Somewhere Unknown

Goblin paced around the large empty room, fiddling with the gauntlet resting around his hand. He still only owned one of the six stones that he required, and two were so easily within grasp. All he had to do was one thing; Kill Parker and take the stones from his possession. However, his partner has other plans for getting the stones. She always sounded so calm and calculated, almost happy when she spoke. It was as if this woman had no worries weighing her down. She seemed to know exactly where all the pieces needed to be for this to work. He admired how planned out she was, but he did not agree with one rule. He wanted to kill Spider-Man, and she said no.

She didn't understand, that's all. She doesn't understand how troublesome the wall-crawler was. He stopped him at every turn, despite being weaker and slower than he was. In this world, Goblin has the element of surprise. He could kill him without much effort, especially with the forces he has collected. But she always says no, and that they need him alive. He disagreed with her opinion, and it was finally time he acted on it.

Meanwhile

For class, they were brought to what All Might had called "Ground Beta". It looked identical to that of a small city down to the tiniest detail. The students were brought in wearing their costumes, then spit up into two group types. One group would be the heroes, the other would act as the villains. The heroes' goal was to rescue the hostages without letting the villains stop you, and the villains must maintain the hostages until the timer goes off.

Spider-Man leapt into the air, finding his agility to be supreme in his nano-suit. His feet stuck to a building wall as the student's fist went flying into the ground. The student's skin while maintaining its overall appearance looked to harden like stone or iron. His costume consisted of no shirt, only a thick material dressed over his shoulders. He seemed to have been wearing a crimson cloth around his waist that almost dangled like a cape. His pants and shoes were black while they paralleled to his fiery red hair.

"You missed, Kirishima!" Spider-Man shouted down to him, "You're lucky your body can harden, or that punch would have hurt!"

Kirishima shoot his fist and chuckled, "I'll get you eventually, arachnid!"

"Well at least you're insulting me correctly," Spider-Man shot a web into the air and swung over Kirishima, landing on the ground just a few yards away. Pushing off his heals, he propelled forward and charged at Kirishima with blinding force. His opponents skin quickly hardened as he threw the first punch. Making contact felt exactly like punching metal and sent pain through the spider's fist. Still he continued his assault of kicks and punches against his enemy, forcing him to start moving backwards. Kirishima kept his arms up, guarding his face from most of the blows.

Elsewhere in a large computer room, the rest of the students seemed to have been watching them on a massive monitor. No audio was coming through, only the visuals of every major part of the false city. Right now, everyone's focus seemed to be on the fight between Peter and Kirishima.

"Peter's gonna wear him down eventually," Said Mina, "Kirishima can only hold his skin like that for so long before he gives out."

"Meanwhile," Momo added, "Peter has the superior stamina as well as strength. As far as one on one fights go, Peter has the clear advantage."

"It's not just about that though," Izuku jumped in, "As long as Peter fights Kirishima, he can't focus on the hostages. While Peter has increased strength and agility, Kirishima can still hold out for a little while. By the time he finally beats him, I don't know if he'll have enough time left to save the hostages."

"Indeed!" All Might exclaimed, "Perhaps its Peter who needs to think his way through the fight!"

"Yeah but …" Izuku looked concerned suddenly, "He seems distracted. Since I live with him, I kind of know how he is when he's focused. And … he doesn't look focused."

"What do you mean?" Mina asked.

"I mean Peter always focuses on saving the people in danger. He can easily get away from Kirishima and rescue them, but he's focusing on trying to beat him in a fight. I'm just wondering why he's wasting so much time. It's like he's not thinking straight right now."

"Did anything happen recently?" Momo asked him, "To distract him, I mean."

"Well …actually, something weird happened this morning. We were on our way to school when Peter spotted one of the students from Class 1-B. I don't remember what her name was, but he rushed over to talk to her. And even then, he had been acting strange all morning. I'm wondering if she's connected somehow."

"Which student was it?"

"She had …orange hair, tied into a pony-tail. And blue eyes too."

Momo nodded, crossing her arms and looking down at the surface of the floor. Peter was normally one to be focused when it came to classes just like she was. He was intelligent and tactical, and he always had a smart way out of things. Despite his powers, he always put his brains first. She admired that about him. So, if something has suddenly changed, it's a raise for concern. What could the girl from Class 1-B have to do with his sudden change in attitude?

Peter flipped over Kirishima and webbed him in the back, sticking his arms together. He couldn't escape it no matter how hard he struggled. Just as he turned around to face him, Kirishima was met with a powerful fist to the face that sent him directly onto the concrete.

"That wasn't so hard," Chuckled Spider-Man.

From the speakers high above in the buildings rung a massive alert sound, almost like a fire alarm that caused him to recoil. The voice of All Might rang high above, "Time is up! The winner is Kirishima! Hero loses!"

"What?!" Shouted Spider-Man, "I thought I had more time!"

"Uh …Pete," Kirishima called out, "Can you get these things off me?"

Momo watched the screen intently as Spider-Man was in distress over his loss. The fact that he lost wasn't what bothered her, rather it was why he lost. He could have webbed up Kirishima and rescued the hostages in the first 5 minutes. He had 15 minutes to complete the task. Why was he so distracted? Was he angry? Did he focus on fighting because he needed to vent out his frustrations? What was going through his mind?
Whatever it was, the girl from class 1-B had something to do with it.

It was the end of the day now and everyone had begun to go home. While most people found their friends and started for the gate, Momo had a different goal in mind. She wandered around the front of the school and looked at the appearances of many of the students as they left. It wasn't until she reached the fountain that she spotted someone matching what Izuku described. She was looking at her phone, oblivious to the world around her. Momo didn't know why she was going out of her way for this, but that didn't matter as she approached the table.

"Excuse me?" She asked as she came up, "Are you from class 1-B?"

Kendo put down her phone and turned her head to the stranger, tilting her head, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Do you know someone named Peter Parker by any chance?"

Kendo's eyebrows went up as the familiar name rang through her ears. Her mind went straight into the memories of last night, being the most recent and strongest thoughts that she had concerning him. Kendo attempted to keep a level face, not showing any sign of panic or worry, "We've talked once or twice. Why?"

"I want to talk to you about him. In private."

She sounded serious, and Kendo wasn't in the mood to start any kind of scene. Stuffing her phone into her pocket, she followed Momo back into the empty school.
They closed the doors tight and gave the silence a moment to settle in. Finally, Momo was the first to speak.

"Peter Parker is a brilliant student," She started, "He's focused on his work, yet learns to have fun with it. In most of the heroics classes we've had over the passed week, Peter Parker has excelled in his performance even if he fails to complete his goal."

Kendo looked at her with a puzzled look, "I haven't seen it for myself but I'm sure he's a great student. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because today it was different. He was unfocused and reckless. Today's goal was a rescue, and his focus was more on fighting his enemy. Normally saving people comes first, but not today. Today he was angry because something was on his mind, and that brings me to why we're here. I know you talked to him this morning, and this change in him only took place today. I want to know what you were talking about."

Kendo's eyes widened as she tried to think of what to say. She couldn't tell her what they talked about because she swore to keep it a secret. Peter was a good guy, and it would be wrong to turn him in like that despite what he may have done. But this confrontation does put light on how Peter is really taking this. He seemed ok with ending his crusade when she confronted him. Could he have been lying about how he was taking it? He seemed happy, or at least at peace.

"I …we were just talking," Kendo started, "He asked me how my morning was. That's it. After that we just walked to school together. Whatever is going on with him, it has nothing to do with me."

There was a faint ripple in Kendo's voice, as if she was startled. It was quiet, but not enough to evade Momo's radar.

"When it comes to the stability of my classmates, it's my duty to take action as the vice representative," Momo stated, stepping toward her, "Please. I'm not trying to criminalize you. I'm trying to help my classmate and friend. If there's anything you're not telling me, don't hold back."

Kendo was running out of words to combat her with. It was clear now that Peter wasn't honest about how he felt, and this was her fault. If she told Momo the truth, it would only make things worse. No, she needed to take care of this herself.

"I'm really not sure," Kendo said, "But I'll talk to him about it and see what I can find out. Okay?"

Momo squinted her eyes at her, then sighed, "Fine. Thank you for your time, and I apologize for causing a disruption to your day."

Momo left without another word, and Kendo stood there with a hand on her chest. Her heart was beating fast from the fear. The weight she thought was lifted from her conscious was now right back where it was. Th only way to remove it was to fix things with Peter. The problem was that her view on the situation hasn't changed, no matter how much she wishes the law was different. Still, the best thing to do is to talk to him and figure out a solution.

She figured that he couldn't have gotten far after school had ended. All she did was trace back where they had walked when they met this early morning. Thankfully she had found him walking on the sidewalk with Izuku Midoryia. She assumed there was a reason they were always together, she just never bothered to ask about it. As she was about to approach them, Kendo suddenly stopped. If Peter really was upset about this, wouldn't that make her the last person he'd want to see? What if whatever she says turns up useless in his eyes?
No, that doesn't seem like the kind of person he is. Taking a deep breath, she approached them and tapped Peter's shoulder.

Peter turned around and stopped, his eyes widening in surprise, "Kendo, hi. What are you-"

"I want to talk to you," She cut in, "To …sort things out."

Giving her a strange look, he nodded and gestured Izuku to go on without him. Kendo and Peter began to walk in the opposite direction as she stayed close to him.

"I wanted to apologize," She started, "I didn't see how upset that you were. One of your classmates told me how distracted you were today, and I can't help but feel that …it's my fault."

"Kendo-"

"You were following your heart, and I didn't really think about that. I know what you were doing was noble, and I shoved it back in your face. So …I'm sorry."

Peter took a moment to absorb her words as he stared at his feet. The walls that protected him emotionally had broken down and he finally looked genuinely upset. Of course, he appreciated her apology and commitment to her morals. The situation however was still difficult and fragile.

"I know you still want to do something to help, and I get it," Kendo continued, "We can't fight the villains whether we like it or not. But ... well you don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"You can go to the police station and tell them all about the villains you saw. They'll be on the look out for them, and Pro heroes can stop them. You know what they look like right? Not just the water villain? You did say there were others."

"Yeah, I did."

"And they want those stones too. The police and the Pro's can stop them."

Peter stopped walking, causing Kendo to come to a halt as well, "Kendo," he said, "Those stones …no one can have them, not even me. I plan to return them to the vault they came from."

"You don't have to though. The police and the pro's can handle it as long as you tell them everything. It's the best and most legal way to do the right thing."

Silence fell between them. These stones were a subject she realized he wouldn't budge on.

"At least …at least tell the police about the villains. Then …finding the stones will be easier for you."

He looked up at her, almost a grin on his face, "Am I hearing a change of mind in you?"

"A small one. Finding stones isn't dangerous or illegal. What's dangerous is the people after them …right?"

He smiled brightly, "Right."

She made a valid point, despite him not agreeing with some of her statements. If pro heroes and the police knew these villains were in town, it would make it harder for them to hide. They'd be on the police scanners and hunted by more than just him. If they were on the radar, it would make it easier for Spider-Man to maneuver around them and find them if one locates the stones. It may not be exactly what Kendo wants of him, but it's an advantage.

"Ok," Peter sighed, "Why don't we head over now and tell them what we saw. Deal?"

She smiled brightly with a sigh of relief, "Yeah, yeah ok!" She walked up and hugged him, "I'm sorry I upset you before …"

He hugged her back, stroking her head to calm her down, "It's ok, Kendo. Thank you for coming back and talking to me."

Her cheeks turned red as her face buried into his chest. She was able to hear his heartbeat being so close to him. It was fast but slowing down as he calmed himself from the conversation. Meanwhile, hers just sped up unknowingly.

It took them about 20 minutes to reach the police station, which reminded him of the one back home. When they had gone inside, they asked if they could report a few sightings. After some waiting, the police had separated Kendo and Peter, and brought them into separate rooms. Peter ended up waiting in the office of the chief, fighting with his wrists. Underneath his school uniforms sleeves were his web shooters. His traditional gear was somewhat clunky and budged a bit under his sleeves. Still, he was lucky to have them on him considering what he was planning.

Finally, one of the detectives walked in. He appeared as your traditional detective with classic black hair. He sat down at his desk and addressed Peter with a smile. Behind him was a man with a pencil and sketch pad, ready to draw whatever was described.
"I'd like to thank you for coming in," Said the man, "My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi. It's very responsible of you to report any villain sightings you may see. We here at the station work hard to share what we find with the pro heroes and resolve the issues at hand. Now, let's get started. Do you know how many villains you saw?"

Peter took a moment to think, "Um …I think at least 2."

"Can you describe them?"

"Yes. One I saw in the distance. He calls himself the Vulture. He usually wears a big green suit with giant wings on his arms. He's old and bald, kind of wrinkly around the eyes …"

He continued to describe his appearance, until the sketch artist showed him what he had.

"Hm…" Peter examined, "A few more moles on his head and I think you're good."

"You said you saw two," Naomasa asked, "Who was the other one?"

Peter hesitated, and looked down at his feet, "He calls himself Hydro Man. Appearance wise he's pretty basic, so he'll be harder to spot. But he has power over water, as in he could turn any part of his body into water and manipulate it."

He went on to describe him, slightly more hesitant this time around considering their meeting the night before. Once he had finished, he waited for the sketch artist to finish. While he continued to draw, Naomasa continued to speak.

"Where and when did you see these villains?"

Peter couldn't exactly tell him the truth, at least not about Hydro Man. If Kendo was being serious, just throwing a punch at Hydro Man would land him behind bars, "I was out with my friend Itsuka Kendo. We saw him fly over us on a pillar of water, and he was causing a lot of disruption, and tried to attack Kendo. When we escaped …we came here."

Naomasa wrote down Peters words on paper, making note of his story. He likely wanted to compare his story with Kendo, explaining why they had been separated for this. If their stories didn't match, it would mean some issues for the two of them. Should something happen, Peter needs to make sure that Kendo doesn't take any of the blame. It wouldn't be fair to her if she suffered for his actions.

"That would make three new villains in the last week," Said Naomasa, "That Rhino character showed up a little over a week ago, and we have no idea where he came from."

"Where is The Rhino anyway?"

"Right now, in containment with level 5 security. He's a feisty one."

Peter's heart skipped a beat as his spider-sense had gone off in his head. His vision had become more intense; the details of the office becoming more focused and specific. It was as if he could feel every molecule of the environment, and something was about to shift. Quickly his eyes moved around the room and searched for the anomaly, until his eyes landed on the window behind Naomasa. The light coming through had begun to shrink, and a shadow grew closer. Without thinking about the consequences, Peter leapt forward and grabbed Naomasa by the shoulders and tackled him to the ground.

The window of the room shattered, and pieces of the wall went flying. The sketch artist had been knocked out by the debris, dropping the notepad to the ground. A figure jumped in wearing strange gauntlets on his arms. His outfit consisted of clothing in a yellow and brown color palette, with a full headed mask of the same color. He walked in and stepped on the artist's sketch pad, turning around to face Peter.

"Gobby said you'd be here," The man said, pointing his gauntlets at him, "I've been waiting to kill you."

The door to the room was kicked down and officers came rushing in pointing their guns. They shouted at him to freeze and stand down, but he simply turned around and fired off his gauntlets. They released a massive high frequency air blast that destroyed the wall and sent them all flying to the ground. The other officers started to run around, looking for weapons and calling for backup.
Peter grabbed Naomasa by the shoulders and helped him up, looking out at the street outside. Peter grabbed Naomasa with one had and the artist with the other, dragging them both out and setting them down. Naomasa was still conscious as he reached for his cell phone, flipping it open and begging to press buttons.

The man stepped back out and pointed his gauntlets at them, "You pigs can call me The Shocker. Not that it matters since none of you are living to see another day."

Naomasa got to his knees and pointed his gun, trying to stay in front of Peter, "Don't move! Or I'll shoot!"

"Oh? You'll shoot? So will I!" he fired off his gauntlets again and knocked the gun out of his hands.

"You …won't get away with this," Naomasa said as he laid on the ground.

"And why is that?" Shocker asked.

A figure suddenly landed on the ground near them, sending a massive blast of air and smoke through the area. The figure stood tall and proud, wearing a classic superhero outfit. His smile was bright and joyful, like he enjoyed the fight ahead of him.
"Because I am here!" Shouted All Might as the dust cleared enough to see him.

"Who the heck is this clown?" Mocked Shocker as All Might laughed at him.

"It appears you don't know what you're in for!" He exclaimed, "Allow me to introduce myself!" All Might suddenly struck a classic superhero pose, spreading his stance and throwing one fist into the air, "I am the symbol of peace! The number one Pro hero! All Might! And you, evil doer, are in a heap of trouble!"

Shocker scoffed, "Yeah, right!" he fired off his gauntlets at him and expected it to knock him away. Instead, All Might threw his fist forward just as the blast reached him. Suddenly the energy was pushed and went flying back to its source. It struck Shocker and sent him to the ground in surprise. The unknown hero had bounced his own attack back with nothing more than a punch! He had never met anyone like that before.

"Young Parker! I hope I have not arrived too late! I do wonder what you may be doing at the station, my boy!" All Might said, "But we shall worry about that later!"

Shocker jumped back to his feet and stumbled a few feet away. It was clear that he was highly outmatched by this so-called Pro. If he stayed too much longer, it was likely he would get arrested, "I don't plan to go behind bars, you costumed freak!"
All Might suddenly leapt forward and threw his fist at the ground in front of Shocker. The intensity of the impact pushed on Shocker and sent him into the air. He landed on his stomach and bounced off the concrete.

"Young Parker!" All Might shouted, "I suggest retreating from this area! I shall find you again once I finish with this villain!"

His first instinct was to do as he was told and escape to the street next to them. But as he started making his way there, he stopped and looked back at the massive hole in the wall. He wasn't sure, but Kendo could still be somewhere inside. Even though the threat was here rather than there, it was best to be sure of her safety.

He turned himself around and charged back into the building.

"That is the wrong way!" All Might shouted, then turned his attention back to Shocker, "Who are you? What is it you want here?"

"Why would I tell a hero like you anything?!" Shocker shouted back, "I'm doing my job, that's all!"

Naomasa coughed as he stood up, "I heard him …talk about wanting to kill someone. He was told they would be here, and he attacked where I was questioning Mr. Parker. So, either he wanted me dead…"

All Might nodded in understanding, curiosity running through him. If he was here to kill Peter, there was a chance this is a villain he's fought against before. First the Rhino, and now this man. Just how many of Peter's enemies followed him here, and for what reason?
"I'm afraid you won't be killing anyone today!" All Might declared, "Because I am here to stop you!"

Just as he had finished his sentence, a massive gust of purple smoke opened behind Shocker. A large green hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him in, vanishing in the dust.
"No!" All Might leapt forward as quickly as he could, but the portal had closed just as he reached it. All that remained was a small gust of wind spiraling where the smoke once was.

Peter rushed into the broken Police Station, jumping over the debris that laid on the ground. It had been evacuated after the attack, leaving no souls but his own to remain. It was likely that Kendo had been evacuated with the rest of them. Still, he couldn't shake this feeling he was getting that something was wrong.

Purple smoke began to rise in front of him. Looking down, he saw a ball of the substance building below his feet. Before he was able to move, he found himself falling into the portal and vanishing from sight.
Peter reappeared on the roof of the building, barely managing to land on his feet before he was pinned down by a pillar of water. His cloths became drenched as he struggled to keep breathing. Through the layer of water on his vision, he saw several figures that he could just barely recognize. The most important was the large green figure in front, staring him down.

"Hello, Peter," Goblin said as he leaned down, "It's nice to see you again."

Peter tried to push himself up, but the water continued to weigh him down.

"I haven't seen you since the S.H.I.E.L.D prison. I hear you enrolled into that school for super heroes. You must feel right at home there. Nice and safe, protected by super powered freaks," his voice had a hint of poison, "I have been itching to kill you, and finally I've had enough waiting. Once you're out of the way, the Infinity Stones will be all mine."

Peter tried to talk, but he was met with gargle instead.

"Sorry, no jokes or one-liners today. Just the sweet embrace of cold death," he turned to Hydro Man who had been standing right over him, "Drown him, no mercy."

Using his other arm, Hydro Man lifted Peter up and engulfed him in a floating orb of water. Peter's vision began to blur as he struggled to hold his breath. He fidgeted with his web shooters as he tried to undue the cartridge. Suddenly a fist flew into the water and struck his stomach, causing him to release his breath.
"You won't be pulling that trick again," Said Goblin as he removed his fist.

Now out of breath, water had begun to invade his lungs. As his vision turned to black, he used his last remaining will to release one of his web pellets and crush it in his hand. The webs scattered and consumed the water in seconds. The webs escaped the orb and touched the ground below, making a pillar inside of the sphere. Peter grabbed the bottom of the web pillar and pulled himself down, rolling straight out of the water and jumping away with a massive gasp.

"You fool!" yelled Goblin, "Kill him!"

Peter landed on the ledge of the building and held his chest, coughing up water. He didn't have time to rest as his spider-sense sounded in his ears. A blast of air fired at him as he jumped backpacks and dodged it. Peter was met with a fist just as he hit the ground, and he back rolled to recover to his feet. In front of him stood Hydro Man, Shocker and Goblin. They inched toward him as he grew closer to the roofs edge. He lost all his web pellets during his escape, so swinging away was no longer an option.

"Get back!" a voice yelled.

A blinding light erupted from the sky just behind Peter. Everyone on the roof shut their eyes and were unable to see clearly. Through the gaps between his fingers, all Peter could see was a silhouette land in front of him, likely the source of the light.

"What are you doing?!" The voice yelled, sounding feminine, "I told you not to kill him and you go behind my back?!"

Goblin was about to retort, but she seemed to lift her hand and blast him with an unknown energy. He backed down immediately.

"You forget that this is a partnership that I formed! I can easily dissolve it! Use the stone and take us away from here! Now!"

"Parker needs to die!" Retorted Goblin.

"No! He! Doesn't!" She yelled back, raising her hand again.

"Alright!" Goblin gave in, lifting his hand opening a portal. The three villains quickly retreated into it, leaving only the figure of light. She turned around and face Peter, her appearance still shrouded by light.

"Get some rest," She said, "I'll make sure they don't bother you again."

As she entered the breach, the light immediately vanished from the area and the portal disappeared. Peter fell to his knees and gasped for air, unable to currently process what had happened. He wiped the water from his face and let himself completely collapse. As if he didn't have enough to worry about, now he had this mystery woman.

It was clear she was working with Goblin, so why did she save him?