Summer came and went in a flash. Hagakure wasn't the only person I ended up training with by the time August rolled around. Asui and I reserved Training Ground Omega together. Since we moved similarly with our Quirks, it was nice to exchange pointers on how to move more efficiently in a simulated city environment. We still had about ten minutes left at the TGO when we called it quits; running around for two hours under the beaming, summer sun was pretty exhausting. Instead, she and I just sat and talked atop one of the buildings.
"Morales..." Tsu mumbled. She wasn't looking at me, just at the ground dozens of storeys beneath us. "I want to apologize to everyone, but since we're here, I might as well apologize to you now."
"Apologize for what?"
"When you guys said that you were going to go against the rules, I said you guys were acting like villains. I didn't mean it... I'm sorry."
I chuckled quietly. "Tsu, you don't need to apologize for that. To be honest, you were partially right. I wouldn't say we were acting like villains, but we weren't acting like heroes at all. Heroes follow the rules. It's why we have hero licenses and stuff, right?"
Tsu nodded along; finally, she looked up into my eyes as I continued.
"But I think a real hero knows when to break the rules. I haven't really told anyone this, but I gave up on being a hero up until right before UA's applications closed. I wanted to be a Quirk Specialist." I laughed a little, but my smile faded almost as quickly as it'd appeared.
"What changed?" she asked.
"A villain killed my dad," I told her. Her eyelids turned melancholy, and her shoulders lowered. She didn't say anything, but I could see in her eyes that she felt for me.
"I didn't know he'd run into my dad, but still, I could've stopped him. But instead, I followed the rules and let the villain go. I thought it wasn't my problem. It wasn't worth the risk. If I'd stopped that monster, my dad would still be alive right now. According to the rules, I was supposed to let that happen. According to the rules, my dad dies no matter what. But if I could go back, I'd save him. If I could go back and save Bakugo again, I would. I don't care about some arbitrary rules if it means saving a life. So, according to the government, we did act like villains; but according to what it really means to be a hero, we were real heroes that night. I don't regret it one bit, even if there were repercussions."
"I think you're right," she told me. "I understand why these rules are in place. Things would be bad if people were allowed to use their Quirks to fight people all the time. And vigilantes might hurt themselves or get in the way of the heroes. But at the same time, it's even worse to stand and watch if bad things happen..."
"Yeah... I wish there were an easy workaround, but there isn't. I don't expect other people to put themselves in harm's way just because they have a Quirk. Who knows, if I had fought that villain who killed my dad, I might've lost. But now, I know I can fight. And if fighting can save just one life, I'll do it. Fuck what the rules say."
"Well, some of the rules..." she added.
"Of course, of course!" I laughed, checking the time on my phone. It was about time for us to leave. Thankfully, it seemed like I made it through a one-on-one interaction with a female classmate without a confession or being called a 'sweet treat'.
Tsu and I headed out, only stopping once we reached UA's front gate.
"See you when we move into the dorms," I said to Tsu.
"See you," she said. She started to walk away, but then she stopped. "Hey, Morales?" she said.
"What's up?"
"If I see something happen in front of me or if I know a person needs my help, I'll do something next time," she proclaimed. I couldn't help but smile; that's all I ever wanted to hear from my peers. Being seen as the number one student is cool and all, but being told that a person changed because of my actions is one thousand times better.
"That's great to hear. Just be careful, alright?"
"I will. I'm a lot stronger than I look. Bye, Morales."
As she walked away, I had one more thing that I wanted to add.
"Hey, Tsu," I said. She stopped in her tracks, but didn't say anything. "You want everyone to call you by your first name, right? It's a bit weird if it only goes one way, so call me Miles. I honestly prefer first names."
Tsu smiled gently. "See you after that break, Miles."
After we parted ways, I stopped by a convenience store to do some back-to-school shopping, since I was already in the area. I got some pencils, a couple of notebooks, and a few snacks for the road. After that, I started walking home.
Midoriya was texting me, asking if I wanted to do some lifting with him and Kirishima in the morning. It sounded like a good time — not. Still, I agreed to it. As my finger tapped send, a gentle buzz rattled my skull.
My Spider Sense...
I noticed an all black SUV cutting through traffic; not too fast to garner any real attention, but fast enough to notice if you were looking for it.
Before I knew it, I was tailing them across rooftops until they arrived at what looked like an old car service station. They pulled into the garage, shutting the door behind them. Had it not been for my head still buzzing, I might have looked the other way; unfortunately for them, I wasn't letting this go.
While invisible, I knocked on the front door.
No response.
I walked around back until I found a vent that was just the right size for a fifteen-year-old to squeeze through. I yanked it off with ease and climbed inside. I expected that it would have led into the building itself, but it just kept going downward. I descended into hell, deeper into the unknown, until I reached the basement.
Bingo...
You'd imagine that the basement of a seemingly abandoned car shop would be some empty, old box; instead, I found a wilderness of technology hidden beneath the city. At first, I was impressed — granted, it was all stolen tech, but I was still impressed regardless. That is, until I saw the same guys from the SUV walk in with their latest plunder.
A man with a scorpion's tail carried an unconscious man over his shoulder. I couldn't hear the words being said, but one of the scientists motioned the scorpion tail toward a table. The unconscious man was unwittingly strapped to a table while one of the scientists opened up a metallic box. His back was toward me, so I couldn't see what was inside until he twirled around — my stomach immediately churned.
Nuform!?
I could recognize that glowing blue substance, which coursed through my veins, from anywhere. I didn't even think about calling for help; there wasn't any time for that. At the same time, I couldn't just jump in and start punching, especially with Mr. Scorpion's Tail walking around.
Quietly, I bent the metal of the vent cover, giving myself just enough space to squeeze through. While invisible, I climbed onto the ceiling, finding two guards chatting on the catwalk beneath me.
"I bet you a thousand yen this guy's gonna kick the bucket too."
"No way. I ain't seen a single one of 'em make it since the sand dude escaped."
So they're keeping people here somewhere. And by sand dude, do they mean that guy from camp?
As much as I'd love to listen to them chat, there wasn't time. Hanging from my feet, I webbed the two of them and yanked them toward me. Before they could scream, I bashed their skulls together, knocking them unconscious.
Meanwhile, the guy with the tail started to leave. One less problem to worry about; yet one of my problems was growing bigger by the second. The scientist transferred some of the Nuform into a syringe and started pulling on the guy's sleeve.
Panicking was off the table; instead, I balled a fist and pointed at the fuze box in the corner of the room.
You got this, Miles. Just like when you saved Elecplant...
I pictured the energy flowing from my heart to my fist in one motion. A concentrated bolt of electricity perfectly sniped the fuze box, and the room went dark. While they were distracted, I covered the scientist's face with webs, silencing him, before I pulled him into the darkness with me, hanging him from the ceiling with my webs.
"Hang out up here for a bit," I whispered as I scanned the room. There were four other scientists and three armed guards. Now that the civilian was safe, I needed to take out the armed guards first.
Two of them stood by the entrance of the lab, one on each side of the door. Slowly, I lowered myself over them using my webs until they were within arm's reach. I grabbed them both by their throats and shocked them until they were unconscious. Still holding onto their necks, I walked backward, up the wall, before webbing them to it.
"One more guard."
The last guard was patrolling with his flashlight-mounted rifle. He happened to notice the two men hanging above the entrance.
"What the..." he muttered, reaching for his radio. Unbeknownst to him, he and I were looking right at each other. I lunged at him, fist reeled back before my knuckled collided with his jaw, knocking him clean out.
The four scientists were easy; all I had to do was fox step around while invisible, thank you Hagakure, and hit them with my taser move to the neck.
I hadn't noticed it before, but there was another door in the back. Behind it, I could hear faint moaning and screams. I swiped the key card that I had snagged off one of the scientists and crept into the room. It was pitch black, but I couldn't make out any movement.
I charged my fist with electricity, using my Quirk as a lantern. That's when I noticed that the room was lined with glass, like some sort of aquarium. I approached one of the tanks and peered inside, seeing nothing.
But when I leaned in closer, I was thrown backward from the shock of seeing a man burst into flame. He was in agony, writhing and yelling until the flames around his body calmed. A couple of seconds passed before his body lit up again, and his agonizing yells continued.
Within these moments of flame light, I could make out what was inside the other tanks. Grotesque, deformed human beings with extra limbs weren't even the worst of it. Some had been transformed into faceless husks of meat, breathing but not making a sound. Others had become slime-like, crying as they tried putting themselves back together.
I even saw a child.
He looked right at me; it would've been hard for him not to. His body was perfectly fine, but his face was filled with a hive of eyeballs, some bleeding, some misshapen, but all of them wept. When I approached the glass, I fell to my knees.
"You're not one of them, are you?" I heard a voice say. I turned to see a man who'd looked as though his skin was ripped from his body. "You're not... Are you a hero? No, you're just a kid."
"What did they do?" I asked him.
"They wanted to make Quirks in those who are Quirkless. Some of us came with our own free will, while others were forced. I was one of the first. I willingly came down here, thinking I could become a hero if I got a Quirk. Instead, I became this. It hurts still, but I've gone numb to the pain."
"I'm so sorry..." I told him. What else could I say? If I wanted to say that I'd save them, but it was too late for that. I could free them all, but they were too late to be saved.
Regardless, I called the police, and they arrived with a bunch of heroes and paramedics. After the detectives interviewed me, Aizawa showed up. I figured someone from UA would have since I'd just used my Quirk to cause harm to others.
Aizawa didn't say anything; he just motioned for me to get into his car. All Might was the one driving. He didn't say anything to me, but he did look at me using the rearview mirror. As we started driving off, Aizawa let me have it.
"Morales, how many times do I have to tell you that you can't just use your Quirk like that without permission!"
"I know. I'm sorry. But I couldn't just stand by without doing anything. Are you telling me that when you were my age, you wouldn't have done what I just did?"
"No, I would have called for help. I'd let the pros handle it," he said.
Ignored him and looked at All Might through the rearview. "What about you, Symbol of Peace. Would you have just let a man die in front of you, or would you have helped?"
All Might gritted his teeth and sighed. He didn't say it with words, but that was a definite yes.
"I don't know why you're a hero, Aizawa. You seem to hate everyone around you. You hate your students. You hate your peers. You hate the media. Why the hell are you even a hero in the first place?"
"Morales!?" All Might shouted. "Apologize to Aizawa, right now!"
"It's fine, All Might," Aizawa said; oddly, his voice was calm, and for the first time, I could make out a small grin on his face. It was a toothless smile, and oh so tiny, but I could see it. "Morales, you remind me of someone, you know that? But you're wrong. I don't hate my students. I care for all of you as if you were my own children."
I was shocked to hear the man even admit to having feelings. He was so closed off, I'd always thought that there was a chance that he was just a cyborg or something.
"You aren't the first to say that I don't seem like the hero type. To be fair, I didn't even want to be a hero. I just wanted to run an agency with my best friend. He's the one that you remind me so much of."
"Have I heard of him?" I asked.
"You haven't because he never got to be a pro. His name is Oboro Shirakumo, and he died during a work study when we were just seventeen."
When he said that, I couldn't help but imagine what I would have done if things had gone wrong like that for Class 1-A. What if that was Momo? Or Midoriya? For the first time, reality set in. At any moment, any one of us could be snuffed out and remain nothing more than a memory. It wasn't necessarily our strength that got us this far; there was a bit of luck, too.
"After he died, I decided to carry on his mission and become a hero. I wanted to live his dream for him."
"And because you see so much of me in him, you don't want me to share the same fate?" I asked.
Aizawa nodded. "You guys have gotten lucky with all of the recent villain attacks, but that luck could run out at any moment. I'm just worried about you, Morales. That's why it pains me to have to say this, but UA's higher-ups have all agreed that this is the best decision. You're on your final strike. If you're caught acting without permission one more time, you will be expelled immediately."
I turned to him, ready to argue, but I couldn't. He wore this horribly saddened expression. It wasn't his choice; he was just the messenger.
"Alright. It won't happen again," I told him.
Because next time, I won't get caught.
I didn't care if saving a life again meant that I'd be expelled. After my display at the Sports Festival, I'm sure another school would be willing to pick me up due to my potential. Still, I'd rather stay at UA than anything else.
They ended up driving me home. I found my fuming mother waiting for me. After her malicious verbal assault in Spanish, she hugged me, thankful that I was safe.
That night, when I closed my eyes, all I could think about was that kid.
The Scorpion was still out there, which meant this operation would continue until he was behind bars. And until I knew he was off the streets, I wouldn't rest.
Rather than sleep, I started designing a new costume — a new persona.
For the next week, I gathered the materials needed to make my new suit. When it was done, I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling pretty proud of what I'd made.
To conceal my identity, I wore a ninja mask and a hooded cloak, which came from an old Halloween costume of mine. I retrofitted them with some electricity-proof material so they wouldn't explode once I used my electricity. My chest was protected with a padded, double-V shape outlined in red. Of course, my all-black long-sleeved shirt and pants were made using electricity-resistant material as well. I wore metal gauntlets over both arms, allowing me to pack more of a punch while keeping my fingerprints concealed. Beneath knee pads, my pants were tucked into a pair of light, stealth boots, allowing me to have quieter steps.
From then on, I had two identities: Spider-Man, the hero from UA, and the Shadow Spider, the vigilante of Musutafu.