"The scene above can only be described as chaos and panic folks. Five hours ago the city received a broadcast from this building, where police found a startling threat to be real. The missing class of Mustafa Junior High are trapped inside their school bus, suspended high above the ground."
Hundreds of police and reporters all gathered around the scene, where the Goblin held his captives. The villain took refuge in the Yusai building, and made sure to keep himself protected. He layered the roof with bombs and kept his finger on the detonation trigger. The cities panic bled into the night, and the collective question remained unanswered.
Would Spider-Man return?
No heroes were present at the scene, since everyone took Goblin's threat at the highest stake. No chances were taken and thus no pro hero was visible to the villain. Besides the Goblin, many were currently engaged with the growing threat of Jikshour. Firetrucks and swat vans surrounded the building, making sure that no one got in or out.
The report covering the event stood infront of the building, showing the school bus. The yellow vehicle stood with the front leaning off the edge of the building. The structure that held them was an unfinished skyscraper. The children had fluctuated in terror over the hours, changing from scared to calm at the blink of an eye.
The child for their parents, and hoped that the unknown hero would save them. For these kids Spider-Man was simply a myth, so their faith in him was non-existent. His name was a fable to them, only acting as a bedtime story at night. The city of Mustafa all watched the coverage of the event, almost all eyes were tuned in.
Hideo sat on the couch with his parents, observing every second of the news. The young boy didn't know how to react, since no one heard about Spider-Man in so long. Every second the bus tipped over the edge, he hoped that Spider-Man would appear.
Everyone hoped to spot the red and blue blur of the hero who protected their neighborhood. The hero who helped them cross the street, fix their bikes, and made sure they could rest just a little bit easier.
As the cops looked at the hanging bus, they spotted the Goblin standing on his glider next to it. The snipers were positioned in hidden spots, resting their sights on the villain. They were ordered not to take a shot, as it could spiral into a darker scenario. A patrol car pulled into the area where the other cops were standing, honking to move the pedestrians who came to watch.
The door opened and out came the chief of the Mustafa police district. The glum look on his eyes watched helplessly as the hostage children looked down at them. "Alright what do we got? Any files or records on this bastard?" He spat, now staring at the flying Goblin.
"Uh, nothing sir, no official records or notes on this guy." One officer replied, nervously flipping through a notebook of registered Quirk users. The Goblin had only made his existence known in the recent hours, and the night of the Gala.
"Damn it," Stomped the chief, running a hand through his grey hair. He looked around in the sky, spotting nothing else heading towards them. A desperate sigh escaped him, before turning back to face his squad of officers. "What about the other one? Any sign that he'll show up?"
"None sir, we've had heroes, media, and our own men trying to keep an eye for him." One officer shook, trying not to fall down on the scene. His mind was collapsing by the minute, spotting his own son trapped inside the van. "He's not coming."
Instead of losing hope, the chief let out a heavy sigh. There was a proposed idea that they could use, if Spider-Man wasn't going to show up. "Bring in the decoy." He ordered, waving at the driver of a nearby swat van to come closer. Inside the van sat a man wearing a suit that closely resembled Taeko's first official one.
It was created the hour the Goblin broadcasted his young captives. It was given a lesser-known hero, whose Quirk could create ropes out of thin air. This was the contingency is Spider-Man didn't show up, and by the looks of events, they needed to use.
The hero smiled once he was told to exit the van, holding his false mask with blind confidence. "Finally, I never thought I'd get a chance." The white-haired hero grinned, stretching his back once he stepped outside. The police all stared at him, most were too focused to care about his careless antics.
"Domen, focus. You need to get in there and distract the villain, you don't need to save the kids, we can handle that." The chief explained, only needed the hero to keep the Hoblin away from the kids. If Domen could distract him long enough, the swat could rescue the kids.
"Don't sweat your horses' cop," Domen smirked, cracking his neck carefully with his hands. He raised his arm and created a large rope, and wrapped it around one of the metal rods in the buildings. The fake Spider-Man slowly pulled himself off the ground, not as easily or fast as Taeko could.
The cameras all turned their attention onto the climbing hero. Domen saw the flash of the helicopter light, and stopped climbing to wave at the crowds watching. The Goblin noticed the hero, and started to smile, building up his normal laughter. The distance between them and the dark night kept him from noticing that it was rope instead of webs.
Hideo instantly figured out this wasn't his hero, everything about him pointed against it. Domen was slow, he whipped his hand back to throw his rope, and he stopped to wave at the crowd. The real Spider-Man would never gloat or show off without achieving his goal at the same time. Sure, Taeko would pose for the camera, but only when everything had been cleared up and the lives were saved.
"That's not him." He whispered, leaning back in his seat.
Once Domen made it to the top of the building after five minutes, he leaned against the pillar to catch his breath. This was the first time he'd ever scaled such a high building. Once his stabilized his breathing he started walking towards the bus. Aside from the rotating helicopter, the roof was silent. No laughter or noise from the villain was heard, nor was the Goblin even present.
"And the green Goblin nowhere to found nice, easy." He yawned without paying attention. The green villain slowly popped out from behind a crate of bricks. He leviated behind Dumen. The Goblin's smile dropped when he realized that Dumen wasn't even aware.
Dumen only noticed he was there once the sound of his glider became audible. He fake Spider-Man tried to jump out of the way, but was snatched up by the Green Goblin. The villain held Domen high above the air, staring deep into the white lenses. "Hmm, same costume. But you took far too long to get up here, AND you didn't even know I was coming. FAKE SPIDER-MAN!"
"Oh pal I'm as real as Spider-Guy gets!" Dumen shouted, before creating a small rope and hitting it against the Goblin's face. Instead of knocking him into immediately and falling over, like Dumen arrogantly hoped, his enemy stared unimpressed.
"Real? Real? REAL?!" Roared Goblin, sending an immediate chill of fear down the spine of Dumen. This jolly emotion from the villain was replaced by complete rage, from being denied what he longed for. "YOU'VE ALL BEEN WASTING MY TIME!"
Goblin harshly tossed Dumen across the building, sending him towards an expected death. The villain shocked the watching crowds when he started flying towards the bus of kids. The children inside began to cry even louder, watching the monster who'd promised to kill them come closer.
"SORRY KIDS, BUT YOU CAN BLAME YOUR CITY FOR TRYING TO TRICK ME!" Goblin screamed, grabbing one of his pumpkin bombs. All over the city those who watched the villain began to scream, now picturing the death of the kids. Instead of blowing up the bus, Goblin tossed the bomb the roof.
The bomb blew up and consumed the surface into flames, while pushing the bus forward. The children inside were now holding onto the seats, as the vehicle now plummeted towards the ground. Screams filled to the brim of fright rang across the city, and the police below were now frozen with dread.
As the bus continued to decline towards the approaching ground, one cop noticed something move from the corner of her eye. A faint thwip could be heard by a few people, while others just barely caught sight of someone in the air. Within a flash, the bus was stopped, now steadily dangling high above the ground.
Everyone gasped when they realized it wasn't going to crash down. Domen kept screaming as he still fell down, frantically waving his arms out of nonsensical fear. He felt something latch onto his back, stopping him from falling further. "Wh-What?....." He panted, looking around to see what caught him, believing that he should of died.
Hideo beamed with absolute joy, jumping off his couch. The citizens of Mustafa that recognized their hero was here, and smiled too with pride.
"Nice suit, just a little out of touch." A voice called out, swinging by him, giving him a small wave. The confused imposter slowly spun around from the web that caught him. He watched the real webbed warrior gracefully swing away, heading back towards the bus.
Taeko held both hands around one web, moving through the air with a fair amount of ease. Once he finished his new suit, he raced towards the scene where Goblin was. The Spider hero let go of the web and dropped towards the bus, he glided toward the side. He carefully stuck onto the window, staring at most of the kids inside.
"Hey there everyone, weird night huh?" Taeko quipped, trying to keep the group calm. He needed to make sure that despite being physically unharmed, their minds should be to. Most of the kids nodded at him, making him smile behind the mask. "Don't worry anymore, I'm gonna get you all down safely ok?"
The moment he promised their safety, the web that held the bus began to snap. The kids yelled and Taeko immediately looked up, watching as the final thread of silk broke apart. The heavy massive yellow vehicle started to fall once again, but this time, Spider-Man was here.
"Please don't fail me now!" Taeko said to himself, rotating his arms to pysch himself up. Taeko grabbed onto the handlebar outside of the bus, and aimed his other arm outwards. A long line of webs shot out, flying towards the building next to them. Once they attached themselves, Taeko pulled against and gripped the bar even tighter.
"Argghhhh..." He groaned quietly, straining his strength, now holding the bus right above the floor. The nearby cops rushed towards them, intending on helping out the kid's savior. One of the officers broke the emergency door, allowing the kids to leave. "D-Don't worry about me, I've got this handled."
The officers helped all of the kids out of the bus, and escorted away from the scene. The daughter of one of the cops ran to her father, and the two embraced each other in a hug. He looked up at Spider-Man, and watched him carefully lower the bus onto the ground. The kids all cheered for their savior, beaming at the new hero they'd aspire to be.
"Thank you, Spider-Man."
Taeko immediately got back to work once the kids were safe. The swinging hero landed on the side of the building and began crawling up to meet his foe. Nothing scared him in this moment, not even the threat of losing another life. People all around the city chanted for the wall-crawling hero. Taeko couldn't help but smile sheepishly at the praise of hope.
He finally crawled to the top of the building, where the Goblin still wasn't present. However, his senses kicked in and warned him like old times. Taeko jumped back, but was still knocked back a few feet by the blast. The cackles of the Goblin came into his ears, now revealing the mad villain flying above.
"Aaand here's another fake, but I'll admit you almost fooled me. The costume isn't classy like the one he wore, and believe me, I'd know class." The Goblin said, looking down as Taeko silently stared at his most hated enemy. The villain stayed high above the broken roof, as he could simply throw another bomb. "The "hero" isn't actually the real hero I wanted to meet, you're just another chump copying his style. Granted no one can even come close to matching his. Saving that bus of youngsters was the last achievement you'll ever have. When this is all over you'll have nothing left!"
"Except the dignity of knowing I never named myself the jolly green elf." Replied Taeko, with nothing but calmness and determination in his voice. The Goblin's eyes widened as he stared at the hero, gasping with a creeping smile. Everything began to click in his head, he remembered just who said that eight years ago.
"It's you."
"The one and only." Taeko glared, before suddenly shooting a web onto the Goblin's glider. Before the villain could react from his haze of joy, he was tugged toward the building. Taeko used as much of his returning strength as possible, but it wasn't enough.
The Goblin cut through his webs with the blade on the end of his glider. In response to Taeko's first attack, be countered with his own. Four bombs were thrown at the hero, but were easily dodged by a few flips. Taeko was still a bit rusty at his powers, but every moment he remembered how to best utilize them.
"Oh Spider! You don't know how long I missed you, all these wannabe heroes never compared!" Green smiled, flying directly towards Taeko. The spider hero avoided the blades with a quick evade, and shot a web onto the engine of his glider.
"WHOA!" Shouted Taeko, being pulled off the ground and tailing the Goblin. As the two soared through the air, Taeko started to pull himself forward. He tried his best to ignore the overly obnoxious laughs of his enemy. "Geez, you mind sharing what joke cracked you up this much?"
"I'd love to reveal it, but I might a bit too ignited for your tastes." Replied the Goblin, halting his laughter to toss more bombs back at the villain. "HEHEHEHEHE!"
"Oh great, more bombs, haven't seen those before." Taeko sarcastically yawned, letting go and avoiding the blast. Once he fell past the smoke, Spider-Man he started shooting more webs onto the gliders engine. He knew that rendering him unable to fly was key to stopping him.
Goblin caught onto his plan, but by then it was too late to attest. The excessive amount of webbing caused his engines to implode on themselves. Smoke and flames burst from his malfunctioning tech. Instead of falling off, he jumped, and advanced towards Taeko. The laughing villain grabbed onto Taeko's leg, pulling him down with him. The two fighters fell towards the collapsing roof, and crashed into the next floor.
"Ugh...I hate that." Taeko groaned, holding a hand against his head as he picked himself up. The next moment his head vibrated, but the punch came too fast for him to react. The Goblin snuck behind him and jabbed him in the jaw, knocking him right back on the floor.
"Smart move, keeping me grounded like that." Goblin complimented, before grabbing Taeko by the back of his neck. He pulled out a blade from his wrist, and moved it to stab him. Spider-Man whipped his body around with sudden succession, and caught the blade in between his hands. Instead of grabbing the blade-like, he did in their first battle, he clapped his hands around it.
"Man you really haven't updated your moves have you?" Leered Taeko, snapping the dull blade with one twist. He broke free from the Goblin's grasp with a kick, and flipped onto his back. This time he was ready to fight, Spider-Man was ready to take down the Green Goblin.
"Oh what can I say?" Asked Goblin, taking out his final bomb from his satchel. "I do love the classics!" The bomb was thrown forward as usual, but this time it hit the ground. The floor burst open with broken rubble, temporarily blinding Taeko with the dust. With the presumption that Taeko was uncoordinated, he dashed to beat down on him.
"Ok, spider-sense, I know it's been some time, but I could really use your help." Taeko thought to himself, hearing the Goblin's footsteps mix with the crashing stones around him. Once the villain stepped right in front of Taeko, he reacted with a jump. He amused Goblin by jumping on the ceiling.
"Yes yes yes! I missed the game we played once, you'd run around while I-" Goblin started, before being interrupted with a sudden punch from Taeko.
"Oh shut up man I get it, you missed me." He sighed, punching again with a right hook. Taeko didn't know how much force to use against the Goblin, since his opponent did have increased durability.
When the villain recovered from the two hits, another one connected directly against his chest. A small chuckle escaped before turning into a silenced cough. Taeko went to punch him again, but this time Goblin grabbed onto his fist. He held the spider hero in place, grinning with delight. "You aren't punching as hard as you used to. Are you tired? Or just not interested?"
He punched Taeko against his chest and punted him in the ribs. The former nearly tripped over, bit instead he webbed onto Goblin. He pulled the villain forward, and let himself fall onto the ground. Taeko raised both legs and pushed them against the Goblin, pushing him into the air. Without delay, yanked on the web, and slammed him into the ground.
As Goblin's face crashed into the ground, Taeko resisted the urge to punch him again in the neck. For a second, the young hero wanted revenge, for the people he killed, and the young lives he would've taken as well. But, Taeko knew what he stood for, regardless of who they were or what they've done. Spider-Man. Does. Not. kill.
"Should have taken the final blow!" Goblin shouted, slicing his blast into Taeko's leg. The latter yelped from the pain, but immediately shook his limb aggressively to remove the unwanted weapon. The Goblin stood up and tackled Taeko onto the ground, and started punching him repeatedly.
In an attempt to free himself, Taeko raised an arm to shoot a web. However, both of his wrists were grabbed and held in place. "You've spun your last web, Spider-Man! I'm almost disappointed that you had to die so quickly after coming back!"
The arrogant villain tugged his arms to the side, attempting to ripping off Spider-Man's appendages. Taeko struggled to free himself from the Goblin's grasp. It reminded him of their encounter at the Cafe, where he was stuck in a familiar predicament.
"Oh look at how weak you've gotten, when you were younger you would have knocked my jaw off!" Goblin grinned, before throwing Taeko's arm down. Just like their first battle, he started to choke Taeko again. The hero's strength wasn't kicking in fast enough to help him, leaving gasping for air. "That very compassion that allowed me to live is now choking you to death!"
The eyes of the villain were still filled the yellow shading, but at this close of a distance, Taeko could see his eyes. Two small maroon brown pupils started back at the hero. Taeko began to recall what lesson he learned years ago. That the villains and monsters he battled constantly, were just men given the wrong gifts. "I remember watching the news before you left, it always seemed that you'd never lose, but now look at you! Struggling to beat a Quirkless madman! DO YOU KNOW MANY HEROES I'VE SLAUGHTERED?!"
"Nnhhhh!" With one sudden move thrash, Taeko broke free, and he instead grabbed the Goblin's wrists. The hero now caught his fading breath, and placed all of his might into clenching Goblin's wrists. "Yeah, I'm rusty against you tonight, but I've crushed tougher men than you before." Taeko replied, cracking both of the villain's wrists.
"AAA!" Screamed the Goblin with pain and high pitched squeals. Taeko then reached his hand toward an his face, and grabbed onto the green mask. The hero pulled back, tearing the evilish facial covering from the villain. Taeko was introduced to the ordinary-looking man, who looked back at him with fearful eyes.
The Goblin was tossed over Taeko, and hit the wall with a painful whimper. Spider-Man stood above the fearful man, who could only hold his hands to cover his face. Taeko had to take a step back upon understanding that the man was acting completely afraid. "S-Spider-Man you have to help me! I'm in control, b-but I don't know for how long!" The man frantically screamed, appearing too afraid to be acting.
"What?" Taeko asked, now confused by the sudden shift in emotions. He replied his fist back to strike, but the villain flinched put of pure terror.
"The Goblin! W-Whenever he takes over....I lose myself, I'm forced to watch through his eyes." The man who shivered infront of Taeko, wasn't the Goblin. He was the body that contained the tainted spirit. "It's so cold. Please, help me."
Taeko stared at the man, finding himself upset that he couldn't hit the villain anymore. He didn't want to just beat down on Goblin, but, he kind of wanted to just beat down on the Goblin. The hero's eyes closed as he lessened the tension in his muscles. There was more to being than fighting, and he knew that, but after eight years he wanted to deliver a webbed fist of justice.
"Here, you still have to pay for what you did, but we'll try and help you." Sighed Taeko, extending his arm for the man to accept. The latter then smiled as he noticed that Spider-Man dropped his guard, and smiled as he pressed a button on his arm.
"Godspeed, Spider-Man." He grinned, as his voice reverted back to the creepy pitched tone. Taeko's sensed alerted him of an incoming object. He jumped around and avoided the glider, which had snuck up behind them. The bladed device flew past him, now heading straight towards the villain.
The Goblin held out both arms and raised his head, waiting to embrace the death that awaited him. However, his expected fate was changed, now looking as Taeko held the glider in place. The spider hero's grip nearly slipped, but he gathered his strength to rip the machine in half. Taeko tossed the pieces over the building, all while his opponent laughed.
"That was impressive! But you should have let me die, dear Spider!" He leered, attempting to run away and escape. Taeko was already aware of this, and webbed both of his legs together. The latter grabbed him shot another web to bind hid arms, and pulled him through the rubble. "Do you realize what you've started? You can punch me...break my bones...Bury me alive! But as long...as long as I'm still breathing...I'll hunt you down...I WILL KILL YOU."
Taeko didn't immediately respond, as he gathered the feeling that the mad man was right. Villains were always a constant factor in the life of Spider-Man, and the country. They'd always find a way to crawl out of their depths of despair, adding to the endless cycle of violence.
One could use this as justification to execute the villains, but not Taeko. The worry of a villain escaping and causing more damage was high, but the capacity to right that wrong keep the city safe was more prevalent. "And I'll be waiting."
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Taeko carried the defeated villain down towards the police, where he handed him to the officers. The whole crowd watched him with amazement, and began to clap at his victory. Because of him, the lives of forty children were saved, and the old Spider-Man was finally back. It was a scarce but wide rejoice of people who welcomed him back.
"You guys can handle this guy right? I'd tag along to help, but I'm sure there's at least a thousand heroes waiting to arrest me." Taeko said as he perched himself on top of the police car. He remembered that being Spider-Man was still illegal, and many still believed he aided in the murder of the Safety Commissions president.
"Of course, we'll make sure this clown gets the nicest cell Tartarus has to offer." Replied the chief, watching as his men pushed the smiling villain into the back of the armored swat van. He then turned to face the resurfaced hero, remembering when he first encountered him. He was almost surprised at just how much the vigilante had grown. The chief felt thankful for Spider-Man, despite the law demanding they shouldn't be. "Thanks, it's...it's good to have you back, Spider-Man."
Taeko smiled behind his mask, waving him with his signature two-fingered gesture. He looked at the cheering crowd, all hollering his name at the top of his lungs. While he didn't care about public opinion, this the nicest change from sour words to vocal praise. "Yeah, it's good to be back."
The young hero jumped off of the car, flipping into a web swing. He raised himself higher in the air, finally feeling that calm breeze his missed. The chanting crowd slowly died out from his far range, but their impact still stuck with the new hero. This time things would be much different, this time Spider-Man would the hero he was meant to be.
[Next Chapter: Homecoming]