Chapter 56: Snipping The Web
Ochako Uraraka let out a long sigh as she sat down at her classroom desk. If she was completely and utterly honest, the girl was miserable. For the past few days, UA had been the bane of her existence. Heck, she was pretty sure it had been for the entire class', as the school had been dishing out a platter of pain to the students.
The one doing this was their homeroom teacher Aizawa, who continually had them to do multiple rescue operations as much as he could. They were of the worst variety, obstacle courses where he they had to clear them to save a 'civilian' in a little amount of time, only to find out the teacher had lied to them. He would say that the course was just a ruse, as there were actually multiple civilians, and more obstacles he didn't inform them about. This was repeated over and over, all the while repeatedly telling them that they weren't fast enough, weren't strong enough, and most importantly, weren't taking things seriously. Not only that, but he also gave them random battle scenarios, ones that always happened when All Might wasn't available to help teach.
But it wasn't just the hardships that were the issue. The class had noticed that this had started after one of the students, Katsuki Bakugo, had been called up to the principal, only to never come back. Aizawa wouldn't tell them why this happened, and then began the tirade of brutal exercises. After the first three days of this, one of the students, Denki Kaminari, finally spoke up about it, only to get detention for speaking up. Aizawa informed them that this was also part of being a hero. He told them that in rescue operations, talking back to superiors only led to issues, and true pro heroes should just do actions instead. He followed this with saying 'its okay to go against the superior if it saves lives, but you don't talk back about it', which didn't exactly go over well with the students.
This was all because of one thing: The final exams. Aizawa had told them time and again that this was all to prepare for it, and to show how not giving up would help them become better heroes. However, this forceful teaching didn't exactly do what the teacher wanted. As for the day before, Ochako and the other students were all talking about it at lunch, some saying they were ready to quit UA if it went this far. Mina stated she felt sick after all the rigorous teaching. Jirou, Tsuyu, Denki, Kirishima and Toru were in the same boat, all feeling down from how far this was going. Even Tenya, who Ochako could tell was honestly the most scared of Aizawa, though this was probably because of his incident with the Hero Killer, was now showing signs of his limits.
But as the girl watched the others walk into the classroom, most disheveled and tense from what their homeroom teacher was about to do to them yet again, she saw a new sight. For the first time, there was no gossip as everyone sat down. No talking, no interruptions...and no smiling faces. 'Seems like everyone is dreading the class now.' Ochako thought as she slumped down in her seat.
And as that thought exited her brain, the class door slammed open one more time. The students all turned to see their homeroom teacher, his face showing a look of pure, raw hatred. He was angry. Really angry. From the time they first met Shouta Aizawa, they knew he was a man that liked hiding his emotions...but not today.
"Figures." He hissed as he trudged up to the class's podium. "The one day you all are actually in your seats and not gossiping like a bunch of-" He cut himself off with a growl before glaring at the class, his right hand gripping the podium as he added, "Well, homeroom is now starting, and before we begin, I have an announcement to make."
Those words made the whole group shiver. Denki and Mina's eyes were shrinking, gulping as they saw the man give everyone death glares before saying, "Due to...circumstances, we won't be doing any rescue operations or battle scenarios today." Almost the entire class went wide-eyed at this, the only ones not doing so being Todoroki and Shinso. That is, till Aizawa continued, "I was planning to use the past few days of exercises to show you what it's like to be a true pro hero and give you another lesson on that today, but circumstances have changed."
The group almost blanched at this, surprised at the statement, though some were thinking it could be a lie. Though as this thought went through their heads, Aizawa then said, "As you know, being a pro hero means you have to save lives, something you're still learning. However, because of things out of my control, I will be stopping the lessons for a few days." A huge line of sighs came out of the students at this, Aizawa's right eye twitching at the sight, everyone seeing that and tensing up as he added, "But don't think that means you get to relax."
He pulled out a textbook out of nowhere and slammed it onto the podium, "We'll be doing lectures instead." The students started to squirm at that, only for Aizawa to finish with a big snarl, "First lecture today will be on vigilantes and vigilantism, and how it both is a crime and how it affects heroes as a whole."
The end of a pencil tapped a notebook as Izuku stared at the pages before him. He had just finished his entry on the Enforcers, and had also completed his entry on Martin Li. Despite what he thought, he still put the man's entry in the villain notebook, sighing that he had to do that. Leaning back in his chair next, the teen placed the notebook on his desk before his eyes glanced over at the rest of his equipment.
His webshooters were full, several cartridges ready and waiting to be used. A pile of notebooks was now sitting on the side, all writing over villains, moves, powers, and quips that he was still having problems figuring out. Beside that was his computer, which still barely ran with the rest of his equipment. But as he stared at the wooden frame, his eyes went to a certain sight, a vial that was originally connected to an injector dart.
'Oh yeah. I never got to talk to Mister Nezu about that.' Izuku thought as he casually picked up the vial and looked it over, 'Strange. Mister Nezu didn't even acknowledge it when he was here. Was he too distracted by me? Then again, I forgot it was here myself. I was too busy with...thoughts about Eri and Mister Li.'
He put the vial back on a small rack before sighing, remembering that day again. It was such a mess, between fighting villains, trying to save a little girl...and Mister Li dying. It was like everything bad rolled into one. As such, he closed his eyes, thinking back as he went over all the information in his head.
'Let's see...I still need to find Mister Li's killer. I also need to do these missions Mister Nezu is giving me, specifically to take down the Kingpin, something Mister Li was also after. There's also Eri...' He opened his eyes at this, only to find himself now staring at his Spider-Man mask, which was sitting right in the middle of his desk, 'Eri...Mister Nezu said he can't seem to contact Ryukyu. Should I go as Spider-Man and ask her myself? I bet I could look up her agency and everything.'
But as that thought went into his head, he remembered something else: The bounty. Nezu had told him that all pro heroes would know about his bounty by now, and they would compelled to act against him. In other words, with the exception of just a few, Spider-Man was alone in the world right now. Just like Izuku Midoriya was back when he was quirkless. All alone, as usual.
'Some things never change.' he thought as he took out his phone, staring at the location Nezu had given him yesterday. Humming at the sight, he put the phone down and grabbed his mask, nodding to himself. 'I'll figure out the other stuff later. Tonight, I focus on the Kingpin.'
Meanwhile...
Class 1-A let out a long sigh as the majority of them walked into UA's cafeteria. Over half still looked as miserable as they had been the past few days, in particular the students of Mina Ashido and Denki Kaminari. Granted, they were all glad that today had no physical activities, but were still drained due to the constant glaring and lecturing from their homeroom teacher. As such, they slowly got their food and sat down, their usual group colliding on a single table.
And as they began to eat, Tsuyu Asui spoke up first, "So, is anyone else wondering why Aizawa-sensei suddenly stopped doing his...rescue exercises?" Her voice slightly dipped at the end of her question as she stared at her classmates. Some turned to her, most showing frowns while glancing at each other for a second.
Silence followed for a bit, only for Mina to chime in, "I dunno if I wanna know."
"Same." Denki moaned as he slowly put a fork of food in his mouth. "I'm just glad Aizawa-sensei let us off today. Like...I get being heroes is gonna be hardcore sometimes, but...I don't know."
"No kidding." Jiro added.
More silence followed this, the group all just eating their food slowly. It was if all the life had been drained out of the group, and none wanted to talk about it. Minute after minute passed at this, lunch soon halfway over as the group began to finish their food. And as they did this, a certain student walked up to them and asked, "Whoa. Did someone die? You all look like you just left a funeral!"
They turned to see it was the third-year, Harry Osborn. The redhead was something of an enigma for the class. Having just met him a few days ago, he had helped out with only one of the rescue exercises since then. The class had quickly found out that the third years were all different in their own ways. Mirio was kind in class and brutal in training, Tamaki was silent yet seemingly unbeatable on the battlefield, and Neijire...well, she was kinda the same both in class and in the exercises, though more motivated when it came to hero training. As for Harry, he seemed super friendly in class, only to be surprisingly sharp and distinct on the battlefield.
Harry had mainly helped in battle exercises, but unlike his other third years, his quirk was extremely simple. It was very powerful, allowing him to help out most of the class, but he only helped out on one of the battle days and had the other third years do the rest of the training. Turns out, he was called up by his internship, which was something the third years were constantly on and off about compared to the other years.
As such, Mina replied to him first as she said, "You could say that. Aizawa-sensei has been on the warpath recently."
"Yeah..." Denki moaned out as he finished the last bit of his meat before flopping over on the table, "It stinks."
"I see." Harry responded before sitting down at the table, "Sorry to say, but I had Kan-sensei for year one, so I don't know what you mean. I have heard the horror stories though. What is he doing exactly?" Tsuyu spoke up at this, telling the teen exactly what they had been going through, making the third-year flinch before replying, "Ouch. Sorry it's been that bad."
"It's not your fault."
"I know." Harry added before putting a hand to his chin. He hummed for a second before saying, "Well, hate to say it, but us students can't do much about the teachers. That's just how UA works. That being said, sounds like you guys need to relax, which is probably why he's giving you a day off from training today."
"He said it wasn't his idea, kero." Tsu instantly replied.
"Oh." Harry almost stuttered out before biting his lip. A few moments later, a thought entered his head as his expression switched to a small smile as he asked, "Say, how about this. Any of you got any plans for the weekend? That could definitely help."
They all shared a glance at this, most showing a face that said: 'I want to sleep all weekend because of how miserable I am right now.', but no one said anything. Instead, they all just sat there, barely able to even emote as they sunk into their seats or finished their food.
That is, till Ochako pulled out her phone, blinking at the tiny screen for a second before speaking up, "Well, I got one thing we could do..."
Several hours later...
Izuku felt himself grin under his mask as he swung down a street. 'Ahh...this feels so good.' he thought as he fired another webline, yanking on it as he took a soft left turn. The teen had been webswinging for about an hour now, having left a bit before evening. If he was being honest with himself, he was beyond excited to go out and beat some villains despite the disaster that had been his encounter with the Enforcers. Though that memory led to another, as he remembered Nezu had told him that the villains he was facing would have help that would hide from the vigilante.
'Eh, I'll deal with it when I get there.' Izuku mentally told himself as he took another turn before glancing down at his phone. 'I should be close...' A few minutes of webswinging later, the teen stared around as he saw the sight before him. He was outside of the Musutafu district, landing in a small, mostly rundown looking place that was in the edge of the Shizuoka Prefecture. Dirty, trash-filled alleyways lined the streets, showing the teen that once again, the place where he lived wasn't as pretty as he usually thought it was.
'Looks like it's another rundown place. Do the heroes not patrol around here?' He landed on a nearby rooftop, the teen's eyes shifting around until he saw a warehouse that looked like a picture Nezu had sent him. It was large, looking like it could fit a few semis, but not as big as others he had seen before. Curiously, there was only one car outside of the building, and he hadn't seen any people around for a few minutes of webswinging. The teen put his phone away at this, soon checking his webshooters as he refilled both before looking back at the warehouse and the streets around it.
'Wow. This place is a dump.' Izuku thought as he stared down at the dirty roads, 'Mister Nezu told me that this whole side of Shizuoka is basically owned by the commission...but I barely saw anyone coming over.' He let out a small hum before whispering to himself, "Mister Nezu did say the Kingpin has power over the commission...does that mean he owns this whole part of the district and keeps it hidden from heroes by having the commission tell them to not patrol here?"
The thought was scary to the teen, making him shiver before taking a deep breath. Shaking his head next, he did a long gulp before leaping off the rooftop and swinging over to the warehouse's roof. Landing on it, the teen slowly made his way to the edge of the warehouse before starting to wallcrawl down its side. There, he saw a window, the teen smirking as he paced himself over to the fixture.
'Think about it later Izuku.' he mentally told himself as he reached the window, 'Let's fix this problem for now, and then-' His thoughts came to a stop as his eyes slightly widened. Inside the warehouse was mountains upon mountains of crates. It looked like you could get lost in a sea of wooden containers, only for his eyes to drift down and see something that made him almost lean his head back.
On the floor of the warehouse were two individuals standing over a pile of knocked out thugs. One was wearing a dark purple hoodie that was hidden inside a jet-black leather jacker, the hood of the hoodie over the person's head. Their face was covered with what looked like a metallic silver mask that had glowing purple lights coming out of it. Their hands were wearing thin glowing purple gloves, their glow almost brighter than their mask. The individual was also wearing jet-black pants and boots, and had a small backpack on their back, complete with another glowing purple symbol on the container.
The other individual was both just like the other, yet also very different. While the one in purple was as concealed as possible in their identity, the other showed a bit more skin on their costume. They wore a red and yellow skinned suit, though the colors were dampened, as if to help keep them hidden in the night. The full suit was red, as the yellow parts were a V-shaped chest plate, gauntlets, kneepads and boots. A long golden board was on the person's back, along with a golden helmet. The helmet had a visor that hid the person's eyes, their mouth and nose being the only thing that showed itself as they shined a big grin. Not only that, but the helmet also had two yellow tubes connecting to a cylinder on the person's back that the board was resting on, which the tubes then connected to the individual's gauntlets.
'What a pair those two are! I've never seen costumes like that before.' Izuku mentally gasped as he watched the two open several crates before seemingly yelling at each other. 'Can't hear anything. Not only that, they already knocked out everyone here...but I don't think they're heroes. Are they thieves?' Thinking for a second, the teen just shrugged before deciding to just go in. Staring at the window, Izuku attached his hand to the frame with a slow low breath. He quietly pulled it with his spider-strength, the frame slowly opening while the argument going on inside heated up.
"It's not here!" yelled the red and gold one.
"It is. There's just too much junk in here!" the purple one barked back.
A low growl came out of the other, "Listen, I didn't finish the chance equipment just so we could tick off a crime lord and get nothing for it! We made a deal, and I want-"
"I know what you want!" the purple one interrupted, "I can't help that this place is packed! Just..." They pointed at the crates, "Just keep looking!"
"Seriously?! We could do this all night and-"
The argument faded in Izuku's mind as he watched the two continue to open boxes. Closing the window behind himself, he stared around a bit more, seeing that the place was not only filled with crates and knocked out thugs, but there was literally nothing else to note in the place. 'Wonder what they're looking for.' he thought before pointing his wrists at the two, 'Then again, looks like I was right. They're thieves, so I should probably catch them and report 'em to Nezu. Heck, I'll just web up the thugs here as well and-'
"Found it!" the purple one exclaimed, interrupting the teen's thoughts.
"Really?!"
The purple one reached into the crate at this, about to respond until-
Thwip!
"Huh?!" the purple one yelped as webbing covered them and the crate. "What the-"
"Whoa!" the red and yellow one gasped, only for webbing to smack their feet a second later. "What in the-"
"Evening." Izuku called out, making the second one glance up at the vigilante still clinging to the warehouse's wall. "Sorry to interrupt your thievery, but I'm cleaning this place out tonight. If you don't mind, I suggest you don't resist, as I'm going to get you, and those thugs all tied up for the police."
More webbing came out next, instantly hitting all the knocked-out thugs. But as this happened, the purple one yelled out, "Spider-Man! You won't stop us!"
"Wanna bet?" Izuku replied, only to stop for a second as he was surprised how easily that rebuttal came to him.
"You little-" The purple one growled before their hands suddenly transformed. One second they were normal, only for the next to have them turn into giant silver metal gauntlets that were glowing purple. The hands instantly tore through the webbing, only for a sword to come out of one of the gauntlets a moment later. "DIE!"
Danger!
"Whoa!" Izuku yelped as the sword extended with a lance, the teen flipping off the wall right before the sword's tip struck the wall. He landed on a tower of crates at this, only to see the red and yellow one's hands to point at their feet and fire a laser beam out of their gauntlets, instantly destroying the webbing.
'What the heck?! What kinda of tech is that?!' the teen thought as he saw the purple one begin digging into the crate again before pulling out what looked like a small data chip.
"Got it! Let's get out of here!" the purple one ordered, the other nodding in response.
"On it." The red and yellow one spun around and fired a beam at the warehouse's main door, instantly blowing a hole in the metal frame. They then tapped a button on their gauntlet, causing the board on their back to fall off. They did a small hop at this, the board sliding onto their feet before a thruster appeared on the back of the board. "Let's ride."
"Agreed." the purple one replied as their boots began to glow, wheels appearing under the soles. The wheels began to spin rapidly and a split second later, the two zipped through the newly made wall.
The sight stunned the vigilante, Izuku shaking his head a second later before glancing down at the warehouse below him. His mind went over both his mission and another thought. He had looked up villains who were nothing but thieves in the past, and remembered plenty on how they could also affect things. Granted, he was sure he would have never met a thief quite like the bandit king, Oji Harima, but he also knew thieves were just as dangerous if left to their own devices. 'Gotta go after those two. If they have that kinda tech, they could end up as really bad news for the heroes!'
The teen leapt out the window he had came in from at this, soon cutting into a webswinging sprint just as he saw the duo began to race down the streets below...only to go up a building like it was nothing. The purple one skated up it like it was rink while the one on the board went straight up like a rocket. "What the heck?!" Izuku yelped as he saw the sight, only for both to reach the building rooftop and began to race across it. "Come back here!"
And as he began to try and catch up, the red and gold one yelled to their partner, "Chance equipment coming online now!"
"Turn on the 360 vision!" the other one replied.
"Got it!" The board riding one exclaimed as his helmet shined for a second, only for them to say, "Spider-Man is behind us, seven o'clock."
"Understood." The purple one responded before spinning around and thrusting their gauntlet again, a long extending metal sword coming out a second later. Izuku saw the blade coming, quickly firing a webline to the side and yanking it, dodging the incoming blow.
And as he evaded this, the teen fired two more weblines and pulled, slingshotting himself over the rooftop they had just raced over. "Alright you two, that's enough! I don't know who you think you are, but-"
"We're the Rocket Racer and Tinkerer, fool!" the board riding one yelled before spinning around, his gauntlets pointed straight at the vigilante. "And we're gonna burn you bug!"
Two beams came out at this, spider sense yelling at the teen. And with a flick of the wrist, he fired another webline and pulled, dodging the lasers. And as he did this, two more beams came next as the Rocket Racer leapt off the rooftop and landed on another building, the villain firing at the teen at rapid pace. Izuku quickly swung around both attacks, evading them within a hair's breath before pointing his wrist at the board-riding thief.
"And I'm taking you down!" Izuku exclaimed as he was about to press the trigger-
Danger!
"Not today!" yelled a voice, making the teen turn to see the Tinkerer leap up at him, giant metal gauntlet ready to punch the teen in the face. He quickly spun around to fire webbing at the villain, only for it to be too late.
POW!
"Augh!" Izuku yelped as he felt the blow knock him back, the teen's spider sense yelling at him as he was flung back to the rooftop from before. And as this happened, his reflexes took over, causing him to fire a webline and pull on it, yanking himself back into a swing. He shook his head next, getting his brain back on track as he fired another webline, fully webswinging at this.
But as he got back into a swing, he saw that both were now three rooftops away, about to be four. 'Shoot!' he mentally yelled as he fired two weblines and slingshot himself again, zipping over two rooftops, only to see the duo go over two more. 'No! I gotta at least get a tracer on one of them!'
He fired another bit of webbing, pulling into a short swing as he continued the chase, the teen letting out a series of rapid breaths. "Come on, Izuku. Don't lose again like the other night! You have to-"
Danger!
"Wha-" the teen barely said before a loud noise struck his ears.
BLAM!
Snap!
The teen felt the webline he was holding onto suddenly loosen, making him glance up to see that the webbing he was gripping had just been cut. It was like a sword had sliced it clean in two, making the teen gasp before raising his other hand and firing another webline, the liquid hitting a nearby building-
BLAM!
Snap!
The webline snapped again at the noise, only for spider sense to take over. His sixth sense screamed at him as Izuku stopped looking upward and back at what was in front of him...only to see he was about to smash into a window.
CRASH!
The sound of glass shattering filled the air as the teen's body slammed through the window, the vigilante letting out yelps of pain as he smacked the floor, "Augh-urgh-oof!" he moaned as his skid on the hardwood, soon coming to a stop.
"Oooohhh..." he groaned as he shook his head, quickly standing up as he put a hand to his face, "What the heck just happened?!" He shook his head again, his eyes rapidly blinking before noticing his surroundings. He had fell into a large, hardwood room with dim lighting, just a fan with a lit bulb above his head. The teen glanced around at this, only to see no furniture or even people, as if it was just an abandoned room. "What the-"
Danger!
"Huh?!" Izuku yelped as his spider sense screamed at him, only to hear another sound.
SMASH!
Turning to the noise, he saw a figure slam its feet through a window, turning it into a mess of glass. The being was seemingly white colored from almost head to toe, but that wasn't what he mainly noticed. It was the two pistols the person was wielding as they pointed them at the teen. Spider sense now roaring, the teen let his sixth sense take over, quickly cartwheeling as bullets began to spray out of the guns.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Six bullets zipped past the teen as he reflexively cartwheeled and flipped around, dodging each lethal blow. And as he did this, the teen's eyes fully adjusted themselves, allowing him to see the individual now attacking him. 'What the heck?!' he mentally yelled as the dim light in the room shone over the figure firing at him. It was a tall silver-haired woman, her outfit the same color as her hair. She had a determined glare on her face, and she continued to fire both guns at him at a rapid pace.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Four more bullets came, two whizzing by his stomach as Izuku cartwheeled again. And as he got back onto his feet, the third and fourth zipped past his left shoulder and right leg, almost grazing the reflexive teen. But as this happened, Izuku's brain clicked, his spider sense fully guiding him as he pointed his wrists at the woman and fired two weblines.
Thwip! Thwip!
"Hmm?!" the woman muttered out as the webbing instantly struck her guns, only to suddenly feel the strongest pull she had ever felt as her pistols were yanked right out of her hands. Izuku roared as he pulled on the webbing, the guns flinging across the room before slamming into a nearby wall, cracking the wooden sides as both weapons lodged themselves in before webbing covered them as well.
"There. No more-" Izuku tried to say before-
Danger!
Izuku glanced back at the woman, only to see two knives coming straight for his face. Spider sense screaming at full volume, he ducked under the first while he moved his torso slightly, dodging the second by a hair. And as this happened, the woman pulled out a third knife and flinged it at the teen, the sharp object going straight for the vigilante's face again. The teen's spider sense yelling at him, the vigilante did a full stretch backward, dodging the attack as it flew over his whole body. But as the teen stood back up, his eyes went wide as he saw the woman's eyes glow blue.
'What in the-' Izuku mentally said before blinking, only for his spider sense to scream as he reopened his eyes. Within that blink of the eye, the woman was suddenly across the room, her fist coming straight for the teen's face.
POW!
The teen felt the blow instantly, only for a second punch to slam into his chest. This was followed by three instantly jabs to his face, the vigilante stumbling back as a fourth hit came to his stomach as she slammed her knee into him. "Blaugh!" He yelped as she thrust another punch, spider sense screaming as the teen as he reflexively raised his hand. And within that one second, his hand switched to an open palm, catching the fist just as her eyes stopped glowing.
"What?!" she gasped before feeling the teen reflexively grip her fist. And as this happened, she began to scream a split second later, "AAAAHHH!"
Izuku had charged his hand with bio-electricity in that moment, making the woman cry out before her own reflexes kicked in, swinging one of her legs straight up for the teen's head. But as she did this, Izuku just backpedaled, spider sense guiding him as he dodged the blow before pushing more lightning into his palm.
"YAAAH!" She screamed as Izuku pulsed the electricity through before pushing his palm forward, knocking the woman back. She began to stumble at this, tiny sparks now snapping around her body.
And as she tried to recover, Izuku's mind and eyes caught up to the scene before him again. 'Okay Izuku...take a second. Figure out what the heck is attacking you right now, cuz it sure wasn't those two thieves.' His eyes fully adjusted at this, only to see the light in the room show the woman before him. Blinking at the sight, he felt himself slightly gulp as he truly noticed what was attacking him.
'Pretty...' he mentally commented as he looked her over, now seeing the woman for who she was. And as he did this, his brain quickly began to move its gears, soon coming to a stop as a new thought came to his mind, 'Wait...I've seen her before. She-'
Danger!
His thoughts were interrupted as he saw the woman's eyes glow blue again. A split second later, she was in front of him again, his spider sense screaming as she pulled out another knife and swiped it at the teen's head. He quickly ducked under the blow, only to see the woman doing a diagonal slice next, causing him to backpedal. But as he did this, she seemed to get faster, thrusting the knife two more times. The teen continued to stumble back, only to get nicks on his chest as she attacked him.
And as he felt the knife cut his costume, ready to get skin, her eyes stopped glowing. Reflexes kicked in a second later, the teen thrusting a kick straight for her face. But as he did this, the woman easily backpedaled, evading the blow before thrusting her knife again. And as the knife came, the teen pointed both wrists at her, webbing instantly firing out.
Thwip! Thwip!
"Augh!" She yelped, the sticky liquid covering her body. Izuku continued to hold the triggers at this, soon covering her in webbing from neck to toe. Letting out a deep breath next, the teen recovered his footing before letting go of the triggers. And as he did this, he saw the woman begin to squirm under the net of webbing, growling and hissing as she did so. As for the vigilante, Izuku took another deep breath as his mind caught up to the situation again.
'Okay Izuku...take another breath and collect your thoughts.' Exhaling again, his mind into overdrive, 'Alright. You were chasing those thieves, then your line got cut and you crashed into this place. Then this lady started attacking you, who probably also shot your webline. Wait, this lady...'
A second later, he stared at the woman as she continued to squirm, his eyes now going wide, 'No way...it is her! Its Silver Sable, one of the elite heroes of the hero commission! She's one of the few heroes that their quirk is unknown to the public, and she's infamous as one of the most powerful underground heroes to ever exist! I've only seen photos of her!' Stars appeared in his eyes for a second, almost appearing on his mask before a new thought entered his head, 'Wait, why is she attacking me?! She's a hero and-'
Danger!
The stars in his eyes were gone now as his spider sense yelled at him, only to now see the woman's eyes glow blue again. Her whole body shook at this, only for her hand holding the knife to cut out of the webbing, her arm quickly zipping around and slashing the webbing. Before he could barely react, she was free and charged directly at the teen. And as she did this, his reflexes kicked in again, only for his brain to go for something different.
For in that moment that she got free, his mind told him to try something else. And within that second, the teen turned invisible and leapt upward, flipping before sticking on all fours on the ceiling.
"What?!" She roared as she continued to dash forward, zipping across half the room before spinning around. Her eyes stopped glowing at this, the woman growling as she began to glance around. Her knife twirled once in her hand as she began to slightly move around the room.
And as this happened, Izuku just stared at the woman, seeing the death glare on her face as she continued to slowly pace around. It was here that he felt her killing intent, only to notice how different it was compared to others he had felt before. It wasn't bloodthirsty like Stain, or slow and overwhelming like Tombstone. If he was being honest, it felt like the Enforcers, a killing intent that was all about one thing: killing. But unlike them, this was focused, precise...and deadly.
It was here that his thoughts came into the picture again, making him realize what he was facing as he mentally asked himself, 'Why is she after me? And why is...why is...' his thoughts stopped for a second before his mind clicked over a certain memory. It was when he first made that deal with Nezu, and began discussing the bounty the teen had on his head.
"You see, the hero commission has confirmed you as a threat to the hero society, and as such, put a villain ranking and bounty on you."
'The bounty...' he mentally repeated in his head, 'She must be here for that! But if she's after me, then I gotta-' He pointed his wrists at her, about to fire another glob of webbing...only to stop. His finger was less than a centimeter away from the trigger before he pulled his hands back, 'No. No, I don't fight heroes. I-'
"COWARD! WHERE ARE YOU?!" the woman suddenly yelled, making the teen flinch. He didn't make a sound, but his invisibility almost turned off at the startle. And as this happened, he saw the woman let out a hiss as she asked the empty room, "You didn't flee, did you?!"
'Flee...' he repeated in his head, only to feel a sting in his brain. 'Urgh...can't keep the invisibility much longer. Though, maybe she's right. Maybe I should bail.' He turned to the window he had crashed through, seeing it was still smashed and mostly open now. 'Yeah. Let's get out of here. Just...go slow Izuku.'
With that, he began to quietly crawl on the ceiling, taking small breaths as he tried to keep his invisibility on. And as he got to the window, he glanced back, only to see the woman looking the other way. Gritting his teeth at the sight, the invisibility cut off, making him let go of the ceiling a second later. The sound of him landing made her spin around, only to see the teen leap out of the window.
"NO!" she roared as she charged at the window, quickly throwing the knife at the same time. But as the bladed weapon flew out the frame, her efforts were too late. The teen fell off the side of the building before firing a webline, soon pulling on it as he cut into a swing. She reached the window a second later, only to see the vigilante swing away into the night. "Blast it!" She growled as she smacked the wall beside the window.
Exhaling a long sigh at this, she bit her lip before glancing back at the room, staring at her pistols that were still webbed up to the side of a wall. Walking over to one of the knifes she threw earlier, she pulled it out of the wall and cut the webbing around the guns, soon putting them in her holsters. "Accursed vigilante..." she muttered under her breath, "At least I now see why the commission is having such issues with him."
"Indeed." said a sudden voice, making the woman spin around and point a gun at the other side of the room.
"Who's there?!" she yelled, only to go wide-eyed before narrowing her eyes, "You..."
"Hello Silver." the voice replied as its owner walked into the center of the room. "I have not seen you in quite some time. You're looking as lovely as ever."
"Rose." she hissed as she lowered her gun, "What do you want?"
The purple masked man just stood there for a second before snapping his fingers, a black rose appearing in his hand before he replied, "I'm here to tell you that your hunt ends tonight."
Silver felt her body twitch at that, making her growl out, "What did you just say?!"
"Do not worry. Spider-Man will not escape tonight." he instantly responded, "In fact, it is the very reason as to why I am here. You see, I also have plans on killing him tonight." He snapped his fingers again, the black rose disappearing at this, "I just need you to not interfere...fellow commission agent."
'Ugh...' Izuku thought as he swung down a street, 'What a horrible night this has been. My luck has been terrible since I started going after the Kingpin.'
Letting out a long sigh next, the teen fired another webline before doing a small flip after the swing, spinning next as he then shot out more webbing, "Guess I should go home and report to Nezu. Maybe he knows who those thieves are. That and why the commission sent-"
Danger!
'What now?!' he thought just as his swing ended, causing him to let go of the webline as he flipped through the air. And as he began to fire another webline, a loud sound rang out.
KER-THOOM!
"YAAAAH!" Izuku screamed as a yellow and white bolt of lightning struck his back, instantly knocking him out of the sky. The teen fell like a rock at this, hitting and rolling on a rooftop just below him a moment later. "Augh-oof-urgh!" he moaned as he rolled, his whole body screaming in pain.
"AHAHAHA!" cackled as a voice as the vigilante's body came to a stop. Sparks of electricity crackled all around the rooftop at this as a figure landed on the building, the teen glancing up as he saw the being appear.
"Oh no..." the vigilante moaned out.
"Evening bug." laughed the man as he came into view. The night's dark sky couldn't hide his features as electricity pulsed all over the man. He was bald with two zig-zag scars going down his face just like last time, though his suit was purple and still had that lightning pattern on it, just below his neck as always. It was Electro, and he had the biggest grin on his face as he added, "So, ready to fry for good?!"
Chapter 57: Shock to the Spider System
Izuku Midoriya had recently came to figure out several things after he became Spider-Man. He had learned that despite getting a quirk that gave him super strength, ability to crawl up walls, electric powers and invisibility, it didn't really solve any of his problems. Granted, Izuku felt like that wasn't too much of a change. He had spent all his life trying to become a hero, only to be constantly told he couldn't. Not only that, he had also learned that his usual streak of bad luck that followed him all his life was still in effect, even as Spider-Man. That, and all the beatings he would get for being a weak quirkless loser didn't exactly help him in the fighting department, which was why tonight had been so bad with his encounters of Tinkerer, Rocket Racer and Silver Sable. Honestly, it was a combination of everything now that he thought about it.
At least, that was what was going through his head before what could only be considered a bolt of lightning struck his back, making him crash into a rooftop with a rolling thud. This was followed by a marathon of howling laughter, coming from one villain Izuku had honestly already forgotten about. In fact, he wasn't sure if he had put in an entry of him in his notebooks.
"AHAHAHA! I've been waiting a long time for this!" Electro cackled as sparks sputtered around his body.
"Urgh..." Izuku moaned as he felt the electricity from before fade from his body. He slowly stood up, glancing back at the villain as the thug kept laughing. That is, till Izuku muttered out, "Sparky..."
And as those words hit the villain's ears, his laughter cut as he glared at the vigilante, "I told you before, my name is Electro!" Lightning surged all around his body, "Got that, bug?!"
Izuku flinched for a second as the last spark shifted through his system, only to straighten himself out. As he did this, his teenage brain took over a second as he replied, "No."
"Grr..." Electro hissed as sparks flew off his hands as they turned into fists, "Why you little-"
Thwip!
"Augh!" the villain yelped as a glob webbing smacked his face, covering his eyes. He quickly put his hands to his head, pulling at the goop as he yelled, "Get it off!"
'Okay Izuku, you got two options. Either fight or bail.' the teen thought as reality shifted back to normal in his mind. He could still feel the pain from both the blows of the thieves from earlier, along with the fight with Silver Sable. But as he felt this, his eyes scanned the villain over, only to remember his last encounter with the electric man.
"The kid's part of my mission."
"Was told if I can't bring her alive, I should fry her."
'This is scum that's willing to kill kids.' Izuku's mind told him as he clenched his hands into fists, 'I shouldn't even think about it. I-'
"Raugh!" the villain roared as he ripped the webbing off, hissing as he glared back at the teen. "You're gonna pay for-"
Thwip!
"Augh!" the thug yelped again as webbing hit his face once more. And as this happened, another webline hit the villain's foot before Izuku yanked on it, instantly flipping the thug, his back smacking the rooftop. "Oof! You little-"
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
A whole net of webbing covered the thug next, leaving only his head exposed. And as this happened, Izuku heard a small 'psst' out of his shooters, signifying they were empty. As such, he reached into his hoodie as he began to speak up, "Stay down. I'm gonna call the police to pick you up, so don't-"
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Electro screamed as a surge of lightning suddenly enveloped his body, making him light up the clear night sky.
Danger!
'Whoa!' Izuku thought as he hopped back just as electricity flowed across the roof, some of it surging over the concrete for a second before disappearing. And as it did this, the villain got up while the vigilante refilled his shooters and pointed both wrists at the thug.
Thwip! Thwip!
"Not this time!" the villain yelled as lightning surrounded his body, burning the sticky liquid before it could get close. He then pointed both hands at the teen, "DIE!"
THOOM!
Lightning flew out of the thug's arms, two giant bolts coming straight for the vigilante as his spider sense rang out. Feeling the danger, Izuku let his spider sense take over his reflexes, doing two backflips as he dodged both bolts. And as he did this, electricity surged up and down Electro's body before he let out another roar, this time firing three more bolts of lightning. Seeing this, Izuku fired a webline upward and pulled, yanking himself into the air, dodging the blasts. Doing a small mid-air spin next, the teen then pointed his wrists at the villain and fired, webbing going straight for the villain's face.
"Oh, no you don't!" the thug hissed as he crossed his arms over his face, the webbing smacking the limbs before being fried by a surge of electricity. And as this happened, Izuku landed in front of the villain and charged electricity into his right fist.
"Venom Punch!" the teen yelled as he threw a right hook, only for Electro to backpedal. The punch barely whiffed, only for Izuku to throw a second Venom Punch with his left. But as he did this, the thug just ducked under the blow. This was followed by two more punches, but the villain just sidestepped both.
Grinning at this, he commented, "You're not gonna get me with that this time. I know your game, and you're obviously still an amateur at fighting!" He then thrust both hands at the vigilante, electricity surging around them. Spider sense screaming at him, Izuku bent his body back, just barely dodging a bolt of lightning that flew out of the villain's arms.
Danger!
Izuku fired two weblines at this and pulled, yanking himself away again as another bolt came out of the villain, only for this one to strike the teen's stomach. "Yaugh!" he yelped as he was cut mid-swing, making his body smack the roof again.
"Gotcha!" Electro cackled before firing another bolt, the electricity zapping the teen all over.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Izuku screamed as he felt the lightning surge through his body, Electro laughing at the sight before firing a third bolt, "AAAAAHHHH!"
"HA!" the villain guffawed as he continued to fire bolts of lightning at the teen. And as the fifth bolt hit, the thug let out a cackle before saying, "To think it would be this easy." Sparks poured out of the man as he continued to laugh, "You may have caught me off guard last time, but not tonight. Tonight..." What sounded like a crackle of thunder rang out as lightning surged around the thug's right hand at this, "You're gonna fry." He pointed his hand at the teen's face, ready to zap him into the afterlife, "Any last words?"
Izuku felt like his whole body was a blob of pain. Fire, stinging, throbbing, burning...these were all things he was feeling right now. It was like every blow possible rolled up into one. 'Urgh...hurts. Hurts...so...much.' the teen barely thought, his mind slightly turning to mush as he tried to move, only to flinch as sparks zapped his sides. His body contorted, causing him to stiffen as he felt the electricity continue to constrict his body. 'Can't...move...'
But as he felt this, his eyes glanced up at the thug, now seeing him light up the night with the electricity pouring off his body. The sight made the teen blink, only for a new thought to come to his head as he heard Electro's words. It was an image, one he remembered from a few nights before: When he fought this man to protect Eri.
Eri.
He hadn't thought about her all today. Nezu still hadn't gotten back to him about that.
'Right. Forgot about that.' Izuku thought before feeling the electricity surge all over him again. And as it did this, he didn't stiffen. Instead, he just slightly flinched before glaring up at the villain. 'Can't give up. I wanna be a hero, and if I can't beat a thug like him, I have no right to be one!'
And as that thought went through the teen's head, Electro just smirked and said, "Guess there's no last words. Then again, screaming in pain doesn't always help the vocabulary." Another surge sparked out of the man's right hand, "Let me help you scream a bit more before I put you down."
"No thanks." Izuku instantly responded as he jerked his arm to point at the villain.
Thwip!
"Nope!" Electro laughed as he raised his right hand, catching and burning the webbing.
"Made you look."
Thwip!
Another bit of webbing hit the thug's foot at this, only for Izuku to yank at it with everything he had. "Whoa!" the villain yelped, his back hitting the roof again. "Oof!"
A swear word left the villain's mouth next as Izuku pointed his wrist up to a nearby building and fired a webline, pulling on it to help him back up. He felt the sparks still in him zap him for a second, constricting his body before flinching once more. And as this happened, the villain scrambled to his feet and roared, "That's it! I'm gonna kill you!"
Danger!
Lightning flew out of the villain at this, Izuku's spider sense screaming the moment it came. And as it flowed, the teen's body started to move again, reflexes taking over as he backflipped, dodging the first bolt before cartwheeling as two more came. As this happened, Izuku landed back on his feet, his brain catching up to the fight as he aimed both wrists, 'Can't do anything fancy. Just take this guy out, Izuku!'
Thwip! Thwip!
Two globs of webbing came for the thug, only for him to fry both with a single surge. But as he did this, he glanced down to make sure no webline hit his feet, only to look back up and see Izuku charging at him with an electrified punch. Ducking under the jab, the villain tried to counter with another bolt, only for Izuku to sidestep it. This was followed by two more punches, both evaded as Electro backpedaled, dodging each blow before firing another bolt, only for the teen to do a backflip, hopping straight over the attack.
And as Izuku landed, the teen glared back at the villain as he charged electricity through his body again. 'Can't hit him. But if I can't hit him, I can't beat him. And if I can't hit him...' his thoughts came to a stop as he began to cartwheel to the side, dodging another bolt of lightning. This was followed by two more bits of lightning being thrown at the teen, the vigilante hopping side-to-side to evade both.
"Stay still!" Electro roared as he continued to fire bolt after bolt.
"I'm thinking...no." Izuku quipped as he sidestepped another blast before firing a bit of webbing at the man's face. In response, Electro raised his hands, catching and frying the webbing in one go. But as he did this, Izuku came to a stop on the rooftop, staring at the villain for a second, 'I can't think of a safe solution. If that's the case, I got no choice. I gotta just try to bind him with webbing and Venom Punch him.'
"Grrr...that's it!" Electro growled as lighting poured out of him again, "DIE!" A new stream of bolts flew out of the villain, only to see Izuku dive down and roll across the rooftop before leaping out like a gymnast. And as he did this, he pointed both wrists and fired, a full net of webbing coming out next. "RAAAH!" the thug roared as electricity surged out of him, frying every bit of the sticky liquid as it got close.
But as this happened, Izuku fired two shots of webbing at the thug's feet, making Electro glance down. "Oh, no you don't! Not again!" He yelled as he fired a bolt down at his shoes, instantly destroying the webbing. And as he did this, Izuku pointed back up at the man and fired another spray of webbing, this one covering the thug's body instantly, "What the-"
"Venom Punch!"
Electro glanced back up to see the teen's electrified fist coming straight for him, "Wait-NO!" he tried to say, only for the blow to make contact.
POW!
The fist slammed into the man's face, the hook smacking the thug's cheek as four teeth flew out of his mouth from the blow. The webbing wrapping the thug snapped at this, knocking him out of the liquid before his back smacked the rooftop, his eyes going blank as the villain lost consciousness.
"Yagh!" Izuku yelped as he felt one last surge of electricity hit his body, making him flinch and almost fall over as well. "Urgh...ugh..." he moaned as continued to feel the lightning trickle through his form. "Hurts..."
Almost a minute later, he pointed his wrists at the villain. Webbing covered the knocked-out thug a second later, making the teen let out a small sigh. "That's it. I'm done for the night."
Meanwhile...
Two figures stood on a rooftop a block and a half over, one growling as the other stared silently into the prefecture. As they did this, the moon's light shined down on the building, revealing a purple masked man and a silver-haired woman. The lady continued to growl as she stared ahead, soon hissing out, "Seems your goon failed, Rose."
"He did. Such a disappointment." Rose sighed while shaking his head before turning to the woman, "Will you continue your hunt, Sable?"
Silver grit her teeth at this, one of her fingers on the pistol on her belt. A small breath came out of her mouth a second later, her eyes turning to masked man as she growled, "No." She stared up at the moonlit night, "Something is...wrong. I will handle him next time."
She released her finger off her gun before spinning around and walking away, Rose chuckling as he turned to her fleeing form, "Oh? Sounds like Spider-Man is a worthy opponent to you."
Sable stopped at this, glancing back for a second as she hissed, "No. It is just...a disappointment."
Rose tilted his head, "Disappointment?"
The woman looked away again, "Yes. A disappointment that such an individual is an enemy." She began to move after these words, soon hopping off the rooftop with a single hop.
And as she disappeared into the night, Rose just chuckled and shook his head again, "My my...seems the commission president still has her hands full with her." He then put his hand to his chin as his thoughts began to swim through his head, 'Guess I need to make a new plan. I'll let the police take Electro, as he's too volatile to be used anymore.' The man pulled out his phone next, 'A shame, but it seems I need to go recruiting. Though if Sable is on the case, I better be careful...'
"And that, is a score!" Rocket Racer laughed as he took off his helmet, cackling while walking into a room with Tinkerer. And as he did this, he turned to the girl, only to see a big frown on her face, "What?! We got the chip!"
"I know." Phineas growled as she tapped something on her backpack, her purple glowing armor disappearing a second later. She then shimmed her backpack off at this, soon putting it on a desk while sighing.
Racer rolled his eyes at this, "What's wrong?" He pulled out the chip while shining a grin, "We got the chip, which means I can get you the gear."
Phineas glared back at him while sitting down on a chair, crossing her arms as she said, "Once again, I know. However, what just happened worries me. We just stole from the Kingpin, which no one in their right mind usually crosses. And while that was part of the plan, Spider-Man wasn't."
Racer grimaced at this, only to shrug, "Well, we knew that the plan wasn't perfect. No plan is. Besides, we escaped him, didn't we?"
"That's just it." Tinkerer grumbled while closing her eyes, "I don't understand how we escaped. I punched him once, and then he just...suddenly stopped chasing us." She reopened her eyes and put a finger to her chin, "Doesn't make sense. Did we get tricked or something?"
Her partner just stared at her for a second before turning to the helmet he just took off. "Well, there is one way to check." He went over to the desk and grabbed a cable, "Let's check my helmet's footage."
The Tinkerer blinked at this before booting up the desk computer, the two setting up the devices. And after a few minutes of programs, editing and waiting, the duo watched the helmet's footage, only for both to see a silver figure attack Spider-Man as they escaped.
"What's that?"
"No idea." Phineas responded as she froze the footage and zoomed in, only to see nothing but a dark blur, "But I got a feeling it's something we shouldn't get involved with. Just like Spider-Man."
"Oof!" Izuku yelped as landed on a rooftop with a thud, his invisibility cutting out at the stumble. "Urgh..." he moaned as he laid there, letting out several groans before flipping over, his back now resting on the roof. He stared up at the stars next, sighing as he muttered to himself, "Another failure."
Today, like the past few, had not gone well. In fact, as Izuku thought about it, only the day where he fought the villain known as Grizzly had been a day that had gone mostly well. The rest were stinkers, in particular today, as he found himself in three different fights, only to win one of them. Not only that, he still hadn't reported to Nezu, something he was now dreading, as he didn't know what the stoat thought of multiple failures. Granted, he found that Nezu was probably the nicest authority figure he had ever met, especially since his only other experiences with authority figures were teachers that thought he was a waste of time. That should have made him feel safer, but on the other hand, if he was being honest with his current situation, he was kinda too tired to care.
"Ugh..." he whispered as he slowly got up, reaching into his hoodie and pulling out his phone. Tapping it a few times, he found himself staring at a screen with Nezu's name, his thumb over the call button. 'I can't catch a break, can I?' he thought as his eyes scanned over the phone as if he was trying to find some button to change what he was about to do. He closed his eyes next, 'Then again, guess that's just my luck. I always have to take the hardest route to get anything in life.'
Another sigh exited his mouth as he reopened his eyes, ready to press the call button-
"You'll never be hero!"
"You're just a worthless pebble!"
"Listen here loser, if you really wanna be hero...go take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in the next life."
Those words rang out in his head again, making the teen shiver. He could feel tears began to well up in his eyes, making him mutter out, 'Kacchan's still right. I'm still worthless.' The teen blinked at this, blocking the tears as he stared at the phone again, "Guess I should face the music."
And with one more sigh, he pressed the call button.
The Next Day...
The sound of fingers tapping on a desk rang out as Ryukyu sat down at her desk. She hadn't been at her agency building in days, having taken several days off to help with the transfer of Eri. Ever since the girl had been found and sent to the hospital thanks to her and several other heroes, she had taken the role of helping the girl. As such, there was a pile of paperwork, helping calm the girl down when she woke up, having to delay meetings with her intern...all sorts of things.
But now she was back at her agency. A few rooms over was Eri, who had fallen asleep after entering the agency building last night. The days before had been a struggle with the girl. When she had fully woken up and started to cooperate with Ryukyu and the nurses, they quickly found the girl did not want to trust anyone. That made sense if you had read her file and 'relationship' with Kai Chisaki. Trust would be a true hurdle for anyone who had to go through that.
However, it was the girl's insistence on seeing Spider-Man that had been the biggest obstacle. According to what they could get out of the poor girl, the vigilante had saved her, and then 'cried over Mister Li', along with some lady/man that killed Mister Li. Ryukyu quickly found that this was what interested Sir Nighteye the most, the man having come over to visit the child the second day Eri had been awake. The man's presence did not help with calming the girl down, but they soon found she didn't really understand the situation she was in, or what happened with 'Mister Li' or Spider-Man.
In conclusion, the girl had been trying to forget parts of what Chisaki had been doing to her, and the doctors suspected she might have been using her quirk on herself. It seemed horrific in context, but it did make sense. As such, Ryukyu got approval to set up a room at her agency for the girl and get things going. Nighteye was against this, but relented after a few arguments with Ryukyu and the doctors.
As such, Ryukyu leaned back in her desk chair, sighing as she thought about the past few days. Even now, she knew she didn't fully have Eri's trust, as she still asked for Spider-Man first, then anything else second. That alone was a headache for the hero as she put a hand to her face and rubbed it down to her chin, 'Spider-Man...'
She barely knew the vigilante. The only real encounter she had with him was when she grabbed a semi truck full of masked men he was fighting, only for the vigilante to swing away after taking out most of the criminals. And after Eri had mentioned him, one of the nurses talked about the vigilante, telling the hero that he was very secretly popular, as he had done tons of good and little, if not any, bad. That, at least in her opinion, was strange. Most vigilantes were violent fight-seekers or kids so out of their depth that they instantly get caught. Or killed. It was either or in that department.
Letting out a long sigh, she crossed her arms next as she mentally told herself, 'I don't know this Spider-Man, but it does sound like he does a lot of good. Should I try to find him? Nighteye told me that he has a bounty on his head, and the hero commission wouldn't just do that for no reason...'
Biting her lip at this, she sat straight up and turned on the computer on her desk. The hero soon opened the internet, ready to look up more information, only to see a notification from her email. Now, she usually looked at that all the time, mainly on her phone, but she had set it to autoreply for the past few days, and most left her alone thanks to this.
That is, till she noticed a certain name on an email from yesterday. 'Nezu?' Ryukyu thought as she soon skimmed through the inbox, now seeing several emails on her computer from the stoat. She then opened the most recent one and scanned the message over, only to go wide-eyed.
"Stupid lighter." commented a certain stoat named Nezu as he continued to flick the trigger of the flame-producing device. He had already clicked it three times, but not even a spit of fire would appear. And with a fourth flick, a tiny flame began to burn, instantly lighting the cigarette in his mouth. Sucking in a breath before exhaling a puff, the stoat leaned back in his chair and exclaimed, "Finally!"
Closing the lighter next, he put in inside his desk before tapping a few keys on his computer's keyboard. Inhaling a puff of smoke, he pulled up a picture of a beautiful silver-haired woman with a look of pure direct seriousness on her face. "Silver Sable..." he muttered as a wisp of smoke left his mouth. "To think the commission president would resort to using you."
He had spent last night talking to Izuku Midoriya, who had informed him that the commission agent had attacked him, but only after encountering a duo calling themselves the Tinkerer and Rocket Racer. This was followed by him escaping the agent, only to fight another villain, a B-Rank that he had a file on: Electro. Not only that, the teen sounded...scared to talk to him, which the stoat instantly realized was because this was technically two failures in a row. Granted, that would be a huge blow to most, but the stoat knew better. As such, he told the teen it was fine, but to also wait in his next outing. After all, if what he said was right and the commission had sent Silver Sable after him, that meant he had to change strategies.
It was here that Nezu pulled up another file, this one showing a map and a list. The sight made him lean back, placing his cigarette on a nearby ashtray before muttering, "It seems the Kingpin is ahead of me. As soon as Izuku took down Grizzly, they immediately had goons setup at other locations, waiting for Spider-Man. First was the Enforcers, then I suspect this Electro was next. Not only that, there were those thieves..."
The stoat grabbed his mouse and moved it around, tapping the button on it a few times as he opened another document. It was a police report on the one called 'The Terrible Tinkerer'. To be honest, the document itself could barely be called a document, but rather multiple rumors and minor criminal interrogations about a 'genius inventor' that helps criminals at times. Nezu had never actually heard of the individual until last night, but considering what little the police had on them, it made sense as to why he hadn't heard of them. The criminal in question barely seemed to exist. In fact, the most evidence collected was tech taken from the crime scene of the arresting of the villain known as 'Mysterio'.
Nezu had asked for some of the tech, but it had all be confiscated by the police. What he could get was scraps, and nothing of use, as the commission had come in and said this was 'part of the punishment for not catching Spider-Man', which really meant: 'We want this tech and no one else gets it'. How irritating.
As such, all he had on the criminal was that they were a weapons dealer, one that dealt in more...exotic technology than most. Izuku described their weapons as flashy, yet extremely functional. He stated that it didn't seem like either used a quirk, instead used an extending metal sword and roller blades that allowed them to move at high speeds. That kind of tech was beyond any two-bit thug or thief, which did not bode well.
Not only that, Nezu had nothing on this 'Rocket Racer'. Every database and news outlet had nothing on the name, meaning that either they were very secretive...or brand new. And if he was honest, it was always worse when they were brand new, especially if they were packing the tech Izuku had told him about. According to the teen, the thief seemed to have gear that allowed them to move at high speeds on a board, along with gauntlets that fired laser beams. Honestly, it sounded like stuff Power Loader would have his students make as support equipment, as ridiculous as that sounded.
Sighing next, the stoat pulled up another document, this one blank as he began to type. "Seems I need to make a new case. I suspect Izuku will only encounter those two again through chance alone considering they had already ransacked the place before he got there. Electro on the other hand...the Kingpin must have someone planting multiple bodyguards to his locations. He doesn't usually do this unless something is happening. However, one vigilante shouldn't make him panic this much, which means I need to open a separate investigation." Nezu leaned back in his chair at this thought, "But if that's the case, he has to have someone setting these bodyguards up for him. It's not Hammerhead, as that's not his MO. And if it's not Hammerhead, that could only mean..."
He moved the computer's mouse again, tapping the button a few times before a new image appeared. It was what looked like a well-groomed man wearing a white suit, a purple tie and a purple mask. The sight made him grit his teeth, only to reach into his drawer, open it and pull out a new cigarette, this time lighting it with one flick of the lighter. A small puff came out of his mouth next as he whispered, "Seems a new game is afoot, Rose." He put the stick back into his mouth, grinning as he added, "Time for a counter move."