Sorry for taking so long! I had my arm crushed but I'm better now! Leave a comment if you want more!
Chapter 6
The glow of the monitors washed the warehouse in pale blue light.
Taka sat slouched in a rolling chair at their base of operations, their future hero lair, boots kicked up on a spare desk, fingers flying lazily over the keyboard as he scrolled. One screen showed a news aggregate, another had half a dozen tabs open.
A third was dedicated entirely to timelines, names, and mental red string only he could see.
So far nothing.
No explosions.
No unexplained rescues.
No blurry phone footage of people lifting cars or punching holes through walls.
Just… regular deckular life.
Local headlines rolled past one after another as he searched through the fast web that was the internet.
Traffic Delays on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Stock Market Fluctuates Amid Global Uncertainty.
Cat Stuck in Tree Rescued by Fire Department.
Taka clicked his tongue and leaned back.
Just regular people doing regular shit in a regular world that had no idea what was coming.
"Either this is the fuck ass calm before the storm type situation or this universes government is doing a good ass job at covering things up," he muttered as he spun himself around before stopping.
He cracked his knuckles and took out his personal journal before flipping through the pages, his eyes lazily going through each page full of future plans.
One page was about all the weaknesses he could exploit, another about items that he either needed to worry about/steal/or destroy, then there was an entire section purely dedicated to pieces of shits a.k.a. his list of targets that needed to be DELT with.
YOUR ASS IS FUCKING MINE WHEN I FUCKING SEE YOU PAUL!!! NOT EVEN THE DEVIL, DEATH HERSELF, OR THE FUCKING ONE ABOVE ALL IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU FROM ME!!!
Ahem, anyways.
He flipped to a page which was clean, organized, and obsessively updated.
Targets of interest.
Steve Rogers — Capsicle? Melted? Currently no clue, probably thanks to Shield, fuck shield.
Tony Stark — Still just a billionaire tech asshole who does nothing but drink and party. No armor and no arc reactor for a heart… yet.
Reed Richards — Academic prodigy and currently in a high class college for smarties. Research papers are popping off and are making waves.
Matt Murdock — Currently in law school and is famous for being a blind future lawyer… not much else he could get from the web unfortunately.
Charles Xavier — Has a school… and that was about it. Maybe already have mutant students? Maybe not? Should probably go check it out one day.
Bruce Banner — Gamma research ongoing. So far as I know no accidents and no big green rage problem… yet.
Of course there was way more than this but we would be here all day if we went through every single person. He snapped the journal shut and hummed to himself again, deep in thought.
He leaned forward again, clicking through obscure forums, conspiracy boards, fringe science blogs, places where something would leak first. A rumor, a shaky video, a post that got deleted too fast.
Nothing.
Just people arguing about politics.
Someone claiming they saw a UFO that was very obviously a weather balloon.
A thread insisting superpowers were impossible and anyone who believed otherwise was delusional.
Taka snorted at that one.
"Yeah," he said quietly, giving that comment a thumbs up. "Sure."
He leaned back in his chair, eyes drifting to the far side of the warehouse where weights sat stacked neatly, where his backpack hung over a chair, where Peter's workstation sat untouched for the moment.
This was the calm before the storm.
He could feel it in his bones.
Taka cracked a grin, sharp and eager for the chaotic future that was soon to come.
"Alright," he said to the empty room as he got up from his chair and began getting ready for the day. "Take your time."
Sooner or later…
The world was going to blink first.
__________
Peter Parker lay sprawled on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
He had been doing that for a while now.
His phone rested on his chest, screen dark, but his thoughts weren't. They bounced, no, ricocheted, between Gwen's smile, Sue's laugh, the weight of new clothes hanging in his closet, and the familiar chaos that followed Taka like a personal storm cloud.
A birthday party…
This weekend…
At Gwen's house…
With people…
Plural.
Peter groaned softly and rolled onto his side, burying his face into his pillow, not at all wanting to get up and go to school.
"Why did I agree to this?" he muttered into his comfy pillow.
BAM!!!
The door to his room burst open without warning.
"BECAUSE IT'S FOR THAT SWEET ASS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!"
Peter barely had time to flinch before Taka flopped onto the edge of his bed like he owned the place, phone in hand, already scrolling.
"How many times did I tell you to knock instead of kicking my door in?!" Peter groaned and tried to fuse himself with his bed.
"I knocked emotionally," Taka replied as if that explained everything. "You just ignored me spiritually."
Peter rolled onto his back, glaring, what on earth did that even mean?! He shook his head and focused on more important things.
"You're the reason I'm having an existential crisis!" He pointed his finger at his best friend accusingly.
"And yet~" Taka said smugly, "you've got two hot girls' numbers, a killer outfit thanks to said girls, and a social event on the calendar for the other said girl. Sounds like a win to me Pete!"
Peter covered his face with his hands. "I'm going to embarrass myself! I'm not built for the social life like you are!"
"Incorrect," Taka said immediately, getting a confused look from him. "You're not built for social life yet! Key word there mate."
"That doesn't help."
"It absolutely does."
Peter peeked at him through his fingers as he pulled himself up from bed. "…What if I mess it up?"
Taka's expression shifted, not by much, but enough as he smiled at him as if he had all the confidence in the world.
"Then you mess it up," he said simply as he shrugged. "And you survive, get back up, and kick ass! Take names! And get bitches!"
Silence fell between them as his best friend finished talking.
Peter stared at him.
Taka stared back.
"...Mad bit-"
"Please get out of my room."
________
[Daily Choas Gatcha is now Rolling…]
[Uncommon Toriko Jewel Meat]
"Do I have to wear this?" The tired voice of his best mate asked him as they made their way to science class.
He glared at Peter as though he had said the stupidest shit he had ever heard.
"The fuck you mean, 'do I have to wear this?' I went shop– I mean, we went shopping for clothes so we can fucking wear them, Pete!" Taka said while smoothing out his newly bought jacket, his best bud needed to look clean for the bitches, god damn it!
Peter slapped away his hands, glaring back at him. "I get that! What I mean is, why do I have to wear them now?!"
Were his intentions still not clear to his brother in all but blood?
"So that you can get mad bitc-"
His mouth was slammed shut before he could finish as Peter whirled on him, eyes blazing with a mix of sheer murder and deep, personal regret. His face had gone nuclear red, heat radiating off his cheeks like he was about to combust.
"Taka," Peter hissed, teeth clenched, "finish that sentence and I will make sure to invent a device that will keep your mouth permanently shut."
Taka just grinned behind Peter's hand, eyes dancing. Peter only let go once he was absolutely sure he wouldn't immediately continue his mission to ruin his life.
"Well, I'll be damned."
Peter froze at the sound of that voice as he turned to where it came from.
Eugene Thompson stood a few feet away, flanked by his usual pack of football jocks and their cheerleaders, all broad shoulders, loud laughs, and the kind of confidence that came from being popular due to them being part of the school's football team.
Taka couldn't help but grumble to himself as he let out a deep sigh and turned to look at the blonde boy and waved at him. His best bud, however, was less than pleased to see their former friend. It was sad to see since they used to be thick as thieves before the two had a falling out for some reason.
Which was unfortunate because Flashy became distant from him as well because of the fallout.
"If it isn't Penis Parker."
He let out another sigh at that weak ass elementary name-calling while Pete just continued to glare at their friend turned jock.
"What is that?" Eugene laughed, pointing openly. "Parker, you finally snap or something? Are you trying to play dress-up now? Because you look stuuuuppiiiddd."
A couple of the jocks and cheerleaders laughed like the sheep they were, while a few of them shuffled awkwardly.
Taka, however, shook his head while face-palming. Where did he go wrong with this boy? He could've sworn he taught him better insults than that!
"Then you clearly have no sense of fashion, Eugene," Peter said, voice tight but steady. "Especially when wearing the same fuck ass ugly jacket every day since fucking middle school."
…huh, when did that happen?
That got a round of "ooohhhs" from the crowd that was slowly forming around them; their classmates clearly could not help themselves from the drama.
That seemed to knock the smile right off of Eugene's face as he glared down at Peter, his best friend also glaring back without an ounce of fear in his eyes.
"Oh, wow," The jock said, a mocking smirk returning to his face as if what he was about to say next would be fire. "Careful, guys! The nerd finally found his backbone! Where ja find it? Up your butt?"
That was not as effective as Eugene thought it would be; some gave a weak laugh like the suck ups they were, while most looked away to meet the jock's eyes as he looked around for support.
Having had enough, Taka stepped in before things got too out of control, which sucked because it would mean he would be the voice of reason.
"Alright, you walking hormones! Get your asses to class! This has nothing to do with any of you, so why don't you get your dumbasses to class and make something of your lazy asses!" He shouted out and shooed them away, despite the heavy protest, and watched as the crowd quickly dispersed.
It paid to have the reputation of kicking massive ass and taking names.
With the nosy crowd now gone, he focused his attention on the jocks and his friend.
"Yo, Flashy, what can I do ya for?" He placed a hand on Peter's rather tensed shoulders as he got Eugene's attention, whose mocking smirk turned into an actual smile.
"Taka! Just the man I was looking for!"
"Yeah, yeah, what's up bud?"
Eugene's grin widened, clearly relieved that Taka was still on friendly terms with him.
"Alright, cool, cool. See? Still my guy." Eugene whispered out, seemingly to himself, before he jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the team. "Listen, man, the coach is serious about recruiting some new blood and asked me if I knew anyone who would kick absolute ass at football! With you on our team, we can win the entire thing, easy peasy!"
Taka blinked as he tilted his head, not expecting that of all things. "Football?"
"Yeah!" Eugene excitedly shouted with a laugh that sounded dickish. "You're fast, you're built like a brick house, and you're smart enough to pick up on things without having to be told twice! I put in a good word with the coach, you show off your moves, and you would be on the team in no time!"
His best bud weirdly stiffened beside him as he listened to Flashy.
Taka scratched the back of his neck, unsure how to politely turn his friend down since football was the last thing on his mind.
"I mean… I dunno, man. I've got stuff going on."
He had so much to do and so little time; there was no way he could fit fucking football of all things into his schedule!
Eugene waved that off as if expecting that excuse.
"You don't have to decide now! Just think about it, that's all!" His eyes flicked toward Peter with a look of annoyance before returning to Taka with a smile. "No offense or anything, but you don't gotta waste your time with… old charity cases."
Peter's jaw clenched at the thinly veiled insult.
Taka frowned as he crossed his arms while looking at the blonde teen with the look of a disappointed mom, causing a couple of the jocks who used to try to bully Peter to take a step back.
They were painfully familiar with that look.
He faintly remembered giving them the Taka special back in middle school, but he waved the rather amusing thought away and focused on the present.
"Flashy."
"What? I'm just saying," Eugene replied, spreading his hands as if he did nothing wrong. "We used to hang out all the time before everything got… weird."
His gaze drifted back to Peter again, this time longer with a rather heated glare, one that was returned with equal force.
"All I'm saying is that this is high school! You don't have to pity party Parker all the time now! He's an adult, he can wipe his own diaper!"
That actually got an actual laugh from his fellow jocks, sadly enough.
His best bud took a step towards Flash, his hands in a tight fist.
Taka noticed and held out his hand to stop him, much to Peter's irritation. The future hero sent him a confused look as if to ask why he stopped him from absolutely decking Flashy.
He simply shook his head, sure Pete and Flashy had a falling out, and sure Flashy was being a bit of a dick to Peter, but he still considered him to be a friend despite all that. Get past his rather hard and jock ass shell, Flashy was a good friend.
"Look, I know you and Pete don't get along anymore, but you don't have to be such an antagonistic dick towards him."
Eugene scoffed, rolling his shoulders as if he hadn't just crossed a line.
"Antagonistic?" he repeated, laughing under his breath. "C'mon, Taka! You know I'm not wrong, just look at him."
He flicked his gaze toward Peter again, sharp and dismissive.
"This guy's dead weight and dragging you down! You're wasting yourself hanging around with the loser!"
Eugene stepped closer and wrapped his arm around Taka's shoulders with a happy smile on his face.
"You could be someone here when you join us instead of hanging out with that waste of time." He jerked his thumb back toward his group. "Respect, parties, girls! You join us and finally ditch the loser? We'd run this place! You and me!"
He was met with silence, causing Peter to actually worry that he was even thinking about Flash's offer which he wasn't at all.
"Dude," he said, dragging a hand down his face. "Do you hear yourself right now?"
Eugene blinked, utterly confused. "What?"
"I don't give a single flying fuck about high school drama, popularity, or whatever cool-kid pyramid scheme you think this is." Taka looked genuinely baffled. "Like none! Zero! Zilch! Grow the fuck up!"
The jocks shifted while the cheerleaders exchanged looks, meaning he hit it completely on the fucking dot.
Eugene frowned, refusing to give up on this stupid idea he was seemingly sticking with.
"I'm offering you a spot on the team, man! I'm trying to help you!"
He observed Flash and found that he was actually being serious about this, what on earth happened between him and Pete for him to be like this?
"And I appreciate it," Taka replied easily while patting him on the shoulder. "Means you still at least think we're friends."
Flashy smiled and was about to open his mouth to continue with his offer but the glare Taka sent him shut him up.
"But here's the thing."
He looked Eugene dead in the eye to make sure what he was about to say next got through his thick skull.
"Peter's my best friend. Hell, more than anything he's my brother in all but blood!"
Peter sucked in a sharp breath.
"Where he goes, I go. Vice versa." Taka shrugged. "That's just how it is."
The hallway went quiet.
Eugene's jaw tightened, his smile cracking at the edges. "You're serious."
"Dead serious."
For a moment, Flash looked like he wanted to argue, to push, to say something else sharp and cruel, to change his mind.
Instead, he scoffed.
"Wow," he said, shaking his head, clearly disappointed. "Didn't think you'd really chain yourself to him like that."
Taka snorted, smiling at Flashy.
"Trust me, if anyone's chained, it's him putting up with my bullshit."
That got a few chuckles which was quickly smothered when Eugene shot them a look. The boy's gaze hardened as he glared at Peter one last time as if it was his fault that Taka said no.
"Whatever, when you get bored of Penis Parker—" Peter glared "—you know where to find me."
Then, without another word, Eugene turned and walked off, his jocks following after him as they headed toward class, bumping shoulders against Peter with unnecessary force but did little to nothing much to his surprise.
The two watched them go, him with a tired sigh at the childishness, while his best bud with anger.
"...You're gonna finally tell me what happened exactly between the two of you?"
Pete refused to look at him as he walked into class just as the bell rang.
He sighed before shrugging and followed after him.
Hopefully something happens soon because all this high school drama was pissing him off! He needed superhero shit goddamn it!!!
______
The desert stretched on for miles, flat and unforgiving, heat shimmering off the sand even as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
From above, it looked empty.
That was a lie.
A convoy of military vehicles cut through the wasteland in a tight formation, armored transports, mobile command units, and heavy carriers bristling with mounted weapons. Helicopters thundered overhead, rotors slicing the air as spotlights swept the ground below in wide, methodical arcs.
Inside the lead command vehicle, tension hung thick enough to taste.
"Thermal readings confirmed," a voice crackled over the radio. "Target was here less than ten minutes ago."
A map lit up on multiple screens, red markers pulsing faintly.
"Movement pattern matches previous encounters," another officer added. "High-speed displacement. Extreme force signatures but no civilian structures in the area."
Good.
That was the only good news.
Colonel Ross stood rigidly at the center of the mobile command unit, hands clasped behind his back as he stared at the display. His jaw was tight, eyes sharp, posture unyielding.
"Repeat the parameters," he ordered, wanting to make sure that he heard everything correclty.
A technician swallowed before responding. "Target is classified as an enhanced hostile entity. Extreme strength and extreme durability. No confirmed upper limits, small arms ineffective, and heavy ordinance inconclusive."
Inconclusive.
That word again.
Ross's lip curled at the thought of something that could handle everything that the military could throw at them.
Outside, the ground trembled.
Just slightly.
A few soldiers shifted uneasily, hands tightening around their weapons.
"Sir," someone said quietly, eyes locked on their screen. "We're getting seismic feedback."
The monitors spik-
BOOM!!!
Sand erupted in the distance as something massive landed just beyond the ridge line, the impact rolling through the ground like a shockwave. Several vehicles rocked violently as alarms blared to life.
"There!" a soldier shouted. "Visual! Twelve o'clock!"
The spotlights snapped toward the ridge.
For a brief second, there was nothing but dust.
Then it rose.
A towering green figure pulled itself up over the ridge, muscles bunching and flexing beneath torn fabric, eyes glowing with raw, animal fury. Each step it took cracked the earth beneath it.
"LEAVE HULK ALONE!!!" The creature roared out, its voice louder than thunder.
The sound slammed into the convoy like a physical force, rage, pain, and something feral woven together into a single, earth-shaking bellow.
Several soldiers froze.
"Open fire!" Ross, however, remained steady as he barked out orders.
The night exploded into chaos.
Gunfire tore through the air, tracer rounds streaking toward the massive figure. Rockets launched, detonating against green flesh in flashes of fire and smoke.
It didn't slow it down, in fact, it did nothing but make the creature angerier.
The Hulk charged.
Vehicles scattered as he barreled forward, tank rounds bouncing harmlessly off his hide. He grabbed one transport mid-motion and threw it, the vehicle spinning through the air before crashing into the sand.
"Jesus fucking christ!" someone shouted from inside the vehicle as they tried to hold back vomit.
"Maintain formation!" Ross roared out. "Do not let it break through!"
Too late.
The Hulk slammed into the line like a living battering ram, flipping armored carriers like toys, roaring louder with every hit he took. Bullets peppered his skin, doing absolutely nothing.
He leapt.
The ground cracked as he landed in the heart of the convoy, shockwaves rippling outward and sending soldiers flying.
"Containment team! NOW!" Ross shouted into the mic.
Nets fired, thick, reinforced cables laced with experimental alloys that should hold it done, wrapping around the Hulk's torso and arms.
For half a second, it looked like it might work.
Then the monster flexed.
The cables snapped like thread.
The Hulk roared again, louder than before, rage boiling over as he ripped the last restraints away and hurled himself toward further into the desert.
Ross stared at the monitor, face set in grim determination despite the utter failure.
"Pursue," he said coldly, already thinking about other ways on how to take the monster down. "No matter the cost."
Outside, the Hulk vanished into the darkness with a thunderous leap, leaving destruction, fire, and shaken soldiers in his wake.
His direction?
New York…