14 Years Ago, Earth 7-2014-7
The young Mayume Aihara zoomed outside with excitement rolling over her back. In the backyard, a string was attached between trees. Across the string was cardboard cutouts of mean villain faces, specifically the cartoony kind. An older man and a young boy were waiting out there for her. The older man had tan-ish skin, glasses on his face, and was dressed in a type of jumpsuit. The younger boy looked almost identical to her, minus clearly being that of the male gender. The man was her father, while the younger boy was her twin brother, both of which looked very excited.
"I'm ready!" She shouted, jumping up and down next to her brother.
"Alright, settle down," Said her father, "Ok, whoever can hit the most targets wins. No cheating."
"Ok," Said her twin Daichi, "Tell that to Mayume first."
"Hey!" She pouted.
The two got into position behind the line their father drew in the dirt. They pulled their right feet back as if getting ready to run. Both their hands emitted a black mist, waving around as they fiddled with their fingers. There were 20 targets, and she only needed to hit 11 to win.
"Hey guys!" A younger voice called out from the back door. Her younger brother, Koji, waved as he came outside to greet his siblings. He looked a bit more like his father, lighter skin than his siblings but not by much. His hair was also a mix of brown and blonde rather than a full scope of just one. "Can I play too?" he asked.
Their father wanted to interject politely, explaining that this was something he physically couldn't do. Daichi, however, spoke ahead of him, "Sorry, Koji, but this is only for people who have a quirk."
"We're competing, you'd lose instantly because you can't shoot anything," Mayume stated, "You probably wanna stand back, K?"
Their immediate rejection of his involvement didn't do well to make him feel better. Instantly he started pouting, as if that was going to get them to change their minds, "Come on guys! I can still compete! I can throw rocks or something!"
"Rocks ain't gonna beat a bad guy," She teased, "Just sit back and watch us!"
Koji looked down with depressing eyes. His siblings did little to comfort him in his distress. He sat down a few yards to the left and watched as his siblings got ready to duke it out, getting more and more excited each second. Koji knows full well he was born without a quirk, and likely won't ever develop one, but he still wanted to do stuff with his brother and sister. They never included him because all they ever did together would involve their quirks.
"Ready," Their father started, "Set, go!"
The two began firing off shadow blasts one after another. Their aim was only accurate about half of the time, missing a good chunk of their first attacks. Daichi was the first to strike down one of the cutouts, claiming a point for himself. Mayume came next, striking down two points side by side before her brother caught up with another. They stayed neck in neck as they kept at the cutouts.
Mayume realized that she was going to lose. She had 9 points, same as him, with only two targets left. If she didn't strike them both down, she wouldn't be able to win. She saw her brother gearing up for an attack, and it sent her into a panic. They were kids, so of course she hated losing. Dropping the shadowy mist, a bright glow emitted from her arms, and she shot off two light blasts that burned down the cardboard. The targets were set on fire before they even hit the ground.
"Oop!" She cried out, covering her mouth in embarrassment.
Her father jumped up and ran into the house, knowing exactly where he needed to go to get what he needed. He came out only a minute later with a fire extinguisher, unhooking the end of it and putting the fires out quickly.
"Dad said no cheating!" Daichi complained, "That wasn't fair!"
"Your brother is right, Mayume," Said their father, "Shadow quirk only, so this goes to Daichi."
"Aw man!" She complained, slouching her back. She hated losing to her brother, who always seemed to be better with their shadow quirk. She was the only one of the three who developed a Light Quirk, but that was because of her different heritage.
"Mayume," Her father approached her and put a hand on her shoulder, "You know how your mom feels about you using your Light Quirk. Try not to do it anymore, ok?"
"But it's my power! Why can't I?!"
"Your mom doesn't like it, you know that. I'm going to put this away and get us some drinks. Just try not to use it again." He left the three of them alone and went back inside with the fire extinguisher.
Koji chuckled in the back, catching their attention by accident. Mayume gave him a menacing glare, not happy with how he was reacting to her semi-scolding.
"It's not funny, Koji!" She yelled at him, "Stop laughing! I could have won easily if I could use my Light Quirk. It's not like you would understand that."
Koji stopped laughing, looking at her with saddened eyes. Again, when she needed a comeback, she would take advantage of his lack of power. Every time they had argued, she and Daichi brought it up as if it was the ultimate insult. He hated being powerless, but he only hated feeling powerless more.
"You know what, Mayume," He got up from the ground and stood in front of his sister, "I bet without your quirks, you'd be just as weak as me!"
"No I wouldn't!" She threw back, "I could beat you even without them!"
In his anger, Koji pushed Mayume, "Prove it! I dare you to beat me without them!"
"Fine!" She shouted as she pushed him back. They weren't very skilled, so they only threw punches and kicks at one another.
Mayume managed to hit him in the stomach, and when he was kneeling down, she kicked him in the face. His nose was starting to bleed now, but he didn't care. He got right back up and tackled her to the ground, where they wrestled for dominance for some time. Finally, however, Koji managed top pin her down and restrain her hands.
She tried as hard as she could to push him off, but he was using his weight to his advantage. She pushed and she pushed but found that she couldn't budge an inch. Her legs kicked in rage but to no avail, Koji wouldn't move.
"Stop it! Both of you!"
The owner of the feminine voice rushed over and pulled Koji off of her sister, sitting him down firmly and ensuring neither of them tried anything else. The woman had dark skin, slightly darker than that of Mayume or Daichi, with pure blonde hair to go parallel. To keep either of them from moving at one another, black mist erupted from her arms and form two giant hands, keeping them at bay.
"What were you two thinking?!" She demanded, "What's gotten into you?!"
"She started it!" Koji accused, "She said I was weak!"
"He wanted to fight! He said it!" She claimed.
"Enough!" Their mother shouted, "Koji, go inside and tell your father to help you with your nose."
"…Yes mom," He said as he got up and walked back inside, holding his nose in hopes to slow the bleeding.
Her mother gestured to Daichi that they needed to be alone, and he went inside as well. Now it was just her and her mother sitting outside in the backyard. She looked so defeated, like all the talk she spouted got thrown right back in her face. She hated losing, especially now to someone with no powers.
"Why did you agree to fight him?" Her mother asked.
"He said I couldn't win a fight without my quirks! He said-"
"What he said shouldn't need to affect you so much, Mayume."
"But he doesn't get it!" She argued, "I gotta be strong so I can become a hero one day! He doesn't' even have a quirk! He'll probably become a builder guy like dad! He'll be super dull!"
"Honey," She rubbed the back of Mayume's head, "What's wrong with dull? What's wrong with being normal? Some people just want to live the simple life. They just want to grow up, marry, have kids and work. And that's ok if that's all they want. Out there are thousands of lives, all happening at the same time. One man just got a promotion, the other just got married. One woman just had a baby, another won a spelling bee. To each of them, their experience is their own. Not everyone has to be strong to be good."
"…But…"
"Your brother only wants to be close to you, because he thinks your amazing with your powers. To be a super hero, you have to have compassion and empathy for other people."
"What's empathy?" She cocked her head to the side.
"When you feel what another person feels, basically like putting yourself in their shoes. Try and understand how you would feel if you were him."
She pondered this, looking at the grass and twirling it around her fingers, "I guess I would be pretty mad all the time."
"So, that means Koji is …?"
"…Mad all the time?"
"And what would you want someone to do if you were mad all the time?"
"…Give me a hug."
She patted the top of her head and smiled. That smile then slowly faded away when another thought came to her mind, "Go back inside and clean up, ok?"
With a reluctant sigh, Mayume picked herself up and went back inside just as her father came out. He hugged his wife and kissed her cheek, looking back at the house where the kids were.
"She used her Light Quirk again, didn't she, Kioshi?" She asked.
"Ena, you have to tell her why you don't like it someday."
"How?" She asked looking him dead in the eyes, "How do I explain that? How do I explain that's her birth fathers quirk? She still thinks she got it from her grandfather or something."
"Yeah, she still thinks I'm her birth father."
"Hey," she cupped his cheeks, "I know I had the twins before I met you, but you are still their father, not the creep who took off without a goodbye. Koji is our blood too, as well as theirs. No matter what, we are their family. I just …hate any reminders of him."
"It's not his powers, though, it's hers," He reminded her, "Maybe you should tell her that."
"…Maybe you're right."
Kioshi held Ena in his arms as they stared at the house, admiring everything they've built together. She thought about how meeting Kioshi is what brought her life back together. Being a single mother of twins, she definitely needed help, and Kioshi was always there. It only made sense to marry him just in case he tried to go anywhere.
The night came and Koji was getting ready for bed. He was in his room slipping on his footie pajamas of his favorite super hero, even having an attractable mask on the back. Just as he was going to get under the covers, his door opened and scared him. Standing there was his sister, Mayume, with a sad look on her face.
"What?" he asked semi-coldly, the other half being unsure of what she wanted. Instead of a straight answer, however, Mayume walked up to him and gave him a hug, wrapping her arms around the mask of his pajamas. He was surprised, but found that he liked it and hugged her back.
"I'm just …sorry," She said quietly, holding onto him tighter.
Things between them changed for the better that night.
…
The weeks went by, and things seemed to recover between Mayume and Koji. She no longer chose to insult or make fun of his lack of powers. Whenever Daichi poked fun at it, she would even get a bit defensive. She always said to her parents 'I just said what I figured Koji would'. The talk about empathy hit home with her, and she gained a better understanding of what it meant to see out of someone else's eyes. She even did her best to include Koji in the fun and games whether he needed a quirk or not.
It was a nice day out, so the family decided they wanted to do something. Ena got everyone together with bug spray and sunscreen and got them into the car. Their plan was to go to the park for a few hours and maybe let the kids swim in the river nearby if the current wasn't too bad. They had their bathing suits packed separately in case it turns out they can't swim, but they hoped for the best regardless. On the way there, they kept talking about that they would do. Daichi loved the spot where you could leap from a high height into the river, and Mayume loved the swing someone had put there many years ago. Koji was happy to play with his siblings regardless of the activity.
As they were driving, they came upon an intersection that was blocked off by police barricades. Several police cars were parked in front of them, with their lights still on. An officer came to the window of the car and Kioshi rolled it down to speak with them.
"You gotta find a different route, sir," Said the officer, "There's a villain attack going on at this street."
"A villain attack? Is someone hurt?" asked Kioshi.
"We don't know, we're still assessing the situation."
The sound of screams came from the intersection as people abandoned their cars and ran. A thumping sound shook the very buildings around them. From the corner of the street appeared a large villain seemingly made entirely of mountain rocks forged in the shape of a muscular human. The officers quickly took out their guns and began firing, but found they had no effect on him.
"Get out of here, sir!" Shouted the officer as they drew their gun and joined in the fray.
Kioshi tried to go in reverse, but he didn't get far before a rouge thrown police van crashed behind them and blocked their path.
"Everyone out of the car!" Ena commanded. The kids quickly unbuckled their seatbelts and grabbed their bags of cloths, jumping out of the car and slamming the doors shut. More cars got thrown in their direction, and they ducked to avoid them. Ena and Kioshi pulled the kids away as the cars piled up, as if the villain was trying to be sure that no one got away.
"Mom! What's happening?!" Daichi cried, feeling absolutely terrified of all the loud noises around them. The other two were the same way, too afraid to act without their mothers' orders.
Ena looked around for another way. When she examined the pile of cars in front of her, she saw one of them, despite being upside down, had a clear shot to safety if they went through the back seat, "This way!" She shouted, bringing the kids over.
She opened the door of the broken vehicle, looking through to make sure it was safe, "Ok, we don't want to shake the car or the others will fall over," She grabbed Mayume by the arm, "One at a time, ok? You go first honey."
"But-mom… I'm scared," She cried.
"It's ok, baby. It's ok to be afraid, it'll be over soon. Just get through."
She looked to her brothers to see if they wanted to go first, but her mother was persistent. With tears still rolling down her face, Mayume slowly crawled through the back seat. She was carful not to get glass in ger hands, but still retained a few small cuts. When she reached the other side, she opened the door slowly and crawled all the way through.
"Ok, Koji, you're next," Ena said, pushing her son into the vehicle.
Mayume had just stood up straight when she saw him.
The villain had jumped into the air, ready to pounce on the pile of vehicles. Ena saw it coming and paniced, shouting at her to run away. Too afraid to object, Mayume bolted in the other direction, still looking back. The villain landed on the cars and crashed right through.
The impact caused the gas in the cars to ignite, and a massive explosion consumed the entire area. The boom sent her flying to the ground, scraping her knee and bruising her body all over. A loud ringing was all she could hear besides faint echoes of screams, sparks and fire. She felt herself coming in and out of consciousness, unable to get up from her position. It was a few moments before officers finally came over and grabbed her, dragging her away from the scene.
…
Present time, one month ago, Earth 7-2014-7
Mayume, grown up and dressed in her casual outfit, plopped herself onto her bed. It was the dead of night, yet she couldn't get herself to sleep. She had just woken up from a bad dream, the same kind she has at least a few times every couple of months. She could never escape the memory of that day no matter how hard she had tried.
Not long after the explosion, she remembers waking in the hospital and being told everything was ok. It took a few hours before they were even allowed to tell her the fate of her family. Koji was in that car when it happened, so they didn't even find a body. There likely wasn't much left of him afterword's.
She had spent the last 14 years perfecting both her quirks, yet kept her ability to weaponize light a secret for all that time. Her mother never liked it, so she never used it out of sheer respect and love for the woman who birthed her. She excelled in her classes at U.A, and even passed the license exam on her first try. That was seven years ago when she graduated and became a Pro, seven years being the hero that could have saved her own family all that time ago.
Heaven knows others won't do it.
When she finally became old enough, she asked around about what happened the day of the attack. No one gave her a straight answer until she met someone at a news outlet. A reporter explained some horrifying details to her about the hero system. Sometimes, certain heroes allow villains to cause havoc for a few minutes before stopping them. That way, they seem all the more heroic when they finally put an end to them. The hero who finally stopped the rock villain only appeared a few minutes after her family's death.
It was too much to dwell on, she needed some air.
Getting dressed into something warm, she left her apartment and walked outside onto the streets. She kept her hood up so no one would recognize her as Overcast, the name she had taken on due to her shadow quirk. The air was nice but the lights were bright on her eyes, which was ironic for her.
More lights seemed to turn on, hurting her eyes more now, "What the hell?" She complained, looking up toward the sky.
A large purple portal opened on the roof of a shop, closing just seconds after it dropped someone out of it. No one else seemed to notice except for her, not even the large thump it made. Curious, she ran into the alleyway and used her shadow quirk to ascend into the air and onto the roof.
On the roof was a strange figure she hadn't seen before. He was large and muscular, and his skin was completely green. He had pointy ears and piercing flaming eyes, no shoes to cover his giant feet. On his hand was some kind of gold colored gauntlet, with slots for something to be placed in, and only one of them was filled.
The creature was dazed and confused, trying to get his barring's from the sudden thrust through the air. When he was finally able to open his eyes, Mayume was the first thing he saw. She wasn't the person he assumed he'd see upon regaining consciousness, which begged the question; Where was he?
He looked around the roof, completely ignoring the confused woman before him. Just moments ago, a collection of stones was within reaching distance, but this was no longer the case. Wherever he was now, it didn't seem like the stones came with him. It wasn't so much panic that had swept over him, rather it was frustration.
Fed up with wasted time, he opened a portal using the stone in the gauntlet and traveled through it.
"Hey!" Mayume shouted, "Don't run!" In a flurry of instinct, she had jumped through the portal after him. The way down was dark and cold, a strange mist slamming against her face for the entirety of the trip. The green creature was far ahead of her, not fairing much better with the new experience presented to him.
They had both arrived in a strange location neither of them understood. They were in the middle of the desert, without so much as a road in sight for miles. The change in scenery disoriented her, almost making her lose her balance before regaining composure. How did they get here, she wondered? Where were they?
"I don't understand!" Shouted the creature, "The prison was right here! This is exactly where I was …unless…"
He eyed the stones again, grinning and then laughing uncontrollably, "Oh, I see. My collision with the boy sent us to another dimension. The little brat threw me off course, always persistent. I just need to think harder."
"Hey!" She waved her arms, smacking the back of his head with shadows, "Who the hell are you, and where is this?"
He turned around in annoyance, having now realized she was still sticking around despite his attempt to escape her, "I have no time for you, girl. I have important business to attend to. If you'll excuse me …"
He started to walk away from her, lifting his gauntlet into the air as the stone inside emitted a purple light. The creature was very suspicious, and all her training told her not to let him leave until she got some answers. Using her shadows, she created a large hand and launched it at him, gripping the back of his shoulder tightly. This was something me most definitely did not approve of.
His free hand caught fire and swatted the darkness away, then preceded to shoot balls of flame at her. She dodged them with precision, though felt the intensity of their heat when they got close. She cartwheeled away from them then shot a shadow blast his way, colliding with the flames and putting them out. He tried to fire at her again, but this time she jumped into the air and launched forward with her shadows erupting from her hands. When he saw the speed she was coming at, he quickly opened a portal and jumped through. It wasn't able to close fast enough before she had gone through it as well.
…
When she was able to open her eyes again, she crashed into the surface of the ground. Instead of dust, she found herself on concrete. In front of her were buildings, three main complex's and warehouses scattered about. The area around her was the same, but not there was a prison placed in the middle of the desert. Was that creatures quirk teleportation, or fire? Perhaps it was both?
Voices caught her off guard and forced her to hide behind one of the many warehouse buildings. It wasn't the green monster again, rather three men walking together. Each of them was dressed differently, experience told her they were dressed that way because they were heroes. The one with the shield reminded him of All Might when it came to colors. Were they Pro Heroes? Where exactly were they and why were they here?
"Goblin and Peter vanished along with the stones," Said the man in Iron armor, "We have to find them before something bad happens to the kid!"
"Relax, Tony," Said the super soldier, "You gotta have faith that everything will be ok."
"Faith?!" He scoffed, "Let me tell you something, Rogers. I didn't get where I am today by praying to a higher power! I got here by hard work and a lot of sweating! The kid's tracker went offline, which it shouldn't have. For all we know, he could be stuck somewhere in the freakin' multiverse!"
Multiverse? He was joking, right? The tone of his voice told her he was being extremely serious. This 'Goblin' by name alone describes the creature she saw, and this guy is very worried about someone who was with him. What was the situation then? Kidnapping? Missing victim? If it was a 'kid', then she needed to figure it out and do what she can. She could easily talk to these three, but was too worried about whether or not they were on her side. She didn't know them, nor as she ever seen or heard of them. For now, she had to move on and find this 'Goblin'.
After the three men had left, she made her way toward the heart of the prison, where she was hearing shouts of frustrations. Eventually she found the Goblin in a large room surrounded by empty containers. There was a blast mark on the ground, rather recent as well. It seemed as though a fight occurred here not that long ago. Goblin was thrashing he containers around in anger, fire steaming from his eyes.
"They aren't here!" He shouted, "Where could they be?! I didn't have them on the Gauntlet, so the only other place they could be is …oh no …" He finally calmed himself down, crossing his massive green arms, "They must have ended up on the world I was just at. They could be anywhere if they weren't with me. What am I supposed to do …?"
Overcast came out of her hiding place and shot her shadows through the air, gripping him tightly. He was lifted into the air as his feet dangled aloft, struggling to get free from her grasp, "You can start by explaining yourself, 'Goblin'. What the hell is going on here?"
Much to his surprise, the woman had followed him back to his world. She was very persistent, if anything, "It's nothing you could ever understand, girl."
Using his fire, he broke free of her shadows and landed back on the ground with a thud. He shot a massive barrage of fireballs at her, which he deflected using a shadow shield. When he stopped, she filled the room with shadows and turned it all pitch black. Goblin found that he couldn't see or even feel anything outside his own body. It was rather terrifying, as if dying while still remaining conscious. He couldn't feel where the attacks were coming from, only that his body was taking on pain from nowhere. When the shadows cleared, he realized he was on the ground, the woman's foot on his chest with a hand pointed at him.
Before he could move, she wrapped him tightly with shadow bonds and stepped away, watching him squirm in retaliation. No matter how much strength or fire he used, this time he was unable to break free.
Overcast took the opportunity to look around at the room. Behind all the broken containers was a computer, still on and open from recent use. There were files open on it, so she moved closer to read them. The name of the files main folders was 'Infinity Gauntlet' and 'Infinity Stones.' She began reading on the gauntlet first, simply how it was made to control the power of the stones.
It was the stones themselves that were more fascinating.
Each stone it seemed was able to control a small portion of the universe's internal makeup. The minds of others, time itself, the souls of the dead, reality and atoms, power within one's self, and the reach of space. The files held very specific details about each one. It came to her understanding just how dangerous they were. She recognized one of these stones to be in Goblins possession. Seeing first hand how dangerous they were, something had to be done.
"These are some dangerous weapons," Overcast stated as she walked back over to the restrained creature, "What exactly were you planning to do with them?"
"Nothing you need to be concerned about, girl," He growled.
"Stop calling me 'girl'," She scolded, pointing her hand back at him, "What do you want with these stones?"
"Simply to reclaim what's mine. Because of Heroes like yourself, which I assume you are, I lost everything and everyone I loved."
"You think these weapons can bring all that back?"
"I do. Not that you care, you simply want me behind bars."
She backed up and pondered at the new information. The idea that these stones could do everything they could was absolutely insane. The records she just read however were very thorough, and she had seen first hand the space stone in action. There was enough proof to see that everything said here was true, even if it was strange to her. The ability to bend the universe to your will was one so dangerous and unique, it was difficult to figure out what to do with this intel. Should she report to the heroes back home? Should she arrest Goblin for assault?
"Have you not ever lost someone you loved?!" Goblin shouted as he continued to struggle, "Those stones could easily revive anyone if used together! I just want my wife back, that's all! Can't you understand that?!" He was trying to bribe her into letting him go, realizing that brute force wouldn't get him out of this one.
The possibility of reviving someone is what caught her interest. She immediately thought back to the death of her family, and how unfair she thought it was. If these stones had the power he claimed, her family could be standing right beside her should she use them. Her mother, father, and brothers could all be brought back to live their full lives, it would be that easy.
That's why it was near impossible to believe.
"Why should I even believe these stones can do what you think they can?" She asked.
Goblin wasn't just telling her this only to avoid trouble. He could see something in her, something he thought he could use. There was pain in her heart, a regret for her actions he recognized as his own. He thought that he could use her to his advantage. She was an inhabitant of the world the stones are now on. If anyone could guide him through it to find them, it was here. All he needed was to get her a little emotional. She was powerful too, so having someone like her on his side could benefit in the future.
"With those stones, you could bring back those you love with only a thought," He stated, "If you let me go, perhaps he can find them together."
"You just want to use me," She accused.
"Maybe, but you'd be using me too. We can both get what we want, and reverse the pain done to us. What do you say?"
She thought long and hard about this. All the proof was presented to her, and she couldn't deny any of it. These stones really could do anything, including bring back her family. She was so tired of the endless nightmares and regrets she had over what happened that day. She would give anything to make it all go away, and this may be her only opportunity.
But she was a hero, and she didn't want to jeopardize that.
"No, that kind of power shouldn't be used like that," She said, "I won't be tempted by it."
"What a shame," Goblin sighed, "Here I was thinking you could be of use."
With a swift use of his gauntlet, the space stone absorbed all the shadows around him into a portal, and he was freed. Quickly he sent fireballs at her, catching her off guard and knocking her to the ground with a swift strike. "Back home you go, girl," He said before opening a portal underneath her, sending her through with a stomp.
…
She found herself crashing back onto the roof where she first found Goblin. The portal above quickly closed and erased all traces of its presence. Everything that happened didn't make much sense, but she went off what she had.
After the events of that night, she wrote a report about Goblin and sent it to the nearest Pro Agency. Unfortunately, she knew that it wouldn't do that much. A single sighting report never caught the attention of many Pro's. Most only ever focused on reports that describe something big, and extremely dangerous. Even though she mentioned the stones in the report, it still became overlooked due to the lack of evidence. Goblins case was quickly forgotten over the next few days.
A new day came, and Overcast went back to her job as a superhero. It hadn't been long before a new villain attack had come underway. The villains in question were a group of people dressed as a biker gang. While they didn't seem like much, their weapons caused serious destruction. One had a flamethrower capable of temperatures that could melt metal easily. Another caused mini earthquakes, and another small hurricane. They called themselves the 'Elemental Bikers'.
And she was fighting them alone.
Overcast jumped into the air to avoid a flamethrower attack, firing off her shadows to knock them down. She could in theory incase them in a pool of shadows, but with so many civilians around, she wanted to give them a chance to escape. The flamethrowers attack hit a building and eroded its structure. The walls had started to crack and crumble, people screaming inside.
"Dammit!" She shouted, using her shadows to zoom over to the building and keep them up with a large mist hand. Just as she had stabilized it, a sonic attack from another biker struck her down.
"Ha! Not so tough on your own, huh?" A biker said, "This should be easy."
If there weren't so many civilians around, this would be a lot easier for her. She didn't want to hurt anyone with her attacks, or turn them all blind to darkness before they can get to safety.
A car tried to drive by them all, swerving in multiple directions as they avoided bystanders and objects. The biker with the earthquake tech shot off their attack toward it. When Overcast tried to jet into the air and save them, she was blasted down by the sonic gun. The earthquake formed a gap in the ground and caught the car inside before closing in just enough to crush the driver.
Overcast watched in horror as the scene unfolded. In her moment of torture, she decided not to hold back anymore. From her body, she released massive amounts of shadows that consumed the entirety of the street, including civilians who still haven't gotten away. While in her shadows, it would be impossible for anyone to move around without getting hurt in some way, but now she had no choice.
With the street consumed in darkness, Overcast swam through the shadows and pinned each of the bikers to the ground, binding their limbs together so they couldn't move. She could hear screams from other bystanders, the shadows clearly not benefiting them. She had just pinned down the last one when she heard a crash. Quickly, she dismissed the shadows and observed what had happened.
A car had tried to drive away after she consumed the street in darkness, but because you can't see or feel anything in them, it ended up crashing into a shop. The driver was knocked out and unmoving, and the shop was completely destroyed.
"I'm here! I'm here!" a voice shouted. From the sky's, the number 5 hero, Miruko, landed on her metal feet and cracked the ground below her. She looked triumphant as if the day was now saved because she was here, "Sorry! Got a little tied up but I'm here now!"
She looked around to see the battle already done, and blushed awkwardly. Overcast glared daggers at her, but focused on first getting the driver out of the crashed car.
"Guess you had it handled, huh Overcast?" She laughed, trying to break the tension.
"This isn't funny, Usagiyama," She scolded, setting the unconscious driver against the nearest wall, "Not one bit."
"You beat the bad guys though."
Overcast rushed up to her, pointing a finger in her face, "In the process of having to beat them alone, someone died, and another is wounded! Where were you, Rumi?!"
Miruko rubbed the back of her neck, "I was in the middle of doing a talk show interview. I personally don't like when Heroes ask for backup so I didn't answer right away, but your texts just kept coming in so I decided to see what was up."
"Talk …show…?" She muttered slowly, feeling the anger rise up but choosing to let it go. Rumi Usagiyama is someone she has known for a majority of her career, though she didn't often fight by her side. The only reason she texted her instead of someone else is because she tried others, but she was the only one to actually answer, ironic to her views on teamwork. She never believed in joining teams because it makes heroes look weak. Though when it came to friends, the occasional team up wasn't too bad. That's the only reason she came at all is because she knew Mayume.
"I really needed you," Overcast scolded, "I know you don't believe in teamwork, but people needed our help. You should have been here to help me, whether it makes me look weak or not. Are we not friends, Rumi?"
"Of course we are, Mayume! Come on! Look, I promise next time I'll help you out, even if I don't like it. Deal?"
Overcast groaned, looking back at the crushed car in sorrow. A man was still dead, but Miruko wasn't comprehending that yet. Still, being she's a longtime friend, she didn't want to go into it right now, "Just help me with cleanup. Civilians need us."
"You got it!"
…
As the day came to a close, Mayume rested in her apartment. She sat there in the darkness with only the moonlight shining on her face. The image of that driver who died was burned into her skull. She could have done more to save him if her hands weren't full. The way he died wasn't fair; those villains wanted nothing but carnage and that man didn't deserve it. If Miruko hadn't treated her request for backup as a joke, no one would have died. Was she one of the few who actually took being a hero seriously? She did her best to stay out of unnecessary interviews and talk shows so she could focus more on being a hero, and she loved the job. She loved helping people and being the savior, someone needs in desperate times. Why does it feel like she's the only one who thinks like that? If only there was a way to bring that dead man back.
Then again, there might have been.
She remembered everything she learned about the Infinity Stones, how they could potentially revive those they've lost. If she could get her hands on them, she could prevent the deaths of anyone who dies by the hands of a villain, and so much more. No one would be able to defeat her; she could become the ultimate hero. All she needed to do would be to find those stones. The problem was that she didn't want people getting suspicious of her, thinking she's trying to get more power just for herself. They may ask her about the stones and want them for themselves. If she was really going to do this, she needed to be someone else.
Then it hit her; she has a quirk no one has seen of her. If she operated while finding the stones using only her Light Quirk, no one would realize it was her. It would be easy then, no one would look her up and question her. The only other issue is she knows nothing else about the stones or how to find them.
However, someone else did.
…
Several days pass over the old warehouse. Inside wasn't kept well cleaned as that was not the inhabitant's priority. Many different villains from a world that wasn't theirs hung out in the dark space. They didn't know what to do beyond just watching TV and learning whatever they could. Goblin had dragged them all here so quickly, explaining his plan and why he needed them. They knew they were just pawns, but went along with it anyway because they would benefit.
Goblin himself was at the end of the room, speaking with Otto Octavius about how to proceed. Their conversation was cut short when everyone else had suddenly gone quiet. He turned around and at the front door saw the woman he met when he first arrived, Mayume Aihara. She walked confidently across the large room, looking between all the different villains around her. She wasn't too sure about this idea, but she felt she had no other option. Goblin wanted to use her before, but perhaps she could use him instead.
"Goblin, right?" She asked as she stopped a few yards from him, "Took a bit to find you. Your workers aren't very sneaky if someone actually tries looking."
The villain, Shocker, in the back of the room whistled awkwardly as he turned away in embarrassment.
"What do you want, girl?" He asked, holding up his flaming fist, "Do I need to teach you another lesson?"
He gestured for the other villains to start surrounding her. Their moment of intimidation lasted only a second before Mayume's entire body lit up brightly. They backed away and shielded their eyes from the bright and hot light, including Goblin. This wasn't an ability she had displayed before, and he had no idea how to combat it.
"I have a proposition for you," She said as the light dimmed away, "I want to take you up on your previous offer to help you find the stones. I only request a few things."
He was surprise she had changed her mind, especially with how she was the last time they had met. Still, he was curious about what she had to offer, "Go on."
"I can help you maneuver around the heroes and find the stones in secret, since I know the system so well. In exchange; My town, my rules. Your men answer to me just as they do you. This is a two-way partnership," She held up her hand, "Deal?"
He grinned devilishly. Knowing how powerful she was, and now seeing she was an ally, finding the stones would be easier than expected. He extinguished the flame of his hand and shook hers, "Deal. We'll find the stones scattered on your world."
"My world?"
"Oh, my dear. I have so much to tell you."
...
Spider-Man had arrived in the city just days later, having taken the long way around through the portal. They figured time and space were so close to one another, it took him longer to arrive even if it didn't feel like it to him. When seeing how dedicated he was, she wished to use him as well, much to Goblins disapproval. Her journey for the stones had now started.
What began as a woman using darkness to serve the light, became one who uses light to serve the darkness.
…
Present Day
As the small sphere of light travelled around the room, Peter could only stare at Mayume in disbelief. All this time, putting his faith, trust, and heart into her, now it all comes to light. She was the one who offered to watch over him after the villain attack, she brought them to the arcade, and shared her pain at the courthouse. All this time, the woman he had been fighting against for the stone had been just under his nose and he never even knew it. He should have seen the parallels from the start. Lumina was of light, and Overcast was of darkness. The polar opposite powers should have told him something, but he just never thought it could have been her.
"You're Lumina," Peter said with a shaking voice, "You've been lying to me all this time!"
"So have you," She argued, "You never told me or anyone else about the multiverse, or the full capabilities of the stones. At least I understand why."
He was trying to hold back his anger but it was simply overflowing, "I trusted you, Mayume! You protected me just to keep me close, didn't you?!"
"…Yes, at first. When you came to this world, I saw opportunity. While I was still working with Goblin, he was a means to an end. You were a passionate hero hellbent on doing the right thing. You helped find the other stones. Even if I don't have the two you have, at least they've been recovered."
"I was just your tool?! All this time!"
"No!" She shouted back, feeling more heartbroken than ever, "I did use you, but you weren't just a tool in a greater plan. I truly wanted to be your friend, to connect with you and share my pain. Those moments we had were real, I promise you that! I never lied to you about who Mayume is, I just never told you who Lumina was."
"And that's somehow better?!" he questioned, "Your quest for these stones has allowed villains to roam freely!"
"I only have Otto now! The others left for the league of villains quite a while ago. But your right, they're still my fault. They only knew about the league because of me."
Peter backed away in utter torment, trying to work all of this through his head. He understood why Lumina did what she was doing, but seeing that it was Overcast all along only threw a new box of bolts into the machine. This explained why she knew Goblins powers were a chemical imbalance, and how she was able to counteract them at the school attack.
"Peter," She continued, "The hero system is flawed, you know that. I spent the last 14 years of my life trying to become the hero that would have saved my family, and I thought that was how I could honor them. But now I have a new crusade; to find those stones and bring them back, then make sure no one ever loses their family unfairly ever again. No villain will be able to stop me, I could take them all down with only a snap!"
"That power will destroy you!" He stated loudly, "You won't be a hero! Everyone will fear you! Lumina will be all that's left of you!"
"It doesn't matter what happens to me, Peter! What matters is being the hero every other Pro fails to be! I actually care about saving lives while they only care about how they look in front of a camera! I can be what they are suppose to be! Don't you get that!"
Of course, he understood that. Everything about her motive made sense, but that didn't mean he had to agree with it. He knew that power will get to her, he knew it won't ever be enough. Once she has it, she'll be so power hungry, she may end up just destroying anyone she thinks is bad. Those stones enhance the ambitions of the one wearing it, but she didn't care. She was hellbent on this, even if someone she cared about was in her way.
"Peter …give me the Space Stone," She demanded, "Don't make me take it from you …please."
A silent stand off formed between the two opposing figures. Peter held the stone in his hand and he knew the moment he moved; she would be right on top of him. The only thing really running through his mind now was all the times where she had deceived him. He was trying to see if there were ever any hints to her lies that he could have seen. If he does find them, he'll simply blame himself for not seeing it sooner.
Peter quickly turned around and tried to use the stone to open a portal. It had started glowing, and he could feel the power spread through his arm. Before he could fully open one though, Overcast launched herself forward with shadows and tackled him, completely throwing off his concentration. They crashed through the window of her apartment, the impact forcing his fingers to release their grip on the stone. She pushed him through the air and away from her body before flying down toward the stone as it fell down to earth. As he slammed into the building she pushed him into, he quickly slid his mask on and launched off the wall toward her.
Spider-Man crashed into her just before she could grab the stone, and they slammed into a brick wall. Using his adhesive abilities, he kept her on the wall and held her by the shirt, pulling her close to him.
"You're suppose to be a hero!" he accused.
"I'll be a better hero than anyone ever was!" She kneed him in the stomach and threw him off the wall, watching him fall further down and crash into a lamp post. The post fell down and broke the lightbulb, glass scattering and circuits sparking. She flew down to the ground and searched for the stone. It couldn't have fallen far, they weren't that high up, Afterall.
She then spotted it just a couple of yards away, sitting in the middle of the street. When she had reached it, a car had been driving rather fast and nearly crashed into her, until Spider-Man tackled her out of the way. They wrestled for the stone as they rolled onto the sidewalk, accidently opening a portal as they both fell through.
The portal reopened a mile above the city. Spider-Man was hanging onto Overcast as she used her shadows to keep them aloft. She tried moving higher and faster to get him to fall off, but his adhesive abilities kept him stuck to her. Overcast spun in circles and performed loops to release his grip but it availed to nothing.
Finally, Spider-Mans grip loosened and he fell off, plummeting toward the ground. She allowed herself to float there, waiting until her opponent shot a web at the nearest building and swung to safety. However, even when he was close to the tallest building, she noticed he wasn't trying to swing. The reason why this was confounsed her.
Unless he couldn't swing.
"Dammit!" She shouted as she tried flying after him.
Falling through the air like he was gave him flashbacks to the prison attack, just before he first arrived on this world. The darkness of night clouded his overall vision as he spun out of control. Overcast flew as fast as she could, desperately trying to reach out for him as he fell. They were only a few stories up when she finally grabbed his arm and pulled upwards, keeping him aloft long enough to reduce his momentum.
Once she knew he was safe, she pinned him to the ground and held him by the throat, "Stop it, Peter! It's over!"
"Really?! I didn't hear anyone yell 'cut'!" He threw his leg up and wrapped it around her head, pulling down and sending her into a roll. When she recovered, her face was met with the heel of his hook kick. She retaliated with a shadow blast, but he quickly dodged it. Civilians that were around them started to run away, pulling out their phones and calling the police as quick as they could.
Spider-Man landed on his feet and jumped back through the air, landing a spin back kick to her chest. Simultaneously, she had sent off a shadow blast that shot him back onto the ground from which he quickly recovered to his feet.
Overcast panted. Despite wanting to win, hurting Peter would only make her feel worse than she already did about keeping secrets from him. At this point though, it, may be too late too late to feel sorry.
Before she could get off any more shadow blasts, he came in close and started throwing fists and kicks her way. He was too close for her to fire off any shots, and there were too many civilians to hit him with a shadow pool, so she resorted to blocking and striking with hand to hand combat. Their movements were quick and precise, both clearly very experienced in the field. They each got some good punches in, but Spider-Mans super strength had the advantage when it came to overall damage.
She quickly pushed him away and made room for a shadow blast. He backflipped to dodge it and landed on the roof of a car.
"Not gonna use your light quirk?" He asked, "Too ashamed of it?!"
"No," She stated, "I'm just not stupid."
He rushed back forward at her, leaping over her shadow blast and kicking her in the back. Before she could react, he sweep kicked her legs and let her fall, then grabbed her shirt to lift her upper body up.
"All that trust I put in you!" he shouted as he held her up, "Tell me it wasn't all for nothing! Tell me!"
Above his head, a helicopter search light pointed directly at him. A police copter had come onto the scene rather quickly. On both sides of the street, police cars had come in and started barricading the area off. Naomasa was leading the squad, with a megaphone in hand as he pointed it upwards, "Spider-Man! You are under arrest for illegal use of your quirk, property damage, and assault of a Pro Hero!"
He looked back at Overcast just as he heard guns being cocked. Officers were already getting set to fire, so any further movements would warrant a shootout. The look on Mayume's face was one of despair. He could tell that she never wanted it to come to this, and he honestly believed that. He knew both Overcast and Lumina were good at heart, but she was just making all the wrong decisions.
"They won't believe you," She said only loud enough for him to hear, "I'm sorry."
She was right; with all the charges against him, claiming a Pro Hero was Lumina wouldn't fly, and would only be seen as an excuse to avoid punishment. There was nothing he could do to out her for now; she had won this round even if she lost the fight.
"This isn't over," He stated, dropping her from his grip and letting her body fall back onto the ground, "Not by a long shot."
Using the strength in his legs, he made one courageous jump toward the nearest wall and started running up it as fast as he could. Police had started firing but it was too late; he was already gone across the rooftops.
"Get after him! Hurry!" Naomasa called to his men, watching them get into their police vehicles and drive off down the streets.
With everyone distracted, Overcast opened her hand to see the Space Stone and examined it before putting it back in her pocket. She never wanted it to happen like this, and always hoped things wouldn't have to change in this way between her and Peter. He was someone she truly wanted to keep as a friend, but they were simply on opposite sides of this war. Making him an outcast was not an easy decision, but it was the one she made regardless.
…
Spider-Man rushed across the rooftops, the city bridge in his sight several blocks away. Police vehicles were still following him down below, making it difficult for him to disappear. The sound of loud stomps caught his attention, and he turned around to find Mt. Lady trying to make her way toward him. The officers had blocked off the street so she could use her quirk without hurting anyone. At this rate, he knew she would catch up with him.
"Sorry about this!" He shouted, kicking himself off a water tower and leaping through the air. He soared toward Mt. Lady, catching her off guard as she tried to back up. Winding his fist up, Spider-Man struck her straight in between the eyes with all his strength. The attack dazed her so much that she lost her balance and fell backwards. The impact forced the police officers to stop their cars, finding her body in that grown state was blocking the entire road.
He landed back on the ground and continued running, looking back a few times in horrible regret for hurting her. He didn't want to cause harm to those he cared about, but she would ironically be much safer this way.
Finally, in hiding, he found the spot where he placed all of his gear. It was his backpack which he kept stored and hidden near the Midoriya household. Inside were his backup web pellets, an extra pair of cloths, and his broken stealth suit. Hearing more sirens come his way, he changed out of his costume and into his casual outfit consisting of a blue hoodie and jeans. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he began walking down the streets.
The officers passed by him in their cars with sirens blazing, unaware of who they were overlooking. With them gone, he started making his way toward the bridge that left the city. Getting far away from her was the best plan until things cooled down. He couldn't stick around with everyone coming after him. Overcast has all of them fooled about her true identity, and they would never believe him if he tried to reveal that secret.
This wasn't over, he thought. He wasn't going to give up now just because the odds were against him. Peter was dead set on finding those stones, no matter who was standing in his way. His only regret was that he had to fight his friend.
The grey area really is a killer.
Peter took one last look at the window leading into his and Izuku's room. He could see a shadow of Izuku inside, and part of him wanted to say one last goodbye. Unfortunately, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Seeing his face again after what's happened was just too painful for him. Besides, it wasn't goodbye forever.
Finally, he tightened his backpack straps and headed over the bridge, unsure of what was waiting for him on the other side.