He's here. It's Iron Man! Peter thought as Hobgoblin turns away to see the newly arrived hero, "After all this time, the Man in the Can appears!!"
Peter took the momentary distraction to shoot his webs, wrapping up the Hobgoblin. "Hey! That's cheating!!" The villain yelled angrily. "Hacks!! I call hacks!!!"
A splash of web covers Hobgoblin's mouth. "Dude, shut up..." Said an exhausted Peter.
His wrists were raw and bloody, his muscles ached and he could barely stand. But for now, he had won. The next step was to get to Iron Man and warn him about the bomb.
Several thoughts were prowling through his mind, both the relief of seeing his teacher and idol arrive to help, as well as the dark thought that this was the goal of the villains and he might not leave here alive...
"Wow bro, it's Iron Man!" One of the criminals exclaimed, terrified at the prospect of facing the Golden Avenger. "I've never seen him in person!!"
"I didn't think he'd be so big..." Another one adds, equally terrified.
"This is no time to think about it!" Said another, trying to get them to focus. "If we hit him now he won't be able to-"
But before they could do anything, several explosions knock them back, as a red figure flew at insane speed in front of them. Mini-missiles launched from his shoulders at the villains he passed. When the dust settled, Iron Man is beside his fellow hero, checking his vital signs with the villains passed out further behind.
"This is all my fault..." He said, when he realized that his colleague's life was on the line. "I should've been here." Iron Man turned to Gwen and Kei, the students who had been monitoring their teacher's health.
"You two did good, thanks for keeping him safe," Iron Man aimed his fist at the sealed Entrance door and launched a small rocket from his arm. It explodes on impact, creating a larger opening.
"Now go, he doesn't have much time," the hero said, referring to the blind hero.
"Yes sir!" Kei and Gwen respond, the girl going to check again on the teacher and Kei scribbling furiously his notebook.
No, no, no, no, no, no... It wasn't supposed to go this way! The young villain thought, as he stared at the hero, struggling to move his arms. His armor's still fast, I didn't expect him to be this fast! But he's not as fast as before, so it looks like HIS theory was right... Iron Man really is getting weaker... Inching his restrained hand into his pouch, Hobgoblin obtained a syringe that he injected into himself. His eyes go wide and his body starts to shift.
"Ready!" Said Kei, pulling the drawn sheet and throwing it on the floor. From there a green flash comes out and a shape appears as if formed from pure air.
It was a bipedal creature, resembling a species of dragon man; two and a half meters tall, with green skin, feet and hands with blue claws, wings and yellow eyes. It turned to Kei, a soft rumbling growl comes from its mouth. It bends down to come face to face with its creator.
"Slizzik," Kei said, "We need you to take us to the exit, and carry this one to safety!" He pointed to the teacher. The monster nods, getting lower so Kei and Gwen could climb up on its back.
"All aboard!" Said Gwen, excitedly. Standing up, the creature gently picked up Daredevil in its hands, spread its wings, and heads toward the exit.
"Iron Man!!" Peter called, hurriedly limping his way over.
"Kid?" The hero turned, "Jeez, what happened!? You're-"
"No time!!" Peter interrupts, pointing with exhaustion at the Sentinel. "Robot! Bomb! Can you stop it!?"
Looking over, Iron Man zooms over to the Sentinel, with Peter giving chase. By the time he made it over, Iron Man had the Tinkerer held at repulser point, "How do I shut this thing off?"
"Y-you can't!" Tinkerer stuttered in fear. "Once it's rigged, it can't be shut down!"
"Well crap..." Iron Man looks at the bomb inside the robot, the counter is at 15 seconds.
The hero looks around, seeing all the people. Then he saw Peter, trying to get over and help however he can. With so little time left, there was only one option. "Stand back!!!" He warned, grabbing the bomb. "Friday, divert all power to thrusters, now!!!"
"I just did," replied the Irish A.I. The hero took off like a rocket, up and away through the hole in the ceiling he'd used to enter in the first place. Peter watched him disappear out of sight.
"Heh, not quite how I planned it to happen," said a voice. Peter turned back to see Hobgoblin, free from the webbing and ripping off the rest. "But I can live with Iron Man getting killed trying to save his students!"
He cackled maniacally as Peter angrily rushed back towards the villain. From behind Hobgoblin, Azazel appeared and pulled him back into the mist, vanishing from view, with Peter's punch hitting nothing but air.
"Damn it!!!" Peter yelled.
"Parker!!" The boy turned his head to see Flash and Amadeus running over. "What the hell just happened?"
"The villains rigged a bomb to blow up," Peter began. "But Iron Man flew it into the sky, and-"
Peter's rambling is cut off, however, by a tremendous BOOM!!! The boy's eyes widened beneath his mask, "Oh no..."
Amadeus immediately transformed into his larger, green form. "Grab on!" He said, holding out his arm. Peter jumped up and the green goliath bent his knees before jumping as high as he can.
They soared through the air, Peter screaming in near panic over how high and fast they're going. But as they neared the roof, their momentum began to slow. "We're not gonna make it!" Peter yelled.
"Oh yes, you are!" Called Amadeus, just as he came to a near stop in midair, he hurled Peter through the hole in the roof.
The boy quickly shot a web to the side, catching the top of the roof and pulling himself over. Peter caught his breath as he looked up into the sky. There was a huge cloud of smoke up high in the stratosphere, indications of an air burst. And flying away from it, was Iron Man.
Peter broke into a huge smile, waving with relief at the hero as he made his way towards the roof. But suddenly, something went very wrong. Smoke and sparks began to emit from from the armor. It seemed as if he was losing control.
"Uh, Friday? Status update?" Tony asked nervously.
"The majority of your stored power was used during the flight into the upper atmosphere," said Friday. "The safety protocols protecting you from the explosion has drained the rest. You are now running on emergency backup power."
Shit... He thought. Better get out of the way, kid. I'm coming in hot!!
Peter seemed to recognize the problem. He's lost power, he'll crash!!! The boy looked around frantically, trying to come up with a solution. The roof was dome shaped, save for the large hole Iron Man had created to enter and exit. He looked back up, the hero was doing what he could to slow his descent, but it wasn't much.
Thinking quickly, the boy began to shoot webs in every direction, connecting them all together in the middle. He was creating a sort of makeshift net, but he wasn't sure it would be enough. As if to emphasize that point, his webs stopped shooting out. Crap!! Peter thought, I'm out!?
He kept trying, but nothing except a few small spurts of blood shot from his wrists. What's worse, the boy was starting to feel dizzy. He'd shot a lot of webbing in a short amount of time. His wrists were raw and bloody. Nonononono!! What can I do!?
"I like the way you think, young man!" Said a voice. Peter turned quickly and the sight nearly made his jaw drop. Fully assembled was a majority of the teaching staff of Pro Heroes, lead by their Principal. "But it looks like you've worn out your Quirk. Why not let us take over? Viz!"
"Yes sir!" Said the Android, flying up at top speed towards the falling Iron Man.
Jarvis Shade, Hero Name: Vision. Quirk; Density Manipulation. The first and only A.I. to develop a quirk, he's able to alter the density of his molecules to phase through matter and even fly.
"He should be able to slow him down, but it won't be enough," the old man continued. "So let's give them some cushioning!"
The old man removed his glasses and looked around. He closed his eyes, as if deep in concentration, and raised his arms above his head. All of a sudden, 8 steel pillars emerge from the ground, rising up high and connecting as if to form a leaning, round tower. "Excelsior!" He exclaimed triumphantly.
M.A. Principle Stan Lee. Quirk; True Believer. He can briefly manifest inanimate objects or concepts that he imagines into reality. The more complex the idea, the greater the willpower needed to make it real.
A certain hero in purple drew back his bow, aiming an arrow at the middle of the space between the pillars. "This should cover a bit of space!" He said, releasing the bowstring.
Clint Barton, Hero Name: Hawkeye. Quirk; Target. This gives him pinpoint accuracy over any projectile shot or thrown by him, within his physical limits of course.
Hawkeye's arrow zipped up high, activating 3 seconds later. Cable netting shot out into the pillars and over the roof, zig-zagging and creating a sturdy, durable netting.
Up in the armor, Tony struggled to regain control. Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind. "Tony! If you can hear me, with whatever power you have left, aim for the EDR. We'll catch you!!" Recognizing the voice, Tony used a quick burst of his repulsors to redirect his trajectory. At that moment, Vision flew into his path, attempting to slow him down. Back down below, a woman in white pressed her fingers to her temple. "He knows the plan, get ready," she said.
Emma Frost. Quirk; Diamond Mind. In addition to being a powerful telepath, she can turn her entire body into impenetrable diamond for brief moments of time.
"I will catch him," said Mr. Rasputin, getting into position and activating his Quirk. Immediately, his body turns to metal, glistening in the sun, "We have one shot at this."
Piotr Rasputin, Hero Name: Colossus. Quirk; Metal Body. His entire body is protected by a layer of metal, giving him enhanced strength and durability.
Iron Man fell into the net, with Vision still trying to slow his momentum. While he does slow further, he easily rips through the netting and towards Colossus. From behind the metal man, Emma Frost shifts into her diamond form, ready to help brace her colleague against the impact.
Deadpool also gets behind the duo, "Thought I'd make this into a threesome," he said.
"What!?" Exclaimed Colossus, not expecting him. "No, Wade! You might get-"
But his words are cut off as Colossus and Emma take the impact of catching Iron Man. The force shoves them back across the roof, their feet creating drag trails in the metal roof. They were heading for the hole in the roof, the last barrier being Peter's flimsy web.
With no other option, Peter rushed at the teachers, and through intense pain, shot one last stand of web that connects to Iron Man's back. He's dragged along with the hero, but does his best to pull back and lend his strength.
"Come on, come on!!" The boy yelled in frustration, digging his heels in. Emma pushed and Colossus strained until finally, the group came to a stop. Peter released his web, completely exhausted and collapsed on all fours.
Colossus gently sets down the armored suit, still smoking in different parts. "Tony? Can you hear me?" He asked.
"I'd better call Claire up here," said Emma, touching her temple again.
"Better not," said Tony, through his mask. "She hates having to deal with me." Relief spread on the faces of the heroes, their comrade was still in one piece. At that moment, the armor deactivates and Tony Stark lay on the ground. He coughed up a slight bit of blood before trying to stand back up.
"Easy Tony." Hawkeye helped him regain his balance, "We've got you."
"That was some great teamwork," said Principal Lee.
"How're the students?" Asked Tony.
"Everyone is safe," Emma replied. "The rest of the staff is down below with them. But most of the villains are gone, one of them was a teleporter."
"I think they called him 'Azazel'," said Peter, limping over. "He was the Number 2 of that Goblin guy."
"This young man made quite the effort to save you," the Principal acknowledged the boy, patting his shoulder. "I'm grateful for your hard work. You and your classmates are a truly inspiring bunch, and I look forward to seeing how far you develop."
Peter grinned tiredly at the old man, "Thanks, I'm just glad I could do something."
"C'mon, let's get you below. Those arms look like they could use Ms. Temple's Quirk," noted Mr. Lee,. "And I'm sure the rest of Class 1-A would like to know how the Number One Hero is doing."
The boy looked back at his mentor, still supported by Hawkeye. He gives a wink and a thumbs up, and Peter smiled with relief.
"Yay... Everything's all fine and dandy," said a pained voice. "Don't suppose one of you with super strength can maybe get this off me?"
Everyone turned in the direction of the voice. It was Deadpool, he'd been knocked aside when Iron Man made impact. The force of it smashed him into one of the steel pillars, which broke and fell on top of him. Suffice to say, he wasn't in great shape.
Peter's eyes widened at the sight of the mangled teacher, "Oh my God!!! Are you ok!?"
"Not to worry, young Protag," said the Merc with a Mouth, groaning slightly. "My body's... made to withstand this kind of damage." He turns towards the reader, "Ok, weird narrator voice: do your thing..."
Wade Wilson, Hero Name: Deadpool. Quirk; Regeneration. His body can recover from any injury, no matter how severe. However, it can have a dangerous effect on his brain chemistry if he tries to heal too much at once.
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Barber's Chair
• So obviously without the Sentinel active, I needed some way to force Iron Man into exerting himself. And I was reminded of the ending of the Avengers when he took a nuke and threw it into a wormhole at top speed. Having it explode in his face would've certainly caused a bit of damage.
• Our teaching staff in action!! And yes, I gave Hawkeye a targeting Quirk. However the way I see it, it just shows him where to shoot. It's up to the man himself to be in the right shape/condition to use it effectively.
• Of course, I had to give Stan the Man a Quirk. And I came up with this one kinda on the fly. Given the creativity of his real life counterpart, I figured something related to that would he fitting. It works kind of like a Green Lantern ring where he's limited by his imagination, although he uses his brain to create the constructs.
