In response to her question, Matt simply took another draught.
"You seem rather sure I'm here for a deeper reason."
It wasn't an avoiding tone, and she could tell he didn't deny it. He just wanted to know how she already knew.
"I did my research, Matt. I looked up the background on every single one of Mina's class the moment she got into Yuei. Mighty thoroughly might I add. And Izuku Midoriya more than anyone else. What I found on the boy, is that he had a pretty normal background by all accounts, other than a very late quirk manifesting. Dad who works overseas to support the family, with a mother who began working again recently. Nothing unusual, or special there… Except for the tiny, little detail that the law firm she began working for is, wait for it… Nelson and Murdock. Your firm."
Matt smiled sardonically.
"So you did your research."
"Aye. I did. Now, some might be inclined to think that you skulking about here might have something to do with the fact you're the employer of Izuku's mother."
"That… Would be the simpler answer."
"I know. Which is why I don't believe it for a second. It's never that simple. Not when crazy old Web is involved."
Matt did not frown, but she did notice a slight change in his body, as some of his muscles tensed, just a bit.
"So… You have had contact with her then?"
"No. But Izuku has. The old bag sent him another of her classic warnings during the Yuei Sports festival."
Matt took that in stride and just nodded.
"I was pretty sure she had. She's been stalking him for months now… Only to seemingly give up trying to find him recently, and moving on."
Felicia cocked her head. That… That didn't sound like Madam Web. The old hag generally dug her claws into someone she wanted to "Guide", and then refused to let go, regardless of how little said person appreciated her cryptic ramblings.
At the moment though, there was another question she wanted answered.
"Stalked… You mean… Physically? Not just in visions?"
"Yes. I've been doing my best to track her down, but… Well, it's madam Web, you know how she is… There is also another, bigger problem…"
Felicia sighed. Problem, after problem, after problem.
She'd known it would be like this the moment Mina told her Izuku was naming himself Spiderman.
"Another problem huh…? Well, spit it out. I'm Curious to hear how this all fits together."
Matt sat in silence for a moment before sighing himself and picking up another beer.
"Well… It all began about 2 years ago… Tell me, have you heard about what's going on with the precogs of the world?"
"The precogs? No, I haven't."
Matt smiled sardonically.
"I'm not surprised. Every other government I've been through has been keeping a tight lid on it… But the fact is, that for the last two years now, people with the ability to see the future have all… Hit a wall so to say. Whether it's hyper-detailed visions like Nighteye or just general visions in general, there is a point in the future where their ability to see beyond just… Stops."
Well, that was… Interesting. Very, very concerning, but interesting.
"I see… That date wouldn't happen to be early next year, would it? Say… March 17th, 2218?"
Matt nodded as he took a sip.
"I'm guessing that the vision Izuku got from her had some warning of complete and total doom?"
"Sure did. In her usual, cryptic style too. She gave four sentences, the first was just the date, then the second was: "The end of all races." Then: "White hair and red eyes shall bring doom to all the world." After that was: "The Abyss has teeth". And finally there was some quote from the Dragon Age series. I'm pretty sure that part's from what remains of Carpenter's mind."
Matt winced when she brought up Julia Carpenter, clearly way, way less comfortable talking about her than Felicia was. Which probably made a lot of sense if he'd tried tracking Madam Web down lately.
He'd have seen the old woman's handiwork for himself quite well.
"I see… Is that all she said to him?"
"Oh no, there was a second time she contacted her as well. That time it was just a flat-out prophecy.
She fished out her phone and quickly found the file she'd put the whole thing in.
"A child shall be blooded, from her doom shall spring. He who lays with the jester, the man with red eyes, a bullet thrown, a bursting eye, a severed leg, a crippled man, a destiny you must not deny. Let him fall, leave him to fate, else wings so large they block the sun, the demon king a paltry speck, in shadow large as this. Flee the field, leave the battle, don't go there that day. March 17th, 2218, the year of Gods, the day the seers failed. Please… Don't go."
There was a moment of silence as Matt took that in.
"At least it's… Somewhat direct."
"You think so? Personally, I just find it to be more of her usual bullshit."
"Well… About that… You remember me saying there was another, big problem with Web?"
"Yeah. I do."
"Well… That "wall" that every Precog on the planet has been going through, hasn't really done a number on any of them… They cannot see beyond it, but their abilities work as normal beyond that, and their mental states are generally the same… But then there are the really heavy hitters like Web… They've… Well to put it frankly, they've all lost their bloody minds."
Felicia stared at him.
"…So, what you're telling me… Is that Madam Web isn't just a figurative old bat anymore, she's actually a literal crazy old woman now? The strongest Psychic alive lost her damn mind. Great… Just… Just perfect."
She leaned back and pinched her brow.
Great… Just what she needed.
"Yes… And at the moment, she is prowling Japan looking for certain people. People to give visions. Like Izuku. I've been tracking through my own abilities, and by keeping close to the people in question. It's a lot easier to find her when you know the people she's looking for."
She looked over at the blind old lawyer, her eyes narrowing.
"Right… Izuku… And how exactly do you know who she is looking for?"
To that, Matt fished out his own phone, and after typing in the password, he said; "Gallery, 34, image C."
The phone in question, obviously having a voice-activated program fished up an image, after which Matt handed the entire thing over to her curious hands.
The image was… rather creepy.
It was a picture someone had painted up on a wall, with a red whirlpool pattern, that seemed vaguely familiar to Felicia… But she couldn't quite figure out where she'd seen it before.
The red was obviously blood, though that was not all that disturbing for Felicia. Blood was no stranger to her.
No, what troubled her far, far more, was that all along the red whirlpools red circles, one after another, were taked on pictures held up by tape.
Pictures with various symbols drawn on them.
Pro Hero symbols.
She recognized a stylized version of Endeavor's mask that she often saw in his merchandise. And she recognized others as well. Most heroes had an official, stylized and simplified symbol to represent them.
That's what these were.
Endeavor, the symbol of the Iida family, all Might's V, though for whatever reason, it was in a different kind of color. Also plenty she did not recognize, but she could probably guess several. For one, there was one that she was pretty sure belonged to Manual, the hero the Iida kid was currently working under.
They all were all dotted along the whirlpool's line.
And there at the center… In the middle of the whirlpool, were three pictures taped not only to the wall but together with tape all around each of the picture's four sides.
One, the third one out from the center, was a stylized cat, not too dissimilar to her own, in pink and black.
Mina.
There wasn't a shred of doubt in her mind it was supposed to represent her baby girl.
The center though…
In the middle of the whirlpool, was a white spider on black.
The symbol Izuku carried on his chest and back.
Between the two, in a picture much, much smaller than either, was a smaller stylized spider on pink, much in the same vein as Izuku's, with the same white coloring, but with only one fang thus giving it the appearance of a horn.
What this thing meant, she hadn't the foggiest idea.
"Where did this thing come from? Madam Web?"
"No. It came from the Imperial Palace in Paris. You wouldn't know him, but one of the Bonaparte princes has VAST precognitive powers. Easily the strongest in Europe."
"And they just… Gave this to you?"
"I've still got many friends, Felicia. Old and new, who are helping me trying to figure all this out."
She supposed she should feel a bit hurt that she was not by definition included amongst those friends, but she had not forgotten their last meeting before she left the USA for good.
There was a reason Matt had only come to her after she had asked.
And if he was polite enough not to call her out on it, she would very much not do so herself.
...
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