Spider-Man:
Tokyo 2040
Episode 1
Same As It Never Was
by That Long-Haired Creepy Guy
Episode Guide: In the future of Tokyo, Japan has a new set of heroes. For Ikegami Takuya, however, saving the world comes after homework and helping out at his mother's clinic!
Wednesday; May 2
12:21 a.m.
The hour was late.
Mitsubuya Ito had known it was foolish to think he could make it to the Mag-Rail station on time. A station attendant had been locking the doors shut when he'd raced toward them. That, of course, meant that the trains were no longer running.
"Yarro," he swore impotently under his breath at the man, despite knowing full well that the gentleman could do nothing to help him.
Mitsubuya stood in the courtyard of the train station for Shin-Mugenjo, considering his options. At this time of night, the buses were also shut down. It would be hard to find a cab running, and even then, he doubted that his regular account had the funds needed to travel all the way to his house in the suburbs.
Frustrated, Mitsubuya began to curse his situation. It had been his boss who insisted he remain late in the office to finish the paperwork for the company's latest project. That had taken far longer than expected. Long after everyone else had cleared out, Mitsubuya had decided to grab a quick nap before picking up where he'd left off. When he'd opened his eyes again, over three hours had passed.
"You could have just gone home," Mitsubuya chided himself out loud, feeling foolish, "like everyone else, and come back early the next morning."
Finishing the assignment had taken another two hours. To compound his problems, the doors to the downstairs exit had been locked, forcing Mitsubuya to hunt down a security guard and open them for him. The short, squat man in his forties had entertained the idea that the clocks were simply running fast while he jogged breathlessly down the sidewalk, hoping against hope to not have missed the last train.
Now, he stood in the dim light before the train station, which was growing steadily dimmer as the lights began to extinguish themselves automatically. Mitsubuya cringed at the thought of his wife, who would undoubtedly be in a rage right now. He had neglected to call her on top of everything else. She would be even more furious if he withdrew money from their joint account to pay for a cab. The thought of her yelling gave Mitsubuya a headache, yet he had to get home somehow.
"Natsu gives me about as much credit as Boss-san does," Mitsubuya grumbled, looking alone and defeated in the shadowy courtyard. "She'll cut me a break the day Boss-san gives me the promotion he's been promising."
There was an ATM several blocks over. Mitsubuya reasoned that he could reach there in a few minutes if he hurried. There was bound to be a cab further down, hoping to pick up some straggler like him that had missed the trains. It would mean walking for several city blocks, but at this point, Mitsubuya was willing if it meant he didn't have to sleep on the streets.
"Quit whining," he ordered himself, forcing his tired feet to move. "You can do this. It's been done before, and you'll do it this time. There's little to be worried about at this hour."
Shin-Mugenjo was still considered a new district. It had been constructed following the devastation brought about by Hurricane K. The Class-7 tropical disturbance had brought Tokyo to its knees, along with most of Japan. In the aftermath, the city of Tokyo had been completely remodeled and revamped. Twelve years had followed, and the streets looked as pristine and glorious as ever.
That is, so long as no one ventured out into them after midnight.
The press was still refusing to report on any of the gang activity and rises in crime. People nevertheless talked about it. Mitsubuya's wife brought it up every time she saw a news report. Mitsubuya was no stranger to what went on, but he tried to ignore it. It wasn't his concern; at least, so long as he wasn't foolish enough to stay out this late, which he had.
Mitsubuya reached the ATM and, using his shaking hands, transferred funds out of the joint account into his regular one. His heart began to soar as the machine verified the transaction for him before spitting his cash card back out. There was just enough money now for him to take a cab home, once he'd found one, of course.
Mitsubuya snatched the card back and slid it inside his pocket. As he did, the hairs on the back of his neck raised up in warning. Mitsubuya's heart rate hadn't gone down once the whole time he'd been standing under the ATM light. Sweat now rolled over his flesh. Before Mitsubuya had even turned around, he knew trouble was waiting for him.
There were ten of them.
Each one was rough and rugged, wearing clothing that clashed horribly and looked torn in strategic places. Half of the gang's members were male, and all much younger and more fit than Mitsubuya had ever been in his entire life.
"Yo!" he called out weakly, hoping to try the diplomatic approach.
In response, the leader raised his fist, displaying a metal device covering his fist. Mitsubuya swallowed in fear as the device sparked dangerously.
"Wallet, if you would please?" the gang leader asked politely, giving his Spark Knuckler–a weapon that was a mixture of brass knuckles and a taser–one more squeeze for good measure.
"Here!" Mitsubuya fished into his pocket again to yank his wallet back out. "Take it, please! It's yours if you don't–"
Mitsubuya cut himself off as he fumbled, dropping both the wallet and the cash card that he'd just used. The card clattered noisily on the sidewalk against the concrete, making far more of a racket than it should have.
"Please!" Mitsubuya begged, kneeling down on the stone with one hand held up in a desperate attempt to keep the gang members at bay. "Onegai shimasu! I–"
The gang leader stepped forward calmly, almost as if he were offering to help Mitsubuya up. The sight of him caused the poor, middle-aged man to freeze up completely. A lump formed in his throat, preventing him from speaking further.
Without a word, the gang leader picked the card up off the ground, holding it up so that his compatriots could see it clearly.
"Maybe there's enough money on this for you to buy yourself a new set of balls," he suggested, loud enough for everyone present to hear. "The old ones don't seem to be doing you much good anymore, Jii-san."
Everyone in the leader's gang roared with laughter.
"Maybe his wife took the old ones and keeps them in a drawer," one of the young punk girls offered, sneering.
"Or high up on a shelf," said another, laughing next to her friend, "where he can't reach!"
Tears rolled down Mitsubuya's face. The laughter stung, but more than anything else, he was ashamed at the truth behind their words. These kids–they didn't know him. None of them knew how hard he worked. They didn't understand or care how Mitsubuya's boss treated him. They didn't know what it was like having a wife at home who treated him with the barest of respect most of the time.
"Kuso!" he cried out, surprised by the rage that was boiling up from inside him. "Give me back my wallet!"
Mitsubuya stood up on shaky legs and prepared to charge the gang leader. This would have most likely resulted in his death; or at the very least, him waking up inside a hospital after receiving a shock from the gang leaders Spark Knuckler.
However, something whipped through the air past him, striking the concrete a few steps ahead. Mitsubuya windmilled his arms and came to a clumsy stop, unsure of what had almost hit him. The gang leader had noticed it as well, and was looking down at the same spot.
It was a shuriken of some kind. From Mitsubuya's standpoint, it looked as though someone had fixed a small type of device onto the metal in the center.
Mitsubuya and the gang leader looked raised up at each other at the same time. When the gang leader cocked an questioning eyebrow his way, Mitsubuya shrugged, having no idea what the little thing was for. Staring down again, Mitsubuya observed the device more closely and realized that shuriken bore a strange resemblance to a red spider.
Somehow, in hindsight, Mitsubuya felt he shouldn't have been quite as shocked when the little device exploded a second later. The blast wasn't that much worse than a child's firecracker toy, yet the sound was four times as loud. Mitsubuya and the gang members both fell back out of the way, scattering slightly in the process–especially in the latter's case.
When Mitsubuya could hear more or less again, someone was clearing their throat. The strangest part was that the sound came from above.
"Pardon me," came the fast, tenor voice. "Sorry to interrupt, but does any of you know how I can get to Katsuhara from here?"
Mitsubuya looked up, wondering what kind of a fool would be asking for directions in a situation like this, and from a bunch of gang members no less. The answer came when he spotted the svelte, athletic figure dressed in a black-and-red costume hanging upside-down from what looked like a thin wire.
"I seem to have gotten myself all turned around upside down," the costumed figure went on, laughing at his own joke. "But then, I've always been bad at directions."
The figure released his grip on the wire, falling with impossible grace to the sidewalk in a crouch. In three easy movements, he had kicked the gang leader in the stomach, then kicked Mitsubuya's card up into the air before knocking the leader's feet out from under him using a sweep kick.
Mitsubuya watched–his face a stunned mask–as the card fell back down. The masked figure, meanwhile, spun around as he raised back up and slapped the card away. Mitsubuya saw his card fly toward him and automatically raised both arms to shield his face.
"Here, hold on to this," the masked figure said, and a split second later, Mitsubuya felt something strike him in the chest. "And don't touch the webbing!"
Staggering backward, Mitsubuya looked down in shock at his chest. The cash card for his account was stuck to his chest along with some strange white substance. The stuff looked sticky, almost like spider webbing. Sparing a glance up, Mitsubuya saw the costumed figure attacking the gang members, knocking each one out like it was some kind of sport for him.
And the whole time, he was talking.
"You probably should have stayed home tonight," the figure offered to one thug as he landed punches in rapid succession all of said thug's chest with lightning speed. "Worked on your kenpo more. I hear it's coming back into style with criminal lowlifes like yourself."
It sounded as though the masked figure was playing a game. The voice was utterly calm, almost bored. Mitsubuya stared down at his chest again and touched the sticky white goo gingerly. Some of it came away on his fingers. It was still holding his card in place. Only now, the substance stretched away, pulling Mitsubuya's second-best work shirt along for the ride.
"Are you seeing anybody right now?" the masked figure was asking one of the young girl gang members now, apparently not bothered by the fact that she was brandishing a knife at his face. "I mean, I know this is forward of me, but could I text you sometime?"
The entire situation was too surreal for Mitsubuya to comprehend. Worse yet, he couldn't get the stuff off his fingers no matter how hard he tried. Using his other hand, Mitsubuya gripped his card and yanked as hard as he could. The webbing pulled and stretched, but refused to break. The more Mitsubuya wrestled with it, the worse it got.
"The Virgin Maiden stance?"
Mitsubuya looked up again at this comical outburst from the costumed figure, who was laughing at the single gang member left.
"Don't worry," the figure said as the lone gang member attacked him using what looked like a very clumsy fighting style. "I won't tell anyone that you're really a virgin. Or that you're not a girl either."
The gang leader that was left went down with a single punch to the face.
"Not that I'm judging or anything," said the laughing costumed man, dusting his hands off and walking away calmly toward Mitsubuya. "Just saying, is all."
Seeing the figure approach, Mitsubuya did the only sensible thing that came to mind–he panicked. Unfortunately, his hands were still stuck, and Mitsubuya's brain was only capable of handling one crisis at a time, usually.
"Ah, I told you that touching the webbing was a bad idea," the figure chided, stopping several feet away from where Mitsubuya waffled. "Don't worry, though. It dissolves in about an hour."
"Are you," Mitsubuya said between gasping breaths, "going to hurt me?"
The figure pretended to ponder the idea for a moment, stroking his chin through the mask he wore.
"Nope," he decided. "You're free to go. And as an added bonus, I'll even tell you where there's a cab you can take so you'll be off the streets."
Mitsubuya felt a little bit of his panic drain away slowly. With the masked man standing up close, Mitsubuya was able to get a better image of him. The black and red costume concealed the whole body, making it hard to determine how old the man was. He was definitely male, though–the costume wasn't doing a very good job of hiding that, and Mitsubuya felt relief that his wife wasn't present.
The red emblem of a spider covered most of the chest area. A second red spider covered part of the head, with the legs shaping a kind of tribal design on the sides around a face guard that fit onto the mask itself. Even the bracers the figure wore on his wrists and ankles looked like spiders. The legs of the chest emblem formed a belt as well, which had been outfitted with several pockets.
Everything that wasn't red looked black. Squinting in the darkness, though, Mitsubuya thought he could make out a red web design racing through the solid black pattern. There was also a cape of some sort. It was made out of a material that reminded Mitsubuya of the same fluid stuck to his fingers and chest. This one looked slightly tattered, though, and hung loosely down the figure's back.
Staring down, Mitsubuya realized that the costumed figure was wearing tabi boots.
"Where?" Mitsubuya blurted out.
"That way," the figure indicated, pointing behind him with his left hand toward a corner. "Around there and down the street. Stick to the well-lit side of the road until you come to the cab. He just parked there."
Mitsubuya started to run on instinct, then paused. After a moment further of waffling, he stared at the figure again through the clear black plates that concealed his eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked, more boldly than he felt.
"Well, lately," the figure began calmly, as if he hadn't just fought off a ten-strong gang all by himself, "people have been referring to me as 'that bastard who keeps attacking us'. That, and 'AHHH! DON"T HURT ME!'"
Mitsubuya didn't blink.
"I'm really trying to work on that last one," the figure went on. "But, if you'd like, feel free to call me your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
And then, as if someone heard Mitsubuya thinking that the night couldn't possibly get any weirder and was determined to prove him wrong, the figure leaped ten feet into the air. A thin wire–made of the same stuff that was stuck to his shirt, Mitsubuya somehow realized–flew out of the Spider-Man's wrist. Mitsubuya watched as the Spider-Man swung off into the night.
"Tell your friends about me!" he shouted back cheerfully.
It was a moment more before Mitsubuya realized he'd been staring. Moreover, he'd been watching the Spider-Man figure swing out of sight high in the air between two towering buildings. All of this, he'd done while standing in a spot where ten thugs had almost mugged him.
Realizing this, Mitsubuya picked the smart decision.
He took off running in the direction of the cab that the Spider-Man had told him about. It was hard not thinking about the fact that he was taking advice from a madman in a costume. Somehow, though, Mitsubuya managed, and reached the cab in mere moments.
"Here!" Mitsubuya tossed his cash card into the front of the cab as he dove inside the open door. "Take me home, now! Before anything else can happen."
The cab driver, who'd been chowing down on a bowl of instant ramen, looked into the back seat at the frantic and sweaty Mitsubuya through his rear view mirror.
"You gonna be sick?" the driver asked in a thick Kansai accent as he set the plastic bowl down carefully. "Maybe I should take ya to the hospital instead?"
"No, just home," Mitsubuya said very fast, rattling off his address. "Before anything else can happen, please!"
Nodding, the driver activated the electric cab car using his thumb print, then shifted gears. The cab rolled easily out into the street, which was empty at this point.
"You look pale," the driver noted, still watching as Mitsubuya panted in the backseat. "What happened?"
"Oh, nothing," said Mitsubuya in reply, giving a nervous giggle. "Just... a big spider man in a costume saved me from ten thugs, and stuck my card to my chest with sticky goo that he shot out of his body."
The cab driver just nodded, looking nonplussed as he turned a corner.
"Yeah, that happens sometime."
Mitsubuya blinked, waiting a moment to make sure he'd heard the driver right.
"Gomen ne," he began slowly, worried slightly at what he might find out. "What did you just say?"
The cab driver burst out laughing, startling the poor man in his car.
"Pal," the driver said between fits of laughter. "What're you on?"
Wednesday; May 2
7:31 a.m.
Ikegami Takuya gave a pitiful moan of protest as his alarm rang. Reaching over, he poked the tip of a finger against the glowing screen of his phone, silencing it.
"Five and a half hours of sleep," he muttered, speaking through the sensation of cotton in his mouth. "Better than last night."
Takuya raised up in his bed and stretched, flexing the kinks out of his body before brushing the grit out of his eyes. Morning sunlight streamed through the plain curtains of his bedroom's lone window. Sighing, the fifteen-year old boy flipped forward, somersaulting out of bed to land on his feet.
"Ta-da!" he declared to the small quarters, devoid of any human life other than himself. "Good morning, world."
Takuya's room was located on the third floor of his mother's clinic; a simple space in the shape of a rectangle with a closet, desk area, and drawers built into the far wall. The drawers were coated with a thin layer of dust, like they hadn't been opened in a while. The same could be said for the closet, and the mirror adorning one of the doors.
Only the desk area was kept reasonably tidy. It housed a computer set-up, complete with virtual visor, touch-sensitive screen board, and holovision screen projection. The holovision screen was cycling through an image program of a baby panda chewing on bamboo shoots; something the system had selected at random.
The holographic video stopped playing when Takuya approached, sensing his movement, and switched over to the desktop theme. Takuya ignored it, however, except to shut the holovision screen off entirely. Reaching for the far back area near where the thin, hyper-definition speakers stood, Takuya withdrew his SMARTwatch and slapped the device over his wrist. The miniature holovision screen opened automatically, offering him the usual apps. Takuya skipped over them in favor of a small icon located in the bottom left, almost out of sight.
A new screen opened, and after scrolling through the outfits he'd saved, Takuya selected his school uniform. The teen was about to push the activation icon, then remembered that he was still wearing his boxers from the day before.
"Guess I could go a day without hearing ka-san complain," he mused, slipping the drawers down so that he was nude in front of the closet door mirror. "But, then again, why spoil the fun?"
Saying this, Takuya eyed the boxers he'd left on the floor, then kicked them aside. His mother would find them later, and complain about how he'd left them there. Takuya chuckled at the thought while staring at his reflection.
A boy of fifteen years stared back, sporting a fair complexion, attractive enough features, and contrasting dark hair looked back. Eyes that were almost gold in color stood out prominently. The body was of a swimmer's build, yet improbably taught–like a steel coil–for a teenager. Takuya gave himself a wink before hitting the icon on his watch.
There was no bright flash or fanfare. One second, he was in the nude behind the closed door of his bedroom. The next, a black substance poured out from under the bed to puddle around his feet. Takuya stood still, letting the ooze slide quickly up his body. The transformation took a few seconds to complete. When Takuya stared at his reflection again, he was clothed in his school uniform.
"Sure beats the hell outta changing clothes every day," he noted, smiling at himself again.
The techno-mesh liquid fiber had done its job perfectly once more, replicating his spring uniform down to the last detail. Takuya did a quick turn to confirm no glitches had cropped up–he'd had a particularly embarrassing breakfast a month ago when the suit somehow forgot about the back of his pants. Satisfied, the teen moved for the door, leaving it open as he walked down the short hallway to the living room.
"Ohaiyo, to-san," he greeted, spotting his father sitting in the usual spot at the family kotatsu.
Takuya's father didn't respond. The man's eyes were fixed on the central holovision screen projected out of the kotatsu's surface. Chopsticks moved automatically in the older man's hands up to his mouth, feeding breakfast noodles that missed their mark periodically. Sighing, Takuya took his own place on the futon, making sure to leave the space at the far end opposite his father empty.
"Rumors of a recent rise in gang activity in Shin-Mugenjo have sparked controversy among the town's citizens," the female newscaster was saying, "despite claims from local law enforcement insisting the police have the situation under control."
"Where's mom?" Takuya asked, reaching for the bowl of ramen that had already been laid out on the table for him.
"Downstairs," his father replied, speaking for the first time. "In her office. Getting ready to open up for the day. Will you be home to help her this afternoon?"
"I should," said Takuya, snapping his chopsticks in half. "If I don't have club meetings or something. Ittadakimasu!"
'Club meeting' was Takuya's go-to excuse for his 'extra-curricular' work. So far, neither of his parents had figured out what that meant. Realizing that his father had gone silent again, Takuya picked his bowl up and quickly slurped down the noodles. The newscaster had already moved from the story about rising gang violence to a recent scandal involving a pop star.
"Gochisosama deshita," Takuya declared once he was finished, setting the bowl back down. "I'll say goodbye to ka-san on my way out."
Takuya's father didn't appear to hear him. Taking his bowl, the teenager left it in the kitchen sink, then raced back to his room to grab his briefcase. Next, he stopped off at the restroom to brush his teeth and wash his face off. With the morning ritual complete, Takuya gave his absent-minded father a wave–which the man barely noticed–before heading downstairs.
The clinic where his family lived was divided up into three levels. The top level held the apartment where the family lived. The second level contained his mother's office, several patient rooms, a set of bathrooms, and a storage area. Takuya rounded the corner once he was off the stairs and headed straight for the office of Dr. Ikegami Naoko.
"Ka-san!" he called out cheerfully. "I'm going to school now. Is there...?"
Takuya found himself standing in front of the open door to an empty office. A pot of hot coffee brewed in a machine not far away from a desk chair that had been pushed back near the wall behind it.
"Looks like I missed her," he mused, turning around. "I wonder where she went?"
The answer came a second later as a distinct scream rang out from one of the patient rooms.
"That answers that question," he said to himself, taking off toward the noise.
Naoko was exiting the room where the sound had come from as Takuya approached. The second level did not have many side corridors, so it had been easy to find.
"There you are," Naoko said in lieu of a greeting. "If you don't hurry, you'll be late."
"I'm always on time," Takuya replied defensively. "Except when I'm not, which is usual for me."
Naoko gave her son a very dry glare.
"Come home as soon as you can after school," she instructed, while thumbing through some notes on her tablet. "I need your help taking inventory in the supply room. Seems like we're always missing a few things."
"I will after club meetings," Takuya promised, though he discreetly moved one hand behind his back to cross a set of fingers. "They sometimes run a little long."
"I've noticed," Naoko went on, not looking up from her tablet. "Anyway, you'd better get a move on. I'll see you later this evening."
Takuya gave his mother a nod and was on his way past her when she stopped him suddenly. To Takuya's surprise, she pecked him lightly on one cheek. Takuya felt his face flush from embarrassment, yet he didn't pull away immediately.
"Be careful," she told him, her voice growing softer, less sharp. "Message me if you are going to be late. I'll worry otherwise."
"I know," said Takuya, giving his mother's forearm a very gentle squeeze of affection. "I will."
Satisfied, his mother let him leave. Takuya made for the end of the hall which split into two different directions. Faking going right, he peeked around a corner, watching his mother as she headed back toward her office. With the coast now clear, Takuya raced the other way, stopping in front of an emergency exit. A security pad stood on the wall beside the door a few feet above the handle.
Quickly, Takuya entered the code from memory to disable the alarm, then slipped out through the door onto the stair landing outside. The door slid shut, and the light beside it flashed red, signifying that the alarm had been reset. Around him on three sides were the walls of buildings, one being the clinic. A gap where the fourth wall would have been formed the mouth of an alley.
Takuya checked to make sure no one was watching, then reached for his SMARTwatch. Scrolling through the selection of outfits again, he triggered a different one: one definitely not suitable for school.
"Once again," he narrated to himself as the school uniform reshaped itself into his black-and-red costume, "Tokyo's silent guardian takes to the skyscrapers, ever watchful for the criminal element that infests his home."
Raising one arm high overhead, the now-cloaked Spider-Man fired a line of tensile steel strong webbing from the underside of his forearm. The tip struck home, anchoring high up on the opposite building's ledge.
"Too bad the spectacular Spider-Man only has a few minutes to spare for webslinging and crime-fighting before the bell rings."
Leaping off the stair landing, Spider-Man sling-shot himself up over the roof of the Ikegami Health Clinic using his weight and gravity against the webbing's flexibility. Tumbling through the air, the webslinger caught himself using another line.
"Some criminals will just have to reschedule," he muttered, effortlessly swinging through the row of buildings.
The sound of an alarm blared out over the general roar of daily street traffic. The ringing caught Spider-Man's attention, and he swung himself back on the web line.
"Or not," Spider-Man corrected, spotting the sound of the noise–a bank. Specifically, it was the Japan Commerce Bank just a few blocks from his home. "Robbing a bank in the middle of morning rush hour? Oi, some crooks just can't wait!"
Defying death and gravity, Spider-Man swung back the way he'd come toward the Commerce bank. As he swooped high overhead, two crooks emerged. Each male was masked and armed, one carrying a hostage with them. The woman looked frantic, but only until Spider-Man was able to web her out of the criminal's clutches.
Then, she was terrified.
"I am really, terribly sorry about that," Spider-Man apologized profusely to the panicked young bank teller–going by her uniform. "It just seemed like you'd prefer my company over his. But, if you'd like for me to put you back..."
Gunshots came from below, sending slugs up into the air, which cracked the glass of the building's upper front windows. People inside scattered in fear despite the glass not shattering. Spider-Man–who'd been swinging back and forth in a circle, let go of the web line he'd been gripping. The bank teller screamed a shrill cry as they both dropped toward the ground.
"Relax," Spider-Man assured her above the sound of her cries. "I have the situation well in hand."
Spider-Man had already reached out with one arm, keeping the bank teller tight in his grip with the other. Extending his hand and both feet, he felt the claws extract from the tips of his fingers and toes. The hooked claws left their secret hiding spot inside of his body and latched onto the glass, stopping them in mid-fall.
"See?" Spider-Man insisted, crawling up the front of the bank as fast as he could with one arm distracted. "Simple enough. Now, if you'll just be so kind as to remain on the roof while I take care of your would-be suitors..."
Gunfire rang out once more. The teller gave one last cry, but then they were safely on the roof behind the ledge where the bullets couldn't reach.
"Trust me, you'll like it much better up here," Spider-Man assured her, before back-flipping off the side. "The view is to die for!"
Flipping forward in a downward spiral, Spider-Man ended his descent in a mid-air split kick, sending both gun-toting crooks flying sideways before bringing his legs together for the dismount. Raising up, Spider-Man quickly checked to make sure both masked criminals were still down. Some of them had this annoying habit of getting back up after he'd already attacked them.
"Seriously, guys?" he chided, taking a couple of steps backward toward the front door of the bank. "Can't you just wait in line like everybody else to make a withdrawal?"
As if they had rehearsed this, the gunmen stood in unison. Each clutched an injured part of their body; one was holding his side while the other tended to a broken arm. They were still able to point their guns, though.
"Guess not," Spider-Man said, sighing as he shot webbing out from each forearm to snatch their guns away. "Oh well. There's always the ATM machine."
Now disarmed, the would-be bank robbers looked terrified. Spider-Man took advantage of their indecision and webbed both of them up, sticking their immobile bodies to the front of the bank.
"And who knows?" he reasoned, satisfied that his webbing would hold until the police arrived. "By the time you two are out of prison, they may have perfected a way to keep them from glitching up and forgetting people's PIN numbers."
Taking to the air again, Spider-Man was about to websling away when he remembered the bank teller.
"Oops!" he apologized, swooping down to pluck her from the rooftop so she could be deposited back down on the sidewalk. "My bad! Totally forgot that I'd left you up there. I hope this doesn't mean that we won't be..."
The instant their feet touched the sidewalk, the bank teller shoved Spider-Man away. Standing perfectly still, he watched as she backed away slowly in fear, her eyes never leaving him.
"Hai," he said, feeling defeated. "You just... go on about your day then."
Feeling a little dejected, Spider-Man took to the skyscrapers, swinging his way to school once again. Using a roundabout pattern, he was able to shake off most of his ill mood before he arrived at Shin Kyoboku Gakuen.
"Webslinging is definitely the best way to clear up the early morning blues," Spider-Man said with a happy sigh of contentment as he landed in an empty loading alley behind the school grounds. "As well as rejection from a pretty girl!"
Tapping the left side of his head, Spider-Man activated the hidden bluetooth that was built into his mask. On the screen built into his mask's eye lenses, several icons sprang up. Spider-Man scrolled through until he came to his school uniform.
"And best of all," he said cheerfully while the costume changed back into Ikegami Takuya's school uniform, "I'm still made it in plenty of time for registration."
Takuya took a step forward out of the alley, then remembered that he was wearing the wrong shoes. Opening the display on his SMARTwatch, he scrolled through the specialty selection, which was where all the holographic scans of shoes were stored. A moment later, his shoes had transformed into the school's regulation uwagutsu.
"Too bad the school's shoe locker is always so crowded this time of day," Takuya grumbled to himself, working his way around the alley corner toward the front entrance. "Let's just hope nobody notices that I'm coming into school with these–"
Takuya stopped short. Directly in front of him were two members of Sakamoto Shuichi's gang–among the worst bullies at Takuya's school. The two were crowding a young girl roughly his age against a wall.
"–on."
"Come on, girlie," Kazo, the larger of the two, pressed while his cohort, Junji–the shorter of the two watched closely. "It's just one date, after all. Everybody knows you go for older men anyway."
"It's all those dates men pay for at the Game Centers," Junji jeered, leering openly at the girl's breasts.
The girl–Takuya didn't recognize her, though she wore the girls uniform for Shin Kyoboku–was maintaining her cool the whole time. Still, it was two against one, and Takuya cursed himself for having changed back from his Spider-Man disguise so quickly.
"Still," he reasoned out loud to himself, stepping forward. "I can handle two on one, even as Ikegami."
Unfortunately, Kazo and Junji both heard Takuya muttering his thoughts out loud and turned to glare menacingly in his direction. Takuya cursed once again, this time at having lost the element of surprise.
Then–
"I think you should let the lady go," he advised, keeping their attention. "Girls tend to dislike guys that are too pushy. Maybe if you–"
Takuya had a feeling his advice would've fallen on deaf ears, but that proved redundant anyway. Once Kazo and Junji's attention was sufficiently diverted, the girl seized Kazo by his ape-ish arm. Takuya and Junji each watched in shock and awe while the nameless girl kneed Kazo directly in the balls, then kicked his knees out from under him and flipped him onto his back.
"Eh, never mind then," Takuya said quietly.
Junji, meanwhile, turned around at once and took off in the opposite direction. Takuya chuckled, watching him retreat, then looked at the mysterious fighter girl who'd just waylaid a man twice her size and weight. The girl was busying herself by straightening the front of her uniform, and casually tossed the mane of light brown hair she sported over one shoulder before walking away toward school.
"Matte!" Takuya called out, giving chase.
The girl didn't slow her stride, though it was easy enough for Takuya to catch up to her. As he approached, she glanced back in his direction, wearing a look of disdain.
"What do you want?" she asked him coolly when he reached her side.
"That was really impressive," Takuya complimented, giving her his best smile. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
The girl didn't answer immediately. She seemed to be taking an assessment of him, and wasn't very impressed by what she saw.
"Nowhere in particular," she replied finally as they were rounding the corner near the school's main gate.
"Ah, sou desu," Takuya went on, determined not to be blown off for the second time that morning. After all, this girl wasn't screaming at him yet. "You go to the same school that I do, but I've never seen you around before. I'm a first-year, though, so I haven't gotten to know everyone yet."
The girl remained silent.
"What's your name?" Takuya tried, hopefully. "Mine's Ikegami Takuya. Hajimemashite desu yo."
"Mamiya," she answered crisply as the two of them passed through the gate together. "Mamiya Saki."
Before Takuya could speak again, the girl named Mamiya Saki veered sharply to the right and walked away. Takuya watched her go, surprised by this, but straightened his shoulders confidently when she paused to look back over her shoulder at him.
"By the way," she added, looking him square in the eye. "You're wearing the wrong shoes. Were you aware of that?"
Takuya looked down at his feet, specifically at the dirt and grime that had gotten all over his uwagutsu.
"Hai!" he answered fast, not sure of what else there was he could say. "I am, in fact."
Saki stared hard at him for a moment more.
"Che, weirdo," she declared, before walking away again.
Takuya slumped his shoulders and sighed. After a moment, he raised up and started walking toward the main entrance to the school building. The shoe locker area was right inside, and true to form, it was full of students standing around talking. Takuya noticed a spot near the right wall that was unoccupied, however, as he entered.
Moving over to it, he stood casually while watching his classmates chatter unassumingly. Once certain no one would be paying him any attention, Takuya turned to face the wall, then opened the holovision display on his SMARTwatch, bringing up the icon command to initial a quick cleaning mode for his shoes. Takuya winced slightly as he felt the shoes dissolve to their default liquid state, then reform around his feet.
"There has got to be an easier way to do this every morning," he grumbled, closing the face of his SMARTwatch.
The sound of the morning chimes tuned overhead, causing the students around him to move nearly in unison together toward registration. A handful scrambled, caught unprepared by the noise.
"At least I'm on time for a change," he said, moving with the horde.
Noon came, which meant lunchtime for first, second, and third years. Rather than eat with the rest of his peers, however, Takuya decided to head for the roof. Buying a bento from the shop on the first floor, he slipped upstairs under the pretense of heading for the less crowded restrooms on the third level. From there, it was easy enough to sneak up the stairs to the rooftop.
"Ah," he said between bites from his bento, staring out across the cityscape. "The view from up here is incredible. Some spiders must really do crave high places."
There came the sound of a digital camera snapping a photo. Hanging his head, Takuya slowly turned around, then raised up to find Sakuma Hitomi standing with her camera pointing directly at him.
"Yo!" she said confidently, taking one hand off her precious camera to shoot him the V-sign. "Caught you talking to yourself again. Didn't I, Ikegami-san?"
Takuya wiped his mouth off with the back of one hand, having forgotten to bring napkins with him. Hitomi 'tsked' at him, reaching into her pocket for a set of napkins she'd brought.
"You'd think someone would have taught you how to look after yourself by now," she scolded, while Takuya graciously accepted the napkins from her.
"I forgot," he grumbled around a mouth full of food. "What are you doing up here anyway?"
"Looking for you," she said, holding her camera up again to bring Takuya into focus. "You weren't in the usual place during registration. Late again?"
"I was on time for a change," Takuya insisted, leaning back on the chain-link fence that surrounded the roof. "I got held up, is all."
Takuya grimaced and looked away as Hitomi took his photo. He always hated being on camera. For some reason, Hitomi loved snapping photographs of him, despite his protests.
"Sou ne?" she asked, intrigued, putting the camera down. "What's your excuse this time?"
"I caught two guys from Shuichi's gang hassling this girl," he explained, while Hitomi joined him over by the fence. "She said her name was Mamiya Saki. Ever heard of her?"
"Can't say that I have," Hitomi admitted, before stealing a bite of chicken from his bento.
"Oi!" he cried out in protest, but Hitomi ignored him and kept on speaking.
"She could be a late transfer student," Hitomi postulated around the bite of Takuya's chicken in her mouth. "We're only about a month into the first year. How old did this girl look?"
"Your manners are about as good as mine," Takuya scolded, holding the bento away so Hitomi wouldn't steal any more of his food. "Saying nothing of how nosy you are."
"An intrepid reporter must always keep an ear out for information," she quoted back at him. "My dad taught me that one. Anyway, I could probably find out more about this girl you supposedly rescued, assuming you're willing to share the rest of your lunch with me."
"Why can't you buy your own?" he asked, keeping the bento out of her reach still.
"It's payment for my services as an investigative journalist," she replied, reaching past Takuya for the box.
Takuya sighed and handed the bento over to her, reasoning that there was no point in resisting. Hitomi gave him a smug smirk before attacking the stir fried rice.
"Speaking of girls," she said, looking up at Takuya with rice bits stuck around her lip. "I got a text message from my dad just before school started."
"More aliens in the sewers?" Takuya teased, though he was secretly curious. "Or is he still stuck on the mutant thing?"
"Neither," said an unfazed Hitomi as she passed the bento back to him. "Apparently, some new costumed crimefighter saved a bank teller from two robbers that had taken her hostage this morning."
Takuya felt his whole body go tense at this. Hitomi's father ran a web journal blog whose primary focus was superhero activity and mutant rights. Sakuma-san was very outspoken about mutant rights and against furthering Japan's policy on mutant registration beyond mutants giving their name and a list of their powers.
Ever since Hurricane K twelve years ago, superheroes and individuals born with mutant abilities had become a phenomenon in Japan. So-called experts speculated on whether or not the hurricane itself had been some sort of paranormal occurrence that empowered people with rare gifts. Others guessed that it had merely stirred up the ant's nest, so to speak, and brought what was already around into the spotlight.
Two years after the event, while Japan was just starting to complete its recovery from the disaster, Parliament passed an ordinance making mutant registration mandatory. As the new decade went on, additions were placed on the law as well. Mutants were now required to turn themselves over to the government before their eighteenth birthday for examination to determine whether or not their powers posed a threat to the general public.
It didn't stop there either. A politician had lobbied to put an end to what he deemed was vigilantism running wild across the country. The plan failed when several heroes saved his life during an assassination attempt. Japan's government then forced a compromise: all heroes would register under the same banner as the mutant registration program, and from that point on work as government agents.
"Did he get pictures?" Takuya asked, snapping out of his recollection. "Your dad, I mean?"
"Iie," said Hitomi, noticing the anxiety in Takuya's voice. "Are you looking for photos to add to your scrap page?"
"I don't do that anymore," Takuya said icily, looking away. "Besides, that was somebody else's hobby to begin with. I was just... curious."
Hitomi made a sound that suggested she didn't believe him.
"There were bystanders across the street snapping photos with their phones and SMARTwatches," she informed. "None of the pictures turned out to be any good, though. He was moving too fast. Like a circus performer on caffeine or something."
Hitomi laughed, like she found this funny.
"Anyway, dad didn't get there until after the robbery was stopped," she went on saying. "From the sound of things, though, this is somebody new. Dad's real excited."
"He would be," Takuya grumbled.
Since becoming Spider-Man around a year ago, Takuya had done his best to keep a low profile. He suspected there were rumors about him, though. Plenty of people could have seen him webslinging in broad daylight after all. Takuya had convinced himself that the general public would assume he was someone legit, working for the government. The idea of registration made him uncomfortable.
Plus, he'd made a promise to someone, and intended to stand by it. Besides that, webslinging during the day meant he could spend the money for rail passes on other things.
"Hey," Hitomi said, giving Takuya's arm a slap. "What's going on down there?"
Takuya winced, and realized Hitomi had been staring down at a corner of the school courtyard. Facing the same direction she was, Takuya stared closer to get a better look. His spider senses gave him an advantage when it came to seeing things at a long distance.
"It's Shuichi and his gang," he told Hitomi, growing angry now. "They're dragging someone along with them."
"Another victim of one of his pranks," she surmised, reaching for her camera to take pictures. "Or he's doing a shakedown for money."
"Probably that," said Takuya, backing away from the fence.
Hitomi took a couple of shots, then pushed off from the fence to follow after Takuya.
"If you're going after them," she said warningly, following Takuya down the stairs, "I'm coming to. This is big news."
"This is schoolyard bullying," Takuya corrected, reaching the third floor. "Not really the sort of stuff your dad reports on."
"I can use it to get my own article on his site," Hitomi insisted, falling behind as Takuya picked up speed. "I'm coming and you can't stop me."
Takuya cursed and tried not to run too fast down the corridors. He knew the school building's layout pretty well, though. The structure had several back hallways that students only used at certain times of the day. This was lunch period, so much students would still be in their classrooms.
He'd intended to slip out of a window and change into Spider-Man. It wasn't really called for, but giving Shuichi a good scare would make the rest of Takuya's day. However, with Hitomi along, he would have to settle for resolving the issue as Ikegami.
"I caught a snapshot of them heading for the east gate," Hitomi revealed, catching up to Takuya as he burst out of a side door on the bottom level. "They're probably headed for that loading alley behind the school."
"Yeah, I know it," Takuya said between puffs of air. "Stay here."
If Hitomi heard him, she gave no indication. Takuya ignored the girl and made tracks for the gate. There was no sign of Shuichi's gang or whoever had been dragged along with them. Swearing, Takuya dashed down the road for the alley. Sure enough, Shuichi was standing a few feet inside the mouth of the alley surrounded by his gang. A lone student had been backed against a wall.
"Chikusho," he swore, taking in the scene. "Now how am I supposed to handle this?"
"I have a stun gun," said Hitomi, who had somehow slipped up behind him, and was watching the scene unfold as well. "We can use this, if it's needed."
Takuya turned back around to stare at Hitomi, flummoxed.
"You brought a stun gun to school?" he wondered.
"Dad says it's not safe for a girl on the streets anymore," she replied nonchalantly, giving him a shrug. "Too many gangs and whatever."
Takuya didn't stop staring.
"Your dad bought you a stun gun to bring to school?" he asked for clarification.
"Look!" Hitomi insisted, hissing.
The young man that Shuichi's gang had cornered was shaking visibly. One of Shuichi's bigger thugs had seized him by the tie and holding him up in a choking position while on his tip toes. Shuichi, meanwhile, was monologuing.
"–I mean, it's a sign of the times, really," Shuichi was saying, not even bothering to stare at the face of the poor kid he was hassling. "The strong must prey on the weak in order to survive. I don't mean to be rude, but we have our place in the grand scheme of things, and you have yours."
Hearing Shuichi say this set Takuya's blood on fire. He almost stepped into the mouth of the alley so as to become a target for the gang's ire. With his spider strength and skills, he could put all of them down in seconds. Hitomi would watch the whole thing, though, but that didn't even occur to him.
Hitomi managed to stop him anyway, however, by grabbing Takuya by the arm. Takuya froze, then whirled around.
"Nande?" he hissed.
"Over there," she said, nodding at the kid Shuichi's gang had cornered. "Look at what he's got."
Takuya looked, and spotted the kid pulling something out of his pocket. It looked to be the shape of a large coin, yet Takuya saw that it was silver and covered with lights. To his surprise, the kid gave the coin a squeeze, triggering some kind of activation response in it. The coin-esque object glowed brightly, getting the attention of several members of Shuichi's gang.
"Sakamoto-sama," one said nervously, as the coin somehow unfolded into a type of silver glove.
"What is it?" Shuichi snapped, not noticing the danger. "I'm in the middle of–"
Shuichi didn't get to finish his sentence. The kid thrust his palm out, sending a blast of something that was only barely visible, even to Takuya's enhanced vision. The bubble of force struck Shuichi square in the chest, causing him to fly backward. The other members of his gang stood there, dumbfounded, while the kid reached down toward a discarded bag with his other hand.
"You've been pushing us around since school started," the kid said in a dangerous tone, pulling something metallic out of his bag.
"I recognize him now," Hitomi whispered as she snapped photos. "That's Morino Kazuki. He's been a victim of Shuichi's gang several times."
"Looks like he blew his rail money on some new toys," Takuya whispered back, growing very worried as Kazuki slid the metal object over his wrist, which snapped open to reveal a black laser barrel.
Kazuki fired from the wrist-mounted blaster on his arm. The recoil from it caused him to lose his balance, which gave Shuichi's gang the chance to scatter. A black, smoldering spot on the far wall stood out.
"Somehow," Hitomi mused, no longer bothering to keep his voice down. "I doubt he bought those at Akihabara."
"Point taken," Takuya agreed, while Kazuki took aim again at Shuichi's paralyzed gang. "I'm going to get help."
Takuya ran back a ways, keeping Hitomi in sight. Her eyes and camera were both focused on the action unfolding in the alley. Nodding, Takuya flipped into the air, landing with his claws out against the wall. Keeping a watch out in case someone else came along, he nevertheless scaled up the building's side to the roof. From there, it was a quick change to his costume before diving down into the alley.
"That's enough, children!" Spider-Man cried out as he landed on all fours in a crouch. "Recess is over for today. Time to put all of your toys away and go back to your classrooms."
Kazuki took one look at Spider-Man and panicked. Unfortunately, the kid was still armed and willing to use the weapons he'd gotten from–who knew where? Spider-Man decided then and there that this was a question he could find the answer for later. This was especially due to the fact that Kazuki was freaking out, and had aimed the laser for his head.
"A-cha!" Spider-Man cried out, flipping backward a second before the ground beneath him exploded. "You really must not like homework!"
Some of Shuichi's gang decided that now would be the best time to run for their lives. Kazuki spotted them on the move and started shooting wildly. His shots were largely off their mark, though. Places on the wall behind them and along the ground exploded into spots of smoldering ruin. The gang members either tripped over their own shoes or fell to their knees, begging for mercy.
"Wonderful," Spider-Man grumbled. "Now I have to save the bullies from their victim. The world is full of irony today."
Kazuki hadn't forgotten about Spider-Man apparently, though his aim was far from improving. The silver glove he wore on the other hand fired a clear bubble of force out when Kazuki raised it. Spider-Man barely had to dodge, yet he felt the air around him ripple from the effect.
"Let's wrap things up for now," he quipped, spraying Kazuki down with webbing from his forearms. "You'll get another chance to play later, but I'm confiscating those toys from you until you learn how to play nicely."
Anything Kazuki might have said was silenced, as Spider-Man had webbed up his mouth as well. The poor kid was now stuck to the wall behind him inside of a cocoon.
"I don't see any reason to get the police involved," he said, using his claws to tear just enough of the cocoon so he could remove both weapons. "Defending yourself against bullies is fine, but weapons and school don't mix."
To emphasize his point, Spider-Man crushed both devices in his hands. Kazuki's eyes–one of the few places that was visible–widened in shock.
"And before I forget," Spider-Man added, dropping the pieces to the ground before turning toward the mouth of the alley, "there's another little matter to resolve."
Quicker than the naked eye could follow, Spider-Man fired a web line out at Hitomi, who had watched the whole thing go down. The web line snagged her camera, which was yanked from her grasp with a slight tug from the crimefighter.
"You can have the camera back," Spider-Man assured her, after withdrawing the memory card, "but I'm keeping this with me. Sorry, but I like to keep a low profile."
Tossing the camera back to her, Spider-Man leaped into the air and was gone before Hitomi could catch her precious camera.
"Matte!" she cried out angrily.
Spider-Man was already long gone.
