Lime luminescence lights an otherwise dark dwelling, the dim glow casted by a series of cylindrical storage tanks; glass containers full of a strange sludgy substance made to preserve as much as the liquid stimulates are lined like lava lamps. Shaded silhouettes of something stewing within an occasional unit are monitored by holographic screens; each display indicates vitals, schematics, and other scientific readouts. Stemming from every of those are wires thick enough to be tubing, the large cables hooked to equally massive machine databanks. It makes for a systematically ugly – and yet very beautiful – laboratory of experimentation.

It's kept underground, barred off and hidden by a faraday cage to keep all electrical signals in without any exception of something outside. If it weren't already burrowed by cave walls, poured concrete, and steel alloy – it'd be a bunker undetectable times ten. And it makes for the perfect place to bury long lost and forgotten corpses because of this. An unearthly coffin. A morgue made for reanimation. Between the layering of the walls are hidden compartments, made to slide out the bodies that are stored in them. Like the foundation of the place itself being comprised of reinforced methodization, so are these organic makeups for bio-engineered beasts called Nomu.

The latest in these inhuman projects is one based on Electro's body retrieval from U.A's very own Hero Course program. Mashirao Ojiro, given a drugged dosage so strong that the blonde boy is essentially rendered deceased, is laid bare on a long metallic tray. The kid was abducted during the USJ scuffle. Now, on the operating table, is the test subject. This is the intended specimen and each node that's been connected through the child's skin is already producing the anticipated results. Soon, the actual surgical procedure will be able to commence.

The doctor responsible for this upcoming operation doubles as the scientist behind the operation as well. He is a man of portly and short stature that he rides an automized chair lift to level himself at an even height with the subject's testing table. His buttoned up lab coat, typically white, is stained with specks of multicolored bodily fluids; that's the artist's tribute to their work that he doesn't bother washing it. He analyzes the body in front of him using specialized goggles made with adjustable gears while stroking his bushy mustache. It's a graying stache he grew with age but his quirk absolutely makes him appear younger by default than he truly is. The man has lived lifetimes to obtain aliases like Daruma Ujiko or Ujiko Tsubasa, but now he goes by Kyudai Garaki.

And accompanying him in his lab is a part of his current namesake, Tomura Shigaraki. Shigaraki sneers whilst also looking over the body of Mashirao Ojiro. "What's so special about this particular brat?", he questions the request that Garaki made for Electro to obtain the boy's body while looking over his own that's been bandaged to compensate for gunshot wounds, "Looks like a lame and basic quirk to me."

Garaki doesn't divert his focus from the specimen as he answers, "It's not so much about the quirk itself, Young Master, as it is about the means of usage that the quirk's owner provides…" The doctor diagnoses the tail that remained intact much like the rest of the boy by testing its durability with a few squeezes.

Whereas Garaki is intrigued by the muscle tension that he feels through his rubber surgical gloves, Shigaraki is not as impressed. "It's a fucking tail..", the younger villain scoffs.

Garaki rolls his eyes under the lens of his goggles. He elaborates for the sake of the Young Master's advancement in knowledge. "It's a tail that's been given a weaponized prowess", the scientist attaches nodes to the appendage.

Shigaraki hovers his bandaged hand over the tail. It clenches and tightens into a fist as he demands for the doctor to provide more details, "Explain."

Not wanting the tail to get decayed by Shigaraki's quirk, Garaki subtly moves the operating table with his chair to a different adjusted position. "This boy was admitted into U.A not because of his quirk but because of how he trained it", Garaki motions for his holographic screens to display the research that he obtained to previously pick Ojiro as a test subject, "A mixed martial arts created a combat style only usable by him", and then he applies his own notes on how that can be transferred over into a Nomu's chemistry, "It's that ingrained instinct of how to use his tail as a weapon that we wanted to obtain."

Shigaraki runs his tongue along the scarred part of his chapped lips. "You're telling me that this loser can actually be a formidable opponent?", it's now that the young villain starts to see the same promise that Garaki did in obtaining Ojiro as a vessel for a Nomu.

Garaki taps at one of his floating screens to activate the tool tray dispenser that's remote activated to raise up from the floor. "When spliced with the genetical code of a scorpion and then turned into a Nomu, very much so, yes.." He dons a surgical mask while preparing to begin using the tools.

"You're giving the brat's tail an upgrade", Shigaraki's mouth morphs into a wicked smirk.

Garaki switches on a buzzer. "Not just his tail.. but his entire body..", the action of shaving the fuzzy ball of hair at the end of the lower limb is rather contradictory of that statement but it makes for a good starting point nevertheless.

"Whatever the case.. It'll be enough to squash a spider, right?" Shigaraki scratches at the gauze around his hand, irritating the wound beneath it until a red splotch bleeds through into the bandage.

"Hm?", Garaki pauses his work to spare Shigaraki a glance, "Scorpions ARE a natural predator towards arachnids.." The doctor trails off since he doesn't understand how a Nomu of such potential can be wasted on a literal spider.

But Shigaraki very clearly has a particular spider in mind. "Good", he grins when imagining his intended target smashed into a red paste, "I want our Scorpion Nomu to go after Spider-Man once finished!" He clenches his bloodied hand, "I have a score to settle with that punk", the bandages begin to unravel as they loosen and become damp.

Garaki looks up from the Scorpion Nomu vessel completely when hearing what it'll be used on. The original plan was to prepare it over a course of time to use on licensed heroes. A vigilante hardly seems befitting of his creation as a resource. He begins to object, "That wasn't what this Nomu was intended to be made for–"

"That Spider-Punk got me SHOT!", but Shigaraki's short temper invokes a wrath upon the doctor. Shigaraki stands as if to show off the plethora of patches covering his gunshot wounds, "I'm still healing because of that bastard", his hand was just one of many injuries that he sustained during the USJ. "Damned pain meds..", and he's stuck swallowing pills because of it.

Garaki had tended to the villain's wounds himself. This is his base of operations. He feels the need to point that out, "Then it's a good thing you're underneath a hospital."

"What did you just say… ?", Tomura Shigaraki's red eyes flare within the dark atmosphere. "I've still got my other hand that I can dust you with", he starts to reach with his unbandaged hand to make good on that threat.

"Tomura", but a deep authoritative voice stops him short. That same powerful vocalization also petrifies the doctor, "Kyudai" There's a tone so chilling to it that they're both frozen in place, "That's enough", the demand for them to cease kindling any sort of animosity between one another snuffs out the sparks of rebellion.

"Master..", Garaki lowers himself in his chair as to not hold his head too high in the presence of the man who gave him the resources to even have such a lab for creating Nomu. He trembles as the air of the atmosphere drops with his body's bow.

"Sensei..", Tomura Shigaraki also loses his pride in the presence of the powerful being who has spoken over them. This man took him in when nobody else would and promised that power would some day be his own. He humbles himself for he knows to honor that promise in the meantime to earn it.

Within the cool cast of air that dissipates through an oxygen respirator, condensation breathes evenly from the mouth that speaks just as cooly. "I agree with my successor that Spider-Man is becoming a pest", the filtration aids his respiratory system along with his quirks when he inhales and exhales afterwards. Like this evil man had severely wounded All Might, he himself suffered lasting damages. As such, it was difficult moving his life support to accommodate for his current condition. "If not for the vigilante's interference, we would have had not needed to move locations.."

Sweat slides down the bald surface of Garaki's skull. "It is.. Unfortunate.. That we lost the bar as a hideout..", he knows just how difficult that transition was even with Kurogiri and other teleportation quirks at their service just as well as he knows it isn't a good idea to backtalk his master – though, he still doesn't perceive how a mere vigilante can be worth all the trouble – the scientist squints through his goggles, "But is that really a necessary enough reason to rush what could be made into a High End Nomu?"

Even when supported by medical instruments and confined to a chair, All For One makes it appear as though he is a modern God sitting upon a throne. "Your previous Nomu was a failure when matched against All Might", the villain's eyeless face is a haunting visage that still somehow stares straight into Kyudai Garaki's soul, "I believe this is an opportunity for you to aim lower and succeed elsewhere."

Garaki bows even lower, falling out of his chair and onto his knees. He practically grovels at his master's feet for forgiveness. That's all he can do when reminded of his former failure. The Scorpion Nomu must not share the same fate as the Nomu at the USJ; this Nomu must succeed at killing Spider-Man.

Tomura Shigaraki starts to stand, glad that he has his master's approval. Though still in the shadow of his sensei, he's starting to journey from boy into man when making decisions. He may even have his own rival now… "If we can't have All Might's blood, then we'll damn sure get Spider-Man's!" But perhaps not for long…

Heavy weighted boots step onto the wooden floorboards beneath them, causing a creak of strain in supporting that weight. All Might's muscular stature stands within the space of an empty bar. It appears as though every bottle behind the serving station has been cleared out, along with all the furnishings of the establishment. All Might is joined by other licensed pro heroes in scouting out the environment anyways. After being given a lead by Spider-Man, they want to make certain that they aren't missing anything.

It was anticipated that the villains would abandon their base of operation when compromised, but there's always the chance that the villains slipped up in their haste and left behind a clue as to where their current whereabouts may have moved to. Forensics and SWAT sweep the area alongside heroes, searching for anything that may help. They've got all sorts of instruments scanning for signals. Infrared and other visions seek something that the naked eye may not be able to find. It's a cordorned process that takes time as these things typically do – it's not the same as punching bad guys who make it a point to present themselves – All Might never liked the plotting types of enemies who operate from the shadows for that very reason.

All Might checks behind the bar counter, also looking for anything out of the ordinary. When he bends down to see underneath the serving station, he finds something that was left behind. A CCTV portable enough in size to fit in the palm of the man's hand currently displays audio only. It scrambles static on its screen but has the reflection of a fogged up mirror that makes All Might feel someone's eyes on him through it. If the CCTV is portable enough to move and take, it's odd to be left behind when everything else was so meticulously taken. This tiny box is a message just for him.

He crushes the miniature television in a closed fist, returning the message in kind.

Keigo Takami has returned to the HPSC, and he makes his presence known. The licensed hero for The Commission slams both his hands down upon the desk of his boss. The Chairwoman stares at him, unflinching, despite his irate lack of composure in contrast to her remaining composed.

"Spider-Man's alive?!", Keigo sinks his nails into the wood of the desk beneath his fingers. Behind him, his wings flap from frustration.

The Chairwoman glances down at the way his fingernails dig into her desk like a set of talons before returning her gaze to meet his eyes, "I thought you were taking a leave of absence."

"I was! But only because of Spider-Man!", Keigo aims a pointed fingertip up from the desk towards the Chairwoman, "You led me to believe I killed a kid!"

To which she calmly moves it aside with her own hand. "It wasn't until after your leave that we became aware of Spider-Man's survival", she speaks evenly whilst sitting up straighter.

Keigo steps back, struggling to grapple with her denial of being the one to blame. He snaps and shouts, "I SHAVED MY HEAD BECAUSE OF IT!"

The Chairwoman smirks, "You can always wear a wig", not being particularly bothered by his outburst.

Keigo seethes through his teeth. "It'd fall off!", he runs a hand along the surface of his skull before waving it angrily, "But that's besides the point!"

The Chairwoman motions for him to sit down. "Shouldn't you be relieved? Your emotional state was compromised before because of what you were led to believe prior", she starts to actually make an attempt at calming him down when seeing that they aren't getting anywhere otherwise.

"I.. I don't know..", and that results in Keigo deflating into the chair that he was offered. He's still stirred up about the situation that he can't help but ask, "What are we going to do about him?"

The Chairwoman looks away. The window behind her is open today. The city is soaked in sunlight. Her office is a dark viewing chamber into that world. "Nothing anymore", she bides her time in treading the line between those two places.

"Nothing?!", Keigo stands up out of his seat. "This kid caused me – caused The Commission – a whole lot of trouble", he's not so willing to let this sit and settle.

The Chairwoman stands up too, meeting him at his level. "After Spider-Man's involvement with U.A, there isn't much we can do about his vigilantism anymore" She motions for the holographic computerized system on her desk to display articles about the USJ incident and what has quickly spun into a media frenzy (pun not intended) "They're pleading a particular case that keeps our hands tied", she reflects on how the vigilante's involvement was painted in a certain light to handle the situation under a certain public perception.

Keigo squints as he reads the reports being displayed. "We should be treating him like any other vigilante!", he waves for them to go away so that he can ignore them.

"And we will", the Chairwoman works her way around the table in between them as she continues to try and placate his aggression, "In due time" She places a hand on his shoulder as a consoling gesture while talking him down, "Hero Society has been a gradual work in progress towards gaining acceptance by the standards we'd like to set and it takes times like these to ensure there aren't loopholes that need plugging."

Keigo huffs, "Politics bore me."

"That's why I'M behind this desk while you're out there doing–", the Chairwoman pauses to give her agent's shoulder a squeeze, "Well – what it is that you do."

"Well, let me do it now" Keigo brushes her hand off his shoulder so that he can zip up the jacket that he's wearing, "I'll trail Spider-Man and get us something to pin against him."

While the head of The Commission doesn't decline the suggestion, she doesn't support him on the idea fully either. "Be careful not to fly too close to the sun", she grants him a warning as to how much freedom he's allowed with his request.

Keigo is content with that much; to him, it's enough permission as he needs. He dons a familiar beak shaped helmet to conceal his identity. His voice is altered to sound as menacing as he appears when he says, "The only one who will be burning and falling from grace is SPIDER-MAN!"

Lacking the usual enthusiasm that comes along with his web swinging, "Whoo hooo~", Spider-Man somberly sing songs a shout as he swoops through the sky. He just doesn't have it in him to fully commit to the free flying flip and cuts it short without actively trying to be acrobatic. Going for a quick spin typically helps him feel better but there's zero enjoyment at all this time. Not with the life changing insurmountable problem that he's gotten himself into with his vigilantism this time.

He ponders the ultimatum that comes with U.A and quirk law otherwise enforced by the HPSC; they aren't both enemies, per say, but there's no choosing of a lesser evil either. It's even tougher a tough spot to be in considering the ultimatum is coming from being blackmailed by U.A's principal. He's essentially forced to go along with the system if he wants to maintain his secret identity as Spider-Man.

Spider-Man ceases his current swing. He settles into a low landing alongside a set of gargoyles. It's a familiar rooftop; so much so that he nicknamed one of the gargoyles 'Bruce' for fun. There's been times where he's vented to Bruce before. It helps to talk aloud about his problems sometimes even if the stone statue isn't an actual living being. And so, he hopes that this is another chance to ease some of his tension by trauma dumping on the free therapist.

"I mean…", he carries on with his train of thought like Bruce already has the gist of it all, "It wouldn't be THAT bad if everyone found out who I am.. Right?" Izuku slides his mask off his face so that he can hold it out in front of him and stare into the white lens that make up its set of eyes. The mask is what caused him so much trouble and grief. If everybody were to find out Spider-Man and Izuku Midoriya are one and the same, then he'd no longer have to suffer any consequences that come with keeping it a secret.

But those consequential costs are the consequences of having responsibility. And Izuku can already hear in his head what his father would have to say about abandoning the responsibility that he has. The responsibility that he has to his mother, despite wanting to tell her so many times, is far too great. The responsibility that he has to his friends. Shinso and MJ. He has to keep them safe, and he knows he can only do that by keeping his identity a secret.

Izuku's hand that holds his mask opens and closes without the same sharp pain that he'd felt the previous day. It's still very much tender that he won't be able to do very much wall crawling for at least another day or two, but it's recovering well enough. Even so, that sustained injury is proof enough of the risk that he takes and how he's unable to protect his mom or anyone associated with him if he's not even able to protect himself.

"It's not like they're telling me to be like Hawks and kill someone", Izuku justifies giving into U.A's blackmail a little more as he continues to convince himself that it's okay, "If you were a real person with the same problem and wanted to protect everyone in your life, you would do the same! Right?" Izuku knows that he won't receive an audible answer from the gargoyle beside him but he waits for one anyways.

He can see that being given those two difficult options has scared Bruce stiff as stone. So he pats the gargoyle on the head and alleviates both himself and the statue by letting it go, "I guess only time will tell.."

Izuku slides his mask back on to cover his face before jumping from the rooftop and firing a web line. As he swings to the next building, another airborne being follows closely behind.

Wind brushes against the closed jacket that Keigo wears. His wings flap and he flies forward, his helmet's pointed beak piercing the air that gets in the way of his flight path.

Being backed into a corner until her back is up against a graffiti covered brick wall, is a tall woman with a quirk that gives her a fox-like appearance. She's surrounded by five men wielding makeshift weapons, each one crueder than the last; a teen raises a lead pipe while the oldest of the group threatens her with a barbwired baseball bat. They jeer and prod at her until she trips over herself from trying to evade their advances.

"You physical quirk types disgust me", one of the woman's aggressors hacks up a loogie and spits at her. She recoils from him and whimpers.

The teen eyes the lady up and down. He snickers, "I dunno.. She's kinda hot with that snout and those ears of hers", and he swings his pipe near her head. The ears that he speaks of flatten from fear as she ducks down.

"What are you, a fucking furry?!" The punk's friend's laugh along as they all shove and push one another around.

"I wonder if her tits are as furry as her face", the teen trades his lead pipe with one of his buddy's weapons; he takes a crowbar and uses its pinch point to toy with the fox quirked woman's orange button down shirt.

The top button pops off, exposing some of her cleavage. She shies away and covers herself with her arms. "Please! Don't! Stop!", the woman begins to cry as she further cradles into a ball.

Before the group of scumbags can bother her further, a young voice interjects. "You heard her! Leave her alone!", it's an angry shout that makes them all spin around to see who dares to disrupt them.

Much like the woman, it's someone who's quirk alters their physical appearance. Except this person is male and covered in green scales. Shuichi Iguchi is as thuggish in appearance as the people that he opposes. It IS a neighborhood of delinquents and degenerates, afterall. His ripped jeans and leather jacket are as off putting as the rest of his appearance. Iguchi combs clawed fingers through his purple dyed hair, moving the lengthy locks away from his eyes so that he can glower at the group of bullies.

"Why? Are you the bitch's boyfriend?", the teen with the bat aims the wooden stick at Iguchi in an effort to scare the lizard quirked opposition off.

But Iguchi is too embarrassed by the insinuation that he's romantically involved with someone to be bothered by the physical threat. He blushes as much as someone with a reptilian cheek structure can. "N- No!", he bashfully looks away, "I just don't like jerks like you!"

Seeing the sudden display of shyness from Iguchi, the band of bullies begin to laugh amongst one another. "I knew this guy was all talk!", they begin to target him instead of the fox woman.

He raises his fists, prepared to fight them off. In this kind of neighborhood, getting into scraps is just apart of his lifestyle. They surround him. He's been outnumbered before and it usually doesn't end so well. But he stands his ground anyways.

Just as every one of the aggressors raise their weapons to attack, there comes yet another disruption to prevent their roughhousing. Strands of goopy string snags and rips away their tools. When they turn their gazes up in the direction of where those weapons went, they catch a glimpse of something red and blue whizzing by overhead.

The vigilante known as Spider-Man uses a webline to whirl in a couple of big circles around a streetlight before throwing himself onto a billboard. A little ostentatious, maybe, but this way of entry allows the ruffians below to spot him more openly. They don't look like the type who might exercise their brain cells very often, afterall.

"PETA wouldn't be happy with you if they saw this", Spider-Man scuttles his way down from the billboard before front flipping off its bottom and landing in the street. Once planting himself in between the band of bullies and their victims, he narrows his eyes at the former. "Neither am I", his tone goes from cheerfully quippy to serious and low.

The band of bullies begin to back off. As opposed to when Iguchi intervened, this new intervention manages to make them lose their confidence.

"Why the hell would you bother defending freaks like them?!", the head of the pack pushes his way forward to speak for his entire gang.

Seeing their leader take charge, the others follow along. "Cause I bet he's one himself", one of them sneers and says, "I bet that's why he wears a mask!"

"You got a freaky ugly mug under there you don't want anyone seeing?", the youngest of the punks joins in on their jesting.

Spider-Man is about to respond with a retort about the importance of maintaining a secret identity. Now more than ever, he currently lives in the midst of keeping that secret under lock and key. But when he looks at the woman who cowers in a corner and at the fellow who was willing to fight for her before he showed up, he realizes that there's actually more of a significance to wearing a mask that he hadn't considered before. "Maybe", he owns up to it and crosses his arms to show he still has control over the situation, "Why don't you ask someone who knows? Like your mother."

"Oh, shit!" Iguchi has to cover his mouth with a hand to hide a toothy grin.

The teen of the troupe raises his weapon, "The hell did you say about my mama?!", he clearly took offense to Spidey's response.

"That she wouldn't be very proud of your behavior! And neither am I as your future step father, young man!" Spider-Man keeps goading the guy when he senses the all too familiar sensation of his internal danger signal.

So he's fully prepared for the predictable attack that comes next, "Why I oughta– !" The teen takes a swing at him.

Spider-Man ducks down, still keeping his arms crossed. When retaliating, he doesn't even bother using his fists. He instead uses an outstretched leg to trip up the teen. When the bigot blows by and falls over onto his face, that's when Spider-Man uncrosses his arms to use them. He spins a set of strings to bind up the boy in webbing. Once caught in a cocoon, the jerk can only writhe around on the ground and moan through a muffled mouth.

Spider-Man spins back around to face the other punks. They flinch when he narrows his eyes and growls, "Boo", at them.

Then they turn tail and flee, leaving their friend behind. Spider-Man watches as the cowards run away. When they're gone, he turns towards the would-be victims of them.

Spider-Man helps the fox woman stand while asking, "You two alright?"

"Y- Yes", the anthropomorphic lady leans down to bow in order to express her appreciation, "Thank you!"

Iguchi pumps his fists in the air, miming a fight. "That was awesome! The way you stood up to them was badass", he still has the same grin on his face that he had since Spider-Man showed up.

"I can say the same thing to you", Spider-Man gives him an encouraging thumbs up, "Thanks for holding them off long enough for me to get involved."

"Ah.. well..", which results in Iguchi's shy side coming out again.

The fox woman settles into a smile as she finds solace in their company, "Heroes don't usually patrol here", she wasn't expecting either of them to come to her aid, "We need more like you."

The eyes on Spider-Man's mask widen when he hears that. "Oh, I'm not really–" He looks around as he realizes that this ward probably doesn't get very involved in Hero Society, "..Licensed."

But regardless of what the woman knows about him and vigilantism, she still says smiling. "You're a hero in our eyes", she's able to place a hand on his head due to their height difference while expressing her gratitude.

"Aw.. shucks", and it's Spider-Man's turn to turn shy then.

Iguchi clears his throat, being the first to shed the shyness in their shared space. "Can I ask you a question?", though his voice is still timid when compared to how he was earlier.

Wanting to make the guy feel more comfortable, Spider-Man tries to ease the mood with a wisecrack. "Yes, I use baby powder in the joints!" Even if that wisecrack is partially true…

"Not that", Iguchi's face forms a frown for a brief moment. But then he looks away, "I.. I was wondering.. What those guys said about your mask..", hiding the next expression that he makes. "Are you – you know – like us?", he finds enough courage to turn his gaze back up only after asking his question.

Spider-Man falters momentarily. He could quip about having a cousin called Man-Spider. He could give a yes or no answer. But he doesn't. "I wear a mask for a lot of reasons", he thinks about what he learned from this experience and instead says, "One of those is that I can be anyone under here."

Getting the gist of it, Iguchi's stare becomes one of admiration. "A mask, huh?" His grin returns as he ponders the concept of concealing one's identity, "Not a bad idea."

Spider-Man rubs the back of his head, suddenly bashful about the whole thing. He hasn't really openly talked about it with anyone other than Bruce and Bruce is a non living gargoyle. He backpedals a bit with a joke, "Though it has also been bound to get me into a lot of trouble", though that joke might not be so much of a joke since his Spider-Sense starts alerting him to danger soon after.

Spider-Man's body reflexively moves to dodge an incoming attack. The place where he formerly stood sizzles and smokes as some sort of acid eats the ground's asphalt. "See?", he turns his statement about the mask getting him into trouble back into a joke. Though avoiding acid should probably be taken very seriously. So, he swivels to get a good look at whoever or whatever it was that tried burning him with the stuff.

What he sees makes him shudder slightly out of subconscious instinct. It's a humanoid being with organic armored plating coating its form; the thing's hide culminates on its spine, making it hunch over. Protruding from its back is an extension of its organic armor, makeshifting an extra limb in the form of a tail. The tail itself is spiked on its end, and has a spray nozzle built in from which corrosive acid spills out. It's a standing scorpion hybrid.

But what really catches the vigilante's gaze is the thing's head. Much like the Nomu that he fought at the USJ, this monstrosity has an exposed brain organ at the base of its skull. Fresh stitches and staples surround the pulsating pink cerebrum. It makes Spider-Man shift into a stance. He doesn't know how powerful this thing is that he's about to fight and he likely won't be getting any backup this time.

"You two should probably get out of here now", he waves for the bystanders to vacate the area. That's about all he can do to divide his attention from the scorpion man in front of him; it's too risky to divert his gaze.

Iguchi notices the subtle shift in Spider-Man's style of handling things. He catches on that this is much more dangerous than the bunch of chumps from earlier. "Let's go", and so he ushers the fox woman to leave with him while they still can.

Spider-Man waits for them to be out of range before making any moves. And even when he does, he only starts by circling slowly. He refrains from being too sudden with his side shifting.

The scorpion being makes a sound that's a cross between hissing and screaming. And then, it strikes.

Spider-Man springs from his spot to the next available area that he can inhabit space. The ground where he originally was gets demolished into a crater, making him relieved that he did.

The vigilante volleys over another attack. The blade tipped tail lashes at him but he manages to evade. His Spider-Sense screams at him not to lower his guard though. And thus, he's able to also dodge a jet of acid being sprayed.

"Come on! We're both arachnids! Can't we hug this out?!", Spidey nervously quips as he continues maneuvering around the new Nomu's advances.

The creature thrusts itself forward and ensnares Spider-Man with its arms. Spider-Man struggles against the bio-engineered humanoid but can't break the hold. When the Nomu starts to squeeze, Spider-Man really puts up a fight of resistance.

"Arrggh! Nevermind!", Spidey shouts a groan of protest. But his best protest comes in the form of a double footed kick to the hugger's gut. Spidey slips free and uses the strange scorpion's stomach as a springboard to put space between himself and it.

Some scuffling and scuttling about ensues as they play a game of chase and evasion. Spider-Man bounds back from a swing of the scorpion spiked tail. It whips by before snapping back to rebound and try again. Spider-Man snakes under the snaking appendage as it doubles over.

Only a split second later, Spider-Man's Spider-Sense goes off and he is yet again attacked by the Nomu. He hops away in order to cling to a wall in order to get some higher ground on his opponent. The scorpion being sprays acid from its tail to reach where it can't with its arms. Spider-Man is able to jump away before the acid can hit him.

Spidey resorts to relying on ol faithful: his webshooters! He spins a set of strings to counterattack. They melt away when colliding with a stretching stream of acid. His web lines fair no better chance against the creature's claws either. He's unable to slow its movements and it gets him grounded where he can't use web lines to swing away either.

Spider-Man makes an effort to leap out of range. But the scorpion tail wraps around a calf and yanks him back down. He barely manages to avoid getting sliced by the spiked tip at the end of it. Spider-Man hurriedly takes himself away from the creature's ongoing assault; call it a tactical retreat but he has to book it with all that he's got to avoid getting walloped by that thing's tail.

The Scorpion Nomu gives chase, hissing and screaming again. It sinks its clawed toes and fingers into the side of a building to wall crawl just like its quarry. Spider-Man looks back, startled by the mimicry.

"First robots and now monsters matching my shtick?! What's next?! Aliens?!", he prays that he isn't jinxing himself with that quip. He also prays that he somehow survives this battle. The Nomu nearly squashes him under its scorpion-like tail.

Spider-Man abandons the walls for an open street space, thinking that it'll give him more room to juke out the creature's charges. It does a few times when he strafes the scorpion creature with a few feints. But that only lasts for so long before the thing catches on to his tricks.

Spider-Man takes a hit to his chest. He goes flying back onto his back. He uses the throw to roll himself over and flip into a landing. Just in time too. The Nomu is upon him already. He's forced to meet it head on with a blow to its bottom jaw.

The creature reels and so he hits it again. And again. And again. The armored skin that its comprised of shields it for the most part but Spidey soon learns that he's still able to deal some decent damage. The two wind up having an exchange of hits that go blow for blow.

Spider-Man wrestles with the creature before it throws him off with a sudden surge of strength. While it's not as powerful as the one at the USJ, it certainly gives Spidey a run for his money. It can dish out what it can take. And it takes a lot. Spidey keeps swinging his fists every chance that he gets in between dodging its tail.

The appendage alternates its course, surprising Spider-Man. It's like he's fighting a snake that knows karate. The sharp end of the limb jabs and jeers, acting as a pointed fist. Spider-Man pivots to the side in order to avoid getting stabbed.

Realizing that he isn't able to beat this thing in either close or long range combat, the vigilante is left with only his innovation to come up with a way to fight back. He bends backwards to dodge a tail strike, and as he leans he fires web lines behind himself. The strands snag the billboard that he had presented himself on previously. And he yanks HARD to rip the billboard free in order to pull it down. The giant sign falls and lands on top of the Nomu.

Spidey sighs when the creature gets crushed and buried. But his relief is short lived. He bounces back when his Spider-Sense signals him that there's something still dangerous to be wary of. And his danger sense is right. The debris of the billboard shifts and then lifts to give way for the Scorpion Nomu to stand up. It appears, for the most part, unscathed.

Spider-Man jumps further back. While he still can, while the thing is delayed with its recovery, he gets as much distance from it as possible. Its bound to give chase again but this time he'll have a head start. Spider-Man's stamina takes him to the rooftops where the creature will have to crawl after him in pursuit.

"Now what?!", Spidey wonders aloud how he's going to stop this thing. And like always, Bruce and the other gargoyles aren't giving any advice – neither are the pigeons that fly away from him – he'll have to think of a solution on his own.

Spider-Man leaps for a new rooftop. But as he does, he makes himself an open target for his pursuer. The Scorpion Nomu barrels into him. They go crashing through a brick wall and then tumble through an apartment complex. Spider-Man hears people panic as he wrestles with the creature out into a hallway.

The two combatants fight from an inverted angle as they rotate along the walls and up onto the ceiling. Spider-Man catches the thing's tail and holds it back, the tipped end just shy of piercing his face. His other hand comes up to catch a mad swing from the monster's fist. Which leaves them both with only their legs to simultaneously kick one another.

They drop down from the ceiling and break through the floor beneath them. They slam into the next story of the apartment building. Residents scream and run. Spider-Man shifts himself and the Nomu down the hallway until they enter an elevator shaft. It's a tight space but their fall allows for Spider-Man to still maintain his constant movement in their fight.

When they enter the lobby at the bottom of the building, people are still running out. Spider-Man has to keep the Nomu at bay with himself as a physical barrier, taking the brunt of blows while retaliating with some of his own hits. But eventually their battle of endurance comes to a close and Spider-Man has to back down. The vigilante falls back. Literally. He lays on his back about to get walloped by the thing's tail.

Spider-Man rolls away to avoid getting crushed. He then somersaults up onto the ceiling to get above his enemy. From there, Spider-Man grabs the Scorpion Nomu by its head and redirects their positions to swap places. The scorpion creature gets slammed face first into the floor.

Spider-Man grabs the reception desk and uses it as a weapon to whack his enemy with. He then repeats this process with each next available thing to him. A sofa gets tossed out of the waiting area. So does a couch. And then a coffee table is broken against the Nomu. But none of it fairs any better than a billboard, obviously.

Spider-Man runs out of objects to bash against the baddie. Which means it's his turn to get smacked. Spider-Man is slammed by the tail. He topples over, dazed.

While still trying to recuperate, he's picked up and thrown through the wired fencing of the apartment's entrance. It wraps around him as he passes through, and he becomes completely tangled. The Scorpion Nomu grabs him and hoists him over its head again.

It seems like the end of Spider-Man right then and there. But somehow, some way, something causes the Scorpion Nomu to hesitate. Its spiked tail pauses as its body stills.

"M- Mmm-", Spider-Man strains to hear but it sounds like the thing is actually trying to speak and say something! The last word out of the monster's mouth that Spider-Man expected to hear is, "Mom.."

The Nomu drops Spider-Man, losing all of its fight. It grabs at its exposed brain like the organ hurts. "Dad..", it calls out to both parents like a scared child.

And Spider-Man sees why. Across the way, are two people huddled together. They must be this thing's mother and father according to it. And they look a lot like, "Mashirao?", they wonder themselves if this is by chance or some cruel lie.

Spider-Man flexes himself free from the wires wrapped around him, snapping the bindings off. Once having his movement unrestricted again, he bounds back to get between the Nomu and the couple.

This prefecture is where a lot of people with animal hybrid quirks live. The odds of this apartment being home to the Ojiro family has maxed out the luck that the Midoriya Misfortune will allow. And that Spidey could even discover that this Nomu is one and the same as Ojiro before beating it to a pulp can attest to that.

"How did this even happen… ?", Spider-Man glances between the creature that has consumed the Ojiro parent's son and the parents themselves.

The vigilante starts to wonder if the beast back at the USJ used to be an innocent human too. That villains are worse than he could have possibly imagined… That they would do something so sickening… He clenches his hands into fists at the thought.

And that U.A yet again kept things under wraps for the sake of public perception doesn't help to quell his anger. Like Uraraka, he's sure they fed some sort of bullshit story to the Ojiros to cover for their son's abduction. It now makes more sense why they want him to participate at the Sports Festival; they're using him to divert attention away from a missing Hero Course student by making a big show of his involvement instead.

"Look, we can work this out..", he unballs his hands to show them as flat palms; he wants to lower the tension in the room, "I want to help sort everything out.."

If he can keep his cool and play his cards right, this might be his chance to do something. Whereas Lady Deadpool / Nagant didn't pan out with exposing the HPSC, this is an opportunity to do something about U.A at least.

But the HPSC and U.A are so similar, apparently, that they wind up crossing paths. Hawks, partially suited up as Vulture, swoops in. "You're going to let this danger to society go?!", the HPSC agent accuses Spider-Man of being the bad guy in this situation.

"What?!", Spider-Man defensively positions himself to block Ojiro's Nomu-fied form. "He's not a danger to society. He's a kid!", Spider-Man tries appealing to the hero part of the man in front of him.

But Vulture has been waiting for a chance to pin things on Spider-Man the way he had been sent to court. Regardless of misunderstandings and morals, this is personal to Keigo. "When people see how similar that thing is to the one from the USJ attack, they'll find that hard to believe!" He doesn't bother chit chatting; he attacks.

Spider-Man shoves the Scorpion Nomu aside so that he and Ojiro can separate for Vulture to pass through. Vulture rebounds, controlling the battlegrounds. But Spider-Man is fueled by anger already, and so he doesn't wait for his opponent to make a followup move. Spider-Man jumps into Vulture, no quips and all punches.

Spider-Man smashes the visor of Keigo's helmet, exposing the man's furious face. They glare at one another as they spiral across the furniture free space of the room. During the brief scuffle, all sense of control goes out the window – along with them. The two crash outside into the street.

Spider-Man grabs Vulture by the scruff of his jacket. Vulture uses the sharpness of his fathers to tear himself free from the hold. Losing his advantage of having close quarters, Spider-Man abandons the fabric in his hand and scales a wall. Just in time to catch up to Keigo's aerial ascent too.

"No more!", Spider-Man shouts at the man as he throws himself forward. They collide with one another and fall back down to the ground. "I said – NO MORE!", and it's there that Spider-Man intends on keeping this particular bird grounded.

Keigo struggles underneath the vigilante but is unable to get up. Spider-Man stomps down on the buzzard's beak, completely shattering the rest of the man's helmet. Keigo flinches back as the broken parts of his mask fly off his face.

"You're done", Spider-Man gives Vulture another reason to flinch when he slams his fist into the man's face.

Leaving the HPSC agent unconscious to lay there, Spider-Man returns to the Ojiros. They've managed to calm down their Nomu-fied son from the looks of it. Which means that there's still hope yet.

"Was that.. Hawks?", Mashirao's mother worriedly watches Spider-Man closely. She holds one side of her son while her husband holds onto the other side.

Spider-Man stops, not coming any closer. He hadn't intended to scare them when they must already be so confused by all of this. "..Not anymore..", Spider-Man looks back at the unconscious former hero and then returns his gaze to the family in front of him, "He would have attacked your son if I didn't stop him."

"Weren't you the one hitting our boy earlier?", Mashirao's father blocks his family with himself; he protectively prevents Spider-Man from going anywhere near them.

To which the vigilante has to wince. "That was before I knew..", Spider-Man continues trying to show them that he only has good intentions, "I really just want to help", but they remain wary of his every minimal move.

"You've done enough already", they turn away from him as they tend to their child turned monster. And Spider-Man can't even find it in himself to blame them what with they must be feeling right about now.

He backs away when hearing approaching police sirens. If explaining things to eye witnesses didn't go over so well, then he doubts that the cops will be willing to listen any better. He has to spin a web and swing away. Afterall, he is still an unlicensed vigilante.

Spider-Man sits on the ledge of a rooftop, his legs hanging over the side of it. It makes for a comfortable spot to reflect on his day. As always, the view is spectacular a sight. But his heart just isn't in it. Swinging or no swinging, Spider-Man is a sad sap currently.

He slouches a bit while pondering the possibilities of what he could have done differently. He knows that hindsight only helps after actually having it but he can't shake the feeling that he should have held off on fighting the Nomu had he known sooner. He wonders not for the first time if what he's doing as Spider-Man is the right thing.

Without his Spider-Sense alerting him first, he's surprised by the suddenness of a voice coming up from behind him. "I thought I'd find you somewhere still in the area", the booming vocalization makes the boy hop up to his feet and whirl around.

"All Might?!", he exclaims his surprise and awe at who the voice belongs to when seeing the massive man joining him on the rooftop.

All Might chuckles when witnessing the masked kid's reaction. "You act like you've never seen me before", his already broad smile widens. "Young man, you saved my life, you don't need to look at me like some fanboy!"

Spider-Man chuckles too, though his is more forced. "R- Right", he rubs the back of his head like that will erase the image in his mind of his memorabilia decorated bedroom, "A fanboy.. Heh.." Wanting to get off that topic, he clears his throat, "A- Anyways! What are you doing here?"

All Might gestures to the ledge for Spider-Man to sit back down. "When we received word of a Nomu similar to what we saw at the USJ, I was dispatched to help investigate" He joins the vigilante in sitting there.

But Spider-Man is already angsty again that he feels the need to stand back up, "It's not like the one we fought at the USJ" He gives an exaggerated wave of his hands to express his pent up frustration. "All Might, this one was one of your students reanimated into one of those things!"

All Might remains seated and calm as he listens. "We know that now, thanks to you."

Which surprises the vigilante. He loses his steam and simmers down, "You.. Do?", also sitting back down.

"We interviewed a lot of people", All Might nods, "And while some of them had very different things to say about you, I was able to gather enough to understand what happened."

Hearing that, Spider-Man thinks to set the record straight about what he's sure was one of those interviewees. "Hawks– Or, uh, Vulture – He tried attacking me and the Nomu despite knowing too", he adds as firmly as he can in the presence of All Might, "You can't let him go this time."

All Might stares at the vigilante for a moment. And then says, "I'll see what I can do for you about that."

"Good", Spider-Man takes what he can get with a sigh, "Thanks.."

All Might hums. They look out at the city's landscape. Until.. "So, is that why you were up here sulking?" All Might looks back at the boy.

Spider-Man starts to get defensive about his brooding, "I wasn't– Okay, maybe I was..", but then remembers who it is that he's talking to. Which is why he needs to ask in return, "All Might.. Do you ever question why you work with U.A or The Commission?"

"Ah, that's what this is about.." All Might's smile wavers. "It's no secret.. I'm a symbol to society.. It's important not to let that symbol become tainted for sake of society collapsing", he's covered in a glow by the sun as he explains why he works within the system, "People rely on me to do it alone but you saw for yourself that I can't always."

"Yeah..", Spider-Man thinks about how he's been trying to do everything solo and how much grief that has caused him, "I thought as much.." But he also thinks about the responsibility of it. Time and time again that he doubts himself, he HAS to think about the responsibility. "Which is why I was thinking about being a symbol myself", he looks out at the city that he's been trying to protect and sees that same sunlit glow on it.

"Oh?", All Might watches the boy before him with righteous blue eyes; he can see something shining and stunning too.

"I was offered a position at U.A if I perform well in the Sports Festival", Spider-Man continues to look ahead – at the future, basically – and he doesn't look away. "It might just be a publicity stunt for them among whatever other shady things, but to me now.. I learned today that it means more about my mask than I previously thought", the city is reflected in the lenses of his mask while he speaks of the lesson it taught him.

"I was meaning to ask about the mask", All Might taps at his chin with a finger. He's curious as he says more than asks what he thinks, "Most heroes nowadays like to reassure civilians with their face."

"I used to want to do the same", Spider-Man grins underneath his mask, "Save people with a smile like you."

Hearing that admission makes All Might blink in surprise, "What changed?"

Spider-Man turns his head to look at All Might. "Today I learned that the mask isn't about just me but it's also something I need to wear for others – not just to protect them – but to inspire them the way you do, albeit differently."

What with what happened with Iguchi and the fox girl.. After seeing what it can do for them. What it did to Hawks and his transformation into The Vulture fully. Spider-Man knows that he can do more with his identity a secret than if he were to go public with it. Especially if he's going to represent something in the Sports Festival.

"I never thought I'd somehow be able to do something that you can't", Spider-Man stands up – basking in the sunlight – he's overcome his doubt and found himself as he declares, "I can give them something that you don't by making my mask your smile."

AUTHOR NOTES

Seems like Spidey has found his resolve & conviction again! Moving into the Sports Festival, there might be a villain who re-emerges and challenges that...

Till then!

-Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood author!