Just in case we ever got separated, Elecplant and I had each other's locations shared via our cellphones. I'd hoped that other heroes might have seen the action and stepped in to help him fend them off, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I sent a text in the Class 1-A group chat and asked them to contact any hero they could and tell them to go to Elecplant's location.
Even though I knew backup was coming for him, I still made my way there myself. His ping led me to an abandoned meatpacking facility, though upon closer inspection, I could see lights from inside.
It's quiet. It doesn't seem like they're fighting. Could he have been abducted? Or worse... Should I wait for the heroes to arrive?
I ran through the hundreds of possibilities in my head, and there were hundreds more that I could have sifted through. Despite that, I thought about Midoriya and All Might and what they would have done if I were in Elecplant's position. They wouldn't wait for backup; they'd dive in headfirst.
There was no more hesitation. I leaped onto the roof of the abandoned building and looked inside through one of the hastily boarded-up windows. Elecplant was thankfully alive, though I could tell that he was barely clinging to consciousness. For the first time, I saw the face beneath the mask.
He was surrounded by five villains, each in costume. Just as I suspected, the Prowler was one of them, sporting that purple and green, animalistic costume of his. Speaking of animals, the guy next to him, his fellow hijacker, was covered in animal print from head to toe. The vulture and the goblin were beside them both, and there was a new face beside them, a giant lizard standing on its hind legs.
The lizard, wearing a lab coat, approached Elecplant with a syringe filled with a blue, glowing liquid. Looking behind him, I could see a Roxxon canister that was labeled as "Nuform".
Nuform? Isn't that supposed to be some sort of Quirk enhancer? I thought it was still in development. I remember reading somewhere that it killed the people they tested it on, but it was swept under the rug.
"To think you chased us all the way to Japan, Elecplant. You even found another Spider-Man to work alongside you. Typical, considering you could never handle us on your own. This time, Spider-Man won't be here to save you. Have you ever heard of Nuform, Elecplant? They say it can give anyone more control over their Quirks. Some want it for more power, some want it to cure the adverse effects of their Quirk. However, Roxxon has been tight-lipped when it comes to the side effects. That's where you come in! You will be our little guinea pig!"
The lizard snatched Elecplant by the scalp and aimed the syringe at his neck.
My eyes widened. I could feel a typhoon rumbling within my core, and electricity dancing on my fingertips. My fist clenched, and all of my focus went into stopping whatever the hell that was going to happen to Elecplant.
"Get away from him!" I yelled, punching through the boarded-up window with all of my might. A beam of electricity was fired from my fist and nailed the reptile right in his face, sending him flying through the opposite end of the building. The wall in front of me was completely destroyed, and as the dust and debris cleared, I could see Elecplant glancing at me from his shackles.
"Spider-Man..."
I was nearly distracted enough for my Spider-Sense to ignore the two animals lunging at me. Nonetheless, I sidestepped both attacks from the Prowler and the hunter. As I dodged, the bird and the goblin flew toward me, but before they could even come close, I attached a web to each of their heads and slammed them into each other.
I landed on the ceiling with my feet, redirecting my attention to the Prowler and the hunter. The hunter started throwing knives at me, compelling me to roll across the ceiling before jumping back onto the ground. I jumped forward, fist drawn back, and punched the hunter in the face, hurling him through the hole in the wall that I'd used as an entrance.
The Proweler clenched his hands, and metallic claws extruded from his fingertips. He slashed at me a handful of times, but none of these attacks came close. I waited for him to overextend, and when he did, I weaved around his arm and punched him in the jaw. His head hit the ceiling before he fell back down onto the ground.
The fight was over; at least, that's what I thought until I heard a beastial scream coming from across the room. The giant lizard man had doubled in size due to his rage, shredding through his labcoat as he threw himself at me. I leaped over his head, attached webs to the back of his skull, and slammed him onto the concrete.
My Spider-Sense started to go haywire. I glanced to my left to see pumpkin bombs and the vulture's blades shooting toward me like speeding bullets. I dodged the blades with a single spinning jump while attaching my webs to the bombs. I threw them back at the goblin and the vulture, landing just as they exploded on their bodies.
I couldn't even catch my breath before the hunter tackled me to the ground with a knife between his teeth. He pinned me down with both hands before grabbing the knife from his mouth. I used this chance to deck him in the chest, adding a little more power onto it to ensure that this attack would retire him from this fight. Like his friend, his head hit the ceiling, but I'd hit him so hard that he blasted through it and landed on the second floor.
I peeled myself off the ground, glancing at Elecplant for a moment. He was no longer conscious, but he was still alive. During this single moment of distraction, the Prowler fired a net at my body, binding my arms to my sides.
"He can't move!" he yelled, compelling the others to lung at me. The lizard, the goblin, and the vulture threw themselves at me all at once. However, a simple net wouldn't be enough to stop me. I charged my body with electricity, as much as I could muster, before I released a war cry alongside it all. All four of them were blasted backward, and all four of them were seemingly knocked unconscious.
With ragged breaths, I double and triple checked to make sure that they were all senseless. I exhaled, putting both hands on my knees to catch my breath.
"I thought you guys were supposed to be the big, bad villains?" I started subduing them all with my webs, starting with the Prowler. I was curious as to who this guy was since, according the Elecplant, there wasn't any data on his secret identity. So, I knelt over him and pulled off his mask. What I didn't expect was to see a familiar face.
"No way..." I muttered, feeling as if I'd just gotten shot in the chest by a twelve-gauge shotgun. I stumbled backward, still staring at the face of one of the people I trusted the most in this world.
"Uncle Aaron..."
He was my father's brother, my best friend growing up. Whenever I'd visit America with my family, seeing my uncle was always the highlight of the trip. He was the one who taught me how to draw, how to make music, and how to fight. When my father died, he was the first person after my mother to comfort me, offering the guidance of a father figure despite living across the ocean. I knew he had a troubled past; hell, he and I got into some trouble together back in the day. But to think that he was a villain this whole time...
As my world distorted around me, an attack was able to bypass my Spider-Sense. A single blow dart was stuck in my neck, and my vision started to fade. The last thing I saw was my attacker, the hunter, staring down at me with a smile on his face and a blowdart in his hands.
When I woke up, I was wrapped up in the lizard's tail. I could hear Elecplant screaming, begging the villains to stop.
"He's just a kid! Use it on me! Use it on me, please!"
My vision started to clear, and I saw that the lizard was holding the syringe up to my face.
"Stupid child..." the lizard hissed. "Did you really think that you could beat the Sinster Six all by yourself!"
Barely able to breathe, I glanced around the room, counting heads.
"Sinister Six?" I repeated. "I knew you villains were idiots, but I thought you could at least count. There are five of you, you fools."
The lizard tightened his grip on me and pulled me in close. "Embecile, there are six of us. The Lizard, the Green Goblin, the Prowler, Kraven the Hunter, the Vulture, and our boss... The Kingpin, who couldn't make it tonight."
The Lizard ripped my mask off, and the room fell silent. I glanced over at my uncle, who hid his expression beneath his mask.
"You make jokes," said the Lizard. "Yet there isn't even a hint of a smile. In fact, you look scared. Perhaps the jokes are meant to distract you, just like the other spider." Again, his tail constricted around me tightly.
"I can make a long list of things you look like," I said with a cough. He was right, I did make jokes to distract myself whenever I was scared, but I also wanted to buy myself time for the other heroes to arrive.
"Wait, I know him. That's the kid who won that UA thingy. Miles something," said the Vulture.
The Lizard chuckled. "Let's see how UA's best handles our special little drug, shall we?"
The lizard put the needle on my neck and broke the skin. I could feel the Nuform being forced into my body as Elecplant begged and pleaded for them to stop. My uncle did nothing but watch for a moment; however, before half of the syringe was emptied into my body, he lunged at the lizard and sliced its eyes with his claws. The lizard bellowed, dropping me and the syringe as he stumbled backward.
The Prowler blocked my body with his, pointing his claws at those who were once his comrades.
"The hell is wrong with y'all!? He's a kid!"
I couldn't move. My veins began to emit a bright, blue light, and the electricity within me started to change hues. What was once yellow morphed into a greenish hue before settling into a bright blue.
What's happening to me!?
"You're gonna protect the kid, Prowler? You know him or something?" the Vulture looked at him before looking down at me.
"Yes, yes," said the Green Goblin. "I see somewhat of a resemblance! He did ask the Kingpin if it was okay for him to visit some family..."
"Miles, grab your friend and get out of here," Uncle Aaron ordered. "Do as I say. I'll explain myself later."
The inside of my body felt like a ticking time bomb. There was so much energy brewing within me that I couldn't contain it any longer. It started leaking out of my body, spewing all around me like unstable plasma.
"No, I won't leave you," I told him, pulling myself onto my feet. I stood next to him with my fists raised. I was able to hold my own in a one versus five; I could handle a two versus four.
The Lizard aimed its sharp jaws at us both, its eyes having fully healed from the damage. Both the Green Goblin and the Vulture activated their machinery while Kraven readied his knives.
Just before I was about to throw myself at them, a bandage-like material emerged from the darkness outside, enveloping the Lizard and Kraven. Simultaneously, a massive hand punched a hole through the wall and grabbed both the Green Goblin and the Vulture. The owner of the hand peeked through one of the windows and waved at me; it was none other than Mt. Lady. From the darkness emerged my other savior, and to my dismay, it was my homeroom teacher, Eraserhead.
"Why is it that my students are constantly getting in trouble..." he mumbled as he deactivated their Quirks and knocked them out cold with his kicks.
Right then, I was reminded just how much of a higher level the pros were on.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Aizawa! Elecplant was in trouble, and I had to step in and help!" I said, bowing as low as I could.
Aizawa scoffed. "Is that all of them?" he asked. I looked around for my uncle, but he was gone.
"That's all. Just the four..." As my adrenaline wore off, my vision started to fade. One second, I was standing in an abandoned meat packing facility, and the next, I was lying in a hospital bed.
"Mijo, you're awake!" My mother lunged over to me and hugged me tightly.
"What happened? Where's Elecplant? And Uncle Aaron?"
"Uncle Aaron?" she repeated back at me. Meanwhile, a doctor stepped in, having heard the commotion.
"Good, you're awake. You've been out for a couple of weeks."
"Weeks!?" I repeated.
"Sixteen days to be exact. There was a foreign substance in your system that nearly killed you. For the most part, though, you'll make a full recovery. We ran plenty of tests, and it seems as though the adverse effects waned over time. It seems as though your body can cleanse itself of foreign bodies faster than that of a normal person. Say, that Quirk of yours sure is interesting. It's like a Swiss Army knife of Quirks. If you were anyone else, the effects of that Nuform stuff would've killed you over time rather than your body adapting to it."
"Gee, thanks. Good to know."
"No problem. We're gonna keep you here for the rest of the day and run some more tests. After that, you're free to go."
The doctor walked out of the room, leaving me to feel the wrath of my mother all by myself.
"You could have died, Miles! What's wrong with you!? Didn't I say to be careful!"
"I was careful. Besides, Elecplant needed me. You heard it from the doctor himself. If anyone else had been injected with that stuff, they would have died. If I didn't step in, they would have used it on Elecplant. Are you saying I should've let him die?"
"I'm not saying that, Miles. It's just that I can't stand losing you and your father in the same year. I can't. I just want you to be more careful and think about what you do before you act! You and your father always jump before you think... Must be something in the Davis family." My mother shook her head with her face buried in her hands.
I couldn't help but think about Uncle Aaron. He too jumped without thinking, willing to take on all those villains to protect me. Maybe it really was in our genes.
I spent the rest of the day in bed as my friends visited me either one by one or in small groups. Momo hugged me for a long time and accidentally called me by my first name in front of my mom, which led her to scare Momo off by insinuating that she and I were secretly a couple.
Even All Might made a special appearance, and my mother was star-struck. Of course, he scolded me as well before dropping off a mountain of school material. My final exams were in a couple of days, after all.
Through word of mouth, I learned that four members of the Sinister Six were arrested and then sent to an American prison. The Prowler was nowhere to be found, but no one knew who he really was. Elecplant was safe and back home as well.
That night, as I lay in bed in my own bedroom, I looked at my hand as it surged with this new energy. It stung a little, but I was able to control it in the same way as my usual electricity. Really, the only difference was the color.
This Nuform stuff... What the hell did they want with it? Considering they wanted to test it on someone, it makes sense that they would want to use it on themselves, right? One of them mentioned that they work for a guy named 'Kingpin'. Maybe he's the one they were planning to use it on. Nonetheless, I'm glad those guys were put behind bars.
And Uncle Aaron... I can't believe he's the Prowler. I wish he would answer my calls...