Rewinding five minutes.
The three of them ventured into the green mist, looking around. Ezreal clung to Niko's sleeve, feeling overwhelmed by the situation, while Sevika began to show looks of anger and pity as figures started to appear in the area.
Lying on buildings, several people had a lost look in their eyes as they wrapped themselves in clothes. Even covered up, their irritated skin with many red eruptions presented a grotesque sight.
Some walked the streets muttering to themselves, bumping into things, or shouting at nothing, while others lay unconscious, and others...
None of them paid attention to them for more than three seconds, and after walking for about two minutes, Ezreal couldn't take it anymore, gripping Niko's sleeve tighter and pulling on it.
"W-We should go back, please."
"...Alright."
Gesturing to Sevika, they turned back.
Shortly after, in an alley near the entrance of End Point, Niko was patting Ezreal on the back while holding his hair, and Sevika watched from the side with the three masks in her hand.
"...I apologize for showing you something like that, Ezreal."
Ezreal composed himself, stepping away from the vomit and leaning against one of the walls. He was angry with Niko, and not just a little.
'Why on earth would you show me something like that?'
But more than angry, he was intrigued by the condition of those people. He had never imagined that in a city defined as a pit of vandalism, something like this would be happening.
"What's wrong with them? What is all this?"
"...That's the concentration of Zaun's pollution. Those overwhelmed by pollution symptoms isolate themselves, knowing they won't be saved, to avoid bothering their loved ones. Some show allergy symptoms, rashes, decay, and other symptoms of mental problems, madness, and dementia. This is the real Zaun."
Ezreal had dozens of questions in his head, but with his head feeling heavy, he could only ask the most important one.
"Why not ask for help from Piltover?"
Sevika couldn't help but scoff and answer for Niko.
"Prejudice, distrust, and economic interests. Piltover and Zaun have hated each other for a long time. One would never ask for help, and the other would never benefit from helping a city it considers nothing but garbage."
Ezreal noticed the disdain in her voice and lowered his head, feeling sorry for all the people he had seen there. Niko approached him, wrapping his arm around Ezreal's shoulder from below, lifting him up.
"I'll treat you to some juices as an apology, how about that?"
"...I'll only forgive you because we're friends, and your juice will be mine. Make it two!"
"Haha, deal."
After putting away the masks, they headed to The Last Drop.
"What did you do, Niko?"
Niko avoided Vander's gaze and began to murmur. In the short time Vander had been with him, he already knew when Niko felt guilty just by looking at his expression.
"...I-I may have taken him to... E-End Point."
Vander dropped the jug, producing a sound that echoed throughout the tavern; the customers at the nearest tables heard it by chance and looked at the boy as if he were crazy.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! Scratch that, you absolutely are! What the hell were you thinking taking him to a place like that, and even worse, with a kid-"
Vander paused upon realizing that the boy in front of him was even younger than the other. With a sigh, he gestured for the others to mind their own business and took a lower tone.
"So?"
Niko lowered his head in shame and could only mumble.
"I'm sorry, Vander, I just wanted to show him something, but don't worry, we went with old masks that protected him from the environment."
Vander sighed again and looked at him with some disappointment.
"You seem so mature when it comes to your work and yet you do foolish things in your free time. Besides the dangers of going there, just being there and seeing the situation is horrible. God, it amazes me that I'm still sane!"
Niko felt even more ashamed; even in his past life, he had been scolded with such calmness, which made him feel worse. Seeing his silence and guilt, Vander simply resigned himself and gave him a Vi-like tap on the head.
"You're grounded; you'll wash the dishes today."
Niko covered his head with both hands while smiling somewhat guiltily and nodded. He bid farewell to Vander and headed to the door to return to Ezreal and the others.
Upon opening the door, he found Vi leaning against the wall, looking at him with a mixture of anger and amusement.
'What the hell is that expression?'
"Um... Did something happen with Ezreal?"
Vi didn't answer and aimed a jab at his chin, which he managed to dodge by turning his head to the side. Vi was surprised and tried again, ending in failure, and did so a few more times until she stopped in frustration.
"Why do you keep dodging, idiot?!"
"Excuse me? Why the hell are you trying to hit me, idiot?"
Vi looked somewhat surprised, and upon remembering why she was angry, she began to try to hit him again. Niko grew tired of this and stopped her fists by holding them both.
"What?"
"What's wrong?"
Vi tried to free herself for a moment before stopping and letting out a sigh.
"I heard a scream and went up... So you went to that place?"
Niko was surprised by the question and let her go.
"You know?"
"...Powder and I accompanied Vander to the Commercial District a while ago, but when we arrived, we saw a man who was in a horrible state, and Vander didn't explain the reason. You're a shitty idiot for taking him there. I can tell that kid hasn't seen anything bad in his life."
Niko looked away and had nothing to say in response; he simply led her to see what Zaun was really like. But now, receiving scoldings from both Vander and Vi, he realized that he had done something akin to shock therapy rather than taking things slowly.
Determined, he left Vi and descended the stairs.
Upon reaching Ezreal, who was sitting and talking with Ekko, he lowered his head.
"I really don't think I've apologized enough; I'm truly sorry, Ezreal."
Seeing him apologize so sincerely, Ezreal put the matter aside and hugged Niko.
"Don't worry, I think I understand your reason for showing me, but your method was crap."
If Niko were to identify as an animal right now, he would undoubtedly choose an ostrich, as he wanted to bury his head in the ground immediately.
"I'm glad you forgive me."
The others didn't understand the situation, but seeing Niko so worried, they thought he had done something bad to Ezreal.
And seeing that Ezreal didn't make a big deal out of it, they started teasing him. Ekko, who seemed to have become friends with the blond, encircled Niko's head and lowered it while giving him small punches.
"As if you dare to mess with my friend, you little scoundrel." Amidst some laughter and conversations, the evening arrived, and Niko offered to accompany Ezreal to the elevator so he could go home. "You're welcome anytime, but at least let your uncle know or something so he won't worry." "If I tell him I'm coming to Zaun, he'll do more than worry." With a slightly uncomfortable smile at the idea, Ezreal bid farewell, disappearing into the elevator. Niko simply sighed and headed to his nearby shop, as the elevator was relatively close to the Mercantile District, intending to continue with his work. 'Forge, wash dishes, sleep for about three or four hours, and then go out for the first patrol... I can't wait...'
Arriving at the shop, he saw the whole group there and thought at least he wouldn't be bored alone. After a few orders, including some from the morning customers, and seeing that no one was left, he decided to hurry and activate Flow.
After a full hour of continuous work, Niko was panting as he observed a shiny and imposing golden metal door.
'A 100-kilo titanium door. If someone wanted to steal, they would need more than a few Ziggs.'
With one final effort, he grabbed the door and headed to the entrance. Sevika and the children looked amazed at the enormous door in his arm, surprised by the sound it made when he dropped it on the floor.
"That's too much security."
"It's always good to be safe, Violet."
Unscrewing the old door, he glanced outside and, seeing that there weren't many people around, asked for 'help' from Sevika to move it and put the new one in place. Ekko pointed out a part that protruded from the middle of the door, signaling it.
"You've left a part." Niko looked somewhat confused after glancing at the hatch.
"It's not left; it's so Sevika can check the client before letting them in. It's not very comfortable to have to open the door without knowing what's on the other side."
Somewhat surprised, Sevika looked at Niko gratefully for thinking of her.
"Well, that's all for today, so let's go to dinner." Everyone nodded and headed off with Vander, while on the way, Niko bought some fruits and meats. A few hours later, after eating, Niko found himself washing the dishes, and there were quite a few since the punishment included the plates and jugs that had been used throughout the day.
"This wasn't part of the deal!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? It's totally fair."
Niko glared angrily at Vander, who was resting on the couch.
"I thought it would only be the dinner plates!"
"Well, you thought wrong! Besides, you can't complain when you have help."
Niko looked at the four spider legs next to him, which were washing alongside him. "...Touché."
'Thanks for the help, Sectio.'
{You better bring money when you go out later; I want plenty of meat skewers}
Niko sighed for his wallet/safe and finished washing, approaching Vander to speak to him in a low voice.
"I'll be going out again today."
Vander raised an eyebrow slightly and took on a mocking tone.
"What, are you going to swing again?" Ignoring his joke, Niko nodded and headed to bed, while Vander's words echoed behind him.
"Be careful, Niko."
With a smile, Niko continued his pace, and Vander reclined in his seat.
"Be careful with them."
Niko went to his bed under the gaze of the other children, including Ekko, who they had allowed to stay overnight today.
"What?"
"Your back, your legs are still there, idiot."
Niko followed Vi's gaze and saw that he still hadn't retracted his legs. With some embarrassment, he asked them to retract and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes after saying goodnight to the five of them.
Within seconds, he opened his eyes again, feeling their continued gaze.
"Now what?"
"Will Spider-Monkey appear again today?"
Niko looked furiously at Mylo upon sensing the mockery in his tone and raised his voice.
"IT'S SPIDER-MAN, OKAY?"
Everyone fell silent and then started laughing again, while Vi pointed at him.
"Spider-man? Don't you mean Spider-kid, Spider-brat, or even better, Spider Scream?"
Niko simply ignored her and lay down again.
"...Be careful, idiot."
'Too alike.'
About three and a half hours later, Niko got up excited for his first patrol.
{Don't forget the money}
Reluctantly, Niko approached his safe and took some money. He quickly slipped away into the shadows and, with his suit on, returned to the roof of the building where he fell yesterday.
"You got this, come on, beast mode, let's go."
{...'beast mode'...}
Taking a run-up, Niko began to move across the roof until he reached the edge, jumping a bit too high, almost colliding with a pipe, and started to fall.
Pedestrians walking through the Long District remembered what happened the day before; some mentioned it in the area's bars, and a few gathered in the morning to observe the place.
Throughout the day, nothing new happened, and they simply went home. But some persisted, waiting for a whole day to witness the event again. When midnight came and nothing happened, they lost hope.
As they were about to leave, they heard a noise that wasn't a scream or anything similar but still resonated in the surroundings. Looking up, they found a rope shooting out to a nearby building, and from it, a man in a red and black suit with a large white spider in the center, similar to what those who saw him the day before described.
With a loud shout, Niko began swinging from one building to another, squeezing through the spaces between the bridges and running on the walls of the buildings.
"THIS PLACE IS A GEM."
Unaware, in a matter of seconds, he reached the Mercantile District and, taking on the Spiderman pose, sat atop a building, attracting the attention of the area's merchants and customers.
Ignoring them, he began to circle around the area, looking through alleys, corners, and secluded places where something might be happening.
After a few minutes, he finally stumbled upon a robbery with a knife in an alley. A thug-looking man with a knife was blocking the way for an older man in simple clothes holding a bottle and appearing drunk.
"Empty your pockets, old man."
The old man raised his middle finger while breaking the bottle, keeping a sharp bottle in his hand.
"SCREW YOU, KID, this body has been in more fights than women you've touched IN YOUR LIFE!"
Both pointed their weapons at each other while Niko watched from above one of the alley walls.
"I would give anything for some popcorn right now."
His voice attracted the attention of both, making them look up. With a jump, Niko landed in front of the old man, taking the bottle from him and tossing it aside.
"W-what?"
"Old man, don't point a weapon at others. I'll let it pass because it was 'self-defense,' although I have to say it wasn't much of a defense."
The old man looked between his hand and the bottle on the ground, finally at the man in front of him in a suit.
"Don't talk nonsense, weirdo, and-"
Before he could continue, Niko approached him, patting his head accompanied by a bit of bioelectricity, causing him to faint, and laid him aside.
"What the hell?"
The thief raised his tone unintentionally, advancing his knife forward.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Do I have to respond with hell? Don't curse, Mr. Thief."
Niko began to sway from side to side while making a cross with his arms, the thief, seeing him being mocked, clenched his jaw and raised the knife even more.
"DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!"
Niko looked at the knife, and a memory came to him, making him burst into laughter until he had to hold his stomach, causing the man to become even more violent.
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"
Niko waved his hands while trying to compose himself.
"N-nothing, nothing, pfft, it's just that it reminded me of a certain movie. Let me start again."
Niko stood up straight, and his body began to tremble as his teeth seemed to stutter.
"AHHH, is that a k-k-knife? My weakness, it's smalls knives!"
On his knees, he seemed to start begging, making the thief turn red with anger, intending to attack him, completely forgetting what he did to the old man.
*FWISH* With a quick wrist movement, Niko aimed at the knife, pinning the thief's hand to the wall.
"W-What?!"
*FWISH* He tried to use his other hand to free himself, but another web stopped him.
"S-STOP."
*FWISH* His legs.
*FWISH* His hips.
*FWISH* His abdomen.
*FWISH* And finally, his shoulders, moving closer to him slowly.
The man's face showed great anger and hatred, which quickly changed to fear and horror as he saw the man in front of him changing his appearance to something similar to a muscular beast with huge teeth and an unusually long tongue.
"Spiders catch their prey by wrapping them in a cocoon; you'll be my dinner tonight, cocoon."
He opened his mouth, showing the horrifying teeth to the thief, who fainted, wetting himself. Niko glanced sideways, seeing that his purpose had been fulfilled, and smiled, reverting to the spider suit.
"With this, he definitely won't try to rob again."
{Traumatizing people must be your thing, Niko}
'...Shut up.'
Niko headed towards the old man and grabbed his shoulders
Launching a bit more webbing, he completely wrapped the man except for his head, leaving him trapped, then turned to the old man. With a similar motion as before, he woke the man up and helped him to his feet.
"Spider-Man calling out tipsy elder, Spider-calling, Spider-calling."
The old man began rubbing his head, looking around somewhat disoriented, focusing especially on the man wrapped in webs and the man in the red suit waving his hand in front of him.
"Alright, alright. Ease up, kid, I'm not senile yet, at least not quite, and I don't even feel drunk, actually?"
After realizing this, he proceeded to do a balance test, standing on one leg while touching his nose with the raised knee.
"Have you finished with your alcohol test tutorial?"
The old man stopped his strange posture and coughed to the side embarrassedly, then turned his gaze back to the so-called Spider-Man.
"You should respect your elders, kid, in my day, young people weren't so-"
Niko sighed and extended his palm, causing the old man to stop talking and look at his hand.
"I'm not shaking your han-"
A web emerged from Niko and started wrapping around the man.
"Look, old man, tell me where you live so I can drop you off, or I'll hang you on a lamppost until this webbing wears off."
"...You're not a hero."
Niko raised an eyebrow, mirrored by his mask.
"When did I say I was?"
The resigned man sighed and gave him his address, which was near Long District, only a few minutes away. Along the way, the old man seemed to try to figure out how he was knocked out, as he constantly experiences situations that felt similar to what happened to him moments ago.
In a house in a moderately comfortable neighborhood, a tired-looking couple watched their young daughter play with her hands, accompanied by the grandmother, who observed with a somewhat angry and sleepy demeanor.
The only detail worth mentioning was that the little girl had lime-green hair and eyes with a yellowish tint due to the electricity running through her body towards her hands.
Outside this house, the old man helped by Niko saw the house and tried to tell him he had the wrong house and that it was too late to bother them, but Niko, seeing the longing and familiarity in his eyes and that the lights were on, didn't hesitate to proceed.
With the old man hanging from his hand, he headed to the door and gave it a few gentle knocks.
"Delivery service! Grumpy grandpa drunk edition."
The surprised couple hid their daughter in her room while the grandmother went to the door to open it.
"I want to keep playing!"
"Time for bed!"
After making sure their daughter and son-in-law had tucked their granddaughter in and returned to the living room, she finally opened the door and was stunned to see her husband wrapped in white something while being held by a strange man.
"Good evening, allow me to introduce myself, I'm your friend and neighbor Spider-Man, and I've come to drop off th-"
Before he could continue, the woman in front of him stepped forward and slapped the old man hard.
'Ouch, that had to hurt.'
"Finally you deign to return, you old bastard!"
Niko wanted to enjoy this a bit more, so he freed the man from the cocoon, taking the webs with him, and jumped next to the couple who were still staring at him.
"You both look pretty tired, you should get some sleep."
Seeing that the stranger didn't seem like a bad person, they changed their caution to a smile and both gave thumbs up to the elderly couple as they sat down in the hallway.
"We don't want to miss this either."
Niko sat down next to them and divided the webs into three different parts, shaping them into pillows, offering two to the couple.
"Thank you."x2
Niko was about to respond, but the sound of a slap distracted him, and when he looked back at the elderly couple, he saw that the man was collapsed and the woman was in a position to deliver an uppercut.
'This is better than Caso Cerrado.'
"You've been missing for four days! You come back reeking of alcohol, and on top of that, you come back dragged by a stranger. How do you plan to face your granddaughter?"
The embarrassed old man kept his head down and knelt, shooting glances at Spider-Man.
'If it weren't for that idiot.'
Niko noticed the glance and pointed at himself, then looked at the younger couple beside him, who also looked between him and the old man.
"Is that old man blaming me for bringing him back?"
They both nodded, and he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, making it seem like he was laughing at him.
"This jerk..."
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"
"LOUD AND CLEAR"
"Pfft"x3
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WOMAGAT new chap frfr hope u like it and those things.
Subscribe like and leave a comment.
Won't lie, I've been into Brooklyn Nine-Nine, so there may be some expressions I normally would do.
Enjoy!