Chapter 28: A Big Surprise

Dr. Akatani could do nothing but wait in his vehicle while the security guards in the kiosk he was parked beside worked to authenticate his clearance. Ignoring the autonomous gun turrets pointed his way, he absently examined himself in his sideview mirror. His exhaustion was making the lines on his face more pronounced and his eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. He'd been working so hard the past few days, but even though his body was exhausted his mind felt as sharp as ever. He had no doubt that he was on the verge of another breakthrough. The last time he had felt this way was over fifteen years ago…

He thought back to his first visit to Tartarus all those years ago. He remembered how the strict security systems had unnerved him, how the inmates had terrified him, and the guard's rough demeanour had intimidated him, but he had gotten over it. In fact, of everyone working at Tartarus he was uniquely safe within the confines of its thick walls.

Situated on a veritable island fortress just off of the bay along Musutafu's coast, Tartarus was the most secure prison for supervillains in all of Japan. Sensors tuned to quirk usage were connected to automated security systems across the entire island, capable of preventing a prisoner or intruder from even thinking of escape. Literally, as the system was primed to operate on brainwave activity.

This was of no concern to him though. Being quirkless himself, he couldn't trigger the security systems even if he tried. All he had to worry about was belligerent guards, but thankfully such encounters were rare and his prominence as a scientist granted him some privileges amongst the staff. In fact, perhaps the opposite was true and it was they who feared him. He had seen their looks, heard their whispers from around corners.

"Here he comes." A senior officer might say to a new recruit, "Dr. Frankenstein. He takes prisoners to his laboratory, and they come back different. If they come back."

"What do you mean?" would come the uncertain reply.

"You'll see, new fish. You'll see."

He would always chuckle at this. His reputation as a boogieman amongst the staff was not entirely undeserved he supposed though it was exaggerated. Yes, it was true his experiments had caused the deaths of several inmates. And it was also true that his experiments had instituted some…changes in his subject's morphology, but that was a long time ago. He hadn't been cleared to work on human subjects for quite some time.

Until now.

With the capture of the supervillain Stain, he had been able to convince Mr. Gizen that he should be granted access to the man in order to test some of his new theories regarding quirk genesis. Though the Nomu was doubtlessly the product of some unknown quirk and not a laboratory, it was still routed in science and from the unfortunate creature's brain he was able to make great leaps in understanding quirk formation.

He shifted in his car seat and thumbed the steering wheel. Just thinking about his work made him restless. These were interesting times indeed.

At that moment the song playing on his car radio ended and the radio hosts began their inane blather.

'Good tunes, good tunes. So everyone, how're we all feeling after the Sports Festival?' said the overly enthusiastic DJ.

'I loved them!' squealed his co-host, 'The action, the drama! It was just so exciting!'

He scowled slightly at the radio. When he was younger, he had loved the Sports Festival. Who wouldn't with all the interesting quirks on display? But as he got older, he found that he had less and less patience for them. Too much advertising, too many gimmicks. Thankfully he had been so busy with his experiments that he had been able to avoid them entirely this year.

'I hear you!' chirped the DJ, 'Y'know, some people were telling me that the first-year events were a bit lame this year but they were my favourite! The way that Izu-'

He switched off his radio. He didn't want to be distracted by anything. Not now. His mind turned over to the Nomu again and before he knew it his thoughts were interrupted by tapping against his window and he rolled it down.

'Alright sir, everything seems to be in order.' said the guard briskly, handing him his ID and paperwork back, 'Just keep these forms and your identification handy for the next checkpoint up ahead. Understood?'

'Yes, thank you.' he murmured.

The guard gestured to a bunker like tower and the gigantic steel gate grinded open. With an enormous clang it retracted into the tall concrete wall. Putting his car into gear, he slowly accelerated down the empty bridge to the island. His old Tartarus lab was waiting.

That Thursday morning, Izuku was bombarded by questions from his mother over breakfast. She seemed split between wanting to know everything he and his friends had done and scolding him for being out so late. It got so hard to keep his story straight that he had to flee the table insisting that he'd be late for his detention.

Catching the early train to UA, he avoided the stares from the other commuters and hastily walked to school. As he entered his homeroom, he greeted Power Loader who was sitting at his desk, a faint frown on his face.

'Good morning, Mr. Maijima.'

Power Loader glanced up at him and coughed, 'G-Good morning, Midoriya. How are those reports coming along?'

'I'm almost finished, sir. I only have a few left.'

'Good, good.' Power Loader cleared his throat, 'Say Midoriya, can you come here for a moment? I have something I need to discuss with you.'

Izuku detected am unsettling note of discomfort in his teacher's voice and he began to feel worried.

'Sure.' he said cautiously.

Walking over to Power Loader's desk, Izuku waited for him to finish arranging his papers. As he stood there, he couldn't help but get confused at what exactly his teacher was doing. He seemed to just be transferring papers from one pile to the other. Eventually, though Power Loader seemed satisfied with his papers. Leaning back in his chair, Power Loader clasped his hands together on his desk and regarded him.

'Well Midoriya, I would just like to once again congratulate you on your performance in the Sports Festival. For someone with no quirk to win second place is nothing short of incredible. Now- ' Power Loader cleared his throat again, '-your efforts have not gone unnoticed, least of all by instructors Aizawa and Kan from the hero department. Both of them have asked me to extend an offer to join the hero program. You would need to work hard to catch up of course, and-'

'No, I'm fine in hero support. Thanks for the offer though.' Izuku said.

Power Loader looked taken aback, 'O-Oh? I, uh, well that's excellent!' he said, slowly grinning. 'Yes, that's fantastic. Forgive me but, I thought you wanted to join the hero department? I believed that, what with the entrance exam and all, support was your second choice.'

'It was.' he admitted, 'But I really like building stuff and I…fit in here. Besides, I think I can do more good with my brain than patrolling a street somewhere.'

'Yes, exactly!' Power Loader said enthusiastically, 'Well then! I'll let Aizawa and Kan know that you've made your decision. Carry on, Midoriya.'

Izuku turned around and walked to his desk. He figured he'd be asked if he wanted to transfer to the hero department, but he knew that he couldn't possibly. If he was asked to regularly perform acts of heroism it was only a matter of time before he was found out. Besides, he wasn't lying when he said he loved building things.

What would Spider-Man do without Izuku the support hero? He thought merrily as he opened the folder of after-action reports.

After his detention, Izuku packed up and went over to the development studio. Nearing the door, he overheard Mei excitedly talk about all the phone calls she had received about her commercial and he couldn't help but grin. Entering, his classmates noticed him and he raised his hand in greeting.

'Hey, Midoriya!' called out Bukimi, 'How was your break? Did you get recognized at all?'

'Not really.' he said as he walked to his station, 'I got some looks on the subway this morning, but that's it. Did you?'

'Yeah, you bet!' Bukimi said, grinning broadly, 'You should have seen it! These girls were all: "Ooh, were you in the Sports Festival? Ooh, your wings are so big and sleek. Can I touch them?" And I was like-'

'Please stop, Bukimi. I'm going to puke.' Kiska said, sticking out her tongue before turning to Izuku, 'Hey Midoriya, what's your phone number? I wanted us all to get together, but nobody knew how to reach you.'

'Um, my number?' he hesitated, 'S-Sure, its-'

'Hey guys.' Saigo called out as he entered the room, 'Did you hear about the terrorist attack?'

'Terrorist attack?' he said eagerly, turning away, 'No, I didn't. What happened?'

'Well! Spider-Man smashed up that fancy building downtown - the Glass Way Tower.' Izuku arched his eyebrows in surprise and Saigo continued, 'Yeah, apparently he jacked up the central electrical and plumbing systems. The whole place has been shut down. Maybe permanently.'

'N-No kidding?' Izuku said, with a nervous smile, 'That's crazy. I don't think they'd condemn a whole building just because of a little water damage though. Once they drain it all out, I'm sure-'

'Oh no, the whole place was flooded.' chimed in Mei happily, 'Every room from the top floor down was completely soaked. Also, did you guys see what happened to Mt. Lady?'

Saigo, Bukimi and Moyashi paled. Izuku did his best to look clueless.

'No, what happened?'.

'She got covered in shit.' Mei said and the boys looked at her blankly, 'Like, literal poo. From a butt.' she clarified.

'Nooo.' Bukimi said, waving her away.

'Honest!' Mei said, obviously delighted at their reaction, 'Apparently she got flushed down a stairwell when a sewer main broke.'

Moyashi looked at Izuku and he dutifully shook his head in disbelief. Mei scoffed.

'It's true.' Kiska interjected, 'I saw it on the Hero Board. Apparently, while she was fighting Spider-Man a pipe got damaged and like thirty floors worth of sewage washed her down some stairs. A group of journalists found her and they took a bunch of pictures to prove it.'

'No. Listen-' Saigo said frowning as he looked down at his phone, 'I'm on Mt. Lady's twitter right now and she says it's all fake news. It was mud, not sewage. And she wasn't defeated either. She says she decided to exercise a tactical withdrawal because of hostages in the hallway.'

'Yeah, of course she says it was mud. Mud in a skyscraper.' Kiska said, rolling her eyes, 'Honestly, the only reason why you guys care so much is because she's hot.'

The boys all looked at each other.

'Well, duh.' Saigo said.

'I mean, it's obvious isn't it?' Bukimi added.

'She's pretty much perfect.' Izuku agreed, nodding.

'I think that goes without saying.' Moyashi concluded, crossing his arms.

Kiska and Mei rolled their eyes. At that moment Hiretsuna entered the room. Everyone turned to face her and she looked at them all somewhat nervously.

'Good morning.' she said stiffly.

Izuku stirred. Now was the perfect time to ease some of the tension.

'Hey Hiretsuna, did you hear about what happened to Mt. Lady? Mei thinks she got covered in crap.'

'O-Oh? I-'

'Because its true!' Mei said, shooting Izuku an annoyed look.

At that the class launched into a light-hearted argument about Mt. Lady. During the discussion, he was pleased to see that Hiretsuna quickly loosened up and went back to her usual cheery self. Before any one could realize it, the extra period ended and Power Loader called them all away to class.

'Alright, everybody time to clean up. Don't dilly dally, I have an important announcement for everybody once we get back to homeroom.'

Everyone's curiosity was piqued. Gathering their things, they all wondered aloud what he could have in store for them.

Class 1-H quickly took their seats and waited with mounting excitement while Power Loader slowly prepared his things. Finally after what felt like an eternity, he stood by the blackboard and addressed them.

'Well everyone, congratulations on your performance in the Sports Festival. I've never had a class do so well and leave such a strong impression. I know how hard you've all been working and I must say your effort shows. You've all accomplished so much. Each and every one of you should feel proud.'

The room broke out into smiles and Mei looked like she might burst into tears at the praise.

'From what I understand, because of your efforts there was a major upset in the draft this year. Not that I'm happy to see the hero classes suffer or anything-' he said reproachfully as the class cheered, '-but I'm just glad that hero support is getting some recognition. To that end I would like to discuss with you all a new opportunity that has presented itself.'

'Normally first year support department students don't have the option of interning with a hero office. But as you've all done so well, I reached out to a few agencies and offered them your services. I think that interning will really help capitalize on your growth and make you even stronger. Now I should mention that though you will be interning with hero agencies, you will still be acting as support heroes. You probably won't be going out on patrol or anything like that.'

'The internships will begin next week and they will last all week long. I'll let you know by Friday which hero office you'll be working with. In the meantime, you'll need to come up with a hero name. Normally I like to wait until the beginning of the second semester before allowing students to choose a code name, but I feel like you've earned it. Try to pick something that will distinguish yourself, make you recognizable, something that represents you and your quirk or fighting style. I'll give you until Friday to come up with something.'

While his classmates began excitedly conversing about their name ideas, Izuku felt his mind go completely blank. He hadn't even thought about what his hero name was going to be.

What represents my persona as a support hero?

Izuku puzzled over his hero name all morning. All through class he ran through names but none of them seemed to fit. For whatever reason his creativity was failing him. It occurred to him that he hadn't picked the name Spider-Man either. That afternoon at lunch he barely touched his food and instead merely sat at the table deep in thought, muttering to himself.

Mini-Might? No, no, no. Stupid. I'd be a laughing stock. Arachnid? No, God no. Think, think, think…

Suddenly he felt his spider sense buzz and he ducked just as a fruit cup went sailing over his head. He looked up in surprise. All of the table was glaring at him.

'Izuku, you've been muttering all morning! Cut it out, its annoying!' Mei said scowling.

'S-Sorry!' he said, blushing in embarrassment, 'I just can't think of a hero name. Usually I'm pretty good at this sort of thing, but…I don't know. I really haven't any idea about what I should name myself.'

'Do you have any nicknames?' Hiretsuna asked.

'Weeeelllll, I do.' he said sheepishly, 'I used to be called "Deku", but its more of an insult. Oh!' he perked up, 'Hey do you think maybe I should choose the name Deku? That could be my thing, like I'm winning the name back or whatever and be inspirational!'

Immediately the table started shaking their heads.

'No, that's a terrible idea.' Moyashi said.

'Really?' Izuku said, deflating, 'But it's like, my personal story.'

'People don't care about that sort of thing, Izuku.' Mei said, sparing him a pitying glance, 'Think about it. How will it look if you have to explain what your name means every time people ask you? The best hero names are simple and descriptive. Take All Might for example. He has super strength. Midnight? She puts you to sleep. But what is Deku? People will just think you like Zelda or something.'

Everyone nodded in agreement and he looked at them all helplessly.

'So what should I do then?'

'Well if I were you, I'd chose a name that reflects how you're like, a really tricky fighter or something. You already have a reputation as someone who you can't turn your back on, work with that.' Kiska suggested and several others nodded in agreement.

'Hmmmm.' he snapped his fingers, 'Oh! I know! I'm smart, right?'

'Debatable' Mei sniped.

'Maybe I should be "The Riddler"?'

'What's that? You want to be called "The Diddler"?' Bukimi asked, putting a hand to his ear.

'No! "The Riddler".' Izuku said slowly and deliberately, 'What do you think? I could be like, a super smart riddle themed hero. Leaving clues and stuff…' he stopped. Everyone was smirking at him.

'Midoriya, I say this as a friend.' Bukimi said, putting a hand on his shoulder, '"The Riddler" sounds like the name a pervert would choose. You're going to leave clues around? What the hell does that mean? Clues for the little boys and girls? Are you kidding me? Within a day people would nickname you "The Diddler" and you'd be laughed out of town.'

Izuku let out a frustrated sigh, 'Well what's a nickname for a tricky fighter?'

'You sort of troll people, right? You leave traps and stuff. Maybe you could be called Troll.' Kiska said, shrugging, but he was mortified.

'No! I don't want to be known as the Troll guy! They'll think I'm a fat internet slob.'

'Look.' Mei interjected, 'A lot of really successful heroes take a colour that they're associated with and add a moniker. Take Crimson Riot for example. Hugely popular hero name, despite not really making any sense beyond the fact that he was a redhead with a crimson costume. Just do what he did. Maybe add some alliteration for extra effect and presto! A successful hero name.'

'Hmmm.' Izuku said, rubbing his chin, 'I am pretty green…'

'Yeah! Your costume is green, you've got green eyes, green hair. Go for something green!' Saigo said between bites of his sandwich.

Izuku leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

Something green. Something tricky.

'Ha! I've got it!' Izuku said and the class looked at him expectantly.

'I'll be the Green Goblin!'

Across the lunch hall the class 1-A table ate in silence as they mulled over what Aizawa had told them that morning. In his usual sleepy voice, he had said that he was committed to helping them realize their potential but that they needed to work much harder if they wanted to become pro heroes. To their horror, he had casually remarked that he originally planned on kicking out the worst performer in the class to make room for Midoriya, but for some reason Midoriya had refused and instead chose to remain in support.

'One of you-' Aizawa had drawled, his eyes resting on Mina and Kaminari, '-just got very lucky.'

Ochaco had thought they were going to faint. Heck, they still might. Sighing, she looked across the busy lunch hall towards Izuku. He was sitting with his friends, gesturing wildly. They seemed to be teasing him about something. She smiled sadly. She wished her table would lighten up.

Looking around at her grim-faced classmates, she resolved to start a conversation. She turned to Iida. He seemed particularly down. Mustering a smile, she caught his attention.

'Hey Iida. How's it going?' she asked happily.

Iida didn't return her smile. Instead he nodded solemnly, 'I'm fine. I'm just thinking about my brother.'

She carefully maintained her outward cheery demeanour, but inwardly she started kicking herself. How could she have forgotten about the attack at the Glass Way Tower?!

'Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry. Is he okay?'

'He'll be fine. He wasn't seriously injured. He's more angry than anything else. He had Spider-Man in his sights, but…well.' Iida shrugged.

She patted his shoulder, 'As long as he's okay. I still can't believe that Spider-Man is attacking people.' she said sadly.

'What do you mean?'

'Oh, just that he used to be a vigilante.' she said quietly. She gave Iida a quick smile before turning back to her plate. Now she was feeling depressed. The last thing she wanted to be thinking about was how the man who had saved her and her father's life was a supervillain now.

'Uh, h-have you guys thought about what hero office you want to work at?' Kaminari asked.

'I was looking over the list.' she said, glad for the distraction, 'And I think I'm going to work for Gunhead.'

'Really? Why him?'

'He's supposed to be a top-notch martial artist. I'm hoping he can teach me a few things.' she made a fist, 'My quirk is strong as is, but if I can touch my opponent, I can pretty much end the fight right there.'

Ojiro nodded, 'That's a good idea, Ochaco. Gunhead is really skilled.'

'Thanks.' she replied. Hoping to keep the conversation going, she looked over her classmates before settling on Todoroki. He'd barely said a word to anyone since losing to Shinso in the festival, 'How about you, Todoroki? Where are you going?'

'I haven't decided yet. Hand to hand training seems useful though.' Todoroki was silent for a moment before turning to Bakugo, 'Hey Bakugo, where did Midoriya learn to fight?'

'Ask him yourself.' Bakugo said without even looking over.

'Hmm.' Todoroki murmured gazing over in the direction of the support table.

Ochaco considered asking him another question, but decided against it. Peering around her classmates, her eyes settled on Mina who was busily texting away.

'Hey, Mina!' she called and Mina looked up from her cell phone, 'Where are you going to intern?'

'Anyplace that will have me.' Mina said flatly, 'Really, I can't believe I'm still here. I feel like I just got a stay of execution.'

'I know what you mean.' Kaminari grumbled before shrugging, 'But we can't let ourselves become distracted with "what ifs". I was given a second chance this morning and I'm not going to waste it. I think that if I really work hard at the internship, I can gain some ground and make up for some of my mistakes. It's like, my grades have nowhere to go but up, y'know?'

'That's the spirit!' Kirishima said, thumping Kaminari hard enough on the back to send him face first into his plate, 'Now's not the time to be a bunch of limp wristed whining losers! I know exactly who's going to kick my ass into shape! I'm going to intern with Fourth Kind! Mina, you should pick someone who can do the same for you!'

While Kaminari was coughing and sputtering over his spaghetti, Mina raised an eyebrow at him.

'Er, n-not that I think your weak or anything, Mina.' Kirishima added hastily as she continued to stare, 'Just that I know how strong you are and I want to see you get even stronger!'

Mina sighed and rolled her eyes before smiling.

'No, you're right. I shouldn't be so down on myself. I worked hard to get here and I have to work twice as hard to stay.'

Ochaco beamed at her.

'I just wonder why Midoriya didn't try to get into the hero program.' Mina said to herself softly, her brow furrowed in confusion. She turned and leaned over the table, 'Hey! Bakugo!'

Bakugo glanced over at her, his eyebrows raised.

'I thought you said that Midoriya wanted to get into the hero program? What gives?'

'I dunno. Ask him.'

Mina scoffed, 'What?! You're the one who said he had some big plan to sabotage us all to get into class 1-A in the first place!' she said angrily, 'Were you just lying?!'

'Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are.' Bakugo shrugged, 'Besides, at least it got you to take the fight seriously.' Mina frowned and began to turn away.

'…for all the good it did you…'

Mina whipped her head back, 'What did you say King Edgy or whatever the fuck your code name is supposed to be?!' she said, slapping her hands on the table as she stood.

'That's Baron of Explodo-Kills!' Bakugo growled angrily, 'And I wouldn't talk about names, "Pinky".'

'What's wrong with Pinky?' Mina demanded. She had chosen the name that morning as her hero persona.

'You named yourself after a fucking finger! The lamest finger there is too! God, you almost suck at naming shit as much as Deku does.'

Mina scowled, before suddenly looking at him thoughtfully.

'I've noticed you sure do talk about Midoriya a lot, Bakugo. Oh, I'm sorry. I meant Deku. That's your pet name for him, right? Its always Deku this, Deku that. You know, you should just fuck him already and get it over with.'

'Hey, I have an idea. How about if I shove some Tums down your throat?' Bakugo shot back.

Ochaco smiled happily as the argument took off. Everything was back to how it should be.

After school that day, Izuku rushed over to the development studio. The more he thought about the Green Goblin the more the idea made sense to him. The others weren't as impressed as he was, but they didn't understand the look he was going for, the image he was trying to create. Right now, his brain was bursting with ideas and he needed to transfer his thoughts from his notebook to his drafting station as soon as possible. Striding over to his station, he quickly sat and immersed himself in his blueprint stationery. Frantically transcribing his designs, he wrote and sketched before he could lose his inspiration. While he worked, he barely heard the commotion of the workshop around him as everyone started welding, cutting, and grinding away on themed gear for their new hero personas.

At some point Power Loader must have wandered over as Izuku suddenly felt his presence behind him.

'What are you working on Midoriya?' Power Loader asked curiously as he peeked over his shoulder.

'I'm changing my costume.' he replied without looking up. He was in the middle of some very complicated equations and he could barely think and talk at the same time.

'Is that all? It looks like your making new grenades, weapons, and…what is that?' Power Loader frowned as he saw what he was sketching.

'It's a glider.'

'A-A glider? Are you sure, Midoriya? Flight is…quite the feat. Especially flight unassisted by a quirk.'

'I'll figure it out.' he mumbled, 'Also may I come in on Saturday and Sunday? With your permission, I'd like to use the fabricators to assemble my new costume.'

'S-Sure.'

'Thank you.' he said softly as he focused back on his sketches.

Yes. Yes. A glider. Silent, radar absorbing, remotely pilotable, on board weapon systems. Yes…

The next thing he knew, Moyashi was nudging him.

'Hey, Midoriya. Snap out of it. It's time for our physical exercises.'

'Hm?' he slowly came out of his trance. Several hours must have passed. 'Oh. Oh! Yes, here let me pack up my stuff. I'll meet you out there, okay?'

Moyashi gave him a concerned look before leaving him. Inspecting his design, Izuku sighed with satisfaction. He still had a long way to go, but in his mind he had visualized every step, every facet of his new persona's equipment and seen nothing beyond his capability. All he had to do was build everything.

Izuku finished spraying his message against the graphitti covered wall and stepped back. He'd decided that it would be best to meet with Knuckleduster again after all. With Shocker out of the picture, he needed advice on how best to proceed now that the throne was empty. Walking away from the wall, he carefully stashed the blue spray paint can inside a wrecked car. He couldn't afford to buy some for himself, so he had been forced to "borrow" a can from some hooligans.

Turning away he went over to the ledge of the parkade and jumped. Falling down to the alleyway, he drew up the filthy coat he had found earlier and started walking. To the eyes above he should just be another homeless person.

Exiting the alleyway, he nonchalantly walked out into the street. It was dark and there was hardly anyone out. Unless someone got a good look at his mask, he doubted he'd be noticed. Passing between two parked cars, he felt his spider-sense briefly surge. Glancing over his shoulder, he was amazed to see a costumed hero boldly standing on the street corner. The man was dressed in a grey and blue V-necked body suit. Tassels hung from his forearms and calves and a white utility belt was tightly wound around his waist.

Chin held high and arms folded, the hero cast a haughty pose as he surveyed the urban jungle. Behind his back, a crowd of gaunt faced junkies were snickering. Izuku couldn't blame them. Whoever the hero was, he wouldn't have looked out of place at a circus.

Still, despite how ridiculous the man was; it was a sobering reminder of how much the powers that be wanted to catch Spider-Man if pro heroes were moving in. They must have really cared about that tower.

I guess it makes sense that they'd be throwing everything at me now. I bet you half of city hall lived in there. He thought as he picked his way towards the vacant building he had stashed his clothes in.

It was slow going walking on foot, but at last he came up on the dilapidated old apartment block that he was using as a temporary safe house. Going around the back and squatting down, he took a moment to make sure that he was alone. A few times tonight he had felt his spider-sense warn him, seemingly out of nowhere. He was by himself when it had happened, but he felt a presence all the same. All he knew was that something from above had seen him. He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew he was being observed. Needless to say, it was a touch unnerving.

Once he was convinced there was nobody watching him, he slunk through the basement window and into the damp, piss stinking cellar. Holding his nose, he changed as quickly as possible into his normal clothes before hastily climbing into the alley and walking back out to the sidewalk.

Hefting his backpack protectively over his shoulders, he drew up his hood and started off towards the train station. He was going home a lot earlier than he would have liked but there was too much law enforcement present to patrol right now.

Besides, the mood on the streets was weird. There seemed to be a stillness in the air. Even the dealers were keeping quiet. He didn't know if it was because news had broken about Shocker or what, but something was happening in the criminal underworld.

I wonder if Speed Demon is going to be making any moves to assume control of the slums yet? Izuku thought as he walked down the graffiti filled tunnel leading to the subway platform. Maybe the Eight Precepts of Death are…

He stopped. Painted at the end of the tunnel was a massive mural of Spider-Man. Graffiti of him wasn't so unusual, but something about it had caught his eye. Written beneath it in big, blocky letters was a message. It read:

"Peace and love from the L of V friend. We want to talk, is that cool? Make a scene at the clubs we like and we'll get word and find you nearby. XOXO"

After reading the message several times, Izuku quickly checked around the subway station. Besides a few transients and some street walkers, it was empty. Clearing his throat, he tried to play it cool.

L of V must mean League of Villains! Why do they want to meet me?

The train docked. Tearing himself away from the message before his ride could leave, he hopped aboard and found a clean seat. Soon after the train departed, and as it rumbled on its way, he tried to puzzle out what the message meant. It was possible that the invitation was a trap. Maybe they were friends of Shocker? But if that was the case, he certainly hadn't seen any evidence of their organization's involvement with Shocker's criminal enterprise. It was all very suspicious.

I'll ask Knuckleduster what he thinks I guess…or maybe I shouldn't. I got a weird vibe off of Knuckleduster last time. Somethings happening out here and I don't like being out of the loop.

He leaned his head back against the glass and tried to clear his mind. Luckily, he had the perfect distraction waiting for him back home. His blueprints were tantalizing him. Even though he could visualize his glider clearly in his mind, there were a few nagging details he still needed to finish working out. Hopefully he would complete his design soon.

The train exited the subway tunnel and began crossing an overland bridge. Looking past the scratched and stained plexiglass of the window, his gaze travelled over the sleeping city.

I have a feeling it's going to be a busy next couple of days. He thought as he watched the buildings of the slums go whipping past.