The New Generation

by Nekri Techne

When superpowers are a commonality, most may think they have seen everything. However, when a powerless billionaire from Gotham City, the last surviving alien from his home planet, Krypton, and a princess from the mythological island, Themyscira, begin their journeys to becoming the next generation of heroes they have to contest with the next generation of villains.

7. Day Zero

Clark Kent

Today was the day! The Kryptonian could hardly contain himself as he marched through the terminal. The plane had only landed a few minutes ago and even though he knew there was still a whole day before the entrance exams it felt like he was about to go right to U.A. Hero Academy and show everyone what he was made of! Clark was literally floating right above the ground, rising above the heads of commuters like him. He didn't even notice that everyone was giving him disapproving looks and making rude comments towards him.

It didn't take long before he heard someone blow a whistle and force him to bolt his head toward the sound. A security guard with one eye that was completely black marched towards the American.

"Stop right where you are!"

The boy complied, stopping midair. The security guard placed a hand on Clark's shoulder as he approached, pushing down. The man wouldn't have been able to make Clark budge had it not been for him following the movement of the man's hand. As the officer got a closer look at the boy, he sighed, "Tourists…" the man crossed his arms, "Do you know why I stopped you?"

Clark laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Yes, sir. I'm sorry for using my quirk, guess I just got too excited is all."

"Excited? Over Musutafu? You expecting to see All Might or something?" The man looked around at the crowds, "Where are your parents, kid?"

"Oh," the American slipped his hand into the side pocket of his backpack and pulled out the paperwork for the trip. It was only possible for him to be there now because of the Kansas Hero Organization. Apparently, when he gave his name to the hero that arrived at the fire after Clark saved the principle and students, she pulled some strings with a few of the heroes she knew to get him on the roster here in Japan. If it wasn't for the cowgirl hero, he would have had to wait until next year. The boy handed the papers over to the man, "I'm here for my education, sir. My parents were supposed to stay back home."

The officer smirked, handing the papers back to the American. "Ah, so you think you got what it takes to be a Pro Hero?" The officer crossed his arms, "What makes you think you got what it takes, huh?"

Clark raised an eyebrow, "Are you asking me what my quirk is?"

"Sure, that's a start." The man sighed again, clearly trying to get under Clark's skin, "But it takes more than having a good quirk to be a hero. You gotta know how to use your quirk!" The man chuckled to himself, "What is your quirk, then?"

Clark scratched the back of his neck again, this time because he really didn't know how to respond. Technically, he didn't have a quirk, but his friends at school just knew him as the boy with super strength and the ability to fly. That was only the tip of the iceberg though…

"Uh, Super."

"Super? What kind of quirk is that?"

"The kind that's super." Clark laughed nervously, "It's complicated, but hopefully you agree with me when you see me in action!"

Clark tried to sound confident but missed the mark. The security guard simply scoffed with a shrug, "Sure, kid. Before you go, I want to check your bag." With a nod, the American boy handed the man his luggage. The laws of Japan were much stricter than in America, so he wasn't about to resist the security guard. It wasn't as if he had anything illegal on him or anything. The man's black eye began to glow as the man simply peered at the back, closing the normal eye. After a few seconds, he handed the boy his luggage and gave him the green light. And with that, Clark was off running towards the pickup lot and his smile back on his face. As he rushed through the terminal, he heard the officer yell back at him, "Don't use your quirk again, kid! It's illegal!"

The Kansas boy waved before making his way to the terminal, where he took the bus that stopped near his new living quarters.

The American eventually reached his apartment, though it took half an hour. He placed his bags on the small table that sat in the center of the room, gazing around to get familiar with his new surroundings. It was a small place, one that wasn't too big but was just big enough for one person to live in. Everything he needed was in a room only about one and a half the size of his room back home, including a private bathroom, a kitchen which was as barebones as it got, and a main room. The main room, Clark guessed, would be used as both a bedroom and a living room for him as he stayed there for the next few years. That is, if he really was going to make it into U.A.

As excited as the Kansas boy was to be given a chance to prove himself as a hero, he still had plenty of worry in his head. He wondered if his abilities would be enough. He had plenty of gifts, but so did everyone else, things that even he should be wary about. If some of the current heroes were anything to go by, the Flash with his super speed that looked like it rivaled Clark's or All Might who looked like he hit about as hard as Clark imagined he would himself.

"Wait a minute…" the boy looked down at his hands, frowning as he stared at the knuckles, "Have I ever hit something before? Like, really hit something?"

He tried to think back to Kansas during the fourteen, almost fifteen, years he had been there. He had shoved things around, but they were relatively light things that wouldn't have even been considered heavy for a lower-class super strength quirk. The heaviest thing he lifted was the gymnasium ceiling, which was impressive but still pushed Clark towards struggle! Granted, that was extremely heavy and was at night when Clark's powers are weaker.

The American grabbed his head and groaned, "I don't know how to hit something and I'm trying to become a Pro Hero! What is wrong with me?" The boy wailed. As silence poured over the room he heard a sudden knock on the door. Clark turned and give a nervous laugh to himself. "Guess that was a bit loud, huh?" He marched toward the door, "Coming!"

He opened the door, a forced smile on his face, "Yeah, sorry about the yelling. Everything is-."

"Did you say something about being a hero?" A girl with a confident tone interjected.

Clark looked at the girl in front of him, she was shorter than him, but only about one or two centimeters by his count. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes that stared back at the Kryptonian's own gems. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a picture of a popsicle on the front and blue jeans. Her shoes were simple sneakers and she had a sticker of an ice cream cone on the side of her left shoe. She had a closed smile on her face.

The alien nodded, scratching the back of his head, "Um, yeah, sorry. I was just worried about an entrance exam and-."

"You're going to go to U.A. as well?!" She gleamed, gripping the boy by the shoulders, "Can we be friends?"

Clark was taken back, it almost seemed like a bad idea to keep talking to this girl. He stood there for a second, waiting for her to offer an explanation, but none came. She simply stood, staring Clark down. Her eyes were quite pretty, though. The boy smiled and nodded, albeit reluctantly. "U-um, sure. I don't mind."

The girl beamed her smile again, this time showing off her white teeth before the girl jumped back and pumped her hand in the air, "This is truly a remarkable day!" She turned to Clark, placing her hands on her hips, "You said you didn't know how to hit, right? I know the perfect place to practice!"

"Woah, time out," Clark made his arms cross like an 'X' before taking a step back, "I don't even know who you are. I'm not going anywhere now, anyways. I need to unpack my things."

The girl puffed, knocked on her own temple, "Right, sorry, I got a bit carried away." She placed a hand on her chest, bowing forward, "My name is Diana, Princess of Themyscira, and you are?"

The American smiled, bowing himself how it was shown in the textbook of Japanese mannerisms, "Clark Kent. Of Kansas."

They both stood straight again, Diana placing her hands behind her back. "May I come in, Kent?"

"Sure, Diana. Is that your only name?"

The girl nodded with a smile as she entered the apartment and slipped off her shoes. "Though, the people at police station filled in my last name as 'Prince' since some confusion took place when I described my title. You can use that since that seems to be more modest here."

"Right…" Clark responded weakly, "Prince, then."

Bruce Wayne

Alfred sat across from him on the plane, a laptop in front of him that was transparent, to an extent. It was enough for the billionaire to see that a list of items on a checklist turn green. As the final box illuminated the green light, the butler closed the laptop and nodded to Bruce.

"Michael Lane's identity has been officially constructed, Master Bruce." The butler sighed in relief, "I wish you wouldn't have made the decision to create a new identity on a whim like that; if we had time to construct this new ego's background we could have given a more plausible reason why this no-named boy has the resources comparable to military grade technology. He wouldn't have just sprung onto the face of the Earth so suddenly either."

Bruce turned to the window of the jet which overlooked Musutafu, Japan. "The information entered through the bat-computer should be foolproof. Besides, I didn't have much of a choice, Alfred. This is an opportunity I simply couldn't ignore." He turned back to the butler, a hologram appearing and showing multiple screens of Japan's Pro Heroes in action, fighting villains and saving civilians. "U.A. Hero Academy is bound to have mountains of information in their databases. Information that Batman can use to better predict other villains and to be more prepared for them."

"But why join the academy, sir? I thought Wayne Enterprises was already going to be creating support gear and upgrade security. Couldn't we simply copy the information during the transfer of data?" The butler took a sip of tea before continuing his thought, "It doesn't exactly seem like a necessary step for Batman to come into the public eye."

"I looked over the contracts U.A. helped construct for the terms they agreed to. Most of our resources will go towards the support gear, the only security we gifted was keycard-activated door locks and equipment for outside of the perimeter." Bruce closed the hologram, standing up as he moved toward the back of the jet. He eventually reached a locker, which opened as he approached and revealed his prosthetics for his face and the wig of blonde hair, "Batman would have become known like this to the public eventually. This is just a bit ahead of schedule is all."

The billionaire began to put on his fake face as Alfred nodded, "I suppose you're right. I don't think criminals will fear you any less with the knowledge you have other heroes to call for back up either."

Michael Lane turned back to the butler, nodding, "Besides, they still don't know what Batman's quirk is. That mystery will carry the fear into criminals still, among my other parlor tricks."

"You know what you're doing, Master Bruce- I mean, Michael Lane. I'll leave you to it then." The butler turned back and rested the back of his head on the seat, "Head out before me, sir. I'll head to the penthouse in a few minutes. Oh, and don't forget to hand the documents over to your instructor."

With a small smile, the billionaire began to march forward before stopping at the entrance of the jet. He looked back at the butler, "Are you sure you're insistent on staying with me? You still have the option to go home."

"I will do nothing of the sort. We had this discussion, and that's final."

The billionaire nodded and sighed softly before looking forward and continuing the march towards the small city of Japan.

Diana Prince

After some patience on the Amazonian's part, as well as a bit of nagging, her and Clark were finally at the beach where Izuku was in the middle of his usual training. The garbage that was along the beach was practically gone now, and people had started to enjoy the ocean here once more! It took a lot in Diana not to help Izuku, if not simply because she wanted to enjoy some time at the beach and having fun with her friend. Make that two friends now, with Clark. When they arrived, she waved at Izuku and Toshinori.

Izuku donned his usual timid grin, as he waved back to her, "H-hey, Prince! Who's that with you?" Something that she did notice that went away was most of the stuttering. At the very least, he seemed used to her now.

She smiled back at the two, beckoning towards her neighbor, "His name is Clark Kent of Kansas, he's going to be a hero like us!"

"R-really?" Izuku turned to Clark, bowing to him, "I-I mean, it's n-nice to meet you, Kent! M-my name is Izuku M-Midoriya!"

The taller boy raised a defensive hand and had a smile on his face, "No need to be so formal, Midoriya. We're friends here, right?"

"Huh?" The green-haired boy looked up in surprise.

Diana stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Clark's neck, "Indeed, I asked if he wanted to be friends and now, we're comrades!"

"O-oh, w-well, I, u-uh…"

Toshinori walked forward, hands in his pockets, "So, what brings you out with us today, young man?"

"Well, I-."

Diana flexed her arm, "He came here to learn how to punch! He's going to the entrance exams and has yet to know how."

The scrawny man turned to the boy, "You don't know how to throw a punch, lad?"

The American boy shook his head, "It's not that, really. I just don't know how hard I can punch is all." He looked down at a clasped fist, "I've always been told to keep it in check, you know?"

"That's your quirk, then?"

He shook his head, "Kind of."

Diana stepped forward, pulling up her sleeves and revealing two silver bracelets that ran up three quarters of her forearms, "You can use your quirk on me! I can catch it with my unbreakable bracelets and coach you myself, I am a trained warrior after all!"

That much was true, if anyone could teach Clark how to punch, it would be an Amazonian warrior!

The man with golden hair laughed with a cough near the end, placing his hands on his hips, "Although I like your enthusiasm, Prince, using your quirks outside of being a hero is strictly prohibited. Especially in a public space such as this."

"Then how will Kent know how to use his quirk?" the girl protested. She was about to continue before she was interrupted by the Kansas boy.

"Prince, he's right. The laws are there for a reason; to keep people safe. If I used my quirk and someone accidentally got within the crossfire of it, that wouldn't be good." Clark looked down at his hand, smiling, "I'll just have to do my best to figure it out at the entrance exam."

Diana crossed her arms. She understood his reluctancy, but she didn't like how easily he gave into it. With a sigh, she threw up another suggestion, "Is there anything you can do that won't hurt anyone?"

"Like what?"

Diana began to float off the ground, flying around Clark's radius, "Can you fly or anything?"

Toshinori interjected with his arms crossed, "Young lady, those who can fly are few and far between. You're lucky to have something as unique as that. There's not much of a chance most others can do the same."

Clark smiled at him, "Actually," he began to rise from the ground himself. "I can fly."

Both Izuku and Toshinori were surprised. The boy was more in awe whereas Toshinori was just generally taken aback.

Diana could only grin as she spun around to his front, meeting him face-to-face. "You and I are quite alike, Kent! Are you a demigod as well?"

The boy shook his head, "Um, no, nothing like that. I'm just lucky I suppose."

"So, you have a flight quirk and a strength quirk I take it? Quite the combination there, lad." Toshinori stepped forward, hands in his pockets, "You're going to be quite the hero when you're accepted into U.A. Hero Academy."

"You mean 'if' I'm going to be accepted." Clark chuckled to himself quietly, "There's bound to be others that are really strong, too. I shouldn't put myself above people I haven't met."

A smile formed on the man's face, "No, I suppose you're right. Though, you shouldn't be too humble either, young man." His head lowered, "As long as you believe you will win and you take action to do so, that's all you should be focused on."

Clark stared at the man for a second, then took a deep breath before looking back at him with a smile, "That's good advice. I feel a lot better now, actually."

With a nod, the man turned back to Izuku, "We should continue our training, young Midoriya. If this is your competition, we need to be as prepared as we can be!"

Izuku nodded, "R-right!"

With that, the green-haired boy turned towards the rest of the garbage that laid spread out to finish the training for the day. Diana and Clark returned to the ground, the girl getting practice in with her sword and the boy heading home so he could get himself situated and get enough rest for the next day.

The Next Day

Clark Kent

The Kryptonian put his gym clothes on which consisted of pair of red shorts and a blue t-shirt. The irony wasn't lost on the boy, that the colors of the clothes seemed to match the colors of his family's robes. He even considered buying some red tape to put over his shirt to match his people's symbol of hope. Ultimately, he decided against it and that it was more trouble than it was worth. Especially considering that the most likely outcome of these clothes would be that they would be damaged.

He'd heard a few rumors on the internet before coming to Japan that the practical exam was nothing to scoff at. The brochures said that the practical exam consisted of robots that actively attacked students. The boy from Smallville wasn't too concerned about most of the robots apart from one particular tier of robot. There wasn't much information given on it, but those online that talked about it said that if one of these robots came into your exam area the only option would be to run. After that, he figured the biggest problem would come in the form of the written exam.

Clark met up with Diana, who was wearing a simple tracksuit and a worn, red leather jacket over it, at the bottom of the steps that led to his apartment. With a proud posture the girl began her stride towards the school before the two of them. As they walked, Clark began to glance at her, trying to catch any hint of nervous jitters that he had. In a way, the boy was glad she didn't seem as nervous as he was.

The Kryptonian must have been staring for longer than he should have, because Diana glanced back with an eyebrow raised. He tried to turn away, but she spoke up before he could even attempt to play it off.

"You're strange to me, Kent."

"That's a bit harsh," he spoke under his breath before speaking up to her, "Sorry for staring."

"I'm not talking about that."

Now she was face to face with him again, hands behind her back as she was studying him.

With a chuckle, the Kansas boy raised an eyebrow of his own, "Then, what are you talking about?"

"I don't know yet." She turned back around and continued her stride, "Consider it Athena's guidance, but you aren't normal. I suppose by the end of today, I might learn if you truly are or are not."

For a minute, Clark was suspicious that she figured out he wasn't human. He swallowed a small lump in his throat before thinking through it. Even if she had, there was no way she would figure out he was an alien, not with some of the terminology she used.

He rushed forward until he was behind her again, "What about you, Prince? You keep talking about Greek gods as if they were real. You even called yourself a demigod!" She turned around with a smile on her face, "Don't tell me you actually believe that you are. Do you think that I am?"

"Like I said," she wrapped an arm around him, almost dragging him forward towards the school again, "by the end of today, I might learn!"

He let himself be dragged, looking up at her, "So, you're expecting me to believe that the Greek gods, like Zeus, Hermes, Ares, Poseidon – all of them are real?"

She shook her head with a smile, "Least of all, do I expect you to believe it. However, I have seen the Gods and am in fact the daughter of Zeus himself. All others in this land seem to be ignorant of them, and I have accepted this by now." With a shrug, she let go of the boy as they found themselves at the gate of the school, "However, we must stay true to ourselves, don't you think?"

Clark looked at her before turning back to the school with a grin of his own, "Yeah, I agree." Even if he had agreed, he still didn't comply with it.

In front of them, they scanned the crowds to get a good look at the different kinds of people they would be competing against. It was through this scanning that they found a familiar head of green, curly hair floating almost sideways next to a girl with medium-length brown hair, bubbly pink cheeks and a brown coat that matched her hair. Happily, the two walked over, catching the two of them just as Izuku was frantically thanking and apologizing. He caught the two flight-capable teens walking towards him and smiled with a wave.

"Kent! Prince! For some reason, I didn't expect to really see you here."

Clark nodded, "It's a small world, isn't it?"

"Who is our new acquaintance, Midoriya?" Diana grinned warmly towards the brunette.

Izuku tried to get a few words out, but utterly failed at doing so. Luckily, the brunette replied in his place, "My name is Ochaco Uraraka. Nice to meet you both!" She bowed towards the two of them.

They returned the gesture, Clark giving his name and Diana giving hers. Clark was about to speak up before they were interrupted by another boy that was the same height as the alien. He had dark blue hair and glasses. His tracksuit was a bit nicer than what the Kansas boy had, being visibly softer than his own. His face donned a stern expression, which complimented his statement very well.

"If you're here to chat then get out of everyone else's way and stop wasting our time!" He didn't wait for any replies before he marched away, as if he never said anything to the four of them at all.

Diana placed her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks, "That's not very nice."

"But it is very true," Clark turned to the others, giving them a smile, "We should get going and ready for everything they might throw at us."

Uraraka nodded, stretching her arms and legs out with a yawn, "I suppose you're right. Well, good luck you three!" She began to trot away, waving behind herself as she did.

Clark turned to Diana and Izuku with a nod before making his own way towards the U.A. Academy building. He was almost in the building when he heard something similar to a flag rustling in the wind. Clark turned back, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it is that he heard. Then a shadow moved overhead, but too fast for him to catch a glimpse of as it moved over the U.A. Academy building.

He contemplated going to look for whatever it was, but when Izuku called out for him to hurry, he decided against it.

Bruce Wayne

He stood on a rooftop overlooking the students that were piling in. With a deep breath, he took hold of his cape and spun around, walking towards the A/C unit of the building. Batman tore off the hinges of the cover, jumping through and making his way through towards the control room that would eventually oversee all the practical exams on monitors. It didn't take long to find when the schematics of the building were holographically projected on plastic that separated his eyes from the air. When he found the room, it was clear that no one was in the room quite yet, and they wouldn't be until the written exam started.

Bruce pulled the vent cover open, climbing down from the vent and landing in front of the monitors. He peered around the room, eyeing two cameras, of which were replaced by WayneTech just days ago.

With clear access to the cameras, he had them display a loop of the room just before he climbed down and turned to the monitors to get to work. He followed the cables down to the console below where everything would be controlled remotely. Lowering himself below the console, he opened a panel that separated him from the main computer. He quickly located where the cables connected and pulled out a gadget of his own.

It was a simple PWN plug that connect to various types of computers with ease made from WayneTech and other military sources. Untraceable and self-destructible. Bruce placed it on top of the data port, allowing it to collect data not only from that computer, but essentially gaining access to any other computer along the same line. Except, when Bruce attempted to gain access, the information was only partially available.

The billionaire groaned quietly, turning to the cameras. I can't reach any other access points; I don't have the time. The information collected for these exams being conducted today will have to do. Just as he finished his thought, he heard voices beginning to wander from the halls. Bruce quickly resealed the console before leaping back into the vent and closing the panel and returning the cameras from their loop.

Just as he finished, the two men along with the principle, Nezu, had made their way into the room. Now Bruce had to make it to the first test, the written exam. As he crawled, he slowly began ditching the suit to be collected later. He left the Batsuit above a bathroom stall that he texted Alfred to bookmark on the schematics and ducked into the stall before making his way towards the exam.

Once he arrived, he could see that the room he was in was only filled with recommended students. The only thing that pointed towards that end was the fact that the room being used was a normal classroom rather than the larger lecture halls he knew would have been used for the normal students. Including him, thirty six students were in the classroom and one teacher stood at the front. It was a woman with dark, almost black hair and a loosely buttoned top which showed her skin a bit too much for a school setting. Everything else seemed in order for a teacher, more or less.

The teacher smiled, "Cutting it close, aren't we? Oh, how I love how young people live on the edge like that."

"Midnight." Michael Lane answered, getting a raised eyebrow from the teacher, "My flight just landed this morning."

"Oh, quite understandable." The woman leaned forward to look at her paper, then tapped the clipboard before pointing towards the only empty desk, which the disguised student already began marching towards. "Looks like you already know you're sitting next to Yaoyorozu, Gotham boy!"

On the desk, a pencil and paper laid on the desk already, so Bruce simply sat down, observing all of the students around him. Only two stood out to him over all of the students. Momo, who for obvious reasons had not noticed who he was but had stolen a few glances towards the boy. The other was a boy with hair that was split into two colors, red on the left side and white on the right side. Shoto Todoroki, the son of the second place Pro Hero, Endeavor.

Rumor had it that Endeavor saw Shoto as the perfect heir to the Todoroki hero bloodline due to his ability to control both his father's quirk and his mother's quirk. That rumor is questionable, however, as any evidence of him using his quirk has only been of him using his mother's quirk, Ice. Either way, he was someone that would have to be watched closely as time continued.

The teacher soon made the call for the students to begin their exams, which Bruce went to work on with all of his notes in the back of his mind.

Gotham City

Jim Gordon

It was ten at night when the phone to his office rang. He picked up, as he usually did. "Lieutenant James Gordon of the GCPD, how can I help?"

A familiar, raspy, accented voice came through the speaker of the phone, "Jim, it's Eraserhead."

"Ah, Aizawa! How goes things?"

"Well, actually. Our mutual friend decided our deal was beneficial after all."

"Really? He went for it? My men will be happy to hear-."

"Don't celebrate yet." James was afraid to hear that. He had to take a drag of his cigarette, "He still has to pass the recommended exams, which are considerably harder than the normal exams."

"If they're harder, why would you put him in there then?"

"Acceptance rate is higher. Statistically, he's,-."

"I got it, I got it. I'll hold off on the champagne then." James rose from the desk, moving towards the window that overviewed his home, "You think he'll make it in though?"

"He beat me, he better make it in." There was a pause before he continued, "He's resourceful. I'm sure he'll make it in just fine. What about Gotham?"

There was a sigh from Jim, "Where to begin? Crime rates have risen significantly, but that's to be expected from the void in crime being filled. It's unorganized, though. So, we should be able to handle most of whatever comes our way." Jim turned back to his desk, looking over files, "Poison Ivy escaped the prison van and a bigger case involving a potential gang war between the Maroni family and this new guy in town. His calling card is a plastic penguin he left at the aftermath of the massacre, so the case file was named Penguin."

"Back up a bit, Ivy escaped?"

Jim bit his lip, "Yeah, escaped. She hasn't made a move yet, and no plants were detected. Our detectives are thinking it's connected to either Maroni or the Penguin case. She is a powerful player, after all." With a shrug, James sat back down, "Killer Croc is still in jail, though. Silver linings."

"It sounds like you all have your hands full."

"Yeah, no doubt about it! All hands are on deck and I still feel like we're gonna tip over." Jim ran his fingers through his hair, "The commissioner doesn't want to send a whole squad to investigate the crime family mishaps, so he's shoving it down to me and Bullock to handle alone. Funny thing is that this is probably the closest thing we've had to normal in police business in months!"

"I will say one thing, Gotham sure is a busy place."

The lieutenant laughed before nodding, "Yeah, and you took our MVP. Listen, it's an hour and a half till midnight here, and these are the most active hours for the crooks. Mind if we pick this up some other time?"

"Be careful out there, Gordon."

"Yeah and watch our mutual friend carefully. We both know he's a tricky one." The officer gave another laugh, "He's probably doing his homework on you all as we speak."

With that, the Pro Hero hung up and Gordon began to make his way to the doorway. He rushed through, grabbing his coat along the way and looking below to find his partner. Luckily, he was sitting at his desk with a cigarette in his mouth as he usually was. Slacking off.

The red head shouted down to Bullock, "Break's over, Harv! We're headed out."

The larger officer lazily saluted his partner and dragged himself to his feet in order to meet him outside at the cruiser.

Clark Kent

He finally made it out of the written exam. It wasn't exactly difficult as the test primarily consisted of things that would mostly be seen at any other school. He didn't think he did great, but he did about as well as one should. It was during the explanation of the practical exam that most of what was said was confirmed, four kinds of robots. Single-point, double-point, and triple-point robots. The last robot, however, was the zero-point robot, which was described as more of an obstacle than anything else.

All of this was described after the boy from before with the glasses spoke up towards Izuku doing his usual mumbling. Clark gathered that for Izuku, it was a nervous tick and though the boy with glasses was being rude himself for speaking out, Izuku needed to get his anxiety in check eventually. For now, the Kansas boy had to calm Diana down before she retaliated at him and caused a greater interruption.

It wasn't long before Clark and the other students were sent to assigned busses which would eventually lead out towards replica cities to hold the mock battles. Fortunately for Clark, he was able to be paired with Diana so at least he knew someone. Unfortunately for them both, neither Midoriya nor Uraraka were able to be assigned with them. They wished each other luck and began to make their way towards the busses.

When the two got to the bus, the ride was less than exciting. Clark and Diana held some small talk, but the general atmosphere of the whole bus just set Clark on the edge of his seat. He couldn't tell if Diana felt the same, but at the very least she didn't try to bother him while he psyched himself up. He was able to see the city as they approached. The bus stopped just along the outskirts of the city, allowing the students to stop and get a few breaths in before running into the city to start the exam.

He chuckled, turning to Diana, "You ready for this?"

She grinned with an open smile, "I am an Amazonian, I'm always ready for a fight!"

"You haven't contested with someone quite like me."

"Well, what are we waiting for, Kent?" She began to hover forward, turning back to him, "There was no mention of a starting pistol!"

She burst towards the city, flying overhead at the speed of a car! He grinned, getting into a crouch and getting ready to launch, "No, there wasn't."

He pushed forward, quickly reaching speeds that resembled a bullet being fired out of a gun! His mind began to process all of the imagery at the same rate as he moved, making it seem like he was moving at normal speed to himself. As he passed the first few buildings, the glass from their windows burst from the force of the momentum! Immediately, he spotted three single-pointers and one double-pointer grouped together on the ground with a triple-pointer above on the rooftop waiting to pounce! While he took to analyzing the robots, they hadn't even noticed him yet.

"Looks like those two contestants know how real heroes work! In the real world, there are no buzzers! GET IN THERE AND GET YOUR POINTS BEFORE THEY DO!"

Clark rushed downwards, slamming against the pavement and sending a shockwave of force and concrete in every which direction. The three single-pointers were crushed by the shockwave alone, but the double-pointer was only dented. Clark grabbed it by what was the equivalent of a collar and bent the metal as if it were a cloth between his fingers. He twisted his body in order to throw the robot at the one above! It crashed through the building and into the triple-pointer, sending both automatons into the air with enough force to break and disassemble both the robots and turn them into glorified, green shrapnel.

Clark turned to the crowd, who halted as the glass from the buildings above them had finally reached the ground. Clark scratched the back of his head with a light chuckle, "Whoops, my bad."

He turned back to the field narrowly dodging a strike from another triple-pointer who had snuck up on him, "Looks like I forgot to turn up my ears." Clark swung down, breaking the metal with his bare hands with ease and following up with a strong spartan kick to the top of the robot's body, sending it into the ground like an ostrich's head.

The Kryptonian decided it was time to move on, rising up and closer to the epicenter of the replica city. Along the way, of course, he landed a strike on a robot for practically every other building. Breaking them into pieces with a single punch and moving on to the next. At some point, the boy simply lost count of how many of the robots he had broken and destroyed. He didn't even know how many robots were necessary for him to ensure his passing in the practical exams, so it was hard to tell when to stop.

The boy was about to backtrack and find any straggler robots when he consequently heard some odd cracking that sounded a bit too soft for the fighting going on throughout the city.

Clark turned around towards the sound of the cracking, moving quickly to get the right angle on the sound. It was identified immediately as a large piece of debris created; a result of a hole being made at the corner of a building and toppling down. This alone wouldn't have meant anything to the boy, but when a girl with long green hair was too busy fighting a small group of robots to take notice of her surroundings, it was a big deal. Clark threw himself forward, rushing towards the danger of the manufactured rocks about as fast as he came into the city. He slowed down significantly as he reached the girl, being sure to grab her by the waist and the back of the neck as they bulleted under the rocks and narrowly escaping her fate. He grabbed her neck to resist any amount of possible whiplash that would most definitely kill her.

Clark landed on the ground, sliding along the soles of his feet until they came to a halt and looked back at the debris now littered with robots. He smiled before turning back to the girl, "Sorry I couldn't save your points for you, too. Are you okay?"

The girl finally looked up, revealing a somewhat blank stare as she picked herself up from his grasp, "I believe so. Nothing is broken or anything." She turned back to him, nodding, "Thanks for the help, ribbit."

Ribbit? Frog quirk? He waved to her before rising from the ground and turning to his right, noticing a boy with blonde hair and a steaming bellybutton. Clark smiled openly, pointing a finger gun at him, "Careful where you point that thing, you could shoot your eye out."

The boy looked at him, an eyebrow raised, "What do you mean, monsieur?"

"Nothing, just a joke from a movie." Clark waved to him, "Take care." Then he burst into the air, rushing towards the next sound of disaster.

This took the form of a student with large hands dealing with robots in front of her while another snuck up behind her through a storefront, ready to burst through brick and mortar. Clark quickly rushed behind her, coming between her and the glass and metal ready to crush her back. Instead, he let his back crush the metal and deflect the glass. The girl finished up with the two robots in front before turning to meet Clark face-to-face. Her eyes widened immediately as she jumped back with a squeak.

The Kryptonian shrugged, letting the robot fall to the ground behind him, "Hope you don't mind that I took that."

She shook her head, "Um, no, I don't mind. You're really tough, huh?"

"Something like that." The boy nodded with a smile. He burst back up into the air, ready to fly towards any other sign of danger.

Overall, it was hard to figure out where people needed help. The fighting and clashing all sounded fairly similar and watching out for screaming was out of the question because the sound of someone screaming out of joy for having fun sounded too close to the sound of fright. Still, whenever something visibly came up Clark lent a hand. Rocks falling on top of a student here, robots getting the drop on a student there, nothing else after that.

It wasn't until he saw Diana on the ground and surrounded by six automatons that he fled to the ground at her back. "You been keeping busy?" He remarked as he landed behind her.

"Not as much as you, from what I've seen. How many times have you gone from one end of the arena to the other?" The girl chuckled.

"Four times, from my count. Want some help?"

"I won't say no to a friend's helping hand!"

She held a hand towards the Kryptonian. When he took it, she swung forward, launching him at a robot and landing him on his feet on the breastplate of it. He grasped the metal head and swung the robot towards another before bursting in the opposite direction taking out three in the matter of two seconds. Diana, on the other hand, rushed backwards and smashed a double-pointer with her elbow. She spun as the other two approached, kicking one of their heads clean off and kicking the triple-pointer hard enough to send its tail through itself.

Clark whistled, placing his hands on his hips, "Now that was impressive. You've got some moves, Prince."

She giggled, turning back to him while cracking her knuckles, "You're a brute with seemingly limitless strength. I've seen you fight the other ones, Kent, and you took more time just to show off."

He nodded, scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, I don't mean to do it. It's a bad habit."

It was then that the arena began to shake and loud crashes spread throughout the arena! Screams could be heard across the city in unity and the crunching of metal rubbing against metal sounded to Clark's left, towards the epicenter of the city. As the two examinees peered into the dust that covered the source of the sound, they put two and two together.

The Arena Trap!

Clark turned to his neighbor, "Make sure nobody is left behind! I'll deal with this."

The girl stepped forward, "There isn't any points in stopping it. We both can help stragglers!"

"The longer that thing is out, the more danger people are in, Diana! I can't let that happen for any longer than I need to." The boy began to sprint forward until eventually he used a burst of strength to send him hurdling towards the beast of machinery. As he approached, he considered the best form of attack.

If I attack the top, it might just topple on top of someone that got behind it. But if I slam down on it, I might just crush someone in the collateral damage of the surrounding buildings. If I lift it, I wouldn't be able to set it down anywhere. Except…

He slammed against the treads of the zero-pointer, resisting the thing's ability to move forward as easily. It seemed to work, and he could even hear the cheer of students coming from behind! This was going to be an easy win for the Kryptonian, too! That is, until the machine began to move its treads again. It was now bad again!

"Oh, don't tell me this thing has… four-wheel drive!" The boy remarked through strained grunts. It kept going, and going, and going. Eventually moving over Clark.

Diana Prince

"What just happened?" The girl stepped back, shaking her head. "No, no, no, that can't have just happened!"

She looked around at the other students, some who had their mouths covered and other screaming towards the outskirts of the city for help. The sirens made it inaudible and it was clear that the faculty was about to investigate. But what was the point of it?

She knew what this meant. They all knew what it meant. Clark Kent had died.

Diana clenched her fist and slammed it against the ground before yelling towards the machine, "What were you thinking?!"

There was now silence apart from the siren. She wasn't sure if she was talking about the whole practical exam or the boy. She just knew that what happened was wrong.

As she stared at the machine, she almost thought the people running this exam were insane because she could have sworn that the treads began to move again. No, the whole machine was moving in a very unnatural way for a machine. It was moving upwards. She thought it might have been a hydraulics thing, but that wasn't it either.

It kept going and going and going, until light emerged from underneath. Through that light, there was a small gap, something unbelievably small compared to the rest of the machine.

"Well, I definitely thought it was lighter than it was!" Clark called out, pushing upwards once more, pushing both himself and the machine off the ground! "I said I would deal with this. I gotta go make a delivery really quick!" He rose until he was high above all of the buildings by triple their height, "I'll be back!"

Diana could only laugh as he began to fly away with the machine towards the direction of the school. As he went off to do whatever it was he was doing, Diana began to run around to help anyone who was stuck or injured.

Michael Lane

He and the other students had only just finished their practical exams when they saw it coming in. It was large and it was coming in hot. Michael Lane clenched his fist before turning to Midnight with a scowl.

"Is this part of the exam?"

She shook her head, "I don't know what this is. Everyone, get back!"

All the students except Lane did as they were instructed. Reason being was that through the kicked-up dust and the sunlight obscuring his vision, the billionaire could make out a body. As it landed, the dust had filled the air and it was too difficult to see where exactly it had landed. But the green object had been set down, so Batman stepped forward instead towards the object.

He was on alert once the wind around him began to pick up, eventually sending most of the dust out of the way and further up into the sky. In front of Bruce now, standing with a torn blue t-shirt and red shorts was a boy that was taller than he was by five centimeters and donned a smile on his face. The vigilante's fists were clenched tighter than they were before, and his scowl was deeper staring at the boy. The new arrival had a smile on his face towards Bruce, which was accompanied by a wave. It wasn't returned.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked coldly.

The other boy slapped the metal hull playfully, "Returning to sender. This thing was causing trouble in the arena."

"Why did you send it here of all places?" Lane crossed his arms, "You do realize an exam is taking place here, right? You're interrupting."

The boy looked around at the teacher, who was simply in awe at the sight, along with the other students.

"Oh," the intruder scratched the back of his head, "Where should I put it then?"

"Back where you found it." The blonde's eyes narrowed, "What's your name?"

"Um, Clark Kent."

"Your accent resembles a farmer's."

"I'm from Kansas." He raised an eyebrow, "Why, are you from around there?"

"No." The boy turned back to the rest of the class, taking his place with the other students with hands in his pockets.

The boy with the big robot shook his head before lifting the robot again and rising from the ground, "Sorry for the disturbance, everyone."

After that, the machine and the boy went back from whence they came. The teacher soon rounded up the other students as they made their ways back inside the building so they could complete the final portions of their exam, the interview. Bruce's mind, however, were on other things as he stood still, looking at the sky with his scowl still present. His focus was brought back to the class when Momo tapped him on the shoulder.

"We should head inside, too. Don't you think, Lane?"

Michael nodded to the girl, glancing back at the sky for just a second before letting her take the lead inside. One thing was made painstakingly clear for the vigilante, that boy, Clark Kent was dangerously powerful. With the right quirk in the wrong hands he could be the power move that would wipe the heroes off the map. The next step Bruce knew he had to take stumbled down to one question that he needed to have answered, Who is Clark Kent?

This question would have to wait, as more pressing matters in the form of the interview was the next goal. As the group of students marched forward, Bruce seemed to become caught up in conversation with the black-haired girl.

She had her hands behind her back in an elegant stature as she leaned her head towards the boy, "You're very well-conditioned for these exams. Did you have a trainer in Gotham?"

"Not in Gotham."

"Did you study abroad, then? Your school must have thought of you highly to offer it to you."

"It wasn't through a school."

"Oh, I see." She leaned back, getting a feeling in the air that he didn't seem like the talking type, "Who was your trainer, then? If you don't mind me asking."

"I do mind."

The girl nodded, glancing away and filling the air with even more tension.

The boy sighed, finally turning towards her, "He was a man with good intentions but with methods that overshadowed them."

"You said he 'was' a good man. Is he retired now?"

"He's dead." The boy let himself pause before turning his head forward, "Leave this topic there. We're here now so we should focus on now."

Momo nodded, kind of happy to leave such a heavy topic. The group of students rounded the corner and began to march up a flight of stairs, "So, you're from Gotham? I went there this Summer, actually."

Another person voiced in, a boy with ash blond hair and black eyes. He was shorter than Bruce, but only by a few centimeters. Most curiously, his lips were made up of his teeth rather than them being inside of his mouth.

When he voiced in, he spoke in English, "I heard about that event!" He switched back to Japanese and turned to Michael, "Which hero was it that recommended you from there? I heard only a few of the best heroes were invited and I never heard of them visiting any of Gotham's middle schools."

Momo replied, shaking her head, "None did, though I know Eraserhead was absent from the party because he was dealing with a crime in Gotham."

The skeleton-like boy bolted his head in the direction of the taller blonde, "Wait, don't tell me – Eraserhead recommended you?!"

The group of students finally reached the interview rooms, each student getting their own teacher to interview at the same time. Michael Lane stepped towards his own room, leaving the other two students as he replied, "Let's hope we're in the same classes, Momo Yaoyorozu and Juzo Honenuki."

The blonde closed the door behind him. Juzo, however stood back with his mouth open, "I never gave him my name. How-?"

He shook the question off and left for his own room.

In Michael's room, he was met with the familiar face of the principle. Nezu sat at the table on a couch, sipping his tea with a smile on his face. Another couch sat across from the mouse which was identical to the other. A small cup of tea was ready on Michael's side for consumption. On either side of the room's walls, mirrors stood in place, reflecting the mostly white room and the opposing mirrors perfectly.

Bruce shook his head, "I'll stand." He marched so he stood across from Nezu, behind the couch, "Long time no see, Nezu."

"Indeed, Batman." The mouse-man chuckled, "I'm surprised that you even showed up at all, you're more honorable than you let on in Gotham."

"I'm not so concerned with subjective mannerisms of what's considered rude and polite."

"That's evident. That's what I wanted to talk about, most of all." The man sipped the tea once more before setting it down, "I'm going to have a rundown of my understanding of your situation before you respond to it. Is that okay with you?"

No response came from the scowling boy, so the principle proceeded.

"I'm not exactly sure when the rumors started about the Batman's antics, but there is a rough estimate from hospital records when you came about. Each instance you were supposedly involved in resulted in criminals of every ilk being handicapped in ways that were sometimes incapable of full recovery. However, within the span of a month you alone were able to take down a criminal mastermind with control in every branch of Gotham, Carmine Falcone, and you discovered a link between a supply of drugs to Gotham from Japan. It is commendable, but also illegal both here and in America considering you did so without a Hero License. Now you're in Japan, a place that is quite different from Gotham in the sense that crime rates over the every city in Japan couldn't come close to that of your city."

"You're wondering if I'm going to be able to control myself here."

"Quite the detective, you are."

"It's like you said, Gotham is a very different place than Japan. In Gotham, where I was at, the judges were bought out by Carmine Falcone. Even the judge that sent him to Arkham to be killed was bought out by Falcone and this unknown puppeteer." Batman crossed his arms, "Japan doesn't suffer from that problem, at least not nearly to the extent that Gotham City does. As long as stability is maintained here, there isn't an issue."

The mouse-man nodded, "Then we have an agreement that you will follow our laws as our student?"

"For now." Batman narrowed his gaze at the principle, "However, if things get out of hand here, I will not hesitate to break that contract."

"Even though that would mean we would have no choice but to pursue you?"

"I've been doing that in Gotham for a month now. They would rather kill me on sight than arrest me." The gaze lowered even more, "If you think a fresh coat of paint and a few new heroes that are merely more celebrated is enough to deter me, you've got another thing coming."

With a sigh, the principle sat down his tea and smiled, "Well, you are quite stubborn. But I feel like that's as good as we're ever going to get." He stood up, which was actually shorter than what he was when he was sitting on the couch. He moved to the vigilante's side and outstretched his hand, which the boy took and shook. "It's an honor to have the infamous Batman joining our academy."

When the two were done exchanging their salutations, Bruce turned to the door, reaching for the handle. He didn't turn it yet. Instead, he turned to the mirror that sat behind where Nezu originally sat.

"Next time you use that one-way mirror, Aizawa, try to make sure it's a little less obvious."

There was a chuckle from the principle as he turned to the mirror, which fazed to clear glass and revealed both Aizawa and the Pro Hero Endeavor who was scowling about as much as Bruce was.

"This really will be interesting with you here, Michael Lane."

With that, he left the room, leaving a bored looking Eraserhead and an equally annoyed Endeavor to their devices.

Gotham City

He was thrown onto a hard surface! It was a chair, definitely a chair. He couldn't tell because his head was covered by a potato sack that smelled like it was molding. He didn't understand what was going on, which only made his heartbeat faster than it already was. It felt like his entire body wanted to move but couldn't out of fear! His mouth was taped shut, so he couldn't cry out for help. He didn't even do anything!

Some men chuckled to themselves lightly before one of them shoved something blunt into his gut. Now the tears began to roll down his cheeks. He would have soiled himself if he could, but he was luckily empty before he was grabbed. Unfortunately, nothing could stop his trembling.

There was some small mumbling, which was hard to hear over the sound of fans spinning high above. It wasn't until the pain of the original strike to the gut subsided that the sound of loud metal scraping against concrete sounded throughout the whole room.

"Hey, what the hell is this?" A man with an Italian accent burst into the room, "Get the sack off him, we need him you idiots."

The sack was pulled off, revealing an older kid that had just turned eighteen with black hair and green eyes. Frantically, he looked around, counting about five men, all with guns of some kind and black and white suits and ties. There was also a sixth man stood out as he wore a red suit and had a red tie and held no weapon. He had curly, dark brown hair and his quirk stood out when compared to the rest of them, as bright green acid dripped from his left hand. His right hand, luckily, extended instead, grabbing hold of the tape across the boy's mouth and ripping it right off.

"AHH! Ugh, what… Why am I here?" The boy sounded as he regained composure.

"Sorry about how rude my boys were, I try to treat my guests a lot better than this." He turned around, peering at his henchmen with a smile. "Which one of you grabbed him, huh?"

A larger man without hair on his head and with an extra set of hands raised both of his left arms, "Yeah, it was me, sir. Got him just like you asked!"

The man in the red suit raised his arms, showcasing the larger man with a chuckle, "Just like I asked, right? That's a good worker, doing what you're told, right?"

The others began to laugh with him, nodding and some even high fiving each other. Maroni turned to the boy, pointing a thumb in the man who voiced up, getting one last chuckle in. Then he raised his left arm up, rushing towards the large man! His hand pushed against the man's stomach and immediately the man screamed! Then he was punched in the face by the right hand before being sent to the ground and the bright green acid being poured over the body.

"At what fuckin' point did I tell you to treat him like a prisoner of war!? I told you to bring him to me for a BUSINESS PROPOSITION! This how we treat our partners, eh? Is it!?" The stood up, pointing at the two that high fived, "Drag him to the end of the dock, now. If he's still alive, just push him over. Let him drown or get eaten by sharks for all I care, don't waste a bullet on that idiot!

The two got to work, attempting to drag the steaming corpse away while the red-suited man approached the boy. He leaned back as much as he could, but to not much avail. The man was had a chair placed underneath him in front of the boy.

The kidnapped only barely managed to whisper a plea to the man. But he didn't hear it.

"Mi scusi, but when someone disrespects a guest like that, they have to be taught a lesson." He placed his non-acidic had on his chest, "Name's Sal Maroni, I'm sure you heard of me."

The boy nodded, "Y-yes, sir."

"What's your quirk, kid?"

"Um," the boy looked down, "I don't, uh, don't have one."

"Ah, ya see!" The Italian turned to the remaining men, "This kid must'a been scared shitless. All alone in a room full of people that could wipe the floor with him with their pinky fingers, and no one would know or care about him."

Him and his men began to laugh before he turned back to the kid, his smile still present. "Now, I have a bit of a problem, you see, and I think you can help me resolve it." The mob boss leaned back, brushing dust off of his shoes, "I will compensate you well for this, of course. I say about five grand should cover for ya if you get fired from your job for this."

"M-my job? What about my job?"

"You work at Ace Chemicals, right?"

The boy nodded, "Y-yeah, I started there just before I finished school. I've been there for half a year now."

"So, you'd say you know the place, right? All the chemicals and whatnot."

The boy nodded.

"So, if I told you we needed a gaseous agent to send into a nightclub, you would know what to get for me and how to combine it to get that end, right?" Before the teen could respond, the man waved his hand, "This is all hypothetical, siamo chiari?"

"W-well, hypothetically speaking, there are two lethal agents that when, uh, combined they-."

"Woah, spare the details. You know how to do it?"

The boy nodded.

"Glad to see the quirkless aren't also useless. Even if they're pretty damn close to it." The Italian nodded with a smile on his face before he checked his watch, "Where's a spot you usually go for a hangout."

"U-um, there's a comedy club about five blocks from-."

"Ah, I like that place! You go there to catch your favorite Gotham comedian?"

The boy laughed nervously, scratching his arm, "Um, well, I actually try to make my own material there. I'm an aspiring comedian."

"Hey," the mob boss kicked the boy in the shin, "if any joke is about as funny as your sorry life, you ought to be a riot!"

One of the henchmen chuckled as he nudged his buddy, "Yeah, why don't you tell us a joke then?"

The boss laughed with them, nodding and leaning back, "Yeah, give us something! Maybe I could get you on that stage when this is all said and done."

"Oh, really? Um, okay." The boy rubbed his shoulder, looking at all the men's face and mumbling excuses as they egged him on. Eventually he gave in, raising his hands in the air. "Okay, well, uh, take this, er… this situation for example." The boy beckoned to the group, "Here I am, being put into a tight spot by a bunch of Italians." There was a moment of pause he gave for the punchline. "It's almost as if you think I'm some s-sort of a PASTAtute!"

The boy began laughing to himself, looking around at their faces to catch their laughter. Only they weren't laughing. The boss even looked annoyed before he fixed his suit and leaned forward, "Hey, kid. You're lucky that I just reduce how much I'm givin' you for this job and that I don't dump ya in the river with the first Stooge."

The boy took a deep gulp of dry saliva, lowering his head, "S-sorry, sir."

"You're doin' this just for a thousand dollars now, you worthless, quirkless, stronzo." The man stood up, the others following behind him, "If I ever see you around that comedy club after tomorrow, you're gonna get hurt. I don't want your stench rubbin' off on the decent jokesters."

As the last henchman began the pilgrimage out of the warehouse, he reeled a fist back and landed an uppercut right on the boy. It sent him flying away from the chair and across the floor. When he stopped, he was already holding his face and letting the tears roll through his eyes. Luckily, he rolled with the punch as he had learned how to do over the years of constant bullying and torment from peers, so he was fine for the most part. He pushed himself off the ground, finding his notebook of jokes on the ground with a broken pen on top, black ink spilling all over the pages.