Tombstone counted his money gripped in his pale hand. People of this world were almost as prone to drugs as those back home. With so many heroes and villains around, it was easy to coheres those without strength into temptation. Yes, he liked this world and the lambs it had to offer, lambs lining up to be shaved of their coats and give to those above them.
In his office, a TV had been hung against the farthest wall, playing the news at medium volume. A woman had been discussing the current state of the Norman Osborn trial currently being held. There wasn't much they could say to the public just yet as they had only just begun, but things may start going in the heroes favor soon.
This, for Tombstone, was an issue.
Norman was strong, he knew this. However, he was only strong by the physical definition. Emotionally, he was easy to break and surely the heroes would exploit that should he go to prison. He may talk or mention names that would slow or even ruin his operation. Even if he didn't go to jail, having him out there and no longer on his team could prove troublesome.
Yes, he decided, something had to be done.
…
The trial began once more with the end of recess, and everyone took their seats in the courtroom. Overcast unfortunately could not stay any longer, as duty called her to leave the trial early. She was only excused because she had already gone up as a witness. As the Attorney and Public Defender got back into their work, Peter was called up as a witness not long after. Kendo could only give him a 'good luck' and a quick hug before he was sent to the front of the room, in direct view of Norman Osborn.
The Attorney, Rei, was the first to approach Peter at the stand, almost glaring him down with a grin. He could tell that he only saw Peter as a means to an end, a young gullible teenager that can be manipulated using his emotions and be shown as the real crook.
The terrifying part was how true that may be.
"Mr. Parker," Rei started, "You started at U.A High School not long ago as a transfer student, correct?"
"That's right," Peter said, "I came here from MCU."
"And you are enrolled into the Hero Program."
Peter nodded.
"Can you explain to me why you were not with your fellow classmates on the trip to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, but rather remained at the school where it was attacked?"
"I was waiting for a Pro hero to escort me. A lot of my enemies have been trying to kill me."
"Because they followed you here?"
Tamika, the Public Defender, stood, "Objection, leading the witness."
The judge sustained the objection, and Rei composed himself, "I'll rephrase; why are these villains here in Japan and not in America where they normally operate?"
Peter found it easier to just warp the truth rather than make up a lie, "I'm not sure, but I think they came here to kill me."
"What reason would they have to do that, especially since there are so many Pro Heroes here in Japan?"
Peter shook his head. He didn't have an answer for him, which always seemed to be the case. He made up lie after lie in order to get anywhere in this world, which was nothing new to back home.
But lies could only get you so far.
"You say that you went to MCU, but I have a different proposal," Rei approached the judge, "Your honor, I'd like to exhibit my first piece of evidence," The judge allowed him to proceed, and he picked up some papers from his desk next to Osborn, "This is the list of records for students registered in U.A. It has a complete record of every student from the last 6 months of the registration process. According to these records, however, your papers only came in just a few hours before your first class. Why do you think that is?"
He wasn't sure where he was going with this, but it started to worry him. For now, he had to play things cool, "There were some complications with the housing, we could only get it done on the day of my arrival."
"Yes, but your registration for the school was dated on the day you first came to the school, and not two months prior like suggested," he turned to look at the jury, "Perhaps they simply didn't print it out until that day, or something else is amidst."
"You're honor, relevance?" Tamika asked.
"I'll get to the point," Rei approached Peter again, "We know that Peter Parker, also known under the name of Spider-Man, fought with the Goblin and his allies on more than one occasion. Since he is without a license, each of these confrontations were illegal, excused or not."
"Norman is the villain! Not me!" Peter shouted.
"How do we know you haven't committed crimes of your own? Perhaps you fought him to hide your own secrets. I have reason to believe that you don't even have a passport, perhaps you are an illegal immigrant who forged papers to attend U.A High. And what about your Aunt? She only showed up a week ago out of nowhere."
"Objection!" Tamika shouted.
"If we can't even trust upcoming heroes, how can we blame villains like Osborn for their actions?" Rei stepped back, "Nothing further."
As Rei sat back down, Peter could only clench his hands together under the stand. While he hated how he attacked him just to ruin his image and therefore his word against Osborn, Peter couldn't deny some of the facts to be true. The Reality stone created the papers when he accidentally thought of it. His accidental thoughts could only go so far, which means he was in trouble if this trial urges the police to investigate him. They won't find any travel records, likely not even anything going back a few months. Taking a deep breath, he wiped his face and attended his gaze to Tamika, the lawyer who's supposedly on his side.
"When the school was under attack by villains, where were you, Mr. Parker? Specifically, I mean? The halls? A class? Running for the exits?"
"I…" he didn't want to say he was fighting. Not just because it was illegal, but because he didn't feel right taking credit for it, "I was fighting villains."
"Despite the illegal standpoint, you fought to protect your fellow students and faculty. It's also known that a relative of yours was kidnapped and brought to the scene against her will. She had no choice coming to Japan, true or false?"
"True. They wanted to use her a bait for me."
"Why do they hate you so much?"
"They're my enemies, and I'm a hero. I've stopped their plans multiple times. Being a hero without a license isn't illegal back home."
"So, habit forced you to fight. Even if you are without a Japanese License, it stands to reason that you are already a Pro Hero. My opponent wishes to diminish Mr. Parkers reputation by accusing him of being a negligent criminal, but a villain doesn't throw himself into the fire to save lives," She looked to Osborn, "The villain is the one who starts the fire, regardless of who's in the blast zone," She approached Peter again, "You know him the best, Mr. Parker. Who is Norman Osborn to you?"
He froze up, fingers twitching in their place. Every bad memory with Norman suddenly came rushing back to him. The first of these bad memories being when Norman first revealed himself to be The Green Goblin, the day his whole world shattered. Every time he tried to kill him in the streets, the school, Normans very home. He had threatened Peter never to tell Harry the truth, the only thing they could agree on was to protect him. Just seeing him now, sitting in the court room, it was like he was planning to murder him with nothing more than the daggers from his intense glaring. Even as Tamika asked him the question again, trying to grab his attention, he couldn't look up from his shaking hands for very long.
When he finally did, the tension released with the sight.
Quietly coming into the courtroom, several of his fellow U.A Students took their seats next to Kendo and greeted her. The first was Izuku Midoryia, trying harder than the others to be as quiet as possible. Behind him was Ururaka and Tenya, naturally since they seem to follow him everywhere. Izuku likely asked them to come, being the trio never seems to be apart. After them was Mina, who stood out more than the others due to her pink appearance and little yellow horns. She smiled at Peter as she sat down next to Tenya, taking up the last space next to the small alley between sections. The last to come in was Momo Yayorozu, brushing aside the large strand of hair in front of her face. She smiled brightly at him as she moved passed her friends and took the last available seat next to Kendo. She, like everyone else, was still dressed in her school outfit, telling him they had only just gotten out of school for the day.
Seeing his friends all here, supporting him with smiles on their faces, it gave him confidence that everything was going to be ok. He didn't need to worry about Norman, not with his friends protecting him with the love they acquired. He understood now what Mina and Momo were trying to tell him just a week prior. Perhaps it wasn't love they were feeling, rather admiration, the desire to protect what matters to them. Friendship is much more powerful on this world than it ever was back home. People have fallen for Spider-Man in the past, but never showed the same kind of feelings for Peter Parker.
Experiencing any kind of love as Peter simply scared him, as it was the first time beyond his family.
"Norman Osborn," Peter started, "Was once a good man. He's the father of my best friend back in America, and I've known him and his son for a very long time. But after he lost his wife, Emily, he snapped."
Norman stared him down, silently shouting at him to stay quiet.
"Norman has always craved power and wealth ever since he was young, and he's always been jealous of those who have it. When he became the Green Goblin, Spider-Man had to stop him in his tracks. Then he figured out my secret identity and made it his goal to ruin my life."
"Why?" Tamika asked.
"…I couldn't say," Peter couldn't tell the truth without revealing the secret of his powers. Izuku however gave him a nod, having known the truth of his abilities.
"I can tell you this, however," Peter continued, "Everything Norman has done was his own choice, should he choose to make amends, that's his choice too. But he was under no influence except that of grief."
Tamika smiled, stepping back from the podium, "Nothing further, your honor."
A gasp of relief left Peter's lips when the bailiff escorted him off the podium. Despite this, his legs still shook from anxiety as he moved back to his seat, where his friends were quietly waiting for him. Momo bumped shoulders with him soon after he sat down, giving him a smile that showed she supported him.
"Thank you, guys, for being here," Peter whispered, "It means a lot to me."
"Of course," Momo whispered back, "We're your friends."
"Yeah!" Ururaka whispered excitedly, "And friends always have each other's backs!"
Rei stood from his seat and adjusted his suit, addressing the Judge directly, "I would like to call my client, Norman Osborn, to the stand."
The people of the court started to murmur towards one another. It was always questionable to have the accused go on trial, as it can appear like they are saying anything to convince the Jury they're innocent. This lawyer was good as his job, however, even managing to dampen Peters reputation with the Jury despite Tamika's recovery play. He could just as easily turn this around and make Peter the villain, pinning everything away from Norman all together. As Norman stood, people took notice of the cast on his knee, likely due to Kendo nearly shattering it a week prior. Had it not been for nurses like recovery girl with the ability to heal, recovery chances would have been rather slim.
With Norman on the stand, Rei began his play, "Mr. Osborn, is it true that you are the villain known as the Green Goblin?"
"Yes, it's true," he answered, "I've been the Goblin for a little under a year now."
"What are your abilities?"
"When I became the monster, I had increased strength, agility, and the ability to create fire from my hands."
"How do you feel in this form?"
"…Angry, all the time. Much like the fire in my hands, all I can feel is burning rage and suffering. Every horrible moment in my life comes back and makes me …hurt."
They could see what he was trying to do, Peter more than anyone else. He was going all the way by pleading crazy and reducing his sentence, maybe even avoiding it all together.
"Why did you become the Green Goblin?" Rei asked.
"It happened after I lost my wife, Emily, to a genetic disease. I tried to cure her, but my one sample was destroyed by Peter Parker."
Everyone talked among themselves, looking back at Peter with curious, some even sick expressions. Suddenly, Norman wasn't the villain anymore. Though his friends tried to stare them off, they themselves wondered where the story was going.
"Go on, Mr. Osborn." Rei asked.
"Peter Parker visited my company and snooped around where he shouldn't. Of course, he worked for a News company, so his behavior wasn't out of the question. Whether it was an accident or not, his meddling destroyed my one sample and left me with nothing."
"How did he destroy it?"
This was it, he could see it on Norman's face. He was about to reveal how Peter got his powers in the first place. If that were to happen, it would only place more suspicion on him, and cause more trouble than he needed. Norman always wanted to experiment and even reverse engineer Peter's powers, that's how he became the Goblin in the first place. If this got out, there's no telling who would go after him to give normal humans super powers or give someone more powers to work with.
At first, Peter's expression was fixed on Normans face, staring at the grin that thought he was about to win the lottery. However, his eyes darted slightly upwards to his forehead, where a red dot was struggling to remain in place. No one else had noticed but him, thanks to his increased senses. Looking back at the door, he saw it was open just slight with a rifle pointed at the defendant.
He didn't bother thinking and jumped through the air.
"Everybody down!" Peter shouted, shooting a web from the web shooters hidden under his sleeve and pinning Norman to the wall just to the left of the bullet line. The rifle fired off and the bullet was sent flying through the air, grazing Peters left thigh. It went straight by, striking where Norman would have been had it not been for the webbing. Only as Peter collapsed to the ground did everyone react to what had happened and stood from their seats in a rush.
"Stay in your seats!" Kamui shouted, finally breaking his vow of silence from the desk. The only ones not to listen to him were Peter's friends, specifically Mina and Tenya who had been sitting closest to where Peter landed.
"Are you ok?!" Mina asked, trying to lift him up by his shoulders.
He couldn't answer her as his Spider-Sense took up too much of his thought process. In moments like this, he could only respond by instinct. He backflipped into the air after hearing a gun cocking and shot a web in that direction. The webbing stuck to the front of the gun and spread to the trigger, keeping the shooter from firing off. Peter landed on the wall and stuck to it, looking down to see the shooter close the door to run away.
"Kamui!" Peter shouted, "He's making a run for it!"
"On it!" Kamui Woods jumped over the seats and rammed the door down to chase after the shooter. The chase brought them outside into the streets, where the civilians cheered for the Hero almost instantly. Only now in the sunlight could Kamui make out what he could of the shooter's appearance, a simple black hoodie and jeans. Though as the criminal turned around, Kamui could easily make out a pair of horns coming out of the man's forehead.
Kamui attempted to catch him by extending his hand into would, but the shooter suddenly jumped high into the air, making a large amount of distance and escaping into the sky. The man was gone out of sight, only the Hero remained on the street where people had started taking pictures.
…
The courtroom had been excused a few minutes after, when Kamui came back and told everyone it was safe. The final verdict had to wait until the next day, giving people time to recover from the dramatic event. Peter came out on a small limp, his arm over Momo to help him walk out despite his reassurance that he was ok. Without injuries, there was no need for an ambulance. The police arrived and started asking people questions, as well as to escort Norman back to a jailcell until the trial continues the next day. As they brought Norman out, the reporters began to swarm him, asking him questions about the trial, some of which were rather insensitive. They had to stop and try to move the reporters to the side just to get to the police cars.
Norman, just before being placed into the back of the police car, shared eye contact with Peter. For just a moment, there was no malice or hatred between them. There was confusion, inner conflict, and even a respect they hadn't felt for a long time. Just as the door closed, Norman smiled through the tainted window, and the car drove away.
"Who would want to ruin Norman's trial?" Izuku wondered aloud, "He's a villain, wouldn't that make other villains his allies?"
"Not really," Peter answered, "There were people whom Norman and I shared as enemies. Even then, it could be a case of competition or wanting to keep him quiet."
"Why did you try and save him?" Tenya asked, "Not to sound insensitive or anything, but he is your arch enemy."
"Yeah, but …" Peter sighed, "He's still my best friend's dad, and he'd be pretty pissed if I let him die."
Momo held her arms together as they talked thinking about the story Norman was beginning to tell before everything went crazy. He blames Peter for his wife's death, she knew this. What she didn't know was the details about the cure. Knowing Peter, she's positive that if it was true, it was an accident. Still, if Peter knew what he did, then that guilt has been weighing down on him. So much death occurs around him, no wonder he feared her and Mina when they spoke of their admiration for him.
"Are you gonna be ok, Peter?" Momo asked.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, the bullet just grazed me." He answered.
The bullet wasn't what she was referring to, but she didn't want to press his buttons if she could avoid it. The question was whether it's something that needs to be avoided.
"I meant …emotionally," Momo corrected, "Everything that was said in there …I can't imagine how you were feeling."
Peter sighed through his nose, nodding and putting a hand on her shoulder, "It's never easy when I'm dealing with Norman Osborn, but I promise that I'm ok. Having you all there with me …it was really nice, and it helped a lot."
"Group hug!" Shouted Mina, pulling as many of them as possible in and squishing them together. There was little resistance before everyone gave into the hug, squishing Peter like a smore and making him laugh. Kendo and Momo were closest in the hug, sharing a gaze with one another. They didn't have to say anything to know they both worried for him.
After everyone had been interviewed, they were released from police protection and sent on their way. One by one, the U.A Students left for their homes and waved goodbye to their friends. After Ururaka and Tenya went on their way, Izuku left soon after on his own. Peter still remained with Kendo and Momo, soon to follow afterword's. Both of the young girls stayed behind due to their worry for Peter. Both of them understood that Peter would continue throwing himself into danger like today, though their concern was for different reasons. One was out of concern for a friend, the other was out of past experiences and the desire to keep them from repeating.
"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow," Peter said, "Sorry this got so hectic. Thank you for coming, at least."
"Of course, Peter," Momo said, "We're always here for you, afterall."
"I know, I'm just worried it'll get you hurt."
"If we hid away every time there was danger, we'd never leave our homes."
They laughed beginning to break the unspoken tension between them. Both Kendo and Momo had a few things to say, but chose to keep quiet. Neither of them knew if it was right to say anything, especially Kendo. She didn't want to accuse him of anything without proof. Jumping into danger was just who he was, it didn't mean he was necessarily up to anything.
With a hug goodbye, Momo departed from the scene with a warm smile. Peter waved until she was a good distance away, before facing Kendo in the thought of doing the same.
"Peter," Kendo started, stopping him before he could speak, "I know you throw yourself into danger because it's who you are, but you know I have to ask anyway. After the debacle of the school attack …I hope you haven't started going out as Spider-Man again."
He raised a brow, putting his hands on his hips, "No, Kendo, I promise I haven't. I swore I wouldn't do that again."
"I know, the thought just came to mind. After you saved Osborn …it just seemed like you were already in the mindset again."
"Kendo, I saved him because it was the right thing to do. I know Osborn is a bad person, but once upon a time we were friends. He's the father of my childhood best friend, and he was a good man that I respected. His company studies robotics and genetics, and that was exciting as a young scientist. He was on the road to cure cancer and every other genetic disease until …"
"…Until you destroyed his cure," Kendo finished, "So it's true?"
Peter took a moment of silence, but breathed deep to accept his hurting truth, "Yeah. It was an accident, but it's true. It's something I wish I could take back, but I can't. I can only move on and make up for it."
"…Just make sure you move in the right direction," She said. With a warm hug, she waved him goodbye and started moving away from the courthouse.
He was a good man, but there was more to it.
As she walked down the sidewalk, she couldn't help but feel there was so much more to Peter than he was letting on. He had secrets he was trying hard to keep. It was just easy enough to tell with how quickly he can answer awkward questions, likely with answers he had preset in his mind. Only the best liars use that kind of strategy. It only made sense he was good at it, what with having a secret identity back home.
On her way down the street, she spotted Momo just ahead of her, walking more slowly than the average, "Momo!" She called out, jogging ahead to catch up with her. Momo turned around and greeted her with a surprised smile, trying to hide the frown she had just a few seconds ago.
"Kendo! I thought you were going home?" She asked.
"I am, I'm on my way there, but then I saw you. You were moving pretty slowly."
"Oh, right …" She hesitated, looking away for a moment, "Just have some things on my mind."
"Like?"
"Like …the Sports Festival!" She concluded, "The attack only made me realize how much stronger I need to be in order to be ready for it. I want to be able to do my best, Afterall."
"Me too. It's gonna be the toughest challenge any of us have faced," A lightbulb lit over her head, her eyes widening with a small grin, "Hey, that gives me an idea. We both want to be stronger, and I like to believe that we're friends now."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. How about you and I train together for the Festival? Makes the friendly competition all the more rewarding. What do you say?"
Momo widened her eyes in surprise, "You want to train together? Are you sure?"
"Do you wanna get stronger?"
Of course she did, for more reasons than one. She wanted to be strong enough to face whatever threat came her way, especially after the attack at the USJ. Now, someone attacks the courtroom and Peter was the first to act before anyone else even knew what was going on. She wanted to be strong, just like him. As she was, she just wasn't ready yet.
"Ok," She answered, "Let's train together."
…
Her cloak remained loose over her head as Lumina came to the front door of the warehouse she operated from. The sun was edging slowly toward the other side of the earth, and she had been tired after a long day. No one noticed her enter the warehouse, as they were too busy with their own lives. It was once inside that was the real issue.
Approaching the entrance of the large common room, she heard voices that normally weren't heard within these walls. Of course, this didn't mean she didn't recognize them, in fact that made this far worse than if they were strangers. They were in the middle of their sentence when she had walked in to 'greet' them.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Lumina shouted. In front of her was Tomura and his accomplice Kurogiri from the League of Villains standing before the majority of her own villains. Tomura had come in unannounced and began a meeting with her own people, trying to do exactly what she was warned about earlier that day. The villains before him consisted of Scorpion, Morbius, The Lizard, Molten Man and others. Octavius and Quinten were standing in the corner, clearly wanting nothing to do with what they were proposing.
"You're just in time," Tomura said, "We were just proposing our little deal."
"Deal?!" Lumina protested, "What deal?!"
"We want your villains to join us so we can destroy the Symbol of Peace, All Might. With him gone, everyone will kneel for us!" Tomura got excited, like a kid talking about the newest video game on the market.
"You can't just come in here and steal my people, Tomura! I get we have a partnership, but this is breaking that!"
"It's no longer a partnership," Kurogiri said, "It hasn't been since Norman was arrested. We are simply collecting the collateral. Your people have chosen to come with us."
Her shoulders dropped, a look of disappointment on her face, "…All of you?"
Scorpion stepped forward from the group. His armor was shades of green with a large metal tail on his backside, glowing with poison at the end, "It's nothing personal, but these guys have a lot more to offer than you ever did. You want those stones, but you haven't given us what we promised yet. These guys have a much quicker way of doing things."
"We are tired of your empty promises," Morbius floated behind him, his pale white skin almost shining, "We want results, and these stones are taking too long to be found!"
"They told me about the stones," Tomura said, "They do sound rather interesting. Each one having so much power over the universe. But I don't want to waste my time with Jewelry, not when killing All Might is so much simpler!"
Lumina tried to find what to say, making gestures with her hands as she approached her group of villains, "I can get you what you want, I swear! I just need more time to find the stones!"
"You've had enough time," Scorpion waved his hand to the others, and everyone had begun to cross the room. She tried to get everyone to stay on her side, even going as far as grabbing them by the arm. Each time, however, they just persisted out of her grip. Eventually, she gave up and fell to her knee's, feeling defeated by the greed of villains. No matter how she tried to appeal to them, promising riches, revenge, or through their hearts, they all denied her and stood behind Tomura.
Everyone, except two.
"Are you coming?" Kurogiri asked as he gazed toward Octavius and Quinten. They only needed to look at one another before they walked forward and stood behind Lumina, Otto going ahead and picking her off her feet. Even Quinten helped to hold her up, one arm over his shoulder.
"You've all made your choice," Otto scolded, "Which means you're no longer welcome here. Get. Out."
Tomura didn't seem to care for his reverse sentiment, seeing strength in numbers as victory all the same, "Time to go, then."
In one fell swoop, Kurogiri expanded his mist and took the group away, leaving the room empty with only Lumina, Otto and Quinten.
"…They left. All of them," She clenched her hands after releasing from her allies grip, "A few promises of a quick victory …of course, that's all it took for me, too," She turned around, distraught on her face, "I was never going to give them what they wanted. I wanted to use the stones to fix the world in ways that today's Heroes couldn't. They can't save this world if they're too busy posing for it! I thought if I could use villains, then I could find victory but- Gah!" She threw her hands down, pacing away from the two friends she had left.
Quinten looked between Otto and Lumina, sighing and stepping forward, "If I recall, all you promised Otto and I was a second chance. We can have that in this world, with or without your help."
"Then why don't you go too?" She asked.
Otto stood next to Quinten, gesturing to themselves, "Maybe our second chance lies with you."
Upon hearing this, Lumina nearly started crying as she turned around to face them. Slowly approaching, Otto wrapped her into a hug, Quinten joining soon after to comfort her. It was now she finally started to cry, whether it be from the sadness of losing her assets, or the joy of having those she can truly trust. Otto and Quinten weren't minions, she finally realized, they were her friends.
Letting go of the hug, Lumina wiped away her remaining tears, "It's gonna be hard to find the stones with just the three of us."
"Maybe it'll be easier without the extra weight," Quinten suggested, "Easier to bounce idea's off three heads than 2 dozen. Let's get to finding those stones."
She nodded, finally understanding what it meant to have those she could truly trust with her true self.
…
The night came quickly, Tombstones base remained quiet as everyone settled in. His employee's either slept in their bunk beds and sleeping bags or socialized with one another. Tombstone himself simply waited in his office, his fingers locked together as he waited for the news that he paid for to be good. Wind blew against the shut glass window of the wooden room, being the only replaced piece of the structure since he had moved in. The TV in the corner played the news as it always had, showing Norman Osborn leaving the courthouse unharmed.
He paid good money for the news to be good.
A man in a hoodie came reluctantly into the office of Tombstone. There were horns on his head, and claws on his fingertips, beyond that he was otherwise human. Despite the possibility of a powerful Quirk, he still feared Tombstone upon seeing his pale stern face.
"You failed to kill Osborn," Tombstone said with his voice so deep and rumbled, "What sort of punishment does that deserve?"
"Sir, there were Pro Heroes there," The horned man argued for his life, "Let me try again, and I promise you I will kill Osborn."
"You 'promise'?" Tombstone asked, standing from his desk and staring him down, "I've had a lot of people say that to me over the years. Do you want to know what I did to every single one of them?" He approached the hired gunman, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him closer for emphasis, "I fed there corpses to the local pound, called it a donation. So unless you feel like being food for the hounds tonight, you'll kill Osborn without fault. Take advantage of this moment, It's not every day I have mercy for those who screw up."
The man nodded extremely, "Yes sir! I won't fail you this time!"
"Good, good," He let him go, patting him on the shoulder, "Now get to it, Takeshi. Otherwise, I'll have to tell the pound I've got another donation coming."