off. "Venom Smash!"

The vigilante slammed down on the villain, a surge of lightning pouring out as Scorpion was zapped, his skeleton now appearing for a split second. He let out a scream of pain, his body now being slammed into the ground. And as Izuku landed on top of him to deliver this blow, the tail did one last swing, smacking Izuku off.

"Waugh!" Izuku cried as he was knocked away again, landing into another brick pile. And as he laid there, Scorpion slowly got up, his body still flinching as electricity surged around him.

"You little..." he groaned as out as he walked over to the downed Spider-Man, quickly thrusting his hand into the brick pile and yanking Izuku out by the throat. The teen felt the villain's grip on his neck, squeezing it as Scorpion lifted his tail up to the teen's face.

"I was just gonna kill the hero and get out of here, but then you just had to interfere." the villain growled as he pulled the tail back, "Now, you're dead."

Izuku's eyes creaked open at this, seeing the broken blade on the tail pointed straight at him. The teen tried to move his arms up at this, feeling like he had to do something, anything, in that last desperate bit of struggle. But as Scorpion's words hit his ears, he saw the tail come for him.

'Guess Kacchan was right. I'll never be a hero.'

He closed his eyes as the villain thrust his tail...only to feel nothing. Izuku's eyes opened back up at this, only to see a large hand now pulling the tail back. It was Fourth Kind. And he was angry.

"Hey! Lemme go!" Scorpion yelled, his grip loosening on Izuku's neck. Feeling this, Izuku felt his body surge in pain for a second as he commanded it to move and thrust his right leg upward, kicking the villain in the face. "Blaugh!"

"Come here you!" Foruth Kind roared as he pulled Scorpion away, the villain stumbling back as the hero let go of his tail and curled up all four of his fists. "Quad Arm Beatdown!"

In the next few seconds, a fury of fists slammed into Scorpion, beating his face into a pulp before doing a four-fist uppercut into his jaw, knocking the villain off his feet. The man hit the dirt with a loud thud, creating a small dust cloud as he let out a long-defeated moan.

"Finally..." Fourth Kind growled before turning his attention to Izuku, now seeing the vigilante laying down on some uncomfortable rubble. The teen waved his arms around, the hero seeing he was trying to get up. He stared at the vigilante for a second before walking over and giving the teen a hand. Izuku's eyes blurred at this moment, a fuzzy hand appearing before refocusing as he took it.

"You okay?" Fourth asked as he hoisted Izuku up.

"Uh...yeah. Maybe." Izuku groaned out before putting a hand on his back and pushing it in, a crick sound soon following, "I...I think I'll live."

"Ha! Good!" Fourth chuckled before patting the vigilante's shoulder, "I uh...I'm not used to saying this to a vigilante, but...thank you."

Izuku's brain was still trying to catch up at this, the teen blinking for a second before replying, "Huh?"

"You saved me." Fourth responded, "I thought I could handle that guy, but it looks like it was too much for me. So...thank you."

"No...problem." Izuku slowly said, taking a deep breath, "Sorry. Still winded from all that."

"I understand." Fourth laughed.

"Spider-Man!" yelled another voice, making the two turn and see several reporters running up to them. One quickly put a microphone up to the vigilante, "Hey! Who are you and why are you a vigilante?!"

"Yeah!" Another exclaimed, "Tell us!"

This was followed by a barrage of questions, Fourth Kind grumbling a 'blasted vultures' under his breath as more reporters ran up to the duo. But Izuku couldn't respond. His whole head was in a daze, only for the microphones and cameras to be suddenly shoved into his face. And as he felt this, he heard one of the reporter's questions...only to not know what to say. He just stared ahead, his brain glitching at the sight before him. And when another mic hit his face, his brain activated the only thing it could think of.

"What the-where'd he go?!" one of them yelped as Izuku became invisible. A second later, they saw two strands of webbing appear out of nowhere, only for them to be yanked. Spider-Man was invisibly swinging away, having answered zero questions. Seeing this, they turned to Fourth Kind, only for him to tell the reporters to go away.

"Looks like we're too late." Naomasa commented as they arrived at the crime scene right when the press had stampeded Spider-Man, only for him to get away. This was followed by several more heroes arriving on the scene, trying to get there in time to help fight, but it was already over. The sight made him sigh, Eraserhead walking up to him with a low stare.

"Eh, that's how it works for vigilantes. At least he acts like he's not going for fame."

"True." Naomasa sighed again, "Still, wish we could have got him. Guess we'll be talking to Fourth Kind next."

"Good luck with that. That guy has quite the temper."

"Eh, that's how most people are."

Izuku wasn't sure when he got home. Regularly, he would have mentally insulted himself about just running from the press and Fourth Kind. He also knew his mom would be worried, mainly because a bunch of the Scorpion fight had been technically televised. That meant a lot of people saw it. And that meant he would be appearing online a lot more, along with the news...and his first full impression with news people was him running away.

But he didn't really think about it. He was so tired. That fight was the toughest yet, and he felt like he was going to collapse any second. Thankfully, he got home while still barely able to keep his invisibility on, quickly changed, took a small shower...and collapsed. He was out like a light, his body too sore to go any further.

It wasn't long till his mother came home. She marched up to their apartment, shaking her head as she kept telling herself she had to get used to this. But as she walked inside and opened the door to Izuku's room, she paused at the sight inside. Her son was there, asleep and alive. Granted, she knew she would probably have to bandage him up, but...he was alive.

That would have to be enough.

She went inside and did what she needed to, glad more than ever she was a nurse as she bandaged up the sleeping teen. And when she was done, she closed the door and made herself some supper before turning on the tv. She began to eat, only to switch it to the news channel, going wide-eyed for a second before seeing her son on the screen.

"As you can see, the vigilante known as Spider-Man came in and assisted Fourth Kind in a crazy battle today! And I must say, he's very powerful! Just look at him!"said one reporter.

"I agree."replied another,"Even though he's a vigilante, according to what we've been told, he has done nothing but good. He just stopped a B-rank villain, one that has been reported to have killed ten people."

"Sounds to me that he should be a pro."a third one chimed in,"I mean, this guy has stopped multiple bank robberies and now this? He's on his way to getting more reputation than most upcoming heroes right now."

"Bah."remarked a fourth,"Vigilantes are still people using their quirks illegally. That means he's a villain. If he keeps going like this, he'll encourage more to break the law!"

Inko flinched at that, only to see the first three nod in agreement. That made her feel a sinking feeling in her stomach as a fifth reporter spoke up,"I suppose. That being said, our reporter on the ground tried to interview him after the fight, but it seems he's shy. He ran away without answering the crucial question: Why is someone like that a vigilante?"

"I wish I didn't know the answer to that." Inko sighed as she leaned back in her chair, now watching the reporters debate over the vigilante, most saying that he is breaking the law, though they agree he did help. But none call him a hero, only a vigilante.

Hearing this, she glanced back at the door to Izuku's room, "Oh Izuku...nothing's ever easy, is it?"

Meanwhile...

A single finger tapped a key, ending the news footage before a sigh escaped the person's lips. "Looks like its just as we feared, Gentle."

"Indeed." Gentle sighed, leaning back in his chair before taking a sip of tea. "It seems this Spider-Man is going to be in the spotlight for some time."

"Yup." La Brava added as she closed the laptop before turning to Gentle, "So...what now?"

Gentle put a hand to his chin before replying, "This will be just the start for Spider-Man. I don't want to get involved with him again, so..." He took one more sip before taking out a phone, "It seems we'll have to try something new." He put his cup down and began typing out a number, soon sending a call. A second later, a response went through his ear before he said, "Tinkerer? Its Gentle. I would like to talk about that favor you owe me."

Chapter 16: A Tiny, Thin Thread

Chapter Text

Despite the extra rest he got, Izuku slept in the next day. He knew that the fight from yesterday had really done him in, as the teen was still feeling sore. And when he woke up, he looked over his classes before seeing that his mother had already gone out for her job. After this, he went to his costume and the saw damage on it, but it was nothing he couldn't sew up.

And as the morning passed, he left the building as Izuku, though he had his costume in his backpack, feeling his body be a bit less sore. Now, he had recently been changing into Spider-Man and just swinging over to FEAST, allowing him to get there quicker, but he didn't feel like it today. Instead, he just took the train, now remembering what regular transportation was like.

As he sat there, his mind wandered over the past few days, trying to make sense of how crazy his life had become. A month and a half ago, he had no quirk, and was hating the support-based future he was going to have to go into. Now, he had a quirk, was a vigilante, was investigating multiple villain gangs and volunteering. It was like everything just happened at once.

He looked down at this hands, flexing them as he felt the strength surge through his body. 'Wow. I have to say, I know I always wanted a quirk, but...I never expected it to take me down this route. Still, am I doing the right thing? I mean, I'm a vigilante, but I can't seem to talk to any hero when they compliment me or catch those criminal gangs and...and...'

He leaned back at this, letting out a sigh. 'I wanna do more. What else can I do? What else do heroes do?'

The teen pulled out his phone at this, turning on the Midoriya hero app. And as he looked at the main hero news, he found half of it was himself, several news stations showing him fight The Scorpion. There were also several debates over him, articles talking about how a vigilante shouldn't be part of some mainstream fight like that while others went over how much he helped or hindered. The sight made Izuku hum, as he had seen tons of articles debating heroes, all of them talking how good or bad they were. (Endeavor being probably the most debated if he was honest.)

And after a few more bits of reading, he closed the app and sighed. After viewing all that, his mind just kinda let out a mental hum, 'Huh. Never thought I would see myself debated on tv as a vigilante. I mean, I've barely done anything. Don't they usually only talk about the top twenty or so heroes?'

A second later, the train made its next stop, Izuku soon exiting the vehicle. As he left the small station, he walked down two streets before looking up and seeing FEAST in the distance. The sight made him slightly smile, soon walking up the steps next, a certain snake headed girl lightly waving at him. "Izuku! How's it going?"

"Um...okay, I guess." he replied as he went through the main doors. "How is everything today?"

"Fine." Gloria responded while sticking her forked tongue out, "Just you today?"

"Yup. Mom's at the hospital."

Gloria nodded back, "Cool. Well, get in here. Mister Li is making a crew to help out one of our people here. They got a job and were able to get an apartment going nearby. They need some volunteers for helping move some stuff."

"Oh, that's nice. Sure, I can do that."

"Of course you can, mister super strength." Gloria chuckled, making Izuku sigh.

"I don't have super strength."

"Yeah yeah, mister six pack. Come on." Gloria gestured him to follow, "Let's get you to work."

Meanwhile...

Uraraka had just sat down with her tray of food in the UA cafeteria, her best friend Tsuyu sitting down beside her a second later. And as they waited for the rest of their friends to come over, the frog girl spoke up, "Looks like that vigilante you were talking about is getting popular, kero."

"Huh?" Uraraka turned to her as she put a piece of rice in her mouth.

"That vigilante, Spider-Man."

"Oh." Uraraka gulped down a bit of food before humming, "Really?"

Tsuyu nodded back and pulled out her phone, "See?"

Uraraka watched the footage of Spider-Man fighting The Scorpion, the sight making her go slightly wide-eyed. "Whoa...I had no idea."

"You didn't, kero?"

Uraraka shook her head, "After yesterday's training, I went home and crashed." She squinted as she continued to watch the fight, "He's incredible. Can you imagine getting into a villain fight like that?"

"No, kero." Tsuyu responded, "Though I gotta say, I get why you thought he was amazing the other day."

"Yeah..." Uraraka replied as she took a sip of her drink.

As she did this, three more people sat down around them. One that was across them was Mina, the pink girl shining a big grin as she asked, "Whatcha talking about?"

"This, kero." Tsuyu showed her phone to the girl, Mina raising an eyebrow before going wide-eyed.

"Wow." Mina replying, only for their two friends Iida and Kirishima, who were both sitting beside her, now leaned in to watch the footage as well, both blinking at the sight.

"Now that's manly." Kirishima commented, "That's my kind of brawl!"

"Hmph!" Iida added while chopping his arm in the air, "I won't deny that the fight is impressive, but that is still footage of a vigilante! How dare he interfere with that hero's fight!"

Uraraka giggled at the sight of her stiff friend, only for Kirishima to say, "But class rep, didn't you see what he just did? He saved Fourth Kind and kicked that villain's butt!"

Iida pushed his glasses up with two fingers, "That's not the point. He is using his quirk illegally!"

"But didn't he just help save a bunch of people?" Uraraka asked, "I mean, look at the article with the video." She pointed at the phone, the others looking back at it and seeing the article talk about how Scorpion had killed multiple people in his rampage before Fourth Kind and Spider-Man stepped in. "That villain was doing a lot of damage, and Spider-Man made sure he didn't get away with it."

"That is true." Iida started chopping his arm again, "But still, he is breaking the law! They should be trying to catch him. After all, if he's allowed to just roam free like that, others will start doing the same."

The others blinked at this, Tsuyu tilting her head slightly before putting her phone away, "I guess so, kero. Still, seems like he's been doing some good. Makes me wonder why he isn't a hero, kero."

"No kidding. If I had that kind of awesome power, I would go to hero school for sure!" Kirishima chimed in, "I mean, I got into UA with my hardening quirk, and its barely a quirk in general."

"Don't sell yourself that short, Kiri." Mina replied, grinning at the teen before putting a finger to her chin, "Still, it makes you wonder, why didn't he go to hero school? I could totally see him being able to get into UA with his quirk. Think he got kicked out or something?"

"I don't see how. I mean, didn't you see that fight? He's super powerful!" Uraraka responded.

Tsuyu shook her head at this, "I think UA has shown us that you need more than your quirk to succeed as a hero, kero."

They all shared a glance at this, Iida pushing his glasses up again, "Wise words, Asui!"

"I told you to call me Tsu."

Iida ignored her statement as he kept speaking, "Indeed, there is more to heroics than the strength of your quirk. That much is understandable, which does make me think perhaps Spider-Man did get expelled somehow."

"Yeah..." Mina added, only to shine a mischievous grin, "Say, what if it was Aizawa-sensei?" The four turned to her with slightly widened eyes, making her giggle, "Aw, come on. Surely you can see this is some student he expelled. Maybe he got jealous of how much power this guy had."

Tsuyu put a finger to her mouth at that, "I suppose, kero. Aizawa-sensei is always talking about how things shouldn't be irrational. Giving up someone like Spider-Man seems very irrational...but maybe he saw that as rational, kero."

"I could see that." Uraraka sighed while the rest hummed at this, Uraraka then pulling out her phone as she saw it inform her something on the phone's calendar. She blinked at it for a second before turning to her friends, "Hey, not to change the subject, but who's free after school tomorrow? I have an idea that I think you'd all like to try."

"Thank goodness that's over." Izuku moaned as he walked out of the building, cricking his back at the same time.

"No kidding." Gloria chuckled as she handed Izuku a drink, the teen telling her thank you. They both took a sip before the snake girl then asked, "So, feel like you did some good today?"

Izuku nodded back, "Yeah...I do. Thanks for letting me do this."

"Eh, its my job. There's a reason I help run FEAST with Mister Li." She took another sip, "The guy is constantly moving recently. Its like he can't stay still."

"Oh? I haven't noticed."

"Its cuz you're not here everyday." Gloria added as she pulled out her phone, "Hmm...looks like there's nothing else." She looked back up at Izuku, "Wanna call it a day?"

"I guess." Izuku replied while taking another sip.

"Cool. See ya tomorrow?"

Izuku shrugged back, "I'll see. You never know what's happening around here."

"True. Need a ride back to FEAST?"

"Nah, I'll take the train." Izuku responded before starting to walk away, glancing back to wave at Gloria, "Give Mister Li my regards!"

"Will do." Gloria waved at him back before glancing down at her phone, "Heh. Such a nice kid." She then looked back at the building, remembering how much Izuku helped bring into the building, "Still...wish I had that kind of strength." She glanced back at the fleeing figure of Izuku, "He does seem to be opening up though."

A few blocks later, Izuku glanced back to see no one had followed him. He had actually walked past the train station, but he trusted his spider sense to tell him if someone was watching. As such, he walked one more block before slipping into an alleyway and behind a dumpster. Seeing no one around, he threw his drink into the trash and turned invisible, soon crawling up the alley's walls and changed into his costume as he got to the rooftop before turning visible.

He did a few stretches next, checked his web shooters and began his usual town web-slinging. And as he began to zip across some streets, he pulled out his police scanner. He started to listen, only hearing a few minor disturbances, all in other parts of the city he was nowhere near.

It was about half an hour in that he came to a stop on a rooftop, exchanging web cartridges before looking down at his phone and pulling up the Midoriya hero app. 'There's nothing really happening right now...' He put a hand to his chin and rubbed it, his mind going over the past few days again. Despite the fight with Scorpion, he couldn't help but think about the chase with Gentle Criminal and the masked gang that kept getting away. 'I'm still not doing enough.'

He then thought about what he had tried earlier with the Midoriya hero app, about it searching for when heroes failed to catch criminals. He tapped his phone a few times at this, 'I still never fully got it to work...' He sat down on the roof and began fiddling with the device, an hour soon passing as he tried to rework the search engine slightly. 'I need my computer.' he mentally told himself before doing a search, 'But this might do.' The app then let out a ding, showing a new list of reports. They were of police reports, something that was already programmed into the app, but without heroes in the reports.

"There's only a few here." He whispered as he saw the reports, most showing just disturbances or police getting to a scene a little too late. That is, till one caught his eye. "Bank on Rodia street robbed? That's not far from here, and it happened last night." He closed the phone and put it away, "Maybe I could take a look. I mean, part of hero stuff is doing detective work, right?"

He fired a web line and leapt off the building, soon swinging his way across the street.

The rattling of chains were the only thing that could be heard in the place as a couple of thugs stood in attention. Their boss had just walked into the room, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He was a large, bulky man wearing a big dark biker jacket. He wasn't tall per say, but rather very wide yet obviously not fat in the slightest. His form was pure muscle, but his most defining feature was his chalky white skin, complete with shining razor teeth and a bald head.

"Hello boys." He grumbled before taking a swig of whiskey. As the liquid went down his throat, he wiped his mouth as he added, "So, where are we with the Inner Demons? Do we have their hideout?"

"No idea boss." one of the thugs replied, "We think...we think they're stationed somewhere in Musutafu, but-"

"I already knew that." the boss interrupted, walking up to the thug. The thug was tall and had a rhino for a face, but he was shivering like a leaf at the bulky man staring up at him. "Tell me, what gang are you part of?"

"Your gang, boss." the thug squeaked out.

"That's right." the boss chuckled before pointing at himself, "My gang. The Tombstone gang." He took another swig of whiskey and spinning around, soon walking over to a motorcycle that was sitting in the middle of the room, "And I didn't come out of hiding and form this gang so you idiots could ruin everything by fighting some masked punks and D-list heroes!" He glanced back at the thugs, "I made it so we can make money, and lots of it. I made the new Trigger drug, and I want it everywhere in this city."

He stared at the thugs, none of them responding before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, "Stop squirming and staring." He grumbled before leaning back on the motorcycle, "Listen, I know these...Inner Demons are trying to take both our turf and our drugs." He took another swig, "I want them dead. That or get the heroes to take 'em down."

"What about Spider-Man?" one of the thugs asked, Tombstone turning to him.

"What about him?"

"Well...he got our biggest warehouse busted. Aren't we gonna do something about it?"

Tombstone let out a snort at that, "He's a vigilante. That means he doesn't have some agency we can just go up too and wreck house." Tombstone then shined a small grin at this, "Let him be for now."

"Boss?"

Tombstone glared at the thug, making him shut up as Tombstone let out another sigh, "I know morons like him. He'll keep sniffing around till he finds us. And when he does...I'll take care of it."

"And the Inner Demons?"

Tombstone took one last swig of whiskey before replying, "That's easy. We'll provoke 'em into a fight...and then I'm gonna find their leader and kill 'em."

It took about half an hour for Izuku to get to the bank. When he got there, he found it was covered in yellow police tape, the sight making him blink before turning invisible and zipping over to the building's roof. He crawled down the side at this, seeing the front door was open and snuck in through there. And as he crawled on the bank's ceiling, he saw that the bank was basically empty, no employees inside as officers were walking around, taking photos of the place.

'Looks like they're just starting the investigation. I better not interfere.' He thought as he crawled over the main room, soon going into the back hallway of the bank. There, he saw the safe door, which was open. He peeked inside, seeing that police tape was all over the room and door, and the safe looked half empty. He then went back to the safe door, now seeing large claw marks on the side along with a few other slash marks. 'Oof. Something really tore up the door. Maybe a mutant quirk?'

He watched as the police officers kept taking pictures, some talking about what could have done this. But it was mainly small talk, the teen unable to get much. As such, he invisibly crawled out of the bank the same way he came in and went up to building's roof. He turned off his invisibility at this, the quirk giving him a bit of headache for holding it that long.

'Hmmm...so, it looks like some kind of mutant quirk probably robbed the bank. Those officers were thinking the same thing, but said the place was mostly intact.' He pulled out a notebook at this, this one made for cases. Going to an open section, he began to write his thoughts, 'This bank doesn't have cameras, but it does have an alarm. Those officers said it hadn't gone off, but there's no sign of forced entry, so they must have shut off the alarm somehow.'

He then glanced down at the sides of the building, only to see some more police tape on the back of the bank, along with tape over the building's breaker, and there were no officers around. The back of the bank was in an alleyway, letting him crawl down to get a better view before taking out his notebook again as he stood on the wall, 'The robber took out the breaker, which took out the alarm. Makes sense.' He glanced back at the breaker, seeing the same claw and slash marks on the door. 'It must be a mutant quirk. Though why are there two types of marks?'

He crawled down to street level, making sure not to disturb the tape before glancing around at the ground around the breaker, 'There's nothing else here. Just the marks...wait-' He leaned down at the pavement, seeing a tiny green object by a manhole. 'What's that?'

He crouched down and took out a pair of tweezers, 'Glad I thought of putting a forensics pack in my hoodie a while back.' He picked up the piece in the tweezers before placing it in a small plastic bag. He squinted at the object, scratching his chin at the sight, 'I wonder what you are.'

"Hey, you got any photos of the breaker?" asked a voice, making Izuku tense up before turning invisible. He quickly put his tools back into his hoodie before crawling up the wall, now seeing two officers walk to the back of the bank. One of them had a camera, soon taking several shots of the broken breaker just as Izuku got up to the roof again.

"That was close." he whispered to himself before pulling out the bag again, "Still, I bet you're a clue. And I did say I needed to figure out detective work." He put the bag away before firing a web line, soon swinging away. "Maybe this is a good start to learning that stuff too."

Chapter 17: On The Tail End

Chapter Text

Izuku had spent the rest of the night examining what he had found behind the bank. His scanner he had invented so long ago was starting to be really useful, though he realized it was almost a baby invention compared to what he could do now. Despite this, he found it was a type of tiny piece of reptile-like skin. He couldn't determine the exact species, and had spent a few hours going over every species he could look up online.

But he found nothing else. Because of this, the night passed and went to the next day, Izuku deciding that he needed to go back to the crime scene. He headed out early in the morning, quickly swinging over to the bank again. The vigilante made it there relatively easily, landing on the bank's roof while being invisible. He crawled down the building and into the bank again, still seeing it covered in police tape.

'Looks like they haven't cleaned up the scene, but I'm guessing they'll come back later today.' He thought before crawling back out of the building, 'Let's check where I found that piece from yesterday.'

Soon going around the building, he went over to the back alley, looking the place over as he tried to find another piece. But he didn't find anything, only to glance back at the manhole he found the piece by. 'The sewers...the scanner said it was a reptile, so maybe they could easily use the sewers?' He glanced around for a second before grabbing the manhole, finding it almost weightless as he pulled it off the street. 'Huh. I thought manholes were supposed to be...oh. Right. Spider strength.'

He put the manhole to the side and glanced down into the hole, taking out the small flashlight he would use for writing in his notebooks on night patrols. He saw the manhole was under a ladder, and there was another little piece of lizard skin on the third step down on the ladder.

'So the robber went through here.' He leaned down a bit more, only to flinch, 'And it stinks! Yuck!'

He leaned back up, pinching his nose despite the mask being in the way. "I'm...not going down there." He grabbed the manhole and put it back on before staring at the metal cover. "But what do I do now? I mean, if the villain is using the sewers..."

He snapped his fingers a second later, "I'll just look up the sewer system! I bet I can look up something online and see if these sewers are near another bank-" He suddenly felt a vibration in his hoodie, cutting his thoughts before taking out the phone and seeing a text from his mom, "Soup kitchen at FEAST? I thought they already did one this week..."

He looked back down at the manhole before sighing and putting the phone away, "Well, the criminal did do it at night, so I probably got time." With that, he crawled up the bank wall before leaping off it, firing a webline and swinging into the city.

It took about twenty minutes for Izuku to get to FEAST. And when he got there, he found that his mother had semi-tricked him. Turns out, the soup kitchen wasn't till in the afternoon, and instead had told Izuku to come over to move more supplies for the second FEAST location. Martin soon had Izuku in his car, taking him over as he helped get all the supplies moved. This was followed by another car drive, Martin showing him a few places that he was hoping to use to expand FEAST later. And while Izuku did enjoy what he was shown, he felt he was now stuck for the rest of the day.

It wasn't till the afternoon had already started when they went back to the first FEAST location, Izuku finding they were still setting up the soup kitchen. Told he wasn't allowed to touch the kitchen, he was now outside of the building, sitting in a chair just beside the front doors as he pulled out his notebook from his backpack.

'Hmm...I should incorporate more kicks in my fighting style. Maybe I can do a kind of swing kick with my webs like I did that one time. Granted, it might take some practice, but it could work.' He wrote down a few lines before flipping through the book, 'Huh. I think I'm starting to make a full style for myself.'

He put the notebook away and pulled out another, this one for cases. He also took out his phone, turning on the browser, which showed several maps. He had looked up what he could on the city while he was riding in Martin's car and at down times when he was doing the supply moving. As such, he didn't find much, which made sense since most people don't care about the sewers.

However, he did find a few sketchy maps of the sewer system, thinking that was as good as he was gonna get with something like this. Seeing this, he began listing some of the streets to check tonight before thinking out a plan for the case. 'Hmm...looks like I'll be trying my first stakeout tonight. I wonder what that's like? Should I bring some snacks?'

He started tapping his pencil on the notebook, not seeing a certain group of five teens all walking up to the stairs in front of FEAST. A familiar brown-haired girl was at the front of the bunch, smiling as she saw the teen sitting there. She spun around and pointed at him, "That's Izuku Midoriya. He helps out here, and just to warn you, he's super shy. If he doesn't talk to you much at the start, don't think its him being rude."

"Understood." one of them replied while chopping their arm in the air.

"Oh, and he's quirkless, so try to not bring that up." Three of the four slightly flinched at that, the fourth just staring at the boy.

The leader walked up the stairs at this, the four following as she skipped up to Izuku, "Hey Midoriya!"

He glanced up at this, only to see one Ochako Uraraka grinning at him. He almost flinched at this as he replied, "U-U-Uraraka?!"

"Hey there!"

"Wha...w-w-what are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be back to volunteer, remember?" She leaned in while tilting her head, "Or did you forget?"

"O-o-oh." He slowly replied before looking slightly away, "S-s-sorry. A lot of stuff has been happening."

"Here at FEAST?"

Izuku shook his head, "No. Just uh...o-o-other things." He then turned to the four behind the girl, "W-w-who are they, U-U-Uraraka?"

She side-stepped at this, waving a hand at the four, "These are my friends! They want to help out too!"

"Greetings, I am Tenya Iida!" Iida said as he chopped the air with a hand.

"Hello, I'm Tsuyu Asui, but just call me Tsu, kero." Tsuyu chimed in next, only for a pink skinned girl to point at herself and the final person.

"I'm Mina Ashido and this is Kirishima!" Kirishima shined a big grin at this, only for the five to see Izuku lean back, looking like he was trying to shrink into the chair.

"H-h-hi..." he muttered out, his whole form shaking as he tried to say more. "I-I-I'm I-I-Izuku M-M-Midoriya." The sight made Mina giggle, whispering to Kirishima on how he was kind of a spaz while Tsuyu just blinked at him.

"Its nice to meet you!" Iida instantly responded, "I heard you are a volunteer at this establishment?"

Izuku tried to keep his focus on the tall teen at this, slowly nodding, "Y-y-yes." His brain then kicked him, telling him one single command, 'You worthless Deku! Stop sitting there and introduce them to FEAST!'

He then put his notebook away, quickly scrambling to stand up before saying, "Um...l-l-let me introduce you to FEAST." At this, he slowly got up and gestured to them to follow, the group all walking inside as Izuku walked over to the kitchen. There, he saw Wanze and asked, "Hey Wanze." the cook turned to him, "Where's Gloria or Mister Li?"

"Gloria's over there and Li's upstairs." He pointed to a few counters over, the snake lady turning to hearing her name. Izuku waved at her, the woman soon walking over.

"What's up Izuku?" She then turned to see other teens, "Oh, hey Uraraka. Who are they?"

"Hiya Gloria!" Uraraka replied before pointing at the group, "These are my friends! They're here to help with the soup kitchen today."

The snake lady glanced up at them, seeing the teens not flinch at her appearance. She stuck out her forked tongue for a second before nodding, "I see. Hey there, I'm Gloria. And before you ask, just call me Gloria. Don't worry about last names or anything. I'm kind of the secondary boss around here." She pointed at Izuku, "Let me guess, Izuku here is not much a tour guide, is he?"

"Wha...b-b-but I-" Izuku stuttered out, only for Gloria to pat his shoulder.

"I'm just messing with ya. Anyways, Inko was looking for you a second ago, so I'll take care of 'em."

"Um...thanks." Izuku replied before shuffling away, the five watching him leave.

And before Gloria could speak up, Tsuyu suddenly said, "He seems sad, kero."

They all turned to her, Gloria tilting her head, "What makes you say that?"

"I can just tell." Tsuyu replied.

Gloria sighed at this, "Well...you're not wrong." They looked back at her, "When he first came here, we told him he couldn't volunteer."

Uraraka went wide-eyed at this, "Really? When I worked with him, he seemed like he'd been doing it for some time."

Gloria shook her head, "Not really. He's only worked for like...a week or so here. Though I do think the place is helping him."

"But why did you not let him volunteer at first?" Mina asked next.

"Cuz he needed help." Gloria responded, "You can probably tell, but he's got no confidence. We've been trying to help him get some. That and then we found out that we really do need him."

"What do you mean?"

"Kid's really smart and really really strong. Like, uh..." She turned to Uraraka and whispered, "Did you tell them about the...you know?" Uraraka nodded back, "Ah, good. Anyways, despite him being quirkless, he honestly has the strength of one with a quirk. Like, he can lift stuff like its nothing."

"Yeah. I still couldn't believe it when he helped me the other day." Uraraka commented, "It was like I was working with someone that had five times my strength and speed! And he did three times the work I did, and he wasn't a bit tired!"

"No kidding. I still don't get how he does that." Gloria chuckled, "Though, I think this place is helping his dream to become a hero as well. You told me last time he inspired you to come back when you could." She turned to the rest of the group, "I'm guessing you all want to be heroes as well?"

"Indeed!" Iida declared, "We all go to UA together!"

"I see." Gloria nodded, "Well, let's start introductions. What should I call you all?"

And as they began introducing themselves again, Izuku walked over to his mother. She was putting some finishing touches on a thing of soup before turning to him, "Ah, you're here. Ready to start serving? Mister Li told the others to start announcing what's going on outside."

"I'm ready." Izuku replied as he opened a cabinet and started taking out a pile of plates.

"Good." She then spun around and saw the group Gloria was talking to, "Who are they?"

"Um...they're friends of Uraraka's." He responded as he put the plates on the table.

"Oh. Well, good for her to come back. Her parents were so nice when they were here last time. And she seemed like a good girl." She turned to her son as he grabbed another pile of plates and put them out, "You know, she told me you inspired her last time she was here."

Izuku could feel the slight red appear on his face as he responded, "I-I-I just told her I was doing charity as part of being a hero."

Inko giggled at this before shaking her head, "Figures."

"What do you mean?" He glanced back at her, his blush already gone.

"The first girl your age you actually talk to is someone who also wants to be a hero. I should have known."

Izuku blinked at her words before the red returned to his face, "W-w-what?!"

Inko let out a cackle before grabbing his shoulder, "I'm just teasing, dear. Though..." She glanced back to see Gloria now motioning for the group to leave the kitchen. "She is a pretty girl, isn't she?" Izuku shut down at this, unable to respond before Inko looked back at the soup, letting out a hum, "Yup, this looks good. Get the plates settled and then tell Gloria we're going get the kitchen going. She'll have to cut her tour short, as we're gonna need plenty of hands in here."

She glanced back at Izuku, seeing him still standing there. She shook her head before tapping his shoulder, making Izuku come back to reality. He then glared at his mom, the woman giggling again before he went off to tell Gloria. The teen found that Gloria had taken them to meet Martin, the owner of FEAST thanking Uraraka and the rest of the group for volunteering. Izuku walked in as he heard Iida tell Martin he was inspired by Martin wanting to create a place like FEAST.

Gloria turned to Izuku, her forked tongue sticking out for a second, "Hey Izuku. What's up?"

"The main food is done. We're gonna start serving."

"Got it." Gloria replied before looking back at the group, "Yo everyone." They all spun around at this, "Looks like the kitchen got done early. I know I promised to have you meet everyone, but that's going to have to wait. Ready to volunteer?"

They all responded with 'yes', the group soon leaving Martin's office. Izuku went ahead and started to help bring out a bunch of tables out in front of FEAST. Kirishima and Iida were tasked to help with this as well, the two soon seeing what the others meant as they saw Izuku carry multiple tables and chairs at the same time, and with ease. The two boys tried to do the same, only to find they couldn't carry anything like Izuku, shocked at the sight. After that, the three girls along with Inko helped bring out the food, all talking as they started setting up the pots filled with food. As they did this, Uraraka and Mina found that Tsuyu really got along with Gloria, who they found out had another snake-headed friend from her previous school.

The soup kitchen went into full force soon after this, the teens handing out plenty of food. They found they had to tell Iida to not yell as much, as it disturbed a few of the elderly there, but there wasn't any problems otherwise. And as this happened, they found Izuku stopped stuttering somewhat, though he was still muttering as they sat down at a table to all eat supper after the main round of serving was done.

And as they began to eat, Iida spoke up, "I must thank you Uraraka. This felt very satisfying to do! We must invite the rest of the class to do this again!"

"Yeah! I feel extra manly!" Kirishima added, "I mean, I never really thought about doing stuff like this as part of hero work."

"I know!" Uraraka chimed in, "If it wasn't for Midoriya, I wouldn't thought of it either!" She turned to him, the boy eating a piece of meat. "What did you tell me last time on why you started to doing it? You said you saw some kind of interview or something."

He blinked at her before gulping down the food. He took a deep breath before saying, "W-w-well, it was when I watched an interview of All Might. He said heroes don't do charity anymore." He glanced away at that, "And...I-I-I want to be a hero like him."

The five smiled at this, even Tsuyu's face showing a tiny smile before Iida chopped the air. "I agree! Though I wish to be more like brother, to be a hero that does charity does sound worth becoming!"

'His brother?' Izuku thought as he stared at Iida before glancing down at the teen's feet, 'His quirk is a lot like...' He looked back up and asked, "Um...Iida?" The teen turned to him, "Who's your brother?"

Iida shined a huge grin at this, "Ah! My brother is the Pro Hero Ingenium!"

Izuku went wide-eyed at this, "Really?!" he gasped, his mouth opening to say more before his brain yelled at him, 'Don't tell them you've met Ingenium!' He forced himself to not react as he added, "Is t-t-that why your quirk is like that with your legs? I know his quirk is with his arms."

"Indeed." Iida nodded, "My quirk allows me to speed up a lot more than him, though it is less combative."

"Oh wow." Izuku muttered out, "That's amazing. You have an awesome quirk."

"Why thank you!" Iida replied, "I am proud to continue on the legacy of the Ingenium line!"

As he said this, Izuku turned to the others, "S-s-say, what are your quirks? I never found out."

Mina shined a big grin at this, "Mine's Acid! I can make it from my skin, but I probably shouldn't do it right now."

Kirishima flexed his arm at this, showing his quirk, "Mine's Hardening!"

"Mine is Frog, kero." Tsuyu chimed in. "I can't really demonstrate it here."

"Amazing. You all have such incredible quirks." Izuku replied, the group all sharing glances. They wanted to tell him that they weren't that special, only to remember the boy before them was quirkless. As for Izuku, he was trying to not go into a muttering storm, wanting to pull out his notebook and write down everything on their quirks.

That is, till Iida spoke up, "Say, Midoriya, may I ask you a question?"

"Um...sure?"

"What hero school do you go too? You said you wish to be a hero."

Uraraka flinched at this, remembering she had forgot to tell them. As for Izuku, he bit his lip before replying, "I'm...not going to a hero school." He was surprised that he didn't stutter as he then added, "I...I failed to get into one."

"Oh." Iida slightly gulped, only to bow his head, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"N-n-no, its okay!" Izuku waved his hands, "Its fine!"

"No, its not." Iida countered, "I am very sorry for bringing that up."

Izuku shrunk back in his seat at that, the teen slightly looking away. "Its...its fine. T-t-there's no need to apologize to someone like me."

The others all frowned at this, Iida staring at the boy before tilting his head, "Why do you say that?"

"Cuz...I'm useless." Izuku muttered out.

"What?!" Uraraka yelped, making them all turn to her, "Midoriya, you're not useless! Did you not see what you did today? You helped people, you moved all that stuff-"

Izuku just shook his head and looked away again, "T-t-that's nothing. I...I can't...I..." he started to sputter out at this, Uraraka flinching at seeing what she had just done.

"Is it because you're quirkless, kero?" Tsuyu bluntly chimed in, Izuku shaking at that question before glancing down at his lap. The sight made their frowns grow, wondering if things had gone too far.

That is, till Iida spoke up again, "I mean no offense, but are you truly quirkless?" Uraraka, Mina and Kirishima flinched at this, only for Iida to chop the air as he added, "I apologize, but considering what I saw when you were helping earlier, your strength is not normal."

Izuku slightly looked back up at the tall teen, "No...I'm quirkless."

Iida put his finger up to his glasses and pushed them upward, "My apologies, but I feel that's hard to believe. You seem very strong. If you have that strength, you should not think yourself as useless!"

Izuku blinked at this, the five seeing surprise now appear on his face. The expression showed he was shocked that someone said that. That is, till Izuku shook his head, "I...I guess. I just wish I could have made it."

"Did you try UA?"

Izuku slowly nodded back, "Yeah. I...I failed the practical. I got hurt. Badly."

The group grimaced at this, Tsuyu then speaking up, "Were you not able to go to general services?"

Izuku shook his head again, "No. I-I-I was told to look elsewhere. So...I'm doing online classes for now."

"You didn't try anywhere else?"

Izuku glanced away at this, "It...it was already too late after the UA exam." He then got up at this, the biggest frown on his face as he added, "But...I don't want to give up. T-t-that's why I'm here. I...I want to learn how to be a hero, and...I think this will help."

He grabbed his plate and walked off, the group watching him leave. Mina and Kirishima shrunk in their seats, Uraraka frowning while Iida looked like he was deep in thought. However, this was interrupted by Tsuyu as she said, "He's been bullied. A lot."

They turned to her again, Iida asking, "What makes you say that, Asui?"

"I told you, call me Tsu." she replied before shaking her head, "But...I can just tell, kero."

"You think that's why he's so shy?" Mina asked, Tsuyu nodding.

"Yeah, kero. He's probably been rejected by others because of his quirklessness. That and...he seems really lonely. He probably doesn't have any friends."

"That's just...so sad." Uraraka added, "I wish I could help him, but all I can think of is to encourage him to be a hero...and try to be his friend."

"And that will only help so much, kero." Tsuyu continued as she watched Izuku put away his plate before walking away. She then glanced back at her friends, "We should have him meet the rest of the class. Have them all come and volunteer."

The four smiled at this, three nodding as Iida chopped the air again, "I agree! This has been a truly engaging experience!"

"Yeah! I feel extra manly doing this today!" Kirishima chimed in, "Every hero should do stuff like this!"

Mina nodded at this, "Yup!" She stood up at this, "Let's drop off our plates and go help clean up!"

The rest all got up and went over to do just that. The girls all helped with plates while Izuku came back and started moving the tables and chairs. Iida and Kirishima tried to follow and help, only able to move a few as Izuku did the rest. Gloria walked up and giggled at this, telling the two it was typical for Izuku as they stood there and questioned what had just happened. After this, the five told FEAST they had to leave, a small crowd coming over to them as they left.

"Thanks for coming and helping." Gloria said first. "You kids are welcome to come back anytime."

"I agree." Martin Li added, "Thank you for volunteering."

"No problem." Uraraka replied, shining a big grin before turning to her friends, "I think we all liked doing this."

Three of them nodded as Iida spoke up next, "Indeed! I definitely want to come back and help again!"

"Yeah! And we're thinking of trying to get more of the class to come next time." Mina continued, "Definitely tell us when you're doing an event."

"I'll let Uraraka know." Gloria responded, "Course, we're always open for any help whenever."

A few more pleasantries happened after this, the five shaking a few hands before turning around to leave. But as they did this, Uraraka glanced back and saw Izuku, the boy waving her goodbye. She waved back, giving the biggest smile she could make before walking away, joining her leaving friends.

And as they left, Inko turned to Izuku, "They were a good bunch of kids, weren't they?" Izuku just nodded back, only for his mother to glare at him, "So...I saw you look a bit depressed after talking to them earlier. Did something happen?"

"I..." Izuku glanced away at this, "I just...you know...not used to talking."

Inko sighed and shook her head, "Izuku...you are some piece of work."

"What?"

"Those five want to be your friends." Inko replied while crossing her arms.

"Friends?!" Izuku yelped, "B-b-but-"

"Don't say it. You deserve to have friends." Inko interrupted before patting his shoulder, "Now, I want you to promise me something." Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but his mother just kept going, "When they come by next time, tell them you want to be their friend."

"W-w-what?! I-I-I can't do that! I-"

"You can." She gripped his shoulder at this, "Izuku...you need friends your age, and those five were all friendly and nice. Promise you'll ask to be friends next time, alright?"

Izuku's eyes shrunk at this, the teen shaking at those words before slowly muttering out, "O-o-okay. I'll...try."

"Good. That's all I ask. Now, let's go help Gloria-"

"Um...actually, I need to leave." he interrupted, the woman raising an eyebrow before sighing.

"Izuku, you need to rest. You can't just keep going like this everyday."

"I was just gonna go home and take a nap." Izuku replied, "That way, I have the energy for my stakeout tonight."

Inko rolled her eyes at this, "I should have known. Alright, go on home. I'll get over there later."

Izuku hugged her tightly, the woman chuckling as she embraced him back, "Thank you mom. Thank you so much."

"Of course. That's why I'm here."

Izuku had to admit, one the best perks of being Spider-Man was how easy it was to get around. Web-slinging allowed him to easily get anywhere, making the trip from FEAST to home being just a few minutes compared to the usual train ride there. As such, he quickly got home and took a nap, knowing he was in for a long night.

And after waking up a few hours later, he went to his computer and did some more research over sewer systems, soon finding that the ones in the city that were only near certain banks. He found two that were connected to the one that was originally robbed, and one of those was the one where he fought the masked men for the first time. The other hadn't been robbed. At least, until he looked up the bank's history and found no attempts for the last six months. It seemed bank robberies were more of a recent thing in Musutafu for some reason.

Seeing this, he made a full belt of web cartridges, made sure his suit was ready and told his mom he was going out for the night. Less than an hour later, he was at his target. It didn't take long to swing over to the bank's rooftop, quickly looking to find no one around. Now seeing he was all alone, he searched around the bank's building, soon finding its breaker, which was still intact and behind a fenced in cage, along with a manhole just an alley away.

He then crawled up to another rooftop, sitting over the alleyway manhole as he pulled out his notebook, 'This looks like a good place to set up. Maybe I'll make some notes on doing stakeouts.' He flipped to an open page and stared at it, blinking several times before facepalming, 'I don't know anything about this! What am I gonna write?!'

He leaned back at this, letting out a long sigh. 'I'm such a mess.' he thought to himself before closing his eyes, now thinking about today. Memories of meeting Uraraka's friends, seeing them all be so different but still friendly and kind. He could tell they were all future heroes, all wanting to be people that truly helped others. And he felt glad that he had inspired Uraraka to bring them there.

'Friends...' he mentally told himself as he thought about his mom's words, 'I...I've never had friends before.' As he thought that, his mind went back to the days he was friends with Katsuki, the two laughing and playing...until Katsuki got his quirk. And it all changed.

It was like the whole world changed that day. Katsuki got his quirk...and now that Izuku thought about it, all he could remember was pain after that. Nothing but pain. Its as if the world just kept pushing him down, pulling and hitting him, telling him he couldn't be a hero, couldn't be something more than a quirkless Deku.

And then the spider bit him. A spider bite that somehow created a whirlwind of events. Leaping off that building, fighting bank robbers, masked men, crazed drug dealers and over-the-top villains. And that led to this moment. Izuku, alone in a hero costume he made, as a vigilante doing a stakeout. How crazy life had become over a month and a half.

He looked back down at the alleyway at this, seeing no activity whatsoever. The sight made him sigh as he glanced back at his notebook, flipping a few more pages as he saw a few spider designs he had thought up if he ever made a new costume. 'I can't thank that spider enough. I love this quirk-er, these quirks, so much.' He pulled out a small snack bar out next, chomping down on it for a second. 'Welp, time to wait.'

A few hours later...

It was an hour past midnight now, and Izuku was convinced that this should be the best time for the criminal to show itself. While waiting, he mainly wrote out a few new moves and tried to do some of them on that rooftop. He also tried to think up some more quips, only to find that he still didn't think he was funny.

As such, he put the notebook away and did a few stretches, seeing his target still hadn't shown up. 'Man...guess he's not coming today.' He pulled out his phone and saw it was almost 2 AM now, a yawn escaping his lips at this. 'Then again, there's still a few hours left before sunrise. Maybe I should go patrolling instead.'

He looked back down at the manhole, glaring at it as he felt he had watched the same blasted thing for so long it was drilled into subconscious. Despite this, he decided another thirty minutes would be good before going out to patrol instead. And as he did this, he took out the last snack he had for the night and began chomping down, thinking about another move he wanted to try.

But as he did this, he looked away from the alleyway as the manhole began to move. Two green scaly hands slowly lifted it upward, silently being pushed to the side a second later. One that could only be described as a lizard-like face came out next, complete with a giant tuft of purple hair on the top of the individual's head. His eyes glanced around for a second, his form slithering out of the hole a minute later.

And as he stood up, he was revealed to be a mostly tall individual with a green lizard face, purple hair, and wearing a black jacket and gray shirt with long dark jeans with black boots. There was nothing on his face, no mask or anything, though his lizard appearance had no need for such a thing. This was followed by a long katana on his back, which was currently in its sheath, along with two duffel bags strapped to himself.

"Gotta make this quick. This place should be like the last one." He whispered to himself as he walked up to the bank's breaker, which was inside the fenced in cage. He put his claw to the cage's door lock, grinning at the sight. "Easy."

He let go of the lock and took out his katana, raising it up high before slashing it. And as he did this, a loud clang noise rang out. The lizard man glanced around at this, checking to see if anyone heard it, only to grab the cage door and slowly open it. But as he did this, a certain head popped out from a nearby rooftop, though it was completely invisible.

'He showed up!' Izuku thought as he watched the thief walk up to the breaker box and rip off its lock as well. 'And its just one guy. Looks like he's going for the same strategy as last time. Then again, if its not broke, don't fix it.'

He pointed his wrists at the thief, only to stop himself, 'Wait...jumping in is what messed up your encounter with Gentle Criminal and almost got you killed in the Scorpion fight, Izuku. There's a lot of options for you than just running in guns blazing.' He then stopped pointing at the thief, watching him turn off the power for the bank. And as he walked out of the cage, Izuku crawled down the building and onto street level as he pointed his wrists again.

THWIP!

The lizard man came to a stop as he felt something hit both of his boots. "Huh?" He glanced down, now seeing his feet covered in webbing. "What the-"

"So, trying a late night withdrawal, huh? Not today pal."

The lizard man stood up straight at that, yelping, "What the-who's there?!"

He then felt two palms grab his shoulders, "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

ZAP!

"Yeow!" The thug screamed, only to reflexively grab the handle of his katana. But as he did this, another glob of webbing hit his hand, sticking it to the sword along with sticking the sword into its sheath. "Huh?!"

Izuku's invisibility wore off at this, appearing to the lizard man's side, "Sorry, this is a no sharp deadly weapons zone." He then pulled back a fist, "Venom Punch!" He slammed the electric fist into the lizard man's side, making the thug scream as the blow knocked him flying, releasing him from the webbing over his boots.

And as the lizard man went flying down the alleyway, he suddenly spun mid-air, landing on both feet as a tiny bit of electricity surged around his body. Izuku fired two shots of webbing at this, only for the criminal to side-step, dodging both strands. He then put his other hand up to his webbed one, slashing at the webs. But as he freed his hands, he found the katana wouldn't come out of the sheath, the webbing still making it stuck. As such, he let out a hiss at the vigilante, "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Oh? I think you're the one who needs to pay, since you're a thief!"

"Shut up! I got no choice!"

'No choice?' Izuku mentally repeated his words, the thought making him come to a stop.

"I'll kill you!" the lizard man roared as he got on all fours and charged at Izuku. Seeing this, Spider-Man fired two more strands of webbing, only for the lizard to slash through both with a swipe of his scaly hands. He then reached Izuku in an instant, thrusting a claw right at the vigilante's face. Izuku quickly ducked under it and swung a leg up, his foot slamming into the thug's face. This was followed with the lizard man throwing two jabs, both knocking Izuku back.

"Urgh!" the teen grunted before thrusting a Venom Punch into the thug's face, pushing him slightly back. And as electricity slightly surged around the thug, he just let out a snarl as Izuku said, "Listen, I don't know why you think you have to rob a bank, but just give up uh...lizard guy."

"I'm a gecko!" he roared back, making Izuku blink.

"Really? But I totally thought your name would be something like...The Lizard!"

The thug just squinted his eyes at that, "My name's Spinner."

"Oh...huh. I thought it would be more animal themed. Guess I was wrong." Izuku then pointed at Spinner, "Well, listen here villain, just give up! You're not beating me, and you're not robbing the bank!"

"Make me!" Spinner roared as he leapt at vigilante, Izuku firing two strands of webbing upward. He yanked himself up next, flipping over the gecko man before firing a third line and swung himself downward.

"Web Swing Kick!" Izuku yelled as swung and slammed both feet into Spinner's back. The blow made the thug let out a cry of pain for a second before spinning around and thrusting an elbow into Izuku's stomach. "Oof!"

Izuku fell back at this, quickly rolling on the pavement before getting back up, only to see Spinner charging at him again. 'Here he comes. Come on spider sense, help guide me.' he thought as swiped a claw right at Izuku's face. His spider sense blared, Izuku feeling the incoming danger. He quickly raised an arm, blocking the claw before it could hit and thrust a Venom Punch at this. Spinner caught it with his other hand, only to feel himself get zapped. This was followed by Izuku thrusting an upward kick, the motion making Izuku backflip as the kick smacked Spinner's chin.

The gecko man stumbled back at this as Izuku landed, only to let out a roar as then grabbed his webbed up katana and yanked at it, pulling it out this time. "I'm gonna slice you!" he screeched as he thrust the blade at Izuku. His spider sense screamed at this, making Izuku hop back as Spinner began wildly swinging the sword around.

But as he did this, Izuku fired another web, hitting the top of the blade before pulling on it. Seeing this, Spinner pulled back, the two now pulling on each other.

"NO!" Spinner yelled, "This is my katana!"

"And this is a no sharp deadly weapons zone!" Izuku growled as he kept pulling. But as he did this, he then let go, making Spinner stumble back as he continued pulling. And as he tried to make sure he didn't fall back, Izuku fired a shot of webbing at Spinner's chest and yanked that, causing the thug to go flying forward.

"Waugh!" Spinner yelped as he lost his balance, his face hitting pavement right in front of Izuku. And as he tried to recover, he suddenly found himself unable to move. "What the-"

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

"And now...you're all webbed up." Izuku chuckled to himself as he fired a whole slew of webbing all over Spinner, sticking him to the ground. And as he completed webbing up Spinner's feet, he leaned down in front of Spinner's face, "And you got nowhere to go."

"You little...let me go!" Spinner screamed as he started to squirm. A few strands of webbing snapped at this, only for more to take their place.

"No, you're staying here." Izuku commented as he kept firing webbing.

"Grrr...raaaah!" Spinner roared as he kept squirming, now feeling he couldn't move even a millimeter. His body was fully stuck to the pavement. Izuku watched him try to move for a few minutes, only for the thug to let out a sigh. "No..."

Izuku saw a big frown on appear on the gecko man's face, which regularly would have been hard to tell if he hadn't watched how Gloria emotes herself, and that was harder to tell compared to this guy's lizard face. Izuku could admit he had seen plenty of frowns on criminals' faces, but most were showing frustration and anger.

This one also showed that...along with a tinge of sadness. Blinking at this, his mind went into its usual fast-paced focus, 'That's odd. Wait...this guy is a mutant animal quirk, right? All the Tombstone gang are mutant animal quirks. Maybe this guy is in debt to them? I mean, he doesn't dress like them, but he's also not going anywhere...' He then leaned back down and asked, "So...you said you didn't have a choice in robbing the bank. Why?"

Spinner glared up at them, "Wha...what do you care?!"

"Uh...cuz I asked? I mean, if you don't want to tell me and I just call the police to get you hauled off to prison, I don't mind." He pulled out his phone at this, Spinner slightly grimacing.

"Wait! Don't!" Spinner yelled, "I don't want to go to jail!"

"You already robbed a bank. I'm pretty sure that means you're going to jail." Izuku deadpanned, only to do a slight shrug, "But...if you want to tell me why, I'm all ears. You said you had no choice. Are you in debt to some gang?"

Spinner blinked at him, only to try to glance away, his eyes being the only thing able to move at this. He stayed like this for a few seconds, only to look back at Izuku. "Stop staring at me!"

"So...you're not gonna tell me?"

"No! I...I..." He glared up at Izuku for a bit, only to let out a sigh, "Fine. You wanna know why?! Its cuz I...I...I just need the money!"

"For what?"

"Cuz I need money! I can't get it any other way!" Spinner roared, a bit of spit flying out of his mouth.

"So...you're just desperate?" Izuku bluntly asked, making Spinner hiss.

"Yes! I need it cuz its a dog eat dog world out there, alright?! Everyone thinks I'm some lizard freak, just like you, and I need the money cuz I'm alone and I only look out for me!"

Izuku blinked at this, his mind going back to earlier today, mainly his mom telling him he needed friends. As this thought went into his head, he could only think of one thing, 'This guy...he said he's all alone. I bet he's like me, he's got no friends and he's looked down on.'

The teen took a deep breath before saying, "Listen, um...thanks for telling me."

Spinner's glare stopped at that, just now staring at the vigilante, "Huh?"

Izuku slightly looked away at this, "Uh...you see, I'm like you. I get it. I'm rejected by the world and...I don't really have any friends."

"What?!" Spinner yelped as he started glaring back at Izuku, "What are you talking about?! Aren't you a totally popular vigilante with an awesome quirk?!"

Izuku almost flinched at the outburst, only to shake his head, "No, not really. I'm uh...I'm all alone too."

Spinner stared at him for a second before asking, "Wait...you don't have a spider face under that mask, do you?"

"Um...no." Izuku slowly said, "But I get where you're going there. Is that why you're rejected? Because you look like that?"

"Yeah..." Spinner softly replied, "No one accepts a...lizard freak like me."

Izuku stared at him for a second, his mind going over this again, 'If he goes to jail, when he's released, he'll just go back to crime. He needs a place that accepts him...like FEAST.' He went wide-eyed at his own thoughts before speaking up, "Spinner...when the police come, tell them what you just told me."

"Huh? Why?"

"Cuz if you do, they'll understand." He then leaned in slightly more at this, "And when you've done your time, if you can't find what you should do next, come to FEAST."

"FEAST?"

Izuku nodded back, "Yeah. Its a place here in Musutafu for people like you. Its there to help you figure out what to do with your life. They help out people with so-called 'villain' quirks and mutant quirks." He pointed to himself, "They've helped me, and they can help you too."

Spinner just blinked at him before asking, "Do I have to pay them for that?"

"Nope!" Izuku shook his head, "They do it all for free. Its there for helping those down on their luck."

"Hmph!" Spinner closed his eyes at this, grumbling, "I don't need yours or their pity!"

"Its not pity." Izuku replied, only to see Spinner open his eyes and glare at him. Izuku sighed at this and shook his head, "I was just trying to help." He stood up at this, "Well, at least think about it, okay?"

Spinner blinked at him, his glare slightly fading as he just looked away, not saying another word. Seeing this, Izuku pulled out a card and began to write on it before putting it on Spinner's webbed up back. After that, he fired a web line and yanked himself out of the alleyway and onto a rooftop, Spinner looking back up at him with a shine in his eyes.

A few minutes later, he went to a pay phone, knowing he didn't want his cell phone traced, and called an anonymous tip to the police before heading home. Part of his mind told him to do a patrol, but a yawn escaping his mouth told him to go home and sleep.

'You know...I think I did some good today. I wonder if this is something they teach at UA as well...' He did a wide-arced swing before leaping into the air, doing a flip before firing another webline. And as he did this, there was smile under his mask as he swung into the night.

Chapter 18: The World Keeps Turning

Chapter Text

"Gotta say, that kid sure gets around." Sansa Tamakawa commented as he read the report from a late night arrest.

Naomasa was sitting at a desk in front of him, the man sighing, "No kidding." Naomasa then shuffled some papers in front of himself before taking the paper Sansa was reading.

"Ready to do the interrogation?" Sansa asked next.

"Honestly, no. I really wish I had Eraserhead here, as he's good at improvising certain questions."

"But your quirk-"

"Is perfect for interrogations. I know." Naomasa interrupted as he stood up. His quirk was Lie Detection, something that made him perfect for police work. He had used it more times than he could ever count, and as he had just said, it was perfect for interrogation. As such, the two men walked out of the office and into the hallway, shuffling down to a door that had the words: 'Interrogation Room #2' on it.

"Here we go." Naomasa commented as he opened the door, quickly walking in with Sansa following him. The room was a simple, dull gray affair, complete with just three chairs and table. And in one chair was Spinner, his hands handcuffed to the table with a tired look on his face. It showed he hadn't slept in some time.

"Hello there, I'm Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. You are Shuichi Iguchi, correct?"

"Call me Spinner." He grumbled, glancing slightly away.

"Alright." Naomasa wrote that down before gesturing to Sansa, the cat man taking out a recording device. "Let's begin."

Izuku had slept in for over the half the day. He had never slept that much, feeling his mind slightly muddle as he woke up. The teen slowly got out of bed, feeling himself drag through the entire house. And as he ate a super late lunch, he decided he would only do a small patrol today.

"Hope I didn't get sick." he whispered to himself as he turned on the television. There it showed a few basic news stories, only to switch to a news table talking about a certain event.

"As we all know, the UA sports festival is four days away now! Are you all excited?"one lady asked.

A well shaved man responded to this,"Oh yes. As everyone knows, it will be the first classes that were able to learn from All Might firsthand. We suspect they'll be something truly spectacular."

The next words fell on deaf ears as Izuku went wide-eyed at that statement. He faceplamed as he thought about yesterday. "Augh! I forgot to ask Uraraka about what its like getting taught by All Might again!"

He slumped down into the couch, munching on a piece of meat as he sulked, "I can't go to UA, I miss getting taught by All Might, I don't get to try the UA sports festival..." He raised his right hand, seeing a bit electricity spark around it, "Well, at least I have this."

He gulped down the last piece of meat and took a sip of his drink, 'When the festival happens, I should root for Uraraka and the others. I just hope they don't have to fight Kacchan.' He put the drink back down, 'I wonder what Kacchan's up too. I bet he's top of the class...while I'm still a useless Deku.'

The teen felt himself shake at those thoughts, memories of his once friend hurting him again. He felt a bit of sweat appear on his forehead as he rubbed his face, shivering as he clenched up. 'No...don't think about that. Those times are over. You're...you're a vigilante now. You'll become a hero. You'll figure it out. Its just...gonna take a while.'

He took a long deep breath before standing up, a determined stare now appearing on his face. "I'll figure it out." And with that, he ate the rest of his food, put it away and put on his costume.

An hour or so later, the teen was web-swinging through the city, a grin on his face under his mask. As he swung, he began to do flips and spins, all things he had thought up last night during the stakeout. He found it refreshing, as if he could do anything as he swung around.

As he did this, a small kid pointed up at the sky, gasping as he then tugged on his mom's skirt, "Look mommy!"

The woman looked up, now seeing the vigilante swing away, letting out a "WOOOO!" as he disappeared down the street.

"That was so cool! Can I do that?" the kid asked next, his mother sighing and shaking her head.

"Not until you're older." She replied as she took her son's hand.

"Awww...but I wanna try that now!"

And as this happened, Izuku took a left, going down another street. The grin on his face kept growing, only to let out a sigh, "Ahhh...I needed this. Just a good old fashioned swing across the city."

He then took out the police scanner, having a feeling it was going to dictate today's events. And is if right on schedule, a voice spoke up.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a runaway vehicle going down Bracca Boulevard, any hero present, please respond."

"Bracca? That's not too far away." Izuku commented as he took another turn, "Maybe I can intercept it."

A few minutes of swinging later, he got to the street, only to find a trail of knocked over cars. The sight made him go wide-eyed, only to then see a few police cars race by, all blaring their sirens. "Looks like someone's trying out for demolition derby." He chuckled to himself, "That's a good one. I should write that down."

He followed the trail of destruction, only to spot a hero or two run down the street, helping the people who's cars were overturned. He felt himself wanting to go down and help as well, only to glance back up and see the vehicle responsible. It was a jet black semi, and the back door of the truck was open. And inside was a familiar sight.

'Its those masked guys again!' he mentally gasped, only to see one of the thugs pull out what looked like a bazooka. 'Holy cow!'

The teen quickly fired two web lines and yanked himself, slingshotting over the police cars. And as he did this, one of the masked men pointed to the sky."The spider!"

The thug with the bazooka looked up, leaning slightly back at the sight before aiming the weapon upward. 'Uh-oh.' Izuku thought as his spider sense began to scream at him. A second later, a loud boom could be heard as the rocket went flying out of the bazooka. Izuku quickly fired a web line to his left and yanked it, pulling him away from the projectile just in time. And as he did this, he glanced back at the flying explosive and aimed his wrist at it. 'Can't let that go flying into the city!'

He fired a web line, grabbing it before he did a single pull. "How about we return to sender?!" He yelled as he swung the web line downward, slinging it right back at the semi.

"Destroy it!"yelled the masked thug holding the bazooka, the other thug pulling out a katana and swinging it. A wave of energy came out next, hitting the rocket and making it explode in mid-air.

Seeing this, Izuku let out a breath, 'Not what I wanted, but at least it didn't hurt anybody.' He fired another web line at the semi's roof and pulled, quickly yanking himself over to the vehicle with a single motion. And as he landed, he rolled along the truck's roof, letting out a groan as he tried to stand back up.

"The spider is on the roof!"the masked thug with the bazooka roared,"You, get me another rocket! The rest of you, get up there and kill the spider! I will handle the police!"The other thugs nodded and one quickly grabbed the roof's edge, pulling himself up. But as he did this, a strand of webbing suddenly hit the climbing thug's chest.

"Surprise!" Izuku exclaimed as he pulled on the web line, instantly flinging the thug across the roof. This was followed by a kick to the face, shattering the mask as the thug was knocked onto his back. A second later, webbing covered his body, the teen yanking the katana from him at the same time.

"No more swords. Seriously, what is with you villains and your sharp objects?!" Izuku commented as threw the sword behind him and webbed it to the roof, out of the thug's reach. But as he did this, two more thugs climbed onto the roof, one with a pair of energy whips while another had just a katana. "Oh great. This is gonna be another one of those 'fifty thugs in a semi' thing, isn't it?"

"Kill the spider!"the katana thug yelled as he charged at Izuku. He quickly thrust his blade at the teen, only for Izuku to side-step the attack before doing a quick spin, lifting and slamming his foot into the masked thug's side. The man fell over at this, Izuku quickly firing a glob of webbing over him.

Danger!

Izuku tried to turn around as his spider sense blared, only for an energy whip to suddenly appear and quickly wrap around his neck. "Urk!" he gasped as he grabbed the whip, trying to pull it off. But as he did this, the masked thug's fists surged with black and white energy, the energy then flowing through the whip and zapping the vigilante. "AAAAAAHHHH!" Izuku screamed, only to turn to the masked man and aimed his wrist at him.

Psst!

"Oh, come on!" He grunted out before putting his hands back on the whips. He then began to try and charge some Venom Power in the weapon, only for the whips to surge with energy again, zapping the teen instead. "Augh!"

"You die today spider!"the whip guy yelled as he kept pouring energy from his hands into the whips. And as he did this, Izuku's spider sense went wild, screaming at him as the masked man inside the semi had just finished loading the bazooka again. And though Izuku couldn't see it, his spider sense was telling him something bad was coming.

'Gotta...get...free!' His mind yelled at him, only to clench his hands around the whip. And with one mighty pull, he yanked them off his neck. The masked man flinched at this for a second before flicking the whips, only for Izuku to leap at him. Before the masked man could react, Izuku tackled him with both hands on the thug's shoulders. "Sorry, this is now a no-whip zone!"

ZAP!

Electricity surged for a split second, zapping the thug as it instantly knocked him out. And as Izuku tried to get up, his spider sense kept screaming, making him glance over the truck's edge and see to thug about to aim at the police car. "NO!" He yelled as he grabbed the roof's edge and spun around, quickly thrusting his feet into the thug's face. Knocking the masked man back, the bazooka flew out of his hands, knocking into another thug inside the semi.

And as Izuku landed inside, he found he was staring at ten more masked men, including a bulky one in the very back. "Oh great, they're quintuplets. Lovely."

"The spider!"one of them yelled before two leapt at Izuku. Electricity surged in both of his fists at this, quickly throwing two Venom Punches at them. And as he knocked both back, a third pulled out a blade and thrust it. Spider sense blaring, Izuku side-stepped it with ease before throwing another punch. This one didn't have the bio-electricity in it, but the blow was enough to make the thug stumble. Seeing this, Izuku turned to see two more thugs charging at him, both with energy pouring around their fists. They each threw jabs at him, Izuku ducking and dodging both.

'Darn it! If only my web shooters weren't empty right now!' he thought as he kept evading the attacks, his spider sense blaring as it warned him of every attack. He kept dancing, finding that the two masked thugs were surprising slow with their punches, but were making Izuku backpedal to the edge of the semi. And as this happened, he soon noticed he was out of room as the back of his right foot went slightly over the edge.

'Oh no...' Izuku glanced back up to see a third thug joining the two, the trio's fists all surging with black and white energy. 'I gotta do something! I-'

THOOM!

What sounded like a tank falling onto something suddenly rang out, everyone in the semi now stumbling as the whole truck shook. Feeling this, Izuku glanced up and outside of the semi, only to go wide-eyed as he saw the face of a giant dragon. "Ryukyu?!"

The Dragoon Hero in her dragon form was on top of the semi, grabbing it in her giant claws. "This chase ends now!" she declared, only for Izuku to feel the semi now getting yanked upward. He looked back and saw she was now pulling the truck off the ground, making him gasp as she roared, "You're all under arrest! Surrender now!"

"Holy cow!" Izuku yelped, only for his spider sense to scream at him. Glancing back inside the semi, one of the thugs grabbed a sword and thrust it at him, Izuku falling back as the masked man tried to stab him. This made Izuku drop right out of the truck, the teen quickly flipping his body as he grabbed the bottom of the semi. And with a mighty heave, he pulled himself upward, soon clinging to the vehicle's underbelly.

"That...was nuts." He whispered before noticing that the road that was supposed to be below him was now just a few feet away, along with police cars now moving around to create some kind of formation.

'Oookay then. I'm pretty sure Ryukyu can handle this. Time to refill my webbing and get out of here.' he thought to himself as he quickly grabbed the web cartridges. A few seconds later, he was back in web-shooter mode before going invisible and looking back into the semi. There, he saw one of the masked thugs looking outside the truck with bazooka in hand.

"Oh no you don't!" he yelled as he reached up and grabbed the thug's ankle, zapping it with a surge of bio-electricity. The thug screamed before slumping over, his body flopping out of the now flying semi. Seeing this, Izuku quickly fired a web-line, catching the man by the chest. "Hang on there!"

He yanked the man back up and fired another round of webbing over the thug before slinging him to the side of the semi, his body soon sticking onto the truck's right side before climbing onto the side as well. After this, he glanced back inside and saw another thug trying to get the bazooka ready, only to sigh, 'They don't give up, do they?!'

But as he saw this, the passenger door opened, a masked thug pulling out an automatic rifle and pointing it at the dragon."Die hero!"he barked, making Izuku look back and saw the man.

"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered before pointing his wrist at the thug, "Not today!"

Thwip!

A single strand of webbing instantly hit the rifle, Izuku yanking it a second later. The thug let out a yelp before turning to see Spider-Man crawling on the right side of the truck."Curse you spider!"he growled before slamming the passenger door shut.

"Oookay." Izuku then looked back at the end of the semi, only to see a giant dragon claw slamming into it, knocking the thugs inside back. The sight made him go wide-eyed, flinching for a second as he began to hear the police tell Ryukyu to put the semi down. He glanced down at the street, now seeing the police fully surround the descending vehicle.

'Um...maybe I should leave. I mean, Ryukyu looks like she's got this handled.' He looked back at the passenger door again, only to see the bare results he had just prodcued. 'Darn it. Just another pointless fight with these guys...'

He glanced up at Ryukyu, the dragon now slowly descending. Seeing this, he fired a web line and yanked himself away, switching into a swing a second later. He heard a few yells at this, but the voices drowned out quickly. He swung down street after street, his mind going over what had just happened.

'What was that? That was the third time I've been in a car chase with those masked goons, and its like...they don't care. They just drive around and cause trouble. I didn't even do anything this time honestly...' he thought before sighing, "I guess I'll just go and find something else to do."

Izuku swung for another thirty minutes after that, unable to get how the situation went out of his head. He had just tried to stop the masked gang again, only for another hero to swoop in and do a better job than him. That had never happened before. Everytime he found himself going into a fight, either the heroes weren't there, or they were in trouble.

And as he stopped a swing and landed on a rooftop, perching on the corner of the building, his mind raced back to all his previous encounters. 'Have I just been lucky?' he thought before taking out his cases notebook, looking them over and sighing, 'Maybe...maybe I have. I mean, I was useless back there. That whip guy beat me up, and I wasn't even close to stopping the truck. Ryukyu just came in and fixed everything while I was struggling.'

He rubbed his face at this, shaking his head, 'I'm still not a hero yet, am I? I'm not even close. I mean, I've saved people and heroes have thanked me...and yet, I keep failing. I failed today, I failed with that Gentle Criminal guy, and that masked gang keeps getting away...'

He put the notebook away, closing his eyes for a second, "Mom told me I shouldn't have to become a criminal to be a hero. Maybe she was right." He sat down at this, his feet dangling over the roof, "Huh. Maybe I should go to UA and ask to be a student." He let out a low chuckle at this, shaking his head, "Yeah, like they'd accept a Deku like me."

The teen looked up at the sky at this, exhaling a deep breath, "I guess the vigilante thing wasn't the best idea." He looked down at his hands, flexing them as he sighed, "I wonder...what is it really like to be a hero?"

It was nearing evening now as Naomasa sat in his office. He was looking over the transcript of the interrogation he had just done this morning. To the left of him was his computer, which was showing Spider-Man being part of a car chase situation that was later solved by Ryukyu. She had finished the job, capturing the gang of masked goons with ease after Spider-Man had softened them up.

And though Naomasa would easily admit he had great respect for the Dragoon hero, he felt that the situation just made his case worse. After all, despite Spider-Man actually not solving the issue here, he had still got there before the heroes. That alone will make the hero commission go after Ryukyu, telling her to be better because a vigilante 'tried to upstage her' or some nonsense like that.

It gave the detective a headache, one that he knew Eraserhead would share once he came in and saw today's reports. And as if on cue, the office door opened to the reveal the scraggy, always tired looking man. He had a cup of coffee in one hand, and a glare on his face as he sat down.

"Bad day?" Naomasa asked, the Pro Hero just grumbling in response. "I'm guessing so."

"Problem children." Aizawa growled as he took a sip of coffee. "They're going to embarrass me so much in the UA sports festival."

"That bad?"

The teacher just shook his head, "They have potential...but that's it." He rubbed his face at this, "Its going to be a disaster, I just know it."

"You know, maybe you shouldn't be that negative." Naomasa chuckled before spinning around the transcript papers and lightly moving them over to the hero. "Here, take a look at this."

"What is it?"

"Transcript of today's interrogation. Spider-Man stopped a bank robber last night and the robber was...different. Like, he acted like he might become a fan of the vigilante after losing to him."

"Really? That's a new one." Aizawa replied as he looked it over, "You sure he wasn't yanking your chain?"

"He wasn't. I mean, he tried to lie at first, but soon realized he couldn't get around my quirk."

"Figures." Aizawa commented, "So, it says here this...Spinner, was robbing banks due to being desperate after he ran out of money."

"Yeah. I looked up his profile, and what I can determine, he's been discriminated most of his life." Naomasa added, "As such, he eventually went to crime since no one would hire him anywhere. Before this though, it seems he was just a shut-in."

"Huh." Aizawa responded as he read the second and third page, "So...he went to rob the bank on Eadu Drive last night, only for Spider-Man to suddenly appear. The vigilante beats him, and then started asking why he did it?"

Aizawa glanced up at Naomasa, the detective shrugging in response. "Don't ask me. I don't know why he did it either."

Eraserhead looked back at the paper, "Then Spider-Man told him to tell the police everything, and told him that...he was just like him?!" His voice increased at the end there as he glanced up at Naomasa, the detective shrugging in response. "Seriously?!"

"I know. Spinner wouldn't tell me anything else after that, but I could tell that Spider-Man inspired him."

Aizawa slumped back in his chair, letting out a groan, "Well, that changes the profile we were making for Spider-Man." He lifted up the papers over his head, glaring at the words, "I don't believe this. There's got to be something we're missing here."

"Would you like to hear my theory?"

"Sure, why not?"

Naomasa pulled out another paper, this one showing a picture of Spider-Man and a list of believed quirks. Five were currently on the list, three confirmed, which were a spider mutant quirk, invisibility and bio-electricity. The other two were considered to be pure theory, that being a type of sensory quirk and a webbing emitter quirk. "I think that whatever gave him these quirks is why he's like this."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at this, taking the paper and humming at the sight, "Well...I mean, you could be right. Whatever gave him all these quirks has to be connected to him being a vigilante." A small bulb went off in his head at this, "Say, you think Spider-Man's not registered?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if he's like the League of Villains? Their two main members we know of aren't in the database or quirk registry. What if Spider-Man doesn't have an identity either and that's why they're a vigilante. I mean, if he has no background, most hero schools aren't going to accept him."

Naomasa bit his lip at that, "In other words, he's an escaped experiment or something like that?"

"We live in a world ruled by superpowers that can do some seriously irrational stuff." Aizawa put the paper down on the desk, "I mean, he could still just be a citizen. It just doesn't make sense that he's a vigilante though."

"I know." Naomasa sighed, "That's why this is so difficult." He turned to watch the footage of Spider-Man in the car chase from earlier today, "I can't help but think we're missing just one piece of the puzzle." Aizawa let out a snort at that, making the detective look back at him. He could tell the teacher was already back to thinking about his students rather than the case. As such, he shined a small smile and asked, "Say, if you had the chance to catch Spider-Man now, what would you do? Would you let him in your class?"

Aizawa blinked at that, his head turning to the footage before humming, "Maybe. Seems like a real problem child though." The teacher then looked down at the paper again, "Say, do we have anything on these...'Inner Demons' he keeps fighting?"

Naomasa shook his head, "Nope. Just like the last time I brought you in for them, its the same. They come in clueless, as if they've been brainwashed and know nothing as soon as the brainwashing is removed." The detective pulled out another folder at this, "The only other thing we have is that they don't seem to use quirks when brainwashed. They seem to gain an energy quirk while brainwashed and just use that or weapons like swords and guns."

"But once the brainwashing is gone, they can't remember or use the energy quirk. That's awfully convenient." Aizawa grumbled as he took the folder, "There has to be some sort of catch. There's no quirk that good that could do this."

"I agree." Naomasa replied as he rubbed the temple of his nose. "But that case has been put on the backburner for now. The chief thinks that if this gets out, the hero commission will go nuts on Spider-Man...and ignore the Inner Demons altogether."

Aizawa glanced down at the folder again, his eyes squinting at a photo of Spider-Man fighting the masked thugs. "I could see it...especially with a problem child like that."

Two hands tugged a white tie as a man sat behind his desk, pulling and shaking it a second later. He let out a long sigh next before glancing down at the desk, glancing over several papers. And as he reached down for one of them, the room's door opened, making the man glance up.

"Master."said a masked man as he walked into the room and closed the door."I have a report."

"Go ahead."

"The spider interfered again. He delayed the men until the heroes arrived, just as you planned."

The man's eyes narrowed at this,"I figured. Did the others at least succeed?"

The masked thug nodded,"Yes master."

"Good. It is a shame that we've had to move so slowly thanks to the spider and Tombstone...but perhaps that's a good thing."The man leaned back at this, putting his hand to his chin and closed his eyes,"I think it is time to get rid of both of our problems."

"What do you mean, master?"

The man looked up at the thug again,"It is time for war."

Izuku didn't immediately go home after his small internal crisis. To be fair, he was still thinking about, thinking if he was really accomplishing anything. He knew had prevented some crimes, but they all felt like lucky breaks now. It was if they didn't truly matter in his mind, but at the same time, he kept telling himself they did.

As such, he swung around the city, stopping two muggings before finally going home a few hours later. It seemed small time crime always happened, but it was nothing compared to what he wanted to be. He wanted to be that hero that inspired hope, that helped anyone and everyone all the time. To be like All Might.

Instead, he felt he was stuck, just swinging around aimlessly. As such, he went home, invisibly going over and crawling through the window. And when he got there, he found his mom had just cooked supper, the teen quickly taking and eating it. She found recently she had to make bigger meals for him, though she didn't mind since he devoured them like they were nothing.

After that, he shuffled into his room, checked his online classes and laid down. He let out a long sigh at this, staring at the ceiling as his mind began to wonder.

'You know, maybe I should just take a day or two off from being Spider-Man. I mean, if I can't accomplish much right now, maybe I should wait a bit.'

As he thought this, the image of Uraraka's friends came into his mind. The idea of friends, something he hadn't had in so long suddenly there. He still couldn't believe it, someone wanting to be his friend. That idea led to the memory of him fighting Spinner, seeing what could have happened to him down that path. However, Martin Li and Gloria appeared next in his head, Li telling him to just go be a hero. And finally, his mom, who told him to not give up and she would always be there for him now. The memories made him tear up, new ones coming to mind as he remembered the heroes telling him he did good. He still couldn't believe the ones he had met.

But then Katsuki appeared in his head. The boys that always followed Katsuki around. The teachers of Aldera. The doctor that told him to forget being a hero. Adults and teens his age telling him that his life was pointless, even with his big brain, all because of how he was born. And then the explosions came next, a quirk so superior to Izuku's new spider quirk, worthy of one that would become the greatest hero...and Izuku would just be a worthless Deku.

"You'll never be hero!"

"Listen here loser, if you really wanna be hero...go take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life."

Izuku felt tears well up at those thoughts, 'Kacchan's right. I'm still not there. I'm still not a true hero.' He felt water go down his face at this, his eyes slowly glancing back up as he saw his vigilante costume resting on a chair. The sight made him remember the people he had saved, memories now surfacing. He remembered when he saw that kid thank him on television for stopping the van from crashing the playground. The people he had saved from muggings. All those small thank yous and smiles they showed.

But all those memories vanished as Katsuki's face appeared again. His mouth moved and told him one thing:

"You'll never be hero!"

That line went through Izuku's head, making him tear up again. That is, till his eyes glanced away from the vigilante costume and onto an All Might poster he had in his room. That shining smile on the hero's face, one that always made Izuku grin. The hero he wanted to become.

And as he stared at it, his eyes went back to his vigilante costume as a certain flame lit itself in his eyes. It was the one Inko always saw when he talked about being a hero, one that made Katsuki hate him with a passion, the eyes of one that wants to do everything they can to help and save others. But as the flame began to burn...its fire wavered slightly as he got up and walked over to his costume, grabbing the mask. Staring at it, he saw his reflection in the eye lens as he thought, 'No. I...I can't stop. Even if I'm a useless Deku...I want to help as many people as I can, even if its a few. That's...that's all I can do. What a hero can do.'

Chapter 19: Tangling A Web

Chapter Text

Two more days had passed since the incident with the masked men and Ryukyu. Izuku had mainly spent these days as Spider-Man, as Gloria had told his mom that FEAST didn't need him right now. As such, he spent every moment he could patrolling. Despite this, he didn't really find any villains to fight, only muggers, car thieves, and purse snatchers. However, he thought this was fine, as he received a ton of thank yous from all sorts of people. There were also no heroes trying to catch him or people calling him out for being a vigilante, which he was more than happy about.

And as this third day started, he found himself being asked to come to FEAST. Apparently, the second FEAST building was complete, and they were now starting to move stuff in. As such, he told them he would just get there by train, which was a total lie. Instead, he swung over as Spider-Man, stopping a mugging in the process. Thankfully, that one distraction was enough to make him get there right on time, making it so no one would question why he got there so fast.

This was followed with a full morning of moving truck after truck of things. Li had hired a moving company for this part, the Urarakas also helping as part of the paycheck. But as Izuku began to help, both companies began asking him to come be a part of their crew. He told them he was quirkless, thinking this would deter them since he found most applications he did online instantly cut him off due to that fact, but this situation was the perfect definition of 'seeing is believing'. All were shocked at his strength, which he saw coming, only for both companies to get into an argument on who should get him. This was followed by Izuku rejecting them both, saying it wasn't what he wanted to do.

As such, the morning passed, Izuku finding himself somewhat tired as he was now eating lunch, which was just a small sandwich. 'Guess I won't be Spider-Man much today. Eh, that's okay. I'm doing good here as well.'

And as he continued to eat, he looked up to see Mr. Uraraka walking up to him. "Hello there Midoriya. How you doing today?"

"I'm okay. Bit tired, but I'm good." Izuku replied, the man raising an eyebrow as he noticed Izuku wasn't stuttering.

"I'm honestly surprised you're not saying you're exhausted. I mean, you're a moving machine out there and you're just abittired?" The man chuckled next as he sat down beside the teen, "I know I already said it today, but thank you for helping us out."

Izuku shook his head, "Its nothing. I'm just glad I can help people."

"That's a good quality to have." the man laughed, "You're just like my daughter."

Izuku blinked at him, soon realizing who he meant. He felt his face get slightly hot before looking away, "I-I-I'm nothing like her. I mean...all I can do is this."

The man shook his head before patting Izuku's shoulder, "Don't think like that. You've done more than you think."

"B-b-but-"

He patted his shoulder again, "Don't. Just accept the compliment."

Izuku blinked at him again, his face going full red for a second. "Um...okay."

Mr. Uraraka laughed at this before smacking Izuku's back, the teen slightly flinching, "Good! Now, ready to finish up? We just have about two more loads to bring in."

"Uh...sure." Izuku replied as he ate the last bit of his food. He threw the rest away before following Mr. Uraraka as they began to unload the last few trucks. It ended up taking longer than they thought, afternoon coming and going as they finished the last bit of the second FEAST building.

And when it was done, Mr. Uraraka invited Izuku for supper. The teen tried to say no, saying he shouldn't, but the man then told him if he didn't come along, the other company would try to take him now. As such, he would have Izuku just eat and leave, as he knew Izuku was going to reject him as well. And so, Izuku found himself in a small café nearby, eating a small meal as Izuku found out that Mr. Uraraka liked to talk. A lot. The teen mainly just sat there and nodded or shook his head, barely responding to the man as he kept going and going.

That is, till he told Izuku that his daughter was coming over. Hearing this, Izuku froze up for a second as Mr. Uraraka asked, "What's wrong?"

"Um...uh...er..." Izuku stuttered out, the memory of what his mom told him to do the next time he meets Ochako now flowing through his head. 'I can't just tell him that my mom wants me to be friends with her...or can I? How do I do that?'

Mr. Uraraka watched Izuku fidget in his seat, wondering if steam was going to come out of the teen's ears next as it looked like he was going into brain overdrive. But after a minute, Izuku seemed to calm down, Mr. Uraraka then asking, "You okay? You don't have to tell me what's bothering you if you don't want to." He stated, only to lean down with a slight glare, "Unless its about my daugther being mean or something..."

"What?! No! S-s-she's done nothing like that!" Izuku exclaimed while waving his hands, glancing away for a second before saying, "Um...you see...my m-m-mom asked me t-t-to ask her t-t-to be...my f-f-friend."

"Oh? You're not already friends?" He replied with a raised eyebrow. "I thought for sure you were."

Izuku quickly shook his head, "N-n-no! I-I-I..." He shrunk back into his seat, "I...I...I don't have friends."

The man tilted his head at this, "You don't? Why not?"

"Um...people like me don't get to have friends." Izuku muttered out.

The man opened his mouth at this, only to close it. He wanted to say that was wrong, but as he stared at Izuku, he could tell that wouldn't help. Instead, he let out a sigh as he thought up something else to say, "Well...maybe its time to change that. You're a good kid, and you deserve it. I can tell."

Izuku blinked at this, only to glance away as he muttered out, "Thank you."

The man shined a big grin at this, "You're welcome."

As he said that, a ding rang out in the café, signifying a new customer. A second later, a certain brown-haired girl walked up to them, "Hey dad!"

"Ochako!" Mr. Uraraka replied as the two hugged before she turned to wave at Izuku.

"Hey Midoriya! How you doing?"

"F-f-fine. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm doing good." She waved a hand at this, only for her face to switch from a grin to a determined glare, "I'm super pumped for tomorrow!"

Izuku was taken back by her expression as he asked, "Oh? Why?"

"Cuz the UA sports festival is tomorrow!" she then pumped her fists, "I wanna go for the gold!"

Izuku flinched for a second, only to say, "Oh. Well, I hope you do well. I know me and the group at FEAST will be rooting for you."

She slightly blushed at that, "Thank you. And could you tell Gloria and the others I said thank you as well?"

"S-s-sure."

Mr. Uraraka chuckled at the two before standing up, "Ochako, let me go and get you something to eat. What would you like?"

"Eh, just get me a sandwich. You know what I like."

"Got it. I'll be right back." He said as the man left the two alone at the table.

Seeing this, the girl turned and grinned at Izuku, "So, why are you and dad eating here? He's not one to do something like this."

"Oh...uh..." Izuku looked away at this, "We're here b-b-because his company and the moving company both want to hire me, and he's helping me get away from them."

Uraraka blinked at this before giggling, "Well, that does make sense when it comes to him." She leaned back in the chair, "So, how you been? Anything new?"

Izuku shook his head, "Not really. Just...volunteering and trying to get through classes."

Uraraka nodded back, the girl noticing that he was stuttering a bit less as she replied, "Same. Classes have been pretty brutal. Aizawa-sensei is really rough."

"Aizawa-sensei? Who's that?"

"Oh, he's our homeroom teacher. He's..." Uraraka came to a stop for a second as she put a finger to her chin, "Uh...well, I think he's a pro hero. I actually don't know who he is as a hero really. I just know him as our teacher."

Izuku blinked at this, "So he's not a public hero?" Uraraka shook her head, "Oh...uh, is he an underground hero?"

"I...guess?"

"What's his quirk?"

"Um...I don't know the name. All I know is that he can make it so someone can't use their quirk."

Izuku's eyes lit up at that, "That's Eraserhead! Wait...your teacher is Eraserhead?! That's amazing!"

"Who?" Uraraka asked, surprised at how little Izuku was stuttering.

"Eraserhead! He's one of the best underground heroes in the country. He's infamous for the amount of villain takedowns, though there's not much on him." Izuku's eyes turned into stars at this, "He's known for his unique scarf weapon and goggles. That's so cool that you get to learn from him!"

"Yeah...that's him." Uraraka slowly said, trying to respond as she saw Izuku get more and more excited. She had never seen him be this active. It was like looking at someone entirely different, full of passion and fire.

"That's so cool! I never imagined UA would have underground heroes as their teachers. I thought they would just use spotlight heroes or maybe sidekicks. Guess UA has even crazier standards than I thought. Maybe..." Izuku ranted as his voice got lower, muttering as he put a finger to his mouth. But as he did this, he glanced up back up and saw a look of pure surprise on Uraraka's face, the look on her face making him shrink back into his seat, "Oh...s-s-sorry. I-I-I didn't m-m-mean to act l-l-like that. I'm so s-s-sorry, you probably think I'm creepy now or-"

"Wait!" She yelped, waving her hands, "I don't think you're creepy!"

"No, you do now." Izuku muttered as he looked away, "I'm just a worthless, creepy-"

"Now hang on! All you did is surprise me." She said, only to see the boy flinch, now looking like he was trying to shrink into his seat, "Please, I didn't mean anything like that. I'm sorry if I froze up there and-"

"No! No, its okay. I know you think I'm some creepy-"

"Stop that!" Uraraka yelled, making Izuku hop in his seat. He glanced back up to see the girl glaring at him, only for her to add, "Stop putting yourself down!"

"Wha...but..." Izuku stuttered out, only to close his mouth as he stared at her glare. However, this wasn't the glare he had seen so many times before. It wasn't the teacher who thought he was worthless. It wasn't the bully, who saw him as easy pickings. And it wasn't Katsuki, who saw him as nothing but a punching bag, something that existed only for him to torment.

Uraraka shook her head before slumping down in her seat, "Sorry about that. I had a long day and you surprised me." She reached out a hand at this, "Could we please start over?"

"H-h-huh?"

"Could we please start over?" She repeated, her face changing into a pleading expression, "I'm sorry I reacted that way. I didn't know. Could we please start over?"

Izuku blinked at her, only to ask, "Wha...what do you mean? D-d-don't you think I'm a freak now?"

"Why would I think that?"

"Um...cuz I....you know...just did that." He replied as he squirmed in the chair.

Uraraka shook her head again, "I would never think that." She then reached out her hand and placed it on his shoulder. The gesture made Izuku's face go bright red, steam about to come out of him before his face settled down. He slowly looked at her face, now seeing nothing but kindness on it. "So, can we start over?"

"Uh...okay." Izuku muttered out, "S-s-sorry about that."

"Its fine. Now, what were we talking about?"

Izuku bit his lip at this, "Um...something about your teacher?"

"Oh yeah." Uraraka leaned back in her seat, "Yeah...he's a real slave driver."

"He's that bad?"

She waved her hand at this, "Not bad, just...I don't know. He constantly threatens to expel us for the tiniest of things. That and all he does is lecture about everything we do wrong...or hero ethics. It's like he doesn't want us to learn sometimes."

"Oh. Why do you say that?"

"Well, he lies about everything. He says its helps us 'figure things out on our own' or something like that. Tsu says the whole him 'pushing us to better by not telling us everything' is really just him withholding information to make things harder for no reason...and I agree with her. He also loves punishing us. Especially if you're at the bottom of the class. You have to be in the top three or he'll constantly tell you that you're not learning fast enough."

"Wow..." Izuku gulped, surprised at the sudden ranting and the now giant frown on her face.

"Yup. And he barely teaches anyways. He'd rather take a nap in class!"

"That sounds awful." Izuku muttered out, "I'm sorry."

"Eh, its fine. At least all the other teachers are nicer. None of them threaten us with expulsion, but actually try to help us be better students."

But as she began to talk about the other teachers, they went in one ear and out the other for Izuku. Instead, his mind went over everything else she had said, 'So even UA has mean teachers. And that means that they would treat someone like me even worse, even if I'm no longer quirkless. Figures. Guess there really isn't a good teacher for someone like me.'

"Yeah..." Uraraka added, only to see the big frown on Izuku's face, making her almost flinch before asking, "But enough about me. Anything else new with you?"

"Um...no." Izuku muttered out, his mind now kicking him, 'Now's the time to ask her to be your friend! Just do it!' He stared directly at her, his mouth opening for a second, only to close, 'Say it! Say it already!' Then his mouth opened again. Uraraka blinked at him, seeing he was trying to say something. As such, she stayed quiet as he slowly began to speak, "Uh...c-c-could I ask you a f-f-favor, Uraraka?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Izuku felt his whole body heat up at this, his form vibrating in the seat as he tried to form words, "W-w-would y-y-you be...my f-f-friend?"

Hearing this, Uraraka instantly shined a huge grin, "Sure!"

Izuku's brain almost fried at that, his eyes going wide as he said, "Y-y-you mean it?"

"Yup." She nodded back before presenting a hand to him, "I would love to be your friend!"

He stared at the hand for a second before shaking it, "T-t-thank you."

"About time!" yelled a third voice, making them both turn to see Mr. Uraraka. "I've been waiting on you two for forever now!"

Izuku went fully red again as he let go Ochako's hand and shrunk back into his seat. As he did this, Ochako blinked at her father, "What do you mean?"

Mr. Uraraka let out a cackle as he sat down and gave his daughter her food before pointing at Izuku, "Oh, just that this kiddo here told me he wanted to be friends with you but was scared of asking."

Ochako glanced back at Izuku, seeing him squirm in his seat. There was look of pure fear in his eyes, as if he expected Ochako to just reject him after hearing that. The sight made her heart clench up, sadness welling up in her as she saw the teen look away. 'Tsu really was right about him.' She thought, 'I wonder who did this to him? It couldn't have just been some normal bullying...'

She began to eat at this, watching Izuku slowly calm down. It was here that Mr. Uraraka began his usual talking stride, asking his daughter a bunch of questions. The girl answered most while watching Izuku, seeing him slowly calm down in his seat. And as she gulped down the last bit of her sandwich, she saw that Izuku was able to fully talk to her father, the sight making her smile, only for her dad to say, "Looks like its time to pack up and go home." He turned to Izuku, "Say, you need a ride?"

"No." Izuku shook his head, "I'll be fine."

Mr. Uraraka nodded back before getting up, the two teens slowly following. And as they walked out of the building, Ochako turned to Izuku, "Um...sorry about all that earlier."

"Oh, its fine. It was all my-"

"It wasn't your fault." She interrupted, "Don't apologize." She gave him a deadpan glare, making him flinch before she tapped his chest, "If we're gonna be friends, you gotta stop apologizing, okay?"

"Um...okay." He squeaked out.

"Good." She shined a big grin at this, only to snap her fingers, "Oh, right! Could I have your number?"

"H-h-huh?!" Izuku yelped.

"So we can keep in touch. I bet some more of my classmates would like to meet you at some point."

Izuku felt his brain stop again, only to slowly mutter out, "Sure."

A few minutes of stuttering later, he gave his number and she asked him to make sure to cheer her on at the festival. Mr. Uraraka asked Izuku if he was willing to work with him again as well, which he quickly said no. And as he walked off, the father and daughter stared at the sight before Mr. Uraraka said, "Poor kid. I really wish I could help him more."

"Yeah...me too." Ochako added, only to feel her dad pat her on the back, making her glance up at him and see a big grin.

"We'll just keep trying to help him out, eh?"

Ochako shined a giant smile at this, nodding, "Uh-huh!"

And as she said that, Izuku zipped into a nearby alleyway, quickly switching into Spider-Man as he crawled up a building, "That was so exhausting." He whispered to himself as he got onto the roof and fully changed, "I still can't believe that happened." He fired a webline at this before leaping off, 'Did that really happen? I don't believe it...' He put a hand to his face and rubbed it down as he started swinging, 'I'm such a mess. Maybe some web-swinging will help me.'

Turned out, web swinging was what he needed. He zipped through the city, flying past buildings with ease. As he did this, he pulled out the police scanner, waiting for anything as he kept swinging around. "Aaaahhh." He sighed to himself, "This feels so good."

He then did a wide swing around a tall building, wind pushing into him as he took the turn. He closed his eyes for a second, letting himself feel the air swirling past him. Even though he hadn't been Spider-Man for even a month, he knew this was his favorite part. This feeling of freedom as he swung past buildings with ease.

And as he did this, his phone began to vibrate, the teen pulling out the phone. He saw it was his mom, soon clicking it as she landed on a rooftop, "Hey mom. What's up?"

"Hey there. I was just calling to see how you were doing."

"Oh, I'm fine." Izuku replied as he sat down on the side of the roof, "I just...needed to go swinging for a bit."

"I figured." Inko chuckled.

Izuku blinked at this as he heard those words, his mom's tone slightly different than usual. As such, his mind went ahead and asked a question, "What do you mean?"

Inko let out a long sigh at this, Izuku knowing she was shaking her head as she replied, "Izuku, you know that I've been hesitant over the...vigilantism." He could hear a drop in her tone for a second before continuing, "But ever since you started being a vigilante, you've been happy. I've never seen you this happy. You put on that costume with the biggest grin on your face, one that well...I hate to say it, but I haven't seen you look like that for years."

As he heard this, he could hear slight tears begin to form in his mother's eyes. He then felt his own, realizing what she meant. Those years of quirklessness, the torment, the misery, the explosions...and the burns he had to hide every day when he came home. Hearing this, he muttered out, "I'm sorry."

Inko sounded surprised at this, "What? Why are you apologizing?"

"I'm...I'm sorry that this is what makes me happy." He replied, biting his lip at this.

"Oh Izuku. You shouldn't apologize for your happiness." Inko responded, "I...I know I didn't like this at first and I'm still adjusting, but...I just want to say...I'm proud of you."

Izuku blinked at this, feeling his eyes water. He slowly said his next words, "Thanks mom. I...I needed that."

"I know." Inko replied, "Mister Li told me you had problems with the construction companies and...I know you've had a hard time interacting with others, and I'm proud that you're trying."

Izuku sniffed at this, "Yeah...its uh...its different. But I'm glad I'm doing it. I'm...so happy that I can do this."

"I know." Inko chuckled, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Well, I'll leave you alone and let you get back to your vigilanting."

"Thanks."

The call ended a second later, Izuku letting out a happy sigh. He laid back at this, putting away his phone as he did a small stretch. "I'm getting there...I can feel it." He stood back up, cricking his neck as he fired a web line, "Let's go find something to do."

Izuku wasn't sure how many hours passed as he swung around. If he was honest, he found the web swinging the best part of his life as a vigilante. The freedom it gave him, the ability to just go anywhere with ease. And the speed. He loved the speed, the agility, that feeling of going fast. What would take an hour for a car would take mere minutes for him, and he loved every second of it. It felt amazing.

As such, he made quick time to try multiple prefectures around Musutafu, though he hadn't really tried this till today. And now, he was at the end of the day and was currently sitting at the Yamanashi prefecture. He had stopped multiple muggings along the way, along with stopping a jewelry store robbery that ended up happening while he was swinging by. And as he decided to come to a stop, he hopped onto a rooftop. He took out a protein bar and pulled out his notebook, staring at the contents.

'Hmmm...so, I think this is as far as I can go today.' He thought as he checked his web shooters, only seeing four cartridges left, in other words, two for each shooter. 'I made really good distance. I've never gone out this far and yet it felt like it took no time at all. Maybe I should figure out how fast I can go.'

He then finished the bar and pulled out his phone, 'Its getting late. I better get home, especially if I want to watch the UA sports festival tomorrow. But first...' He let out a low yawn at this before pulling out a pencil and began to write into the notebook, doing a few calculations, 'Okay...so, I think my average web slinging speed is this, and this is the distance I went...'

As he did this, a door on the building across the street opened. There, a small man walked out, letting out a yawn as he began walking down the front steps. The cane in his hand tapped the stairs, the man's eyes glancing around. As he did this, he began to waddle down the street, his eyes wandering before it saw something in the corner of his eyes. He glanced up and saw a dark green figure sitting on a rooftop.

He raised an eyebrow at this, scratching his chin as he stared the person. 'Who is that?' he thought before he saw the figure stand up and start doing some stretches. The sight made him shine a small grin before walking into the alleyway below the rooftop of the figure.

Izuku just stood there as he kept doing stretches before refilling his web cartridges. 'Time to go home.' Izuku thought before pointing his wrist at another rooftop-

Danger!

Izuku went wide-eyed at this, his body instantly turning invisible. And as he vanished, he glanced back at the rooftop before leaping to the next building over. But as he did this, he suddenly saw what looked like a giant yellow bullet coming for him. He quickly leapt to the side, dodging the thing as he hit the roof's floor, rolling for a second. He glanced down for a second, seeing he was still invisible, only for his spider sense to blare again. Izuku looked back up to see the yellow figure zip over to him again, Izuku firing a web to the other roof and yanking himself over there.

'What the heck is that?!' he thought as he landed on the roof and kept hopping back. As this happened, he tried to aim his wrist at the yellow bullet, but it just zipped around, seemingly changing random directions mid-air. His spider sense rang out again, feeling it coming from his right. The vigilante didn't turn right at this, instead ducking down to all fours just as the yellow figure flew over him. Spider sense then rang out in the back, making push everything he had into his hands and feet, the teen then leaping upward into a backflip, going straight over the yellow bullet as it tried to hit him in the back.

And as he began to land, he fired a line of webbing, which hit its mark as the yellow figure suddenly came to a stop. Izuku then landed, only to go slightly wide-eyed at the sight before him. It was small old bearded man with a long yellow cape and a black mask over his eyes. A hero. Izuku had recorded hundreds of heroes over the years, he had stacks of hero analysis books to prove it, but he didn't recognize this one. Granted, he didn't look too much into the older ones, but that's because he found them all early on. Despite this, he had never seen the person in front of him.

"Who are you?" He whispered as his invisibility disappeared, the teen keeping himself in a defensive stance as the old man looked down at his feet, seeing the webbing that now covered them.

"Not bad." the elderly man said as he stared at the webbing before looking back up at Izuku, "I was wondering what you were doing around here, but I didn't think you would have that kind of instincts. That turning invisible stuff is a nice trick, but you're too loud." He then jerked his feet, ripping the webbing off in a single motion. "You're also a little young to be prancing around as a would be hero. I can tell just by looking at ya."

"Uh...well...um..." Izuku muttered out, only for his spider sense to blare again. The old man vanished, Izuku flinching at the sudden disappearance. He felt his sense tell him the left this time, Izuku quickly turning and putting his arms up to guard himself. A split-second later, two feet slammed into him, almost pushing him off his feet. He felt the blow like it was a bag of bricks hitting him, making the teen clench before trying to throw a punch back. But the old man was already gone, spider sense blaring at his back now.

Izuku quickly spun around and thrust a leg upward, only to see the old man appear for a split second, his form changing directions right as the foot was about to hit him. Izuku's spider sense yelled at him again, Izuku spinning as he threw a punch at the air behind himself. As he did this, he felt the fist hit something, only to also feel a foot slam into the teen's face.

"Blaugh!" he yelped as he was knocked back, just barely able to keep his balance as the old man spun in the air before landing, his feet grinding into the rooftop. Air blasted out of his feet a second later, Izuku's spider sense screaming at this as he quickly aimed both wrists where the old man, firing two web lines. However, the elder zipped around both, appearing over Izuku as he was about to do an axe kick down on the vigilante. Seeing this, he fired a third line, yanking himself away just in time. And as the old man hit the roof, dirt flew everywhere around him as Izuku kept yanking on the webbing. He zipped over to another rooftop, only to cut into a sprint.

'I gotta get out of here!' he thought as he leapt off the roof and fired a web line. He went invisible at this, quickly trying to zip down the street. But as he did this, the old man turned and stared at the street, seeing thin lines of webbing coming out of something he couldn't see.

"Guess my old eyes haven't failed me yet." He chuckled as he hopped off the building and began blasting through the air. Within seconds, he was right behind the invisible figure.

Danger!

'Oh, come on!' Izuku mentally yelled as he glanced back and saw the yellow bullet coming for him again. He quickly fired a web line to the right, yanking himself away as the old man zipped past him. But as he did this, he saw the elderly man just spin around mid-air and fire himself right at Izuku. Seeing this, he fired a web line to the left, yanking himself again as he barely dodged the old man. But as he did this a second time, the elder just spun around and rocketed again, this time slamming both fists into Izuku's stomach.

"Augh!" He yelped as he was knocked out his web swing, the teen plummeting into a nearby alleyway. His invisibility cut off instantly as he hit the ground, his form rolling down the alley. A second later, the old man landed as Izuku tried to scramble back up.

"Give up kid. You're not escaping me." the old man commented as he watched Izuku get back into a crouching offensive stance, one hand on the ground while the other was in a motion to fire a batch of webbing. The two then stared each other down at this, the old man just presenting two balled up fists as Izuku stared at him.

Izuku wasn't sure how long time passed at this, his breath hitched as he stared at the elderly hero before him. And after a bit, he slowly got out of that stance, slightly standing up as he took a deep breath and asked, "Who are you? And why are you after me?"

The old man shined a small grin at this, "Well, to be honest, I don't really got a reason to be after ya. You just seemed like a good warm up for me."

"Huh?!" Izuku yelped, "Warm up?!"

"Yup." The man laughed before pointing at Izuku, "So, wanna tell me why someone like you is dressed up like that? I know you're no hero, so I could just capture you here and send you off to the station."

Izuku blinked at this, quickly realizing that the old man was right. The teen was definitely sure he couldn't escape this guy no matter how much he tried. As such, he took a deep breath as he answered, "Uh...well, its um...cuz I'm a vigilante."

The elder raised an eyebrow at this, "A vigilante? At your age?"

"Yeah." Izuku slowly nodded.

The old man just hummed at this, scratching his beard for a second, "Huh. Interesting. You're definitely too young to be a vigilante, but you're also too skilled to not get in a hero school..." He tilted his head for a second, "Let me guess: You're unlucky, ain't ya?"

Izuku flinched at this, eyes fully wide as he heard those words. No one had ever said that. All the heroes he met just kept asking why he wasn't a hero. No one actually got the answer, at least, now that Izuku thought about it. It was kind of the answer as to why he wasn't at a hero school. However, his silence was enough.

"I'm guessing I'm right." The old man laughed before pointing at him again, "Well, let me answer your earlier question. The name's Gran Torino. Who are you?"

"Um...Spider-Man." Izuku slowly replied, only to see Gran suddenly pull a cane out of nowhere.

"Not a bad name. Nice to meet ya Spider-Man." He spun around and gestured to the teen, "Follow me for a second." Izuku blinked at him, Gran glancing back at him as he added, "What? You wanna try and run away again? If you want to, go ahead. I won't follow ya."

"Wha...but..." Izuku tried to say, only to shake his head, "But what about trying to capture me and...you know, attacking me and all that?!"

"Eh, you're just a kid. I can tell you mean no harm." Gran responded while waving a hand, "You coming or not?"

"Um...well, what are we gonna do?"

Gran glared at him at this, "You ask too many questions. You coming or not?!"

The old man's tone raised at this, making Izuku flinch as he slowly replied, "Uh...okay. Sorry."

Izuku wasn't sure what was happening right now. One minute he was dodging what looked like a yellow flying bullet, now he was sitting at a table in a broken down building, eating a piece of taiyaki. He had never liked the dessert that much, but this one tasted pretty good. He was still in costume, the only thing removed was the bottom part of his mask showing just his mouth, letting him eat the treat. Gran had told him he could take it off, but Izuku told him he didn't think he should.

Seeing this, Gran ate two taiyakis before asking, "So, how long ya been a vigilante?"

"Uh...a little over two weeks." he replied as he finished his taiyaki.

"Oh? You got good instincts if you've only been doing this for two weeks. Especially at your age." Gran chuckled before taking out a glass of water and sipped it.

"Um...thanks."

Gran raised an eyebrow at this, "Not used to taking compliments?" Izuku slightly flinched at this, making the old man shake his head, "Thought so. I can tell just by looking at ya."

"Oh...s-s-sorry." Izuku muttered out.

"Don't apologize. Its fine." Gran grumbled as he took out a third taiyaki. "So, I'm guessing you hear this a lot, but why are you a vigilante?"

Izuku blinked under his mask, knowing this was coming, and let out a sigh, "I um...I failed to be a hero."

"No you didn't." Gran instantly responded, making Izuku almost flinch. The elderly man glared at him, his eyes slightly squinting, "Did you forget what I said earlier? You're unlucky, aren't ya? Let me guess...something random happened to you in the hero exams and you got rejected?"

"Uh...." Izuku muttered out, twiddling his fingers under the table as he just stared at the old man. 'Who is this guy?! I don't remember him from any of my hero research, and yet he seemed more skilled than any hero I've seen. He figured me out instantly, and I'm sure he could beat me without trying!'

Gran let out a snort at this, the reaction alone confirming his theory. He hopped out of his chair as he finished his third taiyaki, waddling around the table. "So, you're a vigilante. And judging by how you were dodging me up there, you've already got some experience under your belt. But yer also a kid, which means its way too early for you to be doing something like this."

Izuku could feel a shiver slowly go down his spine, "Um...does that mean you're gonna try and arrest me or something?"

"Bah, I ain't doing anything like that." Gran spat, "For one, I'm retired. And two, I can tell that if you really tried, you could get away, though it would be tough for you and a hassle for me. Also, you look like you need help."

"Help?"

"Yeah." Gran walked up and poked him with his cane, "I know it just by looking at you. You're young, got no confidence and you acted desperate in every move you made out there. That tells me you're inexperienced, in over your head, but you're also a quick thinker. You tried to counter everything I did, and when you realized you couldn't, you took the right option and tried to flee. The only problem was that I can fly, making it hard for you to escape."

Izuku wanted to say he was stunned, his mind blown by hearing the old man easily figure everything out about him. However, his brain went to the one thing he adored most: quirks. "How did you do that? Is that your quirk? It looked like some kind of air shooting quirk that comes out of your feet!"

Gran smirked at this, unflinching at Izuku's reaction, "Not bad kid. That's my quirk, Jet. It basically lets me shoot air out of my feet." He pointed his cane at the teen, "But that's not the point. Point is, you need to training kid. If you keep hopping into stuff, you'll get killed."

Izuku stared at the old man for a minute, his mind going over those words before responding, "But...didn't you hear me? I didn't make it into hero school! I failed!"

"And that means you can't train?"

"Uh...yeah. I can't legally use my quirk. That's why I'm a vigilante!"

"Bah." Gran spat again, "Those laws don't matter. If you need to train, train. School doesn't matter."

"B-b-but it does!" Izuku almost yelled, "I failed to get into hero school! I can't pursue my dream of being a hero anymore!" He looked away at this, "I just....I just wanted to help people."

Gran glared at him at this, making Izuku bite his lip. The old man let out a long sigh, "You're just like that buffoon. Think you can just go and save the world like its nothing." He tapped his cane on the floor, "Wish he'd picked you. You're perfect."

Izuku glanced back at him. "Huh? Picked me?"

"Eh, don't worry about it." Gran waved his hand, "So, you want to be a hero. Is that all?"

"Yeah...that's all."

"Yeah, you're just like him." Gran grumbled before poking Izuku with his cane, "Listen here squirt, if you keep doing the vigilante stuff, you'll go way in over your head at some point." He then jabbed the cane up at Izuku's face, "But, I can tell you're not gonna quit. If that's the case, don't go jumping into everything you can get yourself into. If you do, you'll start something that you can't escape."

Izuku leaned back at this, "I'll start something I can't escape?"

"Yup." Gran let out a low grumble at this, "And when you go down that rabbit hole, you'll never get out of it. You'll keep going in over your head and it won't stop." Izuku just stared at him at this, unable to respond as his brain started to process what he just heard, only for Gran to add, "So don't do it. And train your quirk while you're at it. It shows that you barely understand it."

"Um...okay." Izuku squeaked out, the teen staring at the elderly man as he spun around. He then took a deep breath before asking, "Uh...Mister Torino?" The old man glanced back at him, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Cuz you need help kid." Gran turned around at this, showing a firm glare, "I can tell you're lost, and you got potential to be something great. That and I'm bored. I got nothing to do these days."

"But didn't you say I was a warm up?"

"You are." Gran chuckled, "An old student of mine is about to bring his student to me, and I know its gonna be a pain. At least, I think he's found one. Anyways, I needed some exercise, and you gave me some. Granted, I was hoping for more, but you're smart, so it didn't last as long as I hoped."

"Oh..." Izuku muttered out. "So uh...I was just here to help your boredom?"

"Call it what you want." Gran laughed, "So, you wanna stick around or do you got somewhere to be?"

"Um...well..." Izuku pulled out his phone, seeing how much time had passed. "I gotta go." He hopped off the chair and said, "Uh...thank you Mister Torino. You gave me a lot of think about."

"Eh, I didn't do anything." He spun around and began to walk away, "See ya around, Spider-Man."

Izuku stared at the vanishing figure, his mind trying to go over everything that had just happened. In truth, he wasn't sure if it had just happened. It was like a train just slammed into him, and then sat him down for a lecture, reminding him why being a vigilante wasn't the best idea. It was as if when he had started to figure things out, something new came in to give him another perspective.

But he didn't feel discouraged. Usually when it came to heroes, he was too embarrassed around them, or they tried to capture him. It was frustrating, as he knew that it was his fault he was so jittery, but he also knew he couldn't help it. He had spent all his life being bullied, told to not talk to anyone because he was quirkless. The quirkless weren't allowed to have anything according to society. And even when people encouraged him, he couldn't help but think it was just pity.

However, Gran just lectured him and told him what he should do. But that was it, nothing else. It was blunt and to the point, no lies or deception. There was no softness either, but it showed caring in a certain way, like a trainer. And as Izuku left the building, he didn't think. He just fired a web line and started swinging away, soon landing on a train as he rode it to go home.

And as he laid back on the train's roof, he thought about Gran's words again, 'Go in over my head...does he mean I'll take on some villain I'm not ready for? Or is it something else?' He stared up at the stars above, letting out a small sigh, 'I hope I haven't already started what he was talking about.'

The bottom of a bottle slammed into a wooden table as a certain chalk-colored man walked into a garage. Inside was several animal-headed thugs, all turning and straightening up at the sight of the man. Seeing this, one of them squeaked out, "H-h-hey boss."

"Stop squirming." Tombstone growled as he made his way to a large motorcycle, wiping his lips with a swipe his hand before sitting down on a stool beside it. His eyes scanned it over, clicking his tongue before looking back at the still shivering thugs, "How are we on the shipment? I want a good joyride after we get it sent."

"Its uh...its almost done boss." another thug muttered out, "The boys almost have it ready, but um...uh..."

"What?!" Tombstone growled, his form slowly rising from the stool.

"Well..." the thug did a long gulp, "W-w-we got a challenge from the Inner Demons, boss."

Tombstone stared at him as he fully stood, a snort coming out his nostrils before walking up to the thug, "A challenge? What do they want?"

"Um..." the thug gulped again, "They uh...they want to fight us boss."

Tombstone leaned down in front of the thug's face, "And when did this happen?" The thug looked like he was about to shrink into the floor, only for Tombstone to add, "Stop being scared. I'm not gonna hurt you over this." He then grabbed the thug's jacket and pulled him up to his face, "Now...what did you say?"

The thug's lips quivered as he replied, "Uh...we said you weren't here to give a response."

The villain stared straight into the thug's eyes, the thug thinking he was staring at death itself, only for Tombstone to let him go, the thug falling to the floor a second later, "Good. Gimme the phone they called."

Another ran over with the device, the villain taking it with a jerk of the arm. He saw the most recent number and shined a small frown. And as he raised a finger over the phone, one of the thugs spoke up, "Um...boss?" Tombstone turned to him, "W-w-what are you gonna tell 'em?"

"What do you think?" Tombstone instantly responded, "They want to be our competition. That means we're gonna fight 'em...and kill 'em." He tapped the phone at this as he added, "Get the cycles ready, boys. We're gonna run these punks out of town and show the rest why we own this place." He put the phone up to his ear, "We just gotta make sure it happens nearby."

"Why's that boss?"

Tombstone let out a low growl as the phone started to ring, "Cuz we're not the only ones causing an uproar right now."

Meanwhile...

A long pulpy tongue slithered down a now blood-stained blade, a quirk activating the instant the tongue touched the red liquid. A second later, a scream followed as the blade went straight into a hero's heart. And standing above that now dead hero was a man. He had a torn mask over his eyes, black unruly hair and a long scarf.

"Fake." was all he said before walking away, putting his blade back into its sheath. "They're all fakes."

He then pulled out a phone, which showed a picture of a city map. Sniffing for a second, he whispered out his next words, "Hosu...you're next."

Chapter 20: While A Festival Roars, A City Goes to War

Chapter Text

Izuku woke up earlier than usual. He had noticed recently that he had a lot more energy and didn't have to sleep as much, but he found he still needed to sleep. Despite this, he pulled out his phone and saw he had woken up two hours early, making him sigh. Last night, he had come home and crashed, which he had expected would make him sleep in, but that didn't happen. Shuffling over to his desk, he stared at the web cartridges he had made. Yesterday had drained out quite a few, which made him spend the next hour creating the fluid, only to go back to bed after checking his online classes and seeing he was a month ahead now.

After this, he woke up an hour later, letting out a yawn as his mom came into his room. She told him she was going to FEAST today, and wanted him to come there too for the rest of the day. They were going to watch the UA sports festival with the rest of FEAST. As such, the two ate a semi-large breakfast before Izuku told her he was going to do a small patrol before heading to FEAST, his mom not liking this, but relented on the fact that he promised to come by FEAST afterward.

Another hour or so later, he was swinging through the city. His mom had called him, telling him she had just got to FEAST as he swung around, the teen telling her he'll be over there in a bit. 'The UA Sports Festival...' he thought as he did a backflip after a long-arced web swing, 'Man, could you imagine me in that festival with this quirk? That would be so cool...'

He then grimaced at his own thoughts, shaking his head as he fired another web line, 'Then again, I probably would die of embarrassment first. I still can't imagine myself on TV.' And as he thought that, he stared straight ahead and saw a certain series of buildings in the distance: UA.

The sight was something else to the teen, its size alone being beyond incredible in his mind. And as he swung over to it, he turned invisible and landed on a nearby rooftop, glancing down to see a few heroes walking around. 'So it is true. They do go all out with the security.' he thought, remembering that the only times he had seen the festival was on TV. This was the closest he had ever been to the event, and he had a feeling he shouldn't get any closer.

'Still, this is cool to see this many heroes together. I think every hero in Musutafu is here! Maybe I should change and go down and get a few autographs.' He then saw a group of police officers put up a small barrier, pushing out a growing crowd outside of the building. 'Or not. Better not push my luck.'

He walked back at this, turning visible but out of sight as he pulled out his phone at this, his fingers shaking as he went to his contacts and sent a text.

Midoriya Izuku:Hey Uraraka. I just wanted to say good luck!

He pressed the send button, his hand still shivering as he stared at the phone. 'I hope I did that right.' he thought, only to get a reply.

Uraraka Ochako:Thanks! If you don't mind, please root for my friends as well! Oh, I already talked to Gloria, so you don't have to tell everyone at FEAST to root for us.

Izuku blinked at the text, only to let out a hum. 'Huh. Guess I should get over to FEAST. The festival will be starting soon...' He sent a small text that just said 'ok' before spinning around, firing a web line and swinging away. As he did this, he took a few turns, zipping down a street or two as he stared ahead, 'Let's see...FEAST should be three streets over, and then-'

KA-BOOM!

The noise rang out, sounding like a bomb going off. Izuku turned to his right, only to see nothing but a row of buildings. Despite this, he quickly fired two web lines, soon slingshotting himself over a few buildings. And as he flung himself over, he went wide-eyed at the next sight. On the streets below at a four-way crossing was a gang of more than thirty masked men, most equipped with guns as they began firing shots across the crossing. On the other side of the crossing was a whole group of mutant quirk users, all of them leaping over cars as they charged at the masked men.

'The masked guys and Tombstone's gang! Wait...are they fighting right now?! They can't be serious!' he mentally gasped before swinging over to a nearby rooftop. As he landed and perched, he found himself looking at exactly what Gran Torino had warned him about. Before him was a full-on gang war battle, Tombstone's men grabbing cars and throwing them like baseballs while the masked men were firing guns off like everything was a target. Screams could be heard everywhere, Izuku seeing a bystander getting shot down by a stray bullet in the moment he had landed on the roof.

The sight made him freeze up, his eyes going back and forth as he watched these gangs just...attack each other. It was like two groups of wild animals going in a frenzy. And as another scream rang out, he returned to reality as he aimed both wrists at the battle below him. But as he did this, his mind told him one thing, 'Don't just jump in.'

He quickly switched his web cartridges at this before looking back at the ongoing battle, his eyes darting around. 'Assess the situation Izuku. Don't be stupid. Take out the worst stuff and then get in there. And then...I guess I'll have to improvise as much as I can until the heroes show up.'

There was hesitation after this. He turned invisible and fired a web line and swung down to a nearby traffic light. Landing on it, he pointed at the masked men and fired a volley of webbing, each one hitting the guns they were wielding. And in those next few seconds, he yanked every single one of them out of their hands. Before he had known it, he had grabbed over twenty guns, all quickly webbing them up into one single package that he plastered to the traffic light pole.

"The spider!"one of the masked men yelled, pointing at the light as Izuku felt his head start to hurt, making him turn off his invisibility. And as the masked man exclaimed this, the others that had their guns taken all started yelling. It was here that Izuku noticed a black van in the corner of the crossing, which opened up as a few masked men ran out of it, all of them holding a bunch of katanas.

'Oh, come on!' Izuku mentally growled as he saw the masked men began to replace their guns with swords. He then aimed his wrist at them, ready to yank those away as well-

Danger!

Izuku went slightly wide-eyed before leaping off the light, only to glance down to see a shark man hit the traffic light and rip it off with his teeth. He then spit it out as he turned to Izuku, the vigilante landing on a nearby overturned taxicab. "Nice teeth." He commented, only for a weasel man to leap at him, spider sense screaming at Izuku as he fired a blast of webbing at the thug's face. It instantly blinded him, making the weasel man collide with the car, shaking it slightly as Izuku looked back at the shark man.

"Here we go." Electricity sparked off his hands at this, "Let's do this."

The shark man leapt at him, spider sense blaring as Izuku charged at him. And as the shark man lunged his head forward, Izuku pushed his strength into his feet and jumped, hopping over the thug as he thrust both hands into the shark man's shoulders. Electricity surged through the villain, instantly falling over as Izuku spun around and fired a blast of webbing, sticking the thug into the street. And as he landed, two masked men charged, swinging their katanas wildly.

"I've said this like ten times already!" Izuku growled as he side-stepped one of the blades, the second thug thrusting a sword after that, Izuku leaping back to dodge this one. "No more sharp pointy weapons!" He fired a web line at the first thug's foot and yanked it, the masked man instantly flopping over. The second then tried to slash at Izuku again, his spider sense yelling as he ducked under it before doing a sweeping leg kick, knocking the thug down. He then fired two globs of webbing, sticking both to the street as his spider sense flared again.

Danger!

Izuku turned to see three more charging masked thugs, only for his spider sense to yell again, making him glance back to see a tiger man and a puma man now leaping over a car. Seeing this, Izuku fired two shots of webbing, hitting the mutant men's faces, blinding both. As this happened, Izuku glanced back at the masked thugs, dodging a katana swipe before thrusting a punch into the thug's chest. The blow knocked him off his feet as the other two thrust their swords at him. Izuku ducked under both, his spider sense screaming as he jabbed at one thug as electricity surged through the fist, zapping the masked man. As this happened, the other raised his blade up high and swung it down, Izuku spinning around before hopping back, only for it to nick his arm.

"Urgh!" he grunted before firing a glob of webbing into the thug's mask before yanking, pulling the thug into the street, shattering the mask. A second later, a blast of webbing struck him the thug into the street, Izuku spinning around to see the tiger man ripping the webbing off his face. He then leapt at Izuku, the teen quickly hopping to the side, barely dodging the animal man before grabbing the tiger's side. Electricity flew through his hand, shocking the beast man.

As this happened, Izuku glanced back to see the puma man leaping at him. But as he leapt, Izuku fired two shots of webbing, hitting the thug before Izuku yanked downward, slamming the puma man into the street before he could even get close to the vigilante. 'That was awesome.' Izuku thought, only for his spider sense to yell again, making him turn to now see seven charging masked men. 'And that's not awesome.'

He fired a web line upward, yanking himself onto a nearby building's wall. As he landed, the thugs all turned to stare at him, only to swing their swords, firing energy waves. Seeing this, Izuku leapt off the building and started web swinging around, dodging the attacks. 'This is crazy! Where are the heroes?!' he thought before swinging down, slamming his feet into one of the thugs, knocking the thug flying. He landed on a wall again, leaping off a second later as an energy wave hit the wall.

The teen landed on one of the thugs, grabbing his shoulders and zapping him before leaping over to another thug, swinging his foot into the masked man's chest. The blow knocked the thug across the street, only for two thugs with swords to charge at him. Spider sense blaring, Izuku spun around and fired two web lines at the thugs' legs, yanking at both. They were flung off their feet, only for a tiger man to leap at Izuku as his spider sense yelled at him again, the teen turning to the animal man. However, Izuku was too late, the tiger thug tackling him into the street. They both hit the dirt, the tiger man opening his mouth as he tilted his head to bite right into Izuku's neck.

"Bad kitty!" the vigilante yelled as he grabbed the tiger man and charged bio-electricity into him. The thug screamed as the electricity surged through him, Izuku then slamming his knees into the thug's chest before kicking him off. As he did this, a masked man stood over the still downed vigilante, thrusting a blade right at Izuku's head. He went wide-eyed before rolling to the right, dodging the sword before kicking the thug's feet, knocking him over.

"I'd like to keep my head, thank you!" Izuku yelled as he fired several shots of webbing, tying down both the tiger thug and the masked man. As he did this, his spider sense yelled again, only to feel a giant fist hit his side. "Blaugh!" Izuku yelped as he was sent flying across the crossing, slamming into a car. "Urgh..." he spat as he felt himself slump down the car, making him glance up and see that a walrus man had hit him. Three masked men then charged at the walrus man, only for him to knock them all away with a single punch.

"Not good..." Izuku moaned, only to see two more masked men charge at him with blades in hand. He pointed his wrists upward, firing the webbing before slinging himself up again. As he did this, the masked men swung their blades, energy waves flying out as one of them hit Izuku's foot, an explosion happening next, "Augh!" Izuku lost grip with the two web lines, but shot another as his spider sense yelled again, yanking at the line as it pulled him upward again. He fired a second line, quickly getting into a swinging motion as he began dodging energy waves again, gasping under his mask.

'Gotta keep moving and stall these guys. The heroes have to show up eventually.'

Meanwhile...

Ochako Uraraka was doing a few stretches as the rest of class 1-A walked up to the starting line of the event. The first trial of the festival was going to be an obstacle course, the classes all staring at what was ahead. As she did this, Iida walked up to her, pushing his glasses up his face. "It seems we have quite the competition ahead of us today. Not only that, I saw the crowd of heroes they have here for security. Its a huge number! Three times more than usual!"

"Yup!" Uraraka replied, her face morphing to one filled with determination. "Let's win this thing!"

"Tch. You're better off just giving up." growled a voice beside her, the girl turning to see Katsuki Bakugo, "You worthless extras are all going to fail."

"Bakugo, please refrain from saying such things!" Iida yelled as he chopped the air with one of his hands.

"Oh yeah? And who beat all you worthless weak trash in all the combat exercises and the tests? Oh yeah, me!" Katsuki spat as he pointed at himself, "You're all garbage extras, so just stay out of my way."

Katsuki walked away at this, Uraraka and Iida both glaring at him, "Hmph! How rude! With that attitude, he is nothing like a hero!"

"I don't think he wants to be a hero." Uraraka added with crossed arms, "I think he just wants attention." She then turned to Iida, "Oh yeah, I just got a text from Midoriya and Gloria. They said everyone is rooting for us!"

"Oh? Wonderful!" Iida exclaimed, "If that is the case, we must show them that we are true heroes in training! Especially Midoriya!"

And as Iida yelled this, Katsuki stopped and glanced back, seeing the two continue to banter before growling, "Deku?!" He grit his teeth at this, tiny explosions popping off his hands as he let out a low growl. 'That quirkless loser?! How do those worthless extras know him?!' Another explosion went off in his hand, 'They said he was rooting for them...that means he's here. I told him to never step foot in UA or else!'

Smoke began to float off the teen as he growled, walking away as he hissed, "Where are you, you worthless pebble?"

"Web Swing Kick!" Izuku yelled as he swung down and slammed both feet into a masked man's stomach. The thug went flying into two more masked thugs as Izuku landed, dodging a katana swipe from another thug before exclaiming, "Venom Punch!"

ZAP!

The masked thug went flying at this, his back hitting an overturned car as Izuku fired another web line and swung back up into the air. 'There's no end to these guys!' he thought as he flipped over two energy waves before swinging down and punching another thug. He then leapt away just as the walrus man from earlier charged at him, quickly dodging him before seeing another tiger man jumping at him. Izuku spun and kicked him in the chin, knocking the thug back before firing another web and yanked himself up into the air. And as he started swinging, he felt himself panting, 'Gotta keep moving...gotta keep moving!'

Izuku then fired two web lines and slingshotted himself back down, slamming his feet into one of the masked thugs. As he did this, spider sense flared as he leapt off the thug, dodging two more swords before spinning around, firing two web lines at the masked men before yanking, knocking both off their feet. He fired several globs of webbing at this, sticking them to the street just as a shark man leapt at him. Spider sense yelling, Izuku turned to the thug and flicked his wrists, only to hear a small 'psst.'

'Oh no.' he thought before the shark man tackled him, punching the vigilante in the face a second later. And as he pinned Izuku down, the teen grunted as he put both hands on the shark man's shoulders, surging electricity through them. The shark man screamed at this, Izuku kicking him off. But as he did this, the teen tried to get back up just as he saw three more thugs charging at him.

'Oh, come on!' he mentally yelled before clenching his eyes for a second. He turned invisible at this, the masked men coming to a stop as they saw their prey vanish. Izuku then opened his eyes and began to walk away, slipping behind an overturned car as he fiddled with his web shooters, reloading both with new web cartridges. 'Gran Torino was right. I'm in way over my head. I need the heroes to get here now or-' His thoughts came to a stop as another scream could be heard behind him, making him go wide-eyed. He glanced back at the disaster around him, the two gangs still fighting each other as he saw one of Tombstone's gang grabbing a nearby woman, 'No!'

He turned visible and fired a web line, instantly yanking himself over to the thug. He tackled the villain, both slamming into the street before Izuku leapt off him and fired a glob of webbing. It instantly stuck the thug to the street before he fired another web line at the woman. He pulled her over to him, catching her as she let out an 'eep!'.

"Get out of here! Now!" He yelled, the woman flinching at this before nodding and running away.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed back as she cut into a sprint, Izuku looking back at the crossing.

The two gangs were still clashing as a pair of masked men charged at him. He let out a long sigh as electricity surged through his hands. 'Got no choice. Until the heroes get here, I'll knock out every villain I can!'

Back at UA...

"And that's it for the Preliminary Event!" Present Mic exclaimed in the commentor's box, his co-host Aizawa putting in ear plugs at this. "For first place, we have Katsuki Bakugo, along with second place Shoto Todoroki and third Ibara Shiozaki!" He turned to his co-host, "I noticed all of your class made it. Surprised?"

"A little." Aizawa grumbled, "But they're showing potential. Of course, that was nothing compared to what's next."

"Ain't that the truth!" Mic laughed before wildly gesturing to the microphone before him, "Anyways, we'll be going to the next event now! Midnight, take it away!"

He then tapped the mic mute button on the system, only for both to hear the door to the office open. The duo spun around to see Nezu walk in, "Hey boss! How's it going?"

"Not well." Nezu replied, "It seems there may be a problem outside of UA."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've been watching all the news feeds that tune into our event and one of them is not showing us. I checked it and they seem to be doing a different story in Musutafu."

"Seriously?! What's bigger than us?!"

"I don't know. However, they're not showing footage yet, but say they're about to report it." Nezu replied, only to see a fierce glare from Aizawa, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"A villain is taking advantage of all the heroes being here along with other heroes watching this?" Aizawa asked, Nezu nodding back.

"Wait...I get that, as it happens all the time, but the heroes in other districts are still there. Why do it in Musutafu?! That's where we are!" Mic exclaimed, "There's a ton of heroes here! Who'd have the balls to do that?!"

"Doesn't matter." Aizawa grumbled before pointing to at Mic, "Send a message to all heroes here. Tell them they need to respond to whatever's going on."

"Uh...okay." Mic muttered out before turning back to the audio equipment, "I really hope its nothing too bad."

Nezu pulled out his phone at this, another news channel now showing footage, "I wouldn't be so sure. A second channel just switched away from UA to the other news story."

"What do you mean? What's the story?" Aizawa asked next, only for Nezu to show him the footage. "Oh no."

Mic then glanced over to see it, grimacing at the headline:Mini-Army of Villains attacking Musutafu, right at UA's doorstep! Spider-Man seemingly taking them all on alone! Where are the heroes?!

"That's bad for business." Mic gulped, Aziawa glaring back at him.

"Call the heroes and get someone over there now!"

"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as he slammed an electric fist into a Tombstone goon, sending them flying into two more, zapping them as well. As he did this, his spider sense yelled at him, making him duck as a blade just barely missed him. He then thrust a leg upward, smacking his foot into a masked thug's chin. The man went flying back as Izuku then fired a web line, yanking himself up and over the street.

The teen wasn't sure how many he had beaten now. It felt like this fight had been going on for hours, even though he knew it was nowhere near that long. He didn't even really react when a news helicopter suddenly appeared above the fighting. Instead, he just leapt at the enemies now, barely feeling the few blows they could land as he let his spider sense guide him. He had been trying to figure out a fighting style, writing page after page on how it would work, but found that in practice, all fighting styles didn't exactly work the way he wanted it to.

Improvising was everything. Plans were only good if everything worked out perfectly, and Izuku knew by now, even with just the two weeks of vigilantism he had on his belt, nothing went perfectly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the injuries he kept getting. Instead, he found that his spider sense was everything when it came to fighting. It always gave him the idea on where to go next, the teen flipping, swinging and ducking around everything he could. It wasn't perfect, but it was all he had.

As such, he swung down at a group of three masked thugs, "Web Swing Kick!" He slammed both feet into one of the goons, knocking him flying before firing a glob of webbing at him, sticking him to the street as soon as he landed. And as Izuku landed, he quickly ducked under both masked thugs as they swung their katanas at him. He then tapped one on the side, zapping him with electricity before side-stepping around the other as he tried to stab Izuku. And as he dodged the blade, he thrusted a fist into the thug's face, the blow instantly knocking the goon off his feet before webbing covered him as well.

However, two more Tombstone thugs appeared at this, the walrus man from earlier along with a hippo man. Izuku leapt over both, only for a third thug to suddenly appear behind them, bodychecking into the vigilante. He felt the blow, pushing him back as the hippo and walrus men spun around, both then slamming fists into Izuku's back. The teen was knocked into the third thug at this, the thug grabbing him in a waist hold and tried to squeeze him. But as he did this, Izuku just grabbed his shoulders, zapping him with ease. The thug fell over at this, letting Izuku go as he turned back to the other two, both throwing punches. Izuku just side-stepped both before countering with a jab into the walrus man's face, making him stumble back before ducking under another punch from the hippo man.

And as he ducked under this, the teen bent down and did a leg sweep, knocking the hippo down with ease. He fired some webbing next, sticking the hippo to the pavement as the walrus charged at him. However, Izuku just charged a Venom Punch, slamming it into the walrus man's stomach, knocking him across the street.

'There's so many...' Izuku thought, his mind slowing down as he spun around and saw three more masked goons charging at him.

"Kill the spider! He must die!"One of them yelled, Izuku sighing at the sight.

"Come on guys." Izuku moaned as he fired two shots of webbing, grabbing two of the thugs' chests before being yanked, making both stumble and fall over. The third thrust his blade at Izuku, the teen backstepping before throwing a punch right in his face, breaking the mask. The blow knocked him over, Izuku firing globs of webbing, sticking them all to the pavement. But as he did this another masked man ran up to him, katana in hand. "Seriously?! Can't you just...you know, give up?! I've beaten like two million of you guys already!"

"Kill the spider!"he roared as he leapt at Izuku, the teen just side-stepping as the goon slashed downward, only for his sword to hit pavement instead.

"Nope." Izuku muttered as he kicked the thug's side, the blow flinging the goon into an overturned car. He hit it and slumped over, Izuku turning back to the crossing. The teen now saw most of the Tombstone gang knocked out, their numbers less than the masked men, and most were all webbed up. Seeing this, he turned to find three more masked thugs climbing over the car. Electricity sparking in his hands, Izuku charged at them, 'Come on Izuku, you got this! Just a few more till the heroes show up!'

"Dang, that was intense." Gloria commented as they watched the second event come to an end at the UA sports festival. It showed Katsuki Bakugo in first place, yelling profanities as he declared how great he was. Gloria's small tongue stuck out for a second before turning to Inko, the woman watching the television with a blank stare. "Hey, you okay?"

Inko didn't respond, prompting Gloria to poke her shoulder. "Hmm?" Inko asked as she turned to Gloria.

"You okay?"

"Huh? Oh uh..." Inko barely replied before glancing away, "Just worried about Izuku."

"Oh yeah." Gloria chimed before looking back at the rest of FEAST. Everyone was crowded around to the place's television, only one or two not watching. "Little guy still isn't here. Wonder why he's late."

"Knowing him, he's got himself into something..." Inko sighed, making Gloria glance back at her.

"What do you mean?"

Inko just waved a hand at her, "Oh, its nothing."

Gloria chuckled at this, "I wouldn't say that. I think that shows you really love your son."

Inko just let out a sigh, "I do." She glanced down at her phone, "Still, I hope he responds soon."

As she said this, one of the people watching the television said, "What the-what's going on?!" Inko and Gloria looked back up at the screen, only to see the UA sports festival disappear and show something else.

"Breaking news!"a reporter said as footage showed a battle happening in a street crossing."For unknown reasons, two gangs of villains are fighting and tearing apart the crossing of Jelucan Drive and Umbara Street in Musutafu! However, it seems the vigilante known as Spider-Man has come in and is trying to shut the situation down, but for some reason, the heroes have not arrived!"

"Whoa." Gloria muttered out, "That's just a few streets over! I hope it doesn't end up here..."

And as she said that, she didn't see Inko's face now paling as she stared at the footage of her son taking out another masked thug. 'Oh Izuku...please be careful.'

"RAAAAH!" Izuku roared as he punched another masked thug, the man slamming into two more. Spider sense rang out next, a hyena man running up to him next, leaping at the vigilante. In response, Izuku sidestepped, dodging the thug as the hyena guy spun around and threw a punch. But as he did this, Izuku threw his own, his fist hitting first, causing the thug's punch to hit air as he felt the blow slam into his big nose.

"Kill the spider!"yelled a masked thug as they leapt over an overturned car, slashing a katana down right at the teen. Spider sense screaming again, Izuku leapt to the side, dodging the weapon before firing a webline at the masked man's weapon, pulling it a split second later. The thug kept his grip on the weapon as Izuku did this, only to feel the teen's foot slam into his face, knocking the thug off his feet. Webbing covered him next, Izuku then firing another web upward and yanking himself back into the air.

'There's no end to this.' the teen thought as he stared down at the street, seeing two masked men get beat up by an alligator man while another masked man punched a rat faced man. The sight made him sigh before he swung down and exclaim, "Web Swing Kick!"

Two feet slammed into two masked men's faces, flinging them across the crossway as Izuku fired a webline at a third masked thug before yanking, sending him straight into the man. "Hi-ya!" Izuku yelled as he zipped right up to the thug and thrust a kick into the man's stomach, sending the thug into a man with a weasel face.

'Gotta keep moving...gotta stop these guys!' Izuku thought as his spider sense rang out again, making him instinctively duck down, avoiding a katana slicing through the air. This was followed by an uppercut from the teen, smacking a masked thug off his feet. But as this happened, spider sense kept yelling at him, only to see two more masked men, these just throwing punches. The teen sidestepped the first one, only for another to slam a fist into his face. "Urgh!"

Three more punches smacked Izuku's face, the teen closing his eyes from the blows before blindly swinging a punch back, knocking away the one that had missed hitting Izuku. This allowed the other to keep punching Izuku, slamming a fist into Izuku's stomach before doing a side-jab into the teen's face. He felt the blow as his spider sense kept yelling at him, Izuku's eyes creaking back open as he saw another punch come for his face. Reflexes took over next, Izuku tilting his head to dodge the blow before throwing a punch back, slamming it into the thug's face. The man's mask broke instantly, the thug falling over a second later before Izuku fired a glob of webbing, sticking the thug to the concrete.

'Ugh...that hurt.' Izuku mentally groaned as he fired a webline upward, yanking himself back up into the air once again. But as he did this, his eyes scanned over the whole situation, his mind going over what just happened, 'Each time I beat one of these guys, two more pop up! Is there no end?!' He then swung down and kicked another thug off his feet before firing a glob of webbing over another, the teen leaping at a third and throwing a punch. And as the blow connected, one more thought went through his head, 'I keep beating them though...'

Spider sense rang out at this, Izuku jumping away as three more thugs leapt at him, the teen dodging them all. As he did this, he whispered to himself, "I think...I think I can do this." Electricity appeared around his arms at this, "No. I will do this. Like a real hero would." The masked thugs charged at him next, Izuku yelling back, "Bring it on!"

Katsuki Bakugo was angry. Granted, that was his normal mindset, he was rarely anything but angry, but he was really angry right now. The UA sports festival, something he had watched for years, imagining himself on that podium, being cheered on and worshipped like he deserved...only to finally be a part of the festival, and found it was filled with nothing but weaklings.

They were all trash! Worthless pebbles that weren't even worthy of being a piece of a stepping stone! The first round was a dumb obstacle course, the second round was a stupid calvary battle where he had to 'cooperate' with a bunch of pathetic losers...and this final round was the most worthless of them all.

He had just won his second fight of the final round, and it was a disappointment. It was another weakling, a piece of trash. It was that orange ponytail chick of the other class, who he beat without trying. All he had to do was push through her worthless giant hands, grab the top of her head and slam his explosive quirk in her face a few times. She was knocked out almost instantly, only for Midnight to say he had to stop or be disqualified for being 'too rough'. What a load of garbage! If she was that weak, she shouldn't be here!

Same goes for his first fight, which was Round Cheeks, the girl with gravity powers. What a pointless weak quirk. She doesn't deserve to be a hero. She thought she could trap him by levitating the pebbles around the arena. What a stupid plan. It was so easy to beat, and then she stood there...showing those defiant eyes. She could barely stand, her legs shaking as she charged at him after failing her trap, thinking she stood a chance. How pointless. How stupid. And her eyes...those defiant eyes. Eyes that reminded Katsuki of...him. Deku.

He was here. Deku had to be here. That made him so angry. He had spent years telling that quirkless loser he wasn't allowed to set foot, not even a toe, into UA. If he did, he would turn that piece of trash into ash. Its what Deku deserved. He believed he could be a hero. That thought made him want to explode. It made him so angry. Didn't Deku know that quirkless trash only exist to be put in the ground?! Didn't he spend years telling that piece of garbage that he'll never amount to anything?! Didn't Deku know he'll never become or deserve to be a hero?!

His palms kept crackling, popping every second as he stared out at the stadium. Each fight he did, they kept booing him after he won. Why are they booing?! He's the greatest! He's the best there is! They should be worshipping him, Katsuki Bakugo, the next Number One Hero! He was already better than All Might!

He let out a growl next, making him look down at the arena, only to see...was that bird head? Whatever. He's another pathetic pebble that was now walking out of the arena while some purple-haired gen-ed noodle-looking garbage just stood there. And everyone looked like they were confused about what that guy's quirk was. It was so obvious! It was a villain quirk! Why is everyone so stupid?!

"Worthless extras." He growled as he saw his future opponent be declared worthy of going to the next round. An extra with an obvious brainwashing quirk was next. "Tch. At least I'll win the next round easily. Here's hoping Half-and-half will give me a good fight in the final round."

And as he said this, he glanced out at the stadium, only to see a ton of people staring at their phones. Like, half the stadium weren't paying attention to the festival. Eh, whatever. As long as they watch him, it didn't matter. His eyes darted around next, searching for a certain green-haired teen...but found nothing. "Where are you, Deku?! I know you're here, mocking me!" He let out a low hiss, "Where are you?!"

"Venom Smash!" Izuku roared as he slammed his fist into the ground, electricity surging out of him, knocking four more masked goons back. He had just taken out the last Tombstone thug before using that Venom Smash, and now his ears heard the sounds of screeching tires, making him turn to see two black vans drive up to crossing.

'Seriously?!' He mentally yelled before his spider sense screamed at him, making him duck down just as a blade swung over his head. He spun around to see another masked thug thrusting a sword at the teen, only for Izuku to swing his leg upward, kicking the goon right in the face. The thug hit the pavement a second later, Izuku firing another glob of webbing, sticking him into the street.

He glanced back at the black vans, now seeing a few thugs walk out of vehicles, along with two bulky masked men. "Oh great, so you're all...sextuplets? Or is it septuplets? Eh, I give up." Izuku fired two web lines at this, yanking at them as he threw himself at the thugs, "Venom Punch!"

He thrust an electric fist into one of them, slamming it into the thug's chest. The blow knocked the guy flying, only for two goons to charge in with blades, Izuku quickly leaping onto one of the black vans before they could get close. "You know, I'm gonna declare this as another no sharp deadly weapons zone."

"Die spider!"the other bulky thug yelled as energy poured out of his fists. He then swung his fist at the van Izuku was on, the teen's spider sense yelling as he quickly leapt off the vehicle just as the fist hit it. The blow made the car go flying, slamming it into a nearby building as Izuku landed across the rest of the masked men, Izuku seeing there was only five left beside the bulky thug.

"Kill the spider!"the masked thugs roared as they charged at Izuku, the teen just pointing his wrists at them, firing a round of webbing at their faces. Blinding four of them, they began tripping into objects that were scattered across the street, the four falling over as Izuku ran in and punched the remaining one in the face, shattering his mask and knocking him out. As this happened, he fired webbing over the other four, sticking them all to the pavement.

But as he did this, his spider sense yelled before looking back up and seeing a giant fist slam into his chest. "Blaugh!" Izuku yelped as the bulky thug's fist knocked the vigilante across the street, his back hitting a building. "Urgh!" Izuku moaned before hitting the pavement, almost slumping over.

"Ow." Izuku muttered out, clutching his chest as he tried to stay standing.

"You will die today, spider."the bulky thug said as he slowly stomped over to him.

"And I still can't understand you." Izuku replied as he pointed his wrist at the thug and pressed the web shooter trigger, only to hear a 'psst'. "Oh, great."

"Die!"the thug roared as he pulled back a fist before thrusting it. Seeing this, Izuku just ducked under the jab before slamming his own fist into the thug's stomach. The blow made the thug slightly stumble back, only to swing another punch, but Izuku caught it with his own hand.

"Gotcha!" Izuku laughed as electricity charged into the hand, zapping the thug. Izuku then pushed forward, knocking the thug off his feet. The teen glanced up at this, now seeing no more villains charging at him. Nothing but a bunch of webbed up thugs, several overturned cars and a small fire coming from two vans. Scorch marks littered the crossing, and parts of nearby buildings had giant burn marks on them.

"I...I did it. I won. I...I beat them all." Izuku muttered out as he leaned on the building behind him. He then grabbed a web cartridge out of his hoodie and switched it out of his web shooter, only to hear a new noise. It was the sound of police sirens, making him turn and see several police cars, along with a certain giant hero walking up to the crossing. It was Mount Lady, Kamui Woods on her shoulder as they got ahead of the police cars.

'There they are. What took them so long?' he thought before a surge of pain hit his entire body, adrenaline now wearing off as he grabbed his chest and slumped down, 'No...hurts...everywhere. Gotta...get...outta...here.'

He took a deep breath before turning invisible, the teen then crawling up the building he was leaning on. And when he reached the top, he fired a web line and began to invisibly swing away.

The UA sports festival was over. Katsuki Bakugo stood on the top podium, roaring at the crowd as he was tied down in chains. In second place was Shoto Todoroki, whose face was covered in burns, his non-scarred eye closed while leaning on a crutch. Third was Shinso Hitoshi, who was also covered in burns and had an arm in a sling. All Might had appeared next, giving the medals out as the crowd mainly cheered for the number one hero.

But as this happened, Nezu was now in his office. He usually was part of the entire UA festival every year, but this one was different. This was because he found himself getting multiple calls from news outlets, all complaining that the winner of the sports festival looked like some violent thug rather than a hero. Granted, he agreed to an extent, but Aizawa told him that was what Endeavor was, and Katsuki had only been a student for two weeks, not enough to change personalities.

However, that wasn't the main topic of the phone call he was on right now. It was the hero commission president, who was chewing him out for taking all the heroes of Musutafu to the UA sports festival, only for half of the news outlets that covered the festival to suddenly switch to the Spider-Man story, and then no heroes showed up until Spider-Man had already saved the day.

"This is unacceptable!" the president screamed, Nezu just sighing at her reaction.

"Listen, we can not help it when villains attack. What happened-"

"I don't care about what happened! I care that there weren't heroes there to deal with it as soon as it started because they were atyourfestival! You have All Might at your disposal! Use him!"

"All Might is not a tool-"

"All Might can beat any villain two seconds flat!" the president roared, the sound of a fist hitting a table ringing out through the phone, "He's the greatest hero this world has ever seen, so don't tell me he couldn't have gone in there and handled that!"

Nezu let out another sigh, "I understand your frustration, but we did send heroes to the situation. It is not our fault how long it took them to get there."

He could hear the president grinding her teeth before letting out a hiss, "Listen here rat, I have already told that dog Tsuragamae that Spider-Man must be arrested! We can not allow a vigilante to do a hero's job, especially not after this! Do you understand?!"

"Listen-"

"Do youunderstand?!" She screeched, making Nezu pause for a second.

"Understood."

"Good. I'm hanging up now because I now have to talk to every news outlet that decided that avigilanteis more important than the UA sports festival!"

A click could be heard before Nezu leaned back in his chair, sighing yet again. He rubbed his face with his hand as he muttered out, "It seems this could be a problem." He then pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a quick smoke, "Perhaps Aizawa will now allow me to be part of his investigation with Naomasa."

Izuku wasn't sure when he got home. He knew it took him a bit longer, mainly cuz he swung one-handed due to his injuries. It had actually only took him a few minutes after beating all the thugs to get home, but it felt like hours to him. As such, he crawled into his room's window, opened and closed it, and crashed onto his bed. He tried to do a text on his phone, only to fall asleep before he could even tap out a word.

An hour or so later, his mom came home. She found him knocked out, sighing at the sight before stripping and bandaging him up. She was so glad he had that healing factor, even if it was super slow. She then put his costume in the wash and just shook her head at the sight of her sleeping son.

"You're going to be the end of me, aren't you?" she whispered to herself before walking into the living room and turning on the television. There, it showed the footage she had seen earlier. It was her son fighting a giant group of villains, the sight of him flipping around, kicking and punching made her go wide-eyed.

'He really was born to be hero, wasn't he?' she thought as she leaned back into the couch, 'I can't stop worrying about him...and yet I feel so proud.'

But as she did this, she glanced back at the television, only to see it turn to another news piece. One that made her go wide-eyed as she whispered, "Oh dear. I hope Izuku doesn't see this."

Tombstone took a swig of whiskey as he walked into a stained blue-colored warehouse on the edge of town. It was a perfect place to hide things away, as it had a long old wire fence around it and broken street lights. And as he walked in, he saw the lights inside were on, showing several piles of boxes...and a group of masked men laying out on the floor, the villain staring at the sight.

"So...were we right?" he grumbled as he walked up to one of the masked men. "Was the whole point of the street fight was so they could try to rob this place?"

"Yeah boss."

"I figured." Tombstone sighed as he picked up one of the masked men like a ragdoll, the thug not responding to even the slightest touch. "And they're still doing that weird not moving thing." He dropped the thug before putting his foot over the thug's face and slammed it down, the sound of crunching bones ringing out next.

It made his men in the warehouse flinch at the sound, only to see Tombstone take another swig of whiskey, "So much for war. And it looks like that spider-whatever is gonna be a pain now."

And as he smacked his lips at this, he put his drink down on a nearby table before taking out a phone, which showed a news feed of Spider-Man fighting his gang on television. "Guess we'll need to do some more recruiting. The heroes will actually start trying to find us now." He then saw the feed change to show another message:

Breaking news! Pro Hero Ingenium severely injured by Hero Killer!

Tombstone's mouth slowly formed a tiny smile, "Then again, maybe not." He turned to one of the thugs, "Call the boys. I want the shipment done asap."

"Sure boss."

And as the thug took out his own phone, Tombstone grabbed his whiskey and took another swig, "Looks like Lady Luck's on my side. Time to get rich while the heroes stay distracted." He wiped his lips at this, "And maybe that spider guy will get caught in the mess as well."

Chapter 21: The Knife That Cuts Webs

Chapter Text

Izuku had found out recently that he hated waking up. Granted, he knew why waking up was going to be bad today, but it still didn't help that this kept happening. As such, he woke up in incredible pain, his whole body screaming at him as he let out a moan.

He slowly ascended out of his bed, glancing down to see he had been stripped and bandaged. He blinked at the sight before walking into the bathroom, soon doing a small morning routine. And as he did this, he took off the bandages, seeing most of his injuries had started to heal. 'Urgh...not sure I can Spider-Man today.' He glanced up at the bathroom mirror, now seeing an exhausted look on his face. 'Did yesterday really happen?'

The teen walked back into his room and grabbed his phone, turning on the Midoriya Hero App, only to see two news articles at the start. One was about himself, fighting two groups of villains as the heroes arrived too late. He saw it was linked to several other articles the app collected, all debating over vigilantism and how Spider-Man had done the heroes jobs.

But that was instantly ignored as he saw the headline for the second article. He sped through the writing, his eyes darting back and forth, 'Ingenium...was critically injured by a hero killer?! What?!' his brain mentally yelled. He turned to his desk, where his mom had put his vigilante costume and hoodie, quickly taking out the notebook inside before turning to Ingenium's autograph.

'I don't believe it...' He looked back at his phone, rereading the article. 'Ingenium...'

And as he thought about his encounter with that hero, a new face showed itself in his mind. Tenya Iida, one of Uraraka's friends she had brought over to FEAST. He remembered the smile on Tenya's face when he had talked about his brother, how he had said he was inspired by him to become a hero. 'Tenya...'

"Izuku!" yelled a voice, cutting Izuku's thoughts as he turned to his door, now seeing his mother staring at him. "There you are." Her eyes scanned him over and she let out a sigh, "Well, I see that healing factor of yours is working wonders again. Still, that was too much yesterday! You need to-"

"Mom...I'm sorry." Izuku interrupted, making her come to a stop. She stared directly into his eyes, seeing a mixture of exhaustion and pain. Despite this, she could also see that fire in him, the fire to be a hero, to help others. And she had a feeling what he was going to say next as he continued to speak, "I know yesterday got crazy, but-"

"I know." She now interrupted before sighing. "I...I know. You couldn't help it." She glanced away at this, "I'm still getting used to this."

"Yeah..." He walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at him, only for the teen to hug her. She slowly embraced back, letting out another sigh before pulling away.

"Just promise me to not go too far next time, alright?"

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He glanced away, thinking back to the battle he had just done yesterday, only for Gran Torino's words to ring out in his head.

"If that's the case, don't go jumping into everything you can get yourself into. If you do, you'll start something that you can't escape."

This was followed by the next thing Gran had told him.

"And when you go down that rabbit hole, you'll never get out of it. You'll keep going in over your head and it won't stop."

Those words made him slowly say to his mom, "I...I don't think I can promise that."

Inko blinked at this, staring at him before taking a deep breath, "I know." She put a hand on his shoulder this time, "Why don't you be Izuku Midoriya for at least this morning? Come on, I'll make you some breakfast."

"Okay." Izuku responded as they left the room. And as they reached the kitchen, Izuku spoke up again, "Hey mom?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for bandaging me up...and for everything else."

Inko shined a big grin back, "No problem. That's why I'm here."

Aizawa had just received the internship offer files. He had done this for many years, but this year's was probably the worst it had ever been. Mainly because only two students really got any attention. Another was the fact that he was going to have to attend a meeting later today on the fact that the UA festival didn't get the full televised setting it usually gets, which is why the internship offers amount were even worse this year.

It also didn't help that Nezu had warned him that the news outlets were very angry about Katsuki winning the whole thing. Granted, he didn't like it either. The student was a typical thing he got every year: a blowhard that believed their quirk solves everything. And that was fine, because he knew how to handle students like him. They were usually kids that thought the world revolved around them, that they were born better than others. It was irrational, which meant it usually needed some strict schooling to teach them otherwise.

However, Aizawa quickly learned that there was no convincing Katsuki, though this was because he exceled at everything except heroic attitude. There was also the issue of him winning every event in the festival. That event should have been where he sees there are other students with just as much if not more power than him. However, that didn't happen to Aizawa's annoyance. Katsuki just beat everything, and he did it brutally. His fights were all one sided, even against Todoroki, which he had hoped would beat Bakugo, but due to him not using half his quirk, he was easily beaten. That meant that Katsuki Bakugo was now the face of the class. Granted, Aizawa would admit the kid has the most potential out of all of his class. He had the drive, which was so rare these days, the intelligence and the instincts...but his attitude was a problem.

But to be honest, Aizawa also wanted to expel all of his class just because he knew it would help them. Shock them into doing better than what they had done in the festival, but technically the class won the festival thanks to having Bakugo and Todoroki being in first and second place. If he expelled them now, they wouldn't realize why they're being expelled. What a pain.

It also didn't help that a gen-ed student, a Shinso Hitoshi, got third in the festival. That meant he'd probably be getting that one as a student. Aizawa honestly didn't mind this, but that also meant he couldn't expel the whole class due to the new student coming in. It would confuse Hitoshi, which is something that can't happen right as he joined heroics class. In other words, it was a pain, just like the rest of the nonsense.

However, Aizawa knew what the real problem was though. He was missing a key component in his class, something Vlad currently had. He needed that student that pushes the others, that inspires them. Its the type of student Aizawa always wants, though he also hates the most. They're usually people who think they can be a hero that can do it all, which is totally irrational and stupid, but the ability to inspire is something Aizawa would acknowledge is important. And while he could see that Vlad had that with two students, though they were a subdued version that he would admit did work with Itsuka Kendo and Neito Monoma, but Aizawa didn't have that. He just had a class that had a few with drive, but nothing that fully pushed them to go farther.

But that wasn't his biggest problem. His class could be fixed, the new student could be introduced and integrated, and he knew Katsuki was a long con, but the final exams should be the push he needed to fix all of it...if the students didn't get expelled by the teacher first. It was Spider-Man that was his true headache now. The vigilante that him and Naomasa suspect is his student's age somehow jumped into a gang war, one that Aizawa and a few others knew that Spider-Man had accidentally helped accelerate, and then just...won. He leapt into a war zone of villains and beat them all. Granted, they were all probably C-rank or lower, but that didn't really matter. Even Aizawa knew that he would have trouble going into that situation alone. Heck, he knew he wouldn't do it without calling for backup before leaping in.

And that event had caught the media's attention. Mainly, it was because it basically happened at UA's doorstep. Also, it was a vigilante doing what was essentially a team of heroes' jobs all alone. The situation was completely irrational, and yet it was happening. And he knew what this meant. It meant the meeting he would have later would involve Nezu meddling into his and Naomasa's investigation.

As such, he reached the Class 1-A door and slowly opened it, hearing the casual banter of the students. But as the door fully opened, everyone silenced themselves. "Three seconds." Aizawa commented as he walked up to the podium with a stack of papers. "Villains would have killed all of you instantly. You're still too slow."

He stared at the group of students, most showing their usual hesitant morning faces. He let out a long sigh, "As you all probably know, this next week will be internships. As such, there is usually a spread-out number for the offers each year, but due to...circ*mstances, that's not the case this year." He spun around and began writing out the numbers, showing that Shoto Todoroki had the most, being just over two thousand while second was Katsuki which was almost a thousand.

"What the-why does Half-and-half have more than me?! I'm the one that won the thing!" Katsuki yelled, Aizawa feeling one of his eyes twitch at this as he continued to write down the numbers on the board.

"Probably because of your attitude, kero." Tsuyu chimed in.

"What was that, you stinking toad?! I'll squash you!" Katsuki roared, explosions popping in his hands.

"See?" Tsuyu replied, Katsuki about to get up before his quirk suddenly stopped working. He turned to see Aizawa glaring at him.

"Enough. Winning the festival means nothing except getting your name out there." Aizawa grumbled, "Now shut up or you're expelled." Katsuki opened his mouth to bark back, only to close it as he saw Aizawa's glare intensify. The teacher let out a long sigh after this as he pointed back at the board, "As you can see, only some of you got offers, but all of you are going to take an internship. There are certain heroes that do it regardless of not giving offers, and if you need help setting something up, I'll help you later. I'll also need your response by tomorrow, which you'll then start your internship the next day. Now, we have something else to do today."

With that, Midnight walked into the room and exclaimed, "Today, you're making your hero codenames!"

The classroom erupted in cheers, Aizawa groaning as he pulled out his sleeping bag and crawled into it. It was going to be a long day. He just knew it.

Izuku had ended up agreeing to not go out as Spider-Man today and tomorrow. Despite the fact that part of him wanted too, this time both his body and mother teamed up to tell him no. It also didn't help that after reading the article over the hero killer, he knew that going after that would be him once again going in over his head...but he also knew he should go after someone like that eventually. Now, he was in his room with his breakfast, his mom going out to her job for the day.

'Even though I stopped those gangs' rampage yesterday, I didn't really solve anything.' he thought as he ate a bit of cereal while skimming through the net on his computer, 'I still got nothing on either gang leader. Heck, I still don't have a name for the masked guys. There's barely anything on them except failed crimes...that I mainly foiled.'

He scrolled down another page, sighing to himself, 'The police haven't really delivered any statement. There's nothing. I guess that's the struggle of being a vigilante. No police info for me.'

The teen then saw that the articles kept going over just Spider-Man and the hero killer, only for something else to ring out in his brain. 'There's no articles over the UA sports festival.' He typed in a search engine at this, only to see just a few pictures and articles, 'Kacchan won. Huh. Guess that means I would have lost if I had tried the festival. His quirk is so much better than mine...'

His mind went back to the bully, remembering the words that Bakugo had told him. The thought made him shake in his seat before eating another bit of cereal. 'Don't...don't think about it. You'll become a hero. You'll just have to...do a lot more.' He feels a small tear go down his face, 'I wish I could've got in. I wish I could've been in the festival. Stupid support exam.' Taking a second, he let out a sigh and shook his head, 'Eh, that's how it works. I need to figure out what I'm doing now. I just wish I could have watched it live. Maybe I'll watch it later.'

A deep breath later, he decided to go back to the hero killer case. And as he went to another page, he now saw a news outlet talking about previous kills from the hero killer. Apparently, he had ran wild in another district, killing four heroes. They were all D-list heroes, ones Izuku had heard of, but he knew most wouldn't have known them. All four had only done a few rescues and small-time criminal takedowns. Overall, they weren't much, and most news outlets wouldn't have cared. The only reason this article existed was because the reporter who made it was related to one of the killed heroes.

"Says here he's well known for spouting anti-hero philosophy. Believes most heroes to be fakes, and only true heroes like All Might are all but lost." Izuku read aloud, "Currently believed to be hopping district to district, choosing heroes that don't fit his ideology."

Izuku leaned back in his chair, "Sounds like a villain. But should I go after him? I mean, he's obviously got the other heroes attention. Maybe I shouldn't interfere."

He looked back at his computer, staring long and hard at the hero killer article again, 'What do I do? This guy's obviously going to be hunted down by the heroes...but other heroes will be danger cuz of this guy. I mean, he is the hero killer for a reason.' He closed his eyes for a second, remembering yesterday, the constant fighting and desperation he felt, only to feel something else. He felt...like he did the right thing. To go into the fray, saving others and beating the villains.

But then Gran Torino appeared in his head, telling him that he was going in over his head. That he shouldn't just jump into everything. That there were consequences for doing so. 'But I can't do that.' he mentally told himself, 'I...I want to be a hero. I can't just sit there and let bad things happen. But after yesterday...do I really want to go into something like that again?! I mean, that was crazy. What do I do if this is worse?!'

And then Gran's words rang out again.

"If that's the case, don't go jumping into everything you can get yourself into. If you do, you'll start something that you can't escape."

"If I go find him...will that happen?" He glanced down at one of his notebooks sitting in his lap, the pages turned to a new entry he was creating, one over the hero killer. He flipped to the pages of the gangs he had just fought yesterday, that event replaying in his head. 'I really did jump into something I wasn't ready for. I mean, I'm not even good enough to be a F-rank hero yet. Should I go into something like that?'

He closed the book at this, taking in a deep breath. And as he released it, he looked up at the All Might poster he had in his room. The hero shown there was shining his signature smile, the sight making Izuku feel like the hero was talking to him. "You would do it anyways, wouldn't you? You would go in and save the day, no matter what."

And after a second, he nodded, "I understand." He went back to the article on the hero killer on his computer, the teen biting his lip as he muttered out, "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go and find this guy, even if I'm not ready. Maybe there will be consequences like Gran Torino said, but...I can't just sit here. Even if I'm not a hero yet, I can still try and do something." He then turned in his chair and stared at his web making equipment, "But first, I'm running out of ingredients for web fluid. Better go buy some." He looked back at the computer, staring at the news article for a second, "I'll deal with you soon."

Two days later...

Izuku let out a long yawn as he woke up, slowly ascending from bed while doing several stretches. He had most of his bandages removed now, the teen going to the bathroom and taking off the rest. He found he was mostly healed, though some were still a tiny bit sore. Seeing this, he quickly did his routine and had some breakfast, Inko telling him she was going to the hospital to work today.

After saying goodbye to her, he switched into Spider-Man, invisibly crawling out his window and swinging into the city. His mother had found out he was going to go investigate the hero killer, which she was very against, even when he told her about the relationship with Tenya. She then told him that she knew he wouldn't listen, but to not overdo it.

Despite this, he had also spent the morning looking up extra information on the hero killer, only to find that he was last sighted in Hosu, mainly due to that being where he had fought Ingenium. As such, he swung over to the train station and landed on top of the building. After listening to the announcer for half an hour, he heard him talking about a train going to Hosu, Izuku smiling under the mask before hopping on top of the train.

One ride later, he was in Hosu, a few people gasping as they saw the vigilante swing away from the station. He zipped up to a nearby rooftop, perching on its edge before taking out his phone. 'Now, let's see...' He turned on the Midoriya Hero App and opened its other feature, a long list of all the heroes he had ever recorded. It was a list made from several years of analysis and fanboying, and he went to the ones that were in Hosu.

'So, the main heroes in Hosu are Manual, Native, The Fly and Takesh*ta. I need to figure out which ones the hero killer will go after...' Izuku mentally said as he tapped the phone, 'I don't have any of their routes, so I guess I'll just swing around and see if they're on patrol.' He turned on the police scanner app at this and pointed his wrist at a nearby building. 'I hope I'm not too late.'

Hours passed by as he swung around, quickly finding one of the four heroes. He first found The Fly, which he followed for an hour or so. Izuku realized he had never really tailed someone before, even with the years of seeking out heroes. Thankfully, staying on the rooftops made it easy, as most weren't going to look up.

He watched him for about two hours, jotting down a few notes as he saw the hero patrol around. 'So, according to what little there is online, it said the hero killer goes after what he considers to be fake heroes.' He glanced back down at the hero, watching him asking if everything was okay to a few civilians before continuing his patrol. The sight made Izuku tap his pencil on his chin, 'What does the killer qualify as fake though? One that just does it for money or glory? Or is it one that doesn't do enough?'

Izuku came to a stop at that thought, glancing back down at his notes, 'Do I qualify in that? I know I don't do enough. Would he hunt me down? I didn't see any reports on him going after vigilantes.' He looked back at The Fly one last time before turning away, 'Hmmm...I don't know enough. I don't think he'll go after The Fly though. I should look for another hero.'

He put his notebook away, firing a web line before slinging across another street. The teen swung around for another hour, taking a short break to eat a snack he had prepared before continuing. And as he did this, he found another hero, along with the one thing he was both fearing and expecting. A teen dressed up to look just like Ingenium.

'That's Manual! And that's got to be Tenya Iida!' he mentally commented as he saw the teen walking beside the hero. 'Oh no...the only reason he would be here is because of the hero killer.'

He sat down on the rooftop above them, putting a hand to his face, 'What do I do? I can't just swing down and tell him to not go for the killer. I also can't do that as Izuku Midoriya.' He pulled out his phone, staring at for a long hard second as he pulled up the texting app, 'Do I tell Uraraka? I mean, if I do...she'll probably figure out I'm Spider-Man. Would that put her in danger? I mean, I know she's training to be a hero, but...but...'

He slumped down at this before putting both hands on the sides of his head, 'Augh! I can't believe this! This is exactly what Gran Torino meant! I'm so in over my head!' He let out a long sigh at this, soon glancing back down to see that the duo had walked away. 'Ugh...maybe I should just follow them. I'll figure out what to do later.'

This was followed by another two hours of tailing, mainly seeing both do a long roundabout patrol. Izuku felt a bit nasty for having to tail someone that was friends with his only friend, but he also knew this was for the greater good. And after these two hours, he concluded that Manual seemed to be a truly upstanding hero. He only really knew that Manual had a water quirk, but he saw that the hero went out of his way to inspire people, constantly complimenting and helping others with little things while making sure to look out for crime and villains.

He could also tell Tenya was distracted. The teen was jittery, something Izuku could tell even from the long distance between sidewalk and rooftop. The sight made Izuku's heart drop, as he knew what this meant. Tenya was probably wanting to go on a war path, and this was the only way.

Despite this, after the two hours, he deciding to stop tailing them. He figured that the hero killer probably wouldn't go for Manual, as he was honestly an even better hero than The Fly in his opinion. Granted, he still didn't know what the hero killer would go for, but as he swung away and was about to go for another snack, he found his third hero.

It was Native, who was currently in the middle of a crowd of fans. He was signing autograph after autograph, along with taking selfies. The sight made Izuku blink, sitting down on the edge of a rooftop across the street. He watched as Native stood there, doing this...for over half an hour before moving through his patrol.

The sight made Izuku gulp. 'I think I know who the hero killer might go after next.' Izuku thought as he hopped onto another rooftop to follow Native. He then saw the hero go down two more streets before having another crowd surround him. Seeing this, Izuku sighed and took out another snack. 'Yeah...this is bad. Should I go find Takesh*ta first or stay watching him? I mean, I think he's probably gonna be targeted.'

Izuku pulled out his phone at this, tapping it a few times as he tried to look up Native. He found that he was considered on the lower end, though he was very public as well. Just a few rescues and villain takedowns, nothing really major though. Izuku sighed at this and closed the app before looking back at Native, who was giving out his last autograph. 'I should at least figure out his patrol route first. Then I can decide what to do next.'

It took three hours for Izuku to see Native's full route. This was mainly due to the constant stops, which Izuku found himself almost putting a spider tracer on Native and napping on the last hour due to just how much it happened. But he didn't, and as Izuku recorded the full route in his notebook, he put it away and decided it was time to go home. Native had stopped patrolling, going into a hero agency building. Izuku hadn't found anything on the hero killer attacking buildings, instead always attacking the heroes while they're on patrol, so he figured Native was probably safe for now.

As such, he swung back to the train station and took a ride home. 'I hope Takesh*ta isn't the next target. Then again, I'm surprised the hero killer didn't show up today. I didn't see him on any news...' He thought as he rode the train, 'Well, there's always tomorrow.'

The train soon came to a stop, the web-slinger hopping off and swinging away. It wasn't long till he got home, the vigilante going invisible before sneaking into his room through his window. His mother was thankfully no longer surprised at this, and revealed she had some katsudon waiting for him. Gladly taking it, the two talked about their days, Inko surprised that Izuku hadn't really fought anything today, not even a mugger. She then told him that FEAST was going to be doing a few events in the next few days and that Izuku should try and help. He agreed, but only if he didn't find anything tomorrow.

But as he went to sleep, he had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case.

The next day...

Izuku woke up slow that day, the teen dragging through his morning routine, checking his body and seeing most of the wounds were gone. They were still some bruises, blue patches around his chest and back, but nothing that would slow him down. He went to his desk after this, fully stocking himself in web cartridges before switching to Spider-Man. And after telling his mom goodbye for the day, he crawled out his window, swung over to the train station and got on the first ride to Hosu.

It wasn't long till he got there, swinging off the train as he got up to the first rooftop he could reach. And as he got up there, he pulled out his notebook. 'Okay, I should probably go tail Native first. Good thing I recorded his route.'

He leapt off the rooftop at this, quickly swinging down a few streets. And as he did this, he felt his body tense up. It wasn't like when he went after Spinner, waiting for a single bank robber or when he went after a warehouse of thugs and drug dealers. He had spent another few hours last night looking into the hero killer, seeing that the man had killed a lot of people. He was nothing like anything he had faced before.

'I wonder what his quirk is. I better figure it out quickly when I find him.' he thought as he swung down another street. But as he did this, he stared in the distance, only to go wide-eyed. A few blocks ahead, what looked like a black portal opened up on a rooftop. The sight made him take a sharp turn and landed on a nearby roof. And as he got there, he turned invisible as he continued to stare at the portal.

'What is that?' He mentally asked, only to see a muscular man walk out of it. He was wearing a mish mash like outfit with an eyemask, long messy hair, no nose, and several blades all over his clothes. 'Great. More swords...'

This was followed by another person, a lanky white-haired individual with a hand on his face. The sight made Izuku lean back for a second before seeing the first man hop off the rooftop and leap to another. Izuku glanced between the two, only to look down at his web shooters. Switching out the cartridges, he then leapt off the roof and began swinging after the first man.

And as he did this, he found that the man had quickly came to a stop after a few rooftops. Izuku landed on the side of the building's wall, sill invisible as he slowly crawled over to the man, now getting just in earshot. "All fakes...they're all fakes." the man hissed, pulling out a blade and looking it over. "That worthless villain. To think he would want me to join him while he had no conviction."

'Worthless villain?' Izuku thought as he then glanced down to where the man was staring at, only to go wide-eyed. One street over was Native, who was currently doing a few autographs. He glanced back at the man, only to feel something come off the guy. It felt like...pressure. Like an invisible force hitting the teen like an unending burst of wind.

"Another fake." the man growled. "Your time is now."

'Fake?' Izuku did a slight gulp as he continued to feel the pressure. But as he felt this, his mind connected all the pieces, 'Its him! He's the hero killer!' He slowly crawled up to the rooftop at this, staying right behind the killer, only to feel another wave of pressure off of him. 'What is this? What is he doing?'

Despite being invisible, Izuku looked down at his unseeable body, feeling his legs shake. He felt it now: Fear. And as he glanced back up at the killer, he knew what it was now. 'This is...killing intent.' He bit his lip at this, his whole body shivering as he tried to point his wrists at the villain. 'I...I can't calm down. Why can't I-'

"Whoever you are, you are not worthy of fighting me." the villain suddenly said, slowly spinning around. Izuku went wide-eyed at this, glancing down at his hands and seeing he was still invisible as the killer continued to talk, "I don't see you, but I know you're there. You are hesitating. You are afraid."

'He knows I'm here? How...is he like Gran Torino? Am I really that loud?!' Izuku thought as he saw the villain slowly walk across the rooftop. The teen saw that the man was about to reach him, only to come to a stop just a few inches away from the teen.

"Well?! Where are you?!"

'So close...' Izuku mentally gulped, still feeling that killing intent pour over his entire body. But as he felt this, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. 'I gotta move. I didn't come all this way to just be beaten right as I found him...though I didn't really think I would find him so fast.'

And as he finished his deep breath, he opened his eyes and saw the killer was still standing in front of him. The glare alone from the hero killer looked like it could kill, but Izuku felt his legs slowly stop shaking. 'No. I...I gotta try.' He was still slightly shivering, but then electricity began to crackle along his hands. And with swift motion, he balled up a fist and thrust it right at the villain.

"Hmm?" the villain slowly said, now hearing a tiny sound right in front of him.

"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as he turned visible, throwing the electric punch right at the villain's chest. But as he did this, the killer quickly unsheathed two knives, blocking the blow as he put them in a cross formation in front of his stomach.

"There you are." the villain commented as he uncrossed the blades and thrust one at Izuku, his spider sense screaming at him. The attack was the fastest thing Izuku had ever seen, but his spider sense was faster. He quickly backpedaled at this, dodging the first thrust, only for the killer to start swinging his blades everywhere. It was a rapid, fluid motion that he used those knives with, but it was an even greater dance that Izuku did. His spider sense rang out every split second, motioning him to do the slightest movements, ducking and dodging each blow.

And as this happened, the killer began to push Izuku over to the rooftop's edge, Izuku feeling his feet about to go over the edge. 'I gotta do something!' he mentally yelled, only to feel no more floor beneath him. And when the villain thrust the blade again, Izuku backpedaled off the building. 'Whoa!' He quickly fired a web line, catching the top of the roof as he planted his feet on the building's side.

Seeing this, the villain let out a snort. "Not bad. You have good instincts."

"I've been told that a lot recently." Izuku instantly quipped, only to blush under the mask as he realized how quickly he said that.

"Hmph." the killer grumbled, "So, who are you? Another fake hero trying to stop me? You look like you're a child."

"Um...not exactly." Izuku replied, "I'm uh...I'm actually a vigilante."

"A vigilante?"

"Yup. Name's Spider-Man. Who are you?"

The villain just glared at him, Izuku feeling like the killer was looking right through his costume before replying, "Stain."

"Stain?"

"Stain." The villain responded, "Now, why is a vigilante after me?"

Izuku blinked at this, "Well...you're the hero killer, right? So, I'm here to stop you."

Stain let out another snort at this, "Tch. That is no job for a child. Especially one that relies on parlor tricks. Only All Might is worthy of facing me." He spun around at this, "I won't kill you though. I have respect for vigilantes. You do not care about the law to do right. That is a good quality to have."

Izuku just stood on the side of the building after hearing that. 'What? He kills heroes but respects vigilantes? What kind of logic is that?!' he thought before seeing Stain leave. He was about to pull himself up to the roof, only to stay still for a second longer. 'Wait Izuku, don't just leap at him. Use your webbing this time.'

With a small yank, he hopped back up to the roof, now seeing Stain about to leap off it to go after Native. And as he saw this, he fired a line of webbing, instantly hitting Stain's back. Feeling this, the killer reflexively spun around and cut the line. But as he did this, Izuku fired two more shots of webbing, both at Stain's feet. As they hit the soles, Izuku yanked at both, Stain now finding himself losing balance. But at this happened, he quickly stretched his arms out and cut both lines, his back hitting the rooftop before instantly rolling and standing back up.

Seeing this, Izuku fired a third line, Stain blocking it with the flat side of his blade, only for Izuku to yank at it. But as the knife left Stain's hand, he used his now free hand to grab another knife and throw it at the teen. Spider sense blaring at this, Izuku reflexively thrust his leg upward as the knife came, kicking it at the precise moment it got close. The sight made Stain let out a hiss before charging at the teen, pulling out another blade at the same time.

"I don't have time to mess with you!" Stain roared as he thrust the blade at Izuku, the teen ducking under it before trying to throw a punch back. But as this happened, Stain easily side-stepped it before swiping with his other knife. Izuku quickly tried to backpedal at this, only for it to nic him in the arm.

Stain then leapt back at this, raising the blade to his mouth.

Danger!

'Huh? Why is my spider sense yelling at that?' Izuku thought before seeing Stain's mouth opened to show a long pulpy tongue. His brain instantly clicked, the teen firing a web line right at the knife. However, Stain saw this and lifted up his other blade, the webbing hitting it instead just as he licked the knife.

Izuku felt his body instantly tense up, the teen falling over a second later. 'What the-' he mentally gasped before glancing up to see Stain cut the web line off the knife.

"Not bad. I was right about you having good instincts." Stain commented as he put one of the knives away.

"I can't move..." Izuku muttered out, "The blood...did you-"

"Oh? You figured it out that quickly?" Stain responded, showing what could only be seen as an expression of a tiny bit of surprise. "Indeed. That is my quirk." The villain then walked over to the edge of the rooftop, now seeing Native finish his last autograph signing. "My prey is ready." He glanced back at the now squirming downed vigilante, holding a knife right above him.

Izuku saw the blade, aimed right at his head. He could feel another wave of killing intent pour off the man, Stain staring down at him as his tongue slithered out of his mouth. And though the killer couldn't see it, there was a look of both fear and determination on Izuku's face. He could feel his life about to flash before his eyes, only for Stain to say, "I have respect for you. You showed great fear in facing me, but still tried. I could sense your conviction. But none shall face me except All Might, for he is the only true hero."

He raised his knife at this, ready to strike downward...only for the killer to put it away, "I...will spare you. Just don't meddle with me again."

Those words made Izuku go wide-eyed, only to see Stain spin around, "No! Wait!" the teen yelled, but it was too late. Stain was already gone.

Chapter 22: Blood On A Spider's Web

Chapter Text

Tenya Iida wasn't sure what to think. The hero he was now interning under had told him that he couldn't go off on his own. The very notion was considered to be vigilantism, something that no one would approve of. In fact, the conversation had reminded him of the stuff he been talking about with his classmates. After being told about the internships, when they met for lunch, Mina had revealed that the UA festival had been criticized due to Bakugo, (Which he was not surprised about. Tenya had not liked him since the moment he met him in the first day of class.) and what was considered to be an event that was more popular than the Olympics, was suddenly sidewinded by Spider-Man, who had stopped a gang war outside of UA's doorstep. It was insane to think about.

Now, Tenya did not dislike Spider-Man, though he didn't like seeing someone break the law constantly, even if he was trying to help. Despite this, that very thought of breaking the law, to do vigilantism against the one that did this to his brother...it was all he could think about these past few days. It was the very reason he was there, walking behind Manual despite his eyes constantly darting around, trying to find something, anything on the hero killer.

And yet, he felt only one thing now: Vengeance. He wanted the hero killer to pay. He knew it was wrong, but his mind told him one thing: 'Don't worry about it. Don't even think about it. All you need to think about is avenging Tensei.'

As such, he continued to walk down the street with Manual, a permanent glare on the teen's face despite being hidden behind a mask. And as he strolled behind Manual, a sudden noise rang out.

BOOM!

The sound made both spin around, only to see a smoke appear behind a few buildings. And as they stared at it, a large creature with wings flew out of the black fog.

'That's...' Iida thought, recognizing the beast. It looked like a flying version of the monster he had seen at the USJ.

"What the heck is that?!" Manual yelped before turning to Iida, "Do you know what that is?"

"I...I..." Iida stuttered out, only for the two to start hearing several screams.

"Nevermind. We need to evacuate the people now!" Manual yelled, grabbing Iida shoulder, "Snap out of it and help me!"

Tenya turned to him, giving a quick nod, "Okay."

Manual spun around at this and began to yell at the people around them, gesturing to them to follow. He then saw Endeavor fly over him, slamming into one of the monsters. The sight made him glance back, only to see his intern was now gone. "Oh no..."

"You are another disgusting fake." Stain hissed. It had taken the villain a bit longer than he expected to catch the hero in front of him. It seemed that scuffle on the rooftop with the vigilante had pushed him a bit off balance, messed up his timing to be precise. That or that 'conversation' he had just had with Shigaraki. Stain was still debating on going back and killing him as he stood over Native. The Pro Hero was wincing, his whole body shaking like a leaf as Stain pointed his blade at his chin.

"What...did you...do to me?"

"Judgment." Stain replied, "I have deemed you unworthy of the title of hero. It is a word that has lost all meaning in this society, and you are another stain on its meaning."

"No, please! I-I-I don't wanna die!" Native screamed as the blade slowly went up his chin.

"Those who have fallen in battle have no right to choose their fate." Stain remarked, "Especially a fake like you. Your kind is a poison to this society, one that I will cure." Stain then raised the katana up high, a malicious grin on his face as Native felt the killing aura pour off the villain. The pressure alone was choking, Stain clenching his grip on the blade as he prepared the killing blow.

But as he was about to do this, his eyes went wide. Turning to his right, a sudden figure burst into him. Stain quickly held up his hands and sword, blocking the blow before swiping upward, knocking the assailant back. The sound of tinging metal followed this as a helmet bounced on the pavement.

"Who are you?" Stain hissed as he saw the assailant completely now. It was Iida in full hero costume with the exception of his helmet. "Another child?"

Iida didn't respond, instead just getting back up as he glared at the killer. The sight made Stain scoff, "You...your eyes are filled with vengeance." He pointed his blade at the teen, "Let me guess, you wish to avenge someone I killed?"

"I am the brother of the Pro Hero Ingenium, the one you cut down! I am here to face you in his place." Iida roared, only to see the killer just squint his eyes at him.

"You are a fool. And you're meddling with my work." He turned back to Native, "Do not meddle with me, child. I will kill you if necessary."

Iida then scratched the pavement under him with his foot, "I am Ingenium, for its the name that will defeat you right here, right now!"

Stain's eyes drifted back to the teen, making him let out a sigh, "Hmph. I see. You believe yourself to be a hero?" He pointed his blade at him, "Then prepare for death."

Iida then charged straight at his, the engines in his calves bursting as he zipped down the alleyway. But as he got close, Stain just jumped over him, easily dodging the charge before slamming his foot down into Iida's right arm. The blow knocked the teen to the ground, only for Stain to land and slam his katana into Iida's left shoulder. "Augh!" Iida screamed as he felt the blade go through, only to feel Stain's foot on his back.

"You're just as worthless as your brother." Stain spat as he slowly moved the blade out of the teen, "The only reason I let Ingenium live was to spread rumors. You and your brother are weak...all because you're both fake heroes!"

"My brother is a great hero!" Iida barked back as he tried to get up, only to feel Stain push him back down with just his foot. "I'll kill you to avenge him!"

Hearing this, Stain let out a scoff, "Oh please." He then took his foot off of Iida and pulled the sword out, Iida wincing at this as the killer pointed at Native, "Then save him."

"What?"

"You heard me." Stain hissed as he put the blade up to his mouth, licking it. The act makes Iida tense up, as if something had now made him unable to move. However, Stain continued to speak, "A true hero acts selflessly, rescuing others and does not use his power for his own sake. But you use it for yourself. You just want revenge, which makes you the furthest thing from being ahero." And as he said that, Iida now felt Stain's boot hit his head, slamming him into the pavement. "Worthless. That's why you're going to die now. You will be another offering for a just world."

"You're wrong!" Iida screamed as he tried to move, Stain just shaking his head at the sight. "You're just scum that hurt Tensei!"

"And you...are nothing but a fake." He then lifted his blade over the teen, "And now, you will-"

"Web Swing Kick!"

And as Stain heard the sudden voice, he turned to the right, only to feel something hit him directly in the face. The blow knocked him off his feet, only to land on his back and quickly roll onto his feet a split second later. But as he did this, he glanced around, not seeing his assailant.

The sight made him let out a long hiss, "You again. Didn't I tell you to not meddle with me?!"

"Sorry, but when I see a murder about to happen, I have to interfere. Its one of my many rules." said a voice, Iida and Native glancing up as they tried to see where it was coming from.

"Tch. Fine." Stain growled as his eyes darted around. "So I assume you're going to continue using this little invisible parlor trick of yours?"

"No, I can't hold it forever, but..." Two webs shot down, both instantly grabbing the katana in Stain's hand. With a single powerful yank, it was pulled out of the killer's grip. And as the blade was sent flying up the alleyway, a certain green colored vigilante appeared as he grabbed the sword's handle. This was followed by him webbing the katana to the building his feet were sticking too, about three stories up from the ground. "I can declare this a no katana zone."

"You..." Stain hissed as he pulled out two knives.

"What's the matter, mister stabs-a-lot? Lost your favorite weapon?" Izuku quipped, Native and Iida now staring straight up with wide eyes at the vigilante. As for Izuku, his mind was kicking him as it yelled, 'What are you doing Izuku?! Don't antagonize him like that! He already beat you once! Just...just figure out how to save Native and Tenya and get out of here!'

"DIE!" Stain roared as he threw both knives at Izuku, only for his spider sense to scream at him. Letting his uncanny radar sense take over, he reflexively caught both with his hands, only to web them up as well.

"I don't think so." Izuku commented as he glanced back down at Stain, "You're not getting me again. I know your trick now, and I can do this all day."

Stain pulled out a third knife, this one having blood on it. Two web lines shot down next, Stain quickly cutting both, only for a third to grab his foot. A pull followed this, knocking Stain off balance before a fourth web to hit the knife, yanking it out of his grip. The knife reached Izuku instantly, the teen catching it and webbing it up. However, he didn't stick it to the wall, but instead put it in his hoodie. "That one had my blood on it, didn't it? I'll be putting that one away for sure." He commented before glancing down at Stain. "Looks like you're all out of tricks. And that is your only trick, isn't it?!"

That comment made Iida go wide-eyed as his mind told him, 'Aizawa-sensei is right. I'm a one trick pony...and I lost because of it.'

"You..." Stain hissed before taking out another knife, only to turn back to Native. The hero was still sitting on the pavement, unable to move thanks to Stain's quirk. And as he thrust his blade at him, another web line shot down, the killer instantly turning and blocking it with his knife. But as the webbing hit the weapon, Stain grabbed the web line and pulled on it. Izuku felt himself being yanked, making him lose grip on the wall.

"Whoa!" he yelped before cutting the webbing from his shooter, then thrusting his arms upward as he fired two more web lines, slowing his descent. He was now only about one story above the killer, Stain then hopping on the wall and wall-kicking off it. He began to slash right at the teen, spider sense screaming at the motion. A split second later, Izuku pulled on the web lines, yanking himself just out of Stain's reach.

'Yikes!' Izuku thought as he caught himself before sticking to the wall and firing two more web lines at Stain. The killer slashed at both, only for Izuku to fire more and more. 'That's it! I'm fixing this situation now!' Webbing flew out of the shooters, the substance now beginning to miss the villain, instead hitting the sides of the wall and ground, sticking everywhere as Stain continued to slash through the webs. And as he did this, Izuku then hopped down and landed between Stain and Iida, Stain cutting one last strand of webbing.

"Finally came down to face me?!" Stain roared, only to see Izuku shake his head.

"Nope. Just made sure you can't kill someone else."

Stain blinked at this, only to glance back to see that half of the alleyway was now covered in a giant webbing wall, cutting him off from Native. The sight made him hiss, only to look back at Izuku and see him hop onto the wall again and fire a web at Iida's back, yanking him down the alleyway, away from the villain.

"You...you..." Stain growled, the killing aura he always had now pouring out of him.

"You're not killing anyone else." Izuku declared as he came back down again. He stared straight at the villain, feeling the overwhelming pressure of his killing intent flow off him. And despite this, Izuku felt himself taking a deep breath as his mind said, 'I...I think I can do this.' He closed his eyes at this, taking another breath before opening them, 'Yeah. Yeah, let's do this.'

Bio-electricity surged through his hands as Stain stared him down, the killer reaching for another knife. Iida, who could feel his body starting to slowly move now, watched with baited breath at the end of the alleyway. But as he did this, Izuku cut the electricity as he fired a web line, Stain quickly slashing it. The villain then charged at this, Izuku's spider sense yelling at him as the knife came. Izuku quickly side-stepped the thrust, spider-sense guiding him as Stain turned the thrust into a sideswipe, Izuku ducking under it. Stain then swung the blade in three separate strikes, Izuku dancing around each blow within a single centimeter of difference.

It looked like a performance to Iida, watching the killer he hated so much swinging the blade around like a maniac, only to see Spider-Man nimbly dodge every blow. And as Stain tried to slash him, Izuku watched the maniac continue to try and hit him, the teen focusing everything he could on his spider sense. And as the sense kept guiding him, he started to see an opening. As this happened, the two were about to exit the alleyway, both having slowly gone down the whole alley.

Iida felt himself able to move now, quickly getting up and leaping out of the way as the two left the alleyway, only to see Izuku finally counter the killer. He shot a web line straight at Stain, the villain raising his knife to block it. But just as the webbing struck it, Izuku immediately yanked at it, instantly pulling the knife out of Stain's grip. Seeing this, Stain quickly thrust a punch, hitting Izuku in the face. He then did rapid fury of punches at this, spider sense yelling at Izuku as he tried to block each blow, only to feel four punches to the face.

Stain then slammed a fist into Izuku's stomach, making him gasp as the villain roared, "Weak!" He then pulled back another fist, but as he tried to punch Izuku again, Izuku ducked under it before thrusting a leg upward, the foot smacking Stain in the face. He stumbled back, only for Stain to reach behind his back to grab another knife, only for Izuku to pull back a fist, electricity surging off it.

"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as he thrust the fist, Stain quickly switching from grabbing the knife to blocking the blow by crossing his arms. But as the fist hit him, Stain felt for the first time today, pure pain. The blow knocked him off his feet, making him screech as he was knocked back into the alleyway.

Seeing this, Izuku quickly pointed his wrists at the killer, ready to fire a bunch of webbing-

Danger!

"Look out!" Iida yelled as his calves ignited, shooting himself over to Spider-Man. He tackled the teen just as a giant claw suddenly swiped above the two. The pair hit the pavement before both scrambling up, now seeing a Nomu land a few feet away.

"Thanks." Izuku replied before looking up at the creature, "What the heck is that?!"

"Well uh...that's um..." Iida stuttered out, only for the Nomu to let out a roar.

"Hold that thought." Spider-Man remarked as he grabbed Iida as the Nomu leapt at them. He fired a quick web line and yanked at it, pulling both away from the monster.

"Whoa!" Iida yelped as he felt himself get lifted across the street. And as the Nomu missed them, Stain walked out of the alleyway with killing intent flooding off him. The villain turned to see the creature land again, letting out a long hiss.

"You must Shigaraki's. Such a disgusting being." the killer spat as the Nomu continued to roar before leaping at Stain next. As it did this, he pulled out a knife and jumped, the beast tackling him, only to stab the weapon into the monster's back. Stain let out an irk of pain as the Nomu then slammed him into the street, only to lick the blade. The monster instantly flopped over at this, Stain letting out a 'hmph' before getting up and slicing the creature's neck.

"Disgusting." Stain spat before getting up, "After I'm done here, I will make that fake villain pay."

And as this happened, Iida and Spider-Man stared at the killer. Iida could feel himself shaking, his eyes going between the villain and the vigilante. As for Spider-Man, he stared directly at the villain, only to glance down at this web shooters. 'I gotta be low. I need to change it, now.' The killer turned back to them, Izuku whispering to Iida, "Hey."

The teen almost hopped in place as his eyes darted back to the vigilante, "Um...yes?"

"You good to fight this guy?" Izuku asked, "I might need your help."

Iida went wide-eyed at this, "What?! But haven't you been handling him this whole time?! H-h-he beat me instantly!"

Izuku wanted to shake his head at that, "No. I uh...I've been improvising the whole thing. That and if he licks your blood, he wins. So, I've been trying to be super careful."

"You...have?" Iida muttered out.

"Yeah." Izuku turned to him, 'Remember Izuku, you can't tell him you're...Izuku.' Izuku took a breath for a second and said, "Listen, you're obviously...related to Ingenium, right? Are you here for revenge?"

"I...yes." Iida replied, "Do you know my brother?"

"I worked with him once." Izuku responded, "But that's not important. I need your help."

"You do?" Iida slowly said, "But...I can't..."

"You can do it. If you want to be a hero, help me." Those words made Iida tense up, only for both to suddenly flinch as they felt a wave of killing intent hit them. Feeling this, Izuku whispered to Iida, "Can you give me an opening?"

Iida bit his lip at this, only to see Stain begin to walk over the Nomu. "You fakes...you worthless fakes!" He screeched as he pulled out a second knife. "I'm done playing around! I'll kill you both!"

Hearing this, seeing the killer before him just scream like an animal, the sight made Iida sick to his stomach. This was what hurt his brother, this monster that was rambling like a lunatic. But as he saw this, he felt a wave of fear and anger hit him at the same time. And as he felt this, he saw Spider-Man just stare ahead, unmoving as he put himself into a crouched fighting stance. He could see he was shaking, but the vigilante was ready to take Stain on.

Iida looked back at the villain, now seeing what he was facing before. 'I was wrong. I just...ran into this without thinking. This is all my fault.' He then glanced back at Spider-Man one last time, 'But he just hopped in here with no plan and saved me and Native...like a real hero.' His eyes went back to the Stain, the killer now over the Nomu and walking on the pavement, before taking one of his fingers to push up his glasses. "I'll do it."

Izuku blinked at him before nodding, "Alright. Let's do this."

A burst of steam blasted out of Iida's calves, his body tensing up as he stared straight ahead. And as he did this, Izuku reached into his hoodie and silently grabbed a web cartridge, quickly changing it as Iida charged. "Recipro Burst!" Iida roared as he leapt at the villain. He thrust a leg right at Stain's face, the killer raising both hands to block it. The blow pushed Stain back, his feet grinding on the street.

And with a jerk of his leg, the attack broke through Stain's guard, knocking him back. The killer flew over the downed Nomu, his body hitting the pavement before quickly flipping himself back onto his feet. But as he did this, a web line hit his chest, making him glance down. He swiped his knife, cutting the line, only for another one to hit the knife. Stain tensed his grip on the weapon, feeling a yank, but kept his hold.

As this all happened, Iida charged at him again, Stain growling as he cut the line with the second knife. He then thrust his blades at the teen, only for Izuku to yell, "Dodge it!"

Iida quickly leapt at this, zooming over the killer as he tried to swing his knife upward. But as he did this, another web line hit his chest, Stain cutting this as well. And as he did this, he turned to see Izuku leap right at him, fists sparking in electricity. The killer began to counterattack, thrusting a blade right at Izuku just as he landed in front of him. And as this happened, Izuku slightly dodged as the blade nicked his shoulder.

But that was enough.

"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as his fist hit Stain's chest. Electricity surged through the villain's body, his whole body flying off the pavement. A second later, his back slammed into a wall, blood spitting out of his mouth. And before he could fully fall over-

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Globs of webbing covered Stain neck to toe, sticking him to the building wall. Stain let out a hiss at this, trying to move his hands, only to find he couldn't move an inch. He pulled and squirmed, but found he couldn't do anything. The only thing he could move was his head.

"Grr...you little...you fakes..." Stain growled as his head tilted around.

And as he tried to move, Izuku and Iida walked over to him, now watching this bloodthristy killer be reduced to a webbed-up thug on a wall. The sight made Iida just glare at him, seeing the man who hurt his brother be helpless. He felt his fists clench up at this, both shaking as fire burned in his eyes.

Izuku turned to Iida, seeing the rage on his face. 'What...what do I do here?' He looked back at Stain, the killer no longer moving but just staring straight at him. His eyes were directly on Izuku, as if Iida wasn't there.

"Its seems you beat me." Stain hissed before his eyes slowly turned to Iida, "Well? Are you going to kill me like you said before, you fake hero?!"

Iida raised his fist at this, ready to punch him, only to feel a hand grab his shoulder. The teen turned to the vigilante, nothing but rage on Iida's face. Despite this, Izuku spoke up in the most calming tone possible, "Um...listen, I might not know everything going on here, but..."

"But what?!" Iida growled.

"Uh...I don't think getting revenge will help you." Izuku replied before pointing at Stain, "I mean, just look at him. Do you think you'll get what you want by punishing him?"

Iida glanced back at Stain, seeing even more rage than he was showing now pouring off the killer. The sight made the teen sick, as if looking at a rapid animal that had taken everything away from him. However, his own mind then asked him, 'Is that what a hero does?'

Izuku glanced back down at Iida's fist, only to see it uncurl. The teen let out a long sigh, glancing away, "I...I really want to kill him. But I know Tensei wouldn't want that. I just...I just..."

Silence came next, Iida now looking away. As for Izuku, he stared at the teen, wishing he could say more, but no words would come out of his mouth. But as this happened, another voice suddenly rang out.

"Iida!" All three turned to the voice, seeing it was Manual as he ran up to them, only to go wide-eyed as he saw Stain webbed up to the building wall. "That's-"

"The hero killer." Iida slowly said before pointing to a certain vigilante, "He...Spider-Man beat him mostly."

"It wasn't mostly! He's the only one who beat me!" Stain screeched, all three turning to him as he glared at Iida, "He's a real hero, unlike you! You're just a worthless fake!"

Iida opened his mouth to respond, only for Spider-Man to wave a hand in front of him, "You're wrong." Stain glared at the teen, Izuku then adding, "And before you say anything, I'm not a real hero. I failed to become one. That's why I'm a vigilante."

Those words made both Iida and Manual go wide-eyed, only to hear Stain let out a snarl, "So?! That still makes you more of a hero than him!" the killer spat, "I saw your conviction! You care to save and protect others, unlike this fake who only seeks revenge!"

"He might seek that, but he just showed you he's learned his lesson." Izuku instantly replied before pointing at Stain, "And didn't you tell me earlier that the only true hero is All Might, only to say I'm a real hero?! You're nothing but a hypocrite!"

"Shut up! You understand nothing!" Stain roared, only to turn his head, the rest following it as they saw a crowd begin to form from faraway. A news crew was there, cameras and everything, along with a certain flaming hero: Endeavor. The sight made them all go wide-eyed, only for Stain to scream, "You all know nothing! The word hero has lost all meaning in this world! Do you hear me?! Its lost all meaning!" He then glared back at Izuku, "That is why only All Might is worthy of defeating me!"

And as he yelled this, Endeavor walked up to them, the flames on his form blazing off him. Iida turned to him at this, seeing Endeavor's son Shoto Todoroki standing beside the hero as Endeavor pointed at Stain, "Is that the hero killer?!"

The trio were about to reply, only for Stain to spit at the hero, "Endeavor...you're the fakest hero of them all! You only live for fame and glory! You're not a real hero!" Endeavor turned to the villain, flames rising off him even more, only for Stain to glare right back. It felt as if a flood of killing intent had been unleashed, everyone now feeling it.

Manual, Iida, Izuku and even Shoto all shook at this, but Endeavor remained firm, hiding the surprise in him at feeling this much pressure, and the fact that something like this had been taken down by those around him. Despite this, Stain just glared at the hero before turning back to Izuku, "You...you call yourself Spider-Man, right?"

Izuku turned to him, about to respond, only for Stain to say, "I accept defeat from you. I said that the word hero has lost all meaning...but you're a real hero."

Izuku just shook his head at this, "You're wrong. It still has meaning, as I know there are plenty of real heroes still out there."

Stain let out a hiss at this, "Did you not hear what I just said?! I said-"

Thwip!

A glob of webbing covered Stain's mouth, making Iida and Manual go wide-eyed as Izuku added, "I don't need to be told I'm a hero from a murderer."

This was followed by another round of Stain's malefic aura, his bloodlust pouring out of him at Izuku's words. Even Endeavor flinched at this, Izuku shivering at this as he thought, 'That's what I was just fighting?' He almost shook his head at this, 'I really went in over my head, didn't I? I need to listen to Gran Torino's advice and slow down...' He mentally took a deep breath before turning to the others, "Well...I gotta go. You okay with calling the cops to escort him to prison?"

"Um...sure?" Manual replied, only for Endeavor to walk in front of him.

"You will not be going anywhere, vigilante. You're also under arrest."

"On what charges? You know, besides the vigilantism and the uh..." Izuku tried to quip, only to see a pillar of flame about to erupt out of the hero's back.

"Vigilantes are nothing but villains who think they can do good." Endeavor growled as fire consumed his right fist, "I've seen firsthand what they're meddling can do. Surrender now, or I will burn you."

"Now hang on there. I was just trying to help, and I caught the villain for you." The teen croaked out, feeling himself start to backpedal, "That's gotta count for something, right?"

"It means you are more dangerous than him." Endeavor replied in a matter-of-fact tone. And as he said this, a teen with white and red hair walked up beside the hero.

"Uh...." Izuku muttered out, his mind yelling at him, 'You stupid Deku! Do something! Or run, or...something!'

"Now hang on, Endeavor sir!" Iida suddenly spoke up, "Spider-Man just-"

"Be silent child. It's obvious you're trying to be a vigilante too." Endeavor hissed, making Iida gulp as he knew he couldn't deny that. But as this exchange happened, Izuku's teenage brain took over as he spoke up again.

"You know what, mister Endeavor sir?" The hero glanced back at the vigilante, "I'm uh...gonna have to pass on the whole you...burning me thing. I don't know about you, but I prefer stuff fried instead of burnt. Though I am good with grilled, roasted, or baked, but I prefer fried." The fire on Endeavor's body plumed at this, everyone now backpedaling, including Endeavor's son, who's eyes started to widen as he heard Izuku talk back to his father.

"You will surrender now, or else." Endeavor growled, his eyes narrowing the flames on him surged.

"Um...well uh..." Izuku stuttered out as he felt like he was shrinking in the mere presence of the Number Two hero, his brain now kicking him, 'You moron! What did you say that for?!' Izuku then opened his mouth, 'No! Don't do another quip! Just run! Now!'

But his brain was too late as Izuku spoke up and said, "I think I'll just take a rain check on the whole surrendering thing too. Bye!" And with that, the teen instantly turned invisible. The sight made Endeavor's right eye twitch before thrusting a flaming fist downward, a giant volley of fire bursting out of it. Spider sense blaring at this, he quickly leapt up and fired a web line, yanking himself just out of the flame's reach as everyone else leapt to the side. Endeavor then turned to see webs suddenly appearing mid-air, leaping after it a split second later.

Danger!

'Oh no.' Izuku thought as he fired another web line, quickly yanking himself down an alleyway. A second later, flames burst into the edge of the alleyway, Endeavor now flying over the buildings.

"Come back here, you coward!" Endeavor roared.

Glancing back, Izuku then saw flames encase the whole alley just as he swung out of it. 'What the heck?! He's using lethal force?!' He glanced back at the buildings ahead, his spider sense still yelling as he swung across a street. 'I gotta get out of here!'

And as he went into another alleyway, he glanced up to see Endeavor was still just behind him, only to see Endeavor aim right for his previous web line. The sight made him go wide-eyed, 'That's it!'

He then took a sharp left out of the alleyway, only to quickly land. And as Endeavor flew over the alley, Izuku fired two more web lines across the street, both connecting to tops of buildings. Endeavor soon saw them and went across the street, Izuku then running down a block before into another alleyway. His invisibility soon turned off, his head hurting from having to use it while under that much stress. He then slipped behind a dumpster and waited, hearing Endeavor roar in the distance.

"Where are you?! Don't think you can escape me!"

And after a few minutes, he got up and glanced out of the alleyway and saw that the hero had gone the opposite direction. Letting out a sigh of relief before darting his eyes around, only to remember that the city had been evacuated earlier due to the monsters, he fired a new web line before swinging away.

It wasn't long till he found the train station, hopped on for a ride to Musutafu, and knew he needed to go to bed as soon as possible. And as he waited on the train, his adrenaline suddenly left him and the memories of today flooded into his mind. He could feel all the moments of near death, the killing intent from Stain as he thought to himself, 'That's it. No more Spider-Manning for today. I...I think I might need a vacation.' He slumped over on the train, letting out a long moan, 'And a nap. A long nap.'

Chapter 23: The First Unraveling Thread

Chapter Text

Izuku collapsed when he got home. His mother was there when he arrived, but her words didn't reach his ears. And as she saw him instantly fall asleep on his bed, she let out a long sigh before remarking the boy was shaving ten years off her life before bandaging him up again. This was followed by the night passing, soon turning to morning as he woke up in a slump.

"Uuuuuggggghhhhh..." he moaned as he flopped out of bed, his mind feeling like mush as he tried to stand up.

"Izuku Midoriya!" yelled a certain voice, making him slowly turn to see his mother glaring at him. She had her arms crossed as she let out a long sigh, "I told you to not jump into everything! Now look at you!"

Izuku let out a mumble at this, his form just now fully standing up. And as he let out a yawn, he said, "I'm sorry."

Inko blinked at him for a second, only to sigh again, "I know." She shook her head before walking over and grabbing Izuku's shoulder, "Take the day off, alright? No Spider-Man today." Izuku stared at her for a second, only to suddenly hug her. Inko flinched at this, embracing back a few moments later. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Izuku muttered out, "Yesterday was just...too much."

"You're probably seeing too much." Inko replied before ending the hug, "You're too young for this sort of thing. Though uh...do you want to talk about it?"

"I...I...I don't know. I just...went in over my head." Izuku felt tears appear in his eyes, the teen blinking them away, "He was a real monster, mom. I...I still don't know how I stopped him."

"I figured. Do you...you know, want to talk about it or-"

"No. I'm okay." Izuku responded before scratching the side of his head, "And uh...I'll take a day or two off as Spider-Man."

"Good." Inko giggled before gesturing him to follow, "Come on, I'll make you breakfast."

The teen followed his mom, soon eating a light breakfast before turning on the news. And when he stared at the television, his eyes went wide at the headlines.

Vigilante Defeats the Hero Killer! Spider-Man Strikes Again!

The screen then showed three people around a table, all debating about the vigilante. One was saying that Spider-Man should be praised, only for the other two debating if he should be arrested immediately. They then went over the impact of the hero killer, showing a clip that the news crew had got of him saying how the word hero had lost all meaning, only to then praise Spider-Man.

Seeing this, his mother turned to him with wide eyes, "Did that really happen?" She asked as the clip of Stain yelling, "The word hero has lost all meaning!" repeated on loop on the television.

Izuku put a hand to his face, groaning, "I don't want to talk about it."

The footage then cut to Spider-Man fleeing Endeavor, and then showing a few days before with him fighting the masked men and Tombstone's gang. A reporter then spoke up,"As you can see here, Spider-Man seems to have taken the heroes' jobs. Both situations have the vigilante go in and save the day when heroes should be there, only they're not. Even Endeavor, the number two hero, arrived too late to take on the hero killer."

The report made Izuku squirm in his seat, hearing the reporter now complain about the heroes. Inko watched him with a long frown, only to glance back at the screen to see footage of the hero killer again, though Iida was also there, "Is that Iida boy okay?"

"I...don't know." Izuku replied as he put a bit of scrambled egg in his mouth, "I hope Manual and the police don't get too angry at him."

Iida was laying in a hospital bed, his body slumped over as his glasses slid down his nose. Yesterday's events kept playing in his mind, watching Spider-Man take on Stain, seeing him out-think the killer and save him and Native at the same time. It kept playing over and over in his head, only for Spider-Man to ask him if revenge would help. He then remembered Stain's face, the demonic look on it, as if staring at a rabid vicious animal.

Then a knocking sound rang out, Iida turning to the door, "Come in!"

The door slowly opened, the teen's face paling as he saw who walked in. First was a man in a tan overcoat, a calm smile on his face as he strided over to the front of the bed and sat down on a chair. Following him was Manual, along with the person that frightened Iida the most. It was his teacher, Eraserhead, who had the longest glare coming out of his eyes despite his face hiding behind his scarf. He could feel a long gulp go down his throat as the first man spoke up.

"Hello, I'm detective Tuskauchi Naomasa. As you can probably guess, I need to ask you some questions over your encounter with the Hero Killer."

"I understand. I'll answer anything you want to know." Iida instantly replied, only to see his teacher walk up to the side of his bed. The glare he was giving felt like pure death, the teen stuttering out, "A-A-Aizawa-s-s-sensei?"

The teacher leaned down at this, Naomasa about to tell Aizawa to not scare the kid, only for Aizawa to hiss out, "Iida...I don't have to tell you that you're in big trouble. I'm one second away from expelling you and blacklisting you from every hero school in the country. The only reason I don't is because of Manual, who says he believes you've learned your lesson. However, that doesn't mean I believe it, or that you have my trust. What you did is not acceptable in any way, no matter the reason, and if you want to stay at UA, you're going to have to earn my trust back. Got it?"

Iida slowly nodded, "Y-y-yes sensei."

"Good." Aizawa leaned back, "Now, you're going to answer all the detective's questions, and you're going to answer them truthfully. And before you think of lying, he has a lie detector quirk. So, if you lie, I'll know, and you'll be expelled. Got it?"

"Yes sensei." Iida replied, his voice barely above a squeak.

"Now now, don't scare him like that." Naomasa added as he waved his hand at Aizawa before looking back at Iida, "Sorry about him. He's here because...well, he's part of the investigation team over Spider-Man."

"Over Spider-Man?"

"Yes." Aizawa grumbled, "Thanks to...recent events, he's considered to be a priority capture. I was brought in beforehand, but thanks to what happened, he's an even bigger priority now."

"Oh." Iida barely responded, his mind now going over this information. But before he could really think, Naomasa spoke up again.

"Now, let's begin. I'll start by saying we already know your motive. You are the younger brother of Tensei Iida," Hearing those words made Tenya tense up, his whole body shaking for a second as Naomasa continued, "And we also know about your injuries. Based on the equipment we recovered from the hero killer, we can assume how each injury happened. That being said, I need you to recount the entire event for me as much as you can."

"O-o-okay." Iida replied, feeling his lips go a bit dry as he responded. His mind went back over everything that had happened, the pain, the surprises, the sight of Spider-Man fighting the monster that hurt his brother. And then there was the hero killer himself. A being that Iida now saw as a nightmare, a malefic monster that was more wild rabid animal than man. On the other side was Spider-Man, who seemingly hopped into the situation and slowly but surely pushed the hero killer back. Spider-Man was careful, precise and persistent, things Iida didn't do in the slightest. He had just charged in, guns blazing and not a bit careful.

He took a deep breath at this, and stared straight ahead, right into the detective's eyes. "Um...to start, I want to say that I'll try to tell you all I can, but I didn't see everything that happened thanks to the hero killer's quirk."

"His quirk?" Aizawa chimed in, only for Naomasa to pull out a paper and give it to the hero. He quickly took it and scanned it over, "Bloodcurdle...I see. That does make sense."

He gave the paper back as Naomasa responded to Iida, "That's alright, we understand. Now, please tell us everything you know."

Iida took a deep breath, and began to talk, "It began when I found the hero killer in the alleyway, about to kill that other Pro Hero."

"Native?"

Iida nodded, "Yes. I then...recklessly charged at the hero killer, and he instantly countered me."

It was here that the expressions on everyone's faces began to change in that room. Naomasa and Aizawa had already interviewed Native, but the hero didn't really give much. He was so terrified of the hero killer that it seemed he had blanked out most of the encounter. It also didn't help that Spider-Man had separated the hero from the fight mid-way, making Iida's recounting of the tale a bit more engaging.

He began by telling them what seemed like an invisible force just came in and knocked the hero killer off his feet. This was followed by Spider-Man repeatedly disarming him, Iida commenting on how Aizawa-sensei was right about heroes needing to not be one trick ponies. Naomasa laughed at this, Manual chuckling as Aizawa let out a grumble before Iida continued. He followed by telling them about the webbing wall Spider-Man created, the dance between the two as Spider-Man seemed to just be a hair ahead of Stain before knocking him back. But then the Nomu came into the story, Iida remarking that it just attacked Stain and he killed it with ease.

But it was the part after this that intrigued Naomasa and Aizawa the most. Spider-Man asked Iida to help, and then they beat Stain, though Spider-Man did take some damage. This was followed by him webbing the killer up to the wall...and then Iida tried to recount all the words the two said as they talked to each other.

"Wait...he said he failed to become a hero?" Aizawa asked first, Iida nodding back.

"Yes." Iida remarked, only to glance over at Aizawa, "I was surprised too. I mean...I know our class had talked about him. Ashido suggested he may be an expelled student or something."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, "When was this?"

"Oh, um...Uraraka had witnessed him catching a purse snatcher a week or so ago. She said it was like watching a pro on how he did it." Iida glanced back down at this, "I have to admit, I believe she is right. Spider-Man seemed so skilled. I was shocked when he told me he had improvised everything."

Aizawa and Naomasa shared a glance, both knowing they were thinking the same thing. The footage the two had watched over and over, showing that Spider-Man was new to the game, but at the same time, showing firsthand how experience is ten times the teacher compared to training. Even Aizawa knew that even if you did tons of training, experience could trump it with ease.

The very thought was unsettling to the duo, knowing that this meant only one thing. Spider-Man was starting to get better and better at a very fast rate.

But that discussion wasn't for the current situation, both turning back to Iida as Aizawa remarked, "I'm guessing that's all you need Naomasa?"

"Yeah." Naomasa nodded, "I think I got a good idea on where to go from here. Thank you for time, young man."

Iida did a quick bow, "I'm sorry I couldn't give you much."

Naomasa shook his head, "No, this is more than we hoped for." His eyes darted back to Aizawa, "We'll talk later."

"Got it." Aizawa replied as Naomasa left the room, the teacher then gesturing his head to Manual. The hero did a small nod before leaving the room as well. And as the door shut, Iida found himself alone with his teacher.

"So...."

"I'm not going to expel you." Aizawa interrupted while crossing his arms, Iida letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, only for Aizawa to add, "I was also told you asked for your arm to not get repaired. Is that true?"

"Yes. I-"

"Get the surgery done."

"Huh?!" Iida yelped as he was interrupted again.

Aizawa put a hand to the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Listen, its irrational to not have parts of your body working when they could. Even if you're not going to be a hero."

"But I-"

"Just do it. Even if it knocks you out of physical activities for some time." Aizawa sighed as he spun, slowly making for the door. And before Iida could say anything else, the teacher glanced back at him, "And I want you to rest up for the remainder of the internship. Come back to school in top shape or you're expelled, got it?"

"Y-y-yes sir." Iida responded while bowing again.

And as he was left alone, the teen turned to the nearby window, staring out at the city. His mind went back to yesterday, the fight, the emotions, the memories...everything was swirling in his head. He glanced back down at his hands, muttering to himself, "Spider-Man...thank you."

All For One let out a long sigh as he watched the scene before him. He had told his apprentice Tomura Shigaraki to meet the hero killer Stain, which had ended in a total failure. To be fair, the boy was not cooperative about...anything, but he was someone that could be manipulated. The boy had raw hatred for heroes, something that could be used and modified. As such, the hero killer should have been an easy win, a great help to have Tomura learn.

That didn't work though. Instead, Stain showed how lacking Tomura was. The killer was a man that had been driven insane by his philosophy, a unique specimen even in this day and age. But Tomura wouldn't listen to him, both instead spouting their views, the killer having a direct view while Tomura was still...lacking in vision.

Now the hero killer was gone. Captured by the authorities. And that was followed by something else that intrigued the villain, as Stain was beaten by Spider-Man. A curious vigilante that had appeared on the scene a little over two weeks ago now, and wielded a power that even now he didn't understand despite his giant volume of quirks. Not only that, to what little footage he could acquire, he saw that the vigilante was gaining power.

This led to the scene right now, Tomura growling at the television in the bar as it showed the same video over and over. Stain proclaiming that 'the word hero has lost all meaning' and then reports on Spider-Man and how he beat the hero killer and his scuffle with two gangs while the UA sports festival was happening. The sight made Tomura furious, complaining that 'his Nomu' that he had used on Hosu deserved to be reported instead of the killer and vigilante, and All For One had told him that Tomura could not use any more Nomu until he had learned his lesson.

Instead, Tomura just stayed angry. The sight was draining in a way. He knew the boy was filled with hatred, and yet he did nothing but be angry than actually try to improve or learn. It seemed that Tomura was going to stew in rage for a while. That was fine. All For One still had time, so he would let Tomura sit there in a pool of hatred before telling him what the next step would be.

"It seems I'll need to look into my other plans. After all, it pays to have backups." he remarked to himself as he leaned back in his chair. And as he did this, a door opened behind him, the sound making All For One speak up, "Good morning doctor."

"Good morning, master." The doctor bowed before walking up to the machines connected to the villain, "We need to do your usual treatment."

"Very well." All For One slightly sighed, tired that this broken body of his needed so much maintenance. He then heard the doctor stop right beside him, the motion unusual for the man, "Doctor? Is something wrong?"

"I..." the doctor slightly muttered before speaking up, "I got a call from one of my contacts."

"I see. Is there a problem?"

"They..." the doctor bit his lip, "They saw the Hosu footage and they instantly figured out that the Nomu was us."

All For One felt the pause come from the doctor, the villain grinning a second later, "Is that so? Which contact?" The doctor leaned down and whispered into his ear, the villain's grin growing at this, "Ah." All For One let out a chuckle, "Let me guess, they wish to acquire one of our Nomu? Perhaps in exchange for something else?"

"Yes." the doctor flatly replied.

A large laugh came out of the villain next before humming, "Very well." The villain lifted his hand and raised a finger, "Let me speak to them first."

The doctor blinked at this, "Are...are you sure?"

"Oh yes." All For One cackled, "I haven't 'negotiated' a deal with the scum of the world in some time. When my plan completes with Tomura, that skill will be even more necessary. This will be good practice."

Aizawa closed the door behind himself, letting out the longest sigh he could possibly make. The noise made Naomasa chuckle, making the teacher glare at him. "Frustrated?"

"You have no idea." Aizawa grumbled, "So I'm guessing this means we change the profile. Again."

"Yup." Naomasa replied as he looked back down at his notes, "To be fair, it does give us a slightly better picture."

"Ugh..." Aizawa moaned, shaking his head, "You know that's not enough. Have you been watching the news and what those disgusting vultures have been showing?"

"I know." Naomasa sighed, "But we have to take every little bit we can get."

"Indeed! That is the most optimal strategy when it comes to information gathering." said a new voice, both turning and looking down to see a certain principal of UA, Nezu. The sight made Aizawa tense up as Nezu added, "Hello Aizawa, Naomasa. I suppose you two know why I'm here, yes?"

"Yeah. You're my worst nightmare." Aizawa groaned, "Let me guess, the hero commission demanded you help us?"

"Oh yes. I am now officially part of the Spider-Man investigation." The animal chuckled before climbing onto Aizawa, quickly getting onto his shoulder, "Now, let's go find a good place to talk. We have a lot to go over."

Aizawa and Naomasa shared a glance, Naomasa shrugging before all three began their walk out of the hospital. It was going to be a long day, Aizawa just knew it.

Izuku had a feeling today was going to be a long day. Usually, when he was Spider-Man, the days zoomed by, though that was mostly due to him fighting a villain or two and then going to bed. Really early bed. However, this was a Izuku Midoriya day. That meant either him sitting at his desk, doing homework and making web fluid, or going to FEAST.

Turns out, it was both. After eating breakfast, he took two to three hours making a few extra cartridges of web fluid while doing his classes before going to FEAST. His mom was already there, as she had called him a few minutes before, telling him to come and help. He invisibly web swung over, knowing that he shouldn't really be seen after yesterday's events.

As such, he walked into FEAST and was greeted by Gloria, who motioned him to follow her to the kitchen. And as he entered the room, he saw stacks of boxes filled with canned goods. "Whoa." He slowly said, only to see Gloria chuckle at him. "What is all this?"

"Part of a food drive. This was the first batch they gave us."

"Food drive?"

Gloria nodded back, "Yup." She patted the side of one of the stacks. "Food drives help us keep our food stock up. However, every now and then, we get an overload. So, we're gonna donate this stuff out."

"Let me guess, you need to me move this to the trucks?"

"Yup." Gloria repeated as her tongue flickered out.

"Got it." Izuku sighed as he picked up a few and began to move them outside. Gloria followed him with just one box, the two soon putting them into the truck. A few trips later, the truck was filled, but there was still more.

"Hmm...guess we'll have to do multiple trips." Gloria commented with crossed arms.

"We don't have another truck?"

"We have several...but they're all at the other location right now." She turned to the left and saw a bus that FEAST also owned, the sight making her slightly hesistate, "Though, we could use the bus."

Izuku glanced back at her, "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah...I don't know where the keys are for it."

Izuku raised an eyebrow at this, "Wouldn't Mister Li have them?"

Gloria shook her head, "Nope. He's not here today. Something about making a few deals in another place. The guy can not stay still."

Izuku blinked at this. He remembered Gloria telling him this before, the teen now remembering that Mister Li usually seemed to be here...most of the time. Every now and then, he wasn't. However, that thought led into another as a bulb went off in his head, "Um...maybe there's a key in Mister Li's office?"

Gloria turned to him, her tongue flickering out for a second. "Huh. I...don't know. His office is locked right now though."

"Is there no spare key?"

Gloria opened her mouth, only to close it as she replied, "Not sure. Let me go check." She spun around and began to walk back into the building, Izuku following her. She then went into the kitchen, walking up to Wanze and asking him about the key. As she did this, Izuku went into the main area of the building, seeing the usual people there. But as he did this, he saw several sitting around a television.

He walked up to them, seeing it was the few retired heroes that come at FEAST every now and then. They were all intensely staring at the box, which was showing something that made Izuku grimace. It was a roundtable of debaters, all talking about the incident with the Hero Killer. The sight reminded him of the news he saw this morning as the debate began.

"I believe that Spider-Man did the right thing."one said,"He swooped in and stopped a murderer. Surely that counts for something."

"Yeah. Breaking the law."a second replied,"You don't have the right to just use your quirk like that, even if its doing something good. He's a criminal, one I would debate is worse than the hero killer!"

"How so?"a third asked."He's been shown to repeatedly save lives."

"And he could end up endangering more!"the second countered,"He is showing no regard to the law with his quirk usage. Imagine if children now see this and think its okay to just...use their quirks in public! It will cause a disaster! History has proven it will!"

"Ain't that the truth." one of the retired heroes chimed in, making Izuku turn to him, "Stupid Spider-Man kid. You have no idea what you're doing. Why, back in my day, everyone thought they could just use their quirk willy-nilly and it cost 'em everything!"

"And you didn't?!" another retiree responded, the first one now glaring at him.

"I was responsible! I was a great hero!"

"Yeah right..." the retiree spat before pointing at the screen, which was now showing footage of Spider-Man. "Whoever that kid is, he's got the right heroic spirit. Yeah, he's a vigilante...but sometimes that's necessary."

"Bah. I don't believe it." a third retiree spoke up, "Rules are rules. I made sure to follow 'em and I turned out alright. This Spider-Man is nothing but a menace."

Izuku's eyes darted between the three and then back at the screen, making him slightly gulp as he saw another debater. This one claimed to be a representative of the hero commission, the sight making his eyes shrink in shock.

"We at the hero commission do not approve of Spider-Man. We believe he must be caught, as with all vigilantes. If they wish to be heroes, they must obey the law, as we all do. Otherwise, they are no better than the villains who abuse their quirks."

Izuku felt himself backpedal at that, the other sounds and people around him vanishing. It was like he was alone, unnoticed, and isolated. Like he was stuck in an endless void as those words repeated in his head. 'The hero commission...they made it sound like I'm a villain! But...but why? All I've done is help people! I mean, I know I saw that the news didn't like that I fought those guys while the sports festival was happening, but I didn't really think it was that bad.' he thought, feeling tears about to appear in his eyes. 'Have I not been helping people? Am I a villain?!

And as he continued to backpedal, a hand grabbed his shoulder. The action startled him, making him spin around to see Gloira. "Whoa! You okay?"

"I um...I uh..." Izuku muttered out, rapidly blinking to destroy the tears in his eyes.

"You um...don't look so hot."

"Uh..." Izuku glanced away for a second, "Sorry. Just um...I..."

Gloria blinked at him before saying, "Listen, if you don't want to tell me, its fine."

"Okay..." he whispered before taking a deep breath, trying to set his mind back into reality. And after a few seconds, he looked back at Gloria, "W-w-what's up? W-w-what do you need?"

Gloria's eyes squinted at that, "Hey now, don't start up the stuttering again."

"Sorry..." Izuku muttered out.

"Its fine." Gloria replied before holding out a hand, Izuku seeing it had a key in its palm. "Here."

"What's this?"

"Key to Li's office. Go up there and see if you can find a spare bus key."

Izuku blinked at it before taking the key, "Why me?"

"Just do it for me, would ya? And don't make a mess, alright?"

"Okay." Izuku responded, nodding. The teen then spun around and walked over to the stairs, his mind racing over what he had just watched and witnessed. 'Am I really doing the right thing as Spider-Man?'

Meanwhile...

"I must say, the profile you have here is very well done gentlemen." Nezu commented as he put down a folder on Naomasa's desk. "Its given me the extra pieces I need."

"Good." Naomasa replied as he loaded up a few videos of Spider-Man footage. "Now, we also have-"

"No need. I'll look at that later." Nezu interrupted as he hopped into a chair and pulled out a notebook and pen. He scribbled down a few things and rubbed his chin. The motion made Aizawa roll his eyes, making him rub the temple of his nose.

"Okay Nezu...I know that look. You figured something out already, haven't you?"

"I have." Nezu chuckled as he closed his notebook.

"Really?" Naomasa asked, the stoat nodding back.

"Indeed. As I told you while we coming over here, I had already been making a case ever since you showed Spider-Man to me after the USJ incident." Nezu responded, "Though thanks to what happened during the UA sports festival and now the hero killer, the hero commission has pushed me to do a full investigation."

"And you already got a suspect, don't you?" Aizawa added, Nezu shaking his head.

"I don't. However, I do a have a theory that if it is correct, will narrow down the suspect pool immensely."

"Alright...that's unusual for you to not have any suspects, but I won't deny that this is a different kind of case. Percentage on the theory?"

"I'm twenty-seven point three eight percent sure." Nezu chimed in a matter-of-fact tone.

Naomasa had never seen Aizawa go wide-eyed in surprise. Sure, he had seen the pro hero be unsure of himself at times, but he always kept a neutral expression. But this time, Aizawa looked genuinely surprised. However, Nezu knew this was happening as well, even if he wasn't looking at Aizawa.

And after a second, Aizawa spoke up, "Okay...I've worked with you plenty of times before, but I've never heard you give me that low of a percentage. Heck, I didn't know it could get below seventy percent."

"I know." Nezu calmly replied, "But, this is a very special set of circ*mstances. According to the profile you've created, the timeline of events, and in particular the interviews of Spinner and Tenya Iida, along with my own investigation...I believe that is how far I've gotten in terms of determining the identity of Spider-Man."

Aizawa's surprised expression vanished at this, his face now showing a cross between intrigue and slight frustration, as if he was expecting the stoat to just give the answers he was looking for. As such, he let out a long sigh, "I'm guessing you're missing something extremely vital?"

"Indeed. The problem is twofold. One is his quirks, which seem to be...unnatural at best. It is an entirely unique case, even involving those who could wield multiple quirks. You know I prefer to use science to solve cases, and quirk science is simplistic once you have enough clues...but that does not work here." Nezu commented as he leaned back in his seat. "The second is that I believe that whoever Spider-Man is, his profile in the database and quirk registry will be something so vastly different that is it impossible to connect it with the vigilante. That makes almost all sources useless, which also makes tracking him based on physical appearance even harder."

"That does check out." Naomasa muttered as his eyes glanced between Nezu and Aizawa. "So, what's our next move?"

"Simple. We must raise the percentage." Nezu replied before waving a paw at Naomasa, "And before you say that we should do more interviews or review the footage I'm sure you two have watched for hours now, I will say that will only help my theory slightly. At most, I suspect it will only raise the percentage up to thirty two point eight three percent."

"Isn't that still worth it?"

"If the percentage was already higher, yes." Nezu responded as he pointed to his head, "But you see, despite everything that both my brain and quirk have gone over, this case is specifically different. It involves things that are technically impossible in terms of how quirks work. There is only one recorded case of an individual with this many quirks, and I believe this case has nothing in common with it. In fact, I suspect they're entirely separate, which means there's an even bigger mystery here."

Aizawa and Noamasa shared a glance at this, "So...what will raise the percentage to something much higher?" Aizawa asked with crossed arms, only to see the stoat shine a huge grin.

"Well..."

Izuku stared at the door to Mister Li's office, his mind still muddled from before. He looked down at the key, only to shake his head, 'Don't...don't think about it. Remember, mom said to not be Spider-Man today.' He clenched his fingers around the metal object, 'You know what? Why don't I do that vacation I was thinking about after fighting Stain? Maybe rest for a few days before going back out there.'

He nodded his head at that as he put the key into the door, 'Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Just be Izuku Midoriya for a few days.' He then opened the door, turning on the light a second later. He glanced around as he put the key in his pocket, making his way to the desk in the middle of the room. He scanned it over before opening the desk's drawers, but found nothing.

"Hmmm...where is it?" He whispered before glancing over to a wardrobe that was standing next to a several filing cabinets. The teen walked up and opened it up, now seeing a small fixture with a few keys on it. "I guess I'll take them all. Maybe Gloria will know which one it is."

He took the keys and closed the wardrobe, only for something to catch the corner of his eye. The teen leaned over and saw there was a small crack behind the wardrobe. Squinting his eyes, he put his finger behind the wardrobe, only to feel a tiny bit of air.

'A hidden room?' he thought before slightly moving the wardrobe, surprised even his finger could push the wardrobe before remembering his super strength. But as he did this, he suddenly went wide-eyed as he saw something in the crack behind the wardrobe.

"The best way to raise the percentage would be for Spider-Man to take on another villain." Nezu finished, only to see Aizawa and Naomasa glare at him.

"You do realize that's gonna get the hero commission even more angry, right?" Aizawa grumbled, Nezu chuckling at his response.

"Oh, I do. But you see, I believe this will help me to figure out his identity." Nezu remarked before rubbing his chin, "In fact, I'm sure of it. As I just said earlier, this is an entirely unique case in terms of quirks and the science of quirks. That means the usual avenues will not work. However, that means nothing if we look purely at a psychological profile."

Noamasa and Aizawa shared a glance again before Aizawa spoke up, "Alright, I'll bite. What's the profile you've created for Spider-Man?"

Nezu pointed at a second folder Naomasa had, the detective giving it to him. In it, it showed a full timeline the detective had compiled over Spider-Man, "The profile I've created has concluded a few things on this vigilante. For one, all these villains he's taken on has allowed my quirk to deduce that Spider-Man is very intelligent, driven and according to the footage you gave us back at the USJ incident, it shows that once this Spider-Man gained his quirk, his limiters were released. The vigilante shows an ability to learn and evolve at a heightened rate. However, it also shows he's untrained. Everything for him is experience."

Naomasa grimaced at that, Aizawa sighing as they saw Nezu tap the folder with a paw, "I must also say that he understands that heroism is a host of roles. There is showings of him patrolling, saving others in all scenarios both big and small, and he's also done good detective work with beating the police to the punch over Spinner...its honestly incredible. This tells me that Spider-Man is probably akin to a genius or a prodigy, or even both. An individual that is a natural in hero work, something very rare even in our hero-obsessed society."

"I don't like where you're going with this." Aizawa commented, "If what you say is true, that's gonna make it even harder to catch him."

"Correct." Nezu chuckled before rubbing his chin with his paw, "And yet, there is also a paradox to this puzzle. One that when we consider him being a hidden genius, makes it more understandable why he is the way he is."

"What do you mean?" Naomasa asked, his attention slightly more focused intrigued compared to Aizawa.

"Well, I suspect Spider-Man to be an individual that for some unknown reason, believes the world is against him. I don't know the complete reason why, but the Spinner interview along with a bit of the Tenya Iida interview paint this picture. This also happens to unknown prodigies, but it's how Spider-Man shows that he is one of the few that has a true heroic spirit that makes this more paradoxical. It tells us that he is one that will meddle into others' affairs to help whoever is in need. This viewpoint is extremely necessary in understanding what Spider-Man's true identity is."

"And you think this will help you catch him?" Naomasa asked, "Just...letting him fight more villains?"

Nezu nodded back, "Oh yes. To prove my point, I would bet he's about to do something soon that will lead us down the rabbit hole that is Spider-Man. After all, if he does have this true heroic spirit, he will seek out to meddle into everything...and that includes him trying to find villains."

Izuku closed the crack behind the wardrobe, his eyes glancing around the room as he felt sweat pour down his face. He still couldn't believe what he had seen. The teen's eyes darted upward, trying to see if there was any cameras, but found nothing. Then again, he was sure his spider sense would alert him...hopefully.

He then glanced back at the wardrobe, staring at where the crack was as he remembered what he had saw.

'That...was one of the masks those masked guys wear.' He put a finger to his lip as he felt his brain shake and stir, 'Mister Li...is one of the masked men?!'

Chapter 24: Doubting the Demon

Chapter Text

Izuku wanted to throw up. His mind wanted to do the same. The teen had a hand over his mouth as he slowly walked out of the office, locking it behind him as he shuffled down the stairs. His hand then went up to his forehead, his eyes shaking as he walked into the kitchen.

'Why is one of those masks in Mister Li's office? Why does he have a secret room there? Why is...he would never...Mister Li is so nice, why would...I don't...' his mind raced, the teen's eyes twitching as he kept thinking about what he had just saw, 'Mister Li...are you a villain?'

And as that question entered his brain, it was replaced with a quote from a certain elderly hero.

"And when you go down that rabbit hole, you'll never get out of it. You'll keep going in over your head and it won't stop."

It happened. It went exactly how Gran Torino had told him it would go. From gang wars, to the hero killer, and now this. It was like dominos in his brain, just one crazy thing after another. The thought alone made him stumble, not noticing a certain snake-headed lady walk up to him.

"Yo! Did you find the-" Gloria's words came to a stop as he turned to her, his face's expression making her flinch, "Uh...you okay?"

Izuku's mouth mumbled for a second, only to just show the woman a handful of keys. She raised an eyebrow at this, soon grabbing them and stared at each one. "Hmm...here it is." She then handed the keys back, "Go put these back in the office for me, would ya?"

Izuku looked down at the keys, Gloria blinking as she saw him just stare at the keys, "Izuku? Kid? You okay?"

"I uh...I don't know." He slowly replied, Gloria tilting her head at this, "Sorry. I just...freaked out there for a second."

Gloria stared at him for a second before shrugging, "Okay. If you need a second, take it. We're not in a rush."

"Oh um...thanks. Say uh...when is Mister Li coming back?"

"I think tomorrow. Why?"

"No reason. Just...wanted to know." Izuku responded before spinning around, quickly running back up the stairs. He felt his form zipping into the room and putting the keys up in a flash, his mind blank as he did this. The teen hopped down the stairs next, quickly getting back to the kitchen as he lifted up the boxes. A second later, he was taking them to the bus, Gloria just now opening the vehicle.

"That was fast." she commented as she opened the back, Izuku quickly putting the boxes up. And as he walked back into FEAST, he found his mother standing at the front door.

"Izuku, what's wrong?" She asked as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Um..."

"Gloria told me you looked like something had frightened you. What happened?"

Izuku flinched at those words, his eyes darting around before leaning down and whispering, "Let me finish helping Gloria and I'll tell you. Its...Spider-Man stuff."

Inko raised an eyebrow at this, only to sigh, "This doesn't mean you're gonna do something reckless later, are you?"

Her son shook his head, "No. Yes. I...I don't know. I mean, I don't think I'll do it today but-"

"Izuku..." Inko started to glare at him, "What's going on?"

And before he could reply, Gloria walked up to two, her tongue slightly slipping out. "Hey Izuku, we still have some room in the bus. Ready to put one more round into it?"

"Uh...yeah." Izuku responded before gesturing his head to his mother, Inko rolling her eyes before nodding. He then went inside with Gloria, soon taking out the last few boxes to the bus. As he did this, Gloria got some volunteers to drive and they were soon gone, Izuku telling Gloria he was going to stay at FEAST with his mom.

And after they left, Inko took him aside, the two walking out of the building. As they did this, Izuku and Inko found a small table with chairs to sit down on. The two made themselves comfortable, Inko glaring at her son as she asked, "So what is this all about? Why were you acting like that earlier?"

"I um..." Izuku muttered out, shaking his head for a second before saying, "I...I think I saw something in Mister Li's office that I shouldn't have."

Inko tilted her head at this, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know those masked guys you've seen me fight on tv?" Inko nodded back, "I uh...I found one of those masks in Mister Li's office."

Inko went wide-eyed at this, "What?!" She squeaked out.

"Yeah. I know." Izuku replied as he put a hand over his face, "When I saw it, I...I...I didn't know what to do. I mean, if he has that mask...that means Mister Li is a villain."

Inko just stared at him, letting out a long sigh next as she slumped down into the chair. She saw her son twitch in his seat, the woman able to tell that his mind was swimming. She slowly reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it off his face as he stared right into her eyes. "Oh Izuku, I'm so sorry."

"I can't escape it, can I? You asked me to not jump into everything, and then this happens." Izuku bitterly chuckled.

Inko let go of his hand and took a deep breath, her head slightly shaking, "I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to tell you."

"Yeah." Izuku let out a moan at this, "Gran Torino was right. I don't know what I'm doing." He tapped a finger on the table, the two sitting in silence for a few minutes. And as the time passed, the teen bit his lip before asking, "So uh...what do you think I should do? I mean, if Mister Li is a villain..."

Inko blinked at this, her mind going back to all the times she had been around Martin Li. She remembered how much he tried to help people, helping others around FEAST and doing whatever he could. The thought just didn't sit right with her, making her say, "Well um...do you really think he could be a villain?"

Izuku stared at her, knowing what she was thinking. "I...don't know." He glanced down at the table, "I just can't see it, but...but Gloria has been saying he's been constantly gone recently." Inko frowned at that, only for him to add, "I did ask Gloria and she said Mister Li is gonna be back tomorrow."

His mother bit his lip at this, "So, what are you gonna do when he comes back?"

"I uh...still don't know."

Inko shook her head, "You really jump into everything, don't you?"

"Yeah..."

Inko closed her eyes for a second before reaching out and grabbing his hand again. The teen slowly looked up at her, showing nothing but confusion and despair in his eyes. She could tell his heart and mind was messed up, probably more than she had ever seen before. She let out a long breath before saying, "You can be Spider-Man tomorrow." He went wide-eyed at this, only for her to add, "Try to figure out what's going on, okay? And if he really is a villain...well, we'll figure it out, okay?"

"And if he isn't?"

"Then we'll try to figure out how to help him."

Izuku did a slow nod, "Okay."

The next day...

A small pale finger circled around the top of a glass of whiskey, a low growl escaping the finger's owner's lips. His long white hair drooped over his face as he took the glass and slugged it down in one go. He felt the liquid burn down his throat before glancing up at the bartender, a man that looked like a purple mist.

"Something wrong, Master Shigaraki?" The bartender asked as Tomura let out a sigh.

"Shut up, Kurogiri." Shigaraki hissed as he glanced up at the tv in the bar, showing what he considered to beanothernews report of Spider-Man and the hero killer. He could feel his eye twitching at this, one of his hands going up to scratch the side of his neck. "Why do those two get all the attention?!"

"It seems the Nomus you used did not do their intended effect. Perhaps its because the hero killer and Spider-Man's methods are more subtle?"

"Tch." Shigaraki grumbled as he pushed the glass from before away. "Whatever."

"Master Shigaraki..."

"Shut up." Tomura hissed, only for a small television in the room to turn on.

"Now now, Tomura." a voice glitched out of the screen, "Do not be discouraged. Even if the public do not acknowledge you now, that only means you must aim higher."

"I know sensei." Shigaraki responded, "But I don't know what to do next. I mean, I could totally try to mess over UA again, but that ended in total party wipeout last time. And the rest of those minions that didn't get wiped bailed on us!"

"Agreed. That is why you must do what I did back in my prime."

"What was that sensei?"

"Recruitment." the voice replied, Shigaraki knowing his sensei was smiling behind that screen at this, "And you need to make sure they are not normal, basic thugs. This time, go for quality over quantity."

Shigaraki scratched the side of his neck again, "Sounds like a pain." He then turned to Kurogiri, "Call Giran."

"Of course, Master Shigaraki."

Izuku's morning was the most robotic thing he had done in a long time. He barely remembered what his morning was as he did this routine, quickly preparing his Spider-Man costume under his clothes, putting the rest of it in a backpack before going off to FEAST. His mom had to go to the hospital, a few emergencies going off last night and she had to help with the clean-up.

As such, he did the slow method to get there, riding the train alone. He had spent all last night thinking about how Li could be a villain. He was such a nice guy, always encouraging him and helping others. The very thought felt...wrong. And as he thought about it, the harder it was to consider it being real.

And yet, when he went home last night, he remembered his first encounter with Li. The man had said he had avillainous quirk, something that Izuku didn't believe in. The teen had always believed no one had a villainous quirk, but that thought had stayed in the back of his head. He still didn't know what Li's quirk was, and that thought was the scariest part about all of this. 'What is Mister Li's quirk?' he thought as he felt the train rumble, making him glance up.

The train came to a stop, the teen slowly getting up and leaving the car. He shuffled his feet as he walked down the sidewalk, his mind drifting as he looked ahead. The FEAST building was already in the distance, the teen not realizing just how much time had passed. But as he stared at the building, he felt a wave of dread cover him before letting out a sigh.

'You can do this Izuku. You just...suspect someone you admire to be a villain. A villain that's part of a gang you've fought like six times now.' He took a deep breath as he walked up to the stairs outside the building, 'Just...maybe consider this like another case? Start with an investigation and find some clues. Or something like that.'

He slowly went up to the front doors and opened them, his eyes darting around for a second. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before walking into the main area, only to see the usual bunch of beds and chairs like always. Several seniors were sitting around a tv, all arguing over the news while two of them were at a chess table. They were the usual there, Izuku having played against them both several times. He watched them move a few pieces, his mind telling him who was going to win before going to the kitchen, only to see no one was there.

'Odd. Gloria's usually here.' he thought before leaving the room and glancing upward, his eyes settling on Li's office on the second floor. The teen shuffled over to the stairs, slowly taking them as he walked up to the room. And as he got there, he saw the man he was looking for just outside of the office. It was Maritn Li, who was currently talking to Gloria.

"You sure?" Gloria asked, "I mean, I don't mind taking over, but is it really that bad?"

"It is." Li sighed, "I have a group running the second location now, but as for here...you're the only one I got. I...I need you to look over it because...because its the best part of me."

Gloria glanced away at this, her fork tongue sticking out for a second before looking back, "Alright. I'll do it."

"Thank you." Li slightly bowed to her, only to turn around and ask, "Oh! Hello Izuku. How long have you been there?"

"Um...I just walked up the stairs. What's going on?"

Li let out a long groan at this, "I have to leave for a few days and wanted to make sure everything is fine with FEAST." He rubbed the side of his head at this, Izuku realizing this was the first time he had seen Li actually look frustrated over something.

"Turns out, some guys want to buy our building." Gloria chimed in, making Izuku turn to her with wide eyes.

"W-w-what do you mean?"

Gloria shrugged as Li spoke up, "Don't worry about it. Its...just something I'm trying to solve." Li glanced back at Gloria, "I'm gonna go ahead and get going. You good?"

"No prob." Gloria responded while nodding.

"Thank you." Li replied before looking back at Izuku, "Sorry to leave so early, but duty calls."

"Um...okay." Izuku squeaked out before the man walked past him, slowly going down the stairs.

As he did this, Gloria went up to Izuku, "Hey kiddo. Sorry to say, but I got nothing for you to do today. Just the usual is happening here."

"Oh." Izuku glanced down at this, "Okay."

"Sorry."

Izuku shook his head, "No, its okay. I just...had a day off and thought I should come help."

"I get ya. Welp, I gotta go downstairs and talk to Wanze. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay." Izuku responded as the snake lady walked over to the stairs, Izuku following her. And as she walked into the kitchen, the teen quickly shifted over to the front doors of the building. And as he opened them, he saw Martin Li walk to the side of the building, Izuku blinking at the sight. He tiptoed to the side of the building as he followed the man, only to see Li get into his car.

'I can't believe this is happening. I mean, I didn't expect him to leave this quickly.' Izuku thought as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a spider tracer and his web shooter, quickly putting it on and firing the device at Li's car. The tracker hit the bumper, the sight making Izuku almost smile. 'Got it!' He took the shooter off and put it back in the bag a second later, taking in a deep breath. 'Okay...now to change into Spider-Man.'

He looked back at the FEAST building one more time, the sight making him take a deep breath before slowly walking into a nearby alleyway. And as he tiptoed down it and glanced around, making sure no one was looking, he turned invisible and crawled up the wall. A second later, he was on the rooftop before changing into his vigilante alter-ego, equipping his web shooters as he whispered, "Alright Mister Li, let's see what you're really up to."

Nezu's eyes were glued to the screen before him. He was in his office at UA, a large screen on the other side of the room as it showed every bit of footage Naomasa and the police had collected on Spider-Man. When he had confronted the detective and Aizawa, he had been very precise in terms of what theories he had on the vigilante, but also made sure to not say his true intentions.

However, as he stared at the screen, this one showing Spider-Man fighting the gang war that had happened while the UA sports festival was going on, he shined the biggest grin as he watched it for the third time. The sight made him light a cigarette, the tiny white stick soon touching his lips as he chuckled to himself.

"I must say, this Spider-Man truly is intriguing." He said to himself, "To think a hero like this is possible. And considering everything I've looked over, I still don't know your identity."

That thought made Nezu want to do backflips. One of the biggest problems Nezu had with trying to solve puzzles is that they were always too easy. As Aizawa had stated earlier, his investigations always had success. The stoat's quirk allowed him to easily figure out any puzzle, whether it be logic, science or the inbetween. However, this case was different.

He let out a puff of smoke at this, his mind creating a profile in his head as he spoke his thoughts aloud, "The problem here is the logic. We have a teen, which considering his body type and what little we have in terms of his voice thanks to the Scorpion incident, probably a teen around the age of the students here...that somehow failed. I've looked over all our footage in the heroic exams and found nothing. All the files show no one like him. That should make it easier, as that would take out suspects, but somehow...it doesn't."

The stoat puffed again as the cigarette twiddled in his paw, "This vigilante is a scientific impossibility crossed with a profile that makes no logical sense. His quirk seems to have a mutant aspect to it, but also has multiple emitter quirk abilities with the webbing and electricity. There's also a transformation aspect with invisibility, which means the quirk registry we have here will probably be different than what his quirk really is. After all, the closest I've found in terms of our records for the exams is an invisible student and a student that uses electricity, and I know it's not either of them. There was also no spider mutant quirks that participated in the exams. That can only mean that they went to another hero school."

Nezu put the cigarette in a small ashtray at this, "But why would he do that if he's obviously in Musutafu? Almost everything he's done has been in this city, so he has to live here. Financial problems, perhaps? Even so, the rate for him to move around from here to another hero school would be almost the same expense as trying us. No...that means he failed to get into UA."

The stoat tapped a remote next, the footage switching to what little it had on the hero killer fight, watching Spider-Man flee as Endeavor went after him. The sight made him smile, "But you also believe the world is against you, and that's a mindset that has to be created, not learned. Though it does makes sense why you would switch to vigilantism for that. After all, if you truly did fail like Iida said..." Nezu's grin got even wider at that, "The hero commission wants you taken in. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd put you away in Tartarus just because of the good you've done." He then tapped the remote again, shutting off the footage. "Not a chance. I want you for myself."

And as he said this, the stoat began to laugh, his staff now all feeling chills go down their spines despite not even being around him.

Izuku had found that web-swinging was a bit too fast for tailing, especially in a city where cars are constantly starting and stopping. This also made Izuku not want to learn how to drive, as he felt web-swinging was so superior that it made cars look...boring.

As such, after an hour of following Li's car, mainly just running on rooftops, which he found no one really seemed to notice, only for the vehicle to come to a stop in front of a building. Izuku saw it looked like an old car garage crossed with a warehouse, something that a man dressed like Martin Li, who was in an expensive looking full black suit, wouldn't exactly walk into. Despite this, Izuku swung over to the building's roof and perched there, watching the man get out of his car. He saw Li tug at his suit before closing the driver door, only to walk up to a small orange door on the side of the building. Li glanced around at this, only to take out a key and opened the frame. Seeing this, Izuku turned invisible and slowly crawled down the side of the building, getting down at the door and grabbing the knob. However, he saw it was already locked, making him grimace before crawling back up the building.

'Guess I gotta find another way to get in.' He thought before looking the building over, 'There's no windows...maybe I can find a vent?'

A few minutes later, he found exactly what he was looking for, a small duct that he found he could crawl through. Once again, he found his body could easily slip through, glad his new reflexes made it so simple. He zipped through the vents, his ears picking up the familiar sound of a language he couldn't understand. Hearing this, he picked up his crawling pace, only to find an open vent.

The teen's eyes squinted as he leaned his head down, trying to view what he could of the room below him. And as he did this, his went wide. Below him was a room filled with boxes and masked men, the vigilante seeing several open the boxes to reveal tons of rifles and guns. The sight made him flinch. 'Weapon smuggling?' He watched them open another crate, this one showing an RPG. 'Holy...how did they get all this stuff?!'

But as his thoughts kept swimming at the sights below him, his brain came a to halt as a new figure walked into the room. It was Martin Li, the man slowly striding through the place as the masked men all came to a stop and bowed to him. Izuku's eyes went wide again as he saw this, only to see Li tug at his suit...and then activate his quirk.

Martin Li's skin suddenly turned black, his black suit became white, and his eyes went completely black with white pupils. The sight made Izuku barely lean back, now seeing even Li's hair change from black to white. And as Li did this, his hands turned black before a familiar looking black and white energy sparked around them.

'What the...' Izuku thought as he saw Li flex his hands, the energy now sparking even more out of his fingertips. And as this happened, two masked men walked up with a third man, this one not wearing a mask.

"A new volunteer, sir."one of the two masked thugs said.

"Excellent."Li replied before touching the man. Energy flowed out of his hand and into the third man, the individual letting out a small scream, only to go silent. Izuku then saw the person twitch for a second, his body turning a shade of black before going still. And as this happened, Li spoke up,"You are now one of us. One of the Inner Demons."

"Yes master."The third man replied before another thug walked up and gave him a mask, the man quickly putting it on.

And as this happened, Izuku put a hand to his face, his whole form shaking as he stared at Martin Li. The man began to speak again, issuing orders to the others, but Izuku wasn't listening. Instead, his mind was racing as he thought only one thing.

'Mister Li...is the leader of the masked men?!'

Chapter 25: Investigating The Demon

Chapter Text

Izuku wasn't sure how much time passed as he stayed crouched down in that vent. He knew he didn't move for some time, his eyes just blankly staring at the sight below him. He watched Li order the men around, seeing a few pack up some boxes filled with weapons before slowly making their way out of the room.

However, Izuku barely paid attention, his eyes just staring holes into Li. 'I don't understand. Why is...why is Mister Li a villain?' his mind said as he felt his body tense up at those thoughts, 'Was everything he told me a lie? Does he not care? I mean, these masked guys have done a lot of bad! I should know, I've fought them! Was...was it all a big fat lie?!'

He let out a silent sigh, his brain now shuffling through his memories of his time at FEAST. The encouragement Li would give him, the talk they had during that one car ride, how the man seemed to always smile and try to help others. And then he looked back at the Li below him, seeing a dull yet holier than thou look on his face. Expressions were harder to tell now that his body had changed colors, but this man was different. His voice, while Izuku was unable to understand the words, sounded off. Like there a strange small echo in them.

'It's like...he's a different person. I mean, I know that's Mister Li, but...but...that quirk. Is it something like an energy transfer quirk? But it looked like it was some kind of a brainwashing quirk too. How did he...but why is Mister Li-' his thoughts went back to his memories at this, only to shake his head, 'No. There must be something wrong here. I-I-I just know it!' He watched as Li gave a few more orders before leaving the room. 'That's not the Mister Li I know. But if he really is their leader...'

He glanced down at the masked men, only to see a spare mask sitting on one of the desks. The sight made the teen blink as his brain showed him the one thing that led him here. 'The secret room at FEAST!' His body began to move again at this, 'Yeah...yeah. I need to figure this out. Mister Li wouldn't just do this, and I bet that room will help me figure out what's going on.'

Izuku began to go backwards through the vent, and as he found the exit, he slipped out, only for another thought to enter his head, 'Wait. Maybe I should stop them first. I mean, they are doing weapon smuggling right now...' He glanced down, his eyes now seeing a few put some weapon crates into a semi. He pointed his wrist at the thugs, only to retract it. 'No. If I hop down there, I won't figure anything out. I still believe in Mister Li...but that doesn't mean I can't track these guys.'

With that, he turned invisible and crawled down to street level, soon slipping under the semi and placing a spider tracer in the vehicle's underbelly. 'There we go. No chance they find this.'

He then crawled out of from under the semi, only to see they were loading up two more vehicles, the teen soon crawling under them as well as he placed tracers in each one. The teen then took back the one he had put on Li's car, as it was pretty obvious on the car's bumper, and he didn't want to alert the masked men of his presence. And as soon as this was done, he invisibly crawled back up the building wall before firing a web line. He was ready for the next step.

It was when Izuku was about halfway to FEAST that he realized it was still the middle of the day. Knowing he couldn't just walk in and ask for Li's office key without raising suspicions, he knew he could only do one thing: Wait till nightfall and sneak in. Thankfully, he knew that FEAST also had a vent system, mainly due to him knowing he needed a way for him to sneak out if he had to switch to Spider-Man immediately, which he had found a few days ago. As such, he instead went home, quickly reaching the apartment while being invisible, crawling into his window like usual.

The teen spent the next hour at his desk, making some web fluid while also making a small door opener device, as he had a feeling he probably wouldn't find the key at FEAST with ease like last time, and breaking down the door was definitely not an option. Due to this, he created the tool before taking a short nap, his mother coming home a few hours later. And when he woke up, he told her the story, the woman frowning at every detail before Izuku declared what he was going to do.

"Are you sure?" She asked as he finished, "I mean...I still can't believe it, but-"

"Yeah." Izuku interrupted as he glanced away, "I uh...I still don't believe it myself, and I saw it."

"Oh Izuku..."

Izuku scratched the back of his head before replying, "I...I want to believe that that isn't Mister Li. That there's some kind of mix-up or evil twin or...or something." He looked back at his mother, tears beginning to appear in his eyes, "Is it wrong of me to think that?"

Inko shook her head as tears appeared in her eyes as well, "Not at all." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Izuku, you have the kindest heart I know. That's why you still believe in him."

"But what if he's just an evil villain? What if...what if everything he's told me was a lie?"

Inko bit her lip at this, soon sighing, "I...don't know." She tensed her hand on his shoulder before staring directly into her son's eyes, "But what I do know is that you'll do the right thing when the time comes...and I'll be there to support you."

Izuku blinked at her, only to nod, "Okay." He leaned in next, hugging her as she embraced him back, "Thanks mom."

"Of course. That's why I'm here."

He chuckled at that as he ended the hug, "You're here to help convince me to investigate dangerous weapon smugglers?"

Inko giggled as she did a fake shrug, "Eh, it's a living."

Izuku took another small nap a little later, letting the sun vanish from the sky as the moon took its place. And when that was done, he woke up, did a quick routine and switched into being Spider-Man. He told his mom he'd be gone for a while, Inko telling him 'good luck' before invisibly crawling out and swinging away. It didn't take him long to reach FEAST, as he knew web-slinging route by heart now.

But as he landed on the building, he felt himself release a long breath he didn't know he was holding. He put his hands in his hoodie's pockets, checking to make sure he had everything he needed before crawling down the side of the building. There, he found the vent he was looking for, quickly opening it and crawling through.

It wasn't long till he found the exit vent, opening it and turning invisible as he crawled out. The vent spat him out on the second floor, the teen glancing down at the main floor and seeing several people all sleeping on the beds inside, a chorus of snores filling the place. The sight reminded him that the place was also a shelter, something he sometimes forgets as he slowly made his way to Li's office door.

And as he got there, he pulled out the small device, which he put in the crack of the door. 'Come on...' he mentally whispered to himself as he fiddled for a second, only to hear a tiny click. 'Got it!'

He glanced back at this, his hand slowly taking the door handle before twisting it. The frame was pushed back at this, Izuku silently tiptoeing into the room as he glanced back one last time before closing the door behind him. He then put the device away as he turned off his invisibility before taking out the small flashlight he would use for his notebook at night and made his way to the wardrobe. He pulled up his mask slightly, putting the light in his mouth as he opened the wardrobe.

'Now, I know I accidentally saw he had a hidden room last time, but I bet there's a way to move this. After all, if I just force the wardrobe and Mister Li comes back, he'll know someone's been here.' He patted around the wardrobe's frame, only to feel something push in. 'Hmm?'

A tiny bit of wood pushed in at this, Izuku hearing another tiny click. Izuku leaned back at this, grabbing the side of the wardrobe, only to find it could now easily be moved. He slowly pulled it back, the wardrobe smoothly moving as he pushed it aside. And as he glanced inside, he saw the mask from earlier on a desk, along with a whole room in semi darkness, only a lit bulb shining above the desk.

'That's not creepy.' he thought as he tiptoed inside, glancing back one last time before fully entering the room. He began to wave around his small flashlight, now seeing the full place around him. There wasn't much in the room, just the desk, a chair, and a board on all three walls around the desk. The only wall that didn't have a board was the entrance to the secret room, Izuku's eyes darting around.

The teen started by going over to the desk, his flashlight shining a light on the mask first. He then moved the light across the desk, now seeing a few folders. Izuku hovered his other hand over this, a feeling of hesitation embracing his body. 'If I move anything in here, he'll know someone's been in this room.' He glanced back to the secret door, 'I mean, I think I could close that and make sure its not suspicious, but moving anything will...shoot. I didn't think this through, did I? I keep jumping into things...but he did say he was gonna be gone for a few days. Maybe I can just take some pictures with my phone...but I won't have looked at the files here.'

He looked back at the folder again, those thoughts mixing through his head before putting his hand on the folder. 'I need to know. Even if its obvious someone's done something in this...secret room, I still need to know.' He took the folder and opened it, putting his flashlight over it as he began to read.

'This is...' he thought aloud as he eyes slightly widened, 'A list of properties in Musutafu. Does Mister Li own these?' He flipped to the second page, now seeing a list of people's names, but the very first one was missing. Instead, he saw one word for the top entry. 'Kingpin? Who's that?' He glanced down the list, not recognizing any of the names before flipping to the third page, now seeing another list of buildings and several graphs filled with numbers. 'What is...wait.'

Izuku's eyes stopped about halfway down the list, only to go wide-eyed. He recognized a certain building on the list. 'That's the bank where I first fought the masked guys!' he mentally gasped, only to see a description beside it, 'Says its...owned by the Kingpin? There's that name again. I don't know any hero called that. Is it a villain name?'

He began flipping through more pages, his eyes glancing around as he saw they were more papers on properties and money. And when he reached the end of the folder, he found himself having more questions than answers. 'What was all that? I mean, it's just lists of stuff.' He put the flashlight in his mouth next and pulled out his phone, 'Let's take some pictures first.'

Turning the sound down on the phone, he put the folder down on the desk and began to snap photos of every page as he held the flashlight over it. He didn't want to use the phone camera's flash, afraid he was already making too much noise and movement. And after he recorded the first folder, he began to go through the second and third, skimming each. 'This one has more people...property...money figures...and that Kingpin name keeps appearing on them. Is it the name of an operation?'

The teen switched to another folder, wide-eyed again as he saw the name on it. It was a logo of a company he was very familiar with. It was a corporation well known for a multitude of things. 'Oscorp. That's...why would Mister Li be interested in them?' he thought as starting taking pictures again while flipping through the pages, 'These are locations as well...and there's that name again: Kingpin. What is this all about?'

Izuku's mind paused at this, his brain going over the facts he knew about the corporation. Oscorp was the leading company in the world over quirk science. Famous for its support weapons as well, the corporation was something Izuku remembered looking into many times. It was the kind that made you think 'larger than life' to most. As such, he began taking pictures before putting the file down.

After this, he saw one final folder. Taking it in his hands, he saw another company's name he knew. It was one he had considered looking into if everything had gone wrong in terms of trying to be a support hero. It was a huge support company, though it was made for support lifestyles, something he wasn't interested in, but knew he could do if he had no other choice. 'Detnerat. This shows locations for them too. I don't see that Kingpin name though...just what is Mister Li doing?'

He then finished photographing the files, putting the folders back down on the desk and moving over to the boards. There, he saw they were maps of Musutafu, all three the same maps, but with different things marked. The first one had several buildings marked with red circles around them. 'Let's see, that's the bank where I first fought them. And that's...that's the warehouse that the Tombstone gang was at!' He slightly moved the flashlight down, seeing another building marked, 'What's that building? Says its another location they've hit.'

He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the map, only to go to the browser and look up the building. A few seconds later, a news feed popped up, one showing that a robbery had taken place a few days ago. 'Masked men rob jewelry store...' he mentally said before looking at the date, 'That's the day I fought them and Ryukyu showed up! Wait...how did they do that? I thought she stopped them. Was it a decoy?'

The teen let out a sigh before looking back at the map one last time, only to find nothing else interesting marked. Seeing this, he went to another wall, staring at the map there. This one was the same map of Musutafu, but the markings were much bigger this time, 'What is this? Everything that's marked is like...full blocks.' Izuku followed one of the markings, only to see a small name under it, 'It says Tombstone. Does he operate on this block?' He looked the map over with his flashlight again, 'Actually, its more like a small district. Maybe this is Mister Li saying he thinks Tombstone is somewhere around these markings?' He then looked over the other markings, only to see no names under them, but were in a different color compared to the Tombstone area. 'Hmm...I don't recognize any of these places. I must be missing something here. Guess I should take a photo and look at the other map.'

One photograph later, he went to the final map, this one having buildings circled in blue. And as he looked it over, he soon realized what this one meant. 'That's the building I followed Mister Li to! These must be their hideouts! One is a few streets over from FEAST, and that other one...its not far from the second FEAST building.' He began to take pictures at this, grimacing at the sight. 'I think I found everything...well, not everything, but something close.'

And after a few more pics, he put his phone away, glancing back at the desk with the folders on it. He had tried to kinda put them back where they had been, but had a feeling it would be noticed anyways. 'What is Mister Li trying to do? It looks like he's using this...masked gang to rob some places, but that's it. Is it connected to this Kingpin? And who is that?' He glanced back at the room, only to feel a wave of frustration hit him, 'Darn it! I don't get it! I mean, it looks like Mister Li is a villain even more now...but at the same time, I don't really get what he's trying to do. Who is the Kingpin? And why is Mister Li after him? Or her.'

He pulled out his phone again and looked at all the photos he had taken. In particular, he stared at the pictures of the maps, 'I don't get it. Kingpin, Mister Li, and Tombstone. Oscorp and Detnerat.' He put a finger to his chin before sighing, 'I'm gonna go home. Maybe I can figure out more with my computer.'

The teen stared back up at the room for a bit longer before walking over and ruffling the folders a bit, trying to make them look neat like that had been before, and shuffled out of the room. He slowly closed the wardrobe, finding the hidden lock on it and making sure it fully shut off the place. And after this was done, he silently locked the office door and glanced out into the building, only to hear nothing but snores. The sound made him mentally chuckle before turning invisible, quickly sneaking back over to the vent and crawling right through.

Izuku wasn't sure how long it took him to get back home. His brain was on autopilot as he swung back to his house, crawled through the window, changed out of costume, and went straight for his desk. This was followed by him uploading the photos to his computer, the teen soon looking over everything he could. As such, he began to replicate every list from the photos, and pulled up images of maps that he began to edit in what the marked maps had shown.

It took a full night, something that Inko woke up to, which she admitted had been a long time since she had seen her son do an all-nighter. After telling him to go to bed, he slept for a few hours before getting back at it, several more hours replicating the information. And as he did this, he tried to look up the name Kingpin in multiple search engines and news outlets, only to find nothing. No files or anything...with the exception of one.

Izuku's eyes stared at a news article created a few months ago, its creator now deceased, article now redacted like crazy while also being part of an investigation. 'Ben Urich. Says here he wrote an article about the...'Kingpin of Crime'?!' Izuku blinked at the name, 'That sounds like a villain. It says that the reporter was later found dead.'

The teen leaned back in his desk chair, hand on his chin, 'There's nothing on an investigation after this. Was it covered up?' He then turned to the clock, going wide-eyed as he saw how late it was. 'Wow. Two days basically just passed with me doing this. The week's almost over.'

Izuku changed the screen back to everything he had replicated, only to see it looked like a muddled mess in his eyes. His brain couldn't make sense of anything. All he could see was just numbers and names, but his mind said only one thing: Mister Li was a villain. That fact kept repeating in his head. Martin Li was a villain that seemed to be...fighting this Kingpin, or was under him. Regardless, there was nothing on why Li was a villain, or why he was doing any of this. Instead, Izuku found himself more confused than when he first saw that mask in the crack in the office. That alone lead to one conclusion in his mind.

He switched the screen to the maps, staring at one in particular. 'I need to check the other hideouts. Maybe I can find something there.' he thought before looking back at the time. It was the middle of the day, the sight making him let out a sigh before getting out of his chair and go into the kitchen. And as he entered that room, he made himself supper as he thought up one last thing.

'I will find out why you're a villain, Mister Li.'

Chapter 26: Tracking The Demon

Chapter Text

Izuku was eating a bit of katsudon as his mom walked into the room. She saw a semi-tired yet confused look on his face, the sight making her frown as she sat down beside him. "What's wrong?" She asked, the teen slowly glancing over at her.

"Just...thinking."

"What did you find out?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Inko replied, her head slightly going back at the response, "But you said-"

"I know." Izuku sighed as he took a sip of water, "Its just...nothing makes sense. Everything I found in Mister Li's room is nothing but names, numbers and locations. I don't understand any of it."

Inko shook her head, "No, you understand it, Izuku." He glanced back up at her. "You just don't know what to do, do you?"

Izuku stared at her for a few seconds before sighing again, "Yeah. Anytime I think back to Mister Li, all I see is this kind man who's gone out of his way to help me so much. I mean, I no longer stutter around everyone at FEAST. I feel like I can do actual conversations...though its no one my age. But...but I still see that in him."

Inko shook her head at this, remembering what Izuku had told her about Aldera. She always knew something was wrong, seeing him come home with bruises and burns, but the boy never said anything. He was always silent, trying to hide it all, trying to not make himself a burden for her. She should have known better, seeing her son come home with a huge, pain-filled frown.

But he was different now. Izuku came home with a huge grin on his face, happy as he found something he truly loved doing, and no one telling him otherwise...with the exception of some newscasters.

However, the sight before her reminded her of the old Izuku, one that came home from Aldera every day, broken and miserable. Granted, he didn't really look broken this time, more confused than anything, but still miserable. It made her put her hand on his shoulder, her son turning to her as she said, "Izuku...I want you to do what you think is right. If you need to go confront him, do it. And if you don't want to confront him, that's fine too. We'll call the heroes and let them handle it."

Those words made her son flinch, the teen glancing down for a second before eating another bite. And as he did this, he let out a deep breath before saying, "No. I...I feel I need to do this."

Inko's frown grew at that, "Why?"

"Because...because..." Izuku dropped his chopsticks at this, slightly shaking his head, "I don't know. I just-" He put his hand on face, slowly pulling it down before looking back at his mother, "Mom, if Mister Li really is a villain and I take him down...what do you think will happen to FEAST?"

Inko blinked at that, her frown trying to grow as she replied, "Well...I don't know." The response made Izuku grimace, only to see his mother's expression change, the frown staying, but her eyes now staring straight at him with a certain blaze, "But if Mister Li is a villain, I do know that if everyone in FEAST knew you were Spider-Man, they would accept you taking him down."

Izuku's eyes went wide at her statement, the teen wanting to say 'really?!' but unable too. Instead, he looked back down at his food. His mind went over everything that had just happened. The gang war right before the start of the week, Stain, Iida, and now this. The events flooded him, but his mind went back to everything he had been going over the past two days. The documents and maps, all showing some big thing happening between Li and someone called Kingpin.

As such, the teen grabbed and ate the last piece of food. A long gulp followed as Inko saw a new look appear on her son's face. It was one she knew all too well. It was that fire that would appear in Izuku's eyes when he talked about wanting to be a hero. To save anyone and everyone. A flame that scared her so much, but in recent days...it made her so proud.

He turned to her before doing a small nod, "Thanks mom."

"No problem. Though...what are you going to do?"

Izuku took a long swig of water before replying, "I'm gonna take a small nap and then sneak into one of the hideouts. I need to...well, I need to know everything."

Inko nodded back, "I understand." She patted his shoulder at this, "And Izuku?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so proud of you." She shined a small smile at this, "I know I...don't say it enough, but I am."

Izuku blinked at her, small tears appearing in his eyes as he hugged her, the mother embracing him back, "Thanks mom. Love you."

"Love you too."

Izuku woke up a few hours later bright and ready. He checked the clock for a second, seeing there was still one day left of the week, though it was now nighttime, but that didn't matter in his mind. Instead, he quickly changed into his outfit, putting on the mask before going to the kitchen and making himself a small bento. He had asked his mom to get some supplies yesterday while he was replicating the pictures, having a feeling he needed to be extra prepared for this. Granted, it was also because he kept trying to tell himself to not just leap into everything.

After a few more minutes of preparation, the teen went invisible and snuck out of his room's window, inhaling a deep breath before web-swinging into the city. He had decided to go for the closest of the three hideouts, knowing it was just about 8 to 9 streets over from FEAST. He was a bit surprised, as it made it only a bit aways from UA, but still significantly far enough that heroes and police would take a bit to respond to such a location.

As such, he got there during a little over two hours before midnight, the darkness already settling in. The night cover made invisibility pointless, as he knew no one would be hunting him right now. And so, he landed on the hideout's rooftop, a four-story building, and took out his self-made bento. Putting it in a little bag along with a water bottle, he placed it on the roof before taking out his spider tracer tracker, only to find two signals from the tracers he used earlier were right below him.

'They brought two of them here.' he thought before seeing the tracker display a third and fourth signal that were together and far away, but also hadn't updated on the tracker due to distance, 'That must be Mister Li's car and the other tracer. I can't tell if those have been moved, but I'll get to that later. Hopefully, they're still at the other hideout. Still...maybe this place is where they stash all their cars and loot.'

Putting the tracker back in his hoodie, he started crawling down the side of the building, soon finding what he was looking for: An air duct. 'Nice! Time for some duct crawling.' He slithered into the vent, still surprised at how easy it was before clambering through the area. It wasn't long till he found a vent he could look out of, glancing down and seeing a room that's lights were off. But despite them being off, he could vaguely make the outlines of the room he was staring at.

'A garage? Well, they do seem to have an infinite amount of cars.' he thought before quietly grabbing the grate, slowly putting it aside before crawling out of the vent. He then began to crawl on the ceiling, mentally commenting to himself just how cool it was that he could do that. And as he did this, he went over to the wall and made his way down to the floor. He began to tiptoe around next, only to hear a door open. Turning invisible at this, the room's light suddenly turned on, making Izuku almost drop his invisibility. He quickly began to crawl back up the wall, only to glance down and see that a door from the opposite of the room had been opened, a masked man coming in and flicking another light switch.

"Is everything ready?"the thug asked another masked man that walked through the door,"The master will be coming here tomorrow."

"Everything is here. I have taken inventory."the second masked thug replied as they walked through the room.

"Good. The master wants to up the timetables."

"Because of the spider? He seems to interfere much more than the heroes."

"I do not know."the first masked man said as they got to the other side of the room, pulling out a key as he opened another door. Izuku was right above him, staring the duo as he invisibly crawled down to their level. And as they walked out of the room, Izuku got down the floor, slowly opening the door behind them.

And as he did this, he glanced inside and saw the room's lights were on. Several masked men were there, some moving crates while others were just standing around and talking. Izuku wanted to sigh as he still couldn't understand what they were saying, but instead just invisibly crawled up the wall. He felt his head start to hurt, cancelling the invisibility as he reached the ceiling. He then glanced down and started counting everyone in the room.

'Only ten. But I don't see any weapons on them...maybe their swords and guns are somewhere else in the building?' He took a deep breath, 'Should I go for it or see if there's more guys somewhere around here?'

He looked back at the door he had went through, only to feel a tingle in his head. He knew what it meant. He couldn't keep his invisibility much longer. The teen quickly crawled down, going through the top of the door's frame and back into the car room. Izuku turned visible a second later, putting a hand to his head. 'Urgh...gotta be more careful.'

The teen glanced around at this, not seeing anybody else in the room. He then crawled over to the other side of the room, going down to another door and grabbing the knob. However, it wouldn't move. 'Locked. Hmm...' He glanced back at the first door, 'The only way to get past it is to break it open, and that'll make a lot of noise. Looks like I'm just gonna have to go and beat those guys.'

He fired a web line and swung across the room, silently landing on the wall before going over to the top of the door and slowly opened it. Izuku released himself from the wall and spun around, landing before quietly opening the door regularly. As he did this, he saw the masked men still didn't notice, the teen quickly crawling up the wall before surveying the area.

'They still don't have their weapons. Good. Let's do this.' He pointed his wrists at three that were all standing around each other, talking.

Thwip!

A big glob of webbing hit the trio, sticking them all together."What the-"one of them yelped before another blast of webbing hit one of their feet, Izuku yanking it a second later.

They let out a yell as the rest turned to the webbed-up trio, only for Izuku land right beside another masked thug, electricity surging through a fist. "Venom Punch!" he exclaimed as the thug turned to him, only to feel an electrified punch to the gut, knocking him flying.

"The spider!"another yelled before energy poured out of his fists, the thug roaring as he charged at the vigilante. He then threw a punch at Izuku, the teen ducking under it before thrusting a jab into the thug's face, shattering the mask and knocking him off his feet.

"Get the spider!"two more thugs roared, only for Izuku to fire two web lines into their feet, yanking both a second later. Globs of webbing then hit their chests as their backs hit the floor, sticking both to the ground.

Danger!

Izuku spun around at this, only to see an energy wave to hit him, knocking Izuku off his feet. "Augh!" he yelped as his back hit the floor, only to quickly roll back onto his feet. But as he did this, two other thugs charged at him, both now wielding katanas. Energy poured out of them as they leapt at Izuku, thrusting both weapons down at him. Spider sense blaring, Izuku fired a web line to the right and pulled, yanking himself away just in time before landing. The two katana thugs charged at him again at this, Izuku then firing a web line at the ceiling and yanking himself upward. He flipped over them as the thugs tried to slash at him, only for Izuku to fire two more web lines, grabbing the thugs' backs and yanking them. As he did this, both were knocked off balance, Izuku then firing more webbing and sticking them into the floor.

But as this happened, the final thug ran out of the room. He grabbed a phone and began yell into it,"Master! The spider is here! He-"

Thwip!

Webbing covered the phone and was yanked out of his grasp, Izuku grabbing it, "So...who ya talking to?" Izuku then stared at the phone, only to see it was showing a restricted number.

"Give that back!"the final thug yelled as he pulled out a pistol. Spider sense began to yell at this, Izuku firing another shot of webbing, hitting the pistol before yanking it away as well. And as this happened, the thug began to charge at Izuku, the teen ducking under the punch before slamming a Venom Punch into him, knocking him flying. Webbing covered him next, sticking him to the floor.

"And...that's that. " Izuku commented as he looked back at the phone, now seeing the call had ended. "Darn. Well, I hope he doesn't know I'm coming, but I don't know what that guy said before I took the phone." He let out a sigh and put away the phone, "I'll use you later." He then walked back into the room full of knocked out thugs, Izuku's eyes glancing around, 'Dang. I think I'm getting pretty good at this.'

He walked around the room, seeing it seemed to be a break room, only to see another door. Izuku shuffled up to it, grabbing the knob and seeing it was also locked. 'Well, I don't need to be quiet anymore.' He pulled on the door, yanking it off its frames. He then put it to the side, walking into a small hallway, which had another door at the end. Going over there, he found he had to break this door as well, only to go into another room.

However, this room made him go wide-eyed. It was filled to the brim with money and jewels. All of them were on desks, stacks upon stacks of cash and bags of jewels on the floor. 'Is this from the banks they stole from?' He glanced back and forth at the money, putting a hand to his chin, 'Mister Li...did you really do all this? I mean, I know these masked guys did this, but if you're their boss...'

He closed his eyes next, his mind going through everything that he had just done over these past two days. Finding the mask, the secret room, and now this...it was almost too much for the teen. He took a deep breath before looking back at the hallway. 'No. I'm going to finish this. I will catch Mister Li and find out why he's doing this.' He pulled out the tracker again, seeing that the dots still hadn't moved. 'Here's hoping he still hasn't left that first hideout.

Izuku went back to the room with the knocked-out thugs, firing a web line into the ceiling before cricking his hands. 'But before I go get him, I wanna try something.'

Naomasa was not happy. It started with an anonymous phone call to the police station, which was obviously Spider-Man. It didn't help that he said he was Spider-Man, and he stated that he had found a hideout of the 'masked men', (Which surprised him that the vigilante didn't know what the gang was actually called) and they were all knocked out for the police. This was followed with him calling Aizawa and heading over to the building.

And as he entered the place, he found himself looking at a room with a giant web cocoon with all the masked thugs in it, along with a small card. Naomasa took it and read aloud, "Here's a wrapped-up present for you! I'm gonna go fight the big boss of these guys now. Also, here's the location of another one of their hideouts. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

Naomasa growled as he wanted to rip the card up, only to groan and put it into an evidence bag. As he did this, one of the officers ran in and yelled about a room full of money. He followed him and saw it, the sight making him facepalm just as he was then told Eraserhead was here.

A minute later, the two were now talking as the rest of the force there began to tape down the area. "So what do we got?" Aizawa asked as he took a sip of coffee.

"A lot that we definitely need to cover up."

"That bad?" Aizawa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup. There's a whole room back there with a ton of stolen money." Naomasa sighed, "Apparently, Spider-Man knows where the hideouts for the Inner Demons are." He held up the bag with the card in it, "He even gave us an address."

"Oh?" Aizawa took the bag, squinting his eyes. "He knows where their boss is?"

"Apparently so." Naomasa sighed again, "I already told the force about the card and they're preparing a strike team. Granted, I would like more time to plan it, but-"

"I'm guessing you want to do it now because Spider-Man is going after their boss." Aizawa finished before taking another sip, "Did you tell the chief?"

Naomasa groaned at this, "First thing I did." He pulled out his phone as it suddenly rang, "Here we go..."

Li had his eyes closed as he sat behind a wooden desk. Energy began to sizzle around his fingers as he them crossed in front of his face, his elbows resting on the desk. He took a long, deep breath before opening his eyes, staring straight ahead. In front of him was a room full of masked men, all wielding guns and katanas.

"The spider has found our hideout."Li hissed, slightly gritting his teeth,"I can only assume he will now come for me."

"What do you want us to do, master?"the thug in front of the rest asked.

"Some of you will wait for the spider. The others will get the truck ready."Li then ascended from his chair, spinning around before taking a sheathed blade off the wall. He unsheathed the sword, revealing a thin, yet deadly katana. He rubbed his finger down its side, his shining white eyes staring at the blade as his mouth slightly contorted, showing pure white teeth. The man slowly turned back to the group of thugs at this, energy now surging around the blade,"And when the spider arrives, you will kill him."

"As you wish, master."

Chapter 27: Pursuing the Demon

Chapter Text

The sound of pool balls hitting rang out as a certain purple-suited man stood over a billiards table. A thin trail of smoke went out of the cigarette in his mouth as he stared at the table before looking up at the man currently playing the game. The man was wearing a dark blue suit with black vertical lines and had a long frown on his face, his mouth being the only thing on his head visible under the low light hanging above the table.

"Hey there." the purple suited man chuckled as he took the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Get lost Giran." the other man replied, "I'm not dealing with you today."

Giran chuckled at this, tugging at his purple suit before doing a slight shrug, "Oh come now, there's no need for hostilities. I just want to talk."

"You can still forget it." the man responded, his eyes glaring at Giran as he just stood there, Giran grinning as he put the cigarette back in his mouth. A few seconds later, a long sigh escaped the man's breath, "What do you want Giran?"

"Knew you'd come around." Giran took a deep breath before letting out a puff of smoke, "My new employer wants me to do some recruitment, and I know you have some of the best around. I can offer you some serious cash if-"

"No." the other man interrupted.

Giran twirled the cigarette in his fingers, "Now hang on, this is a good deal."

"And I'll tell you again. Forget it." the man replied, "I don't have anything for you."

Giran raised an eyebrow at this, "Any reason for the hostility? I know you have plenty of guys right now, your boss-"

"Don't say his name."

"I know." Giran sighed, "I know not to say his name. Anyways, why is there no one for sale? Can I least get that?"

"Simple." The other man thrusted the cue stick, knocking the eight ball into a corner pocket. "Some competition is about to be knocked out, and we're gonna need all hands on deck."

"Competition?"

"The Inner Demons." The man put the cue stick on the table, "Our man on the inside says they're about to taken out." He then pulled out his phone at this, letting out a small hum, "And it looks like things are about to get busier."

And as the man walked out of the room, Giran watched him leave with a small frown, only for it to turn into a tiny grin, "Gotta say, that guy is too serious." He put a new cigarette in his mouth, "Shigaraki's gonna throw a fit."

"Sounds like he just wasn't interested." said a third voice, Giran turning to see another man walk into the bar's dim lighting. The man is in a black coat and covered in burn scars and piercings, in particular around his eyes and neck. "Got anymore places to check?"

"Just one more for the night." Giran replied as he let out a puff of smoke, "I figure Shigaraki won't approve of me just delivering you. No offense."

"None taken." the man responded while crossing his arms, "You need plenty of recruits to make a message these days."

"True." Giran chuckled before sighing. "At least, when it comes to villains. Too bad on the timing though. Sounds like the underworld is about to shift again. That's been happening a lot lately."

"How so?"

Giran twiddled with the cigarette as he stared at the man, "If what he says is true and the Demons are finished, it means two things. One, Tombstone's gang is gonna try and take over Musutafu. They'll probably fail, or get caught before they can take it all, which will make an even bigger mess."

"And the second?"

"Well, I'm a betting man...and I'm betting the one that's gonna take down the Demons is Spider-Man." Giran put the cigarette back in his mouth, "And that means only one thing: Spider-Man is gonna become top priority for the law and the underworld."

"Seriously? Can one vigilante really do that?"

Giran smirked at the question as he flicked his cigarette perfectly into a nearby ashtray, "Oh yeah. Heroes these days are a dime a dozen, which means in the grand scheme of things...they don't matter. Well, except the big ones, like All Might." The two began to walk away from the pool table, heading for the exit, "But vigilantes? If they make enough noise, everyone will dogpile..." Giran's grin grew at his next words as they left the building, "And when the real mess happens, we'll be there to pick up the scraps."

Police Chief Tsuragamae let out a sigh as he walked back into the police department. He had been called in after Naomasa had told him about Spider-Man taking out a building of villains, only to be going after another villain tonight. Now, he regularly didn't have too much of a problem with vigilantes. The dog man was a big pusher of underground heroes, which were considered the closest to vigilantes, but this case was different. Spider-Man had caught the attention of the hero commission, something that would usually take a lot to happen.

As such, he was now walking up to his office, letting out a low woof as another officer walked up to him.

"Chief!"

He turned to a cat headed man, "What is it Tamakawa?"

"I called in the heroes you wanted. Two of them are in the back, Death Arms will be here in a few minutes, and the full team of the Lurkers are on standby!"

"Good." the dog man replied, "Get an extra small force ready with Dewolff as a backup. Naomasa is already on route with Eraserhead to the address and we need to move fast. If Spider-Man really is going to do what he says he's going to do, we need to strike the Inner Demons now."

"Yes sir!"

And as the officer ran away, gesturing to a few to follow him, the chief let out a long sigh and another woof. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Izuku landed on the building he had followed Li to a few days ago, pulling out his tracker and seeing two dots right where he was. He had made sure to remove the tracers from the other cars before coming over here, and had eaten his bento on his way there. He pulled out his water bottle and took a swig before putting it away, checked his web shooters, and then crawled down to the duct he had used before.

'Here we go. I hope he's still here.' Izuku thought as he put his hands on the duct cover, taking a deep breath, 'Am I...really gonna do this? I mean, I want to find out why mister Li did this, but...but...' He took his hands off the cover, 'Maybe mom is right. Maybe I should just call for the heroes.'

He closed his eyes at this, taking another deep breath. His mind began to think back to everything that had happened recently, on how crazy these past three weeks had been. Every encounter went through his head before putting his hand to his nose, squeezing it. 'Mister Li...' he mentally said as he then remembered his time at FEAST, the smiling faces and how he felt helping others.

And as he opened his eyes, he put his hand back on the vent cover. 'No. I have to stop him. Even if I don't get any answers.'

He pushed the vent open, his form slithering into the air ducts. He zipped through the enclosed space, taking a few turns before going to the cover from before. And as he got there, he saw a room now filled with masked thugs. 'Whoa. Did he bring the entire gang here?!' he mentally commented before he saw a new person walk into the room, the man's body still showing that black skin while wearing a pure white suit. 'Mister Li...'

"Is the truck ready?"Li asked one of the thugs.

"Yes master. They are putting in the last of the supplies in it now."

"Good."Li replied before pulling out a phone, tapping it a few times. A call went through a second later,"Do it."He then ended the call before putting away the phone. Another masked man walked up to him, a sheathed katana in his hands, Li taking it."Inner Demons...it is time. We will not fall here, but we will be moving to our new location."

"And the spider, master?"

Li closed his shining white eyes at this, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes,"He will come...and he will die. All of you in here, stay and welcome him."

"Yes master!"they all yelled, making Izuku flinch.

The teen had watched the scene unfold, wishing he could understand what they were saying. Despite this, he let out a long sigh before putting his hands on the cover and slowly pulled it upward, putting the vent cover to the side. He then gripped the open vent, taking a deep breath. 'You can do this Izuku. Granted, there's a ton of guys here, but you do have a main target compared to the usual...take everyone out alone plan.'

And as he thought this, he saw Li walk out of the room, two thugs opening a double door for him. Seeing this, Izuku began to crawl out of the vent, slithering his way up to the ceiling. As he did this, he glanced down and saw the masked men began to move around the room.

"Prepare yourself!"one of them said,"We must be ready for the spider!"

A few began to open some boxes, pulling out rifles and katanas. 'Great. This whole place is an armory for them.' Izuku mentally groaned as he then hopped off the ceiling and onto a catwalk. 'Guess I better get started.'

The vigilante pointed both web shooters down, aiming at two thugs that took rifles out before walking over to the double doors. And as they got close, Izuku fired the webbing at the feet, instantly yanking the lines. Both fell face first into the floor, letting out yelps of pain before two globs of webbing hit their backs, sticking them to the ground, nullifying both thugs and their guns.

"What the-the spider!"a thug yelled, only for a web line to hit his back before feeling himself now defy gravity as he pulled up to the catwalk.

"Howdy! Mind if I join the party?!" Izuku cackled as he kicked the yanked thug in the back, sending him flying into a stack of crates.

Danger!

"Uh-oh." Izuku muttered before leaping off the catwalk, a split second before a volley of bullets were shot right into the ceiling. He then fired a web line upward, turning into a swing as he did a wide arc across the room. As he did this, he glanced back at the thugs, quickly cutting his line before landing on the far wall before firing two web lines, each instantly hitting two rifles. He pulled on them next, yanking them out of the masked men's hands before jumping off the wall as a third thug swung his katana, firing an energy wave where Izuku had been.

And as Izuku landed in the middle of the room next, a thug roared,"Kill the spider!"

As that line was said, ten men instantly charged at the teen, his spider sense screaming at him. Two blades came for his face first, Izuku leaning back as both just went over him. This was followed by a third sword, only for Izuku to thrust a leg upward, his foot smacking the thug in the chin, knocking him over. Izuku then backflipped away, the first two thugs now thrusting their katanas at him. But as they did this, Izuku went down to all fours before doing a leg sweep, knocking both off their feet. A fourth thug came next, thrusting an energy punch that smacked Izuku in the face, making him stumble back. But as the thug tried to do a second jab, Izuku ducked under it before slamming a fist into the man's stomach, making him bend over before doing an uppercut into the thug.

Danger!

Three of the ten thugs that had charged suddenly switched their method of attack, instead going to the nearest crates and pulling out guns. Spider Sense screamed at Izuku at this, making him fire two web lines upward before yanking himself away. And as this happened, the thugs began lighting up the ceiling, the vigilante quickly swinging around. He felt a small bullet graze his shoulder, the teen flinching for a second before firing two globs of webbing, both covering two of the three guns. This was followed by Izuku doing a dive before firing another web line upward and yanking himself into a swing.

"Web Swing Kick!" Izuku yelled as he slammed two feet into the third armed thug, knocking him flying into two more masked men. Izuku then fired a glob of webbing at them, sticking all three to the floor. And as he did this, the two katana wielders from before got up and began to fire energy waves from their blades. Izuku began to swing around the room again at this, dodging each one as small explosions rocked the walls as the attacks missed the vigilante. And after a third round of dodging, Izuku fired a web line at a nearby stack of crates and pulled it, causing the tower to fall on the two.

"Augh!"the thugs yelled as the boxes collapsed on them.

'Seriously? Even their cries are in that other language of theirs?' Izuku thought before his spider sense went off again. It was here he saw four more thugs appear, all pulling out katanas.

"Aw, come on guys! Enough with the sharp deadly weapons!" Izuku moaned before landing on another stack of crates and fired two web lines. Both hit the swords of two of the thugs before being yanked away, Izuku then leaping from the crate as the other two fired energy waves. And as he did this, Izuku landed between the duo and fired two more web lines, this time grabbing their masks. He then pulled the lines in a criss-cross shape, both thugs being slung into each other as they hit, a clang ringing out before both fell over. This was followed by several blasts of webbing, sticking all four to the floor.

Izuku then glanced up and saw five more thugs, all pulling out katanas as well. 'Darn it. I need to get to Li! I can't be wasting time-'

Danger!

As his spider sense warned him of something, the sound of doors opening behind him made him glance back. And as he did this, his eyes went wide when he saw the double doors from before open...and reveal Martin Li.

"Uh-oh."

"The spider. We finally meet..."Li proclaimed as two masked men appeared by his sides. He grabbed both on the shoulders as energy flowed out of his hands, the two thugs then contorting, looking like their life was now being sucked out of them, both soon flopping over.

The sight made Izuku's already wide eyes begin to widen even further. He almost felt like he was gonna throw up. "What did...what did you just do to them?!" He yelled, only to see Li shine a small smile.

"They served their purpose." Li remarked, Izuku surprised he could understand him. He then raised one hand upward, black and white energy pouring out of it,"Inner Demons, step aside."

The thugs behind Izuku quickly ran around the teen, the vigilante just now remembering they were there. And before he could react, his spider sense began to scream at him. Feeling this, Izuku reflexively flicked his wrist at Li at this, firing a web line straight for the man's face. And as the line of webbing began to exit out of the shooter, Li pointed his hand at Izuku.

THOOM!

An energy wave burst out of Li's hand, Izuku unable to even flinch as the wave covered half the room. The attack instantly hit Izuku's entire body, thrusting him into a full stack of crates. "AUGH!" Izuku screamed as his back went through box after box before hitting a brick wall, the blow making the teen cry out. A second later, the teen slumped down as a pile of crates covered the vigilante.

"No...Li..." Izuku muttered out, pain surging over his entire body as he felt more and more boxes begin to weigh down on his body.

And as Izuku's eyes began to close, Li fell to his knees, panting and shaking his head. A second later, he began to stand up and pointed at the mess he had now created."Make sure the spider is finished."

"Yes master. And you?"

Li replied as he tugged at his suit,"I will now take my leave. Kill the spider and destroy this place. Leave no trace behind."

"Yes master."

Meanwhile...

"Take 'em down!" Death Arms roared as he swung his giant arms, knocking three masked thugs off their feet. Two more then appeared and pointed their rifles at him, soon opening fire.

"Hang on!" yelled another hero as he landed in front of Death Arms, creating a shield that blocked every bullet.

"Thanks Crust!" Arms replied as Crust threw a shield next, smacking the guns away from the two criminals. This was followed by Death Arms charging at them, quickly thrusting fists into their stomachs as both thugs cried out in pain.

"The heroes are here!"screamed another masked thug,"Destroy everything and flee! We must-"

ZAP!

A laser shot straight up at the thug, hitting his back before he slumped over instantly. Two more thugs turned to the laser's origin, only to see the Pro Hero X-Less. "You're done here." he remarked before firing his laser at the other, striking both in the stomach. The blows knocked them off their feet, the trio of heroes then glaring up at the building before them. It was a gigantic warehouse, which was currently closed off except for a giant shutter that was barely moving. The three had been called to rout out the villains here, only to find themselves fighting a constant wave of thugs as suddenly tons of masked men ran out from under the slowly opening shutter.

"We need to get in there." Death Arms commented as he charged ahead, smacking two more thugs away with giant swipes of his huge arms.

"Agreed!" Crust responded as he created a wall of shields as three more gun-wielding thugs came out next, bullets already flying out of their weapons. This was followed by X-Less firing his laser at each gun, knocking each one of the thugs' hands.

And as they kept pushing the masked criminals back, several police cars arrived on the scene. Officer after officer ran onto the scene, only for another car to arrive. It was Naomasa, a pistol in his hand as Eraserhead walked out of the passenger side of his car.

"Seems Spider-Man was right."

"Ya think?!" Aizawa grumbled before pulling on his scarf. "Wanna bet Spider-Man isn't even here?"

"No." Naomasa replied as the two ran up beside the other officers, soon taking cover behind one of the cars, "But you're probably right. I'm just hoping whatever he's doing won't be an even bigger mess than what this is gonna be."

"I wouldn't bet on that." Aizawa moaned as he began to stand up, his fingers fiddling with his capture weapon, "I got a feeling this night is just getting started."

The sounds of boxes being moved rang out, several masked thugs pushing aside everything they could as quickly as possible. And as they did this, Li left the room, gesturing to two men to follow him. They went into the next room, where he saw a line of masked men all carrying boxes into what looked like a modified semi. On the sides were shielded metal plating, and the inside was much longer than a usual truck of his size, showing the load he had used was custom.

"Is everything ready?"he asked as he saw the last box be put into the vehicle.

"Yes master. The driver should be in the front now."

"Good. I will be riding in this one. The rest of you, help out the others to destroy this place and then flee. If you know you are not followed, meet up at the new hideout."

"Yes master."

And as Li walked around the semi, the thugs all gathered around some crates they had left behind. Opening one, they found exactly what they needed: Cans of gasoline. Each took one, all taking off the caps before they began to pour it all over the room.

But as they did this, in the other room, a final box was lifted up to reveal a slumped over Spider-Man. And as the thugs around him saw this, one lifted a blade upward...and swung it down on the vigilante's head.

Chapter 28: Chasing The Demon

Chapter Text

"The spider."one masked man remarked as they removed the box that was over Izuku. The teen was just laying there, the thug lifting his blade up as a black and white energy poured out of it. And with just a split second pause, the sword came down.

DANGER!

Izuku's spider sense screamed at him, making his eyes burst open as he saw the sword coming straight for his head. And in that split second, he shifted his head to the right, the blade thrusting into the floor instead.

"Whoa!" Izuku yelped before firing a web line straight up, the teen quickly yanking it. The pull shot him to his feet and into the air, flipping over the crowd of thugs. He then shot a second web, soon swinging across the room as the thugs all yelled at him. He began to swing around, dodging several energy waves from the thug's swords as he swung around them.

'Holy cow...that was too close. Another second and I would have been dead!' Izuku thought before firing a web line at one of the masked men, grabbing his right knee. He yanked at this, making the thug flip over before swinging down and thrusting both legs into another thug, "Web Swing Kick!"

The thug went screaming into a pile of crates, two more yelling as they fired a set of energy waves at the vigilante. But as they did this, Izuku just zipped across the room, evading every blow as he swung down and kicked another in the stomach. And as he did this, Izuku glanced back at the room and saw there was only five thugs left...and they were all bunched together.

'Got ya.' he thought before firing web lines straight up and yanking himself. And as the masked men saw this and began to swing their swords, Izuku let out a yell, "Venom Smash!" He shot himself down as electricity flowed through a fist, slamming it into the ground a second later as the bolts surged off him, each one hitting the thugs. They all cried out before getting flung into the crates surrounding the room, knocking them all out.

Seeing this, Izuku let out a long breath he didn't realize he had been holding in. He put his hand to his mask and rubbed it down, muttering to himself, "That was too close. And Mister Li...he's a lot more powerful than these guys." As he said that, the teen went wide-eyed, "Oh no! Mister Li!"

The sound of a truck revving up could be heard just as he exclaimed that, making Izuku glance back at the double doors. He pointed his web shooters at the edges of the doors, only to hear: Psst!

"Oh, come on!" Izuku growled as he quickly switched out web fluid. "Stupid web shooters. I don't need that right now!"

The truck sound got louder, only to start getting quieter a second later, telling Izuku only one thing: The vehicle was about to start moving. "No!" He yelled before firing the webs this time, slingshotting himself into the double doors. He kicked both down, the metal frames going flying across the room he had just entered. There, he saw several masked men with gasoline cans, all turning to him.

"Where's Li?!" He roared, only for one of the masked thugs to yell back.

"The spider!"

"Oh yeah...still can't understand you guys." Izuku deadpanned before turning and seeing two thugs walk into the back of a semi that was in a large open garage that seemed to be a foot or so off the ground. "Oh, no you don't!" Izuku yelled before his spider sense rang out, glancing back to see the thugs from before all charging at him. But as they did this, Izuku just clenched his fists, "Out of my way!"

Two thugs swung their fists at him, Izuku ducking under both before slamming a fist into a thug's stomach, knocking him off his feet. This was followed by two more thugs throwing punches at Izuku, the teen backpedaling to dodge both before firing webs at their feet. He did a quick yank, knocking both off balance before Izuku punched a third thug, all three's backs now hitting the floor. Webs covered them all next, sticking them to the ground before one final thug leapt at the teen.

"Urgh!" Izuku grunted as masked man slammed his fist into the teen's face, almost knocking him back. But as the thug tried to hit him a second time, Izuku caught the fist as electricity surged through him.

ZAP!

The thug fell back with a single bolt, Izuku webbing him to the floor a second later. But at this happened, he turned to see the semi was now gone. "Shoot!" he yelped before firing two webs at the garage's edges before slingshotting himself outside, "Gotta go! I'll call the police on you guys later!"

And as Izuku began to swing over the streets, he pulled out his tracker, only to see a dot now moving away. 'Its the one I tagged earlier. Nice.' He looked ahead as he fired another web line. 'I will catch you Mister Li. Count on it!'

"That's the last one!" Death Arms roared as he hid behind a shield made by Crust. A barrage of bullets hit the barrier, both heroes hiding behind the shield. And as the bullets rained onto the two heroes, a certain capture weapon suddenly flew over the duo, hitting and tying up the armed thug, making him drop his machine gun. Seeing this, Crust made another shield that Death Arms leapt onto. He was thrust into the air, only to quickly tackle the thug, knocking him out in one blow.

"Nice!" Crust cheered and gave a thumbs up, Eraserhead walking up to him with a long sigh.

"Don't celebrate. This fight was pointless."

The heroes turned to him, Crust yelling, "But we just beat the entire gang here! We've captured a ton of villains!"

Aizawa shook his head, "Didn't you notice how little resistance we faced here? We just won in under half an hour. That means that whatever this place was for, it wasn't that important."

"But..." Crust tried to say, only for Death Arms to land beside him and cross his arms.

"He's right." Arms sighed while glaring at Aizawa, "I've read up on the Inner Demons case. They're known to be very well armed, and they're all brainwashed, right?"

"That's the theory." Eraser replied, "But I'm guessing you noticed there weren't that many here."

"I did." Arms responded, Crust now showing a huge frown.

"So...this was pointless?"

"Not quite." Naomasa chimed in as he walked up to them, several officers behind him as they began handcuffing and dragging away the masked men. "We shut this place down. That alone should slow down the Inner Demons' operations."

Aizawa glared at Naomasa at that comment, the detective giving a light shake of the head in response. Rolling his eyes at this, Eraser began to walk out of the building, Crust glaring at the leaving figure, "He needs to be more optimistic. We defeated villains tonight! That alone should be considered a great feat!"

Naomasa let out a chuckle at that, "I don't think he's ever been optimistic in his entire life." The detective began to follow Aizawa at this, repressing a sigh as he thought about what this meant. He knew Eraser was right. They had gotten to the building just a few minutes after the heroes had charged in, only find themselves just fighting a few at a time. The masked men had fought like animals, just charging in with blades and guns, thinking they could just fight with those weapons and no quirks. Instead, they got ran over by the group of heroes here, only to find that the warehouse was barely filled with the masked goons.

All in all, they cleared out the place in under half an hour. That alone made Naomasa nervous, because he knew this meant only one thing: Whatever Spider-Man was doing, that was probably where most of the Inner Demons were.

Izuku had never really realized till now just how fast web-swinging could be. He had tested his speed with it before, but nothing like this. His mind told him it was probably the adrenaline, the body pumping as he tried to get every bit of speed possible. Granted, he had done car chases before, but they had always been small, as he quickly caught up to the car.

However, the vehicle he was chasing had a head start, something that thankfully wasn't too much thanks to it being a semi. Still, he had to admit that the swinging did make it easy to traverse a city, allowing him to switch streets on the fly, as he could just zip over rooftops with ease. And he also felt he should record in his notebook that he should teach himself a bit of parkour later.

But as he did this, he fired another web line before glancing down at the tracker, seeing the vehicle was still ahead of him. It was also nighttime, making vision harder despite the many city lights. And as he did this, he glanced back up and saw a certain giant semi a few blocks away. It was armored on its sides, but still sleek looking.

'There it is. And if I'm right, Mister Li should be in that semi...I hope. I didn't actually see him get into it, but there wasn't any other moving vehicles.' He thought as he did a low swing, 'You can do this Izuku. You can do this.'

He then fired two web lines, slingshotting himself to the top of the semi. And as he hit the roof, he did a small roll, making a clanging noise. As he did this, his spider sense rang out, only to hear the sound of a door being opened. "Oh boy." He glanced over the side and saw that the back door of the semi was now moving. "Not this time. I'm not fighting another army of thugs coming out of a semi."

Izuku fired a web line at the edge of the roof and leapt off, doing a spin in mid-air as two thugs glanced up and saw the vigilante now about to swing right into the semi. "Web Swing Kick!" he yelled as he thrust both legs into the thugs, knocking them back. The two collided into a mountain of boxes, Izuku landing inside the truck. It was here he noticed that the two masked men were the only ones inside, the sight making him blink.

"Huh. There's only you two? That's...nice, yet disappointing." Izuku commented before firing two globs of webbing, sticking both to the truck floor. They began to yell at him, the teen just shaking his head before walking past them, "Let's see what you got back here. Maybe it'll help me figure out what's going on with Mister Li..." he commented as he opened one of the boxes. There, his eyes went wide as he saw it was filled with cash. 'Even more money. How much does Mister Li need?!'

He began to open the other boxes, finding a few had weapons, others had money, and a few had stashes of liquid containers. 'Is this...Trigger? I know its a quirk enhancing drug according to what I've looked up. Did they make this, or did they steal it from Tombstone?'

And as he inspected the box, the sound of footsteps above him suddenly rang out. Izuku glanced back and saw the thugs were still webbed up, but he also saw that the truck was still moving. 'Right. Got distracted.' He thought before closing his eyes, turning invisible. He then began to crawl up the semi's walls, soon slithering up its ceiling as he made his way back outside. The teen raised his head out of the semi at this, only to go wide-eyed again. On that truck's roof was Martin Li, the man still showing the inverted color scheme as he had earlier. The sight made Izuku's invisibility stop, the sight of the man shocking the teen as he saw Li now stare down at his head peeking out of the truck.

"The spider." Li remarked before gesturing to a sheathed katana in his right hand.

"Uh...hi." Izuku muttered out before crawling onto the semi's roof, slowly standing up as Li put his hand on the katana's handle. Seeing this, Izuku flashed both palms at the man, "Wait!" Li gripped the handle, but didn't pull out the blade. Instead, he just glared at the teen as Izuku slowly asked, "I uh...can I ask you something?"

Li's eyes narrowed at this, "What?!"

"Um..." Izuku stuttered out, only to feel his mind go blank. 'Come on Izuku, don't just freeze up! You...you got to know why he's doing this! Ask him!' He took a deep breath before asking, "I just have know...why?"

Li tilted his head at this, "Why?"

"Yeah!" Izuku exclaimed, not meaning to raise his voice, "I mean...why do this, Li? Why...why be a villain?! You run FEAST, don't you?! You made that to help others!" He raised his hands up, gesturing them, "Why do all this?! Why hurt people and...and...and run this weird masked gang?!"

And as Izuku's voice got louder and louder, Li just stood there. He stared directly at Izuku, as if looking into his soul before slowly responding, "I see. You seem to misunderstand something, spider."

"Misunderstand?"

Li did the smallest of nods before saying, "Indeed. You see...I am not Martin Li."

"You're not...what?!" Izuku muttered, "What are you talking about?! Of course you're Martin Li!"

Li shook his head, "I am not. You see, Li and I...we are two sides of the opposite coin. He is...the positive of our being."

"The...positive?" Izuku slowly replied, his mind now racing, 'He's not Mister Li? But...I saw him transform! I saw him turn into this...this...weird photonegative thing! Wait...he said there are two sides. Is...is Mister Li possessed or something? Is it his quirk?!' The teen did a slight shake of the head before asking, "If you're not Li, who are you?!"

"I...am the true Li. The one that will accomplish everything he can not. To do what he can not. That is my purpose." He responded, only to pull out the katana from its sheath. "I am the one that will cleanse this world of the evil I seek to destroy." As he said this, Izuku felt his body tense up, clenching his fists as he saw Li point the blade at him, "As for myself, call me...Mister Negative."

And in that moment, a black and white energy poured off the sword, more than anything Izuku had ever seen from the masked goons. Li then twirled the blade once before throwing the sheath away. "And now, I will destroy you."

Izuku's body shifted at this, his tightened fists raising up from his sides as his mind began to race, 'Cleanse an evil? But what would-' That thought made his brain go back to the hidden room, one word hitting his mind, his mouth opening at the same time, "Do...do you mean the Kingpin?"

Mister Negative's eyebrows slightly raised at this, only for him to respond, "I am surprised you know of him. However, he is but one of many I must eliminate."

Though Li couldn't see it, Izuku blinked at the response, "One of many?" He felt his fists tighten again, "Then...then why be a villain, Li?! Why commit all these crimes?!"

Li let out a low chuckle at that, "You are naive, spider. In order to win this battle, one must fight fire with fire. That is the way of a demon." A flare of black and white energy surged out of the man's katana as he added, "And that is my way. The way of Mister Negative." He then pointed the blade at the vigilante, "I won't let you interfere anymore. As the leader of the Inner Demons, I will cut you down!"

And as he declared this, Izuku felt his body tense again, his eyes staring at the man before him. The very sight made his mind say, 'I have to fight him. I...I don't think I have a choice.' Li then pointed the sword away, the blade now horizontal and just at the man's belt. As such, the energy flowing out of it looking like a shade of smoke that began to cover Li's face. The sight made it look like a black and white mask, one more demonic than any of the thugs under him.

Seeing this, Izuku's eyes narrowed as he slowly got into a fighting stance, only for his quirk analysis part of his brain to go into overdrive, 'I see. Mister Li did say his quirk is a 'villain quirk'. I don't know what his quirk is, but its like I'm looking at some sort of inner demon inside of Mister Li. Of what I saw before, the quirk does seem to do some kind of brainwashing element. Does that mean it brainwashes him as well?' At that thought, Izuku slightly shook his head, 'Focus Izuku! Just...if that's really the case, I'll just have to find a way to save him, even if it means fighting him.'

"Okay, Mister Negative...if you're not Li, I'm gonna beat you out of him! I will save him from you!" Izuku declared as electricity surged around his hands.

The declaration just made the villain laugh, "Save him?! HA! You foolish child..." He pointed the blade at Izuku again, "Did you not hear me before? I am the true Li."

Izuku shook his head, "No. You're just some...monster inside of him. And I'll find a way to save him!" Electricity crackled off him as he got down into a crouched position. "Let's go!"

Li just smirked at that before swinging his katana, an energy wave flying out of it a split second later. Spider sense screaming at him, Izuku quickly leapt over the attack, glad his spider strength gave him a boost to his jumping. And as he landed from dodging the first blow, Li thrust the blade at Izuku, the teen side-stepping away from it. Izuku then spun around and swung a kick up to Li's face, only for the villain to raise an arm and block the blow.

Seeing this, Izuku hopped back, dodging another sword swipe from Li at the same time. But as he got back into a position, he saw that the back of his feet were at the end of the semi. 'Shoot. Already about to lose my footing.' He glanced back at Li, seeing a burst of energy surge from his katana. 'I gotta be careful here. I don't want to get hit by that giant energy wave thing that he did back at the hideout.'

Li then swiped the blade again, firing another energy wave. Izuku leapt over it as well, only for Li to thrust his blade upward, firing a second wave at the airborne teen. Spider sense screamed at him at this, Izuku quickly firing a web line at the semi roof, yanking himself down to dodge the wave. His body hit the roof and did a roll, getting back onto his feet as he thrust an electrified fist at the villain. "Venom Punch!" He yelled, only for Li to hop back, avoiding the blow before thrusting the blade at Izuku again. But as he did this, Izuku just side-stepped again, dodging the sword.

This was followed by Li swinging the blade again and again, Izuku backpedaling as he tried to evade each attack, no energy waves coming out this time. And as this happened, Izuku tried to point his wrist at Li, firing a glob of webbing at the man's face, only for Li to swipe it away with a flick of his sword before thrusting it at Izuku again.

The two began a dance at this, Li swinging his sword in precise movements as Izuku's spider sense kept yelling at him. Improvising was taking over the vigilante again, feeling the same adrenaline he felt dodging the hero killer. But despite this, he felt himself hesitating, his eyes staring straight at Li as the man continued to try and hit the teen. There wasn't much killing intent from him, or at least compared to the hero killer. Instead, Izuku felt nothing but raw power coming from the villain. As if he was fighting an intelligent animal compared to the raving crazed hero killer.

But as this happened, Izuku found that every dodge wasn't enough. Li kept nicking him, the energy coming off the blade just scratching the teen as he danced around the villain. Not only that, every energy wave that shot of the blade collided with the nearby buildings and cars, Izuku hearing the sounds of the few vehicles at night exploding and honking at the still moving semi as it passed through red light after red light. Damage was happening all around him, the teen finding himself unable to stop the slowly increasing destruction as he dodged another thrust, only to swing a punch at the villain that Li quickly hopped back to evade.

"You will not beat me, spider." Li remarked as energy flared off his blade, "You can not even touch me."

And as he said that, Li slashed at Izuku's chest, the very tip of the blade drawing blood. "Yaugh!" Izuku yelped as the blow slightly sliced open his costume. It was just a nick, but the teen felt it. The vigilante was heavily panting now, feeling the pressure of everything he had already done tonight now hitting his body. Despite this, he didn't reply, instead backpedaling one foot before firing another shot of webbing at the villain. Li just spun his blade in front of himself, blocking the webs before feeling something hit his feet. He glanced down to see Izuku had webbed them to the semi's roof, Li quickly slashing the blade at the webs. But as the webs were cut down, another web line hit the katana, only for Li to feel a sudden yank.

"Gimme that!" Izuku roared as he pulled the blade out of Li's hands. The villain stumbled for a second at this, Izuku catching the blade before throwing it off the semi.

"NO!" Li yelled as he saw his katana now hit the street behind Izuku, clanging and bouncing on the asphalt.

"Sorry, but just like I told your masked goons: When I'm around, its a no sharp deadly weapon zone!" Izuku declared before electricity charged out of his right arm. "This ends here! Venom Punch!"

And as he charged at Li, the villain just raised his hand at the incoming blow. He caught the electrified fist, the electricity surging through his body. But as he caught it, Izuku felt he couldn't pull his hand away, only to see black and white energy pour out of Li's hand...and into Izuku's fist.

"What are you....doing?!"

"Giving you a new perspective." Mister Negative spat as Izuku saw the energy now cover his fist. But as Izuku saw this, he suddenly felt a headache coming on, as if something was hammering away at his head. And as this happened, his spider sense let out a scream, Izuku feeling like his brain flicked on a switch as he suddenly charged in more electricity than he had ever done before into his fist.

"Yaugh!" Li yelped as the electricity zapped his hand, making him let go of Izuku's fist. The two both stumbled back, Izuku flicking his hand up and down as Li just gripped his hand. "How did you-" Li glanced back up at Izuku, the teen now flexing his hand before glaring back at the villain, "You...you resisted the negative?!"

"The negative?" Izuku blurted out.

Li's eyes narrowed in response as energy began to pour out of his hands again. "It seems I underestimated you. I see now why my demons were having such trouble with you."

"Demons? You mean your goons?"

"Yes." Li replied before holding up his palm, the sight making Izuku flinch.

Danger!

"Uh-oh." Izuku muttered out as energy began swirl around Li's hand.

"Die spider!"he roared as a giant blast of energy shot out of his hand, instantly consuming everything around Izuku.

BOOM!

An explosion rocked the back of the semi, slightly contorting the end of its roof as Li fell to one knee. He stared at the energy blast he had just made, the blast having knocked Spider-Man off the vehicle. The teen hit the road, rolling on the concrete as the semi kept moving. And as Izuku came to a stop, his eyes were closed as he felt nothing but pain wrack his entire body. This was followed by him feeling the ground shake, as if giant footsteps were rocking the street he was laying on now.

The vigilante slowly opened his eyes at this, seeing nothing but a blur as he tried to glance around. "Oooohhhh..." He moaned, his hands rubbing the hard pavement before glancing up. The semi Li was on had vanished, as it had already taken a turn down another street.

'My...head. It...hurts. Everything...hurts.' Izuku barely thought as he tried to get up, only to feel his knees buckle in pain. 'No...no! Move Izuku! Move!'

His head slowly looked up at this, only to see another sight. The source of the giant footsteps was now in the distance, as he now saw Mount Lady running down a street with Kamui Woods and Edgeshot on her shoulders. 'The Lurkers.' he mentally commented before trying to get onto his feet again. 'They must be...going after Li.' He then looked down at his hands, seeing the collision with the pavement had ripped up the gloves, but the healing factor was slowly starting its process. His web shooters were fine though.

And with a long deep breath and one big push, he stood up. Taking a long deep breath, he clutched his side before telling himself, "I gotta...go help. Gotta...stop Mister Nega-" He slightly shook his head, "No. Mister Li. Gotta help...Mister Li."

With that, he pointed his web shooters at a nearby building and fired, yanking himself back into the air. And as he began web-swinging, he felt his body clench up, but ignored the pain as he knew he had to do one thing. He had to keep going.

"There's the target!" Kamui announced as Mount Lady chased down what looked like to be a slightly damaged semi. "Look!" Kamui pointed to the insides of the semi, the two other heroes barely able to see the duo of webbed up thugs inside the vehicle under the night sky. They then saw Mister Negative standing on top of the semi, the man just staring at them. "I don't understand. We were told Spider-Man would be part of this. He's obviously been here, but...where is he?"

"That doesn't matter. Whomever is on that roof must be a villain! He certainly looks the part with that energy quirk coming out of his hands." Edgeshot declared as he put two fingers up to his forehead. "Mount Lady, try to stop the vehicle. Me and Kamui will subdue the villain!"

"Got it!" Mount Lady replied as she kept running after the semi.

"I'll go first. Throw me!" Kamui exclaimed as he leapt down into Mount Lady's palm, the giant woman throwing the hero a second later. He then shot out a barrage of wood over the truck as he landed on the roof, Li just watching as the branches quickly thrust into him, the wood instantly wrapping around his chest and arms. Kamui slightly hesitated at this, surprised he was able to easily grab the villain.

That is, till Li just flicked his hand and had it grab the branches now wrapped around him. The branches instantly turned black, Kamui's eye slightly widening before he tried to pull the wood back. But as he did this, he suddenly felt Li gripping the wood he had used to tie the villain up with, only for every bit of those branches to turn jet black. The brown color of wood began to turn more and more black, the color soon consuming every bit of wood as Kamui tried to pull away, only for the black part to reach his arm...and it went up to his face.

"What are you-"

"I'm giving you a new perspective." Li interrupted as Kamui let out a scream as the black energy consumed him, the other heroes gasping.

It had all happened in just a few seconds, the other heroes yelling, "Kamui!"

But as they screamed this, Mount Lady trying to go even faster, the branches wrapped around Li instantly went limp before going back into Kamui. The hero was now glowing black and white as Li smiled at the sight. He then pointed at the other members of the Lurkers and said,"Kill the heroes."

"Yes master."Kamui responded as he spun around and fired a barrage of wood at both. The branches instantly hit Mount Lady, pushing her back as Edgeshot leapt off the giant woman, dodging the attack.

"Ack! Kamui!" Lady yelped as the branches instantly wrapped around her and began to constrict, "AAAAHHHH!"

"Mount Lady!" Edgeshot gasped before glaring back at the hero now attacking her, "Kamui! What are you doing?!" Kamui responded by firing another volley of lumber at Edgeshot, the ninja hero instantly turning into string to dodge the attack. As he did this, Kamui leapt off the semi as he continued to constrict Mount Lady, Edgeshot then folding his body as he zipped himself down one of Kamui's branches.

But as he was about to reach Kamui, the hero summoned a barrier of wood, stopping the hero before he folded his body as he avoided another attack of branches. "Blast it! Snap out of it Kamui!" Edgeshot yelled as he wrapped around another branch before slamming a foot into Kamui's head, knocking the hero back. The blow made him loosen his grip on Mount Lady slightly, causing her to flex out her arms, breaking through the lumber.

"Raaaah!" She roared as she got free, only to glance down and see Kamui fire another branch that smacked Edgeshot in the head. Her eyes slightly widening at this, she pulled back a fist, "Sorry Kamui, but this is for your own good."

She thrust a fist straight down at the wood hero, Kamui quickly creating a shield of lumber around his whole body as the fist slammed into it. The branches began to crack and break at the attack, Edgeshot getting back up as he exclaimed, "Good! Keep him like that, Mount Lady!" He then began to fold his body, turning into a strand of string as he zipped into the wood barrier, quickly slithering through the cracks.

And as this happened, Li had watched the start of the fight against Kamui from the fleeing semi with a smirk before it took another turn, the sight vanishing before his eyes."It seems I have both won and lost this day. I lost my hideouts...but these heroes will no longer bother me. Including that vigilante Spider-Man. There is no way he survived that blast."He commented before spinning around,"A shame I lost my blade...but I suppose I can always get another."

Li began dusting off his suit, tugging at it for a second before spinning around. He slowly walked up the roof, the smirk on his face turning into a grin. But that smile would not last, as the sound of something landing on the semi made him glance back, only to see a certain vigilante known as Spider-Man. Part of his costume was ripped up, especially his gloves and a rip down the chest. Despite this, the mask was still intact along with the hoodie, and the teen was now in a crouched fighting stance.

"How...how are you still alive?! You took that blast head-on! It should have killed you!" Li yelped as energy surged around his hands, both tensing up into fists.

"Sorry, but I have a lot of experience when it comes to explosion quirk users." Izuku replied as electricity appeared around his hands. "Ready for round two? Or is it three now?"

"It is the final. You will die here, spider." Mister Negative replied as his hand switched from fist to open palm as he pointed it at Izuku.

"Not this time!" the teen yelled as he pointed his wrist and fired. Webbing instantly hit the palm as he yanked it, Li's hand being pulled upward before energy began to burst out of it. But before it could become the giant energy attack like before, Li grabbed the webbing with his other hand, all that energy now going through that one as he burned the webbing off of him.

And as this happened, Izuku charged at him with an electric surging fist. "Venom Punch!" He roared as he thrust the jab right at Li, only for the villain to side-step, dodging the attack as Izuku went past him. The teen almost stumbled, quickly getting his footing as he spun around to see Li about to throw a punch at him.

Danger!

Spider sense blared at this, Izuku now backpedaling as he shifted his head to the right, barely dodging the fist. This was followed by two more punches, Izuku quickly sidestepping as he just stayed a hair ahead of Li, only for a fourth jab to hit Izuku in the face. Li began a fifth swing at this, Izuku raising a hand to catch the fist. And as he caught it, Li slammed a fist into the teen's stomach, making Izuku clench up.

"Weak!"Li hissed as he hit Izuku in the stomach again. He then pulled a fist back, energy surging around it as he was about to thrust it into Izuku's face. But as he did this, the teen's spider sense screamed at him before raising a palm right up to the fist. And as he caught this, Li felt his fist suddenly get zapped as Izuku surged electricity through."Yaugh!"

Li stumbled back at this, only to feel Izuku's fist smack his face, then a second jab. And as Izuku thrust a third punch, Li backpedaled, dodging the blow before trying to throw another punch. Spider sense yelling at him, Izuku ducked under the jab, only to evade two more. He could feel this spider sense guiding him, now getting just a split second ahead of the villain.

And as they did this dance of evasion, the semi began to take a long turn. At the same time, Li's fists began to surge with black and white energy again. Izuku felt his spider sense scream at this, knowing this meant only one thing. Li was about to do another giant energy attack, making the teen flinch as he hopped back to the end of the semi. Seeing this, the villain pointed his palm at the vigilante. "Fool. Now you die!"

Energy began to swirl into the palm, Izuku staring at it as the attack that had almost killed him twice was about to happen again. But as it was about to come of the villain, Izuku fired two web lines upward...and yanked. The teen was thrusted right up, the energy blast surging out of Li just as Izuku pulled himself skyward. He felt himself curl up, doing a flip as the energy wave went right under his feet. And as Izuku glanced back down to the still moving semi, he saw the blast hit the street, hitting several cars and building, ripping them apart before looking back at Li.

And then he saw the villain on one knee, letting out a long heavy pant. 'That attack...it takes a lot out of him.' He pointed his wrist down at the semi, 'This is my chance!'

Thwip!

As the webbing hit the truck, the vigilante yanked himself right down onto the vehicle. Landing in a crouched position, Li glanced up to see as he saw the teen rush up to him. He tried to lift his arms over his face, trying to put up his guard, but it was too late.

"Venom Punch!" Izuku roared as an electrified fist slammed into Li's face, making him scream out in pain. Li was knocked right off his feet, only for Izuku to fire a web line into the villain's chest and yank him back. Izuku followed this with another punch, this one without electricity, Li's back hitting the semi's roof a second later. Webs covered his body next, Li's hands surging with energy as they instantly ripped through the webs, only for Izuku to fire more and more down on him.

"Stay down! Please stay down!" Izuku yelled as kept firing webbing at him. But as he did this, Li continued to rip through the webbing with hands, only to hear a 'psst!'. The noise made both freeze up, Izuku grimacing under his mask as he yelped, "Oh, come on!"

"Spider!"Li screeched as his energy surging hands ripped through webbing again, now pulling out his arms as he began to rip up the webbing covering his chest. Thankfully, his legs were fully webbed up, giving Izuku the time he needed to switch webbing cartridges. And as he refilled the webbing, his spider sense blared as he looked back at Li as he pointed his palm at him, energy pouring out of it."Die!"

The palm began to glow white, about to fire the energy blast as Izuku stared at it. And in that split second, Izuku pointed his wrist at the hand and fired a strand of webbing. The web hit just as the energy began to flow, only for the teen to yank at it, causing him to fire the energy to the side, just missing the vigilante.

"This ends now!" Izuku yelled as he let go of the webs, electricity surging through his right hand. He leapt at Li just as he lifted his other palm at the vigilante, but it was too late. In that split second, Izuku grabbed his shoulder, lightning surging through the palm into the villain.

"YEAUGH!"Li screamed as the electricity surged through his whole body, Izuku grabbing the other shoulder as more and more lightning pumped through. But as he did this, Li grabbed his shoulders, black and white energy now going through his hands as he zapped Izuku.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Izuku cried as he closed his eyes for a second, only to squeeze them open a second later, now seeing Li glare at him, electricity flying off his body as Izuku kept zapping him. It felt as if both were pulling and pushing at the same time, the duo screaming as they kept trying to knock the other out with their strongest power.

And as the seconds passed, black and white energy began to crawl off Izuku's shoulders, slowly going up to his face. The energy was about to go right up to Izuku's brain...and then it happened. Darkness filled Izuku's vision, everything around him turning black and white. The semi they were on, his costume, the buildings they were passing by, all of them turned black and white.

"What did you-" Izuku muttered out, not noticing his bio-electricity sputtering out as he saw Li now grinning.

"You are now in my domain!" he laughed, only for Izuku's eyes to go wide as he saw a pillar of blackish smoke rise out of the villain. It then formed a giant being, complete with a mask just like all the other thugs wore, though it was several times bigger.

"What in the-" Izuku stuttered before glancing back at Li, the two still locked as they gripped each others' shoulders. The teen's eyes shifted between the two, his mind now reeling, 'That giant thing...its just like what I saw earlier. Is this...is this thing Mister Li's inner demon or something? Is it warping his mind?!'

"You will now become mine Spider! I now know how you resisted me before with your...electricity power, but it won't work this time! Behold, my quirk, my Inner Demon, The Negative!" Li exclaimed as Izuku looked back at him, now seeing a crazed grin on the villain's face.

And as he stared at Li as the giant masked monster behind him began to move, Izuku's eyes narrowed as he increased his grip on Li. The villain slightly flinched at this, only to let out a roar, "Become mine, Spider!"

"I'm not yours or anyone else's!" Izuku yelled as electricity began to flow through him again. "And I'll save you right now Li!"

"YEAUGH!" Li yelped, his hands quickly shifting from Izuku's shoulders to the teen's arms. He then surged the energy from before into Izuku, making the vigilante let go. Seeing this, Li then raised his leg and kicked Izuku in the stomach, making the teen stumble back for just a second before his spider sense screamed at him. Li pointed a palm right at Izuku, energy swirling in it as Izuku glanced at him, pointed his wrist, and fired. The web line instantly hit Li's chest just as the energy was about to come out of his palm, and with a mighty yank, he pulled the villain off his feet.

"No, wait-" Li tried to say as Izuku pulled back a fist.

"Venom Uppercut!" Izuku roared as he slammed his electrified fist into Li's chin. And as the blow connected, the black and white world around Izuku instantly disappeared. He blinked at the sight, only to look down in front of him. Li's entire form was now laying on the semi's roof, completely and utterly knocked out. He took a deep breath at this, and pointed his wrist at the villain. A second later, webbing covered the man.

'I...I did it.' Izuku thought before glancing back up and seeing that the semi was still moving, only for its horn to suddenly ring out. Blinking at this, the teen quickly ran up to the front and glanced down through the front window, now seeing the thug driving the truck face down on the vehicle's wheel, looking like he was unconscious. 'Did me taking out Mister Li knock him out too? If that's the case, I better stop this thing!' The teen crawled over to the driver's door and yanked it open with his spider strength, glancing down to the pedals, 'I think this one is the brake.'

Thwip!

Webbing covered the break as the truck began to rapidly come to a stop, almost yanking Izuku off the side. And as it came to a complete stop, Izuku climbed back onto the roof and stared down at the still knocked out Mister Negative. He was still in the photonegative form, the sight just confusing the poor teen.

'Mister Li...why? Why did you do all this? I...I still don't understand.' He glanced down at his hands, seeing they were still red and scratched up from the earlier asphalt tumble, 'I...I still solve anything. Should I have not fought him? Was this even a good idea?' He flexed his hands, feeling a tinge of pain, 'Did I even do anything to help him?'

That thought made the teen fill like a hole had just appeared in his stomach. As such, the teen went back to staring at the villain, his mind going over question after question...and not a single answer. He had never felt more clueless. And as these thoughts flowed through his mind, a rumbling sound cut him out of thoughts. Izuku spun around and now saw a certain giant woman a few blocks away.

'The Lurkers...' He looked back at Li one last time, 'Mister Li...just what were you trying to do?' And with that thought, he put his hand in his hoodie and pulled out a small card and pencil, 'Maybe...maybe this is all a useless Deku like me is good for.'

A few written words later, the teen was gone. Turning invisible and swung away, what was left was what looked like several scorched streets and overturned cars, along with a stopped semi with three knocked out masked thugs, and one unmasked villain fully webbed up on top. That was the sight the Lurkers were greeted with, confusion on all three faces.

And as Izuku got home, he found his mother asleep. It looked like she had tried to wait for him, only to fall into the land of dreams anyways. The sight didn't make Izuku show any emotion though. Instead, he stripped out of his costume, several tears slightly growing in his eyes before flopping onto the bed, instantly passing out.

A certain man's footsteps were almost silent as he walked down an alleyway, eyes glancing back and forth. He had been following the action for some time in a slow pace. After all, he knew exactly what he was looking for. A grin appeared on his face as he walked through another alley, only to come to a stop.

"Bingo." he whispered to himself as he leaned down and picked up something on the ground. His grin widened as he stared at the object: A katana with blood on the tip.

Putting his hand in his pocket next, he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number. A second later, a voice responded as the man said, "Its me." Another voice murmured through the phone, the man responding a second later, "Yes sir. You were right, and unfortunately, its out of reach now." A grin shined on the man's face, "However, I believe I have something that will compensate." He held up the katana at this, his eyes staring at the red liquid on its tip, "Trust me, you'll like what I just found."

Chapter 29: The First Curtain Closes

Chapter Text

The week was now over. School was starting up again for UA, all its first year students now coming back from their internships. To many, it was an informative week, to some it was...challenging. For one in particular, it was a total waste of time, and for another, it was something they did not expect. In fact, they went into this week dreading it, only to come out beyond surprised.

That one was Shoto Todoroki, son of the Number Two Hero, Endeavor. He had gone into the week with his usual indrawn, aloof self, hiding the annoyance and hatred that he had for his old man. This was followed by his father repeatedly yelling at him, telling him to use his flames, saying that was the reason Bakugo easily beat him, and why there was burn marks all over Shoto's body now. But the teen didn't want to use those flames, ones he considered to be pure evil.

No, he held nothing but hatred for his father, but only agreed to take his internship because he knew it was the best way to get experience. He still wanted to be a hero, something his mom had told him he could do...though it didn't really help when he was constantly getting berated all the time.

But that changed once the two of them went villain hunting. Specifically, the hero hunter. Shoto didn't ask or complain about it, as he knew it would be good experience despite going after something that was way out of his league. And as they went to Hosu, the duo soon found it being attacked by the monsters that he had seen at the USJ. This was followed by him helping the evacuation while his father beat the Nomu, only for the attack to come to an abrupt end.

And then they found the hero killer...who had been already beaten by a vigilante. Spider-Man. The teen didn't really know anything about him, all he remembered was hearing the class he was part of talk about it at lunch one day, but he didn't pay it any mind. Now, he was regretting that. For right after Spider-Man had beaten the hero killer, he talked back to Endeavor. No one talked back to his father. Even Shoto had a hard time doing it and the vigilante just...made fun of him to his face! Incredible! And this was followed by his father chasing after Spider-Man, losing him and then went home furious. Spider-Man had made fun of his father and successfully evaded him! It was something Shoto didn't think was even possible.

And that wasn't all, as for the rest of the week, the news kept going over and over the footage of the hero killer and Spider-Man, saying how he had done the heroes' job. For Endeavor, his anger had no bounds. He lectured Shoto on the ride home about how vigilantes had ruined everything in an incident a few years back and how Spider-Man was no different. It was a story Shoto had never heard before, but after hearing it and what had happened that day, Shoto wished he had known about it sooner. He would have gone into vigilantism on the spot if this was what made his father this angry.

Instead, the teen went to bed that night, pulled out his phone and spent some time looking up everything he could on the vigilante. He found that there wasn't much on him, but a forum known as the 'Spidey Squad' had just been formed a few days ago. The teen instantly signed up for it, making him a 'spidey-fan' on the site. He then looked up to see if there was any merchandise, only to find nothing...at least, in terms of what he could buy online without his father knowing. He might be able to find something local though, but it would have to be later.

As such, Shoto found Endeavor growling at the news all week long while trying to train Shoto and do small patrols, only to see the vigilante on even more news, along with the hero killer proclaiming 'the word hero holds no meaning anymore' or something like that. But that stuff with the hero killer didn't really interest Shoto. And as the week came to an end, Shoto knew what he wanted to do when he got back to school. He wanted to ask his classmates what they knew about Spider-Man.

Naomasa let out a long sigh as he walked down a hallway. He rubbed his eyes at this, having just woken up from a small nap after the crazy ending of last night. Though he would admit that the ending was the worse part of that night as well. It began when him and Aizawa had finished locking down the hideout that Death Arms, Crust and X-Less had helped take out. That event was fine, mainly because they captured everything, not a single member of the Inner Demons getting away.

It was the few minutes after that that was the issue. For after him and Aizawa had got back to Naomasa's car, an officer rang out on the scanner, saying the Lurkers were in pursuit of something. Sharing a glance with the underground hero, the two quickly drove off. This was followed by them driving through the city, only to come to a stop when they found the Lurkers stuck in a street...fighting each other. The sight made them raise eyebrows before getting out to figure out what was going on, only for the fight to come to a stop.

This was followed by the Lurkers trying to repeat their earlier chase, only for them to find a semi with several webbed up people on the vehicle. The trio of heroes told the detective what had happened next, saying the villain had somehow brainwashed Kamui Woods and the two had to try and contain him. Aizawa then used his quirk on Kamui, but found it did nothing, making them conclude the quirk had already lost its effects on the pro hero.

After that, they investigated the semi, now finding even more money, drugs and weapons. That and on the roof was the villain behind it all, a man none of them recognized. It wasn't till they had him cuffed with quirk nullifying handcuffs and hauled off to the station that they found out that it was a man named Martin Li. His profile showed him as a philanthropist, one who had made an organization to help the needy. This information was the final straw for Aizawa, as he said he was sick of all the irrational stuff the last few hours had done and told he'd help Naomasa with the case after a nap and a day of classes.

Naomasa was fine with this, but also found himself in a standstill. For when they picked up Martin, they found a note from Spider-Man that said:This may sound strange, but please go easy on him. I believe there's still good within him. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

That note was something he had read over and over as he finished his walk down that hallway and opened a door, glancing inside to see Martin Li cuffed to a makeshift hospital bed with quirk nullifying handcuffs on him. The man had been unresponsive since they found him, but his injuries weren't bad. Nothing life threatening, just some broken bones.

This was then followed by the police chief telling him that the hero commission is now repeatedly asking every day when the Spider-Man case is going to be solved. He told him that they're going to start really breathing down the police's necks soon, and Naomasa has to figure out something. However, the detective had a feeling that this was just the beginning.

"Tough night, huh?" chimed in a voice, making Naomasa turn to see it was cat-headed Sansa.

"Oh yeah." Naomasa sighed as he shook his head, "Not sure if I can take it anymore, honestly."

"That bad?" Sansa asked with a tilted head. "You know, you could just tell the chief you need a break."

"I..." Naomasa tried to say, only to look back at Li before glancing down at the note from the crime scene, which was now just a photo on his phone as the real one had been placed into evidence. "I don't know Sansa. I just...I don't know. I don't get how one vigilante is doing this much so quickly." He shut off the phone at this and put it back in his pocket, "I just...I get the feeling this is going to get even worse before it gets better."

Sansa patted his back at that, "Come on, let's go talk to the chief and see if he can let you get some rest. You need it."

Naomasa stared at him for a second, only to nod, "Thanks..."

Midnight had just walked into the teacher's lounge when she saw it. It was Aizawa's giant yellow sleeping bag, fully zipped up to signify the man was fast asleep inside. The sight made her shake her head, knowing that she should wake him, but she had also heard that he had a case literally last night.

Seeing this, she left the room and waltzed over to the classroom for class 1-A, glancing inside with a big grin. However, the sight inside made her smile slowly change to a frown. In the classroom was only one student, Tenya Iida, who had a dead stare on his face. She had been given a rundown on what had happened to him over the internships, mainly over the hero killer and Spider-Man. She had been hearing a lot of stuff on that vigilante recently, mainly on the news of how he was doing the heroes' jobs, the thought making her want to sigh. She was really hoping the students won't get attached to something like that.

It was here that the other students began to file in. The relatively quiet ones were first, such as Todoroki and Shoji, the rest soon walking into the room. It wasn't until a certain blonde boy named Katsuki Bakugo walked in that things started to get loud. A few were laughing at his hair, which was a combover, the woman stifling a giggle as well. This was followed by the final student walking into the classroom, Ochako Uraraka. She had a long frown on her face, and Midnight could see she was beat up and bruised despite hiding it under her clothes.

But before she could ask what happened, the girl walked in and gasped, "Iida!" The glasses wearing boy turned to her, the girl showing a concerned frown, "Hey, you okay? I heard about what happened."

Iida slowly replied at that, "I am...unsure."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Uraraka responded as she sat down beside him, "Do you uh...wanna talk about it?"

Iida stared at her for a second, only to glance away, "I...I don't know."

"What happened?" chimed in a voice, making Uraraka turn to see Mina and Tsuyu staring at them.

"Oh, uh...Iida apparently fought the hero killer with Spider-Man last week." Uraraka responded, making Mina go wide-eyed while Tsuyu put her finger to her chin. Todoroki and Kirishima turned to them at this, both hearing the vigilante's name as she glanced back at Iida, "Anyways, I just wanted to see if you were okay. I heard about what the hero killer did to your brother. I'm sorry about what happened."

"I...will be fine." Iida replied as he closed his eyes. "My apologies. I'm still...recovering."

Uraraka nodded at this, "I understand." She then put her hand on the teen's shoulder, "Just know we're all here to help." Iida glanced back up at her at this, now seeing Mina, Tsuyu and Kirishima also nod.

And before he could thank them, Todoroki walked over and spoke up, "Iida, could I ask you something?" They all turned to him, surprised the usually quiet teen was asking for anything. The sight made a few others in the class glance over, including Katsuki.

"Um...sure." Iida slowly responded.

"I know I was there at the end of the fight with the hero killer, but I never got to ask you: What was meeting Spider-Man like?"

Multiple students showed different reactions at this, Uraraka and Iida showing surprise, Tsuyu just blinking at him while Mina and Kirishima whispered to each other. A few others in class began to murmur at this, only for Katsuki to speak up, "Who?"

Almost all of the class turned to the blonde, the teen raising an eyebrow at the sudden stares as Kirishima said, "Don't you know about Spider-Man, Bakubro? He's all over the news!"

"No. And stop calling me that or I'll turn you into ash, you worthless extra." Katsuki growled, making Kirishima glare at him before he turned back to the others, "Who the heck is Spider-Man?! What, is he some hero that's been rising the ranks or something?!"

Everyone was about to respond, but Iida beat them to the punch as he pushed his glasses up his face, "Spider-Man is a vigilante that has been making news recently. He is the reason why the sports festival we were part of had such low viewership, and he is the one that defeated the villain who hurt my brother, the hero killer."

And as those words entered Katsuki's ears, he let out a cackle, "Pfft! Seriously?! Wow. Then your brother must have been some loser!"

"What did you just say?!" Iida barked back, the teen now glaring at the explosive blonde. "My brother is a great hero who took on a monster of a villain!"

Katsuki just leaned back in his seat and waved a hand, "No, he's a total loser. If this so-called hero killer got beat by a vigilante, then he must have just been some F-rank villain."

Iida slammed a fist on his desk at that, his glare intensifying as he growled, "He wasn't some F-rank villain! He was a monster!"

"Yeah right." Katsuki spat as he stuck out his tongue, "If some nobody vigilante can beat him, then thishero killermust have been a weakling." The teen then saw the glare he was getting from Iida and now Todoroki staring at him, making him let out a scoff, "Oh please, everyone knows vigilantes are losers that failed to become heroes. That means this Spider-Man is the same, just worthless trash." Over half the class was now staring at the blonde as he added, "Wait...you said he's the reason the festival got low views. Why?! What could some pathetic vigilante do to make that happen?!"

"He fought a gang war all by himself just outside of UA's doorstep." Todoroki instantly responded in a flat tone, everyone turning to him.

"Seriously?!" Bakugo sneered, "You're joking, right? There's no way the media would rather talk about that instead of the festival."

"What, you think you're more important?" Todoroki asked in a low voice.

"Uh, yeah! Of course I am!" Bakugo yelled as he stopped leaning back, "I won the festival, didn't I?!" He pointed to himself, "That makes it more important than some loser vigilante!"

Iida opened his mouth to respond to this one, only for Todoroki to chime in again, "I wouldn't speak lightly over Spider-Man. I've seen what he's done, and I know for a fact that he could easily beat you."

Katsuki's face lit up at that, slamming his hand into his desk as an explosion came off his palm, "What was that, Half-and-half?! Want me to roast you again like I did at the festival?!" He stood up and got right up into Todoroki's face, "It'll only take me a second to beat a worthless Endeavor-wannabe like you!"

Ice began to form off Todoroki's side at that, his usual blank expression showing a hint of anger at the comment, only to see Iida stand up as well. Explosions began to pop off Katsuki's hands at this, a vicious grin appearing on his face. "You wanna go too? Come on then, you pathetic extras. I'll kick both your-"

"Stop!" Kirishima yelled as he got between the three, "Don't start the day off with a fight! There's no need-"

"Shut it, extra." Katsuki spat as he grabbed Kirishima's shoulder and pushed him away, the boy stumbling into some chairs as Bakugo cricked his neck, "These losers think they can take me, and I know I can beat them without trying."

"You..." Iida growled, the rest of the class now staring at the three. Some were grimacing at the sight, teens like Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, and Koda were all fidgeting. Tsuyu grabbed Uraraka's shoulder as she was about to try and interfere, the girl glancing back at the frog quirk user as Tsuyu shook her head. Mina had gone over to Kirishima, pulling him back to make sure he didn't just straight up attack Katsuki. The rest were all just watching, their eyes going back and forth between the two sides.

And watching it all was Midnight, the teacher about to walk in, only for a hand to grab her side. She glanced back and saw it was Aizawa, a dead tired look in his eyes as he said, "Don't bother."

"But-"

"Forget it. It's not worth it." Aizawa grumbled as he let go of her and took out a cup of coffee from his sleeping bag. He took a sip as he added, "I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no. I'm not doing anything about Bakugo."

"Seriously?! Shouta, despite how much I disagree with your love for expulsions, you have to admit you need to do something about Bakugo!" She pointed to the classroom as Bakugo leaned up closer to Todoroki's face, "Did not see the festival and the battle trials?! I watched the footage, and the injuries he gave to Aoyama and Uraraka in the trials were terrible!" Aizawa just stared blankly away from her at this, making the woman groan, "Shouta...I know Nezu told you to do something about him-"

Aizawa rolled his eyes, "I'm not doing a thing. He has the most potential, the best grades and the best control of his quirk. The rest should be expelled instead. They have no drive and don't take heroics seriously."

Midnight shook her head at this, "They're just kids, Shouta. You know your expulsion method doesn't always work. You need to-"

"It works." Aizawa grumbled before sighing, "Unfortunately, the internships had some...consequences, which of course were related to this stupid case I'm part of." The man put a hand to his face and pinched his temple, "Stupid Spider-Man. I can't believe I lost so much sleep over a bunch of dead ends and pointless villain fights."

"Shouta-"

"Anyways," Aizawa interrupted, "If I expel them right now, they might think its because of the internships going wrong instead of them realizing why they're expelled." He turned to her with a glare, "My method works. If they think they're just allowed to be heroes because they can beat up a bunch of toys in the entrance exam and win a few festival games against a bunch of other incompetent kids, they don't deserve to be here." He let out a low growl as he began to move around her, "Get to your class Kayama. I have work to do."

Midnight shook her head at this before sighing and walking away as Aizawa entered the classroom doorframe. And as he did this, Katsuki continued to pop tiny explosions in his palms, "Oh yeah, four-eyes?! I bet you learned nothing over your internships! Heck, I bet all of you didn't improve a bit because you're nothing but a bunch of worthless-"

"Say another word and you're expelled." interrupted a voice, everyone turning to see Aizawa. "Get to your seats. Now. You're wasting time, which is irrational, and I will expel all of you for it."

Katsuki growled at the teacher at that, Iida and Todoroki spinning around and quickly taking their seats. As they did this, Uraraka watched her classmates sit down with a long frown on her face. Most were wearing frowns just like hers, the sight making her feel even more uneasy as her teacher made an announcement, stating they would be getting a new student. A minute later, the gen-ed kid that made third in the festival, Shinso Hitoshi, walked into the room.

And as he was introduced, she slumped back into her seat as a single thought went through her head, 'I wonder how everyone else's internships went...'

Naomasa's eyes creaked open, his mouth letting out a long yawn. He slowly got out of his desk chair, having just finished a small cat nap. He rubbed his face as he walked out of his office, only for another officer to walk up to him just as he closed the door.

"Naomasa!" The voice exclaimed, Naomasa turning to see it was his old partner Eizo Tanuma.

"Hey Tanuma," Naomasa replied, "What's up?"

"Got more info on your case." Tanuma chuckled as he gestured to him a folder. Naomasa took it, opening it as Tanuma commented, "Gotta say, you take on the craziest cases. Anyways, that's the report on that other location you had that other team go to a few hours ago. Looks like that vigilante got there before us as well."

"I see..." Naomasa muttered as he began reading several pages, "So the Inner Demons also had that building and the officers found them webbed up and half the place was coated in gasoline?"

"Yup." Tanuma nodded, "Looks like they were trying to get rid of all their stuff, but Spider-Man stopped them."

Naomasa let out a long sigh as he closed the folder in one quick motion, "Figures."

Tanuma shined a small smile at this. He had been Naomasa's partner for a long time, and even though they didn't work together that much anymore, he knew the man well. It had been a while since he had seen Naomasa that frustrated. "The case that bad?"

"No." Naomasa shook his head.

"I think it is." Tanuma chuckled before slinging an arm over Naomasa's shoulders, "Come on, let's go get a cup of coffee. I've been out of town for the past week or so, so you can update me on everything and maybe I can help you out."

Naomasa stared at the man for a second, seeing his usual casual smile before nodding. "Okay. Just...don't expect too much. This case is honestly so crazy that I don't know where to fully start."

"We'll start with a cup, simple as that."

The sound of a liquid pouring into a bottle could barely be heard as a chalk white hand handled a small jug of whiskey. A long sigh escaped the man's breath as he eyes stared at the drink. And after another few seconds of pouring, he stopped the flow and put the jug down, taking a sip later.

"Ugh...still not enough." He grumbled as his ears picked up the sound of footsteps behind him. "What?!" he asked without turning around.

"Phone call, boss." The thug replied with a gulp.

"Is it him?"

"Yes, boss." The thug muttered out.

"Figures." the man spun around at this, revealing a frowning Tombstone as he took the phone out of the thug's hand, "What do you want?! I already got you the shipment, and my boys are loading up another batch right now!"

"Now now, the boss didn't want me to call you about that." replied the phone, making Tombstone sigh as he heard the voice.

"Hammerhead." Tombstone growled, "Where's your boss?"

"He's busy. And before you yell at me, I'm here to give you some good news." Hammerhead responded as Tombstone hissed into the phone. But as the thug on the other line began to talk, the long scowl on Tombstone's face began to disappear. Instead, his lips went into a neutral position as he raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Tombstone let out a small chuckle, "Now that's a surprise."

"I know." Hammerhead added before switching to a deep gravely tone, "But that's not all. The boss thinks things will start moving again."

"That's not my job." Tombstone grumbled.

"I know. That's why I'm calling instead of the boss."

"Tch. You mean that he just doesn't want to talk to me." Tombstone hummed before glancing back into the room, seeing a few thugs moving some boxes. "Alright. Tell your boss I got no interest in taking his stuff. I just want money, got it?"

The phone call ended a second later, Tombstone letting out a long hiss as he gave the device back to the thug, only to see an expectant face on the criminal. "Deal's still good if you're wondering. In fact, things are even better now."

"H-h-how so, boss?"

Tombstone chuckled and shook his head, "Simple. Our buyer has a boy in the police, and they just said that the leader of the Inner Demons got caught by that...Spider-Man guy." The villain got out of his seat at this and took a chug of whiskey, "Looks like one bit of competition is out of our way."

"That's great boss!" the thug responded, only to see Tombstone's face go back to a scowl, "Or...is it?"

"It ain't over." Tombstone grumbled as he took another swig of whiskey, "Get the shipments ready. If the Inner Demons are gone, that means two things. Some new gang will probably appear, thinking our racket is an easy target...or Spider-Man will start coming for us."

"And if its number two, boss?"

Tombstone put the bottle down on the desk behind him, "Then I'll break every bone in that bug's body."

Uraraka sat down her tray of food slowly, inhaling a deep breath before taking out a pair of chopsticks. As she did this, she glanced up to see Tsuyu, Iida, Mina and Kirishima all sit around her. But before any could say anything, Todoroki also sat down, right beside Iida. They turned to him, surprised the usually quiet boy was sitting here, as he preferred to be alone.

And as they began to eat, Iida turned to Todoroki and asked, "Todoroki, are you wishing for me to answer your earlier question?" The teen nodded back, Iida taking a small breath before replying, "Well...I apologize, but I don't have too much to tell you."

"That's fine. I understand." Todoroki responded.

"Before I begin, may I ask why the sudden interest?"

Todoroki slowly blinked at him, only to reply, "Let's just say...I was inspired by him." The group all went wide-eyed at this for a second, Tsuyu's eyes only slightly growing.

And after a moment, Iida pushed his glasses up his nose before speaking up, "To start, I...only met him for just a few minutes. However, I must say in those few minutes...it was like watching a pro." The others all raised eyebrows at this except Todoroki, only for Iida to say, "I had chased down the hero killer, only for him to beat me instantly." Everyone leaned in at this, surprised at Iida just admitting that as he continued, "And then Spider-Man just...jumped in and fought the hero killer with ease. He quickly got around all the hero killer's attacks as if he knew what to do, and yet he told me later in the fight he was improvising everything."

"Really? He improvised everything while fighting a killer?" Kirishima chimed in, the group turning to him. "What?"

"Don't interrupt Kiri, its rude." Mina added while nudging him.

"Sorry." Kirishima muttered out, only for Iida to chop his arm at him.

"Its fine! I understand your surprise! Its just...I didn't expect a vigilante to be so...skilled." Iida crossed his arms at that, "In fact, I keep thinking about what happened and it still feels unreal."

Everyone shared a glance at this, only for Todoroki to ask, "What's his quirk like? I saw online that people think he has several quirks."

"That's possible, kero?" Tsuyu added, "I thought at most you could be born with is two."

Todoroki nodded at that, "I thought so too, but they think he has several. That or he uses a lot of different support equipment."

Iida put his hand to his chin at this, "I'm not sure about that one. It seemed he could cling to walls, he could shoot webbing out of his hands, and he was invisible at one point...and he had electric powers as well." Iida blinked at his own words, "That does sound like multiple quirks, doesn't it?"

"That or a lot of support equipment like Todoroki said, kero." Tsuyu finished for him.

"That's gotta be it." Kirishima added, "I mean, no one has that many quirks. Isn't it like...impossible?"

And as Uraraka heard those words, she glanced back down at her arms, staring at the bruises. The sight made memories flow through her head before glancing up, unaware Tsuyu was staring at her as Uraraka noticed a certain blonde man walking across the other side of the cafeteria. He looked like a skeleton, a bit of blood dripping off his mouth as he grabbed a drink before leaving the cafeteria.

"You okay?" Tsuyu chimed in, Uraraka turning to her.

"I'm okay. Just...tired." Uraraka replied.

"You don't look it, kero. Did something happen to you on your internship?"

Uraraka bit her lip at that, "You could say that." She then saw Mina turn to her as well, making Uraraka glance away, "Sorry."

"Its fine, kero." Tsuyu added, Uraraka looking back at her. "Want to hear what happened to me on my internship?" The brown-haired girl nodded back, the frog girl giggling before starting a small tale of her being at sea.

Two pairs of eyes stared at the blade, the duo being a pair of men, one in a white lab coat while the other was in a formal suit. Both were cloaked in the shadows of the room, one of them taking out a small swiping device as he held it over the red liquid on the katana's tip, "Excellent. To think we would get a sample of Spider-Man's blood."

"Indeed. Perhaps now we can see if-"

"Sirs!" They turned to a third voice, another lab coat wearing man racing into the room, "The package. Its...its here!"

Two grins followed this, the one in the suit replying, "I see. Bring it in."

A few minutes later, a large cylinder container was wheeled into the room, its bottom part having a ton of wires dangling off it, all connected to a small generator. Inside the cylinder was a ton of glowing purple liquid...and a small jet black creature inside. The being was utterly grotesque, just the ugliest thing the duo had ever seen. It also didn't look the least bit alive, though that was because it was missing an arm, had an exposed brain that was half sunk in and one of his eyes was just an empty hole.

"Yes...this is definitely the work of All For One." the suited man commented.

"And Garaki. It has his style. That man is never subtle despite how much he wants to think he is." the lab coat man added as he walked up to the cylinder, his eyes scanning the creature over, "So this is a Nomu. Fascinating...and yet-"

"Slightly disappointing." the suited man finished for him, "Though he did say this one was a failed prototype, correct?"

"Indeed." The lab coat man sighed before spinning around, his eyes going back to the blood tipped blade on a nearby table. "Let's just hope its...enough."

"I believe it will be." The suited man replied while scratching his chin, "It seems All For One has been very busy. I wonder what he's doing right now if he's making creatures like this."

"Who knows." the lab coat man responded as he began to examine the blood again, "I suspect with him, its probably related to All Might. He's always been obsessed with that clown."

"True." the suited man hummed as he stared at the Nomu, the creature just floating in the cylinder without a single ounce of movement, "At least we were able to convince him to give us this. I can't wait to see what we can make with it."

Tomura Shigaraki let out the longest hiss he could as he sat on a bar stool, staring at the two that had just walked into the bar. He was already in a bad mood today, and this was about to make things a lot worse. "Seriously?!" the white-haired man growled as he pointed at Giran. "This is all you could find?! This...burned up chicken nugget?!"

The scruffy smoking villain just shook his head at this as he pointed at the scarred up man standing beside him. "He's the first one of a few I found. Just give him a chance."

Shigaraki hissed at Giran before his eyes turned to the burnt man, "Fine. Who are you then?!"

"Name's Dabi." replied the villain.

"That's not a name. What's your real name?" Shigaraki grumbled as he got off the bar stool he was sitting on.

"I'd rather not say." Dabi responded, a trickle of flames appearing on the back of his hand. He walked up to Shigaraki at this, both just a foot or so away from each other before the two thrust their hands at each other. And as their attacks were about to strike, two dark portals opened over the hands, making them both miss their targets.

"What the-Kurogiri!" Shigaraki roared as he turned to the bar, the misty villain standing behind it while cleaning a glass.

"You shouldn't immediately try killing a new ally, Master Shigaraki." Kurogiri coolly replied, "At least give them a chance."

"You..." Shigaraki hissed before glancing back at Giran, "Is this all you got?! I need more than this! We're going to destroy the hero society, and its not gonna happen with just one new guy!"

Giran took the cigarette out of his mouth and breathed out a puff of smoke, "I got some more coming in over the next few weeks. Though I gotta say, I was honestly surprised with one of the rejections." He put the white stick back in his mouth, "I really thought she would be down for this kind of gig."

A small pink tongue slithered out of a fanged mouth, licking the tiny drop of blood that was on a shining silver knife. The fangs from before turned into a vicious grin as the tongue licked the knife again.

"Mmm..." a feral yet feminine voice cooed, a steady blush on the person's face as she let out a giggle. It was a girl with blonde hair that was tied up into two messy buns. On her body was a schoolgirl's outfit along with several knives hidden on herself. Her eyes were that of a cat's, shining as she stared at a television.

The box was showing a certain dark green colored costumed vigilante. "Spider-Man, huh?" She muttered as her tongue took off the last drop of red liquid on the blade, "So you're the one Mr. Stainy picked." She then put the knife away before putting her hands up to her face, a large red blush shining on her cheeks, "I can't wait to meet you!"

Chapter 30: Izuku's Spider-Man Notes

Chapter Text

Spider-Man Notebook 1: Quirk, Steps, and Quips

I'm writing this notebook as my first steps into becoming a hero. Thanks to a spider that bit me, I have been given a quirk, something I've wanted all my life. Its...incredible, as the quirk seems to be a mutant type, one that's completely changed my body. As such, I need to make notes all about this quirk and my journey to become a hero.

I am Izuku Midoriya, and these are the notes of my journey to become a hero.

--

Quirk: Spider

Type: Mutant

Notes: My quirk seems to be a kind of multi-faceted mutation. It has given me super strength, which I still need to test. At the moment, my pitiful equipment mainly shows that I should be able to lift a few tons, but it never feels like it. Then again, I just received this quirk, so it may still be adjusting to my body. Due to this, I'm going to split my notes in terms of all the quirk aspects. This will be the strength section, which I will update later when I have better equipment to test just how much I can lift.

--

Aspect 1: Strength

Notes: See Above

--

Aspect 2: Enhanced Reflexes

Notes: I have found my body is incredibly reactive. Its as if when I twitch, I can suddenly feel things around me. I believe this is a combination of enhanced reflexes and the radar ability I found in my studies. I found also that I can leap very high relativity easily and still keep my full balance when I land. Even trying to do basic balance acts are child's play now. I wonder what I would like if I took gymnastics now...

Edit: My radar is now called Spider-Sense, which I believe coordinates with my reflexes even more now that I've understood this aspect of the quirk better. (See aspect 4)

--

Aspect 3: Wall-climbing

Notes: My body can now latch onto walls, ceilings and just about any surface. Unsure if this the same for a slippery wall, but I seem to be able to stick to anything. I found that if I have enough momentum, I can even run up walls with ease. Its so cool! Its like I'm a living spider. Not only that, it doesn't seem to interfere with my clothing that much, now that I've started to get the hang of it. I'm hoping this means my future hero costume will be easy to make as to not have to be made around this aspect.

--

Aspect 4: Spider-Sense

Notes: I seem to have a cognitive like radar sense, one I have named Spider-Sense. As stated before, it seems to help with my reflexes, though its primary function seems to be a kind of warning system. This could be useful, as it means I can't be snuck up on.

Edit: Due to my recent fight with the Masked Men and Tombstone's gang outside of UA, I've realized I need to formulate an entire fighting style with Spider-Sense in mind. I believe its necessary, as it focuses all my reflexes thanks to the special awareness it gives me.

--

Aspect 5: Invisibility

Notes: Despite my best efforts, I couldn't seem to get any data out of the spider that bit me. It seems to just be a husk. I wish I could get more, as it somehow not only gave me these spider-like abilities, but also invisibility. I looked up tons of spiders on the web and found nothing close to it. There were ones that could camouflage, but nothing akin to invisibility, or something close to it. Despite this, the invisibility seems to be almost perfect. It can camouflage my skin and clothes without affecting my eyesight. However, I've found I can only hold it for a tiny bit before it starts to hurt my head. I need more practice with it...

--

Aspect 6:Bio-electricityVenom Power

Notes: In my original investigation of my quirk, I found an energy signature within me. Turns out, its a bio-electricity ability. Like invisibility, its unnatural to spiders, but I'm not complaining. It seems to be some sort of charge I can do, though I can't seem to summon it except in bad moments, such as it ruining my support exam. Not my favorite power of this quirk so far...

Edit: I've found out how to summon it thanks to fighting some masked men at a bank. Current hypothesis: I felt like I was going to get killed by a big masked guy with an energy quirk. Either fear or adrenaline made him summon it. Perhaps a state of mind? Either way, I seem to be able to...feel the electricity now. (I don't know another way to describe it)

Second edit: I've found I can't combine both my invisibility and Venom Power. Unknown why, perhaps an incompatibility with both abilities at once in my body?

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Steps to Being a Hero

In order for me to become a hero, I've decided to start as a vigilante. As such, I've looked up how vigilantes get accepted into the hero society, which seems to be very difficult. They are rarely trusted, and have to help a lot of heroes before being approved. That said, my life has always been a struggle since I'm a Deku, so I hope this idea works.

I will now be going over the steps for my path to become a hero by being a vigilante.

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Step one: If possible, make sure web fluid is full before going into a fight. This is necessary due to making sure I have all advantages I can have in any fight I'm part of.

Edit: I need to make better web shooters as well. Possibly a reload system and ability to try other forms of webbing. Unfortunately, I don't have the money for that right now.

--

Step two: Make sure to smile and be positive. All Might says that being a hero is all about inspiring hope. Even if they can't see your smile under your mask, be positive. If necessary, make a persona for yourself to try and make others feel safe. Try quips as well and make people laugh.

--

Page on Quips:

"So...making a late night withdrawal?"

"This is a no pointy weapon zone."

"Are you twins/triplets, etc."

Future quip: "How about you come up here and fight me like a spider?"

(Need more info. And I need to read some joke books)

--

Step three: Until you're a hero, you need to make yourself known, even if its just leaving a calling card. That way, your name can get out and see if you can get the hero commission to sign you on.

Edit: I've recently made a full note, signing myself as 'The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!' (I think it rings out well. Mom thinks its a bit corny.)

--

Step four: Figure out your own fighting style. Observe heroes and fight villains to figure it out.

Edit: Going to make a separate notebook for this. It will include webbing formula, support item ideas and super moves as well.

--

Step five: (Pending)

--

Property of Izuku Midoriya, future hero

Spider-Man Notebook 2: Villains

I'm writing this notebook over all the villains I have fought as Spider-Man. These are my analytic notes, viewpoints and guesses on their quirks and other notes I believe are necessary. My first fight was with bank robbers, which all but one had mutant quirks, but I didn't get any names. As such, I'm going to try to find out names of enemies for all future notes.

Villain 1: The Vulture

Rank: Unsure, possible C rank due to him being able to avoid heroes

Quirk: Possible Metal Wings Mutant quirk

Notes: A thief that was using his quirk to escape from heroes, which were bright green metal wings. When I landed on his back, I saw they were fully connected to this body, specifically his arms, making it a mutant quirk. He was my foray into aerial combat, though I didn't fight him as more in chase him. If I'm correct, I believe this to be a debut for the villain, as I later looked online and saw no reports on a flying villain of his description. Quite strange due to his age, as he looked old, probably at least in his sixties, which is an advanced age to be in villainy. Perhaps he has money troubles? Unknown why he's a villain.

Overall, I think it was a good experience for me. It helped me realize I still need to practice webswinging for future aerial fights.

---

Villain 2:Masked MenDemons

Rank: Unsure, as gangs of villains don't have normal rankings. Considering the robbery in my first encounter, at least D Rank

Quirk: Energy Quirk, shows black and white aura of some kind. Name unknown.

Notes: A group of bank robbers, they seem to all wear a distinct outfit and all have similar abilities. After the encounter at the bank, I looked up known groups of villains online and found nothing. No group operates with all the same quirks, at least in terms of stuff that's open to the public. (I really wish I had better access to villain data) They also all speak another language I can't understand, making it hard to understand motive except for just wanting money.

Their quirk seems to let them shoot energy from their hands. Particularly the big one I fought at the bank could fire out what was basically a giant black and white shockwave. Highly dangerous quirk to fight head on, I'll need to make sure I fight with evasion in mind if I encounter this kind of quirk again. Thankfully, this encounter allowed me to unlock the bio-electricity power that messed me up in the UA support exam. (See notebook 1 for further details)

Edit: I've had a second encounter with these masked men. It was on a semi, where I also encountered Ingenium. (So cool! I got his autograph!) It seems their quirk allows them to transfer the energy to other weapons, which they used on a katana.

Second edit: Another encounter with the masked men. (And Airjet! His outfit is so awesome!) This time they had a whip weapon that they used their energy quirk on. Highly dangerous, even more so than the katana.

Third edit: Yet another encounter with the masked men. Their motive seems to be making moves on turf the Tombstone gang own. Unknown why, as the masked men seem to only be robbing places.

Fourth edit: Had two more encounters with masked men. First was with Ryukyu, (Who was amazing looking! I've never seen a dragon up close!) but nothing new was learned. Same with second encounter, as they had a fight a few streets away from UA. Fight made me learn multiple things, in particular in how to use my spider sense more. (See notebook 1)

Fifth edit: I found out that these masked men are called Demons, and they work for Mister Li, who calls himself Mister Negative. Unknown why this is the case. (See Mister Negative entry)

---

Villain 3: Tombstone

Rank: A

Quirk: Unyielding Wall, mutant quirk. Gives individual an almost invulnerable body. Highly dangerous.

Notes: Had encounter with Tombstone's gang, which are a group of all animal mutant quirks. (And Fat Gum! He seemed to be really nice. I hope I didn't offend him when I ran off like that.) Putting the gang under Tombstone's file, as they all seem to be just under him as a collective. They all use something called Trigger, which I haven't been able to find information about. Need more information.

Edit: Seems Tombstone's gang is making and dealing this Trigger drug. The masked men seem to also want in on their turf, which caused me to encounter them at a warehouse.

Second edit: Masked men and the Tombstone gang had what I could only call a war on the streets of Musutafu. Both were fighting for an unknown reason. I still need more information.

---

Villain 4: Fishbowl-Head (Can't remember name of villain)

Rank: Unknown, suspect it to be at least a C due to dangerous nature of quirk

Quirk: Illusion quirk, seems to be able to project a full illusion in a room. Possibly created through gas? Unknown if that's the case.

Notes: Definitely the oddest encounter so far. Fishbowl-Head seems to be able to make full illusions that withstand Pro Heroes attacks. (I met Shishido due to this! The rumors on him are correct, he really does act like an animal! Then again, he's in the top three 'heroes that act like animals', including Hound Dog and Miruko.) He seems to just be a bank robber, which could possibly make him less dangerous. Also had the craziest outfit I've ever seen for a villain, though I'm still new to this.

---

Villain 5: Gentle Criminal

Rank: C

Quirk: Elasticity

Notes: Out of all the villains I've faced, this is the one I have the most information on. Unlike most villains, this one constantly tapes themselves and puts it on the internet. Gentle Criminal is a 'chivalrous thief' as he calls himself in his videos. His quirk is a super useful one, one that would make him a great hero. Its a shame he uses it to do stunts and criticizing corporations. I also lose my fight with him, which has made me realize I can't just hop into every fight instantly. This villain has helped teach me a good lesson...and a hurt back.

He also has a companion who is named La Brava, who videotapes him constantly according to the videos I've watched. I didn't see her do anything when I chased him, but the videos show him repeatedly get the best of other heroes. I believe Gentle Criminal must have some kind of trump card that allows him to get away. Perhaps she is the trump card? I need to encounter him again.

--

Villain 6: Scorpion

Rank: B

Quirk: Metal Tail, mutant Quirk

Notes: Possibly the most dangerous villain I've met so far, he seemed to be on a rampage while I was webswinging around. I was trying to find Gentle Criminal, only to encounter this villain. He seemed to be on some kind of rampage, but had gotten into a fight with Fourth Kind. (Such a cool hero! I still can't believe I helped him fight this villain.)

The villain's tail easily cut down my webbing, something I hadn't encountered before. Perhaps I need a better formula for my webbing. Is it not sticky enough? Or maybe I just can't afford better chemicals. Either way, I found in this fight that I need to understand my foes quickly through a fight and use my surroundings more. I can't be so reckless. After all, Fourth Kind did more than me. Shows I have a long way to go.

Edit: No longer the most dangerous villain I've faced so far.

--

Villain 7: Spinner (Lame name. I think it should The Lizard)

Rank: Unknown, possibly a C due to being able to rob a bank without getting caught

Quirk: Gecko Mutant quirk

Notes: A bank robber I encountered (Why do I keep fighting bank robbers?!) after investigating the bank on Rodia Street, which led me to the next bank he was going to rob. Out of all the foes I've fought, he seemed to be the most desperate, something I hadn't encountered before. Overall, he wasn't too much of a threat, but I also think I'm getting used to fighting people with swords. (Seriously, what is with all the swords?!)

I talked to him after the fight and he admitted he was just desperate for money. I hope the police go easy on him. That and I hope he listened to me...that sounds so odd to write. I never imagined I could give out advice. Especially from a Deku like me. I wonder if the mask is why people will listen to me as Spider-Man.

--

Villain 8: Stain

Rank: A

Quirk: A type of Blood Paralysis Quirk, Emitter Type

Notes: The most dangerous villain I've faced yet. A very experienced killer who specializes in knives and swords, which compliment his quirk perfectly. He also had the strongest killing intent I've ever encountered. A true killer, one that has killed many without batting an eye. Looking back at it, I'm not sure how I survived. He seemed to be a villain that was conflicted with society, as if obsessed with philosophy. I still don't fully understand what his motive was compared to all the other villains I've encountered, as it seems he was being a villain purely to get back at hero society. Why would someone do that? It seems odd, as I don't see why that would be the reason for him having such a murderous aura about him. Not only that, he said I was a true hero, but I'm furthest thing to being a hero right now. I can't even compare to the top thousand heroes, all of them can do ten times the job I can. Either way, I hope I never encounter him again. He was way too scary.

Edit: Now that I've had time to think about it, I wonder if I could have talked him out of it. I mean, his argument over hero society has a ton of flaws he was ignoring. Probably not though, especially if he believes his ideals so much he's willing to kill over them.

--

Villain 9: Mister Negative aka Martin Li aka Mister Li

Rank: Unknown. Probably at least B due to his quirk.

Quirk: A type of energy manipulation/transfer quirk, Emitter Type. May also be Transformation Type, as his body changed when using it. May be side-effect of quirk.

Notes: I just found out yesterday that Mister Li is the leader of the masked men. I'm just now getting to these notes, and...I'm not sure if I want to put down anything about Mister Li. I will put this section as pending for now.

--

Property of Izuku Midoriya, future hero

Chapter 31: Q&A Time!

Chapter Text

Hello! I'm glad to say I got plenty of questions, and am ready to answer them all. I hope these answers will make you even more excited for the story, and help clear up certain things.

We're going to start with a question from user Batatons: What motivated you to write this story? I've read others with similar concepts (Spider-Man Midoriya) but yours is my favorite! Did some other work inspired you?

A few different things motivated me. It started with me finding images online of Spider-Deku, which along with me getting into ao3, which I found out about really recently honestly, I started looking up if there was any Spider-Man Midoriya stories. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything I really liked. The only one that I did enjoy was 'A Hero's Responsibility' by Kyodon, (The author is mainly known for 'I Don't Run An Orphanage') but I wanted to try and do my own thing. As such, I began making several outlines, resulting in this story.

Toasthatisordinary asked two questions: Aside from PS4 Spider-Man, which you have told another commenter in a different chapter, what other pieces of Spider-Man media have you taken inspiration on when writing the story?

I've taken inspiration from a lot of Spider-Man media. I've been reading and watching Spider-Man ever since the original Spider-Man movie trilogy came out and made me a huge fan. Though its not been really shown in the story yet, there will be other Spider-Man media appearing in this story. There's an upcoming fight that is inspired by Spectacular Spider-Man, the Shocker that appeared already in this story is the Ultimate Spider-Man comics (Not the awful show) version of Shocker, and I've been writing my own homage to a certain old classic Spider-Man comic that will be appearing in this intermission arc that's coming up.

As for other media, I'm also inspired by the 90s Spider-Man show, Spider-Verse (I did the Leap of Faith scene after all) and MCU Spider-Man, which I actually really like.

Is one of your favorite tags Eraserhead Is A Bad Teacher? Because you managed to make me hate him much more than my 9th Grade English Teacher during the first semester.

Yes...and I don't mean to make you hate him. I mean, in the previous author note, I did admit I thought I was doing him like the manga does, where he essentially does nothing about Bakugo in the story despite Bakugo trying to commit murder on the second day of school. If I'm honest, I only dislike two MHA characters, Aizawa and Bakugo. I feel both characters are awful in the manga. (Third place is Mineta. I don't need to explain that one) That being said, as for the tag, yes. I do like that tag, especially if its used for interesting scenarios.

Renovo asked this question: Do you have an idea of for how long your going to make this fic?

I don't have a complete chapter count, as I feel that restricts me and makes it harder to improvise at times, but I will say it does have a complete beginning to end storyline. I just don't know how long it will take me to finish it. Sorry if that didn't answer your question.

Tehboredboi asked two questions: What is your favorite moments of Spider-Man in action?

That's a tough one. There's so many...probably my top favs are the Leap of Faith scene in Spider-Verse, which is something I put in my story. I love the Superior Spider-Man run of the comics, as its so cool to see a confident constant thinking Spider-Man crossed with one with moral issues. The full five comic series 'Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows', which shows Peter go beyond anything he usually does thanks to becoming a dad. Also love the Spectacular Spider-Man show, its filled with tons of great moments.

There are so many more, several I don't want to mention as they're part of inspirations for future parts of my story. For example, there's one I'm thinking of that's one of my favorites, especially in terms of my favorite Amazing Spider-Man comic book cover. However, I'm going to do my own version with some different twists to it in this story, so I can't reveal it till it appears. Sorry.

Here is another one, will there be more costumes for Midoriya, like the extra suits for Spider-Man in the games?

Oh yes. After all, he has a notebook I didn't show you about his gadgets. I'm not gonna tell ya what they are though. That's spoilers!

Dxjetwin003 asked this question: What is your favorite Spider-Man game of all time?

Ah, the most important question of them all. Right now, its definitely Insomniac's Spider-Man, though the Miles Morales game is just as good. (Mainly due to the even better combat than the first game.) That being said, that could change when the sequel comes out. (Why isn't it out already?! AUGH!)

Smackstar101 asked this question: So, correct me if I'm wrong, but Midoriya's costume is essentially a dark green, black, and white version of Peter Parker's spider suit, but he sometimes wears a hoodie over it like Miles?

First off, love the username. Second, basically it is. I personally really like the hoodie look for Spider-Man, so I put it in Izuku's colors he usually uses for costumes, but with the Spider-Man aesthetic and the Miles-like hoodie, but the hoodie does have Izuku's classic green bunny ears.

Gooba (Moz Woz) asked two questions: Just curious, are all the Spiderman villains gonna be based off PS4's designs?

No. I'm actually basically done with the PS4 designs with the exception of one character that will be appearing later, which despite what that character looks like, its super important I do that version and only that version. After that, I'm going to be using other versions or my own kind of designs to Spidey villains. A good example of what I've already done that isn't the PS4 versions is Shocker, based on the Ultimate comics, and Mysterio, which is just his original look.

So this Izuku is based off Miles right? Powerwise I mean with the abilities and stuff. But is he also like Miles in the sense he's slower, weaker strength wise, less durable and a weaker spider sense than Peter? Or does he have the same base physical stats as Peter plus miles extra powers?

He's kind of a combo of both. You have to remember, this is a world filled with superpowered people. As in, everyone technically has superpowers/mutations. I originally wanted to have Izuku mainly be like Miles, this weaker slower version, but has other powers to compensate. However, I feel the version I've made here is more like a combo of both. Granted, he's not the 10 ton powerhouse Peter is, but Izuku will grow up to become that.

The best way to describe Izuku right now is that he's very early Amazing Spider-Man comics or the original Ultimate Spider-Man comic run, where his body is still growing into what will become Peter's true spider strength potential, but also has Miles's abilities as well.

Noro asked this question: In the future, will you give Deku the ability to make an electric sword like Miles does in later comics?

No. Izuku isn't into swords. That's not saying he won't improve his Venom powers though...

Mangawriter77 asked this question: Are you going to incorporate the classic Spider-Man theme song in the story somehow?

For right now, no. I'm actually not sure how I would do that. Its a fun idea though, but I'll have to put it on the backburner for now. Sorry.

Judgement_Dante asked this question: Is he going to get any other abilities from other Spider-People such as Miguel's fangs or Jessica's flight, or are you just keeping all the powers that he has now?

Now that's an interesting question. I will say that it is a no, but it does remind me of one of the original outlines for this story when I was creating it. In one of the outlines, I was going to have two characters with spider powers, and one would have Silk's abilities. This was ultimately rejected, and I don't see it coming into the story, as I feel Izuku is more than powerful enough as he is. I need him to struggle, and giving him more powers will make that struggle easier, and that won't do for Spider-Man.

LunaGamer asked two questions: I feel like Aizawa is going down the rabbit hole that he can't get out of. Do you actually dislike him (even if you apparently didn't intend to bash him), or do you see him as a good person/character?

Yes, I dislike him. No, I don't see him as a good person/character. I really don't like Aizawa due to both how he's written, his backstory and how he's kinda retconned in the MHA manga. I hate the author actually did that, as I feel if you're going to show that this teacher acts like that, he should double down rather than backpedal it.

That being said, this rabbit hole will be addressed, don't worry. You're just going to have to wait.

Also, are you going to address the elephant (Bakugou) in the room?

Yes.

Jtscores asked two questions: Who’s your favorite Spider-Man?

That's a tough one. I probably have to go with the Spectacular Spider-Man version, though I will say that's also my most disappointing version for me as well, as it was a character cut short of true greatness.

And who’s your favorite MHA character?

That's also tough. Its a tie between Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu and Mei. I like them the most, and I feel they should be used more in mha, even Izuku. I still feel Izuku isn't used enough in the canon story.

SpiralHawk51325 asked this question: With out saying who (rule 1) are we likely to get mostly spiderman villains, mostly mha villains or more of a blend in the future?

A blend, though mainly Spidey villains. When I started making the outlines to this story, I found that...well, mha ironically doesn't have many villains. Spider-Man is all about the constant struggle, which makes it really hard if you have a tiny rogue's gallery.

Witcher312 asked this question: Do you have any plans (without naming anyone) to give Izuku a mentor figure like a Tony Stark to Peter Parker in the MCU?

I was originally going to reject this question, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this isn't a spoiler. Its a no. Sorry, but I think the story will work better if Izuku doesn't have a mentor.

Chapter 32: Life Moves Forward

Chapter Text

"You failed."

That was all Izuku heard as he stared at the masked man standing in front of him. The one before him had a blue demon mask he had seen plenty of times before. It was the one worn by the masked gang he had been fighting over and over. But this one felt different...as the masked man's suit wasn't black, but white.

And then it hit him.

"Mister Li?" Izuku whispered, only to see the masked man suddenly summon a sheathed katana in his hands. He pulled the blade out, a black and white aura pouring out of it. And then he took off his mask, showing his face. It was Martin Li.

"You failed." He repeated.

"Wait, I don't-"

"You failed." Li interrupted, only for the aura around the blade suddenly surged. "You could have saved me and you didn't."

"I..."

"You failed." Li repeated again before pulling back his blade, "And you'll always fail...because you'll never be a true hero."

"No!" Izuku yelled, "I mean, I know I'm not a hero yet, but I'm trying! I-"

"DIE!" Li roared before leaping, holding his blade up high before swinging it down.

"NO!" Izuku screamed as he yanked himself out of his bed, only to feel a crick of pain in his back. "Urgh!"

The teen fell back at this, his body slumping down into his bed. "Not...again..."

Izuku had never slept more than right now. He had been doing a cycle of sleeping and waking up for a few hours before crashing again since his fight with Li. He hadn't done anything as Spider-Man or Izuku really, as he just didn't feel like it. Though this was mainly because of the same nightmare. The one where Li told him he failed to save him, the teen remembering over and over how he had just decided to solve everything...only to just beat Li and leave him.

It was now two days since his fight with Li, now early morning as he blinked and stared at the ceiling, only to let out a long yawn. 'I guess I should get up.' he thought, his form slowly getting out of his bed. He glanced down at his hands, seeing them now fully healed before walking into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he walked over to the living room, now seeing his mother in the kitchen.

"Morning sleepyhead." Inko chuckled as she saw him walk over. "Did you enjoy your nap marathon?" Izuku showed her a small frown, making his mother sigh, "Nightmares?"

"Yeah." Izuku glanced away, "Sorry."

"Its fine." she replied, "Made breakfast for you."

The teen glanced back at her, only to see the plate in her hands, licking his lips for a second as the food's smell entered his nose. "Thanks." He weakly said as he took the plate and sat down at a nearby table. His mother stared at him, seeing the tired look on his face. She knew he wasn't really tired physically, but he was still mentally tired beyond belief.

Another prepared plate later, she sat down in front of him. She saw her son slowly eating some eggs, Inko sighing before asking, "Do you...want to talk about it?"

"I don't know." Izuku muttered out, "I...I..." He fiddled with his chopsticks, stirring the food, "I don't know."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Inko replied as she ate a piece of food, "I will say this. I'm going to FEAST today, and I don't want you to come with me." Izuku glanced up at her at this, "I know. I don't have any work at the hospital today, so let me find out if anything has happened to FEAST now that you...fought Mister Li."

He felt the hesitation in her voice, but as he stared at his mother, he saw the fire in her eyes. A fire to help him. "Okay." Izuku responded as he stared eating again. "Do you want me to stop being Spider-Man for a while?"

Inko took a sip of water before replying, "I want to say no, but...do you want to stop?"

Izuku blinked at her, his mouth trying to morph into a frown, "Um..." He glanced back down at his food, "No. I don't wanna stop being Spider-Man."

Inko let out a giggle at that, Izuku slightly flinching as he looked back at her, "I know." She pointed her chopsticks at him, "You can still go vigilanting, on one condition." Izuku raised an eyebrow at this, only for her to add, "Fix your costume. I don't want you fighting in a ripped-up suit and getting even more injuries, even with your healing factor."

Izuku nodded at this, "Sure." He then ate the last bit of the eggs before saying, "Though uh...I want to talk about it."

"About Mister Li?"

"Yeah." Izuku nodded again, "And uh...its a lot."

And with a steady breath, he began to tell her everything that had happened. He told her about how after investigating the hidden room in FEAST, he started his night of going through the masked men hideouts. This was followed by an encounter with Martin Li, the event almost killing the teen and scaring his mother. This was followed with him chasing Li, fighting him on the semi and after a bit, successfully knocking the villain out. And when he finished, Inko was silent. She just sat there, staring at him like a deer staring at headlights.

After a minute, she spoke up, "A demon? It looked like a demon was...in Mister Li?" Izuku slowly nodded back, Inko rapidly blinking at that as she leaned back in her chair, "I...I still can't imagine it. That kind man being a villain. But you said it looked like he was possessed?"

"I know. I don't get it either." Izuku replied, "It was like Mister Li's quirk changed him into another person. He was completely different, like he was an experienced killer and everything." Izuku put his hand over his face, rubbing it with a long sigh, "I...I still don't know how I beat him. It was just...so much."

Inko watched her son sit there, an expression of pain and confusion on his face. The sight made stare right into his eyes, only for a fierce glare to come into her eyes. "Izuku." Her son removed the hand off of his face, "I'm going to go to FEAST. Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't find out anything about you."

Izuku blinked at her, only to do a small nod, "Thank you."

His mother showed a small smile, "Of course. I'm here to help." She rose up with a plate in hand, "Finish your breakfast and then check your classes, okay?"

"Okay." Izuku nodded again before taking a sip of orange juice, "Um, mom?" She glanced back at him at this, "After I do my classes...can I go out as Spider-Man? I'll fix the costume first."

Inko chuckled at the question, shaking her head, "Sure sweetie. Just...don't go in over your head again, okay?"

"I won't." Izuku replied, "I'll...be as careful as I can."

"That's all I ask."

Naomasa had just finished a small nap when he got the news. He left his office the moment he heard, a few pieces of papers falling to the floor as he left, Sansa picking them up and putting them back on the desk. The detective took a deep breath as he walked up to a certain door, readying his quirk before grabbing the doorknob and turning it. A second later, he opened the door and glanced inside, now seeing Martin Li staring up at him while handcuffed to a bed.

"Martin Li?" the detective asked.

"That's...me." Li replied, Naomasa now seeing a look of both fear and confusion on his face. The sight made him almost hesitate, as he felt this was going to be a long talk. As such, he walked in and grabbed a chair that was in the corner of the room, putting it at the end of the bed.

"Hello, I'm Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa."

"Detective?" Li instantly responded, "Do you know why I'm cuffed up like this? And where am I?"

Naomasa raised an eyebrow at this, "You don't know why you're here?" The man shook his head in response, making Naomasa almost cringe. The detective knew he had to not show any flinching in these first few moments, but due to his quirk, Naomasa had a lot of experience observing faces. After all, once someone realizes you have a lie detector quirk, they'll do everything they can to dodge your questions, even if it is pointless. However, he knew just by the expression on Li's face and the shaking of the head was Li telling the truth.

Biting his lip at the response, Naomasa's mind went into overtime, thinking up the avenues he could use to get the answers he needed. And a second later, he quickly took a breath before speaking up, "Martin Li, and may I call you that?"

"Call me Mister Li." Li slowly replies, "Everyone...everyone calls me that."

"Alright, Mister Li. Anyways, you were arrested two nights ago."

"Arrested?!" Li gasped, his eyes going wide. Naomasa stared at his face, seeing the pupils shake and shiver as Li glanced down a second later. There was nothing but fear in that expression. Definitely not the reaction he was expecting.

"Yes." Naomasa said a few seconds later, "You see, you were found at the scene of a villain car chase. Specifically, we have witness reports from the hero team known as the Lurkers that you attacked them and illegally used your quirk to brainwash one of them for a short amount of time."

As those words entered Li's ears, the man shook in his bed. He continued to stare downward, his eyes drilling holes into his body. There was no response for a several seconds, only for Li to ask, "What...what did I do? Did I hurt them?"

'He's not denying it?' Naomasa thought before responding, "Technically, no. All you mainly did was use your quirk to brainwash the hero Kamui Woods, who then attacked his teammates." Naomasa glanced down at the notes in his hands, "According to our interview with him, he doesn't remember anything of the sort." He looked back up to the cuffed man, "Do you know why?"

Li didn't respond, his eyes still staring down at himself. Naomasa just blinked at the sight before glancing back at the papers, still seeing the quirk on Li's file. All it has is a name, no description. The detective then looked up at the cuffed man, "How does your quirk work, by the way? All our files just show it as something called 'Negative', but it has no description or details. Any comment on what that is?"

Li continued to stare downward, his mouth not even moving. The sight made Naomasa frown before trying to get up, only for Li to whisper out, "Its not a quirk."

"Excuse me?"

"Its...not a quirk." Li glanced back up at him, his eyes now showing nothing in them. They looked completely blank, as if the life had been sucked out of them. "Its a curse."

"A curse?"

"Yes."

Naomasa's quirk chimed in at this, making the detective tense up. 'Truth again.' Naomasa crossed his arms at this, "What do you mean?"

Martin stared at him for a second, as if his brain was rebooting as his lips smacked, trying to get any words out. And as this happened, he slowly spoke, "You said I was arrested, right?"

"Yes." Naomasa replied, nodding.

"I...I need a lawyer." Li responded as he turned his head away. "I...I won't say anything else till I get one."

Naomasa just stared at him at this, his quirk telling him that the man was still telling the truth. He hadn't told a single lie. 'Shoot.' he thought, 'Guess we have to do this the hard way.'

"Alright." Naomasa said as he stood up, "I'll get that arranged."

He spun around at this, about to leave the room, only for another officer to open the door. Slightly flinching, he saw it was Gori, the gorilla-faced officer. "Hey."

"Hey Gori." Naomasa replied, "What's up?"

"Just came to tell you that the chief wanted you." He motioned with her head, "Are you done with your questioning?"

"No." Naomasa responded, "He uh...wants a lawyer. Won't respond without one."

"Got it. I'll help you get that setup."

"Thanks."

The two men left the room at this, Li glancing back to stare at the men vanishing from the area. He let out a long sigh, shaking his head a second later. "This is such a mess." He whispered to himself. "I can't believe this." He slumped back into the bed, a small groan escaping his lips. "Why? Why did this happen?"

And as he continued to mutter to himself, the room's door opened again. This time it was a female officer with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and a very angry look on her face. Martin turned to her, blinking at the sight, only for the woman to utter a single word. As the word hit his ears, he went wide-eyed, his face paling a second later.

"No...why are you here?!"

"You know why." She replied, "Now, either you do as I say, or-" She put her hand on the gun on her side with a large smirk now appearing on her face, "I'll let you use your imagination." She leaned down as the smirk got even bigger, "So...what do you want to choose?"

It took Izuku a bit longer than he expected to remake the gloves. He had been wanting to make a second costume, but hadn't really got much into it till today. As such, he spent a few hours making the gloves, leaving the house a bit after noon. This was followed by him invisibly leaving his place through the window and swinging into the city. But as he did this, the teen instantly found himself to be aimless. The first hour gave him nothing, just one purse snatcher he stopped mid-swing.

As such, he soon came to a stop and perched onto a small water tower as he pulled out a notebook, his mind going back to the past week, 'I guess I'm still far from being a hero. I mean, I almost didn't stop Mister Li...' That thought made him shake his head, 'No, can't think like that. I have to...I have to...'

The teen took a long deep breath as he closed his eyes, only to sigh a second later, 'What do I do? I mean, really? How do I do better?' His mind went back to Li again, the demon he saw inside the man. It made him shiver, his thoughts jumbling as he tried to think of something else. But then those words from his dream came back.

"You failed."

'I did fail.' he thought as he crossed his arms, his eyes still closed. He bit his lip at this, only for a new thought entered his head. 'I did fail...and maybe that's the point. If I'm gonna be a hero, I need to do more. And that includes...villains.'

He opened his eyes again, staring at his notebook. He flipped a few pages, seeing all the notes he had made on previous villain fights. And as he did this, he landed on the page on Spinner, the teen remembering that night...only for a bulb to ring out in his head. 'Maybe that's it. I...I should try to help the villains. Well, help reform them I mean.'

The teen sat in silence at this thought, only to smile under his mask. He nodded at this, "Yeah. That's what I should do. If I can reform a villain, I should."

That statement made him stare back at the pages, lazily glancing at it as he flipped through it. 'Hmm...I don't know where to start though.' The next page was more notes on the masked men, making him pause, 'Mister Li. Should I try to go for what he was after?' He flipped another page, now seeing it was notes on Tombstone, ones he had recorded from the stuff he had looked up online. 'Tombstone...Mister Li was after him, just like that Kingpin person.'

He put his hand to his chin at this, humming for a bit as he said to himself, "Should I go after him next? I mean, I don't think I could reform him. He's an A-Rank villain...but his gang is causing trouble. I mean, they make and sell drugs!" He glanced back down at his notes, only to nod, "I want to go for this Kingpin, as Mister Li was after him, but I don't really have many clues compared to Tombstone. The stuff I got from Mister's Li's...hidden room did say his gang is mainly in Musutafu, though he didn't have any other locations, just districts. I could try the one closest to me."

He then put his notebook back in his hoodie, 'Though I get the feeling I won't find anything on him until tonight. I've only fought that gang at night, except for that fight they had with Li's masked guys.' He then aimed his wrist at a nearby building and fired a web line. And as he leapt off before swinging away, the teen thought to himself, 'Let's go on patrol. I'll watch over the district Li had written down and...go from there.'

He fired another thing of webbing, swinging down a few blocks as he zipped through Musutafu. It wasn't long till more time passed, the vigilante going down just about every street he could as he slowly made his way around all the nooks and crannies of the city. As he did this, he found little crime, just a few muggers before hitting the four-hour mark. At this, he came to a stop again, checking his webbing and seeing he had plenty before going invisible and changed to get himself some food.

After a quick round of supper, the teen called his mom and told her he was going to stay out for the rest of the evening, only to then decide he would go to one of his favorite comic book stores. As he walked in, he found there wasn't many people inside, never the best sign for business, but Izuku also knew he hadn't kept up with the latest issues due to certain...vigilante shenanigans. As such, he found the latest two All Might issues, bought them and left the store with a smile on his face.

'At least I have this.' he thought as he sat down on a nearby bench, reading through the first issue. It showed All Might take on a giant villain, only to instantly beat it with one punch while saving several people from the fight. The story made Izuku chuckle, shaking his head. 'Man...if I could only be a hero like that. I can barely do a villain fight to just save one person.'

He flipped through a few more pages, soon closing it as he let out a small yawn. 'Maybe I should call it for the day. I mean, I've done a full patrol today and-'

His thoughts came to a stop as he put the comics into his backpack, only to glance up and see two men walk by across the street from where he was. He blinked at the sight, seeing that it was two mutant quirks, a weasel man and a snake man, and both were wearing what looked like hoodies...in the summer.

'Or not. That's suspicious looking...I think. I mean, those look like the kind of guys Tombstone would hire. Odd they would be out and about like that though. Then again, I've spent all day looking for trouble and found nothing. Figures it would appear while I'm just Izuku Midoriya.' The teen slowly got up, glancing around for a bit before quickly racing into a nearby alleyway. He turned invisible and climbed up the wall, soon reaching the roof as he changed into Spider-Man.

'Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe they're just pals...walking out in hoodies in summer. I mean, it is going to be evening soon, so maybe I'm being too judgmental.' He thought as he put on the mask before glancing back down to the street, only to find both men were now gone. 'That's not good.'

He fired a web line and swung across the street, landing on one of the roofs before running over and checking each alleyway in between. And as he did this, he saw the two men again, only to see both knock at a door in the alley. A second later, it opened and both quickly slipped in.

'Hmm...maybe I'm wrong.' he pondered as he stared at the door, only to check another side of the building and saw that the place was a bar...one the two went in the back way. That is, till the door opened again and several mutant quirk guys shuffled out of the building, these wearing biker jackets. 'Then again, maybe I'm actually lucky tonight.'

And as he began to follow them, he saw them go back into another alley, quickly zipping through the backstreets of the city, 'I think I am. Though knowing my luck, something crazy will happen to me while I'm following these guys.'

"Martin Li..." Nezu whispered as his paws typed away at a keyboard. His beady eyes shifted around at the screen, his nose twitching as he reached over for a cigarette a second later. Taking a small lighter and lighting it as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he exhaled some smoke as he glanced back at the screen.

On his computer was a full profile on Martin Li. The man was not what Nezu was expecting. His personal history was simple, a man that had inherited a family fortune and had used it to help the needy. There were several distinct charities he had invested in, and had created FEAST, a special project in an area that seemed to teem with villains in Japan. The goal was admirable, and Nezu had heard of FEAST and would have loved to help with something like that as a side project. Granted, Nezu found that his quirk wasn't on profile, just something called 'Negative' but had no details. That wasn't a red flag in this day and age though, as plenty of political and business individuals would only show a quirk name for their profile and nothing else.

As such, the viewpoint over the man was positive. Even in this day and age of heroism, philanthropy was rare. The act of being a hero was unfortunately marred by humanity at times, and the most selfish would be the ones that go into the business compared to some. Even Nezu had to admit that the recent crop that they were training at his school unfortunately had a few that seemed to be going down that path of selfishness and greed. But according to this profile, Martin Li had chosen the correct path, one to help others, even if he wasn't a hero.

However, that viewpoint had all but changed in his arrest two days ago. Now, the stoat was at his desk, trying to sift through the man's profile. He knew he was a key piece to figuring out the bigger puzzle he had now found himself addicted to: Spider-Man. Somehow, this teen vigilante had figured out everything about a gang that the police and heroes had almost nothing on. In fact, the past two days of investigation at the hideouts of the Inner Demons had revealed even less. Just stolen goods, cars and drugs. Granted, that was normal for criminal operations, but there has to be a plan, an overlaying structure to the greed.

That very thought made Nezu pause and lean back in his chair, taking another small smoke before putting the stick on the side of an ashtray. He rubbed his chin in thought as he pulled up a report that Naomasa had just sent. It was over the first interview with Martin Li he had successfully been able to do earlier today. The conversation showed a man that was beyond confused and frightened, but he also acted as if he knew that this was the worst that could happen...and it did. But he also said he had no recollection of what happened, which by all means, as his super negative employee Aizawa would say, is completely and utterly irrational.

But Nezu knew better. Anything involving the Spider-Man case was irrational by nature. That made him grin as he tapped a few more keys, only to hear a knock on his office door.

"Come in."

The door slowly creaked open, revealing Aizawa as he slowly trudged into the room. "You called? I need to grade some papers."

"I know." Nezu replied as he reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a small tea set. He placed a cup on the frame and asked, "Tea?"

"No thanks. I have coffee."

"I figured." Nezu chuckled as he spun around, staring a certain teapot that had been steaming for a few minutes. He took it off and poured himself a cup before taking a sip. "Ah. There we go." And as he glanced back up at Aizawa, he saw irritation in his eyes, the sight making him chuckle even more. "Don't be so impatient Aizawa. It's the little things that allow your brain to function better."

"Just get on with it." Aizawa moaned. "What do you want?"

Nezu poured a second cup at this as he replied, "I want you to investigate two locations for me undercover."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at this, "I'm guessing this involves the Spider-Man case?" Nezu nodded back, "Alright...you'll have to give me a day or two. My students just got back, and there's a lot of work to do with them."

"Oh?" Nezu giggled, "Something good?"

"No. They're hopeless." Aizawa groaned, "Anyways, where am I going? Is it related to that Martin Li guy?"

Nezu took another sip, "It is. You're going to go volunteer at FEAST. Both locations." Nezu put the cup down and spun around his computer's monitor, "Preferably, I would like you to start with the second location. It just got done, so I can't help but think that couldn't be a coincidence with this."

"Figures. No coincidences exist in our job." Aizawa grumbled as he stared at the image of the building, "Anything I'm looking for?"

"Just the usual. Check to see if anyone Spider-Man's age hangs around there. Also, make sure to check any staff you think may be related to something...criminal or otherwise."

"Got it." Aizawa replied as he took out a coffee cup out of nowhere and began to leave the room.

"One more thing." Nezu chimed, making Aizawa look back at him. "Be extra careful to not reveal yourself. I believe this is not connected in any way, but the parents of one of your students was hired in the construction of the second FEAST facility. Its brand new, so the company may still be there."

"Got it. Which student is it?"

"Ochako Uraraka."

Aizawa took a small sip of coffee at that, "Her. She's one of like...eight in the class that actually fully tries. I'll make sure to not get caught."

"Excellent. Happy investigating Aizawa."

"Yeah yeah..." Aizawa sighed as he left the room, rubbing his face as he did so. "Ugh...I need a nap."

And as the teacher walked down the hallway, Nezu pulled out a phone. A second later, a call had gone through as he put it up to his ear, "Naomasa, it's me. Yes, I need the crime lab to investigate something for me. I've been looking at everything you've given me over the recent incident, and I want something that isn't usually looked at checked."

The detective then quietly responded, making the stoat chuckle, "Oh? They're going to check that tomorrow?" Nezu shined a small malicious grin at this, "If that's the case, I have an even better idea."

It turned out that the group Izuku was following ended up doing the one thing he didn't want them to do: Go to a bar and stay there for hours on end. The teen was a bit angry that he couldn't just use a tracer on one of them, mainly because none of them had vehicles right now.

As such, he waited on the next door's rooftop until evening, nighttime soon following with a bright full moon as he used most of that time to write down a few pages in his notebook, just a few quips and fighting ideas. That and he began to sketch a few ideas for other costumes. 'If only I had more materials...' he thought as he wrote out a small list, 'Shame I never got my hands on the support labs at UA. I couldn't imagine what I could make as Spider-Man there.'

He glanced up from his notes at this, only to see the bar door open and saw one the two thugs he originally started following now stagger out of the building. The second came out a few moments later, heaving into the alleyway before walking away, 'I...didn't need to see that.' Izuku mentally sighed as he put his notes away, only for the bar door to open again, 'There's the rest of them.' The teen's eyes squinted as he leaned over, now seeing the last one in the biker outfit come out with a metal suitcase in hand. 'There we go. I'd bet a hundred yen there's Trigger in there.'

The group began to talk for a minute, only to slowly walk out of the alleyway and across the street. Izuku fired a web and slung himself over the street, landing on another rooftop as he silently followed them. This was followed by a half an hour of a slow chase, staying just above them as the gang went through multiple back alleys and streets. It felt like forever for the teen, almost feeling slightly bored due to how slow the thugs were going.

And as an hour of following passed, Izuku found that the group were coming up to what looked like an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city. There, he saw the gang walk up to what looked like more of their members. One of them was a mutant quirk that made a man have a cobra head, his tongue constantly out as the thug from before walked up and gave him the suitcase.

"Excellent." the snake man commented as he opened the case, "Thisss issss what we wantssss."

"We figured." one of the thugs replied, "You got the stuff?"

"Yessss." The snake man responded before snapping his fingers. The warehouse garage doors opened, revealing several motorcycles.

"Nice." another thug chuckled as they all walked up to the motorcycles, some hopping onto them while others began rubbing the vehicles' sides, admiring the work.

"Now hang on boysssss." the snake man said as he snapped his fingers again, more thugs appearing from inside the warehouse. "You brought the goodsssss, but you alsssso help ussss with the deal."

"Seriously?!" the first thug yelped, "We don't wanna mess with those guys!"

"Yeah! Those guys are just a bunch of old idiots, thinking they can just take turf because their old man had it in the past." another one added, "We brought you the stuff just like Tombstone wanted, and we just want to ride. That's all we want."

Izuku had swung over to the warehouse's roof, slowly crawling down as he kept himself hidden in the night's shadow as he listened to the conversation. As such, he began to piece together what was going on. 'So those guys I followed brought Trigger for motorcycles? I mean, some of them do look nice.' Izuku put a hand to his chin, 'So this was just a delivery, not some deal. Still...that snake guy says they have to make a deal with someone. Is it their buyers?'

The thugs from before got onto the motorcycles at this, Izuku responding by putting a tracer on his web shooter. Firing it, it hit the back of one of the motorcycles as they left, Izuku pulling out his tracker and seeing them now move. "Nice." he whispered as he put the device away before looking back at the snake man, "Now...who are they waiting for?"

And as if on cue, a bright light suddenly shined in the distance. Izuku's spider sense rang out, making him reflexively go invisible before crawling back up to the warehouse roof and turning visible again. As he did this, the light got closer till Izuku saw it was a car, which then drove up the warehouse. The car was colored a sleek black, four door, and came to a stop right in front of the gang. Its lights slightly dimmed at this, but were still on as all four doors opened and out came four guys dressed in suits.

Three had the typical thuggish looks you expect from criminals, though all four were not mutant quirks like the Tombstone gang. One of them had a cross scar on the side of his face, another had an elongated jaw, and a third had a mohawk and sunglasses despite it being night, obviously trying to compensate for something. But it was the fourth that intrigued Izuku, as this one had golden hair that went down to his neck, and wore a dark green suit with black pants with an orange tie. His hair covered one of his eyes, and he had a long black beak nosed mask on.

'Who are these guys? They don't look like Tombstone's gang. Are they the buyers?' Izuku thought as he then saw one of the four go to the car's trunk and open it, only to pull out another briefcase. 'Uh-oh. I'm betting that's a whole bunch of money.' He glanced down at his web shooters, checking them as he mentally noted, 'I better stop this drug deal before any of them get a chance to get away.'

He pointed his web shooters at the newcomers, ready to pull the triggers, only to see the one with golden hair take the briefcase and open it in front of Tombstone's thugs. The sight made Izuku come to a stop, as the briefcase didn't have money in it, but something too small for him to see. 'Huh? What's that?' he thought before watching golden hair close the briefcase.

"That the real deal?" The snake man asked, the golden hair man growling in response.

"I just showed it to you!" He barked while pointing at the snake man, "Now, show us the Trigger, and make it snappy. Our boss doesn't like messing with you freaks."

"What'd you just call us?!" Another thug growled, "I'll kill you!"

"Oh please, like you circus freaks can beat us. Listen here, you-"

And as both sides began to argue, Izuku tuned them out as he pointed his web shooters again. 'I better go ahead and hop in before they kill each other...' Izuku blinked at his own thoughts before he shook his head, 'That was...bleak. Don't think that way Izuku.'

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

"What the-" one of the thugs muttered as webbing struck the newcomers' feet. They all glanced down at this, only to hear something land, making them look back up and saw Spider-Man land between them and the Tombstone gang.

"Hi there!" Izuku exclaimed as electricity crackled around his hands. "Nice night for a drug deal, am I right? Too bad I'm here." He then grabbed two of them, zapping both as the thugs let out a yelp before flopping over.

"Its Spider-Man!" one of Tombstone's thugs yelled as he pointed at Izuku, the teen grabbing a third thug and zapping him as well, the bio-electricity then fading from the vigilante's hands.

"No, really?! Are you sure I'm not some other spider-themed vigilante?!" Izuku quipped as the golden-haired man thrust his hand at Izuku, the teen's spider sense buzzing as he leapt back, dodging the man. "Now, why don't we stop this drug deal right, okay?"

The Tombstone gang then charged at him, a weasel man getting to Izuku first as he swiped some claws at the teen. Izuku backpedaled at this, avoiding the first strike as tiger man ran up next, leaping at the vigilante next. The teen fired two web lines upward at this, pulling himself into the air, dodging the tiger man before landing behind the weasel one. And as this happened, the snake man thrust a Trigger needle into himself.

"Keep him disssstracted, boysssss." the snake man hissed as his body slightly contorted.

But as the snake man began to power up, the weasel man thrust his claws at Izuku again, the vigilante dodging it again before swinging a punch into the thug's face, knocking him off his feet. But as this blow hit, the tiger man slammed a fist into Izuku's stomach, making the teen cry out before Izuku countered with a thrusting kick at the tiger thug's own stomach.

And as the attack knocked the tiger man back, the golden-haired man from before opened the briefcase and pulled out a gun, Izuku's spider sense blaring at him. The teen turned to the man as he loaded the gun, only for webbing to cover his hands. "What the-" the thug tried to say before turning to see Izuku's foot coming for his face.

Thwack!

The man's head hit the back of their car, a loud clang ringing out before slumping over, the man instantly knocked out. Izuku then spun around at this, now seeing the snake man from before letting out a loud hiss. Spider sense screamed at Izuku as the snake man's clothes began to rip apart as he began to grow before charging at the teen. Izuku responded by firing a burst of webbing at the snake, webs covering the thug's face as he tackled the teen. He then tried to bite down on Izuku, only to find his fangs stuck in the webbing.

"Mmph?!" the snake man yelped, only to feel Izuku's knees slam into his stomach. "MMPH!"

"Get off me!" Izuku yelled as he kicked the snake man off, the thug hitting the pavement before rolling back onto his feet. The snake thug then put his hands into his mouth and ripped out the webbing, screaming as he did so.

"Raugh! I'm gonna kill you!" The snake man roared, only for more webbing to instantly hit his mouth again. "MMPH!"

"Yeah...no." Izuku deadpanned before charging a surge of electricity in his right fist. The snake man leapt at him again, only for Izuku to pull back his arm. "Venom Punch!" The electric fist slammed into the thug, knocking him flying across the lot. A second later, webbing covered his body, sticking him to the ground, taking him out of the fight.

Izuku glanced back at the warehouse, only to see no more thugs. "Looks like I'm done here." He pulled out his notebook at this, "Hmmm...guess I didn't come up with any good quips there. I do think I'm getting better with the snark part though." He closed the book and put it away as he glanced down at the two briefcases the gangs had brought. He opened the one the Tombstone gang had brought first, now seeing several vials of liquid. "Trigger..."

Izuku put his finger to his chin at this, 'Hmm...you know, I've never taken a sample of this stuff. I'm not a chemist expert, but I have experience in it. I mean, I made the web fluid...should I take a sample? Maybe it'll help me track more of it down.' He glanced back at the thugs, only to close the briefcase, 'No. I better not take these samples. When the police come here, they'll be suspicious of the briefcase being empty.'

He then walked over to the snake thug and rummaged his pockets, pulling out a syringe with several vials. 'Here we go.' The teen felt something else in the thug's pockets at this, soon pulling out a phone, 'This will help too.' He glanced back at the buyers at this, 'Now, let's see what the other briefcase had.'

And as he walked up to this case and opened it, his mask covered the confusion that now appeared on his face. 'Bullets?' He mentally asked as he saw a set of bullets inside the briefcase. He squinted his eyes at this, noticing the bullets weren't exactly made of metal. "What is this?" he whispered before reaching into his hoodie and pulled out his forensic kit, taking out a pair of tweezers. He picked up one of the bullets, twisting it as he closed one of his eyes, "Why would they be dealing bullets?"

He put the bullet back into the case before glancing over at the golden-haired man he had knocked out, remembering him pulling out a gun. "Better take one of these." he mumbled to himself as he put one of the bullets from the thug's gun in a small plastic bag.

He took out the thug's phone next, tapping it a bit as he called a certain phone number before putting it to his ear as he fired a webline, yanking himself to a building right by the warehouse. "Hello police? I'd like to call in an anonymous tip."

A few minutes ago, one rooftop over...

A fanged grin graced a certain girl's face as she stared ahead. In front of her was a vigilante on a warehouse's roof across the street. She watched as she slowly crawled down the warehouse's side, the girl pulling out a knife and licking it as she whispered, "There he is. Spider-Man."

The girl saw him watch the thugs below him, only to see the spider-themed vigilante fire a web on one of the motorcycles as the first few thugs rode away, making her raise an eyebrow. She then glanced back at the vigilante, only to see him pull out some kind of device before putting it away.

Then a new car drove up, only for her to see Spider-Man leap down and beat the group of thugs, firing volleys of webs and electricity crackling off his swinging fists. The sight made her blush, letting out a 'wow' as he knocked out one with a Venom Punch. And as he finished the fight, she saw him investigate the thugs and two briefcases before firing a web upward, yanking himself onto the rooftop she was on. Seeing this, she quickly hid behind a crate as he landed on the roof before taking out her knife again.

"Now, let's see why Stainy chose you..."

Chapter 33: On the Bloody Knife's Edge

Chapter Text

"Well, that's that." Izuku commented to himself as he ended his call with the police. He threw the phone off the rooftop next, knowing he no longer needed it due to it belonging to a certain snake-headed thug he had just beat. The teen then pulled out his notebook again, taking out a small flashlight as he shined a tiny light on it.

'Hmm...didn't figure out any new moves there. Guess it was too fast of a fight.' he thought to himself as he reviewed the pages before closing the notebook, 'Maybe I can-'

Danger!

Spider sense buzzed at him at this, making him quickly put away his notebook before leaping backward. And as he did this, he saw a tiny shining knife almost strike him in the dark of the night, the sound of footsteps just now ringing out on the rooftop. The teen glanced up at the knife's owner, only for the light of the moon to shine down on her, showing half of her body while the night shadowed the rest.

The knife's owner had golden hair that was tied up into two messy buns, pale skin with a big, fanged grin and feral cat-like eyes. She was wearing a schoolgirl-like outfit, her hand going up to her face as she put her knife up to her mouth, licking it for a second. "Hello Spider-Man..." she giggled, a red blush appearing on her face.

"Uh...hi?" Izuku muttered out, feeling himself now backpedal as the girl pointed the knife at him. "Who are you?"

"I gotta say, you look really good in dark green there..." She responded, ignoring his question.

"Oh, um...thank you?" Izuku replied, his spider sense slightly tingling now.

The girl shined an even bigger grin as she fiddled with a knife in her hand before slowly switching to a charging stance, "But I think you'd look better covered in blood!" She exclaimed as she leapt at him. Izuku's spider sense screamed at him, making the teen quickly backpedal as he dodged a landing downward knife swipe. This was followed by her thrusting her knife right at his face, Izuku's head shifting left, the blade almost nicking him.

Izuku then pointed his wrist at her, pushing the triggers as webbing shot out at the girl. But just as the webbing came out, she hopped back...and disappeared into the dark of the night. The webbing completely missed as it flew off the rooftop. "Huh?" Izuku muttered out, his eyes darting back and forth. 'What the heck?! Where'd she go?!'

Danger!

"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered before spinning around, only to see the girl now thrusting her knife right at his face again. Izuku began to backpedal again, reflexively pointing his wrist at her, only for her to disappear again. "What?!" He yelped as he rested his fingers on the web shooter trigger, this time not firing any webbing. He motioned his wrist around, his eyes darting around again. "Where did she-"

Danger!

Izuku didn't spin around this time, instead leaping forward as heard a swishing noise behind him. He then rolled on the roof's floor before shifting onto his knee, spinning around after this while pointing his wrist...only to find she had disappeared again. 'Darn it, she's gone again! How is she doing that?!' He kept his wrist pointed out, his eyes glancing around, 'Wait...why is she attacking me?! Why-'

Danger!

Izuku began to roll forward again, not even looking back as the girl thrusted a knife downward, the blade almost hitting the roof floor. She then charged at him again, Izuku glancing back at her and pointing his wrist. But as he pressed the trigger, he saw the girl side-step to the left...only to disappear again. The sight made him go wide-eyed, only to glance down at the floor, seeing that part of the roof was lit up while the rest was in the darkness of the night.

Blinking for a split second, he looked up at the sky, seeing a slightly cloudy sky over a half-moon. 'The light from the moon...she keeps hiding from it! That's how she keeps disappearing!'

But as this revelation hit him, the teen's spider sense rang out again. Feeling this, Izuku turned his head and leapt off the roof's side. He heard a "Huh?" from the girl as he began to descend, his eyes now staring at the street below before firing a web line, yanking himself upward and onto a rooftop just a building over. And as he landed, he glanced back at the previous roof he had been on, only to see that the girl was gone again.

'Think Izuku, think!' he thought as he stared at the rooftop, 'She's really fast, maybe faster than Stain. If that's the case, I have to use my webbing to slow her down.' his eyes slightly closing as he took a deep breath, 'Calm down. I need to-'

Danger!

Izuku went wide-eyed for a second before spinning around, the girl appearing again as she thrust her knife at him. And as the blade came down, Izuku leaned back, the knife just nicking his chest. It cut the strands, about to reach flesh before Izuku pointed his wrist at her feet.

Thwip!

Webbing instantly struck her, sticking her to the rooftop as she let out a: "Huh?!" She glanced down and slashed the webs with her knife, only for Izuku to fire some more webbing. "Hey!" She yelped as the webbing hit her arms, Izuku then firing webbing at her feet again before shooting out more. Webbing covered her from chest to toe in the next few seconds, only her head remaining as she kept trying to get free.

"Grr...urgh..." She growled as she squirmed, "No...let me go!"

"Uh...no." Izuku retorted in a snappier motion than he expected. He almost flinched at his words, the teen muttering out, "Er...sorry."

"Urgh...rgh..." moaned the girl as she kept squirming for a minute, only to let out a sigh before glaring at Izuku, "Let me go!"

Izuku opened his mouth to reply, only to see the girl start squirming again. No words would come out at this, the teen just staring and waiting as she kept trying to get free. And after a minute, she seemed to give up as she slumped over. Seeing this, Izuku muttered out, "Um..."

She glared back at him, "Let me go! Now!"

Izuku bit his lip at this, "But...if I do that, you'll attack me again."

"Well of course I will! I want to cover you in blood!" She barked back, making the teen blink.

'That's the second time she's said that. Does she have some thing for blood? Maybe its related to her quirk? I don't think I saw her use it...' He thought before asking, "Say, um...what's your name?"

She blinked at him for a second before replying, "I'm Himiko Toga."

"Right. So, uh...listen, Miss Toga. It's not nice to attack people with a knife."

"But if I don't, they won't be covered in blood!" She instantly responded before her face showed a big frown and puppy dog eyes, "The red would look so good on you!"

"Um...and if they don't want that?" Izuku replied before pointing at himself, "I mean, I like my dark green. I don't think red would go well with it. It uh...clashes a bit too much."

"But...but..." She stuttered out, Izuku now seeing her mumble as it looked like her brain was now rapidly turning.

Seeing her now slightly calm down, Izuku's mind went back to a thinking montage, 'Okay, take a second here Izuku. She suddenly attacked you and seems to be obsessed with blood. Does she have a blood quirk? That could explain it...but now that I can see her, she looks really pale. Is she low on blood? But if that's the-' He shook his head at this, 'Focus Izuku, focus! Don't get distracted! She just attacked you, so she's obviously a villain, but...'

That last thought made him stare back at her, remembering what he had declared he would do earlier. He continued to stare at her, seeing the tired look on her face as she squirmed, but also showed she was slightly out of breath. And as the moon shone down on her more, he saw she was quite dirty compared to the usual thugs he would fight. 'I need more information.'

"Um...Miss Toga?" She blinked at him, getting her attention as he added, "If you don't mind, can I ask you some questions?"

Her expression turned into a glare as she replied, "Why?! Why you'd you stop me?! Are you gonna ask me why I'm not normal, or why I'm a monster?!"

'That's not what I was expecting.' he thought before responding, "Uh...no. I was gonna ask why you're here." Her glare softened at this as he continued, "I mean, you suddenly attacked me, and I wanted to know why."

Himiko bit her lip at this, "Well...you beat Stainy." Izuku went wide-eyed at this, only for her to add, "I wanted to be like Mister Stainy, and when you beat him, I wanted to see you." Her cat-like eyes tensed up as she began to blush, a look of lust seemingly trying to appear on her face, "I want to become you. I wanna be you."

"I...see." Izuku muttered out, his brain slightly shorting at this, 'Okay. So she's here because she's a follower of Stain. That explains her fighting style...but what do I do now? She says she's a monster, keeps talking about blood, and wants to become me...'

The girl's blush disappeared as she saw Spider-Man just stand there, making her growl, "Let me guess, you think I'm some monster now, don't you?!"

"Huh?" Izuku muttered out, still lost in his thoughts.

"You do, don't you?!" She hissed, the girl now squirming even more, "You're just like the others! You all think I'm a monster cuz I'm not normal!"

Izuku just blinked at her, though Toga couldn't see it. "I...never said that. And I don't think that. I'm just uh...confused." Toga raised her eyebrows at that, Izuku's mind racing again, 'What do I say now? What do I do?' He then saw her slightly squirm again, the sight reminding him of someone else, 'I wonder...is she like Spinner?'

That thought made him go back to the past few days, and how he had fought Mister Negative and Spinner, both in situations where he felt he could have do more. Instead, all he did for them was get them arrested, even if he gave Spinner advice. That alone made a big frown form on his face, only for a new thought to enter his head. 'I...I can't just get her arrested. I wanna help her.'

"Um...Miss Toga?" The girl stopped squirming at this, soon glaring back at the vigilante. The teen gave her a small wave, "So uh...here's the deal. You told me that you attacked me because I beat Stain, right?" The girl blinked at him before nodding, "Okay. So, are you a follower of Stain or something?"

"Uh-huh." Toga replied while nodding again, "He's right about all those fake heroes and how society is all messed up!" She raised her head slightly as she shined a small smile, "I totally agree with him! Life is hard and all those fake heroes make it harder! They push us down and make us suffer all because of who we are!"

Izuku didn't respond to that. He couldn't feel a word form as he just stared at her. And as he did this, the girl's face started to go red again, blushing as she added, "And then there's you." Her tongue stuck out at this, licking her lips, "You beat Stain, and you're not a hero! You're not a fake like all the others!"

"I...see." Izuku responded, his words almost coming out as a whisper, only for him to tilt her head at her, "But...if you admire me now, why'd you attack me?"

"Cuz you'd look good covered in blood!" She instantly exclaimed.

Izuku almost flinched at this, 'There's that thing about blood again.' The teen took a deep breath before asking, "Um, can I ask you another question?"

Her blush started to fade as she responded, "Sure."

"Are you...okay? Like, you're really pale." Toga went wide-eyed at this, her eyes darting away.

"Um...I'm okay. I'm not hungry or anything." She muttered out.

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, only to close it. 'I think I'm right. She has a blood quirk.' He reached into his hoodie and pulled out his phone, 'I need some help.'

In an undisclosed location...

The sounds of sparks flying out of a welding torch rang out across the room as its user glared through a purple glowing mask. The individual had been working on the device in front of them for hours now, grumbling and sighing as the work continued. And as another hour passed, a long sigh left the person's breath before the torch went silent. The individual's mask disappeared a second later, another sigh escaping their breath as they leaned back in their seat.

"Finally..." moaned a low, slightly groaning voice.

"It is finished?" asked a new voice, the one at the desk turning to the voice's owner. They now found themselves staring at a man in a certain long scaly green jumpsuit, complete with a purple cape and what looked like an upside down fishbowl for a helmet.

"Do you seriously have to be here in that outfit?"

The helmeted man fake gasped at this, "Of course I do! I am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!"

"Suuuure you are."

"Do not get co*cky with me, Tinkerer!" Mysterio barked back as he pointed at the individual at the desk. "Now, it is finished?"

"Do you have the money?"

"Of course I do!" Mysterio repeated, "I had it before I asked you to do this for me!"

"Yeah yeah..." Tinkerer sighed as they got up from their seat, showing their full form. The Tinkerer was a girl just shy of seventeen years of age with an ivory complexion, a brown-haired ponytail and a long frown on her face. Her clothes were a black jacket over a purple hoodie, which had a black sweater underneath it. Mysterio still didn't know how she was never hot under all that, but she seemed to move with ease with it on.

The Tinkerer then reached for the device she had been working on, which looked like a small camera. "I gave it the modifications you want." She put the gadget into a bag, "They're all the same...but in exchange, I need the cash and the tech you promised me."

"I know." Mysterio replied before snapping his fingers. A puff of smoke came out of his palm next, which then revealed a duffel bag full of money. "Here."

The girl took the bag and glanced down, blinking at the sight before looking back up at him, "This better not be one of your illusions. If it is, I'll rip you in half."

"Nonsense! I would never do such a thing!" Mysterio instantly responded, only to see the girl's glare increase, making him wave his hands, "Seriously! Its not an illusion, Phineas!"

"Yeah yeah...and call me Tinkerer. Don't use my real name." Phineas grumbled as she put the bag of money down before handing him the drone. "Anyways, I want that tech you promised me by the end of the week. I need it for my operation."

"You're seriously still considering that?" Mysterio asked, only to shake his head despite no one able to see it due to his helmet, "That is a fool's errand. Same with your beef with...him."

"And yours over your 'revenge against Spider-Man' isn't?"

"He humiliated me!" Mysterio barked as he pointed at her, "No one humiliates Mysterio!"

Phineas rolled her eyes, "You don't have to try when you dress like that."

"You..." Mysterio growled before taking the drone out of her hands, "You're lucky you're so smart! Otherwise, I would destroy you with my Arcane Arts!"

The Tinkerer let out a snort, "Sure you will. Now leave me alone."

Mysterio glanced down at the bag of cameras before smoke covered it, making it instantly vanish. He then looked back up at her, "I'm serious Phineas. Don't do it. You'll just be throwing your life away."

Phineas closed her eyes at this, glancing away as she growled, "I don't have a choice. Now get out."

A long sigh exhaled itself from Mysterio before he raised both hands upward, "Very well! I shall return with the gear you want shortly, and then...Spider-Man shall pay tenfold! Farewell, O Tinkerer! May we meet again soon!"

And with a giant puff of smoke, he was gone. The sight made Phineas roll her eyes before sitting back down. A glowing purple mask covered her face again, the girl biting her lip before she turned on the welding torch. "Whatever. Just get back here with the gear and we'll call it even." The torch began to spark against a rod of metal at this, "Just need to finish this up."

Meanwhile...

"So let me get this straight." Inko said in a low, slightly deadpan like voice over the phone, "While I went to FEAST today, which we still need to talk about later, you went and stopped a drug deal, only to get attacked by a girl that looks like your age that seems to worship that hero killer you fought a few days ago, and she's obsessed with blood?"

"Yeah. And she's like...really pale." Izuku replied as he glanced back at Toga, the girl still trying to get out of the webbing covering her arms and feet, "I think she has a blood quirk and...she seems pretty starved."

"Okay..." Inko quietly sighed, "Well, what do you want to do with her?"

"I mean, I don't really know if she's a villain or a criminal. She just attacked me with a knife, and I fought back. Heck, she seems more confused than anything...I think."

"You think?"

"I'm not good at reading people."

Inko let out a hum at this, "True. Still, what do you want to do?"

"I'm...not sure. I want to help her, but I don't know how. I mean, when I was talking to her, she seems to be obsessed with me...but she's also obsessed with hating being 'normal' and..." Izuku began to scratch the side of his mask as he added, "I don't know. It sounded like she's been hurting for a long time." There was a beat of silence at this before he added, "I don't know what to do, so I was thinking maybe I can do the obvious part first. She seems to be starving, and I thought you could help me with the blood quirk part of that. Do they have something for that kind of problem at the hospital?"

"Err...not exactly. More like, regulations than anything. I could pick up some stuff she could eat that is designed for blood quirks." There was a small pause at this, "But if I do that, you'll have to bring her here, and she'll probably figure out who you are."

"I know."

"Still...are you sure about this? I know you said you want to help people, but you haven't done anything like this before." Izuku opened his mouth to reply, only for his mother to continue, "Is it because of Mister Li?"

Izuku could feel the words coming out of his mouth freeze in his throat. Hesitation consumed him for a few seconds before words began to form, "Yeah. That and...remember that gecko guy I beat a week or so back? You know, the bank robber?"

"I remember. What about him?"

"Its just...looking back at it, I think I could have done more. Instead, I just told him to go to jail and come to FEAST later." Izuku stared at Toga as he saw her continue to squirm, her face clenching up as she struggled, "I think...I think I should have done more. With him and Mister Li. I keep feeling like I don't do enough, and this is an opportunity to do more."

Izuku could feel his mother shaking her head as he heard her let out a small chuckle, "You truly have a wonderful heart, you know that?"

"Well I uh-"

"I know." Inko interrupted before the sound of her walking around began to quietly ring out through the phone, "Bring her here. I'm going to go get some stuff that will work with her blood quirk."

"Okay." Izuku barely replied before adding, "Thanks mom."

"Anything for you." She giggled, "Just be careful getting her over here, alright?"

"I will." Izuku responded before ending the call, glancing back at Toga. The girl was still squirming, only to look up at Izuku as he walked over to her. "Alright. We got a change of plans. I think I have a way to help you...or to begin helping you."

"What do you mean?!" She snapped back, only to see Izuku reach out to touch her, "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Don't worry. I'm just...gonna knock you out for a bit."

"What?! But-"

Two fingers tapped her shoulder, a tiny bit of electricity coming out of them. Her eyes went wide-eyed before slumping over, the sight making Izuku flinch. "That...looked like it hurt a bit. I hope she doesn't hate me for that." He then grabbed the webbing covering her and lifted it, the end strands around her feet breaking from the roof while the rest kept her tied up. He made a web strand at this, attaching it to the girl's webbed up form before putting her on his back. The teen reloaded his webbing at this before leaping off the roof, quickly swinging through the city.

'Here's hoping no one sees me as I...webswing across the city with a webbed-up girl on my back.' He shook his head at this, 'That sounded so wrong. Glad I didn't say it out loud.'

And as he began to swing away, the sound of police sirens rang out in the distance. The teen glanced back for a split second at this, noticing they were going to the drug deal he had just stopped. It made him slightly smile, knowing that he had done some good tonight, and possibly more soon.

The next day...

Nezu's cigarette twirled in his hand, over half of it already gone. The stoat was currently riding in the passenger seat of Naomasa's car, the detective staring straight ahead as he drove down Tokyo's roads, his fingers tapping the wheel. Nezu glanced up at him at this, "Nervous, detective?"

"No." Naomasa replied, "Just...surprised. You don't usually come to crime scenes."

"Regularly, that is true. However, I must say, I am very interested in this case." Nezu chuckled, the detective trying to hide a grimace at this. He and Aizawa had a long discussion about Nezu after the hero commission had told him to join the investigation. This was followed by Aizawa telling Naomasa that if Nezu is on the case, it's best to let the stoat do whatever he wants and they follow, as it will probably lead to the conclusion that they're looking for. That notion made him glance back at Nezu for a second as the principal added, "Its been a long time since I've had a puzzle that actually stumped me."

"Is that why you're coming with me to the crime scene?"

"Oh yes." Nezu took a last smoke before putting the cig in a tiny ash tray he had brought with him. "I believe this particular endeavor me and you are about to do will definitely allow us to go leaps and bounds into the Spider-Man case."

The principal's wording made Naomasa almost shiver, now seeing the big smile on the stoat's face. Aizawa had warned him what happens with Nezu is happy, as the stoat very presence would make someone feel a shiver down their spine. The detective was now feeling it, the sight making him look back at the road, only to spin the wheel to the right as he commented, "We're here."

"That we are." Nezu added as Naomasa drove up to a lot and parked in the nearest space. The stoat quickly hopped out of the car, shining a small grin as he walked around the car and looked up at the building before them. It was the one that Spider-Man had just been at a few days ago, the one where he had found out Martin Li was Mister Negative and ended up in a car chase with the villain, though the duo that had just arrived didn't have that knowledge on hand.

Instead, Naomasa turned to Nezu to ask, "I apologize for asking this, but what are we looking for? The police have already combed this place."

"I know." Nezu responded as he began to walk past the detective, "And I know they've probably checked every nook and cranny thanks to the chief of police telling them to due to being under pressure thanks to the commission. That's not why I wanted you to bring me here."

"Then why did you want me to bring you here?"

"Simple." Nezu glanced back at him before pulling out another cigarette, "I believe there is something you all overlooked."

Naomasa blinked at him for a second before replying, "Okay. What did we overlook?"

Nezu responded by taking out a lighter and lighting the stick in his mouth, exhaling a puff of smoke a second later, "Naomasa, when I first joined your investigation, what did I propose we do in terms of searching for Spider-Man?"

"You said we should look at it based on his psychological profile."

"Exactly." Nezu chucked as he tapped the cigarette in his hand, making a bit of ash drop onto the pavement. "When I gave you and Aizawa my profile of Spider-Man, I suggested he was a teen that has somehow been given power very recently, yet at the same time believes the world is against him. Now, that is a good starting point, but what is the other part I told you two about?"

Naomasa tilted his head at this, "You said he had true heroic qualities...and he's intelligent."

Nezu snapped his fingers at this, "Bingo. That is why I want to investigate this scene myself." He put the cigarette back in his mouth as he walked around the building, slowly striding up to several cars that were covered in yellow tape.

"You wanted to come to the crime scene because Spider-Man might be smart?" Naomasa asked as he followed Nezu, "I don't get it."

"Its simple, really. Tell me, how does a vigilante gain information compared to a hero?"

"Well...heroes work with the police, so they get most info from them." Naomasa replied before crossing his arms, closing his eyes for a second, "I'm guessing vigilantes probably do the underground hero route. That's trailing, observing, going into the darker alleyways and places in the city...those sort of things."

"Normally, I would agree, but I don't think that is Spider-Man's MO per-say. Instead, thanks to the footage I've reviewed that you and Aizawa gave me, I believe Spider-Man to be more...hands-on. In fact, I'm certain he could be more than just someone with multiple quirks." Nezu remarked as he walked up to one of the cars and pushed the tape away. "Let me ask you another question: How many quirks do you think Spider-Man has?"

Naomasa put a finger to his chin, "Um...I think he might have four."

"And what would those quirks be?"

Naomasa began to count on his fingers, "Well...he seems to have a mutant spider quirk, along with a bio-electricity quirk, an invisibility or camouflage quirk, and though I can't confirm it, I think he might have some kind of danger sensing quirk."

"I agree with those four." Nezu replied as he crossed his arms, "Now, if that's the case, and if you look at his history, Spider-Man has fought the Inner Demons multiple times, yet only now tracked down their leader. How did he do that?"

"I...don't know." Naomasa responded before shrugging, "I mean, we've found no evidence on how he did it."

Nezu snapped his paw, "Exactly. That means he doesn't have a quirk that lets him hunt down villains, but that also means he has to have something that would allow him to find his prey. As such, I believe that very thing will be at this crime scene."

"But we already checked everything. The guys looked through each car. How could there be anything else?"

"Oh, there is always a way to hide things, Naomasa. After all, ask yourself this: If the Lurkers fought Martin Li on a moving semi, how did Spider-Man track him down? The Lurkers claimed that Spider-Man had fought Martin Li before they encountered him and after, meaning he had some way to track him...and I believe that this is the true first step in finding Spider-Man."

And before Naomasa could ask what that meant, the stoat bent over and glanced under the car, hiding a certain grin now widening on his face.

Chapter 34: That First Step

Chapter Text

It turned out that the little zap Izuku gave Himiko Toga did more than he thought. She was knocked out for several hours, confirming his theory that she was in even worse condition than he originally hypothesized. When he got home, he put her on their couch, webbing her up again as his mother got home. Inko wasn't happy with all the webbing, but knew it was necessary and the webbing would be gone in a few hours.

"You really jump into everything, don't you?" His mother commented, Izuku glancing away.

"Yeah." He let out a long sigh, "Sorry."

"Its fine." Inko replied before walking over to the girl, taking a chair over and sitting down in front of the couch. She glanced back at her son, "We need to talk about FEAST, but considering what you just brought home, we'll talk about it later, alright?"

"Okay." Izuku responded as Inko spun back to the girl, "Um...thanks for this mom."

"You're already a repeating patient Izuku, and you just brought home another. Just be glad I'm a caring nurse."

"Sorry..."

"Its fine. I suspect you don't want her to see your face yet?" Izuku nodded back, "Alright. Let me check up on her." Izuku removed some of the webbing for her, Inko taking a deep breath before examining the girl, soon confirming Izuku's theory. Inko surmised that the poor girl was in horrible condition, mainly malnourished, and after asking Izuku to leave the room, she looked under her clothes and saw tons of cuts and bruises. His mother told Izuku that she should take her to the emergency room, but since she attacked Izuku, they both knew that could be a problem. Izuku then went to his room at this, Inko taking a few more minutes to examine the girl.

After this, she went to Izuku's room, the teen setting up his desk as she walked in. "Yes?" He asked as he saw her come in.

"Well...she's definitely not in good shape." She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, "I'll help her."

Izuku went wide-eyed for a second before giving her a smile, "Thank you."

Inko shook her head, "Its fine." She then put her hand on his shoulder, "Also, I know we said we'd talk about FEAST later, but considering she's still asleep, we could talk about it for a bit."

"Okay." Izuku nodded as his mother sat down on another chair, "So...what happened? Do they know about what happened to Mister Li?"

Inko shook her head again, "Not quite."

A few hours ago...

Inko slowly opened the doors of FEAST, the woman's feet quickly making their way to the nearby staircase. She zipped up to the second floor, her eyes glancing around before seeing what she feared the most. It was Gloria arguing with a police officer as a few of the FEAST residents stood around her. Thanks to her time hanging out with the woman, Inko could tell that the snake lady was not happy, though her tone was enough of a sign.

"No, I don't know where Mister Li has been over the past few days! How many times do I have to tell you that he left almost a week ago and didn't tell me where he was going?!" Gloria yelled at the officer, only to see the policeman snarl back at her.

The officer then pointed a finger at her, "Listen here snake freak, your boss is a villain, and you have information! Don't make me drag your hide to the station!"

"Mister Li isn't a villain!" She yelped back, "Who do you think you are?!"

"I'm the one interrogating you, you-" One of the FEAST residents then grabbed the officer's arm, one that Inko recognized as a retired hero. "Hey! Let go of me, you old-"

"I suggest you leave before we call a real officer." The elder hero growled, "Or better yet, a hero."

"What did you just say?! Let go of me now or-"

"Leave." Gloria hissed as she leaned up into his face, "Leave right now or I'm calling the police."

"I am the police, you-urgh!"

The elder hero tightened his grip on the man, making the officer flinch before the retiree grumbled out, "You heard the lady. Get out or else."

The two began a stare down at this, only for the officer to yank his hand away. "You'll be sorry for doing that." He hissed before spinning around and walking away, quickly stomping by Inko as the woman watched him leave before glancing back at Gloria. Multiple residents were asking if she was okay, the snake lady telling them she was fine.

A few minutes later, the residents dispersed as Gloria walked up to Inko, "Hey. Sorry you had to see that."

"Its alright." Inko replied, slightly gulping as she added, "So um...what exactly is going on?"

Gloria let out a long moan at that, "I...don't fully know. That jerk suddenly walked in here, demanding to see who was in charge." Inko saw the snake lady try to roll her eyes at this, "That's me of course, but then he said some nonsense about Mister Li being a villain and he was arrested and...I don't know."

Inko put her hand over her mouth, trying to show extra surprise, "Oh dear. Why would Mister Li be arrested?"

"I...have no idea." Gloria responded while shrugging, "I mean, I know I haven't seen him in a few days, but...I honestly have no idea."

Inko opened her mouth at this, about to say what she knew, only to stop herself. Her brain then told her to do something else, an option she knew would work a lot better. "Say Gloria, why don't you take a break? Would you like me to make you some tea?"

Gloria stuck out her tongue for a second before shrugging again, "Sure, why not?"

The two then headed to the kitchen, the snake lady calming down as Inko made the tea. And as they sat down to drink and talk, Gloria told Inko that yesterday a few police officers came and demanded information on Martin Li, saying he had been arrested. However, Gloria told them she couldn't give them anything, and convinced them she and the others didn't know a thing. This made Inko go wide-eyed, the mother asking small questions over why this was happening, only for Gloria to tell her that the police had just arrested Li, and were now searching all his known properties...and that somehow, Spider-Man was involved.

And after a bit, Inko asked her that if it was true about Li, would FEAST be okay. She responded by saying what was left should help, and she was ready to keep FEAST going if Li was now gone. However, Inko could tell she wasn't happy about it, and for very good reason.

"And then I came home." Inko sighed as she saw a huge frown on her son's face, "I know. Its a mess, and...honestly, I felt really bad about lying to Gloria, but I also have no idea how I would tell her the truth."

"Yeah..." Izuku mumbled, glancing away for a second before looking back at his mother, "So, do you think I shouldn't have gone after Mister Li? Maybe...maybe I should have just let the heroes handle it."

Inko took a deep breath, "I don't know. I don't know what the right choice would have a been." She then put her hand on Izuku's shoulder again, "But what I do know is that after what you told me those masked men did...he did need to be stopped."

Izuku bit his lip at this, only for a few minutes of silence to follow. Another minute later, they agreed to figure out the FEAST situation later, even though they both agreed all they could probably do is just help volunteer there and not much else. As such, Izuku took a quick nap, making sure Toga was webbed down with a second wrapping before drifting off. It wasn't long till morning, Inko waking him up to apply the webbing again. And after a third time, the girl began to wake up, Inko then telling Izuku to go to his room and close the door, saying she would handle what happens next. After making sure Toga was secure and couldn't attack his mother, he agreed, commenting that this was where he got his recklessness from, making his mother smack his shoulder before leaving.

And as Toga's eyes began to open, Inko shined the warmest smile she could muster. That is, till the girl fully opened her eyes.

"What the-" She whispered out as she saw Inko standing over her, the girl then trying to move, only to feel herself unable to do anything. She glanced down and saw she was webbed up again, her breath soon speeding up as she began to try and thrash around. "AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Izuku hopped in his desk seat at the noise, making him glance at his room's door. He quickly walked up and creaked open the door, peeking inside as he saw his mother put her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Calm down, its okay. Its okay." Inko said as Toga began shaking her head back and forth.

"No! Let me go! Stay away!" She screamed, "Go away!"

Inko grimaced at this, seeing the girl's eyes tear up, her breathing going fast and unfocused. The sight was familiar to the nurse, though it did make her almost flinch. It meant only one thing: The girl in front of her was having a panic attack.

"Hey, hey! Its okay." Inko leaned down in front of Toga's face, the girl's head no longer thrashing as she then stared up at the mother, "Just breathe. In and out. In and out."

Toga stared at her, her eyes twitching as tears began to go down her face before doing what Inko said. Seeing this through the crack of his barely opened door, Izuku bit his lip, but remembered his mom telling him to not do anything. He closed the door, glancing back at his desk as both the vial of trigger and the bullet from yesterday sat on it. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and took out his microscope that he connected to his computer.

And as this happened, Toga's breath began to slow down, soon going to a regular rate. This was followed by a long warm smile from Inko, the sight making Toga gasp. As this happened, Inko glanced away and reached over to a nearby table and grabbed a red bag. Toga watched her gesture the bag over her, the girl's nose twitching as she could smell what was inside...and it made her want to drool.

"Here. I was told that you have a blood quirk. Is that correct?"

Toga blinked at her, her eyes darting between Inko and the bag, "Um...yes?" she muttered.

"I thought so." Inko then put a straw in the bag, "Now, I want you to drink this slowly, okay?"

Toga stared at the straw, her eyes going up at Inko for just a second before taking it in her mouth. She began to loudly suck on it, Inko telling her to take it slow again. And as she emptied the bag, Toga began to lick her lips as Inko put the bag away before sitting on a small chair by the couch.

"Now, you feeling better?"

"Um...yes." Toga whispered out.

This was responded with another warm smile from Inko. "Good. We have more blood bags you can drink later." She looked back at the table for a second at that, seeing the few bags she had bought last night before glancing back at Toga, "To start, my name is Inko Midoriya. I'm a part time nurse, and you're at my house. You can trust me. However, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Toga just blinked at her, the fangs in her mouth lightly tracing on her lips. "Uh...okay."

Inko shook her head at this, "Don't worry, its nothing bad. Now, when you were brought here, I checked you over and...I suspect you're very malnourished. Since you have a blood quirk, you need regular consumption, or it will affect your body. When was the last time you had any blood?"

Toga's eyes darted away at this, her mouth unmoving. The sight made Inko sigh, "Does that mean you haven't had any for a while?" A few seconds passed, no response coming from the girl as Inko shook her head, "I see." She then grabbed another bag. "Do you want some more?"

Silently, Toga glanced back at her, seeing that warm smile again as Inko held up another bag with a straw. The girl bit down on the tube and began to slowly drink, this time taking even longer to finish the bag. And when she was done, Inko spun around to put the bag away as Toga spoke up and said one word, "Why?"

Inko glanced back at her at this, her smile slightly faded, "Hmm?"

"Why?" Toga repeated, the word now fully hitting Inko's ears.

The mother shined another smile, "Why, because you needed the blood. No one should go hungry."

Toga just blinked at her at this, only to mumble out, "Thank you."

Inko nodded back, "You don't have to thank me for something like that, but you are welcome." She then slightly shifted in her seat, "Now, I was told your name is Himiko Toga, yes?" The girl nodded back, "That's a lovely name."

"Thank you." She said again, only to whisper out, "Can...can I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"Are you...related to Spider-Man?"

Inko blinked at this, only to nod, "Oh yes." She leaned down and winked at her, "You could say I'm his...'sidekick'. The boy lives on getting himself beat up and I have to bandage him up all the time. It's like he's a car I have to keep repairing."

Toga giggled at this, Inko glad she was now smiling. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a question? You can say no or not answer if you want to."

"Um...sure."

"Good." Inko replied, the woman taking a silent breath before asking, "Where are your parents?"

That made Toga grimace, glancing away as her smile turned into a dark frown, "They don't care about me. They hate me."

This made Inko's smile fade, the woman almost flinching as she heard Toga say those words with a tone seeping with venom and hatred. She could tell in that one moment that this was going to be difficult. As such, she took a deep breath before saying, "I see. I'm sorry I brought that up."

"Hmph." Toga grumbled, "I don't care. They think I'm a monster."

Inko shook her head at this, "You're not a monster."

Toga glanced back at her, fully glaring at the woman, "You're just saying that. I bet you think I'm a monster too!"

Inko tilted her head, "Now why would I think that?"

"Cuz I drink blood!"

Inko raised a single eyebrow at that, "That just means you have a blood quirk. There's nothing wrong with that."

"What are you-of course there's something wrong with that! I have to drink blood!"

"So?" Inko instantly responded, "I work with people that have blood quirks all the time. It's part of how quirks work."

"But...but..." Toga sputtered out, the girl noticing her glare didn't do a thing on the woman. Usually, that glare was enough to make grown adults run in fear, thinking she was some crazed blood sucking monster...but not the woman sitting right by her. There wasn't a hint of fear on Inko's face. Toga glanced down at herself, seeing she was still webbed up, thinking that might be why Inko wasn't showing any fear, but as she looked back up at the woman, she realized she was wrong.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Toga whispered out, only to realize she had accidentally asked her own thoughts.

Inko shook her head, "I'm not afraid because there's nothing to fear. Even if you weren't tied up like you are." She leaned over Toga, showing her warm smile again, "The only reason I have you tied up like this is to help you. That and I am known for being way too cautious at times."

"Oh..." Toga muttered, glancing back down at the webbing, "Um...how long am I gonna be tied up then?"

Inko opened her mouth, only for it to pause in an open motion, "I...don't know. I think it lasts two hours. I know Iz-er, Spider-Man tied you up over an hour ago."

'Iz?' Toga thought as she stared back at Inko before saying, "Oh, okay." She looked back at the webbing, "Um...will you let me go when it...goes away?"

The girl glanced up at Inko at that question, only to see an unsure look on the woman's face, "Well...that depends. For one, I want to ask you a few more questions, if you don't mind."

Toga blinked at her, the girl feeling like she knew what Inko was going ask, but as she saw the woman stare at her, Inko's face summoned that warm smile again. She couldn't help but feel off guard at the sight. She didn't know what to do. No one had ever treated her like this before. That very thought made her ask a single worded question again.

"Why?"

Inko tilted her head at this, "Why? Well, I want to help you and-"

Toga shook her head, making Inko stop talking as she added, "No, I don't mean that. I mean...I mean...why?"

"Why what?"

"Why help me?!" Toga suddenly exclaimed, "I'm a monster! Why help a monster?!"

Inko stared at her as that warm smile turned into a worried frown, "Dear...you're not a monster."

"B-b-but I am!" She screamed before thrashing again, "Lemme go! Let me go!"

Inko quickly grabbed her, "Hey, hey! Its okay! Calm down!" Toga closed her eyes as she continued to squirm, only to feel Inko grip her shoulders, "Please! Its okay! Its all okay! You're safe here!"

Toga continued to thrash for another minute, only to start to slow down. Her eyes slowly creaked open at this, tears slightly forming in her eyes as she saw Inko right above her, "You...why..."

"Because you need help." Inko instantly replied. "So please...let me help you."

Toga's lips trembled at this, her whole form shivering as she whispered, "Why...why...why..."

"Its okay." Inko showed her warm smile again, "Its okay. Everything will be okay." The woman put her hand on Toga's head and began to rub it, "See? Nothing bad will happen to you here."

Hearing this, tears began to pour down the girl's face before she muttered out, "Thank you."

The next few minutes were one of silence, only for Inko to notice that the webbing beginning to fall apart. She almost flinched at this, but as she glanced back at Toga's face, she saw the calm look on the girl's face. And while it began to disappear, Inko spoke up, "May I ask you those questions from before?"

Toga almost bit her lip as she responded, "Um...what are they?"

"Well...for one, do you have somewhere to stay?" Toga blinked at this, only to shake her head. "I see. I had a feeling." She then patted the girl's shoulders, "I guess you're staying here for the night."

Toga went wide-eyed at this, "Huh?!"

"Yup." Inko replied, Toga opening her mouth to respond, only for Inko to put a finger over her lips, "Don't question it and just accept it. Now, I know there are certain things I can't ask you yet, but can I ask you to keep a secret?"

Toga's brain tried to keep up at this, the gears inside grinding before replying, "Um...what kind of secret?"

Inko let out a long sigh, "The...secret identity kind."

Toga blinked at her, only to realize what she meant. She quickly nodded back as she exclaimed, "YES!"

"Thank you." Inko giggled before glancing back at a closed door in the living room, "Cuz I have a feeling he'll need to talk to you more than I do."

Izuku put the vial of Trigger over the scope, switching the screens on his computer as he began to zoom into the vial. "Hmmm..." He hummed to himself as the scope slowly zoomed in, "So this is Trigger."

The sight before him was something he had a feeling he didn't know enough about. Now, Izuku would admit he's not a chemistry expert despite inventing the web fluid. Izuku always preferred software and hardware science, not chemicals and elements. Despite this, he felt had a basic understanding, at least for an extent.

He pulled up another screen, this one pulling up a program he made for the scope to take pictures of what's under the scope. And as he began to take a few, he rubbed his chin in response. And after a few minutes, he slumped back in his seat, humming as he glanced back at the vial, 'Its close to what I thought it would be. I mean, if its a quirk enhancing drug, it has to look like a stimulant...but that's all I have here. Looks like this is another dead end.' He pulled out the tracker device at this, 'Maybe this is the only way for me to find villains.'

And as he thought this, he turned to the other thing he had gotten from the drug deal: The bullet. The teen blinked at the tiny object, soon picking it up, 'Still, why were they trading drugs for this?' He thought before fiddling it in his hand, 'It just looks like a regular bullet. Why...'

His thoughts came to a stop as he saw the top of the bullet, now seeing it had a tiny needle at the end. He squinted his eyes at this, only to spin it around, 'Wait...is this a bullet? I mean, I saw that guy loading it into his gun, but...' He then put a little spider-strength into his fingers, only to find himself able to open the bullet in half like a capsule. There, he saw what was inside the metal casing, a vial with a needle at the end. 'Its not a bullet! Its a dart!'

Detaching the needle from the vial, he quickly put the new liquid on the scope and zoomed in, only to go wide-eyed as he stared at his monitor, 'This looks like...blood?' He glanced back at the vial, 'Why is blood the injector for this dart?'

Chapter 35: To Change Another's Life

Chapter Text

Nezu liked walking down the main path into his school. It was something he knew most students or even the teachers wouldn't even think about, but going down the path in a brisk pace was something to enjoy in the stoat's mind. He had just finished the last cigarette for the day, and felt he was about to get the next piece to his most favorite puzzle in a long time. The puzzle known as Spider-Man.

And as he went through the main doors, he fiddled with his right pant pocket, making sure a certain object was still inside. He then took a right, walking up to a pair of big metal doors...only for an explosion to ring out right in front of him. This was followed by the doors flinging open, a pile of smoke spewing out as two voices began yelling at each other.

"Hatsume! What did I just tell you?!" exclaimed a teacher Nezu was very familiar with.

"Sorry Power Loader!" replied a student, the smoke soon fading to reveal them. It was a pink-haired girl, one Nezu had been hearing Power Loader complain about for days now, along with her doing a crazy performance in the UA sports festival. He had to admit, she was definitely a highlight, especially since the festival had been such a disaster.

"Hatsume..." the teacher grumbled as he walked up to her, "I told you to not-" He then saw the principal standing there, staring at the two. "Oh. Sorry about her, Nezu. She's-"

"Its fine." Nezu interrupted while walking up to them, "You are Miss Hatsume, is that correct?"

"That's right!" Hatsume pointed at herself, "The future CEO of Hatsume Industries, at your service!"

Nezu chuckled at this as Power Loader sighed, the principal then saying, "My apologies Miss Hatsume, but I need to borrow your teacher for a bit. You don't mind going back to class, do you?"

Power Loader opened his mouth at this, only for Hatsume to exclaim, "Nope. I'm off to make more babies!"

The girl quickly sprinted off, Power Loader sighing again before glancing down at his boss. "You do realize you just made another headache for me, right?"

"Oh yes." Nezu laughed, the support hero now seeing the stoat's tail was wagging. That was never a good sign.

"Alright Nezu...what do you want?"

"I need you to check something." Nezu then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that looked just like a tiny spider.

Himiko Toga didn't know what to do. She had never felt like this before. For one, she had never drank so much blood in such a long time. Like, blood was so hard for her to get, and since her...parentsdidn't want her to have any, she couldn't remember half the time what it tasted it like. All they wanted was to be normal. Just...normal.

That alone cleared up her head a lot. She had never felt like she could think this well in a long time. There was no hunger, no craving guiding her every thought. Instead, she felt full. The blood had done what it was supposed to do. She no longer felt this haze in her head, pushing her to what she always thought about: Blood. There was no haze, no voice in the back of her head telling her to find more blood, no hunger...it was calm.

She had never felt so much...calm. It felt good.

But that wasn't what she was thinking about right now. It was the situation she was in that occupied her now calm mind. After all, she had suddenly woke up here after attacking Spider-Man. She had wanted to meet him after she saw that he beat Stainy. I mean, Stainy was her idol. He showed others what society really was now, a bunch of fake heroes saying they'll help you, only to help the ones they want to help and throw away the rest. And she was doubly excited when she saw it on a random television the moment the news crew got of Stain admitting that 'the word hero had lost all meaning', only to show he accepted defeat from Spider-Man!

That meant only thing to Toga: Spider-Man was the next part of Stainy's plan.

It made sense to Himiko. After all, a vigilante, not a hero or villain, had beaten Stainy and showed the world that the ones outside the law could make a difference. That alone was so appealing to Toga, it was something she wanted more than anything. To become someone like that? To drink that person's blood? It sounded like a dream come true.

But now reality had shown her something completely different. Instead of encountering Spider-Man and becoming him, he knocked her out, webbed her up, and she was now...in some kind of small home. As her eyes glanced around, she found she was in a really tiny apartment, much smaller than her old house. That fact alone confused her, but not so much as the woman she had just been talking to.

Inko Midoriya. A green haired woman with the warmest smile she had ever seen. Not only that, she just...gave her bags of blood to drink. Actual blood! And she wasn't disturbed by it or looking away like all the others. No demands of "Forget blood and eat normal food!" or anything like that. Instead, she just gave her some blood to drink and that was that.

The girl couldn't understand what had just happened. Part of her was convinced she was dreaming. Another part of her was convinced she had died in that fight with Spider-Man and somehow the afterlife was where they accepted people like her...that is, till she remembered the webbing covering her, telling her it was still real.

As such, she was now staring at the room around her as Inko had left to get...well, she suspected she was getting Spider-Man. At least, what Spider-Man looked like under his mask. That was another thing she really wanted to see. She was betting he was like her, rejected by society. Though with him, he was probably some crazed looking spider-headed monster, though one that luckily found a place of solace here. That sounded like the most logical outcome in her head right now. Though to be fair, she was also really hoping that Spider-Man turned out to be a total cutie. That would be fun.

Thinking this, she glanced down at the webbing still covering her body, showing she technically was a prisoner right now, though it didn't feel like it at all. That feeling was strange as well, as she was used to tons of paranoia that came with the blood craving. The haze that made her not trust anything...but that was gone. And that warm smile from Inko was enough.

That is, till her eyes drifted over to the drained blood bags, the sight making her lick her lips. "I wonder where she got those." She looked back at the door Inko had disappeared behind, the girl slightly squirming in her webbing-based bindings, "Hope she comes back soon. I'm thirsty."

The sound of typing rang out through the room as Izuku's eyes switched between the scope that had the blood bullet under it, and his computer screen. He then pulled out a notebook, this one called 'Spider Experiments', which was his original notes over making webbing, and he was now writing down several new calculations. The teen had pulled up several sites over studies on blood and their effects on quirks, his eyes going back and forth as he kept writing down page after page.

'Thank goodness I took notes on my blood after getting bit by the spider.' he thought as he glanced back up at the scope. 'Hmm...its definitely different from my blood after the spider bite.' He bit his lip at his next thought, 'But I can't really tell anything else.'

He leaned back in his chair at this, "I need better equipment." He thought aloud before glancing down at his notes, several pages now showing a few basic chemical equations. 'Then again, even if my stuff was better, I'm not sure I would be able to figure this out. This blood in the bullet is so...different. I can't find anything like it in any of these studies.'

Izuku put the notebook down on the desk before taking the vial of blood out from under the scope, 'The blood has a quirk factor in it, but that's all I can find. It must have something else in it or...something. Why would those drug dealers want it? I mean, they put it in bullets...is it a special kind of tranquilizer? The chemical makeup of the blood doesn't seem to be that though.'

He put the vial down next, only to hear a knock at his door. Turning to it, the door slightly opened up before his mother peeked inside, "Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." Izuku quietly replied, "Um...is everything okay?"

"That depends." Inko remarked before glancing back at Toga, the girl just sitting on the couch as the webbing began to disappear around her.

"I...see." Izuku responded as he got out of his seat, "Uh..."

"Don't." Inko closed the door behind her as she entered the room. "I will say again that what you did was super reckless, but I will now admit that the girl needs...a lot of help. Probably more than I can do."

Izuku bit his lip at this, "I didn't think again, didn't I?"

"Yup." Inko instantly remarked, shaking her head. "But, I think you did the right thing." She glanced back at the closed door, "I think she's been rejected by a lot of people due to her...thinking she's a monster." Izuku went wide-eyed at this, his mother shaking her head again, "The poor dear is convinced she's one."

Izuku opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He didn't know what to say, only for his mother to put his hand on his shoulder. "She needs help...and she admires you. I think you can help her, but-"

"But you need me to reveal myself."

"Yes." Inko instantly said, Izuku biting his lip at this. And seeing that her son wasn't going to respond, she added, "She needs therapy, and we'll probably have to talk to the police at some point. Also, she's starved and...I suspect her parents are not feeding her what she needs for her quirk."

"Oh." Izuku barely replied, the teen blinking as his mind went over everything that had just happened in his head. The bullet he had been examining had made him forget, and now it was all rushing back in. And as this mess muddled itself into his brain, he took a deep breath before saying, "Well, I can't run away from this. What do you want me to do?"

His mother smiled at his response before saying, "For starters, why don't you go introduce yourself? Then, all three of us will figure out an...arrangement."

Izuku did a small nod at this before getting up, Inko then slowly opening the door before gesturing Izuku to go first. And as he walked into the living room, Toga glanced up to see the teen, who was in casual clothes. She blinked at the sight, the boy in front of her almost looking like someone else she knew before he spoke up.

"Hello." Izuku almost quietly said, the girl blinking at him in response.

"H-h-hello." She squeaked out, "Are...are you-"

Izuku did a small nod before sitting down on the chair Inko had been using earlier. His mind raced for a second, yelling at him, 'Don't stutter! You've been doing better at FEAST with that, so don't stutter.' He closed his eyes for a split-second before saying, "I'm Izuku Midoriya. Its nice to meet you without the mask."

Toga's eyes went fully wide at this, a tiny blush appearing on her face as she stuttered out, "Y-y-you're Spider-Man?"

Izuku responded with a small smile, "Not what you were expecting?"

The girl flinched at the question before rapidly shaking her head, "No! I mean, um...just...wow."

Izuku then leaned down and grabbed the now fading webbing that was constricting the girl before giving it a tug, ripping most of it with a single motion. The girl gasped at this, only to glance back up and see Izuku still smiling at her, "So, me and mom talked about it and...well, we would both like to help you. Will you let us do that?"

Toga blinked at him at this, "Help...me?"

Izuku nodded back, "Yeah. Mom told me about your...circ*mstances." He glanced back at Inko for a second before adding, "And while I'll admit that we don't completely know what to do..." He turned back to Toga, "We do know we want to help you. Will you let us?"

The teen gestured his hand forward at this, Toga glancing down at it for a second before biting her lip. She looked back up at the teen, then to his mother. The girl felt a rush of emotions in her mind, as if time itself stopped just so memories and thoughts could invade her head before thinking just one thing. She had never had someone be so kind to her like Inko, and she could tell Izuku was the same just by his face alone.

And with a second of hesitation, she took the hand.

Meanwhile...

The Tinkerer rubbed her eyes as she let out a long sigh before staring down at her hands, seeing the metal armaments. The armor instantly disappeared a second later, turning back to her usual purple and black jacket. But as she did this and got out of her chair, a voice behind her spoke up.

"I must say, that never gets old to look at." Tinkerer spun around at this, seeing the voice's owner to be Gentle Criminal as he added, "I know my partner understands it more, but I must say, that...'programmable matter' or what you call it, is so fascinating to watch."

"Its just basic science." She grumbled as she crossed her arms.

"I doubt that." Gentle chuckled before doing a small bow, "My apologies for taking so long, Tinkerer. I have what you requested."

"You mean what your partner created for me." She corrected him as Gentle extended his hand, showing a small flash drive. She quickly grabbed it and spun around, putting the device into a nearby computer. A file appeared next, the girl scanning over what was inside before closing it.

"Is it to your liking?"

"Yeah, it is." She said in a bored tone. "I suspect you want your part of the deal?"

"Indeed." Gentle responded while tapping his cane, "I have been away from the public for too long, and according to you, this device will help with...vigilante issues?"

"It won't fully solve the problem, but it should help based on what little studying I've done on him." She replied while letting out a yawn, "Though if I'm honest, you might not even need this now."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because Beck is also after the bug."

Gentle raised an eyebrow at this before humming, "I see. I hope that doesn't become a problem. The man understands the need for theatrics...but he's also a distasteful performer."

The Tinkerer rolled her eyes at this as she whispered, "Why are all my customers a bunch of theater freaks?" She then walked over to another desk and pulled out a small device, handing it to Gentle, "Here."

"You have my thanks." Gentle replied as he took the gadget.

"Whatever."

"No need to be rude. This is just a normal-"

"Go away." Tinkerer moaned as she turned around, waving her hand. "I'm going to bed, so get out."

Gentle opened his mouth to do a response, only to take a small breath before saying, "I understand. Once again, thank you. I shall now take my leave."

The man walked out of the room at this, leaving the girl alone as she turned off the lights and went into another room. There, Tinkerer stared at a blank room that had nothing in it but a bed and an alarm clock. "Oh yeah. I still have that project to do for school. Eh, I'll do it at the support lab tomorrow."

It had been a few minutes after Toga had shook Izuku's hand. As such, she had a few questions for the teen, mainly over his fight against Stain. He responded by telling her he didn't have much to say, but rather he just went after the man, and after a first loss, he fought him again and won. However, the battle was super engaging for the girl, loving every second as Izuku learned of her super admiration for the hero killer. Despite this, even though Izuku knew he wasn't the best at reading people, he could tell it was the ideals of the hero killer that pushed her to be a fan of the villain.

And before her was the person that beat him. Izuku had taken on and beaten a monster in his mind, but to her, it was something completely different. It was here that both him and Inko realized what this meant. Toga thought that Izuku was Stain's successor, solely due to beating him. The very thought made them want to grimace, but they were able to hide it. Not only that, they knew now that Toga was in full follower mode when it came to Spider-Man, something that was reassuring for secret keeping, but worrying in other ways.

That is, till Toga asked, "So...why are you a vigilante? I mean, you're using your quirk freely! Why do you do it for something like that?"

Izuku blinked at this, staring at the girl on the couch. (The webbing was now gone, but she decided to stay sitting there) He almost bit his lip at this, thinking for a moment, only to get up from the chair he was on. "Hold on one moment." He spun around and went to his room, Toga turning to Inko.

"Was it something I said?"

Inko shook her head, "No. I think he needs to grab something before telling you about it."

A second later, he came back into the room, sitting down and taking a small breath, "Sorry about that." He stared deep into her eyes at this, "Now...before I tell you, will you promise me something?"

Toga tilted her head at him before nodding, "Sure."

"I need you to not tell anyone anything about me." Izuku replied, the girl opening her mouth, only for him to continue, "I know that may sound strange, but what I'm about to tell you...I don't fully understand it myself."

"What do you mean?"

Izuku glanced away for a second before responding, "You see...for starters, I'm quirkless."

The sound of a pin dropping could have been heard at this, Toga staring at him like she had been told he had grown a second head. A second later, she slowly replied, "Huh? But...but I saw you beat up those thugs! You did that electric thing, and you can go invisible! And you beat Stainy! You beat all of them without a quirk?!"

Izuku shook his head, "Not quite. You see, I'm quirkless...or at least, I used to be." He raised up a small bottle in his hand at this, the girl seeing a small insect inside the glass, "But then this little guy crawled into my life."

"A...spider?" she replied, squinting her eyes. He then spun the bottle around, Toga tilting her head slightly as she saw the tattoo on the dead insect, "Forty-Two?"

"Yup." Izuku put the bottle on the nearby table that had the previous blood bags on. "I don't know why it has that tattoo. But as to why its important...it bit me, and gave me a quirk."

"Gave you...a quirk?" Toga responded, her face and tone making it look like she was told that the sky was no longer colored blue.

"Yeah, I know. I still don't fully get it either."

"I wish you would figure it out." Inko instantly chimed in, her arms crossed. "That spider has caused me a ton of stress."

"I know." Izuku lightly chuckled before shaking his head, "Anyways, that's how it happened. It gave me a quirk and...now I'm Spider-Man."

Toga stared at the bottle, blinking several times before glancing back at Izuku. "Then why are you a vigilante?"

Izuku and Inko shared a glance at this, his mom nodding to him before he looked back at Toga. "Well, that's a bit longer story. You see, I always wanted to be a hero." Toga blanched at that, fear appearing next as the two instantly noticed her expression. Seeing this, he quickly added, "But...I failed to become one."

Her expression showed slightly less fear at this, Izuku then continuing his story after a second, "You see, I got this quirk just a few days before the entrance exams for hero school. I took them and..." Toga's expression faded more as she saw sadness appear on Izuku's face, "I failed. Badly."

That made Toga go wide-eyed, "How...bad?"

"Let's just say they told me to look elsewhere." Izuku sighed, his eyes glancing away again. "It made me want to give up and...let's just say it was bad." His face showed a look of almost pure despair, the sight making the girl go wide-eyed, only for the teen to glance back at her, his face morphing into an expression of determination, "But I decided I wouldn't give up! If I was gonna be rejected by the hero schools, I decided I would go into vigilantism instead. So, I made myself a hero costume like I always wanted and...well, I began try and fight crime." He raised his fist at this, Toga's eyes shining at this as he began to explain some of the fights he had gotten into.

Himiko listened with bated breath as Izuku went over his first few encounters, the teen seeing the pure admiration in Toga's eyes. It made him blush slightly, shocked that someone would be so interested. But then got to his fight right before Stain before stopping, not wanting to go into the Martin Li stuff before his head drooped down and let out a long sigh. The sight made Toga's eyes twitch, unable to figure out what to express as she saw Izuku now be depressed as he added, "But despite all I've done, I'm still nowhere near close to my goal. I still want to be a hero, but...I'm just a vigilante. Heck, I'm still just as worthless as I was when I was quirkless."

"Izuku-" Inko started, only for Toga to yell.

"That's not true!" she exclaimed, waving her hands, "I mean, I saw you whoop those thugs like they were nothing! And you beat Stainy!"

"That's nowhere near enough. Any hero could have done what I've done." Izuku replied, shaking his head. The statement made Toga flinch, her mind unable to comprehend what he was saying, only for Izuku to add, "I've only been able to do small stuff. I've...barely done anything really."

Toga blinked at him at this, those words entering her ears. She had always thought that heroes were just lies, people that don't really help others, as she had never had people like them help her. I mean, she was tormented by her parents and peers for years to benormal. Not allowed to be who she really wanted to be. To be who she was supposed to be. No one would help her. They always said heroes help others, but that was a lie. They wouldn't help a monster.

But then Inko had helped her, and the one she admired just...confessed he wanted to be a hero, something she knew she didn't like or believe in. And yet, he made it sound like he was in the same boat. He was rejected by society just like her, and had always been. He had been born wrong like her, this time with no power, and when he had the ability to no longer be rejected, he ended up getting rejected by society anyways.

She slightly slumped back at this, her world shattering just a bit in her mind. The girl honestly didn't know what to do now. It was nothing like she thought it was going to be. There was no longer that blood hunger in her right now, hazing her mind. Instead, her mind was clear, which made her stare at the two with a slight frown. She had never felt this before. It was so odd to her, something she knew she just didn't understand.

That is, till Izuku spoke up, "So...that's my story." Her eyes went back to him, "Could you tell me yours?"

She went wide-eyed at this, her whole body shaking for a second. Her mind battled between two thoughts, one saying, 'Don't tell them! They'll hate you!' and the other, 'I think...I think we should. I think they can help us.' But as that thought went through, her mind kept arguing, 'No! They'll hate you! Everyone hates monsters like us!' her head slightly shook at that, 'But...but...he's Spider-Man! Stainy approved of him, and...and he wants to help me. No one's ever wanted to help me! Maybe...maybe that means he will.'

She wanted to grip her head at this, the two thoughts fighting a full war in her brain now. Her eyes shook at this, the cat-like pupils dancing around as she tried to respond. And after a minute, she slowly said, "Um...can you promise me something if I tell you?"

Izuku and Inko shared a glance before looking back and nodding, "Sure."

"Promise me...you won't hate me if I tell you."

Izuku went wide-eyed as Inko gasped at this, the mother instantly responding, "Dear, we would never hate you!"

"Yeah!" Izuku added, nodding again, "W-w-we just want to help."

The teen flinched, noticing he stuttered, but Toga didn't seem to notice. She just stared at them with slightly dead eyes now. "Well...you see..." she started, biting her lip as she glanced away next.

Inko reached out and grabbed her shoulder, Toga looking back up at her, "Don't worry dear, take your time." She shined her warm smile again, "We just want to help you."

Toga's eyes darted between the two, her form squirming as she looked like she wanted to shrink into the couch. The sight made Izuku and Inko share a glance, both frowning as they now wondered if asking this quickly was a bad idea. But as they thought that, the duo looked back at her as she bit her lip with her tiny fangs, just barely making sure no blood was drawn. And as they were about to speak up, saying it was okay, the girl spoke up, "Um...I'm ready."

She began to twiddle her thumbs, Izuku blinking as Inko patted her shoulder again. Toga glanced up at her, seeing that smile, "Just take your time. Go as slow as you need to."

The girl blinked at her before glancing down at her thumbs, her eyes shaking as her mind tried to tell her this was a bad idea. But as she thought this, she looked back at Inko again, and that all faded away. It was so strange to her. She wasn't sure if was because the haze was gone, that craving of blood no longer distracting her mind. Or maybe it was the fact that she had never met people like this before, ones that would actually listen...and they looked like they cared. No had ever cared before.

She stopped her thumbs from moving, instead squeezing them together along with the rest of both hands. Her eyes glanced away as she began, "So uh...I don't know how to start this."

The statement made the two just nod in understanding, Izuku speaking up this time, "Don't worry. Just...start where you need to."

Toga inhaled a small breath at this, only to see Inko sit down beside her on the couch. The sight made Toga smile, a tiny one, but one that made her release her breath before saying, "Okay. So uh...my whole story revolves around my...my quirk."

"Your blood quirk?" Inko asked, Toga nodding back.

"Uh-huh."

Izuku slightly leaned in at this, "If you don't mind, what exactly does your blood quirk do? I've read up several, and they always have different properties."

Toga glanced up at him, seeing the teen lean up to her face. She felt a tiny blush appear on her face, only for Inko to gesture to her son, silently telling him to lean back. A second later, Izuku went back as Toga replied, "Um...when I suck people's blood, I can...I can transform into them."

Izuku went wide-eyed at this, gasping, "Like shapeshifting?!"

The girl flinched at the slight outburst, "Um...yes?"

"That's amazing!" Izuku exclaimed, Toga going full wide-eyed as well.

"Huh?"

"That quirk is amazing! The implications of being able to transform into others is almost limitless! So, can you fully transform, clothes as well? Can you copy their voice? Can you copy their quirk? Does it include animals?"

"Huh?" Toga repeated, her face showing nothing but confusion as she saw the stars suddenly appear in Izuku's eyes. Inko giggled at the sight before patting Toga's shoulder, the girl turning to the woman.

"Don't worry, this is normal for him." Inko winked at her, "My son loves quirks." She glanced back at Izuku, "Now Izuku, you can ask her about her quirk later. Let her tell us her story first."

"But-"

"Izuku..."

The teen glanced away, a slight pout on his face that made Toga want to giggle as he muttered out, "Fine."

And after a few seconds of silence, Himiko took a deep breath and began to tell them her story. It began when she was little, figuring out her quirk after she found a hurt bird. She didn't understand it, but she knew she wanted the blood of the bird. But as the girl told this to the mother and son, she expected them to show nothing but disgust on their faces...only to see curiosity on Izuku's face while Inko showed an expression of worry.

Seeing this, she took a moment before continuing her story. She told them how her parents hated seeing that, and began to tell her to suppress her love of blood. This was followed with them telling her to be 'normal', something she said with pure venom in her voice. Izuku and Inko both saw this, the teen frowning while Inko's face showed a tinge of anger. But Toga didn't notice this as she continued, telling them she started to be an 'ideal young school girl expected of society'.

The two could feel the anger radiating off of her as she said those words, Izuku and Inko sharing glances as they both showed frowns. The looked back at her as she closed her eyes, telling the final part of her story. It was when a student covered in blood and bruises appeared in front of her, her quirk activating after having not drank blood in so long. She shivered at this next part, telling them that she attacked him so she could suck his blood.

Her eyes reopened at this, staring up at the duo. She expected this to be it. There's no way they wouldn't be disgusted or angry or scared of her. They would reject her, just the like the rest. But as her eyes saw their faces, her mouth stopped moving. What she saw wasn't any of those things. She could see a bit of fear, mainly from Inko, but she showed an expression that was a cross between fear, compassion and sadness. As for Izuku, he showed nothing but sadness on his face. The sight made her jaw almost go slack, unable to respond.

"And...did you go on the run after that?" Izuku asked, Himiko blinking at him instead of responding. She tried to form words in her mouth, but she couldn't find any.

"Are you okay?" Inko added, Toga turning to her. The girl's expression was a mix mash of confusion and sadness, Inko feeling her heart clench at the sight.

Himiko's eyes darted between the two, only to ask, "Um...why are you two looking at me like that?"

"What do you mean?" Izuku replied before they shared a glance.

"Well..." Toga looked down and began to twiddle her fingers at this, "Aren't you disgusted with me?"

The mother and son looked back at her, Inko speaking up first, "Why would we be disgusted?"

"Cuz...I attacked someone and...you know, drank their blood."

Izuku just frowned at this, now truly realizing he had no idea what to do here. 'I really went in over my head again, didn't I?' he thought, 'Gran Torino was right. I just keep jumping into things without being prepared. I have no idea what to do here...'

Thankfully, Inko was there to help as she got up and sat down beside Toga. She put her hand on the girl's shoulder, Toga turning to her to see that smile again. "Dear...we could never be disgusted by something like that. All that is is your quirk reacting to not being used. Granted, I'll admit that what you did was wrong, but what your parents did to you was much worse." The girl went wide-eyed at this, only for Inko to add, "No one should go through what you did."

And as she said this, Izuku stared at his mother silently thinking how glad he had her in his life. She was able to just...help this situation that he had stupidly thrown himself into. Even now he couldn't believe how reckless he had been. 'Thank you mom.' he thought before his eyes turned to Toga, the girl just blankly staring at the woman.

Himiko Toga kept staring, only for it click. Her brain told her one thing: 'They really don't think I'm a monster.' That line of thought shattered her mind, her head racing as this one thing broke the world around her. Water began to appear under her eyes, though she didn't notice it. All she knew was that her world had been destroyed in a single moment.

As for Inko, the sight of the girl crying made her instantly hug the poor girl. Toga stiffened up at this, now feeling those two arms embracing her. It was something she had never experienced before. She couldn't remember the last hug she had gotten. She wasn't sure if she had ever been hugged...or she had blocked that memory out. She didn't know.

But that was enough to break the dam. Water poured out of her eyes. A bawling cry came next, the noise making Izuku flinch, only for him to get up and lean over, hugging her as well. They weren't sure how much time passed as they did this, but it didn't matter. They knew one thing: They wanted to help this girl.

Chapter 36: The Spider Trying To Find A Web

Chapter Text

It had been an hour or so after their talk with Himiko Toga. The conversation had come to a halt after the hug, but that was fine. It was followed by Inko making them some food, the two soon seeing that the girl was starving. She ate everything she could get her hands on, the sight making the mother and son grimace. The girl really was suffering. After this, Izuku went back into his room to check on a few things while Inko had Himiko sit down again for another talk, this one being the toughest one of them all.

"So...Himiko. Can I ask you a question?" Inko started, the girl turning to her as she was drinking another packet of blood Inko had got her. She blinked for a second before nodding. "Thank you. Now, let's start with the tough stuff first. You said you don't have a place to stay, yes?"

"Uh-huh." Toga replied, slowly nodding back.

"Alright. We have a spare room that you could stay in for now." Inko instantly responded, Himiko slightly gasping.

"Wait! You don't have to-"

"I'm going to, and that's final." Inko interrupted, making the girl flinch before Inko added, "Also, do you um..." She hesitated for a second, acting like she was trying to find the right words, "Do you have anything else to wear besides...that?" She gestured to the very dirty school uniform she was wearing.

Himiko blushed at this and glanced away, "No." She whispered out while twiddling her thumbs, "They...never got me many clothes."

The woman let out a long sigh at this, "I figured." Inko began scratching the back of her head, "We'll have to shop for some new clothes for you. In the meantime, we'll try to find something else for you to wear here." Toga went wide-eyed again, only for Inko to add, "Now let's talk about what we're gonna do tomorrow...or the next day depending on what happens."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Inko stared directly into the girl's eyes, Toga noticing this was the first time she truly saw the woman get serious, "Himiko, I'm going to be straight with you: If everything you said about your parents is true, I want to start a case against them. I know an officer that can help us, as he...owes me a favor for saving his life at the hospital." Toga leaned back at this, her eyes still widened, "But if I do that, I need you to cooperate with me."

'Cooperate?' was the word that swam through her head, her mind now telling her to be cautious.

"You see Himiko...if I have the officer come here, he'll want to interrogate you." The girl flinched at this, Inko seeing this and reaching out to grab her shoulder. She shined that calm smile as she continued, "Don't worry, its nothing bad. Its just...you'll need to do that if we want to go against your parents."

"But...but..." Himiko shrunk back at this, soon pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them, her whole form shaking as she stared down at her legs, "If they find out where I am, they'll make everyone hate me again! They'll make the heroes hunt me down!"

Inko frowned at this, 'This poor girl. She really thinks the world is out to get her...just like Izuku.' She took a deep breath before saying, "I won't let that happen. I promise."

The girl slowly looked back up at Inko, that kind smile gone, now replaced by a look of pure determination. But not want of people determined to hunt her down. Not one of betrayal. Not anything the girl had ever seen before. The sight made her shiver, but in a good way. And before her brain could tell her otherwise, she instantly made up her mind. "Okay. I believe you."

Inko shined a big grin at this, "Good." She then pulled out a phone, "Now, I need to make a phone call." She tapped a few buttons, a ringing noise following this before she said, "Hey Naomasa, its been a while. You know that favor you owe me?"

The Next Day...

When it came to the staff at UA, Aizawa could only really tolerate being around half of them. One was Lunch Rush, who being a very professional chef, understood that when Aizawa approached him, it either meant a cup of coffee or a basic energy-filling food due to him not having a favorite. Second was Hound Dog, who due to being a believer in counselling, the two had a mutual understanding in their jobs. Same with Ectoplasm and Cementoss, as both were very professional, and Aizawa found Cementoss's light positive personality much more bearable than ones that live on being positive.

As for the rest, those were the ones he couldn't tolerate. This was Midnight, Snipe, Present Mic and All Might. All were too happy-go-lucky, though it could be argued that Midnight was also too...other adjectives he didn't want to think about. All existed to make his life miserable, and the bow on the present was Nezu. The stoat was too much for the hero, and he had plenty of days that he wished he had never met the rat.

Then there were the last four, Vlad, Thirteen, Recovery Girl and Power Loader. He found the first two to be fine, both were good heroes, and he had worked with them plenty of times. It was the last two that were the biggest sticking points. Recovery Girl, despite it being very obvious that she didn't approve Aizawa's methods over how he treated his own body and welfare, he respected solely due to her job. Otherwise, he would probably be less tolerable with her due to her constant nagging.

This was the same with Power Loader, as he found they both disagreed heavily over support equipment. Aizawa would gladly admit that the man was perfect for his job, but Aizawa found the equipment to be just that, equipment. In other words, if the equipment was broken or destroyed during a villain fight, that meant it probably served its purpose in Aizawa's mind. The other hero thought otherwise.

However, Aizawa now found himself in Power Loader's main lab, a room designed for the hero in mind, which was cut off from the workshops all the students used. Within it, he was standing alongside Nezu, the stoat happily wagging his tail as Power Loader did some final touches on some new device.

"I gotta say Nezu." Power Loader spoke up, making Aizawa glance back up at the man called Higari Maijima, getting Aizawa out of his much-needed sleep/trance he was just in, "This is a slightly different assignment than usual."

"Oh?" Nezu chuckled, "How so? Its helping a hero, so how is it different?"

"Eh, I wouldn't call it help." Maijima remarked as he spun around on a chair, facing the two as he held up a small handheld device that had a tiny screen. A blinking dot could be seen on it, along with a frown on the hero's face, "Sorry to say, but this is all I can do."

"What is it?" Aizawa asked, only for Maijima to sigh.

"A tracker...and a really bizarre one at that." He gestured for Aizawa to take the gadget, the hero grabbing it a second later.

"What do you mean?" Nezu added, Maijima responding by spinning around before coming back to the two with a small spider tracer in his hand.

"Cuz based on how this thing was made, it should have no signal power." He put it up to his face, "In fact, I can't imagine it getting much range at all. But, despite how its made, the signal is strong. If this is the tracker Spider-Man uses, whoever made it must be something else." He glanced back at Nezu, "This is for the Spider-Man case, right?"

Nezu nodded back, "It is. And as you can imagine, you are not allowed to talk about it in any compacity."

"I thought so." Maijima sighed as he looked back at the tracer, "Though I gotta say, I would like to meet who made this."

"Is it well designed?"

Maijima grimaced at that, "That depends on what you call...design." He spun it around in his fingers, "In terms of artistic touch and intricacy, yes. Whoever made this fully understands the basics, and it shows they have experience."

"I'm guessing there's a but here." Aizawa chimed in, Maijima nodding in response.

"Yeah..." The hero flipped the device over, "This thing is made entirely of scrap." The other two raised eyebrows at this, "I'm not joking. Like, whoever did this did it either with junkyard hunting or dumpster diving."

"I see." Nezu replied before glancing up at Aizawa, "I suppose that is something we could add to the profile."

"What do you mean?" Aizawa responded, though he had a feeling he shouldn't have asked that.

"Well, if it was made by Spider-Man, it shows where he is in terms of finances."

"You mean he's poor." Aizawa instantly grumbled, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, like that lowers the suspect pool." He then looked over the device Maijima had gave him, "So...will this help me find another one of those spider things that Spider-Man is using?"

"Yeah." Maijima nodded, "Unless he decides to make an entirely new signal, what I just gave you should respond to one of these spider-themed trackers. However, its range is extremely limited. So much so that its...well, its like its not useful in a certain viewpoint."

"I wouldn't say that." Nezu chuckled, the two turning to the stoat, "Our suspect has mobility options most don't have. According to reports, he can clear streets in an instant. Perhaps this is why some say he seems to be aimless at times."

"Cuz he's looking for these things' signals?" Aizawa asked, Nezu nodding back. "Huh. Makes sense." He glanced back at Power Loader and put the device into a hidden pocket on his costume. "Guess I gotta start looking for him. Thanks for making this."

"No problem." Maijima replied, "Just uh...when you catch Spider-Man, let me meet whoever made that. I would like to have them in the support lab. They could definitely help out."

Nezu and Aizawa shared a glance, the human shrugging before they spun around and walked out of the room. And as they left the support labs and into UA's hallways, Aizawa pulled out the tracker, "Good thing I delayed going into FEAST. This should help."

"I agree." Nezu added, "Will you be going there today?"

"After my classes, yes." Aizawa responded before letting out a yawn, "And a nap."

As the two walked down the hall, a certain pink-haired head leaned out from a corner. It was the support student Mei Hatsume, who was currently wearing a sly smirk on her face. Her eyes showed a pair of crosshairs, which quickly zoomed in on the gadget in Aizawa's hand. "So that's what Power Loader was working on." she whispered as a big grin appeared on her face. "Looks like a...tracker of some kind?"

She then whipped her head back around the corner, quickly zipping back into UA's support lab. The girl saw several students all working on projects, the sight making her smile as she silently snuck around them all. And as she got to the other side of the lab, she saw the door to Power Loader's lad just slightly ajar.

The hero inside let out a long sigh as he looked through a large magnifying device, grumbling a few words she couldn't hear. And as he did this, she zoomed in again, seeing what he was looking at: A tiny gadget that was shaped like a spider. She zoomed in a bit more, seeing the tiny details the hero was seeing through the magnifier, only to let out a hum.

"A spider...why does that seem familiar?" She rubbed her chin for a second before snapping her fingers, "Oh yeah! That new vigilante on the news, Spider-Man!" Her out loud thoughts came to a stop at that, making her glance back at Power Loader as he continued his work, "The heroes are after him? Hmm..."

Her grin returned at this, "That gives me an idea for a new baby."

And as she walked back to her desk, a skip now in her step, a pair of dark eyes watched her from a nearby desk before glancing at the door to Power Loader's room. It was a girl, one that was tugging on the purple jacket they were wearing before looking back at Mei, both eyes staring deeply at the pink-haired girl.

"She's a nut, isn't she?" said a voice to the person's left, making them glance up. Standing beside them was a black teen with jet black curly hair and a big grin on their face.

"She is." The girl growled, "What do you want Farrell?"

"No need to be snippy Mason." Farrell chuckled before pointing at the desk, "Whatcha working on?"

"My project. I have to get it done before the semester ends." Mason responded as she looked back at her work, "I have a lot left to do." Her eyes glanced back up at him again, "What do you want?"

"Just something small. Don't worry, you'll get your project done." Farrell commented as he put down a paper on her desk, "Its some tech I want a second opinion on." The girl stared at the sheet, seeing it was blueprint for a suit connecting to what looked like a skateboard.

"This is..." she whispered before glaring up at him, "Will this go with your quirk?"

"Yup. I finally figured it out. I just need some extra help with the tech." He replied, nodding. He then crossed his arms with a smirk, "So, how about you help me, and I don't reveal your little...tinkering secret." The teen leaned down as his grin grew, "Heck, I'll make the deal even better. I'll help you with the job you wanna do once you help me finish this." His smile now almost splitting his face, he presented his hand for a handshake. "Deal?"

She stared long and hard at his hand. She had known the teen for over a year now, both being second years at UA, working in the support labs. The sight made her snarl, a frown of disgust on her face before slowly lifting her hand and shaking his.

"Deal."

Meanwhile...

"No."

"But mom-" Izuku started.

"No." Inko repeated while crossing her arms, Toga watching the two stare at each other. She had just spent the night at the Midoriya's house, Inko having to roll out a futon for her, which the girl said was the best bed she's ever laid on. The notion shocked Inko, but that wasn't what was concerning the mother right now. It was her son's choices for today. "You're not going out as Spider-Man tonight."

Izuku let out a long sigh before taking out his tracker, "Mom, I placed a spider tracer on one of those thugs' bikes and two days have already passed! I need to follow this lead before its gone forever!"

"And you promised me that you would slow down after the...incident with Mister Li." Inko replied, "You can't just go out every night as Spider-Man."

"I...but..." Izuku tried to say, only to see his mother glare at him. The sight made him flinch, only to take a deep breath. "Mom...I need to do this."

"No, you don't." Inko pointed at Toga, "You're going to help me get Himiko situated. After all, Detective Naomasa agreed to come over tomorrow, and I need your help with the story."

Izuku shook his head at this, "I still need to go out."

"Izuku-"

"Mom-"

"Um..." squeaked out a voice, the two turning to Toga. The girl slightly flinched at this before saying, "You...you don't have to do all this for me."

Both faces turned to frowns as Inko shook her head, "Himiko, this isn't about you." She pointed at her son, "I've been trying to get him to stay home more and not hop into every firefight he can find before you got here." She then walked up to Toga and put a hand on her shoulder, shining a small smile, "Don't worry, none of this is your fault." Inko glared back at Izuku at this, "He just needs to stop jumping the gun every second."

"Mom, I am not jumping the gun! I'm following a lead!" Izuku yelped, his face going a tiny bit red.

"Izuku Midoriya, you are not-"

"Hee hee..." Toga giggled, making the two glance back at her, the girl now smiling. "Sorry. Its just you two are so...silly."

Izuku slightly flinched at that while Inko sighed and shook her head again, "I know." She then felt Izuku grab her shoulder, making her look back at him.

"Mom, I need to do this." She showed him that stare she always feared seeing. The one where it showed that fire, that will of wanting to be the greatest hero he could possibly ever be. That is, till he added, "Also, I need to do it because its part of what I found on Mister Li's stuff. He was going after Tombstone, and the tracker I used is one of his gang's bikes! I need to follow it!"

His mother flinched at this, Toga tilting her head at the names before Inko sighed again. She knew there was no convincing him. "Fine." Izuku smiled at this, only to feel Inko grab his shoulder, glaring at him straight in the eyes, "But don't go too far. If something goes wrong, call the heroes. Got it?"

Izuku felt her tighten her grip before nodding, "Got it."

"Good." Inko let go of him before poking his chest, "But before you go, help me setup a room for Himiko, okay?"

"Okay."

Himiko watched the two make up, putting a finger to her mouth as she thought, 'I wish I had that kind of family.'

Meanwhile again...

Naomasa flipped through the few pages of the report in front of him. Despite the lead that Nezu said he would create for them to catch Spider-Man, the detective believed he should try and find an alternate solution. After all, the vigilante had proven he could keep himself hidden from Nezu, a feat very difficult to achieve unless you were a certain...quirk stealing monster.

It also didn't help that he had to complete a favor that had been called in last night. It was Inko Midoriya, someone he hadn't talked to in a long time, that last time being when she had been his nurse in the hospital after a certain villain attack. That and when it happened, she was the one that had moved him to the emergency room, and had helped with him all his paperwork, along with helping the rest of his team that had been injured in the incident. As such, he told her he would owe her a favor and gave her a card, Inko taking it after a bit of prodding since she believed she was just doing her job...and his son had helped convince her since he came in to find out why she was so late that day.

However, her favor came at the toughest time. She wanted to help with what was reported as a minor villain, which she said her son had found. He made sure she wasn't lying with his quirk, which she wasn't, but she wouldn't give too many details without seeing him in person. He was fine with that, and scheduled to meet her later.

But despite this new situation, he now found himself sighing as he read the papers Jean Dewolff had given him. It was a report on a drug bust, one that was done by Spider-Man. It was over the more recent Tombstone gang and another faction. A faction that had been staying quiet for a long time, only to suddenly reappear: The Shie Hassaikai. The yakuza of old, something that had become obsolete in the now days of heroes.

Not only that, what they had recovered on the scene was worrying, as the deal seemed to be between the new brand of Trigger that kept appearing on the black market, and a briefcase of bullets. On paper, it didn't make sense to the detective, but once they gave it to the lab boys, they declared they'd need time to figure it out, but they knew one thing: The bullets were basically blood injectors. Very special ones, as they couldn't identify anything on the blood.

Naomasa wasn't a lab boy. He would leave that to the professionals, and would do what he was born to do: Interrogation. After all, Dewolff came in with a van full of thugs, and because this was part of the Spider-Man case, Naomasa was scheduled to talk to them all. That fact alone made him sigh again, as he knew it was going to be long, slow day of uncooperation. He knew his gang thugs, and Tombstone's were pretty loyal, and yakuza...well, yakuza were practically bred to be loyal. And even with a lie detector quirk, it didn't make the job any easier.

A knock on the door came next, Naomasa glancing up, "Come in."

It opened to reveal his boss, Chief Tsuragamae. The dog-headed man was showing his usual gruff demeanor, complete with a certain stomp in his step. "Naomasa." he said before letting out a woof.

"Is it time?" Naomasa replied, the dog man nodding back. "Got it. Let me just put away my notes-"

"Hold on." the chief interrupted, Naomasa raising an eyebrow at this, "My apologies, but the hero commission want an update."

The detective cringed at that, slightly biting his lip, "Sorry to say chief, but its slow going. Nezu has a lead that he believes should help us find Spider-Man, but-"

"They're threatening to put the entire department responsible." The chief interrupted again, Naomasa blinking at him in response.

"What?" Naomasa almost whispered, "Its just a vigilante! It can't be that bad!"

"To them, he is." Tsuragame responded, "They believe if Spider-Man continues to do good, people will begin to lose faith in the heroes due to seeing a vigilante do all their work."

"That's the dumbest-" Naomasa started before he saw the stare his boss was giving him. It was the one that meant the chief agreed with Naomasa, but also had no choice in the matter. Instead, Naomasa sighed for a third time as he put his notes away and ascended out of his chair. "They really only care about their looks, don't they?"

"They do." the dog man grumbled while shaking his head, "That is why we must do our jobs to the best of our abilities."

"Agreed." Naomasa replied as he grabbed a folder before the two left the room, soon pacing themselves to the hallway where the interrogation rooms were held. "Well, here's hoping Li is more...cooperative now that we got him a lawyer."

And as got to the interrogation room door, he slowly opened it to reveal...an empty room. Just a table and chairs and nothing else. "Huh?" Naomasa glanced down at his notes, "I thought he was in this room."

"Did they move him?" the chief asked, the two walking out and going to the room next door, only to find nothing again. "Hmm?"

"This is odd." Naomasa commented before turning his head to see Sansa walking by, "Hey, did Li get moved? We're supposed to be interrogating him."

"Not that I know of." the cat man replied, "I thought he was still in his bed."

Naomasa and the chief shared a glance before fast walking down the hallway, taking a few turns as they reached the room Li had been put in. But as they opened the door, they found nothing again. No sign of life whatsoever. "What in the name of-"

"Naomasa..." the chief started to growl, "Where is the suspect?" His next few words came out much slower than before, "Where. Is. Martin Li?"

The detective bit his lip at this, gulping as he said, "I...I don't know sir."

Later that night...

Izuku felt the wind smack him as he swung across the city, the night now covering the city. He had done another nap and was full of energy, ready to swing through the streets. And as he did this, he pulled out his tracker, only to get no signal. 'They gotta be around here somewhere...'

It had taken a bit, but he had convinced his mom to let him go out as Spider-Man tonight. He knew why she didn't want him too, mainly to help out with the whole Himiko situation, but he knew he needed to go. It was thanks to Himiko that he felt he needed to do this, to finish this case before switching to helping with her.

It was here he took a right, only for the tracker to ring out. His eyes darted back at the device, now seeing the signal change to his far left. The teen quickly zipped across another street, a determined glare appearing on his face. He zipped over a few buildings at this, only to glance down at the tracker and see it switch to behind him. Looking back, Izuku swung back to a building he zipped over, soon landing on it as the tracker came to a stop. He put the device away next, soon walking to the edge of the building, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Huh. It says the spider tracer is here..." He pulled out the tracker again to confirm it before putting it away. After that, he walked around the edge of the building, only to see a garage on one of its sides. Realizing what that meant, he began to crawl down the building's side, soon finding a small vent shaft. 'Nice. Glad these are conveniently around when I need one.' He slipped through at this, 'I hope that when I can take on the bigger bad villains that they don't think ahead and get rid of them...'

A minute later, he found an open vent and quietly removed it, slipping out of the shaft before crawling onto the building's ceiling. There, he glanced down and saw the place was just a big garage filled with motorcycles, but no thugs or criminals. 'Shoot. No one's here.' He fired a small web line on the ceiling and got into an upside-down position with his legs pointed out while the feet were holding onto the web line before slowly descending, 'That's so cool that I can do that.'

And as he got down to the ground, he flipped over and began to walk around the garage. He soon found his tracer on one of the vehicles, taking it off and putting it back in his hoodie, 'Might find a use for you again later.' he thought before shifting over to the side of the building, seeing a desk that was covered in auto repair equipment. 'Guess this is where they take care of their rides. Or just one of the places.'

He glanced around at this, only to find nothing. Just piles of equipment and the already parked bikes. 'Darn it. Guess my luck ran out tonight. I was hoping for some kind of clue on Tombstone.' And as he thought that, the sound of the garage door opening began to ring out, the noise sounding like a large scraping piece of chalk hitting the pavement. It made the teen go invisible, quickly leaping onto the wall as he glanced back and saw two men walk into place, one having a weasel head while the other had a head of a hyena.

"Can't believe the boss got us that kind of cash." The hyena man remarked as he fiddled with a roll of bills.

"No kidding. These new shipments are awesome!" the weasel man laughed.

"Yup. So, ready for a run?"

"Heck yeah!" the weasel man exclaimed before hopping onto a cycle, the hyena thug getting on the one right by him. The two soon moved out of the garage, Izuku invisibly following them as they left the building. And as they did this, he saw another mutant quirk walk out of an alleyway across the street.

'Maybe my luck hasn't run out yet.' He thought before firing a web line and swung over the street. As he did this, he saw two more coming out of the alleyway, the sight making him clench up before swinging over them. He then swung over two more streets, only to see another mutant thug, the sixth one he had seen tonight. But as he stared at the thug and glanced up at the building he was by, he saw a large open garage, one that a semi was coming out of. 'Bingo.'

Just a few minutes ago...

The sound of teeth biting into a set of wafers could barely be heard as a woman walked down a certain street. She let out a heaving sigh as she finished her treat, her eyes lazily glancing down at the box in her hands. It was a container full of kuzumochi, something her boss liked, and it was her turn to go buy some. The sight made her grumble, as she preferred spicier stuff, but she knew it would get the boss off her back.

And as she walked down the sidewalk, she pulled out her phone, tapping the screen a few times before putting it up to her ear. "Hey."

"Hey." replied a calm, balanced-like voice.

"I got the usual for the boss. Is there anything else you want me to get?"

"One moment please." The woman groaned at that, rolling her eyes before the voice came back a half-minute later, "No, we should be good."

"Good. Is the boss not happy tonight?"

"Mostly. He seems more angry than anything."

"So...the usual?"

"Indeed. I suggest you-"

"Hold that thought." The woman interrupted as she took a corner, only to see something in the corner of her eye. She then glanced straight up, only to see a figure hop over a rooftop and into an alleyway. "I'll call you right back."

The woman shut off the phone at this, cutting into a sprint as she tried to follow the figure. She ran up to the alleyway, only to see him seemingly go to the end of the alley and then leap over the next street. And as he did this, the moon's light shone down on him for a second, showing a certain dark green costume...only to vanish a second later.

The sight made the woman smirk as she pulled out her phone again, "Forget the sweets run. This'll get me a bonus on my paycheck."

Izuku was so glad for his invisibility power. It made infiltration so easy, allowing him to crawl down to the open garage and zipped into the building thanks to it. He slithered up to the ceiling, taking silent breaths as he crawled around the room. He felt a tinge of pain in his head, showing he needed to turn off the invisibility in a bit, but it was enough. He was on the ceiling, and no one inside knew.

And as he reappeared, he spun himself around, keeping his back to the ceiling as he glanced around inside the building. He found that the place was mainly a giant garage, thugs walking around as they were moving a mountain of boxes. The sight made Izuku blink, his eyes darting around as he began to count everyone inside the place. And as he got to twenty, the sound of a door opening rang out.

As Izuku's eyes went to that door, he went wide-eyed at the sight. Walking into the room was a large, bald chalk-colored man, complete with a dark colored jacket on and a low glare on his face. The very sight of him commanded a presence, one that Izuku saw as the thugs all quickly turned to him. He saw nothing but fear on their faces, the sight making Izuku slightly gulp before glancing back down at the man.

'Tombstone...h-h-he's actually here! I found where he works! And he looks even more scarier in person.' he thought, remembering the mugshot he had seen on the man's online villain profile. 'It said that they had to bring All Might in to stop him. Can I even do anything against him? I mean, he took on-'

"Alright boys, listen up!" Tombstone yelled, interrupting Izuku's thoughts as he saw the villain stomped through the room, "We got the first shipment going now, but that's just the beginning." He pointed to behind himself, "We got the next set ready."

Two thugs walked in at this, these two wearing what looked like yellow hazmat like suits with gas masks. In their hands were boxes of vials, the sight making Izuku go wide-eyed. 'Trigger! Wait...those suits. Does that mean there's a drug lab in here?'

"Yes boss!" Multiple thugs replied before helping the two with the boxes, soon more coming into the room. Izuku watched as they quickly transferred them to the open garage door, the teen suspecting that they were waiting for a semi-truck now. And as this happened, Izuku continued to glance around, seeing the thugs that weren't helping with the shipments working on some motorcycles.

'Hmm...how should I do this?' He looked back at Tombstone, seeing the man walk over to another door. He opened it only slightly before going in, the teen squinting his eyes as he saw what little he could through the door. It looked like a small office with a desk and a chair, the villain quickly shutting the door behind himself. The sight made Izuku take in a deep breath before glancing back at the thugs below him. 'Okay. Tombstone is back there, so...let's try some stealth. I haven't really done that since...actually, I don't know why I don't do more stealth. Maybe I should have done it more back when-' He shook his head, 'Focus Izuku! Just...focus.'

His eyes stared at the thugs, watching them stack several boxes before vanishing into the room that the hazmat suited guys had come from, overhearing that the room was okay to walk in without the masks. As such, there was only about seven thugs in the room now, Izuku smiling at the sight. 'That could work.'

He crawled over to three that were working on motorcycles, his eyes darting between the trio as he saw that two were under the cycles while another was digging into a box full of tools. Izuku put a webline on the ceiling and slowly descended himself down, soon hanging over the one looking through the crate. He then suspended above the thug, Izuku pointing two fingers at the thug's neck as a tiny bit of bio-electricity surged through his hand.

ZAP!

"Urgh!" The thug jerked at this, only to instantly slump over. And before he could make any noise, Izuku grabbed the back of the thug's jacket, slowly letting the man down, making it silent.

'One down.' He thought before turning to the other two, seeing both were still under the motorcycles. He tiptoed over, doing the same on the first unsuspecting thug. And as he zapped him, Izuku glanced back at the third thug, a crow-headed man, only to see him slide out from under the cycle...and look straight up at the teen.

"What the-mmph!" He muffled out as Izuku fired a glob of webbing over the thug's beak. He then grabbed the wrench he had just been using, getting up to attack the teen, only for Izuku to grab his shoulder and zap him. "Mmph!"

The thug slumped over, Izuku catching him and slowly putting him down. 'Three down.' He laid the thug on the floor before glancing back up, seeing he was actually in the open compared to the other two thugs he had taken out. However, the other four were all looking away and talking over a work desk. 'They haven't noticed me yet. Good.' He pointed his wrist at the ceiling, 'Now-'

"What the heck?!" yelled a voice, making Izuku turn to see Tombstone staring right at him before taking a swig of whiskey, "Who are you?!"

The awake thugs in the room spun around at this, all seeing the vigilante as Izuku muttered out, "Uh...hi?"

"It's Spider-Man!" one of the four exclaimed as he pointed at the teen.

"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered as his eyes darted between the thugs and Tombstone. However, the villain just took another swig of his drink, smacking his lips a second later.

"That's him?" He muttered before glaring at the four, the thugs seeing this and flinching back at his stare, "You've been losing to that?!"

"Well boss, it wasn't us..." one of them squeaked out.

"Whatever." Tombstone grumbled before pointing at the teen, "Kill 'em."

The thugs blinked at their boss for a second before turning to charge at the vigilante. Izuku flinched at this, only for his spider sense to ring out in his head. Causing him to switch back into focusing, he saw the first thug charging had a wolf mutant quirk, Izuku firing a blast a webbing at his face. The criminal yelped as the webbing hit his eyes, blinding him and making him tumble into a table to the right of Izuku.

But as this happened, the three others leapt at the teen, instantly tackling him to the ground. One tumbled over the other two and Izuku, flopping into the crate with the knocked out thug from earlier. As for the other two, Izuku saw it was a hyena and tiger mutant quirk, the tiger man's face right in front of his. The tiger man opened his mouth to bite into the teen, only for Izuku's spider sense to scream at him, making him turn on his electricity. He thrusted his hands up, zapping the tiger thug as the hyena one flinched and quickly leapt off them.

"Get off!" Izuku yelled as he thrust his legs upward on the just zapped tiger man, knocking him off. And as he did this, the hyena thug grabbed a wrench off a nearby table and charged at him, swinging it straight for the teen's head. Spider sense blaring, Izuku glanced up at him and began to backpedal, dodging the first attack. He then swung the wrench again, Izuku continuing to go backward, only for his back to hit something. Izuku looked down, seeing that he had hit a table before glancing back at the thug, a third wrench swing coming for him.

"Die!" the thug roared as the wrench came for Izuku's head again, spider sense yelling at him as the teen instantly ducked down. The wrench went over his head, Izuku then thrusting a leg upward, kicking the hyena man right in the face, knocking him off his feet and into a nearby motorcycle, both falling over in a heap.

And as this happened, the last thug charged at him, Izuku seeing his face was like a beetle. He thrust a jab at the teen, smacking Izuku's face. The thug then hit Izuku two more times, both punches pushing Izuku into the table. But as a fourth punch came in, Izuku swung a punch back, smacking the bug man aside. The thug backpedaled at this, stumbling for a second as Izuku readjusted himself.

"Say...we're both insects. Maybe we can talk it out?" Izuku quipped, surprised he thought up that one on the fly.

"Die!" this one also roared as he got his footing and tried to punch Izuku again. But as the fist came for the teen, Izuku caught it with his hand, electricity instantly coming out next as it zapped the thug. A scream came out next, the criminal slumping over a second later.

Izuku let out a breath at this, now seeing what he had just done. He rapidly blinked at this, soon turning back to Tombstone, only to see he had pressed a button to close the garage door Izuku had used to sneak in with. The man then walked over and took another swig of whiskey, a bored blank stare in his eyes, and yet Izuku felt like he wasn't even standing in front of the villain. 'This...this isn't killing intent like Stain.' Izuku's eyes refocused as he stared at the man, only for the teen to suddenly feel really small.

"So..." Tombstone muttered out as he took one last drink before setting down the flask on a nearby table, wiping his lip with his sleeve, "That's how you took out my boys." He then cricked his neck, the noise sounding like someone had made a loud crack in concrete. It made a shiver go down Izuku's spine, only for Tombstone to add, "I would call for the rest of my boys to take care of ya, but considering how stupid they are, I'm guessing you'll beat them as well."

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, only for the door from earlier to open, one of the thugs in a yellow hazmat suit to walk in. The criminal glanced between the two and said, "Uh...boss?"

Tombstone just pointed at him, "Tell the boys to take the rest of the night off. We'll do the shipment tomorrow." He glanced back at Izuku, the pupils in his eyes twitching, showing a little stumble thanks to the alcohol. "I got work to do."

"Got it boss!" the thug exclaimed before shutting the door, Izuku glancing at it for just a second before looking back at the villain.

Tombstone cricked his neck again, this noise being less loud than the previous one as he spoke up, "You know, I do this job for two reasons." He then cricked his knuckles, Izuku seeing that they were huge, and chalk colored as well. "The pay...and the chance for a good fight." He balled his hands into fists and gestured himself into a boxing-like stance.

Izuku just stared at the man, his whole body tensing up as he thought, 'Okay Izuku, this guy is an A Rank villain. That means I either run away right now and call the pros...or I hit him with everything I got right now.' He took a deep breath at this, and against his better judgment, he told himself, 'Let's try the second option.'

With that, he quickly jerked his wrists at the villain, webbing flying out of the shooters. Tombstone almost flinched as the webs struck him, Izuku firing it constantly until it covered the man from neck to toe. Seeing this, Tombstone just glanced down at the stuff and said, "And what's this supposed to do?"

"Uh...stop you?" Izuku replied, only to see Tombstone just yank his own webbed up arms, instantly breaking a bunch of the webbing. 'Uh-oh. Better act now!' Izuku clinched his right fist, electricity surging through it like crazy. A second later, he charged just as Tombstone ripped both of his arms free. "Venom Punch!"

The electrified fist hit the man's chest a split second later, lightning surging through and spreading all over Tombstone. But as it did this, the villain to just looked down at Izuku's fist, the teen glancing back up at him...and seeing a completely bored expression. The blow had done nothing.

"That all you got?" Tombstone remarked before thrusting a punch straight into Izuku's chest, instantly knocking him off his feet.

"Augh!" the teen yelped as he was sent flying across the room from the blow, his back slamming into a wall before slumping down, his bottom hitting a table. The sounds of snapping came next as Tombstone walked out of the webbing covering his feet, easily moving again as he jerked his arms around, removing the webbing as he strided up to Izuku. Seeing this, the teen glanced to his side, seeing a large wrench on the table he had just landed on. Firing a webline, he grabbed and slung it at Tombstone's head...only for it to bounce off of the villain with ease.

'Oh no...'

"Guess I was wrong." Tombstone commented as he got closer, "You're not gonna even give me a good workout."

Chapter 37: Between a Tomb and a Hot Place

Chapter Text

"So this is the place?" asked a certain man as he stood on the street across from the building him and a group of others were staring at. "Spider-Man is in there?"

"Yup. Saw him go inside boss." a woman replied, "Though uh...it was more he landed on the rooftop, turned invisible and then snuck in."

"And considering the noise we're hearing, he's still inside." the man grunted before pointing to the rest surrounding the area. "Form a parameter. I want no one to escape, vigilante or villain."

"Got it. And you boss?"

"I'm going to catch a vigilante."

Izuku's mind wasn't exactly working at the moment, his thoughts muddled as he went over everything that had happened in the past few hours. Granted, it wasn't much since it was mainly just him trailing a few thugs before finding a full-on A-Rank Villain. One he now knew he wasn't ready for at all, especially due to how Tombstone had just shrugged off everything the teen threw at him.

"Hold still." the villain grumbled as he did a slight misstep, Izuku seeing the whiskey was still in effect on the man. He then thrust a punch, Izuku's spider sense screaming as he fired two weblines up to the ceiling and pulled, yanking himself away at the last second. What followed was the sound of bricks being smashed to bits, Izuku glancing back to see a hole in the wall where Tombstone had punched.

'That's not good.' Izuku mentally gulped as he landed a few feet away, only to see Tombstone spin around. The man cricked his neck at this, only to suddenly cut into a sprint.

Danger!

Izuku went wide-eyed before leaping to the side, barely dodging a swift kick from the villain. Tombstone then swung two more punches as he kept charging at Izuku, the teen backpedaling away from each blow. "I told you to stay still." Tombstone muttered out as he thrust another jab, Izuku tilting his head just in time. Izuku then fired another webline and yanked himself away, this time sticking his whole body to the ceiling.

'Holy cow...this guy is way faster than he looks. Just a misstep and I would have been really hurt.' Izuku thought as he saw Tombstone just stare up at him, sniffing for a second before the man spun around and walked to another part of the room. And as this happened, the teen's mind began to go a mile a minute, 'What do I do?! The Venom Punch did nothing, and he ripped through my webbing like tissue paper! Do I do a Venom Smash? But if I do that and it doesn't do anything, I'll be a sitting duck! There's gotta be some way I can beat him...'

He then saw Tombstone go to a desk and bend over, only to pull out a very long metal chain. Gripping the end, he turned around and stared up at Izuku. "Time's up."

"Uh..." Izuku muttered out, only to see Tombstone suddenly snap the chain like a whip.

Danger!

"Whoa!" Izuku yelped as he leapt off the ceiling, the chain's end smacking the ceiling and breaking a piece of it off with ease. Tombstone then pulled the chain back before snapping it again, this time swinging it in a horizontal arc. Izuku's spider sense screamed at him, his body reflexively doing a backflip at this, barely leaping over the chain.

"Not bad." Tombstone commented as he pulled the chain back, swinging it once around his wrist.

And as this happened, Izuku just stared at the villain, seeing the still bored face on the man. But it was more than that now. Izuku could feel fear filling his head, screaming at him to flee due to his best not working on the man. That is, till he saw that bored face, as if the villain was saying: 'You're not worth my time.'

'I'm still so weak. So worthless. Just a...Deku.' Izuku took a deep breath at this, closing his eyes as electricity surged through his fists, 'I'm still not there. I'm still not a hero yet.' He reopened his eyes as a fire appeared in them, 'But I can't run away! I...I gotta try!'

"Oh? Gonna try that again?" Tombstone remarked as he snapped the chain again, "Bring it then."

He swung the chain, the metal snake zipping through the air as Izuku's spider sense went into overdrive. He fired a webline to the ceiling and pulled, yanking himself over the attack as the teen yelled, "Venom Smash!" He flew down and slammed the electric punch into Tombstone's face, lightning surging everywhere in that one attack. And as the blow hit...the villain stumbled back just an inch.

Seeing this, Izuku quickly planted both feet on the villain and thrusted downward, hopping off the man as he swung the chain back to himself, the metal smacking Izuku's back before he could land. "Augh!" Izuku yelped as the chain knocked him into a table, smashing it in two.

As this happened, Tombstone rubbed his face for a second, only to reveal no damage had been done. "Huh. I felt something there..." He glanced back at Izuku, seeing the teen trying to get up. "That's all you got, isn't it?"

The villain gripped the chain again, cricking his wrist as Izuku's spider sense rang out. A second later, the chain cracked like a whip as it headed straight for the teen, Izuku instantly aiming his shooters at the ceiling. Webbing shot out, hitting the upper surface before yanking himself just as the chain hit the broken table. Splinters went flying from the blow, Izuku spinning around before sticking all fours on the ceiling, only to see Tombstone pull the chain back.

'I gotta get rid of that thing!' the teen thought before detaching from the ceiling and firing another webline, yanking himself over the villain. Tombstone spun around at this, only for Izuku to land on a nearby wall and began firing globs of webbing. The villain readied himself for the attack, only to see the webs all miss.

"Huh?" he muttered before glancing down, now seeing the chain was webbed to the floor. "Seriously?" He glanced back up at Izuku, "You think that's gonna stop me?"

"No." Izuku replied, "But it'll make things easier for me." But just as those words left his mouth, Tombstone let go of the chain and charged, instantly running across the room. Spider sense screaming, Izuku leapt off the wall just as the villain threw a punch, the jab smashing the bricks the teen has just hopped off of. Izuku landed on the floor, rolling for a second before getting on his feet, gasping for a small breath.

Danger!

A fist came for Izuku as he spun around, the teen quickly ducking under it, only for a second punch to slam into his stomach. "Blaugh!" Izuku yelped as the blow instantly knocked him off his feet, a tiny crack noise sound coming out as he went flying across the room.

And as Izuku's back hit the floor, the teen let out a cry of pain as he rolled into a motorcycle. He closed his eyes, clenching in pain as he let out a moan. The teen felt his body shaking, shivering at the sight now walking up to him. Tombstone let out a low yawn, only to turn and walk up to another table, this one having a bottle of whiskey. He grabbed it and began to drink, the liquid slightly falling out of his mouth.

"How disappointing. I was hoping for a good fight." Tombstone muttered as he wiped his mouth. He slammed the bottle down at this, spinning around to see Izuku now standing up, electricity surging through both his arms. "Really? You can't beat me."

'He's right.' Izuku thought as he stood there, his breathing heavy now, 'What do I do? I can't hurt him! I mean, he's strong, but there's got to be a way to stop him.' And as that thought went through his head, a certain voice rang out in his head.

"A real is hero is someone who never gives up."

'All Might is right. I can't give up.' Izuku mentally said as the lightning around his arms continued to spark. He raised up his fists into a boxing like position, taking a long deep breath as he did so.

"Oh?" Tombstone remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're right. I can't beat you." Izuku responded before raising his voice, yelling as he rushed at the villain, "But I'm gonna try anyways!"

"Tch." Tombstone spat as he charged as well, thrusting a punch straight for Izuku's head. Spider sense screaming, the teen ducked under the blow before slamming an electrified jab into the villain's face. However, Tombstone didn't even flinch as he swung a second punch. Izuku backpedaled at this, dodging the attack before thrusting another Venom Punch into Tombstone's head, electricity surging all over the villain's body. But as this happened, Tombstone threw another punch, this one slamming Izuku's stomach.

"Blaugh!" Izuku yelped as the blow instantly knocked him off his feet, the teen flying across the room again. His back slammed into another motorcycle, the teen tumbling over it a second later. A moan of pain escaped his mouth at this, only to suck it in as he felt something slam into his stomach again. The feeling of something cracking surged through Izuku's body, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Tombstone was now standing over him, his foot firmly on Izuku's chest.

"How boring." Tombstone sighed as he cricked his knuckles, "Guess you should have tried a different line of work." He then pulled back a fist, ready for it to slam right into Izuku's face. And as his spider sense roared out, the teen did the only thing he could do. He thrust his hands up...and grabbed Tombstone's legs.

"Hmm?" The villain muttered, only for electricity to suddenly surge through his legs, the lightning zapping his body a second later. The man slightly flinched at this, only to let out a long sigh as electricity continued to surge through him. "I told you, that doesn't work!"

WHAM!

Tombstone's fist slammed into Izuku's face, making the teen let out a cry of pain. The electricity cut at this, his hands slightly losing their grip on the villain's legs. Seeing this, the villain smirked as he pulled back for a finishing punch, Izuku's spider sense continuing to scream at him. The teen's eyes were barely open at this, now seeing the fist that was about to end his life for sure.

'No...' was all he could think, his brain burning as his spider sense kept screaming. He couldn't even think properly in that last moment. And when the fist came, he closed his eyes and-

THOOM!

Tombstone's fist came to a stop at this, the villain glancing up to see the regular door to the building now torn in half and encased in flames. And then the one who did this walked inside, the villain's eyes going slightly wide. "Endeavor?"

The Number Two Hero slowly came in, a look of burning fury on his face. Flames poured off the hero, the villain blinking at the sight, as if he wasn't sure if the hero was actually there...or the whiskey was playing tricks on him. But after a few seconds, the villain refocused his eyes, confirming exactly what he was looking at.

"You..." Endeavor growled as he stared at the two, his eyes mainly on Spider-Man, only to see that the vigilante wasn't moving. The sight made his eyes twitch for a second before glancing back up at the villain, "I recognize you. Tombstone, is it?"

And for the first time that night, the villain smiled. "You got that right. Didn't expect you to come into my joint." He slowly released his foot off of Spider-Man at this, "Gotta say, I was getting bored with this bug anyways. Wasn't even a good workout." He cricked his knuckles again, "Maybe you can give me that thrill."

"I don't give villains anything." Endeavor replied before pointing at Spider-Man, "That vigilante is my target. But if you wish to interfere, I will take you down."

"HA!" Tombstone cackled, "That bug ain't worth your time. I'll give you a much better fight than-"

"Vanishing Fist!" Endeavor roared as he suddenly appeared right in front of the villain, a burning fist slamming into Tombstone's face. The blow knocked the man off his feet, the villain colliding with a motorcycle. He stumbled at this, not fully falling over as he got back onto his feet.

"Huh. I kinda felt that." Tombstone chuckled as he put a finger up to his lip and rubbed it, "Nice." His eyes went back up to Endeavor, the villain cricking his neck before charging at the hero. "Let's do this."

Endeavor didn't speak as the villain rushed at him, the hero pulling back his fist in response. Flames consumed his form, only to thrust his other hand as Tombstone tried to punch him, the hero catching the villain's jab with his free hand before slamming another fist into Tombstone. Flames covered Tombstone as Endeavor let go of him at the moment of impact, fire consuming the villain before the flames flew out behind Tombstone. But despite this, Tombstone didn't fly back this time, instead thrusting another punch, Endeavor quickly side-stepping the attack before hitting him with another flaming punch.

"Urgh!" Tombstone grunted as the fist smacked his face, only to lunge his hand up, grabbing the hero's fist. Endeavor felt him grip it, only to see Tombstone try to hit him again, Endeavor quickly catching his other hand. And as both were now locked, Endeavor's body exploded in flames. the sight making Tombstone laugh, "Nice! Turn up the heat all you want! It won't do a thing to me!"

"We'll see." Endeavor growled as the flames concentrated into his hands, "Hell's Curtain!"

Flames poured out of Endeavor's hands, the fire slamming into the villain as tried to stay standing as he got hit point blank. Tombstone kept his grip on Endeavor, the flames encasing his body as his jacket and pants started catching on fire. "That all you got?! Cuz I'm gonna-"

"Flashfire Fist!" Endeavor yelled as he twisted his hand from grabbing Tombstone's fist before thrusting the jab straight into the villain's stomach, the blow instantly knocking Tombstone off his feet. A resounding crash happened a second later as Tombstone's body flew across the room, his back slamming into a wall, a small crater appearing on it.

"Worthless villain." Endeavor spat as cricked his hands, feeling a bit of tension from Tombstone's grip.

"Heh..." Tombstone chuckled as he pulled himself out of the wall, "Been a while since I felt this much." He then glanced down and saw that the flames had hit the webbed-up chain, incinerating the web fluid as he walked up and grabbed it. "Let's keep going."

As he said that, Endeavor marched up to him, only to see Tombstone crack the chain, whipping it at the hero. But just as it came for him, Endeavor just reached out and snagged the chain, stopping it in one single motion. "Ignited Arrow!" Endeavor roared as he thrust his other hand, flames shooting out and hitting the villain. Tombstone flinched at the flames, only to pull on the chain, yanking Endeavor slightly as he got closer to the villain.

And as this happened, Izuku's eyes creaked open, his spider sense alerting him as a small bit of fire began to creep over to him. The teen felt a surge of pain cover his entire body at this, making him flinch before slowly raising up. "Ow..." he muttered before his eyes darted around, the pupils refocusing as he saw what was now happening. "Endeavor?"

He then saw Endeavor slam another two fists into Tombstone's face, the villain trying to counter with a punch, only to get hit again. The sight made the teen tense up, only to feel pain surge through him again. And after another moment of just sitting there, he stood up as a single memory went through his head. It was what his mom had told him earlier.

"But don't go too far. If something goes wrong, call the heroes. Got it?"

'Well, I didn't call the heroes, but I guess this works.' Izuku mentally said to himself before flinching, putting one hand over his stomach. He then saw Endeavor counter Tombstone again, only for the villain to actually score a punch on the hero. The blow made Endeavor stumble back, only to thrust two palms into Tombstone's chest, flames bursting as it smacked Tombstone a few feet back. 'Endeavor's amazing. He's beating Tombstone with ease...and I couldn't even hurt him. I really am weak.'

Izuku felt another surge of pain at this, making him almost flop over, 'I uh...I don't think I can do anymore Spider-Manning tonight.'

The vigilante turned invisible a second later, spinning around and walking out the door Endeavor had broken down. And as he got outside, he saw a full group surrounding the whole building...but none of them were staring at him. 'Whoa. Thank goodness for this...invisibility quirk that spider gave me.'

He spun around and began to crawl up the building's outside wall, quickly getting onto the roof. The teen glanced around, seeing no one on the roof and walked to the edge before firing a webline, soon invisibly swinging away.

Burnin let out a long yawn as she stared at the building her boss had just went into a few minutes ago. She twiddled with her fiery hair after this, only for a man wrapped in bandages to walk up to him. "Hey Burnin."

"Yeah Kido?" She replied as she turned to the man.

"We caught a bunch of thugs trying to leave through the back of the building. Looks like Tombstone's gang was holed up in there."

The girl raised an eyebrow, "Huh. Figures. Didn't Spider-Man fight those guys a while back?"

Kido nodded at this, "Yeah." He glanced back at the building, "When do we go in?"

"When the boss wants us to. I just hope the vigilante doesn't get away. He's been super angry about it recently."

Kido shrugged in response, "Eh, its not like its any different with the boss."

"Don't let him hear you say that." Burnin chuckled, "Though I'll bet that-"

WHAM!

The two turned to the sudden sound, only to see the building's garage door contort before flying off its hinges, the metal door slamming into the street as a few on the men surrounding the place scattered at the sight. A pillar of smoke covered the broken door as they glanced back at the building, seeing Endeavor walk out of the now open garage. Their eyes went back to the garage door one more time, now seeing a smoking, and quite naked due to all his clothes being burned off, knocked out Tombstone.

"Spider-Man has escaped!" Endeavor roared, "Search this area now!"

The group hopped at the outburst, all quickly running around, trying to see where the vigilante had gone. But it was too late, for none had seen him leave.

And as this happened, another figure was staring at the scene. They were just out of eyesight and on a rooftop, the individual was a bulky man wearing a brown jacket while looking through a pair of binoculars. He let out a sigh as he stared at the knocked-out Tombstone, soon putting away his binoculars and pulling out a cellphone. "He's not gonna like hearing this." He grumbled as he tapped the screen a few times before putting it up to his ear. "Hey, its me."

Somewhere unknown...

The sound of a small, almost silent click rang out as a certain man in a black and blue striped suit let out a sigh. The most notable feature was the top of his head, which was flat as a board despite his jet-black hair covering it. His forehead was wide, a few tiny veins pulsing on it. His name is Hammerhead, which is a literal name, as his quirk was also called Hammerhead. It gave him the power of a steel-like head, one that could absorb blows with ease.

He had a shot of bourbon in one hand while his other had a phone, the man taking a small sip before sighing again. He shook his head as he put the glass on a nearby counter, glancing up to see a man in a white suit with a purple rose on it while wearing a full head purple mask. Only his eyes could be seen, the man staring straight ahead at Hammerhead.

"Did the deal fall through?" the white-suited man asked while refilling the shot.

"Yup. I just got informed." Hammerhead growled, rubbing his face a second later as he put his phone away, "The boss is gonna be really angry about this one. Tombstone was really good for business."

"Tombstone was always a loose cannon." The man responded as he finished making the shot, Hammerhead taking it and instantly drinking it down.

"Yeah. Idiot just bit off more than he could chew."

"I suppose this...Spider-Man will be coming for us next?"

"No idea, but there's a good chance." Hammerhead grumbled as he rose up from his seat, "I...gotta go talk to the boss."

"Don't panic so much. He will be angry, but that is what happens when business goes wrong."

"Whatever." Hammerhead hissed as he left the room, the white suited man taking out another glass and began to fill it. After finishing the drink, he slowly lifted the mouth part of his mask as he took a deep breath. The tip of the glass touched his lips, slowly pouring it down his throat.

A minute later, he put the glass down and closed his mask before pulling out a phone, seeing a small text had just come through, "Hmm..."

The phone said one message:The next prototype is ready.

"At least we have some good news." He then began typing a text back that said:Understood. Name a time and we can meet.

And as the masked man put the phone back into his pocket, another voice spoke up, "I'd say you have more than just some good news." He glanced up to see a certain female officer with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a giant grin as she added, "I got what you wanted."

"Excellent." the masked man chuckled before pulling out a small briefcase from under the bar, opening it to show a bunch of cash. "Thank you for your service."

"With this kind of pay, I would keep working for you till the cows come home." the woman laughed as she closed the briefcase and took it.

The masked man laughed at this before saying, "Well, I do have another job for you. One that will...take a bit longer and is much more dangerous, but the pay will be triple."

"Oh?" The woman leaned over on the bar, her grin widening, "Do tell."

Izuku wasn't sure how he got back home. He wasn't sure how long it took, or what path he used, or even if he was invisible when he did it. All he knew was that he got away, and was now suddenly back at his home's roof. That and pain. Tons of tons of pain raging all over his body. Every muscle ached, vision blurry, and he just felt awful.

As such, he wall-crawled down to his room's window, opened it and fell onto his bed without even taking off a bit of his costume. Sleep instantly took him despite the pain, his body shutting down as he sunk headfirst into the mattress. A second later, his room's door was opened to reveal his mother, Inko sighing at the sight before going over and closing the window. After this, Himiko's head popped into the room, going wide-eyed as she saw the teen was laid out on his bed.

"You're going to be the end of me, aren't you?" Inko muttered as she walked over and yanked Izuku's mask off before starting to take off his costume. Toga blushed at this before looking away and closing the door. She then put her ear to the door, listening to Inko's grumbles as she said, "I told you to not go in over your head, and what did you do?! You didn't listen!" The sound of something stretching came next, Inko commenting, "Thank goodness you have a healing factor with all these...quirks."

After this, it mainly went silent, a few minutes passing before Inko spoke up again, "You can come in now Himiko."

The girl slowly opened the door, now seeing Izuku had been flipped onto his back and bandages were all over him his torso. The bottom half was covered by the bed covers, Inko now pulling them up on Izuku. "Is...is he gonna be okay?"

"He'll be fine." Inko sighed, shaking her head, "He just needs rest."

"Oh...okay." Himiko fully walked into the room at this, sniffing the air for a second. "I smell blood on him."

"He'll heal." Inko replied as she sat down on Izuku's desk chair, crossing her arms, "But he's not going out as Spider-Man for a while."

"I see." Himiko added as she now stared at Inko, seeing the glare on her face, "Are you...angry?"

"Hmm?" Inko turned to her, her glare disappearing as she shook her head again, "No. Just...I'm still not used to..." She gestured to Izuku, "This."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But at least with this, I can make him slow down for a few days. He keeps going in over his head, and he really needs to stop."

Himiko put a finger to her chin at that, "Is it that bad?"

"Recently, yes." Inko replied, "When he first started being Spider-Man, I asked him to take it as slow as possible. And he did...until he just started fighting one crazy thing after another."

Himiko giggled at this, seeing the tired expression on Inko's face before the mother stared back at her, "Sorry."

"Its fine." Inko slightly chuckled, glancing back at Izuku. "I just need to make sure he heals up."

"Well, he did say that Tombstone guy was his next big case. Maybe he found him and beat him." Himiko added as she sat down at the end of the bed.

"I guess so..." Inko sighed again, "Either way, I'm making sure he doesn't go out as Spider-Man for a few days."

Himiko turned to her with a frown, her mind going over that idea. And as she watched Inko finish tending to her son, she spoke up, "Do you think that's a good idea?"

Inko glanced back at her, seeing the frown on the girl's face. The expression alone told her everything as she looked back at her son, "I...don't know."

Toga slowly asked next, "You don't like him being a vigilante, do you?"

"I...have problems with it." Inko admitted while expelling a deep breath, "I know he was born for it. He...loves it." Himiko almost flinched at that, surprised the woman would just say that. That is, till Inko shook her head, "I just wish he would slow down."

Himiko felt her own frown growing before saying, "I think he would if you just told him."

"I can't do that." Inko instantly responded, turning to Himiko again as she saw the girl's frown. The sight made her shake her head again, "I know. I know I can, but I won't get in the way of his dream." She glanced back at the sleeping teen, "That...is what a parent does."

Himiko blinked at the statement, her mind going over the sentence before looking back at Izuku. Inko then patted her shoulder, gesturing for them to leave the room. And as they left, Himiko looked back at Izuku before closing the door. 'What a parent does...' she thought before walking into the living room. 'Huh.'

Chapter 38: The Tilting of the World

Chapter Text

In a certain apartment...

"Are you sure about this Gentle?" asked La Brava as she closed her laptop. "You haven't tried a crime in some time."

Her idol, Gentle Criminal, merely tugged at his vest before pinching his moustache, "I am more than sure! In fact, I believe today shall be the day of the return of Gentle Criminal!" he proclaimed before doing a small bow, the sight making La Brava clap.

"Wonderful! That's my Gentle!" La Brava gushed before blinking as she added, "Though...is this because of what you made me make for the Tinkerer?"

"Indeed." Gentle pulled out a small rectangle-shaped device, "This should help us with our Spider-Man problem. After all, unlike the usual hero riffraff, he caused us quite a problem last time."

"Yeah..." La Brava admitted as she crossed her arms, "And he keeps getting more and more popular online."

"I know. You showed me." Gentle replied, only to let out a laugh, "But I will not be dismayed! I will have myself known in history, even if I have to fight the world!"

La Brava's eyes turned into hearts, "That's my Gentle!"

Gentle then snapped his fingers, "Now, let us take our leave. We must first get a cup of tea as always. I do not think our endeavor today requires something exquisite, but we still must drink a tea of the...finer quality."

"Got it!" La Brava responded as she took out a small camera. "I'm ready to see Gentle Criminal's next chapter in history!"

Aizawa was not happy. Granted, it was rare for him to be happy, but he definitely felt not happy today. He had spent all yesterday evening at the second FEAST location, where he blended in too well. When he went into that building and saw it was basically a giant homeless shelter, the staff instantly believed he had been living on the streets for years, and he felt he almost had to blow his cover just to get a word in. It didn't help that they were way too friendly, and he found out it was actually a respectable place where people were trying to get better...and not a place secretly creating villain minions.

Despite this, he spent a whole day gathering bits of info, only to get nothing. Nobody remotely Spider-Man's age showed up, which wasn't necessarily bad information, as it meant this could just be a dead end that he could confirm...only to get a phone call a few hours later saying Spider-Man had found and fought Tombstone. An A-Rank Villain, one that the police had been trying to find since he escaped months ago. A vigilante that according to Nezu, is the age of his students, somehow found an A-Rank Villain before the heroes.

It was a headache and a half. It was cases like these that made the man question his existence as a teacher at UA. He still blames Nemuri for half of this...and Yamada for the other half.

"Ugh..." he muttered as he rolled up in his sleeping bag in the teacher's lounge. He had sent Thirteen to teach today's class, the hero gladly talking to the students about the ethics in doing rescues. And as Aizawa closed his eyes, eating a tiny gummy, the door of the lounge opened. His barely open eyes glanced over, only to see the trifecta of his misery: Nezu.

"Good morning Aizawa!" the stoat exclaimed, giving him a small wave. There was a tiny mutter in response from Aizawa, making the principal chuckle before adding, "I suppose that is your way of saying you hit a dead end yesterday?"

Aizawa let out a long sigh, "Yeah."

"I had a feeling. Especially considering what Naomasa told us." Nezu cackled as he walked over to one of the lounge's chairs and hopped onto it. He then somehow conjured a folder, opening it as he shined a giant grin, "I must say, our prey is utterly fascinating. To think Spider-Man would be able to find Tombstone, an A-rank villain!"

"Are we really having this conversation here in the teacher's lounge?" Aizawa moaned.

"Indeed we are. After all, I suspect you don't want to slug yourself over to my office. That and I don't have much to add." Nezu flipped through a few pages, "I mainly just wanted to give you your next orders."

"Which are?"

"I want you to delay your investigation of the other FEAST location till tomorrow."

Aizawa slightly raised an eyebrow at that, "Okay...why?"

"I suspect Spider-Man will not be appearing for a bit." Nezu remarked as he closed the folder, "Based on what I could gather, Spider-Man did not win his fight with Tombstone. And since he's a vigilante, he will not have superior medical help without it giving away who he is."

Aizawa did a small hum at this, "Eh, good point. Even I wouldn't go all out everyday like that. Its just illogical."

"I doubt that considering the complaints I get about you from Recovery Girl."

"Well, unlike most heroes, I actually do my job." Aizawa growled, "What do you want Nezu? I'm sleepy."

"So depressing. You really need to have a more positive outlook." Nezu commented as he put the folder away, the file vanishing just like how it had appeared. "Either way, I suspect he will still try to go out in public, though under his civilian identity. That is why I want you to start investigating tomorrow." He chuckled at his own words, "I must say, I can't wait to meet this Spider-Man for real. A vigilante that can evade even my intellect." He shined his usual grin at him, "Aren't you curious?"

"No." Aizawa mumbled before eating another gummy. "Leave me alone, I need a nap."

Naomasa held in a breath as he parked his car in front of a row of apartments. His mind was slightly muddled, mainly due to just how much had been happening recently. He didn't want to admit it, but he really felt like he was becoming more like Aizawa...and like All Might, now that he thought about it. That man would work himself to death so easily. Even now, the detective felt bad for his friend.

As for why Naomasa was tired, one was that Martin Li had somehow escaped police custody. He didn't know how it was possible, but after examining the footage of Li's room, a female officer no one on the force recognized just waltzed into his room multiple times over the past few days and just...unlocked his cuffs and led him through the back of the station like it was nothing. Not only that, according to security footage, this officer appeared on the day Li was arrested. She had never been there before. Must be some kind of special quirk, something that didn't add up.

In other words, it was another headache. One that Aizawa would comment as 'illogical', and it meant that the enemy he was now facing was beyond crafty. To have the ability to just walk into a police station and get someone out with ease was a scary thought, only for it to be made real.

However, that wasn't what he was doing today. The man glanced over to his almost empty passenger seat at this, which had a folder with a certain name on it: Himiko Toga. He had heard about this case, as it had been heavily publicized for a week after the girl had attacked her first victim. According to the report, she had attacked a boy with a boxcutter and sucked his blood out with a straw...and looked like she enjoyed every second of it. The news about the attack quickly circulated, mainly showing interviews with her parents, the couple saying the girl was always a demon, a monster, and she was destined to attack the boy at her school. It was honestly disgusting to the detective, as his instincts told him there was another side to the story. Though to be fair, that was just part of the detective training, to look at all sides of a situation.

But that was all the case had. The girl known as Himiko Toga vanished after her first attack, and stayed missing for months. It was like she didn't exist after that moment, as if she transformed into something else. That fact alone made Naomasa skeptical. After all, the file said her quirk was a minor cat-like quirk, something that wouldn't be related to blood or the ability to suddenly evade the police and heroes. That meant the quirk file was wrong, just another issue in this case.

However, that didn't really matter to Naomasa. He hadn't been assigned the case, and it was honestly forgotten soon after, as the parents never really demanded that the police find the girl. That should be another red flag, but the public had shown they only cared about demonizing her as a villain. And honestly, Naomasa viewed it the same way. She did a crime, and that's a fact. It wasn't a nice thought, but that was the work of the police. You do the case you're doing now, complete it, and move on to the next one.

That is, till now. Now he cared, as Inko Midoriya, someone he would have never guessed to even call him right now, would suddenly bring this case to him. Apparently, and he made sure he had used his quirk while talking to her on the phone, her son had accidentally run into Himiko Toga and had brought her home. Inko had helped her, and after she revealed who she was, Inko called Naomasa up. And there were no lies there. The very thought told Naomasa why he did this job. That there were people out there that would pick up the slack that the police and heroes sometimes didn't do: Acts of kindness.

As such, he took the folder and closed the car door. Releasing a breath, he walked up to the apartment, ringing the doorbell a second later. The sound of footsteps rang out, the front door opening up to reveal Inko Midoriya. The woman shined a small smile at him, "Good morning detective."

"Morning. May I come in?"

"Absolutely." She stepped aside, the detective doing a tiny bow before walking in.

"Thank you for having me." He replied as he went in, his eyes instantly darting around. The front door went straight to the living room, which only had three doors and the entrance to the kitchen. All the doors were closed, but his eyes soon switched to a different sight, as he saw a certain blonde girl sitting on a couch. The girl flinched at the sight of him, fear in her eyes as he stared at her. He knew that expression. It was the one that suspects wore when that even if they were innocent, they had no idea how to react or what to say. In other words, it was when someone was going to lie to defend themselves, regardless if they were good or bad.

And that meant this was going to take a while. Thank goodness Nezu had agreed to respond to the chief and the commission president. That was a headache he did not need.

The detective sat down at a small table, Inko walking in with three cups of tea. She put them down on the table, the lady sitting to the side of the man, "Thank you for coming detective."

"It's no problem." he replied as he adjusted himself, keeping his eyes down at the teacup. He took it and put it up to his mouth, taking a sip as he closed his eyes. As he did this, Inko turned to Himiko and nodded to her, the girl tensing up, only to slowly walk over to the table, soon sitting across from the detective.

And as he put the cup down, Naomasa opened his eyes to see the girl now sitting there. She was slightly shaking, her cat-like pupils quivering. That is, till Inko put a hand on her shoulder, Toga glancing over to her. The detective saw the kind smile on the lady's face, one that he was very impressed by. It wasn't forced or fake, but a true, kind and warm smile. And as this happened, Himiko seemed to calm down a bit before looking back at Naomasa.

Seeing this, Naomasa took a second before speaking up, "Hello there. My name is Tsukauchi Naomasa, and I am a detective. If you don't mind, I need to ask you a few questions." He reached into his briefcase he had placed beside the chair he was sitting in, pulling out a folder and placing it on the table. "You are Himiko Toga, is that correct?"

The girl flinched at her name, only to slowly nod and say, "Yes. That's me."

He glanced back at her, only to show a small smile, "I apologize. I don't mean to sound intimidating. I have a habit of being...too informal at times. Especially when it comes to scenarios like this." He saw the girl still squirm despite this, the detective taking another second.

But as another moment passed, the girl glancing back at Inko, Himiko did a small nod. "Sorry. I'm okay."

Naomasa showed another smile, "Its fine. I understand." He opened the folder, which showed a paper displaying a profile of the girl in front of her. It had a picture of Toga, though it was her last year school photo. The rest was basic information, such as height, age, and quirk, which was registered as a minor cat-like quirk. The other papers were over the attack she was known for, along with interviews with her parents and classmates.

Toga's eyes darted over to the papers, both shrinking as she saw the pictures on it. The sight made her gulp, her vision slowly going back up to the detective...only to see a look of calmness. Not hatred or fear, disgust or worry. Only calm. The very sight confused her, making the girl's worries slightly go away.

She watched as he put his hands together, showing a small smile as he said, "Now, let's begin. I apologize for being blunt, but I wish to ask you about the incident on these photos and your relationship to both the victim and your parents." Himiko opened her mouth at this, only for him to add, "And before you ask, the reason as to why I want to know about both relationships is because..." Naomasa let out a huff, "I was reviewing this information and I saw that nothing was from your perspective, and everything against you is negative. I am a firm believer of seeing multiple sides of a situation, even if others believe it is a waste of time or morally wrong. That, and I owe Mrs. Midoriya a favor."

Inko giggled at this as Himiko closed her mouth, blinking at the man. "Um...okay." Her eyes slightly glanced away at this, "Thank you."

Naomasa shook his head, "No problem." He then pulled out a small recorder and clicked a button, "Now, shall we begin?"

Himiko nodded, and with another gulp and Inko reaching over to grab one of her hands, the girl began. She told him all about the incident that put her all over the media. Next was about her parents, their hatred of her and trying to not make her use her quirk. Naomasa had his quirk on the entire time, making sure to not tell her, and he was horrified that it never once went off. The detective made sure to not show much emotion, but on the inside, he was disgusted.

And as an hour passed, Inko refilled their drinks as Himiko said she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Naomasa was fine with that, turning off the recorder as he leaned back in the chair. The two sat in silence until Inko walked back in, both thanking her for the tea before taking a sip.

After this, the detective pulled out his phone and placed it on the table. Seeing this, Inko spoke up, "So...what do you think? Can you help her?"

"I...think I can." Naomasa replied as he closed the folder filled with pictures. "Its gonna be a lot of work." He glanced back up at the girl, seeing the sadness and fear on her face, the sight making him nod, "But if its to help her after hearing all that, its worth it. No one deserves to go what you went through."

Himiko went wide-eyed at that, tears about to appear as she responded, "Thank you."

"No problem." Naomasa grabbed the recorder and put it in his pocket. "Now, let's discuss your living situation. You obviously can't stay on the run as you have been." Himiko flinched again at that, both detective and Inko seeing that as he added, "But, I suspect Midoriya here can help with that more than me."

"I'll need some legal help." Inko replied, "I don't mind her staying, but its ultimately up to her." Himiko glanced over to Inko, seeing the warm smile on her face, "Well? What would you like?"

"I...I..." she muttered out, only to shrink into her seat, "Why?"

Naomasa tilted his head at that, "Why?"

"Why...why are you helping me?" she whispered out, "D-d-don't you think I'm a monster after hearing all that?"

The two frowned at this, seeing that she still didn't believe anyone should help her. He felt his heart sink at that, Naomasa biting his lip before replying, "We'd never think that after we heard that story. And of course we'd help you. Its what we do."

Himiko felt herself tear up again, only for Inko to add, "He's right dear. That's why we're asking you what you want."

Himiko blinked at this, tears falling now. She had never been asked that before. As such, one thing entered her head as her eyes went up to Inko, "Um...could I stay here?"

Inko nodded back, "Of course." She giggled, only to cross her arms, "Though...we'll have to figure out a few things." She shined a big grin at the girl, "But we'll figure it out."

"T-t-thank you so much."

"Of course." Inko repeated before turning to Naomasa, "So, where do you think we should start?"

"Good question." Naomasa replied while crossing his arms. He bit his lip as he began to say his next words, "We'll have to have her come down to the station."

Toga went wide-eyed at this, flinching as well as Inko put a hand on her shoulder. The girl turned to the woman, Inko showing another warm smile. "Don't worry." Inko said as she kept showing her that smile.

"But-"

"She's right." Naomasa chimed in, Toga turning to him and seeing a calm smile on his face. "Don't worry, you aren't in trouble, just...there's a lot here. You'll be put on probation, as you do have a recorded assault, but as long as you don't have any more...issues, we'll be able to fix your record."

"R-r-really?!"

Naomasa nodded, "Absolutely. We just..." He took a second to form the correct words, "We'll need to get approval to have you stay here. We'll also probably need to setup some therapy as well and...we'll need to start a court case. And I know just the person." He then took out his phone and tapped it a few times before putting it up to his ear, waiting a few seconds before responding, "Hey Murdock, its me. I got a case for ya."

Somewhere unknown...

"Filthy." spat a pale, slightly-darkish brown haired man as he walked into the room. He was wearing a long black beak over his mouth, his eyes showing a dead looking stare. Following him was a man also wearing a beak-like mask, this one covering his full face and was wearing a black cape along with a bowler hat. To his right was a third masked man, this one wearing a beak mask with a gold lining on it and goggles, along with a white coat over most of his body.

"You shouldn't insult the living place of your future partners." replied a certain white suited man wearing a purple mask standing behind a bar, the man taking out two bottles, "Drink?"

The first beak-masked man glanced around, growling before walking up to the bar and sitting down, his two companions soon sitting beside him. "Don't insult me."

"I'm not. I am merely saying an observation." The purple masked man responded, "Drink?"

The first man waved his hand, "No."

The one beak with a gold lining took off his mask at this, showing white hair and pointed eyebrows as he said, "Gimme a scotch."

"Understood." The purple masked man replied as he spun around and took another bottle off a rack before beginning to pour a shot. As he gave it to him, he glanced over to other that was wearing a bowler, "And you?"

"Do you have bourbon?"

"I do." He took another bottle off the rack and soon began to pour another shot. And as the bowler hat man took off his mask to take the drink, the purple masked man glanced back to the first beaked man. "Now, shall we begin? And what should I call you during this meeting?"

"Just call me Chisaki." the beaked man growled back.

"And you two?"

They didn't respond, Chisaki waving his hand instead, "Don't worry about them. Let's just do this so I can leave this filthy place."

"Very well." the purple masked man responded, slightly shaking his head, "So, you said that the prototype is ready, correct? I suspect it is since you tried to sell it to Tombstone." Chisaki's eyes twitched at that, the man behind the bar almost chuckling at the reaction, "You shouldn't get angry. Tombstone worked for us until...circ*mstances changed."

"I know." Chisaki hissed, his fingers tensing up, "That's why you want to deal with us now."

"Indeed." the purple mask replied, "So, shall we begin?" He reached back behind the bar and yanked up a briefcase. He opened it and showed it was full of money. "As you can see, this is what we're offering for your...experiments. And we'll offer more depending on how negotiations work out."

Chisaki glared at the money, hiding a look of disgust behind his mask. He wanted to say 'disgusting' but he refrained as he said, "Yes." He snapped his fingers, the bowler hat wearer pulling up another briefcase, which he opened to show a set of bullets.

"Ah. These are the prototypes?" the purple mask commented as he reached over and took one of the bullets in his fingers, twiddling with it, "Interesting. How potent are they?"

"Six hours."

"I see. The boss will be pleased." He put the bullet back in the case, "Now, let's talk business."

Sansa Tamakawa had seen a lot of things on the job as a police officer, but this was definitely one of the more...stranger ones. He had never really looked into the Himiko Toga case, as he wasn't assigned to it, just like Naomasa. However, the cat-headed man was now watching Naomasa escort the girl into the building, along with a green-haired woman. He helped Naomasa get an interrogation room, the three entering in as Naomasa told him to wait for Murdock. Sansa had met Murdock several times. An ex-hero turned lawyer, he was infamous for his literal blind brand of justice, and the officers of the department had great respect for the man.

A minute later, the blind man walked in, Sansa walking up to him and guiding him to the interrogation room before both went into the room. And as they walked inside, Inko and Toga glanced up at the lawyer, both surprised to the sunglasses wearing man. They then saw his walking stick as he stumbled around the table in the room and sat down beside Naomasa.

Toga and Inko blinking at the sight, Naomasa turned to the man, "Hello Murdock."

"Naomasa." he replied before turning to the others, "Is this the one?"

"She is." Naomasa replied as the duo just stared at the blind man, only for the detective to pull out his recorder from earlier.

As he did this, Murdock nodded to Inko and Toga, "Hello. My name is Matt Murdock, and I'm a lawyer. And yes, before you ask, I am blind." The two girls tensed at this, the man chuckling at their reactions.

"Don't worry about that part." Naomasa added, "Being blind means nothing to Murdock here. He's one of the best lawyers around. If there's someone that can make a case against her parents, its him."

"I...I see." Inko replied, only to flinch at her own words, "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"No offense taken." Murdock replied before turning to Naomasa, "So, what's the case here? I looked up Miss Toga here-" He turned to the girl, "My apologies, may I call you that?"

"Um...sure." she responded while doing a small nod.

"Right." Murdock glanced back at Naomasa, "I looked up what I could about Miss Toga, and I will admit the case is...lacking in information. Everything I found was more emotion than fact."

"I will agree with that." Naomasa grit his teeth at this before glancing up at Sansa, giving him a gesture that said 'Either stay and get involved in the case, or leave'. The cat man responded with a nod and stood still, showing he was gonna help. After that, Naomasa put his finger over the play button. "We'll start with this."

One group session of listening to a recorded interrogation that happened earlier in the chapter later...

It was always hard to tell what expression Sansa was showing on his face due to his animal-like features, but not today. After hearing the hour-long interrogation between Naomasa and Toga, his face showed a combination of horror and disgust. Despite what his job is, he always found that somewhere, somehow, he could always find a new low in terms of humanity. He couldn't believe how cruel those parents could be to this girl.

Murdock was the same, though showing less emotion on his face with the exception of a frown. This was mainly because he just didn't show emotion most of the time, his blindness covering up a lot of his expressions. But his heart sank as he heard the girl's story. As such, he closed his eyes for a bit before sighing. And when he reopened them, he 'stared' at Toga as he asked, "Was all that true?"

The girl stared back at him, seeing the frown on his face. She could fully see it despite his mostly emotionless look. He was pitying her, he felt sorry for her...but there was also the face of one who wanted to help. Something she had seen a lot recently. As such, she did a small nod, "Yes."

He stared at her for a second longer before nodding, "Okay. I'll take your case."

Seeing this, Naomasa turned to Toga and said, "If you're wondering, Murdock's quirk here can be used to work like mine. Its not Lie Detection, but rather...he can read people in a way. If he says that he'll take your case though, you're in good hands."

Murdock shook his head, "I wouldn't say that, but...I believe that this case is definitely worth going into."

And as he said that, Toga felt tears appear in her eyes, Inko doing the same as she put a hand on the girl's shoulder. She turned to the woman at this, seeing the calm smile on her face, and for the first time since being led into the station, the girl also began to smile.

Meanwhile...

"I must say La Brava, today was a resounding success!" Gentle declared as hopped over a few buildings with his quirk, La Brava right beside him.

His partner giggled at this before glancing down at the camera in her hand, "I know Gentle! We got so much footage today!"

They then landed on a rooftop with a small boing, the two soon walking over to a door on the rooftop and entering. The duo quickly went down some stairs and into an apartment, smiles on both their faces. But as they walked in, Gentle's smile vanished as La Brava walked in at a leisurely pace and said, "Say Gentle, I was thinking that this next video should-"

Her words came to a stop as she felt the man grab her shoulder, the girl soon looking up to see a serious expression on his face. That alone made her go silent as he whispered, "We're not alone." He then reached back and pushed the apartment front door, shutting it as he glared into his living space, "Who's there?"

"Ahahaha!" exclaimed a voice, one that made La Brava go wide-eyed, only for her expression to also change into a glare once she recognized the voice. A second later, a puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the apartment, revealing a certain fishbowl-headed man. "You always know when I'm in the room, don't you Gentle Criminal! As always, I, Mysterio, the Master of Arcane Arts, am impressed!"

"Beck..." Gentle growled as he gestured to La Brava, his partner nodding before stepping behind him. "What do you want?!" the villain grumbled, a full piercing glare on his face.

Mysterio waved his hand at this, "Now now, I'm not here to pick a fight or go over our...past interactions. After all, I am here with a proposal!"

"I highly doubt that." Gentle replied, "I'm no fool Beck. I know exactly what kind of person you are." He pointed at the illusionist, "You are just a thief! You have no respect for the arts or performance!"

"What?! I am not just a-" Mysterio yelled, stomping a foot before stopping himself. He let out a small growl, "Grrr...if I didn't have to do this, I'd-"

"Leave Beck. I have no need for your trickery."

Mysterio clenched his hands at this, balling them into fists before taking a deep breath. Releasing it a second later, he pointed at Gentle, "At least hear me out! I have a proposal that I believe will benefit us both!"

Gentle just glared at him, a deadpan expression now appearing on his face, only to let out a long sigh, "Fine. I know this is the only way to make you leave." He crossed his arms, "What do you want?"

"Simple!" Mysterio exclaimed with a cackle, "I propose a team-up against a certain enemy I know you also faced. One that made you have to go into hiding for a bit." Gentle and La Brava both raised an eyebrow at this, only for Mysterio to add, "For you see, I have concocted my greatest performance yet! I call it: The Death of the Spider-Man!"

Chapter 39: Pulling the Thread

Chapter Text

"No."

"But-"

"No, Beck." Gentle repeated, his arms crossed as his partner La Brava now stood beside him while imitating him, no longer afraid of the fishbowl-headed man in front of pair. "I will not help you fight that vigilante."

"Come now Gentle, there is no need for hostilities." Mysterio replied while waving his hands, "I only wish for us to team up to defeat a common enemy." He pointed at Gentle, "I know that you had your encounter with him as well." He pointed back at himself, "He humiliated me, and I will not stand for it! I too wish to become one of the greatest performers of all, a true illusionist thief just like you wish to become the modern chivalrous thief!"

Gentle shook his head at this, "Don't be absurd. You know that I care not for fighting, and I know you do not want me." He gestured to his partner, "All you want is La Brava!"

"Yeah!" La Brava added while stomping her feet, "And I'll never help you!" She put a hand over her heart, "I exist only to help Gentle and his crusade to change the world!"

"Bah!" Mysterio spat, his fishbowl head glowing as he continued to speak, "Your talents are wasted here! With your hacking abilities, we could-"

"Leave Beck." Gentle interrupted, giving the man the fiercest glare he could do, "We will not help you. I am no murderer, and I will not allow you to use La Brava." he pointed at the Mysterio, "You are a disgrace to all performers, wanting to do violence. I will not allow myself or La Brava to stoop to your lowly standards."

"You..." Mysterio shook his fist at him, only to see Gentle glance away, La Brava doing the same.

"Leave. Now."

Mysterio let out a low growl at this, only to sigh as smoke began to appear around the man. "You will regret this." He pointed at Gentle one last time, "After I have destroyed Spider-Man, I will make you see that you have made a truly grave mistake!"

And as the smoke covered the man, a second later it vanished. Nothing remained, making Gentle sigh before turning to his partner, "My apologies about that La Brava. Beck is rather...difficult at times."

"Yeah, I can see that." La Brava replied as she walked up to where Mysterio had been standing. "How'd he vanish like that?"

"Its part of his quirk. All we saw was an illusion." Gentle responded as he walked over and sat down on a chair, "Come La Brava, let us upload our video and have a cup of tea."

"Of course!" La Brava saluted before running off into their kitchen, quickly making the drink.

Izuku had never slept this much. Granted, he had been sleeping in a lot more recently, but nothing like this. To be fair, his body had told him to sleep, as it was in so much pain. He was pretty sure a few bones were cracked after that fight with Tombstone, and his mind kept telling him one thing: 'Don't get into that kind of fight ever again.'

As such, he glanced up from his pillow and reached for his phone, taking it and turning on the screen. He then went wide-eyed, now seeing he had slept for over a day essentially. He knew he had woken up a few times yesterday, but it wasn't much. Seeing that, he let out a long yawn before putting away the phone and getting up. Pain surged through his body, aches and cricks making him wince up as he walked into the bathroom.

But as he walked in and stared at the bathroom mirror, he saw the bruises his body now wore from Tombstone's blows. Granted, most were hidden from the old starburst scars from Bakugo's explosions, back when he didn't have powers and spent every day as his punching bag, but he could feel these new bruises. They hurt a lot, something that made Izuku slump over and whisper out, "I lost again, didn't I? I lost to Stain that first time, I failed to save Mister Li...and now I lost to Tombstone."

He put a hand to his face and rubbed it down to his chin, 'I'm such a failure. Why did I try to fight an A-rank villain when I'm not even worthy of being a F-rank hero sidekick?! How could I have been so stupid?! Why can't I get this right?!' He felt a crick of pain at this, making him flinch, 'Dang it...mom's gonna tell me to not be Spider-Man again, isn't she?'

Sucking up the pain and doing his morning routine, a few minutes passed before he left the room, only to see his mother standing outside with crossed arms. He opened his mouth to respond, only for her to say, "You slept for over a day! You went overboard again, didn't you?!"

"Uh..." Izuku muttered out, soon glancing away, "Sorry." Inko let out a long sigh at this, only for Izuku to add, "Wait! I'm sorry, I really am!"

"I know you are." Inko replied, uncrossing her arms. "What happened? The injuries you have would have broken a normal human's ribs."

"I...well, let's just say you were right, and I needed other heroes' help." Izuku responded, his eyes darting away from her.

The woman shook her head, "I'm not angry Izuku. I just...want you to be more careful, okay?"

Izuku glanced back at her, "Okay. Sorry mom."

"Its fine." She grabbed his shoulder at this, "No Spider-Man today, alright? I'll let you go out later, but none of that today. Got it?"

Izuku slightly flinched at her touch, only to nod, "Sure."

"Good." She responded before pointing behind herself, "I've made breakfast, and then we're going to FEAST today. Oh, we're going shopping first, and Himiko's joining us for both, as I think it'll do her some good."

"Um...okay."

Inko then leaned up to him, "Don't bring your costume or web shooters or...any of your other gadgets. You're just Izuku Midoriya today, okay?"

"Got it." Izuku replied as they both left his room, soon joining Himiko as she was drooling at the sight of the breakfast Inko had made. The sight made him chuckle before sitting beside her, the two soon chowing down. As they ate, Inko brought her own plate and began to talk to Himiko, asking what her likes and dislikes were. The girl didn't really respond at the start, both realizing she still hadn't fully opened up. But that was what today was for. The silently exchanged a glance, mother and son nodding to each other as they soon prepared themselves for the rest of the day.

Two hours or so later...

Slouched between two bunk beds at FEAST, Shouta Aizawa believed his current mission was a wash. He had found he didn't like FEAST. He understood its purpose, as charity is important, but he had found himself despising the people running the place. Granted, he wasn't one to like anybody, but he did not like the boss here. Gloria was something all underground heroes feared to see, one that can see through any disguise or motive. That alone was bad enough, but this place, unlike the second FEAST location, had retired heroes. One of which that was currently glaring at him.

Aizawa had been having a staring contest with him for a while, only to slouch back into a chair. The pro hero grumbled as he pulled out a gummy pack out of his pocket and ate one of them. 'I need some coffee.' he thought as his eyes turned to the entrance of the main floor of FEAST, waiting for what he had been told was 'younger help' for FEAST's soup kitchen today.

'I hate this.' he mentally groaned as he saw Gloria walk into the kitchen, 'How did this happen?'

One hour ago...

Aizawa slowly walked up to the front stairs of FEAST, the man staring up at the building. He was in casual clothes, his usual scarf weapon not on his person due to him not needing it. At least, that was what he believed, as his last encounter with FEAST's second location had made him realize he needed a different look. Despite being an underground hero, which by the very nature of the job made him almost anonymous, his capture weapon made him look like a hobo a little too much. That FEAST location was convinced due to his looks along with the scarf that Aizawa was twenty years older than he actually was, and had led a life of misery that needed desperate help.

It was humiliating on all levels, and Aizawa was pretty sure he would kill Nemuri or Hizashi if they ever found out.

Thankfully, they hadn't, which meant he could keep his job at UA and do today's investigation. As such, he was wearing a basic yet semi-dirty shirt and jeans, his stubble and long hair being the only things that made him look a little like a hobo. He hoped that would be enough as he walked through the main doors into FEAST.

His eyes darted around, seeing a few people walk by. They were all what he expected, all either old or looked like they had been on hard times. As such, he closed the doors behind himself before walking into the main center, only for a voice to speak up, "Hey!" Aizawa turned to the noise, only to see a lady with a snake for a face walk up to him, "Haven't seen you here before." She commented as she stopped right in front of him.

The underground hero stared at her for a second, watching her slitted eyes glare at him before her tongue came out for a second as he responded, "I'm here for a...place to stay for the day."

The snake lady's tongue retracted back into her mouth as she blinked at him, "I see." She muttered before glancing down at his jeans, then back up at his shirt. Her fangs showed themselves for a second as she added, "Well, welcome to FEAST. I'm Gloria, and I run the place. Who are you?"

"Oboro." Aizawa responded as he watched Gloria glance him over again. 'Don't get irritated.' he mentally told himself as he watched her continue to scan him, 'She's just doing her job. I just need to get in here and wait for Spider-Man to appear...hopefully.'

But as he thought that, she stuck out her forked tongue again before saying, "Alright. We'll get you set up. Follow me." She walked past him and to some nearby stairs, gesturing him to follow. The hero met her at half her pace, his eyes darting around as he tried to see if anyone young was here. As they reached the second floor, he stared out at the place, only to still see the same as he had walked into the place.

That is, till Gloria pointed to a few people on the second floor, gesturing to them before opening a door. "Come on in." Aizawa glanced back at her, now seeing she was walking into an office before looking back at the others she had gestured too. They were elderly men, one sporting a long beard while the other two had deep glares on their faces. Those stares alone made Aizawa feel a tiny bit of tension. There was strength behind those eyes, ones that were way past their prime, but still had something left in the tank.

And as he entered the office, the trio followed, closing the door behind them as Aizawa saw Gloria sit behind a well-made desk. "This is the true boss of FEAST's office, but since I'm the current boss, I try to find uses for the place. No need for it to collect dust." Gloria commented as she gestured Aizawa to sit in front of the desk.

The underground hero sat down at this, only for Gloria to lean over the desk and immediately ask, "Now, why don't you tell me why you're really here."

The question instantly quieted the room. Aizawa had just sat down as she said it, the man just staring at her. He didn't flinch or make any sudden movements except a single blink. That alone was not enough for a tell, but he knew this wasn't going to go well. "What do you mean?" he instantly responded.

Gloria let out a sigh at that, "Seriously?" She snapped her fingers, the three men behind Aizawa grabbing his shoulders as her forked tongue slithered out, "I'll ask you one more time. Why are you really here?"

Aizawa felt the three hands gripping him, the hero still not flinching or showing any odd movement. 'What is this? Does she know who I am? I just walked in here, and I made sure the other FEAST location didn't figure out who I am.'

But after a few seconds of no response, Gloria spoke up again as she crossed her arms, "Not talking, huh? Alright, I'll ask a different question. Are you a villain or a cop?"

That made Aizawa almost flinch, the man now slightly glaring at her, "What are you talking about?"

Gloria's slit eyes slightly rolled at this, "Oh please, don't try to trick to me. I've told the police a dozen times now that there's nothing here. We've had them search this place over multiple times, and you're obviously one of them, or you're a villain. You think you're dressed as a hobo, which I will admit you're close, but you're still somewhat clean looking in certain places. That means you're an undercover cop since they have no idea how to disguise themselves, or you're a villain."

"And we don't take kindly to villains." one of the three behind him added, "Me and the boys here used to hunt your kind all the live long day."

"And even if you can take us, we'll make sure them youngster heroes get here as soon as possible." another added, "Gloria's ready to call them right now."

Aizawa's eyes glanced back at them for a second, his mind telling him what was happening, 'Great. That's why she had these guys come in here. They're all retired heroes.' He looked back at Gloria, seeing the glare on her face, 'This must be a reaction due to the Martin Li situation. How annoying.'

And as the seconds ticked by, the man calculated his options, 'Dang it. What do I do here?' He bit his lip at this, 'Should I show them my license? That might be my only way out of this.'

A minute passed at this, his hand slowly descending into his pants' back pocket. This was seen by one of the retirees, glaring at him as he saw Aizawa put his fingers on his wallet. And as another half minute passed, Aizawa let out a long sigh as he pulled out the wallet, all four staring at him as he put it on the desk before taking out a small card. Groaning, as he presented the object to the snake-headed woman. "I'm a hero."

The trio behind him raised eyebrows as Gloria took the card, her eyes scanning it over as she read aloud, "Shota Aizawa...Pro hero, Eraserhead." Her eyes went back up to him, "Seriously? You?" Aizawa growled at this, only for one of the retirees to take the card. He grunted as he looked the card over, the other two glancing over before giving it back to Aizawa. And as they did this, Gloria glanced up at them, "Think its real?"

One of them shrugged, "Not sure." He looked down at Aizawa, "You spotlight or underground?"

"Underground." Aizawa grumbled, feeling himself slightly sink into the chair.

The four stared at each other, having a mental conversation before Gloria sighed as she gestured to them. They nodded to her, making her cross her arms as she glanced back at Aizawa. "Alright, they believe you." Aizawa just glared at her at that, making her ask, "So, what do you want?"

A minute of silence followed this, Aizawa's eyes darting between Gloria and the others before muttering out, "I'm looking for someone. I believe they may be here." Gloria's tongue slithered out at this, about to reply before Aizawa added, "And before you say anything, what I'm looking for probably won't appear. I just have to make sure."

This was responded with Gloria and the retired heroes all staring at him, the snake lady uncrossing her arms as she put her tongue back in. "Okay." She did one small blink before saying, "I'll let you stay here today, and only today. I'll make sure to tell the rest here that you're just visiting. Got it?"

Aizawa clicked his tongue at this, closing his eyes before sighing. "Got it."

The Present...

'This is so annoying.' he thought as he leaned back into a chair while rubbing his eyes. 'Why is every part of this Spider-Man case so annoying?! Why did I agree to help Naomasa?'

"Stop sneering." The retiree growled, making Aizawa glance up at him.

"What?"

"Stop sneering." the retiree repeated before leaning down to Aizawa's level, "I can tell you're disgusted by everything here. You wouldn't keep that scowl on your face if you didn't. Let me guess, this place not your scene? Prefer jumping into a bunch of fights or stalking people? You did say you were Underground."

"Tch." Aizawa clicked his tongue as he glanced away. 'This is so annoying.' he mentally repeated in his head, only to glance back at the rest of the main floor, only to see several people walking toward the kitchen. "What's going on?"

The retired hero glanced away before replying, "The Midoriyas are probably here."

"Midoriyas?"

The retiree nodded, "Yeah. They're a family that helps out here, especially the son of the family."

'A son? I am looking for a teen. Better confirm their age.' Aizawa bit his lip before asking, "Who is that?"

"Izuku." The retiree glanced back at him, "And don't you dare go near him."

Aizawa faked raising an eyebrow, staring at the anger on the retired hero's face, "May I ask why?"

"Cuz he's our future. He's a kid that wants to be a hero for the right reasons." Aizawa just kept his glare, making the retiree hiss, "You see, he's not like youheroesof today that only do it for the money and fame. He wants to be a hero to help others! To put his life on the line to help and protect the weak." He leaned down in front of Aizawa's face, "I'm guessing you don't know anything about that."

Aizawa fought the urge to roll his eyes at this, "I do. I'm Underground. I actually do a hero's job." He glanced away at this, "I go in and fight villains and recuse civilians. I don't have time for ego or the press."

"Yeah right. And your so-calledhero's jobmakes you investigate a homeless shelter?!" the retiree spat, "Oh please, I know what you are."

"And what's that?"

The old hero pointed at him, "You're just like me before I became a hero. I'm betting you couldn't care less about others until something bad happened to you or someone you cared about, and now you're a hero because of that bad thing that happened to you." Aizawa's head slowly looked back at the retiree, a glare in his eyes as the elder added, "And now, you act like a jerk with his head held up high and mighty, sneering at them as you think you're always right because you've seen the worst humanity has to offer. Am I wrong?"

Aizawa felt himself tense up at this, a bit of anger now rising as he glared at the old man. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, Aizawa's eyes scrunching up at this as his mind yelled at him, 'Don't get into a fight! Remember why you're here!'

"Yeah...that's what I figured." the retiree replied before leaning back. He stared at Aizawa for a bit, seeing the anger on the man's face, only to see it wasn't malicious, but just frustration. "Listen, people like you-"

"I get it." Aizawa interrupted, "Trust me, I do." The Erasure Hero looked back at him, "I get that this place helps others. I'm just...not one for charity. I prefer hard work as a goal."

The elder shrugged at this, "I get that. Still, I don't want you messing with Izuku."

"Why is that?" Aizawa glanced back at the main floor, only to see a green haired teen walk in with a blonde girl that looked slightly familiar to the man, "That him?"

"Yup. And that girl must be the one Gloria told us about."

"Who's that?"

The retiree shrugged again, "No idea. Just that Mrs. Midoriya was bringing in another youngin' to help." He glanced back at the two teens, "Glad to see Izuku's making friends. Poor kid needs them."

'He looks like the age that Spider-Man could be. Around the height too. Is it him?' Aizawa thought before he asked, "He looks like your normal kid. He didn't have any friends before?"

"No." the elder shook his head, "Though considering his circ*mstances, it unfortunately makes sense."

"What do you mean?" The retiree glared at him at this, making Aizawa raise an eyebrow, "What?"

"Before I say anything, do you promise not to judge?"

Aizawa tilted his head slightly at this, "Why are you asking that?"

"Just agree or don't."

Aizawa rolled his eyes again, "Fine. I agree."

"He's quirkless."

The two words hit Aizawa's ears, his brain taking that information before reflexively letting out a small groan. 'Shoot. Its not him. Spider-Man wouldn't be a quirkless after all. Maybe the rest of the younger help they mentioned earlier is-' His thoughts came to a stop as he saw the retiree glaring at him again, "What?"

"I heard that sigh." The elder got up from his seat at this, "So, you think you can look down on him too?"

"I wasn't-"

"Actions speak louder than words, younin'. And that sigh means you look down on him just like everyone else." He reached down and grabbed Aizawa's collar, the Pro Hero about to retaliate, only for another voice to speak up.

"What's going on over here?" They both turned to see Gloria, her forked tongue sticking out a second later.

"Nothing good." the retiree responded, "I was just telling him about Izuku and...well, you can guess his reaction."

"I didn't mean-"

"Shut it!" The elder hissed, glaring back at Aizawa. "I told you, I know exactly what you are. You think you can just look down on others because you think you've seen the worse. You're nothing but an arrogant-"

Aizawa grabbed the retiree's arm at this, his hair starting to levitate as his quirk was about to activate, "Let go. Now."

"Oh yeah? And what are ya gonna do, huh?" the elder spat, "I'm not afraid of you. I don't even need my quirk to handle a snot-nosed brat like you."

The Underground Hero was about to respond, only for Gloria to grab the retiree's arm. His grip instantly loosened on Aizawa, both looking back at her again. She gave Aizawa a small glare before whispering, "Tell me, have you found what you're looking for yet?"

"No."

"I see." Gloria replied before glancing back at the elder hero, only to give him a key. "Well, you're out of time. Take him out through the back door."

"What?!" Aizawa yelled, only to see the snake lady stare back at him.

"You're insulting my friend and making a ruckus." She pointed at him at this, "I get you straight-laced heroes and cops think you can just waltz in here and run the show, but we're a family in here. We take care of our own, even when you decide to arrest one of us."

"I just asked a question!" Aizawa barked, "Why are you being so hostile over that?!"

"Because you instantly looked down on Izuku as soon as I told you the truth." The retiree instantly countered.

"I didn't do that! It was just a reflex!"

"You reflexively look down on others?" Gloria added, crossing her arms. "Some hero you are."

"What?! No, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Well, it's too late to apologize." The retiree finished, "You heard the lady. You're leaving. Now." He clenched Aizawa's collar again, "If you want toinvestigateFEAST, you're gonna do it outside. Wait out there so you can stalk your prey or whatever."

He then began to drag the Pro Hero to a door in the back of the main floor, Gloria glaring at the sight. And as this happened, Izuku walked up to Gloria and asked, "What's going on?"

She glanced down at him, "Don't worry about it. It was just an...unruly newcomer. Turns out, they don't need our help."

"Oh."

"Yup." She put her hand on Izuku's shoulder, "Now come on, help me introduce Toga to the people here."

Izuku nodded at this, "Sure!"

Aizawa found himself shoved out of the building a minute later, the man slightly stumbling as the door was closed on him after this. Letting out a long groan, he shook his head, 'Stupid homeless shelters. Stupid Spider-Man. Why are my investigations in places like this?!' He put his hands in his pockets, 'Guess I'll have to find somewere to watch this place with a keen eye. Maybe Spider-Man's civilian identity comes here later in the day.'

He rubbed his chin at this, "Guess my luck's not good today." His other hand fiddled in his pocket, only to feel something. "Hmm?" He pulled something out, only to go wide-eyed at the sight. 'Power-Loader's tracker! I totally forgot about it!' He turned it on, pointing at the building he had just left...only for no signal. Nothing.

'Figures. Still, that doesn't mean Spider-Man will come. I probably gotta wait.' The man thought as he walked away, crossing the street from the building before finding a small alleyway, using some stairs on it to climb to the roof. 'Blasted vigilante. I can't believe I have to do this.'

And as he reached the roof, he stared at the FEAST building...and began to wait.

A few minutes ago...

Himiko shivered as she stared up at the building in front of her. She had just gone shopping with Inko and Izuku, the duo helping her with new clothes (Inko helped her with all that while Izuku got groceries, as they both agreed the teen had no taste) and were now at the front stairs of FEAST. The sight made her heart go into her stomach, fear obvious on her face as Inko turned to her and saw her expression.

The woman put a hand on the girl's shoulder, making her glance up as Inko said, "Don't worry. Everyone in here is super friendly."

"Yeah!" Izuku added, "They're all about helping each other here."

Himiko didn't stop shivering despite hearing that. She didn't exactly like the word 'help', as it usually meant things that weren't 'helpful' if she was honest. But, she knew these two were different. She still didn't fully understand how, but she knew Izuku and Inko were...well, they actually meant help. That alone was something she never expected.

And as she stared at the building, Inko gestured to take her hand, only for the girl to shake her head. Nodding at this, Inko went in front of the two, both following as they went up those steps. They soon reached the double doors, Izuku walking ahead to open them for the two, Inko smiling at him before they went inside.

"Inko!" exclaimed a voice belonging to a certain snake-headed lady. All three turned to see Gloria, Toga's eyes widening just a little. She had been told about Gloria, but the sight was still a tiny bit unnerving just due to the look of the snake head.

"Gloria!" Inko giggled before the two shared a small hug. And as the embrace ended, she gestured to the girl beside her, "This is Himiko Toga, the one I was telling you about before."

"I see." Gloria's mouth slightly curved upward before presenting a hand, "Nice to meet ya. I'm Gloria, I basically run this place."

"H-h-hi." Toga responded as she reached out and shook the hand, noticing it was a calm, firm grip.

"I have a feeling we'll get along just fine." Gloria chuckled before turning to Izuku, "Hey squirt. Bout time you showed your mug around here again. We've been missing you."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Izuku replied, "I uh...I've been busy."

"I figured." Gloria cackled before reaching over and rubbing his hair, the teen slightly flinching. The sight made Toga let out a tiny giggle, only for Gloria to turn and put a hand on her shoulder, "So, wanna see what FEAST is all about? Don't worry, everyone here is super chill."

"I...I guess so."

"Don't worry." Inko chimed in, making Toga turn to her, "I'll be with you. As for Izuku-" She glanced over at Gloria, "Got any work for him to do?"

Izuku glared at his mother as Gloria responded, "Not yet." She turned back to Izuku, "If you don't mind, go check in with Wanze. He's starting up the kitchen right now, but he might need some help. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, I don't mind." Izuku replied before walking away, Toga watching him go.

Seeing this, Gloria's forked tongue slithered out of her mouth for a second before saying, "He's a good kid, isn't he?" Toga glanced back up at her, "I know. He helps bring sunshine in here all the time."

"Really?"

"Yup." Gloria nodded, "Now, let's introduce you to some of our residents."

The snake lady then gestured Toga and Inko to follow her upstairs, as they had a few residents up there at the moment. As this happened, Izuku went to the kitchen and talked to Wanze, helping him move a few boxes around. It wasn't long till he was finished, which was the exact same time Inko and Toga walked into the kitchen. But as they strode in, Gloria turned to the main floor room and saw a certain retired hero having a scuffle with the hero from this morning.

"I'll be right back." Gloria told them as she left the kitchen, Inko introducing Toga to who worked in the kitchen while Izuku decided to slowly follow Gloria. He watched as she talked to one of the elders and some hobo looking person, only to see them kick the guy out. After this, he asked her what was going on, only to be told that it was a newcomer causing problems.

After this, they went back to the kitchen, Izuku now seeing his mom teaching Toga how to cook up some soup. He watched with a smile as he saw Toga be really interested in helping. The sight made Gloria giggle, only to pull out her phone before tapping Izuku's shoulder. He glanced up at her as she said, "Uraraka just texted me. We're about to get some more help."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Mind helping me greet them? I'll need you and the boys she's bringing to move some stuff outside."

"Sure." Izuku nodded before they made their way to the entrance. And as they did this, Izuku thought back to his last encounter with Uraraka, which seemed like a lifetime ago now despite it just being a few days. 'So much has happened and I barely talked to her after asking to be her friend.' He glanced down at this, 'I...I really don't know how to be a good friend, do I? Its been such a long time since I've had one...'

And as that thought went through Izuku's head, his eyes went back to the kitchen, seeing his mother guide Himiko around. The sight made him smile again before looking ahead, the two going through the front of FEAST. As they got outside, the duo instantly saw a group walking up to the building. At the front was Uraraka with Tsuyu and Iida beside her. Right behind them was Mina, who was talking to what looked like a floating tank top and shorts, and behind them was Kirishima talking to a black-haired boy with elbows that had big cylinder-like things on them.

"Guess we're getting plenty of help today." Gloria commented, Izuku blinking at the two newcomers.

'Cool quirks. One is invisible and that other...I wonder what those elbows can do? It looks like some kind of dispenser or-' Izuku thought as stars shined in his eyes, only to shake his head, 'No, don't nerd out! You'll look like some creepy quirk stalker like Kacchan always said you were!'

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes to see Uraraka run up the stairs first, "Hey Gloria, hey Midoriya!"

"Hey girl." Gloria replied, her snake tongue slipping out for a second as she turned to the two newcomers, "Got some new friends with ya, huh?"

"Yup!" Uraraka responded as the rest of the group went up the stairs, the girl waving her hand at them, "We're all here to help!"

"Nice." Gloria chuckled before waving at the new two, "Hey there, I'm Gloria. And before you ask, just call me Gloria. I'm the boss around here. Welcome to FEAST."

"Hiya! I'm Toru Hagakure!" the invisible girl exclaimed, her clothes wiggling around.

The boy with big elbows pointed at himself, "And I'm Hanta Sero."

"Nice to meet ya." Gloria replied before pointing at the teen beside her, "This here is Izuku Midoriya. Despite what he looks like, he's the helpful muscle around here." Izuku giving a short wave at this, the teen seeing the Sero boy look him over, not sure if the other was also doing the same thing due to her being invisible. And as this happened, Gloria sighed and rubbed the back of her head, "Hate to say it, but you're all a bit early, but we also need to get some stuff done."

"That is perfectly fine!" Iida chimed in, chopping the air at the same time, "We understand that you are very busy, just like Mister Li!"

"Who's that?" Sero asked.

"He's the one that created and owns FEAST!" Iida instantly responded. "He is a truly inspiring man!"

"He's also not here today due to...other stuff." Gloria added, the group glancing back at her. Though they didn't notice it, Izuku saw the slight twitch in her eyes, "But don't worry about that." She directed her eyes on Ochako, "Say Uraraka, you don't mind me borrowing the boys here to help us get some stuff ready, do you?"

She glanced over at the three, Iida nodding as Kirishima and Sero both gave thumbs up before looking back at Gloria, "No, I don't think they mind."

"Cool. The rest of you can go inside and introduce yourselves." She turned to the boys, "Ready to help us get this soup kitchen set up?"

"Of course!" Iida exclaimed.

"Sounds manly!" Kirishima added, "Let's do it!"

"Nice. Follow me." Gloria commented as she directed the boys to follow her, the rest going inside the building.

'Great...just great.' Aizawa mentally moaned to himself as he saw a certain group of very familiar teens walk into FEAST. They were led by Ochako Uraraka, which meant Nezu's warning was right on the money. He couldn't get close now, as his own students would blow his cover, especially Iida or Ashido.

As such, he stared at the building as all the teens disappeared inside, the underground hero reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small device. Tapping it a few times, he found it didn't respond.

"No signal. That means Spider-Man's not here." Aizawa muttered as he laid back for a second, rubbing his temple as he growled, "Spider-Man...why does everything involve him?!"

Himiko Toga had never felt like this before. Granted, she had noticed that that had been happening a lot these past few days, but today was a totally different experience. She had been told all her life that her quirk made her a monster, that she wasn't 'normal' and needed to be turned into 'normal'.

But now she was here, surrounded by people that just...accepted her. Like, they didn't ask if she was weird or not normal or flinched at her fangs. There was nothing like that. And she could tell that the people here in FEAST were kinda like her, rejected by society or down on their luck, though they were also much older. Despite that though, she was surprised at how...accepting they were.

And then came in a group of girls her age. That sight made her want to shrink into a corner of the room. And before she could even attempt to do such a thing, Inko put her hand on the girl's shoulder, making her turn and see a giant warm smile on the woman's face. "Don't worry." Inko whispered, "I'm here."

Himiko blinked at her before showing a tiny smile, silently sayingthank youbefore facing the girls walking into the kitchen. Her body tensed a little at the sight, her mind going between fear and calm, only to see a big grin on a chestnut-haired girl's face as she walked up to them. "Hi Miss Midoriya! Who's this?"

"Hello Uraraka. This is Himiko Toga, someone me and Izuku are currently trying to help out." Inko replied with a big smile on her face while patting Toga's shoulder. She then glanced down at the girl, "Don't worry, these girls are as nice as they come. They won't bite." Inko looked back at the group, "Though uh...who's the new girl?"

"Hiya! I'm Toru Hagakure!" the invisible girl replied, her clothes doing several exaggerated motions.

Himiko blinked at the sight, now staring at the girls. They all smiles, well except the invisible one, but considering how she was acting, Toga was pretty sure she was smiling too. And the smiles...they were like the people she had just met. Kind smiles, ones that didn't judge or deceive. The sight made her think only one thing: 'Why couldn't I have met people like them back at my old school?'

Inko could see that was what she was thinking, only to pat her on the shoulder again. Himiko glanced up at her, seeing that usual smile. The sight made her grin back before turning to the girls, "Um...hello. I'm Himiko Toga."

The girls all smiled at this, Uraraka replying, "Hi there! I'm Ochako Uraraka." She presented her hand to be shook, "Nice to meet you!"

Himiko stared at the hand, feeling her whole body shake for just a second, only to take it.

"Whoa." Sero commented as he saw Izuku lift a pile of tables and chairs and balance them with ease.

"I know, right?" Kirishima whispered to him, "And he says he's quirkless."

"Whoa..." Sero repeated as they watched Izuku put the pile down and begin to give Iida the chairs as he quickly unfolded them. As this happened, Sero and Kirishima were moving around the small tables FEAST usually had at their front steps. They had just moved the last one, the duo now staring at Izuku as he quickly setup the tables.

"Alright boys, that's good." Gloria chimed in as she walked up to the four, "Thanks for getting this set up so quickly."

"No problem at all!" Iida responded as he did a chopping motion.

The others chuckled at this, Gloria shaking her head before saying, "I'd say I also need your help bringing in the food supplies, but they haven't arrived yet." She pulled out her phone, "They should be here in the next half hour, so I guess you guys can relax."

"That's cool. We totally understand." Kirishima replied, the other three nodding. He then pointed to the FEAST building, "Come on Sero, let's introduce you to FEAST. They're all cool here."

"Agreed!" Iida exclaimed, "Though it is a shame we cannot introduce you to Mister Li today." Izuku slightly flinched at that, only for Iida to ask Gloria, "Do you know why he is not here today?"

"Uh..." Gloria clicked her tongue at this, "Its...business." She did a small sigh, "Sorry, its not something I can talk about."

"Ah. I see." Iida nodded, the group soon walking back into the building. As they did this, Izuku thought back to that night, that fight between him and Mister Negative. The memory then switched to Tombstone, the villain that he couldn't a thing against. It was as if he was stuck fighting walls or things he didn't want to fight.

'Gran Torino was right. This is some rabbit hole I went into.' he thought as he entered the building, his eyes staring down at the floor, 'And I don't have a thing to show for it but a bunch of beatings and making things worse for FEAST. I'm just a-' His thoughts came to a stop as he glanced back up, only to see Himiko Toga, the girl who was technically a villain a few days ago...smiling. She showed nothing but happiness as he saw her talking to the girls of UA.

He blinked at the sight, only to feel a smile appear on his face. Before him was something he had done. A girl had been saved, something he never thought he would ever be able to do before the spider bite. He thought he was doomed to a life of misery, all because of how he was born. Born without power.

That is, till another thought entered his head.

"You'll never be hero!"

"You're just a worthless pebble!"

Izuku felt his right hand reflexively grab his left arm, making him shiver as he closed his eyes. He shook on the spot, biting his lip as he thought, 'No. I'm...I'm not worthless. I'm not. I'm just...not there yet.' He took a deep breath at this, 'I've got a long way to go.'

As he stood there, Inko watched the group interact with Gloria and Himiko, only to walk out onto the main floor of the building. But as this happened, she glanced back at her son, seeing him just stand there. The sight made her shake her head before walking up to him, grabbing his shoulder. He flinched at the touch, only to glance up at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I...I um..." He glanced away at this, "Sorry."

"Izuku." Inko replied, putting her other hand on his other shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"I...I was just thinking about Mister Li." She blinked at this, only for him to add, "I mean, it is my fault he's not here today."

"Its not your fault." she instantly responded.

"But-"

"Its not." She interrupted, "You made a choice, and you followed through it. Don't regret that."

"I..." He tried to say, only to bite his lip. He knew she was right, even though his mind kept telling him otherwise. "Okay. Sorry I've been like this."

"Its fine." She chuckled before patting him, "Now come on, let's go have some fun with everyone before the kitchen needs to be setup."

He nodded back, "Okay."

Izuku's face slowly got its smile back as he rejoined the group with his mother. They found that Himiko got along with the girls very quickly, both surprised at the big grin on her face. The two had only known her for a few days, but there was this constant paranoia and nervousness on her face...but not now. She looked happy. It was a soft, small happy, but it was still there. The girls were all giggling at something, the sight making Inko turn to Izuku and whisper to him. She told him she would stay with Himiko while he goes with the boys.

As such, Izuku walked over to Iida, Kirishima and Sero. He found the three were discussing what they thought would think their classes would be doing. Izuku wanted to ask what they were, only to find Kirishima changing the subject and asking Izuku into an arm-wrestling match. He wanted to reject the idea, but then the girls overheard this and Izuku found everyone pushing him into it. This was followed by a few of the residents coming over to help, soon setting up a small table for the two.

And as Izuku sat down with Kirishima on the other side, several residents began making bets, only for Inko and Gloria to make them stop. As such, Izuku stared at the UA student, his mind racing, 'Do I throw this? Then again, I don't know how strong Kirishima is. I mean, he's a UA student. They've probably already helped him become a super strong hero in training.'

HIs took a deep breath at this, soon resting his elbow on the table, Kirishima doing the same. Their hands soon grasped each other's, Izuku's eyes darting around as he saw that everyone was now staring at them. Sweat began to form at this, the teen's eyes slowly going back to Kirishima, only to see a giant grin on his face.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Um...sure." Izuku slowly replied, gulping a second later.

A third hand landed onto of the two, both teens turning to see Gloria, "Keep it clean you two. Ready?" They both nodded back, making her stick her tongue out before lifting her hand, "Then begin!"

"YAH!" Kirishima roared as he instantly pushed against Izuku's hand. The teen quickly felt the pressure, his arm flexing backward. Izuku went wide-eyed at this, his arm tensing up as he felt Kirishima start to push his hand down. And as he felt this, Izuku's hand clenched up, his grip tightening as well. Kirishima felt this and seemed to flinch, his eyes going wide as he saw Izuku's face switch from uncertainty to showing a tiny bit of edge.

And as he felt this, Kirishima grinned back before pushing down even more. But as he tried to do this, he saw he couldn't move Izuku. It was like he was suddenly pushing against a wall. There wasn't even a hint of making Izuku budge, making the UA student go wide-eyed again...only to feel his hand begin to be pushed back.

Everyone watched as Izuku slowly pushed against Kirishima, their hands soon going back to the starting position...only for Kirishima's to start faltering back. The student grit his teeth at this, his face tensing up as he kept trying to push back. But as he did this, Izuku continued to push him, Kirishima finding himself unable to make Izuku budge even a tiny bit.

"Come on, Kiri!" Ashido chimed in, "You can do it!"

"I'm...trying!" Kirishima replied with a grunt, "Gah!" He began to glare at Izuku, "You're...really...strong."

Those words hit Izuku's ears and made him almost flinch. 'Strong? Me?' The thought almost made him stop as he then thought, 'Oh yeah. I still keep forgetting what I can do now.' He stared down at his hand, seeing Kirishima start to push him back before looking up at the UA student. A look of fierce determination was on his face, making Izuku's change to one as well. 'He's trying so hard. I should try too.'

As this happened, Kirishima watched Izuku's expressions, seeing him show a look of confusion when he said Izuku was strong. The sight baffled the hero student, pure shock on his face as he saw an expression that showed Izuku didn't know his own strength. But then it changed, Izuku now showing determination for the first time. And with a push, Kirishima felt the back of his hand hit the table.

BAM!

"Whoa!" Kirishima gasped as he felt his hand hit the table, only for the whole place erupt in cheers. Izuku instantly let go at this, the teen staring at his hand as Kirishima raised his own hand and flex it. "Yow...that was rough."

"Oh...I'm sorry." Izuku whispered out, only to see Kirishima shine a big grin at this.

"Don't apologize. That was super manly!" He then patted Izuku's shoulder, "You win, man! That was awesome!"

"Yeah!" Sero chimed in, "That was great!"

The others began to congratulate Izuku, the teen just sitting there in slight shock. Multiple people caught onto this. There was Tsuyu, who saw the shock on his face, making her put her finger to her chin. She could see it in his expression, one she understood more deeply than others. This was what happened to someone bullied a lot: They didn't believe in themselves at all. That's what she gathered from this.

Another was Uraraka. She saw the shock on Izuku's face and remembered her thoughts about the last time she talked to him. It was before the festival, where she saw him almost have what looked like a panic attack in just trying to ask her to be friends. The sight made her feel nothing but sadness, as she knew she should have tried a bit harder in being his friend. Instead, the festival and internships had distracted her like a whirlwind, one that showed her just how hard things were going to be in her future. 'I...need to do better.' she thought as she watched Izuku, 'I don't want anyone to act like that. I want to be a hero that makes sure everyone smiles.' She then glanced down at her hands, only to see a small bit of what looked like pink lightning appeared on it, making her shove her hands into her pant pockets, her eyes darting around to make sure no one saw that.

And then there was Inko, who just stared at her son sitting there, making her sigh. 'Even now, he's still like this.' Himiko saw it was well before turning to Inko, soon seeing a giant frown on Inko's face as the mother thought, 'Its all my fault. I should have paid more attention to him. Instead, I ignored it for over a decade and now he thinks he can't do anything, even with all that power that spider gave him, all because of that school and that bully. I'm such a horrible mother.' She shook her head at this, 'No. I told him I'd be there for him. I...I need to be stronger. For him.'

Himiko looked back at Izuku, watching him look stunned at all the praise. She just blinked at the sight, now remembering when Izuku revealed himself to her. He had shown her his secret, only to tell her that he was just like her, one rejected by others, even when he got something that would no longer let him be rejected. And now, he was acting just like her, shocked at how others could just...accept him. The whole sight was almost humbling in a way, showing just how much others had done to them.

The sight confirmed it for her. She liked FEAST, and she liked being here. Being around those rejected by society, and yet still trying to do good. 'I want that too. To be able to do good like Izuku.' she thought, 'I wonder...what I could do to get that?'

But as she watched the scene, Gloria looked down at her phone, only to speak up a second later, "Alright everyone, enough games. I just got a text that the main supplies are just a few blocks away. Let's get moving!"

"Yes ma'am!" The group of teens replied, Himiko feeling a hand pat her shoulder. She turned to see Inko, the woman's frown gone as she smiled at the girl.

"Come on. You can help me in the kitchen."

The soup kitchen soon went into full swing. The boys went out of the building and helped bring the supplies in as Inko directed the girls in the kitchen with the exception of Uraraka, who decided to help the boys out thanks to her quirk. As such, they got things moving quickly, soon fixing up the whole area for the kitchen and amassing a small crowd to feed. It wasn't long till a few hours passed, soon reaching lunchtime for the group.

Seeing the time pass, they soon sat down at a table and began to eat. And as they did this, Izuku began to ask them about UA. However, he found that the responses were mixed. Iida would declare that it was a great institution that defied expectations, as everyday was different. Kirishima and Sero said they love the physical classes, though also said that the regular education classes were way too much. Ashido and Hagakure also agreed with them, saying it was too much at times.

However, it was different from Tsuyu and Uraraka. The frog girl bluntly admitted that the classes weren't what she expected, but also questioned why their teacher seemed to disagree with the school at times, Uraraka agreeing. As such, Izuku asked, "What do you mean by your teacher not liking classes?"

"Its not really like that..." Tsuyu replied, "Its more on that Aizawa-sensei seems to think the only thing that matters is the theoretical part. That and he loves to lie to us."

"Lie?" Izuku responded.

"Your teacher lies to you?" Inko added, the woman having only been half paying attention to the conversation.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Iida chimed in as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "He likes to do what he calls 'logical ruses'."

"Which are basically just lies." Tsuyu bluntly added, "Like, two days ago he had us do a rescue exercise where he had to save ten civilians, only to fail us because the rescue mission actually had fifteen civilians, which he didn't tell us about. He said it was a case of 'there could always be more people in need of help' and then made us do the exercise again, only to fail us again because we weren't fast enough, saying 'we should always be faster because disasters aren't fair'."

Izuku, Inko and Himiko flinched at this, only for Uraraka to add, "And don't forget the first day. He forced us to do a quirk test and expelled the student that came in last just to motivate use to do our best."

"Really?! Your teacher just...got rid of a student on day one?!" Inko gasped.

"Yeah." Uraraka nodded, "I mean, I didn't exactly think the best of the guy, but..." She turned to the others at this, "I don't know. I thought it was overkill."

"No kidding." Kirishima added, "It was not manly."

"Aizawa-sensei acted like he enjoyed doing that though." Tsuyu chimed.

"Oh my...this Aizawa sounds awful." Inko commented.

"Yeah. I mean, if you're gonna do something like that to motivate you, wouldn't it better to just like...offer a reward or something?" Izuku adding, the student group all frowning at this. They weren't sure if he was right, only for Izuku to continue, "Can't believe Eraserhead is like that."

Almost all the students glanced back at him, "Who?" Ashido asked while tilting her head.

"Eraserhead." Izuku repeated before glancing over at Ochako, "Uraraka told me about him before. Your teacher is Eraserhead, an underground hero."

"Really?! Aizawa-sensei is a hero?!" Hagakure gasped.

"You didn't know?" Izuku asked, only to see multiple shaking of heads.

"Not at all." Iida replied while chopping the air. "To be honest, I thought our teacher was the only UA faculty that wasn't a hero. I never suspected he was underground."

"Though it does make sense." Sero added while crossing his arms, "I mean, he does seem to be the type to be an underground hero."

"Oh, he's famous in underground circles." Izuku responded, "Eraserhead is known for multiple arrests with his scarf weapon and quirk-cancelling eyes."

"That sounds like him." Uraraka commented, "Though I can't imagine him making others feel safe."

"Wait...quirk-cancelling eyes?" Himiko asked, her first time speaking up in the conversation.

Izuku nodded back, "Yeah! His quirk allows him to cancel others' quirks. That's why he's called Eraserhead."

Himiko blinked at him, "So...he can just cancel someone's quirk?" Izuku nodded again, only for Himiko to add, "Huh. Sounds like UA doesn't trust you with your quirks then." That made everyone turn to her, some wide-eyed as Himiko saw their reactions, "What? W-w-what did I say?"

"You just...um..." Uraraka tried to reply.

"You just said our school doesn't trust us." Tsuyu bluntly interrupted, only to put her finger to her chin again.

"Well...why would they have a teacher like that if they did trust you with your quirks?" Himiko continued as the students all shared a glance. "How does that help you be heroes if they can just cancel your quirks?" The group stared back at her, making the girl flinch. Before she knew it, she began tripping on her words as she said, "S-s-sorry. I um...I didn't mean to make you all mad."

They all stared at each other again, now seeing the frowns on their faces. Seeing this, Uraraka shook her head before smiling at Himiko, "We're not mad. We were just...surprised. At least, I think most of us were." Her smile widened as she added, "Please don't think we were mad."

"Yeah! We totally weren't!" Ashido chimed, "You just caught us off guard!"

"Oh...okay." Himiko replied, only to glance away, "Sorry. I'm uh...not the biggest fan of heroes." She flinched at her own words, her eyes now staring holes into the table. She could feel the judgmental stares, her ears ready to hear how she shouldn't think that-

"That's perfectly fine!" Iida exclaimed, making Himiko go wide-eyed before glancing up at the group. There she saw nothing but smiles as Iida continued, "I of all people know that not everyone is cut out for heroics, and that includes liking them."

"Yeah!" Kirishima nodded. "There were a ton of students at my old school that didn't care for heroes. I toally get ya."

Himiko blinked at them, shock now on her face. The sight made the students almost flinch, surprised that one little statement would affect her so much. Seeing this, Ashido spoke up, "Let's change subjects!" She pulled out her phone at this, "I've been asking around in our class, and we've decided to do a meet up at the Kiyashi Ward Mall tomorrow!"

She pointed at Izuku and Himiko, "Do you two wanna join?"

"The...mall?" Izuku barely replied.

"Yup!" Ashido giggled, "I've been setting it up because the class totally needs a break, but that doesn't mean it just has to be our class. You two wanna come hang out with us tomorrow?"

Izuku and Himiko shared a glance, only for Inko to chime in, "Sorry to say, but Himiko can't join you tomorrow."

"Huh? Why not?"

Himiko stared at Inko, only for realization to appear on her face. "Oh yeah. I gotta go down to the station tomorrow."

"Yes." Inko sighed, "Sorry to say, but me and her have to fill out a bunch of paperwork over her current living situation. I don't know how long it'll take, but we have to do it tomorrow. If it turns out quicker than we think, I might be able to get Himiko to you."

"That's fine." Ashido responded while waving a hand before turning to Izuku, "How about you?"

"I...um..." Izuku turned to his mother, only to see her nod. He did a slight gulp at this before looking back at Ashido, "Uh...sure. I...I would love to."

"Awesome!" Ashido cheered, the rest all shining smiles before they began to talk about other things. It wasn't long till they finished their lunch and began to clean up the soup kitchen. And as they did this, they continued to do small talk, Inko found she was so happy at the sight of Izuku and Himiko opening up to others their age.

Meanwhile...

The longest groan escaped Aizawa's mouth as he walked back to his apartment. He had decided hours ago that today was a wash. He had wasted hours of his life on nothing, just sitting inside a stupid homeless shelter and then sitting outside of the shelter because of a bunch of elders that decided he wasn't 'hero material'. Then, he saw his students do a bunch of charity, which was a heroic act, but it also irritated him that they were showing more initiative doing that than doing their schoolwork. But it was what the retired heroes said that made him extra angry.

'I'm not a hero...what a joke. Those old farts don't know what they talking about. I bet they spent one day as a hero and nothing else.' he thought as he got to the street just across from the apartment building, 'They're just like my class, a bunch of arrogant snots that think heroics is a game. Maybe I should just expel my class. They all deserve it since they all don't take heroics seriously.' He let out a growl as he pressed a button to walk across the street. 'Yeah. I should expel them. That would give me a break. Then I could finally get some sleep.'

As that thought went through his head, he continued to grumble as a new one entered his mind, 'Who am I kidding?! I'm stuck on this stupid case. Stupid Spider-Man. This is all his fault! I wish we could just catch him and throw him jail already...though knowing the rat, Nezu will want to do something else with him. That's gonna cause me a headache and a half.'

And as he crossed the street, he felt his pocket shake. A second later, he pulled out his phone and sighed at the caller's name. Tapping it, he put the device up to his ear, "Nezu."

"Hello Aizawa. Tell me, how has today been?"

"Awful. I want to quit the case."

There was a two second pause before Nezu replied, "That bad? But you never quit a case. What happened? Did you not find anything?"

"I didn't." Aizawa grumbled, "There's nothing. I wasted anentire dayon nothing. Again."

Nezu blinked at this, "I see. No names or anything?"

"No. No suspects at FEAST and Power Loader's device didn't work either. I didn't find anything."

"I see." Aizawa could hear him take a smoke, "Another dead end. A shame, but typical with this case." Another moment passed before Nezu added, "Still, I expect a full report over your endeavors today. Even if you found nothing, I can perhaps find something."

"I know. I'll get it to you tomorrow." Aizawa moaned as he got to his apartment's door and took out a key. "Is that everything?"

"Yes. Though I must ask, did you seriously not meet anyone that had the age or anything we're looking for? The probability is very high. I called in ahead to FEAST, and they told me they were doing an event today."

Aizawa turned the key, but didn't open the door as he thought about today. The face of a certain green haired teen entered his head, only to be reminded he was the reason he got kicked out of the building. The thought made him growl, "Well, I did meet one that could meet the description." he hissed, "But I determined it couldn't be him."

"Oh? What's his name?"

"It doesn't matter." Aizawa replied, "Trust me."

"Oh come now, Aizawa. You of all people know that I can use any information. At least tell me the name."

"I'm serious Nezu, its pointless. The kid has no potential." Aizawa opened the door at this, letting out a groan, "Also, I'm going to expel my entire class. I'm tired of waiting on them to figure out how unfair the world is to a hero."

There was a tiny bit of edge in Nezu's voice as he responded, "Aizawa..."

"Nezu, I'm done. I'm done with this case, I'm done with this class, and I'm-"

"Aizawa, if you don't give me anything, I will take away your expelling privileges."

"You can't do that." Aizawa slammed the door behind himself, "If you do that, I'll quit."

"Then I'll give your class to Present Mic and Midnight."

Aizawa's eyes twitched at this, "You..." He grit his teeth, "Those two morons will get those kids killed!"

"Aizawa...you're not expelling your class because this case is going bad. You're also not off the case until you give me your report. Now, give me something, or else."

The underground hero let out a long sigh, "His name is Izuku Midoriya."

Chapter 40: The Webs and the Rampage

Chapter Text

The sound of police van back doors slamming rang out as a pair of officers shut them. One of two began to lock the doors as the other spun and saluted a hero, "Thank you Death Arms. We couldn't have caught these guys without you."

"Eh, its no problem." Death Arms replied as he walked up and stared into the tiny police van window, sneering as he saw the man inside. It was a thug with a thick blocky chin, brownish-reddish hair with a bulky frame. But that wasn't his most defining feature, but rather his oval-like ears and a big black pointed horn coming right off his nose. He had his eyes closed, slumped down with cuffs locking his hands.

"Don't look like much now, does he?" the hero commented as he looked away from the window, the other officers glancing inside.

"True. But its hard to tell with villains these days. We already shook him down and confirmed he's got nothing on him, so we should be good." One of the officers replied as the other walked around the van. "Thanks again Death Arms."

The hero nodded back, "Just be careful with him. The guy put up quite a good fist fight, but he also said he couldn't go all out or something like that."

"We'll be fine." The officer responded as he waved the hero off, Death Arms running down the street a second later. And as the cop walked to the passenger seat for the van, the thug inside the van opened his eyes. He let out a low growl before leaning down, the sound of his cuffs shaking as he reached for his shoes. A hiss left his mouth as the cuffs pulled him back a bit, as they were chained to the side of the van, but his fingers reached the edge of the shoe before pulling something out. It was a small vial with a plunger, along with a thin metal needle that he put on the end.

A grin appeared on his face as he held the needle up to his shoulder, stuck the needle in and pushed the plunger down.

A small bit of beef dangled in Izuku's mouth as he stared at his computer's monitor. His eyes glazed over several pictures, all of them being the maps of Li's secret room. He had just gone over the one that had shown the district where Li thought Tombstone was, which according to what Izuku had painfully found out, Li was mostly on the money in terms of location. The piece of food was chomped between teeth at this, soon going down his throat as he closed the pictures.

Izuku leaned back in his chair at this while taking out a notebook, staring at a page over what he had on Kingpin...which was barely anything. Just the name and the locations he had found in Li's papers. 'Kingpin...whoever or whatever this is, Mister Li was after it. But there's nothing else.' He put the notebook on the desk and put his hands behind his head, 'Tombstone didn't give me anything either, though I wasn't expecting anything from that than just a fight.'

He glanced back at the notebook before staring at the monitor, putting his hand on the mouse as he clicked a few times. A web browser opened up, showing an account that was subscribed to a certain individual: Gentle Criminal. Izuku had saw that the villain had recently uploaded two new videos, which he had watched, but found nothing from them. Just the usual antics from the villain.

The teen took his notebook in his hands again, switching to the pages over Gentle Criminal. He bit his lip at this before reaching for a plate of food, taking another piece of beef in some chopsticks before putting it in his mouth. 'Maybe I should go for Gentle Criminal next. I mean, I still have nothing on Kingpin, and I have no idea where to start! I do have a bunch of locations thanks to Mister Li's notes, but...'

Izuku gulped down the bit of food, 'I still feel like I'm missing something.' He glanced back at the monitor and began watching a Gentle Criminal video, seeing the guy make a performance over a supermarket selling expired food. 'Its so weird. These videos make him seem so harmless.' he thought as he took a sip of water, 'But then the heroes come and he beats them up, so he has to be dangerous.'

He leaned back in his chair again, "And I don't know where he is either." he thought aloud before reaching over and grabbing his Spider-Man mask, staring at it for a second, "Maybe I should just do a small patrol today. I'll go hunting tomorrow."

His eyes turned to the clock on the monitor, "After all, I got another hour or so before the meeting at the mall." He grinned at this before putting the mask over his head, "Good thing I can get there lickety-split as Spider-Man!"

Three completely smoked cigarettes sat in an ashtray as the sound of keyboard keys rang out. Two white paws continued to stroke over a keyboard as the quirked stoat known as Nezu stared at a computer screen with a grin on his face. On the viewing panel was a long document, one he had been working on for quite a while. It was a paper that was part of a folder of files, all on his investigation of Spider-Man.

He considered it to be one of his favorite cases now, as it was so rare to have something elude him for so long. But despite this, he was writing the last bits of this document before switching to a new one. This new paper was over his first full suspect, something he had never found on this case till now: Izuku Midoriya.

When Aizawa mentioned the name, the stoat didn't really know anything about him. The fact he was quirkless meant that Aizawa probably thought he wasn't worth looking into. The man only sees talent, and those who don't have it are just trash to be expelled in his eyes. It was a nasty habit Nezu didn't like from the man, but Aizawa did have the qualifications.

However, it was this Izuku Midoriya that was his main focus now. And what the stoat had looked up had not disappointed him. In fact, they were everything he was looking for in terms of the profile he had created. Nezu's profile stated the vigilante had to be someone who both had a passion for heroics, but also believed the world was against them. A quirkless is perfect for this kind of mentality, but that wasn't just it. For in that moment, Nezu pulled up a video on his screen: The UA support exam.

The stoat watched the entire support exam, something he hadn't done in a few years. In terms of the UA exams, heroics was what Nezu concentrated on. He had spent days watching this year's heroic exams, trying to find what had gone wrong, seeing if he could find Spider-Man in the hundreds of applicants. That very fact made the stoat even more excited, as most cases never have him waste so much time. That meant this was a true puzzle if it could trick him for so long.

As for the support exams, he had always trusted Power Loader with it, as the support division was essentially run by the support hero, and the man had the perfect eye for talent and hard work. Nezu would know when Power Loader had a genius or prodigy, as they would make a big splash, but it was something he never really had much to do with unless it concerned increasing security. Otherwise, Power Loader ran everything for the support exam with simple yet well-defined strength.

That changed here, as the stoat watched the exam with a dedicated eye. He kept the video at the slowest speed, trying to see every frame he could as he watched Izuku work. And it was here that he could see why Power Loader rejected him. Midoriya seemed distracted, distraught and unable to concentrate. To the untrained eye, it would look like it was someone who wasn't taking it seriously, but Nezu knew better. Something was wrong with the teen, something that even though he could read the teen's face, it wasn't enough to explain what was happening.

Instead, he continued to watch as Izuku did the exam, fumbling several times as he seemed to be creating some tiny device. He had seen on the teen's profile that he had put down he specialized in small gadgets, which would run with the spider gadget Nezu had given to Power Loader. His financial situation also fit, something that made Nezu even more excited. After all, someone in that kind of situation still wants to be a hero, even without the pay? Truly something unique.

And then it happened. The moment Nezu had watched before, but this time he slowed it down even more. The camera angles he had weren't perfect, but the stoat zoomed in the screen and saw it. A tiny spark, one that appeared on Izuku's arm and slowly went up to his hand. The expression on the teen's face showed he had no idea it was happening, but that was even more evidence as the spark went all the way up...and zapped the poor boy.

Nezu paused the video at that moment and pulled up a few more images, these showing Spider-Man at a bank and using his electric powers there. Another showed him using it at the gang war that happened during the sports festival. A third showed him zap the bank robber that had created a giant snake illusion. All were the same as the one at the UA support exam. The sparks, the electricity, the flow...the lightning. It all fit.

The stoat pulled up another file at this, a list of suspects based purely on electric quirks. Then another list, this one on mutant quirks, specifically over bugs. There was also an invisibility quirk list. He had gone through these several times, but found nothing. And now he knew why. He knew why this puzzle piece illuded him so long. Izuku Midoriya was not on any of the lists. He was quirkless.

"Seventy-three, point four-five-seven percent." Nezu commented to himself, "That's how sure I am about you. After all, I don't know how you got a quirk...but its obvious now that you're my prime suspect. Too many pieces fit if we consider you." He switched back to the support exam video, "And if you really are him, then you must have got your quirk the day of the exam."

A giant grin formed on the stoat's face, "But even if my calculations aren't one hundred percent...I know its you. You have to be him." He pulled out a fourth cigarette and lit it, "I want you, Izuku Midoriya."

Izuku fired a webline as he leapt off a rooftop, a smile under his mask before taking a long arced webswing. And as he let go of the webbing at the end of the arc, he did a small flip as he thought, 'Ahhh...I missed this.' He fired another webline and swung down a block, 'Feels like its been forever since I went webswinging. Then again, last time I did it, I almost died to Tombstone.'

That thought made him mentally sigh, his mind going over the past few days. The fight with Li, only to encounter Himiko and then Tombstone. 'Its one thing after another. Gran Torino was right, its a rabbit hole.' He took a long deep breath at that, swinging down another block at the same time, 'But...I don't think I regret it. I think I'm doing good.' He took a right turn at this, 'At least, I hope I'm doing some good.'

But as he took this turn, a voice rang out from his phone.

"This is Musutafu Police. We have an escaped prisoner on the loose. Last sighting is Abafar Street. Any hero, please respond."

"Abafar? That's just a street-"

BOOM!

Izuku went wide-eyed at the sound, making he turn to see a car suddenly fly across a crossing. "What the-"

"RAAAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!!!" roared a voice, making Izuku glance down to see a man with a large gray rhino head and a full gray body. He was wearing a torn-up black biker jacket, along with very wide blue jeans. His face showed a look of pure rage, eyes bloodshot as he rammed headfirst into another car, lifting it with just his horn before flinging it skyward.

"Holy cow!" Izuku yelped as he swung over and began firing a stream of webs as the car stopped ascending before falling straight down. The vehicle headed downward bumper first, the riders inside screaming until the car slammed into a bundle of webs, stopping it just inches away from the street.

"Whew!" Izuku sighed as he fired some more webs, making sure the car didn't bounce out of the web. And as he did this, he glanced back to see the rhino man now running the other way. The teen landed by the webbed-up car next, the riders inside all turning to him with fear all over their faces. Izuku felt his mouth fumble for a second before saying, "Hey there. I uh...sorry about your car, but its the only way I could save you." He glanced back at the rhino man, who was still running down the street. "Er...I better chase after that guy." He gave the car one last glance, "Just sit tight there, okay?"

Firing a webline, he slingshotted himself away, flipping midair before firing himself two more weblines to the side of the rampaging villain. A yank later, he thrusted himself downward, the teen soon landing on the thug's back. But as he landed, he saw that the villain didn't even notice him landing on his back. Blinking at this, electricity flowed through his hands, "Guess I'll just try this."

ZAP!

Thrusting his hands into the villain's back, he saw the man flinch for a second as he kept running. "Yow! What was that?!" the man growled as he glanced back, as if he just now noticed the teen. Izuku almost flinched at the glare the thug gave, "Who are you?!" he hissed, Izuku blinking under his mask.

"Uh...hi. I'm Spider-Man. How ya doing?" Izuku replied, only to mentally facepalm. 'You idiot! Don't play nice with a rampaging villain!' He shook his head for a second before saying, "Listen here, um...you...er...big guy. Could you stop rampaging?!"

"No! The Rhino never stops!"

"The Rhino?" Izuku responded, only for his spider sense to scream at him. Glancing up, he saw that the villain he was riding about to slam into a parked semi-truck. "Uh-oh!"

Rhino then leaned forwarded as he continued to charge, soon slamming into the side of the semi. And with one motion, a single flick of his horn, the villain lifted the whole thing with his horn and flung it over his head. Izuku watched with wide eyes as he saw the truck spin in mid-air, only for a scream to ring out, making him see the truck was about to land on a couple walking on the sidewalk.

"Hang on!" Izuku yelped as he leapt off the villain and pointed his wrists, webbing flying out a split second later. He quickly motioned his arms left and right, spraying the webbing out as it hit the buildings around the couple, the truck slamming into the fluid a second later. And as it hit, the sounds of webbing snapping started to happen, the couple shrinking back as they saw the truck start to closer to hitting them. But as it was about to touch the two, the webbing held. The semi stopped in mid-air, now suspended under a giant web.

"Oh thank goodness." Izuku gasped as he saw that the couple didn't get hit. "You two okay?" The duo slowly turned to him and did a very slow nod. "Great! Um...you might wanna get out of here."

They did another slow nod before spinning around and running away, Izuku staring at them. But as he did this, another scream rang out, making the teen glance back to see that the Rhino had just ran through an alleyway, only to smack another car flying. The sight made Izuku fire two weblines, the teen pulling on them a second later. "Rhino! Come back here!" Izuku roared as he slingshotted himself at the hulking man. Hearing this, the villain glanced back, only to see the vigilante slam into him his stomach with two electricity filled fists.

ZAP!

"YAUGH!" Rhino yelped as Izuku slammed into him, the villain now knocked off his feet. The shattering of glass followed this as Rhino's back went into a window, Izuku's palms pushing against the villain's chest before leaping off the man. "Urgh!"

Izuku spun in the air at this, quickly landing a few feet away from the villain. The teen glanced around while letting out a long breath, now seeing he was in a store filled with sports equipment. There were only a few people inside, a woman already screaming as Izuku yelled, "Everyone run! Get out of here!"

And as he said that, a low growl made him glance back at the villain, Rhino hissing as he stood up, "You...why do you interfere?!"

"Seriously?!" Izuku snapped back, "You just destroyed like, three blocks! Why wouldn't I try to stop you?!"

"You...you pauk!" Rhino growled.

"What?" Izuku replied, only to flinch as the villain to slam both his fist into the floor, shaking the building they were in before charging again. "Eep!" the teen yelped as the thug threw a punch, Izuku quickly ducking as the fist hit a rack of weights instead, sending them flying across the store. Another jab came next, Izuku backpedaling as he dodged both blows.

'Gotta be careful.' he thought as he evaded another punch before leaping back, "So mister Rhino, why are you going on a rampage? Don't you have a hobby or-"

"Shut up pauk!" the villain roared as turned to the leaping vigilante, only to see Izuku slam a Venom Punch right into his face. "Blaugh!" he spat as the blow made him stumble back. This was followed by two more Venom Punches, each jab making the villain backpedal.

And as a fourth punch came, Rhino let out a screech before doing a wide swing of his left arm. "AUGH!" Izuku yelped as the arm slammed into his face, flinging him across the store. His back smacked the store's wall, leaving a small indent as the teen flopped to the floor a second later. "Ow...my back." he whispered into the carpet, only to hear the sound of large footsteps.

"You will pay for that, pauk." Rhino hissed as he walked up to the still laying teen, "I will crush your head into nothing."

Izuku's head tilted up at this, the teen trying to move his body, 'Ow ow ow! This guy...he's stronger than Tombstone!' He then felt a small crick in his back, 'And that really hurt...but I think I hurt him earlier.' That thought made Izuku almost smirk under the mask, 'And if I can hurt him, I can beat him!'

As these thoughts went through the teen's head, Rhino finished his small walk up to teen. He shined a big grin as he raised one of his feet right over Izuku's head, "Any last words, pauk?"

The teen stared up at him, only to notice what was to the right of the towering villain, "Just one word: Weight."

"Wait? I will not wait in crushing you."

"Not wait. Weight." Izuku quipped as he raised his arm and fired a line of webbing. And with a single sharp tug, a whole rack of weights slammed into the villain.

"Raugh!" Rhino yelped as a ton of dumbbells slammed into his side, pushing him back. "You little-"

And as he started to swear in another language, Izuku fired another webline into the ceiling and pulled, yanking himself upward. He spun in the air before landing on all fours on the ceiling just as Rhino let out a roar while pushing the dumbbells off himself.

"You little pauk! I'll crush you!"

"No thanks." Izuku replied as he fired another bit of webbing, this one hitting Rhino's face.

"Yaugh! Get it off!" He yelped as he put both his hands to his face and pulled at the webs.

As this happened, Izuku stared at the villain as his mind went into overdrive, 'Think Izuku, think! You can't just keep punching this guy if he can do blows like that. It felt like I was hit by a truck when he hit me. If that's the case, you have to either trap him, which I don't think my webbing can do that, or...' His eyes blinked as he stared at the villain's horn, 'Wait...could that work.' He pointed his wrist at the horn, only to hear a 'psst'. 'Or not.'

"Rah!" Rhino roared as he ripped off the last bit of webbing, "That's it! I'm going to destroy you!" Hearing this, the teen turned invisible, the villain now glancing around, "Where did you go?! Don't tell me you ran like little coward!"

'Not quite.' Izuku thought as he invisibly switched webbing cartridges, 'Here we go. I hope this works.' He glanced back down at the villain, 'Wait, I need to think of a quip. Um...got it!'

His invisibility turning off, Izuku took a deep breath before yelling, "Yo! Needlehead!" The villain glanced up at this, now seeing the vigilante snap his fingers, "No, that's not a good insult. Maybe Needlenose?"

"You!" Rhino roared, only to see the vigilante land in front of him. He quickly thrusted a punch, Izuku ducking under it before slamming a Venom Punch into the villain's stomach. The blow made a bit of spit come out of Rhino's mouth, only for Izuku's spider sense to ring out. Before he could react, Rhino's other fist slammed into the vigilante, throwing him across the room.

"Augh!" Izuku yelped as his back hit a concrete wall, slight cracks appearing behind him. "Yow!" He slumped down at this, eyes closed as he muttered out, "Urgh..."

"I'll kill you!" Rhino screeched as he charged.

Danger!

Izuku's eyes shot open, the teen trying to move his legs as he saw the charging villain. 'Gotta move!' He then felt a crick in his back, making him wince, 'Ow! My back! I can't-'

"RAAAAAH!" Rhino roared as he got close, making Izuku gasp before pointing his wrists to the ceiling. A webline came out a second later before pulling, yanking himself away just as the villain smashed through the wall behind Izuku. He flipped in the air at this, only to feel another crick, making him yelp in pain before flopping to the floor face first.

"Ow." he muttered as he felt his mask smush against the carpet. And as the sound of another wall being smashed through rang out, Izuku reached his arm around his back and pushed it in, a crick ringing out before grunting, "OW!"

He put his hands on the floor next, slowly pushing himself up. Izuku felt his spider sense begin to tingle, this one a bit weaker than before, but enough to make him scramble to his feet. And as he did this, he spun around to see that the Rhino had gone through both a wall of the sports store and an entire another building before turning around. He let out a mighty roar before charging again, Izuku taking a deep breath as he stared at villain.

"Okay...I'm in the right position now." He closed one eye before aiming his wrist, the villain already running through the other building, 'Hope this works.'

Thwip!

A single webline struck the Rhino's horn, the villain's eyes glancing up at it for a second as he continued to charge. And before he could say anything, he looked back at Izuku, only to see the teen holding onto the webbing as he charged back at the villain...and quickly slid under the Rhino's legs. "Wha-" he stuttered out as his target got right behind him.

"Hi-ya!" Izuku yelled as he spun around while standing back up and pulling on the webline with all his spider strength. The webbing tugged the Rhino's horn downward, making the villain go face first into the floor.

"RAUGH!" the villain screamed as his horn hit the ground, only to stumble before beginning to roll across the floor and out the window the two had broken when coming into the store. The villain came to a stop after a third roll, his body now sprawled out on the sidewalk and road. And as he began to get up, he felt something tug on his arms and legs. "Huh?"

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Globs of webbing struck every bit of Rhino's body, sticking him to the ground as Izuku kept flicking his wrists. Feeling the webs push him down, the villain let out a hiss as he began to push himself up. The webbing over him instantly started to snap, threads breaking as Izuku went wide-eyed at the sight.

"You will not stop me, pauk." Rhino growled as he was about to get onto his knees, "I will get free and crush you!" Hearing this, Izuku stopped his webbing assault before firing two weblines, quickly pulling and slingshotting himself over the villain. Spinning in mid-air, he landed in front of Rhino as the villain got to his knees. Seeing this, Rhino hissed, "So, ready to fight me?!"

"Nope." Izuku replied as he pointed his wrists at Rhino's knees, webbing covering them a split-second later. Feeling the webbing tug him down, Rhino saw the teen pull back a fist as electricity covered both his hands. "Just this."

POW!

The Venom Punch slammed into Rhino's face, only for a second one to hit him in succession. Rhino felt the blows knock his face around, the electricity jolting through his body as he kept trying to stand up. And as the electricity wore off Izuku's fists, the teen kept punching the villain in the face. Punch after jab after blow after fist smacked Rhino's head, the teen continuing his assault. Izuku felt his spider sense just slightly tingle as he kept punching, telling him that he had to keep going until the villain was knocked out.

And as the fifteenth punch hit the villain, Rhino let out a roar as he escaped the webbing. He quickly thrusted a punch next, but Izuku's spider sense was faster. The teen ducked under the punch before thrusting his own into Rhino's gut. Every last bit of spider strength went into the blow, making the villain lurch as it made the villain slightly went above the ground for a second.

"Urk!" Rhino sputtered as he felt the blow, his eyes going wide. He raised his right fist at this, about to thrust a punch...only to slump over, Izuku backpedaling as the villain's face hit the concrete. A small moan escaped his mouth at this, only for Izuku to spray a bunch of webbing all over the villain.

Several huffs came out of the vigilante next, Izuku slightly stumbling as he put a hand to his chest...and felt his back crick again. "Ow." He muttered, his knees shaking as he almost fell over as well.

'That...was intense.' he thought as he felt another crick in his back. 'Ow...but I did it. I beat him. I...I actually beat a villain.' A small smile began to form on his face, "I can...I can still do it."

He then felt his hoodie shake, making him put his hand in one of the pockets and pull out his phone. The teen tapped the screen, only to see a new text notification. Opening it, he saw a single text from Ochako Uraraka.

Uraraka Ochako:Hey! We're about to the mall. Are you here yet?

"Oh no!" he yelped as he aimed his wrists upward, only to feel another crick. "Yow!" He slumped over for a second before reaching his arm back, rubbing his spine, "Urgh...this is gonna be hard."

A few minutes later...

Izuku's back was screaming at him as he landed on a building a street over from the mall. He had known pain all his life, but Izuku had to admit, even the beatings Katsuki would give him didn't involve this much backpain. Shows what happens when most pain you've felt all your life is purely on the front side of your body. However, that was beside the point as the teen quickly changed into his civilian clothes, having got used to quick changing at this point. He was surprised at how easy it was after a few times, Izuku now invisibly hopping off the building and slowly descending to ground level.

'Gotta say, I think the invisible part of the powers the spider gave me is probably my favorite.' he remarked in his head as he walked out of an alleyway and onto the main crossing, quickly racing over the street and to the entrance of the mall. The teen pulled out his phone next, glancing down to see he was only a few minutes late. 'Hope they won't mind.'

Tapping the phone, he began to text Uraraka.

Midoriya Izuku:Hey, I'm at the mall. Sorry I'm late.

He stared at the phone as he walked into the mall's entrance, glancing back up to make sure he didn't run into anybody before feeling a vibration coming from the phone.

Uraraka Ochako:No prob! We just got here ourselves. We're at the food court!

Midoriya Izuku:Got it. I'll be right over.

'After I find the map to this place.' Izuku thought as he began to walk past the first few stores. It was here that the teen now remembered a certain depressing fact. He hadn't been to the mall in years. Heck, he wasn't sure when he last did it. He didn't have any friends to hang out with to go to the mall, and his mom was always either busy with her work or just had them go to simple restaurants or the supermarket. There wasn't really time to do anything else in the Midoriya household.

And as he found a map and headed for the food court, more thoughts began to run through his head. 'Okay Izuku, you're about to hang out with a bunch of people your age...that want to be your friend. You still don't know how that is happening, but you need to get your act together. No stuttering, no making a Deku of yourself. This isn't Aldera. This isn't Aldera. This isn't-' As he repeated those words in his head, he started to take quickened breaths, his teeth slightly chattering next before he came to a stop.

'Don't. Calm...down.' he mentally told himself before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. And as he exhaled, he reopened his eyes to see the food court in the distance, along with a group on the edge of the area. Several familiar faces were there, mainly Uraraka, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Ashido, Hagakure (Who though he couldn't see, it was obvious due to the floating clothes) along with three new ones.

One was a girl with purple hair in punkish attire, who's defining feature were two long earlobes that had what looked like sound jacks at the ends of them. 'Oh cool. Wonder what those do.' he thought as he stared at her quirk, 'Perhaps she can use them as sound weapons? Maybe it allows her to perceive sound and-' He shook his head at this, 'No. Calm down Izuku. No analyzing for now.'

His eyes then went to next two, both who were boys. One had yellow hair with a black zigzag streak in it and was wearing a carefree face. The other was a silver-haired boy talking to Kirishima, the two looking like they were hyping each other up as Ashido and the long earlobe girl were rolling their eyes at the sight. Tsuyu and Uraraka were off to the side, just smiling at the sight before Uraraka turned to see Izuku, quickly waving at him.

"Hey Midoriya! Over here!" She exclaimed, Izuku feeling a smile appear on his face as he walked up to them. Hearing this, the three he didn't recognize turned to Izuku.

The sight made him slightly flinch, the teen thinking, 'Don't stutter. Don't stutter. You're just meeting someone new.' Taking a mental deep breath, he stopped in front of Ochako, "Hey Uraraka, sorry I'm late. I uh...well, the path I took ended up in a villain attack."

"Oh no!" Uraraka gasped, putting a hand up to her mouth. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Izuku replied.

"Who's this?" another voice asked, the group turning to a purple haired girl.

"Oh! Uh...h-hello. My name is Izuku Midoriya." the teen did a small bow, "Nice to meet you."

"Pfft! Seriously?" the girl chuckled, making Izuku slightly flinch as he glanced back up from the bow, "Dude, no need to be so formal." She pointed to herself, "Nice to meet ya. Name's Jiro Kyoka." Her elongated earlobes pointed to the yellow-haired teen beside her, "This moron here is Denki."

"Hiya!" Denki responded with a wave before turning to glare at Jiro, "Hey! Don't call me a moron!"

"I call 'em like I see 'em." Jiro giggled, the other teen glaring at her.

Ashido then leaned over and whispered to Izuku, "They're always like that. Don't think too much about it."

"Oh...okay." Izuku replied before turning to Ochako, "So um, what are we doing?"

"Well, we were just about to eat, then we can go shopping." Uraraka responded before gesturing to a table.

A few minutes later, the teens had all got some food and were sitting down. Izuku had found out that the silver haired kid was named Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, which despite being a tongue twister for the teen, Izuku found him to be just like Kirishima, though a bit more competitive. Despite this, Izuku noticed there was two missing students and asked, "Where are Iida and Sero?"

"Oh, Iida said he was meeting his older brother and Sero said he had to meet his parents today for something." Ashido chimed in before crossing her arms and pouting, "And after I invited them!"

"Hey, its fine." Kirishima patted her shoulder, "I mean, we got to bring bro here and Midoriya came! Its cool that others can't come sometimes."

"Yeah yeah..." Ashido grumbled.

Uraraka leaned over to Izuku and whispered, "Ashido is...kind of a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this."

"Ah." Izuku replied as he ate a piece of chicken.

As he did this, Tetsu turned to him with a smirk, "So, my bro Kirishima here said you beat him in an arm wrestle!" Izuku blinked at him, only for the other teen to lean over the table and slam his arm down as he yelled, "That means you're arm wrestling me next!"

"Uh..." Izuku tried to reply as the table shook from the teen's arm slammed down on it. He gulped down the food as the others glared a Tetsu.

"Bro...we're still eating." Kirishima chimed in as he pointed his chopsticks at him.

"But I wanna arm wrestle him now!" Tetsu countered as he glared at Kirishima, "You beat me in the festival, and I want to see just how powerful someone who can beat you is!" He then glanced back at Izuku, the teen flinching at the sight. "Let's do this!"

Izuku's eyes darted to the arm and then back to his food. A second of silence passed at this, the teen glancing at everyone at the table. Most were wearing frowns, looking like they were about to speak up and tell Tetsu no, only for Izuku to say, "Um...sure. But let me finish my food first."

"Yes!" Tetsu pumped the air at this.

"Midoriya." whispered Uraraka as she leaned over to him, "You didn't have to accept that."

"Its fine." Izuku shrugged.

"Okay..." she replied, seeing the tired frown on his face. She had noticed it ever since he first appeared in front of their group, Tsuyu and Kyouka also noticing it. Izuku looked like he had just run a marathon, and he seemed to be slightly flinching when turning his body. But as she watched him, she saw a small spark in his eyes despite how tired he looked, as if he could get his second wind any second now.

'I still don't know much about him.' she thought before thinking back to yesterday and her first meeting with Himiko, 'I know he wants to be a hero, and he's trying to do heroic things. He helped Toga and does charity...and he seems to be nice to everyone he meets. Though I can't imagine him not being nice.' Thinking this, she spoke up, "Say Midoriya, why do you want to be a hero? I know you said you want to be like All Might, but is there anything else to it?"

He turned to her at the question, taking a small drink before replying, "Well...I've just always wanted to be a hero." He looked down at his food, "I don't remember why I wanted to be one, I just...I always wanted to be a hero that could save everyone."

"Huh." Kyouka chimed in, "That's a big dream."

Izuku shrugged back, "I...I just wanted to become that kind of hero." He glanced away, "I know it sounds stupid, but-"

Uraraka shined a big grin at this, patting his shoulder at the same time, "Don't say that! That's a great dream!"

"Really?" Izuku asked as he looked back at her.

Uraraka nodded, "Absolutely!" She tilted her head at this, "Why do you ask?"

"Well..." He glanced back at his food, "Most people just laugh at me for wanting to do that. Or hurt me."

"Hurt you?!" Hagakure gasped, "Why would they do that?"

"Cuz I'm quirkless." Izuku replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "They think I'm looking down on them cuz I have that dream."

The group all blinked at each other at this, Denki chiming in, "That sounds dumb. Why would someone get mad over that?"

"You'd be surprised." Izuku muttered before turning to Uraraka, "Say, why did you want to be a hero?"

The girl flinched at the question, only to glance away, "Uh...well...its gonna sound selfish but..." She began to twiddle her fingers at this, "I want to be a hero for the money." Izuku went slightly wide-eyed at that. Of what he knew about Ochako Uraraka, that was not what he thought she would be a hero for. That is, till she added, "You see, my parents aren't well off and...well, I want to support them. I know its hard for a hero to make lots of money, but I think I can do it." She pumped her fists at this, "No, I will do it!"

"Oh." Izuku said, his mind straightening out at that. 'That makes more sense.' He gave her a small smile, "That's a wonderful reason to be a hero."

"Thanks!" she replied while showing a blush again. "I know its not noble...but its all I got."

Izuku then glanced back down at his food, taking the last piece of meat and putting it into his mouth, 'Guess everyone has a different reason.' He felt a shiver go down his spine as a memory flooded his head. It was one of Bakugo claiming he would be the greatest hero of them all due the quirk he was born with...and declaring Izuku would never amount to anything.

He mentally shook his head, 'No. None of them here are like him. Don't think about it.' He gulped down the last chunk of food before taking a drink. And he did this, he soon found he was glad that he had just finished his meal as Denki pulled out his phone and gasped.

"Whoa!"

"What?" Jiro asked him as she saw he was staring at his mobile device.

"This!" He spun the phone around to show everyone a certain video. It was a newsreel showing a spider-themed vigilante fighting what looked like a rhino man, though the footage looked like it came from someone's phone. The fight showed the two crash into a sports store, the vigilante seemingly struggling with the villain before successfully knocking him down and beating his face in. Izuku's eyes went wide at this, his whole body shaking as he stared the phone.

And as he shook there, the other teens' reactions were mixed. Jiro just raised an eyebrow, Kirishima and Tetsu both whistled and nodded, Mina let out a 'wow', while Ochako was also wide-eyed like Izuku. No one could tell Hagakure's expression, but she was obviously leaning over to stare at the phone. The only one that didn't show a reaction was Tsuyu, who just stared at the phone with a finger to her mouth.

"Whoa...now that's manly." Kirishima commented, Tetsu nodding in agreement.

"I'd love to be in that kind of brawl!" Tetsu cackled before slamming both his fists together, "I can't wait to have fights like that when I become a hero!"

"Seriously?" Jiro chimed in, her jacks pointing at the screen, "That looks like it would hurt. I rather knock out the villain with something less..."

"Violent?" Tsuyu added, the punk girl nodding in response.

"Yeah sure, but you gotta admit that fight was cool!" Denki continued before spinning the phone back to himself, "I have to say, I can see why Todoroki is a huge fan of this Spider-Man guy!"

"Oh please." Hagakure scoffed, her clothes moving as if to show her hands doing a dismissive wave, "You're totally wrong about him. There's no way that stoic guy likes Spider-Man."

"Naw, he totally does." Denki replied while doing his own dismissive wave, "He just...you know, doesn't talk about it."

"He doesn't talk about anything." Mina added with a roll of her eyes.

"True, kero." Tsuyu chimed in, only to turn to Ochako and Izuku. Ochako now looked like she was deep in thought, but the frog girl then saw that Izuku looked like a cross between confusion and fear. "Midoriya? You okay?"

"Huh?" He slightly hopped in his seat, the teens all turning to him at this reaction, making him flinch. Seeing this, his eyes darted around before doing a slight gulp. 'Uh-oh. Um...think Izuku, think! Don't just sit there like an idiot! Say something!'

And as another second passed, a bulb went off in the teen's head. 'Oh yeah. I did say that earlier.' His eyes darted away for a second before saying, "So uh...you know that villain attack I said that um...delayed me?" The group all raised an eyebrow except Tsuyu, only for a few to say 'oh'.

"Yeah..." Izuku scratched the back on his head, "I thankfully avoided it, but that rhino guy did a lot of damage."

Denki flinched at this, only to see Jiro glare at him. Gulping, he put his phone away and said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to...you know-"

"Its fine." Izuku interrupted while shaking his head. "Don't um...worry about it." He glanced down at his food for a second before a certain question entered his head, "So...are any of you a fan of Spider-Man?"

The heroes in training all glanced at each other, Kirishima answering first, "Well...I mean, I know I'm not supposed to cheer on a vigilante, but-"

"His fights are awesome!" Tetsu continued while pumping his fists, only to see a few of them staring at him, making him flinch, "Though uh...you know, its not cool he's a vigilante."

"I don't know." Hagakure chimed in, the group turning to her, "I mean, he does a bunch of good, right?"

"That might be true, kero." Tsuyu instantly countered, "But if he does nothing but good, why is he a vigilante and not a hero?"

"I...have no idea." Kirishima tried to reply, the rest either nodding or shrugging in agreement. The sight made Izuku blink, feeling himself almost shrink back in his seat. He knew that the opinions over vigilantes were never the best, but he knew he at least wanted to know their perspectives. It was here he turned to Ochako, only to see the girl was still lost in thought. The sight made him almost frown, seeing the one he knew was his friend didn't seem to have much of a reaction.

"What about you Midoriya?" Tsuyu asked, making the teen turn to her, "What do you think about Spider-Man?"

He blinked at her for a second, not noticing everyone including Ochako now turning to stare at him. Izuku put a finger to his chin in thought before replying, "Well...I mean, I'm not against him being a vigilante. I think as long as someone does good, they should continue to do good. Of what I've seen on Spider-Man, I think he mainly does good, so..." He finished with a shrug, only to now see everyone staring at him, "What?"

"I agree, kero." Tsuyu responded, Izuku glancing back at her, "I mean, I know he's breaking the law, but everyone should do good if they can."

"Yeah." Ochako added while nodding, "Even if the vigilantism is wrong, Spider-Man isn't doing anything bad, is he?" She then turned to Denki, knowing he was already an obvious fan of the vigilante, "At least, I don't think he's done anything bad."

"I haven't seen anything like that online." Denki replied while shrugging.

"Still, he is a vigilante. That's going against the law." Jiro continued with crossed arms, "I don't we should be complimenting something like that."

"We're not." Ochako chimed while shaking her head, "I just think he can't be all that bad."

Kirishima and Tetsu both shared a look before nodding, Kirishima then saying, "I think Spider-Man is manly, but I get why what he does is wrong. That don't mean I can't support someone doing good."

"Yeah!" Tetsu added.

Izuku blinked at the sight, now seeing all these teens his age debate over him. And the shocking part to him is that it wasn't all negative. There was support, something he...well, if he thought about it, the only real support he had up to this moment seemed to be from his mom and Himiko. And his mom barely approved of his vigilante actions. The sight made him want to smile, only for a conversation to suddenly shift as a certain pink-skinned girl spoke up.

"Tch. This sounds like something Aizawa-sensei would do a lecture about." Mina groaned as she chomped down a piece of beef.

"No kidding." Toru added while sticking out her invisible tongue, "He's been on a warpath the past few days."

"I can imagine Aizawa-sensei would not like vigilantes, kero." Tsuyu continued while putting a finger to her lips, "I suppose we haven't had that class yet."

The group all showed frowns at this except Tetsu and Izuku, the former not being part of Class 1-A while the other didn't know how to react. However, it seemed this change made the group want to change subjects, as Mina and Hagakure soon started going over some gossip as the rest finished their food. After this, Izuku saw that everyone else had basically got done eating, Tetsu now lounging back in his seat, having forgot about the arm wrestle already.

"So...what do you all want to do now?" Izuku asked, only to see a big grin appear on Ashido's face.

"We're at the mall, silly!" She raised a fist up high, "We go shopping!"

Izuku blinked at the sight, his reaction only being caught by a certain frog girl as she bluntly asked, "You've never gone shopping at the mall with friends before, have you Midoriya?"

The teen turned to her as they all stared at him again, "Is it that obvious?"

Tsuyu nodded while Hagakure and Ashido gasped, "This is your first time at a mall?!"

"Yeah. I mean, I know I've been to one a long time ago, but um...never really had a reason to go till now." Izuku replied.

Ashido quickly zipped around the table and grabbed his shoulder, "We're remedying this now!" She turned to Kyouka and Hagakure, "Let's show him a true mall experience, girls!"

"Heck no!" Denki chimed in as he suddenly appeared on Izuku's other side and also grabbed a shoulder, "We're showing him the mall arcade!" He turned to Kirishima and Tetsu, "Right guys?!"

And as both sides began to argue over what to do, Izuku just sat there and thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?!'

Izuku had to admit, he had never done anything quite like this. He had never gone window shopping, never been in an arcade, never really just had fun with teens his age...nothing like this. Though now that he thought about it, he hadn't really had any fun with anyone since he was...four. Right before Bakugo got his quirk. After that, it was all downhill. The only 'fun' he would get is beatings...or running away from those beatings.

But that depressing thought wasn't currently going through his head. Instead, he was in the arcade, playing a driving game against Denki while Ashido and Hagakure were playing a dancing game, the girls cheering them on. Kirishima and Tetsu were playing a game of air hockey as well, all the teens having fun. The girls had won at the start, having guided Izuku through half the mall, showing him every other store, only to find that he only wanted to go into a hero merch store. Promising to go to it last since it had stuff he wanted, (And they wanted to use him for manual labor for the stuff they bought) he was then brought to the arcade.

And he was having fun. He had never had this much fun since...well, since he got his quirk. In fact, he was sure that the only thing he found more fun was when he did that first leap off the building and did his first round of webswinging. That rush was something else, but this stint at the arcade was just as good. It helped that he was surrounded by such nice people, something he also couldn't remember being around since...forever.

As such, he was now finishing the game with Denki, the teen still in slight shock at how easy it was to just play along with someone. The very idea was baffling to him, and there was part of him saying that this didn't make any sense...but he also kinda didn't care. It was just too much fun. And as they got out of the seats for the driving game, Denki patted him on the back with the biggest grin as he commented, "Not bad! You're a natural!"

“I…I am?” Izuku replied, making Denki nod back.

“Yeah!” Denki exclaimed as Uraraka walked over with Tsuyu.

“You boys done?” They turned to her and nodded. “Alright, Kyouka wants us to go for a round of karaoke. You all in?”

Izuku and Denki shared a glance, only for Izuku to slowly say, “Uh…I’ve never done karaoke before.”

Uraraka frowned at this, Denki seeing this and almost flinching. The group of students had all quickly found out that Izuku had never really done anything in terms of what they considered to be ‘fun’. He had never played any kind of arcade, never really done a kind of shopping spree, never even really considered going to the mall. It was like he just didn’t know the idea of fun or hanging out with others. Tsuyu admitted she hadn’t done much of these things throughout her life, but even she had done it somewhat with some friends.

Sighing, Uraraka pointed at Izuku and said, “Midoriya, you’re going to karaoke.”

“But I don’t know how to sing.”

She shrugged at this, “I don’t know either and that’s fine.”

“Oh…okay.” Izuku barely replied. “Sorry.”

Seeing this, Uraraka’s frown increased, “Midoriya, you don’t need to apologize for not knowing how to sing.”

“But I don’t-”

“Stop apologizing!” Uraraka interrupted, making Izuku flinch. “I told you before, you don’t need to apologize to me if you did nothing wrong.”

Izuku felt himself slightly shrink back at that, remembering her saying that when he had asked her to be friends. He opened his mouth, about to say ‘sorry’ again, only to stop himself. ‘Calm down Izuku. Calm…down.’ He took a small deep breath, only to feel a hand pat his shoulder.

His eyes glanced up to see a smiling Uraraka, “See? No need to apologize.”

Izuku blinked at her before showing a small smile, “Thank you.”

And as he said this, two voices rang out to their side, “Yo! You all done?!” They turned to see Kirishima and Tetsu, the latter walking up to Izuku with a big grin, “The girls said you all want to do karaoke, right?”

“Uh…I think so?” Izuku replied before turning to Uraraka, “Didn’t you say Kyouka wanted to do it?”

“Yup.” Uraraka nodded, they all turned to the girl, only to see her still watching Hagakure and Ashido at a dancing machine. “Though…we might be waiting for a bit.”

“Nice!” Tetsu pumped his fists before pointing at Izuku, “You! We’re arm wrestling right now!”

“Huh?!” Izuku yelped.

“You heard me! Let’s go!” Tetsu cackled, “Show me how you beat my bro!”

Izuku blinked at him, only to glance down at his hands. ‘I beat Kirishima last time reflexively. Should I throw?’

And as he thought that, Kirishima walked up and patted his shoulder, making Izuku look up as the red head whispered, “Don’t think about throwing.” Izuku went wide-eyed at this, Kirishima smiling at him, “I know what you were thinking. Give him everything you got, okay?”

The teen stared at him for a second, remembering what his spider strength did last time. But despite this, he glanced over to Tetsu and saw the giant grin on his face. The sight made him think, ‘They’re so nice. I…I shouldn’t throw.’

The two then found a small table in the arcade just as Ashido and Hagakure finished their game. Kyouka wasn’t interested in watching the arm-wrestling match, but the rest were watching with bated breath as they saw Izuku and Tetsu grab each other. Placing their elbows on the table, Tetsu’s grin grew as Izuku just stared at their arms.

“Ready?” Tetsu chuckled.

Izuku took a deep breath before nodding, “Ready.”

Kirishima put his hand on top of theirs and said, “On three. One…two…three!”

He raised his hand at this, only for Tetsu to immediately push into Izuku’s arm. The teen felt the sudden thrust, making him flinch as his arm started to go down. And as this happened, Izuku stared down at his arm, only to glance back up at Tetsu. On the teen’s face was a look of pure fierceness, one filled with competition and happiness.

“That all you got?!” Tetsu cackled as he kept pushing Izuku down.

And as this happened, Izuku glanced down and saw his arm about to hit the table, only to look back up at Tetsu one more time. But as he did this, Izuku mind told him one thing: Show him what you got. And with that, Izuku’s hand tensed up into Tetsu’s, making him feel a sudden push. Glancing down, he saw Izuku’s arm begin to push him back.

“What the-“ He muttered out as Izuku’s arm slowly ascended, soon pushing them back to the starting point…and began to push Tetsu down. The student grit his teeth at this, closing his eyes for a second as he tried to push back, “Grrr…come on…”

But he couldn’t make Izuku budge. It was like trying to push a wall. As this happened, Tetsu reopened his eyes and saw his arm about to hit the table. And with a final push, he felt his arm hit the wood, making Tetsu flinch. “Yow!”

The group all gasped at this, Izuku flinching at the noise and instantly let go of Tetsu’s hand, “I’m sorry!”

“Whoa…” Kirishima commented before patting Tetsu’s shoulder, “You okay?”

Tetsu waved his hand for a second before flexing it. A second later, he let out a roar, making Izuku flinch before pointing at the teen, “You!” Izuku leaned back at this, only to see Tetsu growl at him, “You…” His growl then switched to a grin, “You’re awesome! How are you that strong?! Why aren't you going to a hero school like us?!”

Izuku just blinked at him, not responding. And as he just sat there, he saw the rest of the group all turn to him, even Kyouka, who had declared she didn’t want to watch. They started asking the same question, all asking how he could just do that with ease. His eyes darted around at this, his mind trying to think up a response, only to hear something else: Compliments.

They kept telling him how awesome he was, praising how strong he was. The words made him go wide-eyed, only for a big frown to form on his face. They had asked about his spider strength again and it felt like he cheated. Cheated because he had something he still didn't know what to do with or how to even explain.

And yet, this is the most fun he has had in years. He forgot what it was like to hang out with others. To hang out with someone. He didn't know that was even possible anymore. Today, despite the rhino villain encounter, had been so much fun. He had forgotten about this kind of fun, the time of just hanging out with others his age and just...being happy.

But that thought clashed with another. 'I...I've never felt so happy, but...but I've been lying to them. I'm such a horrible person, doing that. I-'

"Midoriya?" Uraraka asked, making Izuku's thoughts come to a stop, only for her add, "Are you okay? You're crying."

"Huh?" He replied, only to raise his hand up to his face, now feeling the liquid flowing out of his eyes. "Oh."

"You okay?" She asked again, a frown now on her face. And as this question left her mouth, the others heard it and turned to Izuku.

"I...I..." Izuku tried to respond, his lips quivering as he tried to form some words. And when none came, his eyes darted between all the teens there, only to close his eyes. 'Should I tell them? I...I can't tell them I'm Spider-Man, but...I'm so happy right now. I should tell them something. I don't want to lie to them.'

His eyes opened at this, biting his lip before he spoke up, "Um...I know this is uh...gonna be coming out of the blue, but I want to confess something."

"Confess?" Tsuyu replied while lifting a finger up to her mouth at this.

"Yeah." Izuku nodded. "I um...I know you all keep asking about my...strength." The shared a glance at this, only to see Izuku look down at his hands, flexing them. "And I've been kinda lying, and kinda not."

"Midoriya, you don't have to-" Uraraka tried to say.

"Truth is, I don't really understand it either." He interrupted as he looked back up at them. There, they saw his frown grow more as he added, "I was just kind of...like this the day before the UA hero exam." His mind went back to the spider, trying test after test on himself and the creature, only to reveal almost nothing. Just a bunch of powers and a spider husk. It wasn't a lie, he still didn't understand what the spider had done to him. He raised his arms at this, the muscles tensing up as he continued, "You asked why I'm not going to a hero school...well, my original plan was to go to the support exam, and then try the UA sports festival. I was uh...gonna try to become a support hero, like Power Loader."

Their eyes all went wide at this, even the usual calm Tsuyu slightly reacting. And as they did this, Uraraka slowly asked, "What...what happened?"

Izuku glanced away, "I suddenly had this strength and I thought I could go for the hero exam, but I was convinced otherwise to go for the support exam anyways. Then...an accident happened." His whole body shook as he said these next words, "The gadget I was working on...well, there was an accident with it that burned my hands. And after I was sent to Recovery Girl, I got back to the exam and found out I was out of time. And then the letter came a week later..."

"They rejected you, didn't they?" Tsuyu chimed in, Izuku slowly nodding back. "And the support exam doesn't link to general services, does it?" He nodded again.

"Yeah." He responded, "And uh...that's mostly it." He stared at the group, seeing nothing but frowns on their faces, 'Did I just make a mistake? Should I have not-' his thoughts stopped when he then saw a calm smile on Uraraka's face.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Midoriya." She said as she walked up and patted his shoulder, "We all are." She glanced back at the group, "Right?" They all nodded, only for Uraraka to look back at Izuku, "But, why did you tell this? You didn't have to."

"Cuz um..." He felt a lump go down his throat at this, feeling fully embarrassed as he said these next few words, "This is the most fun I've had in years. Today that is." The group all brightened up at this, only for Izuku to add, "And it just felt wrong not to tell you all after all this." He did a small bow, "Thank you all for today."

The others all smiled at this, Uraraka chuckling as she patted his shoulder again, "Oh, you don't have to thank us for this!" She shined a big grin at this, "We just wanted to hang out with you. We're all friends here after all."

That made Izuku go wide-eyed, the tears slightly stopping as he muttered out, "F-f-friends?! Y-y-you all are my...friends?"

His expression made them all grimace, some remembering Tsuyu's comment about Izuku when they first met him at FEAST. The others were just surprised at his reaction, and then there was Uraraka. She frowned at the sight, knowing what this meant. She wanted to ask him the question: 'Have you never had any friends before?' but his face already gave her that answer. And it wasn't just that. That face showed that Izuku always wanted friends, but could never get any.

As such, she decided to go simple and say, "Of course we are!" She patted him yet again, "I know the other time I said I'd be your friend, but-" She turned to the others with a smile, "We'd all like to be your friend, right?" The groups frowns turned into grins as they all nodded back, "See?"

Izuku felt more tears going down his face, only to do another nod, "Thank you. Thank you so much." The sight made them all slightly flinch, only to see Izuku begin to wipe his eyes, "So uh...karaoke?"

The group all chuckled at this, Tsuyu doing a little giggle as well. They soon walked into the back of the arcade, which had a few karaoke booths. Kyouka got them the best room they had, only to drag them all inside and then told Izuku to embarrass himself first. Izuku honestly didn't mind, but as he went down the list of available songs...he found he didn't know a single one. The group were slightly saddened at this, only for Ashido to convince Kyouka to make Izuku watch the rest sing so he can know some songs.

And as this happened and Izuku started to listen to the others sing, he could only think of one thing. 'This is great. I can't wait to hang out with them again.' He then glanced down at his hands, remembering earlier today before hearing all their encouraging words, 'I will do it. I...I will be a hero. As Izuku Midoriya...and as Spider-Man.'

He clenched his hands into fists, 'I'll figure it out. I will be a hero as Spider-Man.'

Meanwhile...

In store footage thanks to a certain fitness store's security camera was on loop as the hero commission president stared at the screen in her office. The sight made her eyes twitch as she watched the vigilante known as Spider-Man fight a villain that called itself 'The Rhino'. An unoriginal name to be sure, but most villains were like that. Her fingers tapped her office desk as she watched the vigilante do a quip or two while fighting the villain, only to see him drop a bunch of weights on the hulkish thug. And then the villain went through the store wall, cutting the footage she had for a bit before the fight went back into the store. The rest of the footage was from news helicopters and other cellphone video nonsense.

Frustrating. That was the one word in her mind. She had told Tsuragamae and Nezu that they needed to capture this vigilante asap and what had they done? Nothing.

In a normal scenario, that being if this was a hero making a mess, specifically one that had been created from UA, that would be perfect for the president. She would love any leverage she could get over Nezu. But that wasn't the situation before her. There was no connection between Spider-Man and UA. In fact, there was nothing on the vigilante. He just suddenly appeared and began to do the heroes' jobs. She had spent a ton of resources now, having her own employees go through every quirk database, every living person in Musutafu, every number that could be possibly be crunched...and found nothing.

There was no one that had Spider-Man's quirk, no family that could have it, or...anything. In this day and age of quirk registration, police databases and search quirks, they found nothing. Nothing.

The only link she could find is that Spider-Man appeared after the UA entrance exams. Now, that was something very normal. She'd seen reports of kids that failed to get into UA and decided they could just strike out by themselves, only to give up a week later due to them realizing how stupid they were to try and be a vigilante. That was just how things worked out. The weeds that UA cut were always just that, weeds.

Every now and then one of them showed up the heroes, being a true vigilante that caused some trouble, but it was nothing major. That's why they had the quirk database. They could find them, arrest them, throw them away, and that was it.

But not this time. No database. No clues. Just...came out of nowhere and beats a bunch of villains on live television before beating the hero killer. The hero killer! Someone that had put the whole commission in panic due to how much death the killer had done.

And then Spider-Man just came in and beat him! That thought made her so angry! A mere vigilante causing this much trouble. Its unthinkable!

And now, she was stuck. The vigilante had struck again, this time fighting a villain and saving a bunch of civilians. News channels were talking about him, debating on why he had to come in rather than the heroes. Heroes the commission owned and ran.

The footage looped again at this, the sight making her grind her teeth. So frustrating. And after a click of her tongue, she heard a knock on her office door. "Come in."

A second later, the door frame moved, and one very tired looking man walked inside. It was Mera Yokumiru, a man some were convinced was related to Shouta Aizawa. High ranking, he was one of the main faces of the commission in the political realm.

"What do you want Mera?"

The man stared at her with his usual dead eyes before turning to the screen she had playing, the sight making his nose twitch before looking back at her. "Got the report you wanted." He slowly walked up to her and laid down a folder, "Spider-Man, eh?"

"Yes." She hissed as she took the file, opening it and scanning the contents within. A second later, she closed the folder. "This is fine. I'll...see to this later."

"Got it." Mera nodded before looking back at the screen, "Is he our next project?"

"He needs to be caught." She replied, "That vigilante is making all heroes look bad, and I'm honestly sick of it."

"It can't be that bad. He did a good service." Mera countered, "I mean, he caught the hero killer."

"Oh, stop it." she spat, "He's making a mockery of heroes." She put the folder in a drawer in her desk, "We need heroes to advertise our brand in order to ensure peace and prosperity in society. Vigilantes mess that all up."

Mera let out a small yawn before replying, "Then why don't you just recruit him? He's done good so far. Just...find him and put him on the payroll. He'd make a good hero."

"No." She instantly responded. "He needs to pay for his actions."

"So make him do community service."

"Vigilantes are essentially villains, Mera. They're not heroes, and this one doesn't deserve such a light punishment." She let out a long huff, "No, I'm considering putting out a bounty. I want him gone before people really start to question the perfect hero society we have created."

Mera stared back at her, knowing what that statement really meant. It meant the hero commission would lose political power. After all, their main sway in the government was purely the fact that they owned the hero licenses, regulated them, and made sure that heroes were the poster children of the government. The symbol that instilled peace and hope for society.

And Spider-Man, even if he didn't intend to, had challenged that by beating the hero killer. Something that shouldn't have been possible, and yet it happened.

"I'm going to give Nezu one last chance. If he doesn't catch Spider-Man before that vigilante appears on television again, I'm putting a bounty on Spider-Man's head...and I'm going to put all the blame on the rat."

"But he's not responsible for-"

"Zip it, Mera!" She hissed, making the man slightly flinch. "You know what trouble that rat causes."

"I...I know."

"Good." She folded her hands at this, "In response to that, I want you to call Nezu and say exactly what I just said."

"Me?!"

"Yes, you." She replied before taking a remote on her desk and tapping a button, turning off the footage. "I have other work to do." She pointed to the office door, "Go. And make sure to tell that dog Tsuragamae as well."

Mera blinked at her for a second before sighing, soon spinning around and walking out of the room. And as he closed the door behind himself, he yawned before saying, "This is gonna get messy, isn't it?" he pulled out his phone at this, "I wonder...who are you Spider-Man, and do you know the wrath you just inflicted on yourself?"

Chapter 41: Madness, Insanity, Chaos! Need I say more?

Chapter Text

Izuku had woken up a bit later than usual. His body was still aching from the Rhino fight, and he really didn't want to get up. He would admit that he was glad that he had fought Rhino at the beginning of the day, as he felt his healing factor basically help him all day yesterday. Now, he knew he didn't want to go into another fight like that today, but considering his past few days, he knew his luck. As such, he slowly slithered out of the bed, going to his computer first.

And as he began to check his usual stuff, he saw what he knew he was going to be doing today. A new Gentle Criminal video had been uploaded, one claiming he was going to do something spectacular. 'Great...' he mentally moaned before turning to his vigilante costume, only to feel a slight bit of pain in his back. 'Urgh...am I in the condition to take him on?'

He put his hand on his back and pushed it, making it crick. He flinched at the pain, only to shake his head. "That...hurt." He cricked his back again, then pulled out a notebook. The teen began flipping through the pages, seeing this was his notes over the villains he had fought. He had taken the notes every now and then, his fingers slowly moving the pages before glancing back up at Gentle's video.

'Hmm...' he thought as he looked back down at his notes, seeing a page on Spinner. 'He didn't seem like a bad guy, really. He was just desperate.' His mind then went to Himiko, which he had decided to not put an entry in for, 'Toga was the same, though she was desperate because of her quirk affecting her.' He glanced up at the video of Gentle, 'Are you the same? Are you desperate?'

He turned another page, showing Martin Li. The sight made him flinch, as this was the one case he was both most personal with, and the one he knew the least about. It was like, he found out he was villain, took him down...and still learned nothing. 'I failed to save you.' he thought before staring at the other entries. Tombstone, Scorpion, Vulture...and he had written down Rhino's name, but hadn't put anything in yet. These were ones he was sure he wouldn't be able to help as a vigilante. They seemed to like doing bad.

Izuku stared up at the video one last time, "But you're different from all of them. You seem to just be a villain for attention." He crossed his arms as he spoke his thoughts aloud, "Why would you do that? You can get tons of attention as a hero. You have the quirk for it, and you beat up low rank heroes all the time. You basically act like a nuisance more than anything." He leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh, "Should I save you? Could I save you?"

At this, he put the notebook down on the desk and did his usual morning routine. A bit later, he left his room and into the living room, where he glanced into the kitchen. There he saw his mom and Toga, the girl shining a big grin as she helped his mother do the finishing touches on breakfast. The sight made him smile, seeing the happiness on Toga's face. And as this happened, his previous question was answered.

'Yeah. Let's try to save Gentle Criminal.' he thought before he felt a crick in his back, making him flinch again, 'That, and I don't think I can fight today.'

Aizawa wasn't having a good day. To be fair, he never had good mornings, afternoons or evenings, but he had a feeling this one was going to be a doozy. As such, he dragged his sleeping bag behind him as he left his afternoon class. He had left his room to All Might, the golden idiot that Aizawa kept reminding Nezu to fire due to him putting the students in danger. 'Why is that moron still here?!' That was the thought that kept going through head as he walked into the Nezu's office.

There, he was greeted by the sight of a coffee drinking Naomasa. The detective didn't look well. He'd been having some rough days recently. Aizawa would feel bad for him, but the underground hero didn't really feel bad for anyone these days. As such, he slouched down in a chair beside the detective, Naomasa raising an eyebrow at the sight. "Hey there. You okay, Aizawa?"

"I need sleep. Now." Aizawa grumbled as he glanced away, his dry eyes now staring at a certain desk as certain white-haired creature appeared behind it.

"Ah! Hello, Aizawa!" Nezu exclaimed as he got on top of the desk, standing with a paw raised out, "I see you're having another rough day. I am sorry about that."

"Just get to the point." Aizawa growled, "You said you figured out who Spider-Man is, right?"

"Yes!" Nezu chuckled as a remote suddenly appeared in his paw, "Now, I will say that I'm currently only seventy-three, point four-five-seven percent sure...but that's so much higher than anything else up to this point." Aizawa and Naomasa both raised eyebrows at this, only for the stoat to add, "Not only that, I'm so sure despite this percentage that I believe that if we confront the vigilante, it will instantly turn to one hundred percent!"

Naomasa's face shined a big grin, "That's great! Who is it?! Where do we find them?!"

"Now now, detective. Please calm down." Nezu replied, Aizawa instantly recognizing a certain smile appearing on the stoat's face. It was one he always saw when the little monster had a devilish idea. Those were never good for him or his health. But before he could chime in, Nezu pointed to the detective, "Now, before I reveal our little vigilante...I want something."

Naomasa and Aizawa flinched at this, both knowing that whatever his idea was, it was going to be a headache. And before either could respond, they saw Nezu's smile change, this one showing his usual look when it came to him doing his favorite pastime: lectures. Lectures that specifically keep certain things vague until he got what he wanted. As such, the stoat snapped his paws before saying, "To begin gentlemen, I will say exactly what I want. I want Spider-Man as a student here at UA."

Aizawa saw that coming. In fact, considering the intrigue and happiness the stoat had been radiating for the past few days, he knew this was going to happen. As such, he didn't react, and instead turned to Naomasa, who was slightly paling at the demand. And with a small cough, the detective spoke up, "Um...no offense Nezu, but the hero commission won't allow that. They want Spider-Man caught and imprisoned. And by imprisoned, I mean..." Naomasa cringed at his next words, "They probably want him in Tartarus."

The stoat just chuckled in response, "Leave that to me, gentlemen. I do not fear the hero commission." Nezu put his paws on his vest and tugged at it before continuing, "As for Spider-Man, I want him because he is by far the most talented individual I've seen in some time. In fact, I believe Aizawa can agree with me considering his current class."

Naomasa raised his eyebrow at this, "Didn't his class win the festival?"

"That is true. However, as we all know, this year's festival was...less than stellar due to both the winner and Spider-Man." Nezu replied, his eyes turning to Aizawa as the man slouched in his seat. "However, Spider-Man is very special. He's a super rare case, one that is beyond rare in this day and age." Aizawa and Naomasa both blinked at this, now starting to wonder where Nezu was going with this as the stoat added, "For you see, Spider-Man is a case of pure experience."

"Pure experience?" Aizawa responded, "Isn't that like...impossible? I mean, I know we concluded last time that he was gaining experience rapidly, and the footage shows he was obviously having issues with his quirk near the start, but he can't be just experience. Everyone trains their quirks at some point."

Nezu shook his head, "No, he's pure experience. I have proof, and its more than just the footage we've seen before. For you see...Spider-Man tried and failed the exams here in UA on the same day he received his quirk."

"Received?!" Naomasa exclaimed.

"Failed?!" Aizawa added.

"Indeed." Nezu nodded, "Spider-Man tried our exams here this year, and due to him getting his quirk that day, he failed. That or I believe he had just received his quirk that day or the day before."

Aizawa and Naomasa shared a glance before the teacher sighed, "Okay, you're obviously gonna just yank our chain here if we keep asking questions. Just tell us what you want so you'll tell us who Spider-Man is."

"I already told you. I want him as a student."

"Nezu..." Aizawa growled, "There's always something more to what you want. Just tell us already!"

Nezu's signature devilish grin returned at this, "Oh Aizawa, so impatient. But if you must know...I want him as a very specific type of student."

"Don't tell me its a personal student." Aizawa moaned, Naomasa grimacing at that thought.

"Not at all. You see, Spider-Man is special because he didn't fail our hero exams."

That made Naomasa go wide-eyed while Aizawa tilted his head, "What?"

"Did you not wonder why it took me so long to find him?" Nezu responded before tutting, "No gentlemen, our dear suspected Spider-Man was not what we thought he was. For you see...the vigilante did not take the hero exams."

"But...according to the video with Stain and the interview with that Iida boy, he said he failed to become a hero. What possible exam could he have failed that wasn't the hero exam?" Naomasa asked next.

"And why didn't he end up in general services instead?" Aizawa continued, "What, did he flunk everything?"

"In a way, yes." Nezu chuckled, "It's that fact that ironically made it hard for me to find him. I spent days going over all our hero exams, trying to figure out if any candidates would work...but found nothing." He snapped his paws at this, "Turns out, he took the one exam I didn't look at."

"Wha-what do you mean?" Naomasa replied, "What exams do you not look at? Why didn't you look at this exam?"

Naomasa's face continued to sport a look of confusion while Aizawa now glared at the stoat, only for a gear in his brain to slowly move. Cobwebs broke around the gear as he came to a conclusion, "He took and failed the support exam."

Nezu snapped his paw again, "Bingo!"

"He took the support exam?" Naomasa responded, "But why? That's not the hero exams."

"But you can use it to get into heroics through the festival. Its a super rare case, but it sometimes happens. Power Loader is a product of it." Aizawa chimed in, crossing his arms. "That's why you said he was a special type of student. He wants to be a hero and do support equipment..." The teacher let out a long groan, "And we never checked the support exam footage, did we?"

"Indeed. I never did as well. I've honestly never needed to, as I trust all of it to Power Loader." Nezu giggled as he grabbed a cup of tea on his desk and took a sip. "And that's not all. For you see, unless you look at that footage very carefully, you would have never found Spider-Man."

"How so?"

"Because all the profiles we accepted had no hint of the boy." Nezu replied, taking another sip, "Which led me to my prime suspect, one that I would have never ever guessed..." He pulled out the remote again, which had somehow disappeared during their talk, "But once I realized it could be him, I found that though there was still no evidence, he fit the psychological profile perfectly."

With a snap of the paw, he pressed a button on the remote, the screen behind his desk then showing the image of a dark green haired boy with freckles on his face. The image made both Aizawa and Naomasa go wide-eyed, though for different reasons.

"I present to you, Izuku Midoriya, also known as my prime suspect of being the one and only Spider-Man."

A long webline struck a building as a certain vigilante swung his way across another street. The teen did a long lined arc, his whole form almost touching pavement as his did his swing extra low. 'Aaahhh...this feels good.' he thought as the swing went back up, Izuku releasing himself from the webline before firing another shot of webbing, 'If only my back didn't hurt so much. I'd be doing flips and everything.'

Izuku chuckled to himself at this before swinging down another block, his mind going back to the video he had watched before leaving the house several hours ago. Gentle Criminal had stated he was going to make another statement, saying he would flip society on its head on this heist he was going to do. The idea seemed silly if Izuku really thought about it. He had spent several hours watching Gentle Criminal's videos after his first encounter with him and found the villain to just be...silly. He would declare himself at convince stores and markets, swearing that organizations were taking advantage of others with bad products before saying he would 'steal' from them as the modern chivalrous thief to get back at the evil organizations. It was hard to take him seriously, and yet Izuku knew he was a threat. Their first encounter was more than enough to prove that to the teen.

As such, he continued to swing around, his ear to his phone, which had the police scanner on. He knew that whatever Gentle Criminal did, it would probably at least hit the scanner. And as an hour of webswinging passed, he sighed as he landed on a random rooftop. Cricking his back, he then went to the edge of the building, glancing down at his phone, "Still nothing. Wonder what's taking him?"

He switched to the chat Mina had setup two days ago, the teen scrolling the messages. The sight still bewildered him. He hadn't had friends in so long. The idea seemed foreign to him, like something that shouldn't be part of his life. Also, he didn't know how to be a friend. It had been way too long.

The teen slumped over at this, 'I'm still a mess. Figures for someone like me.' He switched the phone back to the police scanner, 'Maybe he'll show up soon-'

And as that thought was trying to finish, the scanner spoke up.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a reported disturbance at Silver-Center on Bespin Road, any hero present, please respond."

"Nevermind." Izuku commented to himself as he put the phone away. "Bespin Road...that's not too far." He did a quick stretch at this, only to feel a small crick in his back, making him flinch. "Ow. Better...be careful." He leapt off the roof a second later, firing a webline before swinging across the street.

"And as you can see my dear viewers, the Silver-Center is selling outdated food before it hits the shelves! They aren't even decreasing their prices, showing their...distastefulbusiness practices!" Gentle exclaimed as he minced his words at the end of his little speech.

"I see! And what will you do, Gentle?!" La Brava gasped as she kept the camera on the villain.

"Why, we will rob them!" He gestured to a cashier and pointed a knife at him, "And we shall video tape them doing this despicable act!"

"So gentlemanly!" La Brava swooned.

"But of course! After all, I am-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" yelled a voice, making the criminal turn and see three costumed heroes appear just outside of the store.

Gentle took a deep breath, "It seems we have company." He turned to his camera woman, "Cut...now."

A few minutes later...

Izuku landed on a rooftop, his form turning invisible as he walked to edge. He was a street across from the Silver Center, watching the front door, only to see three heroes get thrown out. The rolled across a parking lot, all soon laying down, unmoving.

"Its him." Izuku whispered as he then saw Gentle Criminal and his partner walk out next. Seeing this, he fired a webline and swung over to the Silver Center's roof while still being invisible. And as he landed, he started to crawl down the building's side, only to hear the two begin to talk.

"Don't you want to take the money, Gentle?" La Brava asked.

The villain shook his head, "No, there is no need. We have set an example today, and once we upload our video, all will see the injustice Silver Center has been doing!"

"Oh Gentle! So gentlemanly!" La Brava swooned again.

'They didn't rob them?' Izuku thought as he slowly invisibly crawled down the building, 'Then again, if I think about it, he rarely takes any money of places he...robs so to speak.'

"Shall we go home then?" La Brava asked, Gentle nodding back.

"Indeed. Hop on." The little lady hopped on his back at this, Izuku staring at the sight.

The teen pointed his wrist at the man's back, only to not press the shooter's trigger. 'No. That's not gonna solve anything. But...maybe I can do something else.' he thought before reaching into his hoodie and pulling out a spider tracer. He then flicked it at the two, the tracer landing in La Brava's hair. The girl slightly flinched at this, scratching it for a second.

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Gentle asked as he prepared to use his quirk on the ground.

"Um...no. Just felt something in my hair." La Brava replied, "Hope it didn't mess up anything."

"I see." He glanced back at her, "No worries, my dear partner in crime! We will get you all fixed up at the hideout!"

La Brava heard this and shined a big grin, "Okay!"

BOING!

The ground looked like springy rubber as Gentle used his quirk on it, the villain duo soon flying into the distance. And as they did this, Izuku turned visible and pulled out his tracker.

'Okay, think this through Izuku.' he thought as he stared at the gadget, 'You want to reform him, so just catching him in a crime won't work. I need to...think up a way to help him. Which I still don't know what to do.' He put a hand on his chin, 'Hmm...'

A little later...

The sound of a door opening rang out as Gentle twisted a doorknob. And as he walked into the room, La Brava strided in behind him. "You were amazing today, Gentle!" she swooned as she ran up to a desk, "I can't wait to upload the footage!"

"Indeed!" Gentle laughed while striking a small pose before closing the door, "I can not wait to see my fans' reactions!"

La Brave didn't reply, instead just showing a big grin as she hopped onto a chair and opened her laptop. Inserting a USB cable into both the laptop and camera, she began to open a video program as Gentle walked into the kitchen. The sound of liquid filling a cup came next, along with the sounds of keyboard clacking. Several minutes passed, Gentle soon finishing a cup of tea and giving it to La Brava.

"Good thing we didn't need this today." Gentle commented as he put a small gadget beside La Brava's laptop.

"Tinkerer's device?" his sidekick asked.

"Yes." Gentle replied, "It seems our interruptions will only be the minor heroes from now on."

"That's good." La Brava commented as she shined a small grin before taking a sip of tea.

And as this happened, the two did not notice a pair of hands appearing on their window. A head showed itself next, showing a certain masked vigilante.'So this is where they live.' Izuku thought as pulled his head back before putting a hand to his chin, 'Now...what do I do?' He had been thinking about that question the entire time webswinging over here, and now he was stuck still thinking about the answer.

The teen glanced back into the room, now seeing the two talk while staring at a laptop. He closed his eyes at this, crossing his arms, 'Think Izuku...what can you do here?' His mind went back to his talks with Spinner and Toga the nights he first encountered them, only to bite his lip, 'Well, if its not broke, don't fix it.'

A second later, Izuku turned invisible as La Brava began tapping a few more keys. "What do you think of this title, Gentle?" The other villain leaned over and did a small nod.

"Seems good. I will leave it to you to do the editing."

"Yes sir!" La Brava giggled as she clicked the save button before cricking her fingers, "Time to get to work."

"And I shall make a second cup of tea." Gentle chuckled as he walked back into their kitchen. As he did this, a certain invisible individual walked up to their front door and put his hand in his hoodie. A second later, he pulled out the unlocking device he had used on Martin's Li office door, sliding it a few times into the door.

'Come on...there!' He thought as a tiny click rang out. Izuku began to slowly push the door at this, invisibly glancing inside as he saw that neither had noticed him thanks to La Brava being focused on the video...and a very loud tea pot ringing out. Seeing this, the teen silently closed the door behind him before crawling up to the ceiling, only to feel his head start to hurt. 'Urgh...can't keep the invisibility for much longer.'

As he did this, Gentle reentered the room with a cup of tea and began to drink it as he saw down beside La Brava. Seeing this, she turned to him, the two beginning to talk. And as this happened, Izuku's invisibility wore off, but it was enough as he pointed both wrists at them.

Thwip! Thwip!

Two sprays of webbing instantly hit the duo, making them gasp. "What the-" La Brava tried to say, only to feel webs to cover her from neck to toe.

"What in the-" Gentle added as the webbing did the same to him. And as they both glanced down at the sticky substance, looks of horror appeared on their faces before turning to where the webbing had come from, "Spider-Man!"

"Hiya." Izuku responded as he released himself from the ceiling, doing a small flip before landing. "Sorry about the webbing. Couldn't have you escaping and everything." He said as he saw the two begin to squirm under the webbing. Gentle glanced back at the desk, his eyes staring at the device he had put down before glaring back at the vigilante.

"What is this?! Why have you done this?!" He yelled, Izuku blinking at the response.

"Uh...well..." Izuku started, only for no more words to come out. 'Darn it! What am I doing?! Izuku, you told yourself you would try to help this guy! Get it together!' his mind screamed at him before taking a deep breath, "I um...I know this is out of nowhere, but I saw that you were robbing again and...I knew I had to stop you."

Gentle and La Brava shared a glance before the villain looked down at the webbing, squirming again as he tried to move, only to get nowhere. And after a second, he let out a growl before glaring up at the vigilante, "It seems you have...but how did you find us?! How did you know this was where we live?!"

La Brava flinched at Gentle's words as Izuku replied, "Well...I uh...put a tracker on her." He pointed at La Brava, the girl flinching again.

"What?!" she yelped.

"Yeah. Its um...its in your hair." Izuku slowly walked up to her, the girl shaking her head at this, only for Izuku to put his hand in her hair and pull out the spider-tracer. "Here." The two saw this and went wide-eyed, only for Izuku to pocket it in his hoodie.

La Brava turned to Gentle, "Gentle, I'm so sorry! I had no idea!"

Gentle shook his head, "Don't apologize. It is not your fault." he glanced back at Izuku, "Very well, it seems you have us. What do you intend to do to us?!"

Izuku scratched the back of his head at this, only to grab a nearby chair and sit down. "Well...you see, ever since we first met, I've been watching your videos." The statement made both go wide-eyed as Izuku continued, "And if I'm honest, I don't understand why you do...what you do."

Gentle tilted his head at this, "What do you mean?"

The teen felt his mouth trying to form words as he put his hands together, twiddling his fingers as he replied, "I just...don't get it. I've met a bunch of villains that do all sorts of things, but none of them are like you. You do robberies, but almost never take the money. You instead expose stuff, then run away from the heroes and film it." He tilted his head, "Why? Why do that?"

Gentle rapidly blinked at this, only to take a small breath before shining a big smile and said, "Why, it is because I am the modern chivalrous thief! I wish to present myself in history as someone that is remembered!"

"You...just want to be remembered?"

"Indeed!" Gentle exclaimed while trying to puff himself out.

"Then why go to crime?" Izuku instantly asked back, "Why go down that path? There's plenty of ways to do that without doing bad things."

Gentle opened his mouth to respond, only to close it. A few seconds passed before he said, "I suppose you're right in a way. But this is the path I went down."

"Why?"

Gentle tilted his head, "Why do you want to know?"

Izuku bit his lip at this. He knew his next words would be super important. His mind went over a few options, only to come to a certain statement. "I want to know because while I know you are a villain, its obvious you're not a bad person. I've seen your videos, and you try to expose others' wrongdoings, something villains never do." Izuku now tilted his head at him, "So why? Why do that?"

In response, Gentle just stared at him, blinking before glancing down at the webbing covering him. 'How strange.' he thought, 'To think I would be this dumbfounded.' He looked back up at the vigilante, and despite not being able to see Izuku's face due to his mask, he knew there was a look of pure curiosity on the teen's face. No longer needing to think over his thoughts, Gentle did a small nod before saying, "Very well. I suppose I don't mind telling you my story."

What followed was a tale Izuku was not expecting. Before him was another heroic failure, one who wanted to be a hero, but failed to help another and in turn, was rejected. He was thrown out of the hero society due to a bungling attempt of good, and when he found out that no one remembered him from his days of trying to be a hero, he decided to go down a different path. He had been rejected by heroes, only to become something different. The story stunned Izuku, the teen slumping down in his chair.

"I..." Izuku tried to say, his mind going over everything he had just heard. It felt familiar yet different to him or Himiko Toga, but it wasn't something villainous. Hearing this, Izuku closed his eyes as he tried to form words. To him, it felt like hours, but it was actually just a minute before he realized what he needed to say. There wasn't even a thought, just a simple sentence as he took a deep breath and said, "I think you're running away."

As those words hit his ears, Gentle's eyes slowly grew, his face paling as he half-whispered out, "What?"

Izuku felt himself blankly staring at the villain as he repeated, "I think you're running away." A few seconds of silence passed at this, Gentle not responding, which made Izuku slightly glance away before adding, "I mean...it just kinda sounds like...it sounds like you're running away. Like, you made some mistakes, and instead of trying to fix your mistakes, you went the opposite direction." Izuku bit his lip at this, though neither villain could see it behind the mask as he continued, "It sounds like to me you gave up on your dream."

And as he said that, he looked back at Gentle, only for the villain to just keep staring at him. There was no response, making the teen flinch. 'Uh...did I go too far?'

"I...gave up on my dream?" Gentle muttered before staring down at the floor, "But I thought...I thought I..."

The sight shocked La Brava. She had never seen Gentle be this uncertain before. The man looked like he had just experienced culture shock, something she never would have imagined would happen to him. The Gentle she knew was always confident, yet kind. He was never uncertain or hesitant. She felt like she wasn't staring at Gentle...but someone else.

"I...I..." Gentle continued to try to form words, only for his mouth to come to a stop.

"Gentle?" La Brava spoke up, but he didn't respond. He just sat there, unmoving even with the webbing covering him. She then glared at Izuku, "What did you do to Gentle, you jerk?!"

"Uh...I um..." Izuku flinched before waving his hands around, "I-I-I was just trying to help!"

"You jerk! How dare you do that to-"

"Don't La Brava." Gentle suddenly said, making both turn to him. "I...I believe he may be right."

"Gentle?" La Brava asked, only to see the man glance up at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I...I never thought about it that way. I just...wanted to be noticed. To have a dream." He turned to Izuku, "Do you...do you really think I was just running away?"

Izuku blinked at him under the mask before crossing his arms, "Well, I mean...I kinda think you were. To me, it just sounds like you gave up, which made you become...Gentle Criminal." He glanced down at this, "I meant what I said earlier. I don't think you're bad. You don't really do any villainous stuff like all the others out there."

Gentle frowned at this before looking down again, "I...I suppose that's true. After all, I despise violence. It is why I always run away."

"See?" Izuku pointed at him at this, "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I think you could still do some good with that power. You just need to stop running away and-"

"And do what?! Help others in this cruel world?!" Boomed a sudden voice, making all three glance around. "What utter nonsense! I can't believe you let yourself be caught by someone so pathetic, Gentle Criminal!"

"What the-" Izuku whispered, only to feel his spider sense start to tingle. "Huh?"

"That voice...Beck." Gentle growled, making Izuku turn to him.

"Beck?"

"Indeed!" exclaimed the voice again, only for a puff of smoke to appear beside Gentle Criminal. A second later, the fog dissipated to reveal a certain villain dressed in a long purple cape, a long green scaly jumpsuit and an upside down bowl for a head. "For I have returned, Gentle! It seems you are not doing well...again."

"Fishbowl Head Man?!" Izuku yelped as he hopped out of the chair.

"I am not Fishbowl Head Man! I am Myserio, Master of the Arcane Arts!" the villain roared as he pointed at the vigilante, "And I am here for my revenge, Spider-Man!"

"Revenge?" Izuku replied before tilting his head, "But...you're just a bank robber."

"I am notjusta bank robber!" Mysterio screeched, "I am-"

Thwip! Thwip!

Izuku fired both web shooters at the villain, instantly covering him with webbing. The sight made Gentle and La Brava blink, both speechless as they saw the vigilante instantly shut Beck down. That is, till the webbing covering Mysterio was suddenly covered in a puff of smoke.

"Huh?" Izuku responded, only to see another puff of smoke appear just a foot away, revealing the villain with no webbing on him.

"Ha! Nice try, Spider-Man! But your webbing has no effect on me!"

"Wanna bet?" Izuku pointed his wrists at the villain again.

Danger!

"What?" Izuku whispered, only to see Mysterio grab a small device on the table beside La Brava's laptop. He pointed it at the vigilante and pressed a button. And in that split second, Izuku felt something suddenly ring out in his brain.

DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!

"YAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!" Izuku screamed as he put both hands to head, knees instantly losing strength as he flopped to the floor. And as he did this, it felt like his spider sense had been dialed up to eleven, making the teen close his eyes and cry out, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

"Ahaha!" Mysterio cackled, "It seems the Tinkerer's device works perfectly!" He then pointed at the webbed up Gentle Criminal, "I can't believe you didn't have it on you. I thought you were more cautious than that."

"Beck..." Gentle barely replied before looking back at Spider-Man, the teen now wriggling in pain on the floor. The sight made him flinch before glancing up at Mysterio, "Stop it, Beck! You're killing him!"

Though he could see it, the man under the bowl raised an eyebrow, "So?! Its Spider-Man! I told you I was going to enact my revenge on him." He pointed the device at Gentle, "Look at you, all webbed up like that! You bought this from the Tinkerer to make sure Spider-Man couldn't try to catch you again! Why didn't you use it?!" Mysterio then leaned down and added, "Don't tell me you were going soft on him."

"I-" Gentle tried to say.

"You jerk! Stop bullying Gentle!" La Brava chimed in, making Mysterio spin around and 'glare' at her from his bowl head.

"You will shut up! If you hadn't not gone along with my plan, this would have never happened to you two!"

"Oh yeah?!" La Brava barked back, "I'll never help you, you fishbowl loving-"

"I do not love fishbowls!" Mysterio interrupted, "Stop assuming that because of my outfit!"

And as the two began to yell at each other, Izuku continued to wriggle on the floor. His spider sense kept screaming at him, pounding his brain as he tried to think, 'Head...feels like...splitting...open.' he thought as he opened his eyes, feeling them twitch in pain as he glanced up at the trio arguing. 'Gotta...get...thing...that's...hurting...me.'

He slowly removed his hand from his head and began to spin it, slowly pointing it upward as he felt the pain continue to beat his head in. The teen closed his eyes again, his mind about to black out as he pushed down the web shooter trigger.

Thwip!

"Huh?" Mysterio responded as a strand of webbing hit the device in his hand. And with a single tug, it was yanked out of his hand and into Izuku's. "No, wait-"

Smash!

The device was instantly turned into a hundred pieces as Izuku crushed it in his hand. And with that, his spider sense stopped yelling at him. His brain...was at peace. "Oh..." Izuku moaned as his hand hit the floor, slumping over as the teen continued to groan, "That...was awful."

"You...how did you do that?! You were supposed to be in constant, unending pain!" the villain yelled before stomping on the floor. "How dare you do that! How dare you-"

Thwip!

A glob of webbing sprayed out and covered the fishbowl wearing man. But as the liquid consumed him, a puff of smoke appeared next, making the villain disappear again.

“What?” Izuku muttered, only to see another puff of smoke to form a few feet away, another Mysterio appearing a second later.

“Your webbing is useless against me!” Mysterio declared before pointing at the teen, the vigilante starting to get up. “Now, how did you do that? That should have put you in constant pain!”

“Yeah…it did.” Izuku groaned as he rubbed the top of his head as he stood up. “And you’re not going to do that again.”

“You…you…” Mysterio growled as he shook his fist at the vigilante.

Izuku was fully standing at this, electricity forming around his hands as they became fists. The sight made the villain stop shaking his hands at the teen, the man taking one step back. The other two watched them, Gentle’s eyes darting back and forth at the exchange. And after a few seconds of tension, Mysterio pointed at the vigilante and declared, “Very well! Even though that did not work, I will have my revenge against you!” He then pointed to himself, “After all, I wanted to defeat you with plan B anyways!”

“Plan B?”

“That’s right!” Mysterio cackled before snapping his finger. A puff of smoke appeared around his hand, only to vanish and reveal a small device with a button on the end.

“What’s that?”

“A detonator!” Mysterio exclaimed.

“WHAT?!” all three screamed.

“That’s right!” the villain pointed at Izuku again, “After all, I knew I needed something when confronting you. I was hoping that Gentle would join me in destroying you even after he rejected me last time, but this is better. After all, last time I was here, I hid behind my illusions and hid a bomb here.” He put his finger just over the button, “If I press this, this room will explode, killing Gentle and La Brava!”

“WHAT?!” Izuku repeated, his eyes fully wide.

“BECK! Have you lost your mind?!” Gentle screeched, only to find Mysterio pointing at him.

“No! This is my performance! I will have my revenge against Spider-Man, and if you will not join me, I will destroy you!” He then pointed back at Spider-Man, “Listen here, you will do as I say or else! Surely you will agree to my demands, will you not?”

“You…” Izuku growled, balling his hands into fists before seeing Mysterio about to press the button. His spider sense rang out, making him flash his palms at the villain, “Wait! Don’t do it!”

“I knew you would see it my way.” Mysterio chuckled before snapping his finger again, making another device appear in his other hand. He then threw it at Izuku, the teen reflexively catching it. “This is a tracker. Follow it or I blow this place up.”

“What are you-“

Mysterio pointed at the teen again, “No questions! Do I say or else!”

Izuku glanced down at the tracker, seeing it was just a tiny device with a beeping dot. He looked back up at the villain, his mind racing, ‘This got out of hand really quickly. Like…how did this happen?!’ Taking a deep breath, he replied, “Fine.”

“Good! Now, don’t be too quick.” Mysterio laughed, “I have to make our performance…magnificent!”

He then disappeared in another puff of smoke, leaving the room to a beat of silence. Izuku stared at the spot the villain was before, only to glance down at the tracker again. ‘That was crazy. Like, what just happened?!’

“Spider-Man?” Izuku turned to the voice, now seeing the people he had planned to confront today now staring at him. La Brava was wearing a confused frown while Gentle looked…lost. Lost and exhausted, as if years had just hit him.

“Gentle?” La Brava asked as she turned to him again, seeing his expression, “You okay?”

The man glanced down at this, staring at the floor. He didn’t seem to respond, completely lost despite the craziness that just happened. And then he looked back up at Spider-Man, the teen staring at the tracker again, the vigilante’s body shaking. The sight made him blink, only for his expression to slightly change, showing a look of acceptance.

"Can you do me a favor, Spider-Man?" Gentle asked, making the teen turn to him. The vigilante now saw a giant frown on the man's face, only for Gentle to say, "Can you go and beat Beck?" Izuku felt words try to form in his mouth, but couldn't make an immediate response. As such Gentle added, "He...he's always been like that. He is a lover of the performing arts ever since I first met him, though he was also always a bit unhinged."

The man's expression now showed a long, deep stare as he then said, "Please. In fact, if you do it, I'll turn myself in."

"Gentle!" La Brava gasped, Izuku still speechless at the same time.

Izuku's mind went over the statement, his brain now going over everything that had just happened. He had came to try and save Gentle Criminal, only for a nutjob he barely remembered to appear and threaten their lives. And now, the villain he came to try and reform was now asking him to take down that nutjob. But as Izuku stared at Gentle, despite knowing he wasn't good at reading people, he saw the pure sincerity in Gentle's expression.

And with a single nod, Izuku replied, "I'll do it. I'll take him down."

"Thank you." Gentle responded as Izuku picked up the gadget Mysterio had left. The teen stared at it for a second before walking over to a window and opening it.

"I'm...gonna go." He looked back at the two webbed up villains, "The webbing will dissolve in about 2 hours. You promise to turn yourself in after that, right?"

"I will." Gentle nodded back.

"Okay." Izuku said before taking a deep breath, "And Gentle Criminal?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks...for listening to me." Izuku then leapt out of the window, quickly firing a webline as the two watched him swing away. And as he did this, Izuku began to think, 'Gotta say, today definitely didn't go the way I thought it would.' He fired another string of webbing at this, flipping across a block, 'Hope nothing else bad happens.'

"That's impossible."

Aizawa's words rang out through the room, Nezu staring at him with a giant grin. Naomasa was silent, just sitting in his chair, not responding. It had been a few seconds since Nezu revealed his suspect, and the reactions were what Nezu was expecting. Anger from Aizawa, mainly due to his current attitude from the case, and surprise from Naomasa. However, Naomasa seemed to be completely silent, Nezu not fully expecting that, but he had a feeling he would be arguing with Aizawa first anyways.

"How is that impossible, Aizawa?" Nezu cheekily asked, making the man glare at him even more.

"He's quirkless. No one quirkless can do the stuff he does."

"Oh? I never imagined you to be a quirkist." Nezu responded, only to see Aizawa's grin somehow get even darker.

"I'm not. I just look for talent, and there's no talent when it comes to a quirkless. They can't be heroes in this superpowered society. Heck, most quirked individuals can't, and even more so with this. I've watched the videos over Spider-Man just like you, and I know he can't be quirkless." He pointed at the stoat, "Stop playing around and give us the real suspect."

"I assure you Aizawa, I am both right and am not playing around. Izuku Midoriya is Spider-Man." He pointed the remote at the screen and tapped a button, switching to footage of the support exam. It was paused, but that was for effect as Nezu continued, "You see, this footage over the support exam proved it to me, but that wasn't all. The very fact he's quirkless is why I suspect him to be Spider-Man. After all, if he's quirkless, it would line up with all my theories on his personality and psychology of the vigilante."

"But he's quirkless. He has no power!" Aizawa replied as he pointed at the stoat, "Spider-Man has several quirks, not-"

"I know." Nezu interrupted, "Its the only issue with my theory. However, I suspect we'll learn why that's the case when we ultimately confront him. In the meantime, let me explain why I think its him." He began to pace around his desk, "For starters, a quirkless is perfect for both the psychological profile and the reason why we haven't been able to find him. One, he wouldn't be in the quirk database due to his situation. That alone is why the investigation constantly comes to a halt."

Aizawa's eyes narrowed at this, "Alright...I won't deny that."

"Not only that, did you forget our first conversation over the vigilante? The original two bank robbery footages?"

"I..." Aizawa tried to respond, only for his memories to go back to those videos. They showed someone who was suddenly excited to use their powers...but was also surprised. In particular the one against the Inner Demons, where Spider-Man started celebrating after using his bio-electricity against a goon. The thought made him cross his arms while glaring at the stoat, "That is possible. But if that's the case, and he is a quirkless that somehow got a quirk, why wouldn't he just announce it?"

"That's a good question. And for that, we need to look back at the profile." Nezu walked over to a piece of paper he had on the desk and picked it up, "I looked up the recent statistics and...well, they're not good. Tell me, do you know about the suicide rates of quirkless individuals?"

"No. I'm not some data cruncher." Aizawa growled, "Get to the point already rat."

"So impatient." Nezu chuckled before glaring back at the man, "Truth is, they've increased over the past few years. More than twenty percent kill themselves, though I suspect the number to be much higher." Aizawa's expression slightly changed at this, only to go back to a glare before Nezu added, "I also suspect most cases are not reported due to...quirkist views."

Aizawa didn't respond to this. He knew better. He had heard about this before, but only really ignored it because he had a job to do and a class to teach. That was normal, life always got in the way of others' tragedies. He had his own problems to solve. However, he did feel a tinge of sadness at the fact.

Seeing the man's expression slightly soften, Nezu continued, "Anyways, the point is, Spider-Man believes the world is against him. If he is or was quirkless, it would make much more sense for him to have this mindset. The world is now run by quirks, something that the quirkless have no control over."

Aizawa took a deep breath at this, "That still doesn't explain why he's Spider-Man."

"I know. Don't worry, I'll get to that." Nezu replied before turning to Naomasa, who was still sitting here. He hadn't said or done anything, his face not showing even a tiny bit of emotion. "Naomasa? Are you alright? You are being quite silent."

“Hmm?” the detective responded, his eyes rapidly blinking before saying, “Sorry, I was just…thinking.”

“Oh? About what?”

“I…well…I know Izuku Midoriya.”

Aizawa’s head darted to Naomasa while Nezu tilted his head at this, “Is that so? How do you know him?”

“Well…let’s just say I know his mother more than him. She’s a nurse, and she saved me a while back. It was part of a case that led me and a team of officers to be…very injured. She was the nurse that helped out my team.” He admitted with a slight sigh, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you.” Naomasa sighed before cricking his neck for a second, “Anyways, I met him on that day. He’s a good kid, though I don’t know much about him. I did do his mother a favor recently though, and it was…” his own words came to a stop as his brain caught up to the memory, “It was over trying to reform a girl that was about to become a villain.”

Those words made both blink at him, Nezu showing a small grin, “Is that so?”

Naomasa took a deep breath at this, “I suppose I can’t avoid this.” He crossed his arms, “Are you two familiar with the Himiko Toga case?”

Aizawa shook his head while Nezu replied, “I am. It was about a young high schooler who vanished a few months ago after assaulting a student. The parents disowned her as a part of a big publicity stunt.”

“That’s right…but its also not the half of it.” Naomasa sighed.

“There’s more to the case, isn’t there?” Aizawa asked.

Naomasa nodded, “Let’s just say…it’s a really bad case of abuse.” He grit his teeth at this before closing his eyes, “But that's not why I brought it up. I brought it up because Izuku Midoriya is involved in the case.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Yeah. I...recently met the girl and we got her to confess everything. It was terrible and...well, the one who brought her to me is Izuku Midoriya's mother." He bit his lip a this, the two instantly catching on the action as he added, "And if you're right, it solved something that I never really got to investigate."

"What's that?"

"Inko Midoriya said her son was the one who found Himiko Toga and brought her to his home to help her.”

Nezu’s grin widened at this before he started clapping his paws, “Aha! That proves my profile even more!”

“How?!” Aizawa growled.

“Simple. The profile showed he is one that will meddle in affairs regardless of circ*mstance. This case of Himiko Toga is a prime example of that.”

Aizawa glared back at the stoat but said nothing. The statement reminded the hero of a certain new golden-haired teacher that Aizawa didn’t like, but he knew whatever said about this wouldn’t matter. Despite this, he let out a long sigh before saying, “Fine. Whatever. Still doesn’t prove he’s Spider-Man. Why would a quirkless that suddenly gained power go into vigilantism? That's not logical.”

“Oh, but it is.” Nezu replied before pointing at the support exam footage behind him. “I believe I can show you everything you need to make it very logical. Watch this.”

Tapping a button, the footage began. The underground hero and detective watched the student begin his exam, only to see him constantly shaking and bumbling. The sight made Aizawa roll his eyes, more tell tell signs that Izuku wasn’t Spider-Man. He had watched video after video of the vigilante and despite his…recklessness and roughness, the vigilante did show confidence. There was none of that here, the teen was just a clumsy nervous wreck. It also didn't help that this was the kid that ruined his day at FEAST, making him waste a whole day of time. So irrational. The sight made Aizawa about to say that this was another waste of time, only for the footage to zoom in.

There, it showed a tiny spark of electricity to appear on Izuku’s elbows, only to slowly go up to his hand. The two watched the energy flow up to the teen’s device that was in his hand, only for it to explode. And as it happened, the footage came to a stop as Nezu spoke up, “And because of what just happened, he was rejected by Power Loader. Though considering how the teen was acting, it makes sense as to why he chose that.”

Aizawa stared at the footage, his right eye slightly twitching before staring at Nezu. The giant grin the stoat was wearing made him sick to this stomach. He was enjoying this too much. But before he could say anything, Nezu spoke up again, "Now, considering what we just saw, let's watch the rest of the footage in order."

As such, the screen switched to every bit of footage they had on the vigilante. It started with the first bank robbery Spider-Man foiled, only to then show a few clips of his fight with Vulture, the second bank heist foiling, then Mysterio, Scorpion, the sports festival fight, Stain...and now Rhino. The sight showed a teen that looked overwhelmed in the first few videos, only to switch to what looked like a constantly learning individual able to fight bigger and bigger villains.

"Look at him. Magnificent." Nezu chuckled, "Truly one with pure talent. With both the footage and the profile, I can only conclude that what we are looking at gentlemen is a hidden genius with a true heroic spirit."

"Hidden genius?" Naomasa asked.

Nezu nodded back, "Indeed." He tapped a button on a remote, showing the footage again, this time going over a few distinct parts of the fights. "See? There is a showing of learning at a rapid pace. Compare the first two bank fights compared to the fight at the festival. Look at how much better he performs." He glanced back at the detective, "That is pure talent. One that learns on the fly, which allows them to go leaps and bounds above most heroes. After all, could you imagine a new hero suddenly going after the hero killer and winning?"

Naomasa didn't respond to this. He knew what Nezu was saying is true. It made perfect sense. However, Aizawa's expression had darkened as he watched the footage. And when the video ended again, he glared back down at the stoat, feeling his teeth grind at the sight.

But Nezu didn't notice. Instead, he was clapping his paws as a look of pure glee appeared on his face. "As you can see, this is why I want Spider-Man." He looked back at the footage again, "Imagine...that kind of talent and willpower. And he wants to do support as well. The boy has the potential to set a new precedent."

The statement made Naomasa stare back up at the footage. He saw what the stoat meant now. It was true. The vigilante had abilities that were beyond a normal human, and he seemed to be growing every second. He had the potential to become a truly great hero. But he also knew that the biggest hurdle for that would be the hero commission. After all, they had been breathing down his and the chief's necks for some time about-

"No."

Both Nezu and Naomasa turned to Aizawa, the detective about to rethink his thoughts. Perhaps the biggest hurdle was in this room as Nezu asked, "No?"

"No." Aizawa hissed, "He should be arrested."

"And why is that Aizawa?" Nezu replied, slightly tilting his head.

"Because you want to put him in my class." Aizawa growled, "That'll ruin everything."

"Ruin? Do you mean your plan to expel them?"

"Yes." Aizawa folded his arms at this, closing his eyes, "They still don't take heroics seriously. They deserve to be expelled." One eye creaked open at this, glaring at the stoat, "If you bring in another student, it'll ruin things. Again."

"And if you do expel them, I'll fire you." Nezu instantly responded.

"No, you won't. I'm the best you can get for this job." Aizawa remarked, "And before you say anything else, you know that I'll keep pushing for this."

Nezu crossed his arms at this, tapping his fingers on his arms as he glared at his employee, "And I would like to remind you that I won't allow you to expel those kids just because you're frustrated with this case. Same to the fact that I won't let you do this because you're frustrated that your class is the only one with an open slot." Aizawa opened his mouth at this, only for Nezu to flash a paw at him, "Don't. You know for a fact that no one tried to go against the zero pointer this year, causing the scores to be...less than optimal due to a small amount of rescue points. Vlad King then filled up his classroom, and you argued to put more students in general services instead due to the low scores." Nezu's paw switched to a pointing finger, "After that, I agreed to let you take one less because you said, and I quote: 'It'll make grading easier, and they can show themselves who is worthy of being a hero in the festival'."

"And one student did prove it!" Aizawa countered.

"That's not enough considering you started your year with expelling a student."

Aizawa let out a snarl at that, "You..."

"And before you try to say anything else, may I remind you what happened at the sports festival was due to you neglecting to solve the issues in your class right now."

"That's not my fault!" Aizawa barked, "I had no idea Bakugo was going to act like that!"

"Video footage of the battle trials suggest otherwise." Nezu snapped back, "He beat two of your students to a pulp and footage of your class has you telling him to 'grow up' and nothing else." The stoat's beady eyes somehow narrowed at this, "No Aizawa, the reason you're against this is because you don't want to do your job. You think you can take the easy way out and just expel those students."

"THEY DESERVE IT!" Aizawa suddenly yelled, Naomasa flinching at the sight. He had never seen the man yell in all the years he had worked with him. However, Aizawa's tone lowered as he said his next words, reverting back to his usual calm yet negative mask, "They need to realize heroics isn't some joke!" He let out a snarl before gritting his teeth, "They keep thinking it's just for fun! I'm trying to make them understand that this job is-"

"They do understand Aizawa, but you need to realize they are still just-"

"They don't understand! I just spent this last week showing them its no joke and they still don't get it! You've seen the rescue operations I've had them do, and they fail them every time!" Aizawa interrupted before pointing at the footage of Spider-Man taking on the Rhino as he fought him, this being the only footage with sound. "And its obvious he considers it a joke too! Just listen to him! He'd rather crack jokes than fight the villain!"

Nezu just stared back at the hero, "And what if that's Spider-Man's way of calming himself through a fight?"

"Oh, stop it!" Aizawa hissed, "Don't give me that bull! He's another one that spits on heroics, thinking its some kind of game just like the rest of my class!"

"Aizawa..." Nezu slowly said, making the teacher's anger disappear again. "You know I have great respect for you Aizawa, but what you just did is grounds for me to fire you."

"I know." Aizawa cooly replied, "But you won't. Especially not this far into the semester."

"I know. That being said," Nezu leaned up to Aizawa's face, "What is your problem? Is it the class or this case?"

Aizawa let out a low guttural growl before replying, "Its the class. I'm missing a key component."

Naomasa blinked at Aizawa at that, a bit of shock appearing on his face as he saw Aizawa not only calm down, but looked like he was asking for help. However, the shock increased when he didn't see a smug smile on Nezu's face, instead just staring at Aizawa with a blank expression, as if instead the two were having a silent conversation.

"No leader?" Nezu asked after a few seconds of silence.

Aizawa shook his head, "No. I have one that could...potentially become that." He let out a long sigh, "I need a pusher."

"Ah." Nezu snapped his paws, "I suspect expulsion scares don't help with that, does it?"

"You know what I mean." Aizawa growled, Nezu chuckling in response.

"I understand." Nezu replied as he put a paw to his chin, "So, you have no student to motivate them? You usually hate those students, as though they can inspire others, they're also the...how you say, 'All Might' loving students?" Aizawa responded with an even louder guttural growl, making Nezu chuckle again, "I see. If that's the case, why don't we introduce your class to someone that can be a...pusher, as you say?"

"What do you mean?"

Nezu shined a small grin, "Simple. What if we have the third years give them a test? Show just how far your class needs to go. In fact, you can use the Top Four."

Aizawa blinked at him, only to glance down and put his hand to his chin in thought. The memory of those students he had two years ago swam through his head, remembering a certain student that was...too optimistic. He bit his lip at this before glancing back up at Nezu and grumbled out a: "Yeah, that could work."

"So you agree?" Nezu asked while putting his paws behind his back.

"Fine. I agree if I can use the third years."

Nezu clapped his paws at this, "Good." He stopped clapping at this before glaring at Aizawa, "Though if I give them to you, I'll also be giving you an ultimatum." He pointed at the teacher, "You will accept Spider-Man into your class and keep your students until the final, where we'll then decide what to do with them. If you don't, you're done here. Permanently."

The two began their staring match again, the human growling at the stoat as the principal kept a calm demeanor. And as a full minute passed, Aizawa let out a long groan before putting his hands to the bridge of his nose, rubbing it as he said, "Ugh...I can't believe this is happening to me."

"It is happening to you, and you best get over it." Nezu added as he clicked a button on the remote, turning off the footage behind him. "Now gentlemen, let's go pay Spider-Man a visit, shall we?"

"Uh...sure." Naomasa slowly said.

"I'm glad you're fine with this detective. I didn't want to argue with you as well." Nezu added as he clapped his paws, only to snap one of them, "Ah, that reminds me! We must hurry. The hero commission president is...not happy with recent events."

"I...I figured." Naomasa barely replied, the man still dumbfounded by the argument he had just witnessed.

"Indeed." Nezu hopped off his desk at this, "Now, the hero commission president warned me that if anything else happens with Spider-Man, she will put him in the high-profile villain registry, along with putting a bounty on his head. We can't let that-"

Beep!

The rat spun around at the noise, seeing it was coming from his computer. With a surprising amount of agility, the rat leapt onto the desk and a few clicks of keys on the keyboard later, Naomasa saw something he had never seen before. The stoat was emoting as the computer screened switched to the image of a certain fishbowl-headed villain.

"Greetings! I am Mysterio, the Master of the Arcane Arts, and the greatest illusionist to ever exist!" The villain stretched his arms wide as he added, "As for why you are seeing this, I am televising my greatest accomplishment yet!"

"Oh no." Nezu whispered as the screen switched to show a certain vigilante.

Inko Midoriya stared at her television screen with an expression of fear, Himiko having just told her that something was going on while she was watching the tube.

"Behold, my nemesis, Spider-Man!"An image of Spider-Man appeared, one that had been used several times on television over the incident at the festival and the hero killer. The image then switched to Mysterio, the villain crossing his arms,"I had dedicated myself to successfully robbing every bank in Japan, and I had succeeded in making sure no hero would ever stop me...but he did."

"Oh dear..." Inko gulped, Himiko glancing back at her with a frown.

"This is bad, isn't it?"

"Spider-Man is the only one to have ever foiled one of my plans!"Mysterio added as he uncrossed his arms,"And for that, he will pay dearly."

The hero commission stared at the screen in front of her. She had already yelled at her subordinates, telling them to find out why this broadcast had suddenly taken over multiple channels. After that, she called Tsuragamae, yelling at him for what was happening, Nezu about to be next. However, it was here that she took a moment to catch her breath as she sat in her office. And as she watched the fishbowl-headed man begin to rant, her face tried to form a smile, only to fail.

"Seems Nezu failed to find him. Oh well." She commented as she picked up her phone again, "Now, time for me to save the hero society I've worked so hard to create."

"For you see, I have concocted my greatest performance ever! One that will allow me to reach my ultimate goal!"

"Seriously?! In that outfit?!" Mt. Lady muttered out while chomping on a potato chip. "What a nut."

Kamui Woods and Edgeshot both glared at her, only for Kamui to sigh as he said, "I suppose we should get ready. I suspect they will ask us to find this...Mysterio."

"You're kidding, right?" Mount Lady asked him as she ate another chip, "Look at how that guy is dressed! We're seriously not going after that kind of fashion disaster, are we?!"

"Just get ready if they do call us in." Edgeshot murmured as he spun around before walking away.

"What is my ultimate goal, you ask? Why, it is to become the world's greatest illusionist! To stun this world with works like no other!"

"Find out where this broadcast is coming from now!" Endeavor roared as he ran through his building, his sidekicks all scrambling around him.

"That's not good." Burnin whispered as she watched him stomp past them, the flames on his body flaring.

"Just shut up and help me, Burnin." Kido added as he walked by.

"Yeah yeah..."

"And I shall accomplish this by showing the world my true power!"

Toshinori Yagi stared at the screen before him, his mind slightly mixed at what he was watching. On the one hand, if this happened back in his prime, he would have searched the country to find this villain and instantly shut them down. On the other, his daily time as All Might was up. That meant all he could do was sit and watch.

As such, he slumped down in a chair in his apartment, staring at the television screen before him as he muttered, "Spider-Man...to think I would see a vigilante cause this much of a stir after all I've done." He closed his eyes at this, "I wonder, why are you a vigilante?"

A few minutes ago...

Izuku zipped past building after building, his webswinging faster than it had ever been. He had tried this kind of speed before with webswinging, but nothing like this. The whole city was a blur as he swung over blocks and streets, his eyes glued to the tracker in his hand as he relied on his spider sense to tell him where to swing.

'I gotta keep moving. I need to find Fishbowl-Head and fast!' he thought as he went over another rooftop. But as he did this, his mind went back to what had just happened, 'I don't get it. Why is this guy so angry at me that he would kill Gentle Criminal? I mean, I just foiled his bank robbery. Why go this far? Is he crazy?!'

And as he shot over another building, Izuku glanced up from the tracker, only to see something in the distance. He now saw he was nearing the city outskirts, and in front of him was what looked like a massive abandoned warehouse. It was huge, many feet tall, as it was designed to hold tons of stuff. And on top of that warehouse was one fishbowl wearing man, a bit of smoke swirling around him.

'Found him.' Izuku thought before landing on a nearby rooftop. 'Let's reload my web shooters and take him down.'

One replenish later, Izuku leapt off the roof and fired two weblines, soon slingshotting himself over to the villain. "You're here." Mysterio commented as Izuku landed in front of him.

"Like you wanted." Izuku quickly switched to his crouched position, one of his hands already ready to fire webbing at the man. "Ready to throw down? I'll gladly kick your butt if that's what you want."

"You will not beat me." Mysterio chuckled as more smoke began to form around him. "And you have arrived just in time. My broadcast has already started, and my recorded speech is just about to finish."

"Broadcast?"

"Yes. I am a performer after all!" the villain cackled as he raised out his arms, "Behold, my masterpiece!"

Danger!

"Huh?" Izuku whispered, only to feel the ground below him suddenly disappear. A trapdoor beneath opened, gravity instantly taking hold as he fell. "Whoa!"

But the fall wasn't a long one, as he felt his feet hit something just a second and a half later. But that was enough as Izuku found out as he looked back up at where he had fell, only to see the trapdoor instantly close. 'What in the name of-'

"Greetings, Spider-Man!" exclaimed a new voice. It sounded like Mysterio, but it was ten times louder than the one Izuku had just been hearing. And as the voice shook the vigilante, his eyes went wide at the next sight as Mysterio said, "Today, I shall broadcast this moment to all of Japan as my greatest victory."

Spotlights suddenly shined down on the teen, making him flinch for a second as continued to stare at the sight before him. It was Mysterio, though he now looked like he was at least twenty feet taller. The fishbowl on his head alone looked like it could cover a tiny house, the sight making Izuku begin to backpedal. And then, the villain started to rant.

"As you can see my audience, today is the day I start the next chapter in my road to become the greatest illusionist of all! In order to do this, I will destroy the only one that has ever beaten me!" Mysterio exclaimed as his giant form began to raise its arms, the teen's eyes darting between the two massive hands and the villain's enormous body. The teen then glanced down and saw he was on a platform above an assortment of buildings and structures, only to look back up and saw the two hands from before starting to move toward him.

"The world will now see me accomplish my next greatest feat! One that only I can do!" the villain laughed, the giant's hands now on both sides of the vigilante.

'Uh-oh.' Izuku thought as he saw the hands begin to move again.

"And now, I will crush you like the bug that you are!"

Chapter 42: To Crush A Bug!

Chapter Text

Danger!

Izuku felt his head scream at him, the teen leaping off the platform just as the giant hands clapped, crunching the platform he had been standing on. The sound of metal crushing rang out at this, Izuku firing a webline upward. It instantly hit the warehouse's ceiling, yanking him back up as he glanced back at the giant hands, only to see them suddenly get consumed in a pillar of smoke.

"Huh?" Izuku muttered before looking down, now seeing the buildings below him. It looked like a cross between a carnival, a circus, and a collection of movie props. 'What the heck?! What is this place?!' he thought, only for a booming sound to ring out. He glanced back up and saw a plume of smoke that transformed into the giant Mysterio from before.

"Surprised?!" the villain cackled, "And now, I shall show you just how insignificant you really are!" The giant swung his arms at this, about to clap them into the vigilante again. Izuku let go of the webline at this, dropping just as the hands slammed into each other.

Izuku flipped once before landing, the teen glancing down and seeing he was now on a wooden rooftop. He took a small breath as his mind said, 'Okay, how did he do that? He turned into a giant...was it a solid illusion? My spider sense did warn me of-'

His thoughts were cut short as he saw the giant from before turn into a smoke cloud. And as this happened, ten smaller smoke puffs appeared around the teen, all soon revealing ten Mysterios. "And now, let us do battle!" all ten said in unison before the one in front of Izuku ran up and threw a punch at the teen. Spider sense yelling at him, Izuku reflexively tilted his head, evading the jab before responding with his own punch. The blow instantly knocked the Mysterio off its feet, only for two more to charge at Izuku. And as they tried to hit him, Izuku sidestepped both punches from them just as the one that was knocked down turned into a puff of smoke.

'That's an illusion too.' Izuku thought before kicking one of the two, only for the other to punch his face. The blow just pushed him slightly back, the punch feeling like a love tap more than anything. 'I felt that.'

Izuku responded with a punch to that Mysterio's gut, knocking it back before it exploded into smoke. This was followed by three more of them, all throwing jabs at the teen. The vigilante ducked under them all, quickly doing a leg sweep. The trio flopped over at this, turning into puffs of smoke instantly. But as this happened, Izuku saw the five Mysterios that were left all just stood in front of him.

The teen braced himself at this, only for all five villains to speak up in unison, "Well done. But you will not win this, for you are outnumbered a hundred to one!"

"Uh...you do realize there's only five of you now, right Fishbowl-Head?"

"My name is Mysterio!" the villain barked back, only for five puffs of smoke appear behind the original five, five more Mysterios now appearing. All ten pointed at him at this, "And now, the battle will continue!"

"Great..." Izuku muttered as he ducked under a punch from one of the Mysterios, 'So he can make a bunch of smaller solid, tangible illusions.' He punched the Mysterio back, knocking it back before it turned into a puff of smoke. This was followed by Izuku's spider sense ringing out, the teen quickly spinning around with a kick, smacking two away as they all turned into smoke. But as the puffs dissipated, three more Mysterios appeared in new small pillars of smoke. 'And he can make as many as he wants.'

That thought made Izuku grimace, his eyes glancing around as he noticed he was in the middle of the rooftop, 'I gotta get out of here.' He evaded two more punches at this, seeing now the illusions were very slow. Probably the slowest punches he had seen since he started as Spider-Man. As such, he kicked another Mysterio, the clone turning into smoke before he cut into a sprint. The other nine began to chase after him, only to see the vigilante leap off the rooftop.

'Gotta catch my breath.' he thought as he landed. But as his feet touched the ground, a giant puff of smoke appeared before him, making the teen glance up and see the giant Mysterio again. "Uh-oh."

"You will not escape me, bug!" the giant roared as it raised its foot, the teen jumping away as the stomp came a second later. He fired a webline upward at this, yanking himself away. His eyes darted around at the same time, now seeing all the buildings.

'A carnival? He put a carnival inside a warehouse?! How did he-'

Danger!

Glancing back, Izuku saw a giant hand about to swat him, the teen gasping before letting go of the line, falling to the ground as the hand swung over him. Rolling on the floor for a second, he spun around to see a giant foot raise up, ready to try and stomp the teen again. 'I can't sit still. Gotta move!' he thought before glancing over to the building that he had just leapt off of. It looked like a saloon from the Old West, the sight making him blink before firing two weblines, slingshotting him inside.

But as he did this, the giant Mysterio vanished in a pillar of smoke as the teen slid into the building. There, the vigilante saw he was in an old-style western bar, which was soon consumed in puffs of smoke...only to for five Mysterios to appear, four sitting around tables while a fifth was behind the bar. The four were all in cowboy outfits, complete with spurs and stetsons, though their head were still looked like fishbowls while the fifth as in a waiter-like outfit while still wearing the fishbowl helmet, along with a big fake mustache on the bowl.

"Howdy! Ready for a good ol' shooting up?" The Mysterio from behind the bar asked.

"Huh?" was all Izuku could say before the other four Mysterios reached under the tables and pulled out pairs of revolvers.

"Get 'em boys!" the bar-tending Mysterio yelled as they all took aim at the vigilante.

Danger!

"Eep!" Izuku yelped as he fired two weblines into the ceiling, yanking himself a split-second before four bullets flew across the room. Dodging them all, Izuku did a small flip in the air before aiming his wrists at the four, firing a barrage of webbing. Trusting his spider sense, webbing struck every gun before he yanked them away, the teen grabbing all of them a second later. Izuku quickly shot out a glob of webbing at this, wrapping the weapons up before firing the blob of guns into the ceiling, sticking it in a webbed mess.

"Impressive." The Mysterio behind the bar commented, "But we're not done yet." He snapped his fingers and four more Mysterios appeared in puffs of smoke, these in the normal Mysterio outfits rather than the cowboy ones.

"That's kinda disappointing. You couldn't do them all in outfits, Fishbowl-Head?"

"Shut up!" the bartender one yelled, "Get 'em! And we're Mysterio, not Fishbowl-Head!"

They all charged at Izuku at this, one in a cowboy outfit throwing the first punch. The teen responded by ducking under it, his spider sense blaring as two more punches came his way. Izuku started to backpedal at this, evading both before throwing a punch, knocking one of the cowboy ones off his feet and into a table. As this happened, one of the ones that wasn't wearing a cowboy outfit grabbed a wooden chair and raised it up high, only for Izuku to fire a webline on the chair and yank it, sending the chair straight into the Mysterio's head.

Crash!

Two puffs of smoke appeared next, making those two Mysterios disappear as two of the others leapt at Izuku, trying to tackle him. Spider sense flaring, the teen side-stepped them both, only to dodge another punch before hitting one of the cowboy ones back, turning it into a puff of smoke. "You guys aren't that tough, are you?" He remarked as he then kicked the other cowboy Mysterio, its form smashing into a table, splitting the furniture in half before the Mysterio disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"Maybe so." The bartender replied, "But we prefer quantity over quality."

Four Mysterios appeared in a fog of smoke at this, all charging as the other two got back up. Izuku leapt up at this, hopping over the group before spinning around and firing a blast of webbing, sticking them all together. But as he landed, smoke consumed them, only for six new Mysterios to appear out of the smoke, the sight making Izuku growl, "Oh, come on-"

Danger!

Smash!

"Augh!" Izuku yelled as a thick glass bottle hit his head, making him glance back to see it was the bartender. He pointed his wrist at him, only for spider sense to scream at him again. This was followed by one of the new Mysterios grabbing a nearby chair and slamming it into the teen's back, the wooden frame breaking to pieces as Izuku felt pain surge through him. A punch to the vigilante's face followed this, though the blow wasn't as strong as the previous hits. As such, as the punching Mysterio tried a second jab, Izuku's reflexes kicked in, causing him to swing a leg upward, smacking the Mysterio away.

A puff of smoke followed, only for two more Mysterios to throw a pair of punches at him, spider sense making Izuku duck under both before hitting them back with two thrusting blows. And as they were knocked back, another bottle flew through the air, spider sense screaming at the teen as he raised his hand and caught the bottle. "What?!" The bartender Mysterio yelped, only for Izuku to fling the bottle right back at him, the glass container hitting the bartender's head before he turned into a cloud of smoke.

"That's it!" Izuku yelled as he kicked another Mysterio, turning it into smoke before firing two weblines to the sides of the front door of the saloon. "I'm outta here!"

And with a tug, the vigilante slingshotted through the doors, flinging out of the building. He landed with a slight slide, his eyes darting back at the building, ready to see if the fake Mysterios followed him...only to find they were gone. The saloon looked suddenly empty, making the teen blink before the corner of his eyes caught another sight. It was a giant puff of smoke, making him turn to see the giant Mysterio from before.

"Couldn't take the saloon, could you bug?!" The giant laughed, "Very well! Then I shall give you the honor of being squashed by-hey! Get back here!"

"Nope." Izuku commented as he fired a webline and yanked himself away, 'Come on Izuku, think this through. There's got to be a way-'

Danger!

The teen glanced back and saw two hands about to clap him. Going wide-eyed, he pulled as hard as he could on the webline, yanking himself away just in time. This was followed by the giant thrusting a punch straight for the vigilante, Izuku letting go of the webline, ducking right under the fist. However, this made the teen hit the ground a second later, Izuku feeling his body roll on the floor.

"Ow ow ow!" He yelped as he scrambled to his feet, only for his spider sense to scream at him. Not looking back this time, he pushed his spider strength into his legs and leapt as far as he could, just avoiding a giant foot slamming into the ground. A slight booming sound followed this, Izuku glancing back to see the giant Mysterio marching after him. He looked back at what was in front of him, only to see what looked like a circus tent to his right. And as he went through the entrance, the teen rolled on the ground before glancing back out, only to see the giant Mysterio was now gone.

'That giant version of Fishbowl-Head keeps disappearing when I go into a building.' the teen thought before taking a deep breath. He put his hand to his chest before sighing, 'Okay Izuku, you-'

"So, you wish to try my house of mirrors bug?!" exclaimed a voice, interrupting the teen's thoughts. He turned to see a whole hall of mirrors before him, all with a bunch of...Spider-Men in them.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Izuku moaned, only to see the Spider-Men in the mirrors start to literally walk out of the mirrors. "What the-"

"Seems you still don't understand." One of them said, only for a loud noise to sound out behind Izuku. He glanced back and saw that a large metal door was now covering the entrance he had just went through. The sight made him blink before looking back at the mirrors, now seeing five of himself standing with crossed arms.

"Great..." Izuku sighed as the fake Spider-Men charge at him. He easily punched the first two, both turning into puffs of smoke before a third hit Izuku in the chest. This was followed by a fourth running around the teen, trying to punch his back, only for the vigilante's spider sense to yell at him. This was followed by Izuku putting every bit of strength into his legs before hopping, flipping in the air before landing on all fours on the ceiling. Seeing this, the fakes all stared up at him, two more now appearing from puffs of smoke.

A few seconds passed at this, Izuku seeing that they weren't trying to attack him. "What's the matter? Can't climb up here like me?"

"Uh..." one of them replied before they all glanced at each other, only for it to look back up at Izuku and shake its fist at him. "Come down here and fight us like a man!"

"Oh yeah?! Why don't you come up here and fight me like a spider?!" Izuku quipped back, "You're all supposed to be me, aren't you?" The fakes began to hop up and down at this, only to find that the teen was just out of reach. Blinking at this, Izuku's mind hummed to itself, 'Hey, that was a pretty good quip! I'm glad I wrote that down a while back. I should come up with more spider-based things...'

"Grrr...come down here this instant!"

"No." Izuku replied before closing his eyes, trusting his spider sense to warn him as he began to think. 'Okay, I got a second now. Think this through Izuku...he keeps switching illusions on me. He either has that giant version of himself or a bunch of smaller ones. That means he probably can't do both, but both are still very real. That's such a cool quirk. I wonder if he could-no! Don't nerd out! Think! You have to-'

Danger!

He opened his eyes to see one of the fakes now wielding a chair before throwing it at the teen. Firing a webline, Izuku yanked himself away at the last second, only to land on the floor a few feet away from the fake Spider-Men. Spinning around at this, he heard one of them yell, "Get him!" before they all charged at the teen.

'Gotta get out of here.' He thought before standing up and cutting into a sprint into the house of mirrors. The teen took a left and a right, his eyes darting back and forth as he saw nothing but reflections. 'Come on, there's got to be-'

"You can't run from me!" exclaimed a voice, only for Izuku to see five new fakes come out of mirrors in front of the teen. Skidding to a stop, Izuku took another left, only to see two more fakes appear, this time from puffs of smoke. Spider sense screaming at this, the vigilante quickly switching into a slide, zipping right under both, hitting their legs and knocking them to the floor, causing both to turn into puffs of smoke.

'They're so fragile.' he commented in his head, 'But they can overwhelm me. I need to-wait! That's it!' He came to a stop at this as he saw he was in another hallway of mirrors. His eyes darted back and forth, staring at the reflective surfaces surrounding him.

A second later, two fakes appeared in front of him from inside the mirrors, only for two more to appear out of puffs of smoke behind them. Seeing this, one fake asked, "Tired of running?"

But as the fake asked this, Izuku just shook his head, "Nope. Just realized something."

"And what's that?!"

"That only some of you come out of mirrors." Izuku replied before turning to one of them, "And if you guys fall apart from one punch," He pulled back a fist, "Maybe the mirrors you come out of are the same!"

The fakes all flinched before yelling, "No, wait!"

SMASH!

Izuku's fist hit the mirror one of the fakes had just come out of, only for it to turn into smoke. And as the fog dissipated instantly, the teen now seeing an open tunnel beyond the mirrors. "Bingo!"

"No! Come back here!" the fakes yelled as Izuku rushed inside, huffing as he kept running.

'Keep moving Izuku.' the teen thought as continued to make his way down the hallway. 'You just need a second to think.' And as he thought this, his eyes saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel. 'I hope there's nothing crazy beyond this.' A second later, the vigilante had come to a stop as he saw a new sight. 'You have got to be kidding me. I really gotta stop asking that.'

The teen had just found that he had ran inside a circus tent. Granted, Izuku had never gone to the circus before, as most stopped existing due to the rise of quirks and the idea of…questionable practices. However, this one was a complete tent with a surrounding yet empty seating area and a circle in the middle with long trapeze towers. Granted, there was no cannon, performers, but the teen quickly found out there was one circus thing here: Animals.

“RAWR!”

The middle of the circus suddenly shifted into a pile of sand, only for a certain animal’s head Izuku recognized to appear…and blast out of the sand. “Oh great. Of course he brought you back.” The teen deadpanned as a giant snake began to slither up from the center of the tent. Izuku felt himself backpedal at the sight, only to see the snake’s head turn to glare at him.

Danger!

“RAWR!”the snake roared as it thrust its head at the teen, Izuku instantly firing two weblines into the ceiling and yanking on them. The snake head slammed into the tent’s floor as Izuku flew above it, dodging it in a split second. He then fired another webline, swinging himself across the tent.

“I gotta get out of here.” Izuku whispered as he landed on a trapeze platform. Another roar rang out at this, making him glance back to see the giant snake raised itself again. It then tilted sideways before thrusting its head with mouth opened, fangs ready to chomp the vigilante. Leaping off the trapeze, the snake head slamming into the pole as Izuku firing another webline, swinging to the other trapeze platform. He looked back at this, his eyes staring at the previous platform’s pole as it contorted from the snake’s fangs before letting go and glaring at him again.

The sight made him suck in a breath, his mind going into overdrive. ‘If this is like the last time, its pointless to fight the snake…but this might be a good time to collect my thoughts.' The snake then leapt at him again, Izuku firing some more webbing as he swung around the tent. Letting his spider sense take over, he reflexively dodged the beast as he began to think, ‘Come on Izuku, think! How do I beat him?'

And as he evaded the snake again, his mind went to a single thought: His first encounter with the villain at the bank.

“That’s it!” Izuku exclaimed, only to see the snake head appear right in front of him. “Eep!” The snake opened his mouth and tried to chomp him, Izuku firing another webline and yanking away. “I’m leaving. Now.” He then fired two lines into the ceiling before tugging again, the vigilante flinging himself upward. Thrusting a leg, he shot through the top of the circus tent, ripping through the building’s fabric.

It was here that the teen saw he was right back in the warehouse, complete with the assortment of buildings from earlier. And as he flew out of the tent and fired another webline, zipping himself on top of a tiny building’s rooftop, a giant pillar of smoke suddenly appeared before him.

“Well, well, well…seems you escaped our old friend!” a giant Mysterio declared as the smoke dissipated.

“Yeah. I’ll admit, I didn’t like seeing him again.” Izuku quipped as he stared up at the massive villain, “Though to be fair, at least he doesn’t wear a fishbowl.”

“I do not wear a fishbowl! This is a helmet!” the giant barked back before pointing at the teen. “And do you not see what you’re wearing?!”

“Oh yeah?! At least my costume’s colors go together, unlike yours! You look like you should be some aquarium’s mascot, you giant bubblehead!” Izuku replied, about to shake his fist at the giant before stopping himself, ‘Huh. That’s weird. I’ve never been able to quip like that before. Is it because I’m fighting him?!’

“Why you little…”

Izuku ignored the next few words, shaking his head before pointing at the massive villain, “Alright, listen here fishbowl-“

“Do not call me that! I am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!” Mysterio roared, making Izuku almost flinch.

“Oookay. Well, listen here anyways.” Izuku responded before taking a deep breath, “I’m done playing your game. I know your quirk’s weakness, and these illusions of yours aren’t going to beat me. Show me where you are so we can finish this.”

“WHAT?!” Mysterio exclaimed, “How dare you! My quirk has no weaknesses!” He then raised his arms out, “I am the greatest illusionist the world has ever seen! My quirk is perfect!” He pointed at Izuku again, “And you will not defeat me!”

Izuku shook his head again, "No. You're wrong. I've seen a perfect quirk...and it isn't yours."

And as he said that, Izuku closed his eyes, his mind going into the library of memories inside his head. The memories of the explosions, beatings, and bruises. Of days of being shown what a true quirk is. One that beat him over and over, day in and day out, explosion after explosion.

It was a true quirk. A quirk where you could accomplish all your dreams, and show that everyone else had no right to their dreams. A quirk that Izuku so wished he had...but was instead given this. A quirk from a spider bite.

'I'm weak. I'm still so weak.' Izuku thought as he opened his eyes, now staring at the giant villain in front of him. His mind was clear now. He could still feel the sting of those explosions from the past, but a new thought entered his head: 'But that doesn't mean I can't try. That doesn't mean I can't win this fight.'

"Your quirk isn't perfect." Izuku repeated, the giant almost flinching as he added, "I've figured it all out."

"What was that?!"

"You heard me." Izuku instantly replied, "Your illusions can only make certain things solid. You either have one to two big things, like the snake at the bank when I first encountered you or those giant hands, or a bunch of smaller things. I believe you can make up to ten or so smaller solid illusions. The rest are all fakes, just props you have around here. You also can't disrupt my senses, as you've never changed anything around me this whole time unlike at the bank. That means you have to be up close and personal for that part of your illusions to work."

"You...you little-"

"I'm right, aren't I?" Izuku replied as he slowly stood up.

"You're wrong!" Mysterio exclaimed, "My quirk is perfect! It is the greatest illusion quirk of them all!"

Izuku just shook his head at this, "No...no, its not. I've seen a perfect quirk...and its not this."

"You...you...you..." the villain repeated, his giant form shaking as it stood there. Despite not being able to show any emotions due to the giant helmet on its head, Izuku knew there was a look of pure frustration on the villain's face. That is, till he let out a roar, "That's it! I'm crushing you right now!"

Izuku flashed his palms at this, "Now hang on-"

"NO!" Mysterio screeched, "I'm ending this now! I am proud to be a villain, and I shall show the world my greatest feat right now! I will show the world the death of the Spider-Man!"

'Guess I gotta do this the hard way.' Izuku thought as he took a deep breath before crouching down, getting into his usual fighting stance. And as he did this, his idea he had at the start reentered his head as the teen spoke up, "Fine. If that's the way you want it." Izuku felt himself smirk at his next words, "Let's go, Fishbowl Head!"

"MY NAME IS NOT FISHBOWL HEAD! IT IS MYSTERIO!" the giant screamed, his voice echoing through the whole building. And as it did this, Izuku turned his head to the left. Before his eyes was several low buildings, some looking obviously fake while others had some structure to them.

But that wasn't what Izuku was looking at. Rather, he was staring at the wall beyond the buildings. 'That's it!' he mentally grinned as he pointed his wrists toward the wall, 'Got ya!'

Thwip!

Two weblines hit the wall instantly, the villain seeing this as Izuku began to pull. "What the-what are you doing?!"

"Ending this." Izuku replied as he lifted his legs up, only to instantly slingshot away.

"NO!" Mysterio yelled as he turned into a giant puff of smoke. A second later, he reappeared in a massive pillar of fog in front of the vigilante, his giant form swinging both arms at the teen. But as the hands came down to crush the bug, Izuku let go of the weblines, his body flying before firing another webline, this one wrapping around the giant's right arm. With a tug, he swung under the arm, only for his spider sense to ring out. Firing another web, he pulled himself away just as the giant spun around, trying to swat the vigilante, only to miss.

And as this happened, Izuku fired two more weblines and pulled, soon slingshotting himself right into the warehouse's wall.

SMASH!

His form instantly burst through the wall as if it was made of cardboard. Granted, he had a feeling it was something stronger, but it was nothing against Izuku's spider strength. Instead, the teen saw he had just slammed through a wall of painted over lumber, which had been made to look like a brick wall. And beyond that wall was an empty part of the warehouse...except a tiny room on the side of the warehouse's real wall. One that had a big glass window on its side.

SMASH!

"Hi there!" Izuku laughed as he slammed his feet into the glass window, shattering it to pieces. The villain inside turned to the sudden intruder as the vigilante commented, "So, will the real fishbowl head stand up?"

"What?!" Mysterio screamed, only for Izuku to point both wrists at him, webbing instantly wrapping him to his chair a second later. "What the-how?!"

Izuku's hand stretched over and grabbed the villain's helmet, yanking it off with a single pull. It revealed a basic looking man, Izuku leaning down and pinching his cheek, "Are you the real one?"

"Ow!" the man yelped.

"Yup. The real deal." Izuku chuckled, "And that means you lose."

"Wha-No! NO!" the villain yelled as he began to squirm in his chair, "How did you-what is-how did you find me?!"

The teen shrugged at this before glancing around at the room as he decided to not answer the question just yet. He saw it was a fully fitted security camera room just like what you would see in television shows and movies. "Nice room you got here. A full security camera setup? Let me guess, you had cameras in every bit of this place so you could easily use your illusions on me. I bet they're specially made for your quirk and everything."

Mysterio growled at this, "You...how did you figure out where I was?!"

"Simple." Izuku replied before pointing at him, "You told me."

"Me?!"

"Yup." Izuku leaned down while shining a grin under his mask, "After all, I knew I couldn't find you normally. I went through your whole carnival/circus/movie prop thing and didn't find a trace of you. But I knew you had to be nearby, or your quirk probably wouldn't work. That meant you had to be somewhere in the warehouse, probably behind something fake...like a false wall."

"You..." Mysterio hissed.

"After that, all I had to do is make you angry." Izuku chuckled, "So angry your yell became an echo in this giant warehouse. Following that sound, I knew you had to be behind this wall."

"You...this isn't over!" Mysterio roared, "I will escape this and-"

ZAP!

"Ugh..." The villain moaned before slumping over.

"No more monologues. No more tricks." Izuku commented as he lifted his two fingers off of the villain's shoulder, electricity sparking off of him. "You're done, and I'm going home." And as he said that, he felt a crick in his back, "YEOW!" He tried to reach around his back and groaned, "And maybe I can finally do that vacation..."

Pointing his wrists, he fired some more webbing over the chair just in case before hopping down and walking out of the room, only to spin around. "Hmm?" He lifted up the fishbowl head Mysterio had been wearing, his eyes squinting at the sight. On the seemingly glass bowl were tiny little circuits on the bottom edges. 'Whoa. Now that's cool. His helmet has a kind of OS skeleton to it.' Izuku glanced back at the knocked-out villain, 'For a nutjob, he might be smarter than he looks...and that sounded really mean. I shouldn't go that far.'

The teen glanced back at the helmet, humming to himself, 'Hmm...wonder if I could add this to my suit. Maybe my mask? I did want to do a customization to my mask's eye lens.' he spun the helmet around, 'Better not take the whole thing though. The police will probably need this for evidence.' He put two of his fingers to the edge of the helmet and twisted it, breaking off a piece. 'There. They won't miss that.'

He put the piece in his hoodie and pulled out a small notecard that he wrote on saying:This is Fishbowl-Head, a crazy bank robber. Please put him away in the least coziest cell you can find. Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

"There we go." Izuku chuckled as he put the notecard on the webbed up villain's lap before exiting the room. Doing a quick stretch, (Which made his back crick in pain again) he slowly walked out of the building, easily finding an exit before webswinging into the city.

"Time to go place an anonymous call to the police, then go home and take a long sleep. Here's hoping that's all I'm gonna have to deal with for like...the next week."