Chapter 30:

"How is that my fault?" Zach snapped. He leaned against the wall his cot was pressed up against, his right leg extended out in front of him and his left curled in so his foot was against his inner right thigh. Zach lowered the bowl of rice he had lifted in his bandaged right hand, then he pointed a hand at the man sitting cross-legged on another cot across a small gap in the tiny apartment they were in. "If you knew where I was, you could have told me the plan any time."

Zach reached for the water bottle next to where he put his bowl, and he lifted it to his lips after twisting off the cap with one hand. He poured some water into his mouth to wash down the dry rice, then he put it back at his side and grabbed the rice bowl again. He could not use his left arm with it wrapped from the elbow up and put in a sling, and he agreed that he needed to let it heal so he did not complain when he woke up to find his arm in a sling earlier that afternoon.

"All you had to do was get caught and taken back to the villains' base. Hunter never would have seen me, and you'd actually be safe. Not to mention catching the villains who still want to kill you, and who have started this whole downfall of society."

Zach's expression darkened and his eyes lowered to the floor. His body started shaking after a few seconds and he shook his head around. He gazed down at his chest, which was wrapped in white bandages completely around and on his back too. He looked down at his right hand, then back up and towards the guy in front of him. "You said your name's Webb?" The man wearing a comfy long-sleeved black shirt and gray sweatpants, and who had a gray beanie over his black hair, forehead, and eyes, nodded his head at the teen before him. "I guess, we could try that next," Zach said. "It's a good idea, and they need to be stopped," Zach whispered the last part of that sentence. "They're all, monsters," Zach said, his eyes dark and his eyebrows narrowing in.

"Noticed some nasty stuff as I wrapped your body," Webb said, and again Zach's eyes darted to his right hand.

Ignoring what Webb was referring to right there, Zach said, "How'd you wrap my hand?" He lifted his gaze back to the man's gray beanie, and he added, "And are you blind?"

"Got no tact I see," Webb said.

"Sorry," Zach muttered. "Kind of forgot how to talk to people," he leaned his head against the wall behind him and looked up at the ceiling. "You're the first normal person I've conversed with- the first non-villain," he corrected himself, shaking his head as he stopped trying to imagine how long it had been. "Since, you're not normal," he said.

Webb shook his head as the kid continued to say things without caring about tact at all. "You are right," Webb admitted. "I am not normal. And I am blind. But you are the one who wrapped your right hand." Zach looked confused, then he looked down at his right hand again. "Right when I was cutting Hunter's sack off of your arm, you woke up. It was as if you knew what I was about to do."

"Huh," Zach muttered, trying to recall it but he could not remember a thing before he woke up a couple hours ago in the middle of the afternoon. He turned his head to the right and stared out the single window in the room over the gap between them. "A new year, huh?"

"What did you mean?" Webb asked. Zach turned back to him, and Webb continued at the boy's confused look. "When you said that we could 'try that next,' what did you mean by that?"

"You wanted Hunter to take me back, so you could destroy the League of Villains, right?" Zach asked.

"So I could alert heroes and have them destroy the League of Villains," Webb countered.

"Well," Zach said, continuing despite that correction. "They're not going to stop hunting me, just because their first hunter, Hunter, failed. Shigaraki won't let me go that easily. He'll never let me escape."

"You already have escaped from him," Webb said. "How you did it escapes me. But you escaped them on your own."

"When they've got a guy who can hack security cameras and all kinds of electronics, and a guy who can make portals, what does escape really mean?" Zach asked, tilting his head and looking towards the blind man's gray beanie. He started staring the man up and down, wondering if Webb had some sort of sixth sense that would let him know what Zach was looking at. Zach continued while looking at the guy's hands and feet to see if he could see any external signs of the figure's Quirk. Neither he nor Webb were wearing any shoes, but they had socks on, and Zach was wearing a pair of blacks sweatpants Webb must have put on him, which he thanked the man for soon after he woke up.

Webb paused after Zach's question, then he said, "So that was it." Zach looked at him confusedly, and Webb continued, "Your principal got in a bit of trouble because of his secret security cameras. Only he knew about them, so some people accused him of being the leak he was trying so hard to find."

"You know about the traitor?" Zach asked.

Webb's head bowed a bit as if he were glaring at Zach, and he said, "Do you?"

"I know one exists," Zach said. "I've known it for a while, before I-" he paused, then he finished, "before I made the worst mistake of my life."

"That's what you consider your going with the villains?" Webb asked.

"Yeah," Zach replied.

"The people you saved?"

"What about them?"

Webb hummed and he leaned back while keeping his legs crossed, putting his back on the wall behind him again. "As I thought, I don't like you."

"You don't seem like the type who likes people at all," Zach said. He looked around the room, then back at the man and said, "Minimalist. Don't work well with others. Acts mysterious for no fucking reason."

"You've got a mouth on you."

"Happens when you're surrounded by nothing but villains," Zach started, then he stopped and just frowned. He brought his right hand up and he touched his head, and he stared through red eyes at Webb who lifted his head at Zach's action. "You can't see this, so that's kind of cool I guess," Zach said, and he tapped his head again to turn off Nightmare. "Most people get scared by it."

"Don't do that again," Webb said.

Zach put his right arm over his left knee that he lifted up in front of his body. "Why not?"

"If you do, I'll stick your hand to the wall and leave you here. You called me a minimalist. Do you really think this box apartment is where I live?" Webb's question made Zach's eyes widen, then the man continued, "Did you really think I would bring you to my house?"

There was an awkward silence in the room between the two for a few seconds after that question. "So you have a house," Zach said, breaking the silence and cracking a grin. The man in front of him frowned deeper at Zach's sarcastic remark, and Zach saw the dip of those lips and leaned back hard into the wall behind him. His breath hitched, and Webb's expression lost its hardened frown in that second.

"Why are you so afraid?"

Zach calmed his fast breathing and he wrapped his right arm around the front of his left knee, pulling it back towards his body. "Like I said. Those villains, are monsters. You saw- or well, I guess you didn't. You 'noticed' it though." Zach shook his head a few times, shaking away thoughts he had when he saw the scary frown on Webb's face. I don't really know this guy. I'm acting too casual around him. What if he throws me out? What if he starts… no, no calm down. Just stay calm. Calm. Zach took some more deep breaths, then his eyes darkened and he said in a low voice, "So if you want to do it, I'll act as bait. But if Kurogiri uses a portal to take me from the base I lead you to, that they take me to while you follow, then you gotta promise me something."

Webb faced the boy without saying anything. Zach leaned forward off the wall and he hissed, "Put a tracker in me. Make it so that if I get taken away, you can keep following. But you gotta make the tracker double as a bomb, in case things go south." Zach's face was deadly serious and he hoped his tone came out as such while he spoke to the blind man. "I don't even know why I'm considering this, when I could get caught again. When they could torture me again. But if it means stopping those bastards once and for all." In Zach's mind again appeared the woman he left behind in the warehouse in Higucha City. He shook his head and in a pained voice said, "I have to do it."

"I won't put a bomb, or a tracker in you," Webb said. "You said there's a guy who can hack electronic devices right? He might find it and short out the bomb before I could set it off, switch off the tracker." Zach's eyes shot open huge and he started breathing fast again as he realized how flawed his idea was. "Then you'd really be screwed."

"You're right," Zach whispered. He shook his head while looking down at the cot between his legs. "Well, I don't know what else to do then. I, I have no plays." Webb rose his head and faced the boy whose eyes were pointed straight down. Zach was staring at the floor and talking about how he had nothing, but his mouth was up in a small smile. "I'm alive though," Zach said. "Somehow. I'm, still alive," he let out a small laugh. It came out dry, and there was only one, then he narrowed his gaze more and lowered that smile. Why, am I still alive? When everyone else. Everyone, I loved. Mom, Dad, the Akers… Jenny. "ZACH!" Zach closed his eyes and he shook his head. The screams. I can't get them out of my head. I can never, ever get them out.

"You've got two plays actually," Webb said.

Zach's eyes shot open, then his head lifted and he stared at the man in front of him in a confused way. "I do?" He asked.

"Two options. Two paths you can go on from here," Webb replied.

Zach's eyes opened even wider as there was no hesitation, not trickery on Webb's face that he could see at all. "Wh-What are they?"

The blind man hummed for a few seconds, then he started, "I am an anti-hero." Zach's eyes bulged and the left corner of his lip pulled up, a smirk covering his face that he had to purse closed because he did not want to start laughing madly. He actually wanted to hear the options, and the sound of something he had once called himself over and over in his own head could not ruin his chances of finding an out from all this. "There are others like me. We exist in the shadows. People don't know we're here."

Really? I mean, I guess I didn't know this guy existed. And he beat Hunter! Not that, I really remember them fighting that much… Did he throw me off a building? Zach thought. Ah! Wait, I landed on something soft I think, but it wasn't snow. It bounced back- it was totally a web. Webb, web, haha, hahaha! "And, what?" Zach asked, hiding his thoughts that had just strayed far in the matter of a few seconds. "Could I become one, just like that? I don't know how to be an anti-hero. Without any help, I can't do a thing. Plus, I'll be captured by villains the first time I try doing anything."

"Not a very optimistic outlook, for someone who needs a lot of optimism right now," Webb said.

"Ch, guess you're right," Zach said. "Still don't see it working out well."

"That's because I didn't finish," Webb said, and Zach closed his mouth, nodding a few times to tell the guy to go on. He opened his mouth to say something too since he figured Webb did not see his nod, but Webb continued first, "I work on my own, but your power has it's uses." Zach opened his mouth to make a snide remark about how many, but he stopped himself and just closed his mouth again after a second of Web seeming to glare at him through that beanie. How'd he do that? Zach thought. "For a time, I could get you situated in this world," Webb finished.

"You mean it?" Zach asked.

"If I saved you, just to let you go like you are now, you'd just get captured again. Would be like I didn't do a thing," Webb said. "So I could teach you, how to be an anti-hero. How to be a member of anti-hero society. It sucks most for you, because currently everyone knows your name and identity. That's not how anti-hero life works." Zach got a more confused look on his face, and Webb continued, "Most anti-heroes, no one knows their real identity. Certain ones… well, they have circumstances that let's them avoid punishment. But men like me, don't exist. Not to society."

"So, secret identities?" Zach whispered, sounding awed by it. "Just like superheroes ought to be."

"We'd fake your death, then you'd have to get a new costume. Find something that can disguise that other form of yours if you can. It would be a while before you can start showing up again. Too suspicious if Lifebringer dies one day and another strange costumed figure starts going around saving people." Webb leaned back on the wall behind him. "Been thinking about this for a while, but you could probably make it. Your power causes too much of a fuss though. Every time someone's brought back to life, big deal's gonna be made. So when you save people, try and tell them that they had never died, and that they had never seen you. Most of the time they'll be grateful enough that they don't say anything to anyone."

"These are all useful hints for if I become an anti-hero," Zach started. "Stuff you could tell me during my training," he added. "But what about the second option? Not that being your disciple, faking my death, and becoming an old-timey outside-the-rules vigilante doesn't seem fun."

"The second option…" Webb stopped himself, and he started frowning at Zach again. "Are you mentally stable?" Webb asked.

Zach's grin lowered down, and he started glaring at the older man. "You're calling me crazy? Didn't you throw a sixteen year old off a four story building last night, right before you snapped a guy's leg like it was a twig?"

"You are acting strangely for someone in your position," Webb replied, not commenting on Zach's retorts pushing insanity back at him. "Laughing. Smiling."

"How do you know I'm smiling?" Zach asked, and he lowered his mouth into a deep frown before curling up fast, then lowering it again to see if Webb would call him out wrongly.

Webb just kept frowning at Zach though, and Zach could not bring his mouth into a smile anymore. "You want to know why?" Zach asked, lifting his tone at the end. "You, really want to know? It's simple," Zach held his right hand out, and with his bandaged palm up he said, "If I start thinking about it for more than a second, I'll break down. I'm not gonna be the guy who pushes my problems on someone else," Zach said, his eyes getting darker and his voice lower at the end. "I don't need to sit around crying, and moaning, and complaining. That would be stupid."

"So you'll just bury it?" Webb asked.

"Guess so," Zach replied, lifting the left corner of his lip again. He shrugged his right shoulder, then he said in a darker voice, "Now, what's the second option? Is it something I can't do if I'm not stable enough? I can be stable if I need to be."

"That's not a very convincing answer," Webb started. "But it's not a bad move. Hide it deep inside, but you have to be careful when you do that."

"You done it before?" Zach asked.

For a moment Webb thought Zach was being rude, or snarky just for the point, but he heard the tone in the boy's voice shift at the end. He does not know how to do it. How to handle it. And he thinks I would have tips because of the person he's pinned me as. Webb did not nod nor shake his head, and Zach frowned darkly for an instant before just letting out an exasperated sigh and leaning back again.

Zach did not say anything else. If the guy in front of him was not going to tell him the second option, he figured he would just go with the first one. As he was thinking more on the first option he stopped Webb from going on more about, Webb let out a deep breath then started, "The second option." Zach's head rose and he faced the blind man again while Webb reached to his side and grabbed his phone from on top of his pillow. The man never turned his head, but Zach saw his hand move over and his fingers curl around the phone like he could see it perfectly. "Is you return to regular society."

"Can I do that, without Kurogiri and Hackerman getting me?" Zach asked, as he figured Webb would not bring it up after Zach had already mentioned this unless there was a way around it.

"Yes," Webb replied. "Their powers are not all-powerful. They have weaknesses. Hero society can prepare against those, and stop them-"

"I was surrounded by heroes when I-" Zach stopped himself and grit his teeth angrily. He shook his head while clenching his eyes shut and hearing screams echo in his ears. "Kurogiri still took me away. They couldn't stop it. They didn't even try."

"And since then, they will have made countermeasures to prevent something like that from ever happening again," Webb said. Zach just shook his head at how simple the man was making it out to be.

Webb faced the boy and had a dark expression on his own face, and he started in a low and serious tone. "This is a serious option. You have been given a chance." Zach lifted his dark gaze again, looking at Webb in a confused and angry and pained way. "In secret, the tops of hero society have been discussing you. They have been doing so for a long time. And they chose to give you a second chance." Zach's angry look started to lighten, but his confusion only increased.

"What are you talking about?"

"A pardon," Webb said. "But more than that. A retrial," it came out of Webb's mouth and Zach felt his mind blank. He shook his head around in confusion, then Webb continued while Zach was still shaking his head. "It would not be public, and the heads of the society could use what happened at the last one as an excuse. They would also be able to bend the rules easier, without any cameras or media around. At first, you were a thorn in their side because you were helping people as a villain. But now, because of what people think you stand for, or stood for," he added, referring back on Zach's response to what Webb asked him earlier. Zach thought about how he replied when Webb asked him about the people he saved, and Zach's gaze got darker even as Webb continued this explanation.

"I have it on good authority that should you suddenly turn yourself in, to let's say Musutafu police department, you could get processed and released in a number of hours."

Zach blinked a few times while staring at Webb in silence. His eyes grew huge, then they narrowed again. "There are dirty cops," Zach muttered. "Someone will tell."

"Not if the head of the department already knows about this, and I call him directly before dropping you off. By the time you get there, all the paperwork is written up, and the chief's already called heroes in to give you an escort."

Zach fell silent again. Is there really a way? "And when I get pardoned, then what? My apartment burned. Everyone in the world knows who I am. Sooner or later, villains will come after me-"

"The one I believe had a large role in getting you this opportunity, is your former principal," Webb started. Instantly both of Zach's hands tightened into clenched fists, and he bared his teeth and ground them over each other. "I see you still hold resentment-"

"You don't 'see' anything," Zach snapped. He breathed heavily for a few seconds, then he lowered his gaze and muttered, "That was stupid. Sorry."

Webb hummed to himself. If that is the extent of one of his snaps, perhaps it is not so bad. Not bad enough that it is not a feasible option. "Those are your two options," Webb said. Zach kept his gaze down as Webb said it, the boy closing his eyes and shaking his head for the mean blind joke he just made. "I am interested in what you will choose. What does the boy All Might asked me to save, think about this?"

All Might? Zach thought. He's- Zach saw the scrawny man with pushed back blond hair looking at him so angrily, after he "killed" Kirishima. He thought about how All Might looked when he faced the teachers in desperation as the Nomu tackled him away. He couldn't do anything, but, of all of them… I despise him the least- no, no I don't actually dislike All Might at all. He got Webb to come for me. Even without his Quirk. Even as weak as he became. He still did more than any of those "amazing" heroes could.

"Do you have a preference?" Webb asked. "I do not think you will do well back in hero society." Zach lifted his gaze back up and stared at the man who continued, "I think Lifebringer should die as the people remember him. If what you represented changes into something worse, I'll regret coming to save you."

"Yeah, that would suck," Zach agreed. He turned his head to the right and looked out the window. There was some snow on the corners of the glass, and more built up at the bottom of the sill. It was sunny outside though. Zach stared out at the contrasting sun and snow, and a small smile spread on his face. "I'm not Lifebringer," Zach whispered in a quiet voice, and his smile twitched, his face scrunching up for a moment. His smile rose again though, and he kept going, "But I think, it would be easy to give up just like that."

"'Give up?'" Webb asked.

"That's how I'd consider it, I think," Zach said. He kept staring out the window but he got a more serious look on his face. It was not dark, or a fooling around look, he just stared out and into the sky with a serious and determined expression. "When I think about last year's New Year's goals," Zach started. "And, I have been thinking about them recently. I realized, they haven't changed much from last year, as much as I have." Zach got a small smile on his face though his eyes stayed serious as he stared out into the sky. "And…"

Zach's lips flattened out, and he turned from the window back to Webb. "I tried going around the rules. I ignored them. I tried to be a hero in my own way. Rules exist for a reason though. I didn't know, what that reason was. I didn't understand, what I was getting myself into. Now I know though. Now, if I have the choice to follow the rules or continue going around them, how can I pick going around them? As easy as it would be to avoid villains, avoid spotlight, avoid ever having to listen to anyone again. As much as being an anti-hero, is something I thought I really wanted to do for the past four months or so, that's the easy way. And it's also the way that got everyone I love killed." He kept staring towards Webb as he said it, and he saw the man in front of him's face twitch. "They died, because I did things the easy way, because I ignored the rules. I walked through the portal that day in the courthouse, because the alternative was worse to me. Having to go out in public with everyone knowing who I was, everyone knowing what I had done, all about my Quirk and my dad and my past… Thinking about going to a normal high school, getting a job where I wouldn't be able to save anyone, I thought about all of that when they found me guilty, when they told me I couldn't be a hero. So when that portal appeared and gave me an out, I took it. Right here, you're giving me a chance to throw Zach Sazaki away completely, to cast aside Lif- to cast, to cast aside the person I was, and to throw away my old life entirely and live beyond the rules of the law for now on. It would be easy to take that option, and have no one except for you to ever have to answer to again, and even then, only until you leave me on my own." Zach paused and took in a deep breath, "But I can't do that. Not again. Relying on my judgement alone, is what got me into this in the first place."

Webb waited a few moments after Zach finished speaking. "So you've made your decision?" Webb asked. Zach could not tell in the tone of the man's voice whether he accepted the answer or not. He did not know how to read Webb's facial expression only from the bottom half of it. Zach nodded at him though, and replied, 'Yes.' Webb hummed at the sound of that clear, unwavering response. He lifted the phone which he had grabbed when he first brought up the second option. He tapped a bunch of times on the screen without looking down at it, and Zach wondered what the blind man was doing.

"It's done," Webb said, and he lowered the phone while Zach's eyes opened wide. "There's no going back now. You have made your choice. You must live with it from here on."

The teenage boy gulped and hesitated for a moment. "I know," Zach said. What I do from here on, is the restart of my life. I need to treat every moment like I am being hunted, because I will be. Don't get too close to people. They'll be used against me, and, they'll be killed because of me. I can't have this laid-back persona. I can't, just bury everything. I need to think about it. I need to think about all of it. Even if it hurts. I need to remind myself what will happen if I lower my guard, if I make friends, if I trust the heroes to protect me. "Think constantly." All For One had some good ideas after all. I can never let my guard down again. Never trust anyone again. There are spies everywhere. Maybe I can root them out. Maybe I can use what happened to me, as a learning experience, and use some of those techniques back on the spy to find the League of Villains. I know how to make someone say anything. I know, how to get someone to the point where they would say or do whatever you say… But no, I can't do that. Not where I'm going. Still, almost all of that. I can find the spy, as long as I don't trust anyone. And I don't. Not even him.

Zach's eyes softened at the man in front of him, while his thoughts became even more suspicious. Why does he say he's blind if he can see every action I make? Why does he really want me to be his sidekick or whatever? Is he just trying to help? I doubt it. Everyone has ulterior motives. What is his end goal? What is he an anti-hero for? His final goal might be different from mine, and that might be what he'd try to teach me to be like. There's no way I can trust him, after having just met him… Still though, Zach turned left and looked towards the one piece of furniture in the room other than the cots. There was a small table next to the door with a little garbage can beneath it, and on that table was an open med-kit, and a tube with some blood on it resting on the table that he had noticed earlier. He saw the pump, and he suspected there were needles for both ends of the tube. I was wondering how I felt even somewhat okay today. "Did you give me a blood transfusion?" Zach asked. He looked back towards Webb, and he looked at the insides of the man's elbows for marks. "Guessing you didn't have spare blood on hand. Sure yours is okay?"

Webb kept silent as he faced Zach for a few more seconds, then he let out a low sigh as he was expecting more of a reaction from the boy over his decision. He thought maybe Zach would ask him what the next step was, or ask how he set things in motion with just some taps on his phone, but the boy was quick to move on to the next subject. "Lucky you, I also happen to be B-. Would have had to bring you to a hospital otherwise, and your situation would be very different."

"Yeah, Kurogiri would have picked me up while I was unconscious and I would have woken up surrounded by villains," Zach said. Though that was not what Webb was referring to, it was what Zach suspected would have happened in that scenario.

Webb opened his mouth to counter, closed it, then said after a few seconds, "Maybe."

"Anyway," Zach said, continuing quickly even though he felt kind of good that Webb thought he might be right about that. "Thanks. For that, and saving me from Hunter, and I guess setting up my future too. You really saved my life. I'll be sure to pay you back for it someday, anti-hero."

Webb opened his mouth for a moment, then he closed it again and leaned forward on his cot. He brought his face forward towards Zach, and he said in a serious voice, "I will hold you to that, Sazaki."

A/N Thanks for reading. Zach's given two options for his future, and he chooses what he sees as the harder path but also the one he needs to take. Leave a review below telling me what you think and predictions from here on. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

D-Koy24 chapter 29 . 23h ago

Its Spiderman! He saved Zach!
Sooo MomoxZach... Interesting I kinda expected Jenny but hey we'll see.
~D-Koy
Am I safe now...
Or did I get into something worse?
Who cares I might not make it to tomorrow anyways.

Webb's definitely based on Spiderman. Won't lie. Thought, what would be a cool power to give this guy? Oh damn, I'll make him a badass spiderman, and blind too! We'll see how that works out as Webb mentions at the end here he plans to have Zach repay him for this... Won't confirm deny on the ships- and it seems like Zach has made it out at the moment, though we'll see if he can make it any longer. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed!

Southpaw17 chapter 29 . 22h ago

I've spent the last few days binge reading this and I'm head over heels in love with it! I think you've done a great job writing Zach's character, his reactions and emotions to all the shit that's happened to him feels very realistic. I also really like the darker turn the story took recently. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here :)

Cool! Thanks a lot, glad you've liked it so much. And I'm glad you liked the darker turn too, since it was a pretty big downfall. The story had had its ups and downs emotionally up 'til then, but it definitely hit a new low a couple chapters back. Can I top it? Do I even want to? Haha, hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks for the review!

Nightsky of FlameClan chapter 29 . 18h ago

This is probably one of the greatest stories I've ever read. Can't wait for more, keep up the good work! Hope you update soon!

Thank you! Means a lot to hear stuff like that. Another day another update! Thanks for reviewing!