All Might was no more.

The once symbol of peace, number one pro hero in all of Japan, had been reduced to nothing in the ranks. There was a time where he could rescue over one hundred people in just a few minutes. If someone didn't respect him, they feared him. He was an icon and the true embodiment of peace across the nation.

All Might was no more.

After a perilous battle with his greatest enemy, All For One, the symbol of peace was reduced to a small, feeble man. Beaten and close to death, it took all he had to finally end the villains reign of terror. The flame of One For All became only fumes of a dying campfire.

His final words as a hero for the camera were "Now it's your turn."

Many villains who watched that newscast assumed he was referring to them; implying that even though his skin hugged his bones, he was still ready to hunt them down. It was a chilling line that showed the heroes perseverance. In reality, the words were not a threat for them, but a passing of the torch for someone else.

When the battle was over and the cleanup crew began their work, All Might was taken to the nearest hospital to tend to his wounds. He couldn't remember the last time he needed to go to the hospital like that. It was humiliating just as it was humbling. The people looked to him for hope, something they could no longer do, finding only a skeleton of who he used to be.

As he sat in his hospital bed, the once-thought hero constantly adjusted the bandages covering his body. Blood seeped through on the arms, where most of his strength had been siphoned to in that final attack against his enemy. His fingers shook as he tried stretching them. They trembled and retracted in fear of applying effort to themselves.

Peter knocked on the door of his room, holding onto the door frame. Only a few bandages were placed on his body, as he had already healed most of his injuries. "Hey there, skeletor."

All Might chuckled weakly, "I don't know who that is, young Parker."

Peter entered quietly and sat down beside the bed, making sure to keep his voice down as others were still recovering from the event next door, "How are you doing?"

"I'm managing," he muttered, "I'm so glad to see that you're safe."

"Thanks to you, I hear," He spoke with a hint of somber, "I heard about what happened with All For One."

"Yes …" he sighed, "It took everything I had to finally beat him."

"Does that mean your quirk is …?"

"Nothing but fumes, now, I'm afraid. The Symbol of Peace …is gone."

Peter knew his quirk was one passed down. Izuku was the true current holder of that inherited power, and everything All Might has displayed since the torched was passed was only fumes and sparks. He exhausted all he had left to save the night; an act of a true hero.

"I'm so sorry, All Might," Peter sympathized, "You gave up everything to save Bakugo and I-"

"Stop, young Parker, it's okay. It was a necessary sacrifice."

"But your power-"

"Was only an asset. Heroes are born from the heart, not the muscle."

"I know …I just wish-"

"Don't wish," he smiled, "Just carry on and spread the message of peace."

There were subtle sounds of panic as patients were rushed into operating rooms. Even though the crisis had passed, the aftermath was becoming more than they could handle. The nomu had hurt too many people, despite the intervention of the pro heroes.

What Peter feared was that, like with himself, the people would use this crisis to blame the heroes for the destruction they caused.

"I should have done more to help," Peter said, "I was so busy with Venom that I ignored the rest of the city."

"You were kidnapped and tortured," All Might reminded him, "It's alright to ease back."

"I mean …there was also something else."

"What do you mean?"

"After the fight … something weird happened. There was this portal and some glowing guy came out and …then he disappeared."

Peter talked about the event in further detail, specifically in the way it affected his spider-sense. There wasn't much he could do after it happened, and focused more-so on cleanup, but it continued to linger on his mind.

It was the way the glowing man looked at him, even without eyes. There was a silent weight that he pushed onto the web-slinger. He wanted to find and help him, but he had no idea what it was even about.

"I see," Said All Might, "does it have anything to do with the multiverse?"

"I don't know," He said, "It definitely felt familiar, but I can't say for sure. I might ask Doctor Strange to look into it."

"Has this happened before?"

"No? Well, I got stuck on my world for a few hours when the breaches imploded out of nowhere. I'm wondering if it's connected somehow-" he shook his head, "I'm sorry. This isn't about me, right now."

"But I want it to be," argued the once-hero, "You went through so much, Peter, all because of me."

"Because of you?"

"I put you out there. I wanted the people to see you as the hero you are, and I didn't consider your safety, as I should have. You were in that situation because of me and …and I am sorry."

Peter knew the look of guilt well, having made it so often to himself in the mirror. Despite All Might losing his powers, all he could think about was the danger and harm he may have inflicted on others. Though his muscles were skin and bone, now, his heart was still as strong as ever.

"Parker, if you don't want to continue with our partnership-"

"No! I want to do it," he reassured, "This doesn't change anything, All Might. I'm fine, really."

As much as the retired hero wanted to focus on the boy, the young vigilante resisted the topic. He was much like himself, in many ways; the primary focus was always on others and never himself.

"What happens now?" Peter asked.

"Now, we clean up the mess," All Might tried to speak with confidence, "With me off the ranking board, people are going to talk. They're going to wonder who will take my place as the symbol of peace. By default, Endeavor will become the number one Pro Hero, so people will naturally look to him as the first choice."

"But you've already made your own," he guessed.

"Yes. Midoriya is my successor, and I'm going to continue what I started with him; training him to be the next symbol of peace in our world. Until that time comes, however, managing the will of the people comes down to you."

"Me?"

"People saw you help during the crisis, working with Mirko and Endeavor side by side. They're talking about you. An announcement is being made later today officially promoting your partnership with the Pro's. I'm looking to you to keep them feeling safe and secure in this dire time. With me gone, they need someone to look to for hope. Until Young Midoriya can fill the roll…"

Midoriya; All Might thought back to the boy and remembered what happened before the fight with his greatest enemy. He pondered whether Peter needed to know about it. It wouldn't change anything whether he did or not, but as his adoptive brother, he deserved the truth.

"Young Parker," All Might stretched and stood up, despite Peter's gestures for him to rest, "There is something you should know. Midoriya …he was there, last night."

"What do you mean?"

"He and some of the other students were there when we made the rescue on Bakugo and yourself. They worked together to pull him out of the battlefield, just before my battle with All For One broke out."

Peter had gotten several text messages from Inko about his well-being, but now that he thought about it, he heard little from Izuku. Itsuka had made her way out there to rescue him, so it wasn't unlikely Izuku would make the same move. How many of the other students were there with him, though? How did they know where to go?

"I thought you should know," All Might said.

"Why was he there?" Peter asked.

"Likely because he didn't want to simply sit around while his friends were in danger. Perhaps he felt responsible because of what happened at the camp; I honestly couldn't tell you. If you want the answers, you should try and speak with him yourself."

Peter lingered a moment, both physically and mentally. He should have had more to say about that, yet, he was quiet. It was hard for All Might to read his face and pin down one emotion. Either Peter was actually rather calm about the news, or he was doing a good job at hiding his inner thoughts from him.

A doctor came in and told Peter he had to leave, as they needed to perform a check-up with All Might. The man was due soon for a surgery, which worried Peter at first, but it's not as though Izuku hadn't been through something similar.

Perhaps that shouldn't be a comforting thought.

With a sincere farewell, Peter left All Might in the hands of the hospital attendants and retreated into the halls.

He leaned against the wall outside his door for some time, thinking to himself. By now, he had convinced himself that Midoriya never would have tried to endanger himself if Peter just did his job right and stopped Venom while protecting the camp. He let himself get captured for days and had little to show for it. In the end, he couldn't even catch Eddie.

Several messages from Kendo came in while he leaned there. She explained that she managed to get home before the sun came up, but her parents were awake and wondering where she had gone. Somehow, they bought the excuse that she was just going for an early morning run. At least that was one weight off Peter's mind; he didn't want her to get into some kind of trouble with her folks.

Swiping the screen, he focused on the message chat he had with Izuku, and debated messaging him. He entered the chat and hovered his thumb over the first letter, yet, couldn't bring himself to start typing. This was his brother, after all; he should at least check in with him and make sure he was okay. Why couldn't he say anything?

Digital words wouldn't do justice, perhaps.

"I'll kick you, ya' creep!" shouted the voice of an angered rabbit.

Peter moved around the corner to the nearest help desk. Mirko, the rabbit hero, was leaning over the front of the desk while the lady sitting at the computer was recoiling back.

"If you don't tell me where the kid is right this second, I'll pummel your God damn face!" she shouted.

"Ma'am—Mirko, ma'am," the receptionists apologized, "We can only allow family for visitation. Besides, It says here he was discharged not long ago."

"Listen here, you-" Mirko then noticed Peter staring at her from around the corner, "-son of a bitch!"

She charged over and pulled him into a headlock, from which he found difficulty escaping, "Ow! Ow!" he exclaimed.

"You little shit!" She grinned, "You disappeared on me again, ass!"

"Why are you so vulgar?!" he cried.

"Because screw you!" After eventually releasing him, she ruffled his hair into a mess, "How are ya' feelin?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Sorry I ghosted you, some weird stuff happened yesterday."

"Yeah, I heard nomu attacked the city and the symbol of peace retired. Crazy, right?"

"Ha. Ha ha. Ha," he spoke with a monotone, "No, some other stuff that I gotta talk to a wizard about."

"Like an actual wizard?"

"He seems to think so."

"Well, in any case," she put her hands on her hips, "In light of what happened with All Might, they pushed the announcement of our partnership to later tonight."

"Yeah, All Might told me. Do I have to show up for that?"

"Yeah, dumbass."

He didn't like the publicity involved with that, surprisingly. Even though his partnership with the pros was supposed to be public, he didn't think he would have to stand in front of a crowd and formally promote it. What if it came off as pretentious? What if the people reacted negatively? He cycled through every single variable, which only stressed him out further.

"Hey," Mirko patted his back, "I'll be right there with ya'."

Once again, he greatly appreciated her friendship, "Thanks."

"You sticking around? Wanna grab a drink?"

"Nah, I gotta get home and see my family. Also …I'm underage."

"Ugh, law. Fine, I gotta file the paperwork on the Venom investigation, anyway. I'll check in with you before the announcement."

It was in that moment of silence when they noticed the tension of the other inhabitants of the hospital. Almost all of them were watching the video of All Mights final heroic act, contributing to the billions of views it already had in such a short time. It was all anyone could talk about; their symbol of peace, their greatest protector, he had lost his spark. Who was to protect them, now?

"It's still so hard to believe, you know?" Mirko said, "All Might has been a hero for as long as I can remember, and now ...man."

"I know ...it's a lot."

He didn't know what he was supposed to say. He knew the truth behind All Mights quirk, and that he was already running on nothing but fumes after giving his power to Midoriya. Still, he should have had a few more years left in him before it was nothing but the remnant of a dead campfire. The people felt so comfortable knowing that he was out there protecting them. As much as Peter admired the man, though, he was the reason people were so desensitized.

"People are going to feel so vulnerable, now," He said, "It used to be that no one worried or thought about the true threat of the villains because All Might could just fix it without a problem. Now ..."

"Now their afraid, just like the days before his career," Mirko concluded, "Yeah ...there's gonna be a helluva void to fill with him gone. The whole ranking system is gonna be screwed, and I'm sure people are gonna find a reason to riot."

"Gee, can't wait."

"Don't you have a family to see?"

"Don't you have a carrot to eat?"

She punched his arm lovingly before pushing him to leave, watching him chuckle as he disappeared down the hall.

…

After a short train ride—for once, not being atop the train—Peter made his way back to the Midoriya household. He decided to walk instead of swing. Even though he was allowed to swing now, due to his temporary license, he needed a break from all the chaos he just went through. Besides, he'd rather not waste the web fluid.

When he came into the apartment, Inko was the first to greet him with a worried embrace. Tears flooded down her cheeks as she held onto him as though he'd slip away.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" She cried, "After they told us what happened, I started panicking and thinking you were— then Izuku vanished in the middle of the night and then there was All Might and—"

Peter hugged her and caressed the back of her head, "It's okay, Inko. I'm okay—I'm here."

They remained there for some time, until Inko's tears finally slowed their flow.

"I guess this whole thing doesn't help my 'I wanna be a hero' thing, huh?" Peter joked.

Inko tried to let herself laugh, but it was half-hearted. She never liked the idea of him being Spider-Man, not after Lumina. Now just wasn't the time to argue that point, though.

"Where's Izuku?" Peter asked.

"In his room," She pointed to the hall, "He fell right to sleep when he came home."

Peter gave Inko another hug before making his way to his and Izukus room.

The green haired boy slept peacefully in his bed while holding on tightly to the covers. Dry tear stains rested upon his cheeks. He was famous for his tears, but these were not ones to make fun of. Naturally, he must have been feeling such turmoil for what happened with All Might; his idol.

He sat on the boys bed and gently shook him awake. Izuku rubbed his eyes with a snort and sat up, assuming he'd see his mother. When he realized it was Peter, his energy quickly returned as he hugged him.

"You're alright!" Izuku cried, the tears coming back again, "I'm so happy you're okay!"

"Like mother, like son," Peter muttered, hugging him in return, "I'm glad you're safe, too."

After releasing their hug, they took a moment to calm the tension in the room before they continued their conversation. As for who should speak first, neither of them knew. So, Peter took the first step.

"All Might said you were there, last night," he said, "you rescued Bakugo?"

Izuku looked at him with guilt, "I know, it was dangerous and kind of stupid to do, but, I-"

"Izuku, I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"No! I get it; you didn't want to just sit around and do nothing. I mean, Kendo literally did the same thing."

"What?"

"Kendo went to save me, too."

"She did? Aw, no wonder she didn't answer my text. We tried asking her if she wanted to join us but she never texted me back."

"Who else went with you."

Izuku counted the names on his fingers, "Let's see …Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Iida because he wanted to keep us out of trouble."

"Good man."

Yaoyorozu being there made sense, too, since she was also apart of his rag-tag team he put together to beat Lumina. Kirishima and Iida were a welcome surprise for their own reasons, Kirishima since he's close with Bakugo, and Iida with his sense of order and responsibility.

Todoroki was the one that interested him, most. Peter remembered he was there in Hosu when Bloodstain was on the attack. Still, for him to go rogue and rescue Bakugo; perhaps he should ask him about that the next time they spoke.

"How are you doing with the whole …All Might thing?" Peter asked.

Peter knew how much All Might means to Izuku. Having seen the state he was in with his own eyes, he wanted to know how much this may have been hurting his brother. "It …I don't know, honestly," said Izuku, "His quirk is gone …and within me. All I can think about is what I could have done if I just-"

"I know where you're going, and no; you could not have fought All For One."

"How do you know?"

"Because I met the guy."

"You did?"

"Yeah," Peter sat forward, "He tried to convince me to join him. The dude has, like, zero personality, but I could tell he was tough. He carries this …ominous presence. Plus, I saw the footage of the fight; we both would have been flattened if we tried to help," he put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know it's a lot of pressure, but I'm here for you every step of the way. All Might is still alive, and you're still fighting."

"I'm supposed to be the next symbol of peace …"

"And you'll be even better than All Might ever was."

The kind, supportive words did both to reinforce Izuku's sense of confidence, and also tear it down with grenades made from guilt. Peter was the one who was kidnapped, not him. Yet, here he was, offering his love and support like he always did, while Izuku was the one crying from minor pains.

"I'm sorry we couldn't find you," Izuku apologized.

"It's okay, dude. Kendo was there, anyway."

"I know, but after what happened before I-" he paused, reassessing his words, "I mean …after they took you and Bakugo, I thought …when they …"

"After what happened before? What do you mean?"

There was no way out, now; he might as well put all the cards on the table, "I should have seen all this coming. Bakugo and you being taken, All Might losing his quirk …I saw the warning signs and I just …went to the camp, anyway."

"I don't understand …"

"One of the villains …when we were shopping for camp stuff at the mall, one of them approached me."

"What?! Which one?!"

"…Shigaraki?"

"You got approached by the League's leader and didn't tell me?!"

Izuku tried to plead his case, but stuttered and tripped over his words instead, "With everything you've been dealing with, I didn't think it would be a good idea to tell you! You would have gone after them all by yourself if you knew!"

As much as Peter wanted to retort that, he was right; he would have hunted them down himself if he knew they threatened his family in any way, "Still, you should have said something! I'm not mad they approached you, but I'm a little pissed you said NOTHING afterword's! Did-does- did you tell Inko?"

His guilty expression spoke volumes.

"Izuku," He whined, "You gotta tell me these things. We're friends, and technically—legally—we're brothers; family. If something like this happens again, you gotta promise to tell me about it no matter what."

He didn't like upsetting Peter, but at least he seemed to be taking it better than expected. He had been through so much with May's passing and the tension with his image, all the once-quirkless boy wanted was to protect him from any extra stress.

"Izuku," Peter grabbed his attention back, "Promise?"

Izuku sighed, "I promise, Peter."

With a smile and a pat on the back, Peter got up, "Let's go get some breakfast, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay," he smiled.

…

As the sun began to rise over the wounded city, the monsters hid in the darkness. Inside of a broken, condemned church, the monsters gathered to hide from the light and the people who'd scream in their presence. Most of the monsters who roamed the night were returned to the factory they were born. Most, that is, except for those who followed their king.

A handful of the nomu stuck close to the individual who looked so much like them, spoke like them, hurt like them. That individual was in fact two, bound in a symbiotic relationship in need of counseling.

Venom created his own nest of black webbing in the top corner of the church, high above where the priest would lead the crowd. He sat there in deep thought, eyes closed, breathing in a calm rhythm. The nomu lingered below, either resting or keeping to themselves. They weren't very intelligent, but they knew that if the League ever found them, they would surely be terminated like many of their siblings.

The symbiotic monster spoke with himself, very quietly too, as his voice would echo through the church for all to hear.

"Why do they follow us?" Asked Venom.

They respect our strength, said the voice of the symbiote, they see us as the alpha of their pack.

"But why are they so different? Why do they follow us and not their true master?"

They are simply animals in need of a leader.

"I'm not so sure."

We, you mean.

"We seem to disagree, so no, I do not mean we."

Eddie never used to argue with the symbiote so much. They used to be in sync over everything, never needing to ask questions when one of them needed something. Now, Eddie questioned every one of the symbiotes thoughts and decisions, much to the aliens dismay.

One such choice was when it had forced him to attack Spider-Man against his will. Peter had apologized and accepted what he had done to the man, and ever since, Eddie had done much rethinking. Things he never noticed before were now painfully obvious. The way the symbiote would push for aggression no matter what it was they were doing was far more pronounced than before.

Venom had chosen to stay with the nomu in an attempt to understand them. Perhaps that way, he could finally understand himself.

We don't need to understand them, said the voice, we just need to use them to kill Spider-Man.

"…Why?" he finally questioned, "Why kill him?"

He betrayed us both!

"He called us out for our sins."

He ruined us! He hates us! We must kill him to make him atone!

"…I don't think we do."

In a fit of rage, the symbiote forced Venom off the web and to ground level, bringing the monster to his knees.

WE MUST KILL HIM FOR HIS SINS!

KILL!

KILL!

KILL!

The word repeated itself in Eddies head, causing the nomu great concern over the state of their pack leader. The human inside the monster could feel his body being pulled apart in rage. There was an undying fire in the symbiotes heart that tried to burn Eddie down, but he did not yield; not this time.

Finally, the symbiote calmed itself, letting the man rest.

This is our purpose; to remove those who wrong us, it said.

Eddie wanted to argue, but didn't wish for it to attack him again.

I will erase any and all doubt from you, It warned, when nighttime comes, we set out to kill the spider once and for all.

Eddie did his best to hide his doubts, too torn from the desires of his partner, and the desires of his heart.

…

Far from the city of Musutafu, the glowing man wandered the streets as the sun began to rise. The light was too much for him, being that he already was his own source of illumination. People looked at him as he passed, commenting that he should turn off his quirk, or put something over his body. He had no idea what they were saying as the sound his body's light filled his ears.

It was hard for him to stay on his feet, needing to use the buildings to keep himself aloft. The late-night parties had finally gone to rest, and the early worms of the work world had yet to arise. Hence, few questioned who he was or why he was out there all alone, practically naked, and glowing like a menorah.

The more he saw, the more he experienced, the less the intensity of his glow. Features of his body could be seen now, from his eyes to his nose, from his hands to his feet. As more vehicles began to populate the streets, he retreated to the alleyways out of fear.

Everything he saw and felt seemed familiar, yet he couldn't place any of it. The streets, the people, even the sky; it was all unknown to him. It was like a dream, forgotten but never gone.

Finally, after hours of wandering without a purpose, the poor man fell to his knees in the cover of the alley. His light flickered and pulsed, rippling the concrete below him as if it was water. He crawled and pulled himself forward, but eventually lost the strength to go on. He crumbled to his chest, reaching for nothing, calling for no one.

He would have lost consciousness if his ears hadn't cleared of the light from his body and focused on the strange singing of a young girl. She skipped alone the alley with a small knife dangling between her fingers. He only caught the sight of her messy blonde hair and torn school uniform before the darkness began to take hold. The last thing he heard was a chuckle, and an amused voice just above his head.

"OOoo," Cooed Himiko Toga, "Pretty lights! Where do you think you're going, glow-guy?"