Unmasked 2: Electric Boogaloo

Spider-Man, Captain Britain, and all associated character, are property of Marvel. My Hero Academia and all related characters are property of Kohei Horikoshi

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"Sometimes," Night Nurse grumbled as she wiped the last specks of blood off Toshinori's face, "I don't know if I should praise or curse people with healing factors."

"I've never had a reason to complain," Peter said, only to quickly wilt under Night Nurse's scathing glare. Toshinori blinked; Peter had a healing factor? Did spiders have innate healing powers? He didn't think they did.

He shook his head—or tried to, as Night Nurse still held a firm grip on his forehead as she scanned his face for more blood—returning to the situation at hand. "So, I'm fine, right? Nothing's wrong?" he asked.

Night Nurse stepped back, "Not that I can see." She walked over to a sink in the corner of the room, throwing away her gloves and bloody cloths, "But keep an eye on it. Not all healing factors act the same. An internal injury or infection could arise that your quick fix overlooked."

Toshinori nodded, getting up from his seat. "Yes, I suppose I'll have to test it out to see how effective—eep!" he flinched (and was guiltily pleased to see Peter had as well) when Night Nurse slammed her hands on the counter. She pulled out a scalpel from…somewhere, waving it threateningly in Toshinori's face.

"Don't even think about it! My life is stressful enough without some idiot going around intentionally getting hurt!"

"O-Of course!" Toshinori stammered, holding his hands up and carefully inching towards the door. "Silly me, I misspoke." He flicked his gaze to the door, to see Peter holding it open, rapidly waving his hand. "Erm, thank you," Toshinori said with a short bow, and rapidly exited the room.

"Remember," Night Nurse called out, "keep an eye on that wound!"

"I will!" Toshinori replied.

They exited Night Nurses offices without much fanfare, leaping into the sky and onto a rooftop where Brian was waiting for them. "You're fine?" he asked Toshinori. When he nodded, the British Hero turned to Peter, "Now what?"

Peter sighed, tapping his masked cheek, "…There's an old tenement building a couple blocks…" he trailed off, turning his head left and right, "…that way," he said, pointing east. "It's abandoned, so we can talk there."

Toshinori blinked, "Uh…isn't that technically breaking and entering?"

"Please, the police already want to shoot you for associating with me—"

"Thanks again, for that," Brian groused.

"Oh no problem," Peter turned back to Toshinori, "What's a little B&E on top of everything else?"

"It doesn't really help our case," Toshinori trailed off. He knew that American Heroes could be somewhat cavalier, but still…

"If it makes you feel any better," Peter said, "only about twenty percent of the force will try and shoot you on sight."

"It's doesn't," Brian answered for the both of them.

"Look, we going or not?" Toshinori personally felt far too curious to decline, but he was glad when Brian agreed as well. "Good, follow me." Peter led them to the building, but oddly didn't use his webs to swing, just jumping across the rooftop. Of course, the police were after him, and his was a very distinctive form of transportation, so Toshinori supposed it was better to be safe than sorry.

For an abandoned building, the space was fairly clean. Granted, there was dust everywhere, and the occasional cobweb, but Toshinori was honestly expecting to see something like Black Mold or giant rat colonies. Peter perched himself on a wall, leaving Brian and Toshinori to stand around awkwardly.

"So," Peter clapped his hands together, cooing in a high-pitched voice, "does anyone have anything they'd like to share with the class?"

Brian snorted, "And I thought you had a big mouth before."

"Yeah, it's the mask," Peter replied, "turns off the filter, you know?" He looked down as his hands, clenching his fists. In one fluid movement, he grabbed his mask by the neck, pulling it off his head running his hands through his hair. Toshinori let go of a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding in. It was a simple gesture—especially since they all knew who each other were—but it just made everything that much more real. The American smiled tiredly, "Seriously, though, what now?"

Brian sighed, pulling his mask down to bunch around his neck, "Nothing, I suppose? How much does this change?"

"It'll make it a little easier to sneak in and out of the dorms," Toshinori said. He then saw that Peter and Brian were staring expectantly at him. He tilted his head, and Brian just gestured to him. Toshinori looked down, blinking at his muscled form, "Ah, right." He let out a breath, body shrinking as he lessened One for All's effect on his body. "Better?" he asked, his Tokyo accent seeping back into his voice.

Brian leaned forward, peering at Toshinori in a way that made him blush. "Does…does your bone structure change?"

"I…don't think so," Toshinori hesitantly replied. It just strengthened his body, even the change in muscle mass was mainly a cosmetic one that helped maintain a secret identity. That and the accent.

"Eh," Peter shrugged, "seems like what the Hulk can do, without looking like you took a bath in green dye."

"You've met the Hulk?" Brian asked.

"Met most of the Avengers. Stick around," Peter waved his hand dismissively, "you're bound to run into them sooner or later." Toshinori couldn't help but grin at the idea; to meet some of the Earth's greatest Heroes—especially Captain America, perhaps the first actual Superhero. It was one of the reasons he chose to come to New York in the first place. Gran Torino had been against it; argued that he was leaving Japan to escape danger, not dash headlong toward it. But if he was going to learn how to be a Hero, where else but the home base of the premier Hero team?

His mentor still tried to persuade him to leave for Los Angeles whenever they talked. His main point being that it'd been a good few months and he'd yet to see, much less talk, with one of those members. But he was friends—decent ones, apparently—with a Hero who frequently rubbed shoulders with the Avengers. Favors would have to come later, though; they had other things to discuss.

"How'd you guys end up doing this, anyway?" Brian asked. Memories bubbled to the surface of Toshinori's mind, memories of panic and a true Hero cut down in her prime.

"Let's save that discussion for a later date," Toshinori said. To himself, he whispered, "If at all."

"I'm with Toshi," Peter quickly said. He then smiled, "To be honest, Brian, I've been dying to ask you how in the hell you thought your costume was actually fooling anyone."

"Don't have to be so dramatic," the British hero muttered peevishly, "you only just found out."

"Oh, no, I've known since, like, your first week here."

Brian and Toshinori gaped at their friend, "You've known about us for months?" they asked in tandem.

"Only Brian. Didn't even suspect you, Toshi. Like I said, losing the accent helps a lot. And not showing off your hair."

Toshi snickered as Brian crossed his arms with a huff. "You can see his hair and whole face."

"And again," Peter leaned forward with wide grin, "he gains, like, a hundred pounds in muscle mass, maybe changes his bone structure, and loses the accent."

"He's right, you know," Toshinori said, affecting his American accent with a wide grin.

"I do change my accent," Brian grumbled.

Peter started ribbing Brian more about the accent—including doing some truly atrocious ones of his own. Toshinori let in continue for a bit, before asking Peter a question he'd meant to ask Spider-Man for a while, but, like with the Avengers, didn't because he felt they weren't close enough.

"Peter," the American turned, "I was wondering, if I'm not overreaching, if I might meet your predecessor?"

"My what now?"

"You know, the Spider-Man before you."

Peter scrunched his nose, looking offended, "What are you—there was no Spider-Man before me." He thumped his chest, "I'm the one-and-only Spider-Man, accept no substitutes."

"Okay, my mistake," Toshinori hastily said. "But I'd still like to meet your mentor."

"What mentor?"

"The person who…taught…you…" Toshinori trailed off, eyes widening in horror as reality sunk in.

"Peter," Brian gulped, "How long have you been Spider-Man, exactly?"

"Since I was fifteen." Toshinori and Brian gasped, after which Peter rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, get it out."

"Y-You've been doing this alone since you were a child?" Toshinori gasped.

"I wasn't a child," Peter groused.

"You were in the middle of puberty!"

"Hey!" Peter scowled, jumping off the wall and poking Brian in the chest. "I'll have you know I was an early-bloomer. Didn't really any hair or gain much muscle, but I shot up like a reed and my voice cracked like hell until I finished Freshman year."

"But," Toshinori began, voice small, "you were still alone."

Peter blinked, stepping away from Brian with a thoughtful expression, "Well, yeah. I had to be."

"Why—"

"Pretty sure we already agreed to avoid delving too deep into our personal histories," Peter smirked, but it was more subdued than usual. "Maybe one day I'll tell you guys the whole story, but for now, let's keep our secrets to ourselves."

Toshinori nodded slowly; that was fair. More than fair, given his own secrets. He then gasped. Secrets. "David!" he said aloud, startling his friends.

"David…Shield?" Brian asked. "Your roommate? Wha—" he cut himself off with a frown, "He knows about you, doesn't he?" Toshinori nodded. "How? You tell him?"

"No." He blushed, coughing into his hand, "David…he saw my uniform as I was unpacking."

Brian stared on nonplused, while Peter groaned into his hands. "How?" the latter sighed, "How are either of you still alive?"

"Luck?" Toshinori bashfully supplied.

"Believe me, that's going to run out," Peter snarked.

"So…you want to tell him about us?" Brian asked askance.

"Like hell!" Peter shouted. Toshinori stepped back from the force of his words, Peter's visage twisted into a snarl. "That's not your secret to tell!"

"Peter's right, Toshi," Brian said with a soft frown, eying Peter before turning back around. "David's a nice guy, and it's good that you two trust each other. But we," he gestured to Peter and himself, "don't have that same relationship with him."

That…was fair. Still, Toshinori had the utmost faith in David, and would try to prove that to them. Later, though.

Brian sighed, "This is all well and good, guys, but what are we going to do about the police wanting to shoot us?" Ah, right. Toshinori almost forgot about that.

"Good question," Peter crossed his arms, mood lightening, humming and tapping his foot. "Well, steer clear of the cops for one; flee whenever you hear a siren, don't stick around to admire your own work," he said those last words while staring pointedly at Toshinori. He just blushed. He wasn't admiring his own work; he was making sure that people were safe (though the praise certainly didn't hurt). "And for your own sakes, we should avoid hanging around each other in our underoos."

Toshinori and Brian immediately shot that idea down.

"Don't be stupid!" Brian exclaimed.

"You need our help!" Toshinori shouted.

"Do I?" Before Toshinori could even begin to feel insulted, Peter continued, "Because the two of you have only been in New York for, what, a couple months? And neither of you have even seen, much less talked to, Kinpin, right?" Toshinori had actually seen an interview the man did in light of the Daily Bugle exposing one of his executives for insider trading his first week in New York but kept silent. "That'll also keep you safe. Kingpin doesn't know, or care, about anyone that isn't in his way. Sure, the cops are going to be on the lookout for anyone running across rooftops wearing spandex, but outside of the more overzealous corrupt cops, they're going to focus on the actual target, me."

That…made a sort of sense. He still didn't like the part where they Peter to face this on his own. Something Brian agreed with, as he said, "You can't honestly expect to deal with this alone."

Peter rolled his eyes, "Look, Kinpin's a big—and I mean massive—jerk. But the minute he finds out who was actually trying to break into his lawyer's place, he'll turn around and try to kill them instead. Of course, I'm going to do my best to keep that from happening, getting me back to number one on his 'most hated person' list, but I can cross that bridge when I get to it."

"You're glossing over the fact where you're doing all this alone!" Toshinori stressed.

"If it gets to be too much, I can always grab Daredevil. He's tangoed with Kingpin as often as me." Toshinori and Brian just glared at Peter, who sneered back, "Clearly, we aren't going to get anywhere on this particular topic." He schooled his features, tilting his head up with a sigh, "I think it's time we call it a day." He pulled his mask back on, "I'm heading south; give it a few minutes, then one of you go north, another few minutes and the other goes east." He brushed past them, ignoring their indignant shouts. He waved to them without looking back, and leapt out the window, disappearing into the city.

Toshinori and Brian stewed in their anger for another minute, before turning to face each other. "We're not actually going to let him do this alone, are we?" Brian asked.

"Of course not!" Toshinori grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "He's just being stubborn! But," his smile turned into a frown, "he was correct in that we don't really have a lot of clout in New York yet. If we're going to help him, we need to be smart."

"Agreed," Brian nodded, leaning against a wall, "question is, how?"

Toshinori's smile returned, much more confident than before, "I'm certain we can figure it out."

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A/N: I originally planned to make this a separate story, but it just meshed together with 'Unmasked' so I made it a two-parter. I…don't plan on detailing any of the Kingpin stuff. Just an FYI. Be sure to leave a review. Later.