Hatsume carried a bag of scraps and metals across the school grounds and through the hallways, earning looks of confusion and concern from anyone she passed by. Of course, she didn't bother paying any attention to them, they weren't apart of her world, Afterall. Her mind remained on the topic of all the different things she needs to finish building for the Sports Festival. Most people's quirks allowed them to enter without any help, but not her. Her quirk worked only with her sight, allowing her to see up to 5 kilometers if she focused enough. Still, it wasn't flashy enough, and she needed to be flashy if she was going to be noticed.
She entered the invention shop as she had every day prior, expecting her inventor in crime to be working away at that fancy suit of his. Instead, however, she found him head down on the desk with his suit to the side, plugged into a computer as he slept away with snores filling the room. She dropped her bag of scraps to the side and approached him curiously. His computer was left open, with an upload sign reaching 56%. Cords connected the suit to the computer, likely another update file for the tech he's been putting in.
She poked at him, seeing if he would have any sort of reaction. He didn't instead, continuing to sleep on with tired eyes. She heard that things had been eventful for him, having to be a witness for a case then being attacked that same day. He always seemed to be here before her, as well, telling her he had been working every free second to finish his suit. She knew what that was like.
Reaching into one of the upper drawers attached to the wall, she pulled out a large bag of cotton that had been stored there as a backup for arts n' crafts. She lifted Peter's head gently and placed the bag of cotton under it, setting it back down and letting his head rest onto the bag. It certainly had to be more comfortable than the table. It was then she noticed he had earbuds plugged in, connected to his phone and playing music she could just barely hear. Curiously, she took one earbud and listened to the music that played.
The music was soft and sweet, a light violin playing along with a piano. Lyrics followed soon after.
"Leaves turn brown, and snow falls white.
Grass grows green, and the sun shines light.
Close your eyes and see. All of this beauty,
It comes from you"
Hatsume smiled, putting the earbud back in his ear without waking him. "Catchy," She said, strolling over to her bag of scraps and yanking them out onto the table. Enough mushy stuff, she thought, it was time to get to work.
Some time had gone by, Hatsume had already finished at least two prototypes for her gear meant for the Sports Festival. Just as Peter had fallen deeper into slumber, an alarm sounded him his laptop and woke him with a jump. He rubbed his eyes and looked to the screen to find his program had finished downloading.
"…This is it," he realized, "Hatsume this is it! Get over here!"
Hatsume dropped her blowtorch and lifted her goggles, quickly rushing over in excitement, "Is she ready?!"
"She's ready! Step back!"
Hatsume took a step back, nearly jumping in excitement as Peter slowly approached the suit. He grabbed the center of the waist belt, where a gear-shaped nob was present with a glowing green core. Carefully, he twisted the nob clockwise until it clicked into place. The suit started to pump a green like into the crevice's, starting at the belt. Gradually the suit began to reflect like a mirror, until it had completely vanished from sight, not even a shadow left behind as proof of its existence.
"I did it!" He exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air, "I did it! I actually managed to line up the reflector relays and sync a reflective surface on both sides of the material!"
"You made a big-time stealth suit!"
"I made a big-time stealth suit!"
Peter nearly leapt into Hatsume's arms as they danced around in a hug, "This is so exciting!" Shouted Hatsume, "You literally defied the laws of physics because you could! Can I use some of this for the sports festival? Those stealth relay babies as you call them are nifty! I promise I'm a good baby sitter!"
Peter released her from the hug, "Sorry, but I'll be keeping these to myself for now."
"Phooey, makes a scientific breakthrough and doesn't share with me. Don't you want people to see your fabulous babies?!"
Peter was hesitant. He knew the real reason he made them, but she didn't and likely wouldn't understand, "I need to run more tests and make a final product. There's still so much I need to perfect, like it's length of function, time of power source depletion, you understand I'm sure."
"Mmmmmmmmgh true. Fine! Fine! Keep your adorable babies to yourself, you protective parent!"
"Doubtful," he said, grabbing the belt nob and twisting it back to restore the suits visibility, "I would not make a good father."
She had just started walking back to her side of the room when she heard that, and stopped to register his words. Confused, she turned back around and said, "Why do you think that?"
"My life is dangerous. I have too much baggage. And other reasons that I would just be a terrible dad and husband."
"Well that isn't very nice to your babies. Shame on you," She turned back around and went back to work. Peter sighed, the thought of living a normal life weighing on him. True, before his powers he did wonder about finding love, starting a family and living like everyone else. But there are people who will always need Spider-Man, and for as long as he has Spider-Man, he must have solitude as well.
At least that's how he saw it.
…
Night came quickly, as if it was excited to begin its short life. Everyone had put themselves to bed at the usual times, and like normal, Peter sat awake in bed until he was sure Izuku was fast asleep. It never took long, he always wore himself out from training too hard. Peter grabbed his backpack, looking inside to ensure the contents. Within it, instead of his usual Spider-Man suit, there was also the black and green stealth suit he had finally perfected. Tonight, was the night he would finally put it to the test.
Though, as Peter looked back at Izuku, he remembered their conversation just nights ago. His green haired friend would be heartbroken if anything happened to him. Peter cared for him as well, despite only knowing him about a month. He was a good person, and he would make a great hero. It pained him to leave once again to throw himself into danger. But he had to. He couldn't drag this worlds protectors in to fix his mess, knowing how everyone around him gets hurt if they are too close. With regret in his heart, Peter leapt out the window and shut it behind him.
Fully dressed into his new stealth suit, Spider-Man swung through the city with a faint emerald glow. It felt good to swing in his new outfit, the materials bent and shifted to his liking. Though there was some resistance in the joint areas, it wasn't enough to dull performance too much. He used the thinnest and strongest material he could find, though there was still a weight difference from normal fabric. Peter had to be carful not to swing incorrectly, accounting for the added weight of the suit. In his lenses was a HUD, a suggestion from Hatsume he took to heart. He was able to pull up a map of the city linked to GPS, making it easier to find shortcuts and alleyways he could swing through. It was a little too bright for his eyes, a bug he would fix later.
Landing and sticking to the side of a building, Spider-Man looked out over the city, listening in to the comm network built into the mask. It wasn't hard to find the frequency of the police's radio chatter, as it wasn't very well encrypted. Perhaps they spent so much money funding the Hero programs that the police just didn't have enough to fund themselves. Spider-Man always preferred doing things himself, but even he knew the police needed support just as much as superheroes.
He waited on the building, looking down at the alley across the street. Only 15 minutes had gone by before a black car drove started driving by; the Tombstone logo was painted onto the hood. Spider-Man knew that the car would come here, it was their usual patrol routes and they were natural creatures of habit.
"Ok, Tombstone," Spider-Man spoke to himself, "I'm coming for you."
Spider-Man aimed his web shooter at the car when it stopped at a red light. A targeting system opened in his mask and guided him to the rear of the vehicle, measuring the distance in meters. He fired off a small device and it stuck itself to the car, blinking faintly to show it had activated. Once he had, the mini map in the corner of his mask lit up with a small red dot, exactly where the car was on the road. When they drove off, Spider-Man followed behind, staying out of sight while keeping track of them from a distance.
He followed along, staying close to the roof stops and using his naturally dark suit to his advantage. They weren't moving too quickly, probably trying not to attract unwanted attention from the police. It didn't stop Spidey from following them, though.
Finally, they reached the end of the trail, pulling into the driveway of an old building, with a sign that stated they were up for demolition. Of course, a building like that makes for perfect cover. He watched as the men got out of the car and went inside, the driver pulling out and taking off. Makes sense if they don't want anyone knowing there were people inside.
"Time to see if this works in the field," Said Spidey, as he grabbed the nod of his belt and twisted it clockwise. His suit reacted quickly and turned invisible just like before. He couldn't see his own body, just as he had hoped for. At the top of his screen was a battery, telling him how much energy he had left before the stealth mode ran out of juice. Right now, it was at 100%, but it would likely go fast.
He leapt down and swung to the nearest open window on the bottom floor, freezing for a moment just in case he was heard. It was late, which ironically meant Tombstones crew would be working their hardest. Most of them should be out doing drug deals, and while he knows he should bust those, this would shut them all down fast anyway. He entered carefully as not to make noise; he was invisible, not inaudible.
The room he entered didn't have anyone in it. Luck of the draw, though the door to the hall was left open. He tried to take a step forward but found that the old wood beneath his feet creaked with the added weight. Walking normally wasn't going to cut it. Thankfully the ceiling was made of a more solid material. He jumped to it, a large but quick creak of the ground sounding from his feet. No one seemed to hear it, they were probably too focused on other things.
He crawled across the ceiling and into the main room of the floor. Below him were men and woman working at desks, wrapping and packing different kinds of drugs into boxes. Those boxes are then taken downstairs into the basement to be stored until they can be brought to the streets. Using a camera installed into his lenses, he pressed a button on the side of his mask to take screenshots of what he was seeing. If he can't bust them tonight, having proof would be beneficial in court.
He gazed to the set of stares leading up the building, where a shadow had appeared on the wall going down the steps. The wallcrawler recognized the army haircut and pale skin as Tombstone, in the bullet proof flesh. He came down with heavy boots, adjusting the knuckleduster placed snug around his fingers. It was stained, and not with rust.
"Sales have been going down," Tombstone said, "Last week we were able to sell over 10,000$ in drug sales. This week, however, we've dropped to less than 7,000. Now, some of you may think that's not so bad, right? Raise your hand if you think so."
One man was brave enough to slowly raise his hand, only to immediately be punched nose-first by Tombstone, blood staining the knuckleduster. When the other men tried to help him up, Tombstones voice stopped them, "Help him and you get some too! I don't like a drop in sales any larger than 1000 in cash. Any more, and someone has to be held accountable, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be me. See, I'm not the one selling the drugs, it's not my job to have the charm that comes with being the seller. That job is up to you. So, I expect the sales to be twice as large as last week, otherwise I may have to make a habit of cleaning my knuckles with bleach."
'Boss of the year' Spider-Man thought to himself. As Tombstone continued to talk to his men, Spider-Man took the opportunity to crawl across the ceiling and up the stairs. Knowing Tombstone, his office was likely on the top floor next to the fire escape. He always loved making a quick getaway in case the police found out where they operated, it's the main reason they never seemed to catch him back home. Reaching the top floor, he checked each room until he found the one with the fire escape just outside its window, and to little surprise, Tombstones office was placed inside.
He could tell it was his office, as he recognized some of the trinkets he has collected over the years, specifically the different knuckledusters sitting on top his desk, almost acting as decor. Using his webs to slow his decent, he placed his feet gently on the ground and shut the door behind him, locking it for the moment. He checked his power supply for his stealth mode, sitting at 58% now. It really did go faster than he wanted it to. Knowing how he would need it in case of an emergency, he twisted the nob of his belt counter clockwise and allowed his suit to regain its visibility.
"Let's see how much dirt we can dig up," He said, approaching his desk and looking into the drawers. There were files and papers scattered about on different people, likely some of the people he blackmailed into working for him. When he wanted talent, he always knew how to get it one way or another. Every chance he got, he took a screenshot with his lenses for proof, being sure to avoid taking a picture of his hands. If he turned in his proof and found himself in the photos, they would arrest him rather than Tombstone.
Opening another drawer, he found a newspaper inside. The front-page story was that of an auction house transporting new artifacts and art in the coming week. The photo associated with the story had a short montage of the many items.
One he recognized.
In the corner of the photo was a blue stone, emitting light from the case it was placed inside. They likely assumed that it was a rare material to be sold at the highest bitter, but Spider-Man knew it as the Mind Stone. From what he could remember, it allows the user to enhance their mental abilities, and even access the dreams and thoughts of others. If supported by the Power Stone, it would allow someone to access every mind in existence all at once.
Tombstone was never the smartest guy, but he knew value when he saw it.
His spider-sense began to go off as he saw a shadow approach the door. He grabbed the newspaper and closed the other drawers. The window behind him was locked, and he had no time to pick at it without leaving a trace of his presence. "The hell?" Said Tombstone as he realized the door had been locked. He left the key on his desk, so he knew it wasn't him who had done it. With no options, left Spider-Man leapt to the ceiling with folders in hand and twisted the nob on his belt, turning invisible to the naked eye.
Tombstone kicked the door down, prepared with his knuckleduster facing forward. At first glance, nothing seemed to have been changed. Everything was still where he left it on his desk, even the key he neglected to take with him. Still, he looked around for anything suspicious, knowing full well he wasn't responsible for locking the door.
Spider-Man kept his head close to his chest, holding the paper close to his stomach. It was then he realized that though he himself was invisible, the newspaper was not. It appeared to float against the ceiling just above the drug lords head and it was a miracle he hadn't noticed yet. Slowly he tried crawling to the door as Tombstone investigated his desk.
The stealth mode was down to 52% and dropping, losing power at least every 20 seconds. The power source he used for it was strong, but it wouldn't last forever. It would be dangerous to hang around too long and risk regaining visibility at the wrong time.
"…Peter!"
A voice rang in his head, echoing loudly against the walls of his skull. It was painful, enough to loosen his grip on the ceiling and drop him to the ground with a thud. The impact caused his stealth mode to glitch as his appearance faded in and out while he held his aching head. Tombstone reacted in surprise before an evil grin approached his face, "Well, look who decided to visit me, tonight."
He was in far too much pain to stop Tombstone from walking over and grabbing him by the throat, slamming his back against the wall and squeezing tightly around his windpipes. Spider-Mans body still faded in and out, glitching like a virus on a computer as he used his free hand to try and fight back.
"Well- ack! Clearly I lost this game of hide and seek!" Spider-Man coughed out, "How about you hide, and I'll seek! No cheating or I'm telling mom!"
Laughing, Tombstone started pounding his knuckleduster against Spider-Man's body, bruising and damaging it as well as the suit. The impacts caused the suit to regain full visibility as pieces of the material broke off, including one of his lenses after an attack to the face that bruised his eye. Tombstone continued his assault until Spider-Man lost the strength to fight back, and let his arms drop to the side.
"…Wanna call it a draw…?" Spider-Man said with a raspy voice.
"A draw of your last breath, sure. What was it you were hoping to do tonight? Take down my entire business?"
"Maybe buy a corndog? I hear the street vendors in this town are killer."
"They ain't the only ones."
Tombstone charged another fist and aimed it for him. Spider-Man channeled all his strength into one of his arms and lifted it up, catching the fist by the knuckleduster. His leg lifted and kicked Tombstones arm to the side, releasing the grip from his neck and letting his body drop to the floor. Spidey paid no hesitation to Tombstone before leaping onto the desk and jumping through the window, crashing through the glass and falling to the streets below. He attempted to shoot a web and stop his fall, but only managed to slow it down before he crashed shoulder first onto the sidewalk.
"Everyone, grab a gun!" Shouted Tombstone from the top floor, "Get out there and kill the spider!"
He could hear the men rushing down the stairs to grab their guns. With the newspaper still in one hand, Spidey used his other to shoot a web and start swinging away. His swings were slow and close to the ground due to his injuries, especially his shoulder which may or may not be broken after that fall. It didn't take the men very long to get into their cars and catch up with him. They fired off bullets, grazing him a few times as he swung, until eventually a bullet managed to strike his leg despite his spider-sense telling him to dodge it.
Nearly falling to the ground, Spider-Man shot a web to the nearest alleyway and pulled himself inside, hiding behind the large trash can and pulling his knees to his chest. He turned the nob of his belt over and over to try and rid himself of his visibility, but it only glitched out the suit even more. Spidey heard the men shut the doors of their cars and reload their guns, approaching the alley quickly. Only now did the suit finally do what he wants and turn his body transparent all except his broken eye lenses that revealed a portion of his face. The men came down the alley, looking for him with the intent to kill.
"He got away," Said one of the men, "Let's regroup back at base."
Spider-Man watched as the men emptied from the alley and drove away, finally as the stealth mode of his suit reached 0% and returned his image to the visible plane. He didn't bother to stand up right away, finally feeling the pain of his injuries after the adrenaline had run out. There was no way he could return home in this state without being asked questions, not unless he was smart about it. Kendo was likely fast asleep by now, and even if he did go there, what would be his excuse to Izuku and the others when they woke up? His only real choice was to return home after he dealt with the evidence he collected.
…
The drug lord picked up the broken glass and swept it into the trash, placing the broom against the wall. To the side of the trash, he found pieces of Spider-Mans green lenses that had been broken off during his avoided brutalizing. He's smart, Tombstone recognized that. Somehow, he found a way to rid himself of his image and vanish, sneaking into his work place rather than face him head on. He had hoped his operations would go unnoticed by the spider, but perhaps he hoped for too much.
"Boss!" A voice shouted, as two of his workers dragged a man into the room and tossed him to the ground, "We found Takeshi trying to ditch town. What should we do with him?"
"Leave him with me," His deep voice replied, and the two workers existed the room. Takeshi, the man tasked with Normans murder, got to his knees out of fear.
"Sir…please, I-"
Tombstone's knuckles slammed against the face of whom had disappointed him, just as it always had. Never often did he use brute force on others unless he had a good reason. He always liked to do things civilized, even if the ends aren't so matching to the means. The recipient of his anger felt not only the invulnerable fist and knuckles, but also the steel ring around his finger that nearly swatted his eye out. The man with horns on his head kneeled before Tombstone, bleeding from the gashes and bruises he earned from his failure as his blood stained his office floor.
"I told you to kill Norman Osborn," Tombstone reminded him, "I even gave you a second chance. But you took my kindness and you shoved it back in my face," He struck the man again, blood fleeing from his mouth, "Poor little Takeshi, running around with little to nothing worth fighting for. Except, of course, your poor pup sitting at home."
Takeshi looked up at him in shock, "H-how did you …?"
"You left home a long time ago with the cloths on your back. That poor little dog is all you have to love you, isn't it? It would be a real shame if something were to happen to the little scamp. How old is it? A year? Less? Tell me, what did you name the little guy?"
"…Katsu," He spoke softly.
"Katsu …that means 'victory', does it not? Which is exactly what I expect from you. See, normally I'd just kill you right here, but I'm going to give you one more chance to prove yourself."
"B-But Norman is in prison now! I can't get to him!"
"I don't want you to kill him anymore. I need you to take out a different thorn in my business," He picked him up by the shirt, holding him closely to emphasis the fear, "I need you to kill a boy by the name of Peter Parker."
…
Peter, his broken stealth suit now back in his bag, climbed through the window of he and Izuku's room. His roommate was fast asleep with his face toward the wall. The only light in the room came from the moonlight through the window, just enough so he could see where he was going. Closing the window, Peter limped over to the bed and set his back to the side, clutching his face where Tombstone had bruised it. No doubt he had a blackeye, as he could barely keep it open for too long. The rest of his body was bruised and battered, his shoulder too sore to even move.
He looked back at Izuku. Peter felt bad for keeping this from him, especially after tonight. One of these days, he may not come back from his nightly outings. This is something he's always known ever since he became Spider-Man. Part of him wished Izuku could be out there with him, fighting against villains and saving lives. But, of course, so many young heroes spend years training, convinced this is just a profession. Maybe his powers started as a profession, but that's not what they are now. Deku is someone Peter knows wants to use his powers just because he knows it's right. He understands, unlike many.
Peter let his body drop onto his bed, pulling the covers over him as to hide his injuries for the morning. He tried to sleep but found his mind to be racing too much. Peter sat up and grabbed his phone and earbuds, selecting a song and putting it on repeat. The soothing tune allowed his bruised muscles to relax, and he finally managed to drift off.
Suddenly, Peter's sleeping eyes had begun to twitch rapidly, almost glowing a yellow color underneath his eyelids. While outside it was calm, inside had become a storm.
Literally.
Peter Parker opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of deep space, except space itself was colored in at least six different ways, with planets and constellations he didn't fully recognize. At first, the sight scared him to death as it was unknown to him how he got there or why. However, he managed to calm down with the coping logic that it may all simply be a dream. The fact that he was standing on a flat surface in the middle of space should have been a dead giveaway. The empty void seemed to echo a song all around him, bouncing off the asteroids and many planets surrounding him.
"Leaves turn brown, and snow falls white.
Grass grows green, and the sun shines light.
Close your eyes and see. All of this beauty,
It comes from you"
"Peter!"
The second voice echoed through the void as an image of a man, fading in an out of existence rapidly. His presence in the realm seemed to set everything off balance; the colors of space seemingly moving and changing. "Peter!" he shouted again, his form taking a much more stable state. Finally, he formed solid enough to reveal himself as Doctor Steven Strange, Sorcerer Supreme.
"Strange?!" Peter exclaimed back with an echo, "What's going on?! Where are we?!"
"Our minds have been connected," he explained, "You've been lost throughout reality."
"Yeah, I figured that part out a while ago," He said sarcastically.
"The connection isn't stable, I won't be able to hold it forever so just listen. You're stuck in a different frequency of our universe."
"What does that mean?"
"Reality has many different vibration frequencies to divide up the universe. Think of it as layers of reality, and you've been knocked down to another one," He looked around the void of space, "I've managed to connect our minds by syncing our mental frequencies. Finding you physically however has proven much more difficult and I can't understand why. My theory is it has something to do with the Infinity Stones."
"…Yeah, they're here, and people are looking for it. People from our reality as well as this one. This …actually explains why they still work. I never left our universe, I'm just in a different layer of it. Like blankets on a bed."
"The Space Stone is able to shift frequencies at will, as it treats these different layers as simply different parts of space. These different layers split off at any time, almost acting as alternate timelines. Have you found any of the stones yet?"
"Two, Reality and Power. I'm working on getting the Mind Stone."
Doctor Strange looked up again and listened to the song that was currently playing in their ears, "What's this song?"
Peter rubbed the back of his neck, "I was listening to some music to help me sleep. Aunt May always used to sing this to me, helps to calm me down."
The space around them began to shift and move rapidly, almost going in a spinning motion. Asteroids started crashing into one another, creating debris that flew into the cosmos. Strange and Peter's distance from each other suddenly grew as they went in opposite directions.
"Peter! Don't let anyone get the stones! Find them! The world you're in isn't ready for their power! Just hang on a little longer!"
Peter tried to reach out to him before he was gone, but the distance had grown to big. Everything has begun spinning faster and faster, until the invisible ground beneath his feet disappeared and he fell through the void.
Peter awoke with a gasp, lifting his head from the bed and blinking to adjust to reality. He looked to be sure Izuku hadn't awoken, thankfully he was still fast asleep.
For the longest time, Peter had thought they had either forgotten about him, or simply thought a rescue wasn't worth it. Still, waiting for them wasn't an option, not with the stones still out in the world. At least now he knew that he wasn't abandoned, not yet.