Chapter 21: The Knife That Cuts Webs
Izuku had found out recently that he hated waking up. Granted, he knew why waking up was going to be bad today, but it still didn't help that this kept happening. As such, he woke up in incredible pain, his whole body screaming at him as he let out a moan.
He slowly ascended out of his bed, glancing down to see he had been stripped and bandaged. He blinked at the sight before walking into the bathroom, soon doing a small morning routine. And as he did this, he took off the bandages, seeing most of his injuries had started to heal. 'Urgh...not sure I can Spider-Man today.' He glanced up at the bathroom mirror, now seeing an exhausted look on his face. 'Did yesterday really happen?'
The teen walked back into his room and grabbed his phone, turning on the Midoriya Hero App, only to see two news articles at the start. One was about himself, fighting two groups of villains as the heroes arrived too late. He saw it was linked to several other articles the app collected, all debating over vigilantism and how Spider-Man had done the heroes jobs.
But that was instantly ignored as he saw the headline for the second article. He sped through the writing, his eyes darting back and forth, 'Ingenium...was critically injured by a hero killer?! What?!' his brain mentally yelled. He turned to his desk, where his mom had put his vigilante costume and hoodie, quickly taking out the notebook inside before turning to Ingenium's autograph.
'I don't believe it...' He looked back at his phone, rereading the article. 'Ingenium...'
And as he thought about his encounter with that hero, a new face showed itself in his mind. Tenya Iida, one of Uraraka's friends she had brought over to FEAST. He remembered the smile on Tenya's face when he had talked about his brother, how he had said he was inspired by him to become a hero. 'Tenya...'
"Izuku!" yelled a voice, cutting Izuku's thoughts as he turned to his door, now seeing his mother staring at him. "There you are." Her eyes scanned him over and she let out a sigh, "Well, I see that healing factor of yours is working wonders again. Still, that was too much yesterday! You need to-"
"Mom...I'm sorry." Izuku interrupted, making her come to a stop. She stared directly into his eyes, seeing a mixture of exhaustion and pain. Despite this, she could also see that fire in him, the fire to be a hero, to help others. And she had a feeling what he was going to say next as he continued to speak, "I know yesterday got crazy, but-"
"I know." She now interrupted before sighing. "I...I know. You couldn't help it." She glanced away at this, "I'm still getting used to this."
"Yeah..." He walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at him, only for the teen to hug her. She slowly embraced back, letting out another sigh before pulling away.
"Just promise me to not go too far next time, alright?"
Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He glanced away, thinking back to the battle he had just done yesterday, only for Gran Torino's words to ring out in his head.
"If that's the case, don't go jumping into everything you can get yourself into. If you do, you'll start something that you can't escape."
This was followed by the next thing Gran had told him.
"And when you go down that rabbit hole, you'll never get out of it. You'll keep going in over your head and it won't stop."
Those words made him slowly say to his mom, "I...I don't think I can promise that."
Inko blinked at this, staring at him before taking a deep breath, "I know." She put a hand on his shoulder this time, "Why don't you be Izuku Midoriya for at least this morning? Come on, I'll make you some breakfast."
"Okay." Izuku responded as they left the room. And as they reached the kitchen, Izuku spoke up again, "Hey mom?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for bandaging me up...and for everything else."
Inko shined a big grin back, "No problem. That's why I'm here."
Aizawa had just received the internship offer files. He had done this for many years, but this year's was probably the worst it had ever been. Mainly because only two students really got any attention. Another was the fact that he was going to have to attend a meeting later today on the fact that the UA festival didn't get the full televised setting it usually gets, which is why the internship offers amount were even worse this year.
It also didn't help that Nezu had warned him that the news outlets were very angry about Katsuki winning the whole thing. Granted, he didn't like it either. The student was a typical thing he got every year: a blowhard that believed their quirk solves everything. And that was fine, because he knew how to handle students like him. They were usually kids that thought the world revolved around them, that they were born better than others. It was irrational, which meant it usually needed some strict schooling to teach them otherwise.
However, Aizawa quickly learned that there was no convincing Katsuki, though this was because he exceled at everything except heroic attitude. There was also the issue of him winning every event in the festival. That event should have been where he sees there are other students with just as much if not more power than him. However, that didn't happen to Aizawa's annoyance. Katsuki just beat everything, and he did it brutally. His fights were all one sided, even against Todoroki, which he had hoped would beat Bakugo, but due to him not using half his quirk, he was easily beaten. That meant that Katsuki Bakugo was now the face of the class. Granted, Aizawa would admit the kid has the most potential out of all of his class. He had the drive, which was so rare these days, the intelligence and the instincts...but his attitude was a problem.
But to be honest, Aizawa also wanted to expel all of his class just because he knew it would help them. Shock them into doing better than what they had done in the festival, but technically the class won the festival thanks to having Bakugo and Todoroki being in first and second place. If he expelled them now, they wouldn't realize why they're being expelled. What a pain.
It also didn't help that a gen-ed student, a Shinso Hitoshi, got third in the festival. That meant he'd probably be getting that one as a student. Aizawa honestly didn't mind this, but that also meant he couldn't expel the whole class due to the new student coming in. It would confuse Hitoshi, which is something that can't happen right as he joined heroics class. In other words, it was a pain, just like the rest of the nonsense.
However, Aizawa knew what the real problem was though. He was missing a key component in his class, something Vlad currently had. He needed that student that pushes the others, that inspires them. Its the type of student Aizawa always wants, though he also hates the most. They're usually people who think they can be a hero that can do it all, which is totally irrational and stupid, but the ability to inspire is something Aizawa would acknowledge is important. And while he could see that Vlad had that with two students, though they were a subdued version that he would admit did work with Itsuka Kendo and Neito Monoma, but Aizawa didn't have that. He just had a class that had a few with drive, but nothing that fully pushed them to go farther.
But that wasn't his biggest problem. His class could be fixed, the new student could be introduced and integrated, and he knew Katsuki was a long con, but the final exams should be the push he needed to fix all of it...if the students didn't get expelled by the teacher first. It was Spider-Man that was his true headache now. The vigilante that him and Naomasa suspect is his student's age somehow jumped into a gang war, one that Aizawa and a few others knew that Spider-Man had accidentally helped accelerate, and then just...won. He leapt into a war zone of villains and beat them all. Granted, they were all probably C-rank or lower, but that didn't really matter. Even Aizawa knew that he would have trouble going into that situation alone. Heck, he knew he wouldn't do it without calling for backup before leaping in.
And that event had caught the media's attention. Mainly, it was because it basically happened at UA's doorstep. Also, it was a vigilante doing what was essentially a team of heroes' jobs all alone. The situation was completely irrational, and yet it was happening. And he knew what this meant. It meant the meeting he would have later would involve Nezu meddling into his and Naomasa's investigation.
As such, he reached the Class 1-A door and slowly opened it, hearing the casual banter of the students. But as the door fully opened, everyone silenced themselves. "Three seconds." Aizawa commented as he walked up to the podium with a stack of papers. "Villains would have killed all of you instantly. You're still too slow."
He stared at the group of students, most showing their usual hesitant morning faces. He let out a long sigh, "As you all probably know, this next week will be internships. As such, there is usually a spread-out number for the offers each year, but due to...circumstances, that's not the case this year." He spun around and began writing out the numbers, showing that Shoto Todoroki had the most, being just over two thousand while second was Katsuki which was almost a thousand.
"What the-why does Half-and-half have more than me?! I'm the one that won the thing!" Katsuki yelled, Aizawa feeling one of his eyes twitch at this as he continued to write down the numbers on the board.
"Probably because of your attitude, kero." Tsuyu chimed in.
"What was that, you stinking toad?! I'll squash you!" Katsuki roared, explosions popping in his hands.
"See?" Tsuyu replied, Katsuki about to get up before his quirk suddenly stopped working. He turned to see Aizawa glaring at him.
"Enough. Winning the festival means nothing except getting your name out there." Aizawa grumbled, "Now shut up or you're expelled." Katsuki opened his mouth to bark back, only to close it as he saw Aizawa's glare intensify. The teacher let out a long sigh after this as he pointed back at the board, "As you can see, only some of you got offers, but all of you are going to take an internship. There are certain heroes that do it regardless of not giving offers, and if you need help setting something up, I'll help you later. I'll also need your response by tomorrow, which you'll then start your internship the next day. Now, we have something else to do today."
With that, Midnight walked into the room and exclaimed, "Today, you're making your hero codenames!"
The classroom erupted in cheers, Aizawa groaning as he pulled out his sleeping bag and crawled into it. It was going to be a long day. He just knew it.
Izuku had ended up agreeing to not go out as Spider-Man today and tomorrow. Despite the fact that part of him wanted too, this time both his body and mother teamed up to tell him no. It also didn't help that after reading the article over the hero killer, he knew that going after that would be him once again going in over his head...but he also knew he should go after someone like that eventually. Now, he was in his room with his breakfast, his mom going out to her job for the day.
'Even though I stopped those gangs' rampage yesterday, I didn't really solve anything.' he thought as he ate a bit of cereal while skimming through the net on his computer, 'I still got nothing on either gang leader. Heck, I still don't have a name for the masked guys. There's barely anything on them except failed crimes...that I mainly foiled.'
He scrolled down another page, sighing to himself, 'The police haven't really delivered any statement. There's nothing. I guess that's the struggle of being a vigilante. No police info for me.'
The teen then saw that the articles kept going over just Spider-Man and the hero killer, only for something else to ring out in his brain. 'There's no articles over the UA sports festival.' He typed in a search engine at this, only to see just a few pictures and articles, 'Kacchan won. Huh. Guess that means I would have lost if I had tried the festival. His quirk is so much better than mine...'
His mind went back to the bully, remembering the words that Bakugo had told him. The thought made him shake in his seat before eating another bit of cereal. 'Don't...don't think about it. You'll become a hero. You'll just have to...do a lot more.' He feels a small tear go down his face, 'I wish I could've got in. I wish I could've been in the festival. Stupid support exam.' Taking a second, he let out a sigh and shook his head, 'Eh, that's how it works. I need to figure out what I'm doing now. I just wish I could have watched it live. Maybe I'll watch it later.'
A deep breath later, he decided to go back to the hero killer case. And as he went to another page, he now saw a news outlet talking about previous kills from the hero killer. Apparently, he had ran wild in another district, killing four heroes. They were all D-list heroes, ones Izuku had heard of, but he knew most wouldn't have known them. All four had only done a few rescues and small-time criminal takedowns. Overall, they weren't much, and most news outlets wouldn't have cared. The only reason this article existed was because the reporter who made it was related to one of the killed heroes.
"Says here he's well known for spouting anti-hero philosophy. Believes most heroes to be fakes, and only true heroes like All Might are all but lost." Izuku read aloud, "Currently believed to be hopping district to district, choosing heroes that don't fit his ideology."
Izuku leaned back in his chair, "Sounds like a villain. But should I go after him? I mean, he's obviously got the other heroes attention. Maybe I shouldn't interfere."
He looked back at his computer, staring long and hard at the hero killer article again, 'What do I do? This guy's obviously going to be hunted down by the heroes...but other heroes will be danger cuz of this guy. I mean, he is the hero killer for a reason.' He closed his eyes for a second, remembering yesterday, the constant fighting and desperation he felt, only to feel something else. He felt...like he did the right thing. To go into the fray, saving others and beating the villains.
But then Gran Torino appeared in his head, telling him that he was going in over his head. That he shouldn't just jump into everything. That there were consequences for doing so. 'But I can't do that.' he mentally told himself, 'I...I want to be a hero. I can't just sit there and let bad things happen. But after yesterday...do I really want to go into something like that again?! I mean, that was crazy. What do I do if this is worse?!'
And then Gran's words rang out again.
"If that's the case, don't go jumping into everything you can get yourself into. If you do, you'll start something that you can't escape."
"If I go find him...will that happen?" He glanced down at one of his notebooks sitting in his lap, the pages turned to a new entry he was creating, one over the hero killer. He flipped to the pages of the gangs he had just fought yesterday, that event replaying in his head. 'I really did jump into something I wasn't ready for. I mean, I'm not even good enough to be a F-rank hero yet. Should I go into something like that?'
He closed the book at this, taking in a deep breath. And as he released it, he looked up at the All Might poster he had in his room. The hero shown there was shining his signature smile, the sight making Izuku feel like the hero was talking to him. "You would do it anyways, wouldn't you? You would go in and save the day, no matter what."
And after a second, he nodded, "I understand." He went back to the article on the hero killer on his computer, the teen biting his lip as he muttered out, "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go and find this guy, even if I'm not ready. Maybe there will be consequences like Gran Torino said, but...I can't just sit here. Even if I'm not a hero yet, I can still try and do something." He then turned in his chair and stared at his web making equipment, "But first, I'm running out of ingredients for web fluid. Better go buy some." He looked back at the computer, staring at the news article for a second, "I'll deal with you soon."
Two days later...
Izuku let out a long yawn as he woke up, slowly ascending from bed while doing several stretches. He had most of his bandages removed now, the teen going to the bathroom and taking off the rest. He found he was mostly healed, though some were still a tiny bit sore. Seeing this, he quickly did his routine and had some breakfast, Inko telling him she was going to the hospital to work today.
After saying goodbye to her, he switched into Spider-Man, invisibly crawling out his window and swinging into the city. His mother had found out he was going to go investigate the hero killer, which she was very against, even when he told her about the relationship with Tenya. She then told him that she knew he wouldn't listen, but to not overdo it.
Despite this, he had also spent the morning looking up extra information on the hero killer, only to find that he was last sighted in Hosu, mainly due to that being where he had fought Ingenium. As such, he swung over to the train station and landed on top of the building. After listening to the announcer for half an hour, he heard him talking about a train going to Hosu, Izuku smiling under the mask before hopping on top of the train.
One ride later, he was in Hosu, a few people gasping as they saw the vigilante swing away from the station. He zipped up to a nearby rooftop, perching on its edge before taking out his phone. 'Now, let's see...' He turned on the Midoriya Hero App and opened its other feature, a long list of all the heroes he had ever recorded. It was a list made from several years of analysis and fanboying, and he went to the ones that were in Hosu.
'So, the main heroes in Hosu are Manual, Native, The Fly and Takeshita. I need to figure out which ones the hero killer will go after...' Izuku mentally said as he tapped the phone, 'I don't have any of their routes, so I guess I'll just swing around and see if they're on patrol.' He turned on the police scanner app at this and pointed his wrist at a nearby building. 'I hope I'm not too late.'
Hours passed by as he swung around, quickly finding one of the four heroes. He first found The Fly, which he followed for an hour or so. Izuku realized he had never really tailed someone before, even with the years of seeking out heroes. Thankfully, staying on the rooftops made it easy, as most weren't going to look up.
He watched him for about two hours, jotting down a few notes as he saw the hero patrol around. 'So, according to what little there is online, it said the hero killer goes after what he considers to be fake heroes.' He glanced back down at the hero, watching him asking if everything was okay to a few civilians before continuing his patrol. The sight made Izuku tap his pencil on his chin, 'What does the killer qualify as fake though? One that just does it for money or glory? Or is it one that doesn't do enough?'
Izuku came to a stop at that thought, glancing back down at his notes, 'Do I qualify in that? I know I don't do enough. Would he hunt me down? I didn't see any reports on him going after vigilantes.' He looked back at The Fly one last time before turning away, 'Hmmm...I don't know enough. I don't think he'll go after The Fly though. I should look for another hero.'
He put his notebook away, firing a web line before slinging across another street. The teen swung around for another hour, taking a short break to eat a snack he had prepared before continuing. And as he did this, he found another hero, along with the one thing he was both fearing and expecting. A teen dressed up to look just like Ingenium.
'That's Manual! And that's got to be Tenya Iida!' he mentally commented as he saw the teen walking beside the hero. 'Oh no...the only reason he would be here is because of the hero killer.'
He sat down on the rooftop above them, putting a hand to his face, 'What do I do? I can't just swing down and tell him to not go for the killer. I also can't do that as Izuku Midoriya.' He pulled out his phone, staring at for a long hard second as he pulled up the texting app, 'Do I tell Uraraka? I mean, if I do...she'll probably figure out I'm Spider-Man. Would that put her in danger? I mean, I know she's training to be a hero, but...but...'
He slumped down at this before putting both hands on the sides of his head, 'Augh! I can't believe this! This is exactly what Gran Torino meant! I'm so in over my head!' He let out a long sigh at this, soon glancing back down to see that the duo had walked away. 'Ugh...maybe I should just follow them. I'll figure out what to do later.'
This was followed by another two hours of tailing, mainly seeing both do a long roundabout patrol. Izuku felt a bit nasty for having to tail someone that was friends with his only friend, but he also knew this was for the greater good. And after these two hours, he concluded that Manual seemed to be a truly upstanding hero. He only really knew that Manual had a water quirk, but he saw that the hero went out of his way to inspire people, constantly complimenting and helping others with little things while making sure to look out for crime and villains.
He could also tell Tenya was distracted. The teen was jittery, something Izuku could tell even from the long distance between sidewalk and rooftop. The sight made Izuku's heart drop, as he knew what this meant. Tenya was probably wanting to go on a war path, and this was the only way.
Despite this, after the two hours, he deciding to stop tailing them. He figured that the hero killer probably wouldn't go for Manual, as he was honestly an even better hero than The Fly in his opinion. Granted, he still didn't know what the hero killer would go for, but as he swung away and was about to go for another snack, he found his third hero.
It was Native, who was currently in the middle of a crowd of fans. He was signing autograph after autograph, along with taking selfies. The sight made Izuku blink, sitting down on the edge of a rooftop across the street. He watched as Native stood there, doing this...for over half an hour before moving through his patrol.
The sight made Izuku gulp. 'I think I know who the hero killer might go after next.' Izuku thought as he hopped onto another rooftop to follow Native. He then saw the hero go down two more streets before having another crowd surround him. Seeing this, Izuku sighed and took out another snack. 'Yeah...this is bad. Should I go find Takeshita first or stay watching him? I mean, I think he's probably gonna be targeted.'
Izuku pulled out his phone at this, tapping it a few times as he tried to look up Native. He found that he was considered on the lower end, though he was very public as well. Just a few rescues and villain takedowns, nothing really major though. Izuku sighed at this and closed the app before looking back at Native, who was giving out his last autograph. 'I should at least figure out his patrol route first. Then I can decide what to do next.'
It took three hours for Izuku to see Native's full route. This was mainly due to the constant stops, which Izuku found himself almost putting a spider tracer on Native and napping on the last hour due to just how much it happened. But he didn't, and as Izuku recorded the full route in his notebook, he put it away and decided it was time to go home. Native had stopped patrolling, going into a hero agency building. Izuku hadn't found anything on the hero killer attacking buildings, instead always attacking the heroes while they're on patrol, so he figured Native was probably safe for now.
As such, he swung back to the train station and took a ride home. 'I hope Takeshita isn't the next target. Then again, I'm surprised the hero killer didn't show up today. I didn't see him on any news...' He thought as he rode the train, 'Well, there's always tomorrow.'
The train soon came to a stop, the web-slinger hopping off and swinging away. It wasn't long till he got home, the vigilante going invisible before sneaking into his room through his window. His mother was thankfully no longer surprised at this, and revealed she had some katsudon waiting for him. Gladly taking it, the two talked about their days, Inko surprised that Izuku hadn't really fought anything today, not even a mugger. She then told him that FEAST was going to be doing a few events in the next few days and that Izuku should try and help. He agreed, but only if he didn't find anything tomorrow.
But as he went to sleep, he had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case.
The next day...
Izuku woke up slow that day, the teen dragging through his morning routine, checking his body and seeing most of the wounds were gone. They were still some bruises, blue patches around his chest and back, but nothing that would slow him down. He went to his desk after this, fully stocking himself in web cartridges before switching to Spider-Man. And after telling his mom goodbye for the day, he crawled out his window, swung over to the train station and got on the first ride to Hosu.
It wasn't long till he got there, swinging off the train as he got up to the first rooftop he could reach. And as he got up there, he pulled out his notebook. 'Okay, I should probably go tail Native first. Good thing I recorded his route.'
He leapt off the rooftop at this, quickly swinging down a few streets. And as he did this, he felt his body tense up. It wasn't like when he went after Spinner, waiting for a single bank robber or when he went after a warehouse of thugs and drug dealers. He had spent another few hours last night looking into the hero killer, seeing that the man had killed a lot of people. He was nothing like anything he had faced before.
'I wonder what his quirk is. I better figure it out quickly when I find him.' he thought as he swung down another street. But as he did this, he stared in the distance, only to go wide-eyed. A few blocks ahead, what looked like a black portal opened up on a rooftop. The sight made him take a sharp turn and landed on a nearby roof. And as he got there, he turned invisible as he continued to stare at the portal.
'What is that?' He mentally asked, only to see a muscular man walk out of it. He was wearing a mish mash like outfit with an eyemask, long messy hair, no nose, and several blades all over his clothes. 'Great. More swords...'
This was followed by another person, a lanky white-haired individual with a hand on his face. The sight made Izuku lean back for a second before seeing the first man hop off the rooftop and leap to another. Izuku glanced between the two, only to look down at his web shooters. Switching out the cartridges, he then leapt off the roof and began swinging after the first man.
And as he did this, he found that the man had quickly came to a stop after a few rooftops. Izuku landed on the side of the building's wall, sill invisible as he slowly crawled over to the man, now getting just in earshot. "All fakes...they're all fakes." the man hissed, pulling out a blade and looking it over. "That worthless villain. To think he would want me to join him while he had no conviction."
'Worthless villain?' Izuku thought as he then glanced down to where the man was staring at, only to go wide-eyed. One street over was Native, who was currently doing a few autographs. He glanced back at the man, only to feel something come off the guy. It felt like...pressure. Like an invisible force hitting the teen like an unending burst of wind.
"Another fake." the man growled. "Your time is now."
'Fake?' Izuku did a slight gulp as he continued to feel the pressure. But as he felt this, his mind connected all the pieces, 'Its him! He's the hero killer!' He slowly crawled up to the rooftop at this, staying right behind the killer, only to feel another wave of pressure off of him. 'What is this? What is he doing?'
Despite being invisible, Izuku looked down at his unseeable body, feeling his legs shake. He felt it now: Fear. And as he glanced back up at the killer, he knew what it was now. 'This is...killing intent.' He bit his lip at this, his whole body shivering as he tried to point his wrists at the villain. 'I...I can't calm down. Why can't I-'
"Whoever you are, you are not worthy of fighting me." the villain suddenly said, slowly spinning around. Izuku went wide-eyed at this, glancing down at his hands and seeing he was still invisible as the killer continued to talk, "I don't see you, but I know you're there. You are hesitating. You are afraid."
'He knows I'm here? How...is he like Gran Torino? Am I really that loud?!' Izuku thought as he saw the villain slowly walk across the rooftop. The teen saw that the man was about to reach him, only to come to a stop just a few inches away from the teen.
"Well?! Where are you?!"
'So close...' Izuku mentally gulped, still feeling that killing intent pour over his entire body. But as he felt this, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. 'I gotta move. I didn't come all this way to just be beaten right as I found him...though I didn't really think I would find him so fast.'
And as he finished his deep breath, he opened his eyes and saw the killer was still standing in front of him. The glare alone from the hero killer looked like it could kill, but Izuku felt his legs slowly stop shaking. 'No. I...I gotta try.' He was still slightly shivering, but then electricity began to crackle along his hands. And with swift motion, he balled up a fist and thrust it right at the villain.
"Hmm?" the villain slowly said, now hearing a tiny sound right in front of him.
"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as he turned visible, throwing the electric punch right at the villain's chest. But as he did this, the killer quickly unsheathed two knives, blocking the blow as he put them in a cross formation in front of his stomach.
"There you are." the villain commented as he uncrossed the blades and thrust one at Izuku, his spider sense screaming at him. The attack was the fastest thing Izuku had ever seen, but his spider sense was faster. He quickly backpedaled at this, dodging the first thrust, only for the killer to start swinging his blades everywhere. It was a rapid, fluid motion that he used those knives with, but it was an even greater dance that Izuku did. His spider sense rang out every split second, motioning him to do the slightest movements, ducking and dodging each blow.
And as this happened, the killer began to push Izuku over to the rooftop's edge, Izuku feeling his feet about to go over the edge. 'I gotta do something!' he mentally yelled, only to feel no more floor beneath him. And when the villain thrust the blade again, Izuku backpedaled off the building. 'Whoa!' He quickly fired a web line, catching the top of the roof as he planted his feet on the building's side.
Seeing this, the villain let out a snort. "Not bad. You have good instincts."
"I've been told that a lot recently." Izuku instantly quipped, only to blush under the mask as he realized how quickly he said that.
"Hmph." the killer grumbled, "So, who are you? Another fake hero trying to stop me? You look like you're a child."
"Um...not exactly." Izuku replied, "I'm uh...I'm actually a vigilante."
"A vigilante?"
"Yup. Name's Spider-Man. Who are you?"
The villain just glared at him, Izuku feeling like the killer was looking right through his costume before replying, "Stain."
"Stain?"
"Stain." The villain responded, "Now, why is a vigilante after me?"
Izuku blinked at this, "Well...you're the hero killer, right? So, I'm here to stop you."
Stain let out another snort at this, "Tch. That is no job for a child. Especially one that relies on parlor tricks. Only All Might is worthy of facing me." He spun around at this, "I won't kill you though. I have respect for vigilantes. You do not care about the law to do right. That is a good quality to have."
Izuku just stood on the side of the building after hearing that. 'What? He kills heroes but respects vigilantes? What kind of logic is that?!' he thought before seeing Stain leave. He was about to pull himself up to the roof, only to stay still for a second longer. 'Wait Izuku, don't just leap at him. Use your webbing this time.'
With a small yank, he hopped back up to the roof, now seeing Stain about to leap off it to go after Native. And as he saw this, he fired a line of webbing, instantly hitting Stain's back. Feeling this, the killer reflexively spun around and cut the line. But as he did this, Izuku fired two more shots of webbing, both at Stain's feet. As they hit the soles, Izuku yanked at both, Stain now finding himself losing balance. But at this happened, he quickly stretched his arms out and cut both lines, his back hitting the rooftop before instantly rolling and standing back up.
Seeing this, Izuku fired a third line, Stain blocking it with the flat side of his blade, only for Izuku to yank at it. But as the knife left Stain's hand, he used his now free hand to grab another knife and throw it at the teen. Spider sense blaring at this, Izuku reflexively thrust his leg upward as the knife came, kicking it at the precise moment it got close. The sight made Stain let out a hiss before charging at the teen, pulling out another blade at the same time.
"I don't have time to mess with you!" Stain roared as he thrust the blade at Izuku, the teen ducking under it before trying to throw a punch back. But as this happened, Stain easily side-stepped it before swiping with his other knife. Izuku quickly tried to backpedal at this, only for it to nic him in the arm.
Stain then leapt back at this, raising the blade to his mouth.
Danger!
'Huh? Why is my spider sense yelling at that?' Izuku thought before seeing Stain's mouth opened to show a long pulpy tongue. His brain instantly clicked, the teen firing a web line right at the knife. However, Stain saw this and lifted up his other blade, the webbing hitting it instead just as he licked the knife.
Izuku felt his body instantly tense up, the teen falling over a second later. 'What the-' he mentally gasped before glancing up to see Stain cut the web line off the knife.
"Not bad. I was right about you having good instincts." Stain commented as he put one of the knives away.
"I can't move..." Izuku muttered out, "The blood...did you-"
"Oh? You figured it out that quickly?" Stain responded, showing what could only be seen as an expression of a tiny bit of surprise. "Indeed. That is my quirk." The villain then walked over to the edge of the rooftop, now seeing Native finish his last autograph signing. "My prey is ready." He glanced back at the now squirming downed vigilante, holding a knife right above him.
Izuku saw the blade, aimed right at his head. He could feel another wave of killing intent pour off the man, Stain staring down at him as his tongue slithered out of his mouth. And though the killer couldn't see it, there was a look of both fear and determination on Izuku's face. He could feel his life about to flash before his eyes, only for Stain to say, "I have respect for you. You showed great fear in facing me, but still tried. I could sense your conviction. But none shall face me except All Might, for he is the only true hero."
He raised his knife at this, ready to strike downward...only for the killer to put it away, "I...will spare you. Just don't meddle with me again."
Those words made Izuku go wide-eyed, only to see Stain spin around, "No! Wait!" the teen yelled, but it was too late. Stain was already gone.
Chapter 22: Blood On A Spider's Web
Tenya Iida wasn't sure what to think. The hero he was now interning under had told him that he couldn't go off on his own. The very notion was considered to be vigilantism, something that no one would approve of. In fact, the conversation had reminded him of the stuff he been talking about with his classmates. After being told about the internships, when they met for lunch, Mina had revealed that the UA festival had been criticized due to Bakugo, (Which he was not surprised about. Tenya had not liked him since the moment he met him in the first day of class.) and what was considered to be an event that was more popular than the Olympics, was suddenly sidewinded by Spider-Man, who had stopped a gang war outside of UA's doorstep. It was insane to think about.
Now, Tenya did not dislike Spider-Man, though he didn't like seeing someone break the law constantly, even if he was trying to help. Despite this, that very thought of breaking the law, to do vigilantism against the one that did this to his brother...it was all he could think about these past few days. It was the very reason he was there, walking behind Manual despite his eyes constantly darting around, trying to find something, anything on the hero killer.
And yet, he felt only one thing now: Vengeance. He wanted the hero killer to pay. He knew it was wrong, but his mind told him one thing: 'Don't worry about it. Don't even think about it. All you need to think about is avenging Tensei.'
As such, he continued to walk down the street with Manual, a permanent glare on the teen's face despite being hidden behind a mask. And as he strolled behind Manual, a sudden noise rang out.
BOOM!
The sound made both spin around, only to see a smoke appear behind a few buildings. And as they stared at it, a large creature with wings flew out of the black fog.
'That's...' Iida thought, recognizing the beast. It looked like a flying version of the monster he had seen at the USJ.
"What the heck is that?!" Manual yelped before turning to Iida, "Do you know what that is?"
"I...I..." Iida stuttered out, only for the two to start hearing several screams.
"Nevermind. We need to evacuate the people now!" Manual yelled, grabbing Iida shoulder, "Snap out of it and help me!"
Tenya turned to him, giving a quick nod, "Okay."
Manual spun around at this and began to yell at the people around them, gesturing to them to follow. He then saw Endeavor fly over him, slamming into one of the monsters. The sight made him glance back, only to see his intern was now gone. "Oh no..."
"You are another disgusting fake." Stain hissed. It had taken the villain a bit longer than he expected to catch the hero in front of him. It seemed that scuffle on the rooftop with the vigilante had pushed him a bit off balance, messed up his timing to be precise. That or that 'conversation' he had just had with Shigaraki. Stain was still debating on going back and killing him as he stood over Native. The Pro Hero was wincing, his whole body shaking like a leaf as Stain pointed his blade at his chin.
"What...did you...do to me?"
"Judgment." Stain replied, "I have deemed you unworthy of the title of hero. It is a word that has lost all meaning in this society, and you are another stain on its meaning."
"No, please! I-I-I don't wanna die!" Native screamed as the blade slowly went up his chin.
"Those who have fallen in battle have no right to choose their fate." Stain remarked, "Especially a fake like you. Your kind is a poison to this society, one that I will cure." Stain then raised the katana up high, a malicious grin on his face as Native felt the killing aura pour off the villain. The pressure alone was choking, Stain clenching his grip on the blade as he prepared the killing blow.
But as he was about to do this, his eyes went wide. Turning to his right, a sudden figure burst into him. Stain quickly held up his hands and sword, blocking the blow before swiping upward, knocking the assailant back. The sound of tinging metal followed this as a helmet bounced on the pavement.
"Who are you?" Stain hissed as he saw the assailant completely now. It was Iida in full hero costume with the exception of his helmet. "Another child?"
Iida didn't respond, instead just getting back up as he glared at the killer. The sight made Stain scoff, "You...your eyes are filled with vengeance." He pointed his blade at the teen, "Let me guess, you wish to avenge someone I killed?"
"I am the brother of the Pro Hero Ingenium, the one you cut down! I am here to face you in his place." Iida roared, only to see the killer just squint his eyes at him.
"You are a fool. And you're meddling with my work." He turned back to Native, "Do not meddle with me, child. I will kill you if necessary."
Iida then scratched the pavement under him with his foot, "I am Ingenium, for its the name that will defeat you right here, right now!"
Stain's eyes drifted back to the teen, making him let out a sigh, "Hmph. I see. You believe yourself to be a hero?" He pointed his blade at him, "Then prepare for death."
Iida then charged straight at his, the engines in his calves bursting as he zipped down the alleyway. But as he got close, Stain just jumped over him, easily dodging the charge before slamming his foot down into Iida's right arm. The blow knocked the teen to the ground, only for Stain to land and slam his katana into Iida's left shoulder. "Augh!" Iida screamed as he felt the blade go through, only to feel Stain's foot on his back.
"You're just as worthless as your brother." Stain spat as he slowly moved the blade out of the teen, "The only reason I let Ingenium live was to spread rumors. You and your brother are weak...all because you're both fake heroes!"
"My brother is a great hero!" Iida barked back as he tried to get up, only to feel Stain push him back down with just his foot. "I'll kill you to avenge him!"
Hearing this, Stain let out a scoff, "Oh please." He then took his foot off of Iida and pulled the sword out, Iida wincing at this as the killer pointed at Native, "Then save him."
"What?"
"You heard me." Stain hissed as he put the blade up to his mouth, licking it. The act makes Iida tense up, as if something had now made him unable to move. However, Stain continued to speak, "A true hero acts selflessly, rescuing others and does not use his power for his own sake. But you use it for yourself. You just want revenge, which makes you the furthest thing from being a hero." And as he said that, Iida now felt Stain's boot hit his head, slamming him into the pavement. "Worthless. That's why you're going to die now. You will be another offering for a just world."
"You're wrong!" Iida screamed as he tried to move, Stain just shaking his head at the sight. "You're just scum that hurt Tensei!"
"And you...are nothing but a fake." He then lifted his blade over the teen, "And now, you will-"
"Web Swing Kick!"
And as Stain heard the sudden voice, he turned to the right, only to feel something hit him directly in the face. The blow knocked him off his feet, only to land on his back and quickly roll onto his feet a split second later. But as he did this, he glanced around, not seeing his assailant.
The sight made him let out a long hiss, "You again. Didn't I tell you to not meddle with me?!"
"Sorry, but when I see a murder about to happen, I have to interfere. Its one of my many rules." said a voice, Iida and Native glancing up as they tried to see where it was coming from.
"Tch. Fine." Stain growled as his eyes darted around. "So I assume you're going to continue using this little invisible parlor trick of yours?"
"No, I can't hold it forever, but..." Two webs shot down, both instantly grabbing the katana in Stain's hand. With a single powerful yank, it was pulled out of the killer's grip. And as the blade was sent flying up the alleyway, a certain green colored vigilante appeared as he grabbed the sword's handle. This was followed by him webbing the katana to the building his feet were sticking too, about three stories up from the ground. "I can declare this a no katana zone."
"You..." Stain hissed as he pulled out two knives.
"What's the matter, mister stabs-a-lot? Lost your favorite weapon?" Izuku quipped, Native and Iida now staring straight up with wide eyes at the vigilante. As for Izuku, his mind was kicking him as it yelled, 'What are you doing Izuku?! Don't antagonize him like that! He already beat you once! Just...just figure out how to save Native and Tenya and get out of here!'
"DIE!" Stain roared as he threw both knives at Izuku, only for his spider sense to scream at him. Letting his uncanny radar sense take over, he reflexively caught both with his hands, only to web them up as well.
"I don't think so." Izuku commented as he glanced back down at Stain, "You're not getting me again. I know your trick now, and I can do this all day."
Stain pulled out a third knife, this one having blood on it. Two web lines shot down next, Stain quickly cutting both, only for a third to grab his foot. A pull followed this, knocking Stain off balance before a fourth web to hit the knife, yanking it out of his grip. The knife reached Izuku instantly, the teen catching it and webbing it up. However, he didn't stick it to the wall, but instead put it in his hoodie. "That one had my blood on it, didn't it? I'll be putting that one away for sure." He commented before glancing down at Stain. "Looks like you're all out of tricks. And that is your only trick, isn't it?!"
That comment made Iida go wide-eyed as his mind told him, 'Aizawa-sensei is right. I'm a one trick pony...and I lost because of it.'
"You..." Stain hissed before taking out another knife, only to turn back to Native. The hero was still sitting on the pavement, unable to move thanks to Stain's quirk. And as he thrust his blade at him, another web line shot down, the killer instantly turning and blocking it with his knife. But as the webbing hit the weapon, Stain grabbed the web line and pulled on it. Izuku felt himself being yanked, making him lose grip on the wall.
"Whoa!" he yelped before cutting the webbing from his shooter, then thrusting his arms upward as he fired two more web lines, slowing his descent. He was now only about one story above the killer, Stain then hopping on the wall and wall-kicking off it. He began to slash right at the teen, spider sense screaming at the motion. A split second later, Izuku pulled on the web lines, yanking himself just out of Stain's reach.
'Yikes!' Izuku thought as he caught himself before sticking to the wall and firing two more web lines at Stain. The killer slashed at both, only for Izuku to fire more and more. 'That's it! I'm fixing this situation now!' Webbing flew out of the shooters, the substance now beginning to miss the villain, instead hitting the sides of the wall and ground, sticking everywhere as Stain continued to slash through the webs. And as he did this, Izuku then hopped down and landed between Stain and Iida, Stain cutting one last strand of webbing.
"Finally came down to face me?!" Stain roared, only to see Izuku shake his head.
"Nope. Just made sure you can't kill someone else."
Stain blinked at this, only to glance back to see that half of the alleyway was now covered in a giant webbing wall, cutting him off from Native. The sight made him hiss, only to look back at Izuku and see him hop onto the wall again and fire a web at Iida's back, yanking him down the alleyway, away from the villain.
"You...you..." Stain growled, the killing aura he always had now pouring out of him.
"You're not killing anyone else." Izuku declared as he came back down again. He stared straight at the villain, feeling the overwhelming pressure of his killing intent flow off him. And despite this, Izuku felt himself taking a deep breath as his mind said, 'I...I think I can do this.' He closed his eyes at this, taking another breath before opening them, 'Yeah. Yeah, let's do this.'
Bio-electricity surged through his hands as Stain stared him down, the killer reaching for another knife. Iida, who could feel his body starting to slowly move now, watched with baited breath at the end of the alleyway. But as he did this, Izuku cut the electricity as he fired a web line, Stain quickly slashing it. The villain then charged at this, Izuku's spider sense yelling at him as the knife came. Izuku quickly side-stepped the thrust, spider-sense guiding him as Stain turned the thrust into a sideswipe, Izuku ducking under it. Stain then swung the blade in three separate strikes, Izuku dancing around each blow within a single centimeter of difference.
It looked like a performance to Iida, watching the killer he hated so much swinging the blade around like a maniac, only to see Spider-Man nimbly dodge every blow. And as Stain tried to slash him, Izuku watched the maniac continue to try and hit him, the teen focusing everything he could on his spider sense. And as the sense kept guiding him, he started to see an opening. As this happened, the two were about to exit the alleyway, both having slowly gone down the whole alley.
Iida felt himself able to move now, quickly getting up and leaping out of the way as the two left the alleyway, only to see Izuku finally counter the killer. He shot a web line straight at Stain, the villain raising his knife to block it. But just as the webbing struck it, Izuku immediately yanked at it, instantly pulling the knife out of Stain's grip. Seeing this, Stain quickly thrust a punch, hitting Izuku in the face. He then did rapid fury of punches at this, spider sense yelling at Izuku as he tried to block each blow, only to feel four punches to the face.
Stain then slammed a fist into Izuku's stomach, making him gasp as the villain roared, "Weak!" He then pulled back another fist, but as he tried to punch Izuku again, Izuku ducked under it before thrusting a leg upward, the foot smacking Stain in the face. He stumbled back, only for Stain to reach behind his back to grab another knife, only for Izuku to pull back a fist, electricity surging off it.
"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as he thrust the fist, Stain quickly switching from grabbing the knife to blocking the blow by crossing his arms. But as the fist hit him, Stain felt for the first time today, pure pain. The blow knocked him off his feet, making him screech as he was knocked back into the alleyway.
Seeing this, Izuku quickly pointed his wrists at the killer, ready to fire a bunch of webbing-
Danger!
"Look out!" Iida yelled as his calves ignited, shooting himself over to Spider-Man. He tackled the teen just as a giant claw suddenly swiped above the two. The pair hit the pavement before both scrambling up, now seeing a Nomu land a few feet away.
"Thanks." Izuku replied before looking up at the creature, "What the heck is that?!"
"Well uh...that's um..." Iida stuttered out, only for the Nomu to let out a roar.
"Hold that thought." Spider-Man remarked as he grabbed Iida as the Nomu leapt at them. He fired a quick web line and yanked at it, pulling both away from the monster.
"Whoa!" Iida yelped as he felt himself get lifted across the street. And as the Nomu missed them, Stain walked out of the alleyway with killing intent flooding off him. The villain turned to see the creature land again, letting out a long hiss.
"You must Shigaraki's. Such a disgusting being." the killer spat as the Nomu continued to roar before leaping at Stain next. As it did this, he pulled out a knife and jumped, the beast tackling him, only to stab the weapon into the monster's back. Stain let out an irk of pain as the Nomu then slammed him into the street, only to lick the blade. The monster instantly flopped over at this, Stain letting out a 'hmph' before getting up and slicing the creature's neck.
"Disgusting." Stain spat before getting up, "After I'm done here, I will make that fake villain pay."
And as this happened, Iida and Spider-Man stared at the killer. Iida could feel himself shaking, his eyes going between the villain and the vigilante. As for Spider-Man, he stared directly at the villain, only to glance down at this web shooters. 'I gotta be low. I need to change it, now.' The killer turned back to them, Izuku whispering to Iida, "Hey."
The teen almost hopped in place as his eyes darted back to the vigilante, "Um...yes?"
"You good to fight this guy?" Izuku asked, "I might need your help."
Iida went wide-eyed at this, "What?! But haven't you been handling him this whole time?! H-h-he beat me instantly!"
Izuku wanted to shake his head at that, "No. I uh...I've been improvising the whole thing. That and if he licks your blood, he wins. So, I've been trying to be super careful."
"You...have?" Iida muttered out.
"Yeah." Izuku turned to him, 'Remember Izuku, you can't tell him you're...Izuku.' Izuku took a breath for a second and said, "Listen, you're obviously...related to Ingenium, right? Are you here for revenge?"
"I...yes." Iida replied, "Do you know my brother?"
"I worked with him once." Izuku responded, "But that's not important. I need your help."
"You do?" Iida slowly said, "But...I can't..."
"You can do it. If you want to be a hero, help me." Those words made Iida tense up, only for both to suddenly flinch as they felt a wave of killing intent hit them. Feeling this, Izuku whispered to Iida, "Can you give me an opening?"
Iida bit his lip at this, only to see Stain begin to walk over the Nomu. "You fakes...you worthless fakes!" He screeched as he pulled out a second knife. "I'm done playing around! I'll kill you both!"
Hearing this, seeing the killer before him just scream like an animal, the sight made Iida sick to his stomach. This was what hurt his brother, this monster that was rambling like a lunatic. But as he saw this, he felt a wave of fear and anger hit him at the same time. And as he felt this, he saw Spider-Man just stare ahead, unmoving as he put himself into a crouched fighting stance. He could see he was shaking, but the vigilante was ready to take Stain on.
Iida looked back at the villain, now seeing what he was facing before. 'I was wrong. I just...ran into this without thinking. This is all my fault.' He then glanced back at Spider-Man one last time, 'But he just hopped in here with no plan and saved me and Native...like a real hero.' His eyes went back to the Stain, the killer now over the Nomu and walking on the pavement, before taking one of his fingers to push up his glasses. "I'll do it."
Izuku blinked at him before nodding, "Alright. Let's do this."
A burst of steam blasted out of Iida's calves, his body tensing up as he stared straight ahead. And as he did this, Izuku reached into his hoodie and silently grabbed a web cartridge, quickly changing it as Iida charged. "Recipro Burst!" Iida roared as he leapt at the villain. He thrust a leg right at Stain's face, the killer raising both hands to block it. The blow pushed Stain back, his feet grinding on the street.
And with a jerk of his leg, the attack broke through Stain's guard, knocking him back. The killer flew over the downed Nomu, his body hitting the pavement before quickly flipping himself back onto his feet. But as he did this, a web line hit his chest, making him glance down. He swiped his knife, cutting the line, only for another one to hit the knife. Stain tensed his grip on the weapon, feeling a yank, but kept his hold.
As this all happened, Iida charged at him again, Stain growling as he cut the line with the second knife. He then thrust his blades at the teen, only for Izuku to yell, "Dodge it!"
Iida quickly leapt at this, zooming over the killer as he tried to swing his knife upward. But as he did this, another web line hit his chest, Stain cutting this as well. And as he did this, he turned to see Izuku leap right at him, fists sparking in electricity. The killer began to counterattack, thrusting a blade right at Izuku just as he landed in front of him. And as this happened, Izuku slightly dodged as the blade nicked his shoulder.
But that was enough.
"Venom Punch!" Izuku screamed as his fist hit Stain's chest. Electricity surged through the villain's body, his whole body flying off the pavement. A second later, his back slammed into a wall, blood spitting out of his mouth. And before he could fully fall over-
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Globs of webbing covered Stain neck to toe, sticking him to the building wall. Stain let out a hiss at this, trying to move his hands, only to find he couldn't move an inch. He pulled and squirmed, but found he couldn't do anything. The only thing he could move was his head.
"Grr...you little...you fakes..." Stain growled as his head tilted around.
And as he tried to move, Izuku and Iida walked over to him, now watching this bloodthristy killer be reduced to a webbed-up thug on a wall. The sight made Iida just glare at him, seeing the man who hurt his brother be helpless. He felt his fists clench up at this, both shaking as fire burned in his eyes.
Izuku turned to Iida, seeing the rage on his face. 'What...what do I do here?' He looked back at Stain, the killer no longer moving but just staring straight at him. His eyes were directly on Izuku, as if Iida wasn't there.
"Its seems you beat me." Stain hissed before his eyes slowly turned to Iida, "Well? Are you going to kill me like you said before, you fake hero?!"
Iida raised his fist at this, ready to punch him, only to feel a hand grab his shoulder. The teen turned to the vigilante, nothing but rage on Iida's face. Despite this, Izuku spoke up in the most calming tone possible, "Um...listen, I might not know everything going on here, but..."
"But what?!" Iida growled.
"Uh...I don't think getting revenge will help you." Izuku replied before pointing at Stain, "I mean, just look at him. Do you think you'll get what you want by punishing him?"
Iida glanced back at Stain, seeing even more rage than he was showing now pouring off the killer. The sight made the teen sick, as if looking at a rapid animal that had taken everything away from him. However, his own mind then asked him, 'Is that what a hero does?'
Izuku glanced back down at Iida's fist, only to see it uncurl. The teen let out a long sigh, glancing away, "I...I really want to kill him. But I know Tensei wouldn't want that. I just...I just..."
Silence came next, Iida now looking away. As for Izuku, he stared at the teen, wishing he could say more, but no words would come out of his mouth. But as this happened, another voice suddenly rang out.
"Iida!" All three turned to the voice, seeing it was Manual as he ran up to them, only to go wide-eyed as he saw Stain webbed up to the building wall. "That's-"
"The hero killer." Iida slowly said before pointing to a certain vigilante, "He...Spider-Man beat him mostly."
"It wasn't mostly! He's the only one who beat me!" Stain screeched, all three turning to him as he glared at Iida, "He's a real hero, unlike you! You're just a worthless fake!"
Iida opened his mouth to respond, only for Spider-Man to wave a hand in front of him, "You're wrong." Stain glared at the teen, Izuku then adding, "And before you say anything, I'm not a real hero. I failed to become one. That's why I'm a vigilante."
Those words made both Iida and Manual go wide-eyed, only to hear Stain let out a snarl, "So?! That still makes you more of a hero than him!" the killer spat, "I saw your conviction! You care to save and protect others, unlike this fake who only seeks revenge!"
"He might seek that, but he just showed you he's learned his lesson." Izuku instantly replied before pointing at Stain, "And didn't you tell me earlier that the only true hero is All Might, only to say I'm a real hero?! You're nothing but a hypocrite!"
"Shut up! You understand nothing!" Stain roared, only to turn his head, the rest following it as they saw a crowd begin to form from faraway. A news crew was there, cameras and everything, along with a certain flaming hero: Endeavor. The sight made them all go wide-eyed, only for Stain to scream, "You all know nothing! The word hero has lost all meaning in this world! Do you hear me?! Its lost all meaning!" He then glared back at Izuku, "That is why only All Might is worthy of defeating me!"
And as he yelled this, Endeavor walked up to them, the flames on his form blazing off him. Iida turned to him at this, seeing Endeavor's son Shoto Todoroki standing beside the hero as Endeavor pointed at Stain, "Is that the hero killer?!"
The trio were about to reply, only for Stain to spit at the hero, "Endeavor...you're the fakest hero of them all! You only live for fame and glory! You're not a real hero!" Endeavor turned to the villain, flames rising off him even more, only for Stain to glare right back. It felt as if a flood of killing intent had been unleashed, everyone now feeling it.
Manual, Iida, Izuku and even Shoto all shook at this, but Endeavor remained firm, hiding the surprise in him at feeling this much pressure, and the fact that something like this had been taken down by those around him. Despite this, Stain just glared at the hero before turning back to Izuku, "You...you call yourself Spider-Man, right?"
Izuku turned to him, about to respond, only for Stain to say, "I accept defeat from you. I said that the word hero has lost all meaning...but you're a real hero."
Izuku just shook his head at this, "You're wrong. It still has meaning, as I know there are plenty of real heroes still out there."
Stain let out a hiss at this, "Did you not hear what I just said?! I said-"
Thwip!
A glob of webbing covered Stain's mouth, making Iida and Manual go wide-eyed as Izuku added, "I don't need to be told I'm a hero from a murderer."
This was followed by another round of Stain's malefic aura, his bloodlust pouring out of him at Izuku's words. Even Endeavor flinched at this, Izuku shivering at this as he thought, 'That's what I was just fighting?' He almost shook his head at this, 'I really went in over my head, didn't I? I need to listen to Gran Torino's advice and slow down...' He mentally took a deep breath before turning to the others, "Well...I gotta go. You okay with calling the cops to escort him to prison?"
"Um...sure?" Manual replied, only for Endeavor to walk in front of him.
"You will not be going anywhere, vigilante. You're also under arrest."
"On what charges? You know, besides the vigilantism and the uh..." Izuku tried to quip, only to see a pillar of flame about to erupt out of the hero's back.
"Vigilantes are nothing but villains who think they can do good." Endeavor growled as fire consumed his right fist, "I've seen firsthand what they're meddling can do. Surrender now, or I will burn you."
"Now hang on there. I was just trying to help, and I caught the villain for you." The teen croaked out, feeling himself start to backpedal, "That's gotta count for something, right?"
"It means you are more dangerous than him." Endeavor replied in a matter-of-fact tone. And as he said this, a teen with white and red hair walked up beside the hero.
"Uh..." Izuku muttered out, his mind yelling at him, 'You stupid Deku! Do something! Or run, or...something!'
"Now hang on, Endeavor sir!" Iida suddenly spoke up, "Spider-Man just-"
"Be silent child. It's obvious you're trying to be a vigilante too." Endeavor hissed, making Iida gulp as he knew he couldn't deny that. But as this exchange happened, Izuku's teenage brain took over as he spoke up again.
"You know what, mister Endeavor sir?" The hero glanced back at the vigilante, "I'm uh...gonna have to pass on the whole you...burning me thing. I don't know about you, but I prefer stuff fried instead of burnt. Though I am good with grilled, roasted, or baked, but I prefer fried." The fire on Endeavor's body plumed at this, everyone now backpedaling, including Endeavor's son, who's eyes started to widen as he heard Izuku talk back to his father.
"You will surrender now, or else." Endeavor growled, his eyes narrowing the flames on him surged.
"Um...well uh..." Izuku stuttered out as he felt like he was shrinking in the mere presence of the Number Two hero, his brain now kicking him, 'You moron! What did you say that for?!' Izuku then opened his mouth, 'No! Don't do another quip! Just run! Now!'
But his brain was too late as Izuku spoke up and said, "I think I'll just take a rain check on the whole surrendering thing too. Bye!" And with that, the teen instantly turned invisible. The sight made Endeavor's right eye twitch before thrusting a flaming fist downward, a giant volley of fire bursting out of it. Spider sense blaring at this, he quickly leapt up and fired a web line, yanking himself just out of the flame's reach as everyone else leapt to the side. Endeavor then turned to see webs suddenly appearing mid-air, leaping after it a split second later.
Danger!
'Oh no.' Izuku thought as he fired another web line, quickly yanking himself down an alleyway. A second later, flames burst into the edge of the alleyway, Endeavor now flying over the buildings.
"Come back here, you coward!" Endeavor roared.
Glancing back, Izuku then saw flames encase the whole alley just as he swung out of it. 'What the heck?! He's using lethal force?!' He glanced back at the buildings ahead, his spider sense still yelling as he swung across a street. 'I gotta get out of here!'
And as he went into another alleyway, he glanced up to see Endeavor was still just behind him, only to see Endeavor aim right for his previous web line. The sight made him go wide-eyed, 'That's it!'
He then took a sharp left out of the alleyway, only to quickly land. And as Endeavor flew over the alley, Izuku fired two more web lines across the street, both connecting to tops of buildings. Endeavor soon saw them and went across the street, Izuku then running down a block before into another alleyway. His invisibility soon turned off, his head hurting from having to use it while under that much stress. He then slipped behind a dumpster and waited, hearing Endeavor roar in the distance.
"Where are you?! Don't think you can escape me!"
And after a few minutes, he got up and glanced out of the alleyway and saw that the hero had gone the opposite direction. Letting out a sigh of relief before darting his eyes around, only to remember that the city had been evacuated earlier due to the monsters, he fired a new web line before swinging away.
It wasn't long till he found the train station, hopped on for a ride to Musutafu, and knew he needed to go to bed as soon as possible. And as he waited on the train, his adrenaline suddenly left him and the memories of today flooded into his mind. He could feel all the moments of near death, the killing intent from Stain as he thought to himself, 'That's it. No more Spider-Manning for today. I...I think I might need a vacation.' He slumped over on the train, letting out a long moan, 'And a nap. A long nap.'