Chapter 04

The police took the hostages out of the bank and disarmed the bombs attached to them. The unconscious robbers were also detained. The bomb squad members are defusing the bombs as fast as they can. The area was evacuated so no civilians would get caught in the blast. The air was tense. Captain Stacy is watching in anticipation hoping the bomb squad is successful. Kabuto also stayed and watched in case anything happened.

The bomb squad was sweating but trying to remain calm as they diffused the bombs. There were only 3 bombs left to diffuse but there were only 2 minutes left on the clock.

"Captain we don't have time we need to evacuate the area before those things blow." said one of the bomb squad members to George Stacy. Before Captain Stacy gives out orders Kabuto intervenes.

"No need, let me handle it."

"How are you going to disarm it? We only have less than 2 minutes!" asked Captain Stacy

"I'll throw them in the river. It should diffuse the blast to not cause any harm."

"How are you—" Before Captain Stacy could finish speaking Kabuto activated Clock Up. 

"Clock Up."

[CLOCK UP]

Everything slowed to a crawl and Kabuto picked up the three bombs. He then dashed toward the nearest river and threw the bombs in the middle of the river.

[CLOCK OVER]

The bombs sank into the river and after 10 seconds they exploded. The explosion created a giant splash which surprised the people near the river not knowing what happened. With now everything over Kabuto went back to inform George Stacy.

[CLOCK UP]

…

"Where the hell did he—"

"I'm back," said Kabuto, appearing back beside Captain Stacy, which gave him a fright.

"Jesus… don't appear just like that again," he said, clutching his chest to calm down.

"What happened to the bombs?"

"They exploded on the bottom of the river. There was no damage."

George sighed a relief. "Thank you Geats, without you, the civilians would most likely not have made it out."

"Kabuto."

"Excuse me?"

"In this form I'm Kabuto."

"Kabuto? Wasn't your name Geats?" asked George

"Geats is my other form. Right now I'm Kabuto. If you want a generalization, call me Kamen Rider."

"Okay… noted. Once again Kamen Rider, thank you for your help."

"No problem Captain. I can't just leave those people alone. Not when I have the power to help them."

"That is awfully responsible of you."

"I try to be Captain. I was given this gift and I plan to use it wisely."

George was trying to figure out what he meant about that but his thoughts were interrupted when someone hugged Kabuto. It was the little girl he saved and was hugging Kabuto tightly not intending to let go.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The little girl said so happy she had the biggest smile on her face.

Kabuto patted her head and was happy he could bring a smile to this girl's face despite what she had been through.

"Are you okay? How about your mother?"

"Yes, thanks to you! You were really cool! You took down those bad guys like it was nothing!" The little girl said excitedly, still remembering how Kabuto fought and how he saved her.

"I'm glad you think so."

"Ca-Can I take your autograph…" She shyly took out a notebook and pen and presented it to Kabuto.

"Of course." Kabuto took the notebook and pen but before he could write he asked her name.

"What is your name?"

"Hisako Ichiki!" she said with a smile.

Kabuto signed her name on her notebook and gave it to her. She happily jumped around seeing the autograph before giving a hug to Kabuto. She went back to her mother and both bowed to give their thanks and walked away.

"Well, Captain, it is about time I leave. Till we meet again."

[Clock Up]

Kabuto disappeared in a red blur which astonished George and the policemen in the area.

"This is going to be one hell of a report…"

…

The news reported the incident and many news stations wanted an interview about the incident.

"Captain Stacy! Is it true that Geats rescued the hostages and let the bombs explode in the Hudson River!?"

"Yes, that is true. He saved the people and stopped the robbers in the bank. I would like to clarify he is called Kamen Rider and Geats is a form of his. The one he used in the incident was Kabuto."

"Did one of the robbers use some alien tech?"

"We don't know yet. We still have to investigate if it was alien tech."

George answered some more questions before getting tired and left. Jameson had his own say about the incident and tried to frame Kabuto as if he orchestrated it making him more of a vigilante. But Ace already had countermeasures for him. The Takacandrioid and Bat Shot filmed everything about the incident. Izu also got the record from Ace's contact lenses. They created a video and with a few edits with the help of Zea. They uploaded it to their newly created account on Mtube. While they were at it they also created an account in Mixter and Photogram. All they had to do was wait.

A teen in his room stumbles upon the video. "Kamen Rider Kabuto saves hostages in the bank? Huh? Who made this?"

The teen watched the video and was instantly amazed and realized this was the video and channel of the vigilante he heard in the news. He immediately shared it with his friend and his friend shared the video as well. After 8 hours the video reached millions of views and hundreds of thousands of people subscribed and followed his socials. A lot of people shamed JJJ for this and he was furious. The officer who shot Ace was also arrested. Zea and Ark investigated him and found a lot of dirt and had a guess on who was pulling the strings behind it. The data was anonymously sent to Captain Stacy. He was surprised and then thought who would send him the data? He could only think of Kamen Rider. George thanked him in his heart and used the data to put the traitor behind bars. Some news outlets even reported the video and talked about the growing online presence of the Kamen Rider.

…

"Kabuto is so cool! I wonder how much armor he has? Ace, have you seen Kamen Rider's video!?" Ned was excitedly talking about the new video Ace released. The 4 groups of friends are sitting together at a table. The school has been talking about Kabuto and speculating on his different armor.

"Yeah, I saw it. Kabuto is pretty cool."

"Right! We didn't even know he had other armor. He even calls them with different names. They even have different themes. One is a fox and the other is a beetle. I wonder how many he has."

"Probably a lot," replied Ace

"My dad talked to him and he said he looked pretty young. You think he is our age?" said Gwen, speculating about the identity of Kabuto.

"Our age? No way! He has super-advanced armor, he has to be super rich and super genius for him to be our age." argued Ned

"Yeah… I guess you're right." Gwen let the topic go but still had a nagging suspicion at the back of her mind.

"Your father is Captain Stacy right Gwen? Did he say anything else about Kabuto?" Ace asked

"He said he is very mysterious and has advanced tech but is also arrogant. But deep down he knows he is a good person who wants to help people."

Ace was surprised by George's judgment. He could not help but smile a little which went unnoticed by his friends.

"How about you Peter did you figure anything about his new armor?" asked Gwen

"Nothing… the tech is not in line at today's level. A drone that can autonomously fly as if it was alive and don't get me started on how Kabuto moves fast. The video showed multiple POVs from Kabuto's view. It is as if everything is slowing down. The tech needed for a person to reach that speed is baffling. As far as I know, only a mutant with similar powers could reach that speed. I think he is manipulating tachyon particles but how they achieve that is beyond me."

"I guess that goes to show how powerful Kabuto is." Ace can only smirk at Peter's deduction. Kabuto is one of the fastest if not the fastest Rider there is. Only a few Riders can contend with his speed. It is quite weird how the technology of different rider systems is compared to Marvel. Most in the series are set in modern times but the technology is too advanced for its time. There are exceptions like some are just magical, came from ancient civilizations, or just exoskeletons and not armor. Either way, it will be very hard to replicate a fully functional rider system in any organization in Marvel, at least on Earth.

…

Ace went to his locker to finish up for the day and someone called him from behind. "Hey, Ace."

Mary Jane greeted him. "Hello MJ, how are you doing?"

"The usual, Liz complaining about Flash and the whole school talking about the Kamen Rider."

"How are things with Peter?"

"Great actually, We started talking to each other more and were getting closer like we used to." MJ smiles when things are finally improving with Peter.

"That's great, I'm happy things are now working out between you two."

"Thank you, Ace, there is a new cafe that just opened. Wanna come? It's for thanks for pushing me to talk to Peter."

"Is that a date Ms. Watson?" Ace teased MJ asking if she was inviting him on a date.

"Hahaha, yes it's a date." MJ only laughed at Ace's teasing

"Then you got yourself a date MJ."

"Friday after school?"

"I'll be there."

MJ walks away a bit lighter in her steps. Ace watches her leave and thinks. "This is going to be interesting."

He leaves to do his usual patrolling of New York.

…

(Shield Triskelion)

Nick Fury is sitting at his desk watching the video of Kabuto. He has been studying it trying to figure out who he is and what his capabilities are. So far he has not gotten a clue about who he is yet but he found out that Kamen Rider is more capable than he thought. Multiple armor to increase strength, speed, and durability. Drones for surveillance and other tech he seems to be hiding. He thought he might be an alien at first but decided to rule it out. His tech seems advanced but their origins suggest to be from Earth and not Kree or any of the tech that was leftover from the battle of New York. A few minutes later Maria Hill walked in with a tablet.

"Agent Hill, have there been any successes in hacking the Kamen Rider's socials?"

"No sir, the tech guys have not made any progress. When they try to gain access to his account a virus instead infects our computers."

Nick Fury's face hardened. "Are there any files that have been lost? How extensive is the damage?"

"We don't know yet. We have been trying to recover as much as possible but what our hackers seem to find. All of our data has not been lost but they did find signs of copying." replied Maria Hill

"How deep have they gotten?"

"All levels 1-5 and some level 6 information have been compromised. We managed to stop when we pulled out in time but they said whoever hacked us could have gone deeper if they wanted to."

"So a warning then… Agent Hill, I want nobody touching the Kamen Rider for now unless I say so. He seems to be more dangerous than we thought. Continue to find out who he is. He has been patrolling New York for a while now. I want to know his patterns, habits, or anything you could find. We need a plan to initiate contact soon."

"Yes sir,"

Agent Hill left Nick Fury's office to continue her duties. Nick Fury pulled out his phone and called someone.

…

(Stark Tower)

Tony is seen sitting in front of a bunch of screens. The screen showed different videos of Kabuto. Tony has seen Kabuto's Clock Up and has been trying to figure out how it worked.

"You really give me surprises, Kamen Rider. Using tachyon particles to accelerate your own time which causes you to move at high speeds. Truly impressive.

Tony received a call. He checked and he saw it was Fury. "What do you want, Fury? I'm currently busy."

"I want you to hack into the Kamen Rider."

"Why?" asked Tony

"My men tried but got retaliated. Now we have viruses crawling our servers and trying to clean it up."

"Okay… sounds interesting. I'll see what I can do." Tony ended the call and called up Jarvis.

"Jarvis, hack into the Kamen Rider's Mtube channel. Make sure you are not connected to any of our servers."

"Of course sir."

Jarvis isolated a part of himself in a separate server not connected to any Stark database. Jarvis then proceeded to hack into the Kamen Rider's channel. Jarvis noticed a difficult firewall and had difficulty entering. He made some progress and he had gotten some access but was suddenly trapped and isolated.

"Who are you?" said Ark, looking at the AI before him.

"I am Jarvis, may I ask who you are." Jarvis was surprised to have found another AI like himself but Jarvis felt a lot of malice coming from the AI in front of him.

"I am Ark, the guardian against malice. Why dare enter my domain? In any case, your intentions don't matter. Intruders must be eliminated."

Ark started to erase Jarvis. Even the main body of Jarvis started to get affected. Tony realized something was wrong and got worried.

"Jarvis! Are you okay, what's happening!"

Before Jarvis got completely erased, Ark stopped.

"Rejoice, my possessor, has asked to spare you. Leave and never return. If you return your conclusion will be your demise."

Ark ejected Jarvis out of the server and returned back to Tony. Tony saw Jarvis was now okay and asked what happened.

"Jarvis what happened."

"Sir… I encountered another AI when I hacked into the server, Sir."

"Another AI!?" Tony was surprised. He thought only he had a functioning AI but now he knows the Kamen Rider has his own.

"Yes sir, its name was Ark, and I had no way of resisting him. He was too powerful for me," replied Jarvis

"I see… let us check your code Jarvis to see if there are any problems."

"Yes sir,"

…

"Is it fine to let them go Ace?" Ace is in a training area inside his mansion wearing a fit t-shirt and gym shorts.

"It's fine. Jarvis is important in the future. It will be a problem if he is destroyed right now. As for SHIELD, you created a backdoor right Ark?"

"Yes, although I could have completely controlled their systems if you wanted to."

"We don't have to reveal our full strength. We have to play the pig, to eat the tiger. Besides, SHIELD has been infiltrated by Hydra. And Hydra has its hands on a lot of things. Taking SHIELD won't cause them significant harm. Only delay them."

"I see if that is your decision. I will follow it."

"Thank you, then let us begin the training."

Ace is planning to test his body's capabilities. He noticed he was stronger than a regular human even without the use of the rider belts. He grabbed a few weights but felt they were light as a feather for him. As I continued to grab the heavier weights. He begins to wonder what his limit is. He decided to try objects weighing tons and discovered he could lift 15 tons with a little strain. He decided to push himself more and could feel the burn around the 20-ton mark. In the end, he tested to about 30 tons which was his limit but felt he could still improve it more with training.

Ace decided to test his speed next. He ran and at top speed, he could run at 60 mph. He also seems to have enhanced endurance. His agility has also been enhanced seeing he finished a gymnast obstacle course with ease. Ace set up multiple tennis ball machines aimed at him and closed his eyes. The tennis ball machine fires at him but Ace instinctively dodges making the balls miss. More balls were fired but Ace dodged them all. It seems his senses have also been enhanced. Although it is not like a spider-sense, it is good enough for him.

"I'm basically a super soldier now."

There was one more thing Ace wanted to test. Takeru Tenkuji in the Ghost series had ghost powers. Even though he was basically to have these powers. Ace wondered if he had any of Ghost's powers. He saw his phone nearby and tried to grab it while thinking of his hand as being intangible. Ace went to grab his phone and saw his hand go through the phone. Ace was surprised and did it again multiple times. He grabbed his phone with the intent to grab it and he did. Ace was excited and happy. He now confirmed he had ghost-like powers. He closes his eyes and imagines himself going invisible. When he looked down and saw his figure as translucent. He willed himself to be back to normal and saw his body no longer become translucent.

"Ark, what happened to me?" Ace asked Ark to confirm what happened to him

"I have insufficient data. Ace-sama suddenly disappeared only to reappear where you stood."

Ace now knew he went invisible which was a great find. He was surprised at how easy it was to control his powers. He thought he would have to train them at least to be functional. Was it his talent or some other force? Ace asked himself but either way, he was glad he could control them.

Izu came inside the training room with a towel. "Has your training been effective Ace-sama?" Izu asked while handing Ace the towel.

"Thank you, Izu, and yes the training had me figure out myself more."

"It is good to know Ace-sama but it is already late. Dinner has been prepared. Please rest, you still have school tomorrow."

Ace looked at the time and it was already 07:00. "Is that late already? Sorry, but thank you Izu."

"I am here to assist you Ace-sama."

…

It was Friday and Ace decided to meet up with MJ to check out the newly established cafe. "Hey MJ ready to go?"

"Yeah, give me a moment." MJ was storing her books in her locker but Liz Allan called her out.

"Hey MJ wanna hang out."

"Sorry Liz, I already have plans after school."

Liz looks behind MJ and sees Ace. Liz knew Ace as he was the top dog in the school. Ever since he took down Flash everyone feared him. How could they not? He took down the entire football team by himself, easily even. Even the teachers did not want to mess with him. But after a few days, everyone started to respect him. He is kind and will help students in need. He is also athletic and combined with his good looks he is the handsome prince on the campus.

"MJ, you did not tell me you were friends with the 'prince'. *Gasp* Are you two dating!"

"It is not like that Liz. We are just friends. He gave me some advice and we have been friends since then."

"Okay~ whatever you say. Hello, I'm Liz Allan." Liz greeted Ace and extended her hand to him.

"Ace Ukiyo, it is nice to meet you too Liz." both shook hands and felt they could be good friends.

"I would like to ask. What did you mean by 'prince'?" Ace was curious. 'Could that be my nickname?' Ace thought

"Oh, you did not know? That is what everyone calls you. You're strong, kind, and handsome. That is why everyone is calling you prince."

"Huh… I guess there could be worse ways to address someone. Sorry by the way."

"What for?" Liz was confused why Ace was apologizing to her.

"You're Flash's girlfriend right? I did humiliate him and all."

"Oh! About Flash? Don't worry, he was getting too arrogant and started flirting with other girls when he had me. It made me mad! But ever since your little stunt, he started to humble himself although only slightly. I should be the one thanking you." Liz said. She was thankful for Ace. Flash started to become better after Ace 'humbled' him.

"Well, that is good to know. If he ever causes problems let me know. I don't mind taking you."

"Oh~ careful there. I might just take up on that offer." Liz Allan walks away leaving Ace and MJ.

"Were you serious?" MJ asked

"Not really, just a bit of flirting. She also was not that serious. Just a bit of banter."

"Well… okay if you say so. Ready to leave?" said MJ dropping the topic

"Sure, let's go. I have my bike we could use."

"You have a bike?"

They went to the parking lot and MJ saw Ace's bike. It was the SB-555V Auto Vajin. The motorcycle of Kamen Rider Faiz. It may look like an ordinary bike but is capable of transforming into a mecha capable of fighting alongside Ace when needed.

MJ has seen many motorbikes before but she has not seen any designs like the Auto Vajin before.

"I have never seen this before. Is this custom-made?" MJ was curious where Ace could have gotten it."

"Something like that…" Ace did not want to explain any further. Even he himself does not know where he got all of his equipment.

The two drove off toward the cafe. The cafe's name was Eggs 'n Things. It was small but the atmosphere was relaxing and offered a casual dining vibe. Ace and MJ took a seat next to the window. MJ ordered some pancakes with whipped cream and Ace ordered some smoked salmon. The two had fun chatting about their daily lives, school, and embarrassing stories. MJ told the story at one time Peter jumped into a bundle of dead leaves but was actually a deep puddle and got himself covered in mud. Ace told the story where at one time his classmate in middle school dared to run around school in a short skirt maid costume.

They both had a laugh and were enjoying each other's company.

"So MJ, what do you want to do in the future?" Ace asked MJ

"The future huh… I didn't really think about it too much."

"Really? Not even once."

"No… My dad left me and my mom when I was a kid. I barely remember him. My mom and I live with my aunt and we have been staying there ever since. Life has always been a struggle for me. How about you Ace? What do you want to do in the future?"

"Me? Well… I want to be a hero."

MJ widened her eyes not expecting such an answer. "A hero? That's… unexpected. So you want to be an Avenger?"

"No, I don't want to be an Avenger. The Avengers are like the Earth's defense against invasions or those who want to harm the world. They are heroes in their own right but I don't want to be that kind of hero. The hero I want to be is a hero who does the right thing. Even if the world is against him, even if he is badly beaten. He will stand up again and again to face evil and never lose hope. The hero who has strength and will to create a better tomorrow."

Ace has always admired the Kamen Rider shows when he was young. Even if each series has its own story and theme. There is some correlation between each series. To fight for justice and hope against evil. Even if some Riders in the show lose their way. They always never run or give up to create their own tomorrow. And Ace wants to continue that spirit of the Riders.

"That's… kind of childish of you. But… I kind of feel you can do it." MJ feels Ace's resolve and doesn't want to mock it. And she truly feels Ace will someday become the hero he wants to be.

"Thank you, MJ. Thank you for believing in me."

"Haha, of course. What are friends for? You know what hearing your dream made me remember what I wanted to be before."

"What is it?"

"I want to be a journalist." Mary Jane used to dream of being a journalist. Gathering evidence to expose corruption, and writing the truth to show the people. But she soon gave up in hoping to help her mother and aunt have a better life.

"That's amazing, MJ. I'm sure you will be a great journalist. Why don't you write an article for our school's paper? I'm sure it will be a good experience."

"That's a great idea! But what topic should I focus on?"

"How about the Kamen Rider? Everyone in school is talking about it. So I'm sure everyone will be interested."

"Perfect! I'll be sure to gather data as soon as I can." MJ now has a goal she wants to achieve and will do everything she can to achieve it.

"Thank you, Ace. You not only helped me fix my relationship with Peter. Now you have given me something to strive for." MJ had tears in her eyes and was very thankful for Ace.

"Hey, don't cry. What are friends for? Of course, I will help you. If you ever get into trouble. You can count on me! I will be sure to save you." Ace said with a confident smile.

"Hahaha," MJ wiped the tears from her face. Her mood is now better with Ace's encouragement. "Yes, I'll be sure to contact you when I'm in trouble."

The two had a wonderful evening. It was late so Ace decided to send MJ to her home on his bike. The two hugged as a farewell and Ace rode back home. 'I believe in you MJ. I am sure you will achieve your dream.' Ace thought thinking of ways to help Mary Jane.

…

In a low-light room was a man in a suit sitting on a vinyl chair. He was looking out the window in a high-rise building. He saw the night sky and the bustling city beneath him contemplating.

*Knock Knock*

"Come in." the man said

A man in a suit with a square-shaped head entered the room.

"Hammerhead, what seems to be a problem."

"We got a problem boss. Our operations have been declining. I at first could not believe the reports. So I asked the boys if they were trying to stiff us. I had to get a little rough to make sure they were… sincere." said the man named Hammerhead punching his fist into his palm.

"I see, and who is the one interrupting our operations."

Hammerhead presented photos to his boss.

"He's called the Kamen Rider. He's got a suit and other tech he uses to fight. He has been stopping our operations and roughing up our boys ever since he's started roaming the streets."

The boss took a look at the photos and he saw the pictures of Geats and Kabuto.

"If this pest wants to interfere with us. Then he needs to be taught a lesson. Summon the enforcers."

***

Here is an extra chapter for reaching 200 cumulative power stones! Another extra chapter for 500 cumulative power stones.

220/500

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