Chapter 49: An Hour of Chaos
A few minutes before Martin Li's death...
A long, tired sigh escaped the individual's breath as they wandered around a maze of alleyways. The last hour or so of their life had been nothing less that pure nonsense in their mind, a cascade of crazed, violent events. 'Where are you?' they thought as they took another turn. 'I know you're here somewhere.'
The individual was a woman in a black cloak, her long blonde hair curled into a ponytail. Her face showed an expression crossed between annoyance and anger, a growl soon leaving her mouth as she took another turn. Her hand reached into her pant pocket that was covered by the black cloak, soon taking out a small bullet and spinning it with her fingers. "This job has been such a pain." she muttered to herself before putting the bullet back into her pocket. "Rose better pay me extra for this."
With that, she turned another corner, only to see nothing. The sight made her hiss, as if it had offended her. Ever since the past hour had started, it had been one thing after another for the woman. 'Where are you little girl?! You better have not gotten away.'
She then put her other hand down on her side, feeling her other pant pocket. The woman felt something inside, the teeny tiny rustle of paper. 'At least I accomplished that.' she thought as she walked down another alleyway, her memories of the past hour now swimming through her head. In particular, the memories of dealing with a certain individual went through her brain as she mentally said, 'And here's hoping I'll never have to see that nutjob gangster ever again.'
One hour ago...
Silence was all that could be heard inside the van Kai Chisaki was currently riding. He had just woken up from an hour long nap, soon staring straight ahead with cold dead eyes. A tinge of gray was under them, showing how little he had slept recently. He turned to Shin, the man currently driving and in a slow, almost dead-like voice, asked, "How much longer?"
"Another hour." Shin replied as he slightly tilted the wheel. "Traffic has been...uncooperative."
"Whatever." Chisaki growled as he turned to stare at the back of the van. There, he saw his subordinate Chronostatis staring at Eri, the heavily bandaged girl curled in a ball in the side of the vehicle. She was shivering like a leaf, the sight making Chisaki want to gag as he saw tears go down her face. "Disgusting." he whispered before his eyes wandered to the equipment all around the two, the sight making him let out a snort before glancing back at the road ahead.
"Problem?"
"No." Chisaki hissed as he stared straight ahead. "Just...looking at the filth back there disgusts me."
Shin didn't respond to that. Instead, his masked face turned back and forth for a second, only to take a slightly sharp turn. Two vans behind them followed this, Chisaki glancing over at the side-mirrors to see the vehicles were still there. He put a hand to his eyes, rubbing them for a second before asking, "Anything else?"
"No. I've confirmed we haven't been followed."
"Good." Chisaki grumbled as he tried to lean back into his chair. "Last thing I need is that purple masked filth trying to come after my operation."
Ten minutes later...
"How are we looking?" Rose asked as the black van he was in took a left turn.
"They're not stopping. Looks like Chameleon is right on the money." his driver replied as his bowler hat slightly tipped as he made the van take another turn.
"I figured she would be." Rose responded as he pulled out his phone, "She hasn't reported anything else, but since we know their path, we should be fine. Just stay slightly out of sight."
"Understood."
Rose leaned back at this, tapping his phone a few times as he saw a certain email appear on his device. And as he opened it, a voice behind him rang out, "That mean we're gonna fry these old school freaks soon? I'm itching for some action!"
"I know Electro." Rose replied as he glanced back at the man with an electricity quirk. "Don't worry, we'll be fighting real soon. In fact..." Rose looked back at his phone and opened the email, a hidden grin appearing under his mask before switching to the text option on his phone. There, he saw a certain message that made him want to shine the biggest smile possible.
Instead, he put the phone back in his pocket and glanced up at the road, his eyes staring at a street sign on a nearby red light. Seeing this, he turned to the driver, "Change of plans. Take a right here."
"But they're turning left."
"I know. But we already know where they're going, and considering what I just got on my phone, we're gonna need to split up." He pointed to the road ahead, "The heroes are gonna try and intercept the yakuza before us. We can't let that happen."
"We taking on heroes now?! That wasn't part of the job!" Electro chimed in.
"I know. That's why I'll be handling that part." Rose responded as he turned to the rest in the van, "Here's what we're going to do..."
Twenty minutes later...
"Are we sure about this?" Rock Lock asked as him and a full group of heroes right behind the man followed the one called Sir Nighteye. They had been going down a maze of alleyways, the small team glancing back and forth for anything. Seeing this, Rock Lock added, "We haven't seen nothing for the past hour."
"That's the point." Sir replied as they continued to walk down an alleyway. He pushed up his glasses as he took another step. "This is where the yakuza are going to hide from now on." The man glared back at Rock Lock, "Keep up, would you?"
Rock Lock growled in response, only for Nighteye's intern Mirio Togata, complete with his hero costume on, to walk up in front of the hero, soon striding up to Sir's side. "Sir, perhaps I should-"
"Not yet Lemillion." Sir interrupted, "I don't want you to look ahead just yet. You'll need all the help you can get when fighting these villains."
Letting out a sigh, Mirio slowly said, "Yes sir."
And as they took another turn, Nighteye flashed his palm at the group. Everyone came to a stop, only for Crust and Ryukyu to flinch. Seeing this as he looked back at the team, Sir slowly asked, "Did you feel that?"
"I did." Ryukyu replied, only to see Mr. Brave also now flinch. Fatgum glanced around instead along with Rock Lock and Lemillion.
"We're not alone." Mr. Brave added as he reached for his hair, ready to make a weapon. The rest went into fighting poses, Nighteye silently gesturing to his intern. Seeing this, Mirio nodded before slipping into a nearby wall, his form soon vanishing.
And as this happened, the group suddenly felt the ground around them rumble. Everyone kept their balance, Rock Lock exclaiming, "What the heck?!"
A second later, a giant wall of green thorn-filled vines appeared in front of the team, the whole group freezing up before glancing back and seeing another wall of vines appear behind them. They were trapped in the alleyway, the group glancing between the newly formed walls.
"No..." Nighteye whispered as he pushed up his glasses again, "Not him."
"Should I fly out of here?" Ryukyu quickly whispered to Nighteye, only for the hero to shake his head.
"Wait one second. If its who I think it is, flying will just make the situation worse." Nighteye quietly replied, only for the wall of vines in front of them to move, making a small opening.
And as the heroes stared at the vines, a certain man walked through them. He was wearing a white suit, a purple mask, and was fiddling with a purple rose in his right hand. The sight made the heroes tense up, all about to attack, only for Sir Nighteye to flash his palm at them again, telling them to stop.
"Rose..." Nighteye slowly said, his tone sounding like he had just tasted poison.
"Sir Nighteye." Rose responded in what could only be considered the most casual tone possible. "It has been quite a while, hasn't it?"
"Not long enough." Sir growled before putting his other hand in his pocket and pulled out a density seal. "What do you want?"
"Simple." Rose replied before snapping his fingers, the purple rose in his hand vanishing. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, flashing the group an email on the small screen, "By order of the HPSC, this operation you are doing is cancelled."
At the same time...
Lemillion phased through the nearby alleyway and popped out inside the building, only to find it completely empty. There was no lights or anything, the sight making him frown as he knew this meant he would be fumbling around in the dark. "Guess I'll find another wall to go through." He walked forward for a second before taking a left, soon finding another wall to phase through.
And as he came out into another alleyway, he saw he was alone. The intern turned to see a now giant wall of vines in the alleyway he was at before, the sight making him blink. "What the heck?! Why is there-"
KA-BOOM!!!
An explosion rang out at this, making him turn to the noise. He glanced back at the vines, only to look back at the noise's direction. 'Sir would want me to go on ahead.' He then ran into the wall ahead, slipping right through with ease. And as he did this, he ran through another building before coming to a stop. Reaching the wall on the other side of the building, he stuck his head out first, trying to see what was ahead, only to gasp.
"AHAHAHA!" laughed a voice, making him glance around. There, he saw an overturned van, which was on fire and some of its parts were missing. He phased through the wall and walked up to the vehicle, glancing it over and seeing nobody was inside. He then heard the laugh again, making him run for the noise, phasing into the next alleyway wall. A few seconds later, he was at the other side of another building before phasing his face through, only to see a new sight.
In front of him was Electro, the villain firing blast after blast at one of the yakuza on the list Sir had shown him back at the presentation. It was Rikiya Katsukame, a towering brute that was currently blasted by a surge of electricity. He let out a scream of pain at this, only for Electro to fire another stream of lighting, zapping the towering man into a nearby van. His form hit the roof, his whole body turning black from the burns as Electro finished his attack.
"Another fried yakuza! Nice!" Electro cackled before blasting a stream of electricity at his feet, boosting him upward and onto a nearby rooftop.
"That's not good." Lemillion commented as he phased out of the wall. He then ran up to the van that now carried Rikiya on its roof, only to see two more yakuza knocked out. They were charred as well, but still recognizable enough for the hero-in-training. The two were Yu Hojo and Soramitsu Tabe, both completely burnt from electric attacks all over their bodies.
"Whoever that was must be insane." Lemillion commented before glancing up at the rooftop he had seen Electro flee to before phasing inside the building, the teen now looking for some stairs. "I need to hurry!"
A few minutes ago...
It had happened in an instant. One moment, Kai Chisaki was in the van, the next second, an explosion rocked the vehicle. This was followed by the whole van falling over to its side, specifically the driver's side as Chisaki saw his most trusted companion knocked out from the sudden blow. Letting out a roar, he kicked the door open and leapt out of the overturned van, hissing as he stumbled to his feet.
"WHO DARES?!" he roared, only to turn and see a bolt of lightning strike the decoy van right behind them. The vehicle flipped over at this, soon slamming into the concrete with a crunch. The sight made Chisaki go wide-eyed before glancing up, now seeing a laughing man that had electricity coming out of him.
"Rose...this has to his fault." Chisaki hissed before turning back to the van he was in, "Shin! I need you up here now!"
"Ugh..." the man inside moaned, only for a hand to appear on the open passenger's door's frame. Shin's masked face appeared next, the glass in one of the lens now cracked. "Coming."
"Give me your gun." Chisaki growled as he glanced back at Electro, "I'll erase that one's quirk first."
"Hang on." Shin moaned as he reached into his pant pocket, soon pulling out a small revolver.
And as he did this, Chisaki turned to the other van, now seeing his minions crawl out of the vehicle. Mimic was stumbling out first while dragging out Deidoro, only for the back doors of the van to suddenly burst open. Rappa and Hekiji came out at this, Rappa letting out a yell of excitement.
"FINALLY!" Rappa cheered, "Let's get a fighting party started!"
"Rappa..." Hekiji sighed and shook his head, "We need to-"
"I'll give you a fight." The duo turned to a sudden voice, only to see a bulky man with a big burly moustache.
"Oh? And who might you be?" Rappa chuckled as cricked his neck before taking a fighting stance.
"Now Rappa, we must-" Hekiji tried to say, only for Rappa to push him back.
"Shaddup! I wanna fight!" Rappa exclaimed before pointing at the burly man, "Well?!"
"I'm Ox of the Enforcers." The man replied before activating his quirk. Within seconds, his arms and face were covering in dark fur along with two big bull horns appearing on the sides of his head. His nose became like an ox's snout, but his moustache remained.
"Nice." Rappa cackled before charging, the two instantly slamming into each other with a series of punches.
The sight made Hekiji sigh and shake his head. "Typical." He then raised his hand, "Once again, I must save you from yourself Rappa . As I've said time and again, we must-ack!"
His words were cut off by a sudden blur of a man, this one much shorter in stature compared to the everyone else. The man quickly delivered a series of blows to Hekiji, instantly knocking him around with ease.
"Blast it! They're all useless!" Chisaki growled as he saw his men getting beaten. "Blasted Rose! How did he know where I was?! How did they know we would go down this path?!
"Maybe cuz they paid me to tell them?" replied a voice to Chisaki's side, making him turn back to the overturned van. There, he saw Shin Nemoto pointing his gun at him. Chisaki went wide-eyed at the sight, his whole body freezing for a second.
"Shin? What are you-"
BANG!
A bullet instantly hit Chisaki's chest, making him cry out. The blow knocked him back, the man stumbling as he tried to keep his balance. His back soon hit an alleyway wall, his whole body staggering as fell onto his butt. But despite this blow, he kept his eyes on Shin.
Shin Nemoto. He was one of the most loyal individuals Kai Chisaki had ever met. He had trusted him with some of the most dangerous assignments and Shin always did them with passion and pride. There was no way he would ever betray the yakuza.
And yet that had just happened.
"BOSS!" yelled another voice, both Chisaki and Shin turning to see Mimic charge at them. What was usually a tiny man in a small costume suddenly turned into a hulking figure as the costume was ripped away. But as this happened, Shin just turned to the charging figure and fired another bullet.
Before Mimic could even react, the quirk-erasing material hit his body, causing him to go flying back. And as this happened, Chisaki turned to Shin and charged at him, letting out a screech, "BACKSTABBING SCUM!"
Turning to this, Shin pointed the gun at the man again and fired, only for Chisaki to sidestep. The bullet struck the wall behind him, Chisaki raising a fist and thrusting it into Shin's face. Within seconds the blow struck, knocking the mask off the man's face. And as this happened, Chisaki went wide-eyed again.
For underneath that mask was not the glasses wearing gentleman he knew to be his loyal minion, but instead a blonde woman, complete with a big old smirk on her face. "Surprised?" She laughed as she then swung her arm, smacking Chisaki in the face with the revolver. The blow knocked him back, making him stumble as the woman climbed out of the vehicle.
"What is this?!" Chisaki hissed as he stared the woman, only to see her smirk widen. The sight made a gear turn in his brain, only for him growl out, "Chameleon."
"Yup." She giggled as she fully got out of the turned over vehicle. "And if you're wondering about your buddy Shin...well, let's just say his body is floating in a river somewhere."
"You...you..." Chisaki repeated as his eyes went bloodshot.
And as this happened, the figure that was punching Hekiji landed on top of the overturned van, Chameleon turning to the figure. "Hello Fancy Dan. Where's Rose?"
"He had to handle some heroes." Dan replied, "Where's the girl?"
"GIRL?!" Chisaki screeched, only to be ignored as Chameleon answered Dan's question.
"In the van you're standing on." She replied before frowning at the man, "Wait...why is Rose handling some heroes? Are they coming for us?!"
Dan shook his head, "He said they shouldn't be able to interfere."
The woman let out a sigh of relief, "Good. I really don't want to-"
"Villains!" yelled another voice, all three turning to see a blonde man in what could only be considered a hero costume land in the middle of the alleyway, "I am the hero, Lemillion! Surrender now or face the consequences!"
"Not interfering, huh?!" She remarked as Dan just shrugged in response. "Whatever." She then sighed before turning and pointing her gun at Lemillion, "Hey kid."
"Hmm?" Mirio responded while turning to her, only to see the gun aim straight at his face.
"Stay still, would ya?" She said before firing, the bullet instantly hitting the intern's face...only for it to go right through his head. The sight made both her and Dan go wide-eyed, only for her to fire two more times. After this, her revolver began making clicking noises, signifying it was empty. "What the heck?!"
"Sorry. Bullets don't affect me!" Mirio proclaimed before charging at the two, "But since you want to kill me-PHANTOM MENACE!"
With blinding speed, the teen hero zipped up and began to punch both straight in the face. But as he got close, Dan ducked under the punch while the fist successfully smacked Chameleon in the face. She let out a yelp as the blow knocked her off her feet. And as Lemillion came to a stop, he spun around to see Fancy Dan leap at him with a kick to the face, only for the villain to go right through the young hero.
"What the-" Dan yelped before acrobatically landing, "How did I-"
"I can't be hurt that way." Lemillion responded before leaping at Dan, thrusting another punch, only for Dan to nimbly duck under the blow. And as this happened, Chisaki growled at the sight before turning to the overturned van again. This time, he saw that the back doors were already open, something he hadn't noticed before, only for a hand to appear and grip the frame. A second later, one of his minions stood up.
"Chronostatis! How's Eri?!" Chisaki yelled as he saw the man get himself stable.
"She's gone!" the man yelled back, making everyone turn to the yakuza member.
"WHAT?!" Chisaki screeched again, both groups all exchanging glances for a second. However, the first to react was Lemillion, who quickly cut into a sprint into a nearby wall, vanishing from sight. The rest continue to process the information as Chronostatis began to speak up again.
"I'm sorry! She must have snuck away while I was knocked-urk!" he grunted, his eyes going wide at the sudden pain in his chest. A second later, he glanced down and saw that a katana coated in black and white energy was now piercing through his body, the sword having struck his stomach. Blood instantly came out of his mouth, only for the blade to be removed in one swift motion before the man kissed the ground.
The sight made Chisaki go wide-eyed, only for him to yell, "Someone get all this trash away from me now!"
"On it boss-hic!" Deidoro laughed as he took another swig. His quirk flowed out at Dan, the man now tripping slightly as he felt himself start to stumble.
The sight made the man laugh, only for Dan to yell, "Montana!"
"Huh?" Deidoro sputtered out, only for a lasso to suddenly appear over his head and snag his waist. "Hey!" He yelped as he was suddenly yanked away, causing him to drop his bottle of booze. The glass shattered at this, making him cry out, "No!"
"You're not interferin' for a second more, yah stinkin' drunk!" Montana yelled as he pulled on the lasso with one hand. Deidoro glanced back at this, only to see that a man wearing a stetson was the one with the rope. He then stared at the rope, now seeing that the rope was actually the man's right hand, Deidoro now assuming that Montana's quirk allowed him to turn his hand into a literal lasso.
"Hey! That ain't fair! I need to drink for my quirk!" Deidoro yelped, only for Montana to respond by kicking him in the head. "OW!"
And as this happened, Chisaki pulled out a knife from his back pocket and swung it at Dan, the acrobatic villain hopping back at this. Seeing this, Chisaki began to cut into a sprint, Dan chasing after him before Chisaki spun around and threw the knife right at the villain's face. However, Dan quickly motioned his hands to catch the weapon, grasping the blade just inches away from his face. Letting out a small breath, he then threw the blade to the side, only to see Chisaki was gone. Growling at the sight, he spun around, only to see Montana and Ox were fighting Rappa while Mister Negative finished Chornostatis and Electro landed in the alleyway.
"You two!" Dan yelled as he pointed at Electro and Mister Negative. "The girl has escaped! Find her!" He then spun around again, only to see Chameleon was already gone. The sight made him growl before letting out a long sigh, "What a mess."
With that, he ran up to where his teammates were still fighting. And as this happened, Chameleon's head popped out from a nearby alleyway. A big smile shined on her face as she as she strided down a different alleyway than Electro and Mister Negative had gone down, "Now little girl...where are you?"
The Present...
"Huh." She remarked as she stared down at the now bleeding dead body of Martin Li. The man was face first into the concrete below her feet, unresponsive as she stared at the man. "You really did waste my time." She let out a long sigh before pulling out another bullet out from her pocket, "Let's try this again-"
"MISTER LI!" screamed as a sudden voice, making her glance back at the alleyway, only to see the vigilante known as Spider-Man now standing. His exposed eye was fully wide, shock showing on his face. The sight made the woman let out a snort, only for the Izuku to turn to her before yelling, "YOU!"
"Yeah?" She barely got out before-
Thwip!
A single strand of webbing hit her gun before the weapon was yanked away. She gasped at the sudden removal of her firearm, only to feel the teen charge into her, slamming her into a nearby wall. Grunting at the blow, she glanced down and saw tears now appearing in the teen's exposed eye.
"Why?!" He growled as he gripped her collar, his crying eye now sharping into a glare as he repeated in a louder tone, "WHY?!"
The sight made her want to laugh. He was asking her why she killed Martin Li. He was a useless man that wasted her time! That alone made her want to cackle as what was obviously a teenager gripping her look like he cared about some random villain. Instead, she just smiled at him and said, "Why should I tell you anything?"
And as those words left her mouth while staring into those eyes, those innocent eyes the boy now holding her up had, a nasty thought entered her head. She activated her quirk on the spot, her face now morphing and changing. Her ponytail instantly shrank and went back up to her head before morphing and changing into a cowlick-like haircut. The woman's eyes shifted into what looked like old-timey cartoony eyes that were colored, her face now morphing into a simpler face. It was the face of Lemillion, the so-called hero she had just met that had almost ruined everything.
The sight made the vigilante tense up, making her see an opportunity and kick him away. Stumbling back for a second, the teen soon recovered as she finished her transformation as he asked, "What the...who are you?!"
"Call me," The woman now said in a male voice to complete her transformation before reaching into her jacket and pulling out a gun, "The Chameleon."
"A shapeshifting quirk." Izuku gasped, only to see the villain point the gun at him.
"That's right. So, any last words before I kill you too?" Chameleon chuckled before pointing their other hand at Eri, "Maybe a few for freak girl over there before I-"
THWACK!
"Ack!" the villain yelped as Izuku suddenly thrust his leg upward, his foot hitting the gun and knocking it flying out of the shapeshifter's hand. Chameleon began to stumble back next, only to see electricity surge around the teen's arms.
"You're gonna pay for what you've done tonight." Izuku hissed as the lightning crackled around him.
The villain stared at the teen for a second before their eyes turned to Eri, the girl still shaking behind the dumpster from before. Another sigh escaping their mouth after this, the villain said, "I don't get paid enough for this." And as those words entered Izuku's ears, Chameleon reached into the back of the cloak they were wearing and pulled out another item, "I'll kill you later."
Hearing this, Izuku thrust a punch at the shapeshifter, only for the villain to take one more step back before throwing down a flash grenade. A burst of light came next, causing Izuku to let out a yelp, flinching and closing his eyes. And as this happened, the sound of footsteps rang out as he kept his eyes closed. He pointed his wrists ahead and began firing a volley of webbing, the villain backpedaling at the sudden burst of sticky liquid. Barely dodging a stream of webbing at this, the shapeshifter growled before spinning and cutting into a sprint.
"Figures this would happen to me." She whispered to herself as she took a left and bolted down another alleyway. Her face switched back to normal, her hair shifting from the cowlick to a long ponytail. And as she took another turn, she removed the black cloak, removing just a basic outfit under the covering. "I better get paid extra for this."
When Izuku's ears heard the sound of his webshooters running out of fluid, he tried to open his eyes, only to see they were still blurry. Closing his eyes again, he took a deep breath, waiting for his spider sense to ring out...only to feel nothing. There was no danger.
He released his fingers off the webshooters and began to rub his eyes, rapidly blinking as a minute passed before he could start to see again. The teen shook his head next, his eyes blinking a few more times before his vision fully returned. And as it did, he saw he was staring at an alleyway filled with webbing and nothing else. No villains or anything. Seeing this, he glanced back and saw Eri was still hiding behind the dumpster...and Martin Li was still laying down on the ground.
A slowly growing puddle of blood was forming around the man, showing it was still pouring out of his torn apart heart. The sight made him go wide-eyed again, his memory of seeing the man getting shot now appearing through his head as the moon's light shined down on the alleyway.
And as the adrenaline from attacking Chameleon left the teen, tears instantly began to appear in his eyes as he stared at the now deceased man. He fell to his knees, Eri watching the teen as she saw him cry, the vigilante pulling off his mask as tears began to fall off his face.
"Mister Li..." Izuku whimpered as he slowly put his hand on the man and tried to flip him over. A second later, Martin Li's back was on the concrete as Izuku looked him over, life having completely vanished from the man. The blood from the gunshot was slowing down in flowing, but there was still a trickle as Izuku stared at Li's face. It was a look of desperation, as if he was trying to fight his evil instincts as he had taken that bullet for Eri.
Memories instantly flowed in Izuku's head at this, remembering his first time meeting Martin Li. The teen was trying to figure out what charity meant in terms of heroics, only to meet a man who did it in spades. Li had shown Izuku how even not being a hero could still let someone help others, something that seemed almost foreign to the hero-loving teen.
And then his words of encouragement went through the teen's mind.
"If you want to be a hero Izuku, then go be a hero."
"You're a good kid with a good heart, Izuku. Don't ever lose that."
Izuku put his hand on the man's chest, tears flowing even more now. His nose began to sniff, the teen letting out a series of whimpers as he whispered, "Mister Li...I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."
And as he said these words, Eri continued to stare at the vigilante before slowly walking out from behind the dumpster. Her lips were trembling as words began to form in her mouth, the girl soon just a few steps away as she asked, "Um...why are you crying?"
Hearing this, Izuku sniffed before glancing up at her, "Cuz...cuz I'm sad." He slowly said to her.
"Why are you sad?" Eri looked down at Li, "Wasn't he trying to hurt you?"
"He was." Izuku instantly admitted, only to sniff again, "But...I was trying to save him, and I failed."
"Save him?" The girl tilted her head at this.
"Yeah." Izuku responded as he glanced up at her again. He saw the confusion on her face, his brain now telling him that the girl didn't know Mister Li except for when he attacked them just now. His mind trying to register this fact, he looked back down at Li's body and slowly began to explain, "You see... I knew Mister Li before this and he was a good person. He made a place called FEAST, which helps people in need."
"He...did?"
Izuku nodded back, "Yes. And...and he always encouraged me when I would meet him there. He was always nice and kind, and always trying to help me." Izuku felt more tears go down his face, "But then...but then I found out he was a villain. He was a good man, but he was doing...bad things."
Eri tilted her head again, "Why? Why was he doing bad things?"
"I...don't know." Izuku shrugged. "I think its part of his quirk, but I don't really know why."
"Quirk? What's that?"
Izuku's hard darted up to her, only for his brain to tell him once again how young she looked. Blinking for a second, he thought up a response, "His uh...his power." Eri still showed him a look of confusion, Izuku adding, "That black and white energy thing he was doing earlier when I was fighting him."
"Oh. Do you mean a curse?"
Izuku blinked at her again, only to say, "A...curse?" He shook his head, "No, a quirk isn't a curse. Is that what you think your quirk is?"
Eri didn't respond to that. Instead, she slightly flinched before glancing away, making Izuku frown. 'Has someone told her that her quirk is bad?' he mentally said before another thought went through his mind, 'Right. There's still villains after her. I still never met that guy that was yelling her name earlier.'
He glanced down at Li, his frown growing. 'But that means I'll have to leave Mister Li here. What do I do?' He looked up at Eri before back down at Li again, 'He would want me to save Eri. Guess I'll...call the police to pick up his body.'
Taking a deep breath, Izuku stared at Li one last time, this time at the man's face. His eyes were still open, Izuku slowly putting his hand over them and closing the pupils. He then put his hands together in a praying motion, closing his eyes next while whispering, "I'm sorry Mister Li. Please forgive me for not being able to save you."
He opened his eyes again at this, now seeing Eri as she continued to show him a big frown. The sight made his heart clench, but he knew he couldn't solve that right now. She was still in danger, which meant he had to get her out of here. Putting his mask back on, the teen stood up and presented the girl his hand.
Eri stared at the hand before looking up at the teen, seeing a soft expression in the teen's exposed eye. "Come on. Let's get you out of here before another villain comes to get you."
The little girl flinched at the statement, slowly squeaking out, "Y-y-you think someone else is coming?"
Izuku nodded back, "I don't know, but I want to get you to safety." He crouched down and continued to present his hand, "Please, let me help you."
And as he said that, the girl stared at his hand before slowly taking it.
Meanwhile...
Chisaki's worse reality had been realized. The yakuza he had created were finished.
Chronostatis was knocked out beside the overturned van, blood leaking out of his stomach. Deidoro was spayed out on the concrete, the man completely unconscious and holding onto broken bottle. Rikiya was charred and laying on top of one of the decoy vans, his body burnt from constant blasts of electricity. Mimic, who had temporarily lost his quirk just like Chisaki, was laid out as well. Yu and Soramitsu laid beside Rikiya, both bodies also charred from electricity. Finally, Hekiji was laying face first into the concrete while Rappa continued to exchanging blows with Ox, only for Montana to throw a rope around the man's neck and pulled, Rappa wildly swinging his arms around as Ox kept hitting him.
The sight disgusted him. Once again, the world had ruined his plans. This quirk filled garbage world was still going despite him trying everything he could to get rid of those horrible, evil quirks.
And that meant only one thing. He had to find the solution. The filthy little girl that could solve everything.
"Eri..." Chisaki sputtered out as he dragged himself down an alleyway, tapping a wall as he tried to activate his quirk to no avail. "Filthy. Filthy, worthless quirk. I have...I have..." He began to stumble again before placing his hand back on the wall, "I must cleanse this world! I...I must find Eri!"
The sound of a web cartridge going into a webshooter rang out in the dark alleyway as he fiddled with his wrists. Seeing it was snug, he turned to the girl he had been trying to help all night before lifting her up with one arm. She let out a gasp at this, only for Izuku to pull her close to his chest and walk over to a nearby wall. "Just hang on Eri. Once we're up here, I can get you to safety." Izuku whispered as he slowly crawled up the wall, the teen feeling Eri clutch her tiny arms around his waist.
"Okay..." she muttered, her voice barely even a whisper as she increased her grip.
And as they go to the roof, Izuku decided to just keep holding onto Eri this time. He had a feeling she didn't want to let go, and he totally understood that. The teen's eyes darted around, not seeing anything under the moon's light. 'Looks like we're clear.' He turned to the rooftop an alleyway over, remembering what had happened there earlier...only to barely see under the moon's light a pile of scorched webs. 'Or not. Looks like Sparky woke up and escaped.'
He darted his head around at this, his eyes narrowing as he glanced down at the rooftop he was on, only to see nothing. The sight made him bite his lip, 'No scorch marks up here.' He turned back to the other roof, 'Did he run away?'
"Um...is everything okay?" Eri chimed in, making Izuku glance down at her.
"Everything's cool. I was just..." His eyes glanced around again, "Trying to be careful." His vision went back to the little girl as he added, "Sorry for the wait. Let's get you out of here and-"
Danger!
"Huh?!" Izuku muttered out, only to blink. And within that split second, he listened to his spider sense, causing him to spin his body while slightly tilting to the side. But as he did this, his eyes opened to see a dark red fist coming straight for his face. Spider sense still screaming at him, he continued to lean back before thrusting his free hand where the fist was coming from.
However, as he charged his hand at the sudden attacker, his hand went through the dark red fist like it wasn't there. The sight made Izuku stumble back, barely dodging the attack. And as he did this, Izuku went wide-eyed as he saw the fist's owner. It was a man in a white and blue costume with golden numbers 1000000 on the chest, complete with a flowing dark red cape and dark red gloves. He was wearing a golden-like visor and had a certain golden slicked cowlick haircut along with beady simple looking eyes.
The sight made Izuku let out the biggest growl, his one revealed eye narrowing as he hissed, "Chameleon."
The man came to a stop at that, slight surprise on his face due to Izuku dodging his attack, "Oh?" He asked with a slight frown, "You've heard of me, have you? Good!" The man pointed his finger at the vigilante next, "You will not escape vigilante! Unhand that child this instant so I, Lemillion, can arrest you!"
As those words entered Izuku's head, he felt his teeth begin to grind. "You...you scum!" He yelled, making Lemillion slightly flinch as the vigilante began to hold onto Eri even tighter, "You have the nerve to imitate a hero after what you've done tonight?!"
"What I've done?" Lemillion replied while tilting his head before pointing at Izuku again, "Listen, I'm just here to save that girl from the yakuza. All I've done tonight is fight villains and-"
"You're the villain!" Izuku interrupted as he pointed his wrist at Lemillion, webbing instantly coming out. But as the webbing was about to hit the man's chest...it went right through him instead. "What the-"
"Sorry. I can't be hurt." Lemillion chuckled as he shined a big grin, "Now, surrender before I-"
"Shut up!" Izuku fired another volley of webbing at Lemillion, all of it going right through his body.
Seeing this, Lemillion shook his head, "Seems I'll have to do this the hard way." And with that statement, he charged at Izuku with a quick jab to the teen's head. Spider sense ringing out, the teen sidestepped the blow, only for Lemillion to switch directions and try to uppercut the teen. Izuku's reflexes kicked in at this, raising his free arm to stop the attack, only for Lemillion's fist to go right through the arm.
But as it did this, Izuku's spider sense continued to scream at him, the teen's body trying to backpedal to avoid the attack. And as his spider sense tried to prioritize the vigilante's safety, the fist that had went through Izuku became solid to hit the teen straight in the chin. "Oof!" he spat out as the blow knocked the vigilante off his feet, making him fall back while he lost his grip on Eri.
"AAH!" the little girl yelped as she hit the roof, rolling for a second before coming to a stop. The sound of her screaming made Izuku go wide-eyed as he felt his back smack the roof, the teen quickly scrambling to get up.
"Oh shoot!" Lemillion flinched as he saw what he had just done before beginning to run up to the girl, "Sorry about that! Are you-"
"Don't you dare touch her!" Izuku roared as he was instantly back on his feet and charged at Lemillion, "I won't let you kill her, you murderer!"
"Murderer?!" Lemillion barely said as he heard those words, only to see the vigilante about to punch him in his face. Activating his quirk, the fist went through his body, dodging the blow. And as this happened, Eri rubbed the side of her head before trying to stand back up just as Lemillion thrust another fist back at Izuku. The girl glanced up to see Izuku dodge the attack while backpedaling. He then hopped back, the teen standing right in front of her as Lemillion charged at Izuku.
And as Lemillion thrust another punch at Izuku, the teen's spider sense rang out, reflexes kicking in as he ducked under the punch before swinging one of his own. The fist didn't land again, this one going through Lemillion's chest before the Lemillion tried to counter with his own.
"I've got you now!" he roared as his punch went straight for Izuku's chest, only for the vigilante's spider sense to chime in again. Flexing his body, Izuku twisted himself just slightly, barely dodging the blow...
POW!
Only for the punch to smack Eri in the face. The little girl didn't even let out a squeak as the blow hit her. Instead, both went wide-eyed as they saw what happened, Lemillion gasping as he said, "No! I didn't mean to-"
POW!
A smashing upper cut slammed into Lemillion's jaw, knocking him halfway across the rooftop a split-second later. And as the man began to roll on the concrete floor, Izuku leaned down and stared at Eri. The girl was out cold, the blow having instantly given her what Izuku surmised was probably a concussion. He also saw a big bruise now trying to appear on her face under the moon's light. The sight made him see red. Electricity began to spark on his body, soon consuming his arms as he stared at Eri.
"Eri..." He glanced back to see Lemillion starting to stand up. Seeing this, he looked back at the now knocked out girl, "I'm sorry Eri. I gotta fight one more villain before I can save you."
With that, he stood up as electricity crackled around his arms. The sight made him look like a tiny beacon in that moonlit night as Lemillion stood up as well. And with a determined glare that even Lemillion could see thanks to the vigilante's one exposed eye, he saw Izuku take a fighting stance.
"Guess I got no choice. Sir did warn me about you." Lemillion muttered to himself before taking a similar stance.
Izuku took one long breath at this, remembering all that had happened. The day had been one fight after another. Zapped, exploded, almost cut down by a blade, and even fighting inside a person's mind. It was so much, and it wasn't over. For as that breath left his mouth, the two charged at each other.
Chapter 50: The Man Who Would Save a Million Lives
A few hours ago...
Mirio Togata continued to walk down a hallway behind his mentor as the expression on Sir Nighteye's face hardened. They had just got done discussing on how Nighteye had to make an improvised plan, something the man hated to do. However, it was necessary due to the circumstances. But as they continued to walk, Mirio pulled out a folder and stared at a certain paper inside this.
"Sir?"
Nighteye came to a stop and glanced back at his intern, "Yes?"
"One more question." Mirio replied as he continued to stare at the folder, "This...Spider-Man. You said in the meeting that the hero commission put a bounty on him now."
"That's correct. Why do you ask?"
Mirio looked back up at his mentor, "Why did they do that?"
Nighteye responded by pushing up his glasses, "What do you mean?"
"Well..." Mirio's eyes went back down at the papers, this one showing a picture of the vigilante, "I mean, everything on him says he's a teen and he's done nothing but good. Why do the hero commission think he's that big a threat?"
Mirai sucked in a long breath at this before saying, "Vigilantes are...special cases." He took off his glasses at this and seemingly created a cloth to wipe the frames, "The hero commission believe that if a vigilante is allowed to go free for too long, two things will happen. One, they will upset the hero system that now exists in our society. The vigilante will literally influence others that it is okay to use their quirks in public. That alone will disrupt all manners of heroics."
"I get that Sir." Mirio replied while closing the folder, "I just don't get why a kid would have that kind of bounty? Wouldn't it be better to just try and make some sort of plan to recruit him?"
Nighteye put his glasses back on and shook his head, "While there is logic to that, the vigilante known as Spider-Man is breaking the law. Even if you think the commission is overreacting, the facts are still the facts. Those who commit crimes while using their quirks are villains, even if it is just the crime of vigilantism. Besides, there is also the second reason."
"What's that Sir?"
"The second is..." Mirai took another deep breath, "The second is that if a vigilante is allowed to go free, death will follow."
"Death?" Mirio tilted his head at the word. "You...you think he'll kill someone?"
"Not necessarily," Nighteye responded, "But chances are high that he will eventually either become a killer...or his actions will lead to an unnecessary death. One that could have been prevented if he had just gone down the hero path instead." The hero then walked up to his intern and grabbed his shoulder, Mirio flinching at the gesture. The hero in training had a conflicted look on his face, one that Nighteye did not want to see. As such, he continued to speak, "Listen Mirio. You have a good heart, and a wonderful way of looking at the world. It is something this world constantly needs."
"I know Sir."
"I know you do. That is why we must set the better example." He then took the folder from Mirio's hands and flipped to the page on Spider-Man, "This vigilante is a wild card, one that is using his powers for good, but also using his quirk in the wrong way. He is misguided, and those who are misguided have the potential to be very dangerous. That's why the commission has issued a bounty and villain ranking on him." Nighteye handed the folder back to his intern, "That is why...if you do encounter him tonight, do not hesitate to bring him in. I will admit, his current record in terms of the villains he has faced is impressive, but he must be stopped at some point, even if that point is today. Do you understand?"
Hearing this, Mirio responded with a swift nod, "I understand. I won't let you down."
The Present...
Time seemed to stop as the vigilante known as Spider-Man and the hero in training Lemillion charged at each other. Both were soon mere inches away from each other as lightning poured out of Izuku's arms, only for the vigilante to swing a hard right at the intern. In response, Mirio activated his quirk, allowing the punch to go right through his head just as he swung his own right fist at Izuku. But as the punch came for the vigilante, Izuku just tilted his head, barely dodging the blow before his whole body went through Mirio.
'What the heck?!' Izuku mentally yelped as he came to a stop before spinning around, only for his spider sense to ring out. He went wide-eyed as he saw that Lemillion had already spun around and thrusted another punch, the teen ducking under this one before seeing the intern swing his other fist into Izuku's stomach. Seeing this, Izuku closed his eyes, allowing his spider sense to take over as he reflexively spun just as the fist hit his chest. And with a quick fluid motion, the fist only skidded across Izuku's costume as Izuku continued to turn his body, making Mirio go wide-eyed this time before just phasing through Izuku entirely.
Lemillion paced a few steps at this before turning around, only to see Izuku had also spun around as well. Electricity cackled around the teen, Izuku's exposed eye glaring at the intern. "So your quirk can do that too, huh?!" Izuku growled, "Guess it doesn't help with murder that much, does it?!"
"Murder?!" Lemillion yelped, "I haven't killed-"
"Shut up!" Izuku interrupted before pointing an electrified finger at the intern, "You'll pay for what you did to Mister Li and Eri!"
"Mister Li?" Lemillion muttered out, only for Izuku to charge at him with two electricized fists again. Taking a deep breath, Mirio's lower half of his body instantly shrunk down into the floor, easily dodging the next two punches from the vigilante.
"What?!" Izuku yelled as his opponent's body fully vanished from sight. He began to dart his head around, "Where did you-"
Danger!
Feeling his spider sense yell at him, Izuku's brain instantly surmised that Lemillion was now behind him. He quickly ducked down at this, only to feel the breeze of a punch touch the back of his neck. Izuku then spun around with a Venom Punch, only for it to go right through Mirio's stomach, Izuku's spider sense ringing again at the same time.
POW!
A left fist smack Izuku's face, knocking him back before his spider sense rang out again. Another fist came for the vigilante's face as Izuku closed his eyes, the teen blindly sidestepping the punch in a split second. This was followed by two more jabs from Lemillion, Izuku backpedaling from both as he kept his eyes closed.
And as this happened, the moon that shined over both began to hide behind a cloud, covering the duo in darkness. Mirio saw that his opponent was slowly vanishing from his eyes thanks to the night's darkness, only for the electricity around the teen's fists to fizzle out as well. A few seconds later, Mirio couldn't see a thing.
'Shoot!' Mirio thought as he quickly shuffled back, his eyes staring straight ahead. 'I thought for sure I had him after I got that first hit in. How did he-' The intern's thoughts came to a stop as he heard the sound of footsteps ring out on that rooftop. And as they made noise, the cloud covering the moon began to move. Light began to shine back down on the rooftop...only to reveal nothing.
Spider-Man was gone.
'Huh?' was all Mirio could think before glancing over at the certain girl on that rooftop. She was still knocked out cold, the sight making him grimace before-
POW!
A fist slammed into Mirio's face, clocking his jaw. The blow made him spin around, his feet scrambling to keep him standing. This was followed by Mirio instantly activating his quirk, only to feel something go right through him. He couldn't see it, only for Spider-Man to just suddenly appear in front of him. Izuku followed this by another punch to Mirio's face, only for it go right through the intern as well.
Mirio saw the vigilante hesitate at this, trying to backpedal as he fully recovered from the earlier blow. Lemillion thrust a punch for Izuku's head, only for the teen to duck under it. This was followed by a two-punch combo that Nighteye had taught him, one being a solar plexus punch before a jab at the opponent's chin. However, Izuku shifted his body at the stomach punch before tilting his head, Mirio's fist nicking the teen's chin. This was followed by a counter punch to Mirio's face, Lemillion activating his quirk to dodge the blow.
And as this happened, Izuku then hopped back, dodging another punch from Lemillion. This caused the duo to be on the other side of the rooftop from the knocked out Eri, both glaring at each other as the fight continued.
Meanwhile, just a few minutes ago...
Sir Nighteye could feel his eyes twitching as he stared at the man before him. The Rose. A low ranked, underground hero that worked for the hero commission. He appeared a few years ago and quickly became infamous in the criminal underworld, a supposed 'organizer of crime' that the commission hired to keep tabs on villain gangs.
What a joke. Nighteye knew that was a total lie, as it was suspected by multiple investigative heroes, Nighteye included, that the man was involved with all sorts of crimes, villains and just about everything else. The man was infamous for his ability to seemingly appear in certain cases, quickly have the hero commission come in and push the heroes away, erase the evidence, and then vanish like the wind. And no matter how many cases were made against the man, no matter how much evidence or proof, the hero commission always made sure the Rose would get out scot free.
And now the Rose was here, interfering with yet another hero case.
"What are you doing here Rose?" Nighteye hissed.
"I just told you." Rose replied while pointing to his phone, "By order of the HPSC, this operation you are doing is cancelled."
The heroes behind Nighteye all shared glances, Rock Lock speaking up, "Who the heck is this guy?!"
Nighteye opened his mouth to respond, only for the purple masked man to do a slight bow, "Hello Rock Lock. I am the Rose, hired underground hero for the HPSC."
"And what is a commission agent doing here?" Ryukyu chimed in while crossing her arms. "And what's with the wall of vines?"
"For your second question, the vines are my quirk." Rose replied while snapping his free hand, causing a small rose to appear in it. Snapping them again, the flower disappeared before he added, "As for why I am here, I was ordered from the higher ups to stop your operation effective immediately."
"You mean you need your thugs to finish their crimes and then you get away scot free." Nighteye growled, Fat Gum, Mr. Brave and Rock Lock all turning to the hero.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Rose responded with a slight chuckle. "I am merely a humble agent for-"
"Shut it." Nighteye interrupted, "We both know why you're here." He then pointed at the purple masked man, "I suggest you take down that vine wall right now or-"
"Or you and your comrades will lose their hero licenses." Rose replied as he pointed at the phone again, "That is why I am here." All the heroes behind Nighteye went wide-eyed at this, only for Rose to add, "And that is why you will not move an inch until I say so."
And as he said this, Nighteye glanced over at Ryukyu, an intense glare coming out of his eyes. The heroine saw this, only to give a slight nod. She silently nudged Fat Gum right beside her, the large hero looking down at her as Nighteye stared back at Rose. "I suppose you think you've got us, don't you?" Mirai asked, unable to see the now narrowing eyes of the Rose.
"Considering what I just said, yes." Rose responded with a slight snark, "You will not-"
"A child's life hangs in the balance Rose. A child that needs to be rescued by a hero." Sir interrupted before reaching into his pocket and pulled out a hyper-density seal. "Even if our licenses are on the line, we will save that child." The hero then flexed his wrist, showing he was about to throw the tiny weapon. "What will you do if we don't cooperate?"
Rose stood there while still presenting his phone, only to let out a long sigh. "Figures with an All Might fanboy like you would do this, thinking you can just break all the rules with no consequences." Rose spun the phone around and shut off the screen, the vines behind him now rustling. He began to snap his fingers, only for his phone to start vibrating. Feeling this, he glanced back at its screen and saw a text had just come in. His eyes instantly skimming it over, he smiled under his mask before saying, "Then again, perhaps luck is on your side heroes. Seems my work here is done."
Snapping his fingers next, the vine wall behind him instantly shrunk down into the ground. The sight made all the heroes tense up, only for Rose to give them a small bow, "And with that, I bid thee adieu."
"No!" Nighteye yelled as he threw the seal at the man, but with a small snap of his fingers, a wall of vines appeared before Rose, instantly blocking the tiny weapon. And as it bounced off, Sir let out a small growl before walking over and picking up the seal. He then glared back at his comrades, "Ryukyu, fly us out of here. We need to find the yakuza now."
"Understood!" she exclaimed, only for the vine wall behind them to suddenly go into the ground as well. Seeing this, she ran out to the exit of the alleyway and transformed, the group hopping on a second later.
"Hope we're not too late." Crust added as he got on the dragon last.
"Here's hoping." Rock Lock finished as he helped the hero onto the transformed hero.
Meanwhile...
"Eri..."
That was the word Kai Chisaki kept repeating as he tried to climb a building. He had checked alleyway after alleyway for the girl, only to find nothing but a dead body. A man in a white suit that he didn't recognize. Another diseased ridden being he failed to save from this quirk infested world.
"Eri. Must...find...Eri." He moaned as he continued to climb some stairs on the side of a building, his legs now weak from everything that had happened today. And as he went up another flight, he found himself on the rooftop of the building. Seeing this, he glanced around, only for the moon to shine down on a rooftop just a few over from him.
One with a certain knocked out girl on it.
Izuku stared at his opponent, his breath slightly hitching as he felt the adrenaline in his body struggling to keep going. It was basically all that was keeping him going at this point. After all, he had already been zapped, blown up and now smacked around by this final enemy, all to save one little girl. And yet, despite his injures, despite his body wanting to go out, he could still think clearly as he stared ahead at the plain-faced blonde hero in training in front of him.
'I don't get it.'
That was what Izuku was thinking as he stared at Mirio. He knew the fact wasn't completely true, as he had hit his opponent twice now. And that was also on his mind as his next thoughts came through. 'Why can't I hit him? No matter what I do, I can't seem to touch him most of the time. And it's not some kind of phasing quirk or I wouldn't be able to hit him at all...is it permutation? Could that really be part of his shapeshifting quirk? If that's the case, can he willfully alter his body that much?' Izuku closed his eyes at this, 'Think Izuku, think! If he really can change his body this much, there must be some kind of flaw.'
A click goes off in Izuku's brain, causing him to open his eyes, 'Or a limit. That must be it. That's why he hasn't shapeshifted again. He can only do so much with that body of his.' Izuku takes a long deep breath as lightning continues to spark around his arms, 'What a magnificent quirk...and yet it's being used for evil. Evil that killed Mister Li.'
That thought made electricity appear all over the vigilante's arms, the sound of electricity crackling as sparks began popping around the teen. The sight made Mirio tense up, the intern staring the vigilante over.
'I don't get it.'
Those were the words going through Mirio's head as he slightly moved his legs, trying to tense up into a fighting stance. 'Every time I think I've got him, he dodges at the last second. It's like fighting someone who can reflexively dodge everything...but his fighting style doesn't display that at all!'
Opponents who were better at fighting than him was nothing new for Mirio Togata. His best friend, Tamaki Amajiki, was the best example of this. Despite his...depressive personality, Amajiki was a fighting machine when he got serious. Mirio fought him at the semifinals of this year's sports festival, only to barely touch the man before losing despite having a quirk that literally let him not get hurt. Amajiki was infamous in Class 3 of being probably the number one of the Top Four of UA, and him winning this year's sport festival proved it, having beaten Hado in the finals. Amajiki's fighting skills were top notch, allowing him to improvise, yet cleanly and accurately take down anyone. It was something Mirio had fought repeatedly over the years to help both of them become better heroes, and he felt that training truly helped him become the hero he wanted to be.
However, despite it being a good example of fighting someone who can fight Mirio at a reflex level, that was not what Mirio was looking at right now. The opponent before him was clumsy, swung way too wide, and seemed to have issues constantly keeping balance. It was like he still didn't fully understand his own strength, something that shouldn't be possible. Mirio could tell that Spider-Man was probably just a year or two younger than him, but he fought like he had just received his quirk.
And yet, Mirio also couldn't hit him. Every time he tried, the vigilante would seem to dodge at the last second. It didn't matter what kind of punch he tried, nothing seemed to work. For instance, phasing into the floor and slipping out behind the opponent was one of Mirio's bread and butter techniques, but even that failed. It was if Spider-Man had eyes in the back of his head, as every sneak attack failed.
As this thought entered his head, Mirio felt a gear shift in his brain. 'What do I do? Its nothing like the file Sir gave me. It said that quirk analysts thought Spider-Man has a spider mutant quirk mixed with some kind of electric quirk. Yeah, the mutant quirk would give him better reflexes and strength, but...but it's like he has no training. Sure, he obviously has some experience...' His eyes darted over to the still knocked out Eri before back to Spider-Man, only for him to take a deep breath before trying to smile. 'Forget about that. Remember what Sir taught you. There are times where words are pointless. Instead, you need to just smile and fight the good fight. I will win this!'
And with that, Lemillion charged with a small smile on his face.
He had just gotten over the second rooftop, his legs barely moving as he dragged himself along.
"Eri..."
That was all Kai Chisaki could say as he got closer, his form stumbling over the next rooftop. Just two more buildings over and she would be his. The sight was like a million miles away for the man, but he would not stop. Not until he had her. Not until he had Eri.
For she was key to this world's salvation. She alone would let him cleanse this world.
"RAAAH!" Izuku roared as he swung another punch, his fist going right through Mirio.
It was a feeling Izuku was getting used to as he missed hitting the intern for what felt like the hundredth time in those few minutes of fighting. The two hadn't said any words, Mirio now feeling a little uncomfortable as he had never fully done a fight without some talking. Even against his friends at school, he felt some dialogue was necessary, but not tonight.
Instead, Mirio spun around and thrusted a punch directly at Izuku's head just as the vigilante went through the hero in training, only for Izuku's head to tilt, dodging the blow. Spider-Man then spun his whole body with a leg stretched out, only for the leg to go straight through Mirio's chest. This was followed by two more punches, both going through Mirio's face in rapid succession.
Releasing a small breath, Mirio tried to counter with a quick jab to the vigilante's face, Izuku tilting again at the last second, only for a second jab to go for vigilante's stomach. And as it was about to hit, Izuku backpedaled, the blow almost nicking the vigilante's costume. This was followed by an upward thrusted kick to Mirio's face, only for the foot to go right through the intern. And as this attack missed as well, Izuku fired a shot of webbing behind him and pulled, yanking himself a few feet away from Lemillion before he could even try to counter the teen.
Skidding to a stop a second later, Izuku felt his body tense up. Certain aches and pains were now flaring in his body. The electrocution from Electro, the explosions that Li had hit his back and side with...he could feel it now. His body was out of adrenaline.
'No...' Izuku thought as he stared at Mirio, the moonlight shining down on the hero in training. He saw a calm smile, one that made Izuku's eye twitch. It was like the person before him was mocking the vigilante. Mocking that he killed Mister Li. And yet, he felt his body slow down. His muscles cramping up. His tendons flaring in pain. 'Not yet. Gotta...keep going.'
Electricity flared around his arms again, slowing rising to an awkward boxing like stance. 'I haven't even hit him with a Venom Punch.' He then saw his Venom powers already sputtering, the electricity barely sparking at this point. The sight made Mirio's smile grow, knowing this might be his chance.
As such, Mirio stood tall, lowering his fists as he said, "Give up."
Izuku's eyes went down to his fists, seeing the electricity trying to form before looking back up at Lemillion. "What'd you just say?!"
"I said, give up." Lemillion replied before presenting a hand to the vigilante, "I know this isn't like you. I've read your file, and you're a good person that could be a great hero. I don't know why you think I'm bad, but...I also know that you're misguided."
And as those words entered Izuku's ears, his mind flashed to the scene of Mirio shooting Mister Li, the calm, uncaring look on the individual's face as they did this deed. "Misguided?! MISGUIDED?!" Izuku screeched before electricity began to flow again in his arms, only for the teen to flinch. The lightning sputtered out at this, making Izuku slightly stumble.
"Listen, we don't need to fight anymore. Just let me-"
"SHUT UP!" Izuku screamed, his exposed eye seeing nothing but red before charging at the intern again. And as he did this, Lemillion tensed up and activated his quirk...only for the vigilante to suddenly vanish. Realizing that Spider-Man had used his invisibility again, Mirio quickly backpedaled as his eyes darted around, trying to see some sign of the incoming attack.
But as Lemillion did this, he felt the back of his feet suddenly lose grip with the ground. Glancing back for a second, he saw he was at the edge of the roof, his eyes now looking down an alleyway. Across the alley was another building, this one being two floors higher, complete with several broken windows. And as he glanced back at the rooftop he was on, he felt it.
In that split second of hesitation as he shuffled to the edge of the roof, he had turned off his quirk.
POW!
A fist slammed into his face, pushing Mirio back a slight half-foot.
BAM!
A second blow swung into Mirio's stomach, making him tense up as he felt the wind get knocked out of him.
"Hi-yah!" Izuku roared as he turned visible, thrusting a third punch straight for Mirio's jaw. And in that split-second, Mirio's quirk activated, Izuku's fist going straight through him before Mirio took one step forward and spun around. Spider sense screaming at the vigilante, Izuku tried to sidestep the now incoming kick from Mirio...only for his muscles to flare up in pain.
WHAM! CRASH!
"Augh!" Izuku yelped as the kick knocked him off his feet, the teen flying off the rooftop, over the alleyway and into the nearby building's window. Glass flew everywhere as his back collided with the frame, Izuku's body soon smacking the floor inside as darkness covered him thanks to the night's shade.
And as the sounds of tumbling rang out into the night, Lemillion stared at the shattered window and let out a gasp of air. "Finally...I finally got him." He tensed himself up to leap off the roof next, ready to phase through the wall and finish the fight-
"Eri."
One word hit his ears, making Mirio spin around to see a certain bird-masked man picking up the still knocked out girl. The moon's light was barely shining down on the rooftop at this point, but it was enough for Mirio to see Kai Chisaki's deranged, wrath-filled face.
"I finally have you again." Chisaki muttered as he took her in his hands before glaring up at Mirio, "You..."
"Let. Her. Go." Lemillion said as his smile switched to a frown, the teen pulling his arm back to wind up for a punch.
"Never! I will never-"
THWACK!
"Blugh!" Chisaki yelped as something suddenly smacked the side of his face, making his form slump over a second later. Mirio went wide-eyed at this, only for to see a certain familiar hyper dense seal now lodged into the side of Chisaki's face before falling off the man. The sight made him smile before glancing over and seeing his mentor hopping off the dragon hero Ryukyu.
"Sir!" He exclaimed before running over to him.
"Mirio, report." Nighteye responded while walking over to pick up the seal.
"Yes sir!"
And as Mirio began to speak, Crust and Fat Gum hopped off the dragon as well. They quickly helped pick up Eri and put her on the dragon's back while Nighteye listened to his intern. The night's sky then covered the moon, quickly taking that last bit of moonlight the group had just as a certain vigilante crawled up to the window he had crashed through.
"Gotta...get...up...there..." Izuku moaned to himself as he started to go through the window. And as he did this, the heroes on the dragon's back pulled out some flashlights, giving themselves some light as Izuku turned invisible and crawled onto this new building's roof. But as he did this, he saw the dragon floating over the rooftop he had just fought on, the sight making him go wide-eyed.
'What the-why is Ryukyu here?! And on her back...that's Rock Lock, Mr. Brave, Crust and Fat Gum! So cool!' He could feel his inner hero fanboy explode within at this, not realizing he had forgotten about the fight he was just in. That is, till he shook his head, 'Wait, why are they here?! Why would-' his thoughts came to a stop as he saw Eri was now in Fat Gum's hands as Crust and Mr. Brave looked her over with their flashlights.
'They...they have Eri! I should-' He pointed his wrist at the dragon...only to lower his arm a second later. 'What am I doing?! They're heroes! They...' His thoughts halted again as he was reminded of something his mom told him back when he was hunting Tombstone.
"But don't go too far. If something goes wrong, call the heroes. Got it?"
'Oh yeah. That's a good point mom.' he mentally reminded himself before glancing back at the rooftop he had just had a fight on...only to see nothing. The moon's light was gone, and the night had covered the roof in darkness. 'He got away. Chameleon...'
He could feel his hands tense up into fists at this, anger boiling in his mind again, only to hear a small gasp. Making him glance back up, he saw that Eri was waking up in Fat Gum's arms, the girl's body slightly moving in the teen's eyes. Seeing this, the anger ceased. The words 'hospital' and 'don't worry' came out of one of the heroes' mouths, though Izuku couldn't tell who it was, only for Ryukyu to start flapping her wings.
A second later, the dragon took flight. Before Izuku could even do anything, they were gone. But the sight was enough for the teen. "Goodbye Eri." Izuku whispered before looking back at the rooftop one last time, only to still see nothing. "Chameleon..." He felt his body tense in pain again.
And in that moment, he realized it was hopeless. He was in no shape to go after the killer.
"Darn it. I...I guess...I better go too." He glanced back up at the sky Ryukyu had vanished into and said, "Hope everything goes well Eri. I...I know the heroes will help you."
With that in mind, the invisible vigilante leapt off the rooftop and fired a line of webbing, soon swinging away into the darkness of the night.
The Rose was wearing a half smile under his mask. Despite how good the day had started, after his calls from Chameleon and Fancy Dan, the overall results were mixed. They had told him that they had succeeded in wiping out all yakuza but Chisaki, Martin Li was dead, (Which was probably a good thing now that he thought about it) and Eri had gotten away due to a certain vigilante.
Spider-Man. The vigilante had been interfering quite a bit recently. Granted, he was just fumbling into the Rose's boss's operations, but it was still annoying. Even in this hero flooded society where it was so easy to control the rules, there were still rulebreakers. How truly, utterly annoying.
As such, Rose continued his stride down an alleyway, taking a deep breath before doing a sharp right turn. There, he saw a van with three riders in the back. Ox, Montana and Electro, the latter wearing a scowl on his face. His eyes then turned to the only person standing outside of the vehicle, Rose assuming Dan was probably in the driver's seat.
The person standing outside of the van was Chameleon, her usual smirk on her face. Her ponytail was slightly moving thanks to the night wind as she walked up to Rose and pulled something out of her pocket. It looked like a tiny object wrapped in paper, Rose taking it and unwrapping it. A second later, he saw the object inside: A flashdrive.
"Is this-"
"Yup." Chameleon chuckled, "Chisaki's Trigger formula. His latest stuff, ingredient lists, and other prototype versions."
"Good." Rose put the drive in his suit chest pocket, "At least this whole debacle wasn't a total waste."
"And my money?" Chameleon instantly asked, only for Rose to gesture to the van.
"I'll give it to you at the hideout, along with everyone else's pay."
"Nice." Chameleon laughed before hopping in the vehicle, Rose quickly shuffling up to the passenger seat as Ox closed the back doors of the van.
"Let's get out of here. I have a lot to report to the boss." Rose commented as laid back in his seat.
"Understood." Dan replied before hitting the gas. A few seconds later, the vehicle was gone.
"Urgh!" Izuku grunted as his body landed onto his home's rooftop, his invisibility turning off. He rolled across the surface, his mind just now going over everything that had just happened. The fights, Eri....and the death.
The day was finally over.
And Izuku was not happy. His brain hadn't thought of a thing as he webswung home. His mind was muddled, barely able to process the past few hours. He wasn't even fully sure how he had gotten home. All he knew was that it felt wrong. Everything felt wrong.
As such, he just laid there for a minute, closing his eyes as he remembered everything...only for one image to appear in his head. Martin Li. The man he admired, who had helped him find a path...was now dead. Dead in an alleyway, a bullet splitting his heart in two. A puddle of blood surrounded the image in Izuku's head, making tears began to form in his eyes. Before he knew it, he was crying again.
Izuku was always a crier. His whole family was, at least on his mom's side. The Midoriyas were just known for crying, and Izuku was no different. Water poured out of his eyes as he took off his mask so it wouldn't get too wet.
"Mister Li..." he muttered as he slowly got up, "Oh, Mister Li..."
Tears continued to fall at this, the teen not sure how long he stood there, crying over the one image in his head. He hadn't let himself mourn over what had happened, as Eri was there and Izuku knew he needed to help her...but now it was laid bare in his mind.
His friend was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.
And after what seemed like hours, though it was only a few minutes, Izuku turned invisible again and crawled down the roof and to his room's window. He glanced inside and saw it was closed and empty, just like usual. Slowly opening the window, as he assumed his mom and Himiko were probably already asleep, he slid into the room before quietly closing the window behind him.
"Guess...guess I still have a long way to go." He told himself as he now stared at his bed.
Danger!
Izuku went wide-eyed as his spider sense suddenly went off, making him spin around. The sound of a door creaking open came next, only for the teen to see his mom peek through. Light from the room she was in shone through the door's opening, showing her son's face to the woman.
"Izuku? You okay?" She asked as she saw those tears.
"Mom..." he slowly said, "I-"
"Greetings, Spider-Man!" interrupted a voice, making both Midoriyas jump in place. Izuku glanced down, as he heard the noise coming from that direction, only to see a certain stoat standing there. A huge grin was on his face as he added, "Hello there! Am I a mouse, or a dog, or a bear? None of those matter because I am the principal of UA, Nezu!" His smile grew wider at this, soon splitting his face as he finished, "And I've been wanting to meet you for quite a while now, Izuku Midoriya."