Chapter 23: The First Unraveling Thread
Izuku collapsed when he got home. His mother was there when he arrived, but her words didn't reach his ears. And as she saw him instantly fall asleep on his bed, she let out a long sigh before remarking the boy was shaving ten years off her life before bandaging him up again. This was followed by the night passing, soon turning to morning as he woke up in a slump.
"Uuuuuggggghhhhh..." he moaned as he flopped out of bed, his mind feeling like mush as he tried to stand up.
"Izuku Midoriya!" yelled a certain voice, making him slowly turn to see his mother glaring at him. She had her arms crossed as she let out a long sigh, "I told you to not jump into everything! Now look at you!"
Izuku let out a mumble at this, his form just now fully standing up. And as he let out a yawn, he said, "I'm sorry."
Inko blinked at him for a second, only to sigh again, "I know." She shook her head before walking over and grabbing Izuku's shoulder, "Take the day off, alright? No Spider-Man today." Izuku stared at her for a second, only to suddenly hug her. Inko flinched at this, embracing back a few moments later. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay." Izuku muttered out, "Yesterday was just...too much."
"You're probably seeing too much." Inko replied before ending the hug, "You're too young for this sort of thing. Though uh...do you want to talk about it?"
"I...I...I don't know. I just...went in over my head." Izuku felt tears appear in his eyes, the teen blinking them away, "He was a real monster, mom. I...I still don't know how I stopped him."
"I figured. Do you...you know, want to talk about it or-"
"No. I'm okay." Izuku responded before scratching the side of his head, "And uh...I'll take a day or two off as Spider-Man."
"Good." Inko giggled before gesturing him to follow, "Come on, I'll make you breakfast."
The teen followed his mom, soon eating a light breakfast before turning on the news. And when he stared at the television, his eyes went wide at the headlines.
Vigilante Defeats the Hero Killer! Spider-Man Strikes Again!
The screen then showed three people around a table, all debating about the vigilante. One was saying that Spider-Man should be praised, only for the other two debating if he should be arrested immediately. They then went over the impact of the hero killer, showing a clip that the news crew had got of him saying how the word hero had lost all meaning, only to then praise Spider-Man.
Seeing this, his mother turned to him with wide eyes, "Did that really happen?" She asked as the clip of Stain yelling, "The word hero has lost all meaning!" repeated on loop on the television.
Izuku put a hand to his face, groaning, "I don't want to talk about it."
The footage then cut to Spider-Man fleeing Endeavor, and then showing a few days before with him fighting the masked men and Tombstone's gang. A reporter then spoke up, "As you can see here, Spider-Man seems to have taken the heroes' jobs. Both situations have the vigilante go in and save the day when heroes should be there, only they're not. Even Endeavor, the number two hero, arrived too late to take on the hero killer."
The report made Izuku squirm in his seat, hearing the reporter now complain about the heroes. Inko watched him with a long frown, only to glance back at the screen to see footage of the hero killer again, though Iida was also there, "Is that Iida boy okay?"
"I...don't know." Izuku replied as he put a bit of scrambled egg in his mouth, "I hope Manual and the police don't get too angry at him."
Iida was laying in a hospital bed, his body slumped over as his glasses slid down his nose. Yesterday's events kept playing in his mind, watching Spider-Man take on Stain, seeing him out-think the killer and save him and Native at the same time. It kept playing over and over in his head, only for Spider-Man to ask him if revenge would help. He then remembered Stain's face, the demonic look on it, as if staring at a rabid vicious animal.
Then a knocking sound rang out, Iida turning to the door, "Come in!"
The door slowly opened, the teen's face paling as he saw who walked in. First was a man in a tan overcoat, a calm smile on his face as he strided over to the front of the bed and sat down on a chair. Following him was Manual, along with the person that frightened Iida the most. It was his teacher, Eraserhead, who had the longest glare coming out of his eyes despite his face hiding behind his scarf. He could feel a long gulp go down his throat as the first man spoke up.
"Hello, I'm detective Tuskauchi Naomasa. As you can probably guess, I need to ask you some questions over your encounter with the Hero Killer."
"I understand. I'll answer anything you want to know." Iida instantly replied, only to see his teacher walk up to the side of his bed. The glare he was giving felt like pure death, the teen stuttering out, "A-A-Aizawa-s-s-sensei?"
The teacher leaned down at this, Naomasa about to tell Aizawa to not scare the kid, only for Aizawa to hiss out, "Iida...I don't have to tell you that you're in big trouble. I'm one second away from expelling you and blacklisting you from every hero school in the country. The only reason I don't is because of Manual, who says he believes you've learned your lesson. However, that doesn't mean I believe it, or that you have my trust. What you did is not acceptable in any way, no matter the reason, and if you want to stay at UA, you're going to have to earn my trust back. Got it?"
Iida slowly nodded, "Y-y-yes sensei."
"Good." Aizawa leaned back, "Now, you're going to answer all the detective's questions, and you're going to answer them truthfully. And before you think of lying, he has a lie detector quirk. So, if you lie, I'll know, and you'll be expelled. Got it?"
"Yes sensei." Iida replied, his voice barely above a squeak.
"Now now, don't scare him like that." Naomasa added as he waved his hand at Aizawa before looking back at Iida, "Sorry about him. He's here because...well, he's part of the investigation team over Spider-Man."
"Over Spider-Man?"
"Yes." Aizawa grumbled, "Thanks to...recent events, he's considered to be a priority capture. I was brought in beforehand, but thanks to what happened, he's an even bigger priority now."
"Oh." Iida barely responded, his mind now going over this information. But before he could really think, Naomasa spoke up again.
"Now, let's begin. I'll start by saying we already know your motive. You are the younger brother of Tensei Iida," Hearing those words made Tenya tense up, his whole body shaking for a second as Naomasa continued, "And we also know about your injuries. Based on the equipment we recovered from the hero killer, we can assume how each injury happened. That being said, I need you to recount the entire event for me as much as you can."
"O-o-okay." Iida replied, feeling his lips go a bit dry as he responded. His mind went back over everything that had happened, the pain, the surprises, the sight of Spider-Man fighting the monster that hurt his brother. And then there was the hero killer himself. A being that Iida now saw as a nightmare, a malefic monster that was more wild rabid animal than man. On the other side was Spider-Man, who seemingly hopped into the situation and slowly but surely pushed the hero killer back. Spider-Man was careful, precise and persistent, things Iida didn't do in the slightest. He had just charged in, guns blazing and not a bit careful.
He took a deep breath at this, and stared straight ahead, right into the detective's eyes. "Um...to start, I want to say that I'll try to tell you all I can, but I didn't see everything that happened thanks to the hero killer's quirk."
"His quirk?" Aizawa chimed in, only for Naomasa to pull out a paper and give it to the hero. He quickly took it and scanned it over, "Bloodcurdle...I see. That does make sense."
He gave the paper back as Naomasa responded to Iida, "That's alright, we understand. Now, please tell us everything you know."
Iida took a deep breath, and began to talk, "It began when I found the hero killer in the alleyway, about to kill that other Pro Hero."
"Native?"
Iida nodded, "Yes. I then...recklessly charged at the hero killer, and he instantly countered me."
It was here that the expressions on everyone's faces began to change in that room. Naomasa and Aizawa had already interviewed Native, but the hero didn't really give much. He was so terrified of the hero killer that it seemed he had blanked out most of the encounter. It also didn't help that Spider-Man had separated the hero from the fight mid-way, making Iida's recounting of the tale a bit more engaging.
He began by telling them what seemed like an invisible force just came in and knocked the hero killer off his feet. This was followed by Spider-Man repeatedly disarming him, Iida commenting on how Aizawa-sensei was right about heroes needing to not be one trick ponies. Naomasa laughed at this, Manual chuckling as Aizawa let out a grumble before Iida continued. He followed by telling them about the webbing wall Spider-Man created, the dance between the two as Spider-Man seemed to just be a hair ahead of Stain before knocking him back. But then the Nomu came into the story, Iida remarking that it just attacked Stain and he killed it with ease.
But it was the part after this that intrigued Naomasa and Aizawa the most. Spider-Man asked Iida to help, and then they beat Stain, though Spider-Man did take some damage. This was followed by him webbing the killer up to the wall...and then Iida tried to recount all the words the two said as they talked to each other.
"Wait...he said he failed to become a hero?" Aizawa asked first, Iida nodding back.
"Yes." Iida remarked, only to glance over at Aizawa, "I was surprised too. I mean...I know our class had talked about him. Ashido suggested he may be an expelled student or something."
Aizawa raised an eyebrow, "When was this?"
"Oh, um...Uraraka had witnessed him catching a purse snatcher a week or so ago. She said it was like watching a pro on how he did it." Iida glanced back down at this, "I have to admit, I believe she is right. Spider-Man seemed so skilled. I was shocked when he told me he had improvised everything."
Aizawa and Naomasa shared a glance, both knowing they were thinking the same thing. The footage the two had watched over and over, showing that Spider-Man was new to the game, but at the same time, showing firsthand how experience is ten times the teacher compared to training. Even Aizawa knew that even if you did tons of training, experience could trump it with ease.
The very thought was unsettling to the duo, knowing that this meant only one thing. Spider-Man was starting to get better and better at a very fast rate.
But that discussion wasn't for the current situation, both turning back to Iida as Aizawa remarked, "I'm guessing that's all you need Naomasa?"
"Yeah." Naomasa nodded, "I think I got a good idea on where to go from here. Thank you for time, young man."
Iida did a quick bow, "I'm sorry I couldn't give you much."
Naomasa shook his head, "No, this is more than we hoped for." His eyes darted back to Aizawa, "We'll talk later."
"Got it." Aizawa replied as Naomasa left the room, the teacher then gesturing his head to Manual. The hero did a small nod before leaving the room as well. And as the door shut, Iida found himself alone with his teacher.
"So..."
"I'm not going to expel you." Aizawa interrupted while crossing his arms, Iida letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, only for Aizawa to add, "I was also told you asked for your arm to not get repaired. Is that true?"
"Yes. I-"
"Get the surgery done."
"Huh?!" Iida yelped as he was interrupted again.
Aizawa put a hand to the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Listen, its irrational to not have parts of your body working when they could. Even if you're not going to be a hero."
"But I-"
"Just do it. Even if it knocks you out of physical activities for some time." Aizawa sighed as he spun, slowly making for the door. And before Iida could say anything else, the teacher glanced back at him, "And I want you to rest up for the remainder of the internship. Come back to school in top shape or you're expelled, got it?"
"Y-y-yes sir." Iida responded while bowing again.
And as he was left alone, the teen turned to the nearby window, staring out at the city. His mind went back to yesterday, the fight, the emotions, the memories...everything was swirling in his head. He glanced back down at his hands, muttering to himself, "Spider-Man...thank you."
All For One let out a long sigh as he watched the scene before him. He had told his apprentice Tomura Shigaraki to meet the hero killer Stain, which had ended in a total failure. To be fair, the boy was not cooperative about...anything, but he was someone that could be manipulated. The boy had raw hatred for heroes, something that could be used and modified. As such, the hero killer should have been an easy win, a great help to have Tomura learn.
That didn't work though. Instead, Stain showed how lacking Tomura was. The killer was a man that had been driven insane by his philosophy, a unique specimen even in this day and age. But Tomura wouldn't listen to him, both instead spouting their views, the killer having a direct view while Tomura was still...lacking in vision.
Now the hero killer was gone. Captured by the authorities. And that was followed by something else that intrigued the villain, as Stain was beaten by Spider-Man. A curious vigilante that had appeared on the scene a little over two weeks ago now, and wielded a power that even now he didn't understand despite his giant volume of quirks. Not only that, to what little footage he could acquire, he saw that the vigilante was gaining power.
This led to the scene right now, Tomura growling at the television in the bar as it showed the same video over and over. Stain proclaiming that 'the word hero has lost all meaning' and then reports on Spider-Man and how he beat the hero killer and his scuffle with two gangs while the UA sports festival was happening. The sight made Tomura furious, complaining that 'his Nomu' that he had used on Hosu deserved to be reported instead of the killer and vigilante, and All For One had told him that Tomura could not use any more Nomu until he had learned his lesson.
Instead, Tomura just stayed angry. The sight was draining in a way. He knew the boy was filled with hatred, and yet he did nothing but be angry than actually try to improve or learn. It seemed that Tomura was going to stew in rage for a while. That was fine. All For One still had time, so he would let Tomura sit there in a pool of hatred before telling him what the next step would be.
"It seems I'll need to look into my other plans. After all, it pays to have backups." he remarked to himself as he leaned back in his chair. And as he did this, a door opened behind him, the sound making All For One speak up, "Good morning doctor."
"Good morning, master." The doctor bowed before walking up to the machines connected to the villain, "We need to do your usual treatment."
"Very well." All For One slightly sighed, tired that this broken body of his needed so much maintenance. He then heard the doctor stop right beside him, the motion unusual for the man, "Doctor? Is something wrong?"
"I..." the doctor slightly muttered before speaking up, "I got a call from one of my contacts."
"I see. Is there a problem?"
"They..." the doctor bit his lip, "They saw the Hosu footage and they instantly figured out that the Nomu was us."
All For One felt the pause come from the doctor, the villain grinning a second later, "Is that so? Which contact?" The doctor leaned down and whispered into his ear, the villain's grin growing at this, "Ah." All For One let out a chuckle, "Let me guess, they wish to acquire one of our Nomu? Perhaps in exchange for something else?"
"Yes." the doctor flatly replied.
A large laugh came out of the villain next before humming, "Very well." The villain lifted his hand and raised a finger, "Let me speak to them first."
The doctor blinked at this, "Are...are you sure?"
"Oh yes." All For One cackled, "I haven't 'negotiated' a deal with the scum of the world in some time. When my plan completes with Tomura, that skill will be even more necessary. This will be good practice."
Aizawa closed the door behind himself, letting out the longest sigh he could possibly make. The noise made Naomasa chuckle, making the teacher glare at him. "Frustrated?"
"You have no idea." Aizawa grumbled, "So I'm guessing this means we change the profile. Again."
"Yup." Naomasa replied as he looked back down at his notes, "To be fair, it does give us a slightly better picture."
"Ugh..." Aizawa moaned, shaking his head, "You know that's not enough. Have you been watching the news and what those disgusting vultures have been showing?"
"I know." Naomasa sighed, "But we have to take every little bit we can get."
"Indeed! That is the most optimal strategy when it comes to information gathering." said a new voice, both turning and looking down to see a certain principal of UA, Nezu. The sight made Aizawa tense up as Nezu added, "Hello Aizawa, Naomasa. I suppose you two know why I'm here, yes?"
"Yeah. You're my worst nightmare." Aizawa groaned, "Let me guess, the hero commission demanded you help us?"
"Oh yes. I am now officially part of the Spider-Man investigation." The animal chuckled before climbing onto Aizawa, quickly getting onto his shoulder, "Now, let's go find a good place to talk. We have a lot to go over."
Aizawa and Naomasa shared a glance, Naomasa shrugging before all three began their walk out of the hospital. It was going to be a long day, Aizawa just knew it.
Izuku had a feeling today was going to be a long day. Usually, when he was Spider-Man, the days zoomed by, though that was mostly due to him fighting a villain or two and then going to bed. Really early bed. However, this was a Izuku Midoriya day. That meant either him sitting at his desk, doing homework and making web fluid, or going to FEAST.
Turns out, it was both. After eating breakfast, he took two to three hours making a few extra cartridges of web fluid while doing his classes before going to FEAST. His mom was already there, as she had called him a few minutes before, telling him to come and help. He invisibly web swung over, knowing that he shouldn't really be seen after yesterday's events.
As such, he walked into FEAST and was greeted by Gloria, who motioned him to follow her to the kitchen. And as he entered the room, he saw stacks of boxes filled with canned goods. "Whoa." He slowly said, only to see Gloria chuckle at him. "What is all this?"
"Part of a food drive. This was the first batch they gave us."
"Food drive?"
Gloria nodded back, "Yup." She patted the side of one of the stacks. "Food drives help us keep our food stock up. However, every now and then, we get an overload. So, we're gonna donate this stuff out."
"Let me guess, you need to me move this to the trucks?"
"Yup." Gloria repeated as her tongue flickered out.
"Got it." Izuku sighed as he picked up a few and began to move them outside. Gloria followed him with just one box, the two soon putting them into the truck. A few trips later, the truck was filled, but there was still more.
"Hmm...guess we'll have to do multiple trips." Gloria commented with crossed arms.
"We don't have another truck?"
"We have several...but they're all at the other location right now." She turned to the left and saw a bus that FEAST also owned, the sight making her slightly hesistate, "Though, we could use the bus."
Izuku glanced back at her, "Is there something wrong?"
"Yeah...I don't know where the keys are for it."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at this, "Wouldn't Mister Li have them?"
Gloria shook her head, "Nope. He's not here today. Something about making a few deals in another place. The guy can not stay still."
Izuku blinked at this. He remembered Gloria telling him this before, the teen now remembering that Mister Li usually seemed to be here...most of the time. Every now and then, he wasn't. However, that thought led into another as a bulb went off in his head, "Um...maybe there's a key in Mister Li's office?"
Gloria turned to him, her tongue flickering out for a second. "Huh. I...don't know. His office is locked right now though."
"Is there no spare key?"
Gloria opened her mouth, only to close it as she replied, "Not sure. Let me go check." She spun around and began to walk back into the building, Izuku following her. She then went into the kitchen, walking up to Wanze and asking him about the key. As she did this, Izuku went into the main area of the building, seeing the usual people there. But as he did this, he saw several sitting around a television.
He walked up to them, seeing it was the few retired heroes that come at FEAST every now and then. They were all intensely staring at the box, which was showing something that made Izuku grimace. It was a roundtable of debaters, all talking about the incident with the Hero Killer. The sight reminded him of the news he saw this morning as the debate began.
"I believe that Spider-Man did the right thing." one said, "He swooped in and stopped a murderer. Surely that counts for something."
"Yeah. Breaking the law." a second replied, "You don't have the right to just use your quirk like that, even if its doing something good. He's a criminal, one I would debate is worse than the hero killer!"
"How so?" a third asked. "He's been shown to repeatedly save lives."
"And he could end up endangering more!" the second countered, "He is showing no regard to the law with his quirk usage. Imagine if children now see this and think its okay to just...use their quirks in public! It will cause a disaster! History has proven it will!"
"Ain't that the truth." one of the retired heroes chimed in, making Izuku turn to him, "Stupid Spider-Man kid. You have no idea what you're doing. Why, back in my day, everyone thought they could just use their quirk willy-nilly and it cost 'em everything!"
"And you didn't?!" another retiree responded, the first one now glaring at him.
"I was responsible! I was a great hero!"
"Yeah right..." the retiree spat before pointing at the screen, which was now showing footage of Spider-Man. "Whoever that kid is, he's got the right heroic spirit. Yeah, he's a vigilante...but sometimes that's necessary."
"Bah. I don't believe it." a third retiree spoke up, "Rules are rules. I made sure to follow 'em and I turned out alright. This Spider-Man is nothing but a menace."
Izuku's eyes darted between the three and then back at the screen, making him slightly gulp as he saw another debater. This one claimed to be a representative of the hero commission, the sight making his eyes shrink in shock.
"We at the hero commission do not approve of Spider-Man. We believe he must be caught, as with all vigilantes. If they wish to be heroes, they must obey the law, as we all do. Otherwise, they are no better than the villains who abuse their quirks."
Izuku felt himself backpedal at that, the other sounds and people around him vanishing. It was like he was alone, unnoticed, and isolated. Like he was stuck in an endless void as those words repeated in his head. 'The hero commission...they made it sound like I'm a villain! But...but why? All I've done is help people! I mean, I know I saw that the news didn't like that I fought those guys while the sports festival was happening, but I didn't really think it was that bad.' he thought, feeling tears about to appear in his eyes. 'Have I not been helping people? Am I a villain?!
And as he continued to backpedal, a hand grabbed his shoulder. The action startled him, making him spin around to see Gloira. "Whoa! You okay?"
"I um...I uh..." Izuku muttered out, rapidly blinking to destroy the tears in his eyes.
"You um...don't look so hot."
"Uh..." Izuku glanced away for a second, "Sorry. Just um...I..."
Gloria blinked at him before saying, "Listen, if you don't want to tell me, its fine."
"Okay..." he whispered before taking a deep breath, trying to set his mind back into reality. And after a few seconds, he looked back at Gloria, "W-w-what's up? W-w-what do you need?"
Gloria's eyes squinted at that, "Hey now, don't start up the stuttering again."
"Sorry..." Izuku muttered out.
"Its fine." Gloria replied before holding out a hand, Izuku seeing it had a key in its palm. "Here."
"What's this?"
"Key to Li's office. Go up there and see if you can find a spare bus key."
Izuku blinked at it before taking the key, "Why me?"
"Just do it for me, would ya? And don't make a mess, alright?"
"Okay." Izuku responded, nodding. The teen then spun around and walked over to the stairs, his mind racing over what he had just watched and witnessed. 'Am I really doing the right thing as Spider-Man?'
Meanwhile...
"I must say, the profile you have here is very well done gentlemen." Nezu commented as he put down a folder on Naomasa's desk. "Its given me the extra pieces I need."
"Good." Naomasa replied as he loaded up a few videos of Spider-Man footage. "Now, we also have-"
"No need. I'll look at that later." Nezu interrupted as he hopped into a chair and pulled out a notebook and pen. He scribbled down a few things and rubbed his chin. The motion made Aizawa roll his eyes, making him rub the temple of his nose.
"Okay Nezu...I know that look. You figured something out already, haven't you?"
"I have." Nezu chuckled as he closed his notebook.
"Really?" Naomasa asked, the stoat nodding back.
"Indeed. As I told you while we coming over here, I had already been making a case ever since you showed Spider-Man to me after the USJ incident." Nezu responded, "Though thanks to what happened during the UA sports festival and now the hero killer, the hero commission has pushed me to do a full investigation."
"And you already got a suspect, don't you?" Aizawa added, Nezu shaking his head.
"I don't. However, I do a have a theory that if it is correct, will narrow down the suspect pool immensely."
"Alright...that's unusual for you to not have any suspects, but I won't deny that this is a different kind of case. Percentage on the theory?"
"I'm twenty-seven point three eight percent sure." Nezu chimed in a matter-of-fact tone.
Naomasa had never seen Aizawa go wide-eyed in surprise. Sure, he had seen the pro hero be unsure of himself at times, but he always kept a neutral expression. But this time, Aizawa looked genuinely surprised. However, Nezu knew this was happening as well, even if he wasn't looking at Aizawa.
And after a second, Aizawa spoke up, "Okay...I've worked with you plenty of times before, but I've never heard you give me that low of a percentage. Heck, I didn't know it could get below seventy percent."
"I know." Nezu calmly replied, "But, this is a very special set of circumstances. According to the profile you've created, the timeline of events, and in particular the interviews of Spinner and Tenya Iida, along with my own investigation...I believe that is how far I've gotten in terms of determining the identity of Spider-Man."
Aizawa's surprised expression vanished at this, his face now showing a cross between intrigue and slight frustration, as if he was expecting the stoat to just give the answers he was looking for. As such, he let out a long sigh, "I'm guessing you're missing something extremely vital?"
"Indeed. The problem is twofold. One is his quirks, which seem to be...unnatural at best. It is an entirely unique case, even involving those who could wield multiple quirks. You know I prefer to use science to solve cases, and quirk science is simplistic once you have enough clues...but that does not work here." Nezu commented as he leaned back in his seat. "The second is that I believe that whoever Spider-Man is, his profile in the database and quirk registry will be something so vastly different that is it impossible to connect it with the vigilante. That makes almost all sources useless, which also makes tracking him based on physical appearance even harder."
"That does check out." Naomasa muttered as his eyes glanced between Nezu and Aizawa. "So, what's our next move?"
"Simple. We must raise the percentage." Nezu replied before waving a paw at Naomasa, "And before you say that we should do more interviews or review the footage I'm sure you two have watched for hours now, I will say that will only help my theory slightly. At most, I suspect it will only raise the percentage up to thirty two point eight three percent."
"Isn't that still worth it?"
"If the percentage was already higher, yes." Nezu responded as he pointed to his head, "But you see, despite everything that both my brain and quirk have gone over, this case is specifically different. It involves things that are technically impossible in terms of how quirks work. There is only one recorded case of an individual with this many quirks, and I believe this case has nothing in common with it. In fact, I suspect they're entirely separate, which means there's an even bigger mystery here."
Aizawa and Noamasa shared a glance at this, "So...what will raise the percentage to something much higher?" Aizawa asked with crossed arms, only to see the stoat shine a huge grin.
"Well..."
Izuku stared at the door to Mister Li's office, his mind still muddled from before. He looked down at the key, only to shake his head, 'Don't...don't think about it. Remember, mom said to not be Spider-Man today.' He clenched his fingers around the metal object, 'You know what? Why don't I do that vacation I was thinking about after fighting Stain? Maybe rest for a few days before going back out there.'
He nodded his head at that as he put the key into the door, 'Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Just be Izuku Midoriya for a few days.' He then opened the door, turning on the light a second later. He glanced around as he put the key in his pocket, making his way to the desk in the middle of the room. He scanned it over before opening the desk's drawers, but found nothing.
"Hmmm...where is it?" He whispered before glancing over to a wardrobe that was standing next to a several filing cabinets. The teen walked up and opened it up, now seeing a small fixture with a few keys on it. "I guess I'll take them all. Maybe Gloria will know which one it is."
He took the keys and closed the wardrobe, only for something to catch the corner of his eye. The teen leaned over and saw there was a small crack behind the wardrobe. Squinting his eyes, he put his finger behind the wardrobe, only to feel a tiny bit of air.
'A hidden room?' he thought before slightly moving the wardrobe, surprised even his finger could push the wardrobe before remembering his super strength. But as he did this, he suddenly went wide-eyed as he saw something in the crack behind the wardrobe.
"The best way to raise the percentage would be for Spider-Man to take on another villain." Nezu finished, only to see Aizawa and Naomasa glare at him.
"You do realize that's gonna get the hero commission even more angry, right?" Aizawa grumbled, Nezu chuckling at his response.
"Oh, I do. But you see, I believe this will help me to figure out his identity." Nezu remarked before rubbing his chin, "In fact, I'm sure of it. As I just said earlier, this is an entirely unique case in terms of quirks and the science of quirks. That means the usual avenues will not work. However, that means nothing if we look purely at a psychological profile."
Noamasa and Aizawa shared a glance again before Aizawa spoke up, "Alright, I'll bite. What's the profile you've created for Spider-Man?"
Nezu pointed at a second folder Naomasa had, the detective giving it to him. In it, it showed a full timeline the detective had compiled over Spider-Man, "The profile I've created has concluded a few things on this vigilante. For one, all these villains he's taken on has allowed my quirk to deduce that Spider-Man is very intelligent, driven and according to the footage you gave us back at the USJ incident, it shows that once this Spider-Man gained his quirk, his limiters were released. The vigilante shows an ability to learn and evolve at a heightened rate. However, it also shows he's untrained. Everything for him is experience."
Naomasa grimaced at that, Aizawa sighing as they saw Nezu tap the folder with a paw, "I must also say that he understands that heroism is a host of roles. There is showings of him patrolling, saving others in all scenarios both big and small, and he's also done good detective work with beating the police to the punch over Spinner...its honestly incredible. This tells me that Spider-Man is probably akin to a genius or a prodigy, or even both. An individual that is a natural in hero work, something very rare even in our hero-obsessed society."
"I don't like where you're going with this." Aizawa commented, "If what you say is true, that's gonna make it even harder to catch him."
"Correct." Nezu chuckled before rubbing his chin with his paw, "And yet, there is also a paradox to this puzzle. One that when we consider him being a hidden genius, makes it more understandable why he is the way he is."
"What do you mean?" Naomasa asked, his attention slightly more focused intrigued compared to Aizawa.
"Well, I suspect Spider-Man to be an individual that for some unknown reason, believes the world is against him. I don't know the complete reason why, but the Spinner interview along with a bit of the Tenya Iida interview paint this picture. This also happens to unknown prodigies, but it's how Spider-Man shows that he is one of the few that has a true heroic spirit that makes this more paradoxical. It tells us that he is one that will meddle into others' affairs to help whoever is in need. This viewpoint is extremely necessary in understanding what Spider-Man's true identity is."
"And you think this will help you catch him?" Naomasa asked, "Just...letting him fight more villains?"
Nezu nodded back, "Oh yes. To prove my point, I would bet he's about to do something soon that will lead us down the rabbit hole that is Spider-Man. After all, if he does have this true heroic spirit, he will seek out to meddle into everything...and that includes him trying to find villains."
Izuku closed the crack behind the wardrobe, his eyes glancing around the room as he felt sweat pour down his face. He still couldn't believe what he had seen. The teen's eyes darted upward, trying to see if there was any cameras, but found nothing. Then again, he was sure his spider sense would alert him...hopefully.
He then glanced back at the wardrobe, staring at where the crack was as he remembered what he had saw.
'That...was one of the masks those masked guys wear.' He put a finger to his lip as he felt his brain shake and stir, 'Mister Li...is one of the masked men?!'
Chapter 24: Doubting the Demon
Izuku wanted to throw up. His mind wanted to do the same. The teen had a hand over his mouth as he slowly walked out of the office, locking it behind him as he shuffled down the stairs. His hand then went up to his forehead, his eyes shaking as he walked into the kitchen.
'Why is one of those masks in Mister Li's office? Why does he have a secret room there? Why is...he would never...Mister Li is so nice, why would...I don't...' his mind raced, the teen's eyes twitching as he kept thinking about what he had just saw, 'Mister Li...are you a villain?'
And as that question entered his brain, it was replaced with a quote from a certain elderly hero.
"And when you go down that rabbit hole, you'll never get out of it. You'll keep going in over your head and it won't stop."
It happened. It went exactly how Gran Torino had told him it would go. From gang wars, to the hero killer, and now this. It was like dominos in his brain, just one crazy thing after another. The thought alone made him stumble, not noticing a certain snake-headed lady walk up to him.
"Yo! Did you find the-" Gloria's words came to a stop as he turned to her, his face's expression making her flinch, "Uh...you okay?"
Izuku's mouth mumbled for a second, only to just show the woman a handful of keys. She raised an eyebrow at this, soon grabbing them and stared at each one. "Hmm...here it is." She then handed the keys back, "Go put these back in the office for me, would ya?"
Izuku looked down at the keys, Gloria blinking as she saw him just stare at the keys, "Izuku? Kid? You okay?"
"I uh...I don't know." He slowly replied, Gloria tilting her head at this, "Sorry. I just...freaked out there for a second."
Gloria stared at him for a second before shrugging, "Okay. If you need a second, take it. We're not in a rush."
"Oh um...thanks. Say uh...when is Mister Li coming back?"
"I think tomorrow. Why?"
"No reason. Just...wanted to know." Izuku responded before spinning around, quickly running back up the stairs. He felt his form zipping into the room and putting the keys up in a flash, his mind blank as he did this. The teen hopped down the stairs next, quickly getting back to the kitchen as he lifted up the boxes. A second later, he was taking them to the bus, Gloria just now opening the vehicle.
"That was fast." she commented as she opened the back, Izuku quickly putting the boxes up. And as he walked back into FEAST, he found his mother standing at the front door.
"Izuku, what's wrong?" She asked as he came to a stop in front of her.
"Um..."
"Gloria told me you looked like something had frightened you. What happened?"
Izuku flinched at those words, his eyes darting around before leaning down and whispering, "Let me finish helping Gloria and I'll tell you. Its...Spider-Man stuff."
Inko raised an eyebrow at this, only to sigh, "This doesn't mean you're gonna do something reckless later, are you?"
Her son shook his head, "No. Yes. I...I don't know. I mean, I don't think I'll do it today but-"
"Izuku..." Inko started to glare at him, "What's going on?"
And before he could reply, Gloria walked up to two, her tongue slightly slipping out. "Hey Izuku, we still have some room in the bus. Ready to put one more round into it?"
"Uh...yeah." Izuku responded before gesturing his head to his mother, Inko rolling her eyes before nodding. He then went inside with Gloria, soon taking out the last few boxes to the bus. As he did this, Gloria got some volunteers to drive and they were soon gone, Izuku telling Gloria he was going to stay at FEAST with his mom.
And after they left, Inko took him aside, the two walking out of the building. As they did this, Izuku and Inko found a small table with chairs to sit down on. The two made themselves comfortable, Inko glaring at her son as she asked, "So what is this all about? Why were you acting like that earlier?"
"I um..." Izuku muttered out, shaking his head for a second before saying, "I...I think I saw something in Mister Li's office that I shouldn't have."
Inko tilted her head at this, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know those masked guys you've seen me fight on tv?" Inko nodded back, "I uh...I found one of those masks in Mister Li's office."
Inko went wide-eyed at this, "What?!" She squeaked out.
"Yeah. I know." Izuku replied as he put a hand over his face, "When I saw it, I...I...I didn't know what to do. I mean, if he has that mask...that means Mister Li is a villain."
Inko just stared at him, letting out a long sigh next as she slumped down into the chair. She saw her son twitch in his seat, the woman able to tell that his mind was swimming. She slowly reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it off his face as he stared right into her eyes. "Oh Izuku, I'm so sorry."
"I can't escape it, can I? You asked me to not jump into everything, and then this happens." Izuku bitterly chuckled.
Inko let go of his hand and took a deep breath, her head slightly shaking, "I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to tell you."
"Yeah." Izuku let out a moan at this, "Gran Torino was right. I don't know what I'm doing." He tapped a finger on the table, the two sitting in silence for a few minutes. And as the time passed, the teen bit his lip before asking, "So uh...what do you think I should do? I mean, if Mister Li is a villain..."
Inko blinked at this, her mind going back to all the times she had been around Martin Li. She remembered how much he tried to help people, helping others around FEAST and doing whatever he could. The thought just didn't sit right with her, making her say, "Well um...do you really think he could be a villain?"
Izuku stared at her, knowing what she was thinking. "I...don't know." He glanced down at the table, "I just can't see it, but...but Gloria has been saying he's been constantly gone recently." Inko frowned at that, only for him to add, "I did ask Gloria and she said Mister Li is gonna be back tomorrow."
His mother bit his lip at this, "So, what are you gonna do when he comes back?"
"I uh...still don't know."
Inko shook her head, "You really jump into everything, don't you?"
"Yeah..."
Inko closed her eyes for a second before reaching out and grabbing his hand again. The teen slowly looked up at her, showing nothing but confusion and despair in his eyes. She could tell his heart and mind was messed up, probably more than she had ever seen before. She let out a long breath before saying, "You can be Spider-Man tomorrow." He went wide-eyed at this, only for her to add, "Try to figure out what's going on, okay? And if he really is a villain...well, we'll figure it out, okay?"
"And if he isn't?"
"Then we'll try to figure out how to help him."
Izuku did a slow nod, "Okay."
The next day...
A small pale finger circled around the top of a glass of whiskey, a low growl escaping the finger's owner's lips. His long white hair drooped over his face as he took the glass and slugged it down in one go. He felt the liquid burn down his throat before glancing up at the bartender, a man that looked like a purple mist.
"Something wrong, Master Shigaraki?" The bartender asked as Tomura let out a sigh.
"Shut up, Kurogiri." Shigaraki hissed as he glanced up at the tv in the bar, showing what he considered to be another news report of Spider-Man and the hero killer. He could feel his eye twitching at this, one of his hands going up to scratch the side of his neck. "Why do those two get all the attention?!"
"It seems the Nomus you used did not do their intended effect. Perhaps its because the hero killer and Spider-Man's methods are more subtle?"
"Tch." Shigaraki grumbled as he pushed the glass from before away. "Whatever."
"Master Shigaraki..."
"Shut up." Tomura hissed, only for a small television in the room to turn on.
"Now now, Tomura." a voice glitched out of the screen, "Do not be discouraged. Even if the public do not acknowledge you now, that only means you must aim higher."
"I know sensei." Shigaraki responded, "But I don't know what to do next. I mean, I could totally try to mess over UA again, but that ended in total party wipeout last time. And the rest of those minions that didn't get wiped bailed on us!"
"Agreed. That is why you must do what I did back in my prime."
"What was that sensei?"
"Recruitment." the voice replied, Shigaraki knowing his sensei was smiling behind that screen at this, "And you need to make sure they are not normal, basic thugs. This time, go for quality over quantity."
Shigaraki scratched the side of his neck again, "Sounds like a pain." He then turned to Kurogiri, "Call Giran."
"Of course, Master Shigaraki."
Izuku's morning was the most robotic thing he had done in a long time. He barely remembered what his morning was as he did this routine, quickly preparing his Spider-Man costume under his clothes, putting the rest of it in a backpack before going off to FEAST. His mom had to go to the hospital, a few emergencies going off last night and she had to help with the clean-up.
As such, he did the slow method to get there, riding the train alone. He had spent all last night thinking about how Li could be a villain. He was such a nice guy, always encouraging him and helping others. The very thought felt...wrong. And as he thought about it, the harder it was to consider it being real.
And yet, when he went home last night, he remembered his first encounter with Li. The man had said he had a villainous quirk, something that Izuku didn't believe in. The teen had always believed no one had a villainous quirk, but that thought had stayed in the back of his head. He still didn't know what Li's quirk was, and that thought was the scariest part about all of this. 'What is Mister Li's quirk?' he thought as he felt the train rumble, making him glance up.
The train came to a stop, the teen slowly getting up and leaving the car. He shuffled his feet as he walked down the sidewalk, his mind drifting as he looked ahead. The FEAST building was already in the distance, the teen not realizing just how much time had passed. But as he stared at the building, he felt a wave of dread cover him before letting out a sigh.
'You can do this Izuku. You just...suspect someone you admire to be a villain. A villain that's part of a gang you've fought like six times now.' He took a deep breath as he walked up to the stairs outside the building, 'Just...maybe consider this like another case? Start with an investigation and find some clues. Or something like that.'
He slowly went up to the front doors and opened them, his eyes darting around for a second. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before walking into the main area, only to see the usual bunch of beds and chairs like always. Several seniors were sitting around a tv, all arguing over the news while two of them were at a chess table. They were the usual there, Izuku having played against them both several times. He watched them move a few pieces, his mind telling him who was going to win before going to the kitchen, only to see no one was there.
'Odd. Gloria's usually here.' he thought before leaving the room and glancing upward, his eyes settling on Li's office on the second floor. The teen shuffled over to the stairs, slowly taking them as he walked up to the room. And as he got there, he saw the man he was looking for just outside of the office. It was Maritn Li, who was currently talking to Gloria.
"You sure?" Gloria asked, "I mean, I don't mind taking over, but is it really that bad?"
"It is." Li sighed, "I have a group running the second location now, but as for here...you're the only one I got. I...I need you to look over it because...because its the best part of me."
Gloria glanced away at this, her fork tongue sticking out for a second before looking back, "Alright. I'll do it."
"Thank you." Li slightly bowed to her, only to turn around and ask, "Oh! Hello Izuku. How long have you been there?"
"Um...I just walked up the stairs. What's going on?"
Li let out a long groan at this, "I have to leave for a few days and wanted to make sure everything is fine with FEAST." He rubbed the side of his head at this, Izuku realizing this was the first time he had seen Li actually look frustrated over something.
"Turns out, some guys want to buy our building." Gloria chimed in, making Izuku turn to her with wide eyes.
"W-w-what do you mean?"
Gloria shrugged as Li spoke up, "Don't worry about it. Its...just something I'm trying to solve." Li glanced back at Gloria, "I'm gonna go ahead and get going. You good?"
"No prob." Gloria responded while nodding.
"Thank you." Li replied before looking back at Izuku, "Sorry to leave so early, but duty calls."
"Um...okay." Izuku squeaked out before the man walked past him, slowly going down the stairs.
As he did this, Gloria went up to Izuku, "Hey kiddo. Sorry to say, but I got nothing for you to do today. Just the usual is happening here."
"Oh." Izuku glanced down at this, "Okay."
"Sorry."
Izuku shook his head, "No, its okay. I just...had a day off and thought I should come help."
"I get ya. Welp, I gotta go downstairs and talk to Wanze. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay." Izuku responded as the snake lady walked over to the stairs, Izuku following her. And as she walked into the kitchen, the teen quickly shifted over to the front doors of the building. And as he opened them, he saw Martin Li walk to the side of the building, Izuku blinking at the sight. He tiptoed to the side of the building as he followed the man, only to see Li get into his car.
'I can't believe this is happening. I mean, I didn't expect him to leave this quickly.' Izuku thought as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a spider tracer and his web shooter, quickly putting it on and firing the device at Li's car. The tracker hit the bumper, the sight making Izuku almost smile. 'Got it!' He took the shooter off and put it back in the bag a second later, taking in a deep breath. 'Okay...now to change into Spider-Man.'
He looked back at the FEAST building one more time, the sight making him take a deep breath before slowly walking into a nearby alleyway. And as he tiptoed down it and glanced around, making sure no one was looking, he turned invisible and crawled up the wall. A second later, he was on the rooftop before changing into his vigilante alter-ego, equipping his web shooters as he whispered, "Alright Mister Li, let's see what you're really up to."
Nezu's eyes were glued to the screen before him. He was in his office at UA, a large screen on the other side of the room as it showed every bit of footage Naomasa and the police had collected on Spider-Man. When he had confronted the detective and Aizawa, he had been very precise in terms of what theories he had on the vigilante, but also made sure to not say his true intentions.
However, as he stared at the screen, this one showing Spider-Man fighting the gang war that had happened while the UA sports festival was going on, he shined the biggest grin as he watched it for the third time. The sight made him light a cigarette, the tiny white stick soon touching his lips as he chuckled to himself.
"I must say, this Spider-Man truly is intriguing." He said to himself, "To think a hero like this is possible. And considering everything I've looked over, I still don't know your identity."
That thought made Nezu want to do backflips. One of the biggest problems Nezu had with trying to solve puzzles is that they were always too easy. As Aizawa had stated earlier, his investigations always had success. The stoat's quirk allowed him to easily figure out any puzzle, whether it be logic, science or the inbetween. However, this case was different.
He let out a puff of smoke at this, his mind creating a profile in his head as he spoke his thoughts aloud, "The problem here is the logic. We have a teen, which considering his body type and what little we have in terms of his voice thanks to the Scorpion incident, probably a teen around the age of the students here...that somehow failed. I've looked over all our footage in the heroic exams and found nothing. All the files show no one like him. That should make it easier, as that would take out suspects, but somehow...it doesn't."
The stoat puffed again as the cigarette twiddled in his paw, "This vigilante is a scientific impossibility crossed with a profile that makes no logical sense. His quirk seems to have a mutant aspect to it, but also has multiple emitter quirk abilities with the webbing and electricity. There's also a transformation aspect with invisibility, which means the quirk registry we have here will probably be different than what his quirk really is. After all, the closest I've found in terms of our records for the exams is an invisible student and a student that uses electricity, and I know it's not either of them. There was also no spider mutant quirks that participated in the exams. That can only mean that they went to another hero school."
Nezu put the cigarette in a small ashtray at this, "But why would he do that if he's obviously in Musutafu? Almost everything he's done has been in this city, so he has to live here. Financial problems, perhaps? Even so, the rate for him to move around from here to another hero school would be almost the same expense as trying us. No...that means he failed to get into UA."
The stoat tapped a remote next, the footage switching to what little it had on the hero killer fight, watching Spider-Man flee as Endeavor went after him. The sight made him smile, "But you also believe the world is against you, and that's a mindset that has to be created, not learned. Though it does makes sense why you would switch to vigilantism for that. After all, if you truly did fail like Iida said..." Nezu's grin got even wider at that, "The hero commission wants you taken in. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd put you away in Tartarus just because of the good you've done." He then tapped the remote again, shutting off the footage. "Not a chance. I want you for myself."
And as he said this, the stoat began to laugh, his staff now all feeling chills go down their spines despite not even being around him.
Izuku had found that web-swinging was a bit too fast for tailing, especially in a city where cars are constantly starting and stopping. This also made Izuku not want to learn how to drive, as he felt web-swinging was so superior that it made cars look...boring.
As such, after an hour of following Li's car, mainly just running on rooftops, which he found no one really seemed to notice, only for the vehicle to come to a stop in front of a building. Izuku saw it looked like an old car garage crossed with a warehouse, something that a man dressed like Martin Li, who was in an expensive looking full black suit, wouldn't exactly walk into. Despite this, Izuku swung over to the building's roof and perched there, watching the man get out of his car. He saw Li tug at his suit before closing the driver door, only to walk up to a small orange door on the side of the building. Li glanced around at this, only to take out a key and opened the frame. Seeing this, Izuku turned invisible and slowly crawled down the side of the building, getting down at the door and grabbing the knob. However, he saw it was already locked, making him grimace before crawling back up the building.
'Guess I gotta find another way to get in.' He thought before looking the building over, 'There's no windows...maybe I can find a vent?'
A few minutes later, he found exactly what he was looking for, a small duct that he found he could crawl through. Once again, he found his body could easily slip through, glad his new reflexes made it so simple. He zipped through the vents, his ears picking up the familiar sound of a language he couldn't understand. Hearing this, he picked up his crawling pace, only to find an open vent.
The teen's eyes squinted as he leaned his head down, trying to view what he could of the room below him. And as he did this, his went wide. Below him was a room filled with boxes and masked men, the vigilante seeing several open the boxes to reveal tons of rifles and guns. The sight made him flinch. 'Weapon smuggling?' He watched them open another crate, this one showing an RPG. 'Holy...how did they get all this stuff?!'
But as his thoughts kept swimming at the sights below him, his brain came a to halt as a new figure walked into the room. It was Martin Li, the man slowly striding through the place as the masked men all came to a stop and bowed to him. Izuku's eyes went wide again as he saw this, only to see Li tug at his suit...and then activate his quirk.
Martin Li's skin suddenly turned black, his black suit became white, and his eyes went completely black with white pupils. The sight made Izuku barely lean back, now seeing even Li's hair change from black to white. And as Li did this, his hands turned black before a familiar looking black and white energy sparked around them.
'What the...' Izuku thought as he saw Li flex his hands, the energy now sparking even more out of his fingertips. And as this happened, two masked men walked up with a third man, this one not wearing a mask.
"A new volunteer, sir." one of the two masked thugs said.
"Excellent." Li replied before touching the man. Energy flowed out of his hand and into the third man, the individual letting out a small scream, only to go silent. Izuku then saw the person twitch for a second, his body turning a shade of black before going still. And as this happened, Li spoke up, "You are now one of us. One of the Inner Demons."
"Yes master." The third man replied before another thug walked up and gave him a mask, the man quickly putting it on.
And as this happened, Izuku put a hand to his face, his whole form shaking as he stared at Martin Li. The man began to speak again, issuing orders to the others, but Izuku wasn't listening. Instead, his mind was racing as he thought only one thing.
'Mister Li...is the leader of the masked men?!'