Chapter 15: A Distracting Stinger
Two days had passed since his encounter with Gentle Criminal. Despite writing down and planning everything he would do if he found the villain again, Gentle Criminal had gone silent. This was surprising, as he had looked up the villain after their encounter and found tons on him, though most being what the villain recorded himself.
He was arrogant, and loved causing trouble, though it was all minor crimes until he fought the heroes. However, none could catch him, which Izuku found surprising, as he knew his quirk was powerful and good for retreating, but he seemed to beat plenty of heroes with ease. They were all and C and D-list heroes, but they should be able to handle it, so that means he had to have a trump card. Izuku knew he had to have one, as anytime a fight happens in the video, it cuts.
As such, Izuku had nothing, and had spent the two days patrolling, feeling mostly aimless. Little scuffles with muggers and car thieves were all he could find. Nothing on the masked men, Tombstone's gang or this Gentle Criminal. There was nothing, nada, zilch.
Because of this, he was now at FEAST, letting out a long sigh as he helped bring in some supplies for a soup kitchen they were preparing. He was now carrying six full boxes, unable to see anything in front of him as he walked over to the main kitchen area. "Where do you want this, Mister Li?"
"Over there." Li responded, pointing to a section, only to glance back and see Izuku couldn't see him. Chuckling at the sight, he added, "On the table to your left."
"Got it." Izuku replied as he went over and put the boxes down.
As he did this and began to unstack them, Li walked over and patted his shoulder, making the teen turn to him, "You sure you're quirkless?"
"Uh-huh." Izuku nodded, getting a bit tired of being asked that. Multiple people at FEAST had asked them over the past week after seeing how strong Izuku was. Two of them asked to arm wrestle, only for Izuku to beat both with ease. It wasn't until he had to literally lift his shirt for them, showing his abs, (And he made sure to not be wearing his Spider-Man outfit underneath it) that they decided he must be telling the truth about his quirklessness.
However, Li seemed to still be a little less convinced to Izuku as the man just shook his head, "You're something else." Li laughed, "Still, glad you seem to be getting over your stutter."
"What do you mean?" Izuku responded with a raised eyebrow.
"You're speaking more casually now." Martin patted his shoulder again, "Its an improvement, though I have to ask, is something wrong? You seem...aimless today."
"Eh." Izuku shrugged, "Let's just say...I can't find something I'm looking for and its getting old."
"I know that feeling." Li chuckled, "Tell you what, why don't you finish up and then go out for the rest of the day. You look like you need some fresh air. We'll handle the kitchen today." He then gestured his head to the side, "That and your mother tells me you're not the best for the kitchen."
"She says that about everybody." Izuku replied in a deadpan tone, "She thinks it her domain and only her domain."
Li let out a roar of laughter at that, "There ya go!" He patted Izuku's shoulder once more, "Now, go on and finish up, alright?"
"Um...okay." Izuku slowly said before going back to the supply truck. A few minutes later, he was done carrying in the boxes and said goodbye to his mother, Inko knowing what he was going to be doing next. After all, it was now time for Spider-Man.
"Thanks for coming Eraser." Naomasa said as the underground walked into the detective's office. He had a cup of coffee in his hand, taking slight sips as Naomasa put his notepad away.
"Eh, its good to leave the school every now and then." Eraser grumbled as he took another sip.
"Well, thank you anyways. I know you're busy since the UA sports festival is literally one week away, but-"
"But you asked for me. Its fine." Eraser sighed while scratching the back of his head, "Sides, my students are currently getting some extra training today and I don't need to be there."
"All Might watching over them?"
"Don't mention his name around me." Eraser growled, "Now, what do you want? What's the case?"
Naomasa let out a chuckle and shook his head, "You know he's not that bad. As for why you're here..." He took out a folder and slid it across the desk, Eraser soon picking it up. The underground hero stared at it for a second before opening it up, only for his eyes to slightly widen.
"This is..." He glanced back up at Naomasa, "Is this for real?"
"Yup. The amount and everything. We're keeping it under wraps for now."
"Okay." Eraser put the coffee down and scanned the files over, only to look back up at Naomasa again, "When did this happen?"
"Almost a week ago. And if you're wondering, yes, we didn't do a thing. It was all Spider-Man."
"He did a drug bust this big?!" Aizawa asked, Naomasa nodding back, "Dang. You're right to cover that up then. You've made sure the commission doesn't know?"
"Not a peep. I've tried hard to keep their grubby eyes and ears out of this. I mean, if they found out-"
"They'd want Spider-Man hauled off to Tartarus." Eraser finished, "There's no way they'd accept a vigilante doing that kind of work, even if it is this new...Inner Demons gang. It would make people really start questioning their precious 'hero society'."
"Yup. That's why the chief has assigned me to catch him." Naomasa replied as Eraser handed him the file back.
"And you want me to help you?" Naomasa nodded in response, "Figures. You do realize if you have me do this, Nezu will want to meddle. He knows you called for me."
"I know." Naomasa put the folder away at this, "But I don't really have a choice. This is my case now, and I need the help that I know can get me Spider-Man."
"And once you caught him? Then what?"
Naomasa leaned back in his chair at that, "I'm...not sure. Ideally, we can find out why he never tried to be a hero and go from there. Maybe we could-"
WHAM!
The office door was slammed open, the two turning to it as Sansa ran in, "Naomasa! You've got to see this! Now!"
Naomasa and Aizawa shared a glance before getting up, the two leaving the room as they went into the main room of the police department. There, they saw several officers all crowded around a television, a reporter talking through the screen.
"This is eighteen news reporting a villain attack! Right now, Pro Hero Fourth Kind and the vigilante known as Spider-Man are fighting off a rampaging villain that calls itself, 'The Scorpion'!"
A few minutes ago...
Izuku was sitting on a rooftop a few blocks away from FEAST. Ever since going there, he tried to make sure he appeared as Spider-Man some distance away so no one would get suspicious of the place or his connection to it. Granted, he knew that people suspected he probably lived in Musutafu, but that was unavoidable. Despite this, he had only done a few swings before sitting down on a rooftop, unable to get any momentum going today.
"Ugh..." he groaned to himself as he stared at his notebook, trying to think of something to write down...only for his brain to give him nothing. Sighing at this, he slumped over and put the notebook away, "Darn it! I'm such a worthless Deku! Why can't I find anything?! Surely there's something I can do to find those masked guys or Tombstone's gang or..."
THOOM!
A sudden loud noise rang out, making the vigilante hop in place before running to the edge of the rooftop. There, he went wide-eyed as he saw a certain pro hero fighting a villain across the street. It was Fourth Kind, and he was fighting a villain dressed in a dark green metallic suit with a long winding tail that had a blade at the end of it. The tail seemed to be coming from the villain's behind, though he had perfect control over it. It looked as if the fight had just started, the two now fighting in the street as Fourth Kind seemed to be trying to push the villain into a nearby construction site.
Izuku watched as the four-armed man fired rapid punches at the villain, only for the villain to block over half of them with just his tail before hitting Fourth Kind back with a set of quick jabs.
"You're not beating the Scorpion, you two-bit hero!" the villain roared as he thrust his tail, Fourth Kind barely ducking under the blade.
"Grrr...you little-" Fourth grunted as he swung another punch, only for Scorpion to catch it with own his hands. Fourth followed this by thrusting three more punches at the same time, Scorpion backpedaling as he dodged each blow.
"Looks like he might need some help." Izuku commented as he fired a web line, zipping himself across the street. And as he landed on the roof, he turned invisible and leapt off the building. As he did this, Fourth knocked Scorpion back, the two now in the middle of a construction site. However, as he landed two more blows into Scorpion, the villain just withstood the punches before swinging his tail. The tail did an upward diagonal swing, slashing Fourth with a deadly precision as it cut through his suit. Blood began to spill out at this, making Fourth stagger back.
"Ha! Worthless hero!" Scorpion laughed as he extended his tail back, ready to thrust it right into Fourth's head as the hero tried to recover. "Now...die!"
He fired the tail, about the strike the hero-
THWIP!
A web line hit the top of the blade, only to instantly be yanked up, making him miss the pro hero. "What the?!" Scorpion yelped as he saw his tail fling away. He swung his tail back and forth at this, the blade snapping the webbing before he lowered the tail up to his face, "Webs?"
"My calling card." said a voice behind him before Scorpion felt a tap on his shoulder.
ZAP!
"Yeow!" Scorpion screeched as electricity surged through his body, only to instantly spin around, thrashing his tail at this. Izuku quickly leapt back at this, dodging the tail as he saw Scorpion was still standing despite being zapped.
"Great...that didn't work." Izuku sighed as his invisibility wore off due to him using his bio-electric powers. Scorpion now saw the vigilante, growling at the sight.
"Spider-Man! So, you want a piece of the Scorpion too?"
"The Scorpion? That's your name?" Izuku replied, "I thought it would be something less lame, like...green tailed man."
"What?! Why you little-" Scorpion growled, only to feel something yank his tail. He turned around to see Fourth Kind holding onto the tail with his one of his arms as he thrusted his three other arms at the villain. All three punches struck him, only for the villain to backpedal and yank at his tail, the bladed weapon slipping out of Fourth's grasp. He then thrust the tail at the hero, Fourth crossing his arms at this. The blade struck the four arms and slipped over it, almost cutting the top of Fourth's head.
"Urgh!" Fourth grunted as he started to stagger back, only for Scorpion to spin around, swinging the tail in a wide arc. Izuku's spider sense blared at this, making him leap back again, barely dodging the tail. As this happened, Fourth charged at Scorpion, only for the villain to just thrust his tail again, this time not even looking at the hero. Fourth had to side-step at this, evading the tail as Scorpion saw Spider-Man charge up a Venom Punch, his arm sparking in power.
"You're not stopping me!" Scorpion roared as he charged at the vigilante, his tail now over his head as he ran. Seeing this, Izuku turned off the Venom Punch and instead aimed both wrists at him, firing a two shot of webbing right at the villain's face. But as they webs were about to hit, Scorpion whipped the tail in front of his head, cutting both shots with the tail's blade. He then thrust a punch at Spider-Man, Izuku quickly ducking under the jab, only for a second punch to slam into the teen's face. And as Izuku staggered back, Scorpion thrust his tail at him, blade going straight for the teen's neck.
But as this happened, the tail was suddenly yanked back, Fourth now grabbing it again before throwing a trio of punches at the villain. However, this time Scorpion just let the blows hit his back before yanking at his tail, slipping it out of Fourth's grip again before spinning around and punching Fourth in the face. The hero staggered back at this, only for Scorpion's tail to sweep low, knocking over Fourth's feet, making the hero collide with the dirt.
"Fourth Kind!" Izuku gasped before swinging a Venom Punch at the villain, Scorpion quickly spinning around and blocking it with his tail. But as the bio-elec punch hit it, the lightning surged through the villain's body, making him flinch.
"Gah!" Scorpion yelped before swinging his tail upward, smacking Izuku with the back part of the blade.
"Blaugh!" Izuku cried as he was knocked off his feet. As this happened, Fourth got back up and slammed four fists into Scorpion's back, making him cry out in pain. And as the villain felt this, he spun again, swinging the tail in a wide arc at the hero, only for Fourth to grab the tail. However, he used all four hands to grab it this time, Scorpion quickly finding himself unable to get it out of Fourth's grip.
"Let's see how you fare without this blade of yours!" Fourth growled as he let out a grunt of aggression, twisting the end of the tail. He then lifted two fists up and thrust them down on the blade, breaking it into pieces.
"NO!" Scorpion yelled, only to yank the tail out of Fourth's grip again. "You're gonna pay for that!" He then swung the tail in a wide arc once more, smacking Fourth into the face. The blow knocked him down again, the hero's back hitting the ground with a thud.
"DIE!" Scorpion screamed as he thrust his tail's broken blade down next, only for web lines to hit his back. He was then yanked away from the hero, missing his target as his tail's end hit the dirt. He spun around at this, only to be met with a Venom Punch right into his face. "Blaugh!"
Electricity surged through him, knocking him off his feet and flew over the hero. And as the villain hit the ground, Spider-Man ran up to the downed hero, "Mister Fourth Kind! Are you okay?" The hero let out just a grunt of pain, showing he was trying to form words. "Mister Fourth Kind?!"
Danger!
His spider sense blared at this, making him look up to see Scorpion already recovered and thrusting his tail again. Spider-Man ducked under the weapon before firing a glob of webbing, Scorpion quickly side-stepping to dodge it. And as this happened, he swung the tail again, Spider-Man somersaulting over it before thrusting another Venom Punch. But as he did this, Scorpion just side-stepped again, dodging the blow before trying to stab the vigilante. Izuku quickly backpedaled at this, just barely able to get out of the tail's reach.
"Go away!" Scorpion roared as he thrust the tail again and again, Izuku's spider sense screaming as it helped him duck and dodge each attack. He then fired several shots of webbing, the villain's tail quickly zipping around, blocking every web.
'Darn it! I can't seem to get a good shot on him! Think Izuku, think!'
"Grrr...stop moving!" Scorpion barked again as he began to run right at the vigilante, Izuku firing two web lines upward. The webbing hit two girders and he yanked himself upward, swinging right over the villain. Seeing this, Scorpion spun around as Spider-Man landed and did another wide arc with his tail. As this happened, Izuku's spider sense blared, making him go down to all fours, slipping under the tail before spinning and thrusting both legs right up at Scorpion's face. The blow knocked him back, only for the villain to swing the tail wide again. This time it hit Izuku's stomach, the blow striking with the middle part of the tail, knocking the wind out of the teen and off his feet. Scorpion then spun around, Izuku stuck on the tail before being flung across the construction site.
"Augh!" Izuku yelped as he slammed into a pile of bricks.
"Ha!" Scorpion laughed before looking back at Fourth Kind, who was still trying to get up. "Don't you dare." the villain hissed as he pointed the broken bladed tail at the hero, "Your life ends today."
And as he said this, a new sound made him look up, now seeing a helicopter flying overhead. The sight made him blink before smirking, "Looks like we got an audience." He glanced back at the hero, "But I gotta cut this short. After all, if the press is here, heroes will soon come crawling."
He lifted the tail over the hero, licking his lips at the sight. But as he was about to thrust the tail down-
THWIP!
Two web lines hit his shoulder, instantly yanking him away. "Seriously?!" Scorpion yelled as he swiped his tail, cutting the webbing, "Don't you get it?! That doesn't work!"
"It might not work, but I won't let you hurt that hero!" Izuku barked back as he fired two more web lines, both going to either side of Scorpion. He then slingshotted himself at the villain, Scorpion replying with another tail thrust at the vigilante.
'Gotta time this just right...now!' Izuku thought as he swung his leg upward, connecting with tail and smacking it away from incoming vigilante. He then slammed his other foot into Scorpion's face, knocking him back as Izuku backflipped and landed on all fours, showing a signature spider-like pose.
Scorpion staggered back at this, only for Izuku to thrust a Venom Punch at him. But as he did this, Scorpion caught it with his hand, the electricity zapping the villain, only for him to punch Spider-Man in the face with his other hand. And as the blow hit, he kept his grip on the vigilante before zipping his tail up and around Izuku, constricting the hero like a snake as the tail grabbed Spider-Man's stomach.
He then began to squeeze, making Izuku moan and Scorpion laugh, "HA! You're no match for me either!"
"I...wouldn't...say...that." Izuku groaned before as he slowly pointed his other hand at Scorpion's face.
THWIP!
"Augh!" Scorpion yelped as webbing covered his face, making him let go of Izuku before flinging his tail, throwing the vigilante across the site again. Izuku hit the ground, rolling in the dirt before quickly getting back up, now seeing Scorpion trying to get the webbing off with his tail. But as he did this, Izuku fired two web lines upward, slingshotting himself into the air. He then landed on a nearby girder and charged a full fist of bio-electricity.
"This ends now!" he yelled as he leapt off the girder just as Scorpion got the webbing off. "Venom Smash!"
The vigilante slammed down on the villain, a surge of lightning pouring out as Scorpion was zapped, his skeleton now appearing for a split second. He let out a scream of pain, his body now being slammed into the ground. And as Izuku landed on top of him to deliver this blow, the tail did one last swing, smacking Izuku off.
"Waugh!" Izuku cried as he was knocked away again, landing into another brick pile. And as he laid there, Scorpion slowly got up, his body still flinching as electricity surged around him.
"You little..." he groaned as out as he walked over to the downed Spider-Man, quickly thrusting his hand into the brick pile and yanking Izuku out by the throat. The teen felt the villain's grip on his neck, squeezing it as Scorpion lifted his tail up to the teen's face.
"I was just gonna kill the hero and get out of here, but then you just had to interfere." the villain growled as he pulled the tail back, "Now, you're dead."
Izuku's eyes creaked open at this, seeing the broken blade on the tail pointed straight at him. The teen tried to move his arms up at this, feeling like he had to do something, anything, in that last desperate bit of struggle. But as Scorpion's words hit his ears, he saw the tail come for him.
'Guess Kacchan was right. I'll never be a hero.'
He closed his eyes as the villain thrust his tail...only to feel nothing. Izuku's eyes opened back up at this, only to see a large hand now pulling the tail back. It was Fourth Kind. And he was angry.
"Hey! Lemme go!" Scorpion yelled, his grip loosening on Izuku's neck. Feeling this, Izuku felt his body surge in pain for a second as he commanded it to move and thrust his right leg upward, kicking the villain in the face. "Blaugh!"
"Come here you!" Foruth Kind roared as he pulled Scorpion away, the villain stumbling back as the hero let go of his tail and curled up all four of his fists. "Quad Arm Beatdown!"
In the next few seconds, a fury of fists slammed into Scorpion, beating his face into a pulp before doing a four-fist uppercut into his jaw, knocking the villain off his feet. The man hit the dirt with a loud thud, creating a small dust cloud as he let out a long-defeated moan.
"Finally..." Fourth Kind growled before turning his attention to Izuku, now seeing the vigilante laying down on some uncomfortable rubble. The teen waved his arms around, the hero seeing he was trying to get up. He stared at the vigilante for a second before walking over and giving the teen a hand. Izuku's eyes blurred at this moment, a fuzzy hand appearing before refocusing as he took it.
"You okay?" Fourth asked as he hoisted Izuku up.
"Uh...yeah. Maybe." Izuku groaned out before putting a hand on his back and pushing it in, a crick sound soon following, "I...I think I'll live."
"Ha! Good!" Fourth chuckled before patting the vigilante's shoulder, "I uh...I'm not used to saying this to a vigilante, but...thank you."
Izuku's brain was still trying to catch up at this, the teen blinking for a second before replying, "Huh?"
"You saved me." Fourth responded, "I thought I could handle that guy, but it looks like it was too much for me. So...thank you."
"No...problem." Izuku slowly said, taking a deep breath, "Sorry. Still winded from all that."
"I understand." Fourth laughed.
"Spider-Man!" yelled another voice, making the two turn and see several reporters running up to them. One quickly put a microphone up to the vigilante, "Hey! Who are you and why are you a vigilante?!"
"Yeah!" Another exclaimed, "Tell us!"
This was followed by a barrage of questions, Fourth Kind grumbling a 'blasted vultures' under his breath as more reporters ran up to the duo. But Izuku couldn't respond. His whole head was in a daze, only for the microphones and cameras to be suddenly shoved into his face. And as he felt this, he heard one of the reporter's questions...only to not know what to say. He just stared ahead, his brain glitching at the sight before him. And when another mic hit his face, his brain activated the only thing it could think of.
"What the-where'd he go?!" one of them yelped as Izuku became invisible. A second later, they saw two strands of webbing appear out of nowhere, only for them to be yanked. Spider-Man was invisibly swinging away, having answered zero questions. Seeing this, they turned to Fourth Kind, only for him to tell the reporters to go away.
"Looks like we're too late." Naomasa commented as they arrived at the crime scene right when the press had stampeded Spider-Man, only for him to get away. This was followed by several more heroes arriving on the scene, trying to get there in time to help fight, but it was already over. The sight made him sigh, Eraserhead walking up to him with a low stare.
"Eh, that's how it works for vigilantes. At least he acts like he's not going for fame."
"True." Naomasa sighed again, "Still, wish we could have got him. Guess we'll be talking to Fourth Kind next."
"Good luck with that. That guy has quite the temper."
"Eh, that's how most people are."
Izuku wasn't sure when he got home. Regularly, he would have mentally insulted himself about just running from the press and Fourth Kind. He also knew his mom would be worried, mainly because a bunch of the Scorpion fight had been technically televised. That meant a lot of people saw it. And that meant he would be appearing online a lot more, along with the news...and his first full impression with news people was him running away.
But he didn't really think about it. He was so tired. That fight was the toughest yet, and he felt like he was going to collapse any second. Thankfully, he got home while still barely able to keep his invisibility on, quickly changed, took a small shower...and collapsed. He was out like a light, his body too sore to go any further.
It wasn't long till his mother came home. She marched up to their apartment, shaking her head as she kept telling herself she had to get used to this. But as she walked inside and opened the door to Izuku's room, she paused at the sight inside. Her son was there, asleep and alive. Granted, she knew she would probably have to bandage him up, but...he was alive.
That would have to be enough.
She went inside and did what she needed to, glad more than ever she was a nurse as she bandaged up the sleeping teen. And when she was done, she closed the door and made herself some supper before turning on the tv. She began to eat, only to switch it to the news channel, going wide-eyed for a second before seeing her son on the screen.
"As you can see, the vigilante known as Spider-Man came in and assisted Fourth Kind in a crazy battle today! And I must say, he's very powerful! Just look at him!" said one reporter.
"I agree." replied another, "Even though he's a vigilante, according to what we've been told, he has done nothing but good. He just stopped a B-rank villain, one that has been reported to have killed ten people."
"Sounds to me that he should be a pro." a third one chimed in, "I mean, this guy has stopped multiple bank robberies and now this? He's on his way to getting more reputation than most upcoming heroes right now."
"Bah." remarked a fourth, "Vigilantes are still people using their quirks illegally. That means he's a villain. If he keeps going like this, he'll encourage more to break the law!"
Inko flinched at that, only to see the first three nod in agreement. That made her feel a sinking feeling in her stomach as a fifth reporter spoke up, "I suppose. That being said, our reporter on the ground tried to interview him after the fight, but it seems he's shy. He ran away without answering the crucial question: Why is someone like that a vigilante?"
"I wish I didn't know the answer to that." Inko sighed as she leaned back in her chair, now watching the reporters debate over the vigilante, most saying that he is breaking the law, though they agree he did help. But none call him a hero, only a vigilante.
Hearing this, she glanced back at the door to Izuku's room, "Oh Izuku...nothing's ever easy, is it?"
Meanwhile...
A single finger tapped a key, ending the news footage before a sigh escaped the person's lips. "Looks like its just as we feared, Gentle."
"Indeed." Gentle sighed, leaning back in his chair before taking a sip of tea. "It seems this Spider-Man is going to be in the spotlight for some time."
"Yup." La Brava added as she closed the laptop before turning to Gentle, "So...what now?"
Gentle put a hand to his chin before replying, "This will be just the start for Spider-Man. I don't want to get involved with him again, so..." He took one more sip before taking out a phone, "It seems we'll have to try something new." He put his cup down and began typing out a number, soon sending a call. A second later, a response went through his ear before he said, "Tinkerer? Its Gentle. I would like to talk about that favor you owe me."
