Chapter 12
Fiefdom
Spider Journal Entry 70.)
Avoiding Police and Pro hero patrols has been paramount to my survival these last two weeks. Most information regarding patrols for police is kept secret to avoid criminals memorizing them, but Pro heroes will post their routes for some people to meet and greet them. With that in mind I managed to get a generalized area of their actual patrols and have worked to avoid them, there's only a few agencies in Musutafu ward.
If I stay in one place for too long then the police start patrolling and heroes move in, so I have to be quick and on the move. But being able to change into my civilian clothes right away is really helpful. But I can't stay on defense, someone is behind this, and I have to find out who. I have to widen my web so to speak.
I'm stopping any crime I come across, but after I act I check to see if I can call the police or the pro heroes in the area. If so, I move on like normal, but if not? Then that means they have the blocker phones. Asking them about it straight out hasn't been fruitful, and with everyone knowing I'm a vigilante I don't have any legal authority, so they have no incentive to tell me anything to get a lighter sentence.
The thought of…..interrogating them had crossed my mind, but…I do this to help people, I want them to see me and have a smile on their face…not be scared of me.
But then again that's happening even when I just save people, they run away, call the cops, or threaten me if I don't leave…and that somehow hurts worse than any bad thing that's said about me online or on the news.
The guards inside the cabbie were dazed and confused, one moment they had been driving, but the next thing they knew their transport had taken a harsh detour, "Hit…..button…" the driver mumbled as he struggled to maintain his consciousness through the concussion he now had. The passenger slowly looked around, the window was cracked and…..everything was on its side outside? But he focused on what his partner said, the panic button, the emergency switch that would broadcast to the nearest pro hero or police unit that they were in trouble. Reaching under the dash of the truck, he felt the switch and pressed it before joining his partner in unconsciousness.
Unaware that their cry for help would be unheard.
The armored truck had been overturned but a section of the ground was as it was driven over, causing it to lift up from the ground off balance and crash through the corner of a building. Eventually it slid to a stop after crashing through a large median in the road, taking out the guard rail around it and unrooting the grass before the people responsible swarmed their target.
Depending on a number of factors, such as the time of day, the route, and how busy the stores on its route were, an armored truck can be carrying up to two billion yen. So the group of a half dozen thieves saw it as a big fat target, and with them ensuring a cut of the profits would go to their organizer for the job? They were given everything needed to pull it off, "You're up, get those doors open!" one of the men in purple masks said to another while he brandished a revolver, two of the other men had weapons as well to make up for their useless quirks. The other three were the key players, the one who could cause a cube of the ground to rise up for a moment, another who had a blowtorch on his elbow, and the third who could increase his overall size to the point he was as tall as the armored truck.
As the man with a blowtorch elbow propped against the turned over door with one hand while aiming his quirk at the lock to melt it when he was suddenly slammed into the door and stuck to it by something encasing him around his back. "See this is why you always carry a spare car key with you. You never know when you'll lock yourself out of your own car."
Spider-Man landed atop the armored truck and overlooked the remaining thieves as they turned their attention to him. His sixth sense buzzed as the three men raised their guns at him. He launched himself off the truck a second before they fired, easily leaping over their heads by the time the bullets flew through where he had been. Crossing his arms over one another he shot twin strands of webbing from his wrists, they connected and wrapped around two of the gunmen.
Pulling his arms outwards, the two men were yanked off their feet and slammed into each other with excessive force as Spider-Man landed on the ground. "That is what's happening right now right? I mean nobody would think about robbing an armored truck in broad daylight." He joked as the larger man of the group charged at him with a fist raised.
As he brought it down, Spider-Man dove forward with his legs, using his hands to catch himself and then pushing off and into the large man's back feet first. The mountain of a man toppled forward onto the pavement with Spider-Man landing on his back and sticking him to the ground by webbing his arms and legs to the earth.
The remaining trio of thieves decided at that point that their best option was clear, "Bail! Bail!" The leader shouted as he sprinted off while the others ran off in different directions. Spider-Man reacted by shooting a webline to each of them, "Hey I'm not finished!" He called out, sticking to each of their backs before gripping them tightly in his hands and leaping straight up into the air, pulling the three onwards towards the point of origin and a few feet off the ground and slamming into one another.
Spider-Man came down, his feet colliding with a head each while his hand slammed the third's head into the ground. The man whose face was against the ground groaned as Spider-Man removed his hand. "Let me finish, nobody would think about robbing an armored truck unless they're absolutely sure that the cops aren't gonna show up. And the only way that you'd be sure of that is either you have a psychic quirk, which must not be good since I just beat all of you, or you have a certain brand of cell phone."
Reaching down, Spider-Man grabbed the back of the man's coat and lifted him up and turned him around as they were facing each other, the leader's bruised face looking at the reflective lenses of his mask. "Ugh-I ain't scared of you, I ain't gonna break like the others!" he hissed out.
Spider-Man's eyes narrowed, word apparently had spread of his exploits and his search for a lead on the old man who designed the phones. Which meant that they would be tightening their lips, "See I already know that the Tinkerer is the guy who made those little devices that block first responder numbers, fire trucks, police…..ambulances." he said as he lifted the man up higher as his eyes widened.
"Y-you wouldn't-" the leader sputtered out.
"Wouldn't what? Crash your party? I'm not a pro hero, I'm a vigilante." Spider-Man said with a slight growl to his voice. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."
Fear etched onto the man's features, and Izuku felt himself frown in disappointment with himself, "I-I don't know! Honestly! We get these things delivered to us! We get in touch with a handler, he sets up the delivery with instructions on the job! That's all I know, I swear!" he promised, giving the webslinger another piece to this puzzle that he was slowly putting together.
Spider-Man dropped him, "See, was that so hard?" he asked.
Suddenly his sixth sense traveled down his spine as it bent back, feeling something flying towards him before flipping backwards a few feet, turning his head to the side he felt equal parts dread, excitement, and anxiety at the sight of a thin strand of Denim retreating back to a tall man with blonde hair. He was dressed nose to toe in blue denim fabric that separated into a buttoned waistcoat with a matching dress shirt that went up past his nose and just below his eyes with a belt around top of the half mask like one would around the waist of their pants. He had neatly combed blonde hair that was swept to the side just above his eyes that were focused on the Wall crawler.
"Holy-your Best Jeanist!" Spider-Man exclaimed as he pointed excitedly at the pro hero who seemed unimpressed. "I'm a huge fan!"
"...not exactly the reaction I expected from a wanted vigilante." the pro said in a somewhat amused tone. He had been out shopping for a new buckle when someone ran by saying how there had been a crash nearby, he hadn't thought that he would run into the a vigilante who he had gotten a report on a few days ago, but he had dismissed the idea of going after him personally due to prioritization on a smuggling ring he was working on. "Now then, if you come quietly this will be easier for the both of us."
The vigilante's eyes widened slightly, Oh right. Wanted by the police. "Um…would you believe me if I said that I'm a good guy and I'm just trying to help others?" he asked weakly.
"While you might have good intentions, you are breaking the law and endangering the safety of those around you." Jeanist said and he began approaching the teen. Glancing around he saw a few pedestrians who stayed after the crash were filming the confrontation, which probably meant they saw him threatening the thug he had a minute ago. Despite how this might make him look, he needed to run, but more importantly he didn't want to fight a pro, despite being against him they still were just trying to do their jobs and help others.
"Sorry, but the red and blue are the only colors that go with my eyes, orange would just clash with my mask!" he replied launching himself off the ground, Best Jeanist raised a hand, his quirk allowing him to control the fibers of clothing, which included the costume that the vigilante was wearing.
He waited to feel the familiar hold of the material, but despite his razor focus on the teen's costume, he felt nothing! "What?" he muttered as Spider-Man shot a webline to swing on. Shaking his head, the fingers of his pants came undone and pushed him off from the ground, launching after the vigilante while his sleeve reached out and towards the spider themed vigilante.
Feeling his Spider Sense buzz, he pulled himself further up on his web to avoid his foot being snagged, looking over his shoulder he saw as the pro used his other sleeve to grab onto a nearby building and fling himself after the teen. "Oh man this would be so cool if I wasn't being chased! Actually yeah this is still pretty cool!" he gushed as he threw out a webline and swung around a building with Jeanest in hot pursuit.
As he shot out another webline however he watched as the thin strand of webbing came undone in midair! "Crap!" he exclaimed as he landed on a rooftop with Jeanest right behind him. Looking down at the wrist of his costume, he realized what happened, "Oh I see, you used your quirk to undo the fibers of my webbing!" he realized.
Best Jeanist looked him over with a critical eye, "What are you wearing?" he asked bluntly.
Spider-Man looked down at himself, "...a costume…I think it looks cool…." he said, suddenly self conscious.
"I-wha-no-I mean what material is that made out of?" he inquired, subtly letting a strand of his pants' steam slip along the roof towards the vigilante while he kept his target's focus on him.
Izuku meanwhile gave Reed Richards a silent 'thank you' for allowing him to keep the Picotech. "Oh um…trade secret?" he replied in an attempt to be clever. That proved to be nothing more than bluster as the thread that Jeanest had creeping along the roof suddenly shot out and wrapped around him! Binding the hero's legs together as well as his arms against his torso, he struggled to stay upright, "What the-!?"
Best Jeanist's eyes narrowed as he tightened the grip he had on the vigilante, he was stronger than he looked. Reports had indicated that he possessed some sort of enhanced strength but nothing concrete until now. The vigilante fought against the strands of fiber, he knew that Best Jeanist's costume was made out of a special type of denim that allowed him easy control over a strong and elastic fabric. He knew a lot about pro heroes, including some things which he was pretty sure no one else picked up on. "Alright-point for you." he conceited as he shifted so his side was facing Best Jeanist.
The pro approached him cautiously, "Your rein og unchecked crime ends here young man."
Spider-Man fought back the urge to growl in frustration, "Listen I didn't blow that building up! The owner did! I got the people who were inside when he did it out." he replied, not wanting to have what little reputation he had been dragged through the mud even further.
Jeanist stopped short of him, "Any information you have can be given at the nearest police station."
Gotcha!
THWIP!
In a split second, Spider-Man fell over to the side, his hand which had been bound to his side aimed at the pro's face before spraying a quick shot of webbing into the man's face, hair, and eyes.
What many people didn't know was exactly how Best Jeanist's quirk worked, what people did know was that he was able to control almost any fabric, however no one knew the limitations of it. He didn't need to be touching the cloth he wanted to affect, he had done that earlier with Izuku's own webbing. And as Izuku fell, the fabric loosening around him and allowing him to catch himself on his hand, his theory was confirmed correct. Jeanist needed to see the fabric to control it. And webbing in the eyes was a perfect way to break line of sight.
Not giving the pro a chance to recover, he threw himself up into the air by his hand, and spinning so that he was upside down, pointed his hands at the pro hero and sprayed a large volume of his webbing at the hero! "Sorry to web and run! It was cool meeting you!" he called out, shooting out a webline to swing away from while Best Jeanist used his own suit to expand out so he could free himself faster.
When he regained his composure and focus, he unraveled the webbing that covered his eyes and scanned the surrounding area. "Damn." he cursed to himself, not seeing any sign of the wanted vigilante. What concerned him was that Spider-Man seemed to recognize a gap in his quirk that he was careful not to let on to, "He was able to pick up on my shortcomings within a few minutes…that's concerning." he said as he brushed the remains of the webbing off his shoulder, "However, he never once tried to attack me…a villain would have used the opportunity to push the offensive…..curious." he mused.
Still, if some random vigilante could pick up on his flaw then perhaps it was high time he try and sew that hole in his defenses shut. And while he was breaking the law, Jeanist had to admit from what he saw, the vigilante handled that situation well. So at the very least he wasn't recklessly putting people in danger, so he wasn't a top priority like some of the cases he was on.
Besides, he doubted that Spider-Man would cause much trouble.
The Fixer gasped as his back hit the ground, his face flush and bruised from the blow he had just received. "You. Fucking. Imbecile!" his boss growled out as his foot pressed down onto the Fixer's chest. The man let out a sound that sounded like a strangled gasp as air was forced out of his lungs by the power being pressed down onto his chest cavity. "You thoughtless wretch." the man slowly crushing his chest growled out.
Around them, The Rose watched through his mask and glasses with cold indifference while the Tinkerer backed up in fear for his own safety. It had been so fast, abrupt even, the way the boss had struck like a viper with a single hand and the power it had, the Fixer didn't have time to lament on it though as he could feel his ribs strain, "I…just….was….trying….to….help!" he choked out.
His boss frowned, "You didn't, all you've done is embolden the pest. You made him feel cornered and with no alternative he has gone after my operations with zeal!" he said, pressing more of their weight down onto the chest that made a slight crunching noise. "What's worse is now he suspects there is a greater power, MY power, at work here!"
FixDr grasped at the foot on his chest, "I was….hiring us a scapegoat!" He choked out.
His boss paused as they looked down at him, leaving him with their foot on his chest. After a solid minute of the man squirming beneath them, the boss removed their foot, Fixer gasped to catch his breath before explaining, "I have evidence, all from real crime scenes that he's been to. All the phones we had to Nuke. Once we capture him, they'll all be pinned onto him." He explained.
The Rose stepped forward, walking up to the man's side as he looked down at him and contemplated his words. "How? The Tinkerer's explosive was meant to destroy all traces of evidence to his workshop, so there wouldn't be any DNA evidence to trace." he recalled, the man himself informing them of the precautionary measures he took to conceal his identity after calling them together for a meeting.
Fixer achingly stood up, "Exactly-humph-and that's how we get him. I have people inside the police who will plant his DNA and fingerprints, and whatever else we need on the evidence they have so he takes the fall for all of it." he explained as he brushed the dirt off his shirt from his boss's shoe print. Their employer adjusted the sleeves of his shirt as he watched the Fixer, the man fearfully not meeting his gaze out of fear of a more….drastic form of punishment. "I acted rashly but I did it with our best interests in mind." he justified.
"That is yet to be seen." the boss growled out. "Despite what you intended the facts are that since that little performance you had on screen hasn't scared him into hiding! This past week he's stopped a dozen of our operations, and worse yet his actions are starting to make our income base afraid to do business with us!" the person in charge sneered. Their head snapped to the masked man, "Rose, get our people under control. I want them to know that we will take care of our own." They then turned to the Tinkerer, "Takumi, you are to focus on setting up your workshop again and resuming your work with the Time Dilation Accelerator." they ordered before looking down at the Fixer, "And you, Dangan, will live up to your name and . MESS."
As the boss stormed out of the room, the Tinkerer looked back to the Prosecutor once more before following the bosses' lead out of the room. Dangan's chest felt like it had caved in slightly, and his face felt like something had cracked loose in his mouth. But despite the minor injuries, he was alive, which was more than he could say for some of his employer's victims.
"...what do you want Rose?" he asked, looking over to the other man who approached him. The man in white reached into his suit pocket and provided a purple handkerchief for him. He looked at the fabric for a second before taking it, "I wanted to be proactive."
"You were too eager to get rid of him." Rose corrected. His glasses couldn't show his eyes, but the prosecutor knew that they were piercing him. "...or you wanted this."
Dangan turned to him with a grimace, "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice rising with a slight challenge to it. Despite the beating he had just taken was more than willing to take out his frustrations on something, or in this case, someone.
The Rose ignored the tone in his voice, instead raising his hand he adjusted the cuff of his jacket, "I mean that you wanted to goad the Spider into a confrontation. Lure him into a trap." he suggested.
Dangan paused, they hadn't anticipated the fever which the vigilante would go after their organization. But if he was so dead set on tracking down the person in charge, and he was desperate enough, he'd be willing to follow any lead he could manage. "Yes…..however after Shocker, I'm not sure if risking one of the people on our payroll is a smart play." he decided, not wanting to lose even more face today than he had already.
The Rose hummed, "I can understand…do you think that…..perhaps our employer would do it?" he asked.
Dangan paused, "...they don't typically get their hands dirty."
"This isn't a typical situation. And I think they would like to personally dispose of this insect." the Rose baited, a smile forming underneath his mask.
Aldera High School was abuzz.
"I saw him swinging through the sky two weeks ago, he was just there for a second then gone!" one of the students whispered amongst her friends who were gathered around a desk as they waited for the bell to ring.
Across the room, a young man with eyes that could extend out of his sockets, an act which no one ever, EVER, wanted to see him do, looked at his phone with a video playing on it. "See that?" he asked, pointing at the screen to his friend who leaned over his shoulder, "He caught a car with one hand! He's got to be super strong or something."
"Geez this guy is scary, I mean you've seen his eyes right?" a girl asked, tracing the lenses of the vigilante's mask with her hands over her own face. "I mean I don't know if those are part of his quirk but they're really scary!"
"I heard he catches other bad guys and eats them like a real spider." another whispered lowly with a shiver of fear.
Someone nodded grimly, "I've heard some people with weird quirks make them do stuff like that. I bet that's why he wears that costume, he's probably super deformed underneath. Like, he calls himself Spider-Man, how much of him is like an actual dude?"
While these idle conversations continued around the classroom, Izuku felt himself slump further onto his desk from what bits of conversation he could pick up between his classmates. It had been like this ever since the warrant for his arrest went out, no one seemed to make the connection that the same person who had saved them from the Shocker at the Future Foundation and Spider-Man were one in the same. Which honestly was a good thing since if anyone made that realization then it might make people start asking questions which could put him in their crosshairs.
He was glad he took the precaution to never change into costume anywhere close to the school, if he was seen around this area frequently enough, investigators, or worse yet, pros might be able to form a connection between him and the school.
"I heard that he fought Best Jeanist and won! That guy is in the top five!" someone said.
Bakugo scoffed before turning to the extra who said it, "He didn't 'win' shit! He just ran away like a coward." he growled out irritably, making Izuku frown in his seat. "This guy is just some loser with a lame quirk like the rest of you, don't pretend he's anything special." he said, turning around in his seat as he kicked his feet up onto his desk, ignoring how the students bickered at him for calling their collective quirks useless.
Great. So he's not making fun or bullying me anymore, now he's just calling my super hero persona lame. Izuku lamented.
How did this happen? A month ago he was happy as he could possibly be with his circumstances, but now he wasn't only a wanted criminal but was back to being Bakugo's punching bag…well, in a sense. And the conclusion he came to was the phones, ever since he stopped that robbery where they were using cell phones to block police signals, things had spiraled downhill for him.
And a small part of him wondered that maybe things might have been better if he didn't come across that robbery.
But he knew better, he knew that he had stopped someone from committing a crime and without it he never would have found out how large this whole operation was. The fact that the prosecutor's office was sharing doctored footage that painted him as the criminal behind the Tinkerer's shop going up in smoke pointed to one thing. There was someone on the inside who was manipulating the police.
The thought alone was scary, he was one person, against who knows how many people with enough pull to do something like that. Corruption wasn't something new, it was a problem with society that had been around for almost as long as organization on a large scale had been implemented. Izuku himself recalled how a few years ago there had been some scandal with someone in the Heroes and Public Relations department.
I have to get to the bottom of this, the question is how? I don't have any leads, I've just been going after anyone with these phones. And now they know I'm after them so they know better than to talk to me. He thought, frowning as he recalled his earlier tactic to get information out of the thief. When he pictured a hero, he thought of someone who brought a smile to everyone's face…..not someone who scared people….even criminals.
And, apparently, his own classmates as well.
A buzz in his pocket drew him out of his thoughts, reaching into his pants he pulled out his cell phone.
Kendo: Hey Midoriya, what was the name of that fabric that you told me about? That one that's super stretchy?
Izuku smiled as he typed back a response.
Me: Nylon 20. It's stronger than what people use for clothes, Mt. Lady says that uses it for her costume so it doesn't rip when she grows.
Kendo: Thx! I was coming up with some ideas for my hero costume in study hall, still trying to come up with a design. ':D
Me: That's awesome! What ideas do you have in mind?
Kendo: I don't have a clear picture in mind yet. But I figure with my quirk and how I'm fight oriented, something that lets me move is really key.
Then again I need to actually get in to U.A. first. There's only seven months left until the entrance exam. And when winter comes I'm going to have to pull back on my beach cleaning.
Me: That's plenty of time!
Itsuka: (:
That's why I like you Midoriya, you're always positive.
Izuku felt his cheeks flush at the message, he still had a hard time believing that he had a friend from another school. Let alone that she knew the stuff about him that alienated him from his classmates. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to Bakugo for a brief second before snapping back to his phone, this was what having an actual friend was like…..and he loved it.
Me: If there's anything I can do to help, let me know!
Kendo: Can you design a hero costume for me?
Me: Sure!
Kendo: …
…
Ok that's on me for being sarcastic in text.
Me: No seriously, I can come up with something. I mean it's your costume so you'll have final say but I can always narrow it down for you idea wise.
Kendo: hmmmmm
True.
Ok, sure. When you have an idea, let me know.
Me: …..
Kendo: …why did you just type dots?
Me: I might have something already.
Kendo: ?!
Me: You helped me fill out your page in my hero notes last week.
Kendo: I have many questions. But for later, I got training after school today, but we can meet up tomorrow and go over what you have. Sound good?
Me: I can do that!
Izuku smiled before putting his phone away, the sight of the quirkless student smiling in class wasn't a regular sight…..but that didn't make it a bad one.
"Texting your boy toy Ken?" Setsuna jokingly asked as she raised her head up over her friend's shoulder to look at who she was texting, only to let out a yelp as her friend threw her hand back and 'gently' sent her head back onto her shoulders. "Gah! I hate it when you do that!" the girl said, holding the sides of her head to help with the dizzying feeling from her head rolling back through the air.
Yui looked over at her friend as they continued on their walk home while Itsuka headed towards the beach. "First off, don't call him that. He's actually a really nice guy. And second, I was." she replied with a slight smugness as her friend reattached her head. "He has sons suggestions for my hero costume idea."
Setsuna and Yui looked at one another, the silent girl's eyes widening a little before turning to her. "…..is he asking for measurements because that sounds like how a porno would begin." she asked, Itsuka shooting her a look while Set nodded in agreement.
Kendo rolled her eyes, "No like what materials I should make it out of or what design I should go with." She glanced over at Setsuna. "Honestly I'm surprised you haven't talked about it considering what your quirk is."
The sharp toothed girl grinned, "Meh. I just want something skin tight. Last thing I want is to send my arm out and have the sleeve snagged on something so my knuckles grind into a wall." she explained, waving her hands at the old pain she knew all too well from her training with ropes she used to get her control down better.
Yui glanced at the name on Kendo's phone, "Midoriya…..isn't that the guy whose camera you found?" she asked.
Itsuka sighed, "Yeah, long story but he and his mom ended up coming to have dinner with us a while back. We got to talking and he's a really nice guy, really smart too." she added.
Set and Yui glanced at each other briefly, but the former couldn't help but joke. "And let me guess, he's also got abs for days?" she teased. She blinked when she saw Kendo's face briefly flush at the memory of feeling his arms. "Oh shit is he?!"
The redhead shook her head indignantly, "No-wha-no!" She stuttered out.
"Hesitation says a lot." Yui noted.
Kendo pointed at her, "Oi. Don't you start now."
Setsuna was giggling under her breath, "Look Ken, we love ya. And if this guy ticks off all the boxes? Then go for it girl."
Itsuka felt a vein appear on her forehead, "It's not like that."
"He has my blessing as well. But only if he has a good ass." Yui joined in. Kendo and Set turned to her, "…it's an important feature."
Itsuka rolled her eyes, "No. Look he's just a friend and….he kind of really needs one." she replied. Part of her wanted to further explain, mostly because she still couldn't get over how he had been treated by his own peers and wanted someone else to be as upset with her. But given how hesitant Izuku was to talk about it to her, and not to mention how much of a private matter it was, she couldn't just betray his trust and blab to her friends about it.
Setsuna raised a brow questionably, but didn't push for further details. "Well when do we get to meet this guy?" she asked.
Itsuka shook her head, "Ask me tomorrow, I gotta get going." she said, breaking off towards the beach at a fork in the road. Waving her friends goodbye, she made her way in the direction of her training grounds. Passing through the city she recalled what she needed to get done, All Might told her that he would be running a little late today since he had work at his office that needed to be done.
He had explained to her that 'Yagi' was merely known as a regular employee of his own hero agency with the clerical office of all things. He had apparently been inspired by some old comics he had as a kid where the main hero made a secret identity as a mild mannered citizen. And while it sounded kind of ridiculous on paper? All Might managed to pull it off.
Obviously the fact that his two forks, hos Mighty form and small form respectively, looked so vastly different from one another that the idea of them being the same was ludacris. Kendo herself wouldn't believe it if she didn't see it with her own eyes.
Kendo had idly wondered how that must be, having two identities like that. Keeping one for all a secret from her family wasn't easy, the fact is she wanted to tell them but All Might's warning against it, as well as the faith he placed in her, kept her from speaking out. But keeping an entire part of your life secret from everyone? Never being able to talk about it?
That was on a completely different level.
She hadn't said it to All Might, honestly because it felt like a rude thing to say, but in her mind…..that sounded so lonely. And while All Might was adored by the masses and respected by other pro heroes, she genuinely didn't know if he had…..well, friends.
As she reached the beach, she could only lament her sensei's loneliness. He had to have….some friends, right?
"Excuse me, Itsuka Kendo?" She snapped out of her thoughts with a jump as she turned to the voice. Standing a few feet away was a tall, lanky looking man in a white suit, he had a pair of glasses on with his dual colored hair neatly combed over.
"Um….yes?" she replied warily.
The man gave an ever so slight bow, "My Name is Mirai Sasaki. Better known as Sir Nighteye." he introduced himself. "I'm going be blunt, I'm an associate of Toshinori Yagi, All Might, and I know about One for All, might I have a word with you?"
Itsuka stared at the man before her and could only blink, "...I…..that's…I'm going to need a minute to process all of that." she said, raising a hand to the side of her head to steady herself after having the metaphorical rug pulled out from under her. Taking a second to gather her thoughts, she took a breath, "So I don't really know you, or what you're talking about. But the fact that you know my name is kind of concerning." she said, putting her guard up.
Sir Nighteye reached into the pocket of his coat, Itsuka's fists clenched in anticipation for whatever weapon he may draw…only for him to pull out a laminated card. Flipping towards her, she saw that it was an official pro hero license with the same name that he had given her. Kendo felt herself flush in embarrassment for nearly throwing down with a pro hero. "Don't be ashamed, it's good that you showed hesitation, it means that you recognize the gravity of the situation." Nighteye said to her.
"R-Right. Sorry." She apologized.
He put his identification back into his jacket pocket, "Me and All Might were partners for a number of years, I went to work with him as a sidekick soon after getting my license." he informed her. She was slightly taken aback by that information, All Might didn't have many sidekicks as some pro heroes like Endeavour or Best Jeanist, in fact as far as she had known he never had any. But the fact that Nighteye was a pro hero who knew about One For All, then she must just not have been as well informed as she thought. "I'm not surprised you're not familiar with me." he continued, "My work with All Might was more tactical and organization then his direct approach."
"Ah. Yeah. That….that makes sense." she nodded, crossing her arms over her stomach.
His eyes scanned her, not in some creepy way some guys would but in the way Itsuka was used to. He was sizing her up, "So I'm aware of One For All, as well as its…..uniqueness." he said. "And frankly Ms. Kendo, I don't believe that you should receive it."
That was the second time in five minutes that the rug had been pulled out from under her, "I-What?" she asked.
He raised a hand, "Allow me to explain, this isn't personal, it's a logical decision. While you have potential, the fact of the matter is you lack real world experience with Pro Hero work." he said. Kendo felt a fire rising inside of her, she opened her mouth to defend herself but Mirai cut her off, "Why do you think he's going to become a teacher at U.A.?" he asked.
"...he's what?" she asked.
She had no idea that All Might was planning on being a teacher at U.A. but that…..that made much more sense the more she thought about it. Nighteye hummed, "So…..he didn't inform you of that." he said, feeling a twinge of sympathy upon seeing her shocked expression. "Then you are probably unaware that there's an exceptional third year student attending U.A. who I recommended to All Might." he added.
All Kendo could do was shake her head, All Might had told her that he had been looking for a successor when they met. But…..maybe it was the fact that she had been chosen by him that she never thought about what other candidates there must have been. And between her…..and someone already in U.A.? A Third Year? Who probably was more ready than she was to become a pro hero? It was no contest…..it was leagues apart.
"Ah! Young Kendo, you haven't-Mirai?" The pair turned to see All Might in his small form approaching them from the parking lok, his face scrunched up in confusion. Itsuka looked like she had the wind knocked out of her, and while Nighteye wasn't the most emotive person he could tell from the way his posture had straightened that he had accomplished something.
He knew something was wrong, "Nighteye. What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Trying to get things back on track." he replied tartly. All Might bit back a remark as he saw Itsuka flinch out the corner of his eye.
He ignored his sidekick and turned his attention completely onto Kendo, "Young Kendo I-"
"All Might…can…I'm sorry I'm…..really not in the right headspace to do this today….I'm….." she trailed off, looking up to the sunken eyes of her now possibly former mentor. She turned and walked away, her shoulders slouched in defeat. Whatever determination she had, the enthusiasm she felt towards her goal had been suddenly drained out of her and in its place was frustration and disappointment.
All Might whirled around to Nighteye, "How DARE you." he growled out in irritation.
Nighteye placed a hand to his chest, "I was just telling her the truth."
"The truth?!" All Might barked, he pointed at his former sidekick, "The truth is, you did not agree with who I choose as my successor and so you decided to undermine her."
Nighteye looked over at Itsuka's retreating form, "And if this is all it took to do that, then it just shows that I'm right."
It started with a car theft. Izuku had reached the next place he felt that he could safely change into Spider-Man and be sighted without arousing suspicion. Before he could even start his patrol he heard a man yelling after his car while the person inside drove away at top speed, his quirk allowing him to turn it on without the key since he could form his hand into whatever key he needed. Stopping it was easy, getting him to talk was only slightly harder as he couldn't really hear him from inside the car until he rolled his window down while Spider-Man held it aloft over his head with the wheels up.
That pointed him to a chop shop operation, as it turns out he had been stealing cars and dropping them off at a defunct auto garage where they would strip it for parts to resell at higher prices. After webbing the people working on them to the rafters, he got one of them to mention how a cut of their profits went to someone who provided them with technology which could unlock any car they used the keyfob on.
AS it turned out, that went straight to the Tinkerer, which Izuku found out by stopping the go between the guy who dropped the cash off, who then pointed him to here.
It was an unsuspecting skyscraper, there was no large sign that denoted what they did or what went on here, aside from a private parking garage that went underground it looked like the front door was the only other way inside. The floors lit up with activity at random times but the glass was tinted enough that Izuku couldn't make out what was going on inside. People came in but their attire varied from business to casual, but what really caught his attention was the top of the building.
Atop the tower stood a penthouse, as it seemed the top few floors had been renovated into living spaces. He could even see a garden out on one of them. The Gofer told him that he was to deliver the money he collected to the top floor directly, meaning that was where the next link in this puzzle was.
Leaping into the air, he cast a line out and swung himself up the building into a loop and landed on the roof in a crouch.
Before he could contemplate the ethical nature of breaking into a place that he only suspected criminal activity was taking place in, his spider sense barely rang before the section of the roof beneath his feet slid apart and dropped him!
"What the-!?" he yelped, his hands flailing a second before landing on the wooden floor, looking up as he saw the drop down roof panel folded back into place.
"It must seem ridiculous, but I assure you, it's quite practical. Those who sneak in rarely do so from the front door." a deep voice said. Izuku turned around the room, he was in a living room area with hardwood floor, modern furniture that consisted of a comfy chair, sofa, and a black granite table. A fireplace against the wall with an artificial fire going, with large bookshelves on either side. At the other end of the room was a large desk with an equally large chair, spun around so Izuku couldn't see who was talking, "It's caught me many things over the years, thieves, spies, saboteurs, but never insects."
Izuku shook his head and said, "Well, first off, arachnid, not an insect. It's not a big distinction but still. Secondly, who are you?" he asked, trying to sound glib while his eyes scanned the room, he could see a security camera in the corner of the room, meaning he was being watched. There was something….off about the way the man spoke, almost like an accent.
He was met by a brief silence, "...do you know why I like your country?" the voice asked lightly, "It's a country of criminals. Forged by warlords, baptized by the blood of the downtrodden, and reforged by capitalism." the man said. Spider-Man was taken aback by the description, "Holding aloft their honor in one hand, while constricting its citizenry with the other." he said as Spider-Man approached the desk. "My man, one of my men, came to me with the idea you see, you've been causing trouble for my organization, trying to find me, and while I was committed to letting you pass us by, he came to me with a different idea."
Spider-Man leapt atop the desk and grabbed the chair, spinning it around only to find no one sitting in it. But an electronic speaker in the seat, his sixth sense warned him and he turned to see a massive hand grab him by the head before whipping him across the room and smashing into the wall! "To let you in, get my hands dirty and take care of you myself." the man said as Spider-Man picked himself up from the ground. "You asked me my name, your word would be a Daimyo. But personally, I prefer a Kingpin."
Spider-Man looked up to see a pure mountain of a man looming over him, he was….he was massive. Easily the biggest person Izuku had even met in person, not just in height but everything. He wore a black suit and pants with a white dress shirt, a purple tie hung around his neck with a golden clip with a pair of english letters embossed on them that he didn't have time to recognize. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard that, did you call yourself a dummy?"
The man let out a small scoff before reaching down, Spider-Man rolled back, placing his hands against the wall and swinging his feet up into the Kingpin's face, the blow was enough to make him take a step back. "And if you're the guy in charge I have a complaint about your marketing department!" he said before shooting a web at the man.
Kingpin raised his hand to where the web was aimed, his chest, and closed his hand around it before pulling! Before he knew it, Spider-Man was yanked off the wall and right into a clothesline made by the man's outstretched arm that was about as thick as Izuku's torso. "Cute." Kingpin said before striking the back of the vigilante's head and slamming him into the ground and cracking the wood. "You really have no idea of the depth you're in do you?" he asked.
His foot crunched down on the teen's head, "What was your plan? Come here, assault whoever is inside, hand them over to the police?" He asked as the teen threw his elbow back and struck the side of Kingpin's leg, causing him to buckle and allowing Spiderman to leap away, his right lens was cracked and he could taste blood in his mouth. Kingpin merely had a bruised nose.
"I would be out before morning and you'd just have an assault charge added on top of the vigilantism and destruction of property." he said smoothly.
Izuku grimaced, he didn't ever consider that, Dammit he's…..he's right. He lamented.
The man suddenly rushed forward, surprising the teen by how crazy he could cover the three foot distance between them but he was ready for the fight, and after the last blow he landed on him he was sure this man was much stronger than he looked. Meaning he didn't need to pull his punches as much as he usually did.
His fist fracked the side of kingpin's head, making the humans stumble to the side, he leapt forward to continue the offensive move only for the man to body check the young man and send him into the marble of the fireplace. The man wiped some blood from his nose, "You have nothing, no evidence, no just cause, no legality, and most of all, no authority." he said as he stormed over to the recovering hero.
Spider-Man looked up, "Well I also have a developing sense of humor. More than I can say about you." he replied. I-I don't know what to do! Even if I fight and win against this guy, which I don't even know if I can, he's right in that the police won't just jail him if I drop him off. He thought. "That and the whole criminal mastermind thing."
Kingpin stopped a few feet away, watching as the vigilante still readied himself for a fight. So he was surprised as the Kingpin broke off and headed towards the small table by the ornate chair he noticed earlier, where a square bottle of amber liquid sat with a glass beside it. "You want humor? How about this then? An unlicensed hero, breaks into my home, threatens and assaults me, an upstanding citizen, and has the audacity to call me a criminal."
Spider-Man's hand clenched, "You may know this, maybe you don't, but your superhero profession started in my country. Americans always idolized heroes of old. Little comic books they read to make the world seem like a black and white place. But when superpowers became a reality, what was the first thing they did?" he asked as he poured himself a drink. "They muzzled it. Stripped away their valuable 'freedoms' for security. Like they always do. But over time, laws changed, so crime had to change. And I realized that as they got looser with who could be a hero in America, the best place for my operations would be here in japan."
Spider-Man blinked, "What? That doesn't make sense. The conviction rate is-"
Kingpin set the bottle down and waved him off, "Yes, yes, an impressive rate. Highest in the world." he dismissed before taking a drink. "It has some of the most strict regulations with its heroes in the entire world. And because of it, it boasts to be the most peaceful nation. And the Safety Commission does everything it can to maintain that." he swirled his drink, turning to vigilante, "Not improve it, maintain it. Because it's easier. They don't consider the possibility of improvement because I don't give them a reason to. I work within the system. I play their game, and I beat them every day without them realizing it."
Izuku felt his stomach drop, "That's…..no." he shook his head, "There's-there's no way that's possible. Maybe you have some people controlling the media and a big team of lawyers but-"
The Kingpin's head reeled back, "HA! My god you are really just a child aren't you?" he asked pitifully. "Do you realize how many heroes are in japan? 4,000. The fact that they publish that number to begin with is their first mistake."Spider-man circled over away from the fireplace, not wanting to be in danger of being burned, "The agents I have at my disposal exceed theirs and they don't even realize it because of one simple fact. They don't want to see it." He set his glass back down on the table. "The judges I have in my pockets because of a one night stand they try to forget. The policemen who turn their body cameras off before beating a man half to death. They focus on the heroes, but not the people. Never the people."
Spider-Man was silent. He wasn't….Izuku didn't think that he was blind to the problems that society faced, but he always believed in the better nature of people. Yes there was a homeless problem but shelters were popping up to help get people on their feet. But to learn that someone was manipulating it….exploiting it….and worst of all? Succeeding at it…
"...you're wrong." Spider-man refuted defiantly.
Kingpin scoffed, "I had two people murdered today." his voice was cold, and izuku felt his entire body stiffen, "They were a pair of thugs who thought that they could make some extra money on the side, using the services I provide, without giving me my share. So I had them killed." he casually said. "And nobody cares."
The coldness in his voice became darker, "Nobody. No heroes, no safety commission, no one. Because it's one less problem for them to deal with. Because they're not worth it."
Spider-Man's fists shook with something he hadn't felt before, rage, "While you've been an annoyance, you've hardly done anything to hurt my operations in the grand scale of things." he raised his hands, and cracked his knuckles against each other, "That is why I called you a insect before, because that's all that you are."
Spider-Man's lenses narrowed, his wrist flicked out behind him, his web shooting out and snagging the granite coffee table and throwing it into the Kingpin who caught it. Spider-Man leapt forward and with all the anger, frustration, and rage, threw his fist through the granite and into Kingpin's face, knocking him back onto his back with a now bloody nose. Before the massive man could recover and counterattack, the vigilante shot a pair of weblines to the ceiling where he fell in from and with a pull, yanked the panels to the trap door down and leapt out into the evening sky.
Kingpin gathered himself and stood from the wreckage of the table around him, his nose was broken, but it was a small, spiteful victory on the vigilante's part. His hand lifted to the lapel on his suit where the transmitter to the speaker and its operator was. "Tinkerer, I believe it's time we upgraded our defenses. Last thing I want is another infiltration of my fortress." he said.
"Yes sir, I have Spider-Man on our cam-oh, wait, no, sorry, he's out of range." Tinkerer said from his lab at the bottom of the building.
The Kingpin adjusted his suit, brushing the dust and debris off it as best he could before walking away towards his desk, "It's fine. This was a success."
"Sir?" an unsure voice asked.
"Our little vigilante wanted to play the hero. He thought that it would be simple, like some fantasy of a child." Kingpin said before turning off the transceiver and reaching over his desk, pulling out a drawer he retrieved a framed photo from it, looking down at it the man let out a sad sigh before placing it on his desk.
In the evening sky, Spider-Man swung off a webline and dropped down onto a rooftop beside a HVAC unit, leaning against it with one hand, he looked down at his boots through his cracked lens. His other hand reached up and tore his mask from his face, blood dripped from his split lip onto the rooftop, his right eye, which had the cracked lens, was bruised and cut as well. Leaning against the metal wall, he slid down to the ground and bowed his head in defeat.
"He…I can't…..I can't do anything….." he muttered to himself. Kingpin was right, he had just…..hje didn't think it through whatsoever. All he had been doing was…..was just playing pro. And what good did that do?! He had stopped dozens of crimes but none of them were directly linked to this Kingpin, he didn't even know his real name! He had people killed, he told him about it to his face because he knew that Spider-Man couldn't do anything about it…..he was useless.
"RRAHH!" His fist lashed out and crushed into the HVAC unit, crushing the metal under his fist.
Maybe he could have won that fight against the Kingpin, but even if he did, it would accomplish nothing…he'd go free. And from what he said it wouldn't even be any trouble…..he thought…he thought that when he decided to be Spider-Man he would make a difference…that he would be able to stop people like the Kingpin…..but he couldn't. He was…..he was STILL just a useless Deku.
The Fantasy was over.