Chapter 3: Beneath The Mask, Part 2
*Mentions of sexual assault
"Boss, tell me again why you are walking around in ripped clothes?"
"I'm trying to play up the fact that I'm a poor, poor, quirkless teenager in need of help. C'mon, F.R.I.D.A.Y., have you never seen any movies that revolve around espionage? You gotta really dive into the role!"
"If you say so…"
"I know you're worried, but don't sweat it. If things go bad, I can always escape with the armor, but I need to find out where he's keeping his prisoners. This may be the best chance I have to get in without alerting anyone," Tony reasoned.
"Plus, I'm American so I'd look especially interesting to kidnap!"
Hearing silence from his A.I., Tony knew she thought it wasn't that bad of reasoning. A quirkless foreigner would be more likely to be kidnapped than someone who's actually from Japan. It had been four hours since he started his "mission" and he hadn't run into a single pro hero while walking around the area. He considered causing some ruckus with his armor, but he decided to play the long game with this one. He even made sure to not comb his hair and a Stark never did that unless it's a matter of life and death!
Walking around for another thirty minutes or so, Tony gauged that things would continue to move at a snail's pace if he didn't cause some ruckus and attract a hero. His armor was off limits as he had to feign the quirkless and powerless act, but…he didn't say anything about bringing the hero to him.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., I want you to form my nanites into a wristwatch and set it to record. I plan on getting everything on camera in case the hero I run into is the scumbag who's doing all this."
"Right away, boss."
Tony headed into a convenience store and went straight to the chip aisle where he saw the clerk begin to watch him like a hawk. A kid comes in with clothes ripped like his were only meant he didn't have any money to begin with. This was gonna be fun.
He snatched a couple bags off the rack before taking off out of the store. He could still hear the clerk yell at him as Tony had the biggest grin on his face. The man started yelling obscenities as Tony grew farther and farther away from the store.
"Aw, cmon! There's no reason to blow your lid buddy! You've still got plenty of other chips in the store-oof!" Tony was knocked off balance as a rather large man stood before him. Rubbing his head, he noticed how well built he was as well. And he was decked out in a costume.
"Jackpot!" Tony thought before the man grabbed hold of him.
"I take it you're the boy that has been stealing from these stores over the past week," The man asked him with a friendly expression.
"What's it to you? A guy just needed some food," Tony shot back.
"I understand if you're scared, but please, I only wish to know if you are homeless. This area has a terrible poverty problem and I've seen far too many children end up in your situation."
"Well…yeah actually. I just wanted some food and seeing as that convenience store was loaded, I grabbed a few and left. And before you start, I'm not giving it back."
The man chuckled before replying, You don't have to give it back. Allow me to take care of it."
The hero flew over to the man and handed him some money before flying back over to Tony with a small drink now in hand, "Here, you looked like you could use something to wash those chips back with."
Tony took it without so much as looking at him, Thanks. I mean I could've handled it on my own…but you certainly know how to soothe a mob."
"So I've been told. Do you have a name, young man? You do not look like you are from around here and your features are very unusual considering we are in Japan."
"My name…" He racked his brain trying to come up with a false name in case they try and put a name to his face down the line, "Uh…my name is…Peter Parker?" The way he answered got a strange look on the man's face, but he figured not to push it.
"I owe ya one, kid," Tony knew Peter would definitely give him shit for using his government name even if it was another world entirely different from their own.
"Peter Parker? That's a very strange name for a boy staying in Japan. I would ask about your parents, but it's clear to me that they must not be around if you're stealing from stores and walking around in clothes that are torn."
"My parents…they aren't around anymore. They ditched me once they realized I was quirkless and I've been on my own ever since," Tony lied.
"Oh? You're quirkless and have no place to go? Do not fret, Parker-san. I know a place that houses children like you who have been thrown on the street with nothing but the clothes on their backs. If you'll allow me to guide you, I can take you there."
And there it is.
From the moment this dude showed up, Tony could tell something was very off about this hero. Maybe it was due to his experience from back home dealing with guys like Obadiah Stane and Loki, but he could spot a snake a mile away and man was this guy sending off warning signs like no tomorrow.
"I guess that's ok. I'm still pretty new here, what's your name?" Tony asked oh so politely. He really hated playing innocently dumb, but he had to get information out of this man.
"My name is Kingdom and I'm one of the designated Pro Heroes of this area," He stuck his hand out waiting for Tony to grab it, "Come on, we better get you someplace safe and next time we can make sure you are cared for enough that you don't have to do things like this again. Deal?"
The thought of holding hands with some middle aged man made Tony sick (not that he's homophobic or anything. Tony had become an outspoken ally of the LGTBQ+ community after seeing how they were being treated overseas before the events of Iron Man 2), but he had a gut feeling this man was connected to the disappearances.
Swallowing his pride, he took Kingdom's hand and they began to walk to whatever place he planned on taking them. Knowing F.R.I.D.A.Y. was recording everything made him feel a bit at ease. Eventually they turned a corner into an alley which caused Tony to stop in his tracks.
"I thought you said we were going somewhere safe?" Tony asked, still feigning that he was completely clueless.
"And I promise you are. This is a shortcut to our destination. Paradise awaits you my friend and all you have to do is put your faith in me."
"...Ok."
They walked forward into the alley and the moment they got far enough away from anyone who might be able to hear them, Tony felt a small prick in his neck and he turned to see Kingdom, smiling at him as if he wasn't the one who did it.
"What's going-" Tony almost immediately felt woozy as he grabbed his neck and stumbled around trying to find his balance. His eyes also grew heavy which meant whatever he'd been injected with was very fast acting and he'd be in dreamland sooner rather than later.
He dropped to his knees as his struggle to stay awake was a losing one, but looking up at Kingdom, he could see a sickening grin covering his face.
"Don't worry. I promised I would take good care of you and I meant it. You'll understand everything in due time. Sleep well, my subject."
Tony spat at his feet as his body hit the ground and he knew he was about to be out for a while, "You sunova-" He stopped moving altogether as the full effect of whatever he'd been injected with had knocked him out completely.
Kingdom scooped the boy up over his shoulder and headed towards his hideout where he could properly introduce him to his new brothers and sisters. After all, what was a king without loyal subjects?
"You'll make a nice replacement for your other brother who rebelled and ran away from me. Killing him will be a pity, but I have to hold a firm hand over you all or the prosperity I am trying to create is all for naught. I won't make the same mistake with any of you."
Laughing to himself, he failed to notice the small blinking light that was the watch Tony was still wearing. It was still recording and had gotten all of that on video. If he was awake right now, Tony would be laughing his ass off at the impending doomsday clock this asshat just initiated by doing this.
After his run in with the vigilante known as Iron Man, Aizawa met up with Tsukauchi and a few other individuals that he trusted in order to formulate a plan that'd keep the kid safe from whoever may be trying to silence him. From what Makoto managed to get out of him…he'd been through so much for someone so young.
"How awful…" Midnight felt sick to her stomach when listening to Aizawa repeat everything back to them.
"If what you're saying is true, then this child needs the highest level of protection we can offer. Especially if this person of interest really is one of our own. You sure he didn't say anything about the man who did this?" Tsukauchi asked.
Aizawa shook his head, "It seems like he's still shaken up and is scared that if he tells who did it, the man will come for him again. Obviously we aren't just going to sit back and let that happen, but…he said there's others still trapped and he doesn't want them to get hurt. If we stormed into wherever they're being kept, who's to say he doesn't just kill them the moment we get too close?"
Tsukauchi pursed his lips in thought, "And so…you want us to put our faith in this vigilante? You know how I feel about working alongside them."
"I know, I know, but hear me out. This man didn't seem like he had an ulterior motive at least from what I could tell. You know I'm a decent judge of character and I could tell he wasn't an inherently bad guy. Arrogant and annoying? Sure, but I feel like the best chance we have of getting them out of there is through him."
Present Mic who was sitting in the background started to chuckle, "You left out the part where he kicked your ass, Sho."
That earned a snort from Midnight who tried to shift back to professional mode as Aizawa glared at both of them. "This is not the time for jokes, Yamada."
"But you've gotta admit, someone strong enough to subdue someone as fast and agile as you is pretty impressive!"
"He has a point, Sho. This Iron Man was also able to tangle with numerous pro's last week including All Might. I wonder who he really is under that costume?" Midnight added.
"Who he is isn't relevant as of now. Right now the main priority should be making sure that young man is safe and taking down this corrupt hero before he hurts anyone else," Tsukauchi finished. "Did the man say anything that might've keyed you in on what exactly he planned to do?"
"I didn't get much out of him other than him needing three days to gather information. Actually there was something strange about him in hindsight," Aizawa shifted in his seat trying to still make sense of it.
"When he was about to fly away, I tried erasing his quirk…it didn't work and he flew off into the sky as if nothing happened."
"That earned shocked looks from all three members in the room, "WHAT!?" Yamada shouted much to Aizawa's annoyance.
"That shouldn't be possible!"
"I know, I've thought about it since it happened, but my quirk did not work on him."
Tsukauchi scribbled down the new information regarding Iron Man and rubbed his eyes in exasperation. While interesting, they now had a rogue vigilante that not even Aizawa could stop should he get out of hand.
Before he could continue on with the questions, he heard someone radio in, "Sir, reinforcements have arrived."
"I'm afraid we have to cut things short. The back up I ordered is headed upstairs to his location and this information must be divulged to them too."
Standing up, they headed into the hallway and went up a few floors before being greeted by his back up.
The Number Two Ranked Pro Hero, Endeavor. The Marksman Hero: Snipe and The Smile Hero: Ms. Joke all stood before them waiting for whatever plan Tsukauchi had cooked up for them.
lit up seeing Aizawa again, "Eraser! It's been a while!" She waved as he facepalmed realizing he was not stuck under the same roof as her for an unknowable amount of time.
Yamada nudged him teasingly, "Sho! Your girlfriend is here. Go say hi."
Nemuri joined in on the fun, "Sho, you never told me you were someone. I guess even a man like you likes to keep his playtime in the dark."
Endeavor was not amused with this. He had better things to do than mingle with small fry, "If you all are done pointlessly squabbling, I believe we are meeting to discuss this supposed corruption within our ranks?"
Tsukauchi stepped forward, "At this point, we are to work under the assumption that the man in question is corrupt. The kid didn't spare a detail when it came to the twisted things he endured under his thumb."
"Snipe is here to pinpoint any security breaches and incapacitate anyone who tries to harm the boy should they try. Ms. Joke is here to try and soothe him into giving us more information on who the hero is and Endeavor…you're here as a last resort of sorts in case we're dealing with a top level security threat."
"Unbelievable!" Enji scoffed. "There isn't anyone foolish enough to attack a hospital in broad daylight, especially with all the police stationed outside."
"Calling you here wasn't my call I'm afraid. The higher ups at the Hero Public Safety Commission ordered me to bring you here. They want whoever this is weeded out as soon as possible and figure you being here is an even greater deterrent than them," Tsukauchi explained.
"Now if you'll all just follow me-"
*Beep, *Beep, *Beep, *Beep, Tsukauchi was cut off mid sentence by a strange beeping noise that was seemingly coming from Aizawa. Or more accurately, his capture weapon. Taking it off and looking closely, he noticed a miniscule device that was where the noise was originating from.
He pulled it off and the moment he did, it expanded to fully fit the palm of his hand and started speaking, "Hello, my name is F.R.I.D.A.Y. and I am here to provide safety and security to anyone within this hospital."
"Who the hell said that?" Endeavor growled as he readied his flames.
"I think…this device did," Aizawa stated as he looked at it closer.
"You are all undoubtedly confused so allow me to explain. I am an Artificial Intelligence designed by the Boss and he gave me strict instructions to activate the moment anyone breached the perimeter of the area. I count six intruders headed to this location and are attempting to get in through the side exit."
"You're that vigilante's toy aren't you?" Aizawa glared.
"I assure you I am much more advanced than a simple toy, but my data readings show they can be dealt with before they reach his room if you act now. If not, casualties may arise from the damage an unwarranted fight may cause."
"When did he stick this on me?"
"When Boss had his knee on your chest he slipped a tracking device under your remaining capture weapon and shrunk it down until it wouldn't be noticeable to any of you."
"I told you he got his ass kicked," Mic whispered to Nemuri.
"Because he did that, you now have a suitable means to communicate with him and track his location. Once Boss gets the information he needs, I will send you a message indicating that it is safe to rescue the people who've been kidnapped."
"What kinda device let's someone speak so clearly? Almost sounds like your human," Snipe inquired.
"Like I said, I was designed by one of the greatest minds on Earth. You now have two minutes remaining before they breach the hospital. Act now or risk civilian casualties."
Tsukauchi didn't fully understand what was going on, but just to be safe he radioed down to recheck the perimeter while this tracking device continued to talk to them. He got a call back just as fast.
"Several individuals have been spotted and we have begun to engage them! Backup requested! Backup request-"
"It was right. People are trying to get to the kid." Tsukauchi stated as he loaded his pistol.
"Because you radioed them to do another sweep, you managed to prevent an ambush that had a 95% chance of wiping out the majority of your officers. They would have been caught off guard by some heavy hitters and everyone inside this hospital would be in danger. Because of you, you all now have a 97% chance of keeping the battle out of the hospital."
He didn't have time to waste, "Endeavor you stay here and guard the boy. Aizawa and Joke stay here as well. Everyone else, follow me!" They hurried downstairs where villains were engaging in battle with cops, but they stood no chance once the Pros had arrived.
Step one was finally out of the way, leaving Tony to execute the next bit of his plan(That he totally was not making up as he went).
Tony felt himself laying on a cold hard floor and as he tried to sit up, he felt his head spinning. Whatever he was injected with wasn't totally out of his system yet. Just great.
"I wouldn't try to move yet. You've probably got a splitting headache."
Sitting up, he saw he was in some sort of…warehouse. No…it looked more like a laboratory, but seeing as he was locked away in a very large cage, he didn't have much else to go on. The cage he was in was quite large and he was not alone either. There were twelve people ranging from children to teenagers in the cage with him.
"Where am I?" He asked.
The young woman simply smiled at him, "I honestly couldn't tell you. This has been my home for the past two years as I was one of the first he took when he broke into the hero scene. He drugged you and dropped you off for me to take care of."
"And you are?"
"Yuki Tsukimoto and unless you want your headache to grow worse, I'd suggest you lay back down."
"Lady, I don't have time for that. How long have I been here and how long has he been gone?"
"He dropped you off a few hours ago, so not long. I suggest not thinking about escaping. It's useless as we all have tried and failed. Some worse than others," She motioned to a young woman's leg in a cast of sorts seemingly having been broken by the man.
"One of us was ordered to get something from the store for us to eat, but when he never came back, his mood was very dangerous and he took it out on her."
"That must've been the kid from earlier…" Tony grimaced as he continued to gauge his surroundings.
"So he's some sort of kidnapper?" Tony asked. He looked around and saw how many of his captives all looked relatively young. The woman in front of him had bruises around her neck and arms which made the concern for these people grow worse. "Ok, so way way way worse than just kidnapping."
How long have they been here?"
"Most of them were only recently taken by Kingdom, but he's done this discreetly for years. I'm the oldest one here," She answered.
Tony grimaced trying to imagine just what exactly this sicko was doing to them. Unfortunately he had no choice but to dive deeper into it if he wanted to help these people escape.
"If you don't mind me asking," He fully sat up to look Yuki in the eyes, "How did you end up here?"
"Me and my parents…you see we didn't exactly see eye to eye growing up on many issues and that drove a wedge between us. Eventually it got to the point where I just wanted to get away from them so…I ran away. It was stupid I know but I was only sixteen at the time and just wanted to get away from it all."
Her expression turned sour, "And would you guess my luck, the very first hero I managed to run into during my little adventure on my own was Kingdom. At first he promised me he'd look after me and take me someplace where I'd be free from strife, heartache and other stuff that sounded sweet to younger me. If only I'd been smarter…"
"Well as you can see, this is not the paradise he promised. I've seen so many people come and go whether they get sold off to buyers or worse."
Tony really didn't wanna ask this question, but seeing the patterns of the bruises on Yuki, he had a gut feeling that her injuries were far more extensive and deeper than most.
"Has Kingdom ever…I mean with you or-"
"No!" She forced out. "I made him swear to never lay a hand on any of them…like that if I willingly gave myself to him. I was dumb enough to follow him when I had a roof over my head, but them? Most of them are orphans who've never really had a home whether due to abandonment due to being quirkless or other factors out of their control. I promised I would protect them as long as I can and that's not something I plan on going back on."
"What about you? Any friends? Family?"
"My parents are dead and my friends…are gone too. I'm alone here. Just like you, kid."
He could see the woman tearing up as much as she tried to hide it. God could only guess just how much shit she had to endure at the hands of a monster like Kingdom. It just pissed Tony off even more, especially since some of these kids were only a little older than his own daughter.
"I get that you're probably scared by all of this and it isn't ideal, but I promise I won't let that man lay a finger on you. It'll just be a small price to pay for everyone else's salvation."
Hearing words that were spewed from Thanos's own mouth from Yuki who by all means should've been broken by the abuse she has endured made Tony's heart hurt.
Tony continued to watch and listen as the individuals surrounding them all looked so, if he had to put it into words…defeated? No, it was maybe even worse than that. It reminded him of his time on Titan and how messed up he was during those five years after they originally lost.
These people had no hope of ever getting out of here.
"Alright, I think I've heard enough. F.R.I.D.A.Y." Tony called out.
"Yes, boss."
"Did you do what I ordered?"
"The hospital where the boy is stationed was under attack not too long ago, but has been brought under control thanks to the information provided by me. He will be safe for the time being."
"Good, now what I want you to do next is connect me to the network power grid of the area and give me a way to upload a video onto every major news network, billboard, social media site, the works! I'm gonna show everyone just how much of a piece of garbage this asshole really is."
Yuki and the other children watched as this new kid was seemingly talking to himself. "Who are you talking to? Maybe he hit his head harder than I thought…" She worried.
"After I finish recording the video, send out a GPS signal to this location and call Aizawa and anyone else he can bring to come get them out of here."
"And what will you do boss?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. could feel his heart rate spiking and his brain waves were giving off such intense amounts of anger that she knew he was going to do something incredibly brash and unwise.
"Don't you worry. I'm gonna personally deal with that asshole myself. He will not get away with this."
He transferred his attention over to Yuki and the others, "I'm going to get everyone outta here, but I need you all to do something for me," He touched his arc reactor and transformed back into Iron Man which earned gasps from the people around him.
"Y-you're that vigilante! You're the one who saved Ren from being returned back here by those dirty cops. He was super pissed about that," Yuki stated.
"So his name is Ren, huh…" Tony thought. He didn't have time to dwell on that as he needed to get this message out to the people while Kingdom was still out in the open.
"I noticed something was shady when the kid started flipping out the moment heroes were mentioned. I talked with some people and got him hooked up in the hospital downtown. After that I managed to hack the police database and noticed how many quirkless people like you guys were going missing and at an alarming rate."
"The rest was simply running into him, getting myself kidnapped and now I can send people here to rescue you," Tony assured them.
"We-we're really gonna get out of here?" He heard one say.
"This has to be a dream! No way this is happening out of the blue!" He heard another cry.
"I don't wanna be here anymore. Please save us sir!" One of the younger children asked.
He didn't need to be told twice, "Already on it, kid. Just sit tight while I get a few things ready and I promise you'll be out of here in no time," Tony leaned down and held out his pinky, "Promise."
The little girl took it with her own as she smiled at him while wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Now! I believe Mr. Kingdom deserves to be put on blast for the world to see. So I figured, why not record a video of each of your experiences while being kept here and allow me to upload it online and any other place that'll host it."
"But won't that mean-"
"He'd be exposed for the fraud and monster that he is? Yes, that's exactly what'll happen, but I will not record that video if you don't want your faces out there. Especially after everything each of you has gone through. Some had it worse than others…" He didn't miss how Yuki's eyes turned down in shame knowing just what he meant by that.
"If you just wanna go home, I'll find another way to deal with Kingdom that leaves your names out of it."
Yuki took a moment and gathered everyone else around her. They began commersing with each other before coming to a conclusion.
"This is all so sudden and I'd be lying if I said this doesn't feel like a weird fever dream…but if it's not…" Yuki could feel the tears she'd been holding onto spill over as Tony placed a hand on her shoulder, "My parents might see it and above all else…I just want them to know I'm alive. I want nothing more than to see them again. They must be so worried about me and I couldn't do anything!" More tears spilled over as Tony steeled himself to remedy her pleas with a permanent solution to the trials they all have gone through.
"Take whatever you need from us. Make sure he can't do this to anyone else."
"You have my word, I will find and punish him personally. He will never be able to do this to anyone ever again. You can count on it," Tony answered as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
He was so going to enjoy this and Kingdom hadn't even begun to feel what hellfire he was going to rain down upon him. Scum like this shouldn't be thrown in jail. Nah, he'd put him six feet under before the day was done and not lose a wink of sleep over.
F.R.I.D.A.Y. figured she would have to intervene before Tony made a mistake that he couldn't walk back from in this world. Killing was taboo here and everything from his brain activity to his body language gave off nothing but murderous intent towards the man.
So she made a call. One she hoped was to a man who would heed her warning before it was too late.
Walking through the city, Kingdom had just finished signing a few autographs after completing his daily patrol and figured he had time to stop and pick up some new toys from Giran that he'd be able to break in on the new kid he'd stumbled across. He did have to cut his patrol somewhat short however due to the attack on the hospital failing, but he'd consider it nothing more than a slight set back to his goal of eliminating the brat.
He smirked thinking about how fate always seemed to shine down on him regardless of what he did. When he first started this hero facade he had never once slipped in any way that meant a damn and he was sure that he'd done enough harm to the boy's psyche that he'd never point a finger at him.
As he made his way towards Giran's hideaway, he noticed murmurs and sneaky looks from the civilians. He wondered if they were just some sort of shy fans that wanted an autograph, so he approached them in order to quell their stares. They slowly backed away as they kept looking back at their phones, horrified for some reason.
"Is something the matter? I am not going to hurt any of you civilians," He tried to reason to utter failure.
"Monster!" One of the women spat at him. "You stay away from us!"
"Monster? I am nothing of the sort. If you would see reason, I'm sure that we can come to some sort of underst-"
*Hellooooooooooo, ladies and gentlemen! This is an impromptu message from yours truly, the one and only Iron Man! I'm coming to you live from a very special place that our good friend, Kamashiru Mishima is well acquainted with.
Kingdom looked up at the led billboard and felt his stomach drop when noticing where exactly he was filming from. It was his hideout where he'd kept his subjects.
Tony waved at the camera knowing the man would probably be watching along with every other hero and civilian in Japan, *If you're watching, Kingdom, then I'm sure you're probably pissing your pants with fear knowing the dirty little secrets you tried to hide from the public. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to put an end to your little house of horrors here. Also, I've already uploaded very detailed photos and videos of what this little hidey hole of yours contains and I've gotta wonder just how long it'll be before pro heroes are swarming down your neck ready to kick your ass.
*But! If you don't think that'll be enough to ruin you, just wait until we meet some of your "subjects" as you call them. They should be pretty good character witnesses, am I right?
All eyes were on him as people continued to gather round and bore holes into him as his heartbeat got faster and faster, "Th-this shouldn't be possible! I only picked up kids that were quirkless and made sure I was never tracked! This isn't happening! This is not happening!"
Tony brought the first little girl into the camera, "Would you mind telling us your name sweetheart?"
"My name is Kyoko Harika and I am fourteen years old."
"When did you first come into contact with Kingdom?"
She frowned when remembering their initial interaction, "It was only recently that I wound up stuck in a cage, but he saw me searching through the garbage for scraps and offered me a warm place to stay. I didn't think he'd make me a slave!" Kyoko pointed to her leg which had been broken trying to escape from the man, "His cruelty knows no bounds. I…I don't even know if I'll ever be able to walk normally again. I'm really good at sports and…" She rubbed her eyes as tears spilled from them. Tony placed a kind hand on her shoulder in order for her to feel at ease once more, "The thought of not being able to play any more because of this psycho is so frustrating!
The girl continued to list off her experience in this hellhole and all the while Kingdom had barely even moved from his spot. He kept telling himself his mind was playing tricks on him, but that wouldn't be the case. This was sure as shit real and the hole this Iron Man was digging him continued to grow deeper and deeper as the other kids stepped up and shared their own stories about the man.
Kingdom almost fainted seeing Yuki finally take center stage as her treatment at his hands had always been the worst. Introducing herself, she began detailing her experiences from her initial kidnapping to rape and the crowd that had surrounded him were all but ready to ear him to pieces.
"I'm honestly terrified that he may come after me again, but…if my parents see this, please know I'm ok," She wiped the tears away as her heart started to ache knowing that they hadn't even known what had happened to her, "Mom? Dad? I'm alive ok! I just want to go home and rest. I'm tired. I'm just…tired."
Tony embraced her before turning back to the camera one last time to deliver a message, "Oh and just so you know, this was recorded over an hour ago. I'll be seeing you real soon, Kingdom."
"You can count on it." The message finally shut off as the entire world began processing what they had just witnessed.
His world was spinning on itself and it did not take long for his legs to turn to jelly the moment he realized just how ruined his life truly was. Sure he could try and escape but with his secrets laid bare for the world to see, he'd never be able to show his face in public again. His life would be nothing but hell and misery and it was all that damned vigilante's fault-
Interrupted from his thoughts, he was shot in the face with a small repulsor blast which caused him to fly backwards into a food stand. Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, he looked up and saw who exactly had shot him.
"I told you we'd meet, didn't we?" Tony asked without an ounce of snark in his voice.
"You! Do you have any idea how much shit I'm in because of you!? My hero career is over and for what? Because you wanted to save a few brats from being put to good use? They were quirkless and society threw them away and I gave them a better home! Nobody cared about those useless brats until I-" Tony shot another repulsor blast, with much more heat than the last directly at his chest which caused the man to drop down to the floor in pain. He hovered down to the ground and landed as the civilians all pulled out their phones to record the confrontation.
"Stop talking," Tony ordered. "I don't think you truly understand the situation you're in buddy. I'm not like all these goody goody heroes that's just gonna lock you up for everything you did to them."
Kingdom snarled at Tony as he stood up readying his quirk, "So what? Are you here to fight me then? I don't plan on going to jail! My life isn't over just because society deems what I did bad!"
That almost got a chuckle out of Tony.
Almost.
"Fight you? Send you to jail? Nah, that's getting off way too easy for a piece of garbage like you," His anger had reached its boiling point a long time ago listening to each of his victims' stories.
"I'm here to kill you." Tony stated with such finality that it almost sent a chill down Kingdom's spine.
Dashing through the alleyways, Aizawa wondered whether or not he made the right decision in listening to that robot girl's warning about her creator.
"Boss is planning on killing this man you're seeing which would be a terrible mistake on his part. Please stop him from going through with it if possible. His reputation would almost never be able to recover from committing such a gruesome act in broad daylight."
That was the last thing it said before self-destructing, but not before sending out a signal to the location where the kids were being kept and a separate one for him. Tsukauchi, Enji and a few other heroes immediately left in order to locate and secure their safety before anything else happened to them, but Aizawa…he stayed behind in order to see whether or not this vigilante was really going to kill him.
Thinking back to how playful the man sounded when they talked on the rooftop, Aizawa had a hard time believing that he had it in him to take life even one as bad as Kamashiru who he thought he knew well enough.
"Guess not well enough…" Aizawa grimaced just imagining how much those people must've endured. This happened right under all of their noses which made things so much worse. Nobody had been able to get ahold of All Might either which made one believe that he was already headed to the location of all the commotion.
Aizawa only hoped that he was able to defuse the situation from growing any more out of control than it already was becoming.
Chapter 4: A Star Is Born
Current Manga spoilers below!: Read with caution
Kingdom could only attempt to scoff at this maniac standing before him charging a laser in his direction. Heroes would never kill under any circumstance and unless this man was some sort of scumbag like him, he'd never follow through on his threat.
And yet…
In the back of his head, there was this sensation that was telling him this vigilante meant every word he said.
"Ha! As if you'd kill me! Not only are you heroes far too soft hearted, I would never allow myself to reach a point where I'd be at the mercy of someone like you!" Kingdom readied his quirk and gauged the area, "I will never be put in a cage fool!"
Kingdom's quirk revolved around amplifying and reversing gravity within a certain radius. For normal hero work, he always held back its lethality, but in the shadows…he could turn his enemies into puddles of flesh and blood.
He activated it and sneered, "Hurry up and die Tincan! I will never be defeated by the likes of you!" This was it. After he killed this new vigilante he'd run back to the only one who he viewed in higher regard than himself and attempt to start fresh. Hopefully that man would have a suitable quirk able to change his appearance.
You could imagine his surprise when Tony not only was unmoved by the amount of weight that was being applied to him, he looked as if there wasn't anything being applied to him at all.
"What the- You should be dead on the ground by now!" Kingdom shouted as fear, worry and confusion crept into his voice. Tony could see the cowardice seep forward and it only pissed him off even more that he decided to mess with people who were not only defenseless, but also mere children.
Faster than Kingdom could react too, Tony shot forward, punching the man in the center of his face sending a sickening crunch echoing through the crowd as Kingdom cried out in pain.
"You just broke my nose-"
Tony grabbed the man by his throat and began punching the man in his ribs. Kingdom tried to increase the gravity that weighed Tony down, but it made no difference at all. He already had a hard time thinking with his ribs being broken and now it was like his quirk wasn't working.
Tony had already dealt with an entire moon being dropped down upon him during his first fight with Thanos, so this small increase in gravity meant nothing to him. Kingdom had no idea that Tony had already tweaked his armor to be able to withstand weight far beyond what he could dish out with his quirk.
Stopping after the hero turned villain started coughing up blood in agony, Tony released the grip he held on his throat as he dropped to the ground. He followed this up by stepping on his left knee, completely shattering it under the weight of his armor.
Kingdom was in so much pain that he found it hard to scream. Tony simply raised a hand toward the man and charged a lethal repulsor blast that would kill him instantly. He'd have to apologize to F.R.I.D.A.Y. later, but the only thing that would be able to calm him back down would be to put this animal into the ground.
Before he could fire the shot that would end his life, Aizawa dashed in, wrapping Tony up with his scarf which threw the trajectory of the blast upward into the sky.
"Don't make another move!" Aizawa warned as he continued to use Erasure on Tony even if he knew it had little if no effect at all.
Tony tore himself free from his bindings and charged another blast at Kingdom who was now cowering in fear, "And why should I?"
"Killing is prohibited and once you cross that line, we will have no choice but to come after you next. Think long and carefully about your next move, vigilante, because the amount of people you may end up hurting going through with this, may be something outside of your clouded vision," Aizawa offered. He knew the man probably would out match him in a battle of might especially if he couldn't erase whatever metal quirk he possessed, but he could tell this man had a kind heart.
"Think of the people he hurt and how this will affect them!"
That got Tony's attention, however he still refused to take his eyes off of Kingdom, "I'm giving them a sound peace of mind that they won't be looking over their shoulder for the rest of their life! Sending him to prison accomplishes nothing in the long run."
"And who decided that?"
All Might descended from above and landed to the side of Tony, "We all did!" Gauging the situation as best he could, Toshinori knew he had an uphill battle to convince this rogue vigilante to stand down and let the heroes apprehend him.
"Killing a man such as this won't solve anything! We owe it to the people he's hurt to make sure he fully admits his crimes to the world and stands trial, because if we don't then what is the point of our society? Law and Order has replaced the need for senseless killing…even for those who hide amongst heroes such as Kingdom did."
Tony would be lying if this very large man wasn't making sense to him even if he really, really, really did not want to admit it.
He took a moment and watched as Kingdom continued to cower in fear at the three of them, lowering his hand and canceling the charge on his repulsor, Tony turned to face All Might and Aizawa, "You promise me, here and now, that if I let this scum go, he will never see the outside of a prison cell again. I listened to each and every last one of the kids in his…little fun house of horrors and he'd be lucky to not be killed by an angry mob for the stuff he did to them."
"If you can promise me that you'll nail this bastard to the wall…"
All Might cut him off and placed a kind hand on his shoulder, "We will! You have my word, young man!"
Before All Might or Aizawa could say anything to stop him, Tony turned and hit Kingdom square in the face with a non lethal concussion blast, "It didn't kill him, but it sure as hell's gonna hurt when he wakes up again."
Looking around at the crowd that had gathered around them, Tony knew it was time to leave as he had one more thing to do before he could rest easy.
He started hovering off the ground before he was stopped by All Might who grabbed his hand, "Surely you understand that we cannot just allow you to leave! Your heart, while in the right place, is still heavily misguided by your actions. Vigilantism is illegal, so I am placing you under arrest. We can help you, there is no need to continue engaging in such dangerous acts."
Tony didn't have time for another scuffle, he had to do this before whoever he was working for got ahold of his accounts, "This man was definitely working for someone and I can find out who, but I need you to let me go before they can shuffle their cards around."
"Sorry big guy," Tony summoned an energy shield to separate them, "But I need to move!"
Blasting off a sonic speed into the sky, All Might tried to give chase, but was stopped by Aizawa, "Let him go," Aizawa stated.
"But-" Toshinori couldn't believe what he was hearing, "We cannot in good faith let such a dangerous vigilante continue running amok! He needs to be stopped before he goes too far and kills someone!"
Aizawa nodded, "I agree, but…" He motioned down to the now unconscious Kingdom, "I believe we have bigger issues at hand. Iron Man will have to wait until this mess is situated."
Toshinori couldn't find a fault with his reasoning. He knew how bad the fallout from a hero this corrupt would cause in modern hero society. The news was probably already in a frenzy trying to reach the hospital and talk with the children involved.
"Fine. I will allow him to leave for now, but the next time we meet, I will detain him at all costs before things can get any more out of hand than they already are. As the symbol of peace, it's my job to prevent things like this from growing and spreading even if his heart is righteous."
"Right," Aizawa agreed as Toshinori picked up Kingdom and leapt off towards the police station. Aizawa followed closely behind, not wanting to deal with the immediate fallout for this incident as people were pulling out phones and recording. Some most likely had recorded that entire incident.
That could only end up as trouble to them, more often than not.
Soaring through the skies, Tony got to work with the next step in his plan. Even if his A.I. snitching on him to other heroes was a wrench he wasn't expecting. Speaking of F.R.I.D.A.Y….
"Hello again, Boss. I see you decided not to kill him."
"Well it's not like you gave me much of a choice! What gave you the idea to pull a stunt like that anyway? The world would've been much better off without him and so would his victims."
"If you truly believed that, you'd have killed him even after listening to the other heroes point of view."
And Tony knew she was right. Had she not interfered he'd have definitely ruined any chance of gaining a good reputation here before it could even really begin.
"Any luck on pinpointing the location of the person who delivered the funds into Kingdom's account?" Tony asked, wanting to change the subject.
"I'm afraid the signal is being bounced around numerous other networks in order to remain anonymous.
Tony decided to take a look himself, "Huh…well would you look at that," He watched as the signal he was tracking bounced from Japan to India to Mexico and so on, "The amount of thought that has been put into this is impressive. It's almost S.H.I.E.L.D. levels of care and protection put into this…which is extremely concerning. Any idea who's behind it?"
"None, boss. Whoever designed this is well ahead of everyone else here including the police force.
"Okay, that's definitely not good. Were you able to get anything at all from them while I was busy?"
"Take a look for yourself, boss. I was not able to retrieve much, but what I have managed to gather are things that may not only pique your interest but also a few others residing in this world."
He took a look at all the zeros on his account and whistled, "Man, that is a lot of money for one dude to have." Even more concerning that the person funding him probably had even more than this, but he'd deal with that later.
"What about this one?" Tony spotted a file among them that was still locked away from him even though all the other files they stole were open, "Why's this one still locked?"
"I'm not exactly sure what that file is supposed to be, but I get the feeling it was one that Kingdom was not meant to possess. I've started working on the encryption, but it may take some time to open it safely. This file in particular also has counter measures in place that upon activation would immediately erase it completely."
"All this for a single file…whatever's behind that door must be really important to go through all this trouble."
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., focus on cracking the encryption on that file. I get the feeling that it's gonna be something incredibly important down the line."
"On it, boss."
Little did Tony know that what was contained in that file, would drastically change the lives of everyone involved with it.
"This is a disaster," Tsukauchi groaned as he was finally able to take a seat after a long day's work. The fallout from a vigilante almost killing a corrupt hero in front of the public along with exposing said hero was unprecedented. The children that were being kept by him were rescued and brought back to Musutafu General where he had taken each of their statements and notified the parents of those who had any.
Aizawa walked over to him with a cup of coffee in hand, "You look like hell."
Tsukauchi took it in kind. Grabbing the cup from him, he downed it in one go leaving Aizawa somewhat shocked but keeping his expression cool, "To think…a hero this corrupt was right under our noses…" He pinched the brink of his nose tiredly, "Some of the stories I heard from them made me sick to my stomach. Kingdom is truly a sick individual."
"The feeling is mutual. Knowing somebody like that has been working side by side with us is driving me crazy. I keep replaying in my head signs that he was dirty, but it's all coming up blank. His cover was perfect," Aizawa replied as he took a seat opposite of Tsukauchi.
Leaning back in his chair, Aizawa silently sighed as he finished off the rest of his coffee, "But we can't just undo our mistakes now can we? Best we can do is make sure an incident like this does not repeat itself."
Tsukauchi nodded as he glanced at his watch, "Any word on the vigilante? The search party we sent last spotted him flying along the downtown area at supersonic speeds."
"After he left the scene, we didn't see him again and trust me, I've been looking on my own. His heart is in the right place and being honest he's capable of dealing with threats that slip under our radar. Combine that with his willingness to resort to absolutely brutal measures and it's clear that he's dangerous. If we don't catch him soon, he will surely end up killing someone," Aizawa stated.
"And we will catch him…it's just taking far longer than expected. He's not your ordinary vigilante now is he?"
"That he is not," Aizawa agreed.
Brrrrrrrr*
Aizawa felt his phone vibrate and went to pick it up and froze upon seeing who was on the caller ID.
Your New Best Friend* was in big bold letters signifying that he'd manage to hack his phone and plant his number into it. He didn't know whether to answer it or drop it into his cup of coffee knowing the headache it would become if he answered.
Against his best judgment he chose the former and accepted the call and put it to his ear, "Is this some sort of game to you? Playing hero will eventually get you or innocent people hurt."
Tsukauchi put it together immediately, "It's him, isn't it."
Aizawa nodded as he put it on speaker phone, "I know I'm not the most popular person you probably wanna see right now, but we need to meet. It's urgent," His phone received a notification to its gps settings that directed to an old abandoned factory near the outskirts of town.
"I found some interesting stuff while digging around in that lair of his that I know for a fact you guys missed. Meet me at this location in an hour and come alone if you can even though I know you most likely won't,"The call ended as quickly as it began and left Aizawa and Tsukauchi grasping at straws. What exactly did he find that was so important that he felt the need to contact them?
"I'm getting a bad feeling from this, Aizawa. I say we send this over to my people and set up a parameter around the area. It'll be the best shot we have in bringing him in."
"I'd argue that we do the opposite. You've seen what he can do and you think it'd be a good idea to antagonize him? As you know I can't erase his quirk and that's the biggest indication that this needs to be handled privately and calmly. You and I will meet with him one last time to see if we can talk him away from the edge he's standing on and if we can't…"
"Then we can try it your way and take him in by force."
Tsukauchi saw no reason to disagree with his reasoning even if his better instincts were telling him to go full throttle in capturing him.
"How long is he going to keep us waiting?" Aizawa muttered. They'd been there for the better part of an hour and were sitting inside of an unmarked squad car that Tsukauchi used for his more undercover investigations.
Both men heard what appeared to be jet engines as they figured it was another one of his extravagant entrances.
"Sorry, I'm late, you would not believe the traffic," Tony joked as he hovered down towards them. Aizawa activated his quirk again to no avail which did tickle the vigilante.
"Cmon, Dark Knight, you should know by now that your quirk doesn't work on me."
"Mind explaining why that is?" Aizawa retorted as he deactivated Erasure.
"A magician can't reveal his secrets now can he?" Tony joked as he could almost hear Aizawa's blood pressure rise.
Tsukauchi stepped in, "You know, you are in a lot of trouble after the things you've done. While I am thankful that you alerted us to the situation and brought Kingdom's crimes to the light, you also proceeded to beat him half to death in front of civilians."
"He had it coming," Tony muttered as he got another stern look from both men, "I didn't go through with it though! Doesn't that count for something?"
Aizawa did not have the time nor patience to argue, "Look, if I was in my right mind, I'd have allowed Tsukauchi to bring the entire police force along with heroes to bring you in. You saved a lot of lives today and spared a man who honestly didn't deserve it."
"I'm giving you one pass and it is only good for today, so whatever information you have, spill it."
Tony threw up his hands in agreement, "That's fair. Although I think we'll be seeing more of each other than you'd like after this," He pulled out a flash drive and tossed it to Tsukauchi who caught it confused.
"What's this supposed to be?" The detective asked.
"Kingdom was working for someone. They were his supplier and most likely helped fund his whole undercover kid smuggling business. Dunno how they managed to fly so low under the radar, but they are far larger than you'd think," Tony opened his palm as a hologram of Kingdom's bank accounts popped up.
"As you can see, our friend had quite the load of cash on him. I take it that's way more than a hero's salary is supposed to be?"
"This is…" Tsukauchi was at a loss for words.
"How on earth could he have amassed this much money right under our noses!? Unbelievable…" Aizawa kicked himself yet again.
"Hey! Don't feel too bad, it took a genius such as myself to catch something like this. The people who are funding him are extremely smart given how fast they transferred a good portion of this money away."
Aizawa went wide eyed, "This is only a small portion? Just how much money did he have hidden?"
"Again, I can only vouch for what I managed to siphon away, but my guess is that it'd probably be around three times this amount. That's not all," The hologram switched over to a folder that began to open up, "I managed to snag a large number of their files before they could steal them away from me. A lot of it is meaningless stuff like a how to guide for dummies in case he ever got caught."
Tony began flipping through the holographic file, "There was one in particular that caught my eye. It was so encrypted and locked behind so many security firewalls that it took me quite some time to break through."
He smirked, "Of course this meant only a few hours, but still!"
"Does Project Nomu ring any bells to you?"
Both men shook their heads, "Not a clue," Aizawa answered.
"What about 'Frenzied Flame of Death'?" Tony continued
Again both men were at a loss.
"Well that can't be true given the person this name is attached to is super important to your government hierarchy."
"What do you mean?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Does the name Touya Todoroki mean anything to you?" Seeing both men look at each other, Tony knew he'd struck gold.
"I dunno why the number two hero's dead kid is attached to a file labeled under something so heavy, but that's all I could gather from it before it self imploded and wiped itself clean. Whoever compiled it, definitely didn't want this information falling into the wrong hands. Or in my case, the hands of a genius who'd be able to pull enough from it."
"I've already sent both of you everything I managed to snag from whoever this person was. Knock yourselves out trying to make sense of it given how scrambled everything is," Tony looked at Aizawa realizing this next part wouldn't be that easy, "There was something else…"
He flipped over to a face that Aizawa hadn't seen in years and his heart immediately began to ache thinking about him.
"I found Shirakumo in a file labeled Transportation type Nomu," Tony read up on the history between Aizawa and the deceased and knew how this may affect him. Nevertheless he couldn't keep this from him, "Whatever these Nomu are supposed to be…I think both of them are linked to it."
Aizawa pulled up his scarf and looked away as Tsukauchi stepped forward, "I'll be sure to investigate this with my men in hopes that we can uncover what it is these Nomu are. I'm sure there has to be some sort of correlation between the deceased and this word. We just need to connect the dots…"
Tony began hovering from his spot, preparing to take off, "Oh! And before I forget, that large sum of money I stole from them? I'm sure you'll make sure that the victims receive their fair share of compensation for going through that horrific ordeal. I'll keep you posted if I find anything else!"
"Wait!" Tsukauchi called out, "So you aren't going to stop these vigilante antics? You could end up seriously hurt!"
Tony scoffed, "Trust me, I've managed far worse than what these people could throw at me. I'll be fine, Commissioner Gordon," And with that Tony blasted off into the sky leaving Aizawa and Tsukauchi to process what they just learned.
Taking a single look at Aizawa told him all he needed to know. He was spiraling back into self loathing after seeing his old friend again.
"Aizawa, are you ok?" Tsukauchi reached out to put a hand on his shoulder as the man turned away and headed back to the car.
"Find out whatever you can on these Nomu. I want a full intel report ASAP. Got it."
Tsukacuhi knew the man was most likely going to take some time to process everything, especially the skeletons that he thought had been put to rest since he started his hero career.
All For One was not pleased.
If he had to describe the emotion he was feeling, it would probably be a mix of anger and curiosity all mashed into one.
"And how exactly did this leak of information occur?" He asked Dr. Garaki who was still reeling from the information theft that had occurred right from under his nose.
"The individual who obtained it was somehow able to siphon it away from me during the transfer of files from Kingdom's lair. I have never, in all my years, had an incident like this occur. I believe-"
All For One began to smile one again, "We aren't dealing with some ordinary vigilante. Interesting!"
"What do we know about him so far?"
Dr. Garaki shifted through his paperwork, "Well sir, from everything that I've gathered, it seems like he not only showed up a few weeks ago out of nowhere, I also do not have any such quirk registered in my database during my tenure as a doctor. Per your orders I would occasionals find quirks suitable for your liking and brought those individuals to you in order to grow your might, but I genuinely have no idea what sort of quirk he possesses. There is a high likelihood that he is not from Japan at all.
"A foreigner perhaps? Is a quirk resembling his on the American registry?"
"None at all, sir. I carefully looked through the database and found nothing that even came close to resembling something like this. Metal generation, flight, energy based attacks etc. It all seems like a fever dream with just how much this man can do and we haven't even touched on the fact that Eraserhead cannot seem to erase his quirk."
This caused the man to sit up in his throne, "What do you mean by this?"
"From the surveillance from his fight with Kingdom, Eraserhead tried to stop his quirk from working and he could not. It seems like it may be a mutation based quirk, but even still, it should've been rendered useless."
A cheery smile crossed All For One's face in delight, "Now this is truly the puzzling conundrum! A man shows up out of nowhere, defeats one of my strongest men and also has a quirk unknown to even someone such as myself?"
"I want that quirk."
Garaki felt chills run down his spine as he knew his master wasn't joking, "He is quite the elusive one sir. It's been hard trying to pinpoint his exact location even with all of our surveillance lying around. I think his quirk also acts as some sort of cloaking device as well."
All For One paid this no mind as he already knew the perfect man for the job, "How far along is Hood? I'm sure he'll be perfectly capable of completing the task at hand."
"He is still in his testing phases and is still somewhat incomplete. With another year, he can be up and running to your hearts-"
All For One held his hand up, stopping Garaki mid speech, "I think I'll make a gamble on Hood. Prepare him to be sent out into the field and I want him to bring me this…Iron Man alive. I need him living if I'm to drain him of his quirk. After that you can experiment on him to your heart's content."
Garaki bowed, "As you wish sir."
"Oh and what about that young man who I saved on that mountain all those years ago?" All For One inquired.
"Knowing how bad of a state his body was in, he's most likely dead sir."
All For One hummed to himself, "The tides can turn at any given moment, we must be ready for anything. You'd be surprised at how strong emotions can keep someone pushing past the point of death itself."
Garaki moved to leave the room and prepare Hood for transfer to the training and testing lab. He would have the High End Nomu ready to retrieve his master's new prize as soon as possible.
All For One sat in his chair as his thoughts drifted over to Kingdom and the colossal failure that he'd just ensnared them in. Oh well. Nothing that could be done about it now besides tie up that loose end before he could squeal to anyone about him. It's still too early for his rival to be aware of his survival.
His successor, Shigaraki Tomura, still needed his guidance after all.
"How did this happen!? You were supposed to make sure he wasn't able to harm himself!" Aizawa argued to the guards as he, All Might and Tsukauchi all stared at the corpse formerly known as Kingdom.
"This shouldn't be possible. He was secured in his cell under constant surveillance. Everything was fine until he started convulsing and soon blood was coming out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. When we scanned and detained him, there was nothing majorly wrong with him besides a few broken bones and a heavy concussion. Nothing he didn't deserve…"
Aizawa didn't find that answer satisfactory, "Then you should've been more thorough in your scans! A former hero died under your watch and you don't think that's going to come off to the public as suspicious! You'd be lucky to even have a job once I'm done reporting you all for incompotent-"
"Aizawa!" All Might roared as he got the man's attention.
"I understand your feelings on the matter, but…can I talk with you privately?"
Pulling him to another room, All Might had a feeling this was deja vu to him. Aizawa wasn't too thrilled to be pulled away from chewing them out so suddenly. He had a multitude of other emotions spiraling around inside of him and he now had a dead rotten hero who could've given them vital intel on his human trafficking ring.
"What is it?" Aizawa spat.
"I…I do not believe Kingdom died due to their negligence. I believe that foul play was a part of him dying."
Aizawa could barely believe his ears, "You're kidding right? Who in their right mind would try and assassinate a criminal under heavy surveillance? This is foolishness, Toshinori."
Seeing the manner of his death, All Might knew all too well what he was looking at. He just prayed that this was not the truth, "The way he died is something that, in all my years as a pro hero, has only been able to be accomplished by one man. One man who I thought was long since forgotten."
"And who might that be?" Aizawa asked as his patience was wearing thin.
Sighing, Toshinori deflated back into his skinny state and looked at Aizawa with fear in his eyes, "The bane of my existence and the one who gave me such a serious injury. I…I think he may be back."
"I don't understand, Toshinori. Just who exactly are you talking about?"
"I've been talking it over with Tsukauchi and…I believe it's time that I brought you into the fold given how closely linked we have been these past few years. As much as I wanted to hold out just a bit longer, I fear that I no longer have the luxury of waiting anymore."
"The story I am about to tell you is one that dates back over a hundred years. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I hope you begin to understand why I've been so secretive with my quirk."
"What do you mean? How does Kingdom being dead relate back to your injury or your quirk?"
"No…I don't think you truly understand just how large of a scale this may end up becoming for everyone.
"This is the story of two brothers who have shaken the very fabric of hero society as we know it and…the story of my quirk, One For All and my greatest foe, All For One."
"Fakes! All of them are nothing more than false idols compared to him!"
Chizome Akaguro also known as the hero killer, Stain, had been prowling the area in search of the vigilante known as Iron Man in hopes that he would finally be able to put an end to this useless charade of his. Parading around telling civilians that he's a hero? That spat in the face of everything he believed in.
He did not know where this man came from nor why he's choosing to show off as if he's someone worthy of being revered like All Might, but that would continue no longer.
Perching atop of a building and looking onto the outskirts of town, Stain's anger continued to bubble forth as his new mission was to eliminate Iron Man from the equation before more fools decide to follow in his footsteps.
He pondered the type of sniveling face the coward would make just before he'd be able to cut him down and scoffed, "It'll be one less false idol the people have to revere. There is only one person above all others worthy enough to receive such praise and admiration-"
"And his name is All Might!"
Five Days Later
Tony kicked his feet up as he continued to enjoy the donuts that he'd "borrowed" from the gas station down the street.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.?"
"Yes, boss."
"Any luck on gathering more intel on the mystery person who those files belonged to?"
"None so far."
"Dammit," Tony thought back to how fearful all those kids looked and his blood pressure started to rise again, "Well at least we took down one major scumbag who profited from it. Now all we need to triangulate just where the main signal is being broadcasted from and then-"
Faster than Tony could react too, an energy shield materialized right before what resembled a sharp black weapon impaled him. Donning his mask and launching himself back, Tony stood face to face with a large creature that was unlike anything he'd seen before.
"F-found…you."
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Can you tell me what on earth that thing is supposed to be?"
He didn't even have time to hear a response before the creature shot multiple spears at him that were coming from his body. Dodging them was no problem, but he was caught off guard as the creature blitzed over to him, punching him directly in the face at supersonic speeds, sending him crashing into a building.
"Well that hurt…" He tried to get up and dust himself off, but found it extremely hard to do so.
"Boss, the readings from my scan show that this creature-"
Yet again, the Nomu sent one of its arms towards Tony who was yanked forward by it and brought face to face with the creature, "My mi-mission…ca-capture…you"
"On second thought, I'll take a rain check on that," Tony managed to break free and shot a repulsor blast into its chest as he then took off to gather his bearings, "A scan of that thing would really help right now!"
"Boss, from what I can tell, the creature isn't entirely human…yet-"
"Yet? What else is there and why is it after me?"
"My readings have this creature on a A tier scale. It's about as dangerous as Bruce Banner."
"You're telling me that thing is as strong as Hulk? My system must be on the fritz. I just dealt with a top tier hero and you're telling me that this thing is stronger than that?"
The creature caught up to Tony again using its jet propulsion as Tony threw up an energy shield in response.
"S-Strong…I a-am strong…" The creature used its multiple arms to grab hold of Tony and swung him around in the air at speeds that made him dizzy before getting tossed into the hard ground below.
"Multiple contusions detected."
"No shit," Tony quipped as he finally started to realize that maybe F.R.I.D.A.Y. wasn't too off in her assumptions.
"I..wi-will beat y-you…M-master ha-has need fo-for you."
"Okay, an enormous mysterious monster that wants to kidnap me and it talks?" Tony could only wonder just where in life he went wrong in order for something as outrageous as this to be happening to him.
Maybe it's all that karma for making superweapons back in the day still catching up to him.
Either way, there was no time to cry about it. He hopped up and glared at the monster floating high in the sky above, "Prep the boosters and turn the energy repulsors up to max setting. If this thing wants a fight then it's a fight he'll get."
Staring each other down, both minds began thinking about what would be needed to permanently put the other down for good.
Little did Tony know that this creature had far more up his sleeve than he could ever guess thanks to his misfortune of catching the eye of the resident Demon Lord himself.