Chapter 17: On The Tail End
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
"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.'