Chapter Text
Author Note: Speech that is underlined is a character speaking in Japanese.
All right, let's do this one last time. I promise, this is the final one. My name is Peter Parker. I was bitten by a radioactive spider, and for the last three years and seven months, I've been the one and only Spider-Man. There's been ups, and there's definitely been downs. But nonetheless I always come swinging back. I've stopped a few bad guys, cracked a few jokes, helped a lady cross the street. And recently, things have been looking up.
Ah, but of course. Parker luck keeps its promises of being, well, Parker luck. Now, Peter likes to believe he's a level-headed and rational person. Heck, his three years (and seven months!) are a testament to his patience. There's been countless times where he almost quit, where the job became too much for him to bare. Where some nights his fatigue finally kicks in, causing him to skim closer to death than he'd ever admit (or think about. He stuffs that trauma deep, deep down; never to be thought about or uncovered). But he still loves being Spider-Man. So no matter how many hits he takes, he will always, always comes back.
Now, let me reiterate: Peter believes he is a rational person and no matter what scenario his spider self runs into, he can handle it whilst remaining cool and composed. He never wondered what situation could truly destroy his belief in this. But thankfully he didn't have to worry or even think about it, because (ever so kindly) the universe wondered for him.
Embarrassingly this all could have been avoided if Peter had just used his brain. "It's all about brains, kid." Mr. Stark had told him (on multiple occasions). But Peter, being the brilliant, sleep-deprived and spectacularly naive and dumb fifteen year old that he is did exactly what the bad guys wanted: Rushing straight into their trap! (Not his brightest idea).
Yeah, so if you put two and two together you can assume things didn't go well from there on out. Y'see, his entire villain roster thought it would be really funny to gang up against him and create some BBEG™ (Big Bad Evil Guy) Super weapon and use it on him. NEWS FLASH: It was not funny at all. Not even in the slightest. In hindsight, this also explains all of their suspiciously sudden disappearances in the last months.
Now, before Peter could even formulate some type of emotion or reaction towards the weapon ("Oh shit," and "Aunt May and Mr. Stark are going to be so mad." Do not count), his world tilted on its axis, followed by a blinding light.
The next thing that follows is pain pain pain. Peter is no stranger to pain because he is Spider-Man and Spider-Man is a hero. The thing is, being a hero is all about pain. Most people don't realise this, but Peter knows. He knows by the way Hawkeye is permanently deaf in one ear. By the way the Winter Soldier scratches at the stump of his arm before it transitions into metal. By the way he can hear Mister Stark's iron heart beat and vhir mechanically in a soft rhythm: Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump. And he knows by the countless times he's come back home, bruised black and blue as dried blood crusted around newly formed cuts.
So yes. Peter knows pain. But this pain is different. It's empty, like the sandy feeling in your limbs after sitting still for a long time. The pain travels throughout his body, white and hot and unforgiving. He screams briefly in agony as red overtakes his vision. Red like the colour of his shoes and beloved spider suit. Red like the colour of blood and danger. Red like pain and death.
Then red gives way to black.
Peter considers he may have blacked out, but that conclusion is overruled by the fact he is still conscious and feeling. It's strange as the constant overstimulation of awareness is off for once. It feels almost like bitter nostalgia that makes your heart warm. It blooms deep inside his chest, underneath all his bruises and Peter feels…content. (He isn't sure when he last felt content).
It reminds him of days before the spider bite. Days where he was wonderfully ordinary. Back then Peter didn't have many glaring worries of the word, except for maybe, English (Maths was almost like a second language to him). Days where he'd drag himself out of bed because May was calling for breakfast, or stuffing last minute homework into his bag. Days where he'd walk to school half-asleep, preparing for pop quizzes or Flash Thompson's latest attempt at being a blithering idiot, and days where Ned would ramble about his newest Lego set.
Life then was simple but as more time passed, Peter seemed to forget normalcy.
Once he leaped into heroism his life did a 180°. Some nights he'd stay out until two in the morning. Sometimes he'd come into school with a new set of broken ribs. Peter learnt quickly that doing homework on the go was the most efficient option.
His thoughts drift to May. He pictures her standing in the kitchen, clutching a spatula in one hand as her face oozes a look of betrayal.
It wasn't easy to convince her to let him continue being Spider-Man after she found out.
Then his mind wanders to something, or more specifically, someone. Music--Back in Black by AC/DC--plays faintly and there's a distinct sound of robotic clanking.
"Kid, you're late." Mr. Stark greeted, and Peter rolls his eyes, throwing his worn rucksack to his side of the lab. Mr. Stark isn't one to say he was proud, not outright. He's a "show, not tell" type of man. Peter began to realise that when his mentor would buy him enough Thai food to feed ten people, or when he trusted him with a project. It may not seem like something monumental, but for a person like Tony Stark it was.
You see, it's the little things with him.
He learnt that when Mr. Stark told him that all mechanical geniuses cared about details--"The devils in the details!"--though only later on did Peter realise Mr. Stark applied that to more than just mechanics.
The warmth in his chest grows but there's an underlying feeling of wrongness… where is he?
The thought fades when Mr. Stark morphs into an older man with a set of brown locks and curls that rival his own. A soft, steady voice rumbles through his head. A calm affirmation which is muffled to Peter's ears. Ah. Peter can't remember Uncle Ben's voice anymore. That realisation stings more than any punch he has and will ever take.
Peter wonders if he died. Maybe he's having his seven minute life flashback. Maybe these years of heroism have finally caught up to him. Maybe--
The abyss is replaced by an agonising white and it's then that Peter realises that he is (thankfully) alive, but with that revelation, joins a unwelcoming pain. His heart pounds against his ribs as he sucks in a ragged breath. Nope nope nope. Baaaad move. He rolls onto his front, just quick enough to empty his stomach of whatever scraps he ate before going out on patrol. He spits the remainder of the bitter taste from his mouth, followed by an alarming amount of blood.
Peter tries to push himself to his hands, but his entire body aches. The universe is obviously against him as another wave of nausea returns. C'mon Spider-Man. This is easy. Try again.
By the time the ringing in his ears fade, another noise replaces it: Screaming. A lot of screaming (and shouting). It's this revelation that worries Peter. Another thing: To Peter, pain and screaming go hand in hand, because where there's screaming, there's usually pain. It's that belief which causes him to pause and force his blurry vision to focus. When he finally manages to focus, he figures out a couple of things:
One: That migraine that's been going off since he came to? Yeah, well, that's actually a mixture of a migraine and his spider sense screeching at him.
Two: He's in some type of …facility? Actually, Peter isn't quite sure. He'll have to put a pin in that.
Three: Finally, there are a lot of people here (thank his eyes and spider sense for that information). But what strikes him the most out of the people is this monster looking thing. Yeah. A monster. It looks eerily like Venom (boy, was that a fight). However, this things brain was poking out of its head, and Peter couldn't suppress a shiver. Okay, ew.
Finally with his mind half there, Peter rises from--did he leave a crater?! Does this mean he fell??--where he woke up. It's as he's rising that he notices something through the crowds of people. Teenagers. Maybe… his age, or a little older. They're all wearing matching uniforms, but that's not the only thing they're wearing that they're matching; Fear. A kind of fear Peter has seen when he's out as Spider-Man on the face of countless civilians, the fear of danger and injury, and worst of all death. They all look horrified.
Now, this brings us back to an earlier point: Peter believes he is a rational person. He likes to think that, no matter the situation, he can stay calm. This statement is true. Over the last three years he's developed a system for his nighttime job. He calls this process S.A.F.E. An abbreviation as Mr. Stark loves them. It's simple but it's effective and does the job. It goes like this: Survey the situation, assess the danger, formulate a plan, execute. Peter follows this 90% of the time. However, there's something else I haven't said yet.
Let me make a new point:
Peter Parker is a liar.
He lies to Aunt May every single time she asks if anything's happening at school (Fuck you, Flash Thompson). He lies to Mr. Stark with an, "I'm fine", after going on a particularly gruelling patrol. And worst of all, he lies to everyone about who he truly is.
So. Right now? Looking at the muscled monster, looking at the terrified teenagers, and looking at the the trashed building he's in…Peter's mind goes wonderfully, spectacularly blank.
And years of experience take over.
Shota likes to believe he is a good teacher because he tries. Really, truly tries. Though from the outside, many people do not agree with that sentiment. All they see is his history of expelling people and quickly decide he is ill-fitting. But what they don't realise is that Shota does not do this out of contempt or some weird power trip--No no. Not at all. Shota doesn't send students away because he enjoys crushing dreams, he does it to stop people from dying. He does this because he refuses to send children (children!!) into the world of heroics when they could not survive. It's harsh, but it's true. Heroics is not a game, it is not a sport nor is it a glamorous career. Any hero worth their two cents should know this. It's a profession where people, children, die.
And Shota knows this because he's seen too many funeral and attended his fair share too. Too many bright-eyed children that had a whole life ahead of them (Sometimes, he dreams of Oboro and the what-ifs). Shota refuses to bury another. There's a reason heroes have the highest mortality rate than any other profession.
Which is why, as he lies face down, eating concrete thanks to the Nomu (as the man from earlier called it), he makes an easy decision. The students come first. Always. Even if it kills him…especially if it kills him.
But, Shota Aizawa is also a liar. It's strange; for him, lies come easier than truths. Lies like his "logical ruses", or when he promised Hizashi he was okay after Oboro's death.
So maybe Shota isn't a good teacher after all.
Maybe he is the same, powerless fool he was during his time at U.A. Before years of being an underground pro hardened him into the man he is now.
He cant help but feel a twinge of uselessness. "Can't be a pro if you only have one trick." Right. He did say that to Midoriya earlier, suppose he lied about that too. His quirk had already been pushed to its limit, and his body is desperately screaming in protest. In all honesty, he isn't sure how he'd tackle this thing. Sure, he'd handled big villains with eerie mutation quirks before, but this--this was different.
He would try. He was trying (Get up, Shota!) But nothing could stop as his surroundings blurred, black and red spots encroaching on his vision. He needed to keep going, he--he needed to…
An explosion not far from Shota caused concrete to clatter haphazardly. Shota turned slowly, snapped from his daze in forceful attention as a dense cloud of dust engulfed the area the sound originated from.
Silence settled in Shota. All that fell on his ears was the erratic sound of his heartbeat. What was that? Are his students safe?
The suspension drew to a close as quickly as it arrived. Shota watched awkwardly, keeping his main focus on staying awake whilst trying to eye the newcomer from the confines of the Nomu's grasp. Not long after, a figure emerged out of the settling debris. From what Shota eyed, the figure was wearing some sort of suit. It was primarily red and blue, but it looked like it had been put through an unpleasant shredder because of the amount of rips and tears it had in it.
The mysterious figure swayed as he rose to his feet unsteadily, glancing around USJ, and Shota realised he hadn't seen this individual before, not during his initial analysis of intruders or from his last quick survey. The newcomers eyes seemed to lock onto his students, then the villains, then the Nomu, then him, then back to his students again. Following that, there was another pregnant pause. Shota couldn't tell what the figure was thinking, but whatever it was, it came to a decision quickly.
As soon as the figure landed, did they take off. The noise of a THWIP ringing distinctly through his concussed brain.
SURVEY
Approximately 3 civilians (teenagers) in the near vicinity, hiding inside a fountain type thing. There's a couple other groups of people, some laying on the ground unconscious, whilst others are retreating (villains?). Then, underneath the Venom copycat is an old guy looking extremely battered and, finally, there's a weirdo talking to a puff of black void or…cloud? Gas? Peter isn't sure.
ASSESS
One monster, two villains, three teenagers, a beaten man, and a couple dozen thugs.
Great, the odds are always in Peter's favour, aren't they?
FORMULATE
This is Peters least favourite part of S.A.F.E. But he realised that one day his impulsivity would kill him if he always rushed in without a plan (take, for example, approximately 10 minutes ago when he rushed into that shady warehouse without a single thought).
Alright, snatch the injured man from the creature. Then move the civilians, and follow that with an appropriate ass-whooping for the villains.
EXECUTE
This part usually ranges in difficulty. Sometimes it's easy peasy lemon squeezy, like rescuing a cat from a tree or drop-kicking a mugger square in his sacred crown jewels. Other times it's not so easy, such as that one time he had to run through a burning building twice to save a toddler and a baby. So yeah, there's quite a spectrum. Unluckily for Peter, today landed on the nightmarish side of it and he's faced with a quite harrowing task.
Ah well. Sucks to suck.
Peter leaps into action, body crying to stop and rest. But Peter knows better than to listen to his body (that sounds really irresponsible, yikes), and instead aims a web at the man pinned down by the impossibly horrific monster. It's as he's mid motion that a sudden shuffle of blue hair catches his eyes. The man covered in hands--the villain--suddenly lunges towards the civilian trio in the fountain, one hand outstretched gruesomely. Ohh…shit.
Peter's stomach drops as he lets his web fall; the other man can wait. Using the momentum continue to carry him, he shoots a new web aimed at the monsters shoulder to yank and boost him forward.
Gah--! Wait, okay Peter… S.A.F.E:
SURVEY
Uh--three civilians, err, one villain…?
ASSESS
The villain is moving (Oh my Thor is he fast) and the civilians are frozen, nooot good. What else? Ahh, crap.
Whatever! Screw S.A.F.E. Plans may be great and all (no wonder he fell for the BBEG's trap), but he's almost reached the villain so time wasn't really on his side here. But lets be real. Spider-Man had always been better at improvising. (Peter swears he can hear Mr. Stark's disapproving sigh).
He releases his web as he launches past the creature, stretching his hands forward and using both wrists to shoot webs at the ground on either side of the man. Successfully, Peter pushes his weight up the other way, his legs rising, just in time for his foot to connect with the mans back, causing him to topple over indignantly.
Still flying,, Peter uses his webs to pivot upwards, flipping in the air like the showman he is before landing in a cool, low crouch, whilst also placing himself between the bad guy and the teens. Yup, nailed it. He rises from his pose, suppressing a stagger as he turns back around, eyes tracking the blue-haired villain that's also climbing to his feet. But unlike Peter, he rises with an unsettling slowness that causes Peter to feel the heebie-jeebies.
"Woah there," Peter said, briefly pausing by how dry and coarse his voice sounded. "That was a close one." He chuckled, though it probably came across as more of a huff than a laugh. The man, evidently pissed, scowls at Peter whilst he repositions one of the multiple hands on his person. Peter can't help but cringe slightly, are those real hands?
"You--" He splutters for a moment, voice almost as raspy as Peters. But what catches him really off guard is the fact that he can't understand him. Whatever he just said is foreign to Peters ears. He couldn't help but squint at him. It sounded a bit like Japanese; Ned and him loved Pokémon, but they'd always watch it in Japanese with English subtitles because that was the only version that aired on their TV. But…what? Japanese, is he in Japan? Or is he foreign? But, wait…that would explain how everyone he's glanced at here has Asian features. So is he in Japan? How? Just what happened? "--Nomu!" That's all the warning Peter has before a force rivalling a ten-tonne truck smashes into his side.
He's sent crashing backwards and into the floor, a satisfying crack following his impact. He yelps slightly, the pain from earlier doubling. Okay, maybe Peter is really out of it if he didn't sense that one coming. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop Peter for long, he's just picking himself back up when his spider senses scream--oh. Now he can hear it--at him, he snaps his eyes up quickly, just to see a pair of dry, crusty hands closing in on him.
Peter has no time to move out the way, head still fuzzy and heavy from the last half an hour. He just stares in horror as the hand lands on his face, sucking in a sharp breath, awaiting his fate. A dozen possibilities flash through his mind: An explosion from his hand? Would he be turned into stone? What could it be?
But after a beat, nothing happens. Peter blinks heavily, staring through the man's fingers to his face. He's surprised when he sees the man almost looks…impressed.
"…You really are cool, Eraserhead." The man coos, but whatever is said is lost to Peters ears. He takes this as his moment to pull away from the man's hand, kicking his legs up in hopes of booting the man's chin. Unfortunately for Peter, the dark purple mist man decided it was his turn to intervene. A cloud of black mist blossomed from Peter's outstretched foot, causing his leg to disappear and spit his attack right back at him. His own foot collided with the left side of his head, coming out of another cloud of black mist. Peter yelps again, biting his tongue to stop the bile from leaving his mouth.
He hears heavy footsteps thud next to him, Okay. Bad bad bad. Veerrrry bad. He tries to squint, just barely making out the hulking beast (aha, like the Hulk) that's walking towards the three teenagers. Oh. Ohhhhh no.
Izuku Midoriya tries not to lie in life. Not that he's particularly good at it. In fact, he's terrible. His face heats up, his voice cracks, and he can barely form a sentence. So it's usually better for him to tell the truth than the opposite. Of course, there are instances where he must lie, like about his quirk and One for All and All Might. But those secrets aren't his to tell.
Yet even then Izuku hates lying. He hates telling people his quirk is "Super Power". He hates remembering the day he ran home, crying as he threw himself into his mother whilst announcing he finally got a quirk. He hates that he lied to himself when he thought for one foolish moment that once Izuku got a quirk could he and Kacchan be friends.
That's why, right at this very moment, Izuku won't lie to himself: He is scared, or a more appropriate phrasing is fucking terrified. Terrified because a battalion of villains have showed up to U.A. THE U.A. And are attacking his classmates and teacher, all herded by one man and his right hand that is made up of purple mist.
But that's not all. There's another individual here. They aren't one of Izuku's classmates, but nor are they apart of the attackers. So who are they? Whoever they are, they need help. This individual that came from seemingly nowhere looks like they've been through hell and Izuku is struggling to decipher if some of the red on their suit was the colouring or blood. They're hurt, badly. Worse than the burns Kacchan would leave him back at Aldera Junior High, worse than anything his classmates have sustained today or during the entrance exam. The sort that fill hero news after horrific villain attacks. The sort Aizawa-sensei is covered in right not. The sort heroes wear. Izuku needs to help them, especially after they rescued him, Asui--ah, Tsu, and Mineta.
Izuku does not like lies. But he learnt something recently, that sometimes, if you repeat a lie often enough, if you believe it with every fibre of your being, that maybe just maybe, the universe would take pity on you, and those lies become truths. How does he know? Because for fifteen years he told himself he can be a hero. Regardless of what everyone had already determined for him and told him. He told himself that one day he would become what he most admired. And then… it happened. He too could become a hero. He's here, at U.A. The greatest hero school in the country filled with aspiring heroes like himself.
So, just this once, right now, in this moment, Izuku pushes the truth far far down. So deep down because he isn't scared and he isn't petrified. He is brave. Definitely not fearless, but he can be brave. Bravery, unlike fearlessness, isn't the absence of fear, it's pushing through despite the fear. He repeats that over and over, loud enough that the disturbing mantra drowns out the pounding in his heart.
I'm brave.
I'm brave.
I'm brave.
And at some point, the lie becomes the truth.
"SMAAAAAAASH!" His voice sounds foreign to himself, like static as he hears blood pumping aggressively in his ears. His fist collides into the Nomu's back, and he's surprised that his arm in fact did not break. No way! Did he manage to regulate his power?! He did it! He did i--
The dust from the impact fades away, revealing the very much intact, unharmed, uninjured Nomu. Oh. Oh boy, it didn't work. Of course it didn't work. With ease, the Nomu latches onto Izuku's wrist, yanking him into a death grip.
Right. This is why Izuku hates lying.
Izuku can't even let out a yelp as his eyes meet with the Nomu. All he can think is that he is going to die. He doesn't want to die. He has a mom to get back to, a career he hasn't yet lived. He doesn't--he cannot die.
As if hearing his prayers, an echoing BOOM drags him out of his thoughts. Izuku snaps his eyes up, and in that moment he thinks he could've died. But not because of some terrible, horrific event. No, its because of the wave of relief he feels upon seeing his beloved sunflower-yellow haired hero arrive.
But something strikes him, causing concern to ripple in his heart.
All Might is not smiling.
Peter isn't sure where his head is at at the moment. Everything feels hazy, like waking up and knowing you dreamt yet being unable to recall what happened in that dream. The blue-haired villain was saying something to him, though Peter was too focused on the Venom ripoff and the civilians (did that kid just super punch it??), he was about to get up and save them (again), when the villain pauses as a sudden crash echoes through the building.
Peter swivels his body to the origin of the sound and he's met with a man who looks like a bulkier Captain America. He has to squint to make out the figure, is he wearing a suit? Peter catches his mouth moving, so he must be saying something, but the grimace the man wears makes lip reading difficult, and unfortunately for Peter his heads ringing too much that he can't hear anything (that and he wouldn't be able to understand it anyway).
Whatever the newcomer says, it brings visible ease to the civilians as they all cheer something in unison, a name, maybe. Peter, however, is not convinced. Instead he watches the man for a moment longer, but the way he carries himself, the way he oozes confidence…
Peter exhales slowly, ribs shaking as he blinks deeply. He raises his hands, glancing down at his torn suit. He's pretty sure he's concussed… and definitely bleeding.
It's a split second decision really. He takes one day glance over his shoulder as he watches the giant man breeze past him, successfully rescuing the civilians and the other injured man. Peter can't quite manage a smile, but he does feel some comfort knowing that they'll be in safe hands. Good enough, he figures, as he fires a web to the nearest wall, leaping out of a crack in a window and shooting off.
He rages forward, away from the fight. It only takes a minute or two before he reaches a city. It only takes ten seconds after he lands for his vision goes black and loses his consciousness.
Yagi Toshinori's career may be built on lies. He's fed the millions and millions of his fans lies of omission. But there is one thing he will never, ever lie about: His deceleration to protect.
So when he utters the words "I am here!" It is more than just words, it is a promise, it is a truth. A reassurance to those who need protecting, and a warning to those who need defeating.
He's quick to get to work, rushing over to the plaza and grabbing Young Midoriya and his other two students. Settling them down in rapid succession, he goes over to Aizawa, pushing over a couple of the villains as he does--wait, what was that movement to his corner? Shit, did someone get away? Ah, well he'll deal with that later. Right now, his students need him.
Somewhere, cities, worlds, galaxies, universes away, Tony Stark is too late; watching gruesomely as the scene unfolds in front of him. The warehouse literally implodes, debris scattering into the setting sky like some twisted scene from a blockbuster movie.
His throat is coarse and dry when he shouts "KID!", buts it’s more of a sob. Chocked out between the lump growing in his throat and the tears welling dangerously in his eyes.
Tony Stark is many things: A philanthropist, a play boy, a billionaire, Ironman. Yet he failed to be the mentor he promised to be.
That lie will haunt him for as long as he lives.