Chapter 34: Predator and Prey
Stepping out from the mist, Izuku was momentarily shocked to find himself standing in a forested clearing. As jarring as the sudden entrance into nature was, it was hardly an untamed wilderness. The skies were filled with light pollution and in the distance, he could hear traffic. Wherever he was, he was near the city.
Teleportation sure is useful. I have a feeling that dealing with that Kurogiri guy is going to be a pain. He thought as he headed off in the direction of civilization.
Walking forward through some sparse shrubs and low hanging branches, he passed through the trees and climbed a rocky outcrop. Atop the cliff, Musutafu stretched out before him in all of its glass and steel glory, lights blazing brilliantly into the evening sky. But it wasn't the scenery that held his attention, but his thrumming spider-sense. As he had predicted, his spider-sense was almost completely silent. Yet there was something there; a faint hint of danger carried on the sea breeze.
That has to be Doppelganger. Can he sense me too? If he has all my powers then it's a safe assumption I suppose.
A cold shiver ran up his spine as realization dawned on him.
He's been hunting me! Back at the club he must've been virtually right on top of me! But if he could track me there, then would he follow me home?
He bit his lip and swore softly. He couldn't bear the thought of putting his mother in danger, but she would be expecting him home soon. If he stayed out all night, she was sure to know something was up.
Think, Deku, think.
As he considered his options, he suddenly felt his spider-sense flare up. Whirling around, he saw the purple mist coalescing into existence beside him.
'Argh!' he exclaimed in frustartion. Now what?
Jumping backwards into the shelter of a nearby boulder, Izuku crouched down and watched. Strutting out of the portal came the hulking form of Muscular. Thick arms swinging, his eyes scanned the wilderness surrounding him keenly. Licking his lips, he filled his lungs and opened his mouth. Izuku pre-emptively covered his ears before the man shouted:
'HELL-OOOOO! SPIDER-MAN! WHERE ARE YA?!'
His booming voice echoed throughout the cliffs and surrounding forest, sending up small flocks of startled birds fluttering to the skies. As Muscular continued to bellow his challenges to the mountains, Izuku let out a frustrated growl.
What is with this guy? I can't afford to waste energy butting heads with this dope right now, I've got more important things to do!
Izuku waited impatiently until Muscular eventually realized that his taunts would go unanswered. When it became clear that Spider-Man wasn't coming, Muscular spat and, grumbling darkly, journeyed up the cliffs away from the city.
Finally! I've got a feeling I'll be seeing you again real soon, Mr. Roid Rage.
Crawling out from the cover of his boulder, he started to jog back to the city. As he ran, he thought about his current predicament.
What am I going to do about Mom? As far as she knows, I'm hanging out with my "friends".
Leaping across a small rocky creek and into the trees, he began to web swing his way through the forest back towards familiar territory. As he progressed, he kept imaging what he excuses he could give before he heard the faint sounds of voices coming in from beyond a row of trees up ahead. Curious, he lessened his pace and went in closer. Pressing his way softly through some pines, he could make out their words.
'Oh, I just don't know. What if one of those escaped villains stumbles across us?' A young woman said fearfully.
'Pffft!' came a scoffing reply from a brash young man's voice, 'You're worried? With my quirk protecting you? Rest easy, babe. Nobody would dare mess with me. I'm the captain of the baseball team!'
Izuku rolled his eyes. Swinging up into the taller tree branches, he looked down to see a young couple sitting in a parked cherry red convertible. The polished and gleaming car was situated precariously on the gravel shoulder of a winding, lonely road right along an overhanging cliff face looking out over Musutafu. It was quite the picturesque spot.
Izuku watched as the older boy let out an exaggerated yawn. As he did so he draped his arm over the girl's shoulder, pulling her closer.
'Oh, Ryu, we shouldn't.' she breathed as he leaned in, kissing her neck, 'My Mom told me I'd be grounded if I came home late again.'
'Just…just call her and say you're spending the night at Li's house.' The teen said, pulling back a bit, 'She'll never know…'
'Oh, Ryu…'
Izuku snapped his fingers.
That's it!
The girl pushed the eager teenage boy back in alarm at the sound.
'What was that? Is someone there?' she asked, looking over her shoulder towards the treeline.
The boy moaned, 'Oh, come on, Silke. Relax! There's nobody around for miles. It was probably just a tanuki.'
'Well…okay.' she said readily, turning back to him.
However, before they could lock lips the infamous criminal Spider-Man suddenly landed on the hood of the boy's car.
'Hahaha!' cackled Izuku, 'Two more flies have fallen in my web!'
'AHHHHHHH!' screeched the young couple.
The jock quickly threw his car into gear and reversed away. As they backed up, Izuku hopped off the hood and watched them flee. As soon as he was on the road, the white-faced teen jammed the gear into drive and floored the pedal. However as soon as he did so, the car stalled. Shuddering and gasping, the engine let out a feeble shuttering sound and died.
'Ryu! Ryu, start the car! Start the car!' the girl shrieked, 'He's coming closer!'
The jock looked up, eyes wide with terror at Izuku who was still standing where he had jumped off. Frantically, he worked the key into the ignition, but the engine wouldn't turn over. Instead there was just a low whining sound from the dead transmission. After a few seconds Izuku began to feel embarrassed for them.
'Ugh, you're hopeless dude.' Izuku said shaking his head, 'Here, I'm good with machines. Let me try…'
He started to walk forward but at the sight of his movement the girl screamed. In a move of desperation, the jock raised a closed fist over the windshield.
'TAKE THIS SPIDER-FREAK!'
Unclenching his fist, Izuku watched as the jock blew into his hand. As he did so a tiny black storm cloud crackling with blue electrical energy drifted out. Visually it was quite impressive but it was travelling at the speed of a slowly lobbed tennis ball and Izuku easily sidestepped past the slow-moving puff.
'Neato.' Izuku exclaimed in mild interest as he watched the cloud dissipate into nothing, 'Hey, if you can make clouds do you-'
Suddenly the engine started.
'HA!' shouted the boy in triumph, 'Eat my dust, arachno-chump!'
At that the car peeled off, tires screaming against the asphalt as the two lovers barreled down the road. Izuku looked after them in amusement. He didn't want to spoil their date, but with Muscular in the area he thought it best that they took their make out session elsewhere. Besides, even though tonight may be ruined, he was sure that the boy's bravery wouldn't go unrewarded for long.
'It was the least I could do.' Izuku muttered to himself as he pulled out his phone.
Back at the Midoriya apartment, Izuku's mother anxiously paced back and forth across her kitchen and living room. Every now and then she glanced at her clock, counting the seconds as the minutes rolled by.
'I should have never let him out tonight.' she fretted, 'What was I thinking? Tonight, of all nights.'
She felt guilty at herself for her being so controlling, but she couldn't help herself. Everything seemed to be moving so fast. Her once timid, homebody son had been fighting in tournaments, doing internships with professional heroes, and when he wasn't busy with his school activities he was locked away in his room.
'Oh, Izu…where are you?'
Suddenly the phone rang. With a yelp, she quickly scurried over to it and picked up.
'Hello?' she said breathlessly.
'Hi, Mom. It's me.'
'Izuku!' she said, smiling in relief, 'Where are you? Are you on the way home?'
There was a pause over the line.
'Um, well no. Not exactly. You see I was talking with my friends and they suggested that I stay the night over at one of their house's.' she felt her face go slack as her son kept talking, 'You know, the streets are so dangerous…I mean, they're not more dangerous than I told you but, uh, like,-'
She sighed. Her son had always been such a terrible liar.
'-they shut down the trains if you can believe that. They're saying its because of civil unrest. Well anyway, seeing as how I'm all the way across town…' he trailed off.
'Uh, n-no that's okay.' she said resignedly, 'Yes. I think that you staying put might be best. Um, call me in the morning okay?'
'Okay! Bye Mom.'
At that Izuku hung up and she lowered the phone back down to the receiver. Her mind was numb as she tried to process what he had told her.
He's spending the night with friends?
She sat heavily in one of her kitchen chairs. She didn't know how to feel. The only other experiences she had with motherhood outside her homelife were those few times when her and Mitsuki would talk while their sons played out in the Bakugo's backyard. It seemed like only yesterday that she was cuing up All Might clips for him to watch on YouTube and now he was out spending the night with friends.
Her sad musings were abruptly cast aside as a new, dreadful thought entered her mind.
Is he staying at a boy's house or a girl's house?
Her eyes went wide as she thought things through. Her son was shy, and awkward true, but he was at that age…and he was very handsome…and a celebrity…Thinking back on it, there was that one girl during the Sports Festival who couldn't keep her hands off of him. At the time she hadn't thought much of it, but what if…
She gasped.
Striding back over to the phone, she picked it up and dialed Izuku's number. However, before she completed the call, she stopped herself. Did she really want to embarrass him in front of his friends? Besides, even if he was at a girl's house, surely her parents would keep an eye on them.
Sighing, she hung up the phone and went over to the couch to watch some television. She would just have to trust him.
Hanging up his phone, Izuku allowed himself a self-indulgent smile before leaping off the roadside cliff to the forest below. As he plummeted, he thought about his next move. He had bought himself some time. Now he just had to fight an opponent who by all accounts was his superior in almost every way.
According to Dr. Akatani whatever semblance of humanity Stain once had is now long gone. I'm sure he'll put up a hell of a fight. But, if Dr. Akatani is correct about his mental condition then I doubt Stain is capable of critical thinking. Plus I have my web-shooters, so I still have a mobility advantage.
Before he could hit the ground, Izuku shot a strand of webbing to a lone, young tree. Leveraging his speed, he slingshot himself over the remaining forest. Flying above the last few trees, he left the hilly wilderness and entered an upscale, suburban neighbourhood. Everywhere he looked he saw double car garages, dog houses, and outdoor pools. Compared to the grime of the city, it felt like he was in a separate country.
Landing on the roof of a large house, he was surprised to see a small group of adults enjoying some drinks in their backyard.
If Stain is coming to me, then I should choose the battlefield carefully. Ideally, wherever we fight will need to be isolated from civilians, and take full advantage of my webs.
He rapidly considered his options. Fighting on top of a skyscraper? Too visible, heroes might intervene. Fighting in a large, enclosed space? Too limiting, he might get trapped and cornered.
After a few minutes of consideration, he had an idea. Jumping off from his rooftop perch, he started to run away from the suburbs and towards the freeway. He knew exactly where to he wanted to fight. Well, not exactly, but he could find what he was looking for.
After thirty or so minutes of travel, Izuku arrived at a sprawling electrical substation located in the industrial district of Musutafu. Stopping in the midst of capacitors, transmission towers, and rows of transformers he surveyed his chosen battlefield carefully.
There were many tall, interworking lattices of metal, perfect for web swinging or traps, in addition to dangerously thrumming cables and power lines just waiting to intercept an unwary jumper. As he inspected the rusting electrical infrastructure, he noticed an especially old series of transformers. For a major substation, the electrical systems looked dangerously decrepit.
Kicking a tiny piece of gravel at a transformer, he was startled by a sudden blasting arc of electricity that shot out from a loose section of panelling on the transformer chassis.
How old is this place? He thought as he looked around at the electrical infrastructure with newfound trepidation.
Like most modern cities, Musutafu electrical needs were supplied by a variety of sources that were a mixture of ancient, pre-quirk era technology and modern quirk techniques. Although quirks were not permitted for use in daily life, work permits to use quirks was approved in certain fields where their usefulness could not be ignored. Afterall, it was far easier to supply steam to turbines if the electric company employed someone who could control fire then to haul in coal or pipe natural gas.
That wasn't to say that power plants were obsolete. Most of the city's power was still supplied by conventional technology, just that quirk power "tech" was on the rise. Some speculated that as more and more technology was replaced with quirks, there was a real danger of scientific regression across all of mankind as valuable technical knowledge was replaced with quirk techniques. Although records from the old, pre-quirk world were scarce following the Quirk Wars of the early 22nd century, it was known that humanity used to be capable of scientific feats that were out of reach of current society.
He suddenly felt his spider-sense surge again and he quickly focused back on the task at hand. Beyond the fenced off gravel lot that encircled the electrical station there were multistory corrugated steel warehouses and defunct brick factories of varying heights on all sides save for the entrance. Like the substation, they looked like they belonged from another time. Dozens of water towers peppered the sloping rooftops, their bulbous cylindrical tanks looking almost like heads peering into the yard.
These buildings look like they've been abandoned for years. I shouldn't have to worry about any witnesses.
He switched his attention back to the substation. There were sure to be a few workers in the nearby maintenance buildings keeping an eye on things.
Running over to the central building, he saw a bored looking man in work coveralls pass by a window. Hopping up to the window ledge, he peered inside. There were three workers all clustered around a small table, chatting over their coffee.
Even though he knew he should be focusing, he couldn't help but remember his hero exercise at the power station with All Might a few weeks ago. He had been tasked with rescuing workers then too, though admittedly this was slightly different.
Shaking his head clear, he burst through the window and landed before the astonished workers, there mouths dropping open in surprise. Before they could even process what was happening, he had already ensnared them in webs.
After stashing the cocooned workers in a distant warehouse, Izuku returned to the electrical yard and looked around to see if there was anything else he could do. His spider-sense was starting to build up again and every nerve in his body was telling him that he was in imminent danger. His instincts told him to run, but he couldn't. If he ran tonight the creature would just hunt him down later, all the while satisfying its monstrous appetite on the people in Musutafu. For better or for worse, he would need to face Dr. Akatani's abomination now before anyone else got hurt.
As he inspected the metal lattices surrounding the yard, he suddenly felt an odd surge run up his spine. Though he couldn't see it, he sensed that there was something hiding between the rows and rows of transformers. As faint as the slight breeze in the air, he heard a scuffling sound against the metallic boxes. It was coming closer.
Without waiting to be tackled by an abhuman lunatic, he jumped and swung up into the crisscrossing beams of one of the many transmission towers that filled the air over the yard. Alighting himself on a metal strut, he looked down just in time to see a long, curved limb disappear from view behind a transformer box.
'I-I know your there!' he shouted, surprised at the fear he heard in his voice. 'Don't tell me your extra spider bits have made you shy now, Stain.'
He held his breath. Everything seemed to fall silent around him as he stared at the row of ugly grey transformers. His heart was pounding in his ears, but he could just barely hear the sound of crunching gravel in the yard.
Before he could decide whether or not he should reposition himself, the monstrous body of his more evolved counterpart abruptly stepped out into the open. Even though he had been mentally preparing himself, just seeing the Doppelganger in person made his blood run cold. Wrapped around the creature's long, lithe torso were four extra arms, their biceps curling around his back connected shoulders giving him an oddly humpbacked appearance. Logically such extra appendages should be ungainly, but he recognized the graceful movements of his freakish double. He had no doubt that the Doppelganger had grown accustomed to its new form. Besides its arms, its legs were massive and bulging with muscle hinting at its terrific strength. Considering his own strength, Izuku could only imagine the sort of strength they must possess. But worst of all was his face. A leering skull with six eyes and jagged, red-stained teeth.
The creature that was Stain brought itself up to its full height and opened his dagger filled mouth. It let out a long and low hiss. The terrible rattling sound echoed around the yard and sent a paralytic wave of terror through Izuku, numbing his mind as the primordial core of his being was awakened. For a moment he had hoped that he could reason with Stain, try and reconnect with his inner humanity, but he realized now how foolish that would be. His only options were fight or flee; run or die.
Before he could do anything else, the Doppelganger jumped at him with its mouth agape and its great tongue lolling hungrily for blood. Shocked at its speed, Izuku automatically hopped back to the struts behind him while pre-emptively fired a string of webbing towards the ledge where the Doppelganger would appear, but it had somehow anticipated this. Twisting its body in midair, the monster caught the edge of the metal beam with one of his back jointed arms and threw himself to the tower's mast. Then in a great burst of strength it leapt out from the tower with a devastating kick.
Only through the keenest of movements was Izuku able to dodge the blow. Rolling back his shoulder while dropping his knees, he allowed himself to slip backwards down the strut, before gripping it with his feet. Now hanging upside down, he watched as Doppelganger's momentum carried it across the fifty-metre length of the yard to a neighbouring transmission tower. Upon impact, Doppelganger's foot impacted the steel hard enough to rattle the entire frame. Izuku's eyes bulged at the implications of such a feat.
What was that kick!? If I'm going to survive then there's no way I can let myself get locked down in a fist fight. I need to immobilize him.
Taking aim with his web-shooters, he unleashed a volley combining both longer strands of webbing and small blotted shots of balled web solution. However, Doppelganger was unfazed. Crouching and weaving, he dodged around every shot as he hopped from beam to beam.
Izuku felt himself start to slip back into panic as his barrage failed to connect. The Doppelganger wasn't even slowing down. While he desperately unleashed his webbing, a swell of doubt began cutting through him like a knife as an increasingly obvious realization battered down his confidence, repeating over and over in his mind.
I can't hit him, his spider-sense is better than mine. I can't hit him, his spider-sense is better than mine. I can't…I can't!
Doppelganger had almost crossed the yard. In a final desperate bid to gain control, he canceled his attack and waited for the Doppelganger to leap the final stretch of beams to where he stood. Mouth open in a silent snarl, it jumped, two of its long arms spread wide ready to catch him.
As Doppelganger flew through the air, he sprang his trap. Taking aim at the lattice of beams between them, he sprayed a crisscrossing mesh of webbing forming a net between himself and Doppelganger. There was nowhere Doppelganger could go. Its momentum would carry it straight into the web.
But his plan failed.
In an unbelievable display of agility that bordered on the impossible, the Doppelganger twisted mid-flight. Tucking in its body like a torpedo it slipped between the gaps of his web before hitting the beam directly in front of him.
Now standing directly before him, Izuku looked on in horror as the monster towered over him. Raising two of its arms above its head, it curled its talon tipped fingers into fists in preparation for what could only be a devastating smash.
Izuku hands flew up to protect himself, but the attack didn't land. Instead his own spider-sense screamed at him and he knew he had just made a terrible mistake.
While his hands were raised over his shoulders to shield himself, there was nothing protecting his torso. The Doppelganger had a trap of its own. Suddenly unfurling its other four arms, it swiped. With a terrible ripping sound, the Doppelganger's razor tipped claws sliced through his spider-suit and carved through flesh and muscle like a razor blade through water.
In an explosion of blood, Izuku opened his mouth in a soundless gasp as four hands bearing twenty talons dug into his stomach and chest. Suddenly overcome with vertigo, his eyes rolled back in his head. Losing his footing, he released his grip on the strut and dropped from the transmission tower. As he fell, it was all he could do but to focus eyes back on the Doppelganger's skull-like face who watched with mild interest as he plummeted to the ground below.
With a soft thump he landed in the graveled pit around the electrical grid's capacitors. Working his lungs, he struggled to breath. His mouth felt like it was filled with blood. Before he could do anything, the Doppelganger fell after him. Landing with its legs between Izuku, it knelt and unfurled its long tongue. He watched in horror as it snaked its way towards his bloody stomach. The Doppelganger let out an awful, gargling sound of eager anticipation as its twitching tongue drew closer and closer.
Mustering the last of his strength, Izuku focused everything he had in one sudden action. Hands a blur even to him, he reached up and, grabbing the Doppelganger by his head and chin, slammed the monster's jaws shut.
The eager warbled words turned into a guttural screech of pain and rage as the Doppelganger jerked its head free. Its tongue, now severed, fell from its mouth and landed twitching to the ground. He knew this was his chance. Kicking his legs, he attempted to retreat, but before he could move more than an inch the Doppelganger snatched his ankle in a bone shattering grip.
Lowering his head back down, the Doppelganger opened its blood-filled mouth and let out a roar, red teeth gnashing mere inches from Izuku's face.
'H-Hey man. With a tongue like that, it was gonna happen eventually. Heh. Heh.' he wheezed.
Standing, Doppelganger pivoted on its hips and threw him by the leg. Tumbling through the air at breakneck speed between the rows of transformers, he came to an excruciating skidding and rolling stop. Briefly he tried to rise, but he quickly flopped uselessly back to the ground. If it weren't for the splintering pain in his ankle, he would have assumed that he was paralyzed but the truth was he was bleeding out and his consciousness was fading fast.
Vaguely he was aware of being at the edge of the substation yard. Rolling his head around, he could make out strangely warped towers with long stretching limbs that seemed to twist around him. Blinking, he raised his hands up to his face and stared at them dumbfounded before looking over at a nearby rooftop lined with oddly shaped wooden huts on stilts. The only thing keeping him from passing out was the pain in his chest, but even that was ebbing away. From down the row he could make out some skittering shape coming closer, something raining blood down itself, but all he could think about was how dry his mouth was.
Dropping his hand down to his chest, his head fell to his shoulder. Looking up, his eyes rested on the huts above.
'Weird…things…for an electric…station …' he muttered.
Flexing his wrist, he fired a strand of webbing at the base of one of the huts. Gripping the chord, he pulled. At first there was resistance but it quickly vanished. A tiny bit of corroded support holding up the odd little hut sprung free and slowly it started to tilt over.
The Doppelganger rocked back and forth, cradling its head in its arms and mewling to itself piteously. Its mind was wracked with pain as it chewed at the now stump in its mouth. Everything it could taste, all the exotic flavours in the air, the fear and anger, all the emotion filled spices were gone.
Shifting its six eyes down it focused on the Other and an unfamiliar feeling overcame it. Merely killing its prey wouldn't be enough. Bearing its fangs, it stalked towards the fallen adolescent. Gravel crunching beneath its feet, it grew closer and closer to the end of the row of metal boxes where it had thrown its prey.
The Other was finished. Barely able to move, the weakling could only flop around and wait to be devoured. At the thought of eating again the Doppelganger experienced another intense flash of loss. For the past few hours while it was tracking the Other across the biped hive, it had tasted such an incredible flavour. So much energy and adrenaline. But now, that was lost to him forever.
Growling, it quickened its pace. Surely, it could still taste something.
Suddenly a strand of silk launched from its prey and attached to one of the sloshing tanks surrounding the metal forest. Pulling, the Other was able to dislodge one of the support's at the base of the tank and it began to fall.
As the tank slowly came loose and began to topple over, the Doppelganger had an odd sense of awareness come over him. There was danger. Confused, its eyes expanded in their sockets, looking in every direction, but it saw no threat.
The giant falling thing wouldn't hit him. Even as it fell it was collapsing and would explode on the boxes. The boxes it was standing between were death, it knew that. But they couldn't move and even if they could, so long as it gripped them where they were cool, it was safe. Was the metal above the threat? It could tell that they were death too, but it would never be so clumsy as to touch them. What was going on? Why did it suddenly feel afraid?
As Doppelganger hesitated to move, the fifty thousand litre water tank smashed into the first row of capacitors, instantly causing the entire bank to explode as years of neglect finally reaped their toll. While the first bank exploded, the sweeping wave of water was instantly energized, immediately overwhelming the surrounding capacitors resistances and cascading the explosion even further.
Before the Doppelganger could realize its peril, the water began rushing in on all sides. Jumping backwards, it tried to retreat but found more of the metal boxes blocking him. Eyes whirling, it took in every direction but all it could see were sparks, flames, and water. Not comprehending, it simply stopped. Perhaps the threat would pass? So long as it gripped the metal where it was cool, it would be safe.
While it waited for its chance, the Other stirred. It watched with a strange, almost longing fascination as its prey swung himself up to one of the metal trees above. It attempted to climb up the strand, but after struggling for a moment he stopped and just hung there, a small distance away, ready to be eaten. Its behaviour was puzzling to him. Wasn't it already dead? Why continue?
At that moment the waist high wave of water reached its refuge. Recoiling back, Doppelganger leapt up on the cold part of the metal box. However, as the water lapped up the box's side, it suddenly felt a strange sensation. Pushing its senses to the limit, it became aware of the metal changing somehow. Inside the box, things were breaking, cracking and expanding. A different sort of current emerged. One going where the metal was cold, the other where the metal was hot.
Faster than it could realize the whole box became hot. Suddenly unable to move, the current began flowing up and through its legs, spreading along its veins and through the rest of its body. Everywhere the current touched there was a numbness, then nothing. It was strange, it thought as its vision faded, sensing nothing.