Moe Kamiji, known to her boss and fellow Sidekicks as Burnin, walked down the hallways with a latte in each hand. She grinned as she reached her coworker Firefly and handed him the one in her left. "Here ya go! One Skinny Vanilla from that place across the street."
"Thanks, Burnin."
"I still think the coffee sucks there!" She took a sip of her coconut milk latte. "But it's better than the stuff here. That crap is just flavored water."
"Which is why I asked if you could get the good stuff." Firefly took off his helmet and inclined his head to the door on his right. "Our little celebrity has been quiet lately. All he does is watch cooking shows and that old American cop comedy."
"Eh, for an old show it's pretty funny. Binged all ten seasons once." Moe glanced at the door before lowering her voice. "He put on the news or anything?"
"Maybe for a bit. But it wasn't like he stayed on to listen to the full story. He just stayed on long enough for them to say that Villain league had attacked U.A and changed the channel. To be honest, he's been a model patient since he got here."
"Well, let me know if our Spider-Man wants anything." With that, she began walking down the hall towards the security room. It wasn't like she doubted Firefly's judgement, but working with Endeavor taught her a lot of lessons regarding the world of Heroes and Villains.
The first: "Be skeptical of everything. If something is too good to be true, dig deeper and find out what's really going on."
Moe knew that "Peter Parker" would likely try and do something after she watched that news report on the U.A attack in the coffee place. The Villain group that Mysterio was a part of was dominating every headline on every news channel. "Hope Endeavor's kid is alright." Her boss never talked much about his family, but he did mention that his son was attending U.A. "Probably why he left in such a rush, too. Though he didn't seem all that worried. He looked practically giddy!"
But that just meant that responsibility for guarding the Spider-Man Vigilante fell on her, and Moe would rather die than fail due to carelessness.
Reaching the security office, Moe knocked on the door and shouted, "Yo, Joe! You in there!?"
"O-Oh! Burnin!" The door opened and revealed a bespectacled man with greasy hair who smiled at her. "Here to peep again?"
She guffawed at that. "Come on, man! Don't make me out to be a perv!" Joe closed the door behind them and they walked over to the five monitors on the desk while rows of servers hummed around them. Each monitor contained six windows that showed hallway and room numbers that cycled every fifteen seconds. Thankfully, the only rooms that were under surveillance were those that contained criminals, attempted suicides, and patients that have extreme mental health problems. "I just want to keep an eye on our celebrity patient."
"Alright, just teasing you." Joe typed on his keyboard and in the center top cell of the middle monitor was the room marked C-222. There, the middle-aged Vigilante was flipping through channels with his remote. "Well, he seems to just be doing what he usually does."
"Man, who would've thought that Spider-Man would be so boring?" Well, she supposed that having a compliant Vigilante was a good thing. But she couldn't help but feel uneasy. For a guy who said Mysterio was his Villain he was acting strangely passive. "Then again he's probably still healing. Trying to escape with those wounds would be dumb..."
Something caught her eye in the video feed. The guy was beginning to turn around and... "Wait, did the cuff around his right wrist just snap!?" He aimed the remote at the camera and the screen changed to show the feed of an old television show that had a robot wearing a leather jacket flashing its middle fingers to the camera.
"What the...?" Joe muttered aloud but Moe was already turning on her heel and running to the door.
"Alert everyone that there has been a break-out! Put the entire hospital on lockdown until we give the okay!" She flung the door open just in time to hear the sound of a body slamming against a wall. "Damn it!" She rushed towards Firefly's crumpled body and dropped to a knee. "Where did he go!?"
He coughed while clutching his stomach. Using his shaky right hand, he pointed to the ceiling and Moe got a good look at the man-shaped hole. The bits of metal just confirmed her worst fears.
"The guy's in the air ventilation shaft. Great..." Taking out her work phone she pressed the side button and shouted to all her fellow Sidekicks, "Listen up! Spider-Man's made a break for it and is in the air vents! Blaze, I want you to get in there and flush him out! Do not use your Quirks if they cause damage! There are patients in this building and tanks of pure oxygen. The last thing we need is an explosion!"
Well, looks like it was time to see if she could make good on her promise to the Vigilante.
"Okay, so far so good..." Peter shimmied through the shaft, trying to ignore the feeling of his arms and belly scraping against the dust-encrusted metal while his 'luggage' banged and clattered. "They know I'm in here, but it's fine. They don't want to damage this building's infrastructure more than necessary and right now they can only get me from the front or back."
He would've preferred staying in his room for another day or two. His healing was ridiculous but it wasn't anywhere near the level of Logan's. If he strained himself too much, he would run the risk of reopening his wounds and bleeding all over the place. Sure, the Heroes here would just shove him back into the ER, but they wouldn't be so accommodating the next time around. Tougher cuffs and no remotes to hack.
This was incredibly risky but he had to take it.
"Quentin's targeting the kid's school." When he saw that news report he knew that break time was over. Quentin wasn't going to stop or lay low. His allies would keep using the crap he brought along to make life hell for the people of this universe. Now he was targeting children. "And for what? Because they want to be superheroes?"
What's even crazier is the fact that Quentin somehow got the Living Brain to do his dirty work. While the thing was a stupid tool that his villains sometimes used and could be beaten in a few minutes, inexperienced heroes would have trouble with it and that was before the thing got an upgrade. "One of Quentin's guys must've done it. But how the heck did he get the Living Brain's code? Last I heard about it was that Aaron took it during that whole A.I Uprising."
The answer was simple and nasty: Nathaniel Essex.
Known to the world as Mr. Sinister, the guy had done everything from cloning to human experimentation. A Victorian eugenicist, a former Nazi, and a supervillain who disgusted other supervillains. He had dropped off the radar years ago when the X-Men founded Krokoa and Ruby Summers had declared that they executed the guy, but Quentin's notes countered that idea.
"They killed a clone, that's gotta be it." Essex had always been a slippery bastard, so that wasn't out of the question. "And while everyone was trying to keep order in the middle of that whole stupid pissing match between the and Tony's brother, he must've just slipped in and snatched the Living Brain."
Well, that didn't matter anymore. The Living Brain had been defeated and so far Izuku was alright. But how long would that last? Peter wasn't going to stay in the hospital under Endeavor's watchful eye to find out.
He stopped moving when he felt the metal around him heat up and heard the familiar crackle of fire in the air. He closed his eyes and focused on his Spider-Sense.
He slowly shimmied the nozzle of the fire in between his legs and pulled the pin.
"Alright, buddy!" He heard a voice shout that grew in volume with each passing second. "This has been fun, but you've got no way to...!"
"Sorry, Torchy!" Peter squeezed the trigger and shot the chemical foam right into his pursuer's face. The guy screamed as the foam went into his mouth and the sound of flames died down. "But I'm in a hurry..." Releasing the trigger, he threw the extinguisher back and heard the familiar sound of metal meeting skull. "...and you need to cool off!"
He didn't waste time and continued to crawl forward before making a left. He only had a few minutes before that Sidekick recovered or one of his teammates decided to assist.
But his great plan ran into a hiccup when he came face to face with a ventilation fan.
"Time to wing it." Placing his hands on the 'ceiling' he pushed down and allowed the bottom of the shaft as well as pieces of the ceiling to collapse onto the hallway below. He landed in a crouch but winced as a sharp pain came from his back. "Damn... This would be so much easier if I complained about my wounds enough to get some morphine."
"Stay right where you are!" Peter glanced back to see Burnin already storming towards him with a grin that promised so much payback for this stunt. "Don't make this any worse for yourself!"
"Well, what can I say? This little stunt has more action." Peter rammed the nearest door down with his shoulder. Two little kids in their beds gaped at him as he ran past them and towards the window. "Haven't you heard the theme song? It's my reward."
Not bothering to waste any time, he dove forward and smashed through the glass. The rays of the sun warmed him as the glass shards nicked his skin and tore through the hospital shirt and pants.
He knew that searching the place for his web-shooters was a lost cause. They were long gone by now, but these Sidekicks were probably thinking he would waste time trying to find them. With most of her men preparing for an ambush that would never happen, Burnin would have fewer Sidekicks chasing after him outside.
But when Peter opened his eyes and looked down, he got an awful reminder that these Sidekicks were still professionals.
He hadn't been worried about the height. From his open window he could see the tops of trees and knew he was two or three stories high, maybe four if they were memorial trees. What Peter had been worried about the possibility that Endeavor had anticipated this and set up a few guards outside just in case.
Turned out that there were about five.
His Spider-Sense warned him of the guy flying towards him before Peter even saw him. Now that there were six Sidekicks after him, Peter shot his right hand out and smacked it against the front of the guy's helmet. The Sidekick was decked out in red and black armor with his lower half a plume of fire and smoke not unlike that X-Man, Cannonball, who had formally joined the Avengers a couple of years ago.
"Thanks, man!" Pushing down on his hand and allowing inertia to guide him, Peter twisted his body and ignored the pain in his shoulder. Planting both his feet on the Sidekick's back and crouching, he leaned his body to the left to steer him towards the top of a tree. "I needed a lift out of here! You won't believe the quality of the hospital food!" Before they hit, Peter jumped off and somersaulted to the ground as the unlucky Sidekick smashed through the branches and leaves. "They don't even make the chicken nuggets dinosaur-shaped!"
He ignored the shouts of civilians fleeing the scene and took off in a sprint. He didn't have time to turn around and look at who would be chasing him. Right now all he needed to focus on was getting the hell out of here.
"Stop resisting!" A woman screamed from behind as Peter leapt onto the top of the hospital's front sign.
"Sheesh! It still amazes me how superheroes and cops keep saying that!" He used the sign as a springboard to shoot towards the lampposts and grabbed onto its neck with his hands. "Whenever you say 'stop resisting', you make people want to resist more! It's a surefire way to freak a guy out, like somehow the firepower you're throwing at them is child's play!"
"Don't you ever shut up?"
"Nope, it's my most endearing quality!" Swinging off of it, he flew towards the opposite end of the street. If things went smoothly he would land on the front of the building and run up it. On the roof he could be able to get a better view of his surroundings and figure out a potential hiding place from there.
Peter felt his Spider-Sense tingle and with a tired sigh thought, "Of course, nothing goes according to plan in this line of work."
Moving his body to the right, he puffed out his chest and gut while arching his back as two heated metal orbs the size of baseballs went under him.
He heard and felt something tear on him. It was like Stain had dug one of his knives in him again! "Damn it! Why now!?"
Peter was only reminded of the fact that he was in the middle of not getting arrested when one of the balls slammed into his left thigh. He hissed in pain as his back slammed against the storefront and he fell onto the sidewalk face-first. "Crap, now that was embarrassing…"
Groaning, he got onto his feet and saw that the Sidekicks were making their way through traffic. "Need to keep moving. If I don't, Burnin and the rest of her guys are going to come out of that hospital and the last thing I need is to go against fifteen superheroes!" He winced in pain as his thing screamed from the burn. The damn ball had singed through his pants and left a white welt on his skin. "And on top of that, I'm bleeding to death. This day just keeps getting better and better."
Looking to his left he noticed there was an alleyway that seemed dark and dingy enough for his purposes. "Please don't let there be a serial killer in this one…" He half-ran, half-limped into it expecting to find dumpsters, a homeless guy, rats, an example of humanity's utter contempt for civic upkeep when it wasn't the city streets, or a collection of all four.
What he didn't expect to find was a little girl dressed up like a clown holding a video camera.
The kid had a large round head that seemed to be too big for her nearly four foot body and noodle-like limbs. Her hair was raspberry pink and tied in two high pigtails that had their ends curve at her waist. Her eyes were large and had dark rings around them, making Peter guess that the kid either painted them on or she didn't get enough sleep. Her pink eyes were a bit lighter than her hair but otherwise matched perfectly.
Her costume, however, was rather… strange. There was a big white bow at her neck, matching the thick gloves, an indigo shirt with large buttons with frilly sleeve cuffs, and a pair of white pinstriped pants that were very poofy. She had a thing for hearts if the heart earrings, heart-shaped buckles on the golden belts, and wide heart design over the tops of her legs were anything to go by.
"Amazing!" The girl placed her left hand on her face and sighed without taking the camera off of him. "You arrived here just as he predicted!"
Peter didn't really know what to say. Was this some sort of ambush? She didn't seem to follow the fire theme that Endeavor's sidekicks seemed to follow. Well, he might as well start with the basics. "...Hi?"
The girl motioned him towards her. "You don't have anything to fear, Spider-Man!"
"Crap, so I guess my face got released to the public."
"Because he is here to help you out of this pickle!"
He knew that it was probably a bad idea to go to someone who was trying to help him escape from actual superheroes, but bleeding from open wounds and trying to ignore the pain of his burnt thigh left him with few options. Especially when his vision was already swimming and his eyes were fluttering. Staggering towards the girl, Peter asked, "Okay, mind explaining who 'he' is?"
The girl didn't answer and instead ran past him with her camera raised. "Wait, where are you going!?"
The Sidekicks were at the entrance of the alley, all five of them with narrowed eyes and grimaces of annoyance. "Hey, what the heck is this!? I thought this old man worked alone!"
"I'm not old. I'm middle aged!" Peter protested while propping himself up against the wall. "Damn… I really am getting old. I used to be able to power through reopened wounds… hell, once I fled from the cops with a gunshot! Why am I so tired!?"
He hoped this girl knew what she was doing.
"Oh no!" The girl's voice raised a bit, sounding melodramatic with mock terror. "What hope do we have against five Heroes!?"
"Fear not, La Brava!"
The voice was cultured, mature, and loud. Peter looked up to see an older man wearing…
"Dear God, how big is that collar!?"
He had slicked-back grey hair with a curl at the front and sported a handlebar mustache along with a well-kept, medium-sized beard. Like the girl, he had dark rings around his eyes. His costume was like a ridiculous Victorian period piece consisting of a dark purple jacket with a collar that went past his ears and coattails that nearly dragged along the ground, a pair of loose pinstriped pants, and two belts. He also wore a pair of cuffs and a woolly scarf and held in his right hand a cane.
Smirking, the man leapt over the fire escape's railing and landed on the ground but did not crouch. "That probably hurt." The reason why people crouched when they landed was because if they didn't there was a good chance their legs would break. Some superheroes would do the "superhero landing" as Wade coined it just to show off, but it was still better than the alternative this idiot chose.
Though Peter had to give the guy credit, he masked his obvious pain well with only a subtle brow twitch. But, otherwise, he held a confident air and smile as he looked at the camera. "For this Gentle Criminal… has arrived to rescue you two!"
"Oh, Gentle…" The girl, La Brava's, knees seem to shake as the man turned to the Sidekicks and twirled his cane confidently. "I knew you would come!"
"Who the hell are… wait, I know you!" One of the sidekicks pointed at Gentle. "You're the guy from those stupid videos!"
"Hm. Well, I am glad to have encountered someone familiar with my exploits even if your taste is lacking…" The man seemed to study the Sidekicks. "Five so-called Heroes against one injured Vigilante… This will not do." He slammed the end of his cane on the floor. "It appears I shall have to teach you the errors of your ways with a good thrashing!"
"...Okay, did he really say all that or am I hallucinating already?" He would believe the latter since he was getting woozy already.
La Brava shushed him before returning her full attention to her partner. "But… Gentle, there's five of them!"
Gentle merely flicked a lock of his hair. "Indeed! The numbers are against me, and as such I will need to be… a bit ungentlemanly to win." He looked over his shoulder and his voice dropped a bit, losing the faux-joviality. "La Brava, cut this part."
"Don't ignore us, damn it!" One of the Sidekicks threw a red-hot iron ball towards Gentle, flames trailing behind the tennis-sized orb of pain…
"Never forget, Gentle!" La Brava screamed, her eyes filled with adoration and voice filled with glee. "No matter what road you take… I love you!"
"Buddy, she better be legal." Peter saw a couple of things that surprised even him. Wisps of pink energy began to rise out of Gentle's body. His hair rose as though the wind were blowing.
Quickly, he raised his arm and swiped at the air before him. The ball went five feet in front of him and then seemed to stop. The air flashed a bright white light and seemed to strain against the ball as though it had run into a strip of plastic wrap or an invisible trampoline
"Thank you, La Brava." Gentle's comment was punctuated by the ball shooting back at the Sidekick and nailing him square in the chest. "Now to make myself worthy of your devotion!"
It was probably an impressive fight, all things considered. This Gentle guy seemed to have a rather strange power that allowed for him to create reflective barriers in the air.
Peter would've liked to see what moves the old guy had in case the La Brava girl wasn't over the age limit.
Unfortunately, that was when his body decided to shut down.
Peter fell onto his side, the reopened wounds screaming in pain as his hospital shirt clung to his back. His vision was swimming, Gentle and the Sidekicks being reduced to blackish blobs that seemed to jump around and fall.
"You're so cool, Gentle! This is why I love you! I love…!"
La Brava's cheers became muffled as Peter's eyes closed. He should be thinking about struggling back to his feet and getting out while everyone was distracted, but he was too tired.
Instead, he thought about why La Brava had a camera and why Gentle told her to cut a part out.
Peter groaned.
"Please, God… Buddha… Thor… don't let my death become a viral sensation in another universe." His eyes closed shut. "And please don't let the last thing I hear be a kid telling an old guy how much she loves him."
The smell of tea greeted Peter when consciousness returned.
"Ugh… why does my mouth taste applesauce?" He groaned and tried to push himself up only for another lance of pain to stop him in his tracks.
"Hey! Don't move around!" He turned his head to the right and saw the La Brava girl sitting on a chair opposite to the sofa he was laying on, her feet dangling in the air with her hands gripping the edge of the seat. "I didn't sew you up just so you could open those wounds again!"
"...Well, thanks for that." He cautiously lowered himself back onto the sofa and took a quick scan of the room. It looked like a studio apartment filled with English furnishings. The wood coffee table had intricate carvings on the legs and a silver tray laid on top with a sugar bowl. The television was on top of a small shelf hugged by twin bookcases on each side, filled to the brim with various novels and manga. Classical music was playing from speakers somewhere possibly to soothe his nerves but all it did was make him even more anxious. "Gotta say, it's pretty surprising kids know how to stitch wounds. You've been in the Vigilante business for a while?"
La Brava glowered at him. "I'm twenty-one, thank you very much." She then pointed at him. "So you better take back what you were thinking!"
"Huh?"
"People always give Gentle looks whenever they see me with him, and I can never forgive them for thinking horrible things like that!" If Peter could edge away from the slowly advancing finger-poke he would. She seemed to be getting more pissed with every passing second. "I shouldn't have to keep telling people my age or wear a sign! This is my body, and you all just have to deal with the love between me and Gen-!"
"Calm yourself, La Brava." Gentle walked into Peter's vision and stood next to his diminutive partner, his left hand holding a cup in a small plate and his right a china tea kettle with steam coming from its spout. "Our guest is merely trying to get a rise out of you and obtain a grasp of your character." He raised the kettle up over his head and began to tilt it. "It is quite ingenious how you are able to manipulate the feelings of your opponents through mere words."
He watched as the tea poured out and completely missed its mark, dousing Gentle's wrist with what was probably boiling hot tea. La Brava didn't say anything and was on the floor in an instant wiping away the small puddle forming at the guy's feet. "And I expected the guys who rescued me to have common sense."
Was this for real? Had he really been rescued by this weirdo?
It took some work with his wrist, but Gentle was finally able to get some tea into his cup even if it splashed everywhere. He set the kettle down onto the silver tray and took a sip. "Ah, Golden Tips… truly a tea for distinguished tongues."
Alright, enough was enough. Time to get some answers. "I'm not complaining about the rescue or stitching me back up… but why did you help me out?" He narrowed his eyes and looked from Gentle to La Brava. "I don't remember saving either of you in street clothes."
Gentle nodded at this. "It is true… we have never seen each other face-to-face." He put his hand against his chest and smirked. "But that was always meant to change… after all, even before your arrest I had been making plans to meet you!"
"...Look, buddy. If you wanted an autograph then there are less elaborate ways to get it." While he kept his voice jovial, Peter was suspicious. Nobody dressed in a costume to meet a superhero just to talk about the weather. "Like, say, not picking a fight with Heroes."
"Oh, a few Sidekicks aren't enough to beat Gentle!" La Brava was back on her feet and giggling as she looked up at her partner. "Especially not the ones in the Endeavor Agency! The only one he really needed to worry about was Endeavor himself!"
"So these guys did their research…" Seems like they weren't as stupid as they seemed. "What, were you planning on breaking into the hospital to see me?"
"Exactly!" That declaration was punctuated by the sound of Gentle's tea cup hitting its plate. "In fact, we've painstakingly crafted a plan to liberate you from the chains of justice!"
"Your breakout just made things a teensy bit easier!" La Brava pointed to the side for Peter to see a closed laptop charging. "I actually saw what you did to their security system. Pretty advanced stuff, considering all you had was a wireless remote to work with!"
"Not only that!" Gentle put his cup onto the table and raised his right arm theatrically, reaching up to grasp at the bright lightbulb as if it were the sun. "But… your escape and my theft of you from the clutches of Hero society provided me an opportunity! An opportunity to show the world how much we value you as a rival!"
"Wait, rival?" Peter looked at La Brava for help. "You mind translating that, Cherry?"
The girl tapped her foot irritably. "It's La Brava! And do you seriously not know? Your little 'Pizza Time' video reached two hundred million views in a couple of days!"
God, the internet was a strange and stupid place. It hadn't been even a week since that pizza delivery and he was already a viral sensation. "So… you're telling me that you helped me escape and fought a bunch of Sidekicks… for views!?"
Peter couldn't help it. He was angry just at the sight of these two. Supervillains existed for various reasons. Sometimes a mean boss decided to screw over an employee to make an extra buck with said employee being a super scientist. Other times it was because a young superhero spilled coffee on a guy's lap and the now burned victim decided to swear revenge. More often than not it was just some thug who got their hands on some impressive gear and decided that going in and out of jail was a great way to spend the rest of their lives. There was even one occasion where Tony made a supervillain by saving the guy's girlfriend and giving her a superhero fetish.
But then there were idiots like Screwball.
Screwball was a narcissistic kid with too much free time, an excessive amount of cash, and a distinct interest in learning how to construct bombs on the internet. She became a supervillain solely to become famous, endangering countless lives just to get his attention and film him working desperately to disarm her crap. She couldn't even comprehend why her acts were morally wrong because her online following was the only thing that mattered to her.
And it was because of her stupid antics that he wasn't there when Aunt May needed him the most.
Peter had been sorely tempted to break her jaw the next time she popped up, but that would be giving the little teenage psycho what she wanted.
"And now I'm at the mercy of people just like her. Thank you, God, for finding new ways to kick me while I'm down." He glared at Gentle. "So if I hadn't escaped from the hospital… what, would you have held the staff and other patients hostage for more media attention?"
Gentle seemed aghast at this. "Heavens, no! Why would I endanger the innocent in such a matter? It is unbecoming of a phantom thief!"
"...Come again?"
"Gentle never puts civilians in danger!" La Brava patted her older partner on the thigh sympathetically. "Sure, he holds a store clerk at knife point sometimes but he always makes sure that nobody is in any real danger! Nobody gets hurt when Gentle is on the scene!"
It had taken a while, but Peter had gotten pretty good at reading people's intentions through their eyes. It was a rather simple way to gauge the mood of the people he's rescuing or fighting to choose what to say next.
Gentle and La Brava's eyes were shocked and even a bit furious. But there was nothing suggesting they were lying or trying to hide something from him.
"Well, at least that makes them slightly better than Screwball." Though the two of them were still weird in his book. "Okay… so why bring me here? Why stitch me up? You could've dropped me off anywhere after making your little video, so why go through all this extra work?"
Gentle grinned, his eyes lighting in delight. "Why, to set up my next greatest video!" He pointed at Peter. "I need you in tip-top shape, Spider-Man, for you must be ready for the battle of the century!"
La Brava raised her arm and began sweeping it across as if she were skimming a newspaper headline, "The Amazing Gentle Criminal Vs. The Sensational Spider-Man! I can see it now! Imagine all the views!"
"...You do know that, according to most people, I'm just a crazy person dressed up as Spider-Man, right?"
The older man waved his finger. "Do not sell yourself short! After all, your exploits make it to the news with Ouka Oosawagi reporting the effect you have on the world!" The sparkles in his eyes seemed to grow. "Think about it… once I face you and come out victorious, I shall be a chapter in the annals of history! Our battle, forever immortalized on the internet! All will know the name of me, the Gentle Criminal!"
Peter had spent a hot minute in the wrestling scene, so he could see where this was going. "It's a glorified show match. He wants to stage a battle with no real stakes just so people will notice him. They'll come mostly to see me, but that doesn't matter because they'll see him maybe kicking my butt." But that would require him to agree to this and then follow through with actually showing up. "Well, if I don't then people will think he's been lying this entire time… no, he probably posted that video of him saving me. And with my face plastered everywhere people are gonna know that guy was me. If I were to chicken out…"
Then Gentle would win by default.
While Peter didn't really care what the public thought about him after years of living through New York's Jameson-powered paranoia, he didn't like the idea of this Screwball-lite winning at anything.
"Alright." Peter nodded to himself and rested on the pillow. "Okay, I understand. So long as nobody else is involved and it's in a safe place… I'll do your little show match. Gotta pay you back for that rescue anyways."
"Excellent!" Gentle turned to his younger partner and smiled. "La Brava, we must begin outlining a design plan for the announcement! It's best if we prepare in advance!"
"Right away, Gen…" The girl was interrupted when her phone began to vibrate. She took it out and her eyes widened at the screen. "G-Gentle…!"
"Hm? What is it?"
Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. "T-The video… it just hit fifty thousand views!"
The Gentle Criminal staggered a bit, shock washing over his face like a tidal wave. Peter couldn't help but wonder what numbers he had been getting from his previous videos. "F-F-Fifty thousand…?"
"And the likes…" La Brava was now crying. "There's a thousand likes! Oh, Gentle!" She dropped her phone and jumped onto her partner, who enveloped her in his arms. "This is amazing! People are finally seeing you!"
"Yes… Yes!" The man was laughing along with La Brava, the two of them spinning while hugging each other. "This is the beginning of a new age, La Brava! The age of the Gentle Criminal!"
"And Spider-Man…" Peter muttered to deaf ears as he looked up to the ceiling. "Izuku's probably one of those views."
Well, at least the kid knew that he made it out of the hospital. It would probably take a bit for him to convince the so-called 'phantom thieves' to give him a phone, but for now Izuku would have to trust that he was alright.
"Oh who am I kidding? The kid's probably worried sick." But the benefit of surviving a Villain ambush was that Izuku was going to fall right to sleep and freak out tomorrow morning. That gave Peter plenty of time to heal up a bit.
Peter closed his eyes and worked on filtering out Gentle and La Brava's cheers.
Something he picked up after having worse roommates than these two.
Makoto Sato, known by his fellow Sidekicks and boss as Heatwave, grinned as he peeked through the window at the gathered Villains and the Vigilante. "Looks like disobeying orders really paid off!"
He had been one of the Sidekicks who ran out to assist the perimeter team after they went off to chase the Spider-Man wannabe. He had thought the entire exercise was overkill and a waste of time, but did so anyways because Endeavor tended to be downright terrifying whenever they failed him in some capacity.
They arrived too late and only found the unconscious bodies of the perimeter team. They said that "Spider-Man" had been assisted by some Villains who made it a hobby to post their exploits on the internet.
Burnin had called for them to regroup so they could plan a sweep of the city and how to break the news to Endeavor should they not find him, but Makoto had seen someone running across the rooftops and went to follow.
His Quirk was rather useful for reconnaissance purposes. He was able to ride the heat shimmers of the pavement and turn invisible so long as he's above a heat source. With how sunny it still was, the concrete and asphalt were practically batteries for the sun's rays.
With that he had followed the so-called Gentle Criminal, La Brava, and Spider-Man to Gentle's apartment.
"God, how can Villains be so dumb?" Makoto could bet his paycheck that this apartment was in Gentle's name.
Well, it worked out for him. Harboring a fugitive and assaulting Heroes would put the two wannabe viral sensations away for a long time and bring Spider-Man back into the loving arms of the law.
Makoto drifted into the dark parking lot next to the building and slowly regained his form and mass now that he was out of the heat. Once he was able to put his feet on the ground he took out his cellphone and began typing the address in a private message to Burnin.
"Endeavor and Burnin will probably reprimand me, but boss'll be happy that he was able to get that old guy back and put away the two guys running the cops in circles." He grinded as his finger hovered above the send button. "Hell, the media will eat it up! I can use an internet cafe's computer to send an anonymous tip that I was the one to find them. I'll be famous! Goodbye Heatwave, nameless Endeavor Sidekick, and hello Heatwave, Hero sensation!"
That was when a web caught hold of the top of his cellphone and pulled it away. "What th-!" That web was followed by another one hitting his chest and pulling him up. Makoto screamed as the line slackened and he began to spin, his body and limbs being tangled and wrapped in a cocoon. "This… this can't be that Spider-Guy! He was with the two losers and bleeding like a stuffed pig!"
Well, he wasn't going to wait to find out!
"CODE SIXTEEN TEN! CODENAME HEA-!" Before he could finish the audio code for a distress signal from his phone, a mass of webs enveloped his mouth.
"No, no! Can't have your friends coming in to spoil everything!"
The voice was definitely female and young. Was he dealing with a kid?
A figure began to slowly lower herself, hanging upside down from a thin line. Her knees bent and feet touching on the web while her hands were gripping the end in front of her waist like some human spider. She was dressed in a worn and dirtied high school uniform. Her hair was blonde with streaks of brown tied into two buns
But what stood out about her was her face,
The left side was a mass of misshapen flesh and exposed muscle. Her left eye was a milky white, making the right amber one seem to glow in the fluorescent light.
"Can't have you exposing me this early. Not when my other half has finally gotten out of that stupid hospital and away from those annoying Heroes!" She giggled to herself as she raised her right hand towards his face. "I… we… never really liked hospitals! Their food totally sucked!"
"What the hell is she talking about!?" This girl was crazy, that's for sure. Damn it, why did he have to run into the one vigilante with a stalker Villain!? "Why the hell didn't I tell Burnin where I was going!?"
When the hell did he stumble into a horror movie!?
"God, I should stop complaining. Mary Jane always said we complained too much whenever we got a little boo-boo from web-swinging." She put the tips of her fingers on his chin and cheeks, her wrist hovering at the bridge of his nose. "But I still can't have you spoiling the fun, Hero. Our rejoining needs to be special. Perfect!"
He could hear something coming. Like a knife slowly being embedded into meat.
But that's when it came.
A stinger of bone jutted through the Villain's wrist and went between his eyes. Makoto only had enough time to feel the searing pain of his brain being penetrated before the sucking began.
As everything went dark, the monster said one more bizarre statement that terrified him.
"And once us two are one again… I'll be able to go home and share the good news with my wife and daughter."
"While many of the students are quite shaken by the attack, none were seriously injured." Daikaku Miyagi adjusted his glasses as he continued to read from his teleprompter, spewing all the propaganda bullshit that the government and heroes give him. "The only major casualties of the League of Villain's assault on the school were members of its own ranks. The program they installed into U.A's security system had mistaken several villains for enemy combatants and were dispatched, but casualties were low thanks to the timely arrival of All Might."
Bullshit. This was all bullshit! Tomura winced as pain shot up his arm again. Doctor had seen him earlier and gave him some medicine that would heal him up in a couple of days, but it still hurt like hell. He wanted to scratch his neck so badly but it was already bleeding. "I threw everything at that school... everything the League of Villains had... and it wasn't enough!?"
"But concerns remain regarding how the League was able to infiltrate the school to this degree." A graphic of the bastard appeared to Miyagi's right. "With the public still reeling from Mysterio's murder of Sir Nighteye and other Pro Heroes, many are questioning if U.A and other heroes can handle the threat of the League of Villains. Principal Nezu had assured parents that the virus called 'Living Brain' has been dealt with, there are worries that the system is perhaps susceptible to another brea-."
He had enough and threw the remote at the television, the cheap plastic and components bursting into pieces. The screen distorted a bit but wasn't interrupted until Kurogiri reached over and shut it off.
"I question why you watch such things if all it does is aggravate you." Kurogiri said calmly as he wiped another glass.
"This was supposed to be my time!" He slammed his working hand onto the table, the wood slowly cracking and disintegrating from his Quirk. "I'm the one that threatened those little shits... I'm the one that commanded Nomu and made the plan! So why the hell does that bastard get all the attention!? Nomu and that stupid calculator are getting more screen time than me!"
It was beyond frustrating. Anyone who was at the U.S.J would know that he was the leader. He played everything by the book, starting with being the first to come out of Kurogiri's portal. He gave the speeches and ordered around his underlings...
"Except for those two brats!" Was it Kangaroo and Frog-Man's fault!? "Of course it is. That bastard saddled me with them to screw me over! They didn't listen or follow my orders, so those Heroes probably thought I wasn't really the League of Villain's leader!"
They were lucky that they were in the safety of a police cell. If he had gotten to them first... if they had come back here broken and wounded from the battle...
"You must admit, the destruction that the Living Brain and Nomu caused has given the League some much-needed publicity." Kurogiri poured some whiskey into the glass and set it down on the table. "Now everyone will be talking of the League of Villains."
"Yeah, talking as if Mysterio's the one running it!" Tomura slammed his fist on the table, breaking off the section that had been disintegrating. "This was supposed to show how I'm the leader, Kurogiri! That the League is more than just that bastard and his gaggle of bootlickers...!"
"Who're you calling a bootlicker, asshole!?"
Tomura turned his head and glared at Vulture who was sauntering into the bar without his wings. Behind him were the other idiots. The spineless brat Boomerang was following that insufferable little bitch Clash like a lost puppy despite her left arm still being in a sling. Behind them was the ever-looming Shocker, who ducked under the door frame when he went through.
"I'm calling you one. After all, you follow his commands like a good little doggy." His eyes narrowed as he inspected the group. "I'm surprised you would even show your face around here without your master, mutt."
"You bas-!" Vulture was silenced by Shocker putting a hand on his shoulder.
Clash shook her head and put her right hand on her hip. "Why wouldn't we? We've got a right to be here." She pointed at him. "Especially since we're half the reason why Japan knows about your group!"
"Ah yes, killing a bunch of second-stringers is a lot to brag about." He chuckled a bit as he mused, "I mean, who doesn't want to have the title of 'annoying brat that killed Fatgum' under their belt?"
Tomura got a kick out of Clash's reaction. Her body shook a bit, not enough for it to become apparent to whoever wasn't paying attention, and grasped her left shoulder tightly. "Looks like little Ms. Genius has some regrets."
"Y-You shouldn't say that about Clash!" Boomerang stuttered as he took a step forward. "She worked really hard for us to win!"
"Right, and all it took was exposing your identity. Tell me, did you get a kick out of killing your old man?" He smirked when Boomerang froze in place. "That's right, it's all over the news. Everyone knows about it, Rei. Everyone knows your little sob-story... father killer."
"Leave Rei alone!" Clash seemed to regain her nerve and stomped towards him with Vulture by her side. He couldn't see the glorified gangbanger's expression but he could tell that the punk was pleased with the possibility of a fight. "If you knew what that bastard did to him...! That guy deserved to die! He did!"
"You've stepped over the line, loser!" Vulture cracked his knuckles. "Nobody disrespects my bro like that! Especially not some freak who couldn't even make his little ambush work!"
"Well, this works out..." Tomura flexed his fingers, each joint cracking as they got into position. "If I couldn't kill the brats then I can at least kill these losers!"
"Clash. Vulture. That's enough."
He didn't give Mysterio the dignity of seeing him surprised and calmly looked up to see Mysterio in the other seat. The bastard had a smug look on his projected face as he pointed to the barstools. "Figured you would be here. You wouldn't let your little attack dogs off their leash."
Vulture began raising his right fist only to receive a glare from Mysterio. "Our partner here is just a bit upset with how everything turned out. So please forgive him and go take a seat. Get a drink! This is supposed to be a celebration, after all!"
Vulture growled. "Just you wait, bastard. Five minutes alone with you is all I need."
"Only if your master lets you put on your wings."
Vulture huffed and went to an empty seat while Clash hung back for a minute. She looked at Mysterio who nodded at her. "Don't disrespect him, Shigaraki-san. We're supposed to be partners."
"As if I would consider a Quirkless brat like you to be an equal." Tomura knew that insult pushed the right button when her electronic eyes glared at him. She moved her arm back with her hand's speaker already giving a low hum. She didn't care if she was in front of her boss and that he had been taught by mentors greater than the bastard, all that mattered was making him pay for his words.
Just what he wanted.
"If a fight were to start right now over some childish insults, I will be very disappointed." Mysterio mused, freezing Clash in place. "Enough to reevaluate my trust in certain individuals. I'm sure that your master would agree with me, Shigaraki."
Tomura clicked his tongue and looked away. Damn bastard just ruined the moment of opportunity.
Slowly, Clash lowered her arm and stormed back to her fellow losers. "I wouldn't be anywhere near here if it were my decision." She muttered to herself while sitting on a barstool. "Can I have a Coke, Kurogiri-san?"
"As you wish."
"Screw that! Break out the hard stuff!" Vulture put an arm around the stiff Shocker who was still staring at Tomura. "Hm? What's up, big guy? You bummed that we didn't get to show our stuff on that prick?"
"Nothing of the sort." Tomura couldn't help but note the disappointed tone Shocker had. "But make sure you don't start fights unless Mysterio-sama orders it next time."
"You've got those losers on a tight leash." Tomura glared at Mysterio. "You know, I could've used more obedient thugs instead of the two brats you sent me! At least then I would've slaughtered that class!"
Mysterio seemed unperturbed by his accusation. "I will admit, Kangaroo and Frog-Man were eccentric. Not exactly team players… most of my gold star members aren't." He pointed at Tomura. "I did inform you of Kangaroo's quirks and her brother's devotion beforehand… I was hands off with your entire non-plan."
"Bastard… the plan was fine!" He was getting itchy again. Damn it, his neck was beginning to sting from those cuts his fingernails left. "The reason why it went to hell was because of your people!"
"I merely handed you tools as my partner requested." The bastard was not tutting him like a dog! Damn it, he wished he could just kill this prick already. "I gave you the Living Brain. You could've activated it at any time and have it give you a constant flow of up-to-date information. You could've had it use those robots as the first wave of attack and wear out the Heroes and students before making your move. Hell, after that you would be able to send out Kangaroo and Frog-Man to do their thing before moving in with the rest of the rabble."
Tomura's teeth clenched in anger. He didn't want to admit it, but that did sound like a good plan and that just made him more pissed off. "I could've offered money to the no-names and have them kill the two! They never liked the brats! Fuck!"
"Instead, you wasted two valuable gold-star members who I'll never see again, and I'm seeing an unprecedented loss in revenue thanks to all the Villain gear that Clash had to fry just so that the Heroes wouldn't be able to learn anything. Then, on top of all that, we lost the Living Brain's status as a spying tool since they'll only strengthen their firewalls now!" Well, at least he could take some pride in annoying Mysterio. "My technology doesn't grow on trees, and you're only lucky that my partner gave me due compensation with an added bonus because of my successful ambush."
"Yeah, because killing an old Sidekick of All Might's makes you hot shit."
He didn't like the chuckle Mysterio made. "Haven't I told you before? What matters in this world is the message and its presentation. I was the one who elevated the League of Villains' name to new heights. I showed the world nobody was safe, and for all your bungling and failure to kill the Symbol of Peace it only aided that message." The bastard's smile grew wider. "To be perfectly honest… it really didn't matter whether your half-baked scheme worked or not. And I'm sure your master realized this too."
Tomura heard enough. He was out of the chair and shot his unbroken arm out. A part of him knew this was futile, but there was also the chance he would get lucky and wipe that smug grin off the bastard's face.
Sure enough, his hand went through Mysterio's body and only touched the booth upholstery. As it disintegrated to his touch, Mysterio appeared in a puff of smoke on a barstool across from the booth. "Was that really necessary?"
"Bastard…" God, he wanted to make him pay. That smug little grin… that condescending tone… acting like he's oh so much better despite never really facing down against the Symbol of Peace! "Just you wait. I'll kill you along with that Spider-Br…"
An idea struck him. One that spread a grin from ear to ear.
"Yeah, that'll throw him off."
"Maybe not." Tomura sat back down and crossed his legs. "But it probably would've worked against that fun-sized Spider-Man that school was teaching."
The look on Mysterio's face was priceless. The smug smile seemed to wash off and he just stared at Tomura uncomprehendingly.
"What?"
"Oh? You didn't know?" He pointed at his right arm. "A little shit decided to copy that loser you pine for. Had webs and everything. Managed to break my arm and even put up a fight against Nomu." he scoffed, taking sadistic joy in the fact that Mystero didn't seem to have anything smart to say. "So much for the all-knowing Master of Illusion…"
"...You're lying." Mysterio's hands clenched into fists and his body shook. The face outline in the flames twisted into a snarl. "YOU'RE LYING!" He slammed his fists on the countertop, shocking his flunkies before he got up and stomped towards Tomura. "If this is a joke, it's not funny! There's only one Spider-Man, and that's Parker! I don't care what Nighteye sai-!" His eyes widened before that snarl grew deeper. "You've been spying on us, haven't you!? Admit it, you little bastard!"
Okay, now this was a treat. Seeing the oh-so great Mysterio lose his cool… "If only the sheep could see him now!"
"M-Mysterio-sama?" Clash's tentative question made the Master of Illusion wheel towards her. "I-I've always checked, and it's impossible anyone's been spying on us during that operation! I-I know because…"
"In this damn world, nothing is impossible!" He raised his arms towards Tomura and they crackled in blue energy. "Take it back… There is no Spider-Man other than Parker! None other!"
Tomura could see it now. A fight would break out with Kurogiri being unable to diffuse the situation. His master would probably chime in soon, but not before the first blows were laid. "Well, better make the first strike count."
The door slammed open. All residents of the bar turned to see Prowler standing there in full costume clenching the doorframe with her left hand. The claws were extended, digging into the frame as her eyes narrowed. "You…"
"Shit!" Tomura began to duck, but it was too late.
"LITTLE BASTARD!" She leapt forward before activating the rocket boots, propelling her forward and past the Enforcers who were trying to gather their bearings. She reached out and grabbed the back of his collar, cutting the rockets so she could land on the ground and fling him against the wall. "You sicced your punks and robots against kids!? KIDS!?" He barely had enough time to duck as her left hands claws carved deep grooves against the wall.
"Why the hell do you care!?" he shot his left arm out of her chest only for Prowler to bat it away and stab the tips of the claws into the drywall. "They're going to become Heroes anyways! Little rats following the tune of All Might!"
The truth seemed to piss Prowler off more. "I didn't give a damn what you did to the Heroes! I could give less of a fucking shit about you killing All Might! The minute you tried to kill those kids…"
He didn't have time for this. He was disoriented and nursing a broken arm, but if he didn't try to put her down, she would really kill him. He swept his left leg along the floor only for her to hop over it, but that was only a distraction so he could grasp her shoulder with his hand.
She grabbed the left arm by its wrist with her right hand and brought her left hand back. "She's going to break it if I don't do something!" He tried to knee her in the gut but Prowler was quicker and instead punched him in the kidney. She let go of his wrist and let him fall to the ground clutching his side, gasping and wheezing in pain.
"Mysterio-sama, should we help him?" He could hear Clash and the other Enforcers getting ready to attack. "She's going to kill him!"
"Please, this isn't our fight. With any luck they'll kill each other."
"Oh, don't you worry you bastard. You're going to be next." Prowler took her shinai and its metal frame crackled with electricity. "I heard the reports. You were downright fucking eager to kill those kids, weren't you!?" She raised her shinai over her head. "Well, I guess it's time I engrave this overdue lesson into your fucking bon-!"
"ENOUGH."
Sensei's commanding tone silenced all activity. Everyone froze while the television hummed and displayed the words 'Audio Only' in red text. Nobody could see him, but his presence was felt. That icy tone that commanded the armies of Villains years ago. The calm, quiet rage that ordered the deaths of all inconveniences.
It was the voice of a killer of Heroes and the commander of the dark.
"Prowler, put down your weapon." Sensei's voice was now patient, as if he were speaking to a misbehaving child. "I understand you are upset…"
"Bastard… you fucking monster…!" Despite this woman routinely beating the crap out of Tomura during their spars, she now shook in fear and rage while dropping the shinai. "You made me put that thing in there…!"
"As per our agreement. I made sure not to tell you the purpose of your visit to U.A." Slowly, Tomura got onto his feet and wobbled a bit while Sensei continued. "He was only acting according to what had been planned in advance. Those children chose to go to that school and become Heroes. Besides, they were never the main target…"
"I don't give a damn! You used me to set something up so that you could kill kids! If I had known…!"
"Let's not lie to ourselves. You would have done it anyways."
That declaration caused Prowler to clench her fists so hard her knuckles cracked. For a second, Tomura was sure that Prowler would just go over and punch the television.
Instead, she reached into her belt and took out a thumbdrive.
Mysterio's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, is that…!?"
Prowler said nothing and instead placed it in the palm of her left hand before squeezing. The sound of metal and plastic breaking echoed out.
"NO!" Mysterio reached out to get her, but Kurogiri placed a hand on his shoulder and held him back. "Get off me! She just destroyed the Living Brain! Do you have any idea how much I spent to get it!?"
"Don't know." She turned her hand and sprinkled the broken thumb drive parts onto the floor. "Don't care." Prowler glared at Tomura before, without uttering another word, she turned on her heel and went to the door.
"Hey, you can't just…!" Clash began as the other members of the Enforcers got up to intercept her.
"Leave her." Sensei spoke up with finality. When the Enforcers seemed unsure what to do Mysterio raised his hand, signaling for them to back off and let her pass. "Prowler simply needs time to cool off… and think before she does anything rash."
Tomura's combat instructor froze at the doorway for a second, likely thinking over the double meaning behind. After that second she left and slammed the door behind her..
"How can you let her get away with that!?" Mysterio whirled at the television."She now completely destroyed any hope we had at recovering the Living Brain! All that work… all that money… all the potential…!"
"Calm yourself, my friend." Sensei's words seemed to placate Mysterio, which made Tomura try hard not to laugh. God, was it really that easy? "We received more than enough from Tomura's excursion and the Living Brain's time in the school's system… we have knowledge. We know more about them than they do about us. Doctor has gained so much from Nomu's little trial run so that he can perfect the next batch, and with the Living Brain exposed its usefulness has come to an end."
It all sounded so reasonable, likely simplified so an idiot like Mysterio could understand. Still, the man seemed uneasy with this explanation. "But… she was disrespecting us with that display! She attacked your student!"
"Like you would have, over some no name child donning the garb of your nemesis?" Tomura took a secret delight with how the bastard looked to the side like a chastised child. "I understand that Nighteye's prediction… unnerved you. However, as you yourself had demonstrated, his Quirk was fallible. And do you really wish to take the word of a dying, spiteful Hero as truth? Are you willing to burn what we have over your paranoia?"
That was Sensei. The man knew how twist words and bring someone to see his side of things. He sounded like a man who didn't want this partnership to end, someone who thought this entire situation was silly and that Mysterio should laugh off the existence of the Spider-Brat.
"But I know the truth… That brat scares you, doesn't he? And it's all tied to Nighteye…"
Mysterio took a deep breath, wherever he was, before letting it out. "Yes… yes you're right." He turned to Tomura and gave a curt nod. "Sorry for my little… outburst, Shigaraki. I hope you can forgive me."
The bastard didn't mean a word of it, but that was fine. All Sensei cared about was keeping them from killing each other right now. "Fine. Whatever."
"There." Sensei sounded so pleased with himself over these turn of events. "Now then we can get down to business and discuss the future of the League of Villains. Our expansion into the international market… and a little side-project that our good Doctor has begun to work on."
"Like a new Nomu?"
Tomura could feel Sensei's smile through the screen.
"Something a bit more deadly than the one sent out to you. Something that is a bit more… venomous."
Meanwhile… On Earth 2018.616
"Okay, Mayday. You've gotta focus." Mayday Parker leapt up into the air to intercept the ball before it went into the basket. "They're leading by one point and the clock is ticking. If you don't get the ball back the team's going to lose the first game of the year and you're going to look like a showoff jerk. No pressure."
Her first year at Midtown High had started off great. She had gone to the same school as her childhood friends, had almost all her classes with them, impressed the teachers with her smarts, and somehow aced tryouts for the women's basketball team. Coach Thompson had been really impressed with her and was surprised to find out she was Peter's daughter.
He didn't ask where her father was. Most people tended to avoid that topic, instead content to whisper behind her back wondering if he skipped town to avoid anymore payments or was just crushed by a frost giant.
It really pissed her off.
It had been ten months since her father left without a trace. Even she noticed something was wrong when he did nothing to try and contact her or Mom during the whole War of the Realms debacle. They had been scared out of their minds, hunkering down in a refugee camp guarded by Francis Barton, or Ronin as most people knew him.
Her Mom had asked the superhero if they knew anything about where Spider-Man was, only to receive no answer.
She didn't get it. Sure, Spider-Man was a 'local guy' but so were plenty of other superheroes. And why would she ask about Spider-Man? Why couldn't she ask how Dad was doing?
"But it's not like she doesn't care about Dad. She was worried sick when he didn't call and Torunn helped her dad clean everything up."
God, now's not the time to think about this! Focus, girl!
She wanted to scream, "NO GOOD!" as her outstretched fingers grasped the ball.
"Mayday snagged the rebound!" She heard a familiar voice cry out.
"That's my girl!"
Mayday briefly glanced to the stands and saw her mom sitting next to a thin man wearing the team's t-shirt and jeans. He was rather thin and cleanly shaven, his head rich with brown hair that was stylishly messy and short. He wore a pair of glasses that were hanging precariously at the tip of his nose, ready to fall with the next cheer.
Her uncle, Phil Urich, made it a point to come to every one of her games. When her dad wasn't there to see her greatest moments, he was. He always had some sage wisdom to offer that didn't sound preachy or self-righteous, always offering to play basketball with her even if he kinda sucked at it or play video games when he wasn't hanging out with Mom.
She had to admit that the man was practically a second father to her. His presence was always welcome, especially now with her dad missing.
She landed on the ground and began dribbling down the court. That was when she felt something. A strange, tingling sensation at the back of her skull.
Unconsciously, she ducked just in time to avoid a hand from a member of the opposing team. "Huh. Weird… is this what they call a sixth sense?"
"Stop her! Shut her down!" The team captain of the Crusaders shouted, not that it did any of them any good. She was now zig-zagging through the confused and desperate team, going down the court like a rocket as the basket grew closer and closer…
She was going to do it.
Mayday Parker was going to score the winning points!
"Nothing can stop me now!"
She was in the zone! Time to make this officially the best day of her life!
Her body felt loose as she jumped high. To her surprise it was higher than she had ever jumped before, sailing almost over the hoop. "No, don't think about it! Just slam the heat!"
Following her own advice, Mayday slammed the ball through the basket. The glass of the hoop shattered into a shower of shards, raining down on the court as the horn let out to end the game. The score changed to show her team now pulling ahead with one point, causing her teammates and everyone in the stands to roar in applause.
"Holy crap! How the hell did I do that!?"
Adrenaline. That's all it had to be. Surely, that was the only explanation right? She got too in the zone and managed to smash the hoop!
She landed on the ground just in time to be lifted up by her teammates. Davida's hands on her back as Maudau pumped her fist into the air and looked at her mom.
But rather than excitement, she was looking at her as though she had turned into the Hulk. Uncle Phil didn't seem to notice it and continued applauding her, whistling and clapping his hands as he stood up.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
To Be Continued...
Notes: So, that was a chapter right? Special thanks goes to reppuzan for betaing!
I really wanted to touch base on Peter, because of course he wasn't going to stay in the hospital after hearing about the U.S.J attack regardless how he's in no shape to act. Plus, it allowed for me to introduce Gentle and La Brava! God, they were pretty fun to write since I got to play them for more MHA-style humor rather than my usual Into the Spider-Verse and Warren Ellis-influenced humor.
And, of course, having the Villains react is fun because you get to see how their plans are shifting and Mysterio again losing his shit. Good times.
Oh, and one other thing...
SPIDER-GIRL ARC COMING UP NEXT!
So far, its planned to be a relatively short arc just so you can see how Peter's world is handling things. You'll still get peeks into Izuku's world, but thankfully nothing crazy is happening just yet so I can afford to take this little side-adventure... still I'm hoping that I can surprise you all with where I take Mayday and other spider-person!
Anyways, be sure to check out this fic's TV Tropes page and add whatever you want!
Please be sure to leave a review.