Chapter 10: Weaving A Web

Izuku had to admit, despite not currently being Spider-Man, he did feel like he was doing good right now. After telling his mom what FEAST was like the other day, she asked if she could come along when he went the next time. She agreed with Martin Li's advice, saying he did need to help himself. However, Izuku found himself mostly ignoring this today, as he was too embarrassed having his mother there at FEAST.

Not only that, he found out that his mother could just easily walk up to anyone there and talk to them, something he could barely do. As such, she was already friends with Gloria, the snake lady constantly giggling at how different he was to his mother. This was also added by the fact that his mother told him he couldn't be Spider-Man till tonight, having caught him trying to do that this morning, and told him to still relax and recover even though he did that yesterday, or go to FEAST before being a vigilante tonight.

Despite this, he felt he was doing good right now. Thanks to bringing his mother, Martin Li accepted Izuku to volunteer. That and they needed people right now, as they were doing a weekly soup kitchen operation. Now, Izuku didn't know how to really cook, but they needed multiple people to serve the food, which was something he could do. Not only that, Li soon commented at how strong Izuku seemed to be despite his tiny frame, Izuku telling him he just works out regularly. He then had Izuku help move a bunch of tables and supplies around, Izuku now realizing just what little help the place had.

And as the soup kitchen started and he began to serve others food, Izuku found that this charity thing was worth it. Smiles and thanks happened over and over, making him feel like he was truly helping others. Part of him still wanted to go out and fight crime, but he now knew why All Might said this was so important. A real hero helps everyone.

And after a few hours, he took a lunch break, his mother staying behind to talk to her new friends as Izuku got himself some food. After getting some grub from a stand nearby FEAST, he went back inside and onto the building's roof. He went there, thinking he could use some peace and quiet, only to open the door and go wide-eyed at the sight.

On the roof was another resident of FEAST, Howard. He was a scraggly old guy that Izuku had met the first time coming to FEAST, but now realized he never saw him come down to the kitchen. Howard had a small shed set up on the roof, which had three pigeons inside.

"Yes yes...quiet down you." Howard chuckled as he scratched the chin of one of the pigeons before glancing over at the teen, "Ah, Izuku! How ya been doing?"

"H-h-hello mister Howard." Izuku replied as he walked up to him, "What's all this? W-w-why do you have all those birds?"

"Oh, these darlings? They're nothing much." Howard chuckled, "You see, they're my wife's pigeons."

"You're married?"

Howard shook his head, "Not anymore. She's uh...she's gone. This is all I really got left of her."

Izuku blinked at this for a second before bowing, "Oh, I-I-I'm so sorry. I-I-I didn't mean to-"

"Its fine." Howard waved his hand, "Don't worry about it." The pigeon he was scratching then tried to nip at him, making him flinch, "Hey! None of that!" Howard then shook his head, "Heh...looks like Bertha here still doesn't like me. If only I had my wife's quirk."

"Oh? What was her quirk?" Izuku chimed in, only to blush, "I-I-I mean, if you don't mind me asking..."

Howard shook his head and then patted Izuku's shoulder, "Its fine. Her quirk let her talk to birds. Mainly pigeons and a few others...not great, but it let her be a good veterinarian."

"Wow."

"Yup." Howard laughed before patting the pigeon's head, "Unfortunately, my quirk doesn't help with pigeons."

Izuku didn't reply to that, remembering when he first met Howard. His quirk was with his teeth, which were mole-like, allowing him to eat through just about anything. Unfortunately, it didn't have a much of a use, even when Izuku asked to analyze it and told him it was an amazing quirk. Despite this, he told Izuku he had had a fulfilling life, and told Izuku its okay to be limited like he was. Izuku had found him to be inspiring, though he didn't tell him.

Now, he stared at the pigeons and asked, "S-s-so...are these your only birds?"

"No." Howard sighed, "There's two more...but they randomly leave and come back." He scratched the side of his head, "I really wish I had a way to track them."

"Track them?"

"Yeah...two of them really love to fly everywhere and I'm worried someone will decide to...you know, get rid of them."

Izuku blinked at him as his mind began to catch up. 'Tracking them...' His eyes went wide at this, 'That's it!'

"Izuku? Are you okay?" Howard asked as he saw Izuku go silent and then wide-eyed.

"I gotta get going. Thanks Howard!" Izuku yelled as he suddenly ran for the door, quickly opening it.

"Sure...wait, thank you? But I didn't do anything!"

Izuku quickly ran downstairs and found his mother, Inko asking why he looked like he was in such a rush. He then told her he needed to go home, telling her he just thought up an invention idea. She asked if this was a lie, thinking he was going to go be Spider-Man early, something he had promised to do tonight, but Izuku told her the invention would take him all day. Nodding to this, he was allowed to leave early.

He quickly left the place and ran down an alleyway, turning invisible before changing into his Spider-Man outfit and swung over to his house. Izuku was glad he had figured out invisibility so quickly, it made things so easy to get around. He got to his house unnoticed, wall-crawling through his window and into his room before taking out a notebook he hadn't used in a while.

It was his invention notebook, though it was the fifteenth one he had created over his lifetime. Here, he wrote up a few blueprints, and then a few hours later, he began to create something new. He found his inventing drive was ten times stronger than ever, as if having the purpose of helping him be Spider-Man made him be a better inventor.

'I should write down a whole list of support equipment just for Spider-Man. he thought as he pulled out his main notebook over being Spider-Man. 'Let's see...I want to automate the web shooters one day. I also want multiple material sets for the costume for different scenarios...maybe some kind of stealth suit? That could useful.' He turned to his other notebooks, only to see his cell phone on the desk. The sight made him hum as his mind told him to write down something else, 'There's an idea. I've always experimented on how my phone's apps could respond through other devices, but only made them work through my computer or my phone.' His eyes shifted over to his vigilante costume laying over a chair, 'I wonder if I could ever implement that into my costume. Maybe just the mask? Eh, that's an idea for another day.'

And as evening came and the night started, Inko had already came home and was surprised to find Izuku still at his desk. He told her that he was going to go out as Spider-Man tomorrow, saying this new invention would help him be a better hero. Sighing and shaking her head, she told him she was proud of him going to FEAST today, and told him to not stay up too late before going to bed. And as she did this, Izuku finished his project and went to bed like she asked, knowing that this was just the beginning.

The Next Day...

Izuku woke up early that day, stretching as he flipped out of bed and onto the ceiling. As he crawled off the walls, he did his morning routine before telling his mom goodbye. She asked him if he had done his homework, only to tell her he was already three weeks ahead. He then changed into Spider-Man, turning invisible and out his window before swinging into the city.

And after swinging down a few blocks, he landed onto a nearby rooftop and pulled out a small device from his hoodie. 'Now...I hope this works.' He thought to himself as he stared at the gadget, which had a screen on it before taking out a tiny metal spider. 'Hmm...what should I call you? How about...spider tracer? Yeah, that sounds good.'

He put both away before swinging again, soon going down a few more streets, "Now to start my patrol."

And so, hour after hour passed, the vigilante swinging across the city. As he did this, he found two muggers, stopping both with ease, but nothing else. He then saw it was about noon, the sight making Izuku stop and land on a rooftop, soon changing his web cartridges. "Better get some grub. Wonder where I should eat?"

As he said that, the police scanner in his phone rang out.

"This is Musutafu police. We have a report of two speeding vehicles. Last sighting is at Mortis Avenue."

"Mortis Avenue?" Izuku repeated before staring at the street below him, "That's pretty close. Maybe I could find-"

His words came to a stop as two black vans suddenly shot down at the end of the block he was looking at. "Nevermind. Looks like they're coming to me." He tensed up, ready to hop off the roof, only to go wide-eyed as he saw a figure lean out of one of van's windows. "What the-its those masked guys again!"

A masked thug was leaning out of the window, a two-handed rifle in his hand as Izuku followed where he was looking and saw another sight. "That's...Airjet!" The flying mecha-looking hero was right behind the two vans, quickly zipping back and forth as the masked man started shooting at him.

"Looks like he needs help. Good thing I just reloaded my webbing." Izuku said before leaping off the building, "Let's do this!"

He fired a web line and began swinging, seeing Airjet flying over one of the vans, the hero yelling, "Pull over now! This is your last warning!"

"Shoot the hero down!" the driver in the van responded, the masked man in the passenger seat pointing a gun at the hero.

"Uh-oh." Izuku gulped as he swung behind the hero. Airjet saw the gun and shifted over to the top of van, out of the range of the rifle. He then flew down, slamming himself into the roof of the van. The car began to shake at this, only for right side door of the van to open, showing two more masked men.

One fired an energy blast at Airjet, knocking him back as he tried to hold onto the van. "Airjet!" Izuku gasped before firing two web lines at the van's back, then yanking himself forward. He shot himself at the back of the van, landing as the van rocked at this as well. Airjet and the masked men glanced back at this, Izuku gripping the vehicle's rear at this. "Airjet, I'm here to help!"

"Spider-Man?!"

"The spider?!" one masked man yelped before ducking back into the van, "The spider is here! He's trying to stop us again!"

"Great...still can't understand you." Izuku sighed before seeing the masked man pull out a gun and point it at him. "Oh no you don't!" He aimed his wrist, firing it at the gun. The webbing instantly covered the weapon before Izuku yanked it away.

"No!" the masked man barked, only for an armored hand to suddenly grab his shoulder. He turned to see Airjet pulling back a punch. The other masked man charged up some energy in his fists at this, Izuku seeing this and fired a web line at the man's mask. The man yelped as he was suddenly blinded, only for Airjet to jab the first masked man.

The blow knocked out the thug, Airjet still keeping his grip on the thug's shoulder as Spider-Man climbed onto the roof. He turned to see the second van about to take a right, 'Gotta stop this car, but that one might get away. Time to try out the spider tracer.' He put the tracer in his wrist and fired a web, instantly sticking it on the bumper of the van.

He then turned back to Airjet, now seeing him leap into the van, punching the others inside. "Guess I'll stop the driver and-"

A scream rang out next, making him look up and he saw the van was now heading for a park...and its tires just went up the sidewalk. The tires then hit the grass, Izuku now seeing there was a playground filled with kids coming up next. "NO!" Izuku screamed before firing two web lines at some nearby trees in the park and slingshotted himself ahead. He flung himself over to the jungle gym in the playground, making two kids gasp as he landed on the metal bars.

"Get out of here kiddos!" He yelled before spinning around and pointing his web shooters ahead. "I hope this works." He multi-tapped the shooters at two trees that the van was about to pass through. Piles of webbing shot out, making a giant web as the van came.

And as he kept firing webs, the van hit the big webbing net, slowing the speeding van as its tires grinded into the dirt. It kept trying to move at this, until eventually all its momentum was gone, sticking the car in place. "Nice." Izuku let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, seeing the van was now fully stuck. And as he aimed at the van's roof again, a 'psst' came out of his shooters. "Great..."

He opened his shooter to replace the webbing, only for a loud clang to ring out as Airjet screamed, "Augh!" Izuku glanced up to see the hero's back hit a nearby tree before slumping over.

"Airjet!" Izuku gasped before quickly replacing the webbing, only to see a certain masked thug walk out of the van. This one was bulky, just like the other two he had fought. "Oh, great. So they are triplets." And as he said that, the one in the driver seat stopped hitting the gas and instead hopped out of the car as well. This one had two long black and white energy whips in his hands. "That's new..."

"Forget the mission! Kill the spider!" the whip guy yelled as they both ran around the webbed-up van. Izuku let out a growl as he leapt off the jungle gym and got down into a crouched stance.

"You guys are gonna pay for the destruction you've done today!" Izuku said as he pointed his wrist at the whip guy, only for his spider sense to yell at him. But before he could react, the thug flicked the whip, instantly grabbing Izuku's arm and yanking him. "Whoa!"

The thug slung the whip overhead, flinging Izuku into a tree. "Urgh!" He groaned as he hit the pillar of lumber, denting it slightly as the whip let go of his arm. And as he slumped down, his spider sense went off again, making Izuku quickly fire a web line to another tree, yanking himself away just in time as the bulky thug charged at him. He missed the vigilante at this, destroying the first tree in the process before turning around, now seeing Izuku get back on his feet.

"Okay, let's try that again." Izuku grunted before his spider sense rang out again, making him backflip as the whip guy swung his weapon at him. The whips just missed the teen as he kept going back, only to then fire a web line at the whip thug, hitting his leg before Izuku yanked it, knocking him off his feet.

But before he could do anything else, the other thug charged at him, swinging two jabs. Izuku ducked under the first, only for the second to hit him in the stomach, the punch turning into an uppercut as it knocked the vigilante off his feet. "Oof!" he yelped as he was knocked upward, only to point his wrists at the thug and fire two web lines, catching both of the thug's fists. And with a mighty yank, he fired himself right back at the bulky man, slamming his feet into the thug's chest.

The thug let out a wheeze of pain as he was knocked back, only for Izuku to quickly fire some webbing over the now laying criminal. But as he did this, his spider sense blared before a whip shot straight for Izuku's head, and then grabbed his neck. "Urk!" Izuku yelped as he was yanked off his feet, the masked thug laughing as he began to drag Izuku through the dirt.

"Today you die spider!" the thug exclaimed before tightening his grip on the whip, energy flowing through it as it reached Izuku. A surge of pain struck him at this, making the teen cry out in pain.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Izuku screamed as he felt the energy from the whips zap him.

"Ha! And now you-blaugh!"

A fist slammed into the thug's face, knocking him down instantly. Feeling the whip loosen, Izuku grabbed and pulled it off, coughing as he laid there in the dirt. "That...sucked."

"I couldn't agree more." said a voice, making Izuku look up and see Airjet standing over him, offering the vigilante a hand, "You okay?"

"Yeah...just sore." Izuku groaned as he took the hand and Airjet pulled him up. "How about you?"

"Only thing that's hurt is my pride." Airjet replied before patting the vigilante's shoulder, "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"You saved me. And everyone at this park." Airjet continued as he gestured to the still webbed up van. "I thought I could contain those villains, but they were too much for me. So...thank you."

"Oh...right." Izuku slowly said as he stared at everything around him, now seeing the knocked out masked men along with the van. And then he saw a crowd form around them, several people yelling thank you while others were taking pictures with their phones.

Airjet patted his shoulder again, making Izuku turn to him, "You best get going."

"Wha..."

Airjet let out a chuckle, "You're not used to compliments, are ya?" Izuku shook his head, "Thought so. Just take the thank you and get going. I know I shouldn't let a vigilante get away, but you did good here kid. You saved all these people, so I'll let you go."

"Oh...t-t-thanks." Izuku nodded before firing two web lines and slingshotting away.

And as he did this, Airjet stared at the fleeing vigilante and hummed, "Spider-Man, huh? Seems like a good kid." He looked back at the knocked out masked men, sighing at the sight, "Still...this is quite the mess. Guess I better get started."

Izuku wasn't sure how much time passed as he swung away. He just kept swinging, soon passing over to the district where his house is located. Seeing this, he turned invisible and went to the roof, crawling through the window like usual. And as he sat down at his desk, he pulled out a small device from his hoodie. It was the tracker, which was now showing one red repeating dot.

"Guess the spider tracer worked." Izuku sighed as he slumped over in his seat. "He said...I did good. I helped those people at FEAST yesterday, and today...I caught the bad guys and saved a bunch of kids."

He stared up at the ceiling, "Wow...so this is what it's like to be a hero, huh?"

A smile graced his face at this. "I love it."

And as his eyes continued to stare at the ceiling, he took a long deep breath before glancing down at the tracker. "And tonight, I'm gonna catch the rest of you."