"Welcome to Hero News Network, keeping you up to date in everything hero," a female reporter on the street said. "Today, it seems everyone has one name on their minds: Toxin."
An image transitioned into view, showing a less than high quality photo of the vigilante in his battle with the Sludge Villain.
"This masked individual exploded onto the scene in the city of Musutafu, diving into a raging inferno to save two children while fighting a rampaging villain. However, after the arrival of All Might onto the scene and subsequent defeat and arrest of the villain, this masked individual seemingly disappeared. Many eyewitnesses were noted to be so impressed by his skill with his Quirk, they automatically assumed that this was the debut of a new Pro Hero. However, this proved to not be the case, as the Hero Public Safety Commission put out a statement in the afternoon labelling this individual as a vigilante."
It cuts to a recording of the HPSC president. She is on a podium surrounded by microphones.
"This individual, who has been identified as Toxin, is not an officially licensed hero," the president explained. "He has no record in any Hero schools, agencies, or any government database. This man is not affiliated with the Hero Public Safety Committee in any way, shape, or form. Toxin is a dangerous vigilante, and we advise all citizens to avoid this individual if encountered and contact your local Hero and police force."
The image switched back to the reporter.
"After this, it seemed like Toxin disappeared." The reporter continued. "Despite some eyewitness reporting seeing or being rescued by the vigilante involving minor crimes, Toxin appeared to have gone into hiding. Until late this afternoon."
The screen changes to a recording of Toxin fighting against Dreadnought.
"This Tuesday afternoon, the vigilante Toxin appeared and defeated the B-rank Villain, Dreadnought. Police and Heroes arrived on the scene to a defeated Villain and a fleeing vigilante."
Once again, the image changes to the reporter.
"Even now, more and more reports of the vigilante interfering with crimes and Hero work have come flooding in. But what do the ordinary people of Musutafu think of their new vigilante?"
A montage of interviews with people on the street reveal their feelings of this rising vigilante.
"I don't understand why he has to be a vigilante?" A salaryman said. "Why can't he get a license like the rest of the Heroes?"
"He seems like such a nice, young man," answered a small, elderly woman. "I was shocked to hear that he was one of those awful vigilantes!"
"I saw him once. I did!" A young man with wild blue hair answer. "He was making a nest under the Westend Bridge. I'm serious!"
"He kinda has this alien look going on with him," a teen girl answered. "I think it looks hot."
"I don't know, but that costume of his," a younger man said. "Is it a suit or is it, like, his skin?"
A rougher looking man gave his answer. "If he's listening, tell him I said this; hang up the suit and leave the Hero work to the professionals!"
The scene transitions once again to the reporter.
"And so, after a week of hiding, this new vigilante Toxin has quickly been the talk of the town. While it may be tempting to go find this vigilante, we here at HNN recommend you follow HPSC guidelines and avoid him at any -"
The reporter's words were drowned out by the sound of a car screeching. She and the camera turned their heads to see a van barreling towards them. The camera moves suddenly, unable to get a clear picture, but audio of metal crunching and the distinctive sound of "THWIP!" was heard. The camera suddenly turns to see the van, now trapped in a giant red and black web weaved along two traffic light poles.
"Quickly, quickly!" the reporter stressed off screen. "Get a clear shot!"
Focusing on the web, the camera picks up a red and black figure crawling on it towards the car. Once there, he rips off the front left door and pulls two criminals out. He jumps down and tosses the crooks to the ground before webbing them up.
When he turned, the camera gets a good view of the individual. It was Toxin! However, he had a brand-new costume. The mask had the same shape as before, but there were differences. The white had retreated to just the teardrop-shaped lenses. The outline and longer streaks were now black. The red loose parts on his arms had now covered the rest with black patches on top of and underneath the wrists along with the fingers and thumbs. The legs remained mostly black, but now some of the loose red tendrils on the torso formed into a stripe running down the hip along the outer thighs and stopping at the knee. The torso was the most changed. While the red had a clear line of separation around the black by ending just midway across his ribs, now the entire torso was red. This was except for the giant black spider logo plastered in the center of his chest. Its body was similar to Venom's. A head with sharp fangs, a round center, and a long and angular abdomen. The front legs started diagonally before moving up and over the collar bone. The second and third sets of legs were slightly raised before going down and curving around the rib cage. The final, bottom set of legs went down diagonally before dropping down and blending in with the black, inner thighs. The end points of the legs were not seen through the front, but visible from the rear. The front ends curved down, the back ends curved up, and the middle sections simply ended. The back was red with a group of very thin tendrils that formed a facsimile of a web cape. Overall, this was a much more traditional Hero costume than the one Toxin debuted earlier.
However, the sound of police cars was heard, and Toxin took the opportunity to leave. The camera followed the vigilante as he leaped from out of the road onto the side of a building in a single jump. Looking back on the now arriving cops and Heroes, Toxin leapt to the top and disappeared over the building's roof.
The camera was suddenly pulled back to the face of the reporter, who had a look of stress on her.
"Tell me you got all that? Because I promise if you didn't, I'll -!" The reporter was cut off by something behind the camera.
"Great." The reporter's response seemed to imply the cameraman nodded yes. The reporter let out a sigh. "This is so going to get me a promotion."
And what of the vigilante Toxin? Well, now he was roaming the streets as Bren Waters, seemingly ordinary American teenager lost in Japan.
"I still think the cape is a bit much." Bren whispered to his alien compatriot.
"You're the one who wanted to look more like Spider-Man," the alien symbiote Toxin said. "You got the logo; I got the tendrils. Fair trade."
"Whatever. It's just that Spider-Man never wore a cape. In fact, I don't know a lot of heroes in our world that wore capes."
"Didn't Thor have one?"
"Yeah, but that's Thor. He's a god. Is anyone going to tell him what he can and can't wear?"
Eventually, the two arrived at the Sanctuary House. Travelling inside and through the busy rooms, Bren eventually found Ryo along with another one of her friends setting up flyers on a notice board. Her friend was a taller boy named Hideki Fukuzawa who was holding a stack of flyers while Ryo used tacks to pin the flyers. Fukuzawa looked average besides his height, which put him head and shoulders above most of the other teens in this place, and the metal plates covering his forearms. Ryo said it was a part of his Quirk, but Bren never asked the boy what they were about.
"Hey, you two need some help?" Bren asked the two.
"Nah, we're good." Ryo answered.
"Actually, you mind helping and carry half of these, Waters?" Fukuzawa asked.
Bren shrugged and lifted Fukuzawa's load while the boy spoke up.
"Hey, did you guys see that Toxin vigilante's new costume? I heard he showed it off while a news crew was doing a segment on him."
"Oh, did he now?" Ryo discreetly glared at Bren.
"Well, I didn't see it," Bren shrugged. "I don't think Toxin was actively trying to get attention about his new suit. He was probably busy with something else, and he and that news group just sort of were at the same place at the same time."
Bren raised his eyebrows at Ryo, trying to signal that he wasn't looking for media attention. Ryo blew air from her nose as a sign of reluctant acceptance.
"Yeah, it could be a crazy cocidence…," Fukuzawa paused before adding, "Or maybe it wasn't?"
"What?" Bren said while Ryo muttered "Please don't start on this again".
"What if it's all a publicity stunt? The disappearance, the sudden appearances, the vigilante gimmick? It's all scripted, man."
"Hideki, I do not want to hear another one of your Hero theories." Ryo declared. "I just want to finish this task without hearing about internet conspiracies."
She spun on her heel away from the clipboard and moved on to another one. Bren and Hideki followed behind her.
"If this is all just a big stunt, then why the whole vigilante thing?" Bren asked. "I thought Japan hated vigilantes. Why would the government work with one?"
"Waters, don't encourage him!" Ryo exclaimed.
"It could be a big anti-Vigilante thing," Fukuzawa ignored Ryo's outburst and continued. "You know, like, they're showing how vigilantism doesn't work, and the only way to become a Hero is through the schools or the government or whatever."
Ryo's eye rolled hard as Fukuzawa finished. "Look, I don't know all the details, but there's definitely something more to this Toxin guy than we know."
Bren unconsciously tensed his mouth at Fukuzawa's claim. He was right; there was more to Toxin than just being a vigilante. Of course, Bren couldn't tell him or anyone else the truth. How could he tell them that he was bonded to an alien symbiote as well as from another Earth. Only he and Ryo knew the truth. And that was only because Bren accidentally revealed that he was Toxin to her in order to stop a villain. His alter ego was already considered a wanted criminal by the authorities. Bren didn't want to drag anyone else into his other life.
"If there is more to Toxin, then it isn't being some sort of secret government worker," a new voice said.
The three turned to see the new arrival. She was around Ryo's height. Her eyes were a solid onyx, and her hair was blonde with black horizontal stripes running down it. In fact, it seemed like her whole body had the same black stripes running down. Combined with her yellow clothes, she seemed like a walking bee.
"Oh, hello Bachimistu," Ryo said with the least amount of enthusiasm possible.
"And hello to you too," Bachimistu replied. "Fukuzawa, the Safety Committee is not going to spend the time and money to create a fake vigilante just to scare kids straight. They're smarter than that."
"Oh, then what's your reason, hmm?" Fukuzawa questioned.
"Simple. Toxin is an actual vigilante. Sooner or later, he's going to slip up and get arrested. No grand conspiracy. Just some random loser who's going to be captured by an actual Hero, and who will be less than a footnote in history."
Bren could feel Toxin grumbling in his head. And to be fair, Bren felt the same. This girl was really confident in the Heroes, but what was the point of putting Toxin down like that? Bren wished they could refute, but that would be too compromising to their secret identity. So, Bren had to play it safe.
"So, who's your friend? Classmate? Secret arch-rival?" Bren asked.
Ryo sighed. "This is -"
Before she could clarify, the striped girl answered for her.
"My name is Suzume Bachimistu," the striped girl said. "And you seem to be the foreign boy Nishi likes to talk about."
Bren decided to avoid looking into Ryo's eyes. He could already feel the embarrassment rolling off her and didn't want to add more to it.
"Okay, then what brings you here? Volunteer work like everyone else?" Bren said.
"Yes. Trust me, these hours may not seem much but working here will pay off when I get into U.A. High."
"Wait, is that the Hero school here in Musutafu?"
"Yes, not only the top Hero school in the city but the whole country!"
"Oh, you're planning to become a Hero?"
"Ha! No," Bachimistu said. "I'm planning to get into the business course."
"Business?" Bren repeated. "What, do they teach you how to do taxes?"
"Oh, much more than that. Without the proper marketing, a Hero is nothing more than a person doing community service in a costume. It takes a whole other set of skills to get them into the public spotlight. Public relations, sponsorships, social media interactions," Bachimistu rattled off a list. "You need someone savvy and educated enough to navigate all of that. And that's where people like me come into play."
"Yeah, that's exactly what you're in it for; helping the Heroes," Ryo muttered under her breath just enough to be audible to Bren.
"And I guess being an agent or PR manager pays well in the process?" Bren continued.
"Well, it certainly helps." Bachimistu answered.
"Hey!" A stern voice called out.
The four turn to see a woman holding clipboard in one hand and a small box in the other. In another set of arms, she held a larger box with both hands.
"Waters, I need you to bring this to Mr. Shoutai. We got an upcoming shipment of medical supplies to restock, and we need Shoutai's signature to make it office." The lady explained before thrusting the clipboard to Bren.
"Okay, and you need me to do it because…?" Bren said.
"Because I'm busy, these three need to finish their tasks," The lady waved her free hand to the rest of the volunteers. "And you aren't scheduled for anything. Mr. Shoutai is probably in his office on the second floor. If you can't find him there, ask around."
The lady soon walked off just as quickly as she appeared. With that, Bren shrugged and bid his fellow teenagers farewell. Making his way through the halls, Bren took to the relative peace and quiet of the stairs.
"Can't believe there's people who think we're second-rate hacks!" Toxin ranted from within. "If they saw us in action, they'd know we're the real deal. Hell, I'll bet we can take on anyone of these so-called 'Pro Heroes'."
"Even All Might? Or the ones who use fire and sound?" Bren countered.
Toxin grumbled. "Maybe not those guys. But the rest we can take care of easy!"
"Look, we're trying to not piss off law enforcement and the Heroes more than we already have. So, we can swallow any gripes we might have and just continue to do the right thing."
Bren approached the office of Teki Shoutai. The door had a sign that read "Always open". So, it wasn't unusual for people to simply walk in.
Bren opened the door and said, "Hey, Mr. Shoutai, there's a shipment of medical stuff that needs to be signed off on. Can you -?"
Bren paused to see that Shoutai was in the middle of a conversation with someone else. A smaller, thin man who Bren didn't know.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Shoutai," Bren apologized. "I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back later and -"
"Nonsense, Bren. It was just some friendly conversation." Shoutai said. "Come in, there's someone I'd like you to meet. This is my friend, Toshinori Yagi."
Bren turned to get a proper look at Shoutai's friend. He was smaller and thinner than Teki, almost to an unhealthy degree. He had wild blonde hair with two long bangs framing his face. His eyes were a striking blue but were sunken in. Honestly, the man could be more compared to a zombie than an actual person.
"You must be the young Bren Waters I've heard about," Yagi said, holding out a hand. "I'm Toshinori Yagi. I'm All Might's secretary."
"Oh, wow," Bren said while shaking Yagi's hand. "I didn't know Mr. Shoutai talked about me to other people."
"I don't see why I shouldn't." Shoutai said before he grasped Bren's shoulders. "You've proven to be one of our hardest workers, despite your circumstances. I feel like that should be celebrated."
Bren blushed at the compliment.
"Teki, stop embarrassing the boy," Yagi chided. "Doesn't he have something for you?"
"Ah, yes, sorry about that. Would you hand me that list?"
Bren handed Shoutai the list while the man said, "I'll go check up on the delivery to make sure we have what we need. In the meantime, why don't you and Mr. Yagi get to know each other?"
Shoutai hurried out of the office, leaving only Waters and Yagi behind.
"That's Shoutai for you," Yagi said. "Always in a rush to help someone else."
"Yeah, I feel you. He's always doing something to help others or the Sanctuary House." Bren commented.
"Well, from the way he talks about you, I am reminded of him when we met years ago."
"Really?" Bren asked.
"Yes. While he had a rough childhood growing up, he eventually recognized his true calling of helping others after I approached him about running the Sanctuary House here in Musutafu."
"Wait, are you saying you helped Mr. Shoutai get his job here at Sanctuary House?!"
"Well, I don't want to toot my own horn, but I was also the one to convince All Might of starting the Sanctuary House program in the first place." Yagi said with smooth confidence.
"Huh." Bren said taking that information in. "So, what's it like working for All Might? He seems to be pretty big around here."
Yagi chuckled. It was a tired, mirthless chuckle that hid more to it.
"Oh yeah, there's never a dull moment with All Might." Yagi answered. "Hard to be when you're the Number One Hero in Japan and the Symbol of Peace to millions of people. There's always someone or something putting lives in danger. And he'll be there to save them."
"What's he like? As a person?"
Yagi paused before answering. "Well, he's a lot of things people say about him. He's heroic, brave, altruistic. He does tend to think with his fists more than his head. And he feels like he has to live up to everyone's expectations of him because that's who he built himself as, the Symbol of Peace. I think sometimes he wants to be free of some of that responsibility, but he knows he can handle it. Even if it hurts him in the long run."
Yagi fell silent after this answer before shaking his head.
"Ah, enough about me and my workplace troubles. What about you, young Waters?" Yagi said. "Teki says you are from America, correct?"
"Yes sir. I'm from NYC. Staten Island, to be specific." Bren answered.
"I have to say your Japanese is impeccable, young man. Usually, Americans get taught the very formal form of the language, but you seem to grasp the more common lingo."
"Oh, um thanks," Bren said.
It's not like he could explain how he understood and spoke Japanese as casually as he did English, but he needed a reason now. A good reason…
"I, uh, learned it. From a language app. It's surprising how much you can learn from them nowadays." Bren hoped Mr. Yagi would buy that.
Yagi seemed to nod in understanding, but those sunken eyes held more insight than Bren knew.
"Anyway, have you ever been to America, Mr. Yagi?" Bren asked, hoping to bring the discussion back to the secretary.
"Only a few times. Mainly to help All Might coordinate with some of his American friends he made back when he was starting out."
"All Might is American?"
"Well, no, he was born and raised in Japan. He travelled to America at the start of his Hero career. He said it to gain experience working with Heroes who had different customs than the ones over here. What about you, young Waters? Do you dream of being a Hero?"
"Oh, well, I don't know." Bren stammered. "I don't think I'm cut out to be a Hero as just myself."
"Ah, don't tell yourself that." Yagi placed a hand on Bren's shoulder. "If you have a dream, pursue it with all your might. Don't let anyone or anything say otherwise. As my old alma mater's moto says, 'Go Beyond. Plus -!"
Yagi was interrupted by a sudden burst of coughing. He heaved and held his hand to his mouth as he continued to be racked with coughs. Bren sprung up to aid him.
"Mr. Yagi, are you alright? Do you need something to drink?" Bren asked.
Yagi's coughing fit ended, and he wiped his mouth clean. Bren thought he could see blood leaking from Yagi's mouth.
"No, no, young Waters, I'm fine." Yagi answered quickly. "Just an old wound acting up. Though a drink would be nice."
Bren would help escort Yagi out of the office to one of the water fountains. While there, Mr. Shoutai arrived.
"Bren, am I correct in assuming that you are taking Mr. Yagi on a tour? I hope not, because Yagi already knows this building inside and out." Shoutai joked.
"Oh no, I was just helping Mr. Yagi get something to drink after his injuries were acting up." Bren answered.
Shoutai's face turned to concern as he faced his friend. He pulled Yagi aside, though not out of Bren's symbiote-enhanced hearing.
"Toshi, you know you have to take it easy, remember?" Teki whispered to his friend. "You know you can't be as energetic back when you were young."
"I know, I know. I just got a bit excited that's all." Yagi whispered back. "Besides, young Waters was very responsive in helping me. You were right, old friend, he does have that drive to help."
"Bren, I'm going to accompany Mr. Yagi back to his office." Shoutai said to Bren. "You're free to have the rest of the afternoon off."
"Thanks, Mr. Shoutai!" Bren said.
The two men left, leaving Bren alone in the hallways.
"Something's off about that man." Toxin commented.
"Like what?" Bren said as he began to walk. "Besides whatever injury he's dealing with, he seems to be…. somewhat alright."
"Ha. Not if your injury leaves you without a stomach and half of your lungs."
"What?"
"You heard me. That man has no stomach and half a lung."
"And how did you know that?"
"I could…sense it off him like our symbiote sense. Just more focused."
"What, you just smelled his lack of stomach acids?"
"It is much more complicated than that." The symbiote protested.
"Fine. Whatever." Bren conceited. "You wanna go out?"
"Always." Bren already knew if the symbiote had a face now, it would be grinning ear to ear.
The afternoon sun gleamed just over the horizon. It basked the city in a golden glow. Pedestrians walked along the sidewalk. All of them caught up in their own personal journeys. Up above, Toxin swung high into the air. He rabbited from building to building, looking for any Villain or two-bit punk trying to commit a felony. It had nearly been an hour, and Toxin wasn't finding any kind of crime. Man, if only there were a type of person that would try and commit petty crime in a city filled to the brim with superheroes?
*CRASH! *
That'll do.
Toxin swung into the alley where the sound was heard from. Sticking onto a wall, he crawled along the long building until he saw them. Four masked men trying to break into an ATM right next to a small store.
"Hey, you wanna alert every hero on the block? Make it quiet, idiot." One of the robbers said.
"Screw you, man! This is harder than it looks." The hood with the crowbar said.
As they once again resumed in the breaking in of an ATM, Toxin leapt down and casually walked up towards them.
"Hey, you guys seem lost. The hoodlum convention is two blocks down." Toxin said.
The four criminals-to-be looked at Toxin in surprise before one of them regained their composure.
"Hey, it's that Toxin vigilante! Get him!"
He along with another criminal both charged the vigilante. Toxin stood there as the two ran up and started swinging. Toxin dodged their wild punches with ease. He caught the punch of one of the crooks and used the momentum and his own symbiote augmented strength to throw the criminal over his shoulder and into a wall. The crook groaned as he slid down and fell unconscious on a pile of garbage bags.
"There goes Larry…" Toxin said.
He kicked away the second goon. While the crook was backing away, Toxin shot web lines at his feet. He pulled them back, and the criminal fell on his back hard. Toxin then shot some more webs that trapped the criminal to the ground.
"There goes Curly…," Toxin then looked up at the remaining two criminals. "So, which one of you wants to be Moe?"
"Screw this! I'm out of here!" One of the remaining criminals said.
"Yeah! Me too!" The one holding the crowbar threw it away.
The two ran off into another alley. Toxin followed them only to find the two getting into a car and driving off.
"Hey, come on! You didn't let me deliver the punchline!" Toxin said as he shot a web line.
The car drove out of the alley and into the streets. Pedestrians backed away from the road as the car sped well over the speed limit. Toxin swung after them, pushing himself to keep up with the car. The car tried to shake the vigilante off by making some sharp turns, but Toxin always kept up with them. Out of the passenger side window came one of the crooks, now holding a handgun. He fired into the air, hoping to hit their pursuer. Toxin flipped and rolled in the air, dodging the bullets as they whizzed by him. Finally close enough, Toxin shot a web line to the car's roof, pulling himself towards it. Toxin landed on it with a hearty *THUMP*. He made his way over to the left side of the car. The crook hanging out of the window pointed his gun upwards and fired rapidly. Toxin leaned out of the way until the gun clicked and ran out of bullets. Toxin webbed the guy up and pulled him out of the car. He attached a web line from a passing pole to the cocooned bad guy and let him be taken away and be captured. Toxin then moved over to the driver's side.
"Hey, stop the car so I won't web you like I did with Moe!" Toxin said over the wind and the windshield.
The driver tried to serve and knock Toxin off. Before Toxin could do anything, he felt his symbiote sense go off. He had only a brief moment to look to his right as a giant wheel rammed into the car. The car went flying through the air. The symbiote sense went crazy, alerting Toxin to all the people that were in danger of getting crushed. He acted fast, shooting web lines that connected the car to various buildings and poles. Before long, the car was suspended in a makeshift web. Luckily, nobody seemed to get hurt. Toxin checked the driver, who was unconscious in the driver's seat. Deciding that his work with these bozos was done now, Toxin web-swinged off the find out who rammed into him.
Toxin's search did not take long as he followed the trail of destruction. Finding the massive wheel, Toxin began to pursue it. It was indeed a large sphere or wheel like structure. It was grey with the inside being dark. It made thunderous noises as it rolled along the street.
"Hey, do you even have a license for that, you Big Wheel wannabe!" Toxin yelled.
His taunts seemed to get the attention of the driver, as turrets appeared from the side and started blasting him. Toxin dodged them as he tried to get a good shot at slowing the machine down. Suddenly, a trail of branches tried to clog up the wheel, only for them to be grinded into pulp. Toxin turned to see a familiar face.
"Kamui Woods?!" Toxin exclaimed. "Hello!"
"You!" The Abor Hero said, swinging along with him. "You've got some nerve showing up."
"Hey, I was in the middle of my crime fighting action! Your guy ran into my guys. Kind of rude not to keep your supervillain in check, don't cha think?"
Kamui Woods groaned in frustration. "Stay out of my way. When I'm through with this villain, I'll be back for you."
The bark hero then launched himself further with his branches.
"Alright. Last one who catches him is a rotten egg! Or bark in your case."
Toxin increased the speed of his swings. Putting more power into them, he launched himself faster and farther than Kamui Woods did. The wheel villain took the entrance to a bridge. Toxin then propelled himself higher, slingshoting himself up to the bridge. Toxin then web-pulled himself to the side of the wheel.
The wheel's side was a window into the vehicle. There was one person in there, obscured by shadow. Whoever they were, they did not appreciate Toxin hitching a ride. They pressed a button, and the turret turned to directly face Toxin. Toxin positioned himself to avoid the spinning mechanism of the wheel. He grabbed the turret and lifted it. Slowly, the turret was ripped from its handling and thrown to the ground. Toxin crawled closer to the opening hatch.
"Okay, time to put the brakes on -!"
Toxin's quip was halted by another blare of the symbiote sense. Toxin suddenly felt himself in the air for a brief moment before hitting something and fell flailing to the growing. He rolled on the asphalt and laid there in a daze. Through his blurry vision, he saw a giant hand move away, revealing a stopped and wrecked wheel. A booming feminine voice said something, but Toxin's head was too clouded to make sense of it. It began to clear up as the giant hand grabbed Toxin and lifted him high into the air. Toxin's eyes widened as he recognized his captor.
"It's Mt. Lady!" Someone from the crowd yelled.
Yes indeed, it was the giant horned superheroine known as Mt. Lady. Toxin recognized her from the Sludge Villain fight. How she said she was too tall to help. Now, in an open environment like this, she had a clear advantage.
"Now what do we have here? It's that little vigilante that's making such a big stink in the news." Mt. Lady said.
"Hey! I'm not - that - little!" Toxin said as he tried to break free of her grip.
"Sure you are, pal."
"Mt. Lady!" Kamui Woods yelled from down below. "You were supposed to keep the villain contained. If we are going to work together, then you need to stick with the plan."
"Yeah, yeah, calm your branches, Kamui. I already got 'em." Mt. Lady waved a hand at the stopped wheel villain. "Plus, lookie what I got."
She lowered the hand with Toxin in it to show to Kamui Wood. The Abor Hero crossed his arms, clearly irritated how Mt. Lady was able to capture the villain and vigilante so easily.
"Fine. Good job. Now, make sure Toxin doesn't escape. He's slippery than he initially appears." Kamui Wood advised.
"Pft." Mt. Lady scoffed. "I got him trapped. What can he do?"
Toxin began to push back against Mr. Lady's closed hand. It didn't free him, but it did keep his arms and legs from being pressed into his sides.
"Bark Boy's right, you know." Toxin said, his voice strained. "Though, I would say I'm a bit more impressive than just being slippery."
Mt. Lady took notice of Toxin's attempt to be free and used her other hand to apply pressure. Toxin could already feel the added force against him. He couldn't keep this up with his current strength. So, he decided on plan B.
Toxin raised his left hand, grew claws, and plunged it into Mt. Lady's hand.
"OW!" Mt. Lady roared in pain. "He stung me! That little jerk actually stung me!"
Toxin quickly launched himself out of Mt. Lady's now opened hand. His claws did tear through her costume and broke some skin, but nothing deeper than that. Now standing on her hand, Toxin shot out a web line from each hand. The lines connected to Mt. Lady's horns. He pulled back, ready to use Mt. Lady as a makeshift slingshot. Toxin's symbiote sense rang out as he saw Mt. Lady's other hand about to smush him. Toxin jumped, hanging onto the web lines. He leaped through the descending fingers. He briefly let go of the web lines in order to get them trapped in between her hands, but Toxin quickly got them back. As he descended, he felt the tension building up in his web lines. When he was about to launch up, Mt. Lady looked down and saw what he was doing. Believing it to be an attack to her face, she leaned back. Toxin rocketed up above her, and as she moved, the web line changed and launched him at an arch. Toxin went sailing over Mt. Lady and was flung far into the city.
"WOOOOAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Toxin yelled as he flew through the city blocks.
Kamui Woods looked at the rapidly shrinking Mt. Lady in disappointment. The Mineyama Heroine was quick to nursing the place where she got stung, hissing and whining all the while.
Toxin flew over the city at a rapid pace. Or more accurately, falling through the air at a rapid pace. The vigilante tumbled in the air, unable to find a good tall building to throw a web line at. Wherever he was thrown to, it was far from the metropolitan and skyscraper portion of the city.
"AAAHHH, Toxin!" Bren cried. "How do we slow our landing?!"
"Use the wings, Bren!" The symbiote answered.
"Oh! We have that!"
The cape on Toxin's back morphed and oozed into a wingsuit shape. It attached to the undersides of his arms and caught the wind. Now Toxin was no longer falling; he was gliding! Which is falling but more controlled and cooler!
As Toxin glided down to the ground, he noticed that he hadn't exactly lost speed. He was still going really fast, so any sudden object might catch him off guard. Which is exactly what happened.
Toxin's symbiote sense went off for a millisecond before Toxin felt something clothesline him by the neck. A wire or telephone pole caught him, and he tumbled down to the ground. Toxin hit a roof hard before rolling off it and onto the ground. He rolled several more times before slamming into a wall. He fell into a slumped position. His eyes grew heavy, and Bren drifted into unconsciousness.
To be continued…
And that is it! Bren and Toxin display a brand-new suit, we meet some new and familiar characters, and we have Toxin engaging in crime fighting and law evading! But now Toxin has landed himself into unknown territory, injured and alone! What will happen to our symbiotic duo? Find out next time!
So, for starters, the new suit. I wanted Toxin to basically have two forms in this series: a "Spider-Man"-esque design, and a "Venom"-esque design. Kinda what Pat Mulligan had with Toxin, but the Spider-Man influence is more obvious. I do admit that this new suit is an original design I devised while writing this series. Unfortunately, since my art skills are lacking, my only hope is that some very generous reader is able to draw this suit out and put it on the web. I don't think I have that kind of audience, so it'll mostly likely only be in our imaginations.
As for influences, there is a bunch. It is based off the Spider-Man Unlimited design, which was a TV show about Spider-Man going to a different earth and getting a brand-new costume. It shows with the web-cape, which I also wanted to incorporate the symbiote tendrils Toxin has, especially with the Eddie Brock version. I love the symbiote Spider-Man logo design, and I wanted to do something unique with it. It has the same body as the symbiote spider logo, but the legs go to different places around the torso. It is similar to the covers of the Eddie Brock Toxin copying his Venom design. The arms, with the red arms ending in the black fingers, was something I thought up for a while. Until I realized this was also on the Kaine Scarlet Spider suit. So, I'mma just say this is a pure coincidence and leave it at that.
I want to say thank you to the readers. These two chapters have been receiving almost purely positive responses. I'm glad you all enjoy this little story and find it fun. I just hope the audience for this story grows, especially since it's an obscure character like Toxin.
Next time! Toxin finds himself in the bad part of town and discovers there's more to this city than just the flashy Heroes. Plus, Toxin encountering a familiar hero?! All that, and more, in the next update.
That's all I have for now. See ya next time!