A townhouse mansion, forty feet wide at least, just off Park Avenue. A man staggered down the sidewalk, made his way up the steps and into the house.
He drifted toward the front door.
He was still drifting, now through the opulent first floor of the empty mansion. Some light and noise from upstairs, he drifted toward that.
Up a staircase. Down a hall. Up another staircase. There was a light at the top of these stairs.
Into the master suite. Into a closet the size of most New York apartments. Past rows and rows and rows of tailored suits. Past a column of hanging neckties, there must be five hundred of 'em. Toward the open to the master bathroom, all gleaming white tile and polished silver.
Enji Todoroki, scraped and singed by the explosion, splashed water on his face, desperately.
He looked up, into the mirror, face dripping. He peered closer, at his face. Something strange was happening. The features weren't solid, they're moving, melting, as if Enji had dropped some extremely heavy acid.
Now, to his horror, his face actually tore in two, ripping right down the middle, and one whole face slithers out of his own, taking up position right next to it.
But this was a hideous face, faintly resembling his own. It was mechanical, grotesque, with a sickening greenish hue. In fact, if it looked like anything, it's that insect-looking helmet back in the lab at TodoCorp, the one that was used to control that flying glider.
The second face spoke, with a voice that is like Enji's, but different, warped, other-than-human. This was the Endeavor's voice.
"Enji..." Endeavor said.
"Who... who are you?!" Enji said.
"I am the voice you refuse to hear...The dream you're afraid to remember..." Endeavor said.
"What do you want?" Enji said.
"To say what you won't... To do what you can't..." Endeavor said.
"What do you mean?" Enji said.
"You already know..." Endeavor said.
Horrified, Enji shook his head from side to side- no, not that- It seems he does know.
"There is a weak link." Endeavor said.
"No!" Enji said.
"A threat to the company." Endeavor said.
"Don't talk like that!" Enji said.
"One day he will destroy it." Endeavor said.
"Don't say these things!" Enji said.
"Lay waste to your grandfather's company..." Endeavor said.
"Please..." Enji said.
"Unless he's stopped. Before it's too late." Endeavor said.
"That isn't true!" Enji said.
"You believe it is." Endeavor said.
"I've never thought that!" Enji said.
"You think that every day." Endeavor said.
"But he's- my God, he's-" Enji said.
"Abraham was willing... he had the strength... so too do I." Endeavor said.
"What are you going to do?!" Enji said.
The face began to move, sliding grotesquely back into Enji's own face.
"Protect the company..." Endeavor said.
Enji shrieked, grabbed hold of his head as the Endeavor melded back into him- it hurts!
"God, no, no, please-" Enji said.
"Find the weak link." Endeavor sad
"HE'S MY SON!" Enji said.
"Break it in two." Endeavor said.
Attack
Shoto Todoroki stared up into the sky, a look of childlike innocence and wonder on his face.
"Isn't it great?" Shoto said.
Shoto and Reiko were in the middle of the crowd in Columbus Circle on a beautiful early winter morning. Giant balloons floated high in the air as the Thanksgiving Day Parade made its way down Central Park West, bound for Broadway and Times Square.
Shoto looked down at the tickets in his hand.
"Come on, our seats are right up front!" Shoto said.
He took her hand and leads her toward a reviewing stand, tall bleachers three stories high, set up nearby.
On the reviewing stand, These were the expensive seats. The mayor of New York sat next to a visiting foreign leader, a grim-faced guy. The Mayor made conversation through interpreters.
"Ah! Yes, that one is Snoopy, a sort of devil-may-care dog who flies his doghouse around and pretends to be a World War I pilot." Mayor said.
The Interpreter interpreted, but the Foreign Leader looked baffled.
"World War I? The Great War? War to end all Wars?" Mayor said, then low to his aide. "Did they sit that one out?"
Nearby, Shoto and Reiko arrived, and found their seats.
In the street Izuku Midoriya worked his way through the crowd, loaded down with cameras. He raised his camera, squeezed off a few shots.
Through his lens, Izuku searched the crowd and saw Kuri with the police, pointing and commanding, the other cops looking at her in awe. Izuku blushed. She was awesome.
On the street, Izuku suddenly stopped what he was doing, rubbing the back of his neck, his Spider-Sense going off. He looked around, didn't see anything.
On the reviewing stand, The Mayor was still doing his best with the Foreign Leader.
"Oh, here comes Garfield, my favorite! Garfield is a wonderful sort of, uh, sarcastic cat." Mayor said.
The Interpreter looked puzzled.
"Sarcastic cat?" Don't you have a word for that?" Mayor said.
The Mayor turned, hearing something. So did the others around him. It was a high-pitched whining sound.
On the street, Izuku was really going crazy, certain there is a problem somewhere, but not sure where it is. He looked up.
In the sky, Something darted in and out of the clouds, something small and very, very fast.
On the reviewing stand, The Mayor was squinting up into the sky, at the source of the buzzing.
"I, uh... I'm not familiar with that one, it must be new this year." Mayor said.
He raised a pair of binoculars.
In mid-air, A deranged cackle echoed over the whine of a jet-engine turbine.
On the street, Kuri had noticed it too. She pushed the cops down to duck as the object came down low.
It passed so fast, zigzagging through the floats, that no one could really get a handle on it.
The crowd applauded. Must be part of the act.
On the reviewing stand, The Foreign Leader applauded, smiles for the first time. He liked this bit.
On the street, the cops relaxed, thinking it was part of the show. But Kuri's eyes glowed silver.
"Izuku," she whispered, eyes locking with his through the crowd.
Then suddenly, she was gone. Izuku sensed trouble. He elbowed his way through the crowd and took off down the street, toward the mouth of an alley.
In mid-air, whatever-it-is curled up into the sky, banked, and hovered right over them, giving a first good look at it. It was Endeavor, clad in form-fitting dark green with a decidedly military look to it. His face was ablaze with red fire and he was using the flames to power the glider.
Endeavor's head twitches, his flame growing, and the Glider responded immediately, banking and plummeting—straight down toward the street!
He flew right down into the thick of the crowd, which screamed and scattered, and he slammed toward the cops, stopped by Miko's barrier.
Reaching into an armament pouch fitted on the side of the Glider, Endeavor dropped a small blazing pumpkin-shaped grenade onto her barrier.
Miko flicked a hand up, and contained the grenade in a barrier, flying it into the air and exploding it to cheers from the crowd.
Endeavor raced on around Columbus Circle at chest level, people screaming and leaping out of his way as he cackled maniacally, dropping pumpkin bombs left and right.
Miko quickly created a barrier over the civilians, and shuddered as her power was fading. She looked up at the sky—it was a New Moon.
Endeavor reached the end of the street and rocketed straight up into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.
In an alley, Izuku finishes surreptitiously webbing a camera into place on a second floor balcony, pointed at the reviewing stand. He set the shutter on automatic and started to unbutton his shirt, revealing his Deku costume underneath.
On the street ZAP-BOOM! A pumpkin bomb exploded in a brilliant orange boom, so bright and searing it turned everything into an X-ray image for a split-second, showing us the skeletons of the Cops grouped around it. When the blast fades
"I CAN'T SEE!" Cops yelled and screamed.
The other Cops started shouting too, they had all suffered the same fate, they were completely blind!
On the reviewing stand, Reiko and Shoto threw their hands to their faces, shouted in surprise and alarm, they too were unable to see.
High up above them, Endeavor looked down joyfully as the other bombs went off, one after the other, like a circle of lightbulbs popping off all around Columbus Circle.
Miko shuddered and her barriers faded and went out. She swayed as her disguise shimmered, threatening to reveal her secret identity. Her eyes were totally silver, immune to the bombs.
Finally the disguise failed and her body faded and appeared next to Reiko and Shoto, using the last of her power to force an arrow into the ground and keep the stand from collapsing.
"Kuri?" Reiko recognized her energy in the air.
"Yes!" Kuri yelled.
It was chaos. The bombs have blown out two of the supports of the reviewing stand, and it lurched off to one side, swaying. People screamed and scrambled.
In mid-air, Over the wails of anguish rising up from the street below, Endeavor spun his Glider around and plummeted straight toward the reviewing stand, the nose of the Glider pointed right at—Shoto Todoroki!
Kuri steeled herself and pointed the last thing she had—a wooden arrow with no magic—at the goblin.
Endeavor hit a switch on the center console of the Glider. On the nose, a sharp-pointed spear rotates into place.
Shoto looked up in horror.
Endeavor flicked a switch, cackling wildly—The spear rocketed out of the Glider, flew straight toward Shoto, and—THWIP!
A single web strand shoots gracefully out of nowhere, intercepted the spear just inches from Shoto's chest, and flipped it away.
In mid-air The Goblin looked up, amazed. Now- THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!- a torrent of black web strands curled around the engine of his Glider, yanking it down to street level and binding it to a cement post.
On the street, Endeavor and Glider were yanked to an abrupt halt. Enraged, Endeavor looked around for whoever dared to thwart his plans.
As panic and mayhem engulfed the streets around them, Deku descended calmly from a lightpost behind the Goblin, hanging upside-down from a web.
"Hey." Deku said.
Endeavor whirled around, furious.
"I wear the tights in this town." Deku said.
POW! Deku uncorked a powerful punch that sent the Goblin sailing back across the street, legs still straddling his Glider.
He smacked into a wall.
Above them, rivets cracked and popped out of the reviewing stand as it began to collapse. Kuri, Reiko and Shoto still stood in the middle of the swaying stand, like skaters on thin ice.
"Oh, no..." Kuri said and fainted.
In the street, Endeavor recovered himself, spun upright on his Glider, and shouted at Deku.
"Get out of my way or I'll destroy you!" Endeavor said.
"Get out of my way or I'll destroy you, please." Spider Man said.
Endeavor whipped a boomerang out of his bag and sliced the web strand that bound the Glider. He hit the acceleration and the Glider rocketed forward, straight at Deku.
The web-slinger leapt at the last second and landed on the side of a building, three floors up.
Down below, Endeavor was going too fast to stop, and sailed right through the open door of an office building.
Endeavor's Glider blasted through the building at top speed, smashed through a window on the other side of the lobby—comes out of the opposite street, looped up, over the intervening buildings—and plummets down again, straight toward Deku, who was still on the side of the building.
Spidey flattened himself against the building, the Glider scraped past, Spidey released his grip, and he landed square on top of the Goblin's shoulders, legs straddling him.
Endeavor screamed and lost control of the Glider. It rocketed down the street, spinning over and over.
Endeavor finally regained control.
"I'm warning you, Deku! I'm no purse snatcher or chain-grabber! I am like you! I am more than you!" Endeavor said.
Endeavor threw a furious punch that sends Deku flying off the Glider. Spidey sailed through the air—and smacked neatly up against the side of a glass building, splay-legged.
On the reviewing stand, Shoto and Reiko were part of the crowd that's madly climbing across the swaying bleachers, trying like hell to get off them.
A huge support beam cracked and falls, smashing through the bleachers between them.
Kuri stood shakily, saw the beam fall before it did—and pushed Reiko out of the way, getting pinned underneath.
Shoto heard Reiko scream, but he claws at his eyes, he couldn't see her to help her!
"Reiko?!" Shoto said.
"I'm alright!" Reiko came to him. "We have to help Kuri!"
On the side of the building, Deku pivoted as Endeavor, above, circled around for another pass. Behind Endeavor, he sees something even more terrifying—Kuri, trapped inside the collapsing reviewing stand, Shoto and Reiko trying to reach her.
"Kuri!" Deku said.
The Glider came in, low and hard, straight at Deku, who shot a web onto the building across the street. At the last second, he leaps out of the way, swinging out into the air.
On the Glider, Endeavor pulled out a boomerang and hurled it.
In Mid-Air, The boomerang zipped through the air and sliced across Spidey's hand!
Deku shouted in pain as the boomerang made a long, jagged cut right across his palm, severing his webbing in the process.
On the Glider, Endeavor sees the cut and shrieked with glee as the boomerang doubled back toward him.
In mid-air, Deku fell, straight down, plummeting toward the pavement.
On the glider, Endeavor caught his boomerang, saw the blood glistening on its edge, and watched Deku fall.
In mid-air, Just two floors from becoming a smashed spider, Deku reached out and grabs hold of a flagpole that jut out from the side of a building. His grip was strong, he flipped around it twice, released, sailed through the air, and landed—on a rooftop, hard. Deku rolled over, groaning, in terrible pain, clutching a badly wrenched ankle.
On the reviewing stand, Boards are falling, the whole rickety thing was about to go,
everyone was climbing crazily to get off it, but nobody was helping Kuri, who was trapped in the middle of it all, her leg pinned under the beam.
Shoto was straining to reach her, but he can't quite get to her with his outstretched hand. A beam falls, smashed through the wood next to him, splintering it. Rivets rocketed off in all directions like crossfire.
Frightened, Shoto pulled back.
"I'll get help!" Shoto said.
"No! We can't leave my sister here!" Reiko said.
Shoto hesitates, torn- turned and climbed away, off the bleachers.
"Shoto!" Reiko growled at him and gave chase.
In the air, The helicopters that were covering the parade had noticed the reviewing stand and were racing over toward the scaffolding.
On the reviewing stand A huge beam groaned ten feet over Kuri, at a forty-five degree angle. It was going to fall, the question is, would she be there when it does?
Kuri tested her powers, trying to escape, put they had deserted her.
She pulled harder, trying to wrench her leg out from under the beam.
Below, on the rooftop, Deku leapt to his feet, saw Kuri above him. He ran, hurled himself off the side of the building, and landed on the scaffolding, about thirty or forty feet beneath her. He started to climb toward her, straight up.
Up above him, Kuri saw the helicopters coming.
"Thank God! Help me!" Kuri said, putting on the innocent civilian act.
The helicopters arrived, the doors opened—and they pointed their cameras at her. Some help!
From below, Deku was approaching.
"HANG ON!" Deku said.
She looked up. The groaning beam shuddered, began to fall.
Deku hurled himself the last few feet, landed in the middle of the wreckage, standing right over Kuri.
The beam fell—and he catches it, holding it aloft with one hand, a display of incredible strength.
He reached down with the other hand, grit his teeth, and lifted the beam that was pinning Kuri in place.
She dragged herself free, Deku bellowed with effort as he hurled the beam away from them—and the bleachers finally collapse, beams falling straight toward them, no way he'd be able to stop these.
He grabbed Kuri with one arm, bent his legs, and leapt! It was an incredible jump, three stories, straight up into the air—and at the apex of his jump, he shot out a web, it catches on the side of a building, and he swung away as the scaffolding imploded in a would—have-been deadly rumble of wood and metal.
Kuri looked at Spidey, wide-eyed, thrilled.
"I-I knew you'd come..." Kuri said.
Deku looked at her. She looked somehow different, weaker, though it may just have been the trauma. He couldn't be sure.
In the street, Shoto Todoroki and Reiko, who were racing across the street with two firemen, stopped in their tracks, watched Kuri and Deku swinging away, out over the city.
A swarm of people race around Shoto and Reiko, they were buffeted by the crowd.
On a rooftop, Endeavor landed his Glider and hops off. He went to the edge and looked down- in the swarming crowd, he would never find Shoto again.
He looked up, saw Deku flying away, across the city. The Goblin's face set in a horrible, determined grimace.
"I may not be able to kill you, Deku... but if it's the last thing I do, I'll make you wish you were dead!" Endeavor said.