Chapter Text

Doubts

Takuya, exhausted, takes off his mask for the first time… Yes, for the first time, because he always knew that, his suit being of extraterrestrial origin and symbiotic, it is completely impossible to remove it from his body against his wish, as a way to protect his identity (maybe why its name was Spider-Protector). This is what one of his greatest adversaries, Amazoness, a deadly agent of Iron Cross Army, the closest one to eliminate him with that Amazon poison, discovered at her great disbelief, when she was trying to unmask him one time. Takuya always found comfort in that strange ability from that suit, because this completely separates Takuya from The Iron Cross Killer, this property of his suit completely separates the daredevil and loving brother from the Vengeful and strong Warrior, because he didn’t want to admit that they are the same person. This is why he knew that, when Amazoness had finally found an irrefutable proof regarding his identity, this would be his final battle against her and her Boss, that he wouldn’t never let them have any grip over his siblings or Hitomi.

His face appeared in the dying light of the sun, marked by fatigue, deep dark circles and stretched features by sleepy nights of anguish. His gaze, first empty, was lost in the vague, then contracted, as if he felt naked the weight of this whole war. His fingers trembled slightly, holding this mask that had never left him, now inert in his hand.

He is before the falling sun, proclaiming his complete victory over the Forces of Evil which killed so many people in this war, this long, lonely and arduous battle :

"Father… Garia… I have defeated the Iron Cross Army! Professor Monster is dead!"

He looks around him, at the sky, and hears… Nothing… Complete silence. Nothing more, nothing less, just… Silence. Sure, he didn’t expect sirens dancing for him, or an orchestral theme about the end of this fight, but at least, he wanted to feel a little… Complete after this war. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he wiped it away with the back of his gloved hand. He felt hollow, drained, almost useless. He reminisces that time Amazoness asked if he will even abandon his suit, and he responded that he will eventually abandon it when Professor Monster will be ended… But right now, he doesn’t feel the need to abandon the suit, to abandon Supaidaman, to abandon his mission as an Emissary From Hell, as a Man who came from Hell… But Why?

He decides to sit here, thinking about what happened since he got that power from Garia in that strange cave, starting to count how much time has passed… One, two, three, … only TEN months? He has the impression that it lasted years! This is fascinating how Supaidaman became such an integral part of his life, making him forget how much time he spent as a mortal before that point.

He sat down slowly on a rock, his shoulders hunched, his mind foggy. Around him, the waves lazily lapped the rocks, the slow rhythm of a world turning without him.

He saved countless people from his enemies, using his Spider-Sense, X-ray vision, Spider-strings and Marveller to protect people… He remembers perfectly the times when he tried to help this little boy, Junichi, with his disease and isolation, his siblings who got in danger multiple times, these dogs which got manipulated by Iron Cross Army, and the entirety of Japan, of the world even, from this extraterrestrial threat. He understands that what he did was not only out of revenge, but also out of love for everyone. This is not his fault that the Iron Cross Army was controlling a major part of organized crime in Japan, that the robbers, mobs, killers, animal abusers, gamblers, wreckers, etc… were majorly manipulated by Iron Cross Army in their goal of extinguishing Humanity. This is why this Interpol agent Juzo decided to recruit him in the Japanese branch of the organization : because Supaidaman is objectively the most efficient fighter for justice in Tokyo.

He also remembers how much he was obsessed with avenging his Father, that he turned down many demands from Interpol to track down criminal organizations having no link with the Iron Cross Army… For example, he refused to stop the famous terrorist group, the Japanese Red Army, explaining that this is "just a bunch of armed hippies" which doesn’t need to be taken seriously, while he could have easily fought them.

He also knows all the people who died in his fight, including all the Machine Bem, the monsters he was forced to kill, who were all originally humans captured and mutated by Iron Cross Army… He remembers Samson, this fan of him having almost managed to deduce his identity, who became a monstrous slave of Amazoness, forced to kill his own brother to later get destroyed by his Leopardon. He technically killed all those people, without trying to show remorse for these actions… The faces of the Machine Bem haunted him. These once-human creatures, twisted by hatred and mad science. He stood, his gaze filled with remorse. He also remembers that model Minako, jealous of the success of others, mind-controlled by the Iron Cross Army… He was forced to let her fall of that building to not let Iron Cross Army kill other innocents with her body…. He had that much power, but didn’t manage to save her… This death seriously broke him, and forced him in such a stage of isolation and rumination pointed out by his entire family… He became way more violent as Supaidaman. Shinko called him somber, and that was the case.

He also remembers the event which managed to put him back to work, a simple sentence found in the Diary of his late Father, which managed to make him into a man moved by a parent’s love :

"Takuya, I’m very sorry. I was so immersed in my research that I had no time to look after you children. I wanted you to take after my work. But I will not say that again. You can do whatever you want to do. But Remember that, as a man, you must always take responsibility for your actions. "

Takuya widens his eyes, as a realization is coming to him.

"That’s it… i understand, Father! I need to take my responsibility ! I need to continue being a warrior, not for me, but for everyone, I need to become a hero, not only for my loved ones, not only for revenge, but for everyone, without any ulterior motive !"

And Takuya understands that, responsibility involves a fundamental vow, that he must never break :

"I swear that, I will spend the rest of my life protecting lives, even those of my enemies, I will never kill!"

His fists clenched, but this time, not with rage, but with resolve. He was no longer a killer. He was becoming a guardian.

As he is standing before the sea, he reminds himself that he needs to get back at home, and will need to give serious explanations for his absence… After all, maybe does he get the responsibility to explain that after that much months? He turned on his heel, his gait firmer, ready to face the consequences of his lies.