Chapter 4: The Debut

"No."

"But mom-"

"Izuku..." Inko interrupted before letting out a long sigh, "I know I agreed to help you with your dream of being a hero from now on, and I know I said I was sorry and want to make up to you all this time I haven't supported you. But I'm not going to support you becoming a criminal!"

"I'm not going to be a criminal! I'm just gonna be a hero without a license!"

"Izuku, you shouldn't have to break the law to be a hero!"

"Well, I don't have a choice now!" Izuku yelled back, his voice now increasing as the two glared at each other. The teen took a deep breath at this, trying to keep his composure as he continued, "Mom, I don't have a choice. There are no more hero schools available, and the semester is already starting. Katsuki is literally going to start at UA tomorrow and I get nothing! And if I can't go there, I have to start another way! I spent all this morning looking over vigilantism laws, and they say if I can be good enough and get on the side of the police, I can get into the hero business. I'll just have...less protection getting to that point."

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't do it! You shouldn't have to break the law to be a hero!" Inko exclaimed, "You deserve better!"

Izuku flinched at those words, shaking his head next, "If that's true, then I wouldn't have to do this! This quirk I now have, I need practice, and this is the best way to do it!"

"By fighting villains?!"

"By fighting criminals!" Izuku retorted, "I'll fight small crime and move up when I think I can handle the bigger stuff!"

"Izuku...do you not hear what you're saying?!" Inko cried, tears starting to appear in her eyes, "Izuku, I don't want you getting hurt, and this is the worse idea for that!"

"I wanna be a hero, mom! That means danger!" Izuku let out a long huff at this before adding, "I...I want to use this quirk! I can't just sit here and not use it! I've spent all these years without a quirk, and then I get one and you still don't want me to use it?!"

"But...but..." she tried to say, only to see the expression on Izuku's face. It was that face again, the one he showed when he exploded after hearing the UA results. She knew this meant one thing: Izuku was done listening. He was angry, something he rarely was, and...and he still wanted to be a hero. To help others.

He always had that spark in his eyes. It was something that she always feared, as it showed a look of pure compassion combined with a crazed desire to help others. The fire within them was almost too much at times, as she knew now more than ever that she couldn't convince him to not be a hero, to not help others.

And now he wanted to be a vigilante. The idea made her heart sink...but that expression he wore. It sealed everything. She wouldn't convince him otherwise. The woman let out a long sigh, only to say a few words, "Alright. You can be a vigilante."

Izuku's expression faltered at this, making him slightly flinch. "R-r-really?"

Inko did a slow nod, only to look back up at him, "But if you really want to do it, let's set some rules, alright?" Izuku nodded back as she continued, "You can't just jump into everything, alright? Don't go challenge big A-level villains first thing."

"Okay."

"And two...if you really have to do this, let me help you when you get injured. I'm a working nurse after all, but...just don't come back in a mess, alright?"

"I won't. I promise."

Now, Izuku knew he probably couldn't keep that promise. But considering what he was about to do, it was an obvious conclusion that the promise would be broken. Despite this, he waited till night for his first try as a vigilante. He took a mid-day nap before doing it, promising his mom to finish his online class homework first. She knew it would take him no time to do it, but it was just something she could use to get her some relief about her son's future.

And as the sun disappeared from the sky, Izuku put on his costume, already liking that feeling of putting it on. He took a deep breath as he opened his window, soon crawling out and up to the roof. The teen began to focus at this, his body instantly vanishing. He looked down at his hands at this, seeing he was now invisible.

'I think I got it. I still can't summon that bio-elec stuff again, but the invisibility isn't too hard. It just...takes a bit to concentrate.' He thought before staring out at the city before him. 'Now, let's go patrolling.'

He thwipped out a web line and leapt off the roof, quickly swinging away. A big smile was already on his face as he swung across the first few blocks, the feeling of freedom returning. He still couldn't believe he had a quirk. He had had it for just a little over a month and he still couldn't believe it.

But as he began to swing around, he remembered his first try at web-swinging, and the disastrous encounter with a hero. Due to this, he made sure not to yell this time, instead just silently swinging around. He did this for an hour, not finding a single thing as he webbed around Musutafu. He had hoped for something small, like a mugging, but found nothing.

'Figures. I start trying to be a vigilante and I don't find anything. Just great. Another failure for the worthless Deku. Guess I-'

He came to a stop as he saw a light in the corner of his eyes. He quickly webbed up to a nearby roof, landing on its edge before glancing back at the light, only to see it was from a building across the street. He squinted his eyes at this, the costume's eyes mimicking his as he saw several figures behind several large glass panes. He looked up at the building, seeing it was a bank. A rather small one, but it was still a bank.

But that wasn't what was important. What was important was that it was exactly what Izuku was looking for: Crime.

'That could work. Stopping a bank robbery is definitely a good start...I think.' Izuku put a hand to his chin, his mind going over the situation. 'Now...how do I do this? Obviously, the bank's alarm isn't going off, so one of them probably has a jamming quirk. Also, I have no idea what quirks they have.'

He then put his hand in his hoodie, soon pulling out a small notebook and a tiny flashlight. Opening it up, he looked over the notes he had made today. After looking over the vigilantism laws and his old notebooks over quirk analysis and what kind of hero he wanted to be back in the day, he decided to make a new notebook that was for purely writing stuff down on the fly. As such, he started on this new notebook today, which was filled with instructions he had made for himself earlier today on how to be a vigilante, along with plenty of blank pages for everything else.

'Okay. So, step one: If possible, make sure web fluid is full before going into a fight.' He glanced down at his shooter and saw it was at a fourth. He took out a full cartridge and replaced it. 'I really wish I could automate that. I need to find some better stuff.'

He looked back at his notebook, 'Step two: Make sure to smile and be positive. All Might says that being a hero is all about inspiring hope. Even if they can't see your smile under your mask, be positive. If necessary, make a persona for yourself to try and make others feel safe. Try quips as well and make people laugh.'

He then flipped to the next page, which was empty, as it was for quips he wanted to record...when he thought them up. Unfortunately for the teen, he found when he was first writing in the notebook, he didn't know any jokes. Izuku knew he was never a funny kid, but he also knew this was because he never had any friends to make jokes with.

'I'll figure out the quips later.' He sighed to himself before turning a few pages, all blank for future quips, before going to the final rule he had put down. 'Rule three: Until you're a hero, you need to make yourself known, even if its just leaving a calling card. That way, your name can get out and see if you can get the hero commission to sign you on.' He then pulled out a stack of cards in his other pocket in his hoodie, now remembering he hadn't even figured out his vigilante/hero name. 'It'll have to do for now. According to those laws I read, it takes a lot to get on their side. They mainly hunt down vigilantes more than anything.'

He took a deep breath, now looking back at the building. He thwipped his webs over to it, quickly zipping up to the bank's roof. 'Hmmm...guess I should go the underground hero route and do stealth here. At least, for my first time. Now, how do I get in?' He crawled down the side of the building at this, only to see an air duct. Seeing he could fit, he cricked his neck as he opened it up, 'Guess its time to see how flexible I am.'

He found the crawling was relatively easy. Despite being in a very confined space and knowing his body was more agile than it used to be, he was still surprised at how easy it was for him to just crawl through the vents. His body just slithered through, his sticking that he was still getting used to not even being a problem as he snuck through.

And as he went through the vents, he found a grate, his form quickly going over it. He squinted his eyes as he stared through the thin bars, now seeing three hooded men with flashlights pulling out a device that they were now using on an ATM. He blinked at the sight, only to slowly pick up the grate and quietly took it off, putting it slightly aside.

'Okay Izuku, you can do this. Your first fight against villains. Criminals. Technically thieves, but I guess it could be argued that they could be burglars or bank robbers. Yeah, that's probably the correct terminology, though-' He took a deep breath, trying to stop what he called his 'head muttering' as he looked back down at the criminals, 'Focus! You need to focus Izuku! Just...try to take these three out, and then see if there's any more.'

It was here that Izuku realized he didn't actually know how to fight. All he knew was how to take beatings, not dish them out. 'Should I just go in and try to punch them? I mean, I've never won a fight in my life. Can I really just-' He clenched his eyes at this before sighing, 'Stop it! Just...go in and...I don't know, improvise. Can't be too hard. I mean, according to everything I've analyzed about my body, I have super strength now. As long as I can hit them, I should be okay. And if I can't hit them...web 'em. That should work.'

He then crawled out of the duct, not making a single sound as he stuck himself to the ceiling next. He slowly went overhead of them, the trio not noticing the teen. Granted, all the lights were all off, the only lights being the flashlights on the thieves and the device they were using to open the ATM up.

Taking a deep breath, he set up a web on the ceiling and hung upside down, slowly extending the web as he quietly went down to the floor. He then silently flipped himself over, taking another breath before speaking up, "Hey fellas."

The three thieves shot up at this, quickly spinning around to see the green colored vigilante. He then saw what was under their hoods, one of them having a lobster face and the other two having crab faces. Izuku did a small wave at this, "So...making a late night withdrawal?"

"What the heck?! Who are you?!" One of the crab guys yelled.

"Uh...hi. I'm...actually, I'm still trying to think up my vigilante name. Who are you?"

"Vigilante?!" the lobster one yelped before pointing at Izuku, "Get him!"

The two crab thugs charged at him at this, pulling out long crab claws out of their hoods' long sleeves. Izuku's spider sense instantly blared, quickly hopping back as the first one lunged at him. The teen backpedaled at this, dodging two claw swipes as Izuku's brain started to catch to the situation.

And he found the criminal trying to attack him...was slow. As if, he could just easily see the strikes coming. His spider sense kept screaming at him, the second thug running up to try to hit him again. And as they attack again, Izuku's mind told him to do one thing: counterattack. His fingers pressed down on the triggers on his shooters, his hands aiming downward. Webbing covered both thugs' feet and the ground under them, making both trip. Their faces hit the floor, Izuku quickly firing more webbing on them, tying them to the ground.

"Blaugh!" Both cried as they felt their faces get smushed into the floor.

"Yes!" Izuku exclaimed, raising his arms up high before his spider sense blared again. He looked back up and saw the lobster thug now leaping at him.

"I'll kill you!" He roared, Izuku quickly ducking under a first swing from the thug. It was here that he saw the lobster-headed criminal just had normal human hands, both balled into fists as he swung them at Izuku. The teen kept going back, dodging three swings before pulling back one of his arms, balling up his own fist.

And then he thrust the punch forward. He expected it to just push the thug back, but as it connected, which it hit the lobster man in the chest, the criminal let out a scream as he was suddenly thrown across the room from the punch. Izuku flinched at this, now seeing his super strength used on a human for the first time as the thief flew onto a desk, bouncing off it and hitting the faraway wall, only to slump to the floor a second later. He fired a web at this, instantly wrapping up the criminal before letting out a sigh.

"Okay...still don't know my own strength. Hope I didn't hurt that guy too much." He then stared at the room, now seeing he had beaten all three criminals with ease. "Wow...I did it. I beat them." He looked back down at his hands, flexing them for a second. "I...I can do it. I can be a hero. I-"

"Hey guys, what's with all the noise? I thought you-" called out a new voice as it walked out of the bank's bathroom, a hooded man with a normal, albeit scraggly face. He went wide-eyed when he saw Izuku, only for the teen to reflexively shoot a web at him. It instantly hit his mouth, making him muffle out before charging at Izuku. But as he did this, Izuku quickly sidestepped a punch from the criminal, only for a second punch to go right for Izuku's face.

And as his spider sense blared, Izuku's hand raised up and caught the punch. The thug tried to pull his fist back at this, only for Izuku's hand to hold onto it. "Whoa...I caught it. Cool." Izuku commented as he stared at the fist. A grin shined under his mask as then pushed his hand forward, throwing the thug right off his feet.

"Mmph!" the criminal muffled as he felt his back hit the floor, only for a stream of webs to hit his chest, sticking him to the ground.

Izuku stared at the thief he had just webbed down, only to glance back at the original three, both crab men squirming and yelling profanities as they tried to escape the webbing. He pulled out his notebook again as he began to write in the quip page, "Late night withdrawal. That's a good first quip." he whispered to himself before walking in front of crab thugs, leaning down as he asked them, "So, got any more pals, mister seafood? I'm guessing your friend I just webbed up is the one who helped you with the alarms. Wait..." He looked back at his notebook, "Eh, that seafood thing wasn't as good. Not recording that quip."

"Let us go, you freak!" One of them yelled, Izuku looking away from the notebook.

"Yeah! Do you know who we are, you weird spider guy?!"

'Spider guy? Hmm...maybe I could rework that for my hero name.' Izuku thought before shaking his head and pointing at the criminals, "Listen here, all I know is that you're thieves. Er, I mean, bank robbers. I'm here to stop you, and...I did that." Izuku facepalmed at that, "And that's another failed quip." He then heard the criminal yell another profanity, Izuku just shaking his head before putting away the notebook.

"Now, what to do with you four?" Izuku asked before looking back at the bank's counters, an idea forming in his head. He walked over to the desks, looking around until he saw a small red button. "Here we go."

He pressed the button, sending a silent alarm to the police before taking out a calling card from his other pocket. Also taking out a pencil, he wrote out a small message as a smile shined under his mask. "Yeah, that's a good name for me." He then put the note on the lobster thug before walking over to the bank's main door. "Later fellas! Thanks for being my first ever crime! Er, I mean, first crime I ever stopped!"

And with that, he left the building and leapt up before shooting out a web, swinging away a second later.

Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa really wanted to go home for the night. Despite his usual late hours he would get on the job, he was really tired today. But a silent alarm had gone off at a bank in Musutafu and he was nearby, doing a small nightly patrol. He quickly zoomed over in his patrol car, only taking him a few minutes to get there.

And as he got there, he got out of his car and saw there was nothing outside the building. When it came to bank robberies and quirks, there was usually a torn up wall, or a bunch of broken windows, or a trail of money strewn outside of the bank. But there was nothing, which was cause for concern as he then heard a voice.

"Detective!" He looked up and saw the hero Death Arms, the most local hero he could get right now. He leapt off a nearby roof and landed beside the detective, both nodding to each other before the hero went in first.

And as they walked in, a voice yelled out, "Finally!" The two glanced down at the sound, now seeing the two crab thugs squirming under the webs, "Get us out of this!"

The two shared a glance before Death Arms grabbed both thugs, lifting them up as the webs snapped off the floor. As he did this, the detective looked over the area, seeing a desk knocked over and the lobster thug now webbed up to a nearby wall, fully knocked out. And as he walked over to him, he leaned down and saw a certain tiny note in the thug's lap. He picked it up and read it.

Just beat these bank robbers for you. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

"Spider...man?" Naomasa slowly whispered before looking back at the webbed up thug. And as he glanced back and saw Death Arms walk back into the room.

"Anything else?"

"No. Just this guy and that other one over there." Naomasa replied before holding up the note, "And this."

"What is it?"

"I think...it might be a new vigilante." He let out a long sigh at that statement, "And I already got a bad feeling about this one."