I got a question earlier that I really haven't addressed very well in this story.

Earl John Diawatan: I'm so confused is this Spider-Man the MCU Spider-Man or the comic books Spider-Man, you mention Sinister Six. That made me think this Peter is comic book Spider-Man, and then there's Karen, an MCU friend. So is this the MCU Spider-Man, comics Spider-Man, or a mixture of all Spider-Man media?

Yeah, I haven't made this very clear, have I? Well, it basically is a mix. Anything and everything Peter did and went through before he turned 16, whether that be in the comics, movies, games, cartoons, or anything else, is included in this Peter. If it happened before he turned 16, this Peter experienced it. And as I said, in terms of appearance, he's the Tom Holland Spider-Man.

With that out of the way, let's dive into the next chapter.

"That was an absolute disaster!" Shigaraki shouted. He had just finished a call with his master about how their plan had failed and was currently laying down on a table while Kurogiri tended his bullet wounds. Nearly every member of the league was injured.

Dabi was now shirtless and tending to a massive bruise on the right side of his body. Magne had a similar bruise on her face. Spinner had broken scales all over his body. Mr. Compress' mask was broken, and his face underneath had a large gash on it. Twice refused to take off his costume, but it was to be assumed that he was also injured. Kurogiri had very little body to injure, so naturally, he was fine. Toga was the only one who didn't have any major injuries. She had some cuts and scrapes here and there, but she was fine for the most part. This gave some comfort to Magne and Twice, who had panicked when they saw the massive amount of blood on her shirt. They calmed down when she told them it wasn't hers.

"No kidding." Dabi winced as he prodded his bruise a bit too hard.

Shigaraki turned to him and fixed him with a sharp glare.

"YOU do not get to speak. You left us to fight alone.

"7 vs. 1 hardly seems like you were alone. Besides, our agreement was very clear. I'd help you to kill corrupt, false heroes and to change society for the better. I never said I'd kill everybody we came across. Besides, the spider is interesting. He shares the ideology of the great Stain. He's just like him." Every head in the room turned to face Dabi, their eyes curious.

"The great Stain? The Spider-Man?" Spinner questioned the scarred man.

"Impossible. He just wanted to look good on the cameras. There's no way he actually believes all the shit he said on the news." Magne scoffed.

"Think whatever you like. I've been around the block a few times, and I'm pretty good at knowing when people are lying. I listened to everything this kid said, and he didn't lie."

The league was skeptical. They trusted Dabi, he was usually right about these things. But what he was saying was ridiculous. A hero sharing the ideology of the Hero Killer? That was ridiculous.

"Dabi." The shirtless man turned to Kurogiri, who had finally spoken. "What exactly did this boy say to you? Even being remotely compared to Stain, especially when you're the one doing the comparison, is high praise in the underworld. So tell me, what did you talk about?"

Dabi remained silent before he sighed deeply. "Can't say you'll believe me, but hopefully I'm not wasting my time telling you."

So Dabi told them everything. Every question he'd asked, every question he'd received, and every answer they had given each other. He took special care describing Spider-Man's face and tone during all parts of the conversation. When he finally finished, Toga looked happy.

"See big sis Mag? I told you he was different. He's a nice person." She walked over to Magne and excitedly shook her a few times.

Magne only sighed. "And you believe everything he told you?"

Dabi shrugged. "I do, though I can understand why you don't. I was there, I experienced it myself. You're all just hearing about it, so it's only natural you don't believe me."

"I DO!" Toga jumped over to Dabi and stood at his side.

"As do I." Spinner agreed. Mr. Compress raised his hand to show he agreed as well.

"I know you are a trustworthy person Dabi, so if you believe he was telling the truth, then I believe it as well." Kurogiri remained where he was, though he also agreed.

Shigaraki, Magne, and Twice still looked unsure.

"How do we know you're right purple man?" Twice asked in his odd voice.

"You don't. I guess you'll just have to see for yourself someday."

"Ooh, by the way Shigaraki, where'd the bird man go?"

"It's called Nomu, Toga. And it's gone. That damn All Might knocked him into the atmosphere. Who knows where he landed. That's if he landed."

The villains sat in silence for a while. They didn't have much to say. They didn't know each other well enough to make small talk, and due to the mission being a failure, there wasn't much to say about it.

"Well, I'm out." Dabi told the others. "It's been a long day, it's late, and I want to sleep."

Dabi walked off, still shirtless. The other villains glanced at the clock, which read 10pm. Agreeing with Dabi, many of them began preparing to sleep when they heard something. A knock on the door, Dabi froze in his tracks, as did the other villains.

Kurogiri's bar was unmarked, a plain metal door in a dark, brick alley. The only people who ever knocked on the door were business partners...or enemies.

"Kurogiri, are we expecting anybody?" Shigaraki rasped.

"No Tomura, we are not."

Dabi cautiously walked to the door, blue sparks coming from his left hand.

"Who's there?" He yelled through the door.

"Pizza time!" Was the only response the villains got. They were all very confused before Toga understood and bounced happily.

"I know that voice! It's Pet-"

Toga was cut off as the door was broken down. The door flew off its hinges, crashing into Dabi and throwing him across the room. A red and gold leg retracted from its kicking motion and out of the shadows walked Spider-Man.

"A bar huh? Kinda cliche for a villain hideout, but whatever. I know I fit a few stereotypes myself." Peter shrugged nonchalantly as though kicking doors down was nothing special. "Oh, wait, I didn't hit anybody did I? Sorry, but it's just been a while since I kicked a door down and I got a bit excited."

The villains sprung from their seats but quickly fell back down. Many of them were injured still and in the middle of treating their wounds. Shigaraki was totally helpless, having been shot multiple times only a few hours prior.

"Whoa, hey, are you guys okay? Sorry, I didn't think I was hurting you that badly earlier." Peter walked across the bar and lifted the door, revealing Dabi clutching his large bruise in pain. Peter reached his hand out to him and helped him to his feet before going to the next fallen villain, Magne.

She was obviously confused.

"Boy...what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm...helping an injured person?" Peter responded as though the answer was obvious.

Magne was at a loss. This boy had made a dynamic entry, apologized for breaking their door, and then started helping the villains he should be fighting. In all her time as a villain, this was a first.

"You, do you have any idea where you are? Who we are? We're your enemies. At any given time, we could jump you while you waste your time helping us."

"That's alright." Peter shrugged. Every person in the room was shocked.

"...What?" Twice squeezed out, his goofy voice gone."

"I care more about helping injured people than I care about avoiding injured myself. Even if you do attack me, my armor should protect me and then I can start fighting. So until that happens, I'd rather help you."

More silence followed. Magne stared at Peter's outstretched hand before cautiously taking it and rising to her feet.

"Maybe Dabi wasn't bullshitting."

"PETER!" Toga shrieked. Peter turned just in time to see his "friend" jumping towards him. He pressed his body to the floor and Toga soared over him, grabbing Magne instead. "Hey, why'd you move? I just wanted to hug you." Toga pouted while Magne shrugged her off.

"Oh, sorry. It's just that, Ms. Magne is right that this is a villain hideout, so when I saw you jumping towards me, I just reacted." Peter apologized before going around the room again, helping the villains up. He even extended his hand to Mr. Compress, the man he knew could activate his quirk through touching things. Compress debated for a few seconds whether he should use his quirk on Peter, but instead accepted his hand instead.

The only person Peter didn't help was Shigaraki, who hadn't even tried to move from the table due to his wounds. He eyed Peter, trying to get a read on him.

"What are you here for, boy?" He growled at Peter. "I know you didn't break into our bar just to apologize."

"Ah, right, I almost forgot." Peter knocked on his head. "Well, this can go a few ways, but potentially, I'm here to arrest you."

All the villains raised their guard immediately, standing in a circle around Peter, who was in the center of the bar.

"No no, wait, that came out wrong!" Peter waved his hands in front of his face. "Listen, I've talked to Mr. Dabi. I have some idea of how things work around here, of how people are treated for committing minor crimes or for having a 'bad' quirk. I knew people like that in the past and I helped them. I want to help all of you too." Peter calmed the villains down slightly. They kept their guards up, but their glares faded to frowns.

"Talk. Who were these people?" Kurogiri asked suspiciously.

"Well, there were a lot. Green Goblin, Electro, Black Cat, among others. But for now, I'll just tell you about Sand-Man." the villains were lost. They were fairly well connected in the criminal underworld, but they had never heard of any of these people.

"There's…a lot of history between me and Sand-Man. He did something...bad to my family, I nearly killed him, you know how it goes." The villains shot questioning looks at each other. Where was this going?

"Anyway, his actual name is Flint Marko. He was a robber and a murderer, though the murder wasn't his fault. It was an accident, and it wouldn't have happened if not for his partner. He was called Sand-Man because his body is made entirely of sand. His bones, his organs, everything. He could make himself look like a normal person, but he was still sand. He could also freely shape and harden the sand that made up his body, which let him make weapons, shields, and change his appearance. Plus, he could absorb more sand to make himself bigger and stronger."

The villains were interested in this Flint Marko. He had what sounded like an admittedly powerful quirk. If he were on a beach, he'd be nigh unstoppable. But what Peter said got their attention. How could you accidentally murder somebody?

"Flint...he wasn't a bad person. He didn't like killing or even hurting people and he avoided it when he could. He just wanted to rob places, and if nobody got in his way, he wouldn't hurt anybody. Even then, he didn't want the money for himself, it was for his daughter. She was really sick and needed expensive medicine, medicine Flint couldn't afford."

The villains were liking this man more every second. He wasn't one of those useless street thugs or some common robber. He had a goal, a purpose greater than himself, and he preferred to avoid attacking others. He sounded like a good man, driven to crime simply because he had no other choice. But of course, the world wouldn't see him that way.

"Where do you come into this?" Mr. Compress asked curiously.

"Well you see, I'm the guy that got in his way. Every time Flint tried to rob a place, I was there to stop him. He always escaped though, and went on to rob more places, but I was always there to stop him."

The villains scowled at Peter.

"I didn't know why he was doing what he was doing, I just knew he was robbing places, which is a crime. So I showed up to stop him. If I'd known why he was robbing, well, I still would stop him, but I would help him. I could help him pay for the medicine so he could leave his bad life behind. I didn't find out until much later though, and by then, I had finally caught him."

Some of the villains' faces fell. They had been rooting for Flint Marko. He sounded like a "good criminal," one they wouldn't mind getting to know.

"They put him in this special cell, this rotating glass container. It constantly moved his sand form around, keeping it from taking shape so that he couldn't break out. After a while, I found out why he was a criminal. That, mixed with the life he led, stuck in a tiny glass container, I wanted to help him. So I made a deal with the guy in charge of him. Let him outside, where he would be under my watch. I saw good in Flint, and I thought if I could get him to do good, other people would see him the same way. The world would have another hero, and I could help him buy medicine."

The villains weren't sure how to respond to this. While they liked this man, there was no denying that he was dangerous. To hear that a hero had let him out and tried to get him to do good was unheard of. Of course, some of them hated that they tried to convert a good man who was labeled a villain into a hero, but most of them were happy to hear that Peter didn't give up on him.

"And it worked. It took some getting used to, and there were definitely some issues along the way, but it worked. I was right, there was good in Flint. He worked alongside me for a while before he eventually went out on his own and worked by himself. He was the hero I knew he could be."

"For a few months anyway." Peter silently added.

Many of the people in the bar had to take a seat. This was a bit much to take in. A robber with a heart of gold, treated as a villain, before being accepted by the very hero who put him in jail and eventually becoming a hero himself. It sounded like something out of a comic book, but the boy sounded truthful.

"Where is this Flint Marko now?" Kurogiri asked. Though he was a hero, he would be interested in meeting the Sand-Man someday.

"He's...gone. He died doing the right thing, keeping others...and me...safe." Peter had to pause a few times. He didn't like remembering that day. Flint had eventually gone back to his old ways, but when it really counted, he helped Peter, and saved him along with nearly a hundred civilians at the cost of his life. He made some mistakes, but Flint Marko truly was a hero.

Again, their faces fell. While they didn't approve of the man becoming a hero, he still sounded like a good person, and it was sad to hear of his passing.

"Hold on, that's all well and good, but what does that have to do with us?" Shigaraki broke in. He had been silently listening to Peter's story and by now he'd had enough. He didn't give a damn about this Sand-Man, he just wanted to know why Spider-Man was here.

"Like I said, I've known a lot of villains in my life. Some were bad just for the sake of being bad, like Scorpion. But others, like Flint, weren't all bad. They were good people, or had bad things happen to them that lead them to villainy. Those people are volatile, and I don't think they should be arrested. You don't heal somebody by throwing them in a hole, especially if past trauma is what led them to their current life. They need help, and they can be redeemed. Flint was one of many 'villains' I helped, who I became friends with and helped them to not be seen as villains. I want to do the same for you."

Toga shot a look at Dabi. He was giving everybody in the room a cocky smirk. They could no longer deny what he had told them. Spider-Man was a good person, interested only in helping people regardless of their standing. Toga gave a small smile, as did a few others in the room. In all honesty, the villains had no interest in being seen in a different light though. They would hear the boy out, but they wouldn't promise to do what he said.

"So what do you need from us?" Spinner questioned the boy.

"I need to know you. I need to understand why you do the things you do. The USJ incident alone was a big deal. You tried to kill kids. I need to know what happened to you. Are you truly bad people or are you good people? Are you villains for the sake of being villains? Do you have a purpose, past trauma, anything that would push you into the life you lead? This is some personal stuff, I understand, but it's important."

Peter jumped, twisting his body and landing on the ceiling. From there, he sat with his legs criss crossed, staring at everybody while upside down. He retracted his mask, revealing his face.

"Peter, 'The Therapist,' Parker is in session. Now, who wants to go first?"

I can't wait to read all the hate reviews for this chapter. I can see them now. You might want to read these in a whiny Karen voice.

"Why did you spend so much time talking about Flint?"

"Ack-thoo-ally, Flint's backstory went like this."

"None of the league members would sit and listen to this you fucking idiot."

Ah, good times ahead. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading. Next chapter should be up soon. Thank you for reading, and remember to leave a review.

Aren signing off.