Blood coats the floor like a fresh layer of red paint. Periodically, bodies are strewn around from which this crimson colored fluid flows. Shell cases and discarded bullets also litter the place. There's no spot to step foot with walking over the top of something. A police officer occasionally gets chastised for accidentally crunching a centerfire slug beneath their boot. Sansa Tamakawa is careful as he walks through the established crime scene, avoiding labeled evidence tags where CSI snap photos and forensics swab DNA samples. A few fellow cops brush by him, also surveying the area.
Tamakawa watches as corpses are covered and cordoned by body bags. Each lifeless cadaver has holes punched through them from the large rounds that lay about. Intestines stretch across from where one of the victims fell, the hung up entrails a set of gorey slaughter party streamers. Brain matter oozes from an exposed skull that got blown wide open. This was an up close and personal affair, and Tamakawa doesn't need to make detective to determine that much – any fool can see – the cop crosses the crime scene to see other signs of brutal killing methods.
Every fatality is recognized as a Creature Rejection Clan member. It's evident that a vendetta was carried out against the cult's cause. As an anthropomorphic type himself, Tamakawa can't say the CRC didn't get what was coming to them. But as a police officer, he must also uphold the law by the book and can't allow personal feelings to get in the way. Despite everybody deserving their due day in court and all that righteous crap, it's arguable that this method of murder was perhaps a bit too extreme even for a bigoted bunch like the CRC. Tamakawa finds a corpse with gunshot wounds in places that imply torture.
What's odd about all of these shooting signs is that there are no firearms left behind. Not even a jammed or damaged item. Report records show that the Yakuza supplied weapons to the organized group but all of the guns are missing. Investigators are marking everything as stolen. It's chilling to think what anyone can get up to with that amount of firepower. Perhaps war is about to be waged. What with the gun ban, these smuggling operations are only proving to be more and more problematic. Sooner or later the weapons will turn up – it's just a matter of when, where, and how – the why is thus far linked to the CRC and the Yakuza ... for now.
Tamakawa pauses when he spots something glistening from beneath a body. The cop bends down to get a closer look. His Schmid-Fraccaro Syndrome quirked eyes widen when seeing that the sparkling object is what everyone has been looking for. A weapon. A singular handgun actually had happened to be left behind. One of the CRC members must have grabbed and dropped it when trying to defend themself. Tamakawa stays squatting as he secures the piece of evidence with a gloved hand.
But, rather than bagging the crime scene item, he instead conceals it under his uniform's jacket. With the ban in effect, guns are hard to come by – even as a police officer – and he's thinking it may be good to have this weapon on hand for future reference. Tamakawa glances left and right to ensure nobody noticed his illegal act. He remains crouched a while longer to not seem too suspicious before standing up and leaving the body to be bagged with the others.
After Naomasa Tsukauchi's passing, he has started to undergo some sort of change. No longer does he joke around the office or go out drinking with the other cops after work. He's developed a more acute awareness of the world as it is and understands why his friend was always so stressed by it. Something needs to be done about it, one way or another, and he intends to figure out how it is he can contribute to that.
Vigilantes… Anti-Heroes… Some light is shed on who it is he himself might have to become. Licensed pros like Hawks were exposed for leading double lives but he can somewhat understand the perspective the HPSC has. It can be easy to lose sight of oneself when under the control of another though so he keeps his intentions & thoughts private. For now, he bides his time and allows the process of his enlightened transformation to do its work a little more – he knows he is not ready as of yet – so he waits until things become clearer first.
Times are changing. Sins are starting to surface. In order to make it in this world, sometimes those sins need to be eaten before they eat the person first.
General Education studies have resumed at U.A. Though Izuku Midoriya has a reputation for absences and class tardiness, he actually shows up regularly this time. He has been neglecting his academic responsibilities perhaps a bit too much as of late. Not wishing for his grades to suffer, he begins participating a little more. Since his activities as Spider-Man are gradually gearing more towards the night, he feels he can spare his morning period of time some leniency in that department.
It's just what to do once classes let out that leave him uncertain with himself. Normally, his 'old pal' Hitoshi Shinso would invite him to lunch or something of that sort during their free period together. Ever since what he said to Shinso on the I-Island evacuation vessel though, Shinso has been completely avoiding interaction with him. Izuku watches as his friendship falls apart right in front of him and scoffs. He decides he doesn't care nor does he need the other boy around. It's not like past friendships (like Kacchan) ever amounted to anything good to make this one worth fighting for.
Izuku runs a hand through his messy bush of green hair, smoothing it back a bit; relieving his life of Shinso makes for one less headache to put up with. With a lack of guy friends, he opts to make time for what he hopes to be a girlfriend. Before, he felt his life as Spider-Man would interfere too much, but the symbiote has since then given him a much needed upgrade that he feels a bit more confident in what he's now capable of doing. Which means trying to woo and win over Kyoka Jirou is again an option.
Izuku follows student traffic into the school's halls. The flow carries towards the Hero Course rooms where he finds familiar faces; Setsuna Tokage rummages through her locker while Tenya Iida serves as a hall monitor. He looks past them, in search of one face in particular. He finds who he's looking for. Kyoka Jirou walks out of Class 1-A's homeroom. But before Izuku can take a step forward, raise his hand up to wave in greeting, or open his mouth to announce his presence – he stops short upon seeing somebody else with her – Denki Kaminari walks out of the room right beside Jirou, and Kaminari then drapes an arm around the girl's shoulders.
Izuku pauses, standing still with a slightly parted mouth and unblinking eyes. Jirou doesn't make a move to remove the boy's arm as a flirtatious advance. Kaminari and Jirou walk down the hall opposite to him, completely missing his presence in the background. Izuku slowly raises his hand up to take off his glasses, removing them to look on with a hard glare. Feelings of animosity swell and swirl within him, all while combining with an extreme sense of jealousy.
He has half a mind to reopen the scars marking Kaminari's face. Part of him wants to prove his superiority by beating down his romantic rival. An animalistic thought that he can win Jirou's favor by showing that he's stronger than Kaminari comes and goes. But he knows better. He'd only become subject to more ridicule and judgment. New thoughts fester. Who needs her? Jirou isn't the only one with options for feasible mates. Rather than pursuing her in particular, he reminds himself that there are other girls interested in him.
Ironically, he fails to notice that one of those girls was standing beside him this entire time. It could be because of her invisibility quirk, but Toru Hagakure has to speak up to make him aware of her presence. "I know what it's like to go unseen..", she quietly whispers just loud enough to be heard, "It's not a good feeling."
"Hagakure?", Izuku turns to see her floating uniform and blushes out of embarrassment. His head whips back and forth from the direction of Jirou to Hagakure as he asks, "Oh.. You saw.. ?"
Hagakure nods before realizing & remembering he can't see the gesture. "You like Jirou, huh?" Her voice stays soft as she asks him about his pining stare directly.
Izuku opens his mouth to deny it. But he figures there's no point in lying or trying to cover up what was apparent. He nods and sighs while asking in return, "What does it matter if she doesn't reciprocate those feelings?"
Hagakure shrugs, this gesture more visible by the U.A uniform lifting at her small shoulders. "You never know until you try", the girl offers some encouragement despite feeling discouraged herself about the prospects of romance.
Izuku may as well be deaf the way he doesn't hear her tone of voice being mellowly timid. Completely oblivious to how Hagakure might feel, he stays fixated on Jirou a while longer to ask, "If getting thrown out a window isn't enough for her to notice then what else would it take?"
Hagakure huffs out a slightly amused laugh, "Fair enough.." Being reminded of I-Island and what happened does bode a few questions though. "How are you, by the way?" She more notably inquires about his referenced window exit. "Spider-Man saved you, right?"
Izuku nods. That's the story he ran with when being interviewed during I-Island's aftermath. It's the only coverup that would make the most sense. Hoping to move the topic off of himself nevertheless, he instead shifts the mention of Spider-Man towards Hagakure's thoughts on the vigilante. He asks, "Opinion changed on him?"
Hagakure falters & fidgets. She looks down at the floor while whispering out her honest feelings towards Spider-Man, "I know it's not right for me to still harbor resentment and blame him for Ojiro but.."
Izuku nods again. He understands. He himself feels partially responsible for what happened there that he can even agree with her to an extent. But how much that incident must mean to Hagakure in particular makes him wonder why she cares so much more than the other members of 1-A, "You liked Ojiro?"
This secondary question catches Hagakure off guard more than the first. But she answers it just as honestly, "We didn't know eachother for long but.. He noticed me when nobody else didn't.." Her sincerity shows through regardless of her invisibility quirk when she adds, "Kinda like you did."
Izuku looks at the girl in front of him like he can see her. With his heightened senses, he has some semblance of her facial traces. As he was able to do at the USJ, he feels her presence through the air's vibrations in a form of his Spider-Sense's alertness. "You're easier to notice than you think", his suave statement is smooth enough to make Hagakure's heart swoon. "You have an amazing quirk, Hagakure."
The girl shyly turns away as she hugs & holds herself. She tries to deny the boy's slight praise, "Everyone wishes to turn invisible but they don't know what it's like.."
Hearing this, Izuku's eyes widen. Whereas he'd normally sympathize with someone per a statement such as that … the symbiote gears his mind towards more selfishly productive thoughts. It's been his wish to master camouflage like some spiders are capable of. He even saw someone with a frog quirk during the Sports Festival pull off this ability. Perhaps, now that he has the symbiote, he can replicate this skill similarly to the way pseudo webs can be produced by mimicking MJ's black whip ability.
He says to Hagakure, "You aren't invisible to us..", but he's looking at her transparency so transparently now that he may as well be looking straight through her as a person.
Hagakure hears him say 'us' and mistakenly thinks he is trying to tell her that there are more people in her life than she believes who notice her for more than her quirk. "That's sweet but..", the girl turns back to face him so that she can correct what she thinks is just an effort to console her, "Maybe you mean just you" The thing is … she does feel somewhat consoled either way. "And maybe I'd be okay with that..", her feelings for Izuku start to surface a bit more than before due to the misunderstanding.
While she's looking directly at him and him alone, Izuku looks through and past her. By doing so, Izuku sees behind Hagakure another girl caught up in this love triangle – love square? hexagon? – Itsuka Kendo walks through the halls and catches Izuku's eye. Out of all his options, MJ expressed interest in him first and foremost. Izuku ignores Hagakure, thinking Kendo is easy to win the affection of if he were to let her know that he is now open to the possibility of a relationship.
"Um.. Midoriya..", Hagakure is too caught up in her own mix of emotions to see that he's not paying her any more attention. She shyly bows her head down as she tries to work up enough nerve to confess her feelings, unaware of the boy's preoccupied mind.
Izuku's eyes narrow when he sees Katsuki Bakugo of all people follow behind Itsuka Kendo. While it's not exactly the same as what he saw with Kaminari & Jirou, it's a sight that rekindles his earlier jealousy and anger. His first choice was taken by a villain and now his second choice is being stolen by his childhood bully. Those are offenses that he can no longer suck up and let go. This time, he intends to follow his crush and his competitor to– to do– to do SOMETHING.
Hagakure anxiously grips the hem of her U.A uniform's skirt while asking, "Midoriya.. Would you maybe like to go on a da– ?"
But her partial and nearly completed confession falls upon deaf ears when it gets hurriedly interrupted, "Sorry Hagakure! Maybe some other time!" Izuku steers himself to go around her and rushes off.
Toru Hagakure is left behind to stand in the hall by herself, startled & stupefied. Now, with absolutely nobody else around her since they've all gone off with their friends, she truly does feel invisible and abandoned.
In order to spy on MJ & Bakugo without being seen, Spider-Man puts the symbiote's skills to the test. So soon after considering copying Toru Hagakure's invisibility, he tries applying his theoretical knowledge behind pulling it off. Unlike the nature of Hagakure's transparency, the symbiote's dark exterior won't quite reflect light as a surface of skin. Rather, he instead has the symbiote blend into his environment as a form of camouflage. Much like his 'suit' is able to replicate the appearance of clothes when needing to provide a quick change of attire, it can mirror his surroundings as a means of appearance as well.
Spider-Man crawls along the wall above Katsuki Bakugo and Itsuka Kendo, completely invisible to them as the symbiote grants his request to become camouflaged. There seems to be nothing the 'suit' is incapable of doing. But the symbiote's host has residual jealousy & anger to counterbalance the joy he feels over being able to gain this ability. And so, he stews in silence while eavesdropping on the conversation directly beneath him.
MJ looks as annoyed as she sounds when finally stopping to address Bakugo's persistence in following her to a secluded spot, "Do we seriously have to talk about this right here and now?" A lover's quarrel or some sorta spat wasn't what Spider-Man was expecting, but he revels in that thought since it has to do with his childhood bully if he's right making such an assumption.
"You said as soon as you got back that we'd talk", Bakugo folds his arms across his chest while standing firm on the subject of their fight – whatever it may be – he impatiently urges MJ to talk with a tilting gesture of his head, "You're back and I've already waited long enough."
MJ looks away, as though in search of an excuse to escape their conversation. She seems uncomfortable as she tries giving Bakugo a reason to postpone this supposedly much needed talk, "I'm still reeling from the island's collapse, ya know.. ?"
"Bullshit! We deal with villain attacks all the time! That one is no different from the USJ", but Bakugo isn't one to take no for an answer. He blocks her path by bracing a hand against the wall despite her not even making a move to try and leave; Spider-Man shifts slightly up the same wall to avoid getting discovered.
MJ hesitantly relents, "Okay.. Fine..", since she must be already familiar enough with the boy's behavior by being his classmate for the past year.
Bakugo allows his hand to slide down and slip from the wall. He brings it back to his folded arms formation and waits for MJ to talk. When she doesn't say anything within the next couple of seconds though, he loses his cool again. "..Well?! Where does your power come from?! Spill already!"
MJ snaps and shouts back at him, "Quiet! I'm thinking!" Both Spider-Man and Bakugo are surprised by the sudden shift from being passive to aggressive.
"Haahhh?! Thinking about what?!", Bakugo recovers from his shock and responds with an even louder decibel of yelling.
A shouting match then begins between the two of them and continues to intensify when MJ screams an insult at him, "About what an ass you are!"
"Haaahhhh?!", Bakugo cranes his neck out before whipping his head back and throwing up a hand to point at her accusingly. "You're one to talk, Hand Job!"
MJ expresses her repulsion by taking two giant steps back but blushes while asking, "What did you just call me?!" She wasn't expecting her insult to be met and matched with a returned insult.
Bakugo smirks, pleased with himself over having been able to get one over on her. He puts his hands on his hips and confidently stands up straight, "Cause of your quirk–"
"Yeah, I got it, that was a rhetorical question" MJ cuts him off before he can explain the insult, all while waving her hands for an extra added measure of emphasis that he should stop talking. The girl expresses her grievances by shaking her head, "God! Such a dick!"
Bakugo glances down at his lower regional area and mumbles, "You have no idea.."
MJ gives the ill-mannered boy a glare. Out of all the people who could have cornered her about her most guarded secret, she can't help but feel agitated that it was Bakugo. "Why did it have to be you who discovered All Might's power?", she vocalizes her exasperation as she throws her hands up in the air.
"...What?", but Bakugo is just as perplexed as Spider-Man to hear her say this.
The ginger girl's glare diminishes when she sees the blonde boy across from her has lost his brashness. "Where the source of my power comes from", Itsuka Kendo – Mighty Jab, the successor of OFA – puts it simply, "All Might gave it to me."
Just about anyone would be too full of disbelief to do anything other than argue. Except, maybe for Spider-Man who is fully well aware of quirks being transferable – hence his own 'quirk' via spider bite and the symbiote – he listens intently to try and understand further. Katsuki Bakugo forces down his instinct to yell in denial though, rather choosing to be willing to hear the girl out on how she was able to match the number one hero in a fight, "Go on.."
"It's called One For All", MJ goes on to explain the details of her gifted power as best as she can through the easiest of terms, "It's a stockpiling quirk passed on from user to user", and the explanation somehow doesn't sound all that far fetched or made up either, "All Might chose me as his successor to pass the power onto."
Katsuki Bakugo recalls the additional abilities that Itsuka Kendo showcased during their Final Exam together. He breathlessly admits aloud that there is truth to what he's being told, "That's why you can project black whips and levitate… Those must've come from previous users.."
"Float", MJ corrects Bakugo on the terminology titling of her quirk factor before nodding to confirm he's otherwise correct in making that assumption, "But.. Yeah.."
Spider-Man is in a similar state of mind as the boy below him. He's thinking back to when he too witnessed MJ showcase abilities that she otherwise shouldn't have with a singular quirk. But it's worse for him to accept the truth of what's been in front of him all this time – since he had more interactions with her, as well as All Might, and they somehow never once thought to tell him this – he knows it is hypocritical to feel betrayed since he himself hides the truth with his secret identity but there's still some harbored resentment becoming built up. He can't help but wonder how KATSUKI BAKUGO of all people was trusted with this knowledge before him.
Bakugo looks down at himself and then back up at the successor to the number one hero's legacy. He can't help but ask the question, "Why the hell would All Might choose YOU?"
MJ shrugs, shrinking slightly as sadness and insecurity overtakes her, "I ask myself that same question all the time.."
Bakugo doesn't allow people to throw pity parties. There's no room for that sorta thing except for when it comes from people he perceives as weaklings. He ignores her modesty and relentlessly pushes for a better answer than that to satisfy him, "And?!"
The girl looks at her hands, closing and reopening them. If it's not about her physical power that she was chosen, then she figures it was because of her personality. "He sees me as righteous or something? I don't know", it's a silly suggestion but not all that far fetched either.
"Eh?! Horseshit!", Bakugo refuses to accept it regardless of how true or false the notion may be.
MJ, having been nothing but sincere about it, looks up at him just as incredulously. "Eh?!", she reciprocates his noises of disbelief.
Bakugo doesn't stop badgering her. "There's gotta be more! Why wouldn't he pick m– someone else?! Tell me how he gave you the power!"
"Beats me", MJ starts to get fed up with the boy's persistence. "My body wasn't even fully capable of accepting OFA at first", she doubles back around to his intense focus on being physically strong enough to try and make him believe her, "I had to train like crazy to even receive it."
Bakugo is baffled. All his life, he'd thought the essence of power was power itself. It didn't matter how good of intentions somebody had if they weren't able to back it up in a fight. That's what his constant pursuit of proving himself to be the strongest was all about. "If you weren't strong enough already then why would he waste his strength on you?!", he doesn't understand how a weakling could be chosen over him or any other potential more qualified candiates.
MJ runs out of ways to word her repetitive answer. She gives up and throws her hands in the air. "These are all questions for All Might, you dumb jerk! Try asking me something I can actually answer!"
"That you can answer?!", Bakugo grinds his teeth together as he tries and fails to bite back an aggressive shout, "Unless you can tell me why I'm not enough for anybody then there's nothing you can apparently answer!"
The loud outburst catches Itsuka Kendo by surprise. It was different from the usual tantrums that Katsuki Bakugo throws. This one exposed cracks in the boy's angry facade facial mask, via a crack in the boy's voice.
After a moment of silence, Kendo delicately treads the topic. "You.. You think you aren't good enough for anybody.. ?"
Bakugo actually flinches. "Don't give me that damned look! Don't pity me! You looking down on me?!" He defensively gives her his angry act again.
"No", Kendo holds up her hands as an expressive sign of surrender, "I'm not" She then sucks in a breath and shares some of her own personal insecurities, "It's just .. I felt the same way too.. For a long time" Her hands come down as she goes on to add, "But then All Might of all people gave me validation."
Bakugo lowers his guard, wavering as he actually attentively listens for once in his life, "..How?"
"He noticed something about me that nobody else did", Kendo smiles when reflecting on the day that the number one hero acknowledged her and made her his successor. But this isn't about her. She steps forward as she adds, "Like I notice things about you, Bakugo."
The boy blinks and steps back, behaving like a startled animal. "What the hell do you know about me?!", he's defensively guarded again.
"I know that you act all tough with this gruff exterior", Kendo keeps stepping into Bakugo's personal space nevertheless; she actually manages to make it past his guarded defense until they're mere inches apart, "...But you're really secretly a soft and caring person, aren't you?"
Bakugo's eyes widen when he meets Kendo's gaze; it's like she's staring straight into his soul. His hands clench and unclench at his sides. An overwhelming surge of emotion rises up within him that he doesn't know how to express properly in any way other than shouting, "You– You–", but no words are able to come out of his mouth while he feels this way for some reason.
Since they're so close to eachother and he has no other way of communicating how he feels about her boldness, Katsuki Bakugo reacts by grabbing the girl in front of him and pulling her closer. His lips lock with hers and he kisses her hard – maybe too hard since it's a rough form of contact, but she doesn't immediately resist either – their mouths meet for a while and don't separate for at least a few seconds.
Spider-Man watches with eyes as wide as Itsuka Kendo's. He'd followed her based on a hunch that she might be romantically involved with Bakugo but to see a confirmation of those suspicions with his own eyes is something else. The symbiote stirs like his stomach that currently twists in knots.
When she separates from Bakugo, it's her who pulls away first at least. A stream of saliva trails between the two of them though as she breathlessly asks, "Did you just.. ?"
Bakugo realizes what he's just done and has the nerve to look just as surprised as she does. "Yeah..", he just as breathlessly replies.
They both draw close again. When they kiss a second time, it's Itsuka Kendo who initiates the contact. Both of them moan as they makeout together.
The soles of his feet smack down with a single strong step forward as he lands from a downward swing. An indentation larger & deeper than that of a feasible footprint is formed when Spider-Man touches the top of a random rooftop some ways off from U.A. Instead of releasing his pent up frustration in the form of a beatdown on Bakugo, his better form of judgment was to put space between himself and the source of his current angry attitude. This stupid spot is where he has wound up bringing himself to.
The symbiote peels back from the top of his head in order to expose his face and allow him to scream out at the world, "Is life always going to be this hard?!" An accumulated amount of angst reaches a pinnacle point that he has no other way to release that frustration other than to yell up into the sky since beating up Bakugo is off the table.
With no skull to smack, he instead swats at a nearby chimney with the back of a tightly formed fist. Bricks burst apart as the small foundation shatters and gets broken up into tiny specks of concrete. Residual dust particles linger and waft from the damaged area.
"It's like being happy isn't allowed!", he moves to the roof's ridge where he can grab the top of the building's trimming – a heavy hand crushes that too – the bitter boy leans forward as he looks out at the city, "The exchange just isn't fair!"
His head pounds like his throbbing heart when he thinks about the tradeoff that comes with his vigilante lifestyle. He's always late. Late to class. Late to the ladies. Late on the upswing. To make matters worse, his indecisive tardiness costed him his 'love interests' to the worst guys possible – Denki Kaminari and Katsuki Bakugo – it's just adding salt to the wound. To have had options but now have none makes him feel robbed of what he deserved.
"At this rate, we'd be better off graduating to stay back a year and learn how to goof off properly!" It's not like he'd had friends to do things with outside of school, other than maybe Shinso, but that's another thing that feels stolen from him. He couldn't even enjoy his vacation to I-Island without things going array because of his Spider-Man secret. "Congratulations pomp and circumstance.. Rented cap and gown.. Class ring – Oh wait, can't afford a class ring!"
Even with the recent change in circumstance regarding his career, the pay isn't enough to afford anything other than his mom's bills. Sure, he's been saving some money on web fluid these days thanks to the symbiote … but that isn't enough to leave him with some spare yen for much of anything else. The broke boy is at a loss for what to do regarding his financial situation on top of all the other insurmountable problems that he has.
All the while that his mind becomes consumed by these nagging thoughts, his head is also bothered by a constant ringing sensation. He grabs his throbbing skull with a wince as his agitation swells to another short outburst, "What?! What do you want, Spider-Sense?! WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT YOU CAN'T WAIT?!"
In the distance, an illumination of orange erupts. The flash of light & flame is followed by a big boom of noise. It's a rather big explosion that isn't easy to overlook.
Slowly, Spider-Man's symbiote conceals his face with the signature style of his mask's wide white eye lens. "Oh.. Thanks Spider-Sense.."
Grenades and C4 do a lot more damage than even most movies show they are capable of. This is a blessing to the recently self appointed 'Punisher' of the Creature Rejection Clan. The anti-hero with a vendetta towards the cult has taken to now bombing their bases. He's been blowing them all up with the CRC members inside. Pretty soon, there's not many of the cult sympathizers left who are still willing to wear their signature skull insignia, for fear of what it now represents as an opposition to them.
The Punisher produces a flamethrower and sets fire to one of the cult's few remaining sites. Once ablaze, everything around begins to burn into ash. There's no way emergency services will be able to make it in time to extinguish the flames before there is nothing left. Especially since the arsonist exhausts every last ounce of fuel that his flamethrower has to offer before abandoning it. Even then, the anti-hero goes on to pour more gasoline to keep the fire burning. Dark smoke surrounds the area but his mask filters it out that he's able to bask in it like a reverse baptism.
Behind the fire starter, Spider-Man swoops in and lands on a nearby streetlamp. Spider-Man's symbiote recluses from the heat of the intense inferno, making him as its host retreat a slightly further distance away. This is a startling development & discovery to say the least. For all that the symbiote is able to enhance and produce in power, fire seems to be a weakness to it. Spider-Man makes a mental note of this in case of future opponents and for the time being maintains a cautionary distance.
"Hey", he just hopes he's able to lure & bait this particular baddie from the flames in the meantime, "Over here!"
The Punisher turns around to see Spider-Man's sleek shine of purple and black also glinting golden hues. Embers float and sizzle out around the dark silhouetted shape of a poised person. Surrounded by a sheet of smoke, Spider-Man's new suit blends into the scenery. Only a white spider emblem and the vigilante's narrow eyes shine through an ashen atmosphere.
Punisher's stolen skull insignia illuminates his equally dark outfit in the blackened surroundings. One skeleton symbol marks the man's mask in the form of a hardened helmet. A second sloppy shape of a skull covers the anti-hero's chest where a vest is strapped to him by velcro. Cargo pants and combat boots are able to holster handguns and knives with additional support straps.
"..Who the hell are you supposed to be?", Spider-Man stares down the walking arsenal of a man. All that artillery and firepower is enough to belong to a gang or some sorta militia, but this is a war waged by one singular person.
The Punisher reaches up, making Spider-Man momentarily believe the guy is going for a gun. But the vigilante should have known better because of no warning from his Spider-Sense that the movement is hostile. Punisher is only reaching up to rap on the side of his helmeted head. "You're the one that said the whole purpose of a mask is maintaining anonymity", the anti-hero responds in a way that makes Spider-Man stare with surprised wide eyes.
"Huh.. ?", it's a reply that makes it sound like they're already acquainted with one another. But Spider-Man isn't able to think of anyone that could be behind that mask and causing all of this commotional chaos. Not without REALLY thinking about it. And thinking is a distracting process that can cause hesitancy. Spider-Man becomes distracted & hesitates long enough for Punisher to break into a sprint. "Wait!"
Spider-Man leaps from his perched placement in order to pursue the fleeing anti-hero. But with the headstart that Punisher has, the anti-hero manages to stay in the lead long enough to reach a construction zone. It's there that Punisher jumps from a painting platform and dives down towards a deeper chasm center of shopping. As Punisher leaves behind the worksite, he grabs a propane tank in passing. Then, while in mid air, a fluid motion follows of tossing the tank back and pulling out a handgun to shoot it.
The ensuing detonation that comes next serves both as a flashbang and a deterrent to Spider-Man. The vigilante shields himself with his arms, the blinding flash of illumination casting a large light against his form. Flying flames cause the symbiote to recoil from the blast as to not be affected by the heat too much. He grunts while the force of the explosion blows the air around him with warmth.
When the orange glow fades away and the residual smoke clears, Spider-Man dashes forwards. He comes to the ledge of the painting platform that Punisher dived off from and peers over it. People down below carry about their business, completely oblivious to the explosion that occurred overhead. Spider-Man searches the crowd of shoppers with a skewered stare, his slanted eyes narrowing further and further while he focuses with his enhanced sense of sight.
Weaving his way through a series of stands while pushing past pedestrians, Spider-Man spots The Punisher. Spider-Man dives down from the platform that he's on in pursuit of Punisher. The vigilante careens across the chasm by using a pseudo web line to swing himself around the tunnel that goes to a lower level. It's a futile attempt to escape for the anti-hero when Spider-Man swoops in to block his path.
Spider-Man stands straight with his hands on his hips. Punisher skids to a stop, ceasing the chase once having his route intercepted. The vigilante and the anti-hero have a brief standoff while civilians now start to take notice of their exchange.
The Punisher makes a fist and takes a swing at Spider-Man. The punch connects with Spider-Man's lower chin. However, the hit hardly registers, Spider-Man only turning his cheek out of pity in order to keep the guy's hand from breaking.
"Heh", Spider-Man laughs off what barely qualifies as a love tap to him.
Spider-Man then returns the strike with a 'love tap' of his own. Except, what qualifies as a pulled punch to him holds a much heavier hitting impact. As soon as the vigilante's knuckles connect with the anti-hero's helmet, the armored mask splits apart and breaks. The Punisher is knocked backwards and sent sprawling along the floor.
A pigment of purple hair spills out from where Punisher's helmet gets shattered. Long locks hang over a scaly green face that does have some familiarity now that Spider-Man sees it up close. Defined features make up a muzzle, though not even protective padding was enough to dampen the shock of the earlier strike, and a busted bloody lip appears there as a result of Spider-Man's punch.
Spider-Man stands over the anti-hero, putting a face to a name now that he has unmasked The Punisher. "You're that guy.. we rescued you..", he remembers helping this person when some delinquents were harassing anthropomorphic types in a bad neighborhood.
"Shuichi Iguchi", the lizard looking character confirms Spider-Man's recollection, "Surprised you even remember me.."
"But..", Spider-Man falters as he fails to figure out what could have happened to set Iguchi on this path as The Punisher. It might make some semblance of sense as to why an anthropomorphic type would have a vendetta against the Creature Rejection Clan but to take it this far is unfathomable for someone so young. "Why throw your life away for .. ", Spider-Man gestures at the skull insignia emblazoned upon Iguchi's chest like it's a symbol that marked Iguchi for death, "This?"
Iguchi bites down and bares his pointed teeth, "Somebody had to do something about those CRC bastards!" He exudes sheer hatred that's mostly directed towards the cult, "May as well have been me."
Spider-Man worries that this may be another instance where he should hold himself accountable for inspiring someone to take the law into their own hands. Becoming a vigilante is one thing but practicing such severe methods is another, "But did you have to go as far as to KILL them?"
"Yeah", Iguchi carries conviction in his words when he answers Spider-Man, "I fucking did."
The absolute certainty in that statement makes Iguchi sound like he's giving a fact. It makes Spider-Man falter yet again. He has to ask and pry deeper to learn what went wrong since they last saw one another, "..Why?"
The lizard hybrid hunches over, looking down and away. It's not that Iguchi is expressing shame in what he's done but rather it's a display of distress over what must be bad memories. "When you came to my neighborhood.. I wasn't the only one that you helped out.. Remember?"
The eyes on Spider-Man's mask stretch as though he's seeing the memory recollection transpire directly in front of him. He remembers a tall lady with a fox hybrid quirk, "There was a woman there too.."
Iguchi nods, "She was nice.." The story being shared starts out good. "After you left, we got to know eachother a bit.. Became good friends.." But soon, as to be expected, the story turns sour and becomes sad. "The gang you chased off? Well, one day they came back.. And you didn't."
Spider-Man stares ahead in silence, unable to picture the implied horrors of what could have set Iguchi on this path of revenge. He doesn't know if he should dare to ask about it but he does so anyways, "..What did they do.. ?"
Iguchi's eyes lose all their light when he looks up at Spider-Man and says, "Use your imagination."
Spider-Man has to look away, "We don't know what to think…"
But Iguchi doesn't. He keeps staring straight. He looks directly ahead, his gaze gradually growing into a glare. "Well… wanna know what I think?" The anti-hero starts to stand up; he gets on his feet so that he can face the vigilante across from him at a somewhat even level. "I think you're a half measure", The Punisher steps forward to get in Spider-Man's face, "I think you're someone who can't get the job done."
Spider-Man looks up at the aggressive anti-hero, his own eyes squinting at what he sees when he stares back. "And that's what you think you're doing? Getting the job done?"
"I'm just finishing what was started", The Punisher sneers while jabbing a finger in Spider-Man's direction, "You hit them and they get back up–", he then thrusts a thumb back at himself, "-but when I hit them THEY STAY DOWN!"
"No!", Spider-Man shoves Punisher back onto the ground to keep things from escalating any further. He shakes his head, refusing to allow an anti-hero to operate in such a way. "The only one who's staying down is you.."
Iguchi seethes from his spot on the floor, hissing through his teeth. He stays steadfast in his convictions that conflict with the vigilante's. As such, he isn't willing to surrender so easily. "Over my dead body!", he vocalizes his opposition in the form of an agitated shout.
The Punisher pulls a handgun from one of his leg holsters and aims it at Spider-Man. Surprisingly, the acrobatically agile arachnid based vigilante doesn't dodge when Punisher pulls the gun's trigger. Instead, Spider-Man's suit secretes a tendril to serve as a shield-esk swinging deterrent. The tentacle catches four fired bullets, preventing them from doing any damage.
Iguchi chokes out a startled & shocked gasp. He's both surprised with himself and his own instinctive action to open fire on Spider-Man & Spider-Man's display of ceasing that fire. The barrel of his handgun is still smoking as it shakes in his no longer firm grip. Iguchi drops the weapon, suddenly surrendering. Killing CRC bigoted bastards is one thing … but trying to kill a vigilante is too far over the line for him to go.
The thing is… Shuichi Iguchi made the decision to stop being The Punisher a second too late. "We said you'd stay down..", the tendril that sprouted from Spider-Man's suit whips back and forth before launching all of the caught bullets back at Iguchi – two bullets pierce Iguchi's kneecaps and two bullets penetrate Iguchi's shoulders – bloodcurdling cries nearly drown out what Spider-Man says next, "We meant it."
Surrounding them, startled gasps and scared shouts alert both the anti-hero & vigilante to the crowd of spectators in the shopping center. They had forgotten about a collection of onlookers. Most of the panicked people stick around for the sake of recording the scene with their phone cameras or snapping quick pictures. Spider-Man stares out at the crowd and sees some start to run away out of fear though.
After his recent reputational developments, this moment won't do him any favors. People are starting to see an unfriendly side to their unneighborly-like Spider-Man. Regardless of accusations or hearsay, this may as well be the first time they are witnessing him act so aggressively. It makes him question his methods and worry that perhaps he took things a bit too far.
Spider-Man says loud enough for any one of the people watching to hear him, "Somebody call an ambulance", before turning and leaving.
As Spider-Man swings away and leaves The Punisher behind, he can't help but wonder if he's all that different now.
The cylindrical submarine pod resides between sea and dock, stationed between two points but not staying completely still so long as waves create a swayful rock. It has a hard hull shaped for submergement despite now being surfaced. That may mean it is no longer usable – as attested by its open hatch and vacant occupancy – despite there being no further limitations to its functionality. It has a fine craftsmanship for something so easily disregarded. Yet, here it is left completely abandoned.
Tomura Shigaraki hums as he curiously cranes his neck out to peer inside of the vessel. It appears to have been piloted automatically but there are controls available for it to be driven manually as well. That means the creator of the submersible vehicle docked here with a purpose. As Shigaraki had anticipated. This particular harbor was co-owned by I-Island's boating assembly to accommodate for non-public transportation, such as shipping deliveries, and remained on record with David Shield as the signer. After I-Island's sinking, All For One's resourceful fortune bought the bay and gave Tomura Shigaraki a means of acquiring the harbor for himself.
It had been Shigaraki's intention to intercept David Shield here. Whereas it looks like his plan could have worked, he worries that his timing may have been slightly off. The telltale tick of a habit that he has to scratch underneath his neck when annoyed returns. His nails scrape at his skin there as his scarred lips sneer from displeasure. To have missed the chance to snatch up a prestigious renowned scientist such as David Shield is irksome to say the least. He was hoping to threaten or blackmail the inventor into assisting his operations, or maybe using All Might's friend as a hostage or something of that manner to toy with the hero a bit.
He figures he can at the very least salvage the submarine that Shield left behind. It might be a valuable resource in the future or be worth scrapping for parts. Out of every failure there must be a lesson learned and something beneficially gained. Sensei taught him that after the USJ. Whereas he's gradually outgrowing his master's meticulous manipulation, there are still takeaways that can prove detrimental to that growth. All he has to do is reach out and take what is rightfully his.
But before Shigaraki can lay his hand on the docked vessel in front of him, a robotic tentacle catches him by the wrist. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you", the appendage's owner steers around a corner with three more mechanical limbs just like it to carry him. Shigaraki looks up to recognize the equipment's harnesser as the man he was looking for – David Shield – Shield must have been in hiding and hadn't completely fled the scene afterall.
Shigaraki looks back down, his eyes narrowing when he gives the mechanical arms a closer glance. "I could say the same thing", he warns Shield to unhand him by redirecting that glare back up.
Shield has the tendril release its hold on Shigaraki before asking, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Shigaraki stops slouching, standing up straight as he dusts himself off, and starts to smile. "I'm someone who is here looking for you, David Shield…" The original plan is back in effect.
Shield is standoffish, as to be expected. "Looking for me… ?", but there is a lingering curiosity that keeps the stranded scientist around.
"You're partially a businessman and not just an inventor", Shigaraki takes this opportunity to make his pitched proposal, "I've been getting into 'business management' as of late myself."
But Shield had a far too recent bad experience with business dealings to be so willing to hear much more of it. "Well I'm getting out of it", he tries turning Shigaraki away since he doesn't want another repeat of what happened with Doctor Doom per dealing with shady characters.
Shigaraki, much to his credit, keeps his cool. "Last I checked, you are without a lab" He reminds himself that he's the one with all of the leverage to work things in his favor.
But David Shield pays that point not much of any mind. The inventor looks away, back out at the sea. Then the man looks down at his submarine pod. All the while, Shield stays silent.
Shigaraki fights the impulse to scratch at his neck. He wants a way to keep his hands occupied so that he doesn't dust David Shield on the spot. But he also wants to continue to appear as professional as possible. "I believe you and I can mutually benefit one another", he tries another route per negotiation tactics.
David Shield looks back at Shigaraki and asks, "How so?"
"For starters..", Shigaraki seems to find the right thing to say this time when he brings up his next point, "Wasn't it Spider-Man who destroyed your home?"
"Spider-Man", David Shield hisses the vigilante's name with just about as much discontent as Tomura Shigaraki does.
Hearing that they have a mutually shared vendetta, Shigaraki runs with that. "I hate him too", the villain now truly starts to share his proposition, "So I'm putting together a team that can squash him."
The doctor with robotic octopus arms turns an ear to hear more, "..I'm listening.."
Water threads stretch from the heavens to the earth, woven into the ether between those two places. Those translucent strings create a sea of waves, flooding the streets until they funnel into sewer drains. It's a downpour that echoes all throughout the neighborhood. Water splashes above and below around every corner and between each crevice.
Toshinori wishes he'd brought with him an umbrella. Something as simple as taking out the trash can wind up getting him soaked. In his current baggy attire and deflated form, he'll wind up looking like he was drenched to the bone. Even when standing under a canopy, he practically is. His skeletal frame gets washed over while he walks outside. Without One For All to boost his strength, it takes two of his thin arms to heave the garbage bag that he carries into a disposal bin.
"All Might", a voice that comes from above with the rest of the rain makes the man transform into his muscular form as a version of his jolted shock.
When the pro hero gazes upwards, he spots the source of the voice that had called out to him. "Spider-Man!" He doesn't know whether to be worried or relieved that the vigilante looks a lot less like God or an angel and more like a demon in the darkness above. All Might throws a glance to his left and then his right before returning his stare back up towards the vigilante, "You shouldn't be here."
Spider-Man stays hidden in the shadows, the rain aiding & abetting in his obscurement. "It's a risk being here", he acknowledges his technical criminal status with a downward tilt of his head, "But is that because of you or… ?"
All Might debuffs, the muscle mass dissipating into the vaporized atmosphere of rain. "Even after what you did to that Shuichi Iguchi fellow, I won't go about arresting you if that's what you're asking."
Spider-Man flinches. That the number one hero heard and saw what transpired with 'The Punisher' makes him feel slightly more ashamed than he did previously. Already was the pro hero turning a blind eye before but now even more so. He has to ask, "Why?"
Toshinori runs a hand through his wet length of blonde hair. "We shared a mutual friend", that answer maybe should have been expected but it still catches Spider-Man off guard, "I know not many others may see it the way I do but I know you did all you could to try and save him."
Spider-Man hangs his head, bowing in both remorse and respect of the dead. One of his arms rests atop a propped knee; he turns the hand at the end of it over and wonders if what All Might says is true. The symbiote coupled with the power he had before should have been enough to save Tsukauchi. The hand that he stares at should have been enough to reach Tsukauchi in time before it was too late.
Again, Spider-Man has to ask his idol the big questions, "How can you possibly know that?"
Toshinori steps out further into the rain, no longer caring that he'll get drenched. Spider-Man stirs but doesn't retreat as the downpowered hero gets closer. "Because I know you, Spider-Man… maybe not who is behind that mask.. but I do know what kind of heart you have.." The earnest character adds at the end, "I trust you."
For a while there, Spider-Man almost believed everything his hero was saying too. He would have before if he didn't know what he knows now. After eavesdropping on All Might's successor, he knows better that All Might clearly doesn't trust him – not fully anyways – All Might still keeps secrets, at the very least. Spider-Man grabs the rim of a nearby fire escape and squeezes. The metal quelches like wet putty under the vigilante's applied pressure.
Toshinori notices a slight shift in Spider-Man's demeanor while peering through the thick curtain of rain between them. He asks the hunched over figure, "Are you okay?"
Spider-Man's monosyllabic answer is terse when he grumbles out, "Fine."
Toshinori knows better than to believe that. Many of his fellow heroes and friends have said that they're 'fine' when they're really not. He himself is guilty of that age old lie. "If that were true then I don't think you'd have risked trying to come and see me like this", there's also the fact of the matter that Spider-Man's unannounced visit is yet to be explained, "How did you find me anyways?"
Spider-Man gives another gruffly laconic reply, "Followed you from U.A", the curt answer doesn't even come with a spared glance in Toshinori's direction.
"I had no idea", Toshinori hums as he looks behind himself like there may be another person hidden somewhere that is trailing his movements, "Maybe I'm getting rusty with age but I should really be more aware of my surroundings."
Finally, Spider-Man stops delaying the intended purpose of his paid visit and gets around to asking what he came there to ask about, "All Might.. Shuichi Iguchi was killing CRC members.. Was it right to stop him?"
"Ah.. So that's why you're here", Toshinori can hear the conflicted internal dilemma of guilt within the young man's voice who has come to him for guidance, "Being a hero is not without having a moral code" He starts to say, "That's what our licensure courses at hero schools are for", but then remembers that he's talking to a vigilante, "I guess you didn't really get that type of education and I AM supposed to be a teacher but.." The hero can only say, "It's not so black and white", even if that isn't much of an answer.
Spider-Man thinks about what All Might said. The school system and obtaining a license in accordance to the law is all dictated by the government and he's seen firsthand how that all turns out. "The HPSC seems to agree", he throws a verbal jab at what he knows is an arguable refute to the morals that make up Hero Society's standards.
Toshinori doesn't even take offense or argue against that response. "There doesn't seem to be much a difference between heroes like Hawks once was or Iguchi when you make a point like that", he nods along in mutual understanding of where Spider-Man is coming from. "But.. ! We're not handing out licenses to kill either!" Even so, All Might makes his own point. "It's just.. Sometimes we have to know when it's acceptable to cross that line and when it's not."
Spider-Man ponders that for a while. It's a hard one to process. And so he asks All Might – the symbol of peace & number one hero – who is possibly the greatest hero that will ever be, "Have you ever had to cross that line?"
Toshinori holds his head down. He thinks back to when he caved in the face of All For One with his bare fist. It's with his own shameful guilt and remorse that he answers Spider-Man's question with a small count but a count nonetheless, "Once."
It's a somber note to leave off on when Spider-Man ends their conversation there by silently swinging away into the shadows of the dark and rainy night. It's made even worse when Toshinori turns around and sees his niece, Melissa, watching from a window.
AUTHOR NOTES
I sometimes wonder or worry that I make the character 'mystery' reveals too obvious, but hopefully Spinner/Iguchi came as a surprise to a few readers - I randomly remembered there was a comic run where Punisher wore a mask for some reason and it made me think of the CRC which in turn made me think of this way to implement Punisher. Ya got me all figured out, theMAX360, but I'll get you by surprise one of these times!
And thank you as always for the supportive reviews/comments, CapoPerk! I do think it's time to start slowing things down potentially so I'm glad that you like the vibe of these chapters!
Izuku getting invisibility will only be an ability applied by the symbiote, by the way, so I'm still sticking to my guns about no spider upgrades for anyone wondering!
Also - Anyone who still ships Kendo/Midoriya and aren't too psyched about the Bakugo pairing, not to worry, I'm borrowing some traditional MJ elements from the comics to complicate things there like with Peter & Harry. There's also still a lot going on with Hagakure, Jirou, 'Gwen', and maybe even Black Cat as well - so hopeless romantics better be prepared for drama!
~Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood author!