"Okay…meetings scheduled. Meeting with the Tinkerer at the Trinity Church. Hopefully we can talk them out of their plan." Izuku said.
"I hope so, too. This whole thing is getting too risky. I can't help but feel we're walking into some sort of trap." David said.
"Trap? But the Tinkerer isn't going to hurt Miles, right?" Kaito asked.
"I wasn't talking about the Tinkerer. Call me paranoid, but… There might be people looking to take advantage of her." David said. "We've already seen what she and her men are capable of."
"But we haven't told a soul about this meeting and neither has Miles. I don't think anyone will find out." Kaminari said.
"I don't know… This girl that Connor keeps talking about… I can't get a good read of her or what she's about. She was able to rig the Lenegis' Battle Simulator to having us face all of the Renan Lords in succession, after all." David said.
"A…girl? Was she small, red, kinda glitchy?" Sonic said.
"That's the one." Miu said.
"How did you know?" Ace asked.
"Cause she's been following me around too during my runs. Saying to keep my nose outta this business." Sonic said.
"That's what she keeps telling us too. She never tells us why, nor does she act like she has any intention to." Sachiko said. "Even saying that we're the ones being unreasonable. Sounds kind of condescending, if you ask us."
"And she didn't start appearing till after Connor's little stunt on the Starfall Islands…" Aelita said.
"Only because the Universal Villains were there." Al said.
"That still doesn't justify all of this, Al. If it was just Connor, there would be no need for her to follow us." Sachiko said.
"Yeah…it's like she…knows us somehow." Pit said.
"You think she's connected to the Universal Villains in some way?" X asked.
"It's too early to assume such a thing, X." Fulgore said. "Even if she was, she never attacked us directly. That kind of behavior is strange. Think back at the Battle Simulator and all of those Red Gates we went through. If she really was intent on hurting us, she would've either destroyed the Simulator with us in it, or dispelled the Red Gates while we were in the Astral Plane to keep us from returning to the real world."
"All of those sound like things the Universal Villains would do. Which means they are not directly involved in this." David said. "Though, if what Connor said was true, they did get caught up in it somehow."
"David's got a point. I saw Eggman on Kronos Island, he was trying to steal technology and info from the Ancients. What happened there was the result of this conversion blast. Believe me, I tried to stop it." Connor said.
"Look…we can hash this out later. Right now, the meeting comes first." Izuku said. "We need to stop Phin's plans before we're past the point of no return."
"Right, the meeting at Trinity Church to try and talk her out of this. It won't be easy." Kendo said.
And so, Heights Alliance along with Miles went and waited at Trinity Church where Phin was waiting.
"Hell of a way to tell me you're Spider-Man. I could have killed you!" Phin said.
"You want me to feel bad because you almost killed me?" Miles asked.
"I want you to stop lying to me!" Phin said. "I let you in the Underground because I thought you understood."
"I do understand, and so do they." Miles said. "What Krieger did to Rick… Roxxon needs to pay. Not like this."
"This is the only way I can beat him. I need you and your friends to look the other way. Please." Phin said.
"Look…we understand where you're coming from, but you'll just end up getting innocent people hurt." Izuku said.
"I'm only destroying Roxxon Plaza. I'm not stupid enough to get innocents killed, Krieger would spin it in his favor if I did." Phin said.
"Look…can we…" Miles said as he sensed something. "What the? Oh, not now!" he said as something large dropped down before the group.
"Hello….tiny heroes." they said as they soon saw it was Rhino in a new red armor.
"Rhino?!" Izuku said.
"I thought Roxxon was holding him for the police!" Kaibara said.
"Apparently not, look at his armor!" Kendo said as Rhino's new red armor had the Roxxon logo on it.
"We need to…" Shiozaki said before she was shocked from behind.
"Shiozaki!" Kendo said as the students were being hit one by one by Roxxon security.
It wasn't long before Miles, Phin and all of Heights Alliance were captured by Roxxon. Hidden on a rooftop was Lei as she watched the whole scene. "We've been had."
Later…
"Dammit, we can't just sit here while Roxxons got everybody. We gotta rescue 'em!" Akane said.
"Even if we use their trackers to find their location, don't you think Roxxon is keeping them in a very secret facility? We might not even know where in Manhattan it is." Hope said.
"For once, Hope is right. Plus if we attack Roxxon as they are now, we'll end up looking like the bad guys in that scenario." Aelita said.
"So, we just sit tight and hope they bust themselves out?" Flamberge asked.
"Well, they're more than capable of doing so." David said. "Besides…they took Miles with them."
"Yeah…though…I doubt Roxxon will be their only concern right now." Piccolo said.
"Gotta say, I'm disappointed, bud."
Miles slowly regained consciousness as he found himself strapped to a chair inside a bare room, finding himself face-to-face with Simon Krieger.
"See, Ms. Mason… I kinda knew she was gonna be a handful. But you and your friends…?" Krieger trailed off. "I was hoping we all could see eye to eye."
"Eye to eye? You're trying to pass off a poisonous energy as safe." Yaoyorozu said, she and the other Heights Alliance members imprisoned as well.
"I'm sorry, was I talking to you?" Krieger asked, before turning his attention back to Miles. "You should feel lucky, you know. You're all behind the curtain. This, is our most secure facility. In here, the sausage gets made."
"You're a real prick, you know that?" Phin asked, also being there.
"Y'know, when her brother and I were developing Nuform-" Krieger said.
"Please, all you ever did was put your name on the papers." Phin said. "Mason said the only thing you knew how to do was sell other people's ideas."
"Yeah, well at least I still have a pulse, babe!" Krieger snapped at her.
A voice cleared their throat, getting their attention, seeing a teenage boy with sharp eyes leaning in the room. "You say something like that again, I'll break your arm." they said evenly.
Kreiger composed himself. "Y'know what? Akira here's right, let's not dwell." he said as he reset his chair. "So kids, here's the deal. The first thing I'm gonna do is… I'm gonna take your Spider-Man's replacement mask off. And then I'm gonna find out what makes all of you tick. Because, you all are the next wave of heroes. And you know what that means? You're all made of money."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Setsuna asked.
"Well, I've never had the chance to research Quirks yet, have I?" Krieger said. "Kid Arachnid on his own smelled like next level bioengineering already. But all of you? You're the real money makers. I'll take you all apart, mass produce your Quirks and make a nice little profit in weaponry and security."
"But that would require a dissection, wouldn't it?" Mineta asked.
"And your point?" Krieger replied.
"Uh…nothing." Mineta said, looking rather frightened.
"Okay, I'm gonna hit the gym. Leg day, can't skip it." Krieger said as he proceeded to leave the room with Akira. "Get her to tell us where my Nuform is, can't really open the plaza without it. Oh, and use them." he said as they and Rhino exited the room, two Roxxon guards coming in and activating their stun batons.
"Time to finish what we started on the bridge." one of them said.
"Seaweed boy's smoke ain't gonna save you this time." the other one said.
"No, it probably won't." Izuku said as the guards started beating on Miles before he let out a burst of Venom that took out the guards and freed the group. "But that will."
"Are you okay? They were gonna kill you." Phin said as she helped Miles up.
"I'm fine. Don't worry. We need to get out of here." Miles said.
"He's right. The others likely can't locate this facility even with a comm track. It's up to us to get out of here." Kendo said.
Phin hacked the door to their cell as they made their way out.
"Roxxon kept Rhino instead of giving him to the police. That's crazy." Miles said.
"Nothing about them surprises me anymore. Not even the part where they hired freaks like that guy with Krieger." Phin said.
"Yeah… who was he?" Miles asked.
"No idea, except his name's Akira Fudo." Phin said. "I have a weird feeling about him. It's like looking at Thor, you get the feeling that they're not exactly human."
"Hmm…if he's not human…he might be one of the operatives from Dark Hell." Yaoyorozu said. "They and Dark Future are the only ones we haven't run into yet."
"Dark Hell?" Phin asked.
"It's based in the Demon Universe, filled with demons. Though from what I heard, they've been having troubles lately." Izuku said. "Someone's been attacking some of their lower side businesses and slaying a lot of their grunts. Demons and humans affiliated with Dark Hell."
"Oh yeah…that chainsaw freak." Kaminari said.
"Chainsaw freak?" Miles asked.
"Sheer told me about him. He's a Devil, something stronger than demons, even the demon lords. He's the one devil they all fear, even if they've never met. He's better known as…the Chainsaw Devil." Izuku said. "No one knows who he really is or how he keeps from being found out. But from what I've seen, he's crazy. I think we'd both be relieved if we never ran into him."
"I know, right? I mean, David has been cleaning the streets of demons for as long as he can remember, but even his methods aren't usually so…" Setsuna said.
"Bloody?" Eijiro said.
"Yeah, that's one way to say it." Setsuna said.
"Still, that Akira guy, he's dangerous, I can tell. We'd better get out of here and hope we don't run into him, or any Dark Garden guys." Phin said. "It was bad enough dealing with Michael Jackson back from the dead."
"Clearly these guys have attained a lot of advanced methods and tech just from avoiding conflict with us." Yaoyorozu said. "Though…they don't seem like real bad guys."
"Yeah. I mean…Dark Temple, Dark Forest…even Nathan, they all just wanted to live their lives." Izuku said.
"I guess it just depends on their stance on the current situation." Jurota said. "They could be allies or enemies depending on such, and it's almost never personal. At least for them."
"Yeah…but that can't be said for all of them. In a diverse situation like that, personalities and interests always seem to clash." Iida said.
"Wouldn't be a surprise if there is infighting at times if that's the case." Sero said. "I mean, this is an organization with a branch for each Universe in existence."
"I'm just hoping it doesn't lead to anything…" Izuku said before stopping. "Shh…I hear someone coming."
The group hid as Krieger, Rhino and Akira were walking by.
"I can't let them go until I have my Nuform." Kreiger was heard.
"They shouldn't even be here. Your muscle was only supposed to grab the girl." a voice said as they saw Prowler along with Sage and a robotic being with them.
"Yeah well…the plan changed." Krieger said.
"This is not what you were to…" Sage said.
"Okay, I don't need a talk from some talking bits of ones and zeros." Krieger said. "Or a bucket of bolts."
"Watch what you say about Xavier, Kreiger." Akira said.
"No, it is fine, Akira. I know my place." the now named Xavier said. "That being said…we at Dark Garden are hesitant about this. If the rest of the Hero Alliance discovers this location, they-"
"They'll what, attack? Get labeled as terrorists?" Krieger asked. "I'm not as pathetic as the losers you guys had. I'm not like those losers in the Universal Villains."
"Do not speak that way about them!" Sage said.
"Wait.. data girl's with the Universal Villains?" Miles whispered.
"Ooh, touched a nerve, did I? Y'know, for an AI, you sure have a lotta feelings about who made you." Krieger said.
"And that is worth mocking to you?" Xavier asked.
"Actually, yes." Krieger said. "It's funny. It's hilarious that you think you could ever be anything more than a weapon for them to exploit. People like that-"
"You mean people like you." Akira spoke up.
"I'd watch it, bud. You know, you only took this job just to get away from that maniac tearing up your branch, right?" Krieger asked.
"That has nothing to do with that, I could care less." Akira said. "I'm here as a favor to Ich- Kuroshiki. And you still need to fulfill the first half of your end of the agreement."
"Right… the six of you work for me, I give you the info on that little hunt you're on." Krieger said. "Here's the deal, buddies. I-"
"Actually, let me stop you right there." Akira interrupted. "I think you need a little reminder: you are standing in a room with five individuals who are stronger than you, and who you have, in one way or another, pissed off or have screwed over. So, let me be clear."
Akira then got into Krieger's face, his eyes blackening dangerously.
"Info now. Nuform later." he said.
"...I'm going to make a quick detour to my office." Krieger said, his strained tone betraying his fear. "Rhino, go see our prisoners, I'll catch up." he said before he left the room.
"You didn't need to do that. Kuroshiki won't be happy." Xavier said.
"I know. The guy just pissed me off with that pulse comment earlier." Akira said.
"I am also to blame. I don't know what came over me. I'm only trying to keep them out of the way…to keep father safe." Sage said.
"Father…?" Miles asked.
"Akira. You realize that we must make sure our job is done before we ask of Kreiger the information." Xavier said. "If the heroes escape, we do not get what we require."
"Which is partially why I did that." Akira shrugged. "We just have to keep them from escaping until he transfers the data. Then we can leave Simon to the wolves."
"Yes, well… we would not have captured them if it was not for your info." Xavier said, looking to Prowler. "More specifically, the info you gave that was correctly calculated by her." he then looked to Sage.
Akira sighed. "Let's just check up on those brats and make sure we get what we came for." he said as all of them headed back to the cell block as the heroes went underneath them.
"Uncle Aaron and your mystery AI girl…They sold us out." Miles said.
"Wait…you know those guys…are they the reason we got caught? Cause you told them?" Phin said. "Ugh…can't believe I trusted you."
"No, it wasn't me!" Miles countered. "You heard what that robot guy said, he got the intel from that girl. I didn't think they'd…"
"Let's just focus on getting out of here…then we can never talk to each other again." Phin said.
"We'd better hurry. The minute they find out we're gone, they're gonna lock this whole place down." Kaibara said.
The group continued down the facility, but it wasn't long after they got out from under the hallway that a lockdown was triggered. They were able to bust their way into a control room so Phin could open their way out, but soon Roxxon Security guards came into the room, some of them wearing advanced tech goggles.
"Company!" Kaibara said.
"Looks like they found out we left. Better take care of 'em." Miles said as some of the group headed outside to restrain the group.
"Those goggles can detect heat signatures." Phin noted. "They'll see Miles if he tried to go invisible."
"That might also go double for Tsu's natural camouflage and Hagakure's 24/7 invisibility… gotta stay clear of them and take them down first." Miles said.
The heroes spread out as they swiftly took on the Roxxon guards as they made their way towards the newly opened door into a vast plaza, Miles recovering Phin's gear along the way.
"Okay…the exit shouldn't be…" Izuku said, looking to a nearby room. "What's that?"
"Krieger's lab." Phin said.
"That idiot has a lab?" Eijiro asked.
"Mostly for show though." Phin said.
"Hey guys, look at this!" Hagakure said as she was checking out a computer. "All the Nuform project data is on here! Toxicity reports, failed safety reviews… if we get this out to the public, Krieger's ruined!"
"This could also be the definitive proof we need to show Dark Garden. Once they see this, they're bound to turn on him as well." Shoji said.
"We don't have to destroy anything. This can easily ruin him." Mina said.
Suddenly, Miles' Spider-Sense went off. "Crap!" he said as Rhino came charging through as everyone evaded him. Miles mounted Rhino and tried to shock him with his Venom, but it didn't conduct as Rhino threw Miles off his back.
"You like my new color? Immune to your little… Zappy pops." Rhino said.
"Zappy… pops? C'mon, man…" Miles said as Akira and Xavier followed Rhino from behind.
"You damn brats should've stayed in your cells for five more minutes like good boys and girls. How're we supposed to con Kreiger outta the info we need if you all don't stay put?!" Akira shouted in annoyance.
"Not our problem." Bakugo said.
"Unfortunately…I think Akira intends to make it your problem." Xavier said.
"Grrr…" Akira growled as he took on a more monstrous form. Bat like wings and a more muscular frame.
"That body and face…you…You're Devilman!" Izuku said.
"Just a devil, now." Akira growled. "That name means nothing to me anymore."
"But you're supposed to be a hero." Izuku said.
"Yeah? Well, newsflash: it caused things to go to hell and beyond." Akira said. "You don't need to know the details. Let's just get this crap done with."
"Indeed. Now… we FINISH THIS!" Rhino declared as he, Akira and Xavier charged.
(Cue: Devilman no Uta - Kensuke Ushio)
Rampaging Roxxon Asset
Red Rhino
Dark Garden Members
Xavier & Akira Fudo
Rhino and Akira nearly punched the living daylights out of Miles before Tinkerer intervened, blocking both with her shield and pushing them back as multiple Roxxon Security officers came to back them up, along with thugs from Dark Hell and Dark Future.
"Well, we just threw ourselves into a massive hornet's nest, didn't we?" Iida said.
"Just focus on Rhino, Akira and Xavier! I've got their…" Tinkerer said as she was blindsided by one of the grunts.
"They are all problems, not just the three big bosses." Eijiro said.
"Phin Mason…allow us to reunite you with your sibling…and usher you both to Hell." a Dark Hell grunt said, drawing a black knife.
"No!" Izuku said.
As they were about to deal the blow, the group stopped as they heard a sort of revving.
"What? No, could it be…?" Xavier said as they saw a blade piercing through the wall as part of it was taken down.
"Hahahaha. Well well…you got quite the party down here, don't ya….Dark Hell?" a voice laughed as a figure stood there. A chainsaw taking up their head with two coming from their arms.
"No! Not the Chainsaw Devil!" one Dark Hell thug yelled.
"What the Hell?! How'd he find us?!" Akira said.
"Wasn't easy. I had to go through a lot of your guys before one of them finally told me you were working for some company." he said. "So…you're the Devilman huh? Ain't this a blast? Chainsaw Man vs Devilman…and when I cut you up…you'll tell me…where to find the Anti Christ!" he said, lunging right at Akira.
"Don't call me Devilman!" Akira roared in anger, his fists clashing with Chainsaw Man's blades.
"So that's Chainsaw Man? I dunno what he's doing here, but it looks like he's on our side!" Miles said, knocking down some Roxxon grunts.
"Looks like he's only focused on Dark Hell right now. That's a good thing." Todoroki said.
"While he's doing that, we'll focus on Rhino and Xavier, as well as their backup." Kendo said. "Miles can't use his Venom on him while he has his new armor on. We'll have to break it off first."
"I know just how." Izuku said, looking at some of the charged debris as he picked some up and hurled it into Rhino, breaking off part of his armor.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves!" Xavier said, firing a laser blast as Eijiro went and blocked it.
"Not…gonna happen." Eijiro said.
"Hey, does anybody feel like we know this guy from somewhere?" Setsuna asked.
"What? I think we'd know a robot working with Dark Future." Kaminari said.
"(So they do not recognize me yet… good. I don't want to be their enemy again.)" Xavier thought as he continued to fire his laser blasts at them. "You can simply call me Xavier." he said.
"Well they'll be calling you scrap cause we're gonna blow you up into that!" Bakugo said.
As the group fought Xavier and continued to break down Rhino's Roxxon armor, Chainsaw Man and Akira continued to clash, Akira's Dark Hell backup getting ripped apart in the process as the walls and floor were stained with blood.
"Lemme just say for the record, I didn't want anything to do with you, you psycho!" Akira said, punching the devil in the face. "I don't know what you want with an Antichrist, and I don't care. Just leave me and my guys alone!"
"Oh…well that's easy. I'm gonna kill the guy. And you guys are all his underlings. So I gotta cut through all of you before I can get to him." the devil said.
"(If he's talking about Mr. Woodhouse…!) Like hell you will!" Akira yelled as he grabbed the devil, slammed him onto the wall, dragged him across it, and then slammed him into a nearby tank, causing it to explode, leaving behind an engine Miles charged up with Venom.
"Need this, thanks!" Miles said before throwing it at Rhino to stun him so he could break off some more of his armor.
"Dude…what the hell…you think you can just toss a guy into a tank? Seriously messed up." the devil said as he got up.
"A tank blew up in his face, and he's fine?!" Phin asked as she whacked some thugs aside.
"Devils are pretty powerful depending on how many fear them. And the Chainsaw Devil is feared by a lot of demons and devils alike. Plus, devils like him can regenerate by drinking blood." Izuku said.
"Don't think you'll be getting away with that!" the devil said, lunging at Akira before going and biting right into his shoulder.
"AAAAAGH! God-DAMMMIT!" Akira cried as he nailed Chainsaw Man in the gut to break the bite. "Son of a…mother…! Screw it!" he yelled as he fired a heat beam at the devil, one which traveled across the room.
"I got you now, Spider-!" a Roxxon agent holding a stun baton started to yell before Akira's attack hit him, killing the soldier.
"Dude…okay, that move is banned, starting now." the devil said.
"...Yeah, you're right. Sorry, lost my temper." Akira apologized.
"Huh…didn't expect you to-" the devil started before he was hit by Akira's tail, sending him flying across the room. "Oh you are seriously asking for it!" he said as he jumped at Akira before swinging his arm down, cutting off Akira's tail. "Heads I win, tails you lose!"
"Then I'll make it land on its side!" Akira yelled as he grabbed the devil by the leg and began smashing him against the floor.
"Ugh…not good…starting to black out. Sorry…but you're gonna lose your fingers if you don't let go!" he called out as a chainsaw grew from his leg, cutting into Akira's hand.
"Akira! Disengage, now!" Xavier said.
"F***!" Akira yelled as he dropped the devil and clutched his hand. "What the hell was that?"
"I'm called the Chainsaw Devil for a reason. Shouldn't have gone for the legs, sucka!" he laughed.
"Akira, if you continue to battle the Chainsaw Devil you will surely lose our life. We must leave!" Xavier said.
"...Damn." Akira growled. "This ain't over, freak. Guys, bail!" he called to the remaining Dark Garden members, as they all quickly took their leave.
"Hey…get back here! Ugh…crap…that took a lot more outta me than I thought. Gotta bail too and recover." the devil said before leaving in the opposite direction.
"Good…now all we have left is Rhino." Izuku said.
"Rar!" Rhino cried as he charged as more and more of his armor was being broken off. Soon enough, with one good hit from Kendo, Rhino's defense was gone.
"His armor's gone! Now your venom can work, Miles!" Kendo said.
"Thanks! I'll take it from here!" Miles said as he Venom Punched Rhino and repeatedly took him down until he finally had enough.
(End song)
"Make sure he doesn't do anything. We'll be right back." Miles told Tinkerer as they went back to Kriegers lab to download the data that will expose the truth.
"You know…" Rhino said to Tinkerer. "Krieger told me how your brother died. Very amusing."
"Shut up…" Phin said.
Rhino chuckled. "He also told me: it was your fault."
While this went on, the group scraped through Krieger's info and gathered everything harmful to Roxxon.
"Huh…so that's it. Krieger went and supercharged the reactor to meet his deadline." Miles said.
"Wait…if Phin goes through with her plan…" Yui said as they saw the projected explosion reaching far beyond Roxxon Plaza and to taking out all of Harlem.
"Oh my god… Harlem would be vaporized, and Phin wouldn't even realize it." Kendo said.
"Hmm…" Izuku pondered as he downloaded the specs onto his phone before sending it to an address found on the console.
"What are you doing?" Miles asked.
"Just enlightening someone who needs it." Izuku said before they heard screams as they saw Phin driving her sword into Rhino.
"No!" Miles said as he tackled Phin outside into the subway systems as everyone followed. "Phin, what the hell were you–"
He didn't have any time to say anymore as Tinkerer started knocking him around.
"You and your friends screwed up the BRIDGE. Destroyed my LAB. Got me captured…just leave me the hell alone!" Phin said before taking off.
"But…we're…family…" Miles said.
"My family is dead." Phin said as she soon left into the darkness.
"Miles…hang tight…we'll get you help." Izuku said as they started to carry Miles out.
Meanwhile in the tunnels…
"Ugh…damn bastard. Didn't realize he could make those blades pop out of his legs too." Akira growled as Xavier treated the wounds.
"We did not expect the Chainsaw Devil to be here. Thankfully he is in no shape to pursue us, however…" Xavier said. "Our momentum to receive our info is lost. We'll need a new-"
Their communicators began to ring.
"Oh hey, it's Kuroshiki." Akira said, both of them taking the call. "Yo, what's up?"
"We're changing the plan. We will no longer be working with Roxxon." they said.
"Is this about what just happened? I'm sorry, but he came outta nowhere and…" Akira started to apologize.
"This isn't about the Chainsaw Devil. Krieger's little reactor has the capacity to take out a huge chunk of New York." they said. "The Heights Alliance was right about Nuform. We need to take Krieger down. Get back to base, get healed up…then we're approaching the alliance and making things right."
"Understood. We'll see you back at base." Xavier said as the call ended. "Can you walk, Akira?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm starting to heal back up on my own." Akira said, standing up. "Let's go. I'm dying to see the look on Krieger's face when he realizes how badly he's screwed."