Chapter 40: The Webs and the Rampage
The sound of police van back doors slamming rang out as a pair of officers shut them. One of two began to lock the doors as the other spun and saluted a hero, "Thank you Death Arms. We couldn't have caught these guys without you."
"Eh, its no problem." Death Arms replied as he walked up and stared into the tiny police van window, sneering as he saw the man inside. It was a thug with a thick blocky chin, brownish-reddish hair with a bulky frame. But that wasn't his most defining feature, but rather his oval-like ears and a big black pointed horn coming right off his nose. He had his eyes closed, slumped down with cuffs locking his hands.
"Don't look like much now, does he?" the hero commented as he looked away from the window, the other officers glancing inside.
"True. But its hard to tell with villains these days. We already shook him down and confirmed he's got nothing on him, so we should be good." One of the officers replied as the other walked around the van. "Thanks again Death Arms."
The hero nodded back, "Just be careful with him. The guy put up quite a good fist fight, but he also said he couldn't go all out or something like that."
"We'll be fine." The officer responded as he waved the hero off, Death Arms running down the street a second later. And as the cop walked to the passenger seat for the van, the thug inside the van opened his eyes. He let out a low growl before leaning down, the sound of his cuffs shaking as he reached for his shoes. A hiss left his mouth as the cuffs pulled him back a bit, as they were chained to the side of the van, but his fingers reached the edge of the shoe before pulling something out. It was a small vial with a plunger, along with a thin metal needle that he put on the end.
A grin appeared on his face as he held the needle up to his shoulder, stuck the needle in and pushed the plunger down.
A small bit of beef dangled in Izuku's mouth as he stared at his computer's monitor. His eyes glazed over several pictures, all of them being the maps of Li's secret room. He had just gone over the one that had shown the district where Li thought Tombstone was, which according to what Izuku had painfully found out, Li was mostly on the money in terms of location. The piece of food was chomped between teeth at this, soon going down his throat as he closed the pictures.
Izuku leaned back in his chair at this while taking out a notebook, staring at a page over what he had on Kingpin...which was barely anything. Just the name and the locations he had found in Li's papers. 'Kingpin...whoever or whatever this is, Mister Li was after it. But there's nothing else.' He put the notebook on the desk and put his hands behind his head, 'Tombstone didn't give me anything either, though I wasn't expecting anything from that than just a fight.'
He glanced back at the notebook before staring at the monitor, putting his hand on the mouse as he clicked a few times. A web browser opened up, showing an account that was subscribed to a certain individual: Gentle Criminal. Izuku had saw that the villain had recently uploaded two new videos, which he had watched, but found nothing from them. Just the usual antics from the villain.
The teen took his notebook in his hands again, switching to the pages over Gentle Criminal. He bit his lip at this before reaching for a plate of food, taking another piece of beef in some chopsticks before putting it in his mouth. 'Maybe I should go for Gentle Criminal next. I mean, I still have nothing on Kingpin, and I have no idea where to start! I do have a bunch of locations thanks to Mister Li's notes, but...'
Izuku gulped down the bit of food, 'I still feel like I'm missing something.' He glanced back at the monitor and began watching a Gentle Criminal video, seeing the guy make a performance over a supermarket selling expired food. 'Its so weird. These videos make him seem so harmless.' he thought as he took a sip of water, 'But then the heroes come and he beats them up, so he has to be dangerous.'
He leaned back in his chair again, "And I don't know where he is either." he thought aloud before reaching over and grabbing his Spider-Man mask, staring at it for a second, "Maybe I should just do a small patrol today. I'll go hunting tomorrow."
His eyes turned to the clock on the monitor, "After all, I got another hour or so before the meeting at the mall." He grinned at this before putting the mask over his head, "Good thing I can get there lickety-split as Spider-Man!"
Three completely smoked cigarettes sat in an ashtray as the sound of keyboard keys rang out. Two white paws continued to stroke over a keyboard as the quirked stoat known as Nezu stared at a computer screen with a grin on his face. On the viewing panel was a long document, one he had been working on for quite a while. It was a paper that was part of a folder of files, all on his investigation of Spider-Man.
He considered it to be one of his favorite cases now, as it was so rare to have something elude him for so long. But despite this, he was writing the last bits of this document before switching to a new one. This new paper was over his first full suspect, something he had never found on this case till now: Izuku Midoriya.
When Aizawa mentioned the name, the stoat didn't really know anything about him. The fact he was quirkless meant that Aizawa probably thought he wasn't worth looking into. The man only sees talent, and those who don't have it are just trash to be expelled in his eyes. It was a nasty habit Nezu didn't like from the man, but Aizawa did have the qualifications.
However, it was this Izuku Midoriya that was his main focus now. And what the stoat had looked up had not disappointed him. In fact, they were everything he was looking for in terms of the profile he had created. Nezu's profile stated the vigilante had to be someone who both had a passion for heroics, but also believed the world was against them. A quirkless is perfect for this kind of mentality, but that wasn't just it. For in that moment, Nezu pulled up a video on his screen: The UA support exam.
The stoat watched the entire support exam, something he hadn't done in a few years. In terms of the UA exams, heroics was what Nezu concentrated on. He had spent days watching this year's heroic exams, trying to find what had gone wrong, seeing if he could find Spider-Man in the hundreds of applicants. That very fact made the stoat even more excited, as most cases never have him waste so much time. That meant this was a true puzzle if it could trick him for so long.
As for the support exams, he had always trusted Power Loader with it, as the support division was essentially run by the support hero, and the man had the perfect eye for talent and hard work. Nezu would know when Power Loader had a genius or prodigy, as they would make a big splash, but it was something he never really had much to do with unless it concerned increasing security. Otherwise, Power Loader ran everything for the support exam with simple yet well-defined strength.
That changed here, as the stoat watched the exam with a dedicated eye. He kept the video at the slowest speed, trying to see every frame he could as he watched Izuku work. And it was here that he could see why Power Loader rejected him. Midoriya seemed distracted, distraught and unable to concentrate. To the untrained eye, it would look like it was someone who wasn't taking it seriously, but Nezu knew better. Something was wrong with the teen, something that even though he could read the teen's face, it wasn't enough to explain what was happening.
Instead, he continued to watch as Izuku did the exam, fumbling several times as he seemed to be creating some tiny device. He had seen on the teen's profile that he had put down he specialized in small gadgets, which would run with the spider gadget Nezu had given to Power Loader. His financial situation also fit, something that made Nezu even more excited. After all, someone in that kind of situation still wants to be a hero, even without the pay? Truly something unique.
And then it happened. The moment Nezu had watched before, but this time he slowed it down even more. The camera angles he had weren't perfect, but the stoat zoomed in the screen and saw it. A tiny spark, one that appeared on Izuku's arm and slowly went up to his hand. The expression on the teen's face showed he had no idea it was happening, but that was even more evidence as the spark went all the way up...and zapped the poor boy.
Nezu paused the video at that moment and pulled up a few more images, these showing Spider-Man at a bank and using his electric powers there. Another showed him using it at the gang war that happened during the sports festival. A third showed him zap the bank robber that had created a giant snake illusion. All were the same as the one at the UA support exam. The sparks, the electricity, the flow...the lightning. It all fit.
The stoat pulled up another file at this, a list of suspects based purely on electric quirks. Then another list, this one on mutant quirks, specifically over bugs. There was also an invisibility quirk list. He had gone through these several times, but found nothing. And now he knew why. He knew why this puzzle piece illuded him so long. Izuku Midoriya was not on any of the lists. He was quirkless.
"Seventy-three, point four-five-seven percent." Nezu commented to himself, "That's how sure I am about you. After all, I don't know how you got a quirk...but its obvious now that you're my prime suspect. Too many pieces fit if we consider you." He switched back to the support exam video, "And if you really are him, then you must have got your quirk the day of the exam."
A giant grin formed on the stoat's face, "But even if my calculations aren't one hundred percent...I know its you. You have to be him." He pulled out a fourth cigarette and lit it, "I want you, Izuku Midoriya."
Izuku fired a webline as he leapt off a rooftop, a smile under his mask before taking a long arced webswing. And as he let go of the webbing at the end of the arc, he did a small flip as he thought, 'Ahhh...I missed this.' He fired another webline and swung down a block, 'Feels like its been forever since I went webswinging. Then again, last time I did it, I almost died to Tombstone.'
That thought made him mentally sigh, his mind going over the past few days. The fight with Li, only to encounter Himiko and then Tombstone. 'Its one thing after another. Gran Torino was right, its a rabbit hole.' He took a long deep breath at that, swinging down another block at the same time, 'But...I don't think I regret it. I think I'm doing good.' He took a right turn at this, 'At least, I hope I'm doing some good.'
But as he took this turn, a voice rang out from his phone.
"This is Musutafu Police. We have an escaped prisoner on the loose. Last sighting is Abafar Street. Any hero, please respond."
"Abafar? That's just a street-"
BOOM!
Izuku went wide-eyed at the sound, making he turn to see a car suddenly fly across a crossing. "What the-"
"RAAAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!!!" roared a voice, making Izuku glance down to see a man with a large gray rhino head and a full gray body. He was wearing a torn-up black biker jacket, along with very wide blue jeans. His face showed a look of pure rage, eyes bloodshot as he rammed headfirst into another car, lifting it with just his horn before flinging it skyward.
"Holy cow!" Izuku yelped as he swung over and began firing a stream of webs as the car stopped ascending before falling straight down. The vehicle headed downward bumper first, the riders inside screaming until the car slammed into a bundle of webs, stopping it just inches away from the street.
"Whew!" Izuku sighed as he fired some more webs, making sure the car didn't bounce out of the web. And as he did this, he glanced back to see the rhino man now running the other way. The teen landed by the webbed-up car next, the riders inside all turning to him with fear all over their faces. Izuku felt his mouth fumble for a second before saying, "Hey there. I uh...sorry about your car, but its the only way I could save you." He glanced back at the rhino man, who was still running down the street. "Er...I better chase after that guy." He gave the car one last glance, "Just sit tight there, okay?"
Firing a webline, he slingshotted himself away, flipping midair before firing himself two more weblines to the side of the rampaging villain. A yank later, he thrusted himself downward, the teen soon landing on the thug's back. But as he landed, he saw that the villain didn't even notice him landing on his back. Blinking at this, electricity flowed through his hands, "Guess I'll just try this."
ZAP!
Thrusting his hands into the villain's back, he saw the man flinch for a second as he kept running. "Yow! What was that?!" the man growled as he glanced back, as if he just now noticed the teen. Izuku almost flinched at the glare the thug gave, "Who are you?!" he hissed, Izuku blinking under his mask.
"Uh...hi. I'm Spider-Man. How ya doing?" Izuku replied, only to mentally facepalm. 'You idiot! Don't play nice with a rampaging villain!' He shook his head for a second before saying, "Listen here, um...you...er...big guy. Could you stop rampaging?!"
"No! The Rhino never stops!"
"The Rhino?" Izuku responded, only for his spider sense to scream at him. Glancing up, he saw that the villain he was riding about to slam into a parked semi-truck. "Uh-oh!"
Rhino then leaned forwarded as he continued to charge, soon slamming into the side of the semi. And with one motion, a single flick of his horn, the villain lifted the whole thing with his horn and flung it over his head. Izuku watched with wide eyes as he saw the truck spin in mid-air, only for a scream to ring out, making him see the truck was about to land on a couple walking on the sidewalk.
"Hang on!" Izuku yelped as he leapt off the villain and pointed his wrists, webbing flying out a split second later. He quickly motioned his arms left and right, spraying the webbing out as it hit the buildings around the couple, the truck slamming into the fluid a second later. And as it hit, the sounds of webbing snapping started to happen, the couple shrinking back as they saw the truck start to closer to hitting them. But as it was about to touch the two, the webbing held. The semi stopped in mid-air, now suspended under a giant web.
"Oh thank goodness." Izuku gasped as he saw that the couple didn't get hit. "You two okay?" The duo slowly turned to him and did a very slow nod. "Great! Um...you might wanna get out of here."
They did another slow nod before spinning around and running away, Izuku staring at them. But as he did this, another scream rang out, making the teen glance back to see that the Rhino had just ran through an alleyway, only to smack another car flying. The sight made Izuku fire two weblines, the teen pulling on them a second later. "Rhino! Come back here!" Izuku roared as he slingshotted himself at the hulking man. Hearing this, the villain glanced back, only to see the vigilante slam into him his stomach with two electricity filled fists.
ZAP!
"YAUGH!" Rhino yelped as Izuku slammed into him, the villain now knocked off his feet. The shattering of glass followed this as Rhino's back went into a window, Izuku's palms pushing against the villain's chest before leaping off the man. "Urgh!"
Izuku spun in the air at this, quickly landing a few feet away from the villain. The teen glanced around while letting out a long breath, now seeing he was in a store filled with sports equipment. There were only a few people inside, a woman already screaming as Izuku yelled, "Everyone run! Get out of here!"
And as he said that, a low growl made him glance back at the villain, Rhino hissing as he stood up, "You...why do you interfere?!"
"Seriously?!" Izuku snapped back, "You just destroyed like, three blocks! Why wouldn't I try to stop you?!"
"You...you pauk!" Rhino growled.
"What?" Izuku replied, only to flinch as the villain to slam both his fist into the floor, shaking the building they were in before charging again. "Eep!" the teen yelped as the thug threw a punch, Izuku quickly ducking as the fist hit a rack of weights instead, sending them flying across the store. Another jab came next, Izuku backpedaling as he dodged both blows.
'Gotta be careful.' he thought as he evaded another punch before leaping back, "So mister Rhino, why are you going on a rampage? Don't you have a hobby or-"
"Shut up pauk!" the villain roared as turned to the leaping vigilante, only to see Izuku slam a Venom Punch right into his face. "Blaugh!" he spat as the blow made him stumble back. This was followed by two more Venom Punches, each jab making the villain backpedal.
And as a fourth punch came, Rhino let out a screech before doing a wide swing of his left arm. "AUGH!" Izuku yelped as the arm slammed into his face, flinging him across the store. His back smacked the store's wall, leaving a small indent as the teen flopped to the floor a second later. "Ow...my back." he whispered into the carpet, only to hear the sound of large footsteps.
"You will pay for that, pauk." Rhino hissed as he walked up to the still laying teen, "I will crush your head into nothing."
Izuku's head tilted up at this, the teen trying to move his body, 'Ow ow ow! This guy...he's stronger than Tombstone!' He then felt a small crick in his back, 'And that really hurt...but I think I hurt him earlier.' That thought made Izuku almost smirk under the mask, 'And if I can hurt him, I can beat him!'
As these thoughts went through the teen's head, Rhino finished his small walk up to teen. He shined a big grin as he raised one of his feet right over Izuku's head, "Any last words, pauk?"
The teen stared up at him, only to notice what was to the right of the towering villain, "Just one word: Weight."
"Wait? I will not wait in crushing you."
"Not wait. Weight." Izuku quipped as he raised his arm and fired a line of webbing. And with a single sharp tug, a whole rack of weights slammed into the villain.
"Raugh!" Rhino yelped as a ton of dumbbells slammed into his side, pushing him back. "You little-"
And as he started to swear in another language, Izuku fired another webline into the ceiling and pulled, yanking himself upward. He spun in the air before landing on all fours on the ceiling just as Rhino let out a roar while pushing the dumbbells off himself.
"You little pauk! I'll crush you!"
"No thanks." Izuku replied as he fired another bit of webbing, this one hitting Rhino's face.
"Yaugh! Get it off!" He yelped as he put both his hands to his face and pulled at the webs.
As this happened, Izuku stared at the villain as his mind went into overdrive, 'Think Izuku, think! You can't just keep punching this guy if he can do blows like that. It felt like I was hit by a truck when he hit me. If that's the case, you have to either trap him, which I don't think my webbing can do that, or...' His eyes blinked as he stared at the villain's horn, 'Wait...could that work.' He pointed his wrist at the horn, only to hear a 'psst'. 'Or not.'
"Rah!" Rhino roared as he ripped off the last bit of webbing, "That's it! I'm going to destroy you!" Hearing this, the teen turned invisible, the villain now glancing around, "Where did you go?! Don't tell me you ran like little coward!"
'Not quite.' Izuku thought as he invisibly switched webbing cartridges, 'Here we go. I hope this works.' He glanced back down at the villain, 'Wait, I need to think of a quip. Um...got it!'
His invisibility turning off, Izuku took a deep breath before yelling, "Yo! Needlehead!" The villain glanced up at this, now seeing the vigilante snap his fingers, "No, that's not a good insult. Maybe Needlenose?"
"You!" Rhino roared, only to see the vigilante land in front of him. He quickly thrusted a punch, Izuku ducking under it before slamming a Venom Punch into the villain's stomach. The blow made a bit of spit come out of Rhino's mouth, only for Izuku's spider sense to ring out. Before he could react, Rhino's other fist slammed into the vigilante, throwing him across the room.
"Augh!" Izuku yelped as his back hit a concrete wall, slight cracks appearing behind him. "Yow!" He slumped down at this, eyes closed as he muttered out, "Urgh..."
"I'll kill you!" Rhino screeched as he charged.
Danger!
Izuku's eyes shot open, the teen trying to move his legs as he saw the charging villain. 'Gotta move!' He then felt a crick in his back, making him wince, 'Ow! My back! I can't-'
"RAAAAAH!" Rhino roared as he got close, making Izuku gasp before pointing his wrists to the ceiling. A webline came out a second later before pulling, yanking himself away just as the villain smashed through the wall behind Izuku. He flipped in the air at this, only to feel another crick, making him yelp in pain before flopping to the floor face first.
"Ow." he muttered as he felt his mask smush against the carpet. And as the sound of another wall being smashed through rang out, Izuku reached his arm around his back and pushed it in, a crick ringing out before grunting, "OW!"
He put his hands on the floor next, slowly pushing himself up. Izuku felt his spider sense begin to tingle, this one a bit weaker than before, but enough to make him scramble to his feet. And as he did this, he spun around to see that the Rhino had gone through both a wall of the sports store and an entire another building before turning around. He let out a mighty roar before charging again, Izuku taking a deep breath as he stared at villain.
"Okay...I'm in the right position now." He closed one eye before aiming his wrist, the villain already running through the other building, 'Hope this works.'
Thwip!
A single webline struck the Rhino's horn, the villain's eyes glancing up at it for a second as he continued to charge. And before he could say anything, he looked back at Izuku, only to see the teen holding onto the webbing as he charged back at the villain...and quickly slid under the Rhino's legs. "Wha-" he stuttered out as his target got right behind him.
"Hi-ya!" Izuku yelled as he spun around while standing back up and pulling on the webline with all his spider strength. The webbing tugged the Rhino's horn downward, making the villain go face first into the floor.
"RAUGH!" the villain screamed as his horn hit the ground, only to stumble before beginning to roll across the floor and out the window the two had broken when coming into the store. The villain came to a stop after a third roll, his body now sprawled out on the sidewalk and road. And as he began to get up, he felt something tug on his arms and legs. "Huh?"
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Globs of webbing struck every bit of Rhino's body, sticking him to the ground as Izuku kept flicking his wrists. Feeling the webs push him down, the villain let out a hiss as he began to push himself up. The webbing over him instantly started to snap, threads breaking as Izuku went wide-eyed at the sight.
"You will not stop me, pauk." Rhino growled as he was about to get onto his knees, "I will get free and crush you!" Hearing this, Izuku stopped his webbing assault before firing two weblines, quickly pulling and slingshotting himself over the villain. Spinning in mid-air, he landed in front of Rhino as the villain got to his knees. Seeing this, Rhino hissed, "So, ready to fight me?!"
"Nope." Izuku replied as he pointed his wrists at Rhino's knees, webbing covering them a split-second later. Feeling the webbing tug him down, Rhino saw the teen pull back a fist as electricity covered both his hands. "Just this."
POW!
The Venom Punch slammed into Rhino's face, only for a second one to hit him in succession. Rhino felt the blows knock his face around, the electricity jolting through his body as he kept trying to stand up. And as the electricity wore off Izuku's fists, the teen kept punching the villain in the face. Punch after jab after blow after fist smacked Rhino's head, the teen continuing his assault. Izuku felt his spider sense just slightly tingle as he kept punching, telling him that he had to keep going until the villain was knocked out.
And as the fifteenth punch hit the villain, Rhino let out a roar as he escaped the webbing. He quickly thrusted a punch next, but Izuku's spider sense was faster. The teen ducked under the punch before thrusting his own into Rhino's gut. Every last bit of spider strength went into the blow, making the villain lurch as it made the villain slightly went above the ground for a second.
"Urk!" Rhino sputtered as he felt the blow, his eyes going wide. He raised his right fist at this, about to thrust a punch...only to slump over, Izuku backpedaling as the villain's face hit the concrete. A small moan escaped his mouth at this, only for Izuku to spray a bunch of webbing all over the villain.
Several huffs came out of the vigilante next, Izuku slightly stumbling as he put a hand to his chest...and felt his back crick again. "Ow." He muttered, his knees shaking as he almost fell over as well.
'That...was intense.' he thought as he felt another crick in his back. 'Ow...but I did it. I beat him. I...I actually beat a villain.' A small smile began to form on his face, "I can...I can still do it."
He then felt his hoodie shake, making him put his hand in one of the pockets and pull out his phone. The teen tapped the screen, only to see a new text notification. Opening it, he saw a single text from Ochako Uraraka.
Uraraka Ochako: Hey! We're about to the mall. Are you here yet?
"Oh no!" he yelped as he aimed his wrists upward, only to feel another crick. "Yow!" He slumped over for a second before reaching his arm back, rubbing his spine, "Urgh...this is gonna be hard."
A few minutes later...
Izuku's back was screaming at him as he landed on a building a street over from the mall. He had known pain all his life, but Izuku had to admit, even the beatings Katsuki would give him didn't involve this much backpain. Shows what happens when most pain you've felt all your life is purely on the front side of your body. However, that was beside the point as the teen quickly changed into his civilian clothes, having got used to quick changing at this point. He was surprised at how easy it was after a few times, Izuku now invisibly hopping off the building and slowly descending to ground level.
'Gotta say, I think the invisible part of the powers the spider gave me is probably my favorite.' he remarked in his head as he walked out of an alleyway and onto the main crossing, quickly racing over the street and to the entrance of the mall. The teen pulled out his phone next, glancing down to see he was only a few minutes late. 'Hope they won't mind.'
Tapping the phone, he began to text Uraraka.
Midoriya Izuku: Hey, I'm at the mall. Sorry I'm late.
He stared at the phone as he walked into the mall's entrance, glancing back up to make sure he didn't run into anybody before feeling a vibration coming from the phone.
Uraraka Ochako: No prob! We just got here ourselves. We're at the food court!
Midoriya Izuku: Got it. I'll be right over.
'After I find the map to this place.' Izuku thought as he began to walk past the first few stores. It was here that the teen now remembered a certain depressing fact. He hadn't been to the mall in years. Heck, he wasn't sure when he last did it. He didn't have any friends to hang out with to go to the mall, and his mom was always either busy with her work or just had them go to simple restaurants or the supermarket. There wasn't really time to do anything else in the Midoriya household.
And as he found a map and headed for the food court, more thoughts began to run through his head. 'Okay Izuku, you're about to hang out with a bunch of people your age...that want to be your friend. You still don't know how that is happening, but you need to get your act together. No stuttering, no making a Deku of yourself. This isn't Aldera. This isn't Aldera. This isn't-' As he repeated those words in his head, he started to take quickened breaths, his teeth slightly chattering next before he came to a stop.
'Don't. Calm...down.' he mentally told himself before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. And as he exhaled, he reopened his eyes to see the food court in the distance, along with a group on the edge of the area. Several familiar faces were there, mainly Uraraka, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Ashido, Hagakure (Who though he couldn't see, it was obvious due to the floating clothes) along with three new ones.
One was a girl with purple hair in punkish attire, who's defining feature were two long earlobes that had what looked like sound jacks at the ends of them. 'Oh cool. Wonder what those do.' he thought as he stared at her quirk, 'Perhaps she can use them as sound weapons? Maybe it allows her to perceive sound and-' He shook his head at this, 'No. Calm down Izuku. No analyzing for now.'
His eyes then went to next two, both who were boys. One had yellow hair with a black zigzag streak in it and was wearing a carefree face. The other was a silver-haired boy talking to Kirishima, the two looking like they were hyping each other up as Ashido and the long earlobe girl were rolling their eyes at the sight. Tsuyu and Uraraka were off to the side, just smiling at the sight before Uraraka turned to see Izuku, quickly waving at him.
"Hey Midoriya! Over here!" She exclaimed, Izuku feeling a smile appear on his face as he walked up to them. Hearing this, the three he didn't recognize turned to Izuku.
The sight made him slightly flinch, the teen thinking, 'Don't stutter. Don't stutter. You're just meeting someone new.' Taking a mental deep breath, he stopped in front of Ochako, "Hey Uraraka, sorry I'm late. I uh...well, the path I took ended up in a villain attack."
"Oh no!" Uraraka gasped, putting a hand up to her mouth. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Izuku replied.
"Who's this?" another voice asked, the group turning to a purple haired girl.
"Oh! Uh...h-hello. My name is Izuku Midoriya." the teen did a small bow, "Nice to meet you."
"Pfft! Seriously?" the girl chuckled, making Izuku slightly flinch as he glanced back up from the bow, "Dude, no need to be so formal." She pointed to herself, "Nice to meet ya. Name's Jiro Kyoka." Her elongated earlobes pointed to the yellow-haired teen beside her, "This moron here is Denki."
"Hiya!" Denki responded with a wave before turning to glare at Jiro, "Hey! Don't call me a moron!"
"I call 'em like I see 'em." Jiro giggled, the other teen glaring at her.
Ashido then leaned over and whispered to Izuku, "They're always like that. Don't think too much about it."
"Oh...okay." Izuku replied before turning to Ochako, "So um, what are we doing?"
"Well, we were just about to eat, then we can go shopping." Uraraka responded before gesturing to a table.
A few minutes later, the teens had all got some food and were sitting down. Izuku had found out that the silver haired kid was named Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, which despite being a tongue twister for the teen, Izuku found him to be just like Kirishima, though a bit more competitive. Despite this, Izuku noticed there was two missing students and asked, "Where are Iida and Sero?"
"Oh, Iida said he was meeting his older brother and Sero said he had to meet his parents today for something." Ashido chimed in before crossing her arms and pouting, "And after I invited them!"
"Hey, its fine." Kirishima patted her shoulder, "I mean, we got to bring bro here and Midoriya came! Its cool that others can't come sometimes."
"Yeah yeah..." Ashido grumbled.
Uraraka leaned over to Izuku and whispered, "Ashido is...kind of a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this."
"Ah." Izuku replied as he ate a piece of chicken.
As he did this, Tetsu turned to him with a smirk, "So, my bro Kirishima here said you beat him in an arm wrestle!" Izuku blinked at him, only for the other teen to lean over the table and slam his arm down as he yelled, "That means you're arm wrestling me next!"
"Uh..." Izuku tried to reply as the table shook from the teen's arm slammed down on it. He gulped down the food as the others glared a Tetsu.
"Bro...we're still eating." Kirishima chimed in as he pointed his chopsticks at him.
"But I wanna arm wrestle him now!" Tetsu countered as he glared at Kirishima, "You beat me in the festival, and I want to see just how powerful someone who can beat you is!" He then glanced back at Izuku, the teen flinching at the sight. "Let's do this!"
Izuku's eyes darted to the arm and then back to his food. A second of silence passed at this, the teen glancing at everyone at the table. Most were wearing frowns, looking like they were about to speak up and tell Tetsu no, only for Izuku to say, "Um...sure. But let me finish my food first."
"Yes!" Tetsu pumped the air at this.
"Midoriya." whispered Uraraka as she leaned over to him, "You didn't have to accept that."
"Its fine." Izuku shrugged.
"Okay..." she replied, seeing the tired frown on his face. She had noticed it ever since he first appeared in front of their group, Tsuyu and Kyouka also noticing it. Izuku looked like he had just run a marathon, and he seemed to be slightly flinching when turning his body. But as she watched him, she saw a small spark in his eyes despite how tired he looked, as if he could get his second wind any second now.
'I still don't know much about him.' she thought before thinking back to yesterday and her first meeting with Himiko, 'I know he wants to be a hero, and he's trying to do heroic things. He helped Toga and does charity...and he seems to be nice to everyone he meets. Though I can't imagine him not being nice.' Thinking this, she spoke up, "Say Midoriya, why do you want to be a hero? I know you said you want to be like All Might, but is there anything else to it?"
He turned to her at the question, taking a small drink before replying, "Well...I've just always wanted to be a hero." He looked down at his food, "I don't remember why I wanted to be one, I just...I always wanted to be a hero that could save everyone."
"Huh." Kyouka chimed in, "That's a big dream."
Izuku shrugged back, "I...I just wanted to become that kind of hero." He glanced away, "I know it sounds stupid, but-"
Uraraka shined a big grin at this, patting his shoulder at the same time, "Don't say that! That's a great dream!"
"Really?" Izuku asked as he looked back at her.
Uraraka nodded, "Absolutely!" She tilted her head at this, "Why do you ask?"
"Well..." He glanced back at his food, "Most people just laugh at me for wanting to do that. Or hurt me."
"Hurt you?!" Hagakure gasped, "Why would they do that?"
"Cuz I'm quirkless." Izuku replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "They think I'm looking down on them cuz I have that dream."
The group all blinked at each other at this, Denki chiming in, "That sounds dumb. Why would someone get mad over that?"
"You'd be surprised." Izuku muttered before turning to Uraraka, "Say, why did you want to be a hero?"
The girl flinched at the question, only to glance away, "Uh...well...its gonna sound selfish but..." She began to twiddle her fingers at this, "I want to be a hero for the money." Izuku went slightly wide-eyed at that. Of what he knew about Ochako Uraraka, that was not what he thought she would be a hero for. That is, till she added, "You see, my parents aren't well off and...well, I want to support them. I know its hard for a hero to make lots of money, but I think I can do it." She pumped her fists at this, "No, I will do it!"
"Oh." Izuku said, his mind straightening out at that. 'That makes more sense.' He gave her a small smile, "That's a wonderful reason to be a hero."
"Thanks!" she replied while showing a blush again. "I know its not noble...but its all I got."
Izuku then glanced back down at his food, taking the last piece of meat and putting it into his mouth, 'Guess everyone has a different reason.' He felt a shiver go down his spine as a memory flooded his head. It was one of Bakugo claiming he would be the greatest hero of them all due the quirk he was born with...and declaring Izuku would never amount to anything.
He mentally shook his head, 'No. None of them here are like him. Don't think about it.' He gulped down the last chunk of food before taking a drink. And he did this, he soon found he was glad that he had just finished his meal as Denki pulled out his phone and gasped.
"Whoa!"
"What?" Jiro asked him as she saw he was staring at his mobile device.
"This!" He spun the phone around to show everyone a certain video. It was a newsreel showing a spider-themed vigilante fighting what looked like a rhino man, though the footage looked like it came from someone's phone. The fight showed the two crash into a sports store, the vigilante seemingly struggling with the villain before successfully knocking him down and beating his face in. Izuku's eyes went wide at this, his whole body shaking as he stared the phone.
And as he shook there, the other teens' reactions were mixed. Jiro just raised an eyebrow, Kirishima and Tetsu both whistled and nodded, Mina let out a 'wow', while Ochako was also wide-eyed like Izuku. No one could tell Hagakure's expression, but she was obviously leaning over to stare at the phone. The only one that didn't show a reaction was Tsuyu, who just stared at the phone with a finger to her mouth.
"Whoa...now that's manly." Kirishima commented, Tetsu nodding in agreement.
"I'd love to be in that kind of brawl!" Tetsu cackled before slamming both his fists together, "I can't wait to have fights like that when I become a hero!"
"Seriously?" Jiro chimed in, her jacks pointing at the screen, "That looks like it would hurt. I rather knock out the villain with something less..."
"Violent?" Tsuyu added, the punk girl nodding in response.
"Yeah sure, but you gotta admit that fight was cool!" Denki continued before spinning the phone back to himself, "I have to say, I can see why Todoroki is a huge fan of this Spider-Man guy!"
"Oh please." Hagakure scoffed, her clothes moving as if to show her hands doing a dismissive wave, "You're totally wrong about him. There's no way that stoic guy likes Spider-Man."
"Naw, he totally does." Denki replied while doing his own dismissive wave, "He just...you know, doesn't talk about it."
"He doesn't talk about anything." Mina added with a roll of her eyes.
"True, kero." Tsuyu chimed in, only to turn to Ochako and Izuku. Ochako now looked like she was deep in thought, but the frog girl then saw that Izuku looked like a cross between confusion and fear. "Midoriya? You okay?"
"Huh?" He slightly hopped in his seat, the teens all turning to him at this reaction, making him flinch. Seeing this, his eyes darted around before doing a slight gulp. 'Uh-oh. Um...think Izuku, think! Don't just sit there like an idiot! Say something!'
And as another second passed, a bulb went off in the teen's head. 'Oh yeah. I did say that earlier.' His eyes darted away for a second before saying, "So uh...you know that villain attack I said that um...delayed me?" The group all raised an eyebrow except Tsuyu, only for a few to say 'oh'.
"Yeah..." Izuku scratched the back on his head, "I thankfully avoided it, but that rhino guy did a lot of damage."
Denki flinched at this, only to see Jiro glare at him. Gulping, he put his phone away and said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to...you know-"
"Its fine." Izuku interrupted while shaking his head. "Don't um...worry about it." He glanced down at his food for a second before a certain question entered his head, "So...are any of you a fan of Spider-Man?"
The heroes in training all glanced at each other, Kirishima answering first, "Well...I mean, I know I'm not supposed to cheer on a vigilante, but-"
"His fights are awesome!" Tetsu continued while pumping his fists, only to see a few of them staring at him, making him flinch, "Though uh...you know, its not cool he's a vigilante."
"I don't know." Hagakure chimed in, the group turning to her, "I mean, he does a bunch of good, right?"
"That might be true, kero." Tsuyu instantly countered, "But if he does nothing but good, why is he a vigilante and not a hero?"
"I...have no idea." Kirishima tried to reply, the rest either nodding or shrugging in agreement. The sight made Izuku blink, feeling himself almost shrink back in his seat. He knew that the opinions over vigilantes were never the best, but he knew he at least wanted to know their perspectives. It was here he turned to Ochako, only to see the girl was still lost in thought. The sight made him almost frown, seeing the one he knew was his friend didn't seem to have much of a reaction.
"What about you Midoriya?" Tsuyu asked, making the teen turn to her, "What do you think about Spider-Man?"
He blinked at her for a second, not noticing everyone including Ochako now turning to stare at him. Izuku put a finger to his chin in thought before replying, "Well...I mean, I'm not against him being a vigilante. I think as long as someone does good, they should continue to do good. Of what I've seen on Spider-Man, I think he mainly does good, so..." He finished with a shrug, only to now see everyone staring at him, "What?"
"I agree, kero." Tsuyu responded, Izuku glancing back at her, "I mean, I know he's breaking the law, but everyone should do good if they can."
"Yeah." Ochako added while nodding, "Even if the vigilantism is wrong, Spider-Man isn't doing anything bad, is he?" She then turned to Denki, knowing he was already an obvious fan of the vigilante, "At least, I don't think he's done anything bad."
"I haven't seen anything like that online." Denki replied while shrugging.
"Still, he is a vigilante. That's going against the law." Jiro continued with crossed arms, "I don't we should be complimenting something like that."
"We're not." Ochako chimed while shaking her head, "I just think he can't be all that bad."
Kirishima and Tetsu both shared a look before nodding, Kirishima then saying, "I think Spider-Man is manly, but I get why what he does is wrong. That don't mean I can't support someone doing good."
"Yeah!" Tetsu added.
Izuku blinked at the sight, now seeing all these teens his age debate over him. And the shocking part to him is that it wasn't all negative. There was support, something he...well, if he thought about it, the only real support he had up to this moment seemed to be from his mom and Himiko. And his mom barely approved of his vigilante actions. The sight made him want to smile, only for a conversation to suddenly shift as a certain pink-skinned girl spoke up.
"Tch. This sounds like something Aizawa-sensei would do a lecture about." Mina groaned as she chomped down a piece of beef.
"No kidding." Toru added while sticking out her invisible tongue, "He's been on a warpath the past few days."
"I can imagine Aizawa-sensei would not like vigilantes, kero." Tsuyu continued while putting a finger to her lips, "I suppose we haven't had that class yet."
The group all showed frowns at this except Tetsu and Izuku, the former not being part of Class 1-A while the other didn't know how to react. However, it seemed this change made the group want to change subjects, as Mina and Hagakure soon started going over some gossip as the rest finished their food. After this, Izuku saw that everyone else had basically got done eating, Tetsu now lounging back in his seat, having forgot about the arm wrestle already.
"So...what do you all want to do now?" Izuku asked, only to see a big grin appear on Ashido's face.
"We're at the mall, silly!" She raised a fist up high, "We go shopping!"
Izuku blinked at the sight, his reaction only being caught by a certain frog girl as she bluntly asked, "You've never gone shopping at the mall with friends before, have you Midoriya?"
The teen turned to her as they all stared at him again, "Is it that obvious?"
Tsuyu nodded while Hagakure and Ashido gasped, "This is your first time at a mall?!"
"Yeah. I mean, I know I've been to one a long time ago, but um...never really had a reason to go till now." Izuku replied.
Ashido quickly zipped around the table and grabbed his shoulder, "We're remedying this now!" She turned to Kyouka and Hagakure, "Let's show him a true mall experience, girls!"
"Heck no!" Denki chimed in as he suddenly appeared on Izuku's other side and also grabbed a shoulder, "We're showing him the mall arcade!" He turned to Kirishima and Tetsu, "Right guys?!"
And as both sides began to argue over what to do, Izuku just sat there and thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?!'
Izuku had to admit, he had never done anything quite like this. He had never gone window shopping, never been in an arcade, never really just had fun with teens his age...nothing like this. Though now that he thought about it, he hadn't really had any fun with anyone since he was...four. Right before Bakugo got his quirk. After that, it was all downhill. The only 'fun' he would get is beatings...or running away from those beatings.
But that depressing thought wasn't currently going through his head. Instead, he was in the arcade, playing a driving game against Denki while Ashido and Hagakure were playing a dancing game, the girls cheering them on. Kirishima and Tetsu were playing a game of air hockey as well, all the teens having fun. The girls had won at the start, having guided Izuku through half the mall, showing him every other store, only to find that he only wanted to go into a hero merch store. Promising to go to it last since it had stuff he wanted, (And they wanted to use him for manual labor for the stuff they bought) he was then brought to the arcade.
And he was having fun. He had never had this much fun since...well, since he got his quirk. In fact, he was sure that the only thing he found more fun was when he did that first leap off the building and did his first round of webswinging. That rush was something else, but this stint at the arcade was just as good. It helped that he was surrounded by such nice people, something he also couldn't remember being around since...forever.
As such, he was now finishing the game with Denki, the teen still in slight shock at how easy it was to just play along with someone. The very idea was baffling to him, and there was part of him saying that this didn't make any sense...but he also kinda didn't care. It was just too much fun. And as they got out of the seats for the driving game, Denki patted him on the back with the biggest grin as he commented, "Not bad! You're a natural!"
"I…I am?" Izuku replied, making Denki nod back.
"Yeah!" Denki exclaimed as Uraraka walked over with Tsuyu.
"You boys done?" They turned to her and nodded. "Alright, Kyouka wants us to go for a round of karaoke. You all in?"
Izuku and Denki shared a glance, only for Izuku to slowly say, "Uh…I've never done karaoke before."
Uraraka frowned at this, Denki seeing this and almost flinching. The group of students had all quickly found out that Izuku had never really done anything in terms of what they considered to be 'fun'. He had never played any kind of arcade, never really done a kind of shopping spree, never even really considered going to the mall. It was like he just didn't know the idea of fun or hanging out with others. Tsuyu admitted she hadn't done much of these things throughout her life, but even she had done it somewhat with some friends.
Sighing, Uraraka pointed at Izuku and said, "Midoriya, you're going to karaoke."
"But I don't know how to sing."
She shrugged at this, "I don't know either and that's fine."
"Oh…okay." Izuku barely replied. "Sorry."
Seeing this, Uraraka's frown increased, "Midoriya, you don't need to apologize for not knowing how to sing."
"But I don't-"
"Stop apologizing!" Uraraka interrupted, making Izuku flinch. "I told you before, you don't need to apologize to me if you did nothing wrong."
Izuku felt himself slightly shrink back at that, remembering her saying that when he had asked her to be friends. He opened his mouth, about to say 'sorry' again, only to stop himself. 'Calm down Izuku. Calm…down.' He took a small deep breath, only to feel a hand pat his shoulder.
His eyes glanced up to see a smiling Uraraka, "See? No need to apologize."
Izuku blinked at her before showing a small smile, "Thank you."
And as he said this, two voices rang out to their side, "Yo! You all done?!" They turned to see Kirishima and Tetsu, the latter walking up to Izuku with a big grin, "The girls said you all want to do karaoke, right?"
"Uh…I think so?" Izuku replied before turning to Uraraka, "Didn't you say Kyouka wanted to do it?"
"Yup." Uraraka nodded, they all turned to the girl, only to see her still watching Hagakure and Ashido at a dancing machine. "Though…we might be waiting for a bit."
"Nice!" Tetsu pumped his fists before pointing at Izuku, "You! We're arm wrestling right now!"
"Huh?!" Izuku yelped.
"You heard me! Let's go!" Tetsu cackled, "Show me how you beat my bro!"
Izuku blinked at him, only to glance down at his hands. 'I beat Kirishima last time reflexively. Should I throw?'
And as he thought that, Kirishima walked up and patted his shoulder, making Izuku look up as the red head whispered, "Don't think about throwing." Izuku went wide-eyed at this, Kirishima smiling at him, "I know what you were thinking. Give him everything you got, okay?"
The teen stared at him for a second, remembering what his spider strength did last time. But despite this, he glanced over to Tetsu and saw the giant grin on his face. The sight made him think, 'They're so nice. I…I shouldn't throw.'
The two then found a small table in the arcade just as Ashido and Hagakure finished their game. Kyouka wasn't interested in watching the arm-wrestling match, but the rest were watching with bated breath as they saw Izuku and Tetsu grab each other. Placing their elbows on the table, Tetsu's grin grew as Izuku just stared at their arms.
"Ready?" Tetsu chuckled.
Izuku took a deep breath before nodding, "Ready."
Kirishima put his hand on top of theirs and said, "On three. One…two…three!"
He raised his hand at this, only for Tetsu to immediately push into Izuku's arm. The teen felt the sudden thrust, making him flinch as his arm started to go down. And as this happened, Izuku stared down at his arm, only to glance back up at Tetsu. On the teen's face was a look of pure fierceness, one filled with competition and happiness.
"That all you got?!" Tetsu cackled as he kept pushing Izuku down.
And as this happened, Izuku glanced down and saw his arm about to hit the table, only to look back up at Tetsu one more time. But as he did this, Izuku mind told him one thing: Show him what you got. And with that, Izuku's hand tensed up into Tetsu's, making him feel a sudden push. Glancing down, he saw Izuku's arm begin to push him back.
"What the-" He muttered out as Izuku's arm slowly ascended, soon pushing them back to the starting point…and began to push Tetsu down. The student grit his teeth at this, closing his eyes for a second as he tried to push back, "Grrr…come on…"
But he couldn't make Izuku budge. It was like trying to push a wall. As this happened, Tetsu reopened his eyes and saw his arm about to hit the table. And with a final push, he felt his arm hit the wood, making Tetsu flinch. "Yow!"
The group all gasped at this, Izuku flinching at the noise and instantly let go of Tetsu's hand, "I'm sorry!"
"Whoa…" Kirishima commented before patting Tetsu's shoulder, "You okay?"
Tetsu waved his hand for a second before flexing it. A second later, he let out a roar, making Izuku flinch before pointing at the teen, "You!" Izuku leaned back at this, only to see Tetsu growl at him, "You…" His growl then switched to a grin, "You're awesome! How are you that strong?! Why aren't you going to a hero school like us?!"
Izuku just blinked at him, not responding. And as he just sat there, he saw the rest of the group all turn to him, even Kyouka, who had declared she didn't want to watch. They started asking the same question, all asking how he could just do that with ease. His eyes darted around at this, his mind trying to think up a response, only to hear something else: Compliments.
They kept telling him how awesome he was, praising how strong he was. The words made him go wide-eyed, only for a big frown to form on his face. They had asked about his spider strength again and it felt like he cheated. Cheated because he had something he still didn't know what to do with or how to even explain.
And yet, this is the most fun he has had in years. He forgot what it was like to hang out with others. To hang out with someone. He didn't know that was even possible anymore. Today, despite the rhino villain encounter, had been so much fun. He had forgotten about this kind of fun, the time of just hanging out with others his age and just...being happy.
But that thought clashed with another. 'I...I've never felt so happy, but...but I've been lying to them. I'm such a horrible person, doing that. I-'
"Midoriya?" Uraraka asked, making Izuku's thoughts come to a stop, only for her add, "Are you okay? You're crying."
"Huh?" He replied, only to raise his hand up to his face, now feeling the liquid flowing out of his eyes. "Oh."
"You okay?" She asked again, a frown now on her face. And as this question left her mouth, the others heard it and turned to Izuku.
"I...I..." Izuku tried to respond, his lips quivering as he tried to form some words. And when none came, his eyes darted between all the teens there, only to close his eyes. 'Should I tell them? I...I can't tell them I'm Spider-Man, but...I'm so happy right now. I should tell them something. I don't want to lie to them.'
His eyes opened at this, biting his lip before he spoke up, "Um...I know this is uh...gonna be coming out of the blue, but I want to confess something."
"Confess?" Tsuyu replied while lifting a finger up to her mouth at this.
"Yeah." Izuku nodded. "I um...I know you all keep asking about my...strength." The shared a glance at this, only to see Izuku look down at his hands, flexing them. "And I've been kinda lying, and kinda not."
"Midoriya, you don't have to-" Uraraka tried to say.
"Truth is, I don't really understand it either." He interrupted as he looked back up at them. There, they saw his frown grow more as he added, "I was just kind of...like this the day before the UA hero exam." His mind went back to the spider, trying test after test on himself and the creature, only to reveal almost nothing. Just a bunch of powers and a spider husk. It wasn't a lie, he still didn't understand what the spider had done to him. He raised his arms at this, the muscles tensing up as he continued, "You asked why I'm not going to a hero school...well, my original plan was to go to the support exam, and then try the UA sports festival. I was uh...gonna try to become a support hero, like Power Loader."
Their eyes all went wide at this, even the usual calm Tsuyu slightly reacting. And as they did this, Uraraka slowly asked, "What...what happened?"
Izuku glanced away, "I suddenly had this strength and I thought I could go for the hero exam, but I was convinced otherwise to go for the support exam anyways. Then...an accident happened." His whole body shook as he said these next words, "The gadget I was working on...well, there was an accident with it that burned my hands. And after I was sent to Recovery Girl, I got back to the exam and found out I was out of time. And then the letter came a week later..."
"They rejected you, didn't they?" Tsuyu chimed in, Izuku slowly nodding back. "And the support exam doesn't link to general services, does it?" He nodded again.
"Yeah." He responded, "And uh...that's mostly it." He stared at the group, seeing nothing but frowns on their faces, 'Did I just make a mistake? Should I have not-' his thoughts stopped when he then saw a calm smile on Uraraka's face.
"I'm sorry that happened to you, Midoriya." She said as she walked up and patted his shoulder, "We all are." She glanced back at the group, "Right?" They all nodded, only for Uraraka to look back at Izuku, "But, why did you tell this? You didn't have to."
"Cuz um..." He felt a lump go down his throat at this, feeling fully embarrassed as he said these next few words, "This is the most fun I've had in years. Today that is." The group all brightened up at this, only for Izuku to add, "And it just felt wrong not to tell you all after all this." He did a small bow, "Thank you all for today."
The others all smiled at this, Uraraka chuckling as she patted his shoulder again, "Oh, you don't have to thank us for this!" She shined a big grin at this, "We just wanted to hang out with you. We're all friends here after all."
That made Izuku go wide-eyed, the tears slightly stopping as he muttered out, "F-f-friends?! Y-y-you all are my...friends?"
His expression made them all grimace, some remembering Tsuyu's comment about Izuku when they first met him at FEAST. The others were just surprised at his reaction, and then there was Uraraka. She frowned at the sight, knowing what this meant. She wanted to ask him the question: 'Have you never had any friends before?' but his face already gave her that answer. And it wasn't just that. That face showed that Izuku always wanted friends, but could never get any.
As such, she decided to go simple and say, "Of course we are!" She patted him yet again, "I know the other time I said I'd be your friend, but-" She turned to the others with a smile, "We'd all like to be your friend, right?" The groups frowns turned into grins as they all nodded back, "See?"
Izuku felt more tears going down his face, only to do another nod, "Thank you. Thank you so much." The sight made them all slightly flinch, only to see Izuku begin to wipe his eyes, "So uh...karaoke?"
The group all chuckled at this, Tsuyu doing a little giggle as well. They soon walked into the back of the arcade, which had a few karaoke booths. Kyouka got them the best room they had, only to drag them all inside and then told Izuku to embarrass himself first. Izuku honestly didn't mind, but as he went down the list of available songs...he found he didn't know a single one. The group were slightly saddened at this, only for Ashido to convince Kyouka to make Izuku watch the rest sing so he can know some songs.
And as this happened and Izuku started to listen to the others sing, he could only think of one thing. 'This is great. I can't wait to hang out with them again.' He then glanced down at his hands, remembering earlier today before hearing all their encouraging words, 'I will do it. I...I will be a hero. As Izuku Midoriya...and as Spider-Man.'
He clenched his hands into fists, 'I'll figure it out. I will be a hero as Spider-Man.'
Meanwhile...
In store footage thanks to a certain fitness store's security camera was on loop as the hero commission president stared at the screen in her office. The sight made her eyes twitch as she watched the vigilante known as Spider-Man fight a villain that called itself 'The Rhino'. An unoriginal name to be sure, but most villains were like that. Her fingers tapped her office desk as she watched the vigilante do a quip or two while fighting the villain, only to see him drop a bunch of weights on the hulkish thug. And then the villain went through the store wall, cutting the footage she had for a bit before the fight went back into the store. The rest of the footage was from news helicopters and other cellphone video nonsense.
Frustrating. That was the one word in her mind. She had told Tsuragamae and Nezu that they needed to capture this vigilante asap and what had they done? Nothing.
In a normal scenario, that being if this was a hero making a mess, specifically one that had been created from UA, that would be perfect for the president. She would love any leverage she could get over Nezu. But that wasn't the situation before her. There was no connection between Spider-Man and UA. In fact, there was nothing on the vigilante. He just suddenly appeared and began to do the heroes' jobs. She had spent a ton of resources now, having her own employees go through every quirk database, every living person in Musutafu, every number that could be possibly be crunched...and found nothing.
There was no one that had Spider-Man's quirk, no family that could have it, or...anything. In this day and age of quirk registration, police databases and search quirks, they found nothing. Nothing.
The only link she could find is that Spider-Man appeared after the UA entrance exams. Now, that was something very normal. She'd seen reports of kids that failed to get into UA and decided they could just strike out by themselves, only to give up a week later due to them realizing how stupid they were to try and be a vigilante. That was just how things worked out. The weeds that UA cut were always just that, weeds.
Every now and then one of them showed up the heroes, being a true vigilante that caused some trouble, but it was nothing major. That's why they had the quirk database. They could find them, arrest them, throw them away, and that was it.
But not this time. No database. No clues. Just...came out of nowhere and beats a bunch of villains on live television before beating the hero killer. The hero killer! Someone that had put the whole commission in panic due to how much death the killer had done.
And then Spider-Man just came in and beat him! That thought made her so angry! A mere vigilante causing this much trouble. Its unthinkable!
And now, she was stuck. The vigilante had struck again, this time fighting a villain and saving a bunch of civilians. News channels were talking about him, debating on why he had to come in rather than the heroes. Heroes the commission owned and ran.
The footage looped again at this, the sight making her grind her teeth. So frustrating. And after a click of her tongue, she heard a knock on her office door. "Come in."
A second later, the door frame moved, and one very tired looking man walked inside. It was Mera Yokumiru, a man some were convinced was related to Shouta Aizawa. High ranking, he was one of the main faces of the commission in the political realm.
"What do you want Mera?"
The man stared at her with his usual dead eyes before turning to the screen she had playing, the sight making his nose twitch before looking back at her. "Got the report you wanted." He slowly walked up to her and laid down a folder, "Spider-Man, eh?"
"Yes." She hissed as she took the file, opening it and scanning the contents within. A second later, she closed the folder. "This is fine. I'll...see to this later."
"Got it." Mera nodded before looking back at the screen, "Is he our next project?"
"He needs to be caught." She replied, "That vigilante is making all heroes look bad, and I'm honestly sick of it."
"It can't be that bad. He did a good service." Mera countered, "I mean, he caught the hero killer."
"Oh, stop it." she spat, "He's making a mockery of heroes." She put the folder in a drawer in her desk, "We need heroes to advertise our brand in order to ensure peace and prosperity in society. Vigilantes mess that all up."
Mera let out a small yawn before replying, "Then why don't you just recruit him? He's done good so far. Just...find him and put him on the payroll. He'd make a good hero."
"No." She instantly responded. "He needs to pay for his actions."
"So make him do community service."
"Vigilantes are essentially villains, Mera. They're not heroes, and this one doesn't deserve such a light punishment." She let out a long huff, "No, I'm considering putting out a bounty. I want him gone before people really start to question the perfect hero society we have created."
Mera stared back at her, knowing what that statement really meant. It meant the hero commission would lose political power. After all, their main sway in the government was purely the fact that they owned the hero licenses, regulated them, and made sure that heroes were the poster children of the government. The symbol that instilled peace and hope for society.
And Spider-Man, even if he didn't intend to, had challenged that by beating the hero killer. Something that shouldn't have been possible, and yet it happened.
"I'm going to give Nezu one last chance. If he doesn't catch Spider-Man before that vigilante appears on television again, I'm putting a bounty on Spider-Man's head...and I'm going to put all the blame on the rat."
"But he's not responsible for-"
"Zip it, Mera!" She hissed, making the man slightly flinch. "You know what trouble that rat causes."
"I...I know."
"Good." She folded her hands at this, "In response to that, I want you to call Nezu and say exactly what I just said."
"Me?!"
"Yes, you." She replied before taking a remote on her desk and tapping a button, turning off the footage. "I have other work to do." She pointed to the office door, "Go. And make sure to tell that dog Tsuragamae as well."
Mera blinked at her for a second before sighing, soon spinning around and walking out of the room. And as he closed the door behind himself, he yawned before saying, "This is gonna get messy, isn't it?" he pulled out his phone at this, "I wonder...who are you Spider-Man, and do you know the wrath you just inflicted on yourself?"