Chapter 3: One Last Time III

Alright.

Let it be known that he had expected many things when he eventually got arrested.

A couple of those expectations were met, mind you. Naomasa was in the corner of the interrogation room giving him a friendly look, scarf man was standing next to him to make sure he didn't do anything, and he was wrapped up in his scarf and tied to a chair in an interrogation room.

But that was a given, it was expected for this stuff to happen.

What wasn't expected was the weird-looking, white-furred animal with a scar that was wearing sneakers along with a suit and tie that was currently sitting in a booster seat across from him.

The creature stared at him with a calm and happy expression before it gave a silent nod and hopped up onto the table, walking up to his face.

"Why, hello! I've been waiting to meet you, mister Parker! You are quite the hard young man to contact! Why, I had to get Shouta to go get you!" The animal gave a high-pitched laugh and clapped its paws together.

Alright.

This was a joke, right?

There was no way that scarf man had to beat him up and all just to get him to a meeting with a build-a-bear.

Peter looked to his side and shot a question glance at Aizawa, surprisingly the man gave him a sympathetic look back.

"You must be quite confused, correct? Pardon me for getting ahead of myself there, it's just so exciting to meet such young talent! You must have questions, so ask away!"

The room fell silent for a second as Peter looked between the creature and the two men in the room, pure and utter confusion in his voice.

"Who- I mean, what are you?"

After a second of silence, the small animal laughed once again and threw its arms in the air.

The sound sent a chill down Peter's spine.

"Who knows! I may be a bear, a dog, or even a mouse! What really is important, is that I am Nezu! UA's very own principal, and Shouta, otherwise known as Eraserhead, is one of my staff members!"

Questions.

Just so many questions.

Scarf man was a teacher? That felt irresponsible.

A one-foot tall teddy bear ran UA? He didn't really have a problem with that at first, but this thing just scared the hell out of him for some reason.

Peter once again looked at Aizawa, prompting the man to sigh and run a free hand through his hair.

"Yes, the rat is the principal and my boss. He's also one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet, so let it be known that he doesn't come to personally talk to any random teen without reason."

"Shouta is correct! You see, you are quite an interesting individual, mister Parker!"

Wait, something just dawned on him.

How did Nezu even know his name?

"How do y-"

"Know your name? I know many things, young man! Things such as how you are Peter Benjamin Parker, son to Mary and Richard Parker but taken in by your uncle and aunt. 

Things such as how you three moved to Japan from New York after your uncle got a job offer and how you developed your quirk after a trip to a science expo and then used your newfound abilities to win underground fighting rings both in Musutafu and New York, along with doing occasional vigilantism on the side."

Alright, now he knew why that thing scared him.

He was about to speak, but Nezu wasn't done.

"I also know how your uncle was tragically murdered by a man robbing a convenience store, a man you later arrested and turned into the police, an act that kick-started your dive into full-time vigilantism for the past five months."

The boy stared at the chimera wide-eyed, prompting the creature to give a satisfied grin.

"I'm just… gonna ignore the fact that you know so much about me is super creepy and really scares me…" Peter started, earning a hearty laugh from Nezu. "Why do you even want to talk to me? Shouldn't I be in a jail cell somewhere?"

Also, was this whole thing legal?

It sure didn't feel like it.

"I want to get to know you, of course! As I said, you are quite an interesting individual!" Nezu responded, the animal gave a quick look at Naomasa, making the man nod back and place a couple of items on the table.

First were his web-shooters, second was his goggles, and third was his backpack.

"First things first, explain your quirk to me."

Peter flinched at the sudden change in Nezu's voice, it sounded calmer and way less… unhinged than before.

"I can uh, do whatever a spider can, stick to walls and stuff; you know how they lift 60 times their body weight?" Nezu nodded, smiling wide. "Yeah, I guess that makes me super strong, I'm a bit faster and more durable than normal, and I got… kinda like a sixth sense? It-"

"Alerts you of danger, correct? I've seen recordings of you in action, it seems nothing less than low-level precognition! What do you call it, again? 'Spider-Sense'? Oh, I'll always love how humans name things!"

Peter paused for a second, then ultimately decided to ignore the creeping dread this thing was putting on him.

From a look around the room, scarf man and Naomasa were in the same boat as him.

How did anyone allow him to run a high school?

"Now, explain these devices on the table to me. Don't worry about the backpack, for I have already looked through it."

"Well, those are my goggles." Peter gestured to the goggles inside a plastic bag that laid on the table. "I used sensors and camera lenses to help them squint and widen so I don't get overwhelmed by visual input, my quirk kinda dialed up my senses a bit, so it gets annoying."

Nezu grinned wider, he paced back and forth on the table with his paws behind his back.

"Quite an interesting invention! Not only does it serve a practical purpose, but from what I heard, it has made you appear more approachable and friendly to people you have come by! Approachability is quite the good trait for a hero to have. Now, then! Explain these to me, they fascinate me the most."

The boy took a deep breath, then complied with the request.

"They're my web-shooters, I can do most things a spider can, but I can't make my own organic webbing." Peter looked around the room only to see Naomasa intently listening while holding a paper pad while scarf man listened with a less impressed look. 

"I made a chemical compound that would act like spider webs, along with having the same tensile strength. I made the web-shooters to shoot it and then used it to swing around and for capture and combat."

Nezu nodded, the smiling animal looked to Naomasa and received a nod from the man.

"You said you made all of this yourself, correct? No one manufactured it for you or anything?"

"Uh, yeah, I made them myself." Peter felt even more on edge now for some reason, he watched Nezu's emotionless eyes for what felt like ages before the chimera spoke.

"I say, you are nothing less than a prodigy! Intelligence along with good instincts and a good quirk, very impressive! But, I do have to ask…"

The room grew still as Nezu walked up to Peter's face, his face showing a grin.

"Why do you want to be a hero, mister Parker?" He asked, paws behind his back.

What?

What was he supposed to say?

Alright, Parker, calm down!

Just tell the truth.

"I've messed up in the past, you know? I lost my uncle because I messed up, and I have to live with that. He told me that with the ability to help someone comes the responsibility to do that, and I only understood that after he died." Peter paused, he saw how Eraser was not gripping the capture weapon as tight or with as much caution anymore.

"I'm not a hero because I want to, in all honesty. I am so tired and burnt out of this gig you wouldn't believe! But the thing is that people are better off cause I went out there every day, that means I have to keep going out there and continue to do what I do. 

I want to show people they can be better, I want to show them they don't have to make the same mistakes I made to do better."

Nezu watched the boy intently, the creature gave a soft hum and allowed him to continue.

"And I don't even know if I'm doing this right, or if what I'm doing is better than just letting pros do what they do, but I guess I'll never know until I actually do it, right? Being a hero is just a leap of faith, I guess. 

But seeing old ladies smile when I help them cross the street or how people sigh in relief when I come in and knock out a robber at least gives me the small solace that I'm doing something right even if people call me a criminal or a menace, cause at least I know there's someone out there helping out the little guy."

He paused once again, breathing out a sigh as the three people in the room watched on.

"I want to be a hero because I want to do the good that these abilities let me do, cause I know that I can help someone out there, that means I have to."

The room fell silent as the boy finished talking, Peter saw how Eraser had a more thoughtful look in his eyes than before.

As the group sat in the deafening silence, the quiet was broken by the small, high-pitched chuckles turned giggles that Nezu gave off.

Before anyone could ask, the animal gained a fond smile as he looked from the boy to Naomasa. The man perked up as he saw the creature's gaze.

"My quirk didn't go off once, he didn't lie." The black-haired man responded, pocketing the paper pad into his coat.

Nezu turned back to Aizawa and waved a paw, the man standing there for a second before Peter was suddenly unwrapped as Aizawa pulled his scarf back with a hint of reluctance.

The boy's eyes widened at his sudden freedom, he rolled his wrist while missing the sensation of having his web-shooter on. He looked at Nezu after a second of getting comfortable with a questioning glance.

"Just as I expected, young man. Here's what's going to happen, you will be put on parole and be forced to do 400 hundred hours of community service as long as you agree to attend UA, or else you'll be fully convicted of your charges. What do you say, young man?" Nezu smiled, extending his small paw toward the boy for what Peter guessed was a handshake.

Peter hesitated for a second before he captured the small paw with his own hand. The creature smiled brightly and shook his hand with incredible enthusiasm. Noamasa smiled a small smile and exited the room.

"Excellent! There are six months until the entrance exam, so you will have time to get settled with your new situation and the conditions of our deal." He walked to the other side of the table and hopped onto Eraser's shoulder, the man reluctantly letting him stay there as the animal hid inside his scarf.

Eraser gave a small nod and started to walk to the door before Nezu turned his head to give Peter one last look.

"I expect great things from you, young man! See you at UA, Spider-Man. Your aunt will come in shortly" With that, the two walked out of the room and left Peter in silence.

The boy ran a hand through his hair as a small smile graced his face.

That teddy bear hadn't only given him one of the best opportunities of his life, but he even remembered the hyphen.

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Hey guys did you like the new story ... to be honest I was bored the other day and randomly had the idea of writing Peter being arrested one year before canon and meeting the big three as first years, so we'll just follow Peter becoming a hero in a different environment than usual.

I'll have to de-age them by one year but whatever, we'll get there when we get there.

Also, there is gonna be some huge butterfly effect shenanigans going on later. Some darker than others, but that's not for a while.

 ...

if you want to read ahead of the public release you can go to p atreon :

 p atreon.com/Huvnn