The Green Spider

by Midoryia-Uzumaki13

(Not my story) Author PrinceRiolu Izuku Midoriya always wanted to be a hero despite being born quirkless. But as the years passed, he found himself falling more and more into despair, his bullies telling him everyday that he couldn't be one. And as these days continued, he thought he would never make it.

33. 33

Chapter 34: That First Step

It turned out that the little zap Izuku gave Himiko Toga did more than he thought. She was knocked out for several hours, confirming his theory that she was in even worse condition than he originally hypothesized. When he got home, he put her on their couch, webbing her up again as his mother got home. Inko wasn't happy with all the webbing, but knew it was necessary and the webbing would be gone in a few hours.

"You really jump into everything, don't you?" His mother commented, Izuku glancing away.

"Yeah." He let out a long sigh, "Sorry."

"Its fine." Inko replied before walking over to the girl, taking a chair over and sitting down in front of the couch. She glanced back at her son, "We need to talk about FEAST, but considering what you just brought home, we'll talk about it later, alright?"

"Okay." Izuku responded as Inko spun back to the girl, "Um...thanks for this mom."

"You're already a repeating patient Izuku, and you just brought home another. Just be glad I'm a caring nurse."

"Sorry..."

"Its fine. I suspect you don't want her to see your face yet?" Izuku nodded back, "Alright. Let me check up on her." Izuku removed some of the webbing for her, Inko taking a deep breath before examining the girl, soon confirming Izuku's theory. Inko surmised that the poor girl was in horrible condition, mainly malnourished, and after asking Izuku to leave the room, she looked under her clothes and saw tons of cuts and bruises. His mother told Izuku that she should take her to the emergency room, but since she attacked Izuku, they both knew that could be a problem. Izuku then went to his room at this, Inko taking a few more minutes to examine the girl.

After this, she went to Izuku's room, the teen setting up his desk as she walked in. "Yes?" He asked as he saw her come in.

"Well...she's definitely not in good shape." She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, "I'll help her."

Izuku went wide-eyed for a second before giving her a smile, "Thank you."

Inko shook her head, "Its fine." She then put her hand on his shoulder, "Also, I know we said we'd talk about FEAST later, but considering she's still asleep, we could talk about it for a bit."

"Okay." Izuku nodded as his mother sat down on another chair, "So...what happened? Do they know about what happened to Mister Li?"

Inko shook her head again, "Not quite."

A few hours ago...

Inko slowly opened the doors of FEAST, the woman's feet quickly making their way to the nearby staircase. She zipped up to the second floor, her eyes glancing around before seeing what she feared the most. It was Gloria arguing with a police officer as a few of the FEAST residents stood around her. Thanks to her time hanging out with the woman, Inko could tell that the snake lady was not happy, though her tone was enough of a sign.

"No, I don't know where Mister Li has been over the past few days! How many times do I have to tell you that he left almost a week ago and didn't tell me where he was going?!" Gloria yelled at the officer, only to see the policeman snarl back at her.

The officer then pointed a finger at her, "Listen here snake freak, your boss is a villain, and you have information! Don't make me drag your hide to the station!"

"Mister Li isn't a villain!" She yelped back, "Who do you think you are?!"

"I'm the one interrogating you, you-" One of the FEAST residents then grabbed the officer's arm, one that Inko recognized as a retired hero. "Hey! Let go of me, you old-"

"I suggest you leave before we call a real officer." The elder hero growled, "Or better yet, a hero."

"What did you just say?! Let go of me now or-"

"Leave." Gloria hissed as she leaned up into his face, "Leave right now or I'm calling the police."

"I am the police, you-urgh!"

The elder hero tightened his grip on the man, making the officer flinch before the retiree grumbled out, "You heard the lady. Get out or else."

The two began a stare down at this, only for the officer to yank his hand away. "You'll be sorry for doing that." He hissed before spinning around and walking away, quickly stomping by Inko as the woman watched him leave before glancing back at Gloria. Multiple residents were asking if she was okay, the snake lady telling them she was fine.

A few minutes later, the residents dispersed as Gloria walked up to Inko, "Hey. Sorry you had to see that."

"Its alright." Inko replied, slightly gulping as she added, "So um...what exactly is going on?"

Gloria let out a long moan at that, "I...don't fully know. That jerk suddenly walked in here, demanding to see who was in charge." Inko saw the snake lady try to roll her eyes at this, "That's me of course, but then he said some nonsense about Mister Li being a villain and he was arrested and...I don't know."

Inko put her hand over her mouth, trying to show extra surprise, "Oh dear. Why would Mister Li be arrested?"

"I...have no idea." Gloria responded while shrugging, "I mean, I know I haven't seen him in a few days, but...I honestly have no idea."

Inko opened her mouth at this, about to say what she knew, only to stop herself. Her brain then told her to do something else, an option she knew would work a lot better. "Say Gloria, why don't you take a break? Would you like me to make you some tea?"

Gloria stuck out her tongue for a second before shrugging again, "Sure, why not?"

The two then headed to the kitchen, the snake lady calming down as Inko made the tea. And as they sat down to drink and talk, Gloria told Inko that yesterday a few police officers came and demanded information on Martin Li, saying he had been arrested. However, Gloria told them she couldn't give them anything, and convinced them she and the others didn't know a thing. This made Inko go wide-eyed, the mother asking small questions over why this was happening, only for Gloria to tell her that the police had just arrested Li, and were now searching all his known properties...and that somehow, Spider-Man was involved.

And after a bit, Inko asked her that if it was true about Li, would FEAST be okay. She responded by saying what was left should help, and she was ready to keep FEAST going if Li was now gone. However, Inko could tell she wasn't happy about it, and for very good reason.

"And then I came home." Inko sighed as she saw a huge frown on her son's face, "I know. Its a mess, and...honestly, I felt really bad about lying to Gloria, but I also have no idea how I would tell her the truth."

"Yeah..." Izuku mumbled, glancing away for a second before looking back at his mother, "So, do you think I shouldn't have gone after Mister Li? Maybe...maybe I should have just let the heroes handle it."

Inko took a deep breath, "I don't know. I don't know what the right choice would have a been." She then put her hand on Izuku's shoulder again, "But what I do know is that after what you told me those masked men did...he did need to be stopped."

Izuku bit his lip at this, only for a few minutes of silence to follow. Another minute later, they agreed to figure out the FEAST situation later, even though they both agreed all they could probably do is just help volunteer there and not much else. As such, Izuku took a quick nap, making sure Toga was webbed down with a second wrapping before drifting off. It wasn't long till morning, Inko waking him up to apply the webbing again. And after a third time, the girl began to wake up, Inko then telling Izuku to go to his room and close the door, saying she would handle what happens next. After making sure Toga was secure and couldn't attack his mother, he agreed, commenting that this was where he got his recklessness from, making his mother smack his shoulder before leaving.

And as Toga's eyes began to open, Inko shined the warmest smile she could muster. That is, till the girl fully opened her eyes.

"What the-" She whispered out as she saw Inko standing over her, the girl then trying to move, only to feel herself unable to do anything. She glanced down and saw she was webbed up again, her breath soon speeding up as she began to try and thrash around. "AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Izuku hopped in his desk seat at the noise, making him glance at his room's door. He quickly walked up and creaked open the door, peeking inside as he saw his mother put her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Calm down, its okay. Its okay." Inko said as Toga began shaking her head back and forth.

"No! Let me go! Stay away!" She screamed, "Go away!"

Inko grimaced at this, seeing the girl's eyes tear up, her breathing going fast and unfocused. The sight was familiar to the nurse, though it did make her almost flinch. It meant only one thing: The girl in front of her was having a panic attack.

"Hey, hey! Its okay." Inko leaned down in front of Toga's face, the girl's head no longer thrashing as she then stared up at the mother, "Just breathe. In and out. In and out."

Toga stared at her, her eyes twitching as tears began to go down her face before doing what Inko said. Seeing this through the crack of his barely opened door, Izuku bit his lip, but remembered his mom telling him to not do anything. He closed the door, glancing back at his desk as both the vial of trigger and the bullet from yesterday sat on it. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and took out his microscope that he connected to his computer.

And as this happened, Toga's breath began to slow down, soon going to a regular rate. This was followed by a long warm smile from Inko, the sight making Toga gasp. As this happened, Inko glanced away and reached over to a nearby table and grabbed a red bag. Toga watched her gesture the bag over her, the girl's nose twitching as she could smell what was inside...and it made her want to drool.

"Here. I was told that you have a blood quirk. Is that correct?"

Toga blinked at her, her eyes darting between Inko and the bag, "Um...yes?" she muttered.

"I thought so." Inko then put a straw in the bag, "Now, I want you to drink this slowly, okay?"

Toga stared at the straw, her eyes going up at Inko for just a second before taking it in her mouth. She began to loudly suck on it, Inko telling her to take it slow again. And as she emptied the bag, Toga began to lick her lips as Inko put the bag away before sitting on a small chair by the couch.

"Now, you feeling better?"

"Um...yes." Toga whispered out.

This was responded with another warm smile from Inko. "Good. We have more blood bags you can drink later." She looked back at the table for a second at that, seeing the few bags she had bought last night before glancing back at Toga, "To start, my name is Inko Midoriya. I'm a part time nurse, and you're at my house. You can trust me. However, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Toga just blinked at her, the fangs in her mouth lightly tracing on her lips. "Uh...okay."

Inko shook her head at this, "Don't worry, its nothing bad. Now, when you were brought here, I checked you over and...I suspect you're very malnourished. Since you have a blood quirk, you need regular consumption, or it will affect your body. When was the last time you had any blood?"

Toga's eyes darted away at this, her mouth unmoving. The sight made Inko sigh, "Does that mean you haven't had any for a while?" A few seconds passed, no response coming from the girl as Inko shook her head, "I see." She then grabbed another bag. "Do you want some more?"

Silently, Toga glanced back at her, seeing that warm smile again as Inko held up another bag with a straw. The girl bit down on the tube and began to slowly drink, this time taking even longer to finish the bag. And when she was done, Inko spun around to put the bag away as Toga spoke up and said one word, "Why?"

Inko glanced back at her at this, her smile slightly faded, "Hmm?"

"Why?" Toga repeated, the word now fully hitting Inko's ears.

The mother shined another smile, "Why, because you needed the blood. No one should go hungry."

Toga just blinked at her at this, only to mumble out, "Thank you."

Inko nodded back, "You don't have to thank me for something like that, but you are welcome." She then slightly shifted in her seat, "Now, I was told your name is Himiko Toga, yes?" The girl nodded back, "That's a lovely name."

"Thank you." She said again, only to whisper out, "Can...can I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"Are you...related to Spider-Man?"

Inko blinked at this, only to nod, "Oh yes." She leaned down and winked at her, "You could say I'm his...'sidekick'. The boy lives on getting himself beat up and I have to bandage him up all the time. It's like he's a car I have to keep repairing."

Toga giggled at this, Inko glad she was now smiling. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a question? You can say no or not answer if you want to."

"Um...sure."

"Good." Inko replied, the woman taking a silent breath before asking, "Where are your parents?"

That made Toga grimace, glancing away as her smile turned into a dark frown, "They don't care about me. They hate me."

This made Inko's smile fade, the woman almost flinching as she heard Toga say those words with a tone seeping with venom and hatred. She could tell in that one moment that this was going to be difficult. As such, she took a deep breath before saying, "I see. I'm sorry I brought that up."

"Hmph." Toga grumbled, "I don't care. They think I'm a monster."

Inko shook her head at this, "You're not a monster."

Toga glanced back at her, fully glaring at the woman, "You're just saying that. I bet you think I'm a monster too!"

Inko tilted her head, "Now why would I think that?"

"Cuz I drink blood!"

Inko raised a single eyebrow at that, "That just means you have a blood quirk. There's nothing wrong with that."

"What are you-of course there's something wrong with that! I have to drink blood!"

"So?" Inko instantly responded, "I work with people that have blood quirks all the time. It's part of how quirks work."

"But...but..." Toga sputtered out, the girl noticing her glare didn't do a thing on the woman. Usually, that glare was enough to make grown adults run in fear, thinking she was some crazed blood sucking monster...but not the woman sitting right by her. There wasn't a hint of fear on Inko's face. Toga glanced down at herself, seeing she was still webbed up, thinking that might be why Inko wasn't showing any fear, but as she looked back up at the woman, she realized she was wrong.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Toga whispered out, only to realize she had accidentally asked her own thoughts.

Inko shook her head, "I'm not afraid because there's nothing to fear. Even if you weren't tied up like you are." She leaned over Toga, showing her warm smile again, "The only reason I have you tied up like this is to help you. That and I am known for being way too cautious at times."

"Oh..." Toga muttered, glancing back down at the webbing, "Um...how long am I gonna be tied up then?"

Inko opened her mouth, only for it to pause in an open motion, "I...don't know. I think it lasts two hours. I know Iz-er, Spider-Man tied you up over an hour ago."

'Iz?' Toga thought as she stared back at Inko before saying, "Oh, okay." She looked back at the webbing, "Um...will you let me go when it...goes away?"

The girl glanced up at Inko at that question, only to see an unsure look on the woman's face, "Well...that depends. For one, I want to ask you a few more questions, if you don't mind."

Toga blinked at her, the girl feeling like she knew what Inko was going ask, but as she saw the woman stare at her, Inko's face summoned that warm smile again. She couldn't help but feel off guard at the sight. She didn't know what to do. No one had ever treated her like this before. That very thought made her ask a single worded question again.

"Why?"

Inko tilted her head at this, "Why? Well, I want to help you and-"

Toga shook her head, making Inko stop talking as she added, "No, I don't mean that. I mean...I mean...why?"

"Why what?"

"Why help me?!" Toga suddenly exclaimed, "I'm a monster! Why help a monster?!"

Inko stared at her as that warm smile turned into a worried frown, "Dear...you're not a monster."

"B-b-but I am!" She screamed before thrashing again, "Lemme go! Let me go!"

Inko quickly grabbed her, "Hey, hey! Its okay! Calm down!" Toga closed her eyes as she continued to squirm, only to feel Inko grip her shoulders, "Please! Its okay! Its all okay! You're safe here!"

Toga continued to thrash for another minute, only to start to slow down. Her eyes slowly creaked open at this, tears slightly forming in her eyes as she saw Inko right above her, "You...why..."

"Because you need help." Inko instantly replied. "So please...let me help you."

Toga's lips trembled at this, her whole form shivering as she whispered, "Why...why...why..."

"Its okay." Inko showed her warm smile again, "Its okay. Everything will be okay." The woman put her hand on Toga's head and began to rub it, "See? Nothing bad will happen to you here."

Hearing this, tears began to pour down the girl's face before she muttered out, "Thank you."

The next few minutes were one of silence, only for Inko to notice that the webbing beginning to fall apart. She almost flinched at this, but as she glanced back at Toga's face, she saw the calm look on the girl's face. And while it began to disappear, Inko spoke up, "May I ask you those questions from before?"

Toga almost bit her lip as she responded, "Um...what are they?"

"Well...for one, do you have somewhere to stay?" Toga blinked at this, only to shake her head. "I see. I had a feeling." She then patted the girl's shoulders, "I guess you're staying here for the night."

Toga went wide-eyed at this, "Huh?!"

"Yup." Inko replied, Toga opening her mouth to respond, only for Inko to put a finger over her lips, "Don't question it and just accept it. Now, I know there are certain things I can't ask you yet, but can I ask you to keep a secret?"

Toga's brain tried to keep up at this, the gears inside grinding before replying, "Um...what kind of secret?"

Inko let out a long sigh, "The...secret identity kind."

Toga blinked at her, only to realize what she meant. She quickly nodded back as she exclaimed, "YES!"

"Thank you." Inko giggled before glancing back at a closed door in the living room, "Cuz I have a feeling he'll need to talk to you more than I do."

Izuku put the vial of Trigger over the scope, switching the screens on his computer as he began to zoom into the vial. "Hmmm..." He hummed to himself as the scope slowly zoomed in, "So this is Trigger."

The sight before him was something he had a feeling he didn't know enough about. Now, Izuku would admit he's not a chemistry expert despite inventing the web fluid. Izuku always preferred software and hardware science, not chemicals and elements. Despite this, he felt had a basic understanding, at least for an extent.

He pulled up another screen, this one pulling up a program he made for the scope to take pictures of what's under the scope. And as he began to take a few, he rubbed his chin in response. And after a few minutes, he slumped back in his seat, humming as he glanced back at the vial, 'Its close to what I thought it would be. I mean, if its a quirk enhancing drug, it has to look like a stimulant...but that's all I have here. Looks like this is another dead end.' He pulled out the tracker device at this, 'Maybe this is the only way for me to find villains.'

And as he thought this, he turned to the other thing he had gotten from the drug deal: The bullet. The teen blinked at the tiny object, soon picking it up, 'Still, why were they trading drugs for this?' He thought before fiddling it in his hand, 'It just looks like a regular bullet. Why...'

His thoughts came to a stop as he saw the top of the bullet, now seeing it had a tiny needle at the end. He squinted his eyes at this, only to spin it around, 'Wait...is this a bullet? I mean, I saw that guy loading it into his gun, but...' He then put a little spider-strength into his fingers, only to find himself able to open the bullet in half like a capsule. There, he saw what was inside the metal casing, a vial with a needle at the end. 'Its not a bullet! Its a dart!'

Detaching the needle from the vial, he quickly put the new liquid on the scope and zoomed in, only to go wide-eyed as he stared at his monitor, 'This looks like...blood?' He glanced back at the vial, 'Why is blood the injector for this dart?'