Episode IV: Innocence from Darkness
Night fell over the city as the sun dimmed and the building lights illuminated the darkness with their neon glow. The nightlife brought few out into the streets, but still enough for the hustle and bustle that was life in the city. Amongst the crowd was a young man, dressed in black sweatpants, black shoes to replace his iconic red, and a black jacket over a dark green hoodie. His face was marred by shadow as he nonchalantly walked among the people.
His green eyes turned upward to the tallest building, as he mentally prepared himself and made his way towards the structure. Izuku Midoriya, a boy that was bitten by a radioactive generically altered spider, was about to do something he never would've considered doing in his life.
'Bend the law'.
See over the past four and a half months, Izuku had been working and developing a device called a Web-Shooters to work in conjuncture with his new Spider Quirk. The initial tests at the warehouse were promising and showed their diverse practicality. But Izuku felt they needed a bigger test run, something the warehouse could not provide, and that required him to go into the city to fully test them out. Now, normally Izuku would be hard press to break the law.
Other than to save someone else's life, but he felt he had to do this.
He couldn't rationally explain why he was doing this. Maybe the spider bite had altered his personality somehow, making him more confident than he was before. Maybe the feeling of power made him want to prove himself more after being useless for most of his life? Or maybe it was that rare rebellious teenage thing he heard about?
Whatever it was, it was too late to stop now.
"Too late to go back now." He thought to himself as he snuck into the fire escape of the tallest building.
He subtly made sure to avoid the security cameras as his body was shrouded in his invisibility. Until finally he made it to the roof and decloaked. After making sure there were no cameras on the roof, he pulled out his gear. The Web-Shooters, a utility belt with spare Web Cartridges, his improvised mask, and black gloves. The last one was so he didn't leave fingerprints for cops.
"Geez, I almost sound like a cat burglar with this stuff?" he thought to himself as he strapped the Shooters on, making sure they were secure, he clipped the belt to his waist and put the mask on his head. He left it partially off until he felt ready. He looked down to the bustling city below as he felt a twinge of nervousness and regret, as his Invisibility fluctuated in response.
"You know…maybe this is a bad idea." He thought to himself as he felt the urge to turn back. "But no one ever said the path would be easy." He got up on the edge and clung to the side of the building.
The cold wind swept across the skyscraper as Izuku gripped tightly to the concrete edge. He took this moment to rationalize his actions. If he jumped, he could risk everything he had worked so hard for. His life, his chance to become a hero, everything on a simple test that he could just wait to conduct at U.A. Would it truly be worth risking it all on a stupid test? But then again, the acceptance rate at U.A was infamous for being so low and the difficulty rate so high his chances of success were limited, even with All Might's powers.
Would he even pass at all?
'Don't think…' he thought to himself as he leaned back, and with a calming breath pulled the mask over his face. 'Just jump!'
And with that he jumped off the building, small bits of concrete clung to his fingertips as the last bit of nervousness' carried with him. And then he fell, plummeting towards the ground at high speed. The whole world was turned upside down as fell towards the earth. His invisibility fluctuated as he plummeted to the ground and he for a moment felt he was going to die. Until he remembered his Web-Shooters and fired two lines of Web into the air. The strands of Web trailed off as for a moment he felt fear that he missed and would now be nothing more than a stain on the ground.
Until the Web's went taught and he swung away from busy streets. He took a moment to admire the city lights as he swung high into the air. A small smile on his face as he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline and excitement as he swung through the city.
'This…this awesome!' he thought as he swung high above the streets. 'I've never felt anything like this! Holy cow!' he noticed his reflection in the glass skyscrapers as the people in the building hadn't noticed him yet, but they were starting to turn.
'Oh shit! That's right! Invisible! Turn invisible!' His body disappeared from view as he continued to swing through the city.
'Phew, that was close!' he thought to himself as he swung across the streets. 'All right, just need to hold it until downtown, then I find an alleyway and make it to the train station!' Izuku thought to himself as he continued to swing, using the buildings to build momentum and almost fly across the streets. He flipped in the air, somersaulted and performed great acrobatic feats as he fully tested the applications of his Web-Shooters.
'Still, this is pretty awesome! Is this what All Might feel's all the time!?' he asked himself as he held in the urge to cry out in excitement.
After roughly ten minutes he made it downtown and he landed on a deserted rooftop. His body returned to normal as he looked around for anyone and sighed in relief when no one was around. He pulled his mask off his face as he took in multiple breaths to calm down his racing heart.
"That…was amazing…wish I could've recorded that!" he breathed out before he released a calming breath. "Okay, need to get back home. Mum will start to get worried if I don't get home right away-!"
Crash!
Suddenly he heard a small crash in the alleyway as he turned his head towards the sound. "What the?" he asked himself as he made his way to the alley. He looked around the deserted alley until he heard more sounds coming from further in. He crawled down the walls of the alleyway as he followed the sound. He crept along the walls as he soon came across the source of the sound.
There at the dead-end of the alleyway, was a small girl no older than maybe 5 or 6 years old. She had long blueish white hair with red eyes, pale skin, and a long light yellow-brown horn on the right side of her head. She was wearing a plain, short-sleeved dress, which was a dirty and a pale tan colour. Bandages were wrapped around both her arms and legs, stopping at her wrists and ankles.
"A child?" he asked himself as she seemed to be desperately trying to find somewhere to hide or escape. Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from the other side of the alley as several men dressed like thugs walk towards the girl who turned in fright.
"Ah~, there you are. We were so worried about you." One of them said mockingly as they sauntered over to her.
"Who the heck are these guys?" Izuku asked himself as he watched the thuggish looking men walk towards her.
"That wasn't very nice of you, running away like this. You know how mad Kai will be when he finds out." He said as they drew closer. The small girl pressed her back against the wall as tears began to form in her eyes. Something that made Izuku very angry.
"Please…no…" she whimpered as they drew closer. "I don't want to go back…"
Izuku watched angrily as they drew closer to the girl. He wanted to go down there and stop them, make them leave her alone. But he knew he shouldn't do that and instead go find the police, another hero, or anyone to save her. But he just couldn't do that, he couldn't just leave her to these men. He had already been in trouble once with interfering in Hero work. Not to mention he was using his Quirk without a license and no supervision. What would happen if he did it again?
"No! No!" she cried out as they grabbed her by the arm.
"Come on you little brat!" the man yelled as he pulled her arm. She continued to struggle as they pulled her away.
"P-Please, someone! Help!"
That was it. That one cry for help. That was all he needed to make up his mind. He pulled his mask over his face as he glared at the men and his body disappeared.
"Stop your whining! Don't make this any harder than it has to-!?"
THWIP!
Suddenly they heard a strange noise, as a strand of Web shot from the darkness and latched onto one of the men and pulled him into the shadows. His screams caused the others to turn back to the alley as their ally disappeared. His screams suddenly silenced as quiet filled the alley.
"Shin? Shin where are you!?" one of the thugs yelled as they looked for the man. The men looked around as they searched for their comrade until his body fell from the shadows covered in a web-like cocoon, and he dangled above them.
"Shin!" their ringleader growled as a bone-like spike grew out of his body. The young girl looked up in stunned silence before she was shoved into the garbage. "All right, where are you!?" he yelled out as the other men activated their Quirks.
One man's finger shifted into gun-like barrels, while another held balls of fire in his hand. Another shed his coat to reveal bulked up muscles with bone-like plating on his arms, while another sparked electricity from his fingertips.
Izuku watched from the shadows as he analyzed each man's Quirk.
'A Bone Manipulator, a gun user, a pyromancer, a strength enhancer, and an electric conductor. Four Emitters and One Heteromorphic class. I should take the one with the gun barrels first, can't let him draw attention to cops or Heroes in the area. Then I need to deal with the Pyromancer and Electric user after that, limit their range abilities. The big guy will be tough, and I can't tell what the bone guy's deal is. Can he shoot them, or can he use them as blades?' his analytical brain analyzing their Quirks and coming up with multiple plans to deal with them.
'But most of all, I got to get them away from that girl!' he thought as he sprang into action.
He fired two shots from his Web-Shooters as he jammed up the Gun users' barrels with Web. "GAH! What the hell is this crap!?" he yelled before another Web shot him in the leg and he was pulled and hung upside down above the alley. Izuku's fist collided with his face as he knocked out the man.
'Good thing I learned to pull my punches, otherwise I'd have killed him with that punch.' Izuku thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the men that could see him now.
"Shit! There he is!" the Pyromancer yelled as he chucked a fireball at Izuku's position, only to miss as Izuku jumped out of the way and fired another web shot at the man, covering his face in the webs. "HMMM!" the man yelled as he tried to pull the web off his face.
"GRRRR! THAT'S IT! WHERE ARE YOU!?" the muscle-bound man yelled as he picked up trash cans and threw them. While the electric user shot bolts of lightning from his fingertips. Seeing no other choice, Izuku leapt from the shadows and fired his web shooter, snagging the wall behind them and pulling himself towards them.
His feet collided with the large man as he sent the man flying back and into a wall. His spider-sense went off again as he used his webs to grab the trash lid and used it to redirect the lighting blast from the thug. He then used his Impact Web to blast the electric user, as he was instantly pinned to the wall, knocking him out when his head collided with the brick wall.
Landing on the alley floor, his spider-sense instantly went off, as the big man roared and threw his fist at Izuku. But Izuku managed to dodge his fist as it collided with the concrete and created a small crater. The big man roared as he threw his fist wildly at the young man, who relied on his spider-sense and training with All Might to avoid his punches.
"STAY STILL YOU TWERP AND LET ME HIT YOU!" the man yelled as he tried to hit the boy.
"No way, have you ever been punched before?! It seriously hurts!" Izuku quipped as he dodged the man's fists. 'Did I just quip? Why did I quip? Must be the mask?' he thought to himself as the man threw his fist only to have Izuku catch it and hold it back. Causing the man to stare in shock.
"Here, let me show you!" he then punched the man in the stomach, as the man's eyes widened, and he barfed up his breakfast then passed out. "See, I told ya it would hurt."
His spider-sense instantly went off as he ducked under a bone-like shard that came flying towards him. He spun around to see the ringleader as more bone spike grew out of his body and he launched them at the young man. Izuku dodged and evaded them with ease, as he shot two quick strands of Web at the man and grabbed his hands in the thick strands. He only had a second to register before he was pulled across the alley towards Izuku, who kicked him across the face and knocked him out with a single blow.
"And stay down," Izuku said as he looked around at the unconscious thugs.
"Okay, now where did-!?" he heard a can rustle as he looked over to see the frightened young girl as she hid behind a dumpster. "Ah, there you are. Are you all right, did they hurt you?" he asked as he stepped towards her only for her to scuffle back further. "Whoa, easy there! I'm not going to hurt you!" he said as she still crawled back in fear of him.
"It's okay, I'm not a bad guy, why won't…" he paused for a moment before he realised. "Oh, the mask!" he pulled the mask up to his forehead as he showed his face to her. "See, I'm just a regular guy." He said as she paused and looked at him. "It's just a mask…I'm not going to hurt you, I promise…" he said gently hoping to calm her.
"I'm Izuku," he said pointing to himself, "What's your name?" he asked as she looked at him cautiously.
"…E…Eri…" she said as Izuku smiled.
"Eri…that's a nice name. Do you live near here?" he asked as she shook her head. "No? What about family, do you have any family?" he asked as she paused then shook her head. "No family…who were these guys, why were they after you?" he asked as she curled herself up in fear. "No, it's okay! You don't have to tell me…just come here, I'll get you somewhere safe," he said as he stretched his hand towards her, but she shuffled back in fear. He recoiled a little as he saw the fear in her eyes and wondered what these men had done to her to instil that fear. He worried that he wouldn't be able to help her when he remembered something as he smiled softly and took off one of his gloves.
"Hey…it's okay, I know you're scared, and I don't blame you. But I promise you everything is going to be all right now…do you want to know why?" he asked as she shook her head, and he gave her a bright smile.
"Because I'm here"
His smile seemed to comfort her as he stretched out his hand to her. She stared at the hand cautiously as she slowly reached out and placed her hand in his and he closed it gently. She felt scared for a moment before she relished in the gentle and warm embrace of his hand. Something she was unfamiliar with her entire life. Slowly she stepped forward as Izuku smiled at her reassuringly. She slowly stepped forward, before she latched herself on him and embraced him. Izuku was stunned for a moment before he wrapped his arms around the small girl. The small girl clung to him as he gently rubbed the back of her head in comfort.
"There, there," he said as he comforted her. "Everything is going to be okay." He said as he let her hold him for as long as she needed. Eventually, he had to let her go, despite the clinging grip she had. "Now," he said placing his glove back on. "Let's get you out of here and-!"
Suddenly his head began to pound like a jackhammer as his Spider-Sense went haywire.
He pulled the mask over his face, just as the ground began to break and sharp spikes shot out of the earth. He managed to use his reflexes as he grabbed the girl and jumped high above the sharp concrete. He landed on the wall, clinging to the bricks with his grip until his Spider-Sense went off again and he jumped away from more brick spikes that shot out from his last position. He soared in the air as Eri screamed in fright before Izuku shot a web line onto a clothesline and hung above the spike riddled alley. He cursed as his Spider-Sense directed him towards the source of the attacks.
"What the hell is wrong with you, who are you!?" he demanded as a man emerged from the shadows.
The man was pale with a narrow build and short, shaggy auburn hair parted to the right. His eyes were thin with small irises that had a gold colour and rather long lower eyelashes with small eyebrows. On his left ear were three beaded lobe piercings. He wore a black dress shirt with matching dress pants, a pale grey tie around his neck and a belt with a long thin buckle around his waist. Over this, he wore a dark olive-green bomber jacket with thick purple fur and white lace-up sneakers. His most noticeable features were the white surgical gloves he wore on his hands and the magenta plague mask he had over his mouth, which was tipped and embroidered with gold. Eri stiffened in Izuku's grasp, something he instantly noticed before he turned his attention back to the man.
'What the hell is this guys' problem, he could've hit Eri with that attack! Is he a Hero? No, I don't recognise him, and my Spider-Sense is going haywire around him! Who the heck is this guy?' he narrowed his gaze as he eyed the man. 'Whoever he is, I need to be careful.' He surmised before he began to ask questions.
"What the hell is wrong with you! You could've hit Eri!" Izuku demanded again as the man narrowed his gaze and almost seemed to glare at Eri. The girl trembled in his arms before the man appeared to have a more…dignified expression on his beak covered face.
"My…apologises, I thought you were one of these low life's that wanted to hurt Eri," he said in a way that rubbed Izuku the wrong way, but he shook it off as the strange man gestured to the unconscious thugs. "I was merely overreacting to someone stranger approaching her. I'm sorry if I startled you." He said as Izuku glared behind his mask.
'Overreacting? Is this guy for real? He almost turned me and Eri into shishkebab!' he thought as he lowered himself down with his web. Taking note of how much tighter Eri seemed to grip him. "I'm guessing you know her?" he asked as he kept holding onto the girl.
"You can say that. She's my daughter and she wandered off too far while playing a game. She tends to get carried away and hurt herself sometimes." Izuku's eyes narrowed at the emotionless way he said daughter like it wasn't even true to him. "I thank you for protecting her from these…hoodlums. But I'll be taking Eri back with me. She needs to come home now." He said as he gestured to the girl to come to him, only for her to shrink away in fear.
"Come along Eri, it's time to come home." He said as stretched his gloved hand to her. Izuku glared at the man as his Spider-Sense continued to warn him of the absolute danger that man was.
"Please…" she whispered into Izuku's ear, "Don't let him take me," she silently begged as Izuku's mask lenses widened and then glared at the man.
"Your daughter…She seems scared," Izuku said as he slowly wrapped his right arm tighter around her, while his left arm inched out of view. His left fingers inched close to the trigger of his Web-Shooter, prepared for anything.
"Well… she knows she going to be scolded for getting into trouble…" the man tried to convince him as Izuku glared. "Children will do anything to avoid being scolded."
"But these bandages…" Izuku mentioned as he gestured to the small girls' arms and legs. "They don't look like something you get while 'playing around." He accused as the man's gaze narrowed dangerously.
"She happens to fall a lot. She's quite a clumsy troublemaker." He reasoned, but both Izuku's Spider-Sense and Bullshit sense were going off.
"This much? And to the point that she's trembling right now? Not to mention the entire time she hasn't said a word to you…if I didn't know any better…" his lenses narrowed into an almost intense glare. "I'd say you're the one doing this to her…" The man's eyes glared dangerously as his hand slowly inched towards his glove.
"That's a very rude thing to say, accusing a father of hurting his child? You don't know what you're saying." He said with a hint of venom in his voice.
"All I know is, a small girl is frightened. And if I looked the other way, I'll never consider myself a Hero." He glared back as the man grew increasingly annoyed.
"…Boss…"
A small groan came from the ringleader as both eyes widened. "Boss…Kai…Watch out…this guy…he's dangerous…" the man groaned out as he reached for him. Izuku's eyes snapped back to the man as both seemed to realise what had just been revealed
'Boss!? They work for him!' Izuku freaked out as he held onto Eri tighter. 'Kai' turned his glare down to the man as he sighed.
"…Why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?" he asked, and before Izuku could even stop him, he placed his hand on the man and he exploded in a large gore of blood.
Izuku and Eri's eyes widened in terror as blood painted the alleyway from wall to wall. The man's hand hovered over the stain on the floor before he turned his attention back to Izuku and Eri, as he stood up to full height.
"Well, that was unpleasant." He spoke nonchalantly as he flexed his fingers. "Now that the cat's been let out of the bag, how about we make a deal. Seeing as you managed to take out my boys, I'll make you a deal. Give me back Eri, and I promise to let you walk out of here with your life." He offered as Izuku glared.
"What do you want with Eri, why is she so important to you?" Izuku asked, still trembling slightly after watching a man be blown to pieces.
"That is none of your concern. All you need to know is that if you don't give her back to me, I can't promise you'll make it out of this alley alive." He said as Izuku held on to her tighter, "Now, why don't you do the smart thing and hand her over?"
"Not going to happen." Izuku countered as the man glared.
"Shame…Eri…if you don't come here right now, I will make sure there is nothing left of this boy to fit inside a zip-lock bag. You don't want to be responsible for another person's death." He said with accusation in his voice as Eri trembled and tears started to leak from her eyes.
She looked to the dead thug's body, or what was left of it, as she looked back to Izuku as she feared the same result happening to him. The killer intent rolling off Kai made her know how serious he was. He was fully prepared to kill him, and he would remind her that it was her fault an innocent person was killed. She couldn't let that happen and knew she had no choice but to go back to him. But just as she was about to hop out of his arms, Izuku held onto her tighter and placed a comforting hand on the back of her head. She blinked in muted silence as he glared at Kai.
"She's not going with you." Izuku glared as the man blinked. Izuku swallowed his fear as he decided to take a page out of Kacchan's book.
"I don't know who you think I am. But if you think I'm going to let Eri go with some child-abusing toucan looking psychopath, then you've got another thing coming. So why don't take that glove, take your offer and shove it up to your ass big bird!" he roared as he channelled his inner 'Kacchan'.
"Because a Hero never turns his back on someone in need! Especially a crying child!"
Eri's eyes were wide as she felt something swell in her chest. A feeling she had never felt before. Hope. Kai growled as he removed his other glove and flexed his hands.
"So be it..."
Izuku's Spider-Sense instantly went off as he leaned his body back, just as Kai's hand came rushing towards his face.
'So fast!' Izuku exclaimed as he used his spider enhanced leg strength to jump back from the man. Kai's hand slammed into the ground as it broke apart suddenly reformed into sharp spikes, as they tried to piece the young man's body. The spikes grazed him as he did his best to avoid the spikes and keep Eri out of harm. He jumped up onto a wall, then off again, as it suddenly turned into spikes, he'd be swiss cheese had he not jumped off a second earlier.
"Holy crap! That was close!" Izuku yelled out as he did his best to avoid the spikes.
'Okay, think, find out how his Quirk works! He touches something it explodes, but then re-shapes! He must have some sort of Quirk that allows him to alter matter! But there has to be a limit or a weakness!' he analysed as he jumped from wall to wall, avoiding the deadly spikes.
His Spider-Sense went off as Kai came rushing towards him on a pillar of altered stone. "Oh no, you don't!" Izuku fired several shots of Web as they flew at the man. Causing him to avoid them and fall off the pillar, landing in the garbage. A fierce look crossed his face as Kai growled in annoyance.
"You little!" he growled out as he sent more spikes at him. Izuku still dodged and avoided them while holding Eri tight to his chest.
'Okay, so his Quirk also gives him control over the terrain and grants him extra mobility! Damn this guy is tough, I can't beat him in this kind of environment! And I can't risk using One for All when I barely have control over it! I could go invisible, but I can't cloak her as well and there's no way I'm leaving her behind! But…' he looked up to the sky as he shot a line of web.
'I don't need to fight him! I just need to get Eri out of here and into a public area! Then he'd have to deal with Pro-Heroes!' he surmised as he pulled himself and Eri towards freedom. But suddenly large spikes shot out of the wall and closed the alley shut. Severing the Web line as Izuku and Eri began to fall towards more spikes.
"No!" he yelled as he shot another web line and pulled himself and Eri away from danger and into a non-terraformed section of the alley.
His body slammed into the concrete as it splintered on impact and caused him to cry out in pain. He did manage to spare Eri any pain by shielding her with his body. But the look of fear on her face was still evident. He grunted in pain as he slowly stood back up. Small cuts of blood stained his tracksuit and one the of lenses on his mask was cracked. But he refused to give up as he slowly stood back up and faced the man that was walking towards him.
"You have guts, and great reflexes, I'll give you that," Kai said as he walked towards them and soon stood over them. "But in the end, it's hopeless. You're no match for me, Hero filth. So, give up Eri and I promise to make your death quick and painless. What do you say?" he asked once more as Izuku looked to the small girl in his arms as she looked up to him with sadness and regret. But Izuku shook his head and then turned to the man.
"Well, when you put it like that - Web to the face!" he shot a glob of Web as it impacted against the man's face.
"MHMMM!" he yelled through muffled rage, as Izuku quickly shot more webs and bound his arm and legs to the walls. He delivered a powerful punch as the man was momentarily stunned by the action. His mysophobia acted up from contact as hives broke out over his face. His body flew across the alley before it slammed into the back wall. Izuku then fired two Impact Webs from his wrists and restrained the man.
But Izuku knew that those wouldn't hold him.
"Come on! That's not going to hold!" he yelled as he grabbed Eri, shot a web line, and pulled himself out of the alley. Just as Kai disassembled the webs and sent a myriad of spikes after the boy. One of the spikes managed to clip Izuku's outer leg as he screamed in pain. He and Eri tumbled on the roof as they groaned in pain. Izuku gasped in pain as he held his right leg that was bleeding from a nasty cut.
"Damn it!" he groaned but he refused to stay down as he limped up. "Come on!" he told Eri as he picked her up. "We got to keep moving!" he told her as he aimed his web-shooters only for nothing to come out, "Damn it! Must be out of fluid!" he reached for his spares clips, only to find the pouch containing the spares on his utility belt was gone. More than likely ripped off in the fight.
"Crap! Got to do this the hard way!" he told himself as he limped along the roof with the girl in his arms as tears streaked down her face. "Don't worry, everything will be alright, I promise." He reassured her even as the small drops of blood leaked from the boy and guilt continued to build up in her chest.
'Please…stop…' she wanted to tell him but couldn't say. 'Please stop…' she silently cried as she was carried by her saviour.
'I don't want you to die…not for me…'
Meanwhile, in the Alley, Kai had become furious as he stood back up. "Okay…I've just about had enough of this filthy spider-freak!" he growled as he created a stone pillar and jumped onto the roof. He marched along the roof, following a trail of blood as he tracked the boy that was starting to piss him off. Eventually, he found the boy, leaning on an air-conditioning unit, as he held his ribs in pain, while his left hand kept Eri behind him. He almost chuckled at the sight.
"You know in the five minutes I've known you; you have been a royal pain in my ass."
"Well…I am aiming to be a hero after all? So, if I tick you off - argh! Then I'm doing something right." Izuku grunted as he held his ribs gingerly.
"Tch…are you kidding me? You're not even a real Hero? You're just some kid that walked in on the place at the wrong time?" Izuku shrugged his shoulders.
"That's my life story in a nutshell. But even so, I won't let you take her…" he kept Eri behind her as Kai chuckled smugly.
"You think I'm not willing to hurt her? Look at her arms, the things I've done to her. I can pierce your bodies together and then put her back together like nothing." He told him as Izuku's glare hardened even further.
"And here I thought you couldn't get even more despicable." He retorted as Kai chuckled.
"No matter, this is the end for you…" he said with a raised hand, but Izuku only chuckled as he shook his head.
"It doesn't matter what you do to me. So long as she gets out of here, I've done my job." He looked up as he smirked under his mask. "Because that's what heroes do!" he told him defiantly as Kai narrowed his eyes and prepared to end the boy's life. Izuku getting ready for anything as he prepared to sacrifice his life…
"BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Suddenly they heard a familiar laugh as they looked to the sky. "EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT! WHY!?" a voice called out before a speeding object smashed into the rooftop. The dust was then blown away as all eyes widened and the man grinned.
"BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
"ALL MIGHT!?" Izuku and Kai yelled out, one in awe and hope, while the other was in surprise and fear. The number one Hero grinned as he showed a thumbs up to the boy.
"Are you all right young man? Has this rapscallion been giving you trouble!?" All Might proclaimed, careful not to reveal his and Midoriya's connection.
"All Might! Thank god you're here! That man's been trying to kill me all because of this girl!" he quickly told the Pro-Hero as he pointed to the man. "But be careful of his Quirk! He can break down and re-assemble anything he touches! I think he's been doing it to this little girl!" he told the Pro-Hero as he nodded.
"I thank you for the information young man! But fear not! This wannabe criminal is no match for the likes of me!" All Might proclaimed, but still was cautious of the man. 'I thank you for the information young Midoriya, but as soon as this is done you and I are going to have a long chat!' He thought to himself as he stood before the man. "Now, I think it would be best if you surrender, eh villain!?" All Might asked/demanded the man who looked as though he was face-to-face with the devil himself.
'All Might!? What the hell is All Might doing here!?' Kai cursed at the sight of the number one Hero. 'Shit! There's no way I can take on the Number One Hero! Not without backup! But I can't let them take Eri from me! She's key to everything! Hell, I'm going to have to move the whole operation somewhere else to avoid All Might!' he thought to himself. 'Damn it! No choice…I just need a distraction…' he slammed his hand into the roof and sent long spikes towards him. 'And then take Eri back!' he decided as the spikes rushed towards the Hero.
"All Might!" Izuku yelled out only for the Hero to grin and pull his arm back and the wind circled his fist.
"Detroit…" he began to yell and sent his fist flying. "SMASH!" the shockwave was enough to shatter the stone spikes to pieces, as Kai was nearly sent flying away from the air pressure alone. Izuku and Eri had to shield themselves from the wind force as Izuku held her close. Eyes were wide as there was a large hole in the spikes, leading right back to Kai who looked back in fear.
"Damn it! So, this is the power of the Symbol of Peace!?" he asked himself as the Pro-Hero gave his trademark smirk.
"Now…" All Might asked again, as he gripped his fist. "How about that surrender?" he asked as Kai cursed in anger and turned his glare to Izuku, the boy that had ruined everything.
"This is not over! Spider-Freak!" He yelled and slammed his hand into the roof, creating more spikes to distract All Might, who easily destroyed them with another Detroit Smash, and made his escape. "I will have Eri back! Mark my words!" he swore as he disappeared into the night.
"Damn!" All Might cursed as he rushed to the ledge. But he was long gone. "He got away! He is a sneaky one!" he sighed before he turned back to Izuku. "Are you okay there, young Midoriya?" he asked as Izuku nodded.
"Now that you're here. I wasn't sure you got my message." He pulled the phone from behind his back as it showed a text to All Might with a pin to his location.
"Well, I figured you're not the one to accidentally send location text without a reason. And it's a good thing I was on patrol, otherwise, you'd be dead…" his grin turned into a frown as he glared at the boy. "Now…" Izuku stiffened at the glare he was receiving. "Do you want to explain what exactly you were doing out here, and why you're wearing that mask?" he looked behind the boy to the small girl behind him. "And who is this?" asked as Izuku lowered his head.
"It's…complicated…" he started as the man crossed his arms.
"Let me guess, you wanted to test out your Web-Shooters in an urban environment, didn't you? Then you stumbled on that guy harming this young girl and decided to step in, despite the fact you are not legally authorized to do so," he asked as Izuku said nothing. "Damn it Midoriya, I never expected this kind of behaviour from you. I knew you were reckless, but to put your potential career on the line for a simple test. What were you think!?" he scolded as the boy hung his head.
"I…I don't know…I guess I wasn't thinking." He admitted as the pro-hero sighed at his young protégé.
"I can't say I'm not disappointed. What you did was reckless, foolish, and you could've gotten yourself killed." He chided the poor lad who hung his head, while Eri clutched to his pants leg slightly scared of the man.
Sirens suddenly sounded as they both turned to see the familiar red and blue flash of the police. "We'll discuss this later. For now, hand me your Web-Shooters and Mask. Can't have you being implicated in Vigilantism. Just follow my lead and maybe we can salvage your future."He told the boy as he took the Web-Shooters and Mask from the lad and turned his back, making Izuku feel more ashamed than he did in his entire life.
"But…" he said as Izuku looked up.
"I am proud of you; you followed your heart and did what you thought was right to save that girl. Another reason why I chose you." He told him as Izuku felt a little better. "But don't think you're off the hook, you are going to be in so much trouble! Not just from me, but your mother as well!" He started walking to the police who circled the area.
Izuku smiled a little before dread came over him at the thought of his mother.
"Oh, crap…"
One Hour Later – Mustafa Hospital
Izuku sat in the spare medical room with Detective Tsukauchi, All Might and the police chief Kenji Tsuragamae, a dog-headed man in a suit and black spotted tie, standing before him. They were going over the events of the last hour as Izuku explained, with All Might help, the events that transpired. Eri was in another room being looked over by Recovery Girl, which was difficult as she refused to let go of Izuku's hand. It only took for Izuku to promise her that he'd immediately be back after the interrogation that got her to calm down. As well as him giving her his mask and telling her it had 'Special Power' to give her courage.
"Now, let's get this straight. You were walking home when you heard this girl, Eri correct?" Kenji asked as the boy nodded. "Being threatened by some thugs. But instead of calling for help, you got yourself involved and attempted to take them on by yourself?" he asked as Izuku nodded. "Which is when All Might appeared and used a 'gadget' he was testing to subdue the assailants." He went over the report as Izuku and All Might nodded.
All Might had decided to claim that the Web-Shooters were a gadget he was requested to test for a student at UA. Not implausible as some students often had their gear tested by pro-heroes. Which was confirmed by the Principal, who was alerted earlier for the cover story. This would hopefully cover up Izuku's involvement with getting into a fight with thugs and using his 'Quirk' without authorization. But his injuries and initial reports of disturbance were hard to justify and could not be overlooked.
"This part of the report sounds irregular. But we can't verify it as your assailant had decided to take out his fellow criminals, for what reason we don't know?" the Chief said as when they went to arrest the thugs, they were already dead with concrete spikes piercing their torsos. "So, I'm going to take All Might's word for it and believe him." The chief said before he laced his fingers. "But you do understand Mister Midoriya, that what you did was illegal, correct?" he asked. "We can't have civilians using their Quirk without proper authorization from the Hero Licensing Commission. If it wasn't for the fact that All Might praised your actions in helping this young child, you'd be facing a hefty sum of illegal fines and community service." He told the boy as he nodded.
"Still…I won't deny that what you did wasn't valiant and commemorate you for your good deed. So, we're going to let you off with a warning this time. But I never want to hear about you acting like a Vigilante again, understand?"
Izuku nodded as the chief stood up. "I'll leave the rest of the investigation to you, Tsukauchi. I need some coffee," the chief said as Tsukauchi nodded and left the room.
All of them in relief. "Not even a Hero yet, and already you're causing problems with the police. You found a strange one, hey All Might?" All Might nodded as he exploded in a cloud of steam and returned to his true form.
"Tell me about it, the kids got guts, but I swear he's going to put me in an early grave!" he joked as Izuku hung his head. "As I said, I'm disappointed about how we got here, but not for what you did to save that young girl. Even if it was extremely reckless…" he said as Izuku nodded.
"I know…and I promise you it won't happen again. But I just couldn't leave her behind, you understand right?" he asked as the Pro-hero nodded.
"I understand, which makes me proud of you my boy, and reaffirms my decision in choosing you, young man." All Might said as the boy smiled slightly until All Might grabbed his ear and twisted. "But don't think you'll get out of this unpunished! Next time you won't have a small child as an excuse for reckless actions!"
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Okay! I'm sorry! I promise! Just please stop twisting my ear! I need that!" he cried out as Tsukauchi chuckled.
"Speaking of which, we should get back to her, you made a promise after all." He said as Izuku nodded and all three of them left the room to the infirmary. Midoriya hobbled a little on his leg. "You going to be all right on that leg?" he asked as the boy's thigh was wrapped in bandages.
"Yeah, the doctor said it wasn't too bad and my healing factor should have it fixed by the morning," Izuku said, even as he limped along with the others. "Still, why were they so keen on getting Eri back?" Izuku asked as they walked towards Eri's room. "What made her so special?" he asked as All Might thought for a moment.
"It's possible she possesses a unique Quirk. There have been reported situations of children disappearing because they display unique and powerful Quirks at a young age. Some would do anything to obtain these children and use them for their nefarious means. And judging from the scarring on her arms and legs…she may have been part of experimentation." All Might explained, having been aware of such illegal activates.
"Like…" he looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "The Spider?" he whispered as the man shrugged.
"Possible, but she didn't display any of your abilities, so I doubt it was the same experiment." He said but was no less disputing the theory. "However, the man you faced didn't seem like a typical villain or thug." All Might noted as they neared the infirmary. "He was adamant on getting young Eri back, no matter the cost."
"If that's the case, then what is her significance to him?" Izuku asked as all of them pondered.
"Who knows? But the important thing is that he didn't get a good look at you, and you reframed from saying your name. So, he won't know who you are. But just in case, keep an eye out from strange activates." All Might said as Izuku nodded.
"From your description, I feel like I've heard about him from somewhere, and you're sure his name was Kai?" Tsukauchi asked as Izuku nodded. "Hmm…I'll ask around the Hero Agencies in the area, I'm sure one of them is running an investigation that could help us ID him," Tsukauchi suggested as they opened the door.
Eri sat on the medical bed, Izuku's mask held tightly in her hand, as Recovery Girl jotted down on a notepad. She was called in to look over the child as she was the most useful dealing with children and had the most expert on handling situations like this. As soon as the door opened and Eri spotted Izuku, she hopped down from the bed and latched herself into his waist.
"Woah!" Izuku stumbled as she held on tight. "It's okay, I told you I'd be back." He reassured her as she nodded. The Mask he gave her was still in her hand as she held it close. "And see, I told you the mask had special powers, you were so brave while I was gone." He said as she nodded softly.
"So, Recovery Girl, what the prognosis?" All Might asked Recovery Girl sighed with a tired voice.
"…In all the years I've dealt with child abuse victims, I still cannot fathom the cruelty that human beings can inflict on a small child. Especially one as innocent as her." She told the man as she set her clipboard down. "Physically she's fine, but the scars on her arms and legs are not random…they're surgical, almost as if whoever was holding her was extracting something from her body. The number of them is…disturbing."
"My God…" All Might said as he clenched his fist. "What kind of monster would hurt such an innocent child?" he asked, wanting to take another swing at the man he met. Izuku himself wished he had used his full strength and bust the man's head open.
"That's not the only thing I found disturbing. She was also too calm when I injected her with the needle to take a blood sample, almost as if she was used to it. And when we ran her blood through the database…no matches came up. And I don't just mean her identity, but nothing on her parents or close relatives. It's almost as if she doesn't exist." She said as All Might and Tsukauchi blinked.
"How is that possible?" Tsukauchi asked, "Almost everyone nowadays is catalogued in the Database. Heck, it should've at least told us who her parents are?" he questioned as she shook her head.
"I believe given her circumstances she may have been from a…less than the legal background. It's not unheard of for cases like this, but hard to erase that kind of data. Whoever she belonged to was either in on it, was paid off, or…was silenced." She suggested as they all looked solemn at this.
"So…what will happen now?" Izuku asked as he looked down at the quiet girl.
"In normal cases like this, missing children will be handed over to the foster care system. Either until her real parents turn up, or she's placed in a foster family." Tsukauchi said before Recovery Girl shook her head.
"I don't think that will be the best choice." She said as they turned to her.
"What do you mean?" All Might asked as she gestured to Eri clinging to Izuku.
"Right now, I'm more concerned about her phycological health, it is unnatural for a child her age to be this emotionless. She rarely showed any emotion, until Midoriya walked into the room." Recovery Girl said as she listed her prognosis of the child. "I believe if we put her into the foster care system, she would continue to stagnate emotionally. But…if we were to place her in Midoriya's care, then we may see an improvement in her stability."
"You want Young Midoriya to…adopt a child? He's too young for that and he has the Exam to concentrate on!" All Might said as Izuku nodded.
"Y-Yeah! I don't the first thing about raising kids! Heck, I'm still a kid myself!" he exclaimed as she sighed shaking her head.
"I didn't mean for him to adopt her, but rather she'd be adopted into his family to live with him. She needs to be around someone she trusts and be in well a nurturing environment. Midoriya is the only one she trusts right now, anyone else, and it would be detrimental to her recovery. She needs to recover slowly and seeing how closely attached she is to you now, prying her away wouldn't be healthy and it would be easier to know she will be in a good home." She told him as he looked at her.
"But if I take her in, I'll have to explain everything to my mum. What happened, how we got here, which means…" he trailed off as All Might sighed.
"Which means I will have to tell her my secret…" All Might said as Izuku hung his head.
"I'm sorry All Might…I didn't mean for this to happen." He apologized as the man shook his head.
"I know young Midoriya. Your heart was in the right place, some things are just out of our control." He told the young man, "But I hope you realise that there are consequences to your actions and keep it in mind the next time you do something reckless." He told him as Izuku nodded.
"I will…I can't promise it won't be reckless. But I'll keep it in mind." He told his mentor who sighed.
"I guess that's the best I can hope for," He said as Recovery Girl nodded.
"Well now that that has been settled, we should contact Mrs Midoriya and organize this. We will have to create a new identity for her, in case those men are after her." She said as Tsukauchi nodded.
"I can organize the paperwork, but we should wait for his mother before we do anything." He said as Recovery Girl.
"And what about your father, would he be okay with this?" she asked as Izuku shrugged.
"Don't know, I haven't seen or heard from him in years. Mum said he was doing work overseas, but I think he just walked out on us. So, I don't think it'd be a problem." Izuku told her as she nodded.
"I see…and your mother, do you think she'd be okay raising another child?" she asked as Izuku was about to open his mouth when the door slammed open and a green-haired woman, with waterfall-like tears, burst into the room. All Might gagged on the blood rocketing out his mouth as the sudden entrance caused him to nearly have a heart attack. While Eri hid behind All Might's leg, startled at the crying woman.
"IZUKU!" Inko yelled as she rushed over to his son.
"M-MUM!?" he managed to yell before she grabbed hold of him and held him tight.
"Oh, my baby! I was so scared when the police called me! Are you alright! Did you get hurt! Oh, my sweet baby boy!" she cried as she held his face and looked over his bandages. "Oh, my baby! What did they do to you!" she cried as she nearly soaked everyone in the room with her tears.
'Well…now we know where he gets the crying from…' All Might deadpanned.
"Mrs Midoriya," Tsukauchi said as he managed to draw her attention. "I can assure you your son is fine; he was just involved in a little incident. But he's otherwise fine," he said as she calmed down.
"Oh, okay…I'm sorry. When I got the call, I got so worried," she said before turning to Izuku. "What were you doing out there Izuku so late, how did you get into a fight and-" she trailed off when she noticed the small girl at his side. "And…who is this?" she asked as Izuku swallowed his fear and stood before her.
"Mum, there's…something we need to talk about." He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "See…I kind of was testing out my new Web-Shooters in the city."
"WHAT!? Izuku why would you do something like that!? Don't you know how illegal it-!"
"I know! I know! But things kind of got out of hand and I found Eri here, being attacked by thugs." He explained as he gestured to the girl who was hiding behind his leg. "I fought them because I didn't want her to get hurt. Then it escalated and…now we kind of need to adopt her." He said quickly as the woman stared before blinking.
"…What?" she asked as Izuku sighed.
"See, the people that had her, they were doing bad stuff to her. I saved her and now she's kind of attached to me. See the thing is…" he trailed off, finding it hard to explain.
"What your son is trying to explain is that due to certain circumstances, this young child must be placed in your care." Recovery Girl said as she turned to her. "This young child, Eri, was the subject of terrible abuse and needs a foster family. Your son has made an impression on her and it's my medical expertise that she'd be adopted into your family."
"And you are?" Inko asked.
"Recovery Girl, I'm the one that did the examination on your son and confirmed he had a Quirk." She said before continuing. "Mrs Midoriya, we realize that this is a difficult situation, and we fully understand if you reject this. But the case is your son is important to this girl, had he not saved her there is no telling what harm she may have continued to suffer." She explained as Inko looked between her, Izuku, and Eri.
"Mum…" Izuku said as she turned to him. "I know there's a lot I need to explain, there have been things I've hidden from you and I need to tell you something things. Some stuff won't make sense, but…" he looked down to Eri and placed a comforting hand on her head. "Eri needs us, and I can't just abandon her. Not after everything she's been through. I'll do whatever I can to help, but please…she needs us. Because to her…I'm her Hero…"
Inko looked at the sheer determination in her son's face and voice, as she recalled years ago when he asked her if he could be a Hero. At the time she didn't support him and apologized for a hand that life had dealt him, and she had regretted it ever since. But now he was, standing before her and asking her for something that seemed completely outrageous. She wasn't fully sure how she should respond. But when she looked at the small girl clinging to him like a lifeline…
How on earth could any mother say no?
She sighed before nodding. "Okay…" she said as Izuku brightened up. "We'll adopt her but starting from now you're going to tell me everything, no more secrets, and no more late-night experiments. Okay?" she asked as he nodded.
"Okay," he said as she smiled.
"Good, besides, it'll be nice to have a daughter. She's certainly cute." She said as Eri peeked around his leg to look at her. "Hello, I'm Inko…Izuku's mother." She said as she stretched her hand to her. "It's very nice to meet you." She said as the girl looked at her and slowly took her hand, feeling the familiar warmth she felt with Izuku.
"H-Hello…" she said as Inko smiled and brought the small girl into a hug, that startled Eri, but caused her to relax as she had never been held before like this. But it also felt familiar, as she barely remembered her mother and had vague memories of her. But still this feeling…
It was nice
The others smiled as they were glad that Inko was warming up to the child, which would make things a whole lot easier.
"Now," Inko said as she looked to her son. "Is there anything else I should know about?" she asked as Izuku stiffened and started scratching the back of his head.
"Well…the thing is for the past four months I've kind of been training with…"
"I think I'll explain it young Midoriya," Yagi said as Inko turned to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't notice you there. Who are you?" she asked, as Toshinori grinned and steam started to roll his body before he exploded in a cloud of steam, and in his place stood the Number One Hero in Japan, All Might.
"I am-!" the man exclaimed as Inko's eyes went wide.
"A-A-ALL MIGHT!?" she screamed in shock as the man laughed his signature laugh.
"That's right Mrs Midoriya, you see for the past four months I have been training your son in secret! Helping him to master his new Quirk and I asked him not to reveal my secret!" he flexed his arms in his automatic showboating nature. "I know that this is a lot for you to take in Mrs Midoriya, and more Midoriya and I must explain to you. But know that the reason I am training him, is because I believe he is worthy to be my successor as the next Symbol of Peace!" he explained as Inko stared with wide eyes.
"…Mrs Midoriya?"
"Mum?" Izuku asked before his mother's eyes rolled into the back of his head and she fainted. "MUM! Oh my god, you killed my mum!"
"W-WHAT!? I didn't kill her! S-She just fainted!" All Might stammered as both mentor and apprentice started arguing amongst themselves, while Eri tried to wake her up. The woman lying on the floor with foam coming out of her mouth and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
Recovery Girl sighed as she shook her head. "Idiot…" she said before deciding to go and get a cup of coffee.
Izuku's Room
Spider Experiment – Untitled – Day 132
Izuku started unto the camera as he shrugged his shoulders. "So…yeah…I had to explain everything to mum. She was…a little shaken up. But, after All Might explained everything about my new Quirk, she started to understand. She didn't like the idea of not being told about the Spider. But she understood." He said as avoiding telling the camera about One for All before he sighed.
"So, now for breaking the rules and nearly getting into trouble with the law. All Might and my mum decided that I needed to be punished. So, I'm grounded for the next month. No hero training, no spider experiments…no more All Might merchandise. Nothing…which honestly is the best I could've hoped for." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Besides, I need this time to help Eri here get adjusted to living with us." He said as he stroked her hair and gave her a comforting smile. "As of today, she is officially Eri Midoriya. My surrogate little sister and newest member of the family…" he looked down at her as he smiled.
"I did something stupid, crazy and nearly cost me my potential career as a Hero…but honestly. If almost losing my Hero career meant saving Eri's from a terrible life…" he looked back to the camera and smiled. "Then I'd do it again in a heartbeat, after all…" He smiled as he shrugged his shoulders.
"That's what Heroes do"
He smiled before he turned off the camera and the screen went dark.