Chapter 41: Madness, Insanity, Chaos! Need I say more?
Izuku had woken up a bit later than usual. His body was still aching from the Rhino fight, and he really didn't want to get up. He would admit that he was glad that he had fought Rhino at the beginning of the day, as he felt his healing factor basically help him all day yesterday. Now, he knew he didn't want to go into another fight like that today, but considering his past few days, he knew his luck. As such, he slowly slithered out of the bed, going to his computer first.
And as he began to check his usual stuff, he saw what he knew he was going to be doing today. A new Gentle Criminal video had been uploaded, one claiming he was going to do something spectacular. 'Great...' he mentally moaned before turning to his vigilante costume, only to feel a slight bit of pain in his back. 'Urgh...am I in the condition to take him on?'
He put his hand on his back and pushed it, making it crick. He flinched at the pain, only to shake his head. "That...hurt." He cricked his back again, then pulled out a notebook. The teen began flipping through the pages, seeing this was his notes over the villains he had fought. He had taken the notes every now and then, his fingers slowly moving the pages before glancing back up at Gentle's video.
'Hmm...' he thought as he looked back down at his notes, seeing a page on Spinner. 'He didn't seem like a bad guy, really. He was just desperate.' His mind then went to Himiko, which he had decided to not put an entry in for, 'Toga was the same, though she was desperate because of her quirk affecting her.' He glanced up at the video of Gentle, 'Are you the same? Are you desperate?'
He turned another page, showing Martin Li. The sight made him flinch, as this was the one case he was both most personal with, and the one he knew the least about. It was like, he found out he was villain, took him down...and still learned nothing. 'I failed to save you.' he thought before staring at the other entries. Tombstone, Scorpion, Vulture...and he had written down Rhino's name, but hadn't put anything in yet. These were ones he was sure he wouldn't be able to help as a vigilante. They seemed to like doing bad.
Izuku stared up at the video one last time, "But you're different from all of them. You seem to just be a villain for attention." He crossed his arms as he spoke his thoughts aloud, "Why would you do that? You can get tons of attention as a hero. You have the quirk for it, and you beat up low rank heroes all the time. You basically act like a nuisance more than anything." He leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh, "Should I save you? Could I save you?"
At this, he put the notebook down on the desk and did his usual morning routine. A bit later, he left his room and into the living room, where he glanced into the kitchen. There he saw his mom and Toga, the girl shining a big grin as she helped his mother do the finishing touches on breakfast. The sight made him smile, seeing the happiness on Toga's face. And as this happened, his previous question was answered.
'Yeah. Let's try to save Gentle Criminal.' he thought before he felt a crick in his back, making him flinch again, 'That, and I don't think I can fight today.'
Aizawa wasn't having a good day. To be fair, he never had good mornings, afternoons or evenings, but he had a feeling this one was going to be a doozy. As such, he dragged his sleeping bag behind him as he left his afternoon class. He had left his room to All Might, the golden idiot that Aizawa kept reminding Nezu to fire due to him putting the students in danger. 'Why is that moron still here?!' That was the thought that kept going through head as he walked into the Nezu's office.
There, he was greeted by the sight of a coffee drinking Naomasa. The detective didn't look well. He'd been having some rough days recently. Aizawa would feel bad for him, but the underground hero didn't really feel bad for anyone these days. As such, he slouched down in a chair beside the detective, Naomasa raising an eyebrow at the sight. "Hey there. You okay, Aizawa?"
"I need sleep. Now." Aizawa grumbled as he glanced away, his dry eyes now staring at a certain desk as certain white-haired creature appeared behind it.
"Ah! Hello, Aizawa!" Nezu exclaimed as he got on top of the desk, standing with a paw raised out, "I see you're having another rough day. I am sorry about that."
"Just get to the point." Aizawa growled, "You said you figured out who Spider-Man is, right?"
"Yes!" Nezu chuckled as a remote suddenly appeared in his paw, "Now, I will say that I'm currently only seventy-three, point four-five-seven percent sure...but that's so much higher than anything else up to this point." Aizawa and Naomasa both raised eyebrows at this, only for the stoat to add, "Not only that, I'm so sure despite this percentage that I believe that if we confront the vigilante, it will instantly turn to one hundred percent!"
Naomasa's face shined a big grin, "That's great! Who is it?! Where do we find them?!"
"Now now, detective. Please calm down." Nezu replied, Aizawa instantly recognizing a certain smile appearing on the stoat's face. It was one he always saw when the little monster had a devilish idea. Those were never good for him or his health. But before he could chime in, Nezu pointed to the detective, "Now, before I reveal our little vigilante...I want something."
Naomasa and Aizawa flinched at this, both knowing that whatever his idea was, it was going to be a headache. And before either could respond, they saw Nezu's smile change, this one showing his usual look when it came to him doing his favorite pastime: lectures. Lectures that specifically keep certain things vague until he got what he wanted. As such, the stoat snapped his paws before saying, "To begin gentlemen, I will say exactly what I want. I want Spider-Man as a student here at UA."
Aizawa saw that coming. In fact, considering the intrigue and happiness the stoat had been radiating for the past few days, he knew this was going to happen. As such, he didn't react, and instead turned to Naomasa, who was slightly paling at the demand. And with a small cough, the detective spoke up, "Um...no offense Nezu, but the hero commission won't allow that. They want Spider-Man caught and imprisoned. And by imprisoned, I mean..." Naomasa cringed at his next words, "They probably want him in Tartarus."
The stoat just chuckled in response, "Leave that to me, gentlemen. I do not fear the hero commission." Nezu put his paws on his vest and tugged at it before continuing, "As for Spider-Man, I want him because he is by far the most talented individual I've seen in some time. In fact, I believe Aizawa can agree with me considering his current class."
Naomasa raised his eyebrow at this, "Didn't his class win the festival?"
"That is true. However, as we all know, this year's festival was...less than stellar due to both the winner and Spider-Man." Nezu replied, his eyes turning to Aizawa as the man slouched in his seat. "However, Spider-Man is very special. He's a super rare case, one that is beyond rare in this day and age." Aizawa and Naomasa both blinked at this, now starting to wonder where Nezu was going with this as the stoat added, "For you see, Spider-Man is a case of pure experience."
"Pure experience?" Aizawa responded, "Isn't that like...impossible? I mean, I know we concluded last time that he was gaining experience rapidly, and the footage shows he was obviously having issues with his quirk near the start, but he can't be just experience. Everyone trains their quirks at some point."
Nezu shook his head, "No, he's pure experience. I have proof, and its more than just the footage we've seen before. For you see...Spider-Man tried and failed the exams here in UA on the same day he received his quirk."
"Received?!" Naomasa exclaimed.
"Failed?!" Aizawa added.
"Indeed." Nezu nodded, "Spider-Man tried our exams here this year, and due to him getting his quirk that day, he failed. That or I believe he had just received his quirk that day or the day before."
Aizawa and Naomasa shared a glance before the teacher sighed, "Okay, you're obviously gonna just yank our chain here if we keep asking questions. Just tell us what you want so you'll tell us who Spider-Man is."
"I already told you. I want him as a student."
"Nezu..." Aizawa growled, "There's always something more to what you want. Just tell us already!"
Nezu's signature devilish grin returned at this, "Oh Aizawa, so impatient. But if you must know...I want him as a very specific type of student."
"Don't tell me its a personal student." Aizawa moaned, Naomasa grimacing at that thought.
"Not at all. You see, Spider-Man is special because he didn't fail our hero exams."
That made Naomasa go wide-eyed while Aizawa tilted his head, "What?"
"Did you not wonder why it took me so long to find him?" Nezu responded before tutting, "No gentlemen, our dear suspected Spider-Man was not what we thought he was. For you see...the vigilante did not take the hero exams."
"But...according to the video with Stain and the interview with that Iida boy, he said he failed to become a hero. What possible exam could he have failed that wasn't the hero exam?" Naomasa asked next.
"And why didn't he end up in general services instead?" Aizawa continued, "What, did he flunk everything?"
"In a way, yes." Nezu chuckled, "It's that fact that ironically made it hard for me to find him. I spent days going over all our hero exams, trying to figure out if any candidates would work...but found nothing." He snapped his paws at this, "Turns out, he took the one exam I didn't look at."
"Wha-what do you mean?" Naomasa replied, "What exams do you not look at? Why didn't you look at this exam?"
Naomasa's face continued to sport a look of confusion while Aizawa now glared at the stoat, only for a gear in his brain to slowly move. Cobwebs broke around the gear as he came to a conclusion, "He took and failed the support exam."
Nezu snapped his paw again, "Bingo!"
"He took the support exam?" Naomasa responded, "But why? That's not the hero exams."
"But you can use it to get into heroics through the festival. Its a super rare case, but it sometimes happens. Power Loader is a product of it." Aizawa chimed in, crossing his arms. "That's why you said he was a special type of student. He wants to be a hero and do support equipment..." The teacher let out a long groan, "And we never checked the support exam footage, did we?"
"Indeed. I never did as well. I've honestly never needed to, as I trust all of it to Power Loader." Nezu giggled as he grabbed a cup of tea on his desk and took a sip. "And that's not all. For you see, unless you look at that footage very carefully, you would have never found Spider-Man."
"How so?"
"Because all the profiles we accepted had no hint of the boy." Nezu replied, taking another sip, "Which led me to my prime suspect, one that I would have never ever guessed..." He pulled out the remote again, which had somehow disappeared during their talk, "But once I realized it could be him, I found that though there was still no evidence, he fit the psychological profile perfectly."
With a snap of the paw, he pressed a button on the remote, the screen behind his desk then showing the image of a dark green haired boy with freckles on his face. The image made both Aizawa and Naomasa go wide-eyed, though for different reasons.
"I present to you, Izuku Midoriya, also known as my prime suspect of being the one and only Spider-Man."
A long webline struck a building as a certain vigilante swung his way across another street. The teen did a long lined arc, his whole form almost touching pavement as his did his swing extra low. 'Aaahhh...this feels good.' he thought as the swing went back up, Izuku releasing himself from the webline before firing another shot of webbing, 'If only my back didn't hurt so much. I'd be doing flips and everything.'
Izuku chuckled to himself at this before swinging down another block, his mind going back to the video he had watched before leaving the house several hours ago. Gentle Criminal had stated he was going to make another statement, saying he would flip society on its head on this heist he was going to do. The idea seemed silly if Izuku really thought about it. He had spent several hours watching Gentle Criminal's videos after his first encounter with him and found the villain to just be...silly. He would declare himself at convince stores and markets, swearing that organizations were taking advantage of others with bad products before saying he would 'steal' from them as the modern chivalrous thief to get back at the evil organizations. It was hard to take him seriously, and yet Izuku knew he was a threat. Their first encounter was more than enough to prove that to the teen.
As such, he continued to swing around, his ear to his phone, which had the police scanner on. He knew that whatever Gentle Criminal did, it would probably at least hit the scanner. And as an hour of webswinging passed, he sighed as he landed on a random rooftop. Cricking his back, he then went to the edge of the building, glancing down at his phone, "Still nothing. Wonder what's taking him?"
He switched to the chat Mina had setup two days ago, the teen scrolling the messages. The sight still bewildered him. He hadn't had friends in so long. The idea seemed foreign to him, like something that shouldn't be part of his life. Also, he didn't know how to be a friend. It had been way too long.
The teen slumped over at this, 'I'm still a mess. Figures for someone like me.' He switched the phone back to the police scanner, 'Maybe he'll show up soon-'
And as that thought was trying to finish, the scanner spoke up.
"This is Musutafu police. We have a reported disturbance at Silver-Center on Bespin Road, any hero present, please respond."
"Nevermind." Izuku commented to himself as he put the phone away. "Bespin Road...that's not too far." He did a quick stretch at this, only to feel a small crick in his back, making him flinch. "Ow. Better...be careful." He leapt off the roof a second later, firing a webline before swinging across the street.
"And as you can see my dear viewers, the Silver-Center is selling outdated food before it hits the shelves! They aren't even decreasing their prices, showing their...distasteful business practices!" Gentle exclaimed as he minced his words at the end of his little speech.
"I see! And what will you do, Gentle?!" La Brava gasped as she kept the camera on the villain.
"Why, we will rob them!" He gestured to a cashier and pointed a knife at him, "And we shall video tape them doing this despicable act!"
"So gentlemanly!" La Brava swooned.
"But of course! After all, I am-"
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" yelled a voice, making the criminal turn and see three costumed heroes appear just outside of the store.
Gentle took a deep breath, "It seems we have company." He turned to his camera woman, "Cut...now."
A few minutes later...
Izuku landed on a rooftop, his form turning invisible as he walked to edge. He was a street across from the Silver Center, watching the front door, only to see three heroes get thrown out. The rolled across a parking lot, all soon laying down, unmoving.
"Its him." Izuku whispered as he then saw Gentle Criminal and his partner walk out next. Seeing this, he fired a webline and swung over to the Silver Center's roof while still being invisible. And as he landed, he started to crawl down the building's side, only to hear the two begin to talk.
"Don't you want to take the money, Gentle?" La Brava asked.
The villain shook his head, "No, there is no need. We have set an example today, and once we upload our video, all will see the injustice Silver Center has been doing!"
"Oh Gentle! So gentlemanly!" La Brava swooned again.
'They didn't rob them?' Izuku thought as he slowly invisibly crawled down the building, 'Then again, if I think about it, he rarely takes any money of places he...robs so to speak.'
"Shall we go home then?" La Brava asked, Gentle nodding back.
"Indeed. Hop on." The little lady hopped on his back at this, Izuku staring at the sight.
The teen pointed his wrist at the man's back, only to not press the shooter's trigger. 'No. That's not gonna solve anything. But...maybe I can do something else.' he thought before reaching into his hoodie and pulling out a spider tracer. He then flicked it at the two, the tracer landing in La Brava's hair. The girl slightly flinched at this, scratching it for a second.
"Hmm? Something wrong?" Gentle asked as he prepared to use his quirk on the ground.
"Um...no. Just felt something in my hair." La Brava replied, "Hope it didn't mess up anything."
"I see." He glanced back at her, "No worries, my dear partner in crime! We will get you all fixed up at the hideout!"
La Brava heard this and shined a big grin, "Okay!"
BOING!
The ground looked like springy rubber as Gentle used his quirk on it, the villain duo soon flying into the distance. And as they did this, Izuku turned visible and pulled out his tracker.
'Okay, think this through Izuku.' he thought as he stared at the gadget, 'You want to reform him, so just catching him in a crime won't work. I need to...think up a way to help him. Which I still don't know what to do.' He put a hand on his chin, 'Hmm...'
A little later...
The sound of a door opening rang out as Gentle twisted a doorknob. And as he walked into the room, La Brava strided in behind him. "You were amazing today, Gentle!" she swooned as she ran up to a desk, "I can't wait to upload the footage!"
"Indeed!" Gentle laughed while striking a small pose before closing the door, "I can not wait to see my fans' reactions!"
La Brave didn't reply, instead just showing a big grin as she hopped onto a chair and opened her laptop. Inserting a USB cable into both the laptop and camera, she began to open a video program as Gentle walked into the kitchen. The sound of liquid filling a cup came next, along with the sounds of keyboard clacking. Several minutes passed, Gentle soon finishing a cup of tea and giving it to La Brava.
"Good thing we didn't need this today." Gentle commented as he put a small gadget beside La Brava's laptop.
"Tinkerer's device?" his sidekick asked.
"Yes." Gentle replied, "It seems our interruptions will only be the minor heroes from now on."
"That's good." La Brava commented as she shined a small grin before taking a sip of tea.
And as this happened, the two did not notice a pair of hands appearing on their window. A head showed itself next, showing a certain masked vigilante.'So this is where they live.' Izuku thought as pulled his head back before putting a hand to his chin, 'Now...what do I do?' He had been thinking about that question the entire time webswinging over here, and now he was stuck still thinking about the answer.
The teen glanced back into the room, now seeing the two talk while staring at a laptop. He closed his eyes at this, crossing his arms, 'Think Izuku...what can you do here?' His mind went back to his talks with Spinner and Toga the nights he first encountered them, only to bite his lip, 'Well, if its not broke, don't fix it.'
A second later, Izuku turned invisible as La Brava began tapping a few more keys. "What do you think of this title, Gentle?" The other villain leaned over and did a small nod.
"Seems good. I will leave it to you to do the editing."
"Yes sir!" La Brava giggled as she clicked the save button before cricking her fingers, "Time to get to work."
"And I shall make a second cup of tea." Gentle chuckled as he walked back into their kitchen. As he did this, a certain invisible individual walked up to their front door and put his hand in his hoodie. A second later, he pulled out the unlocking device he had used on Martin's Li office door, sliding it a few times into the door.
'Come on...there!' He thought as a tiny click rang out. Izuku began to slowly push the door at this, invisibly glancing inside as he saw that neither had noticed him thanks to La Brava being focused on the video...and a very loud tea pot ringing out. Seeing this, the teen silently closed the door behind him before crawling up to the ceiling, only to feel his head start to hurt. 'Urgh...can't keep the invisibility for much longer.'
As he did this, Gentle reentered the room with a cup of tea and began to drink it as he saw down beside La Brava. Seeing this, she turned to him, the two beginning to talk. And as this happened, Izuku's invisibility wore off, but it was enough as he pointed both wrists at them.
Thwip! Thwip!
Two sprays of webbing instantly hit the duo, making them gasp. "What the-" La Brava tried to say, only to feel webs to cover her from neck to toe.
"What in the-" Gentle added as the webbing did the same to him. And as they both glanced down at the sticky substance, looks of horror appeared on their faces before turning to where the webbing had come from, "Spider-Man!"
"Hiya." Izuku responded as he released himself from the ceiling, doing a small flip before landing. "Sorry about the webbing. Couldn't have you escaping and everything." He said as he saw the two begin to squirm under the webbing. Gentle glanced back at the desk, his eyes staring at the device he had put down before glaring back at the vigilante.
"What is this?! Why have you done this?!" He yelled, Izuku blinking at the response.
"Uh...well..." Izuku started, only for no more words to come out. 'Darn it! What am I doing?! Izuku, you told yourself you would try to help this guy! Get it together!' his mind screamed at him before taking a deep breath, "I um...I know this is out of nowhere, but I saw that you were robbing again and...I knew I had to stop you."
Gentle and La Brava shared a glance before the villain looked down at the webbing, squirming again as he tried to move, only to get nowhere. And after a second, he let out a growl before glaring up at the vigilante, "It seems you have...but how did you find us?! How did you know this was where we live?!"
La Brava flinched at Gentle's words as Izuku replied, "Well...I uh...put a tracker on her." He pointed at La Brava, the girl flinching again.
"What?!" she yelped.
"Yeah. Its um...its in your hair." Izuku slowly walked up to her, the girl shaking her head at this, only for Izuku to put his hand in her hair and pull out the spider-tracer. "Here." The two saw this and went wide-eyed, only for Izuku to pocket it in his hoodie.
La Brava turned to Gentle, "Gentle, I'm so sorry! I had no idea!"
Gentle shook his head, "Don't apologize. It is not your fault." he glanced back at Izuku, "Very well, it seems you have us. What do you intend to do to us?!"
Izuku scratched the back of his head at this, only to grab a nearby chair and sit down. "Well...you see, ever since we first met, I've been watching your videos." The statement made both go wide-eyed as Izuku continued, "And if I'm honest, I don't understand why you do...what you do."
Gentle tilted his head at this, "What do you mean?"
The teen felt his mouth trying to form words as he put his hands together, twiddling his fingers as he replied, "I just...don't get it. I've met a bunch of villains that do all sorts of things, but none of them are like you. You do robberies, but almost never take the money. You instead expose stuff, then run away from the heroes and film it." He tilted his head, "Why? Why do that?"
Gentle rapidly blinked at this, only to take a small breath before shining a big smile and said, "Why, it is because I am the modern chivalrous thief! I wish to present myself in history as someone that is remembered!"
"You...just want to be remembered?"
"Indeed!" Gentle exclaimed while trying to puff himself out.
"Then why go to crime?" Izuku instantly asked back, "Why go down that path? There's plenty of ways to do that without doing bad things."
Gentle opened his mouth to respond, only to close it. A few seconds passed before he said, "I suppose you're right in a way. But this is the path I went down."
"Why?"
Gentle tilted his head, "Why do you want to know?"
Izuku bit his lip at this. He knew his next words would be super important. His mind went over a few options, only to come to a certain statement. "I want to know because while I know you are a villain, its obvious you're not a bad person. I've seen your videos, and you try to expose others' wrongdoings, something villains never do." Izuku now tilted his head at him, "So why? Why do that?"
In response, Gentle just stared at him, blinking before glancing down at the webbing covering him. 'How strange.' he thought, 'To think I would be this dumbfounded.' He looked back up at the vigilante, and despite not being able to see Izuku's face due to his mask, he knew there was a look of pure curiosity on the teen's face. No longer needing to think over his thoughts, Gentle did a small nod before saying, "Very well. I suppose I don't mind telling you my story."
What followed was a tale Izuku was not expecting. Before him was another heroic failure, one who wanted to be a hero, but failed to help another and in turn, was rejected. He was thrown out of the hero society due to a bungling attempt of good, and when he found out that no one remembered him from his days of trying to be a hero, he decided to go down a different path. He had been rejected by heroes, only to become something different. The story stunned Izuku, the teen slumping down in his chair.
"I..." Izuku tried to say, his mind going over everything he had just heard. It felt familiar yet different to him or Himiko Toga, but it wasn't something villainous. Hearing this, Izuku closed his eyes as he tried to form words. To him, it felt like hours, but it was actually just a minute before he realized what he needed to say. There wasn't even a thought, just a simple sentence as he took a deep breath and said, "I think you're running away."
As those words hit his ears, Gentle's eyes slowly grew, his face paling as he half-whispered out, "What?"
Izuku felt himself blankly staring at the villain as he repeated, "I think you're running away." A few seconds of silence passed at this, Gentle not responding, which made Izuku slightly glance away before adding, "I mean...it just kinda sounds like...it sounds like you're running away. Like, you made some mistakes, and instead of trying to fix your mistakes, you went the opposite direction." Izuku bit his lip at this, though neither villain could see it behind the mask as he continued, "It sounds like to me you gave up on your dream."
And as he said that, he looked back at Gentle, only for the villain to just keep staring at him. There was no response, making the teen flinch. 'Uh...did I go too far?'
"I...gave up on my dream?" Gentle muttered before staring down at the floor, "But I thought...I thought I..."
The sight shocked La Brava. She had never seen Gentle be this uncertain before. The man looked like he had just experienced culture shock, something she never would have imagined would happen to him. The Gentle she knew was always confident, yet kind. He was never uncertain or hesitant. She felt like she wasn't staring at Gentle...but someone else.
"I...I..." Gentle continued to try to form words, only for his mouth to come to a stop.
"Gentle?" La Brava spoke up, but he didn't respond. He just sat there, unmoving even with the webbing covering him. She then glared at Izuku, "What did you do to Gentle, you jerk?!"
"Uh...I um..." Izuku flinched before waving his hands around, "I-I-I was just trying to help!"
"You jerk! How dare you do that to-"
"Don't La Brava." Gentle suddenly said, making both turn to him. "I...I believe he may be right."
"Gentle?" La Brava asked, only to see the man glance up at her. "What are you talking about?"
"I...I never thought about it that way. I just...wanted to be noticed. To have a dream." He turned to Izuku, "Do you...do you really think I was just running away?"
Izuku blinked at him under the mask before crossing his arms, "Well, I mean...I kinda think you were. To me, it just sounds like you gave up, which made you become...Gentle Criminal." He glanced down at this, "I meant what I said earlier. I don't think you're bad. You don't really do any villainous stuff like all the others out there."
Gentle frowned at this before looking down again, "I...I suppose that's true. After all, I despise violence. It is why I always run away."
"See?" Izuku pointed at him at this, "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I think you could still do some good with that power. You just need to stop running away and-"
"And do what?! Help others in this cruel world?!" Boomed a sudden voice, making all three glance around. "What utter nonsense! I can't believe you let yourself be caught by someone so pathetic, Gentle Criminal!"
"What the-" Izuku whispered, only to feel his spider sense start to tingle. "Huh?"
"That voice...Beck." Gentle growled, making Izuku turn to him.
"Beck?"
"Indeed!" exclaimed the voice again, only for a puff of smoke to appear beside Gentle Criminal. A second later, the fog dissipated to reveal a certain villain dressed in a long purple cape, a long green scaly jumpsuit and an upside down bowl for a head. "For I have returned, Gentle! It seems you are not doing well...again."
"Fishbowl Head Man?!" Izuku yelped as he hopped out of the chair.
"I am not Fishbowl Head Man! I am Myserio, Master of the Arcane Arts!" the villain roared as he pointed at the vigilante, "And I am here for my revenge, Spider-Man!"
"Revenge?" Izuku replied before tilting his head, "But...you're just a bank robber."
"I am not just a bank robber!" Mysterio screeched, "I am-"
Thwip! Thwip!
Izuku fired both web shooters at the villain, instantly covering him with webbing. The sight made Gentle and La Brava blink, both speechless as they saw the vigilante instantly shut Beck down. That is, till the webbing covering Mysterio was suddenly covered in a puff of smoke.
"Huh?" Izuku responded, only to see another puff of smoke appear just a foot away, revealing the villain with no webbing on him.
"Ha! Nice try, Spider-Man! But your webbing has no effect on me!"
"Wanna bet?" Izuku pointed his wrists at the villain again.
Danger!
"What?" Izuku whispered, only to see Mysterio grab a small device on the table beside La Brava's laptop. He pointed it at the vigilante and pressed a button. And in that split second, Izuku felt something suddenly ring out in his brain.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
"YAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!" Izuku screamed as he put both hands to head, knees instantly losing strength as he flopped to the floor. And as he did this, it felt like his spider sense had been dialed up to eleven, making the teen close his eyes and cry out, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
"Ahaha!" Mysterio cackled, "It seems the Tinkerer's device works perfectly!" He then pointed at the webbed up Gentle Criminal, "I can't believe you didn't have it on you. I thought you were more cautious than that."
"Beck..." Gentle barely replied before looking back at Spider-Man, the teen now wriggling in pain on the floor. The sight made him flinch before glancing up at Mysterio, "Stop it, Beck! You're killing him!"
Though he could see it, the man under the bowl raised an eyebrow, "So?! Its Spider-Man! I told you I was going to enact my revenge on him." He pointed the device at Gentle, "Look at you, all webbed up like that! You bought this from the Tinkerer to make sure Spider-Man couldn't try to catch you again! Why didn't you use it?!" Mysterio then leaned down and added, "Don't tell me you were going soft on him."
"I-" Gentle tried to say.
"You jerk! Stop bullying Gentle!" La Brava chimed in, making Mysterio spin around and 'glare' at her from his bowl head.
"You will shut up! If you hadn't not gone along with my plan, this would have never happened to you two!"
"Oh yeah?!" La Brava barked back, "I'll never help you, you fishbowl loving-"
"I do not love fishbowls!" Mysterio interrupted, "Stop assuming that because of my outfit!"
And as the two began to yell at each other, Izuku continued to wriggle on the floor. His spider sense kept screaming at him, pounding his brain as he tried to think, 'Head...feels like...splitting...open.' he thought as he opened his eyes, feeling them twitch in pain as he glanced up at the trio arguing. 'Gotta...get...thing...that's...hurting...me.'
He slowly removed his hand from his head and began to spin it, slowly pointing it upward as he felt the pain continue to beat his head in. The teen closed his eyes again, his mind about to black out as he pushed down the web shooter trigger.
Thwip!
"Huh?" Mysterio responded as a strand of webbing hit the device in his hand. And with a single tug, it was yanked out of his hand and into Izuku's. "No, wait-"
Smash!
The device was instantly turned into a hundred pieces as Izuku crushed it in his hand. And with that, his spider sense stopped yelling at him. His brain...was at peace. "Oh..." Izuku moaned as his hand hit the floor, slumping over as the teen continued to groan, "That...was awful."
"You...how did you do that?! You were supposed to be in constant, unending pain!" the villain yelled before stomping on the floor. "How dare you do that! How dare you-"
Thwip!
A glob of webbing sprayed out and covered the fishbowl wearing man. But as the liquid consumed him, a puff of smoke appeared next, making the villain disappear again.
"What?" Izuku muttered, only to see another puff of smoke to form a few feet away, another Mysterio appearing a second later.
"Your webbing is useless against me!" Mysterio declared before pointing at the teen, the vigilante starting to get up. "Now, how did you do that? That should have put you in constant pain!"
"Yeah…it did." Izuku groaned as he rubbed the top of his head as he stood up. "And you're not going to do that again."
"You…you…" Mysterio growled as he shook his fist at the vigilante.
Izuku was fully standing at this, electricity forming around his hands as they became fists. The sight made the villain stop shaking his hands at the teen, the man taking one step back. The other two watched them, Gentle's eyes darting back and forth at the exchange. And after a few seconds of tension, Mysterio pointed at the vigilante and declared, "Very well! Even though that did not work, I will have my revenge against you!" He then pointed to himself, "After all, I wanted to defeat you with plan B anyways!"
"Plan B?"
"That's right!" Mysterio cackled before snapping his finger. A puff of smoke appeared around his hand, only to vanish and reveal a small device with a button on the end.
"What's that?"
"A detonator!" Mysterio exclaimed.
"WHAT?!" all three screamed.
"That's right!" the villain pointed at Izuku again, "After all, I knew I needed something when confronting you. I was hoping that Gentle would join me in destroying you even after he rejected me last time, but this is better. After all, last time I was here, I hid behind my illusions and hid a bomb here." He put his finger just over the button, "If I press this, this room will explode, killing Gentle and La Brava!"
"WHAT?!" Izuku repeated, his eyes fully wide.
"BECK! Have you lost your mind?!" Gentle screeched, only to find Mysterio pointing at him.
"No! This is my performance! I will have my revenge against Spider-Man, and if you will not join me, I will destroy you!" He then pointed back at Spider-Man, "Listen here, you will do as I say or else! Surely you will agree to my demands, will you not?"
"You…" Izuku growled, balling his hands into fists before seeing Mysterio about to press the button. His spider sense rang out, making him flash his palms at the villain, "Wait! Don't do it!"
"I knew you would see it my way." Mysterio chuckled before snapping his finger again, making another device appear in his other hand. He then threw it at Izuku, the teen reflexively catching it. "This is a tracker. Follow it or I blow this place up."
"What are you-"
Mysterio pointed at the teen again, "No questions! Do I say or else!"
Izuku glanced down at the tracker, seeing it was just a tiny device with a beeping dot. He looked back up at the villain, his mind racing, 'This got out of hand really quickly. Like…how did this happen?!' Taking a deep breath, he replied, "Fine."
"Good! Now, don't be too quick." Mysterio laughed, "I have to make our performance…magnificent!"
He then disappeared in another puff of smoke, leaving the room to a beat of silence. Izuku stared at the spot the villain was before, only to glance down at the tracker again. 'That was crazy. Like, what just happened?!'
"Spider-Man?" Izuku turned to the voice, now seeing the people he had planned to confront today now staring at him. La Brava was wearing a confused frown while Gentle looked…lost. Lost and exhausted, as if years had just hit him.
"Gentle?" La Brava asked as she turned to him again, seeing his expression, "You okay?"
The man glanced down at this, staring at the floor. He didn't seem to respond, completely lost despite the craziness that just happened. And then he looked back up at Spider-Man, the teen staring at the tracker again, the vigilante's body shaking. The sight made him blink, only for his expression to slightly change, showing a look of acceptance.
"Can you do me a favor, Spider-Man?" Gentle asked, making the teen turn to him. The vigilante now saw a giant frown on the man's face, only for Gentle to say, "Can you go and beat Beck?" Izuku felt words try to form in his mouth, but couldn't make an immediate response. As such Gentle added, "He...he's always been like that. He is a lover of the performing arts ever since I first met him, though he was also always a bit unhinged."
The man's expression now showed a long, deep stare as he then said, "Please. In fact, if you do it, I'll turn myself in."
"Gentle!" La Brava gasped, Izuku still speechless at the same time.
Izuku's mind went over the statement, his brain now going over everything that had just happened. He had came to try and save Gentle Criminal, only for a nutjob he barely remembered to appear and threaten their lives. And now, the villain he came to try and reform was now asking him to take down that nutjob. But as Izuku stared at Gentle, despite knowing he wasn't good at reading people, he saw the pure sincerity in Gentle's expression.
And with a single nod, Izuku replied, "I'll do it. I'll take him down."
"Thank you." Gentle responded as Izuku picked up the gadget Mysterio had left. The teen stared at it for a second before walking over to a window and opening it.
"I'm...gonna go." He looked back at the two webbed up villains, "The webbing will dissolve in about 2 hours. You promise to turn yourself in after that, right?"
"I will." Gentle nodded back.
"Okay." Izuku said before taking a deep breath, "And Gentle Criminal?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks...for listening to me." Izuku then leapt out of the window, quickly firing a webline as the two watched him swing away. And as he did this, Izuku began to think, 'Gotta say, today definitely didn't go the way I thought it would.' He fired another string of webbing at this, flipping across a block, 'Hope nothing else bad happens.'
"That's impossible."
Aizawa's words rang out through the room, Nezu staring at him with a giant grin. Naomasa was silent, just sitting in his chair, not responding. It had been a few seconds since Nezu revealed his suspect, and the reactions were what Nezu was expecting. Anger from Aizawa, mainly due to his current attitude from the case, and surprise from Naomasa. However, Naomasa seemed to be completely silent, Nezu not fully expecting that, but he had a feeling he would be arguing with Aizawa first anyways.
"How is that impossible, Aizawa?" Nezu cheekily asked, making the man glare at him even more.
"He's quirkless. No one quirkless can do the stuff he does."
"Oh? I never imagined you to be a quirkist." Nezu responded, only to see Aizawa's grin somehow get even darker.
"I'm not. I just look for talent, and there's no talent when it comes to a quirkless. They can't be heroes in this superpowered society. Heck, most quirked individuals can't, and even more so with this. I've watched the videos over Spider-Man just like you, and I know he can't be quirkless." He pointed at the stoat, "Stop playing around and give us the real suspect."
"I assure you Aizawa, I am both right and am not playing around. Izuku Midoriya is Spider-Man." He pointed the remote at the screen and tapped a button, switching to footage of the support exam. It was paused, but that was for effect as Nezu continued, "You see, this footage over the support exam proved it to me, but that wasn't all. The very fact he's quirkless is why I suspect him to be Spider-Man. After all, if he's quirkless, it would line up with all my theories on his personality and psychology of the vigilante."
"But he's quirkless. He has no power!" Aizawa replied as he pointed at the stoat, "Spider-Man has several quirks, not-"
"I know." Nezu interrupted, "Its the only issue with my theory. However, I suspect we'll learn why that's the case when we ultimately confront him. In the meantime, let me explain why I think its him." He began to pace around his desk, "For starters, a quirkless is perfect for both the psychological profile and the reason why we haven't been able to find him. One, he wouldn't be in the quirk database due to his situation. That alone is why the investigation constantly comes to a halt."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed at this, "Alright...I won't deny that."
"Not only that, did you forget our first conversation over the vigilante? The original two bank robbery footages?"
"I..." Aizawa tried to respond, only for his memories to go back to those videos. They showed someone who was suddenly excited to use their powers...but was also surprised. In particular the one against the Inner Demons, where Spider-Man started celebrating after using his bio-electricity against a goon. The thought made him cross his arms while glaring at the stoat, "That is possible. But if that's the case, and he is a quirkless that somehow got a quirk, why wouldn't he just announce it?"
"That's a good question. And for that, we need to look back at the profile." Nezu walked over to a piece of paper he had on the desk and picked it up, "I looked up the recent statistics and...well, they're not good. Tell me, do you know about the suicide rates of quirkless individuals?"
"No. I'm not some data cruncher." Aizawa growled, "Get to the point already rat."
"So impatient." Nezu chuckled before glaring back at the man, "Truth is, they've increased over the past few years. More than twenty percent kill themselves, though I suspect the number to be much higher." Aizawa's expression slightly changed at this, only to go back to a glare before Nezu added, "I also suspect most cases are not reported due to...quirkist views."
Aizawa didn't respond to this. He knew better. He had heard about this before, but only really ignored it because he had a job to do and a class to teach. That was normal, life always got in the way of others' tragedies. He had his own problems to solve. However, he did feel a tinge of sadness at the fact.
Seeing the man's expression slightly soften, Nezu continued, "Anyways, the point is, Spider-Man believes the world is against him. If he is or was quirkless, it would make much more sense for him to have this mindset. The world is now run by quirks, something that the quirkless have no control over."
Aizawa took a deep breath at this, "That still doesn't explain why he's Spider-Man."
"I know. Don't worry, I'll get to that." Nezu replied before turning to Naomasa, who was still sitting here. He hadn't said or done anything, his face not showing even a tiny bit of emotion. "Naomasa? Are you alright? You are being quite silent."
"Hmm?" the detective responded, his eyes rapidly blinking before saying, "Sorry, I was just…thinking."
"Oh? About what?"
"I…well…I know Izuku Midoriya."
Aizawa's head darted to Naomasa while Nezu tilted his head at this, "Is that so? How do you know him?"
"Well…let's just say I know his mother more than him. She's a nurse, and she saved me a while back. It was part of a case that led me and a team of officers to be…very injured. She was the nurse that helped out my team." He admitted with a slight sigh, "I'd rather not talk about it."
"I understand."
"Thank you." Naomasa sighed before cricking his neck for a second, "Anyways, I met him on that day. He's a good kid, though I don't know much about him. I did do his mother a favor recently though, and it was…" his own words came to a stop as his brain caught up to the memory, "It was over trying to reform a girl that was about to become a villain."
Those words made both blink at him, Nezu showing a small grin, "Is that so?"
Naomasa took a deep breath at this, "I suppose I can't avoid this." He crossed his arms, "Are you two familiar with the Himiko Toga case?"
Aizawa shook his head while Nezu replied, "I am. It was about a young high schooler who vanished a few months ago after assaulting a student. The parents disowned her as a part of a big publicity stunt."
"That's right…but its also not the half of it." Naomasa sighed.
"There's more to the case, isn't there?" Aizawa asked.
Naomasa nodded, "Let's just say…it's a really bad case of abuse." He grit his teeth at this before closing his eyes, "But that's not why I brought it up. I brought it up because Izuku Midoriya is involved in the case."
"Oh? How so?"
"Yeah. I...recently met the girl and we got her to confess everything. It was terrible and...well, the one who brought her to me is Izuku Midoriya's mother." He bit his lip a this, the two instantly catching on the action as he added, "And if you're right, it solved something that I never really got to investigate."
"What's that?"
"Inko Midoriya said her son was the one who found Himiko Toga and brought her to his home to help her."
Nezu's grin widened at this before he started clapping his paws, "Aha! That proves my profile even more!"
"How?!" Aizawa growled.
"Simple. The profile showed he is one that will meddle in affairs regardless of circumstance. This case of Himiko Toga is a prime example of that."
Aizawa glared back at the stoat but said nothing. The statement reminded the hero of a certain new golden-haired teacher that Aizawa didn't like, but he knew whatever said about this wouldn't matter. Despite this, he let out a long sigh before saying, "Fine. Whatever. Still doesn't prove he's Spider-Man. Why would a quirkless that suddenly gained power go into vigilantism? That's not logical."
"Oh, but it is." Nezu replied before pointing at the support exam footage behind him. "I believe I can show you everything you need to make it very logical. Watch this."
Tapping a button, the footage began. The underground hero and detective watched the student begin his exam, only to see him constantly shaking and bumbling. The sight made Aizawa roll his eyes, more tell tell signs that Izuku wasn't Spider-Man. He had watched video after video of the vigilante and despite his…recklessness and roughness, the vigilante did show confidence. There was none of that here, the teen was just a clumsy nervous wreck. It also didn't help that this was the kid that ruined his day at FEAST, making him waste a whole day of time. So irrational. The sight made Aizawa about to say that this was another waste of time, only for the footage to zoom in.
There, it showed a tiny spark of electricity to appear on Izuku's elbows, only to slowly go up to his hand. The two watched the energy flow up to the teen's device that was in his hand, only for it to explode. And as it happened, the footage came to a stop as Nezu spoke up, "And because of what just happened, he was rejected by Power Loader. Though considering how the teen was acting, it makes sense as to why he chose that."
Aizawa stared at the footage, his right eye slightly twitching before staring at Nezu. The giant grin the stoat was wearing made him sick to this stomach. He was enjoying this too much. But before he could say anything, Nezu spoke up again, "Now, considering what we just saw, let's watch the rest of the footage in order."
As such, the screen switched to every bit of footage they had on the vigilante. It started with the first bank robbery Spider-Man foiled, only to then show a few clips of his fight with Vulture, the second bank heist foiling, then Mysterio, Scorpion, the sports festival fight, Stain...and now Rhino. The sight showed a teen that looked overwhelmed in the first few videos, only to switch to what looked like a constantly learning individual able to fight bigger and bigger villains.
"Look at him. Magnificent." Nezu chuckled, "Truly one with pure talent. With both the footage and the profile, I can only conclude that what we are looking at gentlemen is a hidden genius with a true heroic spirit."
"Hidden genius?" Naomasa asked.
Nezu nodded back, "Indeed." He tapped a button on a remote, showing the footage again, this time going over a few distinct parts of the fights. "See? There is a showing of learning at a rapid pace. Compare the first two bank fights compared to the fight at the festival. Look at how much better he performs." He glanced back at the detective, "That is pure talent. One that learns on the fly, which allows them to go leaps and bounds above most heroes. After all, could you imagine a new hero suddenly going after the hero killer and winning?"
Naomasa didn't respond to this. He knew what Nezu was saying is true. It made perfect sense. However, Aizawa's expression had darkened as he watched the footage. And when the video ended again, he glared back down at the stoat, feeling his teeth grind at the sight.
But Nezu didn't notice. Instead, he was clapping his paws as a look of pure glee appeared on his face. "As you can see, this is why I want Spider-Man." He looked back at the footage again, "Imagine...that kind of talent and willpower. And he wants to do support as well. The boy has the potential to set a new precedent."
The statement made Naomasa stare back up at the footage. He saw what the stoat meant now. It was true. The vigilante had abilities that were beyond a normal human, and he seemed to be growing every second. He had the potential to become a truly great hero. But he also knew that the biggest hurdle for that would be the hero commission. After all, they had been breathing down his and the chief's necks for some time about-
"No."
Both Nezu and Naomasa turned to Aizawa, the detective about to rethink his thoughts. Perhaps the biggest hurdle was in this room as Nezu asked, "No?"
"No." Aizawa hissed, "He should be arrested."
"And why is that Aizawa?" Nezu replied, slightly tilting his head.
"Because you want to put him in my class." Aizawa growled, "That'll ruin everything."
"Ruin? Do you mean your plan to expel them?"
"Yes." Aizawa folded his arms at this, closing his eyes, "They still don't take heroics seriously. They deserve to be expelled." One eye creaked open at this, glaring at the stoat, "If you bring in another student, it'll ruin things. Again."
"And if you do expel them, I'll fire you." Nezu instantly responded.
"No, you won't. I'm the best you can get for this job." Aizawa remarked, "And before you say anything else, you know that I'll keep pushing for this."
Nezu crossed his arms at this, tapping his fingers on his arms as he glared at his employee, "And I would like to remind you that I won't allow you to expel those kids just because you're frustrated with this case. Same to the fact that I won't let you do this because you're frustrated that your class is the only one with an open slot." Aizawa opened his mouth at this, only for Nezu to flash a paw at him, "Don't. You know for a fact that no one tried to go against the zero pointer this year, causing the scores to be...less than optimal due to a small amount of rescue points. Vlad King then filled up his classroom, and you argued to put more students in general services instead due to the low scores." Nezu's paw switched to a pointing finger, "After that, I agreed to let you take one less because you said, and I quote: 'It'll make grading easier, and they can show themselves who is worthy of being a hero in the festival'."
"And one student did prove it!" Aizawa countered.
"That's not enough considering you started your year with expelling a student."
Aizawa let out a snarl at that, "You..."
"And before you try to say anything else, may I remind you what happened at the sports festival was due to you neglecting to solve the issues in your class right now."
"That's not my fault!" Aizawa barked, "I had no idea Bakugo was going to act like that!"
"Video footage of the battle trials suggest otherwise." Nezu snapped back, "He beat two of your students to a pulp and footage of your class has you telling him to 'grow up' and nothing else." The stoat's beady eyes somehow narrowed at this, "No Aizawa, the reason you're against this is because you don't want to do your job. You think you can take the easy way out and just expel those students."
"THEY DESERVE IT!" Aizawa suddenly yelled, Naomasa flinching at the sight. He had never seen the man yell in all the years he had worked with him. However, Aizawa's tone lowered as he said his next words, reverting back to his usual calm yet negative mask, "They need to realize heroics isn't some joke!" He let out a snarl before gritting his teeth, "They keep thinking it's just for fun! I'm trying to make them understand that this job is-"
"They do understand Aizawa, but you need to realize they are still just-"
"They don't understand! I just spent this last week showing them its no joke and they still don't get it! You've seen the rescue operations I've had them do, and they fail them every time!" Aizawa interrupted before pointing at the footage of Spider-Man taking on the Rhino as he fought him, this being the only footage with sound. "And its obvious he considers it a joke too! Just listen to him! He'd rather crack jokes than fight the villain!"
Nezu just stared back at the hero, "And what if that's Spider-Man's way of calming himself through a fight?"
"Oh, stop it!" Aizawa hissed, "Don't give me that bull! He's another one that spits on heroics, thinking its some kind of game just like the rest of my class!"
"Aizawa..." Nezu slowly said, making the teacher's anger disappear again. "You know I have great respect for you Aizawa, but what you just did is grounds for me to fire you."
"I know." Aizawa cooly replied, "But you won't. Especially not this far into the semester."
"I know. That being said," Nezu leaned up to Aizawa's face, "What is your problem? Is it the class or this case?"
Aizawa let out a low guttural growl before replying, "Its the class. I'm missing a key component."
Naomasa blinked at Aizawa at that, a bit of shock appearing on his face as he saw Aizawa not only calm down, but looked like he was asking for help. However, the shock increased when he didn't see a smug smile on Nezu's face, instead just staring at Aizawa with a blank expression, as if instead the two were having a silent conversation.
"No leader?" Nezu asked after a few seconds of silence.
Aizawa shook his head, "No. I have one that could...potentially become that." He let out a long sigh, "I need a pusher."
"Ah." Nezu snapped his paws, "I suspect expulsion scares don't help with that, does it?"
"You know what I mean." Aizawa growled, Nezu chuckling in response.
"I understand." Nezu replied as he put a paw to his chin, "So, you have no student to motivate them? You usually hate those students, as though they can inspire others, they're also the...how you say, 'All Might' loving students?" Aizawa responded with an even louder guttural growl, making Nezu chuckle again, "I see. If that's the case, why don't we introduce your class to someone that can be a...pusher, as you say?"
"What do you mean?"
Nezu shined a small grin, "Simple. What if we have the third years give them a test? Show just how far your class needs to go. In fact, you can use the Top Four."
Aizawa blinked at him, only to glance down and put his hand to his chin in thought. The memory of those students he had two years ago swam through his head, remembering a certain student that was...too optimistic. He bit his lip at this before glancing back up at Nezu and grumbled out a: "Yeah, that could work."
"So you agree?" Nezu asked while putting his paws behind his back.
"Fine. I agree if I can use the third years."
Nezu clapped his paws at this, "Good." He stopped clapping at this before glaring at Aizawa, "Though if I give them to you, I'll also be giving you an ultimatum." He pointed at the teacher, "You will accept Spider-Man into your class and keep your students until the final, where we'll then decide what to do with them. If you don't, you're done here. Permanently."
The two began their staring match again, the human growling at the stoat as the principal kept a calm demeanor. And as a full minute passed, Aizawa let out a long groan before putting his hands to the bridge of his nose, rubbing it as he said, "Ugh...I can't believe this is happening to me."
"It is happening to you, and you best get over it." Nezu added as he clicked a button on the remote, turning off the footage behind him. "Now gentlemen, let's go pay Spider-Man a visit, shall we?"
"Uh...sure." Naomasa slowly said.
"I'm glad you're fine with this detective. I didn't want to argue with you as well." Nezu added as he clapped his paws, only to snap one of them, "Ah, that reminds me! We must hurry. The hero commission president is...not happy with recent events."
"I...I figured." Naomasa barely replied, the man still dumbfounded by the argument he had just witnessed.
"Indeed." Nezu hopped off his desk at this, "Now, the hero commission president warned me that if anything else happens with Spider-Man, she will put him in the high-profile villain registry, along with putting a bounty on his head. We can't let that-"
Beep!
The rat spun around at the noise, seeing it was coming from his computer. With a surprising amount of agility, the rat leapt onto the desk and a few clicks of keys on the keyboard later, Naomasa saw something he had never seen before. The stoat was emoting as the computer screened switched to the image of a certain fishbowl-headed villain.
"Greetings! I am Mysterio, the Master of the Arcane Arts, and the greatest illusionist to ever exist!" The villain stretched his arms wide as he added, "As for why you are seeing this, I am televising my greatest accomplishment yet!"
"Oh no." Nezu whispered as the screen switched to show a certain vigilante.
Inko Midoriya stared at her television screen with an expression of fear, Himiko having just told her that something was going on while she was watching the tube.
"Behold, my nemesis, Spider-Man!" An image of Spider-Man appeared, one that had been used several times on television over the incident at the festival and the hero killer. The image then switched to Mysterio, the villain crossing his arms, "I had dedicated myself to successfully robbing every bank in Japan, and I had succeeded in making sure no hero would ever stop me...but he did."
"Oh dear..." Inko gulped, Himiko glancing back at her with a frown.
"This is bad, isn't it?"
"Spider-Man is the only one to have ever foiled one of my plans!" Mysterio added as he uncrossed his arms, "And for that, he will pay dearly."
The hero commission stared at the screen in front of her. She had already yelled at her subordinates, telling them to find out why this broadcast had suddenly taken over multiple channels. After that, she called Tsuragamae, yelling at him for what was happening, Nezu about to be next. However, it was here that she took a moment to catch her breath as she sat in her office. And as she watched the fishbowl-headed man begin to rant, her face tried to form a smile, only to fail.
"Seems Nezu failed to find him. Oh well." She commented as she picked up her phone again, "Now, time for me to save the hero society I've worked so hard to create."
"For you see, I have concocted my greatest performance ever! One that will allow me to reach my ultimate goal!"
"Seriously?! In that outfit?!" Mt. Lady muttered out while chomping on a potato chip. "What a nut."
Kamui Woods and Edgeshot both glared at her, only for Kamui to sigh as he said, "I suppose we should get ready. I suspect they will ask us to find this...Mysterio."
"You're kidding, right?" Mount Lady asked him as she ate another chip, "Look at how that guy is dressed! We're seriously not going after that kind of fashion disaster, are we?!"
"Just get ready if they do call us in." Edgeshot murmured as he spun around before walking away.
"What is my ultimate goal, you ask? Why, it is to become the world's greatest illusionist! To stun this world with works like no other!"
"Find out where this broadcast is coming from now!" Endeavor roared as he ran through his building, his sidekicks all scrambling around him.
"That's not good." Burnin whispered as she watched him stomp past them, the flames on his body flaring.
"Just shut up and help me, Burnin." Kido added as he walked by.
"Yeah yeah..."
"And I shall accomplish this by showing the world my true power!"
Toshinori Yagi stared at the screen before him, his mind slightly mixed at what he was watching. On the one hand, if this happened back in his prime, he would have searched the country to find this villain and instantly shut them down. On the other, his daily time as All Might was up. That meant all he could do was sit and watch.
As such, he slumped down in a chair in his apartment, staring at the television screen before him as he muttered, "Spider-Man...to think I would see a vigilante cause this much of a stir after all I've done." He closed his eyes at this, "I wonder, why are you a vigilante?"
A few minutes ago...
Izuku zipped past building after building, his webswinging faster than it had ever been. He had tried this kind of speed before with webswinging, but nothing like this. The whole city was a blur as he swung over blocks and streets, his eyes glued to the tracker in his hand as he relied on his spider sense to tell him where to swing.
'I gotta keep moving. I need to find Fishbowl-Head and fast!' he thought as he went over another rooftop. But as he did this, his mind went back to what had just happened, 'I don't get it. Why is this guy so angry at me that he would kill Gentle Criminal? I mean, I just foiled his bank robbery. Why go this far? Is he crazy?!'
And as he shot over another building, Izuku glanced up from the tracker, only to see something in the distance. He now saw he was nearing the city outskirts, and in front of him was what looked like a massive abandoned warehouse. It was huge, many feet tall, as it was designed to hold tons of stuff. And on top of that warehouse was one fishbowl wearing man, a bit of smoke swirling around him.
'Found him.' Izuku thought before landing on a nearby rooftop. 'Let's reload my web shooters and take him down.'
One replenish later, Izuku leapt off the roof and fired two weblines, soon slingshotting himself over to the villain. "You're here." Mysterio commented as Izuku landed in front of him.
"Like you wanted." Izuku quickly switched to his crouched position, one of his hands already ready to fire webbing at the man. "Ready to throw down? I'll gladly kick your butt if that's what you want."
"You will not beat me." Mysterio chuckled as more smoke began to form around him. "And you have arrived just in time. My broadcast has already started, and my recorded speech is just about to finish."
"Broadcast?"
"Yes. I am a performer after all!" the villain cackled as he raised out his arms, "Behold, my masterpiece!"
Danger!
"Huh?" Izuku whispered, only to feel the ground below him suddenly disappear. A trapdoor beneath opened, gravity instantly taking hold as he fell. "Whoa!"
But the fall wasn't a long one, as he felt his feet hit something just a second and a half later. But that was enough as Izuku found out as he looked back up at where he had fell, only to see the trapdoor instantly close. 'What in the name of-'
"Greetings, Spider-Man!" exclaimed a new voice. It sounded like Mysterio, but it was ten times louder than the one Izuku had just been hearing. And as the voice shook the vigilante, his eyes went wide at the next sight as Mysterio said, "Today, I shall broadcast this moment to all of Japan as my greatest victory."
Spotlights suddenly shined down on the teen, making him flinch for a second as continued to stare at the sight before him. It was Mysterio, though he now looked like he was at least twenty feet taller. The fishbowl on his head alone looked like it could cover a tiny house, the sight making Izuku begin to backpedal. And then, the villain started to rant.
"As you can see my audience, today is the day I start the next chapter in my road to become the greatest illusionist of all! In order to do this, I will destroy the only one that has ever beaten me!" Mysterio exclaimed as his giant form began to raise its arms, the teen's eyes darting between the two massive hands and the villain's enormous body. The teen then glanced down and saw he was on a platform above an assortment of buildings and structures, only to look back up and saw the two hands from before starting to move toward him.
"The world will now see me accomplish my next greatest feat! One that only I can do!" the villain laughed, the giant's hands now on both sides of the vigilante.
'Uh-oh.' Izuku thought as he saw the hands begin to move again.
"And now, I will crush you like the bug that you are!"