Right now, that compass has been locked onto the same target for nearly twenty minutes. Someone was tailing him. An Underground Hero is Izuku's best guess. Whoever they were, they were good. The sensation shifted slightly as he crossed an intersection, confirming that the pursuer had adjusted their position again. Yet despite knowing the general direction, Izuku still couldn't spot them. That alone was concerning. Most Heroes relied on visibility and public presence. Undergrounders operated differently. They hid in plain sight, blending into crowds like sharks moving beneath dark water.
Whether that level of stealth came from a Quirk or years of training hardly mattered. The result remained the same. Without Spider-Sense, Izuku would've had no idea he was being followed.
His lips tightened. That realization brought another problem to the forefront. During their previous confrontation, the Symbol of Peace had already begun piecing things together. The Hero of Heroes wasn't stupid. He had undoubtedly noticed that Webjack reacts to threats before they happen. He knew the Vigilante possessed some kind of extrasensory ability.
The Pro-Heroes were learning. They already knew about his invisibility. The more encounters he had with them, the more pieces they gathered. Like detectives assembling a puzzle one fragment at a time. Fortunately, they didn't know everything. His vibration-enhanced speed remained hidden, or his two newest abilities that remain hidden. Those cards were still tucked safely in his hand for now.
"Don't get cocky," Izuku exhaled slowly through his nose.
Knowing he possessed a sixth sense wasn't the same as understanding it. The Heroes might suspect danger detection, but they couldn't possibly conclude that it granted something resembling three-hundred-and-sixty-degree awareness. The truth wasn't omniscience. Spider-Sense simply provided information in ways that defied conventional explanation.
Understanding that fact didn't solve his immediate problem. His eyes scanned the streets ahead. How was he supposed to shake this guy?
Ordinarily, he would've used criminal activity as cover. A Villain attack should force a Hero to act. Unfortunately, the city had become considerably quieter since the Festival of Stain. Most of the frenzy Villains had already been arrested.
A few might still be running around, but Izuku wasn't convinced the tail would reveal himself for something minor. Undergrounders had a reputation. They were effective, pragmatic, and secretive. Heroic wasn't usually the first word that came to mind.
"Lockdown's the exception," Izuku thought. "Or maybe I've just met every Underground Hero on their worst day."
Either possibility felt equally likely. Another idea surfaced. His fingers twitched toward his phone to contact Toga before stopping. Bad idea. Support technology existed for a reason. Some Heroes specialized in surveillance, data collection, and electronic tracking. If this Underground Hero intercepted unusual messages between him and anyone besides his mother, questions would immediately arise.
Questions led to investigations. Investigations led to Toga. The thought alone was enough to kill the idea.
'I'll handle this myself.'
The decision made, Izuku casually altered his route while the Spider-Sense continued buzzing and the Undergrounder followed.
Five minutes passed. Then another and nothing happened. No indication that Izuku Midoriya was heading anywhere suspicious.
From an observer's perspective, he was simply another university student wandering through the city. The only remotely unusual detail was his green clothing, and that wasn't evidence of anything. Green had been a popular color long before Quirks existed.
Eventually, Izuku arrived at a shopping district. Bright signs stretched overhead while advertisements competed for attention from every direction. His eyes settled on a familiar storefront. A Hero merchandise shop.
'Perfect.' A grin threatened to form.
The Spider-Sense prickled again. The stalker remained nearby. Time to have some fun.
Several blocks away, concealed among pedestrians and storefront reflections, the Underground Hero maintained visual contact. His patience had begun wearing thin. He'd spent the better part of an hour following Izuku Midoriya and had gained absolutely nothing useful.
Then disaster struck. A large crowd emerged from a nearby intersection. For a fraction of a second, people shifted between them. The Hero lost sight of Izuku.
"What?" His eyes widened.
His head snapped left. Then right. The crowd flowed around him like a river.
Izuku was gone. A surge of panic shot through his chest.
Impossible.
His senses were among the sharpest of all the graduates from Isami. Losing a target in broad daylight simply didn't happen. Years of training had refined his observation skills to a razor's edge. He never lost people.
Unless… The thought hit him like a punch. Unless Izuku Midoriya really was Webjack. The Vigilante possessed invisibility.
If he had activated it during that brief opening—
"Oh, wow!" Then he heard a familiar voice.
The Undergrounder whipped toward the source. Standing near the Hero merchandise store was Izuku Midoriya, perfectly visible and normal. The young man practically vibrated with excitement as he stared through the display window.
"They actually have it!" Izuku pointed enthusiastically at a poster inside. "I've wanted that limited-edition Endeavor poster forever! Look at the detail on the flames! That's incredible!"
The Underground Hero froze. A moment later, relief flooded through him. False alarm. He hadn't lost the target. The crowd had simply distracted him.
Meanwhile, Izuku continued admiring merchandise with the enthusiasm of a devoted fan while inwardly suppressing laughter.
'So the stalker is the jumpy sort. That'll come in handy.'
If this Underground Hero intended to shadow him all day, Izuku saw no reason not to make the experience as frustrating as possible. After all, if someone insisted on becoming a nuisance, leading them on a wild goose chase felt like the polite thing to do.
-][-
Mandalay had maintained contact with the Undergrounder currently tailing Izuku Midoriya, and the reports coming back were becoming increasingly frustrating. So far, Midoriya had done nothing suspicious whatsoever. He had walked through the city, admired storefronts, and was currently browsing Hero merchandise like an enthusiastic collector.
If anything stood out, it was his apparent fascination with Endeavor memorabilia. Dean Nezu had previously described Midoriya as an All Might zealot, someone whose admiration bordered on obsession. People like that rarely cared about other Heroes. Yet there he was, staring at Endeavor merchandise with enough enthusiasm to fool nearly anyone.
"Something about that still feels off." Shino folded her arms. "Nezu didn't tell us everything about the conflict between All Might and Webjack, but it's obvious there's history there. If Midoriya really is Webjack, maybe he got rid of his All Might collection after whatever happened between them. Maybe he's looking for a replacement idol."
"Endeavor? Seriously?" Ryuko raised an eyebrow.
The question was fair. Of all the Heroes in Japan, Endeavor seemed like one of the least likely choices. The #2 Hero had spent nearly every encounter trying to capture, brutalize, or outright incinerate the Vigilante. Admiring someone who repeatedly attempted to burn you alive seemed absurd.
"Or maybe he's not buying anything. Maybe it's a distraction." Shino glanced toward the direction of the Hero merchandise store.
"A cover?" Yawara immediately understood.
"Exactly," Shino replied. "Keep the Undergrounder focused on something harmless while he plans his next move. That's my best guess."
Their objective remained unchanged. Once they got close enough, Tomoko could activate Search and permanently lock onto Midoriya. If he were Webjack, the mystery would finally be solved. The operation had become increasingly complicated over the past several weeks, and everyone involved was eager for answers.
As they continued moving through the crowd, Yawara brought up another concern.
"There's still the Kat-astrophe problem." The others immediately knew what he meant.
"All Might and Detective Tsukauchi's shapeshifter theory?" Mandalay asked.
"It's still unconfirmed, but if Kat-astrophe really has a transformation Quirk, then seeing Midoriya and Webjack in the same place doesn't prove anything. One of them could be her." Yawara nodded.
The possibility hung in the air for a moment.
"That theory would make things easier regardless." Ryuko grimaced.
"Indeed," Shino nodded. "But we're dealing with Vigilantes who keep pulling impossible stunts. We can't dismiss it."
Fortunately, Tomoko's Quirk rendered such deception meaningless. Search didn't care about disguises, costumes, or appearances. Once she locked onto someone, she gained information that no shapeshifting trick could conceal. The four women continued forward with renewed determination.
"You know, I still don't understand why UA didn't simply send investigators to search Midoriya's apartment." Ryuko soon shifted the conversation elsewhere.
"Because they might've found nothing," Shino answered immediately. "Think about it. Webjack has repeatedly demonstrated intelligence far beyond what most people expected. You really think he'd store Vigilante equipment next to his mother?"
Ryuko opened her mouth before closing it again. The logic was difficult to argue against.
"Previous Vigilantes have done the same thing," Shino continued. "Most of them go out of their way to shield family members from legal responsibility. If Midoriya is Webjack, there's no chance he'd leave evidence where his mother could accidentally find it."
"So you think he has a hideout?" Tomoko tilted her head.
"Absolutely." Shino didn't hesitate. "Somewhere isolated. Somewhere secure. Somewhere, he can conduct Vigilante activities without being interrupted. A place difficult for Heroes to discover."
That answer only created another question.
"Do you think UA is searching for it?" Tomoko asked.
"This is Dean Nezu we're talking about. He doesn't leave loose ends. If there's a hidden base, I guarantee multiple investigations are already trying to locate it." Shino almost laughed.
Before anyone could continue the discussion, all four Heroes' phones vibrated simultaneously. Their expressions sharpened as they recognized the alert tone. A Hero Network emergency broadcast. Mandalay quickly checked the notification and frowned.
"Robbery in progress." Ryuko glanced at the map. "You're kidding."
The reported location was less than a block away. Worse, it was occurring on the exact same street where Midoriya currently stood. Coincidence suddenly felt like a very optimistic explanation. The Pussycats exchanged looks and immediately picked up their pace. Without their costumes, they couldn't openly engage as Pro-Heroes, but that didn't mean they could ignore an emergency. If the situation escalated beyond local containment, they would have no choice but to intervene regardless of the surveillance operation.
Across the street, panic erupted as citizens fled from a store selling rare collectibles and memorabilia. The culprit emerged through shattered glass, carrying stolen merchandise beneath one arm. He was a large Heteromorph with dark blue skin stretched over a plump but powerful frame. Bright green eyes scanned the area while six circular vents lined the top of his bald head. Three additional vents protruded from each shoulder. Thick clouds of smoke continuously poured from every opening, rapidly expanding into a dense gray curtain that swallowed the surrounding street.
Two local Heroes attempted to stop him, charging into the smoke despite limited visibility. Their bravery accomplished very little. The Villain disappeared into his own smokescreen and reappeared beside the first Hero long enough to deliver a devastating punch. The second Hero barely had time to react before another sucker punch dropped him just as quickly. Within seconds, both defenders were sprawled across the pavement.
The crowd responded exactly as expected. Civilians ducked behind cars, hid inside stores, or dropped to the ground with their hands protecting their heads. Izuku Midoriya joined them without hesitation, crouching among the panicked bystanders while carefully observing the unfolding situation. The Smoke Villain paid the civilians no attention whatsoever. To him, they were irrelevant. As long as they stayed down and obediently left everything to the Heroes, they weren't worth wasting energy on.
The criminal understood that attacking civilians would only escalate the Hero response. Unfortunately for him, escape was no longer an option.
A confused shout suddenly echoed from inside the smokescreen.
"What the—?!"
The Villain vanished deeper into the gray haze.
Something had grabbed him.
Several citizens gasped as muffled sounds erupted from within the smoke. Punches. Kicks. Angry yelling. The occasional crash of someone being thrown into solid objects. Unable to see through the concealment, most people naturally reached the same conclusion.
"A third Hero showed up!"
"Thank goodness!"
"Who is it?"
The answer arrived alongside a familiar sense of disbelief.
"Oh, come on," Someone groaned.
The smoke finally began to thin. As visibility returned, the entire street found itself staring upward. The Smoke Villain dangled upside down from a nearby light pole. Wrapped from head to toe in glowing psionic spiderwebs. The cocoon binding him was so thorough that only his head remained visible, leaving him helplessly twisting in the air like an insect trapped by a far more dangerous predator.
Perched casually atop the light pole stood Webjack himself. The masked troublemaker balanced effortlessly above the street while one hand rested on his hip. He looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"Alright, everyone!" Webjack called cheerfully. "The shopping experience has been temporarily interrupted by criminal stupidity, but management assures me the problem has been resolved. Please continue spending money responsibly."
A mixture of laughter, groans, and exasperated sighs spread through the crowd.
"That's not funny!"
"It kind of is!"
"Webjack, get down from there!"
"Sorry," Webjack replied. "I'm allergic to arrest records."
The Wild, Wild Pussycats arrived only moments later and froze as they took in the scene before them. Their conversation from less than five minutes ago immediately returned to mind. Midoriya was standing among nearby civilians, completely visible and apparently innocent. Simultaneously, Webjack stood atop a light pole, making terrible jokes at the expense of law enforcement. Under normal circumstances, that would've been enough to clear Midoriya entirely. Unfortunately, normal circumstances no longer existed. If Kat-astrophe truly possessed a shapeshifting Quirk, appearances meant nothing.
"Tomoko." Shino's eyes narrowed.
"Already on it." The Green-haired Heroine immediately understood, activating her Quirk to always have a lock on both of them.
Tomoko's eyes began glowing with shifting rainbow colors as she activated Search. The Quirk had earned its reputation for good reason. By analyzing a target's Quirk Factor and genetic information, Search could permanently lock onto an individual and track them regardless of where they attempted to hide. Disguises, false identities, hidden bases, and escape routes all became meaningless once the lock was established. It was one of the most feared tracking abilities in Hero society. The only complication was Izuku Midoriya himself. According to every official record available, Midoriya was Quirkless. That would make locking onto him more difficult than normal, though his DNA alone should still be enough to establish a connection.
Tomoko focused on the Vigilante standing atop the light pole. Her glowing eyes widened as the lock failed. The result made no sense.
"W-What?!" The outburst escaped before she could stop herself.
The other Pussycats immediately turned toward her.
"What happened?" Shino asked.
Tomoko stared at Webjack as if she had just witnessed reality malfunction.
"He doesn't have a Quirk Factor!" The statement silenced the whole team.
Webjack was one of the most dangerous Vigilantes operating in Japan. He had repeatedly escaped top-ten Pro-Heroes. He possessed superhuman strength, impossible mobility, invisibility, enhanced speed, glowing spiderweb constructs, and enough raw power to create an artificial earthquake capable of tearing apart an entire city block. The sheer idea of someone like that being Quirkless sounded ridiculous.
"That can't be right." Ryuko blinked.
"I'm telling you what Search is showing me!"Tomoko's eyes remained locked onto the Vigilante.
"There's nothing there. No Quirk Factor at all."
"Try locking onto his DNA." Shino's expression darkened.
Tomoko nodded and immediately shifted her focus. If Search couldn't identify a Quirk, then genetic data should still provide results. The Quirk dove deeper into its analysis, searching beneath the surface for biological markers, cellular signatures, and the countless details that made every human being unique.
Nothing.
"It's not working." Tomoko's face slowly twisted into disbelief.
"What do you mean it's not working?" Yawara asked.
"I mean there's nothing to lock onto!" The words came out louder than intended.
Tomoko struggled to comprehend what Search was showing her. It wasn't merely the absence of a Quirk Factor anymore. Search wasn't detecting DNA either. As far as her ability was concerned, Webjack wasn't a human being. He looked more like a collection of electrical signals wrapped in a humanoid shape than a living person composed of flesh and blood. The comparison immediately reminded her of psychic Quirks that projected brainwaves outside the body and utilized bioelectricity as an energy source.
Except this was far beyond that. Search had become completely useless.
Meanwhile, the source of their frustration seemed completely unaware of the existential crisis he was causing. Webjack spread his arms dramatically atop the light pole and continued shamelessly basking in the attention of the crowd below.
"Remember this moment, people! Years from now, you'll be able to tell your children you witnessed the greatest Vigilante in Japanese history!"
Several civilians laughed. Others groaned. One man shouted that he was full of himself.
"Confidence and accuracy are not the same thing." Webjack pointed directly at the one who shouted.
Before anyone could continue the exchange, the sound of rushing wind drew everyone's attention skyward. A flying Pro-Hero descended toward the scene, clearly hoping to capitalize on the Vigilante's moment of arrogance. The Hero accelerated through the air, reaching out to seize Webjack before he could escape.
The attempt never reached completion as a black and white blur suddenly erupted from a neighboring rooftop.
Kat-astrophe.
The second Vigilante crossed the gap with frightening speed. Her foot slammed directly into the Hero's face. The impact produced an audible crack. The unfortunate Pro-Hero was launched sideways like a missile before crashing face-first into the very same light pole supporting the cocooned Smoke Villain.
The pole swayed violently. The Hero slid downward. The Smoke Villain stared at him. The Hero stared back. Neither said a word.
Webjack placed a hand over his chest.
"Kat, that was incredibly rude."
"You looked lonely." Kat-astrophe landed beside him.
"I was giving a speech."
"It was terrible."
"It was inspirational."
"It was terrible."
The two Vigilantes exchanged grins before turning toward the crowd below. With synchronized precision, they offered exaggerated bows.
"Thank you for attending today's emergency rescue operation!" Webjack announced.
"Please remember to support your local Vigilantes." Kat-astrophe waved cheerfully.
The pair immediately leaped away. The surrounding Heroes shouted after them. The civilians pointed. Several phones appeared to record the escape.
Tomoko rapidly activated Search one final time before they disappeared. If Webjack somehow interfered with the Quirk, perhaps Kat-astrophe would provide better results.
The answer was somehow worse.
"No Quirk Factor."
The Pussycats froze. Tomoko's voice sounded almost hollow.
"No DNA." She stared at the rooftop where the Vigilantes had vanished. "There's nothing."
Nobody knew what to say. The city's two most wanted Vigilantes had somehow become invisible to one of the strongest tracking Quirks in Japan. The realization lingered long after they disappeared.
At least Search still functioned on normal people. Tomoko's eyes shifted toward Izuku Midoriya. The lock immediately established itself.
"There he is."
With no better leads available, the Pussycats returned their attention to the university student. Shino quickly contacted the Underground Hero assigned to the surveillance operation while the group followed Midoriya from a safe distance.
She felt further dismay when she got no response. She tried again. Still nothing. A knot formed in her stomach.
Meanwhile, Midoriya casually continued walking through the city, seemingly oblivious to the concern building behind him. He eventually entered a narrow alleyway between two buildings. The Pussycats slowed their pace and carefully observed from afar.
Then Midoriya suddenly stopped. The young man's gaze shifted toward a dumpster positioned near the wall. Something was sticking out. A foot.
Izuku stared with confusion that became concern. Concern then became alarm. Slowly approaching the dumpster, he reached for the lid and pulled it open. A loud gasp escaped him.
"Oh, my God!"
The Pussycats immediately abandoned caution and rushed forward. Inside the dumpster sat a battered man with a swollen black eye and his arms tightly bound behind his back. The moment the Heroes got close enough to see his face, recognition struck all four of them simultaneously.
It was the Underground Hero. The same one who had been tailing Midoriya.
The Pussycats exchanged alarmed looks but carefully avoided saying anything that would reveal sensitive information in front of their target.
Together, they pulled the Hero out of the dumpster and quickly removed his restraints.
The Underground Hero groaned.
"What happened?" Shino asked.
"Kat-astrophe." The Hero rubbed his jaw.
"She found you?" Shino asked.
"I don't know how."
The Underground Hero sounded genuinely frustrated.
"I was hidden. Completely concealed. The Smoke Villain caused all that chaos, and somehow she still spotted me."
He clenched his fists.
"Next thing I knew, she jumped me, tied me up, stuffed me in a dumpster, and went back to helping Webjack."
The situation had officially become absurd. One Villain. Four incapacitated Heroes. Two Vigilantes escaping again. The operation was rapidly turning into a disaster.
At least Midoriya's reaction provided one small comfort. Unlike every civilian they had passed throughout the day, the young man immediately recognized them.
"No way!" His eyes lit up. The Pussycats collectively flinched. "It's really you!"
Midoriya looked like he might explode from excitement.
"The Wild, Wild Pussycats! I've followed your careers for years! Mandalay's telepathy is incredible, Pixie-Bob's earth manipulation helped stop the Chiba Landslide Incident, Tiger's rescue statistics are amazing, and Ragdoll's Search Quirk is one of the most underrated information-gathering abilities in the entire country!"
Tomoko blinked.
The praise kept coming.
"And Pixie-Bob's been active for what, almost twenty years now? That's incredible! The amount of experience you must have—"
Ryuko's eye twitched.
A dangerous smile appeared on her face.
"Listen here, pal."
Izuku immediately stopped talking.
"I'm eighteen at heart! Just like you,"
The smile somehow became more threatening.
"And if you finish that sentence, you'll be finding out how young my fists still are."
"S-Sorry!" Izuku turned pale.
Shino buried her face in her hand. Tiger sighed. Tomoko looked away. A few seconds later, Shino smacked Ryuko on the shoulder.
"You're the rude one in this situation."
"He started it!"
"He complimented you."
"He implied I'm old!"
"You are older."
Ryuko gasped in betrayal.
Izuku nervously took a step backward while the Pussycats argued among themselves, wondering how a simple trip to buy Hero merchandise had somehow become the strangest afternoon of his life.
-][-
The arrival of emergency services finally brought a sense of order back to the chaotic shopping district. Police officers secured the area while paramedics moved between the injured Heroes and the recently captured Villain. The two Pro-Heroes who had initially confronted the Smoke Villain received the most attention. Both had suffered heavy blows while fighting inside the smokescreen and looked considerably worse for wear. The flying Hero Kat-astrophe had launched into a light pole, was conscious and protesting that he was perfectly fine, while the unfortunate Underground Hero was far more embarrassed than injured after being stuffed into a dumpster. Regardless of their objections, the medical personnel insisted that all four Heroes undergo proper examinations.
The Smoke Villain himself remained hanging from his cocoon of glowing spiderwebs until authorities could safely cut him down. Surprisingly, the criminal seemed remarkably calm considering his circumstances. After evading capture for years, his crime spree had finally come to an end. The list of robberies, assaults, property damage, and injuries attached to his name was extensive enough that nobody doubted where he would be sent after processing.
"Tartarus," One Officer muttered while looking through a report.
"Long overdue." Another nodded.
"I've had worse days." The Villain simply shrugged.
The officers collectively decided they didn't want to know what that meant.
Meanwhile, Izuku found himself remaining near the Wild, Wild Pussycats far longer than originally intended. Mandalay had quickly realized that the young university student possessed a genuine fascination with Pro-Heroes, and exploiting that curiosity proved remarkably effective at keeping him occupied. As a result, Tomoko and Tiger had been assigned the difficult task of distracting Midoriya while the rest of the investigation continued behind the scenes. Ryuko, following unanimous agreement from the team, had been unofficially banned from participating in those conversations after her earlier dispute with the student.
"I was absolutely banned." Ryuko crossed her arms.
"You threatened him." Shino criticized.
"He called me old."
"He complimented your experience."
"He implied I was ancient."
"Nobody implied that."
"You implied it just now." Ryuko pointed accusingly at him.
"One of these days, you're going into early retirement for dementia," Shino warned.
While Tomoko and Yawara kept Midoriya occupied with stories from their Hero careers, Shino stepped away from the group and initiated a secure call through the Hero Network. The recipient answered almost immediately.
"Dean Nezu speaking."
"The operation was unsuccessful." Shino didn't waste time.
There was a brief pause.
"Explain."
Shino summarized the events as efficiently as possible. Midoriya and Webjack had been observed within visual proximity of one another. Kat-astrophe had also appeared during the confrontation. At no point had either Vigilante displayed signs of transformation or shapeshifting. More concerning was what Tomoko's Search had discovered.
"Webjack has no Quirk Factor." Shino continued. "Kat-astrophe is also immune to Search. No Quirk Factor. No DNA. Nothing."
Another pause.
"Anything else?" Nezu asked.
"The Underground Hero assigned to monitor Midoriya was assaulted by Kat-astrophe."
That piece of information produced a much stronger reaction.
"Ah."
The simple response immediately told Shino that Dean Nezu considered that detail important.
"You agree he's still a suspect." Shino frowned.
"Correct."
"Because Kat-astrophe specifically targeted the Hero following him?"
"Precisely." Nezu's voice remained calm and analytical. "Mr. Midoriya may not be Webjack. However, that doesn't eliminate the possibility that he is connected to the Vigilantes in another capacity."
Shino listened carefully.
"Overestimating Webjack and agreeing that he's smart enough to make his own tech is the most plausible answer for me, but as a Support Course student at Kogane University, Mr. Midoriya possesses the technical skills necessary to manufacture specialized equipment. If Webjack utilizes custom technology that wasn't his own making, someone else must be creating it. The possibility that Mr. Midoriya acts as a supplier remains viable."
That explanation made uncomfortable sense.
"As for Webjack's apparent lack of a Quirk Factor," Nezu continued, "I owe all of you an apology for the compartmentalization. Certain information was withheld on a need-to-know basis. Once your team returns to UA University, I will explain everything."
Shino's eyes narrowed.
"You already knew."
"I suspected."
That answer only generated more questions.
"What about Midoriya?"
"For now, he's free to go."
"That's it?" Shino blinked.
"The second investigation team reported similar results. They found nothing capable of directly connecting Mr. Midoriya to either Vigilante."
While the Pussycats monitored Midoriya, another group of investigators had pursued a completely different lead. Several eyewitnesses had reported seeing the green-haired student regularly visiting the ruins of Takoba Municipal Beach Park. Once considered one of Japan's most beautiful coastal attractions, the beach had deteriorated into an enormous junkyard filled with rusted metal, discarded appliances, abandoned vehicles, and mountains of forgotten debris. Most tourists considered it an eyesore. Inventors saw something entirely different.
Raw materials. Potential. Opportunity.
Support Course students occasionally scavenged there for parts, but none visited with the consistency Midoriya displayed. That pattern eventually led investigators toward another discovery located near the beach itself.
An abandoned mattress factory. The kind of structure that naturally attracted suspicion. Empty buildings made excellent hideouts for criminals, smugglers, Vigilantes, and anyone else interested in avoiding attention. What they discovered inside exceeded expectations.
The factory contained a workshop. Not a professional one. Not a corporate laboratory. A workshop built by a talented amateur determined to improve his craft.
Blueprints covered numerous tables and walls. Prototype support equipment occupied shelves assembled from scrap materials. Several inventions rested in various stages of completion, each showcasing creativity that exceeded what most students could accomplish. Some concepts focused on rescue operations. Others improved mobility or communication. Many appeared designed specifically to support Pro-Heroes in practical situations.
Detective Tsukauchi had reportedly spent several minutes studying the designs.
"These are impressive."
"They are," Nezu had agreed.
A small refrigerator occupied one corner of the room, suggesting Midoriya frequently spent long hours working there. Beyond that, however, investigators found absolutely nothing connecting the workshop to Webjack.
No spider-themed equipment. No glowing web cartridges. No Vigilante costumes. No evidence whatsoever.
"The workshop shouldn't be here in the first place." Tsukauchi had found the absence suspicious.
"Who exactly would we fine?" Nezu had simply smiled.
"The owner." Tsukauchi blinked.
"The factory no longer has one."
The detective frowned.
Nezu gestured around the abandoned building.
"Mr. Midoriya isn't the first aspiring inventor to establish a workspace in an unused structure, and he certainly won't be the last. While unconventional, there is nothing inherently criminal about the arrangement."
The investigation had ultimately produced more questions than answers. Either Midoriya maintained a second hidden location dedicated to Vigilante activities, or he was innocent. Neither possibility satisfied anyone.
Eventually, the time came for Midoriya to leave.
"Thanks for talking with me. This has honestly been one of the coolest days ever." The young man smiled brightly at the Pussycats.
"You enjoyed getting questioned by Heroes?" Tomoko smiled back.
"It wasn't the questioning part." Midoriya laughed nervously. "Getting to meet actual Pro-Heroes is always amazing."
"Take care of yourself, kid." Yawara chuckled.
"I will!"
Midoriya waved enthusiastically before departing down the sidewalk. The moment he disappeared around a corner, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.
"He's nice." Tomoko exhaled.
"Really nice." Yawara nodded.
"I kind of hope he's innocent."
"So do I."
Nearby, Ryuko remained stubbornly silent for several seconds before finally speaking.
"Fine."
The others looked at her.
"What?" Ryuko demanded.
"You've been pouting for twenty minutes," Mandalay observed.
"I have not."
"You absolutely have." Ryuko groaned. "Okay, maybe a little."
"A little?" Tomoko smirked.
"Look, I'm still annoyed about the age thing." Ryuko ignored her.
"You started that."
"I know."
"Then what's the problem?" Yawara folded his arms.
"He's… pretty cute for a nerd." Ryuko looked away.
Tomoko burst out laughing. Yawara nearly choked. Mandalay covered her mouth.
"You are impossible." Shino pinched the bridge of her nose.
"That is not what I meant!" Ryuko's face immediately reddened.
"Sure it isn't," Tiger said.
The teasing continued as the team prepared to leave. Despite the frustrations, dead ends, and unanswered questions, the day had provided valuable information. The mystery surrounding Webjack and Kat-astrophe had only grown stranger, but Shino found herself hoping the truth would eventually lead somewhere positive. Midoriya seemed like a genuinely good young man. Whether he was connected to the Vigilantes or not, she hoped his story ended better than most investigations usually did.
-][-
By the time Izuku reached his apartment building, the excitement of the afternoon had finally begun to settle. The streets were quieter now, the emergency vehicles long gone, and the growing distance from the shopping district allowed him to relax slightly. His mother was working late again, leaving him with the apartment entirely to himself. At least, that was what an outside observer would assume. The moment he opened the door and stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of two familiar figures already occupying the living room.
Webjack sat casually on the couch, and Kat-astrophe lounged beside him. Neither appeared particularly concerned about the impossible nature of that image. Himiko looked between Izuku and Webjack several times before a grin slowly spread across her face.
"You know, seeing Webjack's real face is weird." She tilted her head. "You're actually pretty cute."
"I'm flattered/I'm flattered."
The responses came simultaneously. Izuku and Webjack spoke at exactly the same moment. Himiko immediately burst into laughter.
"Okay, now that's creepy."
The absurdity only increased because Webjack's voice remained completely different from Izuku's. His Spider-Cord continued producing the deeper, distorted voice associated with the Vigilante, making it sound as though two entirely separate people had responded to the compliment.
Then reality began to unravel. Small sections of Izuku's sleeve flickered. A strand of glowing webbing briefly appeared beneath his skin. His shoulder distorted. Moments later, parts of his body transformed into luminous blue-white Psi-Webs. The effect spread rapidly across his frame like a photograph dissolving in water. Limbs unraveled into strands of psychic energy. Clothing followed shortly afterward. Within seconds, the copy completely collapsed into glowing web constructs before fading into nothingness.
"Ugh…" Webjack finally released a long, exhausted sigh. He reached up and removed his mask and the Spider-Cord. The familiar face of the real Izuku Midoriya emerged underneath. "My head is killing me."
"Keeping that trick going hurts?" Himiko rested her chin in her hand.
"Yeah," Izuku rubbed his temples. "Those Heroes were all over me."
The explanation was simple enough. The "Izuku Midoriya"who was speaking with the Wild, Wild Pussycats had never been physically present. The university student and the Vigilante had technically occupied the same area because one of them wasn't truly there. At least not in the conventional sense.
The duplicate had been a Thought Projection. A psychic construct created from Izuku's Psi-Webs and maintained through his mental connection to them.
"So how does it actually work?" Himiko asked curiously.
"Psychic abilities are basically the mind interacting with the outside world. Every movement your body makes starts as electrical signals inside your brain. Those signals tell your muscles what to do." Izuku smiled faintly.
He picked up a nearby pen.
"Normally, those signals stay inside your body."
The pen floated upward.
"Psychic-based powers are about letting those brainwaves be projected outward."
The pen spun slowly in the air.
"The Psi-Webs are essentially supercharged brainwaves. They're my thoughts given physical form, though I still view them as otherworldly."
Himiko watched the floating pen with interest.
"And the clone?"
"Same principle."
Izuku lowered the pen.
"If I create enough Psi-Webs and maintain a strong enough connection, I can construct a duplicate body and control it remotely. It's like being in two places at once."
"Sounds useful."
"It is." Izuku groaned. "It also feels like somebody repeatedly slammed a brick into my skull after a few hours."
"Worth it." Himiko laughed.
Izuku thought back to the confused Heroes, the increasingly frustrated Undergrounder, and the Wild, Wild Pussycats trying desperately to make sense of contradictory evidence.
"Definitely worth it." A grin appeared.
The memory of the Underground Hero trapped inside a dumpster caused Himiko to laugh again.
"You should've seen his face."
"I wish I had."
"He thought he was so sneaky."
"He wasn't."
"He really wasn't."
The two shared another laugh before Himiko eventually shook her head.
"Attacking him was risky, though."
Izuku understood her concern immediately.
By all logical reasoning, Kat-astrophe targeting the Hero following Midoriya only made him look more suspicious.
"Maybe." Izuku shrugged. "But there was no chance I was convincing the Pro-Heroes that I wasn't Webjack in a single afternoon."
His expression became more serious.
"They already raided the Spider Sanctuary."
That statement immediately killed the humor. The abandoned mattress factory had served him well for months, but once Heroes discovered it, the location became compromised forever. Fortunately, Izuku had planned ahead.
"We got lucky."
"You moved everything." Himiko nodded.
"Immediately." Izuku leaned back. "The second I realized they were getting close, I rushed over there and removed every piece of evidence connecting Webjack to the factory."
A small smile appeared.
"Honestly, I started preparing the relocation plan right after I slammed All Might's head into that table."
The memory remained one of his worst. Temporarily depowering the Symbol of Peace had fundamentally altered the balance between Vigilantes and Heroes. More importantly, it had proven that his latest invention actually worked.
That realization reminded Himiko of something.
"Speaking of that..." She leaned forward. "How did you do it?"
"Do what?" Izuku raised an eyebrow.
"Depower All Might to the point that he became a skeleton."
The answer arrived in the form of a small black penlight. Izuku retrieved it from one of his pockets and carefully placed it on the table.
"That's it?" Himiko stared at it.
"That's it."
The object looked almost disappointingly ordinary.
Izuku picked it up again.
"I've been calling it the Spider-Eraser."
"That name is awful." Himiko immediately snorted.
"I know." The young inventor looked almost embarrassed. "I'll rename it eventually."
Despite the terrible name, his expression softened slightly as he examined the device. It represented months of work, surveillance, experimentation, and failure.
"I made it after studying Lockdown."
"The Erasure Hero?" That got Himiko's attention.
"I spent months observing him." Izuku nodded. His analytical side immediately surfaced. "His Quirk doesn't simply switch powers off. There's a mechanism behind it. A process."
Himiko listened attentively.
"I eventually realized his Quirk generates a very specific form of electromagnetic radiation."
Izuku rotated the penlight between his fingers.
"Somewhere between the infrared and red portions of the spectrum."
The scientific explanation mostly flew over Himiko's head. The conclusion did not.
"You copied it."
"Close enough." A proud smile appeared. "My version is artificial, but the result is similar."
He lightly tapped the Spider-Eraser.
"It worked on All Might."
That accomplishment alone would've justified years of effort. More importantly, it opened entirely new possibilities.
"The League of Villains won't know what hit them once I find them and even the score."
"Now that's a scary thought." Himiko grinned.
The conversation eventually shifted toward another invention. Specifically, the specialized belt currently wrapped around Himiko's waist.
Izuku pointed toward it.
"It's a good thing I anticipated confronting the Wild, Wild Pussycats eventually. The Spider-Eraser Project also led me to do more research for electromagnetic radiation."
"The anti-search belt?"
"Not the actual name, but exactly."
The belt had been designed specifically to interfere with external scanning methods. While studying Search, Izuku had reached a conclusion regarding how Ragdoll's Quirk functioned.
"It doesn't just track Quirk Factors." He folded his arms. "I believe Search also uses a person's electromagnetic field as part of the targeting process."
"So the belt hid mine?" Himiko blinked.
"That's the idea."
The evidence strongly supported his theory. After all, the Heroes had made no attempt to track Kat-astrophe after she escaped. If Search had successfully locked onto her, the Pussycats would've pursued immediately. They hadn't. Which meant the invention worked. The realization left both Vigilantes feeling immensely satisfied.
All things considered, the day had gone remarkably well. The Heroes learned nothing useful. The Smoke Villain was captured. The Pussycats remained confused. The investigation had stalled. The belt worked. The Thought Projection worked. For a man constantly hunted by Hero society, that qualified as an excellent day.
"It was fun."
"It really was." Himiko nodded enthusiastically.
Then another realization struck her.
"Wait."
Izuku looked up.
"What?"
"The Spider Sanctuary."
His eye twitched.
"You can't seriously go back there." Himiko pointed accusingly.
The irritation on Izuku's face became obvious. The Heroes trespassing through his carefully maintained hideout still bothered him more than he cared to admit.
"Not as Webjack, no," He sighed, folding his arms.
The situation was annoying. The factory had served him well. The location was convenient. The workshop was functional. The memories attached to it were important. Unfortunately, practicality always outweighed sentimentality. A Vigilante who survived only because he stayed ahead of the Heroes couldn't afford emotional attachments.
Fortunately, contingency plans existed for situations exactly like this. The irritation slowly disappeared, and a confident smile replaced it.
"It's fine."
Himiko immediately recognized that smile.
"You already have another base."
"Definitely."
Himiko laughed.
The Heroes were searching for one Spider Sanctuary. The poor fools had no idea that Webjack already had another.
-][-
The Wild, Wild Pussycats returned to UA University shortly before evening. The trip back had been spent discussing the increasingly bizarre developments surrounding Webjack and Kat-astrophe, though none of them had managed to arrive at a satisfying conclusion. Every answer seemed to generate three new questions. By the time they reached the administrative wing and entered Dean Nezu's office, all four Heroes were eager to finally receive the information that had been deliberately withheld from them throughout the investigation.
What they didn't expect was the presence of a second person. A gaunt, skeletal-looking man sat quietly near Dean Nezu's desk. The Pussycats exchanged curious glances.
"Dean Nezu?" Mandalay spoke first.
"Ah, welcome back. Before we begin, allow me to introduce someone." The Dean smiled politely. The thin man immediately straightened in his seat.
"T-Toshinori Yagi." He offered an awkward bow. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
The Pussycats politely returned the greeting, though their confusion remained obvious.
"I don't believe we've met." Tiger tilted his head.
"That's understandable. I usually work behind the scenes." Yagi nodded.
"Mr. Yagi originally came to UA University alongside All Might when the latter accepted his teaching position. His primary responsibility was helping keep him informed regarding developments at Might Tower." Nezu gestured toward him.
This is the typical cover story to justify All Might and Toshinori Yagi as separate people, and it normally works since it's hard to believe that the most powerful man in the world would really be a fragile man without his Quirk holding him together.
"And these days I also assist the Dean with various administrative duties." Yagi scratched the back of his head.
"So you're basically All Might's assistant?" Ryuko looked him up and down.
"You could say that." Yagi laughed nervously.
With introductions completed, the atmosphere quickly shifted. The Pussycats took their seats while Nezu folded his paws together atop his desk. The playful smile usually present on his face faded slightly, replaced by the expression he wore whenever discussing serious matters.
The room immediately quieted.
"Let's begin. I owe all of you several explanations."
The statement earned everyone's attention. Nezu clicked a remote, causing a screen behind him to illuminate. Various images of Webjack appeared alongside reports, photographs, and Hero assessments gathered over the past year.
"The situation surrounding Webjack has evolved considerably. Capturing him is no longer merely a matter of stopping an unauthorized Vigilante."
"Because he has too many advantages that border on the absurd?" Tomoko frowned.
"Precisely." Nezu nodded approvingly. "Recent encounters have revealed an alarming increase in both sophistication and effectiveness regarding the technology Webjack employs, not just his powers."
Images of various gadgets appeared on the screen.
"The prevailing theory is that Webjack possesses the intelligence necessary to create these devices himself. However, we cannot dismiss the possibility that someone else is manufacturing them on his behalf."
A second image appeared that shows Izuku Midoriya.
"Our current primary suspect in that regard." Nezu continued. "Among the newest devices observed is one capable of replicating the effects of Lockdown's Quirk."
"Excuse me?" Tiger blurted out louder than he intended.
"Replicate Erasure?" Tomoko stared.
"That is our current assessment."
Nobody looked convinced. The concept itself sounded absurd.
For decades, scientists around the world had attempted to create practical anti-Quirk technology. Governments had invested fortunes into the effort. Research institutions dedicated entire departments to the problem. The world's greatest minds continuously sought methods to neutralize dangerous abilities safely and efficiently.
Success remained limited.
Most Villains with powerful Quirks were restrained using overwhelming physical containment methods. Heavy-duty shackles, reinforced transport vehicles, suppression cells, and enough security measures to discourage escape attempts.
True Quirk-nullification technology exists, but it is mediocre and not yet capable of mass production
"Those systems are reserved for places like Tartarus." Ryuko leaned forward.
"Correct." Nezu nodded. "There are very few functioning examples in existence."
The implications settled heavily over the room. Webjack wasn't working with government funding. He wasn't backed by major corporations. He wasn't supported by research grants.
He was a Vigilante. Yet somehow he had achieved something that challenged decades of scientific limitations.
Nezu allowed that realization to sink in before speaking again.
"Whether Webjack created the device personally or acquired assistance from another source, the result remains the same."
Another image appeared showing All Might.
"The technology successfully worked on the strongest Hero in the world."
Nobody spoke for several moments. The statement was genuinely terrifying.
Webjack could already move at extraordinary speeds, overpower experienced Heroes, evade capture repeatedly, become invisible, create psychic constructs, and generate enough destructive force to devastate portions of a city block. Now he possessed a weapon capable of rendering Quirks useless.
"That's not concerning at all." Mandalay slowly exhaled; the sarcasm earned a few weak chuckles.
Nezu's expression remained serious.
"As for Ragdoll's discovery regarding Webjack's lack of a Quirk Factor, I have reached a tentative hypothesis."
"You suspected he was Quirkless before you called us?" Tomoko immediately straightened.
"I suspect Webjack belongs to a previously undocumented category of metahuman." Nezu folded his paws.
"A different power system entirely?" Tiger frowned. "You mean his abilities aren't Quirk-based?"
"The evidence remains limited." Nezu's ears twitched thoughtfully. "However, several observations support the theory. Most notably, Lockdown's Erasure appears incapable of affecting Webjack's powers."
That detail immediately caught everyone's attention. If Erasure couldn't suppress Webjack's abilities, perhaps those abilities truly operated according to entirely different rules. It wasn't proof, but it was compelling.
Mandalay maintained her composure despite the increasingly bizarre information.
"Where does Midoriya fit into all this?"
Nezu clicked the remote again. Izuku's academic records appeared.
"For starters, Mr. Midoriya is one of the most promising Support Course students currently enrolled at Kogane University."
The screen displayed project evaluations and instructor comments.
"Power Loader himself has repeatedly praised the young man's ingenuity."
"Seriously?" Tomoko's eyebrows rose.
"Repeatedly." Nezu nodded. "His designs are unconventional, creative, and often highly effective."
The Dean glanced toward the next file.
"His attendance record is also unusual. Mr. Midoriya primarily attends classes remotely and appears in person only when direct instruction becomes necessary."
The next slide contained very little information. Almost disturbingly little.
"No clubs. No organizations. No close friends. No significant social network."
The room grew quieter.
"By all accounts, Mr. Midoriya is something of an outcast." Nezu's voice softened slightly.
Nobody needed an explanation. A Quirkless teenager pursuing a career in Hero support engineering had likely endured years of prejudice and dismissal.
"He spends most of his free time scavenging materials at Takoba Municipal Beach Park."
Across the room, Toshinori visibly flinched.
"The second reason why Midoriya is a suspect, I believe Mr. Yagi should explain personally." Nezu continued without warning, and now Toshinori visibly shrank.
The Pussycats watched with growing curiosity.
"Go ahead." Nezu smiled.
Yagi looked like a man approaching his own execution. Unfortunately, he clearly understood Nezu wasn't giving him a choice, the irritation of his biggest blunder evident.
"About a year ago… All Might met Young Midoriya, and it wasn't long before Webjack appeared." Yagi rubbed the back of his neck. "The encounter was… complicated."
"How complicated?" Ryuko asked.
"Young Midoriya accidentally learned something about All Might's personal life." Yagi grimaced.
Nobody interrupted. The discomfort in his voice suggested the topic carried significant weight.
"It was information that absolutely shouldn't have become public. Nothing horrendous, I assure you, just deeply personal," Yagi sighed. "All Might asked him to keep it secret."
"And?"
"And that was basically the end of it."
"He never spoke again?" Tiger frowned.
"Not really." Yagi looked away. "The two parted on less-than-ideal terms."
That description sounded suspiciously generous.
"Given Webjack's behavior after using the Erasure device on All Might…" Yagi continued with hesitation. "We have reason to believe Young Midoriya, whether he was Webjack or is in league with him, may hold a grudge."
The room collectively absorbed that explanation.
Then Ryuko spoke the thought everyone else was already having. "That sounds like All Might messed up."
Yagi immediately winced again. Nobody contradicted her.
Hero worshippers becoming disillusioned wasn't exactly a rare phenomenon. Every experienced Pro-Hero had witnessed it happen countless times throughout their careers. Fans built impossible expectations. Reality eventually shattered them. What made this situation unusual was the possibility that the disappointed fan had gone on to become associated with one of the most dangerous Vigilantes in the country.
Still, the Pussycats struggled to connect the dots.
"After today, I'm having trouble believing Midoriya is Webjack." Tomoko crossed her arms.
"Visually speaking, I agree." Nezu nodded. "Mr. Midoriya appears innocent."
The wording immediately stood out.
"Visually?" Tiger repeated.
"Correct." Nezu's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "He remains under suspicion until we can conclusively determine whether he is manufacturing support equipment for unauthorized individuals."
Nobody argued, since it was fair. The investigation had eliminated one possibility.
Not all of them.
Toshinori stared at Midoriya's file displayed on the screen. The photographs showed a lonely young man spending most of his time studying, inventing, and scavenging through mountains of discarded machinery. The more he looked, the worse he felt.
An entire year had passed. He had never checked on the boy. Never apologized. Never attempted another conversation. The realization sat heavily in his chest.
'Perhaps the best thing I can do is what I should've done a long time ago,' He decided silently.
-][-
Leaving the apartment behind, Izuku and Himiko made their way deeper into Musutafu as evening settled over the city. The crowds gradually thinned as they moved away from the commercial districts and toward one of the older sections of town. Their destination eventually brought them to a familiar tunnel, one that carried memories Izuku wasn't particularly interested in revisiting. This was where he had encountered All Might nearly a year ago. The location had once occupied a larger place in his thoughts, but time had a way of sanding down old wounds. The memory passed through his mind like a train passing through a station without stopping. He acknowledged it and continued forward.
Himiko noticed the brief glance he gave the tunnel walls.
"You okay?"
"Still tired from the duplicate," Izuku shrugged. "I'll get invigorated soon enough."
Rather than continue dwelling on the subject, Izuku walked toward a manhole cover positioned near the center of the tunnel. With a practiced motion, he gripped the metal cover and pulled it aside. The dark opening beneath revealed a maintenance ladder descending into the depths below Musutafu.
"Underground?" Himiko blinked.
"Underground." Izuku grinned.
"Seriously?" The revelation caught Toga off guard.
"What?"
"Twice." She pointed accusingly at him.
"What about twice?" Izuku tilted his head.
"Twice I've seen Villains escape into the sewers." Her expression became increasingly animated. "And both times you refused to chase them."
Izuku immediately knew where this was going.
"You literally told reporters that your sensitive nose would never survive the smell." Himiko crossed her arms.
"Oh, that." Izuku burst out laughing.
"You lied."
"Absolutely."
"You lied to the entire city." Himiko stared.
"Technically, I only lied to the cameras."
"That's worse."
"The cameras were rolling." Izuku looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"So?"
"So now the Heroes never think to look for me down here." The grin widened. "A proud Vigilante refusing to pursue Villains because of bad smells is exactly the sort of ridiculous excuse people remember."
Himiko slowly realized where he was going with this.
"You made yourself look petty on purpose."
"Correct."
"You sacrificed your reputation."
"Also correct."
"To hide a secret base."
"Now you're thinking like a Vigilante." Izuku gave a thumbs-up.
The pair descended into the darkness shortly afterward. The smell of the sewers greeted them almost immediately. While most people would have recoiled, Himiko barely reacted. Compared to places she had hidden in during her childhood, the environment hardly registered.
"Doesn't bother you?" Izuku glanced toward her.
"Not really." That answer didn't surprise him.
Himiko had more than a year surviving in places most people wouldn't willingly enter. He knew the broad outline of her history. He knew about the incident involving a classmate and her uncontrollable fascination with blood. The details remained largely unspoken between them, partly because Izuku respected her privacy and partly because Himiko rarely volunteered information about that period of her life.
Meanwhile, Himiko found herself confronting an entirely different source of discomfort. She stole a glance at him more than once. Thankfully, Izuku didn't notice. Or at least he pretended not to.
The face beneath Webjack's mask remained deeply familiar to her. The resemblance to Saito Hibana was impossible to ignore. Her first crush. Her first victim. The person whose blood had awakened emotions she hadn't understood at the time. Discovering that Webjack looked so much like him had nearly caused her bloodlust to flare out of sheer shock and nostalgia.
Nearly, but she held back for two very important reasons. The first was simple. She genuinely liked Webjack. Not merely because of wanting to drink his blood one day, she likes him. The second reason was considerably more practical, and that is that Nagant would kill her. The former Hero had made it abundantly clear that their partnership with Webjack was valuable. Ruining that relationship because of a momentary lapse in self-control would be unbelievably stupid.
So Himiko kept walking. Five minutes later, Izuku finally stopped.
"We're here."
Himiko looked around. The sewer tunnel appeared completely ordinary. Then Izuku approached a section of wall and pressed his hand against a concealed mechanism. A hidden entrance shifted open, revealing a passageway beyond.
"No way." Himiko's eyes widened.
"Welcome to Spider Sanctuary Mark II." Izuku spread his arms dramatically.
The sight beyond the entrance immediately stole her attention. Calling it a hideout felt inadequate. Calling it a clubhouse wasn't much better. The structure looked like something that should not exist. An enormous collection of discarded junk, salvaged materials, abandoned appliances, and forgotten scrap had somehow been transformed into a genuine work of architecture. The entire construction resembled a monument dedicated to creativity itself. Every component appeared as though it belonged in a landfill, yet together they formed something strangely beautiful.
"How?" Himiko stared.
"I've been working on it for months." Izuku beamed with pride.
The two slowly approached the structure.
"I always knew I couldn't keep my main base above ground forever." His voice carried the satisfaction of a craftsman admiring his masterpiece. "So I started planning ahead."
Piece by piece. Month by month. Trip by trip. Everything had been transported from Takoba Beach. Not all at once. That would've attracted attention. Instead, Izuku moved materials gradually, selecting useful items and quietly relocating them beneath the city.
"First, I found the right location." He gestured toward the surrounding tunnels.
"Somewhere perfectly hidden." Then toward the structure itself. "Then I started building."
The closer Himiko looked, the more absurd the details became. One wall consisted almost entirely of refrigerators stacked and reinforced together. Another incorporated portions of old boats, cabinets, and dresser drawers. The roof appeared to be constructed from desks and tables salvaged from schools and offices, many bearing signs of age and exposure.
Every individual component should have been hideous. Together, they somehow worked. It resembled a bizarre kingdom built by a genius raccoon.
"Most people see garbage." Izuku continued his explanation. He ran a hand across a rusted section of metal. "I see possibilities."
A smile crossed his face.
"People throw away incredible things." His eyes lit up as he spoke. "A broken microprocessor. A damaged motor. A cracked circuit board. Most people call that trash. I call it the beginning of a robot."
"Of course you do." Himiko laughed.
The final result stood before them like a monument to obsession and ingenuity. A house built beneath Musutafu itself. A sanctuary assembled from things society had discarded and forgotten. The entrance proved equally ridiculous. The front door consisted of an enormous industrial refrigerator door, likely manufactured for a large Heteromorph household or commercial facility.
Izuku proudly opened it, and the interior was somehow more impressive.
"What?!" The shout escaped Himiko automatically.
The furnishings looked clean, organized, and comfortable. There wasn't a trace of the grime one would expect from a structure built almost entirely from salvaged materials. The true centerpiece sat in one corner. Two large pools filled with crystal-clear water. Massive contraptions occupied the pools, consisting of interconnected turbines, bicycle components, water wheels, and custom machinery assembled from countless scavenged parts.
"What are those?" Himiko pointed.
"My hydroelectric generators," Izuku's grin returned. The answer sounded absurd.
Then again, so did everything else.
"You built your own power plant?"
"A small one."
"That's insane."
"It's efficient."
The rotating mechanisms quietly generated electricity for the entire sanctuary. Lights, appliances, computers, tools, and future projects all drew power from a system completely independent of the city's infrastructure.
Spider Sanctuary Mark II was entirely off-grid. Nobody paid the bills. Nobody monitored the power usage. Nobody knew it existed.
"I'm also working on my own network."
"Your own internet?" Himiko blinked.
"Eventually."
The sheer confidence in his voice suggested he genuinely intended to accomplish exactly that. Perks of being a support student who obsessively learns engineering. Perks of being Izuku Midoriya.
The more Himiko looked around, the more she understood why he seemed so pleased with himself. This wasn't merely a hideout. It was freedom. A place where Heroes couldn't casually walk in. A place where Police investigations couldn't easily reach. A place where Webjack and Kat-astrophe could plan, build, and operate without interference.
The old Spider Sanctuary had served its purpose. This one felt permanent.
At least for now.
"What's going to happen to the old place?" Himiko asked.
"I'll keep using it for my Kogane inventions," Izuku shrugged. "If the Heroes returned to inspect the abandoned factory, they'd find exactly what I want them to find. A support student building inventions. Nothing more. Nothing less."
The factory would remain a decoy. The real Spider Sanctuary sat hidden beneath the city where nobody would ever think to look.
Izuku folded his arms proudly and surveyed his creation. A secret home built entirely from society's leftovers.
Not bad for trash.
-][-
The journey to Tartarus had begun several hours earlier. The Smoke Villain Webjack dealt with this afternoon, Fumator, sat in silence inside the reinforced transport vehicle assigned to carry him toward the most feared prison in Japan. Thick restraints wrapped around his wrists, ankles, waist, and shoulders. The metal bindings had been designed with the physically strongest Quirks in mind, each component reinforced to withstand strength-enhancing abilities, mutation Quirks, and desperate escape attempts. Most criminals complained endlessly about the discomfort. Fumator merely shifted slightly to find a more comfortable position and settled back against the steel bench.
The Smoke Villain's criminal record stretched back years. Armed robberies, extortion, property destruction, and assault.
A seemingly endless trail of crimes that had made him a persistent headache for Hero agencies across multiple prefectures.
He wasn't a monster on the level of Muscular, the infamous Cardinal Murderer, whose body count had transformed him into a living nightmare. Fumator's crimes rarely involved murder. In another era, he might have received a conventional prison sentence and eventually earned release.
Modern Hero society operated differently.
The Hero Public Safety Commission had long ago abandoned certain ideals when dealing with repeat offenders whose activities crossed specific thresholds. Once a Villain accumulated enough destruction, enough victims, enough years spent evading justice, fairness arguments became secondary concerns.
Harsh? Absolutely.
Effective? Usually.
At least according to the people making those decisions. As a result, Fumator was heading directly toward Tartarus. No lengthy trial. No years of appeals. No second chances. The system had already decided. Ironically, he was luckier than many inmates who ended up there.
Tartarus possessed a reputation so dreadful that ordinary prisons treated it like a cautionary tale. The facility was named after the abyss from ancient mythology for a reason. Villains sent there didn't expect rehabilitation. They didn't expect redemption. Most didn't expect freedom. They expected oblivion. A slow burial beneath steel, concrete, and hopelessness.
Many criminals broke down upon learning their destination. Some screamed. Some begged. Others wept. Death itself often sounded preferable.
The two armed police officers seated across from Fumator knew those stories well. Every officer involved in Tartarus transfers knew them. The prison's reputation unsettled guards almost as much as inmates. It represented the point where society gave up trying to fix someone.
One of the officers studied the Villain carefully. Something felt wrong.
"You seem awfully calm."
"Hm?" Fumator glanced at him.
"Most people aren't this relaxed when they're headed where you're headed." The officer frowned.
"No kidding." His partner nodded.
Neither man loosened his grip on his weapon.
"What can I say? No use crying about it." Fumator shrugged.
That answer only made the officers more uncomfortable. Some criminals reacted similarly. Usually the arrogant ones. The fools who believed they were tougher than everyone else. The kind who imagined they'd take over prison populations through intimidation and violence.
Reality always corrected those delusions. Such fantasies might have worked centuries ago, but not anymore. Modern prisons had evolved alongside this Superhuman World. Every inmate possessed abilities of some kind. Every inmate thought they were dangerous. Every inmate eventually discovered that Tartarus cared very little about their personal opinions.
Inside those walls, nobody ruled except the Warden. Every individual who occupied that position developed a reputation bordering on mythical. The stories varied. The conclusions rarely did. Tartarus broke people. Especially newcomers who arrived acting fearless.
Yet Fumator remained completely unconcerned.
The reason was simple.
He wasn't going to Tartarus.
The transport convoy eventually left Musutafu behind. Urban environments gave way to open countryside. Buildings became scarce. Traffic disappeared. Vast stretches of empty land surrounded the road on all sides. It was a carefully chosen route designed to minimize risks to civilians should an escape attempt occur. Normally, the area was considered extremely safe.
Today was different.
A thunderous impact exploded against the front of the transport vehicle. The entire truck lurched violently. Metal screamed. Glass shattered. The engine compartment erupted in sparks. The driver cursed. The vehicle swerved, then died.
Every person inside immediately shifted into combat readiness.
"What the hell was that?!"
The convoy screeched to a halt. Weapons were drawn. Emergency procedures activated. Outside, escort vehicles began repositioning defensively.
Nobody understood what had happened. Something had struck the engine with incredible force and precision. Whatever the projectile had been, it completely disabled the transport in a single hit.
Inside the chaos, one individual remained hidden. A Pro-Hero was brought in as a contingency measure. The authorities had quietly assigned an additional Hero to accompany the transfer. His presence remained classified from everyone except mission planners. If an attack occurred, he would reveal himself at the most advantageous moment and catch the assailants by surprise.
Unfortunately for him, someone else had already noticed him.
A sharp crack echoed through the air. The hidden Hero barely had time to react when something struck him hard. Pain exploded through his body. His concealment failed instantly as he collapsed.
"What?!" The shout came from one of the officers.
"Hero down!"
Panic spread. Nobody could identify the shooter, the angle, or the weapon. The attack had come from nowhere.
Then another shot landed. One after the other. Personnel dropped one after another. Some collapsed beside vehicles. Others fell while attempting to establish defensive positions. Confusion transformed into terror.
The worst part wasn't the accuracy. It was the restraint.
The groans coming from injured personnel revealed that whoever was attacking them wasn't trying to kill. Most of the rounds appeared designed to incapacitate rather than execute. Which somehow made the situation more frightening. An attacker capable of disabling trained Heroes and armed officers with such precision wasn't missing. They were choosing not to kill. That level of confidence was terrifying.
Within moments, nearly everyone assigned to the transport lay incapacitated.
The only individuals still standing inside the truck were the two officers closest to Fumator. Their hands trembled. Their weapons shook. Outside had gone eerily quiet. Then came a metallic groan. The rear doors began opening slowly and forcefully.
The officers immediately raised their firearms. Their hearts hammered against their ribs. Neither man knew what waited outside. A Villain? A mercenary?
The doors finally swung open. Sunlight flooded the compartment. The officers saw their attacker and instantly froze. Not because of a Quirk. Not because of fear. Because recognition struck them like a sledgehammer.
The figure standing outside wore dark clothing and carried a rifle unlike anything produced by conventional manufacturers. Indigo hair shifted gently in the wind. Purple eyes regarded the scene with cold indifference.
There's not a person in Japan who doesn't know that face. The greatest marskwoman in the world and a disgraced Hero whose downfall had shaken the entire nation. The living ghost of the Hero Public Safety Commission.
Lady Nagant.
For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then Fumator chuckled. The sound broke the tension.
"Yo, boss lady." A cruel grin spread across his face.
The officers stared at him. Fumator's amusement only grew.
"Mighty kind of you to bail me out after you forced me to put on that fake robbery just to mess around with the Heroes stalking the kid."
Both policemen felt their blood run cold. Fake robbery? The kid? What was he talking about?
Nagant's expression immediately darkened."Don't blabber so casually about that, you idiot." Her voice carried the sharp edge of someone resisting the urge to shoot the speaker herself.