Sorry for this...

Bruce had been walking down the street for over an hour.

He had managed to convince the police that he lived in an orphanage somewhere and could get by on his own. However, the fact that he did not live anywhere became painstakingly obvious once he left the building.

Not that it really bothered him, he had a plan for this after all. Working his way up from the bottom would actually be the easiest part of his life. The hard part would be the current world hero situation.

People with special abilities referred to as 'Quirks', had the option to become a hero legally through special schooling. Though there was nothing preventing quirk-less people from trying, Bruce had no desire to actually follow this path. But when met with the other option, 'Vigilantism', the first was more appealing.

Bruce could pull off either, but the problem with the second is that both 'heroes' and 'villains' were your enemy. Bruce would have too much to deal with, a hindrance to his duties as Batman.

The problem with the legal path was that it took far too long to graduate and get a license, an even larger hindrance. The difference between the cons of both paths was that this one would be temporary and the other was permanent.

To others, this would be a complicated dilemma. Deciding which option to choose would take up the very minutes of their days. But to Bruce, the solution here was clear.

Do both.

Phillip stood over the open hood of the limousine. Sighing, he stepped back. "Agh!" His screams of frustration echoed through the empty room and faded out the open garage door. "I don't even see what's wrong with it!" Kicking over a small empty can of soda, he sat down on an empty bucket and leaned his face down into his opened palms.

He sighed once more, wondering why he was even here.

"A problem with the brakes?"

Phillip raised his head at the unfamiliar voice.

A tall young man in a loose fitting black and grey body-suit stood leaning against the frame of the garage door.

"Who are you?" Phillip asked, standing to full height and stepping back a little, the guy sure was tall.

"Thomas." The guy answered. "I have experience as a mechanic."

Phillip reached back, scratching the back of his neck and smiling nervously. "Ah. Listen, we're really not hir-"

"You were examining the brake fluid reservoir, was it full?"

Phillip stood there taken aback for a moment, only answering when the man's strong gaze pierced through him. "Pretty much." He nodded his head.

Thomas stepped forward, opening the driver seat door.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Phillip ran forward, he couldn't let the guy screw around with a customer's vehicle.

Crouching down, Thomas examined the brake area before standing back up and stepping away. The door closed behind him with a soft thud as he looked back to Phillip.

"The master cylinder is faulty. Don't waste your time trying to repair it, just replace it." Thomas spoke firmly.

Phillip stood still for a moment, wondering how the man managed to identify the issue so easily. "How did you do that?" He asked.

"It's a common issue in vehicles." Thomas replied, grabbing a one of the empty containers and a tube from the rack on the wall. "Use these to siphon out the remaining brake fluid. You can remove the master cylinder afterwards."

Phillip nodded and reached out to grab the container, but the man stopped him before he could.

"After you wash your hands." He said, pulling the container back. "It's not good to have brake cleaner on cracked fingertips."

Phillip nodded and ran back upstairs to do exactly as Thomas had told him. Normally, he wouldn't trust a stranger as much as he did Thomas, but this one was rather nice, right?

"Phillip! You good for nothing idiot!" Shouted the large bearded man as he stepped into the garage.

"Wait, dad! He's not so bad, he was actually helping out! He's like some pro mechanic or something! He was nice too, so..."

"Boy, would you let someone rob you mid-day if they asked kindly?!" The man lightly slapped the backside of his son's head. "Because that's what's about to happen!"

As they took in the sight of the garage, they both noticed how desolate it truly was. Something that made Phillip slump as he began to consider his father's words. As they made their way closer to the car, he even saw some of the supplies that Thomas used were no longer in their normal place.

"See? This is what happens when you trust people so easily."

"But mom said-"

"That was in a different context, you idiot!"

Turning away from the conversation, the man saw something near the car, or rather behind it.

A tall young man wearing a loose fitting black and dark grey body-suit stood to full height, holding onto a wrench.

"Hey! You, get-!"

"The repairs are finished, the limo had more issues than you thought." The young man spoke.

"Thanks, Thomas!" Phillip shouted, grateful to find that he hadn't run away with his father's tools. He stepped in closer and looked under the hood once again, examining the master cylinder again.

"You were gone for longer than I thought, so I already removed the master cylinder. You can take care of replacing it."

Phillip's father stepped in closer, scanning the vehicle all over and closely taking in all of the details. It would be a bad thing if he had tampered with the vehicle of such a valuable customer. Strangely enough, he found nothing. The repairs he had made were just 'repairs' and nothing more.

"Some of these problems weren't even listed by the customer... Just what is your intention here, boy?"

The young man looked to the shop owner. "It just needed repairs is all."

"And so you fixed it up despite not being an employee?" The bearded man quirked a brow.

The young stranger did the same, but the notion held a different meaning, one that the shop owner caught.

"You're hoping I'll hire you after this, aren't you?"

The young dark-clad man smirked.

"We some more appointments today, let me look over your work every time you finish. I'll be upstairs." The man walked back up the stairs, only turning back to look at the stranger. "Never caught your name, boy."

"Thomas." He answered.

"Mine's Henry." After he finished introducing himself, he stepped back up the stairs. "And don't let Phillip get in your way! He isn't exactly good at his job!"

"Dad!" Phillip shouted at the retreating figure of his father. "Sorry about him, Thomas. He might seem pretty rude, but that's just how he acts. No helping it." He shrugged before taking a seat on one of the pails.

"Don't apologize, we have work to do." Thomas beckoned for Phillip to stand and help him out with the car.

"About that..."

"You don't know how to insert the new master cylinder?" Thomas asked, his tone sounding as if he already knew the answer.

Phillip nodded. "I'm not the best mechanic and my dad never really taught me much. I'm only good for minor check-ups and stuff, he's the one who does the actual work."

Thomas pulled out the replacement part from a clean looking box on a nearby table. Reaching out, he handed it to Phillip.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he took the part.

"You're going to do the installation." Thomas replied.

The boy stared at him wide-eyed. "I can't even handle a screwdriver properly!" He exaggerated.

"Then It's a good thing that you won't be needing one." Thomas remarked. "Let's hurry up, I'll show you how it's done." He said, holding out a properly sized wrench.

"B-but what if I mess up or something?!"

Thomas stared him in the eyes, his gaze firm and unwavering.

"You won't."

Bruce sat down on the bed. It had been a long, but eventful day. In the end, the grizzled shop owner had decided to hire Bruce. Normally, a person wouldn't be so trusting, but the circumstances were just right.

Not only did he get an abnormally large amount of work done in little time, but he also taught Phillip a great deal about mechanical work. In fact, the only reason the Henry had brought Phillip was because he spoke good Japanese despite being an American. After a while, the work load had piled up on him and he had no choice but to rely on the boy every now and then.

Normally, someone like Phillip would be considered useless before being sidelined. The boy had trouble grasping mechanical work and even his father had more or less given up on him. However, Bruce did not make the same mistake. From experience, he learned that everyone thinks on a different wavelength. Everyone must be taught a certain way in order for them to grasp something. Phillip was a rarity, someone who thought on an uncommon wavelength. However, when Bruce figured out which one it was, he adjusted his teachings accordingly. The boy responded to the teachings through action, action that was more advanced than anything he once thought possible for himself.

Even Henry had been surprised at the boy's improvement. Many of his worries had fallen to rest when saw the customer's limousine in perfect condition. Of course, Bruce had known that Henry was watching through the security cameras spread throughout the room, but he never said anything when he saw the man. Bruce knew that he would be watched closely for the next few weeks, to be expected from the man. Nobody would be this trusting under such circumstances, but Henry was in desperate need for help. Being overworked and stressed out had lowered his rationality, seeing a cheat like Bruce walk in and fix everything had only bettered the situations of both parties.

Then, the day finally ended with Bruce bidding his farewell and leaving the shop. After which, he used his gauntlet's mini computer to search for nearby homeless shelters. Surprisingly, most people in Mustafu were well off. Having found only a few close by, Bruce picked the closest and checked in.

Surprisingly, this homeless shelter was mostly empty and Bruce got his own room. Of course, this wasn't planned, but it helped out a lot. Having privacy to perform his less than legal actions was essential to his plan.

He had to make money in order to carry out the plan though, but that would be easy. Time consuming, but easy. For now, he had to wait, gain trust and standing with the mechanic shop before the next step. All the while training his body and honing his skills, mental and physical.

Standing from the bed, Bruce knelt down on the floor. Removing the shirt of his body suit and tossing it onto the bed, he reached down and touched the floor with the palm of his hands. After establishing balance, he flipped himself over. His form maintained a practiced appearance as he extended his arms, raising and lowering his body slowly and steadily as he did push-ups upside down.

He made sure to take his younger body into account, he made sure not to push it. After finishing the push-ups, he followed up with another exercise... and another... and another. After an hour and a half when his body was coated in sweat, he decided to stop.

Glancing out the window, he saw nothing but darkness.

Perfect

After washing up, Bruce put his shirt back on. Stepping over to the window, he opened it and jumped out into the night. He left something out in the city, something especially important.

AN:

Unfortunately, this chapter is short (And sucky), as are all of my first few chapters (And chapters in general). Ignore the OCs, they don't stick around for long, they're just plot devices (I'm sure you could tell).

Things kick off around chapter four or five, can't remember. Don't get hyped, i'm lazy so there's no point.

Next update: Earthland's Hero of Justice / ?(NEW PROJECT)? / The Dark Knight of U.A. / The Complicated Family Tree of Arturia Pendragon\ Cycle repeats until the stories ends.

Until next time... heh... Y'know, I'm feeling just a little bit tired...