The man floating in the void had found the edge of his confinement, but could not proceed further. He tried to push through, he tried going under and around, but there was no way forward. Why couldn't he see what was beyond? Was he not allowed? Who decided that for him? Why? There was no one around to give him these answers, and that wasn't fair.

Then again, what was supposed to be fair?

…

Many different Pro Heroes were rushing through the police station. SWAT teams were being assembled and armed with riot guns. Everyone was being pushed through the halls like the world was ending. Thanks to their own private investigators hard work, the villains home base had been discovered.

The League of Villains were responsible for the USJ attack, and the invasion of the U.A campsite that resulted in two kidnappings. Finding them had become top priority for both the police and the Hero community. As soon as word was out that they had found their hiding spot, dozens of heroes assembled for the task.

Mirko charged through the station toward the back meeting room where All Might and other heroes were going over the plan with the police. She kicked the door down with smoke coming out of her ears.

"Who's the dick who was supposed to call me?!" She shouted, not noticing a nearby police officer hide behind the table at the mention of his forgotten task.

"Apologies, but you're just in time," Said All Might, "If we're correct, both Katsuki Bakugou and Peter Parker should be in this abandoned bar. We think the villains have been operating there as far back as the USJ attack."

"Good, when do we kick their asses?"

"Tonight. We're going to move in hard and swift; retrieve the children and apprehend the villains at any cost."

All Mirko was able to think about this week was bringing Peter home. He was a good kid and he didn't deserve something like this. Had she been faster and just taken Venom down, she could have saved him. If they hurt him in any way, she would be tempted to just kill them.

A fiery presence entered the room behind Mirko as Endeavors shadow lingered over her smaller body. She didn't need to turn around for her face to turn to agitation and disgust. "Mirko," Said Endeavor, "A word."

Reluctant, they left the room and closed the doors behind them as everyone watched them interact, wondering who was going to strike whom first.

"There is a chance that Venom will be on the scene."

"So what?" she asked.

"You know my quirk is perfect in dealing with him."

"You wanna kill the bastard, right?"

Rather than answer her straight, he hesitated, which caught her off guard, "A hero …" he began, "denies failure at all costs. That thing Venom wears is a danger and must be eradicated."

"And the man underneath?"

He didn't answer this time. The words of the arachnid hero were lingering in his mind despite how he fought them. A child like that shouldn't be getting to him so strongly, but he was. If this Venom was anything like Carnage or Bloodstain, then perhaps the man underneath was innocent, and simply needed rescuing from the parasite controlling his mind.

If not, then things were going to get far more complicated.

"If you're right about how his abilities work," he continued, "We'll work …together … to rescue him."

"Are you …coming around?" she laughed, "That's so unexpected of you."

"I'm simply …thinking of the best course of action. To kill an innocent man would not look good."

"Bull-crap; you do have a heart, you Grinch."

She patted his shoulder before entering the room again, passing All Might on the way inside as he stepped out to greet his rival.

"That sounded promising," All Might said gleefully.

"All Might," Endeavor stated firmly, "Are you willing to do whatever it takes to save these children? Even Parker?"

"Of course, why must you ask?"

"I'm simply being sure you are prepared …if we do not find them alive."

"They will be," he spoke so surely, "Let us prepare for departure."

As the reentered the room, Endeavor tried to find even the smallest hint of doubt on All Mights face. Of course, he could never see anything beyond the frozen smile he always wore. Was he smiling because he was confident, or to hide the fear he felt?

Parallel to that; did Endeavor wear a frown to express his rage, or to hide his true dejection?

…

Kendo kept to the shadows just as Peter would, making her way for the nearest train station. By now, her parents should be asleep and won't wake until early morning. She didn't have long to act before she had to return, assuming she would return at all. There was still time to turn back, but she knew she couldn't do that; she couldn't stand around and do nothing, again.

All she could think about was what happened in the police station with Otto Octavius. He had broken in and taken her partner and she wasn't able to stop him. Now, again, Peter was stolen from her and she wasn't strong enough to save him.

There was no explanation for her strange foresight that led her this way, but with Peter, it was better not to question it until after the dust settled.

That still didn't stop her from doubting herself every so often. What was she doing? She was supposed to be the big sister of class 1-B. She took responsibility where it was needed and made sure others did the same. Now, here she was, dressed as a vigilante and readying to break a few rules in order to save her significant other.

What was she going to do? Was she going to fight the villains herself or tip off some heroes? Why couldn't she think straight, like she usually does? Kendo is always so sure of what is right and wrong and expresses that without hesitation, except for this moment. As she thought of Peter's life on the line, all logic and reason evaporated from the heat of anxiety and desperation.

Peter really had rubbed off on her, after all.

Finally, she reached the train station, which was unfortunately crowded with tourists. People loved coming to this city from all over, since it has some of the best heroes in the world. She kept her hood up and her head down as she walked through the station, waiting until the end of the train was departing as she hopped between cars, hiding there where no one could see her. Hanging off the top wouldn't be as easy without Peter.

She had some time before arriving, now all she could do was wait in her sense of dread.

…

Peter searched for a pair of eyes in that menacing mask, but found it fruitless. The man before him was about as tall as All Might, maybe taller. His spider-sense was ringing rather loudly in his head, even though the man wasn't actually doing anything.

This was him; the man All Might once spoke of in confidence.

"So …you're the big guy," Peter said.

"I assume the holder of One for All has mentioned me?" Deduced All For One.

"Once or twice, and it wasn't exactly while over dinner."

"And what, pray tell, has he said?"

After getting over the fact that the man used 'pray tell' in a serious tone, Peter scoffed, "Other than the fact that you're a quirk-junkie?"

He laughed, "It's the first time someone called me that."

"What do you want?"

All For One inched closer with malicious intent, "I've been watching you for some time, Spider-Man. You intrigue me, or rather, your abilities do; super strength, agility, hyper-adhesive properties, but none of those compare to the one that intrigues me the most."

"Being?"

"You can see the future."

Peter froze with eyebrows raised, "How do you know about that …?"

"Like I said, I've been watching you. When you fight, just before danger comes your way, you always turn to face it. Whether you can avoid it or not varies, but you're somehow always aware it's coming. I don't know how, but you have some kind of foresight. I've taken many abilities, but yours are …unique," He raised his hand, "When I see a quirk I like, I just can't help but …take it."

All For One grabbed Peter's head tightly, making the retrained hero wince.

There should have been pain. The hero should be in agonizing turmoil, while All For One should be feeling empowered with new-found strength. Yet, no matter how he flexed his fingers and concentrated on his desires, nothing happened. He tried waiting; he tried harder and harder, but no avail.

"Interesting …" Said All For One as he removed his hand and examined it, "That has …never happened before."

"Not uncommon to have performance issues. One out of five-"

"Your abilities aren't a quirk," he cut in, "how then? Are they simply a trick? A jest? That can't be, considering the feats you've accomplished. No one who performs mere parlor tricks could defeat All Might and Endeavor in combat."

"Okay, the circumstances with All Might were sketchy if you actually paid attention-" he paused, reevaluating the villains' words, "How do you know about Endeavor? That was private."

"I have eyes everywhere, child. Those eyes don't lie; your abilities are real, and yet, I cannot take them from you," he leaned in closer, nearly nose to nose with him, if he had one, "What are you, Spider-Man?"

"A real pain in the ass," he answered without hesitation, before spitting in the villain's face with a chuckle. All For One did not flinch, instead he wiped the spit away without moving from where he was.

How could he have known about the fight with Endeavor? That was held on U.A school grounds, which had their security updated since the USJ attack. No one could have sneaked onto the campus to observe them, and it's unlikely the League has access to spy technology capable of bypassing the security measures. What else, then? How did he know, unless there was a traitor among them?

"You would be wise to respect me," said the villain.

"Wow, you are really full of yourself, aren't you, big guy?" Peter grinned, "I mean, a full-on pampered suit? Using words like 'simply' and 'pray-tell' every five seconds? And don't even get me started on your name; You really think you're above everyone else? You've gotta be the most cliché supervillain I have ever had the displeasure of talking to."

"What I am is far more powerful-"

"-than I can possibly comprehend," Peter finished, "Or, were you going to say 'fathom'? 'Imagine'? Were you going to gloat about how many people you've killed?"

The villain said nothing, simply backing his face away from the hero and locking his fingers behind his back. The boy was arrogant, at least, per what he gathered. Perhaps he was simply terrified of his presence, and his psyche was breaking hysterically.

"Why are you here, Vader?" Peter asked, "Gonna ask me to join the dark side?"

"I wouldn't call it that."

"…Oh, my god, that's exactly what you're doing, isn't it?"

The tall, brooding man began to pace back and forth as he presented the thought-out speech he prepared, "My intent cannot be boiled down to something as simple as that, boy. We live in a society full of heroes; a society of people willing to shut someone down simply for defying that structure. You've seen it. You've felt it. They shun you for trying to help them. You dedicate your life to them and they throw you away out of baseless accusation."

"Don't pretend like that's what all this is about," Peter spat, "I'm not an idiot. There are more than two sides to every story, I know that; I know all about the grey area. I know not everyone branded a villain deserves it. Nothing is black and white."

"It is to them," He pushed, "because they can't handle anything else. Complexity is not for the simple minded, and most of the world is simple. You and I," he stopped pacing, "We are not simple, are we?"

"How are we remotely similar?"

"Your ideals of justice and freedom only shackle your true self," he clenched his fist, "You believe that your purpose is to sacrifice yourself, to serve the 'good of mankind'. What about mankind itself? Why can they not sacrifice themselves for their own safety? Why must it fall upon a boy as young as you? How can they request your sacrifice and then throw you away as if you had done something wrong?"

For once, Peter didn't have a joke to retort with. He'd be lying if he said he never thought about that. Even back in New York, he would give his blood and sweat to protect others and then was ridiculed for it. Being a hero wasn't his first choice, but it became his fate in the end. His guilt drove him to justice.

"Why do you fight?" All For One asked, "What told you that you had to be a hero?"

The villain had his attention, at least enough to earn some honestly; Peter wanted to see where this was gonna go, "…when I got my powers," he began, "I could have used them to stop someone bad, but I didn't, so …someone else paid the price."

"And so, you fight to make up for all that guilt bottled inside?"

"It's more than guilt, and I think that's what you're not getting."

"Oh, I understand. The world entraps you in the shackles of your own guilt to keep you under their thumb. They want to use you, but never congratulate you for your work. To do so would create a debt they refuse to pay. You are society's slave, Spider-Man; that's all a hero ever is. To be a villain is simply to defy the role society wrote for you, and improvise instead."

He started to sound like Otto, Peter thought. He, too, made society as a concept out to be the villain of the story, blaming its structure and regulations and social norms for his undoing. Perhaps some of it is true; society isn't always accepting of those who are different, but what they've done goes far beyond that.

"You're wrong," Pete argued, "Heroes are more than that. Maybe my guilt is what pushed me to be a hero, at first, but I keep going because deep down, I know it's right."

"Right? Based on what? On the words of the dead?"

Peter tried to lunge at the man in anger, but his restraints kept him in place. The sheer audacity he had to insult those he lost, and the words they passed onto him, was insulting. His heroic actions were the last dying wish of his uncle, whether it was a direct order or not. How dare he insult his memory?

"You see?" All For One pointed out, "That anger, that rage; they gave it to you. I defied your ideals, the words and promises you follow, and you spite me for it. You brand me a villain. That is what they do to you. Would you not rather follow a path of your own making? Wouldn't you rather be free of the crushing guilt of your past? Why tighten the shackles when you can break them apart?"

"I'm not shackled!"

"But you are. You're a slave. You work for them, protect them, and they make you suffer for it. You're a pawn in a game of chess, ripe for the sacrificing."

Peter nearly died saving this world from Aihara, and they still wanted to see him as a villain. All he'll do is walk down the street, and a passerby will call the police. It made him angry that they attacked him so much despite how much blood and sweat he gave them, all to keep them safe. Why couldn't they at least try to understand he was on their side? He didn't care about money or fame; he just didn't want to be ridiculed for helping them.

In the end, though, it was never about that.

"They could nail me to a cross for all I care," Peter quietly growled, "Does it hurt that they hate me? Yeah, It sure as hell does. I want them to love me and to see me as the hero I'm trying to be. Thing is, that's not why I do this."

"Yes," The villain mocked, "You do it because it's right."

"Because it's me. I always wished a hero would save me from the dice I was dealt. I don't want to wait for that hero, anymore, so I'm going to be that hero for myself. I made a promise to use my power responsibly; to never abuse it for the sake of vengeance or hatred. It's about not corrupting who I am and what I choose to stand for."

"You stand for broken ideals."

"Then I'll fix those ideals for the modern day! The people could burn me at the stake, drown me in the river, hang me with a noose, and I will always," he leaned forward as much as he could, "always protect them."

"They will never protect you."

"I can handle myself," he raised his brows, "Can you?"

All For One found himself now repulsed by this young boy, who's heroic attitude disgusted him, "You should fear me, child."

"I'm not scared of whiny little kids. I wouldn't sweat a drop for you."

"That so?"

Peter grinned before whispering "Not. One. Drop."

All For One saw the tension between Spider-Man and the people and thought he could use that. He was a child, after all; manipulating someone so young should have been easy. Yet, this boy was resilient in his mortality, just like the holder of One for All. This was someone who would oppose him at every turn if given the chance.

Another soul corrupted by All Mights pathetic ideology.

"Very well," Said All For One, turning around and making for the door, "Perhaps you'll think differently after a few weeks of solitude. I find that an effective method of reasoning."

"Like what you did with Koji?"

The towering man froze and listened to the silence before turning back toward the restrained hero, "You know about him, do you?"

"Oh, yeah. I know the whole story."

He laughed, "That Aihara girl is a talker, I see."

"Actually, it was Koji himself that told me; how you kidnapped him as a child and turned him into a killer, all for your sick crusade against society."

"Crusade? No, what I perform against society is a slaughter," he growled, "Koji was one of my greatest achievements. Funny enough, his kidnapping was never intended. That was because of the foolish foresight of a previous employee. Still, I made the most of it, and I was proud of my work."

"That why you just gave him the time stone?"

"Ah, yes, the time stone. I had hoped he would use it to climb to the top, but he let me down in the end."

"Why not keep the stone for yourself?"

He paused to think before answering, "when I see a quirk I like, I cannot resist temptation to make it my own. The stone, however, was not something I could assimilate into my own abilities. It could be taken from me, used against me. Still, I was curious if Koji could fulfill the purpose I made for him, or fail miserably like the rest. In the end, his heart was just too big, and his will too small."

"His will?"

"He could not live with his failures, so he didn't."

Peter still remembered Koji's sacrifice; how he chose to end his own life to keep the stones out of the wrong hands. Was that the reason, though? They could have found another way to destroy the stones if they just took some time, but Koji jumped to the point. He saw what the stones did to people and rejected the possibility of it happening again.

He couldn't have, could he? He couldn't have chosen death as some form of escape. While his intentions for others were no doubt noble, had he thought that he deserved to die? Did he think his mistakes were too great, no matter how many times he was forgiven? Was the pain too much for him to carry, so he chose to drop the load?

The only person who could answer that was Mayume Aihara. She knew him better than he did; they were family. Who was he to judge based on the little time he spent getting to know the wounded soul?

"What about you?" All For One asked, "Can you live with your failures?"

"Excuse me?"

"Guilt drives your actions. If you lost your powers—if you could no longer be Spider-Man—what would you do? Do you also hope that through noble actions, death will take you as payment for your sins, and you'll be let into the gates to heaven?"

"Getting rather biblical, aren't ya?"

"We all seek redemption, child. I'm simply offering it to you, without the need for more sacrifice."

"I'm fine where I am, thanks."

"So, then, you choose noble death."

"I choose to do what's right."

"And what's right is to die for those who hate you? Do you not fear that it will be for nothing?"

Peter pondered his words before muttering once more "Not. One. Drop."

All For One had run out of words to donate to the boy, tilting his head as he pondered. Was the young hero glued to his ideals, or did he simply cling to them out of desperation and fear? If the latter, then it was something he could work with; if the former, then he was as lost a cause as All Might.

"I'll leave you to think about what's really right and wrong," Said All For One, "my offer stands before you with open arms."

"Then it's wide open for a gut punch."

With a scoff, the lights flickered and the man disappeared from the room.

He was wrong; he had to be. Peter did this because it was right. All For One did't care about society; all he cared about was getting more and more power and nothing else. He was a quirk-hungry addict with a god complex. Peter wasn't like that. So what if he felt guilt? So what if he put his life on the line for people that don't care? This was who he was, he was sure of it. This was his responsibility.

Yet, why was there a weight in his chest?

…

She wasn't sure how much time passed, having dozed off once or twice. There was no memory of the dream, only echoed feelings of worry. She didn't need to remember to know what they were about; Peter. It was all she was thinking about on the way there; whether or not he was safe, or even alive. She prayed to God that he was alive.

What woke her was the sound of her phone's GPS telling her she had arrived. The train began to slow over the bridge they were on, just enough for her to jump off into a roll. Gusts of wind from the mechanized snake blew her hair up as it passed into the station, and she sneaked away through the shadows.

Down below on the street, she checked her phone again; 6 new messages from Izuku. He mentioned how he wanted to talk, and had a plan he wanted to run by her but didn't want to explain it over the phone. She wanted to respond, but her mind was too focused on finding that building.

"Come on, Peter," she spoke aloud, "Call out to me again, or something."

Though the GPS brought her to the right neighborhood, it didn't point her to the correct building. The address was too vague, as if it was trying to avoid visitors. It made sense if she was trying to find the villains secret hideout. She couldn't search a whole city on her own, not without help and not without another lead; it could take all night.

"You looking for someone?" a young voice asked.

Kendo turned around to meet the voice of a young girl, who wore a red hoodie too large for her body and a blindfold over her eyes. She was small; roughly half her height. The smile she wore was warm despite the chill of the night. Even though she was blinded, she looked at Kendo as if she could see her, and brushed her short red hair to the side.

"Are you lost?" the little girl asked.

"What are you doing out here so late, kid?" asked Kendo.

"Peter isn't too far."

"Peter?! You know Peter?!"

The little girl said nothing as she started running down the street. Desperate and curious, Kendo quickly followed.