Two shining bright lights shone off a pair of glasses as a man in a white lab coat stared at the monitors before him. He was leaning forward as he glared at the screens, several levers and buttons around him all moving and being pressed as he continued to stare. On the screens was image after image of people, the individuals being of all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some were old, some young, some with mutant quirks, others looking as normal as they could possibly be in this quirk-filled society.
And yet, as he stared, he watched each and every individual all do the same actions. They were all strapped to a chair before a person in a full hazmat-looking suit walked up and placed a spider with a tattoo on its back onto the individual. The animal would crawl up the person before standing still, leaning back…and then thrusting its teeth into the person. There would be some cry of pain, though the lab coat wearing man couldn't hear it, nor did he care to hear such a thing. After this, the person's face would contort a few minutes later…and then slump over dead.
"One, two…five dead now." the lab coat man commented as he stared at the monitors, his mouth moving in silence before letting out a long sigh. "All thirty dead. All failures." He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face with both hands as the keys on the keyboard before him began to be pressed in quick succession. Screen after screen turned off, soon showing all but one monitor. This one didn't show a person strapped to a chair, but rather an image of a news report. A report on the vigilante known as Spider-Man.
Seconds later, the lab coat man stopped rubbing his face before staring at the monitor, the sight making him growl, "How?! How did you survive the spider bite?! I thought for sure I had figured it out by now…"
Clicking his tongue next, the man's chair spun around, causing him to now stare at the rest of the room. Before him were several giant glass tubes along with a few large glass boxes. Inside the boxes were tattoo-wearing spiders, all in a small little make-shift area for them to spin their webs. As for the tubes, all were filled with murky-looky liquid…but nothing else inside. The sight made the lab coat man sigh before his eyes turned to the final tube in the room.
Unlike other tubes, this one had no liquid in it. It had no creature, or well…anything in it at all. Just a few specks of dust, along with a certain anomaly. There was a teeny tiny, itsy-bitsy crack near the very bottom of the tube. The sight made the lab coat man bite his lip before leaning back in his chair again.
He motioned his head next, his chair spinning around again as he stared back at the screens. However, the monitors now all showed images of Spider-Man, most being parts of news reports. The sight made the man put both of his hands together, all fingers touching as he whispered, "You truly are the ultimate anomaly. Even now, I don't understand how you exist. And yet…I know you're the solution. You're everything I've been looking for."
The chair spun around again, the lab coat man's face now shining a big grin as he stared back at the empty tube with a crack in it. But before he could say anything, the door to the room opened, making him glance to the side to see another individual walk in. This person was wearing a distinct formal suit, along with a large frown on his face.
"Any progress?"
"No." the lab coat man replied before looking back at the empty tube. "But…I have a feeling things will be picking up shortly."
The suited man walked up to the side of the chair, his frown still shining on his face, "You do know I don't like waiting."
"I know. To be honest, I usually consider myself a more patient man, but…" the lab coat man sighed as he leaned back in the chair again, "This time, I honestly can't wait to see how it turns out."
Doing a small turn of the body, the suited man's tone slightly heightened as he then asked, "And there's no way this can be traced back to us, correct?"
"No." the lab coat man responded as the grin on his face began to grow, "Everything is already in motion. All we have to do is…wait and see."
"What is this?"
That was the question that left Izuku's mouth and continued to repeat over and over in his mind. The teen was still sticking to the building that was reflecting his form, the sight making the vigilante look himself over again and again. He flexed every finger at this, watching the black suit on him react to every movement, every motion as tiny things that looked like veins shuddered at his flexing. It was like a small vibration consuming his hand, his fingers almost blurring as he continued to stare at the movements the black veins made.
And after a few more flexes, he glanced back at the window, staring at his reflection. The eyes were big and white, both slowly shrinking as he squinted, but not fully changing. Only the edges of the eyes moved, showing just the tiniest of reactions. Blinking at the sight, the teen glanced down at his chest, his eyes scanning over the large white spider logo on the costume.
"Nice spider…" he whispered as he patted the suit with his free hand before looking at the suit's reflection again, "Wow. I never thought a full black costume would look this good. Must be the white spider with it. Or the eyes."
As those words left his mouth, gears began to turn in Izuku's brain before rapidly shaking his head, the teen almost wanting to smack himself. 'Now's not the time to admire some new suit, Izuku! Think! Why are you here? Heck, how did you get here in this…' He glanced back at the reflection, his eyes scanning the suit over, 'This…really cool looking suit.'
Putting his free hand to his chin, the teen's mind began to race, ' Let's see…I was trying to get home after that fight with the Rose and Silver Sable. They were chasing me, so I switched out of my costume. Wait… ' He glanced down at the new suit, "I wasn't wearing this before…whatever this is. I wasn't even in my Spider-Man costume! Where's my clothes?!"
And as if on cue, the black suit suddenly began to shift, the chest area peeling away to show his civilian clothes underneath the suit. The sight made the teen gasp, only to reach down on his shirt and pull it up to see his Spider-Man costume was still underneath those clothes as well. "No way…" he whispered before releasing the shirt, only for the black suit to start reforming over his chest, covering his civilian clothes. He could only blink at the sight, the teen now speechless as he watched his clothes disappear under the black suit. "Wow."
Glancing back at the reflection again, he stared at the suit before closing his eyes. ' Okay. So this…new suit, which feels alive, seems to just…make me a new costume. A really awesome looking costume. But how did I get here? '
His mind went back to the start of his thoughts, only to feel himself tense up as he remembered what happened next. ' That's right. I ran into Kacchan and he…beat me up. With his superior quirk and everything. ' The thought made him let out a sigh, reopening his eyes at this. And as he stared at his reflection, another thought entered his head, ' Though…why was he after me this time? I mean, besides his usual wanting to put me in my place? He said Mister Nezu had done something, but I never mentioned Kacchan to Mister Nezu. '
The teen's mind stopped at that, sighing for a second before spinning around and staring at the city below as he stuck to the building. Glancing down at his hands, he saw them vibrate again, little black veins shifting around before sitting still. ' Then I was gonna call Mister Nezu about Kacchan…but then what? ' He put his free hand to his head, rubbing it, ' What happened? All I know is that I was gonna call Mister Nezu, and then…and then… '
And it was here that his brain came to a complete and utter stop. He remembered now why he could never be a hero. He remembered that despite everything he tried, every good thing he did, he could never truly accomplish his goal. That was what Katsuki Bakugo had shown him. The very thought made the teen want to curl up in a ball and cry, tears flowing before he would go up to a roof and take a swan dive.
' Even now, I'm still weak. '
That was the thought that still haunted him.
' Why couldn't I have been born stronger? '
And as that next thought entered his head…something happened. At the time, the teen did not notice, but within his very mind, something began to shift. He could feel a slight tingle go through the top of his body, the teen not noticing new tiny black veins shifting and moving around his head. And as this happened, Izuku felt something. He felt his whole body shake, the feeling being something akin to the new black suit clenching around his whole body. It was like it was tightening, almost shrinking into him as Izuku let out a gasp.
"Whoa!" he yelped, only for the suit to stop. It instantly stopped reacting, the teen glancing down at the suit again before flexing his fingers, "What was that?" He flexed his fingers again at this, feeling another surge from the suit before it relaxed just moments later. Blinking at the feeling, his mind switched to something new as he thought, ' Maybe I should figure out what this is first. ' Flexing his fingers again, he felt it not react this time, making him nod before adding, "I better take some notes-"
He reached back to where his hoodie pocket usually would be with his Spider-Man costume…only to feel nothing. ' Oh yeah. Forgot about that. Figures something like this happens right when I don't wear the hoodie part of my- ' His thoughts came to a stop as the suit began to react again, making him let out a small gap before feeling something appear behind him. Spinning around to look back at his reflection, he now saw that the black suit was showing a hoodie around it…though it looked like it was connected with tiny veins.
"What the-" Izuku muttered out before reaching and tugging at the ends of the 'hoodie'. "Now how did that happen? Did I just think of the hoodie and the costume did that?"
And as he let go of the hoodie part, it suddenly shrunk back into the suit, making the teen flinch before glancing back up at his reflection. It was gone, the suit back to its normal black self with a large white spider on the chest. The sight made him blink before putting a hand to his chest, "What…are you? You're not just a costume. You seem to be alive, but…you feel like you're just clothing. You're obviously not a quirk…and where did you come from?"
He flexed his fingers again, only to stare at his wrist before touching it, "Say, what about my web shooters? I know I was holding onto some webbing earlier…"
Thwip!
"Whoa!" Izuku gasped as a sudden webline shot out of one of his fingers. The sight made him flinch, rapidly blinking at the motion before leaning down and staring at the finger. "How did-" He then pointed his finger at another building, only for a webline to fire out of it a second later. Gasping again, he aimed all five fingers next, only for all five to fire out weblines as well.
"No way." He looked back down at his wrist, this time tugging at the suit. A second later, the black veins vibrated around his wrist, soon peeling away to show his normal hand…and no web shooter. "This thing can make its own webs?" he whispered with amazement in his voice. "Cool."
He then leapt off the building, firing a webline from his finger before doing a small dive, doing a small swing before landing on a nearby rooftop. And as he did this, he cut into a sprint as he leapt off the building, only to feel himself go flying. "WHOA!" he yelped as he leapt over an entire building and landed onto the next one, the teen rolling as he stumbled his landing.
' What the heck was that?! ' Izuku thought as he shuffled back up, ' I could never jump like that before! ' He glanced down at the suit, flexing his fingers again, ' Did this suit do that too? Wait a minute…could this thing- '
His thoughts came to a stop as he ran to the edge of the rooftop. Glancing down, he saw several parked cars on the street, including a fire engine, the sight making him smile. Slowly crawling down, he made his way to the firefighter's truck and put one hand on the bumper. Pulling up next, he gasped as he saw himself easily lift the whole thing with one hand.
' Wow. ' Izuku thought before putting the truck down. He glanced back down at the suit, a grin forming under the mask as he said, "This is something else. Just what are you, and how did-"
FWOOM!
The sudden noise shook the street, only for the sound of a loud ringing noise to blare out. Turning to the racket, the teen blinked before pointing and firing a webline. "Time to test this new costume out."
Just a few seconds ago…
FWOOM!
SMASH!
That was the sound of a shockwave slamming into two glass doors, both shattering to pieces as a guy in a purple and gray vested outfit with two large metal gauntlets over his hands stood over the frames he had just destroyed. As his feet crunched at the shattered glass next, he glanced back and yelled, "Come on Beetle! The heroes will be here any second!"
"Shut up Shocker!" yelled a voice as a figure suddenly landed beside him. The person was wearing a metallic silver and purple colored suit with an insect design for the helmet and light green colored wings. On his hands were reinforced gauntlets, along with an engine on his back. "Just get the jewels already. Remember, all I am is your ticket out of here!"
"Yeah yeah…" Shocker grumbled as they walked inside the building, the man flicking a nearby light switch to reveal it was a jewelry store. Pulling out a bag next, the thug shined a big grin as he added, "Let's get a few thousand richer, huh?"
The Shocker then fired another shockwave, shattering the reinforced glass around the jewelry before both began to put away the valuables into the bag. Both began to laugh as they easily put away each bit, both grinning before Shocker tied up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He turned to Beetle and patted his shoulder, "See? That wasn't so bad. No heroes or cops."
"Don't jinx it." Beetle replied as the two spun and began to leave the building. But as they did the full turn around, both came to a stop as they saw a certain figure hanging upside down over the broken entrance doors.
It was a certain vigilante in a new jet black suit with a giant white spider logo on the chest, along with white eye-lens. The teen just hung there, his hands holding onto a single strand of webbing before speaking up, "Hey fellas. You do realize those jewels aren't yours, right?"
"Is that Spider-Man?" the Beetle asked before turning to his partner, only to see pure fear on the thug's face. "Shocker?"
"Oh no…not you again!" Shocker yelped as he pointed both of his gauntlets at the vigilante. "Why can't you leave me alone?!"
Izuku blinked behind his mask at this before releasing the webline and flipping over, landing in front of the duo, "Do I know you?"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shocker yelled in response as both his gauntlets charged up.
THOOM!
Two shockwaves blasted out of his gauntlets, the vibrations pushing Beetle slightly back as he felt the attack cross the room. The waves instantly hit the vigilante…only for the suit the teen was wearing to vibrate intensely…and then settle down. It was as if the shockwave just went through the vigilante.
"Huh. That…was refreshing." Izuku commented as he glanced down at himself for a second. "It was like a massage over my whole body." He looked back at the duo at this, now seeing the still pure fear on Shocker's face while Beetle's was still covered by his insect mask. The sight made Izuku point a finger at Shocker as he then remarked, "You should get a job doing massages."
Thwip!
A strand of webbing instantly shot out of his finger and struck Shocker's chest, the thug gasping before Izuku yanked on the line, instantly flinging the thug across the room. "AAAAHHH-urk!" he yelped before a fist slammed into his face, knocking him out.
"You know, after you get out of jail." Izuku added before glancing over at Beetle, "So…wanna surrender, or-"
"Die!" Beetle roared as he pointed his arm at the vigilante, spider sense ringing out for the teen as a laser shot out of the costume a second later. Sidestepping the attack, the thug's jetpack began to turn on next as his light green wings flared.
"I figured that was gonna happen." Izuku commented as he fired two weblines at the insect masked man, both hitting the thug's chest. But just as he was about to pull on the lines-
Danger!
WHAM!
"Augh!" Izuku yelped as the Beetle's jetpack activated, the thug then charging straight into the vigilante like a rocket. The blow knocked the teen off his feet, rolling over the shattered glass as he let go of both webbing strands. He continued to roll at this, soon exiting the building before doing a quick hop back up.
"Okay…that didn't work." He muttered before glancing up, now seeing the thug fly off into the city. The sight made Izuku feel something shiver over his entire body, making him glance down to see the suit vibrating and flowing around him for a second. Humming at this, he looked back up at the fleeing villain and fired two weblines. Pulling on them next, the teen slingshotted into the air, soon cutting into a certain webswinging sprint.
"I can do this. I can still do this." he whispered to himself as he fired another webline and tugged, only to feel himself fling into the air. ' Holy All Might! I've never been able to swing that strongly like that before! '
Within a few seconds, he found himself already catching up to the flying thug, the sight making Izuku smirk under the mask. With a well-aimed finger, he fired a new webline that struck the Beetle's back, only to land on a rooftop a split-second later. Gripping the line with both hands, he pulled with all his might as he yelled, "Time to reel you in!"
"YAACK!" The villain screamed as his whole body was suddenly yanked back, his jetpack still boosting him before he felt another pull. This one sent him flying down, the thug trying to look back and see what was yanking him, only to see a certain black-suited vigilante pull the webline one more time.
And with his jetpack still going, the yanking of the line caused the thug to spiral out of control in the air before spinning straight down at the vigilante. The villain already motion sick from the sudden movements, he didn't react as a fist smacked his face next, knocking his insect mask right off him.
SLAM!
The thug crashed into the rooftop next, webbing soon covering the villain and his jetpack as the device started to sputter before turning off due to the damage of hitting the roof. Seeing this, Izuku continued to web up the villain before walking over and lifting him up, soon webswinging off the roof with the thug in tow.
"Let's put you with your other jewel-robbing buddy for the police." Izuku commented as he continued to swing. And as he did this, he glanced down at the suit, watching it pulse and shift as he continued to fire webline after webline.
The sight made him smile.
' Wow. That was…easy. ' he thought as he went down another street, ' I gotta say, this feels good. Real good. '
He stared down at the suit at this, his smile under the mask growing as he then said, "You know, I still don't know what you are or where you came from…but I think I'll keep you."
Izuku was shining the biggest grin on his face as he walked up to this home. He was now in his civilian clothes, which he had to admit, felt very odd wearing. When he had switched from the black suit, it just sort of…vanished into his clothes. It was like it was still there, somewhere on his back, but not completely. Despite this, he did know one thing:
He felt good.
Heck, he felt better than good. He felt strong. He felt really strong.
And it wasn't just that. The teen was smiling. After this crazy day, complete with meeting Eri, then fighting Silver Sable and Rose, only to encounter Katsuki Bakugo. And yet, the day had passed through the teen's mind and…he didn't think about it anymore. It was as if it was done and over with, and he felt great.
He looked up next, seeing his home in the distance as he walked down a sidewalk, only for a new thought to go through his head. "Oh yeah." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, glancing down at the device next. He saw he had a text, tapping the screen before seeing a picture from Ochako, showing Himiko with all the girls. They were all smiling, the sight making him grin.
' Looks like Himiko had a good day. With those kinds of smiles, I wish I could have seen that on Eri today. ' he thought before thinking back to his time with the girl, the memory making him smile even more. ' I should go see her and show her my new suit some time. '
He then glanced back down at the phone, the teen soon tapping the screen again. It began to vibrate, only for a voice to ring out of the device. "Good evening young Midoriya."
"Hello Mister Nezu." Izuku replied as he put the phone to his ear. "Just wanted to call you and give you an update."
"Oh? Have you already checked the location?"
"I have. It was a trap, just like you said." Izuku commented as he glanced back and forth before crossing a street. "I sprung it and escaped."
There was a small pause on the phone before Nezu responded, "I see. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Izuku replied in the blankest tone, Nezu blinking at the response. He had never heard the teen sound so…nonchalant. But as he heard that, the stoat made a small smile on his face.
'Strange, but it sounds like the teen is finally getting some confidence. Good.' Nezu thought as he put down a cigarette he was just about to light. "I see."Nezu chuckled as leaned back in his desk chair, "So, what did you think about the other locations I sent you?"
"They're uh…different. At least, a few of them." Izuku added as he opened the text while talking into the phone.
"I know." Nezu laughed, "So, when do you think you can go after those locations?"
Izuku stared at the previous text, only to feel something on his shoulders. Glancing to them, he saw tiny black veins appear and vibrate before vanishing back into his clothes. The sight made the teen smirk as he looked back at the phone, "I can start tomorrow. What's the plan?"
"I like the confidence. Very well, let me tell you what you'll be aiming for…"
The teen listened to the principal for a few seconds, nodding his head for a bit. The teen continued to smirk as he talked to the stoat, the vigilante walking across another street before reaching the sidewalk in front of his home. And as he got there, his conversation with the stoat began to come to an end as he said, "Got it. I'll start tomorrow."
"Thank you, young Midoriya." Nezu replied with a slight half-chuckle, "Is there anything else before I hang up?"
And as that question entered Izuku's brain, memories of the entire day swam through his head. He remembered helping Himiko meet the girls, his time with Eri, the encounter with Silver Sable and Rose…and then Bakugo.
Izuku opened his mouth at this…only to close it. He didn't know why, but at that moment, he felt off. Like his whole mind was off-kilter, shaking and tilting as he thought about that moment. That moment of…weakness. That is, till another thought went through his head.
' I'm strong. '
The teen smirked again as he said, "Nope. I'm good, Mister Nezu."
"Very well. Good night, young Midoriya."
With that, the phone call ended just as Izuku put the device away and walked up to his front door. Opening in a second later, the teen slowly made his way in. As he did this, he saw his mom sitting on the couch, talking to Himiko.
The two turned to see the teen, both blinking as they saw the big smile on his face. "Hey you two. How's it going?"
"Izuku!" Inko exclaimed as she got up and hugged the boy, Izuku hugging back.
"Hey mom. Sorry if I worried you."
"It's fine." Inko replied as she released the hug before looking him over, "Don't see any scratches on you. Did going out as Spider-Man go well tonight?"
"It went more than alright." Izuku chuckled before turning to Himiko, "How was your day?"
The girl responded with a fang-filled grin, "It was a lot of fun. Thanks for helping me meet them."
"No prob. And I'm glad you had a fun day." Izuku glanced back at his mother, "Say uh…you don't mind if I turn in for the night, do you?"
Inko raised a brow at this, "Have you finished your homework?"
"The next three weeks of work is done." Izuku instantly countered, the teen showing a huge smile at this. The sight made Inko almost backpedal, only to quickly nod back.
"Alright. Make sure to get plenty of rest."
"I will." Izuku spun around and grabbed his room's door handle, twisting it with a simple flick of the wrist.
"Izuku?"
The teen glanced back, "Yeah mom?"
"You doing okay?" his mom asked, only to see Izuku fully spin around and shine the biggest grin. It was so big that she could have swore the boy was someone completely different than her son. She couldn't remember seeing him look this happy. And yet, she knew it was him. Especially when he replied with three simple words.
"I feel great."
Chapter 65: The Costume, Part 2
WHAM! POW! BAM!
Those were the sounds of three thugs being sent flying over a pool table, a fourth soon following as they smacked the table with their back, billiard balls scattering at the impact. Webbing covered the fourth thug next, sticking him to the table while three more webs shot out, trapping the previous trio.
"You know, if you would just answer my question, this would go a lot easier for you guys." remarked a certain vigilante in a fully clad black suit, complete with two white eye lenses and a giant white spider on the chest. It was the one called Spider-Man, and behind him was already four other webbed up thugs as he continued to talk, "And then you could go back to having your drinks. I mean, I know this is a seedy looking pub, but-"
"Kill him!" yelled another thug, the teen turning to see three more charging at him. One was wielding a wooden chair, another a broken glass bottle while a third had big lobster claws for hands, an obvious mutant quirk. In quick succession, the lobster man struck first, thrusting a claw at the vigilante, who sidestepped the attack. Next was the chair-wielding villain, who swung the furniture straight at the teen's face, only for the vigilante to raise up a hand and catch it.
"Huh?" the thug yelped as he felt himself be suddenly stopped, only for a fist to slam into his face. "Augh!"
The thug went flying across the room, smashing into a small table just as the bottle wielding one tried to attack next. But as he thrust the sharp broken weapon at the vigilante, webbing covered his eyes, making him cry out before easily missing his attack. This was followed by Izuku reaching out his foot, tripping the thug into the floor before firing another glob of webbing, sticking the criminal to the floor.
"DIE!" the lobster man roared as he thrust his claws again, spider sense ringing as Izuku sidestepped before attacks. And as he dodged a third claw strike, Izuku rammed a fist into the thug's face, knocking him straight into another table.
"I'm not gonna get anything out of you guys, am I?" Izuku commented as he pointed his finger at the lobster man, webbing coming out next that instantly enveloped the thug.
"What are you guys doing?! Kill him!" screamed another thug, Izuku glancing up to see it was the bartender of the building, four more thugs now charging at the vigilante.
"Well, at least I can mark this location off the list." Izuku finished as he sprinted toward the four, firing off globs of webbing as he got up close. Webs smacked two of the four's eyes, making them cry out while Izuku's fist slammed into the third's gut, knocking him off his feet and into the fourth thug. This was followed by Izuku grabbing the webbed two by the top of their heads, chuckling to himself as he said, "I always wanted to try this."
And with that, he slammed both thug's heads into each other.
BAM!
"Ugh..." the two moaned out as Izuku let them go, both falling to the floor before webbing covered the rest of their bodies.
"And that's four more." Izuku muttered before looking back at the rest of the pub, now seeing only about five more thugs left. At least three of them were shivering in their boots while the rest were growling at the sight of the vigilante. The sight made Izuku tense up, tiny black veins now pulsing and vibrating all over his body as he took a fighting stance. "I'm not gonna ask again. Either tell me where Hammerhead is, or I'm gonna punch you."
"I accidentally knocked out the last guy, Mister Nezu." Izuku sighed as he sat on the edge of a nearby rooftop. Below him were a few police cars, their red and blue lights shining through the night as officers slowly went into the pub he had just fought in.
"I see." replied a certain stoat through the phone. "A shame, but this is the first location."
"I was gonna ask about that." Izuku responded as he shifted his arm to his side, the suit now responding by peeling away to show a notebook. 'That is so cool.' the teen thought as he took the notebook in hand, the suit instantly repairing itself as he flipped to a certain page. "You gave me this list, but told me last night to not go for multiple places every night. I still got plenty of energy, Mister Nezu. I could totally take out another location tonight."
"No, I want you to go slow."
"But why? Surely it would help our case if we knock out more of Kingpin's men...er, I mean, Hammerhead's guys."
"It would." Nezu replied while taking a deep breath, a long exhale following, signifying he was taking a smoke. "However, that would start a chain reaction in the criminal underworld that we don't want. Remember, we're trying to dismantle the Kingpin's operations. We can't just take all his men out in one go, as that will only make the Kingpin react by turtling himself."
"Turtling?"
"Yes. If we just go after Kingpin straight up and take a ton of his operations out, he will respond by destroying his other operations and getting rid of any evidence of his crimes. We want him to believe he can continue his crimes instead of hiding them."
Izuku blinked at that, the teen staring at the list of locations in his notebook. "And that's why you want me to find Hammerhead?"
"Indeed. Despite his ability to...evade most laws, there are certain facts known about the Kingpin in the Underground Hero circles. One is what his main lieutenants are, which includes Hammerhead, who is responsible for most of the minor rackets." the sound of sipping tea came next before Nezu continued, "Despite his...rough appearance, the man is well known for recruitment and helping minor criminals evade the police. And before you ask, nothing can truly pin him down, and when he is pinned, he always gets bailed out."
Those words made the vigilante pause, soon putting the notebook in his lap as he rubbed his chin before responding, "Is the Rose also one of the lieutenants?"
There was another pause. "He is."
"I see." Izuku muttered, "And to think, I thought he was a cool hero."
"Once again, I am sorry." Nezu replied, both now remembering their first conversation over the corrupt hero commission agent. It wasn't a pleasant one, as Nezu quickly found out that Izuku admired all heroes, a slightly worrying viewpoint, but one Nezu knew he could work with.
However, as the tone went down for a second, Izuku felt something. It was a like a small tingle over his body, the teen not noticing tiny black veins shift around his head. Another moment or two later, Izuku spoke up, "Well, if that's the case, I'll go ahead and go home for the night. I'll hit this restaurant in Hosu next. It should be an easy train ride over."
"Understood." Nezu added as he took another puff of smoke, "And remember young Midoriya, you don't have to do one every night. We're trying to slowly back the Kingpin in a corner."
"I know. Sorry if I sounded like I wanted to rush things."
"Not at all. Now, I must take my leave. Lots of paperwork to do today. Good day, young Midoriya."
"You too, Mister Nezu." Izuku replied as the call ended. He then closed the notebook before putting it to his side, the suit peeling away for a second before black veins covered the notebook, hiding it again. The sight made Izuku smirk. Despite having the suit for only a day now, he had to admit, he didn't know how he had lived without it.
It just felt...good.
And as he felt this, he smirked under the black mask as he said to himself, "Let's go on a patrol before we go home tonight. After all, a hero's job is never done."
The next day...
"Okay Izuku, it's a new day...er, afternoon. Time to knock a few heads and see if you can get some info." Izuku commented to himself as he laid down on the roof of a train headed for the Hosu district. As he did this, he put a hand to his side, his suit melting away to reveal a notebook. Taking it and opening the pages up, his eyes scanned the material inside. "Let's see here...according to Mister Nezu, this next location is called the Blood Rose Restaurant. According to the texts he gave me, the place is well known hangout of criminals."
Tapping the notebook close before putting it to his side, his suit taking the journal and absorbing it back, the teen staring down at the motion of the costume. "That is still so cool." he commented before glancing down at the white spider on the suit, "I still don't know what you are, but you are so cool. I look awesome." He flexed his hands a few times at this, staring at the fingers as he remarked, "Just wish mom liked ya. She was still...weirded out by you."
The memory of that moment soon flooded into his mind. Yesterday, before going out and investigating the seedy pub, Izuku had shown off his new suit to Inko and Himiko. Specifically, he showed them the act of putting it on, which involved the suit just sorta becoming this black blob that covered the teen instantly. And despite how cool he thought it was, the reactions were...mixed.
Earlier yesterday...
"See? Cool, isn't it?" Izuku asked as the black suit covered his body instantly, the black veins around it pulsing and shifting before showing a large white spider on his chest. The sight made Inko flinch while Himiko went wide-eyed. The reaction wasn't completely what Izuku wanted, but as the suit finished its transformation, he decided to speak up first. "So...what do you think?"
The two just blinked at him, but sharing a glance before looking back at the teen. Inko opened her mouth first, only for Himiko to blurt out, "Its looks awesome!"
Inko fully wide-eyed at this as she turned to stare at Himiko, Izuku chuckling at the reaction before glancing down at the suit, "I know, right? I wasn't sure about this much black on the costume, but I gotta say, it looks really good."
And as Izuku spun around, showing off the costume to Himiko, Inko just stared at her son. She watched as he seemed ecstatic over this...well, she wasn't sure what it was. All she knew is that he had come home really happy, only to then tell her that it was because of a new suit. A suit that seemed to be alive.
As such, she asked the one question she knew she had to ask, "Um, Izuku?" Both teens turned to her, seeing the giant frown on her face as she slowly pointed at her son, "Uh...well...where did that suit come from?"
"Oh. Well...I actually have no idea. All I know is that when I was coming home yesterday, I-" Izuku started to say, only to feel something in the back of his head. A frown began to appear on the teen's face, pain in his expression despite it being hidden by the suit's mask. Memories of that night instantly hit his mind, remembering the encounter with the explosive blonde, what he had said what he would do. That he promised to do...something. But as he thought about it, it was like the memory turned into...nothing. Black veins shifted around the back of the teen's head, making him flinch for a second before the painful expression disappeared. He was smiling again as he replied, "Well, I kinda just...had it. Not sure where it came from, but the suit was on me."
His mother's worried expression only deepened, "Izuku..."
And as he saw this, the mask on the suit began to peel away, the sight making the woman flinch for a second...only to see the smile on her boy's face. It was...happy. Really happy.
He then walked up and put his hand on her shoulder, the motion almost making her shudder. But as she felt this, she continued to stare at his face, now seeing the true happiness on his expression as he said, "Don't worry." He glanced down at the suit before doing a slight shrug, "I know I don't know much about it...but this thing is helping me be a better hero." He looked back up at her, "So don't worry. I'll be fine."
The Present...
Izuku sat down on the side of rooftop at this, still thinking about that moment as he stared down a building across the street. It was the restaurant he was looking for, which he found after webswinging a bit in Hosu. Now, he was staring at the place as those memories kept flowing in his head.
"Here's hoping mom comes around." Izuku whispered to himself before firing a webline across to the restaurant's roof. Standing up, he walked on the thin line, smiling under his mask. "So cool that I can do this too."
A few moments later, he reached the roof and turned invisible. He glanced down and saw that the suit had done the same, making him smile, 'Glad that works with you.' He then began to wallcrawl on all sides of the building, and as he did this, he found that he couldn't find any ducts or windows to sneak through without making some noise. Seeing this, he crawled back up to the roof while turning visible again.
"Guess I gotta do this the loud way." He sighed to himself before doing a few stretches. "Let's see..."
Walking over the webline again, he positioned himself across the street of the restaurant just as he saw two thugs enter the building. The sight made him do one last stretch before firing another webline, this one the vigilante soon twirled the end of it around on of his wrists. "Like a streak of light..." he muttered before leaping off the building, instantly pulling the webline. It quickly yanked him upward, allowing him to do a high swing right at the restaurant's front doors.
SMASH!
"Surprise!" Izuku exclaimed as his feet slammed the doors off their hinges. The vigilante landed in a dramatic pose next, the teen glancing around to see what kind of place the restaurant. It was made to look like a cross between a chinese buffet and seedy pub, its colors bland and drab, but plenty of tables and chairs that a whole crowd of thugs were all situated at. That is, till the noise made all the individuals inside turn to glare at the teen. The sight made Izuku let out a small chuckle and wave before saying, "Hey fellas. I was in the neighborhood, and I-"
"Get him!" one of them yelled, the rest getting up from their seats and all charging at once. The attack looked like it was something the whole building had practiced as they all rushed the vigilante.
"Uh-oh." Izuku commented before pointing his hands at the incoming crowd, ten globs of webbing coming out of each finger a second later. The webbing struck the thugs' feet, making most trip and fall, their faces smacking the floor as other ran right over the fallen thugs. And as this happened, the first thug reached the teen and grabbed a nearby chair.
"Die!" the thug roared as they swung the chair down on the teen, Izuku sidestepping the blow before countering with a punch. The man went flying into a nearby empty table, smacking and tumbling it over.
"Oops." Izuku grimaced just as his spider sense went off, causing him to turn and duck under a punch from another thug. He then dodged a second blow before glancing back at the first thug and yelled, "Sorry about that! I didn't mean to hit you that hard." Izuku turned back to the second thug at this, his spider sense warning him of another punch. Sidestepping again, the teen soon found two more thugs trying to hit him, causing him to backpedal and dodge both blows. 'Spider sense, do your thing.' he thought as he began to dance around the attacks, the thugs yelling that they couldn't hit the teen a few seconds later. And as this happened, Izuku just shifted around each before starting to counterattack.
It began with a light punch to one of the thugs' faces, knocking him over before the teen ducked under another punch and did a sweeping kick, knocking a thug off his feet. Webbing covered both downed thugs next, only for another to grab a chair and swing it at the vigilante. As this happened, Izuku sidestepped the attack before speaking up, "Okay fellas, you're not hitting me, and I'm not exactly here for a fight."
Danger!
The thug threw the chair next, Izuku ducking under the flying object before firing a glob of webbing at the thug, smacking him in the face. He let out a cry at this, only for Izuku to uppercut the thug, knocking him out instantly. "But you're not making this easy on me." Izuku commented as two more thugs charged at him, both leaping to tackle the teen. But as they did this, Izuku's spider sense rang out, causing him to do a flip, the teen soon sticking to the ceiling as the men's attack missed.
Thwip! Thwip!
Webbing covered both thugs, sticking them to the floor as Izuku let go of the ceiling a moment later, only to sidestep another punch. "Listen, if we could just talk-"
"Kill him!" yelled the voice from before, Izuku turning to see three more thugs charging at him yet again. The sight made the teen sigh and shake his head.
"Nevermind." Izuku commented as he ducked under another attack, his spider sense ringing out as he quickly sidestepped two more blows before punching one of the thugs. The man went flying into a chair, knocking it over before webbing covered the thug. This was followed by the two other thugs flying over the webbed up thug, both crashing into a table before webbing covered them as well.
"Guess I'll have to do what I did yesterday." Izuku added as he pointed his fingers at the last few thugs in the restaurant, webbing soon covering and splatting them to the walls and floor. And as he webbed the last one up, he walked up to the bar, where he found one thug cowering in the corner.
Izuku shined a small smile, forgetting it couldn't be seen thanks to the mask. "Hey there. Sorry about your pals, but-"
"Go away man! I ain't telling you nothing!" the thug yelped as he tried to scoot up more into the corner of the room. The sight made Izuku blink as he watched a grown man cower before him.
The teen raised up his hands and showed the thug his palms, "Listen, I'm not here to interrogate you or anything. I just need some info."
"I ain't telling you nothing!" the thug repeated.
"Just-"
"Go away! I ain't telling you nothing!"
Five minutes later...
"Yeah, I still got nothing, Mister Nezu." Izuku remarked as he stared down at the restaurant as a series of police cars drove up to the building.
"That's fine, young Midoriya." Nezu replied over the phone. "I suspected as much that this would happen."
"Really? But what about-"
"Don't worry about it. Remember, we're not in a rush." Nezu interrupted, the sound of the stoat taking a smoke coming out a second later. Izuku bit his lip at the response, wanting to say he should be doing more. But as he opened his mouth, Nezu continued, "Just keep doing what you're doing, young Midoriya. After all, if we can't find Hammerhead, we'll squeeze his operations instead."
"Squeeze his operations?"
"Indeed. After all, if the man suddenly can't recruit anybody, do you know what he'll do?"
Izuku put a hand to his chin at this, only to let out a small hum, "You think he'll try to come after me?"
"Perhaps. Either way, we're doing a service here. If there are less hoods for the Kingpin to use, it'll soon start messing with the bigger operations. Until then, we keep squeezing."
"Keep squeezing..." Izuku repeated, his mind going over the past two fights with Hammerhead's gang. The teen had to admit, it did feel like he was eliminating some crime. As such, he shined a small smile as he replied, "Sounds good to me."
The next morning...
Ochako Uraraka slumped down in her seat, letting out a heaving sigh. The past few days of class had been...a lot to say the least. Their homeroom teacher, Aizawa, had seemingly got back control of the class and had really been pushing them. Granted, it wasn't as bad as before, but he still tried to push it compared to normal.
Now, the day had just started, Ochako slumping over as she stared down at her hands. After having figured out her second quirk a few days ago, she had told All Might she would keep it hidden for now and slowly figure it out. This was mainly due to her showing him she had realized why the quirk wasn't working for her the day after her trip to the mall...only to hurt herself and be taken to Recovery Girl. Thankfully, it wasn't anything major, but she found that her body just wasn't ready for a massive eight generation stockpile of power. Granted, when she really thought about it, she reasoned she should have saw that coming. On the other hand, it was a new quirk, and her brain instantly went to the conclusion of testing it out.
As such, she was now hesitating with her new quirk, promising Recovery Girl she would be extra slow in figuring out this new power. In other words, she needed a distraction, and being among the first to get to class, she didn't have one. Even her best friend Tsuyu Asui wasn't there yet. Her head turned to see who was there, which was Shoto Todoroki and Momo Yaoyorozu.
That is, till about seven classmates all entered at once. The first was Kaminari Denki, who was yelling at the others, "I'm serious! Look at the footage!" The electric boy then flashed his phone at the group, which was showing images of a black figure swinging through the city, "Isn't that awesome?"
"Yeah, yeah...we heard you the first time." Jirou commented next as she entered in beside him, "We get it already."
"Oh, don't be such a downer." Mina added as she patted Jirou's side, the punk girl glaring back at her.
"I honestly don't think it's that big of news, kero." Tsuyu chimed in as she walked just a foot or two behind the three.
"Same." Kirishima finished as he walked away from the group and into his seat.
This was followed by Hagakure and Tokoyami, only for the rest of the class to come in a minute later. And as this happened, the once quiet classroom began to get loud, the noise level rising as Ochako looked at the clock and saw that there was still a few minutes before class. As such, Ochako turned to Tsuyu and whispered, "What's going on?"
The frog girl just gave her a blank expression as she replied, "Kaminari was showing off some new footage of Spider-Man. Apparently Spider-Man got a new suit and Kaminari thinks it's 'too awesome' or something."
Ochako blinked at this before taking out her own phone. She had to admit, she was an admirer of the vigilante. After all, she had seen him in person, doing heroic deeds, even if she didn't agree with the whole 'being a vigilante' part. As such, she tapped her phone a few times before seeing a news report, this one showing the vigilante in a black suit with a big white spider on the chest. She watched him catch a runaway car filled with villains, which he easily webbed up and knocked out the thugs for the police.
"Huh." Ochako commented as the footage began to be played on repeat.
"I know, kero." Tsuyu added as she studied Ochako's expressions, "Can't wait to get out and do that yourself?"
The gravity girl shrugged at this, only to hear another student exclaim, "I'm tell you man, I can't wait!" Both girls turned to see it was Kaminari, who was watching the video of Spider-Man again. "Man, if only I could do something cool like that with my quirk."
"Instead, you fry your brains out." Jirou instantly chimed in, making Kaminari bark back at her. The punk girl stuck her tongue out at this, the electric teen grumbling next as he glanced away. As this happened, Uraraka's eyes turned to the front of the classroom, only to go wide-eyed.
Behind the podium was Aizawa, the shaggy man showing a large frown as he squinted his eyes at the class. The gravity girl soon noticed that others were just now acknowledging that their homeroom teacher was here, and she knew what that meant. A second later, he spoke up with a loud "AHEM!", making everyone turn to the teacher. A low, gravely voice rang out as he spoke up, "So...fifteen seconds before a few you started noticing me." Most of the class flinched at this, the group now seeing the man's expression darken, "You know...I thought that some of you would have learned by now about what I think about wasting time."
The class all just stared back, most showing frowns of fear while others were trying to look as serious or blank as possible. But as this happened, the teacher just grabbed his scarf and flicked it, the capture weapon suddenly striking Denki's desk. "Whoa!" the electric teen gasped, only to see his phone had just been stolen by the scarf, "Hey! That's my-"
Aizawa glared at the boy, making Denki instantly shut up before looking down at the phone. It was playing a video of Spider-Man in a new black suit, stopping some car thieves. The sight made Aizawa's face scrunch up, the sight made most of the class grimace as they saw his anger grow even more. And as the video ended, the teacher silently hissed, "Spider-Man..."
His eyes glanced back up at the class a moment later, the sight making a few gulp as he growled, "It seems we need to have another lecture on vigilantes." Aizawa's vision narrowed to Kaminari at this, "And before you ask, you'll be getting this phone back at the end of the day."
Denki loudly gulped at this, Uraraka seeing this and grimacing as she pulled out a notebook. 'Looks like another day of lectures. Why is Aizawa-sensei pushing us so hard lately?' Her eyes glanced down at the book as she opened to a blank page, 'If only someone else could help us.'
And as if her thoughts were made real, a new voice suddenly spoke up, "Now Aizawa-sensei, didn't you ask me to come help morning training today?" Everyone turned to the class's front door at this, only for the frowns on most of class's faces to vanish.
"HARRY!" they all cheered, the older teen shining a big grin at this as Aizawa glared at the Top Four member.
Harry Osborn crossed his arms as his grin grew, "Who's ready to train?"
Later that day...
The sound of feet hitting the side of a stone roof barely run out as the vigilante known as Spider-Man landed on a rooftop, his feet almost touching as he put himself in a slight squatting pose. Putting a hand to his side next, his phone came out of his costume before he lifted the device up to his face and tapped it a few times. "Okay...Mister Nezu gave me several Esuha City locations, which thankfully the trains didn't take too long to get here. Looks like this Hammerhead guy, or at least his buddies, like to hang out here." He glanced above his phone, his eyes now staring at what looked like a big old mound of dirt littered with construction equipment.
Looking back at his phone, he tapped it again before putting in the address he was at. 'Hmm...I don't see anything on this building on the net.' He took another glance, now seeing a few movable trailers along with several thugs outside, all talking to each other or taking smokes. 'Is this place some sort of cover for an operation?'
Tapping his phone a few more times, the teen then shrugged and put the phone away. "Welp, let's see if this one works out." Taking a quick stretch, Izuku leapt off the roof, firing a webline as he cut into a half-swing. The teen adjusted his trajectory at this, soon landing on a small trailer in the middle of the site. A loud clang rang out at this, as the building was made of nothing but cheap metal. Hearing this, about ten thugs all turned to the noise, only to see the vigilante.
"Evening fellas! You wouldn't mind answering a few questions, would ya?"
"It's Spider-Man!" One of them yelled.
"That's me. Now-"
"Get him!" they all roared, a few taking out guns and aiming them at the teen.
"Nevermind." Izuku sighed as he leapt off the trailer while pointing his fingers at the crowd, weblines soon firing out just as they thugs were about to pull the trigger. But as they did this, every strand of webbing smacked the guns before being yanked out of their hands, the teen quickly whipping the weapons into the trailer he had just landed on. Letting his spider sense take over, he pointed one finger behind himself, firing a glob of webbing that instantly covered all the guns, sticking them to the trailer's outer wall.
"Kill him!" another thug yelled as three charged at the vigilante.
"You know, this isn't going to work out for you guys." Izuku commented as he ducked under a punch, "You see, this new suit of mine is a little too much for guys like you." He then sidestepped another blow before replying with a punch, knocking out one of the thugs instantly. "Seriously, all I need is-" The teen crouched under two more punches before doing a spinning leg sweep, knocking both to the ground before webbing covered the thugs. "Is some answers, and-"
"Get him!" a third thug screamed as two more thugs tried to hit the vigilante, only for both to be knocked off their feet.
Thwip! Thwip!
"That's not helping." Izuku commented as he webbed up the two thugs, only to turn to the other five thugs as they all just glared at the vigilante. The sight made Izuku blink, not used to not just having the thugs recklessly charge at him. "Uh...you all okay?" The thugs all started to grin at this, making Izuku raise an eyebrow under his mask, "What? What is it?"
"They're smiling at me." replied a loud, gruff voice behind the teen. Izuku spun around at this, only to go slightly wide-eyed. Coming out of the trailer he had just hopped off of, was a large seven-foot man of pure muscle, complete with a mess of brown hair, and wearing a stretching at the seams black leather jacket and blue jeans. His face looked like the most generic thuggish face you could imagine, complete with a squeezed in nose and pointed eyebrows. "Hello bug." the man said in the same gruff tone, the man then cricking his neck before cracking his knuckles.
"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered, his feet almost shifting into a backpedal motion before he spoke up, "Who are you?"
"They call me, Man Mountain Marko." the villain responded, only for Izuku to now see muscles barely contained in the man's leather jacket now pulse and start to grow. "And you...are about to find out why."
"You said it Marko!" one of the other thugs roared.
"Yeah! Kill that bug!" another yelled.
'That's not good.' the teen thought as he started to take a fighting stance. 'Not sure if the extra strength from the suit will be enough. Time for a Venom Punch.' He then flexed his fingers, constricting them into a fist as the teen winded back. 'Here we go...'
KR-ZAP!
"AAAAAAAUGH!" Izuku suddenly screamed, the group staring at him now flinching at the yell. As for the teen himself, it was like a small bomb had gone off in his hand he was about to use for the punch. Nerves flared as pain struck him, making him grab his hand a second later, his eyes instantly going down to what was supposed to be the winning fist. It was there that he saw it.
The bio-electricity, something he had used over and over again...was reacting to the black suit. Veins from the costume were flailing and flopping around as electricity tried to form around his hand. "What the-" The teen tried to mutter out as he felt more pain hit his nervous system. He clenched his teeth next, almost biting his lip as he felt the pain spiral around where it had tried to form the electric punch.
"What just-"
DANGER!
POW!
"Blaugh!" Izuku yelped as a giant fist smacked his face, sending him off his feet and into a pile of bricks. Pain instantly hit the teen's back, causing him to cry out again. "Urgh!" He grunted, his eyes now losing focus as the black veins of his suit covered his hand again as the electricity stopped flowing. And as that pain from the hand began to slow down, his spider sense rang out again.
Danger!
BAM!
A giant fist slammed into Izuku's face, smacking his head into the bricks behind him.
WHAM!
Another punch hit the teen's face, this time making the vigilante let out a whimper of pain.
POW! BAM! WHAM!
Three more punches collided into Izuku, the teen's eyes now fully swirling as he saw another punch smack him in the face. 'Can't...got to...' he tried to think, only for another fist to slam into his face. 'Got to...'
"Get him Marko!"
"Tear him apart!"
"Yeah! Show him who's boss!"
The thugs around the scene continued to cheer as the massive villain punched again and again. And as Marko did this, he pulled back one last punch, gripping his knuckles as a big grin just now appeared on his face. "Time to die, bug."
But that moment of hesitation was enough. For in that few seconds of the beatings stopping, Izuku felt something. Veins in the suit constricted in the back of his body, kneading and shifting around the back of his head. They then swirled around his arms, the teen's eyes swirling stopping in that instant.
And as that punch came down, Izuku thrust a palm upward.
SMACK!
"Huh?" Marko let out as he felt it. It felt like his fist had just hit a wall, only when he tried to pull back...the wall was now sticky. He couldn't move his fist.
"Gotcha." Izuku muttered out, only for Marko to thrust his other hand at the vigilante. But as this happened, Izuku quickly flicked his other palm, catching the second punch. And as he caught it, Izuku activated his spider ability to stick to anything, including the two fists that were now stuck to his palms.
"What the-let go!" Marko yelped as he tried to pull back, only to feel Izuku pull back on him. And the vigilante's pull was stronger.
Feeling this, Izuku smiled under the mask before narrowing his eyes at the massive, towering man now struggling to escape the teen's grasp. 'Guess I don't need a Venom Punch for this.' He then flexed one of his legs, quickly pulling it back despite it being covered in bricks, only to thrust it upward.
THWACK!
The foot slammed into Marko's face, Izuku letting go at the same time as the thug was sent off his feet, his back hitting the dirt a second later. The sight made all the other thugs gasp, Izuku almost chuckling at the sight. And as the teen began to recover, he felt the suit began to tingle all over his body. Veins shifted and pulsed around him, the teen feeling it heal him despite not being able to see his own wounds at the moment.
"Urrgh..." Marko moaned out next, making Izuku glance down at the thug as he began to try and get up.
"Oh no, you don't." Izuku commented as pointed both hands at the thug, webbing soon covering the villain neck to toe. And as this happened, Izuku began to stand up himself, his feet slightly wobbly as the suit continued to pulse and shift around him. "Urgh...that was...rough."
But as he stood up, the thugs that had been watching the sight had just stood there. They hadn't reacted or even moved, just stood in shock as their fellow thug had been beaten. That is, till one of them yelled, "RUN!"
And as if they were all suddenly shocked out of a stupor, the crowd of thugs all cut into a sprint. The sight made Izuku blink before sighing, "Aw, come on. Don't-" he tried to say, only for the thugs to let out another sound.
"Ugh!" "Oof!" "Augh!"
Izuku blinked at this, his eyes still trying to full gain their focus back. The swirling was still slightly there, but he had begun to fully get back his balance. And as this happened, the teen began to rapidly blink before going wide-eyed as he stared at one of the exits of the construction site. For it was there that he saw exactly why the thugs were no longer running away.
"Looks like someone was having fun tonight." commented a certain large yellow-jacketed hero. It was Fat Gum, who currently had three pairs of legs dangling on his body while he then knocked out two more thugs with a couple of quick punches. He glanced up next at this, now seeing the vigilante as he continued to regain his balance from the previous beating. "Well well...if it isn't Spider-Man. Good to see you again."
Izuku continued to blink at this, his eyes now finally focusing. He shook his head next, only to feel something else. His body was now shaking, specifically where his phone is. Glancing down at that for a second, seeing the suit slightly flinch at the phone's vibration, he looked back up at Fat Gum as the hero released the three thugs from his body.
"Um...will you be okay with cleaning up these thugs, Mister Fat Gum?" Izuku asked before even realizing what he was saying. As he asked this, veins appeared behind the teen's head, shifting and pulsing for a second before settling back down into the suit.
While this happened, Fat Gum's eyes darted around for a second, only to shrug, "Sure, I don't mind. But first, why don't you-"
"Okay, thanks." Izuku instantly replied before firing a webline, yanking it and quickly swinging away. The sight made the hero stare up at the night sky, blinking at the leaving vigilante.
"Now that was odd."
And as Izuku began to webswing away, he stared down at his hand, flexing the fingers for a few seconds. The suit reacted as black veins pulsed and shifted around his hand, the sight making the teen blink before continuing his swing. He pulled out his phone at this, ready to read any text or missed call, only to glance down at his hand again, biting his lip as he whispered, "What was that? Why didn't my Venom Punch work?"