After having showered and put on his uniform, being only without his mask, Peter found himself boarding a train again, this time accompanied by Dr. Yinsen and heading in the opposite direction; towards the Grand Station on 12th Avenue, so that they both headed towards the destination that the eldest had told him about;

— East Harlem? – Peter asks the doctor

— Yes... – the eldest responds – they are asking for help from everyone available, a new vigilante is on the loose, "Taskmaster" I think you've heard of him.

— Yeah… – Peter's mind goes straight to Danny, who was also in East Harlem – a friend of mine is doing an internship in the area, I'll send him a message to meet us there!

— Good idea.

Peter quickly takes his cell phone from one of the pockets of his uniform's "utility belt", quickly opening the messaging app and looking for Danny's contact. The first contact that appeared as the most recent was Gwen, who spent an unhealthy amount of time sending videos, memes, and other stuff to all of her contacts. Just below her were the contacts of Aunt May and Wanda, who he'd talked to the night before. Soon after, there was Danny's contact; it had been some time since they had spoken to each other by text; since the end of the Sports Festival. Danny hadn't responded to any of Peter's messages since then.

Soon sending some messages saying he would be going to East Harlem, Peter sees that the message is sent, arrives on Danny's cell phone, is read, but is not answered. Peter tries to reassure himself; Danny was never much for using his cell phone, plus he must have been pretty focused on his internship, not much time to respond.

But a lingering worry still haunts Peter's mind; the whole situation with Taskmaster, Orson and the way Danny had been acting in the days before everyone left for the internships, something wasn't right. But Peter tries to push those thoughts away, Danny was the most serene and down to earth guy he knew, if he had to point out someone who would do the most sensible thing, it would be Danny, no doubt.

As Peter pushes that thought out of his head, another takes its place;

— Mr. Stark told me you were a hero for some time… – the boy starts addressing the doctor – how do hero licenses work when someone stops working?

— I wasn't exactly a "hero" in the legal sense of the word - the doctor replies - I didn't have a "Hero's License"

— But then how did you act? - the boy asks

—... – Yinsen was going to answer, but decided to change the question a little – I ask you; what types of licenses for the use of Quirks exist in the United States? – the eldest asks the boy, like a good teacher testing his student

Peter soon remembers Professor Murdock's classes related to the use of Quirks legislation, which while very interesting, managed to be a little monotonous, even for him, one of the five smartest in the class and the first most interested in anything related to heroes and Quirks.

— The License heroes receive after completing the course is License "A"; that allows them to use their Quirks when they see fit, which includes utility and conflict. Type "B" licenses are for police and military personnel, who can use their Quirks while on duty, but they are still accountable to higher authorities. Type C licenses are those used by students who have passed a hero course, and may use their Quirks publicly during internships and only under adult supervision with a "B" license or higher...

— And that's another reason we head to East Harlem – the professor cuts Peter off as he sees how much the kid already knows – my license is a "D" type, where people can use their Quirks and/or licensed support equipment in public areas, even without having gone through a hero course, but only performing some psychological and motor tests. That's why we're going to a place with a higher concentration of licensed heroes, as it's illegal for you to use your Quirk in a public location without being accompanied by an "A" license hero.

— Got it – Peter says – starting a hero's career going against the law is certainly not the best way.

— Absolutely – the doctor says smiling – and of course, we can't forget the type "E" licenses, for workers who use their Quirks to carry out their services in public or private areas which they don't own, we can't leave the class unfinished. .. - Yinsen smiles at Peter and both continue their journey

Somewhat far from the train, more specifically on Peter and Yinsen's destination; Danny, Shang, and a few other heroes of the region were preparing to patrol the streets of East Harlem that afternoon. Because of everything related to the task force to catch the Taskmaster, it was necessary to have heroes on the streets 24 hours a day, which included night patrols. However, as most of the licensed heroes worked during the day, SHIELD created a sort of rotation with the agencies in the area, for night patrols, and that day, it was Shang's Agency's turn.

Danny is in the corner, finishing up bandaging his wrists. On a normal day he would probably attempt the goal of making contacts for the future, but those last few days were anything but normal. All of Taskmaster's attacks happened at night and he hadn't done anything for a few days. Something would happen that night, Danny knew that, but he wasn't sure he was prepared for it...

— Danny! – the boy looks up and sees Shang a little further into the agency looking at him – can I talk to you for a minute?

— Of course... - Danny wasn't sure what it was all about, but no one seemed to notice and he followed the hero even further into the agency.

Shang looked slightly shaken, and ran his hand over his face as Danny moved in front of him, but before the blonde could ask him anything, Shang says;

— Danny, I saw that notebook of yours about Taskmaster... - the hero begins - and I got where you're going...

— ... – Danny can't say anything directly. There, in that moment, he had been discovered. His mind ran through all the excuses that had kept him up the last few nights about what he was doing and why to keep it a secret, but none of them could get past the fact that he had tricked Shang, and chose his Agency out of convenience... – Shang...

— Look, I don't want to talk too much about it - the hero says watching the people waiting for his command to the night patrol - and I think if I were in your shoes I would do the same thing, but... you have to keep the professional part and the personal part separate, we are public servants, not assassins or mercenaries, we cannot put our wills above the well-being and safety of the population.o...

— But...- Danny tries to say that it wasn't exactly that, but Shang raises a hand, shushing him.

— Just, please, don't try to face this guy alone, he's no joke... - Shang says looking his intern in the eyes - and I want you close to me all the time, if we find the guy, we'll take him justice, the right way, trusting the system. Do we have a deal?

— Yes… – was all Danny could say at that moment.

— Great... - Shang says and addresses the group of heroes gathered to start the patrol.

Danny takes a while to leave, thinking about that situation and the feeling he had that something was going to happen; he wanted to talk about it to someone, Wanda, Peter, Gwen... but he knew, he knew he had to do it alone, if he didn't, he couldn't become the hero he'd always dreamed of being.

In an alley in the middle of East Harlem, far from any kind of movement or presence, a portal of black and red smoke appears as if created out of nowhere, and two figures walk out of it; an armored man carrying several types of weapons in orange, white and blue patterns and with a skull mask on his face, and another, red-skinned man, slender, black suit and a thin tail.

— Thanks for the ride, I think... - the armored man says

— Gern geschehen, you're welcome - Azazel says - it's a pity we won't be able to work together given your disagreements with young Stane.

— Yeah, I really didn't like the kid... - Taskmaster says looking at the top of a nearby building, where the boy was - maybe we bumped into each other around, and it's better to tell him to keep an eye out, you won't will always be there to defend him.

— Mach dir keine Sorgen, don't worry, I'll tell him... - Azazel replies and then sees the mercenary walking away - what's your plan now, if you allow the question?

— The same; get rid of the false heroes who didn't have the necessary training... - he says keeping in place

— Of course… – Azazel agrees – very well, bis später Trainer, see you later, Taskmaster… – he says and is soon enveloped in the red and black smoke of his Quirk and disappears, which is the cue for Taskmaster to continue his way.

Not too far away, on top of one of the reasonably empty buildings that area presented, the young Villain was finishing the last preparations on the five dark machines that would soon "wake up" like the new prototype Sentinels that the master had ordered, but for now they looked more like cocoons of black iron than assassin robots.

Stane doesn't even turn around when Azazel appears beside him from the middle of the smoke portal, just continues analyzing the data from one last scan of the robots. Until his companion breaks the silence;

— Ich muss zugeben, I must admit… – the red villain says – this man is quite determined, he would have made a great addition to the League. – he says referring to Taskmaster

— Not that I want to, or have to explain my reasons to you – Stane says mockingly – but he doesn't have the ability to see the big picture; kill false heroes, as if that would solve anything... He's a fool, that's all. – He says that and soon the robots begin to vibrate slightly

— Alles bereit? All ready? – asks Azazel

— Yes, they should wake up in a few minutes, send them to the coordinates; a technology test and a distraction at the same time, it couldn't get any better... - Stane responds and Azazel soon covers the five machines with his Quirk, sending them away in the blink of an eye

Having switched buses after arriving at the Grand Station on Fourth Avenue, Peter and Yinsen now had a short ride down Lexington Avenue, approximately 20 minutes, to the stop in East Harlem. The trip starts calmly, with few passengers on the bus, but when they were just over five minutes from the stop, the bus stops, due to a traffic jam ahead.

— Strange, was there an accident? – the doctor asks himself going to check his cell phone with some news

Peter tries to look out the window but can't see much outside; it was just dark and he couldn't get a good view of the front;

— I can't see very well, but I think it was... - Before Peter could finish his reasoning, a tremor causes the bus and everything around it to shake slightly, which usually indicated an attack from a nearby villain.

Most of the people on the bus get up and walk to the windows. Since heroes, villains and their conflicts had become so common in everyone's lives, no one would run in despair if something like that happened, only, of course, if it was at a considerable distance from the possibility of causing him harm, and even then there were still those who stayed close, there is crazy for everything after all.

But Peter then feels a shiver, his 'Spider Sense' activates, but not to defend himself from a blow, but as if something is wrong, as happened at the Sports Festival, he looks to his left side, seeing two people bent over a window. In a quick movement, he shoots two webs, one from each 'web-shooter', which stick to each of the people and he pulls them close to him, when, a millisecond later, the side of the bus is smashed by two figures rushing in at high speed, creating a crater in the ceiling and denting the floor of the bus, where the two people were initially.

— Argh! – on the ground, the man who was found was none other than Falcon, the winged hero, he was injured, and had his red wings quite beaten down and was trying to hold his attacker, who was above him, and it was someone, or rather something, that Peter didn't expect to see again...

...a Sentinel

The robot with black scales was different from the one that Mr. Stark had faced in the SPE, it was smaller, more "thin" if that was possible, so the hero even without super strength could resist the robot, which seemed to try to touch the hero's wings for any reason...

But before Peter can do anything, Yinsen crouches down beside Peter with his suitcase in hand;

— Peter, get back! - The doctor says, immediately putting the suitcase on the floor, with his hand over it, but instead of the normal leather of the suitcase, a scanner was analyzing the doctor's hand, and soon it flashes green and transforms;

Yinsen seemed to know exactly what was going on with his suitcase, as it opens automatically, showing various mechanisms and paraphernalia inside, the man puts his hand inside, and when he takes it out, he has a red and silver gauntlet, very similar. with that of Iron Man. And apparently also with the same propellant, as he soon launches a blast of energy that does not knock down, but distracts the robot, which is taken by surprise and momentarily forgets its main target and turns to Yinsen.

But in a short time, right after having shot, the doctor puts his foot inside the case that in seconds expands and covers his entire body with red and silver armor, a little more robust, like the first versions of Mr. Stark, but instead of a circular or triangular reactor on the chest, such armor has a very large "Y" in place.

— Peter, stay here! - he says when facing Peter with that metallic helmet, before shooting with the thrusters in his boots towards the Sentinel

The robot tries to catch him mid-flight, but Yinsen uses some smaller thrusters to maneuver, dodging the attack and quickly placing himself close to Falcon's head and the robot's exposed spot. Taking advantage of this gap, he propels himself forward, picking up the robot, taking off and taking it to the sky, away from people.

Peter hardly expects, or even notices, the pro hero on the floor of the bus, as he jumps through the hole in the bus and runs out onto the streets. The boy sees several people getting out of their vehicles and trying to observe what was happening, seeing the bright spot that was Yinsen taking the creature/robot away..

— Nice detail that he left it aside... - the boy says to himself referring to Yinsen's armor

But either way, Peter soon has a bad feeling that this shouldn't be the only Sentinel in town; those two S.P.E freaks must have sent more. The boy then soon runs towards one of the buildings, releasing a web on a light pole to get momentum, swinging and throwing himself into a building, the boy grabs a small distance from the top and climbs the rest until he is there. From up there, the boy can hear the sounds of ambulances, police, and he can see at least five fires spread across the neighborhood.

— This is definitely not a barbecue gone wrong… – the boy says – and five barbecues going wrong in the same neighborhood is too much…

He knew he wasn't with Yinsen, but he couldn't stay still, putting on his mask, Peter runs a few meters to the edge of the building and jumps. With the start of his fall, he clicks on the shooter's sensor, releasing a strand of web, which this time travels much farther thanks to a gas pressure adjustment, catching on a building and swinging, then releasing the web and repeating. movement, swinging towards the nearest fire spot.

Earlier, and not far away, Danny and Shang had been patrolling together; the boy walking a few feet behind his mentor. The sunlight faded little by little, and the lights of the shops and the streetlamps were being turned on, replacing the star as the source of lighting in the place.

Danny was still thinking about the short conversation (more of a monologue) he'd had with Shang a few moments ago. In short, the boy felt bad about the whole situation; having chosen Shang's agency out of convenience, having focused all his time and attention on his hunt for Taskmaster, and worst of all, having ignored his friends for the past few days.

Thinking of his friends, Danny takes his cell phone out of his pocket, seeing the message from Peter that he had seen but not replied to. He soon unlocks his cell phone and starts typing a message, he was determined, he would leave this whole situation behind, talk to his friends, make the most of these last days of internship and...

And in the blink of an eye, Danny's thoughts and ideas are interrupted by an explosion a few blocks away, soon, screams are heard and black smoke begins to rise to the skies in the distance.

— An attack... Come on! – Shang warns Danny and without even turning around, he runs towards the noise and smoke

— Yea! – Danny responds, and also starts running towards the fire, after his mentor

However, when passing through an alley between two buildings, Danny notices, through his peripheral vision, a figure in the shadows passing quickly by him. It had been a very quick figure, anyone in the boy's shoes would have thought it was just a stray cat or something, but Danny had seen news about Taskmaster so many times and the few dark, shoddy footage they'd gotten. take it from him, which the boy was sure, was him.

Debating with himself whether or not to go after him, his emotion speaks out before his rational side can mount an argument, and he starts running down the alley, going after that figure.

Navigating through alleys and alleys, seeing only small pieces of this figure's clothing, Danny follows his only lead on Taskmaster; if he was right, he would face him right then, but if he was wrong, he would probably never get another chance.

But after some time, he hears the figure slow down and turn into an alley. The boy then slows down and slowly heads towards the edge of the alley's entrance so he can see what's going on there.

The incessant noise of traffic and people had been left behind, being now just a noise in the background that denounced all the confusion that was taking place at that moment.

— Idiots, they're making too much noise... - Danny hears a man with a hoarse voice say - well, at least with all this distraction, it's going to be harder to find us, isn't it?

Danny takes a peek and spots two people there. Even though it was night, the moonlight and some nearby artificial lighting sources were enough for you to see inside. A man was on the ground, he had dark skin, dark curly hair and was well muscled, wore a tank top, baggy pants and had a mask and bandana on his head, and on his back, a bow and a quiver, but no arrows.

Standing there was the definitive image of the man Danny had been researching for the past few days; wearing heavy armor, along with a white cape and hood, with several weapons on his body, with the boy being able to see a sword at his waist, a shield on his back and what appeared to be a bow tucked into his waist. In addition to a skull mask, which hid any and all expressions that man could manage. That was, without a doubt, the Taskmaster. He then holds the man to the ground and lifts him up, pushing him into the wall, with his right forearm across his throat.

That's when Danny notices the man's amount of injuries; he didn't appear to bleed much, but his legs were at odd angles, as were his arms, his fingers were slightly crooked, and his face was quite swollen and red.

— Very well "Cromache" or whatever the fuck... - Taskmaster says squeezing the man's neck - let's get this over with...

— It's...Comanche... - the man says weakly.

— Like I care... – Taskmaster says removing a blade from his belt – ok, come on sir "hero", let's finish this as soon as possible ok? I don't want to take too long and have a chance to draw unwanted attention...

Hearing this and knowing what would happen next, Danny hides again, quickly clenching his fist, placing it in front of him, closing his eyes and concentrating on his breathing. Soon, his fist glows a golden yellow, charged with his vital energy, and he charges forward.

Coming out of hiding and heading hard towards the duo, fist raised, about to take the assassin by surprise, having his Quirk activated so that this is a quick fight; the boy strikes the blow.

But nothing went as planned.

Taskmaster had let the man, "Comanche" fall to the ground and had faced Danny as the boy approached. Quickly noticing the glowing fist coming towards him, and holding the blade in one hand, he uses his left forearm to fend off the boy's energized arm, while dodging to the other side. Having not thought much, and now with his guard open, the villain takes advantage of this, drawing his left arm close to his face and delivering a 'jab' directly to Danny's forehead. The blow leaves him stunned, and he wasn't prepared for the kick to his ribs, which comes right after it, and knocks him backwards, causing him to fall a distance from his target. He only has time to pay attention, moments before a blade pierces his face. The boy manages for a split second to dodge, with the blade passing mere millimeters from his face, being enough to cut a part of the mask on his face, causing it to widen and fall over his eyes.

Danny then takes the mask off his face and glares at his opponent. But the same has a very opposite reaction, before, in a fighting position, now it has become relaxed, the bent knees straighten, and he slightly turns his head, as if slightly confused.

— You're just a child... - Taskmaster says watching the boy on the floor; not regretting in any way what he had done, but no longer wanting to prolong that confrontation – go home boy…your parents must be worried… – he says turning his back and going back to what he was doing.

Soon getting up, Danny takes a deep breath and goes for another fight, this time without using his Quirk, as he had seen how his opponent fought; he was pretty stiff, probably because of the armor, so he was a lot more defensive, using the bigger impact and weapons at his disposal to do the real damage.

Danny approaches from behind, even though it wasn't an honorable way to fight, he didn't care about that anymore; he tries a blow with the side of his open hand on the opponent, with more open and fluid movements, he would be able to get through the opponent's heaviest movements.

But before the hit connects, the villain shows incredible agility and flexibility, as he stretches his body and kicks Danny, still on his back, stretching his entire torso and one of his legs in an almost perfectly horizontal position, pushing the boy backwards. He then turns around, and Danny tries again his new strategy, several blows, trying to use his agility and speed against his opponent.

But the man's fighting style changes in the blink of an eye.

His robust and hard movements are now agile, flexible, he blocks blows with speed and mastery, with open, claw-shaped hands, using his forearms, but also turning and moving his body in a way that Danny would find impossible. for someone using so much equipment.

Seeing an attack coming from above, Danny tries to block it with his forearm, but, he soon feels the pain of quick cuts in the region, he pulls away, seeing the bandages torn with precision and with a little blood staining them red. He notices that the breastplate of his uniform had the same bruise; three long cuts, which don't affect him because of the built-in protection, but slightly damage the design. He looks at Taskmaster, noting the blades retracting at the tips of each of his fingers, as if they were claws.

— Look boy, I don't want to go on this much longer… – Taskmaster says, with a little more irritation, but still wanting Danny to leave – if you leave now I can forget about this whole situation and your face too, what do you think?

— You… – Danny says quietly – you killed many, and left my master and other heroes unable to perform their duties… but not anymore, as the next Iron Fist, champion of Kun-Lu and holder of the mystical martial arts, I will defeat you, not just for myself, but for the other heroes, and for my father.

— Iron Fist... - A metaphorical lightbulb seems to light up in Taskmaster's mind when he remembers such a name and compares it to the uniform the boy was wearing, if Danny could see his face, he would see the sarcastic smile appearing on his father's face. opponent - of course, how could I forget, sorry not to notice the similarity of the uniform, the darkness got in the way... but yes, I remember, Iron Fist, Orson Randall... another one of the links in the worst chain of society of the heroes

— You don't know what you're talking about, my father was, and still is, a great hero and...

— What a pity, so naive... you don't seem to know your old man well – Taskmaster says addressing the almost fainted hero near the wall – take this one for example; "Comanche", early thief, criminal, involved with Harlem gangs since before he came of age, but because he knows how to shoot some arrows and has a tracking Quirk he gets a role that says he's a "hero" ...

—... – Danny says nothing; he had studied that inmates with good behavior and who passed several psychological evaluations could receive a minor hero license, category C or D, but he had never seen it in practice, all the bureaucratic processes were very time consuming

— Where's the honor? Where is the true justice? These "heroes" try to run away from their past, they try to erase it, but it always arrives – he says nudging the hero with his foot – and besides, they couldn't even defeat me, they didn't pass the test, they didn't complete the training. . So I wiped them out, either partially or completely, but one thing I know, I rid this town of more rogue heroes than it could ever thank me for...

Either way, Danny stands his ground; he knew the only way out of there was to fight, he certainly wouldn't give up trying to defeat that man, because if he didn't, he couldn't be a hero, he couldn't be... the Iron Fist

Making a left turn in one of the buildings, Peter soon observes where the possible confrontation between machine and heroes took place. At one of the neighborhood's lighthouse intersections, police and firefighters had a few cars and trucks positioned at the entrance to one of the streets, and an orange glow and smoke rising was a sign of fire. While the loud scuffling noises were undoubtedly signs that the Sentinel was close.

Swinging with a web attached to a nearby pole, Peter descends a little in front of the barrier created by the police and firefighters, wondering why no one had called his attention, but soon remembering that he was wearing a mask; then that would be his real time to be a hero.

Peter pauses for a moment, and the flashbacks to the last time I had abandoned his mentor and put on a mask was the night Uncle Ben... Peter shakes his head, pushing those thoughts away, he was an MA student, that was his duty , he then goes in the direction of the confrontation.

Before approaching, the boy sees two large shapes trying to push each other, one Peter recognizes with some difficulty; even though he was a fan of heroes, he didn't follow the more specific heroes of each neighborhood in New York as much, but this guy he certainly knew. A man over seven feet tall, massively muscled, with gray, hairless skin, with a wide, toothy mouth, and a fin that ran from his head to the base of his neck, the undersea hero of Harlem." Tiger shark".

Unfortunately, his opponent was more recognizable to Peter. While not as large and menacing as the version that had attacked the S.P.E, the shape, coloring, and pattern were recognizable, a Sentinel. The two villains, the younger one and the red one, were supposed to be behind this too, Peter reasons, but why? There didn't seem to be any apparent motive, other than the attack on the S.P.E, where they planned to kill Iron Man, what were they doing?...

Unfortunately Peter didn't have time to think much; both the hero and the robot held each other's forearms, thus trying to take down their respective opponent. Tiger Shark seemed to have the upper hand, being slightly larger than the robot, but something soon changes.

The hero cries out in pain, seeing that the robot had pierced his arm with its fingertips, causing some blood to come out, but at that moment something happens. The robot's scales become smooth and gray, it grows to the hero's size, a small fin appears on its back, and together with the hero's own surprise it was enough for the robot to throw him backwards, making the hero cross a fence and slam his back into a brick wall.

As soon as this occurs, two heroes who were keeping slightly apart spring into action, one of them heading towards the half-fish hero and the other shooting the robot with a gun.

The one shooting looked like a woman due to the slight curves, as she wore a black uniform that covered her completely, from head to toe, with only the orange eyes of the mask and the weapon of the same color as something that stood out. She fired small energy shots at the robot from the weapon, but they seemed to bounce off the robot and hit other places; trees, buildings, on the ground, even though she was shooting in several different places. While the robot barely noticed, walking calmly towards Tiger Shark.

— Shades, do something! – The woman screams as she continues shooting at the machine

— Are you crazy Nighthawk? – the so-called "Shades", who helped Tiger Shark, answer, he was an Afro-descendant man, thin but athletic, with a shaved head and a goatee. He wore nothing but a coat, t-shirt, pants and sneakers, but what was out of place was that he was wearing sunglasses, at night – this thing mirrored my Quirk and caused all this fire, our best bet is the big guy... - he says pointing to the underwater hero who was slowly getting up

— Try to shoot right in the middle of the torso! – the woman informs him – by his position it should be enough to reflect directly to you, try to overheat him!

— I hope this works out or you're going to tell my son why his father didn't come home!

— Go now! – she says with the robot approaching the duo

— Oh shit. Here we go again… – he says, but soon he puts his right hand on the arm of the glasses, and soon two light circles can be seen in the lens and soon two beams of bright yellow energy are shot from the eyes by the lens. The two blasts, which seem to form one thing, meet in the creature's chest and really, it didn't reflect anywhere, it seemed to reflect forward, but it was caught by the main blast and formed this energy loop that slowed the robot a little, but not much – I won't last long, big guy!

Peter watches the robot approaching and then raises his fist to hit "Shades", with Tiger Shark almost standing, and it's there, at that moment, that Peter springs into action.

The boy launches two webs, which are fired by the launchers, connecting and turning one with an open end into a net shape, which sticks and wraps itself around the robot's raised fist. Peter then uses his strength and stops the machine's movement, planting his feet on the ground while holding the web with both hands, thus utilizing his strength to give the heroes a chance. The Sentinel then turns to look at Peter, and the boy just smiles at the robot as he messes up its attack.

And it was enough. Tiger Shark soon stands up, knocking Shades out of the way, who stops the blast. The big hero then lands a full hook on the Sentinel's jaw, which on impact breaks free from the web and staggers back. The hero was about to continue the attack, but turns around, and meets Peter with his eyes. The boy doesn't know what to do when he sees the hero's lack of happiness, but the same just sends him a thumbs up and goes to his fight, while Peter can't do more than lift a thumbs up back.

— Shang! – the boy soon hears Nighthawk yelling for an arriving hero, having passed the barrier

The hero in the case; the martial-artist hero, Shang-Chi, wearing his red and black attire and with five silver bracelets with orange sparkles on his right forearm.

— What's the situation? - he asks

— Todd has the robot under control - the heroine says referring to the Tiger Shark, who attacked his opponent mercilessly

— A robot that caused all this? – Shang asks

— Don't mention it, he just arrived and started attacking, we don't know anything anymore – she says – what we need now is to take care of the fires here while the firefighters can't get closer

— I got it! – Shang says and goes to a fire hydrant nearby.

The hero then releases his bracelets, which Peter knew were called "Rings", which float in the air, surrounding the hero in an orange glow. He then makes some movements with his arms and then quickly stretches them, launching the Rings towards the fire hydrant, locking them in a specific part, and rotating them, causing them to open the fire hydrant, releasing large amounts of water into the street. Shang then with other moves returns the Rings and releases them again, causing the five to form a kind of mill, rotating at high speed and positioning them near the water outlet, thus making Shang manage to direct the water jet towards the fires around.

Peter is impressed by all the teamwork and soon realizes that Shang was the one Danny was interning with, as Gwen had told him, but Peter couldn't see Danny anywhere. That didn't make sense for a few reasons; Danny must have been close to his mentor, and if Shang was here, then that was the closest "Sentinel" threat to where he was, meaning Danny hadn't left for a closer emergency unless...

— Damn it! – the penny soon falls to Peter, who runs a few meters, and launches a web on a pole, launching himself up and onto a building terrace. After "Landing" he takes his cell phone out of his pocket as he runs, and tries to call Danny - come on Danny, this is no time to be an old man and not know how to answer a smartphone...

As soon as his call goes to voicemail, Peter accesses a few other apps quickly while jumping from one building to another, for now aimlessly. For he knew, if Danny wasn't with Shang, that meant something "more important" had come his way, and only one thing was, to Danny at that moment, more important than Sentinels invading the neighborhood;

... Taskmaster.

Danny then, having a little moment of clarity of thought, without emotion distracting him, tries to come up with a strategy. His opponent appeared to be adept at various martial forms, and he was likely also able to parry and deflect his attacks as he had already fought, and defeated, Orson; since in the end, the eldest had taught Danny everything he knew, which made their fighting ways similar. So Danny thinks that he would have to use more complicated techniques, which Orson knew, but didn't use much, besides his superior agility due to his size.

Going on top of Taskmaster again, the boy starts with some predictable punches, which the opponent can easily block or dodge, but which Danny gradually increases speed, overloading the opponent's perception, distracting him so he can prepare a blow, that demanded focus, agility, strength and precision.

With a small window of opportunity, Danny braces himself, lowers his body in such a way that it surprises the villain, and rotates his body keeping his right leg tucked in, until it's in Taskmaster's direction, which soon happens, and the boy kicks the opponent's abdomen, combining strength, precision and speed in a powerful and risky blow. But Taskmaster, from his experience with fighting, is able to perceive what was happening moments before impact, which was enough to put his arm in front of the point that would be hit, which prevents him from breaking some ribs, but doesn't stop most of the blow, which makes him move a few meters away from the boy, given the sheer strength and agility applied by the boy.

— I must admit boy, I'm impressed… – Taskmaster says, still feeling the blow, but getting back to his feet – but now it's my turn.

For the first time in that fight, Taskmaster is the attacker, he's the one who goes for Danny, unlike the previous times where he just defended himself. He starts right away with several punches on Danny, who has to focus only on parrying and blocking, be they punches, kicks, elbows, both of which are healthy blurs of blows, with no time to think straight. Danny has to focus a lot on just blocking, given the speed of his opponent's punches, and in a small guard opening, he sees Taskmaster quickly flinching, bringing his right leg close to his body and rotating to give the boy a kick. , and all Danny can think of is; impossible.

Danny, not having time to react, takes the hit straight and completely to his chest. Sheer force sends him flying for a few meters before falling to the ground on his stomach. He feels short of breath, and when he can breathe again, he feels a twinge in his chest, which probably indicates at the very least a broken rib. But even with his physical state, it was his mental state that got Danny the most; he had been trying to use that technique for more than five years, Orson himself had taken three to master it, it was not possible that someone, having only seen this movement once, be able to recreate it with such precision. Unless...

— Your Quirk? -Danny asks breathlessly as he gets up.

— Look, you're so smart... - Taskmaster says as he gets into a fighting position, he didn't seem to want Danny to escape anymore - years of training for many, just seconds for me...

Danny knew at that moment, fight or flight was futile. The man in front of him had an innate power capable of copying moves, and the boy had no information other than that the man would be able to use whatever martial technique the boy used, thus giving him a single chance, his own Quirk.

The boy then starts to concentrate his chi in his fist, if he managed to land a single good blow, maybe using other techniques, even if he managed to copy them a hit with his charged fist should be enough to make him pass out . With that, he concentrates his life energy in his right fist, which started to glow with a golden yellow light, but unfortunately Taskmaster had deduced what it was.

The villain then throws a knife in Danny's direction, but the boy is fast enough, and, with his fist already energized, makes a quick movement to the side, deflecting and destroying the thrown blade, but what he didn't expect is that with the blade's distraction, a circular gray metal shield with an orange symbol slams into the wall on his left side and hits him squarely in the temple. Danny falls to the ground, having lost his concentration due to dizziness, his fist failing to glow and the shield having been thrown in such a way that it bounces right back into Taskmaster's hands.

— Do you think I'm an idiot boy? You started this confrontation with that glowing fist of yours, I knew it was something special, as part of your Quirk, the only thing of yours that I couldn't copy – Taskmaster says – but you've had me tired already boy, I've already given you enough chances, So I'll have to end you...

But before the mercenary begins to move towards Danny, a kind of sticky rope is attached to the side of his shield, having come from above, and soon the object is taken from his arm by someone who has pulled it, and a another rope is thrown into his hands, tying them together like a web...

Both then see a figure, who had jumped and grabbed the shield, doing some flips until he fell crouching with one hand supporting, while the other was with the shield, in a dumpster further into the alley; a boy wearing a red and blue outfit.

— Hey everyone – the boy says waving to Danny, Taskmaster and Comanche, still passed out – the landing could have been better is that the clothes are new, you know how it is right?

— Peter!? – Danny diz em um misto de felicidade, por ter apoio agora, e confusão de como Peter havia aparecido ali

— That's the name in my documents, yeah. Oh, what's up Danny? Did you think I'd let you face a villain alone? Come on... - Peter says in an amused way to his friend who smiles - but okay, now we're both going to face a villain now

— Another kid... Is there a costume party nearby by any chance? – Taskmaster asks without much patience – and what about this thing? Did it come out of you? – he asks trying to get rid of the web in his hands.

— I don't know, I wanted to ask you this – Peter says without fear – since I found this here, you must be a fake Captain America, right? Well, never mind, take it here!

Peter says this and throws the shield towards Taskmaster as hard as he can, which was already much greater given his Quirk. But without really knowing how to throw a shield and with Taskmaster knowing several maneuvers with the object, he extends his hands still trapped to grab the circular shield, in a way that it cuts a piece of the web, and he manages to free himself from it, and still stopping the shield between his arms so he wouldn't hit it. But Peter uses this opportunity, shooting a web at his mask, and pulling him to slam his forehead into the shield, hard.

With the web in his face and confusion from the blow, Peter jumps out of the dumpster, using the villain's head as support for a second jump that lands him close to Danny. The blonde had used that moment to check on the Comanche hero who was still on the ground, but apparently he had regained consciousness, even if slightly.

— How is he? – Peter asks, keeping his gaze fixed on Taskmaster

— Broken legs and arms, it's not the best, but he'll survive, he won't be able to help us either, unfortunately - Danny says after checking out the hero and positioning himself next to Peter, prepared for the continuation of that confrontation - how did you find me ?

— You know that lost cell phone function? – Peter asks, even though he knew the answer would be a 'no' from Danny – I put your phone number and it traced it to here.

— Got it... - Danny says next to his colleague and, again thinking more, he wanted to apologize. – Peter I wanted to...

— No need – Peter says, lifting his mask so Danny could look him face to face – it's ok, let's focus on finishing this guy, we can talk later.

— Okay... - Dany says turning to Taskmaster who was removing the web from his mask; he needed to inform Peter of everything he knew to get the maximum advantage in that fight - he seems to have a Quirk that makes him able to copy moves

— Analytical Mutant Quirk? – Peter ponders more with himself – Through visual stimuli?

— Yes... – after living in the same classroom with Peter for some time, Danny was used to it when he started talking in more detail about Quirks – he also seems to be able to store movements, he changes styles very quickly, must be from other people...

— That's why all equipment - Peter deduces - must be from other heroes' styles...

— Okay, I think you've already had the chat, right? – Taskmaster says, getting to his feet, with his shield in hand and removing an orange-bladed sword from its sheath – but now I have to take care of two brats, and that makes me angry...

— It's cool, I'm not a big fan of yours either - Peter says putting the mask back on his face and turning to Danny - I'll go on top and you go on the bottom?

Danny just nods and the two prepare for the confrontation. The blonde tried to think of a way to defeat the villain, but Peter had an ace up his sleeve; His cell phone was webbed high on one of the walls of the buildings that formed the alley. And he had recently triggered an alert on the M.A app that all students had for emergency contacts, all students and teachers had this app, so the kid just needed to delay the villain long enough until some professional arrived. Or anyone for that matter...

Some time ago, at a relative distance from the two child heroes, a group of professional heroes, who looked more like hooligans than symbols of justice, ride their motorcycles along Franklin D. Roosevelt Avenue, passing through the surroundings of Harlem, near the Harlem River. . All dressed in leather uniforms like a good motorcycle team, they were led by two people in two separate vehicles.

The first was none other than Johnny Blaze, hero number two, the Ghost Rider, on his all-black Harley Davidson Fat Boy. He wore his black spiked leather pattern, black jeans, and a silver chain across his torso.

The vehicle next to him was a black 1969 Dodge Charger, with the engine altered and out of the hood, being driven by MA student Roberto Reyes, who was wearing his hero uniform, his jacket with white straps zipped all the way to the top. .

Neither of them spoke much during the journey while they were side by side, but not that that was the will of at least one of them;

— I was pretty excited for this, ya know? This moment of ours... - Blaze starts to speak, but Reyes downshifts and accelerates the car to be a little further ahead of his father, so as not to hear what the older one has to say.

But the hero soon does the same and in a few seconds he is back at his son's side;

— Your flame training is very promising – he tries again – you will go back to school at a much higher level, I'm sure.

Still not wanting to hear it, Reyes rolls up his window and turns up the radio; it was playing Queen, so there were two positives.

Knowing that Reyes wouldn't pay attention, Blaze tries to start a subject that he was sure the boy would hear, until some explosions are heard in the distance, the entire team can observe, in the distance, smoke rising between the buildings of Harlem and the bright orange glow, which indicated fire, and possibly villains.

— Okay guys, everyone with me! – Johnny shouts to his companions, activating his Quirk and causing both his skull, his hands and the tires of his motorcycle to catch fire and accelerate towards the conflict

Reyes was close to accompanying him, already feeling the smoke coming out of his face and the flames taking over, until he hears a notification on his cell phone, he quickly sees him next to the handbrake, being able to observe that it was a notification from the M.A's app, and it was an SOS from Peter, a few miles from Reyes' location. The boy then looks ahead, soon noticing an approaching return, the boy makes a sudden turn, almost running over some of his father's colleagues and follows through the dark streets of Harlem, ignoring his father's call that is getting more and more lower and lower with increasing distance between them as he drove towards his embattled colleague.

For Peter and Danny the situation was unfortunately not very good; Danny has just received another blow that knocks him back, and Peter earns a smack in the face that takes him close to his companion to the ground, with a definitely broken nose and his skull vibrating, but neither of them has time to process anything because the mercenary was already attacking them again with his sword. Peter can feel his approach by the spider sensor, and lets go of a web, clinging to the wall and pulling himself to stick to it while Danny rolls to the side and then stands up in a more defensive position.

Peter knew why this wasn't working; he and Danny had completely different strategies. He just wanted to delay the villain, so he stayed further out of his reach, throwing webs and objects to delay him, while Danny tried to defeat him right there and then, then he got much closer to the villain, trying, with all his forces, land a good blow.

But that Quirk was, surprisingly, a problem for Peter. He thought Taskmaster could only copy fixed patterns of blows and movements, but he also seemed to easily understand them. Against Danny it was obviously the perfect Quirk, but for Peter, who didn't have very standard moves, and even if he did, he did in a way (using the webs and his ability to stick to walls) that were impossible for Taskmaster to copy, but just because Peter was now predictable was already a huge weakness.

The brunette knew he needed a plan, even with little time, someone should have already seen his S.O.S, so he just needed a little more time. And he had the perfect thing for it;

Seeing Danny take another whole string of shield blows, with Peter deducing they came from videos of Captain America, or even Captain Britain, Peter launches a web, which is reflected by the mercenary's sword. Well, reflected isn't the word, as the web sticks together, and with one more familiar move, Taskmaster grabs the web and pulls it, bringing Peter towards him. But he had also become predictable, he pulled Peter to try to hit him with the shield, but the boy already expected that, putting his hands and feet forward, he clings to the shield, quickly trapping two more webs on him and jumping across and above Taskmaster. Back on the ground, Peter begins to run, climb, circumvent Taskmaster as best he can, increasingly webbing out, which is a little harder now, but not impossible, until the villain is in a tightly held aunt cocoon. , similar to the one Peter had arrested Reyes at the Sports Festival.

With this rare opportunity, Peter goes to Danny, lifting him off the ground, he was already badly bruised, black eye, split lip, some cuts on his arms and legs, luckily, with his protection on his torso, no vital organs had been hit.

— I don't think we're on the same page... - Peter says helping his friend up

— I also think. – Danny says, wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve – go and try to get help, I'll hold him...

— Okay, first, stupid ideas are not accepted this time of night – Peter says looking at his friend after taking the mask off his face, showing his bruises and blood in his nose – second, you won't get rid of me so fast, third I already sent an SOS signal to the...

Peter's explanation is interrupted by the sound of something being thrown and the sound of glass breaking; even without much lighting, Peter can see his cell phone stuck in a web on top of one of the walls, but now with a knife stuck in it

— Oh, come on, it was a Christmas gift... - the boy says disappointed.

They then see an orange glow come out of Taskmaster's "cocoon", and he soon cuts through that barrier of webs with the glowing blade of his sword, having apparently managed to get one arm out first to throw the knife. He then emerges from the cocoon and faces the boys.

—Come on, evil butterfly, turned video game boss now? I just arrested you and you're out with something new - Peter says putting on the mask while Danny raises his fists

But unlike other times, he just looks at Peter and Danny and then at the cell phone and thinks for a moment, before sheathing the blade and turning to the boys.

— You guys aren't worth my time - he says taking some spheres from his pockets and throwing them on the ground, instantly creating a white smoke that completely covers him

Peter wastes no time, launching a web and securing it to an iron balcony with stairs, he launches himself until he is above the smoke, soon managing to see Taskmaster running away. Peter starts to approach, prepared to launch a web and catch the villain, until he hears the noise of a car approaching at high speed. Taskmaster seems to hear it too, as he pauses for a moment, pulling the bow out of his leg, opening it and fitting an arrow into it, pulling the string, and just as he does, a black car appears at the mouth of the alley and Taskmaster fires off. the arrow.

The arrow had a red light on the protruding tip and as soon as it hit the ground near the car, it exploded. The force of the blast causes the car to rise and then fall back to the ground, with black smoke starting to rise as the tires and outboard engine catch fire. But unlike a normal car, the fire does not spread or damage the car, the wheels and engine simply continue to burn. And from inside the car, a figure comes out wearing almost everything in black; sneakers, pants, gloves and a jacket, but the latter with white stripes. His tanned skin, fine features and black hair with a white tuft at the end bring recognition to the two boys furthest away. The boy appeared to have a cut on his forehead, as blood was running down the side of his face.

— If you've damaged the paint… – young Reyes says, with smoke billowing from his face and his eyes starting to glow like there's a fire inside – your situation is going to get worse than you can imagine. – The boy ends right before his skin and hair disintegrate, giving way to a flaming skull.