A/N: You know what I like most about writing this fanfiction? It's the unconventional routes I take and the twists from canon that I feel make the story truly stand out. Unconventional pairings are another thing I enjoy about fanfictions in general, too. I like to see writers purposely deviate from canon and flesh out and mold relationships that could've been, and as far as I'm concerned, the more obscure or uncommon the pairing the better! And when it's done superbly, well, that just makes the reading experience all the more worthwhile. CharlesWatch220 and their story Jack and Her Green Muse is the perfect example of such a story, a well-crafted read that develops what I consider to be one of the most difficult MHA pairings to write about in a believable way. It's an excellent read, I highly recommend it. Sorry if this seems out of the blue for any of you; they gave me a friendly shout-out, so I felt compelled to return the favor. An early Christmas gift to a fellow writer, if you will.
Any who, on with the chapter!
"...Come again, Brigand?" Tomura seethed into the cellular burn phone in his hand, gripped with four fingers as the villain's thumb twitched dangerously above the device, just itching to initiate some disintegration and decay. "Maybe I didn't hear you properly, but it sounded to me like you were reneging on our deal."
"You asked for the Diacatholicon, and I delivered," Brigand's nasally voice crackled through the phone. "The visual aid you gave me indicated a single orb, so that's what you got. You never mentioned there'd be more than one, on a gold chain no less! As far as I'm concerned, you asked and paid for a single one of those orbs."
Tomura's thumb brushed against the phone for but an instant, the device's chassis instantly cracking from his decaying Quirk. "So let me get this straight, Brigand: you're refusing to hand over the rest of the Diacatholicon unless we fork over more money to you? Is that it?"
"You catch on quick, kid," Brigand snorted. "Fork over double what you've paid so far and the other orbs will be yours! Oh, and you can toss in a smidge more for the gold chain, if you'd like. Can't say if you're a jewelry fan or not, but I figured you might be with all those creepy ass hands you wear—"
"Just wait until I get my hands on you..." Tomura hissed, his voice laced with venomous hatred. "We'll see how much banter those lips of yours can shoot off after I've turned them into dust!"
"But you won't get your hands on me, now will you?" Brigand responded, clearly not intimidated by Tomura's anger. "You only found me the first time because I let you. I always let my prospective employers seek me out, not the other way around. And how do you think you'll find me? By tracking me? Through a burn phone? Get real. My satchel is one-way, too, pal."
"You're dead, Brigand," Tomura growled. "Do you hear me? You've got one life left, so enjoy it before I personally deliver you your Game Over."
"...Look, I can see you need some time to think on my offer," Brigand said nonchalantly. "How about this: I'll hold onto this burn phone for another hour, and you can call me back after you've taken however long you need to calm down. And if you wait too long...? Well, I've got other buyers lined up to step in. Ciao."
"...Wait! Brigand!" Tomura yelled into the phone, but to no avail—the man had already hung up. The bar was silent besides Tomura's ragged breath and Kurogiri's methodical rummaging and cleaning before the fledgling villain let out a horrid yell of frustration, clenching the phone in his hand until its ashen particles spilled through his fingers and onto the bar top. Kurogiri mindlessly ran a wet cloth over the counter, wiping the pile of dust away with ease, as if he'd performed this action many times before. "I will grind that man into compost!"
"That would be rather lovely," Kurogiri added. "I was thinking a bit of greenery was just what this bar needed!"
"Your anger is understandable, Tomura," The voice of All For One sounded through the blank monitor in the bar. "But allow yourself to grow and learn from this experience. This encounter with Brigand has no doubt taught you to be extremely specific and cautious when requesting the services of third-party mercenaries. Remember: you are paying for their services before their loyalty. It is in their best interests to twist and smear agreements with employers whenever possible. We are no different, either."
"I understand, Sensei," Tomura said, releasing a sigh of defeat and letting his shoulders sag as he took a seat at the bar.
"Besides, a single orb of the Diacatholicon will likely suffice for our goals," All For One added as Kurogiri delicately held up said jade-colored orb in his misty hand. "Kurogiri, if you would be so kind..."
"Of course, sir," Kurogiri's hand twisted into a small vortex, into which the magical orb slipped through, ostensibly to All For One's exact location.
"But still...!" Tomura shook, the last vestiges of his anger becoming apparent as he scratched at his neck. "Brigand sullied our League! He insulted us! Insulted me! For that alone, I should kill him!"
"Need I remind you, Tomura, of precisely why it was decided Brigand would be solicited for his services to begin with?" All For One gently chided his protégé. "It was so the League itself would not have to invest members and man hours into what would be a costly incursion into the very home of the Sorcerer Supreme himself. Brigand possessed the skills necessary for such a feat, but even with what meager arsenal he commands, he will be defenseless once the vengeful might of Kamar-Taj is brought down upon him. Ultimately, we hired Brigand to fail in the long run, so we wouldn't have to. That insignificant man is but one more piece constituting the grander puzzle that is the growth of your League, my dear Tomura."
Tomura seemed to calm down considerably as he considered his master's words, while Kurogiri stood by just as silently, mindlessly cleaning a glass as he, too, listened on.
"Why, just think about the numerous objectives that have been accomplished with this simple operation of yours, Tomura," All For One continued. "An important relic secured in our grasp, a third party that will take the fall, and, when they inevitably catch him, your notoriety will be sure to increase tenfold!"
"My...notoriety?" Tomura questioned.
"They will be expecting Ikiji to be the mastermind behind this encroachment," All For One explained. "And while that boy certainly plays his role, it is you, Tomura, who will be shaped as a force to be reckoned with in the eyes of those feckless sorcerers. It will be you—not Ikiji, not any of our Nomu, not even myself—but you, who will render the world's sense of Justice obsolete. All of this...is for you, Tomura."
Tomura seemed to straighten his posture a bit more, and he dropped his assault on the skin of his neck as his master spoke. All for me...
"So dwell no more on Brigand," All For One said with finality. "Leave that man to his inevitable fate as we turn our attention to the finishing touches of our other project: our prized Nomu."
"Progress is nearing completion, sir," Kurogiri spoke up. "Our special Nomu will be battle ready before the year's first term begins."
"As I'm sure you both know, it was recently announced that All Might would begin cultivating a new generation of heroes at U.A this year," All For One said.
"The media is certainly in a tizzy about it," Kurogiri added.
"Quite right," All For One chuckled. "How does this sound for a proper headline: 'All Might, Symbol of Peace, killed during his first week at U.A?'"
"This is a terrible idea," Wong muttered as a familiar sight to Izuku—a pink-haired girl with crosshairs in her eyes—warily eyed the flaming portal she was stepping through, as well as the dark alley she was stepping into. "Involving a civilian like this."
"It's like you said, Master Wong, we don't have time to consider any other possible alternatives!" Izuku said in defense of his plan to involve Hatsume, before turning to greet her with an awkwardly wide smile and a silly wave of his hand. "U-uh, hi there, Hatsume!" The girl was grimy, with inky blots dotting her cheeks and workshop clothing, with some gadget-like apparatus strapped to her head; it was clear she was in the middle of working when he'd called, and hoped she wasn't too upset with his request.
The flaming portal fizzled out of existence, cloaking those gathered in near total darkness once more. Despite this, Izuku felt a rush of wind against his face and could practically feel Hatsume's eyes and face hovering directly in front of his own, causing him to squeal comically.
"Have you invited me to get another look at your babies!?" Mei asked excitedly before backing off ever-so slightly, a knowing look on her face that was evident even in the dim alleyway. "Or did you call me back to wow me with your 'so-called magic'?"
'So-called magic,' Mei's words rattled in Izuku's head. She had used those exact same words when he'd tried explaining his abilities to her months ago at Washington Square Park, in the aftermath of Marcus's rampage. She'd laughed off his confession, confidently declaring that magic was completely bunk. Her initial words had hurt Izuku a great deal, but she wasn't done speaking quite yet:
"Magic is bunk, it has to be; even hearing Mr. Stark utter those words, I know there must be something more to it, something explainable," Mei had said, looking far more somber and contemplative than what she had usually expressed toward Izuku. "But, you know...you don't strike me as the kind of guy that would really lie so maliciously, even about something so ridiculous, you know?"
Her words sparked something within Izuku that night, as they munched on their pork-stuffed pretzels: the thought—the hope—that maybe finding people who he would be willing to share his secrets of magic with wouldn't be as difficult or impossible as he once feared.
Their first encounter had been brief (and incredibly dangerous and life-threatening to them both), but Izuku trusted Hatsume. And with his sensei's life on the line, that trust was all that mattered to Izuku at the moment. But she didn't know that yet.
"Actually, I called you because I...we... really need your help," Izuku said, fidgeting with his fingers. "That warehouse over there?" Izuku pointed at the dimly lit derelict building. "We need to get inside discreetly, but there's a number pad we need to get through first."
"And you were thinking that with my Quirk and tech know-how, I'd be able to figure out the correct numbers, right?" Mei asked as Izuku nodded his head in return. She looked at the other two men present, recognizing Spider-Man instantly, but not the portly robed man. "...You haven't even started U.A yet and you're already palling around with an Avenger?"
"Will you be able to get past this security device, or not?" Wong asked a tad bit impatiently.
"Of course I'll be able to!" Mei beamed proudly. "And if I help you guys succeed..." She suddenly invaded Izuku's personal space again, eyes wide with glee, much to the poor boy's discomfort. "Will you put in a good word in for me to Mr. Stark!?"
"S-sure!" Izuku hastily stammered, trying to back up, but to no avail as Mei just inched closer and closer. "Spider-Man can put in a good word for you!"
"Wait, what?" Spider-Man blinked through his mask, having not gotten a word in as he was thoroughly perplexed by the pink-haired girl they'd summoned for aid.
"Then it's settled!" Mei proclaimed excitedly. "I'll use my Zoom Quirk to get that number combination for you lickety-split, and then, boom! Stark Industries internship, here I come!"
"That's...not exactly how that works," Spider-Man sweatdropped, though his words had fallen on Mei's deaf ears.
"And you're certain your Zoom Quirk can secure us silent passage into the building?" Wong inquired with a sense of urgency that likely wouldn't go away anytime soon.
"I assume you wouldn't have called me if your Quirks and know-how of security devices could've gotten you inside without notice," Mei said cheekily, eyeing Wong curiously. "Out of curiosity...what is your Quirk, anyway? Are you a Quirkless 'sorcerer' like Midoriya is?"
"My Quirk is called Humorless," Wong leveled a stern glare directly into the crosshairs of Mei's pupils. "I am incapable of laughter."
"Is—is he joking?" Mei leaned in and whispered to Izuku, who looked just as flabbergasted as she was.
"I have no idea..." Izuku whispered back.
Quickly putting all that aside (for the time being, anyway), Mei quickly and quietly made her way across the street to the dimly lit entrance of the warehouse, the rusted number pad barely discernible beneath the weakly flickering light fixture hung above the door. She leaned her face in close to the pad, activating her Quirk as the crosshairs within her eyes began to focus and narrow.
Midoriya was right to call me, Mei thought excitedly at the accolades Stark might give for her success here. With Zoom, I can focus in on things at a distance, and coupled with my newest baby, my Focusing Goggles, my Quirk gives me almost microscopic vision on things close up!
Mei pulled her red goggles over her face and grinned as she roamed her eyes over the number pad. With the goggles enhancing her Quirk, she could clearly see four fingerprints on the pad: One, Three, Five, and Eight were the numbers pressed, but Mei knew it wasn't necessarily in that order. She focused her goggles more and more with a twist of a dial at the top of her headgear until she had a clear view of the fading leftover sweat, dead skin, and microscopic threads of red fabric left impressed on each used button. Scanning through the four buttons and comparing the amount of microscopic material left on each of them, Mei was able to determine the correct order within a few moments. She silently waved Izuku and the others over.
"Did you figure it out?" Izuku hurriedly whispered.
"Sure did!" Mei said, dialing back the goggles and lifting them off her face. "I—whoa!" Mei suddenly swayed and fell forward, being caught shakily by Izuku before she could hit the ground. In her excitement she'd forgotten that suddenly switching from microscopic vision to normal vision made her crazy dizzy.
"Thanks for the save, Midoriya," Mei said woozily as she tried to lift herself back up, but soon found that Midoriya was still holding her, shaking lightly.
"No...thank you, Hatsume," Izuku responded.
"Huh?" Mei blinked, the quiet desperation in Izuku's voice not going unnoticed.
"I never told you what we're here for," Izuku spoke softly. "Well, long story short: my teacher, who you met back during the Expo, is dying, and the only thing that can save him was stolen. We think the relic we need was brought here, and we're going to get it back. We're going to save him."
"So please," Izuku pulled back, revealing to Mei a teary yet deeply thankful expression. "Please stay out here, away from danger, while we go inside and finish this."
Mei could only nod dumbly; she was rendered somewhat speechless by the sheer sincerity of Izuku's plea, and quickly punched in the correct numbers into the pad, stepping aside as the door audibly unlocked and Izuku, Wong, and Spider-Man cautiously entered the warehouse...
"FOREIGN BODIES DETECTED! EXECUTE!"
A warbled, robotic voice screeched out from the encompassing darkness of the building, startling the three as they entered through the door.
"Wait...that voice. Is that—oh God!" Spider-Man felt his Spidey Sense absolutely bristling as numerous lights suddenly flashed on, blinding him and the two sorcerers. Wong and Izuku both raised their hands over their faces, but he took immediate action, his senses practically screaming about the danger careening towards them. Peter shot duel web strands towards their ankles and gave them a swift tug, pulling them off their feet and onto their stomachs right as a metallic body came barreling past where their heads just were.
So much for a discreet entry!
Wong and Izuku both gave rough grunts as they fell but didn't raise any complaints, their hands moving at once to conjure a barrier over themselves to give them some brief respite as their eyes adjusted to the sudden light.
With his mask covering his face, Spider-Man wasn't nearly as affected by the light as the other two were, allowing him to get the first glimpse of their robotic attackers.
"Is that—!?" Spider-Man blinked, seeing but not quite believing. "It's Mr. Stark's Iron Legion drones!?"
Indeed they were; a dozen robotic replicas, all assembled into Tony Stark's heroic likeness, buzzing around the room with their built-in repulsors and firing upon them indiscriminately with said weapons.
Don't tell me... Peter pondered as he propelled himself into the air with a quick thwip, kicking one of the drones into another and causing them to veer wildly into the ground. That Brigand was also the same guy that infiltrated Avengers Tower during the Stark Expo!?
Several more drones flew toward Midoriya and Wong, raining blast after blast down upon them with their repulsors. Izuku let out a panicked yell as his barrier shattered from the repetitive barrage. The strain forced Izuku down onto one knee, with Wong darting in front of him with his own barrier to deflect and absorb the oncoming blasts. Izuku mentally cursed; his barriers were still somewhat lacking in strength and durability, evident by Wong's barrier lacking any noticeable damage from the Iron Legion's constant barrage.
Seeing his sorcerous allies pinned down by the reprogrammed drones, Spider-Man swung around toward their backs, turning in midair and launching a few well-aimed shots of webbing directly onto the visors of the drones attacking Wong and Izuku.
"Switching to infrared mode!" He heard the drones say as a vividly crimson light glowed from beneath the webbing he'd splattered on their visors. They abruptly ceased their attack on Izuku and Wong and took to the air, with Peter locked in their sights.
"Oh crap!" Peter squealed as he shot more webbing across the steel girders of the warehouse ceiling, keeping himself ahead of the drones hot on his heels. With trepidation, Peter noticed that there were even more Iron Legion drones that had yet to activate, still strung up between the girders by wire. "I think you built these a little too well, Mr. Stark!"
Wong lowered his barrier, giving himself but a moment's respite as he watched Spider-Man draw those particular Iron Legion droids away from himself and Izuku. He turned to gauge Izuku's stamina, but the sound of clunking metal footsteps drew his attention back toward the fray. Several non-flying drones were rushing his location, their palm gauntlets opening up and revealing various combat tools, from saws to jackhammer-like appendages. Wong weaved his hands to and fro, conjuring numerous energy bolts which he pierced through the arc reactors of the attacking droids with a flick of his fingers.
"Master Wong! Above you!" Izuku yelled out in spite of how mesmerizing it was to watch the master do battle with robots, of all things.
Heeding the boy's warning, Wong promptly leaped into the air with his fist drawn back, grabbing hold of the drone before it could mount an attack and summarily driving his fist straight through its plated head. It dropped to the ground with a loud, lifeless thud as Wong wasted little time in raising another barrier to deflect more repulsor blasts from newly activated drones dropping from the ceiling.
"Yes, I know we're in danger!" Spider-Man yelled, his Spidey Sense tingling nonstop as he swung between the girders, trying his best to web up drones before they dropped while also keeping a close eye on Izuku and Wong to ensure they weren't overwhelmed by Stark's tech.
"No you don't!" Spider-Man swung down toward a drone whose arm gauntlet had opened up, pointing and launching a newly revealed missile of sorts directly at Izuku. Peter connected a thick strand of webbing to the tail-end of the projectile with a flick of his wrists, swinging over the drone's head and redirecting the missile back toward the unsuspecting droid with a hefty heave. "Bombs away!" Peter yelled as the iron legionnaire exploded spectacularly.
"You okay, Izuku?" Peter asked as he landed in front of the boy, who had only just managed to pick himself back onto his feet.
"Yeah, I—look out!" Izuku shouted, raising his hands almost on instinct and blasting an incoming drone with a torrent of magical electricity. Peter's Spidey Sense had given him barely enough of a heads-up to duck before a metallic fist or a blast of lightning collided with his head. The automated armor broke apart into several sizzling pieces, colliding to the floor around Peter and Izuku's feet. Peter raised his head, giving Izuku a look of incredulity.
"...Sorry!" Izuku whimpered, at an otherwise loss for words.
"Between you and me, Izuku, I'm just glad we're not fighting the real deal, or else I'd probably be a red-and-blue colored spider smear all over the nearest wall!" Peter yelled.
"If you two are quite finished!" Wong grumbled as he jumped backwards toward them, dodging another round of repulsor blasts from incoming drones and shielding them as they took a more defensive positioning.
"They just keep coming...!" Izuku exclaimed as more drones dropped from the wiring that held them to the steel girders up above, activating and circling Wong's barrier like vultures as they took seemingly random pot shots at it. But as confident as he was in Wong's skill, even Izuku knew the master's barrier could only handle the strain of so many concussive blasts, and if it broke then he could be down for a considerable amount of time.
And Izuku wasn't confident he could stave off the drones long enough for Wong to recuperate his strength, even with the fabled Spider-Man at his side. They had to come up a plan to end this quickly, and fast.
"Hey, Spider-Man...!" Izuku yelled, getting the youngest Avenger's attention. "These drones aren't capable of breaking out of your webbing, right?" He pointed up toward the ceiling, having noticed a plethora of activated armors struggling to escape the sticky bonds of the webbing's tensile strength to no avail.
"No, the Iron Legion are only made from steel-titanium, not the stronger materials Mr. Stark uses for his wearable suits!" Peter informed Izuku before the eyes of his mask widened with realization. "You've got a plan!"
Izuku motioned for Wong and Peter to lean in as he shared his idea with them. Wong's face briefly scrunched up with doubt as he silently ran his own calculations in his mind, while Peter checked the cartridges locked into his web shooters. They were both more than 50% full, and he had extra cartridges to use just in case, but he still had his reservations.
"We'll have to be quick if we go through with this!" Peter said as he set his web shooters to eject all their web fluid at once. He was glad he'd long since upgraded his equipment for this endeavor; his earliest models had a tendency to burst whenever he shot all the web fluid in them out at once. "And I'll be out of commission for a few moments until I can reload regardless!"
"Either this'll be done quickly, or we'll be done quickly," Wong mused as the three of them sprang into action.
Wong leapt back and lowered his magical defenses for but a moment, narrowly dodging a volley of concussive blasts from the armors flying overhead as he erected another barrier, this one wider and thinner than the ones before it and parallel to the floor.
"Let's hope this works...!" Spider-Man prayed aloud as he aimed his left web shooter at the barrier. With a press of a button, he unleashed all of the web fluid contained within and resisted the knockback as the sticky contents splattered all over the barrier, coating in with copious amounts of webbing. Izuku was up next, conjuring a second wide, thin barrier over the web-coated one Wong had created. Spider-Man repeated the process with his right web shooter, coating it profusely with all the webbing it contained.
"It's all up to you two now!" Spider-Man yelled as he immediately went to work discarding his now emptied wrist cartridges in order to replace them with brimful ones, taking refuge directly behind Wong and Izuku as he did so.
"Right!" Wong and Izuku both yelled as they lifted the barriers with their hands, raising it upright to absorb a slew of blasts from the drones and propelling it forward, making the web-covered barrier collide into the nearest droids homing in on their position. The drones became instantly entangled in the webbed shield, thrusting into and pulling against it fruitlessly as it weaved to and fro to the motions of Izuku and Wong's hands.
"It's working!" Izuku exclaimed as he and Wong moved in tandem, fluidly controlling the entrapping barrier from side to side, top to bottom, colliding into armor after armor as if it were a giant, sticky fly swatter of sorts, littered with struggling, ensnared drones.
The top barrier that Izuku constructed eventually shattered after it had collided with the tenth armor, causing Izuku to momentarily reel from the magical knockback. He swiftly corrected himself, however, focusing instead on helping support and guide Wong's sturdier barrier in swiping up the remaining legionnaires. With a final upward flick of their wrists, the barrier went parallel to the ceiling and careened toward the girders, shattering upon impact but leaving all remaining functional Iron Legion armors squirming uselessly against the webbing that left them completely and utterly adhered.
"W-we did it!" Izuku stammered, feeling utterly spent as he felt like falling to his knees, but knew he had to keep his wits about him. They still had to contend with Brigand, after all, but Izuku had a creeping fear that the man had already warped away to safety. He was nowhere in sight, and the last thing they needed was for the trail to go cold here, not when Strange's life was slowly fading back in the Sanctum.
"Seems our victory is short-lived," Wong mumbled as a sudden rumbling noise shook through the warehouse. It emanated from the shadows on the other end of the warehouse, where no Iron Legion drones had even originated from. Another rumble. And another. The rumbling came with enough consistency to imply...footsteps. Heavy, ominous footsteps.
"I thought all that was stolen from the tower during the Stark Expo were Iron Legion drones," Wong whispered accusingly toward Peter. Izuku had his jaw dropped and he quivered fearfully as the giant metallic figure lumbered out of the shadows. Wong was fairly certain Peter had a similar expression under his mask.
"I'm so sorry, guys..." Peter bemoaned as he clicked his second spare web cartridge into place, not that it might make any difference against their newest foe. "It's like I said: Mr. Stark doesn't tell me everything!"
Directly before the trio, lumbering out of the remaining shadows of the warehouse, emerged what Stark had affectionately referred to in the past as one of his 'Hulkbusters'. It looked marred and deformed from what was obviously Brigand's haphazard tinkering, with one entire fist missing and patches of red and gold plating removed, exposing the thickened circuitry and complicated machinery that coiled just beneath the armor.
It's helmeted, dome-like visor lit up as it narrowed in on the two sorcerers and sole Pro, raising its remaining fist high above its head as it slowly approached with cumbersome footsteps. It was perfectly poised to deliver a devastating blow on the barrier Wong hastily erected, and while it certainly lacked the gargantuan size of the 0-pointer Izuku had faced off against during the Entrance Exam, he had no doubt it would pack quite the punch. Tony Stark doesn't skimp on his tech, after all.
Suddenly, and without warning, the hulking battle suit began to grind to a halt before it could crash its clenched fist down upon them. Its inner machinery whirred and groaned as it shut down one function at a time, its glowing eye slits flickering off, signaling a quiet conclusion to what could have been a most disadvantageous battle for Izuku, Wong, and Peter.
Regardless, Izuku and the others remained cautious and defensive, ready to dodge or spring into battle at a moment's notice. The warehouse fell into an eerie quiet as the Hulkbuster suit shut down, the silence ringing in everyone's ears.
Why had the suit shut down so suddenly? Had Brigand's tinkering damaged a crucial section of wiring? Had it not been recharged through proper, efficient means after it was whisked away from Stark? Izuku, Wong, and Peter soon found their answer, though, when the Hulkbuster's helmet slowly slid open with a hiss, and a familiar pink-haired head popped out from the suit's confines.
"H-Hatsume!?" Izuku exclaimed as Wong dropped his barrier, a look of sheer confusion etched on the man's face—a look that he did not have very often, either.
"Phew!" Mei sighed loudly as she clambered out of the suit, her already inky work clothes blackened even further from whatever oils and lubricants were inside the mechanical monstrosity. "I managed to sneak in during the scuffle and shut it down right on time!"
"H-how the heck did you know how to shut it down!?" Spider-Man stammered, exasperated and bewildered beyond belief.
"I didn't!" Mei responded rather cheerfully and...proudly? "But no matter how complicated a piece of tech is, even one developed by a genius like Tony Stark, wiring is still wiring and parts are still parts!"
"So you just pulled wires and components apart from the inside until you managed to force a shutdown?" Izuku asked Mei, eliciting a quick nod from the girl as he approached her. "That was...risky, Hatsume. I told you to stay outside, away from danger until we finished this, didn't I?"
"You're welcome!" Mei responded, blowing a raspberry teasingly at Izuku. "Or did you really think you would've stood a chance against Mr. Stark's Hulkbuster, of all things, in your condition?"
Izuku blinked as he stole glances at both Spider-Man and Wong. Wong was still standing strong, but he could see that the master still looked visibly depleted from the battle. Having to maintain barrier after barrier had to take its toll on the man. Spider-Man, too, looked somewhat exhausted, although he had the added benefit of a mask covering any explicit signs of fatigue. And Izuku...well, nobody needed to tell him the obvious: he was fairly winded by this point. So perhaps Mei had a point. Perhaps her sneaking in unnoticed as their battle raged was for the better. Perhaps it had saved them a ton of time and energy in the long run.
"We're not finished yet," Wong informed everyone, glancing around the warehouse cautiously as his eyes landed on a solitary door and a window that was conspicuously not see-through. "We still have to locate Brigand and the Diacatholicon...although it may be that he has already fled."
Izuku walked alongside Wong and Spider-Man as they cautiously approached the office door, unsure of what they might find inside. Would it be the Diacatholicon, or were they too late? Had the stolen Iron Legion fulfilled its purpose and granted Brigand the window he needed to escape? Or was he still lurking about the premises, just beyond detection?
A sudden scream of shock from Mei soon answered the heroes' inquiries, as they whirled around, only for Izuku to pale considerably at the sight before them. A smirking Brigand had appeared seemingly out of thin air, a fading distortion indicating the use of his teleporting satchel, with one arm wrapped around Mei's neck while the other held the same gun that brought the Sorcerer Supreme near death to her head.
And to make matters worse, there was no Diacatholicon in sight.
"You know, you really should've listened to the boy," Brigand hissed into Mei's ear.
Izuku felt his mouth run dry as panic threatened to take the reins; perhaps it would've been better if Mei had stayed outside, after all.
Author Notes
Part 2 will be uploaded shortly after Christmas! And this will be the last new chapter that gets uploaded on here before AO3. The story on there is very nearly caught up, and once it is, new chapters will be uploaded on there before they will be on here. I mean, they'll both get uploaded on the same day from here on out, AO3 will just get the new chapters slightly earlier. By no more than an hour, at most. Take a deep breath Toony, I'm almost there ;)
And if you skipped over the little foreword I put at the beginning of the chapter, seriously, go read CharlesWatch220's story Jack and Her Green Muse. If you're someone who likes to dabble in unconventional pairings (I know I do) like Midoriya/Jiro, then you won't be disappointed.
Onto the meat of this chapter: I really, REALLY hope that battle scene is received well. One of the big things I wanted squared away with this arc was I wanted Izuku and Peter to team up for the first time. I definitely wanted to test the waters in how I could get these two characters to interact and work together before I even think about throwing in One For All Kirishima in the mix as well, which I know more than a couple of you want to see. So please let me know what you think; your comments will most assuredly help determine the future of Spider-Man in, well, the future story arcs for this fic.
As for Part 2, it is completely plotted out, so as I said above, expect it soon. It is also the conclusion of not only this current arc, but the conclusion of the First Act of the story, as well. We've come a long way, and we haven't even reached U.A yet technically! I can't wait to continue on this journey with the rest of you! Thank you all so much for giving my first story, as ambitious as its shaping up to be, a chance.
Until next time! Plus Ultra and Happy Holidays!