"Never thought Gotham would actually have a crimeless night." Izuku muttered, peering into an alleyway before hopping to the next roof.
"You almost sound disappointed, Izuku." J'onn's voice piped up from the armor's comm system. "Batman usually sees it as peaceful when your standard thugs and hoodlums are all he runs across."
"Surprised, more like it." He replied. "Maybe this time I'll get to finish a solo-patrol in a way you're normally meant to finish it." Making sure that what looked like someone breaking into a shop's backdoor was just them closing up, he grappled up into a nearby fire escape.
"I don't know; it seems like a refreshing change of pace considering…"
"Seriously, J'onn?" There was a measure of disbelief in Izuku's voice. While he wasn't really aggravated by the 'who', it was the 'how' that made him sigh.
His encounter from last week was a testimony to that.
"Huh, aside from the...well, the kinda dreary feel. Gotham seems serene when the sun's out." Izuku said, following Robin across an empty parking lot during one of their rare daytime patrols.
"Yeah, I've always wondered why guys like Penguin and Riddler never try stuff then." He shrugged. "Maybe they've just gotten into the habit. And possibly because guys like Plastic Man and Green Arrow offer to fill in during those times too."
"At least it doesn't seem like we'll get any..." Izuku trailed off as a huge, grey, hulk of a man came lumbering from around a corner. He was wearing suspendered pinstripe trousers with a greying wife beater shirt. However, it was the three knives protruding from his back, as well as the noose hanging around his neck like a morbid tie that had his attention. "S-Solomon Grundy!? I thought he never came out in the daylight!"
"Not without good reason, anyway!" Robin replied, both boys taking a step back. He knew that neither of them were a match for the dead man in a straight on fight. Hopefully that wasn't the case this time.
Hearing them, Grundy turned their way and gave a low growl of acknowledgement. "Grundy find you finally." He said in his rasping bass tone.
"Find...he's been looking for us?" Robin asked, wondering what the hell they'd done to get his attention.
Grundy just shook his head and pointed at Izuku. "Harley Quinn ask Grundy."
"Harley? Wha-hey!" Before either could react, the dead man had quietly picked Izuku up and started walking away.
Robin facepalmed. "She couldn't have just called? Grundy, can't you wait till AFTER we've finished our patrol!?"
"Harley Quinn give Grundy good bourbon. Grundy keep his side of deal."
Izuku groaned. "Wonder if all my patrols are gonna end like this…"
Ivy pinched the bridge of her nose when Grundy arrived, setting Izuku down as soon as they were both inside her and Harley's house. "Solomon, you were just supposed to deliver the message. Please tell me you at least told him something before carting him off…." She spied Izuku's armor, "...and during his patrol."
"He said something about being sent by Harley...and mentioning about the bourbon she gave him as payment." Izuku stumbled a little, regaining his bearings.
"Yeah…" She blushed a little. "We managed to get a couple barrels of thirty-year-old Kentucky bourbon in trade for one of my smaller power plants. I'm more of a wine girl and Harley's beer-only. So…" She shrugged. "Who knew the deadman loved the stuff?"
"Yeah...so, what's this message Harley had for me?"
"Actuallllyyy, I sent it. On her behalf."
Izuku looked at her, letting his armor drop. "Ok...I'll bite; why?"
"Remember what I said about me and her sharing?"
"Oh. But my patrol-"
"Robin just told us what happened." Raven spoke up over his commlink. "Babe, wreck her."
"I second that." Cheshire joined in, "Say, have any of your lovers asked for anal yet? A penis as large as yours would make it quite interesting."
Ivy fought the urge to giggle at the look on his face hearing that. " Anyway, I think Harley's in her bedroom playing with that new game system she'd gotten." She leaned in and kissed him. "Do her good and hard, Babe. I wanna hear her squeal."
Lemon Lemon Naughty Time!
It'd taken a while for him to shake off the blush from her praise/bragging, especially when he caught Ivy just outside the door. She'd definitely enjoyed what she heard if the way she was fingering herself had been any indication.
'Not that I'm complaining.' He thought, working his way around a billboard. 'Just...a standard patrol would be a change of pace.'
"Horn Cannon!"
The scream, followed by a snarling shout, made him whirl around in time to see...something ricochet off the wall in a back alley a couple of buildings over. "Looks like Murphey heard me. J'onn, something's up nearby; I'm gonna check it out. Be ready in case I need backup."
"Understood. Be careful, Izuku."
Stained teeth bared, the mottled, scaly form of Killer Croc hissed menacingly. Two beady, pale eyes focused almost unblinkingly on his newest target; a small blonde girl with two long, lyre-shaped horns sticking up from her head. Additional equine-ish features called out even more to her metahuman status. "Rrrrr...end of the road, squirt. Don't worry, I'll be quick; you helped me work up an appetite."
The girl, better known as Pony Tsunitori, backed up, shaking from head to toe. Part of her wondered if she should have picked Metropolis instead for her pre-trip vacation.
Despite the fact the U.S was more lenient in regards to public Quirk usage: the schools were rather small-scale, and tended to be attended by those not interested in hero work or had a quirk that worked more effectively in another line of work. Most hero hopefuls would simply enlist with local hero grps like the Justice League, Titans, or Birds of Prey...she'd decided to go ahead and get a license to be safe. This was supposed to be her two-week-long vacation before packing up to go stay with her aunt in Japan while she attended U.A High.
Now though...she'd just been out to buy some items of a...personal nature when she'd heard sounds of a scuffle. She hadn't been prepared to see a guy being strangled by some...thing over five times her size. Or not realizing that it was Killer Croc, the infamous cannibal, until she'd tried to scare him off with a blast of her Horn Cannon. One had managed to stab into his side, forcing him to let the man go...who quickly ran off as soon as he was free.
Unfortunately, it brought his ire on her. The first thing he said still sent chills down her spine;
"You just cost me breakfast, girl. Guess who gets to replace it."
She tried another volley of horns, but he just knocked them away. Faced with the odds against her, and a look around that showed she'd gotten herself in an alley with no way to get around him, she went with her only option.
Running. Except, a hungry and irritated Croc proved to be a very determined predator. Out of fear of what her fate'd be if he caught her, Pony failed to pay a lot of attention to which way she went, only hoping she could lose him.
Finding an alley with only one entrance was the last thing she wanted to see now! Especially when the sound of heavy breathing and a dark laugh sounded behind her.
"Horn Cannon!" She screamed, firing another set at him, hoping maybe she'd get a decent hit in. "Horn Cannon Horn Cannon!"
It was this scene that Izuku was met with once he reached the roof edge. His eyes widened when she snatched up a rusty pipe and hurled it at Croc...who simply caught it in his teeth, and bit the metal in two. 'Oh man! It was rusty, but that was still steel, and he didn't even react! Is..is my armor even strong enough to handle that?'
"Izzy, you ok?" Cyborg's voice popped up over the comm. "Im getting a reading that your vitals are going a mile a minute! What's wrong?"
"Killer Croc; he's decided 'teenage girl' is on the menu!" Izuku gulped when another pipe was thrown, and bit. "I know I gotta do something, but I'm not even sure if my suit'll handle it; he's biting straight through steel pipe...!"
"Use the Power Mode!"
"The what?"
"The girls had a feeling you'd run into something like this, so they added a battle configuration for it, but they forgot to tell you. Just give the command phrase; it's..."
"Seriously…? THAT'S the command?"
"Blame Beast Boy! He loves the anime! Just hurry!"
Knowing he didn't have time to argue about it, Izuku took a deep breath, and vaulted over the edge of the two story building.
"BAN-KAAAII!"
Pony felt her eyes sting from tears as she realized there wasn't anything big enough left to throw, and she was too drained to use her Quirk anymore. "No…"
"All right, time to quit playing around! FEED ME!" With a roar, Croc lunged, not even bothering to acknowledge the sudden mass of steam and smoke that appeared between them. He couldn't see what was there, but his teeth clamped onto something.
Only...it wasn't a little girl...or even flesh.
As the cloud cleared, Pony could only stare in surprise at the huge black and green metal...thing in front of her. Its back was to her, standing as tall as Croc, but she could see the heavy-looking chestplate and shoulders, making her think of a high-tech knight. The limbs were covered in layered plates, steam wafting from between them, and its forearm was firmly wedged in the killer's mouth.
"'Eh 'uch!?" Croc growled, gnawing on the metal in confused anger.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but no shirt, no shoes…" The heavy bass voice made Pony's very core vibrate...in a way she oddly enjoyed while watching the other arm draw back.
"NO SERVICE!" The fist slammed into the jaw, sending a howl of pain and echoed crack of teeth, forcing Killer Croc to let go. Just in time to get a massive metal boot to the chest.
"Whoa…" She jumped when the new guy looked back at her.
"You all right?" He asked, making her shiver a bit.
"I.." Words failed her and all she could really do was nod.
"It's ok, I'm Justice League. Name's Zig, the Adamant Knight." He turned back to face Croc, was spitting out a tooth. "Now, if you excuse me. I've got lizard butt to stomp!"
"Zig…?" Croc groaned. "You gotta be kidding me! Instead of Batman, I get Captain Pimp!? Seriously!"
Izuku stood there briefly in silence. Right before an enginelike whine echoed from him as he charged straight towards the criminal.
Pony Tsunotori then paled while she bore witness to a scene of gratuitous violence that normally required parental supervision.
"You're reaching the area now, Bruce." 'J'onn said as Batman came to a screech at the spot he was told Izuku had been last.
"What the hell is Midoriya thinking!?" Batman muttered. "Facing Killer Croc? Even if he has armor-"
BAAM!
He nearly hurled a batarang at the window when a pair of large objects landed on the sidewalk beside the batmobile, cracking the pavement from the impact. One, a familiar-colored metal man, slowly got its feet, revealing what Bruce could swear was Croc.
A battered, pummeled...and, if the bizarrely peaceful expression and multiple knots forming on his head were any indication, highly concussed Killer Croc. He was missing more than half his teeth, a few patches of 'scales' looked to have been ripped off, his jaw was apparently dislocated, one eye had swollen shut, and his left leg was in a configuration not meant for human limbs.
He slowly got out of the car, watching a girl with...gazelle horns? Run up, asking if he was ok. "Izu-I mean, Zig?"
"Oh. Hey, Batman." Izuku looked at him, his armor scratched up, teeth visibly jammed in a few joints, the visor scraped up and several splotches of crimson on it…
"Is that…?' He was ready to get the medical kit out.
"No, it's Croc's. My fist got jammed in his throat for a second. Listen, this is Pony Tsunotori, could you let her parents know she's ok? Also to call the police to pick this jackass up." He gave a weak kick to the unbroken leg.
"Um.." Poni set a hand on his arm.
"Yeah…" He looked at his foot. "I was worried the teeth would get wedged in more if I tried to switch modes. Except Cyborg forgot to mention 'Power Mode' had a power supply. Best I can do right now is walk."
"Right…" Batman moved to help him. "Come on, let's get you out of here and that armor so we can repair it. I'll contact GCPD to collect Croc and reunite Miss Tsunotori with her parents as soon as you're in - or on the car."
"Thanks...one more thing" Izuku looked him in the eye. "Next time I see Green Lantern, I'm kicking him in the shins! Repeatedly!"
"The shins?" Bruce wondered if he really wanted to know.
"Captain Pimp...of all the ridiculous...how'd that overgrown handbag even KNOW about that!? I find out somebody spread that around…" The annoyed muttering continued even after he was helped onto the back of the car and the police arrived.