Chapter 10: The Phantom's Debut
It was night time in the city of Tokyo, as a bald man with glasses and a small black goatee watches over the city skyline with a look of contemplation. On one hand he had pride over the city, while on the other hand he had this look of disappointment. He was reflecting over the recent events that have been occurring in Tokyo. With the recent appearance of Spider-Man, all the focus was on the masked vigilante. Not only that, with the recent news of a teacher getting his heart taken by a group called the Phantom Thieves, he scoffed at the idea.
"Mr. Shido, there is someone here to see you?" the man's secretary asked.
"Send them in," the man named Shido said, sounding uninterested.
"Is this the office of a certain…Masayoshi Shido?" a voice asked, as Shido turned around in shock.
"Norman Osborn…what brings you here in Tokyo?" Shido asked the man named Norman Osborn.
"A business meeting about a new Oscorp lab here in Japan, but that isn't the only thing. Rather I wanted to make a deal with you, as I am aware of your political campaign. I want to help fund your campaign," Norman offered.
"In exchange for what?" Shido asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Tax reductions on the Oscorp lab construction," Norman said, as Shido scoffed.
"Not interested," Shido said, as Norman smirked.
"I figured you would say that. Which is why I have another offer to you. Ever heard of cognitive pscience?" Norman asked, which hit the nail on the coffin.
"How do you know about that?" Shido asked.
"Did you really think your country is the only one to know about it? For years, Oscorp researched much about this so-called cognitive pscience. S.H.I.E.L.D. of course funded the project, as a way to understand this phenomenon. But of course, we live in a world where aliens and mutants not only coexist with us mere humans, but so do magicians and the supernatural. Eventually the project was shut down and yet I know the cognitive world exists. Especially considering the whole situation going on here, what's it called, oh yes, the mental shutdown cases," Norman stated.
Before Shido can ask, Norman nodded knowing that Shido was the cause of the whole situation.
"Frankly, when I saw the pattern of those shutdowns, I realized you and I are not so different. You want your enemies gone so that they won't interfere. If anything, I can respect that which is why I won't tell anyone," Norman stated.
"Why should I trust you?" Shido asked.
"Because I know you have another thorn on your side, the so-called Amazing Spider-Man. I know of him, because his powers originated from my company or rather the research involving the spider that bit the person to get these powers," Norman said.
"Do you know of his identity?" Shido asked, when Norman laughed.
"Why spoil the surprise? But I figure in order to gain your trust, I can help you squash him, as I have the tech and I know some individuals who would gladly destroy him," Norman stated.
"But wouldn't that endanger the city? If anything, we don't do any superhero business in Tokyo!" Shido said.
"Yes, yes, I'm aware. But think about it, if someone were to get hurt in the chaos, wouldn't they want someone to ensure the safety of their wellbeing? Someone powerful enough to make sure nothing was to happen to them? Besides, I have the resources to fix the city," Norman asked.
Shido was confused at first, but soon it clicked as the man smirked.
"You drive yourself a hard bargain, Mr. Osborn. Very well, you got yourself a deal," Shido said, as he and Norman shook hands.
With Peter
It has been a long day ever since Kamoshida confessed. After a long day of patrolling, Peter was at the Nijima residence, as he was video calling Gwen through his laptop. He was explaining the whole situation, while avoiding telling her that he was a phantom thief.
"The Phantom Thieves of Hearts?" Gwen Stacy asked.
"Yup, that's what they called themselves," Peter said, hiding the fact that he is one himself.
"That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I mean seriously a group calling themselves 'the phantom thieves' sent out calling cards all around the school that was meant for that PE teacher that was claimed to be abusing students," Gwen said.
"Tell me about it, but then again I have seen my fair share of the strange," Peter said.
"Are you going to go after them?" Gwen asked, as Peter shook his head.
"Not at the moment, I mean they don't seem that much of a threat, but who knows," Peter stated.
"Right, anyways I gotta go right now. I'll talk to you later," Gwen said.
"Take care and stay safe," Peter said, as he ended the call.
Just then he got another call and this time it was from his boss, J Jonah Jameson. Answering the call, he was greeted by Jameson who usually greets him in a loud tone.
"PARKER! DO YOU HAVE THOSE PHOTOS OF SPIDER-MAN I WANTED?!" Jameson asked loudly.
When news got out that Spider-Man made his debut in Tokyo, the first thing Jameson did was call or rather ordered Peter to get photos of the vigilante. Luckily Jameson doesn't know Peter is Spider-Man, but still it felt a little annoying as Jameson's view of Spider-Man was always negative. In a way, despite being in a new country, his job still comes first. Anyways, Peter sends the new photos to Jameson who took a look at them.
"Crap, crap, mega crap, oho now this one is a front page masterpiece! I'll give you $100 bucks for that," Jameson said.
"Seriously, I mean this one is a serious showstopper," Peter said.
"Ugh, fine $200 bucks! But no more, got that?!" Jameson asked.
"It's fine," Peter said.
"Oh also I heard about what happened at the school you're attending. Just be safe and focus on your studies," Jameson said calmly with a serious look.
"Wow, uh thanks Mr. Jameson," Peter said, sounding surprised.
"Yeah yeah, whatever, just go already," Jameson said, ending the call.
Peter sighed, as he got out of his room to grab a drink. As he went to the kitchen, he saw that Makoto was contemplating something as it looked like she was having a hard time focusing on her studies.
"Rough day for you too, huh?" Peter asked, as Makoto sighed but nodded.
"Tell me about it, firstly with Kamoshida confessing his crimes along with the whole Phantom Thieves situation, I'm having a hard time focusing on my studies," Makoto said, as Peter chuckled.
"Still you have to admit, at least the school doesn't have to deal with a sex offender/bully anymore, so there's that," Peter stated.
"True, even though this whole change of heart event is happening too fast, especially considering that the mental shutdown cases are still occuring," Makoto said, before asking Peter a serious question.
"I noticed that lately you have been hanging out with the infamous transfer student, the girl full of rumors, and Shujin's number one troublemaker?" Makoto asked, as Peter looked shocked and surprised.
"Oh you mean Ren, Ann, and Ryuji? What about them?" Peter asked, as he's thinking of what Makoto was trying to imply.
"Nothing, it's just that with the whole Kamoshida situation, it feels weird seeing you talk with them. I assume they haven't done anything to you, hmmm?" Makoto asked.
"Well…they aren't as bad as people tried to imply about them. I mean both Ren and Ann are in my class, whereas Ryuji is someone I have small talk with every now and then in the hallways. If anything, they seem like decent people compared to some people I know back home," Peter retorted.
Makoto looked inquisitive before dropping the conversation. The two decided to talk about something else.
May 5
Today was the day Peter and the others were going to celebrate their victory against Kamoshida. The place they were going to eat at was a buffet in Shibuya. After saying goodbye to Makoto, Peter heads out of the apartment. Wanting to arrive quickly, he found somewhere he could change into his suit and swing to the location. As he swung across the city, he was responding to the group chat about when they will arrive. Soon he arrived on a rooftop and changed into his regular clothes consisting of a green field jacket, a Ramones band shirt, jeans, and some sneakers. Running quickly to the location, Peter saw that the others were waiting for him as they too were dressed casually.
"Sorry I'm late guys, it was a bit of a hassle trying to change into my regular clothes," Peter said.
"It's fine, now that we're all here, let's head inside," Ren said, as everyone nodded.
They all head inside the buffet, as they were greeted by the reservation desk. After confirming their reservation, they were shown their table. Once everyone settled at the table, they all grabbed a plate of food.
"Mmmmm…so good…" Ryuji said, as he was chowing down on what appears to be a meat dish.
"No wonder Lady Ann chose this place!" Morgana said with excitement.
"I gotta say Ann, you really have good taste. I never ate at a place like this before," Peter said, as Ann beamed in pride.
"Of course it's good! This is a famous hotel, after all. Oh yeah, I heard that the police are coming to interview some people at school," Ann mentioned.
"That's troublesome," Morgana stated.
"Our names are gonna come up for sure. People're spreadin' all sorts of rumors about us and Kamoshida," Ryuji added.
"Not only that, Makoto-senpai is suspecting something about me as well just because I hang with you guys," Peter stated.
"Does she know about your identity at all?" Ren asked, as Peter shook his head.
"Not at the moment, but I'm trying to keep that a secret just like how we're trying to be secretive of our metaverse shenanigans," Peter stated.
"But we got 'em pumped up! I keep hearin' stuff like, 'The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart!' I think most people don't believe it, but some of 'em actually seem grateful," Ryuji mentioned, as he showed his phone.
Everyone leaned in to get a closer look as to what Ryuji was showing. It looks like a blog room, with messages regarding the Phantom Thieves.
"The Phantom Aficionado Website?" Ann asked.
"Well done Phantom Thieves…" Peter read.
The others kept reading the messages and so far it seems pretty positive, aside from some doubtful messages.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ryuji asked.
"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems, but seeing people saying all this feels…strange," Ann stated.
"I don't know about this. On one hand it's nice people are praising us, but on the other hand I don't want to get it into my head too much. I mean all we did was take the heart of a scumbag, it's not like we're a bunch of miracle workers," Peter said, looking rather unsure.
"Peter has a point, for some reason it just feels weird and all of a sudden," Ren said.
"Hey…what do we do now?" Ryuji asked.
"Well I guess we can eat, as I'm pretty hungry," Ren said.
Ryuji was confused until it hit him.
"Crap we got about an hour left to eat!" Ryuji stated.
"We got 50 minutes left!" Ann said in shock.
The two soon went to grab some extra food, as both Peter and Ren looked at each other and chuckled. Once everybody got some extra food, that's when the most important question was asked.
"So Peter, aren't you going to tell us about that thing?" Morgana asked, as Peter looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"You know, your secret origins. How you became Spider-Man and all that?" Ryuji stated.
"Yeah like you hid it from us and now that we took care of Kamoshida, we figured that you would tell us," Ann stated, as Peter sighed.
"Well I did promise I will tell you guys someday, so I figure why not tell you guys now. But keep it a secret you guys?" Peter asked.
"We swear to our bones," Ren said.
"Alright then, my story is not for the faint of heart. You see it all started about a year ago, I was at Oscorp or rather I snuck into Oscorp as my dead father had a colleague working there. I wanted to ask some questions regarding my old man, but I also happened to stumble upon a spider research lab. Luckily my dad's lab pass still worked so I managed to enter inside. Sure enough the lab looked cool, but as they say, fuck around, find out. I got bit by one of the spiders and soon I left the building. But not only did I leave with a spider bite, I also gained the abilities of a spider, though I can't shoot webs naturally. I was scared at first, but then I realized these powers were awesome," Peter said, as the others looked surprised.
"But there's more to it right?" Ren asked, as Peter nodded.
"Well just because I got these powers doesn't mean that my life got any good. Well one night I came home late and I got into an argument with my Uncle Ben. He gave me a lecture, saying something that my late father used to say about responsibility. But I wasn't having it, as I threw those words back at him. In a way, this was the last time I ever interacted with my uncle because on that same exact night, he was murdered. I was at a store trying to clear my head, but the place got robbed. The robber spared me and tried to escape, as the store owner tried to stop him even to the point where he wanted me to intervene. But I was still angry and didn't care, but soon it all goes downhill as gunshots were heard. I rushed to the scene only to see my uncle lying in a pool of blood. By the time the ambulances came, it was too late as my uncle died from blood loss. What's even worse was that the murderer was the same exact guy who robbed the store. Soon it was just me and my aunt, but I still held a lot of guilt and anger. I made a vow to hunt the killer and have my revenge. So every day and night I go out only wearing a mask hunting down the man who murdered my uncle. As the days went by, I made the suit everyone was familiar with as of now and I was inspired by a wrestling poster I saw. That's why I wear red and blue, while having the giant spider symbol," Peter explained.
"But what inspired you to be a hero?" Morgana asked.
"You see, one night when the Lizard made his first ever appearance, he caused havoc at the Williamsburg Bridge. He threw cars off the bridge but I managed to save the cars. One of the cars had a child trapped inside and I could have kept chasing the Lizard, but I decided to save the child. I did save the child, but from that moment I realized these powers were more than a curse, it was a gift. My uncle told me with great power comes great responsibility and I realized I could do good with these powers. From that day forward, The Amazing Spider-Man was truly born," Peter said.
Everyone was shocked but at the same time sympathetic towards Peter as they realized there was more to him than just being their friend and superhero. They kept listening to Peter as he continued his story.
"Eventually I managed to stop the Lizard, who was none other than my late dad's colleague, Dr. Curt Connors. As you know, he tried to turn the entire city into a city of lizards. I had help from the police captain, who was after me due to being a vigilante, but he died from the hands of the Lizard. He knew who I was beneath the mask, but he swore to keep it a secret in his dying breath. I swore to him that I will protect the city and keep the ones I love out of harm's way. It's a reason why I tried to keep it a secret from you guys, so that you don't get hurt," Peter said, looking down.
"Peter…you're not alone in this. In a way, you're like us. Wronged by society, but trying to do what's right," Ren said.
"Yeah, Peter, you're our friend and more importantly, you are one of us," Ann said softly.
"Don't worry dude, your secret is safe with us," Ryuji said.
"I concur, Peter, your story and experiences are what we need as a team. Your ideals can help us save the ones who need our help," Morgana added.
Peter was shocked by how they accepted him and in this moment he realized maybe he can have a chance to expand his circle of trust.
"Thanks guys…really," Peter said, as everyone nodded.
Just then, Ryuji's stomach rumbled as he looked constipated.
"Oh my god, where's the bathroom?!" Ryuji said, as he looked around.
"Come on, let's go look for it," Ren said, as the two left for the bathroom, leaving only Peter, Ann, and Morgana.
A Few Minutes Later
Both Ren and Ryuji arrived, to see the others waiting for them.
"What took you guys so long?" Ann asked, as Ren decided to explain what just happened.
"Jesus, I've met my fair share of jerks like that," Peter said.
"Tell me about it, like that bald dude didn't have to be an asshole. Hell he's the one that bumped into us," Ryuji complained.
"Still I feel like I've seen him before, but I can't remember," Ren said.
They all sat quietly, until Ryuji asked a rather important question.
"Hey Morgana, anyone can have a palace, yeah?" Ryuji asked.
"Anyone with a strong distorted desire," Morgana stated.
"Same for them havin' a change of heart if their treasure gets stolen?" Ryuji added, as Morgana nodded.
"Why this all of a sudden?" Ann asked.
"We just had trouble earlier with those adults who looked down on us. I was just wonderin' if we'd be able to change those kinda people too," Ryuji stated.
"If we did, the first person I would've tried to change their heart would be none other than J Jonah Jameson," Peter jokes.
"Wait Ryuji, are you trying to say that you wanna continue as the Phantom Thieves?" Ann asked.
"I've been thinkin'. We put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves. Plus…those guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thankin' us. Us, of all people," Ryuji added.
"But still this isn't a game, we can't just go around and steal everyone's heart," Peter stated.
"Hey didn't your uncle say with great power, comes great responsibility? If we have the power, don't we have the responsibility to help those who need it?" Ryuji countered.
"What do you think, Ann?" Ren asked.
"Well…on one hand I agree that this isn't a game…but on the other hand I have to agree with Ryuji. If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before…" Ann stated.
"Well…that's true. Listen everyone, you're under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves!" Morgana stated.
"Shouldn't we be able to help 'em out?" Ryuji asked.
Ren kept thinking about what they were saying. On one hand, he agrees with Peter, but on the other hand he also agrees with the others.
"But…that means we'll have to fight shadows again?" Ann asked, sounding unsure.
"Indeed, that can't be avoided," Morgana stated.
"Eh, I'm sure we'll manage, right?" Ryuji asked.
"Yeah, fine by me," Ren said, looking determined.
"You guys are being reckless, but then again that's coming from a guy who does reckless stuff as well. Alright, I'm in as it's also my responsibility to look after you guys while helping those in need," Peter said, looking determined as well.
"Heh…Even if you guys are still just fledgelings, this means we're an actual organization now," Morgana stated, as Peter chuckled.
"You're saying that as if we were the Avengers, Fantastic Four, or X-Men," Peter jokes.
"Maybe we might just be like those guys, well fighting shadows of course," Ryuji added.
"Fledgelings? That's actually fitting for us," Ann said, chuckling at the news.
"Alright then, it's settled! We're gonna catch all those shitty adults by surprise, and make ourselves known to the world!" Ryuji stated with passion.
"Are you ok with being the leader?" Ann asked Ren.
"Yeah of course," Ren said.
"No objections here! I can't handle all that responsibility stuff! Well maybe Peter can," Ryuji jokes, as Peter rolled his eyes.
"Haha, very funny, but yeah I'm not complaining. Besides I've been a solo act for a year, so it'll take some time before I get used to teaming up," Peter stated.
"Don't worry you'll manage just fine and yeah whatever Lady Ann recommended, I'll allow it," Morgana said.
"Well, should we decide on a name for our group?" Ryuji asked.
"Oh I know, why not call ourselves the Diamonds? I mean it sounds cute and luxurious," Ann suggested.
"Uh…I'm getting a real little league baseball feel from it," Ryuji stated.
"Here's my suggestion, how about 'Tilefish Poele'?" Morgana suggested, as everyone looked confused.
"Tile…uh…what?" Ryuji asked.
Morgana explained that it was what he ate, to which Ryuji rejected it.
"Guys, what about this, Loiter Squad?" Ryuji suggested.
"You mean that Jackass ripoff starring Tyler the Creator? Nah, Ren you decide," Peter said.
"Well given that Ryuji wrote Phantom Thieves of Hearts last time, I guess we'll go with The Phantoms," Ren stated.
"You know what, that's not bad at all," Ann said.
"A good name, for a rookie," Morgana quipped.
"It has a nice ring to it," Peter added.
"Yeah let's go with that," Ryuji said, nodding in agreement.
"Well now that the name's set, who's our next target?" Ann asked.
"There are tons of rotten adults and all…" Ryuji pointed out.
"Guys we got enough time, for now let's just relax. Besides if we're working as a team, we should all have a unanimous vote on who we target," Peter stated.
"Peter's right, if we're going to steal hearts, we need to have one single target that we can agree on," Morgana pointed out.
"Well then, let's toast to the official formation of the Phantom Thieves," Ren said, raising a glass.
Everybody toasted in agreement, before leaving the buffet.
Note: Well now that the team is officially formed, its time I give some explanations. Since Norman Osborn made an appearance, he too will also be someone the Phantom Thieves and Spider-Man will target. Also his appearance and design is based off of Willem Dafoe's portrayal of Green Goblin. I'll explain more as how he will be a villain in the story