Several murmurs and conversations in the audience took place after the end of that fight. All battles up to now had defined a certain average power for first-year students. But everyone was very impressed with the actions of the last two competitors. Obviously Reyes' demonstration of latent power had been extraordinary, no doubt about it. However, no one belittled the strategy young Parker had managed during the confrontation, even though it led to his defeat.

Robbie left the arena, walking inside the tunnel that would take him to other internal wings of the stadium. He would go to the infirmary, wanting make sure of something. But on his way over, he saw a familiar figure waiting by the exit, leaning against the wall. The boy slowed his pace, finally deciding to speak to the Number 6 Hero in his human form.

"Still haven't given up, huh?" Robbie said to the man.

"Never," he answered, giving a slight shake of his head. "How's the noggin? A little quieter up there?"

Robbie was taken aback, he hadn't noticed. Since releasing the flames, the dark voice in the back of his head had gone silent. "Y-Yeah... It's been so long..."

Johnny nodded understandingly, "Just know this was a temporary solution. If you want to maintain control over yourself and your flames, you'll need to put in some work. It won't be easy, and you're a bit behind the curve right now."

"I understand..." Robbie replied.

"So, where will you go from here?" Asked the hero.

Reyes looked determinedly into the man's eyes, "I want to get stronger. I will control all aspects of this power... Does your offer to train me still stand?"

A thin smile grew on Mr. Blaze's face, "It never went away. We can talk about it after the Festival, seems you still have a few opponents left."

Robbie's eyes widened, "Oh Dio!!!" He started to freak out a bit, "I-I've gotta go, man. There's something I-"

Johnny nudged him on the shoulder, "Get going, I'll be in touch." Robbie sprinted off, and the hero watched him leave before activating his Quirk, turning back into his flaming skull form.

Now Roberto, your path is no longer hidden. But here's where the hard work begins, he thought as he walked out towards his motorcycle.


"A broken rib, several bruises, first-degree burns and, of course, completely lacerated wrists..." Claire said, looking over the boy, who was unconscious and bandaged. Peter lay in one of the beds of the makeshift ward for that event. She turned to Tony, "Anything else you want to add?"

"You make it seem my fault that he's like this," the hero said, look between his colleague and the boy.

"Well who else's would it be!?" Claire asked, losing her patience a bit.

"Hey, it's not like I went and told him to fight like that, did I? He did it all on his own..." Tony stopped talking Claire's angry gaze seemed as if it would burn a hole in him. "Okay, it was my fault. Happy now?"

"Not at all..." She said, heading for the boy. Just then, the door being opened with force and a certain quartet of students rushed in.

"PETER!!!" Wanda, Gwen, Danny and Kei exclaimed, nearly tearing the door off the infirmary to check on their unconscious friend.

"Kids..." Claire tried to be strict, but those children were genuinely concerned. And given his condition, they had every right to be. "Mr. Parker is resting now."

"Sorry, Night Nurse," Wanda apologized, before looking at the other man in the room. "Oh! Hello sir..."

"Hello! Good afternoon!" He replied, quickly turning his face so that the students couldn't get a good look at him. "Well, I'd better get going," he stood up and left the infirmary in a hurry.

"Who was that?" Kei asked, receiving a series of shrugs from the others.

"How's he doing?" Wanda addressed the heroine nervously, looking at one of Peter's bandaged wrists.

"A few injuries, nothing that can't be repaired," she said to the group. "But I am going to have to perform surgery."

"SURGERY!?!?!" They asked in unison, afraid of the ramifications.

"Calm down, it's no big deal!" Claire replied, raising her hands slightly to calm their spirits. "But his webs have damaged some internal tissue, so I'm going to have to rearrange some things so that my Quirk doesn't cure him in the wrong way."

"Oh..." The students breathe with relief, seeming to understand the situation better.

"That being said, I would like a little privacy for the procedure," she said. Three of them immediately agree, understanding the situation. Wanda just nodded weakly, looking slightly down at Peter. Claire noticed this, "But I wouldn't say no to a helper, if one of you wants to stay."

Wanda's eyes lit up instantly, and she looked at Claire hopefully. Gwen, quickly saw the change in her friend. So, she decided to give her a little nudge.

"Aw, what a pity! Danny has a fight now and Kei and I are SOOOOO excited to watch!" She said holding the Danny's arm, and once more picking Kei up off the floor and carrying him under her arm like a suitcase. "Wanda can stay! She can also move things with her mind so she will be very useful!" The blonde smiled brightly, leave the room with the others.

"Guess that decides that," Night Nurse said, looking at the girl with the red bow. "If you want to, of course..."

"Yes!" Wanda replied, very excitedly. But then she blushed, speaking in a more controlled voice, "I mean, of course. It would be an honor..." She smiled, crossing her hands in front of her body.

"All right," Claire said, going to get the necessary instruments.

Robbie, who'd been watching the whole situation since the arrival of 'Spider Squad', watched Peter still unconscious in bed. He didn't show any signs of nightmares or mental problems. Maybe he was worrying about nothing, but it didn't cost anything to be sure. I'll check again after the surgery, the boy thought, silently leaving his position leaning against the wall outside.


"AND WE'RE BACK LADIES AND GERMS!!! AFTER THE ABSOLUTELY HEATED BATTLE BETWEEN PROTAGONIST AND RIVAL, WE RETURN TO OUR NORMAL PROGRAMMING FROM AND TO COADJUTANTS!!!" Deadpool seemed to be excited again. "NEXT UP; THE SQUIRREL VS THE FIST!!!"

Without needing to give instructions again, Emma Frost just turned to the two combatants, making sure that they both know the rules and limits. After confirming that they both understood and had no questions, she announced the start of the match.

Unlike her last fight, this time Doreen took off quickly, running with her legs and arms like a real squirrel, trying to catch the martial artist off guard.

But while she'd only seen Danny's battle with Riri, the boy still had a secret weapon, having used it only during the cavalry battle. And knowing about his opponent's super senses, it would be perfect.

As the redhead approached, Danny prepares himself, filling the palms of his hands with Chi and placing himself in a fighting position, his right leg in front and slightly flexed and the left back and outstretched.

In the last few meters, Doreen leapt forward, and Danny's plan kicks in. With his opponent just a few feet from him, the boy claps his hands, releasing a wave of energy and Chi. It hits his opponent, overloading her sense of hearing and tact. The girl raised her hands to her ears, mid-trajectory in the air. Danny used this opening and grabbed onto her arms.

Then, using the momentum of the girl's movement, he rolled backwards, pushing her hard with both legs on her belly. This caused her to be thrown to the other side of the arena. She soon fell to the ground and her tail, her greatest asset, touched down over the barrier line, giving the victory to the boy.

"AND WITH NO TIME TO LOSE FOR THESE FIGHTS, LET'S BRING OUT MS. MARVELOUS VS SHADOW!!!"

Shortly thereafter, both students met in the arena, receiving the same questions that Emma Frost gave m the previous pair, and when them answered, the teacher started the fight.

Not wasting time, Kamala increased the length of her arms and the size of her hands, trying to catch Tyrone and get him out of the arena. The girl had seen his fight against Seol, so the best strategy was to stay away, then he'd be less likely to use his power, right?

Wrong.

Easily teleporting away with each attempt by Kamala to hold him, Tyrone tried every moment he had to find an opening and end the fight. Finally, it appeared; Kamala had never used her enlarged limbs for long periods of time, generally preferring to catch people off guard with the sudden increase. She changed her strategy for that fight, which proved to be her undoing.

For a second, stopping her attacks to catch her breath, Tyrone exploits the opening. With black smoke surrounding his body, he teleports himself until he was behind the girl. With the approach, she comes into contact with the smoke and her eyes open, glassy, as if she had seen a ghost.

Taking advantage of this breach again, Tyrone used the smoke and pushed his opponent off the arena, guaranteeing his victory while the girl shook her head as if she had come out of a trance.


Back at the infirmary, Wanda sat on Peter's left side, holding the boy's hand. As Claire finished using her Quirk on the boy, the glow faded and disappeared from the boy's body. The nurse starts packing up, throwing her gloves away and leaving the instruments to be sterilized. But as she removed the gauze from the boy's arm, she heard Wanda speak.

"Why did you do that?" She said quietly, staring sadly at Peter. "Something on your mind, Ms. Maximoff?" Claire asked, turning to the girl. "Oh! Um, s-sorry. I was just thinking out loud..." she replied, blushing from fright and looking away.

"Your mental health is just as important as your physique," said the heroine, finishing undoing the gauze. She turned to the girl, looking at her directly, "I've also been told I'm a great listener."

"..." The girl bit her lip, not sure what to say until she finally tried. "Peter is a very determined person... He always knows what he wants and always goes out of his way to get it. He dreams of being the Number One Hero, and I can see how hard he works every day. And the festival was no exception, but..."

"'But'?" Claire asked.

"Before he went to fight Reyes, he told me that he didn't plan about winning anymore," the girl remembered what happened. "He said, 'Heroes save those who need help.' But why would he give up?"

"Hmmm..." The nurse considered the situation, "Maybe his goals changed, could've been something related to that fire explosion I saw from the window? I've never seen Reyes use power like that before."

"It could be," Wanda said to herself. She'd seen that the boys had talked at times, if you could call what had happened conversation. But because of her distance at the time, she hadn't heard anything concrete. Was Reyes the one who needed to be saved? If so, what did he need to be saved from?

"Well, whether he wants to be the best or not, he has to take better care of himself and learn a new way to use his Quirk," the nurse said, removing the bandages on the boy's other forearm.

"What do you mean?" Asked Wanda.

"See for yourself," Claire rotated the boy's forearm so that Wanda could see the underside. There was a scar; the mark on the skin that was a deformed circle in the center with other thinner scars coming from it.

"His webs contain a compound that degrades the epithelial cells," she explained. "When he shoots it too fast, it causes the damage you've seen before. If he continues like this, the wounds will increase until he permanently damages the nerves, losing movement in his arms."

"..." Not knowing what to say, Wanda covered her mouth, horrified. She didn't know that Peter's skills were so degrading for him physically. If he lost his arm movements-

But in the middle of the girl's contemplation, both the student and the nurse hear the door open hard. Soon, Robbie Reyes entered the room, looking around wildly until he sees Peter laying in bed, proceeding to move towards him.

"Robbie?" Wanda asked, not knowing why the boy was there. "Mr. Reyes, why are you here?" The nurse inquired. "Why is he still sleeping?" Robbie demanded, not bothering to answer the question directed at him.

"He arrived unconscious and after a minor surgery, I used my Quirk to cure him. I probably spent a little more of his energy so he's still-" Claire tried to explain the situation, but the boy seemed agitated for some reason.

"No..." The boy's face went pale as he rushed over to Peter, grabbing his leg and shaking him slightly. "No!!! Araña!? Araña!!!"

"What're you doing? He needs to rest!" Wanda said, not understanding and pushing Reyes away from Peter.

"We don't have time for this!!" The boy tried again, but was stopped.

"Don't touch him!" Wanda exclaimed, activating her Quirk and creating two spheres of red energy in her hands. Her eyes shone crimson and stood protectively between Peter and Reyes, "Why do we need to wake him up?"

There was no way around it, the boy had to explain. "Because if we don't wake him..." Reyes began, worriedly. "He'll be trapped in a coma, reliving his sins for all eternity..."


Peter was sinking. He didn't know where he was, everything was dark, but he could see somehow, even without a light source. He was falling, but not in free fall. It was more like he was sinking, but without water.

His fall continues, until he reached a bottom, he gets up and looks around, the floor was smooth and completely black. Looking around, he doesn't recognize anything, there was nothing there.

Then he looks back and recognized two figures a little further away.

"Hello?" He asked, receiving no answer. He starts walking towards the figures, until it became possible to recognize them.

It was two people; a man and a woman, both adults with their backs to the boy. The clothes were no big deal, a jacket and pants for the man, and a blouse and skirt for the woman.

But before Peter could touch him, they both turn to the boy.

"Look what we have here..." The man said.

"I thought we abandoned you years ago..." The woman completes, as if they both shared the same mindset.

Peter knew them. Even if a shadow covered their eyes. The woman's brown hair, the man's black-framed glasses. Peter only had pictures and misty memories of the two, but he'd recognize them anywhere.

It was Richard and Mary Parker; his parents.